The pay off: when things start to go right!

So much time seems to be spent on the things you must give up in order to be fit. I would like to share the other side of the coin.

I started to feel better from the first week. When I was into my second or third week I noticed I did not crave sugar. I also noticed I wanted to move more. Small changes were starting to happen, very slow but steps in the correct direction. Just from my story I really got a lot out of every time I dropped into a new weight range. Wow not over 300lbs I’m 298..I would take that as a victory! One of the first thrills was to sit in a booth and have room to move. I remember still not being tired after 2pm in the afternoon and thinking that’s odd.

I started my journey right after Halloween on purpose, I wanted to see if I could survive the holidays plus the winter. Very tough to do, but so what I wanted to change. Very important little thought that by the way I WANTED TO CHANGE!! Taking a tip from those books my wife had when she was expecting our first child, great books that would explain what to expect in the first month and fourth etc..

So what can you expect in your first months?

A slow but steady increase in your energy.

Your tight clothes getting slack.

You can expect compliments and questions from people, “what’s your secret ?” I  love that one a lot.

People will admire your success and you might even make some new friends along the way because of changing your old lazy ways.

If you are doing everything right with in 12 weeks you can be down a good 10% of your weight and added muscle. Now lean muscle weighs more but you will be much leaner.

You will sleep better at night and feel good when you wake in the morning.

Your focus at everyday things will be much stronger.

Best of all it continues to get better each of the things I mentioned.

As time went on I looked for more food choices and I never feel like I’m doing with out.

I use to think of 30 as being old, then 40 well that must be old. Nope and now I’m 50 and I fell stronger then when I was 20.

The difference is I no longer diet, I live paleo everyday to my best and it is paying off.

I no longer desire any candy or deserts, I m mean zero temptation at all. I find it hard to imagine all the junk I use to put into my body. I am amazed I was able to pull myself out of the nose dive that was my health. If I can , then so can you! I’m speaking to whoever out there has had enough of diets and feeling ill. I have not been sick for several years now, I ‘m off all medication and even my depression which I suffered most of my life seems like a memory now.

Why wait any longer? make today day one and go for a walk, start getting rid of those meals from boxes and frozen pizza rolls, pasta, bread and sugars. Eat lots  vegetables and meat along with fruits and nuts. 

Move your body everyday. Park your car at the back of the parking lot, take the stairs, go around your block four or five times after dinner. The payoff starts right away even if you are the last to noticed it.

As always please leave comments or questions.

Peace and love all!

Here’s a basement gypsy tune for you.

The good the bad and the ugly (the voices in my head)

 

 

I have set myself up for failure many times. It took my wife to teach me a simple but very powerful lesson of “start as you mean to continue!!”. This was a game changer for me.

I have written in earlier posts about this idea and it needs to be repeated often,well at least for me.

No sooner then you come up with a gran plan for yourself your same mind that dreamed of this adventure starts to plot against you. Your too old, young, ugly ,poor, weak , you never did it before, you’re a quitter  etc.…Not really sure why I have had a fear of success ,or why my inner self felt safer in the background. To very honest I still feel that way very often, the difference is how I act.

I believe in choice of my own feeling above everything else. If you can master your feelings, take control of your vessel through the mire of the dark sea that life can feel like, then you win the game. If I feel like giving up then I must except I alone am to blame for this. Never because of the circumstance. In my quest to no longer be a fat man, and by all means this is JRR Tolkien like journey for me every day, I keep having to reach deep and get through whatever the challenge is.

I’m a quiet person overall again by choice,but I will not be wronged. I bend for other peoples opinion without voicing my own often because I have nothing more to offer other then an argument which I always feel is a waste of time. I think in time the truth always comes to the surface.

So back to my topic of these voices I have and I deal with them. My father taught me that prejudice does not hold up to the light of the day when exposed. I use that when I challenge my own thoughts. Simply I address the voices of descent.

Is it true what I think?

Will this event actually happen?

How do I know it will fail?

Have I done everything in my power to succeed?

I challenge any ugly thoughts I get, I question where did this stem from? Sometimes I’ve picked up someone else’s fear and made it my own fear.

The bad thoughts come in when I not only want to quit but I want to just surrender and give up ever trying.

