A Test of Will

Alright its 11:30pm right now, since 8pm tonight I have been battling temptation. For those of you who dont know my living situation I do not live alone, so my kitchen doesnt always have the healthiest foods in it. Right now there are these double fudge keibler* cookies calling my name, they have been all night. I have been doing my best to fight off temptation, I have been drinking water consistently and munching on cheese. Normally this wouldnt be such a temptation but since I am just getting back into my low carb lifestyle I am going through sugar withdrawls again, which makes things much harder. I should just go to bed but I have been studying for a test that I have tomorrow. I have been holding out for quite some time so thats good. Its been a huge help for me to have my goals and pictures posted on the fridge. I gotta remember that everything that I eat will either get me one step closer or one step further from my goals.

I'm gonna finish up studying then head on off to bed. I just had to write down my temptation and work this out.

Diary of a fat man 4 & Diary of a fat man 4.5 (OLDER POSTS)

Monday, September 03, 2007

Diary of a fat man 4.5 Current mood: sick Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes Alright the lawn is mowed im all showered up. Off to a great day. So for breakfast today there was no eggs in the house nor bacon or sausage, so i had wing dings with ranch, and some steak strips strips, total amount of carbs 8 grams, for lunch im having a salad with grilled chicken, total carbs 3 grams, my in between meals consist of almonds, and cauliflower, total carbs 5 grams. For dinner I'm having hamburgers without the bun. total carbs 0 grams. Alright I'm off to do homework....ill write back later on this week.

Diary of a fat man 4 Current mood: tired Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes Day 14 Weight - Unkown (No Scale) Measurements: Chest - 52in, Gut - 56in, Waist - 49in, R&L Biceps - 18/18&1/2in R&L Thighs 32/32 Alright I gotta go mow the lawn but ill write about whats going on later tonight......

One More Important Goal

I said if I could think of any more goals that I would post them. Well there was a really important goal that I cant believe that I even forgot about. Without completing this goal every night I end up having a 50/50 chance of jacking up my next day along with slowing down my weight loss. Which might explain why I have been plateaued for quite some time. As of the last couple of months I have only been getting about 5 to 6 hrs of sleep a night, a normal person should be getting 7 to 8 hrs of sleep a night. (I found this article and similiar articles like it) Here are the reasons why getting sleep is so important:

In the past, sleep was often ignored by doctors and surrounded by myths but now we are beginning to understand the importance of sleep to overall health and well-being. In fact, when people get less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep each night, their risk for developing diseases begins to increase.

1. Keeps Your Heart Healthy

Heart attacks and strokes are more common during the early morning hours. This fact may be explained by the way sleep interacts with the blood vessels. Lack of sleep has been associated with worsening of blood pressure and cholesterol, all risk factors forheart disease and stroke. Your heart will be healthier if you get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night.

2. May Prevent Cancer

People working the late shift have a higher risk for breast and colon cancer. Researchers believe this link is caused by differing levels of melatonin in people who are exposed to light at night. Light exposure reduces the level of melatonin, a hormone that both makes us sleepy and is thought to protect against cancer. Melatonin appears to suppress the growth of tumors. Be sure that your bedroom is dark to help your body produce the melatonin it needs.

3. Reduces Stress

When your body is sleep deficient, it goes into a state of stress. The body's functions are put on high alert which causes an increase in blood pressure and a production of stress hormones. Higher blood pressure increases your risk for heart attacks and strokes. The stress hormones also, unfortunately, make it harder for you to sleep. Learn relaxation techniques to counter the effects of stress. There are also stress reduction techniques for sleep.

4. Reduces Inflammation

The increase in stress hormones raises the level of inflammation in your body, also creating more risk for heart-related conditions, as well as cancer and diabetes. Inflammation is thought to one of the causes of the deterioration of your body as you age.

5. Makes You More Alert

Of course, a good night's sleep makes you feel energized and alert the next day. Being engaged and active not only feels great, it increases your chances for another good night's sleep. When you wake up feeling refreshed, use that energy to get out into the daylight, do active things, and be engaged in your world. You'll sleep better the next night and increase your daily energy level.

