-There is no magic weight loss secret. You have to eat right, and you have to exercise. Details are up to you, but you must do those two things to reclaim your health.
-No one tool will take you to your goal. As you lose weight, your formula for success will change with your body.
-Tired, sick, hurt, it doesn't matter. Get off your ass and do the work! Unless you need a hospital bed, suck it up and knock out a workout, even a modified one! five minutes beats no minutes. Skipping leads to failure!
-Less cardio, more strength training. Muscle burns more calories than flab, so by gaining more muscle, you are ratcheting up your weight loss game. Cardio has its place, but it also burns muscle if you do too much of it.
-Enjoy the pain. When you put on those pants from ten years ago, it will be worth it!
-Nobody can lose this weight except you. You ate yourself near to death, you have to travel the road back, one weary, blistering step at a time.
-Change things up! If you get bored with your workout, you WILL find reasons not to do it.
-Walk away from the damn carbs! They are poisoning you, and sapping your strength! For that matter, keep walking. Do 5k, then we'll talk about some bread with your meal.
-Food is fuel. Enjoy it, but be sensible. All those processed food products are doing you more harm than good. You might as well drink drain cleaner, it would be a faster way to die. Real meat, real vegetables, real fruit, real seeds and nuts. Leave the sugar and grains on the ground for the animals you want to fatten up for winter.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Enter the Kettlebell...
So...
Two weeks using the kettlebell now. O. M. G. It is like magic, well, like magic you have to put some effort into, well, like magic assisting your own effort, well, really not like magic at all, because I have put serious effort into them. Anyway, they WORK. Better than anything else I have tried to date. In one week, I added ten lbs to my bicep curl max. My shoulders, abs, biceps, triceps and forearms are all showing visible improvement. My glutes are becoming strong again. My posture has improved! I have been slouching for years, a result of my stomach pulling on my spine. Lower back pain? Gone. I have virtually no fear of injury with these. What I have found is that with normal weights and machines, you can often overdo or make incorrect movements without noticing. Not so with the kettlebell. It is self-correcting, because when you do something incorrectly, the kettlebell punishes you INSTANTLY. A 35 lb kettlebell is not a thing you argue with. IT WILL WIN.
So, down under 290 lbs now, and wearing pants I last wore in 2002. My forearms feel like rock. My cheekbones have returned from their vacation in fatland. And my strong jawline is back, as well.
91 FRICKIN' POUNDS LOST, BABY!
I love my kettlebell. And I have barely started.
On a less enthusiastic note, I have found some loose skin from weight loss. backside of my elbow, just a bit. I think I can fill it out, if I focus on some tricep work.
Two weeks using the kettlebell now. O. M. G. It is like magic, well, like magic you have to put some effort into, well, like magic assisting your own effort, well, really not like magic at all, because I have put serious effort into them. Anyway, they WORK. Better than anything else I have tried to date. In one week, I added ten lbs to my bicep curl max. My shoulders, abs, biceps, triceps and forearms are all showing visible improvement. My glutes are becoming strong again. My posture has improved! I have been slouching for years, a result of my stomach pulling on my spine. Lower back pain? Gone. I have virtually no fear of injury with these. What I have found is that with normal weights and machines, you can often overdo or make incorrect movements without noticing. Not so with the kettlebell. It is self-correcting, because when you do something incorrectly, the kettlebell punishes you INSTANTLY. A 35 lb kettlebell is not a thing you argue with. IT WILL WIN.
So, down under 290 lbs now, and wearing pants I last wore in 2002. My forearms feel like rock. My cheekbones have returned from their vacation in fatland. And my strong jawline is back, as well.
91 FRICKIN' POUNDS LOST, BABY!
I love my kettlebell. And I have barely started.
On a less enthusiastic note, I have found some loose skin from weight loss. backside of my elbow, just a bit. I think I can fill it out, if I focus on some tricep work.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Kettlebell, I can has it?
Went out yesterday, and bought my new kettlebell. It is a 16kg, or 35 lb bell. That is the recommended starting weight for average males, according to Dragon Door.com. It put it into perspective when I thought about it weighing the same as my 6 year old daughter. Anyway, $64 new. Solid, black, rubber floor disk on the bottom to keep it from destroying the floor when you set it down. After a week or so with the lighter weight, trying to learn the mechanics of kettlebells, I am a lot more confident in moving this one around.
The higher weight makes a huge difference! Working out with the low weight was having an effect, but this thing is kicking my ass. I did a few reps today, messing around, maybe a bit over five minutes total, and I feel as though I spent an hour working hard in the gym. IT just works every little muscle, requiring so much stabilization, and it works different groups at the same time.
It's hard not to keep going back and picking it up, I just want to use the darn thing all day, it's fun to workout with. Just hafta pace myself. I also ordered a book to help me work on my form. Gotta figure out how not to beat the crap out oof my forearms.
The higher weight makes a huge difference! Working out with the low weight was having an effect, but this thing is kicking my ass. I did a few reps today, messing around, maybe a bit over five minutes total, and I feel as though I spent an hour working hard in the gym. IT just works every little muscle, requiring so much stabilization, and it works different groups at the same time.
It's hard not to keep going back and picking it up, I just want to use the darn thing all day, it's fun to workout with. Just hafta pace myself. I also ordered a book to help me work on my form. Gotta figure out how not to beat the crap out oof my forearms.
Friday, September 10, 2010
I'm Back!!!
The intranets, I has them.
Work schedule and life in general have been crazy, and I have slipped a bit in my hardcore Primal ways, but still pushing to maintain near Primal diet. The last week or so, I have gotten back on track, and it shows. Most recent weight a couple days ago(don't recall if it was Friday or Saturday) put me at 291.4 lbs....Booyaa!
