Day #77 - Incredible Achievement - Hail to the Hiking Queen

8 Year Old "Hiking Queen"

As an adult, the longest I've ever hiked in a day is 7.5 miles.  Mrs. Fogdog and I did it 12 years ago when I was 30 and we didn't have any kids.  I remember we were camping and by the time we were done we were all exhausted.  Even our dog (who was a puppy at the time) looked worn out. 

We love hiking in the woods and we do it quite often, but our typical hike is usually somewhere between 3 and 5 miles.  Once we started having kids it got a little trickier, but we got those backpack carriers.  We would let the kids walk until they got tired and then we would carry them the rest of the day (I always considered it an extra workout).  Once we had our third child, we started "rotating" them through the carriers, but from the point my youngest could walk it was clear she loved to hike. By the time she was 3 she stopped riding in the carrier even as her older sisters would beg for rides. 

As they have gotten older we've pushed farther and farther each year.  In 2013 we completed 5 miles and last year we completed a 6 mile hike.  Yesterday we decided to push the limit a little further.  We chose a 6.5 mile hike.  It was mostly level through woods and fields so we figured we had it covered.  As usual my oldest moaned about the distance but my youngest was clearly thrilled.

The one thing I didn't anticipate in this adventure was the horrible trail markings at the park we went to.  After 5 miles I was starting to question the decision.  My knees hurt and my two oldest were starting to get on my nerves.  My youngest still had plenty of pep in her step and was still running up hills (like in the picture above) to show that she is the hiking queen.

By the time we hit mile #6 I knew something was wrong.  Somewhere we missed a turn and we suspected that we were on the wrong trail.  If you've ever been in this situation, it can be tough; do you push forward until you can confirm you are on the wrong trail, or do you head back hoping to find something to put you on the right path?  I was pretty sure I knew where we went wrong but it was a mile back to confirm; we decided to turn back.  That turned out to be the right decision and we were able to find our way back onto the path.

By the time we got back to the car it was 5PM and we had walked 8.75 miles!  I was completely exhausted, there was nothing left in the tank.  My 12 year old dog looked like she could fall over at any minute.  The hiking queen showed no signs of slowing down and could have probably walked for another hour.

So we set a new family record for hiking yesterday; 8.75 miles.  That in itself was a pretty darn big accomplishment, but to me the real acknowledgement goes to my hiking queen.  My phone said that I walked 19,000 steps.  My youngest is 8 years old and takes 2 steps for every one of mine.  She hiked 8.75 miles or 38,000 steps and never once complained.  To me that's one incredible achievement for an 8 year old.  She inspires me to lose more weight so we can hike even farther some day.  I'd like to see just how far she could go.  Is there someone like that who inspires you?

Stay Strong!

30 Day Challenge - And the winner is...

First, a review of the rules:  The purpose of the 30 day challenge was to see who could lose more weight in a month; me or my good friend known as Big D.  The idea was to create a challenge that was tough, motivating, and also allowed both players to be in control of their own destiny.  The result was setting a goal of 15 pounds.  If both players lost at least 15 pounds, then whoever lost more received $1 (for bragging rights).  If however the goal was not met, then the loser paid $20 for every pound short of 15!  The stakes were high but as long as you lost 15 pounds, the most money you could lose was a buck.  Both me and Big D. had advantages and disadvantages which made it an interesting bet.  Could my family support and stable schedule beat out Big D's youth and his advantage of not already being on a diet (everyone knows when you start a diet you get great 1st week numbers)?  The answer was discovered at 7:00AM this morning...

My performance over the month was very good.  My wife helped me to remain accountable for ALL my calories and I learned that in the past I have grossly underestimated what I was taking in.  For the duration I held my calories constantly at 2000-2100.  I did go out to eat twice during the challenge but on both occasions I behaved reasonably well.  As far as exercise went, I did start to slack off a little in the end.  In week 3 I missed a few workouts, but only in the name of doing other activities that required exertion.  In the last week I caught a nasty chest cold and didn't workout one bit.  I should probably cut myself some slack because it was a really bad cold, but I do think I should've found a way to get some exercise in.  The lack of exercise in the last week really had me nervous, but there were some signs of doing well such as people noticing I looked thinner and being able to adjust my belt in one notch.

