ANGRY BIRDS Happy Halloween Minnesota Blizzard of 1991

Pumpkins at Jim's Apple Farm Minnesota's Largest Candy Store

Clean Eating Down Some Pounds

Well I have been keeping at it with my weight loss. I weighed out at 290 today after my workout. That's down almost 30 pounds from last winter. I have been really focusing on eating clean, working out, and keeping my stress as low as possible. I realized that when job stress increased over the past 3 years I responded with eating too much and the wrong things. I talked with a friend this morning again about how I would drink a mocha or two  a day and now that I just drink coffee with skim milk or a little cream. I know we all have stress at work and in day to day life, we just need to find constructive ways to deal with it. One things is for sure if you eat to deal with stress you will gain weight and that will create more stress.

     I have been working on doing mostly cardio with some weights thrown in. I love doing power lifts but I feel like for now it's just hurting my joints and not really helping me lose weight. We have cleaned up our food a lot in the last couple of months. We don't have anything in our house with corn syrup in it. We don't add sugar to things. We don't eat boxed foods or fast foods. I have also cut out all excess fat from my diet and added a pound or two a week of spinach to my diet. 

     I think a big key to a diet and making it work is taking the right vitamins so your body doesn't feel depleted. I take a multi vitamin and glucosamine along with fish oil and a half cup of green juice every day. 

     I am happy with my progress so far and I am going to keep fighting against being fat. I would love to hear your stories or to work out with you some time. Keep up the great work.  And Remember to LOVE THE LIFE YOU LIVE


Peace,


Gabe

Clean Green Eating No Corn Syrup or Processed Food

Dr Death Weddings and Fighting the Fat 1000 Calories at a time

So, It was a big weekend. Friday I worked out and played dodge ball so I figured I could slack a little in the eating. Eric brought over a vegetable take and bake pizza and I had 3 slices. I weighed in Friday afternoon at 291. I was very happy.

     Saturday, We went to the university of St.Thomas homecoming. It was a blast, I did a pretty good job not eating a lot of junk but I still had some chili fries and a vegetable wrap. I had to support the student organizations but I kept away from pop or beer. I don't need the empty calories and I don't usually drink either anyway.


So after St.Thomas went home and I took a nap. Saturday evening we went to a wedding in downtown MPLS. It was a blast. Again I kept away from the bad food, ate vegetables and some chocolate. I kept it to two drinks and then switched to water. It was still hard not to go back for seconds and thirds. The Fat Gabe really wanted to eat more.


Sunday we went to church then to the Patisserie for coffee and some bread. I have gotten into drinking coffee with just milk and instead of something sweet we all split a loaf of fresh bread.

Today I went to the Dr  for my yearly check up. It was great I started out talking about how I was very heavy last winter and I was down almost 30 pounds. He thought it was great and that I should keep at it. My blood pressure was 128/88  he said as I lose more weight it will come down. The funny party was when we talked about my weight.

 He said I need to decided that today is as fat as I am going to ever let myself get in my life. If I get close to what I weigh today I stop eating, run around the block 20 times and drink water for 3 days with no food if that's what it takes. MY Dr is hardcore about not being fat and I agree. I will not ever get fatter than I am today. As I walked out I saw a sign that said obesity in America costs us 15 Billion a year, that's a pretty high figure.

Tonight I worked out for a little more than an hour and burnt 1009 calories. I hope I can lose the weight before it catches up with my joints and I am keeping up the fight.

I will pledge to keep up the fight and I would love you to come along with me. Push away the candy this Halloween. Don't eat an extra helping at thanks giving. Do a run before the holidays and put down those Christmas cookies. Please Join me in the fight against the fat.

Bike Rides and the End of Summer

Well fall is here and almost gone. We have had some really nice weather this month and I have taken advantage of it. I went out biking 3 times in the last week. I found a single track mountain bike trail that I have done with my daughter, uncle, and best friend. I have to admit my daughters pace is much slower than my friends. I really like mountain biking but it seems a lot more dangerous than road biking. 
     I got a body fat reading done Friday and I was higher than I thought. I was above 20 and below 30%, the person calculating my lean weight had to re check it because she had never seen anyone with as high of a lean weight at me. At 0% body fat I would still weigh 212. I weighed in today at the club at 294, I have been slowly losing. One of my friends has lost over 30  pounds in the last year and I want to beat him. I have cut out almost all junk food, stopped eating late at night, and increased my cardio. Next up I need to really amp up my workouts with some HIIT training. I will start that for the winter in about 3 weeks. 
     As many of you know I am having my third child in March or rather my wife is. With our daughter 9 years ago I gained about 75 pounds and lost about 35. With my son 4 years ago I gained 40 pounds and lost 20. With this kid I need to gain 0 pounds and lost 30. Impossible? I don't think so. I will be working with my will power to keep away from candy this Halloween.
     I was talking with my uncle and he was fishing with a retired guy who was 67. My uncle said this guy looks  and seems like he is in his 40's. We chalked it up to him being rail thin and staying active and positive. I believe these are some of the biggest keys to living a long  happy life.
     Today I worked towards the new me, tomorrow I will continue. I hope by next year I will be reporting I am below 290, 280, and 270. Please leave comments or ask me questions it keeps me motivated.


Peace,


Gabe

Down some pounds Single Track Mountain Bike Trail

Above is a picture of me from my buddy Ryan's wedding last summer. That was about 15 pounds lighter than I am now. I don't know why but I put on a lot of weight last fall and winter. I was faced with being let go from my main job and I had a lot of other stress around that time. I didn't eat that poorly but maybe it was simply the stress that made my body pack on the pounds. I am staying positive and I am down from the last month. I am sitting at bout 295.  The heaviest I have ever been in my life was  320 when I was a sophomore in high school. I remember the big change that made me lose weight in high school. It was joining Football, then wrestling, and track. As many of you know I kept up with Track all the way through my undergrad at St.Thomas. 

     As I look back at what shaped me from 320 down to 215 and 4.5% body fat when I first met my wife. I think of my love for sports and working out. I really love to do physical things. My challenge is getting the time. I am starting to think my path to staying in shape may be to change careers and become a fitness trainer or something in that path. I look at all the people around me and it worries me how many people struggle with weight loss. 
     I did my first trail in the world of single track mountain biking today and I loved it. I had always thought you had to go to Colorado to find trails to bike in the woods. I would have never guessed I would find the trails in Champlain Mn. I went for a 10 mile ride with my uncle Jerry today and boy was it hard. Instead of the more steady cadence of road biking this was more low gear high tork fast and slow. I would race down a hill, slam on my brakes before I hit a tree and speed back up in a low gear to get back up a hill. I want to go again soon.
     If anyone wants to join me for a bike ride or a workout I would love to have you. One of the big things that keeps me motivated is working out with other people. I do dodge ball at the uptown YWCA most Fridays starting this week. I also take the Gladiator class there. The joy I get from working out keeps making me think I should pursue it as a career. I worked at GNC for half a year my freshman year at St.Thomas and I don't know if I want to be a shake and pill pusher. I would like to help average people who want to see real results and better their lives.


 That's all for tonight,


 Stay positive and eat healthy.


Peace,


Gabe