Smurray must maintain!

[smurray]

Ok folks,

Once again I have gotten into the habit of doing really good in keeping up with the community and then all of the sudden disappearing off the face of the internet.  Well, I decided yesterday it was time for me to come back and as always, I land right on the beginning of a new six weeks challenge.  Yippee!!

 

To sum up me in a nutshell, I am a 40 yr old father of two beautiful little girls ages 8 and 6.  I have a wonderful wife that supports most of my crazy ideas and I am always a "work in progress".  I enjoy spending time with my family, mud runs, and repurposing items in as many ways as possible.  My back yard can sometimes look like a scrap yard.  I constantly battle with my weight and try to win the fight so I can spend as much time here on this planet with my kids.

 

So far, I succeeded in getting my weight down from an all time high of 269 to 204, ran my first 1/2 marathon, and earned an orange headband in Tough Mudder.  But things are not always on the good side.  I have also let my weight creep back up to 220 since March, and my diet is not as clean as it was during Lent when I had my best success.  So you can see why this challenge is wrapped around maintaining my achievements.

 

here it is:

 

Nutrition goal-  80% paleo.  I like food. period.  I hate keeping myself from eating food, so I have to compromise.  So far my best success has been following my Christian faith.  I fast for Lent and enjoy the "bad stuff" during Christmas time and Easter time.  Now I am going to fast during Pentacost which is on the opposite side of the calendar from Lent.  I am hoping this balance will help me maintain my weight and still allow me to enjoy food and the events in life that revolve around food and still keep a mostly healthy lifestyle.  If I am successful like before, I should log my food daily and lose about 10 lbs.

 

Exercise goal-  I have really been doing well in this category.  I have gotten stronger and faster.  I have completed my exercise goals and continue to workout 5 to 6 times a week.  To improve my mud runs, I need to lose weight and work more on upper body strength and control.  I still have a hard time getting over walls and climbing rope.  This goal will have me completing one muscle up.  I can get my chin to the bar, now I need to get my butt over it.

 

Improvement goal-  I am working on my MBA and still have another year to go.  I have not been finding time to improve on other skills.  This week I am going to go with the flow and pull out the old guitar.  My girls have been begging me and I have not put enough effort into learning songs so they can sing along.  This goal is to practice two times a week for 30 minutes each and at the end have at least one song ready for them to sing.

 

time to get to work.

[smurray]

week 1/ day1

Not too bad today.  I ran Tough Mudder Saturday and got a blister on the inside of my left foot that is slowing me down a little bit.  During my work out I concentrated on Pilates and other static movements that helped in joints and muscle recovery and also did have a lot of running required. The workout felt good, but I am ready to start running again. I drastically cut back my calorie intake today as well.  I felt pretty good about my meals, but I had to go to the grocery store before dinner and the temptation was there. I manage to survive the store and get home to find my wife showing up with a pizza for dinner.  I slid past the pizza towards the kitchen and started cooking bacon and sausage we were needing to cook, and threw in a few eggs with the meal.  Talk about big hurdles on the first day of the challenge.  I do have some homework I need to finish before starting the guitar practice, but I promise I will get it in this week.

[Chris56Ryan]

hah hah that was a tougher selection of hurdles than you see in the Olympics. 

[smurray]

I couldn't believe she got pizza when I had encouraged her to do the diet portion of the challenge with me.  I did tell her I was going to stay late at work to study for my class, so when I came home early, she was like "D'oh!".  She knew she was busted.

[smurray]

week 1/ day2

 

Diet-

Today was pretty good.  I got my calorie count within a healthy range for the day and ate mostly vegetables along with some fruit and meat for the day.  I may have started a nasty little habit with one of my salads that is a total cheat on paleo.  At Subway sandwhich shop you can get any of their sandwhiches as a salad, they just forgo the bread and chop all the items into small managable bites for you.  Of course you get dressing, croutons, crackers, and whatever else you would have with a salad.  I did the ham salad with all the veggies and minus the cheese, crackers, croutons, and dressing, but added Funyuns.  If you don't know Funyuns, they are onion flavored, ring shaped, cornmeal based crisps, and not paleo whatsoever.  I have to admit, it was pretty good and fun to eat.  Anyway, I will not make that into a habit.  Other than that, everthing else was within guidelines.

