Guest Blog

Today, I thought I might surprise you with a guest blog from Manic, my jogging buddy. I would introduce him further, but he kind of does that himself. :P



My name is Adan Hinojosa. I am 25 years old and 275 pounds.

One month ago I was 285.

I am driven.

I’d like nothing more than to see if the grass genuinely is greener on the other side.

My whole life I’ve been the big guy. Up until I was 12 I was typically the tallest. However, I’ve always been the most massive. I’ve carried around a gut for as long as I can remember. Naturally when you’re young you have a thin skin and it might bring you to tears when someone called you fat.

Over time it became a mixture of apathy and acceptance. Somewhere around high school I stopped just thinking of myself as fat and started thinking of me as me. There was still the pseudo-self-consciousness about taking off my shirt in public, among other things.

I graduated high school, became an adult, started taking on some of life’s burdens. A year or two ago I looked at myself in the mirror and finally stepped on a scale for the first time in a long time. Back in high school I was 230-ish and I thought I was large. Come to find out I had gotten myself up to the upper 280’s.

It was strange. Somewhere all along I kept explaining it away. Even from the move from size 36 to size 42 pants. Even through the shirts changing from XL to XXL. I realized that I wasn’t about to let myself get any bigger than this. It wasn’t going to be this way. Something had to change.

Both of my grandfathers died of diabetes-related complications. Both were missing at least one leg. I have two uncles on my father’s side who are now missing body parts below the knee. I have an uncle on my mother’s side who has been fighting heart problems for at least 10-15 years. I see what they allowed themselves to become and resolved that I wasn’t going to make that mistake.

From the outside observer it’s quite the paradox. How can someone with a mind like mine be so “dumb” enough to just let his body go like that? I can play a musical instrument, I can write comedy, I can fix computers, I can fix cars, I have more than rudimentary knowledge about most subjects that people promptly forget about. What the hell was keeping me from taking the next step and getting my shit together?

I guess you could say I love food. I’d consider my palate wide. Not extreme like some foodies, but I can drop $50 on sushi without flinching. Big steaks with baked potato. Carne Asada Burritos. Cheeseburgers. The really bad stuff has a certain richness to it that can’t often be found elsewhere I became accustomed to it. In the end it was detrimental to my appearance.

It was a slow progression to get me to realize it. But I’d look in the mirror, remember my old weight, and study my features. I’d visualize what I’d look like without 10-20-30-60 pounds. I end up saying to myself in the end, “there’s one very good-looking dude hiding under that fat, and I’m going to go find him.”

So that’s where I started 7 weeks ago going for jogs and cutting the bad stuff out of my diet. No more breakfast fast food sandwiches. No more Jack in the Box tacos & cheeseburgers. No more KFC bowls. No more Sonic Chicken Dinners or shakes. No more Western Bacon Cheeseburgers from Carls Jr. No more fried shrimp. Down with potatoes. No more biscuits & gravy.

Fat had to be minimized. Carbs had to be minimized. Lean meats are in. My old favorite Mushrooms are upped. Breakfasts consisting of nothing but a big lump of scrambled eggs are in. Low-cal protein shakes will help to replenish me. Start slowly kicking that soda addiction, if only during my transformation. I have loved Dr Pepper for over 20 years, and will continue to do so. However, now is the time for us to take a break. It’s been good to me but not good for me.

More water, more iced tea, and sports drink no higher in calories than Gatorade G2. It’s a lifestyle adjustment that forces you to go left where you’d go right. Go up where you’d go down. It takes commitment. It takes effort. Count those calories, count those carbs, count those sugars. Stare at the nutrition label and plug every single thing on it into Wikipedia. Education is key.

Seven weeks and I’m down ten pounds. It’s not enough. It’s never enough. I’ve only broken a chunk off the iceberg. I’ve got another fifty to go. I’m always going to be a thick guy, but I can look lean at the very least. I want my XL shirts back. I want size 36 jeans. I want to look good in a plain white t-shirt again.

Part of my jogging just came down to finding my stamina again, and slowly working up to it. Starting out I could barely do a mild jog for 30 yards before feeling like I got the crap kicked out of me. Now I’m jogging faster over five times the distance before needing a little break. I can power my way up hills. I can recover faster. I’m nowhere near where I used to be. I want to be able to jog a quarter mile. I want to be flexible. I want my 18-year old body back. It’s not some impossible goal. It’s something within reach. If you feel like something’s within reach you’ll always feel like you’re making progress.

Part of my training in the jogging was Couch-to-5K. My friend Christie had me do a couple days with her. It’s structured nicely and actually helped bulk my stamina up more than I thought it would. My training has moved onto other things, but I thank portions of Couch-to-5K for being able to get me there. I hope that by the end of winter I can look in the mirror and what’s staring back is not the same as the guy from a year ago. That mirror will show a person who feels the power coming from his body, and that power will drive everything else forward in life.

