Week#13 - Under 180!

On February 14th, I made a new goal to weigh 180lbs or less by April 1st. Since then I have spent a lot of time working out and eating better, and I'm very happy to report the results. I think i'm done posting my weight online though. I feel like i've reached my goal to be better and I hope I can continue to be healthier by working out and eating better. Stay tuned for new adventures of exercise. Just no more scale photos. ha-ha.

7 Ways to Reduce Your Risk for Heart Disease

For the past couple of years I have been a cardiovascular analyst for Intermountain Healthcare. I have reviewed thousands of charts for people with heart disease. It has been an eye opening experience for me. Why? Because of the number of people that have no idea that they have heart disease, and the statistical analysis that proves that they have the ability to reduce and/or destroy the power of this disease in their lives. In prior posts I have mentioned that heart disease runs in my family. I never met my Mom's dad because he died of heart disease when he was forty-nine years old.

Well...if you're like me, then you are at a higher risk for heart disease based on nothing you can control. This means that whatever you CAN control is extremely important. In that light, here are 7 ways to reduce your risk for heart disease:

#1- Quit Smoking: Smokers have more than twice the risk.
#2- Get Fit: Absolutely anything you can do to become more active will help.
#3- Improve Cholesterol: Get blood work done and consult with your Doctor.
#4- Control High Blood Pressure: Get a check up and consult with your Doctor.
#5- Control Diabetes: Healthy diet, exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, ect.
#6- Eat Right: Low salt, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and refined sugars.
#7- Manage Stress: Use exercise, and other natural ways to relieve pressure.

So there ya go. Each of these things can reduce your risks. I hate heart disease, and I hope to dedicate my life to its destruction in my life and in the lives of others. Thanks for reading!

Week#6 - Valentine's Day!! (191lbs)

Back on January 2nd (after watching The Santa Clause) I set a goal to weigh less than 192lbs by Valentine's Day. After six long weeks...I reached my goal. Which means I killed my Santa within! But what do I do now? Set another milestone? Weigh less than the Easter Bunny by St. Patrick's day?

No....but how about weighing 180lbs by April Fools day? That will give me another six weeks to lose two pounds a week. I like it. If I don't get down to 180 by April Fools...then the April Fool will be ME. So...here we go again. Make comments or suggestions if you have any. Thanks for your support and good luck to everyone else trying to lose weight.

Week#5 - No More Words Javert (194lbs)

Basically I don't have any desire to talk about losing weight. I'm having fun getting fit and that is all I have to report. Thank you and goodnight.

Week#4 - An Annoying Obsession (195lbs)

Your body's metabolism will increase as you build lean body mass. Then you can eat more, and exercise less and your body will continue to burn fat. So what's the key? Get in at least 30 minutes of non stop cardio and then....build muscle!!!! I didn't do too well this week. I only worked out on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. However, my body continues to burn fat.

I've found it to be very difficult to focus so much on losing weight. Not because I don't feel passionate about it, but that I get annoyed with being that type of person. Ha-ha. Too much of one thing makes me feel shallow. So...in an effort to be successful, but also not become so obsessed that I burn myself out...I'm going to treat losing weight like brushing my teeth. Exercise needs to be done, but it's not something worth obsessing over.

I wasn't able to really focus that well on getting rid of stomach fat this week, so....I'd like to try that again for this week. Thanks for listening and please comment with any ideas, tips or suggestions that have worked for you. On to a new week and a new month! I'm not sure if I'll weigh less than Santa (192lbs) by Valentine's Day, but I'll try my best. See ya next Sunday!

Week#3 - Point "A" to Point "Z" (197lbs)

Milestones! Milestones! Milestones!!!

Whatever your goal may be for weight loss, it's extremely important to maintain a positive mental outlook. Getting frustrated or feeling overwhelmed can hinder you as much as a physical injury can.

Sustaining a peace of mind and motivation can be difficult when focus is centered on perfection rather than progression. So...getting from point "A" to point "Z" not "B" is closer to the truth and reality of any weight loss program. It's one step at a time.

In an effort to eat better and to have more energy and motivation to build muscle, burn fat and build endurance for cardio, I started drinking protein shakes. I add almond milk, half a banana, and some protein. It's very tasty and it helps me focus on eating good foods and working harder at the gym. This next week I'm going to really focus hard on burning belly fat. Good luck to everyone and I'll see you next week!

Week#2 - Hitting Target Areas (199lbs)

This week I've been focusing more on cardio and weights. I've also tried to focus on target areas. Most of my fat is in my stomach, which is the worst place to have it. Especially for men. Upper body fat is dangerous because it increases the risk of heart disease. My family has a history of heart disease, so this definitely freaks me out to have a lot of upper body fat. So yeah, I've been working my stomach like crazy to destroy my red zone. On to week 3! This next week i'm going to try and burn 1000 calories a day. I'm sure i'll come short some days but that's my goal.

Week#1 - Establishing Good Habits (203lbs)

3500 calories equals approximately one pound of fat. Since the healthy and most efficient way to lose weight is to lose no more than 2 pounds a week, 7000 calories must be lost each week in order to lose 2 pounds. In addition to that, it's important to build muscle so that your body can burn fat all by itself.

Daily workouts at the Gym, eating less, eating more fruits and vegetables, and drinking plenty of water each day have been my primary focus.

I just jumped on the scale and I have lost my 2lbs for the week, just by working out and eating better. On to next week. This week i'm going to focus more on building muscle and cardio. See you next week!

Weigh Less Than Santa (206lbs)

Right now I weigh 206 lbs. That means I'm a fatty-fat male. Oh geez. Well...that's embarassing. Hmmm....so what do I do? Diet and exercise right? Okay. Well, If I consistently lose no more than 2 lbs a week (losing weight the right way) that means I'll be under 192lbs around the second week of February. AKA....Valentines Day!! So that's it. My goal for January and into February...is to weigh less than 192 lbs by Valentines Day. I'm going to have to work hard at the gym and eat good foods and I'm going to do it dang it! My reward? To have the satisfaction of making another blog post on February 14th gloriously reporting my success. Until then? Diet and exercise so I can weigh Less than Santa!!!

P.S. Basically I'm turning this blog into one of those really annoying how to lose weight blogs and I'm going to document everything that I do. Hopefully by the end of the year i'll at least be at my goal weight of 165. Good luck to me and anyone else out there trying to lose weight.

Killing Santa in 2012

This past Christmas I watched the movie The Santa Clause, and realized that I too had begun a transformation of Kris Kringle qualities.
It was especially depressing when Santa got on the scale and didn't weigh as much as I do...
I don't want to be Santa anymore and I'm going to blog about my journey to destroy my santa fatness! Let the destruction begin!