I can see the light...

I think I've tried virtually every diet on the planet and I don't say that lightly.

I've even done a week long fast in British Columbia years back where I paid airfare and over $1000 (I think it might have been $2000) to go to a cabin in the woods.

I was with a bunch of new age people and ate nothing but water along with nightly enemas. No joke. Oh and their was daily yoga instructed by Woody Harrelson's one time personal yoga instructor who travelled with him every where he went. I did lose 13 lbs in 7 days.

The one diet that has worked for me in the past was Weight Watchers. I know it's a very girly program. Even the Weight Watchers site has not one male. In 2007 when I was getting back into shape I went to weight watcher meetings and it worked.

Since that time I really didn't need to diet. When you train 15 - 20 hours for Ironman's you can pretty much eat whatever you want.

When you stop training and put a bunch of stress into your life you gain 20lbs pretty easy and the only way to take it off is diet.

In the past year I've tried the Ketosis Diet and the Banting Diet, which is high fat, low carbs. It kind of works but you really feel like you are depriving yourself. It's an easy formula to follow. You lose weight quickly in the beginning, mostly water as carbs hold water. Then when you do have carbs, like a beer you bloat up.

I actually can't believe it's taken me this long to get back onto the weight watchers diet. I guess what motivated me was remembering that it worked in the past and it worked.

So I signed up online and started back on March 1st, this time online. This is kind of my last kick at the can. I've pissed my self off with a lot of stops and starts and broken self promises. The kind that had really started to piss me off as I'm a master at setting my mind to something and doing it.

I've been on the diet for 6 days now and I realize why it works for me and why I think it's probably one of the best diet programs hands done. First off you can eat any food you want. They don't restrict you to only this, or only that.

What they do do is a point system. You are allowed 40 points each day and each food is given points. Stuff like fruit and vegetables are 0 points.

I was doing some reading about it and the premise behind weight watchers is to help you lose weight as part of a lifestyle change. They want you to lose weight slowly with the intent that if you lose the weight slowly you will be building great eating habits along the way so that it's something you continue after you lose the weight.

Seems like a pretty sound plan to me. I also like that I don't have to restrict the type of food that I can or can't eat. The only restriction they have is no alcohol and I understand why. There is no way you can lose weight and drink alcohol, especially beer.

Beer is one of those foods that for the dawn of time since it was invented was to provide nutrients and keep everyone fat and happy. I watched the most cool documentary on beer and it was amazing how important beer was and many a soldier in every old school war relied on it.

But the side effect of beer is it is rocket fuel. It turns off your fat burning system for at least 24 hours and when combined with unhealthy eating or late night snacking it's a deadly combination to help gain weight. I'm not sure if they treat anorexia people with beer, if not, they should.

I've been weighing myself daily, even though I know it should only be done once a week. I can't help myself I want to see the changes. If I'm done it gives me positive reinforcement to start my day, and unfortunately the reverse happens if I'm up.

This week I've been up and down. I started at 205 lbs, then went down to 203.4 lbs and then back up to 204.3 lbs today. I have 2 more days until Monday, my official weekly check in and even still I should be happy I'm down .7 lbs and I'm toning up. Just have to stay positive.

The hypnosis audio I've been listening to every morning I think has been super helpful. If for nothing else I eat and savour my food much more than I think I ever have. Looking back I'm amazed at how much I ate without tasting my food, my eating habits where more based on consuming volume than anything else.

I did some work this morning. Finance stuff. There is something about getting all that done that is so gratifying.

It took me until about 2:30 pm and then it was time for me to go on a run. I was either going to run or do the Insanity workout. From an increasing the metabolism perspective the Insanity workout is better, from a me enjoying my training, I love running.

Out of the three sports I do, running I enjoy most, then cycling is next and finally swimming. Weight training is before swimming and maybe Insanity is as well.

What I like about running is the zone I get into. I listen to 70's music and it puts me in a state that I can work through any issues or problems. I can also take me from the most of pissed off moods and by the time I get home I'm tranquil. And as a stress release there is nothing better, not even beer. Well actually beer can do it but it takes longer and so does the recovery.