Big D's performance was also very good.  He avoided fast food completely and also only ate out a couple times during the event despite making 2 trips to visit his girlfriend in NY.  He ate several small meals each day, got plenty of protein, drank lots of water, and avoided salt as much as possible (I did actually give him some advice before we started and was happy to see he listened).  For exercise he walked his dog every day and went to the gym as much as possible to workout on a bike (he even went to some spin classes with his girlfriend when he was out of town).  At the start of the challenge he was walking 3 miles each day and by the end he was up to 6!  I was actually amazed at how much Big D. changed his ways during the challenge.

When Big D. arrived at my house this morning we both talked about how we thought we might come out.  I thought maybe I hit about 10 pounds.  I had been sick all week and felt extremely bloated like I might be retaining a bunch of water.  Big D. thought he might hit about 12 pounds but said there was no way in the world that he hit 15.  Then he accused me of trying to mess with his head and he mentioned that several people at work had noticed I lost weight.  I did truly think that I only lost 10 pounds (12 max).  We flipped a coin and I lost so he made me get on the Wii scale first...

FogDog Starting Weight - 288.1
FogDog Final Weight - 270.9
FogDog Total Loss on the 30 Day Challenge - 17.2 Pounds

You could have knocked me over with a feather!  Of course now Big D. was convinced that I had been messing with him (truly I was not), but he congratulated me on hitting such a high number. 

Next was his turn; after posting such a big number, clearly you could see he was really worried that he was going to lose...

Big D. Starting Weight - 256.4
Big D. Final Weight - 235.0
Big D. Total Loss on the 30 Day Challenge - 21.4 Pounds

The winner by 4.2 Pounds ... BIG D.!

To be honest, I was thrilled to see how well he had done, and was happy to give up the dollar.  I had told him a few days before that he deserved to win.  Don't get me wrong, I worked hard to lose my weight, but I was already on that path; I simply amped up my efforts.  Big D. made a total transformation and to me that was quite impressive!  More importantly, I think Big D. recognizes what he needs to do to keep the weight off and that's a victory in itself.

Although I lost the bet, I still have plenty of things to celebrate and I am thrilled with the results.  This weigh-in brought me a bunch of victories all at once:

1. I met the 30-day challenge goal
2. I hit my mid term goal of 275 and now get my reward (bring on the mountain bike!)
3. I helped to inspire a friend to make some healthy changes
4. I have now reached a weight that I have not seen since before my freshman year in college
5. Finally (and this is the biggest one for me) I have now crossed over the half way point in my journey to 199!  I started at 349 a couple years ago so 275 was a big number for me.  I cannot, and will not be stopped!

So my hat's off to Big D. for a great race.  By the way, we've already started planning the next challenge and the first rule we decided on was when we weigh in, if our starting weight is higher than our current weight from this morning there will be severe penalties.

To my other friend DJ (whom I have a longer term bet with) I'll say this:

I might be way ahead of you now, but don't give up! All it takes is a spark to get it going again and I know you can do it.  If you need a little incentive, just start thinking about how much money you are going to owe me if you stay where you are at.  I'm going on vacation in Maine in July and if I can keep it going, I might just be stopping by your house to collect!

To all the rest of you out there, I hope this story inspires you to keep on going.  It may be hard and it may be slow, but the small victories are what keep us going.  Just keep chipping away at it and don't let the setbacks rule your journey.  If you don't give up, you too will get to feel what it's like to hit your halfway point.  Trust me on this, after hitting that mark, my resolve to see it through to the end has never been stronger!

Now I'm off for a vacation so I probably won't be back in the blog world until next weekend.  My goal is to not gain any weight while I'm gone and I will be resuming my normal weekly weigh-ins (and catching up with everyone else's blogs) starting next week.  Good luck and stay Strong!

