200th Blog Post!

Although I've been backing off with daily updates of mundane workouts, today marks my 200th blog post since starting "Swimming Upstream" in October 2011. It really has been a fun way to keep track of my progress (and regression) throughout the years, even if it comes at the cost of annoying my friends and family on Facebook every time I share a link to a post. To that end, I'm sure I have been "unfollowed" on many people's social media feeds. Oh well ... I use it as an accountability tool. I don't really expect people to read through my musings about my personal health. It's incredibly narcissistic and kind of weird, I know.

A fist pump for 200 blog posts!

Anyway, today was another day of swim class and another day of me sucking wind. Since Cooper was born about six weeks ago, my diet has completely fallen apart and my exercise has mostly been limited to my twice-weekly swim classes. That has resulted in me gaining back 7 of the 12 pounds I lost during my 12-week diet and decreased stamina in the pool. I need to get back on the wagon soon, as the Huntsville Half Marathon is sneaking up on me and I have to take training seriously. At the same time, I need to continue working with the Weber State Masters team to prepare for the SDRC Meet in November.

Jen will get the OK for exercise from the doctor any day now, so we are excited to start setting new goals together and help each other out with our eating habits. It's so much easier when you and your spouse are on the same (or similar) page.

Total distance: 700 yards swimming (butterfly day)

Week 12 (Final) Report

Well, the 12 weeks are finally over. After nearly three months of calorie counting and increased exercise, my final results are in.

I made my way to the Human Performance Lab on campus and had my weight and body fat measured in the Bod Pod. The results were very encouraging, but there's still room to improve.

Weight: 167.6 pounds (Down from 179.2 for a loss of 11.6 pounds)
Body Fat %: 20.9 percent (Down from 26.8 for a loss of 5.9 percent)

Overall, I'm on the right track. I didn't quite reach my goal of 165 pounds and under 20 percent, but I came dangerously close on both counts. I certainly can make it within a few more weeks. The folks at the lab were impressed, saying the body fat I dropped in 12 weeks is more than most people in the Wellness Program do in a full year. Or perhaps they were just being nice. Either way, I left their office with a grin on my face.

So, what have I learned from my first-ever diet? Well, the first thing I can say for sure is that I definitely don't plan on counting calories for the rest of my life. While it kept me honest with the types of food I ate, being ultra conscious about everything I put in my mouth is incredibly stressful, not to mention exhausting. That being said, it has taught me a lot about portion control and keeping an eye on food labels. Some "regular" items I eat contained way more fat and calories than I ever imagined, but some others were actually much lower. I can still watch my calories without counting them religiously.

I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but Jen captured the moment anyway.

I haven't had any major revelations regarding exercise. I was fairly educated about it before, although I knew I wasn't doing enough of it. I did my best to maintain a full 2.5 hours of cardio per week throughout my diet. I only wavered in one week and in several others, I did way more than that, sometimes as much as 4.5 per week. However, I did learn that using exercise as a fail safe to "earn" extra calories is a dangerous game, one that I played way too much. I should be exercising regularly and maintaining a balanced diet anyway, not doing one or the other in extremes to balance out the other. I learned that the hard way during a few weeks, with disappointing results on the scale.

Jen and I are still expecting the baby any day now, so I finished this experiment up just in time. She's been incredibly patient with me during all this and my "restrictions," but I think even she learned a thing or two for her own weight-loss goals after the baby is born. I still plan on using MyFitnessPal daily, even though I'm not following a strict diet anymore. It should help me make healthy choices, so I don't completely fall off the wagon and gain everything back.

Week 10 report

Last week sucked. Plain and simple. I completely fell apart on several days, went way over on my calories, and I really have no excuse. I ate out too much, only worked out three times and I paid dearly for it, gaining a pound. I was so pissed off at myself that I didn't even want to blog about it yesterday.

My swollen wrist after this morning's swim session.

It's a new week, though, and I have some serious work to do in order to make up for it. I'm back up to 169.9 pounds with only two weeks left. I probably won't reach my goal of 165 by then, but I'll do my best to put together a big finish. After that, all bets are off. The baby is due any day now and Jen is my No. 1 priority right now. If she needs me to come straight home and help her with anything, forcing me to skip the gym, I'll do it. That being said, these last two weeks may be the toughest yet.

