Project Vy

Still Getting After It!

2011-09-15T11:33:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I'm not updating the blog a lot these days, but I'm still doing great! I'm at 56lbs down from my starting weight! Four more pounds and I'll hit the unbelievable 60 pound mark! Awesome!

I'm still training for my next marathon. I can't wait! This one's going to be awesome!

51 lbs

2011-04-12T09:04:00.002-04:00

I have been down below the 50lb mark for about a week but I wanted to ensure that it wasn't a fluke. Yes, I have lost 50lbs. Picking up a 50lb weight at the gym is amazing.

There are no tricks to losing weight. It's quite simple, actually. Eat...fewer....calories. In this age of the Internet, there's no reason in the world that the average person shouldn't be able to count calories for most things that they eat. Almost all restaurants have nutrition information on their websites. If they don't, you shouldn't be eating there because the restaurant is most likely ashamed of the junk food status of their menus. It's quite easy for restaurants to do calorie counts -- they are just unwilling to do so.

Sweet 100's

2011-04-05T09:10:00.003-04:00

This morning I weighed in a 197 lbs. The last time I can recall being that low was probably my junior year of high school. My senior year I'm pretty sure I was 200 or above.

It feels good to be in shape, although most BMI charts still say that I am highly overweight, bordering on obesity. My personal opinion is that those charts are not worth the paper they are printed on. I need to go and have a personal trainer do a *real* BMI test for me again. Height and weight (the BMI chart inputs) are not enough to gauge an accurate BMI.

Oh yeah, one more thing -- one more pound and I will be at 50lbs total lost!

New All-time low

2011-03-23T08:06:00.003-04:00

You may have noticed on the right that I am now back down to my all-time low. I actually gained weight while training for the San Antonio Marathon in 2009 (I was around 214 or so when I ran it). Now, I'm back down and I have laser focus on getting below 200. I'm only 4 pounds away now. I expect to see the 190's again in the next couple of weeks. I seriously don't think I have been below 200lbs since my junior year of high school.

I'm gearing up for another marathon this fall. Looking forward to it! Jaime and the kids will be at the finish line for this one as well as my in-laws and possibly my parents. That will be so much more motivation to kick it into high gear.

Long-awaited Update

2011-02-13T21:08:00.002-05:00

It's past time for an update, so I thought I would check-in and let my two readers know what I've been up to. I have been keeping at the gym routine and eating reasonably well. I did put back on about 10 pounds, which is of course not unusual. The fortunate thing is that in only about 4 days of effort I have taken that back down by 5 pounds.

So, what does the future look like for me?

I am running a 1/2 marathon in March and I'm going to do another full in the fall. I had attempted to train for the San Antonio race again last fall but my more shins just weren't into it. So far this year I am feeling very, very strong. I have been working on building core muscle strength and I think I have done that.

In preparation for the 1/2 marathon I took Tyler out in the running stroller today and we did a good, solid seven miles. He weighs almost 40 pounds now! Yes, that's amazing.

I still...hate....my...love handles though. I don't know why, but God made my body to just store fat back there. I don't get it.

Loving life in general these days! No complaints!

Marathon

2009-11-25T08:26:00.004-05:00

I did it. I ran the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. Too much to write, too little time!

I will do more marathons. It was that much fun! I love doing organized races. The crowds cheering you on is so encouraging.

For a recap on my weight loss, here are some before and after pictures:

Update/Marathon

2009-08-19T08:37:00.002-04:00

So what's been going on with me? Well, I'm continuing the gym ritual and still watching what I eat. I still eat no french fries and watch everything I eat.

I have finally dropped off the deep end. I will be running a marathon this November...yes...a full marathon! My good friends Bryan and Travis, both marathon veterens, will be running it with me. They say they are going to run it at my pace and I will enjoy the company and encouragement. The training goal is to run it in 4 hours, which is quite aggressive for me. That means a little over 9 minute miles. I can do 9 minute miles, but I'm not sure I can do 9 minute miles for 4 hours! All in all though, I'm not too concerned about the time...I just want to run hard and finish strong and keep walking to a minimum. If I finish within 4:30 I will consider it a successful race.

I am in the 4th week of training and so far I have found it to be quite fun. My long running days are on Sundays and I run early in the morning. It's so peaceful out at this time and I really enjoy seeing my community up close. We miss so many details as we speed by in our cars. It's nice to just look around to see the each little thing that makes up our town.

