Derrick's ongoing journey

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The Gold's Gym 12 week Challenge ended for me today. We had final measurements, weigh in and photos. I am very happy overall with what I accomplished over the past 12 weeks, especially considering I missed one whole week due to viral bronchitis and I also missed three weeks of PT due to my previous PT getting sick and then switching jobs. I still worked out those 3 weeks but the PT sessions always seem to be a little more intense than I am able to do on my own.

So here are the results:
Starting weight on Jan 9th: 208
Ending weight on April 3rd: 194
So another 14 pounds lost and I think I dropped another 2 or 3 inches off my belly.

The only thing that sucks is my original PT is no longer working at the gym and my new PT is not measuring my body fat the same way. It's not his fault, it's just a matter of consistency. All body fat methods have some margin of error but as long as you keep the variables constant, you should be able to record progress. In week 1, according to the method my original PT was using he said I was 18% BF. In week 6 he said I was showing 16%. Now today they told me I was 21% BF. I said "sorry but 18 and 16 were wrong enough but I can't let you write down 21 as my finishing percentage." The problem is he wasn't taking the skin folds in the exact same spot. He was close but just an inch off can make a big difference in the measurements. He agreed with me so now we are trying to figure out how to get my final body fat measurement. I'm not going to win, and never expected to but I certainly want the last number to be fairly accurate and representative of what I actually am.
 
Well, its late again and I am supposed to go jogging in 6 hours. I probably have too much going on in my life right now and I'm not good at multi tasking. I have several photo and video projects I am working on for business, family and church. Saying no is almost not an option for me because I can't stand to have someone else do a subpar job on photo and video projects. It drives me crazy. I also have a lot I need to get done with my primary job but the side jobs are becoming a distraction.

I am kind of down today. I looked at my Gold's Gym photos and I am still not satisfied with the way I look. I know I have not reached my goal yet but I am only 5 lbs away from my original long term goal of 189 lbs. Unfortunately, I think reality is setting in. More than likely I will have to get down to 185 or maybe even a few pounds less before my spare tire is completely gone. My side photos look really good and I am happy with that angle, which is very ironic because one year ago that was my worse angle because I looked like I was pregnant. However, my front and back photos just flat out tick me off. It's like I have lost my fat everywhere except the darn spare tire. I know this isn't true because I am still losing inches off my belly at a faster rate than anywhere else. Matter of fact, I have now lost 10 inches off my belly in 10 months! So that is great but man, when will the darn belly fat be gone?!?

Well, I guess I have to quit pouting and focus on the triathlon. I just posted some photos in another thread from when I was 15 and swimming. I'll let those photos serve as a reminder what intense swimming does to my body. Granted I was 15 but now I will be biking and running a lot also. So I am hoping 4 weeks of intense triathlon training will have a big effect on my belly fat.

Good night.
 
Derrick said:
Well Sunday was a day of church and rest. My daughter is not quite 3 yet but she is quite the ham already. The preschoolers sang two songs up on stage at church and she was very animated and had most of the congregation laughing. I was filming and taking photos and when she saw me she yelled out, "That's my daddy! Hi Daddy!" I couldn't help but feel proud that my little girl loves her daddy and just had to say hi. :) I am glad I got the whole thing on film but I would have remembered the moment for the rest of my life anyway. Ten to fifteen years from now I'll have real worries. For now she is in the age of of timeouts, bed time stories, princess dresses and even binkies still...but not for long. Word is the binkie fairy is coming this week to take her binkies to the other babies of the world who need them. :dupe:
:D
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Hi, Derrick, I wasn't sure what to quote since I read the last several entries, but this is so cute ...Ha Ha, the 'Dupe' icon..I remember the Binkie Days...but, I wish I had thought of a binkie fairy who might need to take the binkie for other babies of the world who now need them; giving the binkie for a good cause because she's grown of it it is so neat! I can't remember what we actually did to phase out Mr. Binkie, but that is the loveliest yet. Did you quite get over what seemed an ear infection? It is depressing to feel crappy--kind of like, you have this icky sense you're going to tread water the rest of your life...when, really, it's just one under-the-weather day.. at least, that is what happens to my head on those days!. ...:ack2:

On a brighter note, did you end up jogging after six hours (yesterday)? I kept planning to get on the treadmill after work and "somehow" didn't, which is dumb, because when I jumped on the night before, I had an emotional buzz that took me all the way to hopping on it the very next morning, which gave me another emotional "thrill" that lasted all day at work--just changed my outlook! And, then, I somehow walked "around" the 'purple elephant' of my goal last night and then just studied my schoolwork, which is due in short order... but I always eat when I study. It's like gravity. Someday I will conquer that.

