No journey is a straight line.
I've talked about this before and it remains true to me today. How wonderful it would be to simply say "I am going to lose 65 pounds" and head directly there.
But journeys of self-improvement are more like the game of snakes and ladders, we have some ups, some downs, and hopefully we eventually reach the top. Perseverance is the key.
My back injury has me sliding down the squares. It's immensely frustrating and at times feels like I'm going to be stuck for a long while. My workout program is limited, I can't do karate, and I'm sore most of the time.
I met with my trainer ( Rob from www.trainersonsite.com) again this week to discuss our strategy, he made some more modifications, shifted my focus a bit and kept me thinking about the positives.
On the subject of positives, I stepped on the scale this morning. I know normally my weigh in happens in a few days, but I was curious how my week was progressing.
247lbs
I'm stunned. I had a bad week last week, and while I was refocused the past 5 days or so I didn't expect it to be quite that good. We'll see what the official weigh in looks like Tuesday, but that's pretty awesome.
In a non-scale victory I'm seeing more differences in performance as well. On Monday we were short on players for Hockey, which led to me playing centre for the first time in years. I expected I'd be coughing up a lung by the end of the 1st period, but I actually felt pretty good. I mean I'm still a lousy hockey player, but at least I wasn't an exhausted lousy hockey player!
Training injuries happen, backs, knees, ankles, wrists, whatever. If you are trying to change your body your body gets a very Newton' First Law attitude and tries to stay at rest. The key thing is to keep focusing on what you can do, keep plugging away at it, relish the small victories and the big changes will take care of themselves.
It is the same with all endeavours, expecting smooth sailing is to invite disappointment. Disappointment can lead to giving up.
Expect it to be hard, expect it to be a struggle, and expect it to be worth it in the end.
Keep trying everyone!
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Monday, September 30, 2013
Day 42..An Inspiration and a mad fatfitman
First and foremost I want to say congratulations to the entire @trainersonsite Tough Mudder Team.
This team trained hard, worked together, and conquered a grueling 17 km, 21 obstacle course. I could not have been prouder to have acted as their photographer all day, and try to provide some encouragement along the way.
It was incredibly inspirational to watch my wife, my friends, and all the competitors work to overcome the challenges. Old, and young, fit and injured, they persevered. At the end of the day, Rob handed out his own Trainersonsite medals to everyone, including me.
I couldn't accept it.
I didn't earn it.
While they were battling the obstacles and elements, I was fighting a battle of my own. This was the first time that being this out of shape had actually kept me from doing something I desperately wanted to do. No matter my size or condition I've played golf, hockey, tennis or participated at karate. I haven't been as good as I could have been if I was fitter, but I never had to say "No, I can't do that"
Yesterday, I had to say it. And it pissed me off.
It hurts, deep down it hurts a lot. I love the outdoors, I love this kind of activity. This race and it's ilk are the kind of thing I lived for when I was fit. To watch these amazing people and photograph their remarkable day was incredibly painful.
I've had a very unfocused week. Haven't worked out as much as I should, eaten a bit sloppy, gained a small amount of weight. But yesterday brought that focus back. Now I'm mad. Mad and very very focused
I don't like the sidelines. I'm a participant. Next year I am one of these guys.
It was incredibly inspirational to watch my wife, my friends, and all the competitors work to overcome the challenges. Old, and young, fit and injured, they persevered. At the end of the day, Rob handed out his own Trainersonsite medals to everyone, including me.
I couldn't accept it.
I didn't earn it.
While they were battling the obstacles and elements, I was fighting a battle of my own. This was the first time that being this out of shape had actually kept me from doing something I desperately wanted to do. No matter my size or condition I've played golf, hockey, tennis or participated at karate. I haven't been as good as I could have been if I was fitter, but I never had to say "No, I can't do that"
Yesterday, I had to say it. And it pissed me off.
It hurts, deep down it hurts a lot. I love the outdoors, I love this kind of activity. This race and it's ilk are the kind of thing I lived for when I was fit. To watch these amazing people and photograph their remarkable day was incredibly painful.
