After the “Kwest” – Getting Back on Track

Health Kwest has come and gone, and my wallet is NOT $10,000 heavier. I ended up dropping a total of 43 pounds the healthy way over 60 days. I was doing really well following my plan of eating a healthy breakfast within 45 minutes of waking up to get my metabolism going and making sure I was eating something like an apple, protein bar or shake 3-4 hours after that, then lunch which was usually my daily bowl, then another high protein snack, and dinner; I was averaging 1700 calories a day. I also joined Planet Fitness during my “Kwest” and rediscovered the joy of lifting and working out. It is something I did on a regular basis years ago and plan to again make it part of my routine.

The guy who won, claims a total weight loss of 86 pounds, making up 29% of his body weight. He says this was accomplished by sticking to a very strict 700 calorie, low to no carb diet, and running 8-10 miles a day…That alone has more red flags than a Florida beach ahead of a strong hurricane.

Since the contest ended, I fell into a slump. I haven’t been eating as healthy as I was and my visits to the gym have significantly dropped off. Today, I am starting everything back again, tracking food, eating healthy, watching my daily steps, and hitting the gym. Not winning the 10K sucks, but I have seen what a little hard work and accountability with what I eat and what I weigh can do. Time to saddle up and keep my personal “Kwest” going.

 

Crunchtime Cardio

Recently had a couple of days where I started running, figuratively…not literally, before I woke up, and my feet were still moving, again – figuratively…not literally, well after I went to bed. Days like that make stopping to eat tough let alone getting a workout in.

The first key to making your crazy day still a successful day is realizing it’s a crazy day. For me, on days like this, I look at my watch and just cannot accept that it is the time it really is. If workouts are part of a daily routine, mayhem might get in the way of your workout. This is where the awareness of your crazy day comes into play. If it is looking like Planet Fitness might not be in the cards for that day, there are a bunch of things that can be done to compensate. Park further away so you can get some extra steps in, take the stairs rather than the elevator or escalator, bouncing up and down on your tip toes even gets a little workout in focused on specific muscle groups in your legs. Standing behind the desk, going to a further restroom in your office, a couple pushups and jumping jacks are also easy to do anywhere.

I always go for the best and try to get to the gym, but always have a backup plan JUST in case!

 

Gimmie some TUNES!!!

And Genghis Grill has done it…todays challenge is to write a blog making up my 10 favorite songs to exercise to and what exercise I like to do to each song…

Asking a DJ about his or her FAVORITE music

It really is hard to select just 10 songs as I don’t have GO TO songs. I am the all over the place guy with music. I’ll go from a country song to the 80’s over to some top 40 and who knows what I’ll listen to next.

Looking at the songs on my phone, Country, 80’s, and classic rock dominate my playlist and I usually only listen to music working out when doing cardio. SO, my top 10 workout songs…NO LAUGHING!!! My music list is like Planet Fitness, a NO JUDGEMENT ZONE!!!

Dire Straits – Walk of Life

Paul Simon You Can Call me Al

Uncle Kracker – Follow Me

Billy Joel – My Life

Eric Church – Springsteen

Hootie and The Blowfish -Only wanna be with you

Jimmy Eat World – The Middle

Smash Mouth – I’m a Believer

Barenaked Ladies – One Week

Blues Travler – Run Around

Ok, so this wasn’t such a bad challenge, except for now I am in this what else can I find music mode.

 

It’s National Nutrition Month – Bite into a healthy lifestyle

March is National Nutrition Month, and for the first time in my life, it is something I am paying attention to as a participant in the Genghis Grill Health Kwest. The theme this year is “Bite into a healthy lifestyle” and as I continue on my Kwest to a healthy lifestyle, every bite I take is closely monitored.

There are SO many diets out there and plans saying “DON’T DO THIS” while other plans say “JUST DO THAT” it’s enough to make your head spin! Early in my Kwest, I was given the advice eat lean meats (Chicken, Turkey, white fish, shrimp) and avoid the processed meats (Sausage, pepperoni, Khan’s Krab) for making my bowls even though it is SOOO good. Also load up on fresh veggies!

I use an app called My Fitness Pal (under the name BigMooseRadio) and it allows me to track my daily food intake with breakdowns of calories, carbs, fats, proteins, and other nutritional info! I have learned basically EVERYTHING I eat has SOME fats, even fresh broccoli has 0.1 grams of fat. We just can’t avoid it, and that’s ok! I was able to adjust each of my categories for a specific amount I allow myself to eat each day.

