It's been too long

It's been a while since I last blogged. For the last thee weeks I have been on a weight loss plateau. I have been hovering around 280lbs. I attribute the plateau in part to a very bad blister on the back of my heal and lack of motivation to keep going. I am currently working on alternative ways to exercise that will allow the blister to heal. along with my mourning exercise routine which I don't wear shoes while doing, Patty, my life coach, suggested some simple exercises that will work my whole body I can do at my desk. At this point I am only five pounds to the halfway mark of my goal. I hope to be at 275lbs before Round-up.  I am also going to try and blog once a week as it is a good way to keep myself motivated to lose weight. I promise I'll be better at keeping you all up to date on my journey. 

Technology and other stuff that is new.

I am sorry I haven't written in a while but I have had a lot on my plate lately. 

Last Thursday I received the Fitbit Flex I ordered from work. So far I like it's interface better then the one that came on my phone. Because it is like a watch I don't have to think about taking it with me wherever I go. It also syncs to my phone and the online dashboard is a great tool to see everything in one place. I like Having things I don't have to think about helps me stay focused on the important things in my life. I really like the social aspect that they have incorporated in to the device. I have made most of the info on my profile public if you would like to check out how I am doing or friend me.

Last Thursday I also changed how I do my morning calisthenics. I was doing a set amount and then moving on to the next exercise. I am now using the  HIIT method. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. I am now doing 20 different exercises for 45 seconds with a 15 second rest in between. This aerobic method should help me loose more weight and increase my endurance. Once I can do the exercise for the complete 45 seconds I will increase the amount of time I do the exercise and decrease the rest time. My goal is to get to 55 seconds of exercise with 5 seconds to switch between the exercises. 

My current exercises are: jumping jacks*, push-ups*, sit-ups*, squats, windmills, right lunges, left lunges, good mornings, Squat thrust*, side arm raises, front arm raises, bicep curls,military press, bench press, right pull, left pull, right tricep extension, left tricep extension, arm circles*, jumping jacks*. All the exercises  except the ones marked with an (*) are done with a 5lb dumbbell in each hand. I think the exercises listed work a majority of the muscle groups. 

I am continuing to walk during my breaks and lunch I can currently walk the break route in 10 minutes and the lunch route in 20 minutes. I have found that these walks help relive some of the stress form work.  Starting today I added a backpack when I walk so I can get used to walking with a pack again and eventually go on a short backpacking trip later this summer. Currently my pack weighs about 1 lbs and only contains my sleeping bag. 

A really long weekend.

Friday was Independence day and what a day it was. We spent eh morning traveling to Seattle to go to my brother-in-law's wedding. In the evening we went to the  rehearsal dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. the food was good. I ordered the chicken Marsala and a pasta with brown butter and cheese. Later that evening we went to my brother-in-law's house to watch and set fireworks. The fireworks were great, there were a couple of other peoples fireworks the malfunctioned and went off lower than they should have. Of course there were snacks there I did have some of the snacks but made sure I didn't over indulge. 

Saturday we went to breakfast with my mom at the IHOP that was next to our hotel. I ordered a bacon omelet, it was tasty and 1190 calories. After breakfast we headed to the event venue to start setting up for the wedding. there was a lot to set up but it was worth it. The wedding was beautiful. We all had a lot of fun. When I looked at my health app it said I burned over 2000 calories and walked a record number of steps. 

Sunday we slept in and headed back to Pendleton. It was a great weekend.

Monday morning I get my kids ready for the day and head to take them to day care. When I arrive there is no one at the house. I learn from a neighbor that they may not be coming back. I call work and learn that I have to take PTO. It sucks, but I get to spend the day with my kids and that is always worth it. When jenny gets home we head to the pool and have a great time in the water. The girls graduated to the big blue slide, they loved it. When we get home we see a big truck pared in front of our place. It is the AC guy there to fix our AC. While the day started out crappy it ended up great.

