Get My Fat Butt In Shape

RACE RESULTS

2011-02-23T07:24:00.005-05:00

I want to thank everyone for their participation in our race! We had 140 5k runners and 30 kids run the fun run! Thank you all very much for your support. Here is the link to for the race results. Here is a picture of me in my continental Marine Uniform. I think it would look more authentic if I had a gun and a canteen.

7th Annual President's Day Freedom Run

2010-11-18T20:59:00.007-05:00

RUN and HELP

For the last six years, Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack 806 and The Young Women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have hosted the Annual President’s Day Freedom Run 5K Race and 1 Mile Fun Run to raise money for summer camp activities. The race will be held on February 19th, 2011. The money earned from this event will help fund the Boy Scout and Young Women summer camps. Cub Scout Pack 806 will also benefit from this run, helping to pay for Summer Day Camp.

The Annual President’s Day Freedom Run 5K Race is more than just a 5K race. It is a sanctioned USA Track and Field Event that meets the standards necessary to be approved and licensed in the United States. This race is run on a USATF-certified course that has been certified for accuracy in distance. Courses must be certified for any road running performance to be accepted as a record, or to be nationally ranked.

Check out a video of the course here!

Date: Saturday, February 19th 2011

Time: 5K Race Starts at 10:00 am Fun run will follow after 5K is completed. Location: 3204 Keller-Andrews Road, Sanford, NC 27330 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Meeting House

Distances: 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) and 1 mile Children’s Fun Run (for children under 12) Registration and Fees: $15 by 1/15, $17 between 1/15 and 2/11, and $20 after 2/11 for 5K, and $10 for Fun Run; T-shirts are $6 for adult sizes and $5 for child sizes. Entrants can register online using a credit card at www.active.com (a small additional fee applies to online applications), or use the registration form on this page.

Please mail registration form to: President’s Day Freedom Run C/O Stephanie Larsen PO Box 962 Sanford, NC 27331-0962 Course: The race will be an out and back with a turnaround at the beginning and end of the course. The course will follow Keller-Andrews Road in West Sanford. The course has two gradual climbs and descents. It is a fun and easy course.

Awards and Categories: Top 3 male and female finishers will be awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies, respectively. The first three male and female finishers in each age group will receive 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medals, respectively. The age groups are 14 and under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, and 70 Packet Pick Up and Race Day Registration: Packet Pick Up and Registration will start at 8:30 am and will close at 9:45 am. Registration will be located inside the church building.

Timing: Timing will be provided by Young and Associates. ChampionChip® timing will be used and reace results will be posted at http://www.runnc.com/

No refunds nor will packets can be mailed. If you pre-register, and are unable to go to the race for any reason, we will not be able to refund your money nor will we ba able to mail you your goody bag and t-shirt. Planning for each racer costs money and this money is spent even if you are unable to show up. Additionally, we have limited resources and volunteer time, thus preventing us from getting in touch with each non-showing runner to send out the packets and/or t-shirts.

Arrive early on race day. There is limited parking and parking will not be permitted on the road. T-shirts have been ordered for all those who pre-registered. There will be a limited supply of T-shirts on race day for late entries.

In respect for the church that is providing the venue, we ask that no alcohol or tobacco products be used on the church grounds.

Directions: From the Raleigh area, take I-40 to Hwy 1 South. Go to Sanford and get off on the Hwy 42 Exit. At the exit, take a left. You will go about 1.5 miles and take a right onto Carthage Street. Go about 1 mile and take a right onto Keller-Andrews Road. From the Fayetteville area, take Hwy 87 North to Sanford. In Sanford, 87 becomes Horner Boulevard. You will travel through Sanford for about 4 miles. Take a left at the light onto Carthage Street. Go about 1 mile and take a right on Keller-Andrews Road.From the South East, go to Hwy 1 north. Go to Sanford and get off on the Hwy 42 exit. At the exit take a right. You will go about 1.5 miles and take a right onto Carthage Street. Go about 1 mile and take a right onto Keller-Andrews Road.

For more information contact: Stephanie Larsen at (919) 718-1437, or email presidentsdayfreedomrun1@gmail.com.

An Amazing Kid!

2010-07-20T20:07:00.006-04:00

Meet Marshall This young man is a friend of the family. He realized that he was over weight. With out promting from his parents he decided to do something about it. Inspired by the movie "Supersize Me", he started his own program called "Portion Size Me", his very own weight loss plan. With help from his parents this young man has been loosing weight, improving his life, and helping others do the same! Check out this young man. It is inspiring!

Youtube Page of his Video Diary

Recently on CNN eatocracy.com

MapMyFitness.com

2010-05-28T23:20:00.003-04:00

Well, for Father's Day, my wife bought me an iphone. I found some cool apps that let me track and map my activities such as bike rides, running, and walks. Very cool. You can check out everything that I do at http://www.mapmyfitness.com/. I went for a walk to try it out and it was pretty cool. I will keep you posted.

What A Wonderful Race!

2010-02-13T19:22:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all the racers for their participation! If you would like to see the race photos, go to The Murry Group after Tuesday the 16th to check them out!

If you have photos or videos that you would like to share, please email them to getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com

To see the Race Results go to: RunNC.com and check them out.

Thank you very much and I hope you all had a wonderful time!

Race Update!

2010-02-12T20:15:00.002-05:00

After much watching of the news, the weather channel, and consulting the experts, we have decided!

The registration start time has been postponed to 11:00

Race start time: 1:00pm!

WE ARE DOING THIS! YAH HOOO!

If you have any questions, call Stephanie Larsen
cell-919-721-3846

Thank you for your wonderful support!

President's Day Freedom Run Update

2010-02-12T10:33:00.002-05:00

We are watching the weather and we are aware of the potential effects on our race. As of 10:30 am the race is still on and will start as scheduled. However, we will be updating this website regularly, so PLEASE check back. As we learn more about the effects of the weather, we will let you know of any changes.

We have been watching the weather channel and information about conditions has been chaging. we will continue to monitor conditions.

Some Suggestions in the event of Snow:

According to the weather service, the snow will NOT accumulate on the road. So depending on when the snow stops, we may possibly delay the start of the race until 12 noon or 1:00pm.

But once again, as of right now the race will be as scheduled.

6th Annual President’s Day Freedom Run 5K Race

2010-01-08T11:34:00.004-05:00

RUN and HELP
For the last five years, Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack 806 have hosted the Annual President’s Day Freedom Run 5K Race and 1 Mile Fun Run to raise money for scouting activities. This year the Young Women’s organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will join in hosting the race. The race will be held on February 13th, 2010. The money earned from this event will help fund the Boy Scout and Young Women summer camps, and other activities they will participate in throughout the year. Cub Scout Pack 806 will also benefit from this run, helping to pay for Summer Day Camp.

The Annual President’s Day Freedom Run 5K Race is more than just a 5K race. It is a sanctioned USA Track and Field Event that meets the standards necessary to be approved and licensed in the United States. This race is run on a USATF-certified course that has been certified for accuracy in distance. Courses must be certified for any road running performance to be accepted as a record, or to be nationally ranked. Because this course is sanctioned, certified, and officially timed using ChampionChip® timing, dedicated racers from all over North Carolina as well as the United States will be in attendance.

Check out a video of the course here!

Date: Saturday, February 13th 2010
Time: 5K Race Starts at 10:00 am. Fun run will follow after 5K is completed.
Location: 3204 Keller-Andrews Road, Sanford, NC 27330 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Meeting House
Distances: 5,000 meters (3.1 miles)
1 mile Children’s Fun Run (for children under 12)

Registration and Fees: $15 by 1/15, $17 between 1/15 and 2/11, and $20 after 2/11 for 5K, and $10 for Fun Run; T-shirts are $6 for adult sizes and $5 for child sizes. Entrants can register online using a credit card at www.active.com (a small additional fee applies to online applications), or use the registration form on this page.

Please mail registration form to:
President’s Day Freedom Run
C/O Stephanie Larsen
PO Box 962
Sanford, NC 27331-0962

Course: The race will be an out and back with a turnaround at the beginning and end of the course. The course will follow Keller-Andrews Road in West Sanford. The course has two gradual climbs and descents. It is a fun and easy course.

Awards and Categories: Top 3 male and female finishers will be awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies, respectively. The first three male and female finishers in each age group will receive 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medals, respectively. The age groups are 14 and under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, and 70+.

Timing: Timing will be provided by Young and Associates. ChampionChip® timing will be used. Results will be posted at www.runnc.com.

Packet Pick Up and Race Day Registration. Packet Pick Up and Registration will start at 8:30 am and will close at 9:45 am. Registration will be located inside the church building.

No refunds or packets can be mailed. If you pre-register, and are unable to go to the race for any reason, we will not be able to refund your money. Planning for each racer costs money and this money is spent even if you are unable to show up. Additionally, we have limited resources and volunteer time, thus preventing us from getting in touch with each non-showing runner to send out the packets and/or t-shirts.

Arrive early on race day. There is limited parking and parking will not be permitted on the road. T-shirts have been ordered for all those who pre-registered. There will be a limited supply of T-shirts on race day for late entries.

In respect for the church that is providing the venue, we ask that no alcohol or tobacco products be used on the church grounds.

Directions: From the Raleigh area, take I-40 to Hwy 1 South. Go to Sanford and get off on the Hwy 42 Exit. At the exit, take a left. You will go about 1.5 miles and take a right onto Carthage Street. Go about 1 mile and take a right onto Keller-Andrews Road.

From the Fayetteville area, take Hwy 87 North to Sanford. In Sanford, 87 becomes Horner Boulevard. You will travel through Sanford for about 4 miles. Take a left at the light onto Carthage Street. Go about 1 mile and take a right on Keller-Andrews Road.

From the South East, go to Hwy 1 north. Go to Sanford and get off on the Hwy 42 exit. At the exit take a right. You will go about 1.5 miles and take a right onto Carthage Street. Go about 1 mile and take a right onto Keller-Andrews Road.

For more information, visit www.runnc.com,

Down Load The Registration Form Here

Join Us on Face Book!

You Can Also Contact: Stephanie Larsen at (919) 718-1437,
or email presidentsdayfreedomrun1@gmail.com.

Exercise Intensity and Workout Update

2009-08-15T15:30:00.003-04:00

What About Walking Slow vs. Walking Fast?
There was a comment to my last post that was relating to intensity and the effect of walking slow was compared to walking fast. So if I run or walk at one pace I will burn more calories than if I did the same exercise for the same amount of time at a slower pace. The amount of calories burned has to do with your age, sex, weight, intensity of your workout, and how long you exercise. Age and sex are less of a determining factor. The type of exercise is also a determining factor. so what I have done is looked through the web and found 2 websites that I like with tools for calculating the number of calories burned for any given activity. Check them out.

Calorie Burn Calculator at http://www.internetfitness.com/calculators/calburncalc.htm
Health Status Calorie burn Estimator at http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

One More Thing About Intensity
When you do any activity, your body fuels itself based on the intensity. The lower and longer the intensity, the more fat you burn. The higher the intensity the shorter the length of time you will be able to perform and the more sugar you burn. That is why cyclist, triathletes, and marathon runners have to eat during their competition. So run at and easy pace, for a long time and you will burn a lot of fat.

More Bike Riding and Running
My oldest daughter wants to bike to school. In order to do this, we have to find a path that was off major roads. We used a tool for measuring distances, that I mentioned on the web before, and found a path for her. The next morning, we road to her school. What is nice is that it puts her right where the police direct traffic to her school. One way it is 2.5 miles and took 15 minutes at a nice easy pace. So we road 5 miles. for the week that gave me a total of 12 miles on the bike.

Another daughter of mine loves to run. I took her to a park path and we ran 1 mile. She is young so we ran for 2 minutes and walked for 1 minute. She talked the entire time! It was great. Once we finished, she had to show me how fast she could run one loop of the path. Sher is actually pretty fast and very cute!

An Online Store!
I want to start and online store of people who read my blog. What should I put in it? Email me at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com and let me know what you think. Oh and keep the questions coming!

The Bike and How Exercises Compare

2009-08-04T11:21:00.004-04:00

How Do Different Exercises Compare?
This is one of the biggest questions I get. I talk a lot about running and someone will say, I want to walk or ride a bike or swim. So if I talk about running a mile, what is the the equivelant of in walking, biking, and swimming? This is not an easy answer and experts disagree. Since triathletes run, bike, and swim; I am going with data from triathlete trainers and experts.

1 mile running = 4 miles biking
1 mile running = 2 miles walking
1 mile running = .5 miles swimming

So this leads to more questions Lets see if I can just give you answers.

Yes! You must walk twice as far a someone would run to get the same benefit even though it takes twice as long. So when people tell me that they walk 2 miles every day and it takes them an hour, they could just run 1 miles in 15 minutes and get the same benefit.

Yes! You should exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. Even though walking for an hour is a long time and it id good for you, it is really only worth 15 minutes of a regular work out.

Yes! cyclist work out just as hard or even harder than runners when they work out. There is a big difference though. Biking is truly a muscle work out. Look at cyclists and their legs! Now here is what people don't realize, If I bike regularly on flat ground, there is no difference between me riding with as little weight as possible and riding with a 100 lbs pack. It's physics. If you are truly running, there is a point at which both feet are in the air. You literally through your body into the air with each step. If you weigh 200 lbs it take 4 time the energy to do that than someone who weight 100 lbs. That is also physics. When walking, one foot will always be on the ground and half the time, two feet will be.

Yes, professional cyclists have supper ultra light weight bikes. They save those bikes for the mountains, when weight DOES actually matter.

Yes, a half a mile swim is long. but the effect on the bike, is even more so swimming, the entire exercise of swimming is resistance against the limbs you move.

Yes, you can break your work out into different times and still benefit, but studies show you will burn 3/4 the calories as you would if you did them together. So instead of walking for two hours, walk for one hour in the morning and one at night.

It take a lot of consistent energy drain over a period of time in order for your body to think "O crap! I am running out of fuel! I had better start burning Fat!"

My last bike Ride Saturday I decided to ride my bike again. Still having some knee pain (unrelated to running, more to do with being over weight and out of shape and running.) So the week before I ran 2 miles, that would mean I would need to bike 8 miles. I only had one day to do it, so I biked 8 slow miles and it took me 1 hour and 27 seconds. Not bad. It was hot too! 85 degree and 70% humidity! I was wet! After that ride, my legs felt funky, so I took a warm shower, cleaned up, then slowly dropped the temperature until only the cold water was on. Plug the drain and let the water fill the tub. I felt great after it was done. Totally less muscle soreness than I would normally had.

Now this week, I may add some biking and running! I will keep you posted!

Back On The Bike

2009-07-27T22:07:00.002-04:00

The Halloween Ride
Well, my oldest and I (and maybe my wife) are getting ready for a 30 mile ride on October 27th! Yeah! I am excited and so is my oldest. We will keep you posted.

Today's Ride
I almost didn't get to ride. A huge thunderstorm rolled in a dropped a lot of rain. It only lasted about 2 hours, then it cleared right up! My daughter went out first. When she got back I went out. It is not much of a ride. The ride is a one mile loop. Today we did a sprint ride. We ride the loop one time as fast as we can.

What is the course like?
The course starts out with a quarter mile slow climb. Not really enough to mention. Then a for 150 feet it drops back down. Then another slow climb. It ends with fairly steep climb. I was fine until I hit the last climb. My legs were burning! And my gears need to be adjusted. I would drop into a climbing gear then is would jump back to a sprinting gear! Oh that would kill me!

