The quest begins again – “Velo Losers”

You may have seen it on twitter and/or FB, not sure – but I’m back on the weight loss kick.  I do so with mixed emotions and quite honestly, some confusion and frustration.  As the 4 people that read my blog may recall, I lost a lot of weight last year.  51 pounds … if you weighed me on the right day.  I did really good from January 2nd until about June.  I then sort of faded.  I couldn’t stay as motivated and wanted to eat some more junk.  Then came July – I rode and rode and rode… setting some good standards for myself.  I felt good about it.  Flats, miles, mountains … I did it all.  August sucked.  My back went wonky on me and I couldn’t ride in august.  For a while, I maintained my weight … but not really well.  Creeaping back up.  Then came the holidays, vacation, pizza, chipotle and the rest of the things I eat.  Along the way I won the “Biggest Loser” at work, I kicked major arse… but why?  It’s almost all back.

That’s the thing.  Since I LOST so much, and AGAIN… gained a bunch back, I am like who cares.  It just seems quite inevitable.  At the same time, I know that if I want to be healthy, if I want to live past 60, if I want to do what is right and not have to deal with diabetes or some other disease.  It’s frustrating and miserable to think “I can do this… but I fall apart later”.  I really don’t want to – but I don’t know what to do.  Well, I supposed I have a few months to sort that out – as I do know if I can get going, I can lose weight, get healthy, get fast and have fun.  I had a LOT of fun competing and winning the biggest loser last year – it just miserable to win a competition of that nature and then fall apart.  Enough of that… let’s talk about the next 6 months… (give or take a few months).

I needed/wanted some motivation.  If I am in “competition” I try harder.  It’s what I do.  I talked to my boy, Naten Zeep.  I said “Nate, you and I are big men… we shouldn’t be this big.”.  We went round and round a bit and came up with a motivating competition that we have “affectionately” named “Velo Losers”.  Velo is french for bicycle, or something… Losers, well… that’s obvious.  We talked to our mutual friend, Don Walker, and he too wanted to participate.  In talking to other people, our little snowball is growing and we currently have 5 players, 1 hidden player and two people in negotiations.  I think it will be a lot of fun and it will be lucritive – at least for me as I plan on dominating the competition.  Yes – smack talk is part of the game.  I feel confident in my smack talk – win, lose or draw – I will be in final smack sprint!

So – friends – family – people that don’t like me and want to keep me around so you can pick on me – whoever… I’d love some support.  I’d love some help in 5-6 months when I’m probably 40-50 pounds less than I am now and trying to push to the big goal of weighing less than 200 pounds.  (I haven’t weight less than 200 since the early 90′s.)

To my competitors – I only want to win by .01%.  I want us all to lose the weight.  My smack is good becuase you are my friends.  If you need help not eating that donut, taco salad, burrito or something else… I’ll do my best to talk you away from the edge.  Let’s work together and make this one work!

Day 3 – and the catch-up

So I get down to the gym and these womenz that like to watch celebrity fit club are walking on the treadmills and using the elliptical machine. SUCK! The silly stationary bike is broken, so I get disgruntled, grab my badge and go running. Hey … whatever works (or something). I ran “around the block” at work Turns out to be a little over 2.1 miles. Reasonably hilly – so it was a good workout. I finished off the day with 3 sets on 5 upper body machines.

That last 2 days were elliptication and weights. The streak is in it’s infancy, but at least it EXISTS! Now… back to work. I probably stink or something.

August Weight Loss Status – not so good!

August Status

Okay, so I guess sooner or later I was going to fall “off he wagon”. No excuses here, just facts. I was hurt this month and couldn’t work out. In this situation I turn to my only do-able vice (other than coffee) and eat… Back is getting better, so – things are getting better!

Yesterday I went out and did about 18ish miles yesterday.  My back was 100% fine during the ride.  After the ride I was a bit sore for a short while, but nothing like last month.  A little Bio Freeze, a little treatment and I was sleeping pretty well last night.

