Joe’s BodyBlog

2008 was a great year!  Damn it went by fast.

Last year at this time I was fat, depressed and felt like I had no direction. That was then.

All of  that changed including my luck that I cant explain but things just got better and better for me. My weight loss and fitness quest was worth everything that I went through to get to where I am now.  

To all of those out there who think that losing weight and getting into shape is difficult and tell themselves that it can’t be done, i’ve got news for you.  IT CAN BE DONE!  If you want it badly enough it is yours for the taking. A gift for yourself that no one can ever take away. Its that simple. Nothing is impossible.

2008 will mark a new start for me in my fitness quest in the upcoming year. My 2009 goals are to hit my 100 pound weight loss mark (9 more to go) and then get cut and put on more muscle.  I"m gonna do it- watch me!

 A big  thanks to all of the awesome friends here who have helped to motivate me and support me in my transformation and weight loss. God Bless you all!

Happy New Year!

Over the holidays I had time to think about where I am in my fitness goals and where I want to go from here. I had a great year and I can say with a good degree of certainty that my luck has changed for the better. I have reevaluated things and my main focus is to drop body fat. That is the only way to get the results that I am after.

Dropping body fat is tough and takes time like all good things but it is not impossible.  It comes down to long-term cutting diet and cardio. Over the past year, I have gotten used to eating chicken breasts, boiled egg whites and drinking lots of water every day. I like the routine, it keeps me focused. Reluctantly, I have added carbs into the mix (but not too often) such as plain oatmeal and an occasional plain baked potato or sweet potato. With all of the cardio that I am doing the added carbs are necessary.

Tonight I was psyched for my HIT cycling class.  I went to the gym and it was absolutely dead.  Hardly anyone there and the HIT class was cancelled.  I made the best of it.  After a good stretching, I lifted and did a full body workout. I had to get in my cardio so I became reacquainted with my old friend the step machine.  I got in 65 minutes of non-stop cardio, did over 10 thousand steps and burned 750 calories. It was great.  Before my workout I got my body fat checked and it went down to 17.5 %  Pretty cool.

 
After being out with a cold and away from the gym, It felt great to be back into the routine again.  Doing the cardio got rid of all of my stressors and it gave me a really good mental lift.  I worked off all of the guilt that I had from being out of my routine and got centered again.  It feels great to be back into my routine.

Christmas certainly has gone by quickly.  During the holidays, I had recovered from a bad cold. I stuck to my diet and cheated only alittle with a cookie or a piece of candy here and there. No big deal.  I made 5 dozen whole wheat gingerbread cookies ate 3 of them (damn they were good) and I gave the rest away. A true test of my willpower. It is easy to fall back on thigs this time of year but I am trying to stay focused and disciplined.

I am still feeling the effects of the delayed onset muscle soreness form my workout on December 23rd. I was really sore on xmas eve and it was draining. However, It felt great to be back into the gym after 2 weeks from getting over my cold. Stretching helps alot with the sorenss and it is subsiding. 

I did my cooking for the day.  Made and baked all lump backfin crabcakes (no breading) a plain baked potato for lunch. I would never eat carbs or even oatmeal but finally accepted the fact that I"m gonna need some carbs to get me through my hit training. For dinner, I prepared grilled chicken breast over a bed of fresh green beans with garlic and a few peanuts thrown in. Its great to cook ahead of time- just heat and eat.

Have psyched myself out for my workout tonite. I want to get back into the zone.   Once I get my mind on track there is no turning back. The first step is always the toughest.  Will do a 45 minute Hit cycle class and work core and abs. Gonna give my shoulder a rest as it needs it.   

Even though I missed the gym for 2 weeks with my cold,  I did not gain any weight. Thats always good but I feel like I lost some of my tone. I want to get focused again and work  off the guilt that I am feeling.

There will be no New Years Resolution for me.  I made my resolution last December and stuck to it for over a year.  Ive taken my knocks like everyone else and have made my training and fitness goals a lifestyle. This is an ongoing process.  From 2007 to 2008 I tore the house down to the foundation.  In 2009, I am going to build it back up one brick at a time.  The best is yet to come.

