Details, Details, Details

I've never been diagnosed, but I'm pretty sure that I have a twinge of O.C.D. I mean, I do some things that - when I'm finished - I step back and go, "Now why did I do that? Was it really worth all that extra work?" Can anyone relate with this?

For example, I have a Netflix Instant Queue with hundreds of movies, documentaries and TV shows in it. If I have a TV show in the queue, I 100% intend to watch the entire show completely from the beginning. I've restarted "Lost" three times now because "it's been too much time since I started it last time" and watched the entire series of "Prison Break" because I never saw the last season. I write and rewrite and rewrite my To Do Lists so they looks cleaner, and I'm also the guy that would completely rewrite my class notes in college because I didn't think it looked neat enough. I'm also currently listening to a September 7, 2012 episode of a daily podcast that I like because I am trying to catch up (doubt it'll ever happen).

So why doesn't this exhausting process carry over to the health/fitness portion of my life? In recent introspective sessions, I've often pondered this question. And I think I've found the answer...

For me, it's easy to organize and control the physical surroundings around me. It's easy to pick up my laundry, make the bed, organize my desk  or do the dishes. But when it comes to organizing and aligning my mindset and my actions towards a healthier life, that's not as easy... It requires much more effort and dedication and my mind wears out well before my body does. So how does one go about conquering this giant?

That's what I'm still trying to figure out. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that I have a switch that I can flip that automatically turns on self-control, discipline, motivation or commitment, so I guess that means I'm going to have to go it alone. Yikes, that definitely hasn't gotten me anywhere since I started back in 2009... But I'm making the attempt once again to kick this healthier lifestyle into gear, so we'll see how it goes this time!

What have you found that motivates you to commit to life-long, healthy changes in your life? Was it a life event, a particular person, a new-found passion for running? Let me know!

In the Starting Blocks

On the heels of the Men's 100m Finals - all hail Usain! - I think the title of today's post is quite applicable.  By the way, can we all just stop a second and admit that he is ridiculous? Any time I watch his run my jaw just drops - so impressive.

Anyway, if you read my post from yesterday, you know that I am now 28 years of age and am embarking on a year-long journey (a la Chris Powell) to get to my sub-200 pound goal. So before I get started, I want to establish where I'm starting. I'm adjusting my feet in the blocks and getting ready to tear up the track. (But of course this isn't being treated as a sprint!)

This morning I took stock of where I find myself after a week of vacation and a week + of slacking on my half marathon training schedule. And it was worse than I thought.

If any of you follow me on YouTube, you'll know that I also just joined a couple of challenges - so to speak - that require me to make regular update/progress videos. In my initial videos for #CHANGE and "Hot 4 Halloween" I made a guess before vacation that I weighed around 270 despite having not seen a scale for a week prior to that. Well...I must have been wrong. Here are my starting numbers as of today:

Starting Weight: 275.6

Measurements (in inches):

I took some 'before' pictures that I will show you at the end of each three-month "Phase" (again with the Chris Powell comparison). I will also be giving short, weekly reports each Monday letting you know how my last seven days went - mostly statistical with a little analysis. I'll also have a running, weekly, weigh in tally in the upper-right portion of the blog.

I also want to note that I don't want to stray too far from the running focus of this blog, but that shouldn't be a problem since I'll be continuing my half marathon training this next month and using it as a huge part of my weight loss. My ultimate goal after all of this is done is to become a hardcore runner (like some of you!) and maybe even dabble in some du- or triathlons. Hmm? Hmm?

But let's take this one day at a time, k? I'll have my first progress post for ya on Monday.

15 Down, 65 to Go!

Let's say you're on a cross-country road trip. It's a long drive, right? So naturally you find little things along the way to make the trip feel shorter. For me, I would celebrate whenever I crossed a state line. A few summers ago I took a three-month road trip for my alma mater and covered 18 states and one Canadian province. And along the way we took pictures of each, new state sign we encountered. It broke up the trip, made it more fun and made it MUCH more manageable.

And there's something to be said about this for weight loss as well. When you're staring down the barrell of a huge number of pounds that you want to lose, it's quite easy to feel intimidated, hesitant and scared. But when you set checkpoints along the way where you can celebrate, it makes the journey (as I said in the last paragraph) more manageable.

