Day 404 - Leadership 199 / Trait 8 of 14: Integrity

Lived the words I've been sharing yesterday. Took initiative to make yesterday a great day and accomplished that. Early in the day I informed my son to be dressed to go to the YMCA after school, I picked him up and there we went. We decided to kick up the intensity a notch, something I could tell he wasn't sure of. Heck I was apprehensive too, but I knew I could leverage the power of my courage to get it done. In the end we endured a 60 minute session in the free weight room and then polished off the workout with 2 miles of walk/jog combo on the treadmill. Yesterday was an Oh Yeah day!

Onward we carry ourselves into a new day. With us we carry the lessons we've learned which we can revisit at will via these links...
Leadership 199 / Trait 7 of 14: Initiative
Leadership 199 / Trait 6 of 14: Enthusiasm
Leadership 199 / Trait 5 of 14: Endurance
Leadership 199 / Trait 4 of 14: Decisiveness
Leadership 199 / Trait 3 of 14: Courage
Leadership 199 / Trait 2 of 14: Bearing
Leadership 199 / Trait 1 of 14: Dependability

We're halfway through this series, which means we have lots of learning to do yet. Therefore, let us plunge into the power of our eighth trait…

Leadership 199 / Trait 8 of 14: Integrity

Defined: Uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles; includes the qualities of truthfulness and honesty.

Discovered: Let us start in on understanding this trait by visiting this definition backwards. Honesty, is something I will go out on a limb and proclaim that everyone acknowledges that honesty is a trait any leader must possess. No? I agree with my proclamation, I have to else I've been dishonest here; yet while I agree I will tell you now that honesty is not one of the 14 leadership traits.

What? How can that be you say? Look back up at the list above of the traits we've discussed thus far. Take a moment, I'll be right here when you scroll back down... I know, if only scrolling burned measurable calories. OK, having revisited those traits let us ask ourselves this question; Can any of those traits be successfully put into practice if we are not first honest with ourselves in choosing to lead with them?

Leadership is not something we can take on half-hearted. "Do or do not... there is no try", as Master Yoda would say. In short, if we are not honest in our endeavors, either with ourselves or with others, we will not succeed at them in the end.

Living with integrity is certainly dependent upon be honest. But integrity is not just about being honest.

Character, you don't have to know a person for very long to know whether there character is righteous or otherwise. Righteous meaning to be committed to doing what they believe to be right, right by themselves and others.  It is one thing to want what is right, another to do what is right. If our character is to do what is right, we are leading with integrity.

Morals, ah discussion/debate on morality sure can be a sticky-wicket. So lets limit our thought here to what it is about our morals that is essential to leading ourselves to success. To decide what we want to succeed at we first have to know what we want or who we want to be. Or more specifically, how do we want to live? If we can answer that question and come away with an answer gives us a clear picture of how we want to look and why, how we want to conduct yourself and why; we then know where our morals should be set to lead with integrity and succeed.

Da-Point: If we are honest, if we believe our mission to be right and are willing stand up for it's purpose; then we are leading with integrity.

When did you last take time to truly know your character, your moral code?

 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 378-380: Reveille Weekend Success

Great News, I received the OK to return to full activity from all surgeons, doctors and even my guardian Eeyore gave his OK. Excellent, no time to waste!...

With the weekend here I got busy getting the heart rate and sweat pumping once again. So Saturday morning my wife, one son & I headed off to the YMCA. My wife got her workout on in the swimming pool as usual; a fish she is. Andrew & I hit the weights, above you see him working the lat-pulldowns which seemed like a fine machine to get started on.

Below is the rest of our routine that day...

Rowing

 Iso-Pulldowns

 Assisted Pull Ups

 Calf Press

 Tricep Presses

 Leg Press

 Horizontal Chest Press

 Incline Sit Ups

It felt great to get back in the gym. There were a few other exercises we did which I forgot to take photos of, e.g.squats, flys; we got in good variety in the hour we were there.

Sore, sore was the word of the day for the rest of my weekend. Amazing how muscle-memory works, it was like I hadn't skipped much of a beat. I felt a bit awkward on some of the exercises, felt a tad weak on triceps; but otherwise I was owning the steel.

Sore or not on Sunday, it was time to get in some more. I was determine to make this my Reveille Weekend and awaken from the stagnant slumber that I had been in for too long. Sunday, cardio! My wife was not feeling good so she didn't join as as she wanted to. Andrew & I got after it at the Rollins Savannah...

Last year I put in some great efforts here and put up a streak of personal records here as well. My best time last year on this 3.6 mile loop was 54:49 minutes. We set out with the idea of getting as close to it as possible. No way was achieving that time going to happen this day; No Way! I hadn't put in any consistent cardio in April, I still haven't shed that 10 pound regain from the winter, and my sore muscles weren't feeling extraordinary effort within them.

Never Say Never!

We smashed that PR in a big way.

I came in at 52:04 minutes...

Andrew at 51:35 minutes.

I feel an Oh Yeah!

Did you feel any Oh Yeah's this weekend/recently?

