I took a break over the weekend eating like shxt, but I did play a couple of games of basketball.

Nice loss this week. I invite you to join me in the 250's!

You should get a scale that comes with biolectrical impedance so that it can measure your body fat that way you are less discouraged with the weight not moving :)

I am officially fed up with the stupid scale. It has not moved in about a month. I know though that I have to be losing BF because I am building Muscle mass... its just discouraging to get on and see it not move.

No I have not been taking measurements but.. I dunno just fed up.

Oh, I feel great and I'm definitely not giving up! I think maybe my fat is turning directly into muscle. Haha!! When I get myself into the work out groove, I LOVE working out. I don't have to force it, it just becomes habit and I crave it too. Like tonight I'm planning on a 50 min run, and I cannot wait!!

Got them off Limewire this morning... needed inspiration for the day :/

Love the new pic, looking great man!!!

I feel like I'm not getting anywhere! I've only lost 6 lbs so far and it it getting a little frustrating. I know that I'm gaining a lot of muscle too though so I try to focus on that. I'm going to get my BF retested the week before the big tri day!! It's coming up in less than a month!

You look great!!! That's awesome! Still no smile though? Haha. Keep up the great work Ara and you'll be @ 200 in no time. *thumbs up* :)

New pic I see... that shirt looks too big!

Super job Ara! You're melting away!

Your weight change chart is looking awesome!!

You are doing a great job, Ara! Keep up the good work! A question though: Why does your profile say Goal met? Hmmm, it seems to be confused...

Yes... great workout today boxing.

Okay I am back in it after my 4 day slump I can't wait till after work.

How's it going?? I slumped on Friday myself, went to Friendly's for breakfast :)

Keep up the good work, you're doing awesome! How's boxing going? I'm jealous, wish I had a boxing gym nearby.

Today could have gone better, I ate pasta and 4 pieces of pizza and didn't make it to the gym :( tomorrow will be better

That's a solid two week loss you've got there. Let's you and I get into those 50's in another 2 weeks!

That's great Ara!! It's always great to start actually seeing changes in your body. Good job!!!

Alright I am doing great, I went boxing last night ... all I did though was hit the bag for an hour and a half, I didn't feel like it was much of a challenge so I went weight lifting afterwards and it was great.

Down to 267.2 now on the scales, I am starting to notice a psychical difference.

Absolutely, I am extremely blessed. My friends are amazing.

Ara, you can back log a few days at a time... just click back to the date you need and input the data. OR skip and get moving forward. I was horrid on the data usage for months.

Also, do you have a chat client SN? Shoot it to me, jamestippins@gmail.com I'll send you some info that could help you.

Well, cut yourself some slack. You have been feeling pretty bad. Once you get better and can get back in the gym, I'm sure it'll start coming right back off again!

Nope just forgot to put my weight up today :(

Looks like the weight is coming back down. Awesome!!!!

Ara, hang in there bro. If you like, add me as a motivator, I would love to do all I can to help you.

Don't give up Ara! You can do it! Give yourself some credit for how far you've come already. Just keep pushing forward and the results will come. Have you started getting measurements taken yet?

I'm right there with you Ara - my body's rebelling, the scale hates me (I can hear it screaming while I'm walking towards it!), and I still can't fit into my skinny jeans!

But what I try to remember... it's only temporary. The skinny jeans aren't getting any easier to fit into because I quit, and the scale will eventually commit suicide if I quit. And the results WILL come if I just keep at it!

So... you can do it!

Ever feel like you want to quit? Not seeing the changes you want to see? Not seeing a scale change? Man I feel like that right now... I mean yes I 'think' cloths are feeling looser but what if it is a placebo effect on my mind? The scale hasn't dropped below 270 since I started Jan 6th... granted I started at 285 lbs... could it be because I am lifting and gaining muscle mass? When I lift it doesn't seem like I am straining myself at all.... they all seem like pretty easy weights... all but the dead lift.. Should I be lifting more weight....

Hah! Awesome! I'm not really much of a dancer. I always feel like I look stupid or something. The few times I've done it though, I also worked up quite the sweat. All those people packed into one area. :D

I'm about to go outside! It's such a nice day!!!

What kind of dancing did you do??

and down it goes :)

Use bf% to track muscle growth.

