Happy Holidays FAT

I hope everyone in the FAT coalition had a wonderful holiday this year. We had a great Christmas in the Ripx household. My wife got me some very health specific gifts to get me back on track. I got a set of the Nautilus SelectTech 552 dumbbells with stand. Pretty much adjustable dumbbells from 5 - 52.5 lbs each. She also got me the "Psyho-cybernetics" book that was recommended to me by Billy early this month. I am looking forward to working on both my muscles and my mind/self image. I received some xmas cash from a couple relatives that I am going to invest into a few other fitness related items too. I feel like I am really ready to put my nose back to the grindstone. I have been pretty sloppy the last month and I know it. Today I am looking forward to tomorrow and what I can accomplish in the next month, 6 months, or a year. Time to throw some more coal on the embers. I am going to be 215 by the end of January. Don't wait until Jan 1, start today!

Update

Hey FAT. Just thought I would write a quick post to let you know how things are going in Ripx world (thanks for prodding me Melissa). I have been doing ok, still not exercising as much as I should nor eating as clean as I should be. Not that its been all bad but I'm definitely not earning it. I guess I have been doing enough to maintain as I really haven't gained any weight either. Still sitting at 222 as of this morning. I haven't given up at all and I know I still have a long way to go in the weight loss arena. I am getting back to cleaner days and exercise as I have no other choice in my eyes.

The holidays have been really good this year. It's amazing how much joy a child can bring you around the holidays. My son has been allot of fun to watch this year. You can almost see the Christmas magic in him. We took him up to Mt Hood last weekend for a night and went sledding. He had a really good time and I got a bunch of exercise pulling him up the hill over and over.

Two weeks ago I went to the Tool concert here in Portland with a friend/ex-coworker that I hadn't seen in some time. It was really cool to see him and have a night out with the guys. Tool was awesome live, they sounded just like they do on their albums. The picture on the right is from my phone so its not the greatest but they sure had a sweet laser light show.

I cant believe that Christmas is less than a week away. Its amazing how fast it sneaks up on you as you get older. Thanks for all the supportive comments and for helping me keep health at the forefront of my mind.

Still Kicking

Just wanted to drop a quick line to say I am alive and kicking. I am still kind of having a hard time getting in the right state of mind diet and exercise wise. As I was laying on the couch today finishing watching the Seahawks whomp on Arizona my wife looked over at me and said "why don't you go do some HIIT or get on that treadmill". Kind of a slap in the face but also kind of what I think I needed. So I did 30 mins of jogging on the treadmill. It felt good and I am glad she said something. We got our xmas tree and put up lights this weekend on the outside of the house. My son is at the perfect age this year and is so excited about the Christmas season and the lights on "his" house. I do love this time of year. Hope you are all doing well.

Working On the Inside

I know my last post was kind of negative with the glass is half empty approach. It seems that the majority of the comments left for me had a theme of me needing to work on the inside. Because I am going to succeed at this endeavor I do need to take your comments to heart (as I respect all your opinions). But truthfully I am left a little confused. How does one work on their inside? Believe me I think about being fat and out of shape daily. I think about all the reasons I want to change and why. I know I have a wonderful life and that I am very fortunate for what I have and what I have accomplished in my time. I am pretty much doing what I always thought I would do. I have wonderful friends & family, a loving wife, a incredible son and another on the way, the ability to support them, an education, and I am happy the majority of the time. Being fat is one of the negative things in my life. So believe me I do want to change that. I do believe my downfall is mainly food and the mentality around it. I have always been somewhat reserved with a questionable self image, but that is just me the way I have always been. I just don't understand how one fixes something like that.

On a health note I did some interval training yesterday and the diet was good. So I am sitting on the back of the health wagon bouncing along trying to find my way back up to the front with the rest of you. I also had my annual Dr. appt yesterday and the doc took notice of the weight I have lost so far. We talked about fitness/turkey trot etc and he seemed supportive and happy for me (that was nice). Thanks FAT for being in my corner, don't throw the white towel in for me I got lots of fight left.

Blogger Bum

I know lately I have been a blogger bum. Generally if I am not blogging I am probably not doing what I need to be doing to loose weight and get headed back in the right direction. You will notice my last blog was on last Friday shortly after running the turkey trot. Guess what, I felt good then about my accomplishment and I was doing something that I wanted FAT to read about. Guess what I haven't done since I wrote that post? exercise, yup your right.... My diet hasn't been horrible but its not good enough to loose weight either. If you haven't read Phenom's recent post you should. I am going to piggy back on what he said "I’m killing myself from the inside out". In all seriousness I don't know why I have been making the choices I have. Maybe cause its easier and I am a fat lazy bum. All the reasons are lame excuses that have no weight. I have found myself slipping into the "I'll fix it tomorrow" mind set. Last time I did that I ended up 50lbs heavier. I know deep down I have no other options besides taking care of myself. I also know I have posted BS posts like this before so don't feel like you need to waste your written breath on me. I am struggling once again and I know I need to throw myself a mental flotation device before I sink.

Tonight I will exercise because I have to and I want to. I want to be proud of me, I want FAT to be proud of me, I want my family to be proud of me. I don't want to fail, it just isn't an option. I know this is something that has to come from within me. If I don't post and you have a moment please harass me. I need to keep health/fitness at the forefront of my head. I know I have been kind of the wounded soldier, sand bag, or wet blanket of FAT as of late. I don't want to be that guy anymore, something has to change.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

So it’s been a whirlwind of a week in Ripx world. Last weekend we were in Seattle with friends and this last Wednesday we left for Sunriver to spend thanksgiving with family. It’s Friday about noon and we just got back from our first Turkey Trot. The weather was absolutely beautiful but really cold ( a balmy 24F at the start of the race). Elevation here is 4200 feet so I could definitely feel the difference in the amount of O2 I was getting or at least that is what I imagined; guess it could have been the cold weather. My crazy fit brother in law finished in 23 min, sister came in at 31:15, and I came in at 31:52. It felt really great to get out there and do something active the day after thanksgiving. I hope everyone else in FAT is having a wonderful turkey weekend also. Everyone start signing up for a New Years 5k also known as the "Hangover Run" around here ;).

Drum roll.

We found out without a doubt that we have another little boy in the oven. The Utlra Sound tech said everything looks great and that baby is doing well (currently about a half a pound). So now we are starting to think about names for the new little guy, any suggestions?

By the time we got home I was starving so I threw the flank steak I had marinating on the grill and the wife cooked up some fresh green beans and mushrooms with a little EVOO, garlic, and turkey bacon. about a hour later I jumped onto the treadmill and did my 5k. I was pretty lethargic feeling but I pushed though. I am still having a hard time shaking the tired feeling. Diet has been really good as have my workouts (at least consistent). We are heading to Seattle later this evening. I packed my workout close for tomorrows workout.

