Wow!

The previous post I did from work on a break. After work I went to the gym and as I was checking in here comes Rocky. He asked me how I was doing, what I've been doing at the gym and so I told him the treadmill and the Re-Shape circuit. He said good, but he'd like me on the eliptical instead of the treadmill because it burns more calories for the same amount of time spent...well there is a reason for that...ITS HARDER!!!! 30 minutes on the eliptical ( a post all its own *gasp*) at an rpm, for me, of between 65 and 70....Wow! Then I did go to the Re-Shape circuit and after that, Rocky wanted me to start working on the lat machine...that's the weight machine where you sit on a bench facing the weights and the bar is over your head and you pull down either behind your head to your shoulders or in front down to your chest.

Lets just say it was a much harder workout today, trainer gloves came off, and it was a long, slow, tiring walk back to the truck....but there was a smile on my face...I feel good

Praise God

But it's a dry heat!

Well, I'm a little behind but here we go. I made it to In-Shape on Monday, congested and all and hit the treadmill first. I put in 30 minutes with my heart rate (HR) up around 140 for that fat burning cardio workout. The treadmills are nice at In Shape because you can set it to a cardio workout, plug in your info (weight, age, etc) and it will adjust the incline of the machine to work you harder or easier depending on where your HR is, so you just keep plugging along.

After that, and drinking plenty of water, I went to the Re-Shape circuit. It's a 29 minute workout that has that has strength and cardio intervals, followed by flexibility/stretching training; and what is the importance of each of these you may ask?

• flexibility for fewer aches/pains
• cardiovascular training for increasing energy expenditure
• resistance training for preserving and/or increasing lean muscle tissue

If this is fewer aches and pains, then I'm glad I flex'd. It has only been 4 days but I really can feel a difference - by cutting out sodas and drinking only water, I still have a low energy level but I don't have the dramatic dips, the sudden energy crashes that I used to have, and whether its me tolerating more or making progress (we'll say both), each day I can do just a bit more, push myself a little bit farther than the day before.

I'm still waiting for the intense craving for something sweet, but so far I'm good, and in the past I would have been thinking about it, waiting for it and probably caving into it, but now...not so much. God has always wanted me to take care of this temple but as I said in a previous post, my mind wasn't right; it wasn't ready to submit, now I am ready and I am submitting.

So you may have wondered about the title. Well there is the joke that talks about an area being so hot and we quip, "But its a dry heat"; meaning it could be worse, it could be humid also. Well this is hard, I spent years neglecting my body and its going to take time to repair the damage, but its a good work; so it is hard, but its a good hard!

Slow Start

I've been fighting a cold for the last 4 days but I've been pushing through. Yesterday was our orientation and weigh in for the challenge and today was the first official day of the contest - and I was laid up in bed sick - the cold hit hard. Good news...I got lots of sleep and didn't eat much, bad news I missed the first day of working out :( I will meet with Rocky tomorrow morning, he is the Porterville team's trainer, and he will work out with me and give me what he wants me to work on for the rest of the week. I did work out last night, did some simple cardio so I did get a little tiny exercise. Anyway, it begins tomorrow, I'm a day behind, but I've got to be careful not to push to hard with the goal of making up time, I just have to focus on the day, work out with Rocky in the morning, keep my eating journal, and ask the Holy Spirit, to keep showing me His Love, when I want to feel sorry for myself. Many of you that are reading these blogs, applied to this contest and I owe it to you too, to not focus on what has happened, but to focus on today

Math. 6:34 - "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Casting Crowns
"God Is With Us"

The skies don't seem to be as dark as usual
The stars seem brighter then they've been before
Deep within I feel my soul a stirring
As though my hope has been restored
The shepherds say they've heard the voice of angels
Confirming rumors spread across the land
That a child protected well from Herod's anger
Is our Father's Son, and the son of man

Love is raining down on the world tonight
There's a presence here I can tell
God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel
He's the Savior we have been praying for
In our humble hearts He will dwell
God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel

I feel compelled to tell all who will listen
That peace on earth is not so out of reach
If we can find grace, mercy and forgiveness
He has come to save, He is all of these

You're the Savior we have been praying for
In our humble hearts You will dwell
You are in us, You are for us, You are with us, Emmanuel

Ummmm....me...without a t-shirt? Really?

Ok this whole, take a before and after picture is cool, I get it, but guys, i.e. me, without a t-shirt is not a good idea. I mean I'm sure there are some FCC regulations about showing that sort of thing, I mean, I don't even think I've seen myself without a shirt in a loooooonnnng time, just turn out the lights, etc. Really KDUV, I'm trying to save you some grief...ok not you so much as me, and not grief so much as embarrassment...ok...ok...I'm trying to save myself some embarassment. T-shirt, it can be somewhat tight *eww* to show unsightly curves in places there shouldn't be curves, but it should be a red t-shirt so when I'm turning red with embarrassment it won't show as much. Ok, fine, whatever..but don't say I didn't warn you...and parents, make sure your kids are not in the room....for their own safety, I don't want to be the guy that scars them...I mean talk about poking out your minds eye...

Still Waiting

Well I've had the weekend to absorb and contemplate what will officially start on Feb. 1 - the KDUV In-Shape Challenge. I say officially because I have actually started warming up now by, using the quote from the movie "Cool Hand Luke", "getting my mind right". I've started getting mentally and, I hope physically, somewhat prepared for what the next several months have in store and what that will do to jump start the rest of my life. I've begun by looking at my portion sizes and asking myself, "do you really need that much Scott, or do you just feel bad for the parts of the plate that have nothing to do?" My biggest downfall is soda, specifically Pepsi, so I've switched to diet *shiver* (I'm sure I'll come to like it -in time) and consciously make myself drink more water, lots of water. I've started walking with my wife around the neighborhood after work, so that hopefully the initial workout soreness that is inevitable will be lessened; I have no dillusions that I won't have any, so I'm just getting ready.
I know a couple of my Porterville teammates so that's exciting and can't wait to meet the rest of them. Its going to be fun encouraging each other and rooting on all the contestants that have committed themselves to improving the quality of our lives.

Scott

Day 1 - Waiting

Well, here is my first blog entry. The contestants have been announced on KDUV's In-Shape challenge and I have been selected to participate in this prestigious event. Hi, my name is Scott Unser and I live in Porterville, which makes it convenient that I was selected for the Porterville Team. I am a Special Education teacher, working with students who are severely handicapped and I work for the Tulare County Office of Education, and have for the last 19 years. I'm married to the bestest wife in the world, we just celebrated 16 years of a fantabulous life together. We have a 15 year old daughter who is a freshman in high school.
I applied for this challenge not only to lose weight, but to get healthy. Like many people, I tried the diets even though I knew that it would only be temporary, that they wouldn't create a lifestyle change, and I knew....I knew that's what had to happen. That's what this Challenge is for me, a jump start to a lifestyle change so that my wife and I can have a long, long, long fantabulous marriage, that my active daughter can have a dad that can keep up, and that my kids at school have an upbeat, happy and healthy teacher. I feel tired quite a bit and that gets taken into other aspects of my life, and its not fair to the other people in my life and its time for me to stop being selfish.
So I covet your prayers as I will be praying for all of the other contestants.

Scott