Weekend Update #1

This weekend Brodie and I went and watched this movie:

Brodie liked it and fondly describes the movie as "nice bear, baby bears, and scary bear," which I think is an apt review of the movie.  I liked it, although it felt more like a Disney movie rather than a Pixar movie.  It was very reminiscent of Tangled which is probably one of my favorite Disney movies, so, there is that.

Brodie's favorite part of the movie didn't actually happen in the movie itself.  It happened before the movie in a trailer.  Brodie heard a familiar voice and then saw this:

(We've seen his smiling face on this Blog before.)

Brodie is absolutely fascinated with Gollum referring to him as "Precious."  We will definitely see this flick when it hits the theater.

Onto more weight loss related topics, I have made a very conscious decision to eat much much better.  With that said, my main goal when shopping at the super market is to avoid the middle of it.  I am going to focus most, if not all, of my attention to the outer fringes of the store.  Why you may ask? (Ok you probably already know why, but, for the sake of this Blog I'm just going to make an assumption that you don't.)   

The outside edges of the super market are occupied by all the fresh stuff.  The actual food: Fresh produce, meats, eggs, dairy, cheeses, and breads.  Where as the middle has all the not food, processed junk.  I am going to spend most of money on the outside, avoiding the middle to help my middle. 

With that in mind, yesterday and today's dinner's were pretty awesome.  Yesterday I made a pizza with grilled leaks, cherry tomatoes, and goat cheese.  I use the goat cheese in hopes Brodie will at least try it (He is allergic to cow's milk and isn't to fond of pizza, weird right?)  Well, he didn't want any part of the pizza so most of it went to me.  The crust was about about the size of a small dinner plate, so, it wasn't too terribly big. 

(Looks good, yeah?)

As for tonight, I made turkey burgers on whole wheat buns with sweet potato fries, which Brodie approved of.  I loaded mine up with broccoli sprouts and red onion.  Super good and pretty healthy as well.  Once again, going with the better quality foods rather than cutting back and starving myself.  At work I make sure and pack myself tons of fruits and veggies.  Today was a banana, a apple, a handful of radishes, and two carrots.  Those were my snacks for the day with the addition of a handful of pretzel sticks.  

And now I reach the point where I must disclose some information that I really haven't been looking forward to sharing.  My weight loss.  It's pretty much at the same point where I started.  This morning I weighed 270lbs.  I started this at 273lbs.  So last week when I said this was a reset, I really meant it.  I am basically starting all over again.  It sucks and I hate to think of all the sweat and time that I spent getting to the wonderful weight I was at previously.  But, oddly enough, I'm not all that discouraged.  

The reason I am not so discouraged is that I know I can do this.  I've done it before and I can do it again.  I am committed.  I know what works for me and I know what doesn't.  I know that if I skip a cardio session it is easy to skip the next one and then the one after that, and so on and so forth.  

So, this is officially the new week 1 and I am glad for it.

Until next time,
- Louie 

Frequency Delinquency

So, you may have noticed that my posting has gone down a bit.  This is not because I have fallen off the wagon again, this time it's a little more deliberate.  In the past I have updated this blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  This schedule has been a little hard to maintain as of late.  It's not that I don't have enough material to fill that many posts, it's just finding the time to sit at my desk at home and write.

Writing a post, for me, is a very precise process.  Typically I sit down before I even put finger to key and map out what I want to discuss and in what order.  After the map is complete, I clear off my desk put on some sweet jams, and get to typing.  While I am transferring my thoughts to my computer, I tend to ignore my surroundings and become engrossed in what I'm doing.  That becomes an issue with a four year old boy roaming the house.

(Don't let his cuteness fool you, he is a force of nature!)

So, I am going to scale back my posting to twice a week, Monday and Friday.  I'm thinking a weekend update on Monday and a weekly report on Friday.  I think this will be a little more manageable for my single dadness.  I want to keep on going with this blog and not feel as if it is a burden.

Now that that has been said, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

This week I have been taking it easy with my cardio sessions since I took so much time off.  I don't want to overdo it and so far so good.  Just fast paced walks for 30 minutes.  I'm going to continue this at least until next Monday.  

You may be asking yourself, "Self, why did the fine owner of this blog just bombard my eyes with an image of a nasty winged ant creature?"  

The answer is simple, because today, I had to walk through a whole bunch of those.

 (FOR THE HORDE!)

Yep, where I live these little guys have been hanging out in mass and I had the distinct displeasure of getting pelted in the face by swarms of them while walking into the wind.  It sucked, but, it did make me walk a bit faster on the way back to my car.  So, there's that.

Friday, I will present you with a week's worth of Run Reports, a Weigh In, and some very unflattering photo's of myself.  I would like to thank everyone who reads this for sticking with me.  I really can't thank you enough, dear precious readers.  Until next time.

