Bigest Loser - A Love/Hate Relationship

Well it's finally over. Season 8 of the hit TV show The Biggest Loser is finally over. For those of you who don't know what the show is about, here is a quick over-view. A bunch of obese people move into a house together. They work out with professional trainers, lose weight, and each week vote one person off. Once they get down to 4 contestants, the top 3 come back for the finale. Those who have been sent home can continue to lose weight and compete for an "at home" prize of $100,000. The final 3 compete for $250,000.

The at home winner for season 8 lost 49.82 percent of her starting weight. She lost 139 pounds and went from 279 pounds to 140. No easy task. The big winner started out at 430 pounds and weighed in at 191 on the night of the finale. That is a total loss of 55.8 percent of his starting weight.

Now here is why I have a Love/Hate relationship with this show:

• Love: Seeing real people overcome their weight problems and take their lives back.
• Hate: The contestants whine all the time. Just shut up and do the work!
• Love: Seeing Jillian incorporate MMA/Fighter type workouts into contestants routines
• Hate: How the show exploits contestants personal problems.
• Love: Watching contestants gain confidence and strength.

And my number one problem with the show.....

They make it sound like having Weight Loss Surgery is the easy way out. I can attest it is not easy. It is just a tool to get you started. You still have to do the work. Diet and Exercise are a must, AND you must take the right vitamins and supplements. Adding the right vitamins and supplements will aid your body in recovering from workouts and help with your energy level.

What I think is the easy way out is to have a medically supervised program with personal trainers, and nothing to do but work out all day. That is your job. No Family, no work, nor responsibilities other than to work out. That sounds like the easy way out.

I salute the contestants on this season. They did a fantastic job. I just hope they can keep it up. It isn't so easy when you have to go back to your families, jobs, and other responsibilities.

As for my relationship with the show..... well it looks like season 9 starts in January. You can bet that I'll be watching and continuing with that whole Love/Hate thing.

Walk it off.......

When you are a kid, how often did you hear the phrase "Walk it off?" It seems like every time a kid got hurt, either a teacher, a parent, or a coach would use that phrase. It was intended to make you not focus on the pain. The idea was to get your mind back to a good place, so that you could move on. Not bad advice back then, and maybe not so bad now.

Before my Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), when I was over 400 pounds, walking sucked. I couldn't do it. One of the most basic things in life. I just couldn't do it. I was forced to walk with a cane. I was carrying so much weight, just walking a couple of blocks would make my back hurt, my knees hurt, and my feet hurt. I couldn't even stand up straight. I was going in for steroid injections into my back 3-4 times per year. Take it from me, this is not a good way to live.

After WLS one of the things they recommend is that you start walking right away. In preparation, I adopted my first training partner, Rex, the American Bulldog, to aid in my walking quest. He would keep me company while we walked circles around the big meadow at the Dog Park. Our first couple of adventures were kind of sad. I could barely make it once around the half mile loop. Rex wanted to run and play. He would run ahead, then run back to make sure I was still breathing, then run ahead again. Slowly I got stronger and skinnier. Soon walking 2 or 3 miles with the dog was no big deal. Eventually we got to where I will even take him out for a run, however it all started with a small walk.

Most loyal readers to this blog know that I work for the Human Services Department of the County of Santa Cruz. I'm classified as a Systems Analyst, which means I spend most of my days sitting in front of my computer. Luckily, I work with a bunch of people who like to exercise. I know, not what you would expect since most of them are computer folks as well. They had a group that would go for a walk at morning break time, and then for a second walk at the afternoon break time. I decided to join this group.

The morning walk is a 1.64 mile round trip. It starts at our building, winds through the County Complex on Emeline and up the hill. It is a steep hill. For the longest time, I couldn't make the trip. I could only go part way up before I had to turn around and crawl back to work. I got to where I can now do it easily, but the grade is so steep that it still gets the old heart a pumping.

The afternoon walk is a 1.8 mile round trip through the surrounding neighborhood. It is a little longer than the morning walk, but since it is completely flat, not near as challenging. We used to do a shorter afternoon walk until one day the Big Boss went with us. She showed us a different route and ever since, we go for the longer one. I mean if the Boss takes us, it must be ok. :-)

Recently I've added a lunch time walk. At lunch, one of my buddies and I do the afternoon walk as well. Sometimes we even do a double lap. That means that on a normal day of walking, morning, lunch and afternoon, we log 5.24 miles and if we pull a double, we log 7.04 miles while at work. Not bad before going to the gym.

I've gotten into this walking thing into a big way. Between walking at work, running the dog, using the elliptical machine at the gym and walking with Kelly, I did over 245 miles in the month of October, 191 miles in September, and 231 miles in August. All that walking has to burn off some major calories.

So remember, after a big Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, get up and "Walk it off!"

Pulling the Trigger

Well I did it. I've finally decided to pull the trigger and open an on-line vitamin and supplement store. Sometime in the near future, I'll be up and running with GetSeriousNutrition.com. I've purchased the domain and I'm currently developing the website.

Ever since I started blogging about my experience with the Blood Doc and my switch to higher quality supplements, I've had many people seek my advice. Especially people who have also had gastric by-pass surgery. You see once you have that kind of surgery, your body is permanently altered. You can no longer absorb natural vitamins and minerals. By-pass patients have to supplement their diets for the rest of their life. Finding quality vitamins and supplements that work, and are tolerable for weight loss surgery patients is not easy. Well, I'm going to change that.

I'm hoping to have my site up and running sometime in December. I'll keep you informed! :-)

Characters I Have Met.......

Back in June, I had the experience of a lifetime. My wife, Kelly, sent me to a professional Cage Fighting Training Camp, at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. (Check them out at: http://xtremecouture.tv/)

I detailed this experience here on my blog. See my posts from June 14th, "Countdown to Training Camp," June 23rd, "Back from Camp and a Little Bit Sore," June 24th, "Back From Camp Part 2," and June 26th, Back From Camp Part 3."

While at this camp, I was able to receive instruction and work out with several World Class Athletes, including Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, Forrest Griffin. My training partner was a 38 year old guy name Matthew. Mathew was almost as tall as me, and probably 20 pounds lighter. He had a lot more experience and was gracious in showing me some of the finer points of MMA. He had told me that he was a published author, and was now working on a book about MMA. I asked him the name of his book, and he told me it was "American Shaolin." He was very humble and said it was moderately successful. I figured he was probably over stating his success and didn't think much more about it.

Fast forward to August 23rd. I'm looking at the Xtreme Couture Blog, longing to return, when I notice a story, and a link to the Las Vegas Sun newspaper. It turns out that not only was my training partner pretty famous, he actually continued on to train at Xtreme Coture after camp, to continue researching his next book. He also went on to have his first fight which he won.

(Check out the article at: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/23/coutures-son-victorious-best-selling-author/)

This got me to thinking, "hey I should read this guys book." Well I just finished it and it was great. It is the story of Matthew Polly, dropping out of an Ivy League College to chase a dream of becoming a Shaolin Kung Fu guy, like David Caradine in the old "Kung Fu" television show. He went to China, not even knowing where the Shaolin Temple was located. He found it, and actually lived with the monks for 2 years while training in Kung Fu. The book chronicles his journey as he challenges his beliefs on life and begins to learn who he is. During this incredible journey, Mathew actually fights in a National Chinese Kick-Boxing tournament, and actually takes second place.

The book is fascinating, even for those not into the martial arts. This book can stand alone as a travel book, or even a philosophy book. Matthew was being extremely humble when he described the book as moderately successful. He has won numerous awards, made the talk-show rounds, promoting the book, and his book has been optioned to become a major motion picture.

