Kick In The Nut Sack

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." ~ Buddha

Well my mind is currently concentrating on the tingling sensation in my nutular region from being kicked in the nuts by my employer HSBC who after hiring me only 3 weeks ago decided to shut down the Financing division for all of Canada. Well over 1000 people received a good swift kick in the nuts around 3:30 today.

I've been told more times than I can remember that if it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all, and I'm really starting to believe them. I was really excited when I took this job because I was ready to settle in for the long haul. I was hired on as an Account Executive responsible for soliciting business in the form of personal & home equity loans. It was a decent paying job, with a good bonus structure, and top notch benefits.... but alas the only thing remaining of that is the tingling sensation. Yay for the first day of spring.

Gene Find Project Results

"Forget about style; worry about results." ~ Bobby Orr source here

Well the results are in. This morning I attended the Gene Project Study and I actually showed up in time & remembered to fast for the preceding 12 hrs.

The results? Basically I found out that I have a amazingly high bone density, and that I'm a fat bastard. The results of the scans were presented to me in the form of 4 pages of information. The results from the blood analysis will be emailed to me at a later date.

Page 1: Body Composition

In the above graph the x-axis represents the Body Fat % which ranges from 0% up to 40%. The y-axis represents age in years from 20 to 100.

The "Z - Score" is defined as follows:

In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation. This conversion process is called standardizing or normalizing; however, "normalizing" can refer to many types of ratios; see normalization (statistics) for more.

Standard scores are also called z-values, z-scores, normal scores, and standardized variables; the use of "Z" is because the normal distribution is also known as the "Z distribution". They are most frequently used to compare a sample to a standard normal deviate (standard normal distribution, with μ = 0 and σ = 1), though they can be defined without assumptions of normality.

The z-score is only defined if one knows the population parameters, as in standardized testing; if one only has a sample set, then the analogous computation with sample mean and sample standard deviation yields the Student's t-statistic.

~ Wikipedia.com

Basically The line at zero represents a normal score. The zero line starts at around 14% for someone at the age of 20, and rises to about 27% for someone who is 100. The normal score for someone my age (38yrs old) is about 21%. I however am currently sitting at 37.9%

The chart below the graph gives a detailed account of how my body composition is distributed. My total mass is 107.1 kg, which is comprised of: 39.138 kg of fat, 64.227 kg of lean tissue, and 3.703 kg of BMC (Bone Mineral Content), or more simply bone.

You'll notice that on the left side of the chart if even breaks down the body into different regions and gives you the distribution of total mass, fat, lean tissue, bone, and even body fat % for each region.

Android is defined as follows:

1. of the pelvis : having the angular form and narrow outlet typical of the human male android pelvises>—compare anthropoid, gynecoid, platypelloid

2. : relating to or characterized by the distribution of body fat chiefly in the abdominal region <android obesity>—compare gynecoid
~ merriam-webster.com

Page 2:




REMEMBER:

1. Remove "A" tags from images.
2. Remove cursor pointer code from images
3. Add target="_blank" to all links
4. Add Center tags to video's
5. Add Labels to the post
6. Delete this list :)

Goals & Guidelines for 2012

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps." ~ Confucius6 years ago I created a new post titled "Goals & Guidelines" which outlined in detail my goals and how I planned to achieve them. I was rereading past posts and thought that it was important to reapply that post to 2012, so here it is. This post will present my overall goals & guidelines for 2012, which focuses on 3 categories: Fitness, nutrition & mental health (BALANCE). I'll list my overall goals, followed by specific goals & the guidelines that I plan to follow to achieve my specific & overall goals.

At some point in the near future, I'll create a new post dedicated to each of the 3 categories outlining how I plan to accomplish the goals specific to that category using the S.M.A.R.T mnemonic.

Overall Fitness Goal: I would like to become far more physically active this year. I want to improve my cardiovascular capacity and my overall strength. As I lose weight I'm hoping my knee will be able to withstand more strenuous activities.

Fitness Activity Goals:
1. Complete the "One Hundred Push Ups Training Program"
2. Complete the "CIBC Run for the Cure"
3. To start rollerblading.
4. To start hiking (local trails).
5. To start Kayaking.
6. To start Snow Shoeing.