The training schedule is comprised of three running days each week. One day is an easy day, one day is speed work and the third day is distance work. This week is actually an easy week though, with all three days consisting of 5 mile runs. This past Sunday I ran 10 miles! It was awesome, but coming back to my house through my neighborhood requires and uphill run about the last 9/10 of a mile.

After the 10 miler I thought to myself "ok, so for the marathon it's like running that all over again, then running a 10k (6.2 miles)". A 10k used to be close to my limit, so this is definitely outside of my comfort zone, which I like.

If I do something that I know I can do, I have done nothing. If I do something and have my own personal doubts about my ability to do it, then I feel that I have really done something.

40lbs!

2009-04-24T08:22:00.002-04:00

This morning I weighed in and was a little surprised to see 40lbs on the scale. I actually didn't make it to the gym on Wednesday because of craziness going on at work, so with missing a workout this week I didn't expect good results.

It's been a long road, but I gotta say that losing 40lbs is pretty cool!

When I first walked into the gym this morning I picked up a 40-pound curl bar. I wanted to see how it felt. I cannot believe that I carried around that much extra weight on my body. No wonder I was miserable.

Yes, getting up at 4:30 every morning...well....it just sucks. But once I roll out of bed, put on my gym clothes, look in the mirror and see the way I am now vs. the way I used to be, there's no going back to bed for me.

I love going to the gym.

I love hitting the weights and doing unassisted dips until I can't do them anymore. I love the treadmill and the stairstepper and I love the spinning classes.

Life is good.

Thursday Update

2009-04-02T07:21:00.002-04:00

It's been 10 days now and still no caffeine. Honestly I don't even crave it right now and I'm party motivated by the fact that I'm seeing more positive results when I step on the scale. Plus, I know that all of those weird chemicals in Diet Coke can't be good for you. They may not be bad for you, but they're certainly not good for you.

Also if you notice on the right side I hit 208 pounds this morning. Just gotta keep on keeping on.

Crazy Morning

2009-03-27T08:19:00.003-04:00

This morning I woke up at 4:00am and was wide awake so I decided to get dressed and hit the gym early. Life Time is open 24/7 so you never have to worry about when it's closed (except I'm sure on holidays).

I hit the gym, burned out my arms and chest and then did the 5:30 cycle class. The instructor for this class happens to be an instructor at LA Fitness also. He was one of my favorites at LA so I'm very glad that he's at Life Time too.

Afterward of course I hit the shower and then as I unfolded my pants I realized that I had picked up my size 38s. Dadgummit.

January 08 I was size 40. I had dropped down to a size 38 fairly quickly and then a size 36 sometime last year.

So anyway, this morning I put the size 38s on and felt like I was wearing MC Hammer pants. That just wouldn't do. So I went to dependable Wally-World for some more pants. I felt like it was a good time to try on some 34s to see how they fit. YEP! They fit! Awesome. Bought a new belt too since my old one was worn out and was too big (I was on the last hole). In retrospect, I'm glad I grabbed the wrong pants because it gave me the opportunity to try on the 34s.

Honestly I cannot remember the last time I wore a size 34 pant. I may have worn them in college but I believe it was in high school.

Wow

2009-03-25T07:40:00.003-04:00

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to see 210 pounds on the scale. That was my goal for the end of the week. If you look at my weight log over on the right you'll see that I'm dropping weight pretty rapidly now (about a pound a day). So how am I doing it?

Well, I'm working out and eating right.

I have not has a Diet Coke since Sunday, which for me may be a record. Yesterday I was very lethargic and had a massive headache. I think it was the caffeine withdrawal. I am also eating fresh fruits for breakfast and a Lean Cuisine meal for lunch and a reasonable dinner.

Hard to believe that in 4 more pounds I will hit the 40 pound milestone. After that I will shoot for another 10 pound loss down to 196, which will leave me at 50 pounds total. I know I can do it now, it's just a matter of time.

People ask me when I will stop losing and try to maintain my weight. Well, I will stop no sooner than 196 pounds total. I will stop when my love handles are gone. That's my metric for success.

213 Pounds

2009-03-22T08:28:00.003-04:00

I weighed in this morning and I am now at 213 pounds, yet another all time low.