I've had a very unfocused week. Haven't worked out as much as I should, eaten a bit sloppy, gained a small amount of weight. But yesterday brought that focus back. Now I'm mad. Mad and very very focused
I don't like the sidelines. I'm a participant. Next year I am one of these guys.
Again, congrats to my wife, my friends and the entire team who finished. You guys kicked ass. You're my Monday motivators. I hope you're back there next year, so I can truly join you.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Day 36...Vacation is from work not workouts
I travel a lot for work, and travel has specific problems for people trying to lose weight. Restaurant food, long hours, and the lack of easy to access healthy options can lead to a brutal diet.
Conversely, business travel has some big advantages too, most hotels have good workout facilities, you don't have too many demands on your time when your workday ends, so scheduling a workout shouldn't be too hard.
However, that's not what usually happens. Usually we do the bad, (eat eat eat) and make excuses around the good. For me I get back to my room and I don't want to get out to the gym again, I settle in, start on my laptop or tv and that's it.
Enter Rob Foster and TRX.
TRX is a suspension workout device that can be hooked over most doors and create the foundation for a ton of resistance and core exercises. It folds down to nothing in your travel bag.
Rob created a bunch of TRX workouts I can use when I travel, easy for me to do right in my room, yet all the challenge of working out at home
My wife and I are on vacation for a few days right now, and as I am blogging, she's is doing a great TRX exercise set, I'm up next.
Conversely, business travel has some big advantages too, most hotels have good workout facilities, you don't have too many demands on your time when your workday ends, so scheduling a workout shouldn't be too hard.
However, that's not what usually happens. Usually we do the bad, (eat eat eat) and make excuses around the good. For me I get back to my room and I don't want to get out to the gym again, I settle in, start on my laptop or tv and that's it.
Enter Rob Foster and TRX.
TRX is a suspension workout device that can be hooked over most doors and create the foundation for a ton of resistance and core exercises. It folds down to nothing in your travel bag.
Rob created a bunch of TRX workouts I can use when I travel, easy for me to do right in my room, yet all the challenge of working out at home
My wife and I are on vacation for a few days right now, and as I am blogging, she's is doing a great TRX exercise set, I'm up next.
We can always find excuses, and pass them off as reasons, but sometimes if we are properly motivated, we instead start searching for solutions. We start to enjoy the task as we see the results of our hard work.
I'm starting to really see and feel the results of my hard work, and so for the first time in a long time a trip away from home didn't lead to an easy excuse. It lead to a workout, it lead to careful choices in restaurants. All these little choices, leading to success.
Make your little choices good ones, turn your search for excuses into a search for answers.
P.S. No spotlight blog yesterday as I am away, but it will return next week.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Day 33...249 and beyond!
I stepped on the scale this morning, just as kind of a mid-week check in.
249.6 down about half a pound.
Let me give that number some context. I last blogged on Tuesday.
Wednesday - Karate, back starts acting up part way through class I have to stop
Thursday - back is sore, no workouts
Friday - Osteopath and Personal Trainer meeting. Determine best course of action is no Karate for 1-2 months. Also have to limit squats and lunges, cornerstones of my program.
So by today I'm pretty upset. Feels like a huge setback. But what a difference having my food in order makes. Despite these challenges, I'm still going the right way. That's hugely encouraging.
Also, below 250! I haven't been below 250 lbs since about 4 months after I shattered my right tibia in a hockey accident. That time I got below 250 because I literally couldn't make it to the fridge. This time the measures are far less extreme.
So challenges ahead, but I'm well set up to handle them. I have a great team working with me on this.
Could I do this alone? Maybe, but I cannot begin to express how helpful it is to have people like my personal trainer Rob Foster, and my osteopath Mindy Parmar, working with me and with each other to find solutions to some of these challenges.
It goes back to this. We all face tough times. We all face things we cannot, at that moment do. But do we give in? For me the answer has to be no.
The answer lies in what we CAN do, not in what we can't. It lies in finding the help we need, or accepting it when it comes up. We're not weak because we seek this help out, we're strong for recognizing when we need it.
249.6 down about half a pound.
Let me give that number some context. I last blogged on Tuesday.
