eMeehan.com

So its already almost May, and my 30th birthday is coming up in a few months. For some reason this is really starting to freak me out, it didn’t really hit me until a few months ago. I have been trying to recover from my months of unemployment, and now being plagued with depression because I feel I have lost my path in life. 2010 has already been a rocky start, but I am determined to not allow it to end this way. So my coming birthday has motivated me to start taking back control of my life. Especially in the things I do have control over, my health for instance is a big concern of mine lately. I have always been an active person, grew up surfing and playing soccer, and was always out doing something. As I have been getting older I find it harder to get out and often find I enjoy just hanging out and having a beer to pass my leisure time. I know I am not the only one in this boat, as a matter of fact… this boat is pretty crowded, more like a cruise ship for beer bellies.

So its combat time, time for me to not allow myself to slip into this pattern of slow death. I keep hearing that the leading cause of death in America is poor health choices; fast food, smoking, and drinking. I participate in all of these, tho I only smoke cigars about 1-2 times per month. The fact is all of these bad habits are just that… a habit, something you do with out thinking. I need to break some of my bad habits, but I an not willing to give up my beer and cigar smoking… shit I am human after all, and need my pleasures. So bad food habits seem like a good thing to tackle, and I might actually enjoy it. I eat most foods without thinking, but I an not a slob… I don’t hit up the China Buffet or down a Cheese burger and fries with a large coke. What I do is eat out for lunch every day, I know its expensive… but its the only time of day I get to eat a good meal. I love my mexican food, have recently started hitting up the carnitas burritos on a regular basis… is just so damn good. The problem is also when I get home, I don’t really know how to cook for myself. I have been living on my own since 18, and you think by now I would know a thing or two… well that’s just it… I only know a thing or two. This thing or two is all I eat at home:

1. Ham sandwich with tomatoes, sprouts, swiss cheese
2. French Toast
3. Ham and cheese omelet
4. black bean burrito
5. grilled cheese
6. cereal (duh)
7. Quiche (Random, but I have taught myself this one because my mom makes a wicked Quiche)
8. Bagel, cream cheese, sprouts, sliced tomato

Sad but true, I don’t know what to eat when left to fend for myself. I started learning a new dish each week a few months ago, but I found it hard to find time to cook something new, plus finding all the ingredients was a pain in the ass. Going to the grocery store is just another form of shopping to me.. and I hate shopping. If I can’t buy it online then I don’t want to bother looking for it.

Flat Belly Diet for Men

So its seems fitting that my online shopping should lead me to a solution to my problem, I need to teach my self some daily eating habits that are good and healthy and also delicious.  I started looking for cookbooks online, but that seemed pointless. Why would I buy a book of recipes when I have an unlimited supply of recipes online (http://www.myrecipes.com – this site has some great recipes, plus cool features). So I started looking at dieting books on Amazon, most of the books seemed boring or just plain not right for me. I am in okay shape, not looking for a crash diet, I just need to create some structure and also get some health benefits from eating right. So I found the book Flat Belly Diet for Men on Amazon and decided I would take a chance and give it a try.

The first week I was drinking this stuff they call fire water and eating under 1600 calories a day…. day one was tough, I wanted a cheeseburger so bad. The funny thing is I don’t ever crave cheeseburgers, it was just the fact I knew I couldn’t have one. It outlines the meals pretty well and also goes into detail about the benefits of the diet. The food is not diet food, most of it is pretty normal stuff, and tastes pretty good too. The book really emphasis consistency in eating, watch your calories, and what time of day your eating. Seems easy enough on paper until you try it in practice. I have never been a by the book kind of guy, I mostly roll with the punches and just slide thru my day to day life making decisions on the fly, so it was kind of nice knowing my meals were already planned. All of this planning and day to day routine is paying off, I weighed myself at the gym tonight and to my surprise I lost 5.5 lbs in just one week. I know what your thinking, its water or food weight, but no… I made a point to weigh myself hours after my last meal. So a week of drinking fire water and eating under 1600 calories worked, now on to the next phase… 2000 calories a day for the next month. I can have more calories if I want to, but I need to make sure I counter it with a littler exercise, plus I am bigger then your average person (6′7″) so I have taken the liberty of making my meals a little larger to compensate.

So why am I doing this, I want to be in shape again, I want to feel good when I wake up in the morning, and damn it I want the ladies to notice me again (well at least feel good about myself, which effects that). My goal is to be back in my fighting weight by my 30th birthday, 220 pounds, lean. I am going to keep track of my progress on my blog, just so later in life I can look back and review my thoughts and how I progressed, it will help keep me motivated.

• Start Date: April 19th 2010
• Start Weight: 238 lbs
• Self Evaluation:
  • Lack of sleep, tough time getting out of bed
  • Low energy
  • Low motivation
  • Constant depression
  • Running Time – 3 miles per session, average mile 11min. Usually burned out by the end of the run, or need to take breaks. Would like to get back in my 2008 running average of 5 miles at 9 min per mile.

Wish me luck.

So this is my first post from my Android MyTouch, guess I need to start staying current. 2010 is still being difficult, but some recent activity has got me active brain going again. I am working a full time job, plus I picked up an additional 15+ hours a week as a contract developer for a start-up. My freelance has been neglected the past few years, been to busy trying to make a social life and not lock myself away in a room writing code.
Tomorrow is going to be my first day as a tourist in San Diego, going to the Zoo. Kind of excited to see all the animals, maybe snap some pics with my cellular.
Ugh, sitting here at the Laundromat is depressing, 21 minutes left on my dryer.
Well this was a meaningless update, but oh well.

I decided that it was time I kicked my running up a notch. I have been running about 2 to 3 times a week for the last year. When I started back in October of 2007 I was running about 2 miles. The last few months I have started doing 4 miles. I recently found a website that tracks your routes and times, lets you set up goals and tracks them. Its a pretty handy site, and I think I am going to enjoy following my progress. I have already entered 2 of my routes on Town Lake (Lady Bird Lake), Austin TX. On a side note, my new route that I ran with my friend Rob nearly kicked my ass, he is in better shape then I and it was a good motivator just trying to keep pace.

Any way, the point of this post is I have started a 100 mile challenge today. I am going to run 100 miles in 30 days. I have always tried to set physical goals for myself, but always seem to cut them short or fall off the plan. I have challenged other areas of my life, and have broke wall after wall. Running has started to become my replacement for surfing (or lack thereof). I get excited after work with the thought of running town lake. I load my iPod with any track that has a heavy beat to help me keep pace. Don’t laugh but techno seems to help, well Drum n Bass, or what ever the music geeks call it.

So please check my progress, and keep me on track. I will need the motivation of my friends and family to keep me running. I need this to set a bar, something I can shoot for.

• MapMyRun.com
• My Profile
• View my training log