The 4HB Discouragement Day

// May 31st, 2011 // 2 Comments » // life

Yes, they happen.  Days when trying to be healthy and losing weight get very discouraging.  Mine is today.  Although it shouldn’t be… more on why it shouldn’t be below.

About 4-5 years ago my doctor told me to lose the weight or get on heart medicine.  So I did.  I lost 40 pounds in about 3-4 months.  A good bit of that came off the first few weeks.  So obviously I thought it would be this easy again.  Not so much.  The 4HB is more about losing weight, it’s about a change in your lifestyle, metabolism and outlook on what you eat.  The first week I lost 8 pounds and then dropped another 2.75 pounds… close to 11 pounds.  This morning I seemed to have found those 2.75 pounds and am back at 8 pounds total!!!  What!!!  I realize it takes a few days for the cheat day to come off but as you can see I don’t have a lot of patiences which leads to quick discouragement.

BUT, I don’t have any reason to be discouraged.  I lost another 2″.  Yes, 2 more inches are gone.  Some from waist, hips and arms…  my clothes are fitting better and I feel great!  So, I don’t have much of a reason to get discouraged except for that little contraption that sits on my floor and feeds my brain what is happening or what it thinks is happening.

So, as I said before.  It’s better to weigh less and focus on the plan.  It’s working, just not the way that I thought it would (well, I had an idea but wasn’t 100% sure).

So yes, a little discouraged but it’s not so bad when you know the catalyst behind it.  All smiles and focused.  I’ve talked with a few people lately who are doing the diet too…  Congrats!  Let me know how it’s going.  Same issues?  Discouragement?  Working perfect for you?  I’d love to know!!!

Silence Does Not Equal Failure : 4 Hour Body Update

// May 25th, 2011 // No Comments » // life

I know I’ve been quite since Saturday… sorry!  Usually my silence will mean I’ve fallen off the wagon or that I’m trying to avoid talking about failure.  NOT THIS TIME!!!

All is going great still.  I’ve had a few testing moments but I survived.  Usually by now I’ve also cheated a ‘little’ and justified it some how.  Again, NOT THIS TIME!!!

To give you an idea of how bad I am at sneaking food.  The last few diets I went on I played the game very well in front of others (especially my wife).  Not sure what good it does to fool others but I felt like needed too.  One trick was to sneak off to Target and grab a Coke slushee and a cinnamon stick to have while walking… and when walking out the door I’d grab a Reese’s Cup (usually the 4 pack) and suck it down before getting home.  Pathetic, right?!  Happy to say that I took my solo trip to Target the other day and did not cheat-  can’t say I didn’t think about it but bottom line is I grabbed a bottled water and got what I needed.  It was a joyous moment.

It’s the small victories, right?   I’m feeling great and am finding little pockets of energy I didn’t know I had!

Thanks again for supporting and not offering me secret bites of candy!

Cheat Day Was Awesome! : 4 Hour Body Update

// May 22nd, 2011 // 2 Comments » // life

Epic! That’s how I would describe my cheat day. What is cheat day? It’s the one day of the week I can eat & drink whatever I want while doing the Slow Carb Diet from the 4 Hour Body plan. So after 5 days of being strict it was fun to over do it a bit.

First let me give you guys an update:

Cheat Day Check in

Weight: 198
Inches: 152″

Yes! I lost 8 pounds but the best part was losing 4″! That made me smile.

So to celebrate on cheat day what did I do?

Breakfast: Banana then to Puckett’s Grocery for the buffet. Pancakes, sausage, biscuits, grits, potatoes, & eggs Xs 2… Yes two platefuls.

Lunch: McDonalds- Double quarter pounder with cheese, large fries and a diet coke.

Dinner: fajitas, refried beans, chips and guacamole, margarita, Dos XX

Snacks: chocolate covered peanuts, chocolate covered strawberries and with a few mins to spare before midnight a bowl of Lucky Charms.

In all, it wasn’t too bad but I was hurting a bit last night! This morning it’s back to slimming down and eating healthy. Breakfast? 2 scrambled eggs and some refried beans.

Like I said last week, the results are a huge motivator and I was actually excited to get started again this morning!

This week I add in 3 exercises to hopefully take this to another level. I’ll share the exercises tomorrow and some feed back on doing them… This coming from a guy who does NOT like exercise.

Have a great week and thanks again for the notes and support!!! Friends are the best!

