Fearing Fear or Embracing It?

Have you ever stopped to think how many things you could accomplish if fear wasn't ever a factor?  Our fear of failure is what keeps us from ever taking that very first step.  How many times have you ever failed to even attempt something on the account that you may just not succeed?   When it comes down to it, what are we actually afraid of?   If nobody was around to see us fail, would we worry so much about failing?  I think not.  We put so much weight on what others might think or how others may see us, that our confidence in ourselves suffers. 

This is not something we are born with, but rather something we learn as we grow.   Look at the bravery of a child.  They could careless about what others think, there for they are always trying new things.  We could all learn so much from just watching children.  Their hearts and minds are so innocent and free of judgement.  Isn't it possible for all of us to relearn some of that innocence?  To be able to go through life not being judged, or better yet, not casting judgement. 

Today, my cycling workout was supposed to be two different tests.  I was supposed to ride at a cadence of 90 (90 rpm) while maintaining a heart rate of 140, then the second test was supposed to be ridden at the same cadence of 90, only this time I was supposed to maintain a heart rate of 165.   Each of these tests were supposed to be about 15-20 minutes each.

I headed out from my office and headed down toward Whiteriver.  I figured I would use the Whiteriver Hill for both portions of the test.  It was cold on the way down with a pretty good head wind.  I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel too bad either.  It took me 40 minutes just to ride to the bottom of the climb.  Later I will find that this was way too much of a warm up.   My back was already starting to bother me so I figured I would start with the test requiring the higher heart rate of 165.  This way my back would be just a tad bit fresher than if I waited to do this harder test last. 

I pulled over at the bottom of the hill (some of you may know it as the Robert's Ranch Turn off) then started my run back up the hill.  My average cadence is typically 97-100 so trying to ride with a cadence of 90 was a challenge in itself.  Hitting and maintaining a heart rate of 165 was even a bigger challenge.   About 3 minutes after hitting 165, my legs were already fried and my lungs were on fire.  There was no way I was going to maintain this for 15-20 minutes.  So after 6 minutes, I said screw it.  I wasn't going to make it.    I finished the other test with ease then had a good ride back to the office.  Over all it was over a 90 minute ride which I needed, but I was frustrated with myself in that I couldn't complete the first test.

My reason for explaining this isn't to tell you about the test, but to tell you the response I got from my coach after sending him the data.  In sending the 1st test, I gracefully titled it "Pathetic Attempt at 165 HR". 

First, why did I title it this way?  Probably because I wanted to belittle myself to my coach so he wouldn't have to do it.  Second, the inability for a guy who has been riding as long as me not to be able to hold 165 is disheartening to say the least.  So I sent it and just expected in return, some statement like, "we have some work to do" or "we need to pick it up a little". 

Here's the response I got, "Rusty, it is not pathetic, there is no need for judgement here.  It is what it is. Not being able to hold a HR is usually fatigue or sometimes a lack of focus.  We will simply retest next week". 

I'm sharing this, because of what I mentioned above about judging.  I'm hard enough on myself and know I need to work on things.  My coach didn't need to say anything.  He said exactly the right thing. 

As a father, husband, friend, employer, and a coach, I learned more from this example then I ever thought possible.   The amazing power of a positive comment.  The ability to have faith in the "unsaid". 

I'm fairly hard on my boys when it comes to sports.  I know this and I'm not always happy about it.   Coby loves sports as much as I did when I was a kid. Ryan on the other hand doesn't.  He plays all the sports but he's not one to want to practice to become better.  In my dream world I realize I should just let Ryan find his way and he will learn that through practice, no matter what you are practicing, one becomes better.  I should say nothing.  I should let him fail if that's what it takes.  Tough love.  "The Unsaid".  I will be there to catch his fall, but falling is how we learn.  

I don't do this though.  I want him to succeed so I give him a hard time about not practicing. Honestly, it's pathetic on my part.  As he grows older do I want him to remember that I was the dad that supported him no matter what, or do I want to be remembered as the dad that pushed and pushed something that really wasn't desired in the first place?  Of course I know the answer and believe me I've been working on that. 

I don't want my boys to fear failure.  I want them to embrace it.  I let fear hold me back from so much and a part of that I believe was I didn't want to let my dad down.  So it was easier not to even try then to possibly fail and let my father see my failure. 

If we fail to fail, then we fail to learn.  We fail to grow.  What we do with each downfall is what makes all the difference in the world.   The saying, "it's not how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up", is oh so very true. 

For 2012 make it point to do something you have feared doing.  Take that first step and don't give a crap about the outcome.  Don't let the possible thoughts of others hold you back.   Give it a shot.  Either way, win or lose, successful or not, you will be glad you tried. 

What a waste of 4 good days!!!

After the pretty lousy, let down of a weigh in, my day was pretty much shot.  I couldn't believe I hadn't lost any weight.    I decided to go to the gym in hopes of working through the frustration, but that didn't work.  I did about 15 minutes on the bike then my back therapy workout and that's it.  I just wasn't feeling it today. 

Once I got over my pouting session, I took a step back and reevaluated what the heck happened.  After thinking about it, I realized I wasn't frustrated with my results, but frustrated with my inability to follow my plan.   I did good as far as the vegan thing, but eating times and eating amounts I think are what messed things up. 

I'll use Thursday evening as an example.  After a great day of riding, I had a good lunch.  Nothing with ton of calories and it consisted of only vegetables and a small bit of bread.  We didn't eat probably until 2:30-3:00 in the afternoon.   I was pretty full after this meal and should have just went with maybe a small snack before 6 pm.  That didn't happen.  Instead, once we were finished with our miniature golf outing, which must have been around 8pm, we opted to go to Village Inn.  I had 2 pecan pancakes with maple syrup.  Hellllooooo !!!!  What was I thinking??? 

This kind of thinking, along with probably too much snacking (healthy foods) over the weekend, I should have known not to expect progress.   I feel like I wasted such a good opportunity to lose a few pounds and I shot that opportunity all to heck. 

