Resolution’s in the air

Hello all time for some blather from your humble narrator.

If you want to achieve anything in the next year then you better start with a plan. First things first what is it you want to do this year? Make your list out and once you have it the fun begins.

Last year my goal was to loose a lot of weight and I was able to reach my goal because of the plans I had made prior to starting.

I have become very good at projecting in my mind the end game of my goals. If your goal is weight loss like mine,then imagine your life after you have reached your goal. I thought of all the people I run into everyday and what they might say to me, I thought about the clothes I could wear or what I would have to go buy because nothing would fit. I thought of what my doctor would say after telling me it’s very hard to keep weight off. I thought of how my family would be proud of me and most of all how I could be proud of myself.

I also took the time to think of failure and how I would respond to it,everyone on a diet will hit a plateau or stumble. I thought about Thanksgiving meals and parties and BBQ’s…I researched these problems before they came up so I would be ready.

I’m happy to say that I only had one surprise I was not prepared for, and in weight loss its pretty important. Once I switched to healthy food choices and removed sugar and grains from my life about a week or so into it I started to feel great! I was still very fat, but I felt really good. Every project that I tried just got easier with each week. If your too tired to even think about going for a walk imagine your surprise when the day comes its one of the highlights of your week.

It does not matter what your goal is, quit smoking, go to Europe, tour the baseball stadiums for the national league,learn an instrument, write that great novel. Start your plan. “If you fail to plan,plan to fail”. No shit its that simple. Get on the internet and start your research.

1. Google several different sites and forums. Challenge their advice and question everything.

2.Tell people, say it out loud.

3.Tell no one and see if they stop and tell you.

4.Document your journey, you will fail and go down some wrong turns,so what, its about what you want to do. Just get back on the path.

5. Take your victories as they come, maybe you got your passport which makes that trip just a little closer,you managed to save a bit extra one month for that new car. Enjoy the wins!

6. The only way you can not reach your goal is if you give up and that is your choice.

7. Check out the people that reached your goal,how did they do it? Learn from them and put it to  use for you.

8. This is not a race, it’s a marathon a test of endurance in a run up a long steep hill.

I’m very vocal on what I like to achieve,perhaps it’s a small thing to have people poke at me and say “How’s that --------- coming along?” You need to know what will drive you to reach your goal.

One important thing in weight loss I projected early on before I started, reaching my goal weight would not solve all of life’s problems. It would make me fitter and look better but I still have to work and pay taxes ,be a Dad and a husband etc..There is no free ride on a good life,its about work and planning,loving and under standing ourselves and each other.

So here’s my list for the new year and I will post my success and failures as they come.

1. I want to firm up my body now as I have a lot of flabby skin after losing 100lbs plus.

2. I want to write a novel in 2013 and try and publish it. Why not? I know tons of reasons to not even try,but I don’t want to look back at my and not even had tried..

3. Rhythm guitar playing, if you know me at all my passion is guitar and  yet I have dreadful rhythm, I am the guy they are speaking about when they say things like “dances like a white boy”. I have all but given up on singing (your welcome) but I know with some effort I can improve on my timing.

Look out for the energy Vampires this time of year who say things such as “ My resolution is not to have any” or “ What’s the point” Wow what a joy their life must be. Ignore them and move on to your true North! Set those goals and feel good about yourself along the way. You will be happier,and feel a sense of pride at the end of the day when you have made progress on your goals.

I chose last year to think before I speak (as often as I can) , to keep my politics to myself(very hard this year) and I no longer try to change everyone’s way of thinking . I was told by my daughter “please no lectures!!” so I will hold my thoughts for this page unless someone asks me.

 

The rest of my goals are private to myself and my family and I will be 50 in 2013 and this excites me to know end. Bring it on Life, I have planned and now I am ready.

 

Peace and Love all! Oh and Happy New Year!!

Take a second attempt

Hello readers,

I drive my kids nuts when I use my favorite expression “everything is the same”.but it’s the approach  that is the same I am really speaking about.

Its funny to me now my Dad use to always use soccer in any teaching he did with me(sometimes he would sub the Battle of Bannockburn or the Alamo) and I would get pissed off and think Robert the Bruce had fuck all to do with my bad grades! He was correct though and I was just a kid who had bad grades. I have never been in battle against the heavy horses of proud Edward’s army let alone angry Mexicans surrounding and old mission, but I have had to go against the odds…and won(unlike the poor men of the Alamo).

