Day 3!

Well, Day 2 was a BUST. Planned on running, didn't happen. Planned on crunches, didn't happen. Which made me realize, I need something more concrete than just 40 days -- I need a plan. 

Zig Ziglar (the legendary motivational speaker) did something similar, and he talks about it, here:



Zig says...
1. Write down your goal.
2. Put a date on it.
3. List obstacles.
4. List who I need to work with to make it happen.
5. Write a plan of action.
6. Identify all the benefits of reaching the goal.

Ok, Zig. Here you go. . .
GOAL

• Lose 15 pounds in 40 Days -- that would put me at 185. And then ~30 lbs. by day 59. 

DATE

• 15 pounds by September 20; 30 pounds by October 9 (my birthday). If this starts to become unreasonable (or unhealthy), I'll adjust. 

OBSTACLES

• Sitting for hours and hours each week for work, traveling for work, eating healthy, eating TOO MUCH, temptation to not work out, laziness, exhaustion, etc. 

PARTNERS

• Lindy (my wife), Craig (good friend) and my family. 

PLAN OF ACTION

• Work out at least 3 days ON 1 day OFF. Eat less. Eat more healthy. Set up a calendar to have a more organized work out / eating regimen. 

BENEFITS

• Feel more healthy. 
• Look more healthy. 
• Have more energy. 
• Old clothes fit! 
• Encourage others. 
• Have fun. 

What would you add? Other benefits to losing weight / living a more healthy lifestyle? Any tips??

Day 1: The Beginning

At year 26, I've put on a few extra LBS. Nothing crazy, but enough to notice that my Levi's aren't exactly the same comfortable denim I was once accustomed to. Either that, or they just decided to shrink one day, never to be stretched out again. I think I'll blame the dryer. But truth is, I work 40+ hours a week staring at a computer screen sitting down (I'm sitting down, not the computer), feel busy all the time, and can't eat like a garbage disposal anymore -- and it's gone too far.

I'm blogging to keep myself accountable, and to hopefully inspire others to pursue their goals, as well. My dad is a big goal setter (and achiever), and I'm going to model this 40 day go-round after his example.

Current weight: 200 (Day 1)

Goal Weight: 170

Here we go! Pics coming soon.

To sum it up...

         After graduating form the University of Texas at Austin in 2009 I was passionate, excited, enthusiastic, and ready to take on the world, but doing what? I had no idea. Instead of getting a 9-5 job crunching numbers or entering data, I decided to take the road less travelled and go live in Spain for a year. I would sip espresso with relatives of Picasso in the morning, and then discuss the finer points of the Spanish revolution with the King at night. And that’s exactly how it happened. Well, at least the espresso part.

             I did end up going to Spain, but it was in a small town teaching English, and sadly, the King was nowhere to be found. The great thing about being in a small town, though, was that I was one of about five Americans in a twenty-mile radius, providing an excellent opportunity to practice Spanish. You would think that being from Texas where a large percentage of the population is bilingual, Spanish would just roll off my tongue - and it did, but it rolled the way that a lopsided bowling ball rolls into the gutter. However, I pressed on and am now almost completely fluent.

             After my stint in Spain, I was back in America where I was able to delight once again in the beautiful thing that is called Tex-Mex. Then it was time to go abroad again, but this time I was headed the other direction to Southeast Asia. I was headed to Cambodia.

             While there, I worked for an NGO (non-governmental organization) that works with Cambodians from difficult backgrounds. If you know anything about Cambodia, the term “difficult background” describes the vast majority of the population. When the mass genocide took place brought on by the Khmer Rouge regime, the country was put to a standstill. There was no more government, economy, education, arts, there was nothing except hurting people dying of starvation and easily curable diseases.

             The NGO I was working for trains Khmer people in business and hospitality skills using restaurants. My hand in that was to create a digital system to centralize and make more accountable their inventory & purchasing methods, and then train the employees on how to use it. It was a really cool opportunity to get to work directly with the Khmer people and use my communication and business expertise to contribute to what they were already doing there. But more than that, I learned the value of persevering when it seems impossible to go on.

             The people in Cambodia have been through more than you and I will probably ever go through, and the most amazing thing is that you would never know it. They are an amazing people, and they don’t understand what it means to give up. Meanwhile, the hardest part in my day was when Trader Joe’s didn’t have the kind of Greek yogurt that I wanted.

             And now I’m in New York City. Much like when I graduated from college, I don’t know exactly what I’m going to end up doing here. However, this time I have a much clearer direction and focus. I know that whatever I do, I want to use the skills and resources that I’ve been given to do good in the world. I want to make a difference.

Leaving on a jet plane - again!

Tomorrow I'll be headed out to NYC to find a job and hopefully moving there for good. I'm excited and terrified. However, if there is one thing that I have learned over the last 5 years, it's that God has a plan and wherever I am, he is not only with me but has gone before me.

The guys at a church in NYC are doing 40 days of prayer for lint, and even though it's not the first day, I think it would be cool to tag-a-long because let's be honest, we all need to pray more. Without ceasing, or something like that. 

Romans 12:1-2 has been encouraging during this time, and I hope to make it my theme and prayer during this two-week trip.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
(Romans 12:1-2 ESV)

8 tips for surviving finals to my brother

1. Try and work out every day.

2. Have short goals that you can meet. For example, study for 45 minutes straight without any phone, email, facebook, etc., then you can take a break. If you try to study longer than 45 minutes straight without taking a break, chances are you will lose focus and not get as much done. Short, focused spurts of studying are the way to do things.

3. Don't study more than 7-10 hours each day. You shouldn't need to anyways if you are actually studying/not trying to cram because of a lack of planning.

4. Make sure you are getting plenty of sleep. Your mind needs time to process everything you are learning.

5. Don't participate in study groups if they are a waste of time. Sometimes they can be great and really helpful, but let's be honest, sometimes they aren't.

6. Schedule fun things to do to get your mind off studying each night.

7. Don't neglect spending time with Jesus. It will be very easy to do.

8. Above all, study in the Life Sciences library at the Tower. You'll feel like a Gryffindor.

In Turkey!

Hey friends!

This week I am spending time in Istanbul, Turkey with my friend Kasey Crosby. Hope everyone is doing well. I will try to post some pictures as the week goes on. I don't have school this week because it is Holy Week in Spain, which is a huge deal. I will also update on that later this week if I get a chance, because it is a very interesting part of Spanish culture.

Hola a todos!

 Esta semana estoy en Estambul, Turquía con mi amigo Kasey Crosby. Espero que todo esté bien y yo voy a poner unas fotos en el blog más tarde esta semana. No tengo clases esta semana porque es Semana Santa en España, algo que es muy importante para la gente de España. Voy a escribir más si yo pueda sobre Semana Sante, porque es algo muy interesante de la cultura de España.

Under My Paraguas

Since I have been living in Spain I have been using an umbrella like this one...

Sometimes it would keep the rain away, and then sometimes it wouldn't.

Today, I had this one...

 Needless to say, it was quite the amazing experience. I didn't get wet at all. I used it on my way to one of my tutoring classes, and I think I may have flown for just a few seconds. It was like Mary Poppins, except a lot more masculine.