A shift in the blog theme begins.....or as I like to call it...closer to Fest time

Quick Monday blog post.  The past week was a whirlwind to say the least.  Between house stuff, and preparing for selling children’s clothes at a consignment sale I didn’t really have anything to blog about.  I did make the leather hats, however I forgot to take pictures and it’s more of a viewer friendly activity than one to read about.  I will be starting on a pouch for a friend this week and I will ensure that I take pictures of that construction along the way.

I didn’t make an egg bake last night as a to-do list of more substantial things was needed to get done. So I will be making the egg bake after work tonight for the rest of the week.  I’m also decided that this week I’m going to give myself off of lifting weights and focus on the kettle bell swings 3x this week (Tues, Thurs, and Sat) and walking on Monday and Thursday for my exercise for the week that is scheduled, and hopefully a few bike rides this week for training for the upcoming Tour De Cure.  I’ve had a few nagging pains from my hip and bicep for a few weeks now and I don’t want to injure anything too much by pushing through them.  Tonight/Tomorrow I’m going to try to start the pouch construction so hopefully by Wednesday I’ll have it completed and can make a post about it.

With only 16 weeks to go until the opening Cannon of the 2012 Minnesota Renaissance Festival I’m thinking the blog is going to be switching more from health/food/fitness to more general focus on the Festival portion of life.  (Costuming, leather craft, story design etc.)

The topics that I have on the agenda are:

Doublet construction

Tights

Bracers/archery arm guard

Chain mail sleeve

Creating a story

These aren’t necessarily going to be for sure topics to post about but they are the most likely and it won’t be in any particular order, it’s what time is given/allotted to me in the “Real world” to complete and I remember to take pictures of (it’s much more fun to explain something with visual than with words unless completely necessary.)

What I'm giving up

Along my weight loss journey the most frequent question I’ve been asked of late is what “I’ve had to give up”.  I actually feel like I gave up very little.  Yes I traded processed food for home cooked meals and a scheduled eating pattern.  I tell them the only thing that I feel I really gave up is the Variety because I found it easier to eat the same meals day after day with the exception of cheat day.  To that most people respond “I don’t know how you do that” or “I could never do that.”  In reality, look at what you eat day in and day out.  I’m willing to bet that, for about 70% of your meals it involves the same or similar items at least 3-4 times a week.  Maybe I’m wrong maybe I’m right but that’s my honest opinion.  I don’t think that people have nearly as much variety in their food choices as they think, especially upon hearing that I have an egg bake for breakfast and chili for my two lunches.  My “variety” comes from dinner, and if I’m out with my client with work I end up having the Cobb salad without the blue cheese crumbles and Olive Oil and Vinegar for dressing.  The other nights it’s meat and veggies.  I am the type of people that can, and have, ate peanut butter sandwiches for lunch for months on end.   

But I digress; I don’t believe I gave up much of anything.  I gave up a half hour to an hour a day or so to make sure I got some exercise via biking, walking or lifting weights.  I gave up the idea that this is just something I can do to lose weight and hopefully not gain it back, because it’s a lifestyle choice.  Most importantly I gave up a lot of excuses and rather unhealthy lifestyle and accountability. 

I am looking forward to continuing to get healthier, and reach all my goals and set more along the way.  This is creating something inside of me that reaches the part of me that wants to help people.  I know that If I can do this with the excuses I’ve been allowed to tell myself and given myself and resigned myself for many years that this is how it’s going to be and to just deal with it, anyone can do this.  But it takes that moment of realization.  Unfortunately it didn’t set in a few years ago when it really should have, in my opinion. 

Three years ago today my father passed away from multiple health complications.  I remember looking at his pictures when he was my age and younger and hearing everyone comment on how much we were and looked alike.   Of my two older brothers, I am the one the most resembles my dad in all aspects of life.  There are still days that I long to be able to give him a call on the phone and hear him say what I know I’ll hear in the conversations with him but realize I can’t.  Those are the moments that help keep me committed to changing myself.  Because I don’t want my children to have to feel that they may have missed a chance to spend time with me because I couldn’t, or rather didn’t take the time to really change myself for me and for them.  Time is short and precious and it will be gone before we even realize it, so I intend to make every moment that I can count with friends and family that I can while I have it. 

RIP Pop, Love you

bye bye 50!

I finally hit the goal of 50lbs lost as of last Friday (20^th for those keeping track at home) I am fairly certain it didn’t happen the week before that (weighed in on Thursday instead of the normal Friday) because I had actually overworked myself and sent my body into a bit of a starvation mode, apparently it thinks that if I only give it around 1500 positive calories I’m trying to starve it. Sheesh, stupid body.  So I re-evaluated the plan and decided that the days I really hit the workouts I should add a protein shake or some substitute to really offset the loss so as not to send the message to my body we’re starving.

