Vacation and Eating Junk BBQ and Hikes M1R Hemo Rage No EXPLODE

Well I got my workout in today. I was surprised that I weighed in at 295, that's a pound down from last week. We went up to Ely last weekend and I didn't get much exercise and it felt like I ate a lot of junk food. I did go on the water bike with the kids twice and we did a one mile hike one day but not much for cardio. We stopped at Gordy's High Hat on the way up and we split a family size fry basked and some deep fried mushrooms. It was enough to give me and my daughter a stomach ache from the grease.
 After that stop we decided to cut down on the junk food but we still stopped twice at Dairy Queen and once at Silver Rapids lodge for some fried fish. I ended up throwing out some of the junk food we had over the weekend and I did eat a really big salad for lunch and dinner every night.

    I came to the realization that I cant take a Vacation from my diet when we are on Vacation. I also need to really think about exercising when we are at places where it may be a little more work to get in a work out. We have less than 2 months to the Red Ribbon Ride and I am on my way to getting in the shape I have to be in for the ride. Today I did a half hour on the ARC trainer, 5 min on the rower, 3 sets of 2 min on the heavy bad and some cable cross overs and some curls. 
    I have used lots of pre workout supplements today I used M1R that I got on a suggestion of my friend Cody. I have to admit I like it and it amps you up a a lot.  Before the M1R I was using Hemo Rage Black and I did like it but it has a taste of battery acid. Before that I had been using No Explode which I liked initially but your body soon gets used to it. When I was younger I used Ephedrine based products that  really do seem to work the best but they are illegal in most of the US now.  My eventual plan is to get off pre workout uppers all together. IF you use something let me know what works for you and if you don't why not?


Peace,
Gabe

Happy Memorial Day Weekend 2011 Drive Safe Remember Loved ones

296 and a lots more to lose no diet pills for me Ephadrine Hydroxycut Healthytrim

Well here we are it's  Monday, my weight is going down. Yesterday afternoon I went to the YWCA with my kids and wife and I tipped the scale at 296 pounds. This is great for me since I have not been below 300 since some time last fall.  I have also been doing it with no diet pills or supplements. I have lots 20 pounds fast before but never kept it off since I was a freshman at St.Thomas and weighed in at a lean 215. Back then I used a lot of diet supplements and seldom ate solid food. I was on the protein shake and bar only diet for a long time. I hope I can keep it up. For a long time I thought wow I know how to lose weight, I can do it, I really can, I just have to do it. Well this spring I have been doing it. No more diet pills or easy quick pounds off for me, I want this weight loss to last the long haul.

     I was talking to a woman I know at the local Starbucks, last summer I got a mocha from her every day. Well, last night I talked to her about my diet and how I could no longer drink her heavenly sweet drinks. She agreed and we settled on an iced coffee with a little cream and no sweetener, I don't do diet sweet products. So there it is, the more people I tell about what I am trying to accomplish the more people who seem to be helping me on my way.  Here I come skinny me, I will be there some time in the future. 

Warrior Dash HIT training Boxing and ARC trainer Red Ribbon Ride

Well I made it to the gym today. I had a pretty good workout, I did 30 min on the ARC trainer, 10 on the bike, 3 rounds of 2 min boxing with the heavy bag with 20 sec rests. Then I did some high intensity interval training with the 25 pound medicine ball before moving into some cable flys and then some laps in the pool. I figure I burnt about 1000 calories. I am hovering at the same 299 I have been at for a week. Now I need to kick it up a notch and really take some pounds off.

     Friday I did a 32 mile bike ride with some friends, then 300 hits with the 16 pound splitting maul on the tire I keep in my backyard, followed by uphill deep lunges and four legged crawling around my yard. I am trying to keep up with a bunch of the stuff we did in boot camp. I also did a lot of abs while watching an episode of Spartacus last night.
     For eating  I did pretty good today except for 3 small donuts we got at a church fair. Tomorrow I need to get a good workout in after church and make sure I keep the diet clean. I am 54 days until the Red Ribbon Ride and the weekend after that is the Warrior dash at Afton. I hope I can get in good enough shape so the heat doesn't bother me if its in the 90's. This week is going to be super busy and I will try to keep the blog up and let you know how it goes. I hope with the lack of time I can still get my workouts in and not over eat the bad stuff.

