Meltdown YWCA week 1 Amping up the Hardness

Week one of the meltdown and it happens to be the start of lent. I am going to give up all candy and sugar or sweeteners added to anything I eat. 

 I realized that in my gladiator class I need to start using the heavy weights instead of the lighter ones if I really want to lose more weight. I signed up for boxing on Thursdays for the next 6 weeks on top of gladiator.

  I think I might do the vo2 max test where you run on a treadmill with a mask on hooked up to a computer. The test is supposed to very accurately show the best zones to lose weight and exercise for your body as well as specific basal metabolic rates.

  

I am going to sign up for the march YWCA indoor triathlon. Which means today I start running 2 mile distance runs 3 times a week and the same for swimming 12 laps

I can't wait for the red ribbon ride this year. My goal weight is 270. I think I can hit it with a little hard work and determination. The weekend of fathers day I am doing the Attaboy ride to fight men's cancer (10-65 miles). The day before it is the Day On The Ride for the Red Ribbon Ride where we do 80 miles. 

 

I have really been watching my diet. I realized that I can eat a whole bag of spinach for 80 calories and a whole bag of broccoli for about 120 calories. I often add in a can of white tuna in water for another 120 calories and 26 grams of protein. When you are on a diet you can pretty much eat as much of these foods as you want. I would add to this mustard and pickles, neither of these have significant calories. It now makes sense to me what my grandmother always said to me. If you eat the good calories first you don't have room for the bad calories. How true.


I hope to post again soon.


Keep up the good work,


-Gabe

Leap Year Day Rain Snow Blizzards Feb 29 2012 Schools Closed

Lent

5 Hour Spin YWCA Meltdown Boxing and Gladiator

I did the 5 hour spin last weekend. To be honest I really only did 3.5 hours of it because I had a captains meeting for the red ribbon ride (  http://www.redribbonride.org/goto/GabeYES ). It was a great time. I weighed in today at 279.5 with a goal of 270 by the ride this year. 

Next week I start the meltdown at the YWCA we weight in with a biospace body fat scale at the first day of 6 weeks, so for me Thursday. Then we weight out after the 6 weeks. I will be doing gladiator and boxing with Tony during the meltdown as I am now.

I really hope I can lose some body fat and put on some muscle during the meltdown. One of the requirements is we keep food logs of what we eat everyday and how much we work out every day. We turn them in once a week and get points for getting it all filled out and at least 7 hours a week of workouts.

The team I have always been on is Bear Mooners Army. It started with me, Eric and Fitz. The first year Fitz had a dog named Bear and our huskys name is Mooner so there you get the name.

I have done the meltdown every year since it started. I usually lose 10 pounds if I try hard. My team has won once, has taken second three times and come in close many more. Every year I have done it I have loved it at the end. Keeping tight track of everything you eat and all the exercise you do is a lot of work but is very beneficial to me losing weight. In the past I have eaten a lot the weeks before the meltdown to bulk up my weight but it never works right. I usually gain weight and don't lose much more than I pack on before the meltdown starts. This year I am not bulking up I am going at my lean 280 ish.

I am excited for the weight in.

My diet has been pretty good. I eat 2 eggs and dry toast with coffee and half a cup of green juice for breakfast. I follow this with lots of vitamins and water. I make sure I get in a grapefruit every day and eat at least one spinach salad.

I did eat pizza after the spin this weekend and I had some cookies this week, but I think you have to splurge some time. Otherwise you can crash and end up changing your whole diet back to a bad one.

My goals for weight loss are to live a longer life for me and my family. To have an easy time moving physically in life. To feel happy. To help others on the road to a healthy lifestyle.

Peace - Gabe

Grandpa Gerald, The Duro-Last Seminar and 279.3

Well it's been a wild ride the last couple of weeks. I spent a lot of time with grandpa. Then a week and a half ago he passed. I was very close to my grandpa. He was the reason I went to Benilde St.Margarets. I credit grandpa with many of my successes in life, while on the phone with my dad he told me to never forget all that grandpa had done for me. I an never forget all the lessons he taught me. 

    Grandpa was a guy who would start up a conversation with anyone. He didn't judge people. He was one of the fist people to work towards racial equality as early as the  50's. Grandpa believed that the spice of life was people. He loved nothing more than to meet someone new and to learn all about them and maybe share a up of coffee.

    So yeah it has been a hard time. I kept myself from grief eating and I did grief working out instead. Last week I did weigh in at 280 which has been my goal for the Duro-Last convention since last year. I got some great workouts in while in Clearwater Beach. On one run I did 8 miles of sand running. The last 2 miles of the run I walked because I was worn out. I was a little bummed and looked down at the sand and seashells as I walked. Two poodles walked up to me and I said hi to them. I looked up and who was the owner? No other than Hulk Hogan , he winked at me and kept walking with his dogs. I had been watching Rocky 3 the week before , how exciting.

    I realized on my trip that I needed to really watch what I ate. The food at hotels and seminars is often really bad and fattening. I ate a salad every day and brought my vitamins and Emergenc. I also made sure I carried my Nalgen bottle with me so I was well hydrated all the time. This is a particularly good idea at conventions when one may be more prone to having a drink or two at night than one would be while at home =]

   Overall I am doing Ok. My weight is doing well. My workouts are going well and I am working on keeping my spirits up. Grandpa keeps me going. I will always remember one of the doctors in the ICU saying that grandpa working out everyday for 17 years was why he was able to keep fighting so long. 

I know one thing is for sure, when I get to that age I want my body to be strong enough so I can keep fighting for my wife and kids.