Day 31

Workout % : 28.0%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 252.2
Trend     : 252.2
% Lost    : 2.28%

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1-Day %   : +00.36%

30-Day %  : +18.62%

365-Day % : +36.89%

What is it about May and birthdays? Seriously? Last night I attended yet another birthday party, with all the obvious cake and snacks. This one one-upped the norm however, as we were served steak, potatoes and salad in an outdoor barbecue setting. Great fun, for sure. Not easy for someone trying to get over the mental block of calorie-watching.

Day 30

Workout % : 30.0%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 253.2
Trend     : 252.2
% Lost    : 2.28%

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1-Day %   : +00.38%

30-Day %  : +17.82%

365-Day % : +36.29%

 

2 more days of work and then I'm off for 6. It is during those 6 days that I absolutely must figure out a way of succeeding on this program.

Day 29

Workout % : 32.3%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 254.2
Trend     : 252.1
% Lost    : 2.32%

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1-Day %   : +00.81%

30-Day %  : +17.46%

365-Day % : +36.05%

 

Not surprising, but Sunday was a tough day. In a hurry today, so that's all you get.

 

Hopefully Monday is a better day. 

Day 28

Workout % : 33.3%
Body Fat  : 31%
Weight    : 248.8
Trend     : 251.9
% Lost    : 2.41%

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1-Day %   : +00.90%

30-Day %  : +16.74%

365-Day % : +35.52%

 

Great Saturday. Got in my treadmill run. Ate pretty good food. Won $120 in a charity poker tournament. All in all, a great day.

Today may prove more challenging. We're going out for a birthday lunch, so I'll have to be careful with the restaurant menu. If things go according to plan, I'll get home early enough to get in my Sunday workouts.

Day 27

Workout % : 32.8%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 250.0
Trend     : 252.2
% Lost    : 2.28%

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1-Day %   : +01.14%

30-Day %  : +16.06%

365-Day % : +34.94%

 

Blogger was down yesterday when I attempted to make my post, so skipping Day 26 was through no fault of my own.

 

Anyhow, it seems as though the bad news my girlfriend was expecting will not come pass...which is terrific. My own news came through, and it was pretty much what I was hoping for. In a few weeks time I'll be moving into a new position at work. Nothing in the way of accompanying raise, but there will certainly be tremendous opportunities for me to take advantage of.

 

With that said, I can finally get back to the workout program. I need my workout % up around 80%...which means I have a lot of work to do over the next few weeks. 

Day 25

Workout % : 39.2%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 251.4
Trend     : 252.6
% Lost    : 2.11%

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1-Day %   : +00.34%

30-Day %  : +12.46%

365-Day % : +33.04%

 

The most stressful week ever continues.

 

In fact, is there anything more stressful than a threat to your employment that comes at the same time as a huge expense? 

 

Once this passes, hopefully by the weekend, I vow to get back on track. 

Day 24

Workout % : 40.4%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 251.8
Trend     : 252.8
% Lost    : 2.05%

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1-Day %   : +00.67%

30-Day %  : +11.07%

365-Day % : +32.36%

Neither the good news nor the bad came to pass yesterday. I suspect my good news will arrive before the end of the week, and it relates to a potential promotion at work. I suspect my girlfriends news will likely not arrive; it it does, we'll know today. I'd rather not discuss what it's about until it comes to pass (hopefully never).

The new numbers represent the change in our Net Worth Trend. It's a 10-day moving average of our net worth. I go through our bank accounts almost every morning, recording balances. The spreadsheet does all the calculations to tell me how we're doing. It's useful if only to see the trend-lines projected into the future. Those help us stay motivated when we recognize where we'll be in 5 years time if we keep up the pace of the last X days/months.

Day 23

Workout % : 45.2%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 250.4
Trend     : 252.9
% Lost    : 2.01%

Much better day yesterday.

 

There's some potential bad news lingering today for my girlfriend, and some potentially good news coming for me. This could either be a very good day or a very bad day, time alone will tell.

Day 22

Workout % : 43.2%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 254.2
Trend     : 253.2
% Lost    : 1.90%

The weekend clobbered me, again.

No further comment at this time.

Financial Status

This is Wealthier and Healthier.

Thus far, the focus of the blog has been entirely on the "Healthier" portion of that. It's time to get to the other half.

Obviously I won't post daily updates on my financial status; the situation simply doesn't change often enough to warrant it. I will post summaries on a semi-regular basis though.

Our financial situation right can be summarized as follows:

• We "own" a home, insofar as we live in a house that we own roughly 2.85% of. Yay mortgage.
• We don't have any outstanding consumer debt, though there are a line of credit and a government loan left over from our days as students.
• Our investments are paltry, but do exist.
• We both have pretty good jobs and make solid salaries.

