its good to be back.

Last night I forced myself into bed at 9pm.  As previously stated I have been putting off/taking a week off from running.  I compelled myself into bed forcefully early because I didn't want any excuse for getting up at 6am to run before work today.  I was up off an on about an hour before my scheduled wakeup time courtesy of some wicked awesome thunderstorms.  With lightning that lit up the sky like Vegas and thunder that clapped like a NASCAR race there wasn't much consistent sleep to be had between 443am and my 6am alarm.  At 6am I happily bounded out of bed...yeah thats right I bounded like a friggin' gazelle over to the alarm, grabbed my under armor, running shoes, and socks.  Filled up the SIGG bottle and hopped on the treadmill.  It felt really good to get back into running.  I think if anything last week was a mental holiday because I have a renewed energy this morning to really start knocking down faster miles!  Also as a side note since the weather is getting warmer I really can't wait to get back out on the mountain bike in a few weeks because I really miss the solitude of riding in the woods.  This morning I ran for 23 minutes plus warmup and cooldown time which equates to 6 points in the weight watchers system.

I also have to amend my previous blog about the description of the show HEAVY on A&E.  The format for the show has changed since the first 6 or so episodes have aired.  The new format now puts 2 people into the Hilton Head Health hotel where they spend 6 months exercising, eating right, and undergoing counseling.  The previous format sent people home after a few weeks to see how they did on their own.  This new format appears to be much more successful in promoting and educating the individuals involved.

While at my new godsons baptism luncheon yesterday I also learned that one of my friends B.P.  is also doing the weight watchers for men program.  He has lost about 7lbs in his first 5 weeks, he is on about the same track as I am and is about 2 weeks behind me in the program.  I am happy because now I have someone to convince to workout with me when I am feeling less than motivated.  He is a father of 2 and with the encouragement of his wife has joined to get back in better shape.  I wish him all the best and hopefully we can help motivate each other in the coming weeks.

call the waaaaambulance I'm whining.

Another Sunday weigh in, another week of weight loss.  HO HUM.  This weeks official number 215.2.  The continued weight loss is great!  But, I feel like I should be seeing more aggressive results.  I feel like the .8-1lb per week I have been losing isn't enough.  I know that is not the correct way to think but sometimes I hop on the scale on Sundays hoping to see some magic week of 5 lbs weight loss or more.  I guess I should just be happy that I am continually losing weight. 

Don't feel bad for me I am just complaining.  There are plenty of other people out there suffering through crushing weight with no hope of loss.  Just watch an episode of the Documentary Series "Heavy" sometimes.  That show is both inspirational and tragic.  To see someone who through many avenues, years of overeating, and most likely some mental or physical health issues has blown up to 400, 500, even 600lbs will crush you.  You then follow them through their education on how to properly cook and eat.  The participants are also taught how to exercise, given tools for success, and membership to a gym for a year with a personal trainer for 6 months.  If the participant doesn't comply they are sent back to the boot camp for 1 more month of intensive training.  By the end of the show most participants have lost anywhere from 50 to 150lbs in a 6 month period.  The only thing that you don't get to see is a follow-up with the participant greater than 6 months after the show.  I am sure there will be a followup series that will chronicle the successes and failures of the participant as well.  (if that wasn't planned A&E I want a cut!)  I feel like I could probably predict the people that will stick with the program and those that will go back to their old ways with pretty good success.  The problem with many of the people on that show is that they don't have a good support network at home.  I feel bad for many of the people because the families they go home to are enablers and in the same condition as the participant.  It's tragic to see a wife who just wants to succeed on that show only to come home to a husband who is morbidly obese himself and their kids who are also on the road to the same problem.  The wife tries so hard to succeed in her weight loss only to have a husband basically sabotaging everything she is doing.  The show falls short in that they don't offer any support, counseling, or education to the families of the participants.  The show is definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen an episode yet I highly recommend Heavy.   

it's the weekend?

Alright!  Its the weekend!!

Oh wait, I work today.  If my weekends seem overwhelmingly busy now whats it going to be like when we have a little one at home? 