Fitness Guidelines:
1. To upload my BodyMedia collected data daily.
2. To burn +3300 calories each day.
3. To burn +750 more calories than I consume.
4. To get +60 mins exercise each day (50 mins moderate & 10 mins Vigorous).
5. To walk +5000 Steps each day.
6. To purposely park father away from my destination.
7. To allocate 1 day a week to rest.


Overall Nutrition Goals: I recognize that this is one area that needs to be completely overhauled in my life. The funny thing is that I actually well read & educated on the topic. My goal is to successfully use this knowledge and put it into action.

Nutrition Guidelines:
1. To log my meals & snacks daily. (Using BodyMedia "Activity Manager")
2. To drink 8+ 8 oz glasses of water each day.
3. To eat 5-6 times daily.
4. To eat slowly, chew more and enjoy my food.
5. To consume 5-10 servings of fruit & vegetable each day.
6. To reduce/eliminate Saturated Fat and Trans Fats.
7. To reduce sodium intake to below 2300 mg/day.
8. To prepare & eat more meals @ home, while reducing dining out.
9. To eliminate visits to Fast Food Restaurants when dining out. (Banned List)


Overall Mental Health Goals: In the past I've allowed stress to build up without a means of coping with it beyond the comfort of food... I've always been an emotional eater. My new goal is a two pronged approach. Firstly I need to reduce the overall stress in my life. Secondly I need to create new coping mechanisms to deal more effectively with stress. Achieving/following my above fitness goals/guidelines would be a great start.

Mental Health Guidelines:
1. To get between 7-8 hrs sleep daily.
2. To allocate +15 mins daily to reading.
3. To listen to music often.
4. To research & start practicing meditation/relaxation techniques.
5. To take 2-3 mins every hour or so to take few deep breaths/stretch.
6. To organize and complete a weekly To-Do list.
7. To maintain my blog & relationships online.
8. To keep contact with my friends & family.
9. To have 1 cheat meal & desert each week.
10. To leave work @ work.

P.S: Sherri wanted to know where the "Sherri" category was and I had to explain to her that she was an integral part of the other 3 categories.... to which her response was "but where is the buy Sherri presents goal?". It's going to be a long year....lol.

I plan to update/modify this list throughout the year!

Supplements

"Step into the supplement aisle of any pharmacy -- or, worse yet, health-food store -- and you see them: the dazed and confused. Lured by claims of health benefits available at the drop of a Dixie cup, they pick up 100 of these, 50 of those, a bubble pack of the other -- and, wait, did that say suppository? They yearn to swallow a cure, any cure, all the while wondering, Are any of these any good, really?" ~ Men's Health Magazine


I have reintroduced some supplements back into my diet. As always I did quite a bit of research online. I've often found "Men's Health" magazine to be very helpful, accurate, and more importantly conservative when reporting on supplements. After a quick google search I found a very useful article on supplements on their website titled "The Best Supplements For Men".

Of their 17 supplements, here's the one's I chose:

1. Ginkgo Biloba --> helps combat the 3 o'clock slump
   
2. Glucosamine + Chondroitin --> helps reduce knee pain
   
3. Vitamin D --> helps your body detoxify & prevent colon cancer
4. Green Tea --> helps increase resting metabolism
   
5. Fish Oil --> helps with depression
   
6. Melatonin --> helps get a better nights sleep
   

After a bit more research, I found the following:

Ginkgo may increase the risk of seizures if combined with other drugs or herbs that do the same, such as antidepressants, bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban), certain antibiotics such as penicillin and cephalosporins, Corticosteroids, fentanyl (Actiq, Duragesic), theophylline, methylphenidate (e.g. Concerta, Ritalin), drugs that suppress the immune system, such as azathioprine and cyclosporine, borage, evening primrose, and wormwood. ~ about.com Alternative Medicine

Since I'm on Wellbutrin I consulted with my family doctor before taking it. She concurred with these findings, so I removed Ginkgo Biloba from my list. It's really important to do your research before taking any supplement.

