Half of Phil

I want to update this blog twice a month but have not been very consistent with that. Today I met with my health coach at work. I also updated my weight tracker spread sheet today for the first time since May with Jawbone went off line. I can't download FitBit data on my work network so I had to get it off last night at home. Weight loss has definitely plateaued some this year, but I'm still down 15 lbs for the year. So given all the shit I've had to deal with this year I'll count that as a WIN!!! I am staying on track with walking and going to 9Round. Soccer season is back in full swing so I'm going in the mornings before work again. I've been running on Tue & Thur mornings when I don't go to 9Round. I can do my 2 mile loop in 30ish minutes. My goal is to get to where I run the whole 2 miles, so far I'd say I definitely run more than 1/2 the distance but my periods of walk are getting less each week. Slow and stead progress is my mantra...

The story at work for our health page resulted in another story at work for our 'difference makers' cafe.  They asked me for some better photos so I thought I'd share those here.  I've also added the story below, they did a short interview and I thought the story turned out pretty well.  They did leave out that a big part of my illness in Feb 2016 was that my asthma meds weren't covered anymore and would have been $ 800 per month!!!  The pictures below do show a huge change and some days that gets lost to me in my daily grind to make my steps, hit the gym and still not see much weight loss lately. April 2016 July 2018

I'm not really sure why I can't manage to get this blog updated when I plan to.  I'm glad to report that my weight after going up a few pounds this spring has started to come back down.  I'm now down 147 lbs overall!!  My success has been featured on our Intranet site at work this week and so I've had some encouraging comments from coworkers.  Our company does offer a great set of incentives and benefits to help get healthier.  It may not have started my journey but it's definitely helped me along the way. I've been pushing harder at 9Round and also started running some mornings rather than just walking.  That is helping me get the weight loss moving again I think.  Running has been a challenge I'd started at the end of the year but struggled to get going again after getting off track.  I've been averaging just under 15 min/mile for most of my runs that are around 3.4 miles each morning.  Sunday though I only had a short window ...

we head out in a couple hours to the coast for the 4th!  We spent last week in the mountains for the kids to do folks school.  It was a good trip but I’m real glad to be walking my daily miles here in the flat land rather than those hills!!! For Father’s Day I got a heart monitor for 9round. It’s part of their program that I’ve never done because they are like $100!!!   But luckily my family ain’t as cheap as I am so they got me one.  I’ve been using it for the last week and I can see it adds value to the program.  You definitely push yourself harder knowing and seeing your effort tracked on the big monitor.  Today I burned nearly 100 more calories than last Saturday the first day I wore it.  One trick is to warm up before you start to get your heart rate up from the get go. I have some screen shots I wanted to post but I need to download another app to do that on my phone so I’ll have to try to add them later on a pc. I’m looking forward to the ...

I've gotten off track blogging.  It's been a hectic few weeks.  Lots of activities and school winding down for the kids. I'd gotten started back to 9Round with my son since he's in the off season for 9Round, but last thru 5/31 I somehow hurt my back.  I've not done 9round this week, I'm getting my back calmed down and hoping to start back Monday.  I figure it's better to wait the rest of the week than risk a set back. We had a swim meet last weekend and my daughter did really well, it's the long course season which means she was swimming 100 meters in several events.  That is a long way to swim!!! Summer break starts tomorrow on our 17 year wedding anniversary!  Doesn't really seem like it's been that long, but the calendar don't lie!!! Jawbone the company that powered the UP Moves went completely off line toward the end of May.  I found a couple Fitbit Zips used for the wife and I.  I gotta say I really liked the UP product better es...

So I'm 2 years in and a few weeks in at this point.  Weight loss is pretty stalled.  I've not lost any weight for the last couple months.  It's kinda frustrating, but I do think it's a function of replacing muscle mass with fat. I've got clothes that are fitting looser and some that I wasn't able to wear for years but can wear now.  I ordered a shirt on clearance over a year ago when I first started loosing weight, it came in more like a 1x than 3x, I was devastated and meant to send it back, but now I can wear it so that's a win. Next committed update 5/24

It was 32 degrees and light frost Tuesday Morning, but now it seems like maybe Spring is finally here.  Been in the 80s since then. We had a good spring break to the Grand Canyon and Arizona.  Was a busy trip but we had loads of fun.  I took the kids a mile down into the canyon.  It was pretty easy going in, but coming out was tough. For the month of March I topped my total step record, I was surprised because I hadn't been tracking or shooting for it.  Weight wise I'm kinda stagnant but clothes are still fitting better even the new ones I got at Christmas, so I know I'm making progress.   Still making it to 9Round 4 times a week when I've been in town.  I haven't done any running since we got back from Spring Break, but hope to start back next week.  I picked up a cold and I've been fighting it the last week or so. Met with the nutritionist today and she was pretty adamant I need to do better on sleep, so I'm gonna focus o...