Life Doesn't Adjust To Me

I'm not really sure where to start this week. My training has been really up and down over the past few weeks. I'll go through spurts when I'm doing good and really on track. And then then it's like I'll fall off the wagon.

We took the family to Disney World last week. While I didn't get a ton of actual training in, I did train. I also walked between five and seven miles in the park. I was able to swim laps in the pool that we had at the house. It may not have been stellar training BUT I did get it in.

As I'm getting closer to my race, I'm actually feeling a little more and more nervous about the open water swim. I don't train in open water and something about that has me slightly freaked out. I don't really know why. I'm even considering switching races to one that takes place at a lake, instead of the ocean.

With all that being said, this is pushing me to set some goals for this week. Like I've stated before, I'm not a morning person. I usually squeeze in a run at lunch or maybe when I get home from work. With my wife working so many days in a row, that's been really hard. My goal is to wake up at least an hour before she leaves, to get a run in. It worked this morning. I woke up at 3:45, ran 3 miles and got back before my wife had to leave.

The next thing I'm going to do is look into getting a swim coach. Even if it's only for a few sessions. I'd like to get out into some open water. The swimming itself doesn't scare me, it's just something about being out in open water.

While this post may be less than motivating, I wanted to let everyone know how my training was going. I want to be real with everyone about my struggles. Having four kids, all under the age of eight, and a wife that works a schedule opposite of mine would make it very easy for me make excuses. That's not something I'm going to settle for. Running a half iron triathlon is a dream of mine and I will make it happen. This is the point where I have to change things. I have to adjust to accomplish my goals. Life is not going to adjust to me. And not doing is not an option.

One Year Without Beer

There are many things that I thought that I could not get through life without. Cheese, meat, bread, and alcohol are just a few things on that list. Small changes over time become major changes. May 24 marked the one year anniversary of me drinking my last drop of alcohol. While, I don't think I was an alcoholic, I definitely did abuse alcohol when I did drink. One year ago, I managed to get drunk and make myself sick, causing my friend to have to take care of me. It was an awful feeling. I used to be able to drink a lot but since my weight loss, it seems like I couldn't figure out how much alcohol my body could handle. I'm not here to make any excuses. This post is not meant to talk about my experiences with alcohol. It's about my experiences without alcohol.

At first it was a scary thought, terrifying. What would people think? Would they judge me when I say that I don't drink? What would I drink when I do go out? How could I go to a NASCAR race and not drink? That sounded insane to me. The reality is that I knew I liked being sober and fully enjoying all the activities that I participate in. So, as insurmountable as it seemed, I made the decision to stop drinking alcohol all together.

One thing I didn't consider at the time was that I already knew how to eliminate things from my diet that I thought I couldn't. As hard as it was, I managed to live through eliminating dairy. Then I got diagnosed with Celiac Disease. There goes anything with gluten. I had already been through this process twice already (removing meat and eggs came pretty soon after this). So, I decided to make the plunge. I didn't want to be the one that people had to take care of when it came to going out and having some drinks.

I can say that at first, it wasn't easy. It's weird going to a restaurant or bar and everyone is ordering alcohol, and I'm not. I felt even more weird when I would get put on the spot by being questioned about not drinking. My friends have always been very understanding and once I explain why I don't drink anymore, it's all good. Now they have a designated driver.

For the past four years, I've watched what goes into my body. Very rarely would I drink during the week, I never wanted to consume empty calories. So, extending the no drinking rule to social situations wasn't that hard. I love being able to go out with my wife and friends, and waking up the next morning just as refreshed as I do any other morning.

This post is not meant to tell everyone that they need to stop drinking alcohol completely. That's not my mission here. After many years of me drinking, I'm okay with me not drinking. It wasn't as great an obstacle that I thought it would be. What we consume is fuel for the body.

Discipline and Motivation Are Two Different Things

In talking with people day in and day out, there is a misconception about me. Everyone seems to think that I always want to run, workout or eat right. In reality, that's not true. There are some things that are easier than other for me but I'm human just like everyone else.

I got a message this week from someone asking me how do I “kick myself in the pants” when it comes to getting back into a workout routine. I wish I had a really good answer for this question but I don't. When motivation is lost, we have to rely on being disciplined to get things done. I know, it's easier said than done.

This past week has been absolutely crazy. Our bank account information was stolen along with several hundred dollars. Then my car broke down. And all of this happened within 24 hours. Not only that, this past Wednesday was my wife's birthday. To say the least, we were pretty stressed out and working out was the last thing on my mind.

Wednesday also happens to be the day I hit the gym for my personal training session. A couple hours before my session, my trainer contacted me and asked if I needed to reschedule our session because of my wife's birthday. I read that message and sat there for a minute going over every single excuse that I had for not going but I realized that none of them were valid. It wouldn't do me any good to skip that workout. We were not celebrating my wife's birthday, we were going to wait until the weekend. I would've probably made food and sat in front of the tv. So I went to the gym. And I want to tell you that it was the best workout I've ever had but it wasn't. I was tired. I felt weak. I hadn't fueled right. It was a struggle. With as bad as I felt, I actually made progress on the weights.

