Life Distractions

Day 44: Back home, jet-lagged and weigh-in!

by Mike Vifquain on January 23, 2010

I am still sleeping … kinda.

After returning home late Wednesday night I have been trying to catch up on sleep and work.  It hasn’t left much time for anything else.  I’ve made it to the gym every day, and even managed a lifting session with my training buddy on Thursday.

Blog posts have been few and far between, as you have seen.  I promise to get back on track next week once I’m not so beat.

On to the good news!  I managed to lose weight on my trip!  I weighed in Thursday morning and was surprised to see a drop in my weight!

Weight: 288.3lbs (-2.7lbs)

I dropped almost 3lbs on my 11 day trip.  While this isn’t the 3lbs per week I would like to lose, this is still a raging success! I can lose weight while I travel!

While this is a success, I don’t consider it a victory.  I have a long way to go.  I know I can make better choices.  I still enjoyed pasta, steak and the bread and butter that is served before meals.  I look back now wishing I would have ordered the grilled chicken instead of the kobe flat iron steak.  I wish I would have only had 1 piece of bread with butter rather than the 3 or 4 pieces before each dinner.  While I only had a “taste” of the 3-cheese macaroni and scalloped potatoes, I could have skipped them.   The key here is I am still living my life and losing weight.  If I tighten the reigns a little more for these first few months, I can accelerate my weight-loss and then let up a bit once I hit my target.

I am reminded once again that exercise is only 20% of the battle.  A proper diet really does make a difference.

On a side note, I while on my trip I stopped at a local Starbucks and found a great tasting snack!

Sahale-snacks

Sahale Snacks - Soledad Almonds with apple flax seeds, date, balsamic vinegar & red pepper

They tasted great and were very light on the calories.  I plan to search for these online and order them in bulk!

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On my way home, finally!

by Mike Vifquain on January 20, 2010

Adios Vegas.

I’m in the airport eagerly awaiting my flight home.

I am excited to get back to my normal routine and proper eating habits.  Overall, my trip was a success health-wise.  I could have done a lot better, but I think I at least maintained and didn’t gain.  I did drink, but had Bicardi & Diet coke – a zero calorie drink.  As I mentioned before, I had a single beer.  I went to quite a few fancy dinners, but stuck with proteins and only a mild amount of carbs.  I nibbled on bread, had some pasta and even ate a baked potato at one meal.  I didn’t stuff myself, and never snacked at night.

I can do it.

I didn’t work out as much as a should have, but did a ton of walking.  Way more than I do at home. Does that offset my workouts?  No way, but it certainly helps.

So, does “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” really hold true?  We’ll see if I leave the pounds in Nevada or bring them with me to Florida!

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Working out from the road

by Mike Vifquain on January 14, 2010

I am alive!

I’m sorry for the lack of updates while away, but I have been pretty busy with work from Vegas.  I know, rough life.

I know you are all eager to hear about my progress while on the road for work, which has been one of the main reasons I gained weight again.  I am happy to report I have been to the gym several times, though not everyday like I anticipated.  I’ve managed to continue eating well, and have had maybe 1 beer.

The gym at The Palms was pretty nice, and I used the Procor machines for an hour each time.  My calorie count according to the machines reading was roughly 750 daily.  These machines were a little different than the elliptical I am used to.  I was able to not only set the resistance, but also the incline, which I really liked.  The random setting gave a nice workout to my legs, and my butt!

The first half of my trip is over, I’m able to rest a few days while visiting a friend in the Reno/Tahoe area.  I’ll be hitting the gym later tonight for a spin class.  I haven’t done a spin class since getting back in the gym, so this will be interesting!

I will be skipping this weeks official weigh-in as I am not at home and able to weigh on the same scale.  I’ll jump on the scale at the gym to get an idea where I am, however I won’t let it get me down if the reading changes.

My clothes are fitting better, I feel much better and I received my compliments from others who noticed my weight loss.  That’s a great feeling!

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Accountability Meets Vegas! Can it happen?

by Mike Vifquain on January 9, 2010

The first real test of my new, healthy lifestyle is coming up.  I leave this morning for Las Vegas, Sin City and will be out of town for about 11 days in total.  That’s a lot of time away from my home comfort zone, with plenty of unhealthy temptations.  Can I do it?  I don’t know if my goal should be to lose weight while gone, or to not gain any.  Ultimately I would like to try and lose at least  2lbs while I am gone.

I think I can.

I will try and stay far away from starches and the candy in the mini bar.  I will drink plenty of water and avoid the late night food binges.  Oh, no buffets.  Really, no buffets in Vegas?  I’ll be at the Rio for part of my trip, they are known for their great seafood buffet!

I will workout, daily!

Yes, I will absolutely work out every day of my trip.  If for some reason my diet slips up, I will make up for it in the gym.  Anyone care to join me?

