week one

     it's a brand new year. so many new possibilities, so many new opportunities. for as long as i can remember, my new years resolution has always been to lose weight. to make that my resolution again almost seems like guaranteeing i will fail. so instead my resolution is to become a person i am proud to be. this encompasses the weight loss thing, but it also includes so much more. like making good on my promises to myself...
     this past week has not been good as far as eating healthy and working out. this week has pretty much been my farewell to food. fortunately i didnt gain anything. now i feel ready to say goodbye to all the stuff i think i want. something that helped me so much last time i did this was telling myself that i only have to give up the junk for 12 weeks. but the trick is that by the end of the 12 weeks you dont want that crap anymore. your body gets used to running off the right kind of fuel and you no longer crave the bad stuff. it's a process to flush all that stuff out of your system. expect to mess up. quitting things cold turkey is not easy, nor recommended. my goals for this week are to get my portion sizes to where they should be. portion sizes are so important. in a culture that supersizes everything, it's easy to lose sight of how much we really should be eating. imagine a campfire. if you throw a huge log on the fire it will take forever to burn that log. but if you throw a few sticks in, they will be gone in no time. that pretty much sums up your metabolism. instead of throwing a huge load on, eating several small meals a day will keep your metabolism burning at a steady rate, prevent you from eating too much, and prevent you from eating when you're not really hungry. learn what it feels like to really be hungry. and learn what it feels like to be full. this week, i will focus on tuning into my body so that i can start working with my metabolism the right way, instead of just trying to manipulate it to do what i want.
     also this week i will be doing a push-up challenge. my upper body strength is pitiful. i could not do a push-up to save my life. so my challenge is, for this week i will do 50 push-ups on my knees per day. i can spread the 50 out throughout the day, but no less than 10 at a time. each interval has to be challenging, or else nothing will get accomplished. next week i will move up to 20 real push-ups a day, no less than 5 in an interval. each week the challenge will get harder until i can keep up with shaun t.
     the gym is organizing a weight loss competition. weigh-ins are on the 4th. i've got some good friends doing it with me. just one more way to keep myself on track. no one wants to be the guy who didnt lose any weight that week. or god forbid, gains weight. there should be a zumba class starting soon i hope, because zumba does something for me that nothing else does. i actually look forward to working out. i actually wish that i could do it every day. that is the key to success. finding a workout that you truly enjoy. for some, that may be lifting weights at the gym. for some it may be running, or swimming, or hiking, or insanity in the living room. for me it is zumba all the way baby.

     i found this picture the other day. this was when we first got to germany, 30 lbs ago. i still had a ways to go from that point, but i was happy like that. by april 1 i want to be back there. 30 lbs in 3 months is definitely doable. also, biggest loser starts on the 6th! that show is such a huge inspiration. if those 400 lb people can do this, then what excuse could i possibly come up with? watching that really keeps me pumped up and motivated.

recipe of the week: 20- minute applesauce cookies

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 c. rolled oats
1/3 c. applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. ground flax
1/2 c. dried cherries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a fork, mash the bananas in a bowl. Stir in oats, applesauce, dried cherries, flax and vanilla extract. Mix batter well. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.