Joe’s BodyBlog

Last year at this time I was fat.  Damn I was so fat I would go as far as to say that I bordered on being obese.  Not only was i fat I was miserable, disgusted with myself and felt like I had no direction. Being knocked out for a year with my back was really bad both physically and psychologically. I dont know how I got through that.

The best news that I had received was when my Physician gave me the green light to start working out again. Since I started working out, getting back into shape and losing weight has given me a great life change and balance. Talk about giving my life an enema! I have found a terrific comminuty here who have kept me motivated and guided me along the way. This has been awesome and I look towards the future. 

Last nite I did a 45 minute spin class and did a lot of lifting for  lower body and got in a great ab workout. This morning, I got up at 5 am and was at the gym by 6.  I swam for an hour and then hit the weights and worked abs, biceps and calves.

Understandably, I am going to make today my cheat day but within reason.   A lot of my family members who think that I got too thin have finally accepted what I am doing and they are cool with it. The reason that they were worried about me is because of my younger sister.  A year ago she had an unneccessary gastric bypass because she was only 40 pounds overweight and she has a distorted self image

I did everything that I could to stop her from this but she went through it anyway.  As a result, she shrunk down to 90 pounds and looks horrible, skeletal and old.  Her skin turned yellow for a while and her hair started falling out. She can barely eat anything and vomits often but brags how she is down to a size 1 whatever that is.

I was really pissed off because she is a nurse and she should know better.  As a matter of fact, she talked me out of having back surgery and got me one of the best back doctors in Philadelphia who helped me heal without surgery. After my back recovery I knew that i needed and wanted to lose weight and get in shape again. But I was determined to do it the right way and I succeeded.  I gained it a pound at a time and I lost it a pound at a time. Since I dropped the weight and put on some muscle, my family does not have to worry about me anymore. I have a lot to be thankful for.

 Happy thanksgiving!

I am finally starting to get the tone that I want. The swimming and other cardio that I have been doing have helped. I have also concentrated more on working my problem spots and it is paying off. I am only a few weeks away from my one-year anniversary of starting all of this. Can’t believe how fast the time has gone. I have maintained focus and have stayed on course with my cut diet, cardio and lifting routine. Even though I hit a few obstacles along the way (injuring my knee, then my, hip then my shoulder) I have realized that these kinds of things come with the territory and are all temporary. I have made this sport my lifestyle and have enjoyed it immensely. Made some great friends also. The experience has been completely positive and my improvements in my overall well-being have been remarkable. I look completely different than I did a year ago. I am planning on posting some new pictures marking my one-year anniversary. A hell of a before and after but still a work in progress. My anniversary will mark a new beginning for ongoing improvements in the upcoming New Year.

After being out with a cold for almost the past 2 weeks I finally felt well enough to get back into the gym and had a great total workout. Dropped another 2 pounds down to 183 lbs from 270 lbs with 87 lbs gone and good riddance.

I was invited to attend core training class next week with the trainers at Ballys. A bunch of the trainers get together one nite each week and do their own training routine and they asked me to join in. They rememebered me when I first joined when I used to be really FAT.  They call me the Ballys poster boy or walking testimonial. Their core training class should be really good and I"m looking forward to it next week.

Still working on toning up and getting my bodyfat down. My focus is now on maintaining and achieving quality workouts. Compared to where I was last year I am a hell of a lot better off now and its only going to get better.

Damn, Thought I would be over this by now but it is hanging on.  I Had worked 10 days in a row and am exhausted. Slept well but this cold is getting better little by little.

I have been away from the gym since November 7th- never been away from it that long. Still not well enough to do cardio but am going to go today do lift and do something!  Anything!

Well, I am in my second week of a cold that is holding on. I have enough energy to go to work, come home and then sleep.  This sucks.  I know I have to let it run its course but I am past the point of being patient.  I am in a shitty grumpy mood. My appetite is down but I have been using my muscle milk and whey protein as meal replacements to get me through. Hopefully I will be over this in a few more days.

Have been battling a bad cold for the past  5 days.  Missed 2 things that I never miss- work and the gym.  Still feeling crappy and bummed out but was glad to return to work today.  Made it through my workday but got stuck in a 90 minute traffic jam tryng to get home. Was starving- really hungry.  Decided to make today my cheat day. Stopped at Wendys drive thru- got 2 bacon cheeseburgers, a double stack burger a medium order of fries and a small chilli all for under 6 bucks.  Got home and ate it all.  Blew my cheat day way out of proportion.  Haven’t had fast food like that in many months.  The funny thing is that I felt better.  I could feel my cold subside and my energy level increase.  I guess thats what my body craved, or maybe the shock of all that fast food helped- I don’t know. I sure took in a lot of stuff that I dont usually eat- loads of carbs and fat.  This was my one and only one cheat like this.  Gave my body a shock and a great rest during my cold recovery but will get back to business soon. I dont feel guilty at all.  As I remember, I NEEDED to cheat once in a while and when I did the weight would drop off. I am gonna completely rest up, heal up and will start up again full force on Monday.

On Friday I got hit with a really bad cold.

Haven’t had a cold  like this in several years.

I have missed the 2 things that I never miss- work and gym.

4^th day of my cold and am getting better each day- but my patience is wearing thin.

It is getting old laying around the house waiting for my nose to dry up and for my cough to subside. On the upside I have gotten a lot of rest.

 Hopefully I will be back into the swing of things in a few days.

I haven’t weighed myself in a few weeks. Since Ive upped my cardio, I shrunk down into 32 waist jeans and they finally got the scale up and operational at my gym. What the hell so I got on it.  BAM! dropped 2 more pounds now down to 185 pounds- kind of surreal.  At this stage in my fitness goals the weight loss  is no longer an obsession with me. The worst part of all that is over.  I have been focusing more on quality workouts, getting toned and losing bodyfat.  Those goals, especially getting the bodyfat down will come with tons of cardio and diet.  I am striving for continued improvement and I am a hell of a lot better off now than I was a year ago.