Current updates...

Here's a few updates for the blog. Current weight about 289 as of early March of 2017. about 6 pounds higher than my lightest.

Where have I been?: I've been posting things on facebook and it's been my nose to the grindstone working out the Fools Fitness way, my own system that isn't about fads, quick fixes, or gimmicks...

Hopefully more to come in a bit. I want to put up a journal design to share that may help people.

My current focus is learning to meal prep and also to use a food scale.

...At Fools Fitness we are always willing to weigh in on the subject of being generally awesome. - General Chaos.

10 Fit Tips for Fools Fitness Friday

As I learn to be a little more fit and healthy I'm learning things that help me along. This isn't a gimmick of me trying to sell you garbage for 19.99 plus shipping and handling. These are things I bumped into that seem to help me and I share them freely. So hear are a 10 FREE tips I bumped into along the way. Please share yours.

1) SET A GOAL! Be it a goal of so many steps, a 5K, or a Tough Mudder... a goal gives you something to work toward. It makes you less likely to skip a workout and less inclined to eat whatever moves you at a moments whim. Set a destination or wonder aimlessly.

2) WORKOUT FRIENDS! People I workout with keep me encouraged. They make it more fun. They push me to do a little more. They also keep me more accountable. If I skip a workout I have someone (or a group of people!) asking me "where were you when there was boot-camp?" or "I thought I'd see you at the gym?" They will also give you the look when you reach for a donut at the office and be ready to slap it out of your hand.

3) EATING CHEAP AND CLEAN! a couple of bucks will buy you healthy cooked real food and more salad than at the supermarket at guess where? Likely the hospital. I can get 3 poached eggs on an english muffin with even a bit of salsa and hot sause for two bucks, a big cup of healthy made soup for a buck and a half, or go crazy at their salad bar for four bucks a pound. You don't need prepackaged meals or superpowders to eat well cheap. I'm not against Whey in a nice smoothie with a banana, some almond milk, and peanut butter (I call them my Elvis Shakes) but there are major cost differences in powders and 3-4 bucks can get you a decent amount of real food.

4) TUNES! For me doing time on the cardio machines at the gym I find having my own mix of songs I get into way better than trusting in the gyms overhead speakers. Plus you cut out a lot of the random noise. I THINK THE TRICK IS THIS: You need a boom boom boom beat that might work out to 140 beats a minute in your songs that helps carry you and pick up the pace. Country music and easy listening is out if you want to sweat. But the key is in finding what drives you. It might sound cheesy but I usually start a cardio session with the Rocky music "Eye of the Tiger". You may not be of the intensity to handle dubstep but you can look around and find something that suits you. Some of these songs that have this intensity beat have some very poor language... so be *warned* but here's a few ideas "whip it", "YMCA", "Stroke" "Hands in the Air" "Whitestrips" "Shout out to all my lost boys"... Also Rob Baily and Hustle Standard have a great hard beat but again if language is an issue steer clear, seriously.

5) CARRY A SNACK! If your on the go and get hungry, or plans for lunch get changed how easy is it to swing by the convience store or fast food place for some tasty junk? A careful search of my things will turn up a Belvita, granola bar, and even some protein powder? If your starving hungry it's so easy to give in to simple junk... I have better options at hand easier than hunting down a bag of chips!

6) JOURNAL NOTEBOOK: Try writing down EVERYTHING you eat when you grab it in a book for a day or two. You may be surprised at some things. Also if your not tracking your numbers those numbers can change with your memory. Moreover, suddenly you notice if your journaling that you missed workouts for the last 4 days.

LITTLE TRICKS: Here are some minor tricks I use for workouts.

7) if you use workout gloves Velcro the straps of each to the other when you put them away so you don't end up with a one glove thing doing a Micheal Jackson.

8) Use a climbing lanyard clip on your gym bag. it's easy to clip a locked padlock on to and the bigger loop hangs in the locker easier.

9) ALWAYS HAVE A PACKED GYM BAG! No excuses for I forgot my gear. It's in my car.

10) YOUR TIP? You can call it a scam that I said ten tips and posted 9 but it's my way to encourage you to share a tip you have in becoming more healthy. Please don't post just a buy this sale garbage and your secret formula to 6 second abs as your tip... this is about truth no gimmicks or get rich scams trying to fleece the people trying to make healthy changes.

OK HERES TIP 10 Just so you don't feel cheated here... RESEARCH!!! I don't tend to share loads of links because I don't really endorse anything other than faith in God... but a few links to get you started (Actual results may vary... consult a doctor, ask your momma, don't run with scissors... coffee can be hot) http://www.acefitness.org/health/resources.aspx http://www.choosemyplate.gov/printable-materials http://darebee.com/

At Remember at Foolsfitness We Drink Six Packs trying to get Six pacs- Alan AKA General Chaos.

NEXT ADVENTURE MONSTER MUD RUN!!!

