Showing posts with label hurdles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hurdles. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Consumption Control


 In a world of oversized portions and high calorie foods how do you control what you eat?

I drive from 43rd ave and Union Hills Drive to 43rd ave and Glendale and back at least 5 days a week. As I drive I pass a bunch of places that I could stop and eat food. Some are easy to pass others are not so easy.
How do I ignore that gnawing feeling in my stomach telling me to stop and grab a bite from here or there?


Eat Before you leave:

This is the first thing you need to do to make sure that you do not stop and waste a fuel stop on a 1000 calorie hamburger or load up on fats from a fast food joint.
If you are craving a burger don’t wait till you are on the road, grab a turkey burger patty out of your freezer and fire up your George Forman grill and grill the fat out of a delicious burger you can make at home. Don’t have time to prepare a burger from scratch before work? Prep everything when you have time and then all you have to do is flop your meat on the grill while you get ready and then fix your bun and you have a quick delicious substitute to that fatty, dry, heat lamp burger. Still don’t have time before work, while you can always prep a salad in a plastic bowl with a lid and take it with you eating an apple, carrots, or cucumbers as you get ready and then following or next tip to get you to work worry free.


Drink Water!

This is the second tip I discuss but it is actually quite a bit more important than the first tip.
Make sure you are drinking plenty of water you should always have a water bottle on hand and you should refill it as soon as it is empty with good quality water… If it’s brown turn it down! Water is better for you if it has high alkaline levels, that’s not saying you should walk around with water test strips but I do recommend drinking from a trusted source… not all SODA companies can be trusted to provide you with good quality water, do some research. Anytime you begin to feel hungry grab a light snack, fruits or veggies, and your water.
Water does two things:
It fills the space that your body wants to fill with food so that if you do eat you get full faster.
It rehydrates you… you can begin to feel hungry if your body has not been hydrated properly.
I have a water dispenser that I bought at Walmart and I have a five gallon jug on it that I fill at the water store down the street from my house, when it is not 110 degrees I carry the water jug it is about a half mile or so which is good exercise. I have a large size water bottle that I always have on me and I am always drinking from. Even with as much water as I drink, I do not drink soda at all, I have a hydrationindex of -3.2.


Eat fiber

YUCK. Why would I want to eat cardboard flavored cereal?
Yes original flavor fiber one taste horrible and I do not like to eat it either but there are other flavors that do not taste half bad and you can also eat fruit. Fora list of the ten best sources of fiber check out this post.
Fiber is awesome
It helps you stay full for longer, because it takes longer for your body to digest it.
It helps you poop on schedule, if I eat a bowl of fiber one cereal every day I can count on dropping the kids off at the pool at around 10 every morning.
If you are trying to lose weight fiber helps your body flush out the excess fat in your digestive track
Finally it helps you drop those rock hard poos you always dream of.
While it is important to poop on a regular basis do not get carried away and keep a log of logs… unless your into that kind of thing.


Eat Enough

Everyone is on a diet
It does not matter if you are vegetarian, vegan, carnivore, omnivore; if you are on the Atkins diet or the SEE FOOD diet. You want to eat enough to make you not hungry, if you feel like you are about to pop 20 minutes after you eat then you tried to consume enough to feed a third world country!
The suggested serving size is just that SUGGESTED, only you know what you need to eat to be satisfied but do not overfill and make ever calorie count… not to be confused with count every calorie.
Count Calories
This is the most tedious and annoying thing in the world and you will hate every god forsaken second of it and you will curse my name and your name and whatever website you are using to track your calorie intake, but it is a good tool. This is temporary, you count calories for a couple of months. Once you get a routine down and understand serving sizes you will be able to prepare a menu or plate for yourself without over consuming.


Keep your goal in mind

This is the hardest one because as you drive past your favorite fast food hole in the wall, or what have you, you will not be thinking I need to drop a unspecified number of pounds you will be thinking my stomach is growling, when was the last time I ate, I don’t want the nasty salad sitting in my passenger seat, I want a deliciously horribly tasteless heat lamp burger on stale buns.


Last but not least think about the last thing you think about in the above point

Deliciously Horribly Tasteless heat lamp burger on stale buns.
If your still hungry after that eat something healthy like a sandwich from a sandwich shop or the salad bar at a salad bar having place.


#1 Adivce for fast easy weight loss

STOP DRINKING SODA!