On an interesting side note, one of the guys I work with immigrated from China. One day on our morning walk, I told him that I was reading a book called American Shaolin. He got very concerned and replied "There are no American Shaolin." I told him there was. He was my training partner at Xtreme Couture. I went on to briefly tell him about Matthew's story. He said, "Oh yea, I remember him now. He was very famous in China. He was on television often. He speaks Chinese very well."

The book based upon his MMA adventure is tentatively titled "Full Contact Writer." It is scheduled for release around March of 2010. The book will chronicle his journey to learn Mixed Martial Arts, including his journeys to Brazil, Russia, and of course Las Vegas. I'm expecting at least one chapter on the big, tough guy who was his training partner for Fight Camp at Xtreme Couture!

Kelly Catch-Up

Hi All - A lot of people have been asking how my wife, Kelly, has been doing, so here goes.....

Kelly had Gastric Bypass surgery (RNY) on July 6, 2009. She has adapted well to the new dietary requirements and admits to having cheated only once. The good news is she has learned the limits of her new and improved tummy pouch, and still hasn't vomited.

It has now been about 3 and a half months, since the surgery. She walks every day, and continues to get stronger. She is even planning on starting some yoga workouts in the near future. She also talked one of our neighbors into walking with her when the neighbor gets back from vacation. What is funny, is it is the neighbor with the pet pigs. (see blog entry for July 20, 2009 "Looking for a Pig - Part 2") She wants to walk the pig on the leash along with Kelly and Rex. I'm hoping to get a picture of this!

Kelly has already lost about 68 pounds and dropped 4 jean sizes. We have been to the mall (yes I even went with her) and bought some new clothes. She feels good and she looks great! She wishes she had more energy, but that will come.

I am extremely proud of her!!!!!!

Birthday Blues

Well it happened. I had the birthday I didn't want. I turned 50 a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what it was, but man, it hit me hard. It was almost like a switch was flipped. I started moving slower. I felt sore. I started reducing my workouts. I just seemed a little off. I fell in a hole. I guess I had the Birthday Blues!

The other day, my buddy Roy gave me a call. Roy and I have been friends since Kindergarten or First Grade. We have been through a lot together, including ending up, upside down at the bottom of a ravine in his Mom's Mercedes and running his Dad's Porsche into the back side of a Chevelle. Ahh the dumb stuff you do when you're 16.

Roy, his Wife and Daughter all live on the East Coast, but once a year they come to the left coast to visit Roy's folks and extended family. During this yearly trip, we get together, hang out, watch some UFC and do some kind of a workout. This year we went hiking at the Elkhorn Slough (http://www.elkhornslough.org/). When we got back, I introduced him to my heavy-bag routine. My heavy-bag routine is a vigorous strength and cardio workout. It consist of 10, 3 minute rounds, with a 1 minute rest period between rounds. Not only did he survive it, he actually liked it, and is incorporating it into his workout as well. Here it is.....

Round 1 - Jab Pyramid
Begin with a left jab, followed by a straight right. This is the basic 1-2.
Now do 2 jabs, followed by a right.
Now do 3 jabs, followed by a right,
Continue up to 10 jabs, followed by a right.
Now work your way back down the pyramid.
9 jabs, followed by a right.
8 jabs, followed by a right
Continue all the way back down to 1 jab, followed by a right.
For the rest of this round, do 1 and 1, reset and repeat, until time expires

Round 2 - Straight Right Pyramid
Begin with 1 right, followed by 1 jab.
Now do 2 rights, followed by a jab.
Now do 3 rights, followed by a jab.
Continue up to 10 rights, followed by a jab.
Now work your way back down the pyramid.
9 rights, followed by a jab.
8 rights, followed by a jab.
Continue all the way back down to 1 right, followed by a jab.
For the rest of this round, do 1 and 1, reset and repeat, until time expires

Round 3 - Hook Work
For the first 1 minute of this round, alternate left hook and right hook.
Deliver as many blows as possible.
For the remaining 2 minutes:
50 left hooks - no resting or stopping.
50 right hooks - no resting or stopping.
20 left hooks - no resting or stopping.
20 right hooks - no resting or stopping.
For the rest of the round, alternate left and right hooks - no resting or stopping.

Round 4 - 4 Strike Combo
Engage the bag.
Strike left jab, right straight, left hook, right hook.
Disengage, reset and repeat.
All strikes should be quick, and as hard as possible.

Round 5 - 4 Strike Combo Pyramid
Engage the bag.
Strike left jab, right straight, left hook, right hook.
Count each strike. 1-2-3-4.
Disengage and reset.
Repeat the 4 strikes, but add an additional left hook and a right hook.
This would count out as 1-2-3-4-5-6.
Disengage and reset.
Repeat the previous set, but add an additional left and right hook.
This would count out as 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8.
Repeat this process until you count out at 20.
Work your way down the pyramid until you get back to your original 4 strike combo.
For the rest of this round, repeat the 4 strike combo.

Round 6 - Speed/Cardio Round
This one takes a little getting used to....
Stand a little closer to the bag than normal.
You want to strike it 6 times in quick sequence, alternating left and right, almost like a speed bag. Make sure and turn your fists over as you strike. The bag will be moving away as you strike. After the 6th punch, the bag should be swinging back for you to restart. This is a timing exercise, combining speed and coordination, and do not worry how hard you hit the bag. It takes a little getting used to, and is harder with boxing gloves, but easier with MMA gloves.

Round 7-10 are all about Power Strikes.

Round 7 - 4 Strike Combo
Same as Round 4 - Let leather fly for the entire 3 minute round

Round 8 - 2 Strike Combo
Left Jab, followed by a straight right - Again keep repeating for the entire round.

Round 9 - 4 Strike Combo
Same as Rounds 4 and 7

Round 10 - 2 Strike Combo
Same as Round 8.

That is a guaranteed tough workout, especially if you do it after your normal strength training or cardio workout.

So Roy called me the other day. He wanted to talk about the bag routine, check on what's up, but mostly, ride me about turning 50. I guess he could sense I was down because he started telling me to get back to the gym, and to get back to my heavy-bag routine. He kind of ragged on me for a bit. He didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, but I guess I just needed to hear it.

I'm happy to say that I took it to heart, and went back to the gym that afternoon. I also increased my intake of my EFA's, Protein, and Greens.

Well after all that, I'm back and feeling better. You know they say that 50 is the new 20!

Quick Catch Up

Hi All - I guess it is time for a quick catch up on everything.

My appointment with the Endocrinologist to review my MRI was rescheduled to the 15th. I met with her yesterday and she explained about the Pituitary Gland. Mine looks pretty good. The elevated hormone count is common among Gastric By-Pass patients but nobody knows why. She then told me she wanted to run another test.

For this next test, she gave me an injection to stimulate the Adrenal Gland, had me wait for an hour, then check my blood again. Afterward, I was extremely tired and took a nap for a couple of hours. Well the results from that test came back this morning, and the results were great.

My doc is convinced that I have sleep apnea, so she ordered a self monitored sleep test. This means that today I get to go to the Sleep Center. I meet with a technician who is going to teach me how to wire myself up to a bunch of equipment, so I can monitor my sleep tonight. I then take the machine back to him on Friday. He will download the data and analyze it. I then have a consult with the Sleep Guy in November. I guess business is good for sleep disorders.

I also tried to talk with her about the cyst that was identified in my sinus, but she said that wasn't her specialty, and referred me out to an ENT guy. I go for a consult with him before I head over to the Sleep Center.

