Friday, December 21, 2007

Christmas Top 10


We'll, I'm actually posting what has evolved into a personal top 25 list. Just was wondering if others want to share some of their favorites?

Name - Artist
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2
Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes
Please Come Home for Christmas - Eagles
Celebrate Me Home - Kenny Loggins
Do They Know It's Christmas Time - Band Aid
Another Auld Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg
Sleigh Ride - Leroy Anderson
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - The Pretenders
Rocking Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Bruce Springsteen
Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney
(Everybody's Waitin' For) the Man with the Bag - Kay Starr
The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
All I Want For Christmas - Mariah Carey
Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea
Christmastime - Blues Traveler
Feliz Navidad - José Feliciano
Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth - Bing Crosby & David Bowie
Grown Up Christmas List - Natalie Cole
Do You Hear What I Hear - Whitney Houston
Happy Holidays - Andy Williams
Winter Wonderland - Tony Bennett
Sleigh Ride - Andy Williams
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Johnny Mathis
Home For The Holidays - Perry Como

P.S. 2 blogs posted Friday. Scroll down for "random thoughts".

Thanks Sharon!

Random Thoughts


You could say I've been more of a lurker these past few weeks. Laying low, reading often, compiling my thoughts - some deep and dark, others light and full of humor.

It has been said that when the student is ready the teacher will appear. I believe that God has a sense of humor and he has put many "teachers" in front of me throughout my life; some as recently as last weekend. Without going into too much detail, lets' just say I am convinced that God was hanging out with me and watching over me while I was in Florida. It's your call if you want to dismiss me as a kook. Too bad, it's my belief. If nothing else it's reaffirmed my faith, allowed me to refocus on the true meaning of the Christmas season and made me feel safe in some strange way. Safer than I've felt in quite some time.

I watched TBL finale on Tuesday. I love cheering on the successes of others. We all know fat/weight loss is NOT easy and in order to achieve long term success we must make these life long decisions, however when you dangle a $250,000 carrot in front of someone they are bound to be motivated. I thought I knew what my carrot was. Sometimes I'm not so sure. Find your "why" and you'll find your "how". I'm looking harder now than ever.

Lots of posts about those lamenting our "poor choices" lately. I'm guilty as charged. Sometimes I want to take the high road and say "Don't be such a pussy Gene. Suck it up." Dominate as Billy says. Other times I want to coddle and say "It's OK. There you go. Here's a tissue." Let's face it - it sucks sitting on the fence. You know who's not on the fence? Billy. End of story.

Speaking of Billy, I'm glad he decided not to pull back from Blogging as he indicated some time ago. His recent posts have been insightful & important to me. I'm sure to some of you as well.

I was sad to hear of Dan Fogelberg's death. Weird he died a week before Christmas. I know "Old Lang Syne" is sort of gay, but I admit I love it. It's in my all time Christmas top 10.

Speaking of Christmas (and before I ramble on any more and you all decide to unsubscribe from reading my blog posts - you guys wouldn't do that would you?) here (in true "song guy" fashion) is my Holiday wish for you all:

Blues Traveler - Christmastime:

If it's Hanukkah or Kwanzaa
Solstice, harvest or December twenty-fifth
Peace on earth to everyone
And abundance to everyone you're with


Catch you next week. I'll be in PA for a few days without web access.

One last chuckle. I Googled "Christmas" for an image to post and the one I found is called "christmas-balls". Yep. That's what we all need...balls. Fortitude. Sticktuitiveness. Guts. Chutzpah. Cahones. OK...enough.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Too many excuses...


As a matter of fact, I was even going to put this posting off for another day or 2. Maybe if I avoid my blog it will go away?

After back to back weekends in FL, I'm slowly getting caught up on reading everyone's postings. The 1st weekend was for the funeral, this past weekend was a trip with my bro-in-law that was planned months ago. My wife (bless her heart) is an angel for staying home with the girls and allowing me this time away.

I was in Daytona, Jacksonville & St. Augustine with some great friends of ours who have relocated to FL from NJ. It was a super weekend and the fact that it was wrapped around the holiday season made it that much better. Very festive. We laughed, we cried, we hurled (actually only my bro-in-law hurled).

