One man reaching..

So I feel like crud. I can not focus nor do I want to. It took we ages just to add a few stupid widgets that may not even stay on the blog. Isn't it amazing how a head cold can just take it out of you? When I woke up today I knew I was in for it. I started feeling the pressure in my head, the running nose and the feeling of already being tired. Not a good way to start the day. So whenever I have done anything today it has been just a bit delayed. The morning was not so bad but as the day went on it kept getting worse. And everything i have done today continues to take more and more time. I am trying some OTC drugs to feel better for tomorrow to make sure I am not worthless. But as I sit here and write this I am sitting next to Kaidan and just put Cooper back down and realized just how lucky I am and a minor head cold may hurt but there is nothing that my sons can't make me smile through.

So tomorrow I get to go see my gastroenterologist. Now I haven't seen him in over a year so I am wondering what he is gong to say. Now I wonder how this will change the care I get since my guts have been rerouted and I seem to get scopes every other year. I know he will at least be happy about how much healthier I am living though. I will update tomorrow.

I should get Kaidan back to bed.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

Well I got to the Y tonight which was a nice thing.

Heres the run down:

10 minutes on treadmill
10 minutes on elliptical.

Bis
Tris
Chest Press
Pullover
Lower Back
Abs
Leg Press
Leg extension
leg curls
Dips
Chin Ups
Lat pull downs
Hip adduction
Hip abduction



Also I think I found the format I like.



Until tomorrow
Night

So snacking in the evening is killing me. I have been wanting snacks whenever I am sitting around at night. It doesn't matter if I am home alone or Kara is here. And it is during the night and not during the day. I am fine during the day eating well but my cravings kick up at night. Now I am not snacking on food that is bad but it is still unhealthy due to time and all that good stuff. I need ideas on how I can get over this. So far the only thing that helps with the snack cravings is coffee. I am having coffee as I write this at 11:15pm on a Monday night. I am lucky that the caffeine does not keep me up. Anyone have any ideas? I will keep you updated.

As for cravings, I have not wanted my favorites from the past. The McDonald's, BK and the fast food that I used to survive off of have not even appealed to me. Heck even the decent food that I can eat out I do not even want. I am not interested in any of them even red meat and potatoes that were a staple in my life have disappeared. I do feel much better about my food choices but I keep on myself because I do not want to get complacent and slide backwards. As I say that I have not gotten to the gym in a week. I make the big statement that I am going to go but I never got there over the weekend. I will be there tomorrow and Kara said she WILL go on Wednesday.

Now a little wow moment is it is so much easier to lay with my boys. If it is laying on the couch or laying on their beds, I take up so much less room now I do not have to worry about crushing them.

Enough for tonight,
Night.

So I started to strip the paint off the banister a long time ago and never finished it. Fast forward to today and Kara and I trying to figure out colors for the living room. We decided that we wanted to get rid of the banister and replace it. So I riped it out and now am looking at a lot of work to do to prep the living room for a complete overhaul. The next step is to replace the banister or build a half wall (the more likely option) then strip down the mantel and the window trim and crown moldings and base board moldings. After that I am going to sand all the walls and repaint. I am betting a month or so process to complete. Kara is going to love it!!!!! But I have to say I am going to take my time so it looks like it is professionally done. Wish me luck.

Going to the gym tomorrow by myself or with Jerm, I will write tomorrow and update.

Night

It is about 4 degrees outside and I just ran out to get Kara Chinese food. It is effing cold outside. Last winter I could run around in a fleece but now I am in a winter parka and still freezing due to being so much smaller. I guess being cold is better then being unhealthy. I really can not wait to see how I am in the summer with the heat. I want to know how my sweating will be when it is 90 out. I know things will be different but I will not know how different until that time. And I guess it isn't just how will I be when doing nothing but I want to know what I will be able to do in the nasty hea, biking, hiking, whatever.

