An Easter Blog

For those of you who are new to my blog, Here's a synopsis.. (those who are not new to the Calorie Lab can skip the following two paragraphs!):

I'm a "late blooming" athlete with severe ADD who has successfully been fending off my ADD symptoms to maintain an extremely technical (and lucrative)  position with a fortune 500 company.  The required prescription to keep me focused and effective was 90 --> 120 minutes of intense cardio daily and a strict diet of 6 daily meals consisting of 40% carb, 30% fat & 30% protein. I've successfully maintained this regimen for the last 5 years but my body (at the age of 56) is no longer able to maintain this level of intensity on a daily basis. I simply can no longer adequately perform in a highly technical field. I need to embark on a new career and I've determined that the fitness industry is where I belong. I'm passionate about diet & fitness and I've learned a tremendous amount about the topic in the last 5 years. I've personally lost 95 pounds on my journey and I've made the transformation from couch potato to athlete. I've been there, done that, and I'd LOVE to help others experience a similar transformation. I also know this is something that I can be excellent at.

My blog will continue to basically be a journal of my late life career change. I intend to regularly touch upon the topics of diet, fitness and ADD. Within these parameters I also intend to include material that will in some way (hopefully), inform, educate and perhaps even inspire.  I'm not sure how often I'll be able to hit the mark and I often doubt that people will continue finding value in reading this admittedly narcissistic endeavor, but I'll continue to document my experiences nonetheless. I may simply continue writing, perhaps as a journal, if only for myself. My workouts will be different, but will still be considerable and I will be, at least short term, documenting my increasing foray into the Crossfit methodology. I'll also continue (for the most part) documenting my diet. Several readers have expressed surprise in my willingness to expose such personal information to the masses. The truth of the matter is that if I'm going to make an impact in other peoples lives, I HAVE  to be open about mine (the good and the bad). Besides the obvious value of accountability to help me succeed in my endeavors, I feel a tremendous release in living my life as an open book. Too long have people observed my life, scratching their heads,  as a grand enigma, without knowing what was behind it all.

Before I get on to the heart of this weeks post, I'd like to share something I'd read this last week. It's from a book entitled "Healing ADD" and I found it especially reassuring. The author, Dr Daniel G. Amen says "Through the years I've seen a direct relationship between the level of exercise a person gets and the severity of their symptoms. I have seen a number of ADD professionals ( such as physicians and attorneys) get through school by exercising two to four hours a day." (italics mine). Ever since I've "come out of the closet" with my ADD, I've had numerous occasions where a person has heard my story and I've had them repeat it back to me (to be sure they're hearing it right) with a "so, you THINK the exercise is helping your symptoms" and I reply, no, I KNOW it is helping. It is a very dramatic  effect. While this is nothing new to me, it is something I'm all too happy to have outside validation on. Also, for those of you with friends or family with ADD, know that this could be an valuable and viable option outside of medication.

Today is Easter and I've managed to extract my own Easter message as it relates to me. It goes like this: Last Friday (Good Friday) I was able to meet with HR for my current employer to determine how we can both find a way to amicably and in a mutually beneficial manner, terminate my employment ( I have at most, one to two weeks left at SW). Today, I earnestly begin work on my new life. I have a resume to write, an interview test to take online for a prospective employer and I am now planning my new life out of the death of my old one. Most of you who know me personally, know that I'm a Christian. Chances are however, that you do not consider me as being what many would consider to be "Religious". While I'm not what many would classify as religious, my faith in Christ means a great deal more to me than outwardly meets the eye. To me, a Christian should not be recognized by how someone outwardly preaches a message or by what "things" he did or didn't do. In my opinion, a Christian should be recognized by how they treat others and by portraying an overall and unmistakable element of excellence in their lives. A church I used to attend had a part of their mission statement that read something to the affect: "Attracting others to the Excellence of Christ, the Adventure of Faith and the Joy of Ministry". If I could sum up how I feel about my faith, this would be most accurate. My aim in this new life is to mirror the excellence of Christ. My stepping out on a faith that God has a plan for me will most certainly be an adventure I look forward to embarking on and I truly believe that my ability to help others to reach their own potential through a balanced life of diet and fitness will enable me to experience the Joy of Ministry.

This Easter I'd encourage all of my Christian friends to attempt to utilize this Easter holiday as an opportunity to further experience the life of the Risen Christ in your daily lives through Excellence, Adventure and Service. For those "heathen" friends of mine ;-), I'd encourage a little respect, an open mind and perhaps some friendly discussion over a beer regarding how I perceive the Gospel of Christ. ( see what I did there with the beer? :-> )

For all those that are new to the blog and are interested in more of the details of my recent history, I'd encourage you to read a previous post:
http://calorielab.blogspot.com/2010/02/honorable-employment.html

Happy Easter to you all....

My diet details for this week are incomplete due to my time in Chicago... Details I do have however can (as always) be perused via http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/Stairclimber_D/
What I've done this week:
Very light week with the Chicago Trip and accompanying recovery.
Raced - 180 Flights of stairs for time. (23:57) 4th in my age group 35th over all.
Rowed - 39,416 Meters to make my 1st Million
Crossfit - "3/4 Murph" 1 mile run. 75 pullups (25 with bands), 150 push ups, 225 Squats, 1 mile run (manual)
Ran - 6 miles