So that pretty much explains why I haven't been updating my blog. I'm hoping to start feeling better get back into it. I've got upcoming updates on my Training Partner from Extreme Couture, the new season of Biggest Loser, and on a new fight gym I visited in Watsonville. Stay Tuned! :-)

MRI = Good!

Well the MRI is back, and the good news is that my pituitary gland looks normal. There is no tumor pushing on it! The Endocrinologist called and had a consultation with a colleague of hers up at Stanford. It turns out that this elevated "Insulin-Like Growth Factor1"is pretty common among gastric by-pass patients. I still have the symptoms from the elevated count, but at least it isn't a tumor. The MRI did show a small cyst in my sinus cavities and I'm meeting with my doc on the 14th to discuss that, and what to do about the elevated counts.

Another bit of good news....... Since I've been taking my new supplements, I've greatly reduced the amount of joint pain I had been experiencing, and I am picking up more energy. The recovery shakes do wonders, and I'm actually learning to like the taste.

The New Stuff

So after the consult with the Blood Doc, I went to see the Endocrinologist. She ordered the tests and reviewed what supplements and vitamins I planned to take. I assured her that the Blood Doc was not encouraging me to take any kind of Human Growth Hormones. She ordered me a new battery of tests, and I was on my way.

All of my tests came back great, except one. The test called "Insulin-Like Growth Factor1" came back with an elevated count. I repeated the test, and again the count came back elevated, and with a higher number than the first time. It turns out this test monitors something put out by the pituitary gland. An elevated score usually indicates that something, (like a tumor) is pushing on the pituitary gland causing it to shoot this stuff into your system. Some of the symptoms are fatigue, sore joints, achy muscles and headaches. I have all those symptoms and have been getting increasingly more headaches.

So I'm now scheduled to get an MRI and to check if I do indeed have a tumor on the pituitary gland. The good thing is that they are almost always benign, and can be treated with radiation. The Endocrinologist says that my other tests were too good to be anything cancerous. I guess it was a good thing the Blood Doc told me to get some extra tests!

While waiting for the MRI, I've now started taking my new vitamins and supplements. I can not explain how well my new recovery shake works. I used to take protein and glutamine after my work-outs. I felt that it helped in my recovery, but it is nothing compared to my new stuff. The new stuff consists of Whey Isolate (protein), Glutamine, and 4 Ever Greens. Wow! The protein even dissolves well and tastes good. The 4 Ever greens smells and tastes like lawn clippings, but it actually dissolves pretty well also. Within 20 minutes of taking the shake, I'm actually feeling better. I'm not quite so sore and my energy level quickly begins to return. I think I'm going to like the new stuff.

The MRI is scheduled for tomorrow, so stay tuned for the results!

Consulting the Blood Doc - Part 2

When I called the Blood Doc, he was great. He spent about an hour and a half, talking to me about nutrition, and the types of vitamins and supplements that I take. He felt that I was taking the right kinds of stuff, just not the best stuff. It turns out that the FDA does not regulate vitamins and supplements. He suggested that I switch to some stuff that was produced by a pharmaceutical grade lab. He suggested some specific products, from both Xtreme Couture Athletic Pharmaceuticals (XCAP) and Biotics Research.

Here is what I've decided to try:

From XCAP -

• Max EFA's - 2 per meal - To replace the Fish Oil I'm currently taking
• Vita D - I drop per day - To increase my Vitamin D
• Whey Isolate - 2 scoops - Protein
• 4 Ever Greens - 1 Scoop - Helps balance ph and adds anti-oxidant

From Biotics Research

• Iodizyme-HP - 1 per day - For prostate health
• Aqueous Iron Plus - To replace Flinsotones Vitamins
• L-Glutamine Powder - 1/3 scoop - An amino acid to aid in recovery - This will also replace the L-Glutamine pills that I am currently taking.
  
• Phosphatidyserine - 3 at dinner - To aid in cell rejuvenation and recovery.
• Osteo B II - 2 per meal - Replaces both Super B complex and Calcium I'm currently taking

The plan is to combine the Whey Isolate, the 4 Ever Greens, and the L-Glutamine Powder into a power drink by mixing it with 20 ounces of cold water. I will drink this power drink within 30 minutes of my workout. The Blood Doc says this will greatly aid in recovery from my workouts.

The Blood Doc also suggested that I have my Testosterone and Magnesium levels checked, so I made an appointment to see my Endicrinologist. I reviewed with her the program I wanted to start. She agreed but stressed that I don't take any Human Growth Hormones (HGH). She then ordered the tests to have my levels checked. Once I get the results, I'll have a good baseline to start my new program.

In a couple of days, I'll post an update on how I'm doing with the new stuff. Stay tuned!

Consulting the Blood Doc - Part 1

When I returned home from the MMA Training Camp at Xtreme Coutrure, I was sore and tired. I thought it was the result of intense workouts, the heat of Las Vegas, and the depressing thought of going back to work. Time moved on. I started back up with my workouts. I remained tired and just kind of accepted that as part of getting older. Than the worst possible thing happened. No it wasn't the loss of my job, it wasn't my wife Kelly kicking me to the curb, and it wasn't some bad medical diagnosis. It was worse.

For the last couple of years, my daughter Tammy and I have been playing racquetball, about once a week. It's always been fun and a great workout. Fun, because my daughter is very athletic (she runs triathlons) and even more fun because I've never lost. The game is always a great workout because the game forces you to basically run intervals for an hour. Then it happened. The game was no longer fun. Tammy beat me. Not once, but twice. She beat me two games out of two games. OK, it was still fun, but extremely humbling, and being my daughter, of course she just had to rub it in. I had to listen about how old I was getting, and how my glory days were over. To top it all off, Tammy hit me with the ball and I had a huge welt on my back! This was not good.

While I was mulling this over, I was surfing the web. I read a story about some guy called "The Blood Doc." The story talked about how this guy worked with many pro fighters and other pro athletes. The article went on about how this guy works with these pro athletes in helping them to dial in their nutrition. It also talked about how he analyzed their blood tests and sculpted their nutrition to improve their blood tests and their overall athletic performance. I guess he is kind of a behind the scenes superstar in the UFC. Now here is the catcher, the article talked about how he was able to tune your body, through nutrition, to the point where your athletic performance was not reflective of your age. This was starting to sound good. Then it dawned on me. Hey, I know this guy. I met him at Training Camp, and he had invited me to call him or e-mail him with any questions.

When you have gastric by-pass surgery, your body changes quite a bit. You no longer have a normal digestive track. Your body does not absorb things the same as it once did. As a result, people who have the surgery are forced to take supplemental vitamins and minerals for the rest of their lives. About 6 months after surgery, post-op patients are subjected to a complete series of blood tests. The tests are repeated at the 1 year mark, then again annually for the rest of your life. These tests check all kinds of stuff, and depending on the results, you adjust your supplements. Kind of a pain, but a very small price to pay to get your life back. I had my blood work done in March. Things were all in a great range, but I thought why not send them to the Blood Doc?

I converted about 5 pages of blood work into a pdf document. I then sent them, along with an e-mail to the Blood Doc. I re-introduced myself and told him my concerns, and I gave him a list of the current supplements that I currently take. I really didn't expect a response, and was really surprised when I received an e-mail saying "Give me a call and we can talk about it."

Here is my current list of supplements:

• Fish Oil 1200 mg capsules - I take 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening.
• Calcium Citrate 500 mg tabs - I take 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening.
• Super B Complex - I take 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening.
• Vitamin B12 100 mcg sub-lingual - I take 1 in morning and 1 in the evening.
• Flinstones plus Iron - I take 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening.
• Glutamine - I take 5 in the morning and 10 after my workout in the afternoon.
  

