365 Fit

Long Time No Anything

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:11:00 +0000

It has been a long time, too long since I have updated or done anything really to help myself out. I have joined a website called weightlosswars.com. The short and long of it is people can set up their own competitions be it private or public. I have joined a fairly large competition, 86 people and it has a substantial pot that goes along with it.

I have tried to find the motivation for a long time now to get off my butt and do something productive, but nothing seems to really get me going. I am married so I am not looking for anyone. I do not play sports any more. I am not trying to impress anyone, only myself I suppose. There are really only two things that motivate me, money, and my daughter, not necessarily in that order.

I want my daughter to grow up and be healthy. I want to be able to play any and all things/sports with her for as long as she wants to play them. I don't want to be the dad on the sideline who is out of breath simply by cheering for her when she plays. I want to be the example for her by showing her that she needs to be fit and healthy, not just by telling her.

I am also motivated by money. I mean who isn't? People like money and I am a person, so therefore, I like money. I want to do this to be healthy, and I want to do this for my daughter, but a little money doesn't hurt.

With that being said I am going to try my best to post as often as I can.

I have been doing the Daniel fast for the last 16 days. I have lost around 15 pounds so far. Today was my first sort of workout. I am following the program found at iwantsixpackabs.com. This program will take me through my competition and I plan on sticking with it, unless I need to change it up for something better. I was tired, and I was weak during it. I finished most of the workout, but was lacking big time. I also know myself and I know that when I first start working out after a time being gone, I have to walk that fine line of pacing myself and overdoing it. I tend to error on the side of over doing it and I feel miserable for a while. Tonight I just did what I could so that I wouldn't feel horrible, and so that I would feel like I accomplished something. Give it a week, and I'll be able to push myself once again.

Motivation From Competition

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:46:00 +0000

I know I have been on again off again in my own journey to weight loss. I know that I haven't been setting the best example to the people who read my blog. I know I can do better, and I think I have finally found a good way to go about it.

Spite.... I don't like to lose. I like to compete. Did I mention that I don't like to lose? I started a competition with one of my college buddies to see who can drop 20 pounds first. Prior to this competition I felt lethargic, sluggish, and every other adjective to describe a lazy person. If nothing else I am getting up and moving because I don't want to lose, health and fitness aside.

Maybe that is what everyone needs, a little competition. Or at least something that will motivate them. What motivates you to get up and do something healthy?

365 Fit For Life

February 5th Quick Tip

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:03:00 +0000

Trying to save money at the grocery store is like trying to push a rock up a hill. Both are doable, you just have to work at it. My tip for the day is to go to the grocery store with just cash in your pocket. It is hard to keep a budget when it is so easy to swipe some plastic. If you only have cash in your pocket, meaning literally leave all credit/debit cards at home or in the car, then you have to force yourself to really look at what you are buying. Do I really need a name brand food item? Do I really need another box of 100 calorie packs? I have done it now a few times, and I think it works. I still get nutritious food, and I think I save money because I only buy what I really need.

365 Fit for life.

Reality Check

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:58:00 +0000

No one likes to hear truth, especially about weight loss. Reality however, is just what people need to hear. We all want a yes man in our life to sugar coat everything. Someone to give us reassurance that if we eat too many cookies that we won't pay for it later. Why do you think we talk to so many people all the time about the same topic? We are all looking for someone to agree with us. Reality isn't supposed to agree with us, reality isn't supposed to take sides, reality is just that, reality.

There are many different ways to look at things. Some need a soft touch, others need someone to yell at them. In either scenario, we all have to accept some truth, it's up to us to decide how we want it, but in either case, all that matters is that we get it. I hope that you are able to take a reality check every now and again.

365 Fit for life

Lower Body Nobodies

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:25:00 +0000

I talked earlier about the guys that do nothing but arm lifts. These are the ones with hulking arms, and stick skinny legs that you see exclusively near the bench press. I was walking on the treadmill at the gym and I noticed a few of these, lower body nobodies.