3 Days In : 4 Hour Body Update

// May 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // life

Wow, so I’m 3 days in and it’s going great.  #1 motivator?  Results!  I’ve lost 6.5 pounds in just 3 days.  I told myself I wouldn’t check the scale for the first week-  that is usually a major disappointment and a way to get off track and quit.  However, I could tell I had dropped a bit so I was just curious.

I’ve lost the weight by strictly following the 4 Hour Body ‘slow carb diet’.  No exercising.  I’m not saying don’t exercise because I’m going to start.  I can’t wait to see how much comes off after I do a little exercising (20 mins a week).

And now I’m starting to sound like a commercial or ‘testimony’ so I’ll stop.  Just know it’s working and worth checking out the book.

Some Notes On The First 3 Days

My diet has been pretty simple and very easy to maintain and keep up with. I’ve eaten out once and had a grilled chicken salad. I’ve been heavy on the spinach and eggs.  I’ve had hamburger steaks, salmon, cod, pork chops, black bean, white northern beans, spinach and chicken.  I’ve not missed anything yet (except the chocolate).

I’ve also been keeping a list of the items I want on my cheat day…  cheeseburger, chocolate cake, chocolate covered peanuts, fries, pizza, bbq–  It’s ridiculous how many things go thru my mind.  Writing them down helps big time!

I’ve attempted the cold water bit but I don’t like that at all.  There is a section in the book that talks about shivering and being cold.  Your body releases some stuff (can’t remember what it’s called) that helps accelerate fat loss.  My basic understanding is that your body starts using your fat to keep you warm.  Makes sense but I don’t like it.

Surprisingly, I was able to eat within 30 mins of getting up.  Getting Emma and Emerson fed and ready kind of worried me but it’s not been hard at all.  This is crucial to the eating plan… the protein gets your muscles and metabolism rocking for the day.

Yesterday I went to the Farmer’s Market and picked up some organic, grass fed beef and it was affordable and great tasting.  If you are interested check out: Bear Creek Beef

Unofficial Check In (1.5):

Weight: 199.5 Pounds

I won’t measure till Sunday

Thanks again for all the encouragement, tweets and FB comments… Very helpful in this whole accountability thing.  Anyone else doing this or some sort of weight loss/life style change?!  If so, how’s it going?!

So What Did I Eat? : Day 1 of 4 Hour Body

// May 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // life

Well, I survived day one.  Not so hard, eh?  I don’t plan on posting every day regarding my diet and weight loss goals but I figured I’d do a few here and there of what the food is so that some of you who are on the fence will see it’s not that hard.

Wait, what am I talking about?  Read this earlier post about getting healthy, round 2.

Day 1 Food:

• Breakfast:  Scrambled Eggs & Spinach Leaves (w/ balsamic vinegar)
• Lunch: Alaskan Cod, Great White Northern Beans & Spinach Leaves (w/ balsamic vinegar)
• Dinner: Chicken breast, Green Beans & Spinach Leaves (w/ balsamic vinegar)
• Snack: 2 tablespoons of all natural peanut butter

It’s a pretty basic meal plan and as you can see my focus is on spinach.  They didn’t make a cartoon about Popeye for nothing!!!

Some other notes, I’m using macadamia nut oil instead of olive oil-  it tastes WAY better and has less fatty things in it.  The eggs I had for breakfast were from organic chickens (increased Omega 3 Fatty Acids)… Yes they cost a tad bit more but I’m considering that my “flat-ab tax”.

Tomorrow will be much of the same.  I do plan on having a pork chop with my eggs and spinach for breakfast though!  Lunch?  Well, it’ll be my first meal eating out-  I think I know what I can and can’t have…  Dinner?  Not sure, I have to talk to Renee about that one but I’m pretty sure it’ll involve spinach.

Thanks for the encouragement and notes-  I know I can do this and am going to do this.

Round 2 : Getting Healthy

// May 16th, 2011 // 4 Comments » // life

This is NOT a real pic of me- it's from the Fat Booth App. It reminds me of where I could be heading.

In January I set a goal to get healthy.. It lasted about 2 months. I lost 12 pounds and that was nice… it’s all back.

I’m starting round 2 today but with a different approach. I’m going to be public about it. I’m using many of the dietary suggestions and exercise pieces from Tim Ferriss’ new book The 4-Hour Body. It’s not like 8 minute abs I promise.

