I feel So Pretty...

Before and After Pictures



The side profile isn't that telling, but you might be able to see some of the change from the front profile.






Talk to ya later.


Dan

DanFit vs. TBK final weigh in.

Not too much to report this morning, except that my long battle versus"the Burrito Kid" has drawn to a close. I will continue my fight for my health for the rest of my life.

9/20/08 Final Weigh In:

217

Original Weigh In:

230

Percentage Lost (the barometer of the challenge):

5.65%




>>13 pounds! Not bad, I really screwed my self over by eating at Qdoba yesterday (thanks Dad), but I haven't missed a workout in two weeks and I've probably run nearly 45 miles this month.


Tomorrow I will post some before and after pictures and numbers comparison between TBK and myself.

I do plan on continuing the Ketosis through September and maybe through October. At some point I will probably switch over to a low-fat diet. We'll see, I'm gonna roll with the punches and see what offers the best results.

I will check back at 210, 200, 200, 190, 180 and, 170, when I actually reach each plateau.

It's been real. Dan.

Her name was Ketosis.

So, I have been doing really well since the last time you read. I haven't gone below 214, but my shape is getting way, way better. I'm starting to have more confidence in my looks and I may have won the lottery. Well, maybe not the last part, but things are well. Ladies, WATCH OUT!

I have been working my ass off in the gym and for two weeks or so, and I have entered ketosis. It's not an overnight thing, but changing the body from burning carbs to burning fat is a meaningful process. It certainly limits food consumption (no bread, no sugar at first, no pasta, no bread, and I forgot, no bread!), but while cholesterol is a concern, I don't think I've eaten healthy or more regularly in my adult life! I actually am getting hungry again, which hasn't really ever been a problem. I've been eating a ton of sexay meats and have had a chance to grill every day for the last 6 or 7. Swordfish, strip steak, chicken breast, turkey Italian sausage, tuna steak--are just a few of the awesome meats I've eaten over the last week or two. There was a report recently that vegetarians suffer some type of mental loss, or some such thing, from not digesting certain nutrients from animals, and well that's their problem. I LOVE ME SOME MEAT!!

Bathroom regularity hasn't been all that regular in my new diet, but I have added a fiber pill that should solve that. I am going to continue on this Atkins type thing through September, then I will probably switch to something else, to fool my body. I have been mostly happy with it, but I would really like to find soups and snacks that are convenient to the lifestyle. Although, I can add some of that stuff back in soon, just not through the initial two weeks of ketosis.

I do feel pretty confident in my weight challenge with the Burrito Kid, but I don't think I have a Barry Goldwater chance in hell of hitting 200 by 9/20/08. 210 is an attainable goal, and I should come close. I am pretty confident that I will reach 200 or 205 by the end of the month.

Running: I have stuck to my guns and still so 3 miles every day. The last couple I have felt a little tired, but I'm still powering through. My times have hit a bit of a snag; I usually hit 26 or 27 minutes, but that's okay. The problem has been holding speed for long periods, but, on a positive note, my sprinting speed on the tread mills has improved. I can hold 9.2-9.6 for nearly a quarter mile now. I didn't really have the cajones to try that before, but now my body feels so much more limber and virile, that I'm not gonna get in its way.

Lifting: I regrouped my workouts a bit this week, based on advice from my friend, Actor Matthew McConaughey. He told me that 4-5x a week, with a full body workout everyday would make me like lifting more, and increase my metabolism. Thanks Matt.
Anyways, I've also added some fun new workouts, like the "Iron Cross" and the "Clean and Press" to my repertoire. Gotta have fun when you life. On a personal note (although, I guess this whole thing is that exactly) I have been improving very steadily with Dumb Bell Bench Press; I can now use 55lb weights in each hand and pump out sets of around 10. Mostly, that is from separating the other bench stuff from all in one day to once, every day.

Abs: I have expanded the amount of regulars to my list of Ab workouts, to Plank, Jackknife and Alternate Heel Touches, while keeping the regular Crunch and crunch machine. I pick one each day and have at it. The AHT is pretty easy and seems to work well. Not as painful as would like though.


9/18 Morning Weigh In:
216 lbs
Original Weight:
230 lbs

Return of the Mack!

What up Ho's!

DanFit Is back, after a long and inconspicuous absence. I haven't completely forgot about you, but you know how it is. Life happens, then you eat at a Mexican buffet. Seriously, it does.