I am a bit upset about the whole “gain”, the trend going the right direction, the missing a month of riding, but what can I do at this point?  I guess I can get back on my bike and ride work my way into the riding.  Sarah and Derek are doing their runs on Saturdays now, so I think Max and I will be biking.  He enjoys that a bunch!  Won’t happen until next weekend, but whatev… the key thing is getting back on my eating routine, get back on the bike and roll the right way!  I have lost over 40 pounds this year (really lost 50 but gained some back).  I can use August as my “vacation” and get back to bid-ness!  Schwing!

Please remind me I wrote this

Someday, I will need somebody that reads this to tell me to go back and read this. You see, I am in a great mood. I have a great job, a great family, I am working my ass off and getting recognized at work and in addition my health/fitness is great. It’s very rare that you have home, work and personal all in line. I have achieved that. I can deal with work stress. Home stuff, well, it comes, it goes we work it out, that’s good. The health/fitness thing …. we don’t always work out so well together! So… why will I need a reminder, cuz I might need to remember the feeling I had the other day.

I woke up after racing the night before (which went GREAT!) I woke up for my morning ritual. I weigh in after I pee… then I get coffee. I weighed myself and I was on the BORDER! 250.4… but I was wearing a long sleeve shirt. OFF! 250.0. (Yeah, I am going to stretch your comfort zone a little). I still have my underpants on! Off they go! 249.8! HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL! I broke the barrier! 30 pounds! below 250! I was so excited I yelled “YES!” (note, when I typed that I got a chill). Sarah 1/2 wakes up and goes “Below 250?” I said “Awwwyeaaaaaa”. I did it! I have worked SERIOUSLY hard for these 30 pounds. I have *gulp* at least 60 more to go, but I did it the “right way”. I worked out yesterday with a sense of peace, happiness, confidence and enthusiasm. I set a new Ellipticator world record! I leg pressed mad weight… I just felt GOOD! The high is still here today. Scroll back a few weeks when I was depressed about only losing 1 pound or something… its amazing how much this affects me, but I am trying. I have tried to lead a healthy lifestyle and it seems to be helping!

In AA they have a saying … “This too shall pass…” The people have been sober for a while will always tell you that when you are in a great mood. Partially cuz they are old, bitter and probably don’t any action any more, but partially because it’s true! If you are in a really crappy mood, it will get better. The same can be said about a good mood! If we didn’t have cloudy days, we wouldn’t appreciate the sunny ones…. (wow… how much random philosophy can I cram into one blog post?)

BTW… I’ve set my season goal.  I drove over some of those last year working the Tour de Georgia.  I want to rock the house… besides with my new Garmin Edge 305 it will give you all a really cool file to look at.  I will wear my HRM…. if you see a flat line, that’s probably bad!  From the looks of it, it’s only about a 80 mile hard ride and then a love fest on the band wagon!  The ride in late September.  Little over 5 months… If I could crank the soulja-boy @ 199.9… that would be kick ass!  I don’t want to be the fastest fat guy any more!  I think I have lost my mind!

The 5k Winning Soccer Shopping Surprise Experience

Alrighty, so I got a lot to update you on. First of all. I am 40. Yeah, you read that right, I turned 40. So what? Who cares? Well… it was actually pretty cool turning 40. Many of you are now raising an eyebrow and others are saying “wtf?”. Well, it’s simple… I started off being 40 by running. Something I have never really liked doing but I have found it to be a valid and semi-sustainable form of exercise. I have started to actually enjoy it. I ran a 5k. Yeah, you read that right. Get up off the floor and continue reading. If you are concussed… please call 911. Reading my blog while you are in need of medical care is NOT recommended. So anyway… I ran with a goal of “less than 30:00″. I have done that on a treadmill, but not in the elements… not in the wind, the road… with hills and such. I was a bit fearful but I went within. In some of my pre-race shots, I had my game on. I took off and fought my urge to keep up with the guy in front of me. I talked to myself in an inner-secret-ninja way. I just started running at my pace. I kept telling myself “Save it for the trip back”. I got to the turn around in about 14 minutes. I knew that was “hot” … I was going well, but why? I was about to find out. It seems that the way back was much more uphill. I was glad I had some more gas for the return trip. I kept it going, I ran the whole thing and for that I was happy. My time was about 28:48. Keeping in mind that in January I couldn’t run 1 mile, I was pleased, satisfied and happy with my result. Yes, a good job.

