The Shack - A Workout Haven41.2 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 14, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 10 comments
The shack in my backyard is very important to my weight loss success. I want to take this time to show my appreciation, not only for the shack, but for what is means to me. The Shack is going to help me in my journey. It is like my secret weapon, except that it isn’t so secret.
It all started when I was a kid. A fat kid. I have always wanted to have my very own gym. I grew up in a low income household in the project buildings in New York City. Having your own room was hard to come by, so you can imagine that my dreams of having my own workout facility were slim to none. Around the time I was in high school I started working out with my cousin at home. We had a couple of dumbbells and did some push ups in my bed room. That was as close as I had ever come to having my own gym. I then joined the football team and opted to make that “my” gym. I would be the first guy in the weight room and the last guy out. It was my home away from home.
Then I moved to Florida and bought a house. Better said, started renting a house from the mortgage company for 30 years. One of the main reasons I got the house was because of the little shack in the back. It was perfect. It had plenty of room for a weight bench and a treadmill. And best of all, it was my very own personal home workout facility that I had always dreamed of.
This is my backyard and a look at The Shack. We had just gotten some pavers installed so the backyard was demolished. I am happy to say that it is back to normal now. I took all of these pictures when I first started the blog. I had meant to post about The Shack, but I guess it slipped my mind. Sorry for that Shack, sorry.
This is a close up of the outside.
While The Shack is awesome and is helping me achieve my goals, it wasn’t complete until I got my equipment in there. The treadmill was purchased at Wal Mart for about $200. It is only supposed to sustain a weight of 275 lbs, but it manages to hold me up. The bench set is a Nautilus. It allows for various exercises. I can bench, squat, incline bench, decline bench, lat pull down, seated row, tricep extension, bicep curl, military press, and a couple more exercises that I can’t remember. My best bud Lukas gave it to me as a gift. He knew that it meant a lot to me. He even helped me put it together. It also serves as a weight rack for the extra plates I have. I purchased the olympic bar at The Sports Authority. It came with 300 lbs worth of weights.
The Shack’s carpet was already installed when I got the house. The walls on the other hand were not there. I put the walls in with my uncle’s help and painted them with my sister’s help. I have been meaning to buy some large mirrors and some motivational posters but I haven’t gotten around to it. The space isn’t too large but it gets the job done. I have the Nautilus set in there, the treadmill, large speakers and a radio system, some loose dumbells and I still have room to move around.
One thing that I definitely want to add real soon is an air conditioner since it gets extremely humid and hot in there. There are times when I can hardly breathe. It feels as if I am suffocating. I used to workout with the door closed, but now I leave them wide open.
I wake up everyday with no reason to not workout, I have my own gym. This is something that I prefer since I really dislike going to public gyms like Bally’s Total Fitness. Ugh, just thinking about it annoys me. It is not my type of environment. I like dingy, dirty personal dungeon gyms. So those clean, prissy public gyms aren’t for me. I think that started back in high school. We used to call our team workout room the Torture Chamber. It used to get so crazy in there that the walls would sweat with water.
I have built an emotional attachment to The Shack. It has become part of my life and will always be a part of me. The Shack doesn’t need to be a physical entity. For me it was mostly in my head at first. It’s my personal place to think, reflect, and better myself. I would just treat wherever I worked out as my Shack. It didn’t get fully realized until I moved here a couple of years ago. Everyone should have their own “Shack.” Whether it’s a small room in your house, your living room, a local gym, the garage, the park or in your head. Everyone should have a shack to escape to.
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The Biggest Loser did not Dissappoint41.2 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 12, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 5 comments
Finally back on the air, The Biggest Loser lived up to the hype. I loved every minute of it. Almost all of the contestants lost staggering amounts of weight. It was pretty amazing, but considering that all they do all day is have time to workout, it should be expected.
I have become accustomed to seeing a large weight loss during the shows first weigh-ins since the first week is always a big week, especially for the guys. It’s not really realistic to think you would be able to lose that much weight. No one should be aiming to lose that much weight that rapidly. It just doesn’t seem healthy.
The stand out for me was Kae (pictured to the left). She lost a whopping 20 lbs! Keep in mind that she is only 5 foot 2 inches tall. Yep. Amazing. She was 225 lbs to start. Other cool things on the show were plane pulling and the black teams workouts. The black team is having some vicious workouts dished out upon them by Jilllian Michaels, who is back after missing last season. She has them running up hills, flipping tires, and carrying sand bags. I was getting boot camp flash backs.
All in all, this was an excellent first episode for The Biggest Loser.
