Back to life, back to reality

Back to the here and now, yeah! I loved Soul II Soul back in the day (still do now!) and this line summed things up perfectly for me today. I feel like I’ve been living in bizarro world (great Seinfeld episode!) lately and I’ve had to hang on with everything I’ve had. Things have been really unbalanced in most areas of my life and it’s caused me to lose touch with reality.

Today though, I got myself back on track and renewed with major energy. It was one of the best days I’ve had in over 3 months. Heck yeah!

My eating was perfect today, and I had a really good weights session tonight. Now as I get ready for bed, I’m feeling really positive again..

That’s what I’m talkin’ bout!

While the past few weeks have sucked pretty bad (especially last week), I’m actually happy I went through it all. It showed me a few things that I thought I had in check, and it forced me to look deep inside again for some answers.

Here’s a few of things I learned.

1) I’ve got to make sleep my priority. It’s the glue that keeps everything running….both physically and mentally. I just don’t put the emphasis on this I should be.

2) Preparation is everything! Planning your schedule, training plan, meal plan and your shopping and food prep is so critical. I took my eye off the ball with this and I paid a high price.

3) Trying to lose 100+ lbs is a big enough challenge on it’s own……I don’t need other challenges as well. While I’m glad I’ve pushed myself with some extra challenges like the half marathon and 12 week challenge (still going with this one too), I honestly think they have been a big distraction. Both added a lot of extra pressure on me, that when combined with the overall challenge of beating obesity, it’s been extremely tough. I think setting some challenges for yourself is still good, but I’d make them smaller.

4) This journey is on a timetable of it’s own….go with it!

Tomorrow is cardio day, so I plan on really hitting it hard. Need to get some momentum cranking again!

Hope everyone has a great week!

When the going gets tough…..

I’ve been avoiding this post for over a week now. It’s tough sometimes to face up to reality and take accountability for your actions, but I felt like it was time. So far with this blog I’ve been great at sharing my successes and wins, so I need to make sure I’m just as real when I fall.

Next week marks 8 months since I started my journey. It’s been a great time so far, and I’m super proud of what I’ve achieved in that time. The reality is though, that I’m currently in a massive battle……with myself.

Lately my training has been great, and physically I’ve seen some big improvements. I’ve been able to workout most days, and have maintained my rule of not going more than 2 days without exercising. Big win!

Where I’ve been struggling though, is with my eating. The past 3 or 4 weeks have been like a roller coaster. My eating has been going up and down like a yo yo. A few days eating great, then a few eating bad.

I’m not talking about a little treat here and there either. I’m talking massive benders that last for 3 or 4 days, eating anything and everything. Basically binge eating.

Saturday was a low point too. I went over the top so much that I woke up ill at 5am Sunday morning and puked. Sad.

Although I’ve come a long way with my body transformation, I still have such a  ways to go mentally. As weird as it might sound though, I’m happy about where I’m at. Obviously I would like to be over these lapses, but I’m really happy with my level of awareness about things. And an even bigger plus is that I’m fighting hard!

I’ve known for a while that I need to put some serious work into my ‘food philosophy’. It’s been on my mind a lot lately. It’s something that takes time to come to terms with though, so I need to be patient. The thing I have to realise is that I can’t do this thing on my terms. While moderation is definitely the goal, I need to let go of some of the ideas I’ve been holding on to in regards to food.

So yeah, right now it’s definitely a tough battle, but I honestly feel good about where I’m headed. I’m still moving forward with exercise (regardless that I feel like junk physically and mentally) and that has been critical. And although I’m struggling with my eating habits, I’m learning every day and I’m becoming more aware of exactly where I need to make changes.

My thinking is what got me to the point I was 8 months ago and it took years to get to that low point. I can’t expect that to just change overnight.

I’ve decided to start getting more active on here too, as I clearly have a long way to go and I think it will help. I realise this is all part of the journey, and I’m cool with that. I won’t be giving up on anything just because the road got a little rocky!

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Separating exercise and diet

If you ask any personal trainer they will tell you that to successfully get in shape and lose weight you need to focus on a combination of both exercise and nutrition. It’s the basic formula for health and fitness, and most of us know this.