I am really looking forward to being able to get outside and doing more of the things I really enjoy such as mountain biking, hiking, and anything everything else. Some of this stuff I will be able to do with the boys now such as riding on the canal path but some of them will have to be without them like the mountain biking in Tryon or finger lake trail. I just can not wait to share the experiences of the outdoors with the boys and maybe Kara if she will go also.

Night

So as of today I am down 131 pounds. That puts me at 207. What a difference 5 months makes. I can do so many things now that I couldn't do prior to losing the weight. One of those things was where I sat for dinner last night. I would have never fit in the area where we were sat. It is cool because now I can go to the trendy eateries with cramped area and few tables, yeah not really my bag but the Lamb was excellent and so were the greens and beans, a positive for the protein.

As for the gym I haven't been there since Monday, yeah I feel just a bit like crap. I really need to go today and Monday to get back on track. Is that going to happen today Maybe. I will write the outcome later.

So tonight I watched the seasons premier of LOST, which I have to say was great! I am obsessed with the show and have been counting down since the end of last season so when I missed it last night due to our anniversary I was pissed. But I was able to watch it tonight on the computer and it was cool.

Speaking of our anniversary Kara and I went out last night to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. We went to Mr Dominick's down in Charlote and it was excellent. I had Scallops over greens and beans, AWESOME! Then we decided to go to Phillips European and had a great dessert and damn good coffee. I think I found where my cousin can work after Pastery school. But I thought that the desserts were going to kill me on the scale but today when I weighted myself I was at 209 which is my lowest so far. Maybe if I din't have the dessert I would have been in the 208 range.

Now I haven't been to the gym since Monday... I feel like crap since I haven't gotten there. I AM going tomorrow night. I AM GOING! But I am tired and need to get to bed, so...

Night.

Who is watching the inauguration today? Now I was not a Obama supporter but it is amazing to see to turn out. Hopefully he is a good answer to America's problems. It is what our great country deserves!

Time for dropping the science boys and girls. I needed to do some research on the running thing. I was worried that I might hurt myself and not be able to continue working out so I did the running 101 edumacation. I found some reputable outlets and read up on how to prevent injuries, stretching and warming up, pacing (which I suck at except when on a treadmill) and all the other good stuff that goes along with the running stuff. I will keep searching and reading.

Work out on Satuarday. We got to the gym later in the day and found out that we could not leave the kids in the child watch for that long and had to pick them up within 55 minutes so we focused mostly on cardio. I ran again on the treadmill which I liked and then used a Cybex machine. Here is the run down of the gym:

Cardio:
-Treadmill: 20 minutes (running for one mile and walking for a mile)
-Cybex machine: 10 mintues(almost)

Weights:
-Abs, weighted and hanging
-Leg press
-Lower back

Whenever I go to the Eastside Y I always look into the spinning room and want to try it. It seems like it would kick my ass but I think I should try it. So I printed a schedule out and am going to try to make it to one of the classes. I do not believe it will be something I do a lot but I at least have to try it to figure it out.

Today's workout was nice. It seems as if Jerm and I are getting into a good swing of things with working out. I don't know if we go to work out or to hang out but I think it meets somewhere in the middle. But one thing that does piss me off is the child watch at the Greece YMCA. All except for one time have the staff there come to get me about the boys. If it was a good reason I have no problem but tonight 15 minutes into working out a staff member come over and tells me my son wants me to change his diaper. NO you change it, I don't care if it is a 1 or a 2 just change it. If I go and change it he is going to throw a fit when I go to leave. And then when we were leaving the same staff member come out and tells me my son is crying. When I get to the child watch area I look at him so he can't see me (sneaky, sneaky) and he is walking around and NOT crying; then when he saw me he yelled my name but no damn tears. Every other YMCA I go to has never had a problem nor do they come and find me unless something big is going on. Why is it the Greece teenies can't handle their jobs? On to my list...