Week 2, Day 2 (Part 2)

Brisk five-minute warm up walk. The alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Five-minute cool down walk.

That's right! I've officially gone 2 days ina row! Even though technically, you are suppose to take a break in between your runs. My problem was all the Snickers that I ate yesterday. (What? They were the bite size ones)! Anyway, it made me feel fat(ter) or that I was going to get fat(ter) and I could stand it. I knew I had to work on it!

So, as soon as I got home (that is after I got back from my chiropractor) I went straight to go running. This way, I had no excuse and couln't fenagle (you like that word?) my way out of it. Afterwards I felt great! I was exhausted and sweatier than a pig in August, but I felt great!

The cheerleaders weren't there today, but the band geeks were and I had to play my music SOOO loud in order to avoid hearing the aweful music. Okay, I digress... I plan on going out again today, too! That way I can FINALLY start on Week 3. Week 3 is going to be HARD and crazy. A peek into the furture:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
- Jog 90 seconds
- Walk 90 seconds
- Jog 3 minutes
- Walk 3 minutes
- Five minute cooldown walk

Okay, really? Jog 3 minutes! I can do it. Yup, I. Can. Do. It. At least I hope I can, and attitude is 90% right?

Mental Notes:

1. When you (steal) borrow water from work and put it in your car so that you don't forget to bring water... it helps when you actually take that water out of the car and too the track with you when you go running. Otherwise, you aren't going to drink it.
2. Start going stairs after you run, you can do it! Those 3 that you did yesterday weren't bad at all and you can't even feel it in your butt. You need to feel it in your butt, so that you can have a nice round formed butt. I want a nice round formed butt.
3. Arizona had its "winter" last week and now it is Fall, you don't need to swear a light jacket anymore. It's ARIZONA, what are you thinking!
4. Don't forget no carbs. (For some reason I think that if I keep telling myself this, then I wont eat very many carbs).

Week 2, Day 1 (Part 2)

Eventually, I promise, I will make my way to week 3. However, as I mentioned before (here and here) I'm anal, and HAVE to do things in order or by the directions to make sure it really works. In reality it is just this thing I do in order to critique people for their intelligence, or lack there of, in writing directions/instructions. See Dane Cook.

I almost didn't even go out last night. In fact, I had full plans to completely and utterly (not udderly) not go out and exercise last night. I consumed 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, a bowl of tomato soup, and washed it down with a Diet Coke (I know! Pepsi is better. Coke is cheaper.). But, someone on my Facebook reminded me that I was fat, and can do it. Actually, she only suggested music, but that fact that she cared, and tried to motivate me made me feel special and slightly guilty

Brisk five-minute warm up walk. The alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Five-minute cool down walk.

The skinny Bitch wasn't there, neither was the 50-60-70 year old. *sigh* No one to show up today. Damn. Well, I forgot how much I like to run to music! When you are running with other people (like Manic and Faffy) you can't listen to music, it's rude, you're suppose to converse with your company, not ignore them.

BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
RUN

That group of people must be the track team. OH! They are huddled together, they must be leaving. Guess I avoid that humiliation. (as I get closer) OH! It's not the track team, it's a bunch of cheerleaders, or wanna-bes.

BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
WALK

WOW! That swim coach sounds like a real Bitch (yea, capital B)! I can hear her loud ass over my music. I certainly wouldn't want to be on her team. Flyer (cheerleading turn, for the person who gets tossed in the air), are you a Rookie? Don't lock your knees, stay stiff, back straight, and PINCH A PENNY!

BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
RUN

Wait, where is the coach for the wanna-be cheerleaders? They don't have an adult there?! WOW! Umm, and they are practicing stunts. I remember those days,I would do anything to be able to practice stunts. I guess they are doing it really safely, like, safer than I did when I was a cheerleader.

BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
WALK

Where are my kitty cats? I don't see them! I hope that cat abuser didn't get them! That would be awful! Dang. I am much more tired now and here, than I was when I was running around the Kiwanis Park.What was I doing differently?

BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
RUN

Oh yea! Knees up. Maybe that will help. Man am I hot. This is horrible! I feel like a beginner, maybe I SHOULD have started back at Week 1. No, that doesn't make sense, Week 2 is where I belong. Plus, it is still Day 1.

BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
COOL OFF

Stay tuned for some guest bloggin by a couple jogging buddies and their journey to get into shape!

Mental Notes:

1. Steal... No that isn't the word I am looking for... Borrow (that's more like it) some water bottles from work and leave them in your car, so you will always have water and it wont matter when you forget
2. Consistency (I don't think I will ever learn!)
3. Buy better shoes (Psshhh! Like this is gonna happen!)
4. Cut back on carbs (I'm trying! I really am!)