On track

Okay, I'm back on track.  Well, not as much as I'd hoped, but I'm happy to report that I rode 9.5 miles today.  In about 33 minutes.  If I can do that pace, I'll be okay for the Tri.  Tomorrow, I'll knock off either the running or swimming portion.  

And, for those of you on Twitter, my Achilles Tendon is starting to feel better.  It's still tight, but I know it'll be okay.  But I may take it easy on the stair stepper tomorrow...Don't want to mess up my body before the big race in 2-1/2 weeks.

Oh, and I swear I've found my next food addiction:

I love Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas because they have only 40 Calories--so I can have 5 of them and that's only 200 Calories.  And they taste pretty dang good, too!!    Wednesday:
15 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on exersice bike
15 minutes on stair stepper
50 situps
50 push ups
100 jumping jacks
1 60 second front plank
1 40 second side plank (each side)
9.5 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

Total:
45 minutes on elliptical
45 minutes on exersice bike
45 minutes on stair stepper
250 situps
250 push ups
200 jumping jacks
5 60 second front planks
5 40 second side planks (each side)
9.5 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna
fast

Calorie Counts:
Sunday: ?,??? Calories
Monday: 1,401 Calories
Tuesday: 2,056 Calories
Wednesday: 2,098 Calories

Average Daily Calories: 1,852 Calories

Getting it moving!

Golly!  I've got to get it moving! 

Granted, I ate really well and I got my work workout in--along with my pushups and situps and planks and jumping jacks... 

But I haven't been running and biking ans swimming as much as I should, considering that I have my Triathalon in a little over 2 weeks--YIKES!  I only have two weeks to find out if I can actually swim for 1/2 a mile.  Hmmm...

So yeah, I've got to get going on this "training" thing.  Tomorrow.  Yeah, tomorrow!  ...tomorrow?

Tuesday:
15 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on exersice bike
15 minutes on stair stepper
50 situps
50 push ups
100 jumping jacks
1 60 second front plank
1 40 second side plank (each side)
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

Total:
30 minutes on elliptical
30 minutes on exersice bike
30 minutes on stair stepper
200 situps
200 push ups
100 jumping jacks
4 60 second front planks
4 40 second side planks (each side)
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna
fast

Calorie Counts:
Sunday: ?,??? Calories
Monday: 1,401 Calories
Tuesday: 2,056 Calories

Average Daily Calories: 1,729 Calories

Date night

Anna and I had a date night tonight.  Not much to report.  We went to dinner.  And we wanted to go to see Toy Story 3.  But the service was just a little too slow.  And we missed the movie.  No biggie, though, we went home and watched a few more episodes of Glee season 1.  Fun date night!

Goals:
60 minutes on elliptical
60 minutes on exercise bike
60 minutes on stair stepper
350 situps
350 pushups
7 60 second front planks
7 40 second side planks (each side)
10 miles walked/ran
15 miles biked
2 hours swam
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna
fast

Up to Monday:
15 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on exersice bike
15 minutes on stair stepper
150 situps
150 push ups
3 60 second front planks
3 40 second side planks (each side)
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna

Calorie Counts:
Sunday: ?,??? Calories
Monday: 1,401 Calories

Average Daily Calories: 1,401 Calories

Week 64

Weight: 221.4

Weekly Weight Loss: 0.8

Total weight lost: 147.0
Average Weekly Loss: 2.30

Down is down.  But it's still frustrating--I was about 2.5 pounds lower on Thursday.  But that was after my fast and before pizza on Saturday night.  I'm not too worried, though.  Week 65 is going to be a great week.  I just know it.

So, in order to help that come to fruition, I'm going to renew my twEATing.  That's right.  I've missed it all.  Of course, I'll be still using SparkPeople, but I'll be posting real time.  And I think I'll be posting real-time exercise, too.  Good plan?  Yeah, I think so.

Saturday

Today wrapped up pretty well.  It started with sleeping in with Anna.  I haven't done that for a while and it felt great!  It ended with babysitting our niece and nephew while my brother and sister-in-law went to dinner.  That was a ton of fun.  In between those two events, I got some running and biking in and put together the hammock my brother gave me for my birthday. 

