That’s me. I am the professional blog slacker.

Well, to be honest I think I have a decent excuse or ten… It’s been pretty hectic. I think where I last posted was a good sign things were ramping up to drive me completely nuts. To be honest, I don’t recall everything that has occurred over the last couple months but it’s been somewhere in the lines of tons of career work and lots of home related work (remodel, kiddos, car stuff, workout, etc) so needless to say blogging has been the last thing on my list.

So to bring my little online community up to speed for things they may or may not already know. I successfully made it into the 220′s (albeit high 220′s) on the weight loss and I’m hovering around 19% on the body fat count. I can’t complain really, that’s pretty good considering I was out around 270 when I started this whole thing two years ago. So, almost 42 lbs down and more than 6″ off my waist is nothing to be disappointed over. We’ll see how this next round goes. I’m doing quite a bit more cardio as Amanda and I are training up to run the Bolder Boulder at the end of this month. Projections say I should see around 215 again. That would be nice… lol

In other news, we finished cleaning up the three bedrooms and the hallway to the upstairs in the house with a little remodel. Nothing like pulling out all the insulation in the exterior walls and replacing it with 2 levels higher of an R factor to make things a little cooler/warmer in the bedrooms. It pretty much wraps up most of the work in the house in the odd areas. All that’s left is the kitchen/livingroom combo remodel and the two bathrooms and this house is done. I kinda wonder what we’ll do after that… Hopefully start building the house in the mountains if all goes well. Some pictures will be posted up shortly if they’re not already there when this is read.

I also passed another birthday… 31, wooo… I dunno. I remember thinking as a kid that I would be lucky to see 21 and here I am with 10 more years on top of that, two kids, a wife, a career, debt and everything else that goes in between. Wow.

Tons of stuff in between but hey, I’m still alive and all is well so that’s pretty much where we’re at. Hopefully I can get at least one or two posts a month as things go forward eh? *rolls eyes* riiiight.

wow… bad cardio week… i mean, terrible. lol At least I didn’t really gain anything but I didn’t knock off as much as I had hoped for. I lost pounds but not so much bodyfat. Bummer.

This week’s results:

237.4 @ 21.14% bodyfat ( -2.0 lbs -0.19% bf)

So, the results thus far:

START:  246.2 lbs @ 24.31% bodyfat
EOWK1: 245.4 lbs @ 23.46% bodyfat
EOWK2: 241.4 lbs @ 21.94% bodyfat
EOWK3: 239.4 lbs @ 21.33% bodyfat
EOWK4: 237.4 lbs @ 21.14% bodyfat

Month 1 Results:  8.8 lbs and 3.17% bodyfat lost

Well this week is back to the gym with weights again and the switched up routine to start off month 2. Hopefully I can get some better results in by the close of this week. This week was just silly. I definitely had enough cardio in and hit my burn marks but I think towards the end my eating habits fell apart which led to some less than ideal results on the bodyfat drop. At least I actually landed my weight goal and the math says I’ll still hit my goal by 4/3.

We shall see.

I’m going to hit a good number this week… even if I can’t roll out of bed next Sunday from being wore out, lol.

So the end of week 3, beginning of week 4 results are in:

239.4 lbs @ 21.33% bodyfat

Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I hit my goal of 2lbs for the week and managed to drop the bodyfat down further.

Summary of results thus far:

START:  246.2 lbs @ 24.31% bodyfat
EOWK1: 245.4 lbs @ 23.46% bodyfat
EOWK2: 241.4 lbs @ 21.94% bodyfat
EOWK3: 239.4lbs @ 21.33% bodyfat

Total Weight Lost to date:     6.6 lbs
Total BodyFat Lost to date:  2.98%

So far for the year it’s looking pretty good. I upgraded my version of my tracking software at the beginning of the year so I don’t have last year end summaries anymore since I couldn’t retain that data with the software. Just looking at pictures though it’s pretty crazy. Amanda and I were comparing pictures of me last February to pictures from today and it’s amazing. I can’t wait to see the difference when April 4th rolls around.

