Sam on Maui

Huzzah! As of this morning I weighed 212.2lbs. Why is that such a big deal? Because when I started everything and ordered DDP Yoga back in mid-December, I was 223lbs! Today I've crossed the 10lb mark! Also, that's 7lbs since I started doing the yoga on January 1st. So ~3lbs was lost by diet alone! I'm quite thrilled with this, obviously. I've been doing Fat Burner more often in the program, and its definitely challenging again. I can do Energy! with no modifications on a good day, and even do it with my glasses off. Its nice being able to focus on doing instead of "what am I supposed to be doing again?" I'll get there with Fat Burner soon enough. I'm happy! I'm enjoying it! I'm doing DDP Yoga five times a week after work, as its stress relieving. I generally feel pretty good after, and dinner tastes better when I'm done.

So, done with my Week 5! Today was *hard* - Diamond Dozen and Fat Burner - but it was *great* The slower pace of the Diamond Dozen gave me time to think about what I was doing, so I made some improvements on my level of engagement. I don't quite know how to explain them (maybe I should draw it later?), but it really helped with Touchdown, Diamond Cutter, and anything involving my arms. In between DD and FB, I adjusted my heart-rate monitor from Polar's recommended zone settings to DDP Yoga's  (123-143). Fat Burner was indeed tougher due to the adjustments, but again, it was better for it. I was able to stay in the zone for most of the workout, and actually had to go to Safety Zone at least twice because I exceeded the top end of my zone. My average heart-rate was 119! That's an all time high average for me! Once I get some more practice in with Fat Burner, I'm hoping I can get my average up to 123... that'd be perfect! I wonder if I can do that for ...

A little early this week, considering I haven’t done my Friday training. That said, it’s the end of the month, so I want to see how things have progressed. I began on January 1, 2014, today is January 31, so that’s a good time period, right? Weight: 219.2lbs to 214.8lbs (-4.4) Chest: 42” to 41.75” (-.25”) Waist: 43.5” to 40.5” (-3”) Hips: 46” to 45” (-1”) Thighs: 23” to 22” (-1”) So, 4.4 pounds lighter, and 5.25” thinner! Not bad, eh? I did forget to include my bicep during my initial measurement, so I’ve had to record it as 14.5” in both the beginning and 30-day spots. Hopefully we’ll see progress there, although I’m not sure what things could/should look like. I’m getting better at doing the routine in Energy. Since I’m not fumbling about trying to keep up, I can work on doing things better. Last night I started tightening up and engaging muscles I hadn’t before, plus consciously not letting go on things as early as before. For some reason I’m having a little harder time ...

Closing in on the end of my first month, and I'm looking forward my updated measurements. This week was actually quite good! I did DDP Yoga Energy Monday through Thursday instead of just Monday and Wednesday. Unfortunately, I got busy Friday, so I didn't do Fat Burner on schedule. Wasn't happy about that! So, I did it late this afternoon, and plan to do it tomorrow as well. What's interesting is I'm looking forward to do DDP Yoga, even on the days I'm unscheduled! When I come home from work, I often excuse myself, head to the garage, and spend the next twenty minutes or so doing yoga. I'm also finding I'm enjoying my cleaner eating. I felt like I overate Saturday night at my friend's house, even though I kept myself relatively restrained. Not too much spaghetti, but too much garlic bread. Starting next week (haven't been to the store yet) I'll be bring a large salad with me on my Saturday tabletop game nights. Also, I ate at ...

I'm on week 3! Yay! I'm at the point in Energy where I can do a good portion of it without a lot of modification. Some stuff is still difficult, but overall I'm getting the hang of it. Since I'm familiar with it, I can focus more on doing things than how I'm doing things. Of course, the third session of week 3 changes everything, and Fat Burner brought a good challenge to it. I'll need to learn the routine, get comfortable, and then it should be pretty awesome :) Eating is going well. I'm not yet 100% compliant with Phase 1 eating, but that said? I'm eating more vegetables and cleaner than I have in a long time. Possible ever as an adult. So, from the 223lbs I was around December 20th when I ordered the DVDs and started working on Phase 1's menu, to January 1st's 219lbs? I'm now 215lbs. So, total of 8lbs lost over the course of 5 weeks, and only 3 weeks of which actually had me doing DDP Yoga and dietary changes at the same t...