Jaime and I also went and joined Life Time Fitness yesterday. It's a really nice place and I think it will work well for Jaime with Tyler and the child care facility they have. Now I just need to go through the absolutely ridiculous, ludicrous process of cancelling my LA Fitness membership. This involved logging into my account on their website and printing a form. The form has a barcode on it. I have to SNAIL MAIL the form the LA Fitness headquarters. I'll tell you what, some companies will do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to get a couple more days of billing out of you.

I'm excited to turn over this new leaf of a new gym at Life Time.

Next week I am also going to start eating fresh fruits and/or a smoothie for breakfast. Smoothies are generally pretty full of calories but they certainly have all of the good stuff as well, which is what really matters.

Sausage Biscuits

2009-03-19T08:50:00.003-04:00

This morning I had a really good workout at the gym. I ran a full 10k on the treadmill (6.2 miles). My time was 57:03, but I did walk the first .2 miles to warm up.

I had entered my weight into the treadmill before I started running. I always do this to allow the treadmill to calculate my calorie burn. After running, the treadmill estimated that I had burned 1090 calories.

On the way to work I decided to stop by Chik-fil-a to get some breakfast. I was really hungry so I got a sausage biscuit. One of the things I like about Chik-fil-a is they have a meal calculator on their website that will tell you all of the nutritional information regarding your meal. Suffice it to say, I was not pleasantly surprised when I saw that one sausage biscuit contained 590 calories and 41 grams of fat. Holy cow (I guess holy pig would be more appropriate). It actuall has more calories and fat than the bacon egg and cheese biscuit. Man, I grew up eating sausage biscuits every morning for breakfast. No wonder I was overweight.

I also had an OJ and a 4 count chicken mini, meaning that my total caloric intake for that meal was 1080 calories. Again, holy cow!

So basically I'm back to square one for the day. All of those calories burned, all for nothing.

I have now printed the nutrition info for all the restaurants that I frequent so I can make informed choices about my diet. I'll keep the info in my vehicle from now on.

Also, I think that I will start brining some fruit in the mornings for breakfast. It's gotta be a lot better than what I had today.

Berry 10k

2009-03-07T20:51:00.002-05:00

Jaime and I flew over to Rome yesterday after work and spent the night with my folks so we could get up early to go and run the Berry 10k. Berry College is one of the most beautiful college campuses you will ever see. Growing up just a few miles from there you never really give it any thought, but the place really is beautiful.

Anyway, the course was very nice and much flatter than some of the other courses Jaime and I have done. My time was 57:17, which is a little over a 9 minute improvement over my first 10k. I was really aiming for 55:00 but I'll take what I got, especially since I ran it feeling pretty sick.

Jaime's time was 1:01:34 which was also a big improvement for her. We really enjoyed this race and we are planning on making it a tradition.

If we find any photos of ourselves running this race we'll post them here.

New All-Time Low

2009-02-25T19:46:00.002-05:00

I finally got back down to my all-time low. I hit 216 once last week.

Today I weighed in at the gym and I was a little suspicious of the scale (looked too good to be true), so I weighed in again when I got home. Our bathroom scale is very consistent and it agreed with the gym scale. You can get on and off our digital bathroom scale multiple times and it will show the same weight. I've been using my home scale for my 'official' weigh-ins.

Anyway, my weight was 214 in the middle of the day. Too cool. I'm going to hop on the scale again tomorrow morning and see if I'm at 213 in the morning. Could be.

Anyway, I'm taking this one step at a time. My next immediate goal is the consistently be at or below 210. Then I'll shoot for 200.

Today's workout consisted of running like a mad man on the treadmill. I ran for one full hour and no walking. I started out with the treadmill at a speed of 6.0 and by the time I finished I was at 6.4. It seems like when I go to 6.5 or greater it's just a little faster than my desired pace. It looks like 6.5 miles per hour average yields a 10K finish time of 57 minutes, so I will probably still not qualify for the Peachtree Roadrace. Maybe I can make it my goal next year.

Love handles, where do I begin. I hate these things and it is appearing more and more that the fat in my love handles will be the last to burn.