Ever just had one of those weeks where you can't wait for the next week to start so you can put this week behind you?  I woke up every morning this week feeling creaky, sore, and tired.  I did get up a few early mornings to shovel snow this week.  I didn't run a single day this week...for shame I know!  But I was just not feeling it all week.  I haven't lost sight of my goals and one week off isn't going to kill me as long as I get back on the treadmill or out on the trails this coming week.  Maybe my body was just telling me to recover...or maybe I am just making excuses. 

Either way, I have a date with the treadmill tomorrow morning. 

Have a great weekend!

dreaming of the future...

I keep thinking of the future and what it holds for Christine and me and our growing family.  I keep thinking of all the things that I can teach and share with my children.  One of the things that I really remember as a child was going fishing with my dad.  Fishing by itself takes a GREAT deal of patience and fishing with a child takes the patience of a saint.  (Therefore I think my father may be a saint because he took up to 4 kids fishing at a time).  I learned the level of patience this takes when spending a weekend at the lakehouse with my family and my nephew.  If you don't know me, I love fishing its one of the destressors I use to get through crazy times because I find the solidarity soothing. 

My experience with teaching Nicolas (not his 1st time fishing)  was actually very rewarding, albeit stressful at first.  When fishing alongside a young child you have to get in the habit of not fishing much.  You put some bait on a hook for them (most likely a worm) and you show them how to cast the bait into the water.  Of course the first 10 or 12 casts either go into the weeds, behind them, or send the worm FLAILING out into the water and off the hook.  Frustration will mount a bit no doubt because in my head it seems like such a simple concept of casting this little piece of bait into the water.  After rebaiting, recasting, and Nicolas beginning to lose interest we got a worm into the water.  The first time that bobber disappeared under the water was exhilarating, Nicholas set the hook properly and reeled in a nice sized bluegill.  He was hooked!  Now everytime I am at the lakehouse with Nicolas he wants to fish...or swim across the inlet with his grandmother (my mom) but that is a story for a different time!

Something I know I will need to have plenty of with raising children is patience and self sacrifice.  I will have to give up or take a break from many of the things I love so that I can spend the time teaching my children to love the same things.  I really am looking forward to being able to shape this young child into a strong individual and respectful person! 

the real reasons...

We found out that Christine was pregnant a few days after our 1 year wedding anniversary in December.  That was one of the most exciting days in my life to this date.  I was sitting on my couch a few days after the New Year and I had a thought.  Do I want to raise a child being out of shape and overweight?  Thoughts of me being a blob on the couch unable to chase my kid around raced through my brain.  SURE, it would take alot more weight gain for me to become said blob on the couch, but I had to make an effort now to prevent that.

As fate would have it I saw a nutrisystem commercial on tv and did some research on line about it, only to find out that its at least $300 a month and the meals are prefrozen.  YUCK.  I wanted something to make sure that I learned the proper way to eat, but could also eat what I wanted when I wanted it.  (did I just use want too much in one sentence?) I then settled on weight watchers for men online.  A program that encourages healthy eating, exercise, but doesn't restrict the foods you eat.  By design if I chose to I could eat twinkies and doritos all day, but as long as I didn't exceed my totals for points for the day I would still lose about 1-2lbs a week.  My ultimate goal is to get back down to a healthy body weight of around 170lbs.  Based on the previous formula of 1-2lbs a week I should hopefully be able to reach my goal in 6months to a year.  A completely realistic goal to lose 50lbs in my opinion.

FFAAATTTMMMMMAAANNNNNNNN Flashback!

I have a friend Susan that blogs as well (momswimbikerun), and she occasionally does "get to know your blogger" segments that go a little more in depth into who she is.  I couldn't steal that idea, so instead you get FATMAN Flashbacks where we flashback to the days when I was much more fit and athletic.  When I graduated from high school I was a svelte 140lbs 5'7" could run a sub 5 minute mile, and a 5k in 17:59 (one time only, 5k PR).  I ran cross country, indoor track, and played as a starter in men's volleyball.  From 1997 when i graduated until I graduated from college in 2003 I grew a few more inches to 5'11", and was about 180lbs.  I was fresh out of Pharmacy school had a great paying job and more money than I had ever made in my life.