20 oz bottle of mt dew - 275 calories
20 oz bottle of water - 0 calories


Have a Happy and Healthy week



Thomas Gould

Saturday, August 9, 2014

How to balance working out with working

"Sporadic work schedules make for a non-existent workout schedule." Don't be a twit! Send a

As a manager and driver for a major pizza chain I work a lot and my schedule from day to day is never the same.

So how do I find time to work out?

While it is ideal for you to not only have a set work schedule but also have a set exercise schedule that is not always a viable option. In my case one day I may work 9 am to 7 pm and the next I may work 5 pm to 2 am which does not provide me the ability to exercise on a set routine. In order for me to find time to work out I have to communicate my needs, monitor my schedule, and avoid procrastinating.

The key to having the time you need to do the things you want is to communicate your needs to those that control your schedule. If you have a direct supervisor then let them know that you would like time to go to the gym. If they are like myself and try an accommodate your needs when making the schedule then you will get a "better" shot at a set workout schedule. Since there will still be days I have to open and close since I am the only one available I have a gym membership to a literally 24hr gym, this allows me the flexibility to go when ever I have the time.

I know that there are going to be days that I have to close, I am the only driver available in my store to close on Tuesdays, so I will schedule most of my workouts in the morning. This also allows me the opportunity to request mostly closing shifts since I need to be available at 3 on weekdays to pick my kid up from school. Each bit of information about my schedule gives me a more accurate brick of time that is possible for me to workout. Since my kid has to be at school at 8 am and I have to pick him up at 3 pm that gives me the brick of time between dropping him off and picking him up to workout.

I know that if I go drop him off and then come back home I will end up going back to bed and sleeping the day I way. So since I am already out and my gym is always open I can and should go right after I drop my son off. This also gives my body time to recover before having to drive a bunch and allows a shower. If I were to procrastinate and not go right away I would either not get up in time to workout at all or I would go and have to cut my time short and I may not get a shower in before pick him up. You do not want to be that guy that smells like BO and sweat at work. I was that guy once, I thought nobody noticed but they all commented later.

It is important that no matter how you find the time to workout that you make sure you find the time. If you are TO TIRED to workout, TO BAD go do it anyway your body will stop being to tired. Once you get the blood pumping and you start to get a routine going your body will retain the ability to workout. Having a varying schedule may be good for you as well, it will stop your body from storing energy till that time when you go to the gym everyday, because it will never know when you are going to go.

Sorry I do not have pictures for you today, this post is already late.

Have a Happy and Healthy day!




Thomas Gould

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Obesity is a terrorist that does not work alone!

“Obesity is a terrorist that does not work alone!” <- Tweet This! - Don't be a twit


Depression and Obesity work together to take over your life and destroy you! You have to declare war on terror and fight back! The only way to defeat obesity is to lose weight, which is hard when you are depressed; but you can combat depression everyday.

Since I spoke to the recruiters at the beginning of this month I have been depressed and that has set me back. I know I need to lose weight and to reach my goals, but I had convinced myself that my goals were not worth the fight anymore since everything keeps getting in the way. It took me almost a full month to get over this depression.

What makes depression bad

If you Google what is depression you get two definitions
  1. Severe despondency and dejection, typically felt over a period of time and accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy
  2. The act of lowering something or pressing something down.

So what does all that mean?

While if you translate definition one from geek speak to Standard English it says Severe sadness felt over a period of time and accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy.

That is a little easier to track but still could use some clarification to explain why it is bad. To assist in this clarification I will use the example from my own life

I have been sad over the last 2-3 weeks because I am inadequate (not good enough) for the SEALs and my ability to do what I want seems more and more hopeless.

This is bad because it caused me to not want to do anything and become complacent. I have felt like I can never do anything better than my current job, despite my bosses boss thinking I am good enough for a promotion.

I stopped exercising, I stopped eating right, I stopped trying!

I had fun at my National Guard experience, and despite this I put myself in a state of perpetual failure.

How did I overcome this?

I was talking to my best friend that I have known since the second grade via text message while I was bored at work and his failed attempt to motivate me didn’t quite fail!

I commented to him that I was depressed to which he responded:
“Don't be depressed you can always go for corrections with me.”
I was like:
"How is that supposed to make me depressed? Instead of moving out of Arizona, seeing the world, shooting at evil, and generally just being awesome. You get to stay in Arizona be overheated and an overpaid babysitter.”
He of course took offence and said that I should slit my wrists now if I am going to think like that. Drama Queen!

