serial youth pastor

Last Saturday was my ‘high calorie’ day.   I got up at 5am to workout before our little kids Christmas program practice, adult choir cantata practice and going to Des Moines for the rest of the day with Joel and Nate.  I ate a yogurt for breakfast and so since it was my ‘high calorie day’ we went to Chili’s for supper.  I had a jalapeno cheddar burger with jalapeno ranch sauce.  We also had jalapeno ranch fried onion strips (haystack?).  Oh and for dessert I had some white chocolate volcano cake with white hard shell topping on top of the ice cream that came on it.  Oh yeah.  It was definitely my ‘high calorie day.’  So the rest of the week I cut back to about 1600 calories a day trying to lose the 6lbs I needed to break the 100lbs mark.

I worked harder and a little longer each day.  I switched some things up.  All week I couldn’t notice a difference in anything.  I felt sluggish – almost like I was coming down with something.  I was tired through my workouts and was getting frustrated.  Still I kept pushing.  In the end it was all worth it.  This weeks results are below:

Last week: 307
This week: 298

Journey total: 103

I FINALLY broke the 100lbs mark.  Honestly I can’t really put into words the emotions I have been going through for the 45 minutes I have known.  I have been crying – but in a good way.  I had no idea losing 100lbs would be so emotional.  I would often watch The Biggest Loser and when they would get emotional on there I would often think to myself, “Why is it such a big deal?”  Well now I know why.  It is a BIG deal.  I am the lightest I have been in 10 years.  I am finally under 300lbs…it feels good to say that.  I am going to keep going.  I have 50-60 more I want to drop then I’ll be at a spot where I can really be happy.

I need a shower and a nap now.  Thanks for praying for me and continually checking in and challenging me.  We have reached this point together.

This week was tough on me.  We got a major snow storm so I missed Tuesday and Wednesday nights of working out.  I also made homemade chili and ate it all week.  That would be 2 bowls for lunch and 2 for supper for maybe 3 days last week.  Definitely not good when you’re trying to cut back calories.  So all in all it was a slow week.  Still I lost a little and am a tad-but closer to my goal of 100.  This weeks results:

Last week: 310
This week: 307

Journey total: 94lbs since January of this year. Not too bad considering I took 5 months off and got lazy so I’ve lost the 94lbs in 5.5 months. Not too shabby.

hopefully this will be the week. I’m going to be a food nazi and really watch what i eat and try to get some extra work outs in this week to knock of the remaining 6lbs.

Well I am no officially 10 weeks into this last round of my journey to 100.  I say last round becuase I will NOT have to do this again once the weight is off and I’m back where  I want to be.  Then I will start the maintaining phase which I am really looking forward to.   Honestly I’m not averaging the weight loss I would like to.  I would rather be averaging 8lbs a week but right now I’m at 5.8 per week.  Still losing almost 6 pounds every week is incredible in it’s own right considering what I am doing to work out.   This week started off slow but I was able to walk 3 miles 2 mornings this week then go work out later at night and do my normal routine.  That helped some.  Now with it getting colder I need to start doing some cardio stuff indoors in the mornings for 30-40 minutes then do my normal routine later in the day at thy gym.

Still I’m not complaining.  I made some pretty decent progress this week that I am really excited about.  The results are below:

Last week: 318
This week: 310

That’s 91lbs total I have lost since January.  I’m pretty excited about that.  I’m setting my goal at losing 10 pounds this week so I can FINALLY say I’ve met my goal of losing 100lbs and also I will be UNDER 300 for the first time in 12 years.  I can’t really even describe how excited I am to be so close to being under 300.  It’s a surreal feeling honestly.

Even if I don’t hit the 10lbs mark this week I know I have still made some good ground.  I will still be proud of my progress and know I will hit it before Christmas either way.  Thanks for your continued prayers as I start down the final leg of this journey.

I can’t believe it’s been 9 weeks since I’ve started working out again.  It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long.  I have come a long way – even from where I was when I worked out January-April.  I did take May-September off but my stamina is way up.  My intensity on my cardio is way up.  I can tell a hug difference and since this is about me getting to where I want myself to be – I am pretty excited.

