Yep, thats right...I'm on week 7 of 24. which really means I am running T-Th 2-4 miles and Sat is a long run. The mileage will pick up as the weeks go on and I will have to get more creative about my running. Now I can handlebthe treadmill for those short runs, but once I getbup to running 7+ miles during the week the treadmill just wont cut it. It is SO boring. I'm averaging about 10/miles on the treadmill but when running my long runs outside I am much faster- 8:30_9/mile. Two weeks ago I ran to the next town over, last week I ran to theother town over. Last week I went to the gym after and killed my legs, I walked funny for the next week- it was great.
Jessica is in California right now to celebrate her papa's 70th bday. Adey cakes had ear tube surgery and I've got the kids for 5 days all by myself. After Adey's nap we got out of the house and took a mile hike near by which was really nice- I think we all needed some fresh air. I'm lucky because Jessica pre-made all of our dinners- all i have to do is cook them in the oven for a few. She is so thoughtful. Anyhow, hopefully I can update ,ore frequently.
Until next time...
Friday, May 24, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Back on Track?
A little update. Jessica and I are (mostly) back on track...Jessica much more so than myself. She has lost over 8 inches in 3 weeks and 10lbs. She is even RUNNING. She ran a mile in 11 minutes last week and completed 5K in about 37 minutes. I am so proud of her dedication and drive!
I, have been slacking a bit on the gym. Not because I don't want to but because both of our cars are broke down and I have been trying to fix them. My old Honda (well new to me because we bought it at an auction) had a crack in the cylinder head. Got a new cylinder head, put it all back together and it's still smoking like it was before (not as bad as before, but still not great). The Subaru we bought, also at an auction, has bad head gaskets (hopefully not cracked cylinder heads). I've gotten all the way to the head but now I can't seem to get the head bolts off. One think after another. ugh.
I also have not been eating clean on the weekends- AT ALL. But I have managed to keep my weight consistent at 174.4 lbs. I recently bought a new-to-me pair of slacks (CK) in size 32 and they fit so well- not even tight. So, I'll take it.
I'm hoping I can get back to working out daily this week and still manage to figure out how to get the bolts off. Lord help me on that last one! My hands hurt so much from all the gripping and finger work for the car. Last night it took me 30 minutes to get one of the bolts off of the head cover because of where it was located. One bolt!? And I spent 2 hrs trying to get one of the head bolts off.
This picture is from this morning- had an interview for a promotion. I am not the most qualified person, perhaps, but I gave good answers to all of the questions and hope I have a chance at a second. But if not, at least I was offered an interview.
Our girls are getting so big, all of them. Our 12 year old, who thinks she is 16 has been seeming more grown up to me and our 3 year olds are, are, are testing my sanity- daily. But I think if I wasn't questioning it then something would be wrong. They are curious, one asks a million questions-or rather- a question a million times and the other loves to destroy things. That kid can rearrange any room in 2 seconds. But Adey has been doing such a great job communicating lately. It seems like she is able to tell us what she is wanting most of the time. Today Jocey sounded out 3 words- cat, hat and bat!
Oh, how time goes!
I, have been slacking a bit on the gym. Not because I don't want to but because both of our cars are broke down and I have been trying to fix them. My old Honda (well new to me because we bought it at an auction) had a crack in the cylinder head. Got a new cylinder head, put it all back together and it's still smoking like it was before (not as bad as before, but still not great). The Subaru we bought, also at an auction, has bad head gaskets (hopefully not cracked cylinder heads). I've gotten all the way to the head but now I can't seem to get the head bolts off. One think after another. ugh.
I also have not been eating clean on the weekends- AT ALL. But I have managed to keep my weight consistent at 174.4 lbs. I recently bought a new-to-me pair of slacks (CK) in size 32 and they fit so well- not even tight. So, I'll take it.
I'm hoping I can get back to working out daily this week and still manage to figure out how to get the bolts off. Lord help me on that last one! My hands hurt so much from all the gripping and finger work for the car. Last night it took me 30 minutes to get one of the bolts off of the head cover because of where it was located. One bolt!? And I spent 2 hrs trying to get one of the head bolts off.
Our girls are getting so big, all of them. Our 12 year old, who thinks she is 16 has been seeming more grown up to me and our 3 year olds are, are, are testing my sanity- daily. But I think if I wasn't questioning it then something would be wrong. They are curious, one asks a million questions-or rather- a question a million times and the other loves to destroy things. That kid can rearrange any room in 2 seconds. But Adey has been doing such a great job communicating lately. It seems like she is able to tell us what she is wanting most of the time. Today Jocey sounded out 3 words- cat, hat and bat!