Last week apparently flew by because I didn’t have a single post.  In a recap, I watched both the kids (Mon), helped a friend work on his deck (Tues), cleaned the house (Weds), both jobs again (Thurs) and made cinnamon rolls for cheat day (Fri).  I had one bike ride in there and otherwise just the regular weight lifting and walking on Thursday with my client at the 2nd job.

Did I mention Cinnamon rolls……



go ahead......be jealous.....

Along the way last week I also decided to sign up for Tour De Cure the ride to prevent Diabetes.  Somewhere along the line the thought of riding a bicycle 28 miles seemed like a great idea.  I think it was the Free fee waiver for work and a bicycle jersey.  Yes folks, in less than 45 days yours truly will be donning a bright red bicycle jersey.  I think this is my punishment for running outside in the rain last week to lock up the shed and fix the water spout without a shirt on….come on it was DARK… I mean I’m sure I glowed like one of those snap and glow sticks you can really only find on the 4^th of July but dang. 

If you feel compelled take a look at the info @ http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR  Search by my name (Theodore Anderson, all official sounding and all) and donate whatever your heart leads you to do.

(Editors note: I just re-read the blog and found the humor in the fact that the first thing I talked about was cinnamon rolls followed in the next paragraph by a diabetes awareness bike ride.....)

Otherwise the only other things I ramble on about in this blog would fall under costuming or rehearsal for renaissance festival.  Neither of which had any major breakthrough/developments since the last blog.  I am in the midst of making a new hat for myself so we’ll see if I can bore you with enough for a post on that.

The man in the mirror

I had a moment today where I looked in the mirror and for the first time since I started this healthier journey I thought I could really SEE the difference in the person looking back in the mirror.  The stomach looked a little smaller, there seemed to be a bit less lumps and curves in the outline and yes, even the face looked a bit thinner. 

Then something that I’m not really comfortable with set in…

Fear…

I’ve spent so much of my life being the bigger, if not the biggest person; what happens if, no… when, I reach those goals? 

A lot of my identity is being larger than everyone.  I never had a fight, outside of football practice field, because no one wanted to mess with the larger guys. 

Then I rationalized things a little more.

I’m always going to be one of the bigger guys; I’m tall and fairly strong.  My build, I think I’ve mentioned before, isn’t going to allow me to be the Matthew Mcconaughey (First name I could come up with after couple minutes of thinking) size.

Speaking of size, I’m also weighing in today as tomorrow finds me off of work to help out a friend with some of his home projects.  So here’s to hoping that 50 lbs. has managed to drop off a day earlier so that can be another goal I can cross off the list.  I realize, looking back that I’ve spoken a bit about goals.  I’ve set a lot of goals, and have added more to them as time went by.  The point of each goal is to give me something to work towards.  It’s never something that I deep down know I most likely will fail at because that’s not the point.  That’s part of the reason I didn’t include P90X into my plan regularly.  I know that come the 3^rd or 4^th week I’ll have to be switching something around or have to skip and make up a workout here and there and mentally that will lead me to a sense of failure.  Something like 2 miles a day walking/biking/hiking/getyurarsemoving I can do….I can do the 2 miles during my breaks at work.  Not all these goals have to be shared; they don’t even have to be written down, though it does help.

So whatever it is, stick to it.  Yes, as I’ve found, there will be moments where you have to stop and realize that there is a change happening to you and with that change may come fear or any other human response.  But that’s okay, keep plugging through it and you’ll be able to conquer more and more with each step.

leather scale mail update and general thoughts

Back to the blogging trail today.  Yesterday found me home with a teething and growth spurt fever induced daughter.  Rather than face daycare calling every hour I elected to stay home with her.  We watched Mall cop in the morning on a recommendation of a friend, aside from a few chuckles that’s an hour and a half that I will not be getting back in my life.  Otherwise when she went down for her afternoon nap I managed to get some work in on the leather scale mail project and get the scales on the back completed.



Still pieces to be put in place around where the
bright green trim is, and buckles along the sides
but this is the meat and bones of it.



I have to say, now that the hardest part is done, I’m not feeling it.  I don’t see it working well with my mind’s eye view of Little John.  I’m hoping that once I get it fully completed with buckles on the side and the black scales dyed/painted more woodsy colors I’ll be able to picture it more. Or maybe with some accessories for the colder days it’ll work out.  Next on the costume schedule is a new Leather Robin Hood hat.

Last night I headed to work at second job and we ended up walking around Rosedale Mall.  I actually lost count after the first 45 minutes on how many laps we had completed.  I did download an App for my phone that tracks distance covered last Tuesday so I’ve come to rely on that for my rides and walks of late.  Tonight doesn’t look like there will be a bike ride as Sunday my rear bike tire met a sloppy seconds piece of glass that the front tire wanted nothing to do with.  Nothing warms the heart like a love story between glass and rubber and pushing a bike, bike carrier, boy and groceries a little over a mile home. I picture Jack Black playing my role.

