Elliptical Galaxies?

Did you know there were such things?

Well I was in one this morning for 20 minutes and 1.55 miles. It gets me that much closer to my goals! And now I work HARD all weekend to try to shed a last pound or two for Monday's weigh in for 2/1/10! And then donate some money.

I have to say - I'm truly THRILLED at how cool Club 8 has become - how many of you are joining in - how revitalizing this has been for the team! This is gonna be SO great when we all get to WDW in January! I can't wait for this my friends.

Can.

Not.

Wait.

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A Day of Weight Training

No mileage to report today - but that's not because I didn't work out. In order to achieve maximum weight loss, I also want to pack on some more lean muscle tissue. The best way to do that is circuit training with weights.

So that's what I did this morning.

I'm already sore. Ahhhh...what a good feeling. :)

This week has been "okay" with eating - although we ate out twice. I did okay, but I find when I eat out, I tend to hold onto an extra half pound or two. The problem being that we're only FIVE days away from the end of this month - and I am NOT going to miss my Club 8 goal for the month - no way - no how! So I need to be extra vigilant through Monday.

Speaking of which - are YOU prepared to make your DWT Dream Team Donation on Monday? Can't wait! Wait until Lou sees all the "Club 8" tags on money being donated. He's gonna flip! This is going to be GREAT!

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Life in Tan and Green

Okay - first a few updates before we get to today's topic.

Club 8: I'm down 9 pounds for January. I lost .7 pounds this week - and considering it was a rough week overall - I'm happy with that.

RTD: I added 2.35 miles this morning in 30 minutes on the elliptical. And man are my hamstrings tired. :) But I'm working on it! I'm on I-5 heading south.

And now - today's topic.

Sgt. Brian - who you all may know and love from AATM - has his own blog.

And if you haven't listened to this week's AATM, go listen to it for some great news for Sgt. Brian and his lovely wife Maria.

But here's the problem. He's WAAAAAAAY over in Iraq. Away from his family and wife and new baby!

I couldn't imagine being half a world away from Elizabeth right now - much less when she was only DAYS old.

That being said - Sgt. Brian is a really good dude. And his family is awesome. SO - when you're done reading here, click on over to http://litag.blogspot.com - read his latest post - and EVERYONE - say hi - tell him we miss him.

Because here's the truth - forget politics or war.

Sgt. Brian is one of us. He's a AATM'er, a Team Voicer, and a good dude.

So go say hi!

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Battling My Depression

As you know, if you've been keeping up, I'm currently on anti-depressants and seeing a counselor to deal with what we're classifying as "a major depressive incident." Now my counselor says I'm one of the most upbeat depressed guys she knows, but there you have it.

I have good days and bad. And when I have bad days, I get really down on myself.

But the bad days are LESS bad now then they were in December, for instance.

And getting better.

Regardless, here's what this week has brought me.

Two fun side-effects of my medication.

1. Diarrhea. I know. Pleasant isn't it? But this has stopped for now. Just made for a fun beginning of the week.

2. Insomnia. This one is still sticking around, although mellowing a BIT. I get tired. Lay down to sleep around 10:30. And my eyes just stay open. Usually until around 1:30 or 2am. Last night closer to midnight. And I'm hoping that as my body normalizes the medicine levels, I'll get back to normal sleep...because once I DO get to sleep, I find it nearly impossible to wake up early enough to go to the gym (which is why there's no mileage yet this week) And then what happens? I feel bad all day because I didn't exercise.

And when I feel bad what do I do? Beat myself up, and then have lunch at Wendy's.

But here's the bright shiny spot.

When I went to Wendy's yesterday - I counted the calories of what I ate, and adjusted the rest of the day accordingly. I didn't give up. I felt bad, sure, but didn't give up.

And amazingly - the weight keeps coming off. Because I'm working at it.

I'm honestly working through this. I get up every day - take my med - and focus on trying to have the best day possible - understanding that sometimes....well sometimes I just won't.

And that's okay. Because I'm better than I was.

And I'm not as good as I will be.

And for now - that works for me.

More mileage to come this weekend!!!!

MAIN STREET AWAITS!

GOAL REACHED

Okay - the first goal has been reached - today's weigh in was 345.1 - meaning a loss of 8.2 pounds so far this month! So Club 8 goal REACHED. :)

That feels AWESOME. And I know I'll lose a few more before the month is done. :)

No gym today - that darn recumbant bike at the gym really tweaked my back - so I'm stretching and advilling today. Tomorrow either the elliptical or the treadmill.

You have about 2 weeks left for YOUR Club 8 challenge. Are you going to make it? Are you going to really buckle down? You can! I believe in you!

On a side note - we're having cat difficulties. He's rebelling a bit. Peeing on things. Like the bed. Ew. We know he's jealous of Elizabeth. But seriously. This can't keep up. We'll see how it goes.

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5.4 Miles in 30 minutes!

The only way it's possible is if I used the recumbant bike at the gym.

And let me say something....

If you haven't biked in awhile. DO IT.

Your inner thighs will SCREAM in agony. But it's a good pain. :)

How's your January going? We're half way to the end of the month - are you down your half way goal for January? Are you past it?

How're my Club 8ers doing? :)

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The Running Man

Well I did it. Sort of.

I went to the gym this morning and passed up the elliptical and headed for the dreadmill.

1.20 miles in 20 minutes including about 3 minutes of a good solid jog.

Man - I'm out of practice - my shins are KILLING me.

But I did it. And I'm 1.20 miles closer to my goal.

