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