Rapid Fire Dreams

Well, it was rough, but I hit my goal of 3.25 million lbs for my...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:15:30 -0500

Well, it was rough, but I hit my goal of 3.25 million lbs for my weight training this month. This also put me over 200,000 fit points. For the YMCA, this means I get my name on a plaque on the wall.

2.15 million lbs of my goal of 3.25 million lbs for the month.

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 12:35:38 -0500

2.15 million lbs of my goal of 3.25 million lbs for the month.

Former athlete starts journey to lose 355 pounds

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:51:15 -0500

Former athlete starts journey to lose 355 pounds:

Randy is a guy that goes to the Y with me. He’s a great guy. He is a preacher, and a former athlete that let himself get more than out of shape…. He weighed over 570 lbs at one point!!

There is a write up on him and his journey to lose weight in today’s Gainesville Times…. His story is a great inspiration for anyone trying to lose weight.

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/59250/

Healthy Eating From A Friend...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:47:00 -0500

Healthy Eating From A Friend...:

I just wanted to share a link to a blog by a friend of mine (Tom Denham).

Whole Life Eating - Easy, Healthy Whole Food Recipes
http://www.wholelifeeating.com/

From His About page…

About

You have a Whole Life. Eating can be an enjoyable and satisfying part of your life. Sharing the enjoyment of eating good food is the purpose of Whole Life Eating. Good food is tasty AND healthy and eating it should be a pleasure. I can’t share a meal with you here, but I can share my recipes for preparing real, healthy foods that taste good and are good for you.

My wife says I am a chef because I make up new recipes all the time. To me, chefs are graduates of culinary schools who know how to combine tastes and textures to achieve an overall eating experience. I am a cook. In any case, my recipes are simple things that require modest kitchen skills and prep time.

I shifted from eating a normal, “healthy” diet in May 2010 to a squeaky clean eating program called the Whole30 that I learned from Dallas and Melissa Hartwig through their Whole9 website.

The Whole30 approach is to eat real food – meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and fats from healthy sources like coconut, olives, nuts, seeds, and avocado – but no processed foods, no dairy, no grains, no beans, no white potatoes, no sugar, and no alcohol. The idea of the approach is to choose nutrient dense foods with lots of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals over foods that have more calories but less nutrition. And to avoid foods that spike insulin levels, provoke inflammation, and do other bad things to your body.

I adopted the diet because the owners of CrossFit North Fulton had tried it and recommended it to me. The Whole30 demands strict compliance for 30 days, no half measures, no cheating. I started on 14 May 2010. I felt awful over the next 15 days with an upset stomach and over-all achiness. Then I started to feel good, real good. I began to sleep though the night like I had not in years. My performance in the gym increased sharply. I began to set new Personal Records with Back Squats and Dead Lifts almost every week.

I eat more now than ever before, but dropped from weighing 213 pounds in May 2010 to 188 pounds in February 2011. I am still puffy around my gut and think I can lose another 10 pounds, but broke down and bought myself new jeans and dress pants because I couldn’t keep my old ones tight enough with a belt.

My old diet was not a bad one. I frequently ordered vegetable plates in restaurants and rarely ate at McDonalds. I ate a lot of Healthy Choice soups, oatmeal, and Fiber One cereal with soy milk. I got most of my vegetables from the frozen food section of the grocery store and ate a lot of frozen salmon too.

I have worked out regularly for years. I completed a Marathon race (26.2 miles) every month starting in November 1993 and continuing through December 1994. I lifted weights with a personal trainer for several years. I began working out three times per week in a CrossFit gym in 2008. I mention my history to make the point that I am no stranger to high levels of fitness. My biggest results, however, have come from eating good food exclusively.

I have been on cholesterol management drugs for more than 10 years. The doctor called the results of my annual blood work this year “fantastic.” Only one thing had changed over the past year – five months of eating the Whole30 way. Here are the results of my blood work in April 2009 (before Whole30) and in October 2010 (during Whole30):
Blood Work April 2009 October 2010 Healthy Total 157 177 Less than 200 HDL (Good) 49 61 More than 60 Triglycerides 94 66 Less than 150 LDL (Bad) 89 103 Less than 100
My HDL went up 12 points and my Triglycerides went down 28 points and that is good. My total cholesterol went up 20 points and my LDL went up 14 points and that is bad. The reason that some of my numbers went in the wrong direction is probably that I doubled the volume of meat and eggs I was eating. However, my doctor was enthusiastic about the results, so I am not worrying.

