2 Years 4 Kids 50 Pounds ago Parents In Shape for Life

Today starts week 3 of the YWCA meltdown 2013. I have many things going on that could help me pack on weight but I am going to do all I can to stay healthy.  I recently started a new job as a personal banker and I found out that we are having our fourth child.  Little did I know when I started this blog with 2 kids that the number would double in 2 years. We broke our traditional mold of waiting 5 years between children. Not that we were ever expecting to have a fourth. Really the only one of our kids that we planned to have was our second.  We will see how the weight changes with number four. I will have to watch what I eat because I know there will be a couple of months where long periods of exercise won't be an option.

I want to thank all of you for following along with me. This blogging journey started when I was over 320 pounds and I knew I needed to do something to last as long as I could for my kids. Over the years it has changed into me talking and sharing tips on how to keep weight off, eat healthy and generally stay in shape as a parent.

I hope the next two years will be as successful as the last two.  When I look at all the changes I made to my life and diet I think sugar has been one of the most important.

I started by quitting pre-workout supplements, moved on to eliminate high fructose corn syrup from our diet and finally  to keep sugar out of my diet and out of my home. I find that I not only crave things less but that I have much more energy that is more even through the day. I don't watch my carbs or take in as much protein as I once did. But I find that I can more easy keep my weight even and drop unwanted pounds when I really put my mind to it. I think quitting sugar is going to be the main war that the world is going to have to fight against in the battle of health. 



I am still doing Gladiator every week, playing dodgeball on Fridays and swimming when I can. I have been adding in more weight exercise and adding some pounds on my bench. I think when summer hits I am going to try adding P90X to my bike workouts and I am going to train harder for the 5 mile trail run in Grand Marais so I can do it faster. What are your goals for this year as far as exercise and weight loss? I like to set specific goals so I know what I have to look forward to. Please ask if there are any questions I can help with. 

Thanks for being party of the journey, keep up the good work!

-Gabe

Up a Few Pounds BBq Season Kettlebells Squats and P90X

Well I haven't been posting for a while. A friend who reads my blog asked me about it last night. I have been spending more time in the gym and less on the computer. I did over 10 hours at the YWCA last week. I have been getting into the stair climber and treadmill. I also got back into Bench press and squats, I even did some dead lifts today.
     The type of stair climber I use is the one with real stairs that rotate as they go down and come back up to the top to form the platform. I think it's the most realistic type of stair climber, I have been doing a 35-40 step per min warm up for 5 min them 55-65 per min workout for another 10 min. I then switch to 3-4 exercises of free weights, the bench, clean, dead lift, squat, or bicep curls. Then back to the Arc trainer for another 20 min or so. Then I hit the rowing machine for either 10 minutes or 1500m what ever my back and biceps feel up to.
     I have also been throwing in some running. Today I ran for 30 min. I got some New Balance shoes 1200 series, they are really nice. I love Adidas for most running and weight work but could not find any in my size, I wear a 15 men's. Nike is a close second for workouts. I like New balance for walking shoes but they always rub on my big toe which kinda bothers me about them. This happens with every pair I have. One thing I never skimp on is running shoes. If you are a person who works out you need good shoes all the time. They save your feet, knees and back from pain and impact. When I was on the Track team at St.Thomas I would get a new pair of shoes every 3 months or so.  Never underestimate the impact of good shoes on training.

     I have put on a couple of pounds so I need to hit the cardio more. I love being on my bike but the heat and the need to drop more calories has me in the club more. Gladiator and dodge ball start in a week and I can't wait. next week is member appreciation week at the Y and I am doing the challenge a personal trainer competition on Wednesday evening. I won this last time =)
     I love summer for all the biking I do but I also love winter for all the the activities I do at the club. I can't wait to get back into Kettlebell I love the feeling, reminds me of my cheerleading days at St.Thomas and Benilde. Nothing better for working out the whole body.  Have you ever seen an out of shape cheerleader?
     As a man if we dropped a woman we had to do 100 pushups and a 2 mile run, every time we made a mistake. Plus we ran for 2 miles before practice and did a lot of weight training.
   I am off to eat my lunch, about 700 calories and 90 grams of protein. 3 cups Spinach, fresh tomato from the garden and fresh cucumber, boiled eggs and fat free turkey, YAY.