Tonight there are plans in place after work and not getting home until later so it looks like the mileage goal will be met the good old fashioned way, with dog and leash.  I’m actually proud of myself in the fact that I’ve hit at least 4 miles every day in some fashion of distance covered since last Tuesday.  I’d say prior to that but the App wasn’t downloaded until Tuesday morning to make it official.

Any comments/thoughts on the scale mail project are welcome below!

the results are in...

So I did not hit the 50lbs mark this week.  ended up 2.2 pounds shy of it.  It'll be taken care of next week (hopefully).  While sitting here typing I decided to do measurements quick....of course it's cheat day and I usually do measurements in the morning instead of afternoon and a couple of cheat day meals in but today has been a blur with a fun improv class at the HUGE theater in Minneapolis.  Anyway the measurements currently stand as follows since the start.
navel: down 8.5 inches
Hips: down 9.25 inches
Thighs: same (I say the same because they fluctuate up or down within .5 inches each week)
Biceps: same

Last night was another great bike ride, 9.5 miles total trip.  It would have been longer but I left the bikes night lights at home and it was getting dark towards the end of the trip.  The plan for the next week remains the same, continue to hit the cardio every day and the weight lifting 3 day a week along with the regular egg bake and chili.

I am slightly apprehensive about Easter tomorrow.  This is my first true Holiday test to see how it all works out. 

When in Beano do as the Beanos do

I have to say that this weeks food plan was probably the toughest I’ve had to eat down since I started the ritual of making my breakfast and lunches in advance.  It started Saturday with the idea that I could just put Salsa into the eggs and add some spinach instead of taking the time to chop some peppers and onions up.  So I took that idea and ran with it during grocery shopping, I picked up a huge jar of organic salsa and poured that in with the eggs and added some chopped spinach to it and a couple cloves of garlic, poured it into the dish and put a can of black beans on top and popped it into the oven.  It came out looking very colorful and pretty. 

Look it's pretty....deceiving!!!

Until time came to eat the egg bake.  The extra juice from the salsa made the egg bake more crumbly than solid and the salsa also brought out the taste of the spinach, in my opinion.  It wasn’t anything that wasn’t edible but it definitely sits at the bottom of the list of egg bakes made.  From now on any salsa will just go on top of instead of inside of it.  There is some debate on if using the whole small jar of Garlic was a bit too much, I found that I didn’t have any vampire attacks this week so I’ll chalk it up as a win for now.  Beyond that I’m going to take a break from spinach for a week, two weeks in a row of spinach is enough for me.  I’m not a fan of spinach in a can by any means but it’s one of the best foods out there, I mean look at Popeye!!



I yam what I yam....and quite a man to eat spinach out of a can



To top it off the chili I made was actually overly spicy this week, I used ½ pound less turkey than I normally do with the same amount of spices (which I’m blaming on the extra Oomph to it.)  Normally I don’t mind spicy chili but with the overly potent crumbly spinachy garlicy egg bake the spices didn’t sit well with me.



I'll tell you what I want what I really really want....BEANO!!!



Could definitely have used some beano this week, that’s for certain.

Otherwise this afternoon is the weigh in for my week and to see if I hit that goal of 50lbs. lost that I mentioned yesterday.  I’ll try to get a post in tomorrow on the status of it, and hopefully this weekend find time to work on my leather scale mail project to post a blog on that next week.  Thanks for reading and have yourself a great Easter if you Celebrate it.

An update and a goal broken or is this the week to plateau?

It’s been a few posts and I haven’t updated anything on where I’m currently at in regards to my weight goals.  I’ve been making it a weekly habit (but not making it an important issue) of stepping on the scale every Friday when I leave for work.  There are two reasons I’ve been doing this 1) mainly to see if what I’m doing is having any effect on beyond how I feel and 2) I leave at the same time every Friday and the scale is on the way out to the elevators.  I realize it’s Thursday and tomorrow will be another weigh in but as of last Friday I’ve dropped 44.8 lbs. since I started the rehealthabitation (it’s a word, I made it up!) 11 weeks ago. 

I made a goal this week to hit the 50 lbs. mark by tomorrow.  While I did that I made myself aware of a few things.

