Second Step

I've just completed the second step of eighteen in the Transformation challenge. This assignment dealt with developing a balanced exercise routine...one that is reasonable and able to easily fit into my lifestyle on a weekly basis.

I'm doing aerobic exercises on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for about 20 minutes each. I'll also be doing strength training with weights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for around 40 minutes each day.

Note....that is only three hours a week. It pretty much destroys any excuse about not having time to exercise.

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Day 6

It really doesn't matter what you do for cardio as long as you're moving.

Looking Forward

Yesterday, I wrote about what is going on with me now. It's part of the process of developing goals. I mean...you can't really think about where you want to go unless you have an idea of where you are starting. I see this in a lot of people (myself included) where goals are set without bothering to take stock of where one is at, why, and just how to get to the end result. Without knowing the starting point, most of us end up wandering around in a big circle time and time again...until we give up the goal altogether.

So, first I answered questions about where I am starting. Now I answer questions about where I want to end up in 18 weeks.

Heart and Soul

Looking forward, 18 weeks from now, three changes I will have made that show I’m more aligned with what’s important to me at a heart and soul level are:

Healthy living will be a natural part of my life.

I will have the energy to enjoy each day.

I will feel good about myself and be able to share that with those I love.

Emotions

Looking forward, 18 weeks from now, the three most predominant inner feelings which describe what I’ll be experiencing are:

Confident of having control over my body.

Excited about the improvements and eager to continue.

Inspired to encourage others to seek transformations.

Mindset

Three new patterns of thinking or beliefs which expand my ability to make healthy changes for the better will be:

My results will speak for my intent.

I will greet the day with enthusiasm.

I'll prove one is never too old or too out of shape to change.

Body

Three objectively verifiable statements which will describe the new and improved condition of my body 18 weeks from now are:

Within 18 weeks, I will be under 180 lbs.

My body fat percentage will be in the low twenties.

I will tuck my shirt into my pants.

Self-Assessment and Awareness

The Transformation Challenge is not your ordinary diet and exercise program. In just about every other program out there, the impression is 'follow the plan and you will get results'...eat these foods, don't eat those, do these exercises on these days and, voila, you'll have a ripped body in no time at all.

It's all about the outside. That's good to a point because, let's face it, everybody wants to look strong and healthy. Yet, if my experience and profession have taught me anything, it's that the way we think...the way we view ourselves and the world around...is at the core of everything we do or attempt. Transformation utilizes that principle in providing 18 assignments that are geared to really taking a look at oneself. The assignments are not easy (if one is honest in doing them). The first one, and my answers, are below.

Heart and Soul

Having looked inward to do some soul-searching, three heartfelt reasons for making the decision to transform my health and life are:

I'm tired all the time. I want to live my days instead of just letting the pass one at a time.

I want to set an example for my wife, so that we can both enjoy our lives for a long time.

I do not like the way I feel in my own body. It seems that I am always slightly sick.

Emotions

In recent days and weeks, the three most predominant inner feelings I have been experiencing are:

Fear about my physical condition and the potential for heart attack, stroke, and diabetes.

Ashamed of my condition.

Anger at myself for not doing anything to improve.

Mindset

Three patterns of thinking or beliefs which may have limited my ability to change in the past are:

I'm too old.

I'm too busy.

I'm too tired.

Body

Three objectively verifiable statements which reflect my physical condition right now are:

My weight, first thing in the morning, I've eaten, is 208 lbs.

My body fat is 42 %. My mid-section measurement at the widest point is 48 inches.

My present physical condition is evident in my before photo.

This is where I am now. Tomorrow, I'll answer the questions of where I want to be.

I Really Mean It This Time

Really. No foolin'. I don't know what happened the last time I tried to do the challenge. Well...yeah...I guess I do....I just gave up. It was too hard. I didn't have time. I'm too old so what's the point.

All excuses.

Oh, I wanted to transform. I talked about it. I wrote about it. The interesting thing though is that all that talking and writing didn't get me anywhere. Go figure.

Anyway; here I am again. The photos are taken. The first assignment is completed. I've two days under my looooong belt with a mantra in my head.....do it, do it, no excuses this time.

Thank You Mother Nature

There were three more pickup loads just like this, all sawed up nicely and taken over to the local forestry disposal site. Not the way I anticipated starting off my vacation, but I suppose it would have been worse to come home to broken trees all over my house.