It never fails…

You finish off a holiday season and you come back to chaos!

Actually it’s not that bad. It’s just been really busy since I got back to work. I had fully intended on writing this blog out a couple of weeks ago only to be delayed consistently with things going on. Anyway, on with the show…

I had mentioned prior to the new year posting up results and such on my latest rounds of working out with Andy. One of those ‘let the knowledge that others are watching drive you to complete the task at hand’ kind of things. Well, here I am. Granted we’ve been back on it for 3 weeks now but it’s never too late to start posting up the fun.

Before I get started on me, there are some funny observations to cover and some advice to hand out. Anyone who hits the gym on a regular basis will understand fully where I’m coming from here.

Do you ever notice how trying to hit the gym in January is like trying to go shopping on Black Friday? Not only is it completely impossible to work with your usual routine without constant interruption to your normal flow, but it’s usually interruption by the absolute worst perpetrator possible, the gym noob. Most of the time, these poor souls make desperate New Year resolutions to lose weight that only ends in their own disaster and embarassment. They seem to come into the gym and see everyone in there busting out workout routines that they have been doing for months and try to “fit in”. They only end up getting in the way or more often getting hurt. Seriously folks, you will experience first hand the EPIC FAIL that will end your resolution as quickly as you came up with it. You will not meet your goal, you will not lose weight and you will only get frustrated and continue to get larger if you rush into something for some stupid reason like a New Year’s resolution.

If you are truly concerned about your weight and would like to take steps to resolve those concerns, take some advice and do one of three things:

a) Get yourself a trainer, someone who can review your current fitness level and help you with a plan to meet your goals. This individual will be your gateway to a new, more fit lifestyle if you take to heart their advice and accept the structure they give you.

b) Get a workout buddy who has lots of experience and will help you start slow and ramp your way into a full blown routine. While this is not exactly using a trainer, if you have a friend who you feel can really help you, try it. If it doesn’t work, you can always choose another alternative.

c) Do some research. Don’t just show up at the gym expecting to dive right in and learn what to do by looking at what other people are doing. You will not figure it out the secret to weight loss and getting in shape. Go online, pick up a book, talk to people, etc… learn what it is you can do to meet your needs and create a routine that works for your fitness level and beyond. 

Most importantly, please go see a doctor if you have any health concerns.

Regardless of the method you choose remember two things when you are at the gym with other people around you. It’s not about the size of the weight you’re using or how fast you can move on a cardio machine. DO NOT get caught up in what everyone else is doing and try to ‘fit in’. You will fail. If you are weight training, pick a weight that works for you. It’s all about form and motion, not about how much you can lift. If anyone gives you a bad time for using a lighter weight or moving a little slow, ignore them. More than likely they will be the one to fail due to poor attitude and lack of intelligence in the first place and so long as you stay focused you can exceed even your own expectations when you come out on the other side.

Ok, enough with the advice column and on to my workout progress thus far.

Prior to heading out on vacation I had come close to hitting my previous goal of 230 (from 264). A little bit of a bummer but hey, I still lost 25 lbs coming in at 239 and hitting a bodyfat percentage of 19.83%. I can’t complain. Of course, like the holidays do, they added back some of that weight. I did pretty good considering all the fun stuff I ate and tallied in at 246.2 just prior to starting this latest round of working out. The more sad thing was having the bodyfat land at 24.31%. Oh well. That’s why I started another round.

So far so good, the results are as follows:

Week 1 -> 246.2 lbs/24.31% BF
Week 2 -> 245.4 lbs/23.46% BF
Week 3 -> 241.4 lbs/21.94% BF

I’m interested to see how this week will turn out, hopefully pretty decent but we’ll see. With a huge jump in week two I may be looking at something more modest this week. 2lbs/week is the goal though so as long as I stick to it, I should see 220 by April4th. It’s been hard to get in all the cardio I want but the drive is at least still there. I’ll actually post up some pictures when I hit the end of this round since it will give a good view of a year worth of changes. If that’s not something to motivate me to get this goal I don’t know what is, lol.

