Gone Primal

As my beautiful wife documented in her blog we have decided that with this new year we would start The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation as outlined in the book of the same name... (If you buy the book through that link I supposedly get money... but nobody ever has so I don't expect to!)

If you've never checked out Mark's Daily Apple - you really should! (I don't get anything if you click on that link)

It is a valuable resource for anybody interested in health regardless what you believe on the whole Caveman/Primal idea. Some of the articles get a bit wordy but I don't think they are anywhere near as bad as Mercola for wordiness!

For an intro to what 'Primal' is, check it out here.

I've mentioned before how my biggest issues in my quest for physical perfection (ha ha) were the 3 S's:
Sleep, Sugar and Soda
This lifestyle change removes the 2 consumables (no sugar which pretty much cuts out the soda for me cuz I don't do diet!) and has some strong suggestions for improving sleep (Turn off electronics earlier and go to BED). That is really hard. I think the sleep is actually harder than avoiding sugar, as my night time ritual of staring at the computer screen is currently my wind down time and my "Me-time" with no kids running around peeking over my shoulder, etc.

So far (day 3 of the 21 day challenge, then after that you modify it to fit your personal needs) I feel great! I'm probably sleeping better already (although the first night I stayed up too late...) and it hasn't been THAT hard to avoid the candy and Mt. Dew (although MAN it is tempting at the grocery store checkout lines!) We got some decent sparkling water at Costco and I picked up some surprisingly delectable High Cocoa content Dark Chocolates so I think that helps!

After work today my fitness challenge is to do 2 rounds of as many pushups, squats, pullups and plank (for time) as I can. I'm pretty good at all of those so we'll see how I do after work!

Finally, I've started a Tumblr photo blog for ease of cool inspirational picture sharing (Fitness, Yoga, Personal progress in Fitness and Yoga, Pirates, Steampunk. You know, the usual!)
Feel free to follow me over at warlordblade.tumblr.com

The Terrible Two S's

In my attempt at physical perfection (hahaha), I have been fairly successful, but I still have a long way to go.

There are two major obstacles to achieving my ideal - and that's what I call "The Two S's"

SUGAR and SLEEP

Too much of one, not enough of the other.

Amazingly this week I have been able to keep myself from Soda and candy, but it is really hard. Right now I am really wanting some Mt. Dew or Skittles.

I have been meaning to write this post for quite some time - and I think I'm finally doing it now because I need it to HELP me stay strong!

I plan on researching more on Sleep and Sugar and putting what I find here. If you have any tips on how to stop snacking I would appreciate it. Honestly what's the point in replacing one with more snack type food even if it is healthy?

Our society has made it seem like we need to be eating or snacking constantly! I don't think that's a good thing.

Sushi

Food.
For the most part in my life I eat to live, NOT live to eat.

But there are two exceptions to this (as long as you don't include candy).

Steak and Sushi.

Strange that for somebody who eats less than 20% animal products (most of the time we are very good about this) Steak would be at the top of my favorite foods, but there you have it.

Anyway, Steak isn't what I want to talk about today.

I LOVE Sushi! (по-русский)

Until about 5 years ago I hadn't ever experienced it and thought what many many people did about this culinary delight; "Raw fish?!? Eww Gross!"

Then I decided I should give it a try and went to the local "Happy Sumo" with some coworkers and WOW-EE I loved it, especially the Unagi which is still my favorite today. I HATE eels, so I think it's awesome that I love to eat them. We'll see if that Karma comes to bite me someday...

I read an article today about the overfishing of the Bluefin Tuna and how it was hurting Sushi-connoisseurs ability to enjoy sushi. Whatever. I totally agree with the author of the linked article - there is plenty of enjoyable sushi without the Tuna - be adventurous and give it a try!

P90X - Final 3 Weeks

We are halfway through week 11 of the 13 week P90X program.

Last week I switched to Classic and am enjoying that a lot. My wife has semi-switched as well, and wishes she had been doing the Plyometrics program longer, as it is the leg workout she's been looking for. :) It's definitely a good one.