I had a physical today and passed with flying colors.  Blood pressure perfect and my physician couldnt believe how much weight I lost.  I am finally over my cold-good riddance. After being out of commission with cold #2 for over 2 weeks, I finally got back into the gym.  I couldnt take it sitting around the house anymore, felt like I was wasting away flopping around the house.  It was something that I HAD TO DO. I gave up an all expense paid fattening holiday dinner with friends to go to the gym instead.  No Regrets and a great gift to myself.  My friends are supportive of my fitness goals and I will catch up with them over the holidays.

It felt great to be back there and wow 2 weeks away makes a big difference. The only way to describe it is that I felt rusty, almost like starting all over. But I got in a complete total body workout and everything fell into place. I was where I belonged and happy to be there and worked off a lot of stress.  Hell, I may even sneak in a workout tomorrow early on xmas eve.

Today I was contacted Ballys corporate office.  They saw my bb.com page and they are interested in featuring my transformation in their 2009 ad campaign. Pretty cool.

 Im wondering how sore I am going to be tomorrow but thats ok if I am. Id rather be sore from a great workout than feeling fat flopping around the house.

Merry Christmas!

I think I relapsed into this cold by going back to the gym too soon before my last cold was over. Seven days of another cold has me bummed out. Haven’t been to the gym in a week.  This cold has subsided but it is hanging on.  It has gotten to the point where I wake up feeling good but as the day goes on, I get that dull headache, sinus pressure and get lethargic to the point where I have to sleep.  A lot of people are coming down with this. I miss the gym really badly and decided to wait until I am 100% better before returning again.  I’m gonna give myself a good rest.

On the upside, I am in the holiday spirit and know that I will be better by xmas.

Since I’ve been spending a lot of time recovering by flopping around the house I have watched practically every xmas show and special that my 300 channels have to offer.  It is difficult to believe that even with 300 channels sometimes there isnt anything worth watching.

I am keeping my nutrition up and had a nice dinner of grilled chicken strips over a bed of fresh green beans.  I even had a little chicken soup.

I felt better today than I did yesterday and tomorrow I will hopefully feel better than I did today.  Just another waiting game.

Last year on this date I weighed in at 270 pounds with 38% body fat. My gut was so fat that I could not see my feet. My legs were so fat that they rubbed together when I walked.

I was wearing 44 relaxed fit jeans that were too tight with shirts pushing 2 and 3 X. I was embarrassed to go anywhere in public. I was miserable and completely disgusted with myself because I was in the worst shape that I had ever been in.

I was reluctant to join bodybuilding.com. Because I was so out of shape and intimidated to the point that I didn’t think that I deserved to even be here. To my surprise, I was welcomed here immediately and was told from day one that “I will get out of it what I put into it” and a year later, here I am.

Well I am 4 days away from my one-year anniversary from starting all of this. This has been one hell of a journey.  Down 91 pounds and reflecting back I had my ups and downs with injuries, working 10-12 days in a row, change in my gym hours, having the flu for 2 weeks but I persevered because I am committed to achieving my goals.  

Today I was told to stay off of my shoulder for the next 2 weeks- no lifting on it at all.  Ok, already been there done that with my knee and hip, so I will focus on cardio, abs and legs and core training. Swimming almost each morning has been therapeutic for my shoulder and the hot tub really helps out as well. I am really glad that since shaping up, I finally have the confidence to hit the pool at the gym- its been great.

I will be posting my 1 year progress pics on December 14th.  This has been one hell of a change for me and more than a body change it has been awesome in every way possible.

It really brought balance into my life and I even think better luck.  My ultimate dream is to hit the lottery only once but big.  Then I can have my own gym and pool.   lol

I have remained consistant and focused and have concentrated on having quality workouts, maintaining my diet and the weight continues to fall off of me.

I started out last December 14th at 270 pounds down to 180 pounds. It has been a long time since I weighed 180 and it is kind of a surreal feeling but awesome.

I cant state enough how great all of this has been.  It has done wonders for me in every way possible. A big thanks to everyone in the bb.com community who have motivated me and supported me on my continued journey to better health and fitness.

The best is yet to come.

Damn I feel great !

The aroma of gingerbread cookies baking.