The suplementary highlight of the morning for me was trying to keep up with my son for 1 mile. Not an easy task. NOBODY could do it that morning! NOBODY! Derek ran a 1 mile race and WON! It was against older kids, adults, parents, everything…. Derek WON! Great job, Budro Johnson!

Next came the Mexican food. Mexican food is the devil and I danced with the devil! Cha-Cha-Cha! Wow… that was the best plate of food I have had in a while. Incredible. Soccer came next… that was good. Derek’s team lacked that cohesive bond they needed, but they played hard and had fun! Oddly, Max and I went shopping in the afternoon. We shared a cookie, read a book, walked around the shopping center, enjoyed massage chairs and pet a dinosaur. It was fun…

At this point, the unexpected happened. My wife planned a party for me. A surprise party. I could tell something was up, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. She disappeared for 4 hours and then FINALLY called while I was quite worried… well, I got to our club house to find tons of people. My parents, my sister and her husband, my in-laws, co-workers, friends from around the neighborhood, people from all over the place. I was a great party. I am getting choked up writing about it. Sarah did tons of stuff and it was all perfect! Yeah, I am 40… but you know what, I packed more into that day than most people do into a weekend. I do that on a regular basis. I am up first, got to bed last, work out 5+ times a week, am in better shape than I was when I was 38 or 39… I play with my kids, I have fun… 40 isn’t so bad…. the alternative sucks, so I will deal with it!

Princess, thank you! I love you! Thank you! To all that came to visit and share that night, I will never forget it! To those that couldn’t make it… that’s okay too! I appreciate the cards, well wishes, IM’s and all that. Tell you what… In 10 years we are gonna party like it’s 1999! You are all invited!

Scott

ps. I love the photo on here… I look really skinny!

One is the loneliest number…

that you’ll ever know, “Feels like the first time…”, “The longest journey begins with a single step!”, “All good things must come to an end”, “That is a tasty burger!”

Those were all potential subjects for this blog entry.  You see, after calling the streak a “non-issue” in my life any more, I put the streak to rest on Saturday.  Sarah was out of town, my mom was here, the kids were crazy, we had tons of fun but when that was all over, it was raining and 44 degrees outside.   The basement was cold and dark and outside was cold dark and wet.  I just said WTF… and you know what, I was okay with it!  I then, on a semi-calculated “risk” type thing, took sunday off too.  Again, Sarah out of town, mom… we went to the Circus and little-bit (Max) was feisty all day.  You know what, it’s all okay!  It actually renewed my interest in riding today and I rode at lunch.  It was warm, sunny, mildly breezy and fun.  My head still feels a “spot warm” from the ride!  Good stuff.  My only regret is that I did it for52 days, but I didn’t do a “full month”.  I missed January by 1 day, and only 22 days in February.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Now, for the semi good news.  I was feeling frisky today so I turned the screws a bit and really got myself moving.  Not so fast so I scared myself or anything, but fast enough that I felt like maybe I will be able to go fast this season.  That will be fun.  Then again, at this point in life I am oddly obsessed with getting a mountain bike.   I can’t explain it, but a couple of my co-workers have a spare one they want me to ride with them.  Might be fun.

OH… and while I am rambling, we are doing a biggest loser at work.  11 pounds this week!  Now, I did stack the deck a bit, but I had cheeseburgers, bbq and mexican this weekend, so I am pleased.  I was really quite shocked when I saw the number.  Overall, I am really 2 pounds ligher, I think.. we will see tomorrow morning.  Regardless, I worked out, lost weight, ate healthy… it’s a good day.

Fifty

Did you know that today is the 51st day of the year?  I know this for 2 reasons.  One, I am some what obsessive about random date trivia.  Silly, I know, but hey… it’s what I do.  The other reason I know that is on the 2nd of January I set off on this crazy workout thing.  I wanted to keep it going for a while.  I didn’t know when I would stop and at this point I am really not sure when I will… that is not important to me.  I have proven to myself that I can stick to a plan/program of intentional exercise regardless of what life throws at me.  Some of those days were less than enthusiastic.  My heart rate might not have been in my “optimal aerobic zone”, but at the same time, I did some crazy stuff like tearing it up at the Dick Lane Velodrome tonight.  I was able to hold wheels I wasn’t able to 6 weeks ago, so that is cool!

