Most people get up out of bed at a certain time Monday through Friday. Why? Because they have a job to go to. They go to that job and work 8-10 hours, and then they come home. During the day, we’ll eat breakfast (maybe), we’ll definitely have our cup of coffee, we’ll break for lunch, we’ll drive home, eat dinner, watch tv, and on and on. So why is it so incredibly hard for us to dedicate an hour of our day to working out? Or why is it so difficult to eat healthier? These are questions you need to answer before you can become successful in your workout or diet.

For me, it is almost definitely the “thought” of going and working out. The idea that I’ve got to go somewhere, change, work out, get sweaty, have to shower, and then go on about my day. The thought alone makes me weary. But why? I mean seriously…We drag ourselves out of bed for our 9 to 5. We’ll go through the trouble of either going through a drive-through or setting up our coffee pots to get our favorite cup of joe, so why is it we can’t make ourselves do something that ultimately makes us feel better about ourselves, and I’m not just talking long-term – you almost immediately feel better after a good workout. Same goes for a diet. We grab a burger or some fast food garbage because it’s quick and convenient, but have you ever really stopped to think about how easy it would be to pick up something healthy instead? Rather than going by Arby’s or McDonald’s on your lunch break, why not stop by Publix or just about any grocery store for that matter, go grab something fresh from their salad bar, or pick up some fresh produce, and be on about your day? I can almost guarantee you that the lines in your grocery store will be shorter at lunch than will the line at any given drive through.

The bottom line is that you need to make workouts and dieting a part of your day just like any other mandatory to-do’s. It’s amazing how you’ll feel just after two or three workouts. Same goes with eating healthier. Try replacing your lunches and suppers a few days in a row and see if you don’t have more energy and spring in your step. Combine the two and you’ll feel super human!

Just to reiterate, the key to having a successful diet or workout is to dedicate yourself. Don’t make it a choice. Make it a necessity – it NEEDS to be as important to you as getting up and going to work. It’s not hard to do. It’s nothing more than breaking down those mental barriers that make you think it’ll be there tomorrow. Remember, it can’t wait until tomorrow, you need to do it today.

I have learned over the past few months that there is no way to force yourself into a weight loss plan. I guess this is why so many people fail and get fat again or need lose any weight. I also noticed that I kept thinking about quick fix remedies to change my situation. This is another reason why people tend to try to get gastric bypass and things like that. I now have a clearer picture on how my brain works when it comes to food and exercise.

About two weeks ago, I started a new eating plan. It’s based on the slow-carb method and I found it in Tim Ferris’ book The Four Hour Body.   I can give you all specifics, and I will. I can give you all the results and the thoughts I am having, and I most certainly will. But, the one thing that I can’t do is make you do it. It’s not fun at all. The food is repetitive and boring at times. I am not a doctor and I have only a cursory understanding of the science behind it, but it fricken works. Before you try this, I would advise you talk to a doctor.
Okay, here’s what I am doing. I am eating within an hour of waking up in the morning. All of my meals are vegetables and protein. There are times when I put in some barley, but that is mainly because of the vegetable blend I am eating at the time. Every week I get one day where I can eat whatever I want, and I mean whatever. My workout consists of Couch to 5k and Power 90 as usual, but more of the running than the working out. Now with that regimen stated, I have lost 6 pounds in two weeks. Crazy right??

I know you are saying that it is crazy and that it’s too much weight loss, but I have just stopped eating processed carbs. If you read the book and research the things that go into making those processed foods, you would stop eating them as well. I fully suspect to lose weight at a rapid rate once I get my running back into full steam, but you will all be there to witness it…on the blog anyway. In the meantime I will suffer through my boring meals and watch the weight drain off!

Cheers.

I had a good holiday season, one filled with delicious food that seemed to never end. I did mnage to run some, however not nearly as often or routinely enough to be considered good. I am back though, and I have decided to step back a couple weeks on my Couch to 5k journey. I will be starting back up at week 3 and continuing on from there, and hopefully this decision isn’t a better idea.

I still think my biggest concern will be to keep my meals normal and not outrageously large. I don’t really have the cravings for sweets any more and I don’t think that portion control is going to be hard, but as with everything in life…time will tell.  So, what are you doing after the holiday carnage? Did you give up, or were you not affected at all? Let us know!

With all that being said, I do realize that I am making progress considering I was doing nothing for so long and now I am fighting through two fricken miles.  I think I am just going through some kind of slump.  I usually go through this when the weight isn’t coming off fast enough, or when I am noticing a slide in motivation.

I sometimes wonder whether this is something normal.  I have to believe that it is, but who knows?  Do you guys go through the same thing?  If so, please reply in the comments.