Final thought: We have Never Forgot 9/11 and those murdered, maimed and devastated. The news of OBL's termination is reason for pride swell and affirmation in our determination for justice; but it is not reason to now forget. The cause continues, sadly in the throws of war. Never Forget means just that; NEVER FORGET!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 333 - I'm Gett'n It In w/ Andrea

Looking forward to this evening. The weather will be decent, 50F after work, swweeettttt!


And with the time change to DST it will now be light out late enough for me to return to Lake Andrea for some outdoor cardio. Folks that is HUGE news to me, worthy of an Oh Yeah!

Lake Andrea is where I notched many a NSV last summer & fall. I am excited about my weekly return to dance with the challenge that is Lake Andrea's 2.25 loop.

What opportunities do the longer & warming days bring you in your effort to get & stay healthy?

A quick picture duo from my Albuquerque...
Tex-NewMex Platter...

Beef Rib Platter...

No mystery why my time away saw me gain ten spins on the scale!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 268 - 55% Progress

It's weigh-in day, weigh-in day, weigh-in day... that would be the day I weigh-in.

Feeling good about this weigh in too as I've dropped 2 pounds this past week. Cool, that is 2 pounds closer to my goal weight of 199! Since starting this mission last April I've dropped 55% of the weight I have set out to drop. Oh Yeah!

This past week I have been vigilant about tracking my calories & exercise. In part inspired by Bobbie over at Anonymous Fat Girl who gave us THIS amazing post last weekend. I've been using the Lose It! app on my iTouch and this week I calculated a calorie deficit of 6,809 calories. That calculates oh-so close to 7,000 which is the calories one needs to burn to lose 2 pounds. So Bobbie, thanks again for that post! Check it out folks if you missed it.
Big temptation challenge today; family birthday party. We'll be convening the families over at Bill's Pub to celebrate those who turn a year older this month. Bill's is known for it's pizza and also serves up an dang-good bacon-cheese-fry appetizer which I will have none of. I will have some pizza, but very little. I've been here a few times over the past year and have done well to restrain myself. I expect today to be another such day of restraint.

Let me close this post by giving another shout-out. This guy is a blogger who had allot to do with me getting off to a great start on my mission. I recall receiving great advice from him on topics such as how to restrain yourself when going to parties, brunches, etc.. 

Over the past few months he has become largely absent from the blogs and as is true with so very many who fade from the blogs, his progress with his own mission to be healthy has faded. He has allowed himself to justify poor habits and put back on a chunck of weight. But, he did grace us from his blog last Monday where he owned up to just that (how else would I have known his state) and he let us know WHY... I have no doubt Kyle has what it takes to rebound and hope to see him posting that he is doing just that soon. 

Have a Great Sunday everyone!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 250-252 Christine's Oh Yeah

Merry Christmas Eve everyone. A good time is in store for us today, family party at our house. Making home-made chinese for our feast. I am very non-traditional whenever I can be and holidays I go out of my way to buck traditions to amp up the fun. This year that means serving chinese food to those coming over expecting turkey or ham. Ho ho ho!

But enough about me and what I am doing today, or what I have done the past few days. For the short time you will be here today I've got nothing to share more worthy of your valuable time than the good news of another. Many of you likely saw her post last weekend, but for those that did not; take a look at this Oh Yeah! post, and celebrate with Christine...

Be sure and turn up your volume before you play her Celebration V-Log

Christine, once again I must say Way to go Christine; Way To Go!





Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 238-242 Read, See, Watch & Be Inspired

Hello one and all! Been a few days since I dabbled into the blogs including my own. This past weekend was a working weekend for me. Every so often we release new or changed technology into our business. When we do part of the zillion things I do is oversee such releases. The good news, we kicked @$$!! The bad news, it killed my weekend time with family, friends and our pets too.

The ugly news, I have felt semi-ill and off-game Monday & Tuesday. I wasn't sick to the point where I stayed home sick. Rather my gut was churning and burning and with it my attitude and mood has been sedate and quiet. I started coming around yesterday afternoon and just in time too. My wife wanted to go out to dinner and the hit some stores to all but finish our Christmas shopping. By the time the work day was done I my mood was well on the rebound and we had a great date night.

A few of you posted/wrote emails asking if all was well; very kind of you to check in on me and make sure I hadn't slipped face first off the health wagon and into a vat of bacon wrapped sausage ice cream. I can assure you I remain committed to getting healthier each day and the scale has been smiling back at me. But more inspiring than the scale are NSV's. It has been a while since I've had one that I felt worthy to share but today, well I have an excellent one...

Take a look at the picture up there, do you see the NSV in that photo? No, not the V-8, Protein shake and fruit I brought to work today. That stuff is all good and minus the shake it is a part of my daily feedbag; these shakes I drink 2-3x a month when so moved and today is one of those days. Back to the NSV, it is my watch! Or more accurately my wrist. My weight loss has made it to the point where my wrists have shed enough girth that my watchband is not only no longer snug on me but it is so loose my watch spins around on my wrist. While this is a very cool NSV, it is also a bit irritating. So I shall soon celebrate by having a link removed from this watchband. Can I get an Oh Yeah!