The long-term plan is to get ourselves into a situation that allows us financial independence. I don't think either of us needs to be "rich", we just want to be able to pursue goals that make us happy, without having to go through the monotony of corporate life.

To get there, we need a plan. Step 1 is consolidation of bank accounts. As it stands, we have accounts at 5 different banks. We pay monthly fees to 3 of them. We want to consolidate that down to 3, at most. We'd go lower, but we like that our online bank (ING) pays good rates on our emergency fund. We also have employer funded retirement accounts through a bank other than the one we're going to do our day-to-day banking with. We don't currently pay any fees on that account above and beyond the regular investment fees, so there's no strong desire to move that money until that changes (or we are no longer with the same employers).

Changing banks sounds like it should be easy, but it isn't. There's a long list of things to do. In my next post, I'll go over that list and let you know which parts were easiest and most difficult in our situation.

Day 21

Workout % : 45.7%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 255.2
Trend     : 253.0
% Lost    : 1.94%

Forgot to post yesterday. It was easy to forget posting about weight loss in the midst of a huge binge eating festival. It started with $1.00 hotdog/soda at a park. It continued with a pizza party for dinner and popcorn during the movie.

I have to investigate how to separate out the fun parts of my life from food. It seems as though I can do well and stay on target, provided I remain a shut-in. As soon as life happens, food follows. 

It doesn't help that I popped something in my shoulder on Friday. Nothing major, but it's been stiff since then. Makes sleep a little tricky, but it seems much better today than yesterday, so I'm hoping I'll be back to my version of 100% by tomorrow morning. 

Day 19

Workout % : 57.1%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 252.0
Trend     : 252.9
% Lost    : 2.00%

The fireworks are flying in my life, and I've failed to keep my focus through the storm. My girlfriend is on the verge of quitting her job, frustrated by the pressure. My boss one-upped her though, and actually submitted his resignation.

Change is most certainly in the air; I need to grab on to it and ride the wave. 

Day 18

Workout % : 69.6%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 253.2
Trend     : 253.0
% Lost    : 1.96%


Another day, another challenge. I think I pushed myself too hard for a couple days. As a result, I really wasn't feeling it Wednesday. I did get my morning workouts in, but I couldn't bring myself to the gym at lunch. I didn't get home from the office until around 9PM, so my evening workout didn't materialize either.

Day 17

Workout % : 73.7%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 252.2
Trend     : 253.0
% Lost    : 1.96%

Hit a bit of a wall yesterday. At this point, I think the reality is that my body can only withstand so much. I couldn't will myself to get the gym at lunch yesterday; I was aching pretty much head-to-toe and my mood was most definitely sub-par.

I did get my morning workouts (100/100 and a treadmill run) under my belt, so that's something. 

Day 16

Workout % : 85.7%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 251.4
Trend     : 253.1
% Lost    : 1.93%

Great day yesterday. Got all 3 workouts.

Started the day with my 100/100 workout, which is my attempt to get to the point where I can do 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups every morning. I'm about 10% of the way there, but it's a start.

Followed that up with an upper-body cycle and a 30-minute elliptical session at the gym over lunch. It really feels great to get that mid-day workout in. Not only does it make the day go by much quicker, it also helps clear the mind.

The evening was time for day 2 of Power 90, which consists of the Sweat 1-2 and Ab-Ripper 100 videos. The Sweat 1-2 workout is pretty simple, and I can actually complete it. The Ab-Ripper is more challenging, mainly because I sport a significant obstacle to doing sit-ups.

Day 15

Workout % : 77.8%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 253.0
Trend     : 253.3
% Lost    : 1.85%

Back on the right track. Used the treadmill last night, and I actually made it through about 6 minutes without passing out. It`s not much, but it`s a start.

I also picked off my Power90 series night with the Sculpt 1-2 workout. I`ve done this workout before, and it damn near kills me. A few years back, a buddy suggested I give the P90X workout a try. Having watched those videos in comparison to the original P90, I can only laugh. I`m not sure I could make it through the stretching portions of P90X. 

Day 14

Workout % : 71.4%
Body Fat  : 32%
Weight    : 254.4
Trend     : 253.3
% Lost    : 1.84%


Back-to-back setback days; have to hate the weekends. Did a lot of yard work, got my workout in, and still...an evening of party-type foods does me in.

On the plus side, we acquired a treadmill yesterday. At no cost to ourselves. It seems like a fairly good treadmill too, in that I can actually run on it without it shaking all over the place and falling to pieces. Having the treadmill at home will make it infinitely easier for me to get my weekend workouts in.