End of Week 7

As I think about what the Olympians had to go through to train to compete for the gold, it makes me wonder if I'm competing at that level with this Body for Life challenge. We are competing with a lot of people in the country for this title of 2012 Body for Life Champions. I think of Ryan Lochte who went into his race yesterday in the 400m Individual Swimming Medley knowing he was capable of winning. He knew because of how he had trained. I guess I still feel like I can do better in this competition. Of my five goals, I feel the weakest on the part about winning the competition and also supporting Liz. Basically I'm thinking as long as no one goes all out with this, we have a chance.

With only five weeks to go I need to start putting everything I've got into this to make sure we win. WE need to be the ones who are going all out for this. I know it's so easy to say well I'm doing good enough. I know these Olympians didn't say that's good enough as they were training; at least the ones competing to win. The commercial that's been on about finding your own greatness really sticks out to me. Even though we're not competing for the Olympics, we can still compete like one. After all we did decide that we wanted to do this. We wanted to challenge ourselves to this. I've wanted to build more muscle my whole life. I want to see what it feels like to win a big competition like this. I find as we get further along in this I feel like even if I don't win, we've made some good progress. While this is true, I don't think this is a winning attitude.

This next week is going to be a little challenging as we will be traveling a lot. I was impressed to see Liz planning our meals and workouts out yesterday for the week so we are ready. We will be cooking a lot today so we have a lot of good foods to bring with us this week. We will be getting some day passes at a couple of gyms while we are traveling to make sure we get our weight training days in.

Even though we are doing well with getting our meals and getting our workouts in, I know there is more we can do. It's time to take this to the next level. Here's the plan:

1. Need to workout with Liz at least 2 times a week. We know we can't do our aerobic workouts together so we need to try to get at least 2 of the 3 weight lifting days in together to stay connected in this and push each other.
2. We need to study our form and make sure we are doing the exercises as accurately as possible focusing on the correct muscle groups.
3. We need to really make sure our portion sizes are accurate. I know I need to make sure I'm eating enough. It's really hard to get all the calories I need and still eat healthy. It's a lot of food.
4. I need to read up on what past champions have done to win.
5. I need to journal more so I'm ready for the final essay.
6. I need to make sure I record every meal and especially how much water I'm drinking to make sure I get enough.

There's a lot of detail things we need to do. We've already invested enough into this that it would be a shame not to take these extra steps to win.

I just realized a huge thing we've started to fail in. We need God with us. Our busy life has taken over again and we've gotten away from really putting our trust in Him. We desperately need to spend time with God. We need to work as if it were all up to us and pray as if it were all up to God.

I performed the hymn “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” this morning in church. Isn't this exactly what we need?  If God is with us and for us, who can stand against us?

Half Way There

We have reached the half way mark. We are far enough in this that we'd better finish it. To be honest this last week wasn't as strong as it could have been. Our busy schedule has been making it hard to do everything right. I missed one aerobic day and also messed up on a meal. We were traveling and didn't plan ahead for a meal at some friends house and gave in to what they were eating. It wasn't horrible but I know we could have done better. I don't feel too bad about missing the aerobic day as I am trying to gain muscle and those days don't necessarily help very much with that.

On the positive side, we have gained access to a full gym which is awesome! I love having everything available that I need. Liz still does her workouts at home which means we aren't working out together. We've planned to go to the gym and workout this week for our weekly date. I also started some new supplements that will hopefully help with muscle growth. One is to take before a workout for an energy boost. It's mostly creatine. The other supplement is taken after the workout to help with muscle repair.

I can't say I noticed huge changes this week. Just the same stuff and we are getting used to our new energy, new bodies, and the many mental and spiritual changes we have had. We took 6 week photos and are still seeing changes which is nice. It's always hard to tell with weighing ourselves but I have been between 6 and 10 pounds more than my starting weight which is right on track for my goal. Liz has lost about 8-12 pounds which was one of her goals. Improvement is good but is it enough to win? We will see.

If there are any questions please feel free to ask.

