Finance=Fitness Lose Weight=Savings, etc

The name of the blog much like most of my posts here are Finance and Fitness Dreams, I think there are so many different correlations to each other, that it deserved a special post to compare a little.  I will be the first to tell you I struggle with both Finance and Fitness, I'm not 600 lbs or filing bankruptcy, but I struggle to not eat an entire bag of chocolate covered pretzels or rack up credit card debt and I think these are highly correlated.

Let's start with a couple things that always pop up when talking about Fitness or Finance.  He's born with great genetics, that's why he has a 6 pack or the finance equivalent they were born into that money, these are the same thing just different worlds.  The real question is ok that's true you don't have great genetics, your family didn't hand you a trust fund on your 18th birthday, so WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

There are so many cases of people getting in better shape and increasing there net worth, so I believe these go hand in hand, here's a couple that Finance and Fitness terms that do that:

Finance=Fitness
Budget=Diet
Investing=Gym
Money/Job=Healthy Food You Eat
Credit Cards=Junk Food or Carbs
Cash=Meat/Protein
Good Debt=100 Calorie Snack Packs
Retiring Early=Crossfit or Explosive Movement Exercise
Bankruptcy=Obesity
Side Income=Going for that Extra Gym Session Saturday Morning
Investing in Index Funds=Walking

I'm sure there is 100's more, this was my brainstorm of Finance=Fitness, maybe you can come up with your own and we can get a huge list going or at least bigger list!

So many things have gone the other direction for Finance and Fitness in America and even all over the world, being in debt and overweight is the new "normal"  What are you doing to break out from this, I mean what am I doing?  I'm on a budget, I walk every day, I stay away from Credit Cards, I keep to a Paleo or Paleo Lite eating pattern, I practice what I preach.  Do I fail?  Every day, but if you move on from that daily failure, you can make the next day a success.  I ate chocolate covered pretzels yesterday(a lot of them), does that mean I'm ditching my Paleo Lite(90% Paleo, 10% Organic/Gluten Free), h-e-l-l no(said with attitude, neck cocked, possible finger wave), it means I'm going to do my best possible to eat right today and just as important as that is what went wrong yesterday so I can fix  this.  Because you know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting different results.  I know that yesterday my breakfast was very light, so I had a snack early, which left my lunch very small.  That means today a couple things are changing, I went with a heavier lunch, of more meats and vegetables, not just the small sandwich I ate yesterday.  I will not be going to CVS/Walgreen's to pick up some more junk snacks.  Is there other solutions, h-e-l-l YES(just shouting this time), I could have not waited till my 3rd alarm and then slept 20 extra minutes and ate a real breakfast, eggs and bacon.  Today was not that day, so we moved to another option, I was prepared in some way.

Be prepared. if it's one thing that's important about Finance and Fitness it's being prepared, if you are not prepared to make a major purchase you might resort to using a credit card or not have a good lunch and your eating chocolate pretzels and looking like this guy.



I mean if you really think about Jared could be the spokes model, yeah Jared's a model for Finance and Fitness.  What this guy do he got in shape, ate right to lose weight, does some exercise and boom has a net worth of 15mm(here's an article that says so http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/jared-subway-guy-marks-15-years-turkey-subs-article-1.1365511).  I of course prefer David Beckham and Warren Buffett(Mark Cuban rejected my offer, just kidding sorda).

I am also a big believer in "Laser Focus"  If you want to do anything to the best of your ability, you need to dedicate 100% of your energy if not you will not get the best possible results.  A simple way to think about this is try eating a healthy snack while doing a bench press, pretty tough to lift those 200lbs when you have an apple in your mouth.  I know that sounds a little ridiculous, but so is expecting the best results without dedicating yourself.  In previous posts I have mentioned that I Sprint and Relax, because otherwise I end up cheating a little on both.  For me I have 2 focuses currently and that's why I believe I ate a bag of chocolate pretzels yesterday, I wasn't laser focus on my fitness goals.  I have went from my Paleo challenge all the way down to Paleo Lite, I still have the ultimate goal of losing 14.8 lbs(down 2.2 lbs), but I'm not going to get there unless I change my habits Now.  I listen to a Dave Ramsey podcast every morning, as a friend from work says, he reminds you to save every day and I let him know yep I need that reminder.  It's the same for Paleo and Fitness, apparently I need an every day reminder.

Yes Finance does equal Fitness, neither one is easy, neither one is difficult on a numbers level spend less than you earn and eat less than you burn, seems simple enough.  It's not otherwise everyone would be wearing one of these shirts(abs in cutoff shirt and sweater tied over your shirt equals rich in my crazy mind).  So I guess what I'm saying is when I've made it to where I want to be I'll be wearing a cutoff belly shirt with a sweater tied over my shoulders............I can dream, Finance and Fitness Dreams.

Fitness-Joe Rogan Made Me Do It

I have been listening to Podcasts like it's 1994 and I only have one CD.  Also by the way my first CD, Coolio It Takes a Thief.

I listen to lots of genres, sports, business, comedy.  Today and throughout the last 2 weeks I have been listening to Joe Rogan, yes that crazy mofo from Fear Factor(shown below) or for you fighting nuts, he commentates for the MMA.