So here is the poignant question of the day. Does being outside of your normal element (i.e. lifestyle) make it OK to just say “screw it” and revert back to the habits of old? (Of course I'm sure you all know I'm relating to our patterns of eating & drinking). Does a death in the family make it OK to drink mugs of beer & eat bar pizza at 11pm? Does seeing old friends relinquish you of the responsibility of the consequences of scarfing down fresh baked Monkey Bread (I tell you what though...it's good stuff) after midnight?

Do life altering events gives us a free pass at responsibility or are they really to be perceived as opportunities that allow us to grow?

Does the fact that I am even questioning these actions make it seem as if I'm striving for perfection...the one thing that is truly unattainable in our lives?

Once again I'm in a place I've become far too familiar with. In my world it could be referred to as "1 step up 2 steps back land". I made some great strides when I embarked on this journey only 2 short months ago, but just recently I have knowingly taken myself "out of the game" and look where it's gotten me. God - the mind can be a wicked thing.

I'm afraid to get on the scale and take current measurements, but I know it's the only thing that will right the ship and "get me off the sidelines". Others have written about a reality check and nothing stirs that up like the cold hard facts.

So maybe I dove a bit too far into the abyss these past few weeks. The water has become deep and the waves are rough.

Even though you may not know it, you have all thrown me one huge collective life preserver.

Man overboard? Nah...Man back on board.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Good, The Sad & The Ugly

It's funny how fast time goes by (I find myself saying that a lot since I've become a parent). I didn't realize it had been 10 days since my last post. 1st of all, thanks to all of your who offered condolences and support either in the comments section or in a private email. Your words of support and encouragement mean a lot. To a non-blogger or a non-FAT coalition member that might seem odd, but there is definitely a sense of community amongst us and the fact that the Holidays are upon us makes that feeling of camaraderie that much greater. Thank you all.

It's been a rough couple of weeks. This weekend I'll be flying to Florida for my Grandmother's memorial service. She has been cremated so the family will gather to say goodbye and share in our collective memories. I know it will bring me some closure, but I've always been sort of weirded out by funerals with cremations. Sort of strange not having the opportunity to say goodbye to a "body". Call me crazy. Whatever.

So...onto The Good, The Sad & The Ugly:

The Good: I had a great weekend with my wife, my daughters and my in laws. We spent the weekend in PA. I truly had much to be thankful for: a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, taking my daughter to see Kidz Bop (her 1st "rock-n-roll" concert), my in-laws watching the kids on Saturday & Sunday so I could spend a night away with my wife at a quaint little B&B and we could start our Christmas shopping, and most importantly traveling safely to and from home. Great to go away - even better to return home.

The Sad: Even though my Grandparents had lived in Florida for several years and they were not part of my day-to-day life any more, it was still sad knowing that they weren't here this Thanksgiving. I'm sure my memories of Thanksgiving as a child are not too far removed from many of yours. The sights, sounds and smells of the season. A busy kitchen. Kids and pets underfoot. Football in the park after dinner, back in time for the late game and pumpkin pie. I still can hear Grandpa's bellowing laugh and Maggie calling out his name when it was time to carve the bird. I miss them.

The Ugly: Lets' see...how many guesses do members of the coalition get to correctly identify the "ugly" part of my weekend. Food & drink, food & drink and more food & drink. Oh, did I mention food & drink. I won't give you mouthful by mouthful details but lets just say I overdid it. I knew exactly what I was doing and was aware of every single thing I put in my mouth. I think a lot had to do with my current state of emotions, but that should not be an excuse. Emotions will always crop up at various stages of our lives - you know, "shit happens". I am strong, but clearly there were too many signs of weakness on display recently. I did make a few veiled attempts at exercise but I messed up my back on my in-laws Health-Rider (what a friggin' death trap that thing is). What's done is done and cannot be undone. I already got angry with myself for "letting go" and I've already forgiven myself as well.

I'll be back at the gym bright and early tomorrow and begin my new circuit routine.

I think I may have posted this in another blog, but I feel it bears repeating. There is no such thing as failure. Only feedback and results.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving everyone.

Friday, November 16, 2007

The long and winding road...



I've always been a huge Beatles fan, but today's post and lyrics have nothing to do with weight loss. While you could say that the "journey" we are all on is in fact a long and winding road, today's rantings are more simply about life - or in this case death.