Cardio:
-elliptical 10 minutes
- stair climber 5 minutes
-weak I know-

Weights:
-Bis
-Tris
-chest press
-shoulder press
-ab abduction
-ab adduction
-dips on gravitron
-hanging abs
-leg curls
-lef extension
-leg press
-lat pull downs
-rows

And the plan is to go to the Eastside Y tomorrow.

Now I know the blog is changing a little bit because I am not as focused on losing the weight and now I am more focused on the toning and working out aspect. Also many of the wows that happen have subsided and my perceptions of life is somewhat stable. But a few big things are my goals and the toning of my body now. One of the bad side effects of losing weight so fast (surgery or not) is loose skin. So I am trying to tone and build muscle so I can feel better about my appearance for myself. At the weight I am now, if not for the loose skin I would have very little gut and spare tire. So it is a focus area for me but I need to be realistic and understand that it is not going away for some time and if it was it would most likely be because I am gaining weight back; which isn't going to happen. Also many of my goals are fitness and active based. Climbing the rock wall, riding single track on my mountain bike, that kind of stuff. Hopefully it will not disappoint. Also I am big into my blog because it keeps me focused and motivated.

Well until Tomorrow,
Night

Just wanted to see if the post would work from my cell.

When do you say when? Who can answer that?

So I didn't get to the gym tonight but have made plans to go tomorrow. I am looking forward to it, surprise, surprise. I can not stop thinking about climbing the rock wall. I think that will be a lot of fun when I can accomplish that.

I have been having some late at night cravings. Maybe I shouldn't be staying up so late, that would be the easy thing. Maybe I should be drinking more during the evening. I think it is more of a boredom thing though. I need to find a constructive hobby for when I am at home and bored. Housework only goes so far. I really do not need a hobby, I have a ton of things I could do here, maybe read a book that I haven't gotten to, finally get the banister stripped down, or one of the many other things I have around here to do. But I did say housework only goes so far but really I do love doing things around here though. and I really do need to drink more during the day and night. Maybe I will start drinking soy milk, I will have to look into it.

Until tomorrow,
Night

So since we never got to the gym yesterday I stopped there today and just did cardio. So when I got there I started running on the treadmill. I ran 2 miles straight on the treadmill and then I went over to the indoor track and ran another mile. I am very excited because this is something I really wanted to be able to do. Now I need to learn the science of running. I even looked at the rock climbing wall and if I didn't have to go pick up the kids I would have made an attempt to climb it, no one else was around so I would not have made a complete ass out of myself.

Until tomorrow,
night

Tonight I am going to work an overnight shift at work. What is cool is I get to spend the day with my boys tomorrow. We are planning on the Y tomorrow night also so I am excited about that also. Tomorrow should be fun. I do miss spending hours and hours on end with them every day. Rambling off. Sleepy on.

Until tomorrow,
night

So after trying to work two blogs I am deciding to combine them. We will see what happens.


Well tonight Jerm and I went and worked out and the fun thing is I am enjoying working out and am finding myself wanting to continue doing so and not dreading it. I do attribute most of it to having someone to work out with. Jerm and I turn working out into an improv show. Basketball moves, messing with each other, motivating each other, it is a blast. Now also part of my enjoyment of working out could be I am in much better shape and able to do more easier. Times can be stressful but I have found working out is a time when I just relax and not stress about everything else around me.

So today we:

Cardio:
20 minutes

Weights:
Biceps Curls
Triceps
Leg press
Hip Abduction
Hip Adduction
Rows
Lower Back

Hammer strength machines:
Lat Pull Downs
Leg extensions
Leg Curls
Abs
Shoulder press
Chest Press



So I have been wanting to go back to school for some time. I have come up with ideas and then never followed through because the stresses of life. I always have some excuse for not doing what I want when it comes to schooling. After thinking about it to be fair to myself and my family I need to pursue it. Now I am at a point and time where I need to figure it out. The When, How, Where, are things I am working on. I know what I want to go back for, it has been the only idea that has continued to come back to me over and over again. I think it is time to make it happen, I know it is. Now the cool thing is I will able to fit into one of the desk at a school!!! That may make you laugh but a year ago that was a reason not to go back to school. How sad is that? Not bettering myself because of my weight, SAD!


