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well, so far so good. amy and i have navigated the first 2 weeks of eating right and working out. the first week was really a test and last week was a hardcore week. we missed one workout and our cardio workouts weren’t as long as we would have liked (20 minutes vs. 40 minutes). we typically do the 20 mas (minute aerobic solution) followed by 20 minutes of low intensity workout but were taxed for time so we only did the 20 mas. at the end of the week we noticed the difference in the numbers but we both still did great. i dropped 4 more pounds and amy dropped 2, not bad for a semi solid week. we’re used to seeing more the first few weeks but we realize where we can improve and have already made adjustments to compensate. i updated my timeline with my progress so far and have also plotted a few short and long term goals.


this week is great so far, i had a killer lower body workout yesterday and today we got our entire 40 minutes of cardio in. needless to say i was completely starved all day today. following the meals this time around is actually pretty easy this time around. we have quite a few menus to work through both from the eating for life book and some recipes we found. plus, it helps that we’re trying to save money for a house as well so saving money eating at home obviously helps a ton.


i know i’ve said this before, and i really do hope i’m right this time, but it feels different. we’re both getting up in the morning and when one person isn’t into it the other person is there to support them and get them fired up. we always feel great after each workout, even if it is early in the morning. we’re also usually thankful we got up in the morning and worked out after a long day at work. a workout is the last thing we want to do when we get home.


anyhow, as usual i’ll keep updating the website as we progress. wish us luck, we have a few challenges coming up this week and the following weeks. now lets hit the hay so we can knock out a killer upper body workout in the morning. nite all …

well, i know i didn’t tell anyone this, but amy and i started back on the pathway to better nutrition this week. we’ve been battling for a while now trying to get back on the horse but it kept bucking us off over and over. finally after my birthday we had enough and really are making a concerted effort to tackle this once and for all. i’m happy to say that we’ve made it through the first week unscathed. we worked out and ate great all week and i feel great. we didn’t get our workout in today but other than that we hit the rest of the goals for our starter week.


time and time again i post on my blog about how i’m starting over and am going to lose weight this time. i’m tired of posting about it … i’m tired of starting over and losing all of the traction i made last time … i’m tired of feeling big … i’m tired of not feeling healthy … i’m tired of eating bad and feeling bad … i’m tired of being tired. enough was enough!


we’re following the standard body for life eating and workout regiment as we’ve been met with success in the past using it. our only problems in the past have been either restarting after a vacation or not letting a bad meal or day pull us down. it’s hard to get up and start again after being met with feelings of short term failure. whether it’s eating a bad meal or taking a few days off the program for a vacation we have to keep motivated and keep the goals in mind. we have to make these changes for the long term, for life, for our future.


we’re going to spend the day today enjoying our free day and planning out meals for next week. with the holiday this weekend we’re going to have to plan and find some fun things to do and eat in order to succeed. we’re both looking forward to the challenge that our life change will give us, wish us luck … i’ll keep everyone posted.

amy and i had a hard time getting the motivation to work out these past few weeks. we’ve been in auto pilot and haven’t worked out or been eating right. we tried to get started a few times and failed but now we’re firing on all cylinders. we’ve planned the whole week out, bought the groceries, nailed the past two days, and now we’re kicking some body for life ass. i feel great, i’ve been eating well, and i’m really pushing myself in my workouts. i don’t know how to explain it, but it just feels like we’re on track.

we’re into week six, almost at the halfway point. amy and i finished off last week on a positive note. i was down 4 pounds to bring my total to 21 pounds and amy was down another 4 pounds to bring her total to 9 pounds. we had a really which made up for the previous weeks setbacks. all in all i can’t think of anything i would have done differently with regard to the food portion of body for life. on the exercise side we should have made it to the gym in the morning for our cardio workouts. we did the weight training in the morning without problems but ended up doing all of our cardio at home and some of them in the evening. yea, we still worked out which is great, but we really should have made it to the gym. some people may think that i’m splitting hairs but i’m just trying to be honest and remain accountable.