I don't know how to track muscle growth other than looking in the mirror or having someone touch you and realize the difference (like your girlfriend).

It could be muscle growth Ara. You should start getting your bodyfat checked too. After a month, you'll be able to SEE the muscle growth, trust me. I haven't lifted often up to this point, but the progress has been great. I can really tell in my shoulders and arms. Now if my chest would catch up with the rest, I'd be in good shape. Well...of course there's the stomach too...but that's a whole different story there...

Oh thank the gods!
My weight went back down...3.2 pounds. I'm back where I started before the superbowl debacle.

Did you have the yo-yo effect too?

If it's just muscle soreness - like they're sore from work - that's good! You know what it feels like to pull a muscle or have joint pain? That's bad sore :)

Did part two of the 5x5 stronglifts. The soreness went away while I did it but came back when I was done... that a good soreness?

You're doing great, no worries about breaking over the weekend! As long as you're good sore, don't skip too much time before hopping back on those squats again :) Now you're going to be sore for pretty much the next few months!

I took a break this weekend from everything but eating. The result? 2 pound jump in weight.

Ouch...

Taking a break this weekend set me back 1lb... or I could have gained some muscle now that I am doing some weight lifting? I need the break as my thighs are killing after starting that 5x5 stronglifts program. I am not used to squats :(

Wow Ara! Keep it up :)

Great today... I didn't realize that I did 50 mins of weight training today.. then I did 20 mins HIIT on the treadmill. I started the Stronglifts 5x5 and did a little extra.

I did horrible tonight :(

I hate my scale. Seriously I went to the gym twice yesterday. Once in the morning doing 25 mins HIIT on the elliptical then after work I did 25 mins weights then another 25 mins HIIT on the elliptical and when I got on this morning my scale told me to get the f* off.

Damn, at the rate I'm starting competitions, I'm going to need a 5k to 10k program to keep me motivated to do cardio!! Good luck on the road to 240 :)

You're doing great, don't worry too much about the Super Bowl - get in the gym Sunday morning and KICK ASS! That way, you earn yourself some cheating and it feels good.

I'm not gonna slack off, but you're moving fast; you're definitely posting better numbers than I was in my first few months!

Good Job Ara!! Doesn't it feel great when you get moving in the AM too?? :)

Woke up and did 25 mins hard HIIT and going back tonight to do more.

I am proud of you, you are doing fantastic! :)

What a great day today. Got on the scale and was down to 273.8. I am so happy that me breaking the diet a couple of times this week did not hurt me at all. I had a nice HIIT workout last night and after that I tried to do the first week of C25k plan. My legs hurt to bad after about 11 minutes I had to stop. I am going to try the C25k plan before my HIIT workout on the elliptical.

Great Day!

Ara, I'm so jealous, you already lost more than twice as much as I did :)

I had a good workout today. I stepped it up to an hour for punishment over the weekend.

Don't get so frustrated when you don't lose 7 lbs a week! Look at your weight change chart! It looks awesome! Keep up the great work!

I ate bad this weekend. I did play some ultimate Frisbee and soccer though.

Ara, you can't lose 2.2 every day ;)

Grr stupid weight go down. I don't have time to work out today :(

Hey Ara! You are doing AWESOME!! I'm really impressed! The training chart is great and so is the weight change chart. You are going to be SEXY BY SUMMER!!! :D

ghost gym? gah i wish i could say the same :(

your charts are looking good! keep it up! this is your time to finally lose weight and feel comfortable with who you are. you can't give up on yourself no matter how hard it is :)

remember though, you can't just jump into it and expect to be an exercise pro. it takes a long time to build up, and as you keep dropping weight, it will get much easier, especially on your joints. :)

hope everything is going great!

Wo0t lost 2.2lbs

I woke up this morning....! It has to be the weather because when we went in early in the morning before people where there. Today it was like a ghost gym. Lifted weights again, not as heavy this time went lighter feel better.

Hi Ara,

Welcome to the CrossFit group!

Tap Out,

Stephanie

Awesome. Don't get so crazy this time. Use lighter weights or something.

At least you are doing the work outs, though! So that is great! How are your arms doing? Ready to do some more weight training?

I still can't wake up in the morning. It has to be the weather.... I just don't want to get out of the warm comfy bed. At least I make the workouts up at night. Hopefully this will change when it gets warmer out.