It took me about three years to get it into my head that I must eat right and I must workout on a regular basis. This is elementary logic but I could not fully grasp. Always ,always something would creep into my head telling me to give up.

James Allen wrote that we are a sum total of our thoughts, so if your in jail or president of the school board or waiting on tables your thoughts delivered you there. I love this thought, this brings me to the good thoughts.

Change your way of thinking and you will change your life….real simple. If you make a fist or hold out your hand to welcome its up to you. No one else should have control over your thoughts .

I decided I like being in charge of my own thoughts, first thing I did was to question every thing I heard on the news, then politics and religion . I wanted to know my own thoughts not someone else with an agenda. I slowly started to feel a weight come off of my shoulders (and off the scale). I will always question everything I hear and then find out for my self. I know of hardly anything that is just black and white.  I post little quotes that inspire me and reread them, not unlike how some people reread the bible for comfort and wisdom. I remind myself why I want this goal, why I am on this adventure.

I will continue to ramble on writing these thoughts and I hope to inspire anyone looking  to improve themselves. I not sure if I can or will help anyone I do know it helps me keep my eye on the prize!.

As always please drop me not if you have any questions.

Peace and Love all!

Eat Real Food!

The most important lessons in life are very simple. Our planet has sets of rules that humans learned over their lifespans and shared with their children …along the way we have lost some of the most basic rules.

If you want to feel good, I’m mean like a little kid on Xmas morning good,then challenge your eating habits and take a 30 day challenge and only eat real food.

Meat

Eggs

Fish

Vegetables

Fruit

Nuts

Avoid the following :

Sugar

Bread

Pasta

All Processed food

Your body will be so happy and you will feel like a child. This is a very simple fix that has changed my life forever,

I will never again eat any fast food!!

 

My diet for most of the week goes something like this.

I wake up around 5:30am

Cup of coffee, grab a piece of fruit and head off to work.

Lunch: smoke sardines in oil and some hot sauce.

Dinner: Salad with avocados, some type of meat diced up for the salad. Sweet potato maybe twice a week. Greek yogurt for desert. Glass of red wine.

On the weekends I vary my schedule because of family events or going on road trips for dog rescue (yeah dogs!!) So I might opt for a homemade glass of juice for my breakfast.

Pick up a cook book, used healthy cooking oils, like coconut or virgin oil. The internet is filled with endless tips to get you on track. I have found I love cooking and try new foods all the time.

There is not much else to say about something so easy, eat real food and your body will reward you,eat junk food and your body will revolt against you. No basement gypsy tunes today I rather show you pics of myself before I followed these simple rules, I also don’t have any sense of humor on this because there is nothing funny about how we have been not just misled but flat out lied too about health.

Peace and Love all!

My personal work out

Hello all, to be healthy you need to eat real food ( future post) and you need to move.

Follow these two rules and you will be far ahead of the average American.  My story may be similar to yours regarding exorcise in any form. I was not very good at it.

Some basic things up front, some folks win the gene pool, they are lean and fit,muscular and get to eat whatever they feel like and they look great in every single picture. Then there’s everyone else or so I was lead to believe .

There is another group who should be mentioned. These are the people who make a lot of correct choices along the way so when they are out at social events or holidays they can afford to indulge a tiny bit. I have a friend on  Facebook  who always  look great, yet always seems to be eating sweets and cookies etc.. I accused her of witchcraft (the only thing I could come up with) she let me know she spends several hours a week with her pal Jillian Michaels!

See that’s the key to a lot of fit people they make that choice to counter whatever so called bad food choices with hard work. I have to admire them and it does work the proof is in the pudding ( yes that was pun). So if you’re the type that can hit the gym or workout along with a video coach good for you. I could not.

My wife told me to start as you plan to go on! So if you plan on going to the gym for three hours each day ,well I knew I would not. I had to find something for my lazy self. several things fell into place all at once for me.

The railroad tracks near my home wore removed and Grant’s trail came in its place. As of this writing 8 miles of smooth paved trail that twists along some sections of woods along side Gravois creek ( U.S. Grant use to ride his horse up this creek to visit his girlfriend Julie Dent) . So I started walking on this trail, its filled with bike riders, joggers and families. I would measure out a half mile seemed like a good turn around point so I could say hey I just walked a mile. No pain in my knees, I would listen to music and after awhile I would push my distance up to two or three miles.

