EternalJourno is fashionably late to the party

[FatboySuave]

Introduction: I realize that I'm very late to the party, but I figured it's better to join now than later. This is my first challenge! I'm ready to join the rebellion! I am 5 feet 7 inches tall and weigh 240 pounds. I like to play basketball and tennis but haven't done either in quite a long while. I enjoy hiking and jogging (at least I used to and would like to relearn to enjoy them). I am an editor for a local, daily newspaper, so I spend quite a bit of time sitting in front of a computer. Even when I'm home, I'm prone to surfing the Internet and watching Netflix on the couch. I spend a lot of time feeling sorry for myself, but I know that I need to stop that and me some positive changes in my life.

 

Main Quest: I want to lose 40 pounds/weigh 200 by the end of 2016. 

 

Quest 1: Complete at least 1 circuit of the Beginner Bodyweight Workout 3 times a week. I've done the workout a few times in the past. I recently completed 2 circuits but haven't been able to complete 3. I want to complete as much as I possibly can and gradually increase my stamina to do more. I also have trouble keeping up with workouts over time. So if I can do a smaller amount of exercise over a longer period of time, I would consider it a success. I'm more concerned with making this a regular habit. 

 

A = Complete workout at least 6 times in the next two weeks.

B = Complete workout 5 times in next two weeks.

C = Complete workout 4 times in next two weeks. 

 

Quest 2: Stop drinking Rockstar energy drinks. I'm addicted and tend to drink at least 1 a day. And sometimes 1 means the huge triple serving can. 

 

A = 0 Rockstars a week. 

B = 1 Rockstar a week.

C = 2 Rockstars a week.

 

Quest 3: Cook more often, eat out less. Sometimes I'm too lazy to cook, so I often eat a fast food lunch at my desk at work. 

 

A = 0 times eating out in a week. 

B = 2 time eating out in a week (low-carb meals only).

C = 4 times eating out in a week (low-carb meals only). 

 

Life Quest: Go to bed at a reasonable time and be able to wake up at 4:30 a.m. I usually get to work by 6 no problem, but I want to learn to make more time for myself in the morning to cook breakfast. I also need to learn how to eat dinner at a reasonable time and power down for bed (no Netflix). 

 

Motivation: Like Lester Burnham in American Beauty, I want to look good naked. Kidding! Mostly. Really though, I want to meet the love of my life and start a family someday. I've convinced myself that my unhealthy lifestyle is getting in the way of those goals. I believe that if I can lose weight and build my confidence, I can better connect with people without doubting myself so much. 

 

 

[Jormungand]

Welcome to the Rebellion. Better to start late than never. Your post resonated with me for a number of reasons.

 

I used to work for a small town, local newspaper myself. I was there for six years. I started out as an ad rep, but I spent the last two and a half years as the general manager, so I can relate with the daily grind. Towards the end, it got to where I could get a paper out (if I had to) from start to finish by myself, though luckily I was usually surrounded by a dedicated core group of people. There were more times than I'd care to count where I would get the call at 2:00 a.m. and have to go help our delivery driver for whatever reason. Newspapers play a vital role in our society, and I commend you for carrying the torch.

 

Also, I used to drink energy drinks on an almost daily basis. My brand of choice was Monster, and a couple years ago, I was drinking at least two a day. Those things aren't cheap, either. That alone would have been enough for me to finally reconsider drinking them. Ultimately, I just got sick of reading the nutrition label every time and realizing that I was just dosing myself with chemicals. The caffeine withdrawal affected me for a couple of days, but I made the switch to coffee, which helped somewhat.

 

Change is possible if you stick with it. I've lost a little over 30 pounds since this past January. It's been my goal for years to get back down below 200 pounds, and right now, I am just a few pounds shy of hitting that goal. Good luck, and I am very interested to see how your journey unfolds.

[FatboySuave]

Jormungand, thank you very much for the kind words and the support! And congratulations on your own success! 

[SaltyDragon]

Well, welcome to the party – it ain't over yet!

 

Your goals seem reasonable and very useful. I think you will find they are achievable, though eating out a time or two a week can be OK, as long as you stay smart about it.

 

It's great, though, that you've decided to kick the energy drinks. Those things have no redeeming value that I know of, and I won't be shy about saying that. If it helps, here's my completely unscientific, anecdotal testimony...

