What a difference a day (or 3 weeks) makes...

WOO!!!  Guess who is back?!

This guy! Well, not Leo, but ME!  Fat-Man-DO!

That's right! It's time to get back in the saddle and hit the blogosphere with my workout missives!

I needed to take some time off. Well, that's not entirely true. You NEVER need to take time off from being healthy and whatnot... but I was in a bad headspace for a while and I needed a reset so to speak.

So now, after nearly 3 weeks of inactivity and a REALLY poor diet of candy, carbs, and and more carbs.... with a side of carbs and a healthy sprinkling of carb-related sprinkles... I'm ready to get back out there and do the thing!

Let's just call it what it is - I was being lazy for a few weeks and enjoying the sweet, sweet reward of instant gratification through eating.

Always easier said than done, I know... but still. This time I have a new workout partner... my lovely wife. (Seen here eating some noodles.) She's decided to give it a go and we will be starting a new journey together tomorrow morning at 6:00am.

I'm not actually sure when the last time is that she was awake at 6:00am... but we're doing this! (She is not a morning person... but I love her anyway)

I will not be relying on a scale for this. I no longer care what I weigh... more or less. I just know that I want to FEEL better... and my body should be able to do that one way or another. Honestly - I feel pretty freaking great right now. I've been sleeping, more or less, well for the last few weeks. My diet hasn't been AS bad as I've let on above.  I have had too many donuts and potato chips... but I've pretty much stuck to similar eating habits I've developed in the past 6 months. I'm going to call that a win.

Progress, for me anyway, will be tracked by improvements on certain abilities, measurements, stamina, and just how good or bad I feel overall... which, like I said before, I feel pretty great these days. Might just be the warm, spring air... but who knows.

With that, I welcome you all back to my journey!!  Wish me US luck!!

That hurts... is that supposed to hurt?

Every now and then I'll work out a little harder than I probably should, go home, shower, and go to bed... thus resulting in almost crippling body aches the next morning for not properly stretching out my muscles before sleep...

So... yeah. This morning I'm moving around like an octogenarian... I need to remember to take my time at the end of my workouts and properly stretch out before bed or else I'll be unable to go to the gym all together. And that would be bad. 

Until Next Time - Stretch out!

I'm terrible at being a Gym-Bro

I don't get it... the idea of going to the gym to socialize, hang out, share your problems with strangers... It's weird to me. Maybe it's because I generally don't like people?  I don't know. I'm kind of a nerd - and people generally give me anxiety.

What I DO know - is I'm terrible at the "Sup, bro?!" thing at the gym. If you want to talk to me at the gym you have exactly 90 seconds between sets and 120 seconds between exercises. I will gladly talk to you then.  But I do not want to stand there and talk to you about your diet or workout plan for 15 minutes while my heartbeat returns to a resting rate and I lose all of my motivation. Sorry.

If you want to talk - get a gym-buddy or a workout partner. You can talk to that person while you workout and help motivate one another... that's what they're there for!

The gym is where I go to work off fat and anger while I build muscle. I have no desire to make new friends with people whose names I don't know.

I'm sorry - this sounds angry and whiny - but I assure you, it's not. It's just an observation.


Until Next Time - Don't bother the people with headphones in at the gym.

DO STUFF!

Nothing real to post today - Starting some HIIT stuff this week... got all sweaty. It was a good time.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day for the week... I should be 224 or so. Which is on track for my goals.



.... and, yes, I need to shave and get a haircut...

The importance of SLEEP

If ONLY I could sleep on a regular basis... I'd probably be happy, healthy, and super fit by now. But, as it stands, I often spend many nights awake, staring at my clock as I watch the minutes tick by...

Last night I watched my clock go from 10:15 all the way until 1:45...

Not sleeping is bad for you, Mkay?

I need to sleep better. Sleep is important in a LOT of ways. According to Harvard Medical School -"Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite." And, it you're trying to lose weight and get healthy - that's bad for you.

Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness - which, could then keep you from going to the gym... or help you order that large, comforting pizza instead of the fish and broccoli... Sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat. It also alters immune function.