That's good! Glad to hear it!

Try upping the water intake. That will help rinse the lactic acid out of the muscles faster.

Wow, I always wanted to use a bone saw ;) Nope, just joking.
I am sorry you are still having pain and I wish I could give you some good tips. All I know is (but that is only 2nd hand information) that you have to warm up and stretch beforehand and also stretch afterwards. I have no idea if that actually works.
Probably you did that anyway...
I really hope you are feeling better soon! :)

Just rip my left arm and bicep off and ill be happy.

I don't do much. I use the machines and try to target all of the areas of my body. I'm going to start using free weights probably in March, once I get my form, strength and balance up a little using the weights.

It's only been 3 days since you lifted weights and did the damage so it's no surprise that you are still in pain. If it last more than a week though, I'd recommend you see a doctor. Also, you could ice your arms to ease the pain, and ibprophen is an anti-inflammatory so that will help. Definitely keep up the cardio though, even if you have to wait a while before doing some more lifting.

Okay I missed my workout again this morning. Grrrr see a pattern? I am completly sore still from weight lifting on Friday and it still hurts to move my arms so far. Ill keep doing cardio until they feel better to lift again.

Ara,

I COMPLETELY overdid it. I only worked out Saturday, and I had Jack In The Box, McDonald's AND KFC throughout the weekend. I had some salads too, but man I ate bad. All that sodium!

Oh well, it's a new day/week, and we just have to pull ourselves right back on the bandwagon.

We can do it!

How'd the weekend treat you?

My diet was f-ed up royally! Now I have to work extra hard just to get back to where I was Friday morning. DOH!

Hey Ara. I saw a topic you posted, "workout routine" but it seems to be closed. You should NOT do weight training after workout, you want to do it before cardio. Your body has to work harder to lift weights, so you use your energy there; you also deplete your glucose stores and food in your stomach, so that when you hit the eliptical, you'll be burning fat. Good luck!

But don't worry about it too much. If you really manage to keep the portions small it won't be that bad :)
If you deprive yourself too much of things you like, you are much more likely to get frustrated and fall off the wagon.

Cheat weekend? Actually pizza can be quite healthy - if you make it yourself and make the right choices of what to put in/on. The same can be possible for chili.

Eek my cheat day on thursday Kind of ended up like a cheat weekend :( pizzas were made this weekend and chili tomorrow. Ive been eating smaller portions and adding salads. Then I went to applebees and had an oriental chicken salad with a little spinach and artichoke dip. Ill keep trying, but I am eating breakfast so thats better than waiting till noon for my first meal.

You probably did overdo it but that is hard to avoid the first time. As long as they don't look swollen, you are probably okay. Btw, really good job on starting the weight lifting! That's awesome! Also, I laughed when I read your new goal of losing 35 lbs before CK. Good time :)

if it is the first time you weight trained you might be extremely extremely sore. try icing them.

I woke up today in pain. My arms are killing me, is this normal for a first time weight trainer? Did I go to hard? Too much weight? I kills me to lift my arms past my shoulders.....

I did weight lifting for the first time tonight and OMG I thought my arms were going to fall off. I can't wait to do it again!

You are in 1st place this week!!! Congratulations :)

Haha. That's good that the pizzas didn't totally kill your diet. Just keep working hard, and you'll lose that weight in no time!

I guess the pizzas totally didnt kill my diet... I went down to 279.4

Grr I ate two more pizzas then I would have liked. But I got up for about 10 mins to do Wii boxing!

If you have to have pizza: ENJOY :)

Hey! I saw your post on Biggest Loser. Great job on the 7.2 lb weight loss!!

Grrrr, why can't I wake up in the morning anymore? Guess ill have to go work out again tonight.

45 mins hard tonight elliptical again. Felt like I could do 30 more mins but g/f wanted to go home.

Awesome progress Ara!!

As you get more accustomed to working out, you'll find you sleep better and oversleep less :)

You're doing great Ara! That's awesome!

Nice job Ara!
Keep up the consistency and intensity!

Last night I went to the gym and did 45 mins of hard elliptical. But I woke up late again today. But I stepped on the scale and it shows 277.8. So I am really happy, I am going to have to go to the gym again tonight.

Hey Ara - you are doing great!
That's the proof that you do not have to be disappointed by yourself, even if not