 

Once upon a time, I also consumed a fair bit of the terrible tonics – usually Red Bull (and usually with copious alcoholic additives, but that's not what's important right now...). Then one morning...one awful morning...I was struck with agonizing pain unlike any I had ever known before...or since. Alone, I managed to get myself to the hospital where I was confirmed to have kidney stones. I was only 33. The cause of this cannot easily be determined, but I blamed the energy drinks and cut them out immediately. Nine years down the road, see, and they haven't come back. So that's my story and I'm stickin to it!

 

Obviously, this doesn't happen to everyone, but hey, if there's even a chance...ooooh trust me, you don't want to find out!

 

Best of luck to ya, and be sure to check in with your progress!

[FatboySuave]

Thanks for the support, SaltyDragon! I considered giving myself more wiggle room on the eating out. I guess we'll see how I do the next two weeks. Maybe I'll give myself more wiggle room if I need it. But yeah I'm definitely scared of the results of all this energy drink consumption. I'm ready to quit. Glad to hear your success with cutting them out! 

[FatboySuave]

Update (short version): I surprised myself and completed three full circuits of the Beginner Bodyweight Workout today and I've been doing pretty well on my food choices. 

 

 

Update (long version): On Tuesday, I did two circuits and thoroughly tired myself out. The next day, I was sore, but I decided to take a walk around my "block." Turns out my block is pretty big, so it ended up taking me 25 minutes. But I felt good (mentally). 

 

This morning, I did not feel so good (very sore). It was so bad I could barely get up out my chair at work. But it's OK. Like they say, "No pain, no something something." 

 

So the only way I could convince myself to workout today was by promising that I only had to do at least one circuit. That's one of the quests I set out for myself. Well, wouldn't you know it, after one circuit I thought, "That wasn't so hard," and did another one. Toward the end of the second one I thought, "Well, you went above and beyond your goal for the day. If you quit now, it would be OK. But you feel pretty good, and it wouldn't take long to get through one more." So through a lot of yelling and shaking and heavy breathing and collapsing on the ground, I managed to complete the third one. 

 

The hardest part for me right now is the squats and lunges. They beat my thighs like Eddie and Charlie Murphy beat Rick James. My legs feel like linguini. I took a few pauses during the lunge sets, but I still completed them. I was considering reducing reps, but after finishing today I think I can continue to push myself. 

 

As far as food goes, I'm doing pretty well. I haven't bought any food since Tuesday morning (technically before I started the challenge). I had two McMuffins. For lunch and dinner that day, I believe I had some stir fry leftovers (no rice), but I can't remember. Since then, I've cooked breakfast two days in a row (an omelet with tomatoes, mushrooms, turkey, spinach and a little bit of cheese).

 

For lunch yesterday, I had a big salad (spinach and spring mix with turkey, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow and orange bell peppers, and a little cheese). For dinner, tuna steak with brussel sprouts. Today, I had another big salad for lunch. For dinner tonight, I haven't made up my mind yet. I'll probably raid my fridge for either chicken or fish and some veggies.

 

But probably my biggest achievement so far is that I haven't had a Rockstar energy drink all week (since Monday). Instead, I've been drinking Crystal Light Energy Wild Strawberry. They have 5 calories, 0 carbs and 60 mg of caffeine (which I think is less than a cup of coffee?).

 

 

 

[Jormungand]

Awesome job this week. Not only did you kick ass on the circuits, but it is huge that you cut out the Rockstar. I haven't had them in a while, but I really enjoyed the V8 Fusion energy drinks. They might be worth looking into if you are trying to wean yourself off of them. It sounds like you're making progress with your diet, as well. Keep it up.

[FatboySuave]

Update: I had a few cheats this weekend, but I still feel good about the rest of my quests. 

 

Still no Rockstar (I think I may take your suggestion, Jormungand, and try those V8 energy drinks, although I remember trying regular V8s once and not liking them), been waking up slightly earlier every day, still cooking breakfast every morning, and managed to complete another three circuits today (after a two-day break). But I cheated food-wise. On Friday I did pretty well but I did have some fried chicken. I'm not sure whether fried chicken is technically paleo? But I know it's still not the best food choice. 

 

There was a balloon rally in town this weekend! 
 

 

 

So I ended up doing a lot of walking on Saturday in the morning and evening. I did great on breakfast and lunch, but by the afternoon I couldn't stop thinking about greasy food. A friend and I went to the mall for dinner. I could have gotten stir fry and opted out of the rice, but the employees at the place were kind of rude so I let my pride get to me and decided on another food place and got a burger and fries with a soda. I felt pretty terrible about it. I mean, it was delicious, lol, but it felt like a failure. 

