February 100 Challenge

[kramday]

GOAL: Maintain the Healthy Habits

COMMENT: Once again, I'm not going to worry about actual weight lost this month. I just want to maintain the habits established in January, which will mean that the weight should take care of itself.

WORKOUT SCHEDULE
Monday: cardio 30 mins
Tuesday: cardio 30 mins, WCC 60 mins in evening (w/Personal Trainer)
Wednesday: cardio 30 mins
Thursday: cardio 30 mins, WCC 60 mins in evening
Friday: cardio 30 mins, Volleyball in evening
Saturday: Stretching but no actual workout
Sunday: WCC 60 mins

MEAL SCHEDULE
Four meals per day, one cheat meal per week.

STARTING STATS
WEIGHT: 219.5 pounds
BODY FAT: 29.1% -- from Omron

END STATS
WEIGHT: 211 pounds
BODY FAT: 28% -- from Omron

KNOWN EXCEPTIONS
Feb 16th: There is no volleyball this night.
Feb 19th: My nephew's birthday, which will definitely be a cheat meal. However, depending on the plans I might not be able to make it to the gym that day. Update: My nephew's party will actually be on the 25th and will make it pretty difficult to get to the gym with their limited Sunday hours. I'm still going to try, but I'm not going to ding myself if I don't make it.

DAILY LOG

FEB 1: For the first day of Feb, I upped my cardio time to 50 mins. I had been doing 45 mins, so it wasn't a huge jump. Still it was an improvement. I need to get back into the habit of lifting when I'm not meeting the trainer, but so far I'm happy with the extra cardio work and stretching.
-0 points [100 points]

FEB 2: I tried something new for volleyball this week. I didn't do the Gazelle during the afternoon, but instead did it right before I left for volleyball as a warm-up. It seemed to work out pretty well, though I am still incredibly sore. Afterwards, we went to Damon's where I had my cheat meal for the week. It was a Mushroom Jack Brisket Hoagie and a couple of beers. I probably could have done without the beers, truth be told. Still, it was a fun evening.
-0 points [100 points]

FEB 3: Another good Saturday, where basically I just relaxed and tried to recover from volleyball. I stretched before I went to bed, but I felt surprisingly good throughout the day. It is nice to have a decent recovery rate given how beat up I usually feel after volleyball.
-0 points [100 points]

FEB 4: Today was the Super Bowl, so I'm dinging myself a point for eating too much pizza. As far as pizza goes, it was probably fairly decent. It was on whole wheat crust, which was also pretty thin. Still, I had 2.5 slices of BBQ Chicken pizza and 3 slices of veggie pizza over the course of the game. I did pretty well in the snacking department though. As for the gym, I did hammer pretty hard. I did a 30 min hill program on the elliptical and 15 mins on the recumbent bike. I would have done the regular stationary bike, but they were all full. The hill program is different than what I normally do, as I usually do one of the interval programs. It was a nice change of pace.
-1 points [99 points]

FEB 5: I did pretty good today. I got on the Gazelle and then didn't kill myself snacking at gaming. Pretty pleased with that.
-0 points [99 points]

FEB 6: Well, I debated a bit on whether to take a point away or not today. I did get on the Gazelle yesterday, but I rescheduled the gym from tonight to tomorrow night because of the weather. In the end I decided to take the point hit because I didn't keep with the original plan and it wasn't a known exception.
-1 points [98 points]

FEB 7: No points lost today. I didn't get on the Gazelle at lunch, instead I shoveled the driveway and sidewalks. Then tonight, I had a really strong workout at the gym. Pretty happy with the way the day went.
-0 points [98 points]

FEB 8: Excellent workout at the gym tonight. I did a half-hour on the elliptical and another 30 mins on the stationary bike. I also did the Gazelle during the day, and felt pretty good about my eating.
-0 points [98 points]

FEB 9: Another good day today. I actually did the Gazelle at lunch today, rather than as a warm-up for volleyball. I played pretty well tonight, with a lot of good movement, though I am pretty freaking sore at the moment. That seems to be par for the season though. Afterwards we went to Donatos, so that counts as the cheat meal for the week.
-0 points [98 points]

FEB 10: Still kind of sore today, but not too bad overall. I ended up walking around Sam's Club with my family for a couple of hours, which didn't really help. I can't really complain, and I did some stretching before I went to bed.
-0 points [98 points]

FEB 11: I had a really good day today. I went to the gym and actually lifted without the trainer. I had not done that in a long time. I only lifted for 25 mins (30 mins goal, but I passed on doing stomach work), but I did a decent super set routine, hitting mainly my upper body. I did however, do a couple of sets on the leg press in the middle. I also lifted a little heavier than I do with the trainer. I figured I wasn't going to do as many different exercises as she would make me do, so I hit the ones I did do harder. I then did 30 mins on the stationary bike and another 15 mins on the recumbent bike. The place was ridiculously crowded, so there was no way I was getting an elliptical machine.
-0 points [98 points]

FEB 12: A somewhat strange day today. I had a chiropractor appointment this morning and some conference calls later in the day. So I didn't get on the Gazelle until later on. I did eat pretty well though, so I can't complain there. Oh well, they can't all be great days like yesterday was.
-0 points [98 points]