6. Bolsters Your Memory

Researchers do not fully understand why we sleep and dream, but a process called memory consolidation occurs during sleep. While your body may be resting, your brain is busy processing your day, making connections between events, sensory input, feelings and memories. Your dreams and deep sleep are an important time for your brain to make memories and links. Getting more quality sleep will help you remember and process things better.

7. May Help You Lose Weight

Researchers have also found that people who sleep less than seven hours per night are more likely to be overweight or obese. It is thought that the lack of sleep impacts the balance of hormones in the body that affect appetite. The hormones ghrelin and leptin, important for the regulation of appetite, have been found to be disrupted by lack of sleep. So if you are interested in controlling or losing weight, don't forget to pay attention to getting a good night's sleep.

8. Naps Make You Smarter

Napping during the day is not only an effective and refreshing alternative to caffeine, it can also protect your health and make you more productive. A study of 24,000 Greek adults showed that people who napped several times a week had a lower risk for dying from heart disease. People who nap at work have much lower levels of stress. Napping also improves memory, cognitive function and mood.

9. Reduce Your Risk for Depression

Sleep impacts many of the chemicals in your body, including serotonin. People with a deficiency in serotonin are more likely to suffer from depression. You can help to prevent depression by making sure you are getting the right amount of sleep, between 7 and 9 hours each night.

10. Helps the Body Make Repairs

Sleep is a time for your body to repair damage caused by stress, ultraviolet rays and other harmful exposures. Your cells produce more protein while you are sleeping. These protein molecules form the building blocks for cells, allowing them to repair damage.

Enough said. So another goal that I am adding is to get at least 7 to 8 hrs of sleep in a night.

If you want to research said article more you can check it out here.

http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongenergy/tp/healthy_sleep.htm

Good night everyone.

Maybe I will join the next TT Contest

Ok so I know that I said that I probably would not be joining the next fitness contest, but I'm hooked. I honestly thoroughly enjoyed it, meeting all these great people and transforming my body along with them was incredible.

The next contest starts this Thursday, so I am still kind of debating on whether or not I should join. I got to admit though that I am leaning more for doing it rather than not doing it. Actually now that I am writing this I'm pretty sure that I will go ahead and join it again. It was really awesome to see the progress that I had made in 12 wks. So I am stoked about seeing what the next 12 wks will bring.

Right now I am working on my daily goal and that is to drink 64 oz of water daily, I never thought that that would be so hard but honestly it is. I forget a lot of times to keep drinking or I just get sick of drinking water. Its normally one or the other. I did write out those goals and I did post them so I am trying to be as accountable as possible, so please bear with me.

Well I'll write back soon and give you my answer if I have decided to or not to join the fitness contest.

Diary of a Fatman 38

Day 253

Weight 228lbs
Measurements; Neck 16 1/2, Chest 45, Gut 45, Waist 41, R&L Bicep 15 1/4, R&L Thigh 27 & 1/2in.

Wow look at that an 8lb gain in just a week. Hmm unlikely but I have decided to take last week off from working out hard with Turbulence Training and from my healthy eating lifestyle (I didn't go over board though with not eating healthy).

Even though I wasn't working with Turbulence Training last week, I was running a lot and walking even more, along with a lot of push ups, squats, and planks. As you can see my measurements have stayed the same. I am hoping that this past week of debauchery will be just what I needed to kick start my metabolism into fat burning mode now. I have written up a list of fitness goals and have even posted some of my pics on the refrigerator to get me even more motivated and to push me even harder.

I have posted some pictures of my posing, The next pics that I post will be of the same poses but definitely more defined, I am hoping to be posting them within the next three months.

