How to keep pushing through the muck of laziness

Back again everyone, and after a long time of procrastinating I am back at it.  My Couch to 5k goals are rescheduled and I am back in the running shoes. The only thing different from the last two stutter starts is that this time I am actually on a different lifestyle.

I have learned over the past few months that there is no way to force yourself into a weight loss plan. I guess this is why so many people fail and get fat again or need lose any weight. I also noticed that I kept thinking about quick fix remedies to change my situation. This is another reason why people tend to try to get gastric bypass and things like that. I now have a clearer picture on how my brain works when it comes to food and exercise.

About two weeks ago, I started a new eating plan. It’s based on the slow-carb method and I found it in Tim Ferris’ book The Four Hour Body.   I can give you all specifics, and I will. I can give you all the results and the thoughts I am having, and I most certainly will. But, the one thing that I can’t do is make you do it. It’s not fun at all. The food is repetitive and boring at times. I am not a doctor and I have only a cursory understanding of the science behind it, but it fricken works. Before you try this, I would advise you talk to a doctor.
Okay, here’s what I am doing. I am eating within an hour of waking up in the morning. All of my meals are vegetables and protein. There are times when I put in some barley, but that is mainly because of the vegetable blend I am eating at the time. Every week I get one day where I can eat whatever I want, and I mean whatever. My workout consists of Couch to 5k and Power 90 as usual, but more of the running than the working out. Now with that regimen stated, I have lost 6 pounds in two weeks. Crazy right??

I know you are saying that it is crazy and that it’s too much weight loss, but I have just stopped eating processed carbs. If you read the book and research the things that go into making those processed foods, you would stop eating them as well. I fully suspect to lose weight at a rapid rate once I get my running back into full steam, but you will all be there to witness it…on the blog anyway. In the meantime I will suffer through my boring meals and watch the weight drain off!

Cheers.

Workout adversity: Falling off and climbing on the horse

Have you ever noticed how holidays spring up around the time you start to workout? I sometimes wonder why this happens, and I personally think that it’s because of predictable irrationality. I think that people subconsciously pick times of the year to start getting healthy only to be derailed by some holiday. Well, it sounds rational to me anyway. So here I am again getting my workout game back together again.

I had a good holiday season, one filled with delicious food that seemed to never end. I did mnage to run some, however not nearly as often or routinely enough to be considered good. I am back though, and I have decided to step back a couple weeks on my Couch to 5k journey. I will be starting back up at week 3 and continuing on from there, and hopefully this decision isn’t a better idea.

I still think my biggest concern will be to keep my meals normal and not outrageously large. I don’t really have the cravings for sweets any more and I don’t think that portion control is going to be hard, but as with everything in life…time will tell.  So, what are you doing after the holiday carnage? Did you give up, or were you not affected at all? Let us know!

Couch to 5K progress report

Alright, I have been trying the C25K program for three weeks now and although I am noticing some improvement, I am noticing that I am still woefully out of shape.  Case in point, I ran today from my house to my mother’s place which was about 2 miles away.  I am still in the run and walk stages, but I was able to tough out the workout.  The trip was brutal!  I was winded and I think I was experiencing GERD or something like it.  Bottom line it was very frustrating.

With all that being said, I do realize that I am making progress considering I was doing nothing for so long and now I am fighting through two fricken miles.  I think I am just going through some kind of slump.  I usually go through this when the weight isn’t coming off fast enough, or when I am noticing a slide in motivation.

I sometimes wonder whether this is something normal.  I have to believe that it is, but who knows?  Do you guys go through the same thing?  If so, please reply in the comments.

Anyway, back to the progress. I am in the middle of Week 3, and I am getting better at this.  I still need to work on my portions, but that is coming with time.  I am also noticing that a vlog would be easier than babbling about this stuff.  I’ll have to do that from now on.  Progress report out!

Couch to 5K: Third workout completed!

Alright, I made the mistake of not eating before this workout, so I was pretty tired at the tail end of this one.  I did however run longer and harder than the two previous times, which is pretty good.  I don’t expect to be making huge gains yet, but anything works for me!

Before the workout

After the workout

Couch to 5K: Second workout

So, I didn’t record the first workout, but here is this one.  The workouts are going well, I am noticing myself getting better, but the whole running thing is a bit of a pain right now.  I assume after some time I will start to experience the runner’s high.  I’ll let you know how that feels.

Before the workout:

After the workout:

Review: C25K app for Android

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give a review of the C25K app for Android.  I have only been using this app for a week as I am currently going into my second week of Couch to 5K.  I looked around the web and on AppBrain for a decent app to handle the notifications and timing for my C25K journey.  As you all will find out, I hate having to keep track of time and distance when I am exercising.  I don’t know why, maybe it’s because exercising is intense and tends to hurt.  Anyway, on to the story.

I found the C25K app after spending a few minutes looking at reviews of the app from the Android Market and on AppBrain and I thought it was simple and handled what I needed.  There isn’t much to the app, there are buttons for each of the workouts and all you have to do is click the button for your current workout and click the start button.  There are three segment notification sounds, a man, woman, and tone.  But that’s not why I like the app, there is only one thing that makes the app cool.

The app is simple, that’s it!  Well, that and the fact that Android operating system offers true multi-tasking, so I can listen to my podcasts and get notifications while pausing the podcast in the interim.  I start the app, turn on my podcast app, and go.  Each interval is announced by a simple phrase or tone depending on the settings.  Once you are ready for the cool down, the lady tells you start it and the same with the end of the workout.  The app just plain works.

Don’t get me wrong, there could be a nice update to the aesthetics of the app.  It’s plain and definitely has no frills, but it is a good single task app.  I recommend it to anyone with an Android device and wants to try the program.  Enjoy!

The beauty of Asparagus, and why you should be eating it

Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis, is a vegetable that not many people like to eat. I guess I can understand it, since a lot of people don’t season/cook asparagus well. It doesn’t look particularly good on the plate. The initial taste of the raw asparagus isn’t the best in the world. It’s green, which as Kermit the Frog knows isn’t very easy. But let me explain why asparagus should be a staple in your diet.

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Why I’m excited to do the Couch to 5K program.

Everyone that I tell about this program has the same response, “Huh, what’s that?  Never heard of it”.  Honestly, I didn’t know what this was either until I saw a post on Twitter raving about it.  A few Google searches later and I was knee-deep in conversations and walk-throughs about the system.  So, what is Couch to 5K or C25K as it is referenced everywhere?  Why is everyone who does this program so excited by the results?  What is the magic?

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Introductions: Lu, co-host of Get In Shape Guys

Hello everyone. My name is Lu and I am an overweight developer looking to get in shape and help others do the same.  I am part of the Get In Shape Guys podcast and I hope that my partner in weight loss and I will be able to provide plenty of information about nutrition and workouts for you. This site is a journey that I have been procrastinating about for quite some time. As you can see from my initial pictures, I am a large boy…with a dash of sexy. Yes, I do have a sense of humor that I love to exercise often. Have fun with that and our chronicles on getting in shape.

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