Back to the Basics: Week # 6 wrap up

Week #6 proved to be a tough one as I was off on vacation all week and chose to relax for a few days. This brought a few challenges but I feel as if I made it through.

Gym:

With being on vacation I found it too easy to take time off from working out. I slept in and this threw my workouts off. I did find myself doing a lot of walking though as I went to PSP World Cup 2012 for several days. One thing I wished I had was a pedometer to calculate exactly how much walking I did.

Diet:

The diet was definitely tough as I found myself almost caving to temptation several times. The wife and I went to Walmart last week and I found myself throwing junk food in the cart and it did manage to make its way home. While relaxing on vacation I found myself gradually working my way towards the junk food and I admit I did cave in.

Results:

While this week was weird and filled with not much of anything exercise- wise, I still managed to lose. Given my weakness and temptations I threw at myself I consider myself very lucky to have gotten the results this week. With that being said I’d like to report that I managed to lose 1 lb this week. It doesn’t seem like a lot but it is a loss after all so I’ll take it.

What’s your worst week been? How did you recover from it?

Back to the Basics: Week # 5 wrap up

Week # 5 is in the books and it was definitely good and I consider it to be a success. The diet is back on track and I got a bit of exercise in but still not feeling 100% from being sick. Overall even if I wasn’t sick I’d still be happy with the results.

Gym:

I was able to get back to doing my morning walks (I got in 2 this week and it’s generally 5). Although they were not the full 5k’s I normally do, something is better than nothing. I also got to play some paintball this weekend which is excellent cardio as the fields are spread out over 27 acres. I’m still tweaking my workout and think I found the perfect setup. I’m on vacation from work this week so I hope to implement this while I’m off to develop a routine.

Diet:

The diet is definitely back in effect and I feel as if I’ve done well. The wife and I had “Date Night” this past Saturday so that was my one reward meal for the week. I chose to not refer to it as a cheat meal because it’s actually not cheating. When asked where I wanted to go without even thinking about it I said Red Lobster. Red Lobster is finishing up their all you can eat shrimp (which is what I had). The wife had Tilapia with roasted vegetables and for dessert we split a piece of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. The food was great and service was probably the best we’ve ever had (not that we’ve ever had bad service there).

Results:

With week #5 wrapping up I’m happy to report that I maintained. I would have loved to report a loss and if I had been at 100% I feel I would have. In the world of dieting maintaining is definitely a good thing. After all nobody wants to diet forever but it’s all about finding what works for you. That perfect balance between eating and exercise for you. After all everyone’s bodies are different and respond differently to exercise and diet.

What are your best diet results you’ve ever had? What’s your favorite “Reward Meal?”

Where to begin?

As  PSP World Cup 2012 grows closer I have many questions. One of which is where do I begin? With so much to see and only a few days to do it I feel as if I should devise a plan. On the list of must-sees this year the new Dye DAM (Dye Assault Matrix). I have to say I’m pretty impressed from what I’ve read so far. If I get my hands on one of these bad boys to look at I’ll be sure to post pictures.

Empire, Valken, Virtue Paintball, and Ninja Paintball are all booths I plan to hit up as well. At Ninja Paintball I’m looking for my limited Edition Pink tank (to support breast cancer). I definitely need to keep my eyes on the schedule because at random times they’ll have team signings. I also need to remember I’m there to watch Tampa Bay Damage do their thing (and hopefully win it all).

For Live PSP World Cup 2012 updates follow me here:

Paintballer4life Facebook Page

Twitter: @Paintballmike

Instagram: Paintballer4life

Have you been to a  PSP World Cup or similar event? What products do you look forward to seeing?

Back to the Basics: Week # 4 wrap up

Well week # 4 is a wrap and all I have to say is the results aren’t surprising in the least bit. Earlier in the week I got sick and I’ve been recovering ever since. Needless to say, my workouts have halted since I’ve felt like a train has run over me.