Wednesday - Karate, back starts acting up part way through class I have to stop
Thursday - back is sore, no workouts
Friday - Osteopath and Personal Trainer meeting. Determine best course of action is no Karate for 1-2 months. Also have to limit squats and lunges, cornerstones of my program.
So by today I'm pretty upset. Feels like a huge setback. But what a difference having my food in order makes. Despite these challenges, I'm still going the right way. That's hugely encouraging.
Also, below 250! I haven't been below 250 lbs since about 4 months after I shattered my right tibia in a hockey accident. That time I got below 250 because I literally couldn't make it to the fridge. This time the measures are far less extreme.
So challenges ahead, but I'm well set up to handle them. I have a great team working with me on this.
Could I do this alone? Maybe, but I cannot begin to express how helpful it is to have people like my personal trainer Rob Foster, and my osteopath Mindy Parmar, working with me and with each other to find solutions to some of these challenges.
It goes back to this. We all face tough times. We all face things we cannot, at that moment do. But do we give in? For me the answer has to be no.
The answer lies in what we CAN do, not in what we can't. It lies in finding the help we need, or accepting it when it comes up. We're not weak because we seek this help out, we're strong for recognizing when we need it.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Day 29...Soooo Close, and a thank you to my readers
Weigh in day.
I was really hoping to drop below 250 for the first time in years, so onto the scale I stepped.
249.8....250.0
damn, hang on, stupid scale. Lets try that again
250.0
Grrrr..
Okay, down a pound again. Nothing wrong with that at all, but did the scale have to taunt me?
Anyway, it is what it is, and its still moving the right way.
I want to take a moment to thank all of you who read this. I get comments through Facebook, Twitter, and here on the blog from some of you, others talk to me in person, and some just show up and read. But I know you are there.
Why does this matter? For nights like tonight.
It's been kind of a long evening, and I really did not want to go downstairs and hit the weights. Tonight was a night I did it because I really didn't want to have to write a blog that says I didn't.
Any kind of self-improvement journey has to be done because the person wants it, not to impress or satisfy others. But every so often accountability to others can help.
Tonight you all helped me, just by being there.
Thank You.
I was really hoping to drop below 250 for the first time in years, so onto the scale I stepped.
249.8....250.0
damn, hang on, stupid scale. Lets try that again
250.0
Grrrr..
Okay, down a pound again. Nothing wrong with that at all, but did the scale have to taunt me?
Anyway, it is what it is, and its still moving the right way.
I want to take a moment to thank all of you who read this. I get comments through Facebook, Twitter, and here on the blog from some of you, others talk to me in person, and some just show up and read. But I know you are there.
Why does this matter? For nights like tonight.
It's been kind of a long evening, and I really did not want to go downstairs and hit the weights. Tonight was a night I did it because I really didn't want to have to write a blog that says I didn't.
Any kind of self-improvement journey has to be done because the person wants it, not to impress or satisfy others. But every so often accountability to others can help.
Tonight you all helped me, just by being there.
Thank You.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Day 28...Food is everything
Sorry for the brief hiatus. I got away from the blog, and honestly the weight training for a few days. I shouldn't have but I did, so back at it now.
Which is not to say I did nothing. Actually I rode in a short bike tour on Sunday, which was amazing. I had hoped to post some pictures from it, but I couldn't fit my phone anywhere in my bike gear, so I had no camera!
Tonight was my return to hockey. I've played every year for along time, and was looking forward to hitting the ice a little thinner this season. I felt better than in the past, but not as good as I'd hoped. More work to do I suppose.
It's easy when you are writing a blog alone at your laptop to forget that there are real people reading it. Walking into the dressing room tonight was a reminder. A lot of "hey it's the blogger!" "hello fitman!". All good-natured stuff, and a couple guys commented on the slimming. I won't forget anytime soon that people are reading this!
I'm doing a pretty good overhaul of my routine to achieve my results. But sometimes it is smaller changes that bring about massive improvements.
Today I want to spotlight TG, another colleague of mine from work. TG has worked out pretty frequently as long as I have known him. He also is a big time foodie, great guy to travel with as he will have done all the research you could ever need on local eateries.
