11/4/2008
One week left to go and it is a little sad that it is almost over. I lost another 3 lbs., which puts me at 227 lbs. I also lost another 2% body fat which puts me at 14% body fat. I am really happy with the results. I am thankful that I was picked for this program, that I was able to have such a great trainer to work with and also very thankful to have a healthy body again. Mentally I have proved to myself that I can walk by the snacks in the break room or pass on the milk shake without feeling that I am missing out. I know that in order to be healthy I will have to restrain myself once in a while, however there is still plenty of room for the occasional chocolate treat. I think the real change came when I started seeing the low cal diet greatly effect my waist line. The daily sacrifices are fully rewarded every time I look in the mirror.

10/31/2008
I don`t know how it is possible, but I lost weight despite the fact that I didn`t work out for a whole week. I weighed in this morning at 230 lbs. I was very surprised by the numbers and am hopeful that I lost fat instead of muscle. Because of my recent back injury, Anna had me doing several yoga type stretching workouts. I was able to get a good workout on the elliptical machine also. It sure was nice to be back in the gym burning off those calories, however I am going to need to take it slow until my back is normal again before doing to much lifting.

10/22/2008
Today was not a good day for me. The workout started out fine, but after doing dead lifts and the front-raise lunges, I strained something in my lower back. I have had some back problems in the past, but this is the first time in a long time that my back has been hurt this badly. After straining my back, I tried to finish the workout, but I just couldn`t. Most of the regular aches and pains that I have had are easy to work through, but back pain just doesn`t seem to be something you can work through or around. Hopefully, since I`m in good shape, my back will recover quickly. This type of stuff just happens without warning sometimes, but I won`t let it discourage me. I will be back to the gym as soon as my back is right again. I didn`t weigh in this week, so I guess we`ll see where I am at next week at this time.

10/9/2008
I sure wish I would have got on a good workout program years ago, because now that I am, I feel great! I gained 2 lbs. over the weekend, but that isn`t really a big problem. Though I would have liked to see a few pounds less on the scale, that just means that I need to work harder this week. Despite what the scale says, this challenge has greatly improved my quality of life, and I think it has shown me a way to live that I can continue in the long-term. Now that I`m back in shape, I really can`t believe all the road blocks I imagined were standing in the way of getting my body and my health back. Although I haven`t lost all the fat that I would like to yet, I now know that I can. My goal weigh is still 220 lbs., but I`ve also added a body fat percentage goal of 13-percent or less.

10/3/2008
I thought that this was going to be a bad week for me, because I missed a couple of workouts while I was on the road for work and several of the meals I ate were fast food. I tried to monitor my eating, but even the healthy options don`t seem very healthy at most fast food places. Despite the strange week I had, I was able to see results. I dropped another 3 lbs., so now I`m at 237 lbs. I also lost 3.25 inches off my waist. This made me feel pretty good, but that wasn`t even the best part. Anna used the caliper to check my body fat percentage (at the beginning of the program I was at 24-percent body fat). After she had taken the measurements, she asked me where I thought I was at. I guessed around 20-percent. I was very surprised and very happy when she told me I was at 16-percent body fat. What that tells me is that all those weeks that I thought I wasn`t making any progress, I was actually losing body fat and building muscle. That seems to be a good lesson. Just because you`re not losing weight doesn`t mean you are not losing fat.

9/23/2008
Another week goes by without weight loss or gain. I’m working hard in the gym, and tracking my calorie intake closely. However, I seem to be stuck at this weight. I guess the important thing to remember is that weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. The main pay off for all the hard work is I feel healthier, and I have more energy now than I’ve had in years. I weighed 268 lbs in February of 2008, now I am at 240 lbs. So, if it takes me several more months to get down to my goal weight of 220 lbs then so be it. The one most important pay off I have seen, is that I like myself much more now that I am back in shape. That is one thing that no tape or scale can measure.

