Two Tough Questions - Bookends to each other

This Picture is from the Twin-Cities 5K event last month. I was at R's 2-year birthday party this week, and received this picture from another attendee of the party. "Chug-Chug-Chug" - it appears that I am really pushing, but not going very far. I think this was taken near the end of the race and I am looking really winded and somewhat pitiful (that was not a jab, as I would think that most people consider their picture at the end of a race to be somewhat on the pitiful side). However, it was the - best time ever - 32 minutes, which is the new time to beat.

Enjoy!



Wow, there is a ton of stuff that happened this week to discuss - I don't know if I can get to all of it, so here is a wrap-up and I can try and elaborate further as we go:

• News came out this week that "ta-da" - Obesity is linked to Cancer! (no shock here..)
• Had a eureka moment for my Galactosemic metabolic disorder - and have been educated as to what "RAW Foods" are.
  
• Was surprised to find that I had a ready-made Halloween costume - I felt as if I was looking out from under a mask.
• Update from Memphis on his "Worlds Greatest Dad" program.
• Update on new podcast show coming early 2008 - Interview with Kaptain Karl
• I am singing again - at last - I was convicted by Karl to restart my choir rehearsals attendance, and was so glad I did.
  

There are the topics - here comes the rest of the story - (page 2):

Real-time Note: *The smell of greasy french fries is wafting in the air right now - someone is eating a lunch from the grill downstairs, and it is driving me crazy. I will eat a salad and hard boiled eggs, then return to my typing. I didn't realize how extreme that smell affected me, it is very powerful. *

Motivation:

"One of the secrets of life is learning to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks." ~Jack Penn

Diary:

Two tough questions - which are somehow related Last week I received a telephone call from a good friend who was troubled. She has a young friend, a student who is depressed and told her that he was having problems. She called me (I am honored) to ask "What advice would you give to such a person, in the aspect of Kaizen?" "What should I say to this person?'

My initial thoughts included the fact that I cannot really answer the question of "What should I say?", as I could never have the right answer. This is probably impossible. The Kaizen - or step by step approach would be to take little steps. Find something small that can be done, even if it is talking and listening. Maybe find out what this person likes and encourage them to take a small step towards doing that thing. Those were my first thoughts.

In thinking about what my answer should be, I began to think about the other tough question I had last week from someone at my church. We were discussing the spiritual part of my weight loss journey, and I indicated that there were times that were really tough for me - heart wrenchingly tough - where I did not know what to do except cry. I remember calling my sister on one occasion and she asked what was wrong, but I didn't know, other than "it hurts". At the time, I recall seeing a picture that brought up some tough memories, and that started me to be really sad and lonely and needed to talk to someone.

In the middle of my story, the church friend said "Why didn't you tell me you were hurting?"

The answer I gave was the same advice I plan on giving my friend with the troubled student: "I wasn't alone - I had people to lean on. It isn't to say that I wouldn't have leaned on you, but help was provided to me when I needed it. But you never seemed open to me to tell you my inner hopes and fears. Honestly, I didn't know you would be interested, and you never asked to be involved in my life." It is a tough, but honest, answer to hear and our relationship is strong enough to have these deep discussions.

I am thinking about role models and personal helpers as I was growing up. Teachers, Friends of my Parents, My Friends, Community Members, etc. What made me lean on some people as opposed to others? I tended to seek advice and help from those who were there to offer incessant positive reinforcement - I always feel like they are on my side - no matter what. They guard their tongue when there are negative criticisms that they could make, but instead offer positive options for guiding me. I sought out those people as a child, and I still do as an adult. I don't do this well for others, but I hold in high regard those around me who show this ability.

One of the people who does this for me today, recently introduced me to Carl Rogers - who described the development of A Self.

In the development of the self concept he [Carl Rogers] saw conditional and unconditional positive regard as key. Those raised in an environment of unconditional positive regard have the opportunity to fully actualize themselves. Those raised in an environment of conditional positive regard only feel worthy if they match conditions (what Rogers describes as conditions of worth) that have been laid down by others.

In the small amount of reading that I have done regarding Carl Rogers, I have become intrigued, and I think that he falls in line with both Kaizen and Renaissance Thinking. I will pursue his theories further in the next year.

So, what is my answer to the question? It is vague, but hopefully it will give you something to consider in your life. This week's reading in my Church Outreach book speaks of Mercy and Justice. The simple difference between Mercy and Justice is that of a quote attributed to Lao Tzu. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. " Giving a hungry person a fish is Mercy. Teaching a person how to make his life better is Just. Mercy is a daily task, where Justice is a long-term goal. (Does this sound familiar.) While we strive for Justice as an attribute, we have Mercy in the front of us. According to Rick Rusaw & Eric Swanson in "The Externally Focused Church":

Mercy is giving a person a fish so he can eat today. It's not attacking the problems [of poverty or hunger] at a systemic level, it's just making somone's life better if only for today. Mercy explains why Jesus so willingly fed the five thousand (the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels) and later the four thousand. He didn't lecture them about how to plant wheat for a future harvest. Rather, he said "I have compassion for these people...I do not want to send them away hungry' (Matthew 15:32). He did not solve the world's hunger problem, but he did make these lives better for that afternoon.

Sometimes we are paralyzed by inaction. Faced with the enormous problems in our world today, we are overwhelmed and wonder, "What good will this little act of kindness do?" But Jesus said, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36). Maybe Mother Teresa expressed it best: "We can do no great things; only small things with great love."

I am no saint, so I say this with humility in my own flaws: I encourage you to do small things with great love - look for ways to show Mercy to those you are in contact with. Become that person, who a year from now, someone will point to and say "You were there for me when I was needing someone to help, and it made all the difference." Show others love and support... I need to try to do this better, and I will commit to this challenge with my other challenges.

In my list of goals below, #9 is a reminder to me to "BE SIGNIFICANT" but it isn't meant to be for my benefit. I need to be significant to those around me for their benefit as well. I may never solve systemic global problems like sustainable farming for hunger reduction, but I can lend a hand to my co-worker or a smile to the neighborhood kids - the question is - why don't I?


Notes:

Scientist find link between body fat and cancer risk
The World Cancer Research Fund recently reported that there is evidence that excess body fat can cause six different types of common cancers, including those affecting the breast, bowel and pancreas. The study also found that processed meat, was such a risk factor for bowel cancer that people should avoid it completely. The report says there is powerful evidence that excess body fat is also a trigger for oesophagus, pancreatic, bowel, post-menopausal breast, and kidney cancers.
Processed meat is defined as meat preserved by smoking, curing, salting or the addition of preservatives. Examples included deli meats - deli-turkey, deli-chicken, ham, bacon, pastrami, salami, and frankfurters.

I would warn you that "healthy foods" can be hidden as processed. Even deli turkey, which you would think is a more healthy choice, can be processed by the addition of salts, sugars, other preserves, and it is a candidate for smoked, honey'ed and other processing. Be aware that anything that you see cut out of a package is "processed", even if it is supposedly a healthy food.


Update on Memphis Evan's (Worlds Greatest Daddy)

I received an email from "Anonymous" visitor (please leave a comment, but I would personally appreciate it if you would try to give some sort of clue to who you are - it is just nice for me to know) asking for an update on the WGD program from Memphis: His response:

"The biggest change is that I don't use the checklist
every day anymore. This month I have used it six
times. Generally I feel I don't need it anymore, but I
used it today. Why?

From the moment I reluctantly got out of bed this
morning I knew it would be a hard day. I just did not
feel like being a stay at home parent today. I wanted
to do something with grown ups. Something that would
use my non-child care skill set. Something that would
allow me to be me, not Daddy.

But here I was and here I am. The girls were relying
on me and I can not let them down. Ever. I did what I
needed to do and brought the most positive attitude I
could dredge up. I got on the floor and played and
sang. I made breakfast and bottles then did dishes and
washed the bottles. Was my heart in it? Eh. Sort of.

I have a huge to do list on the refrigerator white
board right now and it's really bugging me. I get one
thing done (research and buy new oven) and another one
pops up (get counter top altered to fit new oven).
These are all just administrative, basic life needs
and they aren't being accomplished. This is not even
considering the question of my recording, performing,
and writing of music, which is similarly neglected.
Despair.

But I did a few things on the WGD checklist, just ran
down it methodically, starting a load of whites so
I'll have clean socks, sterilizing the bottles I'd
cleaned from breakfast, restocking the diaper changing
stations, etc. As I put in the little Xs I almost felt
like I was accomplishing something grown up even
though no other grown ups were around. And now my
house and family will be better for my having done the
work.

