My Tired Little Champ

Me and this little guy had a date planned at the pool right now. Don't think it's gonna happen ;) He is one tired little boy.

Another Saturday With Dad!

Ryler and I have had some great time together the last week. Mom has been super busy and we've missed her but we've also had a chance to do a lot of fun things together. Saturday's are always our favorite! They're pretty standardized at this point. We go to the clubhouse in the morning and Ryler plays in the kids' room while Daddy runs on the treadmill. Then we go home for a little nap and Dad plays video games! Then we take a walk to the grocery store for our weekly grocery shopping. After that I mow the lawn while Ryler chills in the shade. And then the best part of the day, we go to the pool!! We have so much fun together there. We even have our little pool time routine rotating between pool, graham cracker snack time, etc. After Ryler gets good and tired at the pool we head home for a huge afternoon nap! That's always a highlight for both of us. Then we wake up and clean the house before Mommy comes home! Pretty much the same thing every Saturday and we LOVE it!!

Week Without Mom

Mommy's started doing these glitter toe parties and her schedule has been out of control! This last week I think I saw her for a total of 10 minutes and me and Ryler have really been missing her! But we know she's working hard to take care of her boys :) We've been having a blast together in the meantime!

Tuesday's x2

Madison came with me and Ryler to our Tuesday night meetings at the church. She was such a big help and such a big girl! It ended up being the longest night we've ever had to stay there and you'd never guess it cause her and Ryler were perfect the entire time!

My Princess

I would say my little princess but she is just so grown up!! It's too fast :( I feel bad that sometimes regular life isn't all that fun for her at our house but we try and make simple things enjoyable. I know I will always remember doing the little things with her the week she was here!

Lazy Sunday

A fun Sunday at the park with Madi after a nice afternoon stroll.

Ryler's Remodel

Ryler loves re-decorating. His favorite thing to do is push the kitchen chairs into all corners of the house. I don't think he really has a future in interior design ;)

Making Life Better

I was so excited to get my little Madi for a whole week! She is so grown up and so precious. It was fun to incorporate her into my daily and weekly routine. Everything I normally do on a daily basis became so much more fun because she was a part of it! We did our daily walks together, our Saturday run to the grocery store, our trips to the pool every Monday, Friday, and Saturday, and our afternoon naps! I was so grateful to experience those things with my princess and it made them that much better.

Seven Peaks Party

My Pop had a fabulous company party at Seven Peaks and as luck would have it little Madi was with us and we were all able to go as a family! It was SO much fun. Madi and I were able to go on some slides together and Ryler splashed the night away. There was plenty of delicious food and great weather to go around. Thanks to Dad for treating us to such an amazing time!

My New Life!

The Beginning

It’s tough to say when I really decided I needed to change my ways. I’ve always been pretty stubborn about certain things and this was one of them. Working out comes second nature to me. I love it. I could spend all day at the gym and be perfectly happy, and then go back again that night. What I can’t stand is watching what I eat. I always thought I was at least pretty conscious of it. I only drank diet sodas and sugar free drinks. Picked low fat, “lean”, whole wheat, and low carb options over the alternative. So in my mind I was “eating right”. Whenever I start getting really into working out I start to see my weight go up. Love to lift weights, don’t really like running (but will do it when forced). But no matter what variation I put on my workout I could never lose weight. Things all started coming to a head a few months ago. I was on a vacation with my brothers (who all look like Men’s Health cover models) and for the first time felt uncomfortable as their older brother with my shirt off. I had a talk with one of my brothers which sort of sparked my interest in making a change in the way I approach things. Then in May we received some family pictures we had taken and I was amazed at how fat my face had gotten. Seeing myself everyday for the past few years and sucking in every time I walked by the mirror lead me to convince myself that it wasn’t “that bad”. I could see now that it in fact was.

The Reason

One of my greatest concerns was that as time went on I would let things get worse, and I feared I would not have the energy to keep up with my rambunctious and often hyperactive son Ryler. I love his energy and his enthusiasm for life and I want more than anything to forever be able to dive right in to whatever activity he’s involved in and be a fun active participant in his life.

The Plan

A friend of mine at work had lost a lot of weight and I approached him about the secret to his success. He introduced me to the Men’s Health Belly Off program. I’d tried South Beach, Weight Watchers, and other programs that produced results but weren’t exactly lifestyles I could continue living after achieving my ultimate goal. I printed out the menus, recipes, and grocery lists; went over the details of it with my wife; and decided to give it a go. Using their meal plan as a base I determined how many calories my body burns a day at rest (BMR). From there I used basic math to set a goal number of calories for each day in order to lose about two pounds a week. With 3,500 calories in a pound of body I fat, I took 7,000 calories out of my weekly diet and divided it over seven days. I decided that about 1,550 calories a day would be sufficient and also provide me with a cushion for errors in calculating. I downloaded an app for my BlackBerry that helps me keep track of my calories, and another to look up the calorie content of any given item. I set a goal to lose 25lbs by my birthday, which would have me weighing in on July 2 at 200lbs. I would weigh in only once a week, each Sunday morning, so that I wouldn’t drive myself crazy watching my weight fluctuate on a daily/hourly basis.