As soon as I got that e-mail response, I jumped on it. I called the Blood Doc. I ended up talking to the guy for about an hour and a half. In the next installment, I'll tell you what he told me, and what steps I'm taking now. Stay Tuned! :-)

Meeting The Blood Doc

We all have secret dreams. You know, those little feelings that you are almost afraid to think about. Everybody has them. When you are obese, many of these dreams are about loosing weight, about having better mobility or just being more active. I know when I was obese, those were my dreams. After my surgery, I began working with Aaron as my Personal Trainer.


Aaron's dream was to become a professional cage fighter. He was training hard at a local academy, eating right, and working out. He had even some amateur fights and was teaching some MMA classes. Aaron was progressing well. He was also working on becoming a certified Personal Trainer, and I was his first fitness client.

Aaron worked me hard. He taught me many things about nutrition, and about getting back into shape. I packed on muscle, and increased my cardio. While all this was happening, Aaron became a fully certified Personal Trainer. He took a great job in Palo Alto at the Equinox Fitness Club. That was great for Aaron, but at the same time, it was kind of sad for me. I was extremely happy for Aaron, I mean he deserved this more than anyone, but I was worried about me. Could I still get in shape? Could I still loose and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle?

The answer was a resounding YES. I was able to leverage the tools that Aaron had taught me, and as I continued to loose weight and build muscle, I had a new dream.

My dream was to be a cage fighter. Don't laugh. This was my secret inner thought. My dream was to get a pro, semi-pro, or even an amateur fight before I turned 50. I knew that I wasn't going to be on TV, headlining at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, or even at The Hard Rock, but I figured there was something out there for me. There are lots of smaller organizations, and lots of Indian Casino's hosting fights.

I increased my workouts. I pushed my strength training and my cardio. I read everything on cage fighting and studied the shows on TV. Then I received a great birthday present. For my upcoming 50th birthday, my wife, Kelly, sent me to a 3 day, professional cage fighter training camp in Las Vegas. The camp was at Extreme Couture and featured some of the best instructors in the world. (See my posts on this blog from June 14th, June 23rd, June 24th, and June 26th).

While I was checking in to the Camp, the receptionist said I should "talk to John over there, about nutrition and the new XCAP line, oh and by the way, here is a sample of one of the new products"

I went over and introduced myself to "John." I explained that I used to weigh over 400 pounds and that because of my surgery, my absorption rate is much different than most people. He totally understood and said that I really need to watch my vitamin and mineral intake. He then explained a little about the product, O2 Plus+. The product is a "Methyl Donor" and is used for increasing endurance. He then gave me a business card, and told me to call or e-mail him with any questions. I didn't think much about it. I tried the sample and went on to the workout. Little did I realize, that guy was the "Blood Doc." (That's him in the picture)

In my next installment, I'll talk about my consultation with the Blood Doc. Stay Tuned! :-)

The Cost of Getting Fixed

Well it finally came, We got the bill from the Hospital for Kelly's RNY surgery. I am so thankful that my insurance is covering everything, 100% with no deductable! The bill was beyond imagination. Here is a break-down. This does not cover the Surgeon, the Anesthesiologist, or the Radiologist.

Room and Board: 9,510.00
Pharmacy: 1, 172.61
Medical Surgical Supplies: 44,746.41
Implants: 11,938.76
Lab Services: 1,805.92
Diagnostic Radiology: 1,410.00
Operating Room Services: 18,641.07
Anesthesia Services: 5,842.22
Self Administered Meds: 154.28
Recovery Room Services: 1,297.66
Heart and Vascular Lab Services: 1,428.50
Total: $ 97,947.43

Wow - almost $98,000. She had gone in on Monday and come out on Wednesday afternoon. Room and Board for that time frame was over $ 9,500? I read further down the list. I turned to Kelly and said.. "I'm not trying to be a creep, but it says you have almost $12k in implants. Shouldn't things be a little perkier?"

Kelly, always being able to hold her own responded... "Maybe they put them in my but!"

All kidding aside, I thought this bill was a little high. I called the hospital and they sent me a fully itemized bill. What they sent me was 5 pages, with little type, and a bunch of words that didn't look like English. I was able to learn that what I thought implants were, was not what they installed. It turns out they were some kind of sealant, used to close off stuff on the inside.

The operation was a lot of money, but worth every penny!

Pigs, Rabbits, and Chickens - Oh My!

Well a couple of days after Kelly finally saw the pig, I found more livestock in the neighborhood!

You see, I get up early on Saturday and Sunday and I take the dogs to the Aptos Dog Park. I loaded the dogs into Kelly's car and the dogs took their positions. Bindi jumps in the back and lays down and goes back to sleep. Rex always jumps in the front passenger seat and sits up straight, because he doesn't want to miss anything. The dogs are all loaded, and I head off to the Dog Park. I go around the corner, and head on up the street, when suddenly, Rex's ears perk straight up. Right smack in the middle of the road are two of the biggest rabbits that I have ever seen.

As I slow the car to a stop, Bindi jumps up and hops into the front seat. She immediately begins barking at the bunnies. What's funny, is at the dog park, they always see bunnies. Of course they are the smaller, cottontail type, but still, they won't pay them any attention. Now that there are bunnies hopping across the street, they have to bark at them.

After our adventure at the Dog Park, we head for home. We saw at least a dozen bunnies at the Dog Park, and neither dog even barked at them. Once I get home, I tell Kelly about the new livestock in the neighborhood. Of course, she doesn't believe me. "You know I have a soft spot for bunnies, ever since Prunedale." "You are just trying to get me to walk farther."

Back when we lived in Prunedale, we had a pet bunny rabbit. The story of how we got that critter is a classic Prunedal tale. Prunedale used to be really a small rural community. The most exciting store in town was Deaton Feed.

Deaton Feed was an old school feed store. They sold hay bales, dog food, chicken feed, and of course, pig chow. I am serious. We used to buy big sacks of King Brand Pig Chow at Deaton Feed. The store was kind of a community meeting place. Everyone in town would go there for their animal food, the 4H kids would be selling animals, the Girl Scouts were selling cookies, and the old guys would be swapping stories about the good old days.

One Saturday afternoon, Kelly and I loaded up the kids and headed for Deaton Feed. When we got there, there was a guy out front with a bunch of cute bunnies. My daughter Tammy got really excited. "Daddy, Daddy, look at the bunnies!"

Tammy ran up to see the bunnies. Guess what? Yep, she wanted to get a bunny. Not just a bunny, Tammy wanted two bunnies. I explained that you don't get two bunnies, because two don't stay two. "Please, oh Please" she begged. I told her we would look and see if they have any cages inside the store. Well we picked up some pig chow and looked for cages. They were all sold out of the cages. Probably because of the guy out front with the cute bunnies.

As I loaded the pig chow, I explained to Tammy that they didn't have any cages. Tammy asked, "Can't you build one?" I explained that I didn't have any lumber or the time to build one. I didn't tell her that I can't cut a straight line with a saw for anything. I can build a stock car motor that will run with the best. I can pound dents and hang fenders. I can fix just about anything to do with a car, but I'm just not a carpenter. Of course I could never tell my daughter that.

We all got into the car, and I started to back up. I'm looking over my right shoulder when suddenly, I hear a knocking on the drivers side window. I stop the car and look over. It was the guy with the bunnies. He makes a motion for me to roll down my window. I hit the switch. Just as the window gets to the bottom. He reaches behind his back, and tosses a bunny rabbit into the back seat, onto Tammy's lap. The guy tells Tammy, "Tell your Dad not to be so lazy, and build a cage." Then he has the nerve to smile at me. Well our new friend starts hopping around the back seat and Tammy is soooo excited. Ever since then, our family likes bunnies.