Once the baby is here, a new and greater test will begin. Will I be able to maintain this healthier lifestyle with much less time on my hands? The biggest reason most people have crummy diets is because they are often on the run and "don't have time" to cook and eat right. It's a lame excuse, but I think we've all been there.

Anyway, this morning's swim class wasn't as grueling as Tuesday's, but it was solid and a good way to start the day. I plan on a good session on the stationary bike later, as well. We did a lot of butterfly sets, which I'm not very practiced in. Just like I used to do in high school, I repeatedly smacked my hands and wrists on the lane line, trying not to whack anyone in the head on the other side of our lane. That's the biggest reason it's difficult to circle swim with fly. I saved their heads, but my hand took a beating. I'm gonna have a few bruises tomorrow.

Total distance: 1,650 yards

Week 9 report

I know these weekly updates must be getting mundane, but I feel obligated to report my progress regularly. Just like the entire purpose of this blog, it helps keep me in check, guilt-tripping me into staying focused throughout the week. But once again, I had a good week. Well, kind of.

Jen took a photo of me Hulking out after a run and a haircut yesterday.

As far as calories are concerned, I completely fell off the wagon. I did great most of the week, but completely binged twice, which resulted in an average daily intake of over 1,800 calories. I'm supposed to be averaging 1,520 per day. That being said, I really stepped up my exercise, finally adding swimming into the mix (two classes so far). That must have been the difference-maker, as I still dropped a full pound, just like the last two weeks. I weighed in at 167.8 and was so excited, I almost Hulked out.

There are only three more weeks left in this little "experiment" and I'm starting to think more about what I'm going to do once it's over. I really like where I'm at physically and mentally, but I certainly don't want to count calories for the rest of my life. However, I think this will go a long way, as I am starting to make better food decisions without even really thinking about it. I never blacklisted any types of foods, but when you are monitoring your caloric intake, you kind of eliminate the junk by default, forcing you to make healthier choices. I hope that carries over and helps me be more aware of what I am putting in my mouth every day.

I've been saying it for a few weeks, but starting this week, it's definitely time to add more weight training. When I get my body fat checked again at the end of Week 12, I want to make sure I've done everything I can to help lower that God-awful 27 percent of body fat I had before starting my diet.

Week 8 report

I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by. It's strange, because as I wait for Jen's due date, it feels like time is at a standstill. But, when it comes to my 12-week diet, I am at warp speed.

Three quarters of this regimen are now over and although I don't feel like I'm seeing a huge difference in the mirror, the scale is certainly reflecting it. This week, I weighed in at 168.8, down exactly one pound from last week. That leaves me with less than four pounds to go in the remaining four weeks. It's entirely possible that I may not reach my overall goal before the baby gets here, though, as Jen has reached a point in her pregnancy where she could go into labor at any time. Honestly, I wouldn't mind cutting this experiment a bit short if our baby boy does arrive a tad early. The entire point of this was to get down to a healthy weight and body fat percentage by the time I'm a father, and I feel like I'm certainly on track for that.

A nice blurry photo during the cool down of my one-hour run yesterday.

While I had a difficult Week 7, this week was a little bit better. As always, I had a few bad days, but finished the week strong. It appears to be a microcosm of how I would like to live my life anyway. We can enjoy ourselves and let loose a little bit as long as the majority of the time, we are doing our best to be healthy. I can thank a couple of in-laws for such a good week in the gym. While having dinner at their place on Sunday, Jen's brother, Vaughn, and his wife, Chrissy, were debating if they would like to run the Huntsville Half Marathon with me in September. I still am not entirely convinced I even want to run it, but they seemed receptive to it and it gave me a fresh motivation to start training for it early. That being said, I did an extra long running session yesterday to finish the week. Plus, I didn't get to start swimming in my class yesterday, as we simply discussed the course schedule and don't get in the water until tomorrow. I can't wait!

Well, I'm now down 10.4 pounds in eight weeks. Only four more weeks remain with 3.8 pounds to go.

Week 5 report

This is starting to get tough.

After initially getting into the groove with a regular diet and exercise regimen, I'm starting to show signs that I'm faltering. I had two days last week where I went way over on my daily calorie limit, forcing myself to workout extra hard in the following days in order to break even for the week and I didn't quite make it. I went over about 150 calories for the week, which still isn't all that bad, considering I'm allotted 1,500 per day. That means I averaged a surplus of about 21 calories each day.

