With Wooden Sword and Shield in Hand

[Bearlee]

You might be able to tell from my topic title I'm a big Legend of Zelda fan. Some of my favorite articles from Nerd Fitness are the ones that talk about that game. I'm starting a journey similar to Link's. Instead of defeating Gannon and saving Princess Zelda I'm going to lose 163 pounds and live long enough to see my Prince grow up to adulthood.

When I first started this journey I was at 388 pounds and hadn't exercised in years. I got fed up with the way I was and was worried that I would not me around to see my son grow up. So I finally hit the start button on my game. At first it was very slow for me, just like with Link. I knew nothing and had to make small gradual improvements. First ween myself off of soda. Then stop eating large meals from fast food restaurants. Then one fruit a day. And so on. Then I finally added in exercise. I feel like this is the wooden sword that Link gets in his game. I couldn't do much. I didn't know if I was doing it right. But I kept fighting and moving forward. Now after a little over six months I'm down 53 pounds to 335 pounds.

My journey is far from over. I'm going to lose another 110 pounds to 225 pounds. Unfortunately that is the point of where I go from obese to overweight. For those doing the math that's 163 pounds to get to overweight. But that is my epic journey and like in the Zelda games I'm not going to make it to the end without learning new skills and techniques to get me to the end.

All I have at the moment is a basic map that gives me the milepost markers for my journey. If I only thought about the end I would go crazy. So I've broken my journey into small quests. Here they are.

388 Starting point

350 First 10% of my weight lost

338 Down 50 pounds

320 Can retest for my sleep apnea

315 Second 10% of my weight lost

300 Can climb ladders / Get pull-up bar

299 Out of the 300s

288 Down 100 pounds

283.5 Third 10% of my weight lost

255 Fourth 10% of my weight lost

250 Can give blood on a bus (see my topic Too Fat to Give Blood in intros for further details)

240 Can start training for handstands (NF article on handstands said to not be more than 50 pounds overweight to start training)

238 Down 150 pounds

230 Fifth 10% of my weight lost

225 My BMI moves from obese to overweight

These are not goals but merely mileposts in my journey. A journey I'm going to enjoy along the way. i'm not going to focus only on the end result and make myself miserable. Slow and steady is what is going to get me there. It's already gotten me nearly a third of the way there, so why screw with whats working.

Now I'm wanting to document my journey. It'll be another tool that I've collected that will help me with this adventure. I don't know if this battle log will be of interest to anyone, but I think it will keep me motivated thinking people are watching (and hopefully rooting for) me. So for now I'm going to un-pause and get back to my game.

[Bearlee]

I've been having a kick-ass month so far. I've gotten my stationary bike rides in everyday this month except for the June 1st. I haven't missed a strength training session. And I've moved on to the beginner bodyweight level 1 this week. Last week I went out and bought a fitbit to monitor how many steps I was taking every day and so far I've taken at least 10,000 steps everyday. Saturday was the hardest though since I'm with my kid all the time on the weekends it's hard to get those steps in. I finally ended up going shopping to get steps in, but that can be an expensive way to get my steps in. Sunday I got a little smarter and headed to the zoo with my kid. That's a real easy way to rack up the steps and I've got a year long pass to there, so no extra costs there (other than the gas to get there).

[Bearlee]

Third beginners bodyweight level 1 exercise done for this week. In my third set of push-ups I tried to do regular push-ups in and got three in then finished with 7 more knee push-ups. Got the whole A circuit done in 14 minutes which is one minute faster than I did last time. For my warm up I walked for 30 minutes while listening the my Pimsleur language lesson. Then I did 7 minutes of very slow jogging with a few incline push-ups to warm up my chest. By the time I had finished I had gotten almost 5000 steps in for the day. Half my goal done in the first few hours of the day, not a bad way to start the day.