When I first had my weight loss surgery, I used to go to the dog park all the time. On weekends, I would go three or four times in a day. Rex and I would walk around the half mile loop, looking for bunnies. We would do up to 12 laps a time. I always counted how many rabbits were seen. It was my way of fighting the boredom of walking in circles. I would return home and proclaim to seeing 20 or 30 rabbits. Of course they were probably the same 5 or 6 rabbits that got counted each time we went around, but that's ok.

Kelly has started walking further. We now walk "to see the pigs and bunnies." I have seen the bunnies a couple of times, and Kelly saw one for the first time yesterday. When I was taking the dogs on a really long walk, I heard the sound of hens clucking and a rooster crowing. Once Kelly builds up some more strength, I'm going to have to get her to go for a walk to look for chickens!

Looking for a Pig! - Part 2

So there I am.... running with my dogs, and what do I see? A pig, sticking his nose out the front door of a neighbors house, in suburban Watsonville. I don't know what's funnier. Seeing a pig, or neither of the dogs seeing the pig and just running by, oblivious to the world with their tongues hanging out.

I get home from my run, and Kelly is still having a tough time. She had Gastric Bypass surgery on Monday. This was Wednesday and had just come home from the hospital earlier in the afternoon. I want her to get up and go for a walk. It is a really important part of the recovery process. So I tell her, I just saw a pig and try to get her to walk down and see it with me. She isn't feeling very well and tells me that there are no pigs in the city and accuses me of making up the story, just to get her out and walking.

The next day, our daughter, Tammy, comes over, and tells my wife "I just saw a pig in your neighbors yard around the corner." Kelly tells her "You and your Dad are in this together." She still wouldn't believe us. The next day is different. I get her up in the morning. "We're looking for a pig. Come on lets go." We walked to the corner and didn't see the pig. We turned around and went home. Later in the day we went again. This time, I talked her into going farther around the block. As we came back I said "watch for the pig." She told me she didn't believe me about the pig. She thinks I'm being a wiseguy.

The next day, once again I use the pig as a reason for Kelly to go for a walk. By this time, Kelly is starting to feel better. She knows she needs to walk and is now a more willing participant. She does let me know that she still thinks that Tammy and I made up the story about the pig. The walk was uneventful. No pig. I'm starting to loose credibility, but that doesn't stop me.

After lunch, it is time to go look for the pig. Just as we get to the area where we should see a pig, Kelly tells me it is time for me to come clean. She wants me to admit that there was no pig. I look her right in the eyes and say "Oh yea, what is that?" She turns to look at where I'm pointing and lo and behold, there is a pig, cute as can be, eating plums that had fallen off a tree!

The pig was pink, with black spots. He looked like a pot bellied pig, but didn't have the dark hair that the traditional Vietnamese Pot Belly Pigs sport. Kelly was excited. She loves animals, and she really hadn't believed me. We looked around and didn't see any humans. Where were the pig owners?

Kelly went to pet the pig, and I went up to the front door. A lady answered the door. I told her that her pig had gotten out. She told me that if she forgets to latch the screen door, he will push through and go look for plums in the yard. I explained that was exactly where he was and asked if she would like me to catch him for her. "I used to raise pigs" I explained. "Nope, I'll just send my husband out.

Her husband came out. He bent down and the pig ran to see him. The pig actually jumped into his arms. This pig must have been at least 85 pounds. I know he was bigger than my dog Rex, not quite as cute, but a lot more solid.

We got to pet the pig some more and learned his name was Bacon. I guess that is a common name for a pig. Anyways.... we also learned that they had a second pig that was 7 years old that was even bigger. I forgot to ask what his name was, but I wouldn't be surprised if his name was sausage.

Kelly now continues to walk, and we still talk about looking for pigs but I have to tell you, I've found more livestock in our area. In my next blog update, I'll tell you why now we actually are looking for rabbits in our neighborhood and how Kelly still won't believe me that I've seen them hopping down our street. :-)

I'm Back, Kelly is Home, & Looking for a Pig! - Part 1

Hi All - Well I'm back. On Monday, July 6th, my wife, Kelly, went in and had Gastric Bypass surgery, up at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. It was a little rougher than either of us were expecting, but the good news is she is home!

I bet the picture for this post caught your attention. The picture is an old one, maybe even taken 20 years ago. It is of my Son, Rocky, riding his late friend, Bacon. You see, at one point in our lives, we lived out in the hills of Prunedale. To understand this, we need to go back in time, way back to the late 1980's. We owned a cute little tract home in a great area of San Jose. Our kids were young and I was working at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale. We were spending a lot of weekends visiting friends in Monterey County. One day we checked out a house in Prunedale. To make a long story short, we ended up buying a big, beautiful home in little Prunedale, about 20 miles south of Gilroy, off of Highway 101. This place had a one acre, back yard pasture, that was all fenced and crossed fenced. I guess it was set up for horses.

Once we moved out there, we kind of became countrified. We went to a garage sale one day, and came home with 3 little pigs. We were going to become pig farmers. We named our first 3 pigs, Bacon, Sausage and Pork Chop. The idea was to get the kids to think of them as food, not pets. Well as you can see from the picture, they became pets..... before they became food.

It turns out pigs are really smart animals. I could go out in the back yard and throw a tennis ball. My dog at the time, Huckleberry, would just look at me. The pigs would run for the ball, bring it back and drop it at my feet. They also made up games to amuse themselves. I had been told to throw an old bowling ball into the pasture. The guys at the feed store told me the pigs would push it around the yard for exercise. Well not only did they push it around, they made up a game. They would push the bowling ball up the hill, then chase it down the hill. They would amuse themselves that way for hours on end.

Once the pets, I mean pigs, reached about 225 pounds, we called Ray the Butcher. Ray would come out to our pasture and slaughter the pigs. He would shoot them, then field dress them in the back yard. He then took them away, and brought back these little white packages with the best tasting meat ever. Over the next couple of years, I think we raised 8 or 9 pigs. Not too long after this, Rocky became first a Vegetarian, then eventually a Vegan. A coincidence?

We eventually left Prunedale, and moved over to Santa Cruz County. We lived in La Selva Beach for about 15 years, Seascape for a couple of years, and last September we bought a real nice place out in Watsonville. Suburban Watsonville. Tract Homes and no livestock..... or so we thought.

Kelly had a tough time at the hospital. The anasthesia is really hard for her to process out of her body. It all goes back to her childhood and being in a coma for a couple of months (but that is another story!). Well I was finally able to bring her home on Wednesday afternoon. That afternoon, I took the dogs for our normal afternoon run. We were getting pretty close to home, when I saw one of my neighbors standing at his front door talking to one of his buddies. As he was standing there, the screen popped open and a head stuck out. I was expecting a dog, but was shocked to see a pig!

Stay tuned for Part 2 to learn how this pig became a motivating force in Kelly's recovery!

Back From Camp - Part 3

Well here it is.... Part 3 of my adventure to Xtreme Couture. For my 50th birthday, my wife sent me to a 3 day MMA Training Camp at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Parts 1 and 2 talk about the adventures at camp. For this part, I'm just going to tie up a few loose ends.

Wounds - Overall, I came out pretty good. You can see the bruises on my shins in the above pictures. I also split open the bottoms of my feet. I still have some nasty wounds on my feet, but they are healing up pretty good. At camp, I asked Forrest how do they take care of their feet. He laughed, pulled off his socks and showed me his feet. They were actually almost as bad as mine. He said that every time he starts a new camp, his feet get chewed up. He said that eventually they do get callused and get stronger.

