Challenge Number One

Well, I said I'd pst about my challenges as they came, I just didn't expect such a major one in my first day.

Challenge #1?

Time.

I thought I'd have it taken care of. I knew it would be tough with a newborn and my wife going back to work. Of course, the newborn was up until 3 off and on two nights ago, so my 6 A.M. workout was out of the question. So, go at night, right? I waited until 8 P.M. to head over, assuming the crowd would have thinned out. Not so much. I opened the door to find a dozen or so fit, toned teenagers working out and dancing to their music.

Maybe it was a pride thing, but I wasn't about to sit there and put my flab and weakness on display for them all to see. So, I walked back home.

Not a problem, I'll just go tomorrow!

Nope.

Newborn - again - up all night.

So, I'll try it again tonight, hoping for the best.

In the mean time, I did follow my "diet" to the "T". I actually ended up about 330 calories below where I should have ended for the day.

It's just one day, but it's kind of depressing. Hopefully I'll get my hour in tonight, and I'll feel a little better.

The Goals

Here are the goals I'd like to hit - no, crush - by November 23, 2006.

Weight Loss - 15 pounds
BMI - Reduce by 3 points
Cardio - Run 1 mile with no breaks
Strength - Increase total bench by 20%

Then and Now

As I get set to start my physical transformation, I thought it might be interesting to show some pics of me back when I was in shape, and some pics of me in my current state.

My "now" pics are actually roughly one to two years old. You see, I've stopped allowing pictures of me to be taken because I'm too ashamed of how I look. I don't mean to be too melodramatic, but I just can't stand to be photographed. It makes me sick to my stomach.

I've had a few taken since the arrival of my daughters, but they are few and far between. Look at these "current" pics of me, and add about 30 pounds. That's the real me.

Let's hope that changes, soon.

The first three pics in this series are of me from roughly September of 2001 through about July of 2002.

In the top one, there isn't a thing hanging over the waist band. I'm so slim, I almost vanish when I turn to the side. Today, you could hide a small family of illegal immigrants behind me. It's not pretty.

Pic #2 is from the shores of Lake Michigan, about three months after I was married - Summer of '02. It was around the middle of 2002 that I stopped caring. My mom was getting worse, I lost a great job, and I started to eat my way into a comfort level I could live with.

Pic #3 is me proudly displaying my Red Wings love as the playoffs started in 2001. Flat stomach, broad chest and shoulders - only one chin. Those were the days.

The bottom two pics, as I already touched on, are actually two years old. In the pic at the Mackinac Bridge, I'm actually using my daughter as a shield. Like her 20-pound frame would hide my extra 75 pounds.

The other "now" pic is actually a good year older. The extra chins are marching in, the cheeks are fatting up and puffing out, and I was probably getting winded from sitting for so long.

That pic was probably about the time it started getting REALLY bad. I lost yet another job, had no friends to be active with, and, in truth, I didn't care. Video games and digital cable were my new workout routine, and it showed.

As I look at these "now" pics, it kind of sickens me that I'd be ecstatcic if I woke up tomorrow and looked in my current life like I did then. And even then, I was morbidly obese.

Tomorrow starts my re-shaping. I'll either be up at 6 to workout before Becky leaves for work, or I'll be heading over once she gets home. I'll be doing one hour, five days each week. Cardio for 30 minutes, weights for 30 minutes. My diet won't be doing a 180, but I will be cutting back in some very key areas. Fruits and veggies will get more playing time in my eating habits, and my junk intake will be sliced to a fraction of what it is right now.

Again, just a reminder, I WILL NOT be hiring a trainer. I WILL NOT be going on any special diets. Everything I'll do to get back into shape will be things that anybody could do. My workouts will come from old issues of Men's Health. My diet will consist of this crazy method: eating less crap.

Please, pimp this on your blog (if you have one), tell a friend, post the link on a weight-loss forum. The more people reading this, the more people I'm accountable to.

Thanks, and wish me luck.

The 100?

No, this isn't a sci-fi show on USA. This is my life. More accurately, it's me taking it back.

Here are the sad details.

I am 30 years old. I stand 6-8. I have a wonderful wife, and two gorgeous daughters. I am working as a sportswriter - my life's dream. I live in a great apartment - complete with vaulted ceilings and a fireplace! Honestly, I have a pretty decent life.

Now.

The truth is, it wasn't that way as recently as three months ago. Actually, pretty much my last five or six years have been borderline hell. My motto for most of that time? "It could always be worse." Unfortunately, whenever I said that to myself, things actually got worse. I won't go into graphic detail, but I will give you the Cliffs Notes version.

Over the course of four years, I lost three jobs, lost my grandmother, lost one of my best friends from high school, and watched my mom slowly die. My family spent time on welfare. We had catastrophic auto issues - $2,500 worth of repairs at a time. We were nearly evicted - twice. I helped start a magazine, gave up tome with my family, as well as turned down jobs that would help me care for them, and I ended up being forced out of my own creation.

Those four years could have been devastating for me, but luckily I had something to comfort me.

Food.

I never really knew it before all of this, but I am an emotional eater. Something bad happens? A box of Little Debbie's should do the trick. Have a good day? I'm gonna celebrate! Break out a box of Little Debbie's! I'd stop at McDonald's, and instead of having A burger and some fries, I'd have FOUR burgers and fries. Maybe toss a milkshake on, just for good measure. I'd order Chinese - a family-size meal - and clean the entire thing out in one sitting.

And the more I ate, the less energy I had. In 2001, I was playing basketball three times each week, lifting weights three times each week, and going for a quick one-mile run at least once each week. It's gotten so bad, that even remembering those times gets me winded.

In all seriousness, I lose my breath from tying my shoes. Shoot, I lose my breath from breathing. We live on the third floor, and after climbing them to come home, I'm so out of breath that you'd think I just ran a quick 5K. I chase my daughter around for 10 minutes, and I need a break. It's bad.

I'm scared to death for me and for my family. I'm 30 years old, and I'm an easy 100 pounds overweight. I have severe sleep apnea. I wake up choking two or three times each night. I get migraines weekly. I'm always tired. The way I'm going right now, my kids will be fatherless in ten years. My wife will be looking for a replacement. I don't want that to happen.

So here we are - at The 100. Why The 100? Well, each one of those digits represents a pound I need to lose. As my weight drops, the name of the bog will change. I lose 10 pounds - you'll be visiting The 90. Lose another 8? Welcome to The 82. When the number hits zero, the blog goes bye-bye.

So how will I be going about losing this weight, and what can you expect to see here? Well, I don't have the budget for a personal trainer. I don't own a Bowflex. I can't hire an in-home chef to make me the perfect meals. What I have is a small weight room in my apartment clubhouse, a new Men's Health every month, and a few hours a week to make it all happen. As for what you'll se here, I'm hoping to toss some before (2001), after (today), and way after (six months from now) pics up so you can keep track. On top of that, I plan on doing some video blogs, in which I'll discuss my workout routine, where I've fallen short, and how I've overcome challenges. I'm also hoping to get weighed and measured every few weeks so you can all keep track of my progress as we go.

Please, I beg of you, comment regularly. Motivate me. Yell at me for slacking. Tell me I'm still fat. Tell me I look great. This blog is my ticket to accountability. Hold me to this.

I'm hoping that 100 shrinks quickly. No offense, but I don't want you around here any longer than you need to be. Just like my belly.

Wish me luck.