the 30/5 blog

2011-04-04T21:17:00.002-05:00

Seersucker Blue Baby Announcements

Birth announcements, Valentine's cards, & invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

March 2010 Update

2010-03-13T23:11:00.002-06:00

Since I have decided to make better food choices (most of the time... :)) I have dropped about 50lbs. February was a bad month for me as I was out of town for a funeral and became lazy for a few weeks there. I am back on track and ready to make HUGE strides coming into Spring! The weather is getting a lot better, which will allow me to spend time with the family outside. We purchased a very nice treadmill from Nordic Track with iFit Live. I have purchased some books to help me understand how to eat better and work out (knowledge is power). It has not been easy, and it will not be easier in the coming weeks, but nothing worth while in life should be easy. The more I get into a routine, the routine will be easier, but I am trying to reverse a trend in my life for the past 20 years, so it will be an uphill climb for me. I look forward to the challenge.

8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day | Eat This, Not That

2010-03-13T23:09:00.000-06:00

8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day | Eat This, Not That

Diet Strategies: Weight Loss Breakfast Recipes : Men's Health

2010-03-12T22:46:00.000-06:00

Diet Strategies: Weight Loss Breakfast Recipes : Men's Health

Now we shall see what I am truly made of...

2010-01-30T02:16:00.002-06:00

I just signed myself up for the Texas Round-Up 2010 5k on April 24th in Austin. I really want to do this, but I have not run in years, so the next few months will be hard work for me. I'll keep you updated on my status!

2010-01-30T00:35:00.002-06:00

Cholesterol: The top 5 foods to lower your numbers

MayoClinic.com

***Mayo Clinic's award-winning consumer Web site offers health information and self-improvement tools. MayoClinic.com's medical experts and editorial professionals bring you access to the knowledge and experience of Mayo Clinic for all your consumer health information needs, from cancer, diabetes and heart disease to nutrition, exercise and pregnancy.***

what's working for me...

2010-01-28T22:06:00.003-06:00

This whole idea of exercising just makes me tired enough to go sit in our nice leather recliner and watch some mind-numbing re-runs of the "Pants on the Ground" episode of American Idol...

So I have found a way to get me interested in the ride. If I was on my "real" bike it is easier because I have the beautiful landscape of Midland, TX to gaze upon on my ride. When I am inside it is not as easy. I find something on TV that interests me. Tonight I rode almost delightfully for 30 minutes to the timeless art of lovemaking by wild boars and turtles on Animal Planet's "Wild Russia". Obviously, this would not work for everyone, but I love nature shows, and we are getting Animal Planet as one of our free preview channels on Dish Network this month.

So what I am getting at here is, find something that you enjoy and can distract you for the amount of time you want to commit to (that you can do simultaneously) as you do your exercise! It will make the time float by and before you know it you're done faster than two mating turtles in the Russian wild.

Omega 3s are AWSOME!

2010-01-28T20:10:00.001-06:00

the NEW (me) year

2010-01-28T00:18:00.000-06:00

I have lived most of my adult life without proper exercise habits and by eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I used to make fun of people coming into the dorm late night at college with a little bag from Taco Bell with just one item in it! I could go into a lot more detail that would bore you to tears, but I will fast forward to September 2008 (rewind from now...I know). It was during a visit to the ER that I discovered I was about 2x as heavy as I was my senior year of high school. I could not believe it! I knew I had added weight, but that was ridiculous, not to mention very embarrassing!! Still, my time was spent on the couch in the evenings watching TV and eating unhealthy.

Then came August 2009. I decided I was going to give Weight Watchers a chance. Now, I have started diets before. for me it was a lot like reading...I never got very far. But I was serious and I was seeing results, so, for the most part, I have stuck to the points plan and I continue to see results. As of this morning I had dropped about 40lbs from that weigh-in at the ER. Now I have decided to take the next step - exercise! I have a bike that has been collecting dust, save about 30 minutes, since we bought it a couple of years ago. That, coupled with the bitter West Texas winter weather we have been having, I decided to buy a cheap recumbent bike.

That's where this blog comes in...

I want a place to record my activity, to share with friends/family and anyone that might stumble upon it. I want to share my victories and my disappointments, my goals, my triumphs and my loses. This is the new me! Having a wife and son have affected the way I see myself now. I want to be a better husband and father, and part of that is maintain a healthy lifestyle that I can model for them. I am not doing this for anyone else except me and them, because they are what is most important to me!

So, what is 30/5? It is the (minimum) amount of time i want to exercise each week - 30 minutes a day for 5 days. This is not my idea (the name and blog is, not the exercise idea), I got it on the Texas Roundup 2010 page. It encourages people to exercise at least 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week for a healthier lifestyle. I would encourage you to take a look.

What I want to do on here is keep track of cool things I find about living a healthy lifestyle. Don't worry, I am not asking anyone to do what I do. I am NOT a fitness expert, I just want to make lifestyle choices for ME! I am not going on some vegan diet either. I love red meat, I just try to buy it as 96/4 meat. I have not gone organic, not too sure if that is worth the cost. I do plan on eating smaller portions, and making better choices of what I put in my mouth.

As far as exercise, my short term goal is riding my indoor bike, with the hopes of warmer weather motivating to move outside on my "real" bike. I also am looking into running. If I can get in shape, I want to compete in the Texas Roundup in Austin, TX on April 24th of this year. There is a 10k, 5k and Family Mile. I would want to go in the 5k at this point. My wife told me about a website that she had heard about called "Couch to 5k" and I want to implement that very soon! If that plan works for me, and I stick to the plan, I should be more than ready for the 5k!