Now, if that wasn't inspiring for you this fine morning, well then all I can say is watch this...

 

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 197 - 52% Progress

Hope everyone's weekend has gone as desired so far. Today I have a pair of shout outs to share...

Big Girl Bombshell had her one-year blog anniversary this past week. Making it a year on the blogs is no small feat as I see it. Think of all the bloggers we have seen come and disappear back into a vat of ice cream inside of a month or two. Not Jules, she has had a great year. As I commented to her, If a person can replace embarassment with pride in a year; that is a GREAT year.

Ann over at Ann is Livin' Large also had an 'versary this week, her 100 day'versary. She didn't rest a moment putting together a winner of a 100 day post. Here she jotted 100 ways she has benefitted from eating healthier. Number 10 & 69 are my favorites, check them out.

This week's weigh in concludes a week of inconsistency. I struggled to eat balanced and portioned meals from dawn to dusk and say to day. There weren't any all out binges or collapses, just not the degree of consistency I now expect of myself. Same can be said for exercise. I did get it in this week, but just the minimum amount I look for. None of my workouts, except for one, left me with that accomplished feeling. I sense my mind is in a difficult-to-please mood at the moment, not sure why, so I may be cutting myself short a bit.  

As of this morning I have knocked out 52% pounds.

In total 63.5 pounds have been knocked out over twenty-eight weeks, 1.5 of that this week.

Today I weighed in at 256.5 pounds.

Oh Yeah, Have a Great Sunday.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 173 - Riddle This Monster

Hello blogger loving - heatlhy craving - exercise wanting - happy folk. Does that sound like you? Sounds to me like a fine way to looked upon as.

Picture riddle for Thursday this week. There you see it. Looks shiny, looks symmetrical. Doesn't look like a liquid or a squid. What is it?

Wednesday was a great day on the exercise front. My son & I made a visit to Lake Andrea to chip away at my personal challenge there. Continuing to work to get around that lake's 2.25 mile loop faster and faster by mixing in more jogging with the walking. Last week we improved our time by 1:51 minutes doing just that.

This week we got after with even more intensity and achieved a monster PR shaving a monster 2:11 to finish in 30:55 minutes. Monster I'm telling you! Um, yeah, I was stunned when I looked at my watch (if you can't see it trust me it says 30:55)...

Cashed out, that was me afterwards. No time to catch my breath however, I had to take care of a little business before breathing, hydrating, celebrating. That done, I wanted to capture an Oh Yeah shot but my 'gasping for air' face over-rode my 'happy and prideful' face. So this is my Oh Yeah shot (why do us bloggers like to take pics in bathrooms? I cropped out as much of the porcelain furniture I could)...

Finally hydrating... my son tried to get a better Oh Yeah shot of me in a more celebratory moment. However this is not much better as I was too thirsty to pose and he was too impatient to wait...

After the exercise we went off to grab a meal & play before going to his high school for a presentation on college prep. Andrew was paying more attention to the baseball game on TV than his game controller where I was focused on the video poker battle between us...

But he didn't need to may much attention to the poker as he was wiping the floor with me as I kept getting hand after hand like this...

Finally, some food...

Have a MONSTER Day!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 169 - 48% Progress

How was your Saturday? Are you ready for Sunday?? I know I am, lets get on with it!

I am off to a good start on the October Go The Distance Challenge (for you tweeters hash tag #OctGTD); I've out in miles both yesterday and today.


It is weigh in day but before chatting up myself lets chat up others with a couple of shout outs...


I came to know Kelly this week via her post here. Actually I came to know her via Jack Sh*t's reply to her calling him out on his post here. Kelly is running a local 5K on Sunday, November 14, 2010 to benefit and raise awareness for prostate cancer. Her Dad was diagnosed with prostrate cancer back in May, so this is will be a very personal race for her. On that day I will get in 5k myself some how, some way, some where. Walk, jog, both; whatever under my own power. If you decide to join us please let Kelly know via her blog or twitter.


Aliana is on the cusp of OneDerland. She can't get any closer. Next week, she should be there. Follow along as she cracks that oh-so cool milestone.

Ok, weigh in details. Excellent week overall. So I hit the scale this a.m. hoping for not only my desired 1.5 pound weekly drop but2-3x that. Drum roll in your head if it helps, here it is...

Kicked to the curb are 48% of the pounds I need to kick.

Kicked all total is 58.5 pounds over twenty-four weeks; 2.5 of them this past week.

Today I weighed in at 261.5 pounds.

All together now - Oh Yeah...

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 166 - Trio O Fun

Ok, today is a day to lighten up the topic just a bit. But allow me a quick follow up to yesterday's post on trusting & believing in yourself. Simply I truly do believe your own success rides solely on your ability to do just that; TRUST that you have what it takes to get healthy & BELIEVE that you will.

On to the fun, a trio of fun tidbits for you is what I have.