It was a packed day.  And now it's 10:30 and we're finally winding down.

Oh, before I go further, here's a picture of my lunch from today (and maybe tomorrow, since it was so good!):

Yep!  It's a Greek Veggie plate.  It had spanakopita, dolmas, hummus, tabbouleh, falafel, tzatziki, pita, and Greek salad.  Yum!!  Honestly, it's from this little hole-in-the-wall shop in a mall near our house.  I've seen the place many many times, but never went into it.  What a mistake.  Loved it!  If you're ever in Bellevue and go to the tiny Factoria Mall (I guess it's called Marketplace @ Factoria), you should totally check out Gyro World 

Saturday:
100 pushups
100 situps
7 miles biked
4 miles ran
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

Total:
60 minutes on elliptical
60 minutes on exersice bike
60 minutes on stair stepper
350 situps
350 push ups
5 60 second front planks
5 30 second side planks (each side)
8 miles ran
13 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna
fast

Missed Goals
2 60 second front planks
2 30 second side planks (each side)
7 miles walked/ran
17 miles biked
3 hours swam
--guess this shows that I really need to be intentional and focused on my weekly goals.  And I need to put some serious thought into how my week looks before coming up with my goals.


Calorie Counts:
Sunday: 3,274 Calories
Monday: 2,192 Calories
Tuesday: 2,303 Calories
Wednesday: 2,211 Calories
Thursday: 1,692 Calories
Friday: 2,412 Calories
Saturday: 2,207 Calories

Average Daily Calories: 2,327 Calories

Getting my goat

Yes, as a child, we had a pygmy goat.  We had multiple, in fact.  They kinda looked like this:

But that's not the goat I'm talking about.  I'm talking about one of the things that really gets me mad-angry-fired-up. 

I was hanging out with friends earlier this week; friends I haven't seen for a few months.  And before I saw them last, it was months and months.  One lady was telling me that I looked good--well thanks!--and that what I did was pretty cool.  That was a great compliment.  But then it went downhill.  I mean not "downhill" downhill, but it went to where I got frustrated on the inside.  It continued like this:

SHE: But you're in your 20's right?
ME: Well yeah, just turned 30.
SHE: Yeah, but it's so much easier to lose weight in your 20's.
ME: I guess so.  But I think it's hard to lose weight no matter how old you are...
SHE: Yeah, but I know your metabolism slows down as you age.
ME: That's what I've heard.  But while it may be hard, it's still poss-
SHE: I mean, I know after I turned 30, I couldn't eat as much as I used to.

I don't want to relate the rest of my back and forth.  But here's my deal.  That's bull.  I mean, yeah, it's true that people's metabolisms change over time.  And yes it may be true that men have a higher metabolic average than women.  And yes it's true that blah blah blah. 

Seriously. 

Losing 10 pounds takes a lot of effort. 

Losing 40 pounds takes a lot effort. 

Losing 100 pounds takes a lot of effort. 

I truly think that any amount of weight to lose can be daunting.  And if you can lose it and keep it off, you're awesome in my book!  But if you make excuses based off your age or your sex or the amount of time you have in the day, well then I just lose patience.  Everyone has obstacles.  Everyone has something they'd rather do.  It's not fun to exercise or eat healthy--it's not bad, though, and it certainly feels better! 

Here's what I said to myself after my conversation, "Don't cheapen my accomplishments by saying they're easy; and don't make excuses for yourself for not living a healthy lifestyle." 

You know what I'm saying?!

Friday:
15 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on exercise back
15 minutes on stair stepper
50 pushups
50 situps
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fast

Total:
60 minutes on elliptical
60 minutes on exersice bike
60 minutes on stair stepper
250 situps
250 push ups
5 60 second front planks
5 30 second side planks (each side)
4 miles ran
6 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna
fast

Calorie Counts:
Sunday: 3,274 Calories
Monday: 2,192 Calories
Tuesday: 2,303 Calories
Wednesday: 2,211 Calories
Thursday: 1,692 Calories
Friday: 2,412 Calories

Average Daily Calories: 2,347 Calories

Doctor, Doctor

Doctor, Doctor, Mr. MD.  Can you tell me what's ailing me?

