Snowbody Snows the trouble...

It's been an interesting transition from sunny Orange County to the wonderful four seasons of Murray UT.  The biggest wake up call has been this white sometimes fluffy, sometimes slushy and everything in between snow stuff. We had 18 inches two weeks ago, and then it let up a bit, followed by a crazy slush/ice storm that you can read about clicking on this link.  Then last week has given me more snow, more cold and more snow. I've shoveled snow three out of the last 5 days. Talk about a great core workout!!!  ha ha.

Today there was about 4 inches on the driveway when I got home around 4pm. It was fluffy on top with ice underneath.  Not the worst as of late, but still plenty of work. According to myfitnesspal.com I burned about 281 calories in 25 minutes. I took some extra time to shovel my neighbors walkways so I could say hi and make small talk. I really appreciate how friendly my neighbors are and haven't had much of a chance to catch up over the last few months.

So with all this snow, I've found great fitness benefits, mostly calorie burning and core strengthening, but best of all I finally got a chance to catch up with some neighbors and do a little service.  If you don't live in a snowy wonderland you may not understand the fun involved in playtime in the snow, but aside from all that shoveling, there's skiing, snowboarding (my fav) sledding and a whole bunch of slip sliding around on four wheels. I've missed winters and am honestly thankful that I'm actually experiencing one for a change.

Ice-storm in Utah, say what!?

So if you heard the news today, Utah had a crazy ice storm. I've never experienced anything like this. Yes you East Coasters can now mock me as well as all my fellow Utahn's. We just don't know how to deal with this stuff. So sadly today there were accidents all over Salt Lake, Utah and Davis Counties. Not sure if there are any other counties that got so blasted, but that's because I haven't done enough research. I wonder if after reading this, you'll do some research and be kind enough to leave a comment below.

It was nuts! My poor brother in law totalled his car due to the crazy storm and the sad thing is that the shop is so backed up from the storm that his car wont get looked at until Monday to determine if it's completely totalled out or fixable. I wish I had a pic to post, but the one to the left will have to work for now.




Scary as the whole fiasco was today, there are some funny happenings that have been delightfully uploaded to the web. So for your viewing pleasure, away with go with some slip sliding good times!

These kids are at BYU. I guess you can learn there as well as goof around.

This next one is a friend of the family. So fun!

So if you find yourself in an ice storm and can't get any traction, stay home or break out the ice skates, because this stuff was ridiculous! 

Blending Vs. Juicing

Almost every time I tell someone I'm juicing for nutrition I'm told I am losing 40% or more of the nutrition and fiber. They don't know what juicer I use nor do they know what it is I'm juicing. Then they tell me to use a blender to save all the nutrition and keep the fiber. "YOU NEED THE FIBER," they keep professing to me. Well, I don't have a great blender so I tried an experiment. An experiment I would soon regret.

Step 1. Gather all my juicing ingredients  (yes, the usual suspects)
    Carrots, Kale, Spinach, Cucumber and 1 granny smith apple.

Step 2. Break out the Juiceman II Juicer and my Magic Bullet blender

Step 3. Prep veggies: Cut giant carrots and cucumber to smaller pieces that can fit in the juicer.
     I split the veggies 50/50 so we had the same exact ingredients in the blend group and juice only group.

Step 4. Juice half the ingredients remove the pulp and combine juice and pulp into magic bullet and blend.

Step 5. Juice remaining ingredients

Step 6. Try to enjoy both beverages.

So how'd it turn out? Well, The combined blend group turned out tasting almost the same, a little more bitter from the kale pulp. I'm sure I got more fiber and nutrients, but I also got the bitterness of kale more than ever.  The taste wasn't bad enough to make me stop but the texture was. I'm now fighting my way through it. It cost about 3 dollars for all the ingredients, so it's less than fast food, or other "quick" solutions.

Blended Version

Juiced Version

 Just by the looks of them, you can see that the Kale and Spinach didn't break down as much for the blended version as it did for the juiced version. So the fiber really shines through.