No one is immune to the stresses that life puts on us. How we react to it is what matters. When the motivation isn't there, we need to stick to our routine. If I don't run or work out, I know that I'll regret it. Trust me, there's been several regrets this past week. As much as I write this for everyone else to read, I'm writing this for myself too. I need to push myself just as much as anyone else does.

There are a few things that I put in place to help me along the way. I have a trainer that expects me at certain time every week. I register for races that force me to train. There's a group of cyclists that rides every Saturday that I try meet up with as much as my schedule allows. One of the reasons I started this blog was to hold myself accountable. I knew that if I put myself out there, I would have to do it. Even with all these things in place, I still struggle with training. I go through slumps like everyone else.

So, when you feel like you're in a slump, just know that everyone goes through it. When motivation disappears, be disciplined and crush your goals. 

Am I Being Extreme???

​No, not really. I just want everyone to know where I come from and what my thoughts are when it comes to nutrition and my kids. This stems from a picture that I posted on facebook just a couple days ago. I got several comments from both ends of the spectrum, both vegan and non-vegan, which I expected. None of it bothered me. I found most of it to be funny. To give you a little background, both of my daughters are involved in competition cheer. My oldest is eight and my younger daughter is four. The gym was having “kick off” party that evening. Parents were told to bring some food for all the girls that were going to be there. I was told to bring dessert. While I was at the store, I picked up some watermelon and some vegan cookies.

I had tried these vegan cookies before and really enjoyed them. My daughter loved them too. While I knew that I’d catch flack for bringing a vegan dessert to the girls party, I didn’t really care. Being one of the founding memebers of C.L.E.A.N., I feel like it’s my duty to help steer kids in the right direction. And not just mine but as many kids as I can. I want all kids to live long, healthy lives. I knew that the girls at the cheer party were not going to be fighting over the watermelon and the cookies. Many of them probably went for the cakes and chocolate chip cookies that other parents brought. I just wanted to present a healthy option for those that wanted one.

My children are not vegan. I am the only one in my household that is. Other than my wife, no one else in my family has expressed any interest in going vegan. When I cook for my children at home, I do not feed them any meat. My oldest daughter has expressed interest in going vegetarian, which I’m fine with. I don’t want to feel like they are being forced to do anything. The one thing I do want them keep in mind is that I want them to be healthy and to have good eating habits. I know too many people in their thirties on meds that you only saw people 50+ years old on just a few years ago. A healthy diet may seem extreme but it isn’t, having open heart surgery is.

Nutrition is something that I feel is very important. It has given me a quality of life that I never imagined. When I eat well, I feel great. I remember walking out of a restaurants and feeling awful but thinking of how good the food was. Food is not supposed to do that. Food should make you feel great. When I feed my kids, I cannot in good conscience give them something that is bad for them. Especially when it’s something that I would not eat myself. I’m trying to instill good eating behaviors in my children. Not to say that they never have any junk food or never will but I try to keep that to the bare minimum. This blog, my social media pages and my involvement with C.L.E.A.N. have put me out there as a health and wellness advocate. I believe it’s my role to lead by example.

Push It

Push it. And by “it” I mean yourself.

Don't settle for good enough. If I settled for good enough I would be sitting at 235 pounds right now. When I cut out dairy, that was the initial weight that I dropped down to. I took that and used it as a jumping off point. I didn't just want to run a 5K, I wanted a half marathon, I wanted a triathlon. I pushed until I got those things done. Now the goal is to go longer distances, get faster and stronger.

When I work, I work hard. In the gym, I work until I know that I don't have anything left.  When I run a race, If I don't feel like slightly queasy after I cross the finish line, I know I haven't done enough. I know that I could've given it more. I need to know that in everything I do, I give it my all. 

There's no shortcut. It takes hard work. The fitness models and the people you see in the media, they worked for that. They weren't born like that. I get people all the time saying “Oh, I wish I could eat as much as you eat.” Yes, I eat a lot but you also have to look at what I eat. I had one guy tell me that I should weigh more than him because of the volume of food that I ate. I was sitting there eating bananas while he was scarfing down sausage biscuit after sausage biscuit. He didn't take into account that I'm eating fruit. He had no idea that I was going for a 5 mile run just a couple hours later. He didn't know the effort that I put into being healthy.

- Rich Roll

When I was heavy, I'd see people out or on fitness magazines and think to myself “I'd like to look like that.” And, yeah, I'd hit the gym every now and then. I'd get on some sort of exercise kick and drop 20 pounds. I never pushed myself though. I never changed my eating habits. On the contrary, I probably ate more and worse than when not on an exercise plan. In reality, the results come from what you eat. So, I always said I wanted to look a certain way but I never really did anything about it.

By pushing what you think your limits are you'll find that you're capable of much more. I read in a book somewhere that when your mind tells you you're done, you're really only 40% done. So when you feel like you're done, keep going, you'll really surprise yourself.

I'm Okay...Really, I'm Good.

​Skinny, gaunt, emaciated. “Are you okay?” “Are you sick or something?” Since my weightloss transformation, these are things that I hear all the time. While, I don’t think they are the most appropriate things to tell someone, I don’t really get upset about it. This post may come off as a rant but I just want to let everyone know how I feel about this.

These comments don’t bother me all that much because I know that I’m healthy and that’s what matters most. Many do not agree with the way I eat but it’s what I choose to eat. I choose to be healthy. I choose quality of life. I spent the majority of my life sick and overweight. I was taking medicine to treat one thing but causing many other health problems. It was a domino effect.

