Day 6

Today was a pretty solid day. I worked at the coffee shop this morning. Pretty crazy busy morning. I'm super thankful that it is that way. Lately I've heard of so many people losing their jobs and being laid off from work because of the state of our economy. We're very blessed to see continued growth at the coffee shop. We're seeing new faces all the time and old ones are still as enjoyable as the first day we came to know them. Thank You Lord for the success of our shop!

After I got off, I battled my dad in an epic match up of rock-paper-scissors to see who would buy lunch. I owned him and off to DeCaterina's for lunch we went. If you've never been there it's a great little spot in Puyallup, basically, it's diagonal across the park from us at the coffee shop. I had a seafood salad with grilled prawns, scallops and salmon with some balsamic vinaigrette...unbelievably delicious and nutritious. It was a nice time with my dad.

My wife called and wanted me to bring her home a BLT. She was very specific of her need for a BLT. My wife is pregnant, by the way if you didn't know, so what occurs when you're pregnant, so I'm told, is that you crave certain things at certain times. Her craving, this time, just so happened to be a BLT, and DeCaterina's just so happened to have a fantastic one that she soon enjoyed.

My wife shared with me this afternoon that she's feeling more sensitive, emotionally, then she's ever felt before. She said she cried during Survivor, and that she tends to want to cry frequently over silly little things. At church tonight, as a special part of the service, there were some Islander Dancer folks that were dancing to a song on stage. As soon as they began, the music and the movements of these beautiful people were too much for her. She got all choked up, and we looked at each other and smiled. She was moved to tears. How sensitive and sweet! I love it!

Yesterday, my Pop's and Gram's flew over to North Carolina to catch up with my mom and Aunt Angela as they were going to celebrate my Gram's sisters birthday. My Pop's and I were talking and we were rattling off some thoughts about diet and exercise when he spouted off something quite profound...He called it the "RA Factor" which stands for "Responsibility and Accountability Factor" and is significant because it's what is needed in order to see a life style change happen. You can't have one with out the other, and you can't succeed at what your trying to accomplish if both aren't in place in your life. I latched on to this principle and feel it's something that will help carry me through the challenging times during this process. I'm being responsible by asking for accountability which will help me to reach my goals of a healthy life style which is responsible...do you see how it works...take responsibility , get accountability, win!

Tomorrow will mark my first official weigh in since I began. One week of results are just a few hours away. I'm very excited. First thing tomorrow I plan to go for my Sunday morning stroll to the coffee stand with my dad and Jaxon, my boy. It's a nice walk from the house, and a good way to knock out my daily hour of cardio. When I get back, I'll knock out my push ups and sit ups and then I'll weigh in. In my mind, I'm hoping I lost 12 lbs, or more! Realistically, I hope I lost 2 lbs at least because I've pushed pretty hard this week and to not see results will be a little disheartening. If nothing else, I've at least begun the process of living a healthy life style and with consistency and continued faithfulness to the plan, I'm bound to see results soon.

Day 5

What a beautiful day today in Puyallup! Man, I got up this morning at the booty crack of dawn, 4AM, to rock and roll at the coffee shop. I felt like I wanted to keel over and pass out. I was so tired and sore from the previous days work out. Once I got moving around, I felt a little better, and as the day progressed, and I fueled my body with good things, (protein shake with fruit and yogurt, granola bar, shot of espresso, half of a "Dave's Killer Sandwich"...recipe to come) I felt awesome.

After work at Noon, Jonesy came over and we hit my training hard. He owned me on some abs and chest exercises. We plowed hard for an hour and then jogged to Rogers High where we ran fowl poles at the baseball fields. We did some pretty intense sprints and fancy foot work and I felt an insane burn. "That's right fat, melt away!!!"

I was so much more mentally prepared for today and I now realize that my lack of preparation before each day will lead to a challenging difficult day. If I think ahead, plan what I'm going to eat, pace it out through the day, and if I mentally prepare for my work out, then everything is in place for a successful day.

This weekend I'll finally have some time to post more pictures and meal plans and recipes. I'm almost done with Week 1! I'm so excited to weigh in on Sunday morning to see what progress I've made. This is such a fun process for me.