[Bearlee]

CATCHING FIRE

No I don't live in district 12 and I'm not about to be forced to kill others for amusement, I'm just on a really hot streak this month and I feel like I'm on fire. As of June 15th I've gotten in 14 days of cardio, the same amount I got for the whole of last month. I also got my first complete week of cardio in for the first time in ages. On top of that I've been kicking ass walking. Out of the past 10 days since I got my fitbit, I've had 9 with 10,000 steps or more. Today I even recieved a notice from fitbit that in the last 10 days I've walked 50 miles! And I'm continuing the streak by starting my second week of my first challenge with my first workout completed. Did the beginner's bodyweight workout level 1 circuit B. I even did it one minute faster than I did previously bringing it down to 24 minutes. Saturday was the only little hiccup that I had where I got little over 4,000 steps in, but I really made up for it on Sunday. Sunday I walked over 16,000 steps, climbed 10 flights of stairs, and mowed the lawn. Almost 7 3/4 miles!! And I thought Sunday was going to be a bust. I woke up late, the kid woke up early, so no early morning biking. Wife stayed home to celebrate Father's Day by going shopping for her and new shoes for the kid. But during that shopping fest I got in about three miles of walking. Then I got my biking in during the kid's nap. Then the sister-in-law came over telling I had to go buy her a new car seat for her baby. I trip to the market and an extra 1,000 steps in. Then finally could get to the mowing. So even missed early morning exercise, shopping sprees, and sister-in-laws can't stop me. I tell you I'm on fire.

[Bearlee]

The streak continues. As of the 17th I've got 16 days of stationary bike workouts in. My obsessive completionist side is loving to look at my workout calendar filling up. I've also completed my second BBWW lvl 1A today and I've even ramped it up a little. I decided to add an extra rep in every week. So today it was

Push-ups 11 reps with 4 regular push-ups on the third set (best yet)

Squats 16 reps

Planks 0:16 seconds

Jumping Jacks 0:30 seconds

I've also been kicking ass on the walking front too. A minimum of 10,000 steps every day so far this week. And I've even got a minimum of 10 flights of stairs in every day this week also.

[Bearlee]

I might literally be on fire now. The weight is coming off faster than I thought it would. In two weeks I've lost 5 lbs to get down to 330 lbs, a week ahead of schedule.

Completed my third of three workouts for the week. Here's how it looked.

Rows: 3x11 with new resistance band (light)

Squats: 3x20

Close Grip Push-ups: 3x10

Step Ups: 3x22

Jumping Jacks: 3x30

All in 20 minutes, 4 minutes faster than last time I did the same circuit.

I've also been killing with the walking this week. Every day I've gotten in 10,000 steps or more. Closer to 12,000 steps every day with a few 15,000+ thrown in there.

I'm also continuing my stationary bike streak going 18 days straight. I know that streak will end on June 29th since I'll be going on vacation, but I'm trying to not miss a day until then.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Wow. Awesome progress!

[Bearlee]

So I finally broke the 300 barrier on April 1st. I had been working on that for nearly a year and half and I was really excited... for about 5 minutes. That goal had been elusive since Nov. 1st and I struggled for 5 months to get from 310 to under 300. But once I got there I was like "Huh, now what?". Of course the answer is the next 50 pounds to get me down to my original goal. So while I'm happy I've lost 88 pounds, I still have a long ways to go.

 

I've also depressed myself with my lack of completing goals I've set for myself in the challenges. I have grand visions about what I should do but all I can focus on is doing things that will help me lose weight. So my attitude of gratitude and list goals fell by the wayside. I did however do the dream log/meditation which I think has helped me with my weight loss, it really helped me focus. Also my goals I'm working on are kind of boring and don't really need to be restated every challenge. I've developed the habit of walking 5+ miles five or more days of the week, biking every day (up to 80 days now), drinking 100 oz of water every day. Nothing exciting, but I'm consistent.

 

So since I haven't really been doing well at the challenges this challenge I will go back to my battle log for a while at least. I've missed being on the NF boards for the past week. I wasn't on because I could think of what I wanted to do for the current challenge. So I'll just post what boring things I've been doing. Although I've been making a lot of progress with my weight loss the past couple of months; 15 pounds down in March and 6 pounds so far in April. So that puts me at 294 lbs, 6 pounds away from being 100 pounds down!

[Emma]

Yay Bearlee!

Glad to know you just didn't disappear into the mists.

I'll be checking in to say hi now and then.