First…
Seems like a great day to have a go at another picture riddle. So there you see a picture of what? Not that I'm looking for what that 'yellow' item represents more so than what it is made of. Have fun! I'll get you the answer tomorrow, or maybe earlier.

Second…
A quick report out on a fun time I had yesterday evening. My son & I made a venture over to Lake Andrea for some cardio. It had been a couple of weeks since I had had a PR of any kind and this was the place I last did. And this place has become my latest location of challenge.

Recall two times ago here I started jogging the last 1/4 or 1/5 mile of this loop and my pants were falling down. Yeah, I still chuckle at that myself. The last time they didn't because I was wearing better fitting trousers to work that day, ok maybe a little slippage at the end of that effort. It is what I get for walking/jogging in my business casual attire.

Yesterday I finally got the hint. I changed into exercise shorts & t-shirt beforehand. What is the saying, Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me (President George W. Bush said it better, " fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 "). Anyhow, off we went and I wanted this loop to be a celebratory affair; I got the stitches out of my face today and all is healing great; that I believe is worthy of a celebratory effort; no?

Cut to the chase, we walked a bit, jogged for 100 or more steps, and repeated. All in all I jogged seven stints of 100-150 steps on a loop I previously just walked for the most part. For that bit of bravado I earned a new PR on the look, knocking 1:51 minutes from it to chalk up a 33:06 finish for this 2.25 mile loop. I think an Oh Yeah! is in order.

Third…
Twitter. I stayed away from that bit-o-technology (anyone else just get a craving for bit-o-honey?) forever. Until recently a blogger gave me the scoop on it has helped augment their weight-loss effort beyond blogging. Since I never expected blogging to do squat for my effort when I started last April (how blind was I?), I figured I just may be missing out. Boy oh boy (my Grandma Alma's favorite phrase for when the lights came on), was I ever missing out.

Twitter has allowed me to keep up with those of you doing the same during those times of day when I'm off and away with just my blackberry in hand. Perhaps that makes me a bit addictive to all of this, and if so, I am cool with that. As I firmly believe that my connecting with all of you has brought me buckets full of motivation, no barrels full, to stay focused sun up to sunset. Thanks for that!

So, if you tweet and you & I are not connected there, let's get connected. There is a badge on the left to follow on with my twitter conversation, please use it. If you are not on twitter, dare I ask why not?

Fourth…
Oh, I said a trio of fun tidbits didn't I. Fine, this post is long enough as it is.

                                                    Enjoy this day, get healthier and Have Fun!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 162 - 46% Progress

A terrific Sunday is here, hope it is just that for all here...
 
It is weigh in day but first a few shout outs...
 
We've all seen before & after shots, and they are very telling of our efforts. Keelie shared some amazing before & after pictures this week.   

How I'm Losing It is a fairly new blogger who is off to a good start on her quest to regaining a healthier and more fit body and mind. We've all been here, off and running on our quests and in blogging; stop by and share a bit of yourselves with her.

Amelia write a letter to herself this week for when she needs a kick to get moving. It's short, well written and something worth checking out.

This morning there is a bit less of me putting this post together. 

Gone now are 45% of the pounds I've set out to shed myself of.

Gone now are 56 pounds shed over twenty-three weeks; 2 of them this past week.

(I lost count of the weeks somewhere, last week said it was 21, simple math is hard sometimes)

Today I weighed in at 264 pounds.

Just one thing to say about that; Oh Yeah...

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 156 - NSV's Then Guess

How was everyone's weekend? Good I hope. Mine was fantastic.

A busy weekend, a busy past few days really. I chose to leave my posts Saturday & Sunday focused on the award Lanie honored me with and then my weekly weigh on those days respectively. The weekend now over, the body relaxed & the mind less stressed and I am ready for the new week.

So lets look at some NSV's of the past few days...

Last Thursday I went to lunch with some work mates. We went to a favorite place of mine which I have mentioned before; Franks for the Memories. I went in hungry and left with an NSV. This place is small & what seating they do have is all booths. Ugh, booths, the bane of all obese people. Booths have ruined many a meal for me,how about you? This day however I was able to slide on in and felt rather comfortable. My gut wasn't resting up against the table edge or oozing out onto the table itself. SPACE, there was space between me & the table top... Oh Yeah!

Last Friday I went to the doctor for a couple of reasons, one of them was to see if I had lost enough weight, upped my circulatory health enough to get off of the blood pressure pills once & hopefully for all. I hadn't been taking them regular since my annual physical in July. At that time I brought it up to my doc and he wanted to exercise some caution. But he did say that if when I exercise I found myself getting light-headed that would be a signal that my BP was being lowered by the medicine lower than necessary, thus, also signalling that I was likely ready to get off of them. He asked that I keep up the pills unless the light-headedness was more than slight, and that we can check it again in two months. Well two months have passed and I have passed his cautious care and he gave me the thumbs up to kick them to the curb. That is not just an NSV it is a bucket list entry I get to cross off... Oh Yeah!

