Madcowsteak’s BodyBlog

For the first time in a long time I’ve managed to break the 250# barrier….After the struggle of the last two weeks, the scale results were a welcome sight this morning!

Yesterday was my first workout in 2 weeks and it wasnt very easy to get back into the routine. My feet were cramping on the spin bike, my shoulders were super tight last night and my head is still hurting.

But you know what? I did make it thru and the scale shows results. Ill go back today and hit it again. Hopefully harder. Hopefully without as much strain. Hopefully with a better attitude

So its been 12 days since my last blog entry. 12 days of sleeping, 12 days of coughing/hacking, 12 days of atrocious eating (everything from not eating at all to binging) and 12 days of nearly ZERO exercise.

12 F’in days !

My weight is roughly the same as it was when I got sick (around 251), but my body looks and feels different. Oh, btw, its not for the better!grrrrrrr

Went grocery shopping today to pick up the healthy stuff I need in the house since I’ve been eating out far too much the last 2 weeks. Fully stocked with fresh fruits, good proteins, low GI carbs and good fats.

Time to get back to work and back on track!

It seems I have picked up a bit of a cough this past weekend after visiting with some friends. Hopefully this doesnt turn into one of those "it just wont go away" coughs, like I had earlier this year for 6 weeks!

My workouts have been pretty good, though my right forearm muscles were burning and cramping yesterday. My cardio endurance has really skyrocketed over the last few weeks and I owe it to the spin bike I think. I have been trying to end every workout with a mix of cardio, incorporating at least 20 mins of spin.

My diet has been up and down really. I do not think I am eating crappy (no daily fastfood etc), but the urges to eat bad things are still getting the best of me from time to time. Yesterday I was returning home from a sales call and in order to get home i have to drive by Adobe (higher grade fast food Mexican), a fish and chips place, KFC, Arbys, McDonalds and Blimpie. I swear, my mind was already "you have to stop for fast food" 5 miles before I got to that stretch lmao…so I made it past all of them until I got to Blimpie. Now you may not know it, but one of my biggest weaknesses is subs. I ove sandwiches! So I decided that it was better to give into the fast food crave at Blimpie, rather than hold out a longer and end up at McDonalds later in the night or today. The upside was that I ordered a veggie sub instead of my normal mixed italian and it satisfied my craving!

What kinds of things do you all crave?

My weight has been ping ponging around a little, but within a pretty close range. I started the past weekend having gained a few pounds and being up to 257, due to giving into a craving for Chinese dishes that had a ton of sodium in them . I wasnt too discouraged because I hadnt really eaten super crappy, it was just sodium heavy which I was betting caused me to retain extra water. I concentrated on watching my intake the rest of the weekend, foregoing alcohol on Saturday night to the amazement of my friends, and finished it up around 254. I took that as a small victory and thats prob what really helped me drive past McDonalds yesterday…I sacrificed all weekend, why blow it on a double cheeseburger THAT I DONT EVEN REALLY LIKE?? This morning I woke up at 251.8 !

 I feel like my mental status/will is finally beginning to catch up with the physical workouts I am putting in. You know, the "im working out too hard to put that crap in my body". Im very thankful that I have been thru this process in the past (and successfully) so that my "road signs" are more obvious to me. Its these small changes that are my encouragement. Another 10# and people will really begin to notice the physical changes and their comments will spur me on. Another 10# after that and the mirror will be more pleasant to look at.

I cant wait

This started off as a response to a Mark7087 blog about eating healthier being more expensive than eating crappy. Then I decided to not respond just to him and share my thoughts with everyone.

What is the "true cost" of eating healthier?

 I always fell into the same trap as Mark…"its cheaper for me to eat out at mcdonalds", which may be true if I were buying no groceries at home, but was that really the case?

 I had to evaluate my food purchases (both eating out and groceries) and figure out how much i was spending in total. Then I accounted for the waste at home (what i was throwing out because it was "cheaper" to eat out).You must add the $$$ cost of waste into the cost of eating out to get the true picture of what the McDonalds dollar menu costs you.

 Then I promised myself id eat at home every meal for a month, with the exception of one lunch and one dinner per week. At the same time I made a conscience effort to purchase a lot of FRESH fruit and veggies at the store(concentrating on the items that were in season and/or on sale) along with good sources of protein like chicken and fish.

You know what I found at the end of the month? I saved myself nearly $25 a week JUST ON THE GROCERY BILL versus what i was spending before. I wasnt buying chips and ben and jerrys and fancy marinades and condiments (those were really my downfall i discovered). THAT DIDNT INCLUDE THE MONEY I SAVED NOT EATING OUT.

