CHRISTINE IN THE HOUSE #P90X STYLE

So a little about me, I'm 24 , just under 6 feet tall and weigh 190 pounds. I have always considered myself an active person but haven't really been healthy four around five years. I was at my heaviest a little while after my daughter was born, weighing around 215. I was pretty depressed and didn't know how to start getting back into shape. I got invited to play some coed volleyball once a week and it quickly became one of my favorite nights of the week.

Now its been a few years and I am back to a fairly active lifestyle, still playing volleyball once a week, but still not where I'd like to be. I guess it really hit me, that I wasn't very fit, when I needed to have surgery earlier this year. I found out I had stage 1 carcinoid cancer. They found a malignant tumor in my appendix. Two surgeries, around a foot and a half of my intestines and ten lymph nodes later they pronounced me cancer free and told me to keep an eye out for symptoms of new tumors. The surgeries kicked my butt and with the possibility of facing this again I know my health and fitness will play a very crucial roll in my recovery.

So some of my weaknesses and excuses have been: "I don't have enough time or energy"  "I'll start tomorrow" or "I don't have the money to join a gym or buy all the health foods". Candy and fast food are probably my biggest problems right now... I gave up soda about a year ago and saw huge improvements in my health and weight but I still drink energy drinks way more often than I should... Gotta work on that.
So my first goals are I'm gonna give up my energy drinks, and I'm gonna try to sleep better (oh yeah I'm an insomniac...its not good for my health) so those two kinda go hand in hand, if I'm not so tired I can't justify buying an energy drink. Longer term goal is the Spartan race with Jenn next year! And I don't want to just suffer through it, I want to freakin rock it! Heck yes!

My goal weight is kinda floating around between 170 and 175, I guess ill know when I get there but my main focus is muscle tone and flexibility... I want my body to be able to do whatever I ask of it.
When I reach that point of knowing my body is ready to take on anything and everything, I'm going to feel like the world is mine for the taking... I will do things I want to do without wondering if I physically can.
I wanted to be part of this group because I need people to push me, to workout with me and keep me motivated. And this group is made up of awesome people that I honestly want to succeed with and spend time with so, yes this is awesome!
Wish me luck! :) 

Wise Words From Drew Fit2Fat2Fit

I've been following Drew for some time now. I remember him first appearing on the late show and being surprised that he lived near me. Anyway this guy knows what he is talking about Here is is post.

THANKSGIVING DAY RULES!

They say that hindsight is 20/20.  And as I glanced down at the calendar, plotting out the rest of my Fat2Fit journey, that reality hit me.  This was my journey, my schedule.  And somehow, I arranged to have my Fit2Fat portion of the journey end about 3 weeks before the holiday season began.  So let’s hit the first holiday directly – no use hiding from what could be the biggest “food” day of the year. Thanksgiving (a traditional American holiday) dates back to early settlers (Pilgrims) giving thanks for their blessings.  Granted, I doubt we share the same blessings today as they did, but here in America it is a great day generally filled with the four "F's": Family, Friends, Football, and yes, large quantities of FOOD.  And this reality leads to other established traditions.  Some of us won't eat anything all day until Thanksgiving dinner is ready, just so that we can fit a bit more in, and accentuate our "turkey coma".  Others sit overly-stuffed and watch football, using halftime as their own timed food challenge while we attack the pies and desserts.  In fact, it is the only holiday that I can think of where the entire point is a meal.  Sure, meals are important but what other holidays would be tossed aside without a 7-course feast?

The purpose of this post isn’t to make you drool or salivate just days before the extravaganza begins, but instead is to answer the thousands of questions of what are we (#teamdrew) going to eat on the upcoming holiday.  So I present the official Fat2Fit guidelines that I will follow come Thanksgiving.  Will I eat the delicious foods that my wife's grandparents will be preparing for everyone, or will I sit and sip on a spinach shake while everyone eats the pumpkin pie, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, and stuffing?  The answer is yes, I will partake in some of the delicious foods and no I won't bring my spinach shake to sip on.  And for the cynical ones, its not because I’m going to the in-laws!

Here are the basic guidelines I will follow for Thanksgiving (and all holidays in general):

Rule #1:  This is Thanksgiving dinner, not Thanksgiving Week, Month, and Year Make sure and stick to your meal plans for the rest of the day, and for the rest of the week.  Thanksgiving dinner is 1 meal out of 5 this Thursday.  And it’s only 1 of 25 for the entire week.  Stick to your other meals throughout the day. Why?  You won't over-stuff yourself on one unhealthy meal (and you’ll keep your metabolism up!).

Rule #2: You don’t get bonus points for only having one meal Don't starve yourself and skip other meals just so that you'll "have more room" to eat more Turkey.  Obviously if you follow Rule #1 you'll have no problem with this one, but being overweight, I am starting to see how various “bend the rules” ideas pop up.  They do for me too.  Resist the urge.