Maybe tonight I will get some studio time even. I also
need to practice for my upcoming extremely rare solo
show. Maybe tonight I can create a set list and begin
practicing. So the WGD program helped me immensely
today and the benefit is rippling out to my napping
children and beyond."

Chazz sings
This weekend, I received an email from Kaptain Karl, who was bragging a bit of his experiences with his Barbershop Choir in Wisconsin. He should brag - I have seen several shows, although I missed it this year, and they are really very good. Even better than the quality of the music is the feeling that singing gives and the quality of the men in the group. Just the casual discussions after the show prove the heart of the men in the choir and their love for singing good music - it is infectious.

After reading his email and understanding his joy in the accomplishment, I realized it was time for me to get serious about my music. I enjoyed singing before, and have not been doing it because I was looking for the right venue (church, etc). I forgot that I had a good place to sing, the local community men's choir. I wasn't with them, and decided that I would drag myself in to see if they are still around. I think Woody Allen is quoted as saying "Eighty percent of success is showing up."
So on Monday evening I went to the men's choir practice, and was met with the same men who I had sung with before, 2 years ago. When they saw me, they were unaware of this "new guy", but a couple of guys quickly realized who I was. It was a little surreal after that. I was struck by them clapping at my return and at my weight loss goals and success so far. I was blown away and left inspired to continue. I was filled with joy to have these men, who are connected to me only by song, so excited to see what I was doing and so curious to find out more. They were asking me if I would show them before and after pictures, some hints and tips for them on eating healthy and other off the cuff questions - and I was not prepared to answer. The next day, I got an email about upcoming singing events and this message:

"It was great to see you back and I hope you can participate as much as possible. I confess, I was one of those who didn't recognize you at first. What a disguise! We've always loved you but I'm sure you'll understand why we can't love you quite as much now (kidding of course).

I don't know how you did it but I'm sure your weight loss has made a big difference in your life and health. Enjoy,

Tom"

The next night, I stopped by the old watering hole, and ran into some former co-workers and my regular friends Ed and Pat. As we were talking, one of "the twins", a bartender from another joint in town, sat down and said hello to Ed and Pat. He completely ignored me at first, then Ed said, "Are you going to say hi to my friend?" He said hello, and didn't have any recognition that we actually had known each other for years. We played poker together, had drinks together, and shook hands on many many occasions. Similar to the men in the choir the night before, he now had no clue who I was.
Ed looked at me and said "He doesn't know you!" - laughed under his breath and then repeated it "He doesn't KNOW YOU." While I understood where he was going, I replied "Does it really matter?" He indicated that while it may not matter to the twin, it mattered to Ed. I didn't say anything at the time, but at that moment, it felt like I had a mask on, and was looking out from under the eye-slits in the mask. I was looking right at the guy, and he didn't know who I was from Adam. Now this has happened 4 or so times in the last month, and I expect it will happen again. It is a bizarre feeling, like watching someone with Alzheimer's, who is looking right at your eyes, but has no recollection of all the memories of you as a person. While at that moment I had very little way of explaining it with words I appreciate Ed's comments, and loved the fact that he saw what I saw - briefly through my eyes - I will keep this memory close to my heart as I get discouraged and need extra motivation.

What a Halloween memory.


RAW Foods - a revelation
The holidays are approaching, the "food-based holidays" as I am now referring to them, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. These 4 horsemen of weight gain are fast on our heels and I need to be prepared. I am hungry for a treat! My mom's Orange Cookies.

hmmmmmmmmm orange cookies - you had to be there. They were so good, that they had odes and poems written for them. Family members would promise "feats" of grand scale to get their hands on them. Oh, what to do about this problem. I would dive into a barrel of holiday treats, if my guard were down..

I have to do something - then I found it. A Homemade Milky Way Bar using "Raw Food Ingredients"! Oh my - this is such a find for me, because it hits several of my target areas around food:

1) No Milk, due to Galactosemia
2) No chemical ingredients, such as High-Fructose Corn Syrup and commercial dyes and fillings.
3) Small number of ingredients that I can spell and understand where they came from.
4) I control the calories, sugar content so I could fit this into my fat loss diet.
5) Fairly easy to make, no special appliances required

This "find" opened me up to a whole world of "Raw Foods". What are Raw Foods? In general,
Raw Foods have no milk, no fat, little carbs, ingredients are whole, real or natural. The sweetener in Raw foods is usually from "alternative sources".

I thought that I would be turned off by the "hippie freak" part of Raw foodism, which according to Wikipedia is the lifestyle promoting the consumption of uncooked, unprocessed, and often organic foods as a large percentage of the diet. Raw food diets include a selectıon of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds (including sprouted whole grains). Raw foodists typically believe that the greater the percentage of raw food in the diet, the greater the health benefits. Some believe raw food highly encourages weight loss and prevents and/or heals many forms of sickness and many chronic diseases that are seen as incurable by the medical community.

Huh? Have I become a vegetarian, fruit-nuts-and-berries, hippie freak? Yes, but add some eggs, beef, fish, chicken, and other foods. I can still be a Nebraska Corn-Fed Beef supporter, can't I?

If you want to try to eat more Raw foods, and are curious about how to substitute, I found this site that tells more: Veggie Kitchen in a Nutshell
And I need to remember this site for my Galactosemic friends - Go Diary Free Grocery List

So, I just need some Time and Energy at the end of a day to go find some Raw ingredients and make some treats. I will try to take something simple with me for my Thanksgiving trip, so that I will have something to nibble on while the rest of the family is knee deep in left-over Orange Cookie crumbles.


Wow! We made it - long post today, but gosh-golly there was a lot going on (inside and out). Next week I will have a weigh in and measurement update. I will try to update my charts for lifting and running and I will share some more stuff that I have found on the Internet.


Goals!
Full Spreadsheet is found here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pd_MzRMQiFVTY8vIzZWnNTQ&hl=en

Geek / Professional Goals
1.	Learn Adobe Dreamweaver Read "Dreamweaver CS3 Visual Quickstart Guide" by Peachpit Press and start building a website using Dreamweaver.	No progress this week. The book is sitting where it was a week ago.
2.	Other studies	No progress this week. I am falling behind in my Nutrition class, and need to catch up with the lessons.
3.	Get involved in Professional Peer Networking	I am now a STC Technical Publications Judge. I received my 3 submissions from NY Metro and am ready to get into them and see how this process works.
Health / Fitness Goals
4.	Lose the last of my fat - Turn "love pillows" into "love handles" - Eat a variety of "Real Clean Healthy" foods - Sleep well - Take my daily supplements and water - commit to fitness routine	Followed my Eating Diary all week Fitness Plan on M, T, W, Th, F Bed by 11pm Lost 3lbs this week
5.	Be a lean muscle-bound stud - Lift the Statue of Liberty - Lift weights M, W, F - 6000lb minimum each workout	Lifted weights on M, W Lifted 33,285 lbs of weight during circuit training workouts Will update Statue of Liberty Chart the first weekend of every month
6.	Beat my own time in 5K - Run from Denver to Chicago - Run/Jog/Walk 3+ miles each Tu, Thur, Sat	Ran 6.5 miles Will update the Google Map the first weekend of every month. Plan on participating in the Reindeer Run in Minneapolis.
Social / Creative Goals
7.	Transfer Old Home Movies to DVD	No progress this week. Need to spend an hour testing my hardware setup as proof of concept.
8.	Interview and record my heroes for netcasts	No progress this week. I need to setup time with Karl to finish our interview.
9.	Get involved in church, family, and social network	Started planning for November vacations and family get-together. I am "shopping" around at churches to find events and happenings for young, hip, studly bachelors like myself. Just looking to venues to connect.
Emotional / Personal Goals
10.	Play the Accordion well - practice 2x weekly - prepare 6 solo songs for a performance to happen by July 2008	No progress this week, although as mentioned, I did up my musical joy by singing with the Eagan Men's Chorus.
Home / Financial Goals
11.	Pay off credit card and personal debt - Save $4000 to be reserved specifically for debt payment	Saved $80 this week into my holding account -> slowly moving forward on the financial debt goals.
12.	Have an uncluttered home, car, book bag and mind. - Declutter house throughout the year - 1 room every 3 months	I made a conscious effort to declutter my bedroom, and this morning as I woke up I felt better. Why does this happen? Maybe it is because I realize there is one less thing I don't like doing that I don't have to do today.

more later,

Chazz

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OOOOOOOOOO! More Scary Halloween Treats...

