The first step is a Lu-Lu...

Alright guys, here we go. They say the first step is the hardest. That is true for so many things: getting married, quitting smoking, starting grad school, or having a child (although with this last one, the first step is the best one, so I have heard). My first step is right here, making myself accountable to all of my friends for my newest decision/adventure in life. And while the first step is difficult it is the last step that will be the true test of my courage and grit. You see, I am going skydiving. I have wanted to do this for a long time. A few months ago, I began doing research and discovered one important thing: there is a weight limit. And I, am over that limit.

I had already started a diet and exercise program when I discovered this set back in my plans. I had dropped below the 300 mark just recently. (I will get to all of the numbers later). I was running and hitting the weights and had a great jump start to my healthier me. But after discovering these new details, I still had a lot of work to do.

Apparently no person wants to jump out of an airplane with a parachute on their back and an anchor on their stomach. And I could not blame them.

So know, I am getting down to some serious business. I needed to add another day of cardio into my weekly workouts. Just an extra 30-45 minutes on the elliptical or walking on the treadmill or track to sweat off a few more ounces. Every little bit helps.

My diet I had already began to alter but would step it up a notch. This is the hardest part for me. Changing bad habits of eating and snacking.

Diet
For me, I had to make changes to this area in stages. I decided breakfast was a good place to begin. Breakfast needs to be healthy, but with some carbs for energy to get you going as you start your day. Some cereals are good. Breakfast bars are my favorites. I began eating a Fiberone bar with a glass of fat free milk everyday. (You can go with 2% if you just cant stand the fat free.) This was huge for me as I stuck with it. It gave me some energy in my mornings. It helps keep me full usually till lunch. And the huge influx of fiber has a perk and a curse that grabs you later in the day. It's crude but staying regular is so helpful.

I changed only my breakfast for the first 6 weeks. I told myself if I would exercise and stick with the morning eating routine, that the other meals could change later and I would not focus on them as much. What happened, was because I was doing so well with exercise and breakfast, I unintentionally started doing better with my other meals. I had not made this conscious effort yet, but it began out of the other good habits having a large bearing on my life.

Once the six weeks was up, I had breakfast down and began on lunch. A sandwich was the obvious choice. It is cheap, easy to make, and the is a variety of meats and fat free cheeses to choose from. As I began to check out sandwich meats, I noticed something in common with almost all of them: Sodium. This was bad. I had to really search for a sandwich meat that was lower in sodium. But I found some. Bryan Smoked Turkey is a great option. Your deli sliced chicken can be good. They are out there. Just look for them. Regular mustard and some lettuce is a great addition to any sandwich. And if you have to have your mayo, there is fat free, olive oil mayonaise that tastes great on any sandwich. Almost any fat free cheese can be found. There is a wonderful pepperjack cheese that is made with 2% milk that adds tons of flavor to a sandwich. Something else I discovered, wraps do not equal healthy. When comparing a serving of a wrap to two pieces of whole wheat bread, the bread wins. And of course, you want some sides with that sandwich, I found the 100 calories of chips and desserts are still filling and you get the taste of your favorite foods with an automatic cut off.

Dinners are still waiting their turn. I have noticed that I am already making better decisions with these just because of the other good decisions I have been making.

Almost any of your favorite meals can be eaten several times a week as long as the portion is reasonable.

Drink lots of water throughout the day. That is huge. Try tea made with Splenda. Cut out a few cokes or all of them. That alone is a huge impact on your weight loss. Adding fruit to your diet is also huge. Try two pieces of fruit a day. It will make a big difference. I also take a men's multi-vitamin with my lunch each day.

Exercise

For exercise I began by doing light weights the first two weeks, letting my muscles get use to being worked with repetition. After those first two weeks, I stepped it up a little but kept the weight down on my lifts to make sure I could keep up the reps. I would do weights three times a week for about an hour a day. Make sure to do abs everyday.

I also will do cardio three times a week for atleast 30-45 minutes each time. Cardio is better to mix up: elliptical, treadmill, track, stationary bike or playing basketball are my favorites. Getting your sweat on is gross but oh so good for you.

Goals

So what are the goals here? The main one is truly a healthier, happier, long living Scott. It's not enough to just be breathing at 80, I want to still be active and playing with my grandchildren then. With this would of course come good eating habits and workout schedule.

The fun goal is jumping out of the plane one day. That may be crazy to some or most, but that is what I want. That rush. To feel the wind come rushing by my face and see the earth come screaming towards me. Feel that pull as my chute fills with air. That jolt as my feet hit the ground. I can't wait!

So weight, when this began, I weighed 310 pounds. Right now I am at 286. The goal, and acceptable weight, is 245 for some places and 230 for others. I want the 230 and will hold out till I get there. So 56 pounds from today is what I have to lose.

Updates

This first post was long, I know. I will give weekly updates on my weight loss and any fun dieting and exercise tips I come across. Also, feel free to leave me comments or ideas you may have to help me or that have helped you in your own personal journeys.

I look forward to sometime in the near future posting a picture of me with nothing but blue behind me and cheeks jiggling in the rush of air against me.