I guess this post is somewhat random but hey at least its a post. I have wifi all weekend so I will be checking in daily most likely.

Going Through the Motions

Hey FAT, thought I would push out a post since I have been kind of quiet lately. Like many of you I feel like I haven't had much to say or much of anything of interest to blog about lately. Things have been kind of the same old same old for me. Still working out 4-5 times a week but battling my diet as usual. I don't think its horribly bad but there is definitely room to improve. Marcol has been helping me put together a new interval training routine that should really help me kick it into the next gear (thanks Marcol). The new workout has lots of cool new moves that I have never done so I am looking forward to something fresh. I really feel like I should be seeing some serious results. Interval training (tabatas, bootcamp, crossfit, TT , HIIT what ever you call it) is freaking brutal, I have much respect for all you people that have been doing it. It will be nice to get to the point where I don't feel like I am going to spew 4 mins into a workout. I feel like I am a freaking ford pinto bumping against the rev limiter 90% of the time. :)

Last night was good.... The Hawks handed the 49ers a strait up ole school butt whip-n on MNF. They looked solid on both offense and defense. Granted I know the NFC West is weak and the 49ers are kind of in crumble mode. I am just so tired of Seattle not getting any respect from anyone in the media. Mike Celizic on msnbc is such a bag of hot air and I don't know why I continue to read his articles. Dudes about as predictable as the weather, what a fair weather fan sports writer. Problem with being a fan is having to be one through good and bad. Anyway I will stop crying about the hawks. I know they are not near the top of the pile in the NFL but they are the team I follow.

Other notes in ripx world... This wed we have a ultra sound to check up on baby 2. We are hoping to find out the sex if he/she cooperates. I hope its a girl but my gut says its a boy. What do you think? We are also heading north to Seattle this weekend to hang out with some friends we haven't seen in a while. So diet is going to be kind of tuff this weekend I am sure. The following week is our annual trip to Sunriver for Thanksgiving (wed - Sunday). I am still on track with my two 5ks a week to prepare for the turkey trot while I am down there (looking forward to that).

Hope everyone else is doing well.

Keep on Trucking

weigh in: 220.5, coming back down :)

Yesterdays Diet
6:30am: 2 eggs, 1 egg white (scrambled with jalopenos, mushrooms, and a little cheese)
10am: banana
12: Grilled chicken breast, asparagus, grilled pineapple.
2: handful of nuts (almonds, pumpkin seeds)
6:30: Grilled top sirloin, small serving of mashed yams and sweet potatoes, zucchini, garlic, and onions cooked in a little EVOO, 1 corona light with lime.... Parents were over for dinner so I usually don't have the beer.
8: 12oz of skim milk.

Yesterdays Exercise
Day off

I felt like I ate a little more than usual yesterday but actually woke up feeling really hungry, trim, and a little sore from tues interval workout. I was also down some weight which was good, not a new low but down from the last week. Kind of felt like maybe my furnace (metabolism) was burning a little better. who knows...

Getting Back on Track

I'm really striving to get my workout grove back. Yesterday the diet was good and I headed for the track in the evening to run a 5k on real ground. Since I have been working out I have only really ran any descent distance on my treadmill. It was a little harder to do in the real world but I finished with no walking. It took me about 33mins in the cold and darkness of a fall evening in the northwest. I don't know how you guys/gals are running sub 30s. I felt like I was pushing about as hard as I could. My plan is to run 2 5ks a week for the next 2 weeks in preparation for the turkey trot. In between I am going to be doing some interval training.

Todays Menu
8am - 1 packet of weight control oatmeal, pint of milk 1%, V8.

10am - almonds (blue diamond snack pack)

11:45 - Salad (spinach, red bell peppers, nuts, little raspberry vinegerate), Can of tuna (little low fat mayo, diced jalapeños) .

2:00 - small amount of fruit (watermelon, canalope, honey dew melon)
7:00 - Chicken Breast, Fresh pineapple, and asparagus.

misc - 120+ oz of water through out the day, 4 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

Todays Workout (intervals - very little rest in between)
burpees 8 sets 10 reps each
pushups 6 sets 10 reps each (man style)
jump rope 8 sets 50 reps each
prisoner squats 6 sets 10 reps

I was very gassed by the time I got done with this. There was a period after the jump roping that I felt like I was going to spew. I took a few extra seconds before going into the prisoner squats. My form on the burpees degraded pretty bad as I got farther into my sets. Interval training is hard!

Falling

Rather than trying to run, hide, and avoid posting this week I'm going to try to do the opposite. I am kind of struggling here as of late and I really dont know why. I have allowed more carbs and junk food to work back into my diet the last week. I haven't been horrible nor have I ate like I used to in the past, but I have been lax in my attempts to loose weight. I only exercised 2 times last week combined with my not so great eating. I talk to my wife about it all the time saying stuff like "I need to get this back together" or "I'm kind of out of control". So I know there is a issue, yet I am having a hard time doing something about it. I wish I had a steady workout partner. I don't really want to join a gym because my wife and I put a fair amount of money into our home gym (bowflex, treadmill, and stationary bike) and I hate spending the needed time to travel to and from the gym on top of exercise time there. I feel like I have limited time at home as is with my wife and child. The time change has kind of sapped the energy out of me also. I guess the only good news is my weight has stayed in the lower 220s. I think I want to start doing more interval type training like Billy, Jay, or Gene are doing but I am feeling kind of limited due to my no gym access. I want to do the big compound movements that hit the major muscle groups. I can do them with body weight but I feel like I need additional weight to really push myself and build. So if any of you have suggestions for home type stuff please give me a shout out. Sorry that my post have been lacking motivation or positive flow as of late. I am really trying to right my course.

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone in FAT had a Happy Halloween. I did well on avoiding the candy jars etc at work. I did have a small peppermint patty and a couple whoppers while passing out candy last night. My 2 1/2 year old son amazed me with his drive to continue walking and trick or treating. He had a blast and we really enjoyed watching him. As you can see to the right he was Charlie Brown this year.

I have been kind of bummed on the weight loss front the last few days after my horrible weekend. usually the fast gained pounds come off as fast as they went on. Last weekends pounds seem to be sticking like its the first time I have battled them. So I know what must be done. This weekend has to be perfect and I must keep my eye on the prize. Sorry for the lack of comments and blogs coming out of my corner lately. I think my big screw up last weekend set me back and made me feel guilty. Of course I naturally shy away from what makes me feel bad or embarrassed. I am gaining steam and should be back to normal here shortly.