I think I will seal The Streak page.  Counting, paying attention and all that has added pressure to my life an ultimately made me unhappy on a few occasions.   Only about three times did I just work out to keep my streak alive.  That’s 47 times I actually wanted to work out.  I want to tomorrow.  Will I on Friday?  I do not know.  I hope so.  It’s kind of like what I learned in AA.  One day at a time.  One day at a time, I have stayed sober for over 20 years.  Now, I don’t know that this streak will last 20 years, but I hope the lifestyle change does.  I am starting to feel/see the positive things in my life!  That’s awesome!

As we move into Spring, I look forward to getting on my bike more.  There are lots of places I need to ride around here.  I don’t even have any good “loops” that I like a lot.  Sarah is itching to ride w/me on Tuesdays, so that will be fun too.  Day 51 will be a new chapter.  I look forward to it!

The game is ON!

So today at work we are starting a biggest loser competition.  I kind of think it sort of sucks because I have already lost like 17 pounds, so I lose the initial big bonus weight loss.  Well, to some degree.  Through careful and deliberate hydration and “careful planning”, I think I gained ate least to 8 pounds between 6:00 am and when I weighed in just a few minutes ago  (the exact number is hard to speculate, as I weighed in this morning without clothes, the second time with clothes).  I can honestly tell you that my eyes feel like they are floating.  I haven’t been to the men’s room just yet, but any time now I feel as if I will be starting to.  I will definitely get my 30 minutes of exercise in today… I will get it in walking back and forth to the men’s room!

Good riding and good times….

So I got in my good ride on friday, that was fun.  Friday night, Derek and I went to this place called Sparkles.  It’s a roller skating rink that had a special thing for Derek’s school.  Roller skating, laser tag… good stuff!  Neat laser tag set up!  Lots of smoke (fake smoke) and fun!

Saturday, I went on one of the most bizarre loops I could make up.  I don’t know if I like it or disliked it, but it was different.  Saturday night, Sarah and I went to the Bajama Mama Cafe or something like that.  I am really drawing a blank,  but they had some SERIOUSLY good seafood pie-aye-ah (cant remember the restaurant and you want me to remember that spelling?)  We saw Fool Gold, a delightful blend of chick flick and ass-kicking-explosions to entertain any couple.  Sunday, I ran a 5k at the gym in PR time, it hurt…

Today, I had a rare day off.  I am not used to them.  Heck, I didn’t even realize I had this one… well, I went riding this morning, met Sarah for coffee, that was good.  The ride home was SUPER WINDY, but I just did my best imitation of a belgian and drove it home like a bus.  When I got home, I met our new neighbors, they seemed nice enough.  Now, time to get a few things done and off to Derek’s soccer practice.  Good times… Good times…

I love it when a plan comes together!

When I decided to lose my truck, I came up with a plan.  Small car, better gas, rack to safely carry my bike… easy on, easy off… both wheels stay on.  Okay, all good.  I like this.  That was nearly 2 months ago.  Today I was able to execute my plan.  I packed up my stuff, put my bike on my Thule Rack, went to work and at lunch, suited up and got ready… off I went!  It was a good ride.  I rode from work, through this little park to “Columns Drive”.  It’s a semi-lame road as it’s the ONLY road in the country with a 4 foot wide shoulder and a LAW that says you cant ride 2 abreast on the shoulder.  Lame… but I was riding by myself so I didn’t have to worry so much about this law.   I did 3 “laps” of Columns, then went back.  Nothing terribly exciting, but it was RIDING on the ROAD again!  I enjoyed that.

Sarah got me the COOLEST picture book for Valentines day!  It’s all pictures of our trip to san fran.  Ultimately, we have tons of photos and thats cool, but man… having a little book is neat!  Thanks, babe!  I love it!