If you have an obstacle to tackle and here you sub in anything you like smoking,weight loss,rival soccer team(thanks Dad),bullies, bosses,homework,meetings…no matter they are all the same. You need to have your plan. I use the same approach to everything with my weary time tested plan of action. It still works for me every time as long as I remember the most important part of my plan is before I quit,surrender,lose,..you get the idea “all the same” I stop check all of my data I can get my hands on and then I take a second attempt or a second shot at the goals (Dad’s voice is always with me).

My latest example( and yet another chance to share my Facebook music page)is the song Scarborough Fair. If you have seen the film The Graduate, then you know the song very well. As  a kid I loved this song and as a guitar player it just frustrated me. I had nothing to go on for the longest time and then I saw Paul Simon on TV playing it and I made a note (pun) of what he was doing. I t was just a clue but I wrote it down. This allowed me to ignore any sheet music that did not have it written from what I saw Mr. Simon playing, my plan of action had begun.

 

I will spare you all the details of capos and key changes the main thing is the fingerpicking  pattern, master that and the song is yours.Well I saw that clip on TV when I was 16 or so and it has bothered me every since. Now we have guitar tabs, instruction videos everywhere and its really up to how bad you want to learn a song. Well I tried with all the proper sheet music,tabs,and video and my finger picking style is very weak.

Add to the mix for a perfect storm I severed the tendons on my index finger of my right (picking)hand. So I chose (always about choice!) to try one more time. This time I caught a mistake I had made years ago, I mean right when I had had enough a breakthrough.

 

This I find happens a lot to me, I still get frustrated on projects, but I can’t remember the last time I gave up. I look at the wall that is stopping me now as a challenge,any problem that comes up and I feel like stopping, I now think I’m just that much closer to getting the job done.

So in short before you throw in the towel on whatever it is you want or need to do, give it another shot. My finger is a mess,but I do have a thumb and three other fingers it was very tough for me and the crippled finger tends to burn every now and then, but I figured it out.

I dedicate this post to my Dad,unknown to me at the time but he gave me my favorite philosophy..you see it just like soccer!

Peace and Love

Shona Skye Creations: Support - Pumpkin Pie Style

 Hello all,

Making the right choice makes all the difference in weight loss. I am always looking for a way to get to eat my favorite foods without breaking my Primal rules. So I spoke to my wife about it and she backed me on pleanty of stuff and does her best to work with me. At the holidays I planned on missing out on her famous pumpkin pie, I did last year and I was not a happy boy. So please check out her post below about how she found a way for me to get my pie and eat it too! Very nice treat once in awhile!!!


Shona Skye Creations: Support - Pumpkin Pie Style: Hi, y'all!! I'm so glad you are here! This is the post I shared on Sugar Bee Crafts last week, but I wanted to share it here, too, in case y...

Muscle up

Hello all. hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! My wife made a great meal and we had lots of family and friends over. Perfect storm for an excellent day. I even enjoyed some of her  Pumpkin pie over the weekend Not part of my primal diet but I shoot for 80% or more towards staying on my plan. When I have something like a slice of pie or over due it with drink, then I go a little harder for the next few days.

 

So last year I started my plan and a lot of people asked how long until I revert back to my old ways. It’s a fair point to bring up, lots of people lose weight for a few months. The trick is the long game. I  remind myself of how bad I felt and how disgusting I looked. I remember the shame of not being able to wear any clothes in my closet. It took me a long time to learn about food and as for as working out I went for very simple this year,walking and bike riding. So now I’m very close to my goal of being under 200lbs, I have been as low as 205 and as high as 215 the past few months. It does not seem to matter what I do. So time to change it up and shock my body.

Lifting weights is a very good way to burn fat and tone your body. I have to admit I have been lazy about this over all this year so now I’m pushing myself. I think its very good to change up your work out plans on a regular basis. You will be less likely to become bored and it keeps your body working different sets of muscles.

When you hear about muscle builders being ripped, they actually mean they are “ripping” and expending their muscles. You need to have some time in between to let your body heal. I would recommend something easy you can follow three days a week. Again don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to over do it. You don’t need to join a gym, get some dumbbells and a sturdy chair and your on your way.