What lies beyond? Probably not much… lol 220 would more than likely put me back in a pair of 34′s with the rate I’ve been changing out fat for muscle so going beyond that may be futile. We’ll see though as I start to creep closer to my goal. Either way, 25 lbs down, 21.4 lbs to go.

I will be posting up the weekly results to keep myself in check. Even if they are bad. *shrug* it’s not like I’m on “The Biggest Loser” and have Jillian or Bob in my face about not hitting a good number in a week… I just want to post losses in the form of wins, no matter how big or small.

Wow, so Andy brought something incredible to my attention… I have gone almost two months without a post.

I guess to some degree I have some decent excuses, but not really. I can’t really blame non-blog activity on being thrown on your butt by H1N1 for a few weeks… If anything my blogging activity should have gone up but instead it was only my gamer score did on Xbox Live, LOL. Alas, I was sick for a few weeks, hammered with some projects at work that destroyed my evenings and when that stuff wasn’t going on I just plain didn’t care. *shrug* I know, it’s bad.

So let’s see here… I added some new pictures of the kiddos and some misc stuff out there. Feel free to check them out. Some pics from Halloween, Travis Jr’s 1st birthday and some pics in between. Nothing too major, but the pictures are pretty much up to date at least.

Events of the last month and a half…. Halloween, Travis, Amanda and Andy’s birthdays, a couple four day weekends and reconnecting with a much missed friend that I lost touch with for almost 15 years. All in all, pretty productive on the personal front and most definitely some definite positives in there. The only real negative in there was getting sick… As I said I’m pretty sure I ended up with H1N1 literally kicking in the day after Halloween and leaving some lasting effects which pretty much destroyed most of November for me. In between days when I was so tired and hurt so bad that I didn’t want to move I found a way to work so I didn’t blow up too much of my PTO. I also managed to squeeze in a few hours a night about twice to three times a week to catch up on projects and work that was lingering so I didn’t get behind. Let’s just say by the time I made it to Thanksgiving weekend I was happy to see a 4 days weekend and repeat the process a week later and alas, here I am.

Only one more week for the most part and I get to journey home for Christmas. I can’t believe I haven’t been there since 2005. The time has flown… somehow in the last 4 years I’ve pretty much managed to completely change my life from the person I was then. Kinda strange. In no particular order I’ve re-married, had another kid, quit drinking, got really physically motivated and started up a cyclical workout plan that has increased my muscle mass quite a bit and dropped 10 points of body fat.

Speaking of the fitness related stuff… That front hasn’t stopped. It’s been lingering there all along despite having dropped blogging about it all the time. I think perhaps when Andy and I start up again in January I might get slightly more religious about putting up some results on a regular basis. Andy, wow… He started up with me 3 months ago and we have brought him leaps and bounds from where he was. He’s even quit smoking! I can’t wait to see him hit round 2 of this in January and see how well he does. As I stated, I’ve made some major progress.. I’ve gained a few inches on my chest, biceps and forearms while dropping ~5-6″ off my waist. Currently I seem to be stuck at about 240… it’s soo hard to drop the weight when you’re at a point you’re just packing on muscle as you’re burning off fat but at least I’m seeing measurement results that keep me motivated while the scale struggles. Regardless, it’s still nice to see that despite gaining some weight back in mass, I’m still down 25+ lbs from where I started so there’s a win.  

Well, I think that sums it up for the most part… I’m going to try to get back to my mischievous posts and updates over the next few weeks. Wish me luck… LOL

So,  I guess I succesfully went a whole month without a single post. That NEVER happens. (lol)

Not a whole lot to report. Sure I’ve had my ideas of rants, but not time to put them down. They finally assigned some help to me at work so hopefully I’ll see some of the workload balancing out sometime in the near future. I certainly hope so as much more of this and I’m liable to lose my mind and “off myself” as James so delicately puts it when describing his bad days, lol. At least I have 4 more days off work to look forward to. Maybe I can find something constructive to do other than sit around playing video games the whole time.