Greetings! As you can see, I have started the task of updating my blog site. Two reasons for this are:

1. The "Fat 2 FiveK" Challenge is over. I changed the name of the blog from "Fighting the Beast" to "Fat 2 FiveK" I thought about going back to "Fighting the Beast", but realize that this is not true - I feel like I have fought that beast, and am winning. The fight may not be over, but it is time to move forward.
   
2. Reading books about Kaizen and thinking about the changes that are going to happen in the next set of challenges, a lot of it deals with Small Steps of Constant Improvement. If you are wondering what Kaizen means, it is not a religion, but an attitude and a way of doing things. Let's examine the root word for a better understanding:
   

In Japanese:

• 改 ('kai') means 'change' or 'the action to correct'
  
• 善 ('zen') means 'good'.

In Chinese this is pronounced 'gai shan':

• 改善 ('gǎi shàn') means 'change for the better' or 'improve'.
• 改 ('gǎi') means 'change' or 'the action to correct'.
• 善 ('shàn') means 'good' or 'benefit'. 'Benefit' is the definition as an action that 'benefits' the society but not one particular individual. In other words, one cannot benefit at another's expense. The quality of benefit that is involved here should be sustained forever, in other words the 'shan' is an act that truly benefits others.

Again I am reminded of Mason Jennings song "Adrian". "I am the story that you'll tell. Let my life empower you, Let my troubles teach you well" . So this is another reason to continue to change and improve. You may think that by improving you are only building up yourself. I contend that, when doing it in a Kaizen way, you can start to see improvement in the lives around you. That is my hope - and part of the reason for this blog.

So with that blog errata, here goes this weeks posting! I hope you enjoy.


This image shows how a single 12-ounce can of soda has as much as 13 teaspoons of sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup.






Motivation:

"I shall shape my future.
Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own.
I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me.
Or I can be lost in the maze.
My choice. My responsibility.
Win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny."
~Anonymous

Notes:

Closer and closer we get to the Hallowed Eve - and scary things keep popping up in my reading lists. Here are a couple more scary October news

Spooky Soda!
Researchers have found new evidence that soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may contribute to the development of diabetes, particularly in children. The scientists found that drinks containing the syrup had high levels of reactive compounds that have been shown by others to have the potential to trigger cell and tissue damage that could cause the disease, which is at epidemic levels. They reported this information at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

HFCS is a sweetener found in many foods and beverages, including non-diet soda pop, baked goods, and condiments. It is has become the sweetener of choice for many food manufacturers because it is considered more economical, sweeter and more easy to blend into beverages than table sugar.

High-fructose corn syrup may contribute to an increased risk of diabetes as well as obesity, a claim which the food industry disputes. Until now, little laboratory evidence has been available on the topic.

And because the amount of soda we drink has more than doubled since 1970 to about 56 gallons per person a year, so has the amount of high fructose corn syrup we take in. In 2001, we consumed almost 63 pounds of it, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA suggests most of us limit our intake of added sugar -- that's everything from the high fructose corn syrup hidden in your breakfast cereal to the sugar cube you drop into your after-dinner espresso -- to about 10 to 12 teaspoons a day. But we're not doing so well. In 2000, we ate an average of 31 teaspoons a day, which was more than 15 percent of our caloric intake. And much of that was in sweetened drinks.

What is really scary is the 8 ‘Health’ Foods That Contain High Fructose Corn Syrup!
Next time you go shopping, take a look at the ingredient list of your "healthy food" choices, and see if HFCS (corn syrup) is listed in the top 5 ingredients. If it is, the choice may not be as healthy as you thought. While you are looking, check for other nasty chemicals - if you don't understand, or cannot pronounce, the first 5 ingredients, put it back. I know it sounds harsh, but would you pour glue (or other non-fuel chemicals) in your car's gasoline tank? Then why are you pouring chemicals down your throat?

Scary Salt!

News from our Canadian friends -- Canadians are seriously looking to prevent death and disability from stroke and heart disease, by monitoring sodium intake.

High levels of sodium are found in many of the processed and restaurant foods that Canadians consume each day, and Health Minister Tony Clement announced that Ottawa will establish an expert Sodium Working Group to explore ways to reduce intake and cardiovascular disease among Canadians.

Excess sodium, including table salt, can contribute to high blood pressure, considered the leading risk factor for death from stroke and heart disease. Research shows that lowering sodium consumption could slash the incidence of those deadly conditions by about 30%.

High blood pressure also significantly boosts the risk for kidney disease and is associated with dementia and blindness. Hypertension costs Canada about $430 million a year just for patient visits to doctors' offices and medications to treat the condition.

Yet Statistics Canada has found that the average Canadian consumes at least 3,100 milligrams of sodium each day, most of it hidden in processed foods. Health experts suggest about 1,700 milligrams daily is optimal.

To shrink sodium intake, Canadians are advised to eat a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, while avoiding processed foods as much as possible. But when it comes to processed products, Campbell advises consumers to check sodium levels on labels -- they often differ greatly from one manufacturer to another.

From a young age, I always thought that my salt came from that little shaker on the table. I remember being cautious to not shake too much salt on my food, and if I did I would get a gentle scold from my parents or siblings. I didn't realize that the little shaker was a minute amount compared to the sodium levels that are in foods we eat when out at restaurants or in pre-packaged foods. The BBC recently reported that the Fast food salt levels are 'shocking'

If you eat real, whole, natural foods - you can add your own salt. I would highly recommend moving this direction, if possible.


Diary:

This week was extra-ordinarily pedestrian. I just did the routine - sleep, work, eat, fitness circuit, eat, work, go home for home-work, eat, sleep.

I FINALLY ditched my digital cable that was costing me too much money every month. The good news is that this will help me to save $ and is another distraction that I have removed from my life, in order to spend more time practicing accordion, reading, social activities with other humans, and goal planning. Plus, really what do I watch on TV that I can't find on the internet or through DVD's? It is an easy call, and I think I will be on the plus in the long run.

The bad part is that I am addicted to the DVR unit - I was so happy to record shows and then watch them when I had the time. I could watch one show, and record another one, and I could pause a baseball game in the middle of the show and use the bathroom, then pick up where I left off. I didn't think I would miss it so much, but I am on a little bit of a withdrawal - sorrow for the loss.



On a completely different note, I am 9 weeks away from the end of my current fat loss program at the clinic. After the next 9 weeks, I will switch to a "Stabilization" plan, where I will learn what foods I can add to my diet to maintain my current weight. What they don't realize is that I am not done losing fat pounds, so I am planning on going through Stabilization during the holidays, maybe gain some muscle pounds, and then at the start of next year, will be re-starting the fat loss (some call it 'cutting') diet that I have been so successful with this year. That, plus the challenges I have on the board for 2008 - lifting, running, and beating my 5K time - will make for a lean and mean year.

In order to track these goals, I am working on some new journal templates, and think I will be pretty happy with the way to track what I am doing with my goals. I re-iterate that keeping a diary is very important, even before you start working on your goals. It tells the story of where you are - which helps understand where you are going. A journal doesn't have to be formal, it can be as simple as a blank piece of paper, or a fancy moleskin book, or an electronic PDA device. Any way that keeps you committed to your habits, that is good for me

More on this subject can be found at this article: Why You Should Keep a Strength Training Journal & How


Goals! Full Spreadsheet is found here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pd_MzRMQiFVTY8vIzZWnNTQ&hl=en