So that is how I am starting!
This week we will do about 9 miles. The one mile road today, Wednesday we will do 3 at a faster pace, then Friday a nice and easy 4. We will slowly build our mileage with an additional mile a week for 6 weeks, then we will add 2.

Now we will need to see how I feel tomorrow.

Back to Running and Echo Cardiogram

2009-07-23T14:03:00.002-04:00

Stress Test and Running
Since I pasted my stress test, I decided to get back to running and yesterday morning was perfect. The baby needed a nap and a walk through the neighborhood seems to work, so I broke out the baby jogger and off I went.

Run? In My condition?
Yes, I did. It was great. Now mind you I didn't do anything crazy. I ran for 4 and 1/2 minutes, then walked for 2 minutes. I did that for two miles. And yes the baby slept through the entire ride.

How was the Weather?
The temperature was in the low 80's and it was overcast when I started. It was hot. Then the sun came out and it was hotter. Humidity was at about 60%. I had plenty to drink before and drank plenty after. It was a good run.

How did you Feel?
During the run and just at the end of my first minute and a half, my left shin started to hurt. (Hence why I decided to walk.) After less then 30 seconds I felt fine. No other pain. Little aches in my quads since the course was really hilly, but over all I felt pretty good.

So how did you feel the next day?
Oh my gosh! My quads ache, my shoulders ache, my arms ache, and my lower back aches. All this from running and pushing a jogger. It was worth it though.

So whats this about and Echo Cardiogram?
Well, I had my appointment today. It is basically a massive ultra-sound of the heart. I wish I could post pictures. The ultra-sound is a 3D picture of the inside of your heart. They did cross sections from the side, the top, and at different angles. The measured the heart walls, speed of the blood flow, volume of the heart and the amount of blood my heart pumps in a minute. the even looked at the sound waves produced by the heart. The type of sound can indicate leaks in valves and other problems. But in my case everything looked good!

On a side note and kind of bad news, I weigh 204 lbs. I will work on that.

Determining Your Energy Needs

2009-07-10T19:03:00.008-04:00

By Teri Clark

In order to know how many calories to eat per day, you have to determine how much energy you expend in a day and how these are expended based on your body. Most people assume they need to eat more than they do. This, of course, leads to weight gain.

Here’s a three-step process that will help you determine just how many calories you need per day to maintain, lose, or gain weight.

Step 1: Finding Your BMI
Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is an estimate of the amount of stored fat you have on your body. Understanding your BMI will help you determine if you need to lose or gain weight, or if you are healthy at your present weight.

To find your BMI,

BMI = (Weight in pounds/height in inches) x 703

Let’s look at Susan as an example. She weighs 150 pounds and is 5 ft 7 inches (67 inches). Therefore, you would divide 150 by (67 x 67) to get .0334. Then multiply .0334 by 703 to get a BMI of 23.4. In this case, using the chart below, Susan is in the Balance Zone.

Once you’ve determined your own BMI, look at the chart below to help you determine if you need to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain your weight.

Below 18.5 - Underweight
18.5 to 24.9 - Balance Zone
25 to 29.9 - Overweight
30 plus - Obese

Step two: Determining Your Basal Metabolic Rate

The BMI is a good starting point but does not take into account things such as activity level, age, environment, or muscle mass. Based solely on BMI, an athlete in great shape may show as being overweight or obese. That is why it is important to go one step further and determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Your BMR tells how quickly you burn calories while at rest. Your BMR consists of 60 to 75% of the calories you burn each day for basic body functioning. Knowing this number will help you determine your actual calories needs.

To find your BMR:

1. Multiply your weight in pounds by 4.3.

2. Multiply your height in inches by 4.7.

3. Multiply your age in years by 4.7.

4. Add the answers of numbers 1 and 2 together and then subtract the answer of number 3.

5. Now add 655 to the answer of number 4.

Let’s look again at Susan again. Susan is 35 years old, therefore:

Her first number is 150 times 4.3 = 645
Her second number is 67 times 4.7 = 314.9
Her third number is 35 times 4.7 = 164.5

Now we add the first two numbers to get 959.9. Now we subtract the third number to get 795.4. Finally, we add 655 to get 1450.4.

Step Three: Determining Your Activity Level

The last step is to determine your activity level so that you know how many calories you burn per day. This equals the total number of calories you burn per day.

Sedentary - Desk job, little or no exercise. BMR x 1.2
Light Activity - Light exercise in one to three days per week. BMR x 1.375
Moderate Activity - Moderate exercise three to five days per week. BMR x 1.55
Very Active – Exercise six to seven days per week BMR x 1.725
Extreme – Hard endurance training daily BMR x 1.9

Let’s take one last look at Susan. Susan has a desk job but does try to get light exercise a couple of days per week. That means we take her BMR of 1450.4 and multiply it by 1.375 to get 1994.3 calories burned per day.

What Does It All Mean?

Total calories burned per day, in Susan’s case, 1994, is the amount needed to maintain her current weight of 150 pounds. If she needed to gain weight, she would increase her calories intake by 500 calories of healthy food.

If she wanted to lose weight, she would decrease her calorie intake by 250 to 300 calories and increase her exercise to burn 250 more calories per day creating a 500-calorie deficit.

By doing so, Susan would either lose or gain weight at one to two pounds per week.

Teri Clark is he author of "301 Simple Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home Now"

Learn more about Teri through poems, stories, and writing prompts at http://teribclarkjots.blogspot.com/

THE HEAT IS ON!

2009-07-08T11:24:00.005-04:00

Why Does It Feel So Hot?
Our environment effects the way our body feels in different climates. When our body gets hotter we perspire. The evaporation of our perspiration is what allows our body to cool itself. When the humidity is higher less perspiration can evaporate at at time, so we feel hotter.

Heat Index
When exercising outdoors, you need to pay attention to not only the temperature but the heat index. The ideal heat index for any work out is actually 65 degrees. As it gets warmer, you will need to take in more water. Exercising in temperatures over 90 degrees can be dangerous. Here is a website with a good Heat Index Calculator. The NOAA Heat Index

Heat Stress
The longer you work out in high temperatures, the more stress you put on your body. Make sure to acclimatize to warmer weather. Gradually increase your work outs. Do not to high stress activities. No intervals, sprints, or hard runs. Be aware of your sleep! Sleep deprivation has been a common factor in running related heat deaths in the last few years. At any point, if you feel really hot, and your energy is tanking, stop! Don't push it.

How Much Water?
The common suggestions of the past were "Drink A Lot and Drink Often." Then a study was done on Marathon runners and they found a common heat related injury was drinking too much water. So they asked the elite runners how much they drank and the rule of thumb was "If they were thirsty they drank." Hmm makes sense to me, but how much is enough.

My Formula
I can't actually take credit for this. I have read this in several running magazines and on the web. I weigh myself before I run. I take tons of water with me when I run. As I get hot and thirsty I drink. Some times I feel like I drink every few seconds, some times it is every few minutes, but when it is hot I drink. I never do anything longer than 45 minutes in hot weather. I normally go for only 30. Then when I am done, I weigh myself again. Normally I weigh less. They weight loss is water loss. So lets say I weighed 180 (I wish). Lets say the temperature was 85 degrees. I drank 1.5 liters of water in 30 minutes, and when I got back I weighed 179 lbs. 1 liter of water weighs 2.2 pounds. So I drank about 3.3 lbs of water and lost 2 more sweating. So I drink on more liter. That means that at 85 degrees I lost 2.5 liters of water in 30 minutes. As it gets cooler, I will loose less water and as it gets warmer I will loose more. That gives me a guide as to how much water I will need. I do this for every run in temperatures above 80 degrees.

Let me know if this is post has been helpful and post a comment or email me at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com Also let me know if what I have said makes sense. If I need to improve or clarify the information, let me know.

What Do You Want To Know?
What kind of posts you would like to read. What interests you and how can I help you? Post a comment or email me at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com

This is CRAZY!

2009-06-14T23:28:00.003-04:00

The Start of a Bad Week
In 4 days it will be the 1 year anniversary of my car accident. Monday, I started to feel sick. Scratch throat, head ache, body aches, and a fever. I felt terrible! Monday night a friend (and first counselor) and his wife came by. He gave me a blessing. Tuesday came along, and now three daughters and my wife are sick. My wife takes the girls to the doctor and I go to my own. The girls test positive for strep. I take the same test, but I don't test positive for strep, the doctor decides that if it looks like strep and acts like strep then it is strep. Everyone gets some antibiotics and we take the rest of the day off.

My Sister-In-Law
My sister-in-law came up to visit with here son and twins. Well, the kids got strep too. So it is now 2 adults and 5 kids with strep. My oldest daughter and my sister-in-law become the care givers. I felt bad that we gave her kids strep.

Wednesday
Everyone seems to be getting better, except me. I feel worse. I stayed in bed most of the day. I even stayed home from church. Sorry I missed the Court of Honor Jesse! That night we all go to my mother-in-laws for dinner. I still feel really bad. I take some Motrin and try and relax. We had Tacos for dinner. I start feeling what seemed to be indigestion and take some Tums. We all play some games, and since the kids are now out of school, we stay up late. We finally go home around 12:30am. We put the kids to bed and my wife and I go right to sleep.

Then It Happened
About 1:00am I wake up and the feeling is back, this time it feels more like pressure than indigestion. I take my medication and go back to bed. Well, around 3:00am I wake up again and it is worse! Now it is more like a "Oh my gosh! I cracked my sternum" kind of pain! I lay there for about and hour and then I get my wife up and go to the ER.

I Had A Heart Attack
At the ER my EKG looked fine, but I responded to Nitroglycerin and my blood test say that I had a mild heart attack. Once I am stabilized, I get a room. My wife is freaking out. Not on the outside. She is a pillar of being calm and cool under pressure, but she is just tore up. She makes me promise to giver her at least a 45 year notice before I die. I make her that promise.

The Procedure And Tests
The next day I am transfer ed to another hospital that has a special Cardiology Lab and the to a Catheterization to see what they can find. Also, If they find anything, they can take care of it. They find nothing. They do a chest x-ray and find out I am recovering from pneumonia. What!? Pneumonia? They to a chest CT scan and it looks just fine. They do an ultrasound of my heart and It is just fine. They do an electrocardiogram and it is just fine. They did and other test (I can't remember what it is, I call it the bubble test, because they run small bubbles through the hear to test to see if there are any wholes in the walls of the heart or between chambers.) That test is just fine too.

The Risk Factors
I don't drink or smoke. My cholesterol was 200. It should be bellow that, but is not a big problem. I am a little over weight still, but I am loosing weight. I do exercise a little, but Ia m gradually increasing what I am able to do. I am only 42. There is nothing that a doctor would see and say, "Hey you need to change now or you will have a heart attack in the next few days." but that is what actually happened.

Home
I am now at home on bed rest. I feel tired and take twice as many pills. Now I carry Nitro pills, just in case of another heart attack. I will be setting an appointment with my Cardiologist tomorrow and see about getting into a recovery exercise program and now no fat or salt. An entire new diet.

Thank You!
Thank you to all my friends and family for all the support you have given me, my, wife and my family. Everyone stay in touch and post a comment. It looks like I now have more to blog about.

I AM RUNNING AGAIN! - Sort of....

2009-05-15T11:03:00.016-04:00

I finally did it! A non-stop run!
I had started out with what is called wogging. I would jog for 2 minutes then walk for two minutes. I progressed to a 4 minute jog and a 2 minute walk, then 6 and 2. Now I ran non stop! I am a little sore today, BUT I LOVE IT! How far? How fast? What was the terrain like? I ran 1 WHOLE MILE! whoo! It took me 14 minutes and 58 seconds! The terrain was a slow up hill for a quarter of a mile, then a slow down hill for almost a half a mile, then a huge climb for just under a quarter of a mile, with a small 100 yard descent to the finish line. The temperature was 75 degrees.

A Confession
Alright. I admit it. I actually never use the word "jogging" in relation to myself. Why, because as long as I can remember, I have been a runner. When I would go out an "run", rarely would I be going at a pace that would allow me to hold a reasonable conversation. Just a few short sentences and lost of breathing in between. As you can see from the achievement above, I was not running but jogging. In the future, if you read something about running, don't think to yourself "Oh my gosh! I can't run that! but I could jog that though", keep in mind I mean jogging too.

I NEED YOUR HELP!
What would make this blog better? What information do you want? Would you like links to products or services? If so which products and which services? Please let me know, I would greatly appreciate it. If you email me a suggestions, you will get a FREE Subscription to Runner's World online News Letter. It's FREE and you can unsubscribe to it at any time. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS EMAIL ME a suggestion. Email them to getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com

A BONUS GIFT!
Many people have told me that they love my blog, they enjoy the suggestions and tips, or that they have been inspired in some way by my blog. If you are one of them, I would like you to email me and tell my how the blog has helped you, give me permission to post your response on my blog or other web site and how you would like your name (or nick name) displayed, and I will SEND YOU A FREE get my fat butt in shape T-shirt. On the front that t-shirt will have the name of my sponsoring city and the get my fat butt in shape logo. On the back will be a list of sponsors. I would love to here from you! Once I get your email, I will request your t-shirt size and color and where to send it. That's all! Tell me how I helped and get your free t-shirt now. there is a limited number of shirts and sizes, so do it as quickly as possible.

Privacy Notice
I do not and will not share your email address, or any other information you provide me with anyone else. Period. I will keep your email address and name (or nick name)in my contact list, but I will not store or keep any other information that you provide me to get the t-shirt.
Thanks.

Now I need to get back and get my fat butt in shape!

Healthy Snack That Can Help You Loose Weight!

2009-03-12T22:04:00.006-04:00

First On A Personal Note...
You will notice that I now have a profile picture. And here it is. Yes, it is a cow. So you may ask, "What is up with the Cow?!" Well, the last race a ran before my accident was in Pittsboro, NC. The temperature was 19 degrees Fahrenheit. It was cold. I ran it in 22:19 and I took second place in my age group, just behind a 60 year old man from England, that holds the worlds record for the fastest 5k in the 60-65 year old age group. But that is another story. Anyway, aside from a nice glass trophy, I won this cow. This cow has sat on my night stand ever since. But NO MORE!

The Running Cow
From now on this cow will go with me to every race and I will carry the cow from start to finish. This will become my symbol! The Running Cow!

Now, Healthy Snack That Can Help You Loose Weight!
My wife and I find we have the munchies late at night while we watch movies. While she is at work she has the munchies. While I am doing taxes, I have the munchies. So we have been looking all over for snacks that are healthy and in many cases actually help you loose weight. A couple of these are less of snack and more of good eating habits that can help reduce the munchies. I hope you enjoy them.

Stop Drinking Soda! Even Diet Soda!
If you drink a soda everyday, lets say a 20 oz. soda, you drink in an average of 350 calories. That's 127,750 calories a year. Cut out that soda a day (and don't replace it with anything but water) and it would be like not eating food for 42 days. Imagine how much weigh you could loose of just that! So what is up with diet sodas? Research is still out, but current findings show that diet sodas actually cause you to crave more sugary foods? Ever see the person drinking a diet soda then eating a candy bar also? There you go.

Drink More Water
In many studies of athletes, it was found that when the athlete got the munchies, the person was actually thirsty. Simply increasing the amount of water they drank, reduced the urge to snack. It was then tested on regular people. Regular people cut the urge twice as much as athletes. (I hope I didn't offend any athletes by referring to non athletes as regular people. I just could not think of a non offensive way to refer to us couch potatoes.)

