Let me start out by saying I stopped(canceled membership) going to the gym June 2013, so 8 or 9 months ago, I then took the $54 I was paying in gym fees and put that toward buying Nike stock, the irony on this is simply priceless. I stopped going to the gym for a number of reasons.
- I wasn't seeing results. I was lifting heavier weights, but I'm not entering any Strongman competitions anytime soon, I want to be lean and fit circa 2000, just so I'm at least in this century at least.
- Because of the results, I showed up less and less. The gym was in my building and sure it was nice to go before work or during lunch, it was a process.
- Summer was coming and I knew I wasn't going to be hitting the gym, I was going to be running and biking more than anything.
- Angel, my dog. I walk my dog every day, 2x a day, a quick 15-20 min walk in the morning and a 30-60 min walk when I get home. So I was already getting my walking exercise and I could see results just from walking daily.
In October my parents came and I told myself I was going to ease up a little because I wanted to have a beer and whatever my parents were going to cook during this time, I was also easing back in butter and cheese(gluten free or grass-fed only, usually Kerrygold) I was doing my best to stick with this and try to add items that were at least gluten free. Since October-February I have been a roller coaster of eating, going completely rogue and eating what I wanted to strict Paleo for a week or gluten free additions. I have included intermediate fasting to balance some of the heavy eating days.
The fact remained I was all over the place with weight, going up a little more than I was going down, just happy to be under the 230 mark was a success. I am able to walk daily usually 1-2 miles with my dog, so that has been the Winter Workout in a nutshell, throw in some Sunday basketball aka the only day I sweat throughout the week. So thanks Angelita(my Siberian Husky).
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| If you live in the Midwest....... |
As many have you have seen, taking a large time frame and attempting to be successful is one of the most difficult things in the world for many and definitely for myself. So along the way I am creating goals along the way in 7 day increments. For example Days 8-15 were adding a set of push ups each day to the week, making sure I reached my month long goal of reaching 42 miles walking for the month, and bringing my lunch every day to work. I also created 2 items, 1 is my Duke notebook where I am open and honest of what I ate, what went well and what I didn't do so well. The other is a calendar of those 100 days, only putting positive comments on each day, if I did the push ups, ate Paleo, walked extra, it's the Positive Only Calendar.
As I'm putting words to computer I'm realizing my short term goals are great and I'm doing well with following and living up to those goals, doing my best to be held accountable. What I failed to do was create an end goal and goals along the way to show my progress, if you want to reach a goal you have to have measuring points. So I'm going to start listing out my goals below. I'm also going to be dedicated to posting 1 Fitness blog a week to show my progress and what I've been working on throughout the week, It will be Fitness Friday post.
End of March Goals
- Lose 8 lbs which should put me right around 215 lbs
- Walk a total of 60 miles(keep track on Nike app) this is Mon-Fri after work and all day Sat-Sun, morning walks will not count since it's 5:30 am and I'm lucky to know I'm wearing clothes to go outside
- Add in 2 sets of (push ups, sit ups, body squats)
- Lose 8 lbs which should put me right around 207 lbs
- Add in 2 weekly runs in place of the walks, still keeping a total of 60 miles for the month
- An additional day of a sport per week( this could be an additional day of basketball, volleyball, flag football, anything to keep active)
- Hit 199 lbs
- Create a summer workout at the park/beach 2-3 days a week
- Have a 80/20 Paleo program, which will include a list of items I tolerate(IE grass fed butter) with my Paleo standards
- Complete 12 Fitness Friday Blog Posts
Around this time I was right around the 240 mark, plus or minus 2 pounds. I had definitely dropped from being my 265 when I was in Florida and switched to cutting out the evil sugar from my diet, but gained a solid 10 lbs since being in Chicago and eating hot-dog's and drinking beers. I took the summer off to walking daily and occasionally running and biking and playing basketball on Sunday, results were not there. Although neither was my focus, I think in my head I thought if I do these things the pounds will come off. My eating was "normal", I wasn't eating fast food every day, but I also wasn't shying away from eating how I wanted either.
Fast forward to September. I read and listen to alot of informational items, mostly about money and health and fitness. After listening to Robb Wolf and his podcasts, Fat Burning Man, I finally got off my arse and did a 30 day Paleo Challenge. To my surprise it was easy and I really liked the principals behind it. Eat meat, veggies, and fruit, I was able to lose 10-15lbs and my Achilles pain that I was waking up with every morning(I was walking around like I was 60) went away. Pretty great intro to eating Paleo and feeling great, I had thoughts and hopes of getting down to 185-190, about what I was in high school during basketball season. Of course this was when I'd eat Burger King before a late basketball practice and just run it off during practice. That doesn't exactly happen, It's 9-5 and cook and clean and walk the dog and watch some TV to finish up the night.
So I have issued a challenge to myself and to anyone who reads this, tell me what you are doing to avoid that winter weight, what do you do when your work out?
I want to get a kettle bell to add some weights into my workout, have any thoughts on this? What's your goals, does weight or fitness matter?
Are you the same as you were in high school or college or whenever you were your fittest?
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