My Grandmother passed away on Monday night. I was told she died peacefully and did not suffer. She was 85 years young, but Alzheimer's disease had sadly taken her from us long before then. What makes this even sadder is that my Grandfather, her husband of 62 years, died in August. So after going most of my adult life with them in it, I have lost them both within the span of 3 months. Now I know that death is part of life and I once read that "death is only sad for the living", but it still sucks and I miss them both dearly. Especially at this time of year.

While my "clean eating" has taken a hit these past few days, I have still been at the gym. I want to finish up this MH 5-week routine strong. 2 more workouts next week (M & W) and then I will find a new routine post Thanksgiving.

The wild and windy night
That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears
Crying for the day
Why leave me standing here
Let me know the way

Many times I've been alone
And many times Ive cried
Any way you'll never know
The many ways I've tried

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Oh no, another blog from that "song guy"




Happy almost Friday everyone. My weekend starts early since I took tomorrow off and my office is closed on Monday for Veterans Day. So I've got a 4-day weekend staring me in the face and we all know the sort of challenges that weekends pose - especially long ones. However I should be OK since:

a. I'm with my family and they are a big part of my reason for taking this "journey".
b. The Jets have a bye week so there is no tailgate party to go to.
c. I weighed myself last night and was 192 so I obviously gained back a bit of what I lost (in all fairness I weighed myself at night when I normally weigh in 1st thing in the morning on an empty stomach).
d. The coalition is in my head and I feel accountable to you all.

That having been said, the latest addition to my iPod is Kid Rock's Rock n' Roll Jesus. 1st pass was OK, but I pay more attention to the lyrics the 2nd time around. Don't worry, after reading my last post I realize that I included far too many lyrics to get my "You can't hurry fat loss" point across. So for the sake of brevity I only copied what I felt was relevant, not only to how I feel this relates to my journey, but perhaps others' as well.

This is my 10th post and the 3rd to cite song lyrics. So 33% of my posts contain song lyrics & depending on how you look at it either I am the most unoriginal blogger in F.A.T. (not) or the most qualified yet overlooked contestant for "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (I applied back in August but never got a call). But I digress...

Track 3 - Roll On (bold emphasizes 'deep' stuff)

And I know it's hard to see with the sun in your eyes
But one day you're gonna say I saw the light


And now headin' for the hill
And I just cannot wait until
My children grow up to have children of their own
And I'll be telling them about
The times I turned the party out
And how I stood against an army all alone
Drinkin' wine and stayin' high
And realized it couldn't last
And how I turned myself around
And went down another path

And the signs we must observe
When life's changes do occur

But most of all I'll tell them
Just how proud I am of them
And always have a good time
It's all love and good times
Let's all have a good time Yeah

Roll on Roll on Roller Coaster
We're one day older and one step closer
Roll on there's mountains to climb
Roll on we're on borrowed time


Maybe it means something to you, maybe not. Read it again if you must & take from it what you will.

Just remember that we need to be reminded more than we need to be informed.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Ladies & Gentlemen, Diana Ross & the Supremes

OK, now that the title got your attention, here's a goofy thing I came up with the other day while on the StairMaster (20 minutes of intense interval at level 6). I was listening to WCBS FM (Oldies 101.1) - spare me the old jokes - when I heard "You can't hurry love" and it got me to thinking. I glanced over at my sweaty image in the mirror and thought, hmmmm - you can't hurry fat loss either. We don't get fat overnight, so why do we think we can get skinny overnight and then throw in the towel when we don't (or can't)?

So I Googled the lyrics and then did a find & replace. I replaced every instance of "love" with "fat loss" & here is what I came up with (sorry if it runs on long):

I need fat loss, fat loss
To ease my mind
I need to find, find someone to call mine
But mama said

You cant hurry fat loss
No, you just have to wait
She said fat loss don't come easy
Its a game of give and take

You cant hurry fat loss
No, you just have to wait
You got to trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes

But how many heartaches
Must I stand before I find a fat loss
To let me live again
Right now the only thing
That keeps me hanging on
When I feel my strength, yeah
Its almost gone
I remember mama said:

You cant hurry fat loss
No, you just have to wait
She said fat loss don't come easy
Its a game of give and take

How long must I wait
How much more can I take
Before loneliness will cause my heart
Heart to break?