Day 4

Honestly, today was by far the hardest day so far. I did well eating, considering I started out the day a bit rushed, which bled into the rest of my day. I didn't end up preparing the foods I would eat. As I write this, I have just finished my daily workout routine, minus the push-ups and sit-ups, simply because I ran out of time. All I was able to do was an hour of cardio on the elliptical. I am absolutely wiped out. The latest episode of Lost I watched was pretty darn good...even more confused then before. Off to bed...Tomorrow will be a much more successful and productive day, and I will be prepared for it!

Day 3

Today, was a fun filled day. Here's how it started; I woke up at 4AM, opened the coffee shop, celebrated life and did what I do best...which is, I guess, celebrating life. I had a meeting in Tacoma, and after that I was headed to Firestone to get my flat tire replaced from the day before. On the way to my meeting I passed a hole in the wall place called Jeff's Used Tires, and that sparked a thought in my mind that maybe they'd have the one tire that I need for the Probe as opposed to me needing to buy two brand new tires from firestone for $180. I proceeded to my meeting and didn't even give it another thought.
After I left the meeting and began making my way toward Firestone, the thought of stopping by this used tire place crept back into my mind. At that point, the last thing I wanted to do was sit for an hour or two at Firestone while they replaced my tires and gouged my wallet. I was hungry, I had a work out that I needed to get going on, and quite frankly, I just wanted to go home. So, I prayed. With a child like faith, I asked God to provide a tire for me at this junky place, under 80 bucks, and that the whole process would take less then 30 minutes, because I was due for some calories in my gullet.
I rolled up into this place and saw signs posted everywhere that they only accept cash. Cash Only. Of course, I had no cash, so, I just about left when I saw a young man approaching the Probe and I got out and told him what I was looking for. He took me out into the tire yard and showed me a stack of tires. The one on top had exactly the same tire tread left as the other three tires, that were still good, on the Probe. I asked how much and he said, $26. I couldn't believe it. I was stoked out of my mind. I was going to save so much money going this route. Woohoo!
Because I had the spare tire on the Probe still, I was able to leave my rim for him to put the tire on while I ran to get cash. I came back, the tire was ready, I paid $31 and some change after tax, by that time he had the tire on the Probe, I thanked him, started my car, and drove off...all in under 10 minutes!!! I was so happy. I know my prayer was a measly, petty, little prayer for myself, but what that experience today taught me, was that God cares about the everyday things in our lives. He desires to be involved in every facet of our lives, not just when it's convenient, or when we make time for Him. He wants to be invited into our daily dealings!
I finally got home and immediately began 40 minutes of cardio on my elliptical as I waited for Jonesy, my personal trainer, to arrive. I knew that he was planning to work me over today, and I wasn't looking forward to that. He got to my house and we began a 40 minute work out blitz on my abs (I use the term, "abs", loosely, as I have more of a sack of flour in my belly than anything that resembles "abs" as of now) and core. We finished by focusing on triceps. What a killer work out. I felt like a million bucks afterwards. However, right now, as I write this, I realize that my body hates me. It is strongly opposed to the changes that I am imposing upon it. I hold on to the fact though that it will continue to get easier and easier as I remain consistent and continue to strive toward the goal of LGN. I got owned today!

Day 2

On a scale of one to awesome, today was AWESOME!!! I was a little more nervous going into today, worried that I'd be hungry, or tired, because honestly, the coffee shop can be a bit demanding at times...but, I did awesome, with the exception of the afternoon...I ended up with a flat tire when I got home from work and was planning to do my exercises, but had to attend to the needs of my Probe, yes, that's right, I drive a Ford Probe...and ohhhh yes, you can bet I'll be posting some sweet pics of me and the Probe in the near future.