It's darn amazing that you lost 10 inches in 10 months! Isn't it beYOND frustrating that your new pt measured you differently??? That is horrendous, horrendous. Especially after all that work and focus! At least you like your side view now, right? That is such a huge plus.
 
Thanks for the reply. :) My daughter really wasn't/isn't ready to give up the binks but they are gone now. She did better than I expected last night but she did have to sleep in between mommy and daddy. :D

I'm not frustated at my new PT but rather the fact that we have no way of knowing exactly where my old PT took the skin fold measurements. Literally grabbing the skin only one inch from the last time could throw off the measurements significantly. So all I can do is tell him where I remember my old PT grabbing my fat...down to the nearest milimeter. :banghead:

No jogging this morning. Went to bed too late. :toetap05: I did go to the gym though around 7:45 am. I stretched after warming up for about 15 minutes and then I threw some kicks at the bag because it had been a couple weeks and also because the gym was mostly empty. Not many people around to see me. :D

I was still pretty down today about a lot of things. Sometimes I can't decide if I am normal and most other people are messed up or if all the insane people are actually normal. Seems like there are more insane people in the world today than there are sane people. Therefore, I guess they are more normal than I am. For example, if you can sleep in peace while your dog(s) bark emphatically all night in your back yard, you are probably missing a few pathways inside your cranium. That is not within normal human tolerances.

I did buy some new clothes with my wife tonight and then we went out to eat. I over ate but I did have talapia with green beans and potatoes...and 3 adult drinks. :blush5:
 
Day of rest today. Not much going on in my fitness life today. Had a slide show video I made playing at Church today in synch with a live song. The timing was challenging but it turned out nice.

Tomorrow is the start of 4 weeks of hell. Swimming, biking and running 6 days a week. I will do a spinning class tomorrow morning, my first ever. On Tuesday or Wednesday I am going to start swimming with the local Master's group again. I will also start jogging outside this week. We will see how it goes. May 3rd here I come!
 
Had my first spinning class this morning. Wasn't as bad as I had feared but definitely a good workout. I jogged a half mile right after. Could have jogged much more but I had to get going on some work. I feel good right now. I think I will be ready for the triathlon. I still need to buy a bike though. I hope I am not too late for that.
 
Hey Derrick,
Just got done reading your journal.
I must say you sound like a determined guy. As well as a wonderful husband, dad and friend.
Not many people would try so hard to reach their PT if he was to suddenly up and disappear on them. That shows great compassion on your part.
I love how you believe that your faith is what is powering you along on this journey.
I have been on my journey now for a bit more than a year and a half. Last year was a major set back with an injured shoulder and then depression setting in due to the weight that crept back on.
Today though is my starting point once again.
I will be starting the Couch to 5k program today.
Knowing that you got yourself into shape with nothing but hard work and your faith is going to be a great inspiration to me.
I hope that you do well at the Triatholon. Sometimes just finishing can be the greatest reward of all.
 
Thanks for the kind comments, Bellaryna. :) I was feeling kind of down the last 3 or 4 days but going to church made me feel a lot better yesterday and then today I feel even better yet. Your kind remarks certainly help a lot also. :)

Don't let depression defeat you. It is so hard to beat it but you have to fight it and you have to be really smart about it too. I fought severe depression in high school and then on and off throughout my adult life. However, last year around this time I was so sick of feeling like a guinea pig all the time, having psychiatrists changing my medicines all the time, all of which had very undesirable side effects. I was also sick of the beauracratic nonsense that goes on with our health care system. So I weened myself off the medicines I was taking and then I just quit taking them altogether. At first it was hard but when I started exercising just a couple months later I began to cope better. As I excercised more and more I felt better and better. Today, depression is practically nonexistent with me. I am not saying this way will work for everyone but it did for me. Some people do need medicine but I firmly believe that exercise can and will help tremendously.

Good luck with your own journey. Be patient and be persistent...especially when things aren't going well!

--------

I need to mention that yesterday I had my body fat remeasured and they came up with 13.6 and 13.9 percent. That seems much more consistent with my progress thus far and that is about where I "believe" I am at. I don't know for sure because I have not done underwater testing since last August but all the measurements and simple math says I am "around" 12 to 14 percent. Of course there are a lot of assumptions that have to be made but nonetheless I think I am around 13 percent. Still trying to get to 10 percent.
 
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Well, yesterday something surprising happened. Most of last week I was still weighing around 195 to 196 but over the weekend I was up to 199.5 during the day and in the evenings. Granted that was with a full belly sometimes but I still hate to see numbers so close to 200. At this point, I don't ever want to see 200 again. I was feeling down and was wondering what I could do to kick start my weight loss again.