 

Exercise-  On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I have a group of men I exercise with at one of our local churches.  We do circuit training with light to mid weights, running, and a good deal of calisthenics.  After the workout, we take time to share a small devotion, prayer concerns and pray.  It was a great change to my routine when I was invited to join this group.  On this morning, one of members, who is on the local school board, brought up a concern about a pending decsion discussed in his meeting the night before.  It developed a good bit of discussion that began to eat into our workout time.  We did increase our intensity for the workout to try to make up for the lost time, but it was not the same.  I was hoping to get another workout in for lunch, but ended up meeting my wife for a "happy Funyun" salad instead. 

 

Improvement Goal-  I finished up my homework which will give me Wednesday night free to work on the guitar.

[Chris56Ryan]

ooo funyuns it's been so long nom nom nom

[orcwarrior]

What a great combo of workout and meeting with Christian guys - I envy your setting.  I wonder if I could drum up some interest for something like that here.   Hmmm.....

 

Congrats on surviving the surprise pizza challenge moment - good self-discipline.  

[smurray]

What a great combo of workout and meeting with Christian guys - I envy your setting.  I wonder if I could drum up some interest for something like that here.   Hmmm.....

 

Congrats on surviving the surprise pizza challenge moment - good self-discipline.  

Thanks, the pizza wa a little tough to pass up, but I did it.  I know the guys I am working out with started their group as a Lenten fast project and when they got into the habit of meeting at 5:00 am, they decided to keep it going.  I do appreciate it because it does add varitey to my workout routine and I am developing some pretty good friendships.

[smurray]

Week1/ Day 3

 

Diet-

I had a good day.  I stayed on task and stayed within my nutrional guidelines.  I ate more meat than veggies for the day, which is okay every once in awhile, but I don't need that as a habit.  I did check the scale and I have shaved off about 8 lbs, which of course is mostly water weight. 

 

Exercise-

I had a really busy day at work, but I did make time for a workout. At my fitness center, they have a program called "Member of the Month"  and employees select a member they believe has really shown improvement in their health or continues to be an example of healthy living.  Well, this month I was selected as member of the month.  So the past couple of weeks i have been getting congrats from friends and family who are members and of course trainers.  I walked in yesterday and the trainer who did my intital health assesment called out "It's the Member of the Month!" from the front counter and made a big deal about me entering the gym.  It was pretty funny, I just hope they don't ramp it up and use the intercom. 

Anyway, we also have a plank challenge going for the month and you can be timed and have it posted.  He challenged me to do it by saying, "You're the Member of the Month, you need to set an example."  I told him I would give it a try.  After I changed clothes, he asked if I was ready, but I told him I wanted to get my workout in first.  I have always done core at the end of my workouts and I feel odd doing it at the beginning.  He said ok and then he mentioned that he was really impressed at how much I have changed since he had first met me.  He said that I look like a total different person.  That made me feel pretty good. 

To be honest, I have been watching the tally board on the planks and the numbers had been creeping up making it a pretty good challenge.  At the first of June, I timed myself and did 5:05, but I was concentrating on Tough Mudder at the time and wanted to wait till I completed that event.  I was thinking I could pull of 6 minutes and that would work.  I looked at the board and there were quite a few postings over 5 minutes and one at 6:35 and another at 7:35!!!  Well I put myself in the plank position and pulled out 6:05 after my workout.  That is a PR and I think I can improve on it.  The girl timing me was really impressed with it and couldn't believe I did that after my work out.  So I consider this a "win" for the day.

