It's been a tough week!

This last week has made it tough to stick with my plan.  This is week three and I've had some issues when it comes to both my workouts and my eating, but I'm not giving up.  Between work, school and making a trip to Oakland for Logan's 3 month post treatment doctor's appointments I've had some ups and downs.

Yes, I've run twice and lifted twice, but they were both double days, so now I've got to do two more double days to hit my goals.  The biggest issue has been my eating this week though.  Yes, it could have been much, much worse.  One food that I truly enjoy is tacos, and who doesn't love tacos?  I'm not talking the healthy fish tacos I've had a couple times, I'm talking crunchy fast food or taco shop tacos with ground beef and lots of cheese.  Del Taco original Del Taco tacos are my crack......... I love them and I've been craving them for weeks.  I've never eaten them regularly, but prior to this I would eat them once a week or so when I really got a craving and until Tuesday it had been a month.  With Tuesday being national taco day I couldn't hold out anymore, so tacos and beer it was.  Then Wednesday on the trip to Oakland I held out until lunch, but ended up having some pizza and a little bit of soda for lunch and we drove through In-and-Out for dinner on our way home.  Again, it could have been much worse.  At lunch I had 1/4 of a soda and dinner I had water to drink and Nancy, Hunter and I split an order of fries.  But the important part of this for me is I tracked each and every thing I had to eat in MyFitnessPal so I can see what I did and take responsibility for it.

Even with these lapses I am still seeing some results, both with my weight and my over all fitness.  Last Saturday I ran my fastest 5K since I started running and the training runs I have done have continued that trend.  I did a 3 mile trail run Thursday night at a 12:24 minute mile pace, which is quite a bit faster then any trail run I've run before.  As of this morning I'm weighing in at 272.2 pounds, down from 280.7 pounds when I started this, which is over my goal of 2 pounds a week.  While my weight and runs are going in the right direction, the one area I am still lacking is getting in to the gym.  Yes, I'm lifting and doing some Train To Hunt workouts and some of the Black Iron Gym  programming here at the house, but it isn't the same.  Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I can get all this dialed in and really start seeing some results.

Overall, the biggest thing I have taken from this, and want all of you to see, is even with small lapses you can get it done.  Just because you break down and eat 4 tacos and have a few beers isn't a reason to give up 3 weeks of hard work and dedication!!

Keep at it, I know I will!!

The Journal

This week I finally started the journal for my class, the big reason I started this.  Because of some issues with the class, this wasn't started until this week, but it's on now!!  Over the next few weeks I will be journalling how I'm feeling and what happens as far as the giving up soda and junk food and at the end I will be writing a paper, which will be a significant part of my grade.  For me, I plan on continuing this for some time after the assignment is over because of what I am accomplishing.

This journal, and the paper, is about abstinence from an addictive behavior for a substance abuse class I am taking this semester.  What better way to learn about helping someone kick a bad habit then by kicking a bad habit yourself.  A majority of the class is counseling or social work majors, but a few, like myself, are pursuing criminal justice degrees, so there is a wide range of people in the class.  While many are giving up smoking or alcohol, I decided to give up the one behavior that has truly hampered all of my fitness goals over the years......... the crappy food I put in to my body and the poor choices I make.

Instead of writing more of the same, I decided to share with all of you my journal for the week so far. While I put everything I eat into MyFitnessPal, which all of you can see, I also journaled the crap I ate this week and how I felt after word.  Take a look, and please, let me know what you think and ask any and all questions you may have, I am not doing this just for my self, but to help others and show that anyone can do this!!