I’m not an expert and would not feel right telling people the correct forms for weight lifting,you can find all you need online. I will be checking in from time to time to see how my weight lifting is coming along for me and I will be happy to share my thoughts and tips I can offer.

 

Thanks for stopping by, peace and love all!

Time to Give Thanks

Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday; I love the autumn and the crisp morning air and I feel the change is everywhere at this time of year. People tend to huddle more around the table at my house and great conversations rise up over many topics. Favorite films are watched again and a good book to read with a glass of wine nearby makes for a wonderful night. It is also the holiday that I decided to take responsibility for my health.

I chose Thanksgiving for many reasons but above all people over eat more and move less. Now a year later and I am about 25lbs or so from my goal weight. It took about as much as effort as just saying No every time I wanted  to eat something bad and Yes every time I had the chance to move.   It really is just that simple,make up your mind that enough is enough.

Just some of  small things that happened throughout the year I really enjoyed.

Helping find a home for a couple of Pit bulls was a real blast I was glad to help out with.

Going to the Rene fair  where my daughter worked and hanging out drinking rum with Celtic music playing.

I went to my first Gay Pride day in the park and met a lot of very cool people there.

My wife got a group of family and friends together and did a home makeover for my Mothers kitchen.

Got in a lot of bike riding and hiking in through out the year.

Wearing my Kilt at the Highland games was great day of Scottish Pride.

Spending a couple days swimming with “Lucy & Ethel” during the heat blast we all went through.

Friends showing up with a bottle of wine and hanging out on our deck.

Seeing some great local bands and talking shop.

 

These are small things over all but they were all good times I had because of the people I got to spend time with. I count my blessings and treasure my children and wife and family and friends alike.

As it gets colder and those comfort foods surround you, keep in mind the summer is not that far off and all the things you missed out on because you were not in good enough shape will soon be here again. Make some smart choices this week,eat a little less and move a little more. Please don’t wait for the New Year to make a move, when giving thanks this year don’t forget to reward yourself and take better care of your health !

Peace and Love All!

That’s the way

Now that its getting colder and the clocks have changed. when I leave for work its dark and when I head home same thing. So I need to adapt my plans. I will be missing out on much needed sunshine so I make sure I get outside at my lunch break and just take a few laps around our office. On weekends or any days off I go for a much longer walk.

This is the time also when people tend to shut down and eat comfort foods and lots of deserts from all the holidays and never venture outside unless they have to. Bundle up folks and go for a walk, layer your clothes and make sure to wear a hat and gloves. My local foot path which is crowed all year will now have long sections all to myself. Great chance to see wild life and knock off some pounds.

I use the winter months as well to break out my weights to help make up for my lack of bike riding. I don’t get all crazy with this, just basic strength training,some curls,planks and push ups and the dreaded pull ups. I can’t say enough about adding any moving to your day, just adding some steps here and there will add up quick.

When I workout which is always a very casual sorta thing, I like to shake up my routines, If I’m bike riding I might break out into going 100% for 5 minutes or leave the trail and go over some rough ground. Same goes for walking, at one park I go to they have challenge stops along the way where you can work out your arms. chest stomach and not just your legs.

Enjoy the Fall colors and get out and take on the Winter chill.

 

Peace and Love all.

Just a walk in the woods

One of the best things about living in Missouri  from my location in St. Louis is I have so many beautiful parks to hike through. My friend Jay is a photographer and he will take the time to look up the local parks for trails and give me a call and off we go. Jay gets some great photos and we both get are work out.

I think by far the best trail around my neck of the woods (sorry I went for that) is the Chubb trail, 7 miles of deep woods and great views of the Meramec river. I have in the past year or so hiked at least a dozen trails through these state parks. I have seen bald eagles,deer ,wild turkeys and tons of beautiful trees.

I started out looking to lose weight, I did not expect to find such inner calm along the way. When I first started I would take my mp3 player with me,but I was missing out on so much. The main thing was to be able to let your mind flow and not have to hear from anyone but yourself.

Some basic things would be comfortable shoes and suitable clothes depending on the weather. Bug spray in the summer and water can be vital. I carved some walking sticks for my daughter and myself that come in handy as well. We have walked when its 13 below and found quick where I needed to cover up in the cold. In the fall like now the leaves are everywhere and you have to really watch your step.