It's also interesting in these last few weeks of the program to think about intensity in the workouts. Before I was intense, but I think realizing I'm almost done and not being quite satisfied with the results so far has made me push a bit harder (not to mention switching to Classic last week) in these last few weeks. We'll see how it turns out.

I need to increase cardio on top of the regular P90X workouts if I want to really get the results I'm looking for. While my wife is quite happy with how I'm looking, I'm just not quite there, so somehow I need to fit that in.

Friday lunch-time Outdoor Soccer has started up again at work - that will help a little (along with getting some sun on my skin!) - and maybe I can be a late addition to the indoor soccer competition that has started...

Finally - along with learning things like in this book, I want to take modern survival courses and learn skills that could really be useful. For some reason I have this weird desire to be able to DO STUFF, that I wouldn't normally need much, but if I DID need it, I would be fine. Know what I mean?

Here is the program description from the scout training program:

Scout Urban Escape and Evasion
While on an international business trip, you are kidnapped and held for ransom. A terrorist attack closes the business district and you find yourself in a fix. How do you stay alive? How do you get to safety on your own? This class provides leading-edge skills to civilians who live and work in challenging urban environments or in urban centers that may destabilize during a crisis. Topics covered include covert movement (day vs. night), the judicious use of caches, understanding urban baseline movement and urban awareness training, the use of urban disguises and false papers/identification, lock picking, escaping from unlawful custody, obtaining and driving local transportation, the use of "specialized" urban gear, and instruction on how to develop urban escape and evasion go-bags, etc. A one day urban escape scenario is held the final day of class

Awesome. I want to do it. Anybody want to sponsor me (i.e. pay for it!?) HA. Thanks!

Mondays

My quality of sleep the past week or so has been horrible. So the 'Monday-ness' of today has been amplified.

One of the major contributors to this bad sleep is that the frequency and intensity of my workouts has decreased... I need to fix that. Hard to fix when I go home feeling so wiped out every day though!

Another is the baby's teething and growing is giving her discomfort so she wakes up a lot and causes us not to sleep well.

In other news...
Dodge Ball!!
Our first game is Thursday! After more people expressed interest (and whined that they weren't initially invited), we split our team into 2 teams... so that gives our "House" a better chance to get more points! Bring on the pain!! (unfortunately or fortunately (however you want to look at it) the balls are quite soft so it probably won't hurt too bad)

Goal: Art - "Complete AT LEAST one drawing/art piece a month."
Last month I actually completed TWO - one a painting done at an art night with friends, and the other was FINALLY finishing "The Fey Wood" for a friend. First full original artwork I've given away I think... But I have some originals of her art so I thought it'd be fair if she had one too! She requested one with fairies and other woodland creatures.

Which reminds me - if you have any ideas for a drawing (like a theme, etc) let me know - and I'll probably give you a copy of it! (I honestly have a hard time parting with the originals!!)

So the goal was met for last month... but I've been lazy this month so unless we have another art night for painting, I doubt I'll finish a drawing. I better put more effort into it!

Turkey Trot
I'm still excited for it, 2 days to go!
I highly doubt I'm READY for it... but a 5k isn't THAT long.
Hopefully the weather gets better.

Allergies and/or Sickness are NOT FUN

Jujitsu last night was fun - but the other guy that was there last week wasn't there, so the two of us did more talking than Jujitsu. It was still fun and I did learn some and was able to roll a little bit. I'm still very excited to learn more.

There were three problems which made me a bit hesitant to do too much physically...
1. I had just eaten dinner - REALLY great salmon and salad and green beans - Delicious but too close to the physical activity.
2. Our new 80-90% Vegetarian lifestyle has been giving me some major bubbles in my stomach... NOT fun especially when wrasslin'. Yikes.
3. I had a horrendous allergic outbreak last weekend. Something got to me real bad. Now I THINK that as a result of my allergies my throat was really irritated and this was further exacerbated by the smoke machines, heat, and air quality at the SYTYCD Tour on Tuesday causing me to miss work Wednesday. My throat is still weird, I have this nasty wheezy-type cough, and occasionally feel feverish and dizzy. Those last two are what makes me worry it might NOT be just allergies... but they are usually only late at night as I'm trying to go to bed.

Very annoying.

