Category Archives: health

April 24, 2013

The Ten Minute Trainer

By Canadian Bald Guy

A few months ago I received an email from Instigator Communications asking if I would be willing to try one of Beachbody‘s fitness programs to kick off 2013 and then blog about my experience and progress. With a wedding to prepare for and wanting to lose some weight, I decided to try the Ten Minute Trainer.

10-minute-trainerI know that I received this product, valued at about $80 or so, with the thought that I would give it a glowing review. Well, I’m not going to lie to my readers and I need to be 100% honest in my take and review of this particular product.

As soon as I opened up the box, I was immediately taken aback by all of the stuff inside. So right off the bat, let me say that you’re not just sent a couple of dvd’s or made to feel as though you’re being ripped off by just watching a video. I believe that if this is the program for you, then you’re totally getting your money’s worth. The package contained give “total body workouts” on three different dvd’s, a resistance band, a cardio belt, a customized workout calendar, a results guidebook, a recipe guide (!!), workout plans, and even a “jump start plan”.

I gotta be honest, I was a little overwhelmed at everything. It just seemed to be almost…dare I say…too much.

10-minute-trainer-workout

It then told me to go register at their website and track my progress, take before/after pictures, join the community forum and make friends in order to help out in the motivation process…it was just, I dunno, daunting to try to take it all in.

It intimidated me to the point that I put the whole thing away for two months.

10 minute trainerNow I realize that this might actually be exactly what some people out there are looking for, and that’s why I don’t want to slam the 10 Minute Trainer in any way. I can tell by the popularity of the program that it’s something that works for a LOT of people. It just seemed like it wasn’t my cup of tea, so to speak.

By the time March rolled around, I knew that I really wanted to start working out to go along with dieting, so I decided to open up the box and give the program a real try. I really wanted to like it. I mean…I REALLY wanted to like it.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.

10-minute-trainer-baseI have to be honest…I didn’t care for the head trainer in the series: Tony Horton. I found him to be a bit…I dunno…smarmy? Cocky? A bit arrogant? I dunno…maybe I’m being overly harsh in my criticisms but I really didn’t find him to be the one thing I was desperately hoping him to be: motivational.

I don’t want to sound like I’m trashing this product, because I really think this is a fantastic program for a certain type of person. I just don’t happen to be that particular person.

I’ve found motivation elsewhere…within myself…and I think that’s what is ultimately going to help me on a go-forward permanent basis.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in health

March 9, 2013

Getting More Active in 2013

By Canadian Bald Guy

I always do my best to make resolutions every year, and every year I end up about 50% complete. This year, for example, I wanted to drop 40 pounds. Well, after all is said and done I’ll have dropped just over 20 pounds (which is awesome!), but only about halfway to where I want to be.

So instead of going on some kind of diet (because that just isn’t going to work) and because I’m already eating a million times healthier than I ever was before thanks to living with Sunshine, I think I’ve got to come up with some type of plan or list of activities I want to do more of in 2013.

The race!1. Go walking more often. I had a GREAT beginning to 2012, dropping 20 pounds in five months and winning a foot race with a co-worker (that was partial inspiration to starting it all), but my want to get outside and run (or even walk) dropped off dramatically after that. Both Sunshine and I have a WEDDING to plan for (probably in August) and want to look our best for the occasion, so we’re both planning to strap-on our sneakers (yes, even during the winter) and start walking again. Hopefully, that will lead us back into running and then who knows? But we need to start somewhere.

Keji2. Go hiking more often. I have only gone on what can be considered an actual “hike” a couple of times, but it wasn’t nearly the ordeal I thought it would be.  So I want to be able to go on a hike complete with snacks, a lunch, and whatever else hikers bring in their backpacks. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be one of those people who end up so far gone that they get lost and have to cut their arm off after getting stuck between some rocks, but I’d like to think there’s a happy medium somewhere.

LochMarch3. Play golf. I used to love playing golf and used to play it all the time. I was never “hard core” about the game, but as a casual player I had a great time. As it stands, I haven’t played in over three years now.  I’d like to find a decent course and go on a trip to make it worth Sunshine’s time. I’ve read that a course in the Ottawa area, Loch March Golf, is really nice. We’ve got friends in Ontario and that could end up being a trip we could take over the summer.

Ski-Wentworth4. Go skiing again. It’s been just over 20 years since I last strapped on a pair of skis, but I know that trying it is something Sunshine has wanted to do for awhile now. We’ve got a small hill about 90 minutes away that was the one I skied on as a teenager, so it just might be time for me to give the “bunny hill” one more try.

5. Go boating! I’m a massive fan of cruising, but I’ve only been on a smaller boat once or twice. I’ve always enjoyed my time on the water and had thought about actually getting a boat license on the off chance I decided to rent a boat or buy a small one myself. Just to get out on the open water and enjoy the ocean breezes would be an incredible experience…and operating a small water craft isn’t the easiest thing in the world to handle (which is why getting a boat license online make sense).

But really, the biggest thing at the end of the day is that I simply get off my butt in 2013. Whether it’s walking, skipping, golfing, cart-wheeling, or doin’ it Gangnam Style…as long as I get out and about next year then I’ll end up looking the way I want to look in August.

Fingers crossed!

4 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in health

February 1, 2013

My Own Skin

By Canadian Bald Guy

There are a million things going on right now and I don’t know how to cope. 

The old me would sit in front of the computer with a big bag of chips or a bowl of ice cream or a couple of chocolate bars and find comfort, albeit temporarily. 