However, I did slip a few times and I'm afraid I'm about to hit a big wall and completely fall off the wagon. This week will be critical. I need to make sure that I stay strong and make good decisions every day, especially late at night, which is when I get the most powerful cravings for sweets. That being said, I haven't slipped up at all in the exercise department, logging well over 3.5 full hours of cardio, in addition to some weight training and my rotator cuff exercises. My goal heading into this experiment was to do at least 2.5 hours of cardio per week, so I'm tearing it up right now.

I weighed in at 172.3 pounds this morning, which shocked me, considering my undisciplined diet during the week. It's only a loss of 0.3 pounds, but honestly, I was expecting to gain weight this time. That makes a total loss of 7 pounds so far, which is about 1.4 per week. So, I'm still right on track.

Next Wednesday marks the half way point, so I'll check back in then.

P.S.: Jen and I can't wait for the baby to get here. I caved the other day and bought this infant-sized Weber State jersey for him. Sweet!

Week 3 report

There really isn't a whole ton to add to this week's update. I'm still going strong and I'm still on pace for my weight goal. I weighed in at 174 even this morning (a 1.4 lb loss), which still puts me ahead of the curve for my 12-week goal.

This is almost identical to what I had done yesterday. Rather than getting the injection into my bursa sac again (like in this image), the doctor shot the cortisone down into my shoulder joint, which was much deeper and much more painful.

The nutrition has been going well, albeit not stellar. I maintained 36 percent of my calories from fat and 17 percent from protein, which is about the same as last week. No significant improvement there, but I stayed under my calorie intake goal for the week and it's obviously paying off on the scale.

In the fitness department, I basically rotated between cycling and running/hiking. One day, I'd knock out 30 vigorous minutes on the stationary bike, and the next I'd go for 40 minutes (one day I even did a full hour) on the treadmill, alternating 10 minutes of brisk walking on a heavy incline and 10 minutes of running at 5.5 miles per hour.

I haven't been able to do as much weight training as I wanted, due to ongoing shoulder issues, but I did do some, including a difficult ab workout session after the bike on Friday. I had an MRI done a few weeks back to see if there is an actual tear in my rotator cuff and thankfully, there isn't. However, there was some significant "fraying" throughout my tendons, and the doctor was unable to give me a straightforward solution as to what's next. Surgery to clean up the fraying is an option, but an expensive one that I cannot afford with the baby coming, and it's not even guaranteed to fix the problem.

So ... he filled up my joint with cortisone yesterday (different from the injection I got in my bursa sac well over a year ago) and told me to start doing the weight-bearing exercises on my rotator cuff religiously once the initial soreness of the shot wears off. That should limit any exercise-related pain while I strengthen the tendons as much as possible.

It may work ... it may not. I suppose only time will tell.

Week 2 report

So far, so good. After knocking out the first week, my second week of dieting was much easier to get through. It's so strange how quickly habits can form, and in this case, it's a good thing. I maintained my calorie goal all week, despite slipping up on a few bad nutrition choices. Fortunately, MyFitnessPal has a feature that calculates calories earned through exercise, and that helped me stay in the positive on my net calories consumed.

Dripping sweat off the tip of my nose during last night's stationary bike session. It was a doozy.

There is still a ton of room for improvement, though. My percentage of calories from fat was 37 percent, which is still way too high, but I did manage to improve my percentage of protein from 13 to 18 percent this week. Breakfast is where I've been the weakest, getting the bulk of my fat calories in those meals. I simply haven't been giving myself enough time to get ready, eat and get to work on time in the mornings, so I've been eating quick junk for breakfast. Lunches and snacks have been fairly solid and Jen and I have been vigilant about cooking healthy dinners in the evening.

Here's another product I've been snacking on lately. It has a shit-ton of fiber, is low in fat and only has 130 calories in it. They've been good to eat an hour or so before the gym.

I weighed in this morning at 175.4, which is only a slight loss from last week's weigh-in, but I anticipated that. I dropped much more than I wanted to in the first week, so I'm still on pace for my 12-week goal.

I also locked in a five trips to the gym last week, although I kind of slacked off on one of them, following a piss-poor calorie decision. I really challenged myself in the other workouts, though, mixing it up with cycling, running, treadmill incline walking, and circuit training. And that's just the cardio. I also threw in some weight lifting and ab work and have still been going on walks during my lunch hours on most days. It definitely was a good week in the exercise department, and I hope to crank it up even more this week.