Which is why I'm writing this post! I hit the 15 pounds lost mark this morning, and it makes me feel really, really good. Sure, I've been lighter than this before during my weight loss efforts, but it's very affirming to see that my hard work is paying off once again. Now I just can't wait to see 20! Hopefully I'll have a good update for you on that number again next week.

Every five pounds lost is definitely something to celebrate, and I hope you're able to do that as well if you're on a weight loss journey. Heck, every pound is a success! What are some of your checkpoints and 'state signs' along your way? How do you celebrate these smaller accomplishments on your way to your final goal? Or if you've already reached your goal, what tools and rewards did you use to keep yourself motivated and moving in the right direction?

My (Slightly Belated) June Goals

One of my reoccuring downfalls on my weight loss journey has been setting all my final, big picture goals up front and then rarely setting smaller, more bite-sized goals along the way. As a result, every time I stumbled on my diet or gain a few pounds here or there, I saw my progress through the lens of the larger goal and found myself getting discouraged because I had "such a long way to go", and would forget that one, bad day doesn't ruin everything and that I just needed to forget yesterday's failure and focus on winning today. I've never been good at that...

So in an attempt to combat this cycle from rearing its ugly head anymore, I'm going to take some time at the beginning of each month to set some goals for myself for the upcoming 30 days. I think I'll give a few, different kinds of goals: weight, nutrition, activity and maybe something unrelated to weight loss.

Before I get into my June goals, let me backtrack a little and talk about May. My efforts - on a scale of 1 to 10 - probably registered only about a 4.5 last month. I had a couple weeks where I ate well and got to the gym 4-6 times a week, but the other half of the month I avoided the gym, at donuts for breakfast and enjoyed way too much soda. However, I still managed to lose 8-10 pounds last month despite my efforts not to, haha.

For June, I've found a new source of motivation to help me through the summer. Some of the women at work started a Biggest Loser type of contest and asked me to join! The prize is yet to be determined, but I'm still really excited about it. I'll get more into that at a later date. On to the goals!

By July 1st, here are some things I want to say I've accomplished:

- Lose 15-20 pounds so I can get myself back into the 250s
- Avoid all non-diet soda
- Be able to run 5 miles without stopping
- Gain 50 combined Twitter followers/YouTube subscribers/Facebook page 'Likes'
- Blog at least once a week
- Read one Runner's World and one Men's Health

I like the list I've put together here! They encompass a lot of the different areas I want to work on and allow me to make smaller steps forward in all of them! I'll lose weight, develop healthier habits by dropping soda, work towards my goal of 'being a runner,' improve my online presence and gain knowledge my reading! Man, I love these!

So there ya go! Let me know your thoughts on my goals, and I want to know what YOU want to accomplish in June! I'm real pumped about this, can't you tell? :)

Favorite Fitness Apps?

Well I think my day may finally come! I think I finally may be able to consider myself part of the "in crowd." That's right - I'm talking about being able to call myself an iPhone user!

Now sure, some of you who know me also may know that I OWN an iPhone3, but sadly I only really use it as an iPod. The wifi part of the phone is shot, the apps work when they feel like it, but it still serves up some mean tunes (and podcasts). But to date, I've never had an iPhone which I use for its intended purpose.

However, the tides seem to be turning and even though AT&T is trying their darndest to keep us from acquiring these spectacular phones, it seems that we may be able to find people who are looking to sell their current phones. And also, if you're reading this and are looking to sell your iPhone 4 or 4S, let me know! We may still be looking!!

Anyway, the reason that I'm letting you know about possible, future, technological acquisitions is because said item has VAST possibilities and many mobile applications that are available to possibly assist in my weight loss and fitness goals.

So at this point I ask a question - what sorts of iPhone apps do YOU use that have helped you find success or motivation in your running, weight loss and/or health goals? As of now, I also plan on purchasing a Nike+ Fuel Band which requires an app and tracks daily activity and calories (plus more), and while I have an idea for a few other health-related apps to get, I want to know what's worked for you.

So the bottom line is this - I love seeing numbers, graphs and statistics and some of these apps will givev me just that. I like seeing a visual chart of my progress and I think some of these apps will fill that need. Can't wait to see what you suggest! And once I get the phone I'll let you know which ones I decided on!

