Working On the Inside

I know my last post was kind of negative with the glass is half empty approach. It seems that the majority of the comments left for me had a theme of me needing to work on the inside. Because I am going to succeed at this endeavor I do need to take your comments to heart (as I respect all your opinions). But truthfully I am left a little confused. How does one work on their inside? Believe me I think about being fat and out of shape daily. I think about all the reasons I want to change and why. I know I have a wonderful life and that I am very fortunate for what I have and what I have accomplished in my time. I am pretty much doing what I always thought I would do. I have wonderful friends & family, a loving wife, a incredible son and another on the way, the ability to support them, an education, and I am happy the majority of the time. Being fat is one of the negative things in my life. So believe me I do want to change that. I do believe my downfall is mainly food and the mentality around it. I have always been somewhat reserved with a questionable self image, but that is just me the way I have always been. I just don't understand how one fixes something like that.

On a health note I did some interval training yesterday and the diet was good. So I am sitting on the back of the health wagon bouncing along trying to find my way back up to the front with the rest of you. I also had my annual Dr. appt yesterday and the doc took notice of the weight I have lost so far. We talked about fitness/turkey trot etc and he seemed supportive and happy for me (that was nice). Thanks FAT for being in my corner, don't throw the white towel in for me I got lots of fight left.

Blogger Bum

I know lately I have been a blogger bum. Generally if I am not blogging I am probably not doing what I need to be doing to loose weight and get headed back in the right direction. You will notice my last blog was on last Friday shortly after running the turkey trot. Guess what, I felt good then about my accomplishment and I was doing something that I wanted FAT to read about. Guess what I haven't done since I wrote that post? exercise, yup your right.... My diet hasn't been horrible but its not good enough to loose weight either. If you haven't read Phenom's recent post you should. I am going to piggy back on what he said "I’m killing myself from the inside out". In all seriousness I don't know why I have been making the choices I have. Maybe cause its easier and I am a fat lazy bum. All the reasons are lame excuses that have no weight. I have found myself slipping into the "I'll fix it tomorrow" mind set. Last time I did that I ended up 50lbs heavier. I know deep down I have no other options besides taking care of myself. I also know I have posted BS posts like this before so don't feel like you need to waste your written breath on me. I am struggling once again and I know I need to throw myself a mental flotation device before I sink.

Tonight I will exercise because I have to and I want to. I want to be proud of me, I want FAT to be proud of me, I want my family to be proud of me. I don't want to fail, it just isn't an option. I know this is something that has to come from within me. If I don't post and you have a moment please harass me. I need to keep health/fitness at the forefront of my head. I know I have been kind of the wounded soldier, sand bag, or wet blanket of FAT as of late. I don't want to be that guy anymore, something has to change.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

So it’s been a whirlwind of a week in Ripx world. Last weekend we were in Seattle with friends and this last Wednesday we left for Sunriver to spend thanksgiving with family. It’s Friday about noon and we just got back from our first Turkey Trot. The weather was absolutely beautiful but really cold ( a balmy 24F at the start of the race). Elevation here is 4200 feet so I could definitely feel the difference in the amount of O2 I was getting or at least that is what I imagined; guess it could have been the cold weather. My crazy fit brother in law finished in 23 min, sister came in at 31:15, and I came in at 31:52. It felt really great to get out there and do something active the day after thanksgiving. I hope everyone else in FAT is having a wonderful turkey weekend also. Everyone start signing up for a New Years 5k also known as the "Hangover Run" around here ;).

Drum roll.

We found out without a doubt that we have another little boy in the oven. The Utlra Sound tech said everything looks great and that baby is doing well (currently about a half a pound). So now we are starting to think about names for the new little guy, any suggestions?

By the time we got home I was starving so I threw the flank steak I had marinating on the grill and the wife cooked up some fresh green beans and mushrooms with a little EVOO, garlic, and turkey bacon. about a hour later I jumped onto the treadmill and did my 5k. I was pretty lethargic feeling but I pushed though. I am still having a hard time shaking the tired feeling. Diet has been really good as have my workouts (at least consistent). We are heading to Seattle later this evening. I packed my workout close for tomorrows workout.

I guess this post is somewhat random but hey at least its a post. I have wifi all weekend so I will be checking in daily most likely.

Going Through the Motions

Hey FAT, thought I would push out a post since I have been kind of quiet lately. Like many of you I feel like I haven't had much to say or much of anything of interest to blog about lately. Things have been kind of the same old same old for me. Still working out 4-5 times a week but battling my diet as usual. I don't think its horribly bad but there is definitely room to improve. Marcol has been helping me put together a new interval training routine that should really help me kick it into the next gear (thanks Marcol). The new workout has lots of cool new moves that I have never done so I am looking forward to something fresh. I really feel like I should be seeing some serious results. Interval training (tabatas, bootcamp, crossfit, TT , HIIT what ever you call it) is freaking brutal, I have much respect for all you people that have been doing it. It will be nice to get to the point where I don't feel like I am going to spew 4 mins into a workout. I feel like I am a freaking ford pinto bumping against the rev limiter 90% of the time. :)

Last night was good.... The Hawks handed the 49ers a strait up ole school butt whip-n on MNF. They looked solid on both offense and defense. Granted I know the NFC West is weak and the 49ers are kind of in crumble mode. I am just so tired of Seattle not getting any respect from anyone in the media. Mike Celizic on msnbc is such a bag of hot air and I don't know why I continue to read his articles. Dudes about as predictable as the weather, what a fair weather fan sports writer. Problem with being a fan is having to be one through good and bad. Anyway I will stop crying about the hawks. I know they are not near the top of the pile in the NFL but they are the team I follow.