Here are the goals that I have listed:

1. I want to weigh 185lbs, by August.
2. I want to start eating healthier.
3. I want to win the next transformation contest.
4. I want to be able to do 10 chin ups and pull ups by August.
5. I want to be able to do 30 push ups by August with no rest in between
6. I want to be able to run 1.5 miles in 12 minutes
7. I want to quit smoking.
8. I want to be in the Coast Guard.
9. I want to fast again twice a week.
10. I want to be ripped.
11. I want to finish school.
12. I want to drink 64 oz of water daily
13. I want to work out harder.
14. I want to bust through plateaus easier.

If I can think of anymore I will post them but this is it now.

Diary of a Fatman 3.5 (OLDER POST)

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Diary of a fat man 3.5 Current mood: impressed Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes Aha I was looking over my blogs and in my last entry i saw a typo. My gut was at a 57 not 56, hence the reason why i said i lost an inch in some places and gain a half in in others. I have been really good though this whole week, sticking to my lifestyle change working out every other day even though things have been hectic for me i havent given up and said oh well ill do that tomorrow. With every food temptation that comes my way I ask myself is this going to get me one step closer or one step farther from my goal weight and that is enough for me to say no thanks to the temptation.....like on Friday I went out again with my best bud kenny. What did I have to drink you say.....I drank ice water......and one bacardi and diet..(they are allowed. I just dont like liquor i cant handle it) then i came home ate a couple of almonds they too are allowed and went to bed. With every passing day it becomes a little easier....although I'm really starting to see the benefits of planning my meals way ahead of time instead of just saying I'm hungy what am i going to eat.......that only works for so long before u break down.....I've also been putting to use short term goals like adding one more pushup or squat to my workouts.....or taking the stairs instead of the elevator for a day. I know my weigh ins and measurements are due on Monday but i woke up today feeling invigorated....and as i passed by my mirror i had to stop and look at my body for a second......and i said whoa.....my stomach looks like it went down a little so i had to pull out the measuring tape just to see and by golly i lost another inch around my gut, i didnt measure n e thing else because today isnt measuring day i just had to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. thank God that they werent........So I'm starting to implement badges also.......The Alpha badge, Bravo badge, Charlie badge......each badge is a goal not a weight goal but a measurement goal.....they are end of the month goals, or even two month long goals......gotta remember the plateau. with me using nothing but muscle building techniques i cannot trust a scale to give me actual results but the measuring tape cannot be mistaken. I cannot help but think that being on the atkins lifestyle plan has had a dramatic affect on my weight loss......and i dont care what the docs say about how fat is bad for u.....i know trans fats are but im not eating trans fat, im eating lean meat and getting my fat from that. Back in the 1950s the French had the lowest rate of heart attacks compared to the U.S. and they drank wine, ate goose liver pateas* and cheese......high sources of fat.......but now since there is a Mcdonalds on everycorner there and their consumption of carboydrates have increased dramatically so have their rate of heart attacks........not a coincidence people, make your own assumptions.....i already made mine and my mind is made up. Also there is this friend of mine going to school for cooking, she is awesome and im thinking im going to ask her to teach me how to cook healthy and in return ill teach her Tai Chi. I can cook but im not great.....she is....im not....so if i can take up a little of her time and learn that would be sweet. So my big goal is to get to my ideal weight and my reward to myself is to go to St Thomas to visit my dog kenny. I have till April to get there, although in reality i have till june because school doesnt get over till June so i cant go anywhere until then........hmmmmm ok so my goal just changed. I have from now till june to get down to my ideal weight.....thats ten months.......i can do it with your support, and my disipline* i know i can ....... i have lost 50lbs on the atkins diet before but gained it back because i treated it as such......as a diet and not as a lifestyle change........i realized my mistake.....this is a lifestyle change cutting down on carbs not a diet.......Will i ever taste pizza again or have chinese food? the answer is yes......eventually when i get to were im going, but in moderation like once a month i can have one or the other......once i get to where im going, ill always have to ask myself is this going to keep me closer to my weight or get me further away from it. Today is going to be a big test of my determination......it is D&D fat day......candy, pops, and pizza are always eaten by everyone on this day.........everyone has their own whole pizza........whole pizzas are devoured by high ons and me with a contact buzz seeing as how i dont get high. but today i have in my arsonal strips of steak, salad, almonds, and grilled chicken.......to combat the D&D fat day.........pray for me today ill need it lmao. well i think i wrote enough for one day.....ill be back on tomorrow to give my full measurement......i havent been able to pick up a scale yet so my weight will not be posted.......have a great day and God bless