Here's a snapshot of the nutrition:

Disclaimer: I'm not sure what the actual nutrition loss was from juicing, so this shows the raw nutrition

All in all, I learned I like juicing way better. I also learned to not try this again until I get my blendtec  blender that I want. Maybe then I'll become a blend-maniac. For now I'm a Juicer for sure.  This plus my Visalus shakes is giving me a grip of nutrition. Much better than I had over the last 20 some years.  Having my stroke was probably the best thing imaginable at this phase in my life. Had I kept going on the path I was on, I probably would have enjoyed another 20 years of living maybe 30, but the quality couldn't be very good. Now I'm hoping to get another 50 years of quality living before this body goes to the grave. Nutrition is the key to longevity. My short term goals are to burn off enough fat and build up enough muscle to churn my body into a level of fitness I've never experienced before. But more importantly its the overall health and nutrition that will raise my quality of life.  I'm loving the Vi-Life.

Thoughts to Eat By.

Thoughts to eat by

Cruising down I-15 after a broker meeting and a client presentation I was starting to crave food as it was rapidly passing my lunch time. I looked around and found a nearly full bottle of water in my backpack so I started chugging. It was at this time that my mind started wandering.

Yes, my mind was wandering. It happens to everyone. Some of the most profound thoughts I know have come from people sitting on the toilet, driving down the road, or doing something completely unrelated to where their mind was and WHAM! Fantastic Ideas popped in. My thoughts started focusing on my fitness goals, my wife and her sister are about to embark on their own blog about their goals for weight loss and wellness. Everyone seems to be focusing on better fitness or healthier living lately. So it hit me. What's my motto? What's my focus and purpose?




While pondering all this I started thinking about juicing, blending eating more vegetables, and enjoying my Vi shakes. I freaking love my Vi shakes. I also LOVE my juicing. Its the only logical and palatable way to get Kale into my system. Then from nowhere but somewhere at the same time, WHAM! It hit me. Build, Burn and Churn. I need to focus on foods and a lifestyle that will help me build muscle, burn fat and churn myself into something better.

So for now, My focus is to Build muscle, Burn fat. I don't want to lose it anymore, everything lost is likely to be found. I don't want to find it. Nobody wants to find it. Why would we want to find it. That's just silly to lose fat. I want to burn it. Obliterate it. Destroy it. Make it nothing. The human body is amazingly capable of burning fat because fat is simply energy stores. Our bodies churn whatever we intake into energy output or fat stores. The lower quality foods we intake, the more fat stores we create. The higher quality foods we intake, the more efficient our body will churn it into energy.  It's all about boosting your metabolism.

What works best? I've found green foods and Vi Shakes do it for me. Best energy levels I've ever had. But I'm not hip to everything out there. What recipes and supplements have you found that help to make the best you possible.

Clean Eating

It isn't easy being green. However, I do find eating green is pretty darn easy and pretty tasty too. I'm writing this as I graze on a bucket of spinach. NOM NOM NOM NOM... And drink a Vi Shake. mmmm...

But the truth of it is that before Oct 29, 2012 I really couldn't tell you the last healthy meal I had. I was just eating whatever and didn't seem to focus on anything healthy. I was living the ROCKSTAR lifestyle. Yeah, not the platinum album kind of rockstar, but the energy drinks and burgers, and tacos, and fries, with a side of whatever they could talk me into as I rolled on through the drive through. I was over 250 lbs again. I think that would be the fourth time in my life I let it get that bad. Then it all hit...

I HAD A STROKE! At least that's one thing they are calling it. It was thought to be either a TIA, a STROKE, or a Basilar Migraine. The Doctors are all still quite puzzled and no one can pick out a justified cause or a reasonable analysis (check out the hot pick of me with yet another medical test to the right).

Everyone wants more tests and nobody can figure out why it lasted so long but left no long term brain damage. Granted I struggled for weeks with basic math, spelling, and couldn't find the right word midway through sentences. Our families favorite was when I couldn't say fireplace. Instead I kept saying Fire Station.


It sounded a lot like this. "You know, the fire station, er, fire sta, fire sta... fire station, UGH! Fire sta sta,  fire sta, Harumph.  (pause for effect) fire..........place! Yes, I got it!"