I've only been taking them for about 1 1/2 weeks so I'll have to report back later on with my findings.

Day 2497

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall" ~ Confucius
If you're wondering why today's title is "Day 2497", it's because today is Day number 2497 since I first started this blog. My memory is pretty blurry at the best of times, but I believe somewhere along the way I reset the day counter back to zero..... maybe even more than once. I can't remember my reasons for making such a decision, but I'm sure it felt like a good one at the time. Part of the reason I'm where I am now is that I failed to acknowledge the path I took to get to here. Getting lost on a path is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. Being lost, realizing your lost, and consciously trotting along blindly is another story. So today is actually Day 2497...... enough said.

I added a few movies to my movie section, which you can always access from the movie button above. There's a ton of other documentaries on Flixster that I'm planning on watching, so there may be a few more links/trailers/reviews in the near future.

Daily Recap:

So my appointment to participate in the study today was a bust...... and it was my fault. I showed up at 8:15 when my appointment was at 9:15 which really didn't matter since I forgot that I was supposed to fast for 12hrs prior to the test..... opps. Luckily they didn't mind and were more than happy to book me another appointment. I haven't found out when that is yet, but I'll definitely pay a bit more attention to the details this time.

So apparently I'm my strength is better than my cardio, according to today's morning workout. My performance this morning was pitiful to say the least. Beyond the copious amounts of sweat, I had to deal with poor coordination, and a complete lack of balance. I also jiggle a lot more than I realized. Although it wasn't pretty, I managed to complete the cardio session, but there was nothing left in the tank for the ab part at the end. The fact that I woke up at 6am and made an attempt is good enough for me at this point. Hopefully in a few weeks/months I'll be able to look back at my first week on the Power 90 program and laugh.

I have more to tell, but alas it's getting late.... or at least late for me, and I'm pooped. Off to bed so I can wake up for day 3 of the Power 90.

Rusty Is Putting It Lightly

"I Exercise. I run my mouth, push my luck, and jump to conclusions" ~ Unknown

Well Monday was more of a shock than I expected. I knew I was overweight. I knew I was out of shape. I knew Monday's first workout was gonna be rough. I knew that I was most likely gonna be sore the next day. What I didn't know is just how out of shape I was, how hard the workout was going to be, and just how sore/stiff I was going to be the next day.

The "Power 90" workout was great. I didn't find Tony as annoying as others, but that could be because I went into the workout expecting the worst. The workout is at a good pace, but by no means a crazy one. The first day was circuit training that was supposed to utilize dumb bells or resistance bands. Since my resistance bands haven't arrived yet, I went without..... and I'm sad to say that it was just as well since my body weight was enough to push myself. I can't even begin to describe how weak I've become. I even had to resort to doing pushups on my knee's because the regular ones turned out to be too much. I completed the entire workout, and even though I didn't push myself too hard, or have any resistance bands, the workout still turned out to be a challenge for me. The fact that I completed it felt good in itself.

Today I woke up at 6am to do workout #2 and I couldn't believe how stiff/sore I was. I decided to let me body recover a bit by taking the day off. Tomorrow I'll start the day 2 workout, which is cardio. I'll let you know how that goes.

Tomorrow is also my appointment for the "Gene Find Project" discussed in my previous post, and I'm excited to see how it goes. I'm actually surprised that I'm excited to have a machine and a doctor tell me that I'm obese, and give me pictures to prove it. I'm curious to see just how out of whack my body fat scale is. While I know I'm obese, I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the 37% body fat that my scale says I am. I'm hoping the reading is high, but I'm not hoping too much just in case it's correct, or even worse reading my body fat lower than it should.

On a different note, I'm trying to clean up my blog a bit, but time has been pretty tight lately. I've updated my weekly results, and removed a few blog links that have gone silent, but there's still a lot of stuff to fix..... like my chart links. All in due time I suppose.

Anyhoo, I hope everyone is off to a great start this week, and I'll report back soon.