Geek / Professional Goals
1.	Learn Adobe Dreamweaver Read "Dreamweaver CS3 Visual Quickstart Guide" by Peachpit Press and start building a website using Dreamweaver.	No progress this week. The book is sitting where it was a week ago.
2.	Certification (deleted)	was technical certification - will postpone until later - maybe I should add the fact that I am auditing a Nutrition Class from the U of California - I should update the list to indicate the weekly tasks for this goal.
3.	Get involved in Professional Peer Networking	I signed up to be a STC Technical Publications Judge. Class is on morning of Nov 3.
Health / Fitness Goals
4.	Lose the last of my fat - Turn "love pillows" into "love handles" - Eat a variety of "Real Clean Healthy" foods - Sleep well - Take my daily supplements and water - commit to fitness routine	Followed my Eating Diary all week Fitness Plan on M, T, W, Th, Bed by 11pm Lost 3lbs this week
5.	Be a lean muscle-bound stud - Lift the Statue of Liberty - Lift weights M, W, F - 6000lb minimum each workout	Lifted weights on M, W Lifted 35,110 lbs of weight during circuit training workouts Will update Statue of Liberty Chart the first weekend of every month
6.	Beat my own time in 5K - Run from Denver to Chicago - Run/Jog/Walk 3+ miles each Tu, Thur, Sat	Ran 6.5 miles Will update the Google Map the first weekend of every month. Plan on participating in the Reindeer Run in Minneapolis.
Social / Creative Goals
7.	Transfer Old Home Movies to DVD	No progress this week. Need to spend an hour testing my hardware setup as proof of concept.
8.	Interview and record my heroes for netcasts	No progress this week. I need to setup time with Karl to finish our interview.
9.	Get involved in church, family, and social network	Started planning for November vacations and family get-together. Actually, my family did most of the planning, but I made sure my calendar was up to date. I am going to a friends 2-year birthday party, and am visiting churches.
Emotional / Personal Goals
10.	Play the Accordion well - practice 2x weekly - prepare 6 solo songs for a performance to happen by July 2008	No progress this week. I just need to commit to the time - 1 hour sessions twice weekly. Why is this so hard? I did play the accordion at church on Sunday, and had fun filling in the "background chords".
Home / Financial Goals
11.	Pay off credit card and personal debt - Save $4000 to be reserved specifically for debt payment	Saved $80 this week into my holding account -> slowly moving forward on the financial debt goals.
12.	Have an uncluttered home, car, book bag and mind. - Declutter house throughout the year - 1 room every 3 months	Dishes / Laundry / Trash / Bathroom / Kitchen / Make Bed / Sweep Patio / Keep Car Clean / Organize Living Room / Read & Pick up Papers / File Receipts / Keep email and RSS feeds up to date / make lunches and get gym clothes ready / pay bills / stay sane Who has time for anything else, when there is so much "stuff" that has to get done every day?

more later,

Chazz

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Run from Denver to Chicago - Lift the Statue of Liberty

Motivation:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
"New Colossus" - Emma Lazarus, 1883

Since we are nearing Halloween, I read two things online this week that scared the "bejeebers" out of me. Scary and sad - and I feel the need to sound the alarm on two failing role models in our community.

First Scare - the Fast Food Industry: So we all know that fast food, fried foods, and greasy burgers are great - once a month - but on a daily basis is turning us into flab-based beings. Now, Hardee's has raised the bar by introducing the Country Breakfast Burrito.

"two egg omelets filled with bacon, sausage, diced ham, cheddar cheese, hash browns and sausage gravy, all wrapped inside a flour tortilla"

The burrito contains 920 calories and 60 grams of fat. For a comparison, I currently consume under 2200 calories per day, so this food item would count for around 1/2 of my daily eats! Yipes.

In 2003 Hardee's introduced the Monster Thickburger. The 1,420-calorie sandwich is made up of two 1/3-pound slabs of beef, four strips of bacon, three slices of cheese and mayonnaise on a buttered bun. mmmmmmmm.... bacon....

This doesn't count the calories in the large coke (300 cals), the large fries (500 cals), and the large chocolate milkshake (?? cals) that accompany most fast food meals. That one meal would put me over the daily calorie limit (not that I am counting calories, but in the end it has to go somewhere.)

Maybe I will forgo the burrito and burger and go for a health salad - oops... think again. Even Hardees' chicken salad, topped with onion rings and crispy chicken, has 1,100 calories and 83 grams of fat.

ok, no shocker there. Everyone knows that fast food is not supposed to be good for you, so this "spook" is a given. The next scary news is worse - because it is from people who you expect better from.


Second Scare - Doctors: Did I already mention that western medicine has failed me? If I did my job like doctors do, I would be fired several times over. Here is the recent news that gets me steamed. After I read this, I have all sorts of conspiracy theories.

What is the purpose of a "regular checkup"? We spend lots of $$ and time for these visits over the course of a year. If doctors don't communicate with their patients or help them develop a health-management plan - are they negligent when that patient later is diagnosed with a life-changing disease like diabetes? Isn't it incumbent on the doctor to give the patient, the customer who is paying the bill, ALL of the information required to live healthy? Even if the information is embarrassing, taboo, or frank?

They call it the "Health Care Business" but I have and will call it the "Sick Care Business", since it appears that most doctors and clinics are focused on dealing with the sick, instead of helping people stay well/healthy. Follow the money - if you keep the population sick, uninformed, uneducated they will keep coming back for your services - oh, and they get more expensive the worse your health is.

"Obesity, of course, means a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, hospitalization and early death, so how come doctors are so lax" asks Dr Sanjay Gupta in the Time Magazine article. Maybe doctors should start to grow a backbone. It is easy for the "healthcare industry" to throw it back to the consumer stating that it is up to people to care for their own health. Well, I am sorry but that is a lazy answer. Has the public been trained in medical school? Do they have the information needed to make a healthy lifestyle plan? Aren't they paying you to advise them on their health concerns? If truly it was up to the individual to care for themselves, then why oh why would they ever pay you for an "Annual Checkup"?

It would be like taking your taxes to H&R Block, but they don't tell you about the most recent tax laws or help you develop a plan for saving money or complying with the federal laws? They could just say "it is up to the individual consumer to understand all of the tax laws - we have no responsibility"

So, here is my advice. You should go to get regular checkups, but you need to prepare a little bit, and ask some good questions to see if your doctor is interested in your well being. How about asking this question: "What do you recommend I do to keep my body in the best possible condition?" or "Where am I deficient with my health? Please help me create a plan to change this for the better."

So make a written lists of your concerns and ask them. Here are the questions I asked last doctor's visit:
"Do I have normal blood pressure?"
"If it is high, how do I lower it?
"How often should I test it?"
"What is a normal cholesterol level for me?"
"What is a normal weight for my size?"
"What kinds of foods should I be eating?"
"How do I best take care of my feet?" - interesting question especially if you are overweight.
"What can I do to help my health condition?"

I also get as many tests as I can, and I ask/demand that my doctor send me the full results. I want to have a copy of my levels - just because I trust no-one who has files and files of papers.

Ok, this rant went on way too long.


Diary:

Several months ago, my sister sent me a challenge to write a little bit about "What do I believe?" This shouldn't be such a hard question, but it has taken me a long time to write it up. While I haven't found the words yet, I am getting closer. I know it has something to do with looking forward, not looking back, having the heart of a champion and not a victim. I will keep working on this.

This week I received another challenge that will also take some time to complete. Mike sent me the following comment/question:

I think the readers of your blog would benefit greatly to answer the question of what finally made you willing to reach your goals. Why was it different this time as opposed to all the other times you tried, but sabotaged yourself. This time it IS different and I think many people would benefit from knowing WHY it is different. When you boil it right down WHAT made you willing to pay the price?

Hmmmmm. Well, this is the question, I guess, that we all have to face when we are on the edge of doing or not doing something. With every choice, there is a price to be paid, a decision to commit to something.

Wed morning, I heard an interview with Rabbi Harold Kushner author of books such as When Bad Things Happen to Good People and Overcoming Life's Disappointments. In the interview, he was asked "Why bad things happen to good people?", and his response was a little different. First of all he indicated that asking "Why" isn't really a question that can be answered. It is actually a cry for encouragement, acceptance, and consolation. If you are asked this, the question should never be answered, as any answer you could give would be less than adequate. Instead try listening, and supporting the grief process. Asking "Why?" something happens is a look backward, and creates a victim mentality.

He ended the interview with an Old Testament verse. Psalm 120 talks about distress, deceit and war. The Psalmist is asking for deliverance, and begins Psalm 121 with the following:

"I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth."

Note that in distress, the question asked wasn't "Why me?" or "How did this happen?", but instead "Where does my help come?" It is a look to the future, instead of dwelling on the past - instead of focusing on the pain, searching up to the hills.

These are Kushner's words, not mine, so I have some work to do. These are both valid, and good questions to ask - but the answer is not that easy.

What does Kushner have to do with the question from Mike? I think it caused me to wonder what is the value of looking back at the failures I had, and why this time I succeeded. I think that this blog is part of the answer to this question - I have written many times some of the motivations and steps that I have taken.

Recently, I have started reading about Kaizen, the Japanese technique of achieving great and lasting success through small, steady steps. It works for all types of goals, from eating more healthy to establishing long-term career goals. I picked up a book called "One Small Step Can Change Your Life - The Kaizen Way" by Dr Robert Maurer. At first I wasn't sure if this would be a good use of my time, until I read the first page of the book. What was it? A Motivational Quote! This guy writes the book like I write my blog! What was the quote? Check it out:

"Small things with great love...
It is not how much we do, but how much love we put into the doing.
And it is not how much we give, but how much love we put into the giving.
To God there is nothing small."
-Mother Theresa

I believe I am going to enjoy reading this book.