Anyways, I haven't been neglecting my duties entirely. I have somewhat given up hope of the WiiFit as a be-all-end-all, but I still support its rights as a better-for-you way to play games and not a bad tool for stretching, breathing, toning and building some self confidence.

For a real fat ass--and I'm talking the kind that requires a second seat on an airplane and a nutty bar sedative, you sure as hell haven't seen the inside of a gym in 5 years, so "baby steps".. For me, after the big ankle sprain/roll, I have decided that heavy-manly lifting and very intensive running were the ticket to fitting into my high school hot pants.

My regular goals become pretty apparent--work out 5-6 times a week. Work out my abs a little bit every time, run every time, and factor in every part of the body into the workouts throughout the week. So far, I have accomplished that.

Lifting: I generally do 3 sets of every exercise, with between 8-15 reps, depending on the exercise. I have BodyBuilding.com to thank for easy access to every inch of the body and a great program that filters by type of equipment and muscle, to help me build the program.

Abs: Again BodyBuilding.com gave me a nice long list of exercises I can do, and I have been tryig them out to see what hurts the most. I actually think that WiiFit does a fantastic job of working with you on exercises that train the abs.

Running: While I don't have a ultimate race in mind, my immediate goal has been 3 miles every time. When I first started this regimen a few weeks ago, 30 minutes was the goal and I would reach it every time. Generally, I would build up between 5.0 and 8.0 between the beginning and 1.5 miles, then I would walk at 4.0 on an incline for two minutes, then I would gingerly go between 5.5 and 7.5 to finish the job. I always beat 30 minutes, but I wasn't totally pushing myself and wasn't progressing.

Eventually, I contracted pink eye--and THIS was the BEST thing for me!

I don't quite have the best eyesight, so with no contacts, I decided to take my glasses off when I ran--because of all the sweat and whatnot. Due to the foggy numbers in front of me, I just left the speed at 7.0 and ignored it. I noticed that I wasn't really getting that tired and before I knew it, 1.5 miles had passed! I also decided to stop walking in the middle. Now my "walking" speed is between 5.0-5.5 and I'm really jogging, without getting behind on distance, while all the while catching my breath. So, my end times were between 25 and 27 minutes. Not too bad!

Over the last 10 days or so, I have really started to improve. I followed some advice and worked on lifting my legs higher. I'm able to go faster for longer, and I have reached times between 23 and 26 minutes. I don't like running much, but I'm starting to come around.

9/11/08 (NIGHT)WEIGH IN:
219
Original WEIGH IN:
230

>>While I'm really happy I have lost 11 lbs., I have really worked my ass off, and the lbs. realy haven't dropped as fast as I'd like. On a positive note, I'm starting to get real hard (and no, I'm not looking at a spread with the hot chick from Tokio Hotel), the spicy latina curves I have been carrying around are starting to localize into beefcake!

Are you the Gatekeeper?

It's been awhile since I last posted.

The wedding went well and everyone got married. I'm afraid the priest was a little gay, not that there's anything wrong with that. My buddy Brian was super excited about being stuck sleeping with only one woman for the rest of his life, but like he told me, "it's better than sleeping with no one." I think that statement was meant for me, but who knows.

My ankles were a lot worse than I had anticipated and it took the help of some 8 month old celebrex (thanks dad, hope the elephantitis cleared up!) to ease the swelling. But seriously, if they could reverse engineer that stuff and find a way to localise it, Rick Moranis may get laid, for once, by something other than an inter dimensional god.

I finally willed myself to get back on the WiiFit regularly this week and have been sticking to my guns (for the most part) on dieting. I am usually really good about it, but once in a while, I am bored, hungry and scour the apartment for younglings--I mean food. With everything unlocked in the game, I have been trying to focus and excel at some of the stranger yoga poses (downward facing dog, triangle--a killer, the bridge and the one where I roll onto my shoulders with my feet raised to the ceiling--very tough for someone as horizontally built as I).