No I cant bear to live my life alone
I grow impatient for a fat loss to call my own
But when I feel that i, I cant go on
These precious words keeps me hanging on
I remember mama said:

You cant hurry fat loss
No, you just have to wait
She said fat loss don't come easy
Its a game of give and take

You cant hurry fat loss
No, you just have to wait
She said trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes

No, fat loss, fat loss, don't come easy
But I keep on waiting
Anticipating for that soft voice
To talk to me at night
For some tender arms
To hold me tight
I keep waiting
I keep on waiting
But it ain't easy
It ain't easy
But mama said:

You cant hurry fat loss
No, you just have to wait
She said to trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes

You cant hurry fat loss
No, you just have to wait
She said fat loss don't come easy
Its a game of give and take


No I have not gone off the deep end. On the contrary I have made a new association to an old Motown classic that I will never listen to the same way again. I'll think of FAT, the coalition and the beginning of my journey every time I hear Diana (or Phil Collins) sing this song.

And for those of you who have read this in it's entirety, you are now rewarded with my latest picture (11/1 at 5:30 am). Holy sh*t. This plan actually works. I discarded 2 inches from my waist and I will soon be out of the 40" waist club. Hot damn! There was no change in the scale weight, but it's not like I care since the proof is in the pictures.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Oh the horror

Ironic title seeing as how my weekend started off Friday night by going to see Saw IV. I'm not going to offer up my review, let's just say they could have stopped after part 3. God bless the sequel (and the almighty dollar).

Saturday was a day off from working out. The first half of the day my eating was good, but late in the day I got a bit derailed. Had raviolis for dinner and no protein with it. Later that night my wife and I had some wine and a few olives. In addition we shared a delicious piece of peppermint brownie (made fresh) from Whole Foods.

Sunday I did get a good cardio workout in along with 4 minutes of Tabatas (squat thrusts). Took the family to breakfast at a local diner. It's my daughter's' favorite place since they have a "choo-choo" train that circles the entrance way. I ate an egg white omelet, wheat toast & a bite of my wife's french toast.

Went to the Jet game last night (like I said, oh the horror) and while it was not my best tailgate, it was not my worst. My brother-in-law and I brought some friends who were Bills fans (very happy Bills fans I might add) and we had a great time. Grilled chicken with fresh mozzarella and roasted peppers. Unfortunately it was on regular Italian bread as I could not find the whole wheat style I normally would buy. Toss in a few beers and a few handfuls of pistachios and that's how my night went.

The baby was up most of the night teething and screaming, therefore I was not rested enough to go to the gym this morning so I missed my workout. Nights are hard, but I will make attempts to workout this evening.

I'm looking ahead to Thursday when I will take my next round of pictures and measurements.

While I'm a bit sluggish & out of sorts today because of my less than stellar choices this weekend, I still have a smile on my face since I have my cords on again today.

Remember that there is no such thing as failure. There are only feedback and results.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Just stop it already

When I started this year long "journey" last week, I had decided that I would take pictures and measurements (weight and waist) every 2 weeks. I figured that would allow enough time between readings to show significant progress and help keep me on track.

As I arrived home from the gym this morning, my older daughter (who turns 4 next month) asked me, "Daddy, how much do you weigh?" This was odd. Even though she's been on the scale before, she's never asked me directly how much "I" weigh. Being pretty jazzed about this weeks' progress I decided to weigh myself right on the spot.

188.6 lbs.
23% BF

A new low (high?) with my weight. I can't tell you how long it's been since I was in the 180's. Could have been 7+ years. I have no idea. A minor accomplishment in the grand scheme of things, but an accomplishment none the less.

Anyone want to go have a cream soda? Just kidding.

Lastly, I wanted to share a little by-line from my wife's' school newsletter. She's a 4th grade teacher here in North Jersey:

End Procrastination

Perfectionism often leads to procrastination. Perfectionists would rather put off a project or task than do an incomplete job. Rather than perfection, aim for progress. Any small step toward completion is an accomplishment.

Oh, BTW...Samantha also wanted to know how much she weighed. I plopped her on the scale and found out she's 33.6 lbs. of pure joy.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Danger Will Robinson

On a scale of 1-5, today started out as a 6 on the "Wow, progress, let's go for a milk-shake" o-meter. Let me explain.

As I eluded to in an earlier post, I've teetered with weight management over the years. One step up, two steps back. Three steps up, one step back, etc. Most of us know the drill (and that's why most of us are here). Currently there are 2 pair of pants I alternate between for work. No, I'm not a bum, - I own lots of pants, but unfortunately only 2 currently fit comfortably & I refuse to buy any new (bigger) ones.