I spent the majority of my time away from work drinking heavily, partying, and eating anything and everything I could find.  In 2007 I reached the heaviest point in my life at around 255lbs.  I started running almost daily back then and got down to around 235.  I met Christine in August of that year and continued running and got down into the 220's.  Christine and I were no stranger to nights out drinking and eating at nice restaurants so weight loss for me didn't happen.  I continued running and did my first half marathon last year.  Without a proper diet in place though I didn't lose much weight but could tell that I was getting in better shape.  Which brings us today where I have put all the pieces together to give myself the best chance to succeed.  I am doing this for myself, but also for my future son or daughter.  I want to be a good influence as a father as well as in the kitchen!  I hope to be able to pass on the healthy lifestyle choices I am making now on to my child.

Check out the legs on this guy and that hair is sweeeeeet!

I think that's enough yapping about myself for now.

where do we go from here?

The baby is developing well, my wife is being a trooper, and I well, where do I go from here?  I'm not a dad yet, I am more a dad in training.  I know next to nothing about raising children.  Am I scared?  No.  Nervous?  A little.  Unprepared?  Absolutely! 

I have some of the books at home that the wife is reading, any suggestions on a good book for a soon to be father? 

I must say the first few months of this journey have been interesting.  Christine's nausea was there almost everyday but with a little gingerale and some saltines she was able to get through it most days.  What amazed me more than anything was the level of fatigue that she suffered from.  Most days she would wake up very tired, go to work for 10-11 hours, come home barely get in food before she fell asleep on the couch.  Bedtime would come most nights around 8 or 815.  Then she would get up the next morning and repeat the whole process.  I have a new found respect for women who have to suffer through this because I would be miserable.  

I have also learned during this period that on most days even when on my best behavior I am an incredible ass.  I have a way of saying something I find amusing and feel is harmless only to turn around to see my wife with the waterworks turned on!  What an ASS!  Then she says, its not you its these damn hormones and it gives us something to laugh about later!  Only...I am still an ass...guess that won't change! 

The second trimester started this week and hopefully this fatigue begins to fade and I get my wife back for a while.  The nausea has subsided and we were able to go out for dinner for the first time in over 3 months this past weekend.  I know she will be very happy when the fatigue subsides because she really wants to go to the gym and workout some of her stress.

We are both very excited for what the future holds and we will be depending on our family and friends for all the advice necessary to get through the tough times!

I've been a slacker!

Yes, I have been a slacker I know.  My posts have been few and far between since I got back from the Snowboard trip to snowy Aspen/Snowmass.  It has been a very hectic week between getting back from the trip, cleaning up emails at work, and dr's appointments with the wife!

Dr's appointments with the wife you say?  Wait is your wife sick?  NOPE!  My wife is pregnant with our future son or daughter!!  We have reached 13 weeks and on Friday we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time!  Its was an amazing experience to know that the baby was there and its heartbeat was pounding away like a marathoner during a race!

Sunday is weigh in day as well.  Last week after the trip I had put on 2 lbs but wasn't down about it because I expected a little weight gain after a week of drinking and eating.  I started off this journey at 235lbs, weigh in this morning.  216.2!

I am very happy.  This is the lowest weight I have been since our wedding in December of 2009 when I was around 212-215.

Its been a great week, and I will have more updates coming soon!

a-motivational.

I went to bed last night geared up to run in the morning when I woke up.  Unlike friends who are running marathons or half marathons, I don't have a specific training plan I just need to run because I need to get in shape and become less fat.

The alarm came early this morning at 6am...and I had a splitting headache.  How does that happen?  I mean seriously it felt like I had a knife in the base of my skull.  Once I stood up and moved around it just throbbed with every step and every heartbeat.  So I took some ibuprofen and climbed back under the warm blankets with my snoozing wife.

I have the shoes and running clothes right in the middle of the floor in the hallway to my bedroom by design.  Because they are going to prevent me from coming home from work and catching up on the DVR.  I am going to move the run to after work.  I hate running after work though because after standing for 8 hours straight my legs usually don't have much pop in them.

Any motivation here would help.  I am definitely a-motivational today.

vacation vacation.

