uberman's Journal

Sleepyhead
Feb 10 2009 08:35

Well I was supposed to go to the gym last night (well this morning for me in my time zone) - but as soon as I got home I just said I would take a quick nap.  So I laid my head down at 6am...and didn't get up until 6pm lol!  WoW - huge rest time - then I couldn't go to the gym again before work either because I had to come early.  Ah well.  Im not gonna stress it - I'll just use the extra time as a rest to my body.  :)

This past weekend I treated myself to some pizza as a cheat food and didn't think twice about it - it felt awesome. 

I have officially been doing this now again for a whole month since I started on Jan 5th.  So this past weekend I took measurements and it turns out I lost 8.5 inches total.  Most of it from my belly!  Woot!  I GAINED an inch on my chest though - but I'm not crying cause I know it's cause of my improved bench press.  I have been working my chest out hard every day I go to the gym and can LIFT more than when I started so that's cool for me!

In other news...I am working on getting my legal documents in order for dual citizenship here in the Philippines now that I am married.  The best part is - my employer is picking up the tab on all costs associated with it which is awesome.  So all legal fees, processing fees, etc. I don't have to pay a penny.  I don't even have to travel and put up with all the hassle - the company admin is taking care of it.  So that's pretty sweet.  Soon I will have unrestricted access to this country!  Watch out Philippines!!!  LOL

Take care all!

Aaron.

Heyooh!
Feb 06 2009 07:48

Alright Im back - I havent posted much this week at all because I was a bit lazy haha - but don't worry - I wasn't lazy with my self this week...nope...not at all.

So starting on Sunday (after almost 2 weeks of staying the same on the scale) I decided to change my diet up - basically just lower carbs and higher fats (good fats like avocados, almonds, etc.).  So ya - I did that PLUS went to the gym every day this week so far.

I don't really have any routine at the gym - I just go in and do a bit of everything - so I guess itss Full Body Workout with Weights.  Actually, this week I've been extra focused and been going to do cardio when I wake up...head to work...and do weights after work.  Needless to say the change in diet and exercise worked well....

Because I lost 3 lbs.!!!!!!!!!!!!   Hahaha nice nice!  Anyways I am down to 200lbs. rather than hovering around 203-206 for the latter part of January. 

Well it makes me motivated again - that and I am starting to notice strength increaes with the weights at the gym which means I'm not LOSING muscle only FAT!  W00T!

Anyways I guess that's about it.  Have a great day and weekend all!

Aaron.

Do Work Son
Jan 26 2009 09:55

Well I have started with the weights again at the gym - and hit them hard on the first day back.

Started again with a full body workout rather than segment my muscle groups.  Felt good to pump the iron again - but being the first day again in months - it hurts pretty bad lol.  Ah well, its a familiar pain - I know it will pass and after a few weeks working out will be pretty painless.

I'm sleeping a lot better now that I have been back on my diet and exercising so that's already a plus.  I have been doing cardio for 6 days this week and changing the styles up for the most part everyday so that's cool.

This weekend my wife and I went out - and we went to this Bistro style restaurant - and I had a "California Turkey Roast Sandwich" - it was so good.  I took off the top part of the bun and let my wife eat it - so it was kinda like a Turkey Pizza haha - my Wife had some Spanish Style Beef stew which I had half of on top of the Turkey thing so all in all it was pretty awesome.

Today marks the 3rd week of my diet and I can say it's been going awesome so far - I can't remember any day that I feel guilty about at all.  The last weigh in I had was at 206 lbs. so its a 6lb. drop in the 3 week span.  Pretty normal I would say if I am losing 2lbs. per week.

Anyways that's all the updates from me - not much else going on.  Hope everyone had a great weekend, a great Monday, and a Great Week ahead.

-Aaron

New Pics
Jan 20 2009 12:14

Alright, so I posted some pics up on my Gallery of my First Scuba Diving Experience - check em out if you get a chance.

