YWCA Fall Triathalon 2011 Gabe takes 7th

Friday

Nanowrimo 2011 Day 2 Happy Wednesday

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

Sick and losing weight HIIT Running

Well it's been a long week and weekend. Last week I was sick all week, I made it through the week thanks to Mucinex 1200D.  Monday I went to the YWCA and did 1200 calories on the stair climber to start my week off. Then the cold really hit me. By Wednesday I felt like I could not move. I made it to work for a 10 hour day and made it to the challenge the trainer event at the club. Well me and my partner came in last but it was a great work out.  We did 100 plyo jumps, 100 bike crunch, 50 burpees, 200 mountain climbers, 100 glute decks, and 50 curls with each arm. That was just the beginning.
     I made it home after and pretty much fell asleep until Thursday. I got up, went to work, skipped the gym because I had to watch my kids and went to bed early. Friday I worked and went for a 20 mile bike ride with my buddy Mike. Then I went to the gym for dodge ball, it rocked.
     Friday night my wife had to work an overnight and I didn't sleep well. 

I woke up and we went to the apple orchard with a friend and his kids. After the orchard we came home and all took naps.  We cleaned the house and played in the yard. For dinner we went to the never ending past bowl at the Olive Garden. It was packed because Cavalia is right next door. I didn't eat much because I began not feeling well. Right after dinner I got sick and I was very sick until 2am. 

     Well Sunday we got up, I made it to the Down Syndrome walk. It is a really nice walk that raises a lot of money and awareness. It was a fun day but I had to nap again and went to bed early.
     Today I got up, did some work, worked out and weighed myself. I was down to 295.  YAY, Now maybe I just need to get sick more often =)
     I think what it proved to me is maybe I don't need all the protein I take and maybe I will lose more weight without it.

Bike

Death by Fat time to Change

Hello Friends.
It's been a week since I posted last. I have gone up and down with my weight. I am hovering about 298. I still feel that I need to get down to below 280. I did however go get a  blood sugar test at the state fair and it said I was not diabetic. I also got my blood pressure take yesterday since I went to the doctor for a cold. It was 120/80, I am not  worried about how I am doing right now. I just want to make sure I have a long life and don't miss out on years in the future because I was too heavy. I have seen what being  overweight does to people when they get old. We lost my grandpa Bob when I was little because of many things but they were complicated by weight, recently we lost my friend Roy who was also a large guy.  I want to make changes now before it is to late for me.
     I think sports teams do a real disservice to big guys, sure we can hit harder in football and throw farther in shot put if we are bigger and have more muscle. But to put on that muscle you learn to eat way to much. I remember years of eating plates piled with chicken breast and chugging protein shakes until I could not hold any more liquid.
     When we get older, have kids, and our metabolisms slow down we need to change everything about our bodies to stay in shape. It means eating less, eating differently, and maybe dropping some pounds of muscle in order to take down overall body weight.
     I want to be able to walk with my own knees, hips, and ankles when I am 50 not with replacement ones because I was to active and to heavy.

    This fall I am pledging to myself to stop the insanity and do something different. I don't know what that is yet but it will happen. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. When it comes to weight loss , we often fall into cyclical behavior, we diet and exercise and lose weight. Only to re gain it months or even weeks later because we fall off our diet just for a little while.
    I am fed up, I am changing. 
Last fall we cut out corn syrup from our diet, we cut out most meat, we switched to organics, now we are cutting out anything boxed.
    I hope I can make changes big enough to save my life and maybe help others do the same through sharing what I am doing.
    Today I am home sick and didn't really work out, otherwise I am doing 1000 calories a day at the club and some weights. I  know in the new year you will see a leaner, happier me.


Peace,


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.

   

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Pho 79 Caravelle Eat Street Minneapolis Minnesota

Wild Fires Rage in Texas Pray for Rain, Calm in Minnesota Fall

Texas Wild Fires 52 of 54 Counties on fire BWCA Minnesota Fire Pray for ...