At Castlewood park which joins up with the Chubb trail they have some very steep hills that give you a great view as well as a tough workout. You can pick and choose your paths from just a mile to an all day hike. All of these trails tend to blend in which is fine with me because I enjoy just being out in the woods.

I spend my week sitting in my office with a nice view of a hill,on the weekends I make sure I’m far away from the indoors as much as I can. The more you walk/hike the more you want to.

So if your looking for an easy way to get fit,feel good and get some calm in your life then turn of the TV and lace up your boots and hit the trails.

Peace and Love all!

Energy Vampires

An energy vampire is someone who walks into your day and just takes away all the joy from whatever task you have at hand. Unlike the creatures from Bram Stoker and Anne Rice these vile fiends can attack on the sunniest of days.

There power seems to come from zapping all of your joy from any given plan you have. They lurk almost anywhere some favorite haunts are office meetings,family picnics little league games,just about anywhere you go and they show up with there banners that say things like “what’s the point” or “It will never fly Wilbur”.

So we need to arm ourselves like Van Helsing and be ready for any attack that might come our way.

The best power is to just ignore their relentless sour mood,this in its self can flat out destroy these constant wet blankets of doom. I now welcome their attacks and try to disarm them anyway I can. It’s a pretty good mental work out but it does not burn many calories so you still have go for a walk. A common trait the “EV” have is to share some bit of juicy gossip, when a known “EV” appears with said gossip I like to throw them off with a questions like “is this the truth?”or “what your about to tell me is something that will help me?” If not, why would you think I would want to know this.

A pastime for life suckers of fun is to spoil the surprise ending of a film or novel, that’s always good for them.

My point here amongst my ramble is not to let them get to you, ever! You make your plans, your goals and ignore the outside voices and those negative ones in your head as well. Just this week I took control of all the negative talk on my car radio, I decided enough is enough and reset my stations. If I do not get joy from what’s on or at least information why would I listen to it.

On Facebook I know its all about everyone’s space to promote what they like (please see my video below) but I dropped several folk for their constant need to promote hate or propaganda. It ’s about choice for them and also for you though. Every action has a reaction.

I’m making the choice to fill my days with fun, up beat and open minded people, as far the dreaded energy vampires ..fuck em who needs to be bored.

Love and Peace all!

The Cube

When you choose (and that’s all up to you) to change your way of thinking so many more options appear. I am always looking for a better solution and I question any advice that comes my way before just accepting it or kicking it to the curb. Weight loss and depression have long been struggles for me but in seeking that out I found I was able to apply the same thinking to every other aspect of my life.

On the way to work today I heard this interesting story on NPR about education in the Far East compared to our Western thinking. The example they gave was a teacher was having the class draw a simple 3D cube where you draw a square then layer and another square in the middle of it and connect the lines making a cube. One child just could not seem to grasp this concept.

The teacher had the kid step up to the chalk board in front of the classroom (Oh the Horror!!) and work out the problem. The child would try and she would ask the class “is that right?” and the class would all shake their heads no. This went on for some time and if that would have been me I might have fled the room in a fit of frustration and rage. In this class though, they waited and encouraged the child and when at last he solved the problem the class cheered as he took his seat in triumph! Patience and determination was more highly thought of in this room.

In fairness the reporter said that the Easts way of teaching was not better just different. As an example in the East many of the students excelled in math and science but almost like robots and they lacked any type of imagination. So when we think out side of the box(Cube in this case) I would offer up that another part to add to our thinking is patience.

Peace and Love all!

Getting Better all the time

Keeping up the good fight can seem like an up hill fight, that’s why I do not rely on will power. You may be able to hold your breath under water 30 seconds more then me but your still going to come up from air. People who have what appears to be an iron will really have just learned to change the way they think.

I began my life change just about this time a year ago, I had my fill of Halloween candy and as a result could not stand what I allowed myself to become. Jabba the but! So I quit fighting and started to look at life in a new way. I made a code for myself that I could live with. I still seek out any new information to add to my list.

Now when it comes to your own personal code that’s up to you,but it does need to be something you will adapt to and make it a way of your life. I will share some of the things I do everyday that get me up that hill.

