Reality Check

Ok.  So the road trip is over.  Most of this trip, either my wife and I were battling with our 2 1/2 yr old boy, or we were trying really hard to crack jokes to make everyone else laugh.  We did good.  Our son was able to get a lot of energy out with his cousin.  She is 10 days younger than him.  It is fun to get them together.  They almost fight like siblings.  Kinda how I grew up.  I got some good workout ideas. We took them to a trampoline warehouse.  They had all kinds of tramps there for dodge-ball games, bounce houses and castles, little square tramps for individual jumping, monkey bars , stairs and rings over a foam pit.  They loved it.  I wish I was a kid again, it looked way fun!  So, I'd like to revisit that place, or go to the ones we have here and have some fun, when I'm more fit.  I don't know what the weight limit is on them.  But we will be back.

The other parts of the trip, I really tried to focus on my diet.  Not "diet" in the sense that I could not eat this or that, or it's a food that is prohibited.  Instead, I just tried to stay on track.  I tried to keep my meals proportioned.  I kept what I knew about calories in mind.  I kept the time of day I was eating in mind.  I kept what item of food I was eating in mind.  Honestly, we dined out.  2 times in fact.  Importantly, I didn't want to skip any meals. I tried to make breakfast my biggest meal.  I tried to have a couple of snacks a day.  I made sure to do my 25+25+25.  I kept my water intake in mind.  Instead of sitting in side and doing nothing, we went to a park.  I took my little 9 1/2 month old daughter with me in the stroller for a 1 mile walk around the park.  I drank water in the car on the way home.

While talking with my brother and his wife during our stay at their casa, I was excited to tell them about the approach I've taken and about how my mentor and coach Coach Cowboy (Ryan Ehmann) and not his program, but instead, about his passion.  It is addicting!  He is almost as funny as I am. But still, we were able to take in one of my brother's basketball games.  I was very happy that my wife finally got to see him play.  Hoops is huge part of my brotherhood with my 2 younger brothers.  But, at the end of the night, my brother texted me to tell me how proud of me he is.  He says he can see a glimmer in my eyes and can tell that I have goals set in place.  That is HUGE!  That made me feel so good. Heck, even I was proud of myself.  I could look back at the week and the road-trip as a success of a bunch of little things that add up to one heck of a compliment from someone who means so much to me. That, and my sister in law also said some pretty sweet things too.  She even sat down and watched some of the videos from my coach.  It made her laugh too.  Laughter is a good exercise in itself. 

So the homework for this week is keeping a food journal, or downloading Coach Cowboy's diet that he has done himself, to keep metabolism going.  I read it.  Some of it made sense.  It was intimidating. So, I know that I can keep a food journal for a week.  Plus, I'm starting this journey when we are already strapped for money.  We don't have a dining room table!  So, as far a buying almonds or a ton of chicken and storage containers, I'll focus on the journal and eat the stuff we have.  I will get to where I want to be.  I'm starting small.  When it is time to do the shopping, which will be later this week after we match some prices and get our coupons on, then we'll get little things here and there.

So, if you're reading this... your homework is: GO TELL YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, CO-WORKERS about this blog that you've stumbled upon!  If somebody can take something away from this, or they just want to read this for a little bit... you know?  I am very excited and nervous. Naturally, I was excited and anxious about being a dad twice and VERY nervous before reading my vows to my future bride.  This feels good!