Vacation Labor Day Weekend 2011 Java Moose Grand Marais Minnesota

Minnesota Red Ribbon Ride 2011 Victory Party - Ride Wrapup

Apple CEO Steve Jobs Resigns Green Roof Booth at Minnesota State Fair

Bike Rides and Running gotta cut some fat

Well I have been getting back into the swing of things. I did a 26 mile bike ride yesterday and I am doing another 35 mile one Sat. I have been running as much as I can and I am going to make sure I get an hour of cardio in per day.

     I was reflecting on how I kept lean years ago. I think the biggest thing was I worked out all the time. I had friends who worked out with me and I had more free time to do what I wanted. Now with another kid on the way I really need to make working out a habit that I don't let myself get out of. It wouldn't hurt to have some friends who wanted to meet with me and work out.

     In the fall I will start doing gladiator again with Tony at the Uptown YWCA and dodge ball starts again as soon as the snow hits. I just need something to help keep me wanting to work out the other 5 days of the week. Maybe in the future I will be able to afford a personal trainer or to take small group fitness classes every day.

     I keep working on my diet and cutting where I can. I made the switch yesterday away from sugar or corn syrup based sports drinks and onto NUUN. It help that I have about 40 samples of it at home right now that I keep being given from people. In the past I have been a big fan of caffeine based energy drinks but I feel like as I get older I need to get away from them and try to work up more natural energy.

That's all for today, more later stay skinny at the fair.

-Gabe

Getting Back at it

Well it's  been some time since I did a Text post. I have taken some time off my training too. After the Red Ribbon Ride, The Warrior Dash, and the Breast Cancer Ride I felt like I needed some time to work on other things. I did a bunch of work on the house, a lot of work for work, and now it's time to do more work on myself.

I did gain back a little from what I lost, I was up to almost 315 last winter then down to 289 and now I am back to about 298. I need to kick it up a notch in the cardio and the diet. I have been working on cutting how much I eat and changing what I eat. We have tried to cut fast food out of what we eat all together. We cut corn syrup out of our diet, except where it comes to powerade when I do long rides. I am going to try and switch to Nuun for next year. Then I will be totally out of the corn filler world. We need to cut down our sugar intake more but we still eat a lot less sugar than most people. My biggest vice is eating something starchy and sweet when I have a good hot cup of coffee. I love my coffee but I need to not be tempted to eat something sweet with it.

I have started eating Greek yogurt and a lot of spinach. Angie keeps saying if I eat to much spinach it will give me stones. I don't know about that. The rest of the summer I am going to try to get a good bike ride in a week and keep getting to the club. I seem to see a lot more people doing tire workouts, I wonder why it is catching on so much now. It's nothing new that pushing, dragging, and flipping heavy things will help you gain muscle and explosive power.


Oh well, Ill try and keep you updated more.


Peace,


Gabe

Maureen Skelly at A Tribute to Roy McBride Heart of the Beat Theater MN 2

#Abcbash11 Alphabet Bash 2011 Google+ FaceBook

Google+ Tutorial Check out Circles, Sparks, and Hangouts drop and drag

Minnesota Breast Cancer Ride 2011 Pit 4 Lunch Open Arms Susan G Komen

Breast cancer ride 2011 Bike Parking Sweet bikes Minnesota

Filtering Drinking water MSR mini works and Iodine Potable Aqua Superior...

Hike First Day Superior Hiking Trail Northern Minnesota

Warrior Dash Minnesota 2011 Video 1

MOO

Gabe at the top of Lovers Leap Black Hills SD 2011

Hot 100 to 120 Heat index Duro-Last Roofs and Solar Warrior Dash MN

Red Ribbon Ride and Heat

Well I just got done with the 2011 Red Ribbon Ride. It was hot and cold. The first day started off cool and was pretty easy, we biked from the Mall of America to Lake City. Day two we woke up in Lake City to a cool morning. Not long after 11am the storm came in and boy did it storm. Thunder, lots of lightening and down pouring rain in buckets. We were held up in a 150 year old church for 2 hours or more and sang old songs. It was a blast although we had to be done with the bike route for the day. It was the first time the ride has closed for a day. Then came day 3 and the heat, it was a pretty normal day except it was over 100 with the heat index. Day 4 the final day it was very hot, I rode half the route then there was an injury and I took over sweeping until the end. 

