Accountability App

            I love Mac products and am proud to say I am not on any bandwagon or fad train. The first computer brought into my house was a Mac and nothing has ever changed. This makes me an iphone user and an addict since I picked up the very first one shortly after its release. I am also proud to say I have not paid for a single app. Why is any of this important? Because counting calories by reading labels and carrying around a notebook died in the 90’s and there are free apps that do this for you.

            I have used a few of these apps and my top two favorites are Lose it and My fitness pal. And after using both extensively though I loved Lose it My fitness pal will be used during my challenge. I have chosen it based on the extent of the food library. I have not found anything I can’t type in and it will have some variation of the food to count calories. This will make my counting brainless and that’s perfect. This app is also free which fits the budget. But there is one dilemma.

            Counting workouts as negative calories is a feature on the app and it is just as easy as counting food. Now I have heard some controversy in this and still don’t know where I stand. I have heard from some people I need to add it in, or subtract the calories as it is, and still reach the calorie intake of the day to maintain energy. I have also heard that calories in are just that and there is no reverse so don’t go subtracting them you will just think you can eat more.

            I am so confused both seem to be good arguments but I am looking for what has worked for others. Do you eat more when you workout or just keep it the same?

           

Solitude or stressful?

Earlier I said I wads heading to the Long Beach kite festival this weekend and all next week for some solidarity. What I didn't count on what how long it would take to drive here with an infant. The answer 3 days. Three long tiring hot days. But we arrived and settled in to our little tent surrounded by large rvs and trailers. Now what the first thing we do? Grab my brand new kite and head to the beach. Now in a Perfect world I set up my kite and in minutes am flying around like I had been doing it for years, because I have been doing it for years. But new kites don't seem to have that ability. My new revolution kite takes 20 minutes just to set up and then after a sketchy looking launch it lands in a tree without any control.
Now take what you think you know about kites and forget it because this kite has not one or to but four strings and is able to move in any direction on a dime. We are talking 70 to zero in nothing flat. The problem is that did not happen. My strings we crossed, the lengths were off and everything needed adjusting. So I spent hours of my vacation moving strings and tying knots and crashing kites. But in the end it worked or at least came very close. Now I hate bad analogies and that's what this is quickly turning into but I feel like I am missing something I need to think of before I begin my challenge. A string I need to untie and some thing that needs to be adjusted. Just another reason I am starting in September and not tomorrow. What could I be missing?

Stalking made easy

There are some neat features to my blog that can make your life easier if you choose to follow me on this challenge. The first is to become a follower, the button is on the bottom right of the page and you give my viewers access to find your profile and your blog easier. Then there is the follow by email in the opposite corner the upper left. By putting your email here it is totally secure and get an email each time I post and can unsubscribe whenever you wish. I don't even know if you do this so you can stalk in secret. Now though stalking has had its negative view in the past but you know you have stalked a Facebook or googled an old ex. I am not here to judge just to ask that if you stalk me through my challenge you try to keep me accountable. Without you I do not have a chance.

Confession time

I am allergic to running. Whew that felt good to get off my chest. Now for those of you who are waiting for a punch line or a quick “just kidding” don’t hold your breath. I am actually allergic to running, and more specifically running outside. Maybe I should explain what happens.

Since about the sixth grade the same thing has happened each time I have taken a run longer than a mile outside. I do well for about a half a mile and then suddenly my thighs start to burn like someone has pored lighter fluid on them and lit a cigar. Now if that was all I might be able to keep going but it continues across the rest of my legs and up my chest and back. Then to top it all off it turns to hives. Now half of you just became doctor house and diagnosed a detergent problem, while 40 percent will know it is the type of clothes I am wearing, 4 percent blame the weather, and 1 percent blame the fact that I am a hairy dude.

Well every doctor and friend I asked would agree with you. So I have spent many a year changing my soaps, clothes, and even had a whole body wax. Yes from neck down. Nothing worked. I am fine on a treadmill, bike, and doing any vigorous activity i.e. wrestling, but as I stroll down a road pain like you have never felt creeps up. The simple way out would be to just not run outside, sounds easy enough. There is a minor problem and it is called Bloomsday.

Bloomsday is the largest timed race in the world and goes on annually in Spokane Washington. I have completed the race, though slowly, 22 times in a row. And because I am fairly young if I keep up my record I might hold some kind of record when I’m in my seventies. Not much of a life goal but I am going to be at that race no matter what every year. For example the race was the morning after my high school prom and without any sleep and out 30 minutes out of a tux I was running along side my date.