Creative Writer Award

Thank you to Weezel at "What Scares You" for presenting me with this prestigious blog award. In a few moments, I will be bestowing the honor on a few of you per the rules below.

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth.
5. Nominate seven "Creative Writers" who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

 

Here are my outrageous lies (and 1 truth):

1. I've discovered a hidden code in the South Beach Diet book.  When deciphered it gives you a kickin' recipe for a lentil soup
2. I once tried out to play for the Boston Bruins.  They wanted me to play but I refused because #77 was already taken
3. I also sent in an audition for "The Biggest Loser" They rejected me because they said I was too fat
4. My mom is head chef at a famous 5-star restaurant
5. I once ate an entire Thanksgiving turkey all by myself (and then had dessert)
6. I am in the movie "Graveyard Shift".  The film was made at the factory I worked at and the camera caught me while I was stuffing my face and watching the action
7. I've used a Thighmaster, Buns of Steel Videos, and I've "Sweated to the Oldies"

Feel free to guess which one is true.

I nominate the following blogs for this award.

1. The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser
2. My 365-Day Weight Loss Journey
3. Fat Daddy Rants
4. Eat To Live in 2010
5. The Fat Chick's Dating Manifesto (I'm not female or single, but I like the style)
6. Journeying to Lose 200 Pounds... The Triumph of Perseverance
7. 100 Pounds Less

I love the style of each one of these blogs and they are filled with inspiration as well as sound diet tips.  Thanks for sharing!

Want to Lose Weight? It's The Small Battles That Count!

Even if you don't follow football you've probably heard that the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl and are this year's NFL champions.  My hat's off to the Saints on a great season and an inspirational championship for a city that could use something positive.  But this is a blog about weight loss and I find myself thinking about the parallels between sports and the goal to lose weight.  There's something to be learned from the Saints, or any champion from any sport for that matter.

When people look at a team that has just won the championship, the focus tends to be on that last championship game and the great battle that was won.  But take a step back for a moment and really think about how that team got that big win in the first place.  In order to be able play in that game the Saints had to win the NFC Championship.  In order to win the NFC Championship game, they had to first win a Divisional Playoff Game and in order to even get to that game they had to win enough games in the regular season to make the playoffs.  Now let's dig a little deeper...In order to win every one of the 16 games they won, they had to win a lot of little battles.  Every game is made up of well over one hundred plays.  In every play there are 11 individuals that all have their own personal battle to play out.  Do some simple math and you can quickly see that their road to the championship involved hundreds of thousands of little battles over the course of many months that needed to be won.  Did they win every one?  Not even close, but it's a fair assumption that they won more of those battles than they lost.

It is the same thing when you are trying to lose weight.  All too often we focus on the end result.  The Super Bowl victory of weight loss means hitting that magic number you decided on in the beginning of your journey.  We tend to put a lot of focus on that big (small) number even though it is so far away.  We also put a lot of focus on meeting our weekly goals, but rarely do we look at all those little battles that must be won day in and day out.  It's OK to have those lofty goals and to think of them once in a while but you have to think small every day.  Do you think that football player lines up for a play thinking about how he's going to win the Super Bowl?  He's thinking about one thing and one thing only...How to win the little battle that's right in front of him.

So what should you do?

1. Try to put those end results away and focus on the job at hand.  If you don't win the daily battles you never will get to the playoffs, not to mention the championship.
2. Use your little victories to inspire you to more little victories in the hopes that stringing them together will help you win the game.  Most goals scored come from stringing together lots of little victories, not one giant leap.
3. Recognize you cannot win every single battle.  It's impossible, so don't even try.  Instead, when you get beat, pick yourself up off the ground, pull the grass from your helmet, and win that next little battle.  Just like a string of wins is uplifting, a string of losses is equally demoralizing.

