Good Ole Days and Reflection

Todays Weight: 223 (new low)

I was looking at some pictures last night to try and motivate myself to continue pressing on in my healthy lifestyle. The picture to the right was me exactly 3 years ago when I had lost 50+ pounds (weighed approx 195lbs in the pic). Since then allot has changed all good things except one, me gaining weight. All right getting more gray hair and balding isnt good but it comes with the territory and there is nothing that I can do about that. Plus a little salt n pepper in your hair is sexy right? While reflecting on the images I remember being much more confident and actually wanting to be in pictures. I still want to be in pictures so I can reflect on them 3 more years down the road but I hate the results right now. I don't like the guy I see. Moral of the paragraph is I need to change. I already knew this but it just reainstills it in my mind and that's a good thing. Plus it reminds me of what I can accomplish. This time I want more, I want to go further. I never want to see the north side of 199 for the rest of my life. I will be so happy when I can abolish that 2 from the front of my weight.

Yesterdays diet was nuts on and I cranked out a 5k in about 35min. I wanted faster (thanks to Jay) but couldn't physically keep the pace. My heart rate was bashing into 180s which exhausts me quickly. Tonight I am doing some 210 workouts. I need to up the lean body mass. That's key for me, or at least it has been in the past. Trying to make sure to get in my pre/post shake in. It seems to help with my recovery time.

Weekend Warriors saddle up its almost apon us!

Good News and Food!

Well I finally get to talk about something thats been on my mind for ohhh a trimester or so. Andi and I are expecting our second child. around the end of March this next year. Its weird having all the nervous thoughts and sense of responsibility rushing through my head again. This second time around its been way less stressful in general as we know kind of what to expect. We had our first ultra sound about a week and a half ago (see baby Rip pick to the left). Everything looks good and he/she had a heart rate of 165. Anyway wanted to share this with my FAT family. Now I have another big reason to get really serious about getting and staying healthy.

Food for thought. Last night my wife made a really good version of Stone Soup.

INGREDIENTS:
lean meat of your choice (I used 1 turkey sausage/kielbasa and 3 chicken breasts)
onion (to taste....I used about 1/4 of a very large onion)
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 can butter beans - drained
1 can kidney beans - drained
celery, sliced (I did about 5 sticks)
carrots, sliced (I did about 2/3 of a small bag of baby carrots)
zucchini, roughly diced (I put in 2)
boullion (I did just one cube for flavor)
garlice (I used 2 cloves sliced and 2 cloves crushed)
EVOO (about 1 teaspoon)
METHOD:
In a large stew/stock pot, cook meat and onions in the EVOO until its just cooked through (over medium heat). Add in chicken broth. Once boiling, add in carrots & celery. Allow soup to resume a boil. Add in butter beans & kidney beans....again allow the soup to resume a boil. Add in zucchini and boullion. Once all veggies are cooked through and add in the garlic (by adding the garlic in last, you ensure that the health properties of this herb remain as intact as possibe) and reduce heat to simmer for a couple minutes. If you like to "spice it up" you can add a hot sauce to taste once the soup is done (I like the Sriracha Sauce or Rooster as I call it). Feel free to throw in any other vegetables or beans you think would taste good in this soup. Thats the fun part of this soup....there is no exact recipe....so be creative. ENJOY!!!

I took the night off from exercise last night but am gonna hit it hard with a vengence tonight. I am expecting a new low tomorrow but I know what happens when you expect. Hopefully I will see a new number tomorrow.

Only Eat 2

And folks thats exactly what I did. There mysteriously was a salad there also like many of you called for. As I approached the plethora of cheese, meat, and bread nearly salivating down the front of my shirt I thought of my FAT brethren. Billy, Rob, Melissa, and Marcol said 2 pieces and if you cant stop there don't even do it. So I took my two pieces of pizza and a portion of salad and walked away telling myself I would not be returning to the crime scene. My dad offered me New Castle Brown Ale like 3 times and 3 times I turned him down even though he had this weird flabbergasted look on his face. About 50min later the cake and ice cream made its grand entrance. It looked sooooo yummy and good but did I eat it??? No. For that, fat boy got allot of weird looks once again. I stated "I'm trying to watch my weight." It felt good to just say it and for the most part everyone excepted it. My sister who made the cake said "G? whats up you aren't eating the cake I made?". I had to re-insure her that it looked great but I am trying to cut back a little. So the moral of my extra cheesy story is I never thought I could be proud of eating pizza but I am proud of the fact that I limited it. I know you all do this all the time but for once it was nice to stare the enemy in its greasy, cheese covered, pepperoni eyed face and say "I'm not gonna pig out on you, you don't own my weakness, your just a stupid pizza." I went with a plan and maintained control. I usually just avoid stuff like that to succeed. I don't know how to explain it but I feel like something changed in me last night or just clicked. Who knows, time will tell. Hopefully old dogs can learn new tricks.