So this was the week of Thanksgiving.  I had so many people telling me,

“Just enjoy the week and eat like you used to.”

Are you serious?  And get back into habits I don’t want to be involved in again – EVER?  No way.  I did really well this past week.  I had 2 pieces of pie TOTAL for the week and Thanksgiving day.  Every time I was offered a pop I said no thanks.  I think my family thought I was crazy.  I got a 3 day membership to the “Y” in Burlington and it was worth it.

It was a little awkward working out in an gym I don’t normally work out in.  My cardio suffered a little bit because of how busy they were and the 30 minute time limit on the cardio machines.  So frustrating.  However my time in the weight room was really worth it.  I was able to push through to some plateaus  I have been experience and I started a new back/ bicep workout.  Wow.  I am loving it.

The results of Thanksgiving week are below;

Last week: 321
This week: 318
Total over 9 weeks: 50lbs

Total in my journey so far: 83lbs.

I only have 17 pounds to reaching 100. I should easily hit it by Christmas if not before.

I forgot to post my update of my journey last week.  The last time I posted was two weeks ago.  Last week was ok.  Not a great week.  I missed 2 workouts and splurged once too many times.  I lost 3 pounds.  This week was better.  I still missed one work out – last night – but it was worth it since I was doing something for someone.

This week I was an animal in the gym.  My back is so sore from my workout Wednesday morning.  It’s a good sore but it’s still sore.  I’m proud of the progress I’m making.  I’m down one more notch on my belt so that’s 3 notches in 8 weeks.  I’m ok with that.  This next week will be tough.  I’m going to my parents so I’ll need to buy a gym membership at a local gym for a few days.  I’ll probably just join at the “Y” there while I’m home.  I know my mom has already started making holiday treats that are probably waiting on me as I type this.  I am going to try HARD to not give in.  I’m so close to hitting my mark – I just need to stay strong this week and work out harder.  Wish me luck.

The results from the past 2 weeks are as follows:

2 weeks ago: 331
This week: 321

Total: 47 in 8 weeks.

I’m looking forward to completing the first part of my journey to 100. I WILL hit my mark of 100 lost by Christmas.  I’m just hoping to do it a week or so before Christmas.  That would be the best gift ever I have given to myself.

This week went by so fast.  I made some HORRIBLE food choices this week.  Last Saturday was my “high calorie day” – a cheat day – where I can eat whatever I want.  Well my cheat day turned into 3 days.  It was not good.  Last weekend I had:

• Saturday – 3 taco meal from Taco John’s and a LARGE Dr. Pepper.  I had pizza that night.
• Sunday - I went out for Mexican and did ok.  I got the burrito meal with a tostada.  Then Bible study came and I failed big time.  I had 4 rice crispy bars with chocolate on them.  I had chips and bean dip and I also drank 2 Dr. Peppers.
• Monday Night Football – I had a HUGE plate of tater tots.  I had some chips and 3 bags of fruits snacks and about 5 glasses of lemonade.

So my cheat day lasted 3 days where I consumed over 3500 calories each day no doubt.  So this week was rough on me.  Then yesterday on my way home I got sick to my stomach and had to pull off the road and go out behind my van to – well – you know.  I had great workouts though.  I bumped my elliptical time up to 60 minutes over the past 3 or 4 days and that has been kicking my tail but going so good.  My weights have gone up quite a bit this week too.  So it was an ok week overall – made some poor eating choices but my workouts went really well.