[Shello]

Aha.  Found you.  I'm subbing for some boring but consistent posts. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Regale us with your tales of boring consistency, perhaps some of it will rub off on me.

[Bearlee]

Okay so not posting much, but I'm having a monster week by my standards. Just Bearlee got my 5 miles in on Sunday, so I should have another 6 days of 5+ miles of walking. I have a streak going of 6 days a week but not sure how many, probably 5 or 6. For some reason on Tuesday I got almost 10 miles in. Part of it has to do that the Zombies! Run app I use is doing longer episodes (around 50 minutes) so I'm getting an extra 20 minutes of walking in. Plus that day I went to the park with the kid and chased down flying discs he shot into the air (will post video when I get to a real computer). The rest of the week I've been doing about 14,000 steps or over 6 miles except for Thursday. Wednesday I got very little sleep and I was wiped out for Thursday. Missed one of my regularly scheduled walks and thought I might come in under my 5 miles. However I woke up early to go to the post office to pick up my package of Gundam (anime robot) models and realized I had a half hour before I normally pick up the kid from day care, so I went to a nearby park and got in a little over a mile walk in to save the day.

The biking streak continues and is up to 84. I've designated Sundays as the days I watch Daredevil on Netflix so on that day instead of biking for 30 minutes I get an hour in.

I've also be trying to figure out why I haven't been posting as much (not that I was much of a poster before). First it's because I've been a lot busier a work lately. Don't know why, just things have picked up a bit. Second I've been letting myself get distracted too much. One of the books I listened to while walking was Michio Kaku's book The Future of Physics and it really got me fired up and wanted me to some how help contribute to the future. Unfortunately all it's done is distract me. I've also let other things take priority over posting (comic books, movies, and such). I'll have to rearrange my priorities and only do those things after I do some posting. Nice thing though is that my exercise and eating have taken top priority in my days, so all is not lost.

[Bearlee]

Here is the video of me and the kid in the park I talked about in the above post. Just a little disc shooter that you are suppose to catch in the launcher (it has a net to help you catch it), but the kid thought it would be more fun for me to chase them and catch them with my bare hands. In the video I didn't run very far, most of the time I had to go a good distance to catch them. Did this about 20 - 30 times and I was winded by the end.

 

[Shello]

At least you are still killing it.  I've started using the Zombies Run 5k app and I really like it.  I'll start using the regular app once I finish all 8 eights.  

[marymama08]

So I am wondering why you would try to out run zombies instead of biking to get away. Is it because it is easier to shoot them in the head while on your feet?

Seriously though you really are STILL kickin' some serious butt. Does your bike say how many miles you have ridden? You should keep track of that also if you have time just to see how far you have gone. You can put pins on a map of places you want to go and figure out if you have ridden far enough to be there. I am working my way from Tacoma Washington to Islamorada, Florida(my daughter lives on a boat and zombies can't swim). I have since last summer rode more than 670 miles. Keep up the hard work!!!

[Emma]

Good job on being consistent! Yay! It is impressive that you are meeting all your goals for exercise.

[Bearlee]

At least you are still killing it.  I've started using the Zombies Run 5k app and I really like it.  I'll start using the regular app once I finish all 8 eights.  

 

I like the app but haven't used it for a while because I've been listening to downloaded audio books instead of loading play lists onto my phone. Would be nice if I could use the app with apps other than the music player. However the next book I'm waiting for to be able to download isn't ready, so I've got 3 books lined up I can load into my playlist .

 

 

So I am wondering why you would try to out run zombies instead of biking to get away. Is it because it is easier to shoot them in the head while on your feet?

Seriously though you really are STILL kickin' some serious butt. Does your bike say how many miles you have ridden? You should keep track of that also if you have time just to see how far you have gone. You can put pins on a map of places you want to go and figure out if you have ridden far enough to be there. I am working my way from Tacoma Washington to Islamorada, Florida(my daughter lives on a boat and zombies can't swim). I have since last summer rode more than 670 miles. Keep up the hard work!!!

