Wait….What? Another new blog?

Contrary to what anyone who has ever read my drivel before believes, I am not trying to set a world record for most blogs ever by a single person. I just love to write, and have yet to find the best home. Hopefully in attempt 9320, I have found it.

A little background for those that don’t know me or haven’t read my stuff before. I am Shane, 37 years old, father of two growing girls, and husband to the best thing that ever happened to me. I have a lot of words that can describe me, some of which are up there in the header, some not fit to print. All my life I have loved to write. Of all the hobbies, of all the interests whether passing fancies or those that have sticked, writing has always been there. I have had dozens of blogs over the years that would have anywhere from 1 post to 500, but would often delete them or stop writing to them on a whim, just as quickly as they were created. I hope to buck that train with this new blog.

I have another blog, following my journey to get health, which follows my latest attempt to do so here:

http://www.leanfitandhealthy.blogspot.com

I have been writing to this blog for a few months, since a recent health scare this spring scared me into getting moving and finally take control and responsibility for my health. I try and write to this blog 5 times a week or so, and if you are so inclined, pop over there and say hi.

I am a huge Sports fan, as well as a poker fan, and general game player, and I have had many blogs over the years following these interests. I am going to attempt to amalgamate these writings and interests, in a general “Guy’s blog” all in one place, here:

http://www.shanesroom.blogspot.com

Be warned, the writing there may get a little blue. Also since I had the idea for that blog, I have kinda let things lapse and have not written there much of late. I hope to remedy this going forward.

So what will you find on this blog? Well I dunno know yet. I think it will be just a general blog, about life, about the thoughts I have and the things I do. I love to write as a release, and I will probably write about a lot of different topics. So if you like what you see enjoy and check back often, and if not, thanks for stopping by!

Pet Peeves, Goals, thoughts, and more

I have been interested in fitness, lifting weights etc for 25 years. Whether I was in shape or not, I have always tried to keep up with the pulse of fitness going back to the first time I saw Arnold on the cover of one of Joe Weiders magazines on my dad’s dresser when I was 12. (Yes there was a time in my pre teen life when I thought I would look like Arnold by the time I was 20, rotfl). There is something that has always bothered me about fitness and health, and is a pet peeve of mine, and still bugs me to this day. I just don’t understand why so many people must tear down every other program as garbage, and their own as “the only game in town”. (And I don’t mean because of the business financial aspect of it, because YES i do understand that side of things).

If there was only ONE way to exercise then we would not have the 34, 539 different books, programs, “Diets” and guru’s out there, each touting their own “Only way to get in shape”. On the internet there is an absolute wealth, and absolute abundance of information out there, both in terms of free information and of the “premium” (read: information you pay for) variety. I found a couple new websites last night with free workouts, like this one , that have simply amazing ideas for new ways to exercise (well new to me). At this stage of my journey I just want to get healthy, and I want to do it at home. This is just my choice and my decision, for my own reasons. That’s not to say I will never step into a gym again, because odds are I will, but for now I am looking for ways to exercise at home as cheaply as I can. The site I linked to up there has tonnes of free exercise videos, as well as a bunch of products I would like to invest in! (sorry getting off track here).

Back to what I was saying. I personally get turned off by the people, or gurus or whatever that rip down everyone elses programs, to build up their own. It drives me nuts and turns me off. At this stage of my journey, i am doing Beachbody programs. I am doing them and enjoying them thus far, but I am not some mindless drone, that is going to go out in the world and say “you must do “insert -beachbody-product-here” or you are doomed to walk around in a fat body forever! or other such foolishness. Esentially just move! If going to the gym works for you DO IT. If following South Beach works for you, DO IT! If Body for Life works for you, DO IT (love that program by the way) . But don’t automatically think that your program is the ONLY way to do things. Meh…..rant done.

My current goals, extend to this 100 day personal challenge I am currently doing. I posted the goals a few posts ago. I am looking to really give this my all. I was thinking about doing Tom Venuto’s summer challenge that starts tomorrow concurrently with my own personal mission or challenge that I am doing, but I don’t think that keeping a journal on that site talking about Beachbody programs or Weight Watchers would be allowed. Going forward past the next 93 days or so, I want to be in the best shape (and more importantly BEST HEALTH) I have ever been in by my 38th Birthday New Years Eve 2010. After that, my wife and I are going to go to a beach somewhere in spring 2010 down south and I would like to be in good shape for that.