Nope.

Not a clue. 

I went to the doctor, and really, he couldn't figure out what was wrong, but he didn't seem worried.  He said that my shoulder will hurt for a week or two, but I can keep doing my exercising as long as I don't feel any new pain.  But I didn't do any more pushups or planks today.  Just cardio.  But I'll be doing some more the next couple of days.

Oh, and I tried to make my first batch of faux Nutella.  Not so good.  Gotta work on it some more.  The flavor was pretty good, but the texture--yuck.  Soon, though, I'll get it down.  Why not just buy my own?  Read this article from Obesity Panacea.  Good stuff. 

Wednesday:
15 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on exercise back
15 minutes on stair stepper
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fast

Total:
45 minutes on elliptical
45 minutes on exersice bike
45 minutes on stair stepper
200 situps
200 push ups
4 60 second front planks
4 30 second side planks (each side)
4 miles ran
6 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna
fast

Calorie Counts:
Sunday: 3,274 Calories
Monday: 2,192 Calories
Tuesday: 2,303 Calories
Wednesday: 2,211 Calories
Thursday: 1,692 Calories

Average Daily Calories: 2,334 Calories

Quick Post

Sorry for the quick post guys, but we had a window salesman over at our house for 3 hours!!  Who knew it would take that long to talk about 8 windows?!  Sheesh.

So no, no big insights today.  No similies.  No metaphors.  No allegories.  

Oh, and something weird is going on with my shoulder.  No idea why.  It's a little painful, but I'll let you know if it gets better or worse.  Huh.  Intreresting.  

But, I did go on a run today and I ran 4.25 miles in 37:05.  That's 6.88 miles an hour. Or an 8:43 pace!!  Nice.  That makes me excited.  Maybe I can make it up to 7 miles an hour?  That would be awesome!

Wednesday:
50 situps
50 push ups
1 60 second front planks
1 30 second side planks (each side)
4 mile run
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

Total:
30 minutes on elliptical
30 minutes on exersice bike
30 minutes on stair stepper
200 situps
200 push ups
4 60 second front planks
4 30 second side planks (each side)
4 miles ran
6 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna

Calorie Counts:
Sunday: 3,274 Calories
Monday: 2,192 Calories
Tuesday: 2,303 Calories
Wednesday: 2,211 Calories

Average Daily Calories: 2,495 Calories

a simile

How many days am I going to start my blog post with, "I planned to..."?

Okay, well, what's one more?

I planned to get a lot of work done today.  I wanted to bake Anna a Red Velvet Cake, make some homemade (and healthier) Nutella, cook a batch of rice, do dishes, mow the lawn, go for a run...and a bike ride...and maybe hit the pool/beach.  Too much?  Yeah, probably.  But I'd rather have too much planned than not enough.

But I didn't do all that.  I did cook rice, do the dishes, and mow the lawn.  Of course, mowing the lawn took me about 2-1/2 hours! 

It's hard to see in the shot, but the grass was about 5-6 inches high.  So high that I had to take one pass with the chute up, rake up all the grass, and then take another pass to finish up.  It took me a long time.  And it got me thinking.  You know? 

Yard work is like living healthy.

...

Okay, hear me out.

Yard work isn't too tough--if you keep on it.  All you have to do is go out once a week and run the lawn mower over the grass, trim the edges, and put everything into the yard waste bin. 

Likewise, being healthy isn't too tough--if you keep at it.  All you have to do is go out and exercise 3-5 times a week. 

You can fertilize your lawn (either chemically or naturally). 

You can eat the right things. 

It all works as it's supposed to--until you don't take care of things the way you should.  When you don't exercise and you don't eat right it's just like not watering/feeding your lawn: you'll end up with a lot of work needed to get things back to the way they should be.  For my lawn, it was 2-1/2 hours tonight--for starters; for my health, it's been 15 months and I still have more to go.

I know it's not like a huge revelation, but it's definitely something that has made me think... 