At my yearly physical, all my tests came back great. Just a few years ago my cholesterol was at 200. At that time, I was ecstatic that it wasn’t any higher. I always told myself that I was the healthiest fat person you ever met. Looking back, that was probably the biggest lie I ever told myself. My cholesterol is now down to 116. I am a negative risk factor for heart disease. The only thing that i’m slightly low on is my vitamin D, which is due to my Celiac Disease.

I also get a lot flack for my diet. Apparently being a vegan is not manly. I tend to think that not being there for my kids in the future is not the manly thing to do. I want to reduce the risk of as many health problems as I can so I can enjoy life with my children for as I can. There are people that want to argue with me as to why I should eat meat or, even better, the reasons for why they eat meat. Every single conversation ends with “Well, I’m a carnivore.” Just about all these conversations are started by the other person. I’ve had trainees at work ride around for a week before they even figured out that I don’t meat. This is a personal choice of mine and I benefit greatly from being on this type of diet.

I want to thank everyone for following my blog and my social media pages. I really do appreciate every single person on here. I just want to tell everyone that I’m doing great. I want to encourage everyone to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Find something that works for you. Set small, short term goals and crush them.

Accidentally Skinny. Purposefully Healthy.

Love Yourself

I was at the gym the other night and I saw something that I had never seen before. It was me. I caught a glimpse in the mirror of myself and for the first time in my life, I actually liked what I saw. I didn’t look any different than the minute before that. Or from when I left the house. Nothing was different. I’m not saying that I’ve reached my peak physical goal and that I have the body of a Greek god. There are definitely things that I still need to work on but for the first time ever, really I liked what I saw.

There are so many times that I’ve walked by a mirror or caught a glimpse of my reflection in a window, where I thought, “I look horrible” or “Do I really look like that?” That mentality may come from having low self-esteem, or the bullying I endured as a child. I have never been happy with the way I looked and the way felt. Even after losing weight, I would still see the fat me standing in the mirror. I had dealt with body dysmorphia for so long that when I would see a picture of myself after I had lost weight, I didn’t recognize myself. There have been several times while looking at pictures, I’d do a double take because I didn’t think that was me in the picture.

It takes a long time to undo the past. There are things that I still want to work on to get my body in shape. My physical goals are always changing and moving. It seems as though my mind is just now catching up with my body. When I had this moment in the gym, I don’t think it was just a feeling of outward appearance, it was inward too. It was a sense of accomplishment. I’m proud of the healthy lifestyle that I lead. I want others to experience the same thing.

There are so many things in our everyday life that give us negative feedback. The thing is that most of the time, this negative feedback is created in our own minds. We hold ourselves back. We have created this image in our mind of what we look like and what we can and can’t do. The moment that something happens in our everyday life, the mind says, “See, I was right.” When, in reality, that chair you sat in earlier at the restaurant, squeaks no matter what. It doesn’t matter if you weigh 120 pounds or 220 pounds. I still have these thoughts.

The mind is our most powerful organ. We need to focus on the positive and build on it. Take these negative thoughts and use them as motivation. I know that I still have things that I need to work on but I'm happy where I am and where I came from. I wish it was something that I could share with every single person that I come in contact with. Our goals are attainable, we just have to want it bad enough.

I Need Help

This post is for everyone who’s in the same situation that I am, BUSY. I know that I have very little down time and the spare time that I do have is precious. I work a normal work week and my wife works in healthcare. Her schedule varies from week to week and works very long hours. On top of that, she has a very long commute. On the days that she works, getting all four kids to where they need to be is all on me. The times when I’m not around, that responsibility falls on my wife. We share the workload of raising four kids and running a house.

Most of our days, outside of work, consist of running kids to and from school and other activities. Three of our four kids go to three different schools. Mornings are crazy around here and evenings are filled with the preparation for the next day. This makes it very difficult to find time to work out or squeeze in a run.

Finding a good support system is critical for accomplishing the physical goals you set for yourself. By system, I mean finding people to help you when you need it. I rely mainly on my wife as she does me but that doesn’t mean we don’t get outside help. We rely on my parents, her parents and my aunt. This help has been vital to not just our workouts but our daily routine. Without this support system, we would get much less accomplished.

My wife and I switch off when it comes time to run or workout. On days that she’s not working, I may come home and she will go to the gym (or run) while I make dinner for the kids and feed them. After that, I get them ready for bed. When she’s done, I’ll head to the gym or for a run while she fixes something for us to eat. This works the other way around, too. This doesn't happen every night, our kids are not down to one parent all the time.

When it comes to asking other people for help, we do our best to not inconvenience anyone. We try to make it as easy as possible. There are times when my wife comes home very late. If my parents are available on nights like that, I’ll ask them to come over and watch the kids while I workout. I make sure that the kids are in bed and asleep by the time they come over.

There have been other times when I’d go out for a run after my my wife gets home from work. So, you might see me running around the neighborhood at eleven o’clock at night. Other times, I'll run at four in the morning when my wife is getting ready for work. I may not always get the mileage in that I would like, but at least I’m able to put in some.