Oh, how time goes!
Monday, February 11, 2013
Dabblings in Paleo
Goodness, I am really no good at this keeping the blog updated thing. But I will continue...
Yesterday officially ended my total GF (Gluten Free) experement. After discussing things with my wife and figuring out what is best for our family, being entirely GF isn't an option at this point. So, my goal is to be about 80% GF. Meaning I'm not going to eat Gluten foods for my lunches/snacks (I make those myself). I am probably going to incorperate slightly more carbs into my diet with more fruits. Last week I did a fantastic job of not eating after dinner (cept my before bed protein shake). Wt got back down to 172.6 but by the end of the weekend I was 174.0. I continue to hover around this weight and continue to be frustrated. I wonder if I am eating enough, eating too much, not eating the right stuff...And then I have to remember that I have lost 65lbs and am a work in progress. I am working on building my body and there are pros and cons to this approach vs. focus on weight loss no matter what is lost (muscle or fat).
First, I know that I am gaining muscle mass- I can clearly see it in my physique. My shoulders are gettting more defined, as is my chest in biceps. Second, I also know that I am losing (slowly) body fat. It took years for me to put the fat on and clearly it will take me some time to get it off. I would estimate that my BF is sitting around 18-20%. The machine at FredMeyers (uses electric pulses through the hands) told me my BF was 8.7%. I just had to laugh- if that were the case I would be RIPPED.
My goals this week are to consume around 1800 calories per day. About 40-60g of fat (540 calories), 200g of protein (800 calories) and about 100-120g (480 calories). Not to eat beyond dinner except my protein shake before bed and to drink about 1.5 gals of water each day.
Ready, Set, GO!
Yesterday officially ended my total GF (Gluten Free) experement. After discussing things with my wife and figuring out what is best for our family, being entirely GF isn't an option at this point. So, my goal is to be about 80% GF. Meaning I'm not going to eat Gluten foods for my lunches/snacks (I make those myself). I am probably going to incorperate slightly more carbs into my diet with more fruits. Last week I did a fantastic job of not eating after dinner (cept my before bed protein shake). Wt got back down to 172.6 but by the end of the weekend I was 174.0. I continue to hover around this weight and continue to be frustrated. I wonder if I am eating enough, eating too much, not eating the right stuff...And then I have to remember that I have lost 65lbs and am a work in progress. I am working on building my body and there are pros and cons to this approach vs. focus on weight loss no matter what is lost (muscle or fat).
First, I know that I am gaining muscle mass- I can clearly see it in my physique. My shoulders are gettting more defined, as is my chest in biceps. Second, I also know that I am losing (slowly) body fat. It took years for me to put the fat on and clearly it will take me some time to get it off. I would estimate that my BF is sitting around 18-20%. The machine at FredMeyers (uses electric pulses through the hands) told me my BF was 8.7%. I just had to laugh- if that were the case I would be RIPPED.
My goals this week are to consume around 1800 calories per day. About 40-60g of fat (540 calories), 200g of protein (800 calories) and about 100-120g (480 calories). Not to eat beyond dinner except my protein shake before bed and to drink about 1.5 gals of water each day.
Ready, Set, GO!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Super Bowl!
I'm totally excited for super bowl today and because I took off so many days earlier this week (Adey was in the hospital due to a gnarly seizure) I intend on going for a run today. THe weather was REALLY nice yesterday, I almost thou But ght it was SPring.
Yesterday was a leg day and a little bball with Jake. his watch thing told him he burn 850+ calories, so I must have burned something close to that. i completed 165 squats using a pyramid, working my way up tp 275# for my final two reps. My buddy Paul has me on a kick to see how heavy I can go? I've been smashing personal bests week after week because he literally tells be what I'm doing isnt enough, then Sean (Jessica's brother) joined thr gym and started pushing me too. Now when I dont go with them I imagine what they would say about the weight...should i push myself? It is fun to learn what my limits are for sure. Currently my bests are as follows: bench press 170 (my weakest lift by far), squat @275 and deadlift @ 290. Completed 290 this last week and my back really felt it (I do striaght legged DL's).
My goals this year are to achieve that shredded status Ihave been working for- even if it is for a short time and then to increase my strength and doba clean bulk this coming winter. In 2014 I would like to compete in a bodybuilding compettion. Not sure if that is entirely possible given thatbI work full time, have a family and such, but we can just see how that goes!
No clue whats on the menu for the afternoon... Only time will tell I guess.
