Round 2 Day 30 Update

Sorry that it has been awhile since I've posted, or your welcome if you prefer.  I have been a bit more busy the past month than previously.  My mother left town for a week or so, and I stepped into the role of cooking for my dad and I, which was so much fun.  Then we headed right into Thanksgiving, where I also spent a good part of the day cooking.  On the Saturday following Thanksgiving, I traveled to Salt Lake with my oldest brother for the USU-BYU basketball game, which had the wrong ending...Then I picked up a cold which left me feeling really tired.  This morning I got to play a really fun game called "Let's see how many pairs of hands and other various apparatuses I can fit in my mouth at one time".  As I write this post, the left side of my mouth feels like it has been hit repeatedly with a sledgehammer.

The past month was probably the hardest for me to feel motivated to workout.  I had a ton of excuses to keep me from going with the program, but I still have been plugging along and haven't missed a day yet.  There have been a few adjustments to my schedule, but I have kept moving.  The past two weeks I have started working out in the afternoon rather than the morning.  This started because of my cold.  I wanted to make sure that I ate food to give me the necessary energy to actually survive the craziness.  Last Monday and Tuesday, I actually had to take breaks to eat some orange to help me power through the tiredness (By the way, plyometrics with a cold is not fun.  I nearly killed myself this morning trying to work through it again.).  The afternoon workouts have continued because it has been blasted cold here, and it just doesn't sound too fun to me to workout in a basement with sub-zero temperatures outside.

Thanksgiving brought a big change in my diet.  For the past four months, I have gone without eating any sugary/junk food.  The only sugars I've eaten were natural sugars found in fruit, the little bit of added to sugar to bread and other such products, and a little honey here and there.  That streak ended, within my plan, on Thanksgiving when I ate a piece of pumpkin pie with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.  After my little experiment, I can honestly say that sugary foods aren't something I need.  My cravings for them are pretty much gone, and my sweet tooth can be easily satisfied with fruit. It is quite a nice feeling to have.  Having said that though my plan was to hold out until Thanksgiving, and now that it has come and gone, I will allow myself to enjoy some of those things once in a while.  After all what will a little bit of ice cream hurt?

Another big change happened for me starting Thanksgiving day.  Since I began this latest surge of transformation back in May, I have dutifully counted calories, measured out portions, and stuck pretty dang close to all of my macros.  Although, I really didn't mind doing this, I stopped keeping track of everything that went into my mouth beginning on Thanksgiving.  For awhile I still ate the same, just without tracking every detail.  Now I am learning to listen to my body trying to figure out what my body really needs at the moment within the framework I have already set up.  Hello more fruit!  It has honestly been quite liberating to not worry about hitting my macros.

Look what arrived in the mail:

Without further ado, here are my updated photos.  These were actually taken on day 27, and I am now posting them on day 37.

It's kind of a fun thing for me because I could see quite a big change start taking place in the last month.  I started to really see abs start peeking out, and not just in the right light at the right angle.  The last picture is probably my favorite because I finally have started to see some muscles developing in my back.  I kind of have a love/hate relationship with pull-ups so it's nice to see that they are working.  Since these pictures were taken, I have seen a bit more definition in my abdominal area too, so good things are definitely happening!

I just wanted to thank everyone who has been following my journey.  I've had a few conversations in the past few weeks with people who have taken some kind of inspiration from my journey.  I think that that is really cool because that is really why I started doing this.  Those who really know me know how much I hate being in the spotlight.  Talking about and posting pictures of myself really aren't part of my natural character.  It just tickles me greatly when I hear about those whom I love to begin their own journeys in better living.  So, again thank you to all of you who follow me and to those who have been joining with me!

Purpose

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about purpose.  Tony Horton, the creator of P90X, talks all the time about purpose.  It's something that I find asking myself pretty much every morning as I wake up for a workout, especially on days like today when I have plyometrics staring at me from my calendar.  I wonder why I do all this.  Why do I pound my body so hard every morning?  Why do I let all those delicious foods pass me by?

This picture makes a return:

I look at this picture, and I just feel sad.  Others may look at this picture and see me celebrating a birthday, but I see so much more in this picture.   This picture happened to be taken during a period of time in my life when I had a ton of problems in my life in general.  I won't go into all of them, but an obvious one is the kind of shape I was in.  This picture was taken near my heaviest point, ~265 pounds.  This physical condition led to so many other problems.

My family has a strong history of some serious diseases.  Although nobody in my immediate family has diabetes, it has a strong, strong presence in my extended family.  I've seen my grandmother as well as other members of my mother's family have issues with diabetes.  The physical condition, my diet, and my activity level during this period of my life most likely didn't help steer me clear of this terrible disease.

