Oh boy Dory from Nemo is my hero this week for more than one reason.  First, this week was hard.  I am not sure what the problems are regarding one good week one bad week etc.   It is like I am driven by failure and maybe placated by success.  I am just not sure.   Maybe I have some sort of self sabotage thing going on.  Who knows.  Maybe I will just need to seek counseling or something but until I come to some understanding about why it is I have a great weight loss and then turn around and go to a Chocolate Fair (yes, you read that right...CHOCOLATE FAIR) I will just have to keep swimming.   Keep chugging along.   That brings me to my other interpretation of Dory's, "Just keep swimming."   Swimming is the most amazing exercise.  It is solitary.  Not like that step class I was in last week where when my face turned the bright red of a 250 lb woman straining to lose weight with 1 hr exercise activities every day and the instructor began to look concerned and people seemed apalled by the sweat poring off my shirt.  Swimming is not strenuous on my joints or muscles and yet stretches them and strengthenthens all at the same time.  Swimming doesn't leave me sweating without any relief - after all, you can't feel it when you are soaking wet.  Swimming FEELS good.  So again, I will just have to keep swimming. 

 

This week I gained .6 lbs but all in all, I am not too devastated.  It shows that even with 3 days in a row of not accurately recording my food and not exercising at all I am not set back big time.  Long term weight loss is taking place.  Long term changes to my body will carry me through as long as I listen to them and come on back to cetner.  

 

Kirk is doing AMAZING.  I know I keep repeating myself but he really does inspire me.  While I took my little break, I was pouting BIG TIME.  Every day he just gently kept going.  He was my example.  He kept showing me what was right.  He would ask me if I was going to join him, remind me that it might help how I was feeling and he would try to make it easy for me to participate.  He is the most amazing wonderful man I know.   Thanks honey for believing in me and keeping me going!  I love you.  

 

 

MAN, do my muscles ACHE.   I am going into my 5th week and I still HURT.  Whenever I get up from sitting for any length of time, I am often heard muttering what sounds like 'Ow, ooh, errr, oh, ow, ow, eee' usually as I make my way up or down the stairs in our house (ya, stairs suck when you are trying to get your body acclimated to daily work outs).  It almost torture.  Now when I started off, I expected my muscles to ache from the new workout routines.  I only expected them, however, to hurt for about 3 weeks.  Here's the funny part though.   They only ache after I have been stationary.  Once I am at the gym working out, they feel fine.  So, what does this mean?  I ask because this is starting to seem like some sick, ironic joke.  I mean...I cant be expected to work out ALL THE TIME?!?!?! 

 

 

The flip side of all this is I have not felt this good in a long time.  I know this sounds kinda funny coming from a guy complaining about his aches and pains, (not to mention coming from a guy that really hasn't lost all that much weight).  But really, There are alot of aches and pains that I no longer have to deal with since I have started working out.  And I feel healthier (thats a big one for me folks)!  I really have felt unhealthy for a very long time.  But now, I am can see the light at the end of the tunnel (its a way off, but it's there).  So is it a fair trade?  I say yes.  Eventually, my body will adapt to this workout routine (fingers, toes, and eyes crossed).  And further more, my outlook will continue to be healthier.  So, from this standpoint, it really is a down hill ride.

 

I hope you all are trading in your old aches and pains for new aches and pains

 

 

OK - There are the pics of meeting Bill and Hollie at the mall.   It was fun.  I REALLY can't believe she was once as big as me!  Cute photos though even if I cringe at every single one with me in it!

 

AHHHHH the Good News...Today we went dow to meet Hollie and Bill from last season Biggest Loser.  We had a lot of fun and it was nice to meet real people who worked really hard.  We will post pictures as soon as we have them. The Million Pound Match Up people had all sorts of people present with quite a bit of helpful advice on sustainable weight loss.  Bill and Hollie look amazing in person.  Now, I wouldn't be me if I didn't state my sarcastic observances however.  So, let me tell you about where we met these incredible competitors and people.   The line to meet the contestants was in the food court of our local mall.  As if the smell of frying potatoes and grilling paties wasn't enough to get to even the hardiest competitor, Hagen Das (yep that is right, the ice cream store) stationed up a little cart giving away free samples at the beginning of the line to meet Bill and Hollie.  I didn't ask but I can tell you I don't think those samples were fat free and low calorie.  The bastards!

