Wow It's Getting Real!

It's been an awesome couple of days. I am a little sore from this morning's Boot Camp but that is to be expected when you miss a day like I did on Monday. It couldn't be helped. My 8th month old son is going through a phase right now where he is not sleeping at all and it is really taking a toll on my wife, so I thought I would miss one to help her out. I don't recommend this but sometimes it can't be helped. I did get in a really great walk with my 3 year old which was just as strenuous as any parent can tell you.

We got a nutritional plan today from Coach Michael. Just scanning it briefly makes me really want to try it. I am concerned though that the calorie count may be way to low for me at this stage so I am going to talk with him about it. To me that is another key about weight loss, talking. As a Fat Person we are conditioned to not ask questions. Asking questions is viewed by Non-Fat People as us challenging them or their ideas. I have seen it with Weight Watchers Leaders, Personal Trainers, and Dietitians. I am fortunate in that Michael welcomes questions and is very reflective in his practice so I have no hesitation in talking with him about things.

To end I am embedding a song I really like. I think I may do this every now and again.
http://youtu.be/ZOZUxl074Bc

Man What A Way to End the Week

Boom That Just Happened!

Michael threw it all at us today. Full body work out, sprints, and grass drills. It was awesome. What was really great was Tim's daughter is in town and she brought her friends to BC. We had a ton of people there and it really ramped up the adrenaline for some of us. Who wants to look bad in front of young women? Not this old guy :)

I have a lot to do today so this is really super short. I now have to figure out what to do this weekend.

Signs You Have Had A Great Boot Camp

So today was a tough day at the Park! Michael gave us the "Full Body Workout." You know you are in for a "spirited" time when you start off with a casual walk, that's when you know you are going to get it fully on the chin. So with that said I would like to give a list of signs you had a great Boot Camp session.

1. When you are in the shower you have grass and gravel falling out of places that it should have been impossible for it to get into, unless you were doing Burpees until failure or death in my case.

2. Your instructor's name replaces your favorite curse words. Example: I got cut off this morning in traffic and I yelled, "Go Michael Williams yourself, Michael Williams."

3. Your teeth hurt from clenching them so hard as you stand for what seems like hours, which in fact was about 2 minutes, in a 90 degree angle with your back against the wall.

4. You can't lift your arms to reach the ibuprofen and then you have to ask your 3 year old to take off the "child proof" lid because you just physically can't do it.

5. Stairs are the bane of your existence. I have a one story home and those two steps to get into the house was almost a deal breaker.

So if you experience these five things and a myriad of others then you know you have had a great Boot Camp. Can't wait to see what we got in store for us on Friday morning.

Boot Camp Baby!

So today was my first day back at Boot Camp with Michael Williams and man have I missed it. Now I am way, way, way out of shape but that is the point. You don't go to church after you fixed your personal life, you go to get the help you need. Same with Boot Camp for myself. As I was trucking around the parking lot Michael reminded me that exercise is fine but it is going to be nutrition that will determine my success. Using Weight Watchers will be a good way for me to keep my eating in check but its going to be a tough one because I love my food.

Best part of Boot Camp is the people. Today I met two new guys, Mark and Tim, who are preparing for their first 1/2 Marathon. I was reacquainted with a guy name Lee who used to work at the radio station and my friend Brooks from Athens Church. Two folks I was really glad to see today were Kevin and Barbara. They are rock steady individuals who have been on the same journey as I have for a long time. I used to see Ms. Barbara running up and down Whitehead Road and Kevin joined Boot Camp right around the time I came back from Hilton Head. These are all quality people and they make the work a tad easier.

So first day is in the books. I am back and putting the three legged stool in its correct position. Cheers!

Mowing the Lawn and a Treadmill for the World Cup.

So the Evans's have close to an acre and a little more of land that needs to be mowed every week. In an effort for me to get back into 1/2 shape I have ditched the riding lawnmower for the old school walk behind without a drive. So it goes with my push power and boy howdy let me tell you when you get done you know you have done something. Now according to RunKeeper and Zombies, Run I covered only 2 miles of ground but I was active for over two hours, which is what I want. I need to get my lungs back and this is an awesome way of doing it.

I am now looking for a cheap/free treadmill. With World Cup coming up I want to watch while I am busting out some mileage. 4 years ago I would get on the treadmill while the boys were playing and break when they took a break. It was a lot of fun and I want to repeat that joy. So if you are in the Athens Area and are looking to get rid of your extra clothes rack let me know.