 

Improvement-

With homework finished the night before, I had time to play till my fingers bled.  I pulled out my little red Hondo guitar, my old book and started to re learn all the chords and fingering drills that a friend of mine had written in the front of the book.  I was surprised at how well it was starting to come back to me.  Now, I have never been to the point where I can keep a constant rhythm and you could sing along.  I am always looking to where to put my fingers and have that hesitated strum when it is time for a chord change in the song.  After doing drills for about 20 minutes, I tried a few of the easy songs and my girls came in and tried to sing along.  They were so excited to see me with the guitar they would sneak in while I was doing the drills even though their mother had them doing chores.  They were also impressed enough with my playing that they tossed into my guitar case a few dollars!  We had alot of fun and I look forward to practicing again.  Right now my fingers are a little tender while typing this.

[Chris56Ryan]

Well done getting that member of the month it's nice to have some outside recognition of your hard work, it helps you see it more clearly yourself I think. And 6.05 for the plank? I'm going to have to time myself one of these days and see how I stack up.

Getting going with that guitar again and having some great time with your girls will definitely be your happiest goal. I don't have any doubt you'll hit that 100% after that story.

Sent from my nokia 3210

[orcwarrior]

Sounds like over all you're doing really well! And congratulations on getting tips and kudos from your children – that's high praise! :-)

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[smurray]

Well done getting that member of the month it's nice to have some outside recognition of your hard work, it helps you see it more clearly yourself I think. And 6.05 for the plank? I'm going to have to time myself one of these days and see how I stack up.

Getting going with that guitar again and having some great time with your girls will definitely be your happiest goal. I don't have any doubt you'll hit that 100% after that story.

Sent from my nokia 3210

I am feeling the 6 min plank the next day.  That was rough.  I am looking forward to my next time on the guitar.  It was fun.

 

Sounds like over all you're doing really well! And congratulations on getting tips and kudos from your children – that's high praise! :-)

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Of course the tips are being put back in their banks.  My girls have very giving hearts and I am proud of them for that.

[smurray]

Week 1/ Day 4

 

Diet-

It was a little rough today but not too bad.  I did max out on calories, but stayed close to my goals.  I have to admit, I did have fried chicken and yes, I did eat the skin.  I did skip on the rolls and had only green beans and carrots as sides.  Dinner I had a broccoli and raisin salad from the deli counter at one of our grocery stores and it was pretty good.  There was not any cheese and the dressing was not heavy at all in the mix.  I didn't find an ingredient list on it, but from the way it tasted, it seemed to fall within my guidelines.  Having to get to class right after work makes it a challenge for dinner on Thursday.

 

Exercise-

My early morning group did not talk politics today, so we got in our full workout.  Yea!!!  Sometimes I will add a lunch workout on one of these days, but instead I had lunch with my wife.  Since she is a teacher and cannot get away during the school yearwe only get to do this in the summer or class breaks.  She also has our kids in a day camp for the week, so we got ourselves a little lunch date.

 

Improvement-

I had class tonight, so guitar has to wait.

[orcwarrior]

Hope things are still going well for you!   And have a great Father's Day!

 

[smurray]

Week 1/ days 5,6,7

 

Diet-  I can sum up the weekend in in three little words, "Crash and Burn".  We do not have to get in the details of the employee appreciation lunch on Friday, or the neighborhood Flag Day picnic on Saturday, or the Father's Day celebrations on Sunday.  We just need to say the diet was nonexistent during this weekend.  I could beat myself up over this, but that won't do any good.  This weekend is a sunk cost of a bad dietary investment and it is time to put it behind me and do better this week.

 

Exercise- I had to squeeze in a work out in between work and a musical my kids were in, so that was a win.  It was short, but a very intense circuit routine.  Saturday I had to pick up my wife's car from the downtown party we went to the night before.  I just made it a part of the Saturday morning jogging route and drove it back home after my run.  Sunday is my rest day, but the kids got me out on the bike for a few minutes.  It wasn't hard riding at all and was less than two miles total, but it was a fun time with the kids.