Other Celebrity Coaches - The guy with me in the above picture is the infamous Junie "The Lunatic" Browning. Those of you who follow the UFC probably recognize him from the Reality TV Show The Ultimate Fighter 8. On the show, Junie demonstrated that he had some real talent as a fighter, but wasn't quite there mentally. He struggled with some anger management issues, especially when he was drinking. To put it bluntly, the guy came of as an immature jerk. After the show, Junie found a home at Xtreme Couture. I had read on the internet where he had jointed the team and how they had humbled him. That he was now growing up and maturing as a fighter and as a human being. Sooooo ..... One day, I can't remember if it was Friday or Saturday, (I know that's what happens when you get old), Mathew and I are working on some drill. Out of the corner of my eye, I see this guy walk by with a hand grenade tattooed on his hand walk by. I thought to myself, I wonder if it is Junie. I mean how many other people would choose a tattoo like that? Well, it was him. It tuns out that he had changed quite a bit. He was humbled, and even worked with me one on one. He tried really hard to be nice. Was he cocky? Oh yea. But don't you almost have to be to be a pro fighter?

The Whoops Excuse You Moment - Saturday afternoon, I was hot, tired and really sweaty from a whole day at camp. I parked my car on the 6th floor of the parking garage at the hotel and go into the elevator. I lean up against the back wall with my gear bag behind me. The elevator stops at the 5th floor, and a bunch of about 6 little old ladies start to load in. There really isn't room for them, but they squish in anyways. A little lady of about 80 years of age, starts backing in. She smashes right into me with her backside, pushing herself right into my cup. She squeals, turns and looks up at me and says "Oh my." I just smiled. She just giggled.

Randy Couture - Before camp, I received an e-mail saying that Randy would not be able to attend Camp. He was working on a movie, The Expendables, with Sylvester Stallone, and would not be able to make it back in time. We were told that Forrest would run the camp instead of Randy. I was disappointed, but Forrest did a great job. Randy did tele-conference in for a question and answer session. That was pretty cool, and Randy remains one of my heroes. For those of you who don't know about Randy, he first won the title, Heavy Weight Champion of the world in 1997, then again in 2000. Later, Randy dropped down to Light Heavyweight where he also became Champion of the World, at the age of 40. In 2006, Randy retired, but grew antsy. Randy came out of retirement and at the age of 43 again became the Heavy Weight Champion of the World. That is why he is my hero. Us old guys need to stick together.

The Reality Check Moment - I was walking into class one morning and I was talking to Gary the Kick Boxer. He asked how the Vette ran through the desert. He asked if it smoothed out at about 80, and wanted to know if I took the top off the car. I told him it did run best between 80 and 90 and that I took the roof off in Barstow and drove the rest of the way in topless. He said "Think about it.... You are driving 80 through the desert in a Corvette with the roof off, on your way to MMA Training Camp at Xtreme Couture." "Do you know how many people wish they were you?" I replied... "Yep, life is good."

Back From Camp - Part 2

Well I'm back. Back from Camp, Back to Work, and Back for Part 2 about my adventure at Xtreme Couture. I attend Training Camp and got to train with some of the best instructors and fighters in the world. In Part 1 I described the first 2 days of my adventure, and now it's time for the next part of my story.........

Saturday - I woke up Saturday morning a little bit sore. My shins were bruising up nicely and my neck had a little bit of a crick in it. I took a couple of Tylenol. One of the things after Weight Loss Surgery is you can no longer take NSAIDS like Motrin, Aspirin, or Aleve. You can still take Tylenol, but it isn't quite the same.

I jumped in the car and headed to the gym. As I was parking the car, I met a young guy named Gary. Gary was a hot shot kick boxer. He asked me what year my car was. I told him it was an 81. It turns out he used to have a 79. We talked about Corvettes being money pits. That's how you can tell a real Corvette owner. If he understands that concept, he really owned a vette and not just a pretender. Anyways..... as we were walking in, he asked me where I trained in Jiu-Jitsu. I laughed and told him that yesterday was my first day. He replied "Wow, that's pretty surprising, you seem pretty limber." That made my day. People are so nice here!!!!

Saturday Camp was broken into two parts, with both parts being taught by Coach Ron Frazier. That's Ron in the above picture with me. Ron is the head Boxing Coach at Xtreme Couture. That means he coaches the top pro fighters in the business. He coaches Randy, Forrest, Mike Pyle and a ton of other guys, and today he was coaching us!

We worked on all kinds of drills and conditioning. We hit the bags, we worked with boxing gloves, we worked with MMA gloves, man, we just plain worked. I was literally soaking wet from sweat, but it was so much fun. Ron is such a nice guy and he so wants each student to be the best they can be. He is truly an inspiring coach. He gave a couple words of wisdom to the class that I will never forget. "Getting punched in the face sucks." I guess it was his delivery, but it was hilarious.

After a tough day, it was time to head back to the Hotel. I parked the car got up to the room and soaked in the tub. I then figured I would lay down and take a little nap. I was out like a light. After awhile, I rolled over and looked at the clock. Crap.... it said it was 10:38. Class began at 10:00. I got changed, grabbed my gear, and ran through the lobby of the hotel. As I go by the pool, I notice that it is awful dark for almost 11:00. I look at my cell phone and finally realize it is still night. I go back to the room, take some more Tylenol and go back to sleep.

Sunday - I wake up feeling sore and kind of stupid for the time thing, but I'm excited for Camp. This is the final day and I've almost made it through. Today we are working on wrestling. The Coaches for today are Forrest and Ron. We worked on some take-downs and a bunch of other drills. At one point we did this cool drill. The drill required a lot of room, so two teams got to go into the Octagon.

At Xtreme Couture, not only do they have a large, matted area for working out, they also have a full size professional boxing ring, and more importantly, they have a full size, regulation Octagon, also known as a cage.

The cage is an 8 sided structure with the walls being made from metal cyclone type fencing. The fence is covered by black vinyl. The cage sits up 4 feet in the air, on a platform. It has a foam pad around the top of the fence and at the post points. Even though the fence is covered with a black vinyl coating, it still hurts. If you put your back to the fence and try and push yourself up, you feel it. I have a new appreciation for the fighters. The things that look so easy on TV are actually painful.

Whoops, back to the drill......... So we get ready to start the next drill. This one will require some room so my partner and I get to move up to the Octagon for this one. The drill starts with one partner holding the bags. The other guy kicks the bag as hard as he can. The guy holding the bag, moves the bag to let the other guy know which kick to throw. After a 5 minute round, the partners switch. The other guy now has to hold the bag. After each guy takes their turn, the next round is a wrestling round. One guy gets in the other guys guard and wrestles or uses Jiu-Jitsu to earn a submission. This part is done at full speed. Very, very cool. After this round we start over so that each guy gets to start in guard for a 5 minute round. The rest of the session is spent sweating like crazy. Wrestling is hard and it takes a lot out of you, but the experience was cool.

Training Camp ends with a photo-op session. After pictures, I head back to the Hotel. I'm soaking wet from sweat and I'm tired. I'm also kind of proud. I'm proud that I survived and that I did so well. Training Camp was the experience of a lifetime!

Tomorrow or the next day, I'll post Part 3.

Back From Camp and a Little Bit Sore

Well I did it! I survived Training Camp! I'm back and just a little bit sore, but what a blast. OK, maybe a little more than just a little bit sore. Here is a quick run-down of Thursday and Friday, with stories about Saturday and Sunday to come ....