- Louie

Reset

As I was saying,  I found it was easy to keep not exercising once I started, er stopped, whatever.  Much like this blog grinding to a halt, so did my exercise.  What was just one week, turned into two, and finally three.  Three weeks of no real exercise, no Zombies, Run!, no run reports, no weigh ins, and no cares.  I had my blinders securely fastened to my noggin.  I let complacency slip back into my life.  My diet suffered.  I started breaking my cardinal rules: no fast food, no frozen pizzas, no ice cream.  Alas, perspective shifted, my stomach brain was happy.  Life was easier.
And then, people started asking questions,

 "When will you update your blog?"

"How's the weight loss going?"

"Who the heck is Bossk and why is he your favorite Star Wars character?"

(True story.)

And I took a good long look at myself in the mirror and asked myself a question, "Where am I going?  What happened to the running, the feeling accomplished, the pride?"  

And then I stepped on the scale in my bathroom.  Apparently, my pride did a little transmogrification (it's a word) and decided it preferred the form of fat around my belly.

(Form of, Triglycerides!  Worse episode ever.)

What did my scale tell me?  266.5 pounds.  In three weeks, I had effectively undone seven weeks worth of work.  Seven weeks, of writing, and sweating, and feeling good about myself.  I had hit the metophorical reset button.    

So, I find myself at a crossroad.  Do I let those giant clocks on either side of Mr. Freeze reach zero?  Do I give up the good fight and go back to my easy non-exercising life?  Or do I throw another token in the machine and press start?  Back to the sweating, and the discomfort, and the fight?  Do I begin the struggle once more? 

7...

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

(clink)

Start.

- Louie

Prelude to reset.

Classy title, eh?  I was really hoping to write a long post this evening about where I am with my weight loss journey, but, I have a 5 am all day teleconference and not much time until I need to lay my head down and slip into a mini comma.

As you may have noticed, I haven't been paying attention to this blog as of late.  If it were a Tamagotchi, it would look like this:

(If you get this reference, Congratulations, you are old like me!)

Unfortunately, my exercise regime went the same way.  I found it was easy to keep not exercising once I started, er stopped, whatever. 

But more on that later, tomorrow to be precise.  This is just a prelude, remember?

- Louie  

Sweet and Sour

As you may have noticed, there was no post last Friday.  I felt extremely... odd that day.  Hard to focus, a little shaky, and generally unpleasant.  Thus, I didn't have the patience to sit down and write and fret over word placement.  Fortunately, I am feeling much better today.  This should be a very short post, however.  It's getting a bit late.

We missed a weigh in and today's run report.

Week VI Weigh In (has it really been six weeks since I started this?)

8 June 2012
Weight: 261
Waist: 49.5
Approximate BMI: 36%

Woot, woot.  That is a loss of 3.5 lbs, 1/2 an inch, and 1% down from last week and 12 lbs, 2.5 inches, and 2% from six weeks ago.  Awesome, right?  Guess how I celebrated?  C'mon, give me your best guess.  Music, comic book, a night out on the town?  Nay I say, Nay.  I ate a whole pizza and a pint of ice cream.

WHAT?!  Why in the world would you do that?!  Simple answer: I have no earthly idea.  I have two big food rules in my house: 1. No frozen pizza and 2. No Ice Cream.  Once I get my hands on either of those, I simply do not have the will power to resist them.  I don't know why I bought these two forbidden items.  I saw them, grabbed them, and then consumed them.  All in one sitting.  So, I ask you loyal readers, how do you overcome these kind of temptations?  If you have any tried and true methods of success, leave them in the comments.  Please and thank you!

And, quickly and with much finality (for this post at least), Run Report!  Fun Fact: This is my 13th run report!

Monday - 11Jun12
Time: 30:35
Distance: 2.23
Pace: 13:41 min/mi

Still trucking along, this time at the 2:4 interval.  I did have some slight numbness in both feet around the 25 minute mark and I blame that on inactivity this weekend and the stupid uphill section of my runs.  I swear, if I had a nice even road, that wasn't a track (because tracks are blah), I'd be a happy fat guy.

Until next time,

- Louie

The Vacation Sensation

Hello again.  Today's blog post will, hopefully, not be too long, but, I'm going to share my recent vacation to Utah.  There will be pictures, so, hopefully you don't mind looking at vacation photos.

Before I get into my vacation, it is Run Report time!  Monday I shared that I had an awesome cardio session, where I felt at ease and fast.  Here are the details of that again:

Monday - 4Jun12
Time: 30:55
Distance: 2.19
Pace: 14:05 min/mi

I was quite proud of myself because of those numbers.  Today I went with the 1:4 (run/walk) the whole time through with a total of 6 minutes of actual running on route #2 (downhill then uphill).  Here is today's run report:

Wednesday - 6Jun12
Time: 30:01
Distance: 2.44
Pace: 12:17 min/mi

And boom goes the dynamite.  I wanted to see how much I could actually push myself today and surprised myself with how far I went!  Now, I don't know if this will be my everyday run intensity (I was definitely breathing much harder than usual, but, not hazardously though), but, I'm going to try and push myself this hard at least once a week from now on.  I'm not sore at the moment, but, we shall see how I am fairing in the morning.  Friday I go back to the 2:4 ratio which is where I left off at before my hiatus.

