ohiolifter’s BodyBlog

after losing 79 pounds, i was pleasantly surprised to notice that i havent lost much strength. tested my one rep max on the bench press tonight, and got 215. it was 225 before. also, i did db incline presses with the 60’s, and got 10 reps fairly easily. i thought that this was going to drop significantly, but i felt very good about the results. i am hoping to test my one rep max on the deadlift on thursday night. it was 370 before. i am hoping to get 330.

cardio today was the normal 45 mins on the stairstepper. the gym still has only one working treadmill right now, so i have been sticking with the stepper. it seems that no one else uses it except for me. i have been getting great and consistent results from it though. the great news is that i will be done focusing on the cardio very soon!!!

i am sure glad to be back on the normal eating plan after this weekend. i always feel guilty when i stray from the eating plan, but i also know that it is going to happen on occasion. i wont let it bother me, i will just keep going strong. i only have 3 pounds to go to get to the goal of 180. hopefully i will hit it next week. i am not sure where to go from there. if you have any advice, i am all ears. i dont know if i should continue to lose weight, or try a bulking cycle, and then go for weight loss again after that. i have lost so much weight that, i am going to have abdominal skin flapping around. i dont know how to fix this without surgery. it sucks……

i feel miserable. i ate way too much food this weekend! went to my family’s get together last night, and ate 2 burgers, 2 hot dogs, a few chips, and some ice cream for dessert. that was enough food for the entire weekend, but i ate too much today also! at my in-laws, we had ham, noodles, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, and chocolate pudding pie with whipped cream on top for dessert! so here i sit, again feeling miserable! i must admit that it was nice to not worry about what i was eating for the first time in a long while. everything tasted great, but i am eager to go back to the plan tomorrow. already got my meals cooked for the week. this is a surefire way to put yourself in a no-fail environment. planning and cooking your meals ahead of time is the best thing you can do to help yourself succeed! i hope everyone else enjoyed their easter weekend, and ate a few good things along the way. i know i did!

i guess taking 3 days off from working out must be what my body needed. i was again shocked by losing 3 more pounds this week. i am only 3 away from the goal of 180. i will need to be thinking of what my next goal should be. i will be happy to get to the goal, because i am getting sick of doing so much cardio. i will not stop doing the cardio when i reach 180, but i will be able to cut it down and do more lifting. i am very excited for that! i am still currently lifting twice a week, but i would like to lift more often. i am currently doing the 5×5 workout, and i am not too impressed with it. i am going to be going back to another one that i did in the past, that my body responded well to. last nights workout was a killer, 300 pound deadlifts, 5×5? i got 3 sets of 5, and was whooped! last week i got 5×5 deads with 295. last night, i just had no energy. thats just one more thing to look forward to when i slow down the cardio and eat more, i will have more energy! i hope everyone has a great easter weekend, and i will try not to eat too much chocolate! ha!

my oldest daughter had her tonsils and adenoids removed today, and everything went just great! it was a long day, and we are relieved to be back home now. we left at 6:30 this morning and got home around 4:30 this afternoon. the only bad news is that i ate fast food today for lunch, the first time in 6 1/2 months! i had the big fish at burger king,plain, and onion rings. i figured the fish was better for me than a burger would have been. the good news is, that it didnt even taste that good. i sure have not missed eating fast food. home cooked meals are definitely the bast tasting and the best for you! well, i will be back to the cardio and weight lifting tomorrow, after taking the last 3 days off. it was a nice break, but i still have alot of work to do yet.

no workout yesterday because i had to go to work. no workout today because i dont workout on sunday. no workout tomorrow because my oldest daughter is getting her tonsils removed. we have to be at the hospital at 7 am, and probably wont get out of there until 5-7 pm. going to be a long day tomorrow. i will be back to the normal routine starting tuesday. i had been thinking of taking a week off, because i have been doing cardio 5-6 times a week for 6 1/2 months. but i think taking these 3 days off will be enough of a break. hope all goes well tomorrow with my daughter, your thoughts are appreciated.

woo-hoo, i passed the 75 pound milestone! i am shocked to continue the weight loss at such a steady pace. i am now down to 186 lbs, which is one pound less than i was at graduation almost 14 years ago! so much weight lost, but yet so much more work to do. when does it ever end? i am not even close to how i want to look, although i did post some new pics. you see so much more in the pics than you do in the mirror. i will continue to work hard, and will not give up! hope everyone has another successful week next week!

did 45 mins on the stepper this morning. and then after work, did 22 mins on the treadmill and 15 mins on the stepper. and then, the best part of the day, cooked some t-bone steaks on the grill and baked potatoes. mmmm, that was good. then i just sat on the front porch and watched my daughters play. it sure is nice to have a relaxing evening once in awhile. tomorrow will be morning cardio and evening lifting.

its about time we get a warm sunny day in ohio. spent a couple of hours outside with the kids. does smashing pop cans count as cardio? i was sweating while doing it. my daughters wanted to save pop cans for the money you get to recycle them. we are going to disney in january, and they decided to save cans so they can have their own spending money. (they are 8 and 6 1/2 yrs old) i thought it was a great idea, if they wanted to help with the money. the bad thing is, my barn is full of cans from over the winter months. so i spent 1 1/2 hours smashing cans, and didnt even get 1/4 of them smashed! it will take quite a bit of time to get them all smashed! so far, my girls have turned in $104 worth of cans!

after that, i cooked wings on the grill. oh boy, they were good too. yummy. watched the bristol race, pulling for my man gordon. he got third place. but he is leading the points now! woo hoo! also, some guy stopped and asked me if my camaro was for sale. uh,no! this has happened about four times since i got it. my wife thinks it is weird that guys will just stop at the house and ask if it is for sale. i dont think it is weird, i think you never know unless you ask! but the answer is no, it is not for sale. all in all, a good weekend, and glad to see some sun and warmth in ohio!

i managed to drop another 2 pounds this week, for a total loss of 73 pounds. i am now down to 189 lbs. i am very happy with 2 pounds, that is awesome! i am going to need to keep buying new clothes. i am now only 9 lbs from my goal of 180, and 2 pounds more than i graduated at. i was 187 at graduation 13 years ago, and i am excited to be so close to that weight again. i hope everyone else has had a successful week. what a great feeling!