Ok, we end this post with a picture riddle; these are fun and seem to be popular. Up there is a picture of what? This one should be a harder than the last one (fire hydrant). But don't let difficulty keep you from playing, step up and take a guess. I'll reveal the answer tomorrow, or perhaps earlier if someone guesses correctly.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 155 - 45% Progress

Hello to all my furry friends. Or, furless friends if you are bald or, well....

 

Saturday's workout was on the home gym routine. My first strength training in over a week. Taking last week off from the weights per doctor's orders was not fun mentally because I wanted to go down there and lift. So you can imagine how happy I felt to be able to do so today. Huh, you can't imagine it? Ok, I was happier than a lonely tick on a fat sleepy dog.

 

A couple of shout outs before I get to my weekly weigh in...

• Chances are you already follow The Anti-Jared but if not go get a gander at Tony's blog which he just moved to a new service and is sporting a cool new look.
• Michelle of The Garlic Chronicles has moved her blog, or is starting a new one actually, as she embarks on a new journey; now she can be found at Meesh.
• A guy I call G96 set a goal to bike 500 miles about 3 months ago and yesterday he reported the good news at Going For 96 that he hit that goal and also has dropped over 25 pounds along the way. If you want to know what going for 96 means you'll have to go check out his 'about' page, one of the cooler reasons behind a blog name I have read.

As for myself, as of this morning I am saying sayonara to a bit more fat; Oh Yeah...

 

In all 45% of the weight I no longer want is gone.

That's 54 pounds lost over twenty-one weeks; 2 of them this past week.

Today I weighed in at 266 pounds.

Have yourselves a healthy, happy and humerous Sunday!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 150 - Night Time Mov'in

Monday was a decent day. Ate well all day. It was taco night at our house, it is on average 2x a month. For myself I through some chopped bell pepper and firm tofu in a skillet, seasoned it and got it hot. When that red bell pepper turned a brilliant red in the pan I hit it all with a heaping tablespoon of homemade salsa (recipe is HERE, mine was hot of course). A few ticks of the  clock later and it was ready to come to rest on a bed of grilled onions in a whole grain tortilla; MY taco!

Yeah, there was no danger of anyone else wanting it let me assure you. Tofu is like kryptonite in our house, only I am not weakened to my core at the site of it. Same could be said for bell peppers too, just not a household of veggie appreciators. Working on that.

Planned to get up early and work out but, that didn't happen. The bed needed to be kept warm just a bit longer, yeah that was it. But fear not, I exercised. After dinner I got in a trip on my 3.6 mile Neighborhood-II Loop.

Dark, it gets dark after dinner now. It is only September. I imagine in late December all my exercise will be in the dark. Fine, I am prepared. I am a hunter so I have plenty of warm weather clothing. And, I am luminous. yep, check out that picture, that's me glowing as I walk last night. Pic is a bit fuzzy, I was moving and didn't want to lose pace to shoot the pic so I gave up quality for pace.

Whenever I am out & about I usually wear that fedora, including when I exercise. Realizing the darkness was creeping in on our day I purchased a pair of reflective arm/leg straps recently. When worn on my arms they feel restrictive. On my legs they feel kinky, just go with it. So, I connected them together and what do you know, the perfect reflective hat band. I'd patent it, but come on, the market for folks that exercise in a fedora has to be teeny-tiny.

The walk felt great. For one because I was getting in a good walk for the first time in a week. And two because I know I needed it and was stoked to be putting the previous sedentary week behind me.

How great did it feel? It felt 58:50 minutes great; a new PR but almost 2 full minutes. Seven seconds short of two minutes to be factual. In previous walks on this loop I have chipped away at that PR, not sure why I smashed that one so convincingly this time. Maybe it is the cooler temperatures. Maybe I was just on a bigger high than I realized. Maybe it was the salsa. Whatever it was; Oh Yeah!

Are you prepared for adapting your exercise to the change in seasons?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 141 - 43% Progress & Five-Oh'Yeah

A good morning to you all...

This morning was weigh-in day, and a it was great validation of all the hard work, mental & physical, I've put in over the past 4-1/2 months. The milestone hit today is just a number, but if you asked me 4-1/2 months ago if I'd have been able to hit it by the end of year, let alone in 141 days; I'd have said nope, not likely.

This morning I have lost 43% of the weight I have set out to lose.

That's 51.5 pounds lost over NINETEEN weeks; 2 of them this past week.

Today I weighed in at 268.5 pounds. Oh Yeah!

Yes, 50 is just a number. It represents what? Well, let's see...

• 50 less pounds to threaten my cardio-vascular health
• 50 more pounds of confidence to believe I can accomplish this mission
• 50 less pounds to inhibit my ability to do the exercise I need
• 50 more pounds of motivation to try things I thought myself incapable of 4-1/2 months prior
• 50 less pounds to have to explain when I get my annual physical
• 50 more pounds of energy to keep me off the couch and on task
• 50 less pounds to prevent me from getting on a roller coaster
• 50 more pounds of knowledge to put to use in getting healthier and healthier
• 50 less pounds to toss around as excuses for not living life as I wish I could
• 50 more pounds of blog followers who fuel me with the wisdom & respect of their own stories
• and I could go on...

