10 to go

Today marks 10 days till the due date of our baby! As you can see by my lack of recent posts, I've got a lot going on!

Right now I've shifted to just maintaining as I sort these new things out in my life. I'm also still participating in the 100 push-ups as well as the 200 sit-ups challenge. Tonight I am on Day 3 of Week 5 for the 100 push-ups.

Look at the crazy amount I have to do tonight! (amount per set): 20, 20, 24, 24, 20, 20, 22 and a max set of at least 50! Added up that is at least 200 push-ups tonight. The kicker...I only get 45 seconds between each set...yikes! What I'm finding is it really pushes me mentally, almost as much as it does physically!

I'll keep pressing on and finish this and will let you know when I hit the 100 continuous push-up mark! My PR for continuous push-ups so far is 67.

I'm excited for baby to be here, in part because I can stop being anxious about what I think it's going to be like and move on to just being a father and learning my new role. I'm stoked for it!

100 Push-Ups : Update

I finished my first week (actually week 3 of the program) and I was surprised at how difficult it really is. The biggest difference of doing this program versus doing the same amount of push-ups on my own time is the time between sets. The first day you are only allowed 60 seconds between each set. How does that feel? It feels like you are doing one long, continuous set. Capping off each day is a max set which always really sucks!!! My chest and arms feel like they are ripping and shredding which makes me want to quit. I persist and then am forced into a stale mate with gravity.

Beginning of week 4. I started week 4 last night with a renewed vengeance. I looked forward at the upcoming weeks and the daily workouts... and it scared me! The number of sets jumps from 4 sets of 20+ to upwards of 8 sets of 40 and 50 push-ups! I know I will do it though, I'm just a little scared right now;)

The website also offers two other programs (all free by the way)... 200 sit-ups and 200 squats (holy hell). Last night I decided to do the 200 sit-ups challenge too. I did my exhaustion test last night and will start up tonight fitting it nicely as an every other day thing with my push-ups. Wow.

Keep checking back for progress reports and whining about how hard it is!!!

A Taste of Summer

This last weekend we had shorts and t-shirt weather. Around here, as soon as you can walk outside without a coat on the BBQ is turned on. I had a bit of a wake up call this last weekend. I was reminded that even though I’ve lost lots of weight and have gotten better about what I eat and drink, I still can’t just do whatever it is I want. I went out to happy hour on Thursday, we went to Sally’s Dad’s birthday party on Friday and a BBQ at my sister’s on Saturday. Phew…three days in a row of eating out and drinking.

Since Sally has been pregnant it has been a lot easier to lay off the booze and eating out but when people around here can get outside the plans start building up. I had a blast at all three of these events but I came away so bloated and fat. I’m going to have to figure out a new way to approach these events because I know I will be at many, many more to come. I get wrapped up in the celebration. Lots of food and drinking. I over-consume and I’m fully aware that it’s happening. It’s a bit of a slap in the face because I really thought I’d broken all the bad habits. Apparently, though, I’ve got some more work to do.

Having this first taste of summer will hopefully prove an invaluable learning experience…I’ve bounced back, or rather, shrunk back down to where I started last week which is great but going forward I must learn to separate the drinking and eating from the true reason of celebration! I’m excited to go to our pool in Chelan and not feel like beached whale for once in my life…so why ruin it now with burgers, ribs, chicken, gin & tonics, beer after beer, soda, chips and all those other crazy slaws and sauces. Bring on the fruit and small plates. I want to taste summer as a skinny guy!!

Waking with the City

One of my favorite things in life is waking up early in a foreign city and getting my day started before the rest of the city wakes up. There's no easier way to get a feel for a city than walking around while the shop owners are sweeping off their sidewalks or the delivery trucks are unloading their goods.

Since I can't travel anywhere right now the best way to translate this feeling is to head out for a morning jog before anyone else. I wake up at 5:30 every day for work and sometimes on the weekend my body just forces me out of bed. I woke Sally so she wouldn't worry where I was then I left to go on a leisurely jog around the neighborhood.

I timed it a little wrong though. I love jogging by the stores to see it getting prepped or to see the earliest of risers enjoying their first cup of coffee, or jogging by the bakeries and smelling wonderful bread or pastries... not today, nope. NOTHING was open, not even the coffee shops. In Seattle, there were no coffee shops open at 6.

I'm home now and I'm about to make a fresh pot and wake Sally back up... what a great start to the day. A jog, Sally's company and a fresh pot of coffee... oh, and it's sunny out:)

Enjoy your weekend!

Just an Ordinary Guy

This morning I was listening to the Blue Scholars. They are a local rap group consisting of two guys and usually I just listen to the songs and then move on to whatever comes up on random. Today I actually listened to the lyrics (not the norm for me!) and I was surprised at the simplicity of the lines and how they concisely convey everything I’ve blabbed on about for the past 5 months. There is a lot more to the song but this stood out to me, kind of like when you hear your name at a party even if it’s loud and you are on the other side of the room! Check out the lyrics…

And people keep asking how I lost this weight
More work and less food on the plate, man
Just a simple plan with a little bit of self discipline

I'm just an ordinary guy, ignoring all the hype
I let it all pass me by

When I’m asked about my weight loss I often stumble at the simplicity of it all. Like he says, “more work (read: get off your ass) and less food on the plate, just a simple plan with a little bit of self discipline”. That’s it, that’s exactly how it happened for me. Some of the lines were left out but when I heard how the chorus started it all just fell together. So here is how I will answer from now on, (minus the whole rapping and rhyming thing).

