Testing iPhoto for iPad & iPhone

First project results. Our hike at Redwood Regional Park. Pretty cool and very easy.

Redwood Regional Park

Amazing Mashed Potato Substitution

If you're like me and you love mashed potatoes but you have switched to a low carb/paleo diet, then you'll love these. I can't recommend this recipe enough.

Cauliflower "mashed potatoes"

Excellent Broccoli Recipe

Check out this great recipe for Roasted Broccoli & Bacon. You could leave out the bacon and add a little lemon for a healthier variant.

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/1626061164/roasted-broccoli-bacon-recipe

How far I've come

Me with my mom and sisters on Mothers Day, May 9, 2010.

Up close view of my chins, and my two beautiful sisters.

Ever since I can remember I have been the fat guy in the crowd. Ashamed of this, I ironically, as so many people do turned to food for comfort. It’s amazing what some Doritos can do for your mood. I'm sure you've heard it before, it's a never ending cycle. Years of attacks from peers throughout my life brought me to the point where I wanted to end it all anyway so why change? (It really did get this bad.) I had completely given up on everything. I never understood how anybody stayed in shape. It just seemed so incredibly hard that I felt like getting there someday was impossible. I’ve never really been into sports or working out on my own, and I had a serious Mexican food addiction. It was a recipe for disaster.

This all changed when I discovered The 4-hour Body by Tim Ferris. I bought the book the day it came out and my life changed completely, and forever. In it he laid out an easy to follow, reasonable diet and exercise plan that for the first time ever I felt like I could stick with. On December 15, 2010, I made the commitment to change. I was up to 253 pounds at this point, and couldn’t take it anymore, so I made my shopping list according to the allowed items in the book and went to Trader Joe’s.

The first week was exciting as I started to cook every meal and I realized that I really enjoyed it. Trying new recipes every night quickly became a hobby and sharing those meals with family and friends has led to many memorable nights. By the end of the first week, I had already lost a few pounds, and it was incredibly motivating. A couple weeks later and I was off the couch walking four miles a few times a week, and at the end of the month I was down almost 30 pounds. Typically when this happens to someone, a few months go by and it comes right back but I was determined to stick with it.

I quickly went from walking to HIIT with the help of apps that made it easy to increase my distance and speed, thus increasing my calorie burn. My attitude towards everything started to change and I soon felt like I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. People tell you this all your life but I had never really believed it. I was finally on the right track.

About a year later I had lost a total of 40 pounds, but by the end of 2011 I started to pack on pounds again. I injured my leg playing broom ball and it completely stopped my running routine for over two weeks. Recent studies show that after 3 days of laziness your blood sugar rises and you start gaining weight. This laziness also brought back bad eating habits and I soon realized I needed something to motivate me again.

That's where this blog comes in. My sister had just read The 4-Hour Body and she was really excited about following the plan. One night after dinner we decided to start the "30 Days to Get Itt" challenge. The challenge requires that we all commit to our diet and fitness goals and post proof of it all. This has been extremely motivating and very rewarding emotionally and physically. If you need an extra push to get it, putting everything online for everyone to see will definitely do it.