It feels good though. The other day I put on a pair of jeans I hadn’t worn in a long time. They were cut too small and always felt tight in the waist so I didn’t like them, but I fit into them and they weren’t uncomfortable at all. Yesterday I wore a t-shirt that I love but had to stop wearing because it is a snug fitting t-shirt. And that’s part of what this is about. It’s not about the number on the scale, it’s about feeling good and not having to try and cover up your fat.

It’s also about feeling strong and healthy. After I got through the first 2 weeks of workouts, I started looking forward to them. That’s the hardest part of any diet, just getting rolling again. Once you get back in the routine and start feeling strong, then working out becomes energizing and in a way, addictive. So I’ve learned this time around that I can’t let myself go again. This has got to be a permanent lifestyle change.

I want to take a second to recommend the Extreme Fat Smash Diet. No, I didn’t lose 15 pounds in three weeks, but I lost 9.5 in four weeks which is not bad at all. My wife lost 8lbs and she hasn’t even started working out! So it does work. P90X is also the greatest workout I’ve ever done. I love the no gimmick approach to both of these programs.

So what’s next? Well, I’ve got to make some permanent lifestyle changes to make this stick. This means we’ll be continuing on a mostly vegetarian diet. I’ll also be working out at least 5 times a week. I’d like to start bicycling again to mix it up as well.

Goal wise, I still have a little belly fat to get rid of, and then I’m going to focus on shaping muscle. So I’m thinking I want to get down to 195lbs and I want to be able to do 35 pushups per set in the P90X chest and back routine. I’ll set the end February for that goal. Stay tuned!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

So now that Thanksgiving and Christmas are out of the way and all the cookies and pies and crap are done with, I can get back to normal eating. They say that every year people put on a few pounds during the season. I read recently that it’s not as bad as you would think; only a pound or two extra during this time. However, since Americans don’t exercise those pounds never drop off and so over the years we turn into fatties. One look at the people at the mall will tell you this is absolutely true. I have no problem growing old, but I have a huge problem with growing fat and unhealthy.

So this year I’m doing something about it and taking drastic measures to burn off the weight of at least the last four holiday seasons. Michelle and I normally eat pretty good and so I don’t think we need a huge shift in our diet. So I’m going to do a 30 day crash diet to lose at least 10 pounds and then make some minor modifications to my daily diet to maintain that.

The diet I’m using is called The Extreme Fat Smash Diet. It’s by the doctor from the TV show Celebrity Fit Club. What I like about this diet, is that it’s no B.S., no gimmicks, no tricks. It comes down to eating the right foods, with the right portion size, and exercising daily. In fact, you really don’t even need a book to do this diet, but one thing that books do is help show you what a portion really looks like (American portions are about 3 times bigger than they should be), remind you of what foods are bad for you if you’re trying to slim down, and make you realize how little we actually exercise.

So I’m off on my 30 day adventure! My starting weight is 209.5 lbs. My goal is 200 lbs even by January 31st. However, this diet claims that you can lose 12 to 15 pounds in four weeks, so I may get down to 195 lbs which would be fantastic, but I’m trying to be conservative. I’ll also be doing P90X for my workout routine and I’ll be using MyNetDiary.com to track my progress. It’s going to be tough, but I’m determined. I’ll post once a week to give some visibility to my progress.

P90X consists of 13 DVD’s. Each DVD is one workout and they run from 60 to 90 minutes each. The whole set is broken up into phases, and each phase is broken up into weeks where the exercises change every so often. These workouts include strength training, but also some great cardio workouts and even some yoga. This does several things; It keeps the body guessing utilizing a concept called muscle confusion. The theory goes that if you do anything over and over again, the body will adapt, so by mixing it up, you keep the body working harder. I think this also gives you a more well rounded physique and keeps you from getting strong arms and skinny legs. Lastly, it makes the program more interesting.

The workouts themselves are dynamite. I had been going to the gym three times a week for the past few years and really had not seen any improvement. I wasn’t really getting fatter, but not really getting any more fit. I think when you are a slave to workout machines, you kind of get used to doing certain things and so you go on cruise control after a while. The P90X workout really made me realize how little effort I’d been putting in. These workouts are strenuous! But the good thing is that you can tailor them to meet your fitness level, and they give you something to shoot for. The day that I can follow the DVD to the letter without an extra break or a altered movement is the day I’ll know I’ve accomplished my goals.

