Green as green can be...

Hello! If you are reading this, then before you keep reading or doing whatever blog followers do, I should probably tell you a bit about me, my reason for blogging, and (I suppose) my goals. Firstly, Bob is my name. I'm a 41 year old man with a wife and 4 children. My oldest 2 are twins and they are 6 years old. #3 is almost 2 years old and as of today, 7/14/10, #4 is about 3 days old. It makes total sense to add a family member to the mix and THEN start blogging, but it is all part of my plan and I am the kind of guy that NEEDS a plan!!

I entitled this particular blog post "Green as green can be..." because all of the focal points in this blog represent newness in some capacity. I have never blogged before and truthfully, never really spent any time reading blogs. I suspect through this process I will do more blog reading. I've also never been the type of man to keep a journal, diary, or anything like that so I don't really know what types of things I should or should not include. I am always open to feedback.

2nd, I am new to the "parent of 4 children" thing. As I mentioned earlier, my 3rd child is almost 2 years old, and my oldest are 6 year old twins...so I'm not incredibly new to parenting....HOWEVER...I've learned in the last 3 days that being a parent of 4 is a WHOLE NEW THING!! My wife and I are routine oriented people and we still don't have one that works for the 6 of us. It'll come, but until then, we are literally "flying by the seat of our pants" on a regular basis. While this is not the purpose for this blog, I imagine that I'll refer back to my parenting experiences as well...if for no other reason than comical interludes!!

Now...to the real reason for diving into the world of blogging. I am a large man and I want to be much smaller. Reasons for this are: I'll feel better, be healthier, look better, live longer, and be stronger. NONE of these reasons top my list. The MAIN reason why I want to lose weight is that I feel a good parent leads by example. I want my children to live a happy, healthy lifestyle. I feel that their best chances of that are to see a healthy-living father. Since the oldest 2 are only 6, this is a good time to start to instill some life-long habits of exercising and eating right. My wife is VERY GOOD at making sure they eat well, so that's covered...the poor attitude towards exercise is my issue to deal with. I want to lose weight the healthy way and do something that will help me stay motivated. I've looked at a lot of different programs and have decided to purchase the P90X exercise program. I'm told that to get in shape, it's the best thing that is out there. I've watched the infomercial a ton of times and read some reviews on line. I've found that there are no negatives to the program, but there are 3 things to consider:

1. You have to commit to the entire program, which includes the "hour a day, 7 days a week" time investment and the dietary suggestions.
2. It's best to have a room dedicated to working out with the video.
3. You have to purchase resistance bands and/or a pull-up bar.

I have absolutely no issue with #2 and #3. #1 is where my pitfall could possibly occur. As I type this blog, I remind myself that positive thinking yields positive results...blah, blah, blah. That helps for sure, but with 4 kids and a LONG way to go, I have to push past how I feel physically (and mentally) and make myself do it everyday. I tend to be an all-or-nothing person. If I know I have to do it everyday, I'll succeed easier than only having to do it 3 days a week. Seems goofy, but if I get up in the morning to do the workout and I know that I can put it off until tomorrow...I may do that...especially if I have even an ounce of pain in my body!! "You'll be better off if you wait a day until the pain goes away, then you'll be ready to work hard...hold off until tomorrow" will be what the voice in my head will suggest....bad voice!!

Square 1: As I mentioned earlier, I am a 41 year old man. Over the last several years, my weight has fluctuated anywhere between 240 and 295 pounds. I am 6 feet tall and am told that I wear my weight well...whatever that means. I guess it means that I'm fat all over instead of just my gut. Admittedly, I am "thick" all over and will post a picture of myself (when I figure out how to do it) so you can see what square 1 looks like. Right now, I'm weighing in at 293 pounds. My pant size is 44, edging on 46 and my usual shirt size is XXL. I'm a real man with a real weight problem, combined with the fact that I also love to eat and have long-term motivation issues. When we eat pizza, I will eat 1/2 of the XL pizza. I can easily snarf down a foot-long sub with side dishes included. I enjoy a good beer. Trying different types of beer is a hobby of mine. Not really into the hard alcohol or wine thing...just an occasional good beer. I merely state these things to indicate that I am not a "staged" mildly out of shape man trying to do this program. The P90X claims that it'll get you ripped in 90 days. Well...if that happens to me, while doing everything right, a miracle will have occurred!! I'm expecting to have to do the program 2 or 3 times and then, perhaps, I can see my first six pack in the mirror. My buddy told me once that he has a six-pack, but keeps it in a cooler (his belly fat). I've adopted that policy for quite a while, but it's time to let the finely aged six-pack out...if I can do it in 9 months, well then, amen brother!!

Not sure how this all works, but I will order the P90X this week. When I get it, I intend to post every day describing some of the things I did, how I felt about it, and noting changes in my body. I'm expecting to feel tired, fatigued, and generally crappy at the beginning. By making myself post everyday, that should help with the motivation to keep doing it. We'll see...should be a fun ride if you can hang on long enough.

Now, to the issue of blogging. I am not an expert at the English Language. I am a music teacher. My writing may not be the best, but it will definitely be genuine. I am always open to feedback, encouragement, and constructive criticism about anything...diet, exercise, typing, blogging, etc. I hope that people read my blog and post comments...that'll be a lot of fun for me. If you know of other blogs that are similar, please refer them to me so I can see what REAL bloggers write about.

I guess, for now, that's about it. I have a bunch more to say and I'm sure more will come to me as I post each day.