So I've pulled my head out of my rear and now I'm back on track.  Today was much better and I've had nothing to eat since 5:30 this evening.   I've realized I need to put more calories into breakfast and taper down as the day goes on, with no calories after 6pm.   I'm planning on a good ride tomorrow so hopefully by Friday, I'll be back on course with a few pounds lost. 

Ryan and I had a blast in Tucson.  Mt. Lemmon was by far the best part of the trip.  I never thought Ry would be motivated enough to climb it two days in a row.   Not once did he ever complain about how hard it was or how tired he felt.  I was truly impressed with how well he did.  As hard as I thought I was riding up that climb, Ryan was never very far behind me. 

This is sort of the "warm up" portion of the ride.  If you will look just above the stop sign, you can sort of make out the road that climbs along side of the mountain. 

 As I said before, we weren't the only ones climbing up.  The mountain was full of riders. 



The View from about 8 miles up.



Almost to the 10 mile mark. 

T

We arrived back in Pinetop Friday night only to be reminded of how cold it is here.:(   There will be no riding in shorts for a while. 


Saturday was filled with City League basketball for the two older boys. Other than that we really didn't much on Saturday. I was going to go for a ride, but after two days of climbing and 4 hours of driving and sitting, by back needed a break.

On Sunday, I took the 2 older boys out shooting.  They had a blast.  Coby had never shot anything bigger than a bb gun so it was fun to watch him try his hand at some larger caliber guns.  My 30-30 and Ryans 243 was just a bit much for Coby so he pretty much enjoyed the .22 all afternoon.   Ryan was quite the trooper.  The .243 was a gift to him for Christmas.  It had a pretty good little kick to it, but he shot the entire box of bullets.  Coby though is destined to be a marksman.  The .22 he was shooting was shooting about  5 inches low and a little to the right, yet after a while he hit every target we put up. 

And now it's Monday.  Can you believe I gained weight?  How am I supposed to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday, if my chubby ass can't drop weight?   I'm bringing my bike to work tomorrow in hopes of working off some of this chub.    The biggest problem with this Vegan trial.............I love carbs!! I could eat bread all day long!!     Why couldn't God make the crappy tasting food bad for you and all the yummy food really good for you?   Wouldn't it be awesome if a quarter pounder with cheese was actually healthy:)?!!

I gotta get out of here.  Lots of work to get done at home tonight.  Don't feel like I got much finished today. 

No Way!!!!!!!

2 Days of riding in Tucson.......................................And I gain 2 lbs.    Are you kidding me!!!!!

HR Monitors

Dana Poo is the winner of the HR monitor. In fact I enjoyed her reponse so much that I'm gonna send her 2. Thx for posting DP!
Rusty-------Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Going once, going twice.

Anyone want a heart rate monitor?  Got another one.  2nd one to send me an email (I don't care what the email says), I'll get it shipped out to ya. 

JamaicaNJuly

Hey JamaicaNJuly,  coming from a guy who can't eat meat for a month, have a steak for me:)  .   You're gonna need a smaller bikini for Jamaica. 

Skinny B, wow!!!  Are you eating anything at all??    The Wii's are also making a comeback.  I'm impressed people!!!  Awesome Job!!!!  

Where are the Sexy Mammas??  

Oh and if any of you post a comment, just so you know, I'm unable to edit them so be sure you spell things correctly.  Can get a little funny if you don't.
(http://www.alphaoxymed.blogspot.com/2012/01/hippos-are-still-kickin-tail.html"

Climbing Mt. Lemmon

What an OSSM day!!!  Ryan and I had a great time today.  The weather was gorgeous here in Tucson and we sure made the most of it. 

We took our time getting ready this morning and headed over to the base of Mt. Lemmon around 1pm.   I haven't ridden this highway for probably 20 years and it sure didn't let us down.  What a beautiful ride.  I knew the entire 25 miles was going to be asking a bit much from Ry so we were shooting for the first overlook which was about 8 miles up.

There's a little shopping center about 3 miles from the base of the climb so we parked the truck and left from there.  These first 3 miles are uphill but only about 4 percent.  It allows for a good warm up and with Ry today, it allowed for some good conversation.  At about 2.5 miles, there's no question that the road starts upwards.   I thought for sure Ryan was going to wear himself out, as he was already breathing hard and not looking too excited.  As the road turned upward, I told Ry I was going to head up about a mile then turn around and go back to him.  So I turned up the gas a little.  I finally got the power wheel on my working so I wanted to see what kind of power I could maintain on a climb.  Seeing as how I've never used a power tap before, I don't have a clue as to what is good and what isn't.  I think I averaged somewhere around 245 watts (Lance Armstrong could ride at 500 watts).   I maintained a heart rate of about 165 which was better than what I thought I could do, especially with what little I've been riding. 

Anyway, I rode up for about a mile then turned around to go get Ry.  Well once I turned around, I found that Ry was only about 50 yards behind me.  Holy cow was I shocked.  He was doing amazingly well.  Not one complaint from him and not once did he ask to turn back.   There were quite a few cyclist on the mountain and one guy that we later talked to while taking a break at the turnaround, said that he's been riding this mountain for 15 years and has never seen someone as young as Ry ride this strong on the climb.  I know he's my kid, but I really was impressed.  I'm thinking by next year he may be dropping his dad in his wake.  

I took some good pictures with my camera but like a dork, I brought the wrong cord to download the pictures.  Instead I'll post a few that I took with my phone. 

Almost to the 10th Mile

Now he's wore out.

Below are some of the cool things you can monitor with a Garmin.  It's crazy what you can do with technology now.  You will see that Ryan doesn't think too highly of going down hill.  It's a completely psychological thing but he really hates going fast down hill.  What he was shocked to see was that he pedaled faster on the flats coming back then he did coming down the mountain.  Normally on a climb like this, you can hit around 40 mph coming down.  Today that wasn't going to happen.  I'm sure as Ryan grows and gets more used to the bike, he'll be flying down the mountain, but for now I'm happy just getting him to the bottom safely. 