Gym:

Not much to report here as the week started off strong but when I got sick all exercise seemed to stop and I can tell in my results. I’ve been slowly getting better but it’s taking time as I’m too stubborn to rest and get better. I have used the downtime to create a pretty aggressive workout which I’m hoping will take the scale back in the other direction it should be going.

Diet:

For any who know me it would come as no surprise that the diet suffered as well. I guess mentally I just caved and that was it, the diet went out the window and comfort food made its way in. I’ve vowed to get back into the swing of things and kick this diet’s butt!!!

Results:

As far as this week’s results I’m sad to say that even with being sick I was up 0.6lbs. When you think about it that’s not really a lot, however it’s still a gain. I could very easily sit here and make excuses but it wouldn’t change the fact that I had a bad week. The key for me will be to get well, turn the diet back around to where it needs to be as well as getting the exercise back into it.

What causes your moments of weakness when you go off of your diet? How does it make you feel? How do you recover?

First paintball purchases

Several years ago when I first got into paintball my first gun I got was a Tippmann A5. I bought the Tippmann because of the style of play, price and the ton of options to customize it that were available at the time. With that being said the tough part was deciding on how I wanted the gun to look and perform. After searching for several weeks I finally found what I wanted to achieve but the next part of the puzzle was where to buy it from. We have a few shops here locally but none seemed to have what I was looking for so I searched the web where I stumbled across Rockstar Tactical Systems in Pennsylvania.

Rather than ordering from the web I chose to call because I was new to paintball and had a ton of questions. When I called I spoke with Dan and I do remember telling him I had a ton of questions. With that in mind he took the time to answer all my questions and I never felt pressured to buy anything that day, and I did not. The answers to all my questions had been answered but left me with the one question he couldn’t answer as only I could choose what I wanted to buy first. Taking several days to narrow down what I wanted was tough, but I finally had my list. So when I called back again I was surprised to have Dan answer and he had remembered our conversation and I promptly placed my order. I remember at the end he told me I should receive the order in 3 days. I wasn’t sure what to think about the 3 days as in the past from other places, it took 5 to 7 days minimum. I was pleasantly surprised when I got home on day 3 to my package sitting there waiting for me. Then came the fun part, I got to tear my perfectly working gun apart to throw all my new toys on it. Over the years I continue to purchase from Rockstar Tactical Systems as they stand behind the products they sell and are always there to answer questions. So for anyone looking to purchase paintball items or for those who just have questions I’d definitely recommend Rockstar Tactical Systems.

http://www.rockstartactical.com/

What do you look for when purchasing paintball parts?  Where did you buy your first parts from?

Random thoughts running thru my mind

I’ve decided to devote today to random thoughts that have been running thru my mind lately. With a million things going thru my head right now I’ll limit it to just a few.

1: Will we ever win the lottery? This one goes thru my mind all the time as I have a dream to build and run my own paintball field. The sad part is I have the location picked out, the store and fields designed in my mind. The only thing stopping me from doing this is the money. Another thing I’d do is donate part of it…… we have a few charities in mind and would definitely spread it around.

2: The wife and I have a special project in mind for the holidays and hope it will become a tradition for many. This one has been at the top of my mind as the holiday season grows closer. I can’t give any details yet but look for a special blog dedicated to it.

3: Will Tampa Bay Damage win World Cup? I know this one may seem silly but I feel for the guys now. They’ve referred to themselves as “Prelim All Stars” as they do great in the Prelims and then seem to fall apart on the day that matters. I wish them the best of luck and would love to see the last set of the season give them the big win.

4: Will I finally find balance between work and home? Those who know me think I’m a work-a-holic and it’s true for the most part. Even when I’m home I’m guilty of thinking about work. I know it’s sad but that’s why I’m trying to create more to do outside of work.

5: Will our family ever be complete? As I sit and play with our niece I wonder one day if we’ll ever have our own. I feel as if I already know the answer to that one but one I’m not quite ready to let go of it yet.