So 50 is just number; and today it is my favorite number.

What is your favorite number today?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 140 - Rebounding From Wedding

The afternoon is almost gone and I am just sitting down for some blogging. It will be a short sit as I need to get ready to go see my son play soccer soon. But at least wanted to get a post up and checkout a few blogs before I go. I'll be back this evening to read more blogs and see how everyone is doing.

Hope all of you are doing well as we start this weekend. A long holiday weekend it is too. Myself, woke up feeling sluggish. Between the wedding rehearsal on Thursday evening and then the wedding Friday I am wiped out. And I was not even in the wedding party, so you can imaging how wiped out my wife is. So much so she is upstairs taking a nap before the soccer game.

While I didn't go binge crazy over board at these two events I did eat a good 300-400 calories more that I intend on a given day, where a given day day for me is 1700-2000 calories. Lets just say I likely took in 2500 calories on each of the last two days. Not terrible, the old me would have taken in 3-times that. Not good either as I did eat more than I should have. Thus why I felt sluggish this morning too.

But I did not let that feeling get to me, I did the opposite actually. Instead of wallowing in some pity I used that feeling for motivation and declared this a Two-A-Day day. In part to get moving to relieve myself of the sluggish feeling and in part to undo any damage I may have done the past two days. Weigh in day tomorrow, and I am weighing in and announcing the milestone achieved tomorrow as I set out to do at the beginning of the week.

First up on the Two-A-Day: Stanton Hill. My son was with me and as well the JV high school football team was there using the hill. Luckily the section I use was available and off we went. A brisk 60F day out made it pleasant, though the high winds were a bit of a nuisance. Last time out here I missed a new PR on this hill by a few seconds. It had been over a month since I hit the 20 laps up & down mark. We set our sights in on 21 this time and gave it all we had. And have it we would, we nailed 21 with about a minute to go,not enough time to get in a 22nd lap, that'll have to wait for another visit and be happy with this PR, Oh Yeah!

Second up on the Two-A-Day: the 3.6 Mile Neighboorhood II loop. AI had a light lunch after the hill and a brief rest and then off I went by myself for this walk. My goal was an hour, my best so far was just over 61 minutes. This is a loop through our sub-division, into the next and around two large park and back. All concrete and asphalt, some small inclines and declines; friendly walking terrain you could say. Along the way I listened to the latest podcast from MizFit & Shauna, which was both motivating and at the same time there were parts where I just wanted to sit on a park bench and listen because my own breathing was getting in the way of listening. But know I had the luxury of listening to it again later on, I kept going. And going I went to a 60:43 finish. Aother PR for this day, Oh Yeah!

Ok, I am off to the shower and to soccer. Have a great day everyone!

Catch your blogs later this evening and catch you back here tomorrow for my weigh in.

Oh, have you checked out MizFit & Shauna's podcast? If not use that link up there and give it a listen; good stuff!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 138 - Fit To KISS

Rain Rain Rain here yesterday. Didn't stop me from getting up early (430am) and getting in a work out on the home gym and busting out a bunch of sit ups & push ups. But it did wash out my plans to walk around Lake Andrea in the evening.

Oh well, I'm good so far on my planned exercise. Ate great again yesterday so I've got a groove going here. That said, I need to be sure I don't get comfortable or complacent. Seems when I do my guard falls and I tend to let temptation a bit closer than is safe.

This evening we go to the wedding rehearsal for our friends Eileen & Brian. It'll be fun, and easy for me; I am just there as the husband of a bridesmaid. Oh and a friend I suppose too :-) Looking forward to it, is it time to go yet? No, how about now?

In Sunday's post I spoke of being able to fit into 2XL shirt comfortably now. There it is in the picture, the one I picked up that day, it fits amazingly well, Oh Yeah! Sorry, couldn't help myself to an early Oh Yeah.

Yep, you are not seeing things. It is a retro KISS t-shirt exactly the same as the one I owned when I was a teenager. Well that one was probably an L, or XL at most, and this one is new, allot newer, like 30+ years newer. Oh, and you bet your sweet cheeks I am wearing this to the wedding rehearsal tonight.

KISS, still a big fan. Like many people, my favorite music is still what I enjoyed as a teen. Oh I listen to a bunch of stuff from the decades since too, in fact my favorite band, Chevelle, has only been at it about 10 years. KISS is more than just outstanding music to me, it's music holds a boat load of memories for me too.

Some of those memories are probably better left where they are, in my mind. But one memory I have of KISS is simply cool beyond cool. I am talking Grandma Cool. The year was 1977 and I had recently discovered KISS. Quickly I was not just a fan, I was a member of the KISS Army. But I didn't have one of their albums, everyone else did, but not me. I heard it everywhere but in my own home.

It didn't seem likely to happen any time soon either as I had asked my parents to buy me my favorite album, but they would not. Apparently I still owed them for the new baseball bat they bought me, details. When my Grandma Alma heard that I was into KISS she didn't do what many Grandma's would have, turn up their nose. Nope, she went to the record store to hear what they sounded like.