Now, onto the vacation!  I will try to keep this as brief as possible.

So, I went to Sandy, Utah to visit my girlfriend, Manda, spend more time with her family, meet her friends, and to see the sights.  Sandy is about 800 miles away from where I live in Benson, AZ, or a 14 hour drive.  Oh yes, I drove.  Here's a map:

That looks pretty daunting, right?  Luckily, Manda, flew down from the top of Utah all the way down to my little town at the bottom of Arizona just to make the drive with Brodie and me.  That's right, you heard me, Brodie made the drive with us and was a well behaved big boy, both up there and back again.  It was great having Manda to keep me company and it was a great way to get to know her all the better.

(You have no choice but to talk on a 14 hour car drive)

Here are some highlights of the trip, once we made it to Sandy.  First up, Salt Lake City.

 (Brodie at one of the many fountains at the City Center)

 

(At the Cheesecake Factory, my first time ever)

(Reflection Pool)

(Salt Lake City Temple)

As you can gather from the above photos, we visited the Salt Lake City: City Center, ate at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch, and admired/awed at the beautiful architecture at Temple Square.  Quick note about the Cheesecake Factory: they actually have some pretty healthy options.  I had a thin flat bread sandwich thingy and a goat cheese and beet salad (don't hate), and it was definitely under 800 calories and quite yummy.

We also went to a beautiful wedding reception for one of Manda's friends, Taraya, at the Springville Museum of Art.  It was a very cool place to hold a wedding reception and the bride admitted to me that she likes to read my blog.  Very cool.

Next up, Logan.  I only have one Logan picture, unfortunately.

(A great group of people. Also, notice how short I am compared to everyone else)

Do you see the abundance of green and the water in the background?  Logan is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to!  It is a little oasis tucked away in the mountains.  I am quite ashamed that I neglected to take more pictures of this place.  Bad me.  While we were there, we played an awesome lawn game called Koob.  It was super simple and super fun.  You can check it out here or make a set of your own.  I think I'm going to make one myself. 

One of my favorite parts of my trip was playing a board game I brought up with me.  Stay with me here, board games are awesome.  I'm not talking about Monopoly or Sorry! (although Sorry! is pretty fun).  The game I brought was Small World.

It's made by the same people who brought us Ticket to Ride (another great great board game).  You can check out Small World here.  The whole Burri clan, with the exception of Elliot (next time Elliot, next time), sat down and played a round.  It was a huge success (I won).

So, there you go.  I don't think there was a part of that trip I didn't enjoy.  Well, I didn't enjoy leaving, that kinda sucked.  

Friday brings us another weigh in and maybe some photos of me standing in front of the shower curtain.  Until next time.

- Louie

 

A Long Overdue Post

I am a bit ashamed on how I've neglected this blog as of late.  I now realize how easy it is to get distracted with life and throw things like blogging and exercise to the side.  I have to thank my wonderful sister who is one of my biggest inspirations for starting this, for reminding me that what I have been doing is important.

(Isn't that amazing? That's her on the left at 182 in Jan of 2011 and

present at 158!  She is awesome sauce to the 10th power.)

Tammy gave me some nice, friendly reminders that I hadn't posted anything in awhile and that was enough to kick my butt into gear and to write this.  Sad to say, I actually had to look back at my previous posts to figure out what I needed to discuss in this post.  With that said, I'd like to discuss my week IV and V weigh in's and give you today's long overdue run report.

I missed posting my weigh ins for both week IV and V!  How could I neglect this?!  Here is last weeks 

the weigh in from 18 May:

18 May 2012

Weight: 263

Waist: 50"

Approximate BMI: 36%

Just a reminder, that was a total weight loss of 10 pounds, 2 inches, and 2%.  So, here is week IV's results:

25 May 2012

Weight: 263

Waist: 50"

Approximate BMI: 36%

Wait... That's the same as week III.  Why is that?  That is because I did not do any cardio that week.  I was ramping up for my big vacation to Utah (that's a blog post for another time, tomorrow perhaps) and let my exercise slip.  Sure I didn't loose any weight, but, it showed me that my eating decisions were spot on and my metabolism was working like it should be.  So, here is Week V results:

01 June 2012

Weight: 264.5

Waist: 50"

Approximate BMI: 37%

Hold the phone... those numbers went up!  What gives?!  My thinking that my metabolism had stabilized itself and my eating choices were all I needed to maintain weight was all I needed was ultimately flawed.  I blew off cardio that week as well and I think the results speak for itself.  Instead of a total loss of 10 pounds, I'm back to 8.5 and my BMI is back to 1% total lost.  My waist didn't change, so, I'm not sure where that 1.5lbs went, but, they are back for sure.

(Although, me thinks I look much better than I used to.)

