STORIES TO BUILD COURAGE FROM

Since embarking on this voyage of fitness I have really noticed a lot of changes in my emotional state. I have become very aware of my feelings, and my ability to express them. I think sharing something so personal as weight with the world will do that to you, and since I am trying to go full throttle on all aspects of this experience I have decided to start sharing stories in my life that have affected my weight problem.  Read at your own risk.

I was in the seventh grade and the spring semester had just started up. We came back to school, and I was still a little upset about not making the basketball team the past November. During the break I really didn’t do much activity, and when I went to Athletics it really showed because one of the coaches made us run some “cream to the top” (I think that’s what it was called) drills and I was getting smoked. Well one coach was not very happy with this and he took me inside and asked if I had gained any weight during the break, and I said no. He then asked me how much I weighed before we went to break and I said about 220. He then proceeded to put me on the scale and I was 220 (I was so happy that number came up, because I was so scared at the moment in time). Well the coach then brings me into his office to talk to me. He begins to ask me why I tried out for basketball, and I told him because I knew I was good, and I felt I could make the team. He then proceeded to tell me that I was way too big to ever play basketball, and that I could never play basketball for him at the weight I was at…I could not help but just begin to ball in the room uncontrollably. I have never in my life felt so bad about myself. Until then I had thought I was in okay shape. He told me to get my act straight or not show up anymore and left the room. My life really changed from that moment. I went from 220 to the end of summer being around 270. I completely lost confidence in myself, and lost a lot of my athleticism.

This moment hurt me, and I can still remember that feeling, but now it is only fuel for me reaching my goals. I will not let anyone get in my way, and I will not give up when others do. I have to be strong for everyone who wants to see me succeed, and I want to succeed to give others the inspiration to do it themselves!

RICKY OUT!

I want my bacon!

If you didn't know me when I was younger, and want to get a glimpse of what I was like...here you go

View on cheat meals

 I was driving home last night from the convenient store last night when I noticed something that I wish I would have never seen...P. Terry's just opened on William Cannon and Mopac! Maybe I just haven't seen it and its been there for awhile, but I just now noticed it, and started to crave one of their burgers. With such a strict diet I find it so hard to stay on track all the time, and every once in awhile I will find my way back to a cheat meal. The first couple of weeks I was cheating just a little almost everyday with a cookie or cracker, but I told myself I had to stop that or it would never end. Now I try to limit it to one cheat meal a week. I have heard tons of opinions on this subject like "Follow your diet on the weekdays and cheat on the weekends" (My favorite advice ever!), or "If you cheat you will never get good habits so never eat bread again or anything that is tasty! (BOO!)... I personally feel cheat meals will come and go but if they happen don't feel guilty about it, because no one is perfect, and if you try to be you will end up eating 35 slice of pizza at a buffet from all the built up temptation.  So what I am wondering is how do you guys feel about cheat meals? Are you against them or for them? What should the frequency be on them? And if you are on a diet, what cheat meal do you like?

P.S. I understand that some people may not want to divulge this kind of info to the public so please feel free to email me here.

Taking some time to talk about my Trainers

Today ends my fifth week of training, and I couldn't be happier with the results of my work. I am so happy right now, and none of it would be possible without the help of my six trainers! These guys are helping me do something that I really started having doubts would ever happen which is getting back in shape and becoming healthy. I just wanted to take some time to let you guys into the world of each trainer, and give you an idea of what my workouts are like with them.

Thomas Faustin - This guy is a beast with a vocabulary. He is in charge of my diet...I need to say that I am not a person that likes diets at all but the one he has me on is working out really great, and he has changed things on it to fit me so that I can be more successful with weight loss. He really listens to what I have to say on the diet, and I really appreciate that he lets me have at least some input on it. Thomas gets the pleasure of destroying my arms every Monday . We have mainly been working towards muscle endurance with bench presses and shoulder presses.


Paul Hedrick - We are college alumni Bro's. He works mainly lower body with me, but will throw in cardio and core. He is always changing up the workouts, but its all the same result...me getting my butt whipped. He said something to me that really hit home one day while working out. "Ricky, you will eventually not look at food for pleasure, but will look at it as fuel". I say that every time I look at a slice of pizza. I workout with him on Tuesdays.


Diana Haggerty - The first trainer to work me out! Diana fit me in on my birthday without any notice. She got me pumped up to meet everyone, and gives me great advice on how to recover, foods I should eat, and overall wellness tips. I work out with her on Wednesday and we mainly work on cardio with walking, but she will throw in some killer core work that makes me cringe thinking about. haha!


Mariesa Osterhaus - If you are looking for sympathy find another trainer because this lady means business. She has worked me out hard every single time I have worked with her, and she changes up all the time. She made me do a spinning bike session, another time she made me do something like 150 bench presses (It was light weight but STILL!). I workout with her on Thursdays and I always look forward to see what she has next for me.


Jason Miller - The king of balance...and making me drag a giant tire with a sledge hammer. Jason is all about getting my heartbeat going, and to that I say mission accomplished. Every week there is something new and harder with him. We do cardio, core, muscle strength, etc. I have him on Fridays.


Christine Tusa - My salsa partner! She is the perfect trainer to end the week with. She makes me hurt without making me run miles. She does a lot of stretching, and ab work with me. Her workout is perfect after a week of hurting and aching, I tell her which parts of my body are dying and she creates the workout from that. And like I said she got me introduced to salsa. We workout on Saturdays.


All of my trainers have been so supportive during my workouts, and I think they are the greatest group of people for helping me out with something I have struggled with all my life. There isn't one workout that goes by that they aren't pumping me up, or telling me I am doing great or pushing me to the limit. I truly am blessed for this opportunity, and with the help of these six trainers my goals will be met!