Ripx Gone Wild.. Or AWOL

Much like Girls Gone Wild less the hot chicks and nudity. I strung together a bad eating spree like the red socks strung 4 wins in a row to win the world series. Here is a listing of some of the stuff I ate.... pizza, hot dog, Thai, cheese cake, ice cream, booze, and cookies.... All shit with zero nutritional values. It was Saturday when I first really nuked my diet and Sunday I did the lamo "Might as well just make it a bad weekend". All the crappy food Saturday and Sunday landed me ill on Monday. So I was home yesterday laying around wallowing in self pity. Not only did I eat crappy this weekend I got pretty much zero exercise in also. I don't really know what happened or why I choose the road I choose this weekend. Today is going to be somewhat of a detox. I am going to eat 100% clean and lighter than usual. I am trying to pick myself up and dust off. I didn't even get on the scale over the weekend or this morning afraid of what I might see. BLAH... today is another day and I am back at the helm steering away from another string of storms.

Today's Weigh In: 219.5 (new low)

Wanted to say thanks for the nice comments yesterday by all. I need to find a nice big pic for my blog today so I can push those shirtless fat boy pics down the page. For clarification I am happy with my progress thus far, I just wish I would have gotten to this point about 2 to 1.5 months earlier. I don't know why the weight isn't coming off a little faster. At this point I think I will adjust my calorie intake to try and ramp things up a little more. My thoughts are kind of pointing towards the Swanky method. I am thinking 2-3 days of 1600-1800 and then having a 2300-2500 day (repeat cycle). There just seems to be no reason to the rhyme for loosing weight for me. Yesterday I ate clean but I ate more and yet woke up to the surprise of being a pound lighter. So maybe it kicked my metabolism up, I don't know. I am gonna roll with it for a couple weeks and see what happens. I have switched over to more HIIT then MISS also that might be helping too.

Workout

Prisoner Squats ( 3 sets of 20, 3 sets of 15, 2 sets of 10)

Pushups 70 (7 sets of 10 man style)

Between each squat and pushup set (with very little rest in between) I jump roped. I started out doing 30 and after about 5 sets I switched to 50 and stayed with that for the remainder of the workout. I havent jumped rope in a long time and thats a serious workout. There was one point were I started to fill sick cause I was using those big muscle groups (legs) and blasting my cardio with jump rope. It was a good workout last night and something different.

Slow Burner....

Well I decided to weigh myself when I got home today from work. Finally saw a 220 on the scale. I am officially the sloth of weight loss in the FAT Coalition. 20lbs lost in almost 5 months. Is it as fast as I thought it would be? No... Am I glad I found the FAT coalition and started my journey/change or whatever you want to call it? Yes... I hope my next 20 lbs comes a little faster but if it doesn't I still hope to be another 20lbs lighter 5 months from now. I have been saying that there would be progress pictures at 20lbs lost. So here goes nothing...


Disclaimer: I can not be held accountable for retina burn or a bad case of raider face (see below) after seeing my pictures. I still find them quite disgusting. There is positive change but posting my fat shirtless body on the www is somewhat disturbing to me still. Yes I know I have really bad hair in the first one and really bad work socks in the next. Trust me I don't go outside looking like this.












Front




















Side

Plans for Success

Every year for the thanksgiving holiday we go to SunRiver Mountain Resort with my family (parents, two sisters and their families). Every year I worked on expanding my waist line. This year I have plans for something else (see pic on right). Not only will I get a cool t-shirt and exercise I will also get to scratch something off my goal list (a organized 5k). I already have been running 5ks in the comfort of my own home so I know i can do it. The next month will be spent trying to increase my speed. My younger sister and brother in law are both very active so I am going to try and get them in the 5k too. My wife said she would do the walk and I am going to try to rope my folks into the walk also. I will be thinking of all my FAT brother and sisters out running 5k turkey trots as I take to the course.

This last weekend was far from good but far from bad. I made allot of good decisions but I made some poor ones too after drinking a few yummy drinks. Luckily I came out of the weekend unscathed. I didnt gain any weight and I didnt loose any weight. I was my usual 221 when I woke up this morning. The only bad thing about that is it only gives me 3 days to make a impact and help "Jay and Silent Ripx" climb the Tuck board.

Still Standing

Todays Weigh In : 221

I am officially tired of seeing 221 on the scale. I am hoping tomorrow it will show me something different. Thanks for all the comments on the blog yesterday. I was kind of feeling a little down in the weight loss adventure I am on. I am going to try to incorporate many of your suggestions over the next few weeks to switch things up and hopefully shock my body. I really do want to finish October out strong and help represent with Jay. The weekend is quickly coming so time to hunker down and fight the legions of fat pushing minions that are about to rush the field of battle. I don't foresee any land mine functions on the radar this weekend so no reason it shouldn't be a fat burning productive weekend for me.

Yesterdays Menu
well i didn't write it down so I cant really remember. The only thing I had that I felt bad about was a toasted bagel with butter yesterday morning. I was feeling down in the dumps and feed my depression (that was stupid). Everything else was typical Ripx food from there out.

Workout
HIIT - on the treadmill. 28 min... 120sec walk (3.5mph), 60sec run (8mph, 9mph, 10mph), 330cal. The 10mph was killing me.... It did feel really good to put in a full stride while running that fast. I think when I run my 5-5.5mph runs I have the typical short stride lazy man run. Think I am going to try HIIT on the stationary bike tonight.

Yesterdays Menu
6am -Lean pocket breakfast thing, black coffee

10am - Cliff Builder Bar (last one I had so wont be doing these anymore)

11:45 - WW english muffin, 2 hard boiled eggs, hummus, and veggies.

2:00 - Beef Jerky

6:30 - Turkey breast and asparagus, seltzer water with splash of juice
7:30 - Shake (whey protein and skim milk)

misc - 120+ oz of water through out the day, 6 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

Weights
bench press
peck flies
crunches and oblique crunches
upright rows

Not a whole lot to say today besides I am frustrated with slow weight loss. I feel like I have stepped it up a notch and not much is happening for me. Maybe I will try to cut more calories.

Todays Weigh In :221

Yesterdays Menu
7am - veggie bites, black coffee, a banana

10am - Turkey Jerky (Oberta brand - funny, turkey jerky is no better for you than beef, there is actually more sodium in the turkey version, go figure)

11:45 - Turkey Sandwich (open face 1 piece of WW bread, loaded with veggies, slice of cheese, and no mayo)

2:00 - na

6:30 - Black bean garden burger in half ww pita (little avocado and bbq sauce) seltzer water with a splash of juice.

misc - 120+ oz of water through out the day, 6 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

Cardio - I ran my new longest distance last night at 4 miles, 730cal, and 47min. I actually felt pretty good but at this point I don't want to push it much farther. I would like to get faster... I feel like my stamina has gotten much better but speed is really not there yet. I think I need to start doing some more HIIT to get faster. If anyone has any thoughts on increasing speed lets hear it.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring a new low. I need one and want one real bad.

