Active Adventuring

Let's see, it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted. I have started to go to the rock climbing gym again! The past 2 weeks my friend and I have gone 2x a week, as scheduled. It's been really great to get back there and have some exercise, something to work on, and some time to socialize. I think we are both enjoying it, I just hope that I can keep this going.

I also went to the gym 2x this week. It felt good to get back in and accomplish some real exercise. I've been so flakey lately and I'm realizing that I just feel happier when I make it to the gym. It's been hard to maintain motivation because I don't feel like I'm moving towards anything, just kind of the goal is to get there. I'm still working on finding some other motivation that will get my to exercise.

Another adventure I had was mountain biking yesterday. It went really well! I made it to the top of the mountain for the first time. Every other time we make it most of the way but after a really steep stretch I just couldn't go up. I felt much better rested and felt great in that stretch and to the top. It felt really great to make it up there, and see the cool sights!

Food wise, I still have some work to do. I haven't been doing as much mindless munching, but I still do some. Nighttime snacking is just the worst for me. Morning and daytime I have no problem avoiding snacks, but for some reason as soon as dinner is over I am in the pantry scrounging around. I think if I can nip that I might have a fighting chance of losing weight without calorie counting. I've also considered doing a diet plan where you buy premade food, but it's expensive and I know I don't need to do that. I've lost 50 lb before without it, and now I'm just looking to lose 30! No problem right :)

where's my motivation

Well, I had a pretty good weekend last week, but the week following was not so great.

I didn't make it to the gym at all, which is a shame. I also ate a lot of junk food throughout the week and didn't take the time to cook healthy meals. I am just hoping I can learn from this and find a way to break the cycle now.

This morning, I went to the gym, and it was great.I was nervous because I haven't been going regularly, and it's true that I didn't go as strong as I would like, but I have to get over being out of shape and realize that there's only one way to get back, and that's a lot of work.

I will take some more time to focus on things I can do every day and keep reporting on my progress or lack thereof.

Meandering weekend

So, time for another update. Since I last posted, I had some good days and some bad. Last week, I didn't work out at all. I am really frustrated at myself because of it, but realize I need to calm down and move on. I also bought some junkfood one night and ate all of it. Bad move!

In general, things weren't moving in a very positive direction. This weekend, however, I made some improvements. Saturday morning, I went to the circuit training class I really enjoy. I also went for a 5 mile walk, and ate fairly healthy.

Sunday (today), I went mountain biking in the morning, enjoyed a healthy lunch outside, and hung out at the beach.

All in all, a successful weekend. I am hopeful that I can turn things around with this positive weekend and continue through the week.

Jumpstart Weekend

This weekend I took some time to refocus and look at where I am and where I want to be.

I've been tracking food, and just being more mindful in general. I am eating a lot less than I was, which is great because I was gaining weight pretty steadily.

I also kicked the exercise up a notch. I had a great bike to the beach with my fiancé and we had a great time chatting and seeing the ocean. I also went to the gym and had a great workout. Then today I went mountain biking, and am so pooped!

I made some healthy snacks and healthy meals. It was so fun to cook again and really pay attention to food as fuel.

I think I really need to find some long term and short term goals that I can sink my teeth into to maintain this motivation, but I am feeling much better both mentally and physically.

A new awakening

I weighed myself this morning for the first time in a few months and realized that I have gained 15-20 pounds this summer.

Looking back, it was mostly the stress and eating like junk at night. That's not to say that I have the most stress in the world, plenty of people deal with far more and handle it better.

I think my approach now will focus on tracking and staying accountable for a month or two, since that will really help jump start my fitness. But more importantly, I will focus on how to handle stress better.

At night, I get home and basically plop on the couch and start chowing. I am so exhausted after work, despite it being mostly sitting in a cubicle, and I just have no motivation to do anything. Even going for a 20-30 minute walk is a challenge most nights.

I will try to post here regularly since I have a half hour shuttle from parking to work every day, and usually spend that time dealing with email or catching up on social media.

Eats (and treats) Lately

I've experienced a pretty significant gain since I've last blogged. Maybe I should take notice and realize that having this way to communicate with a group in similar circumstances helps me stay healthy and make good choices....

I'm up to just under 210lb. This is starting to get uncomfortable. In terms of my body, if I'm under 190lb, I feel really good and ready to take on the world. 190lb to 200lb, I feel good and comfortable. 200lb+ and I start to feel like I can't do the things I enjoy and I don't want to go out in public as much.

