This is taking too long October 7, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Day Off, Health, Journal, Weight Loss.3 comments
So suddenly life stinks. It’s busy. It is exciting. It is sickening. On Saturday I was able to run 4.5 miles outside and a pretty good pace. My heart rate was between 140 and 150 the whole time. It was a cool day but with a sweatshirt on I was comfortable. But since then time has not been on my side. Sunday was a day with the kids while my wife went away to shop and be alone. Sometime in the afternoon a best friend from my childhood stopped by with his family. He lives in San Diego so it is so rare that we get to see each other. It was great to visit. The rest of the day was taking care of sick kids and by the time my wife got home I just wanted to go to bed.
Monday was my brother’s birthday so I hung out with him and our dad to watch our beloved Vikes take on the hated Pack. It has been so long since we had done anything like that. My sister-in-law made a bean dip with some low fat cream cheese. I kept it to a minimum and I have been eating pretty good. Tuesday was the beginning of sickness. I started to feel a cold coming on as my dad and I brought my car in to get fixed last night. Another night of catching up with sleep. Bummer too because my new running shoes came in the mail but I haven’t had a chance to really work them out. I might have to send them back because I’m not excited about the cushioning at the ball of my foot.
Today was crap. I woke up with a serious sinus cold. But today was the first day of meetings of being on a committee that is revamping our company’s website. Pretty big deal since 60% of our business is done there and that is growing. Meetings were great but as soon as the last one was done I was outta of there. I need more sleep. Not getting any with the kids going crazy today. I just want to be out of this and back to normal. When is that going to happen?
This will not be long September 11, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Day Off, Health, Injury, Journal, Weigh Day, Weight Loss.3 comments
I’ve already passed out once from the pain. Surgery went a little longer than scheduled and it was pretty painful. The medicine wore out and they still were not halfway done. Myself and the doctor had to wait 20 minutes there until the medicine kicked back in. I’m glad I only have to do this once. When I passed out I was just standing up reading a post on Facebook of a friend who got fired today. The next thing I know I’m doing a faceplant right into the wall. I don’t remember anything happening. All of a sudden my forehead is dragging down the wall in front of me. I’m confined to the couch for a long time now.
Today weigh in was just what I wanted, 1 pound. This way I don’t have to proclaim 60 only to fall back a week later. Today before the surgery, when I got weighed in, we looked at how much I weighed when I was in last 9 months ago. 282. At least I reached the 60 pound mark in some way. I’m very happy with how my body is changing. I love how t-shirts and jeans fit and how they look. Other people have noticed, getting more compliments and that is something I am grateful for.
Time to lay down. Have a great weekend.
Not much to say September 8, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Day Off, Health, Journal, Weight Loss.2 comments
It’s been a busy day. No exercise. I have a feeling I won’t be losing much this month. It’s pretty filled up and there is so much to do. Eating was good today but the best part of my day was tonight. I went through my closet and after 3 garbage bags, 2/3s of it is gone. And I’m not done yet. I still have at least one more bag of pants to get rid of. As I try on shirt after shirt, remembering how I felt in them and seeing how far I am away from that person, it makes me a little sad. A little sad that I let myself get that big, that I let a pain bury itself deep inside of me that it took so long to fix it. But I am better now. I feel healthy. I feel great. And I’m still Ehren. I just look a little different.
Quick post – but a needed post August 16, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Day Off, Exercise, Health, Journal, Weight Loss.Tags: goal, REWARD
2 comments
It’s 10pm and I’m usually in bed by now to get up at 5 to go running. I just got home from my parents after helping my dad install a countertop in his kitchen. Good, its done. Time for sleep.