Error Error

Todays Weigh In: 221.5

Thursday night as I was loading up my computer to get on line I get this little message that says something about repairing Bios.... I knew it wasn't a good thing after it completely powered down on its own a short 2 or 3 seconds later. I tried to start it back up, but it wouldn't even post to the bios. My mother board was toast... So I headed to our local Fry's on Saturday morning to get a new motherboard (which is like 40 min south). I am back in business and should be posting more normally again.

Yesterday afternoon we celebrated my nieces 14th birthday over at my folks house. There was cake and ice cream and all the normal pitfalls that go with b-days. I did skip the cake and ice cream and managed to practice very good portion control. I also made sure my bigger portions consisted of steamed veggies and salad. My soon to be brother in law is a stinking Saints fan. So we all stayed and watched the Seahawks get pounced at home and lose another game. He had his Saints jersey on along with a shitty little grin each time they scored. It was embarrassing and I am afraid I am in for some long crappy years of football to come. The Seahawks are just not looking very good. So that was kind of a downer.

Saturday night I did have a few beers and we smoked up some spare ribs. I passed on the mashed potatoes and some of the other carb laden foods. The ribs turned our very good, some of the best I have had (6-7 hours of cooking time).

I am hoping to see some new lows this week and am very much within striking distance. Heres to me seeing sub 220s this week.

Two Days In a Row

Todays Weigh In: 221(new low)

So the weight is finally starting to come off a little. Hopefully I can continue on this loosing streak for a little while. Its only a couple pounds but it feels good to be making progress at a adequate level. I had a little rice last night cause thats what was there. Felt kind of guilty after words but I really didn't eat that much of it and the majority of my plate was chicken and veggies. I started this morning out with a protein shake and have a few veggie bites for my 8am (thanks Marcol for the suggestions).

Yesterdays Menu
7am - Cliff Builder Bar, Black Coffee

10am - banana and Almonds

11:45 - Stuffed Red Pepper (ground turkey, black beans, zucchini, mushrooms, little low fat cheese, and some taco seasoning)

2:00 - Plum, green tea

6:30 - Spicy Chicken (thigh meat no skin), little rice, bunch of steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage), seltzer water with a splash of juice.

misc - 120+ oz of water through out the day, 4 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

Strength Training
incline press
chest flies
arm curls
back rows
abdominal crunches and oblique crunches

Cardio
na - will be doing something tonight

GO! GO! GO!

Todays weigh in: 222 (new low)

Yesterdays Menu
7am - Cliff Builder Bar, Iced Hazel nut Latte (I know I should have had black coffee)

10am - banana

11:45 - Chicken Breast, 1 pineapple ring, slice of cheese, half whole wheat pita, Laughing Cow cheese triangle, raw veggies green beans and cherry tomatoes.

2:00 - beef jerky, boiled egg

7:00 - Stuffed Red Pepper (ground turkey, black beans, zucchini, mushrooms, little low fat cheese, and some taco seasoning)
8:40 - Scoop Whey protein, ice and skim milk.

misc - 120+ oz of water through out the day, 6 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

Strength
210 pushups (still doing them girl style), arm curls. I made the mistake of doing my cardio before my weight training (I know better). So I gassed out pretty quick on the curls.

Cardio
3.1 miles, 570 cal, 34min

I was trying to get a faster time on the 5k yesterday but found myself struggling about the 2.5 mile marker. I guess it was a little faster than previous attempts but I was hoping for sub 33 min time. I woke up late today which sucks and then traffic was horrible. I was pretty much 2 hours late to work. Not a good way to start the day so I decided to eat 5 donuts and a grande half and half latte (ok, I am joking my diets still on). Marcol, you were saying my cliff builder bar was maybe a pitfall could you give me some other options? (key is it has to be easy and not take much cooking cause I leave at the crack of dawn and never cook the morning breakfast on days I go to work and it has to have a descent amount of cals 250-300ish). I want to batten down the hatches anywhere possible to get me the best bang for the buck weight loss wise. Thanks for your advice, that was the whole point of me posting my food consumption (so people would point things out that don't look so good). Keep on rolling FAT.

Humm

Not a whole lot to report on today. We went to a friends house to watch Monday night football. I kept my diet really good and skipped the beer etc.

7am - Cliff Builder Bar, coffee, and a V8

10am - beef jerky

11:45 - Chicken Breast, 1 pineapple ring, slice of cheese, half whole wheat pita, Laughing Cow cheese triangle, 1 cup of cottage cheese.

2:00 - Raw veggies (green beans, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, carrots)

7:30 - 6oz of Flank Steak, a little czar salad, steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

misc - 120 oz of water through out the day, 4 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

My weight was up a little this morning. I kind of think it was because of the late dinner time. We usually eat between 5:30 and 6:00. No exercise last night. Tonight I plan on doing some 210s etc while watching BL.

One nice thing did happen to me this weekend. I hadn't seen my older sister in a while and she said "G, your looking good how much weight have you lost?". So some people are finally starting to notice which feels good.

Slightly Miffed

So I had a pretty good weekend this last weekend. I may have been over my calories one day but they were not terrible foods. I had a great workout last night and wake up to see 224. Not a good way to start the week knowing you have to drop the same stupid pounds you have already lost a thousand times (I know thats my fault). I just hopped after a descent weekend I would see some progress. As always I am going to keep on keeping on. Plus the stinking Seahawks got owned by Pitt which pretty much ruined Sunday. Then the Packers drop their game against the stinking Bears. It was a bad football day at our house.

Sundays Food
9am - bowl of autumn harvest multi grain shredded wheat mixed with grape nuts (little honey over top)
noon - deli ham and light cheese sandwich with tomato soup (ww bread, and low sodium healthy soup)
6pm - garden salad, chicken breast, pineapple ring, slice of cheese in a whole wheat pita pocket. 3/4 Seltzer water with 1/4 100% juice.

80 oz of water.

analysis of my own diet says too many carbs yesterday after reading what I ate.

Workout
ran for 40 min, 3.41 miles, 630 cals

My run last night was the furthest constant run I have done since starting this journey. I actually felt really good and didn't even start to think about being tired until the 30th min or so. I kept pushing cause 40 mins was my goal. So it was a mini victory for me even though my weight didn't do what I wanted it to. Sounds like a few people got kicked in the a$$ by the weight gods the last few days.

Keep It Rollin

Todays Weigh In (223.5)

I think I did well at the Parents house for dinner tonight. I practiced portion control, skipped the beer and stuck with water, green tea, and milk. Had a nice night over there and walked away feeling good about my eating and health goals.

