And so it begins

My story and why I had had enough....

12/26/11 - I was walking up the stairs the morning after a very exciting Christmas and I noticed something that I had never experienced before.  My belly was actually bouncing up and down with each step, a sensation that was new to me and was entirely unacceptable. The past few months there were quite a treats at work, donuts, gummi bears and other garbage foods always seemed to be available.  And I had definitely indulged.  But this...my stomach bouncing...was too much for me to handle.  I weighed 208 that day and a fluffy shadow of my former self (175 with a six pack when I got married in 02').

I tried some 'trendy diets', dropping 14 lbs in 8 days, but nothing that stuck. Slowly I started modifying my diet, one meal at a time and began seeing slow but steady results. Down to 192 in April my friend introduced to me myfitnesspal.com.  I tracked my calories and began lifting weights 2-3 times per week and my weight slowly trickled all the way down to 178!!

When I started I really didn't know what my target weight was, I thought if I got to 180 I would feel great and look great. While I do feel great, I don't look all that amazing and still have a little pouch of fat on my tummy. So I have learned that body % fat is king and target weight has little to do with anything. I had worked out semi-consistently, 2-4 times per week, but often stopped my workouts short due to time/interruptions.

It was time for the next step...

I had casually done p90x a few years back, but never really stuck tot he program (90 min of yoga every Thursday, really? with 4 kids?), so I searched on...p90x2 didn't seem like quite what I looking for, Insanity was too cardio based and as much fun as running in place at high speed is for 40 minutes, it isn't something that I foresee myself doing all the time.  Then I found Body Beast by the same company as P90x, designed to help you gain 8-10 lbs of muscle and lean out your body % fat, PERFECT! What is body beast

And so it begins...on 8/13/12

I plan to follow the program exactly, diet and all.  I have never done this, I love to 'tweak things' and adjust things the way I like them, but not this time. 

All in, here are my measurements at the beginning:

Weight: 179 lbs
Waist: 35.2
Hips: 40
Chest: 40.2
Right Arm (Flexed): 14.2
Left Arm (Flexed): 14.2
Right Thigh: 23.2
Left Thigh: 23.8
Body % fat: 16 pinch, 10.4 machine
Blood Pressure: 103/70 

Stay tuned