I'm Back!!!!

I'm Back!  2011 is gone, and thank God it is.  It was a very emotional year, alot of ups and downs.  I want to first say that I'm sorry to my faithful followers, all 12 of you. (lol) I hope you will continue to follow me.
Just a quick up to date. I had gradually put the weight back on slowly each day I began to notice that some of the newer clothes were not fitting.  So, out came the old clothes. I had managed to put back on almost 40 lbs. in a year.
So, here I am again.    Everything I'm doing now comes in three week segments. I will try it for at least twenty-one days.  Why? twenty-one days you may ask? Well, I have always heard that in order to break an addictiion you need to be off of it for 21 days.  So, I'm guessing that if it takes 21 days to break the habit, it probably takes 21 to form it. So, there you have it.
On Christmas day, I saw a commercial with Charles Barkley (Former NBA player) about Weight Watchers (WW).  I was sold.  The day after Christmas we signed up. Mary and I are both doing the program.  I think she is doing it more in a supportive role, she looks pretty good to me.  The great thing about WW is that I can track everything on-line.  Today is my 21st day, and I'm  happy to report that I'm back on right path.  I still have a ways to go until I meet my goal.  Everyday is a challenge, I'm choosing to meet this challenge head on. 

Thanks for reading

Tim

Keeping Record

I was very motivated this morning in the gym, I wanted to share with you guys what my weekly workout looks right now. 
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday are my Cardio Days.  I start off walking at 3.5 mph on the treadmill then increase .5 every minute until I get to 6.0 I stay at 6.0 for 3 minutes then increase to 6.5 for one minute and 7.0 for one minute before bringing it back down to 3.5.  This should be ten minutes into the workout.  At ten minutes I increase my elevation to 9.0 for two minutes. after two minutes I increase my elevation to 9.5 and my speed to 4.0 for two minutes. after two minutes I increase my elevation to 10.5 and my speed to 4.5 for one minute.  By Now I have been on the treadmill for 15 minutes.  I repeat this three times for a total of 45 minutes of interval training on the treadmill. 
This is what my Circuit Training looks like:

Tim's Circuit Training Workout
Warm -up with a brisk walk or jog on Treadmill for 10  minutes
Set up Stations
Do the 12 exercises below back-to-back without stopping and then...
Rest 2-to-3 minutes and...
Repeat this workout 3-to-4 times to get a 20-to-30 minute workout
				Tuesday		Thursday		Saturday
Station #1
Kettlebell Squats 20 reps
Station #2
Jump rope for 90 Seconds
Station #3
10 walk down and up on Hands
Station #4
Step up Step down for 90 seconds
Station #5
Bicep Curls 20 reps
Station #6
Jump Rope for 90 Seconds
Station #7
Triceps using green band 20 reps
Station #8
Lunges
Station #9
Shoulder Press 15 Reps
Station #10
Step up and over for 90 Seconds
Station #11
Push-ups
Station #12
Dumbbell press off the steps
Cool down with a slow pace walk around track for 2 minutes.  Stretch using wall  I hope today's blog was not to boring, but I guess what I'm wanting to show everybody is that it is more than just going to the gym.  Keeping a record of what you are doing is important.  Being able to go back to see what is working for you and what didn't work.  Monitoring your daily or weekly progress helps with achieving your goals. Keeping a Food Journal gives you a daily visual of what you are putting into your body.  If this something you are wanting to do, I recommend that you start keeping a journal or even a blog.  It helps you with  keeping it real and being true to yourself.  "People do not GET success, they BECOME it. We do not attract what we WANT, but what we ARE"  author unknown I hope everybody has a great and blessed week.  TIM

Slacking

So I have received several e-mails and texts messages, asking what has been going on with the blog.  Well, since I have been honest for the beginning I will be honest now.  I have been slacking on my duties of writing the blog.  I will get back to the slacking part in a minute.  I want to give you all a quick update on my progress.  Two weeks ago, I had set a goal to be under 300 lbs.  I weighed in at 300.0 lbs. which was great.  This week I weighed in at 296.8 which is amazing.  I now have lost just under 24 lbs. since the beginning of this program.  But more importantly I feel better, look better, and I am stronger. 
So back to the slacking, I have decided that we all have a right to be slackers about something.  As long as what you are slacking about is not effecting your health or those that you love.  I may not write on my blog everyday, but know that what I'm trying to accomplish is a lifestyle change that doesn't have room for slackers or slacking. 