Thanks for all the kind words in comments yesterday it made a middle aged FAT guy feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

4 Score and 3 Days Ago

I would have to say the weekend away from home was a success for the most part. I had to do walk bys and disaster control like 24/7 it seemed. There was tones of loaded up processed carbs floating around that house. The only slip up I really had was after drinking some beers I found my hand in the cool ranch dorito bag. I didn't stay there very long because I truthfully stared thinking about Rob and Jay who I knew were most likely holding their shield and swords high battling the temptations that haunt my fellow "Weekend Warriors". I knew there were many coalitioners who were eating right, exercising, and loosing weight. Besides that I really tried to size down my portions and be mindful of any adults beverages I wanted to consume and adjust calories appropriately. I think I was successful given the situation.

Lately I have been crazy on the 210 workout that Rob talked about a few weeks (or maybe month ago). I have started to apply the 210 rule to different moves. Last night I did the original 210 with pushups, yes I made it all the way........but yes they where girl pushups (knees on the ground). It still gives me a hell of a workout and I really struggle to finish them leaving my chest, arms (tris and biceps), and back sore the next day. However I have noticed my body is starting to adapt because I don't feel crippled the next day like I did the first time I did them. After a little rest I was wondering if I could do the 210 with prisoner squats (using body weight). Yes you can, yes it hurts, and I'm feeling it today. I got done with those and was walking around the house all stiff feeling like the govenator 20 years ago thinking "Where here to Pump you up" (in my best Austrian accent of course).

I have a somewhat hard scenario going tonight. At least kind of hard for me.... My mom is turning 56 and my dad is throwing a bash for her. He said he will supply the "pizza" and soda/beer. I purposely packed light today for breakfast and lunch (sub 1000 cal). I have told myself I can have 2 pieces of pizza but only 2 and I will drink water or un-sweetened tea. Part of me thought of taking something else to eat but I really don't want to be that guy. The guy people say is picky and pain in their A$$. Its just rooted so deep in my person (since when I was a kid) to accept graciously what a person goes out of their way to offer. Does it mean I have to gorge on it? No. So what do you all think if your put in the same situation. I know some would say screw it who cares what those people think. Well they are my immediate family so I do care. Its not even that I want to eat the pizza that bad its just the fact that I want to be a gracious and a thankful individual. I guess I could eat 1 piece and just say I ate more.

I hated seeing the controversy on Kev's blog when I got back. Everyone likes comments as I know I do. It just shows that people are reading and that a persons effort is not wasted. If I didn't want a comment or to be involved I would write a journal in a paper book. When I don't get a comment for the first half of the day I start thinking ohhh great nobody is reading this or someone is mad at me. I think its just human nature. Allot of meaning or the translation of the written word is often miscommunicated or misinterpreted. So I say keep that in mind as I have tried to tell myself that a million times. The core group or founding fathers who I like to call the Fatastic 4 are the glue that kind of holds us all together (at least in my eyes). I hope to obtain the successful senior status in the coalition some day. So I would like to give a shout out to Rob, Beck, Kevin, Billy, Kristen, Rebecca, and Marcol for being what I would consider successful seniors and consistent contributers. I also got to give props to some of the newer members who have really taken Fat by storm and impacted me in positive ways by stepping up and showing how its done (Brian, David, Melissa, and Swanky). I know there are many others that I may have missed so props to you too and thanks. Only thoughts of Much Love and continued success coming out of the Ripx corner, you all rock and I soooo appreciate the fact that you all accepted me with no questions asked.

Anyway my entry today has reached novel porportions so I will quit typing. Seems like the majority of the coalition came out of the weekend well.

Help Me Tom Cruise!

