Good morning to the faithful! Today we here in America will be celebrating Memorial Day. Mostly that includes sitting around visiting, cooking out, remembering funny moments, and eating bad food! To be honest this past week has been great for working out and running, but not the best for eating. We have been eating well during the day, but at night we have not been doing the best. We have not been eating awful, but just not as good as we possibly could have. The good news - I weighed in at 319.2 this morning! That is down 2.4 pounds last week! And if you really think about it yesterday was my Dad's birthday and we ate a big lunch and cake! Friday night we had pizza buffet! My favorite! Saturday we had mexican with lots of cheese and guacamole! So this has been a full flavor weekend so far! And today steak, corn, bread, potato's, cake, and cookies are on the menu! BUT I will be running this evening and P90X! I am excited about running - Week 3 on the couch to 5K is getting tougher - Jog 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, jog 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes, then repeat the whole thing! That doesn't sound like much, but that is starting to get brutal for a fat man like me. But I am excited about it! I am excited to run a 5K and feel good while doing it! I don't mind eating a little bad food when I am running and feeling good! This morning when I put on my shorts and belt I can go back down another notch! Notch number 6! OH YEAH! When I originally started this quest at a hefty 373 I was at belt notch number 2, then I was at number 5 for what seemed like forever (number 5 for like the past year and a half basically), then I hit number 4 a little before my birthday and went back to number 5 for these last couple months. So to hit number 4, if only for a day, feels good and helps me to know I am on the right track! I will post some pictures soon just because everyone has been bugging me about how other blogs that are "successful" have pictures. To be honest I am freaking excited when I see people have visited my blog and I have a new follower - all 8 of you now! But I am really writing this blog for myself. It is like a journal or diary I guess - of course that sounds a little flametastic, but that is what this is for me. It is a way to talk about how I feel and put it out there. And it really helps me - when I stick to it and write more. But anyway about the pictures - when I stand in front of the mirror and suck in my gut you can see the bottom of my rib cage - I know that sounds silly, but that is one of the ways I know that I am losing gerth and fat. When I am bloated and beasty and suck in my gut there does not appear to be any change - just a round mass sticking out from what could be a healthy body - but now when I suck in you can see some rib cage and it is just my belly that pokes out! OH! And when you tighten up your neck and mouth you know how you can get veins and tendons to stick out in your neck? Well I can see those again a little! So I am excited and I will strive to do well! Today in P90X we are going to do chest and arms I believe - I am going to try and get KSTS to take some pics and I will post those as well. Wish me luck today with all that good food! And remember what I have said before - just move a little and it truly helps! Just a little every day and it makes a WORLD of difference.

Also, if you are visiting my blog and want to become a follower please do! If you want me to write about something else let me know and I will! And do me a favor and click on some of those ads that google puts on here! Every little bit helps! THANKS!!!

Good morning my faithful! So the big news - I weighed in at 321.6 - I am not super happy about that, but I will roll with it. Friday morning I weighed in at 321 even. So it would look like I gained .6 over the weekend - but I don't feel like I did??? I worked hard and am going to chalk it up to water weight and body fluctuation. SO! Friday evening I do some Kenpo before we headed to the race - I did not eat good at the race, but the last race I went to I ate MUCH worse. So I am proud of myself over all. Saturday we slept in late, got up and ran our couch to 5k, then I mowed grass and worked in the yard. We went to Red Lobster for dinner and I had a normal dinner - But that is all I ate that day! So I don't feel guilty a bit! Sunday we did not move a ton - hung out with my M&D and snacked some around their house. We didn't eat bad, but we didn't eat great - then when we got home I did some Plyometrics work out and sweated up a storm! So I felt good this weekend - I hate that my numbers don't reflect that, but I feel good this morning and my clothes are already fitting better!

Today I had a couple granola bars for breakfast, I have a couple apples  packed for snacks, I have soup and green beans with carrots for lunch! We have a showing at our house this afternoon - Please say a prayer that it shows well and maybe we will get an offer! So when I get home we are going to load up the dogs and head to M&D's house. We will do our P90 there (today is pushups and back I believe) then we will go for our couch to 5K in Maiden. By the way, if you are interested in the program we are following here is the link:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

I have read several other peoples blogs about getting started in the program and they have all had fantastic results! I am excited to be able to say that I can run a 5K! In high school when I was playing football and in pretty decent shape - I was still beastly, but in better overall shape - I could run a mile in a little over 9 minutes. That is pretty slow, and I was about to pass out after the one mile! So I am freaking excited about being able to run a 5K (3.1 miles) in roughly 30 minutes, which is what this program strives to help you do! KSTS is signing us up for the 5K they run in the Lincolnton Apple Fest - I believe in September sometime. And we are going to do a Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning before we pig out! Then one day the Iron Man in Hawaii!!!!! maybe that "one day" is a LONG ways off..... But I think I can manage a 5K in 4 months! Week one is really easy so there really isn't much to report. I will tell you more as the weeks go on, but week two is pretty easy as well. I tell you the toughest part is my big toes have been bothering me.... My brother and dad have the gout! And I hate to admit it, but I must also be developing a touch of it... Getting older sucks!