I would say that without influence from my family, friends and spiritual reflection, I was not making the progress that I really desired. When I gave up my own ego, and prayed for help - I received it. Here is the funny part, however, when I prayed for "weight loss" or "not to be fat", I failed. When I prayed for "patience", "obedience", "commitment", and "character in tough times", those appeared inside of me and displayed themselves through people who "swooped" into my life when I needed them. Focusing on the positive, and doing steps with the correct heart, that is an important step to any life change. Just doing an activity - without a mind-set change - probably won't stick. I think about Memphis's story of running the Twin Cities marathon - listen to the podcast if you want more information - is a good example of having a goal that meets the needs of your heart.

While they have value for consideration, I think that the important thing is to not let these questions hinder us from moving forward - which brings us to:

Notes:

This weeks notes further discuss the SMART Goal planning. This time, I will point out how daily habits will help to complete somewhat extraordinary feats. Have you ever thought about running from Denver to Chicago or Lifting the Statue of Liberty? In the next set of challenges, we will do these feats of strength!



Goal #5 - Lift the Statue of Liberty:

On July 4, 1884, the 151-foot-tall, 225-ton Statue of Liberty was delivered to the American Ambassador in Paris.
In order to transport Lady Liberty to New York, the statue was dismantled into 300 pieces and packed into 214 wooden crates.

These parts were lifted, sorted, and assembled by hard working women and men, and you too can take part in this creation by Lifting the Statue of Liberty 5 times!

Facts:

• Weight of copper used in Statue: 179,200 pounds
• Weight of steel used in Statue: 250,000 pounds
• Total weight of Statue: 450,000 pounds (225 tons)

How is this goal going to be accomplished?

Start slow - add weight as I feel I can. Plan on training M, W, F at noon - training takes about 30-40 minutes, which is the time I have during my lunch break. Since I bring my healthy lunch to work, this daily habit actually has three side-effects. 1) I am eating better, as other choices during the lunch break is to go out to the Lions Tap or other local eatery. 2) I am saving money, mostly from the not eating out thing. 3) I am focused in the afternoon to get my work done. I am tired, yes, but the rush of blood and adrenaline (natural) gets my brain thinking and motivated to get something done in the afternoon. After a big noon meal, I would tend to sleep it off by sluffing off afternoon work.

So, each M,W,F, I plan on lift at least 6,000lbs each training day. (Note: This calculation is based on using the smallest weight - only 18lbs - on the machine for each exercise, so this is an extremely conservative number.)

If you don't have a gym membership or think that you can't do weight training, I would be open to discuss this further with you. Note that while I am not a doctor, I know there are options for working out at home and not having to invest lots of money on equipment. I have looked through and would not hesitate trying a fitness plan that can be done with very little investment effort. I have used the resistance ball and tubes - and it seems to be a good starter for anyone who has little time and can't leave the house to work out.

There is more I could share, but will leave it at this. Contact me if you want to know more about what specifically I am doing. In a nutshell, I am doing a 30-Minute Circuit Training, where I focus on core muscles that the body uses for balance and stability.


Goal #6 - Run from Denver to Chicago:

Walk, jog or run from Denver to Chicago

Facts:
There are about approximately 2000 steps per mile and 1000 miles from Chicago to Denver = 2 million steps
If you move 5000 steps per day (or 2.5 miles), you would make it in a little over a year!

How to do it? For me, I am planning on running 3+ miles every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Some days it will be an outdoor run, some days it will be on a treadmill or elliptical machine, other days it will be measured in a walk around a mall or high school gym (or something else - I may need to get creative)

If you get a pedometer - which can be found for very little cost - or for free at your local State Farm - go into a local State Farm Insurance Agency and ask them for a "50-million pound challenge kit". This kit is free and includes a simple pedometer!

When you walk, check your steps, and record them - 5000 steps is approximately 2.5 miles. Chart this and we will record our momentum using a map like Google Maps - where you can customize your own map and visually see your progress. Check out my run from Denver to Chicago on this link!

This is something that you can and should do - for a number of reasons. I encourage everyone reading this blog to commit to moving more this year. If you find that you simply CANNOT walk 5000 steps a day - don't give up on the goal, adjust it. Can you walk 3000 steps per day?

If you need advice on this, send me a comment or question and I will see if I can help.


Goals! Full Spreadsheet is found here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pd_MzRMQiFVTY8vIzZWnNTQ&hl=en

Geek / Professional Goals
1.	Learn Adobe Dreamweaver Read "Dreamweaver CS3 Visual Quickstart Guide" by Peachpit Press and start building a website using Dreamweaver.	No progress this week. The book is sitting where it was a week ago.
2.	Study for computer-based certification Read A+ Certification book and prepare to take test.	No progress. In re-reading last week's blog, I realize I am not walking the walk. I read and thought about the problem with having too much scope, when the whole Kaizen principal is making small, easy to manage steps. This goal is stifling me, because I don't know the reason "why" I am doing it. It doesn't seem to have a real purpose or value, and is just a disappointment - so I am considering releasing this from my goal list. Since I could add it later, when I have a good reason or incentive for doing it, I am not too concerned with the fallout.
3.	Get involved in Professional Peer Networking	No progress. I need to send an email to the STC Judging Coordinator to sign up to be a Judge.
Health / Fitness Goals
4.	Lose the last of my fat - Turn "love pillows" into "love handles" - Eat a variety of "Real Clean Healthy" foods - Sleep well - Take my daily supplements and water - commit to fitness routine	Followed my Eating Diary all week Fitness Plan on M, T, W, Th, Bed by 11pm Lost 1.5lbs this week
5.	Be a lean muscle-bound stud - Lift the Statue of Liberty - Lift weights M, W, F - 6000lb minimum each workout	Lifted weights on M, W Lifted 29,333 lbs of weight during circuit training workouts Updated Statue of Liberty chart
6.	Beat my own time in 5K - Run from Denver to Chicago - Run/Jog/Walk 3+ miles each Tu, Thur, Sat	Ran 3 miles (or equiv) on Tue, Thurs and Sat Ran 9 miles total Updated Google Map Plan on participating in the Reindeer Run in Minneapolis.
Social / Creative Goals
7.	Transfer Old Home Movies to DVD	No progress this week. Need to spend an hour testing my hardware setup as proof of concept.
8.	Interview and record my heroes for netcasts	No progress this week. I need to setup time with Karl to finish our interview.
9.	Get involved in church, family, and social network	Sent birthday cards to family and a close friend. Had a good conversation with my dad midweek. I think it would be helpful for me to track my contact with my family and friends so that weeks don't go by (as they do) without some verbal contact with my loved ones. It is just too easy for me to stay on my little island.
Emotional / Personal Goals
10.	Play the Accordion well - practice 2x weekly - prepare 6 solo songs for a performance to happen by July 2008	No progress this week. I just need to commit to the time - 1 hour sessions twice weekly. Why is this so hard?
Home / Financial Goals
11.	Pay off credit card and personal debt - Save $4000 to be reserved specifically for debt payment	Saved $80 this week into my holding account -> slowly moving forward on the financial debt goals.
12.	Have an uncluttered home, car, book bag and mind. - Declutter house throughout the year - 1 room every 3 months	No progress this week.

more later,

Chazz

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October Stats - Baby Steps to the Next Challenge

picture of the Twin-Cities 5K - running up to the St. Paul Cathedral. The mass of runners (including Memphis and me) are on the right side of the road.


Motivation:

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."
~Louisa May Alcott

Diary:

Today is "Fasting and Prayer Day" at church, and I started the day at church in prayer. I am at home now, but am still thinking about fasting and prayer the whole day, while raking leaves, laundry, cleaning, organizing, and this blog.. Tonight I will be attending a "Traditional Lutheran Polka Service" at a church across town. I have no idea what this means, but I am expecting lots of accordion music.


Another random fun story: I was running on Thursday at noon, because I desperately needed some air and wasn't motivated to run on the treadmills in the office fitness room. It was cool outside, but not so cold that a quick run would be difficult. So, I started down Flying Cloud Drive and ran the usual 3-mile loop that I used for 5K training. around one corner, there were police cars parked on the designated running path, lights on, so I had to jump out of the path and onto the road - which was clear one second, then the next second I was face to face with a giant red firetruck! It was barreling down my path, and I had to jump back to a grassy/muddy area. I kept running and passed another fire engine, a hazardous materials truck, several more cop cars, trucks, and then I saw 4 huge transit buses streaming into the area and two ambulances! All the vehicles had lights on, hazards on, sirens going.

