New Baby and keeping the Weight off Battle of the Buldge

It has been one heck of a year already. With the death of my grandfather and the birth of my son. William was born March 7th at 1AM he is a young carbon copy of my size weighing in at 9 Pounds 12 Ounces and 22 Inches. I have survived the first 2 weeks on very little sleep and we shall see how I do from here on.

My diet has been going very well. I have kept away from candy as I gave up sweets for lent. I did partake in a little cake for an event but it was only half a slice. I keep eating spinach every day and try as much as I can to keep my eating clean.

This weekend we went up to Duluth for the weekend to hang out with the Skelly clan. It was a good time. My aunt took us all out for a "survival dinner" this goes back to when grandpa was in the hospital and we were all going to go out after he got out for a "survival brunch", problem was he didn't make it.

Duluth and the Inn on Superior was not the same without grandpa. The way he brought the family together and his jokes, we will all get by with time. I spent some time shopping with grandma, which she loved since no one else would take her. I also bought her some candy, one thing grandpa always did was buy grandma candy.

The weekend was fun, it was a little emotional to be on family vacation without grandpa. Plus we were staying in a hotel with a 10 day old baby and I am getting over a cold. I did not push myself and get up and exercise this weekend. However my weight is still holding steady at 278. I hope to take off 3 more pounds before the end of the meltdown next week.

I have Gladiator tonight and am doing the final indoor triathlon this Sunday at the Midtown YWCA. I hope I get a faster time than my time this fall. I have talked Angie into running the Fisherman's Picnic trail run with me in Grand Marais this summer. It's 5 miles in the woods and a really fun run. I hope to be below 270 for the run.

As for now I am enjoying being a dad, working a lot, and making sure my diet stays clean. I hope to post early next week to let you know how the tri goes.

Peace,

Gabe

Thank you - 30th Birthday March 2012

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.

A Tribute to my Grandpa Gerald Skelly SR

5 Hour Spin Class time to Kick the Weight Loss into High Gear

Well here we are, over 2 weeks into 2012. I though I might have already been below 280 but I have been close. I was down to 283.5 the other day. I was sure I would be below 280 after the 5 Hour spin I did last weekend. I weighed myself after the workout and I weighed more than I did before I started. I think It was because I did it the right way. I drank a lot of water and electrolytes and I consumed about 1500 calories while burning over 3500. I could have lost water weight and maybe taken my calories down but I would have hurt the next day.  Overall it was good.

    I am signed up to do the Minnesota Red Ribbon Ride again this year and this was my start to training. The RRR is a 300 mile ride across MN in July to fight AIDS HIV. I am also going to do the Men's Cancer ride this year on Fathers day in tribute to my grand father Gerald Skelly. Grandpa Jerry is a big reason I have come as far in life as I have. He taught me to always value education and community service above all else. He also inspired me to work out and lose weight. Grandpa is still fighting to stay around after a battle with bladder cancer and a month long hospital / nursing home stay. He is currently at home for Hospice.

     I know guys get cancer but other than skin cancer I never thought about it. I have been doing some reading and my weight loss is the best thing I can do to lower my risk of cancer. The Mayo Clinic has a newsletter that talks about the causes of cancer. I have read it a couple of times. High weight paired with poor diet and sedentary lifestyle continually rank as the highest factors. I know what I have to do and I am going to do it.


My diet is still heavy on spinach, grapefruit, and green juice.  Breakfast for me is 2 cups of coffee, a banana, 2 organic eggs, 2 slices of dry Ezekiel bread, a half cup of green  juice and vitamins. I take the whole foods Iron free Multi vitamin, glucosamine, calcium, and salmon oil. I also take an Emergenc every couple of days.


Recently I have added almonds and soy nuts to my diet. I try to eat small meals of 100-200 calories throughout the day. I also drink a little over a gallon of water a day.


I think I am going to start P90X soon and may sign up for Crossfit this summer in SLP. We will see, I usually bike 2,000+ miles over the summer and I need time for everything.

That's it for me. I hope your 2012 is going great and I hope your fitness goals are getting met day by day.