But TG wanted to get a bit healthier. So he found a website, www.myfitnesspal.com and started to record his food.
All of it, Everyday.
He kept working out, still ate at great places, but when logging his food he noticed a few things. For example, he had a favourite after-work snack. What he didn't know was how calorie filled a snack it was. Logging showed him, he changed his behaviour, and bit by bit the weight has been coming off.
TG at one point logged all of his food for 420 STRAIGHT DAYS. An incredible run, broken only when he had to travel to India for work, got caught in the time change madness of travel, and according to the website, missed a day. I think he's logged everyday since
What did this lead to? Over 35 lbs of weight loss, really just because he logged his food. That's it, it was that simple.
TG, through his dedication to this small change, reminded me that exercise can't outwork a bad diet, and we can't really judge our diet unless we accurately account for what we do. So now you'll find me on www.myfitnesspal.com , working to come close to the level of success he has had.
There are a lot of tools out there, some free, like myfitnesspal, some that will cost you a bit more, like www.bodymedia.com, there's people out there too, like Rob from www.trainersonsite.com or maybe just friends who can help. People who have been there, and know the way out. The point is they are out there, tools and people alike, all ready to help us get fit. All ready to give us guidance, assistance, hope.
Utilize them, any of them, all of them. You don't have to do this alone, you don't have to struggle in solitude.
Pickup the phone, surf to a webpage, read a book. Arm yourself with the tools that are there, apply them consistently (420days!) and success will come.
Weigh in tomorrow, talk to you then.
Which is not to say I did nothing. Actually I rode in a short bike tour on Sunday, which was amazing. I had hoped to post some pictures from it, but I couldn't fit my phone anywhere in my bike gear, so I had no camera!
Tonight was my return to hockey. I've played every year for along time, and was looking forward to hitting the ice a little thinner this season. I felt better than in the past, but not as good as I'd hoped. More work to do I suppose.
It's easy when you are writing a blog alone at your laptop to forget that there are real people reading it. Walking into the dressing room tonight was a reminder. A lot of "hey it's the blogger!" "hello fitman!". All good-natured stuff, and a couple guys commented on the slimming. I won't forget anytime soon that people are reading this!
I'm doing a pretty good overhaul of my routine to achieve my results. But sometimes it is smaller changes that bring about massive improvements.
Today I want to spotlight TG, another colleague of mine from work. TG has worked out pretty frequently as long as I have known him. He also is a big time foodie, great guy to travel with as he will have done all the research you could ever need on local eateries.
But TG wanted to get a bit healthier. So he found a website, www.myfitnesspal.com and started to record his food.
All of it, Everyday.
He kept working out, still ate at great places, but when logging his food he noticed a few things. For example, he had a favourite after-work snack. What he didn't know was how calorie filled a snack it was. Logging showed him, he changed his behaviour, and bit by bit the weight has been coming off.
TG at one point logged all of his food for 420 STRAIGHT DAYS. An incredible run, broken only when he had to travel to India for work, got caught in the time change madness of travel, and according to the website, missed a day. I think he's logged everyday since
What did this lead to? Over 35 lbs of weight loss, really just because he logged his food. That's it, it was that simple.
TG, through his dedication to this small change, reminded me that exercise can't outwork a bad diet, and we can't really judge our diet unless we accurately account for what we do. So now you'll find me on www.myfitnesspal.com , working to come close to the level of success he has had.
There are a lot of tools out there, some free, like myfitnesspal, some that will cost you a bit more, like www.bodymedia.com, there's people out there too, like Rob from www.trainersonsite.com or maybe just friends who can help. People who have been there, and know the way out. The point is they are out there, tools and people alike, all ready to help us get fit. All ready to give us guidance, assistance, hope.
Utilize them, any of them, all of them. You don't have to do this alone, you don't have to struggle in solitude.
Pickup the phone, surf to a webpage, read a book. Arm yourself with the tools that are there, apply them consistently (420days!) and success will come.
Weigh in tomorrow, talk to you then.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Day 24...The results are in!
So last night and this morning I faced the scale, the rowing machine, and the tape measure.