I've asked several people who's opinions I really trust and they all tell me that the only way to get rid of love handles is by burning fat. Get rid of the fat, get ride of love handles. So that's been my goal. I've been doing lots of cardio and trying to build lean muscle mass. Muscle burns calories 24/7, so it can't hurt. In fact, doing daily weigh-ins I've pretty much discovered that I will see GREATER weight loss a day after doing free weights than I will after a day of spinning or running.

Sorry for the rambling post, but I've gotta say how proud I am of myself with sticking with it. It's really a great thing to do in one's life, and I know that I'm improving my chances of staying around a long time for Tyler.

I know that when Tyler gets older I'll actually be able to go out and throw a ball with him, or run some bases with him and not feel like I'm going to fall apart. Jaime and I want to set a good example for him, and show him that decent diet and regular fitness is a good thing to do in one's life.

I love the gym. I love the sweat. I love squeezing out one more mile or one more rep on the weights, and I love being surprised every time I step on the scale.

Now, if I can just cut out the Diet Coke! I know it's not good for me, but I'm an admitted caffeine addict.

One Year Update

2009-02-03T10:45:00.003-05:00

Wow...my updates are few and far between. I'm still going to the gym. I've changed up my gym routine a little. Sometimes I'm going during my lunch break at work instead of the mornings. It's nice to change things up a bit.

My weight is pretty much stagnant. Unfortunately Jaime and I were not able to run very much during the winter. It's hard to run in the cold with a little one. We are now getting back into it though and we are going to run a 10K at Berry College in Rome next month. That should be fun. Hopefully weather will cooperate.

As soon as my weight drops below 216 again I will update my weight chart. It's getting really difficult to drop more weight. I know that there's plenty there to drop. Heck, I must have 15 pounds in my love handles alone. I hate those things!

I have changed up my workout routine by running on the treadmill more and doing more free weights. I like the free weights because they are definitely more challenging than the machines. My treadmill routine now is running for 50-60 minutes straight at 6.5mph. I hope to increase that to 7.0mph. That should get my 10K time around the 53 minute mark, which is fine by me.

As of January 20th I have been going to the gym for a year. I'm glad I stuck it out for a year. So many people quit going after a short while.

My goal for this year? 196. If I can hit that goal it will mean I have lost 50 pounds. For me that would be extraordinary. I think that I should be able to make it if I concentrate on my diet.

Sorry for the rambling post -- not a lot of time and lots to say!

2008-08-04T10:11:00.002-04:00

Wow, it's been a while since I updated!

Yes, I'm still going to the gym, etc. I'm definately stuck now at 216. I can't seem to lose any more. Jaime and I have been traveling a lot which doesn't help, but at least I haven't gained any. I am trying not to pay too much attention to weight, since weight is a poor indicator of success for any fitness program -- inches lost is way more important. I have lost two solid pant sizes since I started going to the gym in January. I was wearing a size 40 and now I'm down to a 36 and almost a 34. Whoever thought of making pant sizes every two inches is messed up in the head.

2008-06-13T09:25:00.004-04:00

I was playing around today with excel and decided to plot my weight-loss progress. Yes, I have definately slowed in my progress but that is to be expected. As long as that graph has a downward trend I will be happy. The goal for the next 16lbs is to keep approximately the same slope on the line.

Weigh-in

2008-06-11T07:42:00.002-04:00

Our scale in our bathroom quit working. It's digital but apparently there's no serviceable battery in it so it's toast. That's part of the reason I haven't weighed in a while. The other reason is I just couldn't seem to get below 219. Even though my last update talks about my hitting a brick wall at 219, I decided to weigh-in this morning. I weighed in at a solid 216, so officially I'm down 30lbs now.

After showering and getting dressed I walked out of the locker room and went over to the free weights. I picked up 25lb and 5lb weights and held them just to see how much weight that really was. I really don't feel that much lighter, but I do feel that much faster. Also, as an added benefit, Jaime's sleeping has gotten better. She says I no longer snore at night. She also says I used to always breathe hard, even when sitting still but now I don't.

I would like to say this. If you want to lose weight, you don't need a pill. You don't need a Hawaii Chair. You don't need any of that garbage. You just need to eat sensibly and get active.

I took a health and wellness class as an elective in college and the instructor said something that has stuck with me. She said "find your play". What she meant by that was to find something fun to do that is physical. This is why I really like racquetball. Sure, I can probably get better cardio on an elliptical machine, but I couldn't do the elliptical 5 days a week without getting seriously bored. This is also why I enjoy running the road races. They are fun and we run them with friends so it's always a good time.