I told him to think about it:
“If I were to become a corrections officer I could be a corrections officer or a supervisor of correction officers. If I were to go into the military I could be a helicopter mechanic, helicopter pilot, or I could go into some sort of computer field like cryptology or network security. Someday I could get vision correction surgery and become a jet pilot.”
At that point I realized that I was being stupid and that even if I can’t be a SEAL I can still be awesome, that I should not be giving up just because a physical issue pushed me out of my goal.

My Advice

Talk to someone: A true friend will never turn you away!
Anyone: Doctors, Teachers, Counselors, Priests, Mommy, Daddy, Security at Walmart!
Pick up the phone book and dial random numbers till someone is willing to help you if that is what it takes.

Don't give up! DO NOT EAT THAT DOUGHNUT!

Sometimes pushing yourself to be more awesome… to keep striving for the goal even though you cannot obtain it will still keep you motivated and push the depression out.

Keep yourself on track no matter how much you want to give up, cry, or die.

If you give up then the terrorists win!
Do you want to let the terrorists win?

If you said yes to that you are on the wrong blog!

Are you shaking a box of Chihuahuas? No? Then Follow Us!



Have a Happy and Healthy Week!

Thomas Gould!


Images provided by RaccoonGirlDesign

Monday, July 7, 2014

How I am Progressing!

National Guard Weekend

We took a crappy old school bus style bus up to flagstaff, the bus would not even go the speed limit up the mountain so it took us 3 hours to complete a 2 hour drive.

 After we arrived they had all of us fall into formation and the instructed us on where we would be staying, by the time we arrived it was already really cold probably around 60 degrees Fahrenheit and a large part of the platoon was shivering, but I wasn't.

 We all got beds to sleep on which was nice because David told me that we would either be on cots or on the floor. Despite having an actual bed to sleep on and a sleeping bag designed for the temperature up in flag I slept like shit the first night. I have not spent a night away from my wife in ten years and I have not spent a night away from my kids since they were born.

SATURDAY

I woke up at 4:45 am, 15 minutes before we were required to be up, I took that time to shave and brush my teeth.

During first formation we did warm-up PT(Physical Training), followed by the 2, 2, 2 which is 2 minute push-ups, 2 minutes sit-ups, and a 2 mile run. At which point we had one person pass out.

PT in flagstaff sucks. We were at an elevation of over 7300 feet and the air is thinner up there and no matter how hard you try you can not get enough air in.

My scores on the Personal Fitness Test were horrible

32 push-ups
19 sit-ups
> 22 min 2 mile run

We all thought that once we were done with PT we were going to get shower time but we ended up going straight from PT to breakfast

OMG Breakfast... So Delicious!

Scrambled eggs with bacon, hash-browns, and toast. served by a local diner.

We spent most of the rest if the day in classes.

  • Land Navigation
  • Sexual Harassment Prevention
  • Suicide Prevention
  • Drill and Ceremony
In the middle of the classes they had all the enlisted people go get there uniforms issued and the five guests in my class all had to stand in formation and wait for them to get there uniforms and change into them (about an hour). I got really badly sunburned

After the last class we did some actual drill and ceremony and we did not move fast enough for the Sargent so we ended up having to do a bunch of push-ups and flutter kicks on hot asphalt. At which point our second person of the day passed out.

Our lunch sucked... We had and MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) and while they are not as horrible as I remember from the ones I had when I was a kid they are not as good as fresh cooked restaurant food.

Dinner was just as good as breakfast, we went back to the same restaurant and had Spaghetti and meatballs.

After dinner we were free to do as we pleased as long as we stayed in the barracks. So me and David and a few other guys decided to play poker but we did not have any chips so we had to play PT poker.
30 second dead cockroaches

Sunday

After more scrambled eggs we drove up into the mountains and went hiking.

Land navigation was fun I was the only person in my group that did not have to have map reading and point plotting and compass reading explained to them over and over.

After land navigation we were issued another MRE and then we were sent home.

Summary

I had so much fun despite being yelled at constantly and forced to do more push-ups then I have ever done in one day. I want to go back next month but I had a very hard time getting the time off this month and no one seems receptive to giving me the time off again.

Rest of the Week

On my day off I went to the eye doctor and failed my eye exam

I bet you are wondering how you fail and eye exam. Easy the Navy Seals require no worse then 20/70 vision without glass and it must be correctable to 20/20. I have 20/100 correctable to 20/20. So I failed the part of the requirements to get into the SEALs that I can not do anything about.

After my eye exam I went to talk to the navy recruiter and they told me with my family and debt there is a 50/50 chance that I will get a enlistment waiver approved.