Eat A Fruit And A Vegetable With Each Meal
Now when I say vegetable, I mean a real vegetable. Sorry, chocolate is not a vegetable. Neither is that frozen or canned broccoli and cheese meal. I mean and Actual vegetable like steamed broccoli. 1 cup will do just fine. And when I say fruit, I mean an apple and not canned or dried fruit soaked in sugar.

Great Snacks By Themselves
Eat a Banana, an apple, a pear, fresh cut (not ever from a can) pineapple, a carrot, 5-6 baby carrots, tomato slices with salt, 6-8 cherry tomatoes, avocado slices, and celery. Eat those when you get the munchies. Don't for get a 1/2 cup of Berries. Blue Berries, black berries, and raspberries are great. Just don't add sugar!

3/4 of a Cup of Plain or Vanilla Yogurt Topped With Fruit
Studies have shown that women in particular are more likely to loose weight when they eat a yogurt for breakfast. My wife an I find it makes a great movie snack and it also reduces are munchies craving.

Chunky Salsa
Just pour a cup into a bowl and eat it with a spoon. After all, salsa is nothing more than tasty vegetable. Watch for salsa with added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Also, no chips though or this snack will back fire.

Smoothies
You can either use vanilla protein powder or yogurt as the base and these are great! I love them! If you make them right they can fill you up and quench that thirst!

Cereal Bars or Granola Bars
Look for the kind that are low in sugar (less than 8grams) and have 140 calories or less. These are high in fiber and tend to be high in protein.

Popcorn!
The air popped, no butter or other fat added. I have not been able to find any microwave popcorn that was healthy, if it is low in fat, they actually add high fructose corn syrup. Can you believe that? I have found many good brands that come in a bag. You'll find them next to the chips. Speaking of sugar on popcorn, caramel popcorn or Cracker Jacks don't count either.

So You Can Snack!
Eat the above items, and it can help reduce your munchies, and help you loose weight. Many of these munchies you can eat to your hearts content and stay healthy.

Get Your Rear In Gear 5k - Lots of Fun!

2009-03-09T18:51:00.013-04:00

We Had An Early Start
It all started at 5:00 am. My wife and I got out of bed, showered and got dressed. While she showered I fed the kids, and helped them get dressed. My Eldest had to dress of her first Soccer game that would be just after the race. We had hoped to be on the road by 6:00am. We picked up my mother-in-law at 6:10am so not too bad. We didn't preregister and we wanted t-shirts, so we wanted to be one of the first one there. We made it just as they opened and got out t-shirts.

What A Lot Of Booths
I was surprised at how many booths there were. All kinds of health information booths, a booth for a gym, a day spa, and a massage place. I had to get a back massage. It was great. The race had plenty of food, water, snacks, and soda (not too healthy, but very nice), and face painting for the kids.

Inaugural Run
Since this was the first race, I didn't expect more than 100 runners. I believe they did well pas that. This event turned out to be really big! Having organized a 5k race to raise money for boy scouts, I was very impressed. Lots of volunteers, well organized, and a friendly atmosphere. My race had live music and theirs had a DJ.

The Weather Was Great!
You could not ask for better weather. I thought an 8:30 start time would be too early, but the temperature that time of the morning was perfect. I believe it was between 65 and 69 degrees. Sunny, no wind, no rain, and it was not humid. Only 60% humidity that day.

Who Was There?
Several people we expected were not able to come. All from illness. It is cold and allergy season around here and that is what kept them home. So there were 3 actually runners for our team. My wife, mother-in-law, and our friend Rayna.

Jogging For Georgia
Our team was running for our dear from Georgia Cloutier and we were running in memory of two of our dear friends that recently passed away from cancer, Karen Larsen and Marti Linford.

What About You?
Did I run? No. My wife and I have this deal worked out, I run, she watches the kids. She runs, I watch the kids. This race happened to be her turn to run, so I watched the kids. I still had fun and so did the girls.

The Kids Fun Run
I expected the fun run to be a mile. Only two of my kids wnated to run it. One of which was my 3 year old. She was a little young and small to be running a mile, so we didn't register her. Well, we go to the kids fun run finish line on a soccer filed for the start. That should have been a sign that it wasn't going to be as long as expected. They waled the kids down the field and had them run back. Each kid got a medal. My daughter that ran loved it. If I had know how long it was going to be, I would have registered my 3 year old.

The 5k Course
Of course it is in Hilly Raleigh, North Carolina. So the course was hilly. Though it was hillier than what my wife and mother-in-law expected, they really enjoyed it.

The Times
The winner of the race finished in 19:27. For a high attending 5k race, that is a slow time, but it shows the hills were a factor. My wife and her mom had hoped to finish in under 45 minutes. They finsihed in 49:48. Considering the course they did great. Oh, I must through in that my wife had the baby in a ouch and was carrying her. My wife did great!

The Age Groups
Except for the first 2 age groups, they were grouped by 10 year increments. The first two were 14 or younger, 15-19, 20 to 29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-99. I understand with smaller races why they would do age group like this. But this was a big race! I actually prefer races that do age groups by 5 years. This gives more people an opportunity to win and in my opinon is more fair. Since I have been both, there is a big difference bewteen 20 year old and a 29 year old.

Over All!
Over all the Get Your Rear In Gear 5k was a great race. If they do it again next year, we will probably be there.

Whats Next!
The Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston South Carolina! See you there!

Best Advice Ever - Stop Whining and Do It

2009-03-04T09:15:00.000-05:00

Top 10 Lists
It seems that every magazine has a top 10 list of what ever. I recently received an e-newsletter with a top 10 list of things to improve my running. Number 8 was the most intriguing. It was Stop Whining and Do it.

Why We Whine
First we have problem and sometimes these problems, though are actually small, at the time seem insurmountable and we need support. So we whine. Sometimes we whine out of frustration. Sometimes we loose our ability to see that everyone has problems and we whine about the grass being greener on the other side. It may be that we can't see the other persons perspective and can only see our own, so when things don't go our way, we whine. This list could go on and on.

Whining About Our Weight and Health
I hear a lot of people whine about their weight, their health, and their inability to do certain things because of their health. These people whine for many of the reasons I have listed above and it is always accompanied with a reason or frustration. "I just don't have time to exercise." "There is no way anyone could live off that little amount of food." "So and so looses weight so easily, why can't I?" All of these complaints focus on an external condition, and not on the whiner.

Be Proactive
Being proactive means to first recognize that we have more control over our situation than we dare admit, even to ourselves. Second, it means to recognize that our response to uncontrollable circumstances is just as important as the circumstance itself.

Where Is The Time
All of us have busy schedules. Work, kids, cleaning house, school, church, and the list can go on and on. The things we do take time for are the things we have decided are important. you may say "No, I go to work because I have to." That is not true, and to say that is to be reactive not proactive. What you should say is "I have a choice of weather or not I go to work. I have decided the rewards for going to work are worth more than the consequences of NOT going to work." It is the same with everything we do in life.

Make Time to Get Fit
When I look at my schedule, and then compare it with what I actually did, there is a lot of down time where I watch TV of spend too long on the computer. I have chosen to cut some of that time out and I walk and run. you don't have to do it all at once either. Do at least 30 minutes of a fitness activity a day and you will see the change.

Wanting To Look Good Is Not Enough
The hardest things to do are those we have very little motivation to do. For example, it would be very hard to go to work, if they quit paying you. Simply loosing weight so that you will look good is very hard for this reason. Unless your are a supermodel or a professional athlete, no one will pay you to loose weight or stop paying you if you don't. It has to be more than that.

Body Image Problems
People who loose weight to look better often don't keep the weight off. On reason is that don't end up with that perfect body when the weight is gone. People who are healthy and loose weight and keep it off, do not have body image problems. As soon as you are happy with yourself, regardless of what you look like (even if you are really over weight) the easier it will be to accomplish anything.

I Can Do It Now
Be proactive and start a fitness and nutrition program today. You will feel better and be healthier than you ever imagined.

rssHugger.com Is Exactly What I need

2009-03-03T20:05:00.004-05:00

Finally An Innovative Blogger Site That Can Get Your Blog Visits
I was actually thinking about this the other day. Each blog is like a feature article in a news paper. Then I thought how great it would be to have a site or tool that would link you blog with others to form an entire blog news paper. Well someone beat me to it and did it very well.

rssHugger.com
rssHugger.com is a collection of blogs with some really great bloggers. rssHuuger has assembled in one place, called rssHugger.com, all the blogs to bring bloggers and readers together.

My Blog
I believe in my blog and feel what I have to offer is important and I work had to provide good contant and to promote my blog. If you have a great blog you do the same. If you don’t, it will sit on the web with millions of others that don’t get attention and don’t get readers.

A Unique Way To Promote Your Blog
rssHugger provides blog owners a unique way to promote their blog because it helps readers to find the information they are interested in easily and quickly. The subjects have a broad range. Type in any subject and rssHugger.com will show you the best blogs dedicated to that subject.

Sending Traffic To Your Blog
rssHugger.com sends traffic to your blog and builds backlinks. Search engines use the number of backlinks, and the quality of the backlinks, pointing to your site to determine whether your blog is viewed as important by the general population of readers. Generally, the more backlinks you have, the better your blog ranks — especially if those backlinks are from authority sites related to your site.

Right To The Computer Of The Readers
One of the other benefits of rssHugger.com is that rssHugger puts your blog in front of many readers. If your blog is interesting, those readers will “subscribe” to your site by clicking on your RSS icon. Then, the readers will receive your blog posts automatically.

Take A Look
Go visit rssHugger.com and see what you think. You will find rssHugger.com provides a wonderful list of blogs on just about any subject you are interest in. If you are a blog owner, you need to be on their list.

Run Fat Boy Run

2009-03-01T22:48:00.009-05:00

Looking For Motivation
I am always looking for good motivation to help me get my fat butt in shape. When I find this motivation I will share it. Some times I will share it even if I don't like it.

The Movie "Run Fat Boy Run"
While doing a search on NetFlix, I found the move "Run Fat Boy Run". It looked good and it sounded motivational so I got it.

Basic Movie Information
"Run Fat Boy Run" is a British romantic comedy directed by David Schwimmer, written by Michael Ian Black and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg, Dylan Moran, Thandie Newton, Harish Patel, India de Beaufort and Hank Azaria. This film is rated PG-13 for mild language and semi nudity and (for lack of a better way to describe it) potty humor.

Plot
Dennis is distressed about getting married and leaves his pregnant fiancee at the alter. Dennis' life is down hill from there. He never finishes anything and has an excuse for everything. 5 years later Dennis is a security guard at a women's clothing store, is late and behind on his rent, and a failure of a father to his now 5 year old son. Dennis especially becomes distressed when his ex-wife gets a new boy friend. The boy friend is a successful American business man, good looking, and runs marathons for charity. Dennis has a plan to get his ex-wife back. He too is going to run a marathon. He enlists that help of his good friend Gordon (who is also his ex-wife's cousin) and his landlord, to help him get in shape. He even proposes his ideas to his ex-wife who is less than thrilled. This puts Dennis into a tail spin and quits the idea of running. Running this marathon becomes a metifor for Dennis' life. He has quite everything he starts. No Dennis' son runs away from home. This is a wake call for Dennis who decides to finish he training and run the marathon in hopes of turning his life around.

Does he finish? Does he get the girl? What about then new boy friend?

What did I think?
Simon Pegg is a hilarious and skilled actor. I was laughing through most of the movie and I especially like the ending. I saw way to many men's butt. Evey movie I seem to see with Hank Azaria (the new boyfriend) he has to have a seen where he is without any cloths. This movie is no different.

40 lb Weight Loss Story

2009-02-23T13:34:00.005-05:00

Dear Fat Butt,

Although it took me over a year to do it, I lost 40 pounds, first by following a Weight Watchers type regimen and then following the American Heart Association guidelines, which happen to correspond very nicely with WW.

The biggest helps?

1. Watching my fat intake was a biggie. Fat lurks everywhere. The point system for WW helped me to see how much of my daily allotment was going to be taken up by a fatty choice versus a low fat choice.

2. I didn't put anything on the "never" list. Knowing that I could make choices made the whole process a lot easier.

3. I learned what a portion truly was. I think most Americans would be shocked to realize how many helpings they are truly eating!!! For instance, did you know that a serving of ice cream is 1/2 cup? Let me tell you, that is an awfully small serving when put into a typical bowl! Which is why I started using little dessert cups for my snacks and medium sized plates for my meals. The mind is a wonderful thing to deceive!

I have now hit that deadly plateau and my eating modification simply won't take off the last 30. So....I will have to start exercising, which for me, is a four letter word. I'll keep reading your blog and hope to get inspired!

Teri

Teri B. Clark
Professional Writer and Published Author
Your Key to Writing Success
www.teribclark.com
teribclark@gmail.com

Sports Humor - Lance Armstrong and his Bike, The Contest, and The President's Day Freedom Run

2009-02-20T13:12:00.005-05:00

Okay, I am a Lance Armstrong Fan. I also follow him on twitter. He posted this picture about an hour ago and I thought it was funny. Here it is.

The Winner of the Contest
As soon as I get the Pedometer in I will post the winner of the contest, what the answer was, and what my weight actually was. What was the contest? Check that out here.

The President's Day Freedom Run
This is the 5th year this 5k has been done. I founded the race in 2005 to support my boy Scout troop and it has been such a great success.

What a great race. It was my first race in a long time and since my accident. I wogged my way through without too many glitches. By the way, wogging is a combination of walking and jogging. I walked for 2 minutes and ran for two minutes, alternating back and forth. I felt great!

The weather report was for rain that morning and then clear the rest of the day. It was cold and cloudy and it started to drizzle at the beginning of the race, but it turn out to be perfect. I sure hope that did not keep people away.

I was pushing a "Bob". It is a really nice and fancy baby or kid jogger that I borrowed from my Brother-in-law. My "almost 4 year old" was riding. Not to hard of a push and going down hill it was easy to control. At the 1.5 mile mark she started crying and screaming about wanting to go home. I stopped and asked her what was wrong and she said she had to go potty. AHHHH! We found some bushes and took care of business. that took about 3 to 4 minutes. Everything else was fine. I finished in about 45 minutes.

There was a kids fun run. That was great! there are some serious kid runners out there.

Oh! Of course we had our live band again. That is such a bonus! Normally you have to wait about 30 minutes from the time the last person crosses the finish line before you get final time and the band makes that time enjoyable! I can not thank them enough for their playing.

Overall, this race is great! Everyone should run this one. We had 120 runners and 26 kids in the fun run. Lost of age group awards and plenty of prizes for both the kids and the runners!

The Next Race!
Next is the "Get your Rear In Gear" 5k. I mentioned it in a previous post, so check that out here. Since I ran the President's Day Freedom Run, my wife is going to run this one while I keep the kids. that will give me time to video and take pictures. Join Our team and See you there!

Some New Ideas And Race Updates

2009-02-03T10:25:00.006-05:00

A New Way To Refer To Walking And Jogging
Okay, I can not take credit for this. A friend of mine (Rinning Mooses) came up with a name for Walking and Jogging. It's Called "Wogging"! I love it. In my posts, I will use it. For those of you whop are "jogging" adverse and insist on using running and not jogging, well use woggin in reference to the comnination anyway.