Nothing special to report on today ... I didn't make it to Day2 of the Gym when I woke up because I couldn't sleep and woke up at around 2 - then when I had to get up at 5:45 I just kept sleeping...kinda feel bad but oh well - the WHOLE day is not over yet - I will try to make it after work.

Nothing special to report on today actually - just another day another dollar.  I got some Karaoke Discs for my TV Setup which my Wife will love so this weekend she can spend some time singing while I play video games hahaha.

I have taken a keen interest in cooking recently and have made my very own Chili around Christmas time which was a big success.  I am thinking of making it again but this time with ingredients that will more fit my diet plan.  (Instead of Ground Beef - Ground Chicken) etc.  I also got a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken that I am going to try out this weekend so hopefully that goes well.  I earn more points with my wife if I cook anyways lol!!

Anyways - because I woke up so late today I feel off...like a little confused and stuff - I drank a lot of coffee today too so far - almost the whole pot.  I just drink my coffee black though so it's not like I am worried about calories or anything...just Caffeine content.  I know caffeine dehydrates me - so I will drink some extra bottles of water to balance the situation.

This marks Day 15 of my lifestyle change (Round 2) and so far so good.  The more I keep busy and don't get too attached to calories etc. the less I think about it so I am liking it so far.  I am thinking of taking serious scuba diving lessons in the coming days to pick up a new hobby.  Since I live in the Philippines it's not that hard to find water to dive in!  haha.

Take care everyone - have a great day!

Aaron.

Something New
Jan 19 2009 10:39

Well, another start to another week.  I had an awesome weekend on that trip I went on.

I took all of your advice - and ate "responsibly" at the buffets.  Just had one plate - and filled most of it with Veggies/Salad (with dressing on the side) and fish etc.  It was great.

I did drink a bit on the first night because well, I gotta live lol.  So after a few beers I went swimming and I guess got a lot of exercise as well.  We had little "Team Building" challenges that got physical - alot of running on the beach - swimming - etc.  So all in all I was pretty active all weekend. 

The best part of it - was Scuba Diving - I had never been before so I had an introductory dive for free and it was so cool.  I had always gone snorkeling in my life - but this was very different and was a little awkward with the breathing at first - but then I got used to it.  It felt so cool to be swimming with the fishes around the different corals and stuff - and the best part is I didn't really have to swim at all - the instructor was basically carrying me through the water haha - well at least I am virtually pound-less under water haha.

Anyways - cool experience - will try to post some pics of the dive in the next few days once I sort out my Digi Cam pics.

Started this week great - as I promised to myself I managed to wake up a bit earlier and hit the gym for the first time this month (FINALLY!).  Just did about 40 mins of treadmill work - and I am far off from where I used to be it.  But ah well - I'll get there again.  I plan on going to the gym again after work to do some weightlifting.  My ideal plan is to do cardio when I wake up - and weights after work - but we'll see how long I can keep that up...at least the gym is across the street from where I live so it's easy to get to.

Anyways thats about it for me - I hope you all had a restful weekend and ready for the coming week!

Bye for now,
Aaron

Week 1 Official Weigh In
Jan 16 2009 08:50

Alright so today is the official weigh in for Week 1 of the challenge so I woke up - went potty - and decided to weigh in...the result *drum roll*.......

203 lbs. is my official weight so all I can say is that's awesome! haha.

This weekend I am going on a Team Building and Management Seminar sponsored through my work so we are all going to one of the many Philippine Islands called Batangas to have a seminar in finances (Profit and Loss) but more importantly - to just chill.

I signed up for a free Scuba Diving lesson and Massage already lol.  There will be lots of games and stuff too - but what I am worried about is obviously the "party foods" and drinks.

Well lets play this by ear and see how it goes - I have to leave in a few hours so I will update once I get back.

Bye bye!

Aw Bullocks!
Jan 13 2009 08:28

Well, I'm going to be honest - I didn't end up going to the gym yesterday :(
But I swear it wasn't because of the voice in my head - I really wanted to go....