6: will my blog ever take off? I’ve been wondering this as of late. I’m impatient by default and expect things to magically happen overnight. I know deep down it will happen but the impatient side of me wished it would happen overnight. Realistically I’m happy with my progress and plan to continue regardless.

What random thoughts go thru your mind? Have you shared them with anyone lately?

Back to the Basics: Week # 3 wrap up

Well week # 3 is a wrap and over all I must say I’m a bit surprised at the results. Given the challenges I’ve faced over the last week I’m extremely happy with my progress. I’ve identified changes I’d like to make and I’m currently working on implementing them. I’ve got to learn to stick to the diet better and not give in to temptation

Gym:

I’ve found motivation in changing it up. My wife has been saying that she’s wanted to start working out again and with us having 2 crazy Australian Shepherds she finds herself up at the crack of dawn. I’ve taken the cardio out of the gym and out in nature. Yes, my wife and I have been walking in the mornings (5:00am to be exact). While it’s harder to walk outside in the mornings on days due to weather not cooperating, I find having someone there to keep up the competitiveness has helped improve my times and amount of cardio I’ve been doing. We’ve committed to walking the equivalent of a 5k every morning we walk.

Diet:

The diet kind of hit a brick wall this week as work had me all kinds of messed up. See we have monthly engineering meetings and they tend to have my weakness “sweets” and I found myself caving. I didn’t just eat one or even two. I found once I started I didn’t want to stop as my sweet tooth had taken over. While I accept responsibility, I also realize that I can’t always deny this craving but need to deal with moderation or find a way to reward myself. Saturday night also proved to be difficult as it was our 11^th wedding anniversary so we planned a date night. The place of choice for us was the Outback Steakhouse. My meal was steak and shrimp and of course you can’t go to Outback without getting a blooming onion. While we chose to skip dessert I did partake in an adult beverage and now I feel a tad bit guilt, but not too guilty.

Results:

Well the scale has been utilized and with all being said I was up 0.2 lbs. I know it’s not a lot, but it’s still a gain. I consider myself very lucky as it could have very easily been worse, but a gain is a gain. I plan on trying to do better on controlling the cravings and also I’ve committed to doing a 5k walk at least 4 days a week or more for my cardio in the am. I’m trying to find my happy medium still for everything and find myself tweaking things as I go.

What’s the worst week you’ve ever had? How did you handle it? How did you recover?

The countdown has begun

As some of you may know my choice of sport is paintball (as if the name itself didn’t give it away). So I believe it was in August I wrote about PSP World Cup of Paintball 2012 coming at the end of October and my countdown has officially begun. I believe this year they estimate there will be about 250 teams from all over the world coming to compete. What does this mean for me? Four days of pro games as well as amateurs, vendors bringing all kinds of product to sell (as well as give away), and the opportunities to meet with several vendors and some of my favorite players I normally wouldn’t have access to.

Vendors from all over will be there displaying all their new products as well as some of their more popular items for people to purchase. Last year I personally got to spend time with Empire, Dye, Ninja and several other companies looking over some amazing products for the New Year. This is also a good time for those who have gear to sell bring it. I mean where else will you have thousands of captive buyers at your disposal. One man’s junk is another’s treasure I’ve always been told and that’s where I picked up one of my guns, which I got a really good deal on.

The games generally go Friday thru Sunday, but they added Thursday this year so we’ll get an extra day of the pros battling it out. In years past I’ve only gone on Saturday and Sunday but I’ve taken almost the entire week off of work. This year I’ll be attending Thursday thru Sunday.

Probably one of the best parts of it all is making new friends and meeting those who share a common interest. Last year we got to meet players as well as fans from several other countries. We all shared good times in the stands watching the pro teams and also shared a little friendly rivalry in the stands while routing for our favorite players/teams.

For who are interested in finding out more about PSP World Cup of Paintball 2012 I’d urge you to go check out their main site here or check out their Facebook page here. The site will give you all the information on where it’s located as well as any events they will be hosting during that time.

What event of the year do you look forward to and why?