13.1 Miles ... x 2?

Alright, come in close, everyone.

As you know, I've recently signed up for the Chicago 13.1 Marathon on June 9th. Well, I also found out that there's this thing called the Windy City Challenge.

The Windy City Challenge consists of the Chicago 13.1 Marathon (6/9/2012) and the Chicago Half Marathon (9/9/2012). If a person accomplishes running BOTH races this year, you are awarded a THIRD medal! When I read this, I knew I just had to do it!

Well, rather than just simply pay the entrance fee to get my name in the running, I decided to make it a little more challenging. If I weigh less than 240 pounds by the date of my first race, I am allowing myself to sign up for the second one. That means...

I have two and a half months to lose approximately 40 POUNDS! 

Let's do this, shall we? :) Is anyone else participating in the Windy City Challenge?

Why I Want to Do This

When you're in a rut when trying to lose weight (or in my case, a 3-year rut), it's important to sometimes revisit the reasons that you're trying to slim down. Are they valid reasons? Are they logical reasons? Are they selfish reasons?

I was spitballing with a fellow YouTube Weight Loss Community member about the motivations and reasons behind our desire to lose the weight. While some may sound selfish, there are others complementing them which are completely unselfish. While some seem illogical and stupid, there are plenty others that make complete sense.

I feel that you need a variety of motivators in your journey to keep you looking where you need to look. If you only had one reason to hang your hat on, it may be easier to eventually put it on the back burner because it's "only that one reason" and go back to your semi-destructive habits. But if you're constantly reminded of your motivators, it's hard to shake off the feeling and ditch your goals.

So that being said, here is a list of some of the motivators and goals that I have corresponding to my weight loss:

• To gain self-confidence
• To have to buy all new clothes
• To dress in nice clothes rather than big jeans and sweatshirts
• To run a marathon
• To look (and feel) good
• To not have to worry about genetic heart disease
• To live a healthy and active lifestyle
• To be able to have a story I can share to inspire others
• To be able to say "I did it!"
• To attempt some level of triathlon 
• To feel comfortable and have fun playing team sports again
• I'll add more as I think of them

What are YOUR reasons for your goals? And your goals definitely don't have to be just to lose weight - I mean ANYTHING!

Reasons to Lose Weight

Happy New Year! Okay, so I know it's almost the end of January already, but this is my first post since late December. Whoops? Anyway, needless to say, my New Year's resolution is still the same as in 2009, 2010 and 2011 - lose weight and get fit. But why am I so persistent on accomplishing this?

I found a blog that lists a few reader-submitted "reasons to be fit" every week. And even though it's geared more towards females, a lot of their reasons ring true for me too. Here are a few examples:

• To be able to run a marathon
• To show all that've doubted what's possible
• To be able to inspire others
• To be able to say, "I did it!"
• To prove that I finish what I start

But outside of these, I see one reason that  stands above the rest. It's quite simple and practical really...

If you're trying to lose weight too, what are some of YOUR reasons for wanting to lose the weight? What are some of the goals you've set for yourself? You never know when the Zombie-pocalypse will be upon us!

Goal Picture!

So I was trying to organize my pictures the other day when I came across one from 2003 (I think). It's a picture of me and my triplet cousins at a family wedding. I want to say that I was under 200 pounds in this picture. It would be the summer after I graduated from high school.

Since I think I look pretty decent in this picture, I'm going to officially label this as my 'goal picture.' If I could look like this again I think life would be pretty sweet. Now to find a piece of 'goal clothing' to try to fit into!

Believing vs. Doing

I thought about making a video on this topic, but figured I was due for a blog post anyway, so here I am! I know some of you may be wondering what happened to my posts about the 90-Day Challenge...well, Thanksgiving happened and threw off my posting schedule, but they will be back in full force soon!

But anyway, the topic of 'belief vs. action' came up in our church small group last night and someone used the example of knowing that eating right and exercising is good for you, but doing those things doesn't always follow right behind. Logically it should, but that's rarely the case.

I've actually been beating myself up a lot lately because I do the same thing. I have the knowledge and know-how to lose weight and eat right, but day in and day out I still make mistakes and bad choices that keep me treading water rather than moving towards my goal. And it frustrates me to no end knowing what I'm capable of, yet squandering my days away and making no progress. Unfortunately the frustration and and anger of failing time after time really knocks down my confidence and self-esteem and leaves me wondering (or doubting) if I'll ever be able to accomplish this.

