Full Throttle - Year 2

Well, here I go again, 2 months after my last blog post. I am happy to report that my eating has been under control lately, and the pounds are falling off fast again. I have now lost a total of 79 pounds, and I am getting closer and closer to my goal. Here are a few things I have learned over the last 13 months:
1) What you eat is absolutely the singlemost important part of weight loss.
2) Being mentally strong and physically strong go hand in hand.
3) It feels amazing to look in the mirror and see muscles where there used to only be fat.
4) Accountability is essential to a healthy lifestyle.
5) Surrounding yourself with friends who support you is essential to weight loss.
6) It is so much easier to get into the wrong mindset than it is to stay in the right mindset.
7) Great, life changing, things don't come easily.
8) This is a lifestyle... not a diet or a temporary fix.

Full Throttle

Well, it has now been almost 3 months since my last blog post. Funny how easy it is to stop posting a blog. The last 3 months I have continued working out 3 times per week at Full Throttle Fitness Systems. However, for a couple months I made poor eating choices and gained back some of the weight I had lost. I have now been eating well again for 14 days, and the weight is coming off again, and I am feeling great. I am training again for the Tactical Strength Challenge, which will be held in April. My goal is to deadlift over 400 pounds by then. I have been going in to Full throttle at 5:30 (30 minutes before the boot camp begins) each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning to work on my strength training. I enjoy seeing the results, and I know I will have a good showing at the Tactical Strength Challenge. I will continue updating this blog on a more regular basis and comment on my continued weight loss.

Full Throttle - Day 234

It was great to get back to working out this morning. I had not worked out at Full Throttle in a week, so it felt great to get out there and workout... of course the workout was tough. This morning's workout consisted of a deadlifting, building up to a 300 pound deadlift, a 10 minute warmup and then 30 seconds on/ 30 seconds off of 5 different exercise, 4 rounds of each. The 5 exercises were right handed squats with a kettlebell and raising your arm at the top of the squat (I cannot remember what this is called), kettlebell swings, left handed repeat of the first exercise, kettlebell high pulls, and bicycles. After all of this, my legs were exhausted, but I felt great!

Full Throttle - Day 233

I am feeling much better today, and I am ready to get back to normal. I am ready for my workout tomorrow morning.

Full Throttle - Days 230 - 232

These last few days started off really well, but then they were pretty rough. Saturday morning I woke up and was excited to go for a run. I ran two miles, and walked one mile, and I was feeling great. However, within the next few hours I was not feeling so well, and then started feeling even worse. I had a fever and spent the next couple days in bed, including missing work and missing a workout on Monday morning at Full Throttle Athletics. I hated missing the workout, but I did not have much choice... my body was not cooperative. I am starting to feel better, so I am sure I will be able to workout by Wednesday.

Full Throttle - Day 228 and 229

So, I made it through Thanksgiving without eating any of the delicious looking, great smelling desserts, breads, or other unhealthy foods. I "grazed" on broccoli and celery while everyone else was eating junk, and for the main meal I had turkey, ham, some green beans, and I did have a little corn casserole. I feel great in knowing that I did not compromise on the one day a year that I have always overindulged in snacks, breads, desserts, cokes, and anything else in front of me. I feel like making it through the Thanksgiving meal was a huge step for me, and I feel good knowing I did not compromise on my eating.

Full Throttle - Day 227

This morning's workout was another great one. BJ and Kori were out of town due to Thanksgiving, so Jennifer did the class. We did 10 minutes of warmup followed by a 15 minutes workout of 20 squats, 10 pushups, run to the road, as many rounds as possible in the 15 minutes. Then, once that was done, we had a 2 minute break followed by 4 rounds of bicycles and planks (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off), totaling 4 minutes. I felt great after completing the workout.
Today at work we had a holiday meal with the choice of chicken fried steak (one of my all time favorite foods) or meatloaf, and tons of sides. I was proud of myself for not eating the chicken fried steak and eating only a small amount of corn and lots of green beans. Lots of people at work compliment me on my weight loss, and I knew they were watching what I was eating. It was nice to be a good example and not eat all the delicious sides, breads, and desserts. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, and I know I will be faced with lots of delicious food that I do not need to eat. I am confident in that I will be able to avoid eating them. I plan to eat mostly turkey and green vegetables, and as much as I like desserts, I will avoid them.