Click on Details at the bottom so see more info. 

After getting back to the truck and getting cleaned up, we were ready to have some chow.  There is this cool little place called Le Buzz which is a major cyclist hang out and the food was awesome!!!  Sticking to my 4 week vegan plan, I had this sandwich called the Market Veggie and holy cow, it was soooo good.  It had roasted sweet potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, onions, and peppers with a guacomole spread on whole grain toasted bread, and a side of fruit.  This was the best sandwhich I've had in a long time.  The picture doesn't do it justice (how pathetic is it that I took a picture of my food).

After lunch, we went over to Barnes and Noble.   I've got a Kindle, but sometimes you just can't beat reading the real thing.  Get this.....they had some kind of sale where if you bought 2 cd's, you got a 3rd one for free.  Here's the 3 I got....... Harry Connick Jr, Chris Tomlin, and here's the kicker.....Justin Bieber.  I know I'm pretty behind the times,  but whether you like him or not, this kid can sing.  I had never heard him before, then the other night as were channel surfing, we came across the Justin Bieber movie.  I have to admit, I was pretty impressed.  I know I know, I'm a 40 year old guy with a Justin Bieber CD.  I have no excuse.  It was humbling to walk to the checkout counter with the thing, but now I can officially be a closet Justin Bieber fan:) . 

After my brave purchase, we were still full from lunch and it was too early to head back to the hotel, so we opted for a quick game of miniature golf.   I learned that going to play golf on a Thursday evening is the time to go.  We were one of about 3 other families in the whole place.  After 18 holes, I came to the conclusion that neither of us will ever be golfers.  We pretty much uhhhh Suck!   I think I would have more success using a baseball bat.  Either way though, it was a good time and great way to finish the evening. 

Getting back to the hotel, Ryan wasn't in the room for 30 minutes before I noticed he was already fast asleep.  The kid was wore out.  What a great day.  Tomorrow, though he doesn't know it yet, we're going to shoot for 20 miles up the mountain (that's if we can move in the morning).  

It's getting late so I'm gonna crash too.   Nighty night.



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10 miles up. I promised him we would turn around after 10. Maybe the full 20 tomorrow.

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7.5 miles. 43:00 minutes. This kid Is doing awesome!!!

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Getting ready to head up Mt. Lemmon. In about 8 miles and 1.5 hours later, we won't be smiling:).

Holstee LifeCycle Video

The Hippos are Still Kickin' Tail!!!!!

The Hippos have lost a combined total of 45.8 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That's Incredible!!!!!

Spuds isn't being very nice.

So very not cool!!!! Spuds just dropped these off. Sabotage!!!

How Are You Living Your Life?

I've had major writers block lately (not that I'm much of a writer, that's for sure).   Throughout the day, I think about things I want to write about, but when I sit down to write, it all disappears.  The problem is, I don't think you can set a specific time of day to sit down and write.  You're either feeling it or your not, and when you are, you best sit down and start plugging away. 

Just recently I came across this really cool mission statement.  This statement has become so popular that now they are selling posters of it.  (and yep, I've ordered not one, but two)

I don't think it can be put any better.  

Do you ever wonder what your purpose in life is?   I'm not going to go of on some tangent, but really, what is our sole purpose?  I'm sure if you ask a 1000 people this question, you're going to get 1000 different answers. 

Are we meant to put our own lives aside to make the lives of those around us better?  Is it even necessary to put your life aside to positively affect those around you?    You can look at the life of say someone like Mother Theresa, her life was dedicated to others.  Then on the flip side, you can look at the life of someone like Lance Armstrong.  The guy has probably done half of the things on his bucket list and he's not going to stop until that list is completed.  This of course (at least in my opinion) is at the cost of spending time with those closest to him. 

I'm sure there's a happy medium to this question.  I think as a dad, I want to pursue a life that makes my kids proud.   I have major issues with what I will call the "selfish factor".  To a point I think this is a good thing, because almost always, I will put others before myself.  On the flip side though it can be a bad thing.  Bad in the fact that I fail to do many things for myself because of it.   One example,,,, I used to do this week long bike ride in Colorado every summer.  You spend a week camping out with hundreds of others and everyday you tour through the mountains of Colorado, each day landing in another town.   For the last few years though, I have chose not to go.  One reason being, I miss my kids too much.  There's a certain amount of guilt (not that there should be) for leaving your family behind while your "vacationing" somewhere for a week.

In many ways, I think absence can bring people closer and I suppose that's a good thing.   This is something I've just realized that I need to work on.  In fact, this little two day trip to Tucson is sort of a start.  Normally I would never take an extra day off to just go do something by myself (granted, Ryan my 12yo is going).  I'm going to make it a point to really enjoy the next two days without worrying about anything. 

But back to the original question;  what is our purpose?  Is it to live a full life trying to obtain as much money and toys as possible?  Or is it to live a life serving others?    I honestly don't have an answer. 

I'm not a good example of living life to the fullest, though I sure hope to improve.  I just went back and read the Holsteen statement and this stuck out, "Don't over analyze".   This is so me!!  I need to put a little more weight on the Nike statement of "Just Do It", and just start living.  After all, don't most of us make life harder than it really needs to be?  

A friend of mine, Rick Hall is a true example in my opinion of living life to the fullest.  I met Rick outside of my Gross Anatomy class and we've been friends ever since.  Rick  worked his tail off through college, sometimes working as many as 3 jobs at a time.  I remember him putting gas in his car .65 cents at a time.  Now he's a professor at ASU, owns 5 Subway restaurants, has a beautiful family, travels the country doing various types of speaking engagements, lives a good Christian life, and really is a good example of getting the most out of everyday.   I always enjoy the time we spend together as I'm usually pretty pumped and focused after just being around the guy.  