9/26/16
For this assignment I have decided to give up soda and junk food, for not only the 10 weeks, but try to kick it completely.  I have tried numerous times over the years to really dial in my diet, and this is the perfect opportunity.  I actually started this 3 weeks ago, when we were supposed to start the project and have been keeping up with it since.  I feel cutting out the junk food is going to be harder than the soda, but we will see what happens.
  9/27/16
I got up and started the day feeling great and ready to continue fighting the urges to eat crap and drink soda.  Everything was going great until our new employee at work decided to bring in 3 dozen donuts and threw them out on a desk I walk past multiple times a day!!  Yes, I broke down, but instead of eating one of the ones I love, I hit the small, blueberry cake donut and damn did it taste good!  I did the right thing and tracked it in my meal tracker so I could see what it did to my numbers for the day.  I guess I will be running a little extra tonight.
 9/28/16
Today was a very long day.  Work and then school and then ski patrol training made me start craving a soda to get through the day.  I wanted one early, knowing how long the day was going to be, but not having any in the house definitely helped, same with the fact I was rushing around all day long I didn’t have time to stop and get one.
 9/29/16
Today was a great day right up until we finished our walk/run at the marina.  The run itself was great, Hunter ran with me for a good part of it and I am proud of the fact that because Nancy and I are eating healthier and exercising more, he is too.  The down side is I decided to take everyone to the new ice cream sandwich place.  Damn it was good, but I feel terrible now.  It’s tracked and I can see the numbers.
 9/30/16
It’s Friday!!  Not only did I make it through the day without a soda and without eating crap, I was able to go grocery shopping, buy only what was needed (no soda or crap for us or the kids) and spend $50 to feed the family for a week.  It’s amazing how much cheaper our trips to the store are when there’s no soda or crap in the cart.  Yes, we are spending more overall because of the shakes I am drinking twice a day, but overall I’m thinking we still aren’t spending as much now as we were before.
 

Have a great day and wish me luck, time for a little 9K fundraising run!!

A new beginning!

It's amazing what cancer will do to a family.  For those that don't know me, on April 13th 2015 my now 4-year-old son was diagnosed with high risk stage IV neuroblastoma and we had a very long roller coaster ride.  Through my entire life I have struggled with my weight and this really hit my weight, and fitness hard.

A little background......in 2011 I had some medical issues, spent some time in the hospital and realized how out of shape I was.  As an avid hunter and a relatively new father I decided I needed to do something and found a little workout program for hunters called Train To Hunt and a little supplement company for hunters called Wilderness Athlete.  With these I made some changes and got in shape, not good shape, but definitely made some improvements.  It could have been better, but due to some lifelong medical issues and my love of food I only got so far.  Even though I made some great strides, my son being diagnosed with cancer, hospital food, long road trips back and forth for treatment and not exercising regularly took away all the progress I made previously.  While I was still in better shape than I was in 2011, I was nowhere near where I was in January 2015

Fast forward to September 2016 and me, trying to finish up my degree, get an assignment for a class that entails me abstaining from something for 10 weeks and the light bulb goes off.........let's get my fat butt into real shape, and a shape that doesn't include round!!  As soon as I heard of the project I decided I would cut out all soda from my diet then I decided to cut out all junk food as well.  Part of this project includes daily journals as to how I feel, did I relapse and why or why didn't I relapse, and that's where this all comes in.  While I will be journaling for my class daily as to how I feel and what I'm going through mentally, on here I will be talking about those things, plus I will be sharing with all of you what my goals are and what I am doing to attain those goals.  Also, with the help of My Fitness Pal, I will be sharing my food intake and my workouts to show what I'm doing and who this all is effecting me mentally and physically.

My goal for all of you is to show that no matter how much you have going on in your life, you can do this, do it right and reach your goals.  As far as my personal goals right now......I want to feel better, I want my clothes to fit better and I want to improve my body composition.

Over the next 12 weeks I will be using nutrition products from Wilderness Athlete, part of their 28 Day Challenge, plus some healthy snacks and a sensible dinner as far as my intake.  I also plan to run 3 to 4 days a week plus include either a Train To Hunt Workout or a workout at my CrossFit Gym, Black Iron Gym, 3 to 4 days a week for 6 to 8 workouts a week.  During the next 12 weeks you can follow my intake and workouts at NVBrushhunter on MyFitnessPal and I will also post photos on my Instagram, Crossfit_Hunter, as I go through this journey.

Thanks for following and let's get this going!!