Don't Die Daddy Initiative: Crossing The Mendoza Line

Warning!! Warning!! The following post is full of proud bragadocious statements that are written to draw praise and acknowledgment of effort. Please only read if you are prepared to make me feel as if I have accomplished a major achievement (on the level of disease cure or discovery of an animal that was believed to be lost long ago) or that I am in some way have made the world a better place.... You have been warned....

Oh, who is that handsome bastard I see in the mirror this morning?  That lean mean dad machine... is me! Damn right. I am proud to say that I have officially crossed the Mendoza line today. For those of you that don't know what that means... I am weighing in under 200 lbs. Actually 198. That means that I am officially 20 pounds into the goal of 50. Not bad for 12 weeks... but the work has just begun.

I started hitting the gym three weeks ago and I am loving it. My schedule looks something like this:

• Mondays is 15 minutes on the bike, upper body workout (full on pec wailing) and a mile run to wrap everything up
• Tuesdays is a 4 mile run... it actually started out as a 2 mile run two weeks ago and then I talked myself up to 3... and then if you are in for 3, you might as well be in for 4
• Wednesday is the same as Monday with some lower body worked in
• Thursday is the same as Tuesday... but did I mention I wake up at 5:00 and do that at the gym because I have clients that day (please insert applause for getting my dead butt out of bed, dressing, driving to the gym and actually running... instead of just lying to the wife and sleeping for another hour on the couch)
• Friday is the same as Monday and Tuesday
• Saturday... nothing. Straight up gluttony day. Donut lifting and pizza curls. 
• Sunday... Random fun activity. I am trying to start a regular basketball game

I figure if I keep this up, then I am on target to meet my goal in 12 weeks. This will require sticking to my 1,400 calorie diet and not allowing for too many excuse days. The great part is, the deeper I get in, the more I want to keep it up. 

The great part of this whole thing is how it is impacting my whole family. Looking back, I know I was a bad influence on the kids. I was the king of candy rewards. The dealer of donuts.  The prince of "Let's get Pizza". It actually started getting so bad, that my daughter thought that every meal should end with a "treat". I can actually remember saying "If you don't eat your pizza, then you won't get any cake." Wow! Now that daddy is in lockdown, so are the little ones. I am happy about this because I always worried about how my poor choices were impacting them. I think that as they see their dad eat healthier and attend the gym on a regular basis, then they will think that is just what you are supposed to do. 

So to recap... I'm awesome. I'm killing the challenge. And I will probably be named Mr. Fitness in 2013. Thank you again for holding your applause until the end of the post. 

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Don't Die Daddy Initiative: Week 8

Forgive me, fathers, for I have sinned. It has been almost three weeks since my last post, and quite frankly, it has not been good. But let's start with the positive. About three weeks ago, I had lost almost 20 pounds (depending on if I was wearing socks or not). This feat was done rather simply through the use of a calorie tracking app, good weekly breakfast/lunch planning, and an ability to say "No!" to any treat that came my way. Honestly, it was going very smoothly. In fact, I would almost use the word easy.... but then December started. (This is where I throw up all my excuses).

Excuse #1: We Moved
To start things off, we moved into a new house on December 1st. While this was a good move for my long-term stress reduction (better schools, no condo neighbors, an ability to let the kids throw tantrums without the concern of pissing the neighbors off), it was not good for my waistline. I am not sure why, but whenever I end up in a new area for longer than three days (work or personal), I need to know who has the best donuts, pizza, and hamburger. Why I do this—I can't tell you—but I do not feel comfortable until I know these bits of critical information. In fact, it was actually the first question I asked the real estate person (damned the school systems... the kids can make due... where can I get a good long john). Finding out these nuggets of knowledge can not be obtained by just a survey—oh no—it requires hands on testing. Also, while I am no market research expert, I go by the rule of 3, which means that I need a sampling size of at least three locations to truly be able to make a definitive statement of who is best. And as my scale will tell you, the research went well. I am glad to report that the best donuts in the Geneva, Illinois area can be found at the Blue Goose grocery; the best pizza is at Rosati's (I actually like Aurelio's better, but Dumptruck doesn't, so he wins); and the best hamburger can be found at Stockholm's. The research could continue, but I think I am going to have to go with what I know for now.