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Mr. Bundles Stretches when he Runs41.2 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 7, 2007 by Israel Lagares | No comments
That’s what some people call me. LOL. I think it’s a cool name. It comes from a Rocawear brand t-shirt that I purchased while on vacation in New York. It’s one of my favorite. That’s a pic of my Mr. Bundles shirt (It’s from when I had a beard). I was also in a bit more shape then. I think I was about 15 or so pounds lighter a few months ago but then it all came crumbling down as I lost touch with my workout routine.
Anyway, back to now! I love my shirt, I workout with it, sleep with it, shop with it, eat with it and blog with it. I just had an awesome workout with it by the way. I was on the treadmill for about 30 minutes non stop and boy did Mr. Bundles collect a ton of sweat. I usually start out slow by walking for a minute. Then I gradually increase the speed every 3 minutes until I reach my target speed level. I then stay at my target speed for the remainder of the session. After I feel I have done enough, which is usually anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, I cool down. The cool down portion of my treadmill routine is usually two minutes, give or take a few seconds.
I failed to mention that I stretch thoroughly before and after each workout, no matter what the exercise I will be doing is. I make it a point to stretch. Over the last few years I have noticed that my rest time and muscle soreness is drastically reduced by simply stretching.
So stretch! And drink water.
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Interesting Conversation with my Cousin41.2 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 3, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 29 comments
I had a very interesting conversation with my cousin the other day. It centered around his wanting to get back into shape. He hadn’t been over my house for a few months and realized how I was living a healthier life: green tea and soy milk in the fridge, tuna in the cupboard, salads and fruits on the counter.
He was kind of shocked. He knows me as the big, fat cousin. The guy that was always a big football player. I explained to him that I have been wanting to change my life. He too wants to change his life, but hasn’t done anything to better it. He eats all the wrong things and doesn’t do anything remotely close to exercise.
I started telling him that he needs to dig deep inside and find that inner warrior that will help him in his quest. He needs to find that one thing that will make him stick to doing anything. For me it’s being able to play with my two year old daughter in the park. Knowing that what I am doing will give me a better quality of life is all I need in order to keep in plugging away with my healthier lifestyle.
I also told him that the change doesn’t need to be drastic. Adjusting some small things such as eating more fruit or walking around outside for his lunch break will be a great start. He was telling me that he doesn’t know how to begin. The thing with him is that he has never had that exercising background. He has never eaten healthy either. He was always able to maintain a decent figure up until a year ago. I guess life caught up with him, but I explained to him that anyone can do anything.
I even invited him over after work to workout with me a few times a week. He said he would take me up on the offer. I hope he does because we all need someone to help us through life.
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Labor Day Weekend41.2 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 2, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 2 comments
Yep, it’s already that time of year. It seems like time has flown by this year. Tomorrow we are planning on having a small barbecue with some chicken , hot dogs, and steaks. The usual stuff. I on the other hand am planning on only eating chicken. I want to keep it as healthy as possible. I know that I am going to be slipping up a bit, that barbecue sauce gets me all the time, but it will be controlled and manageable.
Some family and friends are coming over, but not too many. That’s good because we won’t be over cooking all that “bad” food. 
I haven’t been as diligent with my workouts as I would like to be but I haven’t been cheating on my eating either, so it balances out. Well, this will be a short post. Like I said, its Labor Day Weekend and we need to get ready for tomorrows festivities. It’ll be finger licking good!
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$500 Contest from JohnCow.com and how I would spend the Money41.2 lbs LOSTso farAugust 26, 2007 by Israel Lagares | No comments
I was just doing my normal web surfing and stumbled across a super duper freebie giveaway! I am so excited that I will be in the running for JohnCow.com’s five hundred dollars. I can actually win this thing all without clocking in or showing up to the office…I can really be making money online. I can just see it now…500 buckaroos…with no responsible place to go…unaccounted for…under the old ball and chains economic radar! This plan is so diabolically ingenious! And guess what folks I do have a definite plan on how those five hundred little angels will aid in my quest for ultimate radness. Is that a word? If not it darn well should be. As with any master plan of complete and utter world domination, a list must be composed. So here goes.
The following is a list that encompasses the allocation of funds, non-taxable of course…silly gooberment can’t bother for contest check…at least that’s what Ernesto my tax expert at the tax service company whose name is comprised of two random letters with a “&†in the middle and a hurdle in the end. Who hires seasonal non–experienced employees to handle my very important financial information.
And there you have it folks, my plan for the prize money. Hopefully if all goes as planned I’ll be posting my next blog from a doggy supply store, getting Cornelius (my soon to be poodle extraordinaries name) some most impressive chew toys! Money well spent. Tutaloo!