Rule #3:  Stick to a realistic definition of a “portion” When you are at the dinner table, eat smaller portions of the good stuff.  If you know you'll be eating some of your favorite Thanksgiving foods, limit yourself to smaller portions (fist size - and this isn't an Andre The Giant fist, people!).  If you follow this rule, you’ll be able to comfortably enjoy all of your favorites, and avoid heading back for seconds, thirds, or twelfths.

Rule #4: One dessert.  Wait let me be more specific.  One portion of one dessert! Yes, I said one (I’m suddenly glad so few of you know where I live.  I feel a Thanksgiving mutiny coming on!).  No need to have a slice of every pie that's there.  Coming back to random Andre The Giant references, a slice is a regular, moderate slice.  And if you don’t cut the pie, it doesn't mean the entire pie is now a slice!).  Every holiday or birthday party I attend, I have a small piece of dessert.  I just do it in moderation.  Eat it slower too – you’ll enjoy it more!

Rule #5: Enjoy yourself! This is NOT a fad diet. This is a lifestyle Like I said on Dr. Oz, I would splurge a bit on the weekends and holidays while sticking to the rules above.  This way you always still enjoy yourself at parties or on holidays and yet you don't throw away all your results from the week by consuming 10,000 calories in just one sitting. In addition to the above, we will be sharing some healthy alternatives that you are welcome to try on Thanksgiving Day. For example, instead of a traditional cheese ball and crackers, my wife is making homemade almond and cashew butter to dip fresh fruits and veggies into. We will be posting some healthy alternatives on our site on or around Tuesday of next week. Hindsight is always 20/20.  And yes, I know that I could lay waste to the entire turkey if I was still on an unrestricted diet.  But circumstances have changed, and the test is before you.  Follow these rules, and you’ll be on your way.  Remember when we were getting ready to launch the fat2fit stage, and I told you to “commit to a better you, regardless of circumstance”?  Welcome, to your new circumstance.  Continue to commit to a better you. Happy Thanksgiving.

You can Follow his blog and posts here. 

PROFILE FOR RYEGUY #FATBOTTOMEDBLOGGERS

Weight - why you weigh what you do

- Why do you want to change your body

Ryeguy Weighs in at an amazing 214 lbs at only 6'0" tall. By the BMI Calculator (which you have to take the numbers with a grain of salt) totals out at 29.02. Just by that number alone it puts me into the over weight zone.

I've always been pretty active. Anytime there was a pick up b-ball game that I could make I would. I still play volleyball quite regularly and love hiking any chance I get. No matter how active I try to stay my Gut still lingers over my belt.

Obstacles -

- what has made you unsuccessful in the past * excuses, health issues etc.

A realization of how heavy I had become was on one of my runs in the morning not only could I feel my fat bouncing all around me, my feet couldn't take the abuse. My ankles have suffered greatly due to the impact of the extra weight that doesn't need to be there.

Some of the excuses I have made for not being in the physical shape that I've made include: reasoning that if I don't work out today I can always start tomorrow. If it is Thursday I'll say Monday is the day i'm going to start. Sometimes I would even say. Next month on the first day.

Goals -

Be specific - I will not eat any candy this week, or soda etc.

Weight goal - put in your mind and on paper (web) what you think your ideal weight would be

I've never had any issue with staying away from soda. It isn't something that I've ever been addicted to so I'm sorry if you were looking for ways of overcoming that addiction from me. However about 8 years ago or so I really started liking Candy. Almost anything chocolate of course I will devour So I will make a promise to quit eating the pre-packaged brownies that my wife will bring home and substitute those things with healthy treats like carrots and celery. 

I think my ideal weight right now is 195 lbs. The reason why it is that high is because I would like to have some muscle definition and bulk.  If I need to drop to 185 to view my six pack I will definitely re-assess my goals at that point. 

THIS PART IS VERY, VERY important - Write a Paragraph of how you are going to feel and the things you are going to do when you have reached your main goal. VERY IMPORTANT - Dr. Steve Baker could you enlighten us a little on this part. I know you have history in this type of motivational tool

When I am able to wake up in the morning feeling only sore from the workout that I had the day before and am able to jump out of bed not just climb, I will feel unstoppable and invincible. I will take on every day like a new adventure. In essence I will be a lean mean fighting machine!

And last but not least. What we can do as a group to help each other reach our goals. and what we will be accountable for if we do not attain our goal.

I need people to check up on me. Most reasons why people fail (myself included) at their personal goals is because they don't report their success or failures to anyone and what they can do to be better at what they do.  I will need help from each one of you and any readers we may get to this blog to keep us inspired and hold us accountable for getting our BUTTS in gear and into skinnier jeans(not to be confused with skinny jeans).

These are the promises I'm making

-Ryan Allen