No More Fat Dad

Man, I don’t know if this is a one time thing or if I’m going to be like this all the time. I am bouncing off the walls with energy today. I always get a good night sleep, 8 hours minimum, so it’s not that I’ve been behind in my sleep. But today I woke up and I just can’t sit still, I’m running around everywhere, my body feels like it’s a dynamo, I’m fidgety when I’m sitting at my desk, my wife asked what the hell got into me. If this is what I should always feel like if I’m healthy, I love it. And I didn’t need any sugar to get this way, amazing!

Here is a good site that helps you visualize what 200 calories looks like in different foods. It’s a pretty good reminder of why we should be eating more fruits and veggies. Thanks to Stanimal’s site for this link.

As I take a look back in my life and then look at my parents and grandparents, I start to realize that I alone am the reason for why I reached 210 pounds. I used to be skinny, probably a bit too skinny. When I joined the Navy, I was around 160 pounds (72.57 kg). I was active in high school, playing baseball and wrestling (just to get in shape for baseball, because I sucked at wrestling) and I was active out in the neighborhood all the time. My high school’s cross country coach (our gym coach) wanted me to join the team after I did a few laps around the track for a Presidential Fitness test. I declined that offer because I couldn’t see the point of getting up early in the morning in the summer to go for a run. Who knows, that may have been a poor decision. Thinking about that now, it may have got me into a running routine that I might have enjoyed and stuck with. Regardless, I used to not have weight issues.

Continue reading ‘Have I been fighting my heredity?’

I just wanted to write a quick post to say that I feel great today. My pants have been feeling looser the past week along with my belt. But today, my pants feel like they’re going to fall off me. And my belt… it’s more for decoration right now because it’s not tight enough to hold my pants up.

Couple that with the fact that I finally figured out how to use the “Interval Training” setting on my gym’s treadmill and it’s been a good day. It sure is easier to just push a button once to change my interval pace between my 3/10 and 8/10 settings. Before I figured out how to do it, I would press the speed increase/decrease button until I reached my desired setting. When I’m completely gassed towards the end of my intervals, holding onto that little button as it goes from ~8mph down to 3.7mph can be difficult.

So, all-in-all, it’s been a good day so far.

Another Bodyweight Challenge is in the books and having completed it in the target time, I feel amazing! Sure, it was hard work, but that’s what makes it even better in the end. Knowing I’m able to finish workouts that looked impossible just a few short weeks before is a huge moral victory.

Continue reading ‘Bodyweight 200′

I meant to write this yesterday, but obviously I didn’t. So instead of a 20 days posting, here is a 21 days post on my thoughts and feelings as I go through this weight loss journey.

I feel fantastic. This has been one of the best decisions of my life and I feel better for making that decision each and every day. My energy levels are up, my belly fat and moobies are shrinking and I feel more physically fit.

Continue reading ‘20 (ok 21) days into Belly Off! 2008′

I just wanted to take a quick moment to vent about the Men’s Health Belly Off! web site. Overall, it’s been a great tool to keep me motivated and connected with others in the program. My beef is with the site itself.

What do I think is wrong with the site? Here are a few issues I have;

• It’s SLOW
• Lack of integration between forums and profiles
• It’s SLOW
• Right now it’s down - I cannot login after a few minutes of trying
• Did I mention, it’s SLOW?

I know, these are minor issues, but I thought I’d just point them out and see if anyone else feels the same way?

Of the three issues, the integration (or lack there of) between the forums and the member’s pages is the biggest annoyance to me. I would think a large media company could figure out how create a social network site that is completely integrated and fast. There are tons of open source (free) software packages that could provide a better integrated experience than the cobbled together package in use now.

OK, I’m done. Anyone else have any issues with the site or is it just me?

The themes for this past week (week 3) have been perseverance and temptation. This was a rough week for me because I had many reasons for why I could have failed, but I didn’t let them get to me and I saw my way through to the end.

Continue reading ‘Weekly review - Week 3′

Today was a great family day. We had basketball games and then we went and hit the rec center pools for an hour or so. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I grew up in Miami, FL and right off the shores of Lake Erie, so I used to be a strong swimmer. Not any more!

Continue reading ‘LOOOOONG way off…’

OK, it doesn’t actually ruin my life, but reality does create some challenges. I’m still trying to recover from my trip this past Monday and I’m finding out that I get upset/annoyed if I don’t get a scheduled workout in. That’s a huge change from past attempts, because I’d look for reasons not to work out and I wouldn’t care if I missed one. Now, if I don’t get to do the workout I planned, I’m feel very edgy and incomplete.

Continue reading ‘Reality continues to ruin my life’

Hey everyone, sorry this is up a bit late. The Monday travel threw my schedule off a bit. Luckily, it didn’t effect my meals or workout, which took a little planning. But in the end, planning is what has helped me be successful so far. So without further ado, here is a review from my previous week.

Continue reading ‘Weekly review - Week 2 - a bit late’

Well, I’m back from my quick day trip to DC. The Google presentation went well and there were no major delays at the airport and I got to watch an hour or so of DodgeBall, which I had not seen yet (pretty funny so far).

As I was walking back to my car in the evening, taking the 2 flights of steps up to the overpass, I realized that traveling was a pretty decent workout. I had to walk a good distance to & from my gates, I had quite a few stairs to climb and I was on my feet most of the day. A lot better than being stuck behind a desk for 8 hours.

Continue reading ‘I should travel more often’

A huge thanks to Slosh for designing the new NMFD banner. It wasn’t what I originally had in mind, but when he sent me what he came up with it seemed perfect. So THANKS to Slosh, I really appreciate the time & effort!

Here we are, the end of week 2. That means most of us completed the Bodyweight 100×2 workout yesterday. How’d everyone do? Me? I completed it, not in the 13 minutes that we’re supposed to get it done in, I went just over 15. While I didn’t hit the time I wanted, I was very happy with my split time. I whipped through the first 100 reps in a little over 6 minutes. That’s compared to last week when it took me over 13 minutes to do the Bodyweight 100.

Continue reading ‘Bodyweight 100×2′

Here’s another Hipster guide for you. This time, I’ve taken the ethnic food guide I linked to earlier and put it on 3×5 cards so you can carry the guide with you wherever you go. You could always print on the front and back of some cards, so it would only be 3 cards total (or 5 cards total if you just print on one side each)

NMFD Hipster Ethnic Food Guide