One of the great things about this workout too is that you don’t need a lot of gear. I bought a chin up bar and some weight bands from a local sporting goods store and that’s all I’ve needed. Most of the exercises use your own weight against you and honestly I think that gives you a better perspective on your fitness level. It’s easy to put a certain weight on a machine and feel good about pushing it around, but try and do a pull up or 20 push ups, and suddenly you realize how out of shape you are. If there’s one thing we should all be able to do is carry our own weight right? So I think the industry has made a lot of money off of gym memberships and whatnot, but Jack Lalaine was right. All we really need is a chair, a few hand weights and some motivation.

That motivation comes from a guy named Tony Horton. Horton is annoying as heck at first and comes off as some genetically perfect psychopath bent on turning you into a pile of mush. However, after doing two weeks of P90X I’m actually starting to admire the guy. He was in his mid 40′s at the time of the making of P90X and he’s in dynamite shape. I also get the feeling that he’s a genuinely nice guy. He motivates without sounding like a drill sergeant and constantly reminds you to go ahead and take a break if you need it. “Do your best and forget the rest” is repeated constantly during the workouts which gives me the urge to push, but doesn’t make me feel like a total loser in these early weeks.

So I give the P90X workout 5 stars. It’s a great workout and you can do it in your own home without buying a bunch of gear. It’s still too early in my plan to say what the results are going to be, but I do feel much stronger already. I’m able to get further into the ab workout without taking a break, and I’ve noticed my coordination and balance have improved a lot in the Yoga and Kenpo workouts in just these two weeks. I expect to start seeing noticeable fat loss and muscle growth in the coming 2 to 4 weeks. I’ll be sure to post here as the program continues.

Check out the P90X workout at the following website. The workout alone is around $100 which compared to a gym membership is pretty affordable. They also sell packages if you need a chin up bar, etc., but I found that you can get the equipment for much cheaper by shopping around.

http://www.Beachbody.com/P90X

It seems like when you hit 40, things just start to fall apart. I’m not joking, I honestly think there’s a genetic time bomb that goes off when you leave your thirties. In the last two years, I’ve had to start wearing reading glasses (on top of my contacts), I swear my hairline is receding, and it’s nearly impossible to burn off weight. Just five years ago I could switch to salads for 3 days and lose ten pounds. These days I have to consume nothing but water and sprouts and workout 5 days a week just to break even.

Alright, that’s an exaggeration, but it’s a fact that the body just does not burn calories the way it did 5 or 10 years ago, and I think what’s compounding the problem is that the exercise I get, while its more than most people get, is just not enough to keep up with my slowing metabolism. So what am I to do to remain the molten hot hunk of burning rock and roll that I am? Liposuction? Tummy tuck? Butt lift? Corvette?

I decided to buy a bike. Here’s the deal; I like the gym, but I only like lifting weights at the gym. Treadmills suck (and my knees suck more), and ellipticals and stationary bikes are WAY too boring. Sitting there in one position for an hour watching Oprah is just torture. I need to be out and about. I need a reason to get out of the house, so I’m taking up bicycling, and it’s going to be rad.

I haven’t decided what kind of bike I want yet. But I want something fast. And it’s gotta have speeds. Yeah speeds. A lot of them. It’s amazing how many bike styles are out there now. You can’t  just go buy a Schwinn Stingray with a cool sissy bar and tassles on the grips and be done with it any more. They have all kinds of crazy stuff out there now and it’s mondo expensive! I mean, these bikes go for thousands of dollars! THOUSANDS of dollars for bent metal. It’s amazing. Somebody is making some serious money in the bike industry. So I have some research to do but right now I’m leaning toward a traditional road bike (us old codgers used to call them “ten speeds” back in the 70′s) and I’ll probably spend more along the lines of $400 or so. I’m not Lance Armstrong after all.

So watch out for me out on the road, wearing spandex, a goofy helmet with a rear-view mirror on it, and a jersey with all kinds of sponsors on it who obviously are not sponsoring me. Please don’t run me over, and I’d appreciate it if you don’t laugh and/or throw stuff at me as you drive by either.

Click here to view the embedded video.