Life is truly a challenge.  Isn't it up to us to make the most of that challenge?  There's a book called Holy Sweat that a friend gave me in college.  I think I've probably given 10 copies of this book away.  The entire title is "Holy Sweat, The Remarkable Things Ordinary People Can Do When They Let God Use Them."   Fear is the biggest factor holding most of us back.  Fear of failure, fear of what others may think, fear of the unknown, whatever the fear may be, it's up to each of us to beat that fear and take that next step.   Whether it's your faith in God, or some other higher power,  have the faith to live a more deeper thought provoking life.   Lets all step it up and put a bigger footprint on this path through life.   Find the confidence to believe in yourself.  I think it's this confidence that allows people like Rick to conquer whatever challenge is in front of them.  

So however you live your life, whether its to gain as much crap as you can or to live a life making  a difference in the life of others,   live it with confidence and grace, with integrity and character, regretting nothing as you move forward.   Life is short, make the most of every second.  

Note: I've got two heart rate monitors give away.  I'll send these to the first 2 people that email with their thoughts of how their living their lives.  What's important?  Are you living life to the fullest? Do you wish you were doing more?  Email me.  

If you have never exercised with a heart rate monitor, it makes all the difference in the world.  When you can maintain 60-70% of your max heart rate over thirty minutes of exercise, you are burning fat.  So if you don't win one here, I suggest ordering one (or Big 5 sells them).  Super helpful.  

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How many of you are rolling skating in your underwear this evening:).

Note to self: Super Bowl Sunday is not part of 4 week vegan diet:).
Rusty-------Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Major Change

I'm having to make some major dietary changes.  For some this may not be much of a big deal, but for me it could be a big challenge.  Why am I changing?  Well the neck pain and stiffness hasn't subsided much at all and its progressed to the shoulders and even my knees.  It just so happens that I started a regimen of Pravastatin around the first of the month.  I can only conclude that this is what is causing the neck pain.  My cholesterol was 259 so I really wasn't going to argue with the doctor when he prescribed the medication.  I guess, my naive self just thought, oh the miracle drug, now I can eat what I want. 

Well that's pretty much an idiotic way to to look at it.  I decided to look further into the medication and at the same time, a friend sent me a website of one of the side effects, "rhabdomyolysis".  Now among the million other possible side effects, I didn't need much convincing that even following a strict diet is much better then any possible side effects of this drug.  I was told when it I initially started the Pravastatin that muscle aches were the biggest side effect and that a supplement of CoQ10 would help.  Well I've even double up on the CoQ10 and it's not helping much at all. 

So after talking to a few professionals and doing a small bit of research, I've decided to go Vegan.  Only for a brief time initially though.  My plan (and I've been told this will work) is to go the next 4 weeks on plant based foods while also supplementing with Red Yeast Rice and some other supplement but I forgot the name of it.   From what I understand, this is based on the research done by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.  I've read a few of his studies and it's pretty impressive. 

I love beef.  I love hamburger, I love steaks.  We buy a black angus steer every year from Rominger Beef so we currently have a freezer full of naturally grown, yummy beef.   I guess it comes down to weighing the consequences.  I don't want to be the 50 yo guy that dies of a heart attack.  Heck, I've got a 3 year old that I have to get through little league.   So, this change isn't only for me, but for those that depend on me.   My dad has had 2 heart attacks and he hasn't changed one single thing.  He still eats like crap and smokes like a chimney.  To me, that's just selfish.  Nothing wrong with killing yourself slowly, but first take a look at those it's really going to affect.  

So moving forward, I'm anxious to see how this goes.  The only down side is just the psychological part of missing eating meat.  Other than that, everything leans on the upside.  My first goal is to get rid of the neck pain and headaches.  Hopefully everything else will follow.   We shall soon see.  Today I brought sugar snap peas for snack, and salad with a veggie burger patty for lunch.  Yum Yum:)  .  I shall keep you posted with my progress.  

No clue what to call this post

It's already started out to be very busy week.  From preparing my guys (and gals) for accreditation, to my staff and myself going to seminars out of town.  There are a few seminars in Phoenix and Tucson this week that look to be beneficial.  Denice and Patti will be heading to Phoenix tonight for a seminar on Billing and Coding, then Keith and I will be heading to Tucson on Wednesday evening.  Our seminar is going to cover a ton of things from audits, collections, accreditation and so on.    Being that I haven't been to Tuscon is several years, Ryan (my 12yo) is going with me and Friday were going to ride Mt. Lemmon on our bikes. 

I don't think I've ridden this road since visiting a friend in college.  All I remember is that it goes up and up and it's a kick in the butt when coming down.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful so I'm really looking forward to a good day riding with Ry. 

I mentioned last week how some of our surveys have started to arrive.  Just wanted to share a few of the comments sent, remember these are all sent without patient names so we have no clue who returns them to us. 

"You've done a great job! Everyone on your staff has always been helpful and pleasant.  I hope I haven't been discharged as I see myself continuing to need your services"

"I wish all the companies we deal with were as good as you."

"Excellent Company"

"Each of you are true health care professionals.  Your service impeccable!!"

"If a patient is a long time customer, concentrators and cpap should be written off after a certain time span.  Insurances pay off several times over. "

So of course I feel the need to address that final comment.  Oxygen Concentrators and CPAP do actually cap.  With Medicare,  a patient owns their cpap machine after 13 months of rental payments.  With Oxygen, we are paid a monthly rental for 3 years and then for two more years we are required to care for the patient and the machine at no cost.   Now I'm sure there are those that think DME companies are a fleecing of the system.  Used to maybe.  In the 90's, DME companies were making money hand over fist.  There was no cap on oxygen.  You could bill for oxygen forever.   But in today's world of almost constant medicare cuts,  for what we are required to do, we are reimbursed very little.   When a Blue Cross patient gets a cpap machine.  It takes 9 months worth of payments just to pay for the machine.  

In an effort to keep up on service, my drivers are in almost every town in two counties twice a week.  This includes Cibecue, Holbrook, and Concho as well.   No other company up here can guarantee a St Johns patient two oxygen deliveries a week.  Sure we lose money when it comes to driving and delivering, but our patients rarely have to wait very long for any product.   So when it comes to reimbursement........after filling our tanks (oxygen and vehicle), vehicle wear and tear, buying the product, paying my staff.......we make very little.   On top of that, never will one of our patients have to decide between paying their utilities or paying for their oxygen.  We make it work.   There's no way I'm going to ask someone on a fixed income, to go broke in order to breathe. 