The 5th Annual President's Day Freedom Run,
This has turned out o be a wonderful event. As a BSA Scout Master, I started this race as a fundraiser for the scout troop and to pay for Summer Camp. Since then the Cub Scout Pack has become involved, there is a new Scout Master, andthis event has really grown. We have been on TV every year and I love it. Please register for the race and join us! It is always the first Saturday before President's Day, that makes it February 14th. Registration starts at 8:00 am and the race starts at 10:00 am. Check it out at President's Day Freedom Run

Get Your Rear In Gear
I talked to theTeam leader ad so foar only 3 people have signed up for the race. Pleas sign up and support the team. This 5k is going to be March 7th. Check it out at get your rear in gear

Do You Have A Question?
If you have a question, feel free to email me at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com and I will answer. If your question is a good one, I will post it to the blogg. Tell Me Your Story!
Many people have told me ho they have changed their activities, their diet, started a running program, started a weight loss program, lost weight, or have just plain were inspired. Please share your stories and email them to getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com

Thanks! Keep Walking, wogging, and running. Most importantly don't forget to do your 10,000 steps each day!

Next Post - The Winner of the Contest!

Eat Breakfast Every Day!

2009-01-27T13:41:00.003-05:00

Why Should I Eat Breakfast
When you sleep, you still burn calories, very few, but you do. You actually burn very little fat though. Instead your body slowly drains the fuel store of glycogen. It take about 8 to 10 hours for this to occur depending on when you ate last. After that is gone, you body starts to look for protein and yes, your body will feed off of itself. It will break down unused muscle tissue.

I Feel Hungry When I Get Up In The Morning
Well, to a certain extent you should. your fuel sources are now pretty much gone, you brain is detecting low sugar levels in your blood and so tell you it is time to eat. SO EAT!

Why Not Skip Breakfast And Burn Fat?
Well, when you have depleted your stores, and you don't eat, your body switches into a semi starvation mode. It stops trying to burn fat and looks for other sources. As I said above, it will go for protein first in the form of unused muscle tissue. Then you go longer with out food and get hungrier. Then lunch comes around, you eat your fill, still fill hungry, and eat more than you actually need. You will feel hungry until your blood sugar rises enough to tell your brain that food is no longer needed. Now you have too much food in your system so it stores it as fat. You didn't burn fat, lost muscle tissue, ate too much, and now have more fat than you did before. That's why you don't skip breakfast.

Well, I Don't Feel Hungry In The Morning
Eat breakfast anyway.

What Should I Eat?
Oatmeal with fruit, cream of wheat, yogurt, cold cereal, eggs (they are not as bad for you as we were made out to think when we were younger), protein shakes, toast with peanut butter (yes peanut butter is actually good for you), fruits, low fat meats like ham or roast beef on an English muffin. the list can go on an on. Avoid food and drinks with sugar, really avoid foods and drinks with High Fructose Corn Syrup like the plague, and avoid high fatty foods such as bacon and sausage.

Eat Breakfast and you feel better and it will be easier to loose weight.

The Nintendo Wii Fit Work Out

2009-01-22T12:32:00.004-05:00

How Did I Find Out About The Wii Fit?
My sister-in-law had a friend that got a wii fit. My sister-in-law played the wii fit at this friends house and loved it. Hmmm... now I am interested. After all my sister-in-law is a marathon runner and a triathlete, and she asked for one for Christmas. Couldn't find one though.

Next!
A friend of mine and my wife's, got one. She brought it over and played on it with my wife. My wife loved it. I played on it a bit and was intrigued. Well, the friend was going to be busy for the weekend and let us borrow it. Wow! I loved it!

Features
The wii fit games put play into working out. I say play, but you are actually working out. There is yoga, strength exercises, aerobic exercises, and balance exercises. There are balance games like down hill skiing, ski jumping, soccer ball heading, and others. There are ab exercises like hula hoop, aerobic exercises like running. Very amazing and fun.

How Does It Work?
The Wii Fit comes with what is called a board. It looks more like a wide bathroom scale with two spots for your feet and no read out. you place the board and a flat, even floor (because of our carpet, we had to put a piece of plywood down) and stand on it. You put information in like your age, sex, and height, it takes you weight and gives you your body mass index. It even allows you to set weight goals. Based on you age and a balance test, it calculates your fitness age. Balance is key indicator to fitness age. Others including reaction time, cholesterol levels, body fat percentage are also important, but the wii fit bases it estimate on balance. As you go through the different exercises, you get points. You want 30 points each day. As you earn points, you unlock more exercises.

How Did The Family And I Like It?
We loved it! We all have profiles (and when I say all, I even mean my 3 year old.) this is truely fun for the whole family! We all did different work outs, and some games became competitions to see who could score the highest. Too bad we had to return the wii to our friend. So now we are looking and as soon as we find one, we are getting it!

Question and Answer: Shin Splints

2009-01-14T15:20:00.006-05:00

Q: Dear Fat Butt:

I have a question or two about walking. First, you say a brisk walk. I walk a 20-minutes mile. I just can't seem to do brisk for any length of time. When I do, my legs in the front hurt, the little muscles just on the outside of the shinbone. Stretching doesn't seem to help. When I stick with my 20-minute pace all is well, but I don't feel like I'm making the most out of my time and very little, if any, weight reduction is forthcoming with this sedate pace. Running doesn't seem to hurt but since I am not in good shape, running for any longer than 1 minute isn't very feasible. I haven't seen a doctor about my legs. I was just starting to see a doctor regularly, and I only went once, then we moved and I haven't found a personal doctor for me yet. Suggestions? Also, it is snowy here now and I don't go outside so I am starting (again) my Walk Away the Pounds videos. So any suggestions I will gladly try...when the snow melts and I won't freeze when I step outside.

Sincerely,

Snowed-In in Iowa

A: Dear Snowed-In

As I always do, first talk to your doctor. When you find a new Doctor where you live, talk to him or her about shin splints. The doctor may refer you to a Physical Therapist or medication might be appropriate.

Walking Mileage
Your mile walking time, is not bad. If a 20 minute mile is the pain threshold, then do go any faster. The last thing you want to do is aggravate a problem and turn it into an injury. I am not sure how far your walks are but I will assume they are about 1 mile in distance. Try walking 2 miles 3 times a week instead.

Stretching
Even though the stretching does not appear to be helping, keep doing it before and after anyway. If the muscle become tight, the pain will only get worse. Stiff muscles can later lead to injury.

Exercise That Muscle
Last there is an exercise you can try that will help strengthen this muscle. As the muscle becomes stronger, you should be able to do longer and faster walks. Basically it is what they call "toe lifts". Stand flat footed and then lift up onto your tip-toes. You want to do a modified toe lift. Instead of standing on lat ground, do it on a stair so that your heel actually becomes lower than the rest of your foot. then lift up on your toes. Only do about 10 of these 3 time. do this exercise on days you are not walking. So walk one day and do toe raises the next.

Walking For Fitness Or Weight Loss
Anytime you take up a walking program, remember to slowly increase your mileage by no more than 10% per week. Walking is most effective when you walk at least every other day, daily if possible. Taking a break is important to allow your body to rest. Weekends are the best time for me to do this. Weight loss through exercise must also come with a proper diet. Cut down on calories, particularly fats. Make sure you eat enough proteins, fruits and vegetables.

Sincerely,

Fat Butt

Today's Activity
I walked 2 miles during lunch and I actually feel great! It took 27 minutes, so not to bad. Assuming I can keep up the pace, I could do a 5k in about 40 minutes. I'm going to try and cut that down. So that is 2 miles for the day and week, 5 miles for the month.

Join Our Team

2009-01-12T14:18:00.008-05:00

Get Your Rear In Gear
On March 7, 2008, there is going to be a 5k walk/run in Raleigh NC and a Kids Fun Run. My wife and I, plus the kids will be going. The run is sponsored by the Colon Cancer Coalition and proceeds are going to fight cancer.

Our Team
We will be participating on a team and I am asking for people to join us. Our Team Leader can be contacted at saarijm@gmail.com and can be of the most assistance. We need at least 10 people in order to have a team.

In Honor Of...
Our team is walking and Running in honor of a very dear friend Georgia Cloutier. We would ask the you join us in her honor and help us support this worthy cause.

More About The Race
To find out more about the race go to http://www.getyourrearingear.com/events/get-your-rear-in-gear-events/raleigh-march-2009/ Before Registering, please contact the team leader at saarijm@gmail.com for instructions on registering with the team.

Email, FaceBook, and MySpace
To spread the word, I would like you to copy and paste the following link. This link will take them directly to this post about the race and the team first regardless of what I post later on. Send this in emails and put it on your FaceBook or MySpace page.

http://www.getmyfatbuttinshape.com/2009/01/join-our-team.html

Okay...so we now have a team set up for this race. To register, go to the website

www.getyourrearingear.com/events/get-your-rear-in-gear-events/raleigh-march-2009/

The race, "Get Your Rear in Gear" benefits colon cancer research. I'll probably be walk/running it, not in tip-top shape anymore these days, but I thought of Georgia the minute I saw the race, she gave the go-ahead this past Sunday, so here we go.

Our team name is "JOGGIN FOR GEORGIA"

That is the team you select when registering.

Thanks everybody, this should be a fun run! There is also a kids' fun run, which I am signing my 3 up for.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

For those of you who can't make it, I extend a challenge to everyone to do a personal 5K run/walk, for personal fitness and in honor of Georgia Cloutier. Please email me at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com and let me know when you did it, how far you went and how long you took. Every mile counts!

Thanks,

Fat Butt

Question and Answer: Starting An Exercise Program

2009-01-09T11:26:00.007-05:00

Q: Dear Fat Butt,

What advice do you have for an overweight 30-something who wants to begin an exercise program who has lead a largely sedentary lifestyle for the past few years?

Sincerely,

RunningMooses

A: Dear RunningMooses,

As I tell everyone, please see a medical professional before starting any kind of exercise Program.

Why A Walking Fitness Program
Walking is one of my favorite starting off exercises. People were meant and design to be walkers. When walking we are able to burn fat more efficiently than any other exercise, next to running. Walking can be done with out taxing our body like other sports and generally speaking people walk at about the same pace. That mean we can walk with friends. even at a brisk walking pace you can still have a nice conversation.

How to Get Started With a Walking Fitness Program
I am going to assume you have not been doing any exercise such as walking and I don't know if you have any time constraints. So, to start out with I would suggested walking 2 miles every other day, at a brisk pace. This should take about a half an hour. Try this out and see how you feel at the end of the week.

How Should You Feel At The End Of The Week?
If you just were not able to do it because it was so tiresome, then start again with 1 mile every other day. If you did the 2 miles every other day and feel really tired at the end of the week, or even after the day off you feel tiered, do it again for another week but with only a mile and a half. This should take about 20 minutes. If it took you longer than 30 minutes and you just don't have time, walk briskly for 30 minutes. If it was too easy and you don't feel like you did anything, try 2 and a half miles a week the next week. You should feel like you did some exercise at the end of each walk. Starting out you may feel some muscle soreness, but it should not be painful. Every other day you have a day off. You should feel rested after that break.

Eating Habits
Not only should you exercise, but you need to make sure you are eat properly. You need to be getting enough protein and eat carb as you exercise. With walking, drink a fruit juice before you start and a half of a peanut butter sandwich after. This will help stop the feeling of starvation many people feel after they exercise, and keep you body properly fueled for the walking. Drink water as you feel thirsty. Drinking too little will cause dehydration and too much will make you uncomfortable.

Stretching Is Important
Before and after walking (especially after) there are four stretches I suggest. First stretch you calve muscles. Stand in front of a wall, then with your left foot step back. Keeping your left foot strait and your heel on the ground, lean forward against the wall. Use your arms to brace yourself up and keep your feet strait, pointing at the wall. Don't let your hips turn. you can keep them strait by moving your left hip forward. You should feel a stretching sensation that is not painful. If it hurts the lean less against the wall. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then repeat with the right leg.

Next stretch the front of your leg. Stand about 1 front in front of the wall. Move your left leg forward then squat down on your left leg. your weight should be right over your left knee. you should feel a stretching sensation in the front of your leg and your ankle (at least with my bad ankles I do.) If you feel any pain, let up on your squat. Keep your legs and hip strait. hold for 30 seconds, then repeat with the right leg.

Next sit on the floor with your legs strait in front of you. Keep you feet together and bend forward and try and touch your toes. Many people do this standing up, bending at the waist and touching their toes. Lean as forward as you can. You should feel a stretch down the back of your leg. If it is painful, lean back a little. Hold for 30 seconds.

Last, roll over on you stomach. Lift your left leg and grab it with your left hand. Pull your leg toward your butt. You should feel a stretch in you left thigh. Keeps your hips on the floor and stay flat, don't turn or twist your body. This should not be pain full. If you feel any pain, simply hold your leg in place or pull less.

Debate about Stretches
There is some debate about doing the last two stretches. Most people do both standing up. Some experts argue that when standing, it is too difficult to keep your body in the correct position to stretch properly and there may be additional force against your knees that could cause future problems. These experts suggest doing them on the floor as I described above. I have no real opinion and the debate still goes back and forth. I personally prefer to do them on the floor and find I stretch better when on the floor.

What Next
Increase your daily mileage by a quarter of a mile the each week and keep walking every other day for a total of 4 weeks. After that, email me back at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com and let me know how it is going. We can change your walking form there or we can add in a little jogging. Lets see how you do. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Last, My Daily Activity
I walked another mile to the barbershop and back. Later on I walked another half mile. So for the day I had 1.5 miles, for the week, month and year, I have 3.5 miles total. Yeah!

Trying Out The Weight Loss Tools

2009-01-08T13:55:00.003-05:00

If I Preach It I better Practice It
So I went to the two tools that I mentioned put in my stats. The first said I needed 2650 calories to loose weight for my activity. The second said I needed 2400. So I chaged my activity level and it said I need to eat 2600. Close enough. so I decided to actually stick by both to show everyone that it could be done.

The Hard Part Is Tracking, Not Doing
Okay first hirtle was breakfast. I decided to eat some oat meal and drink a glass of milk. The problem was that the oat meal nutritional facts are listed in grams. The diet plan is listed in oz. Problem number two. the nutritional information tells you the nutritional grams of the food and not their net weight, which I could not find. the second hirtle was lunch. I had a turkey sub sandwhich, backed low fat chips, and a diet soda. I have no idea how much the vegitables weighed nor do I no the same for the meat (I had double Turkey!). I can go online and look at the nurtitional information but so many grams of protien does not match so many oz. of meat. 90% of the weight of turkey meat is actually water. I could however trakc all the calories without too much trouble, and I ate 2710 calories. Good enough to loose weight if I keep it up.

Problems With Dieting
As you eat to loose weight, you need to eat the right proportion of food or not only will you loose fat weight, but you will loose muscle mass too, even if you exercise. Two I went through waves of feelling like I was starving to feeling okay. You can't eat just 3 meals evenly divided and be okay. You need to adjust your meals to 5 evenly divided meals. that also mean adjusting your eating habits and some times your schedule.

Don't Be Afraid To Snack
snacking in cinjunction with what I said above is just fine as long as it is stuff you like and is healthy. Peanutbutter on whole wheat is a great between meal snack. Fruits, carrot sticks, raisens, other dired fruit, and low fat jerkey are all good. I will list more snacks later.

Don't Go Too Long Without Eating
I at Lunch at arround 12:pm. I didn't Eat dinner until 6:00 pm and I felt like I was starving! The problem with this is I ate dinner, my stomach felt fool, but I was still hungery. The reason why is you brain determine hunger based on the sugar levels in your blood. So my food was in my stomach but had not found its way to my blood stream. That is one reason people over eat.

One Reason I Like the Weight Watchers System
With all the problems I had with just one day I can see why people don't calorie count. Weight watchers came up with a way of assigneing points to food based on fat, fiber, and calories. It is simple to use and easy to track. I do not work for Weight Watchers and they are not paying me to say that. My wife was on Weight Watchers about 3 years ago. I did it with her for support and we both lost weight. Between my running and watching what I ate, I lost 30 lbs.