Weight Watchers Active Link

Hey everyone. It's the weekend coming up quickly and I hope you have some activity planned to get you moving. We are T-Minus 5 days from the Disney 1/2 Marathon sign up and I am eagerly awaiting that moment.

So as you know if you follow me I have rejoined Weight Watchers. I like the program. Pretty simple to follow, its not as fussy as the other programs, and forces me to use real food--not just prepackaged stuff. I am not a big fan of the meetings but I go. I dislike the meetings because you always get the one person (usually a soccer/dance Mom) who is complaining bitterly about their husband and his eating patterns. Yes, I know this is the place for that discussion but there are times I just don't want to hear it, which is all of the time!

I have purchased a ActiveLink from Weight Watchers. It is $40.00 and to be honest I am completely underwhelmed, especially with all of the great trackers on the market. My first issue I have with it is that it costs me a $5 a month maintenance fee. WTF are you maintaining? So ridiculous! Second issue, its huge! When I put it in my computer I can't use any other USB port, which leads me to my next gripe. Third issue, it is not wireless. I have to physically plug it in to my computer everyday, unlike my FitBit in which I can walk past my computer and it recognizes my FitBit and downloads my data and (oh yeah) FitBit doesn't charge me $5 a month for maintenance. Last gripe, for the size of this thing I have to guess on where I am at. Yes, it has these lights that light up that let me know I am 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% to my goal but it doesn't tell me how far I am from those goals. Again with the size of this thing you should be able to get a screen on there to let you know where you stand. The only positive I have about this is that it goes directly into my points calculator online but it doesn't show me or my leader what I did.

My suggestion to you all. Get a FitBit, Bodybug, or any other type of device to measure your progress. The ActiveLink is just not a good product.

Tomorrow Runner 5 is going after supplies and then on a mission. It's going to be a good Friday.

Cheers

Another Successful Runner 5 Mission

So I am going to gush a little here but the Zombies, Run! app has become one of my favorite parts of the day. I love to get out there and hear the story as I am cruising through my neighborhood. I often now wonder who in my neighborhood would be a Zombie I would have to deal with by bashing in their skull, torment before blasting it in the head with my shotgun, or lead away, because they were once a friend of mine but now they are a killing machine bent on eating my family, so I wouldn't have to do them in. It is a fun mental exercise.

I am also doing either 10 side straddle hops (jumping jacks) or lunges when I am feeling fatigued and need a small break from the blistering pace I am setting. (That is sarcasm there folks.) It was a beautiful evening to get out there and get after it. Humidity was low, nice cool breeze from the East, and the sun was overcast just enough to keep the temp in the mid 70s.

Hope you had a good, solid weekend.

Ok So I Love This App

So like I said yesterday I was going to try out this app called Zombies, Run! and folks I am addicted. I went for a walk and started the "game" and was hooked right off the bat. Yes, its $3.99 but it is so worth it.

Here is the link: Zombies, Run!

Now for the larger of us they have included a Zombie Attack on/off button which is great for me as I can barely outrun a baby at this moment in time so the stress of that was taken off. It plays your music too! The sequence goes like this. Story is introduced, you get your mission in the Zombies, Run world, and then your music plays. I hooked it up to one of my iTunes playlists and it worked perfectly! When the story ended it uploaded my stats to not only my Zombies, Run account but I was also able to link it to my RunKeeper app, which is also linked to My Fitness Pal account. All that linking can sure make one tired LOL.

You can choose between 1/2 hour or 1 hour missions. For the foreseeable future I will be using the 1/2 hour during the week and the 1 hour during the weekends.

One other option this app has is that it allows you to go on scavenger missions that are open ended. So I can walk around and collect items for my base. This was great because I had to mow the front lawn this morning and decided to get some supplies at the same time. So I got to listen to great music and build up my base while continuing to get my lung capacity up for the big races I have planned in my future.

Now that I am home I can login to my account and see the stuff I have collected and begin building my base to withstand Zombie attacks. Needless to say I am in Fat Nerd Heaven!

Speaking of Fat Nerd Heaven I have decided to do another 1/2 Marathon. This race was totally made for me! I haven't been this excited about a race since my inaugural Athens 1/2 in 2010. So for those of you who know me you know that I love Star Wars. As fate would have it Disney Runs is putting together a Disney Star Wars 1/2 Marathon. Needless to say I will be logging on 10 June at 12 pm to get my spot! Here is the link to the race. Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend

Well that is my report on the app. If you join up let me know and I will see if we can be buddies and who knows defeat the Zombie hordes together.