Aaaand Week 2 check-in! I managed to practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday! I'm 95% sure my allergies are being seriously set off by something, so while I wasn't feeling fantastic before, after this morning's session I was pretty beat. Monday and Wednesday were fine, and I actually started doing about 50% of Energy without as much modification on Wednesday. I was surprised by how much of a difference that made in my heart-rate! Wow! Hopefully the air will clear up or something so I can be back to 100% on Monday. Eating has been pretty good. Right now I'm having a late breakfast (two eggs, seasoned black beans, and about half a cucumber). Need to find healthy beverages I like, though! Ah well, one step at a time :) (originally posted on 1/11/14)

DVDs? Check. Heart-rate monitor? Check. A place to train? Check. And thanks to some folks at www.TeamDDPYoga.com, I've entered a "3-times a week" Challenge, as it seems perfect for a beginner like me :) So far so good, although I did Energy Wednesday, Thursday, and this morning (Saturday). The rest days seem well placed, but I sort of crammed them in to make the challenge. Well, that and I wanted to do it today! Little bit of trouble with the heart-rate monitor. Its a Polar FT1, and doesn't always get my heart rate. I don't know if its a bad unit, a poor quality unit, or if I'm doing something wrong (very likely). Starting Monday I'll start a food diary (yay smartphones), but I've already cleaned up my eating quite a bit since seriously looking into DDP Yoga. So, I've regularly had salads for lunch, my breakfasts have been pretty good (albeit nothing special), ...

I’ve been working on my diet lately, which has been a good thing. A recent physical had my doctor concerned about my weight, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc., so changes are in order. But, that said? There’s a few big buzzwords I’ve heard I should avoid – not from my doctor but by friends, the internet, etc. Mulling it over, some of these things are subject to good ol’ fashioned hysteria. If you listen to the most extreme of voices, they’ll kill you, your dog, and burn down your house (or something along those lines). I can sort of understand some of the more sane things said, but not being a doctor or nutritionist, nor knowing good sources to verify the claims? That’s sort of dangerous, and I don’t want to inadvertently “drink the Kool-Aid,” as it were. So, thinking it over, I’ve come up with the following reasons I'm cutting back on foods with the HFCS, gluten, and dairy..

Week 4 and doing pretty well! I’m not entirely sure how I should decide which way to really track my weight. The weekly, predictable fluctuation makes me wonder if I should pick the results from a certain day (say, Friday or Saturday) as my milestone or not.

So far, so good! I’m actually cooking at home a lot more now, which makes life easier on my wallet. I managed to survive not only a vacation but having my in-laws visiting from the mainland. Obviously, the trend is for Sunday and Mondays to have a spike in weight (Saturday is my cheat day), with it coming down by the end of the week. I am exercising on a MWF schedule(-ish), doing kettlebell swings, Turkish get-ups, and trying to walk/jog after to cool down. No idea if I’m putting on musicle or not. I do find that my GymBoss is helpful, though; I’d rather focus on form, and I have harder time doing that when I’m counting reps. I’m not training for paintball specifically, but better cardio and less weight should offer enough of a boost that I’ll be happy. I’ll definitely have to buy a copy of The 4 Hour Body later, since I need to return my brother’s copy soon-ish. For more reading? http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any...

Let me present the USS Messing!

The two worst tendencies I’ve come across for myself are the desire to over complicate things, and the desire to skip ahead. This can affect many areas of life, and one of the more practical things it sabotages is my health. Be it diet or exercise, these two things are more than capable of robbing one of results and motivation. So, simplify, simplify. Paul “Coach” Wade’s Convict Conditioning is simple and straightforward. Wade, a former inmate of the U.S. prison system, learned and taught calisthenics during his over 19 years of incarceration. Over the years he got the nickname “Coach” for teaching other inmates, and has since systemized his program.

A few days ago I was having to decide between buying my Myoplex locally from GNC versus buying online for $10 less. Well, I made my choice, and went locally. I had a quick stop to Queen Ka’ahumanu Shopping Center, walked to GNC, presented my Gold card, and got the $50 box for just under $42, including tax. That’s a work-month worth of meals at about $2.10 per serving, which isn’t too bad. Having thought about it a bit more, I did think of some other benefits to having bought it locally. By spending it here, I paid local sales tax. The business itself pays local taxes. The employees will get more money (I’ve heard GNC has commissions), so that’s income tax plus them spending money, which will be sales tax. With tourism still recovering plus the expectation that Japanese visitors will be declining in number while they rebuild, that’s important right now. The state and county definitely need the money. While I’m not a fan of everything the government does (federal, state or local),...