On that note, working out has been going well. Amanda and I just started actually doing some really good recording at the beginning of August and I’m actually seeing much better results in both of us. It renews the goals and keeps us focused. When we started recording at the beginning of August I was at about 25% bodyfat. EEEK! However, within a matter of a few weeks I’m already down to 22% and steadily dropping. If the trend keeps up I should be somewhere closer to 20% this weekend when we take our measurments. We’re still keeping up with the P90X routine with some other stuff tossed in along with it. I took up running again, except this time I got a bit more serious with it. My long runs are about 3.5 miles and my short runs are 1.8 miles. I typically put in a long run Mon-Wed-Friday and short ones on Tues-Thurs-Sat. Typically Saturdays over the summer were skipped due to push mowing a 1/3 acre slot of grass but with winter approaching I’ll probably start throwing that in as well. All in all it feels really good to run, the only thing keeping me from increasing the distance on my long runs is really time. 40 minutes is about all I want to take out of my day in the evenings for “working out” due to my daily schedule. Up at 430, workout til 530, shower, head to park and ride at 6, work by 645, home at 5, run til 6, dinner, shower, hour to relax/read/whatever, then sleep… rinse repeat. LOL

All in all I can’t complain. Despite being extremely busy this last month has been a pretty decent one. At the beginning of August we piled into the Highlander and headed up to Bear Lake in Utah for a famliy reunion on my mother-in-law’s side. It was definitely a trip with it’s ups and downs, lol. It was however, good to see Amanda’s family and participate in some activities out there like seeing the Minnetonka Caves. Arwen had a blast of course playing with all her bazillion cousins and being spoiled by Amanda’s parents. We also had the chance to go to Chase’s wedding in Logan, Utah. Talk about timing, the guy got married the day after we arrived and only 30 minutes away. Chase of course jokes that he planned it that way… crazy guy. It was definitely good to see him again and meet his new wife, Shelly. Congrats again to you both!  

Arwen is just growing in leaps and bounds. She lost her first tooth (pictures will be uploaded after this post) a couple of weeks ago and she started first grade just a couple days later. It amazes me to actually think about it since it seems like just yesterday she was born. Travis Jr, is growing like crazy too. The lil guy has officially figured out that ‘ ma ma ‘ gets his mother’s attention and has proceeded to use it whenever he wants her. It’s cute and annoying at the same time. Despite the fact he’s been saying ‘ da da ‘ for a couple months this is the first sign of him actually “using a word” so the win goes to Amanda for him saying “mama” first. The lil guy is also crawling around now… not proficiently but none the less he is mobile and dangerous. I also suspect it won’t be long (few months) before he’s trying to take his first steps as he is able to hold pretty steady on those legs. Considering how quickly he went from sitting assisted to sitting up on his own, I think we’re in for it for sure.

Ok, well if I’m going to upload some photos before going for a run, I’d better end here. Perhaps September will hold more time for me to get back to blogging.

Having a baby. Dead serious. If you ever need time to fly by and lose track of the days that have past, having a newborn in the house will do it. I seriously can’t believe my son will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. It feels like yesterday. It’s probably due to the lack of good sleep and the holes in the memory that causes but wow.

I’m starting to have flashbacks of when my daughter was first born. I can honestly say I can’t account for the first 6 months of her life. I remember next to nothing about anything from that period of time. Pretty scary.

Anyway, having the new kiddo around is kinda fun. I feel sorry for poor Amanda though who has the worst sleeping schedule out of all of us. She’s been doing really good with though, I’m really impressed.

On another note. Started the second round of P90X this morning. This should be interesting since I’m switching up the workout times to early morning instead of after work. It’s just easier on my schedule and my body. When I get home in the evening, the last thing I want to do is work out after a day of dealing with my usual day of tasks and being gone from home for almost 12 hours. Early morning though seems to be the trick. I’ve got a friend of mine, Adam, who is joining in. I think he was successfully destroyed this morning, lol. Still, 4:30 am wakeups… *shudder*.

We’ll see how this goes.

Well that’s it in a nutshell.