I hope everyone is moving more this week! The experts for health and well being say you should strive to take 10,000 steps a day. That sounds like a bunch, but it really isn't. Especially when you start earlier in the day. I know when I sit in my office all day long and don't start moving till I get home it is super hard to break even 7,000 steps a day. But in my typical workout of just P90 I get in 3K steps, doing the couch to 5K gets me another 3 - 4K, and then just your regular moving around gets you the rest. I get up from my desk and move around the office and shop and go look at how the guys are doing on a job, etc... Just get up and move! I know that the internet and really my blog are enthralling! But when you sit around all day long then start moving in the afternoon it is nearly impossible to get in your steps! But if you tell yourself you are going to take 5 ten minute walks around the yard or down your street a day then you will get in your steps with ease! It sucks to think about devoting yourself to an hour of working out, or even just 30 minutes some days. But ANYONE can take a ten minute break a couple times a day! That is nothing! Just a thought. Maybe keep 5 dried beans in your pocket and every time you take one of your 10 minute breaks to go for a stroll you throw a bean out, when all your beans are gone you have accomplished something! Good luck my peeps! It is super easy to dictate what YOU should do from behind my keyboard - obviously I am not perfect! But I am trying! I hope you are too! 

Oh and one other thing - do me a favor and visit some of the ads on my page! THANKS!

Good day folks! Two posts this week! I know! Fantastic! So listen up - This has been my first week back on track where I have been able to stay committed all week long. My dilemma is coming - the dreaded weekend... So in the past I have always been able to make excuses for myself that I have worked hard and its just a couple days over the weekend and it is good to shock my body and blah, blah, blah. The fact is that is bull poop! You have to eat good over the weekend and move some in order to continue weight loss - you can't pig out and expect your body to react properly. So I weighed this morning! Typically I fuss at people who weigh more than once a week because it either gives you false hope or it frustrates you. Neither are good when you are trying to stay diligent and continue to lose. BUT I wanted to know my weight today - which by the way is 321, that means I am down 5 from Monday! - because I am going to weigh again on Monday and compare! If I still weight 321 Monday I will be content that I didn't gain any and I was able to maintain. If I lose some by Monday then I will jump for joy! But if I gain some - then I need to be shot! Because if I can't keep it together for 7 days then there is little hope for me to hit my goals by beach time... Tonight we are going to the Truck race and qualifying at the track in concord. We are going with my father-in-law and have box seats. In the box there is all the beer, soft drinks, and tasty (but NOT good for you) food! So I am preparing myself for tonight. For instance I ate a smaller than usual breakfast, I am going to eat a minimal lunch, and I am not going to snack at all until we get to the track. Then I will eave a surplus of calories that I may eat - this does not mean that I am going to black out and go completely crazy. I am going to eat normal food in smaller amounts, stick to water or diet drinks, no beer at all, and I am going to be reasonable with my food choices. You never know what they will have, but I am sure there will be nachos with all the melted cheese in the world. I am going to have a couple chips - like 10 - instead of entire plate full! I am going to have one plate of food tonight - instead of 3 or 4! And when the desert rolls around I will eat a single cookie - or nothing at all! I am tired of being a fat bastard. I have felt so great this week working out and eating well and I don't want to ruin that because I think cheese is super tasty! All that will happen is that Monday I will feel guilty and hate myself and then it will be that much harder to get started again. And maybe I am destined to lose 8 pounds next week, but because I sabotaged my weekend I would only lose 2. That is not acceptable! I want to be dead sexy and look my best. So when I get home BEFORE we go out tonight I am going to do Kenpo P90x - it is a super good cardio workout if you put your mind to it! You only get out of it what you put in, so if you don't try to push yourself and really bring some intensity then it isn't a good workout - it is just a waste of time. I rather enjoy it and the hour flys by! So I am going to bring the pain! Then tomorrow we have a couch to 5K day and I am going to do another P90x program - not sure which, maybe plyometrics. Sunday there will be some yard work going on and sometime we have got to get some healthy food in the house because I don't have much to pack for lunch next week! Wish me luck everyone! Say a prayer that I am able to fight off my old ways and eat good this weekend! Say another prayer that I am like 320 or 319 by Monday! Good luck all my companions on this suck ass quest of weight loss!