As for another fitness goal, drum roll... To climb the rock wall at the Eastside YMCA. I have looked at that wall since we joined in 07 and always wanted to climb it. I even said when I lose the weight and build muscle I am going to do it, then I became an absent member. I didn't go back to the Y till I went through the surgery so now I can make it happen. I am trying to think what I well need to be able to do to pull it off. We will see and I will keep you all updated, maybe with pics also.

Well until tomorrow,
Night

So last night Kara and I went to see Bride Wars, a very manly flick. But the coolest thing of the night was when I sat in the movie theater seat, There was extra room on BOTH sides of me in the seat!!! How cool is that? Then we went to Applebees and when I sat in the booth there was a ton of room to spare. Loving it!!!!

So looking at my food journal over the last few days I see that I have been doing very well when it come to eating the right food. And when we were out at dinner last night I found myself passing up unhealthy choices for healthy choices. I had a blackened Tilapia with vegetables and I even subbed out the potatoes for a mixed vegetables.

So today I worked on some electrical around the house. And down came the Christmas Tree. Nothing big but a friend came over and the 5 kids ran around all day long and my aunt and uncle came over later and had dinner. It was a great day even though things are crazy.

Until Tomorrow,
Night.

I hit my first workout goal today. I ran more then a mile without any slowing down or walking. That was a goal I made before surgery and I did it today. What made it even better was that I had already done 18 minutes on an elliptical prior to the run on the treadmill. I am loving that. I can not wait until I extend that. Now for my next cardio goal is to run two miles without slowing to a walk even for a second. The other cool thing that happened was Kara joined Jerm and myself at the gym today. She did cardio and even started lifting weights with us. It went well and was a lot of fun. it is late so I will write tomorrow morning.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

Who knows where that line comes from?

Long day,

I am down to 212. Total weight loss to date is 126. I am stoked, I have done very well with it. I track my food intake now and it is going well. I know what is I need to do and I am doing it. But damn other shit is fu-barbed. I am trying, and trying to be my best in life and hopefully one day I will get there. Hopefully it doesn't crash prior.

I have only got to the gym once this week, I will be changing that tomorrow; A good work out is coming, maybe I might over do it! Jerm you coming?

Well I am going for a walk and dealing with my head.

Until tomorrow,
Night

So stress comes in many forms, and I have some now. Life throws you curve balls and it is how you deal with it that defines you in my opinion. When crisis hits I know I do well but it is dealing with the mundane I am always trying to work on, it isn't that I am bad at it, I call it an area on concentration because i know I can get distracted. Know I know I am a very blessed person, I have two beautiful sons, a beautiful wife, goods friends and family, a job I love and an awesome dog. So where the stress comes from is i always want to be the best I can be. I want to be the best father, the best husband, the best friend, the best employee and Jackson's best friend that I can be. One of my weaknesses is I try to do so much because I put a large amount of pressure on myself. I need to check myself and give myself enough time to be a quality person in all aspects of my life. I want to and know I can be a quality contributor in every aspect of my life. I guess writing this made me realize this is my New Years resolution. I also am going to make sure to utilize the gym as one of my fun stress relievers and time for myself.


A new sign of success: Rolls due to loose skin sinking in when I lay and sit. It is uncomfortable but in a sadistic way it makes me feel good because it is a sign of how well I am doing. Now I do not like the way it looks but I am now so much healthier then I have been in so long so I am happy about it.

So last night due to the holidays and some of what I have been eating I decided to make a food log. I am tracking my meals, my snacks, my fruit and vegetable intake, my med intake and my fluid intake. I wanted to do this so I can track my nutritional intake. Also it will hopefully be a motivator for me to eat healthy and make me answer to myself when I think about eating something or after I eat something. Hopefully it works like I want it to.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

So I watching the the new season of the biggest loser tonight and there is a man on there that has had gastric bypass and now weights 400 pounds. He has gained the weight back because he did not utilize the tool as it is meant to be. I guess I am writing about it because it is proof that the gastric bypass is not an answer it is a tool that with eating right and exercise helps you be healthy. Now the reason I watch the show is because it really is cool to watch people make such drastic changes in their lives and become so much healthier.

