BFRC Day 36 - Proper nutrition

It should be way easier to buy food that's good for us. 

As I continue into the light that is a healthier lifestyle, eating nutritional meals becomes an absolute necessity rather than a luxury available to only those who are a little obsessed.

Good food makes me feel good. Spinach, egg whites and ham for breakfast fills me up without making me tired. Sweet potatoes give me energy. Salad tries very hard to make raw vegetables more appealing.

But try to find anything good for you at fast food restaurants, public events like spring training or anywhere that isn't specifically devoted to a healthy lifestyle. For the most part, it ain't going to happen.

Work out today with Vin was good. More arms that tired me the hell out, but as my body gets used to my daily work outs, I've noticed my energy level isn't quite as high as it should be. I need better food.

BFRC Day 35 - The long weekend

(Another day late. Posting every day is hard.)

I think baseball games are designed to make people fat. Such calorie-laden drinks, nachos and hot dogs are almost a guarantee that you'll eat, sit down and not move, and then fall asleep. Healthy food options are pretty sparse, so I made do by getting some tri-tip without the bun, with coleslaw and pico de gallo.

No running this weekend, which means today will be extra tough.
Today does mark my first day back in normality after an eight day road trip and a 3+ day spring training bachelor party. It was a fun ride, but my body will be thankful to slip back into a routine.

BFRC Day 34 - Feelin' gangsta?

It feels good to be a gangsta.

Well, that's what rap songs tell me. Until I figure out exactly what that means, I think I'll stick to feeling awesome.

And I do feel awesome. The workouts are starting to, well, work. I don't carve crappy food and even today at the ballpark, I shied away from beer and a brat, mostly because I knew the havoc that would wreak with my stomach. There's apparently more to being healthy than working out every day, and I've almost figured it out.

My hands still hurt. Fingers mostly. I suppose I'll eventually figure out how to punch so my knuckles won't feel jammed all the time.

I could be an ironman. 2012, baby.

Wonder if Vin will want to race?

BFRC Day 33 - I feel stronger

(Dammit, missed another day. Friends in town for a three-day Spring Training bachelor party and my own engagement shindig will do that, I suppose.)

I'm always hungry now. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...it doesn't matter. Every day I work out at Pro Fitness AZ, I'm starved after. Yesterday's all you can eat at Scottsdale Stadium (I had a hot dog and four hamburger patties without buns and some beans with potato salad...I said I was hungry) helped that quite a bit.

It's getting harder to order food at restaurants. Never really noticed how loaded most of what we eat is with unnecessary carbs, cheese and fried food. A taco wrap with salad was mighty tasty.

I'm not sure if I even like beer anymore. Not that I've been drinking much lately, but I had zero desire for a beer and hot dog at yesterday's game and that's just weird.

Will try to get in a run today, if not tomorrow.

BFRC Day 32 - No dry heaving!

I know it's not Monday, but it IS the first day of the week I've worked out with Vin and I DIDN'T DRY HEAVE. Some of you may call that normal, but I call it progress.

I also weighed in for the first time in two weeks and was quite scared. Eight days of traveling with a lot of time in the car and not much healthy food had me worried that I'd have gained a few pounds. I mean, I did eat Girl Scout Cookies, some McNuggets, a few burgers and had some chocolate cake. AND I ran once and worked out twice, which aren't exactly the ingredients for a healthy lifestyle.

I set the scale to 215 and stepped on. Nothing. Scale didn't move. Was it broken? Shit. I slowly moved the weight to the left, my excitement building. Down to 205 and the scale jumped up. Damn. Didn't LOSE any weight. I moved it steadily back to 209, the same weight I was two weeks ago and everything leveled out.

After a week of being sick, almost ten days of traveling and not a whole lot of workouts in between, I weight exactly the same. My 36" pants are still too big, but I'm not quite in 34". I really don't like fast food and I prefer salad over pasta. I feel stronger and more agile and I can run faster.

This working out thing seems to be working.

BFRC Day 31 - Crappy evening

(If you are sensitive to the mention of bodily functions, stop reading.)

I try to eat healthy every single day. Sure, I often have a problem with portion control, but I figure that's easier to fix than completely shifting my diet, right?

But yesterday and the day before, I made mistakes. During our 24+ hour drive from Chicago to Phoenix, we ate at too many fast food places, mostly because we had the dog in the car and my lady doesn't like to leave her there for very long. We had McDonalds, Arby's and Subway, and each time I was careful not to order anything fried and just ate the meat and half the bun. It didn't fill me up, but it certainly didn't make me feel like shit.