Right when I was about to leave work - (at 5AM - I work overnights from 7PM-5AM) My boss called me to go to our other site for a meeting with him...so fine...I take a cab across the city to get there for 6AM.  I arrive and my boss got a call so I was just loitering around the other office for about 2 hours...finally at 8AM we start our meeting which ends up lasting another 2 hours...so by the time I got home it was about noon.  I was so dead tired that I just passed out on the couch.  My wife woke up at about 2PM and told me to move to the bed haha.

Anyways it sucks - but today is another day so lets try it again shall we...

With all the excitement of my new TV I forgot to set some goals for myself so here they are so I can keep track of my progress...I will also post this in my main profile to update regularly.

Jan 5- 212lbs.  
Jan 16 - 206lbs.
Jan 23 - 203lbs.
Jan 30 - 200lbs.
Feb 6 - 198lbs.
Feb 13 - 196lbs.
Feb 20 - 194lbs.
Feb 27 - 192lbs.
Mar 6 - 190lbs.
Mar 13 - 188lbs.

So technically I think I can make it by the time St. Patty's Day arrives and I can award myself with a sweet green beer!  LOL.

Anyways thanks to my new friends who just added me - I look forward to reading your journals in the days to come too - and help each other reach our goals!

Take it easy!

Aaron.

Whew...
Jan 12 2009 09:15

What a weekend...a GOOD weekend hehe.

Diet was good and manageable for the most part this weekend - did not give into the temptations of the Gin/Vodka/Johnny Walkers or Bailey's...they are still locked away in the cupboards only to come out on "special occasions" haha.

Ate pretty good - just on Sunday my Wife and I went out so we went to a retaurant.  I can't say I ate well.  We ate at this Chicken place and (being in the Philippines) my wife ordered us some Rice.  Only they served the rice with a bunch of stuff on top...I didn't mind it.  So I mixed it all up with my Chicken breast and started eating.  2 Mins later I noticed my plate was greasier than a deep dish Pizza at Pizza Hut and I'm like - what the heck!?  She told me she ordered the rice with Crab Fats in it - and I'm like - Hey Im trying to be good here! LOL.  Anyways I DID eat it because I was hungry - I'll just consider it one of those life balancing things we all discussed - I won't let it phase me.  At least it was tasty.

The highlight of my weekend was the New Toy that I got :D.  I have been eying these things for awhile and finally decided to get the new LCD TV I wanted!  Needless to say - It looks so awesome especially for when I am playing my Xbox!  The place I bought it from had a deal where if I bought the TV I get a discount on the Home Theatre system too.  So I got a 530 dollar Home Theatre for only 180 bucks - not bad.  All in all everything cost me about 1000 bucks but that's OK because I had a good Bonus from last year lol.  At least I have something to look forward to when I come home from a Hard day at the office or at the gym lol.

Speaking of the gym - today will be my first day back in a LONG time...I will be going after work just like I used to.  I am a little nervous - but I am going to lift some weights and do some cardio today since it's a Monday.  Hopefully tomorrow I will report something positive on that haha.  Basically I am writing that down here because I already hear a little voice in my head whispering "Nah, you don't have to go today".  Well I told him to shut up - and I wrote it down for some motivation but who knows when he will sneak back in there throughout the day!

Hope everyone has an awesome Monday and stays cool.

Aaron.

Why I Binge.
Jan 07 2009 09:09

Hey all - feels good to be posting again...

I think the reason my plans fail is because just like you said - I cut out everything and even though I can last for 1, 2 or 3 months I fail...why?

I think its my own personality - my wife noticed it too and talked to me about it.  Apparently my attitude or habits or personality or whatever you wanna call it is an all or nothing one...

An example is this - lets say I am not really on any healthy diet...meaning I will eat pizza, burgers, w/e - if I touch a "bad" food I will not work out.  Because in my own brain - there is no point to working out if I am not eating properly.  The only way I can justify working out is if I am on a proper diet plan.

Same goes with starting a diet plan - it always has to be on a Monday - if I screw up somewhere in the week - I seem to stop my healthy habits and start again on a Monday...