 

Improvement- I was able to squeeze in about 30 minutes of practice on Sunday night after the kids went to bed.  It took some energy to get me out of the Lazy Boy to go back in the bedroom to practice.  I am telling you, this weekend was packed with activities.  I made it through some of my drills, and the girls got me a guitar strap and picks for Father's day, so I had to try them out as well.  I could tell I was spent since I was having a hard time hold down the strings to get a decent sound.  I did work more on strumming and rhythm for this practice session.

[smurray]

Week 1 recap

 

Diet-  I did fall off the wagon for a good part of the weekend, but I was able to stay close to the 80% paleo goal of having 76% of my meals paleo.  Not perfect and room for improvement.  My weight is heading in the right direction with a drop of 4 pounds for the week.  I am sure it is mostly water weight, but it does give you a good sign you are on the right path.

 

Exercise- I nailed this!  I worked out 6 of the 7 days for at least 30 minutes, mostly circuit training.  I do need to start increaseing my long runs again to about 6 to 8 miles on Saturday to keep me ready for whatever race I want to run. 

 

Improvement- I had to stay up late to get it in but I did have two 30 min sessions with the guitar.  Let's see if I can keep this going.

[smurray]

week2/ day 1

 

Diet-  I don't know what happened today.  Breakfast was within guidelines, but when it came to lunch, I kept putting it off for one reason or another until I missed it altogether.  When I got home, my wife had planned a pretty good meal, but she got sidetracked on a project and was late getting it started, plus it was a new recipe which takes longer while you are learning it.  When she told me she had to marinate the meat, I said stop there and let’s make something quicker.  She made sandwich wraps, which were not of the paleo kind, but I was so hungry that I didn't care.  After dinner we went to the home improvement store to look for materials for a project and I just became so frustrated with not being able to find things, the kids having to constantly touch me while in the store, and not being able to move quickly with the family in tow.  After that ordeal, I ended up binging on carbs while watching a movie past my bedtime.  I still think stayed below my calories for the day, but it wasn't the best calories for me.  I have learned my lesson, don't skip lunch.

 

Exercise- I got to the gym today and I was planning on doing a good 30 min circuit.  I usually make about 10 to 12 stations and I will do a set per station and run a lap around the gym between each set.  I normally get a mile worth of running and a good workout of all my muscle groups with a variety of movements.  I had a coworker come in the gym with her own circuit routine and asked if I wanted to join her and work out together.  This one her boyfriend developed and it wore us out for 40 minutes.  It was nice to do a different routine and to have someone to share the misery with since I normally workout alone at the gym.  I did hit a new personal goal of 10 consecutive pull-ups.  That felt pretty good.

 

Improvement-  I thought about guitar today since I had such a good time last week, but the wife wanted me to watch a movie with her.  I will get a session in tonight.

[Chris56Ryan]

Your doing great with your exercise alright and even getting them in at awkward times. Definitely don't beat yourself up with the diet at the weekend you have to have some fun and a social life

Sent from my nokia 3210

[orcwarrior]

Hey, way to learn from the stumble.  And 10 pullups - I'm impressed.  WOOT!!!

 

And it's never a loss to make the wife happy - nice job! 

 

Good luck in week 2!

[smurray]

Your doing great with your exercise alright and even getting them in at awkward times. Definitely don't beat yourself up with the diet at the weekend you have to have some fun and a social life

Sent from my nokia 3210

Thanks.  I did enjoy it and I have not beaten myself up too much since I have stopped the weight from going up and it is starting to go back down again.  I think if you use your self-control consistently during the normal days, the celebration days can be less stressful on the goals.

 

Hey, way to learn from the stumble.  And 10 pullups - I'm impressed.  WOOT!!!