I also rediscovered bike riding. I love to ride the trail and have done the full 16 miles several times when I have a quiet day  to myself. I also started walking a mile every day at lunchtime around my work. Very rare that I don’t get my lunch time walk in.

Now anything under a five mile walk does not faze me at all, same with anything under a 10 mile ride is not a big thing to me. I found out thought that’s enough if I eat real food in moderation.

My new discovery is the KettleBell. Russian have been using these weights for years as   a  way of getting stronger. I use a 35lb kettlebell and I find a very tough workout. Send me a note if you have any questions regarding all the moves I do etc..

 

I also walk whenever I can, I walk down the hall instead of sending someone an instant message, I always take the stairs and I toss in some push ups when ever I can.

All these slow baby steps add up very quickly I have found. So pick your workout, it can be simple walking through the mall, bike riding, swimming, dancing,hiking through the woods, yard work, playing with your kids or your pets. The main thing is to get off your ass as often as you can . The more you move the more you will want to .

 

Peace and Love all!

 

Todays basement gypsy video has a some pictures of Grant’s trail my home away from home!

Passion, no really it matters

Hello all, I want to start off with a quote.

“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

 

Long before I met my wife, my mother asked me what type of woman I wanted to marry, I said she must have passion, I may have also mentioned Sophia Loren I’m not sure,but we have been married for over 20 years and I have never been bored. I chose my partner based on her passion for life.

I love witty people and talented people and crazy people who live the way they believe in spite of their families and peers.  I like to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people now, I used to hate that. No idea why I just did not feel like facing my fear that I had trouble even defining.

Find your passion and act on it! Go for your dream girl, job, car etc… time is flying by very fast!! I will not waste another day holding back on my feelings. I tell my friends I love them and they make a difference in my life. My co- workers daughter recently sent an announcement to her high school graduation. Her mother said she only has so many cards to mail out but insisted on sending one to me. A very simple gesture that made a big impact on me. So I told her mother how I felt right away and let her daughter know how chuffed I was. It matters to share your feelings with the people you know.

I use my passion to push myself to learn guitar and mandolin, to work out and eat healthy.

I use it also to try and understand the choices I make.

I question my moods, how did I get so happy only to be let down. What had changed???  I have learned the only thing that changed was me letting it happen.

I choose to be optimistic, I know when I meet a downbeat person it’s a real drag, who needs another bitter person to let you know how bad the world is?

I’m very lucky in when I need inspiration I always seem to find it, could be a song or an old novel. The main point is I go seeking wisdom instead of sulky and blaming the world.

Its your life, you must be the captain of your ship! Get moving towards your goal.

If your goal demands time, 4 years of school..no matter what else you do 4 years will pass and you could be living your dream or you could be 4 years older and no closer to being happy.

I know for myself music can alter my mood, I can loose myself and transform my thoughts with a few choice songs.  Perhaps its not music for you no matter , discover what makes you tick and use it to keep you on your path.

Try this, make a list of people you admire, it can be anyone.  Right out ten people, what is so special about this group that is so unique you?

 

As an example.

1.John Lennon,  poet, wit , activist, (fucking Beatle for goodness sake)

2. My friend Jeff, flat out one the nicest folks to walk the Earth.

3. Myrna Loy,  Sexy and confident, when she would walk into a room everyone knew it.  She was so lovely Jimmy Stewart once said “there’s something wrong with a fellow who does not want to marry her!”

4. Vincent Van Gogh, artist with amazing passion.

Just a brief list of people who turned my head and made me wonder why are they getting so much out of life. The bottom line is their driving passion. It does not have to be Vincent taking himself to extremes, it can be the quiet way my pal loves fishing by himself.

We have as far as I know one life, I want mind to be filled with all kinds of adventure and few regrets. When my wife asks if I want to dance,I take her hand and say you bet, even if we are the only couple out there. I do not want to miss one chance to express myself.

So make your list , and see what you can take from these people of passion and spice up your days.

Peace and love all.

Todays basement gypsies tune is from the film “Into the wild” true story of a young man who stepped outside of the safe world of his parents and entered into the wild.

Picture this…

Hello all, the most important weapon in my personal armory is the ability to picture just about anything (good or bad).