Another pretty worrisome disease that steers much closer to myself is high blood pressure and other heart issues.  There are a few members of my immediate family who have/have had issues with high blood pressure.  I see them taking multiple medications just to keep it under control, and I've seen some of the nasty side effects that can occur from taking those same medications.  My grandfather, who I never remember being anything but a smaller man, had many heart issues in his life.  Heck, I was once told by a doctor when I was there for a physical that my blood pressure was high, and I was only in junior high or high school.

When I look at this picture, I also see someone who is often not happy and who is often sick.  There are just so many things about the picture that makes me sad to look at it.

Here is this other picture again:

When I look at this picture, I see pretty much the opposite of the person above.  I see someone who is really happy with where he is and where he is going.  I see someone who has no blood pressure issues, and whose blood pressure is naturally very low.  I see someone who doesn't worry about being afflicted with a disease any day.  I see someone who doesn't absolutely despise shopping for clothes, although at the end of the day, it is still clothes shopping.  Rather it's someone who is pumped because they are able to wear the small sizes of clothes for the first time in over ten years.

So why do I do my workouts and eat right?  Because I've learned that when I take care of my body, it takes care of me.  I don't want to end up taking medications to take care of problems in my life.  I'm not married yet (any takers?), but I hope to have a family someday (soon would be nice), and I don't want to be the person in the first picture.  I want to be able to do things with my family for as long as I can, and I don't want to leave them too soon.  I don't want to become a drag on the healthcare system.  I want to get out in the world and do fun things.  On top of all that, I just want to be awesome!  I would much rather do a full minute of jump knee tucks or corn cob pull-ups that become gooey again.  That's my purpose.

So, what's yours?

Yep, I Brought It!

 P90X Baby!

This is a follow-up/continuation of a post that I made a couple years ago, seen here:

http://bobthejanitor520.blogspot.com/2010/07/change.html

I just wanted to share what I have been working on for the last 90 days.  Upon graduation, I looked ahead at my summer, and I decided that I didn't want to be a bum all summer.  As such, I set a number of goals for myself to accomplish each day and over the course of the summer.  One of the goals I set was to finally finish what I had started back in 2009.  I wanted to lose 15-20 pounds.

Once I got down to around 185 pounds from where I was, I got quite lazy about working at it.  I stopped exercising regularly, and my diet saw changes to add more junk foods.  I noticed toward the end of my college days that these changes were beginning to show and my gut was starting to balloon up a bit.  Now that I didn't have school and the other things going in my life, I knew that time was no longer an excuse that I could wield.  So I started making concerted efforts to clean up my diet and exercise a bit more.

I started doing my own thing exercise wise, which I pretty much based off of the Power 90 program.  As time went on, I just kind of fell into doing the Power 90 program anyway.  I also added in a bit of running, which I've never particularly cared for.  I kept this up until early August.  At this point, I had the crazy thought to give P90X another shot.  I had previously given an attempt back in 2009, but I made it about a week because life got in the way.  I decided to take a stab at it.

This time around, although the program kicked my butt the first few weeks, I had for all intents and purposes completed Power 90, and I was able to crush the program.  I found that I loved the program immensely.  It was a lot of fun, and it was extremely varied so I couldn't get bored.  The longer I worked on the program, the more I learned about myself, my body, my health, and nutrition.  I soon found things that worked, and other things that didn't work.

I found myself making cleaner and cleaner eating choices.  I haven't had any products with added sugar in nearly 90 days.  My last sugary food was a child-size scoop of caramel cashew from Aggie ice cream as I left my home behind.  A week prior to that I had had a raspberry shake from Bear Lake, yummy yummy yummy!  I have even gone almost the entire 90 days without any bread products, the only exception being one whole-wheat English muffin in mid-September.  Funny thing is that now I have next to zero cravings for sweet things that can't be answered with some fruit, and there are few temptations for me. After all, I would hate to go to all the work, just to have it destroyed with a few minutes of a party.

The thing that I loved about P90X is that it was intense, but fun at the same time.  One of my favorite workouts, which I have a very love-hate relationship with was my ploymetrics day, which is basically like an hour-long sporting event.  It is so much fun, but it kills me every time.  My legs always feel toasty-toast afterward.  I also love the challenges that P90X brings.  I never thought I would love doing Yoga, but this program made me a believer.  Yoga X is probably my favorite of the workouts because it works everything.  It is extremely difficult, yet so easy.  It is incredibly intense, yet so relaxing.  It is seriously amazing.  I am crazy flexible now because of this workout, just ask my mother about that.