It's like I don't even have to try. Been a bit more sedentary, which I expect is to blame for the slowed loss, so I bought a kettlebell the other day, and it is kicking my butt! I think it is a bit light, so I will be upping the weight when I get paid. Also started doing 50 situps per day, every day. That started Monday.
How are y'all doing?
Work schedule and life in general have been crazy, and I have slipped a bit in my hardcore Primal ways, but still pushing to maintain near Primal diet. The last week or so, I have gotten back on track, and it shows. Most recent weight a couple days ago(don't recall if it was Friday or Saturday) put me at 291.4 lbs....Booyaa!
It's like I don't even have to try. Been a bit more sedentary, which I expect is to blame for the slowed loss, so I bought a kettlebell the other day, and it is kicking my butt! I think it is a bit light, so I will be upping the weight when I get paid. Also started doing 50 situps per day, every day. That started Monday.
How are y'all doing?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Contrary to rumor....
I am not dead, merely without internet. Reached a major weight loss goal a couple weeks ago. For the firsttime since 2003, I am below 300 pounds! Woot! Still on the Primal Blueprint, still feeling fantastic!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Changes...
You might see up at the top, that I have changed the name of my blog. That's because it no longer fits. I'm no longer on a hard road. I am on day 15 of following the Primal Blueprint(www.marksdailyapple.com), and it is the easiest thing I have done with regards to weight management. I had a couple of weight fluctuations(mainly related to exercise and body composition changes), then my weight settled at one point, and didn't change for a week. This morning, it was going back down. The important thing is, I haven't kept track of my food intake in over a week. I stopped weight watchers, there was just no point to it, as it had stopped working for me. It worked great to get me started at weight loss, but toward the end, I was hungry most of the time, craving carbs endlessly, and basically looking at gaining all my weight back, if something didn't change.
Well, I have read Marks Daily Apple for nearly a year now, and have spent a lot of time chasing down studies and medical papers, verifying the information Mark presents on his site and in his book. It all fits. I have seen the differences I felt when I ate more or less processed carbs, and other foods my body wasn't built to process. I decided two weeks ago to try the Primal Blueprint way of eating. It has been so much better than I hoped. I sleep better, I have virtually no seasonal allergies, my asthma is gone, I have more energy, steadier energy. I eat when I am hungry, and That's it. No calorie counting, no spending hours on end trying to save my last few points for that popcorn I want to have with the movie, virtually no worries of any kind.
I am approximately 80% on the Blueprint. I can't afford all organic, or only grass fed beef. However, I don't crave carbs at all anymore. I can look at the chips in the cupboard, or the pretzels my wife is eating, and it just doesn't matter to me. I had two days that were pretty hard, but I got through them telling myself it was just for a couple days. Now, I don't have any desire to go back to my old eating habits. I feel so much healthier now, so vibrant, and so happy, knowing my health is improving.
Those of you who don't think you can't give up chips and such, pizza and bread, I encourage you to try it. Read the information available(there's a lot of it), do some research, and commit yourself to eating Primally for 3 days. That's how long I had planned to try it. Better yet, I challenge you to 7 days of Primal eating. We were not meant to consume many of the things we do. High fructose corn syrup, wheat flour, potato chips, these things are poison! I know I sound like a nutjob. When I went on this plan, I still had doubts, despite my research. It really is a better way to live. And I really am living now, rather than spending all day focused on what I can eat.
Well, I have read Marks Daily Apple for nearly a year now, and have spent a lot of time chasing down studies and medical papers, verifying the information Mark presents on his site and in his book. It all fits. I have seen the differences I felt when I ate more or less processed carbs, and other foods my body wasn't built to process. I decided two weeks ago to try the Primal Blueprint way of eating. It has been so much better than I hoped. I sleep better, I have virtually no seasonal allergies, my asthma is gone, I have more energy, steadier energy. I eat when I am hungry, and That's it. No calorie counting, no spending hours on end trying to save my last few points for that popcorn I want to have with the movie, virtually no worries of any kind.
I am approximately 80% on the Blueprint. I can't afford all organic, or only grass fed beef. However, I don't crave carbs at all anymore. I can look at the chips in the cupboard, or the pretzels my wife is eating, and it just doesn't matter to me. I had two days that were pretty hard, but I got through them telling myself it was just for a couple days. Now, I don't have any desire to go back to my old eating habits. I feel so much healthier now, so vibrant, and so happy, knowing my health is improving.
Those of you who don't think you can't give up chips and such, pizza and bread, I encourage you to try it. Read the information available(there's a lot of it), do some research, and commit yourself to eating Primally for 3 days. That's how long I had planned to try it. Better yet, I challenge you to 7 days of Primal eating. We were not meant to consume many of the things we do. High fructose corn syrup, wheat flour, potato chips, these things are poison! I know I sound like a nutjob. When I went on this plan, I still had doubts, despite my research. It really is a better way to live. And I really am living now, rather than spending all day focused on what I can eat.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Skipped a day
Just didn't feel like messing with the blog yesterday.
Breakfast
12 oz coffee with stevia
1 medium apple
lunch
1 sauteed chicken breast
8 cups mixed greens
1 cup cherries
1 medium apple
dinner
1 cup cherries
2 medium apples
1/2 chicken breast
4 cups mixed greens
Made it through 14 minutes of the 30 day shred DVD tonight, before I stopped being able to keep good form on anything. I hurt. It's a good thing.
Breakfast
12 oz coffee with stevia
1 medium apple
lunch
1 sauteed chicken breast
8 cups mixed greens
1 cup cherries
1 medium apple
dinner
1 cup cherries
2 medium apples
1/2 chicken breast
4 cups mixed greens
Made it through 14 minutes of the 30 day shred DVD tonight, before I stopped being able to keep good form on anything. I hurt. It's a good thing.
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