day 1 pics

midweek 3 update

  Tuesday morning I ate some toast with peanut butter and had a 100 calorie yogurt. Off to the gym I go. I do the usual to start, 20 minutes on the treadmill.  Working my biceps and trap muscles today. I switch up my arm exercise between cables and free weights. I always do 3 sets of 12 reps on every exercise. I like to do 12 sets per body part that I’m working. Back to the elliptical for 20 minutes and then on to the arc trainer. I referred to the arc trainer as a crossfit machine in an earlier post but, I was wrong, it’s the arc trainer. Sweet machine, my new favorite. Off to the shower then I Headed for the home front and had a ham sandwich with an apple for lunch. Dinner was pizza…I know, pizza? Yes, but, it was only 100 calories a slice and I had 4. Not bad for the day.

  Wednesday morning I woke up and could barely move. Ouch. I must have been nuts thinking I could lift weights 6 times in the first week. I’m backing off my original plan for 2 weeks. I’ll just keep the cardio rolling 6 days and only lift 3 days. I skipped the gym today; a little muscle recovery time is a must. I made breakfast this morning…not the healthiest, eggs, potatoes and sausage all thrown together and topped with cheese. It was good but, not good for me.lol. We ate a late breakfast so, we only had 2 meals today. Dinner ended up being veggie lasagna. Nice healthy dinner dish.

 I feel good about my progress. I think the main thing I need to remember is to take it slow. This change is not going to happen overnight. I abused my body my whole life so, if it takes a year to accomplish my goal, so be it. My heart feels good, I feel like I’m sleeping well at night. If I could get down to 260 I would be happy with that. I have an xxl frame so, 260 looks pretty good on me.lol.

 Back at it in the morning, just doing cardio though, I’m sore as hell. Hoping to do some swimming tomorrow night and then on to the hot tub, thank you hot tub. Be strong to live long.

BEGINNING OF WEEK 3

Beginning of week 3. Monday mornings are the worst. I rolled out of bed around 8 am. Threw down some honey nut cheerios and hit the gym. Excited do lift some weights for the first time in a long time. My weight training plan is to work the chest and triceps on day 1. Biceps and traps on day 2. Back and shoulders on day 3.since I’ve been going to the gym 6 days a week I should be able to do this plan twice a week. I feel that right now, I can lay off the leg workouts because they are getting a pretty heavy dose during cardio. I also will integrate them along with abs very soon.

 My beats per minute were hovering around 148 when I first doing the cardio. Another nice feature built right into the equipment. Now on the cardio equipment it’s pretty steady around 129.improvement for sure.

 I hopped on the treadmill this morning first, doing 20 minutes and catching up on my sportscenter. I usually start around 2.5 mph until my heart gets going a little bit. Then I turn up the grade to 8.0% and the speed up to 3.2 mph. this is a pretty good pace. Once the 20 minutes are up I hit the cable machine. Basic cable crossovers. 3 sets of 12 reps. I followed that up with another cable crossover, this time working from the bottom cables and moving my hands towards the sky. 3 sets of 12 reps. finally, for my chest workout I went to the chest press machine. It has two different handle positions so; I do 2 sets of 12 reps from each handle.

 Then on to my triceps, I go back to the cable machine. 3 sets of 12 reps using a rope pull down. For my next triceps exercise I use the one hand handle and I pull down 3 sets of 12 each arm. Then I flip my hand over and this exercise becomes push move instead of a pull. I also think that is important to switch them up. I finish off my tri’s with an overhead dumbbell push. I’m not using heavy weights at all, I need to take it cool because the doctor tells me to lay off the weights.  Then it’s back to the cardio. The cardio has to be your best friend if you really want to get into shape, that’s what I’ve learned.

20 minutes on the elliptical at a nice steady pace. 20 minutes on the cross fit machine and I’m off to the shower. It can be tough to find the motivation for cardio but, I am so thankful for having an iphone so I can tune into Pandora or AOL music. I usually listen to 90’s rap for some reason. I love it.

I feel good today, I know I will be sore in the morning though….Dinner tonight is tilapia with zucchini and carrots. Yummy.