I am actually am kinda glad this happened.  Why, you ask.  Because, it shows me that if I want to loose this weight and keep it off, I need to stay vigilant.  It's not just a proper diet or just exercise, it's both.  If I neglect one of them, I am bound to fail.  I also discovered that when I am not exercising it's a little easier for me to make poor nutrition choices.  That is not good at all.

How am I going to lose those pounds again?  Back to the running!  After 2 weeks of not exercising like I should, I knew I wanted to ease back into the run so I wouldn't over do it and get really discouraged by pain and not being able to do what I was able to do 3 weeks ago.  I asked my wonderful weight loss support group on Facebook (you know who you are and thank you for all your support) how I should go about this "easing period".  My dear sister, suggested that I walk for 15 minutes and then do my 1:4 (run:walk) intervals for the last 15 minutes.  I thought that was a splendid idea and decided to go ahead and use run route #1 (uphill first and then downhill).  Here is today's run report:

Monday - 4Jun12

Time: 30:55

Distance: 2.19

Pace: 14:05 min/mi

For comparison here was my run report three weeks ago where I was running at a ratio of 2:4:

Friday- 18May12

Time: 33:03

Distance: 2.35

Pace: 14:05 min/mi

Notice the pace?  Exactly the same.  And today I straight up walked half of it, albeit, briskly.  Today's run was great, to say the least.  I opened it up on my run segments and felt no pain (I'm not sore now either), no foot numbness, I wasn't gasping for breath, I didn't feel like throwing up everywhere.  I felt great.  Truly great.

Another thing was that I really wanted to do this run today.  Little story: I couldn't find my digital watch this afternoon and I use that to know when to start running and walking.  In the past, that would've been enough to call the whole thing off.

"I don't have my watch today.  I might as well wait for Wednesday to do my run then,"  that was old me thinking.  New me thinking is a little bit different.

"I don't have my watch... Well, I have my phone with me for Zombies, Run! why don't I just look at the stopwatch there?  Better yet, does the Zombies, Run! app have a visible clock?  Sweet it does, let's do this!"

I am proud of myself today.  It's a welcome feeling.

- Louie

Quick Update

Sorry I've been so sporadic as of late with my posts.  I was caught up in prepping for the vacation I took over Memorial Day weekend and the vacation itself.  I haven't forgot about this!

Tomorrow I plan on writing a big post about what has happened in the past few days and it should include some nice vacation pics as well.

Thanks for sticking with me and I promise I'll be back on my usual Monday, Wednesday, Friday post schedule.  Until next time.

-Louie

Weigh In: Week III

Another missed Blog deadline.  I usually do my weekly weigh in on Friday afternoons, but, I had a camping trip planned with Brodie and was in a rush to get out of the door and to the campsite before the sun went down; more on the camping trip later.  I have a lot to cover in this post and I'm going to try and keep it as short as possible.  On today's agenda:  1. Week three weigh  in results, 2. I finally got my lab results so I'll be sharing that, 3. I'll share with you my not so lovely weekend, and 4. Friday's run report.  Now onto the weigh in results!

Here are last week's numbers:

11 May 2012

Weight: 265
Waist: 50.5"
Approximate BMI: 37%

And here are Friday's:

18 May 2012

Weight: 263
Waist: 50"
Approximate BMI: 36%

I am now down 10 pounds from where I started and it's the first of many big milestones on this journey!  I'm also down 2 inches off my waist and 2 percent off of my BMI.

Several weeks ago (the report has a date range of 16 Feb 12 - 16 May 12) I had my blood drawn to get some good "before" levels to see how they will improve over time with a healthy diet and fitness regime.  I'm not going to list everything on this 3 page list; instead, I'll focus on a few key things listing what I tested for and what the range is.

Glucose - 82 (70-110)
Triglyceride - 123 (35-160)
High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL)/Cholesterol "Good Cholesterol" - 29 (27-67)
Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDP) "Bad Cholesterol" - 25 (6-30)
Total Cholesterol/HDL Ratio - 5.0 (0-4.0)

Good news is everything, save my TC/HDL Ratio, is within the normal range, especially my glucose which is really good because being obese raises your chance of developing Diabetes tremendously.  I would like to see my Triglyceride and VLDP levels go down because they contribute to developing a heart disease and, in turn, see my HDL levels go up because they are indicative of good heart health.  Maybe 6 months to a year from now I'll get another blood test to see how they have improved (hopefully).

Now we move onto my horrible, no good weekend.  It started out nice enough with a father son camping trip my church had organized.  As stated before, I was in a bit of a rush to get to the site before the sun set so I didn't grab two very useful things when going camping, mine and Brodie's sleeping mats.  A disappointment, but, I figured I could rough it for one night.  Unfortunately, in my haste to get my tent set up while the sun was still up I neglected to chose a place that was flat.  A slanted surface plus slick sleeping bags meant that my sleeping bag was constantly sliding down to the bottom of the tent.  After an hour of slipping, sliding, and unsuccessful rearranging, I decided the only way I was going to get any sleep was to head to the car.  Not as comfortable as I thought it would be.  It was a very long restless night.  Brodie sleep brilliantly, however, so there was that.