 All in all, i figured the difference to be roughly $200 a month! Im not saying you will save that much, but it certainly stands to reason that eating healthier at home doesnt have to cost you more if you truly evaluate ALL of your food costs and spend a little extra time planning your grocery visit.

As an added bonus, how much will it cost us all in the future for healthcare because we are "Dollar Menuaires"? Lets not forget to factor in the costs to our health!

Id like to add in some extra exercises to my normal routine to focus on my pecs (and ridding myself of my man boobs). Im basically looking for 3-4 exercises that I can do 3×10 of. Any input?

Another self-righteous politician bites the dust after his confirmed resignation this morning! I am a native New Yorker and have seen more than a few political scandals come out of Albany (my hometown area), but this jackhole is probably my favorite. In principal, I applauded his efforts to clean up corporate America, but his act was so disingenuous that I never bought in to him and his Mr Clean propoganda.

Do I think he did anything more wrong than many in our society do? NO. He just got caught AND he built his career based on morals and values. When you were elected based on these principles, you better expect you will be thrown out/beasked to leave for the very same reasons.

The sweat was not quite the torrential downpour it was yesterday but it was still a good session. 10 minutes treadmill, 5 mins rowing, 15 mins ellyptical, 15 mins spin bike with sets of ab work and pushups inbetween each. I also did 3×8 of dumbell lat raises and 3×8 of dumbell hammer curls (15#)

I dropped 2# after yesterdays workout, so my goal was to retain that loss today. My goals call for me to lose 10# per month which i feel is a realistic and healthy pace that can be MAINTAINED. I can drop 10# in a few days when i really want to, but i know its not healthy and it will come back just as quick. Ive really tried to approach this whole thing as a longer term plan. It took me over a year last time to reach my goal of 210#. I really want to go sub 200 this time and I am motivated and in this for the long haul. You’ll be sick of my blogs by then! Thank you to everyone who has added me to their friends list and commented, this site has become a daily stop for me (usually multiple times) because its helped me to stay focused. THANK YOU!

The sweat was not quite the torrential downpour it was yesterday but it was still a good session. 10 minutes treadmill, 5 mins rowing, 15 mins ellyptical, 15 mins spin bike with sets of ab work and pushups inbetween each. I also did 3×8 of dumbell lat raises and 3×8 of dumbell hammer curls (15#)

I dropped 2# after yesterdays workout, so my goal was no retain that loss today. My goals call for me to lose 10# per month which i feel is a realistic and healthy pace that can be MAINTAINED. I can drop 10# in a few days when i really want to, but i know its not healthy and it will come back just as quick. Ive really tried to approach this whole thing as a longer term plan. It took me over a year last time to reach my goal of 210#. I really want to go sub 200 this time and I am motivated and in this for the long haul. You’ll be sick of my blogs by then! Thank you to everyone who has added me to their friends list and commented, this site has become a daily stop for me (usually multiple times) because its helped me to stay focused. THANK YOU!

Today was a shoulders and back day, so my circuit consisted of pullups, dips, military presses and band extension lats. I’ve been adding in some additional ab exercises a few days a week because I need to really focus on my love handles. So following the circuit I added in 3 sets each of crunches and pushups. Then I raised the stakes and brought the pain…

Spin class was beginning as my routine was wrapping up, so I decided to hit it up. 55 minutes of leg burning agony later, I left the gym. As I’ve noted in other blog entries, spin class whoops my arse more than any other form of exercise. I literally had a    torrent of sweat (websters definition can be found below)

Yeah, that seems like an appropriate description

Another weekend has come and gone. Arent they supposed to be restful and rejuvenate you for the work week ahead? What bullshit that is! My weekends seem way busier than the busiest of work days. I guess thats what happens when you arent home much during the week and you are left with Saturday and Sunday to get all the chores, errands and what not completed.

Exercise: Took a rest day yesterday, errr, well, ok, I was just being lazy Nearly took another "rest day" again today, but something sparked me to hit the gym about 630pm. Actually was a great cardio session. Few minutes of warm up stretches, couple sets of pushups and off we went. 10 minutes treadmill, 5 mins rowing, 15 mins spinning, 10 mins ellyptical. I did sets of pushups and crunches between each cardio circuit. Lots of sweat, especially on the spin bike. Tomorrow is a shoulder and back day. Grade: A (felt strong throughout, worked it hard and actually went)

Nutrition: Hellacious choices today. Left over pizza for my only 2 meals. I’d like to say this was my cheat day, but ive had too many quasi cheat days this week on the road. Just poor choices. I MUST go grocery shopping sometime tomorrow to restock the house. Grade: F

I really have a premonition that this week will be a GREAT workout week. I am home nearly all week, so I should be in command of my workout schedule. If I fail this week, its on me. I dont have my work and travel excuses to fall back on.