It’s going to take more work (almost 7 lbs. vs. the average 4 losing a week)

Don’t be led by the allure of the scale (I’ve said this from the beginning)

Eventually there will be a plateau as your body adjusts

I’ve been fascinated/inspired/amazed with articles lately on the “average Joe” weight loss and it seems that almost each one I’ve read has talked about hitting a plateau and powering through it.  As you change your eating habits and add exercise but after a while the usual progress isn’t there anymore and it seems that nothing can be done towards getting closer to your goal.  I admit in the past when we’ve had a workout or health challenge at work that I participated in, I would get frustrated with not seeing anything change on the scale when I’m busting my hump in the gym every day.

Looking back I realized that the exercise is only part of the equation, while I thought I was eating okay, it was just that….OKAY. A rushed morning, which happened rather frequently with two children less than 2 years old to get ready, meant stopping at McDonalds for breakfast.  The sausage mcmuffin, hash brown and iced vanilla coffee was convenient and easy and quite frankly yummy.  Substituting that for the egg bake that I create every Sunday I found is much more efficient and my body starts the day with much less of the unknown and more of me knowing what it is that is going into my body. I still cringe every time I see pink slime. 

Going back to the plateau; I know it’s going to happen eventually.   If it’s an omen that it just so happens on the week I set a small goal for myself to hit the 50 loss mark then so be it.  It’s not going to lead me to give up and embrace McDonalds again (even if Saturday is cheat day).  So that being said I’ve increased my daily activity level every day this week, Monday my client and I walked around Como Zoo, Lake Como and Rosedale Mall (7 laps) Tuesday I dusted off the bike and the child carrier and took the boy for a bike ride. 



How can you say no to that face???



Wednesday night was another bike ride after taking the boy to the playground and playing with him there for 20 minutes.  I got tired of not knowing how much ground I was making so I downloaded an app for my phone that tells me how much distance is covered and time etc. on Tuesday night after the bike ride and Wednesdays ride ended up being 6.7 miles.  Today is work again tonight and I can’t help but expect my client to want to walk around the lake and a mall before settling on dinner and more walking after dinner but we’ll find out.  On top of the nightly exercise I’ve also been at the gym every day this week (sans Monday as I didn’t work) with my lifting program.  I added the back workout into the mix this week to hit the gym each day and not re-do a previous workout.  Tomorrow afternoon will be time to find out what, if any, results I have to show for my efforts.  Regardless of the outcome; I’m feeling better than I have in a while, and it helped reinforce everything of where I’m going by picking up the 50lbs dumbbell at the gym today for a lift.

Making a leather gauntlet

So it’s been over a week since I said check back tomorrow for results or some rot like that.  Truth be told I took the process with baby steps and it took me a week to actually get the final product together.  The first attempt I made I used a pattern that I like that I had found online, Google “gauntlet pattern” and you’ll find plenty of them.  I put it together using the step by step instructions.  The particular pattern I used was designed for metal, well leather is just as workable and a lot less sharp edges and well frankly I’m more experienced with leather than metal.  The first attempt ended up being far too bulky for my preference and needed to be attached to a glove in order for it to stay connected to your hand.  I didn’t like it.  I gave it some thought and started etching out a pattern for the fingers and body of the gauntlet.  I knew how the pieces had to go from previously looking at them and the previous attempt so it was a matter of customizing the pattern to my particular preference.  I decided that I liked the ½ finger style instead of the full finger because it would limit the lack of range of motion with the whole hand.  I wanted this to be interesting and functional at the same time.  I started out with the fingers and once I had a general outline in paper transferred them to leather and did more work to get them to fit comfortably.

The next step was designing the body, I knew I wanted to have it covering the back of the hand and it had to be secured around the wrist.  At first I intended to use a buckle to secure the wrist piece but elected to change my mind later (we’ll touch on that later)

There was a gap between the fingers and the main body of the gauntlet that I wanted to address so I did so with a rectangular piece of leather. 

The gap that concerned me was mainly between the fingers and the tops of the knuckles so the leather was wet down and placed over the knuckles where it would sit and taped to my hand for an hour to help form it to my hand.

Once all the forming and hole punching was done it was time for me to tool the leather.  Using different tools and designs I stuck with the leaf theme that would complement my other leather armor along with the color scheme of leather dye.

Once the tooling had set in and the dye had dried it was time to seal the leather to prevent the dye from bleeding should it get wet.  Once the seal had dried it was assembly time.  I used copper rivets to hold the fingers and thumbs to the main body and a copper buckle on the top of the wrist.  Once the buckle was attached it was immediately obvious that it was adding too much bulk to the overall design so it was removed in favor of a pair of dual brass snaps to ensure that the wrist would stay in place and keep a secure fit to the hand.  One of the great things about leather is that while it is sealed and set it will still get wet from sweat, rain, etc. and the more it’s used the more it will continue to shape to the hand; this is something that I wouldn’t be able to have had I used metal.  Nor would I have been able to add the tooling or personal flair to it (could have etched the metal but I don’t have access to such tools at this time.)