 

Funny you should say that about biking and swimming. Both are addressed in the story line. Guess bikes can break and there are no replacement parts plus with all the looting and end of world chaos there is too much stuff on the ground that could pop tires. And for some reason the zombies in the app are good swimmers. I'm currently in a section of story line where I'm out in the ocean and zombies are swimming to catch me.

 

My bike doesn't keep track of miles. I do however write all my time and miles on a calendar thanks to your X a day you did during your previous challenge. I like seeing a filled up calendar. Haven't run the exact number, but I should be around the 550 miles biked. Now where to go to?

 

 

Good job on being consistent! Yay! It is impressive that you are meeting all your goals for exercise.

 

Thank you. Not so much goals as it is habit now. Just feels wrong if I miss a walking or biking day. I never would have said that a year and a half ago.

 

 

I've been waking up way too early this weekend (5 AM both days). Since I couldn't get back to sleep I tried to make the best of it and did some meditation and got me biking done early. So on both Saturday and Sunday I got a hour of biking in. Barely did anything else on Saturday, seems like a waste. Perhaps I'll go to the store and get a scooter today. I've asked him before if he wants a bike and he said no I'd rather have a scooter. That may give us both an excuse to get out more and move around.

 

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some bacon, eggs, and brown rice waiting for me in the kitchen.

[Bearlee]

Sunday was a flop on the walking front. Couldn't convince the kid to get out and do anything today. Usually when I get close to my 10,000 step goal I can finish it up in the first hour I'm at work. Since I was more than 3,000 steps from the goal I didn't bother with it. On a brighter side I see that I'm crushing The Most Loathed for steps this week. Sure he's on vacation, but he crushes me every other week, so I'll take my victories when I can. Though his Fitbit may not have synced up with the internet for a while and he may still be crushing me. It is inspiring to see a person average about 18,000 steps per day, gives me something to shoot for.

Tomorrow I'm taking the kid to the dentist. So my schedule will be all screwed up. I'll have to get my biking in before I take him. Hope I'll have time for that and a shower. Shouldn't be too bad if the doctor doesn't take too long. Hopefully I'll still get 6 hours of sleep.

[marymama08]

 

Funny you should say that about biking and swimming. Both are addressed in the story line. Guess bikes can break and there are no replacement parts plus with all the looting and end of world chaos there is too much stuff on the ground that could pop tires. And for some reason the zombies in the app are good swimmers. I'm currently in a section of story line where I'm out in the ocean and zombies are swimming to catch me.

 

My bike doesn't keep track of miles. I do however write all my time and miles on a calendar thanks to your X a day you did during your previous challenge. I like seeing a filled up calendar. Haven't run the exact number, but I should be around the 550 miles biked. Now where to go to?

 

 

 

 

NOOOOO, don't tell me zombies can swim!!! I find it hard to believe that zombies can swim they can barely walk. Unless of course we are talking WWZ, those zombies are different. I understand the idea of popped tires and finding parts. Maybe I should be cross training, I want to make sure I survive the apocalypse   

[Shello]

NOOOOO, don't tell me zombies can swim!!! I find it hard to believe that zombies can swim they can barely walk. Unless of course we are talking WWZ, those zombies are different. I understand the idea of popped tires and finding parts. Maybe I should be cross training, I want to make sure I survive the apocalypse   

 

maybe we should throw in some weapons training, just to be safe...  sword?   Crossbow?  Zombie apocalypse essentials.  

[Bearlee]

NOOOOO, don't tell me zombies can swim!!! I find it hard to believe that zombies can swim they can barely walk. Unless of course we are talking WWZ, those zombies are different. I understand the idea of popped tires and finding parts. Maybe I should be cross training, I want to make sure I survive the apocalypse   

 

It might make sense they can swim since corpses usually float. These zombies seemed to have buoyancy control and could swim under water. Guess whatever works to meet the story needs. If your interested in cross training what other things that would come in handy is knowledge in civil engineering to build shelters, mechanical engineering to maintain and fix what machines are left, first aid, a medical degree, a chemical degree, and logistical skills. These are just to name a few to get you started.

 

 

maybe we should throw in some weapons training, just to be safe...  sword?   Crossbow?  Zombie apocalypse essentials.  