Peace,


Gabe

Grief A New Year and Weight Loss

Well, here we are in the new year. I have been up and down already. Yesterday I hit the scale at 283.8 and today at 283.4 it seems like the weight loss is working. The last month has been a roller coaster  of emotions. My Grandfather had a surgery and spiraled downhill over the holidays. He seems to be getting better now, but we had a moment when we thought we would lose him. 
     It was after I was standing in the hospital room with My friend, mother, grandmother, and the priest all gathered around grandpa. We did the Catholic last right, It was very hard to get through. The next morning I woke up and realized that grandpa may not live next week, or tomorrow but we have him today. When you get into the mindset of living day by day and being thankful for each new sunrise it changes the way you  view things. We take to much for granted. As I spend more time in the ICU and around the Doctors and nurses who are on the front lines of life and death I see something. A nurse talked to me about how most people don't realize that it is a gift to breath on their own, it is a gift to walk, to see, to talk, to be able to eat and digest food. I am really learning to think more deeply about what I do with the time I have.

     Through this all I have been keeping up with my workouts. I ran a mile the other day around the track, I didn't want to but I did. I was thinking about something one doctor said. He said that because grandpa had been in cardiac rehab for 17 years before this hospital visit he may have a chance. Grandpa knew that the human body needs to be worked to be healthy. I need to continue to workout even when things are hard and I don't want to. Some day it might be me in the ICU and I want the same chance grandpa has to win.
     I have done a small amount of grief eating. Trying to control myself. Honestly it goes from me feeling like I can't eat anything to wanting all the bad things. I grew up like my grandmother seeing food as a comfort, now I need to change the way I see food. 
    Simply put we are what we eat. If you eat bad for you fat food your brain will function less and your body will clog and eventually have problems. This year I continue to pledge to myself and to you that I will eat clean good food. 
    After the last month I see life in a new light. It's something we need to cherish and protect. We need to not waste time because Time is something we can never get back. If a friend calls you and wants to go out for coffee Go. If a relative invites you over for dinner try your best to make it. If you kids want you to read to them, do it. We never get the time that is passed back. 

     I know one thing for sure, I will not look back on my life and have a long list of things I wish I would have done. I will have a long list of things I tried. I may not love everything and I will not succeed at everything but we must take the road less traveled and open ourselves to life and all of its possibilities.


- Peace,


Gabe

Happy New Year in 2011 I lived Life Out Loud and lost 30 pounds

Well here we are the new year has come!!! What happened in 2011 Well I started off the year at somewhere around 320 and I knew I needed to make a life change. It was a struggle, weight loss and keeping it off is like getting married. You take a vow to yourself, through sickness and in health to death do us part.

I had some injuries along the way but I close out the year down a solid 30 pounds from last year. I had some really tought struggles around the holidays and when I hurt my head. My knee also went out for a couple of weeks and I have tennis elbow but I wouldn't give back the experiences for anything.


I rode the Red Ribbon Ride, Played lots of dodge ball, Came in 7th in a Triathlon and set a new personal best in the swim.


I am going to start the new year off by pledging to lose 20 pounds in 2012 and keep it off. I am starting the year off by signing up for not only Gladiator but also Boxing and I am keeping up on Dodge Ball Every Friday. I may even sneak in a 5 Hour spin or two in training for the Red Ribbon Ride.


What strikes out in my mind are a couple of phrases I keep hearing to remember for 2012.


Live Life Out Loud.


Love the Life you Live and Live a Life you Love.


Always give your best whatever it may be and you will feel good about your effort.


Have faith and Hope that things are constantly getting better. 


Life is not short if we live it with all we have.

I hope you have a great new years. My offer to you is this. Come train with me, bike with me, start clean eating with me. I can tell you this, if you really commit yourself to weight loss you will lose weight. It is a lot of hard work and can seem like it's not fun some of the time.


 Instead of the saying my grandma always says to me "a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" just remember no food will ever taste better than feeling thin and healthy feels.

I am thankful for my health, I am thankful for a body that allows me to walk and exercise, I am thankful for my sight and hearing, my family and friends, I am thankful I

Well here we are the week before Christmas .  Yesterday I weighed in at 284.9  that's lower than I have been in over a year. I was looking through some pictures of when I started my new job. There is a picture of me at the sales convention holding an award we got and I look fat. I had a pretty good size double chin which is much smaller now. My new hope is that I have no fat on my chin by next year. 