It’s definitely not easy to juggle working full time, kids, activities and achieving personal goals. It does take some help. It’s not a bad thing to ask for it sometimes. Just remember to be mindful of others when you do ask. I would never ask anyone to take off work so I can get my long run in. Make it as easy as possible when you do ask and always practice gratitude. Being appreciative of others help and showing it goes a long way. You may need their help in the future.

Time to Reevaluate

I hope everyone has had a great holiday and new year. This time of year is when we think about the past year and what the new year holds for us. We always want the new year to be better. I like to think that I'm building on what happened last year. There is always room for improvement, doesn't matter what the situation. You can use that approach in your relationships, physical goals or improvements you want to make for yourself.

I'm not one to actually declare resolutions at the beginning of the year. I feel like it's just destined to fail. I set goals that may change or evolve. So, what might start as one goal ends up as something totally different.

You're probably asking "Why is he writing about resolutions now? We are twenty plus days into January." It's because by now, most people have already broken their resolution or they've settled into a good routine. They know what they're capable of accomplishing this year.

I started out this year with the goal of running everyday in the month of January. I fell short of my goal just 14 days into the month of January. I felt like I had tweaked my knee and felt like I shouldn't run the next day. Am I bummed about it? Maybe, but I feel like my status as a runner doesn't hinge on whether or not I run everyday.

Just two days after my run streak came to an end, I ran a solid 5k race. Not super fast but good enough to take fourth place in my age group (out of 63). If I knew I would be competing to get top 3, I would've definitely pushed harder but I can't be upset with that performance. If I would've kept my run streak going, I may have been miserable for that whole race. That would've been awful. 

Now that we are well into January and heading into February, it is a great time to reevaluate goals. Take what you've learned about yourself over the past few weeks and build on it.

Find Something You Love and Do Something Else

Makes sense, right? Running is something that I absolutely enjoy. It’s something that I get better at as time goes on. It makes me think that I can do just about anything else, physically, and do well at it. But, I’m wrong.

I joined a new gym over the Christmas holiday. I showed up last night wanting to do a quick workout, I wanted to lift. When I got there, there was a circuit training class going on. I thought I’d be able to work out without getting in the way. Being that it’s a local, independently owned gym, it is smaller than the larger chain gyms. The circuit training class was so big that it took up the whole gym. I had no choice but to join in the class. The class was a mix of cardio and weights and worked on all major muscle groups of the body.

At first, I thought doing a circuit class would be a piece of cake. I mean, would I even be sore at the end of it? Would it even raise my heart rate all that much? After all, I do run half marathons...right? Well, I was wrong.

While, I’m not completely sore to the point that I can walk or have a hard time sitting down, I feel the effects of last night’s workout. During the first station in the circuit, I started feeling it. I knew I was going to get a good workout. This was the first time in years that I do any leg workout. The reason being that I never wanted to make my legs sore when I knew I had to run the next day.

I made it through the circuit training class and I really enjoyed it. Each round was a little longer and more intense. What I really liked about it was the change in exercise it was from my norm. And it showed me that, just because I run and can run for a long time, doesn’t mean I can kill it in circuit training. So, when you find that physical activity that you love, throw in something different, change the routine and have fun with it.

5 Ways To Get a Jump Start on Your Goals For The New Year

It’s that time of year. That time where spare time is scarce and stress is high. The next few weeks will be filled with parties, gifts, get togethers, family and lots of delicious food. It’s the time of year where a lot of people let go of goals and push them back to January. Here are a few ways to get a jump start on your physical goals for the new year.

Start a Routine

Get into good habits now. A lot of people have the mentality that they will start their exercise or healthy eating after the business of the holidays is over. Getting into a healthy routine now will keep you from starting behind the eight ball later on. My thing now is getting up very early in the morning for my runs. My runs are getting longer and if I try to put them off for later on in the day, they’ll never get done. I’m trying to train my body to get up early again. If you’re plan is to walk more, go for a walk after dinner every night. Participating in an exercise routine 3 to 4 times per week will give you a head start on those new year resolutions.

Sign Up For a 5k

Signing up for a race always holds me accountable. Even if you plan on walking part of it (or the whole thing), It sets a deadline and a goal to work towards. There are plenty of race distances out there. A lot of 5k races offer a 1 mile fun run. That’s a great way to get the whole family out there. Keep it fun and sign up for something that is doable.

Eat Healthy Meals

During this time of year, with all the parties and get togethers, we seem to seem to have an overabundance of cookies and desserts everywhere we turn. Incorporate healthy eating habits during the day, so when it’s time for the party or get together, having a dessert or a couple of cookies is not going to be that big of a deal. Eating fruit as a snack between meals will make you feel better.

 

Use Your Calendar For Workouts

Utilize your tools to your advantage. When I schedule a work out on my calendar, I’m more likely to do it. I set up an alert with it and let’s me know when I need to work out. I also use a task manager app on my phone. It also sends me notifications when something needs to be done. I find it highly annoying to have a red notification alert on my screen.

 

Set Your Goals Now

Don’t wait until New Years day to set a goal. Have it in mind now and start working on it. As humans, we tend to put things off. Starting now means you won’t have to work off an extra 5 pounds come January.

Turkey Trot 2015

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday. I know I did. I ran the South Park Turkey Trot in Charlotte the morning of Thanksgiving. I had a great time. My official chip time for the race was 41:30, 3:14 faster than last year. Instead of writing about it like I usually do, I made a video. I hope you enjoy it!