Diary of a fat man 3 (OLDER POST)

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Current mood: cheerful Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes Day 8 Weight 315 lbs Chest 53 in, Gut 57 in, Waist 49 in, R&L Biceps 18 in, R&L Thigh 33/32 in. Alright now I know that I said I would be posting results every Monday, but shit was hectic yesterday, I went to bed at 3 woke up at eight and had been on the run up until 7 pm, and after that I had to spend time with Cruz, no way I'm letting that time go by. So here it is late Tuesday night another hectic day but I'm on here. So let me fill you in here. Friday I cut lose and went out drinking with my best buddy Kenny. this is something I wouldnt normally do if I'm trying to lose weight but this guy is my best friend and he is moving to St Thomas (lucky fucker). So I probably wont see him until next Fall when he comes up here for Wheatland. So basically I blew off this whole weekend, now I didnt go to crazy but I did make sure to enjoy some of the foods that I knew I was going to miss. I know some of you might be looking at my weight from today and then my weight from last week well theres a funny story behind that......Yesterday I had a doctors appointment to set up a physical (yeah weird), so they put me on their top of the line scales and low and behold 315 lbs......I was shocked almost started tearing up....so when i came home I pulled out my scale and got on it.....it said 305 i got off of it and got back on it said 296 hmmmm, needless to say I chucked that piece of shit and am in search of a decent scale that when i get on it doesnt say "Go run you heavy mutha fu%$*!" Lmao. But as you can see I have lost an inch on some measurements and gained on my arms a half an inch.....sweet I'm gonna be buff. Yesterday though I got back to changing my lifestyle......I actually ate six small meals......it was weird I felt guilty for eating that many times but I felt great eating in small portions.....I like to think of it as helping me curb binging appetites, which I really dont binge but you know when you are really hungry you eat while making food.....instead of making food then eating just that.....today I did just as well except I ate 5 small meals......well I'll chit chat some more later its late and i have to be up early......and I want to say thanks to everyone of you that have been just great to me.

The End Of A Contest

Its Tuesday and all the votes are in and counted for. Three no four great people won. Two people tied for third place, which is awesome. Unfortunately I was not a cash winner, but the fact that I even finished my first fitness contest was amazing. I just want to thank each and everyone of you who voted for me I really appreciate it. Everyone as been so supportive, and caring thank you all so much.

The next contest starts May 1s, although I'm not sure if I will be joining it, just because I was kinda bumbed about the contest not being judged by the three hand picked judges but instead went to the polls. Basically it became a numbers game and who can get the most people to vote for you. I really didnt like that because there were two guys not including me that should have gotten first or second place because of how amazing their transformation was. The winner did have a good transformation, but honestly I think if it were chosen by the judges some of the winners would have been different. I'm not saying I would be in it cause there were so many great transformations, but I think out of the two guys I mentioned one of them would have gotten first place instead. It doesnt matter though cause they all worked so very hard and definitely deserve to win.

Anyways if the next contest is going to be judged the same way though I really don't want anything to do with it. It should be judged by the three fitness professionals that were supposed to judge it in the first place.

Here check it out for yourself

http://www.transformationcontest.com/

It was a great contest none the less I made some great friends through out it and the people in the contest were so supportive I cannot complain. Thank you all again. I definitely appreciate it.