And I used something my counselor taught me. A visualization. We talked about a moment where I was my BEST me. Going through the castle on Main Street during the 2009 WDW Half Marathon. I felt incredible. And I used that visualization to remember that although I'm tired and slow and depressed right now - I'm also THAT guy too. And it pushed me to my workout goal.

And I remember something else too.

It's still true that...

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Congratulations to Team Voice!

First of all a hearty congratulations to everyone who succeeded this last weekend in the FRIGIDLY cold WDW Marathon Weekend! I'm proud of you guys! You did AWESOME!!!!

As for me? I'm down another 2.4 pounds - down to 347.9 which feels really good. Sadly I don't have any mileage to add today, as we're dealing with a sick Amber at home, and I'm taking her to the doctor today. She's been running a fever pretty steadily for about a day and a half. But she's on antibiotics already (god bless our on-call doc) and we'll confirm that it's nothing to worry about later today.

So I'll get back to the mileage tomorrow hopefully - if not tomorrow - then Wednesday.

But the diet and wiisports are helping keep the weight coming off and I'm totally satisfied with that so far!

So folks - I'm 2 weeks into the month and over half way to the club 8 goal. How is YOUR club 8 goal coming for January?

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GOOD LUCK TEAM VOICE!

Okay - a quick check in today - another 1.70 20 minuter on the elliptical - a good grocery shop to stock up on healthy low cal low fat high protein stuff - and a busy day ahead.

Today is the day we UNdecorate the house from Christmastime!

Regardless - I wanted to take this opportunity to wish EVERY member of Team Voice (whether you're running TODAY or TOMORROW or BOTH) the very very very very best of luck!

YOU GUYS CAN DO IT!! I'm really proud of you!!!!

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I'm on my way to Disneyland...

Figuratively of course. :) I made it to the gym this morning and worked out on the elliptical machine for 20 solid minutes. Sweated up a storm. Forgot a towel. My shirt is soaked. LOL

But I managed to get in 1.80 miles on that machine this morning. I've started keeping track of my journey to Disneyland under my NEW logo! (Isn't it awesome?)

Listened to some good tunes.

Worked my body hard.

And felt good doing it.

We'll do the same thing tomorrow morning, too. Only maybe we'll hit the treadmill fo

r 20. Not sure yet. We're easing back into this - but doing so with intensity and enthusiasm!

Speaking of intensity and enthusiasm.

I have to give a shoutout to my friend, colleague, teammate, and fellow co

unselor Justin.

Not only did he design the new Club 8 logo, but also the NEW "Voice" logo at the top of the blog.

And not only did he design that one - he gave me about a zillion variants, all of which I ADORE! (Where's my figment variant, Justin? LOL) Here...I'll share a few! :)

Speaking of Club 8 - I've had a few questions about it. Most common is:

"What if I don't have that much weight to lose?"

Well then you can focus on healthy weight loss for yourself - and support the rest of us on our Club 8 goals! But you're in for sure!

That being said - I want to welcome Maroo and Crystal and Steve to Club 8 as well! If you guys read the blog - say hi! :)

And as always...

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3 Down - 5 to Go

Okay - a variety of good news today.

First - I'm only 3 days into the month, and the first 3 pounds have been shed. :) I feel quite happy about this today. :) 350.3

Secondly - tomorrow I get back into the gym for some hardcore elliptical - and I have a whole new iPod lineup for it!

Thirdly - I've added another challenge - this one a yearlong challenge - to the mix. I'm running to Disneyland! Sorta. Jeff and co. challenged me to do the distance (walk, run, bike, elliptical, crawl, whatever) from my house to Disneyland. Some are doing WDW, some DLR - and I'm accepting. You can see the composite map above. :)

Fourthly - today I start my counseling sessions. This one I'm a little skittish about. There's been a lot going on and a lot of demons I don't want to necessarily confront. But I'll do what I have to in order to save myself, my family, and my world.

We've gotten some great Club 8 e-mails - welcome Maroo, Matt, Steve - but I WANT MORE! NEW FOLKS, please. Commit with us! JOIN UP!!

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Happy New Year!!!!

A new year - a new decade! And a fresh new start for me!

I've got a very positive attitude today - and am excited about what the next 10-12 months has in store for me! As you all know - my club 8 challenges begin TODAY with a starting weight of 353.4 (which made me cringe, but then excited me - because I KNOW I can overcome that number).

I'm also in a competition at my officespace. Four of us are doing a "Biggest Loser" competition. Every month, the person who loses the highest percentage of body weight chooses a charity the others have to donate $25 to.

Plus let's not forget my $1/pound pledge to the Dream Team.

We announce Club 8 on AATM today - and I'm looking forward to hearing from all our old and NEW teammates! I'm looking forward to getting out there and starting again!

Here's my plan folks:

Food is the easy part. Going back on simple caloric restriction, and minding my portion sizes. We've created a daily menu here that leaves me around 1800-2100 calories per day, which will work at the outset. I'll adjust as I go.

Exercise, on the other hand - well - we're going to focus on getting to the gym three times weekly for elliptical and/or treadmill and/or weight training for now. On the alternating days, I'll be working out at home with situps, pushups, and Wii activities.

This is only a STARTING Point. As the weight gets back to lower levels, and the weather warms a bit, I'll be back to walking outside, and then jogging. Likely will even take a certain little one in a stroller with me at times!

I start counseling on Monday - and have been on my new meds a week.

And generally I feel really optimistic about 2010. In fact - I'm EXCITED. JAZZED. PUMPED.

How about you?

MAIN STREET AWAITS!