2015 Turkey Trot Video

Dealing With A Dismal Performance

So, I had a somewhat dismal performance yesterday when I ran the 10k. When I was searching for a race, I wanted to run a flat course in hopes of getting a faster time. I chose a 10k in Charleston, SC. The race company, Race 13.1, also offered a 5k and half-marathon option. I do have to say that the race company was a great host. Registration was easy. There were followup emails but not too many. My inbox was not flooded with other race promotions. I even got a few text messages on my phone about important information regarding the race.

I decided not to get a hotel room the night before. The reason for that was that I could not drop the kids off until 7 or 8 on Friday night (my wife had to work). I also had some things I had to finish around the house. So, I decided that I would just go to bed early and get up around 2:30am. My goal was to be out the door by 3am, get to the race site, pick up my bib and sleep for another hour or so in my car. It didn't completely work out that way. I managed to be in bed by 10:30 and woke up at 2:50. I was in my car at 3;10. The drive was easy. I made it to the race site by 6:30, picked up my bib and took a short 20 minute nap in my car.

I had a good feeling about the race up until five minutes before the gun went off. I knew it would be tough to come in under 50 minutes but I thought I could come close. As soon as started running, I knew I could not sustain this pace for the rest of the race. I started at a 7:30 minute pace. The race was on trails. That was another factor that I wasn't completely used to. I'm used to running on pavement. By the first mile marker I knew I wasn't going to meet my time goal. I had completed the first mile in 8:30.

There was one time where I had just passed the halfway point where I had to stop because I thought I was going to get sick. The more I got into the race I got, the better I thought I was running, but my average pace never came down. It just kept creeping up. I felt pretty strong the last two miles, I just wish I felt like that for the whole race.

I was a little upset with myself for missing the mark by so much. I think if I would've finished around the 52 minute mark, I wouldn't have felt so bad. I have no one to blame but myself. My training has not been on point the last three weeks and that was detrimental to my race performance. And, unless I can stay in a hotel the night before, I'm not going to go to a race that I have to travel to. And, it's not going to be a trail race either. 

I wouldn't say that this was a disastrous race, I just came in much slower than I expected. I came in 22nd place overall out of 120. More than anything, having bad races like this shows me what I need to work on. It also tells me that I can't skate by with minimal training. Minimal training will get you to the finish line but not much more than that. I'll just take this as a valuable lesson so it does not happen again.

Feeling Frustrated

I sit here a little frustrated with myself. I ran a total of four times and did one 25 mile bike ride over the past two and a half weeks. Part of the reason is that I had been feeling some pain in my knee. It started about a month ago after one of my speed workouts. It would hurt while running but the second I stopped, it went away. Yesterday was the first time in weeks that I felt great after a run and I was pain free during the run. 

The past two weeks have been pretty crazy. I let my schedule get in the way and I didn't make time for my workouts. Work has been pretty crazy and the list of things that needed to be done at home has been never-ending. I have been trying to paint some of the rooms in our house after the kids go to bed, which has caused a shift in my sleep schedule. Needless to say, I have woken up very late several times in the past couple weeks.

As frustrated as I get when I don't work out, I always put my home life first. My job comes second. I don't want to neglect the things that are most important in my life. My family comes before everything else. The weekends have always been a time for me to do my long runs but now that my wife and I have different work schedules, I can't do my long runs on the weekends. I carve time out in my schedule to get one in during the week. There are times when I arrange for someone to watch the kids if it's something that I can't do during the week. I try to keep this to a minimum though. Having four kids, It puts a lot on our family. There are definitely times when my wife and I want to go out to dinner by ourselves and would rather use our family for those instances.

As you may recall, I have stated in previous posts that I am running a 10k this month with the goal of finishing in under 50 minutes. I am signed up for a race next weekend. I'm not 100% sure on how it's going to go considering how the past two weeks have gone. The goal remains the same. I feel strong and ready to run. My knee doesn't bother me. I'm going to put a few more easy training runs between now and then. I have no doubt that I can run the full 10k, the question is whether or not I'm going to able to do it in under 50 min. If I don't, I'll just have to try again. I do plan on running a couple more races this fall just for fun. I plan on running the Turkey Trot in Charlotte again this year on Thanksgiving. I found that to be a really fun race. Then I plan on running a half marathon in December. 

I've been running for the past three years and I really enjoy running. I love the way I feel afterwards. I love the alone time during the run. The thing is that I still have to make myself do it sometimes. I have to make time for it while not neglecting any other parts of my life. Finding that balance is difficult and I'm constantly having to adjust my schedule here and there but it's all worth it in the end. 

You Can't Out Train A Bad Diet

I know several people that can eat whatever they want and maintain a normal weight and run well. I'm not one of those people. I've had people tell me "You're skinny, You can eat whatever you want." The thing is that I want to be at the top of my game. And that means that I have to watch everything I eat. You may have heard this before but it's something that I've become a firm believer in, you cannot out-train a bad diet. I've been going to the same gym for the past year. Everyday I see the same people there. While there are some very fit and athletic people there, there are some individuals that you can tell their diet is no where near where it's supposed to be compared to the amount of working out they do. These guys can throw up all kinds of weight on the bench press. They spend twenty to thirty minutes on the treadmill. They're at the gym for hours and they look just the same as they did a year ago. I'm not trying to put these people down, what they're doing is much better than nothing. My point is that one cannot achieve the look they want with just working out. 

