Sir Randall 52DC Blog

It’s been almost 4 months since I posted.  Where have I been?  I’ve been sitting on the couch, eating dirty and getting fat again.  OMG!!!  I gained back all the weight I had lost last year and it’s most noticeable in my gut.  I have no one to blame but myself.  It’s not that I gave up it’s that I didn’t maintain. 

I ended up wiping out on my mountain bike pretty bad.  I ended up injurying my back and leg in the fall but luckily no major damage was done.  Add a lot of work and personal stress to the equation and I just had no motivation to keep eating clean when I couldn’t work out.  I begain a slow downward spiral back into gaining the weight I had lost.  I wasn’t sleeping good.  I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin and was unhappy with my appearance.

So now I’m back at it again.  I’ve reloaded the kitchen cabinets and fridge with clean foods and I’ve started back in the gym.  I’ve even added a stretching routine before bed which I think has helped with my sleep.  It’s only been a week but I have more energy than before.  I can’t change the choices I made but I can change the choices I’m about to make.

I got up this morning and hit the gym for a push workout (chest, shoulders, triceps).  A 3 month layoff has left me a weak man.  I’ll be sore tomorrow for sure.  Finished it off with 20 mins on the elliptical.  Ate great all day and upped my calories to fuel the muscles.

I was so wiped from my workout that I was going to stop at 15 mins on the elliptical.  Then I heard these lyrics on my Ipod:

Wake in a sweat again
Another day’s been laid to waste
In my disgrace

Stuck in my head again
Feels like I’ll never leave this place
There’s no escape

I’m my own worst enemy

[chorus]
I’ve given up
I’m sick of feeling
Is there nothing you can say

Take this all away
I’m suffocating
Tell me what the fcuk is wrong
With me

Gotta love the lyrics to most Linkin Park songs.  Most pump me up and push me to work even hard.  I was ready to give up at 15 mins but I stuck it out for 5 more.  Given up?  Hell no!

So I was running late this morning and was thinking about hitting the Dunkin Doughnuts on the way to work to pick up a coffee and bagel sandwich.  Instead,  I made 2 egg sandwiches.  The results were not shocking:

                        Dunkin Doughnuts                    Homemade (2)

Cals                             660                                          550

Fat                               35g                                          19g

Sat Fat                         13g                                            6g

Carb                            63g                                          50g

Fiber                              3g                                            6g

Protein                         28g                                          40g

I automatically felt better about my day knowing that I easily avoided a potentail cheat.  One sandwich would be sufficient but it was a late breakfast / early lunch meal so I’m fine with that. 

I am wiped out at 10pm so I’m hitting the hay and the weights in the morning.

It’s 9 pm EST and I’m just getting home from home.  Another brutal 12 hour day behind me and I have no motivation to go to the gym.  I’m thinking about calling in sick tomorrow so I can take a “me” day.  I barely had enough energy to start dinner and clean up (any volunteers?). 

I’ve decided once I get some time to create a new page on my blog titled Recipe of the Day.  I think I can post blog messages to the page for recipes only.  I’m still a novice blogger but I got a lot to say so listen up!  On the upside of my busy schedule, I’ve been eating excellent so far and have not missed a clean eat yet.

I’ve always had a soft spot for adorable little girls…..except when they are selling Girl Scout cookies.  Yes, it’s that time of year when Satan unleases his minions to push fat-laden, calorie-packed cookies onto the resolving public, most of whom have vowed to “drop the holiday weight”.  What could be more devasting to a New Year’s resolution to lose weight?  Nothing!

I don’t mean to get off on a rant here but I’ve been approached by no less than 3 people in my office this week asking if I will be buying cookies.  Mind you that the entire office knows of me eating habits and the fact that I always pass on the birthday cake.  Never mind that I keep a 1 lb fat replica on my desk as a paperweight.  It’s unreal.  I’m sure the cookie sale helps the organization but why not do it before Christmas.  They’re the perfect stocking stuffer……errrrr…….belly stuffer.  I can only imagine how many times I’ll have to say no to the troop standing outside the grocery store hounding me to buy a box.  Damn cookie pushers!