I was gone for a week, gone on vacation.  My annual snowboard trip with the pharmacy school buddies which left me little time to write about my changing diet.  Each day went something like this:  Wake up too early due to time difference, snowboard from 9-1 or 2, come back watch tv, snack, and drink beer.  Then head out to dinner at some sort of resort type restaurant that serves way to calorie rich food.  Back to condo, more beer, sleep at 9 or 10 and repeat.  I did take Wednesday off from snowboarding so that I could go fly fishing on the Frying Pan river in Basalt, CO. 

I am not going to lie, eating out on vacation is not an easy proposition when all that delicious booze and food is splayed out before you on the menu.  I made as many healthy choices as I could by having salads with meals, no creamy dressings, just oil and vinegar and a dash of salt and pepper.   Substituting the house veggies for the loaded baked potatoes and skipping dessert in most places because the desserts were nothing special anyways so why waste the calories.  I ate more fish than steak, limited my pizza to 3 slices or so, and tried to keep my alcohol overdosage to a minimum. 

All in all I think I made pretty decent decisions and at the end of the week away I had only put back on 1.6lbs.  I can handle that because on my honeymoon I came back 12lbs heavier than when I left Pittsburgh.  Granted this vacation involved a great deal of exercise most days 3-4 hours of consistent hard snowboarding in powder and through glades runs dodging trees.

I must say though at the end of the week it was nice to return home to my beautiful wife, sleep in my own bed, and cook my own meals.  I am relaxed, happy, and definitely not ready to go back to work!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip, feel free to checkout the rest on my flickr page.  www.flickr.com/robringer

 

I wish I could claim this.

I wish I could claim this all my own but I stole it from an email,
 
  'Twas the Night Before the Super Bowl
 
'Twas the night before the Super Bowl, when along the gulf shore,
Steelers fans were praying for "just one more;"
 
The players were nestled all snug in the sack,
With visions of number 7 against the Pack;
 
Coach Tomlin was young, but wise for his years,
So I drifted off to sleep without any fears;
 
When at the stadium there arose some strange chatter,
The Packers feared, what was the matter;
 
We heard "Okel Dokel", we heard "Double Yoi,"
We jumped from our beds, our hearts jumped for joy;
 
He stood at the fifty with a grin ear to ear,
Steelers fans everywhere started to cheer;
 
Then in an instant to our surprise,
This little old man had tears in his eyes;
 
He went to the booth and there took his chair,
While Terrible Towels waved in the air;
 
Then over the airwaves came his shrill voice,
The Steelers Nation began to rejoice;
 
He said, "I am back, but you know I can't stay,
I just had to see my Steelers play;
 
From my home up above, I have a great view,
But I wanted to celebrate here with you;
 
So bring on the Pack, we'll send them a flyin',
On the way back to Greenbay, they will be cryin';
 
Ben, Hines, Troy , Wallace and all of the rest,
No matter the outcome, to me you're the best;"
 
The airwaves went silent, the stadium still,
Was this just a dream, it seemed so real;
 
In our team we have faith, in our team we have hope,
But the game's not the same without Myron Cope; 
 

groundhog schmoundhog.

Today is Groundhogs day, the most famous pull a giant rat out of a weird treehouse holiday on the planet!  I couldn't get drunk in a freezing cold field in Punxy this morning because I had the responsibility of properly filling the masses prescriptions.

So at the butt crack of dawn this morning Phil didn't see his shadow so spring will be here 6 weeks earlier.  If I believed this I guess I would be excited because that means I will be back to running outdoors on a consistent basis to train for the warrior dash in June.  But as far as I can tell winter still has its grasp firmly around the throat of Pennsylvania as the snow falls and the temperatures plummet to a balmy 20 degrees.

I can't get over how sore my legs are from running outside monday (if you can call it a run).  The transition from consistent tread mill running to pavement pounding is much more profound than I remember.  So a word of advice if you are making the same transition as I am, start slow.  Run on softer surfaces like crushed stone, mulch, grass instead of asphalt and concrete.  STRETCH!!, and convince your wife to massage your sore whiny legs if you can. 

Countdown to 7 for the Steelers begins now! Time to get excited!  HERE WE GO!