I did some shopping this week because of all the holiday sales. I went to gap and tried on a new pair of jeans. Believe it or not I'm down a pants size. This makes me very happy. All the cardio and spinach are paying off!!!

 Over the holidays I still need to watch what I eat. Christmas eve I am going to do an hour on the treadmill in the morning and make sure I eat a healthy breakfast and drink lots of water. Lets pledge together that we are not going to over eat on Christmas or new years. 

Some tips I can offer for holiday eating . 

1.Don't drink eggnog or other fatty drinks, pay attention to how much you drink and make sure you drink water instead of pop. Limit beer and any drink made with pop or 

red bull. 

2. Eat nuts and vegetables or even cheese over cookies and sweet treats. Stay away from fatty dips and chips. 

 

3. When eating dinner pay attention to how much you eat and stay away from fatty foods. Eat salad and vegetables over meat and hot dish.

 

4.For desert have one or two but not 10 over the course of a party.

I have one month until the national sales seminar again. I know I am going to be leaner than last year. I am around 285 now I  am going to shoot for 280 by the seminar. I really need to keep up the cardio and not let myself lax on my no bad food diet but I am sure I can do it.

I think this holiday season it's important for us to give thanks and be great full for what we have. I am still heavier than I want to be but I lost a lot of weight this year. 

I am thankful for my health, I am thankful for a body that allows me to walk and exercise, I  am thankful for my sight and hearing, my family and friends, I am thankful I live a life I love. 

Here come the Holidays Duck and maybe you'll miss getting hit by Fat

Above is one of the many reasons I am heaver than I would like to be. When we had my son I put on 70 pounds that I have fought with ever since. I also put on 90 when we had my daughter. I am no longer the 6 foot 4   215 pound 4.5% body fat person I was before I had kids. I am doing well in my book, we are expecting our 3rd and I am at 288.5 today. That's down from almost 320 last Christmas. Around this year I start thinking about seeing all of my sales friends at our annual National sales convention in Florida. Last year no matter how hard I dieted or worked out or starved or took diet pills I could not get below 300.

     This year I find myself below that and looking back at the struggle. I have the hard core family dinners to come but I think I can fend them off. I need to duck and cover sometimes when a family member throws cookies my way, some people just don't care if you are on a diet they want you to try their food. 

     Some of my fat friends are the worst. We share stories about how we are trying to lose weight but then push bad food on each other during the holidays.  I don't know if it comes from deep insecurity or us having  a hate for fat people that pushes us to do it. I know when I was thin I was annoyed by fat people and now that I am not thin I find myself upset at how much I put into how we look.

     Everyone has something going on that you don't see. If we know people are trying to lose weight, we need to encourage them. Sabotage is never a good way to deal with family or friends that are over weight even if it might make us feel better seeing someone else eating that food we would secretly love to eat.

     I am back into my workouts and trying to get below 285 by Christmas. I know I can do it and I know you can keep away from foods that are bad or you this holiday. And if you want a fun workout join me at the Uptown Minneapolis YWCA Friday 6:45-8 for adult dodge ball,  you'll be glad you did.


 - Gabe

Happy Monday 12 Days Of Christmas Fire side Caribou Coffee and Cookies

Cracked My Head On Thanksgiving Up a few Pounds time to work out

Well It's been a wild ride since my last post. I was down a lot before thanksgiving. I was feeling really good, I ate dinner on Thanksgiving and didn't over eat. It might have been partially because I grabbed the metal top of a pan that had just come out of the oven and burnt my hand right as I was dishing up my meal. I sat for just long enough for my food to get nice and cold =)

Next I was still feeling good and I went outside to play food ball with my cousins and my kids. Well Somehow I got onto the street to catch a ball.  I ended up falling backwards with all my weight landing on my head first.  I remember putting my hands under my head because it hurt really bad. I remember thinking I shouldn't get up, then pulling my hands out from under me and they were covered in blood. Well soon after I went to the ER where I got a Tetanus shot, 5 X-rays of my jaw and 3 staples in the back of my head.  I couldn't eat any desert because it hurt to much to move my jaw.