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Transformer

No...not that kind....this

I've come to a conclusion about why my attempts at losing weight and getting fit seem to fizzle out all the time. It's mainly because I'm adding things, like diet and exercise, to my lifestyle...but not really changing all the stuff in my life which caused the need in the first place. To put it simply, what I have been doing isn't working because the way I live isn't working; at least as far as fitness is concerned. I can lose weight..sure. I can exercise...big deal. Nothing changes because nothing has changed.

What I'm getting at is that I need to transform how I live rather than just fiddle and tweak here and there. I need to alter pretty much everything I do around food. I need to clarify in my mind exactly why I want what I want and what I am willing to do....and...more importantly...what I am willing to no longer do.

And who knows....perhaps it's not too late to at last become a real transformer.

Pre-Transformation Musing

Testing

Turkey Burgers

It's what's for dinner. Ground white turkey meat. High in protein, hardly any fat, and very tasty when cooked on a grill with mesquite wood. The best thing....I have leftovers for a couple of lunches later in the week.

Before Photos

Doing it a bit differently.

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Off Track

I come in contact with a lot of people at work. I have conversations with them, my shoulder gets cried on, I get yelled at, I shake hands, and I get a few unavoidable hugs. Some of these people don't practice the best hygiene and many of them shuffle around with all kinds of cold and flu germs. So...I get em. My immune system is actually quite strong but, once in a while, I catch a doozy of a bug and it just lays me out for a couple of weeks.

Oh, I keep going to work. To my mind, calling in sick means that you basically can't get out of bed. Plain old not feeling good is not a valid reason to me not to perform my duty. Yet not feeling good has been my norm for quite a few days now. Along with feeling pukey I've not been paying much attention to my diet. And exercise? Forget it.

Thus, for the last two weeks, I've gone off track with everything. Still lost some weight but it's probably due more to dehydration than fat going away. I'm not back up to feeling 100%. I may just have to chalk this down as a vacation from my fitness goal and regroup and restart later.

Breathe Easy

Driving around as I do on Saturdays when I'm at work. Mostly it's an easy, laid-back day. I go visit somebody there. Go check up on somebody at another place. Drive, drive, drive....listen to the radio....think about my upcoming days off....just truckin' like the Do-Dah Man with the window down and enjoying a nice spring day.

Whilst driving down one road this afternoon; however, I notice a whole bunch of fire trucks and police cars converge on an intersection and people proceed to run in several directions at once. I couldn't figure out what was going on until I drove right beside the tank that had fallen off the trailer in the photo above. It was full of anhydrous ammonia and the valve had evidently broken off.

I caught a lung full which felt like somebody had hit me in the chest with a baseball bat. Then I was unable to keep my eyes open. I floored my pickup and made a very sharp turn, fumbling to turn the air conditioning on full blast to clear out the air in my cab. The whole thing lasted no more than a few seconds but it seemed to be enough time for me to think to myself "If I don't get out of here now, I'm going to pass out and die" and "I hope I don't drive into another car or a house or some poor sap on the sidewalk".

I didn't die and I managed to keep from killing somebody else. It did get me thinking about what's important. I had all kinds of important things in my mind before I came alongside the broken tank. After all...I have an important job doing important stuff. I have a lot of important thoughts to think.

Except when I took a whiff of the ammonia. Then, like magic, the only thing I was able to focus on was getting my next breath.

Zen masters call it a moment of clarity.

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But...they do it on TeeVee

I watch the Biggest Loser, yes I do. Great drama. Inspirational. An all around entertaining show in which I look forward to watching each and every week. I really get amazed at the weight losses. Ten pounds or more a week. A contestant who loses only four or five is considered a slacker.

Then I look at my challenge and see that I've lost a total of 1.8 lbs since I started three weeks ago. One-point-eight! WTF?

Here's the difference. In the first place, those guys on the Biggest Loser are immense. Not overweight, not obese; freaking three, four, or more hundred pounds. I think one contestant this year was over 500 lbs. It's not muscle either, so doing any activity at all and cutting calories down to sane levels is bound to shed a lot of weight in a big hurry. Secondly, the contestants on that show work out, with trainers, a minimum of six hours every day. They have nothing else to do....no job, no family, basically no life.

So am I happy with my piddling loss so far?

Nope. But I'm considering that I'm probably losing the weight at about the same speed that I gained it in the first place. I also have one big advantage over any biggest loser....my pounds will stay gone.

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