Gooooooooooooal

Yesterday I went to the gym right after lunch, and hopped on the scale before I workout as per my usual custom. Having just eaten, I didn't expect a good number, and I was shocked to see it come up as 220.0, which is exactly my goal weight. In 2 1/2 months I have lost the 22 1/2 pounds I wanted to, and got myself in much better shape as a result. Yay me.

So where to from here? This whole program is more of a journey than a destination, so I know I have to continue. How do I keep my motivation and continue to improve my health? My friend with whom I had the bet has already put on some weight again having lost the impetus from the wager itself. How do I keep plowing through and continue to turn fat into muscle while resisting the temptation to balloon again?

In that spirit, I will set the following goals for myself:
1) Dunk a basketball. Done it before, and at my height, there really isn't an excuse for me not to be able to do it. I can already see where a number of my exercises have improved my leaping ability, mainly by making me, um, less attractive to gravity.
2) 8:00 mile for 5 miles. My five mile run is getting a little dreary for me. When I posed this to my wife, she said something to the effect of "duh". Doing the exact same distance on the exact same path over and over will get boring, and I've been pushing myself hard making it painful on top of repetitive. As such I need to mix it up a bit.
3) Bench 225. I don't even bench all that often at the gym, instead doing dumbbell bench, but the NFL acid mark can be a good goal for me. I've done it exactly once exactly once in my life, so no reason I can't do it again.

I think I'll start with these three and see where those take me.

I had a great workout on Saturday, by the way. Started on the elliptical where I "ran" the first mile in a 7:30 minute pace, then the next two in exactly 7:04 and the final one in 6:42. Of course, those times mean absolutely nothing when translated to running times, but I was pushing myself the entire way and got a pounding sweat going, which felt good. My lung capacity has definitely improved. I then did the chest-arm-back-abdominal workout afterward, and was a little enervated at the end to be sure. I definitely need to work on my stamina.

Last night I made semi-thai stir fry. Recipe:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed (360 calories)
2 stalks broccoli (100 calories) cut into florets
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced (40 calories)
1 stalk lemongrass, minced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp chopped kaffir lime leaves
1 tbsp coconut oil (120 calories)
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tbsp Sriacha
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup light coconut milk (120 calories)
juice of 1 lime

Brown chicken, and add ginger, lemongrass, garlic, and red pepper to the pan. Add everything else and cook until broccoli is done, about 5-10 minutes. Finish with lime juice and thai basil/cilantro if you have it, and Sriacha and soy to taste. Serve over 1 serving basmati rice (1/4 cup, 180 calories) per bowl, 550 calories total per bowl.