Next morning I woke up very stiff and queasy.  I slipped on my shoes, stretched my legs and neck, and they began to throw up.  Nice.  I figured my stomach was upset because of the contorted state I had sleep in that night and proceeded to eat breakfast.  That was a mistake.  Shortly after eating, Nature called (and not very nicely at that) so I had to high tail it up a trail and answer the call.  This happened once more and I decided it would be a good idea to head home.  But first, I had a tent to take down.  After battling wave after wave of nausea I got the tent down and headed home, much to Brodie's dismay. Both Saturday and Sunday, anything I ate or drank immediately left my body.  What a fun weekend.

And finally, Friday's run report:

Friday - 18May12

Time: 33:03
Distance: 2.35 miles
Pace: 14:05 min/mi

As you can see, Friday's run went very well.  I choose to do route number 2, downhill and then uphill, and was very pleased with that choice.  I think I might go ahead and do this route the majority of the time (my best paces are from doing this route).  Also, I experienced no foot numbness this time.  It was quite nice to feel my left foot for once the whole time!

I don't know if there will be a run today (I'm writing this post this morning to save time this evening) because I need to do some major cleaning this afternoon at my house.  My girlfriend is flying down from Utah on Wednesday and I would like her to see a clean home instead of a messy one.  Plus, I don't have too much energy after last weekend.  Thanks again for reading, and until next time.

- Louie

Initiate Phase III

Sorry about no post on Monday.  I typically try and post every  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but, this Monday I was pressed for time in the evening and was a bit drained after my cardio session that day.  Why was I so drained, you may ask.  I initiated Phase III!  That's why.

Here's a quick break down of the 3rd Phase:

- Walk for 4 minutes. Run for 2 minutes.
- Repeat that sequence four more times.
- End with 3 minutes of walking.
- Total Workout time: 33 minutes, 10 of which are running.

So, I started that on Monday and so far both cardio sessions have gone well.  As I mentioned on last weeks post, I did Monday's session on a track to see how my foot numbness would react on a flat even surface.  Well, 20 minutes in, left foot went numb.  So, it doesn't seem to have to much to do with incline or decline.  Even though the track was very boring, and it being a Monday, my pace was not too bad at all.

Here's Monday's run report:

Monday - 14May12
Time: 33:00
Distance: 2.18 miles
Pace: 15:08 min/mi

Today I went back to doing the 1st run route (1st half uphill and the 2nd half downhill).  I really enjoy the change of scenery and the bit going downhill, but, the uphill segment kicks my calves imaginary butts!  Also, at the 20 minute mark again, my left foot went completely numb and most of my right foot followed suit.  If I could find a nice stretch of semi-flat road to run on at Fort Huachuca I would be pleased as punch.

Here's today's run report:

Wednesday - 16May12
Time: 33:01
Distance: 2.18 miles
Pace: 15:07 min/mi

Good news is I am feeling really good at the end of these runs, and in today's case, I was really able to push it out on the last couple of run segments.  It feels good to go fast(ish)!  Once again, I really need to find a flat road out here, preferably not a busy one.

Well, I'm going to finish up my bowl of cereal and close out for the evening.  Until next time.

-Louie

Weigh In: Week II

Weigh in day with some pics!  

First off, let's review last weeks stats:

04 May 2012:
Weight: 266.5
Waist: 51"
Approximate BMI: 37%

Once again that was a loss of 7 pounds, 1 inch, and 1 percent off my BMI since I've started this journey.

Here are today's stats:

11 May 2012
Weight: 265
Waist: 50.5"
Approximate BMI: 37%

High fives all around!  That's 1.5 pounds and another half an inch gone baby, gone.   That makes my total loss 8.5 pounds, 1.5 inches from my waist, and 1 percent off my BMI.  My pants are feeling a bit looser as well, so, I'll have to see if my pants size has dropped at all as well.  Here is a nice visual of what I have lost, weight wise.

(No not Janeane Garofalo.  Bonus points if you know what film this is from.)

I've lost a dropped a whole bowling ball.  Crazy.

Here are some side by side pictures for comparison:

                                                     (27 Apr 12 - Start)                                           (11 May 12 - Week II)

   (27 Apr 12 - Start)                                           (11 May 12 - Week II)

                                                   (27 Apr 12 - Start)                                           (11 May 12 - Week II)

The proof is in the pudding, as they say.  And it's not just looking better, but, I am feeling a ton better as well.  I have way more energy than I used to,  my back doesn't hurt when I practice proper posture as it used to, and I'm breathing a lot easier and more through my nose and less through my mouth (yeah, I was a bit of a mouth breather before).  The run sections of my walk/runs are felling really good as well.  While I'm on that here is today's run report.  