Thursdays menu looked something like this

7am - Cliff Builder Bar, coffee

10am - plum

11:45 - spinach salad with cherry tomatoes, left over Shepard's pie, and a diet dew.

2:00 - almonds (little pack you get at the convenience store 260 cal)

5:30 - Beef stew over pasta (no potatoes in the beef stew just other veggies and I took a small protion of pasta). The other 2/3 of my portions were green beans and cottage cheese with some pinapple. Drank 12 0z of 1% milk.

8:00 - small handfull of popcorn while watching survivor and a green tea lipton zero cal.

misc - 130 oz of water through out the day, 4 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

so all in all I feel like I did pretty good diet wise given the situation.

exercise - thats why I am up so late. I told FAT I was gonna run when I got home so that's what I did. Got on the treadmill about 11:20pm ran for 30min strait, 2.6 miles, 470cal, and my heart rate bounced between 156 and 162 the whole time. I feel pretty dam good. Anyway I need to hit the shower and would like to be in bed by 1am. Tomorrow is like all fridays (Daddy Day) with my son so I gotta be well rested. Keep Rocking the Casbah FAT

Scary FAT

Todays Weigh In: 224 (coming back down)

I will start this blog with some very spooky pictures of me from last Halloween. Not only was I cast in a fellow workers zombie film but I won the office's best costume. You will notice if you look closely my PVC skewer goes in the back and out the front. Amazing things can be done with a coat hanger, duck tape, and some plumbing supplies from your last bathroom remodel. Rumor has it I was driving to work and rammed into the back of a plumbber truck... Yes I know I am a geek or a goober. I don't usually dress up but being in a local Indy film sounded like fun and out of the normal ripx realm of things to do. I have yet to see it, I am sure it was really scary. Gotta love the look on my sons face.... sure he was thinking "what in the heck is that?, I hope daddies ok."

7am - Cliff Builder Bar, coffee

9am - veggies celery, broccoli, carrots (raw)

11:45 - spinach salad with cherry tomatoes, can of tuna mixed with some humus, 1 cup cottage cheese.

2:00 - more veggies like 10am and some beef jerky

5:30 - Sheppards pie (made with sweet potatoes instead of normal potatoes, ground turkey, green beans, zuccini, onions, garlic, salt and pepper, healthy can of cream of mushroom.). Seltzer water with 1/4 100% juice.

8:00 - pickle spear, small peice of beef jerky (proably a little too much salt).

misc - 100 oz of water through out the day, 2 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

Exercise

Nothing.... Man I am really sore from tuesdays workout (even worse today). I cant really straighten my arms all the way, those curls killed me.

Tonight we are going to my parents for dinner (not sure whats on the menu). So I may have to practice very tight portion control. Just got to be smart and thoughtful and things will be good. I am feeling really good so I dont want to screw anything up. Plus I want to hit some good numbers this month and here on out. Its my Friday also so I should be able to get in a run or something when I get home.

Stick and Move

Todays Weigh In: 226 (what the F?)

I have been really good the last few days and what does my body do? It gains a bunch of weight. I hope its just holding onto water or something lame like that. I did a 5k on Monday and weights last night and this is what I get for it, freaking frustrating. So part of my plan on getting back on track is listing what I ate like many of you do. So here it goes

7am - Cliff Builder Bar, cheese stick, and black coffee

10am - veggies celery, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes

11:45 - Asian Spare Ribs (boneless, probably not the leanest cut of meat but we dont eat it very often), sautéed zucchini, broccoli, and onions in a little evoo, mixed in with a little brown rice.

2:30 - more veggies like 10am and a banana

5:30 - scramble eggs (2.5 eggs) with deli lunch meat (turkey), spinach, little lite cheese, and small amount of ketchup. I also had a diet pepsi, a hand full of whole wheat wheat thins and hummus.

8:00 - 1 scoop of designer whey protein, non fat milk, handful of frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries mix) - pre post workout drink.

misc - 128 oz of water through out the day, 4 fish oil caps, daily multi vitamin.

My workout consisted of the 210 workouts.

210 pushups and 210 prisoner squats alternating (with body weight, very short breaks in between sets)

6 sets of arm curls with 24lbs dumbbell (reps 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10). I only made it to about 5 or 6 on the last set of 10 and my arms are killing me today.

Thanks for the comments again yesterday. I just dont want anyone in the coalition to fill like they are wasting time on me. I give you my word that I am trying and putting allot of effort into this. Even though I have not been dropping weight very fast my body is in a much better place then where it was when I started this. I hope my 20lbs loss mark and pictures will show that (only 3 lbs to go from my lowest). Hopefully changing it up and owning my weekends will help me loose weight a little faster. I am just not happy with 2-3 pounds a month. I am really hoping to bring in 2008 around 200. Its gonna be a really tuff goal but I am gonna try really hard.

Catalyst for Positive Change

I have decided to change my goal dates a little so they are obtainable. They are still aggressive, probably more so then my original ones. I have also added a few new ones. I appreciated all the comments yesterday even though a few of them hurt. They were all on the money, what I needed to hear/read, and have provided me with some new things to try. I know where my weaknesses lie and I need to change them. Even my wife came down on me today somewhat (snippet below).

"Anyways....sorry I brain dumped on you. Just see a lot of people making good points on your blog (swanky went OFF on your A!). They have been successful, and you can too! Sorry if I say things in the next weeks that piss you off....please know that I'm doing it because I care and want you to be supportive. I'm definitely not intending to piss you off (try to say things as tactfully as I can), just trying to help be a catalyst for positive change."

So I guess the message of this blog is to say I'm sorry. I obliously have been half assing it, not earning it, and applying less than 100%. Many of you have all been experiecing weight loss week in and week out even with some slip ups. I think I have obviously tricked myself into thinking I was doing better than I am. I feel like I put allot of effort into this but its obviously not enough. I guess my 80% dedication is just not enough to get it done. Two months in a row of 2-3 lbs weight loss is just unacceptable in my eyes. So I need to open my eyes, refocus, reassess, and retake ground lost. I am working on a change/plan of attack for my blog and weight loss so stay tuned. I hope as my wife stated that this will be a catalyst for positive change. As always thanks for sticking by me and for all your support even though my road has been rockier than most.

No More Winging It.

Disclaimer this is not a pity post so don't give me any. Just a fat guys thoughts and rambling....