I've found that for me the big thing is I feel like I have made a lifestyle change. Now every day I look forward to going home and running or riding my bike down the Suwanee Greenway. I really enjoy getting outside and seeing our community.

My first 10k

2008-06-08T08:39:00.009-04:00

Yesterday Jaime and I ran a 10k (6.2 miles) race here in Suwanee. It was a good time all around. The race started in the Suwanee Town Center Park and went down the Suwanee Greenway and back. In the picture of me I am making my way up the last very long hill to the park. The picture of Jaime is earlier in the race at Martins Farm Rd.

Like I mentioned, it was my first 10k so I wasn't really aiming for a great time or anything -- I simply wanted to finish without stopping. My time ended up being 1:06:22.

Jaime finished about one and a half minutes behind me and she won 3rd place in her age group and got a trophy! That was her first time getting an award at a road race. I'm telling you, Jaime can kick some serious butt running.

I think I really like the 10K more than the 5Ks. I think from now on if there is a combo 5k/10k race (like this one) I'll opt for the 10k. It's much more of a challenge for me.

As for my weight...well...I have pretty much plateaued. I can't seem to lose any more, but I don't really care at this point. I still feel like my waist is shrinking so I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. If I can hunker down on the diet again, I feel like I could probably get another 10lbs off of me. I'm not eating really poorly, but my diet is certainly not as good as it could be.

Weigh-in & Weekly Update

2008-05-21T07:53:00.002-04:00

Today I weighed in. Unfortunately I'm still holding at 219. It's really time for something to change. I'm sure it's my diet -- it's certainly not my exercise. I haven't been a stickler for the diet lately. I haven't been doing terribly, but I haven't been doing that well either. With crazy work schedules and everything else it gets difficult.

Mike and I met a girl at the gym this morning that has lost more than 200lbs. Talk about inspirational!

In terms of health, I've been doing OK. I'm definately getting older. Yeah, I'm not old yet, but I can certainly feel more pain than I used to back in the college days. My feet are the latest ache I've been having. They just hurt, deep down inside, even when I'm not working out. I'm going to try new shoes first and see if that helps out.

Back from the Run

2008-05-13T19:30:00.003-04:00

Jaime and I made it back from the run. Tyler got upset the last half mile, but other than that he was fine! I think I'm going to do fine on the upcoming 10k race Jaime and I are doing. We'll have a babysitter for that one though.

Post from the Suwanee Greenway

2008-05-13T17:26:00.001-04:00

I'm making this post from the Suwanee Creek Greenway while waiting for Jaime to get back from the house. Tyler is getting a little impatient and I don't know if he'll make it 6 miles.

5K and Weigh-in

2008-05-06T10:07:00.004-04:00

Saturday Jaime, Tyler and I ran the Big Peach Running Co.'s 5K. It was interesting and fun. It's the first 5K I've ran in a while and I think I'll do more.

All runners with strollers were told to get in the back of the starting pack, so us being the rule-followers we are we obliged and got into the back. The starting gun fired and the people in front of us just stood there or walked ever so slowly. We ended up weaving through people, running over a few people, etc. but we finished strong. I pushed Tyler most of the way and let Jaime push him about the last 3/4 mile or so.

My official time was 32:52, but again with the slow start that's not really indicative of anything. As we rounded the first mile marker they were calling out 13 minutes plus or minus, which means I ran the last 2.1 miles at a 9.4 mile pace, pushing a stroller. Not bad I guess. I need to improve my times but running a 5K slowly is always better than sitting on the couch eating potato chips!

The photographers at the race didn't get a good picture of me but they did get the guy in front of me. I'm not sure how long this link will be up, but you can click here for a photo. I'm wearing the bib #1980.

This morning I also weighed in (I know, I know...on a Tuesday). I'm still holding strong at 219lbs. I am seeing more definition in my abs, etc so something is working. I just need to keep at it and maybe one day those love handles will start coming off. I know there's still plenty there that I can lose.

Monday Weigh-in

2008-04-21T10:33:00.004-04:00

4/20/2008 - Family Photo

I don't post weigh-ins on Mondays, but today is different.