Friday - 11May12

Time: 30:01

Distance: 2.08 miles

Pace: 14:27 min/mi

Much faster than before.  I tried the 2nd route today, which is downhill, with the wind, for the first 15 minutes and then uphill, against the wind, for the second half.  My left foot went numb, once again but only when I hit the uphill section.  I'm going to try a track run on Monday possibly switching to the 3:1 ratio and see if a flat surface brings on the numbness as well.  I also noticed that my left calf got a nice burn before my right so maybe it has to do with how I'm running.  Only time and experimentation will tell.

Thanks again for tuning in and for all the kind comments I've been getting.  Truth be told I need to get a little better at responding to your comments, they do mean a lot to me.  Well, until next time.

- Louie

Mother Nature Says No.

My plan today was to run the second of the two routes that I have right in front of my workplace.  The first route has me running uphill, into the wind for 15 minutes and then downhill with the wind for 15minutes.  Route number two is the exact opposite.  On Monday I ran the first route and I wanted to get a feel for the big slog uphill at the end instead of up front.   The day was shaping up to be pretty nice weather wise, overcast and cool.  Around lunch I went to the cafeteria  at the main building of my work complex to grab a salad and saw this.

After seeing that wonderful steel sky, I decided that I would go to a track not to far away.  I figured I'd rather be close to my car in case the weather turned sour.  I prefer to run on the road where the scenery is changing instead of feeling like Ricky Bobby on the track after his big crash but I would hate to get stuck in a downpour.  So, I was all set to get my circle on when the rain started.  Well, not rain, more like pea sized hail nuggets.

(Bad photo, but, all that white on the ground is hail nuggets.)

This hail, which eventually turned into cold cold rain, was accompanied by some strong wind and lightning.  I guess mother nature had no intentions of letting me run outside.  Now, old Louie would have taken this as a sign that I was not meant to run that day and he would've skipped it.  Not new Louie, though.  I did something I haven't done in years.  Years.  I went to the gym.

I've always had this weird stigma about the gym.  I always assumed everyone would see me, the big fat guy walking on the treadmill, and snicker.  I felt they would laugh and point and stare and laugh some more, so I never felt comfortable as I should there.  Something about new Louie is he is much like the noble Honey Badger, new Louie don't give a damn.  The way I see it now, is they are thinking, "Hey, look at that guy bettering himself. He's making an effort and I approve that!"  I feel the same way walk/running down the street.  I just bet they wish they had the courage to make the change.  It helps me be a little less self-conscious about myself.

So, run report today is not from Zombies, Run! but from the treadmill I ran on today.  It was a good bit slower than usual (not sure why honestly) but, the give a treadmill was wonderful for my feet, no numbness!  Here are my numbers for today:

Wednesday - 09May12

Time: 32:10

Distance: 1.92 miles

Pace: 16:41 min/mi

Thanks for reading, and until next time.

- Louie

Initiate Phase II

Quite proud of myself, didn't gain any of the weight back this weekend.  I was actually concerned about this because I am not quite as active on the weekend as I am during the work week.  When I'm at work and I'm bored I go on a 5 minute walk to get some fresh air and clear my head.  At home, not so much.  But, I won that little battle.

One thing I did do to break the boredom on Saturday was simply got out of the house.  Brodie, Buddy (my white German Shepard), and I went out to Garden Canyon out here in Sierra Vista and enjoyed the wonderful weather.  We ate a little lunch and played in the small creek.  Brodie threw rocks and Buddy splashed about while I took pictures and enjoyed the moment.  Here are some pictures!

On to today!  Started the second phase of my road to running and it went pretty well.  I'm going to discuss issues I had last time I tried this (two weeks ago) versus today.  I think the good week and a half of daily 30 minute walks really helped this go a lot more smoothly and painless(ish).

• Wind was an issue as always along with half of the run being uphill into said wind.  Arizona is nothing but hills down here so that is to be expected.
•  Last time both feet went super numb and this time only my left foot went sorta-mostly-numb, so, improvement there.  The sensation came back a lot quicker this time around as well.
• Previously, during the run I hurt almost the entire time and was dead when I was done.  This time I had a little calf pain and sore knees at the get go, but, that soon passed once my muscles became properly warmed up.  I felt great at the end of the 30 minutes which was a definite improvement over feeling like I was going to collapse.  

Granted I'm only running for 5 minutes total and that run is incredibly slow (an "Airborne Shuffle" if you're privy).  It felt good, never-the-less, and I look forward to Wednesday's run.

Here is my run report for today, a bit slower than I have been doing before.  Numb feet kinda throw me off a bit.

Monday - 7May12

Time: 30:18

Distance: 1.90 miles

Pace: 15:54 min/mi

Thanks again for reading and I look forward to your always wonderful and motivating comments.  Until next time.

- Louie

Weigh In: Week I

So, rather short post here, but, today is the weigh in day.  A week ago I started this in the hopes to turn my life around.  Not go on a diet.  Not loose 15 pounds by June.  But, to change my life.  To examine how I operate and fix what is broken.  