So, without making a bunch of goals that I don't stick to, my goals are going to be -- write in this blog regularly, and record how I'm doing.

I also hope to get back in touch with the fitness blogging scene and reconnect.

Talk to you again soon!

Keeping it together...

OK, time to come clean. I have been slacking on the diet front. I kicked up the exercise a notch, and that probably messed up my diet big time.

I need to start listening to my body again. That was my biggest struggle, and what had the biggest impact on my health. It's hard to ignore the cravings that I have. It took me a couple of years to make progress on getting rid of those, and now I am back starting to get them again.

I am still pretty hopeful for the future; I am feeling good and much healthier.

One of the things I've found is that sometimes I will avoid going out because I am afraid of all of the junk I will eat/drink. The truth is that in social situations I usually hold it together pretty well. It's probably because there are a lot of people around and I feel guilty about digging in to junk. It may also be because there is a lot to do and I don't need to eat out of boredom.

Either way I need to focus on building good relationships with friends and spending quality time with people. I also need to work on my relationship with food again (or, as always).

Back in the swing...

I'm getting back in the swing of things. I am still having issues with avoiding the treats at night, but I am back into a healthier state of mind overall.

I've gone to the last 3 gym sessions in a row (Friday, Monday, Wednesday) and can already tell that I feel better and happier as a result.

Last night I went to a climbing gym for the first time in a couple of years. I've only gone a handful of times, but it felt really good and fun to do something active and challenging after work. I think I will start going there regularly, or at least keep it as an option.

I still have a lot of work to do in terms of being productive at home and keeping my motivation to go to the gym and do the things that make me happy.

Overall, I'm very encouraged and looking forward to the future.

I'm also thinking about what I can do with this blog, or some blog. I feel like I need something in my life, and I enjoy researching and analyzing, so why not make a blog that's a sounding board of ideas and thoughts that I have, as well as a reason to dig a little deeper and get more information and detail about the things that interest me....

Adios!

Finding some more meaning..

Lately I have really been needing something more fulfilling in my life.

I have been trying to keep up with the healthy regime, but I've noticed that it's mostly a mental game. When I stop going to the gym for a little while, I start to get lazy and when the alarm goes off, I consider, then hit snooze for an hour.

I think I need to take some time to look inside and find a way to engage myself in life a little more.

Work is good, I enjoy what I do more or less, but I need something else. I have always been very involved in things and now I have work, tv, sleep, rinse, repeat. I am trying to find ways to get more involved and to kick up my interest in things. I just got into such a rut it's kind of disappointing.

Anyway, on the health front, I have been pretty bad about going to the gym. I made it Friday and I hope to start going regularly again. It's light out when I have to walk to the gym in the morning so that will definitely help things. I am also considering changing up my schedule a bit since the early gym sessions just haven't been happening.

Food wise I've also been pretty lax recently. I got a little busier with work and a little lazier and haven't been making lunches lately. I also think I need to take the time for a real breakfast every morning. Otherwise I get home and I eat way too much junk.

Adios

Daily Update 1/17/13

Breakfast - was hungry! success... 2 slices bacon, 2 eggs, half clementine, double espresso with some almond milk.
Feeling like a lot more energy and not as icky stomach. Lack of gluten combined with all of the nutrient rich CSA goodies I got last night??

Lunch - salami and cheese and an apple yum

Dinner - steak, apple, tangerine, sweet potato, lettuce, guac, raisins, pumpkin pale granola

After dinner wasn't hungry but wanted to snarf some chocolate and almond butter. Staying strong!

Daily Update 1/16

Morning workout - woke up, but not happening

Breakfast - coffee & 3 half and half mini moo's (~30kcal)
Started to feel hungry around 11:50am
Lunch - ~1pm, at the burrito place. Got fish and guac, with some lettuce, radishes, carrots on the side.
Very filling and very delish. Avoided the rice and tortillas (success!)
Dinner - grass fed flank steak cooked in coconut oil, fresh apple, kiwi, blood orange, jicama, carrots, lettuce. yum yum yum!

avoiding the auto-snacking now....

Time to kick it up a notch...

I really need to figure out how to maintain my motivation and stick to my diet plans.

I have been trying to stick to paleo but doing really poorly with treats that are around.

I've decided to start blogging nightly with a brief blurb about how the day went. Hopefully this will serve as a record of what I ate and how I felt after it.