It does not matter if we are speaking about weight loss, quit smoking, drinking, getting a new job the list goes on and on. I decide this is what I want, from this point on several things start to fall into place. I get excited with the challenge, I gather facts and read articles on line, I seek out people who have reached this goal and ask them questions.

I then picture I have reached my goal and then what??? So it’s a new car you want. I sit and picture all of it, trading in your old rust bucket, calling your insurance agent, shopping online, walking about the car lots, the over eager salesmen. The new car smell and checking out the new dashboard, what side is the gas tank? I mean I will go into deep detail until the bloom is off the rose and I get down to the nitty gritty and its just a car. I have new higher payment, I’m worried if I get a scratch in the parking lot. Did I buy a new car for me or did I do this to impress someone ??

This little trick of being able to visualize the outcome has helped a lot.

So how do you do it? Well for some people its easy and they just do it(bastards)  For me I had to practice . I noticed some writers could really pull me into their novels, I could smell the rain or the fresh cut grass. So as a wanna be writer I tried to describe in great detail a room I know well. As an example I picture my office at work, not just a desk and a computer and phone. I thought about the shadows from the plants that cross my desk in the late afternoon. The sound of the women who sit just outside my door when they make phone calls. Where my coffee mug sits in conjunction with my pen and calculator. With practice I could feel like I was sitting at my desk even though I was out riding my bike. So I would then do it in reverse, sit at my desk and picture everything I do to prep for a long bike ride, the smell of my garage and lifting my bike down from a hook on the wooden rafters.  My mind grew stronger at drawing these mental pictures and soon I made a vision of how I wanted to look within reason of a short fat bald fifty year old man. Picture all I want I’m still a short 50 year old man, but I don’t act like one. I act the way I feel , very strong and full of energy.

So what do you want? If its an item a big tv or a new house, work hard save your money, take out a loan, call your rich uncle, or rob a bank. Its just money and with money you can get a lot of things,but not much else.

If you want to change your life then start right now with the image of who you want to be, that is the first step in the dance of life. You must be able to picture yourself at the finish line and how you will proceed from there. So in short start acting right now like the person you want to be.

What are you waiting on?

In all of my posts I will tend to ramble on and go off target, hang in there I always get around to the point in due time.

Peace and love all!

As always send me questions or comment love to hear from you.

Here’s a little video from the basement gypsies enjoy!

My Juice Fast (Very fast)

 

I broke all of my established paleo rules and decided to try a 30 day juice fast. In short I chose to give up all the lessons that brought me weight loss,excess energy and general well being. So I chose the Blood moon and dove right in. I started my day at 5:30 and skipped my morning coffee, the fog soon set in to my already questionable mind. I drove my daughter to school headed off to work somehow without my beloved travel mug. I was naked and afraid or at least I was craving some Columbian deep roast . I drank a store bought protein juice because I was too weak to entertain the idea of hauling out the juicer that weighs more then me and sounds like a plane crash.

So by 9am my headache starts first one in a very long time, I know this has to do with my withdrawal from the magical mystical coffee beans, so I push on. Now its lunch time and I go for my daily mile walk near my office. My head is no longer hurting its more like a steady throb of blood beating the life out of me. I stumble through my day no idea of who I was rude too and make my way home.  I enter my castle and think aloud I feel like shit how this be good for me, I do not need to go 30 days to prove how wrong I was, I knew that at 6am this morning.

So I had a nice salad with avocado and some slices of roast beef on the side. I drank a nice cup of black coffee and BOOM the fog lifted and I was able to enjoy a nice two mile walk after dinner.

My little lesson is when you found the plan that works for you ; STICK WITH IT!!! there is nothing wrong with trying new things and I always say challenge everything and see for yourself. So for me a little home made juice sounds pretty good here and there but over all I think I will stick with my veggies and fruit as a solid.

I am looking for people who need a personal life coach, I do not have all the answers (please see above) but I have learned  how to change my way of thinking and reach my goals in weight loss, my  work life and most  of all my personal life and how I feel about each day and everyone I meet.

I try to keep my posts funny and perhaps teach a little along the way. Please feel free to write me with any questions.

Its good to be back on track writing again and drinking coffee!

 

Peace and Love all!