I have been told by many people to only weigh-in one day a week because otherwise I'll get discouraged. Well, I think for me weighing in every day is a good thing. It helps keep me motivated and helps to keep my focus toward my eventual goal of losing 46 pounds.

Today I finally broke through the 220lb barrier. I weighed in at 219. That's a huge goal for me, mostly because it's been forever since I weighed 220. My senior year of high school I was 210 so I'm getting back there. I can definately see more definition in my chest and abs and my stomach area is definately getting smaller. My biggest problem is my "love handles". Those things are definately the last thing to shrink. My waist has shrunk considerably, but my love handles have stayed exactly where they were. If you have any ideas for getting rid of love handles (short of liposuction), please let me know! All I can think of is doing more cardio, more fat burning, etc.

I'm still working out, playing racquetball, etc. I've been doing the spinning class pretty much every morning after playing racquetball. Some of the instructors are better than others. This morning the class was quite small but the instructor is cool because she plays country music, whereas most of the other instructors play rock or hip-hop.

I also ran the other day for 3-4 miles non-stop while pushing Tyler in his running stroller. Jaime and I are doing a 5k in a couple of weeks and I hope to do a 10k in a month or so. I really need to invest in some decent running shoes though. My knees took a beating on the last run.

Weigh-in

2008-04-02T08:17:00.002-04:00

Man, have I ever been busy. We went up to Virginia for Easter then I left Sunday to go to San Juan, Puerto Rico for business. I'm back in town now, but it seems like I can't catch a break. I'm still working out regularly (every day) and I'm really enjoying it. My weight has plateaued a bit but I'm still losing -- slowly but surely. I was a bit surprised that I actually lost any weight this week with all of the plantains and bacalao that was around in Puerto Rico.

I'm down to 223 pounds. I'm committing today to get back on my serious calorie counting. I've got 23 pounds to my goal weight.

The Story of Debbie Shank

2008-03-27T10:25:00.002-04:00

This is a terribly unbelievable story. Simply unbelievable. Sam Walton must be spinning in his grave. There are really no meaningful comments I can post here. Just watch the video.

Weigh-in

2008-03-12T08:15:00.002-04:00

I'm still keeping with the same routine I've been doing. I did the spinning class last Saturday (I'm really starting to kick butt in that class) and I've been keeping up with racquetball and lifting weights and counting calories. I try to eat 1600-1700 calories per day.

My knee has been feeling much, much better after the last few days of racquetball. I'm not sure if it was the cortisone shot that helped, or me just getting into a routine, but undoubtedly my knee is better!

This week I lost 4 pounds. That puts me at 21 pounds lost total! I'm almost half-way to my goal weight. I know that the second half will be tougher but I still think 200lbs is an achievable goal.

Weigh-in

2008-03-05T10:37:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately this week was not a very good one for me. I was quite busy and missed a couple of workouts. Also, it's that time of year the Girl Scouts are out peddling their wares, so that didn't help me any. :-)

Anyway, I was down a pound, so that's some sort of progress. It would be nice to lose three this week so I can be down to 20lbs lost, but we'll see how close I can get.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

2008-02-28T07:48:00.002-05:00

A coworker of mine showed me this video and I had to include it here. Oh my goodness. People apparently (a) have no idea how to work out or (b) are so lazy they'll do anything besides work out.

This company is still in business which means idiots somewhere are buying this crap.

Visit to Orthopedic Specialist & Weigh-in

2008-02-26T13:51:00.003-05:00

Yesterday morning I went to see the Orthopedic specialist in Lawrenceville per the recommendation of my primary care physician. They took a ton of x-rays. The doctor said all of my bones look perfect and he could see nothing wrong there.

He surmised the problem must be soft cartilage behind my knee cap. He says it's very common with adults who were very active and hard on their joints when they were younger. He gave me a cortisone shot behind my knee cap and said no racquetball yesterday or today. I have to go back in 4 weeks for a check-up to make sure my knee is doing better. If so, I'm looking at a lifetime of periodic cortisone shots to keep my knee functioning, but I honestly prefer that to surgery.

Of course today being Wednesday means weigh-in day. I'm down to 230 pounds. At one point this weekend I weighed and was down to 229. Unfortunately I got stranded in Tuscaloosa, AL all day Saturday and we went to a steak place. I had a steak but I don't think it was very lean. It was also smothered in cheese. Again, not very good.