I am not sure why I find these guys to be of such interest or concern to me, but they are. I think it is because I like to be balanced and well rounded. I see these guys every day I am at the gym, and I wonder if they know that they could get bigger upper bodies by getting bigger legs.

While doing my cardio I saw two guys that I usually see at the gym. They definitely qualify as the lower body nobodies. A thought came to mind on what type of information do they read. Obviously they care about their fitness, or otherwise they wouldn't be at the gym so much. I just wonder what is telling them to lift the way that they lift.

I do not want you to think that I know everything, or that my approach is the best way. Far from it. I just hope that in whatever you do, you try to do it in the best most efficient way possible. I love to read information about fitness, and I hope I can share as much of it with you as I can.

365 Fit for life.

Urban Exerciser

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:21:00 +0000

I have decided to create my own class of gym goer. I am going to call them the Urban Exerciser. We have all seen them at one time or another, you might even be one. These are the guys that go to the gym in their jeans, usually ripped, work boots, or dressed in some other attire than what we would traditionally see in the gym.

I was at the gym the other day and I saw an Urban Exerciser. He was wearing a bandanna, with ripped jeans, and a shirt that started out like a normal shirt but then was reduced to a t-shirt version of a wife beater.

I am not necessarily saying that the above mentioned attire is a bad thing, because to each their own, I am just saying that I am not an Urban Exerciser.

365 Fit for Life.

How Did I....

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:04:00 +0000

How did I? That is a question that I am sure every person on this planet with the ability to speak has asked at some point. How did I lose my job? How did I gain so much weight? How did my marriage end? How did I become so lazy? I have been asking myself these same type of questions. Since this is a fitness blog, I have asked myself, How did I get so fat?

I suppose we would need to decide what fat is? Is fat what other people say about me? Is fat what society deems me to be? or... Is fat what I have decided for myself? Fat, is as subjective as you want to make it. A girl that is 100 lbs may think that she is fat, while everyone else around her thinks she is too skinny. Fat might not be 300 lbs to some, but extremely obese to others. Fat has to do with a lot of things. How tall you are seems to be a big factor. While media and other outside sources have a great deal of influence on what we decide is fat, it ultimately boils down to what you decide for yourself. At various times through out my life, I have decided I was fat. Today is one of those days. I am not at the heaviest I have been in my life, but I am close enough to it to not feel good.

People always seem to ask themselves, when did I get this way? Or, How did I let myself go like this? People know the answer, they just never want to say it. I know why I feel this way. I know how I got to where I am right now. It is by doing all the things that I know I'm not supposed to. I hid behind my own pride that no matter what I do, I will always be able to bounce back.

I am definitely at the crossroads once again in my life. Down one road I can live with my foolish pride and see how long I can go without doing anything about it. On the other road I can swallow my pride, and do everything that I know is right. I am going to try and choose the latter. I went to the gym the other day and that is for a new post, but I will leave you with this: It is never too late to do the right thing.

365 Fit for life.

I Went To The Gym

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:12:00 +0000

I went to the gym on Friday. My girlfriend was visiting her mom for the night, so I figured that this would be the best night for me to go. It has been at least a solid 3 months since I have set foot in my gym. I know I know, that is a sad thing for anyone to say, especially when I try to encourage anyone who reads this to make good healthy choices. If you have been following this blog, I have changed my forum up a little bit. I still offer as much advice as I can on whatever it is I decide to write about, but I have also added more personal things about myself. I tried in the beginning to write every day, hence the title, but not writing about things that are personal makes it difficult for me to write every day. Now that I have thrown in more things about myself, I find it easier to write the 365 like I had intended.

My gym experience was both a good thing and a bad thing. The good, obviously, is that I went to the gym. I did some shoulder and chest work and then did my cardio. It felt like I was doing this for the first time, in more ways than one. First of all, my gym got a face lift. The front entrance was different, the machines were different, the placement was different, it was like I was wandering around a new gym for the first time. Second was that my mind wasn't really in the right place. I'll write more on that later, but let's just say that I couldn't convince my body to push itself like I usually can.