Finally, here's one thing to think about.  Thanks to HIPPA I can't use any names but I was fortunate to do an oxygen set up this past weekend on a physician.  I say fortunate because the talk we had was so meaningful.  This guy has one of the biggest hearts (no physically) I 've ever seen.  We talked about the importance of listening, raising kids, treating patients, work ethic and so on.  I loved listening to this guy.  He had so much to share and sure seemed willing to talk so I soaked it all in. 

He asked me, "Do you know the average time a doctor listens to his patients then finally interrupts and starts writing?"   
I had no idea what the answer was. He told me that he once had a patient bring him a reader's digest article on the very subject.  The article stated that on average, a patient gets to talk to a doctor for 18 seconds before the doctor starts writing.   From that day on, he said he never had a pen in hand while talking to his patients.  Isn't that just friggin awesome!!!   

Ok, now to the Challenge.  I'm still holding at 177 and had a pretty decent weekend.  I rode the trainer for an hour on Sunday and did ok with the diet.  I had hoped to be a little more strict, but when you have two really close football games, ya gotta eat a little:). 

I see the lovely Farrah Fawcett has finally blessed us with a number.  And look at Super X!!  8.42%!!  Dang!! I'm impressed

My goal for the week is to be 174 by Friday.  We shall see.  I'll be in Tucson so I won't be able to weigh in until Saturday, but I of course will let you know. 

So for now. You all have a super day.  It's gosh darn cold outside!!!

Must be Friday

I'm sitting here riding the bike at the gym. Looking out the window, the parking lot is half full. In the gym is me and 4 other people. Why is the parking lot half full, where are the people?.................at the friggin liquor store next door.
Rusty-------Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Step it UP!!!!!!

What motivates people?  Does it have to come from within to really make a difference?  Or does it come from an external source?  I think the best answer is probably both. 

I'm asking this for a reason and mostly because of the Challenge.  Everyone has their good days and bad days, their motivated days and their not so motivated days.  Why though do the "not so motivated" days really seem to impact people, sometimes to the point of actually giving up on the goal?

An example comes to mind and I'm sure everyone has seen or experienced it.  Why is it, when a couple goes through either a divorce or separation, they suddenly become motivated to better themselves (mostly physically)?    Suddenly now, their appearance seems a bit more important.  The wife starts dieting and loses a ton of weight and looks absolutely great, the hubby gets rid of the beer gut that has been growing since the day of the wedding.  Is it to put it in the face of the other person or to become more attractive to someone else?   Does life just get in the way of being healthy?  If so, it shouldn't.   

I'm not really looking for an answer, but why do people wait for some "reason" to start working on their appearance?  Is it a self esteem thing?     All day long a person can say "well he/she loves me for me not my body".  Well of course they do, otherwise they wouldn't be with you.  But the question remains, why do we need outside motivation to actually get off our butts and change some things? 

More importantly, how many of us want that person in the mirror to look just a bit thinner, a bit younger?  I would say more than 75% of us.   We all know how much better we would feel by hitting our goals yet we fail to act upon it. 

Whether it's looking for improved health, an improved body, whatever it may be, does it really have to be that difficult?  Absolutely not.   

Eating crap has become the norm here in our country.  Our office is right next to Bobbi Jo's restaurant and it's amazing to walk by and see what people are eating.  Even worse, most people don't even think twice about it.  Fitness is so far in the back of our minds that most people don't even consider it.  How many times do you look for a hotel and wonder, "do they have a workout room"?   Most of us wonder if they offer breakfast or if there is a restaurant nearby.

We need to change our entire way of thinking.  If you work at a place with an elevator, how often do you take the stairs?   For lunch, how often do you take a walk?   Our vices........is it the coffee with a ton of creamer, the bag of chips at your desk, the jug of soda on the way to work, whatever it may be, our you committed enough to beat the urge? 

What does it take for you to want to lose that beer gut?  To fit into that bathing suit? To feel confident with your body?   Does food really have the much control over people?   Do we really lack that much self control?    It all comes down to how much you want it!  Are you going to whine and cry over the problems you may have, or are you gonna step up and do something about it?   Don't pout about needing to lose weight, if you don't want to sacrifice a little to see such big gains later.  And by big gains I mean more self confidence, more energy, the ability to fit in clothes that haven't fit in years. 

So if your struggling, start fresh.   You have to WRITE your goals!!!!   WRITE THEM!!!!   Then design a plan.   If your gaining weight with your current diet, hmmmm maybe just maybe you need to do a bit more.  If your dieting and not exercising..........it's going to be an uphill battle.    Walk, Run, do whatever, but do something.    If you think "oh I'll just have one bite of ice cream" and not expect negative results cmon, are you kidding me. 

Dig deep and get moving!!  You gotta want it!!    Just picture yourself reaching your goal weight.  Find tricks that work.  Look at before and afters on the internet.  Buy some clothes that you don't fit into now but can strive to work towards.    Most importantly...........bust your ass!!    Sweat a little.  Hurt a little!!  Don't whine!!  Just do it!!!  Let's see some progress!!!   

It was a slow weight loss week for me, so if your struggling your not alone.  I'm still at 177 but by next week my goal is 175.  Don't let slow progress get you down, but don't start slacking.   Nothing worth doing is ever easy.  Plan to have a good next week starting today.  Don't slide over the weekend.  Feel like chowing down, go for a walk.  Who cares if it's cold, that's why God gave us clothes. 

So there you have it.  Get it done people:)   Take the stairs today.  Go for that lunch time or dinner time walk.  Change the attitude.    Have a super weekend.   I'm on call this weekend, so looking forward to meeting new people this weekend.   Hasta!!

Lunch time ride.