The secret is moderation! Sure, you have some people who are HARDCORE who are in your face with the NO FAT!!!! NO CARBS!!!! FEED ME PROTEIN!!!!! But then, is that very nutritious?

There are trainers EVERYWHERE who studied this stuff and are so ready to help you out along the way! I got help breaking mine down from the training staff at Planet Fitness. As part of my membership, and all PF memberships, members have Unlimited Fitness Training for specific classes and even a create your own program where you will work with a trainer to build exercises to help you out and even review your diet and make the right adjustments so you can see results.

All in all, pay attention to your nutritional intake all the time, not just during a month dedicated to to it.

 

Things are changing!

I think back to when I was like 12ish…things started happening to me; changes. Voice was all scrambled, hair started showing up, bunch of changes. Had no clue what was going on, it was a very strange phase I, as all people went thru.

Now at the age of 30, I am experiencing some other changes as we continue thru this Health Kwest. Although a long way to go, I have seen and been told of the changes my body is making. Now 40 pounds lighter 39 days later, my clothes are much looser! My shirts have some more bagginess to them, my pants slip off if I am not wearing a belt, and said belt has a new hole in it too! I even had to go so far as moving the seat in my truck closer to the steering wheel because my belly didn’t rub it anymore.

A coworker was walking behind me in the office the other day and said my legs were looking really good. At first, I was thinking he was being a smart ass, but he also commented that he could see a change overall. I was told I am slimming down. Now this is all well and good, but as I stated, I still have a long way to go but the results are encouraging! It makes me want to keep going. I am seeing how the routine I have gotten into has become easier and easier.

Here’s to more changes beyond the last 21 days of Health Kwest!

 

Quick Workout Tips and Health Kwest Update

First off, we just hit the halfway point in the 2015 Health Kwest. This contest is FLYING! We had OFFICIAL weigh in’s on Thursday, March 12 and that was quite the event for me. I have to go to my regular doctor to weigh in and have them fill out the official forms to be sent in. All week long I have been SUPER good in an effort to get the extra weight off for this weigh in. I had an 8:15 appointment and did all the things I have NOT been doing on a regular basis before the weigh in. No breakfast, no drinking, nothing…on the scale, it worked out! in the first 32 days of Health Kwest, I am down 33 POUNDS!!! That’s an average of 1.03 lbs lost a day! Hey, awesome, go me. I have mixed emotions about this. I am doing this mainly because I have to for me. I was at an unhealthy size and things had to change; for me and my family. But there is also that part of me, deep down that is saying “DUDE, this is a contest and first place is TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS” 2nd half has got to get real to get that prize.

So as I gear up for the 2nd half of Health Kwest, I got myself a sponsor! I have partnered with Planet Fitness and THEY ARE AWESOME! I have been a member of other clubs here in Tallahassee, and had some good experiences as well as some very negative ones. I SWEAR, my last “GYM” experience was JUST LIKE one of the planet fitness commercials,

But really, PF is really cool, they have the Capital Circle location at Apalachee Parkway and a 2nd location will be opening in the next few weeks on North Monroe in the old Albertson’s building. They have all the machines you could ask for, trainers on staff that is INCLUDED with your membership, so if ya wanna use them great…if not, just do your thing and that’s cool too. I really have rediscovered my love for the gym. I love lifting weights, I love sweating, and I REALLY love loosing weight.

So today’s actual social media task is to blog a short and quick cardio workout that could be useful to someone that is always on the go. I am one of those people always on the go, but I make time to get in the gym. I am sure there will be some days where it won’t be possible, but things can be done to get a little extra something in. Planet fitness has a couple neat areas in their facility for people on the go. If you can spare 30 minutes, they have a 30-MINUTE EXPRESS CIRCUIT. The PF 30-Minute Express Circuit combines 10 strength machines and 10 cardio-step stations. You can start anywhere in the circuit, but must go in sequence. The circuit operates on a green light/red light system. When the light turns green, you begin exercising. After 60 seconds, the red light goes on, which means stop and switch to the next station. At the end of 30 minutes, you will have completed the circuit and received a full-body workout! They also have a 12-MINUTE ABS CIRCUIT. It. Takes. 12. Minutes.