So with all the hooplah and craziness from my "stroke" I'm now eating healthier than ever and have sworn off energy drinks of all types.  I even added nutritional supplements and started juicing to improve my body's functions. My favorite nutritional kicker is my HULK Shake. I started taking Visalus as part of the 90 day challenge I have to lose 20 lbs. I'm a few weeks from completion and still have 7 lbs to lose, but the best thing is how energetic I feel all day, how well I sleep and how much more clearly I can think. I have to say thank you to nutrition for all of that. The shakes are my most consistent source of health. I have had three burgers since the 29th of Oct, and cut out fried foods (occasionally I sneak a few fries from my wife, but she's cutting them out of her diet now. Where can I turn for peace?) I guess I'll just eat more veggies.

Here's my HULK Shake mix <--Link to the 90 Day Challenge - I dare you to try it.

2/3 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water. half a frozen banana, a handful of torn up baby spinach, and two scoops of Vi Shape mix. Blend to perfection and scarf! I'm finishing it as I type this now. Mmmmm So stinking good. Yeah, I've lost 13 lbs, of fat. I'm sure I've packed on some muscle and I feel better than ever. I'm sold! Healthy living is the way to go.

Biggest Loser Workout

Okay peeps, my wife and I are sitting here watching TV's The Biggest Loser, and it hit me!  Work out. Yeah, so what can we do while we watch this show?

I said, 10 air squats every time someone cries. (then I start air squatting)
Jess said, People don't cry very often on this show...
I said, That's kind of the point. So then what?

So now we sit here and write out a plan.
Crying on TV = 10 air squats
Jillian yelling = 30 jumping jacks
Someone says, "I can't" =

Doh! Someone is crying. Ten more air squats!!!! Ugh! Whew!

Someone says, "I can't" = 50 crunches
Bob Claps his hands together = 30 second plank

Oh crap, more tears!!! I'm squatting again.

Anyone grunts = 5 pushups

So give it a shot. Try it out and see what happens to your body while you enjoy TV's "The Biggest Loser." So far this is kicking my butt. So Much fun!!!

Here's the workout un-interrupted.



Crying on TV = 10 air squats
Jillian yelling = 30 jumping jacks
Someone says, "I can't" = 50 crunches
Bob Claps his hands together = 30 second plank
Anyone grunts = 5 pushups
Add jogging in place to all commercial breaks for a little extra Oomph!


Try it and then leave make a comment below. Can you come up with more ideas to get a workout in?
Keep your comments clean please.

From Frozen land to Fantasy Land

Snowflakes were falling as we pulled out of the driveway, the radio was calling it the storm of the decade. In some areas there were 2+ feet of snow and our house had more than 16 inches of snow when we returned. Every friend  we had was posting complaints of the cold and crazy snow while we were gone. It was nuts!  My lovely sister-in-law was nice enough to give Jess and I a ride to the airport and by the time she took us, the snow was dropping in giant chunks and wow, it was blanketing the whole county. It took my sister-in-law almost 4 hours to travel 10 miles. Yeah, it sucked, but California OC/LA traffic just got trumped! Thankfully we missed it all. YAY. Now on to the fun weekend we had.

Disneyland was wonderful and cold. We got there about 20 minutes after the park opened on a Friday and wow, we got right onto all the big ticket rides we wanted. 5 minutes for Indiana Jones, 2 minutes for Pirates of the Caribbean.  We were off to a great start! The rest of the morning we hit Buzz Light year, Star Tours, Finding Nemo, Matterhorn, Space Mountain and we even saw Captain EO with 30 minutes or less for each ride. Wow!!!!

In the afternoon we had the longest ride of the day on the Peter Pan ride. Darn Fantasy Land always socks it to ya! But even more frustrating was that I didn't find this site until after I got home.  It's chuck full of great ideas to help you maximize your adventure.

All in all a great weekend. A bit cold, but fun none the less. After enjoying Disneyland we ate the yummiest Burgers at "our place" TK Burgers. Mmmmmmm Loved that heavenly moment. The rest of the weekend was simply fun with family and friends. Hopefully you can plan your own fun filled weekend where you can create great weekends, maximize the fun and enjoy the company of those you love.

Off we go into the wild blue yonder...

SNAP! the sound of my suitcase closing, followed by a long zip sound and WHAM!