The last week I have not been working out because I have had bouts of being really dizzy and tired. I got the staples out and clearance  to exercise Friday. Saturday I did the 2 hour Spin for World AIDS day at the Midtown YWCA. I did put on a few pounds not exercising and eating because I was feeling upset and not my regular self. Now its time to burn it all off and then some. Tomorrow I get back on my clean eating and working out at the Y. 

I hope you all had a Great  Thanksgiving and if you added a pound or two don't despair we can take them off.. 

 - Peace , Gabe

Bentleyville Tour of Lights 3 million lights Duluth MN

285.8 and Fighting the Thanksgiving Eating Binge time to Run

Greetings everyone,
 I have been doing the NanoWRIMO this year. It keeps my writing time down. I want to let you all know I have not been easing off my workouts. I weighed in last week at 285.6 at my lowest. That is lower than I have been in over a year and a half. I am fitting into shirts that I have not worn in a long time. Man it feels nice, I am also 5 holes into my belt that I have been at 1 hole into for  a long time.

I don't think it's just the way I eat but it plays a big part of it. I do think Spinach is a super food it seems to really help me feel good and regulate my hunger and weight. I also find that I eat less on the days I have a grapefruit and when I have eggs for breakfast. I have read journals that say all of these things can make you want to eat less. I don't know if they will work for everyone  but they are helping me. Of course the main thing is will power. I have always been a good self motivator. Do I want to walk for an hour on the treadmill after work when I am tired and sore? No way, but I know it will make me feel good and it is good for me in the long run. 

 One thing that is for sure, exercise will help you feel good. It fights depression and lots of other things that happen in the winter. I also get a big boost out of group fitness classes and dodge ball in the winter. I say keep as busy as you can but make sure you get time to sleep and workout. 

This week for Thanksgiving I am going to try to find a 5K I can do. If I can't find one and someone to do it with I will do a 5K+ at my house on the treadmill before we go to the grandparents for dinner. This year I have a lot to be thankful for, my weight loss it a big one. I also am very thankful for my immediate and extended family, that I have a  warm house, food to eat, good health, and a people to share them with. I hope you have a super Thanksgiving and be thankful because Life is great and it is only limited by what we can dream.


Thanks for Reading,


Gabe

Gtmd11 Minnesota Give to the Max Day 2011 @givemn

Triathlon and Gladiator Losing some weight Chobani Greek yogurt

So what have I been up to this last week or so. Well I am down to 287.9 based on my new scale at home. I got a new Weight Watchers one that weighs up to 400 pounds, it's glass and has a digital readout. I have been eating one solid meal of spinach a day. For dinner I have been doing a cup of Chobani Greek yogurt with a half cup of Kashi Go lean crunch. I have been trying to stay away from carbs except for some Ezekiel bread that I buy frozen and have with my standard breakfast of 2 organic eggs over easy. I also drink about a pot of coffee with skim milk, a gallon of water, and a cup of green juice a day. I am still trying to keep the eating clean. I didn't eat much candy on Halloween. I won't say I didn't eat any but not much. 

     My next goal is to keep my weight loss up over the holidays. One thing I know for sure is no Brie cheese wheels this year. Traditionally I bring a big 2.2 pound wheel to holiday gatherings over the winter season. They are a great deal at Lunds but for me they are not a great deal on the waist line. I can almost fit into my non fat person pants and my shirts are all starting to fit me well. I can't wait to fit into all of my clothes again.

 I did a Tri at the midtown YWCA and did better than I did spring of 2009. I was very happy with that. I came in 7th out of 27 people doing the full tri. My run was just over 10 min miles and I swam a 600 in 12min. I shaved about 25 min off of what I thought I was going to do it in. I felt great and can't wait to do it again.

I signed up for Gladiator at uptown starting today. Man was it hard. I need to get back into more weight training than I have been doing. It's going to be hard to keep up the same level of cardio and do weight training but I have to do it. 

Well I am going to keep at the weight loss and update you as I do. 


Always remember you are only limited by what you can Dream.


Peace,


Gabe

YWCA Fall Triathalon 2011 Gabe takes 7th

Friday

Nanowrimo 2011 Day 2 Happy Wednesday