Shameless Plug

So.  Things are going pretty well for my goal.  I feel healthier and better than I ever can remember.  I weigh less than I ever did in High School, I can run a mile without stopping once (don't laugh I absolutely hate running), I can bike 35 miles without taking a break, I can bench over 300 lbs, the guns are starting to come nicely, and most importantly I'm happier than I have been for a long time. 

I'm constantly surrounded by supportive friends.  Some new, such as the lovely Midnight Society.  Some... not so new.  The tried and tested ones.  The ones I'll always have.   You know who you are.  There's way too many to list.  But you guys are amazing and I really do love you.  I appreciate the fact that you don't judge me... harshly... well... to my face at least!  I know I live a crazy life style and it wouldn't take much to make fun of me, but you guys are always there for me.  I'm thankful for my parents.  I don't get to see you that often since our work schedules are kind of opposite and the little window we do have to hang out is usually occupied by my gym time.  I thank you for being so understanding about that.

I set a goal this New Years to spend 300 hours at the gym / working out.  I have kept track every single day.  Here is an example of a month for me:

Today is May 18th.  I've spent over 130 hours at the gym so far this year.  At this rate I'll be finishing closer to 350 hours this year. I average somewhere around 6 hours a week. 

I want people to get motivated. It makes me feel great when people tell me that they are proud of me and they are using me as motivation to hit the gym.  More importantly I want people to know my story and learn a thing or two about it.  I'm not doing some crazy fad diet or using any tricks.  I'm simply doing what the taught us in elementary school.  I try to eat healthy and I work out.  That's it.  I want people to know what the initial motivation was for me.  So if you know someone that you truly love that you are worried about.  I know it is going to be tough.  But dammit say something.  Maybe just a spark is all it takes.  "hey, I'm going to play tennis next week.  Want to join?"  But maybe you'll have to be tough...  You might have to get serious.  You may have to tell that person that you love him/her and you are seriously worried for their health.  It wasn't easy to hear.  It was awful.  But damn I'm so fucking happy it happened.  If you want to tell someone that.  And you are worried.  Use me as an example.  Tell that person to get in touch with me if you want.  I'll throw out support and examples.

This may be the last "fitness/health" blog post I make because once you make the "one year later" post... where do you go from there.  I guess we will see.

I'll leave you with two more pictures. 

The first was taken April 2011 by Andrew when his uncle Gerry visited from California. 

The second was taken by me at the gym today.  May 2012.  A couple days and 13 months later.

I fully intend to make this my last fitness related blog post.  But I won't make any promises.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Thrice concert to race off to!  Which is why I won't have time to read over this and spell check.  So don't make fun of me for being dumb!
Also, if you voted for Amendment 1, you're an idiot.

Karma Police

I'm writing this post as a form of censorship. The really long post I wrote about religion is... Well, let's just face it. I'm probably never going to post it. I don't want to get crucified over it.

So I thought to myself, "what do I believe in?"

I believe in Karma. Well, I try to. Sometimes it can be difficult.

Personally, I do a lot of shitty things. I really try to make up for that by doing even more nice things. I can be an asshole sometimes, but for the most part I consider myself a pretty good natured person. It is difficult for me to turn a blind eye when someone needs help, even a stranger. I like to help people. I thoroughly enjoy random acts of kindness, etc. I try to not tell people when I do nice things for them or tell people about my services afterwards because then I just feel like I'm bragging. I suppose it is human nature to want recognition and be praised for being decent... But that's so shitty.
Sometime I feel like a total tool for doing something awesome and then catching myself posting about it on Facebook. Who am I trying to impress? I tell myself I just totally negated my random act of kindness. Does anyone else feel that way about any of that?
I view Karma as a belief for me. Almost like a religion. Except more logical. It can be science too. See: Isaac Newton's 3rd Law of Motion. Maybe that's why I like it.
Essentially, try to do good by others, do the right thing, and as often as possible, and it will get back to you.
For example: A week ago I was at a store to purchase something for someone as a surprise. Simply to brighten their day. I wasn't going to get credit for this.. Maybe a thanks... As the person
getting gift wasn't necessarily going to know whose idea it was, who made it happen, etc and he still doesn't and I think that's awesome. Back to the story, while I'm at the store my phone makes a sound. It's a notification for a txt. It's a sweet sound. It's the sound of Super Mario ducking into a tunnel in the original Super Mario Bros. An attractive lady walks by and says, "was that Mario?!". Now. I'm only telling you she's attractive so you can rest assured she wasn't flirting with me! But she asked me what I was looking for/working on in that store, got to talking about nerdy things, our jobs, and before you know it she was taking my contact info because she thinks I'd be perfect for her friends marketing firm.
Now there's a possibility of a job offer in my future and it wouldn't have happened had I of not of been at that store (a store I go into only once a year... If that!) doing something nice for someone else. And no, this isn't some bullshit "door-to-door selling vector knives" type of job offer... Or e-commerce. Shudders!
I thought to myself. "I Love Karma!"

THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF MY LIFE... or how I lost 100 pounds in about 8 months.

Today is the day I have been looking forward to for quite some time now!
I have hit the "100 lbs LOST" mark of my incredible journey so far.
It has been quite a fun 8 months.  It's been a roller coaster.  I feel like a completely different person and I couldn't be happier about it.  Nothing makes me more happy than seeing someone I haven't seen in months and seeing the expression on their face as they notice the difference.  My friends are awesome and have been doing an incredible job cheering me on.
On a related side note:  Thank you for the never-ending compliments.  They do mean the world to me and keep me motivated, however, the only compliment that I don't enjoy is, "ohh... that jacket is looking kinda big on you" or "bout time for a new pair of jeans" etc, you get the idea.  I completely understand you mean nothing but the best by it, but as someone who cares about their image it isn't what I like hearing, especially considering the ridiculous amounts of money I've spent on clothing this past year.  Since starting to lose weight there are two suits I've bought for work that I can't even wear anymore and the third is on the way out!  Obviously the same could be said for casual clothing!  Like I said I highly appreciate the sentiment but just say, "looking good, keep up the good work"  don't tell me about how I look like a clown!


For all the people who ask how in the world this has happened, you can read my blog post from a couple months ago for the full explanation of WHY this has happened, but as for HOW this has happened, endless hours in the gym mixed with healthy eating.  Weird.  I know, it's like they taught us in elementary school!  I hit the gym literally EVERY day.  Sometimes twice a day, averaging 8-10 visits, about 12 hours a week, at the gym.  I'm lighter and healthier than I ever was in high school.  I hope to continue with great results in the future.

Ok, seriously though.  Thanks so much for the continued support and cheers.  I honestly don't think I could do it without all of you guys.  I mean, 100lbs!  That's like some TV commercial shit! 

For those that see me daily/weekly, it is hard to notice the changes, so let me scare you with some pictures!


I'll let you figure out which are the before and after.

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