Hardest week ever?

I got too excited the other day with my weight loss because today I woke up to 274.2 lbs. Only a pound - I know, but it would've been great if it had been a pound in the other direction. Chris has me aiming to get into the 260s, but my next personal goal is to be 250 lbs. I have a few obstacles coming up that threaten that goal. Next week I'll be in Texas for my friend's wedding. That's free, delicious food, and an open bar. Then there's time with family and friends, and that always includes eating. I'm going to be strong, but there's only so much temptation one man can resist. It reminds me of something Oscar Wilde once said, "I can resist everything except temptation."

I don't know what it was about this week, but it's some of the hardest work I've put in at the gym. There weren't really any new exercises that I can think of, but somehow they all took their toll on me. Maybe I tried harder this week because there are a couple of cute chicks in the class...I don't know. Whatever it was, it's been tough. Here's a quick list of my aches and pains for the week: right big toe is hurting, both of my thumbs, deltoids, traps, neck, butt, and my legs. Somehow my abs made it through the week despite the many ab exercises we did. For all the pain I'm feeling, I'm happy about it. As long as nothing is majorly hurt, I love this. I feel like I'm accomplishing something. There is no reward without sacrifice, and if I have to put my body through this treachery to reach my end game, then I'm willing to keep doing it.

Today was great, even though none of the pretty women showed up for class. I got to do some more light sparring, but this time inside the cage. It's the same cage that I've seen real fighters fight in, and it makes me want to get there faster. I'd really like to go harder in the sparring, but I'm not looking to hurt anyone while practicing. Come to think of it, I'm not looking to get hurt this early on either, so I'll just be happy with this light version for now. I can't get too ahead of myself because the fact of the matter is that I'm just not good enough yet. It's still fun and still a great workout. After our regular class, Jake (the Jiu-Jitsu instructor) showed us a couple of Jiu-Jitsu moves. I'd love to take that class, but money's kind of tight right now. It was great though because I feel like anything I can learn from any style of fighting can only make me a better MMA fighter. I'm not calling myself and MMA fighter yet, but as a student in training, I'd love to learn as much as I can from every style of fighting. In the meantime, I have plenty to work with, and a long way to go to achieve excellence.