When I say diet, I mean the way one eats. I'm not talking about a fad diet. Fad diets do not work. They are for the short term, everyone eventually gets back to their old habits and their old weight. I 'm a proponent for just eating healthy. When I wanted to lose weight, the only thing I looked at was calorie intake. While there are some calories better than others, let's just say that a calorie is a calorie for now. Everyone's caloric needs are different but the average person should be taking in around 2,000 calories per day. For the few months that I was watching my calories, I was taking in roughly 2,500 to 3,000. I was logging all my food. This is a great way to really look at what you're eating. It will also make you think twice about eating that candy bar. During this time, I ran my fastest half marathon and my fastest 10k. There were days that I very easily hit my caloric goal. There were times when I was near 2,000 calories by the time lunch rolled around, and I wasn't eating that double cheeseburger from that fast food place down the street. 

My taste buds have obviously changed over the past couple years. Not only that, there's the fact that I may get sick if eat something I shouldn't. The thing is, and I've said this to my wife on several occasions, If I miraculously overcame my celiac disease and lactose intolerance, I would not reintroduce them into my diet (especially dairy). Some may disagree but I've seen the benefit to not have some things in my diet and would not want to go back. There are times that I see a picture of some junk food and think that it does look good but I know it's not good to eat it. Even being a plant-based eater, there is still a lot of junk food out there for us. I choose to not eat it or keep it to a bare minimum. I don't really have any cravings for junk food anymore. Whenever I think about eating something that's unhealthy, I ask myself, "is this going help me reach my goal?" Most of the time the answer is no and I leave it on the shelf or throw it out. 

Does this mean that I never have any junk food? The answer is no. Every now and then I will have some potato chips or some starburst candies. These occasions are rare. I read a great article the other day about eating things in moderation and how it doesn't work. The link is down at the bottom of this post if you want to read it. It basically says that if you eat one thing everyday that's outside of your diet, It all adds up and it's not helping you. The other thing that should be taken into account is the amount of calories burned in a workout session. If I go on a run and burn 500 calories, that doesn't mean I burned an extra 500 calories. Just in my normal actives of walking or playing with the kids, I could've maybe burned 200 calories. So, it would be more like me burning an extra 300 calories. That's actually not a lot calories if you look at it in food value. 

I purely look at food as nutrition and it's purpose, to fuel the body. I try to be as careful as possible with what goes into my body. I don't even like buying those fake processed vegan "meats." Just because they claim to be vegan doesn't mean it's good for me to eat it. While I think they're great for people that are transiting to a plant based diet, I think that they're meant to be eaten sparingly just like anything else. I'm not trying to get anyone else to convert to a plant-based diet but I would encourage everyone to eat foods that are whole and healthy (and as close to their natural state as possible). I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything. So, if you're doing the exercise and want to see the results, next time you eat, ask yourself "is this good for me?"

Why "Everything in Moderation" Doesn't Work 

Jonathan Ross

greatist.com/eat/everything-in-moderation-doesnt-work?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=runnersworld

You Do You

You're going to run into resistance in whatever you do that's out of the ordinary. When I first started on my weight-loss journey, everyone saw it as a good thing. Here I was dropping weight and getting healthy. After a while though, I started hearing, "You're getting too skinny" or "Are you sick or something?" The reality is that I really could not help it. In removing certain things from my diet, I lost weight automatically. Not only that, exercise became part of my life. So, even though all my numbers and stats (BMI, body fat, cholesterol, etc…) are in great shape, I still get resistance for having lost so much weight. 

From the time I started running and losing weight, my goals have been changing and becoming greater. I've gone from trying to run a 5k to wanting to run an Ironman. The majority of people are supportive of my running and my goals but I do meet resistance. I've been told, "Do you think you should be running that much? You couldn't really run when you were a kid." That comment came from a family member. While it hurt, I used that to fuel my passion for running.  I have plans to run a few half Ironman races, then a full Ironman all while throwing in a marathon or ultramarathon here and there.  I'm not going to let the fact that I used to be fat and unable to run dictate how I live my life today.

On the subject of family members, I have another family member that does not believe that I am lactose intolerant. He does not understand that I get sick whenever I ingest a dairy product. The other day, while at Olive Garden, I wasn't paying attention and grabbed my son's milk instead of my tea. I took three swigs of milk before I realized what I had done…I know, dumb. Needless to say I started feeling the effects about an hour later and paid the consequence for the next 24 hours. When I told the story of me taking three swigs of milk, they looked at me with a look that said "You don't look sick to me." I had to explain to them, for the umpteenth time, that it is a digestion issue. I think that they think that I may be a little sensitive to dairy and that I'm just being extreme about avoiding dairy. 

When I told my family I was adopting a plant-based diet, you would've thought I told my parents I was moving to the other side of the world and never going see them again. I didn't even tell anyone for the first week or two about this change, so I really didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal. It's not like I was trying to convert everyone. I decided to go plant-based solely for health purposes. There are people though that meet this with resistance. I'm told that I need to eat meat and that I need more variety than just plants. In reality, I'm doing great. I feel better than I ever have before but people want to tell me everything i'm doing wrong. 