I brought my soccer stuff to work today (nothing really unique for soccer though... I don't have cleats or shin guards or anything!) but I'm not sure if I will go play or not. I could probably use the sunshine and fresh air!

Yesterday we went to our Credit Union and applied for a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). We are tired of our Credit Cards and want to have more control over our debt, along with a lower payment. Online the rates matched what the lady told us, but the payment threw us off a little, and we need to verify that what we think she said was correct. According to the online listing of loan options, the monthly payment on the HELOC was 1.25% of the balance. For the debts we are looking to 'pay off' with this that would save us approximately $100-150 a month on debt-payments, which is definitely a good thing. But for some reason both my wife and I think the loan helper person at the Credit Union said that the monthly payment was 3.5% of the balance per month. THAT would put us at DOUBLE what we are currently paying per month on Credit Cards and student loans... so that wouldn't make much sense.

We'll find out when we hear from the people that really make decisions about the loans. Hopefully this will help us get back on track a bit.

What I really need to do is find a job that pays more than I currently make. We won't be able to get out of our situation otherwise - we don't have any superfluous expenses to get rid of!

I blame our car, which is looking at another $1000 in repairs before we can even sell it... for hopefully around $2000. :(

Caffeine & Sugar

I love Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper.

I have also stopped drinking all caffeinated sodas... since September 5th. Almost two weeks! It has been hard, but not THAT hard to not drink caffeine. I'm tired, but at the same time I'm sleeping better. My headaches haven't improved too much - but then again, at only two weeks who knows.

An interesting thing to note... I don't have a lot of weight to lose, I could lose 15 pounds, but then I'd be really skinny. But lately I've been going UP instead of maintaining or down. Last night I was about 173 on WiiFit, today in our corporate gym I stepped on and was almost 178! Granted, that was with jeans, polo, big fat wallet (unfortunately NOT fat with cash!), keys, etc.

I think I want to get down to about 165... about what I was when I got married.

It's funny, but when I was 165 lbs I wanted to be 175. Now that I am 175 I want to be back down...

Guess I'd better start running!

More on the New Diet and Books

Day 6 of the New Diet:
Okay so technically we've really been doing this for a couple weeks now since we basically lived on this diet at my parents house in Denver.
I've noticed today though, that I am HUNGRY! I've even been snacking on Almonds all day! Normally I don't get that hungry throughout the day - barely even thinking about food until I get home and Kakes reminds me I have to eat dinner.
Since we aren't going to be eating all that much meat (We most definitely have not given it up), I have a feeling I am going to need to find a non soy source of protein.

I actually don't like to think about food a lot. It might be strange, but while I enjoy many types of food, I've never really LOOOOOOVED and raved about food, and I don't want to. I think too many people are obsessed with food. I don't want that to be me.

The other side effect of a mostly fruit and vegetable diet? Multiple trips to the bathroom.
Yikes! Hopefully that regulates sooner than later.

BOOKS!
I love books. Have I mentioned that?
Specifically Fantasy books are my favorite, but there are many other books I have greatly enjoyed.
I was finally able to get Shaman's Crossing, the first book of Robin Hobb's newest "The Soldier Son Trilogy" from the library. I've had a hold on it for months. I'm only 165 pages into it, but it's doing great at keeping my attention so far! Time-period wise it isn't so much medieval fantasy as an early American Cavalry vs. American Indians Fantasy. As a child I loved Native American lore, so I'm not having a problem with this at all. One thing I loved when I first opened it was the books dedication: "To Caffeine and Sugar, my companions through many a long night of writing." Too bad I've given up Caffeine eh? (6 days and counting! I can do it!) But sugar? NEVER!!!

The reason I'm excited about this is because of her previous Trilogies; The Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy, and the Tawny Man Trilogy. This one is brand new and totally unrelated to the other three. Great books. Not my favorites, but they are highly esteemed by me.

I recently finished some GREAT books by Carol Berg, The Bridge of D'Arnath series. These books are about a bridge that connects a magical world and a mundane one, and attempts to destroy and save this bridge. Really good reads all around.

AND I think I've realized why I don't blog MORE... As it is already, I write too much in each entry!