OK to be honest, it's weird I know - I think it has something to do with me being OC or something, I have been trying to get better with this stuff since I realized how weird it is and with your comments yesterday it just reminded me of how I can be.

My wife is also trying to help me - urging me to eat whatever I want but reminding me that moderation is key and for the "treats" make it once a week or so.

Well if there is anything I have learned from my last experience is that she is right so I will try to "lighten up" this time around.  I honestly won't be logging my calories or anything this time - why?  Because I will go OC again haha...

I will be tracking my progress with measurements, BF%, and of course scale readings - as well as pics so I know if I halt somewhere to change the diet up a little bit - but until then I think I will be OK without logging anything it will help me rather than hurt me.

Another day yesterday with a headache and somewhat bloating with a stomach ache...I drank some fibre mixed with water so I will keep that up for a couple of days to see how it goes.  I think my body needs to rid itself of a LOT of toxins especially from over the holidays lol.  I think once I get back into gym-mode next week I will start feeling a lot better because I remember it feeling good when I was there.

One thing I am worried about is my work - I think I am about hit a "shit storm" of busyness as something happened to one of the Operations Managers and they are eyeing me to take over the whole business (I currently just run the Quality Assurance and Training stuff)...while this is a great opportunity to step up - knowing the details of what needs to be done is VERY stressfull and I am not sure I would be able to deal with it.  I find out today what is going to happen.  The only reason I mention this here is to remind myself NOT to go on some binging spree no matter what the stress level becomes and to hopefully one day look back at this post and laugh knowing what I accomplished :)

I was supposed to go back to Canada to visit my family and hopefully find a new job there so I can "escape" the Philippines here - but my family called me and as much as they miss me - they told me to stay here for the time being because of all the economic stuff that's happening in North America right now.  Apparently the jobs are very hard to find so staying here for another year or two (or until things fix themselves) would be the best thing.  It kinda sucks 'cause I wanted to go back home - I might try to get a visit in at least in March or April - we will see.

Anyways long post - I guess I will start treating this journal as a sort of Blog so it's not always about dieting and exercize - you know - throw in some entertainment and stress relief haha!

Take care everyone!

Aaron.

Time to Suck it Up!
Jan 06 2009 07:51

Hey all - after while I have decided to come back and log again.

Basically I'll be honest - I fell off the "lifestyle wagon" - after September I don't know how to describe what happened but I think after my brain decided "it got where it wanted" I lost all motivation to care - and just started doing what I do best- and binged again.  Although I was no where near my goal...it also could have been because of my plateauing or something...whatever...

I was actually ready to start back on track in November - but then with all the Xmas/New Years stuff in view - I didn't and got even bigger...

Anyways excuses aside I have actually started my program again on Sunday so indeed I am back again - I am back up to 212 lbs though and I had been down to about 190 - so we will see what happens this time around...

Since I pretty much stopped all my bad habits again cold turkey - Day1 was a bit unpleasant with a headache and stomach ache...I'm confident though that I will persevere through it.  I picked up my multivitamins for today and should be good to go.

I want to make it clear to myself in my own log that I am NOT doing this as a mere New Years resolution - I am picking up where I left off before it becomes too late.  I know the difference between a diet and a lifestyle and for whatever reason even though I screwed up - I am determined to get back on track ASAP.

I will be starting the gym again next week since I want to ease into my diet first without all the withdrawl symptoms of lack of alcohol and huge amounts of food...will keep posted on how that goes again like old times too.

This time - I did take measurements of myself and also before pics...

Height:   5'7"
Weight:  212 lbs.

Waist:  44.5" (Holy shite!)
Neck:  14"
Chest:  43"
Arms:  12"
Hips:  42.5"
Thighs:  25"
Calves:  14.5"
Forearms:  9"
Shoulders:  44"

Bodyfat:  39%

Anyways I want to thank everyone who I saw urge me on in my peekaboo post - just hearing from all of you was encouragement enough - so lets get back into this together just like old times!  :)

Aaron.