Excuse #2: The Holidays Made Me Do It
It is a well documented fact that most people put on weight over the holidays. It all starts with a little indulgence at Thanksgiving that starts a slippery slide into holiday-goodness gluttony. Sugar cookies? Don't mind if I do. Treat basket from vendors? Don't mind if I do. Company christmas party appetizers, buffet, and treat table? Yes. Yes. And yes. Childhood desserts that you can only get on Christmas Eve? Well it would be rude not to. Christmas morning feast? Well what would Baby Jesus say if I did not partake on his birthday? And the goodness just keeps going until the last limp of piece of pizza is scarfed down on New Year's Eve at 12:32am.

Excuse #3: I Was Putting On Weight For A Role In A Hollywood Blockbuster 
I was up for a role where I played an out of shape father that fights crime while having to watch the children for the day. You see, the wife gets a last minute call to help her sister give birth in Toledo, and rather than let his wife know that he can't watch the children by himself, he tells her to go and that he will be fine. At first, the kids run all over him. In one particularly funny scene, the kids use HIS OWN handcuffs and restrain him to a chair. The middle boy (Jason, age 5) grills him over who took the last piece of cake, while the littlest boy (Blake, Age 4) sketches him like a courtroom artist, but does so with stick figures and cartoon bubbles that say things like "I stink.".  Just as he is getting the hang of it, a criminal mastermind, Chuck Larson,  that he had caught years before, breaks out of jail and kidnaps the oldest girl (Sally age 7). He hunts down the criminal while pushing a double stroller with Jason and Blake in it while making quips like "No baby, you have the right to remain silent." and "Now that is some disorderly conduct." I don't want to ruin the ending of it for you, but let's just say that he is going to have a hard time explaining to the wife where the kids are. In the end, I did not like the creative decisions that were being made (they tried adding a talking dog to the script... really?) and had to back out at the last minute. I have heard that Jim Belushi's people were circling the project. But now I have all of this weight to lose

So now that I am done with the excuses, I can let you know that I am back on track. I have not dared get on the scale yet (I will after a week of working out), but I don't think I actually did that much damage because my pants still button—and after the month I had—I will consider this a victory. I will keep you up to speed as the week progresses. Also, be on the lookout as I am planning on making a major announcement in the next couple of weeks that involves me, a physical challenge that I am no way properly prepared for, and a plan to become a "Tough Fadder". Stay tuned.



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The Don't Die Daddy Initiative: Week 3

Three weeks in and I have to warn you, I am getting dangerously smart about this weight loss stuff. Here is a little something that I probably shouldn't share with you, but since we are pals, I will let you in on. The secret to losing weight is to eat fewer calories than what you burn on a daily basis...I know, pretty mind blowing stuff. With the help of my nutritionist, let's call her Dr. Good and Plenty, I have started building a plan of attack. Here are some things that you need to do if you are serious about losing a couple of pounds (but not serious enough that you would be willing to cut off a limb to lose a quick 15).