I liked the results of living on the Whole30 diet so much that I have adopted it as a lifestyle. I loosened up a bit on my compliance after my first 30 days; I am eating the salad on the buffet at a Greek Restaurant where I meet a friend once per week even though it is sprinkled with feta cheese. That is normally my only variation each week from the Whole30 approach.

You can find the details of the Whole30 approach to eating at http://whole9life.com/2010/12/the-whole30-version-3-11/.

I published my first recipe in elementary school when my class created a cook book. My contribution was Beef Stroganoff. I had never eaten Beef Stroganoff, but thought it sounded cool and so copied the recipe from my mother’s cook book. Fast forward 40 years. A popular fitness blog published my own Pork and Vegetable Stir-Fry recipe in July 2010 and my Stewed Tilapia recipe in September 2010. Next the publisher of my local newspaper asked me to submit three recipes to be published as a special feature. And then my wife, after 15 years of marriage, started calling on her way home from work to ask if I had cooked yet and if she could eat with me. I began to think my approach to cooking and eating was worth sharing.

Please use the comment section of the website to share your thoughts or questions with me, or send me an email through the Contact page. And bon appétit.

Just a quick update....

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:13:05 -0500

I’ve not posted much this month. Mainly because a couple of the key machines I work out on are “Offline” with the Fitlinxx system. We have to log them on a sheet at the desk and wait for the Y staff to enter them by hand. So, when I workout, the screenshots only show about 110,000 lbs of the 140,000-150,000 lbs I actually did.

As of yesterday, I’m at about 1.5 Million lbs for the month. My goal is 3.25 million (I’m hoping to have another 750,000 lb gain like I did in October). As you can see, I’m just shy of the halfway point. This means I really need to pick up the pace, and probably do 6 sessions a week, instead of my usual 5.

On the Cardio side, I’ve been able to get in more lap swimming on the weekends. I’m typically doing 500 to 750 yards a day. I really want to push it to be able to do 1,000 yards, easily each workout. Right now, my shortfall is on lung capacity and my O2 levels dropping. Due to injuries to my neck/shoulder in a wreck a few years ago, I just can’t turn my head to breath like most people.

A friend recommended a “Swimmer’s Snorkel ” by Finis. I picked one up last fall and I can’t recommend it enough. However, anyone that’s ever used a snorkel will tell you, it’s a little harder to breath through. Trainers use these for swimmers to let them focus on their stroke technique without worrying about breathing.

Photo

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:44:26 -0400

Another great source of protein for after your workout… The “EAS...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:33:00 -0400

Another great source of protein for after your workout… The “EAS Advant Edge Carb Control” protein shake. Its 17g of protein, only 1 net carb, and 110 calories. They taste great (strawberry is my favorite), and you can get a 4 pack for $5 at Wal-Mart.

My fiance (who happens to be a nurse) first recommended these to help stablize my mother’s blood sugar. Mom has “Brittle Diabetes” and her blood sugar would drop over night. Several times we had to call the paramedics to revive her. Since we started making her drink one of these before bed, her blood sugar level remains stable overnight.

This is probably the best protein bar I’ve ever tried. ...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:24:24 -0400

This is probably the best protein bar I’ve ever tried. It’s called the “3:1 ice cream sandwich bar” - and, while it does not need refrigeration, it tastes just like an ice cream sandwich! The 3:1 means 30g of protein isolates to 10g net impact carbs. It’s 300 calories a bar, but great for post workout.

Even with a sore shoulder, I managed to hit 2.5 million lbs!

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:45:04 -0400

Even with a sore shoulder, I managed to hit 2.5 million lbs!

Well, my goal for the month was only 2 million lbs. At this...