I did only four miles on the bike and I only walked for 30 minutes. Usually I run and/or do intervals, but today, I just couldn't make myself. I talked to myself a little bit reminding me what I was doing, and that I knew that running was better for me than walking. Despite my efforts, I felt content and comfortable with me walking, and I felt justified that I didn't want to hurt myself the first time around. I suppose I will have to live with that justification in the hope that it will pass in time.

Despite the bad, I still feel good that I finally got up and did something. If nothing else, it gave me a couple new things to blog about. I hope that today is the day that you have decided to get up and do something good for you, regardless of what it is or the outcome.

365 Fit for Life!

New Day's Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:06:00 +0000

I am 26 years old. That means I have probably made something like 12 or so resolutions. I am sure they have ranged anywhere from I want to do better in school, to I want to save money, to I want to be in better shape. My resolutions as of late have been more towards the latter. New Years resolutions are great. The only problem is that more often than not they are only great in theory. I don't remember where the first time I have heard a rant like this, and I know I'm not the first and I know I won't be the last, but here is my own version none the less.

We need to get rid of New Years resolutions. They make the people who actually follow through with their goals look bad. Resolutions seem like nothing more than setting our selves up for failure. It seems to come from those who want that instant gratification. It is those people who think they can give up an addiction in one shot over night. The problem is that is seldom true. Procrastination, sloth, gluttony, laziness, they are all addictions. We are addicted to being lazy, to being unmotivated, to being depressed. We let ourselves go all year and we think that the best time to start anything is tomorrow. Tomorrow usually comes in the form of New Years resolutions. It is the time we think that a new change can be upon us. That this one fateful moment is what we need to turn our lives around.

Now I admit, for some people this works. A new year is a new start for a lot of people, and a lot of people do take advantage of it. What we all need to do, whether you can stick to your resolution or not, is stop waiting for the new year to make a change. Every day is like a new year, because every day should be new. Every day we can wake up in the morning, know it's a new day, and make our daily resolutions. I can wake up in the morning and say to myself, I will not hit the snooze button today. I will eat a carrot for lunch instead of a bag of chips. I will turn off the tv and go outside. I will walk an extra flight of stairs today instead of taking the elevator.

Each day is a new day. What is your new day resolution?

365 Fit for life.

The Untouchables

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:27:00 +0000

There has been a lot of focus on people in the media. Whether it is girls that are too fat, too skinny, or guys that are getting fatter or are on the juice. There always seems to be a scandal or an epidemic or a something. Let's just forget for a minute that there should be more important things to be concerned about then if Jessica Simpson weighs 15 more pounds than she did 5 months ago. ( I only say this because I saw it on a show the other day )

Everyone says that all these celebrities and models and what not are the cause of girls becoming anorexic or that they have this unnatural ideal of what beauty is and everything else that is bad about an attractive woman. We look at celebrities and we have decided that it is their job, whether they wanted it or not, to be the role model for our youth. Granted, I do think that they have some sort of moral obligation as people do look up to them, but at some point we need to take matters into our own hands.

This is likened to the debate whether or not violence in the media creates a violent kid, or if fast food is what's making us fat. Every day people are going to be bombarded with ad after ad of the latest this, or the best that. In that same time we are going to see violence, we are going to see hate, we are going to see all the mean nasty things that no one wants to be apart of. Maybe we should stop blaming the super model that we all worship for the reason that our children have unnatural eating habits. If you notice that your child isn't eating, don't be so quick to pull the trigger on those horrible celebrities. "It's their fault [celebrities] that my poor Britany is the way she is. How can she be expected to look like that?" Gee mom, I don't know, maybe you have some type of magical super power that can stop something like that. Oh wait, you do, it's called being a good parent. Kids are going to find out things on their own, and they are going to make up their mind on what they think is right. The best thing you can do is just talk to them. If they see a woman on the cover of a magazine and tell themselves that this is what I want to look like, then encourage them. Encourage them to be strong, to be a positive role model, to be healthy and to be the best they can be. Because that is what the person on the cover is being. If your daughter reads the tabloids and thinks that she has to be stick skinny to be hot, start talking, and stop blaming the media for turning your daughter anorexic.