Ok, so I forget what week I’m actually on. I think this technically qualifies as week 9 or 10… I’ll keep the count right from here out (since it’s important). So far most of the changes are remaining visual which is kind of interesting. Muscle definition improvement, endurance improvement, flexibility, etc… It’s just funny watching the scale dip 5 lbs then come right back up but still have your clothes fit loose, exception my shirts… the more it gets loose in the belly, the tighter it gets on my shoulders.

So here I am. The home stretch of this workout plan as it looks on paper. It’s nothing but toss up after toss up here keeping my body all confused and unable to plateau out. To add to the mix and confuse myself even more I’ve adopted a military style early morning pt routine to really get things moving. Nothing like waking up at 5am to blast yourself with everything from jumping jacks to pushups then head out for that 2 mile run.

It’s nice though, it actually seems to help me have more energy during the day altho I feel like I could eat an entire cow all day long. We should see how well this works out in a few weeks. I should be coming to the close of this last phase in the next 4-5 weeks upon which I will rest for a week and probably start this routine all over again. (what… i like it ok? )

So, i’m hoping by the end of this I’ll have at least hit my goals of 3″+ off the waist and 20 lbs stable. Honestly, if I stopped building so much muscle up from this blasted thing I’d probably have hit my weight goal easily by now, lol. 3″+ is still the solid goal for waist line though and it doesn’t appear I will have to worry too much about that… I may actually end up exceeding it if this toss up in the final 5 weeks does what I think it will.

We shall see.

So I got lazy on posting last week and didn’t get a report up – at least I wasn’t lazy on the workout plan though. Everything has been going pretty smoothly. I’ve really been enjoying this second phase with the exception of the Yoga… That too however I believe is starting to grow on me. I might actually make it through the entire 1 1/2 hours eventually. LOL

I’m scheduled for another cool-down week after this week which actually saddens me. I’ve really been enjoying this phase. It’s been nice to see much of the fat being changed over to muscle. Weight hasn’t really been a dropping factor but body fat percentages, appearance and waist size is definitely changing so it’s nice to still see some results in some form or fashion. I assumed most of the weight drop would occur once I get more towards the end of it and I’ve balanced out the muscle gain from restoration of lost muscle mass.

So far so good though. I just need to make sure this time around when faced with a cool-down week I don’t completely blow it like I did last time. I definitely don’t want to suffer like that again.

Go watch the video first:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/06/23/kyung.fat.busters.cnn

Japan is definitely taking the fight against obesity to a new level. New laws out there are now making it mandatory for citizens to be measured and monitored. So much for those plus sizes, now your waistline has a limit and being over that has some consequences to not only you, but your employer as well!

While most American’s see this as a mandatory waistline as infringing on personal rights and privacy, taking steps to ensure the health of it’s citizens seems to be  necessary step for Japan. Think about the savings on their health care costs…  By focusing efforts on getting healthy and prevention of health issues, it’s far more cost-effective and practical in the long-run than our current system of ‘treating’ the symptoms of poor health and weight related health problems.

Take the risk of acquiring type-2 diabetes for example. A MAJORITY of the people who suffer from this disease suffer because the onset was directly related to being overweight. How about heart disease? Again, being overweight DRASTICALLY increases risks for the onset of this health issue.

I’m not saying everyone has to run out and get rail skinny as that’s just nasty. (not to mention extremely unhealthy as well) Being more aware of ones health and making a solid effort to improve upon that is incredibly vital to a long, healthy life.  Even if you’re not able to exercise due to a medical condition, there is always the choice to eat healthy. And yes, there are those who do eat healthy and do have a little extra weight… at least you’re trying.

What absolutely escapes me is how people can be consciously aware of their overweight conditions, do nothing about and instead complain about it while scarfing down a bucket of Ben and Jerry’s or some KFC. C`mon people.

While I don’t see the extreme’s the Japanese government is taking as a solution to our problems I do think there should be some type of greater encouragement and motivational techniques employed to get American’s to be a little healther. According to the CDC in 2006, only four states had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Twenty-two states had a prevalence equal or greater than 25%; two of these states (Mississippi and West Virginia) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%.

WOW PEOPLE!!!