Tuesday:
15 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on exersice bike
15 minutes on stair stepper
50 situps
50 push ups
1 60 second front planks
1 30 second side planks (each side)
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

Total:
30 minutes on elliptical
30 minutes on exersice bike
30 minutes on stair stepper
150 situps
150 push ups
3 60 second front planks
3 30 second side planks (each side)
6 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna

Calorie Counts:
Sunday: 3,274 Calories
Monday: 2,192 Calories
Tuesday: 2,303 Calories

Average Daily Calories: 2,590 Calories

It's a new week

So, I've got to get this thing back on track.  And it's a prefect time to do it, because it's a new week!  To do that, I'm posting my goals again.  It's actually been a while since I actually posted my goals.  So, here they are: 

Goals:
60 minutes on elliptical
60 minutes on exercise bike
60 minutes on stair stepper
350 situps
350 pushups
7 60 second front planks
7 30 second side planks (each side)
15 miles walked/ran
30 miles biked
3 hours swam
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna
fast

Of course, there are my other goals, too, like no eating after 8 pm and things like that, but those should go without saying. 

Also, one thing I really want to get done in the next few weeks is to finish two books: Mere Christianity (the book I was supposed to review back in April), and the rough draft of my friend's book.  I'll be posting my review on Mere Christianity, and forwarding my comments back on to my firend. 

That's about it for today, I'm tired, and I have a new toy to play with:

Up to Monday:
15 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on exersice bike
15 minutes on stair stepper
100 situps
100 push ups
2 60 second front planks
2 30 second side planks (each side)
6 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna

Calorie Counts:
Sunday: 3,274 Calories
Monday: 2,192 Calories

Average Daily Calories: 2,733 Calories

Week 63

Weight: 222.2

Weekly Weight Gain: 3.2

Total weight lost: 146.2
Average Weekly Loss: 2.32

Okay.  I knew this was going to happen.  Not much to say, other than I had a lot of fun on my birthday week and it's time to rock this again.  Back to Calorie counting.  Back to no eating after 8.  Back to consistant running and biking and swimming (not just at the tail end of the week). 

This will work. And I will get to 150 pounds lost.

New Equipment

We just got an elliptical machine from my mother-in-law.  She just sold her condo and will be moving--so she's getting rid of some stuff.  It'll be nice to be able to use the elliptical at home now, instead of just at work.  Whoo hoo!!

Saturday:
30 minutes on elliptical
50 situps
50 pushups
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fast

Total:
90 minutes on elliptical
60 minutes on stair stepper
60 minutes on exercise bike
300 situps
300 push ups
4 60 second front planks
4 30 second side planks (each side)
12 miles walked/ran
16.5 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fasted
date with Anna

Gain Ahead

Today I came to the realization taht I still have a long way to come.  I will be posting a gain this week.  Could be 3-5 pounds.  Why?  I don't think my problem's my exercise.  I think it's still my eating.  This week hasn't been the best.  Okay, let's be real--it's been pretty poor.  I haven't been tracking my Calories.  I haven't been keeping to my "No Eating after 8 pm" rule.  I've been eating too much. 

But I'm not beating myself up.

I'm not proud of myself.  I'm not happy with myself.  And I'm very disappointed. 

But that was this week and I have many many more to come.
No, this isn't a wake-up call.  This isn't a live and learn.  No, I know better.  And I need to be better.  And I will be better.  I will crack this 150 pounds lost milestone by the end of this month.

Sorry this took a negative turn.  But seriously, this journey will never be easy, right?

Friday:
5 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on stair stepper
15 minutes on exercise bike
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

Total:
60 minutes on elliptical
60 minutes on stair stepper
60 minutes on exercise bike
250 situps
250 push ups
4 60 second front planks
4 30 second side planks (each side)
12 miles walked/ran
16.5 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fasted
date with Anna

My Tattoos

While commenting on my Birthday post, Kim asked about my tattoos.  I thought it woudl be fun to talk about all 5 of them.  They all have meaning.  They're not simple flash designs (not Marvin the Martian or anything).  Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that, but that's not how I roll.  So, without further ado, here are my tattoos, in chronological order:

Verktyg av Gudarna

This is my first tattoo. It's on my left bicep/sholder.  I got it when I was 20 or 21. I designed the image first, and then my artist made it look good. In fact, I conceptualized all of my tattoos first. This is meant to represent the Swedish portion of my heritage. Meant to evoke Thor’s Hammer, Mjöllnir. I also wanted to get the phrase “Tool of the gods” in Swedish under the image. So I bought a Swedish-English dictionary and translated it myself. I came up with “Verktyg pa un guds” or something like that. But my brother wisely encouraged me to find someone who actually spoke Swedish to translate it for me, telling me that I could have the translation wrong, and my translation could mean, “God, you’re such a tool.” So I had to find a Swedish speaker. But where would I go to find a Swedish speaker? Well, Ikea, of course! The nice lady I found told me that I did, indeed have the wrong translation—mine translating to “Tool ON the gods”. Yeah, not what I was going for!! She did, though, give me the correct translation. Suffice it to say, I don’t have the title on my arm—just to be safe.

Passione

This is my second tattoo. This one is on my right bicep/sholder.  I got it a year after my first (so that I could donate blood once before being unable to for another year—my normal habit during my tattoo-receiving days). This one is meant to honor my Italian heritage. It is a roman column with grape vines/leaves, “Passione” (passion in Italian), and the Roman numeral “V” since I’m the fifth son in my family.

Wanderlust

My third tattoo. This one is on my right ankle. The dingy, dirty chain represents “society” trying to hold me down. The bright, vibrant vines represent my nature (see how they grow out of my skin) breaking the hold society tries to have on me. Yeah, I was an idealistic hippie. Still am a little.

Eagle Feathers

My fourth tattoo. I got this tattoo to commemorate the time I spent in La Push with the Quileute Nation.  For my final quarter of College, 9 students and I spent 10 weeks living in the community, helping where we could, and learning about the tribe and ourselves. This experience is what eventually led me to meet and marry Anna, so I’m pretty pleased with the decision to go out to La Push in the first place. Because there were 10 of us on the trip, there are 10 eagle feathers.

Ga

My fifth and final tattoo (for now). This tattoo is to commemorate one of the most important days in my life (other than being Saved by God through Jesus): my wedding on February 17, 2007. The Chinese character is Ga. Anna’s Chinese name is “Ga Man” or “Kaman” depending on how you translate it. And “Ga”/”Ka” is her family name meaning…well, “family”. And we’re both the year of the Monkey in Chinese Astrology, so that seemed fitting.

So that’s it. Those are all of my tattoos. I have been told by my wonderful wife that I cannot get anymore tattoos. Why is that? Well, because this is the next tattoo I wanted:

Anna said no after she heard about this wish.  I have no idea why.  The plan was to put it on my left chest.  And have the name area blank so I could fill it in as needed.  What's wrong with that plan?!  Man, she's crazy.  Ha!

Thursday:
5 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on stair stepper
15 minutes on exercise bike
50 situps
50 push ups
3.5 miles ran (6.7 mph)
7 miles biked (15.7 mph)
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna

Total:
55 minutes on elliptical
45 minutes on stair stepper
45 minutes on exercise bike
250 situps
250 push ups
4 60 second front planks
4 30 second side planks (each side)
12 miles walked/ran
16.5 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fasted
date with Anna

Exercise

So, as you can see below, I have been exercising.  I've been putting in my time.  I've been sweating a good deal. 

But I don't feel like I've been pushing myself as much as I could be.  Or as much as I should be. 

Today, though, I made progress.  I had a great gym workout during the day.  And when we got home, I made dinner and we watched a show.  And I was relaxed.  I was so relaxed.  I didn't want to go out for my other workout.  But I got out there and got a run in and a bike ride.  I did the same 3.5 mile loop on foot and on tire. My run was 32:10 and my ride was 14:22.  I like that I ride about twice as fast as I run--of course I want both speeds to increase.  I'd love to get closer to 7mph--but I'm not there.  Yet.

Wednesday:
5 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on stair stepper
15 minutes on exercise bike
50 situps
50 push ups
3.5 miles ran (6.54 mph)
3.5 miles biked (14.75 mph)
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fasted

Total:
50 minutes on elliptical
30 minutes on stair stepper
30 minutes on exercise bike
200 situps
200 push ups
4 60 second front planks
4 30 second side planks (each side)
8.5 miles walked/ran
9.5 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fasted

Assaulting Salt

As I've been using Spark People for the past couple weeks, I've noticed that I eat way too much sodium.  In fact, I've taken to never adding salt to my dishes.  There's just too much sodium in everything. 