But one thing. My wife went shopping in a city about 45 minutes away. Our small town of 9000 doesn’t have much to offer and Grand Forks has Kohl’s and a lot of the places we used to have in the cities. Not all but most. Anyway, she went shopping today and I told her to look but don’t buy much for me. Especially jeans. I said that I want to be there to try them on and see how they fit before I buy. I just bought dress slack at 36/30 and while snug, comfortable. She comes back, shows me the 4 shirts she bought me, and then pulls out the jeans. 34/30…. COME ON!!!!!! Like I have a chance to slip into those. I hold them up, feel how wide they are. You know. You kinda know how a pair of pants will fit just by holding them out in front of you and seeing how wide they are. These ones are not so wide. Well, let’s just see how snug they are going to be. Up the calves, no problem but those are calves. Go past the knee and hit the part of the thigh where I’m expecting them to stop. They don’t. WHAT? They keep going up……all the way up. I’m in shock at this moment. My mouth is open. Understand this, I think I was in 36/30 in high school when I weighed 185. And these jeans are not relaxed fit, they are straight cut. So I’m thinking that fine, that’s great, I can bring them up this high but there is no way I can button them. I screamed as the button slipped into the whole without a herculean effort. 6 months ago I was wearing 42/30s. I was thinking when I lost the 80lbs that I wanted to that I’d be wearing a waist around 36. But 34, at this moment is just unbelievable. It’s 4 hours later and I’m still in shock.
And yet this is more motivation. I am not done yet. I still have 24lbs before reaching my big goal and that won’t be the end either. This was an amazing reward today. One completely unexpected and one that I will cherish for a long time. Another reward is coming this next weekend as I get to see my favorite aunt as she’s coming up for a visit. She saw me about 35lbs ago and she was happy with me then. It should be a great hug and a good conversation. Hopefully the week will go by faster than last week.
Day of Denial August 13, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Day Off, Exercise, Health, Journal, Weight Loss.1 comment so far
This has been an interesting day. I slept in until 6. It’s weird though because when I don’t workout in the morning I feel like I don’t really wake up during the day. This is why I love running in the morning. It gets my blood flowing and my body loosened up. I’ve just felt tired all day. Another reason it has been a weird day is that I really cut down on calories today. I just wanted to try it to see how I would do. Lot’s of water and kept my fruit and vegetables up. This morning it was a bowl of honey bunches of oates with milk, lunch was a tuna sandwich on whole grain bread and tonight was a yogurt with granola. I also had a handful of almonds and cashews for something crunchy. It’s not easy, I had to get out of the kitchen where I usually write my posts just to get away from the food. I’m pretty sure my calorie intake was under 1000 and I’m just curious to see what that does to me. Right now I just feel tired but that could be carry over from not getting enough sleep this week. Hopefully it’s a relaxing weekend at the cabin.
I think my body is still changing because the compliments have really been piling on this week. I make sure to be grateful for people noticing butI still don’t see the mental image I have of myself when I look in the mirror. I am getting closer. I’m not done yet.
6-miler August 8, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Circuit Training, Day Off, Exercise, Health, Journal, Milestone, Weight Loss.1 comment so far
Finally had time and good sleep this morning and was able to run, RUN an entire 6 miles! I think Tuesday was a break-through day as far as my distance running goes. That felt like a more difficult run than this one today and for sure my soreness was not as extreme today as it was on Tuesday. It rained pretty good last night so the gravel roads were a little soft and the humidity was really high. So great sweat and a good heart rate for the whole run and it took me just over an hour. Love it. Ready for more. I think in a couple of weeks I’ll push it again if it’s a good morning if I have the time. One moment that happened today was when I was listening to an old song and there was an instance where I thought the battery was dying on my MP3 player. Why. I thought I heard the pitch change like when I used to listen to that song about 20 years ago on a cassette player. I laughed at myself but kept running….
Stomach is still having some issue. Today has been better and I think I need to cut out a trail mix out of my diet. I was using it for energy but I just might go back to raw almonds.
We didn’t go to the race last night because of the rain. Good thing. My son has a coupon for a free ice cream cone at Dairy Queen and I was getting a taste for something from the menu. First I looked at a Peanut Buster Parfeit, 750 calories! Buster Bar, 500 calories. Cotton Pickin’ tiny Dilly Bar, 220 calories. I don’t want a cone (230 calories) and the saturated fat and sugar is just incredible. I’m done with DQ. DONE. I bought my ice cream and had a responsible serving and enjoyed every moment of it.