Thanks to all of you that read my blog and being a part of this commitment I have made to you and most of all my Family. 

You've Got Two Choices this Week:  "Get Busy Livin".....OR...."Get Busy Dyin"

Hope everybody has a great week,

TIM

Saturday Weigh-In

I had a great work out this morning.  I feel better, I feel stronger, I feel like I can actually keep up with my kids.  I will keep it short, so last week I weighed in at 305 lbs, this week I'm proud to say that I'm at 302 lbs.  That makes it a total of 18 lbs. in three weeks.  My goal is to be under 300 lbs. before the next weigh-in on Saturday. 

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."--Albert Einstein
Affirmation:  Change is a chance to challenge and improve my life.

Thanks to everybody for following me.

Tim

Finding Motivation

These past couple of weeks have been an emotional roller coaster.  I'm sorry that it has been a while since I last blogged.  I need the time to take in everything that happened the last few weeks.  I'm Happy to report that I lost one pound at the last weigh-in which brings my total for the three weeks to 15 pounds.  I'm hoping for better results tomorrow. 
Last week I took a couple of days off from the gym, this week I have been back in the gym everyday.  Which brings me to my topic of discussion:  Finding Motivation. I'm sure if you have not used this saying you have heard it before: "I'm just not Motivated to do anything, right now." If I had a nickle for every time I said that I would be rich. Where do you find your motivation to do things? Whether it is going to the gym, taking care of things around your home, going to work, or doing something you enjoy.  For some of us it maybe our Family, for some it may be money, others it may be self-satisfaction.  I found a great article online about finding motivation I hope you can find the time to read it.  http://zenhabits.net/get-off-your-butt-16-ways-to-get-motivated-when-youre-in-a-slump/
So after reading I find myself doing most of these steps.  Especially number 6: commit publicly.  I don't want to let you guys down.  You guys play a major role in my motivation. 
I will let you know how the weigh-in goes tomorrow. Regardless of the results, I'm feeling better and stronger than I did three weeks ago.  I have changed my cardio work out too include more intervals.  This morning I set a personal best on the treadmill, 3 miles in under 37 minutes.

I will leave you with this quote from one of the Everybody Loses Trainers:
 "TODAY, LET'S BE BETTER. NOT PERFECT, JUST BETTER."

Thanks,
Tim

Stress Eating

Well, as you know from last Blog, my brother passed away.  It has been very stressful these past few days.  I have not been to the gym since Saturday nor have I been to work since last Friday. 
I have read that the most stressful event a person can go through is the lost of a love one.  Which is why I want to talk about stress eating, I'm probably the biggest stress eater in the world.  These past few days I have been seeking my comfort foods like: Pizza, Cereal late at night, Mt. Dew, and larger protions.  I know that I can not continue eating like this, I have to find a solution to the problem and get back into the gym.  I found a website dedicated to stress eating: http://www.stresseating.com/ . If you get a chance check it out, there is alot of good information.