So today I was expecting to wake up with pain from exercising last night. But to my surprise there was no pain. That was nice. So tomorrow I have to work late and I will not be able to go and work out with my friends. So I am hoping to wake up early and go so I can get back before the kids wake up and I can get them up and spend the morning with them, It will allow for some nice laid back time with the boys. I am very excited about that.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

So as everyone knows but I am going to state it. Working out makes me feel so much better. I just feel so much better, I have much more energy, I have a better out look and am just smiling more. I have been having fun at the gym also with the Bittner's. I guess it is what everyone has always known working out with someone is so much better then doing it on your own. Motivation, conversation and fun is what becomes of it, not just busting your ass for a sweat.

So now I am not focusing on how low my weight gets but more on the shrinking of my gut, waist and legs. I know that I have dropped a ton of weight and I know I want to lose some more of the fat but since I am working out I am gaining muscle so my weight may not change at all or I may even gain some. We will see and maybe I can add a waist tracker.

I know I have spoken about this before but I am still surprised when I can sit in an area that before I could never have. I guess It is weird because I am not a different person. Yes I have dropped a ton of weight and I feel better but I am not a different person mentally so I still get caught off guard. It is a nice wow.

And btw I love the bald head.

Until tomorrow,
Night

So today was the first time I had done any painting since I have lost weight. Now the funny thing is It looks so much better then the painting I have done before. I attribute it to the not being so tired by everything I do. Taping was a breeze, painting was a breeze, even though I was still in pain bending down was a breeze. If I do say so myself Kaidan and I did an awesome job. That was about it today. I will write more tomorrow. AI am getting back to the gym with Jerm.

So today we were out doing things with the kids and my muscles just hurt so bad from working out. Now I am talking about my hips muscles and abs, ouch. They hurt but it feels good because of the positives that will come from it. So I am very stoked about working out on Monday and look forward to keeping up on it. I know it seems like a very little thing but I need to keep myself motivated. Motivation can dry up very quickly so if I purseverate on it enough I will be able to make it a habit and stay focused on the long term benefits of the weight training and cardio work


During the day we went and I got a few new pieces of clothing. So when I was trying on pants I found that I have to buy a 34 waist now. I am so excited about that fact. I have never worn that size ever in my adult life. About eight years ago I weighted 220 and wore a 36 inch waist but never a 34. So today was a good day and I felt really good. Hell I even am wearing size large shirts. I love that one. I am so proud of all the work I have done and I love the benefits such as keeping up with my kids and not being so self conscious about myself and helping me be a more open person. I do love my life and everything I have in it.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

SO how is everyone on this glorious Saturday? I am doing quite well. My legs still hurt from yesterdays work out. I tried a few machines I have never done before and they worked very well. The insides of me legs are still burning this morning. So the Bittners and I have made a somewhat schedule up so we can get to the y more often. I have to say I am still living the high right now. I enjoy working out so much right now because it is so much easier then it was when I was so much heavier. I also found myself pushing myself farther and harder then I am used to. Hopefully my Laziness bone may be one of the things Im losing with the weight. So we are gunning to go 3 times next week and hopefully I can get Kara to come along with us.

So the holidays went well for me and as of this morning I weight 214 pounds. That comes downs to a 6 pound loss over the holidays. I can handle that because I am betting I put 6 pounds on just on New Years eve last year.

New Years Resolutions:
1) Get to the Gym at least 3 times per week
2) Eat More Fruits and Veggies
3) Make sure I am getting in my protein and medications.
Not a long list, not an extensive list but a doable list I believe. I am going to focus on eating right and exercise.

Until Tomorrow,
Night/Day