Yesterday was a leg day and a little bball with Jake. his watch thing told him he burn 850+ calories, so I must have burned something close to that. i completed 165 squats using a pyramid, working my way up tp 275# for my final two reps. My buddy Paul has me on a kick to see how heavy I can go? I've been smashing personal bests week after week because he literally tells be what I'm doing isnt enough, then Sean (Jessica's brother) joined thr gym and started pushing me too. Now when I dont go with them I imagine what they would say about the weight...should i push myself? It is fun to learn what my limits are for sure. Currently my bests are as follows: bench press 170 (my weakest lift by far), squat @275 and deadlift @ 290. Completed 290 this last week and my back really felt it (I do striaght legged DL's).
My goals this year are to achieve that shredded status Ihave been working for- even if it is for a short time and then to increase my strength and doba clean bulk this coming winter. In 2014 I would like to compete in a bodybuilding compettion. Not sure if that is entirely possible given thatbI work full time, have a family and such, but we can just see how that goes!
No clue whats on the menu for the afternoon... Only time will tell I guess.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Update
Oh boy, its been a LONG time. I thought I should update...
I took this pic last night to document my chest progress.
We had a great holiday and a great vacation in southern CA. We drove a total of 3500 miles in 10 days. It was an epic journey. I hit the gym about 4 times during our vacation but took a good amount time off.
Once we returned I got back into eating right and working out. My current weight is 173 lbs and my scale states my body fat is down to 24%. I have completely changed my eating this last week... I am eating a pseudo paleo diet- I'm still not quite able to get the fats all the way up there but I've cut gluten and dairy out of my diet entirely. I am eating about 2100 calories per day. Trying to keep my carbs down since I am eating more fats, but yesterday I really wanted some fruit so I busted out the Yonanas thing we borrowed from a friend and had two bananas and 3 strawberries. That sort of set me back on the carbs- but was well within my calories. I find since I am eating differently I am not craving sweets nearly as much.
Jessica is doing weight watchers and is enjoying it. We are hoping this month will be the lucky month for another addition- but we still have about 7 days to actually find out! Waiting is sooo hard.
Anyhow, I plan on getting back to blogging more. So, more to come!
We had a great holiday and a great vacation in southern CA. We drove a total of 3500 miles in 10 days. It was an epic journey. I hit the gym about 4 times during our vacation but took a good amount time off.
Once we returned I got back into eating right and working out. My current weight is 173 lbs and my scale states my body fat is down to 24%. I have completely changed my eating this last week... I am eating a pseudo paleo diet- I'm still not quite able to get the fats all the way up there but I've cut gluten and dairy out of my diet entirely. I am eating about 2100 calories per day. Trying to keep my carbs down since I am eating more fats, but yesterday I really wanted some fruit so I busted out the Yonanas thing we borrowed from a friend and had two bananas and 3 strawberries. That sort of set me back on the carbs- but was well within my calories. I find since I am eating differently I am not craving sweets nearly as much.
Jessica is doing weight watchers and is enjoying it. We are hoping this month will be the lucky month for another addition- but we still have about 7 days to actually find out! Waiting is sooo hard.
Anyhow, I plan on getting back to blogging more. So, more to come!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
It's a Leg Day
This week has been sort of crazy. Our twins turned 3 last Saturday! We hosted a Princess Pancake Party with most of the food including some sort of pumpkin. Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin banana bread, pumpkin cream cheese...you get the point. Jessica worked her booty off to have all of the food prepped Friday night and then all we had to do was decorate and cook the food in the morning. We are so lucky to have so much family and so many friends who live near by! We had about 40 adults and 9 children. One of my brothers even drove up from Salem with his family- his wife was overdue for their 3rd child! Jocey knew what was going on and Adey seemed to have a little understanding that she was at a party but she did not want ANYTHING to do with opening presents. Jessica and I are very aware of Adey's disability and we try to give her the opportunity to do things even if we are pretty sure she will through a fit...Like holding still to open presents. She could really have cared less about them. She was far more interested in walking around and looking at everyone. I think Jessica and I have a harder time than she does because we see exactly what Adey could be doing if she weren't behind because she is a twin. I know that she has her own learning curve and her own journey but sometimes it just breaks my heart that she struggles with very simple things.
I forget if I updated here but her assessment put her in the 12-15 month range for language, problem solving, cognition activities. She did score near her age with social/emotional! Lately, though, Jessica and I have noticed it seems she understands us more. Jessica was able to bribe her (yes, awesome parent award coming right here!) to eat some of her lunch by telling her to take a bite and then she could get her barney game (a card matching game she LOVES to look at- literally she will sit for an hour at the table playing with the cards). She did it. We have also been doing stickers for going potty. She has 4 stickers in 2 days! She really likes placing the sticker on her sheet of paper. These are things I am pretty sure she wouldn't have done 3 or 4 weeks ago. [rant coming]...