Beyond these goals, some superficial (for example looking my best ever, getting visible abs etc) getting my health under control, I want to see if I can’t get off Blood pressure medication etc. I hate taking pills and although I will if I have to of course, I would like to get off the medication if possible. Also I would like to inspire others to undertake their own “transformations” or take responsibility for their own health. I certainly don’t pretend to be perfect, and I certainly am not 24/7 the model for good health and fitness. I will continue to occasionally enjoy a few pops with the boys at poker night etc, but I can honestly say that I have made alot of changes in my life the last few months, and I plan to keep up with those changes going forward. And if I can inspire someone else to make some healthier choices well then, mission accomplished.

The last thing I will talk about on this somewhat “ranty” post, lol, is why am I writing this blog. I know that some of my friends are reading this blog, and some of my family as well. 6 months ago I would have been mortified if I knew that certain people were reading this stuff, seeing the fat pictures of me posted etc. Putting the links to this blog up on facebook was probably one of the best things I have ever done. I did it for accountability. Maybe no one is watching, and that is fine to. But I will say this. I used to be scared to death that pictures of me would get out there at work, or wherever. Or my friends at poker, or that I grew up with or whatever would see them and would attack me ferociously. I had one of my best friends say to me yesterday “looks like you are sucking your gut in ” in the latest weekly progress pics, lol. Whatever, don’t care about any of it. One day in March I was laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to an EKG machine. For a while that day, I thought I was having a heart attack. I had nearly a 50 inch waist. I wasn’t fooling anyone hiding under layers and layers of clothes. That day, that experience scared the shit out of me. My kids, (and Hi Nicole who is likely reading this) were scared. My wife was scared. My family and the friends that knew where I was, were scared. I made a decision that day, that I gotta smarten up. This is the way I decided to hold myself accountable. To write a blog (cause thats what I do I write), and detail the ups and downs of taking control of my health and fitness levels. To get my life back. I have spent all of my 30′s on the sidelines. I have spent all of my 30′s in pain from 120 different injuries, made worse by carrying around 30 percent bodyfat. I have spent all of my 30′s making excuses for an ever expanding waistline, and worse and worse health. Writing this blog is helping me get my life back. Taking pictures is helping me measure progress. It’s helping me exercise when I feel like playing some foolish video game or do something else sitting on my ass. What’s it going to take to get you moving?

I will not be doing P90x til fall….

But fear not those of you that are still reading my blog despite the fact that I have barely posted in the last two weeks, I am not returning to my sluggish ways of the past, or planning to drown myself in Jack Daniels or Crown Royal (or insert other alcoholic beverage that I love).  Starting this Sunday, May 16th I am starting 100 days of fitness, that will conclude Aug 24th.  While I will mainly be continuing on doing Power 90 and Power 90 master series workouts during this time, I will also be throwing in a  mix and match of many different workouts.  6 days a week I will do something.  There will be a lot of “Pushing Play”.  I have many different workouts that I have gathered over the years.  And over the last few months I have gotten Power 90 and Power 90 MS, P90x, Insanity, 3 different Jillian Michaels Dvd’s, an assortment of Wii fit games etc.  There will be mountain biking and walking.  There will be hikes with the family, and hopefully playing some pickup sports such as tennis and basketball.  This summer will be my most active summer in years.

 

This isn’t me giving up on my plan to get into my best shape ever in 2010, but rather REDEDICATING myself to just that.  This will be me focusing on moving more, everyday and continuing  living a healthier lifestyle than I have in the past.  I have some big goals for the next 100 days (they are coming).  6 days a week, I will move move move, and I will document the whole journey here.  Then come September I will do P90x or Insanity or some program and follow that to a T.  To get ready for that, I am going to do things that give me the best opportunity to get the best results.  The ultimate goal, is come NYE 2010, my 38th Birthday, be in the BEST SHAPE OF MY LIFE.