Two Reasons I don't Like the Weight Watchers System
The reason for the Food Pyrmid is becasue you need certain amounts of certain foods. Weight watchers kind of does that with a fiber calculation (ie whole grains and fruit have a lot of fiber and protein does not) but people eat too mcuh sugar and starches and not enough protien. When you exercise carb and protien needs go up. NO FAT, NO FIBER. The weight Watchers System mad no disctinction between men and women, and belive me there is a difference.

A New Program
I would appriciate any input into a new program that is simple AND meats the pyrmid needs. Please email me at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com

Daily Activity
Do to Rain, time constraints, and other things going on, I mamaged to wlak just over 1 mile at a semi brisk pace. I actually felt tired at the end of the day. so totla for the week, month and year, are 2 miles.

Calories and Our Body's Fuel

2009-01-06T23:10:00.006-05:00

Today's Activities
While waiting for my computer to install some software at my office, I decided to take a walk. The installation was going to take a while. So I just walked around the block and a bit more. I ended up doing it twice. The total time was about 12 minutes and the distance was just a little over a quarter of a mile. Not bad. But I still felt a little sore from yesterday. This evening I got on my stationary bike planning to do 15 minutes of moderate effort. As soon as I got on I found the batteries to the control unit were dead. So that meant I would only have easy effort. Instead of 15 minutes I did 30. Of course I did my stretches after. Yes I should have done them before, but I only did them after. I felt pretty good.

The Fuel For Our Body
Basically we have three types of fuel in order for our body to function correctly. These fuels need to be taken in a proper balance. If we get to many we can get fat and cause damage to our bodies. If we get to few, our bodies won't function properly and again we can damage our bodies.

Carbohydrates
This is the first fuel our body needs. It is the easiest for our body to digest and process directly into energy in the form of a sugar called glycogen. Our brains function on this sugar and it is essential to proper fueling of your body when doing any activity. If we get to much our body stores this fuel as fat and does so very efficiently. Most Americans get too much of this fuel in the form of sugar. Too much can also lead to being over weight, diabetes, migraines, stress, and insomnia, to mention a few. We also experience waves of energy and feelings of being tired. If we get to little we risk all sorts of problems too. Sports scientists have found that athletes that do not consume enough carbohydrates risk muscle damage that can lead to injury. It appears that as soon as our body runs out of carbs it then turns to its own muscle tissue for fuel when exercising. We also can become disoriented, hallucinate, and can pass out. If you are a diabetic, to little sugar can send you into shock and can lead to death. The amount of carbs you need is directly proportional to your activity level.

Protein
Protein is the building block of our bodies. Everything from your skin, muscles, internal organs, immune system, and even our blood is made up of protein. Americans in general get too little protein. Not enough protein can lead to muscle loss. Most people who diet actually loose more muscles mass than they had before dieting, because they don't eat enough protein. If you get to much protein your body can't store it as well as is does sugar, but it will turn it to fat. The by products of digesting too much protein can cause all kinds of long term health problems. You can get diaria to get rid of certain types of excess protein. Long term excessive eating of meat can lead to gout. Of course eat too much and you will become over weight.

Fat
Believe it or not fat is actually essential to proper body fiction. It keeps us warm and help regulate our temperature. Our nerves are covered with a type of fat. Our skin is water proof because of fat. Certain fats actually clean our arteries of cholesterol. Fat can keep you from starving to death. But as Americans we get WAY TOO MUCH Fat. These leads to being over weight, heart disease and ultimately our own untimely death.

Fiber
Fiber is more of a regulator. When you eat the proper amount of fiber, it slows the digestion of sugar and evens out how it enters the body. Think of our stomach as a source of immediate fuel like a stack of cut wood. Do we want to through all the wood on the fire or let the fire keep a certain size and add wood as we need it? Our bodies are similar. Our body wants to dump it fuel all at once, but fiber keeps the fire burning regularly and feeds in the fuel slowly. Fiber keeps us regular. Most Americans do not get enough fiber.

Bad Carbs
Of all the carbs we have to eat High Fructose Corn Syrup was invented by the devil him self. When I was growing up I drank a lot of Kool-Aide. 2 quarts had about 1 cup of sugar. That comes down to about 2 tablespoons of sugar per cup. That is actually a lot of sugar. Now just about every kind of drink there is, especially fruit juice is loaded with High Fructose Corn syrup. A glass of juice or soda can have as much as twice the sugar of Kool-Aide. That mean a 1/4 cup of sugar per cup of juice or soda. Avoid anything that says high fructose corn syrup on the ingredients.

What Are The Right Amount Of Calories
Your calorie need depend on your age, height, sex, and activity level. The best weigh to find out how many calories you need to to go to the Mayo Clinic web site on calories. It will ask you a few questions and give you the answer. Check it out here. Calories counting is important but can be very time consuming. Though I suggest you keep track of your calories, you may just want to go to the next step.

What Is The Proper Balance Of Fuel
Now you need to know, how much protein, carbs, fat and fiber you need. To find out go to the My Food Pyramid web site. It is run by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and gives you the answers in easy to understand measurements rather than a calorie number. Check it our here.

Good Luck and Get Healthy!
The key is going to sound like a broken record, but proper diet and excersise are vital!

The Beginning Of A New Year

2009-01-06T00:50:00.008-05:00

Lets Start Out With Todays Activities
To day I did a 1 mile run walk and it took me 15 minutes. I actually felt good and am running much better. While stretching, I found I have a significant increase in mobility in my right ankle! Yeah! So for 2008 I have 1 mile accumulated.

Starting Out a New Year Everyone should set goals. These goals need to be quantifiable, definable, realistic, and must have a done by date attached. So here are a few of my personal goals:

I want to weigh 165 by December 31, 2009 with a 15% body fat percentage.
I want to run a 22 minute 5k by September 31, 2009.
I want to run the Marine Corp Marathon in 2010 and finish in under 4 hours.

Here are examples of goals that aren't so good:

I want to get in shape this year.
I want to loose weight this year.
I want to run a marathon.
I want to qualify for Boston this year.

As far as #1 goes, it is not definable or should be defined. What does get in shape mean? It depends on who you are talking to and why they are getting into shape. This goal is too vague.

#2 is more specific and kind of has a date, but how much weight? If I start at January 1, 2009 and loose 1/2 a pound by December 31, 2009, I made the goal. But is that what was really wanted?

#3 has no specific date. There are lots of things I want to do, but because I have never put a date to them and made a plan to do them, I still haven't done them. If your talking about visiting the moon someday, yes that may happen and I can see why you didn't put a date. But if you want to walk or run a marathon, you need to have a plan and a realistic date. Then hold yourself accountable.

#4 is not realistic for the average person. I know of good runners who have been working for years at achieving that. As for me, I am not even worried about running in Boston. Let me actually run a marathon first. See Goal # 3 form the first set.

Here are some helpful hints. Don't get hung up on weight (yes, I know I have a weight goal.) You don't have to have a weight goal. I do for very specific reasons that don't apply to 90% of everyone else. If you set realistic goals, weight will come off.

Don't expect to look like a super model or an athlete. Even really good looking women I know and really athletic men I know would never make the cover of a magazine. Most people you know don't even care that you not on the magazine cover. Those who care most care more about your health than you looks and your health is more important.

Running or Walking 5k Races Is a Fun Way To Get Started. With a 5k goal you can measure improved fitness. By doing a walking or running program you will find you loose weight, build confidence, and you will have more energy. If you do have a 5k or "all the way up to" a marathon goal, don't get caught up with time goals until you understand what is realistic or possible. I had to run three 5k's before I could start setting realistic time goals. Let your first race be just that, your first race where you just want to finish.

Yes, Marathons Are Possible and Realistic. When I turned 36 I went to the Marine Corps Marathon. You look at the people who are running or walking them and you think "WOW! If they can do that so can I!" and you can. Just don't expect to do it tomorrow and don't expect to do it under 3 hours either. Oh! You don't have to run one either. You can walk it. unless you are what they call an elite runner, the people that walk the Marathon get the same prize as those who run it. Time is not that important.

Most importantly, Always see a doctor before you start any exercise or fitness program. Don't set you expectations so high you can't achieve them, but if you fall just a little short of a goal, you should feel happy about the improvements you made.

So How Much do I Weigh? Email your answer to getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com and I will announce the winner after January 15th 2009. Good luck!

A New Baby Girls

2009-01-01T23:18:00.005-05:00

An Addition to the Family

We are please to introduce to you a new addition to the family! Her name is Lillian Joy. She was born on December 31st, 2008 at 3:55 pm. She weighed 9 lbs and 6 oz. She was 20.5 inches long. We are all excited and love are new baby.

.....and yes, that makes 5 girls.

Contest

The picture of the contest will be posted Saturday. Check back often because I will be posting daily as of January 4, 2009!

For Any Questions about my blog, email me at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com

Thanks!

The Best Distance Mapping Tool On The Web

2008-12-19T18:25:00.006-05:00

Gmaps Pedometer
Okay, there is a lot of junk out there on the web. Especially when it comes to walking, running, biking, etc. But I have actually found something good. It is called Gmaps Pedometer. What makes it great? First it uses google maps. Second it is simple to use! I mean simple! If you want to know how far you walk, run or bike, use this tool.

How It Works
When you first go to the site, you type in the address of the starting point. where it says "jump to:". you will notice a "Zoom 12" next to it. change it to 17 by pressing the drop down button and selecting "Zoom:17". In my opinion it gives you the best view. Next, hit the "Start Recording" button. Now simply click on points along your route. It will show you mile marks, and calculate how far you would actually go. It is great and fairly accurate.

Points of Confusion
It took me awhile to figure out how to do it, and I don't see any help menu. You must double click to record a point. There are tow options in the center left. One Says "turn off mile marker" and the other says "Turn off calorie counter." If the line says Turn it "off" then it is on. If you click the link, it turns it off and changes to "Turn on mile marker" or "Turn on Calorie Counter". I think it is backwards, but it might make sense to everyone else. Also, where is says "Draw Map" I selected the "automatically (for cyclists)" and would do so even if I were going to walk or run the course. If you don't, you have to add more point or it will having running through houses. If you do use it, it takes fewer point and automatically follows the road. Use manual if you are going off road.

Things I Don't Like - Elevation Feature
If you select "small" or "large" elevation, the map becomes shorter and a graph appears. Unless I were serious about elevation It doesn't add much. If you want this feature, I would plot the map first and print it, then look at the elevation and print it second.

Things I Don't Like - Calorie Counter
When you turn on the calorie counter it will ask you your weight and then calories burned is calculated and appears bellow that. I have no idea where they get that number from or how the number is calculated. Especially since age, sex, and what exercise your doing, and how long it takes you, changes the amount of calories burned. In my case, I mapped out a course of 1.07 miles and the Gmap Pedometer calculated 170 calories burned. I looked up some formulas, and calculated the calories for running the distance in 15 minutes (what I am actually doing it in right now), and it came out with 147 calories. I also calculated the calories for walking and it came out with 123 calories. So It shoots a little high on the calorie burn, but it looks like a pretty good guide.

Over All
this is a really good walking, running, biking map distance calculate. Simply plot your points and print your map. Google Maps is used by the USA Track and Field to assist officials in measuring road races so I am confident in the distance.

People Were Meant To Walk

2008-12-17T17:34:00.008-05:00

Walking and and the Human History
No matter what you believe on the origin of man, one thing is for certain. Until recent history people walked everywhere. Mass migrations across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas have occurred. Towns and cities throughout history have an average distance of five mile. That is what one person can reasonably walk in one day, do work, and walk back. Armies walked to battle, pioneers walk to new homes, workers walked to work, mothers walked to the store, and children walked to school.

Domesticating The Horse
Around 4000 BC humans began to domesticate the horse. Though you could ride a horse, most people used the horse as a work animal. They plowed field, pulled wagons, or moved and lifted heavy objects. Rarely to you ride your horse for transportation.

Mongols Riding the Horse
The great Mongol army of Genghis Khan few road the horse as transportation. The group had soldiers and their families and they walked to combat. Once they arrived near an enemy, the soldiers would mount their horses. As soon as the battle was over, they got off. A few would ride to heard the horses and other farm animals to the next battle.

Hollywood and the Cowboy
In every western I have seen cowboys road horses everywhere. It actually seemed everyone road horses everywhere. Cowboys crossing the plains on unending rides. Horse hitches outside every building. Everyone had a horse.

The Real West and the Horse
Though horses were common, most people walked to town. They would never waste the strength of their horse to go to town. Hitching up a buggy took time also. If you had a buggy, you had a servant that would set it up for you. Even then, you took the buggy to church or to town, and then spent the rest of the day walking around. At the end of the day you took the buggy home. You would still walk to work, to school or to town.

How Far Can A Horse Travel
If you race a horse, it can run almost two miles and then it is to tired to run any farther. If you road a horse at a run, you could reasonably take it 10 miles. This was also the distance used by the pony express to change horses. If you walked a horse it could go 20 to 40 miles. For quick long distance travel the horse was great, but around the home and town. You still walked.

Our Body is Designed to Walk
If you look at the way our bodies are designed you quickly see that walking is the most efficient way for us to travel. You might say "Duh, No Kidding." Though it is obvious, everything behind the design of our body revolves around walking. We burn fat most efficiently when walking. Our legs can take use 10 miles in a day at an easy pace (with a couple of breaks) and you would not feel tired. The way our eyes see allows us focus on an object even when walking at a fast pace.

Why We Don't Walk
Well, someone invented the car and then Ford made them cheep enough for everyone, then the government made roads and freeways every where. Now the store is too far away to walk to. Work is too far away to walk to. School is too far or too dangerous to walk to (though I walked to school, elementary, Junior high, and high school. Even college.) The mall is no longer down the street, the movies are on the other side of town, and we have altered our culture to be about cars. So without a car we are in trouble.

How We can Become A Walking People
First you have to (including me), decide we are going to walk. If it is close enough, walk. My grocery store is a half mile away from my house. Unless I am buying bags of groceries, I walk to the store. Get out your front door and walk with someone. Meet at a park or walkway with friends and walk. When you take kids to the park, don't sit on the benches, walk around the playground. It does all start with deciding to walk.

How Far We Should Walk Every Day
Everything I have read about walking for fitness or walking to loose weight points to one magic number. That number is not a measure of time or miles, but steps. Every person should walk 10,000 steps every day. you are probably thinking "WOW! 10,000 STEPS! ARE YOU HIGH!" Well, I'm not. I put on a pedometer last spring and walked 2000 steps just doing laundry. Walking back and forth between the dirty cloths, the Washer, the dryer, and where I folded cloths, and then putting them away. I walked 2,500 steps just to the store and back. I walked 15,000 steps mowing my lawn (long story).

Here Is The Walking Challenge
I challenge everyone to walk 10,000 steps every day. Even if all you do is walk around the house, walk to the corner and back, or walk around doing house or yard work. You will feel better physically, feel better about yourself, and you will notice that you will loose some weight too. Next post will be about walking and burning calories.

The Prize
Part of the prize is going to be a very nice Omron pedometer. I have one, my wife has one, and they are great. Tell your friends about the contest and have them check out my blog. Post comments about your walking. We want to hear how your doing. Good luck and have fun walking.

The Contest - Win a Prize

2008-12-16T22:38:00.002-05:00

More on the Contest
So I had a couple of comments and a few emails telling me that I need a picture. That way everyone can see what I look like and can better guess my weight. So in the next two days, I will have a picture.

Once the picture is up, email your guess to getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com

The contest will last until January 15th 2009. All entries must be received before 11:59pm EST of that date, in order to count.