To wing or not to wing.... I am choosing not to wing it anymore. I posted this on Robs blog on Friday morning "I am going to make a plan for the weekend. Whats yours? what are you eating, when are you working out?". I got as far as making a plan for Friday did I consider the next two days in the weekend? Or did I wing it? I winged it and you know what that means. I didn't do horribly but I could have done soooo much better. I had a few drinks while watching the Seahawks destroy the 49ers. Well truthfully I think the 49ers destroyed themselves, they played horrible. I actually felt bad for them even though it was a W for the hawks. There was also snacks that I took part in. It was at our house so the snacks were healthier than most football parties. We had baked chicken wings, hummus, veggies and whole wheat wheat thins. A black bean with cheese and salsa dip etc. I digress.....back to the main meaning of the post. I need to make sure I have a plan and I also need to make sure I execute those plans. That's the main issues with my weekends, I have no plan. I don't eat for too long then I get really hungry and make really bad decisions. I don't know if I don't want this bad enough or what. I can give great advice and cheer you all on but when it comes down to me following my own advice I feel like I am failing miserably. I feel like the fat personal trainer who can talk the talk but not walk the walk. Or the fat doctor that says you need to loose some weight. I want to be the guy that people listen to because I have done it (like most of you). Not the guy that people say in the back of their heads "Dude, follow your own advice you fat a$$". I am so living proof that following a diet and exercise plan 85% of the time doesn't work very well. Last week I felt so strong and motivated and I f'd it all up in a weekend. I don't know what I need maybe some tuff luv. Finally yes I know, step up or shut up right? Being fat is the one thing in my life that sucks and I am having a hard time making it right.

Good Ole Days and Reflection

Todays Weight: 223 (new low)

I was looking at some pictures last night to try and motivate myself to continue pressing on in my healthy lifestyle. The picture to the right was me exactly 3 years ago when I had lost 50+ pounds (weighed approx 195lbs in the pic). Since then allot has changed all good things except one, me gaining weight. All right getting more gray hair and balding isnt good but it comes with the territory and there is nothing that I can do about that. Plus a little salt n pepper in your hair is sexy right? While reflecting on the images I remember being much more confident and actually wanting to be in pictures. I still want to be in pictures so I can reflect on them 3 more years down the road but I hate the results right now. I don't like the guy I see. Moral of the paragraph is I need to change. I already knew this but it just reainstills it in my mind and that's a good thing. Plus it reminds me of what I can accomplish. This time I want more, I want to go further. I never want to see the north side of 199 for the rest of my life. I will be so happy when I can abolish that 2 from the front of my weight.

Yesterdays diet was nuts on and I cranked out a 5k in about 35min. I wanted faster (thanks to Jay) but couldn't physically keep the pace. My heart rate was bashing into 180s which exhausts me quickly. Tonight I am doing some 210 workouts. I need to up the lean body mass. That's key for me, or at least it has been in the past. Trying to make sure to get in my pre/post shake in. It seems to help with my recovery time.

Weekend Warriors saddle up its almost apon us!

Good News and Food!

Well I finally get to talk about something thats been on my mind for ohhh a trimester or so. Andi and I are expecting our second child. around the end of March this next year. Its weird having all the nervous thoughts and sense of responsibility rushing through my head again. This second time around its been way less stressful in general as we know kind of what to expect. We had our first ultra sound about a week and a half ago (see baby Rip pick to the left). Everything looks good and he/she had a heart rate of 165. Anyway wanted to share this with my FAT family. Now I have another big reason to get really serious about getting and staying healthy.

Food for thought. Last night my wife made a really good version of Stone Soup.

INGREDIENTS:
lean meat of your choice (I used 1 turkey sausage/kielbasa and 3 chicken breasts)
onion (to taste....I used about 1/4 of a very large onion)
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 can butter beans - drained
1 can kidney beans - drained
celery, sliced (I did about 5 sticks)
carrots, sliced (I did about 2/3 of a small bag of baby carrots)
zucchini, roughly diced (I put in 2)
boullion (I did just one cube for flavor)
garlice (I used 2 cloves sliced and 2 cloves crushed)
EVOO (about 1 teaspoon)
METHOD:
In a large stew/stock pot, cook meat and onions in the EVOO until its just cooked through (over medium heat). Add in chicken broth. Once boiling, add in carrots & celery. Allow soup to resume a boil. Add in butter beans & kidney beans....again allow the soup to resume a boil. Add in zucchini and boullion. Once all veggies are cooked through and add in the garlic (by adding the garlic in last, you ensure that the health properties of this herb remain as intact as possibe) and reduce heat to simmer for a couple minutes. If you like to "spice it up" you can add a hot sauce to taste once the soup is done (I like the Sriracha Sauce or Rooster as I call it). Feel free to throw in any other vegetables or beans you think would taste good in this soup. Thats the fun part of this soup....there is no exact recipe....so be creative. ENJOY!!!

I took the night off from exercise last night but am gonna hit it hard with a vengence tonight. I am expecting a new low tomorrow but I know what happens when you expect. Hopefully I will see a new number tomorrow.

Only Eat 2

And folks thats exactly what I did. There mysteriously was a salad there also like many of you called for. As I approached the plethora of cheese, meat, and bread nearly salivating down the front of my shirt I thought of my FAT brethren. Billy, Rob, Melissa, and Marcol said 2 pieces and if you cant stop there don't even do it. So I took my two pieces of pizza and a portion of salad and walked away telling myself I would not be returning to the crime scene. My dad offered me New Castle Brown Ale like 3 times and 3 times I turned him down even though he had this weird flabbergasted look on his face. About 50min later the cake and ice cream made its grand entrance. It looked sooooo yummy and good but did I eat it??? No. For that, fat boy got allot of weird looks once again. I stated "I'm trying to watch my weight." It felt good to just say it and for the most part everyone excepted it. My sister who made the cake said "G? whats up you aren't eating the cake I made?". I had to re-insure her that it looked great but I am trying to cut back a little. So the moral of my extra cheesy story is I never thought I could be proud of eating pizza but I am proud of the fact that I limited it. I know you all do this all the time but for once it was nice to stare the enemy in its greasy, cheese covered, pepperoni eyed face and say "I'm not gonna pig out on you, you don't own my weakness, your just a stupid pizza." I went with a plan and maintained control. I usually just avoid stuff like that to succeed. I don't know how to explain it but I feel like something changed in me last night or just clicked. Who knows, time will tell. Hopefully old dogs can learn new tricks.

Thanks for all the kind words in comments yesterday it made a middle aged FAT guy feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

4 Score and 3 Days Ago

I would have to say the weekend away from home was a success for the most part. I had to do walk bys and disaster control like 24/7 it seemed. There was tones of loaded up processed carbs floating around that house. The only slip up I really had was after drinking some beers I found my hand in the cool ranch dorito bag. I didn't stay there very long because I truthfully stared thinking about Rob and Jay who I knew were most likely holding their shield and swords high battling the temptations that haunt my fellow "Weekend Warriors". I knew there were many coalitioners who were eating right, exercising, and loosing weight. Besides that I really tried to size down my portions and be mindful of any adults beverages I wanted to consume and adjust calories appropriately. I think I was successful given the situation.