In fact, it's really interesting that as I've been contemplating the dangers of sodium, I got my latest Penzys catalog.  If you don't know Penzys, they sell almost every spice, I swear.  And they have great prices.  But the interesting part was this note in the salt section from the onwer:

Salt.


We're cutting back on salt.


A really good and healthy thing going on with food right now is that people are using less salt.  We want to be a part of this.  Going forward we will continue to sell reasonably priced generic salts of the earth and sea, but we will no longer be selling the higher priced specialty salts.  I feel things have gotten to a point where the specialty salts are glamorizing the use of salt and, with that, encouraging people to use more of it.  I have also found that along with the marketing of specialty salt has come a great deal of misinformation, including claims that some salts don't afffect your health like others do.  This is just not true and not something we wnat to be a part of.  Salt is salt, it really is, and it tastes no different no matter where it comes from.


With our belief that cooking comes from caring for those around you we feel part of that is caring for the well-being of the people we cook for.  We all have our own relationship with salt and I respect that, but as a cook and as a business I feel so much better about working to cut back on the use of salt rather than encouraging the use of more.  I hope this makes sense to you,


BILL

What do you guys think?  What's your take on a business taking a stand on an issue that is directly related to their core and could detrimentally impact their bottom line?

Tuesday:
5 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on stair stepper
15 minutes on exercise bike
50 situps
50 push ups
2 60 second front planks
2 30 second side planks (each side)
5 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fasted

Total:
45 minutes on elliptical
15 minutes on stair stepper
15 minutes on exercise bike
150 situps
150 push ups
4 60 second front planks
4 30 second side planks (each side)
5 miles walked/ran
6 miles biked
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
fasted

Birthday Weekend (Vibram Style)

This weekend was my birthday weekend.  And it was great!  Anna's the best wife in the world. 

I really don't have a ton of time to go into all the details, so I figure that I can do a quick recap--from the pictures of my Vibrams:


Cougar Mountain Trail Run
I'm really glad that I planned this race on the last day I was 29.  It was fitting.  My 29th year was based on fitness, so how perfect would it be to run the longest race of my life?  But first, let's talk about the name of the race: Cougar Mountain Trail Run.  Cougar: Yes, actual cougars have been sighted in this area. Mountain: Yes, it is on a mountain.  Well, maybe not a huge one (1,600 feet), but the area is called the Issaquah Alps for a reason.  Lots of elevation gain.  Trail: Um, yeah, it was all on a trail.  A rocky muddy trail.  And some times the trail was only one person wide (hard to pass people if needed).  Run: Yup!  I ran most of the way.  Most of the times I was running were when I was behind people going up a hill--they were "running", but I could walk just as quickly...so I did.

Here are some pictures of the race:

All my stuff. 

I got my race bib. 

And instead of a shirt, they gave you socks.  Cool!

The beginning of the race.

The end of the race.

My poor Vibram KSO's!

I finished the race in just over 90 minutes.  And the race was supposed to be 7.5 miles, but it was actually 8.  But I really would have liked to finish in 80 minutes--10 minute miles.  But it was on a trail; and my first trail run ever.  Maybe my next one will be faster.

Paragliding:
My twin brother, Jake, and I got Paragliding tickets for our birthday two years ago, and we finally cashed them in.  Last year, I couldn't do it, since I was too big for the harness.  But now I'm perfect! 

This was us before the flight.

And our names on our hands--both for the Tandem Pilots who'd be flying us and for the EMTs in case there was a crash and our faces were too mangled to identify, I guess. 

And my Vibram Sprints sure loved the view!

The Evening:
By the evening of Saturday, I was woo tired to take more pictures, but I had a TON of fun!  Anna planned the best surprise Birthday dinner at a nearby restaraunt.  The we had people over to play games.  And we stayed up until 2am.  Whew, long day, I'll tell ya!