The weight: You must use pounds, also described as lbs, and ounces! You may use decimal points, IE 100.5 pounds.

Who will win? The person that comes closest to the weight wins. If you guess right on, Yeah! If more than one person guesses correct we will have multiple winners. The winners will be contacted by email. Once I get the mailing addresses, I will mail out the prize.

The prize, or prizes, will be announced in the next couple of days.

Feeling Good Walking and Running

2008-12-09T21:05:00.003-05:00

Another Walk and Run
Well, I did it. Another walk and run. I went about 1 mile and a half, in about 18 minutes. It felt really good. Once again I ran 3 minutes and ran 2 1/2 minutes. This will be my additional 10% run and Thursday I will just stick to the 15 minutes. I really don't want to over do it.

Motivation
So many people have email me that they walk or run for fitness, then stop. They just can't seem to keep up with it. then they ask me how I stay motivated. The first part of motivation desire. you have got to want the results more than the inclination to not go out and walk or run. another part is Hope. Do you have the hope that running or walking will actually help you? do you believe it? Well do. when you believe it and want it. you will get it.

Time
Another reason people have told me they don't keep up with running or walking is because they don't have time. These same people have time to read email, surf the net, play on their wii, watch Monday night football, etc. I would suggest 30 minutes a day, and believe me that's not much. It is essentially 2 Saturday morning cartoons. If nothing else 15 minutes a day! That's it. Hope and Desire
While at PT a saw a number of older people that fell down and hurt themselves. Just from falling down. I know of people that just can't do basic physical activity. Walk to the corner, go up stairs, or do house work, because they have slowly become to weak to do them. The lack of exercise could have been from an injury, an illness, or (the most common) time. The older you get the faster time goes by. I don't want to be that guy that is 70 years old and need help getting out of a chair. Well, no matter what your situation is, it is never to late! I know of a women who took up running at 70.

Getting Started
If you have had an illness or injury that has prevented you from exercise of any kind, I suggest you talk to your doctor and get a referral to a Physical Therapist. Physical Therapy will get you on the right path, at the right pace, designed for you. Some long term injuries may require special medical treatment. I would suggest that you get the treatment you need and get on a physical therapy plan. If it has just been a long time since you have done and fitness program, once again consult your doctor first. Once you have been cleared, do a search on my blog for walking and start a walking program. If you choose to run, ease into running.

You Will Be Surprised
Walking and running will help you feel better physically, feel better about yourself, and get your body moving.

Running Is Not For Me
That's fine. I will post about running later, but there are plenty of things you can do other than running.

Walking Is Not For Me.
Okay, now we have a problem. In a post about running I will also talk about walking. But walking is essential to everything we do. We get out of bed and WALK to the bathroom, WALK to the kitchen, and WALK to the car. Every exercise program must include at least walking.

NEW POST AND CONTEST!
In the next week, I will post how much I weigh! email me with how much you think I weigh. the closest guesses will win a prize. Email your guess to getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com and get a chance to win something special. i will post the Prize in the next few days. In the mean time I need to get my fat butt in shape.

My Last Session In The Pool

2008-12-05T16:31:00.005-05:00

Oh, Glorious Day
I am finally done with PT all together. I did my last pool session and it was great. A really good work out. I am not nearly as tired today as I expected especially since I ran and walked yesterday. I may run and walk again tomorrow. We will have to see.

About This Pool
The pool used by the Physical therapy place I go to is called a Hydroworx. Have you heard of swim in place pools? Well this is essentially one of those, plus it has a treadmill in the floor. Plus there is a jet and hose that actually will give you a really good underwater message. I only mention this because they have more features adn are cheeper than other swim in place pools I have seen. Great for rehab or athletes. check them out at www.hydroworx.com.

The Challenge
I was actually pretty good during Thanksgiving and did not eat too much. Now I need to keep it up and be good during christmas and New Years. New Years may be easy since my wife is do on New Years eve and I will be in a hospital. Not much free fatty food floating arround there. But I really need to make sure to get my fat butt in shape. I will tel you when I think I'm ready for my first 5k.

My First Real Run On A Real Road

2008-12-03T22:31:00.003-05:00

Let's Do Some Running!
Okay so it was walk and then run and then walk some more. There is a loop near my house which is close to a mile all the way arround. At my last PT session, I walked and ran on a treadmill and did 1 mile. So today I got out on the road. I walked 3 minutes and ran 2 1/2 minutes alternatively for 1 mile and a quarter and it took about 15 minutes. It felt good. I was a little sore after but I felt good.

Stretch
Yes, I stretched before and after. It made a lot of difference and the movement in my right ankle seems to be improving a lot.

Small Incramental Steps
Now I will increase next week by 3 minutes. I will probably add it to the Wednesday walk. So monday will be 15 minutes and Wednesday will be 18 minutes. I will then figure out how I should be increasing the amount of time I run and shorten the amount of time I walk. Then I can get my fat butt in shape.

LAST PHYSICAL THERAPY SESSION

2008-12-02T00:37:00.003-05:00

Final Evaluation?
Well, I had PT today and we did the last evaluation for PT. Anthony took measurements, discussed how much has improved, what problems are still present, and what to do next. As I have mentioned before PT has become more of a Work Out than therapy. That is a good sign I need to start doing things on my own. Mostly I need to get out on the road and run, bike, and get back in the pool and swim. So I have one more scheduled pool PT Friday and one follow-up and I am off.

The Problem
First I still have tremendous ankle problems in my right ankle and much of it is permanent. If I were a professional athlete, my career would be over. But since I'm not, all is good for the most part. Running will get that back into decent shape.

Plan Of Action
I actually ran on a treadmill! Whoo-hoo! a wamping 4.8mph (yes, I know. While in the Marines I could almost walk that fast in full gear.) So I walk for 3 minutes and run for 2 1/2 minutes for a total of 15 minutes, twice a week. The next week I increase this by 10%. Since I am more concerned about time than distance right now, I will increase the next week by 3 minutes, then by 3.3 minutes, then by 4 minutes, and so on until I am at a half an hour for each work out. Then I will reevaluate what I am doing. I will also be decreasing my walking time and increasing my running time. I will keep you posted on how I decide to do that.

What Else?
I need to get back on my bike. I can bike to work, to the store, and other places close by. I still have my gym membership so I will get back in the pool. Last, I still have my Core Performance Book and I will start the basic (highly reduced to start with) workouts.

When Will I Race?
We have our President's Day Freedom Run coming up on February 14th, 2009. I am not sure how much work I am going to have to be doing, but I would like to run it this year. My PT suggested on January first, even if all I did was run walk it, so My goal of February doesn't sound to bad. Now all I have to do is get my fat butt in shape.

Back To The Pool!

2008-11-24T17:23:00.003-05:00

Physical Therapy in the Pool
Well, I am back in the pool, and it was pretty good. Since I got in first thing this morning, the pool was really warm and so was the pool room. As cold and nasty as it has been, it felt great. Started out with stretches and then did some running on the wonderful underwater treadmill. It is pretty cool since there is a camera and a TV to allow you to see what your feet are doing. My running was at about 3.2 mph. Even for a pool that was not very fast. I am really having trouble getting a good plant with my right foot. At that speed, my heal should hit first and I just roll over my foot then push off with my toes. Because my leg is still stiff, I am landing flat footed on my right side. Not good.

The Surprise
Well, just about 15 minutes before the end of my session, my Pool PT was informed his next person canceled. So he asked if I need to be or go anywhere and I didn't. That gave me another 30 minutes of work out. So we did jumping, lunges, squats and more. PT these last few times have stopped being PT and have turned into 45 minute (or in this case) to an hour and 15 minute work out! It feels great, but I have some major things to work on while I get my fat butt in shape. But what am I to do with this ankle?

Dr. Appointment, PT, and Surgery Picutres

2008-11-21T10:06:00.008-05:00

Pictures First
These are two picture from CT scans before and after surgery. So the first picture is before surgery. The picture is color enhanced by the computer. You are not actually looking at the blood vessels, but the blood inside. Green indicates abnormal blood flow. The second picture is after surgery. The stint may appear to be on the out side, but in fact it is inside. It appears that way because you don't actually see the blood vessels, but what is inside.

Doctor's Appointment
I finally had my appointment with my regular doctor. I still have blood work and labs to do, but everything went well. Nothing out of the ordinary. He is updated on my situation with my accident and I have a follow-up in January. I like my doctor and I feel confident about working with him.

Physical Therapy
Okay, PT has now changed from rehab to a 45 minute work out. I was so tired when I was done, but I sure need it. I will be back in the pool next week so I will be able to start running soon. As for my knee, the problem is not my knee, but inflexibility of my right leg. the more I stretch it, the less problems I have. So STRETCH!

What Next?
The holidays are coming up, so I want to make sure I don't eat too much. I will weigh myself after Thanksgiving and I will start aggressively tyring to loose weight from there. PT has cleared me to pull out my bike, so I will be doing that. I will keep you posted. PT has also cleared me to try and start running again. Now that doesn't mean I will be running miles at a time. I will probably run for 1 minute and walk for 4 minutes. do that for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on how I feel.

A Poll
In the next couple of weeks, I will be posting a Poll and I will ask questions about walking for excesses. If you have any ideas for questions let me know and keep watching for the poll. I want as many people to answer as possible, so spread the link to everyone! Keep watching the blog while I get my fat butt in shape.

I Am In Bad Shape!

2008-11-12T18:21:00.004-05:00

The Visit
Well, this weekend I had my sister over. She had flown out to Utah to see family, flew in to NC to visit a Brother-in-law, then over to see my family. We had a great time and the entire family had fun!

Shin Splints
My sister has been complaining about shin splints. She gets them from walking, running, etc. Because of the pain she does not work out. Shin splints is the inflammation of the muscle and tendon (the posterior personal tendon) that runs down the front of your leg or shin bone. It is believed that this is cause from additional use of the tendon in running and walking. as you walk or run, this tendon and muscle are used to lift the front of your toe out of the way. With any muscle and tendon use, if you over do the work out, it will become sore and inflamed.

Oh My Gosh!
I showed her some stretches do do and a couple of workouts to help. Oh my gosh! I had a hard time doing them and a couple I couldn't do at all. I am in really bad shape. I have my doctors appointment tomorrow and I will talk with him about my progress. My incision site is improving but I am still really sore and have to be careful. I will especially talk to him about my knee. I am really concerned now since it is sore and stiff.

How To Treat Shin Splints
There are several ways to treat the problem. First we are going to assume that you do want to continue some type of work out, but this muscle and tendon need rest and can not be over worked. This is commonly called relative rest.

Relative Rest
Relative rest is a combination of stretches, exercises, and modified walking or running to help strengthening the muscle and reducing inflammation of the tendon. Doing the Soleus Stand stretch and the runners stretch are important. Check out these stretches also. Next proper exercise of the soleus muscle is needed. Find a step, place you toe on the step and you heel over the edge. then to toe raises, allowing you foot to fall bellow your toe, over the edge of the step. Last modify your running and walking. You can do this by running in a pool with a water belt, or substituting the running and walking with biking. Biking is a great aerobic exercise that builds muscle in the legs and DOES NOT have the impact stress of running and walking. slowly build back into running and walking and I mean slowly. Normally you would increase your mileage by 10%. If you suffer from shin splints, do not increase more than 5%, may even 2.5% would be better.

Time And Miles
It is difficult to translate an equivalent bike ride to walking and running. Generally speaking, 4 miles of biking is equal to 1 mile running or 2 miles walking. So if I run 1 mile, the biking equivalent is 4 miles. If I want to walk to get the same workout as 1 mile, I have to walk 2 miles.
For all of you pros out there, YES THIS IS NOT EXACT. THIS IS INTENDED FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON TO WALK OR RUN TO GET BACK IN SHAPE.
So walk 1 mile. How long does that take you? Lets say it takes you 15 minutes. then do your walking in a pool for 15 minutes. Generally I can bike twice as fast as I can run, So I would bike for 30 minutes on a stationary bike, setting the resistance level to feel like I am using as much energy as I would if I were walking.

Why Not....
I will probably get a lot of emails asking my why not use the odometer on the stationary bike, or why not do this or that or the other. when I was really working out and training for triathlons, I probably WOULD do this that and the other. If you feel that you are at that level, by a book on the subject relating to triathlon training or running. I don't have the time or space on this blog to do and explanation justice. Remember, this is for me and other to just get back into shape.

Last Thoughts
The best way to start is stretching and walking. Slowly build the amount of time or distance you walk. I will keep you posted on my progress as I get my fat butt in shape.

My PT Ran A Marathon

2008-11-06T11:01:00.004-05:00

Here It Is!
My PT guy ran the City of Oaks Marathon. He finished 156th overall with a time of 3:45. Well done! With his permission, here is a link to see the picture.
Marathon Photos

PT - Not A Lot of Progress

2008-11-05T11:27:00.005-05:00

Friday Re-Evaluation
Well, I went back to PT on Friday for a re-evaluation. No knee problems, but my ankle and right index finger are like frozen. He worked with both a lot and I really didn't feel any pain. They are just really stuck. But it went well. I finished off some lunges. Well, that I paid for the lunges. Other than soreness, I will explain later.

The Incision Line
Well, when the doctor cut on me of course there is an incision. The inner layers were stitched and the outer layer on the skin was glued. This new surgical glue is used because it has reduced infections by 90%. Hey sounds good to me. Now the incision should have healed by now. The problem is every little thing I do, it make a micro tear on that line. Now from picking up girls, laundry, bending over, getting hit there by the littlest child, etc, I have small tears all the way across the incision line. Of course they bleed like crazy, scab up, and the scab attaches to my underwear, and then when I get up and move or walk, it tears off and it bleeds again. To top it off, I am incredibly sore! My wife mentioned this to her mother and her mother said that it should have healed by now. No kidding!

More PT
I went to PT again yesterday and "oh my gosh!" I have no balance. PT was fine but my knee is not doing so good. It is sudden too. It felt fine and then just yesterday, I would get a sharp pain and it feel like my knee is going to dislocate. I have got to get that looked at.

So... That is where I am. Very little walking, some PT and now the knee problem is back. Leave a comment with any advice.

Today Is A New Day

2008-10-28T21:02:00.005-04:00

The Doctors Appointment
I have been waiting for this for some time. A Day when the Doctor would say "Everything looks great, you CT Scan and x-rays look fine, you can't get back to exercising and stop taking that medication." Well, today was that day! I spent most of the day at the hospital. They took 4 x-rays and 4 CT scans. The doctor actually saw me quickly with little wait. He is even going to give me copies of all my CT scans and when I get them, I will post them.

Walking
I have started walking again. I have only been doing about 1/2 a mile to a mile. Last week I did 4 miles and so far this week I have done only 1. I hope to do 5.

Physical Therapy
I start back up on physical Therapy Thursday. I should be clear to do everything (ie walk, run, bike, and get in the pool) in three more weeks. I am still concerned about my right knee, but they are going to check it out at PT.

I Am So Ready
Without needing to take the medication anymore, I won't be so tired and will actually be able to work out and start getting my fat butt back in shape. I will keep you posted. Especially about my knee.

The Big Day - Surgery

2008-10-06T01:21:00.014-04:00

My Last Day
I am not sure why, but my younger daughters were pretty concerned about the surgery. I did everything I could to keep things calm and act as if this were just a normal trip to go see the doctor. No such like. My second oldest had to have her picture taken with me, just in case, and wanted to spend the last day with me just in case. So we watched Chicken Little. As soon as I get the picture I will post it.