I digress.... I thought I knew where this post was going, but apparently I turned it into a weird rant about parenting. Oh well, still good thoughts. I'll write the real untouchables post at a later date when I don't feel like I'm in a hurry.

365 Fit.

Viva La Spring Break

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:56:00 +0000

Ahh spring break. A timeless tradition full of debauchery and booze. I have never really had a "typical" spring break. I spent one in Fargo, ND, sleeping on the floor of a college dorm room of one of my high school friends. I spent one spring break in Arizona at his Uncle's house picking up a car. That about sums up my spring break experiences. How does that tie in with fitness? Good question.

Every year that I was in college, right around the middle of January when we got back from Christmas break, I noticed a huge shift. There would be tons of people in the weight room trying to tackle their New Years resolutions. This would last for about two weeks and then it would thin out a little. It would take about another two weeks for people to give up and not be seen again, until.... You guessed it spring break time.

There was a magical two week or so where people would again flock back into the gym. At the beginning of March you would see the same type of people come back to the gym. They are usually the guys who think they can push some weight around for two weeks and get all buff for spring break. I can not say that I am not one of those guys, though I do think I had a little more effort than that.

The sad fact is that people love vanity. Vanity is what makes people do stupid things, or makes people do great things, depending on how you are looking at it. If guys want to try to get a six pack to impress the ladies for spring break, then more power to them. The only problem is that instead of waiting until March, they should have started the day after they got back from spring break when they realized after they sobered up, that they weren't as hot as they thought.

Spring break is coming up for me. Even though my college days are behind me, I still want to look good for spring break, I mean, who doesn't? February is right around the corner and while I am not making any promises, I am feeling a little more urgency to get back in the routine so that when the magical week arrives, I'll be at my best, well, my kind of best.

Fitness is a journey, not a destination. As cliche as that sounds, and as cliche as me saying it is a cliche sounds, that is the reality. Sure, events, places, people, are all good reasons to get in the gym. People just need to plan a little better to get to there. I have found that if I make too many goals, such as the obvious, I want to be in better shape for spring break, I am just setting myself up for failure. Instead I am going to set this goal. Tomorrow I want to make one choice that makes me healthier that I didn't make today. What is your goal for tomorrow?

365 Fit for life.

I Want A Super Sized Choice

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:05:00 +0000

I love the documentary, Super Size Me. It actually made me want McDonalds more than not after watching it. I know, I know, that sounds sort of sick and anti-everything that I have wrote about, but truth is truth. The point of this post isn't to talk about McDonalds or really even the documentary. I wanted to share a little life experience I had when me and my girlfriend ate some fast food the other day.

My girlfriend was out shopping with her mom and she called up and wanted to know if she should bring home something for dinner. I was like sure. She said she wanted Long John Silvers. I, of course, do not like fish, but there is an A&W attached to it, so it's all good. The funny thing is that they also offer vegetables, like the steamed variety as one of the sides. I have no idea how long they have been offering that at Long John's, nor will I probably ever order it, but I still like the idea.

The reason for the title is that at the end of the documentary during Morgan's monologue, he talked about choices. Fast food is going to be around forever, mostly because the food at McDonalds doesn't decompose. I digress. People are going to always eat fast food and it is only up to them to make a personal choice to eat it or not. The best thing producers can do is make choices for others. Sure go ahead, eat your big mac and your super sized fries. All we can do is give people choices, and let them decide for themselves. I don't have to eat all the fries. I don't have to order the double double burger. I don't have to drink a quart of coke. I can order the steamed vegetables or a broth based soup. I don't have to get the loaded baked potatoe. You get the idea.

365 Fit for Life!

She Likes It Big

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:13:00 +0000

Now that I have your attention, we can pull your head out of the gutter, and get to the real topic. She likes big shoulders, big chest, and big arms.