I have also discovered, thanks to Boers and Bernstein on sports radio 670, that Lance Armstrong has created a new website, called "Livestrong.com". While they referred to him as an "asshat" (a term I love), I do appreciate the work he and his people put in. It's a little hokey, and I mean like white-texan-Oprah hokey, and they ask you to "dare" yourself and your friends to accomplish goals (such as giving up smoking, losing weight, kicking heroin, etc.), but overall it's a really nice site. The program doesn't necessarily tell you what to do, but rather it lets you track what you are doing, keep journals on these things, and get advice on ways to progress. I really like their food section.. Not that I'm going to use it for recipes or anything like that--something I hope to get a girlfriend to do :), but tracking what exactly I eat every day is simple and very useful. "Oh, I guess that trip to the Italian Dennys--excuse me, Olive Garden, for the never ending bread bowl, was a bad idea". No shit Sherlock.

Anyways, I look to drop to 215 by Monday, but we'll see. I am thinking of foregoing on the fun this weekend, while focusing on work and working out my rolls. I have the road bike I was looking for, thanks to Jared, my lactarded roommate, and I will begin a stringent regimen of riding it everywhere I go (with reason--you can't very well take it on a date to the Sizzler). The thing must have been built for Manute Bol, because I'm a reasonably tall fellow and I have to jump onto the seat..

I have been pretty decent with the consolidation of drinking that I planned for myself. Mostly, that had to do with the cankle problems I've had, but I've tried to be a good boy and leave my Binny's card at home. I don't think I even cleared 20 drinks over the wedding weekend, but I tried. Also, LiveStrong suggested I go out and get a pedometer this weekend (well, in general, but for me this weekend), so I'll give that a go. Knowing when I'm being a hermaphroditic hermit will come in handy for my therapy sessions--on the WiiFit, I don't have money for those sanctimonious demagogues!


6/19 Key Stats:
Weight= 222 lbs. (-8 lbs)
BMI= 30.95 (-1.05)
Wii Fit Time= 13hrs 10 mins (over 3 weeks)
Pushups= 24 (on Thursday)
Jackknifes= 46 (on Thursday)

Dan out of Hell !

Just got back the other day from my weekend of debauchery in good ole Wisconsin. I managed not to eat that much, quantity wise, while I was up there, but I still weighed in at 226 on Sunday night.

The bad news from the trip is that I severely sprained my left ankle while out there. I thought I was all cool in my big, black crocs--but word to the wise, don't play catch with a football in crocs. I went up for a high thrown ball (thanks Suhas) and the ground was a lot lower than I suspected under my left foot when I came down. I landed awkwardly, heard a pop and rolled over. Wanting to avoid the situation, I started to try and crawl away from the pain. Yeah, that didn't really help. Thankfully, my hypochondriac roommate had an ankle wrap or splint thingie in his bag.

A few complications arose from this injury. First, I was unable to compete against Suhas in the 40/50 yard dash that we had planned, so the timing of the injury definitely seemed suspicious to some--or at the very least, it gave them "license to ill" me. Also, I don't get injured often, and I figured that I would be able do drink away some of the pain. No, not so much. After numerous "shotguns" and more beer than most humans should swallow, I didn't feel a buzz of any real sort. So I kept going... Eventually things kicked in as they should, but it was a little late and most had gone to sleep. At this late hour, I finally decided to relieve myself, but was too lazy to go to the washroom, so I hopped on my right foot into the woods.......and tripped and fell (over the broken chair our friend Ryan had thrown in a few hours earlier), spraining my other ankle and having to make lemonade from my knees. It was almost pathetic enough to require weepage, but I manned up.

Anywho, I ate sensibly and didn't drink any brew on Monday and I weighed in at 223 this morning. I am going on a water and slim-fast diet this week--gotta look good for the wedding I'm standing up in on Saturday. Maybe there is even a bridesmaid with low self-esteem, in which I can claw my hooks!

If my ankle feels better soon, I will return to working out on the Wii Fit, but I'm guessing it may take a few days. I can probably still do push ups and jackknifes, but the yoga and standing maneuvers will be on hold.

Debauchery in Wisconsin, Hooray!

I don't have a ton of time to post this morning, but I figured I'd give it a go.

I am heading off to Northern Wisconsin for my buddy Brian's bachelor trip. It should be a great time, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to gain a bit of weight while I'm there. The combination of lots of beer and meat will fill me up.

My hope is that physical activity will offset some of the food and spirits. Besides water activities (rafting and canoeing), I will be playing frisbee and baseball and who knows what else.

On the current weight; I hadn't quite reached my goal of 220 by today, by I weighed in at 223.5 last night. I will post an official blog with all of the measurables on Sunday.