I'm ready to fly. My beautiful wife and I are finally taking a long weekend and headed out of town. Is it going to be fun? OF COURSE. We're going to Disneyland. The happiest place on Earth is that they say. I say it's the third happiest place on Earth. First is the Temple (I'm a Mormon, It's kind of our thing), second is my bed (it's so comfy), third is Disneyland.

So the plan is to leave this snowy blizzard (fingers crossed that our flight doesn't get delayed), fly to CA, and then pretty much relax all evening. Tomorrow we hit Disneyland, then relax. Saturday we relax, go to the world (should be) famous TK Burger!  Jess (the beautiful wife of mine) and I absolutely love this place. I took a trip to CA once and went there with my brother in laws. She was so mad that she couldn't be there eating it with me, so I bought an extra burger disassembled and brought it home. It was perfect! She flipped out with excitement and boy did I earn some browny points.


Disneyland is a very important place for her side of the family, her brother Josher loves it so much that he runs through it every time they do a half marathon there. Even more impressive is that Disneyland is where I proposed to my sweet wife. I can't believe I surprised her there, but I totally did. That story will have to come in a different post. Needless to say, here's the video for your enjoyment.

Well, It's time to sign off and go have some fun. TTYL

Paint da Fence! Er, Walls!

WHAT AM I DOING HERE?



The last few days I've been painting.  Painting, Painting, Painting, Painting, Painting!!!! Have I mentioned yet that I've been painting. Trim, Walls, Ceiling, Walls, more Trim, Doors, Trim, Closets, Walls and on and on and on.  I don't have a Mr Miyagi teaching me Karate. I don't even have a Mentor teaching me well, anything. I just keep painting.



So Why am I painting so much? Well, my wife and I bought this great gem of a home back in June and have completely renovated the main floor. We finished a few months ago and are now completing the basement because it's going to be a sweet little rental. We already have some renters lined up to move in next month. All I need to do is get this thing done...

I just hope I can finish it all before it finishes me.



So here's what I've been painting. I hope you like it.  Don't forget to comment, or even follow my blog. It's hopefully a fun ride for all you guys and gals.

Downstairs Den                 

Family Room

This is the mess I'm dealing with...

Family Room with built in book case/Desk.

The Crazy guy who writes this stuff.

HOLY CRAP!

I killed my legs two days ago and I am still feeling the burn. I love/hate it, but I know it's making life better. According to people who know more than me, building more muscle creates a stronger fat burning machine (aka a stronger healthier body).


But here's the deal, I HURT. I love it, but I HURT!  Today my wife left for work at 6:30 am while I laid in bed still. I got up at 7:45 and immediately was reminded of my leg workout. Yesterday I did P90X Chest and Back, and while it was great, I'm not sore yet. My legs on the other hand, or should I say foot, are killing.  I'm not complaining, I'm stating a fact.

Without any more wasting of time let's get on to the toilet humor, aka the HOLY CRAP. The reason for this post. I text my beautiful wife shortly after waking up and using the morning facilities. This is our conversation:

Me: Sitting on the toilet hurts my butt. HOT DANG!!!
Wife: I had to lower myself by putting my hands on the vanity and edge of the tub this morning! lol we are out of shape babe. Not for long.
Me: HOLY CRAP!!! Like literally, I was saying prayers so I could poop in less pain.
Wife: Seriously? HA HA HA!!! That's pretty bad. you poor baby. :(
Wife: LOL
Me: Nah, I'm just cracking jokes at my own expense.

I love when life is so funny that you can't help but make fun of your situation and quite literally crack yourself up.

Okay, well that's enough for now. Go have some fun. Workout, Eat right, and expand your mind and soul!

Peace!

Working it out

Fitness is always a pain...if you do it right. ;)

Trying to keep exercise routines fresh and challenging requires little to no effort. Hop on one of those silly Pinterest style sites or just plain google that stuff.  Just to help out I'll link to my Fitness and Wellness page on Pinterest.

Here it is, my link! ------> Fitness & Wellness. 

I like to pin challenging and sometimes easy workouts for me to try. I've done quite a few of them, and if they suck, they get deleted. the good one's stay on here. You don't have to go to the gym to get in a good workout.