So here it is.  The weights for this week:

Last week: 338
This week: 331
Total: 37 in 6 weeks

Some people have been asking me what a typical meal looks like for me.  Or how I can eat healthy and still get full on a meal.  It’s pretty easy.  Above is a picture of a typical meal at my house.  Sometimes I do a chicken breast, veggies and yogurt.  Other times I’ll do a sandwich, fruit and yogurt.  For breakfast I’ll have a bar of some kind.  Maybe a Nature Valley or a Cliff Bar (I will also have one of either of these for a snack between meals), an apple or banana and maybe some yogurt.  Some days I’ll just grab a protein shake and drink it on the go.  My meals usually hit between 450-650 calories.  Sometimes when I’m done working out if I haven’t had supper I’ll grab a foot-long chicken breast on wheat and or a foot-long black forest ham on Italian or honey oat from Subway loaded with veggies.  I go in there so much they know how to make my sub without asking.  It just depends on the day and whether or not I will be able to snack between meals.  Sometimes for a snack I’ll do a 100 calorie min-bag of popcorn. I’m not a big popcorn guy so it’s a rare occasion when I do grab some popcorn.

Honestly eating meals like this there are some time when I cant’ finish the meal completely.  It’s pretty satisfying knowing I’m only getting 450-650 calories in one meal.

I can’t believe I’ve been at this for six weeks now.  It was a good week overall.  I thought I would have had a bigger loss than I did.  I’m down a notch on my belt and my t-shirts are fitting looser but my arms are starting to fill them out better.  I’m starting to be able to tell a big difference.  I kept at it pretty good all week even through my nasty cold I had.

Here are the results:

Last week: 344
This week: 338
Total: 30 pounds in 5 weeks

I’ve got 3.5 weeks until Thanksgiving.  I should be able to knock off at least 20 more pounds by then making it 50 by Thanksgiving.  This is going to be easy.

I have been asked by a few people recently what my workout looks like.  Honestly it varies but here are the workouts broken down by days.  This gives an idea for what I do.

Sunday: Day off

Monday: Chest/ Triceps/ Cardio

• Cardio – 45 minutes of hills intervals on the eliptical working up to 7mph.  I also try to get 45-60 minutes on the treadmill doing incline intervals on level 5 up to 4mph
• Chest – I LOVE working my chest.  I always have.  I start off with the Hammer Strength Iso-lateral bench.  I do 2 warm-up sets with a 45lb plate on each side.  Then I do 5 sets of 5 reps with two 45lbs plates on each side.  Then I do 3 sets of 8-12 reps of incline bench with dumbbells.  Then I do 3 sets of 10 reps (20lbs dumbbells) of fly’s (going almost to the ground with straight arms) on the bench.  I usually count to 6 seconds per rep.  This really allows for a good strength and gives a good overall form to the pecs.  I also do 3 sets of 10 reps on the bench press machine (150lbs)  as well as the pec-deck (175).
• Triceps - It goes without saying it’s my second favorite body part to work.  I start off with 3 sets of 10 reps French Press style with 85lbs dumbbells.  This really stretches your triceps.  I then do 3 sets of 10 reps on the cable tricep push-down with about 75lbs.  Then I do 3 sets of 10 reps of bent over tricep pushes One hand on the dumbbell rack – pushing the hand with the dumbbell backwards until fully extended) with 20lbs dumbbells.

Tuesday: Biceps/ Cardio

• Cardio - 45 minutes of hills intervals on the eliptical working up to 7mph.  I also try to get 45-60 minutes on the treadmill doing incline intervals on level 5 up to 4mph
• Biceps - I do 3 sets of 10 reps (35lbs dumbbells) sitting on the incline bench.  They key here is to keep your biceps pinched in to your sides if you can.  Then I stand up and do 3 sets of 10 reps with 30lbs dumbbells – I try to go slow so I don’t rock and “cheat.”  I give a tight queeze at the top to give the bicep a good burn.  Then I do a pyramid with the dumbbells.  I start of with the 5’s and do 10 reps.  Move to the 10’s and do 8 reps and on up until I get to 1 rep with the 35’s then immediately I start back down and end up with 10 reps on the 5’s again.  Don’t give yourself much of a break through the entire thing.   I usually finish with 3 sets of 10 with the 75lbs curling bar.

