The Journey: A Deeper Look

I've been asked by a few of you for some details on the Journey. So, here they are:

The Gym:
My goal is to get to the gym every day of the week. Most weeks I make it there 5 times a week. Once or twice it's been 6 times and a few times it's only been four times. Lately Christy and I have taken advantage of the beautiful spring weather to go for a walk/hike instead.

At the gym I always try to do about an hour of cardio, although sometimes it's just 40 minutes worth. I do the cardio on the elliptical machine. I get a good work out without the stress on your joints that a treadmill can cause. I keep the resistance as high as possible and push it as hard as I can.

Every other day I do the Expressway circuit work out. They use the Nautilus machines and it only takes a 1/2 hour to get a good overall strength training work out.

If I had the time, I would swim every day. But either the pool is too full for laps, or my schedule doesn't allow it. So I only swim about twice a week.

The Diet:
I'm not doing any special diet plan or program. I know there's plenty out there and I know they can work. But I'm trying to keep things simple. I'm not counting calories, but I'm certainly careful about how many calories I eat in a day.

I always eat breakfast. It's usually a bowl of cereal or a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat toast. I try and keep dinners light and not too late. I also try and keep the fast food to a minimum. Of course I still don't drink soda. I noticed I was eating a lot of potato chips, so I've try and keep that under control too. And the biggest thing is I try to drink as much water as possible. At a minimum I drink a gallon a day. It sounds like a lot, but I always keep water near me and drink it constantly. And yes, it means I pee constantly too.

I also try to each as much fiber as possible. The bread we buy has extra fiber, and I also eat Fiber Plus bars. I also try and eat at least one apple a day. I like the Pink Lady variety.

I'm not "dieting." I'm not starving myself, or just living on lettuce. So many people give up on losing weight because they get tired of denying themselves food. But this doesn't mean I eat anything and everything. I do say no to myself a lot. But I don't say no because I can't have it.

Usually my motivation for saying no is because I know what I weighed that morning. I know what I've already eaten today and how much I'm going to get to work out. And I know what I want to weigh tomorrow. And so if having a candy bar means I miss my goal for tomorrow, it's a lot easier to say no. It's more like I'm saying yes to a good number the next day.

And finally, an update. I've hit 321. I've lost 50 pounds since the beginning of the Journey. Since joining the gym in mid-February I've lost 23 pounds.