On a side note, I finally surpassed 1,000 miles on the stationary bike since I started logging my distance almost a year and a half ago. Huzzah!

The results are in

OK, I know it's been about two weeks since I last posted, but I wanted to wait until I got my full Wellness results back. I finally did, and now I can move forward. Here's what I took from it.

The good

• My blood lipid profile was excellent. My triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol, glucose and lipoprotein levels were all in optimal ranges.
• My "risk" factors are low, including not smoking, rare drinking, no diabetes, no signs of osteoporosis and somewhat regular physical activity.
• Upper body strength. I scored well on every category. The aide even said my grip strength score was "through the roof," which shocked me. I never thought I had a very strong grip.

The bad

• Nutrition. This comes as no surprise to me. I sorely need to eat more veggies, less red meat and less high-fat foods. The only area I scored particularly well in was my intake of whole-grain and wheat carbs that are low in high-fructose corn syrup and gluten.
• Flexibility. Although I've vastly improved since I lost weight, I still have a long way to go, scoring a little low on my sit-and-reach test.
• Body fat percentage. This is the big one. I scored a whopping 26.8 percent, which stunned me, even though I knew my percentage was going to be high. The charts map me in the "obese" category here, even though my weight (179 pounds) and waist (34 inches) measurements were only slightly high.

With this information, I have formulated a lofty goal with a tentative plan, aided by Gordon Gridley, a friend and fellow swimmer who has undergone an incredible transformation himself. I'll fill you in on that a little more later.

The goal

• To drastically improve my overall health by the time our baby is born. This gives me about 12 weeks, as he is due in early June. I need to set an example for my family, one that will stick and hopefully encourage a healthy lifestyle for both Jen and my son. I would like to drop my weight down to 165 pounds and my body fat percentage to less than 15 percent (eventually to less than 10 percent).

The plan

• Diet right. I've never actually "dieted" before, but I'm going for it. I started last Wednesday and have been using a very helpful tool on my iPad called MyFitnessPal. It's an incredible app that logs my diet and exercise, keeping track of my calories and nutrition with an exhaustive database of millions of foods. I don't have to drop calories drastically, only a little bit. I mostly need to focus on what calories I consume. I should consume less than 20 percent of my calories from fat (less than 10 percent in a perfect world), with a rough balance of 50 percent carbs (the right kind with less bad sugar) and 30 percent protein. The best part is, I don't have to do any friggin math. MyFitnessPal charts those percentages automatically for me as I enter my food after every meal.
• Exercise more often, but not necessarily for longer. I don't need to log hours upon hours of cardio like the people on The Biggest Loser do, but I need to get cardio sessions in more often and every day if possible. I've pretty much slacked off since last November, rarely working out more than 2-3 times per week. I've been at it for four straight days now (including five of the past six days) and I'm gaining steam. Depending on how fast I shed the fat/pounds, I will eventually start doing more weight-bearing and strengthening workouts to add muscle. I set a reasonable goal of about 1-1.5 pounds of weight loss per week for now. Another fun social media app called FourSquare helps keep me motivated. You "check in" on your iPad or iPhone wherever you are at and can try to become the "Mayor" of certain locations by having the most check ins at that spot. My goal is to be the Mayor of Planet Fitness in Roy by the time my son is born, which will be tough, because there are some regulars there that have logged a lot of check-ins.

So, that's the tentative plan. I will fill in more details as I report back every Wednesday for weekly follow-ups, starting tomorrow.

Still waiting ...

It's been a week and I'm still waiting on the results of my fitness test. I really would like to get that back as soon as possible so I can map out some goals.

That being said, I went to the gym twice last week and then just got home from the gym today. I still need to improve on the amount of times I go, but I have improved a bit on my eating habits as of late. Still limiting the amount of carbonation and number of times I eat fast food in a week.

Baby steps... Anyway, today was the first time at Planet Fitness that I've had to wait on a machine. It wasn't too long, though and I was able to get some good stretching in before sitting down on the stationary bike for 30 minutes.

Total distance: 9.5 miles cycling

Preemptive strike for St. Patty's

I seldom work out on Saturdays, because those mornings are usually reserved for time with Jen before I go to work, but because I start a new job on Monday I have the whole weekend off. I haven't had St. Patrick's Day off in years and I always miss out on hanging out with some friends, so tonight should be fun as Jen and I are doing just that.