You may meet resistance or pressure whenever you tell someone your plans. I don't let it bother me. It actually makes me want to do it even more. There are plenty of people that run ultramarathons, Ironman races and a group of those athletes do it on a plant based diet. I know that it can be done. If you notice that when I first plan on doing something or set a goal, I try to keep it a secret (as I did when I first wanted to do a triathlon and when I went plant-based). I think the reason for this is that I'm scared of failing and don't want anyone to say "I knew it!" I realized that this is the wrong approach to take. If something doesn't work out, who cares. If you have to adjust the timeline for your goal, that shouldn't matter. As long as forward progress is being made, that's all that counts. I'm still having to change my goals and rearrange races to fit my training and my life. I saw a post on Facebook the other day that said "If your dreams don't scare you, you're not dreaming big enough." So, if you meet resistance when you tell someone your plans, don't let it bother you. You know what you want and you'll get it. Don't stay in the same place that you think the world wants you to be in. 

It Starts Early

Today's post is a little different than the usual. The other day, I ran across a video on Youtube that hit me hard. It was made by Strong4Life.com, which is run by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. Take a look at the video (it's not long) and come back to read my thoughts on it.

Rewind the Future Video

I found that video pretty powerful. While I never ended up on the operating table in a hospital, I feel like that video was me. If I would've kept my bad habits up, it would've only been a matter time. My unhealthy eating started from a very young age. 

I was always a picky eater when growing up. I would not eat any vegetables and my favorite places to eat were Burger King and McDonalds. When my mom cooked anything with vegetables in it, or anything healthy at all, I would refuse to eat it. She would end up cooking me something different from everyone else. While her heart was in the right place, it was setting a precedence for the rest of my life. 

No matter what the situation, I was always the fat kid. Whether it was school, sports, church...anything, I was always the fat kid growing up. It made my life miserable. I absolutely hated being the fat kid. As much as I wanted to play sports, I was horrible at just about everything, and I absolutely dreaded hearing the phrase shirts vs. skins. My weight was a major factor in how I interacted with people. It made me shy. I would never start conversations with people. It would always take me a long time to warm up to people and never had a lot of friends. The friends I did make, though, were always close friends.

By the time I was 25 years old, I was tipping the scale at 272 lbs. As far as I know, that's the highest I had ever been but it's possible that I could've gotten higher. That was a period in my life where I rarely ever stepped on the scale. I remember going to the doctor and he sat me down (just like in the video) and told me I need to lose weight. He told me that I needed to lose at least 60 lbs. My cholesterol was at 200. All my numbers were reaching unhealthy levels. I just blew it off. I thought to myself, "Sure, I'm overweight, but I'm just a big guy. My numbers aren't that bad." These are the things I kept telling myself to make myself feel better even though, deep down, I knew I needed to make a change. 

Looking back, I could not believe that I did not take these warnings more serious. I was only 25 years old!!! Had I not made the changes that I made, there's no telling how many different medications I'd be on right now. About the time I developed a lactose intolerance was the time that I felt like I threw in the towel in regards to my weight. I thought that would never be normal and gave my hope of losing weight. 

This video shows that the food we feed our children from a very young age can have an impact for the rest of their lives. I can relate to this video. And I know that I want my children to grow up as confident and healthy human beings. Life is hard enough as it is, there is no reason to add another stressor to it. It's my responsibility to help them develop healthy habits at an early age.

Setting an example

This blog is meant to encourage people to be more active and healthy. I feel like I have found something that I'm very passionate about. As much as I encourage strangers to be healthy, I want my own family to be healthy. I'm sitting here on a Sunday afternoon watching my seven year old daughter's cheer practice. She doesn't cheer for her school, she cheers for a private gym. As I watch her and her team, I realized what a benefit this has been for her.

My wife had been a dance teacher for many years. She had to stop when she started nursing school a few years ago. When my daughter was about 18 months old, my wife started taking her to dance classes. Anna did dance until she started cheer a little over one ago (she also had about two years of gymnastics mixed in).

Putting her in cheer at a private gym was a big decision. Not only was it a big time commitment but also a big financial decision. On a normal week they hold two practices. When competition season rolls around, they practice up to four times a week (for at least two hours). Some may say that it may be too much for a child but I believe she has benefited greatly from being on this cheer squad. My wife and I are always encouraging no matter what. And we always make sure that her schoolwork does not take a back seat to cheer.

Last year, Anna was new to the sport. She was shy and not as skilled as some of the other girls. She was on a team that had a mixture of talent and spent a lot of the year in the back when doing the routine. This year, it's almost the complete opposite. She has grown by leaps and bounds as far as her skills go. I see her emerging as one of the leaders on her team. At a couple points during the routine, she's front and center and teammates even look to her for cues.

While being on this cheer squad, she's also learned to deal with disappointment. Not every practice goes well. They don't place in every competition. Last year was definitely a roller coaster as far as competitions go. The team never gave up and never settled. When they went to nationals at the end of the year, I saw the best cheer routine they had performed all year. Then they performed it again the next day. The year could not have ended any better, they ended up winning nationals. More importantly, we saw how much Anna has grown in that year. And we continue to see it now.