One of the things I've been trying to do over the past few years is, when I can, to buy stuff locally. Even if I buy something from a national retail chain, I know that some of that money stays here and contributes towards the local economy. There are exceptions to this, of course, but overall I've tried to keep to that. Right now I've got a case where I need to choose, though. The local GNC sells EAS' Myoplex Lite for $50. After my Gold Card discount that'll be $40 plus tax, so $41.67 total. At 20 packets/meals a box (enough for four working weeks), I'm paying $2.09 per shake. But if I went through Amazon and subscribe to it (ie, they will automatically ship me more every month), I can get it for $30. They claim no shipping, so if that's true? That'll be $1.50 per shake and over a $11 per box. Over the course of a year I'd save close to $150. So, the question is, what is that difference in price buying me? Like everyone else, I'm wanting t...

There’s an old saying, “he who fails to plan, plans to fail.” No idea who said it, but its certainly true enough. I’m sure its tossed around for great and grand ambitions, a golden brick of advice for the next Donald Trump or Colin Powell. For me, on the other hand, its very down to earth, and is something I’ve been trying to implement with my weight loss. I’ve been on Weight Watchers for about eight months now, and have lost 14.4lbs thus far. While not as impressive as the latest fad diet, that’s a steady 1.8lbs a month average, and a healthy rate of loss. That, combined with increased physical activity (thank you to everyone who worked on EA Sports Active 2 for the 360/Kinect) has been very good for me, even getting my blood sugar own! One thing I’ve had to deal with is the simple fact that if I don’t prepare my lunches ahead of time, like the night before, I am very likely to cheat. I’ve eaten at Jack in the Box more than a few times wondering, “why can’t I quit you?” It slows d...

One of most useful tools for a busy day (and life) is a to-do list. And, arguably, the to-do list is one of the ubiquitous apps for PDAs and now smart phones. While I never much used my old Palm Centro’s Tasks app, I’ve used to-do lists almost daily at work. There’s something very satisfying about ending the day and seeing that list (long or short) with everything crossed off! Of course, if nothing or very little is finished, well, that can be a bit disheartening, but alas, not every day ends well. One of the first apps I got for my WP7 phone was a to-do list, in this case Compiled Experience’s To Do Today , and I’ve used the paid version for about a week now. How’s it working out? Pretty well, actually.

Yay! 10/15/10 measurements: Right Upper Arm - 14" Waist - 42" Hips - 45" Right Thigh - 26" 1/18/11 measurements Right Upper Arm - 13.25" (-.75) Waist - 41" (-1") Hips - 44.25" (-.75") Right Thigh - 25" (-1") Thank you Weight Watchers! Still working towards my 5% goal, but so far so good! :D

"The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable." - Sun Tzu While not incredibly well-read or knowledgeable, I think I'm starting to find finances more interesting now than I have ever before. Maybe I'm at "that" phase in life. Certainly, it started when I finally got tired of making my money and having nothing to really show for it. Thanks to that I went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, which has probably been the best $92 I've spent on myself in a long time. I've tried reading Richard Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad, although have never made it through the thing even after trying for close to a decade. The idea of debt as a tool seems dangerous to me - a bit worrisome. But, I can see his points, and there is the whole risk/reward aspect to c...

Today for lunch I figured I would grab a salad from Jack in the Box. Their Southwest Chicken salad is actually pretty good and it had been a while since I had one. Got it, came back to the office and proceeded to eat. While munching away, however, it began to dawn on me why I didn't get the things more often. Salads are time-consuming to eat. Maybe it says something about modern culture, but the darn things simply are not fast to eat! I think I could've eaten a sandwich in half the time it took me to eat my salad. Maybe a third of the time. But its simply not a very "efficient" way to go if you're pressed to eat within a short amount of time. Be it fresh or fast food, there are a wide variety of foods that can simply downed faster than a meal-sized salad, that are just as satisfying, and can be had for the same price. One could go with something plus a side salad, but I don't see the point. Side salads are nice, don't get me wrong, but honestly as small a...

One trick with dieting is that weight can be a fickle metric. Clothing, hydration, meals in the stomach, use of the bathroom, muscle mass lost or gained, temperature affecting the scale and more can swing things in either direction. As such, my brother has encouraged me to track my progress is more than one way. In the front of my little journal they actually encourage you to track things two other ways than simple numbers off the scale – body measurements and clothing sizes. This evening a little time was spent with a measuring tape and pen so I could get at least the body measurements handled. So, as of today? Right upper arm – 14” Waist- 40.5” Hips – 45” Right thigh – 26” In one month I’ll measure again and hopefully find the numbers to be to my liking!