There's one more thing to consider as well (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT).  Be aware that once in a while, one small victory can become the catalyst that ultimately hurls you toward your goal and gives you the boost you need to see it all the way to the end.  These are rare instances and there is no way to predict beforehand which one will cause it to happen.  History is full of stories of how one seemingly insignificant win changed things forever.  As I said, you have no way of knowing when this could happen, so the only way to improve your chances is to increase the number of victories you have.  Once you have it, it will instantly catapult you forward and the small battles you face will suddenly become so much easier to win. 

I'll end on a personal note that illustrates this concept.  Last night my family and I went out to dinner.  I ate reasonably well and actually saved half my meal for the next day (small victory #1).  On the way home my wife wanted to stop and get some chocolate cake for dessert and I was all for it.  When we got home I was excited about the chocolate cake but wanted to wait until after 8:00 so I could eat it while watching TV.  With an hour to kill (I promised I would avoid the TV and PC until after 8:00PM) I suddenly had this urge to do something useful.  I went into my basement and got on the elliptical trainer and knocked out 3 miles!  That's more than I ever have done at one time (small victory #2). 

After that, the chocolate cake didn't seem as appetizing.  I didn't want to undo the 3 miles that I had just worked my butt off for.  In the end I passed on the chocolate cake (small victory #3) and went to bed satisfied with the decisions I made.  Those 3 small victories are actually what inspired me to write this article.  Today I'm still feeling happy about those decisions; success can be infectious.  Who knows if somewhere down the road I might hit the scale at 199 and look back at my journey and think "I'm so glad I didn't eat that chocolate cake!"

I hope this article helps you to remember today so you can have a better tomorrow.  Win those little battles; you never know which one you may remember forever.

The Final Straw

As I was staring down at a disgusting toilet in the local Walmart heaving the last remnants of my dinner, I came to the realization that I had finally hit bottom with my eating. Just 1 hour earlier my family and I were enjoying a fine meal at Olive Garden. “Appetizer?” Of course, let’s get the spinach and artichoke dip. “Salad and breadsticks?” You bet, I think I had 4 breadsticks and 2 bowls of salad before my entrée came out. Of course my entrée was one of the biggest items on the menu but that didn't matter. By the time I was done I was starting to get that sick feeling I get when I have eaten too much. By then it was too late. 10 minutes down the road and my stomach was rolling, I’m actually amazed I made it all the way into Walmart before I got sick.

“Why did I eat so much?” “How come I can’t stop?” “What’s wrong with me?” These questions were going through my mind as we rode home. I wish I could say that this hasn’t happened to me before, but it has. In fact, over the last few years this has happened to me several times. So what was different this time that made me feel like I hit a new low? Well for starters I sort of feel like anytime an addiction is causing you to pray to the porcelain gods you’re probably at a low point. But that’s not all. What made me really feel like I hit a new low was what had happened to me in the 7 days that led me to the Walmart moment.

On the previous weekend I had decided to get back to eating healthy. Before I could do that I felt like I needed one last big meal to kick it off (how many times have you had "the last supper?"). So I took the family out eat ... and then again ... and then again ... and then for lunch ... and then dinner again. Before I knew it, I had managed to go out to eat 10 times over the course of 7 days! In a week's time I had managed to add 5 pounds to my weight without much effort at all. What makes it even worse is that I didn’t really enjoy a single one of those meals, it was all about "getting ready". By mid week my brain was telling me to "enjoy it now" since the week was already shot.

So what’s this blog all about? Well, I’ve decided that I've had enough! I'm going to fight my demons and change my ways and I’m going to share my story through the entire process. Currently I weigh 297 pounds and I’m going to start the journey to 199. Through the process I’m going to share my successes and failures with all who want to see. Also I’m going to share my vast knowledge about being healthy. Over my lifetime I’ve spent countless hours researching this topic so I’ve got a lot to offer on different types of diets and exercise. Who better to give advice on weight loss than someone actually living it. I’ve always had the tools to lose the weight, but what I’ve always been missing was the understanding of mental side of the addiction. That’s what I’m going to have to learn if I want to be successful. So sit back and enjoy the ride. Ultimately I hope my story will inspire others to get control of their weight, but before that I need to inspire myself. Wish me luck.