Before & After Pictures

Hi Everyone - I know it's been awhile. I apologize. I get caught up in other stuff and forget about my blog, but today I'm back, and I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to post pictures from before and after my weight loss surgery.

The first picture was taken June 18th, 2005, walking my daughter down the aisle. At this point I was 45 years old, had a 56" waist and weighed over 400 pounds.

The second picture was taken about 4 months ago, at Aaron's wedding. I am now 50 (ouch!) with a 34" waist, and I now weigh 245 pounds. I've lost and kept off about 160 pounds.

I really don't like to look at "before" pictures. It represents a tough time in life, but every now and then I guess it is a good thing to take a look. It kind of forces me to say "Never Again!"

Anniversary Extravaganza - Part 4 (Finale)

After tucking in the elephants, we finally made our way back to our tent cabin. We cranked on the heater and settled in for a romantic evening. Our tent cabin was called the Big Cat House because it is closest to the lion and tiger enclosures. That means we could hear the roars of our new cat friends all night. The roars were so loud, it would wake us from a dead sleep. Then it started to really rain. It just poured! Between the roars and the rain, it made for a neat night.

In the morning, we woke up and went on the front porch to watch the animals. From our front porch we watched the elephants get their morning bath. The trainers spent about an hour and a half, bathing the big guys in the rain. Once they were clean, they moved the elephants out to the playground.

The playground is several acres big. It contains a large pond, and plenty of room to run and play. The elephants share this playground with an ostrich, a zebra, and two water-buffalo. It was a kick to watch them all play together. The Zebra loves to run and play with the elephants. The Ostrich likes to run and run for no rhyme or reason. The Water-Buffalo just kind of tolerate everyone else. So we sat and watched all of this unfold.

After a little bit, we realize that Butch, the large male, isn't out in the playground. Pretty soon we see him and his trainers walking the trail, going from one tent cabin to the next. Butch was delivering breakfast. Pretty soon he was at our place and brought us a great breakfast. He also brought us treats for us to feed to him. Once again we got to feed Butch.

After breakfast we hung around some more than headed for home. We had a blast on this trip and would highly recommend this adventure for everyone!

A New Form of Torture

Ready for a new form of torture? Since I started going to my new Fight Gym, Kugtar, in Watsonville, I've learned many new types of torture. I used to think I was in pretty good shape, that is until I started working out with all of these 20-30 year old fighters. Check out this form of torture they call an ab workout......

Abs Workout:

1) 100 Crunches - Lie flat on your back bend your knees and lift your feet off the floor. Interlock your fingers behind your head and touch your elbows to your knees.

2) 100 Bicycle Toe Touchers - Lie flat on your back, bend your knees and lift your feet off the floor. Move your legs like you are riding a bicycle, as a knee comes closest to your head, reach across and touch your opposite hand to the toe.

3) 100 Leg Lifts - Lie flat on your back. Place your hands under your rear end, touching thumb to thumb and index finger to index finger. Point your toes straight. Lift your legs together off the floor about 2 inches. Keep your toes pointed. Lift your legs up till they create a 45 degree angle from the floor. Lower them back to 2 inches from the floor. Don't let them hit the floor. Count 1 each time they are at the high point in the arc.

4) 50 Iron Cross - These are so hard to do you will hate them. You are kind of sore by the time you get to this one anyways, but these will finish you off. Lie flat on your back with your arms extended straight out on the floor. Lift your legs like you would for leg lifts. On the count, you take your right leg, rotate it over your left and try and touch it to the ground on your left side. Then back to neutral position. That was 1. Then you take the left leg and rotate it over the right and down to the ground on your right side. That was 2.

This is what they like to call a good ab workout. I call it torture, but one thing is for sure, it will definitely build your ab muscles quickly.

Have Fun!

The Opposite of Punch Therapy

It sounds so simple. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is one of those sayings that we have all learned somewhere in our life. The saying is actually one of Newton's three laws of motion. That means the idea has been around a long, long, time, and I guess you would think I would have seen it coming.

Last installment I talked about the idea of Punch Therapy. The idea being that when you are stressed, in a bad mood, or having a tough time at work, you should engage in Punch Therapy. Punch Therapy is hitting the heavy bags, hitting mits with a training partner, or live action sparring. You know what I'm talking about. You just punch on stuff until the bad energy is worked out of your mind and body. The workout can do wonders for your mood, and definitely beats going to a therapist. Well, at least it is a lot more fun!

