It's been just over a month now since I have started this adventure,a month and a week. Things are going very well, as good as I could have imagined. I am down to 210 and I am eating very well. I am not hungry at all and am only taking in about 1700 calories a day. I was concerned I wasn't taking in enough calories but was assured by "G" that as long as I wasn't hungry that my body is telling me "your doing just fine." "G" also turned me on to the glycemic index which I had no idea about and after some research seems not too many americans are hip to. I have found out that I have been eating the right foods and that gives me a little more confidence, as I am going to need it as today is my last day of smoking, hopefully! Yep, that's right tomorrow I stop smoking. I have abused this body long enough might as well go all out! I'll just have to stay a bit busier and I have some sugar-free hard candy to help with the cravings. I am confident that I shouldn't slip as I have taken off over 20pds and I am up-ing the weight in all my workouts. I am now doing 60min on cardio a couple times a week so I believe I should be able to whip the sticks!

There is this recurring thought I have when I am doing my 40 mins of cardio each day,"How did I let myself get this out of shape?" I believe it has to do with how you feel about yourself and how things are going in day-to-day goings on in life. I have or thought I had one of the worst years in my life last year. As I look back on last year and others,it hasn't been that bad. I eat, and according to the scale too much, have clothes on my back and have a roof over my head. I have come to realize that having these small things in life is priceless. I like to think that I am blessed as many in this world do not have what I have, just a rambling thought. I am feeling much better physically and even more so mentally. I think alot of the mental part is do to the fact I am eating right and I am not knocking down beers like a sailor on liberty every other day. My weight is now down to 215 and I am happy for that. I like I am sure many other people in the world wish the weight would come of quicker but I am enjoying the ride, so far.

I haven't posted anything in awhile so I thought I would catch up. Diet has been going pretty well. I cheated this weekend while camping and had beef 3 times this week, two smores and something that Michelob calls beer(michelob ultra.) My personal trainer "G" said he would not gaurantee results unless I do the required daily push-ups and dips, so I did them Saturday, while relaxing camping, and I must say "Thank You G, my sides are killing me!" We had a blast camping as we found about 5-6 pounds of Morels and caught some nice crappie. I hope you enjoy the pics from our weekend as we enjoyed ourselves very much! There is one pic where If you guess the # of morels in the pic you win a prize. How bout some morels!

Well I thought I would take some "before" pics in hopes it might motivate me to work hard in the gym. And if these pics won't motivate a brother I don't know what will. My girlfriend, Cathy, says I should have took them two weeks ago when I started. She seems to think the liquid grain storage facility has already started to get smaller. Oh well, couldn't find the camera. This is after exactly two weeks in the gym. I have lost approx. 10 pounds. I am now at the humbling weight of 221 and hopefully still on the downslide!

Well it has been a week since I have started this new way of life, aka trying to lose weight. I say new way of life because that is what I have found it has turned out to be. Since I last posted I must say that I am feeling pretty confident about my efforts to lose weight. I have adjusted really well to no beer, no fried food, less carbs, no eating after 8p and nothing to drink but water. As I have seen the results in more quaility sleep, no heartburn, and the best part is I have lost 7 pounds and feel I have more energy. I worked out everyday except Saturday. My routine has been as follows, Chest, shoulders, and biceps then cardio for 20 min (keeping heart rate at 145 for at least 15 min) NEXT day, back and triceps then cardio NEXT day legs and cardio and then I repeat. The first 3 or 4 days I really felt like ,"What in the hell did i get myself into?" Then after that it has gotten rather enjoyable going to the gym. I will say this though, after about 6 min in on the cardio I am about ready to quit, and that is everytime. But it always seems to get better about 10-12 min in. I have found that you don't eat near as much when you buy and cook all your food. The preperation alone keeps you from just going to the frig and snacking. I have found that I do like vegetables alot more than I thought I did. My only concern is that I am eating too much fruit, I might be getting to much sugar that way. Oh well what the hell, it's not like I am scarfing down ho-hos. Gotta run as the NCAA Championship BBALL game is about to start. LATER