Well, I stayed up late playing online poker and I did manage to get the post up at 1:00am.  Bibbitt has been a champ nailing 58 replies before handing the reins back to me.  I had a flash of genious and worked up a reply template in Excel that would reduce the amount of typing/editing for the daily replies.  I’ll post it up shortly in a new thread and copy to the daily sign up thread for good measure.  Working smarter, not harder on those things pays off in the end.  Hopefully, it benefits future daily hosts.

Didn’t go cycling like I thought this morning.  My buddy re-scheduled for tomorrow.  I did run 2 miles today and I plan on jumping on my bike while watching the game.  2 birds, 1 stone.

Today’s Recipe:    Shrimp Fra Diavolo (2 servings)

12 oz pre-cooked shrimp
14 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp red-pepper flakes (or to taste, I use 1 tsp)
4 oz whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 Tbsp of EVOO
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp parsley

1. Boil water for pasta and cook accordingly.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the red-pepper flakes, olive oil, onion, garlic and oregano.  Cook until onions are soft.  Add tomatoes.
3. Add shrimp to sauce and season with salt/pepper.  Cook for 3-4 minutes. 
4. Drain pasta and toss with sauce/shrimp.  Garnish with parsley.

Eat with side salad.

Nutrtional info:
Calories: 470
Fat:  8 grams (1 g saturated)
Carbs:  61 grams
Protein:  43 grams
Fiber:  7 grams
Sodium:  1075 milligrams

Courtesy of Malegrams Nutrition, Men’s Health September 2006

So I woke up late Friday and I rushed to work only packing 2 of the 4 meals that I’d eat there.  I figured at lunch that I’d get a salad w/ chicken from Offerdahl’s and go from there.  Well, the office ordered pizza and it was delivered as I was walking out the door.  I got roped into carrying it to the lunch room and man did it smell good.  I set it down and open each box to check out the pizzas.  I said “hello” to my old friends and left to grab my salad.  I was so tempted to have just one slice to go with my salad but I abstained.  I plan on making ww flatbread pizza during the games Saturday. 

Flatbread Pizza

1 WW Flat Out Flatbread
1/4 cup Hunt’s Tomatoe Sauce
1/4 cup LF mozzerella
4 oz chopped chicken breast
1/4 cup chopper bell peppers

Check out my fitday page for the nutritional values. 

Hey challengers.  Thanks for checking out my blog.  I’ll be your host for this challenge along with my friend superpup.  I started my 1st challenge this time last year and have participated in 5.  This will be my 3rd time hosting the challenge and I will tell you it’s a lot of work.  But I’ve met a lot of great people in the process and I’ve learned a lot in the last year.

 It’s the end of Day 2 for me and here are my stats:
CE  4/4/95
CT 0/28
RT 0/28
Not a stellar start so far on the workouts but I have plans to make that up this weekend.  For me, the biggest part of my success is diet.  What do I eat?  You can check it out here. Stay tuned as I plan on posting my favorite clean recipes in my daily post.

What makes for a successful challenge?  Posting daily and keeping accountable to your goals.  I’ll be honest, when I first started I thought the daily posting a little much.  I posted weekly or every other day for the first 2 weeks.  But I then realized the more I posted, the more accountable I was not only to myself but to my fellow challengers.  It’s easy to full yourself into thinking you’re on track but posting it allows others to call you on your bullsh*t.  I was actually more motivated to make my workouts and stick to my diet plan.  In the end, I ended finishing Platinum for the challenge.  I lost 15 lbs in the process too.  Hmm…I guess this daily posting does work.

But I’m rambling and it’s late.  Need to get some sleep if I’m going to attempt some am cardio.