What I wasn't expecting was the opposite reaction. When you punch, you get punched back. The other day while sparring, I got hit back. I got hit back hard. I actually saw stars and my head jerked around and pulled a muscle in my neck. I didn't go down, but man I was knocked for a loop. Luckily it was the end of the round, and the end of the day. I went home sore.

The next day at practice we worked on double leg take downs. We took turns taking each other down. At the end of the day, my neck was really sore again. Hmmm, I think I'm seeing a pattern. It looks like by the end of the day, when I'm tired, I get hurt. Note to self: Don't get tired.

The next morning, I woke up and was in quite a bit of pain. For the first time since loosing 160 pounds, I actually thought I might be getting too old to do Mixed Martial Arts. I was starting to get really depressed.

I decided to break down and go see the doc. I drove down to the Urgent Care at the Santa Cruz Medical Foundation. The Doctor who saw me was pretty cool. I explained my injury and asked him if I was going to be ok? He sent me down for a CT Scan.

When the scan was complete, the doc called me back in. The whole process took about 25 minutes. He said "Good News and Bad News." "First your neck looks pretty good. By that, I mean that nothing is broken. The Bad News is that something is pinching a nerve in your neck. It is probably just a swollen disk, muscle, or tendon, but the worst possible case would be a ruptured disk. If you are not better in a week or two, we'll do an MRI and talk about Physical Therapy."

Wow.

I then asked him the question that I wasn't really sure I wanted to hear an answer to.

"At 50 am I too old to be competing at this level?"

He laughed. He said that he was 45 and also does Martial Arts. He does that funky stick fighting style, and he once got caught with a whack to the head with a stick. He said he had the exact same thing, but he got better and continues to compete. If you ask me, this guy was crazy. I would much rather deal with big gloves and head gear then getting hit with a stick. He gave me a muscle relaxer and told me to take it easy for a couple of weeks.

I started doubling up on my supplements. I increased my intake of Glutomine, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B. I also doubled my intake of XCAP Max EFA's and XCAP Joint Flex. These supplements are amazing, and really help recovery from sports injuries. (Check them out at GetSeriousNutrition.com)

Well the neck has gotten much better. I have pretty good range of motion, and most of the soreness is gone. I took a week off from the gym. Well I guess I just took a week off of suiting out. I still went in almost every day for instruction. I guess I can't help it. I just love this stuff.

This last week, I went back to everything but sparring. I'm back hitting the bags, punching the mits, working on form, and lots of stretching. I'm even starting to really like this Brazillian Ju Jitsu stuff. The more flexible I get, the more I like it.

This morning I went to the regular Doctor. He said I should be ready to go back to full contact in another week or two, and he also told me that I'm not too old to continue on. Then being a wise guy, he told me, "Remember, when you get tired, don't drop your right!"

365 Days of Compassion

I kind of like my routines. Every Saturday and Sunday I get up early and take Rex, the dog also know as my Training Partner, to the Aptos Dog Park. We usually walk a couple of miles, look at the bunny rabbits then head to Starbucks. I then pick up a couple of non-fat hot chocolates, then head home. Once home, Rex and I climb back on the bed, wake Kelly up and read the newspapers, both the San Jose paper and the Santa Cruz paper. Last Sunday was no exception.

I climbed up on the bed, gave Kelly her hot chocolate, and tore into the newspapers. While reading the San Jose paper, I came across a full page advertisement. I usually don't give those kinds of ads a second look, but something about this one caught my eye.

The headline read "365 Days of Compassion - A Challenge." The ad started out talking about what a difficult year 2009 had been. It acknowledged that everyone hopes for a new beginning along with the new year, but recognizes that it doesn't come automatically. It goes on to say that for change to happen, we must all work at it. It then issues the "Challenge."

The "Challenge" is for everyone to do good, to show compassion for others, and to help each other out, everyday, for the next 365 days. It suggests donating some clothes, buying someone a cup of coffee, or even sending money to the Haiti relief effort. The "Challenge" isn't about changing the world overnight. It is about small steps, taken daily, that become part of our life. The "Challenge" is about making compassion a habit and individual responsibility.