Lately I have been crazy on the 210 workout that Rob talked about a few weeks (or maybe month ago). I have started to apply the 210 rule to different moves. Last night I did the original 210 with pushups, yes I made it all the way........but yes they where girl pushups (knees on the ground). It still gives me a hell of a workout and I really struggle to finish them leaving my chest, arms (tris and biceps), and back sore the next day. However I have noticed my body is starting to adapt because I don't feel crippled the next day like I did the first time I did them. After a little rest I was wondering if I could do the 210 with prisoner squats (using body weight). Yes you can, yes it hurts, and I'm feeling it today. I got done with those and was walking around the house all stiff feeling like the govenator 20 years ago thinking "Where here to Pump you up" (in my best Austrian accent of course).

I have a somewhat hard scenario going tonight. At least kind of hard for me.... My mom is turning 56 and my dad is throwing a bash for her. He said he will supply the "pizza" and soda/beer. I purposely packed light today for breakfast and lunch (sub 1000 cal). I have told myself I can have 2 pieces of pizza but only 2 and I will drink water or un-sweetened tea. Part of me thought of taking something else to eat but I really don't want to be that guy. The guy people say is picky and pain in their A$$. Its just rooted so deep in my person (since when I was a kid) to accept graciously what a person goes out of their way to offer. Does it mean I have to gorge on it? No. So what do you all think if your put in the same situation. I know some would say screw it who cares what those people think. Well they are my immediate family so I do care. Its not even that I want to eat the pizza that bad its just the fact that I want to be a gracious and a thankful individual. I guess I could eat 1 piece and just say I ate more.

I hated seeing the controversy on Kev's blog when I got back. Everyone likes comments as I know I do. It just shows that people are reading and that a persons effort is not wasted. If I didn't want a comment or to be involved I would write a journal in a paper book. When I don't get a comment for the first half of the day I start thinking ohhh great nobody is reading this or someone is mad at me. I think its just human nature. Allot of meaning or the translation of the written word is often miscommunicated or misinterpreted. So I say keep that in mind as I have tried to tell myself that a million times. The core group or founding fathers who I like to call the Fatastic 4 are the glue that kind of holds us all together (at least in my eyes). I hope to obtain the successful senior status in the coalition some day. So I would like to give a shout out to Rob, Beck, Kevin, Billy, Kristen, Rebecca, and Marcol for being what I would consider successful seniors and consistent contributers. I also got to give props to some of the newer members who have really taken Fat by storm and impacted me in positive ways by stepping up and showing how its done (Brian, David, Melissa, and Swanky). I know there are many others that I may have missed so props to you too and thanks. Only thoughts of Much Love and continued success coming out of the Ripx corner, you all rock and I soooo appreciate the fact that you all accepted me with no questions asked.

Anyway my entry today has reached novel porportions so I will quit typing. Seems like the majority of the coalition came out of the weekend well.

Help Me Tom Cruise!

This week has been an interesting week to say the least. My wife has been up north in Seattle area training for work. So I have had all the duties that she normally does for our son plus work and everything else. I feel like i have been living in my car. It took me from 4:30 until almost 6:30 to commute, get my son from daycare, and get back home. Of course by then he is starving so I have to find something for him and that pushes my dinner out until like 7:00 or 8:00. So far my eating has been good and solid as it normally is during the week. The part that has been lacking is the workouts. I have only got in 1 good workout since Monday this week. Tonight my son and I are driving up to stay with the wife. I am hoping that the hotel she is in has a workout room. If it doesnt I will be doing the 210 and some burpees or something. We are staying on Hood Canal this weekend in a rented house with a couple sets of friends. I have my meals all planned out to be healthy. I know there will be some drinking so I am going to stick with light beer or mixed drinks with diet soda. My other plan to help stop any weight gane is to eat less during the days that I know I will be drinking (kind of the Billy approach to drinking - no eating shortly before or after drinking). My weight has been hovering right around its normal (224-225). Anyway send me some FAT vibes this weekend as I will need them. I think we have wifi so hopefully I can be on-line some and possibly post some pics and write some comments etc. Gotta keep stringing good days together and get on a winning streak as Rob would say.

Almost 33

Well tomorrow I will officially be 33. Its really amazing how fast life flies by. I was reading Billy's interview this morning and the portion where he talked about spending his 20s fat really struck home. I had a few shimmering healthy years in my early 20s and a year in my early 30s but besides that I have been wasting precious time being fat. We decided to celebrate my birthday this weekend cause my wife is going to be in training the majority of this week up in Seattle area. It was a good weekend and I really enjoyed it but my diet was bad as usual. I know I have no one to blame but myself and I am not looking for any pity or anything. I have pretty much been singing the same song and dance since I started this blog. Probably why I haven't written much lately but comments. Friday night we went to dinner with my younger sister (who is turning 30 this year). About 3 years ago she must have said to herself that she was tired be chubby (she was probably 40 over weight). She is the only one in my family that has managed to stay skinny as they have gotten older. We where sitting at the macaroni grill, I ordered the "Mama's Trio" which contained smaller portions of "3" of there favorite dishes (lasagna, manacoti thing, and chicken parmashon). I ate the pasta tube thing and the chicken and a few bits of the lasagna. My sister ordered a chicken breast and veggies (on there light menu around 500 cals) and didn't eat the whole thing. The second I saw hers and looked at mine I knew why I sat there fat and she sat there skinny and healthy. So not only do I have this great community to look to but I also have my sister to watch and mimic at times. I know I need to change my diet and I know its the weekend eating that kills my weight loss goals. Yet week in and week out I continue to make excuses and not perform on the weekends. I even told my wife on Thursday that I wanted to have a good weekend so I could for once say hey FAT coalition I had a great weekend this last weekend. So here it is Monday again and I have to struggle to get back to where I was and lower like I do every week. I feel like this post is a waste of space on the www but I also felt as if I owed you all a blog to let you know what I have been up to/thinking. Heres to better days and to me being healthy before I'm 34.

A Good Weekend and a Few #s

Well we had a wonderful time down at the beach. We couldn't have asked for better weather on the Oregon Coast (low 80s and sunny). We stayed really active with walks and time playing in the sand etc. My eating was not where I wanted it to be though. My inner FAT or old Ripx stepped in a few times during the weekend. There were several times where I caught myself saying in my head "I will face the consequences after the weekend" or the "A little bit wont hurt me". On the list of crap I ate this weekend here are a few; Chinese food the first night (sweet n sour chicken, fried shrimp and rice), ice cream, salt water taffy, chips, cookies, and a few beers 2 out of the three nights there. I am sure there was a few other things along the way. My main meals were healthy and what we planned for. I know that this blog is supposed to be about me loosing weight and making changes. With that said I feel like I need to post my failures, be accountable, and take responsibility for my bad choices too. I know I could have sugar coated my weekend blog saying how great I was etc but thats not how I roll. I am back from vacation and back to learning to live. Old habits and fat die hard.... If I could only beat myself, I would win the battle and the war so much faster. This is my life happening folks and its all real.