So - try to get a full night of sleep. Adjust your schedule, relax, and see if that helps you out.

Until next time - get some rest!

Do you want to be thin? Or healthy?

SO... My name is FatMan Do...

Not too long ago I had 265 lbs of fat hanging over my belt, and I was huffing and puffing for air as I climbed the 2 steps into my house.

I decided that I'd had enough and I wanted to lose some weight...  I became fixated on LOSING WEIGHT!
I HAD TO LOSE WEIGHT! 
DEAR GOD WHY IS THE SCALE NOT MOVING FAST ENOUGH!!!!

It was like that... and I went out to my garage every most mornings for 6-9 weeks and I jumped and squatted and lifted little dumbbells. I ate salads and starved myself and I lost weight. That scale moved from 265 to 240... Then to 235... 230... all the way down to 225.

Holy. Shit. I was awesome. I thought that was some pretty cool stuff right there... BUT... tadaa... it all (Not all, but most) came back.

Why did it come back?

Because I wasn't smart about it. Using the bathroom scale to measure of how "healthy" I am is dumb. I didn't change my habits. I didn't add muscle to replace the fat I was losing... I simply worked the fat, and some of the muscle, out of my body in an ever maddening struggle to become lighter... and then I thought that weight would magically stay away because I was naive and didn't want to work out in the garage anymore.

I'd like to now draw your attention to WEIGHT... This is Kelsey Wells of Instagram fame...

Kelsey learned the difference between "thin" and "healthy"

She shows that you can actually replace fat with muscle and be thinner... while weighing the same. Fat weighs more than muscle. 5 lbs of FAT is easily twice as big as 5 lbs of muscle. So if you wait for it... if you bide your time at the gym or in your garage - while eating right at home - you can replace your fat with muscle and be AWESOME.

You don't have to just lose weight. Yes, losing weight feels awesome... but replacing your fat with muscle is even better. Teach yourself how to eat well, exercise right, and be good to your body... it takes time. 

Until Next Time - Muscles are good. Use them. 

If you think little efforts don't matter, give it two months...

If you think little efforts don't matter, give it two months...

Not going to lie - this picture is just being used for clicks

No real visible or even noticeable progress is made in a single day or even a single week... But you take those days and weeks and add them up and it'll show.

Take smoking for example - You quit smoking and still feel like crap on the next day or two... well, duh... you don't magically get healthy overnight. But give that 3 weeks and see how it feels. 

Anything you want to do to become healthier - stopping smoking, going to the gym, giving up alcohol, eating better - whatever you do, give it at least 30 days... or better yet, give it 60 days. Are you going to get ripped and shredded like the P90-X commercials? Maybe - if you put in the time, effort, and energy to following every aspect of that program. 

More realistically - You're not going to follow the diet exactly. You're not going to be able to do th 50 pull-ups he magically thinks everyone can do. You're not going to push yourself as hard as you should.

Why?  Because you're a normal person wanting to get healthy and not someone wanting to become a professional athlete. I mean - damn - if I got paid to go to the gym instead of sit in my chair at work, I'd be one fit SOB. But the gym is where I go at night - after work, after dinner, after time with the kids... When I have the the time or even the energy to go. 

And even doing that - just putting forth the effort that I can - without turning my life completely over to "fitness" - the change is noticeable at 30 days. I see it in my face, my stomach, and my chest. I feel it when I go up the stairs. I feel it when I play with the kids or do ANYTHING requiring some amount of physical strain on my part. 

And it feels good. 

In 30 more days - it'll feel even better. 

Until next time - Keep going! You're almost there!

Cardio! It's what's for dinner!

Holy... cow.

After tonight's weight-lifting session we decided to add a small, 10 minute, cardio session to our workout.

Well... 4 minutes of Tabata Box-Jump - Jump up on the box, then down for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds, then repeat for 4 minutes... and I was about dead. Not really - but I could feel the years of overeating and smoking. After that, we did Tabata Wall-Ball - weighted medicine ball tossed up about 10' on the wall, catch it when it comes down and go into a squat, then explode out of the squat and throw the ball back up... we did that for 20 on/20 off... 