FEB 13: Another Tuesday, another snow storm, and another lost point. It was a pretty easy decision today to cancel with the trainer. I did get on the Gazelle and ate fairly well at least, although I did probably eat bit more than I might have if I had gone to the gym. It is hard to tell though.
-1 points [97 points]

FEB 14: I didn't get on the Gazelle today because I spent 2 hours shoveling snow from my driveway. It normally takes an hour, but with the sleet in the middle of the storm meant that it took twice as long. I was still going to go to the gym in the evening (unscheduled), but they were closed with the weather.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 15: After the craziness of the weather, I finally made it back to the gym tonight. It was a good cardio workout, but I didn't lift. I just couldn't really get motivated to do that. I did hammer on the elliptical hill program for a half-hour and then another 14 mins on the stationary bike. I could tell that I hadn't been to the gym in a few days though.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 16: A decent day, but there was no volleyball and I went to Wendy's for my cheat meal. I had the Big Bacon Classic Combo, which was probably too filling again. Since there was no volleyball, I actually spent the evening painting my living room. One wall down and two to go.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 17: For my stretching today I actually did two things. First, I met the trainer at the gym and had her stretch me. Just like she pushes me harder in the workouts, she also stretches me a little deeper than I would do myself. Afterwards, I went and got a massage. It was a good thing, as my back was bothering me a bit after the painting. I still got the second wall started and I'm still hoping to finish tomorrow with some help from my mom.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 18: My mom came down this morning and everything has a first coat of paint and 2/3 of the room is now completely done. I probably could have finished it last night, but I decided I didn't want to risk tweaking my back since a lot of the reminder will be on a ladder. After she left, I went over to the gym which was insanely crowded. I actually ended up on the rower since there were no open bikes or elliptical machines. That wasn't a huge deal, as I want to start adding in the rower into the overall routine. I only did 25 mins though, as it was a little much not being used to the movement (and the seat was hard as well). So, an elliptical machine opened up and I did 15 mins on there.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 19: The living room is done (to the extent that I am done messing with it) and the back survived. I also managed to get on the Gazelle, so a pretty good day.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 20: A Tuesday night that the weather actually let me make it to gym. Wahoo, no loss of points from snowfall. It was pretty good workout tonight, on the various machines at the gym. I finished off with 30 hard mins on the elliptical and 10 mins on the rower. I originally wanted 15 mins on the rower, but after lifting and the elliptical it was just wasn't going to happen.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 21: A decent day today. I actually finished putting the room back together after the painting and then cleaned everything. In the evening was gaming, but I still managed to get on the Gazelle late at night. Have to horde those points.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 22: I was most pleased with the way that the today turned out. I had 5 hours of conference calls scheduled today, but I with some nice planning I still managed to get on the Gazelle in the middle of the day. After work, I hammered on the elliptical (28 mins) and stationary bike (22 mins) at the gym.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 23: I played volleyball tonight, and I am freaking sore. That seems to be par for the course with the season, but I do think I am feeling it a little more since we didn't play last week. Oh well. Overall, it was a fun night. I did the Gazelle as a warm-up, but I'm not sure it really did anything to help. Afterwards, we went to Wendell's and I had my cheat meal, as I got the Bacon Swiss Burger.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 24: A nice simple day today. I felt better after volleyball last night, but that is about the same as usual. Stretching before bed felt pretty good as well.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 25: Well, the birthday party was too much pizza and cake, but it was a worthwhile cheat meal in my opinion. I am having some car issues, so getting to the gym afterwards wasn't really an option. However, I didn't really feel that bad about it, as it was a nice break. No points lost because the day was included as an Exception.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 26: Another good day this month. We gamed last night, but there was no real snacking. There were some Twizzlers at the table, but I didn't feel like I really had too many of them. I also did the Gazelle last night after gaming, instead of during my lunch hour.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 27: I braved the car troubles and went to the gym tonight. It was definitely worth it, as I had a really good workout. The trainer pushed me pretty hard while lifting, and then I hit the elliptical machine for a half hour afterwards. I would have gone longer, but I had made arrangements with Kludy to get my car to the shop tonight. Still, it felt really good to actually get back to the gym after a few days away.
-0 points [97 points]

FEB 28: I didn't get on the Gazelle during lunch today, but did manage to it tonight. However, I also ordered a pizza tonight. I just felt hungry and didn't want to fool around cooking anything that I had. Oh well, one day isn't the end of the world. (Also, while I allow myself the one cheat meal a week, it is assumed that it will be after volleyball as long as the season lasts.)
-1 points [96 points]

[kramday]

Mid-Month Check-in
Here are the numbers through the 15th.

Current Weight: 214
Weight lost: 5.5 pounds
Trips to the Gym: 6
Workouts on the Gazelle: 9
Volleyball Nights: 2

You can see the Workout Calendar here.

[BigDog]

You've really got the program going there. Lots of activity, watching your food. Keep up the good work.

[kramday]

Thanks. I have lost three points so far this month, but that is mainly because of the timing of the two snow storms kept me from going to the gym on those days.

[kramday]

Final Month Stats
Here are the numbers for February.

Weight lost: 8.5 pounds
Trips to the Gym: 10
Workouts on the Gazelle: 18
Volleyball Nights: 3

You can see the Workout Calendar here.