Diary of a fat man 2.5 (OLDER POST)

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Diary of a fat man 2.5 Current mood: tired Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes Day 1 Weight 315 lbs Chest 53 1/2 in, Gut 58 in, Waist 49 in, R&L Biceps 17 1/2 in, R&L thighs 33/32 inche My goal is 190 lbs, I plan on using strength training M, W, & F and on T & TH low cardio. I have started the Atkins lifestyle change. Every Monday shall be my measurement day. I am to meet this goal by April, I have 8 months to lose 110 lbs. I have also taken pictures today of myself and I will continue to do so every Monday, but i wont be posting pictures until i get some really good results.....I have also found a weight loss buddy.....she is very awesome and a kind person......she lives a bit out of the way so working out together is going to be nigh impossible especially once i start up school....but we are going to chat online and over the phone and do this life change together I honestly dont think i could have found a better weight lost partner......it'll be great for the both of us to lose this weight and feel good about ourselves.....Plus I really would love to see my grandchildren and i dont think that will be possible if i dont change my life now.....

Diary of a Fatman 37

Day 246
Weight 220lbs
Measurements; Neck 16 1/2, Chest 45, Gut 45, Waist 41, R&L Bicep 15 1/4, R&L Thigh 27 & 1/2in.

So I have lost a pound since last week, at the rate I was going I'll definitely take that any day right now so I'm not complaining by any means. This week will be my last week of Intermediate Body Weight Workouts. I"m thinking I might either go back and try to do TT 2K4, or go into the TT February Circuit Training. I'll look them over and see. I'm actually leaning more towards the 2K4, because I would like to finish up what I had started. I had already done 2K2, and 2K3, but couldnt go onto four because I had hurt my shoulder and 2K4 workout A is very heavy into using weights and upper body workouts. With my shoulder messed up it limited me so I was not able to do them. Now though my shoulder seems to be fine. Im just wondering though if it wouldnt be better if I just gave it more time to heal and just do the circuit training. Well I got a week to think about it. I'll let you all know what I am doing.

On another note the TT transformation contest is over voting is still going on till tonight I was misinformed the winners will be pronounced tomorrow. You can still vote for the Transformational contestants all day today. I'll let you know who the winners are tomorrow and hopefully I'll be in one of those spots. Thanks a lot everyone who voted for me. You are all great people.

Diary of a fat man 2 The Beginning (OLDER POST)

Current mood: excited
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

Ever heard of the saying failure to launch?........well that was almost me.....I have been having a terrible time getting to sleep at a decent hour, and I have been waking up way to early because of my son. So today I have been kinda in a zombie like state just wanting more sleep but low and behold Cruz couldnt let that happen lol. So today is the start of my whole new life......it would be great if i wasnt feeling so sluggish right from the get go. But the good news is is that I've already headed to the gym and stayed there for about two hrs mainly strength training with this new book i swooped upcheck it out here

Click HERE for TurbulenceTraining

I asked some of the trainers there if they could help me with some of the routines seeing as how I dont know what a bird dog workout consists of lol.....would you believe it.....these trainers didnt know either...well thats understandable but then they didnt know what a plank was....oh yeah and the trainer that was working with me had me doing one exercise the wrong way it took another trainer to tell him that I could hurt myself doing this exercise the wrong way......wow I am impressed with these gym trainers.....I wonder who certified these bozos as trainers....... N e ways I'm busy so I'll write back later tonight

One of those days

Got a late start heading off to the gym, which sucked cause I had only two hours to spend there. Don't get me wrong it doesn't take two hours for me to work out Turbulence Training is quick and easy, but after a hard workout I looked forward to hitting the sauna room, the dry heat room, the hot tub, and the pool. (yeah I'm spoiled) lol. It really is relaxing though to get in a great workout and then relax a bit afterward. No such luck today though, which is fine I just cut my relax time short a bit. I even went as far as cutting out my intervals today. Today wasn't suppose to be my workout day yesterday was but I ended up missing that because it was just too hectic for me. I did manage though to get out to a track and run a mile along with getting in 3 sets of push ups along with a 3 sets of squats. Not much but enough to get the blood flowing.

As far as nutrition goes today I had a couple of sweet and sour meatballs, that wasn't the most nutritional thing I could have had. I can indulge just a little bit though. I didn't go crazy which is the important part. I'm also out of a couple of supplements that I need to get my butt to the store and start picking up. Like GNC Fish Oil Pills, and L-Carnatine. Well I have class in a little bit so I'm gonna chill out and get some rest before I'm off again.