Zombies Are Going To Eat My Brain

Hi everyone. Feeling the bug again and so I am going to go back out there. At 220 Kilos though I am afraid but I am afraid of being eaten by Zombies more and so out I go.

Now you probably think I have lost my mind here but I just got an app I have been dying to try for a couple of years now called Zombies, Run! So tomorrow morning I will be getting up early and going out there with my new app. So far I am liking how easy it is to function. I will give a full account tomorrow morning after my 30 minute 1.5-2 mile walk/jog.

Cheers and good night!

So I am a little fatter but I am motivated!

So according to BlogSpot I have not logged in or written since Feb 1. Wow! So a quick update my Herd.

My knees are back in order but the arthritis in them is still a real pain. I am able to do WoW in the mornings but have to really watch myself and modify, modify, modify. I am still going for walks but I have to keep the pace slow and steady which annoys me because Mammoths can be fast too.

The biggest problem that I have is with my eating. As a food addict I love to eat and overeat. Its just what we do and the past six months I have been really down on myself. My knees hurt, I couldn't do bootcamp, work stress, family life issues, you name it and I gave myself a license to eat. So I have packed on some weight. I am still no where close to where I was 2 years ago but I can feel the creep.

I also feel like a hypocrite. Which is completely counter productive because all it does is send me into a shame spiral, which leads to the above eating abuse. So this is me coming clean. I have gained back close to 90 pounds. Just writing this makes me sad but you deserve the truth and I told you in the first blog post that I would always be honest with you. This is a long journey and I hope you will stick with me as I work to get back.

I leave you with the following YouTube link for my new inspirational song. "The Fighter", that is who I am!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxV-OOIamyk

Back to BootCamp!

So glad to be back at BootCamp! Missed on Tuesday due to illness but I am raring and ready to go tomorrow! I really missed those guys!

Asheville was Awesome

Hey Mammoths!

I had the best time at the Mission Healthcare Health Festival this past Saturday. It was so great to be around so many people who want to make a real change in their lives. I met so many wonderful people and I was told I was an inspiration to so many of them, which was a very humbling experience. I am so thankful to God and Jesus who have found a way for me to help out others in this area of my life.

Just a reminder that if you want to participate in Lighten Up Georgia's Competition it starts this Monday. Here is the link LIghtenUpGeorgia.

I am also really excited about restarting Boot Camp on Tuesday and getting on the elliptical and bike tomorrow at the Omni. I hope to see you guys out there!

Asheville, NC

Hey Mammoths I will be at the Health Festival in Asheville, NC this weekend. If you want to see your favorite Mammoth come on out!!!

Day 5 and Then A Curve Ball, Day 6, Day 7

Howdy Mammoths! I say Howdy because I am in Waco, Texas right now. I am meeting a client tomorrow for MoWerks so I have had to travel and be away from the Mommoth and Baby Mammoth, which makes me sad and glad. Sad because I miss them but glad because I get an opportunity to make their lives better by working really hard and allowing the Mommoth to do the toughest job in the world, taking care of the Baby Mammoth! I had to make some decisions very quickly and I think I have done a good job so far.

So Friday was a normal work day for me. It was also a normal Juice Fast day. I got up, the Mommoth made me my juice for breakfast and for the day, and I went to work. I checked my blog and many of you said I should continue my juice fast as long as I felt strong. So I with the Mommoth's input decided I would continue the fast for another 5 days. This plan was going swell until about 4 pm when I got an email from a client stating they wanted me in Waco, TX on Monday morning. So I got my ticket, got a rental car, and had to come up with a new plan.

My new plan was simply sticking with my Weight Watchers diet while I am on the road. I count my points, I make healthy decisions (or try too), and I bring my own snacks.

Now I have a preflight ritual that I have which is getting a three piece chicken combo from Popeyes at the Atlanta Airport. I am a creature of superstition and so I knew going to that airport that this meal was going to happen. So to plan for it I ate a lighter breakfast of cereal and fruit which took me to 9 points. Now I have 71 points a day so by eating this one meal I knew that it would take up close to 1/2 of my daily points but that was okay because it was a choice I made. I normally also get the red beans and rice but today I substituted that with the plain rice and my meal was just as enjoyable. I also took the time to enjoy each bite knowing this is a treat and not an everyday occurrence. I also calculated the points after I finished with each part of my meal. I am pretty sure that Bryan was thinking this was awfully strange but hey you have to stick to your plans. I also have been drinking nothing but water and that also helps. I do miss the caffeine rush but I like being healthy better.