Just got back from a 20 mile bike ride.  I needed a break from the office so I grabbed the road bike and headed down towards White River.  I'm so dang out of shape, but it felt good to get out.  Plus yesterday just felt like a bad diet day (it really wasn't but it could have been better) so the ride took a little of the guilt away.  I'm feeling really good being 10 lbs lighter and don't want to lose what ground I've gained.  I'm determined to hit my 165 lb mark.   

Oh ya, have any of you thought about Super Bowl Sunday???  I want some of those sauceless hot wings that KFC is selling.  The entire box is 400 calories.   And yes I plan on eating some.   On another commercial they showed the Rotel Queso Dip, yep I plan on having some of that too.    So if I'm going to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday (Feb 5th), I want to get a head of the game so that I have so room to splurge a little.   Always thinking ahead:)

Hope everyone is having a good day.  One more thing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,when you have a crick in your neck....it adds a whole new challenge to riding a bike on the highway.  Just wanted to throw that out there. 

Where be ith the fo phat chicks?

Does Marilyn need to fire the rest of her team?? Where are the 3 of 4 Phat Chicks???  Cmon ladies!!  Let's pick it up a little!!

Gotta Love Frankenstein

This is how I feel today.  Rather than getting any better, with the exception of just holding my head on, my neck has become pretty useless.  To turn left or right is pretty painful and up or down is out of the question.  Pretty pathetic if I do say so myself.  What's worse is I don't even know how the heck it happened. 

Someone commented on the post yesterday and mentioned being joyous from the heart.  That comment has been on my mind all morning.  With my neck causing a major headache (I know, poor me), I've had to dig deep to find that joy this morning.  Slowly but surely though, I'm uncovering my happy joyous self:).

There's another giveway coming up so be ready.  I've got a couple of heart rate monitors and another gym membership so you all best be paying attention:)

On a much brighter note, I finished my final policy last night at about 8pm.  It was approved this morning by our accreditation agency.  This means that now we are in waiting mode.  Waiting for our unannounced surveyor to come and torture us for two days:) .    I'll explain more about this later, but just having the policies done is on huge hurdle out of the way.  Yesterday was spent trying to compile a years worth of Quality and Performance reports, this is what my desk looked like:

It doesn't look a whole lot better today, but by the end of the day it should be better. 

Just got off the phone with HQAA (accreditors) and our 90 day window starts February 6.  This means that from Feb6, they have a 90 day window to complete our unannounced survey.  This is a 2 day survey in which they go through all of policies and make sure were doing what we say were doing.  You would think, "ah not a big deal", but it is.  When you have over 300 oxygen concentrators, 300 hospital beds, I have no idea how many wheelchairs, you have to be able to account for every one of those.  Sound easy??  Have you ever been to Whiteriver?   Trying to find our equipment down there can be a full time task.   Then of course we have to be compliant in all other areas as well.  From the way we clean our equipment to the way our drivers load their vans.   It's a lot of little things that can really add up.  And being that you have no idea when their going to show up, nobody can take a day off.   It's a stressful time for all, but the process can really make you a better company.   So for now, I'm just trying to make the most of it and learn as much as I can.

Finally, I'm going to take a second to toot our own horn.   Now I don't want to jinx anything, but our latest batch of Satisfaction Surveys have started to arrive, and so far we're ranging in the 97% satisfaction range.  Some people have also written some very nice compliments as well.   I couldn't be more proud of the team I have.  They have done a great job with customer service. 

Gotta go heat up my little microwaveable heating pad.  Hope you all have a super day. 

 

To be grouchy or not grouchy................that is the question.

 How much of your mood do you think you can control?  Is your mood a completely conscious choice?  

Yesterday as I was pulling out onto the highway heading for the office, I realized (at least mentally) that I needed a major attitude change.  I wasn't grouchy, but I definitely had room for improvement.  As a guy, I probably really can't use hormones as an excuse (though I do think they play a role in some way or another).  But when you can't find a reason for not being cheerful..........it all sounds really pathetic.

I've analyzed and over analyzed this.  If you workout in the morning, is your mood better in the morning?  I happen to think it is.  At the moment though I don't have the time to work out in the morning.  But even then, I don't want to rely on a workout to make me cheery when I'm not feeling....well...so cheery.    Nothing bad has happened, work is good, family is good, so why be so "blah"?   

Every morning (it's about to happen) at about 8 am, Steven (one of my drivers) walks through the door just singing away.  Good day or bad day, the guy makes a conscious choice to be cheerful, at least that's what he leads us all to believe.  He could be having a really crappy day, but he sure does a good job at hiding it. 

I've had employees that I never knew what mood they were going to be in when they walked through the door.  Believe me, they had no problem showing it either.  These people drive me crazy!!  Which leads me back to the original question.............Is your mood a conscious choice?    I'd like to think that at least a portion of it is.  You have complete control over your attitude and I think with a good attitude, you're more likely to have positive control over your mood.  On the flip side, if you have a crappy attitude.................you're pretty much just an ass to be around.   People with crappy attitudes can just take the life right out of you.  So what do you do with crappy attitude people..................short of beating the crap out of them........keep them away!!!! 

So why not, when were all having a grouchy sort of day, just change our attitudes??  Life is too short to be so miserable.   Attitude is a conscious choice.  You either run at life with a positive kick ass attitude, or you can spend your life looking like Eeyore (this is a whole other subject).

So good mood or bad mood, this may not be controllable, but the attitude in which you approach it is. 

I'm writing this from a very personal perspective today.  I pulled a muscle (no clue how) in my neck so today I'm walking around like Frankenstein unable to turn my head.  Which in turn puts me in a crappy mood.  Within myself, I hate being grouchy.  I don't like being around grouchy people and I know people don't want to be around me when I'm grouchy.  Heck, I don't even like being around myself when I'm grouchy.

I've realized though that I'm not going to let a stiff neck, work issues, people issues, whatever issues, dictate the attitude in which I approach the day.
So with that said, I hope you guys have a great friggin day:)



Side note.........Steven just walked through the door.............and he's singing:) 

Wow!! The Hippo's are bringin' it!!!   

