The joys of summer semi-freedom-from-clothes days are still 6 months away, and this message is going out to the 99% of us who didn’t just step out of an American Eagle ad for just long enough to slather some coconut oil on our rippling 6-pack abs. In other words, if your shoe size is a bigger number than your body fat percentage, go back to selecting the right pomade for your surfer ‘do, as there’s nothing new for you to learn here.
Never let someone else tell you, “This is what you have to do.” You’ll most likely fail. Get angry at yourself. This is the best drive you will ever get. Self-motivation was my secret weapon in becoming who I am today. I’d be a VERY, VERY rich man if I had a dollar for how many times someone told me, “You should probably lose weight,” and I never went to the gym the next day.
Each day has become a little easier and the resulting change in my physique has me pretty psyched - belly is flatter, man-boobs are way less perky, my jeans fit better (it's pretty damn cold in AZ right now), and I can wear a SMedium t-shirt without looking like I'm in a sausage casing.
I played football for a few years in high school, but that’s where my athletic career began and ended. My focus turned more towards music, videography, and photography. After high school, I began shooting and editing music videos for local bands around town. That eventually evolved into photography and through various contacts, I started shooting sports around town ranging from high school all the way up to college and professional MLS and NHL teams.
30 Days - 10 Pounds. I'll be focused on calories and protein, not overly concerned with carbs, macros, timing, etc. The key word is simple. As you can see by the final numbers in this nutritional plan, this is a reduced calorie "diet" for 30 days. The food options are light on calories, and you can see by the meal choices I'm not starving myself by crash-dieting, I'm choosing healthy, low-calorie options and sensible portions of things I actually like to eat.
When I moved to Colorado my friends introduced me to Spartan and Tough Mudder. I had never run anything like this before. I never had the desire, but I needed something in my life to motivate me to get out of bed and get to the gym and improve my health. I compete in OCR not only because it has turned into a passion, but it keeps me fit both mentally and physically.
I am a 52-year-old leukemia survivor who is in the middle of a major life transformation. I just discovered obstacle course racing this year and it has become my new passion in life and a major factor in my losing over 40 pounds in the past year. I am married to my awesome wife, Sandy, and have three awesome sons, Grey, Seth, and Kade, who I am trying to share my newfound passion with. I am a Software Solution Architect with a focus and passion on the power of leveraging data and advanced analytics to better the world.
My first race was Malibu 2013 and it was COLD!! Not knowing what I was getting into, we went hard out the gate. I was huffing and puffing so hard, I literally thought I wasn’t going to make it. I was slipping everywhere because I was in experienced and was wearing Nike Frees! I failed pretty much every obstacle out there (rope climb, monkey bars, spear) so I was drowning in burpees. I wanted to cry because I was so tired and so cold. I kept asking myself “why did I sign up for this”! But then I crossed the finished line and earned my first medal. After that, I was hooked.
After our third kid, Emily (my killer awesome wife) starting working out hard in the most inconvenient times (early morning and late night) to lose the baby weight. She proved to me that it can be done and that health is important. The “I need to change” moment occurred in my parents’ kitchen. My dad squeezed my shoulder and said, “That extra weight looks good on you Rick. Makes you look like a man.” I wear my weight well, and he was sincere. I looked stronger, but it was just a layer of fat. It was the first time that someone, excluding Emily, acknowledged the “extra weight.”
I had little kids that I could not run around after my daughter was teased by one of her friends because of her weight. I was so young and I was trapped inside a body that would not allow me to do the things I wanted. My doctor saw me struggling to lose weight and suggested the surgery and five months later I did it.