As important as these two things are though, I believe it’s equally important to not look at them as a combination. Yes, doing both will get you moving towards your goals, but when you link them mentally together you’re setting yourself up for problems.

What do I mean?

Let’s say you have your day all planned out. Your meals are organised and you have a training session planned later that night. You are rolling! Then, the unexpected happens. You’re having a bad day at work, you’re crazy busy and then one of your workmates decides to do a Maccas run (or insert your fav junk food here).

Sound familiar?

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Like I needed another reason!!

Before I started out my journey back in September last year, I spent a lot of time reflecting on the reasons I needed to get my health back on track. My main one, was so I would be around for many years so that I can share the lives of my family. My wife Rebekah and I have 4 young sons, and I really felt the need to set a good example for them, and also get myself to a place where I could really participate and enjoy my life with them.

This turned out to be a great motivator, and has helped me to actually get a lot more involved in so many areas of life, that I’d previously avoided.

Just in case I was still not totally sold though, Bek decided to give me one more reason to get it together. Last Tuesday morning I came home from the gym to find this sitting on the bench in the bathroom……

That’s right folks, baby number 5 is now well and truly on the way! WOW!

When I first found out I was pretty shocked. The 4 boys we have right now are a big handful, so the thought of adding one more is pretty daunting.

My wife and I have been hoping for a girl the past couple of pregnancies, so our fingers are crossed once again. I love having all boys…….but I just need ONE girl!

Either way, we are really excited about the baby, It’s a really cool thought to know that this child will only ever know Dad as a fit guy, and not the porker I used to be!

I’ve waited a long time for this!

Basketball has always been a big part of my life. When I was a teenager, people used to joke about how I was going to marry a basketball! I just loved watching, playing, coaching and talking about it.

I moved to the US in 2004 and started to battle depression, I stopped playing and started packing on the pounds. I played a couple of social games here and there, but for the most part I didn’t really touch a ball for about 2 years.

When I moved to Utah in 2006, I decided to get serious about my health and fitness and joined a 24/7 gym……which just so happened to have a basketball court. On my very first night of playing though, I had a freak accident and broke my foot (left leg). It took me 3 months to recover.

By Christmas 2006 I was ready to go again and played for a couple of months without incident. Then in March 2007 I tore my ACL (left knee) and needed a knee reconstruction. The problem was I was trying to play the same way I did when I weighed 90 kgs, and my body couldn’t handle it.

When that happened it was like a part of me died, and I dreamed about the day that I would be healthy enough to play again. Honestly, I often wondered if I’d ever see that day again, because the years were starting to disappear quickly. I had vowed that I wouldn’t play again until I got under 115 kgs (253 lbs).

That was 5 years ago.

You guys know I’ve been working my butt off over the past 7 months to get back in shape. After a lot of hard work and weight loss, last week the time had come for me to return. I was finally under 115 kgs (I was a few weeks ago, but the season started last week) and I was fit and ready to go.

I was definitely rusty…..but who cares. I was playing hoops again!

Don’t ever forget about your dreams and passions. No matter how long it takes or how hard you have to work…….just don’t give up! Getting back on court again means so much more to me than sport.

It won’t be easy and the price will be high, but the payoff is priceless!

You can do it.

Got to meet a true champion today!

I was lucky enough to meet 8 time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman today. He is currently in Australia doing some promotional work for his new supplement brand and was appearing at a store near me.

I’ve never been huge (muscle wise anyways!), but Big Ron is the reason I first got interested in body building. It was really cool to meet him (although you wouldn’t know from the look on my face!)

The funny thing is though……most of these muscle men are short guys!

I’m still alive!!

I’m sorry I haven’t blogged lately. While I have been busy focusing on this 12 week challenge, the truth is I haven’t had much to say. I’m kinda feeling like I’m boring lately, so didn’t want to waste people’s time!

I’m starting to get positive again though, so hopefully I can get things flowing and start posting more often.

As part of the challenge we are keeping track of our efforts and progress through a blog on the companies site. They want us to make and include video posts as well. I’m sure you guys have noticed from the lack of video posts on this blog……..I don’t do much vlogging!

Well, I guess that’s changing too. Here’s my very first effort to vlog……..from the top of Mt Cannibal on Sunday afternoon. Just talking about the first 4 weeks of my challenge. Be gentle…..it’s my first effort!