I love doing cardio... even though I hate it. 

Cardio and I are somewhere in this range...

Ah well - it'll help, right?

I plan on doing more cardio... not enough to kill my muscles, but enough to help trim some of the fat. I'm really starting to see a difference in my body... my stomach doesn't stick out as far, some of my shirts are fitting better, and I feel better. Well - I feel better as long as I'm not dying of the plague that everyone keeps passing back and forth this winter.

So - There ya go, dear internet, fun time with sweat and weight loss.

Until next time - be better!

Getting off of you A** and doing something...

Yesterday was Sunday - which is the first night of my weekly gym trips, and I... didn't want to go. True story.

I spent all afternoon on Sunday playing with my kids on the floor building Lego castles, space ships, and boats... and I was having fun. Then I spent some quality time with my wife - and I, to put it simply, just lacked the motivation to leave all of that and go to the gym. I was too comfortable. And that, like any excuse, isn't a good one.

But - my wife is an excellent supporter in this endeavor of mine and urged me on towards the door and the awesome pain of Chest Day awaiting me at the YMCA.  I also have a good workout partner who keeps me accountable - even on dreaded LEG DAY!!!

And the thing is - much like my normal, social anxiety - Once I was there and doing it, I was happy. It's the getting up and going that is my stumbling point.

And that's the problem with a lot of things in life - finding the deep down, innate desire to get up, out of our comfort-zone or routine and try new things or do something difficult. It's absolutely easier to stay home, take "fat-burners", eat pizza and dream about being healthy than it is to get up, get dressed, go to the gym when it's 17 degrees out, and work hard for 90 minutes with various heavy objects.

Don't get discouraged. I know many people are just like me - impatient. Didn't see any results in 12 days? Might as well stop going to the gym!  - That's not how this works. That's not how ANY of this works. It takes 3 weeks before you might even feel a change in any aspect of your personal health or behavior, let along see one. It takes 21 days (I'm told) to form a habit. And to make a habit you need a routine. And that's why Sunday sucks so much for me. Friday and Saturday are rest days and Sunday comes and I am still resting. But that'll change - and having good reminders from family and friends helps - as does the reward of how good I feel after the gym. Well, except on the days when I go and I'm really dehydrated and I cramp up really bad in my sleep - but that's more of a personal problem LOL.

SO - go out there, form a routine, make a habit - AND BECOME THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF!!!!  Even if it takes 6 months, 6 years, 20 years, or 40 years!

And today - we weigh in

Well, good morning, Internet!

Today is my (self-mandated) official weigh-in day. Every Wednesday morning I wake up, have a cup of coffee, a glass of water, take a shower, and weigh-in.

Since June I've come down 15 lbs from 243!!!

It's been an up and down battle, but I'm happy right now....

Initially - back in 2014 when I looked at myself and said "Wow... you've let yourself go" I was 265 lbs.  Literally the heaviest I've ever been. 

This is me... at 265 lbs.
Nov 2014

My overall goal is to just get down to a size that looks healthy, allows me to live a better life, and a shape resembling "fit-ish".  I have no desire to be super buff and look like like a body-builder. I just want to be healthier. My goal weight is 210 lbs... which means I have 18 lbs to go. I'm pretty sure I can do it.  And if I end up only making it to to 220 or 215 - but I'm happy and healthy - I'll be okay with that too.

It's better to stop thinking of going to the gym as a "weight loss" method. It's not. Going to the gym is an active lifestyle choice that results in a change in your body. In some cases you lose weight - in some you gain weight. Either way should result in a happier, healthier you as long as you put in the time and effort.

The same goes for eating. I'm not on a diet. I am not diet-ING. I am just eating differently than before. I'm limiting the types and quantities of food I intake on a daily basis... again, this is more of a change in lifestyle than a "diet."

So - there ya go. My rant on weigh-in day!!

Hope you all have a good Wednesday