Wii Fit, Forza, and a New Diet

Wii Fit
For my beautiful wife's birthday - I got her the Wii Fit and tickets to the So You Think You Can Dance Live Tour 2008. It took me FOREVER to find that Wii Fit! For anybody wondering - this is something she WANTED for her birthday, this is not a suggestion or anything like that from me. She is amazing and looks SO good 5 months after having our 3rd child!

This is a game that we will allow our kids to play every day, at least to get the balance test and a few games in. Keeps them aware of their bodies, what they put into it, etc.

The Wii Fit has four types of activities you can do: Aerobics, Yoga, Strength Training, and Balance Games.
- Aerobics is basic hula hoop, running (using the wiimote like a pedometer basically) and step-type aerobics. These workouts get you pretty good, although I'm still getting used to the running ones.
- I was unsure how the Yoga exercises would work out - but they basically concentrate on one pose and do repetitions of that. I haven't unlocked too many activities yet, but you start with some basic single poses. Do them correctly and you really can feel it.
- If you've done a lot of working out, you'll immediately get high scores on the Strength Training workouts. Push-ups with side-planks, leg-extensions, the beginning stuff isn't too hard. I've gotten 100/100, 4 stars on most of the strength training activities, but they are still a good workout.
- Kids will like the Balance Games the best, although sometimes they can be a bit frustrating, but the more you try it, the more fun they become. It's interesting to see what different types of people end up being good at. I'm good at the soccer and tight-rope walking ones, while my wife is really good at the ski ones, even though she's never been skiing!

Overall the Wii Fit is great! I'm excited to see what new activities, exercises and games we unlock as we continue to use this 'game.' One problem is that you have to unlock everything yourself, so something fun your kids might be doing you can't do until you've worked out more. Good motivation, I guess!

Forza
Just before Father's day I discovered a really cool workout called Powerstrike Forza. We bought it for $30 from Amazon.com. For $30 it's a good workout, but the DVD leaves much to be desired, mostly in navigating through the program.
Developed by Ilaria Montagnani, "Forza teaches the graceful, empowering skill of Samurai sword training designed to build the body and mind. Everyday warriors will learn how to move and control the speed of a Japanese sword, the queen of all weapons." (from the above link)
It's important to note that this is NOT really Japanese sword training. Many traditional Kendo purists would scoff at the way she does some of the movements. However - it is FUN and it is a great workout! One of the biggest problems for ME in this workout is finding time to find an hour to get the full workout done. Really though, the first half hour is a "warmup" that is pretty amazing. We have done just the first half, then cooled down with some Yoga.
One final thing about Forza... Ilaria's pretty amazing, but her arms and abs kind of scare me. I'm very impressed that she was able to achieve such definition, but it just looks a bit too manly. Then again, maybe I am just jealous!

New Diet
We recently returned from an almost week-long vacation to visit my parents in Denver. One of my younger brothers just got married, so we packed our 3 kids into our small Mitsubishi Galant and miraculously survived an 8 hour drive through the most boring section of Wyoming imaginable. ANYWAY, for the past few years my parents have been experimenting with various diets and food-lifestyles to find what's right for them. A few years ago my dad was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, so basically his pot belly and bad-eating habits throughout his life has not been good.
Currently my parents are basically Vegan in their eating habits, very rarely eating meat or animal products. As we stayed with them my wife really enjoyed the fruit/veggie shakes my mom had for breakfast and the simple meatless dinners. So now we are doing that. I wake up in the morning, grab my shake from the fridge and drink it on the way to work. Very tasty. I've noticed over the past few days that I don't have as much energy as I'm used to. A very big part of that is probably that I have given up my Mt. Dew and Dr. Pepper habit... at least I have for the past 5 days! People I work with don't think I can do it, but I'll show them!!

Other
Watched Howl's Moving Castle with my kids the other day (Borrowed it from my new sister in law) and loved it! I have enjoyed the other Studio Ghibli films I've seen, (Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service) but not as much as I enjoyed this one. As my wife was semi-listening while doing something on her computer, she said "Hey, that sounds like Batman!" Christian Bale voices Howl. Good flick! I may have to add it to my collection.