Other notes in ripx world... This wed we have a ultra sound to check up on baby 2. We are hoping to find out the sex if he/she cooperates. I hope its a girl but my gut says its a boy. What do you think? We are also heading north to Seattle this weekend to hang out with some friends we haven't seen in a while. So diet is going to be kind of tuff this weekend I am sure. The following week is our annual trip to Sunriver for Thanksgiving (wed - Sunday). I am still on track with my two 5ks a week to prepare for the turkey trot while I am down there (looking forward to that).

Hope everyone else is doing well.

Keep on Trucking

weigh in: 220.5, coming back down :)

Yesterdays Diet
6:30am: 2 eggs, 1 egg white (scrambled with jalopenos, mushrooms, and a little cheese)
10am: banana
12: Grilled chicken breast, asparagus, grilled pineapple.
2: handful of nuts (almonds, pumpkin seeds)
6:30: Grilled top sirloin, small serving of mashed yams and sweet potatoes, zucchini, garlic, and onions cooked in a little EVOO, 1 corona light with lime.... Parents were over for dinner so I usually don't have the beer.
8: 12oz of skim milk.

Yesterdays Exercise
Day off

I felt like I ate a little more than usual yesterday but actually woke up feeling really hungry, trim, and a little sore from tues interval workout. I was also down some weight which was good, not a new low but down from the last week. Kind of felt like maybe my furnace (metabolism) was burning a little better. who knows...

Getting Back on Track

I'm really striving to get my workout grove back. Yesterday the diet was good and I headed for the track in the evening to run a 5k on real ground. Since I have been working out I have only really ran any descent distance on my treadmill. It was a little harder to do in the real world but I finished with no walking. It took me about 33mins in the cold and darkness of a fall evening in the northwest. I don't know how you guys/gals are running sub 30s. I felt like I was pushing about as hard as I could. My plan is to run 2 5ks a week for the next 2 weeks in preparation for the turkey trot. In between I am going to be doing some interval training.

Todays Menu
8am - 1 packet of weight control oatmeal, pint of milk 1%, V8.

10am - almonds (blue diamond snack pack)

11:45 - Salad (spinach, red bell peppers, nuts, little raspberry vinegerate), Can of tuna (little low fat mayo, diced jalapeños) .

2:00 - small amount of fruit (watermelon, canalope, honey dew melon)
7:00 - Chicken Breast, Fresh pineapple, and asparagus.

misc - 120+ oz of water through out the day, 4 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

Todays Workout (intervals - very little rest in between)
burpees 8 sets 10 reps each
pushups 6 sets 10 reps each (man style)
jump rope 8 sets 50 reps each
prisoner squats 6 sets 10 reps

I was very gassed by the time I got done with this. There was a period after the jump roping that I felt like I was going to spew. I took a few extra seconds before going into the prisoner squats. My form on the burpees degraded pretty bad as I got farther into my sets. Interval training is hard!

Falling

Rather than trying to run, hide, and avoid posting this week I'm going to try to do the opposite. I am kind of struggling here as of late and I really dont know why. I have allowed more carbs and junk food to work back into my diet the last week. I haven't been horrible nor have I ate like I used to in the past, but I have been lax in my attempts to loose weight. I only exercised 2 times last week combined with my not so great eating. I talk to my wife about it all the time saying stuff like "I need to get this back together" or "I'm kind of out of control". So I know there is a issue, yet I am having a hard time doing something about it. I wish I had a steady workout partner. I don't really want to join a gym because my wife and I put a fair amount of money into our home gym (bowflex, treadmill, and stationary bike) and I hate spending the needed time to travel to and from the gym on top of exercise time there. I feel like I have limited time at home as is with my wife and child. The time change has kind of sapped the energy out of me also. I guess the only good news is my weight has stayed in the lower 220s. I think I want to start doing more interval type training like Billy, Jay, or Gene are doing but I am feeling kind of limited due to my no gym access. I want to do the big compound movements that hit the major muscle groups. I can do them with body weight but I feel like I need additional weight to really push myself and build. So if any of you have suggestions for home type stuff please give me a shout out. Sorry that my post have been lacking motivation or positive flow as of late. I am really trying to right my course.

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone in FAT had a Happy Halloween. I did well on avoiding the candy jars etc at work. I did have a small peppermint patty and a couple whoppers while passing out candy last night. My 2 1/2 year old son amazed me with his drive to continue walking and trick or treating. He had a blast and we really enjoyed watching him. As you can see to the right he was Charlie Brown this year.

I have been kind of bummed on the weight loss front the last few days after my horrible weekend. usually the fast gained pounds come off as fast as they went on. Last weekends pounds seem to be sticking like its the first time I have battled them. So I know what must be done. This weekend has to be perfect and I must keep my eye on the prize. Sorry for the lack of comments and blogs coming out of my corner lately. I think my big screw up last weekend set me back and made me feel guilty. Of course I naturally shy away from what makes me feel bad or embarrassed. I am gaining steam and should be back to normal here shortly.