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Losing weight with my iPhone

April 2, 2012 in Health with 2 Comments

This weekend I finished my 50th workout session with my trainer.  I really enjoy working out and I have learned a lot during my time at No Mercy Fitness.  I have learned more about myself and my relationship with food and exercise.  I have lied to myself SO many times over the last 33 years of my life.  I have told myself that it doesn’t matter what I eat as long as I take the stairs instead of the elevator, as long as I go for a walk, as long as I do…….whatever…..

So I would end up eating most likely 3000-4000 calories a day…..take that and then I don’t do the stuff I say I am going to do when it comes to exercise – which has lead me to where I am right now.

But now I have someone keeping me accountable.  It has not always been easy and I am far from being perfect, but during the last 50 sessions I have lost close to 30 pounds and I feel more in control of what I am eating.  Instead of not knowing what my next meal is going to be, I have a plan  for my meals.  If I eat something that is not good for me that is a choice and I have to live with the consequences.

Right now those bad choices are becoming less and less.

Part of the training is the exercise-  I am moving my body on a consistant basis and I am feeling like I am getting stronger and stronger.  The other part of my success has come from nutrition.  I need to know what is going into my body and why I am putting in there.

No Mercy has some food journal pages that they give me to help keep track of the food, calories, fats, proteins, and carbs.  This a great resource for many people.  But I know this does not work for me.  I have never been able to keep a notebook like that.  There were many times that I did not have the book with me and I would not write down what I had for a meal that day and then I would forget and I would get to the end of the day and only record  800 calories — I knew that was not right…..

So I went from the papers to a notebook which was better, but again – if I did not have it with me I would not record something or I would not be able to find it the morning of my next workout.  So I racked my brain to figure out a solution.

So I did a search in the app store and I found many, many apps to use for recording food choices.  So I started using some of those apps on my iphone to record what I was eating.

I evaluated many apps but I have settled on two that have really helped me.
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My Three Words

January 7, 2012 in Blog Series, Family, Health, Miscellany with 0 Comments

After reading Chris Brogan’s post last year on three words replacing the traditional New Year’s Resolutions I was hooked.  I picked Acceleration, Mindfulness, and Learning as my three words.  I feel like they served me well throughout the year.

This year I have three words which are going to take my life and my family to the next level.  Over the next three days I want to share them with you and more about what they are going to mean for me this year.  I totally agree with Chris when he says “Resolutions are often too vague, or too directed towards one goal. It might be “quit smoking” or “lose 20 pounds” or “get hired.” These are all fine aspirations, but I challenge you to dig deeper, to find three words that could be used as lighthouses to guide you through stormy seas, that can be used as flags on the battlefield of your challenges, words that will bolster you and give you a direction that goes beyond the goals you might attach as a result of these words.”  

So I have dug deep and I have prayed about and pondered what my three words will be for 2012.  I will also take some action steps to properly executing and keeping focus on my words.  I hope to have month-long goals but some might be longer and others shorter.

My 3 Words for 2012 are:

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Free Personal Training

November 11, 2011 in Community, Health with 0 Comments

As I mentioned I have begun working out with a personal training at No Mercy Fitness. I have been working with No Mercy for about a month. I am meeting with them two times a week for 25 min a session. It is not necessarily the “full” workout that I have done in the past. They are not doing cardio with me — they are having me hit the weights pretty hard. Currently I am working on my back, which is part of my core so I can strengthen it for posture and support for the rest of my body.

Let me tell you, in the 25 min that I am there I am getting a work out! I did not think that I would have enough time to sweat but I do!!

They are also encouraging me to do cardio throughout the week and to work on my diet. With them I am building my muscle mass to help my metabolism in general I am trying to burn more calories than I am taking in.

Dieting is not rocket science — as someone who has been doing it for most of my life, I know what to do — I know what I should and should not eat. However, I am also someone who has not made good decisions when it comes to eating and working out. I don’t know why that has been true for me but I am working on it.

I have had three different people train me during my time at No Mercy, including Nikolai the owner of No Mercy. Currently (and hopefully forever) my trainer is Adam. He is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to working out, and eating right. He is also getting to know me and my body and what exercises work best. He is not afraid to change things up to keep my muscles guessing at what is coming next.

In an attempt to support me and the greater community, No Mercy is offering all of my readers free personal training!  If you schedule an appointment with Nikolai to go in and check out No Mercy as well as talk with him about his philosophy in personal training he will give you two hours of personal training for free!!  Then you will get first hand experience in what they can to do change your life — like they are changing mine.  If you have any questions go to my Free Personal Training Page for more information.

Hope to see you there!

No Mercy

October 17, 2011 in Health with 0 Comments

'Bench Press' photo (c) 2007, Usodesita - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

I have written about my weight problems and my desire to lose weight before.  In my attempt to run/walk 100 miles this summer I came out of it with about 40 miles.  Granted, they were 40 miles that I did not do before, and I most likely would not of done it if I did not challenge myself.  However, I was not really tracking my food intake as well and between it being summer time and my lack of a food plan I did not really lose any weight.  After spending lots of time thinking about it, talking with my wife about it and praying about it I have decided to get outside help.

About a year ago I participated in the first Baldwinsville Health Fair sponsored by the Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce.  During this time I met Nikolai Anatoli who is the founder and owner of No Mercy Fitness.  Nikolai had a great discussion about health and about spiritual matters.  When thinking about what outside help I could seek out in helping me achieve my health goals I remember how passionate Nikolai was in helping people achieve their goals of health and wellness, so I gave him a call.

In our hour conversation I talked with Nikolai about my life and my struggles with weight.  I told him what I have done in the past, some of the things that have showed me success and the things that have held me back.  He told me about himself, how he is a lifelong resident of Central New York.  He talked about his time in the army working in the food service area and how he strove to provide the best tasting, nutritious meals for the soldiers.

I got a real sense that I will not be a number for Nikolai, I am a project for him and his staff.  He truly cares about my success and he is risking himself and his reputation in my success.  Now I am not putting more pressure on myself for him, I am entrusting myself into his care and what I am doing is dedicating myself to follow his outline for my training.

This will be my first blog series at my new site Pastor Joe McGarry.  So if you would like to journey with me on this process subscribe to that site.  To hear Nikolai for yourself enjoy this video