Gene Find Project

"In the beginning there was nothing, and it exploded"
~ Terry Pratchett (on the big bang theory)

Back in September when I was sitting in the emergency room waiting to be treated for my ruptured bicep I saw an interesting pamphlet posted on the bulletin board:

The study is called the "Gene Find Project", and it's a study that uses bone density, body composition & a blood sample to try and identify the gene(s) in our genetic makeup that lead to or influence obesity. The study's Facebook page & website have some additional information.

I was really excited right up until I saw the part about being born in Newfoundland.... which I'm not. I contacted them anyways and they sent me the enrollment forms which I never bothered to fill in because it was spelled out in plain English that I didn't meet the requirements.

As usual I was researching stuff on the internet when I thought about the Gene Find Project, and I couldn't remember the name of the scan that they used for the study. Turns out it's called a DXA Scan (Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry), which is the same as a DEXA Scan...... some people/organizations use the "E" for "Energy" and others don't.

Basically it's a low dose x-ray machine that measures bone density, body fat percentage and fat distribution.

Here's a couple video's that I found very informative on the DEXA Scan:




All future video's that I find will be saved in my YouTube Playlist.

After finding out what it was I tried searching for somewhere that I could pay to have one done. As it turns out the only place I found in Canada that offered a paid for service for this scan was in Vancouver and I figured the +14000 km round trip was a bit much for a scan.

In a last ditch hope I contacted the research team at MUN (Memorial University) and asked them if I could pay for a scan, or if there was any other options available to me. I let them know in my email that neither myself or my family were born in Newfoundland & that I knew I didn't qualify for the study. A couple days later I received asking where my parents and I were born. I let them know that my father was born in Ontario and that my mother and I were both born in Barrow-In-Furness, located in England.

A day after my response I received a message telling me that I could come in on Wed, March 14th to participate in the study. I can't tell you how excited this made me. A lot of Newfoundlanders came from England, Ireland and Scotland, so I'm guessing that my British heritage allowed me to participate. I really don't need the scan/analysis to tell me that I'm obese, but I really wanted to get all the facts, so I can understand just how bad of a predicament I'm in.

In case you're not aware a DEX scan is the most accurate measurement of body fat % and unlike any other measurement it can show you exactly where it's distributed.

While I'm reluctant to post pictures, I will post the results of the scan.

90 Day In-Home Boot Camp

"A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths." ~ Steven Wright

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been walking for 30min sessions during my 1hr lunch break. Since I'm walking around in my work clothes (shirt/tie/dress pants/dress shoes) the last thing I want to do is break a sweat, so I walk just fast enough to hit that fine line between being warm and actually sweating. My main goal was to get in a bit of exercise, where I would otherwise be sitting on my arse. It also gives me an excuse to get out of the office.

I plan on continuing my lunchtime walks, but only as a compliment to my new 90 commitment that I'm starting on Monday.

A few weeks ago I decided that it was time to get back on track and add some/any kind of fitness regiment to my life. I considered a lot of different possibilities from simple walks, to joining a gym near my work. I decided to try and keep is simple, which is the primary reason for my lunchtime walks, but I knew that this was only a start to ease me in to something bigger.... or at least more challenging.

I ruled out going to the gym for a few reasons:

1. It's a heck of a financial commitment.
2. I squandered the previous money I spent on gyms.
3. I don't feel comfortable enough in my own skin to exercise in front of others.
4. The gyms close to my work/home didn't open early enough in the morning to be able to workout before going to work...... +5pm @ a gym is just too busy.

In the end I opted to work out in the comfort of my own home. I scoured the internet looking for a well rounded routine that I could do with minimal equipment investment. I've never tried a DVD workout before, but I figured that this would be easier than trying to put together a training regiment by myself, and would probably once again require less equipment/money.

After a ton of consideration I chose the "Power 90: In-Home Boot Camp" created by Tony Horton (wikipedia link) and sold by a company called www.Beachbody.com

I was originally drawn to his P90X series, but after some thorough research a lot of users recommended purchasing/using his earlier Power 90 series if you where out of shape. I definitely fell into that category, so I chose to go with the Power 90 series for now and possibly progress to the P90X series later.