“Wow man, you’ve lost some weight, how’d you do it?!” so and so asks.
And I’ll say, “I ate less, I worked out and moved more along with a little discipline and will power. I knew it would have to be a lifestyle change not a quick fix. Not anything fun to hear but that’s how it happened.”

Down, Up times One Hundred

I’ve been beating around the bush and claiming that I’m about to start this, I’ve even started doing push-ups more regularly and did a burn-out of an awe-inspiring 67 consecutive push-ups the other day. But it’s time to start this for real and I’m ready for the challenge. I told Sally the other day that I’ll be able to do 100 consecutive push-ups before baby is here. I’ve got some work to do.

Thankfully there is a great site that has a 6 week program you follow and log in to that has been designed to help you build the right strength and stamina in order to achieve the 100 consecutive mark. Wait! But I have less than 4 weeks till baby’s due date… since I’ve tested out at 67 (just last week) I get to start on week 3. Perfect timing.

If you are at all interested in joining along, go to http://www.hundredpushups.com/ and sign in. I’ll keep you updated with my progress…wish me luck! And, if you’ve done this already let me know how it went for you :)

Running (a fever)

Yet another exciting set back hit me over the weekend. I was cruising through the last few months watching everyone around me fall victim to a nasty sickness. Alas, my body finally gave in and said "let's get it over with"... it hit me pretty hard. Luckily, it seems, the last few years I've gotten a similar sickness I usually save up and then it hits me like a ton of bricks all at once, then I get over it and go on with life.

I'm thinking this is what happened this weekend. On Sunday I woke up and felt really cold. I kept feeling cold and watched my very pregnant wife open every window in the house because she was boiling. Hmmm? I decided after an hour of not warming up to take my temperature (because it's not every Spring day where you'll find me in a full sweat outfit with big wool socks on). I declothed and popped the thermometer in (my mouth) and got a reading of 102.1... ugh. What's worse is this thermometer has been consistently reading our normal temps under 98.6, so further deduction made me believe it would've actually been higher.

I hopped into bed in the fetal position and proceeded to be babied by my very pregnant wife, who is also sick (just not feverish). I felt like such a wuss... I suppose that's why women are the bearers of children not men! She left me in my fever-inflicted comatose state to head to the store so she could make me homemade chicken noodle soup (hell yeah). I was continually reminded to hydrate and was given proper dosages of Tylenol and theraflu throughout the day.

Sally helped pull me out of the sickness... and I love her for it! Today I'm feeling so much better even though I'm at work, but at least I can move on to feeling normal again. Hope you are all feeling well and have gotten over all the sicknesses for the season! They've been nasty!

Humbled...

Part of what makes writing day in and day out (or every 4th day;) so interesting and rewarding is the people you connect with. Old friends, family and people on the other side of the world have come to this blog to leave me a comment or two... I've been inspired by them and have somehow inspired them, too.

I didn't really struggle at weight loss in the past few years because I wasn't trying to lose weight. For many years I just lived. I ate what I wanted, drank what I wanted, both too quickly. That's a recipe for disaster. Yeah, I felt gross and sick at times...I felt guilty moments after eating something... I was dilusional to how I looked, yes, I've been there. I was always aware of it but I made every excuse (I still make some now)...one of my favorites that always makes me laugh is when I told Sally that "my body must like being 250 so I'll just shoot for that" Ha ha ha. Absurd!

Lately the onset of a stall... a long, boring plateau has just flipped me around. I've written about this way too many times but I kinda lost it, I just wasn't trying as hard. I'm finally feeling a resurgence as of late and have heard so many amazing comments from people around me. I want to share one from my cousin Wendy! She has hit a milestone goal for herself and I have to call her out!!! I hope this is OK Wendy:)

"I just wanted to let you know that this morning when I weighed myself, I was seeing 110! I reached my goal and I am so happy! I owe much of my motivation to your blog and really appreciate you being so honest with your journey of weight loss. For awhile I felt, after 30 you just can’t be as thin as you were in High School. You have been inspirational to me to get back in my good habits and continue to reach for my goals. I have been stuck in the “5 lbs over my goal weight” for about three years now so this day is very exciting for me. Last summer I was even 10 lbs over, so that was very difficult. I can finally fit into my Sevens…are they even in style now…it’s been awhile. I was stuck in what I called my “big girl Hudson’s” for a few years...refusing to buy bigger sized clothes except for one pair of Hudson’s I got on sale at Nordstrom’s. Just kidding…thanks, Jeff! I will continue to follow your journey as I attempt to maintain what I have accomplished. I never thought I would see 110 again, so I am proof it’s possible! I had many things going against me, but I did it to my surprise. I know you’ll be seeing 210 in no time!"

What an amazing thing to read! So happy for her...and you are safe with your Seven jeans...they are still cool :)

Have a great weekend everybody! And, keep the faith! It's gonna happen:)