And then I got cocky. I added a six piece nugget to an order of two double cheeseburgers, and yesterday ate half of a medium pizza from Godfather's.

The lethargy immediately after let me know I'd made a mistake, but I figured that was the end of it. I was wrong.

Upon pulling into Albuquerque around 6pm last night, I felt an urgency in my bowels not unlike the time I ate two FiberOne bars for breakfast. The extra fiber kind.

I rushed into the motel office, fearing that my clenched sphincter would be unable to hold back the onslaught. I practiced deep breathing while the lady ran my card and power walked immediately to my room, not bothering to actually tell Katie where I was going.

I was sweaty now. And fearful. I really liked the jeans I was wearing and the thought of soiling them reminded me that they were 7s, and cost $100+.

My key card didn't work the first time and breaking the window was my next choice. My right hand was covered in my sleeve and rolled into a fist when the key card clicked. I bolted to the bathroom and plopped down.

Oh god. The stench and the sensation of a shitty food crap is horrible. It felt like I lanced a huge, diseased cyst. Katie came in later, asked that I keep the door closed and covered her nose. Even the dog didn't bark.

Three rounds and some pepto bismol later, I did 3x 50 each crunches, pushups and squats, followed by a two-mile run. Saltines later helped too.

I have no idea why or how reactions like this to the shitty food I and most of the ret of us eat seemed so normal for so long, but fuck that, man. No more.

No more shitty food for me. And every time I see other people eating crap like I did, I'll know most of their bathroom trips are emergencies, too.

BFRC Day 30 - Trying to be fat

There has been no place more prevalent on our trip than McDonalds. There's one at nearly every rest stop, town and major intersection along I-40 (Route 66, kinda). While we've only eaten there twice (burgers with only half the bun; not great but far better than it could have been) we've stopped numerous times for there free wifi and always clean bathrooms.

At every stop, there's been one constant: the drive thru is always packed and inside is fairly empty. We're so fat and lazy that sitting in the drive thru for twice as long is preferable to taking the five minutes to walk in. America is fucking screwed.

I've also noticed that even the burgers don't fill me up anymore. Perhaps it's that my body knows they are mostly empty calories, but I'm always hungry after, even after I whoofed down two double cheeseburgers (bottom buns were given to the dog, then I smashed the four patties together...so tasty) that I had to munch on some trail mix.

Two more days on the road and it's back to Vin. Oh, and I swear my pants are getting bigger.

BFRC Day 29 - The long road home

It's hard to work out on the road. There's never time or a place and, at least for me, getting my smelly clothes laundered is mandatory.

I've worked out once since Tuesday and I'm starting to miss it. Not the soreness, but the energy rush I get after Vin stops his torture.

I have been fairly cognizant of what I eat on the road and that's helped. Lots of water, snacks like fruit and nut trail mix (one bag per trip, not per day) and avoiding super terrible stuff like beer and fried foods.

I did have pizza one day, but not as much as usual and it was right after my workout.

Two more days.

BFRC Day 28 - Four weeks in

Today marks my fourth week as part of this challenge. So far I've worked out three times in one week, five times the next, two the week after that and three last week. Eating healthy food on the road has been tough, and I've done my best to reduce my intake (minimal bread, no snacks) because being in the car and/or an unfamiliar environment is exhausting.

I'm actually starting to miss the energy rush I get from Vin kicking my ass in the morning.

BFRC Day 27 - Missed a day

Dammit, I was worried this might happen. A long day filled with fun and merriment pre-empted my post yesterday. Perhaps I was still sad from not quite being able to fit into size 34 jeans (my 36s are too big) or I was exhausted from being outside while helping move stuff (it's COLD HERE, MAN!), but at least I ate decently.

Eggs, spinach and mushrooms for breakfast, followed by a lettuce-wrapped Jimmy John's sandwich and then a nice steak dinner. Working out involved moving a few bigger items, but because I was sore from my (3X) 100 pushups, situps and squats from Friday, I'll take it.

BFRC Day 26 - Being lazy sucks

I haven't worked out since Tuesday and I haven't done much physically in the past two days, as I've been in a car traveling from Chandler to Naperville, IL nearly every waking hour since Tuesday evening.

Diet Coke is poison. I'm sure of it. The bloating, the mouth dryness and the ridiculous cravings I get when I sip it are seriously starting to infuriate me. I've been buying those little bottles in an attempt to drink less and it's working so far, but it's time to go a step further.

It's time to give it up. While not drinking Diet Coke won't help me do the 100 each crunches, pushups and lunges (3x in under 30 minutes!) that Vin assigned me today, it will help so many, many more things. Like bloating.