Anyway, after dealing with that headache, and literally, having a physically real headache, (I think because I was hungry), I got some good food in me, and hit the elliptical for an hour! I was so stoked that I hit it for that long. I feel like a million bucks as I write this blog entry. Also, I busted out 60 crunches after my cardio, and at work today, between customers, I was able to get my 60 push-ups in. Tomorrow, Jason and I will weight train for an hour. I'm looking forward to that.
My muscles are recovering nicely and again, I feel like I'm getting enough calories and nutrition in my diet. I feel AWESOME!!! It's only Day 2 though I keep reminding myself. I know I can do it! One day at a time is what it will take. I still haven't had time to post the things I've wanted to post, such as some recipes and my weekly meal plan. That might take a back seat for now, or I may just end up posting my daily net calorie intake which calculates food calories consumed minus exercise calories burned. That will paint a decent picture of what I'm doing.
I have a super sweet app on my iPhone called Lose It! If there is anyone out there that is trying to lose weight, manage calorie intake and factor in exercise, this is the sweetest app that I've seen on the iPhone for doing this. It's super user friendly and very accurate, and honestly, it makes this whole thing so much fun. Check it out in the Apple app store.
I thought I should leave you with a random thought tonight. Isn't it funny how we, as humans, react to the rain? If you watch closely, when people are walking in the rain, running to and fro in the rain, scampering in the rain, they make a face that describes nothing but shear agony, as if it's not rain that's actually falling on their skin, but molten lava. They squint their eyes, and curl their lips in disgust as if each drop of cool wetness is melting away their flesh...I caught myself doing that today.

Day 1

I said I'd be honest with you. Want the truth? I got owned today. It's not that I didn't get enough to eat, or that it was hard to stick to the meal plan. I realized today, that it is going to take a lot of determination to see this thing through. Exercising is not something that I love to do...As of now. I know I will grow to love it, especially when I see results, but today was intense.

I power walked, I mean, I man walked with my wife today for over an hour, I did 60 push-ups and 60 sit-ups, and then Jason Jones, my personal trainer, worked with me for a little over an hour on some weight lifting.

I ate incredibly well and enjoyed what I ate. I made the most insanely awesome fruit smoothie for breakfast. I'll post the recipe soon along with other highlights from my meal plan including a Turkey Spinach Wheat Wrap I made for lunch that was life changing. Not gonna lie, I can't really think straight right now, super tired, ready to hit the sack. I need rest to get after Day 2 tomorrow. It's game on!!!

All Systems A GO!!!

Well, in only a few short hours I will arise to begin exercising and dieting like it's something I've always done. Honestly, I can't go into this thinking that I'm just going to go through a phase, that tomorrow, I'll start something, hit my goal, and be done. No, tomorrow marks the beginning of a brand new Bryan! I'm excited! I'm not on some fancy weight loss, low-carb, Jenny Craig diet fad, I'm simply going to be ingesting wholesome, natural foods, exercising on a regular basis and striving to honor God with the body that He's given me. The emphasis for what I'll be eating is really on calorie count and nutritional value. I'll be eating between 1500-1800 calories per day, and expending anywhere from 400-800 calories per day through exercise.

I know that sounds aggressive, but I am set on that plan. I want to go after this thing hard and make up for lost time. My dietician, Leah Koolis, spent a couple hours today figuring out my meal plan for this week and looking for what foods I had on hand already that would work within my diet plan. Turns out, I had the makings of some really great meals laying around and just needed some creativity and direction on what to do with the ingredients. I'll post my meal plan for the week tomorrow.

The LGN Project Begins in 36 Hours!!!

The LGN Project? What is it you ask? Well, it's my attempt at physically preparing the best version of myself for my lovely bride on our 5th Anniversary this May. You see, over the last 5 years of our marriage I haven't exactly eaten the best, nor have I exercised nearly as much as I should have. Seriously, when the Wii Fit told me that I was obese, I knew it was time for a change. Looking back, it's been a jam packed full five years of wonderful memories, life changing events, and unforgettable experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything. My only regret is that I didn't prioritize a healthy diet and exercise lifestyle during that time.

Now, I've got a pretty deep hole to dig myself out of, but I realize there's no better time then now to turn this thing around. Over the next 90 days, I will be blogging about my journey on the road to a skinnier, more healthy version of me. I'll be honest. I'll be real with my struggles and victories. I have the privilege of being physically trained by my friend Jason Jones, and will be held accountable to a healthy diet by my friend and brother-in-law's fiance', Leah Koolis. I am confident that over the next 90 days, I will be able to lose 30 pounds.

That is just the beginning. This is a lifestyle change that I have been desperately longing for. I want to be able to chase my son around without getting winded, climb a few stairs with out needing oxygen, wake up each day with passion and energy, and not having to tote around these 30 extra pounds that I've been carrying. Follow me as I progress to a better, healthier version of me.