It's sort of a rainy, cool overcast day here on the east coast so I decided to get a bit crazy and try on a pair of cords that were buried in the depths of my closet. I figured why not. I've had an excellent week of clean eating and my workout routine (especially the 4 minute Tabatas) has been stellar - nay I say outstanding. So I peel the little corduroy ridges from the hanger, peer at the size (36x30) and slide them on. SHAZAM - they fit! And comfortably I might add. Now this is in no way a "goal attained" for me since I've been here before. My waist size has not been magically reduced to 36" in a week. Some pants are cut differently and had it been a different pair of cords I might not be writing this blog, I might be swearing about some factory workers in a 3rd world country and how they can't measure properly.

In addition to the "new" pants, I put on a new shirt (b'day present from my wife). The size happened to be a large (depending upon the style and cut I can be a L or XL), so that made me feel good. To top it off I dusted off an old belt and I managed to get it on a new notch.

Now all these are good things. Don't get me wrong, I totally realize that. It felt good to have some fashion success and not have the wardrobe police come out and say "You're wearing that again? That's it, no more warnings, I'm going to have to issue you a summons." But this is a scary place for me. I've been here more often then I care to admit. When I see the least bit of progress or success I have a tendency to pull back the reigns, sit back and rest a while. Maybe grab a cream soda.

I can't do that any more.

That's why I decided to embark on this journey. That's why I decided to start this blog. That's why I asked to become a part of F.A.T.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Simplify, focus & trust

These 3 words stuck with me some time ago. They were spoken during a homily given by the priest at my church. "Take something with you, a word or phrase" he'd say and sure enough these 3 came home with me. So as not to forget, I even had to swipe a piece of my daughter's' coloring pad to write them down before we left. Direct and to the point (in any aspect of your life - whether you are a religious person or not). Keep it simple, stay focused and trust that what you doing is right (or trust in a higher power).

Currently, I've set these words to scroll as my screen saver on my laptop. A co-worker noticed it recently and said "If that were mine, it would say 'complexity, chaos and dishonesty'." We had a chuckle and he went on his way (I swear this guy has adult A.D.D.). Later that night I got to thinking about his comment and realized that what he said (while it was meant to be funny) was sort of sad.

It was not an indictment of him, rather of me.

How many times have I not kept it simple? For example - the other day I had to write a card to someone for their birthday. Instead of just getting out the address book and writing the address on the envelope (oh no, that would be far too easy) I had to open MS word and use my Access DB of addresses as a source to create a mail merge to print ONE SINGLE LABEL. WTF???

How often have I lost focus (or even failed to gain it)? Another example - I take the bus back and forth to Manhattan daily. Up until recently my bag has been constantly overflowing with multiple magazines, books, web print-outs, etc. Do I really think I can read all this crap in one 40 minute bus ride? Why not just PICK ONE? Read it. Tear out the pages that seem interesting and toss it. Done deal.

What about trust? I'll leave that to the wordsmith Billy Joel
(lyrics to 'A Matter of Trust'):

You can't go the distance
With too much resistance
I know you have doubts
But for God's sake don't shut me out

This time you've got nothing to lose
You can take it, you can leave it
Whatever you choose
I won't hold back anything
And I'll walk a way a fool or a king


I'll choose royalty over being the court jester any day of the week.

Monday, October 22, 2007

History of the World Part 1


I've been waiting so many years for Mel Brooks to make the sequel to this classic, but I don't think it's going to happen, especially since his efforts seem to be on Broadway plays these days. I work in Times Square and while walking to and from work each day I've been watching them build the stage sets for Young Frankenstein which debuts next month. But I digress...today's' history lesson is about me. Stay with me here - this is not the time to head for the bathroom or reach for the remote.

In order for F.A.T. to know where I'm going, it's only fair to tell you where I've been.

I've been heavy my whole life. The last "skinny picture" I have of me was in Kindergarten. Being young and fat was horrible. I had to shop in the Husky section at Sears. I always held up 2 fingers when it was Hot Dog day at school. I'd come home miserable and what would mom do? Bake cookies, pies, brownies, etc. I know deep down she meant well, but if she only knew it was adding to the problem (as well as my waistline) she might have acted differently. Then again mom was heavy (sadly still is) and that's how she dealt with things - by eating. Lets save that psychology session for another blog, shall we?

