Setting Goals

Excuses excuses excuses…

by Mike Vifquain on October 26, 2010

I did it. I am breaking the mold.

My mold.

I will no longer succumb to my own excuses. In the coming days, I will tackle each of my recurring excuses to prevent myself from getting into the gym. By facing my own demons, publicly, I hope to prevent them from happening in the future. Maybe some of you face the same demons and can offer commentary on what has worked for you.

When I think of excuses, many come to mind. I’ve got a million and one for just about any occasion, but there is one that stands out far more than the others. It affects all aspects of my life, personal motivation, work productivity and more importantly the time I spend with my kids. I’m tired.

Excuse #1: I’m too tired.

Why the hell am I so tired?

Obviously I’m fat. Thats why I’m in this situation, right? Am I fat because of some medical condition? Do I have diabetes or a thyroid disorder? Nope. Do I have High Blood Pressure? Nope. Are my knees so shot I can barely walk? Nope. In all honesty I am a perfectly healthy guy, other than being a fat ass. I had blood work done a few weeks ago and everything came back perfect.

So what is causing me to be so tired?

  • Because my body is used to being a lazy ass. It’s in a constant state of rest. I work at a desk and sit on my ass all day.
  • Because I am self employed, I work from home and set my own hours. There is no structure. My hobby is my work. If I am bored at night, I get online and work.
  • Because I don’t sleep enough at night (see previous reason)

I’m sure I could come up with even more reasons, but they are all related to those above. So lets examine some of the affects this has on my life.

  1. My house is a mess. I’m either too busy or too tried to really clean. So I solve that problem by hiring someone to clean my house once a week. That still leaves 6 days of me not doing even the simplest amount of cleaning.
  2. My business is unorganized, which affects my productivity. If I would exert a little more time and energy, I could be organized and stay on task. This is something that has affected me my whole life, regardless of my weight, which makes this an even tougher mountain to climb. If I can accomplish more in a shorter period of time, I can work less and focus on improving other parts of my life.
  3. Quality time with my children. As a single dad, who recently has the kiddos full-time, I get to juggle homework, sports and after school events in addition to all my other responsibilities. By not having the energy to stay organized and on top of things, it affects my children. My laziness rubs off on them. This is probably the most motivating issue of them all. I’ve noticed that if I wait and have to rush them, they push back and respond less positive to whatever the issue is. By giving them the time attention they need, there is less hassle and they are much happier.

So there you have it… Excuse and motivating factor #1.

My solution is to get to wake up 30 minutes earlier, thus getting the kids to school earlier and creating an additional 30 minutes of gym-time. I plan do do this 5 days a week. I don’t think it’s too much to ask of myself.

*Side note: Today I did 30 minutes on the elliptical.

Distance: 2.59 mi
Calories: 534

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Day 52: Early weigh-in surprise!

by Mike Vifquain on February 1, 2010

285.0lbs Posting a big weight-loss at an unexpected time!

285.0lbs Posting a big weight-loss at an unexpected time!

Wow! After yesterdays post I was sure I packed on the pounds.  I woke up this morning and hopped on the scale to a huge surprise!

Weight: 285.0lbs (-3.3lbs)

First goal FINALLY reached!  Now setting my next goal of 250lbs.  Its attainable.  I won’t put a time limit on this one.  I hope I can drop the 35lbs by April 1st though.  We will see.

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Truth or Dare?

by Mike Vifquain on January 2, 2010

Would you strip down to your undies in front of strangers?

After my workout today I was getting ready to shower at the gym and noticed I’m one of the few “Big Guys” who uses the shower at the gym.  I’m wondering if it’s because others are ashamed of their size?  I don’t get bothered in that situation, but do wear a shirt at the beach.  Pretty odd, right?

So I’m setting myself a new goal.  Truth or dare.  I choose dare.  I dare myself to go shirtless in front of my peers for a convention I have to attend in Las Vegas, in June.  I have 5 months to build my confidence up enough to do this.  June also happens to be my goal month to lose 100lbs.  What a way to show the “new me” eh?  I will be in plenty of industry photos.  Only this time I won’t be the “Bellyflop champion” I have been in the past (see photo below), I will be a 200lb stud!

Sharky01

Todays workout was great! 60 minutes on the elliptical for a total of 992 calories burned! In addition I did another 30 minutes on the treadmill of a 3.5mph walk. I set it to Random and it adjusted the incline quite frequently.

My shins were killing me!  I imagine this is because of the incline, but shows I still have a very long way to go.

While there, a friend of mine mentioned she was going to be running a 15k at the end of February.  I need to check my travel schedule, but I’m thinking about giving it a shot.  15k is 9 or so miles.  I imagine this is a 2-2.5 hour race for me at this point.  I wonder if I could complete it?  I absolutely hate running, but setting a lofty goal like this would be good for me.

What are your thoughts?  Have any of you tried a run like this after a period of little activity?  I know some of you guys are a little further in your journey than I, what do you suggest?

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