These were my stats last week, 27 April 2012: 
Weight: 273.5 lbs
Waist: 52"
Approximate BMI: 38%


Oh, before I give my new stats I'll give you my "run" reports for yesterday, 3 May 2012, and today, 4 May 2012.


Thursday - 3May12                                  Friday - 4May12
Time: 30:17                                              Time: 31:11
Distance: 2 miles                                     Distance: 2.03 miles
Pace: 15:07 min/mi                                 Pace: 15:23 min/mi


Both walks went well (today the winds were really buffering me on the last 15 minutes of the walk, hence, the slower pace) and I think I'll try out the run plan next week.  Speaking of plan, here is the new and improved 2nd phase of my back to running plan courtesy of this site, here.


- Walk for 4 minutes.  Run for 1 minute.
- Repeat that sequence four more times.
- End with 4 minutes of walking.
- Total workout time: 29 minutes, 5 of which are running.


I'm going to do this three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I might introduce a little weight training on the off days, but, that's a topic for another day.  I tried throwing a little jogging in today's walk and it felt pretty good, so, I think I'll be good to go on Monday as long as I take it nice and slow.


And now for this weeks stats:


04 May 2012:
Weight: 266.5
Waist: 51"
Approximate BMI: 37%


So, there you go, 7 pounds, an inch, and 1 percent gone the way of the buffalo.  I realize the big decrease here is probably from water weight and my body shocked from the sudden onslaught of activity and better eating.  I can still do a little happy dance though.  


- Louie

To The Victor Go The Spoils!

Last time I mainly talked about nutritional goals and asked if anyone had any input on the matter.  Thanks to Leslie, Shannon, Tammy, Erika, and Manda for chiming in.  I really appreciate it.  I'm going to try and steal bits and pieces for everyone's advice and mold them into awesome.

As I stated above, last time I spoke of what I need to do nutritionally to reach my goals and I talked about what I need to do fitness wise to get there in the past.  Today, I'd like to talk about the motivational side of things, specifically, the reward system.  Or, simply, loot.

(See how happy he is with his loot?  Just like that. 

 Hopefully I don't loose that much weight though)

It's obvious that the biggest reward I will gain from this is losing the weight.  However, I have read from multiple sources that setting up rewards for reaching short term goals is very beneficial in keeping a person to stick with their exercise regime.  I think that would be a good idea.  Here's what I'm thinking.

My rewards should be for weight loss, for now, just pounds lost.  I propose a reward every 5 pounds lost up until I hit the 30 pound mark and then rewards for every 10 pounds lost.  Perhaps special rewards for the cool numbers like 25, 50, 75, 100.  A man can dream right?

Now I am trying to think of specific rewards that will keep me going.  The one thing I want to avoid is food based rewards.  Like, I lost 15 pounds and now I get to go to Cold Stone Creamery.  Seems a bit counter intuitive to me.  Here's what I've got so far:

10 lbs - I get to buy an album
15 lbs - Buy a 2 year subscription to Runner's World Magazine (it's only $24 for two years.  That's a buck an  issue.  Cover price is $4.99 an issue.)
20 lbs - I get to buy another album
25lbs - ?????

Do you see the problem there?  I'm apparently not that creative when it comes to giving myself presents.  So, dear readers, I once again beg your collective assistance!  If you have any suggestions please post them in the comments.  Help me friends, you're my only hope.

Before I leave you I'd like to briefly talk about how my exercising is going.  I walked both Monday and today and, I must say, that it went very well.  Another cool thing about the Zombies, Run! app I mentioned last post is that it uses my iPhone's GPS function to track how fast I am traveling to gauge if I'm running fast enough to evade the zombie hordes.  I still haven't tried that particular function yet, but, since it tracks my speed, distance, and time it gives me a run report at the end of my sessions.  So here are the numbers for Monday and Today.

Monday - 30Apr12                                           Wednesday - 02May12
Time: 31:38                                                       Time: 30:27
Distance: 1.92 miles                                           Distance: 1.91 miles
Pace: 16:28 min/mi                                            Pace: 15:55 min/mil

Not too bad if I do say so myself.  Until next time.

- Louie

Beating the Boredom Beast

I just wanted to start off today's post by declaring that I am already beginning to feel some beneficial effects from starting my quest to lose it.  My legs don't hurt and feel heavy when I walk longer than 10 minutes, I have more energy, and me thinks I have already lost a little weight.   We'll see how much on Friday!  On to the post!

(Amanda Burri found this little gem.  You should totally check out her blogy blog here.) 

I thought this three panel comic perfectly describes what is wrong with my eating habits.  When I get bored that happens.  And by that I mean I raid the fridge/pantry several times.  My brain decides that the only way to qualm my boredom is to eat all the food.  Not read, catch up on cleaning, play a little Borderlands, or engage in some insightful conversation with Brodie.  When a boredom induced feeding frenzy occurs any concept of healthy smart choices go out the window.  My typical boredom food at home is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  For some reason I always tend to bust out the PB&J. At work it is worse.  My section mates have set up a candy/chip/soda area in one of the cubicles.  When boredom strikes at work, I get a sugar high and 200-400 extra empty calories.