Rain Bike ride and Friends

I was listening to MPR yesterday at work and they had a show on fat Americans. It was kinda funny the Dr on the show was talking about America being the fattest nation in the world and Mississippi is the fattest state in the US so Mississippi is the Fattest place in the world. I had a good laugh at this but then it sunk in, it's really sad. Part of the reason people there get so fat and stay fat is because of what it "normal". Most people in Mississippi are fat so when you look around and see everyone looking the same, in this case fat, you don't see a problem. This is the case in lots of places, it is just much more prevalent in Mississippi. Along with fat being normal, the residents refer to a fat child or adult as being "healthy" not healthy as in shape but healthy as in very large and well fed. At what point is it ok to talk about people as we would cattle?
     I hope I am never considered "healthy" in Mississippi. This got me thinking about fat people and my life. When I was in junior high I had a group of good friends 2 of them were my weight. By our sophomore year we were all over 300 pounds.  Well I got really active in sports and decided I couldn't take being over weight anymore. To put it simple, I wanted a girlfriend. As I lost weight I spent less and less time with my heavier friends. Until at some point one of them decided we were not friends anymore and the other one grew distant. I wish my high school had done more for my overweight friends. I struggled with food for a long time, dipping down to almost too skinny at some times. I still wonder what happened in me that made me want to lose weight that didn't kick in with my friends and why the one who I no longer speak to ran away from being friends into the open arms of the next slice of cake.
     I think being fat is like being an alcoholic, once you are fat you are always fat deep inside. A fat person just like an alcoholic has to always watch out so they don't fall off the wagon. If I eat like I sometimes want to I can put on 10 pounds in a weekend very easily. Just like an alcoholic can go on a bender. If I come off a little harsh to Fat people its really me still being upset at myself for not having more will power and doing what I need to do to keep myself in shape.
     I am blessed with a life and a culture that helps me stay in shape now that I am an adult but I still need to watch what I eat. I have realized that a "diet" is not a couple week thing. We need to have a good diet overall that lasts through life. No pill, or amount of exercise, or shake will make you lose weight and keep it off. It's up to us to make healthy decisions all the time and keep it up.

     Yesterday I had a bad eating day, today I have been doing better. I went on a 32 mile bike ride with 3 friends to train for the Minnesota Red Ribbon Ride. It was a great time and I didn't over eat today. I will keep working on it, tonight I need to find my scale to help me keep track of what I have been losing. Wish me well.

Red Ribbon Ride Training Ride 2011

Kettlebells kettle bells mucsle driver russian military p90x gabe skelly

120 Mile drive and rollerblades with Tuna

Well I think I am doing ok on my weight loss today. Angie made some eggs and bacon for breakfast. I had some coffee with skim milk and a banana. Then for lunch I had 2 vegi burgers and a scone. We had some strange stuff happen in the office today so I had a lot of coffee. I had one depth charge from the Bikery Du Nord in Marine then later on my drive home I had another depth charge so I could get home at Dun Brothers in Hugo. My drive on Wednesdays is about 60 miles one way and takes me about an hour and a half each way. It takes a lot out of me just doing the drive.
   I got home really tired but I drank some water and went rollerblading. I only did about 3 miles but it took me half an hour. I plan on doing 30 min on my treadmill in front of something on Netflix as soon as I am done with this post.
 For dinner tonight I had a large salad with two slices of bread and tuna. I get the sprouted grain bread that you get in the frozen section of target. I feel that its about as healthy as you get for bread at target. Next I need to cut out coffee. On the Red Ribbon Ride we get up really early, 3:30AM for me on the first day. I need to get off of needing coffee to wake up early so in about a month I will go off coffee for 6 weeks.
    If anyone wants to know more about the red ribbon ride you can check it out at www.redribbonride.org/goto/gabriel  this is my 5th year doing it.

     Its funny I started into wanting to lose weight for my kids now it's feeling so good to fit into my shirts again that I want to keep it up for me. I don't want to be the guy who at 29 scares his friends into thinking he had a heart attack just because I don't answer my phone. I had this happen recently when I call a friend who missed something we were going to do together and he didn't pick up. It really freaks me out how many guys I know don't exercise and think its fine to eat lots of fatty red meat and smoke and drink everyday. I may be a little hyper sensitive but I think we, as a group of young men, need to realize that we can keep destroying ourselves. Besides  the women out there don't want fat, lazy, heart attack prone boy men =)

YWCA MELTDOWN BASAL METABOLIC 2600 Gladiator and Boot camp

Well I got done with the Meltdown 2 today. After 6 weeks of Boot Camp and Gladiator I am down to 299. Yes that's a lot but my body fat is 25% and my skeletal muscle mass is off the chart. I did Boot Camp once a week and Gladiator once a week. Now I need to keep up my exercise. 