Dudley and Bob spot with Trainers

Today I got to share my workout results with Dale, Bob, Charlie, and Angela with the help of my trainers Thomas and Diana. We also talk about the training process, and Charlie's thoughts on what happens to a man when he works out a lot. Hope you enjoy!

Trainers visiting Dudley and Bob tomorrow

Some of the trainers that I have been working with will be on Dudley and Bob tomorrow to talk about my progression. You can check it out live tomorrow morning on klbjfm.com (Just click the "Listen Live" button on the page) or I will post it later that day on the blog! Thank you everyone again for all your support.

How did I measure up?

Today is the 35th day I have been working with Workshop Fitness. On the first day I went there they measured my neck, arm, chest, waist, hip, thigh, and calf, and today they did the same. The trainer that does the measuring, Diana, was about to cry she was so happy with the results! Here is how much I lost in each category:

Weight:  19 lbs
Neck: .25 inches
Arm: 1.0 inch
Chest: 5.5 inches
Waist: 6 inches
Hip: 3 inches
Thigh: 1 inch
Calf: .5 inches
Total: 17.5 INCHES!

These numbers are exactly what I have been needing to see because I felt a difference in my body but wasn't seeing the weight go down for the first three weeks. Now to see how many inches I lost, I got a great idea of how hard I have worked, and how appreciative I am of all the trainers working with me. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Salsa Dancing

When I decided to lose my weight and change my life physically, I also wanted to work on other areas of my life. So when my trainer Christine Tusa asked me if I was interested in joining her at a salsa dance class my first thought was YEAH RIGHT! But then I started to think if it was something I would never do before this then maybe I need to give it a shot, and let me tell you I am so happy that I did. Salsa class is a great cardio workout, a great way to meet new people, and hopefully with a little practice I can  show off my dance moves sometime! I go to a salsa class on Mondays at Galaxy Dance Studios. Check them out if you want to learn how to boogie.

VEGETABLE RECIPES AND IDEAS

I have gotten some great feedback on my vegetable inquiry from friends, and I would like to share some of these ideas with everyone!

One of my old buddies that I used to play basketball with told me about Mrs. Dash, a company that makes salt-free spices for all kinds of meals. I am looking forward to trying out some of these flavors they have, and on their web site they even have recipes that I want to try. You can check it out here.

I got an e-mail from a high school friend who said, "I LOVE grilled vegetables and it's super easy to cut some up, stick them on a kabob stick, season with whatever you like, and stick them on the grill (or in a george foreman haha!)". I really like this idea, because I do use a George Foreman for some meals.

Another old friend sent me this, "I like to marinate squash, zucchini, mushrooms in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garlic for a few hours then grill them. Zucchini and squash are also good roasted in the oven or sauteed on the stove with onions and bell peppers."

I even got an e-mail from the mother of one of my trainers, who filled me in on how to roast my vegetables, "I use parchment paper to keep the veggies from sticking to the pan, but I also use Pam on the parchment and on the veggies themselves. Olive oil Pam is good for this. 400 degrees is the oven temp for most. For broccoli & cauliflower, spray with Pam, season lightly, and roast about 15 min. Sweet potatoes, squash, turnips, carrots, eggplant, sweet peppers... these will probably take about 20 min. Eggplant soaks up oil like a sponge, so roasting is a great alternative to frying. To add some variety to green beans, toast slivered almonds in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes (careful not to burn). Steam the green beans (or try roasting), then drizzle with some olive oil. Season with a little salt and a sprinkle of garlic powder, and top with the toasted almonds. You only need a couple of teaspoonfuls of the slivered almonds. Not a lot of calories, but really fun and tasty on boring green beans."

Then I got a recipe from a college friend on making a hamburger using a portabella mushroom instead of beef.

1 portabella mushroom (stem and gills removed)
olive oil to coat frying pan
1 tomato
1 avocado (optional)
sprouts
low fat cheese
whole wheat bun

Turn your burners on medium heat, remove the stem and gills from the portabella mushroom and place it gill side down on the frying pan in a little bit of olive oil. let it cook on medium for 6 minutes then flip it over to the other side and cook it on medium for 5 minutes. place low fat cheese on to melt. place cooked portabella mushroom on whole wheat bun and garnish with sprouts, tomato, and avocado.

This post was a little long, but I really wanted to share a lot of the ideas I got. I really appreciate all the great information I received, and can't wait to try them all out!

BORING VEGETABLES NO MORE!

As a kid I never really ate that many vegetables besides corn on occasion, and carrots every once in awhile. Now with this new diet I am supposed to eat at least five cups of vegetables a day, and this has been no easy task for me. Eating all the vegetables has given me tons of energy, made me feel healthier, and really opened up my list of foods. The problem with part of my diet is that I am running out of ideas of how to spruce up vegetables to keep them fresh, and exciting. I am calling out all the cooks out there to help me spice up my vegetables, and keep me from going insane with boring green beans or unpleasant peas. If you have any suggestions just leave a comment of e-mail them to me here.

Note: For my diet I have to limit my salt, and butter is not an option. Thank you guys in advance for any tips or recipes sent my way.

DUDLEY AND BOB SPOT

This morning I got to talk on the Dudley and Bob show, where I am interning, to talk about my first month working out with Workshop Fitness. You can stream it on the media player below, download it here, or check out the entire show on klbjfm.com!

WILL BE GOING ON DUDLEY AND BOB TOMORROW

Going to talk about my first month of training with Workshop Fitness. I will post up the excerpt from the show tomorrow afternoon.

WELCOME!

Hey everyone...this is my new blog that will chronicle my day to day life as I work with Workshop Fitness to get my butt back in shape. This will also include updates with my internship with the Dudley and Bob show on KLBJ. I can't wait to get this going, and get your guys inputs. Thanks for coming and checking it out