 I love the Red Ribbon Ride and it's a big part of why I want to lose weight. This weekend I have the warrior Dash Sunday. I hope I can do it and not hurt myself. The weight loss has slowed but I have to keep working on it. All the summer bbq's bring temptation but I need to hold firm in will power to not eat bad things.
I still hope I can drop another 10 pounds this summer before the kids start school in the fall.

34 MPH down the hills End of Red Ribbon Ride 2011 Fight AIDS RIDE ON

Red

Red Ribbon Ride TRaining Ride July 9th 2011

4th Happy Holiday Everyone BLack Cat Fireworks and Boats Big Island Lake...

Mountain Climb Harney Peak Fire Station Black Hils SD 7000 FT

July 1st State of Minnesota Shuts Down Heat wave Metroiba and more

Buffalo walking the car Custer State Park SD

Black hills South Dakota Custer State Park Mountain climbing

Summer is here

Well it seems like summer is finally here in MN. It may not be in some of the other parts of the Midwest I got a report that it was in the 60's last week in SD. I think it's going to be a cold summer all around the north. I have been working out every day. alternating from long bike rides to lifting weights and running at the YWCA. I am still about the same weight as I was a week ago but I hope to lose more soon. We are at 31 days to the MN Red Ribbon Ride. I have done one 47 mile ride this year and I hope to do an 80 mile ride the weekend of the 4th. I think my training is going well even though I haven't done that much training outdoors. I have done a couple hours a week on my spin trainer since Christmas and feel that my legs are in good shape.  Week after next I cut coffee out of my diet, we will see how that goes. I need to get used to getting up and not needing coffee so I don't get to dehydrated or tired on the big ride. I hope to keep posting a couple times a week but the summer keeps moving faster and faster I will keep you posted  on how my weight loss is going. I just need to keep away from sweets and BBQ =)

Grand Parents 60th Wedding Party Mansion

Summer heat and Big Fatty Meat

Well here we are, summer in MN, for a whole 2 months =)

 I have been getting in a lot of training on my bike this weekend and today. I must have been on it for 2 and a half hours Sat at the team YES yard sale, then I did another hour and a half today. It's great to exercise a lot but you need to eat well to. By well  I don't mean a lot of food, I mean healthy food. As BBQ season comes along we all need to watch what we eat. I know one of the things I love are sweets. Over the weekend I had some cookies and some brownies and some pizza. I need to remember even when I am with a group of friends that I need to eat less than I think I want, I also need to force myself to make healthy choices. I love Hebrew National Kosher hot dogs, they are the best but they are also very fatty. I tend to make them a couple of times a week in the summer. They are easy to grill, the kids like them, they are natural, and I love them. I need to cut it down to no more than once a week on these.

   I picked up some good RTD protein at GNC the other day on a great sale. I need to start supplementing a meal a day or so with a shake. Both to  keep my muscles in shape as I bike more and to cut the calories and fat from my diet. 
     One of my pleasures is Dairy Queen, while I think the regular soft serve is ok to eat. I need to stay away from my favorite, the blizzard. It's hard keeping on a strict healthy food diet when you have a wife that  never gains a pound and is always under 110. I just have to keep working on it and have more will power.


Wish me luck.

Feed My Starving Children and Bike Trainer Hot Days Ahead

Well I have been keeping up with the diet. Except for last night that is. We went with a group of St.Thomas Young Alumni to  Feed My Starving Children. We did a really great job and packed lots of food.  After we were done some of us went over to Jake's and had some apps. I kept away from the really bad stuff on the menu but I did have one chicken strip, a couple of onion rings, a couple fried mushrooms and green beans. I didn't hold back much from eating but I still think I did not eat as much as I would have 6 months ago.
     Today I spent a little under an hour and a half on my fluid bike trainer. I watched the Gangs Of New York, I really like the movie although it is a little bloody at times. 
     Tomorrow we have the big team  YES yard sale for the Red Ribbon Ride. It's going to be a blast, I am planning on doing an hour on the bike trainer to raise money.  
     Tonight for dinner I had some spinach salad and a kosher hot dog and a vegi burger. Tomorrow will be another great day on my road to weight loss.


Peace,


Gabe

St Thomas YAC at Feed My Starving Children 2011.mov

Red Ribbon Ride Training Ride 2011 Fight AIDS HIV Minnesota

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.