I Got Nothing For You Today

Nothing for you guys today. Other than I watched some of "The Biggest Loser" last night at least until I was yelling at the TV and Patrice wouldn't let me watch it anymore because I was going to wake up the girls. Yes...there were a few people on there who lost weight....but there were also some who did not lose that much. You all know my thoughts on the show. It is compelling television, but who has the luxury of being taken away from their everyday life and given the best trainers, etc and all they have to focus on is getting healthy and losing weight.

Then you have people on there who are worried that they may have gained that week. I am sorry, if you weigh over 300, 400, or even close to 500 pounds as some of them do, and you are in week 2 of a professionally managed diet and exercise program where your only job is to lose weight and you have to worry that you put on pounds....you are a loser. Nuff said. Read my earlier blog to understand my full hatred of the show

Anyway...at least it motivated me to continue my dieting in the "Real" world. I guess that is something to be said for it.

Not much new...very busy at work which is good......swimming, cheer, piano and lacrosse have the evenings pretty much taken up. It is hard to maintain focus and desire to eat right and workout, but such is life.

My brother has me on a sort of new plan. I am counting calories pretty religiously. Trying to stay to about 2200/day. Kind of sucks at first to get started but once you get the hang of it, it isn't too bad. And we all know that a Mich Ultra has 95 calories, so you can guess where my extra calories end up being used. It is pretty simple though....burn off more than you take in. Also I am changing up my workouts a little. Trying to get back to a little more weightlifting and scaling back the running a little. I really do enjoy running. It is nice just to get away for a half hour, but it is taking quite a toll on my knees. So I am mixing back in more of the weights and beating on the heavy bag and my sledge hammer and tire again. I am sure there is a letter from the Home Owners Assn in my future for the tire routine in the back yard!

So sorry this was not the most compelling blog but now I have to go help Claire with her homework then get in some type of workout.

Until Next Time!

Be Thankful for What you Have

In the words of my 9 year old daughter.."Hi Peeps!"

Well...I have completed my month of "Must Do" moments. I attended a NASCAR Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. I went to the OSU/USC football game at Ohio Stadium, and I went to the Metallica Concert. Looking back...maybe my wife was right....this could be a mid-life crisis. Come on I sold my Corvette...that should count for something.

The good news, is that I lived through all of it....and managed only to put back on 1 pound. And I highly recommend all 3 events. Although if my daughters think they are joining a sorority at Ohio State...they are crazy. They will be the only 2 who commute from Cincinnati and I am driving. I am all for having a good time and all....but when you can make me blush....nuff said.

So I am back on the diet train. And while it is wobbling....it is still going down the tracks. A couple egg whites for breakfast, turkey sandwich for lunch, a protein shake and some old plain grilled hamburger patties that I had left over from Sunday which quite frankly sucked. Plus I got in a quick 2 mile run in the dark and don't forget Wii Basketball. I swear, you can count that as a workout. Tennis tomorrow....and a meal plan that will look remarkably similar. Except for the burgers.

Things are going well. I touched on this before, but if you are overweight, you are doing yourself such a disservice. 70lbs ago, I would not have been able to do any of these. 4 miles of walking at Bristol....cramming myself into US Bank Arena for the concert, and there was a small parking mis-hap in Columbus that forced a surprise 7 mile walk from OSU back to downtown Columbus at 1am. That is material for another blog entirely. But these were all definitely things I would have not even attempted to do and would have truly missed out.

I said at the beginning...my doctor gave me my wake up call and while it took awhile to sink in, I shaped up and started not taking life for granted because you may not be here. I was reading my friend Sam's blog today. He is another Real Loser. He is actually one of the people who got me to think about running after seeing him lose over 70lbs. Check out his blog at http://www.operationjack.com/blog/.

Jack is Sam's 6 year old son who is autistic. In an effort to raise awareness for autism, Sam is attempting to run 60 marathons in 2010. A truly unbelievable task. Anyway...as Sam puts it..he wrote a letter to Jack today on his blog to wish him a happy birthday....even though Jack has no idea that it is his birthday, or what a birthday is for that matter.

That truly inspired me to continue on my weight loss journey. You never know what life is going to deal you. Some things, like with Jack, you have no control over. But this is something you can control and you have to control. I can't cure autism....wish I could, but I can't. What I can do is put down that Big Buford Burger from Rally's and get a workout in. I have learned, there is no excuse for being fat. None....unless you count laziness as an excuse. You have put yourself in this place. You made a choice to eat that double cheeseburger, drink those beers, or have that milkshake. And you are the one that has to fix it. You can ask for help....God knows I have tried everything out there. There is no quick fix.... unfortunately the only way to do it is eat less and workout more. So if you are fat.....fix it. Easy as that.

Happy Birthday Jack!

I Should Read What I Write

Well....here we are again. I have been a slacker. As someone who preaches no excuses...I will be the first one to admit that I have been totally lame the last 2 weeks. Too much beer (even if it is low cal/carb).....Eating junk......not running enough.....not blogging...now I am looking at the OSU Game, Bengals Opener....and Metalica on Tuesday. Not looking good at all.

And you know what...I feel like crap. I have not felt full in 7 months...and right now I am full. Again...not good. Only one thing to do....suck it up and get back on the horse. There are tons of excuses, but I can't let myself accept that. I let myself down. The fact is, I just have not been getting it done when it comes to my diet and exercise and I have fallen back into bad habits so enough is enough. I have more weight to lose and I have to get it done.

So tomorrow is another day....I owe my buddy Scott a 5K run in the morning since I had to bail on him for the Race for the Cure so we are starting the day with an early morning run and starting over. Yes...I am going to Columbus for the OSU / USC game tomorrow....yes, that is going to be a tough one....college football and diets don't mix real well, so what I will have to focus on is how great it felt to actually be able to buy jeans from The Gap. How nice it was to be able to sit in a booth in a restaurant. How I felt to crossing the finish line at the Flying Pig ( even if it was just a 5K) it was a marathon for me!

So thanks to Scott for making me feel like crap for not running tomorrow, but come on....free OSU Tix and a hotel room?? How can I pass that up. I will run / walk / limp a 5K in the morning for you. Plus I just got my new running shoes! And thanks to Cammy for reminding me that "My Public" needed to hear from me!!! And motivating me to get my head on straight again.

As I said before....there is not a quick fix for being fat. I didn't get to over 300lbs overnight and I will not take it all off overnight. It is a journey.....so lets keep journeying.

Until tomorrow.....