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amy and i have ever so slowly made progress this year toward our health & fitness goals. while we’re not quite at our low of 2006 we’ve been able to stay stable and for the most part consistent. i’ve updated my fitness timeline … it’s starting to look like a warzone. with all of the ups and downs youe’d think i was modeling my bank account.

our new puppies, which i just realized i haven’t posted pictures or information on yet (but will soon), have helped us a lot. they’re our evening fitness barometer. if we’ve walked the puppies they’re quiet, cuddly, and generally great companions. if we’ve been bad pet owners and haven’t walked them then they’re fighting, running around like crazy, and generally somewhat painful. well … as painful as two cute boston terriers can be. anyhow … we took them both for 2 very long walks this weekend which was great for them and us.

next weekend i’m looking to get our bikes on the road and we’re planning on doing some golfing as well. yes, i did say “we” … i was finally able to brainwash amy into picking up her first set of clubs. we even visited the driving range this afternoon to enjoy this amazing illinois weather. it was my first time hitting the range this year … though i was able to get out and golf once. i hit the ball pretty well today with my wedge game clearly outshining the other shots in my bag. amy really hit the ball well … once she gets consistent with her addressing the ball, alignment, and some small swaying she’s going to be giving me a run for my money. she hits the ball straight on just about every shot and she’s driving the ball 170 - 180 consistently.

anyhow … we’re hoping on getting outdoors more this summer … i think doing that combined with our 4-5 days per week at the gym and eating healthy and this will be the year we attain our goals. wish us luck!!!

well, we’ve been working out regularly for a little over 6 months now. we’ve had our ups and downs but in all we’ve seen great success in our lifestyle changes. on average we make it to the gym about 5 days per week and manage to eat healthy about 5.5 days per week. those fridays before our freeday can be killer. your tired after a killer week and don’t feel like making dinner sometimes. we usually get to the gym in the morning about half of the time and the rest is after work. sometimes getting out of bed in the morning can be downright impossible … especially when your up until to midnight … lol.

one great thing that we didn’t think about when we started was the amount of money we’d save doing this. we’ve managed to save a lot of money by not eating out all the time. i know a lot of cities have different rates but in chicago lunch usually runs $5 - $8 and dinner $8 - $12. if you do a simple calculation 6 months * ~4 weeks per month * 7 days per week * $20 per day * 2 people you get ~$6,720. a typical week (5 meals per day * 6 days for 2 people) of food usually runs us around $120 which comes to ~$2,880 for 6 months. that’s a $3,800 savings in 6 months … even if you factor in gym dues ~$720 your still saving $3,000. this is one of the huge advantages people don’t always think about when they start eating healthy. it’s cheaper to eat healthy than it is to eat bad.

the past few weeks have we’ve both been hitting plateaus in terms of our progress. i know we’ve been gaining muscle along the way and bodies react differently over time but sometimes you want to see the scale move. we’re teetering on some goals that we both want to get past but are struggling to get over that hump. one of the important things we’ve been guilty of not doing is changing up our routine regularly. i find that we can do the same exercises for a few months before we realize we’re in a rut. you have to try to regularly review not only your weights but also the cardio exercises your performing. make it interesting, throw some variety in there. continuously stimulating your body to get that adaptation response that changes your body isn’t easy and requires attention to details like variety.

i’m planning on starting out completely different this upcoming week. we’re throwing in all different workouts for weights and cardio. out with the old, in with the new … since we’re halfway through the year there’s no better time than the present to clean house. are you stuck in a rut? try challenging yourself in different ways to hit new highs.

after taking it easy in the gym the past 2 weeks my back feels better. i’ve held back a bit in my weights (wanted to raise them some) but i haven’t stopped working out. in order to reduce the stress on my back i did a few things differently:

• during upper body weights instead of doing back exercises i did some of the stretches that i learned in the spin class. yes, the same one that threw my back out. that which hurts you can also make you stronger.
• on running days instead of doing intervals of walking a lap and running a lap, i instead modified it to run every 2nd lap instead. during the running laps i focused on steady strides and less of a bouncy motion that might put stress on my back. during the walking laps i walk very fast to keep my heart rate as high as possible.
• when doing all other exercises i focused more on keeping more core stable and my back well positioned. i know i should do this all the time, and i do often, but this time i really tried to stay aware of my form throughout all of the reps and sets. form over reps at all cost.

i’m hoping to see some good losses this week and if all goes well i’m planning on hitting the range this weekend. i’ve been dying to get out there and play some golf. rather than push it though i decided to give my back a rest. besides, it gives me time to review dave pelz’s short game bible and the plane truth for golfers. i’m planning on starting the season with a new one plane swing and continuing to refine short game under 100 yards.

