It's hard to believe that I have been back in Judo for almost 3 years now. The original motivation for my return to Judo was my weight and general health. I was just shy of my 30th birthday, and at 5'11", I was way too heavy at 225-230 lbs. For the better part of 2004, I tried to work on my weight. I went to the gym 4-5 days a week for an hour, but saw very little, if any results. I also tried changing my eating habits as well, but that too wasn't helping.
I needed inspiration, I needed an idea. I sat down and thought to myself - I need to think back to when I was most physically fit. It all came back to my college days at Polytechnic University. When I was at Poly, I was on the Judo team, and I practiced Judo for 6-8 hours a week. That was the best workout of my life, and furthermore, those 2-2.5 hour practices were productive, because they were guided. Unlike the gym, where I really had little direction, Judo worked great because for those two hours I had an excellent workout that was both aerobic and anaerobic at the same time.
I found Oishi's dojo, and convinced my wife that this would work, at the same time, I started the south beach diet. Thinks went off on the right foot. For the first 16 months or so (8/04 to 12/05) everything was on track, I went to Judo 2x a week, and kept on the diet. I went from 230 to 190. I was in the best shape of my life. I was getting compliments from all of my friends and family about my new look, and I had more energy at home and at work. But then, it all crashed down.
In December of 05, I went to Florida for a week on vacation, and I didn't watch what I ate. By the time I came back, I had jumped over the 200 marker for the first time in over a year. I thought, no sweat, I'll get back to under 200 without a problem. But the winter of 06' brought me additional responsibilities at work, and that translated into less Judo for me. No Judo=No exercise, and I ballooned.
By this past January (2007), I was back at 215. I needed to stop the weight gain. I went back to Judo at a new Dojo near my home. I have been taking a night class regularly now, but my weight hasn't dropped dramatically. (I weighed in at 218 this morning). I've been a bit depressed over the past few weeks about this. The primary reason being that my wife is expecting our 3rd child soon, and I promised that I would lose a pound for everyone one she gained.
Why am I telling all of you this? Why am I sharing this with the world? (or at least the few that read my blog)? Because I want your encouragement, I want your support, I want you to pledge your weight loss too!
That being said, here are my goals:
1. To get down to 195 lbs (23 lbs of weight loss) in the next 3 months - 9/18. This gives me plenty of time before the baby is born.
2. I bought a suit a little over a year ago, and I can't fit into it. I haven't even had it tailored at all (i.e. the pants are unhemmed). I want to be able to fit into this suit for the Jewish Holidays.
3. Maintain a schedule of at least 7 Judo classes a month - 2x a week, with a little leeway for missing one or two.
What am I doing to achieve these goals:
- I started Rhadi's Backyard Workout
- I am going to Judo once at week at Watanabe's and hopefully at Oishi's once a week
- I have started to watch what I eat, and doing my best to refrain from snacking (not so easy when every visit from my parents or in-laws comes with cookies for the kids!)
Look for updates on my progress every Monday!
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