At least one of them posts a loss every single day. 

Can they maintain this momentum???  We shall see.

Morning Supplements

Do ya think the morning pill routine is a bit much??

 No, I don't take all of these at once.  It's sort of a gradual thing throughout the morning.  Let's see, first is the Ginseng, this one comes before any food.  Then once I eat breakfast, I start popping the rest of them.  Two CoQ-10 (these recommended by Dr. R),  3 Multivitamins (it takes 3 to make one serving), 2 Garlics (ya never know when you may encounter your next vampire), 1 Fish oil (don't want a heart attack at 40), 2 Vitamin B (supposedly they help with stress, I've yet to feel that affect), and finally 3 good ol Vitamin C (I'm not a believer that Vit C causes Kidney Stones, though I should be after by first experience with one last year).   

Do ya think it's over the top?  I don't.  With what little I'm eating and who is to say that what I'm eating has a day's supply of vitamins and minerals, I think everyone could benefit from a little extra letters in their diet (ya know, vit A, B, C, and so on, in case you were a bit slow). 

I don't have a clue as to if it makes much of a difference, but whats it gonna hurt??  Honestly I think the FDA and the drug companies have us all buffalo'd as to the real benefits of supplements.   I'm sure we could all over do a good thing, but in common sense moderation (I use that term loosely) I think supplements can be a good thing.    I say "loosely" because I think even the USRDA values are low.  Who is to say 60mg of Vitamin C is a good dose?  Heck I just took 3000mg.  I'm willing to bet (and Dear God I hope I'm not wrong) I see no side effects.    Now, just so some Bozo doesn't quote me on any of this, remember my degree is in biology, not nutrition, so take what I say with a grain of salt.  But do your own research (not one paid for by a drug company), and I think you will find that supplements surely have their benefits. 

One thing I do think that is very important if your taking supplements, is water.  Your body is going to excrete any excess so it's best to be as hydrated as possible to help with the process.  Ya gotta love that bright yellow pee:) . 

Well it's time to go eat my breakfast so I can choke down all these pills.  Hope you all have a super day. 

Where is ya'll???

What happened to the 4 Phat Chicks??  Is Marilyn the only committed one??? 

What about the "Wii not fit" folks?  Are they not spending enough time with their Wii's?? 

And we can't forget the Sexy Mamas. 

With names like "Chubby White Girl", ya gotta be tough. 

 Cmon Folks, let's see some numbers!!!

178!!

I've restarted this post about 20 times.  Initially I was a bit frustrated with my weigh in of 178lbs.  It's 3 lbs less than I was on Thursday, but I honestly had hoped for a bit more of a loss.  I keep telling myself though that I don't want to just eat well for this challenge, but I want it to become "the norm" for me. 

Last night as our family was watching tv, I see Coby (my 9yo) eating a piece of celery.  This is totally the norm for Coby.  He will take a salad over a hamburger any day of the week.  The kid lives for fruits and vegetables.  And of course the kid doesn't have an ounce of fat on him.  He's got the 6 pack that I never had.   I want my dietary habits to be the same.  I don't want to crave the burger, or the cake.  I don't even want it to be an issue.  

Is this something that is learned? Is it something that you can trick your mind into believing??  I sure hope so.  I honestly feel better when I'm eating well, yet so far that doesn't help with the cravings.  Once I get down to my target weight, I'm hoping that portion size will be the key to staying at my desired weight.   

Sugar is what kicks my butt.  Not soda but candy.  I got a box of See's suckers for Christmas and each sucker is 80 calories. 80 calories of what??? Why sugar of course. 

I think the key to this challenge and every day after, is just take it slow and steady.  Monitor the calories and exercise your butt off.   Common sense just says it's a healthier way of living anyway. 

So now I need to get off of my little pouty horse and get with the program.  I didn't gain 10 lbs over night so how can I expect to lose 10 lbs over night?  What a cry baby!   Step it up Church!! Quit being a whiny ass and get with the program. 

Time to get my butt in gear.  Day by day!!!

Two Weeks down.

Wow!!!  I think Skinny B just went and had an arm cut off.  Skinny has taken a major lead with a loss of 7.52% so far.   Motiv8d,  Super X, Wannabslim, and Harry have all broke the 5% mark.   I'm so impressed with how many people posted losses this weekend.  Great Job

It was a good weekend for me but I've yet to weigh it.  After Friday's frustration of gaining 2 lbs, I was determined to make it a good weekend.  I did great with the diet.  We had my in laws over for dinner on Saturday and cooked hamburgers, sweet potato fries, and a salad.  All I ate was a veggie burger and some salad.  Talk about tough to do, those hamburgers looked so good!!!  Then everyone but me had ice cream and brownies for dinner.  Torture!!!  

I even got in two bike rides over the weekend.  On Saturday, I wanted to go outside, so I took the mtn bike out and cruised all around Lakeside.  I left my house then cruised all around the Blue Spruce area then went back behind Rim Road, over near Rainbow Lake, and took several dirt roads that I've never ridden before.  Total ride time was only about 70 minutes, but it sure beat riding indoors. 

Sunday, Ryan (my 12yo) and I went up to the office and rode the trainers for 75 minutes.  Not your usual ride as I told him to pick a movie and we would ride and watch the movie.  The goal of this ride was just to stay as aerobic as possible and just burn off some fat. 

I knew he would pick some sort of war movie and sure enough, Rambo it was.  Typically I wouldn't advise this movie for any kids, but for a boring darn trainer ride, I was open to anything.  The movie thing sure worked because the time flew by.  I was wore out and soaked with sweat by the time the movie was over.  Ry on the other hand had a fan blowing on him the entire time so the kid looked like he wasn't even struggling.  Note: Ryan's goal this year is to beat his mom at the Quarter Horse race in Colorado. 

I will be so pissed if I find that I haven't lost any weight this weekend.  I know it's not good to get frustrated with this whole process, but dang....I've been pretty darn good.  All fruits and veggies, with a handful of nuts this weekend (and the veggie burger), I'm praying for at least a couple of pounds. 