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:41:32 -0400

Well, my goal for the month was only 2 million lbs. At this rate, if I don’t get to hike this weekend, I’ll hit 2.5 million lbs lifted for the month! That’s a 750,000 lb increase over last month!!

15 Fired-Up Foods that Burn Away Pounds - from Men's Health

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:11:51 -0400

A great read over on Men’s Health… It dispels some myths about what’s healthy eating. People think you have to STARVE yourself to lose weight. Eat the right foods, and you can actually FEAST and lose weight. Especially if you include some exercise in your routine.

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/abs_diet_foods/printer.php

@DaveZinczenko: 10 WORST ‘HEALTHY’ FOODS IN AMERICA: Eat This, Not That! exposes the...

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:43:01 -0400

@DaveZinczenko:

10 WORST ‘HEALTHY’ FOODS IN AMERICA: Eat This, Not That! exposes the biggest imposters: http://su.pr/7lMX10

— shared via UberSocial http://ubersocial.com

2 million lbs for October… That was my goal. I did 1.75...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:01:17 -0400

2 million lbs for October… That was my goal. I did 1.75 million last month. Looks like I should shoot for 2.5 million next month instead of the 2.25 I planned on.

I needed 152,500 lbs to hit the 2 million lbs mark this...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:58:42 -0400

I needed 152,500 lbs to hit the 2 million lbs mark this month…. This is what I did tonight! I’m shaking and feel really weak… But I did it!

@DaveZinczenko: 8 SCARY FOOD MYTHS: Fat won’t make you fat. Neither will snacking. The real...

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:50:06 -0400

@DaveZinczenko:

8 SCARY FOOD MYTHS: Fat won’t make you fat. Neither will snacking. The real truth about your food: http://su.pr/4Wabt9

— shared via UberSocial http://ubersocial.com

Hiking at Little Mullberry Park

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:35:28 -0400

Hiking at Little Mullberry Park:

This is an album of pictures I’ve taken during my hikes at Little Mullberry Park in Dacula, GA. It’s hard to believe this is just a few miles from the Mall of Georgia. There are paved trails for walking/bikes/roller-blades, and off road trails for hiking/horseback.

The album has a map showing the location for those of you in the area that would like to check it out. Who knows, maybe we’ll run into each other on the trails. You’ll know me by my eagle headed hiking staff (Know as “Sam”).

https://picasaweb.google.com/wolfmanrobby/LittleMullberryPark?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Hiking 10/15/2011

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:27:00 -0400

Hiking 10/15/2011:

I had mentioned about our hike last weekend, but forgot to add any pictures.

Here’s the link to my Picasa Album for the hike. I’ll be adding more pic’s to it as I get them from the other hikers in the group.

https://picasaweb.google.com/wolfmanrobby/SpringerMtnBetonMacKayeTrail10152011?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Really close to my goal of 2 million lbs lifted this month. If I...

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:16:21 -0400

Really close to my goal of 2 million lbs lifted this month. If I wasn’t going to miss out on working out next weekend (I’m supposed to go hiking, weather permitting), I’d up the goal to 2.25 million lbs.

Looks like I’m well on my way to hitting my goal of 2...

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:52:34 -0400

Looks like I’m well on my way to hitting my goal of 2 million lbs for weight training this month.

Cardio

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:28:00 -0400

From my first post, you might think all I do is weight training. That’s not the case. While weight training is the core of my fitness program, I also make sure to get in my cardio workouts.

Usually, this is either spending time on the elliptical machine, swimming laps in the pool at the Y, or hiking trails on the weekends.

Just last Saturday, I went with our Hiking Group from the Y on a day long hike over Springer Mtn, Around a loop of the Benton MacKaye trail, and then back over Springer Mtn. to where we parked (Nimblewill Gap). We have another hike planned for the 29th that should be just as long, if not longer.

One of my favorite “Workout” hikes is a little park near Dacula, Ga called “Little Mullberry Park.”

View Little Mulberry in a larger map

Click the link just below the map to view the larger map. Then, in the list on the left hand side of the page, click on “Little Mullberry End” to get a popup window with a summary of the hike (Distance, speed, elevation changes…).