Sunday:
On Sunday, we went to breakfast in Downtown Seattle.  Then we walked for 5 miles around the cowntown core.  And I used a couple of REI gift cards from my friends and bought my third pair of Vibrams:

The newest model: The Bikilas.

What a weekend!!

Up to Monday:
40 minutes on elliptical
100 situps
100 push ups
2 60 second front planks
2 30 second side planks (each side)
5 miles walked/ran
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

week 62

Weight: 219.0

Weekly Weight Loss: 0.6

Total weight lost: 149.4
Average Weekly Loss: 2.41

I know that last week I said that if I lost enough to have lost 150 pounds on this journey I'd be thrilled.  But I didn't.  I'm only at 149.4 pounds lost.  And I'm still thrilled!!

And next week?  I expect to make more progress.  I may have a tough go of it, though, since I've had (and will have) some celebrations this weekend.  I'm loving it and embracing it--and I am not making any decisions I'm regretting. 

No News, New Picture

Here's a picture that we took today at Anna's work dinner.  Now that I can actually fit in clothes, I'm starting to like dressing up.  Yikes!

And now it's late.  And I have a run in the morning, so I'm off to bed.  But first, of course, I had to make up a playlist for tomorrow.  And now I'm all ready. 

Hope you all had a great day!

Friday:
15 minutes on elliptical
24 minutes on stair stepper
50 situps
50 push ups
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

Total:
51 minutes on elliptical
60 minutes on stair stepper
300 situps
300 push ups
5 60 second front planks
5 30 second side planks (each side)
5 miles walked/ran
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna
fast

Weekly Calorie Count:
Sunday: 2,499 Calories
Monday: 2,190 Calories
Tuesday: 1,223 Calories
Wednesday: 2,306 Calories
Thursday: 2,107 Calories
Friday: 2,234 Calories 
Saturday:

Daily Average: 2,093 Calories.

Check-up and Huge Compliment

Today, I gave blood.  We have the Puget Sound Blood Center come to our offices and I was able to jump on the bus and less than an hour later, I was one pint of the red stuff lighter.  I love being able to contribute to saving lives today.  When was the last time you donated blood?

One of the benefits to donating blood is that I get to have a free mini-health check.  And here are my stats:

Blood Pressure: 118/64
Temp: 97 Degrees
Pulse: 72 bpm
Iron: (passed)

My blood pressure looks just fine.  I'm right in the normal range according to the National Institues of Health, which lists normal as <120/<80.  My temp is normal for me.  My pulse is right in the normal range according to WebMD.  Really, I wasn't worried about those numbers.  What worried me was my iron.  Last blood drive, they pricked my finger and tested my iron--I didn't have enough.  They tested again, and it passed.  This time, I worried that I wouldn't pass, but I did.  I actually think I may be anemic.  My hands and feet are often really cold (and I used to be burning hot all the time), and I sometimes get dizzy when I stand up.  But I'm rarely short of breath, I rarely have headaches or chest pain.  So I'm not sure.  But my eating charts show that I'm not really getting enough Iron in my diet.  So, I've been having red meat once a week; taking my multi vitamin daily; and eating more leafy greens (and maybe having some blackstrap molasses).  Does anyone know if losing weight can lead to anemia??

And, when I got back to my desk, I say this sitting on my keyboard:

  
It might be hard to read, but one of my friends dropped off a copy of the weight loss success story in Men's Health.  can you read the note?  It says, "YOU NEED TO SUBMIT YOURSELF!!"  How freaking cool is that?  That is one of the biggest compliments ever.  I am a success--even if I never am in a magazine.  Thanks, Dan!

Thursday:
24 minutes on elliptical
24 minutes on stair stepper
50 situps
50 push ups
1 60 second front planks
1 30 second side planks (each side)
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

Total:
36 minutes on elliptical
36 minutes on stair stepper
250 situps
250 push ups
5 60 second front planks
5 30 second side planks (each side)
5 miles walked/ran
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion
date with Anna
fast

Weekly Calorie Count:
Sunday: 2,499 Calories
Monday: 2,190 Calories
Tuesday: 1,223 Calories
Wednesday: 2,306 Calories
Thursday: 2,107 Calories
Friday:
Saturday:

Daily Average: 2,065 Calories.