Challenge Four: Day Fifty-Seven

Breakfast: 9am
1 Peanut Butter Cup Visalus Shake

Mid-Morning: Nothing.

Lunch: 2pm
3 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
32oz. V8 (Low Sodium, Spicy Hot)
46oz. Water

Mid-Afternoon:4pm
1 Sweet Cream Visalus Shake

Evening: 8pm
1 Chicken Breast (w/Black Pepper & Tabasco Sauce)
2 Cups of Steamed Broccoli
46oz. Water

State of Being:

Excellent day today, with some excellent news!

Ever since I was about 19-20, I haven’t been able to do much, in the way of abdominal exercises, like crunches, sit-ups, etc. The largest fatty-deposit on my entire frame is easily my gut. Whenever I have tried to do those kind of exercises for the last couple decades, I get horrible, agonizing cramps in my abdominal muscle-wall as quickly as the third or fourth repetition. It’s just one of the little unpleasantnesses of being so severely obese. Even though I remained athletically active throughout my twenties and early-thirties (I only had to finally stop training altogether about two-and-a-half years ago,) my abs went soft and fragile a long, long time before that.

It’s something that I’ve been working on by gradually doing more and more on each week's “Abs-Day,” ever since I started the Challenge.

Well, today… I decided to push it.

Currently, in my regular abdominal workout routine, I am up to 45 Crunches. That’s 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

Today, however…. I did FIVE sets.

Yep. SEVENTY-FIVE crunches, with no cramping, no soreness. I immediately got up and took one of my walking-laps afterward, and I wasn’t winded and I had no pain.

Now, I know a lot of people on the Challenge. You guys are all awesome, and I Love you,... don’t get me wrong. But, many of you spry, strapping fitness-model-looking Challengers, who have been on the Challenge longer than I, and/or started-off with a lot less weight-to-lose, may not realize what a big thing this is for a man of my size.

So, take a break for a minute from your hundreds-of-squats, or your 5K Marathons, tell the photographer shooting your “Beach” -set to go get some coffee or something, and allow me to illuminate… ;)

First, read over this short list.

1. 15 Crunches

2. 15 Crunches

3. 15 Crunches

4. 15 Crunches

5. 15 Crunches

6. Getting up off the floor from a completely prone position.

7. Walking around for a couple minutes, as I texted and voxed friends and family about my accomplishment.

8. Walking out to my building’s dumpster.

9. Walking back from my building’s dumpster.

I can tell you, with absolutely NO exaggeration, that one year ago, HALF of any ONE of the items on that list, would have had me huffing and puffing, on the verge of passing out, taking my pulse every few minutes to make sure it hadn’t gone irregular and hoping for the best. Here's proof.

Just as an aside here, this is precisely the OPPOSITE of what three different doctors (including a weight-loss specialist and an endocrinologist) claimed was in store for me over this past year.

Thank you, Visalus!

See you tomorrow!

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