 

Just as there has been the last few months, there will be bumps and bruises.  There will be detours that life will throw at me.  However, to the best of my ability, I am dedicating myself to working hard every single day to just move move move, and to make healthy choices when it comes to eating.  I will be continuing doing Weight Watchers as I like the program.  I will be more vigilant in tracking my daily points and I will work hard to get all my water in as well as hit my daily point allowance (I have been under eating much of the last 9 weeks).  I will continue taking and posting my progress pictures every Saturday for the duration of my 100 Days of Focus. 

 

What led me to the decision of not doing P90x til the fall is the results I have been having on some of the Power 90 Master Series workouts I have done over the last 10 days or so.  Part of me wanted to stop doing P90 and jump ahead to P90x starting as early as this coming week.  However, if I am going to be realistic about things, I am not quite ready to get the full benefit of the program.  Yes you can modify and yes I can take breaks or hit the pause button etc, but I want to get the best results possible.  While the 1-2 workouts are now to easy, the 3-4 workouts are starting to get boring.  I am 48 days into power 90, plus I had done 6 weeks of it earlier this year.  I am tired of the same couple workouts, and starting to know what Tony is going to say before he says it on the tapes.  Meanwhile over the last 10 days or so I have been doing the different workouts on power 90 master series and done the ocasional Jillian Michaels DVD’s and I am enjoying doing different workouts.  So my thoughts are I am going to take the summer and just do a variety of things.  I will give whichever workout I do my all, and I will just be sure to do SOMETHING six days a week.  I will work hard to build my cardio, improve my strength and flexibility,  and work on my endurance so that come the fall I can give my all to P90x or Insanity or whatever I decide to do and get maximum benefit.

 

Goals for May 16th-Aug 24th 2010

1.  1,000,000 counted steps on my pedometer

2.  500 km on bike (combined mountain and stationary)

3.  lose 30 scale pounds

4.  lose 6 inches from waist

5.  be able to perform at least 3 chinups (minimum recommended to start P90x)

6.  be able to wear my wedding ring again

7.  get to 4th knotch on my weight belt

8.  Be able to jog 2km without stopping

9.  blog 5 days a week minimum

10.  take fit tests at days 25, 50, 75, 100 to measure progress

 

So there we have it, 10 goals, measureable and challenging, yet realistic.  Full starting measurements and pictures will be posted this weekend.  I have my weight watchers meeting tomorrow morning, and I am not sure what to expect.  I have been working out all week, but have not been on the scale, I have been so close to breaking 210 pounds, only to creep up again.  210 is a mental block for me much like 200 has been a mental block for me in the past.  But I will get there, and maybe as soon as this weekend, we’ll see.    I am excited about the next part of my journey.  This 100 days of focus will get me through the doldrums of working out “to feel better” or “to get healthier”.  These two statements are important and they are what I want to do, but they are not truly measurable.  My brain needs something to shoot for, and I think I have given myself plenty to shoot for.  I will be ready come September to give P90x my all.  Over the summer I will start doing the odd p90x workout, mixing it in with power 90, and I will be ready to really rock it.   I am excited for the most active summer I have had in years.  Bring it on!

Back to our regular scheduled programming

Ok, so back at it.

The funeral was earlier in the week for my grandfather, and I have been kinda out of sorts for a few days. Today, I begin back in the transformation mindset and groove. Not that I haven’t been exercising this week up to this point because I have everyday, but today I start back full bore and focused. I do look forward to a day, 6 months or a year down the road when I am at or near goal and I am not focused so much on all the details of living a better, my healthier life, and its just something I do each and everyday, without having to work so hard at it. When I embark on these journey’s, I often put TOO MUCH focus on things, and often end up burning out before I reach my goals. Not this time. I will get there this time, slowly but surely.

Over the next couple days I will post some of my goals for the rest of 2010. I have been working on them for a few weeks, and I will post them before EOD Friday. They are goals that motivate me, and that I have put alot of thought into. I look forward to ticking them off the list one by one. I also have a picture post I have been working on that I believe I mentioned a few days ago, a post that shows different stops along the journey for me, with pics going back 20 years into my teens, so got lots on the docket. Going forward starting today, you can expect daily posts from me again, as life starts settling back into the groove.

Re-booting this blog

I originally started this blog a few years ago but it has laid dormant for a few years now. Well I am starting it up again, and it will be a kind of sister-blog to my main blog http://www.leanfitandhealthy.blogspot.com.

