Time to Hit It

I don't know about the rest of you but I really enjoyed Thanksgiving this year. I "really" enjoyed it. To the tune of 4 pieces of pie....in a row and that was just the start of it.  It's ok. I went into the holiday prepared by lowering my calorie intake before and after. I enjoyed the meal prepared and then I moved on and didn't dwell on it. Today I was back to my normal eating habits and workout routines. Did I weigh myself before, during, or after to verify the damage? Heck no! I ain't stupid! haha

Today started a new workout routine for me. I am still in Phase I which is the muscle building phase but I decided after 4 weeks of solid lifting combined with 1 week of "off" time for the holidays, I needed to switch it up a bit. After all, if there is one thing Tony Horton and P90x taught me, its muscle confusion. So I put together some new exercises and hit the gym. The muscle confusion really worked. After 4 weeks of feeling perfect after a workout, today I left with soar arms and back. I definitely got a good workout in.

Another 4 weeks will bring me to the Christmas holiday and another 1 week break to rest and recoup. After all, I am getting too old to be hitting it non-stop. After about 4 weeks of lifting, I begin to feel burnt out. This break allows me to rest and recoup a bit.

Did anyone else really "enjoy" their Thanksgiving meal or did you all play it safe?

Wordless Wednesday - It's a Boy

Biggest Loser Night!

I am excited to watch The Biggest Loser tonight. I know there are many people in the health and fitness world that do not like this show but I for one love watching it.  There is just something about watching people strive to lose the weight and solve the emotional aspects that got them to that dark place that I think makes for a great show. I understand that its not realistic to be able to lose such large amounts of weight in such a short time and I understand that there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes that we will never see but I don't really care. People's lives are changing and they are helping to change the lives of many more people that are watching the show. For that, I applaud them.

My favorite contestant Adam has already been kicked off the show but I love what he had done outside of The Biggest Loser. He has gone into his local YMCA in Kansas and is helping to motivate others to lose weight and become healthy. To me, this is what the show is all about. Motivating others.

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Weekly Link Love

I am going to start posting links to blogs and sites that I frequent and enjoy. I am hoping to spread the wealth of great sites out there for others to enjoy. For today I am going to start off with blogs that are for Dad's. Sometimes Dad's get forgotten about when it comes to caring for our kids. Below are two Dad's that have great involvement in their kid's lives. That is something I strive to do as well. I highly respect any father that goes above and beyond the normal "Dad" duties.

Websites for Dad's

Daddoes.com - The Place Where Dads Do Things and Review Things.

A great site that reviews all the latest and greatest toys. This is a great site for finding a great toy or game for your little guy or gal.

Daddysdown.com - A blog about life, kids and fatherhood. Has anyone seen my coffee mug.

I really enjoy this blog.  He has some great posts about what its like to be Dad along with some great examples of things not to do as a Dad. The think I like the best is his weekly Datificates. My kids love this idea and cannot wait to try them out.

Dads4life.org - Because They Follow Our Lead

This is a site that I follow on Twitter. They are a non-profit organization that exist to provide Fathers of all ages, races, religion or cultures the support, education and information to enhance their lives and change the future of our nation.

Healthy Eating Weekend It Was Not

So I have a confession to make. I ate off track this weekend. Not terrible but bad enough for me to get on here and write about it. Friday was family movie night and we enjoyed the usual snacks that come along with watching a movie. Popcorn, chocolate, soda, etc. It was a great time and I really enjoyed being able to let loose a bit and my family really enjoyed it as well. Saturday I was back on track and the same goes for most of Sunday. Then came the birthday cake the kids and I made for my wife. Since it was homemade, and the girls hand decorated it, I naturally wanted to partake in a piece or two. I kicked that back with some chips and cheese to complete the night. I know. Don't judge me.

One thing I have learned from this experience is my body doesn't do well when I go off track. Friday night, when I went to bed, I felt like I was going to thrown up. The same goes for tonight. I don't feel good. My body knows what I did to it and it's trying to get rid of the crap that I have put into it. My body hates me right now.

Truth is, I actually plan these events for every few months. It helps to get it out of my system and it reminds me very quickly, why I don't eat like that anymore. I would like to say that this probably wont happen again for quite a few months but with Thanksgiving coming up in 4 days, it doesnt look good. I am going to try and stay very low calorie for the next few days in hopes that it will counteract this weekend and the upcoming holiday's.

Wish me luck!

Thanksgiving Day Plan

My plan for Thanksgiving week is simple. No workouts (except for some ab work), eat light (except for Thursday of course), and don't worry about anything. The timing of this week is actually perfect. This week marks the 4th week of my new training program. I was suppose to start week 5 next week but I decided to take the week off and enjoy the holiday. Plus I am going out of town so hitting a gym would be even more difficult. What I didn't plan on was having a crazy week at work that would cause me to lose my last 2 days of training before the break. But that is life and I cannot worry about what I cannot change.

It's my plan to try and go into a calorie deficient starting tomorrow through Thanksgiving along with a calorie deficiet following Thanksgiving. I am hoping to use Thanksgiving as a bit of a refeed/cheat day. I say tomorrow because tonight is family movie night and we are going to enjoy some popcorn and candy. I know it's not primal but I really enjoy this time with the family and I truly believe in the 80/20 rule. Enjoy life!  Peace out.

Site Redesign

As anyone can clearly see, I have redesigned my blog.  A few days ago I was looking around the old site and noticed that I hadn't written much lately. It's not that I didn't have anything to write about, it's just that I am not that great of a writer. My old theme was a magazine style theme that tended to make the reader believe they were going to be reading something fantastic and mind blowing. That is not really me.  I would sit down at my computer and try to come up with a story or article that would really impress my readers. In the end, I usually had nothing that lived up to my own high standards.  So I started to think about why I started the blog in the first place. It originally came about as a place to place my thoughts about working out, nutrition, food, etc. It was never meant to be a place where I could single handily solve the world's obesity problems.  The old theme made me think that was what I needed to do.

I set out to modify the original theme into a more personal site.  I wanted full articles on the page with easy links for comments. I wanted some simple widgets on the side and a toned down advertising section. About an hour into my tinkering, I really managed to screw up the old theme and quickly realized it wasnt going to do what I wanted it to do. So I set out to find a new theme. If you visited the site the last few days you have probably noticed quite a few different looks as I messed around with different ideas and concepts.  Totally I finally settled on (for now) the theme you are seeing before your very eyes. It's clean, refreshing, simple, and loads pretty fast.

Most importantly,  I feel it really allows me to open myself up to start writing about more simple things. Things like the struggle I am having at the gym lately or my lack of motivation to eat right. The old theme didn't allow me to share that very well. This new theme is going to open up a a whole new world for me. Watch out!

With all that said, what do you think of the new theme? Do you see anything that could be different? Is it easy to read and follow? Is it easy on the eyes? Do you like it? I am open to opinions and thoughts. I really want to make it into a great site.