When I was in high school and would go to the gym with my friends, I saw them do two maybe three lifts the entire time they were there. They would do bench press and bicep curls. They would do this every day they were in the gym. I never followed them because I didn't know exactly the reasons at the time, I just knew that wasn't the way to go.

It is true that some women like bigger things. I still see guys doing only upper body lifts. They will be these huge guys on top, and have scrawny legs on the bottom. I have done a little research over the years and this is what I have found.

If you want bigger arms, you need to have bigger legs. The more weight your body can move, the more testosterone your body will produce. The more testosterone you produce the more your muscles will grow. I know this isn't an exact science, but it shows my point.

With that said, you need to do leg lifts. Squats are the best thing in the world for you. Dead lift is awesome. Get your legs going and you will see better results in your chest and arms.

Lifting has come a long way from the bench press and bicep curl days. I hope that you progress along with it.

Why Do I Workout?

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:55:00 +0000

I have worked out for a lot of different reasons along the way. I think my first reason was for basketball. I have always wanted to dunk, I still want to dunk. I want to be quick, I want to be strong, and I want(ed) to be the best. When I got to college I wanted to workout to get more girls. At all times I am pretty sure I wanted a six pack, but I don't think I have consciously thought that's what I wanted until maybe my junior year of college.

I am a little older now, at least out of college for a while, and now I am not sure any more what I workout for. I can only assume that I want to workout because I don't want to feel like a slug and because I want to have a six pack. I am running out of things I want to workout for. I don't play ball any more, not by choice, I just don't have anyone to play with. I am not trying to pick up girls any more. So all I have left is my six pack dreams, my want to dunk, and not being a slug.

I'll start with the dunking. I am 5'10". I have read way too many articles, watched too many videos, and not done enough to get where I wanted to be. I am not sure if I am physically capable of being able to or not, but I am willing to find out. Some people say anyone can dunk, some say that some people just can't. I do not know which category that I fall into, but I am hoping that I am in the former.

Over the holidays I watched some people try to get out of their chair. They grunted and groaned, and it took them way longer than I ever want to take to get out of a chair. While I am not trying to pick up girls or anything like that, it doesn't mean that I want to let myself go and, like I have said, look like a thug. If nothing else, I want to be able to run around with kids, still play sports when I want to, and be able to get up off the floor or a chair without losing my breath.

The six pack. I have wrote about the six pack before, and I am sure I will write about it more. I know fitness and health and everything isn't about a six pack, but what man doesn't want one. I am no exception to that. I look in the mirror and I see like a half of a 2 pack. I know that makes a 1 pack, but that isn't what it is. I can see the line running from my chest to what would be the first of my abs. The top two aren't overly defined, but you can see them, so that is at least a place to start. I really want to be able to look into a mirror and see a 6,8, or 10 pack, I'll even take a 4 pack, and the rest of my 2 pack.

I have read countless articles, OK, maybe not countless, but at least a couple that have said you shouldn't use vanity as a reason to work out. I will be writing a more in depth article on that, but for not, we'll just say you shouldn't. I am going to try to not use that as my motivation and instead going to try and use wanting to dunk, doing a triathlon, and not being a slug as my reasons to workout.

365 Fit for life!

Weight and What Not

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:35:00 +0000

I currently weigh 198 lbs. after a successful weekend of eating. This puts my BMI at a nice 28.4. That puts me at about 1 point away from being obese. That sucks. According to the BMI gods, I should have a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. That puts my weight range, to be healthy, between 129 to 174. That is a huge range. I can't even imagine myself at 130 lbs. I don't think that I have weighed that since I was like 10 or 12 or something like that. I haven't even consistently weighed 175 since like freshman ish year of college. I would like to be somewhere in the 165 range when this is all said and done. For now, though, I would be happy to be back in my 190 range.

I guess that sums up my weight goals. I'll be talking about my other goals in a later post.

*Also, I know that BMI is not the end all be all indicator of how healthy you are, nor should you rely on it to track all of your progress. I just used it because it gives you a general sort of overall idea of what is going on. If we only used BMI to gauge fitness, I think I heard that Micheal Jordan would be considered obese.