Starting to toss around the idea of giving my evening exercises a break and just concentrating on running in the morning. I’m starting to wonder if I’m getting a little burned out with all the exercising. I’ll continue to run 6 times a week and maybe when I bring the other exercises back it will give me the kick I need. Or maybe I’ll still do one circuit training on the weekend. Just tossing some ideas around. Any thoughts?
Feeling like fall July 16, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Day Off, Health, Journal, Treadmill, Weight Loss.add a comment
I think the high up here today was 58 and it windy out. Hopefully the wind dies down by Saturday when I’m going to try a 6-miler. Tomorrow morning I have to use the treadmill as my wife is going to run with a friend in town.
I’m sitting in our basement wearing my leather jacket. This jacket I haven’t worn for 8 years. No more tight look, it just fits. Would it fit better if I lost a few more pounds? Sure. But I have a couple more months (hopefully) before we get to that point where I’m wearing it everyday. I don’t know what to do with my nice Columbia winter jacket. It was getting too big when I stopped wearing it this spring and I’m not going to even try it now. I also wore a shirt today that my wife bought for me in Europe about 5 years ago. Never was able to wear it until today. I’ve been eyeing for the last 30lbs and finally today, it fit. This has done wonders for my confidence, knowing that I can wear those clothes, knowing that I have clothes that are just too big. I love being at this point.
Today was my day off from exercising and I needed it. My arms were sore from my workout last night. My chest muscles are feeling good, starting to feel tight and toned. I can’t wait to see how the muscle comes through as more fat is lost. I want to see definition.
Day of rest? July 12, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Day Off, Health, Journal, Weight Loss.Tags: Family time
1 comment so far
OK, this is not going to be some diatribe going into how I got stuck in some chore or activity I didn’t want to be a part of. Nor is it about a function I did not want to be a part of. My wife has been doing daycare for about 2 months now with some new kids added within the last two weeks. I was beginning to see a little edginess between the walls of our house and decided she needed to get out. First plan, find one of her friends to take her to a town that’s an hour from here so they can do some shopping and just have some girl time. Everyone had plans. Second plan…….I really hadn’t thought too hard about this…… She mentioned that she thought it might be nice to take the family to this city, Grand Forks, to go for a bike ride. Not exactly what I had in mind. I thought she wanted to get away from the kids but if this is what she wanted, then let’s do it. We borrowed my dad’s pickup, packed up the bikes and away we went. First mental note, buy hitch for our van so we can use my dad’s bike hitch with the van. There was enough room in the back for the kids, actually a lot. But it was a proximity thing. Proximity to each other, they could touch each other and irritate each other versus the not-thought-of-before isolation they have when they are in the van. Then there was the proximity to the parents. It feels like they are right on top of you and they enjoy seeing the reactions they can create in their parents. Funny to them, not so funny to us.
So we get there. This is the point where I realized that I didn’t check to make sure the one nut that needs to be secured for the bike trailer actually is secure. It isn’t. There are no wrenches in this pickup. I will now start referring to this vehicle as mom’s pickup. Ran to the hardware store and bought a crescent wrench for $10. Bike trailer is secure. Better yet, older son’s (Kade) seat is adjusted and he’s ready to cruise. So she gets my bike because it has gears and stuff while I get the bike with one gear because it’s a bike that was given away and I’m cheap. Mental note, need to replace gear cable as a winter project. So we start cruising. Big hill to start with and I’m chugging away and then stop at the top. Where’s the wife? Here she comes finally, complaining that the bike doesn’t fit her right because she has to reach down too far. Cool. You get the one gear bike with the strange noises that sounds like it might snap in half. I’ll cruise.