That thinking then turns itself into a self-fulfilling a prophecy and what do you know? I'm left with regret for the day that I've wasted and the pounds I've not lost (or even have gained). That then translates into eating poorly and skipping workouts due to the bad moods. It seems to be a vicious cycle I can't seem to shake myself out of.

I've determined that I have a hard time focusing on the next step I have to take and am distracted by the big, overall goal. I always have "lose 80 pounds" looming over my head while I should be focusing on eating healthy for my next meal, or making my next day's workout count. I know I want to run a marathon, but have a hard time making sure I can run 2 miles at a time. But I just can't get myself to consistently do so without slip ups, collapses and failures.

I have many questions as to how I can be able to change my mindset or focus, and not nearly enough answers. What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. I've thought time and time again that I've found the motivation to get my mind focused, but it fizzles out quickly. So I'm left wondering what's wrong. What do I need to do to finally get my mind in the right place to accomplish my goals? I'm open to any suggestions you may have, but I feel it's just something that I need to keep working at.

90-Day Challenge: Day 8

One of Amy's Biggest Loser 'before' pictures

In today's challenge, Amy talks about how embarrassing it was to take their Biggest Loser "before" pictures when they arrived on the ranch. "It was an intimidating moment having to walk in front of a photographer and pose with all your fat hanging out everywhere. I was quite embarrassed, but knew it had to be done."

She went on to talk about how, even thought it was embarrassing and humbling for everyone to see how much she'd let herself go, it was important to take an inventory of where she was and HOW she got there. The same goes for all of us - even if it's not weight loss! If you're trying to change bad habits, they only gain more power the more you attempt to keep them hidden. Amy goes on to say, "I believe that showing the world my faults is what allowed me to recognize the poor health and more toward healing."

Therefore, the challenge for today focuses on getting a bearing of where you are currently. Before starting the challenge, I measured all my body stats to get an idea of where I'm at. The book goes one step further and encourages you to get a physical as well just to get a comprehensive picture of your health. Along with my measurements I also got some blood work done in September which also gave me a picture of my inner health. I still have yet to take my 'before' pictures...I'm nervous, I won't lie. I'll take those next week. *GULP*

Since I have them available, here are some of my "starting stats" as far as measurements go. I'll take these measurements again towards the middle of December to see my progress and every month from here on out. The blood work numbers will be up here soon too.

Shoulders: 24 inches     Chest: 47 inches      Waist: 45 inches     Hips: 48 inches     

Thighs: 28 inches     Biceps: 16.5 inches     Abdomen: 51.5 inches

A Real Eye-Opener

Have you ever watched those weight loss reality shows where they take overweight contestants to the supermarket and tell them to run through a "normal" grocery-buying session? They're pulling donuts and candy and chips and soda off the shelves left and right - and smiling obliviously the entire time. The host then turns around and calculates all the calories of the items or shows them how unhealthy the items are.

Well today I visited TacoBell.com to take a peek at what my usual, drive-thru order from my favorite fast food joint would cost me health-wise. Take a look at these numbers! And this isn't eve including the 42-oz. Mountain Dew (with no ice) I would have along with it!

If the picture is too small to read, that graphic reads that my meal of one crunchy taco, one chili cheese burrito and two chalupas would supply me with 1,280 calories! (And like I mentioned, the Mountain Dew - at least another 500!) That kind of knocked me back in my seat when I read that today.

And that's only one meal! Now of course, I'd feel gross and lethargic after that, but sometimes it wouldn't stop me from hitting up ANOTHER fast food place for dinner! (Usually McDonald's or Panda Express) I can't believe the number of calories I'm capable of consuming! It's frightening, to be honest.

It's also healthy to see these numbers and realize the negative impact they had on my body, but it's MORE important to learn from this and make much healthier choices. Now I can't say that I won't ever eat at Taco Bell ever again, but I can tell you that I won't be consuming 1,280 calories if I do! Mostly because I wouldn't want to run the two hours it would take to burn that all off!

What are some of the unhealthy things you've eaten that helped you gain weight? I encourage you to check the calories and see how much damage it costs you