What am I running into? I thought perhaps a dangerous animal or mass murder or some "heavens gate" mass suicide camp was found? Did a bomb go off, or perhaps there was a bomb threat? My brain was just going in circles and was dreaming up all sorts of really awful things that might happen to result in such a gathering of officers and officials. Something has gone terribly wrong here.

Meanwhile, I did a quick check of my running pace, and found that I was really going fast and this commotion was getting my system revved up. This entire episode really started my fight or flight hormone systems because my run seemed to fly by.

So, what happened? Any guesses? Click here for the answer.

It seems rather anticlimactic, doesn't it. It bothers me slightly, becuase I (or someone else) could have been run over by all of these emergency vehicles. Was the event really something that required so many vehicles that they didn't have space to park them all and had to park on a running path? I guess - "its for the children". Why would anyone be running in October anyway?


Notes:

I wrote about the importance of goal setting last week, and want to spend at least one more week planning and preparing for the next set of goals. You may think, at least I do at times, that I obsess TOO MUCH with these plans, lists, goals. I know that it does take time to plan, but it is worth it.

In a previous job, we the workers were ALWAYS being scolded for not getting all of the work done and throwing the project off the time line. I don't think it ever occurred to management, nor were they willing to listen, to the fact that the project goals were unrealistic and since the planning never happened, there was no way that the project would be completed on time from the first step. This ongoing circle of blame caused the job to be a drag for everyone. If better planning and realistic goals were defined in the beginning, that would give every worker a chance to succeed at their jobs, and take pride in the completion. This Victory could have profound affects on the next project, and then the next task, and the next job, and so on. Managers of the world, my message to you is - allow your team to win! Don't setup projects that are doomed to fail in the beginning by poor planning, too large of scope, or an outrageous timeline for the resources you have to do the tasks.

This week, I have spent a good amount of time finishing up the Goal Spreadsheet and filling in the details. I want to point out one of the goals as an example of the next steps - what to do after you have decided what goals you want to achieve.

While the Goal Spreadsheet can found in updated and enhanced form at this link:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pd_MzRMQiFVTY8vIzZWnNTQ&hl=en,
I am going to discuss a random choice from this list.

Let's take "Play the Accordion well" goal and dissect it to see how it is going to happen. Looking at the spreadsheet, the following are the columns and my answers for each:

Desired Goal
I want to Play the Accordion well, so that I am comfortable playing and am not embarrassed when asked to play something.
Specific Goal - WHAT are you going to do?
Perform 5 or 6 solos on the accordion for a critical audience
Measurable Criteria - How much? How many?
Learn 6 songs found in "Palmer Hughes Accordion Instruction Series" books and videos
Attainable Results - HOW are you going to do it?
Have a live performance in front of peers where I have to show my results.
Realistic Objectives - Are there requirements / resources that you need to complete the goal?
"Palmer Hughes Accordion Instruction Series" books and videos. Must practice every week - have to commit to reserve both space and time to learn.
Have to commit to not get frustrated with mistakes that I make during the learning process - this is a marathon and not a sprint
Timely Commitments - WHEN is goal to be completed?
by July 2008, should learn and master 6 new songs

We have now answered the SMART Goal Setting questions. Note that my answers are realistic, honest, but challenging. I like to add a "gamesmanship" to these goals and have some kind of fun activity that is part of it.

So now I know the details, but there are more columns to fill out on the Goals list. These are the "Kaizen" part of the plan. I will explain more about Kaizen in later weeks, but for this moment, please think "inch by inch". The objective here is to take the goal and divide into easy steps that can help move toward the goal. Here is how I do it:

3 month milestone
learn 3 songs
1 month milestone
learn 1 song
1 week milestone
practice for 1 hour on Tues and Thurs
Daily Tasks
Get other tasks done each day so I have time to focus 1 hour of time for this goal. Set aside a space and time for completing this goal

3 months is about as far as my mind can think. Honestly, it is hard for me to imagine what life will be like 1 year from now, but I can imagine what needs to be accomplished in the next 3 months to achieve my goals. I still have the 1year plan in the back of my head, but my focus is on the smaller timeline. What needs to be done Today to get the weekly goals finished successfully? What needs to be done this Week? this Month? this Quarter?

The "Daily Task" for this goal is rather vague, however if this doesn't happen the weekly milestone won't happen. If I fail to have a space and time reserved for this project, I will blow the task off every Tuesday and Thursday.

If you want a second opinion on the need for "Daily Habits", lets refer to productivity advice from Jerry Seinfeld.


I highly encourage you to think about your goals, and take a sheet of paper and document what you are doing, where you want to go, and how you plan on getting there. Break down the tasks into smaller timeframes, some may be monthly, weekly or daily. You may find that by doing these daily tasks, the goal becomes habit and part of your "discipline" to do every day.


October Fitness Measurements

So it is time again to check in with my fat loss and fitness goals. I have updated the sidebar and the chart below, and I have made it past another goal by reaching 243lbs! I am now over 50% of the size (in lbs) that I was in 2004-2005. I am still losing weight, so I will continue my fat cutting diet for more weeks until I am within my final goal range.

The next goal is to lose another 9+ lbs. The goals are getting smaller, as the fat loss is getting slower as my body is adjusting. That is a good thing, but difficult to gauge. I may need to get some professional help in measuring my true body fat %, becuase I am seeing that the mathematical equation based on body size and weight aren't accurate, never were accurate. The problem is, I don't know who the expert on this subject would be. Anyone got a clue?


Gooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllsssssssss! Full Spreadsheet is found here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pd_MzRMQiFVTY8vIzZWnNTQ&hl=en

Geek / Professional Goals
1.	Learn Adobe Dreamweaver	Have bought the DreamWeaver SC3 book, and have installed DreamWeaver on my computer. I need to designate a day of the week to spend 1 hour reading and working on this project.
2.	Study for computer-based certification	No progress this week. I need to decide what certification I want to do. (A+, MOS, MCSE, Adobe FrameMaker, other Adobe product?)
3.	Get involved in Professional Peer Networking	Attended STC Meeting in Minneapolis and talked to a couple people there about getting involved in Judging Contests - (Judging Technical Documentation)
Health / Fitness Goals
4.	Lose the last of my fat - Turn "love pillows" into "love handles"	Followed my Eating Diary all week Fitness Plan on M, T, W, Th, Bed by 11pm Lost 1.5lbs this week
5.	Be a lean muscle-bound stud	Lifted weights on M, W Researched Circuit Training plans and understand what muscles to train Created a workout log in Excel that I can print out and track my progress Created a chart for lifting the Statue of Liberty (share this later)
6.	Beat my own time in 5K	Ran 3 miles (or equiv) on Tue, Thurs Researched 5K events and may plan on participating in the Reindeer Run in Minneapolis. Created a chart for running from Denver to Chicago (share this later)
Social / Creative Goals
7.	Transfer Old Home Movies to DVD	No progress this week. I have a space reserved, need to reserve a time to spend 1 hour working on this. I *think* I have all the hardware required to finish this project - 8mm films, film projector, Video Camera + tripod, Firewire port on computer, and recording software. I haven't tested the setup, so I don't know if this will work. IF it doesn't, I have a backup idea that requires more $$, but less time - could be a wash in the end.
8.	Interview and record my heroes for netcasts	No progress this week. I found my interview with Kendall and have saved it to my computer. I need to setup time with Karl to finish our interview and start to put this together. I did learn through a meeting I attended this week that
9.	Get involved in church, family, and social network	No progress this week. I need to clean up what this goal's purpose is. Am helping with the church "Octoberfest - Fall Festival" on Sunday, and have attended a few other church services in the area. Seeking a place that I feel comfortable. I need to find a way to be in communication with family/friends more often and more regularly. I need to work on a plan for this.
Emotional / Personal Goals
10.	Play the Accordion well	No progress this week. I have the books and videos, and a place to practice. I just need to commit to the time - 1 hour sessions twice weekly.
Home / Financial Goals
11.	Pay off credit card and personal debt	Saved $80 this week into my holding account -> slowly moving forward on the financial debt goals.
12.	Have an uncluttered home, car, book bag and mind.	Am organizing my work bag to make it lighter - it is a slow process. I also need to find 1 hour per week to designate as a "Decluttering Hour" that is above and beyond just regular chores and housecleaning. Decluttering would be deliberate to look at what I have and don't need, use, and need to purge from my sight so I don't have to have unnecessary stuff. I need to go through clothes closet later this month and take another trunkload of clothes to Goodwill or other collection agency.