Tonight I burned 850 calories between the ARC trainer and the Bike and I feel great. For Lunch today I had a Chicken Tender Melt at Perkins but I drank water and had no French Fries. So I thought that was pretty good.


   My counselor and I talked today and I have been feeling like one of my Fatter friend is not helping in my weight loss and she said I was right. I need people around me who motivate me to exercise and to lose weight. If you spend your time with fat friends all the time you have a higher chance of becoming fat.

 For now I have decided that I just can not eat meals with my fat friends until I can get my mind situated to eat small lean meals. I am also switching my plates to smaller ones and drinking way more water. There are lots of things I am doing to change my weight bit by bit I am losing weight.


   Its sad that if you have fat friends that you need to ditch them to some degree but maybe that's what it will take for them to want to start losing weight.


 Tonight I am going to eat a lean breakfast for dinner with eggs and bacon and potato's. We got a new non stick pan that should help cut down on the grease. When we make the bacon we make it first and make it crispy then drain away all the fat from it.


I am starting to get happy with the new leaner me now time to hit 290 towards my RRR goal of 280.

Gladiator Class YWCA UFC Ultimate Fighting TRaining

Losing some weight time to Ride

Well I am done with the Meltdown. I think I am down about 12 pounds in the last 12 weeks.  It's not bad but it's also not great.  I am done with classes at my club for a while and now I am on to biking outdoors and some running. I did a 21 mile bike ride yesterday, I discovered it is 11 miles from my house to the  front gates of Bearpath. 
    I think the main thing I need to work on is portion control. I have been pretty good about cutting bad for me foods out of my diet. We eat a lot of organic food. My wife is a vegetarian so we don't eat much meat in our house. We have decided to cut out fast food all together to cut food bills. My hope for this summer is before the Red Ribbon Ride I can lose another 20 pounds. 
     We are going to the Black Hills of SD in June and we do quite a bit of hiking and if I watch what I eat the weight will naturally come off. Just like it did when I backpacked Isle Royal with mom last fall. I planted the garden this week. Well at least the tomato's and the hot peppers so those will be a staple of my diet soon. I have found some motivation to lose weight now I just need to keep it and find more. No more candy in the house, more exercise , and the kids being home for the summer soon should help. Hopefully. It is so much easier to eat less food than it is to try and exercise it off. When I was younger it seemed to work but not anymore. I fight to keep myself from trying some new diet pills that I know will fail eventually. I just want a healthy body that will last me a long time and I am on the road to get it.

Strep and a Train Hit me

Well I have had a rough week. I got strep and missed out  hanging out with my wife and mom on mothers day. Instead I spent the day in bed. It made me think of my own mortality more, I keep seeing these things that make me realize that I need to lose weight and keep it off.
   I was talking with a trainer at my club on Friday, his name is Tim, great guy he teaches one of the classes I do. Anyway he was talking to me about the transition from playing football to being post university sport in shape. He told me about how he had to lose muscle as well as fat but cutting 50 plus pounds from his frame really made his body move well and his joins not hurt. I think I can cut more than 50 pounds . I  don't want a body that makes me look like I work out a lot but a body with which I can work out in the rest of my life. I guess my biggest motivating factor is my kids and wanting to be able to chase them around and be active with them. I don't want to be a guy who slows down to much as I get older I want to age well. I was talking to my 86 year old grandpa last night and he still does 60 min of cardio 5 days a week. He broke it down for me that he does 20 min on the rower, 20 min on the treadmill, and 20 min on the elliptical. I thought, "wow that's about what I do now on a cardio day". I wonder If I will be able to do that when I am 86?
     I know one thing I am working on really changing my diet and adding life long exercise programs that I can do even when I am old'er =)  Grandpa sets a good path for me even if his house is and always has been full of cookie jars overflowing with cookies.