Thursday - I jumped in the Corvette and took off. I got to Vegas in about 8 hours and the car ran great. It loves to run at 80! I checked in to the Golden Nugget and took a nap. I woke up and went down to play cards at the El Cortez. It is kind of a dumpy hotel but they usually have $3, single hand blackjack. They have changed a bit. They had remodeled and made all of the tables smoke free. That was cool, but now they have double deck blackjack. Well I played for a couple of hours and dropped $50.


Friday Morning - Up early and off to camp. Friday morning wasn't part of the official camp, however, Campers were allowed to attend any other classes while they were there, so I went to a Muay Thai class. Muay Thai is a style of fighting that originated in Thailand. The basic premise is your body consists of 8 weapons. Your legs, your knees, your hands and your elbows. Muay Thai uses all these to disable your opponent.

The trainer was a pro-fighter named Joey Varner. I'd actually taken a class with him a couple of years ago. He claims he remembers me, but he was probably just being nice. He has fought in the IFO and is one of the very nicest people you will ever meet. This was a great class. We worked on conditioning, and lots of striking.

To warm up, he has us jump rope for 5 minutes, then do 20 push ups. Then he has us go back to the jump rope for another 5 minutes, then 20 push ups, and 20 sit ups. Then back on the jump rope for 5 minutes. We finished with 20 push ups, 20 sit ups, and 20 squat jumps. Man I was starting to get tired before we even got to the good stuff.

We spent the rest of the hour working on striking drills. We worked on mostly punches and side kicks, while working on the heavy bags. We finished with ..... more conditioning! Since we weren't even tired yet, we ran lots of sprints. By the end of class, by shins were black and blue and I had bruises all over my feet. I was ready for a nap, so I headed back to the Hotel. The official Camp starts at 7:00 pm.

Friday Evening - After a nap, a soak in the hot-tub and a few runs down the water-slide, it was time to head off. When I got to camp, it was apparent I was going to be the oldest Camper. The next oldest guy was 45. He was a professional Squash player from Ontario. His wife had given the Camp to him for his 45th birthday. There were people from New Zeland, Scotland, Canada and from all over the Country. Some were already pro fighters, some were amateur fighters looking to build their skill set to go pro, and there were a couple of guys like me with a little bit of training who just wanted to learn more. The average age was probably 25 with the youngest of 16. This evening, the focus was on Jiu-Jitsu.


Jiu-Jitsu is an important part of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). When the fight goes to the ground, wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu come into play. Jiu-Jitsu is a fighting style that relies on leverage and the applying of joint-locks and choke-holds to defeat your opponent. Going into camp, I had very little Jiu-Jitsu, having only learned a few things while training with Aaron. The coaches for this evening were Head Extreme Couture Jiu-Jitsu Coach Neil Melanson and Former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion of the World, Forrest Griffin. Neil is the man who trains Randy Couture, Forrest and all the other pro fighters at Xtreme Couture and Forrest is well, Forrest. You couldn't ask for two nicer people or better teachers. The picture above is of Forrest and I.

We started by pairing up with someone about our same sizes. I paired up with a 38 year old guy named Mathew something. Mathew was almost as tall as me, probably 20 pounds lighter, but with a lot more experience. Mathew and I stayed partners for the entire camp. He was really an interesting guy. He was a writer. His first published book was about the Showlin Monks of China. He is currently working on a book about MMA, and already has a publishing deal set up. He has been traveling around studying different types of fighting. He has been to Rio to study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Russia to study a fighting style called Sambo, and now he was at camp to train with some pros. He was already well known to the Camp Instructors.

We spent the next 2 hours working on a choke hold called a triangle, and how to escape the triangle when you are on the wrong end of one. The triangle involves the squishing of the arteries in your opponents neck with your thighs and calf muscles. When applied correctly, the hold cuts off oxygen to the brain, causing your opponent to black out. We took turns applying the move, starting at a very slow speed and moving up faster and faster until we could do it at full speed. The guy getting choked would tap out before loosing consciousness. I actually got to work one on one with both Neil and Forrest. It was really cool. I didn't think I could bend like that but it turns out I was actually pretty good at it. After this session, I was pretty sore so it was back to the Hotel for a quick water slide and a soak in the hot tub.

If you have never been to the Golden Nugget, you have to at least check out the pool. They spent $32 million to create the pool and water slide. The slide actually goes through the middle of a shark tank. You can see sharks swimming by as you go through the tube. It is really cool. You can check it out at: http://www.goldennugget.com/amenities/pool.asp

I'll try to post tomorrow or the next day to tell about Saturday and Sunday.

Countdown to Training Camp

It's Countdown to Training Camp! On Thursday, I'm off to a Cage Fighting Training Camp in Las Vegas. What? I know it sounds kind of crazy, so let me start back a couple of years.

It was a late night, in early April, 2005. I was watching TV in bed, unable to sleep (that happens a lot when you weigh 400 pounds and can't get comfortable). As I was channel surfing, I came across some kind of weird boxing match. Two kids, Stephan Bonnar and Forest Griffin, were in the middle of a war. They were giving everything they had to a crazy fight. They were both bloody and exhausted, but they fought on. The fight was memorable, and is often called the fight that saved the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. The fight was the finale to Season 1 of a show called the Ultimate Fighter. The show is a reality based show where a group of young fighters compete against each other to become crowned the Ultimate Fighter, and earn a six figure contract in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

In December of 2005, I had my Gastric Bypass surgery. I began to loose weight quickly, and I soon looked kind of sickly. I was melting away, along with any kind of muscle I may have used to have had. Someone who didn't know I had the surgery asked my Son, Rocky, if I had cancer. I was actually starting to feel tired all the time and really felt kind of sick. I decided that it was time to break down and seek professional advice. It was time to find a trainer.

Rocky told me that his buddy Aaron was training in Mixed Martial Arts and Cage Fighting. Now I've know Aaron for years. He's had Thanksgiving with our family, been to our 4th of July bash, and my wife and I had even seen his band, Uzi Suicide, play many times. I asked Rocky if he thought he would be willing to work with me. That question led me to being in the best shape of my life.

When I first started training with Aaron, I wanted to get right to the good stuff. I wanted to get in the cage and kick some tail. The sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) combines boxing, kick-boxing, wrestling, ju-jitsu, muy thai, karate, and judo. I wanted it all right away. Aaron was smart. He made me start with the basics. Conditioning, conditioning, nutrition, and more conditioning. Did I mention he was big on conditioning? After awhile, he started to teach me the basics. We started with some basic striking. Lots of punches, elbows, and even some kicks, but always after basic conditioning.

Fast forward a couple of years. My love of MMA continued to grow, and I was in great shape. Rocky and I were headed to Vegas for Bikefest. I knew that Randy Couture had just opened up a gym in Vegas, so I looked it up on the Internet. It turns out that for a small fee, non-members can purchase a day pass to the gym and take any of their classes. Hey this was right up my alley. Randy Couture was kind of my hero. You see he had been a dominant force in the UFC. He lost a couple of fights, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, and retired. But wait, there's more. Randy got bored, came out of retirement, moved up to the Heavy Weight division and won the Title. He was Heavy Weight Champion of the World and way past 40. The guy was a stud and a hero to everyone, not just those of us with a little grey on top.

While in Vegas, I went to his gym, Xtreme Couture. I signed up to take a striking class. When class started, I looked around. This was a regular class that met every Friday morning. I was the oldest guy in the class by at least 15 years! Now not to brag, but I wasn't the best guy there, but I was a long way from the worst. :-) I came away from that class with the biggest grin on my face. I was kind of sore, but I had so much fun. I talked about that 1 hour class for months!