As we get ready to try for another addition to our family, I find that some of our family is not exactly excited for us and it sort of pisses me off. They are concerned that Adey wont get the attention she needs, I mean they have literally told Jessica and I this. Soooo, what you are really trying to say is-we will become bad parents? Um, no- actually we will continue to parent her the same way we have and we will give her an opportunity to be a fantastic big sister; she will go to all of her appointments and go to school. She will still have, just as our other kids, what she needs. [end rant]...
Jessica finished the round of clomid and we anticipate trying late next week (the day after thanksgiving). Jessica had a dream one night that we had triplet boys, then the next night's dream we didn't get pregnant. When I ask the magic 8 ball (when ever we go to target and are in the toy section I HAVE to consult the magic 8 ball), I get varied responses- most recently it concluded we would most certainly get pregnant and when asked about multiples it showed a yes.
Well, lets get back to the fitness.
Today is a DTP leg day (Dramatic Transformation Principle) of leg extensions and leg curls. My gym got a new stair master machine (actual rotating stairs) and if it is free I will use that for my cardio after. I have been employing HIIT and really feel like I am getting a solid work out. Usually I am running for 60-90 seconds and walking for 30-60 seconds for 25-40 minutes (with a 3-5% incline).
Food wise I have totally switched it up. Breakfast is 2 whole eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon cooked in a bit of olive oil. Mini meal is greek yogurt or cottage cheese and 16 almonds. Lunch is 5-6oz chicken and 1.5 cups of green beans. Then another mini meal of greek yogurt or cottage cheese and 16 almonds. Post workout is 1.5 scoops of 100% whey (which by the way tastes terrible compared to the myofusion!). Dinner is what every Jessica makes me. I should stop there and just have a shake, but I have been over doing it a bit at night. Having a bit of peanut butter and/or couple of eggs and turkey bacon. Need to stop that. I could probably lose more if I did stopped that. I dropped down to 172.6 and have been holding that all week (forgot to mention that half of our family got a stomach bug last Sunday-I was the adult half and was upchucking for about 8 hours then had a sour stomach for the next 24-so I didn't eat much). Basically my ideology changed- I decided I need to focus on low carb/moderate cals. So keeping my carbs below 150 each day and increased eating healthy fats just a bit. I am working my way down to doing 50g of carbs. I want to see how much body fat I can lose, but honestly I have to be willing to stick to it- as usual it is the evening that gets me and it is usually habit, not hunger.
I forget if I updated here but her assessment put her in the 12-15 month range for language, problem solving, cognition activities. She did score near her age with social/emotional! Lately, though, Jessica and I have noticed it seems she understands us more. Jessica was able to bribe her (yes, awesome parent award coming right here!) to eat some of her lunch by telling her to take a bite and then she could get her barney game (a card matching game she LOVES to look at- literally she will sit for an hour at the table playing with the cards). She did it. We have also been doing stickers for going potty. She has 4 stickers in 2 days! She really likes placing the sticker on her sheet of paper. These are things I am pretty sure she wouldn't have done 3 or 4 weeks ago. [rant coming]...
As we get ready to try for another addition to our family, I find that some of our family is not exactly excited for us and it sort of pisses me off. They are concerned that Adey wont get the attention she needs, I mean they have literally told Jessica and I this. Soooo, what you are really trying to say is-we will become bad parents? Um, no- actually we will continue to parent her the same way we have and we will give her an opportunity to be a fantastic big sister; she will go to all of her appointments and go to school. She will still have, just as our other kids, what she needs. [end rant]...
Jessica finished the round of clomid and we anticipate trying late next week (the day after thanksgiving). Jessica had a dream one night that we had triplet boys, then the next night's dream we didn't get pregnant. When I ask the magic 8 ball (when ever we go to target and are in the toy section I HAVE to consult the magic 8 ball), I get varied responses- most recently it concluded we would most certainly get pregnant and when asked about multiples it showed a yes.
Well, lets get back to the fitness.
Today is a DTP leg day (Dramatic Transformation Principle) of leg extensions and leg curls. My gym got a new stair master machine (actual rotating stairs) and if it is free I will use that for my cardio after. I have been employing HIIT and really feel like I am getting a solid work out. Usually I am running for 60-90 seconds and walking for 30-60 seconds for 25-40 minutes (with a 3-5% incline).