That being said, there will likely be a great deal of drinking involved. I don't drink often, especially not in the binge format and when I do drink, it's usually just a beer or two with a meal. I simply grew out of the party life after college, although it is still fun every once in a rare while. Plus, drinking involves a ton of calories. That's why I hit the gym today. There's no lap swim during the day on Saturdays, so I rode the stationary bike instead.

I tried to push myself extra hard, to burn as many calories as I could, so I would feel less guilty about tonight. I only rode for 50 minutes, but I had the resistance level cranked up a bit higher than I normally would, so I was really sweating. Once I hopped off, I knew I didn't slack off, because my thighs and hamstrings were on fire. Got home, did some nice stretching while Jen watched basketball, took a shower and now I'm writing this. A colleague and friend of mine, Matt Piper, gave me some local brews as a parting gift on my last day of work yesterday, so I'm excited to try them. It should be a fun night. I feel like I deserve one...

Total distance: 15 miles cycling

Nerves already kicking in for Saturday's race

With Saturday morning's race fast-approaching, I'm already getting very nervous. Mostly about the condition of my foot, which has been sore ever since my short little 1-mile run earlier this week. I went and bought some new insoles that will hopefully keep me going during race day. Jen and I are mostly going on this trip just to visit with my Dad and my stepmother, Marie, but the race is the only thing I can think about.

Carb loading with some whole-grain pesto linguine

Anyway, went to the gym today and didn't want to push anything too hard a few days before my run so I just did 8.5 miles on the bike and went down to the pool. I'm going to try my best to get in as many yards as I can doing only kicks in the next 4-6 weeks while I can't swim, and today I only managed 500 yards before my thighs started to ache. I don't normally kick much when I swim, so those muscles aren't used to it. Normally, the aching is good. It means you are pushing yourself and really getting a good work out, but I don't want to be fresh come Saturday with no soreness.

I'm also starting my carb loading. Today I went to Noodles & Company, probably one of Jen and I's favorite places to eat, and sucked down a whole-wheat pesto linguine with a flat bread. For dinner it's just going to be fruits and veggies and tomorrow I'll add a little bit of protein (probably just grilled chicken) into the mix. Over the next 36 hours I also plan on drinking water like a fish...

Total distance: 8.5 mile cycling, 500 yards swimming (kick)

My 2012 exercise goals

I've put a lot of thought into what I expect from myself in 2012, so hopefully I'm not setting my standards too high. I competed in four events in 2011 and I hope to do at least six or seven this year. Most of them are swim events with a few runs and one triathlon. Of course, all of it depends on what I hear from the doctor next week regarding my shoulder. Depending on what the problem is, I may or may not require surgery, so when I can actually start swimming is up in the air.

Here are the events I absolutely plan on competing in:
Running from an Angel 10k: (10k run) Jan. 8
Salt Lake City Half Marathon: (13.4-mile run) April 16
Great Salt Lake Open Water Marathon: (1-mile swim) June 9
Deer Creek Open Water Marathon: (5k swim) Aug. 13
South Davis Masters Swim Meet: (several swims) Mid Nov.
Weber State Turkey Triathlon: (sprint triathlon) Mid-to-late Nov.

Here are the events I'd like to compete in. But I'll probably only be able to do one or two of them:
Utah Summer Games: (several swims) June 14-16
Escape from Alcatraz: (1.5 mile swim) July 28
Slam the Dam: (5-mile swim) Oct. 1
Golden Gate Bridge Open Water Swim: (1.6-mile swim) Late Oct.

I've also taken into account that other events I haven't yet discovered might pop up, so the optional events list may grow as the year goes on. I've also set many other goals for 2012, some relating to the above events, and some not, such as beating all my times from the events I participated in in 2011.

Here are my goals for exercise totals:
Swimming: 175 miles (did 107 in 2011)
Running: 300 miles (did 213 in 2011)
Cycling: 700 miles (did 303 in 2011)

I hope to lose at least 10 more pounds this year. I doubt I will be able to lose much more, based on my height and weight. My goal is to be at 170 pounds or less by the end of the year. I also want to make more strides in my diet, such as cutting out more fast food, late-night eating and sweets. I think I did a good job in 2011 of adding more fruits and veggies into my diet and I want to take that to the next level this year.

Here we go...