The Day Before
My sister-in-law came up for a couple of reasons. She is an officer in the Air Force and was going to be giving the "Oath of Office" to another officer at the Iwo Jima Memorial. She also came up to spend the night with the kids while I recovered from surgery. She would leave for DC upon my return. I think it worked out well.

The Wedding
That Saturday, after surgery, a young woman from our church was getting married. My mother-in-law, my wife, and my oldest daughter all had part in making sure the wedding went well. I was informed that with the friend taking the "Oath of Office" and the wedding plans, it would not fit into the schedule to also have a funeral so I was forbidden to die (jokingly of course.) I decided to not disappoint anyone and live.

The Joke
I mentioned this to several people, but first told it to my daughters. No-one thought it was funny though. I was having dinner with my daughters and of course the subject of the surgery came up. This time it was how they were going to put me to sleep. Anesthesia was going to give me an epidural. I explained that they would give me drugs in my back to numb me and they would operate that way. I left out a lot of details on purpose and as a joke. For example, there would be a sheet between me and the doctors so I would not be able to see the procedure. I told my girls that I would get to watch. Not only would I get the epidural, but they would give me a number of other medications to relax me, and allow me to sleep. I told my girls that I would be awake. So here is the joke. I told them that I was going to wait until the doctor started cutting on me, then at the moment he touched me with the knife, I would scream "OOOWW!" then just say "Sorry, just Kidding." My girls did not find that funny and listed the reasons why that was I a bad idea along with everyone else. I thought it was hilarious and would make a funny scene in a sitcom. I jinxed myself though.

The Big Day of Surgery
So I show up at the hospital at 8:45am with my wife and Mother-in-law. I fill out some paperwork then head to the waiting area for surgery. I check in at the waiting area and wait for them to call me back. They gave me a pager and wen it beeped I was to return to the surgery prep area and the beeper was to stay with my wife. That way if they need to her (i.e. when I was ready for surgery and done with surgery they could just beep her.) They beeped me I went into and curtained off area with a bed and a chair for my wife. They gave me a robe, a hair cover, and socks. I got dressed and waited for anesthesia. They came and asked how I wanted to be put under and I chose the epidural. (By the way, if you are ever going to deliver a baby, I say take the epidural asap! it was great.) They tested the epidural my placing and Ice cube on my arm and asked if it was cold, and of course it was. Then they placed it on my stomach near the surgery site and asked if it was cold. The first time it was. They gave me more medicine and then the second time, I could hardly feel that they touched me. Once that was ready, I met the surgery staff and we went over the procedure. We even wrote on the area to be operated on and designated what site to do the procedure and what side not to touch. Shortly there after, they wheeled me back for surgery.

What We've All Been Waiting For - Surgery
They wheeled me back onto the operating room and moved me off my bed and onto to the operating table. It felt really weird because my legs were numb. The strapped me down to the table, tapped my feet down, taped my arms down, and even put a seat belt on me. Then they place a drape between my upper body and the doctors. They gave me more medicine through the epidural that would allow me to relax and sleep, but they could wake me and ask me questions if they needed to. I fell asleep. All of the sudden I woke right up and screamed! I had not received enough medicine through the epidural and I have never felt such pain when they cut me open. See I jinxed myself with my joke. They gave me more medicine waited about 20 minutes then continued without any problems. Surgery was supposed to take about an hour. It ended up taking 4 1/2 hours. The plan was to put in one stint. It would block the lower hole in the aorta and flow would stop through the second hole and the first. Well it didn't work they way. When they blocked the lower hole, blood started to flow into the upper hole and form a new channel. They ended up putting to stints and each had a small extension, make 4 pieces of hardware in all. They woke me up to let me know it was over and wheeled me to recovery.

Recovery
I have had surgery several times and recovery was the easiest with the epidural. Shortly after returning to recovery I woke up and talked with the nurses. All of the sudden I felt dizzy. My heart rated dropped from 71 bpm to 31. I went pale, they laid me down, prepped some drugs, then it went right back up. I ended up staying quite some time in recovery. They monitored everything. I eventually got my own room.

Spending the Night
The only room they had was a one person room. They brought in one of those fold out chairs that turns into a bed, so Stephanie was able to spend the night. As usual every two hours they woke me up for vitals. I could not sleep. At about 2 am. I started to feel really sick so I paged the nurse. Took them quite some time to respond. The doctor (looked like a young intern) on call happen to come in to check on me. Because of the type of procedure I had, nausea is a really bad sign, so he ordered and EKG and blood work. I knew it was going to be bad when the nurse asked if she should call phlebotomy. That means she can't or is really bad a drawing blood and wanted someone else to do it. The doctor said that they weren't going to be around until 4 am and that the test couldn't wait that long. So the nurse drew the blood. Oh my gosh! Let's stick in the needle and see how much we can move it around. In, out, in, out, wiggle left, wiggle right. It was so bad, my wife had to turn away. I thought to myself "She has 5 seconds to get that in or I will asked her to get someone else to do it." Then I started to count. She got it in before I got to "4". My hand still hurts were she did it. Another nurse came in and did the EKG. The setp-up took longer than the proceedure and everything looked good.

No Sleep
The nurse left the heart rate machine in there and it started to beep because the batteries were running down. So I called to have them come and get it. No one did. It beeped for a half an hour before it finally died. Plus the constant come and checking in on me, I actually didn't sleep until I got home.

Going Home Well, were were told that the doctors would do rounds and if everything looked good, then I would go home. Doctors came by at 7 am and everything looked good. Then they wanted an ultra-sound before I went home. So we got it done. Then they wanted an x-ray before I went home. Got it done. Then the surgeons wanted to see me. They did. I finally got to go about 3 pm instead of 8 am like I was told. Oh well.

Home
I am very tired and I have a few incisions that are healing. The stitched up the inside, but they used a glue on the outside. I am still pretty sore, but I will be just fine.

Running For President!

2008-09-26T09:04:00.002-04:00

I just got this in the email. I can't believe it! http://www.news3online.com/

Pre-Surgery Meeting

2008-09-26T08:05:00.007-04:00

The Waite

As advanced as the medical profession is, I don't believe they have the one basic tenant of all business down pat. Scheduling. I was actually seen and worked on by someone for 45 minutes to and 1 hour. But I spent 4 hours at the hospital. Aside from that, the care is great.

First Meeting

Well we met with the doctor and asked all the questions. I seems that when they doctors first saw the problem, they thought it might heal itself. After the last CT Scan and they saw the holes and the blood moving the wrong way it became clear it was only going to get worse. The reason for surgery now is to avoid and major arterial wall damage that would require a more extensive surgery. What is planned is quite basic.

The Surgery

First they will give me anesthesia, then the doctor will cut a 4 inch slice into my groin (see the illustration.) Inset the sting and sew me back up. The stint will block the blood flow into the wall of the artery and it will then heel up.

Recovery

I can take it easy and do just about everything after surgery. 2 weeks later I can start PT and walking again. 4 weeks and I can start running and pool work. 6 weeks and I should be just fine.

The Bad News

I can't believe this, even with my medication my blood pressure was 155/93 and I weighed 208 lbs. That is 2 shy of the most I have even weighed!

So Cute!

My second daughter ask my wife if she could stay home and spend the day with me, just in case I don't make it. I thought it was cute, my wife didn't.

Next...

Wednesday October 1, 2008; early in the morning will be surgery. My next blog will be October 2nd, after I get home (unless I don't make it.)

P. S. - I have an account at for live video broadcasting. When I am rebroadcasting again, I will let you know what date and time. To see my broadcasts go to www.stickam.com/larsen0966

Physical Therapy and My Knee

2008-09-23T21:00:00.002-04:00

No Walking I have been pretty worried about me knee. I took it easy Monday and I only had a problem once. I decided to take it easy and rest my legs, just in case I am overworking a muscle.

Good Morning! I still feel terrible when I first get out of bed and try and walk. My feet are swollen and stiff, and my ankles just ache. It takes some time to get going before I feel semi-normal and can really get moving around.

Checked Out The Knee Well, as soon as I got to PT I had Anthony check out my knee. It was not as bad as I thought, but my knee is loose. He told me that if it keeps giving me problems to have the orthopedic Doctor check it out.

The Pool I think they are playing musical chairs with pool therapy. I had a different pool therapist again. But no problems with my knee in the pool. If I can get them to video tape my in the pool I will let you know.

Next... I have surgery coming up and I will be meeting with the doctors Thursday. We will have to see what we are in for.

My Right Knee

2008-09-21T23:13:00.004-04:00

Saturday Night Luau At church we had a Hawaiian activity. A REAL LUAU! It was great. During the day I started to feel like a pull on the outer right side of my knee. Mostly when I turned corners and my leg would naturally twist. I didn't think much of it. But then today it started to get worse. This evening I had meetings at church and it got even worse! Now the feeling is painful and there is a tearing stretching feeling. THEN at home I felt my knee slip. Later I stepped on a shoe and I felt the pull and tearing in my knee and I fell down. I can't imagine that I have torn something, because after I turn or what ever, the pain is gone. There is no swelling, no pain when I touch or rub it. Only when my knee twists or turns. I am so going to have the PT look at this and I may not be running Tuesday after all.

Walking, Health, and Physical Therapy Update

2008-09-19T23:00:00.005-04:00

Weekly Walking Mileage Well this week I did 7 miles, plus a lot of other walking. Just around the house, at a church activity and such. By Saturday I was feeling pretty tired so I did not go out and log miles on Saturday. I figured I needed a rest.

Physical Therapy I am working with a new physical therapist in the pool. Hello to Tiffany. We did a lot of exercises and new jumping exercises I hadn't done before. I am really excited and looking forward to pool workouts. Mostly because I feel like I am actually running and walking as apposed to on land where all I can do is walk.

Rest - Just Taking A Break I really need to take it easy. I have been feeling sore all week. I started to feel pin prick pain in the arch of my left foot. The pin rick sensation is caused by the stretching and micro tearing of the fascia (tendons) in the bottom of my foot. If I over do my walking, the problem can get worse than it already is and I could be laid up even longer. Taking a break will give my muscles a chance to heal and recover. Then I will be refreshed and ready to go by the beginning of next week. When I say rest, I don't mean sit or lay around and do nothing. I still walk around the house, take my medication, keep my feet up, use ice. I just don't go out and see how hard I can walk for 2 miles. It is called active rest, even though I don't feel very active in the first place.

Running at PT I am supposed to be prepared to run on a treadmill (not in a pool) Tuesday. My first attempt at actual running! Yeah! Probably will be for a minute or so, but I am looking forward to it and I will let you know how it goes.

The Start of A New Week

2008-09-16T07:22:00.003-04:00

First - A Shout Out!
I would like to give a shout out to my Physical Therapist Anthony! So when I start doing Triathlons and running marathons, you can blame him.

Surgery?
Okay, I was talking to my wife about Surgery. For a number of reasons, Surgery would be best soon. And it is easier to schedule now and cancel later than to schedule later. So right now surgery is is scheduled for OCTOBER 1ST.

Walking So Far
This week, I have only done 1.5 miles and that was yesterday (Monday). I still am try to keep up a brisk pace. I was going to try and walk today but, PT was enough for the day, then It rained, and my sister-in-law and family came in. They are a lot more fun then walking. Besides I had to get the house clean.

Physical Therapy
We started out with a warm up on the stationary bike. Then we moved on to the stretches. Today we did something new. We used a trampoline! I did some running in place, jumping forward and back, left and right, then hopping on each foot. It was a lot harder to keep my balance than expected, and it was a good workout. I am still having trouble with my right index finger. It is better than it was, but I am afraid I might be in a permanent point.

So I Am Having Surgery?
This is the deal. I have it scheduled for October 1st. I have an appointment with the Doctors, September 25th. I have one last question for them and this is it: "You had me NPO (no eating) in the ICU at Chapel Hill for 3 days. You looked at a ton of Cat Scans and x-rays. You decided NOT to do surgery then and that we would wait. NOW you want to do surgery. What has changed to make you want to do Surgery now?" Then answer will hopefully be enlightening.

A Lot Of Miles and New PT Treatment

2008-09-13T23:55:00.004-04:00

A Word About Walking
When walking there are two general ways of classifying your pace. There is walking and then there is aerobic walking. Walking is what I do with my kids on Sunday when we go to Grandmas house. Aerobic walking is walking at a pretty brisk pace for at least 10 minutes. If you walk briskly for less than that, you really never get your body into the aerobic mode. Aerobics is the way your body fuels its muscles and not whether or not your winded. I am trying to get in a minimum of 3,000 aerobic steps or 20 minutes of Aerobic walking. That is about 1.5 miles of walking briskly. I want to get 10,000 steps a day. We will get to that in the near future.

The Walking Miles For The Week
I walked 7.7 miles at an aerobic pace. The problem still is that after I am done walking I need to take a nap. That medication is killing me. I see the Doctor next Thursday.

Walking In The Pool
I had Physical Therapy on Tuesday and Wednesday. These two days I did pool work. There is a pool with a treadmill in the floor and I did some walking and running in the pool. What the pool does is reduces the impact of the walking and running, but provided resistance by moving through the water. I still can't run on land. It was a good work out and I felt muscle work out through out my legs. I was very tired when I was done, but it felt great to actually run again.

The Aneurysm

2008-09-09T07:39:00.001-04:00

Questions From My Friends
Okay, people have been asking about my aneurysm. Technically, in my case, it is called a dissection. The aorta has several layers of walls to protect it from damage and to contain the blood when blood pressure levels change. There are two holes in the inner wall of my aorta. Blood is running into one hole and has formed a channel inside the wall of the aorta, then running out the other.

Danger!
My dissection measures about 3.75 cm. The danger zone is anything over 5 cm. After it reaches 5 cm, the aorta has a high probability of blowing within 6 months.

Now Or Later?
When first discovered during my accident, the doctors decided to wait and watch. Now after a few months they want to operate. They tell me I could wait, keep monitoring it as I have been, but the doctors want to take care of it now. What was the change? I am not completely sure. It has been determined that the blood is flowing into the bottom of the wall and flowing in backwards up the aorta then out the second whole. At the time the doctors told me they wanted to operate, we decided to ask around, think about the situation, and then make a decision. I have not made one yet.

To Run or Not To Run, That Is The Question
Well, I am on heart medication to keep my blood pressure down. Not that it was high, the doctors just want it low. The problem is the medication makes me super tired and I sleep all the time. So, even though I am walking, I don't get enough exercises so I am gaining mega weight. With additional weight, my blood pressure is getting higher. It all seems quite counter productive. I also want to get back to running, but my right ankle is just not there yet. I still need more mobility before I will be able to run on it. The doctor says running will be no problem. Though your heart rate increases a lot during exercise, your blood pressure has a very small increase as long as you are not over exerting yourself. So first chance I get, I will run!

Question Of The Day
Do I operate now or Later? Stay tuned and find out what I decide!

Weekly Milage Count

2008-09-06T18:18:00.001-04:00

This Week's Walking Miles So here it is. I walked 7.5 miles this week. That is roughly 16,800 steps. That only includes walking for exercise and not the normally moving around the house. Next Week Total miles for next week (staying with the 20% rule) is 9 miles. Also I am going to start other exercises to get into a better state of fitness. Any Problems? My left ankle has been really sore today. I have met my mileage (thanks to shopping at Walmart last night) so I am going to take it easy today. Did You Drowned? Nope. We survived Tropical Storm Hanna. Lot of rain and water, but that is it. I pretty much slept through it.