 

And it's never a loss to make the wife happy - nice job! 

 

Good luck in week 2!

Thanks.  I was pretty impressed with the 10 as well.  It felt good.

[smurray]

- Diet

I did not skip lunch today.  I ate a salad, so it is a win.  I felt better for most of the day and only ate a few peanut butter crackers while waiting on dinner.  I stayed under my calorie goal and will take it as a "win".

 

-Exercise

Tuesday morning is when my exercise/devotion group normally meets.  This week the gym floor is being refinished so some decided to take the week off.  I made the mention that I will be there in the parking lot ready to work out if anyone wants to join me.  One other guy made it and we did a pretty hard work out from the November Project group using a deck of cards.  We started off with a .4 mile run around the property and then did sit-ups for black cards and pushups for the red ones.  The reps are determined by the value on the cards with the face cards being J/11, Q/12, K/13, & A/14.  You end up doing 208 sit-ups and 208 pushups by the end of the deck.  After the cards, we did two laps around the property to finish up the workout.  You will learn to count cards with this exercise as you try to figure out how many of the big cards you have to go when you are halfway through this workout.  It was not a walk in the park.  I also need to remember to bring a towel to sit on for sit up in a parking lot because I have road rash on my tailbone that is bad enough to need a bandage. Oh well, some things you learn the hard way.

 

-Improvement

My wife had a "girls’ night out" and I had the kids.  After dinner, they played and watched television while I went to the back to practice guitar.  My chords are coming along better and the transitions are a little smoother.  I did about ten minutes of drills and practiced a few songs.  The girls started fighting while I played "What Child is This" and the irony of the moment was something to chuckle at.  Their fighting gave me reason to send them to bed early and then I went back to playing a little more.  I couldn't believe it, but I put in about an hour of practice for the night.  I need to decide what song I want to learn for the girls to sing and really begin to work on it.

[Chris56Ryan]

Wow that's some awesome work out I may struggle there. And great job not making it an excuse to skip.

Sent from my nokia 3210

[smurray]

Week 2/ Day 3

 

-Diet 

For the most part not too bad.  I did have some bread at lunch and snacked on a few chocolate chips in the evening.  Not perfect, but stayed within calorie count.

 

-Exercise

I skipped my session to recover from the "tailbone wear down" of the day before.  Boy, I can tell when I skip a workout. I am just not in the mood for much of anything during the day.

 

-Improvement

I did homework and did not get a chance to practice.  I will make up for it on the weekend.

[smurray]

Wow that's some awesome work out I may struggle there. And great job not making it an excuse to skip.

Sent from my nokia 3210

It really isn't too bad of a work out.  I am sure you could challenge some of the guys at the "office" to do that one with you.  Be sure to pad that tail bone.

[smurray]

I am planning on doing the week 2 mini challenge  If anybody wants to join me.

 

Week 2 on the island:

 

Looking around it seems like everyone is in relatively good spirits. Before venturing in to explore the island you now live on, you and your new family decide to build some shelters.

There aren't *quite* enough resources for everyone, so some of you opt to conglomerate. Cohabitation! Gasp!

 

As you form into these new houses, the stocky red bearded man just watches. What's he up to???

 

Rangers:

 

This week has two parts!

 

Part 1: Buddy or triple up- find some folks who have weaknesses that might complement your strengths! Joeschmoe- good at checking in and BettySpaghetti- needs someone who checks in often = a great team. With your buddy or buddies, complete the following tasks (if you are a total loner, that's ok too! you just have to build your own dang house  )

 

Part 2: Build your shelter- Over the next week as a team you need to complete the following to get your house constructed:

200 pulling exercise reps (rows, pull ups, anything resembling the motion of pulling cord tight and binding it to the branches)

200 pushing exercise reps (overhead press, tire flips, anything resembling the force needed to get your lumber to your new home site)

200 squats- Just because