P.S. No I haven’t forgotten about the remaining $3.71. I will definitely put that away for retirement. I’m not crazy or irresponsible now! Or I may use it for some web hosting for Cornelius’ new doggy blog.
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Biggest Loser is Finally Coming Back41.2 lbs LOSTso farAugust 25, 2007 by Israel Lagares | No comments
I know that they have gone international and are airing shows in different countries, but it feels like it was forever ago that I watched the season finale of The Biggest Loser on NBC. Seriously, how long has it been? Anyone remember? I was watching some television and saw a commercial for it. Finally! It’s back, plus they have a “where are they now” special for the past contestants on Tuesday, Sept. 4. That will be fun to watch. I wonder how all of those people are doing. I bet they kept the weight off, or at least a reasonable amount of it off.
I think the Biggest Loser gods were listening to me when they got rid of Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s fat aunt and replaced her with super attractive Alison Sweeney as the new host (she has her own blog). She is hot, and not fat. Not that I have anything against fat women, but if you are going to host a show about weight loss, at the very least be presentable and lose some weight yourself.
I just saw the exclusive online video promotion for this season and its going to be awesome. Jillian is back and she is training a black team to compete with the red and blue teams. There’s a new Biggest Loser Campus. They even have the contestants pulling airplanes! I wonder what other new twists and shockers there will be this season. I can’t wait, I can honestly say I love that show. I sound all cheesy but this show brought me and my wife a little closer since it first aired. I know that this season I will be losing the weight along with the contestants or maybe even at a faster rate. We shall all see.
Season 4 kicks off on Tuesday, September 11th with a 2 hour episode. Woohoo!
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Long Night, No sleep, New Logo41.2 lbs LOSTso farAugust 24, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 3 comments
About once a month I experience a weird, non-sleepy, full of energy day. Last night was one of those days. I don’t particularly like it when I stay up all day and all night, but I am at least able to get tons of work done online. Although, now that I think of it, I have to often re-check and re-do all that work I did because I did it in zombie mode.
Maybe its because of my weight? I am over 300 pounds, so it could possibly be sleep apnea? Oh no, that’s not right, sleep apnea is when you are sleeping and your airway is blocked but your brain doesn’t know that your not breathing. So I can’t be suffering from that since I did not sleep. What else could it be? Maybe I just had too much energy. I don’t recall eating anything with caffeine in it, then again I don’t recall eating anything healthy today either.
I ate some Mexican quesadillas from Vallarta’s here in Tampa. They make some good food at that place. Finger licking good. Yeah, must have been all that grease and Coca-Cola I consumed. Darned, now that I think of it I did consume caffeine! The crazy thing is that I did not even want to do it. I knew that I shouldn’t have but I could not stop myself. I figured “I am here and my wife is going to eat, I might as well eat it too.” Man, I keep feeling like a weakling. I hope tomorrow is a better day, or actually, I hope today is a better day too.
I am going to go visit those blogs I bookmarked yesterday from those other health bloggers. Maybe I can get inspired again because I definitely need it.
I did manage to re-do the logo and the header of the blog. Lukas helped me come up with the idea for the muscle-bound brain. I executed using my superb graphic design skills. 
The logo basically represents mental toughness, since that is what I will need to get this accomplished and change my life. I also did some reworking on some of the content of the blog so that it is more search engine and user friendly.
YAAAAWWWNNNNN. I think the sleep is hitting me now. Time to go night, night.
I promise myself I will have at least 8 hours of sleep from now on! And thats a Promise.
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Other Peoples Weight Loss Blogs41.2 lbs LOSTso farAugust 24, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 2 comments
The other day I was searching the web, notice how I didn’t say “googling,” for blogs that were similar to mine. I came across a large collection of blogs that were very informative and entertaining. Many of the bloggers are similar to me in that they just want a place to speak their mind about this long weight loss journey. Most if not all are just ordinary people that have decided to start living a healthier lifestyle. Some are having more success than others, but that doesn’t matter. The journey is what matters.
I will admit though, some were just blogging to try and get famous and/or rich from the whole blogging craze. But those folks wont be listed in the list below that I compiled.
Well, without further ado, the Fat Man’s Fat Blog List (in no specific order):
Unstoppable Weight Loss
Weight Ladder
Fit Bloggers
Former Fat Guy
Blogging Away Fat
Pasta Queens Half of Me
Lazy Man and Health
Over 40 In Debt and Overweight
Pound Buy Pound
No More Mr. Fat Guy
I hope you enjoy reading their blogs and experiencing their journeys as much as I have. I will update the list if I find any more blogs out there that I deem useful. If you have any, feel free to let me know by posting a comment.
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