So I went and talked to the Army recruiter and they said that I need to lose 5 lbs and gain an inch in my neck and lose an inch in my waist.

My Measurements
National Guard: 
  • Neck - 17.5 
  • Waist - 39
Navy
  • Neck - 17.5
  • Waist - 41
Army
  • Neck - 16.5
  • Waist - 39
Need
  • Neck - 17.5
  • Waist - 38
So basically at this point I am looking down the barrel of a loaded cannon. I can never do what I want to do in the military. The branch I want to go into I am locked out of because I have two kids, my second option has a 50/50 chance of being locked out of, and my third option needs me to be 22% body fat to pass MEPs.

We will see how the next 30 days go and see what my body will let me do.

Have a happy and Healthy week

Thoams Gould

Friday, May 30, 2014

Where am I today?


Current
Before


Transition Progress

When I started this blog I looked like the picture on the left. On May 30th I look like the picture on the right.

I look and feel like a completely different person and I have been getting comments from my co-workers and mom about how much weight I have lost and comments from my wife about my muscle gain and weight loss.






It has been so hard to get to this point, before I started all this I would drink 6 x Mountain Dew, 20-Ounce  Bottles or I would buy a 52 oz QuickTrip cup and fill it with Mountain Dew or Sprite and then either way on my way home I would get a 52 oz cup and fill it with sprite. Also I would eat just about anything I could get my hands on especially Hershey's Chocolate Creme Pie's the whole pie by my self.


Also I would be on my ass as much as possible watching TV, playing on a game system, or working on my computer.

Since I started my nutrition and fitness programs I do not eat red meat or pork, I do not drink anything but water and juice, and I do not eat desert at all. I try my damnedest to not sit down unless I have been up on my fit all day. I actually get stiff and have to stand up so that after sitting for extended periods of time. I want to get a treadmill that I can use my laptop on so that I do not have to sit down when doing blog posts or playing video games.

I need to lose 2" in my waist to be able to qualify for the delayed entry program and 3.5 inches to qualify for basic.

My current measurements
Height: 5'8"
Neck: 17.5" or 1' 5.5"
Waist: 42" or 3'6"

Required measurements
Height: 5'8"
Neck: 17.5" or 1' 5.5"
Waist: 38.5" or 3' 2.5"

Formula for circumference
Waist - Neck = Circumference
42 - 17.5 = 24.5



Height (inches)
Circumference Value*

60
60.5
61
61.5
62
62.5
63
63.5
64
64.5
65
65.5
66
66.5
67
67.5
68
68.5
69
69.5
13
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
13.5
9
9
9
9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
14
11
11
10
10
10
10
9
9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
14.5
12
12
12
11
11
11
11
10
10
10
10
9
9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
<9
15
13
13
13
13
12
12
12
12
11
11
11
11
10
10
10
10
10
9
9
<9
15.5
15
14
14
14
14
13
13
13
13
12
12
12
12
11
11
11
11
11
10
10
16
16
16
15
15
15
15
14
14
14
14
13
13
13
13
12
12
12
12
12
11
16.5
17
17
16
16
16
16
15
15
15
15
14
14
14
14
14
13
13
13
13
12
17
18
18
18
17
17
17
17
16
16
16
16
15
15
15
15
14
14
14
14
14
17.5
19
19
19
18
18
18
18
17
17
17
17
16
16
16
16
16
15
15
15
15
18
20
20
20
19
19
19
19
18
18
18
18
18
17
17
17
17
16
16
16
16
18.5
21
21
21
20
20
20
20
19
19
19
19
19
18
18
18
18
17
17
17
17
19
22
22
22
21
21
21
21
20
20
20
20
20
19
19
19
19
18
18
18
18
19.5
23
23
23
22
22
22
22
21
21
21
21
21
20
20
20
20
19
19
19
19
20
24
24
24
23
23
23
23
22
22
22
22
21
21
21
21
21
20
20
20
20
20.5
25
25
25
24
24
24
24
23
23
23
23
22
22
22
22
21
21
21
21
21
21
>25
>25
25
25
25
25
24
24
24
24
24
23
23
23
23
22
22
22
22
21
21.5
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
25
25
25
25
24
24
24
24
23
23
23
23
23
22
22
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
25
25
25
25
25
24
24
24
24
23
23
22.5
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
25
25
25
25
24
24
24
23
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
25
25
25
23.5
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25
>25

My circumference is just off the the chart for my height but I am like at 26% bmi

Have a fantastic and healthy week see you next Friday!