The other fun news is that I will be competing against my friend Suhas in a 40 or 50 yard dash. He's going down! I am like the dwarf from Lord of the Rings, a natural sprinter, while I'm shit for distance.

I was thinking; maybe I can find a way not to gain weight this weekend. The beer shouldn't be too bad, because it will take away water weight. I guess eating will be the key. I let you know what I discovered when I return.

Ciao for Now,

Dan

(I saw the Sex and the City movie this week. Not my fault, I think it turns every guy a little gay.)

5/31 Getting close to Overweight instead of Obese!

So, my first week on the wii fit has gone pretty well. I haven't dropped a ton of weight, but my body feels tighter and my balance has definitely increased! I really haven't done any running this week, which will be key to quick weight loss, but I plan on adding that in next week. Along with that, I will be riding or walking to work every day.


Finally today, I have unlocked all of the poses in yoga and all of the workouts in strength training. I really don't enjoy the balance games that much, but I have played them a bit and gotten better at all of them--except for Hula Hoop! I can't frickin' do it!!!! I don't know what the problem is, but I am just awful at the Hula. I dance better than Wesley Snipes and box better than David Cross, but I Hula like Rosie O'Donnell with a yeast infection!

Not properly described in my last post is the race between myself and "the Burrito Kid", Adam Leggero. You can find a link to his site at the bottom of my page. We will be dueling for the next few months to see who can drop the larger amount of body weight %. I started out at 230 and he at 194. I have the advantage in the greater size I hold, but he is very physically active and has more will power than yours truly. It will be a good fight. I will be employing the wii fit, some lifestyle changes, and some extra cardio to try and get to 200lbs., while "TBK" will be using beans and rice for many of his meals to try and "pass" his lbs. faster on his quest for 175 or thereabouts.
When I first started the Wii Fit, I would do every exercise and game once a day, but now they have doubled the amount of exercises I can do and the repetitions on each one, as well. So, now I am trying to find a reasonable way to mix and match the workouts. I haven't totally figured out what I should do in this regard yet, as many of the exercises and poses work out multiple overlapping muscle groups. The cool thing about the yoga, which i did not expect, is that pretty much every pose works out my core muscles to some degree. I bet once I peel off a big layer of belly fat, I should have much tighter showing muscles all over.












5/31 Key Stats:
Weight= 228 lbs. (-2 lbs)
BMI= 31.47 (-.53)
Wii Fit Time= 6hrs 24 mins (over 7 days)
Pushups= 22 (on Wednesday)
Jackknifes= 38 (on Friday)

Dan Fit Preview

So I've decided that's it's high time I do something serious about my John Candy-ish curves. I have been reading about the WiiFit and balance board for months and thought that a consistent diet of that, some running and smaller portioned meals would set me straight--maybe even help a little bit with the ladies. I even plan to cut the devil's brew from my diet, with two or three planned exceptions (weddings, bachelor parties, nieces' recitals and their like).

Suffering from a lack of discipline is an issue and, to me, getting in front of the big screen at home to play a game is a little easier than driving a few miles to the health club. Not that it is necessarily better, but just more attainable every day. At the very least, I will be able to stand on one leg for long periods of time and do a bunch of pushups. That worked for Bill Murray in Stripes and it's gonna work for me!

A little preview from Nintendo
The game has 4 sections; including Yoga, Strength, Aerobic, and Balance Games. I'm not a super big video game guy, but I really like the Wii, and was a huge fan of the wii sports. This is made in the same vein, but goes much farther. The board senses your weight and even sighs when you step on the board "improperly". Also, it has a body test section and a "WiiFit Age" that is really a test of your agility. During the body test, you are weighed and your BMI is measured. It also ranks these things and tells you whether or not your obese or not (which I most certainly am).


Overall, I hope to drop some weight, gain some strength and flexibility and kick my metabolism into high gear. Even if no one reads this, I have it out there and will hopefully feel the need to complete something that I set out to. Right now my weight is around 230 or so. My clear cut goal for the near future is getting to (and under) 200 lbs.--my Mendoza line. Later this week I will show my first results and get this ball a-rollin'. Key stats I will regularly include will be weight, BMI (22 is the goal for someone of my height) and my Wii Fit Age. I will also throw in special daily accomplishments or activities done away from the game.