She thought they were terrible and would tell me "Grown men in make up ought to be in the circus," or something like that. Her opinions noted, and quickly dismissed, I still thought she was cool for having listened to them. But a minute later her coolness factor rose ten-fold when she handed me a brand-spanking-new copy of KISS' album "Rock and Roll Over", my favorite.

Those of you who know their KISS will recognise that album cover on my t-shirt there. So this shirt is not just cool because my getting healthier has allowed me to fit into it, it also brings back cool memories of my Grandma.

Thank You Grandma!

Come on, you must have a cool Grandma story, fess up!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 134 - 41% Progress

Got in another cardio workout on Saturday. A return to the Junior High soccer field for some more 80 yard sprints. Last weekend my first attempt saw me do ten sprints before calling it a workout, this attempt I did a dozen. My fastest sprint was 20 seconds, a second better than my best spring a week ago. I may have pushed it a bit further than wise as my left thigh was not too happy with me afterwards. I stretched it out good afterwards and it felt better, no big deal; just need to stretch more beforehand is my guess.

Had a pair of cool NSV's yesterday...

We are going to a wedding this coming Friday. My wife asked if I was going to get a new pair of trousers since the ones I wear now are so baggy. I wasn't going to but she seemed to want me to so we did just that.

For the better part of a decade I've been wearing 46's. If honest with myself I should have been wearing 48's or 50's perhaps the past year or so as my 46's have been tight tight tight. I grabbed a pair of 44's to take to the dressing room and my wife suggested I try 42's. Not necessary I thought but I grabbed them any way and off I went to the dressing room.

The first thing I tried on was a 2XL t-shirt I grabbed before making my way over to the trousers. Before I started this mission I wore exclusively 3XL's which fit me. Not all would fit when I tried them on, just some. Had I been willing to buy 4XL's I'd have had more options in recent years, but, for whatever reason buying 4XL's was something I was not going to do until I needed to.

Huh? Can you believe that!? Attitude, that was my old attitude, that someday I would have to buy 4XL's and when that day came so be it, but not before. Thinking back at that attitude both boils my Irish blood and tickles my Irish bum.

The 2XL t-shirt fit great and the many old 2XL t-shirts I've had shoved to the back of my dresser drawers have been replaced the 3XL's for use now as I can wear any 2XL I touch comfortably now.

Back to the trousers, I started with trying on the 42's. Now I should have known my wife would be right, silly me. I never even tried on the 44's, just took the t-shirt & the 42's and checked out.

So chalk these up on the NSV list...
>Buying new trousers in size 42, down from 46's.
>Saying goodbye to having to buy 3XL shirts & hello to 2XL

The numbers for this weigh in areas follows: I weigh 41% less than the day I started this mission.

Thus, 49.5 pounds have been lost in the past EIGHTEEN weeks; 2 of them this past week.

Today I weighed in at 270.5 pounds. Oh Yeah!

Cool - the 40% mark has been achieved! The 50 pound mark, missed it by that much; holding thumb & fore finger a 1/2 inch apart representing that 1/2 pound shy I am of that mark. Needless to say, I am quite please with this past week.

Enjoy your Sunday, have fun & be healthy!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 127 - 39% Progress & Oh Yeah's

Welcome to the 34th Sunday of 2010, is it just me or is this year passing by faster than corn through a goose?

My wife & I celebrated our 11th Anniversary this week. We did so low-key as she is still recovering from her recent surgery. We've given ourselves a pair of tickets to go see Bill Engvall & John Pinette perform next month. By then she should be fully recovered and we'll be able to get out and celebrate in style. Happy Anniversary to my gorgeous wife! 

As promised yesterday I was going to work in another cardio work out. Not wanting another walk, not able to hit Stanton Hill as the football team was using it for their workout, I drove around until I found something different; a soccer field. The local junior high field was looking a bit lonely so I paid it a visit. After arriving, I wondered what to do. I had no soccer ball. Walking around it seemed lame. I don't run, maybe a bad idea, I may as well leave. Then it hit me, sprint!

Well that notion woke up that evil hungry-demon inside me who drove me to obesity. "Huh, spring! That's running, no?" he jested gruffly. "You barely jog and look like a drunk armadillo when you do."

I grin and look at the field, it is a bit smaller that a regulation field, expected as 7th & 8th graders play on it. Regulation fields are 100-130 yards long, I paced this off at 88 yards (114 steps of my 28 inch stride), so figuring a bit of error in my pacing I considered this field to be 80 yards long.

"Seriously, lets go home and you can walk on that treadmill," said the hungry-demon, sniffing his jelly donut. "It has rails you can hold on to, much less embarrassing."

A freshly fried donut oozing with jelly puts off a strong smell, a smell that the healthy-alien in me does not like. "Sprints huh, that's the spirit," he encouraged boldly. "One, just do one 80 yard sprint, or one 80 yard jog, lets see if you've come far enough to do it."