End of Week 5

Just the other day I was at a gig and during my break I pulled out a protein bar. A woman from the party came out for a smoke and asked what I was eating. I told her and she said, “ Oh, you're one of THOSE people. You guys make me sick.” (Her tone wasn't really mean. I could tell she was partly just picking on me but she also seemed to be saying what she really felt. Another man came out with a beer and got into the conversation. He said his diet consisted of beer, cigars and Cheetohs.  

I've seen this many times before where people get disgusted by other people trying to be healthy. I can see that if you have no purpose in life, if you don't believe in God, and if you don't understand the basics of how and why we are here; there would be no point in trying to be healthy. I just have to say I am so thankful that there is a God and I know Him. He's not my idea. He's not another persons idea. A lot of other made up gods and religions ruin it for people so they think being a Christian is another one thrown in the mix. I can guarantee that if anyone does their research and is truly honest and not lazy about it, will realize there is a God and He guides us to understand Him through the Bible. Knowing all this gives me great purpose in being the best I can be to love God and love others.

We are at a stage in this program where it would be easy to give up or get lazy. We've had some good results from it. There still are challenges to keeping up with it. I can feel the temptations starting to come in. You don't really think you can win this do you? You are just wasting your time. Look at all these delicious sweets you could be eating. You're too busy for this. You've had some good success so it's okay to give up now.

Luckily the temptations haven't been too strong but it's letting me know that it will get harder because we aren't even half way through this yet. Just like in my workouts, I need to keep good form. God has been blessing us through this program. He's helped us grow in so many ways through this. There really is no reason to quit. There is so much more reason to keep going and win this.

End of Week 4 (Day 28 of 84)

Well we are certainly proud of ourselves for making it a third of the way through the challenge without wavering. It honestly hasn't been too difficult. The workouts do take a high level of effort and focus but at this point we enjoy trying to push ourselves to new levels. As long as we plan ahead, we have been meeting our nutrition requirements. This last week we didn't plan quite as much so we had a few problems with having the food ready that we needed. We know we need to make sure we plan ahead this week and for the rest of the challenge to make sure we have the right foods in stock. One thing that I haven't talked about yet is the cost of doing this program.

We actually started the Body for Life program about 6 years ago and did it for 3 or 4 weeks. We couldn't really keep up with the nutrition requirements because we couldn't afford the food. We also struggled with the weight training because we couldn't afford a gym or the equipment. Now we have reached a point where we can afford the food by making some adjustments in our home finances. We have also acquired some weights over the years so we have a set of dumbbells ranging from 2 pounds to 30 pounds which works for the most part. We still have some exercises where we need more weight to reach the intensities. As seen in the last blog post, I have been using my boys as weights sometimes. We also use our dining table and chairs for some exercises. Liz has exercise bands that work for her on some things.  I also just found an ab roller at a thrift store last week.

Lower body weight training days are especially hard to reach the intensities with what we have. Liz has been doing pretty good but I definitely need more weight. We have found out that we will have access to a private full weight training gym in a week or two that won't cost us a thing. Can't wait! In the mean time I have been going to gyms on my lower body days. We received a flier this last week that had a coupon for a free visit to a Senior Center Fitness Gym. So I worked out with a couple of senior citizens and disco music one day this last week. I've also done a couple of day passes at some gyms while we wait for access to this other gym.

Other ways we have saved money is through Liz's amazing coupon skills with groceries. We also buy manager's specials from Kroger. This is especially nice with the meats. Oatmeal is a really cheap breakfast carb. Eggs and cottage cheese are fairly cheap for protein. Once our garden starts producing we will be able to save on vegetables.  Our plan from the start was "No Excuses".  This included any excuse that we couldn't do what we needed to because of money.  God has really blessed us with opportunities to earn money and save money throughout the program.  

