The Weight Loss Plan

So here is my plan to be under 300 pounds by the time that Garrett gets here. It is based on Body For Life but I will modify it a bit.

1. For every meal I will have a protein, carbohydrate and vegetable.
   
2. I will eat red meat only once a week. The rest of the time it will be chicken, fish and pork.
   
3. No fried foods, no fast food
4. One day a week I can eat anything that I want for that day. On the other days I will adhere strictly to the Body for Life eating plan: 6 meals a day

--> Meal 1: Weight Control Oatmeal/Oatmeal
--> Meal 2: Protein Shake
--> Meal 3: Lunch (Protein, Vegetable, Carb)
--> Meal 4: Protein Bar
--> Meal 5: Dinner (Protein, Vegetable, Carb)
--> Meal 6: Protein Shake

1. In terms of Workouts I will weight lift 3 times a week and do cardio at least 3 days a week

• I will alternate between upper body interval circuits and lower body interval circuits
• Cardio I will alternate between interval workouts and fat-burning cardio workouts.
  

I will keep you posted with weight and measurement updates every week. Hopefully that will motivate me. Alright, last serious post for a while. Enjoy!

The Biggest Loser

So I have been trying to lose weight. There was a time where I was skinny and fit and had puma like agility. People see pictures, and are surprised that I was that small. I look back on those days with fondness. I had clothes that I liked wearing, and going shopping was a very enjoyable thing. I could wear pretty much everything in the store, and damn near everything fit well. I was athletic, and could go out and play pretty much any sport, after a night of drinking and partying, with only 15 minutes or so of notice. Now, I have told myself that everyone is like that in their early 20's. The older you get, the more likely you are to gain a little weight....And now we fast forward to today.

There are a lot of reasons that I have gained weight. The obvious one is I became less active. Post football and inter-murals I just do a hell of a lot less. Unfortunately (for a long time) I ate exactly the same way as I did when I was practicing football for 3-5 hours a day. That has led to some of the weight gain. Second, when Katie and I were dating I lived in Morgantown and she lived in Chicago. Since we did not see each other that much, we always went out to eat when we were together, almost every time we ate. It was our way of celebrating being together. We ate at some great places (go to Catch 35 if you are ever in Chicago, it's phenomenal). Finally, I just dig food. Good food makes me happy. Finding a restaurant we have never eaten at before, trying cuisine is a good feeling for me. But that hasn't helped in the keeping off the weight department.

So here I am. I had lost 30 pounds, but I have gained 12 of them back. I have set a goal. I want to be under 300 lbs by the time the baby comes. Garrett is supposed to be here August 20th. So about 2 months. I have a plan for how I am going to do this, that 'll lay out in the next post. I'm gonna need support, prayers, thoughts and all that other good stuff. I will keep you posted of how the journey is going. Let me know what you think of my effort, or if you have some tips for me. So the journey begins again...

True Grit

So this weekend I watched the movie True Grit. Now I am told, that in some High Schools across this great nation, people were required to read this little slice of Americana. Now, I don't remember this book at all. That means one of two things. First, Upper St. Clair High School was way behind the times and we were too busy being rich (by we, I mean not me) or second, I was too busy cultivating my pimp stache and hitting on the ladies (picture included for your viewing pleasure)

Drink it in America, Drink it in....

Now that you are done drinking that in, I will continue with my movie tale. My wife briefly filled me in on what the movie was about, and the commercials I had seen made me think that this could be something worth watching. So I pop this movie in and I am immediately met with some smart ass little girl mouthing off to pretty much everyone in this town. Hold on here, why is there a 12 year old girl mouthing off to people. This isn't an episode of ICarly (or whatever the hell shows the kids are watching these days), this is the wild west. I've seen Tombstone. They shoot people for fun in the Wild West. Wyatt Earp just walked into random bars and started slapping people in the face like an episode of Jersey Shore. Why doesn't someone just punch this little girl in the face (Note I am not advocating beating children, but in the Wild West you can do things like that).

So as though that isn't enough, then in comes Matt Damon. I'm not sure who did costume design for this movie, but I feel fairly certain that if you looked up child molester, there would be a picture of Matt Damon from this movie. Let me put it this way, if Matt Damon's character were walking down the street, and I had my child on that same side of the street...I would pick my child up, spray mace in Matt Damon's face and then sprint (which would still be slow, I know) to the other side of the road. Nothing is good about that character. As if to support my theory, one of the first interaction Matt Damon has with the girl he tells her he almost kissed her while she was asleep. Oh I'm sorry, where I come from that is called statutory rape/creepy. Then in the middle of the woods, he starts spanking her. Oh and, he is an idiot. Who in the hell walks into a group of 4 men (who are all on horseback and look shady as hell), in the wild west, and try to talk to them. Again, I saw Tombstone, and when 4 guys are all hanging out in the Wild West they are going to kill someone or rob something. Matt Damon, you should know better.

I think this picture pretty much sums up everything I said....

Finally, the main character. Rooster Cogburn. He is drunk, he is mean, he is angry. Obviously, I loved him.

The movie ends rather abruptly. I won't tell you what happens, but pretty much as soon as you get invested in the movie it ends. I give this movie 6 out of 10. It's no Harry Potter, but it's no Batman Begins either (the former being good and the latter bad). I learned three things from this movie:

1. I want to watch Tombstone.
2. If you are ever going bounty hunting, a 12 year old girl who can't shoot, scavenge, make anything of note and who mouths off to everyone may not be your best companion.
3. I want to watch Tombstone.

A Third of the Way There....

Yesterday was my birthday. 31. It's pretty remarkable that I have already lived 1/3 of my life. It has been a hell of a ride. I made some pretty bad decisions and some pretty great decisions. I've loved people, I've thought I was in love and I've obsessed. I've helped, I've hurt and I've hindered. I've drank...well I drank a lot. All in all, it was a hell of a ride. However, as I reflect back it does a couple things...

First, it makes me smile. I have made some of the best friends that anyone could ask for because I went to a school that I never even knew existed. I moved to Morgantown, and met some people who I am proud to call my friends. I reconnected with someone I had lost in my past, and found my best friend and my wife.

It also makes me think of where I am now. I am an Assistant Professor at a job that I really like. I've always wanted to work with kids, these ones are just a bit older. But I feel good about the job I do, and I feel like I make a difference and that's why I wanted to teach. We have a house that we love, in a neighborhood that we like. We have lots of pets (something that I always wanted) Baxter and Bella (the cats) and Cricket and Tucker (the dogs).

Finally, it makes me think of where I am going. The thing I am most excited about is the baby. Katie and I are having a little one in August. Countdown is on, 10 weeks to go. I've always wanted to be a dad and I am crazy excited for the opportunity. This blog will talk about all of those things, where I've been, where I am, and where I am headed..Cuz hell, life has been good and I'm going to rock it out until the end. After all, I am a third of the way there....