WHATS NEXT? MONSTER MUD RUN!!! You may have heard of it called by Tough Mudder or Spartan Race but the concept is basically an army boot camp course crawling through mud and over logs climbing cargo nets on walls...

10 P.M. last night I didn't drive through a snow storm to join a gym. Make no mistake this was an invasion and I came to dominate and be a conqueror. The cage door has been opened. Those cardio machines and those weights will learn I am Alpha. The aerobic burn will melt this garbage stuck inside my body and my power will double. Come this Monster mud run, Spartan race, tough mudder thing... it will know who I am, I will be it's nightmare. **COME WITH ME**, Let us Howl at the moon together, Run with me chasing a dream of being alive. What are you waiting for !? TRAINING CONTINUES: Monster Mud Run Loon Mountain July 9th... the clock is ticking.

Well? Shut off your computer and get going here!

And remember at Fools Fitness things get messy!- Alan

Foolsfitness Wins GOLD MEDAL!

I actually have a GOLD MEDAL!!! Gosh, these past few months have been such a whirlwind. Since my last post I'm down another 11 pounds! the other day I saw 333 (Sept 20, 2015) over these last few months I've seen up and down but I'm about 3 or 4 pounds off the lowest weight I've seen in a very long time.

So, after mocking the folks doing the extreme workouts I decided ironically to join a bootcamp workout in the local park with people I work with. I'm proud to say at first I couldn't plank (it's like holding a push up at the top) but now I can do a slow mountian climb and punch from a plank... as well as do a little air born stuff like a few jumping jacks. Then I thought, "what are we all training for? What's the goal here?" and someone mentioned a thing called a color run we could do, it's a 5k where they toss colored powder at you as you run and by the time you end you are just covered in all sorts of colors.... I still can't understand running but I do understand fun. When I found out they had a night one where there were neon glow sticks, black lights, my new goal was chosen!

Our group that started out as people from my work, ended up being called the MOBstars, because most of us work in a place called the Medical Office Building (hense MOB) and we gathered a few of the peoples kids to join and even the pastors wife from my church... ending up with 10 in the group.

I trained hard for this... I'm pretty sure I haven't ran in anything. To some of you 5K is just a workout but for a 300 pound plus guy out of shape it wasn't something I took lightly. Hey at my weight I don't really do anything lightly. I chug on a flight of stairs.

So bootcamp workouts at the park sometimes twice a week, swimming at tthe gym, a bit of slow bicycling, even some time walking and windsprinting the track at the park... That night I had no idea how to prepare. I ate two nutty bars and had a 32 ounce diet mountian dew a bit before the run. I stood with my group and waited near the start line as they were sending off waves of a couple hundred people at a time.

A wild thing happened I started bouncing from foot to foot and kept saying Lets go! I gotta run! I can only say I trained hard for this and God filled me with spirit. As I started I actually started passing people! Before the half way point I looked back to my running partner and said, "I'm going"... by the half way point I couldn't see where my group was behind me!

I kept pushing in sprints and slowing to gather steam in a fast walk to go back to a jog. Just before the three quarter mark I somehow passed a personal trainer from my work! I remember looking at her and saying "I'm ahead of you?!" at which she smiled broadly and cheered "Go Alan!" AT one point I flew by a guy and his girl and he looked to her and shook his head saying,"We should have trained harder for this." Maybe he's right because Foolsfitness a 330 something pound guy just blew by you!

What a feeling at the end where the people were giving out gold medals. Sure, everyone got one but I got the joy of waiting for 5 and 10 minutes to roll by as my crew caught back up to me! I'm not saying this just to brag... some had little ones to deal with. But I am sharing this for someone out there that might be out there that is struggling. If I can, maybe ... I can't promise but just maybe you can to! I trained until I bled and trusted God for any more strength I needed. Now a gold medal is hung next to my bookcase.

And remember at Foolsfitness it's all about going for the gold... and the snacks. - Alan of Foolsfitness

Diets are Rotten at the Core.

Yesterday a huge old tree next to the library split into two. Looking at the old tree it had a bunch of green leaves and looked pretty good but as you can see looking inside and appearance of health and actual health were two far different things.

When I'm trying to pay a bit more attention to what I am eating I've noticed how a lot of the foods in the store are just like that tree. Companies want to sell you their food and are quick to throw around labels like healthy, lite, and all natural. A bag of popcorn I got the other day was using the words heavenly and lite on the front but when I looked at the fat calories next to the total calories over 40 percent of the calories were from fat. I laughed when I also saw a bag of pork rinds that seemed to be proudly labeled no carbs like pork rinds are a new health food!? Dirt might be gluten free and have no msg but I hope that doesnt become the next rage. Can you imagine someone touting the amzing qualities of dirt and the eating dirt diet?

This is the season where you can't avoid ads for getting your very own beach body in 21 days or is it in 17 days? Actually you can seem to top that with even some book on 4 hour fitness!