My run was good and slow. It was at least starting to warm up, I think it was about -2C. The sidewalks are starting to melt and that's a good sign.

My heart rate is also starting to stay low for much of the run. That is also a really great sign. It means I'm getting is shape and shows me I'm eating properly. Well kind of.

At around near halfway point of the run I could tell I was fading with little energy. Which is to be expected when you are eating about 1400 calories per day. In a strange way I didn't mind it though. I did notice it on the back half of the run as my heart rate went from the 130's to the 150's. It even caused me to start walking at times to bring it down to sub 140 bpm.

The cool part of running on less fuel is that it kind of makes the run epic in a mini way. It gives you a taste but doesn't mentally wear you down. I actually pretended to myself it was like being in an Ironman and yet knowing I'm going to be home soon and not have to go through the real pain and suffering. I really have no desire to go back to that pain and suffering.

Mind you I did see some results from a double Ironman and it kind of got my interest. I did quit Ironmans but I never said I quit doing double or triple Ironmans or 100 mile runs. Mind you sounds good now but it would be horribly painful to do them.

Instead I want to do route 66 drives with Alice or do some travelling and sitting on outdoor patios with a nice cool beer. Just even thinking about it it seems so much more civilized.

The one thing I did think about on my run was not giving up on your dreams. I haven't. There is one dream I have and that is to grow a really large business. I've had it since a young kid. I haven't given up on the dream. I've come close but never have.

It got me thinking about Epic Bill Bradley. He lost it all. He used to have a large chain of video rental places in California and then they went bankrupt. His wife left him. He had no place to live and ended up on a friends couch. And Bill wasn't young. He was probably in his mid to late 40's.

Then Billy did something to what some would think is strange. He started doing epic long endurance events. Like triple Ironmans, like the race across america, like Badwater 135 mile runs and the list just gets longer and longer. He's also tried to cross the English channel about 5 times and this year will be his 6th attempt.

On my run I was thinking about Bill. He has now started on a new journey of becoming a motivational speaker. He tried for a number of years and to his own admission didn't fully commit with his soul. He now has. He's practicing daily, he's taking hypnosis, he's doing videos and a lot of free engagements and now he's starting to get paid.

What I love about Bill is he has not given up on living the dream. I think he's mid 50's and inside he has the fire of a young person and the desire from within to take it to the next level. He doesn't think about age or circumstance, he's just moving forward.

I feel the same way and I think I'm at the perfect age. In business most people become very successful and realize their dreams in their 30's. For those that miss that window of time I've rarely seen them succeed. I'm not sure why it's probably that their light burns out or they just don't learn lessons from their mistakes.

When you even look at history, very few amazing founders of business made it after 50 years old. A couple that do come to mind is Ray Kroc of McDonalds and Coronnel Sandards of KFC fame.

For me I've done well but I haven't realized my dream. But I haven't given up. In fact I'm more motivated than I ever have been. In my mind I don't question if I'm going to achieve my goal, that is not my concern. My only concern is to make sure I live long enough.

I've always said I can win any race so long as I don't run out of road.

In my world I find the everyday man like Bill Bradley a true inspiration because he just doesn't give up and that is not easy with all the naysayers in this world.

My favorite quote of Bills is "If you want to be balanced, be average".

In my minds eye I still think I'm in my 30's, even physically. I'm so focused on getting weight down and into Ironman type shape again that I forget I'm going to be 50 this year and at 50 I'm not supposed to look in great shape. In fact it's expected that you can start letting yourself go.

Not me. I just don't know why I can't be in the same physical shape as a fit 30 year old. It's not even something I think is impossible. I've been in Ironmans where I see guys in their 60's from behind that I think are 30 year olds. The only way I know is by their age on their calf as part of the race markings and when I pass I look and their faces have some wrinkles. You definitely wouldn't know from the body.

I have one of those Ironman scales in the bathroom that does body fat and even gives you your relative age in fitness and a ranking, 10 being the highest. Right now my body fat is 17% and my fitness is that of a 24 year old. When I was in great shape, my body fat was 11% and I was a fit as a 12 year old and on the scale I was a 10, now I'm just a 6.

Here's to not giving up on your dreams and living life to the fullest.

Run - 1:08 / 10.24 km