After that, it went pretty good. Kade made it all the way without stopping (over 10 miles) and it was beautiful outside. When we got done it was after 5 so we decided to get some small hamburgers for the kids and then some meals for us. I had a chicken fajita wrap which was a very good and different taste. I needed some calories too because it had already been a busy day before this trip and I had not eaten enough. We ate in a park and the kids played around afterwards.
Now all are sleeping and I’m ready for a good night’s sleep. I did have a fun time with the family. Particularly when we sat down to eat. My wife told my daughter to sit by her and she said in her 2.8 year old voice, “No, I sit by daddy!” It broke my heart to hear her love for me and feeling for her need for me to be there. A great reminder of one of the many reasons why am I making this change. That moment made all the hardships of the day worth it.
Congratulations to South Beach Steve as his journey continues into onederland and for a year marking a change in his life’s direction. He’s a great encourager to me in the comments and emails he sends my way and an encouragement to follow as he blogs about his dedication to his new life and those he loves most. Make it a great year, Steve.
I’m not done yet July 11, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Day Off, Exercise, Health, Journal, Weigh Day, Weight Loss.3 comments
This is my motto. Every time I have a good work, I say this. Every time I have a good weigh in, I say this. Every time I have a not so good weigh in (this week no weight lost), I say this. Every time I’m tempted by food, I say this. Every time I get a compliment, I say this. I am not done yet. I’ve made a lot of progress and feel great about that, but I’m not done yet. I have not reached my main goal, it’s still more the 30 pounds away. I’m not done yet. For me that saying is positive. It says I have done something but that I have more to do, and I know I can do it. I’ve proven that I can. I know I can. I’m not done yet.
Yesterday was my weigh in day and no weight loss this week. It didn’t bother me because I’m really into the big picture mood. I also had a ah-ha moment this morning. Yesterday was my day off from exercising and for some reason I saw a positive difference on the scale this morning. I can’t be scared to take that day off (usually Thursday) before my Friday weigh in day. It’s good for the body to rest. Now to hit it hard today.
Beautiful weekend July 5, 2009
Posted by Ehren in Day Off, Health, Journal, Weight Loss.Tags: Biggest Loser, Cabin, goal, MP3 player
1 comment so far
I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. Well, I could but then we’re talking really big dreams. The weather at the cabin was great. The lake is spring fed so it can get cold but I swam two of the days. Saturday morning I got a 13mile + bike ride and then last night after the fish dinner I ran the 25-step stairs about 20 times. My brother and his wife noticed the change right away and said I was looking good. I thought I’d get more satisfaction out of it but I remembered I’m not doing this for them.
We got some fishing in, a look at the local, 1 building town, parade, firework competition over the lake, all kinds of stuff. It felt so good to have reached my goal and to think about the weight that has come off. One fun thing our 1 year old is doing is lifting his shirt up to show his belly off. I have no idea where he got this from because I am not at that stage yet but it’s pretty cute. He also thinks that others should show their bellies as well and is always trying to lift my shirt and my wife’s shirt up to see what kind of belly action we’ve got going on. I know I’m a lot more comfortable with him doing that (although we are trying to teach him not to do that to others) than I would have been 6 months ago. It’s great to be at this point.
We came home this morning to relax before another big family day tomorrow. All of the family took a nap this afternoon which gave me some ‘tech time’. I got to play around with some new software for my mp3 player and catch up on some exercise blogs. I ran into one that is a former “Biggest Loser” contestant and he was talking about Jillian Michael’s podcast on KFI. I remember it from a while ago but this was a great reminder. I downloaded 4 episodes and went outside to work on the yard while listening to 2 shows. Jillian has a certain way of motivating me. I love her “well, duh!’ attitude and being fed up with people who use excuses. So many times I’ve wanted to be that way with other people but have to consider the friendship angle. Anyway, it got me pumped up, helped me clean and put stuff away in a good pace. Even got me to look at my bike and take it for a quick for mile run. I’m glad to have found it and encourage anyone who is looking for education, tips, or motivation to look up “KFI Sunday” in iTunes.
Well, off to wash the bathrooms. Have a great evening.