I think what really helped me with my transition was that I ate really healthy on Saturday in preparation for my trip. I ate a healthy breakfast with the Baby Mammoth, had a great healthy snack, I had some California Roll and Vegetable Roll for lunch, had another healthy fruit snack, and then cooked this wonderful Lemon Pepper Tilapia with rice and vegetable medley. This empowered me to have a great day today.

Now normally I don't say you should eat at a restaurant in this blog but today I am making an exception. When Bryan and I got into Waco we were pretty hungry. So we asked the man at the front desk a place he would recommend. He told us to go to Rudy's Barbecue. Folks, I got the 1/2 pound of smoked turkey and it was the most delicious meat I have ever tasted. It was the best 7 WW points I have ever spent. So if you are looking for some good food that is a better choice go to Rudys. WARNING: There are some major temptations there so go in with a plan!

Attention: There will be some bathroom talk coming up so if you are of a delicate nature you may want to call it a night and check back tomorrow as I talk about my experience with a hotel free breakfast.

So after I ate at Popeyes I felt really full. I mean that was a lot of greasy chicken if you think about it, two legs and a breast. Well after my flight to Dallas I had to use the bathroom and of course what I had expected four or five days ago happened in the public bathroom. I had a huge butt explosion!!! My thought is that the healthy eating I have done for the past week has made my body want nothing but good stuff so when the grease came in it acted like a natural Alli and kicked that stuff straight out. I also BMed at my hotel after dinner but I think that was more Popeyes than Rudys. Either way I am happy my body is reacting so well to the juice fast and craving fresh vegetables and fruit.

Well that is the big news update. I am leaving Waco for Dallas tomorrow so that means more choices out there in the big wide space of Texas. I will resume juice fasting on Wednesday and do it for another five days.

Survey at the Bottom

I have a survey at the bottom of the blog. Should I continue the Juice Fast?

Day Four: Its The Taste of Success

Hey Mammoths. So I have been FaceBooked repeatedly on my juice fast and the one question that keeps coming up is how does the juice taste. I make the Mean Green cocktail you see in the film Fat Sick and Nearly Dead and it tastes how you would expect. It has an earthy undertone with a lemony aftertaste. Its not the best nor the worst thing I have ever tasted. The Mommoth and the Mommoth in Law have been researching different recipes and to be honest I like the sweet fruit ones the best but I make sure that my intake is 70% vegetable and 30% fruit. (The Mommoth thinks the Mean Green tastes really gross but it has grown on me.)
 
I am doing some small eating mostly because I know me and I need to masticate on something during the day or my willpower will fail. What I eat are either a fruit, vegetable, or nut in its natural state or as close to it as I can. Some folks will say that this is not a true juice fast and to them I would say, "You are right. This is my juice fast and I know what works for me and this works for me."

I am starting to get the stomach cramps that come with this type of dieting. It's as if my whole torso goes into a painful seizure and it is very debilitating. So far it has only happened at home and usually I can walk it out but they are becoming more and more frequent but that is the price you pay for being hot! No pain no 44 inch pants!

Again nothing to really report on the bathroom front so you can breath a sigh of relief. Take care y'all. Tomorrow is reevaluation day for me and the Mommoth. Will I continue? Guess you will have to read tomorrows blog to find out!

Day 3: Headache Is A Small Price To Pay

*Note* I left my laptop at work yesterday and for some reason my iPad and Blogger were just not getting along. Here is what I wrote for yesterday. New Blog Tonight!!!

Day three of the juice fast went by rather uneventfully. I followed my schedule and it worked out just great. The one drawback to all of this is that I can't drink coffee. Ask any of my boys and they will tell you I am addicted to coffee but alas I have not had any since Monday morning and I am beginning to withdraw, hence the headache.



I went to my weekly weigh-in at Weight Watchers and got my new number.  I hadn't weighed myself since I hurt my knee so it was good to see my number and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did learn that the Mean Green is 5 points but I am still trying to work that out.

My biggest challenge today was during my role playing time with my friends after work. Normally it is a snack filled beer festival, and it was again tonight but my juices made me feel satisfied so I was all good. Still wanted to punch Brian in the face and take his Wendy burger. I think I wanted that burger more out of comfort need than a food need. Lots of stress at work but I am doing okay keeping things in perspective.

Well that is my day. Sorry folks no bodily function things to report at this time. See you tomorrow for Day Four and then it's Evaluation Day!