 

According to the app the best weapon is a cricket bat. Guess we Americans are screwed. Sharp objects can dull and also have a tendency to get stuck in the body leaving you vulnerable for too long. Crossbows take time to reload and bolts are limited.

 

Monday didn't work out as well as I had hoped. Got my bike riding and shower in before I took the kid to the dentist. There were a lot of tears and fussiness at the doctors. After it was done the doctor said he couldn't eat any hard food for 4-6 hours and not even to bite off small foods. So I decided to keep the kid at home. Was worried that I wouldn't get any sleep. Finally around 2PM the kid wanted to take a nap and we slept for 3 hours. And to my surprise the wife came home early so I could get a little more sleep. Something wasn't right though, I felt bloated and had put on 4 pounds. Don't know what I did to cause that, I didn't eat anything different. I am back down today Tuesday.

 

I did get my 5 miles in before we went to the dentist so felt good about that. Today I've gotten in 15,000 steps in . Did my normal walking plus mowed the lawn which gives me bonus steps.

 

Wednesday I have my first ever play date that I set up for my kid. It's with a co-worker's kid. I've been looking for a new playmate for him every since his cousin moved away. Hopefully this will work out.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Man, I don't know how you do it with your schedule; I still can't believe you didn't move to days when you could.

 

Good luck with the play date.  It has to be hard on you to be the primary play-mate.  Lot's of opportunity for playground workouts though.

 

[Bearlee]

Man, I don't know how you do it with your schedule; I still can't believe you didn't move to days when you could.

 

Good luck with the play date.  It has to be hard on you to be the primary play-mate.  Lot's of opportunity for playground workouts though.

 

I love my schedule. There is a lot of things I couldn't do if I was on a normal day job. Just like when I kept the kid home after the dentist appointment that couldn't have happened unless I used vacation time, and I want to use my vacation time for vacation. Plus if I was on a day schedule I wouldn't be able to take my kid to speech therapy. True there are work arounds for that, the school system will provide bus transportation for day care to where he does therapy and back, but I like taking him.

The play date got called off. The kid we were going to play with had a round of chemo for his leukemia. Don't know why the dad thought it would be good to schedule a play date on a chemo day, perhaps he was excited to get his kid some friend time also. From what I understand that is the last chemo he has and he is in remission. Must be awful to have a 7 year old to go through something like that. The father also had beaten leukemia just a few years ago.

Speaking of playground workouts I forgot to mention the other day when me and the kid were at the park playing with the flying discs that we also did normal playground play. While the kid was going done slides and climbing I did some inverted rows. The incline wasn't much but I was glad I did it. I also thought hey no one is around I think I might try some negative pull-ups (jump up and lower my self down). Well I thought that maybe I could let myself down slowly, however I fell like a stone. Then I thought perhaps I can just hang there for a few seconds. A second maybe, not much more. The muscles on the side of my ribs and under my armpits were sore for 4 days. I'll have to try to think of something else to try to build up to that.

Had a good walking day yesterday. Got in almost 7 miles and 20 flights of stairs climbed. I also hit my 90th consecutive day of biking. Did that while getting a new PR of 7.3 miles in 30 minutes. Had to get my heart rate up into the 130s to be able to do that. Legs were sore for most of the day after that. In addition to my biking streak I have a meditation streak thats up to 19 days now. Or I could look at it as having only missed 3 days this month which would make me 26/29 so far this month (too early in the day to count today).

[Emma]

I like working swing for the same reason. I can do things during the day that I wouldn't otherwise be able to do.

Glad you're having fun with the munchkin. You sound like a pretty terrific dad.

[The Most Loathed]

On a brighter side I see that I'm crushing The Most Loathed for steps this week. Sure he's on vacation, but he crushes me every other week, so I'll take my victories when I can. Though his Fitbit may not have synced up with the internet for a while and he may still be crushing me. It is inspiring to see a person average about 18,000 steps per day, gives me something to shoot for.

well now you've done it. I hadn't but the ol' ball and chain on for the morning but just seeing you crush me made me go get it

I'll be a bit spotty on steps next weekend but I'll see what I can do to balance that out.