Lots of small things I change, such as traffic jams become time to think, chores become extra work outs. I try and remove hate from my vocabulary and my actions. I keep busy all day and look forward to my next project what ever it may be.

I find that working on my music takes me to a very good place in my head. Music is very hard for me in that I have no natural gift for it. I have to really struggle to come off sounding something like what I hear in my head. I keep trying and some days are much better then others and for me that enough. Peace and love all!

You say you want a revolution

Watching the Oscars a few years ago I heard this great line by funny man Steve Martin coming on stage after some young good looking actor “  I would give anything to look like that guy,well I would not eat right and workout”.

In the picture above I’m wearing sweatpants because nothing else fit, and I’m watching TV pretending I look pretty much like all the cool guys in films I love. I do look a bit like Marlon Brando in Apocalypse  Now! The truth though was I was kidding myself and fooling no one around me. I had become an old fat guy with next to no effort really. I just ate the wrong food at the wrong time which made me weaker,and always left tired and even more hungry.

My next trend was to try and workout while eating the same crap. Results : I ate even more crap and got fatter. I soon got fed up with trying to workout but I continued to eat even more , so as each year went by another 20lbs of lard was added to my short stocky frame.

 

The magic light went off when I found out that everything I was doing was wrong, and I needed to revolt against the system I had set for myself. I was amazed at how much better I started to feel once I had set my mine. Its sorta like having a secret power, I knew I was going to get fitter, lose weight and start enjoying life again. I set up little goals and large goals. I took all my measurements chest,hips ,waist,legs etc.. I tried on shirts and jeans and the scale whenever I felt like it.

 

The scale is in fact the least important type of measurement, I could care less what the scale is compared to how I feel and how I look. I still check my weight out of old bad habits but I do not let it control me. I have done everything right and got on the scale and seen my weight go up ten pounds. I no longer get frustrated by weight because so much more is going on. As we build lean muscle you look better and move better.

In fact for me once I started my own personal revolution I could already see the end results, no one else could but I had already changed my mine. I quit acting like a fat guy, I would dress as good as I could,sweat pants were for workouts only. I started out very small,and any thing I did was considered a victory. Again no one knew when I was having these little victories,but I knew.

I like the the idea of me against the odds,maybe it’s a Scottish thing or a macho fantasy, no matter I was living it. Every time I see someone sitting, I would think I’m walking I’m stronger then them,same would go for food. I would take my time and read up on food and make the correct choices for me.

If your not happy with yourself then its time to make a plan, start a revolution of your own and picture yourself in that outfit that defines you!

Peace and Love all!

Can you see the real me?

There is no one like you. Who else has experienced the events that shaped you. I have told my kids that we start life like a smooth ball of clay and then imagine that ball being rolled down a street. It would be perhaps dirty or jagged,maybe broken in half. How we are shaped has a lot to do with the road we roll down. The difference we have is how we chose to handle what the road sends us.

I really enjoy folks who define themselves every day by their actions over whatever path they have come from. I don’t ever want to waste any time feeling sorry for myself. No one has got it all figured out as far as I can tell. There’s and old story where you take your problems and write them down on paper,now you place them in a box and toss them into a huge bonfire along with all the people you work with everyday or live near by. Now you have to reach into the fire and take someone else’s box of problems..most of us would be trying to get our old problems back after seeing what the other guy has to do everyday to appear normal.

The people I have come to admire most are people who know themselves well and are comfortable in their own skin. I have some really cool people in my life and I have learned so much from just watching how they handle themselves with grace during a stressful time,dignity when you don’t have a dime and walking into a room like your Steve McQueen when you just stepped out of your compact car that’s 15 years old. I learned from my brother that wherever your at you make that the  best place to be. Laugh with Kings and reason with fools, its all about attitude and wearing what you dig.

 

We are complex and in constant change,don’t let yourself get trapped into a corner by what you believed to be so true 10 or 20 years ago. Go try those Green eggs and Ham!,might be good (sounds primal to me). Some folks like to have you all sorted out, it makes it easier for them. They don’t like to be  surprised with your crazy new ideas. I think we are far to important to not spend some time on ourselves to understand what makes us tick. I think you are the best person to decide what is the best path for you.