This ad was cool for a lot of reasons. I really like the idea of individual responsibility, and I really like the idea of making compassion a habit. The coolest part was the ad wasn't by some religious group, a corporate entity, a political organization, or even a social services provider. The ad was placed by a group called Engine Company One.

I did a little research on this mysterious organization. In the ad, they called themselves "People who believe in attempting the improbable, pursuing the implausible, and maybe someday, with your help, resolving the unsolvable." I looked up Engine Company One and it turns out they are a design group based in an old firehouse in San Francisco. The group asks people to make a pledge to show compassion everyday for the next year, and to share their experiences on Twitter @365compassion. There is no paperwork, no cost, and no formal anything. Just people asking people to try and make the world a better place.

Well the ad kind of got me. I shared it with my wife, and we both agreed that we would join the program. We are trying to make the world a better place, and we would like to ask you to join us in this experiment. Just think what we can accomplish if we all take even small steps.

New Year, New Workout!

Well it's time. It's a new year and time for a new workout.

Ever since last summer, when I came home from fight camp, I've been looking for a new fight gym. I wanted to find a place where I could train in stand-up kickboxing or muay thai. I wasn't so concerned about working on my Brazilian Ju-Jitsu. What I really wanted, was to punch stuff really hard, burn lots of calories, and sweat. Oh yea, and it had to work with early evening classes, to work with my job and regular life.

One day while taking my training partner, Rex the dog, for a run, I noticed one of my neighbors, Louis, getting out of his car. The dude had a shaved head, and a really bad cauliflower ear. He was wearing a pair of Combat Sports brand shorts and carrying an Everlast gym bag. We said "Hi", did the guy head nod thing and kept running.

Over the next few days and weeks we would see each other in the neighborhood and say "Hi." One day we ran by and Louis was in his garage with the big door up. He was working a heavy bag. We stopped to talk, and I asked him if he went to a fight gym in the area. He told me no, but he does go to a Kick-Boxing facility run by his cousin. He told me where it was, and invited me to come out.

The next day, I hit the facility. I met Luis's cousin. I introduced myself, and his first comment was "I want you to know, that this is a gang neutral facility." "OK" I replied. I then thought to myself..... I'm a 50 year old white guy. What kind of gang affiliation does he think I'm sporting? Does he think because I'm Italian that I'm Mafioso? Well the other students started to roll in. There was about 25 Junior High kids, Louis, myself and one other adult. The other adult was a biker, a lot shorter than me and a whole lot heavier. I instantly sized him up as my probable training partner.

The biker introduced himself to me, noticed my Harley shirt and asked what I rode. I told him I rode a 1979 Shovel Head (Harley Davidson), when it ran. We talked about old bikes and then he gave me the laugh of the day. He said "You're going to really like it here. You know all those punk kids that walk real slow crossing the street and they make you wait for ever? Well here you get to beat them up."

Well most of class was spent with the Coach trying to get all those kids to pay attention. We never got to hit anything. We just did some drills and shadow boxed. The class was probably good for them, but not so good for me.If we were ever going to hit stuff, I really don't want to punch on some 120 pound kid. So I thanked everyone and continued my search.

I found lots of schools and classes, but could never find the right set-up at the right times. Then last week I hit the jackpot. I found a great new facility, less than 2 miles from my home. They have stand-up kick-boxing Monday through Thursday evenings, from 5 to 6:15 and the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu from 6:30-8. On Friday they have a conditioning class from 6-7:30. The class is small, and the instructors patient. I though this might be the perfect place for me.

I went for the first time, and had a blast. I had a great workout, and was completely exhausted when we were done. The next day I could barely get out of bed. This was so cool. The next Monday I decided to join. My wife Kelly told me "You really need to increase your flexibility. You should start doing Yoga with me." "Uhhhh yeah, ok" I replied, not really expecting to have to follow through.

After work, I headed to the gym. When I got there, it was just me and the instructor from the previous kids class. Now this guy might be 6' tall and about 170 pounds. He can't be over 25. I'm 6'5" and about 240. This guy is trying to get ready for some amateur fight. So he wants to work out hard with me. I'm game for anything. After having a wire stuck in your eyeball (that's another long story, ending at Stanford hospital but with a happy ending) you know that nothing can ever hurt that bad again. After doing our warm-up, push-ups, and stretches, we did 3, 5 minute rounds of full speed, all out pummeling. This guy had great technique, but I was able to do pretty well just with my size and strength. This is a real tiring workout. About the time we got done, some other students showed up and we did some drills and exercises. We got to hit the bags and we sweat a lot. Then I headed for home.