365 Fit for life.

YouTube Hypocrite

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:06:00 +0000

I have been watching weight loss and transformation videos for the last like 3 hours now. I suppose in a way to psych myself up and get a little motivation flowing for my upcoming endeavor. Most of the people that are doing the YouTube weight loss vlogs and videos usually ask for help or tips to help them lose weight. It never fails that someone lists, eat smaller portions, get moving, exercise, and all the other "cliche" tips to lose weight. After reading some of these comments, it just made me angry. I don't really know why it did, I just did.

I am thinking to myself, that can't be right. I can't be mad for people trying to help out other people. I am not mad at the people, I guess it's just the comments. Here in the last few seconds I just figured out why it makes me mad. The commenters just come off as know it alls and that they are an expert on things. It's probably because I imagine they are people who sit and do nothing but watch YouTube and comment on people's vids like they know.

Oh wait... I have been sitting here doing nothing but watching YouTube and I write a blog about being 365 Fit. I know that makes me a hypocrite, I just don't know how I am supposed to stop myself from being that hypocrite. Maybe I am just obsessing over this too much. Anyways, I am going to try and not be a hypocrite because I know those people are just trying to help. After all, that is why I do it, and that is why you people read it.

365 Fit for life!

Goals Make The World Go 'Round

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:27:00 +0000

I have made different goals through out my life. Whether it be personal, professional, health, or whatever. Most, if not all, have been long term goals, or the end result of something. I haven't made any short term goals, maybe not ever, but at least not recently. I always say I want a six pack or I want to dunk. My most recent one has been that I want to run a triathlon. Goals are a great thing, but sometimes we need to diversify the goals that we make for ourselves.

Here is my silver lining that I mentioned from my last post. I have a plan. That sounds lame, because I always seem to have a plan, but this time I hope it's different. I know I've said that before, but the minute I stop saying that I hope this time is different, is the minute that I have nothing left to work towards or for. That is why I am saying it, I hope this plan works.

When December 2nd rolls around I said that I am going to start working out again. Not in the sporadic sense that I have done recently, but the way that I know I should, the way I have done in the past. I also made another goal, something really simple. I said I would physically go to the gym at least once that week. I haven't been to our gym in at least six months, maybe more. That is a lot of time and money that I have basically just thrown down the drain.

These are my basic goals. I have read a few things that I am going to try, and I am still going to work towards my triathlon. I know it is going to go well.

365 Fit for life.

Falling Off The Wagon

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:54:00 +0000

I know the accepted expression is falling off the wagon, but I personally feel it should be, jumping off the wagon. Falling implies that you "accidentally" fell off the wagon, or in my case got lazy, weak, and didn't do anything to improve the quality of your life, or more exactly did everything you could possibly do to decrease the quality of your life.

With the exception of a minute percentage of the population we do not accidentally get fat or become unhealthy. We all make choices every day. Case in point. This Thanksgiving I totally bombed everything. Not only did I engorge myself with the holiday festivities, I then proceeded to drink I'd say 3,000 calories of soda in the course of four days. I ate chili dogs, leftovers, sausage, bacon, heavy gravy, biscuits, more leftovers, cheese dip, chips, and basically anything I wanted.

It didn't seem that bad when I wasn't writing it all down. I didn't accidentally eat all of this. I didn't accidentally drink all that pop. I made choices and while they weren't good choices, they were still my choices to make. They weren't accidents, I didn't fall off of anything, it was just my decisions.

Again, it sounds really bad, and I know it does. There is a silver lining in all of this; that is if you were looking for a silver lining, but I will get to that in my next post.

365 Fit for life.

Am I Really Not Eating Out?

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 05:07:00 +0000

Like myself, I am pretty sure we have all said, I don't want to eat out. Whether it be because of money, nutrition, or whatever you're reason, we have all said it at one time or another. I recently have made that statement. We usually have a bad habit of eating out whenever we get paid. I am sure a lot of other people do that in some fashion or another. Oh, I just got paid, I need to go shopping. Oh, look, money, . Whatever your vice may be, we have all been there.