• Establish Your Plan 
• It all starts with understanding how many calories a day you should be eating to achieve your goal weight. This will be based upon your current weight, your time frame, and the amount of physical activity you perform on a daily basis (playing video games does not count–not even Wii Fit). The basic math goes like this:
  
  Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'd lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). - Mayo Clinic 
  You could do this the old-fashion way with math and fingers, but thanks to the Googles, there are literally hundreds of calorie calculators our there. I recommend that you stay with a reputable site like WebMD. Based on my goals, I am aiming for 1,500 calories a day. If I follow this program, I should drop the 50 lbs. by March. (This might seem like a long time, but I am learning that with weight loss, you need to slow your roll on how much you want to lose. Try to stay around 2 lbs a week. Remember the idea here is to keep you from dying, not win a swimsuit contest.)
• Track Your Calories 
• Now that you have your plan in place, you are going to need to start actually tracking what you eat. For me, this is the hardest thing. I work in a really fast paced office and often don't have time to think about what I am going to be eating that day (at least that is my excuse). The truth of the matter is that I am choosing not to think about it. This is an easy way to screw up a diet. This challenge has forced me to start thinking in advance about having either good options available or making sure that I know in advance how many calories something is before I eat it. There are several online and mobile tools that are available that easily allow you to plan your food choices, track your calories, and measure your goals. I am using MyFitnessPal.com. It has a really intuitive user interface and a deep database of foods with calories already determined. A couple of other alternatives are LiveStrong.com and FitDay.com
• Make Smart Choices 
• 1500 calories goes really fast. My nutritionist has recommended eating at least 5 times a day. These give me roughly 300 calories per meal/snack. This is not easy. There are several items out there can help with this. Here is a typical day for me:
• Breakfast: Morning Star Sausage Patty, Piece of Cheese, 100 Calorie Bagel Thin
• Snack: Chocolate Chip Zone Bar
• Lunch: Salad with Chicken (no creamy dressings)
• Snack: Apple and Almonds 
• Dinner: Salmon, Green Beans, Mushrooms
• (Maybe Snack): Vitatop Muffins
• Be Prepared When Eating Out
•  Eating "low calorie" meals is not easy, especially if you eat out at restaurants a lot. Due to my job, I travel constantly, so this is something that I have to pay lots of attention to. There are several resources out there to help with this including the Eat This Not That Series and articles like this one from SparkPeople. An easy way to do this is to say no to the starters and the sides. Did you know that Chili's Awesome Blossom (a deep fried onion that resembles an exploded heart) has 2710 calories, the typical fast food Large Fries has 540 calories, the Au Bon Pain Macoroni and Cheese has 500 calories, and (this one breaks my heart because I love it) the Chipotle Chips and Guacamole is coming it at 720 calories. And the scary thing is that I have eaten all of these before as a "starter" or on the side of something else that probably was coming in around 700 to 800 calories. No wonder I am not an Ambercrombie model...well, that and my back hair.
• Deep Six the Six Pack
• The good news is I am already a little ahead on this one, but it still is crazy when I start thinking about how many calories I was drinking. Let's do a little word problem. If the average beer has 170 calories and Stunt Chad use to drink at least six beers (easily) when he went out (this is 1020 calories). How long would Stunt Chad have to run on the treadmill at 5 miles an hour to just burn off the beer...nothing else. Just the beer and not even the eventual 2.30 am Taco Bell that would accompany my partaking of said six beers. The answer is 85 minutes. 85 minutes!!! I don't know about you, but I don't have a spare hour and a half to maintain a crappy lifestyle. Glad to say that this checked off the problem area. 

Things are going well. I am starting to get into a groove. I have already lost some weight and I am starting actually feel a little bit better. It is amazing how great you feel once you decide to take control of a situation. This has opened up many new doors for me and I am excited about what is to come. I'm just saying that maybe Ambercrombie should be on the lookout. Stay tuned. 

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The Don't Die Daddy Initiative: Week 2

One week down and the good news is that I am still alive. I have been telling everybody about my initiative and you wouldn't believe the amount of support I am getting....barely any...more like eye rolls. I can understand, this is not the first time I have cried wolf...but dammit, I really feel like this time it is going to be different. First of all, I am telling a national audience about it, so I have less of a chance of letting myself off the hook. Secondly, I have a feeling if I don't do something about the wolf this time, my house is definitely going to get blown down soon. And thirdly—and maybe the most important reason it is going to work this time—I am calling in the professionals. That's right, I am going to actually interact with a Dr. that does not have Dre, Ruth, or Pepper in their name....wish me luck.