People want that quick fix and or the easy fix. I'm guessing if you starve yourself and/or workout like a maniac you WILL likely drop weight, maybe even a lot in a short burst. Is it water weight? What if your burning muscle too? Are you risking injury and sickness? What happens when you go "OFF" the diet? In all the claims for the new fix have you noticed how hard it is to find real numbers of people who lost a lot of weight and a year or two later are still at that lower weight? Is it really going to stay off? I have seen people who have even gone to the point of those stomach procedures and after dropping a lot of weight start putting it back on again. Is that number on the scale your only judge? What happens after your 21 day fix or 17 days or 90 days? Is it really fixed at all?

I do not want to live the rest of my life never eating a cracker again or forced to live on like two crackers a day. Its just not reasonable to do that or be expected to participate in the superhero workout twice a day 7 days a week climbing molten lava flows for 45 minute sessions. Like the tree an apperance of health and actual health I think are in reality two different things.

I like it when I see my scale go down, but I like it when my clothes fit better, and I like it when I'm riding my bicycle and I decide to go up a gear to go faster. Common sense isn't fast or flashy and it's not about selling you stuff you don't need and in the end wastes your time or even hurts you.

Since about march 1st I'm down around 22 pounds. No flash here or no biggest loser numbers. Moreover, No magic gismos, no pills, no surgery, no super foods. If you want the quick and easy good luck to you but in the end my large (but shrinking) gut says in the end it will waste your time in the end or even might hurt you.

What is the Foolsfitness way? slowly carving the new path of trying to eat a little better and getting a bit of moving activity in. Feel free to send me 19.95 plus shipping for that if it makes you feel better.

The Core of Foolsfitness I hope is not like that tree. - Alan

The UN Gym X2

Doesn't it seem odd people drive in their cars to the gym to walk on a treadmill? Did I miss why people would rather be on a stationary bike going nowhere than riding on a real bicycle enjoying the scenery and fresh air? Is it important to seek the controlled conditions of a stair machine over actual... um... stairs?

So I decided today I would go to the gym and scan my card and walk out... Notice I said walk out not Workout here. The anti-workout Foolsfitness rebel that I am laughed as I did it and I encourage you to do it too. Go to the gym and then leave. I am not anti-gym. I love the pool and all the equiptment and classess have their place especially in bad weather but consider this: How many people on a stair machine, treadmill, or staionary bike at the 20 minute mark (or what ever mark they set at the end) decide maybe they will go on a little further? I'm thinking rather few.

Now on to my Un Gym. I actually rode my bicycle across town to the gym, scanned that card, then walked out to ride my bicycle home. Somewhere in there I decided to explore a street by the river to enjoy the scenery, diverted to the coffee shop (relax! Just ice coffee black with a single sugar and no cream) and even decided after I got home I would go out again for a second ride... this time a beer was involved but after all the day I think it was fair.

The only thing I can say against the day was after the second ride I couldn't take my own stench and had to hit my shower. I'm wondering in the end if I would have had a day at the gym that matched my un gym times two. You too can own an Un Gym X2 for no easy payments (how easy is that!) Have you looked around your house? There could be sidewalks near you that work almost just like a treadmill WOW!

At Foolsfitness we endorse the UNgymX2 not workout program!- Alan

17Lbs down Weigh In, Fitness Fail, N Boot Camp

New month new weight! Last month down another 7 pounds so in the last two months total 17 pounds down and now down to 344, about the weight at the start of the blog six years ago. These last few days for what ever reason (stress maybe?) I've been just wanting to eat everything I see. I've had some sucess at restraint but have slipped with two trips to the chinese food buffet, a couple pints of ice cream, and an extra what ever that gets too close to my mouth. That number should have been 20 pounds down but it's going in the right direction.

The fitness fail... my body apparently is about 41 percent fat! At the gym I felt a bit like I was abducted by aliens when a trainer had me lay on a table and he connected some wires to the back of my hand and foot then ran some electric resistance meter on me to get the numbers. The good news is somehow I have over 200lbs of lean body mass. He thinks I can maintain my body at around 2800 calories a day... meaning I can (and usually do apparently eat ALOT) eat like 2800 calories and not gain or loose weight in a day. I think they called it a BMR (Bacon, Mac, and Relax?)

A group of people from work have decided to get together at lunch time once a week and do a boot camp style aerobic workout at the local park. Well, being Foolsfitness has it's perks and I got an invite to join the fun! I can say I kept moving for the most part. Maybe in a couple of years I will show them some one arm push ups but now I just tried to keep the Darth Vader weezing down enough so the people next to me could hear most of what the instructor was saying. I may have passed out at one point and I still can't really feel my limbs. But in the end remember that this isn't a competition for me. The goal is just to move and enjoy doing it.

At Foolsfitness we are rebels, we do bootcamp in sneakers!- Alan