Fat Pants and Skinny jeans

I am soo annoyed. I misplace a pair of khaki pants that I wanted to wear to a networking event tonight. So what did I do, I went to Target to find a cheap quick replacement and nothing fit. Either the pants were too small overall or they wouldn't fit over my thighs. I came home upset and a little depressed that I haven't been able to lose more weight. I slipped on a pair of expensive dress pants and they fit perfectly except for cutting me in half at the waist. 
     I fall into the category of really big and even bigger when I am fat. I keep clothes in various sizes from normal to what I call my fat pants and shirts. The problem is that most of my nicer stuff fits me when I am normal size and I am more on the Fat side right now. Last winter I decided I was going to lose a bunch of weight and I would not have to but new clothes for work this spring. Well guess what, I didn't lose any where as much weight as I wanted and I still don't fit into my slimmer pants. My jeans fit but they always have a way of expanding if you wear them enough. Oh well, time to eat a light lunch and get ready for the networking event then a workout.

Will VS Will

Well this week seems to be my Will to lose weight vs my body's Will to eat food. I am not starving myself but I am going to try and stay under 2500 calories this week.  Now that might sound like a lot to most people but my basal metabolic calorie burn is about 2500 per day and I exercise all the time. Today I swam 10 laps and was trying to work on swimming with my head under the water.
      About 3 years ago I did an indoor tri at the YWCA and in the swim section I was in the fast heat, well I sprinted the first two laps and beat everyone else. During those two laps I didn't take one breath. Well that made me start feeling like I was drowning and gasping for breath. Thats when it started, I finished the Tri with the breast stroke and from then on I have not been swimming with my head under the water. Until today, when I started to work on form and how to breath when I am in the water. Next up to keep swimming, I think I will work on my swimming twice a week for the rest of the summer.
     Now back to my will power. There are a lot of people that think being fat is just because you don't have will power. My father in law is one of these people as are my grand parents. I think most people who think being fat is just a lack of will power are people who have never been fat. I have been thin and I can tell you, its much easier for me to put on weight than someone who has been thin all their life. In the movie Super Size Me the main star talks a little on this point. That after he gained weight it was much harder to lose weight and the weight would go on much faster than it would when he had always been thin. When we are over weight for a period of time our bodies adjust to being over weight and then when we try to diet our brains think we are trying to starve ourselves and go into fat storage mode. I have been playing with losing 10% which is about what our brain will let us lose in a year and not trigger starvation mode in our bodies.  Can I will myself to lose weight by not eating? yes but I will not keep it off once I start eating like normal again.
     As a parent my toughest moments come when all the candy comes into the house for the kids and not eating it. Then again when I should be working out but my kids are home and I don't have enough time to exercise and play with my kids. Well my kids always win and my workouts lose. I hope this summer I can go for a lot of bike rides with my daughter so I can spend time with her and work out at the same time.

Birthday Weekend and Mayday

Well I did ok on my diet this weekend. After 3 birthday parties I would say I avoided half of the bad food that I could have had. I did about an hour on my bike Sat and pretty much took today off.  The one big thing I could have avoided was my after church snack. Today instead of cookies they had donuts and of course the kids wanted them and I had one. Ok maybe it was more I wanted one and the kids didn't mind. We were going to go to the Mayday festival but it was just to darn cold. It felt like it was 20 out and it was lightly snowing on the way to church. Passing on the festival cut out some junk food, I am sure the kids and I would have had some cheese curds and a foot long corn dog.
     Sat we were at a bar and I kept away from junky bar food. I had 2 ciders and bought some  chips and curry dip for my friends and I. My wife ate most of the chips but I did have a couple. Instead of burger king after the bar I did wait until I got home and had a turkey sandwich with one piece of bread. I figure that saved me 500 calories over what I would have had at BK. 


    On the not so good side I also ate some candy, only two days after thinking to myself I was going to give it up at the dentist.  The party we were at on Saturday was a kids birthday party and my kids got big bags of candy. I don't know why I think its ok to keep candy from my kids and not let them eat more than a piece or two then eat a bunch myself. I really just need to get candy out of the house as soon as I can after it comes into the house. The same goes with cookies and cakes to. I know I need to work on will power but I also need to keep temptation out of my life.

     This week I am really going to try and kick my weight loss into shape. I am pledging to not eat any candy and to push away the fat junk food and at the same time amp up my workouts and drink lots more water.