My brother n law is the guy in the picture catching some serious air off a dune :). He has been blessed with a tape worm and wonderful skinny genetics. I did some dune jumping too (just didn't like my pic as much). That is me walking way off in the distance on the coast. I did allot of soul searching/thinking while meandering along. Allot of my thoughts were based on wanting to be in the same place next year minus my shirt, 40 less pounds, towing allot less mental fat baggage, and questioning myself why I ate like I did earlier in the weekend. My minds mostly in the right place so I suppose thats good but I'm still struggling. As always I know what needs to be done, its just doing it that keeps getting in the way.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend. Looks like some had amazing first week weigh ins for the September challenge.

Enter Title Here

Between my getting up twice yesterday, moving at work, and staying late to finish work I was exhausted yesterday (left at 5:15am and got home after 7pm). I ate clean yesterday besides some white rice that I had with dinner. This morning I weighed in up .5 pounds 224.5. I didn't do any exercise last night, I just couldn't pry myself off the couch and went to bed early. Got a good solid 7 hours of sleep and am feeling allot better today. I am planning on doing a round of HIIT, some leg exercises, and I want to see some of the NFL opener tonight.

This coming weekend we are going camping at the beach with my sister and her family. Kind of a last camping trip for the summer (I think). We have been going so much lately that fall/winter is starting to sound kind of nice. Maybe be home a little more on weekends and be able to get some projects done around our house. Going to do some meal planning today and go shopping tonight to make sure my diet stays good for the weekend. The first weigh in for September is quickly approaching and I definetly want to be down some. My sister and brother inlaw are both very healthy and active so I am sure I will get lots of exercise this weekend. I wont have internet access so there will be a lull in the ripx180 blog this weekend. We are coming back Monday afternoon and I will give you all a report on the weekend.

GO Seahawks!!!

It's 12:57am

Todays Weigh In : 224 (new low)

I was glad to finally see the scale budge some this morning twice when I got up. I had kind of a weird thing happen last night. Something jared me out of sleep. I had this feeling of being late and rushed, so I jumped out of bed. Headed for the bathroom for my weigh in ritual. Saw 224.5 on the scale and was pleased to finally see a new low and decline in my what seems like never budging weight. Got all showered, dressed, grabbed my lunch, and headed out the door. I noticed that I still felt extra tired and groggier and just thought it must have been my hard workout last night. When I walked out the door it seemed darker/scarier outside than normal but didn't think much of it. Got in my car and started it up. Hooked up my I-pod for my commute and started to back out of the driveway when I happened to catch 12:57 on the car clock. Thought to myself "did the clock get reset somehow"? Pulled out my cel phone and it said 12:58am. Needless to say I was very tired cause I had only been in bed for about 2 hours. Had to go back inside get undressed and climb back in bed. Slept for another 4 hours then got up and started over. This time I was rewarded with 224 on the scale so that was nice.

Yesterday my diet was very clean and I ran for 30 mins at 5.5mph (pretty fast for me). After that I decided to give Robs 210 push up workout a try. Lets just say Rob is a stud and freak of nature for being able to complete it at his current weight :). After I did 20, 19, 18 I was burnt and switched to girl style push ups. Only made it to 15 before my arms, chest, and shoulders where burning noodles. I guess I should have tried to do the 210 workout before the cardio as I didn't have the energy or drive to go any further. I can sure feel it in my muscles though.

I can already tell that September is going to be a better month for me.

I'm Back From My Mini Hiatus

No worries all, I am still alive and kicking and keeping it real. Thanks for checking in on me. My brother n law and his girlfriend have been staying with us for the holiday weekend. They are from Wisconsin so we had to take them touring around in the pacific north west. So between them staying in my office and driving all over the place I haven't been on the computer much this weekend. We hit Canon Beach, Mt St Helens, Hood River, Downtown Portland, Beacon Rock etc etc. We did do allot of eating out which was very tuff. But let me tell you I was on my game, even my wife commented on it several times (how I was making great choices etc). We also did a ton of walking and I forced myself out of bed on Friday for a fat man biathalon ( 5 mile ride, 1.5 mile run, and 5 miles back home). It was a pretty hard work out for me. I am used to running on a treadmill and running outside on non moving ground is harder than I remember. Anyway I am looking forward to getting back to a normal Ripx day which includes eating more often and cleaner (back to planed eating and workouts in other words). I will leave you all with a few pics from the weekend. I will get back to more fitness related blogging this week.

My Lovely wife and son










Ryan at the Beach












Me and Ryan

I'm A F-N Cornholio!

I think its time for the Rip-Myster to turn the page on my diet and expectations. I think the number one thing that is wrong with my weight loss is eating of carbs. This time around I am having a really hard time giving them up even though I know it really works with my body (low carbs and weight loss). I know from a been there done that standpoint that I cant do fatkins aka atkins where you can eat a pound of bacon and wash it down with mayo. My wife and I have pretty much converted to everything being whole wheat (breads, pastas, pitas, english muffins, wraps, etc) and we only eat brown rice. I have completely given up my juice consumption and full cal soda (I still have diet). The only other thing that is really killing me is the cheat meals here and there when we go out. I have tried to limit that and order better when we do go out but I do believe thats my achilies heel. The question that it brings up for me is "Is the really low carb diet a lifestyle I can live with?". Or is it just a means to get where I want to get? How do you maintain eating a realistic diet once you reach your goals? I can understand sacrificing to achieve harmony/equilibrium with your body for a period of time. I am not saying I ever want to go back to eating fast food or highly processed foods on a regular basis. I would consider my diet right now to be pretty healthy (minus the cheat meals). My diet is what I would consider liveable but still stricter than 90% of what americans eat. When I reach my goals I dont ever want to go through the process of doing it again. I have wasted years of my life being fat and trying to get skinney with success, only to have to start and do it again because my fat ass decided to quit exercising or start eating shit. I wrote the text in my header to remind myself not to waste time and energy thinking about the past and how I have f-up health wise, but here I am again f-ing wasting time. I'm f-n frustrated can you tell? I put so much time and energy into this yet I turn around and shoot myself in the foot by putting some shity ass food in my mouth. I'm not "Earning" shit and I'm F-n "half assed". Somethings got to give..... I need to turn over a new leaf and get down to business. I know what to do I'm just not doing it.... BLAAAAAHHHHHH

Sorry for the negative vibes but thats the crap running around in brain. Rob said to listen to what's being said inside your head if you want the truth. There you have it....