I walked in the door, and Kelly had two yoga mats out in front of the TV. Some new wave music and a cheesy yoga DVD was in the player. Oh crap, I wasn't expecting to have to do this. I was already tired and sore but I had told her that I would do it with her.

I took a protein recovery shake and took my position on a mat. I think of myself as being in pretty good shape. Actually, I think of myself in outstanding shape. I lift weights, I do cardio, I walk. I do lots of exercise everyday. I had a body composition analysis that showed I had 8.6% body fat. I should be able to do a little stretching with my wife. Was I in for a surprise!

The workout started with some positions for stretching. They all have weird names, and they even call them poses. What kind of guy does Yoga? My body just doesn't bend that way. I hung in there and tried throughout the entire disk. Some of the stretches I could do, but I felt every single one of them. They hurt. As we were working through all of these near impossible stretches I noticed that my wife was doing great. With all of my workouts, nothing prepared me for Yoga.

I don't know what it was, but as soon as I started doing the stretches, I became quite gaseous. I mean every stretch pushed air right out of me. It was bad. It was so nasty, I could not imagine doing it in a formal class. I would have to be one of those deniers. You know one of those people on the cardio machines at the gym who let loose, then look around and try and make it look like they didn't do it.

As the disc ended, I told my wife to check out my next pose. I called it the lazy facing doggie, and I climbed up on the couch, next to Rex. As I started to relax, I realized that the Yoga must have helped. I wasn't near as sore as I expected. When I got up in the morning, I could definitely feel muscles that had been stretched, but I felt pretty good. Maybe there is something to it. I think it will give me some very needed flexibility in my MMA training. The worst that could happen would be I exercised for half an hour with my wife.

I wouldn't say it was fun, but I think it was beneficial. I definitely have a new found respect for Yoga practitioners. I'm planning on continuing to do the yoga with my wife as part of my new workout for the new year. You might also want to try it, but if not, at least try out the new pose. You know, the lazy facing doggie.

Finally - It's Here!

Hi All - Welcome Back - In case you hadn't noticed, I've been missing for awhile. I have been so busy that this year we didn't even get out our famous Holiday Newsletter. The holidays came and went, and we didn't even put up a Christmas Tree. It's not that I'm turning into Ebenezer Scrooge, it's just that I've been totally involved in getting my new business up and running.

Once I had Gastric Bypass surgery I quickly realized that there was a severe lack of vitamins and supplements available to suit the real needs of WLS Patients. Once I got into better shape, I also realized that the vitamins and supplements that were marketed to serious athletes were also lacking. All those expensive vitamins and supplements contained impurities and lots and lots of sugar. The worst part was their is no FDA monitoring of vitamins.

In this blog, I mentioned my experiences with a guy they call the Blood Doc (See blog entries from August 17th through 31st, 2009). The Blood Doc taught me the importance of high quality supplements, using pharmaceutical grade products, and monitoring your body. After working with him, I decided to help share my knowledge with other Weight Loss Surgery Patients and with other Serious Athletes. To make this happen, I've started GetSeriousNutrition.com

GetSeriousNutrition.com is an on-line vitamin and supplement store. It is just me and my computer trying to spread the word and provide great products. That means personalized service. When you e-mail a question, you will be guaranteed a personal reply.

One of the lines we are selling is called XCAP (Xtreme Couture Athletic Pharmaceuticals). The XCAP line is all pharmaceutical grade with the healthiest forms of nutrients. We carry their complete line, and all at 10% off list price. The best recovery shake ever is made with their 4ever greens, mixed with their whey protein. Within 20 minutes, you feel better.

Other products we carry are geared more towards WLS paitents. To meet their needs, we are carrying a couple of different protein sources. My favorite are the Protein Shots. They provide 25 grams of protein in less than 3 ounces and with 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs and only 100 calories.

Now that the business is up and running, I'm hoping to get back into a regular blogging pattern. The FixingRick blog is really fun for me, and is almost like therapy. I guess that is why it's called Fixing Rick. :-)

Well thanks for listening. I hope you check out GetSeriousNutrition.com and if you have any questions, just drop me an e-mail.

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!!!!!!

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 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!

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!