Food wise I have totally switched it up. Breakfast is 2 whole eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon cooked in a bit of olive oil. Mini meal is greek yogurt or cottage cheese and 16 almonds. Lunch is 5-6oz chicken and 1.5 cups of green beans. Then another mini meal of greek yogurt or cottage cheese and 16 almonds. Post workout is 1.5 scoops of 100% whey (which by the way tastes terrible compared to the myofusion!). Dinner is what every Jessica makes me. I should stop there and just have a shake, but I have been over doing it a bit at night. Having a bit of peanut butter and/or couple of eggs and turkey bacon. Need to stop that. I could probably lose more if I did stopped that. I dropped down to 172.6 and have been holding that all week (forgot to mention that half of our family got a stomach bug last Sunday-I was the adult half and was upchucking for about 8 hours then had a sour stomach for the next 24-so I didn't eat much). Basically my ideology changed- I decided I need to focus on low carb/moderate cals. So keeping my carbs below 150 each day and increased eating healthy fats just a bit. I am working my way down to doing 50g of carbs. I want to see how much body fat I can lose, but honestly I have to be willing to stick to it- as usual it is the evening that gets me and it is usually habit, not hunger.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Eating
I am pretty sure I have posted about this before, but I wanted to lay it out in more detail...Getting fit and healthy is like working on my Masters. I'm in a constant state of learning and consuming of related material. In the beginning I didn't understand the importance of nutrition beyond the idea of taking in less than you need to lose weight. And, I did lose weight but in the beginning I was starving. Now, I'm no expert, and I am still struggling to get the scale to move, but I also recognize I am in the middle of bodybuilding. I have to present my body with enough to build lean mass while minimizing additional fat. So far I have only seen a reduction in body fat. So, I must be doing something sorta right.
It is really important to figure out your numbers- how much protein and carbs you need to maintain, build, and eventually lose, as well as what foods work best with your body. For example I know that my body responds well to chicken breast/tenders and lean steak. I like fish, but sometimes it isn't kind to my digestive system. I've played around with my complex carbs- brown rice, yam, sweet potato, red potato and veggies (carrots dont work well for me) typically are broccoli and frozen green beans. If you consume too much protein it will be converted to fat, if you consume too many carbs it will be stored as fat. See the trend? On top of that their is the idea of complex and simple carbs and low glycemic index vs. high glycemic index. There is a time and place for both. Pre workout any carbs consumed should be complex; post work some people find it useful to consume simple carbs (I've heard of some people using gummy bears). Personally, I don't consume any simple carbs post workout. First it might trigger me to eat more sweets and second I haven't found that my body needs this (yet). Generally I find my weight does better when I limit night time carbs because by then my metabolism has slowed down a bit.
Suppliments. I've gone from one side to the other on this first thinking that I didn't need any, then I went a little crazy with suppliments and was taking a bunch. Now, I am in the middle. My stand by's are: Whey protein, BCAA + Glutamine, a multivitamin, Super B complex, fish oil, green tea extract and cycled creatine. At one point I had added L-Carnitine and a few others but it seemed a little ridiculous.
I've also used bodybuilding.com a ton! It is the only place I know of with so much information in one spot.
It is really important to figure out your numbers- how much protein and carbs you need to maintain, build, and eventually lose, as well as what foods work best with your body. For example I know that my body responds well to chicken breast/tenders and lean steak. I like fish, but sometimes it isn't kind to my digestive system. I've played around with my complex carbs- brown rice, yam, sweet potato, red potato and veggies (carrots dont work well for me) typically are broccoli and frozen green beans. If you consume too much protein it will be converted to fat, if you consume too many carbs it will be stored as fat. See the trend? On top of that their is the idea of complex and simple carbs and low glycemic index vs. high glycemic index. There is a time and place for both. Pre workout any carbs consumed should be complex; post work some people find it useful to consume simple carbs (I've heard of some people using gummy bears). Personally, I don't consume any simple carbs post workout. First it might trigger me to eat more sweets and second I haven't found that my body needs this (yet). Generally I find my weight does better when I limit night time carbs because by then my metabolism has slowed down a bit.
Suppliments. I've gone from one side to the other on this first thinking that I didn't need any, then I went a little crazy with suppliments and was taking a bunch. Now, I am in the middle. My stand by's are: Whey protein, BCAA + Glutamine, a multivitamin, Super B complex, fish oil, green tea extract and cycled creatine. At one point I had added L-Carnitine and a few others but it seemed a little ridiculous.
I've also used bodybuilding.com a ton! It is the only place I know of with so much information in one spot.
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