my body really felt in tune this week and i felt like i was really burning some fat. i have kept one vice in my diet that i think actually helps my metabolism, coffee. i figured it wouldn’t kill me and since i’m not drinking the foofoo coffees, instead i drink americano’s. in case you didn’t know already an americano only has water and espresso shots. of course i go and ruin it with half & half and sugar in the raw. all said though it only works out to be a few hundred calories in the worst case which if you think about it really isn’t that harmful. i could be worse like a 660 calories white chocolate mocha with whipped cream. those are reserved for the free day.

we’re into week four of our challenge. we have missed a few workouts the past two weeks but we’re eating really well. amy lost a bit more last week and i sat still. i knew i’d hit a small plateau but it didn’t help that we missed some workouts. it’s really hard getting up so early in the morning when the sun doesn’t come out. on the positive side we’ve done all of our weight training workouts so the workouts we’re missing are the cardiovascular ones. this may sound bad, but contrary to popular opinion cardio workouts raise your metabolism for a few hours where as weight training raises your metabolism for around 24 hours after a workout.


we are going to double down on the workouts this coming week. we’ve made it through a few harder scheduling issues the past few weeks and should have an easier time next week. we also have the train moving and have seen some great progress. we’re going to harness that and push forward. the meals are really fun and interesting with very little repetition or boredom. i highly recommend that you check out the eating for life book if your looking for some simple enjoyable recipes that taste great. if your following body for life this book is a must.


some words of wisdom from the first few weeks. missing a workout doesn’t mean you failed, you cannot and should not use that as an excuse to stop workout out. you have to get right back on track and continue forward with your plan. do not eat bad that day, do not give up for that week and start over, one problem is not an excuse to cause another. each up and down is a learning experience, life always throws us a few curve balls. you have to take on each challenge one at a time and move on after you get through it.

today is our body for life free day … and it was a pretty good week for us. i’m down another 5 pounds to bring the total to 17 pounds so far and amy was down another 2 pounds. we’re really starting to get into the groove now. the week wasn’t perfect and we did miss one workout but we ate pretty much perfectly. some of our workouts were in the evening, and we’re planning on fixing that next week. i know, those few things made it sound like we didn’t do that well but we did. we ate healthy meals for all meals, we cooked our own meals, we worked out 5 of the 6 days, and we didn’t stray from our plan.


next week we’re planning all morning workouts instead of the evening workouts we did this week. yea, we still worked out but you don’t get all of the advantages of working out in the morning and working out in the evening really does effect the flow of the day. by the time we get home and workout and finally eat it’s like 8:00 pm. it’s so much easier getting up in the morning, working out, and then your done for the rest of the day. plus you have the piece of mind having worked out so there is no time juggling during the day.


we’re entering the phase of body for life where you hit an early plateau which can last a few weeks. we’re prepared for that and will push through it. we’re hunkering down and we’re in this for the long haul.

so far so good. amy and i had a great week last week, almost perfect except for my coffee habits. we worked out every morning except for one and on that day we worked out in the evening. we were both geeked and extremely happy with the results. i was down 10 pounds and she was down 4 pounds. not to shabby …


we planned out our meals for the entire week and i went grocery shopping today. i love the feeling when i get up to the checkout line and i know that everything i’m buying today is healthy and won’t have a negative effect on my body. we’re eating more vegetables, whole wheat, beans, and lean meat than we used it. it’s really a great feeling when you eat right.


a few things that are helping a lot this challenge are planning, planning, and planning. i know i’ve said it before, but planning has been huge for us. with both of us being really busy with work and school the last thing we can do is wait until a meal to figure out what we’re going to eat. we plan everything out like we should, heck we usually plan it out a few days before hand actually. it has really helped and saves us from making bad food choices.


we’ve been eating a number of meals from the eating for life book. the meals are fantastic and really easy to make. i think the longest meal takes us like 30 minutes and that’s mostly waiting. the rest of the meals are 5 - 10 minutes maximum prep time. they are very enjoyable and don’t really leave us wanting more food. i really recommend picking up this book if your looking for some healthy and very delicious receipts.