Mission: 32/30—KFC, why can’t I resist you??

This past weekend I stayed with my buddy and his wife in Seattle. It was a beautiful weekend. No rain, plenty of sunshine and daytime temperatures reaching the mid-90s. I even went for a run that first morning I was in town. Burning some good calories and working up a good sweat. Felt pretty good about myself.

Then I went and destroyed all my hard work! Over the weekend, I had the following: KFC (extra crispy dark meat special bucket, family size cake, mashed potatoes..definitely my favorite of the fast food pantheon), Taco Bell (chili cheese burrito which they don’t serve here in the bay area, but for some mysterious reason they do in Washington, tacos and other assorted taco-like treats), some delicious omelets, fruit, bbq chicken, bbq short ribs, mochi ice cream, chocolate covered macaroons, potato chips, bacon-jelly slider(actually a good mix), duck slider, several(or more) beers, conveyor belt sushi(indeterminate amount) and a sausage egg McMuffin (courtesy of McDonalds upon my return to San Francisco). Yup, that was all this past weekend. Every single bite was yummy, but in the end, not necessarily worth it. Usually I feel healthy and clean, but after having pizza (I forgot to list it above) prior to a Sunday run, and following it up with KFC, I wasn’t feeling good. I felt heavy and bloated. In the future I’m planning on indulging only one food craving at a time.

With all that being said, on Monday I made a trip to Costco and made the purchases pictured below:
For the most part it is healthy stuff(at least healthier stuff than I had this weekend). Fruits, veggies, healthy snacks. It looks like a mess in that cart, but see how it transforms into a day of healthy snacks!
With the assistance of many containers and my fiancée, this is the food I had for snacking and lunch throughout the day on Wednesday: chopped apple; chopped nectarine; babybel cheese(to help stave off the hunger pangs);salad with veggies+fruit+cheese+vinagreitte+almonds+craisins; greek yogurt + blueberries; carrots, cucumber and baby tomatoes with hummus(and some tortilla chips); turkey+havarti wrapped in lavash. It was literally a mouthful(please forgive me for that line, but I’m writing this at 12:30 am and have boot camp at 6am!).

Even though I had nothing fried and no red meat, turns out I was satisfied and I felt good about myself (and not bloated and heavy!). I decided to not weigh myself this week, but save it for after my body has been subjected to one week of healthy yummy eating.

So I guess the moral of the story after all that rambling is that if you crave something, maybe just have bite or two… not the whole bucket. You’ll feel better afterwards. So… who’s up for some cupcakes at Off the Grid????

Have a good workout and see you next week for my week 3 update for Mission: 32/30 (what's Mission: 32/30? click here to find out) where I tell you I went a week without fried chicken!

****Any comments or questions, feel free to email me at foxbehungry@gmail.com or hit me up on twitter at twitter.com/foxbehungry (I also post all my workouts and keep my food log there)****

Mission:32/30 Week 1 Update--It hurts when I sneeze.

Pushups, sprints, dips, exercise band activities, squats(several varieties), lunges(several varieties), hills, stairs, planks, crunches, toe touchers, situps, burpees(aka up-downs), bear crawls, wheel barrows(not wheel barrels; see pictures above) sprints, jogs and of course a nice stroll along the beach with Leandra Rouse (and 17 others… geez, don’t get me in trouble with my fiancee!). Okay, so that nice stroll was a sprint/jog also known as an Indian-run or more to be politically correct, a Native American run. Actually, I think Indian run sounds better (and has fewer syllables) and unless someone has a better name for it (like up-downs in place of burpees) and since I am part Cherokee(one sixteenth) let’s stick with it.

So that was quite a week one of different exercises and though I am injury free, I am by no means pain free or sore-free. At the moment when I sneeze it feels like there is an explosion in my rib cage! Turns out, my core needs to be improved. As part of Mission:32/30(click here for more info about my mission) I hope to strengthen my sneezing muscles (my core) enough that the bear crawls and wheel barrows courtesy of Andrew May(6am and 7am class at Golden Gate Park) on Friday and the planks and spider lunges courtesy of Leandra Rouse(Old Navy and Gap instructor) on Saturday will no longer have me fearing the impending pain that comes with high pollen counts!

As for Mission:32/30 here is a quick update. So far I’m still 5 foot 4ish, but I am officially one pound lighter than last week. Of course yesterday I was one pound heavier than I was last week, so I guess I’ll need to check again next week to see which way I’m really headed. Darn unpredictable weight fluctuations associated with pastries and burritos. I may go to the store this week and see if I can find some 33/30s as an intermediary before I reach my ultimate goal of 32/30!

Also, for those of you who didn't have time to watch the full video on Facebook, below is a clip featuring Leandra and spider lunges! Please excuse the shakiness. I am currently working my way up to being an amateur video-grapher. What is below an amateur you ask? Well that’s easy… ME!

Have a good week!

Mission:32/30 Begins!

I’ve done BootcampSF for three sessions and I’ve loved every minute of it. Okay, "loved" may be too strong a word. I’ve immensely enjoyed every minute. And not necessarily every minute as it has happened, but more like one minute after every class…. IMMENSE ENJOYMENT! I’d say you think I’m crazy, but I’m guessing somewhere between 5 and 95% of you agree (I’m crossing my fingers that it is much closer to the second number!).