Ok, so you really don’t have time to get in the gym, but still gotta get something going. Park your car further away and get those extra steps in. Walk from your car, or point to point at a more brisk pace. One thing I have always done is when standing still, do some calf raises. Go up to your tip toes, hold it for 3 seconds and come back down. Have a little space, hop down on the ground and do some pushups. Body squats, lunges, and vertical jumps are also a few things that can be done with nothing more than your body to get a little cardio in on a tight schedule.

As always, thanks for reading! Like and comments are always appreciated. You can follow my Health Kwest journey on:

Twitter (@BigMooseRadio)

Facebook.com/BigMoose1031

Instagram (@BigMooseRadio)

 

In the Brownness…that is rice…

My my my, cutting it close with my blog entry because, and my other Health Kwest counterparts will hate me for saying this, it was 73 degrees with not a cloud in the sky all day and we decided to live outside all day in said 73 degree sunny weather… So today I am to blog about the benefits of brown rice available as one of the quality starches at Genghis Grill. Most of us know that brown rice is a healthier choice than white rice and CERTAINLY over fried rice; but much like the other blogs I have done during Health Kwest, WHY? A little trip to google with the search of “Health Benefits of Brown Rice” skipping over Wikipedia, I give you a bunch of reasons why Brown Rice is the healthy choice. Some of them are, after realizing it, the obvious ones like Brown Rice is considered “Whole Grain” which helps prevent arterial plaque. It’s high in fiber which can help prevent colon cancer. IT’S RICH IN ANTI-OXIDANTS; there is that anti-oxidant thing again…instead of me explain the anti-oxidants again, go back and read my blog “Green Tea, More than just a drink…” Brown rice also is rich in Slelnium which can help prevent cancer, heart disease, and arthritis. Manganese helps out our nervous and reproductive systems, and you guessed it…brown rice contains healthy amounts of that too. This my come as a surprise to you, but it also PROMOTES WEIGHT LOSS. BOOM! Why? Well according to our friends at the Veg Kitchen, “The fiber content of brown rice keeps bowel function at it’s peak since it makes digestion that much easier. Brown rice is the perfect addition to the daily diet for those seeking bowel regularity. In addition, brown rice also makes the tummy feel full which translates to smaller meal portions” This was a really good social challenge for me too. I regularly select Brown Rice when I go to Genghis Grill to make my bowl, and the guys at the grill are like Yo Moose, what starch ya want today? Brown Rice always seemed like the way to go and now I know why. Just a little formal update as well, it’s day 28 of Health Kwest! I’m feeling good and ready to hit this second half of competition. I have not done any weigh in’s recently, but the “OFFIFICAL” halfway weight in is this Thursday. I’ll update again soon! Thanks for all the support. Don’t forget to comment on this blog, and follow be on Facebook (facebook.com/BigMoose1031) on Twitter (@BigMooseRadio) and on Instagram (@BigMooseRadio) for more updates in the 2015 Health Kwest.

 

Green Tea, More than just a drink…

So I have heard drinking Green Tea has benefits to your health, but let’s face it, I’ve never really known what those benefits were and as I live in the south…I wasn’t much for “Green Tea” as I preferred “SWEET TEA”

So the Genghis Grill Health Kwest Krew decides to issue a blog challenge today to “Write about the health benefits of drinking green tea and include a picture of the drinks if you can”

Let’s do 1 thing at a time…Now available at Genghis Grill

So that other part about the health benefits of Green Tea….It does a bunch of really cool things to the body! Green Tea contains Antioxidants; if you are like me and again, never really knew what “Antioxidants were, here ya go — chemicals that block the activity of other chemicals known as free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive and have the potential to cause damage to cells, including damage that may lead to cancer.

Green Tea also helps improve brain function (I should have started drinking Green Tea in 4th grade) assists in fat loss (I should have started drinking Green Tea in 4th grade) improves dental health (Ok, so I’m pretty good there)

Green Tea also lowers your risk of Cancer, Type II Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, and stroke.

Green Tea really is like the miracle drink, and it doesn’t taste to bad either…Plus it comes in 3 flavors at GG! So next time you are looking for something to drink, give Green Tea a chance. It might just prevent something a little down the road.

 

Social Challenge – Stress can be Stressful, How I recognize and handle my stress

Just a quick blog for my daily social challenge talking about stress and dealing with stress with $10,000 on the line…

Stress is what you make of it! The stress of picking out what you are going to wear every day. The stress of getting to work on time. The stress of paying your bills. The stress of changing your current lifestyle into a healthy one. How the stress effects an individual is different from person to person as is the way people handle their daily stresses; but not all stress is bad stress. While stress can be put on us by others, we create stress on ourselves to handle situations.

