In late November I purchased a spin bike from Sports Authority which ended up sitting in my room for quite some time. Then during X-Mas I bought myself a new plasma TV and another Xbox so that I could use NetFlix, Hulu, Music, DVD’s, etc.. while lying in bed. I am also a dorky gamer dude and on occasion I’ll log onto Xbox Live and get my ass kicked by a bunch of kids and then off I go. Then it hit me – I could play Xbox and get my workout in AT THE SAME TIME! So the very first night I tried it I hopped on the bike and played my little heart out. I actually forgot that I was on a bike and 45 mins later I had burned almost 600 calories. It was crazy! BTW – I use a heart monitor and watch to track my heart rate and calories burned. It’s a cool little watch made my by Polar and it came with one of those strap things that you wrap around your chest.

I also used my 24 Hour membership for the first time in a few months. There I hit the elliptical machine with some serious fierce and managed to put in 4 miles and burn 650+ calories. Basically 600 seems to be the magic number for me and it’s working.

I’m also eating sensibly and choosing healthier foods like salads, fruits and veggies, and smaller portions.

I feel 100% better than how I felt a week ago. Really – this is nothing short of amazing. I sleep better and I find in the morning that I feel well rested with a shit ton of energy to get me out of bed. My heads on straight and it’s a lot easier to focus on the task at hand. One word that comes to mind is CLARITY. It’s all clear to me and after a couple of days of dieting it gets much easier to do the right thing when choosing what to eat.

No gimmicks. Just hard work and dedication along with eating less and working out.

Todays Food:

Breakfast:
Orange and Pear (I was out of oatmeal)

Lunch:
Salad with Chicken

Dinner:
Bowl of Kashi Go Lean (I may get a healthy snack later)

Snack:
Trailmix Bar

Todays Workout:
Spin Bike for 53 mins = 655 Calories

If you all don’t mind I’d like to get real with you – I’ve let myself go. I haven’t played soccer since I ruptured my achilles, and I haven’t played hoops all that much since I tore my left ACL. Wakeboarding – No. Snowboarding – absolutely not. WTF? Are you kidding me? These were all the things that I would do on an almost regular basis. What the fuck is wrong here? Man up dude, there’s a whole lot of livin’ left to do and you ‘d better get your ass in shape so that you can enjoy it.

Trust me when I say this isn’t some sort of New Years resolution or anything like that – this is me altering my lifestyle in a BIG, BIG way. So why now you might ask?

Just a little over a week ago I was standing in the Sports Basement with a buddy of mine and I was surrounded by a bunch of shit that I had lost touch with. Mountain bikes, snowboards, gloves, snow gear, hiking gear, and all sorts of other gear that I haven’t touched in years. Then it hit me – I want to do all this fun stuff with my kids. I used to be the kid that would try any trick, any sport, dive off of any cliff, etc.. etc… I want my kids to be that way, and if I don’t get up and out I’m going to miss that brief window that most fathers can appreciate. Like when you are bombing a hill on your snowboard and you look over to your right and your kids are right next to you. I want that.  I need that. They need that. We all need that.

So here I am in cyber form ready to get back to my roots. Get fit and get back to being creative or get the fuck out loser.

Consider this the beginning to a wonderful journey that I am going to share with all of you. Over the past week I’ve worked out 6 days and burned over 3600 calories. I’ve reduced my calorie intake by a significant amount and in the process I’ve rediscovered what it feels like to push yourself from within. That burn you get inside when you become your biggest fan and cheerleader. Run forest, run. Oh yeah, I also lost 5-6 pounds in the process, but this is more than just a numbers journey. This is me getting back to being, well, Marce.

I wish all of you a wonderful 2012. Here we go…..