First Diary of a Fatman Posting (Older Post)

Friday, August 17, 2007

Diary of a fat man Current mood: determined Ok so I have been big pretty much all of my life battling the bulge winning some battles but mainly losing the war....Monday the 20th of August is the day I pull out all the stops and change this war in my favor. I am fed up with the way I look and feel. Its my time now to take back what is rightfully mine.....my health. This war has raged on for to long now....and this time its do or die....literally. If i don't get into shape the chances of me dying of a heart attack before I'm 40 will jump dramatically because of my families history....Not to mention I know that there is a skinny guy inside me just dying to get out lol. I'll write more on Monday my starting date, my routine my eating habits so on......maybe later i will post my old measurement lol. Wish me luck. So I'm going to keep on this blog more for myself than n e thing else but feel free to drop me a line and say what u feel.

Starting the Fat Burning Fires

Hello.

If you are reading this then I'm thinking you might also be looking for the key to fat loss. I have been an old hand at the weight loss game yoyo dieting back and forth for years. August 20th 2007, I decided to make a change and really start losing weight. Not just "Oh I'm going to diet and lose a couple of pounds." change, but a full lifestyle change for the better.

I knew that if I were to exercise and burn more calories than what I took in than yes I would lose weight, but what I didn't know is that it is so much more complicated than that. Deciding to lose this weight involved more than just working out and eating right. It involved a lot of research into what it means to live a healthy lifestyle, there are so many different opinions on losing weight and what is actually healthy for you; how do you know which one is right. That lead me to the next thing one must do; and thats experimentation. After I had done enough research it was time to start seeing what worked for me and what didn't.

I started my weight loss journey weighing in at 315lbs, the heaviest I have ever been. Today I weigh 221lbs. I have lost a total of 94lbs in about 8 months and since starting my weight loss journey the goal weight that I have had in mind is 190lbs. When I started my weight loss journey I started blogging in my Myspace blog. That way I would be held accountable for everything that I do. I have gone through this miraculous metamorphosis using three key components to fat loss (probably the most difficult to use, but also the most important I believe).

Three Key Components to Fat Loss

1. 80% Nutrition
2. 20% Exercise
3. 100% Consistency

Yeah thats 200 percent right there, and I'm not telling you that I am right. I'm telling you that like I said earlier, this is what I have experimented with and this is what has worked for me.

I am writing this blog because there is so much that I want to share with you, so many things I want to tell you. I want to let everyone know that it can happen for you that weight loss isn't just for that other person. You know what I'm talking about. I'm sure we all know someone that got so fed up with the way they looked that they decided to make a life changing decision, and now they look great. And even though you are happy for them, deep down there might be a touch of envy because they did it; they did something you have tried over and over to do. I'm telling you that it doesn't have to be that way. It can happen to you it can be the best thing that ever happened to you. You just got to want it bad enough.
"So whats my real secret, what have kind of nutrition have I been keeping up with, what kind of exercise plan have I been using?"

Well for my nutrition, I use a low carbohydrate eating plan. (I know some of you may be saying "oh well thats bad for you") I have been eating this way for the last 8 months and just had my full physical a little less than a month ago and I am healthier than I ever have been in my whole entire life.
For Exercise, I use a program that I was lucky to find, well in reality it seems like it found me. (I'll explain later) I use Tubulence Training
it has been the best program that I have ever used. I'll touch on Turbulence training more. If you are interested in know more about Turbulence Training you can check it out


Click HERE for Turbulence
Training

Like I said earlier I have posted in my Myspace blog my previous weight loss accomplishments. Through the next couple of weeks of blogging I'll be exporting those blogs over here to this blog, and letting you know the date they were posted and that they are older posts not new ones.

I have so much more to say but not the time to say it in. I honestly didn't know what to write, but I guess it all just kind of came out.