What you will see on this blog is a few posts a week, sometimes more sometimes less about hiking, walking, biking, and maybe even camping along the trails of Eastern Canada. Hiking is one of my favorite things in the world, and now that I am once again, trying to be more active and live a healthier life, I want to engage my other passion of writing about what I see out there on the trails of Atlantic Canada!

I have an intro video I took earlier today that will go up soon, and I will also take pictures and try to post as much as possible to this blog along with my main blog.

Talk to you soon

A little rambling on why I need to get back in shape

Today is one of those days where there might be 7 blogposts from me….lol.

So I have been thinking about my weigh in this morning, about starting a “Transformation Challenge” or whatever you want to call it tomorrow when I start 90 days of Power 90 and how many times I have been down this road.

I have “tried” (many times tried means started, but no where near finished what I started) many times different fitness programs. Body For Life, Leanness Lifestyle, Power 90 once before (few months ago stopped when I fell and messed my back up in the back yard). You name the diet or the method I have likely tried it. These programs didn’t “fail”. 9/10 I failed the program.

I am not one of these people that does Body for Life, or now Weight Watchers or whatever, and then thinks that every other thing out there is garbage, inferior or whatever. I think there are likely 100′s of programs that work. You just need to find whats right for you. I am hoping that weight watchers is the right program for me nutrition wise and I will give it ample time to give it a fair assessment. I am looking for something I can do as a lifestyle.

My recent health racket with the blood pressure, finding out about the cholesterol and being hooked up for 7 hours to a heart machine really rings home something I have known for a long time, but never really accepted, or took action on. I need to take responsibility for my health, right now, before it gets any worse. Walking around with a 48 inch waist, (still no matter how many times I say/type or write that blows me a way a little) is asking for diabetes/stroke/heart disease.

I am 15 days into taking control of my health, taking responsibility for what goes into my mouth, and owning my actions. Tomorrow I take another step that is important in the process, and start a structured, regular exercise program. I am looking to really transform my health over the next year. To slowly undo the unhealthy practices of the last 10 years. It’s not going to be easy or quick but I will get there. What it comes down to is I am not comfortable living the way I have been anymore. So much time sitting down and not moving. Not taking part in the sports such as golf/soccer/basketball/hockey etc that I always loved because I was too banged up or too unfit to do it. I don’t want to have to stop 3 times hiking my favorite trails with my family in the provincial parks in the summer. It’s time to stop talking the talk and walking the walk. It’s time.

Day 9, House keeping, odds and ends

Well if you are not stumbling on this page for the first time you see the look and feel of the blog has changed. In the early days of this blog this may happen alot while I find my way around the new abilities of blogger. The new template features are great! I am still tweeking the blog to find something I like and I will keep changes to a minimum as I fiddle with it.

I will keep this post short and will be back later with a longer update. I was looking at this blog just a little while ago and noticed my week 1 in review post didn’t post last night when I actually posted it and was stuck in draft so i just got it submitted now (1 o’clock Sunday). I was playing with the look and feel of the blog as I was saying and must have clicked the wrong button somewhere along the way. You can see that I posted my comparison pic. Yuuuuuuck! However every Saturday morning after I weigh in I will do this til I hit goal. So for all you photoshop fiends out there who have an axe to grind with me, well every Saturday you will have a fresh new pic to embarrass me with.

As I was saying yesterday, posting these pics give me an added layer of accountability. Embarrassing at first? Darn right. But as the months go buy, and the pounds and inches come off, I hope to provide a little inspiration/motivation to someone out there to undertake their own transformation, or journey to improve their health. If just one person is moved to do this, well, I’ll live with the less than flattering pictures.

Anyway I am on my way out to get some fresh air. I don’t have any steps on the old pedometer yet today and its already one o’clock. I have a bit more of a headache today than I did yesterday. My blood pressure last night was 140/100. That has been my baseline for almost 3 weeks now. Some spikes higher, and some fleeting moments lower, but that’s about where I have been. I will give it a couple days and get it checked again. Talk to you soon…..