You'll recall from the Day 1 blog that I knew this couldn't be about JUST losing weight. As important as weight loss is, it takes time. All change does. And the fickle nature of the scale (up 1lb one day down 2 the next, back up, wash, rinse, repeat) can really get you down thinking no progress is being made
But I believed if I could measure some other things I would be able to see improvements in many areas. I thought that maybe this would serve as more proof that I was on track, and encourage me to keep going.
I was right.
Lets take a look
First up weight.
Day 1 - 255.4
Day 24 - 251. 2
Change -1.6%
A good start. Over 4lbs down. This also means my BMI drops to 34.1
Waist down 2 inches to 43
Hips down .5 inch to 43.5
Chest down 1 inch to 42
Thigh down .5 inch to 27.5
Total loss is 4 inches. Again, a pretty good start
So my body is changing, slowly, but changing.
What really excited me though was the performance numbers.
Day 1 Pushups to exhaustion - 18
Day 24 Pushups to exhaustion - 29!
2000M Row
Personal Best prior to these 100 days: 8:46.5
Personal Best now: 8:33.7
Recovery from exertion (500m row at 1:58 pace) . Today's values in bold
Peak HR - 190 175
After 1 minutes - 147 130
After 2 minutes - 132 113
After 5 minutes - 110 98
In just 24 days I have seen substantial differences in my performance in all areas. Not just the scale, not just one spot. Everywhere.
I know I don't look a lot different yet. That will come, but this hard work is paying off. I'm stronger, my heart is healthier, and I feel better.
The past 24 days have not been perfect either. I have worked out 19 of 24 days. Not bad, but I can do better. I have logged my food only 15 of those days. I can do a lot better there.
So on to the next 25 days, hopefully in good health. I feel energized, proud, ready to keep this rolling. I can see results, and I know I can improve even further.
I can feel this way because I didn't measure just one thing, I looked at lots of things, make sure you do the same. No matter what your challenge is, find a way to measure all the successes along the way. Four pounds lost in almost 4 weeks wouldn't be a huge lift to me, but these other numbers are.
What other successes can you measure to help keep you going?
You'll recall from the Day 1 blog that I knew this couldn't be about JUST losing weight. As important as weight loss is, it takes time. All change does. And the fickle nature of the scale (up 1lb one day down 2 the next, back up, wash, rinse, repeat) can really get you down thinking no progress is being made
But I believed if I could measure some other things I would be able to see improvements in many areas. I thought that maybe this would serve as more proof that I was on track, and encourage me to keep going.
I was right.
Lets take a look
First up weight.
Day 1 - 255.4
Day 24 - 251. 2
Change -1.6%
A good start. Over 4lbs down. This also means my BMI drops to 34.1
Waist down 2 inches to 43
Hips down .5 inch to 43.5
Chest down 1 inch to 42
Thigh down .5 inch to 27.5
Total loss is 4 inches. Again, a pretty good start
So my body is changing, slowly, but changing.
What really excited me though was the performance numbers.
Day 1 Pushups to exhaustion - 18
Day 24 Pushups to exhaustion - 29!
2000M Row
Personal Best prior to these 100 days: 8:46.5
Personal Best now: 8:33.7
Recovery from exertion (500m row at 1:58 pace) . Today's values in bold
Peak HR - 190 175
After 1 minutes - 147 130
After 2 minutes - 132 113
After 5 minutes - 110 98
In just 24 days I have seen substantial differences in my performance in all areas. Not just the scale, not just one spot. Everywhere.
I know I don't look a lot different yet. That will come, but this hard work is paying off. I'm stronger, my heart is healthier, and I feel better.
The past 24 days have not been perfect either. I have worked out 19 of 24 days. Not bad, but I can do better. I have logged my food only 15 of those days. I can do a lot better there.
So on to the next 25 days, hopefully in good health. I feel energized, proud, ready to keep this rolling. I can see results, and I know I can improve even further.
I can feel this way because I didn't measure just one thing, I looked at lots of things, make sure you do the same. No matter what your challenge is, find a way to measure all the successes along the way. Four pounds lost in almost 4 weeks wouldn't be a huge lift to me, but these other numbers are.
What other successes can you measure to help keep you going?
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