My belly won't stop protruding and I promise it ain't fat.

Eating normal (spinach, eggs and mushrooms) this morning was great.

BFRC Day 25 - Are we there yet?

I believe we are now halfway to Naperville, after traveling nearly 800 miles yesterday.

No, I didn't work out, but I did eat steak and eggs for lunch, a double quarter pounder without the bottom bun, an Arby's roast beef sandwich without the top bun and pulled pork with roasted potatoes with cornbread (thanks Stephanie!) for dinner. Yum.

Sounds like shit, but that's pretty good for me on a road trip. Thanks to Vin, my abs are still on fire and my hamstrings hate me. Yay for progress?

No wonder truckers are fat.

Crank up the music

Long car trips never seem like a big deal unless you're the driver. The passenger gets to look out the window, play on the iPhone or sleep.

Unless you're Katie and I. We've been up since 5 and on the road since 7am and are now less than an hour from Sapulpa, OK. I have no idea how far we've gone since we left Gallup, but I now know how long I can be in a car without freaking out.

I passed that limit 30 minutes ago. My feet are cold because it's muggy and my feet sweat when it's muggy, my hair feels greasy and my body is too sore from working out to sleep.

Oh, and the blustery wind is so loud we have to crank the stereo up, which distorts the sound. Sigh.

Did I mention the windshield is a smear of dust because Katie tried to clean the windshield and that didn't work.

Now instead of listening to Collective Soul, we're listening to what sounds like a Christian country rock group.

This is why people do drugs. I'm sure of it.

Also, I'm a huge wimp and Katie is awesome.

BFRC Day 24 - The long road ahead

I'm currently driving through New Mexico. Billboards urging people to end both domestic violence and DWIs are prevalent, as people here seemingly beat their spouses while driving home from the bar. You think they could at least wait to get to their living room.

My abs hurt. Lots. Vin has taken it upon himself to train me in a way that hurts more after than during and the groans after trying to turn over in bed, sit up or get out of the car are proof that he's succeeding.

It's really hard to eat properly on road trips. No chips, minimal soda and nothing fried are my goals thus far. The wendy's double stack tasted mighty good last night. Both of them, without fries.

This morning was steak and eggs with hashbrowns. So good. Oh, and what's the deal with cheese sauce at ihop and Denny's? Sick, man.

No working out today, but I will tomorrow.

PS- I hate long car rides, but my fiancée loves them. She's crazy.

BFRC Day 23 - Everywhere Hurts

I may have underestimated the toll it would take on my body to have spent five days recovering from whatever causes an upper respiratory infection, as my sore hands, stiff back and often cramping abs shout to me: stupid, you were never in good enough shape to train like this!

But, at least during the workout today, I noticed a change that I'd been hoping would happen earlier: it seemed easier. Not that I wasn't trying or that Vin was going easy on me, but my lungs seemed to outlast the rest of my muscles. No longer was I gasping for air between sets and although I feel worn out, I feel almost...good.

Elizabeth Newlin noted this a few weeks ago after being on her treadmill for a week: it gets easier. Perhaps my lungs were sick for longer than I thought, or maybe my body just needed some time off, but today it felt like I was pushing my body instead of waiting for it to catch up.

An hour nap today, after which it took nearly four minutes to roll to a side and then pull myself out of bed while avoiding the use of my abs, showed me that my body is being stretched.

Hope I can keep it up while I'm training on the road and in Chicago. Think Katie will be as a good of a trainer as Vin?

BFRC Day 22 - Bloated much?

I'm a big Diet Coke drinker. Have been my entire life, much to the dismay of anyone who understands how bad it really is for our bodies.

But after taking a break for almost a week because of my upper respiratory infection, I had a few glasses yesterday and noticed something that had always happened but I never took much notice of before: it made me bloated. Last week's rib-area injury has made my mid-section super sensitive, and after the Diet Coke, it felt worse.

Way, way too much sodium. So to D. Patrick Lewis and everyone else who warned me, thanks.

And to Vin, who decided to work on balance today instead of kill me, thanks.

BFRC Day 21 - Easing back in

It's been five days since Vin Vallejo has yelled at or smacked me for dropping my hands while boxing. Five days since I've broken a sweat working out. Five days since I've run.

It's been a long, boring and hellish five days, but I'm feeling better now. The congestion in my lungs is nearly gone and my ribs are not as painful. Time for a quick run, before which I'll be wrapping my ribs in an Ace bandage, to shake off the cobwebs and get ready for what will be a tough workout at Pro Fitness AZ tomorrow.