My Lederhosen are packed for the annual Oktoberfest warm-up party.  The last 2 years, I have gone to Munich for Oktoberfest with a group of others from my industry.  As you may guess, it’s filled with beer, food and drunken fun.  Every January, at our Vegas convention, one of the sponsoring companies throws a party at the Hofbrauhaus for those who have attended the Munich event.  We dress up in our German outfits and storm the place.  Can you imagine 20-30 people dressed in Lederhosen and Dirndls walking through a casino?  Yeah, we make quite the scene!  This will be the only night I plan to consume a single beer.  I will earn it with my diet and workout discipline!

In preparation for my trip I really kicked it into overdrive this week.  I have continued my daily cardio, but added mon/wed/friday lifting.  I even hit the gym this morning for another hour of Cardio.  I can’t help myself.

Fridays workout was a full 60 minutes on the elliptical followed by an hour and a half of shoulders and back on the weights.  I used the iFitness app for the first time on my iPod touch and was quite impressed!  I exported my workout as follows:

Cable seated close row (1 x 15 100lbs, 1 x 12 110lbs, 1 x 10 120lbs )
Machine row ( 1 x 15 70lbs, 2 x 12 85lbs )
Machine Back flys ( 1 x 15 70lbs, 1 x 12 70lbs, 1 x 12 62.5lbs )
Dumbbell shoulder press ( 1 x 15 20lbs ea, 1 x 12 30lbs ea, 1 x 12 35lbs ea )
Assisted Pull-up ( 1 x 10 175lbs, 2 x 8 175lbs extra help on last 3 )
Dumbbell front raise ( 1 x 12 15lbs ea, 2 x 10 15lbs ea)
Upright row ( 1 x 15 35lbs, 1 x 11 35lbs, 1 x 6 50lbs )
Dumbbell shrugs ( 1 x 12 45lbs ea, 1 x 12 40lbs ea, 1 x 10 40lbs ea )
Lat pulldown ( 1 x 12 100lbs, 1 x 12 85lbs, 1 x 10 85lbs )
Dumbbell lateral raise ( 1 x 15 10lbs ea, 2 x 12 10lbs ea )

One hell of a workout, but it felt great. I’m a little sore this morning though!

So, wish me luck as I travel to Vegas.  May I win plenty of money while staying on my healthy path!

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Where have all the cougars gone?

by Mike Vifquain on January 8, 2010

As quickly as the cougars arrived over the holidays, they seem to have disappeared as the cold arrived this week. I am stunned. No scantily dressed, middle-aged women with caked on make-up this week at the gym. What am I going to do without this entertainment? It’s like showing up to a circus with no clowns!

I did an hour on the elliptical this morning for a total of 1014 calories burned.

I also downloaded some Nifty Apps for my iPod Touch.

“Tap & Track” to help count my calories consumed and burned.
“iFitness” to log my workouts to measure progress.

These came highly recommended from a friend of mine. I’m pretty excited about using them and seeing the growth.

This afternoon over lunch I am lifting again. I will be doing my full body measurements before then and log those numbers here as well.

I’ll post more later after the workout. TGIF!

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Week 4, weight-training and freezing in Florida

by Mike Vifquain on January 5, 2010

I bit the bullet.

Yesterday I started my weight training program with an all out blitz on my chest.  After another morning with 60 minutes on the elliptical, I planned my afternoon workout with a trainer friend of mine.

I am weak!  Very weak!

We started warming up the chest and shoulders with light dumbbell presses.

4 x Bench press (135lb x 12, 145 x 10, 145 x 6, 115 x 12)
4 x dumbbell incline press (35′s x 10, 30 x 10, 25 x 12, 25 x 8 )
3 x standing free-cable flies. (30′s x 10, 25 x 12, 25 x 10, 25 x 6)
3 x dumbbell bench press ( 25 x 10, 25 x 6, 25 x 8 negatives, 20 x 8 negatives)
3 x decline bench machine ( 50 x 12, 50 x 8, 50 x 8 negative, 50 x 5 negative)

I was pretty ashamed of how weak I was.  It felt good to lift, but my head was down from embarrassment.  I’m a little sore today, but I can still lift my arms.  I guess the cardio I have been doing has helped a little.

I will be lifting 3 days a week (Mon, wed, Fri)now that I have a workout partner.  Best part is he is a very experienced trainer too, so I know he’s not going to lead me down the wrong path.

Now, what the hell is wrong with the weather in this country?  It was 28 in Tampa when I woke up yesterday! It’s damn cold this morning as well.  It is really hard to stay motivated when all I want to do is crawl under a big blanket and sleep.  I am facing it head on, waking up early so I have a chance to wake up and warm-up before working out.

Tomorrow is my official weigh-in day, I think I will be around 290 or so.  That will leave me only a few days to drop the additional weight to meet my first goal.  I can do it though!

How is your year starting off?  Are you sticking to your resolutions this early, or are you brushing them off?

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