joshvach11’s BodyBlog

I have still been hitting the gym and eating fairly clean, however, my mother was in from out of town last week.  That hurt my training because I felt like anytime that I went to the gym, I was taking time away from seeing her.  I don’t get to see her that much these days so I put my priorities straight.  Family is always more important than anything to me.  Anyway, now that she has gone home I have been consistently hitting the gym and I am actually getting ready to go right now.  During the week that I was away from the gym, I didn’t gain any weight even though my eating was far from where it needs to be.  I think I have figured out the diet that seems to be working for me right now.  I am currently trying to stay around 2500-2800 calories a day.  At first I thought this seemed like a lot but when I train hard I need every single one of those calories to recover from heavy lifting and the 45-60 min cardio sessions that I have been doing.  Anyway, I just wanted to post an update for anyone who might have happened to check on my progress.  It has been slack for a bit, but I am going to hit it hard and make some serious progress very soon.  Thanks to all.

I have been working so hard on eating right and doing everything I could.  However, we had people installing hardwood floors in our house and their was no was I was going to be able to get into the kitchen to cook some clean food.  We had to stay out of the house for most of the day yesterday and they were back today so it was much of the same.  While out, I ate fairly well, however, I found it hard to eat enough food for the day.  I think my calorie count was somewhere under 1750 and my normal day is around 2500-2800.  I definately felt it because I was trying to do homework last night and I couldn’t make it past 10.  I was exhausted.  I was also unable to go the gym today because of the weather.  I would have drove but my wife didn’t want me out there so i didnt go.  Tomorrow I will be hitting it hard because I am not going to let life get in the way of my goals!  I have goals!  I have goals!  I keep telling myself this because I know that I will meet them if I refuse to give in.  When I first changed the way that I ate, everything junky that the people at work were eating appealed to me.  Now, I see it and get the urge to go up to people and tell them what they are putting into their bodies.  I just really hope people realize how bad certain foods that we eat are for you.  Eating the right things will give us energy and allow us to live long, healthy lives.  I guess I am just rambling on, but it sure feels good to do so.  Hope everyone is doing well.  Thanks for the support.

For the past two days (thurs and fri) I was unable to get into the gym.  I had a dentist app. on friday morning at 9 so i had no time to get into the gym before 1 because I leave for work around 2pm.  And the other day my wife had a dentist app. at 9 as well and I had to watch both of the kids and that left no time for the gym.  But let me tell you I have been eating so clean over this past week and I know things are working out.  I lost 3 more lbs from just eating clean and I also had insane energy at the gym this morning.  I was able to work my shoulders and traps really hard and also get 45 mins of cardio (20 on the stair step and 25 on treadmill). So my point is this: sometimes life throws you curves but if you stay focused and dedicated nothing will stop you from reaching your goals.

I had a good workout yesterday except that near the end of it I was a little bit more fatigued than I would have thought.  I keep all my workouts under an hour so I came to the conclusion that it was most likely to getting only a rough 6 hours of sleep the previous night due to the 5 week olds nighttime changing and feeding.  After I completed my bi/back routine for the day I was able to get in 35 mins of cardio as well.  Strangely enough, I was feeling really fatigued when I started on the stair stepper but after about 10 mins I was completely rejuvanted and felt full of energy.  I also had a question for any of you who know more about creatine.  Is this recommended to take while trying to lose weight (fat), or should I wait until I’ve lost some of the weight I am trying to get rid of?  My goal initially was to lose about 50 pounds of weight, but now that I am learning more, I am not sure if I am going to be able to lose that much because I can already see the muscle gains.  I don’t know how its going to work, I just know that if I stay dedicated than I know I will see results.  On another side note, although my 5 week old son Cameron keeps me up and night, he is still where I find most of motivation (along with my 20 month old daughter, Caylen).  I wan’t to be that dad that is able to play a game of hoops or whatever sport he’s into with my son while he is in high school and still be able to give him a run for his money.  I see too many fathers that become so lazy that by the time their kids are older they have not the energy nor the health to be out running around with their kids.  I WILL NOT BE THAT DAD!

Thoughts:

I am so excited about how things went today.  I had an excellent workout and I was actually able to do some cardio.  I found that walking on the treadmill isn’t causing any pain on my hip so I did that at a brisk pace for about 35 mins.  I also weighed myself and after a week of no working out but eating clean, I lost another 4 pounds and I’m down to 250 even.

Goals:

Keep hitting it hard in the gym and also eat very clean and avoid any junk food today.  Stay positive!

Today while I was doing leg presses I injured my hip.  I went to the emergency room and they took X-rays.  Fortunately nothing is broken, however, I am sure something is torn (muscle or tendon) because I felt ripping and a pop.  Now more than ever I am going to need support as I try to lose this weight.  I don’t know how much excercising I am going to be doing or when I will even be able to.  But I am going to stay committed to the way I am eating and hope that I at the least end up no worse than when I left off.  I am really bummed about this because everything had been going well.  Even friends had commented that my face was already looking thinner.  So all I can ask from anyone who reads this, please help me stay supportive and offer any advice that you may have for dealing with a leg/lower body injury.  I go to the doctor again tomorrow and I hopefully will know more, or they are going to schedule an MRI at the least to assess the damage.  I can barely walk and I’m using crutches, I HATE CRUTCHES.  Sorry about the rambling but I just have so much on my mind right now.  Anyway, I just want to thank everyone in advance for the support.

-Josh

Thoughts:

Feeling a little disappointeed on my weigh-in.  I was the same as last week.  However I know that my body is changing because I can see little changes in the way my clothes fit me and in the mirror.  I had a great upper-body workout and I felt energized throughout.  I followed up with 40 mins on the bike and felt great.  I am also finding it hard to get my heart up as easily as it was at the beginning of the month.

Goals:

Eat well today and drink my gallon (at least) of water.  Stay positive and don’t let the "no results" get to me because in time I know that I will be shredding this fat off.

Thoughts:

I had an awesome workout today!  I was doing sets of leg presses and I started at 270 for 12 reps.  I increased to 360 for another set of 12 and felt great.  So I decided I would try 450 and see where I got.  I was able to get in 12 reps on that to my suprise.  This is only the third leg workout I have done and I guess my legs were alot stronger than I thought they were.  Anyway, just gave me some inspiration and motivation.

Goals/Successes:

 I had another great day of eating and drinking water.  My cravings appear to be disappearing as everytime I see something that I shouldnt eat, it doesnt even look that good to me.  Just continue doing what I am doing and I know good things will happen!

Thoughts:

Just got home from the gym after an excellent upper body workout where I felt very energized and doing 30 mins on the bike.  I drank a gallon and a 1/4 or so yesterday/today (I work nights).  Everything went well and I can’t wait for my next weigh-in on Monday to see how my progress is going.

Goals:

Keep doing what I am doing and keep those junk food cravings at bay.  Continue to drink at least a gallon for today and get off after shift tomorrow morning and bust out an excellent leg workout followed by cardio.  Most important thing today is to maintain focus on the prize.

This is my first post on here and I am really looking for some support as I try to acheive my goals.

Few thoughts running through my head: 

I am still working nights for the rest of this week and I cannot wait to change so that I can get myself into a much easier routine. I am really looking forward to my workout tomorrow morning after I get off shift.  This week was my first week of change.  I am now counting my calories , protein, carbs and fat.  I am also staying committed to my workout goals that I have set. I have been doing very well and I am drinking at least a gallon of water per day.  I am feeling energized and ready to just burn some fat. 

Goals for today/tomorrow:

Keep my eating on track, have an excellent workout tomorrow after I get off shift, and smile because I know that I am going to lose this weight!