9/17/2008
With every week comes a new workout from Anna to keep me on my toes. This week’s workout is a little easier on my abs, but maybe I’m getting in better shape. Last week, I started getting some knee pain. It hasn`t got worse, but I decided to spend more time on the elliptical rather than pounding my knees on the treadmill. I’m no stranger to pains like these, so I know that it isn`t serious, just troublesome. Those types of pains are expected when you start pushing yourself physically. Anna recommended that I try using a biofoam roller, a non-traditional form of stretching/muscle tension release, to loosen the muscle groups around my knee that may be causing some of the pain. How it works is essentially like a deep muscle massage, except my body weight is pushing down on this firm roller that does the work. It really doesn`t feel good, but Anna assured me that it is suppose to hurt a little to work! I will let you know how it works out for me in my next week’s blog. This week, I didn`t see any weight loss which stinks a little bit, although I also didn`t see any weight gain. I’m sure that to see the scale go below 240 lbs, I’m probably going to have to work a little harder in the gym and cut a couple hundred more calories a day, which would be worth it to see 230`s on the scale.

9/10/2008
I feel great and I know that the people around me are seeing the changes too! The other day, someone that didn`t know about the challenge said that I looked like I had lost a bunch of weight. Oh boy did that feel good! I’ve seen a noticeable reduction in my waist line, which means that I may have to go purchase a smaller belt by the time the next weigh in rolls around. Having to tighten the belt sure is a confidence builder! It seems to me those little things mean a lot, and do a lot to feed your motivation. I weighed in today at 241 lbs, for about a total of ten pounds. So, at this point, I’m right on schedule (knock on wood). Anna changed up my workout again to include much more core (abs and back) workouts. This week, we will be doing circuit type training, which means very little or no rest between different activities. This workout keeps your heart rate up, and keeps those muscles working for longer periods. I am hoping that this workout will really help me continue to downsize my spare tire region.

9/5/2008
Labor Day weekend was really fun. I went to western North Dakota with a couple of friends for five days of hiking, camping and bow hunting. I hiked several miles a day in very rough terrain and had a blast doing it. I was really happy that I had started my workout sessions the week before, because I was able to hike all those days and never once woke up with sore muscles. In years past on this same trip, by the third day I almost couldn`t walk because my entire body would be completely sore. I brought along mostly healthy foods, which is a change from past years. Even though I didn`t come home with venison for my freezer, I really enjoyed the trip. I`m sure the healthier diet and week of regular exercise was the reason for all the extra energy I had on my trip. Today I had my second workout with Anna, and she`s already having me step up my workout. I really get a good total body workout with the program she has for me. We also talked a little bit about daily caloric intake, and how that relates to my basil metabolic rate. I now know that I need to get less than 2,000 calories a day to continue to lose weight. Anna also had me weigh in to see if I was making progress. I weighed in at 245 lbs, so I`ve already lost a few pounds! It sure seems like it has been forever since I saw the scale say anything that low. Seeing that weight loss really makes me feel good and it`s always nice to see progress, even when it`s small. I`m still on track to get down to 220 (I need to lose 10 lbs a month for the next 3 months), although I`ll bet the last few pounds will come off much harder.

8/29/2008
Last Thursday morning, I had my fitness test with Anna, which really let me know how out of shape I am. Friday morning, when I woke up to go workout, I realized that short fitness test had left me very sore. This morning, I didn`t know what to expect or what type of workouts we would be focusing on. I was also pretty nervous about being on LIVE television. I weighed in at 250 lbs. (at 24% body fat), and I hope to reach 220 lbs. by the end of the 12 weeks. Anna took us through our workout program, which is a full body workout, with a major focus on our core (abs and back). The workout has a great mix of resistance training. I haven`t done this before, which will keep it interesting for me. Anna also gave us a lot of great nutrition information to use in our daily lives. I plan to workout 5 days a week on this new program. The program I plan to follow is made up of resistance training, which includes 45 minutes of cardio training for three days a week, and two days a week with 45 to 60 minutes of cardio training. I know it is going to be a few weeks before I will really see results, but I can`t wait.