Here's a little sample for you. (no equipment needed)
20 minute Cycle Workout (repeat as many times as you can in 20 minutes

• 100 jumping jacks
• 50 crunches
• 25 air squats
• 15 pushups
• 30 second plank
• 20 calf raises
• 20 lunge split jumps
• 15 pushups
• 30 second wall sit

          _repeat_


So if you are daring, give it a try. If you can't do it all, do what you can. The important thing is to keep moving. If you like to run, go run. I personally would rather get a paper cut than run three times a week. To each their own.

Go have fun, make an effort. SWEAT! It's good for you.

Brrrrrrrr Cold!

As an entrepreneur I find myself doing a lot of "tasks" that a normal business owner would delegate. BUT, since I don't have a staff, nor do I have enough tasks for myself at the moment, so I ended up walking through a neighborhood in West Valley City, UT hanging door hanger advertisements for my real estate business. I've honestly been putting this off. Who wants to walk door to door dropping off door hangers. To top it off, who would want to do this in 20 degree weather?  Yeah, well, It was 12 degrees or less the last week or so, so here I am finally home and finally warm.

I put out about 300 flyers in about two hours and trust me, I don't want to do this ever again. lol. Running your own business isn't for everyone, but it is for me. Granted if I could, I'd delegate more, but alas, I can't yet. Maybe next year I'll be delegating this to some lucky teenager. So for now, I have another 700 flyers to put out over the next two weeks. I think I'll wait a few days before I get to round two. Plus I'm hoping for warmer weather.

Fitness is a journey, not a desitionation

My new journey brings with it more than goals and a GIANT dose of reality. I've found myself constantly searching for different types of workouts to really test myself. To help get great results, but more importantly to stay fresh. I hate routines. I did insanity 4 days last week and it truly sucked. I felt the most pain in my calves. I couldn't believe how much calf pain I got. Thanks Shawn T. So this week I'm going to try a full week of p90x. Yes, I'm going to Bring it!

In my stumbling across routines and ever growing pinterest, facebook, and youtube fitness searching, I found this little gem!

America's most feared and hated/loved Trainer. Yes, we all love and hate Jillian Michaels. but you can't argue with her track record. She's made her own transformation as well as helped thousands of others make their own transformation. They key is to keep moving forward. DON'T QUIT.  

For me it's finding what I can do, and more importantly, what I want to do. Before you jump into a new workout routine, please check with your physician to make sure you're ready for said workout. Perhaps it's not right for you, so find what is. 

Don't forget your nutrition. Multi vitamins, nutrition shakes, and everything from Paleo Diets to Weight Watchers. I feel the best with a balance of the best nutrition and clean eating. I highly recommend a mixture of Paleo, Lots of Greens, and of couse Visalus!

Be Fit, Have Fun, and Live Joyfully!

It's been too long since my last post. My goal was to enter weekly updates, but alas, I have been some what of a slacker. So here goes, I've seen more and more specialists since my stroke and no dice. Nobody I mean NOBODY can tell me exactly what happened, and why. Nor can they explain why I recovered 100% or how. Well, I don't worry about it too much. All I focus on is healthier living.

So for now That's what I'm going to keep doing. I am still on my body by vi 90 day challenge, and I love how much more energy I have, I sleep better and my blood pressure is dropping. I can't wait to see my cholesterol level in a month when I get it tested.  Last night Jess (the hot wife) and I went to a "resolution rally."

I met people from all over Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming who like me wanted to take charge of their health. I met Jared from Sandy, UT who lost 75 lbs last year and plans to lose another 100 this year. Wow! He is extremely inspiring and a fantastic guy. I also met Tracey who lost 157 lbs over the last year and a half since she started her 90 day challenge. She's also gone from 18 prescriptions down to 5. Today I'm down 14 total lbs from my start of the challenge. I have 18 days left to hit my goal of 20 lbs. I kinda slacked over Christmas. gained a few lbs due to my lack of self control, but I'm back at 100% focus and let's see what happens.


Here's a sample pic of what a 90 day challenger did to transform his body, as well as his life...

I am very excited for the future and know that I'll hit my personal goal of weighing 215 lbs and staying there. I'm on my way.