Feb 10th - Two a day!

I was looking at my mile tracker and realized that I am still about the same distance off pace as last month from where I should be for the year. Those missed days held me back some. Today, I am planning on getting a couple miles on the treadmill and then going to play basketball in hopes for a good workout there as well. I step on the scale every morning so that I have an idea of where my body is at. This could be a dangerous thing. As I've stated several times --- my journey to better health focuses not on what I can control and not what I can not control. Right now the focus is on the miles that I do and what I put into my body. Any form of weight loss will be the added bonus. I caught myself taking on the mindset of it being about the weight and when it is only about that -- people get discouraged quickly. If the emphasis is on the scale than I'll lose control --- if the emphasis is on what I can do each and every day in the form of what I eat and what activity I have done - that's when I have control.


Food Intake: will post on the 11th.

Workout: Basketball --- 3.96 miles total



Miles til Year Goal: 924.36

February 9th & a little of my story

So I'm sitting here watching the Biggest Loser and for some reason I remembered the time that I actually thought about filling out the application to join the show. I even printed it off. I probably would not have met the size requirement but the fact that I had the thought made me think of how far I have come from then. It was a mindset that I had. It's been 40 days into the new year and it's been great so far. As long as I can remember - when it came to trying to be healthier, I constantly failed. I would start a "diet" and then leave it when something better came along (usually fast food). There is something different about this. It's not a "diet" but a change of lifestyle. It's a change in mind set. My mind is clear and I think about what is good and bad now. I weigh the decisions more and try to make the better decision. This is not a shallow attempt to have the appearance of perfection because I do eat things that aren't the best choice. I still allow myself a sweet snack every day but it is with purpose. I know that I would binge if I did not. This allows me the opportunity to have the sweet but control the amount of sweets. This is just my routine that seems to be working thus far. This may not be for everyone however. It's good to have the many other bloggers out there that share a similar story. I thought that I would give a few of those bloggers that I constantly read some love and post them below.

Mac at getfitslowly

John at Johnisfit

Andrew at andrewisgettingfit

J.Darling at wellnessjourney

These are just a couple of people that I read daily or as soon as they get a post up. They keep me inspired. I also have included a photo of me with the final look at the Super Bowl Snack stuff that I won from a drawing that Johnisfit held.


Look at that beard. I started growing just before I started this journey to better health. I do have to say that it is getting pretty fierce.

Food Intake:

1. 1 3/4 cup of Raisin Bran Cereal
2. banana
3. oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
4. 10 pretzels
5. 2 cookies
6. 12 oz sprite
7. oven roasted chicken on a bed of salad with ALL of the available vegetables
8. 60+ oz of water
9. Peach smoothies - yogurt, banana, agave nectar, milk, peaches

Workout: treadmill --- 4.2 miles

Miles til Year Goal: 928.32

February 8th, 2010 & a Large Size Shirt

I'm blogging for yesterday Feb. 8th, today. Last night (8th) we were at Walmart and they were having a clearance on most of their winter clothes for some reason -- (It was 11 degrees last night) so I figured I would look around. I am a pretty stingy guy when it comes to spending money unless it's something that must last. I found a long sleeved shirt that I liked but it was a size Large. I typically get an XL because Larges are just too tight for me to wear. Not this night. I knew I had lost some weight and thought that I would try it on. It's a good thing I did because it fit and it fit well. I don't feel that my stomach is protruding out of the shirt and it is pretty slimming. I don't think my wife had realized that I had lost the weight. She had heard the number but I don't think it registered until this morning when she had said, "You could really tell that you have lost weight". Score! That is enough motivation to keep anyone going.

I didn't get a workout yesterday because my body was so sore. I can't figure out as to why it was. The only thing I could think of is that on Saturday I shoveled loads of heavy wet snow. Either way - I've got to keep pushing!

Food Intake:

1. 1 3/4 cup of Raisin Bran Cereal
2. 1 Banana
3. Oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
4. 12 oz Sprite
5. snack bag of my healthy super bowl snack
6. 2 leftover tacos from super bowl party
7. small portion of some sort of salad -- (it had romain(?) noodles plain, cabbage, almond slivers, nuts, and some sort of oil dressing---i think)
8. 60 + oz of water

Workout: none

Miles til Goal: 932.52

Feb 5-7th Weekend Warrior

This weekend has been really busy and with that -- it's been hard to blog. I still managed quality eating but missed one workout. The only differences in my eating habits this weekend are listed below:

1. 1 slice of cheese pizza (Friday at lunch)
2. latte and pumpkin bread (My treat every Saturday)
3. An extra Taco during superbowl party (healthy taco though!)


Workouts:

Friday -- 3.65 miles -- treadmill
Sunday -- 2.14 miles -- treadmill

Miles til Goal: 932.52

Feb 4th and a Day of Relaxation

I deemed yesterday the day of relaxation. I took yesterday off (only from the workout) and it was nice. My food intake was the same as it always is. I was given a thin cookie with hard icing on it. It was my sweet for the day. We made some taco's last night. We would normally use packaged taco seasoning but we didn't have any and that was before I started to be choosier on what I put into my body. I decided to make my own. I looked at a few recipes for taco seasoning and put some of what I found to use. I messed with the measurements and to be honest -- don't remember the original. The recipe just called for you to make a batch of the seasoning and use it at several times. Our version of a lowfat taco consisted of the following.

Tacos:

-Seasoning
--Cumin
--Onion Powder
--Garlic Powder
--Chili Powder
--Paprika
Don't ask me what the measurements were b/c I don't know. I changed them anyways :)

-Deer Meat (very lean)
-Store bought hard Shells

-Extras
--diced fresh tomato
--shredded Romaine lettuce (lettuce flew everywhere)
--shredded cheese

That's it. It may not be lowfat but I do think that it would be.