So, what do I do to curb this horrible boredom hunger?  It all depends on what venue I am at.  If I am at work I go on a five minute walk outside or drink a bunch of water.  Both of those tactics have proven useful and effective.  Going on a walk gives me the time to decide if I am truly hungry or if I am simply bored and I get to burn a few calories in the process.  Drinking water keeps my tummy feeling full and also keeps me nice and hydrated which keeps my rather slow metabolism churning.

Being at home is a little trickier for me.  Typically I lose the battle at my house.  A couple things that I have found that are partially effective in this setting is brewing some herbal tea to drink and posting to this here blog.  The tea provides me something tasty and since it is hot, I have to slowly drink it which, once again, buys me time to consider if I'm actually hungry or not.  This blog has also been successful on two fronts.  One, this takes  up a lot of my time, believe it or not.  I am a bit critical of myself and usually write and rewrite sentences because I don't think they flow well.  Hopefully this hyper criticism has made this blog a little nicer to read.  Two, it's nice to reflect on what my goals actually are and what I need to do to get there. Oddly enough two PB&J sandwiches are not on the path to lose it.  Weird.

Now that I have discussed my major roadblock in proper nutrition here are some other goals I have set to get me where I need to be.
1.  No fast food.  No good came come from the fryer.
2.  Seriously limit my carbonated beverage intake.  True story, I was \in my class one day drinking a Coke and one of my students pointed out to me, "You know that you're pretty much drinking a candy, right?."  That ruined regular soda for me.  I'm still a push over for a Diet Coke, though.  Still, Why drink the bubbly?  Water is nice and free.
3.  Never get a frozen pizza.  I never intend to eat the whole thing in one sitting, yet, I always do.
4.  Always eat something for breakfast and make that something, something healthy.  It sets the mood for the whole day.
5.  Pack a lunch.  Saves me money and reduces impulse purchases of not so great for me cuisine.

So far, I have been doing a great job following these guidelines and, like I said earlier, I am starting to feel it.  If you guys have any other suggestion on ways to eat healthier or beat the boredom beast, please leave me some comments.  I am all ears!

Before I leave for tonight, I would like to thank my sister, Tammy, for buying me the coolest running app I have ever experienced, Zombies, Run!

This app turns every run/jog/walk into a gaming experience.  From the site:

Zombies, Run! is an ultra-immersive running game for the iPhone, iPod Touch,

 and Android. We deliver the story straight to your headphones through orders and voice recordings

 - and back home, you can build and grow your base with the items you've collected.

It made my 30 minute walk today super enjoyable.  Well, worth the money that Tammy spent for it.  Thank you, Tammy.  Tomorrow I'm going to turn on the 'Zombie Chase' mode and give it a shot.

Thanks again for reading and until next time.

- Louie

The Photo Spread

Today I wanted to talk about two things: Where I have been and where I am right now.  This will be a photo heavy post.  I hope you enjoy.

Where I have been

(2003 - Rocking some BCGs!)

I haven't always been as big as I am now.  In fact, I used to be in pretty good shape, if I do say so myself.  The above photo is me in 2003 when I graduated from Basic Training.  I can hardly recognize myself in this photo.  I believe I was right around 180 pounds at this point in my life.  As you will see, my weight builds and builds as time as I got older and, well, lazier.

  (2004 - Still looking good.)

(2004 - Notice how happy I am here.)

(2005 - Things are starting to get big up in here.)

(2009 - Yikes!  Brodie is cute here though.)

(2010 - This is the biggest I have ever been.  I was pushing 290 lbs and had to walk with a cane!)

(2011 - This was me after doing a juicing diet for 15 days and weighing around 255.  

Notice how it didn't stick.  Diets like that never do.)

Where I am right now.

(I figured I wouldn't scar you with a topless pic.  You're welcome.)

(Check out that chin or lack there of)

(Fun Fact: that gut impedes me from seeing my toes when I look down!)

Now, here are some fun facts about me as of today, 27 April 2012.

Weight: 273.5 lbs

Waist: 52" (my son is 37" tall)

Approximate BMI: 38% (38 percent of me, Louie Mills, is fat and that is completely mad)

T-Shirt size: 2XL

Pants size: 42 x 30

I went to my doctor today and got some blood work done, so, in about 10 days I'll be able to add those stats to track as well.  My goal is, until my quests completion, to do a weigh in every Friday afternoon and post the results here.  And, I am determined to show a change each and every week (hopefully in a downwards motion).  I'm not talking a drastic change each and every week, I'll be happy with even a pound gone from my body.  I'll also keep taking these horrible pictures and post them at the same time.  

Next time I'll discuss the nutritional aspect of this process and my horrible horrible boredom eating cycle.  It's horrible.  Thanks for the read and until next time.

- Louie