back … yea, that’s what i’m feeling right now. i pulled a muscle in my lower back on friday after a “core spin” class at the gym. actually that’s not entirely correct, i made it to the next afternoon at which time my back gave out while raking leaves. the spin class went well but we did a ton of core exercises i hadn’t ever attempted before. i didn’t think at the time that i was pushing anything but the next day my body told me otherwise. i’m feeling a bit better though and hope to be back in service later in the week.

things are going really well in the land of lincoln. amy and i are working out regularly (about 5 days per week) and have been doing so since the jan 1. i’m now down 40 pounds and she’s down 20 pounds. we’re as focused and determined as ever to make this an ongoing lifestyle change and not temporary. we’re following the body for life program that’s worked so well for us in the past. 6 days or workouts and eating 6 small well balanced meals with a free day on the 7th day. typical to bfl we feel like crap after the freeday but it’s nice to enjoy the things you’ve craved all week. our meals have been fantastic and we actually find that by cooking and making all of our meals each week we’re saving a lot more money, funny how that works out. eating right == saving money … crazy talk i tell ya.

we’ve had some ongoing motivation as a result of our lifestyle as well … in the second week of january our gym sponsored a attendance contest that gave members who consistently worked out entries into a drawing. the more you went the more you were entered and the larger the prizes you could win. since we were going 5 days a week we were able to enter for the top prize of 5 months free dues. after a perfect 3 months not only were we down 60 pounds total but i won the drawing for the free dues and to top it off the newsletter at the gym wants to interview us … and … the fitness person asked us if we’d be interested in talking to the newspaper. pretty cool ahe? another motivational thing was that amy was able to lower her total cholesterol, lowered her ldl cholesterol, and raised her hdl cholesterol during our 3+ months of working out.

if i can offer a small piece of advice for anyone who’s starting or thinking about starting a lifestyle change … do it!!! you won’t regret it, i guarantee it. whether your just trying to change your eating habits, lose weight, obtain more energy, take control of cholesterol, or anything … you can and will do it. it takes time, nothing happens overnight. you didn’t convert your body into what it is today overnight, nor will you make your changes overnight. we’ve hit plateaus along the way every 2-3 weeks where we just stop changing. but as we persist, we continue to see progress. you too will make the changes you desire if you really put your mind to it. no excuse is big enough as there’s a solution to every problem. whether it’s time for workouts or eating the right food you can find a creative solution to your situation. the workouts you can do with a dumbbell, exercise ball, and some elastic bands are amazing. yea, a gym would be nice but not everyone has that luxury. the short time you have in the morning or the time you spend vegetating on the couch at night can be used to transform your body. if you really want to watch that tv show, you can do it at the same time.

i know some people are going to look at me and say:

“sean you made excuses for years, give me a break. i have a busy life and don’t have time”

<blunt remark> bullshit!!! remove all the crap you just said and just insert “lame ass excuse” in it’s place.</blunt remark> you could do one or many things to improve your life at any point in time. you are the only person who controls your time and effort. sure, not every single day is going to be exactly as you planned, we’re only human and none of us are superheros (or are you). even if you do it 50% of the time that’s 50% less lazy than you were before, 50% more active than you were before, 50% closer to being a healthier person. even if you only start eating right today, that’s a change … a huge positive change toward a healthier body and fitter life. those excuses to changing are self created obstacles that are preventing you from being the person you can and should be. a healthier, fitter, and happier you!!! so what’s your excuse?

i can predict your next thought, call me sean the psychic.

“sean, why is it that people who start working out get all high an mighty about working out and eating right. it’s crap i tell ya, crap.”

the easiest reply to this question is honestly an exercise for you the reader. do this for me, grab your camera and take a picture of yourself in a mirror wearing only your underwear. better yet have your loved one take a picture of you and get it developed or throw it up on your computer. got it? ok, now ask yourself this … what’s wrong with this picture? i challenge you to come up with the answer of nothing. if somehow you do, go grab a photo from high school, maybe your spring break, or honeymoon photos … put them side by side and ask yourself what’s different? yea yea, time has passed and your wiser, and all that crap. but what has really changed physically and maybe even mentally between picture 1 and picture 2. that’s why we can say the things we say … that’s why we seem all high and mighty. you see, we’ve had that aha moment … that epiphany where we realized what has changed and what has to change. it seems so obvious to us that we want to share it with everyone and don’t understand why they don’t see it themselves. it’s not our fault, we just want everyone to see it and sometimes our message comes across wrong when in fact we just want to help everyone see it and change it.

i’ve navigated a few more weeks with only a few faltering along the way. i’ve managed to eat reasonably healthy with almost 100% success! i’ve had a few bad weeks of workouts, not zero compliance, but darn near close on one of them. but the good news is that i’m alive, kicking, and still making progress.