                                                I JUST GOT TO REMEMBER TO KEEP ON KEEPING ON!

week 2 update

Here is my 2 week update. From here on out I will be posting a lot more frequently. I haven’t stepped on the scale yet so, I’m not sure total pounds lost up to this point but, let’s just say, it’s noticeable. The diet has been good. Cut out all fast food and eating a ton more apples, bananas, and oranges…..I know people that say watch the fruit intake but, I mean come on, it’s better than a bigmac! I’ve been cooking a lot more veggies too. I love broccoli so that’s an easy one. Increased the squash, zucchini, beans, and peas. Usually throw them all in a pan with olive oil and some chicken and make a stir fry. Lunch time is easy, I love sandwiches and there is a thousand combinations so that is lunch along with some fruit. Breakfast is cereal, occasionally an English muffin or bagel with peanut butter. Not 100% fat free life but, hey, I’m only human. I am also drinking a gallon of water a day. Sometimes I have to force myself to drink that much water but I feel the benefits are great from water.

 Life at the gym is good. I’ve been doing 6 days a week and sometimes even twice a day. Loving the pool, swimming laps at night….not very many, yet. The cardio equipment at healthsport is absolutely fantastic. They have T.V.’s built right in….that’s how lazy Americans are; they have to put T.V.’S in the stuff so people will use them.LOL.

 I feel even though it’s only 2 weeks, I can breathe much better and I can even bend over and tie my shoes. I always had to put my foot on something before to bring my foot closer. I’m also finding myself becoming more driven towards achieving other goals in my life. It’s kind of a strange connection but, I do think it’s a real one.

I’m looking forward to starting some weight training in week 3 and increasing the cardio to 60 minutes. There is a machine I really want to try so; I’ll integrate that into my workout as well. So far, all systems go. My focus is good and my will is strong.

the beginning

Here I sit 15 months after having congestive heart failure. Another  new year staring me in the face with the same resolution as the last 10 years. Get off my ass and lose some weight. I now sit at 345 pounds and can’t even walk to the end of the driveway without losing my breath .I feel like a sloth, I can’t move and sometimes don’t  even want to move.
  I started having trouble breathing in July of 2009 and wasn’t sure what was going on so ,like millions of Americans with no health insurance ,I went to an urgent care type facility. The doctor diagnosed me with asthma and gave me an inhaler. It became apparent to me that ,I was facing a bigger issue than asthma .I let it go for weeks before two sleepless nights finally sent me to the emergency room. I got to tell you ,it’s a scary feeling to not be able to breath bad enough that you can’t fall asleep. The Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan did an excellent job of taking care of me.
  I don’t know, there is a bunch of theories of what caused the CHF. Sleep apnea is one, bacterial infection was another, high blood pressure…I mean, on and on. It was all pointing to one thing, the fact I  am grossly overweight and in tremendously horrible cardio shape. I know one thing, if I had a dollar every time somebody at the hospital told me that I was too young to have CHF I would have a new Chevy truck outside right now.  I  take 9 pills a day between the heart , blood pressure ,cholesterol and diuretic to keep the fluid flowing through my lungs. I hate taking pills.
  I came out of the hospital with great intentions to change my ways and save my own life. The doctor told me I could fix my CHF by living a healthy lifestyle. I did great the first few weeks. Ate right, went for walks with my girlfriend and the dog. I don’t know what happened, before I knew it, I was back to stuffing my face and sitting on the couch all day not doing a damn thing. So, now fatter than ever I  sit in my room laying in bed at night thinking how I am killing myself and not doing anything to stop it.
  I’m 37 years old and don’t want to die as a young man. I feel I have many more adventures to be part of. I  love traveling this great country and  taking in as much as I can. 2011 has to be my year or I may not live to see many more. I need to harness all of my energy and get cracking. The fat will not come off by itself. At this point, it’s a matter of life and death.
  I’m currently in northern California and there is a few gyms close by. So the search begins. I don’t really want to go to a gym that has a bunch of meatheads in it. you know the type, can’t walk by a mirror without looking at themselves. LOL. After checking out my options I chose to go with Healthsport here, in Eureka. A brand new facility  that has great cardio equipment and even a pool.
  O.k., here’s the plan, start slow and work my way up. My heart gives me weird feelings sometimes so, I need to be careful doing this. There is an X factor in this whole thing. I do smoke but, not cigarettes. Smoking anything is a bad idea while in recovery mode of CHF. My diet will consist of  no fried foods, no fast food, no soda. Increase intake of vegetables and fruits, I just need to start eating heart smart. I won’t be able to cut out ice cream in my diet…just not going to do it. So,  I plan on starting with 40 minutes of cardio a day. 20 minutes on the treadmill walking and 20 minutes on the elliptical. I don’t plan on lifting weights for the first couple weeks. My cardio health is horrible and I need to start there.
  So, here goes, please keep up with my journey and follow my progress. The journey of life is to live it!