Daddy, husband, Red Sox fan, program director // radio personality, and Health Kwest participant are just a few of my titles, each with stress; some have a positive effect, some a negative. The stress of being a dad is that of trying to show my son the right way of doing things. Leading by example and being a positive role model can be tough at times, but the payoff is seeing my son grow into a smart respectable individual. As a husband, the “stress” loving, supporting, and being at the side of my wife no matter what. Like I said before, not all stress is bad stress. As a Red Sox fan however, it’s a whirlwind of both positive and negative stress. During the good years, it’s the stress of dealing out the heckling to Yankee fans and Rays fans…during the bad years, it’s the stress of taking all the heat from Yankee fans and Rays fans. Then there is work stress; deadlines, accommodations, workloads, etc. Some days can be more stressful than others, and I tend to put more stressors on myself as I strive to be the best. I control the stress in my workplace with organization and knowing that going all in will help me get to the top and win.

I put all these stressors into participating in the 2015 Genghis Grill Health Kwest. I am setting the example of eating right, working out, spending time with my family, having some fun with other HK participants exchanging banter, and making sure I am doing everything I can to be the best participant, not just this year, but EVER in the Genghis Grill Health Kwest.

 

Eat Healthy, Get Active!

It’s AMAZING how changing the way an individual eats can make them feel, look, and even act. My doctor has always been one of the biggest hecklers of my size. “You are way to big, you don’t eat healthy, and you are not anywhere close to active enough” are the phrases I hear whenever I go to see her. So when I went in to say “heeeeeey…I am doing this thing called Health Kwest…” I got the you’ve got to be kidding me look. I’ve been trying to send you on a Kwest for Health for YEARS!

I asked her what I needed to do to make this a successful journey; not just to try and win the money…but win myself back from the rival that has owned me for years. She simply said it starts with what you eat. Stop snacking on crap, stop consuming empty calories, and get up and go!

Let’s face it, I’m not strapping on a helmet and jumping on the field to partake in spring practice with the Florida State Seminoles anytime soon, however getting back into shape will be a long ride but good trip. My doctor told me eat right! Veggies, lean meats like chicken, some lean beef, even fish like salmon would be great for me because it is high in protein, but don’t load up because I said eat it. Moderation is something else you must learn and embrace! Feeling hungry is a mental thought. A couple of eggs for breakfast fills part of a void, and a bottle of water several times a day keeps that early morning hunger at bay. She also told me when you make your bowl at Genghis Grill as part of the health kwest, get meat, within reason, grab a bunch of veggies, and keep drinking water! This hit me recently as I went to GG for lunch with a group of people and they all got large bowls while I got my regular bowl. People that are TINY in comparison to me looked at my bowl and looked at their bowl and said why? How? That will never be enough to fill you up. But it does! I’m not trying to “fill up” I’m trying to fill a void!

The same goes for my evening meal. We’ve heard it all our lives, don’t eat late, it sits on your stomach, you won’t metabolize, yack, yack, yack, yack, yack…But it makes sense! We try to eat dinner at a minimum of 3 hours before we go to bed, and the secret is to be a little more active following your meal to help your body process and consume what you just ate. While you are active, your metabolism is working. So a little stroll around the neighborhood following dinner is all it takes.

My doctor told me at this point in my current health, there is no doubt in my mind I can lift a house and knock over a building; I am expected to do that at my size and as a former athlete. But can I make it from point A to point B without getting winded? Walk, Walk, and walk. She told me my body will tell me if I have done enough, when I can’t do anymore, then I’ve done enough. But make sure my body tells me that and not my mind. The brain will play tricks with you. I was instructed to set my FitBit daily goal to 10,000 steps. Get to that goal and keep going. Watch what I eat. Stop snacking on crap, stop consuming empty calories, and get up and go!

We all have hero’s, both fiction and non-fiction. Personal hero’s, professional hero’s…we all have someone that we look up to. I have several in various areas of my life. Individuals I look up to and strive to model myself after in the professional world, as a husband, and most importantly as a father.

My hero is my son. To many, they would look at Carson and see a typical, healthy, happy 4 year old. I see my son, and hope to be the best dad he could ask for. He looks up to me so I have to set the example. He makes me a better person without even knowing it.