i know i painted a semi grim picture but it really isn’t all bad, i’m a bit hard on myself at times. someone’s gotta be right? anyhow, i’m down 30 pounds to the digit as of this past saturday. not too shabby for the first 7 weeks though 1/3 of that was lost in the first 2 weeks due to water loss. i can say though that i feel amazingly focused and alive right now.

the hardest part for me has been getting my workouts in. there are days where it’s hard enough getting up to go to work let alone getting up to work out. when amy was gone for a month i had only me so i was much more rigorous about motivating myself and punishing myself for not waking up early. i forced myself to always make up for it in the evening. since she’s been back it’s been a lot harder because i’ve become a bit lax about enforcement. it’s hard after a long day sometimes and when you do get home you just want to relax with your significant other and do absolutely nothing sometimes. the problem is that i did absolutely nothing for around 30 years now and look where it’s gotten me. sure i try to make up for it sometimes with a walk but that really isn’t the same as pushing your body to your peak during a workout.

the important thing to do now is ask myself “self, how do i fix this problem?” there are a few ways i can think of. the simplest and most immediate thing i can do is reset my daily goal of not doing anything “fun” after work until i first workout. this is regardless of how bad or good the day may have went. no playing on the computer, watching the tv, reading, or anything like that until i’ve first worked out. it may not be the scheduled workout but it’ll be a full cardio or weight workout. nothing half ars, nothing shortened or abbreviated, all or no fun!

the long term thing i can do is set little alarms that force myself to get to bed a little earlier so it becomes easier to get up in the morning. a friend of mine started setting his alarm a little earlier each day and would just get up and do something, no necessarily work out. just do something to get you body in the repeatable mode of getting up early. once you’re able to train your body to get up early it’s just about doing a workout instead of say surfing the web or whatever else you decided to do when you started getting up early.

yes, i’m doing things better now that i was 3 months ago. am i, are we doing things as good as we could? no. is there room for improvement? beyond a doubt. that room for improvement and the progress i’ve seen with the few bumps i have had is what keeps me motivated. when i’m firing on all cylinders i’m really a fitness machine. it just takes a locomotive like mine a little longer to fire on all those cylinders.

i know this update is going to seem random, because frankly it is. that doesn’t matter though, what does matter is that i’ve been working a lot lately and making a lot of changes in my life. one of those being restarting (yet again i know) on body for life. i know some people think i’m crazy, but at least i’m trying.

if at first you don’t succeed, try try again

taking that to heart i started eating right and working out every day, minus the freeday. about 4 weeks ago i jumped back on track and started again. as usual i saw some pretty solid instant losses, mostly water i know, but losses none the less.

focus on progress, not perfection

this time around the things that are working for are simple rules. i don’t need tons of complex rules to follow, i need simple attainable rules that fit my stressful variable schedule and life. an example of one that works for me is no matter what happens in a day, i get my workout in at some point during that day. if i miss the morning, that’s bad, but not insurmountable. it just means that i have to work out in the evening. if that means getting on the bike at 9pm then that’s what it means. if that throws off my sleep a bit, well then i have to work out the next nite instead of the morning until i get caught up. don’t let one roadblock block your whole week!!!

another simple rule, no playing games until i’ve worked out. i know it may seem i haven’t been playing much lately but that’s actually because i’ve been working so much, not because i’ve not been working out … confusing i know. despite the fact that i put in 80 hours at work last week i still managed to get in 5 solid workouts. i know that isn’t 6, but 5 is better than none.

top all of that off with sound well rounded meal choices, airing on the side of bfl 6 meals per day, and we have a 18 pound loss and i feel amazing. i wake up with energy, sleep well, am more focused at work (despite the pain that is work), and feel like i get more done in a day. that may also be due to other changes i’ll talk about later but the workouts are definitely giving me the extra kick i need.

get off your butt and get back in the game … yes that means you!!!

yesterday amy and i completed week 3. i was down another 3 pounds and was quite happy with the results. that brings my total to 19 pounds in a little over 5 weeks of working out.

the last week was good, but not perfect. we didn’t work out on sunday and didn’t eat right either. i was getting home from my star party and we were also invited to a bears game party which we went to and had a great time. we ate good every day this week though we did miss our cardio workout on wednesday due to conflicts and me having to work late. i was quite happy with the meals this week but was less than happy with the workouts. with that though i still managed to see some losses and we started this week very solidly.

we nailed this mornings lower body workout and ate perfect all day. we also planned all of our meals for the week and bought all of the groceries. for this week our goal is 100% compliance and focus. no excuses, we want a solid week with lots of drive and killer workouts. it’s going to be hard for amy as she’s starting a new rotation this week so we’re not sure what her schedule will be like. at the least though we’re going to do everything in our power to keep her on track and focused.

have a great week all and live smart!!!