Overall - it was a good day and quality relaxation.

Workout:
-none

Miles til Goal: 938.31

Feb 3rd,Great Workout, and Smoothie Recipe

Last night I had the best workout that I have had year to date. At some point I really want to run a 5K (there's one coming up in April that I am planning on doing) and after reading Andrew is Getting Fit 's blog yesterday -- I wanted to get to that point. I have never enjoyed running unless it is was up and down the court for basketball or from base to base in baseball. Last night's workout I mixed it up quite a bit.

**My 'workouts' are not weight training as though I may do that in a month or two but are mainly on the treadmill or playing basketball. I know that weight lifting will help with weight loss but my goal right now is not weight loss but taking away the miles on that 1,010 mile goal**

I did a cross training sort of workout on the treadmill that I've previously posted about only ran for 5 minute increments and walked briskly the in between. I covered the same distance at a considerably lower amount of time. I finished strong with a good sprint.

I usually have some yogurt with fresh fruits for post-workout but decided to have a smoothie instead. I looked for some good healthy recipes but failed to find one that suited the ingredients that I had readily available. So, I got an idea from them and created my own smoothie recipe.

Mixed Berry-Banana Smoothie

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Dannon Plain Yogurt (I guess you can change this but this is what I had)
- 1 Banana
- 1/2 cup Mixed Berries (frozen or fresh)
- 1 tbsp Agave Nectar (this is natural sweetener)
- 1/4 cup Fat Free SKim milk

Prep
- Put yogurt, Banana, 1/4 cup of the mixed berries, mik, and agave nectar in a blender and Liquify!
- Place the remaining mix berries in the fridge
- Put the mix in the fridge and chill it while you work out
- When ready - place remaining berries into mix, stir, and drink up.

I think it is pretty good but that is my personal opinion. I hope that you like it too if you try it.


Food Intake:

1. 1 1/2 cup of Raisin Bran
2. cup of coffee
3. banana
4. apple
5. 2 hard-boiled eggs - no yoke
6. 12 oz sprite
7. oven roasted chicken sandwich on whole grain/ w/cheese and mayo
8. small cupcake
9. 4 oz grilled chicken
10. 1/2 cup green beans
11. 1/2 cup applessauce
12. mixed berry-banana smoothie
13. 60+ oz of water

Workout:
- Basketball..............3.26 miles

Miles til Goal: 938.31

Feb 2nd & Aerobic Vs. Anaerobic Exercise

At one point in my college career I had decided to be a physical education teacher. I was going to get my associate degree from a smaller college and then go finish out at a larger college/university. I did do that but did not finish with a phys ed degree. This topic of Aerobic vs. Anaerobic exercises is the one of the few lectures I remember under that degree plan.

We hear the arguments behind each of the two words but what are Aerobic or Anaerobic exercises?

Aerobic exercise allows oxygen to be taken into the body to replenish the body's use.

Anaerobic exercise does not allow oxygen to be taken in and uses what the muscles already have.

This is how we will be able to tell what exercise is either aerobic or anaerobic.

Now that we know what is what. Which one is better?? This depends on who you are but my opinion is that both are needed for an efficient workout program.

Aerobic Exercises include:
- walking
- jogging
- cycling
- swimming
- light weight lifting

**this type is used at lower levels of intensity for longer periods of time**

Anaerobic Exercises include:
- sprinting
- jumping
- moderate to heavy weight lifting
- lunges
- Sports that use this type: Baseball, Football, Basketball, field events, etc.

**this type is used at higher levels of intensity for shorter periods of time**

So, what if we want to incorporate both into our workouts to get the most out of our body? Use cross training. Start walking and/or jogging and interval sprints every 60 seconds. Start to lift weights with resistance mixed in with lower weight and higher tempo. Don't be afraid to mix things up. Once your body gets use to what you are doing - change seems impossible.

Food Intake:

1. 1 3/4 cup of Raisin Bran Cereal
2. 1 cup of coffee
3. oven roasted chicken sandwich w/cheese and mayo on whole grain bread
4. Banana
5. 60+ oz of water
6. grilled chicken on salad w/all the veggies
7. 2 white chip mac nut cookies
8. 12 oz sprite
9. Apple
10. Smoothie - look for ingredients on Feb 3rd. (post-workout)
11.

Workout:

- Treadmill - 4.20 I had a great workout.

Miles til Goal: 941.57

February 1st & February Goals

It's time to focus on my goals for this month and put last month behind me. As I stated previously - my goal is not a certain number of pounds or a certain time of working out each day; my specific goal is to hit 1,010 miles during the year of 2010 by walking/jogging/running. My overall goal is to reach a level of better health than what I am at today.

February Starting Stats

February Miles Goal: 77.28 miles

Miles/day to reach Feb goal: 2.76

Miles off pace from January: 25.95

Miles to go to reach year mile pace: 103.23

Miles/day to reach year mile pace: 3.69

Easy to see Obstacles

- Super Bowl Party --- (Click Here to see a post by JohnisFit for a suggestion for Super Bowl Snacks)
- Taco Bell day at school

Food Intake:

1. 1 1/2 cup of Raisin BranCereal
2. half of a cup of coffee
3. 1 banana
4. 1 apple
5. handful of mini ritz crackers
6. oven roasted chicken sandwhich on whole grain w/cheese and mayo
7. 12 oz sprite
8. 60+oz of water
9. 2 peanut butter cookies (about 1 - 1 1/2 inch in diameter)
10. 4 oz grilled chicken
11. 1/2 cup steamed green beans
12. 1/2 cup applesauce
13. 1 cup plain yogurt blended with banana w/ mixed berries and agave nectar for sweetener


Workout:
- treadmill .........4.62 miles

Miles til Goal: 945.77