Next week - let's discuss the virtual road run from Denver to Chicago. Sounds like fun? I will tell you how you can do it. It will be a good introduction to Kaizen - maybe this is a good time to rename the blog and redo the design a little. (I am ready to shed the "Fat 2 FiveK" and get set for the new challenge.)


more later,

Chazz

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Post - 5K planning and goal setting (behind the scenes)

This blog asks "Can a 500 pound man train and condition to finish and compete in a 5K race?"

Answer: Yes! But it didn't happen in a year, it took a couple years to complete - however it CAN happen. I am not going to let the fact that it took another year to happen to get me down. My friend Mike sent me this quote just as I was thinking about this:

"Dripping water, in time, will cut a hole through stone."
- Chinese proverb

The picture here is of the "Chazz Vader Dream Team". This trio were some of the folks who trained and committed to becoming 5K runners, and the results are evident. Go ahead and look at the picture, and notice the necks, chins and hands of these three. Sometimes it is a great motivator to look at the before and after pics, as it is easy to forget where you came from. It can help to give a good idea of where you are going.

So, the question is - where are you going? Now that the 5K season is ending for the year, the title "Fat 2 FiveK" isn't all that relevant. It is time to refocus, organize and regroup. So, with this introduction, let's begin with this weeks post:


Motivation:

St. Olaf Homecoming Weekend Theme:
"If you don't know where you're going,
any road will take you there."

(Ok, it may not have been "the theme" of the weekend, but I saw a group of student volunteers who were all wearing Homecoming T-Shirts with this saying printed on it, and a St. Olaf design above the words. Either way, it is appropriate for today's blog post.)

Diary:

Last weekend, several people were asking me "what is the next challenge, and when does is start". I am so bored with running and training for the 5K, and ready to change my workout and eating routine. However, I haven't quite finished all of the written and unwritten goals for myself. I am close, but not ready to move on yet.

As I was doing some planning and prep for the next challenge - and thinking about Goal Planning, I received this email from Dr Chet (you remember him, from previous posts) about the power of planning and preparation. I laughed when I saw that Dr Chet repeats the mantra bouncing around my head this week "Nothing makes you focus better that knowing where you’re going." After reading this, I ordered my protein bars, vitamins and supplements for the next "phase"

30 Days Minus One
Dr. Chet Zelasko

I challenged you to drop some pounds and improve your habits before the holidays begin. Tomorrow is Day One and I wanted to send a special reminder to you to get ready.

• If you’re using food bars and shakes, make sure you buy them today.
• If you’re going to prepare your own shakes or bars, make sure you have the ingredients in your home.
• If you’re going to exercise, make sure you pack your gym bag today and put it in your car.
• If you’re going to workout from home, make sure you lay out your clothes today.
• If you’ll need extra time to prepare a shake or exercise before you wake up the kids or go to work, set your alarm right now.
• Finally, write down your health goals for the next 30 days and put them where you can read them several times per day.
• When the going gets tough, the tough focus. Nothing makes you focus better that knowing where you’re going.
• Sleep well tonight. Your better life has begun.

SMART Goal Setting - Fall 2007

Now that the 5K season is over, it is time to put paper to pen and record the next goals to reach.

First, write down some goals. What do you want to do in the next 30 days to 2 years? Think about it for a while. What excites you? Where do you see yourself? What do you see yourself doing? Where do you need improvements? What challenges do you have for yourself? This isn't just about health or diet and exercise, it could be other personal goals that you have.

If you have problems, just start brainstorming, writing down things that are interesting to you. Even if it is silly, or you have always felt it was un-attainable, write it down. Think about things that are beyond your reach, that may be challenging or difficult. It is ok if you think it isn't realistic, we will deal with this later. Take a few days to think about this step. It is important! Note that you can always tweak your list and add/remove things later. At this time nothing is written in stone.

Now, when you find that thing that sticks out in the list, that goal that you have been thinking and dreaming about for a while, or something that just MUST GET DONE - now it is time to move to the 2nd part of Goal Setting.

On a sheet of paper, make some columns that have the following headings: S, M, A, R, and T

Instead of just writing down a list of random wants and wishes, we are going to make SMART goals. SMART, as we have discussed before, stands for:

S = Specific
Specific is the What, Why, and How of the SMART model. In the S column, we will narrow down each of our goals to focus the steps required to achieve the goal.

• WHAT are you going to do? Use action words to describe what it is that you want to accomplish.
• WHY is this important to do? What do you want to ultimately accomplish? Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
• HOW are you going to do it? The methods used to get the results you are looking for. (If the goal is unique or difficult, and you don't have all of the information, then this step may require outside help. For me, I used books, doctors, nutritionists, and counselors to guide me through the "How" to lose weight piece. I thought I knew the "how", but found that I needed to lean on another person's expertise... You do not have to have all the answers, as this is part of the point of goal planning - to improve yourself - but you do need to have the plan. Don't be afraid to ask for help, it is important to get the information to complete the goal setting plan. I don't want you to fail - so having the "How" up front is important!)
  
• WHERE will it happen. Identify a location.
  
• WHEN are tasks to be completed. Establish a time frame. Even better, break it up into smaller steps - we will be discussing this concept in future weeks, but DO NOT think that you should do the entire goal in one step. Instead, break up the goal into mini-steps. The easiest way to do it is to take your long-term objective, divide it in 1/2, and this is your yearly goal! Divide that in 4 parts, and this is your 3-month milestone. Divide that into 3 parts, and this is your 1-month milestone. Divide that again into 4 parts, and this is your 1-week project. You can divide this yet again into 7 segments for daily tasks. Some goals aren't able to be split into daily tasks, some are.
  
• WHICH way are you going to complete your goal. Identify all your requirements and constraints. Be as specific as possible. It may seem silly to do this much planning and prep, but I will guarantee that you will follow through much easier and consistently if you are fully ready to begin before you do it.
  

Ensure the goals you set is very specific, clear and easy. Instead of setting a goal to lose weight or be healthier, set a specific goal to lose 2cm off your waistline or to walk 5000 steps at a fast (or challenging) pace. Your Specific column should not say "Get in shape." This goal is meaningless if you don't have a specific plan to put it in action. It would be better to focus on something like "Join a health club and workout 3 days a week."

M = Measurable
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. You want to think about your goal using measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. How will you see when you reach your goal? Be specific! "I want to read 3 chapter books of 100 pages on my own before my birthday" shows the specific target to be measure. "I want to be a good reader" is not as measurable.

To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as......How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

A = Attainable
A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel you can do it and it will need a real commitment from you. If your aim is to become a fighter pilot but you don't have a pilot's license, we all know that isn't achievable. But setting a goal to apply for a license, and get information about training, when you've achieved that, aiming to log some flight hours, and getting accelerated training, etc, will keep it achievable for you.

When you begin to figure out ways you can make your goals come true, tou develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and capacity to reach them.

R = Realistic
This is not a synonym for "easy." Realistic, in this case, means "do-able." It means that the learning curve is not a vertical slope; that the skills needed to do the work are available. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn't break them.

A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. Your goal is probably realistic if you believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

T = Timely
Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards. If you don't set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there's no urgency to start taking action now.

A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there's no sense of urgency. If you want to save money for a new car, when do you want to purchase it? "Someday" won't work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, "by May 1st", then you've set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal. This will help to understand what needs to happen between now and then.

When I worked at a radio station, there was a lot of work that involved "back timing". At specific times every hour (the top of the hour, the 30 min point, the 20 min point, the 50 min point, etc) there were things that HAD TO HAPPEN. Every hour, exactly at the right time. These were due to ABC News sending feeds to us that had to be broadcasted at a specific time, as well as advertisements ($$) that were slated for specific times and specific places.

So, planning happened every hour, and may change on the fly. Can I play "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones? If the song lasts 2:49, but it is currently 2:48:15, the answer is No! You won't be able to finish the song, play a station identification, then get to the advertisement slated to run at 2:50! This measuring, counting the clock, mathematics, and creativity happened very swiftly if you were good at your job, or was a nightmare if you didn't do your homework, didn't have an idea of how the clock worked, or what songs fit with what other songs.