I do feel GOOD, though. Only had one slip up (Shells and Cheese on Friday night) and had my normal spinach, ham and egg whites this morning.

Booyah.

BFRC Day 20 - Sickness gone, rib pain remains

Almost recovered from my week-long bout with whatever brown stuff decided to infiltrate my lungs and my energy is finally returning. Had an excellent sleep last night without the aid of NyQuil, so I'm pretty sure I'm over whatever ailed me.

But I had a slipup. I have some damn Shells 'n Cheese with a can of tuna. I know it's terrible for me, but sometimes, you just have to give in a little bit. Hoping to wrap my rib cage and get in a run today to warm up for what I know will be a hellish Monday with Vin.

Oh oh...I also started adding spinach to my morning ham and scrambled eggs. Very tasty. Still haven't figured out where to get turkey ham.

BFRC Day 19 - One last day to recover?

I am FINALLY starting to feel better. While my ribs still hurt from whatever Vin made me do to them on Monday, the sickness that shrouded my week feels like it's lifting. Sadly, I think I gave it to Katie.

I'm still being careful about what I eat. Not that I'm eating only veggies, but most importantly I'm still shying away from all those crappy comfort foods. I DID have a can of Beef Vegetable soup two days ago, and I know that's probably not great for me, but dammit, I was super hungry and didn't have anything else to munch on.

Besides that, it's been ground turkey with spinach and beans, egg whites with ham and spinach and some nuts. I'll run tomorrow and continue eating well over the weekend, in an attempt NOT to repeat my dry heave Mondays.

BFRC Day 18 - Another day off

Yeah, that's TWO days in a row I've taken off from Pro Fitness AZ. Today I had a good excuse as I was running ChandlerCamp, but I bet Vin is starting to miss me.

Instead of treating these two days as an opportunity to eat whatever and do nothing (though I didn't do much as I'm still not feeling well), I was very picky about what I ate. I know that eating crappy food when you're sick is just going to make you worse, so I laid off everything that struck me as comfort food (pizza, mac and cheese, pretzels) and just ate meat, veggies, some nuts and a sweet potato. Doesn't sound like much, but when I'm sick, i'm not very hungry.

Have to listen to your body.

Hopefully I can heal by tomorrow, if not, and I'm not holding my breath on this one, it's back to running this weekend and the gym on Monday.

BFRC Day 17 - The day I wussed out

After being up most of the night coughing, and taking massive doses of NyQuil three times, I decided to cancel on Vin today.

I know that working out and losing weight requires a ton of sacrifice and toughness, but there comes a point when it feels like you're doing more damage than good and I'm right there.

Oh, and the left side of my rib cage hurts so bad I'm having trouble getting out of bed. Nothing is broken, but damn that muscle hurts.

My plan is to squeeze in a run today, take tomorrow off for ChandlerCamp and hit it hard again on Friday. I feel like such a pussy for scaling back, but sometimes you have to listen to your body (and your girlfriend).

BFRC Day 16 - Vaginosis flare up?

I may not have been totally honest with Vin in how I was feeling, as the combination of getting over a sinus infection and a pulled rib muscle made for a very, very tough day after my workout.

I probably should have stayed home and rested, but I couldn't shake the feeling that life doesn't care when you're sick, tired or hurt and that the people who ALWAYS show up are better off than those who wait until they feel their best to get anything done.

A three-hour nap certainly helped things today. 

Oh, and Vin "taught" me how to get punched today. It didn't hurt all that much, but was extremely frustrating. Blocking, dodging and deflecting punches is way harder than landing them.

Anyway, I'm so tired I can't remember what Vin actually said to me in regards to vaginosis, but you KNOW that's a funny word.

BFRC Day 15 - Dry heave Mondays?

For the past two weeks, I've busted my ass nine times at Pro Fitness AZ. I've also run two more days, meaning I've worked out five and six days a week for the past two weeks.

After my weekday workouts, I eat healthy food. Veggies and egg whites and fruit, with some popcorn and a few Diet Cokes, but nothing too terrible. But on my weekends...boy, my weekends are not so good. Cream cheese, chili, wings, cheese with turkey dip, and five-layer bean dip sounded GREAT yesterday during the Super Bowl, but after AGAIN dry heaving during a Monday workout, it's time to stop.

There's just no way I can continue to fuel my body with tasty, but unhealthy, food if I want to achieve any sort of fitness goal. Vin likened it to "fueling a Ferrari with unleaded gas." (yes, my body is a Ferrari, people. Obviously.) 