Today -
workout - no am workout, some walking at night

bfast - 2 eggs, 2 slices canadian bacon
lunch - salad with ground beef, avocado, strawberries, bbq sauce. Afterwords had a snickers and hershey bar and felt like CRAP! Big no-no there.
dinner - really good lettuce, chicken, fajita veggies, guacamole, sweet potato fries. yum yum yum.
Topped it off with some dark chocolate and ice cream cookies (WHY??)

Here's to tomorrow being a bit better!

Entering the holiday danger zone...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I had a great time with the girlfriend's family. I also had some great catch up phone calls with my family. That's what the season is about, right, remembering to take time to keep in touch and reconnect.

Oh yea, there's the other thing that it's all about -- nasty delicious food! I tried to be good on Thanksgiving, I did. I skipped breakfast in anticipation of a 2pm feast. I also skipped trying the pre-feast apple pie that some people dug into with the fervor of true carb-addicts. Yes, I was being good. Then 5:30 came: finally time to dig in.

I had a good mix of turkey, broccoli, asparagus, stuffing, and berries. I avoided the rolls (mostly :)) and then the pie came out. I had a reasonable slice of pumpkin, then a good slice of apple, then another good slice of apple, then some chocolate chip cookies. Let me tell you, after only a couple of weeks off of SAD, all those carbs and sugar really messed me up. I felt pretty terrible, and fell asleep really early.

Since then I've been doing the best I can to detox. Yesterday I had lots of leftover turkey with avocado and lettuce -- yum! I've been trying to avoid grains and dairy as best I can, but sometimes it's unavoidable, like in delicious nearly paleo gumbo. A little bit here and there doesn't seem to make me feel bad though.

I feel much better even just a few days after the Thanksgiving Day Massacre! I am learning how to deal with the social situations, and even more so, how to deal with myself and adjust my lifelong bad relationship with food.

Cheers!

Trucking along...

So, its been a month and a half since i last posted.  A lot has changed since then. I have taken up a new diet scheme. I continue to go to HIIT classes, and also mix in bike riding, surfing, kiteboarding, and walking. I feel great, much more even keel than i used to.

The biggest shift in diet is ive gone paleo. I am not strict about it, but i have not eaten grains or dairy or legumes in a week or two. I have to say the change is great. The first week was a transition, with headaches and other no-more-processed-carb issues, but ive come through that and feel good. its amazing how much that has changed my life in general.

Also, im now done almost 10 pounds in the past couple months! It feels great! I csnt wait to drop some more and get back to my more comfortable weight. Cheers!

Planning for me...

This weekend was all about wedding. That's tough to handle -- the random people you meet, the alcohol present, the treats treats and more treats!

I did pretty well, all things considered. I tracked all weekend and went over my goal but not by much. The key was to avoid snacking at all and only eat a little bit of everything available. I managed to enjoy myself without going overboard, and be present in my eating. Mostly ;)

Last night, there was a karaoke night with all of the girls who were in town. Of course I came along, and as usual wasn't too thrilled about the whole, bunch of drunk girls with nobody I could talk to. I need to be better about just saying no, I don't want to deal with that. I know I will not enjoy it and I just go along with it to make the girl happy. In the end I'm just miserable that I'm all alone in the middle of a girlfest.

Today, I took off and avoided all of the dress fittings and other nonsense going on. This has been a great afternoon, with a much-needed haircut, picking up some books from my ex-favorite bookstore, and hanging out at my ex-favorite coffee shop. It's a good chance to see where I used to live and have some time to myself to decompress and have some me time.

My old barber commented that I had put on a little weight. He doesn't speak much English so it's hard to communicate sometimes, but I know he was just looking out for me and worried that I was having issues. I am not upset about it, I know it's the truth and I have started going the other way so it's just a little more motivation and knowledge that people care and are paying attention to my issues.

Happy sunday!

Kickin' those bad habits

The last couple of weeks have been less than stellar. I can make excuses, but the bottom line is I have a lot of bad habits that I have to kick.

Coming home after work and snacking all night long -- apparently not good for weight loss!
Counting calories for breakfast and lunch but not after -- need to work on that
Being lazy and skipping workouts -- ahh yea, feels good :)

So yea, I'm working on it. Yesterday I was back on track, hopefully today goes good as well. It's a process, people, and I'm working on it.

Try, Try Again

Well, I’m back again! I have not been following through on my plans to stay accountable and make real changes in my life.

What are my overall goals? This is an important question that should drive how I approach things.