I continue to monitor the gym's website, and whenever we go to Vegas, I always plan on hitting the gym, even for just a one hour class. I recently noticed that they were going to have a 3 day training camp. I mentioned it to my wife. Wouldn't that be cool. Three days of MMA and nothing to do but train and workout! Well my Wife decided to send me to the three day training camp for my 50th birthday. My birthday isn't until September, but the camp starts on June 19th, and I'm there! Wish me luck!

Adopt a Training Partner - Part 2

After we got Rex home, he gradually warmed up to everyone. He now follows me everywhere and he loves to go for walks. or for a run.


Not too long after we got him, Kelly and I took him to the dog park. We drove down the hill and parked the car. We got out of the car and opened up the back door. The dog wasn't there. Where was he? We panicked. I drove back up the hill looking for him. It turns out that as we were driving down the hill, he got so excited that he jumped out the window, and we didn't even know it! Luckily he was ok. With a dog this enthusiastic, how can you not take him for a walk or a run?


If you adopt a young training partner, it is important to talk to the Vet before you start to run him. When a dog is very young, their muscles and joints haven't fully developed. Running them hard may damage their little joints and cause permanent damage. Make sure you talk to your Vet before working out the dog.


Rex and I walked together for many miles. As my strength got better and my workouts shifted towards less roadwork (walking and running), and more strength training in the gym, my workouts with Rex changed. What once was a daily walk, became a weekend only walk. I would still get up early every Saturday and Sunday and take him to the dog park, but I don't think I was meeting his needs.


While all this was going on, we moved to a new house. With the move, we also adopted a second family member. We adopted Bindi. Bindi is a ptibull-boxer mix. Bindi loves to run and she helps keep Rex occupied.


Now with two dogs needing to be exercised, it was the perfect time for me to get back to some roadwork. I now run about 2 miles everyday with the dogs. Rex dictates the pace. He is kind of big and not built for running. Kind of like me. We started out with running intervals. We would sprint until Rex has to slow down or stop. Bindi never needs to stop. Once Rex catches his breath. We hit it again. We run these sprint intervals over the 2 mile course. Over time, we have now gotten to the point where Rex only needs to walk less than a quarter mile on the 2 mile course. Rex has lost some weight and is getting faster and now has better stamina. The good thing is while the dog has been getting in better shape, so have I.

Adopt A Training Partner - Part 1

Want to stay motivated? Want to help out a deserving animal? Want somebody to love you unconditionally? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you need to adopt a training partner!

When I first received a date for my Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), I told my wife that I needed to get a dog. She looked at me kind of funny. Our dog Emma had just been hit by a car and killed a few months earlier. We had kind of talked about waiting to adopt another family member so I think she was kind of surprised. I told her that I needed a dog to serve as my training partner after the big surgery. I explained that if the dog was dependent upon me for a daily walk, it would force me to get out and get some excersise. Not wanting any excuse for failure, she agreed.

We started out our search on the Internet. Most local shelters have pictures of dogs that need to be adopted. After viewing hundreds of dogs on-line, we went to the Watsonville shelter. My wife immediately started looking at little dogs. I reminded her that the dog was for my training partner, so he would have to be big enough to walk some real miles. I spoted a big, goofy looking dog. When we went up to the cage, he wouldn't even come see us. He looked lost and scared. He looked like he had given up. We moved on down the row of jail cells. We picked out a couple possibles. The shelter worker took us outside to a visiting area. She brought the possibles in for us to interact with.

The first two dogs they brought in, just didn't seem like a good match. Finally I asked the worker about the big, goofy dog we had seen. She said that he had been abused and wasn't taking to people very well. She said they would probably have to put him down. I asked her to bring him out. She said she would, but not to expect much. She said to stay seated and see if he will come to you.

The worker brought him in to the visiting area. My wife was in a chair on one side, me on the other. The dog came in and walked straight up to my wife and gave her a kiss. The worker was suprised, Kelly was suprised, and I was jealous. That dog didn't want anything to do with me. It turns out that most of his abuse came at the hands of men. He had some issues.

Well, as you can guess, he came home with us. He didn't have a name, so we named him Rex. That only provided a little trauma to my daughter Tammy. You see we had told her many years ago that if she had been a boy, we would have named her Rex. I don't know why she was so stressed, I mean why waste such a great name?



Part 2 will talk more about my partner

Congrats to Kelly

Just a quick congratulations to Kelly, my wife of 29+ years. Kelly has been investigating Weight Loss Surgery and now has a surgery date. She has lost all her weight, passed her psych eval, met with the nutritionist, and gone to all of her orientation meetings. She is set for an R-N-Y gastric bypass on July 6th. I had my surgery about 3 and a half years ago and I know that it is not an easy decision to come to. Kelly made the decision on her own and is taking positive steps. I'm really, really proud of her. Congratulations Kelly!

Sick of Being Sick

I had such great plans. I launched my blog on Monday with all the intentions of blogging daily, well at least every other day. Then it happened. I got sick. Not just a little sick, but big time sick. I actually stayed home from work for two days. That means I was sick. I only take time off work for fun stuff. By Tuesday night I was already sick of being sick. My wife has decided to look at having the R-N-Y surgery. One of the steps was for her to have a sleep apnea test. Well they called on Tuesday and wanted to squeeze her in for Tuesday night. That was great, but it left me home alone, sick and miserable (she was probably glad to get away from me!). Like millions of Americans I flipped the TV over to watch the Biggest Loser finale.

I guess you could say that I have what you could call a love/hate relationship with that show. I love how the show shows fat people as real people. That they have families, loved ones, and dreams just like everyone else. Often times people forget that. The part I hate about the show is that they make it seem like it is easy to lose the weight. All you have to do is workout. They make it look like it is no big deal to loose 10 pounds in a week, however, the biggest thing I hate about the show is how they put down weight loss surgery (WLS). They are always so quick to tell the world that Ron had had an R-N-Y gastric bypass surgery and had failed. This perpetuates the idea that WLS is a quick and easy fix, and how the only way to do it is by following their exercise plan, signing up for their meal plan, and following Jillian.

When I weighed 400 plus pounds, I hated myself and what I had become. I wanted to work out but with that kind of weight, my body wouldn't cooperate. My back hurt, my joints hurt, I had trouble breathing. I would try to fight through it. I would loose 3 pounds then hurt myself. I would get depressed and gain back 5 pounds. It was a vicious cycle. It finally reached the point where I said that "enough is enough." I realized that for me, I would need the kickstart of WLS. WLS is not a quick and easy fix. It is just a tool. It allowed me to reduce my body mass enough that I could begin to exercise and to take responsibility for myself.

As I'm watching the show, I noticed one thing that kept being repeated. As they profiled each of the contestants, many of them came to the same conclusion. They felt that they had reached the point where enough is enough, and had decided to accept responsibility and take care of themselves. I know that when I reached that point, it was time for me to accept responsibility and look at WLS. Looking back it was one of the best things I've ever done. It was the first step to "Fixing Rick."

Welcome To My Blog!

Hi - My name is Rick. I used to weigh over 400 pounds. In December of 2006, I underwent a form of Weight Loss Surgery known as a Gastric Bypass (R-N-Y). Within a year, I lost about 160 pounds. Here it is three and a half years later and I still have kept the weight off. Some say that I have just transferred my addiction for food into an addiction for working out. There may be some truth to that, but I'm not sure I want to come out and admit it. :-) Anyway you look at it, the surgery is just a tool that gets you started on taking your life back. This blog is about my new journey of life, as I go about "Fixing Rick."