My brother recently asked me which was more difficult, the diet or the workouts.  I have to say that the diet really wasn't too difficult for me once I got used to it.  Although, just as soon as I would get used to living the diet, my diet would change on me.  I just have to wonder how it is possible to dislike a diet where I get to eat cashews, almonds, and peanuts on a daily basis.  I have really learned to eat differently, and I have even tried many, many new foods over the last few months.  For instance, I have recently wondered how I've gone through 24 years of my life without trying a sweet potato.  It is now one of my favorites, and it is extremely healthy.  The diet really did take a bit of an adjustment, but the foods I eat just make me feel so much better than all the other junk that I could put into my mouth that may taste a bit better.

The really amazing thing about this program has been the changes that I have felt in my daily life.  I sleep much, much better at night than I used to.  I received poor sleeping genes, and I would often take a few hours at night to actually go to sleep.  Now I can go to sleep almost as soon as I want to at night.  I sleep like a rock now, and I wake up ready to attack my day.  My blood pressure really isn't a concern anymore,  as my numbers are both naturally in the double digits.  For the most part I feel like I have more energy throughout the day.  I would highly recommend this lifestyle to anyone.

Here are my before and after pictures for your perusal, if you dare...
By the way my before pictures are taken roughly six months prior to beginning Power 90/P90X, and they aren't the greatest pictures, but whatever.


Before:

 

Day 30:

Day 60:

Day 90:

Hope your eyes have not been burned out by now.  A couple more pictures with my shirt on.  The first was around 2007 I believe, the year I graduated from high school.  Taken in front of the Saint George Temple, I was near my heaviest at around 265 pounds.  I am wearing an extra large shirt and 42 inch jeans (I still have that shirt, and will take a picture of me wearing it now soon).

I took this picture this week, and I am wearing a small shirt and 30 inch jeans.  Neither of which I have worn for at least 10 years, but possibly as long ago as 13 or 14 years (that would be about 11 years old or so).

So, I've had the question now what.  I plan to continue on with the healthy eating and exercising lifestyle.  As I mentioned previously, I feel so much better doing it than not, so why would I stop.  Even though looks aren't necessarily the most important thing, my body is still hanging onto that last belly, its "last hurrah", and I want it gone.  I am starting to see a bit more definition in my stomach area, its more pronounced in my arms and legs.  There are only two regrets that I had with my first round of P90x.  Number 1 is that I didn't purchase a pull-up bar from day one.  I finally bought one in my last month, and it was an immense help with strengthening my back.  The other regret is that I was extremely stubborn about increasing the number of calories I consumed daily.  I finally made the jump for the last 3-4 weeks.  I immediately felt much better, albeit stuffed, and I worry now that I really hurt my results by not doing it sooner.

With that said  I will be starting round 2 of P90X tomorrow, and I am pretty pumped about going after it again. I have issued a challenge to my family, and I would also like to extend the same challenge to everyone else to join me as I go after this second round.  No program necessary, just move and groove for 90 days.  Get out and be active 5+ days a week or 22+ days a month.  I may even try to blog through this round to keep people involved, we'll see how it goes.  And just remember if you think "I can't"...

I've got your can't right here! 

Recognizing the Tender Mercies of the Lord

Because of the circumstances in my life at the present moment, I spend most of my days with little to accomplish.  I've spent the last two to three years becoming more and more busy.  There were many days where I was running around campus for more than half my day working on various things. Now, however, I just don't have a lot to accomplish each day.  I workout every morning, and then I spend the rest of the day in the job search mode, with more of the same discouraging results.  It has been a really difficult adjustment for me.

A few weeks ago, I had this talk by Elder David A. Bednar come to my mind.  In this talk, Elder Bednar talks about the tender mercies of the Lord.  After being reminded of this talk, I tried to make a concerted effort to recognize those small moments when I could recognize the Lord and His love for me in my life.  Many times these instances were very small, such as just waking up happy and ready to attack the day or feeling really good about my workout in the morning.  I could feel that my life started to have a bit more purpose.

Last Sunday was a day of many tender mercies for me.  Some things happened Saturday night that left me feeling extremely discouraged and lonely.  I went to bed quite sad and depressed.  On Sunday I got the opportunity to drive with my dad to Logan to listen to all of my friends from choir sing in the tabernacle.  As we sat in the parking lot prior to entering the building, my spirits were lifted as I started seeing my friends piling into the building. The tender mercies continued as I listened to them warm-up beforehand.

My good friend Austin came up to me prior to the start of the fireside and asked me if I would say the closing prayer.  I accepted the invitation and prepared to be fed.  Then another friend from choir came up to me and handed me a card from last year's Latter-Day Voices president.  This note thanked me for being a member of the choir last year and telling me all the influences for good I had been in the choir.

I was spiritually fed by the choirs at the fireside, and the tender mercies continued as many of the things spoken and sung about applied directly to my life.  At the close of the fireside, I said the closing prayer when another tender mercy came for me. I was just waking off the stand when I heard the familiar middle C.  Immediately, I knew that the choirs would be singing "Go Ye Now in Peace", a personal favorite of mine.  As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I made the decision to stand there and sing with my friends. I'm not sure how many people could see me, I know my father and Brother Salmond noticed, but it meant the world to me.