One of the reasons I chose the Power 90 series is because there seems to be a lot of satisfied users of his programs. I consistently found a lot of good reviews of series. Pretty much the only thing bad anyone had to say about him is that he's a bit annoying, which if that is the case, I'll learn to live with it. The other reason I chose this series is because it seems to be well rounded in it's approach: Fat burning, strengthening the whole body, cardio, building flexibility.

I purchased my Power 90 DVD set new off ebay. It's not as complete as the full series being offered now, but I knew it would meet my needs. It included the following:

• 3 DVD's (2 DVD's devoted to phases 1-4, and another DVD called "Fat Burning Express"
• Power 90 Program Guide & Transformation Tracker
  
• Fat Burner Food Plan
• 6 Day Fat Burning Express (guide: nutrition & explanation of the Express Disc)
• 90 Day Calendar
• Tape Measure

Needless to say I'm excited about starting, but not so excited about waking up an hour earlier to do the workouts. I like the fact that this series is based on a 90 day commitment, which is long enough to see results, but not so far away that there doesn't seem to be an end/goal in sight. The 90 days is also further broken down into 4 phases that you progress through, where your the one who decides it's time to progress to the next phase.

At some point in the future I'll post a review of both the Power 90 series and the resistance bands I purchased.

Quick Update

"Whaddaya at? This is it." ~ Common Newfoundland question & reply

I've been some busy lately. Between work, guests and errands, I've had little time to do anything else after I get home from work. I've been weighing myself in the morning, eating decent, and going for 30+ min walks during my lunch.

I've ordered a few things to help me ramp up my exercise regiment, but they won't be here for at least a few weeks...... more details to come. During the next few weeks I plan to keep at my current daily routine to help develop a bit of consistency.

It's late. I'm tired. I'm going to bed....
but I'm glad I took a few mins to post a quick update.

Goodbye 2011

"Dear life, when I said 'can this year get any worse' it was a rhetorical question not a challenge" ~ Unknown

2011 was by far the worst year in a very long time.... if not the worst year ever. The last time I blogged was back in August (6 months ago), and things were beginning to look up since I had a decent paying job that was kicking me in the butt physically. I was shedding weight and adding on a lot of muscle, until I injured myself. I ruptured my distal tendon in my right arm. What's that you ask.... well your bicep is attached by two tendons.

The Proximal Tendon attaches/anchors the upper part of the bicep muscle shoulder joint. The Distal Tendon attaches/anchors the bottom part of the bicep muscle to the elbow. Basically I ripped the tendon right out of my elbow bone. Once the tendon is detached the whole bicep shifts way up the arm. It looks really bizarre and hurts like crap.

Needless to say, my injury put me on the sidelines for the rest of the season. The only way to fix this injury is through surgery, which I had about 5 weeks after my injury. After the surgery you have to wait for new bone to grow around the tendon before you can even begin to start using the bicep again. Being injured and out of a job for 6 months really takes a toll on you emotionally. I struggled with my depression, but I managed to get through the worst of it unscathed.

Towards the end of December I was ready to return to work, but work was finished for the season. During Nov-Jan, I was interviewing for a new job with HSBC Financing. I figured it was time to return to my sales past, which is far safer. I can deal with paper cuts, but my days of physical labour are thankfully over.

That pretty much brings us up to the present. I was finally hired by HSBC on Jan.27th and just finished my first week. I have high hopes for this new job, and 2012 being a much happier year.

I weighed myself last Monday on Jan. 27th and I weighed in at 241.6 lbs @ 36.6% BF...... almost where I was 6 months prior. I started eating better, drinking tons of water, and taking 30min walks during my lunch hour. With the new job, better nutrition, and exercise, I'm already feeling better than I did the week before.

I was once again hesitant about returning to my blog, but I figured that I'd alienated all of my followers anyways, so this blog is more about helping myself than it is worrying about what other people think. The important thing is that I'm back.

I can hardly wait till Monday starts (yeah I know..... remind me in 3 months that I said this), because I'm excited about my new job and improving on my fitness/nutrition measures that I put into action last week.

I have tons of other things to share, but they'll have to wait until the next post. I hope everyone has a great week..... I know I'm going to, which is something I haven't thought for a very long time, and it feels great.