Monday, December 31, 2012

What I've been doing

Over the past 10 months, I have been working hard to better myself. I have been eating better, and doing a program called DDP Yoga. In those 10 months, I have lost.40 pounds. Up until this point, my efforts have been chronicled on my YouTube channel.I decided that it was time to also blog my progress.

Starting today, I will be posting blogs here along with posting videos on my YouTube channel related to my journey. The schedule will be as follows:

* On the first day of each month, you will see a progress report with an accompanying video.
* The following alternating Tuesdays and Fridays, there will be posts with workout tips (primarily focused around DDP Yoga, but some will be general enough to apply to any workout) or eating/cooking tips. I'll mostly post on here; if I do a video I will post it alongside the blog post.
* Once a month, I will feature a blog or website that has been helpful in my journey. If I'm lucky, I may even be able to feature an occasional giveaway or discount.
* Also once a month, I will write/read an Open Letter. The inspiration for this is a cross between the Open Letters posted by John Green on his Crash Course videos and the Black Nerd Rants.

My goal in 2013 is to get to under 200 pounds, which will be my lightest since college. I hope you will join me as I further chronicle my journey. If you want to join me in the journey, take a moment to check out and purchase DDP Yoga. If you wonder what made me want to go into this program, watch these videos:

Episode 1 of my DDP Yoga Chronicle, where I explain my reasons more in-depth (from Feb. 2012)

Arthur Boorman's story: Disabled Veteran to Inspirational Figure. This is the video that made me buy DDP Yoga.

My next post will be on January 13, where I talk about making time for workouts. Until then, Own Your Life ... and Feel The BANG!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

An Introduction

Hello, and thank you for stumbling onto my blog. My name is Russell, but you can call me "The Tuba Geek".

I initially started this blog as a way to post some random musings; however, I am now using this to chronicle my weight loss journey.

A little history: I've always been overweight. I remember being 5 or 6 and feeling like I was a wide as I was tall. I was teased relentlessly. In today's age, you would probably say I was bullied.

I compromised by being friendly. I learned to take the verbal jabs like an MMA fighter takes punches and kicks. I was and have been fortunate enough to make some good friends who, even today (thank you, Facebook), I keep in touch with.

In middle school, my dad made me run during the summer between my 7th and 8th grade years.

A mile.

Three times a day.

Every day.

For an entire summer.

Yeah, I lost 40 pounds. Yeah, I got the attention of several people when I went back to school that fall. (Aside: I still remember the reaction I got in the lunch line the first day of school by a girl that I had a major crush on. The teasing I was subjected to and my shyness about girls back then kept me from acting on it, though.) Unfortunately, this made me hate the idea of running for a very long time.

In high school and college, I was able to maintain my weight relatively well thanks to marching band (hence the "Tuba Geek" moniker), though I was guilty of gaining the "Freshman Fifteen (or more)" in college.

Fast forward several years, and my weight slowly but steadily increased. I did a Couch to 5K program just after my first son was born, but running again proved to be my downfall. As my wife puts it, I can walk faster than I can run. Plus, my feet are so flat that you can't slip a piece of paper between them and the floor. Pain is inevitable.

I hope you will join me on my journey. So far, it has been going well. Tomorrow, I'll explain what I have been doing to better myself, as well as what I will be doing here.