The new me…the me that I’m trying to be, anyway…is having a very difficult time coping with stress.

There are things going on at work that are very difficult for me to deal with. A lot of light bulbs went off this week and nobody is tougher on me than me, so when mistakes are made and I’m trying to “clean up” a bit afterwards, it’s disheartening and it usually brings out the self-loathing part of me. I’m also swamped with normal work, too…so the stress is a bit more than usual right now.

I also plan on starting something for the blog…an exercise program that was sent to me in order to do a sponsored post or two. With a wedding tentatively scheduled for August, I want to be in the best shape of my adult life because I owe it both to myself and to Sunshine. The problem is that as soon as I opened up the package, I began feeling overwhelmed. I began feeling uncomfortable in my own skin because I thought there was no way I could do this. Take pictures of myself in order to end up with a before/after shot? No thanks. Get up every morning to do just 10 minutes of exercise? Heck no. I’m not good enough to do that…who do I think I am to have actually thought I could? And to work out next to Sunshine? She ran a frickin’ marathon a couple of months ago…who am I to think I could even stay at a slightly similar pace to her? And if I’m not, then aren’t I just wasting my time with the whole idea?

Sigh.

And on a very personal note, something happened to me this week that will change my life forever. It’s totally NOT a bad thing and no, it’s not a baby (lol). But it’s been an extremely stressful week because of that situation. I’m sure I’ll eventually blog about it and I’m not trying to bait people in by being vague…it’s just a very personal issue and it’s something that I’m having an extremely difficult time dealing with and working through, even though it is a very good thing.

I know…it doesn’t make sense, does it? That’s just how I’m feeling right now…like I’m just not making sense. I feel like I’m walking on egg shells yet can’t figure out why I feel that way. I’m jittery and jumpy and I’m doing my best to not take it out on Sunshine, who is her usual incredible self. She doesn’t know what to do, and I feel terrible that I’m putting her in the awkward position of being “on the outside”. I mean, I want to let her in and tell her what’s going on inside of me, but every time I try I can’t figure out just what the hell IS going on inside of me, and that just makes me more and more frustrated with myself.

I’m just not comfortable in my own skin right now and I wish I knew how to fix that. I know what I used to do, but that’s not going to work for me anymore. I just need to figure out what to do next.

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in health, Life, Stream of Consciousness

October 3, 2012

I Believe In You

By Canadian Bald Guy

I found out yesterday that Sunshine had decided to NOT run her marathon in a couple of weeks. This is the marathon that she’s been training for since she did the half-marathon last year.

It turns out that I inadvertently contributed to her decision. At one point a few weeks ago she came back from a big run and told me how many kilometers she ran. I actually sounded disappointed to her in the results. I wish I hadn’t sounded that way because I can’t even run ONE kilometer without having to stop three or four times and breaking out a sweat. She ran over 30km that day and I couldn’t have been more proud of her.

I also tried giving her a pep talk the other night that ended up falling flat. My point was to try to get her to enjoy the training and get the most out of every moment so that she enjoys the marathon itself, because if she’s not having fun then why even bother. Apparently the words didn’t quite come out the way I wanted them to and I ended up sounding like I was talking her OUT of the marathon.

Sigh.

We talked last night and I tried to relay my true feelings to her. We discussed the deeply-rooted concerns and fears that she has about running the marathon again (she did her first a few years ago before we met). We discussed just how much she inspires me…how doing what she does isn’t something just anybody can do.

I don’t know if she woke up changing her mind about the marathon or not, but she took off at 5am this morning for a long run.

I believe in you, Sunshine. Whether you decide to run this or not run it, I’m behind you 100%. Do whatever YOU want to do…just know that I look up to you and am inspired by what you have been able to accomplish on so many levels. I don’t think…I KNOW that you can kick ass in a marathon if it’s something you really want to do. And if you don’t…screw it. It’s not the end of the world…it’s just whatever you want to do.

I love you. I believe in you.

You rock.

xox

6 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in health

May 31, 2012

26 pounds!

By Canadian Bald Guy

As some of you may know, I made the conscious decision at the beginning of the year to change my life. I was concerned about my health, yes, but I thought it was more than that. I was coming out of a depression and I wanted to do whatever I could to turn my life around and move into a positive direction, beginning with my weight.

I entered 2012 weighing in at 238 pounds. Kids, I’m only 5’7″…that means there was a LOT of room for improvement.

Thought March and April were pretty stagnant in terms of weight loss, I’ve been able to get back on track in May. Sunshine is absolutely helping, though…she’s kickin’ ass and taking names. She’s out all the time running all over the city and that, my friends, is inspiring to me. Sure, this silly race is still taking place in a month’s time but that’s not what is keeping me motivated. No, it’s knowing that my partner in life is doing whatever she can to help inspire and motivate me in addition to motivating herself…and that’s a pretty cool feeling that I’ve never had before.

A boost in self-confidence helps, too. I’ve always had self-esteem issues in life, but I’m finally at a point where I look  in the mirror and I don’t hate myself and I don’t need approval from others to feel good about how I look. That has done WONDERS for me because any time I feel like I want to gorge on food or eat a ton of unhealthiness, I remind myself that I’M WORTH MORE THAN THAT.

So after five full months of changing my life, I woke up this morning to see this:

I’m down 26 pounds since the beginning of the year. That is AWESOME! I’m feeling better, I’m looking better, and my long-term goal of getting down to 200 pounds does not seem like such an impossible task anymore.

I’m a happy guy these days with a lot of change going on. But this change? This is a change that I can embrace with open arms.

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in health

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