Good morning all my loyal subjects! I am feeling pretty good this morning! It has been a while since my last update - thank you Susan for busting on me. Yesterday KSTS & I ate well and worked out hard! I am very proud of both of us! When we got home from work I was working in the yard dead heading roses and pulling some weeds and KSTS came out and let me know she had a really bad headache and was not feeling well. So I finished up my yard work and come in to sit with her for a few minutes. I was about to say lets just not work out and relax, but I really wanted to start back and get in gear! September/October is rapidly coming and by George I have some fat to burn! So I told KSTS to rest and I was going to go start our couch to 5K. But she was a trooper and said she wanted to come, even though she was feeling like bootie stank and not feeling it. BUT SHE CAME! And it was a good work out! We did our warm up then alternated walking for 90 seconds and running for 60 - we did that for 30 minutes. We both felt great afterwords! And her headache was gone! AMAZING! Exercise sucks huge monkey butt, but it does make you feel better - when it is done... We had a couple quick errands to run and we grabbed some dinner while we were out - a little Mexican, but light on the chips and the fattening stuff. Then we came home and cranked out a P90X workout - it was the first in a LONG time. It was not fun and although Tony Horton is a stud, he is quite aggravating and is hard to watch when it is the same dialogue over and over and over again.... It was a chest and back workout - and I am feeling it this morning! And I like it! I felt so great, AFTER the workout was finished - and I am so PROUD of KSTS for sticking it out and not giving in! We are officially back on track! I weighed in yesterday and I was 326 - fat bastard - I know... But the other days I posted about being back on track I allowed myself to get side tracked... This time I am posting after an official workout has taken place and I have proof today of how great I feel! So I am OFFICIALLY back on track! I have got to be dead sexy for the beach and for a wedding KSTS is in! We are going to see a lot of her old high school peeps and I don't want her friends to look at me and see KSTS married a fatty-Mcfats-a-lot! I want her friends to be jealous of her James Bond studly man-dingo husband! I am have to be svelte and smooth! I may have to work on the smooth part as well... SO! Let me recap it again - it was SOOO freaking hard to get over the hurdle of not working out and not feeling good and being grumpy and just pushing it off another day, then another week, then another month.... But I swear I feel like a champ today! If you can just get past day one, then day two, then a couple more - you will feel so wonderful! I feel like I am on crack this morning! I can't imagine how good I will feel in 13 more days! Usually the first two weeks of being back on track I feel amazing! If I weighed in at 326 yesterday then by May 30th - two weeks - I want to be down to 316!!! 10 pounds in 2 weeks - WAY DOABLE! I am not joking about how good I feel after just one day of eating good and working out - AMAZING! If I could have only remembered sooner how good this feels then I would have gotten back on track right after my birthday - instead it has taken literally 2 months to get back on track! I know you are not supposed to look back, but imagine if I had not taken off these last two months???? Think about it.... Even if I just just lost 2 pounds a week I would be down to 290! Can you freaking believe that???? Instead I gained weight and am a portly 326! Sucks monkey balls! But I can't look back - i cant change the bonehead decision of eating like a pig - all I can do is not let it happen again and kick it back into high gear! And I am doing that! I am on a high and I am going to stay that way! I beg of all you peeps that read this - PLEASE JUST MOVE A LITTLE MORE AND EAT A LITTLE LESS! I PROMISE YOU THAT YOU WILL FEEL BETTER! AND ONCE YOU START FEELING JUST A LITTLE BETTER YOU WILL WANT TO KEEP ON FEELING EVEN MORE BETTER! (I know that is some amazing grammar skills right there!)  My food today - fiber one bar and granola bar this morning, I have 3 apples for snacks throughout the day and raisins, two cans of soup for lunch. I am going on an apple kick lately! Tonight we are eating at dirty dons, but KSTS and I already have a game plan of what to order so we don't over eat and so we eat the right kind of food! Then we are just going to do a quick walk (part of the couch to 5k plan is to ONLY run 3 days a week, and to not push past what they have on their plan - that way you don't burn out) then some more P90X this evening! On my very first post I said I would post some pics of me in my boxers when this all started and then the finished product - I promise that I will still do it! I just need to get back into gear! I am so proud of KSTS for getting back into gear and working had and pushing through the pain last night - I hope she feels as good today as I do! Good luck all my peeps and please post comments! If anyone ever wants me to post something for them in the main body of the blog just e-mail it to me and I will insert it here:
                   "like this. and then you will have your words here. and you can tell me whatever...."

Good luck everyone!

Good afternoon my fair citizens of all things Robusto! Weight today was 324.2. I did lost almost 4 lbs last week, but I wanted more! Probably some of my setbacks come from the snacks mom bought Saturday while we were redoing her floor and room... Of course I am the one who ate said snacks.... And Sunday we went to lunch with big ed. It is a fish house and we were going to get some broiled fish and a baked sweet potato, pretty healthy! Instead when we got there and sat down we found out that on Sundays they only have their buffet... Everything on the buffet was different shades of brown and tan... all fried - except for the macaroni and cheese of course! So needless to say I was not able to eat great - I am sorry let my rephrase that - it was easy for me to eat badly and I did not have the will power to help myself. So there - I blame myself for getting into bad situations and not being strong enough to get out of them. Such is life sometimes.

Well I did run and walk a fair amount last week so that helps! And today KSTS & I are going to hit some P90x and we are going to start to do the couch to 5K plan. I am going to be fit and dead sexy dammit! I have got a beach to hit in September and I plan on not being so self conscious while there! Plus I want to be one of those people that run on the beach that I have always hated!