The Result

Each time I start a new “diet” I’m excited, motivated, and anxious for results. But this time I could feel was different. This was easy. This was not a diet per say, this was a change in lifestyle. The first thing I noticed right off the bat was the amount of time I spent in the food pantry looking for something to eat when I wasn’t even hungry. I never realized how much or how often I snacked. And as far as healthy options are concerned, there weren’t many at my house. It made me laugh each time I found myself standing in the pantry for no good reason then thinking about the calories I would have to enter into my daily totals and realizing I had either already just eaten, or was due to eat in a short period of time. Staying full was simple, just by using the meals and snacks from the Belly Off program I came in each day at my caloric goal without ever getting hungry. The next thing I noticed was the insane amounts of energy I had. I was literally bouncing off the walls with energy. I would run around the house chasing my son all over the place, jump up and down like a mad man just to see him smile, and dance like a fool to get his attention. I couldn’t sit still. I started going on long walks with him, playing on the floor with him (he’s only 11 months), and then going on walks again. I was not only spending more time with him but more quality time. Doing things that he was loving and never getting tired. I started to help out more around the house, which I’m sure my wife loved. Cleaning, cooking, just doing odd jobs to keep busy, to keep burning calories, and to keep using my seemingly endless supply of energy.

After the first week I weighed in on Sunday morning and had lost three pounds. I was ecstatic. One pound better than I had hoped. It was healthy weight loss, it was safe, and it was real and lasting. The following weeks continued much in the same fashion. I rarely struggled with hunger and continually found myself with an abundance of energy. I was loving every minute of it. Each week I looked forward to Sunday’s weigh-in with great anticipation and each week I found myself losing 3-5lbs. I became addicted to the results. It was like a highly addictive drug and every Sunday morning I got my fix. The results became my motivation to say no to just about every temptation that came my way during the week. I was too happy, and too excited, and loving it too much to let a donut or candy bar get in the way of my success. I was so driven by my success that it became nearly effortless to keep going.

Nine weeks later I have lost 35lbs and for the first time in nine years I am under 200lbs. I exceeded my goal of weighing 200lbs on my birthday by five pounds. I’ll never forget the first time I stepped on the scale and saw it read 195lbs! I'm now 190lbs and my newly adjusted goal is to lose just 5 more pounds, bringing the total weight loss to 40lbs, before Ryler’s birthday on August 15^th. Then I plan to maintain a healthy weight of 185lbs.

It's been an absolute blast receiving endless compliments and comments from everyone in my life, from people at work, to church, to the neighborhood peeps. It keeps me driving, disciplined, and focused. I truly appreciate all of the positive feedback I've been given and this is certainly something I plan on maintaining for a lifetime to come!

Can't Take The Wait

Gears of War 2: Dark Corners DLC

7/28

Marvel vs Capcom 2

7/29

Halo 3: ODST

9/22

Modern Warfare 2

11/10

Assassin's Creed 2

11/17

Halo: Reach

Fall 2010

In-N-Out of Vacation

Mindy has posted a great summary of our short lived vacation to St. George. It was a ton of fun!

Super Stud

Ryler doesn't just pretend to be a super baby, he truly is! :)

You Know That One Place? It Must've Frozen Over!

Words can not begin to describe my shock and amazement when I opened my birthday gift from my precious wifey! To keep an incredibly long story short, she bought me 3 video games that I've only dreamt of owning months before they even come out! If you know Mindy you know what a huge sacrifice and gesture this is. And if you know me you know I am psyched out of my mind!! Thank you so much precious!! The true gift was much more than just the games. I love you!

Happy Birthday To Me!

What a fantastic birthday celebration!! We went to Cheesecake Factory with my parents and Michelle. It was an absolute blast! I promised to only eat half of my incredibly delicious dulce de leche cheesecake. Obviously that didn't happen ;) We had so much fun just laughing our heads off. My parents got me a sweet Utah apron since I love the U and I love grilling! After dinner we all went to see Transformers. Haven't done dinner and a movie in so long!

Had A Bad Day

Poor Ryler was having a grumpy day. He's still so cute even when he's upset. I sure love this little guy!