Grammar school - FAT
High School - FAT
College - FAT

But wait - something happened my senior year of college (actually it was the summer before my senior year). I guess I got tired of being every body's drinking buddy during the party and then being the one going home alone after it was over. Dean Wormer said it best - "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life". That summer (1990) I had the opportunity to go live with family in TX. It was an opportunity to get away from all the bad influences and social aspects of my life in the Northeast for 3 months. No beer, cigarettes, late night eating - no more. This was going to be it for me.

I began walking 2 miles every morning and again in the evening (TX summers are wicked hot). As the weeks went by the weight began to come off. In 3 months I went from 230 (my all time heaviest) to 210. I went to the grocery store and picked up a 20lb. bag of dog food knowing that this used to be wrapped around my waist. That really hit home for me (I highly suggest trying it for those of you who have already lost a significant amount of weight). When my dad picked me up at the airport, I nearly walked by without him recognizing me.

My progression continued and I ultimately got down to 180 lbs. I lost an amazing 50 lbs. in about 6 months. All sensible eating. All the "right" way. A combination of diet and exercise - 2 words that up until that summer were not a part of my vocabulary.

Over the past 17 years, I must have gotten lost somewhere along the line. Maybe not completely lost, but certainly off course. Way off course.

So yes, I've been there - done that . I can talk the talk because I've walked the walk. Yet here I am 1 year away from the "naughty-40's" and I find myself sadly out of shape but luckily in the current company of some like-minded individuals.

Unlike Mr. Brooks, there will be a sequel to this one.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Knowledge is NOT power



...rather the consistent application of knowledge is. If it were, I'd already have the body of my dreams, a cure for cancer and more money than I could spend in 2 lifetimes.

The "more about me" post is coming later this weekend so in the mean time I thought I'd throw out there my current workout routine. I'll be following this for the next 5 weeks (right up until Thanksgiving). I got this Mens Health 5 Week Transformation back in January 2006 (luckily the link was still good). I had much success following this in the weeks leading up to my 10 year wedding anniversary and 2nd Honeymoon in Barbados.

This works for me. With 2 small kids I need to fit my workouts in first thing in the morning. I go to the gym on M-W-F & my wife goes T-Th-Sa. I can get in and get out in about 45 minutes. The circuit routine (including warm ups) takes about 30-35 minutes, then I perform 4 minutes of Tabata intervals . I do try to train my Abs on my off days from the gym and also get in a good cardio session on the weekend.

Exercise & nutrition have never really been the issue for me rather the consistent application of exerecise & nutritiuon have been.

But that is all about to change...

Thursday, October 18, 2007

There are no secrets on the Internet




At least not for me...not any more. Photos I promised and photos I shall deliver. These were taken at 5:30 this morning.


Weight - 195 lbs.
Waist - 42"
BF% (Tanita) 25% (ugh. That means I am comprised of 48.75 lbs. of fat).

Now I know that Tanita may not be the most accurate measurement, but until I can get my callipers around my girth (double ugh) it will have to do.

Lots more to write about, like where I've come from, where I intend to go and how I wound up here. For now I figure it's best to avoid the "stream of consciousness" blog postings and stick to the point.

No, I'm not Eric Cartman & I'm not big boned (hell, I'm only 5"10). I'm carrying around an unhealthy amount of body fat and it's time to do something about it.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

and so it begins...

Hello everyone in Blogville and a special hello to all my (hopefully) soon to be F.A.T. Coalition bloggers.

Gene from Jersey here. I came across these blogs after reading about Billy on a link from the Turbulence Training website: http://www.ttmembers.com/public/303.cfm

I'm new to blogging but not new to fitness (or at least veiled attempts at it). Today is my 39th Birthday and as you can see by the title of my blog this is my journey to the ripe young age of 40.

While I cannot promise 365 entries over the coming year (just not enough time in the day with a wife and 2 small daughters) I can promise to be an active member of the community, lend an ear and advice when needed or asked for, and lots and lots of pix (they really keep you honest).

A special thanks to swankywanker (she was one of the few who had email access in her profile) for her email and words of encouragement. I almost thought this was a secret society like the Illuminati.

Pix and more posts to come. I was going to use pictures from August but to be fair and really make this "journey" an accurate and honest one, I'll be taking new pictures tonight.