We shall soon see.  I'll post as soon as I weigh in.   Hoping to see more losses posted from the rest of you.   

 

Tebow again

I have to be honest, I haven't watched a Bronco's game all season.  Actually I haven't watched an NFL game all season.  But Tim Tebow has my attention.  This guy is the real deal.  Read this article by Rick Reily from ESPN.

Archive

Tim Tebow Foundation:  Tim Tebow with Jacob Rainey, one of the many people dealing with health problems Tebow hosted at Broncos games this season.

I've come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde.

No, I've come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off a football field, which is represent the best parts of us, the parts I want to be and so rarely am.

Who among us is this selfless?

Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.

Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat.

Remember last week, when the world was pulling its hair out in the hour after Tebow had stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard OT touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in the playoffs? And Twitter was exploding with 9,420 tweets about Tebow per second? When an ESPN poll was naming him the most popular athlete in America?  Tebow was spending that hour talking to 16-year-old Bailey Knaub about her 73 surgeries so far and what TV shows she likes.

"Here he'd just played the game of his life," recalls Bailey's mother, Kathy, of Loveland, Colo., "and the first thing he does after his press conference is come find Bailey and ask, 'Did you get anything to eat?' He acted like what he'd just done wasn't anything, like it was all about Bailey."

More than that, Tebow kept corralling people into the room for Bailey to meet. Hey, Demaryius, come in here a minute. Hey, Mr. Elway. Hey, Coach Fox.

Even though sometimes-fatal Wegener's granulomatosis has left Bailey with only one lung, the attention took her breath away.

"It was the best day of my life," she emailed. "It was a bright star among very gloomy and difficult days. Tim Tebow gave me the greatest gift I could ever imagine. He gave me the strength for the future. I know now that I can face any obstacle placed in front of me. Tim taught me to never give up because at the end of the day, today might seem bleak but it can't rain forever and tomorrow is a new day, with new promises."

I read that email to Tebow, and he was honestly floored.

"Why me? Why should I inspire her?" he said. "I just don't feel, I don't know, adequate. Really, hearing her story inspires me."

It's not just NFL defenses that get Tebowed. It's high school girls who don't know whether they'll ever go to a prom. It's adults who can hardly stand. It's kids who will die soon.

For the game at Buffalo, it was Charlottesville, Va., blue-chip high school QB Jacob Rainey, who lost his leg after a freak tackle in a scrimmage. Tebow threw three interceptions in that Buffalo game and the Broncos were crushed 40-14.
"He walked in and took a big sigh and said, 'Well, that didn't go as planned,'" Rainey remembers. "Where I'm from, people wonder how sincere and genuine he is. But I think he's the most genuine person I've ever met."
There's not an ounce of artifice or phoniness or Hollywood in this kid Tebow, and I've looked everywhere for it.

Take 9-year-old Zac Taylor, a child who lives in constant pain. Immediately after Tebow shocked the Chicago Bears with a 13-10 comeback win, Tebow spent an hour with Zac and his family. At one point, Zac, who has 10 doctors, asked Tebow whether he has a secret prayer for hospital visits. Tebow whispered it in his ear. And because Tebow still needed to be checked out by the Broncos' team doctor, he took Zac in with him, but only after they had whispered it together.
And it's not always kids. Tom Driscoll, a 55-year-old who is dying of brain cancer at a hospice in Denver, was Tebow's guest for the Cincinnati game. "The doctors took some of my brain," Driscoll says, "so my short-term memory is kind of shot. But that day I'll never forget. Tim is such a good man."
This whole thing makes no football sense, of course. Most NFL players hardly talk to teammates before a game, much less visit with the sick and dying.Isn't that a huge distraction?

Stephanie Taylor Not everything Tim Tebow does on one knee is controversial. Ask Zac Taylor. 

Just the opposite," Tebow says. "It's by far the best thing I do to get myself ready. Here you are, about to play a game that the world says is the most important thing in the world. Win and they praise you. Lose and they crush you. And here I have a chance to talk to the coolest, most courageous people. It puts it all into perspective. The game doesn't really matter. I mean, I'll give 100 percent of my heart to win it, but in the end, the thing I most want to do is not win championships or make a lot of money, it's to invest in people's lives, to make a difference."

So that's it. I've given up giving up on him. I'm a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too.

Remember the QB who lost his leg, Jacob Rainey? He got his prosthetic leg a few weeks ago, and he wants to play high school football next season. Yes, tackle football. He'd be the first to do that on an above-the-knee amputation.
Hmmm. Wonder where he got that crazy idea?

"Tim told me to keep fighting, no matter what," Rainey says. "I am."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow Rick on Twitter @ReillyRick

DVD's have been sent.

The DVD's have been sent out to all who sent me goals and addresses.  I may have missplaced them but I don't have addresses for:

Skinny B and Disappearing Woman

and  last but surely not least:   Duds............ I mean Spuds.

So send me those addresses and I'll get the video out to ya.

Apache Da Eshkeen

Hey Tortilla Lady!!! I want to see some numbers posted!!!!!

(Only the Tortilla Lady is going to get the title of this so don't bother:)  ) I'm sure I spelled it wrong, but I don't believe an Apache dictionary even exists.

Forum Update

Update:  Hey All, Happy Hippo informed me that if you were on the forum last year, you will need to sign in with your nickname from last year, then you can change it to your current Challenger name. 

Weight Loss Jar

Happy Hippo posted this on the forum so I hope she doesn't mind if I share it here.

"So I wanted to share a picture with this post, but I can't figure out how to! :( Anyways I want to share the details on my "Weight Loss Jar." It's very simple and extremely motivating!!! I took a vase (you can use a mason jar) and labeled it "WEIGHT LOST." Then I filled a cup with marbles. Each marble represents 0.1 pound, as I lose weight I move the marbles into the jar labeled "Weight Lost." I just thought is was a great way to visualize my progress."


Happy Hippo :)

 
That is just the coolest idea!!