So anyway, as long as I'm losing weight I feel like I'm doing fine.

The Ol' Plateau

2008-02-20T08:16:00.003-05:00

It finally appears as though I may have plateaued with the easy weight loss. This week I was only down 3 pounds. I am slightly disappointed since I was hoping to lose 5 pounds this week, but oh well. I did screw up a little on my food intake this weekend. My parents came into town and brought ribeye steaks which we ate. They were very good, but from my meager understanding ribeyes tend to be the fattiest steaks you can eat. Then Sunday we went to Jaime's parents' house and had lunch. They had this delicious french (white) bread which really isn't that good for you. I made sure there were no crusty pieces remaining. Again, that probably wasn't the greatest thing. Honestly, that is about the biggest thing I screwed up with my eating in the past week (I like to stay away from the word "diet").

Mike is out of town on business so this morning I went to the gym and did the 5:45 spinning class (which lasts 1 hour). It wasn't as hard as Bryan's class. I think Bryan tends to push people a little harder and doesn't let you relax. I'm definately going to continue doing the spinning class when Mike is gone and on Saturday's with Bryan.

I also have an appointment next Tuesday about my knee. We'll see how that goes.

One day late

2008-02-14T10:15:00.002-05:00

I didn't work out this morning because I had a doctor's appointment about my knee. My knee has been hurting me throughout the day. Honestly, it doesn't hurt at all when I'm working out or playing racquetball, but it does throb a bit when I'm sitting in my Dilbert cube. Anyway, he's recommended I see an orthopedic specialist (big surprise) so we'll see how that goes.

I also asked the doctor about how many calories I should be eating. He says that with daily exercise I should be at about 1700-1800/day and if I want to get really aggressive I should be looking at 1600/day.

Anyway, I did weigh-in this morning and I was down to 236, so I am down 10 pounds total now. 10 down, 36 to go!

Week 2 Weigh-In

2008-02-13T08:48:00.004-05:00

It's Wednesday morning, which means weigh-in day for me. I was a little dissapointed because I didn't make the arbitrary weight I wanted to, but still I'm losing weight. I can notice the weight loss in my face and my wife says she can too. I haven't been measuring my waiste, but I am down one pant size and I've had to tighten my belt to the 'skinniest' notch.

My weight today was 237, which means I've lost a total of 9 pounds. I wanted to hit 236 so that I could say I was down by 10, but that just didn't happen.

I have been eating pretty good. The only time I screwed up on my eating was Monday when I flew my airplane over to Tuscalooosa, AL to have it painted. I went in to the FBO building there and tried to buy a diet coke (there was no water in the machine). The machine spit out a regular Pepsi. I should have given it to someone or asked the FBO attendents for a dollar refund, but I just drank it.

I'm trying to get my caloric intake right. I've heard conflicting reports on how many calories I should be eating. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow about my knee and I'll ask him then. I'm not on a diet, I'm just following conventional wisdom of counting calories.

Weigh-in

2008-02-06T07:08:00.000-05:00

Today is Wednesday which I have designated as my weigh-in day. I am down to 241 pounds. I probably could have done a pound better if it weren't for the buffalo dip & chips I had at our Super Bowl party this past weekend! Anyway, onward and downward...

I also checked my home bathroom scales against the scales at the gym and they are to within 1/4 of a pound, so that's good enough for me.

Tuesday Morning

2008-02-05T08:59:00.000-05:00

Mike and I were planning on working out Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, but this morning we decided to try it out. We played racquetball and then Mike went to swim laps and I worked out my legs, then rode a bike pretty hard for 20 minutes.

I think I like going 5 days a week for consistency's sake.

Tomorrow is the big weigh in. I think I'm going to have to stop weighing every day. It's not good for my motivation. I'm a big guy so my weight can fluctuate quite a bit from day to day so I'm going to try to just weigh myself once a week. Hopefully I'm down a bit. We'll have to see tomorrow.

Happy Monday

2008-02-04T07:18:00.001-05:00

This weekend was fun. Saturday morning I did the spinning class with Bryan. It was interesting to say the least. All I have to say is Bryan's a funny guy and he's in fantastic shape. Somehow I managed to do the full hour of the class, but I had to sit a lot. The standing thing was not too easy. I believe the ability to complete that spinning class properly is the true measure of whether or not someone is in shape.