So he is on some crazy stuff  Just in general, but he's a smart dude who researches everything and has his beliefs.  So although pretty intense he is fun to listen to.  So who does he has on his show but a paleontology diet guy, so I get excited and listen to all this eat like a cavemen diet info.  One word, SOLD. 

Well about 15 Google searches later and I will be going for a week of a combination of Vegan and Fruitarianism, leaning towards the later.  Here are a couple Wikipedia links to give you a general description of the diets.  I will write a blog every day, but I will not publish them all until I get back from Nicaragua.  So Monday-Friday, Vegan/Fruitaranism.  I am not trying to save the world, I love steak, burgers, turkey, I could actually go on an all meat diet, but for another day.  Just doing this because I need a change.  Let's do this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitarianism 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism 

Back to Basics

So I have been going at my diet and exercise for either 5 or 6 weeks and have a weigh-in on Wednesday(I skipped last week's weigh-in so it's 2 weeks worth). But what I have noticed is after the initial weight loss or the initial portion control we slowly go back to our old ways. Now I have done a great job of keeping the workouts fresh and new switching them up every 3rd workout, ie incline dumbbell press Mon and Wed, then Fri and Mon I will do side crawl push ups. I do this with every exercise, so nothing gets stale or old, why not switch it up with my diet and tracking of my meal plan?

So I have decided to get back to basics and switch things up. I was tracking my daily food and exercise and things I would accomplish during the day and then I started missing a day here or there and now I'm not even carrying it around. That is why I'm losing a pound and not 5 pounds, my mind and body have gone back to my old way of life. You have to have a lifestyle change when you change something that you do everyday.

So my major changes will be:

> Writing everything down in my journal

> Blogging more about finance and fitness so I stay motivated.

> Keeping my diet strong for the whole week with portion and measurement control

When I weigh in tomorrow I hope I will have lost weight at least a couple pounds, but if not I will truly get back to basics and start off with that 5 pound weight loss like I had in week 1. Steven Donovan working hard.

Death to Sugar

Yes it’s like that sugar don’t start with me. So you know how you read or see people have that moment where they get fed up or are scared to death and change. That’s what happened to me.

It may seem simple or not much to have such a moment, but I went to the gym and was just finishing up my workout and I gained a pound from l believe a couple days ago but it may have been a week. I was so upset that I made a promise to myself that I am changing my lifestyle/eating habits/excercise what ever you want to say. I am losing f***ing weight. The title was almost F*@& Fat, but I toned it down a little.

So I am kicking up the workouts a little bit and really focusing on eating. The workouts will remain the same but I will add some cardio in my off days(everyday that I’m not lifting). I will also add some cardio before and/or after my lifting working outs. Like yesterday I biked to and from the gym and also played basketball for 15-20 minutes.

Death to Sugar Diet Plan-ok it’s called Sugar Busters and here it is:

· Only eat natural sugars ie fruit, vegetables

· Don’t eat bad carbs ie white rice, potatoes, white bread, corn(idk that’s what it says)

· Eat whole wheat and avoid sugars ie plain oatmeal, whole wheat bread

· Don’t drink soda it’s bad for you and has way to much sugar

The idea is eat less of the sugar filled crap and you will lose weight and become healthier. I paged through the book it’s all about only natural sugars and eating right. I will let you know how it goes, hopefully better than my Special K Diet which I failed miserably.
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Special K Diet, Does it Really Work?

So most diets are a gimmick that get you to lose weight with eating things that you normally wouldn’t eat. I mean the grapefruit diet sounds absolutely horrible and makes my face pucker like the bitter beer face commercial.

So for the next week (maybe 2 weeks) I will go on the Special K Diet that is on the back of the cereal box. I mean it came from a cereal box it must work. Lose 6 pounds in up to 2 weeks is the claim. I will post my weight tomorrow (yes it must be done) and give you a weekly update. Here is the general guidelines of what they expect you to do.

· Eat Special K products. Cereal, bars, waffles, protein shakes, crackers, granola bars, whatever says Special K consider it part of the diet. I’m sure this diet has nothing to do with them making money it’s all about being healthy.

· Breakfast. For breakfast you have the choice of eating cereal with skim milk (one serving, which means half of what I usually eat) or the choice of Special K waffles. Good news is you can have all of this with fruit.

· Snack. The snack can be almost any Special K product. Granola, bars, crackers, the list is pretty long.

· Lunch. Once again they offer is Special K cereal or a meal replacement bar or I believe a protein shake with fruit. Seems pretty simple so far.

· Snack #2. Same old same old. The snack can be almost any Special K product. Go Special K.

· Dinner. Believe it or not they want you to eat your 3rd meal just as you regularly would. I’m sure they don’t want you to overeat, but a regular meal sounds pretty good about now.

· What about drinks? Drink as regular. So I’m assuming a Coke or glass of orange juice is just fine.

So I like cereal and I have 2 boxes of Special K so I’m good there, plus we buy Special K bars in the economy pack so put a check next to that on my grocery list. I will however have to stop at the grocery store and get something to mix it up, protein shake, waffles, meal replacement bar, I don’t think I could have a Special K for 28 out of 42 meals, actually that scares me, but so does having to go on a diet so let’s do this. By the way 254 lbs. wearing clothes and shoes and mid afternoon, see you Monday for the next weigh in.