Friday totals: Achieved/Current Goal
Steps: 5422/6000
Cal intake:?/1500
Cal burn: 743+/900
Walk time:0/40min
Liquid intake: ?/100oz

Saturday totals: Achieved/Current Goal
Steps: 17447/6000
Cal intake:?/1500
Cal burn: 2093+/900
Walk time:0/40min
Liquid intake: ?/100oz

Monday totals: Achieved/Current Goal
Steps: 98*+/6000
Cal intake:1500/1500
Cal burn: ?/900
Walk time:0/40min
Liquid intake: ?/100oz

*I didnt have my phone on me most of the day so I have no idea how many steps I took.

Just another average Thursday.

Today happened like any other Thursday. Work was hectic because it was the last day of the week. Tomorrow is Independence day. I am reminded that 10 years ago I was on my way back home after separating from the Navy. I was a Solid (by my current weright) 220lbs. I was ready to take on the whatever life had in store for me. Little did I know that 2 years later, two weeks after I married the woman I loved I would have two strokes. Life sure has a way of changing in a short time. 
Breakfast was a shake. Lunch was left over pizza, which before I started this journey would have been a rare thing. Dinner tonight was noodles with "bean sauce" a concoction that Ellie created. The bean sauce is baked beans with bacon. 

Daily totals: Achieved/Current Goal
Steps: 6000/6000
Cal intake:1495/1500
Cal burn: 825+/900
Walk time:30/40min
Liquid intake: 84/100oz

Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday:
Breakfast was a shake. Lunch was 6 inch turkey, bacon, avocado sub on flat bread. For dinner we had grilled tuna and cheese sandwiches.

Daily totals: Achieved/Current Goal
Steps: 6912/6000
Cal intake:1420/1500
Cal burn: 609+/900
Walk time:35/40min
Liquid intake: 84/100oz

Wednesday:
Today in addition to my normal routine we went to the pool where I did 5 running laps in 5 feet of water.
For breakfast I had a shake. Lunch today was a 6 inch steak and bacon melt on flat bread. At dinner I had two slices of chicken garlic de-lite pizza from Papa Murphy's

Daily totals: Achieved/Current Goal
Steps: 6032+/6000
Cal intake:1380/1500
Cal burn: 848+/900
Walk time: 42/40min
Liquid intake: 84/100oz

Stronger?

Today during my morning workout I did 8 regular push-ups. It was FANTASTIC! I also increased the number of jumping jacks to 20. I am either maxing out on or have reached a limit that would effect the time allotted on my other exercises. 
Breakfast was a shake. Lunch was a 6"turkey sub on flat bread. For dinner I had two leftover chicken corn burritos. 

Daily totals: Achieved/Current Goal
Steps: 5969+/6000
Cal intake:1484/1500
Cal burn: 855+/900
Walk time: 34:32/40min
Liquid intake: 84/100oz

The Weekend

Saturday:
For breakfast I had an apple. I then went to the dump and got rid of over 200 pounds of junk. We then went to the park where we let the kids play on the playground while we walked around the path twice. We then went to D&B and Bi-Mart to look for better quality water bottles for the kids. We didn't find any the water bottles but we did find 22lr ammo at Bi-Mart which took my breath away. After shopping because the kids were so good we went in to eat at Jack-in-the-Box where i got a grilled turkey, bacon, cheddar sandwich. We also got a large fry and drink for every one to share. I got through about half my sandwich and was surprised that I was so close to feeling full. After not having fast food in about a month I have to say the it felt heavy. For dinner we made corn and chicken burritos. 

Daily totals: Achieved/Current GoalSteps: 6395+/6000
Cal intake:1544/1500
Cal burn: 899+/900
Walk time: 25:41/40min
Liquid intake: 88/100oz

Sunday:
To day after we went to church I took Ellie shooting. Ellie is getting to be a really good shot. She hit 10 out of 10 on her target and was able to hit all her balloons on the first try. She has a little trouble with the water bottles she was shooting but she was able to eventually hit them. I also shot my navy rifle qualification course and scored a 145 out of 200 which qualifies me as a Sharpshooter. While it is nowhere near what I was shooting when I was in the navy it feels really good to have improved my score.