Oh, and I'm down 13.5 lbs since my initial weigh in. Sure, that's mostly water weight, but considering I haven't made a ton of changes in my diet, I'm on the right track.

BFRC Day 14 - Honey, who shrank my gut?

Two full weeks have passed since I first dry heaved for almost ten minutes in the Pro Fitness AZ bathroom. In that time, I've worked out with Vin eight times. lost at least six pounds and discovered just this morning that my gut is a little bit smaller.

It's not that I woke up skinny, but you know that little spot on your stomach that shows up when you gut actually hangs a bit? Yeah, it's super unattractive and now it's gone. I still have my fat roll when I sit down or lean over, but when I'm standing up, it's not there anymore.

Awesome. Also, I didn't eat popcorn at a movie last night. Only the second time in my life that I've done that.

I'm definitely getting a cold, which has thrown my running plans into a spin. Do I run a slow 5k? Do I rest? Feed a fever, starve a cold, rest both?

BFRC Day 13 - Man, my shoulders hurt

I have dubbed today my rest day, mostly because I didn't want to run before the Old Town Farmer's Market this morning, nor after it, nor this afternoon or before we're off to see Scott Pilgrim Vs The World with a bunch of other geeks tonight.

My legs are less sore than I would have expected, but my shoulders are killing me. Lots of stretching and even more water are in the cards today. Tomorrow I'll run a 10k and then probably pig out during the Super Bowl. 

Which I'll regret on Monday with Vin.

I found this old video of Vin from his fighting days. He's the one in the mask. Hope he teaches me the hypnosis move.

BFRC Day 12 - Where's the video?

I feel like I've been working out at Pro Fitness AZ forever. While it's only been just over a week, my routine of working myself to nea exhaustion, then going home and working the day away, feels pretty normal.

My pants are a bit looser and my entire body is sore.

Next week I'll add some video, as well as some shirtless pictures so you can watch me shrink. Or print them out and put them on your wall as a dartboard. Either way, it's all for you.

BFRC Day 11 - Harder then freshman wrestling?

I was also curious about wrestling when I was a kid. I knew Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant weren't real wrestlers, but real wrestling seemed a little uncomfortable, as rolling around in a singlet with another dude was, in my ninth grade mind, pretty gay. 

And then Kyle Townsend and I somehow talked each other into trying out for the ninth grade wrestling team. We were both basketball players and decent athletes, but had no idea what was in store for us. Everything hurt. My eyelids, necks, backs and legs hurt. We had to stretch every time we stood up. We got our asses kicked in practice. I went as far as to buy all the gear and then quit two weeks into the season. It was, for me, not all that fun. I had the strength of a 100 lb weakling in a 145 lb body.

I made the mistake of telling Vin that today and while he claims today's workout was going to be tough, I don't believe him at all. We did eight rounds of boxing with either squats, lunges or burpees into between and even threw in a couple of knees to the body. I DID almost knee Vin in the nuts when once of us screwed up the punch/knee sequence and I bet he's grateful that I missed.

In completely unrelated news, I have developed a zit right next to my nose that I can't get rid of.

Body Fat Reduction Challenge Day 10

I'm tired of writing Body Fat Reduction Challenge every day, so henceforth it shall be referred to as BFRC, the day, and then a clever headline. You may applaud.

Actual quotes from Vin today: 

"Be a good girl and spread your legs a little wider."

"I want you to stretch it as far as you can."

"Make sure you get it all the way up there."

Today was a bit lighter than normal, as I really didn't have any energy. I think I'm not eating enough during the day or maybe not eating the right foods, but either way, I need to toss some more sweet potatoes into my diet for energy.

My triceps are sore, which hopefully means I'll be able to get some muscle there for the first time ever.

Body Fat Reduction Challenge Day 9

Another day of boxing and another day of reminders that I have a long way to go before I'd be able to step into the ring against anyone. 

Today's workout was 10 rounds of boxing, with Vin mixing up combinations, slips and bob and weaves for me. I'm apparently slightly retarded, as I kept messing up the number combination of punches (1-left jab, 2-right cross, 3-left hook, 4-right uppercut, 5-left kidney punch) but managed to avoid hitting him in the face, even though he did manage to slap me a few times as a reminder to keep my hands up.

I also used hand wraps for the first time and they helped a ton in keeping my wrists straight and my thumb in. Might have to pick up a pair of those soon.

Also, I'm down about five lbs since last week, and that's after eating not so good for me food for an entire weekend at WordCamp.

Yes, I'm sore.

No dry heaving today!