Now I know running is a great way to stay in shape and when my challenge is done, weather pending, I would love to run around the hills but don’t want to be in pain. Anyone have any other suggestions of how I might solve my problem?

Prescription for photos?

How do you prepare for a week vacation on the beach? Practice! Today my wife (Kelsey), son(Ben), and sister in law(Shae) packed up our floaties and towels and went to the beach. Now when I say beach get that Maui white soft sand picture out of your head or did you forget I live in the middle of nowhere remember? So what does this town have to offer? A lake if you can call it that. We drive down to a resort for tourist that is open only in the summer and has a nice man made small gravel beach. That is small gravel not small beach and definetly not sand. Now even though this lake is 12 miles long when I got into the water and started walking I got almost all the way out to the end of the swimming area before the water reached my chest. More like a wading put than a proper lake. Now after getting enough practice on the beach and before we headed home, a whole 15 minutes away, we got dessert at restaurant sitting 50 yards away. Nothing like dessert to ruin your appetite for dinner. The three of us ordered dessert while Ben sucked down a bottle, we didn't want to share because we all wanted different things. Shae ordered a Sunday, classic. Kelsey got a key lime pie made with real key limes and definitely not green, a true key lime pie. And I thougtht I was being boring with my ice-cream cookie sandwich. I am a sucker for cookies and thought they would unwrap a blue bunny ice-cream sandwich put in on a plate and charge me 7 bucks. Not even close this guy bakes two cookies 6 feet away in the open kitchen the size of mine, which is small, and stuffs ice-cream between them before decorating with chocolate sauce. Did I leave out the fact that the cookies where about 6 inches across and there where two of them. Amazing and something I don't think my calorie counter will enjoy when I get to beginning of my challenge. But what is life without indulgence. Now we head home and there are two things you should know: 1. My wife and I just ordered prints of our digital pictures from the last 3 plus years because of a Costco sale and 2. Our landlord is not only very nosy but lives a hundred feet away (the only house within a mile). So as we walked into the house our landlord comes out on his porch and begins to tell us he picked up one of our packages that came today. I run up to his house and he begins to tell me that he was expecting a package of pills and didn't even look at the label before he opened it. He then made it through one of the package of pictures out of the 900 prints before relizing that they were not his pills. Now no harm no foul but come on who doesnt realize a ten pound box that doesn't have their name on it will not be a couple pill bottles. Or maybe he thought they were under the pictures?

Preparing

Insanity and p90x are programs that come on a set of DVDs which I have and what makes insanity awesome is all you need is about an 7'x7' area in front of a tv, the only problem that's where the floor is covered in baby play areas and toys. So I will need to clear this area soon and find a new place for Ben, my son, to hangout while daddy is jumping around in front of a tv. P90x is a bit more complicated, I will need the space in front of the tv but I will also need some equipment. The prgram says you will need a set of dumbbells or a resistance band. I don't hav any dumbbells but I have a resistance band so that will do. Then there's a is a pull up bar, this is a problem. I have a pull up bar that you drill into a cross beam. I also live in a rental. So that's out. I am left with using my resistance band in a doorway while I sit on the ground, the video shows how to do this but you don't get the same workout. Bummer for me but I think it will work out.

Welcome

Hi everyone! Welcome to the P90X:Insanity challenge. First I wanted to start off my telling you a little bit about the challenge I am embarking on and why this page has come about. On September 5th I will begin a 90  day challenge here I will attempt to complete p90x and insanity. Both of these are video workout programs not created for the faint of heart. Why wait till September? A few reasons: 1. My wife is a teacher and that is the first full week of school. 2. Plan plan plan, giving myself a month to get into a groove and mental prepare for the task. 3. I want the rest of the summer to not be thinking about calories and working out. Now to understand why this page is here you need to know that I am a self proclaimed hater of all things "social network". So why make a blog and go against what every fiber of my being says? Simple I live in the middle of no where, and I mean that literally. When school starts and my wife goes back to work my life gets very unsocial. I will see my son who is now 10 weeks old and my wife when she gets home but that's it. We live in a tiny town in a rural part of it. My life will get quiet. It is not only boring but hard to be motivated to do anything. For instance 10 weeks before my son was born I promised I would loose some weight before he was born, I gained 15 pounds. Enough said. My hope is if you are reading this and keeping me accountable I will work hard to not let you down. Where is this going? Each day I will write about how my workouts are going and anything interesting going on up in no where's ville and hope you are able to leave comments or ask questions about anything. I hope to see you again. As often as you are able. Erick bigeqc :-)