We have some built in warning signs left over from some primitive version of ourselves, the little hairs standing up on the back of our neck, blushing, cold sweats etc..Start paying attention to yourself and take note of how you act in different situations. I have found my self strutting like a peacock, making a clinched fist and getting a cold shiver (someone walking over your grave). Its very funny these things happen all the time without notice unless you go looking for them.

So todays little thought is take note of your own actions, you are not invisible and every action you take does matter and has effect on you and everyone you come across on this path your walking.

A Ghost story?

I enjoy a good ghost story be it in a book or a film. My personal favorite scary book is Ghost Story by Peter Straub and film I would go with The Legend of Hell House based on Richard Matheson’s novel.  The idea of going on a ghost haunt had always appealed to me,after all I felt like Dickens David Copperfield and was “born to see ghosts”. My wife and I use to collect books and when we found some local places, well game on.

We once took a road trip to Peoria Ill. in our own Mystery van like Scooby Doo and company. We walked through grave yards at night and visited their local scary spots (we saw a drunk who we decided was  a brain eating zombie) good times! As the years rolled on though I became more and more of a skeptic to now I just question everything and can no longer watch anyone on a ghost haunt on TV without thinking how stupid it is.

I write about this because it I found this to be the same in weight loss and health. I read so much stuff and thought somewhere out there is the truth, but the truth is there is a lot of bad information so you need to be a skeptic but at the same time do not dismiss everything. A better thing to do is to question first. We know that in general you need to move more and eat less, this will never change. Weight loss should be a very, very slow process,if someone says you can lose 20lbs in a month I would call that a red flag.

I like the idea of first getting your head around “I want a better version of myself”. Not an air brushed model who is good looking to start with,just you with some basic good habits.

Simple changes: Walk everyday for at least 30 minutes, eat lots of dark fresh greens,avoid bread and pastas as much as you can. Eat more fruit and give up sugar.

Oh and about ghosts stories, I have one that stays with me and challenges all my skeptic notions. My wife and I were turning out the lights of the house as we were heading to bed. I reached into the kitchen to switch off the light from our hallway. On the back of the stove was a small glass for holding toothpicks. I saw it lift off the stove on its own and then glide across the the stove and set its self down near one of the burners. My wife saw this as well. We just stared and I have no explanation for this. Ghosts?? No idea at all. It has never happened again as far as I know,but it did happen the way I just told it. Very strange Penny Lane.

Virescit Vulnere Virtus

As long as I could remember my Dad had this wooden plaque on the wall. It had a carving of a bird feeding its young against a Tartan background. I could see our name written in fancy scroll, the rest was some Latin that I could not understand. Virescit Vulnere Virtus. I asked my Dad and he said it meant Courage grows strong at a wound. I was 6 or 7 and it had no meaning. A few years later I was playing soccer and my Dad was our coach. He had played semi pro in Scotland and was a very fast winger we all respected. We had a practice game with an older team, a big deal when your 9. We were way out of our class and we were not only losing but we were getting laughed at and beaten. I saw a chance and went for the ball, I managed to get by one guy after another even though they kept on taking cheap shots at me. I was within a few feet of the goal line when I took another hit and loss the ball, my shins were stinging and I was red faced and then I got up and went after the ball again. I got it back, kicked it up the field and one of our guys put it in the net.

I had never felt like  that before, so strong and without fear, my Dad said to me when we got home and saw the blood soaked socks from my shins and he said “Courage grows strong at the wound”
I have been guilty of forgetting that feeling, now I try and remind myself. My wife wrote me a note filled with reminders of who I am, who she married who I said I wanted to be.
I’m not sure why we humans are  here any more then anyone else,but I have decided for me its to become a better person. My story that I continue to repeat in these posts because I need to remind myself of what I want. As a guitar player I tune my guitar first before I start to play, I play for a bit and sometimes I find my guitar has gone out of tune, I stop and retune. This is what I do in life, I stop and check to see if I’m still in tune.


Little update to this story: I went and got a tattoo of the Clan crest and altered it a bit with a Lion Rampant to celebrate turning 50 and my life, my youngest son is turning 21 and he also chose to get the clan crest and his is right of the plaque I grew up with.

When I haver, I’m gonna be the man that havers next to you!

