A personal training & food journal. Read about our weight loss progress at Train With Ron in Chicago, our nutritional habits and the life changes we're making to get in shape and stay healthy!
October 28th
Get Stronger... Lose Weight... Both?
After benching 270 pounds this summer, I set a goal for myself to get to 300 lbs by next June. Right around the same time, I set a goal for myself to lose that last stubborn 40 lbs that I have been wanting to lose since I got started. Guess what… these two goals don’t lend themselves very well to each other. What I have found is that I’m not making much progress on either side.
In June I started taking Wing Chun martial arts classes, thinking that would replace some of my cardio workouts at Train with Ron. I’m finding that, at least at this early stage, I’m not burning as many calories doing it as I thought I would. That, plus my less than disciplined eating habits over the last two months, has resulted in my not feeling very good about how I look. Now, I haven’t gained any weight since I started the weight loss goal – in fact, I’ve lost about 5 lbs since I started it – but after seeing myself in pictures lately, I have noticed that I’ve lost ground in the battle for control of my waistline.
I also finished my most recent round of Pure Steel by failing to bench 275 lbs… I was very disappointed there too.
I have also found myself strapped for time in terms of working out, so I need to rearrange some things in my busy life to accommodate for all the exercise, rest, Wing Chun, and music that I want to squeeze in and still make time for Monika and I to have some fun together.
So, all that said, it is time to press the ‘reset’ button. I will not give up on my goals, but I must recommit to them and I think I need to revise the weight loss goal to make it more manageable.
I am going to start with a weight loss goal of an AVERAGE of losing 2 lbs per week for the next 12 weeks (so, 24 lbs off by end of January), and over that same period I am looking to AT LEAST maintain my current strength level by benching 270 at the end of my current Pure Steel round. If I can get stronger while losing the weight, that’d be fantastic but I’ll have to be satisfied with maintaining for now. At the end of January, I’ll still have 5 months to build up the strength to bench those last 30 lbs and I am pretty sure that Matt will be able to help get me there, as long as I stay committed to it!
October 7th
Friends, family and some of our beloved pets made it out to Soldier Field last Saturday for a great challenge and for a great cause. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Fittingly, of course, I got sick. No worries, just a cold so DayQuil to the rescue and just pound through it. Dan and I rode our bikes over to the hill because it’s just been so beautiful lately we want to enjoy every second. That got our legs warmed up.
After a few stretches and a warm up lead by Matt, we got started running the hill. Some walked, some ran, some were looking to break the record and some were just having fun. I kept a steady pace for about 50 minutes and got 42 hills in. I have nothing to compare it to since last year I didn’t participate, so I was proud of my little number.
I enjoy these events because you get to see so many people from the gym that maybe you wouldn’t meet otherwise and unless you are completely into the challenge you get to chat a bit with your fellow TWRer. Maybe commiserate over a workout 
Not to mention your are helping to make the world a better place by giving your time and money for a great cause. Good for the body and soul.
Unfortunately Dan and I didn’t go to the after party so that I wouldn’t get everyone else sick, but it was a really great morning hanging with the TWR team. Looking forward to the next one!
September 16th
From the 2010 3rd Annual TWR Soldier Field Charity Hill Run
Each year Train With Ron organizes a charity event at Soldier Field and we run the hill to benefit an organization. Last year we ran for the The Anti-Cruelty Society who since 1899, has been committed to caring for animals and the community. A very fitting charity indeed because the one thing I know about Chicago is that there are a lot of dog lovers here. Our trainers Ron, DB and Matt are all dog owners, as are we. We actually adopted our dog Brady from The Anti-Cruelty Society almost 4 years ago and she is a wonderful dog! The best!
This year all proceeds and pledges from the hill run will be donated to The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Paying tribute to and supporting those who have sacrificed for our nation.
I’m very excited to be able to participate fully this year since last year I couldn’t. Dan did very well in 2010, running 63 hills in 60 minutes. That’s a good goal to shoot for and we’ll see what happens on October 1st. As you can see from last year’s picture, the weather was beautiful. The view is also fantastic since it’s at Soldier Field stadium near the lake. You really can’t ask for much more, being surrounded by the awesome people from Train with Ron, working hard for a charity to support our nations heros, on what hopefully will be a clear day with sunshine.
I encourage you to join us at this even because one, you’ll be contributing to a great organization and secondly because you’ll meet lots of people from Train with Ron and find out what a welcoming, encouraging, motivating and down to earth group of guys and gals they are. You can find out more about this event here or just post in the comments if you have any questions. You can contact Ron as well. Even if you would just like to donate towards Dan and my performance, let us know. It’s a $30 donation or you can donate per hill run ($.50/hill etc….).
Stay tuned, pictures and updates will be coming from the hill in October!
July 25th
I hope it's not this cold when I finally get there...
On October 5th, 2009, I began to act on one of the best decisions I ever made in my life: regaining control of my diet, exercise, and health. Through
Ron, Matt, and DB at
Train with Ron, as well as my soul mate, friend, wife, co-writer of this blog, and disciplined workout partner Monika, I lost over 50 lbs and kept it off, lost over 8″ from my waistline, lowered my body fat percentage by double digits, went from XXL to L t-shirts, can climb a flight of stairs without losing my breath, and actually, for a 42 year old guy, I am in some really great shape.
That said, I am not finished.
I think I began to plateau a bit when we did the trip to Hawaii last year. Up to that point I was still eating very well and was disciplined about it. I was tracking my meals up to that point as well. I didn’t care what I ate on that trip, and upon our return, I loosened up a bit. Now, when I look at pictures of myself on that trip with no shirt on, I am very displeased at how I still looked at that point – but at the time, I had made so much progress, I thought I looked great! I ended up losing another 15-20 pounds after that trip, over this past winter, and as this summer approached, I was feeling pretty great about my looks and my size. (more…)
July 14th
New bike for the summer, have been riding about 20 miles on weekends to mix things up.
I remember a few years ago watching Jenny McCarthy on a news show or something talking about her recent weight loss after giving birth. She said it took her a year to lose 85lbs and she was being defensive about it from the start, as if that was too long to lose that weight. This to me (210lbs at the time) meant that if I can’t lose at least that amount of weight in a year I am a failure. Did I even start to exercise after that motivating morning? No, I didn’t. It wasn’t motivating or realistic and quite honestly it was depressing. When I was 210lbs, depression could be just a couple of words away at any given time. It didn’t take much for self doubt to set it.
Preparing to, and going through weight loss can do a number on your way of thinking. Just take into account your own struggles and habits with food and exercise and it can be daunting. Mix in external stimulants and influences and it’s enough to send you into a negative state of mind which ultimately may convince you to give up. Fighting through that and convincing your mind and body to endure the necessary and be positive while you’re doing it will get you smiling on the other side of your journey. (more…)
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