I did not want to eat out for both of my stated reasons. I didn't want to spend the money, and I didn't want to eat unhealthy. We did good through the first week and then the weekend rolls around. It was Friday after work and we had just pulled into our driveway. I said to my girlfriend, let's go get something to drink for the weekend. We pulled out of our driveway and went to the store that is like two blocks away. When it was all said and done we spent about 16 dollars on drinks and snacks. The weekend was almost over and I had some time to think about the situation. Are we really not eating out?

When we go to fast food places we usually end up spending about 14 to 17 dollars. When we go sit down and eat it's probably around 20 to 30 to 40 depending on where we eat. The point I am trying to make is, while I thought we were doing good for not eating out, in reality, we really were. We were spending X amount of money for "food" that lasted for about a meal.

People do this all the time. They don't want to go out and eat so they think, I'll just go to the store and buy things to cook at home. What inevitably happens at the store? We get junk food, snacks, or something like that. We often go to the store hungry and we often go after work when we are all stressed out and just want to get it over with and our guard is often down. We grab a 24 pack of pop, which incidentally is now a 20 pack it seems, a bag of chips, maybe some dip, or desert. We buy all these things thinking we are doing the right thing because we are making our purchases at a supermarket and not at a restaurant.

Whenever money is involved, or your health, or food, or eating, always make sure you are doing what is the best for you. Just because you bought food from a supermarket, doesn't mean that you are doing the best thing for you. Just because you are eating out at a restaurant, doesn't mean you aren't doing the best thing for you. If you go to a grocery store, have a meal plan ready before you go to the store so that you get only the healthy things that you need. Go to the store when you are not hungry to help avoid impulse buys. Also, if at all possible, do not go to the store with your kids, your sisters kids, or any kids. They will slow down the process, they will want things they shouldn't have, and they will distract you from staying the course.

I hope that we all make the best choice for ourselves no matter what that choice is.

365 Fit for life!

To Eat Or Not To Eat

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:01:00 +0000

I looked into my freezer today and saw what has been sitting there for probably a long time, like at least the last year. I saw a bag of fries and a bag of tater tots. I love fries and tater tots and today I ate them. I guess my reasoning behind it was, I would rather not waste the food, then worry about my health for that particular moment. It's like when you are watching one of those shows where they are trying to get people healthy and they come into their house and just throw out everything.

I have been going way more "green" this year than I have ever before. It's a weird line separating wasting food, and trying to eat healthy. I do not like it when I waste food, and I do not like it when I do not eat healthy. Ok, I take that back, I don't mind when I don't eat healthy while I am not eating healthy, it's just after the fact that I am not so happy with myself. Also, I know that last statement sounds like some weird eating disorder, but I can safely assure all of you that it is not an eating disorder where I am just disgusted by myself and I purge all the sin out of my body.

I suppose the bottom line in all of this is to only keep healthy food in your house, and then when you are faced with the dilemma of not wanting to waste food, you won't have to choose an unhealthy option. No one is perfect, and we all probably will have or have junk food in your house at some point in time. I usually have junk food in my house, and probably will continue to have junk food in my house at any given time.

Moderation is the key to everything and like I tell everyone around me, there is a time and place for everything. Go ahead and eat those fries, depending on who you are talking to it might actually do you more harm to deny your self something want as opposed to just letting yourself eat it. We all need to take a little something for our selves every now and again, just don't over do it.

365 Fit for life.

The Weekend Is A Killer

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:56:00 +0000

Weekends do one of two things. They either invigorate and motivate you to get out there and do great things; or they sap everything that you ever had and turn you into the lump of all lumps, the couch potato. I have had weekends of both kinds, though lately it has been more of the latter. This weekend I suppose was half of one and half of the other. I didn't really do anything on Friday, and I know I didn't do anything on Saturday. I had good intentions on Saturday, it just didn't quite pan out. Today I did my push ups and my squats and so I feel good in doing that. My push ups I think have gotten better, and I feel stronger when I do them now.