In 18 weeks I definitely feel healthier, faster and stronger. When I first started my mission was to prevent loose fitting jeans from fitting me like skinny jeans! So far so good and I have not had to buy baggy jeans as my regular “I can bend at the knees” jeans. So far so good, Mission:Baggy will not be my Skinny (click on link for that earlier post) accomplished! But something happened the other day. I pulled a pair of khakis out of the dryer(or is it drier??) yesterday and the result can be seen below:

That damage as framed by my hand is not an optical illusion. A hole in my inner rear right thigh developed due the friction of my legs rubbing together as I walked and over time it just gave(yeah, if any of my friends read this I'm going to get so much crap, but hey...wutevz). RIDICULOUS! Those pants were 34/30 (34 inch waist, 30 inch inseam). A couple of years ago I was walking pretty in 32/30s and heck, I even had a pair of 31/30s I could fit into. That is my new goal, my new mission… Mission: 32/30 in full effect!!

I don’t expect it to happen overnight. Heck, in three sessions of BootcampSF I have lost a total of 2 pounds. That is by no means any fault of BootCampSF. Like I said right off the bat, I’m faster, stronger and healthier (and my jeans fit a little better). But with my new mission, I hope to get even healthier and hopefully in 3-6months I’ll be 32/30 healthy!

Also, I know that I shouldn’t let the number on a scale be the sole determinant in how healthy I feel, I’d just like to state that the last time I was fit into 32/30s(comfortably that is, because I could get into them now, they would just appear to be denim spandex and I would not be able to zip them up, let alone button them) I was 172 pounds.

So that is my goal, fit into 32/30s and weigh 172 pounds. I’m starting off as of 8am this morning at 34/30s and 187 pounds. Did I mention I’m 5 foot 4(ish) inches tall with a BMI of 31.6 (solidly in the obese area of the curve). CURSES TO BMI!! I’ve been told BMR is what I should actually measure, but since I have no idea what that stands for at the moment, I’ll save it for another post.

Okay, with all that being said, it’s time for me to get working. And hopefully that 34/30 Old Navy Masthead at the top of this post will morph into my desired 32/30!! And oh yeah...no more unplanned fried chicken fests. Much sadness….

See you back here in one week for an update on Mission:32/30!!!

Have a good one!

Born to Run: Best book i NEVER read!

(note: if it is bold and italicized it contains a link)

have you read Born to Run by Christopher McDougall? well, okay, neither have i but i've heard it is a great book. no, seriously, i really "heard" it is a great book. since i've been in bootcamp, i've listened to it 2 times completely and have sometimes gone back just to hear other portions to get me hyped up for a run.

in addition to the fact that i now wear the right shoes (check out the previous post to hear about my overpronation), listening to this book inspired me to just keep on running, even when i thought "running is stupid, i'd rather drive... or better yet go to sleep." the author of the book starts by talking about how he can do every other kind of physical activity (such as biking, kayaking, swimming[i think those are the examples, it's kind of tough to bookmark and audiobook]), but as soon as he tries running a few blocks, he falls apart with foot pain and i assume shin splints as well(probably me just me projecting my pain so that i felt more connected to the author).

suffice it to say(i really love that phrase even if i'm not sure i'm using it right), by the end of the book the author is able to run a 50 mile road race with ultramarathoners (such as Scott Jurek aka el venado aka the deer), a barefoot running session(barefoot ted aka el mono aka the monkey), crazy dude who guys by the name el caballo blanco (aka the white horse) and the real stars of the book, the tarahumara native mexican indians of the copper canyons.

i don't want to ruin it for you, so look below for different buying options and listen/read to the book for yourself. heck, you can do what i did and buy a couple of extra copies for friends as gifts as i just did with the overstock option down below. just as an fyi for those of you that like to save a few bucks and don't mind waiting 2-15 days for free shipping, with a $20 dollar Club O membership on overstock.com, you get 15% credit back through the August 15th as opposed to their regular 5% credit back (which is also a good deal if you do a lot of online purchasing).

now that my copy is in the mail, perhaps Born to Run will be the best book i ever read as well(probably not, but maybe!!).

have a good run and see you in the park!

***posted by foxbehungry***

Audio Option (FREE)
Free via audible free trial (plus one additional book: download 2 books right away then cancel membership to avoid credit card charges); other options i recommend for a second free audiobook include ultramarathon man, bossypants, seal team six, inside delta force and medium raw
http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=bhp_bb0309A_adbl2_A?ie=UTF8&node=2402172011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=browse&pf_rd_r=1AP7WQ1YKKSQXZH2KSNE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1309901282&pf_rd_i=283155

Paperback Options
$10.19 (free super saver shipping if your total is over $25, free 2dayshipping if you are an Amazon Prime member)
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Superathletes-Greatest-Vintage/dp/0307279189/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313342132&sr=8-1

$8.61(Club O member get15%/$1.29 credit back if you order by August 15th, 5% back after the 15th and free 2-15 day shipping, otherwise $2.95 shipping)
http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/Born-to-Run-Paperback/4290671/product.html

$9.49 at Costco and you get get it immediately in addition to probably buying a hot dog and a few months worth of trail mix and bread

Hardcover Options
$13.69 (Club O member get15%/$2.05 credit back if you order by August 15th, 5% back after the 15th and free 2-15 day shipping, otherwise $2.95 shipping)
http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/Born-to-Run-Hardcover/3424391/product.html

$15.82 (free super saver shipping if your total is over $25, free 2dayshipping if you are an Amazon Prime member)
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307266303/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1313342132&sr=8-1

EBOOKS
$9.99 for either the kindle version or the nookbookversion