Day one complete

2/1/10

I've not done a lot of the initial measurements that I should be, however I did want to give a quick snapshot of height & weight for you to give you an idea of what we're dealing with. As procrastination is one of the reasons that I'm in the shape I'm in, I'm not totally thrilled with myself. Tomorrow I'll do all the P90X measurements, number of pushups, chest & belly size etc.

Height - 5 foot 8 inches
Weight - 195lbs

195 is literally the heaviest I've ever been, so milestones being what they are... I thought back to highschool today and I graduated at my current height at a total of 135 lbs (aka Crack-head thin). While I don't ever want to be that skinny again, 165 generally is a weight that should be relatively healthy considering my size and build.

Today, was overall, pretty standard. I was suprised at how much food was allowed with the Southbeach diet. I'm doing ok... fighting tempation and in general, not at all hungry. I was even impressed by the dessert, at which initially I turned my nose up (ricotta cheese with a sweetener & vanilla extract. Not bad and it fit the bill. Dinner was actually kind of impressive looking, Salad, Salmon and steamed asparagus. Filling and visually stunning (if I may say so myself...).

I've decided I'm going to ease into the exersize thing. All too often I've gone great guns for the first few weeks, only to loose steam a bit later. I've got some goals in mind, like, I'd like to be able to run 5 miles without keeling over... I'd like to be able to do more pullups than my current Whuu (almost one).

Either way, food-wise, tomorrow looks to be interesting and I'm looking forward to the beginning of my workout routine. As Tony Horton says, Do your best and forget the rest! As cult like a following as this guy has, I've done a few of the routines and they actually do kick your butt. Again, I'm excited for tomorrow and I'm ready to go!!

Cheers!
Rob

Pregaming

BEHOLD!! Project: Antichunk



The goal: lose 30 pounds, get my cholesterol in check and stop being a general fat ass. Simple enough, right?

Gentlemen, this blog is for you... those of you out there who aren't interested in wearing a speedo or having a "situation"-like 6 pack or fighting Lou Ferrigno (and winning), but instead are interested in getting your LDL in check, clearing up blood pressure or in short, getting your clothes to fit a bit better. I'm an average American Guy. I like videogames, beer, crappy food and even worse TV. What this has resulted in is a bit of... softness about the midsection to put it lightly.

I can't say that I've ever really been in shape. I ran track and cross country in Highschool... and ALWAYS came in last. I downgraded to frisbee and hackey sack in college. The best shape I think I have ever been in was the summer I worked loading trucks when I was 20. 90 degree heat and constant lifting/ movement resulted in a pretty good look for me as I strutted onto campus for my Senior year.

Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to having more energy, my suits fitting better and perhaps getting a glance or two.

So how am I going to do it? Here's the plan... and stay with me on this...

Diet

&

Exercise

Complicated, right?

All joking aside, Getting into and keeping any good habit I've been told takes 7 weeks... We'll see if I can get through the first one!

First things first: Diet. I'm going to be working with the Southbeach diet as I feel through my research that it will have the best overall result for me. The focus on Omega 3 fatty acids, removal of carbs and the set schedule of meals is something that makes this an attractive plan for me. Southbeach is somewhat unique as it helps me on several levels. In order to go in more detail, I'll need to tell you a bit about me:

My name is Rob, I live in Boston, MA and I'm of Scottish and Irish descent. This of course makes me a really superb storage unit for carbs and starches, vis a vis, Beer, Bread and Potatoes. The difference that I've found with Southbeach as opposed to other diets is that it initially remove starches and slowly but surely reincorporate them into your daily routine. Either way, the diet looks sound and it's kind of dummy proof. The tough thing about it was that it wasn't cheap... I spent a LOT of fresh fruits & veggies this week but hopefully it pays off. My usual 2 week budget for my wife and I is around $80US... this run ran me about $140US. Yikes.

Exercise
I know there are people like me out there... I'm not a huge fan of exercise. I find it boring and overly repetitive. For me, I need a goal at the end of the road and I've struggled to find a system that works for me and I can't really stand the gym as a concept. My eventual goal is to get out there and do some rock climbing, hiking and bagpiping (yes bagpiping, see my other blog, Brew n' Music), but for the moment, I need to get in better shape so that I don't pass out doing either of those activities! Outside of hiring a drill Sergeant, I'm not certain how to make that happen. What I'm going to try is a combination of the P90X with Tony Horton and the Nintendo Wii Fit. The trick with both of these is that I have to KEEP doing them...

Well tomorrow is the weigh-in, pictures and details on me.

Talk to you in the AM!

Rob Anderson