Walking For Fitness

2008-09-04T01:08:00.000-04:00

A Lot Of Miles Well, I walked 6.5 miles this last week. It was a lot more than I had planned. The Rule Of Thumb Remember that rule I mentioned before about not exceeding 20% of miles in one week. Well, I broke that rule. Now I am really tired. I am lucky I didn't hurt myself.

More Physical Therapy

2008-09-02T18:57:00.000-04:00

Another Appointment This time I didn't do the standard get on the bike for a couple of minutes for a warm up. We did it at the end. Did my stretches again. But this time my therapist did a lot more work on my ankle. there was a really stiff band right down the middle of the back of my leg. He also did a lot more work on that knuckle of my index finger. The Alphabet While the therapist was working on my joints, I was supposed to draw the letters of the alphabet with my feet. Boy, that was more painful than him working on me. I am sure I was grimacing, but it was not because he was hurting me, it was the alphabet. The Bike At the end of Physical Therapy I road a bike for 7 minutes. It was set so that I could see how much power I was exerting on a scale of 1 to 10. The target was 4. So I kept it at 4 until I had 1 minute left, then I jumped to 5. With 30 seconds left, I jumped to 6. With 10 seconds left, I jumped to 8. oh my legs felt like jello when I was done. Ice Good thing they ice down my joints before I leave or I would really be in pain.

The Beard

2008-09-01T16:18:00.000-04:00

I thought You Had a Beard!

Everyone has been asking me about my beard. Since all of my pictures are of me and my beard many people thought that I still had it. But I don't.

You Shaved?

Probably about a month after I got out of the hospital, I decided I need to get rid of the beard. So, Stephanie shaved me and my Dad video taped it. The video will be on www.youtube.com/larsen0966 pretty soon. I will let you know when the video is posted. Until then, here is the latest picture.

New To My Blog

2008-08-28T20:34:00.001-04:00

You must Start Here If you are new to reading my blog, it is very important that you start with my first entry. It is called "The Car Accident". This even started everything, so read that first. Click on "The Car Accident" and it will take you right to that post.

PT Workout

2008-08-28T17:15:00.000-04:00

Boy! They sure did work me in PT. Lots of stretches and there are a couple of spots that they rubbed down really well. My upper ankle is still pretty swollen and they worked on that. My index finger is still giving my problems and they worked on that. Good thing I got Ice afterword.

Start Running From Scratch

2008-08-27T18:55:00.000-04:00

A Great Article Runner's World has a great article about how to start running. It is for people who are new to running or someone who is starting back to running after a long lay off or injury. The Title is "A Fresh Start". Check it out. I will as I get my fat butt in shape.

A Message From A Friend

2008-08-27T13:23:00.000-04:00

From A Recent Email 200 lbs? That's nothin, man! I got ya beat by 46 lbs - and that's down from the beginning of the year (I think I started at 264, and I seem to have gained a couple back over the last week while on vacation). Although, in my defense, I seem to have very heavy bones which makes 210 about my ideal healthy weight. So, according to the gym scale this morning, I've got another 36 lbs to go. Q: How much are you trying to lose? A: My ideal weight would be 160 lbs. I got close when I was doing Triathlons at 169 lbs. Q: And how do you go about it with the heart problem? After a half hour on the eliptical I'm drenched in sweat and my heart rate is up around 150-160, so I can't imagine what kind of exercise would be okay for you. A: Exercise is not the issue really is is my blood preasure. I need my blood preasure to stay bellow 130/40. When I raced my heart rate would get to about 140 bpm. When I worked out, my heart rate would get to 170 bpm. Because of your age (41 years), it sound like you are working in the high aerobic range. Great for health but actually lowsy for loosing weight. Keep your heart rate at about 90-100 (65% of Max) for twice as long and you will burn fat like crazy! When you get your heart rate high, your body can't burn fat fast enough to keep it fuled so it uses your sugar store and oxygen. another problem with that is you feel hungery after you work out and so you eat. You need to replace your sugar store, but you end up increasing your fat too. Mostly because we tend to eat too much after. So slow and long will help you burn more fat. Target Heart Rate I used the Method to determine your Target Heart Rate by the American Heart Association.

One More Photo

2008-08-26T23:34:00.000-04:00

The Splint

This is my arm in a splint. My daughter and father are with me also. The splint was heavy and oh, did it itch! But as the swelling went up and down, the splint was a lot better than a cast. After a month the splint came off and a cast went on. The cast was worse! It itched worse and was heavier. It was a short cast thought so I could move my arm at the elbow.

Home In Aircast

2008-08-26T23:29:00.000-04:00

Aircasts

The new advancements in break technology. normally a person would have a single break. The doctors would cast it and then you get crutches. But when you have two bad legs and a bad arm, crutches don't make sence. so they put me in two aircasts that would allow me to walk with a walker. the walker even had a special brace for my broken arm.

Another Picture

2008-08-26T23:11:00.000-04:00

The ICU I still don't know how my wife did it, but she got the ICU to let my girls in to see me. This picture was taken just before they arrived. I am sure more pictures were intended, but the camera didn't seem to come out. I remember see the expressions on my girl's faces. They looked really concerned. I made a quick decision to act as healthy and happy as I could. as soon as they saw I was fine. They cheered right up.

Photos

2008-08-26T23:01:00.001-04:00

Here They Are: The Photos

My sister asked me to post some pictures of me on this blog. So here they are.

This is me in the ICU at Chapel Hill. The red nose is from burns. It is hard to tell but there are small burns all over my cheeks. They had just taken me off Oxygen.

Just Another Walk

2008-08-26T20:00:00.000-04:00

Well, I slapped on the pedometer and off I went. I walked just over a half a mile. According to my pedometer most of it was done at an aerobic pace. Yeah! However it said I only burned 47 calories. Booo! That is like one corn flake! It only took 11 minutes, so we are making progress. I will feel better when I am back to running. I so need to get my butt back in shape!

Physical Therapy

2008-08-26T15:00:00.000-04:00

My Evaluation I went to my first appointment today. The scheduled me for 45 minutes and wished they had scheduled me for an hour. The measured both ankles and my wrist to see there size. My right ankle is so huge! I can barely get my show on. then the used a tool to see how far I can move my joints. they are better than my last doctors appointment, but I am in bad shape. they also measured my grip strength. 40lbs on the left and 40 lbs on the right. I also stood on one foot to test my balance. Balance in my left foot is okay, but I could barley do it on my right. I also did toe lifts. That is I went from being flat footed to standing on my tip toe. I was able to do 20 reps on each foot, but my right ankle swelled up like a balloon. It required ice after we were done. My Assignment I have seven stretches and exercises I need to do and I need to do them twice a day. Stretch Gastroc uni standing (Runner stretch) Stretch Soleus stand (Soleus stretch) AROM ankle alphabet (Ankle alphabet) AROM finger lumbricals flx/ext (Finger bye bye) AROM finger PIP flx/ext intrinsics (Dragon head) AROM hand/finger tendon glide (Hand tendon glides) Stretch wrist flexors bil (prayer) (Prayer stretch) Well that is it. I will keep walking and doing my exercises and stretches and we will see how it goes. I will also go to PT twice a week for awhile too.

Walking for Exercises

2008-08-25T23:31:00.000-04:00

Right Now About all I can really do for exercise is walk. I have a pedometer and I have measured distance on my road so I can track how far I can walk (Actually run, prior to the accident.) Getting Started As soon as I got the Okay to walk, I walked a quarter of a mile. Then I walked a quarter of a mile, four different days. Each week, I would increase the distance. This week I will be walking 5 miles. Ultimately I want to wear my pedometer all the time and walk 10,000 steps a day. Rules of Thumb You should increase you walking by no more than 20% of the miles you walked the previous week. So lets say you walked 10 miles in a week. 20% of 10 miles is 2 miles. That means you shouldn't walk more than 12 miles the next week. That DOES NOT MEAN walk 10 miles on Saturday then walk 12 miles on Monday because it is the next week. What I Did Today I am luck to live close to the grocery store so I walked to the store and picked up a few things for dinner. Total Distance to the store and back is 1.5 miles.

How Far I Walk

2008-08-19T22:24:00.000-04:00

I need to get my fat butt in shape, but I do not feel like I am making Progress. The Appointment I had my Vascular (having to do with my Aneurysm) appointment this past Tuesday. Well, in spite of Medication my blood pressure is not where they want it 131/60. The top number needs to be bellow 130. In spite of increased walking, I now way 200.0 lbs. New Information My aneurysm hasn't changed in size or length, but I had a CT scan with a special dye called contrast. What they saw were two holes in the wall of the Aorta wall. One at the bottom of the aneurysm and one at the top. As they watched the dye they saw it enter the bottom hole and move up to the top hole and out. That is right, the blood was flowing the wrong way through the wall of my Aorta. Now they want to do surgery to fix it. We decided to talk about it (We as in my wife and I, and talk to other medical professionals who are our friends.) My biggest concern is that surgery was originally ruled out because in 25 years the hardware would go bad and need to be replaced. That would make me 66. Not a good age for surgery. Doctors said it would be better to wait a few years because medicine was advancing and new technology may be available. Well, now they want me to have surgery, which mean I am looking at surgery again at about 66. One thing is for sure though, it is not getting better and it is not changing fast. But it ca only get worse. Once it gets a centimeter bigger, the odds are 90% chance of this thing blowing with in six months of that change. My Weight Well, the medication I am on to keep my blood pressure down make me tired. So tired that as soon as I finish walking I need to take a nap. The problem is I am gaining weight fast, because I really am quite inactive. I might be up to 3 miles a week, but that isn't crap. And then I get tired and can't do anymore. So I am gaining weight and it is causing my blood presure to go up! We are trying to find a new medication. I will keep you posted.

My Vital Data, Measurements, and Weight

2008-08-18T22:18:00.000-04:00

All right here they are. All the vital health data that I can think of. If I need another, please let me know and I will se what I can do.

Weight = 199.2 lbs
BFP = 23%
BP = 120/60
RHR = 70 bps
SHR = 81 bps

Measurements

Neck = 17.5 in
Chest (relaxed) = 43 in
Chest Expanded = 46.5 in
Expansion = 3.5 in
Waist = 44 in
Bicept = 13 in
Forearm = 11 in
Hips = 40 in
Thigh = 22 in
Calves = 14

Damaged Joints vs. Okay Joints Right Wrist = 7.5 in and Left Wrist = 7 (.5 inches in swelling) Right Ankle = 10 and Left Ankle = 9 (1 inch in swelling) I so need to get my fat butt in shape.

My Current Workouts to Recovery

2008-08-16T22:15:00.000-04:00

I so need to get my fat butt in shape. So far for workouts all I have been able to do is walk. The first week I walked a 1/4 of a mile twice. Total = .5 miles The next week I walked a 1/2 mile 4 times. Total = 2 miles This passed week I walked a 1/2 mile twice and over a mile today. Total = 2.25 Miles I will keep you posted to my progress.

The Car Accident

2008-08-11T21:50:00.001-04:00

Thank You
First I want to thank every for their support and assistance to my family during this passed couple of months. I would also like those who don't know to hear from me what happened.

Saturday, June 14th
I woke up at 6 am, dressed and drove my oldest daughter to South Carolina. I was going to start filming a pioneer trek reenactment, for the youth of my church, on Tuesday. My sister-in-law and her husband have just had twins. My oldest daughter was going to spend the week of the trek with them to help them out. I arrived in Rowland NC. At 8:am. My brother-in-law met us there at the BP. By 8:30 AM, everyone was back on the road. My daughter was on her way to Charleston and I was heading home. Around 10:00 am, I stopped at a McDonald's to go to the bathroom and get a drink. I felt good. I remember entering Aberdeen were Highway 1/15/501 merge together. I remember making the right hand turn and heading down the road. That is the last thing I remember.

What Happened?
According to witnesses, I made a sudden left turn, into on coming traffic. The speed limit in that area is 35 mph. I am also aware of speed traps along the road and would ave been doing the speed limit. A gentleman traveling in the opposite direction was also doing the speed limit. At 10:30 am we hit head on. I do not remember any of this. It now appear that my left front tire blew and I lost control turning into oncoming traffic.

EMT, Lights, and Sirens
The next thing I remember is hearing a man's voice. He said he was a military EMT and to hold still and not move in case I had a neck or back injury. He then told me to close my eyes because they were going to break the window to get me out of the car. I heard sirens, police, fireman. I was finally cut out of the car. They put me in a neck brace and on a backboard. I was taken to Moore regional hospital and my wife was notified. I had a CAT scan done of my head, abdomen, and back; x-rays of all my limbs; and placed on oxygen.

Help From My Church Leaders
Bishop Houseman, the Bishop of the Pinehurst congregation of my church was contacted by my wife and two Elders came and gave me a blessing. I do remember talking with the briefly, but I do not remember who they were. I listened very carefully to their prayer and I do remember them saying that the doctors would find all the injuries.

Unexpected Surprise
Well, come to find out that during the CAT scan, the doctors found an Aorta Aneurysms in the lower abdomen. It was discovered that I had broken my left leg, severely sprained my left ankle, jammed several fingers, and broke my right wrist in several places.

Resetting My Arm
The Doctors put my left hand in traction. It was kind of like putting my fingers in a metal Chinese finger trap, lifted my hand into the air and placed a weight on my elbow to pull it down. I was given a shot for pain then the Doctors re-set my hand. Even though it was very painful, I have to thank them for doing a great job. It was very painful!

The Flight
Because of the aneurysm, it was decided that I needed to go to UNC Memorial Hospital. They flew me out few minutes later. I spent 3 days in ICU.

Surgery, 1 or 2?
The day they moved me to a regular room they scheduled surgery to put pins in my arm and leg. Then to repair the aorta. More X-rays were taken and one more CAT scan of my aorta and one of my wrist.

Divine Intervention
My wife wanted me to have another blessing before surgery so she called a friend of ours. He came with one of the Elders from his ward (congregation). In their blessing, I was told that I would recover quickly and people would be surprised at how quickly I recovered.

No More Surgery
Not more than 30 minutes after I left, the doctors in charge of my arm and leg surgery came to tell me that they were canceling it. The CAT scan revealed that my hand and wrist were set so well, that the bones were healing exactly were they needed to be, the same with the leg. Then the doctors in charge of my aorta decided that the the aneurysm was stable and could be treated with medication for now.

So This Is How It Went Down
Currently I am home. Both legs were in special support boots and my right hand was in a splint. All cuts have healed well. I've got my glasses back, and the small burns on my face and nose from the air bag are healed. I was supposed to be in a wheel chair for a month, but it only lasted a week and a half, then I started walking.I had a walker for another couple of weeks. I was supposed to be in a walker for another month and be up and going by about August. Then with the help of the boots I was able to get up and start walking with out the walker quickly.

Appointments
I had a follow-up on my wrist and aneurysm. The doctor put my arm in a cast. I chose blue. White would be too dirty, black would be to hot, and I just don't do pink.

The Ticking Time Bomb
My aneurysm is unchanged and I will have a follow-up in a month.

It's Off
After 3 weeks the doctor took my cast off and gave me a brace. As long as I was comfortable I could start walking with out the aircast boots and I didn't have to wear the brace all the time. I took the boots off and put them on twice more. They have been off for several weeks now. I wore the brace a couple of time, but it irritated my arm. So I took it off and never wore it again.

I Am So Glad I Have A Great Wife
My wife was on vacation while I was in the Hospital and was off the next week. After that my parents flew in and stayed for just over a month.

No Cooking!
I have a freezer full of frozen prepared meals, that my girls can reheat. Several members of my church have stayed with me while my wife left to do shopping and thanks to all the families that have watched my girls.

Thanks to everyone for all the help and support. Now I need to get my butt in shape.

See you soon!