I believe it is so important for our children to see their parents also active. My son has tried several sports and didn't seem to find his groove until he tried gymnastics, He was always the type to enjoy soccer practice or ice skating while he was doing it, but he would never want to go to practice or say he did not enjoy it afterwards. After his first day of gymnastics, he came back so excited and wanting to do it every day. My three year old daughter has been begging to start ballet lessons (she starts next week).When she sees me getting ready to head out the door to go for a run, she asks if she can run with me.

I have never been athletic in my whole life. I was never good at soccer, coming from an Argentinean family, saying I didn't want to play soccer anymore was about the worst thing a son could say to his dad. I'm so glad that I found running while my kids are still young. I want them to see that their dad is active and can keep up with them. I may not be skilled in the same sport that they may be but I want to be a positive example in their lives in many ways.

Big Changes

I hate that I did not post more to this blog this week. It was an okay week as far as workouts go. I got a couple five mile runs in and a bike ride. It was hard to get a good bike ride in being down in Florida. There was so much traffic and so many traffic lights that I felt like I could not get up to a good speed. When I did get up to a good pace, it didn't last because I had to stop at a light. And the roads were horrible. Road bikes don't do so well in construction zones.

The other thing I worked on was my fear of open water. Twice, I got out in the water but not to really swim but to just be out there and get used to treading in deep water. For some reason I get uneasy in deep water. I'm not sure where that comes from, I'm assuming it's just from my experience from my last triathlon. When I'd swim out to deep water, my first instinct was to immediately swim back to where I knew I could stand up. Instead, I would just tread water for a minute or so. Then I'd swim just a little further out. I noticed that I had to really concentrate on my breathing. I don't know what the big deal is. I feel like I'm way over thinking things. Maybe it's a fear of what might be lurking in the water that I may not be seeing. On the other hand, I really don't want to see anything that may be lurking in the water. Maybe I just need to dive into open water and swim.

Overall, it was not a bad week for working out. I don't feel like I made huge progress. This week, my plan is to get back to doing some speed work. I have a 10k next month that I need to complete in under 50 minutes. Being on vacation is tough when you have personal goals that you are trying to achieve. I once heard that you can undo all your hard work in just six days. Even though it may be tough, the effort is worth it in the long run. I didn't veer from my diet too much.

You all know that my diet is what attributed to a good portion of my weight loss. I made a drastic change to my diet a month ago. I did not want to say anything because I wanted to test the waters. I removed all animal product from my diet. Yes, I went plant based. It was actually a decision that I had a lot of trouble making but after some time, I decided to take the plunge and do it. I felt like it was something that can maybe push me to the next level athletically. This is what works for me. I'm not crazy about the label of being vegan. I feel like there is a connotation that comes along with that word. That, and I feel like someone could be a really unhealthy vegan (like someone that eats chips and skittles). Plant based is more descriptive of how I eat. With that being said, I feel great. I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything. The longer I've been on this diet, the easier it gets and I actually don't miss meat as much as I thought I would. So, even though it's something that may not be popular, I'm so glad I tried it.

Pacing Myself

I'm on vacation this week. We always come down to St. Pete Beach Florida once a year to visit my wife's brother. Coming down here is something we look forward to all year long. We love it down here. Vacation sometimes hinders my workouts but not all the time. If say I'm going to go for a run in the evening, I usually end up not doing it. We have been getting the kids down for a nap in the afternoon because they're usually so tired but I'm pretty wore out at that point too. I try to plan my workout the day before. If I wait to until I wake up, I'll probably end up pushing it off.

Last night I set my alarm for 6:30am. That is early for being on vacation, but my kids wake up by 7 am usually. For some reason, sleeping in is not an option for my kids. I woke up but didn't get out the door right away. I got outside at about 7:20 am. The sun was trying to come out from behind the clouds but it was mostly overcast and it was raining. I started my run unclear of how long I actually wanted to run. At first I thought 3 miles, then 4 but ultimately decided to do 5. I figured that this week, by base runs should be at least 4 to 5 miles. I have the time to run while I'm here, I might as well put in the miles.

As I ran, the skies got darker and darker and the rain came down harder and harder. I had toyed around with the idea of running on the sidewalk on the street but decided to run the beach. Beach running is not as easy as running on asphalt. It seems like it takes more energy to pull your feet up to take the next step. Not only that, you're running on even ground that kids love to dig holes in. So, I knew I wasn't going to be running at a record pace but it's good to train on a different surface.

My run went as expected, not super fast but not extremely slow either. I ran the five miles in under 49 minutes. I had a little trouble turning my GPS off so it had me going a little longer and a little slower, but that's alright. When I first started running, I always tried to run faster than I had the time before. It got to the point where I was pushing my body too hard. There is still part of me that wants to push myself every time I go out there but I'd rather have a good run at a good pace than risking injury. It's something that I have to tell myself all the time. There's a time to run your very hardest and then there's a time to just put in a good run and get the miles in. This can help you get mentally prepared for that long race. I use this with cycling too. I can do all the high intensity intervals in the world but if I don't have long training sessions in the saddle, it wouldn't do me any good for the longer races that I have planned in the future.

I'm hoping to get some good workouts in this week. It's supposed to rain a good bit this week but I'm going to work around it as much as I can. I have my bike down here, so I'm looking to get connected with group that knows some good routes. Look for a few more blog posts this week.