Goal Planning is a little like working at the radio station. Sometimes it helps to start at the GOAL, and work your way backwards to where you are right now. This will help to visualize what needs to happen to get to where you want to be. It also helps you to mentally accept the idea of what life will be like when you have completed your goal, because you have already thought about what the steps are going to be forward and back.

While you are working on your goals, I would encourage you to stay excited. Planning for some can be a drudge, especially if you are ready to "jump in". I found the following notes on another blog:

7 ways to empower you and maximize the probability of you actually accomplishing your goal:

1. Be positive. Always formulate your goals in such a way that they represent what you DO want to happen. Why do you want to achieve your goals? To live healthier? Write it down.
2. Set a realistic date. Be very specific as to when you want to accomplish your goal, but remain realistic. It might feel silly, but don’t give yourself slack here.
3. Plan it as if you’ve accomplished it already. Make it a part of your future self.
4. Be as specific and detailed as you can possibly be. The better you can describe what you want to accomplish, the better you can focus your attention on achieving what you want. “Being able to do 50 sit-ups” looks nice, but “Being able to do 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes time on 5 days every week” is much more specific.
5. You need to make your goal measurable, for the simple reason that you need to be able to verify whether you’ve accomplished it.
6. Make sure that you are the deciding factor in accomplishing your goals. Don’t rely on someone or something else or on a specific event to get what you want.
7. Express confidence. Refrain from using “doubt-words”. Don’t try or attempt something, don’t wish, don’t aim for. These are all words that have failure built in, they keep it as a viable option. Think Yoda - "Do or Do Not - there is no Try".
   

So now we know the rules and have inspiration and motivation to start the next challenge, but we aren't quite ready to begin yet. In order to measure progress, I like to monitor progress so I can stay on target. If I do not have a way of charting or logging progress, it is too easy to stray off the plan and get discouraged. While I was losing 250lbs, I had a diary EVERY DAY that showed what I ate, my exercise, my water intake, my sleep, my bowel movements, EVERYTHING. Every week I had a chance to review my status, look at my progress, think about my goals, and most importantly - it gave me a chance to tweak my plan often. Was something not working? Why? What can I change? Can I try something different for a while to see if it changes my routine? This is important, very important, but if you don't record your progress you won't have any way to look back and track your progress.

I would highly encourage you to have two starting documents. 1) The goal spreadsheet that we will start below, and 2) a Diary that you update daily to track your goals. My diary is very precise, with specific information that I documented every day, but your diary doesn't need to be a chore, even if it is just a one line comment indicating what you did today to help get you to your goal.

After that explanation, here is my solution to the tracking issue. It is one example, and may be not the best for you, so do something different. It doesn't have to be complicated, but it should allow you to track what you have done, and left undone. On my spreadsheet, I have listed the SMART goal columns, and the 3-month, 1-month, and daily milestones that I must do to get to the final goal. I will fill it out for an example of what you could do.

Goal Setting Spreadsheet:

Desired Goal	Specific Goal WHAT are you going to do?	Measurable Criteria How much? How many?	Attainable Results HOW are you going to do it?	Realistic Objectives Are there requirements / resources that you need to complete the goal?	Timely Commitments WHEN is goal to be completed?	3 month milestone	1 month milestone	1 week milestone	Daily Tasks
Learn Adobe FrameMaker	Create a website using FrameMaker	Have a website that is publicly viewable	5 - 6 pages of content built with FrameMaker	Yes, I have a space on the internet to host, and a computer to learn on.	Website will be up by June, 1 2008	??	??	??	??
Transfer Old Home Movies to DVD	Put old 8mm movies onto computer, transfer to DVD	Produce a DVD and share with my family for them to use as they wish	Film the 8mm film using my video camera – transfer video to computer, edit and produce movie files for digital transfer	I have the instructions and a space to do it. I just need to make time to complete.	In 52 weeks	Transfer 12 films to digital	Transfer 4 films to digital	Transfer 1 film per week (1 hour average time)	??
Lose the last of my fat	Get under 15% body fat	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??
Be a lean muscle stud	Lift the equivalent of the Statue of Liberty	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??
Beat my own time in 5K	Run a 5K in under 32 minutes	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??
Play the Accordion well	Perform 5 or 6 solos on the accordion for a critical audience	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??
Study for computer-based certification	Get certification in computer	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??
Interview and record my heroes for netcasts	Produce 4 interviews and post at "podbean" for public consumption	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??
Have $$ to go to Spring Training in Florida	Save enough money to take a vacation to MN Twins Spring Baseball Training	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??
Make a difference in lives of others	Do some volunteer or give of myself purely out of no gain for myself	??	??	??	??	??	??	??	??

Ok, well that didn't really format very well - but you should be able to view the entire spreadsheet at this address:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pd_MzRMQiFVTqkoi1n-6YHg&hl=en

As you can see, my goals are varied and some are even not so well defined. Over the next week, the tasks are to fill out this list. I will post my progress and ask for your ideas and input. I don't have all the answers yet, which is part of the excitement. Learning "how to" do something that you haven't done is the journey that can be at times fun, at times distracting, annoying, painful, exhilarating, and hopeful joyful when you get into the stride and become confident and motivated.


Final Thoughts:

During my 5K training this week, I had the following song repeating on my mp3 player. I found the lyrics to be some of the thoughts that a weight loser would have during the process:

"Too Little Too Late" by the Barenaked Ladies
You say, why does everything revolve around you?
You say, why does everything I do confound you?
You say that I pulled the world from under you,
You cant go through it this time

And I could be good, and I would - if I knew I was understood
And it'll be great, just wait - or is it too little too late?

One day, this embarrassment will fade behind me
And that day I could think of things that wont remind me
But these days its unbearable for both of us
We cant discuss it this way

I'm gaining strength, tying to learn pull my own weight
But I'm gaining pounds at the precipice of too late
Just wait

I could be good, and I would - if I knew I was understood
And it'll be great, just wait - or is it too little too late?

Record and play, after years of endless rewind
Yesterday wasn't half as tough as this time
This time isn't hell,
Last time, I couldn't tell
This mind wasn't well
Next time, hope I'm going...

...to be good, and I would - if I knew I was understood
And it'll be great, just wait - or is it too little too late?

On Saturday, I ran the "Twin Cities 5K" part of the Twin Cities Marathon, and was so glad to see my friend Memphis there at the registration table. I was calm, no pressure. The weather was light rain, but nice running weather, I think.

We started at the foot of the MN State Capital, and ran up to the Cathedral, then down Summit Ave, then turned around and ran back. It was packed - lots of runners and groups of run/walk teams. It was crowded at times, and I just felt like running until I got tired, then I would just walk the rest of it. Weird thing though, I never really got tired - and so I never stopped. My legs were comfortable, my breathing was normal, and my heart was pushing - I could feel it, but it wasn't stressed. 1 mile mark seemed to come and go very quickly. By the time I hit the 2 mile mark, I heard someone behind me say "We only have a mile, we almost have made it." About the time, my shoulders and arms seemed to get stiff. I kept running and tried to shake them to get some relief. Then we ran by the Cathedral the 2nd time, up the hill - and there were people there with cowbells ringing them - as if I was a skier at the Olympics - I felt a push and saw that it was downhill to the finish line. I just let my legs stride out and as Memphis said "let gravity do the rest of the work". It was fun at that last half-mile. My brain was gone, but my body had a runners high. I was so glad to be there. See the run and my results here:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4132992#

Those who looked at the link, and see the number across from "Total Time" may be confused. Yep, that was the number - 2 minutes better than my St. Olaf run. If I "Smashed" my race time in Northfield, then I must have "Demolished" it in St. Paul. Maybe I was just under no pressure, and just running - maybe I had more pressure because of the crowd, I am not sure. I was concerned that my time would be worse, due to the banning of headphones - no music allowed at this race "for the safety of the runners", whatever that means. Here are all of the result information:

• Number of finishers: 1733
• Number of males: 760
• Average time: 00:33:42
• Overall place: 964 out of 1733
• Division place: 67 out of 85
• Gender place: 548 out of 760
• Chip time : 32:49

So, this was going to be my last run for the year, but in the packet I received there were invites for a few more runs in the cities - one Halloween run, one Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, and finally, one "Reindeer Run" that occurs in December. Also, I got a nice card inviting me to sign up for the OC Run in Southern California. This is the run that is sponsored by Nutrilite, who I have touted many times as my vitamin and supplement supplier. On the card was an offer from Avia, for free shoes if I sign up for the run. mmmmmm.... free shoes......


more later,

Chazz

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