Anyway, back to the progress. I am in the middle of Week 3, and I am getting better at this.  I still need to work on my portions, but that is coming with time.  I am also noticing that a vlog would be easier than babbling about this stuff.  I’ll have to do that from now on.  Progress report out!

Before the workout

After the workout

Before the workout:

After the workout:

When I met the beautiful woman that is now my wife some 11 years ago, I weighed in around 190 lbs.  In the past decade, I’ve gained on the high-side about 35 lbs and am currently hovering around about a 25 lb increase.  If you want to do the math, feel free, but I’ll give you all the critical numbers below.  The key here is I was in great shape when I met my wife and I feel that it’s unfair to her that I’ve let my belly gain ground and my health and appearance give way.  So I’m here to change all that.

So, my goals are simple:

• Lose weight
• Become healthier overall
• Get my body into great physical shape for both appearance and athleticism
• Not devote my entire life to being a workout junkie – I have a beautiful family that I can’t neglect at the expense of my workouts (at least not for too long)
• Inspire others to do the same

So currenlty, as of this morning, here are my key statistics (this is all using a Health-O-Meter scale that I purchased at Costco a couple years ago for about $30) – overall I’m happy with the scale.  For $30 it’s not a bad investment.

Where I am today: 11/16/2010

Where I want to be:

These are just my intial goals. Why not more weight, why not more body fat? I want to be realistic starting off. That 200 lbs includes me losing weight and gaining muscle weight at the same time so I believe this is both realistic and healthy. I really don’t know if I want to drop under 200 lbs as I like being a decent sized guy. I’m personally not a fan of a “thin” looking me, and I don’t think my wife would be either, so I’ll reevaluate if necessary as I get closer to my initial goal.

Here’s few quick notes on how I plan on losing weight and getting in shape:

• Short, quick, hard-hitting workouts that can be completed in 15 minutes or less
• At least an hour to two hours a week of anaerobic exercises – basketball, sprints, hardcore interval training

I hope you all enjoy following us on our Get In Shape path and I encourage you to do the same.

Allen

I found the C25K app after spending a few minutes looking at reviews of the app from the Android Market and on AppBrain and I thought it was simple and handled what I needed.  There isn’t much to the app, there are buttons for each of the workouts and all you have to do is click the button for your current workout and click the start button.  There are three segment notification sounds, a man, woman, and tone.  But that’s not why I like the app, there is only one thing that makes the app cool.

The app is simple, that’s it!  Well, that and the fact that Android operating system offers true multi-tasking, so I can listen to my podcasts and get notifications while pausing the podcast in the interim.  I start the app, turn on my podcast app, and go.  Each interval is announced by a simple phrase or tone depending on the settings.  Once you are ready for the cool down, the lady tells you start it and the same with the end of the workout.  The app just plain works.

Don’t get me wrong, there could be a nice update to the aesthetics of the app.  It’s plain and definitely has no frills, but it is a good single task app.  I recommend it to anyone with an Android device and wants to try the program.  Enjoy!

Asparagus is a generally low calorie vegetable and studies show that it is high in folate (Folic Acid). I know, that’s not swaying you at all yet, but keep reading there’s more. Green asparagus is rather high in vitamin C which is of course good for multiple reasons that will be explained in later posts. Asparagus is also high in potassium and thiamine. So what do all these vitamins mean for you?

Folic acid is necessary for the production of cells and you can read more about the overall chemistry at wikipedia.  What you need to know is that folic acid is very important fighting obesity, depression, allergic issues, and many more problems.  This is a wonder food, and I personally think that it should be a part of everyone’s diet.  The more I learn about this vegetable the more I realize how awesome it is.  You all should try to add it and be sure to check out the benefits at wikipedia.  Okay on to the recipe for this cool food:

Simple Baked Asparagus:
2-3 Bunches of asparagus
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
Fresh cracked pepper to taste
Kosher salt to taste

Grilled Asparagus (My favorite):
2 bunches of asparagus
2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil
Kosher salt to taste
A pinch of Dill weed and a pinch of tarragon in the mixture.

Nothing really, it’s really just a series of baby steps to get your chubb self outside and moving.  Over time you get more and more running introduced and soon you are a running a machine.  You can get the whole breakdown at Cool Running, but here’s a little chart for your viewing pleasure:

So, that’s about it.  A 9 week program that is designed to get you in running shape.  Cool huh?  I thought so, and the program looks like it makes sense.  I expect this to hurt a fair amount as I go along, especially with the Power 90 program delivering a swift pain injection.  Of course I will be letting you all know how this goes, wish me luck!  Oh and don’t forget to go check out the whole program at Cool Runnings.

Photo by: Martineric