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Half-marathon... Ain't half-bad!

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Work life gave me little time to update. I rolled through the first weeks with loss of one pound per week; plateauing around week six. I steady dropped or flatlined until my Memorial Day Weekend trip to Nevada. Unlike 99.9% of the world, I lose a lot of weight while travelling -- five pounds in five days.  Final number: 241.6 lbs Out of nowhere, the Las Vegas trip produced a half-marathon challenge. After running into Doug Nebeker at church, I was awe inspired to start a new challenge. Back in 2023 and 2024 I watched Doug walk, and then begin to run around our neighborhood during our final weeks in Las Vegas. He has lost 50 pounds of this post. He said it was his brother's invitation to run a half-marathon. Doug did not accept the half-marathon at first, opting for a 10K for his first run. He is now training for his first half. The next morning after running into Doug, I signed up for the Secret City Half-Marathon - November 15, 2025. Jump out the plane and tie my running shoes. To...

Only Body I Got

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Weight: 250.4 Wow! I was pleasantly surprised with my starting weight. Reviewing my tracking app, MyFittnessPal, I have been a steady 250-252 since late 2024.  This food challenge is 90 days or lose 30 pounds. Either one will be the finish line. Ten pounds per month is doable, by adhering to the diet, portion control, and consistent workouts. My body rang joyously to be back on smoothies, salads, and lean proteins. I was dragging my physical side to the dumpster during the six months of unclean diet. The daily energy supply ran out before dusk. I struggled to stay awake after eating a buffet of trash. By the time I got to the weeks leading up to this challenge, I could not drag myself out of bed in the morning before 7:00. (For months I had been rocking and rolling by 4:45 a.m.) Things were falling apart in record time. Workouts were a joke too.  But I am back! I am going to miss the fat-melting swim workouts from years past. It's weights and cardio this go-around. After injur...

Go Solo

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Years are short Weeks are long Days repeat Meals too small Diets are drudge I am not fooling anyone, no how and no way, a 90-day weight loss challenge is a grind with my mind. Tick-tock, tick-tock. As a sworn member of the boredom grazing, the willpower is tested by the time between meals. The January 2024 weight loss challenge with The ODJ and Casshole was a joke! I whooped them handily. Then in preparation for my family's move to Knoxville, I shed a few more pounds through early summer with workouts and a marginal diet program. Then the move to the South sent me into a tailspin of my love for all things Southern cuisine. To make matters worse, carpooling and my work schedule nuked the customary meal execution that had been successful for nearly five years. I had to put off a standard healthy diet for one that was extremely bad for a late 40's male who is not consistently active. March 3rd, 2025 would be the earliest I could regain my standard. And oh how bad things got. I sha...

Gain no more in '24

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What is worse than going to the gym on January 1st? Going to the gym on January 1st after agreeing to a weight loss challenge with a chick half your age, who still possesses a twenty-somethings metabolism, and competing alongside her man, who is the dirtiest pool shark to ever play the game of LIFE... The bastard once pawned the family station wagon that was occupied by his pink wife and four blue sons, all for early retirement in a non-extradition country that advertised the whitest sandy beaches and CIA-level anonymity. I've lost before the starter announced, "Take your mark." I am the mark. Jaron "The ODJ", myself, and Cassie "Casshole" have booked early spring vacations to oceanside destinations, with the realization that the three of us have let ourselves get fluffy. If our pasty winter skin is going to burn, we might as well have less surface area for the sun to crisp. So it's a weight loss challenge! Simple and to the point; the greatest wei...

Boil Your Passion

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Ground down mind. The fine powder catches swirl, Swirling in the desert's twain hour.  Dancing, dancing with dust ballerinas. Entertaining the whole night through. Star-covered umbrella magic.  He, the we, our us, a must, The ODJ's courtship in strange.  Awww yeah! Feels good to be back. But I'm gonna need my trainer to stretch me out for a bit -- it has been a long while since these muscles were exercised. Pour a glass of pre-workout before taking this new word engine for a spin. Crawl, walk, run, pull a hamstring. No glory in retreat, just a solid chance to fight another day. That day has come. What's that? You thought the certified had strongly advised against this type of behavior. Well... They weren't in the wrong.  And just like that, the Smoky Mountain Mo and Kraustian are back at it again!... This time we've brought reinforcement. Welcome Casshole to the misfit horde. Lady Cass is the love interest of Krause. Now, now folks don't you start spreading ...