One, sure I can do one. I really don't want to walk, treadmill or anywhere today. A little stretching, the IPod set, my watch in hand, off I went. Field was in good condition, flat, grass cut recently. Half way across, I stopped critiquing the field conditions, this is 80 yards? Seems like 80 leagues! Time, 33 seconds.

"Way to go big boy," the hungry-demon blurted through a chortle. "Too bad nobody is here to watch, I could charge $2 to watch this show."

Nice, that one stung a bit. As well that sprint had a bit of sting to it too. It was a sprint, not a jog; I was hauling this body as fast I could move it.

"Now walk, walk back," suggested the healthy-alien. "Walk and while you catch your breath."

And so I did, pondering my 33 second effort. Once upon a time I could sprint 40 yards in 7-8 seconds. Not really that fast, many of the high school athletes I hung with could do that in 5-6 seconds.

Back on the other side of the field now I was no longer listening to the healthy-alien & hungry-demon. They argued, the jelly donut hit the ground and those two locked horns like two ornery heartland tornadoes competing for the same trailer park.

While they went at it, I took off on another sprint; 32 seconds. A walk back, a check of the iPod, and another sprint, and another, and another, and...

Ten sprints later I had enough, my body was urging me to exercise some caution. Which I did, gladly and with a smile as I took note of that tenth and final sprint time, 21 seconds, that deserves an Oh-yeah!

Back at home, I left the healthy-alien & hungry-demon back at the soccer field; back at home I chit chatted with my wife for about fifteen minutes before I realized I was antsy and her attention was fixed on whatever was on television. We had a few hours before we would pack up the kids and head off to a family gathering. Bored, I went into the basement to do some crunches and push ups.

Once in the basement, I set up and did a set of push ups. Now crunches, but as I looked at that bench I smirked; I really didn't want to do any crunches. Too boring.

A quick pondering, I grabbed a mat and set it down beside the home gym. I got down, flopped onto my back, said a prayer, and away I went. Or rather I should say up I went, I did set of ten sit-ups. SIT UPS, really sit ups, not crunches - the real deal.

In all honesty, it has to be 15 years since I've got up the gumption to do a sit up. Yep, you guessed it, that also deserves an Oh-yeah!

Five sets of ten push ups and sit ups were completed before I called it quits, declared victory, and headed off to the shower.

It seems only fitting that I add being able to do sprints and sit ups to my NSV list. I'll do just that after I get this posted.


Ok, today is weigh in day, and I am pleased at the result. It very well could have been a 1/2 pound or a pound better but the family gathering yesterday probably cost me that much. It wasn't a a complete giving in to temptation, not at all. But there was some indulgence. A great time it was.

Brass tacks time, the scale reports that I have now punted 39% of the weight I want to lose. In all, 47.5 pounds have been kicked away in the past SEVENTEEN weeks; 1.5 of them this past week. Today I weighed in at 272.5 pounds. Oh Yeah!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 105 - Book It: 20 in 30 !

Anyone here listen to Yes? Back in the 70's & 80's I sure did. They had great album art when such art was appreciated. Relayer was my favorite album, Fragile was great too. I had a healthy album collection until an unfortunate fire wiped out my collection when I was a sophomore. The album you see here, Open Your Eyes, I never owned but I borrowed & wore out a friends cassette in the late 90's. I thought of it today while exercising.

Yes, this is an exercise post; not a music tribute. My son & I went to Stanton Hill yesterday looking to it to make amends for the few food slips on vacation. Last time I did 19 laps up and down in 30 minutes, missing the 20 laps mark by 3 seconds...THREE SECONDS!

Whoa, the first ten laps were rough, my head was down, eyes wandering and the path I was cutting was as crooked as a government budget. Concentration which I have touted as key to performance, it was absent, I may as well have been walking with my eyes closed.

No reason for me to believe 20 would happen. My son was about 1/4 lap ahead of me, then 3/8's at the 15 minute mark. At that rate, by the end, he'd finish a full 1/2 lap or more ahead of me. But still, I was exercising, that alone is enough to feel good about, right?

The Hungry-Demon (remember him) popped in briefly with a quick affirmation, "Nope, no need big boy in needlessly pushing for anything more than gett'n this done & go'n home," he swiftly muttered. That said, he vanished; probably figuring my mind was set to do just that.

"Um, you going to take that?", sqwauked the Healthy-Alien from inside me. Not sure if he was referring to the Demon's words or my son's growing lead, but my thought was 'No' either way.

Kicking it in gear was more easily thought of than achieved, but slowly I opened my eyes and got kick'n. One at a time I dropped nickles into the hat at the end of each lap. With 5 nickles left it was back to 1/4 lap deficit... then with 2 left it was 1/8... then he noticed I was catching up and got jetted forward from his own boost of pride. That 1/8 lap was as close as I'd get to him, but that didn't matter even though it would have been cool to beat him. What did matter is we did 20 laps in 29:43... We did 20 in 30 - can I get an Oh Yeah!

Twenty has been the goal for this exercise. Each visit to the hill, I chipped away. Now Twenty is in the books, it is history, my history!

That done; time to look for a new challenge.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!