Well I think if you are reading this you are probably most interested in seeing the changes. I'm a little reluctant to post these photos because I don't want to make this about looks. Going through this program is about so much more than the looks. It actually started more because of the looks. However, I have gained confidence to tackle some challenging things. I've gotten more organized. I just feel better. My real deep down goal is to be able to serve God better. I am so sick of this world and all the distractions it is caught up in. I hate that I get caught up in all this too. I can't wait to be in heaven with God. I know it's not my time and I need to make sure I am submitting to God now and doing what He has placed me here for right now.  God help me.

Actually, the thing that has helped me fight in these workouts this last week is thinking about what God has done for me.  I know I'm not really doing any world changing accomplishments by running with no destination or picking up a weight and putting it back down.  But what I do understand is that I'm developing a fighting attitude to push through these physical and largely mental challenges.  

So for the sake of possibly motivating some of you to get going on this program or any program or to get going on anything you feel you should be doing, here is a comparison of my before and after photos. (Couldn't convince Liz to let me post hers but she is certainly changing a lot and looking great).

End of Week 3

Always trying to figure out how to get the workouts I need with what we have available.

This week I thought I'd share four things. First I wanted to share the goals we set at the beginning of the program.  Another thing is I've seen how doing this program has made me more productive in other areas of my life. Lastly, I shared last week that Pastor Keith's sermon gave me a good challenge. This week it seemed incredibly obvious to me that God is challenging us and trying to build a relationship with us through this program.

Goals

Liz's Goals

1. Lose baby belly
2. Win the competition
3. Lose 10 pounds
4. Prove to self that I can complete the program
5. Motivate the athletes that I coach

David's Goals

1. Prove to self that I can complete the program.
2. Win the competition
3. Gain 9 pounds
4. Develop more energy
5. Support my wife and help her complete the program succesfully as I know she really wants to get rid of her baby belly after having 3 boys.

Productivity

I started realizing this week that we were doing a good job of sticking to this program. It seemed as though we've made this program our number one priority. So far it has been successful because we've set our goals that we really want, we know fairly clearly what we need to do to succeed, and the big thing has been planning ahead. We decided to start planning out other areas of our life. I planned out my whole day for three days. By the end of each day I completed so much more than I would have if I didn't plan it out. The other benefit was that Liz and I knew what each other was doing so we wouldn't end up arguing about who's watching the boys or some unexpected appointment. It certainly took some focus and determination to stay on schedule but it was very rewarding.

Champion

Last week I learned and applied praying faithfully to God to guide us in this challenge along with working as hard as we can at this. Today, Pastor Keith's word of the day was CHAMPION. I found this incredibly providential in that the Body for Life winners are declared champions which is what we are trying to achieve. Could God make it anymore obvious that He is challenging us with this and wants to be behind us in this?

As we learned in the sermon today, King David was so successful because God was with him. He won incredible battles because he trusted God alone. I realize none of us are worthy of anything from God. I realize we don't deserve God granting us the winners of this challenge and there is no way we can earn it from Him. What I do know is that God wants us to come to Him humbly and faithfully. A verse that has stuck out to me lately is James 4:9.

“Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.”

At first I didn't understand what this was saying and after some searching I realized it was saying we shouldn't pretend like everything is okay when we know it's not. I think I have life all figured out sometimes and I feel like I'm in control. Then something like getting sick gets in the way and changes my whole schedule. I then go to God saying,”God please take this sickness away now.” after not carrying on a good relationship with Him. Basically, as long as things are good I forget God. When they are bad I go to Him. Huh.  Not much of a relationship.

So I feel a strong need to work on my relationship with God. I plan on doing this as a family. This will include praying with the boys before going to bed, praying with Liz, studying and talking about God's word, and continuing to work on memory verses. Just like the Body for Life program, I know we will have the best success if we set goals in this, know what we need to do, and plan and schedule for this.  I know that for God to be behind us in this challenge (and of course in everything) we need to work at having a good relationship with Him.

Conclusion

I hope somebody is getting something out of this. If not, it feels good being able to think through our week and analyze how we are doing. I pray God will take hold of Liz and I and turn us into what He wants us to be fully. I pray He will knock down all the things holding us back from what He wants to guide us into. I also pray this for all my family, friends, church, community, and ultimately the world. Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains.