njplaya1981’s BodyBlog

As some of you know since bodspace doesn’t offer a place to measure your stomach, I use the hips as my waist and waist as the measurement around my bellybutton and both have gone down which is pretty cool.  I sometimes forget how much diet alone helps even if you slack a bit on the gym so I think right now I’m gonna hit the gym because that’s a nice unexpected mental boost!

Haven’t had a blog for a while, but you can get the gist of how I am doing by looking at my pics and motivation status.

The topic for today is peanut butter.  I hadn’t had that stuff for a long time on a nice sandwich with jelly.  Then the other night, it was like a party in my mouth.  Don’t get me wrong I’ll eat the occasional Reeses’ Peanut Butter Cups but I just wasn’t too into PB in general.  So here is the question, obviously it has protein and such but I’m not a vegeterian or vegan and I know it has fat in it too.  Is it better to have a decent amount of it in your diet or is it something to lay off?

The two kind tie in together no?  First of all, where has everyone been?  I have like 800 friends or something insane like that and I haven’t had any comments on my blogs recently or on my newest pics!!!

Second of all, look, physical appearance etc.  Wow, I didn’t realize just how much my face has changed since the weight gain.  If you look at my original pic it was from April, 2001.  I probably weighed 185 there.  I didn’t even have goals at the time like "I wanna have a 6 pack" or something like that, I just had it anyways!  Now at 209, I am 24 lbs heavier than I was then.  Further more I was once 223, that means at one time I let myself become 38 lbs heavier than I enjoyed looking.

It has really taken its toll on me.  I never had problems getting girls and used to get teased about how i got certian girls that were "out of my league."  But when you gain weight you actually start looking different and when you gain weight you lose confidence.  Its much harder to apporach a girl at a bar or lounge when all they know about you for the first few minutes is how you look.

I am determined to get back to where I was but it gives me an appreciation for all the people who do have bad self image because I usually don’t but have been sucked into that vortex a little bit in the past few months.

Which ones are you taking and do they work for you?  Every time I open a magazine I see 6 page advertisements about hydroxycut or carbburner or ninja piss.  GNCs and vitamin shops make a fortune these days.  I wanna know what people think about these pills, shakes and formulas.  Obviously some of them work well because they sell and people get ripped, but is it worth it?  Are there side effects to the ones you take?

Personally, I don’t take them… I don’t even eat protein bars or shakes, just a preference for how I do it.  But I would like to hear my bodyspace friends as well as other’s opinions about the ones they take.

Well the back finally broke down to the point where I couldn’t walk on Thurs and it even go worse so by Saturday Morning, upon the advice of my parents I went to the emergency room.  They gave me some shots and pain meds as well as some pills for the road.  I’m not big on the meds but I guess I needed to give my body some relief.  I will be continuing physical therapy and try to keep up with the gym.  I went today but just did stretching and the bike.  I also have an appt. with a doctor this week who speicalizes in back pain and injuries.

Well I have been going strong in the gymk for a few months now but recently started pushing myself a lot harder and have made some serious gains, especially in ways the numbers don’t show… like getting to the gym, like the desire to bust my ass, like energy!  I also tied my alltime high in bench press which I hadn’t been at since I was 19 years old.

But then the back problems which have gotten consistently worse since beginning chiropractic (not like that has to be the reason- could be a coincidence I guess), gave out yesterday. 

Fortunately, I had talked to a doctor friend who had made a strong recommendation to a PT guy who is supposed to be one of the best he’s ever seen.  I only had to suffer for about 15 hours b4 I saw him.  However, this **** doesn’t work over night and I’m still limping around and taking meds (which I am generally agaisnt) because it’s that bad. 

I really wanna beat this thing.  I haven’t been down to the weight I’m at in a few years.  I am still losing, still hitting the gym and still willing to bust my ass.  This new PT guy at least has a fresh look at me and as usual it seems to be hip flexor tightness and weakness in deep abs and back muscles. 

Anyway I will end by saying I have to get through this, its taking away from my life and I’m ready to get on a roll.  I have made so many strides in my body and in other areas but I have to destroy this injury so that I can move on and better myself!

I’m trying to keep myself really motivated for the start of this new workout period.  I did a great workout which I have posted on my bodyspace and I hope to do the other workouts I projected for Wed and Thurs.  I also ate well for the second straight day and hope to continue that.  We bodyspacers gotta keep the vibe up and motivate each other!!!

Ok, so I really loved this site and kind of let it go for a while.  It is a great way for me to track and monitor my stats and goals and lose weight.  My original goal on this site was to drop 25 lbs.  That in theory was from 223 (although I was 220 when I found out about bodyspace).  That means I wanted to be 198.  I’m sure I will have new golas once I get there.

However, I have been stuck on 213 for 58 days.  Now my blogs have documented my insane back issues but guess what, thats life. If these prblems are gonna be there, I have to find another way to lose besides the hardcore exercise I always lived by.

Today, I started my first day back from vacation with eating great.  My day was a chicken and beef burrito with very little rice and no tortilla (thanks Moe’s).  And then dinner was 3 pieces of chicken with some broccoli and then a snack of Raisin Bran.  I’m sure for some people on here thats not great but for me at this level it was.  Especially turning down the burritos friend the tortilla.

So thats where I am at now.  Remotivated and reinvigorated.  Seeing the vacation pics made me feel so shi**y about myself and I have been so down about my looks for a while now.  Not to be cocky but i’m too good looking and too good of a person to treat my body this way and hide it behind extra fat i don’t need.

 So here is the new beginning.  I think I will do it this time.  15 more to go for goal 1.

When I first found this site i was so pumped… a new way to get motivated!  Plus instead of bouncing things off my friends and family, i could do it in a more secretive way with people who are somewhat going through what I am.  I was athletic my whole life but after law school I seriously aggravated my back which was already on and off when i was athletic.  30 lbs later, here i am with appointments out the ass and thoughts of shots and surgeries that I’m gonna try to fend off.  I will try much more before I do that because its kind of against my theories. 

So yea, until then, the goal is try things like PT, Pilates, Yoga, Stretching, Chiropractic and the like, and see if i can self cure.  i don’t know if that is possible because I believe something is pressing on a nerve and yes I have had all the diagnostic studies.  No herniations, bulges, just degeneration and shortening of the disk space where the nerve comes out.

But why I’m here is to get in shape and lose weight, to be as strong as possible and try to at least rule out that it is strictly a weigth issue.  i hope it is a weight issue cause then i will be able to live a better life!  Anyone with tips to lose weight w/o supplements or pills I am open to advice.  I exercise and eat pretty well but I love hearing new ideas.

 Anyway I’m back!

Well the last couple of weeks have been crazy busy.  Both good and bad.  Sticking with the good, I dropped another pound.  It took me forever to get from 216 to 215 for whatever reason.  I have also been consistently doing physical therapy and pilates for my back.  I knew physical therpay could be challenging but pilates is no joke.  Lifting your own legs and spinning it in 5 billion circles while flexing your abs get tiring.  Wall sits and stuff are no joke and I’m mixing in yoga with it and I can’t even be in child’s pose cause I’m so tight in my lower back. 

Coolest thing I did in the last few weeks is meet with David Lee of the New York Knicks for lunch.  It was me, my Dad and 3 long time ticket holders.  This guy is the man, didn’t duck any questions and was really cool.  Thats all for now, leave some comments too, I have new pics up.