I plan on continuing in the spinning class. Hopefully it won't take too long to get to the point where I can complete the class properly.

This morning it was back to the gym for more racquetball and working out. I have shed some weight in the past week, but I'm only going to post my weight weekly. I'm measuring my weeks starting on Wednesday morning, since that's the first morning I went to the gym.

I think I really chose a good gym. At least in the mornings, there aren't a lot of meat heads there. I guess I had this idea that most gyms were full of a bunch of steroid-pumped guys trying to best each other, but that's not what I've seen at all. My biggest fear was being intimidated when I went in there, but that hasn't been a problem at all. Even though I was the one in the spinning class struggling the most, there was no shame whatsoever.

It's just average folks trying to get in shape. Everyone there is fairly courteous to one another and the shower facilities are nice and clean. Again, I think I made a good choice.

Racquetball

2008-02-01T07:54:00.000-05:00

This morning I played racquetball for the first time in my life. It was interesting. If you've never played, it's sort of like tennis but you can hit the ball off the walls and ceiling. It's definately a good cardio workout. I think as I get back into shape and practice more I'll be able to beat Mike. He pretty much mopped the floor with me today. I'll get him though.

After racquetball we did arms and chest type stuff.

Personal Trainer Decision

2008-02-01T07:51:00.001-05:00

Yesterday during my lunch break from work I went and had my free one hour consultation with a personal trainer. He worked me over pretty good. I can definately feel it today, especially in my abdomen and lower back.

I don't think I will pay for the services of a personal trainer though. I have Mike working out with me and really all I need is someone to make sure that I get my reps in and that I get cardio. I know how to use the equipment, I just need someone to hold me accountable.

The personal trainers are about 40 dollars per one hour session, and there's a $149.00 "initiation fee" to start using one. If they ever have a special where they waive the fee, I would consider it.

First Workout

2008-01-30T06:59:00.000-05:00

This morning I did my first workout at LA Fitness by my office. It was fun. I did mostly the weight machines (want to build to up to free weights) and some time on the bike. My good friend and pilot buddy Mike "Kahuna" Stewart joined me this morning. He's going to join the gym and we're going to workout together. He's promised to show me how to play racquetball, which I've never played before. Personally, I much prefer doing something athletic as opposed to sitting on a bike. In the end, I'll do whatever it takes though.

Also my friend Bryan (taught me to fly, now he flies corporate jets) teaches a spinning class on Saturdays at the LA Fitness near my house. I plan on going there and letting him kick my butt around for a little while.

What does "Project Vy" Mean?

2008-01-29T15:20:00.000-05:00

Many people are probably wondering why I called this site "Project Vy". I'm a pilot. There are various speeds (called v-speeds) that we reference. For example, Vg is the maximum speed to lower landing geer, Vne is the never exceed speed, etc. Vy is the best rate of climb speed. The more fit I am, the more weight I'll lose. The more weight I lose, the better my rate of climb in my airplane. Nerdy? Probably.

So it begins...

2008-01-29T13:12:00.001-05:00

So I have decided to embark upon a new project in my life. As all of my friends know, I have spent the last 4 years building an airplane in my garage. Now that the airplane is flying and about to head to the paint shop (after which I will finally declare it done) I decided it was time to embark upon a new project.

My wife has been very good about exercising and keeping fit. I have not. I work at an office that has a limitless supply of free junk food and soft drinks. In that same office I sit at a computer and write software all day long. I've had enough of it.

Therefore, I've decided to get in shape. When I graduated college, I was right about 165-170 pounds. Now I'm considerably more (245). I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to approach the problem just like I approached building my airplane. I'm going to take it one step at a time; a methodical approach that will eventually lead to success and accomplishment. It's not going to be easy with all the junk food available at my office, but it's going to get done.

Today during my lunch break I went out and joined the local LA fitness by my office. This also allows me to visit all the other LA fitness locations in Georgia. There's also an LA fitness near my house, which makes it very convenient to get to both locations. My friend Bryan also teaches a spinning class at the location by my house so he can help kick my butt into gear.

Why am I posting this here on a blog? Well, basically so that my friends can help keep me accountable.

Stay tuned.