Physically – I want to gain energy, improve my ability to do things I enjoy (snowboarding, surfing, biking, screwing around), fit in my closet full of clothes, and improve my health and how I feel.

Mentally – I want to improve my willpower, be present and mindful in eating and drinking, stay active and out of funks.

Generally – I want to improve my health and happiness!

For now, I want to have some well-defined goals for the next 2 weeks, and then revisit them and see how I did both one week from now and 2 weeks from now.

Training goals:

Go to circuit training SpeedX workout 3x/week

At least 30 minutes activity every day

Nutrition goals:

                No booze

                One meal at night (no snacks/treats)

Mental goals:

                Weekly check in and reflection (1 hour)

                Blog reading every other day (30 minutes)

                Maximum 1 hour TV/video games per day

Having a plan

I think one of the key things to being successful at this is having a plan. This forces you to focus and keeps you accountable.

For me, this is something I have been lacking since I got off the wagon. I still work out occasionally, but I am just arbitrarily deciding what to do on a day-to-day basis. This has kept me from being outrageously unhealthy, but it hasn't allowed me to get where I need to be.

I have decided to make a few changes that will help me stay healthy, and have fun doing it! I am going to start doing active things with friends. Right now, most of my time spent with friends involves eating and/or drinking, the two things that are deadly to getting healthy. I have started to plan morning/weekend surfing outings, and other more active things to do with friends.

In terms of keeping myself accountable, I have started working towards completing another half marathon. The last one I did was about 6 years ago, and it did wonders for me. I am enjoying getting up a little early during the week to run or walk, and taking some time to stretch and actually have a good breakfast.

I also plan to continue weight lifting twice a week, though I'm not going to track myself too much or focus on it as much as the running.

Food-wise, the last few days I have really started to think every time I eat. I recently read that the main difference between skinny people and fat people is that before eating, skinny people picture how they will feel after eating (bloated and sluggish vs. energized) and fat people picture how eating the food will be (boring vs. delicious). That's a generalization, and obviously healthy food can be delicious too, but by picturing the enjoyment during eating, there's no reason to stop. By picturing the enjoyment afterwards, it's easy to avoid the bad foods. So, my plan going forward is to have a happy balance of enjoying the food, but staying in control. I will never fully have the mentality that food is just for sustenance. I enjoy eating, I enjoy cooking, and that's not going to change.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on this!

Beginning again..

So, it's obviously been awhile since I posted here. I need to get back into it. I have a new job, new apartment, new city, living with my girlfriend, and things are just going great. Except for the weight.

Yup, you guessed it, with all the changes and the lack of time, I haven't gotten into a good healthy routine. I've gained about 25 pounds from my lowest point, and about 20 from where I was feeling good about myself and comfortable. I've begun feeling just gross and unhealthy.

It didn't all come on at once, though the last 5 months saw the bulk of it. It started slow, with less working out, less paying attention.

Recently I've been noticing I am out of shape, and doing less about it. I am eating some healthy food and some unhealthy food. I'm going to the gym a few days a week. Overall, it seems like a decent compromise. But, I've just been cramming food in my face a few nights a week. That is my biggest problem.

I eat fine during the day, big healthy breakfast and reasonable lunch. Then I get home, I'm not really that hungry, but I stuff my face. And then I finish, and I realize there are more snacks in the kitchen, and I stuff my face some more.

It's a lot more difficult because I'm living with my girlfriend so all of our food is communal. I can't just ignore all of the candy in the pantry and all of the chips. I end up gorging on it, like, every night.

So anyway, I think the first step is accepting what I've done to myself. Like it or not, I weigh 205 lbs now, not 195 like I key in to the cardio machines. And I'm feeling more and more gross and unable to move the same way I used to.

I want to start tracking again, start being present in my eating, and get back to enjoying eating healthy and not stuffing my face for no reason.

More of the same :)

Worst... Blogger... Ever...

Sorry!

Anyway, a quick update. Things are going well in general! Oh, you were wondering about my fitness and healthy living? Yea, that's not going so well. I'm pretty much maintaining my weight, despite not doing any 'real' working out (just going for walks and the like).

I would really like to start working out again, as I miss how I feel when I am in the zone and in a routine. I would also like to eat healthier and have a healthier lifestyle. I was doing so well a year and a half ago, and I've just kind of lost that momentum and am stagnating.

So, I'll try to start it up. Going slow, taking it easy, but making progress. Slow and steady, right? Either way, I am happy with myself and having fun in life.

Cheers!