This is my hang over head shot! This is what happens once every four or five years. Last time I drank have a bottle of single malt scotch and tried to rewrite American Pie ( I kept in G major I’m a patriot). This particular hangover is due to our Halloween party. I tried drinking expensive beer with my favorite cheap wine and later some whiskey all on a day with little food. So let me start with this would not be a good tip for my readers to follow,although I was told I had a very good time. Never feel sorry for anyone with a hang over its all about choice, although I could have dearly used a hug on Sunday morning for the love of God. Still I’m back from the grave like Christopher Lee ready to take on more.

Todays message is old Scottish toast I would like to share with you all “Who’s uglier then us??!!”

Walk this way

I have tried all sorts of ways to be fit. I tried martial arts for awhile or as others called it Mark gets beat up every Sunday morning. I tried weight lifting,jogging and joining a gym. All of these ideas are good and may work well for you. I burned out real quick on most of them. Like a lot of fat lazy people I would get hooked on seeing TV ads with beautiful people working out and think “Yep that’s the way to do it” you know NO Pain No Gain!!! well that’s bullshit too. You don’t have to knock yourself out to be fit. You just need to make some changes, OK a lot of changes.


I’m very lucky that I live within a few blocks of Grant’s trail in the South county area of St. Louis(please watch my video below of Grant’s Trail,I know another plug for my music). The trail at this time is 8 miles long and runs right pass Grant’s farm. I started riding my bike at first really pushing myself and riding every inch of it every day back and forth. 16 miles everyday, I would only feel good if I did all of it,if I missed a section of the trail I would be pissed off and consider the day a loss. The day would come where I just did not care,and then it became weeks before I would go out,and then I would just give up. I then hit on the idea of changing how I approach working out and this for me is a big deal. I decided any form of movement was better then nothing. I also found out that any steps I took during the day could be totaled up so a few steps here and there would soon really add up. I would wear pedometer and see how far I walked on any given day. I was at 3 miles with no effort, so I just started adding steps where ever I could. In no time at all I was walking 6 too 8 miles a day. The more I walked the more I wanted to walk.
I used to take my mp3 player with me,but soon I found when I was walking I really loved hearing the birds or just saying hello to folks on the trail. When you out walking alone you have wonderful down time to just think and unwind. Its so nice to let your mind wonder while you walk. As long as the weather is above 65 or so I still get my bike out for a slow 5 mile ride,but over all I prefer to walk. Humans are designed to walk and on occasion we should be able to sprint (never know when a bear is going show up on the trail,well some pretty big rabbits any way and if you have seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail well you know).

So here’s my basic workout: I try and walk as much as I can in a day. I park at the far end of the lot at work, always take the stairs and two at a time. I try and go far a walk on the trail for about 45 minutes or so after dinner. My friend Jay is a photographer and has done a really great job of finding other trails in our area and  on weekends we go for much longer hikes. (much more on these great trails in the future). The other thing I really think works well is using your own body weight for work outs. Push ups,planks and some basic curls with dumb bells. My number one work out goal is to be able to do pull ups and I am not there yet( I did build my pull up bar). I find that every day I feel a little bit stronger and I have more endurance. Its so nice to put on your tight fitting jeans just out of the dryer and they have become baggy. This is not over night,its just a little walk but I do it a lot. If I miss a day or two I no longer freak out about it,I might walk a little further the next time but its all good. You don’t get fit over night but you start to feel better each day as you continue taking the baby steps in the right direction.
Catch up with yah all later, I'm off for a walk.

Mind Games

 

 

“Nothing is written until I write it” T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) , I love this way of thinking, I wake each day with this notion in my head of bring on the day. Mondays are just fine with me,I don’t want to wait until Friday to feel good. It took me a long time to reach this level of thinking, I had 48 years of negative shit in my head I had to get over. Here’s a great tip I got from self help guru Tony Robbins. Pain and Pleasure!! The pleasure of lets say a big bowl of ice cream compared to the pain of not being able to zip up your loose cut jeans. That simple, keep a moment where you were soundly humiliated and keep that little gem handy for the next time temptation comes along. I have several I can reach into my fat ass bag of shameful memories. Too fat to go horseback riding was a particular fond memory one summer. Here’s another tip from Tony, when a plane leaves LA to fly to New York 90% of the time its going in the wrong direction, The navigator must correct the course time and time again. I know the place I want to get to but every now and then I wonder off the path. I stop and check and make sure I’m doing the right thing and continue my trip. It is an amazing thing to me that if you change your thoughts you can change your life! How simple and yet so many of us ignore this. I do little experiments every week just to see what kind of results I get. I will smile all day to see if I can make other people smile, or try and compliment as many folks as I can. Small random acts of kindness are a blast. It will help alter your mood and in time it becomes a habit, have a cup of kindness.  My tip of the day: quit wasting anymore time feeling sorry for yourself and go out and make someone else smile today.