 

More good news.  Kirk lost 2 lbs this week.  Isn't that amazing?  Anyone reading this blog will note that it wasn't but a few days ago I posted about Kirk needing to get off his ASS (yep I said it again).  I let him know he needed to be like me and get back on that horse and get riding.  He lost 2 lbs.  Anyone keeping score on our progress bar to the right?  See how much I lost?  Lost?  Nope - GAINED!  That is right a big ol sloppy egg in my face.  Kirk lost 2 lbs and I gained 2 lbs.  LOL on me!  Actually, I am OK  I kept working hard and I know that some weeks you lose and some you gain (like that play on words?).  And, I am proud of Kirk.  He is doing amazing. 

 

So, this week we keep going.  My personal goals include not eating over 2,000 calories each day all week, working out 6 times for 1 hour each time, swimming at least once, jazzercise at least once and keeping my food journal every day.  I love what we are doing and am glad that we are still at it going into week 4.

 

Last week was a bit rocky (to say the least).  There were lots of distractions and excuses.  Suffice it to say that I did not stick to my prescribed 6days/60min weekly work out routine and my diet choices were not exactly responsible (it is hard for me to turn down pizza).  Dispite all of the neglegence, I still managed to loose 2 pounds.  The important thing though is that I am back on track and still committed to seeing this work.

 

This weekend I plan to start keeping a food journal in order to track my calories, fat and protien.  Event though I have started making much better choices in what I eat (last week withstanding), it will help me stay in tune with my efforts by partitioning fact from fiction.  I also plan to start keeping a work-out journal to help me keep track of my work-out results.  I'll let you know how it turns out

 

 

Finally, I want to make a shout-out to my wife... Thank you for helping me get remotivated and focused back on our efforts.  If it wasn't for you, I could have easly seen myself blowing off this whole week with all the things that happened.  BTW - are you sure you're allowed to use the word ASS in these things ?  ...potty mouth.

It isn't my usual weekly blog but I have some stuff on my mind about this journey and thought I would post it here and go to bed easier.  First, I had an off couple of days.  I am really proud of myself for doing what I did do but I am struggling with not beating the hell out of myself for not doing with what I didn't do.  I had some really high calorie days and some really low fitness days with 1/2 hour skipped totally on the day I ate over 3,000 calories.   Not good.  What was good was that despite the set backs, today I came in on goal for nutrition.  Also, through the last 5 days I never once stopped my food journal even faced with the tremendous evidence I was not furthering my goal (ok, so maybe I kept a few items off....but still).  And, I identified two KEY issues to my putting my health in the forefront.   I identified that financial stress distracts me from my focus and I discovered that socializing opens the door to me choosing unhealthily.  Now that I have identified them, I hope I will account for them better in the future.  

Honey, I love you.   You are doing so awestome!   I know it must seem like you aren't making a ton of progress but your dedication, your steadfast resolve to help our family change and grow (in all the right ways) and your never tiring support is a great deal of prgress in my eyes.  I hope that doesn't sound too corny because I only want you to know how proud I am of you for coming this far and I look so forward to going even farther together.    Meant whichever way you read it.  After all, there are a lot of benefits to this weight loss thing.  Anyway, CONGRATS on the 2lbs this week and even more, CONGRATS on the major changes you are undertaking!  Love ya, Me

 

 

 

I have seen a lot of changes with regards to my work out this week and with regards to the way my body is reacting to the new routine.  The first thing I have noticed is that the energy I started with it gone.  *zoooop*  I can no longer kick it in to high gear like I could over the first week and I find myself feeling worked after maintaining a moderate speed on the excersize bike.  Another thing I noticed that has changed is that my heart rate is not going up as high as it did last week even while moving at the same rate.  I had to 'up' the level on the bike to get my heart rate up to an acceptable level.  The last change I noticed was the onset of PAIN.  I knew it was coming but I had also expected my soar muscles to adapt by now but they haven't (much to my dismay). 