I knew a few weeks beforehand that I needed to be at the fireside last week, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to do so.  It was exactly what I needed at a time when I desperately needed it.  I am grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord in my life, and I'm grateful that He provides ways for me to feel of His love and compassion for me in my darkest hours.

4 Fantastic Years+1 More?

The past week marked the completion of two events which I have looked forward to for a few years now.  Last Sunday I got to walk across the rostrum in my chapel as I received my Institute diploma, along with two certificates of advanced degrees, and yesterday I graduated with my degrees in finance and economics from Utah State University.

The Institute has been a huge part of my life for the last two and a half years of my life.  I had every intention of taking Institute classes from day one at USU, but I failed to do so for my first three semesters.  I am glad that I finally forced myself to sit down and sign up for classes because Institute really changed my life.  I am not even close to the same person I was before Institute.  In particular, I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have had to sing with the Institute Choir for the last five semesters and Latter-Day Voices this past year.  Many of the opportunities I have had to grow and to serve in these choirs have been just incredible.  I have broadened my comfort zone greatly and made many great friends.  More importantly, I came much closer to my Savior than I have ever been.  I learned to read my scriptures and pray daily, whereas I had spent sometime never reading my scriptures or praying.  I have truly enjoyed sharing the strong testimony of this Gospel that I have with others.  Another major part of my Institute experience was my Book of Mormon class my first semester of Institute.  After getting over the shock of meeting Brother Salmond for the first time, my love of that man grew during this class.  He would always come to class saying he hadn't planned on teaching something that day, but he felt as though someone needed it.  Every time it was intended for me.  I learned so much about the Atonement in that class.  Brother Salmond was a big part in saving my life that semester, and I have loved being able to work with him so much every semester that I have been involved at the Institute.

I have also loved almost every minute of time at Utah State.  I never in my life expected to attend USU.  I grew up an avid BYU football fan (still am, please don't shoot me USU friends), and I had always kind of looked down on the school.  However, the Lord knew exactly where I needed to be.  The story of my coming to USU is kind of interesting.  I had graduated with my associates in drafting from the College of Southern Idaho five or so months ago.  I was in Murray, Utah visiting my brother and his family with my parents and younger sister.  We had talked about me possibly going back to school to get a more advanced degree.  I figured that I would have wanted to do engineering since that seemed like a logical step from drafting which I loved.  I sort of played off the idea of going back to school though.  I really wanted to get a job which wasn't currently happening (interestingly, I could now explain with pictures and graphs in great detail exactly why I didn't get a job back when I had graduated from CSI).  Several days after this conversation, we headed back to Idaho.  Suddenly during the drive, I started to think about returning to school, and the more I thought about it, the more excited about it I became.  Finally, I decided to start looking as soon as we got home.  That night after doing much looking around, I applied at Boise State, and I applied to USU the next morning.  Several weeks later I received a letter from USU offering me a full tuition scholarship, and the decision was made.  I also realized at the moment that I had started thinking about school around Brigham City, and I made the decision to do it around Tremonton.  These are the two places that you get off the freeway to drive to Logan.  Even when I was in the pit of despair and felt so far from my Savior's arms, He helped me to see His plan for me.  He knew that USU was where I needed to be, and I am extremely grateful that I followed His plan for me.  Even when I decided that I just didn't enjoy the engineering enough to spend four years of my life slaying classes, I knew that I wanted to stay at USU.  Because of this, I just basically went down the list of majors picking and choosing what I might want to do.  I whittled it down to three: finance, management information systems, and music.  I ended up choosing finance, and I have loved it so much.  Although I would like at some point to get a degree in music because it has become such a big part of my life.

I felt very happy and satisfied with my accomplishment of graduating from USU, yesterday.  Today as I sat in church, I couldn't help feeling as though I had more to accomplish.  I didn't particularly find this fair; after all, I have been looking to be done, and I felt completely burned out after spring break--moreso as the weeks passed.  After spending much time in church contemplating on my feelings, and doing some searching online, I decided that I just wasn't satisfied with my Bachelor's.  After some more contemplating and prayer, I think I have a new plan and goal for the next few years.  I am ready for a break from school, as I mentioned, I have been burned out forever; however, I will spend the next year and a half preparing for graduate school starting in 2014.  I have a test to take--hopefully only once--and a few other things to take care of, but I'm actually kind of looking forward to it.  I'm not sure I understand the feeling to want to continue school just over 24 hours after graduating, but I have faith that the Lord wants me to do it.  I'm not sure what I will be doing for the next year and a half, other than working, but I don't think my time in Logan is complete yet.