Wednesdays: Shoulders/ Back/ Cardio

• Cardio - 45 minutes of hills intervals on the eliptical working up to 7mph.  I also try to get 45-60 minutes on the treadmill doing incline intervals on level 5 up to 4mph
• Shoulders - I do seated military press with dumbbells.  3 sets of 10 with 50lbs.  Then I do front shoulder raises 3 sets of 10 with 20lbs.  Then I move to side shoulder raises 3 sets of 10 reps with 10lbs.  Then I do shoulder fly’s 3 sets of 10 with 40lbs.
• Back - I’m pretty new to working my back.  But here’s what I do.  3 sets of 10 (200lbs) seated cable rows.  3 sets of 10 (140lbs) lat pull-downs.  Then I do 3 sets of 30 seconds putting a 45lbs plate over my shoulders (switching sides) and stopping shortly at my waist so I don’t rock and “cheat.”  Then I do 3 sets of 10 oblique standing crunches with 65lbs dumbbells.

Thursdays: Cardio/ Legs

• Cardio – 45 minutes of hills intervals on the eliptical working up to 7mph.  I also try to get 45-60 minutes on the treadmill doing incline intervals on level 5 up to 4mph
• Legs - 3 sets of 10 on leg extensions with 130lbs – I’m a weannie when it comes to legs.  3 sets of 10 hamstring curls with 100lbs.  I do the hip abductors for inside and outside – 3 sets of 10 with 170lbs.  Calf raises – 3 sets of 10 with 90lbs on the seated machine.  Then I finish with the leg sled.  I do 5 sets of 10.  Last time I worked up to 560lbs on my last set of 10 but probably did 480 for 4 of the 5 sets.

Fridays: Cardio/ Chest/ Triceps

• I do everything I do on Mondays on Fridays also.

Saturdays: Cardio/ Shoulders/ Back

• I do everything I do on Wednesdays on Saturdays – might even work in biceps again.  I try to pick up the pace and make it more of an anaerobic workout though to burn more calories.

I might work in some circuit training instead of the last 45 minutes on the treadmill.  I’ll do 4 laps of 30 seconds on all 12 machines.  It usually takes me about 40 minutes with travel time between each machine.  I’ll use lighter weights and go for high reps in 30 seconds for more of a physical burn and calorie burn.  It’s all about keeping moving, cardio and counting calories.

This is week 4 since i began my journey again.  I’m excited about how it’s going but I feel like it should be going better.  I haven’t been eating my “snacks” between each meal like I should be so maybe I’m getting enough caloric intake right now.  That could be it.  Still I’m pretty happy with where I’m at right now.  Still have a long ways to go but I can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I think another thing that is keeping me from losing more than what I am right now is that I’m lifting pretty aggressively with free weights right now.  I used to do some power-lifting and I have caught that bud again.  I’m still getting 90 minutes of cardio every day so I think what I’m starting to see is fat to muscle transfer.  I’m starting to notice pretty big differences in my arms, shoulder and my quads right now.  It’s been nice to see some progress being made.

This week I hit it pretty hard.  I didn’t sleep for one night.  We hosted a concert.  Then I got this stupid cold I’m fighting off right now.  On top of that I think I have a stress fracture in my left foot now.  I went running last week and did pretty good.  I got further than I thought I would.  Shortly after running I started getting a stabbing pain across the top of my left foot.  I thought it would go away but hasn’t yet.  So if by next Thursday or Friday it doesn’t go away then I’m going to have it x-rayed to see what is wrong with it.  I can do the elliptical fine.  I’ve been getting 45 minutes done on it lately and I’m bumping that up to 50-60 next week.  I can do the treadmill fine as long as I don’t get above 3.8 mph – then my foot really starts to bother me.  Keep that in your prayers if you would.

Here are the results for this past week:

Last week: 349
This week: 344
Total so far: 24 in 4 weeks

I feel pretty good about how it’s coming along. Still I really want to average between 8-10 each week. Or maybe ave 3-4 double digits weeks in a row. That would be nice. Also I’m growing my beard until I hit 50lbs lost this time around. I’m hoping for that to be at Thanksgiving because honestly my beard drives me nuts.