 

Then today, Sunday, I did good for breakfast and lunch. There's a new Panda Express in town and everybody's going crazy about it:

 

 

I like the fact that they have calorie info on each item and they seem pretty flexible as far as options go. So I got a bowl with mixed veggies and the angus steak entree, which came with more veggies and mushrooms. This seems like a new viable eating-out option in town and it's right down the street from my office.

 

But then a friend invited me over for the Columbus-Portland game and of course they had snacks and beer. I had three beers and some chips with salsa and a few too many of these amazing croissant/ham/cheese type rolls/biscuits.

 

As I was driving home I thought about how much I didn't want to work out, but I sucked it up and got to work and completed three circuits in about 30 minutes. The lunges are still kicking my ass. I again thought about reducing reps, but I think I can overcome it if I just keep pushing myself.

[SaltyDragon]

Workouts after snacks and beer?? Outstanding commitment, right there – keep it up!

[FatboySuave]

Thank you, SaltyDragon! Yarr support be keepin' me goin'! 

Update: As I reach the end of Week 1, I feel my momentum wavering and the desire to quit shouting louder than everything else. Despite the thought of how easy it would be to just stop everything and go back to my old lifestyle, I somehow, someway found the will to keep going. 

 

I had a few more cheats. Yesterday I didn't have time to make breakfast so I tried to make do with an apple and banana. But then at work my coworkers reminded me of a promise I made to them that I'd make a burrito run one morning. So off we went, and down went the burrito into my belly: eggs, bacon, potatoes and cheese. I used to eat burritos every morning thanks to the kindly burrito guy who delivered daily. It had been at least a week since my last. 

 

BUT I ended up skipping lunch because the burrito was a sort of late breakfast. Then for dinner I decided to get crazy and made some zucchini spaghetti! 
 

 

It was a bitch cutting up all the zucchini (four small pieces). Then I grilled some chicken and sautéed some extra goodies: red bell peppers, spinach, grape tomatoes and mushrooms. Topped it off with a bit of spicy basil marinara sauce and it was actually pretty delicious! The zucchini taste is a bit strong, but not in a totally bad way. I could totally see myself cooking more zucchini pasta, but the prep was tough, so I'm considering getting some sort of julienne device. A friend on Facebook said the Veggetti works well for her, so I may give it a shot. 

 

Today I woke up early enough to make an omelet. Then as more a show of willpower than anything, I threw away a piece of candy sitting on my desk as well as the fortune cookie I got from Panda Express a few days ago. But then that food urge kicked in. I bought some snacks for my friends who are coming over tonight to play Settlers of Catan, including some Oreo Minis. When I got home, I didn't feel like having salad for lunch and I ate a handful of Oreos and OH MY GOD were they delicious. It was really hard not to eat the whole bag lol. Then I ended up buying Chinese food. I got the kung pao chicken because it has a ton of vegetables, but then I looked up the nutrition info and realized it may have a lot more carbs than I thought it had. 

 

So that got me thinking that I really needed to work out hard. But like John Mulaney says, it's just so darn easy to do nothing than to do anything:

And like Mulaney says, for someone to do anything is remarkable. And I almost did nothing. But then I bought a new battery for my scale and weighed myself and, if my scale isn't lying to me, I weigh 235, which means I lost 4-5 pounds in a week!!! That was genuinely surprising and gave me just enough oomph to get up and workout and complete three circuits! 

For dinner, I'm planning to finish the rest of my kung pao chicken. I know it's not technically paleo. But it's "paleo-ish" like our fearless leader mentioned in a recent email. It's going to be hard to avoid the snacks and beer I bought, but I'm going to practice some moderation and see if I can keep things under control. If I do indulge, I'll go for a long walk/jog tomorrow. I promise.

 

Wish me luck! Both on my diet and for Settlers! 

[Jormungand]

Just wanted to check in and see how you finished up. 

[FatboySuave]

Late update: Yikes! It's been almost a month since my last update. I admittedly lost focus near the end of the challenge. My last week was not the best, but not a total failure. I didn't quite stick with my dieting and workout goals, but I stayed away and I'm continuing to stay away from Rockstar energy drinks. I haven't given up though. I'm determined to do better during this next challenge and really focus on making some significant and long-lasting lifestyle choices. 

 

But I think my struggles during this last challenge showed how much alcohol can get in the way of my success. I had a few nights of heavy drinking that led to me being hungover and tired and thus more likely to indulge in comfort foods. So I'm going to try to reduce how much I drink during this next challenge or at least keep track of it to see what effect it's really having on my body. 

 

Happy new year!