Though I did push ups and squats today, I don't think that I made any real progress in the weight loss department. I will get to that in a different post, however. This week is Thanksgiving week, and I hope that all the will power that I haven't used for the last forever comes to me this week and motivates me to not eat 'till I am sick.

I am looking forward to this weekend, and I feel that it will be one of motivation and invigoration and not one of sloth and gluttony.

365 Fit for life!

Resisting Temptation

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:07:00 +0000

I just got paid yesterday and that usually means snack time. It is almost without fail that after I get paid I ususaly stop at my local convenient store and get a soda to drink. We also go grocery shopping and I usually end up buying something to drink there as well. Today we stopped for gas, and we also went shopping. I didn't go into the actual store when we got gas, and I walked by everything when we went shopping. I felt a sort of longing to get something to drink, it was odd. The best thing though was that I resisted the temptation to buy something at either place.

That was the good news. The bad news is that I ate two tacos instead of just one. Like I said in my last post though, you can't do everything at once. I think this is day two of my no soda campaign and it feels good that I have set a goal. As a side note my goal is to not drink soda until we go on spring break in March.

That is my update for the day, and I hope wherever you are that you are doing all you can do to be 365 Fit.

Tired And Happy

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:32:00 +0000

So there I was sitting on the couch. I was full of taco and feeling kind of sleepy. I knew today was part of my strength day, but was having a hard time making myself get off of the couch. That is what it seems to be like the last four days I have been trying to be active. I'll wake up in the morning feeling tired and thinking, today I don't really want to work out. Then I'll go to work and think, I just want to go home and relax. I get home and relax, and then the want to move my body slowly diminishes. Then for some reason after that I get these thoughts in my head. I want to be stronger. I want to be faster. I have these thoughts for a while and then something just motivates me to get up and get something done.

Tonight I did about 45 push ups, 45 squats, and 45 lunges. I feel good about what I did tonight, it wasn't a lot, but it got me sweating and off the couch.

My downfall has still been some of the snacking that I have been doing. I am probably relying a little too much on the advice of you can't do it all at once, but at least I am doing something at all. My weight has been fluxing for the last three days, and I know it's just been three days, but I still don't like it. I am hoping that here in the next few days I will even out and my eating habits will start to get better.

365 Fit for life.

You Are What You Eat

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:50:00 +0000

If this is true, then apparently I am a mashed potato cheeto drowning in Mt. Dew. I hope tomorrow when I wake up, I won't be covered in butter or anything like that. I added a menu as well as my current weight and body fat percentage. I do not know how accurate this body fat measure on my scale is, but since it is the only one I will be using it will at least serve as a reference on if I am going up or down. I am going to be posting my current weight for both the morning and night. I find it interesting my weight shift from morning to night and then again to the morning. It's usually in the 6 lbs. range. I doubt that is good for me. I think it might have something to do with what I eat or what I don't eat or what kind of liquids I drink. I am also adding what time I go to bed, well at least what time I lay down in bed, as it's hard to gauge exactly when I fall asleep, and when I wake up. I am not sure what significance this might have, but I think it will be useful in my quest for better fitness.

So there we are, I am listing a lot of vitals for myself to better track what is going on with my body. Stay tuned, I hope good things are to come.

365 Fit for life.

Pop Free's The Way To Be

noreply@blogger.com (365 Fit) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:37:00 +0000

Tonight I have drank, drunk, drank, the last of my pop/soda that I have in the house. Tonight is hopefully going to be the last night that I drink pop/soda for a long time. I like pop/soda a lot, probably more than I should, but I love it. Soda is just empty calories, I know it, you know it. I may like soda, but I think I'm going to like looking in the mirror and seeing a six pack of abs staring back at me, and not a six pack of Mt. Dew.

I remember not so long ago when I used to drink nothing but water. I didn't necessarily drink it because I like water, but I drank it because I couldn't afford to drink anything else but the water out of my tap. I don't buy pop very much any more, but I buy it more than I should. So, not only will I be saving money by not buying pop, I'll be saving my waist line as well. Wish me luck.

365 Fit for life.