In another thread I posted some photos of me back from my high school swimming days for another member of this forum who is young and struggling with patience. I had not seen the photos for a long time and I was surprised to see that I was not just skinny but I had a decent amount of lean muscle too. Back then I did very little resistance training. However, I did swim about 30,000 yards per week plus some jogging even though I was not very good at jogging. So over this past weekend I was thinking that just maybe a good dose of long and intense cardio workouts is just what I need.

So yesterday morning I took a 50 minute spinning class then I jogged a little over a half mile just to get used to the transition from bike to run. I then went and had breakfast, did some work, ate lunch and then went home to do some more work. When I got home from lunch I was curious what my weight was. I figured maybe 197 to 198 because I pretty much had a belly full of breakfast, lunch, coffee and water. Well, I was shocked to see 195.0 on the scale. The rest of the day I drank water and at dinner I ate very healthy and had a glass of wine. This morning I was very pleased to see 194.0 on the scale.

I know from experience not to be too quick in making assumptions but right now I am thinking that either my body just really responds well to long cardio workouts and/or I retain water if I do not partake in long cardio workouts.

Nonetheless, all that did was inspire me to train hard over these last 4 weeks before my triathlon. I was kind of thinking all along that at this point a good change in my routines is just what my journey needs. So we will see what each day brings over these next 4 weeks. Losing 1 to 2 lbs per week would be just wonderful.

This morning I swam with the Master's group for the first time since last November. The workout called for 3800 yards but I did 3700 yards. I only stopped for rest one time, not because I was winded but because my muscles were really tightening up on me. That was at the very end so all in all I am very happy with the way I help up this morning. My plan is to swim with them two or three times per week over the next 4 weeks. After that I plan on swimming twice as much and competing in some meets this summer.

Feeling really good today.
 
Thanks for the words of encouragment. :)
Way to go on keeping up with the Masters. I know I couldn't swim nearly that far if even a full lap without stopping. :svengo:
Aren't are bodies funny things?
Seems like just when we think we got it all figured out something changes on us. Glad to hear that you were finally able to get to 194. And that you got your body fat precentage retaken with better results.

As for the depression.....it pretty much is a seasonal thing. Fall/winter of 2007 and spring of 2008 I didn't have it at all. Then wham I hurt my shoulder and it came roaring in. I know that the reason why I didn't have it was due to all the exercising that I was doing.
I don't like being on the meds either and hope to one day be off of them completely.
Again thanks for the words of encouragment.
 
Did spinning again this morning. Was tough waking up at 5am this morning after waking up at 4am yesterday morning. Never been much of an early morning person, not that many people are. I do enjoy the mornings though, once I am up.

I also had a PT session at 9am. Only one left. Will try to use it early next week. Still need to run more. Just over 3 weeks left to the tri.
 
No swimming this morning at 5am...couldn't wake up because I went to bed too late again. Went jogging a little later. For the first time in my life I jogged 3 miles without stopping on a treadmill. I stretched and walked for quite a while before cranking up the speed to a jog. I jogged at 6.0 mph for 3.1 miles without stopping or slowing down once. So 31 minutes of jogging without stopping. For me that is an accomplishment. I could swim 3 miles without stopping before I could jog 3 miles. I have never been a runner.

About 2 miles into the jog I was wondering if I would make it because I got a sidestich again. I just tried to stay focused with my breathing and luckily some good songs came on the speakers and I made it.

So feeling good again today.
 
Great Job!!!
I am looking forward to the day that I can say I have finished 3 miles running.
That is quite an accomplishment.
*Two thumbs up!*
 
Thanks Bellaryna! :) Like most things in life, I can honestly say, if I can do it, so can you. ;) I was just thinking today, last summer I couldn't even jog 0.3 miles without stopping. However, I was trying to jog around 7.5 mph because that translates into a 8 minute mile which is still slow for good runners. Finally, someone told me, "well if you can't go very long at that speed, slow down then!" So I did and wouldn't you know it, I was able to jog 1 mile at 5.5 mph. It's amazing how dumb we can be sometimes. Pushing ourselves harder than our bodies are ready for, then when we fail we think we just can't do it. So several months later I am now up to 6.0 mph and 3.1 miles without stopping. Maybe someday I will be able to jog 7.5 mph for several miles at a time?