Week 1 in Review

Well I made it through the first week of Weight Watchers.  It was not without drama not related to the program itself.  I spent seven eye opening hours hooked up to a heart monitor.  It turns out that my heart is ok and not affected by blood pressure or anything else, but I got to tell you, lying in a hospital bed gives you alot of time to think.  All I could think about is, the stuff I can control in regards to my health are going to be taken care of.  I have alot going on, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, bad back, contstant neck pain, blah blah blah.  But all of this can in the grand scheme of things is manageable.  But I can’t put it off anymore.  I can’t allow it to get any worse.  I must take responsibility RIGHT NOW and get control of all this shit.

I was taken off work for another two weeks, I return April 2nd.  As I write this Saturday night, my blood pressure is still high, and my neck is killing me, my headache while soooooo much better than it has been still is there.  These early weeks are important weeks for me in the weight watchers journey because they are when I will get some great habits ingrained and I am home and able to measure out my foods and really make sure I have a great start.  The results will be the best in these first few weeks and then the will peter off to a couple pounds a week in all likelihood.  Its time to get some really great habits established so that when I get back to the real world, IE working for a living I already have the good habits in place and I am ready to really do well.

So here’s my first week in review:

What I did well through my first week

-ate cleaner than I have in years
-walked as much as I could, sometimes up to three times a day, getting in over 13000 steps most days
-wrote down every single liquid or food that entered my mouth

What I didn’t do well

-didn’t hit my points most days
-didn’t get enough water in

What I need to do this week to improve

-hit points for the day!
-improve on my water
-get some stretching in for my back/neck
-get a multi vitamin

 

First Week Comparison Pictures

 

 

Progress

Down 6 pounds

Down 2.5 inches from waist

Pre-amble

Well, here we go.

If you know me or have read my numerous weightloss/fitness blogs before, you are thinking, here we go again. And to be honest, you certainly have a right to think that. Yes I am starting over. Yes I have a new blog, and yes, I hope that this time is the time I stick it out.

Not going to make excuses for my past failings in the weightloss/fitness department. I have reached a state with my health that while certainly know life threatening situations, I have some stuff that needs to be nipped in the bud quickly. I am 37 years old, have been overweight for about 10 years, and I am starting to have some health issues that if not taken care of now will be troublesome in the years to come.

For the past two weeks I have had a steady tension/migraine headache. Not your run of the mill standard headache, but a pulsing, throbbing, someone give me something, anything to stop this right now and I will give you 500 dollars headache. I have recently been put on high bloodpressure medication (March 1st) and have seen readings in the last two weeks as high as 174/114 at Outpatients.

I have been off work the past two weeks because of this headache foolishness, and while work has been absolutely fantastic with me over my absences over the past two years due to chronic migraines/chronic back pain its not going to go on indefinately looking the other way. I am not someone who takes advantage of the great benefits my work provides and I believe management believes that, but I don’t want to have to use up so much sick time/medical leave. Besides the simple fact of the missed time/ lowered pay because of benifits being exhausted, I am simply sick and tired of feeling like shit.

So I now start over, and make a REAL, HONEST take no prisoners and make no excuses approach to get myself back on track, healthy, fit and happy.

I will be starting weight watchers on the weekend with my mother. I will be attending the meetings and I will be following the program to a tee. I have “tried” many programs over the year. Tried has consisted of “real honest effort for a few weeks or months ” to saying I will start something but never really doing it. That takes care of the nutrition side.

The exercise side will be using a Keep it Simple approach. Less time sitting on my ever expanding butt in front of the computer or tv, and more time moving. Move move move will be my new motto. Walking, exercise bike, power 90 and then p90 x video’s and whatever else I can get my hands on to stop living the life of a shut in/slug, and the life of a healthy, vibrant, positive rolemodel for my family.

More details about me if you are interested will soon be posted in the ABOUT link over there on the left.

Lazy Football Sunday

Didn’t do a whole lot today. I got up early and went for my walk, got in another 5 clicks, and the rest of the day was watching football, and applying ice and then heat on my back. I am not feeling all that bad today and will be returning to work tommorrow. I am still on modified weeks for another couple weeks, but I much prefer to be at work then home. I am not a sit at home and do nothing kind of guy.

I hope to get to the gym tomorrow as I said yesterday and I also have physio. He is going to be giving me some new exercises tomorrow so I have that to look forward to. All for now, not a whole lot new. Will be back tomorrow.