Gut
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. This means that it is time to set the baselines and see what the damage is. If you are like me, then you believe that if you don't pay attention to something, then it will just go away. The bad news is that it doesn't really work out all that well in the end. I decided that it was time to go to the doctor for the first time in 3 years. There are several reasons that I have not gone to the doctor in a while. The first is that I believe that I am immortal. The second is that it is really uncomfortable to get "felt up" without having somebody buy me dinner. And finally, they always tell me the same thing, "You need to lose a little weight. Make sure you are getting some exercise. And eat your fruits and vegetable". While this is painfully obvious, I don't know why I always ignored it. I guess I was expecting something bigger for my buck. I mean if I am going to go to a doctor, at least let me know that I have a very high level of midichlorian levels (nerd joke—ask your IT guy at work if you don't get it).

I asked around and got the recommendations of a new doctor. My goal was to go in guns a' blazing and lay it all out on the table. "Hi. I am Chad. I am broken. Please fix me so that I live forever." What I actually said was "Hi. I am Chad. I am getting older. I want to start taking better care of myself. Let's check everything and start working on building a plan to improve the things that need work." The doctor was actually really appreciative of my openness. Rather than facing this like a test that I was trying to pass, I was honest about my concerns, direct about areas that I thought needed focus, and open with my family history and my long term goals. He gave me a full exam, ran all the appropriate blood work, and even went as far as giving me an EKG test (it was hell on my chest hair). In the end, everything looked good...except my weight. I weighed in at 219. I am 5' 9". and 219 puts me in the obese category on the chart. I am supposed to be around 170 to be healthy. That is 50 pounds. My kids together way about 50 pounds. So he is telling me that I need to lose a Dumptruck and a Puddin'....wow. I have not been 170 since high school. I have always been "husky" or "square", but I never thought I was obese. But rather than wallow in my fat tears, I did something I have never done before. I asked him what the plan was to get it down. He told me the standard "exercise, fruits, vegtables" line, but he also offered to schedule time with a nutritionist. Normally, I would be defensive and say "No. I got this. I am a man. I can do everything on my own," but I agreed to it instead. I am going to see her next week, so I will keep you informed. But for now, I am starting at 218 and am going to exercise, eat some fruit, and maybe a vegetable or two.

Strut
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been seeing psychiatrist for a couple of months now.  The decision to go to a therapist was not an easy one. I was raised in a small rural town where the only people that went to therapists were people that had to go because of a court order or because they were "crazy". For years, I had often thought about going to talk to somebody about how I felt. I was angry. I was depressed. I was generally unhappy. But dammit, I come from a blue collar background and "we don't cotton your fancy therapy...I will keep my feelings to myself and just drink away any issues that come up."This however was not working. The final straw that put me over the edge was that I started to see how this was impacting my relationship with my wife and kids. I was constantly yelling. I was constantly on the brink of a pouting fit. I was constantly napping. And I was constantly annoyed by everybody. I was the complete opposite of the man I wanted to be. It was time to talk to somebody.
If you have never done this before, I highly recommend it. It is a great way to truly get to the bottom of what is going on in your life and start working toward things that will get you on a path to happiness. I won't get into the greater details on my first session, but it was an amazing experience to talk to somebody and not worry about impressing them—or having the ability to say exactly what you think without worrying about the ramifications. My first session was two hours long and it was the best 120 minutes I had in a long time. After some initial consultation, my psychiatrist and I agreed on a plan and have been working through it for the past couple of months. I immediately started feeling better. The days didn't seem so daunting and I started to really act like the man I wanted to be in my head. This site is actually one of the results of my sessions. Every day is getting better and I walk a little taller now (even though Im actually still only 5' 9").