Day 2: Working the Fast at Work

So to say that today was not challenging would be a total lie. Work is very stressful and as a stress eater you will never guess what I like to do. (For those who are new to the blog I eat when I am stressed out.) Today's stress level was a 237 on a 10 scale so I was wanting to snack like a Mammoth but I was able to resist through a lot of planning and prayer.

The planning was that I would have a juice at 11:30 and 2:30 as my main Mean Green Meals and I would have my Berry Good snack juice at 12:30 and during the Manchester City and Liverpool match. This really paid off for me because I was able to drink water to get me to my times. It was tough but I got through.

My biggest challenge came when we had a lunch meeting today and everybody ordered sandwiches. Now normally I find this one place okay but today they looked like the greatest sandwiches of all time. Then they pulled out the Jalepeno Cheddar chips and I sat there with my Mean Green thinking about how 2012 is my time and this is part of making this my time.

Physically today I am a little more tired than yesterday. In fact I am fighting like crazy to write this blog because I am truly detoxing and I feel it. The last time I felt like this was when I was at H3 my first week.

WARNING: Body function discussion about to occur so if you don't want to know about it then Good Night and I will see you tomorrow.

So my BM was completely weird. I thought that it would be like a green diarrhea but what came out was solid. This surprised me because I thought for sure it would be a large gush of grossness but nope solid and compact. What has thrown me off is the amount of time I am urinating I mean I am going like once every 30 minutes. I was on a conference call and one of the guys I was talking with asked me if I have been checked for prostate cancer because I had to excuse myself so much. Silly Clients :)

So that is the day that I had. I feel bedraggled but I am going to be okay and am looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 1: Holy Sh*t Am I Really Doing This???

Okay so today me and the Mommoth, Baby Mammoth, and Mommoth in Law went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get a juicer. Now we had a 20% coupon and we had a food processor that we returned and in the end we actually got money back for our purchase. Now most of you know that I am a Christian and I believe things happen for a reason and all of this was just to perfect for there not to be some sort of divine intervention. Thank you Jesus!

So we get home and the Mommoth and I make an apple juice and it was delicious! The Baby Mammoth went down for her nap and the Mommoth in Law said we could go to the store. Once at Sams Club the Mommoth and I got about 120 dollars worth of fruit and vegetables. Upon our return home we were excited to begin our juicing adventure.

The Mommoth decided we were going to try the Mean Green Juice Recipe we saw on Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. We made it, we tried it, and to be honest it wasn't the worst thing I have ever tasted but it wasn't the most pleasant either. I knew that I could survive on it and that it was fuel to start my reboot. The Mommoth however thought it was terrible. She feels that it will grow on her but for now all she can say is BLEECH! (Note: The Mommoth, Baby Mammoth, and Mommoth in Law all had pork chops tonight--I oven cooked them but the juicing for my beloved is on hold.)

So for dinner I had another Mean Green Juice and the Mommoth made me an awesome Berry Good Time juice and to be honest I am very satisfied. When I did crave something I ate some grapes and an orange but all in all it was a good juice fast day.

DISCLAIMER: If you are bothered by bodily fluid or function discussions then you need to stop reading and catch me tomorrow.

The biggest physical change I have noticed already is in my BMs. My system feels totally cleaned out and I feel like a lot of the toxins are being purged from my body even as I am writing this. During on urination break my urine was Kermit the Frog green which tickled me to no end. I feel healthier already!

New Year, New Me, New Plan

Hey everyone.

I know it has been a long time since September 5 but my silence was due to the fact that I was going through a pretty rough patch in my life. During that time I forgot a great deal of the things I have been preaching for over a year. I stopped counting calories, I stopped writing my food down, and then I got seriously hurt. I cracked my knee cap and allowed myself a pity party; until now!

I watched a great documentary the other day called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Its about a guy who decides to reboot his system by doing nothing but juicing for 60 days. So as I am watching this I notice that this fella from Australia and I have a lot in common. We are both success oriented people, we both have a food addiction, and we both believe that only changing your behavior will you ever truly lose the weight and keep it off. So I have decided to reboot my system 5 days at a time. 5 days from today I will reevaluate where I am, how I am feeling, and determine if I want to continue or not. As I used to tell my soccer team, Little things turn into big goals! My big goal of course is to be healthy and I think this is a good way. I would like to thank Michael Williams for turning me on to this documentary.

So that is the skinny about me getting skinny. Over the next few days I will blog about my experiences with this reboot and let you know how its going!