This week has been an interesting week to say the least. My wife has been up north in Seattle area training for work. So I have had all the duties that she normally does for our son plus work and everything else. I feel like i have been living in my car. It took me from 4:30 until almost 6:30 to commute, get my son from daycare, and get back home. Of course by then he is starving so I have to find something for him and that pushes my dinner out until like 7:00 or 8:00. So far my eating has been good and solid as it normally is during the week. The part that has been lacking is the workouts. I have only got in 1 good workout since Monday this week. Tonight my son and I are driving up to stay with the wife. I am hoping that the hotel she is in has a workout room. If it doesnt I will be doing the 210 and some burpees or something. We are staying on Hood Canal this weekend in a rented house with a couple sets of friends. I have my meals all planned out to be healthy. I know there will be some drinking so I am going to stick with light beer or mixed drinks with diet soda. My other plan to help stop any weight gane is to eat less during the days that I know I will be drinking (kind of the Billy approach to drinking - no eating shortly before or after drinking). My weight has been hovering right around its normal (224-225). Anyway send me some FAT vibes this weekend as I will need them. I think we have wifi so hopefully I can be on-line some and possibly post some pics and write some comments etc. Gotta keep stringing good days together and get on a winning streak as Rob would say.

Almost 33

Well tomorrow I will officially be 33. Its really amazing how fast life flies by. I was reading Billy's interview this morning and the portion where he talked about spending his 20s fat really struck home. I had a few shimmering healthy years in my early 20s and a year in my early 30s but besides that I have been wasting precious time being fat. We decided to celebrate my birthday this weekend cause my wife is going to be in training the majority of this week up in Seattle area. It was a good weekend and I really enjoyed it but my diet was bad as usual. I know I have no one to blame but myself and I am not looking for any pity or anything. I have pretty much been singing the same song and dance since I started this blog. Probably why I haven't written much lately but comments. Friday night we went to dinner with my younger sister (who is turning 30 this year). About 3 years ago she must have said to herself that she was tired be chubby (she was probably 40 over weight). She is the only one in my family that has managed to stay skinny as they have gotten older. We where sitting at the macaroni grill, I ordered the "Mama's Trio" which contained smaller portions of "3" of there favorite dishes (lasagna, manacoti thing, and chicken parmashon). I ate the pasta tube thing and the chicken and a few bits of the lasagna. My sister ordered a chicken breast and veggies (on there light menu around 500 cals) and didn't eat the whole thing. The second I saw hers and looked at mine I knew why I sat there fat and she sat there skinny and healthy. So not only do I have this great community to look to but I also have my sister to watch and mimic at times. I know I need to change my diet and I know its the weekend eating that kills my weight loss goals. Yet week in and week out I continue to make excuses and not perform on the weekends. I even told my wife on Thursday that I wanted to have a good weekend so I could for once say hey FAT coalition I had a great weekend this last weekend. So here it is Monday again and I have to struggle to get back to where I was and lower like I do every week. I feel like this post is a waste of space on the www but I also felt as if I owed you all a blog to let you know what I have been up to/thinking. Heres to better days and to me being healthy before I'm 34.

A Good Weekend and a Few #s

Well we had a wonderful time down at the beach. We couldn't have asked for better weather on the Oregon Coast (low 80s and sunny). We stayed really active with walks and time playing in the sand etc. My eating was not where I wanted it to be though. My inner FAT or old Ripx stepped in a few times during the weekend. There were several times where I caught myself saying in my head "I will face the consequences after the weekend" or the "A little bit wont hurt me". On the list of crap I ate this weekend here are a few; Chinese food the first night (sweet n sour chicken, fried shrimp and rice), ice cream, salt water taffy, chips, cookies, and a few beers 2 out of the three nights there. I am sure there was a few other things along the way. My main meals were healthy and what we planned for. I know that this blog is supposed to be about me loosing weight and making changes. With that said I feel like I need to post my failures, be accountable, and take responsibility for my bad choices too. I know I could have sugar coated my weekend blog saying how great I was etc but thats not how I roll. I am back from vacation and back to learning to live. Old habits and fat die hard.... If I could only beat myself, I would win the battle and the war so much faster. This is my life happening folks and its all real.

My brother n law is the guy in the picture catching some serious air off a dune :). He has been blessed with a tape worm and wonderful skinny genetics. I did some dune jumping too (just didn't like my pic as much). That is me walking way off in the distance on the coast. I did allot of soul searching/thinking while meandering along. Allot of my thoughts were based on wanting to be in the same place next year minus my shirt, 40 less pounds, towing allot less mental fat baggage, and questioning myself why I ate like I did earlier in the weekend. My minds mostly in the right place so I suppose thats good but I'm still struggling. As always I know what needs to be done, its just doing it that keeps getting in the way.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend. Looks like some had amazing first week weigh ins for the September challenge.