Diving into Primal waters

This is the basic overview of my 100 lb. weight loss. In future posts, I’m going to go into details about the challenges, successes, and adjustments I made to get this to work for me. But, as an opener, I thought I would give the full arc.

November of 2012  I discovered The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson, just an amazing book that I can not over hype, he also has a web page, Mark’s Daily Apple.

The first thing I liked from this book was Mark’s approach of saying challenge everything you have heard about health and weight  loss. I read the book cover to cover and dove right in. Please check out his book and site for his insights and detail, I owe a lot to his information.

The basics I went with were to give up sugar and  grains…so, no more pasta, breads, oatmeal, etc., not to mention all the candy and treats that got me so fat. My wife made a wonderful Thanksgiving meal and I even helped her out, but I only ate turkey and veggies. No pumpkin pie for me, no whip cream, no left over Halloween candy. I went for a walk while everyone else started too crash on the couch. It was actually very easy - eat less and move more.

The Primal Diet stressed having fun instead of hitting the gym for 4 hours a day. The next morning I walked again and discovered how good eggs were. My basic meals consisted of three scrambled eggs for breakfast, tuna for lunch, and some type of meat with a salad for dinner. I started making smoothies in my blender and found them to be better then any ice cream. I got a Juicer for Christmas and found out that carrot juice tastes great!

Every day, I tried something new, walked a little further, and kept on reading. I started to set goals. My doctor wanted me to get to 225 lbs. That seemed so crazy to me! I could not get below 250 lbs. even if I starved myself. Nonetheless, I set the goal of getting below 250 lbs. On the first day of the year of 2012, I was just under 260 lbs.!!

Now, I was set. I had survived Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve without feeling I missed out. I really need to stress how damn good I was starting to feel! I started doing any little thing to add steps to my day – park at the far end of the lot, take the stairs two at a time, anything to add more movement to my day.

I started doing push ups every day and each week I pushed myself a little harder. My mother told me if I got down to 200 lbs. she would buy me a kilt. That’s a big deal to a Scot, but there was no way I would walk around in a kilt with my gut sticking out. I found that, after 3 months of being “primal,” I felt better! I started to sleep like a baby and looked forward to moving as much as I could. In the spring, I got out my bike and started riding a nice easy 5 miles after dinner. When I was dating my wife, I used to ride 15 miles at a stretch, but 5 was enough to start with.

I just kept a nice constant plan of a little bit of moving every day. I started to get compliments from people wherever I went. The best was always people I saw everyday, but were still noticing a difference in me! I added fish oil to my daily plan and soon saw great results in my dry skin! My mood started to improve and bad days were when I had to go out and buy new clothes. I started hiking and I found out how much I love the woods and the fresh air after spending a week in my office.

Summer came and I no longer hated the heat, which is a good thing if you live in St. Louis. I checked my weight and I was 215lbs. I could wear my wedding suit from 22 years ago, I was under the weight my doctor set for me and I had loss 100lbs. What would you do to celebrate reaching your goal? Me, well I got to wear a Kilt at the St. Louis Scottish games!

How I lost 100lbs

In the fall of 2011, I found myself at 48 to be in the worst shape of my life, the last time I had bothered to check a scale I was 315lbs. I'm a short guy just over 5'8" and at that weight I was one round dude. I have a good sense of humor (jolly) and a quick wit so I made up for my appearence. I have a job I enjoy and a wonderful family,good freinds and life is clicking along. There is the one exception that I have this inner rage against the fat slob I turned into. So a week before Thanksgiving 2011 I took the plunge. I have read books,studied every diet,spoke to my doctor and at long last I figured it all out. The short story a year later I'm down 100lbs!!! The longer story and the adventure I set out on I plan on writing about here. Along the way I learned a lot about food, exercise and myself. I love self help, and many things I found out I want to share with you readers. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me or add comments.