Tim Ferriss gets me. We’ve never met. I have a million excuses why I never survive eating changes for the better (notice my attempt to avoid the word ‘diet’). All are lame excuses but they are excuses that I use. If I can find a reason to get out of doing something healthy, I do.

In this book he talks about getting rid of the pieces that make you want to quit. For me, the idea of never eating a piece of candy/cake again freaks me out… having to cook detailed meals takes too long… and starving isn’t fun either.

Tim Ferriss is all about hacking the body. I like his style and his research. If you’ve read this book or are reading it tell me what you think! You can get it @ Amazon

So here I am. Starting my 4 hour body plan. It’s a good one. My wonderful wife is going to help me with it and I’m asking you to do the same. Ask me what I weigh? Ask me if I’ve had any candy. Comment on here and say “I’m watching you”.  If you see me out double check what I’m eating or drinking (except Saturday, that’s my cheat day! Yes, a cheat day- read the book).

I’m hoping to update weekly (I like the idea of no calorie counting and not having to weigh in daily) with progress. In all I need to reach about 165 pounds and want to get my body fat below 12%.

So, here’s check in #1:

Weight: 206lbs
Total Inches: 156″

Total inches=  measurements of both arms (biceps), waist, hips, both legs (thighs)

I’ll spare you the before pics… but promise to share the progress pics when I know they won’t make you throw up.

So tell me… if you are dieting or trying to get healthy, what are the few things (excuses) that hinder you or make you want to quit?

Tornado Relief & Help

// April 29th, 2011 // No Comments » // life

Since I couldn’t get all this in a tweet… Here are the details:

The People’s Church, Spring Hill location, has a tractor trailer for donations. The trailer will be manned during the following hours so please stop by at these times:

Friday, April 29th: 4pm – 10pm
Saturday, April 30th: 8am – 10pm
Sunday, May 1st: 10am – 2pm

The truck will leave for Alabama Sunday @ 2pm.

Location of trailer:

View Larger Map
 

What is needed:

• Blankets
• Clothing – all sizes, tshirts, jeans, Shorts
• Children’s clothing
• Feminine products
• Diapers
• Baby food
• Insulin…other immediately necessary meds
• Toys for smaller kids
• Band-Aids
• Socks
• Jackets
• Bottled water
• Chips
• Juice (individual)
• Packaged food for distribution
• Fruit cups
• Paper towels
• Kleenex
• Toilet paper
• Batteries
• Flash lights

Therapeutic Way Do Deal With Annoying Twitter People

// April 20th, 2011 // No Comments » // Funny, Technology

Of course, I love everyone… and no one annoys me on Twitter.  BUT, if they did- this is how I would deal with it.

It’s No Secret. I Love The Foo

// April 11th, 2011 // No Comments » // Music & Entertainment

For the past few weeks I’ve been overwhelmed with Foo Fighters and I have no complaints (well, maybe one- see below).

The new album is absolutely amazing. I know, you hear that about records all the time but this album is one that will go down as a classic. Dave Grohl and crew have absolutely out done themselves this time. This album is pure rock. I mean, no acoustic guitars anywhere on the album! Most people won’t notice but I do… I remember the first time Green Day used an acoustic guitar on an album (utter shock and sellouts – kidding!).

So why do I love the Foo so much? It starts with Nirvana as it may with many. I am and will always be a Nirvana fan. The first time I heard the Bleach vinyl still makes me sappy. It was the beginning of my love for music and the beginning of my musical ‘career’. Career is loosely defined, I played in bands for a while then transitioned to the studio and now run an indie label/distribution service. It’s in my blood. I owe a lot of that to Nirvana and the Pixies. I can’t forget my dad on this one though… we had guitars and pianos around the house along with the Beatles and plenty of other awesome music. It was the Nirvana album though that made me commit to learning guitar, singing and how to rock.

When Kurt Cobain passed I was devastated, I shed tears. Go ahead and laugh- most people do but it hurt. I was pissed too. Suicide sucks and it’s hard to defend someone like that. So, I don’t defend him, I defend the band and his music. Like it or not, it was the voice of a generation and changed music (for the better). I tribute Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and the Screaming Trees to killing hair bands or at least creating a shift in the music scene.