 

 

 

With all the changes I noticed last week, there are just as many things that have not changed.  The first thing that has not changed...still working out 60 min a day at the gym 6 days a week.  Second thing that has not changed...I haven't lost any weight.  in fact, when I weighed myself the other day it showed that I gained 5lbs.  Granted, I jumped ahead of my scheduled Thursday weigh in, but the idea of it does not provoke confidence.  Another thing that has not changed is my involved efforts in journaling my daily food intake.  Eventually I will adopt this as part of my routine, it is just a matter of fitting it into my day and remembering to work on it. 

 

 

 

There are so many things I want to say this week and really having a hard time narrowing any of them down.  First, I would like to tell a little story about the lovely lady in Total Body Conditioning on Thursday.  Picture me dieing a slow horrible death brought on by drowning in my own sweat caused by umpteen crunches done in different torturous positions and 54 push ups.  Picture me face all aglow gasping for air considering leaving what is obviously an advance class I stumbled into blindly, when the woman in front of me, as perk and petite as can be, asks me, "Have you ever taken this class before?"  "No," I gasp, "I have taken others but not this one."  "Oh," she says, "you should take any of the others during the week at this time of day.  This is the hardest of all of them."  She sweetly smiles and turns back around.  (Please close your eyes here if you are sensitive to foul language.)  "Fuck you," I say in my head.  "I ll show the skinny blonde lady and last this entire class, if it kills me."  And kill me it did.  I could barely move the next day.   I could barely work out but work out I did albiet it a little slowly some days.  So, thank you to the skinny blonde lady - who on reflection I think was trying to be helpful - and all those like her who motivated me this week.  We have to get our inspiration from somwhere!

 

Second, I have to say I am really proud of Kirk.  We have been working so hard and he really kept me going on Friday when I just didn't want to work out at all.  He even came over and got on an elliptical machine next to me to keep me going.  I am looking forward to our continued progress together.

 

Third, I wanted to let you all know that Kirk's and my goal of strengthening our relationship and family through this adventure together, so far is working out amazingly.  The girls love going to the YMCA and playing and my 7-year old even came and walked and swam with me on Sunday.  Both the 7-year old and the 3-year old love to use resistence machines and go with Kirk or I on a walk.  Kirk and I have worked on overcoming challenges with each other on this issue and how to achieve balance when we are looking at lifetime goals.  It has been a great week.

 

Finally, I wanted to share what exactly I have been up to this last week that has led to my 2 lb loss for anyone who cares.  I worked out 6 days for an hour every day on cardio things.  I did elliptical, bike, treadmill, THAT CRAZY CLASS which included step routine and swam.  I did at least 3 days of weight training and kept a food journal every day from Monday on.   The food is a slower process but right now, I am trying to stay under 1700 calories and eat a balanced diet.  The www.sparkpeople.com is an amazing help with this.  I need to find out if I can get a link from them but if you want to join me on a challenge or say hi in a different forum, my page is http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=JNK4VR .  You can also see my daily food and fitness journals if you are curious what is working. 

 

Thanks to all who sent messages and friend links and I hope we have been of some help to you who asked for it.

 

More soon...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to our Journey!  We are Kirk and Jessica, a married couple together for over 12 years.  Over the years, we have been through Jessica’s recovery (she celebrated 10 years last June), Kirk’s bad health, kids and the day to day.  We have built a family, a home, success, love, friendship and a wonderful life.  Somewhere along the way we lost our health.  One day we turned our heads and the next we were fat.  For over the better part of 7 years we have been unhealthily overweight.  Kirk suffers from high blood pressure, severe sleep apnea and very bad knees.  Jessica suffers from very bad feet and general poor health.  We have been down this weight loss road several times but this time something has shifted and we will succeed.  Our lives, our family, our home, our success all depend on overcoming this obstacle.  We come equipped with knowledge of proper foods, proper exercise, proper diets and 110% commitment.  Our plan is to gradually add in healthful choices until we have achieved a lifestyle that will have us at our optimum health.  We have started with not eating after 8pm and working out once a week.  Next we will add 1 hour work outs 3 times a week and dinner every night at home 6 nights a week.  So on and so forth until the gradual changes result in 85+ pounds of weight loss for each of us.  We plan to take it slow and steady and use this opportunity to build upon our relationship and our lives together.  We deserve to win the grand prize of this contest, because we are and will be an inspiration and a success.  Check back often and have some fun at our page as we have fun changing our lives!