The other cool thing about this morning is my heart rate only got up to 175 even after 3 miles of jogging. Just six weeks ago it would get up to 184 after only 0.5 miles of jogging and just stay there whether I jogged 1 mile or 2 miles. So I see that as an improvement also. Maybe my heart and lungs are still getting stronger too. Sweet. :)
 
That is soooo awesome Derrick!
Thanks for the reminder that we don't all have to bust it out the gate to succeed in this battle for our health. That is why I am so glad that I found the Cto5K program it is so gradual that there is virtually no way I can fail at it. Unless I quit that is. And that ain't happening.
I remember back in my healthier days (just before the injury and the depression) dh got me a heart rate moniter for Valentine's Day. So romantic I know. But I have never fallen into the Valentine's Day trap of romantisim. Anywho, the first time I put it on I was just sitting on the couch and the thing wasn't registering very high. I took it off and put it back on a few different times. Finally I told dh that I thought it was broken.
That was when I found out that the healthier you are the slower your heart beats!
Mine was beating like at a resting rate of 55!!!! I couldn't believe it.
Of course that is not the case right now. But I will get back to that........soon.
Keep up all the great work Derrick.
Have a Blessed Easter.

He is Alive!!!!
 
Indeed he is. :) You also have a Happy Easter!

My resting heart rate was much lower in high school when I was swimming 30,000+ yards per week but I don't think it was ever super low. Maybe around 60. I can't remember for certain. I know I was almost always faster than my team mates in a sprint but most of them were in better shape and could usually whoop me in practice. Every once in a while the coach would check our heart rates and he was always amazed that mine was so high. I think as high as 210 sometimes! I thought that was good because it meant I was trying hard but he would always tell me to slow down or rest for a minute. I would think, "but I'm not even keeping up with these other freaks who's hearts are beating 20 beats less than mine!" LOL

Last summer when I first started my journey my resting rate was around 80 to 85! :( I think it is down to 65 now or close to it last time I checked. My blood pressure has FINALLY dropped also. It was never high but it was borderline for awhile. I think last spring it was around 125/80. Just the other morning at the doctor's office it was 107/60. I was like, whoa, finally! :) The reason I say finally is because I went to the doctor's office several times over the winter for bronchitis and each time it was usually around 118/75. Which is fine but not in the athletic range. Maybe it's because I was sick. Probably.

So today was a good day...Good Friday to be exact. :) I took most of the day off and got to work out with my wife. Well sort of. She was there and I saw her at times but she is still doing weights each time whereas I am not doing weights until mid May again. I am almost entirely focusing on the triathlon. So I did 3 miles on the bike to warm up and then I swam for 30 minutes. Tomorrow morning I am going jogging outside for the first time since I was 17 years old. I am not 100% certain that is correct but I can not think of one time since my high school swimming days that I have jogged outside for exercise.

I am jogging with a group of people who meet with some employees of Fleet Feet. They meet at the store at 7am and go for a 5 mile jog. Then at 8am they have breakfast at St. Louis Bread Company (Panera Bread). I doubt I will be able to do 5 miles so I may just turn around after 15 minutes and jog back for a 30 minute jog in total. We will see how I feel. It's going to be cold, 36 degrees forecasted at 7am. :willy_nilly:
 
Wow
Seems like you have come a long way.
I bet you will do just fine running with your group. As it seems usually when we are with a group we are much more motivated to "git-r-done". LOL
Case in point when you were trying to beat those other guys from your swim team.
Great job getting the heart rate/blood pressure down. That in itself is a wonderful accomplishment. Doesn't it feel great when you "see" results from all that work?
I especially like it when the doc sits up and takes notice. :biggrinjester:
That tells me then that I am for sure on the right track.
Cuz' he gets paid to take notice!
C'ya
:seeya:
 
No running this morning. Felt really bad so I waited a while and then went to the gym. I tried warming up twice and stretching once but just couldn't get myself to do anything. Just wasn't up for it. I guess one time in 10 months isn't anything to be concerned about. I just didn't feel up to it today.
 
No exercising on Easter. Just a LOT of eating. I don't care about holidays. I wasn't stupid about the eating just ate a lot of good food. Have to work it off the rest of the week.

This morning I swam around 2200 yards. Need to run a lot this week.
 
Had a bad week. Somewhat my fault but somewhat circumstances. I did manage to jog 3 miles yesterday outside for the first time ever. I ran 8 min, 40 second miles which is great because the treadmill has been telling me 10 min miles. A lot of people told me I would be faster on land. Glad they were right. Unfortunately I may be in big trouble. I feel shin splints coming on. I hope they are not bad. I will lay off running for 3 or 4 days and see how they heel. The last time I had shin splints they lasted for 4 weeks and I could barely walk let alone do a triathlon. My triathlon is in 2 weeks and 1 day so I am freaking out. I wanted the triathlon to be hard but not extremely painful.

Also, I bought a bike on Monday but have not rode it yet. I will do so tomorrow if it is not raining. I have one week of riding to learn the bike and then I will buy pedals and shoes for clipless riding. Then I have one week to learn to ride with clipless pedals. Yes, I know I am really cutting it close...too close, but I do not have lofty goals for this first triathlon.
 
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