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
It's about learning how to dance in the rain.
- Vivian Greene

 If you are a stressful person and a stress eater please continue reading:

Stress Reduction - Stress Relief

Making Healthy Choices

by Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Stress is to your emotional health as junk food is to your physical health. You need a certain amount of food to sustain your life, but overeating and eating the wrong foods are unhealthy and sometimes dangerous.
As you need food to live, you also need a certain amount of emotional stimulation, but unless you choose to live alone far from the reaches of civilization, you are bombarded daily with innumerable stressors (agents, conditions, or other stimuli that cause stress). You hear the daily woes of friends and family. Your job and your daily commute are filled with stress-causing agitation. Just a few minutes of the 11 o'clock news provides far more than your daily requirement of stressful emotional stimulation.
What to do?
1. Simplify your needs: Much of our stress is due to what we believe we need to have. Actually, we need very little - food, a roof over our head, companionship. The rest is all perceived need that causes stress. As a crazy, but everyday example, we get stressed that we don't have the money to finance a relaxing vacation trip. Suppose we just relaxed every day knowing that we don't need luxuries.
2. Simplify your obligations: Practice saying "NO." No, I won't babysit your parakeet. No, I won't work a double shift Sunday. No, I won't chair the fundraising drive. There is actually almost nothing that you must do. Everything in life is a choice. Break the habit of assuming that you need to do everything you are asked to do and watch your stress level go way down
3. Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen: Usually the worst isn't really so bad. For example, the worst your boss can ever do is to fire you, and if you hate your job, that would be a blessing in disguise. Is that worth getting angry or stressing over?
4. Don't be demanding: You ask someone to do something, they don't do it, and you get upset - raising your stress level. Suppose you asked less of other people? Your stress level would go way down. For example, you want your teenagers to keep their rooms tidy. For them, a structured living space is not a priority. Ask yourself whether getting angry and exerting your control is worth the high stress level that it causes you.
5. Mentally, prepare for failures: Your boss WILL be critical of your work. Your cell phone and computer WILL fail. The stock market WILL drop. There WILL be another terrorist attack or war. It is just life. If you are mentally prepared, you won't be surprised or get angry or stressed when the inevitable happens.
6. Mind your own business: Many of us get upset - and stressed - over the actions of others that are really none of our business. The lifestyle of others is NOT our business. Whether your adult son or daughter has a job, whether they married the "wrong" partner, whether your neighbor recycles, whether the man down the street watches adult movies or his wife is having an affair - these are NOT our business. Know that there is no single way that life is "supposed" to be. Demanding that life meet our expectations is a sure fire recipe for a miserable existence. Life is a game with no rules. Have NO Expectations of life. Stay in your own business and lower your stress and avoid anger.
7. Be grateful for what you have: Each of us has been infinitely blessed - beginning with the gift of life. Whatever may appear to be missing or broken on any particular day, our glass is not half full, it is 99.9% full. More practically, when we feel ungrateful, we become unhappy and stressed. When we choose to feel and express our gratitude, the act of feeling and speaking our thanks creates a happiness within us. The more we express our gratitude, the more we have for which to be grateful.
8. Make YOU your top priority: Your ONLY responsibility in life is to your own happiness. Lower your stress and raise your joy by focusing on yourself. Today and every day, take time to celebrate your life - whether an hour's meditation in a quiet natural space, or a brief moment's conscious pause to breathe deeply and celebrate gratitude for your life.

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Thanks for reading my blog,
Tim

Jan 29, 2011

Today was a weigh-in day.  I had worked very hard this entire week.  Increased my cardio and changed my circuit trianing workouts.  So on Saturday, I went to the gym for the Bootcamp workout, with one of the Everybody Loses Trainers, it was a sluggish workout for me, probably bacause I had trained very hard on Friday and had not given my body time to rest.  The weigh-in comes after the workout, the previous week I had lost 12lbs, I stepped up on the scale only to see disappointment I had only lost 2 lbs it was at 306 lbs.  I was confused I had trained hard all week, and my diet was nearly perfect. I then I remembered to stop thinking negative and look at the positive.  I was able to increase my workouts because I'm feeling better and stronger.  Also, it may be 2lbs. this week , but it is 14lbs in two weeks that is incredible. The only thing I'm going to do different is change the days I circuit train with the days I do cardio.  This is a Life Change that is not going to happen over night.
Thanks to everybody for your thoughts and prayers.

Those we love don't go away,
They walk beside us every day,
Unseen, unheard, but always near,
Still loved, still missed and very dear.
- Anonymous


Thanks,
Tim