Losing some el bees, Redux

Well, not only has it been quite some time since I've posted in my blog, but it's also been nearly 5 months of time that I've been working out and trying to get into a different shape than round.  I begged you all to follow me, and I left you waiting on the front porch.  I have 4 entries in the works, and I promise to get them all out this month and keep on top of this thing.  The positive feedback is helpful, and I greatly appreciate you telling me how much you've enjoyed my ramblings.

So, on with the fat-boy talk.  As I mentioned, I've been heading to the gym now for about 5 mos.  I very quickly lost 30lbs, 50% due to some illnesses suffered this winter.  Getting to my goal #1 (from my first el bees post) has proven much harder than I allowed myself to believe when I quickly achieved the 30 pound peel.  In fact, I still have not cracked 40lbs, but I continue to work on it.

Despite not being able to lose weight at will as I'd hoped, I do see significant changes and improvements in my overall health.  At the end of the day, this really is the ultimate goal - to not keel over at a young age, and to be fit enough to play at will with my boys.  Since my weight seems determined to hover between 255 and 260, I recently (last week) decided to change up my workouts.  I had a good friend (Paul Gotowko) put together a 4 day workout instead of the 3 I was doing.  I think adding another day will help get my fat moving along, and off of my ass (or gut).

I have seen fairly impressive gains in my cardio abilities, particularly in the last 2 weeks.  The gym purchased some new cardio equipment, in particular some new elliptical machines.  The older ellipticals measure speed in RPMs, which doesn't really mean much  to me.  But the new ones actually measure in MPH, so I can accurately gauge how fast I'm running.  Running is a term I used fairly loosely when I started this quest, it was more of a brisk walk.  But, I've built myself up to 25 minutes on the elliptical machine 4x a week, and this morning I managed 2.35 miles in that time (averaging about 5.6 mph), which I don't think is too shabby for a 260 lb man.  I run on the "random" mode, which adds hills and things and makes it seem more like you may be running in the real world.  I don't plan on ever taking up my brother and sister-in-law's ambitions of half marathons, or even quarter marathons for that matter (there is a fun-sounding race that I am thinking of entering called the Warrior Dash, though).  I try not to let my heart rate get beyond 145 bpm during my cardio time.  When I first started, I was "running" at 3.4 mph for 20 minutes, 3x a week.  So, I'd say, a good and measurable improvement there.

In weight lifting, I've also seen improvements.  My weights have been steadily increasing, and my muscles are starting to come back to life and showing some definition on my body.  My gut is not, but it's a process.  I can see changes in the mirror now, my shoulders arms and chest taking better shape and forming some lines.  I have never worked out before how I am now - in utilizing focused muscle groups per day.  This new program has me working out specific areas on specific days (chest/tris, back/bis, shoulders/abs, and legs).  Before, I would just do a general "hit-all-areas" core-type workout.  The change is very welcome, as I was getting bored in my previous routine.

In all, the greatest change I notice is how my clothes fit now.  My pants need a belt, my shirts are too baggy...I've even managed to wear some shirts that I haven't been able to in a few years (not sure why I held on to them, apparently waiting for the time I got off my lazy ass).  I feel pretty good, too - more energized.  I have to keep seeing these little things and try to ignore for the time being my weight loss so as not to become discouraged in my pursuit of better health.