What
Now that I have addressed the gut and the strut, I have to start thinking about the What. What does all of this mean? What am I doing on this planet? What am living for? I have started to explore ways to better understand this. I recently started reading a number of "self-help" books and discussing this questions with a number of my family and friends. I don't have any major "ah-ha's" yet, but come on, I am two for three on the Gut, Strut, What plan this week. Cut me some slack.

One week down and it looks like I have a long road ahead of me. The weight thing actually excites me. I like a good challenge and I think I am finally mentally ready to take it on. What about you? Have you started your own Daddy Don't Die Initiative? Are you thinking about your Gut, Strut, and What? If so, let me know. I could use the support on my journey. Pin It Now!

Don't Die Daddy Initiative: 6 Months to a Healthier Happier Me

I had a horrible realization the other day...I'm not 17 anymore. I was walking past the bathroom mirror and almost tackled the fat balding intruder I thought had broken into our house. As I stepped back and took a good look at the man in the mirror...I have to say I was not happy with what I saw. How the hell did this happen? Wasn't I just that young svelt buck that all the ladies were in love with (at least that it is what I thought when I was 17)? I will admit I have been hard on my body for the last 15 years. I use to proudly say there was not a buffet that I could not take down. And my declaration when it came to drinking was "Who else is in it to win it?". But damned, I didn't think I had let myself go that far.

Sure I always thought I could stand to lose a couple of pounds. Maybe make the next family photo something I could look at and not see my belly. Or make the morning wrestling match with the pants a little easier to win. But now I was looking at a man that had clearly let things go. Now do get me wrong, I am not "I need a Rascal to go shopping" fat, just middle aged fat. The kind of fat where you no longer have time to think about working out, eating right or any other self improvement area because you are focused in on paying bills, wiping butts and worrying about the future.

But now being a father, my thoughts have started to move past the vanity aspect of it and focus more on the long term implications to my health and what that could mean for my kids. I don't want to be a fat dad. I don't want my kid's to be embarrassed when I come waddling into their school. I want to be the healthy and active dad that takes the kids outside and does fun "outdoorsy" activities...not the dad that gets out of breath taking the stairs at the mall.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association; Jan. 7, 2003, Annals of Internal Medicine, people who are overweight (aged 40) are likely to die at least 3 years sooner than those who are normal weight. In terms of life expectancy, being fat during middle age is on a par with smoking. Overweight, non-smokers lost an average of three years and obese male non-smokers lost 5.8 years....almost 6 years. 6 flipping years!!! That is 2190 days. That is 52, 560 hours. That is 3,153,600 minutes. I mean we are talking about 189,216,000 seconds.

And let's be honest folks, I am sure my weight is not the only thing that is not optimal when it comes to my health. I am sure I have done my fair share of damage to my liver over the years. And I am sure that the eye twitch that pops up every now and then is trying to tell me that my stress levels are not in the "good" spectrum.

But be warned, before you go out and try to put a life insurance policy out on me in some sort of get rich scheme, I have been spending the last couple of months trying to get the eye twitch and the liver back in check. About six months ago I started seeing a therapist about my stress and also quit drinking. These are two major pre-emptive victories in my battle to improve my health. These wins have inspired me to embark upon a 6 month's plan that I am calling the Don't Die Daddy Initiative. Over the next 180 days I will be doing everything I can to improve my overall physical and mental health. I will be focusing in on the following areas:

• The Gut
  My physical health including my weight, my baseline metrics and my physical fitness levels
• The Strut
  My mental well being and the pursuit of the man I want to be
• The What
  My understanding and appreciation of what it is I am actually living for

I know that this process will not be easy, but I really need to make an effort to ensure that I am around for my wife and kids. So please join me on this journey and if I motivate you to start your own initiative...even better if.*

*Legal Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, a physical therapist, dietician or professional rabbit breeder. All comments, suggestions or general thoughts from this initiative should be viewed as entertainment. Please seek professional advice before starting any initiative.  

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