Another thing about taking a day off is that is gets you anxious to get back to whatever exercise you are doing(running/lifting or anything). I take off every friday to get ready for my long run on saturday and I feel like i should be doing something, but I know i will be better off by not doing anything.

Great thread Todd!

I've been wanting to get healthier lately too and figure out a way to help motivate my wife to do the same.

First step was purchasing a set of pedometers for us to see how active we are (both work desk jobs and she sometimes works from home so even less active). My wife's work from home days she could average less than 1,500 steps in a day! I averaged 3-3.5k. We set the common goal of 10K steps a day. My pedometer records total steps as well as aerobic steps when I walk for at least 10 minutes at a minimum pace of 60 steps per minute. During the month of June (first month using the pedometer) I averaged almost 11K steps per day and had 22 days over 10k+ steps and 8 days where I missed the goal. I also averaged about 50 minutes a day of cardio walking.

During this time I lost zero weight and got motivated to improve the diet as well so about 3 weeks ago I started using myfitnesspal on my iphone. This app is awesome! SI got sick over 4th of July and am still recovering so I am just getting back into things but since using myfitnesspal I've lost over 8 lbs.

My user name of myfitnesspal is The_Dude if anyone wants to add me. Myfitnesspal claims you are 3x more likely to reach your goal if you have friends on there lol :)

PS if you guys want ripped abs then try the P90X work out and follow the diet to the letter. Assuming you are in average shape and average body fat% before hand then after 90 days you will have abs.

This last bit's a joke isn't it :unibrow:

LoL actually its not. I tried P90X a few years ago and made it 70 days before I aggravated an old wakeboarding injury. I did drop weight but I shredded crazy amounts of body fat and had the beginnings of a 6 pack. Pretty sure I would of had one for the first time in my life if I made the next 20 days.

Today I'm not even healthy enough (back problems) to try P90X again at this point or I would.

And tonights dinner..

http://albertdphotography.zenfolio.c...59805739-3.jpg


Pesto Basil Tilipia (grilled on foil) with a dash of grated Parmesan cheese, Baked Cauliflower with an olive oil, fresh garlic and dash of grated parmesan cheese (kids said it was popcorn, so we agreed thats what it was. They ate it! lol, although the 3 yr old girl said "this tastes like trees" and my son said "it looks like baby trees" lol). Then a Chedder Garlic biscuit. And all for ~315 calories. :thumbsup:

One of my favorite lessons from the Compound Effect.

Imagine your life as a glass of sparkling water. Everyday of your life some muddy water finds it's way over the rim and into your glass through your enviroment and influences. Now you are left with murky water. The key is to continually flush out and displace your glass with more sparkling water.

The more positive things you make part of everyday, the less impact negative things in life are going to effect you.

I just found this thread, great stuff.
One of my favorite quotes:
"The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."
-- Dale Carnegie

P90X has some good before and after images, but there are much easier ways of dropping body fat and getting in shape. The main thing is to try and lose fat and preserve muscle, not just "weight"

http://www.dieselcrew.com/wp-content...co-300x271.jpg

Arnold weighed around 240lbs and so does the guy below...

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/...y12FT/610x.jpg

it's not the scales that matter it's what you're made up of

Here's my diet from yesterday. At only 1750 calories I was satisified and had good energy all day. I dropped .6 of a pound. The excercise certainly didn't hurt.

FOODS CALORIES CARBS FAT PROTEIN CHOLEST SODIUM SUGARS FIBER
Breakfast
Jazz Apples - Raw, 154 g 80 22g 0g 0g 0mg 0mg 17g 5g
Rasberries - Raw, 2 oz 34 7g 1g 1g 0mg 1mg 4g 4g
Fresh & Easy - 100% Whole Wheat Bread, 1 slice 90 25g 2g 6g 0mg 250mg 2g 4g
Skippy - Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread, 2 tbsp 190 6g 16g 7g 0mg 150mg 3g 2g
Strawberries - Raw, 0.5 cup, halves 24 6g 0g 1g 0mg 1mg 4g 2g
Oatmeal - Quick 1 Minute - Quaker, 1/2 cup 150 27g 3g 5g 0mg 0mg 1g 4g
Lunch
Giant Market Fresh - Iceberg Salad. Lettuce,, 3 cups 23 6g 0g 2g 0mg 30mg 5g 2g
Raw Green Bell Peppersfor Tacos - Green Bell Peppers, 7.5 strips 8 2g 0g 0g 0mg 2mg 1g 1g
Corn - Sweet, yellow, canned, whole kernel, drained solids, 0.5 cup 66 15g 1g 2g 0mg 175mg 3g 2g
Chicken - Breast, meat only, cooked, roasted, 0.5 breast, bone and skin removed 142 0g 3g 27g 73mg 64mg 0g 0g
Beans - Black, cooked, boiled, with salt, 0.5 cup 114 20g 0g 8g 0mg 204mg 0g 7g
Homemade - Pico De Gallo, 4 oz 30 6g 0g 1g 0mg 10mg 4g 1g
Dinner
Pasta - Spaghetti Noodles-Whole Wheat, 2 oz (56 g - about 1/7 box) 200 42g 2g 7g 0mg 10mg 2g 6g
Trader Joe's - Turkey Meatballs-Net Carbs, 6 meatballs 300 9g 12g 36g 90mg 1,200mg 3g 6g
Snacks
Carrots - Baby, raw, 2 serving 60 14g 0g 1g 0mg 133mg 8g 3g
Lucerne - Cottage Cheese - Non Fat, 1 cup 160 10g 0g 28g 10mg 840mg 8g 0g
Papayas - Raw, 1 cup, cubes 55 14g 0g 1g 0mg 4mg 8g 3g
Strawberries - Raw, 0.5 cup, halves 24 6g 0g 1g 0mg 1mg 4g 2g
TOTAL: 1,750 237g 40g 134g 173mg 3,075mg 77g 54g
EXERCISES CALORIES MINUTES SETS REPS WEIGHT
Cardiovascular
Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace, walking dog 32 7
Running (jogging), 6 mph (10 min mile) 420 30
Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace, walking dog 91 20
TOTALS: 543 57 0 0 0

Good to see you tracking it so well, with a decent amount of protein in there. I'd say your fat is a little low and your carbs a bit high, when losing weight you need to increase the protein to preserve the muscle you have, especially on a fairly low cal diet