I remember a few months after Cobain’s death that I heard a rumor the drummer for Nirvana was working on new music. Well, of course I wanted to know more but without search engines and dedicated music news websites I had to wait on Martha Quinn and those MTV news updates and it seemed like an eternity before real news surfaced. Then it happened. Foo Fighters were the real deal and and album was coming out. Of course I bought that CD and the rest is history. I’ve been a fan ever since, while not always this hard core I do have the mp3 collection show for it. Wow, that sounds weird. Mp3 collection.

Foo Fighters have done an amazing job prepping the fans for this new album. The most significant was a documentary called “Back And Forth”. I bought tickets to the national screening at a local theater… I was pumped for that screening and for the special live concert presenting the new album in 3D after the film. It didn’t work. It sucked. I was so pissed as the theater manager walked in to let us know we’d be getting refunds. Ok, there’s the one complaint I mentioned above. I did see this documentary and it’s now playing on VH1 and Palladia. Well worth the time. An inside look at bands like that can create a connection with fans like no other… or solidify existing ones.

Now that you have the history on my love for the Foo… here are some thoughts on Wasting Light which hits stores Tuesday, April 12th.

The album couldn’t start any better than “Bridge Burning”. It’s what you expect when you start a Foo Fighters record… guitars, drums and a build to the screams of Grohl, “These are my famous last words”. The album continues to prove me right as a rock classic in the making. First single Rope is a hooky and a little off the standard for a Foo Fighters single which is a good thing. Dear Rosemary is an amazing song and definitely one of my favorites- love the Bob Mould vocals and responses. He’s a legend himself. While I’ve heard negative comments on White Limo- I love it. It’s hard, it’s in your face and feels like a modern day Motorhead. Of course, maybe that’s just in my head seeing Lemmy in the video.

The song These Days stands out to me- the mellow guitar and the lyrics really seal the deal. This would be my pick for a single for sure. Huge track and the intensity you’d expect from the Foo. Other standouts? – Back and Forth, Miss The Misery and I Should Have Known. I Should Have Known is the closest thing anyone will ever get to a Nirvana reunion. The bass features Krist Novoselic former bassist for Nirvana. While it’s not a Nirvana song, the lyrics are haunting and leave question to the feelings behind the song.

Wow. That’s the longest blog post I’ve written in years! It’s all in the passion people. I hope you enjoy the Foo Fighters album as much as I do. I’ll be in line Tuesday morning to pick up the vinyl. One other note on this album. It’s analog. It’s pure. No Pro Tools. I have no problem with digital and Pro Tools but those tools bring simplicity to the album making process… allowing for shortcuts. I love knowing they took no shortcuts on this album. I can’t wait to hear this on vinyl, pretty sure the best way to hear an all analog album at loud listening levels. Maybe a vinyl listening party is in order? Come on over!

Help Japan, Get Music. Good Music

// March 28th, 2011 // No Comments » // life, Music & Entertainment

In my world of indie music I get to participate in cool stuff sometimes… however this time I’m honored to help. Last week our indie label  Velvet Farm (a sub label of Tone Box Digital) partnered with Hello Somebody to release their compilation cd as an exclusive to iTunes. It’s simply called Volume One.

The cool thing about this album is that 100% of the profits will go to help the Japan relief efforts. 100%. Not sure who Hello Somebody is? Then I encourage you to visit their website and learn more. Here’s a quick piece from their site:

Hello Somebody is a non-profit brand that exists to impact and change the world through love, passion and creativity. Our purpose is simple: feed the hungry around the globe.

To change the world, you must first start by changing individual lives. To empower a hopeless human, you must first begin by filling his or her stomach.

Hello Somebody’s first action to end hunger provided 50,000 meals to homeless and desperate Haitians. In our inaugural year, Hello Somebody provided food for over one million starving people.

Join us in our fight to save lives and change lives. Listen to the call of the hopeless and the hungry. Will you help us answer it? Hello Somebody…are you out there?

They’ve had some amazing artists come on board. Bands/Artists like The Almost, The Rocket Summer, Kari Jobe & Group 1 Crew have all given time and music to help this cause.

So. I’m asking you to buy music to help Japan. Or better yet- Help Japan and Get Music. However it needs to sound in your head to get you to help the devastation that has happened.

Once you buy can you please tweet, post to facebook and email your friends. Please? I thank you but I’m sure the people of Japan will thank you way more.

Here you go… the buy button. Do it then ask others to do it.

Check out this video from Bryce of The Rocket Summer. Their cover of Maps is stellar.