The Saturday Post: My Continuing Story
Well, after a short break from Blogging to focus more on getting my Level 1 Certification going (along with working on my job's Certification Process), I thought it necessary to look back on where I've been to push me forward to where I'm going!
The picture to the left was me, a little over 18 months ago, when I was at 260lbs and struggling to train with my son. I wore a size 42 pants and had a plethora of XXL shirts to hide the pudge.
The picture to the right, was taken while practicing my Level 1 workout this past Thursday.
The picture to the right, was taken while practicing my Level 1 workout this past Thursday.
You see, we all get to certain points in our live where we have to say "Enough is Enough" (E-i-E) and decide to move in a new direction.
November 26, 2012 was one of those points.
At that point, after a 3 year break from doing any sort of physical activity, save for short bursts of walking or biking, I had been 2 months into getting back into Martial Arts Training by getting my son (Morgan) started in Judo, Jujustu & Karate at the Dakota Budokan Dojo. I was only in the dojo at the times Morgan was. While I remembered a lot of what was being taught, I wasn't physically able to keep up. My knees, hips & back were killing me & I struggled through every training session.
In October of 2013, I decided I was going to purchase the Basic & the Advance Pack of DDP Yoga and "try it out". I had tried other workout programs in the past. While I did lose weight with those other programs, they were harder to keep up & stay engaged with. While the premise of Cardio, Strength Training & Flexibility Training all with minimal joint impact sounded great, I had my doubts about how it would deliver.
It took me two months of dabbling, feeling a little better doing the Diamond Dozen, Energy & Fat Burner workouts before I had my E-i-E Moment. My crazy thought was that I was going to start cutting back on the Wheat & Dairy intake and start stepping up the workouts a little bit more over a long period of time. Crazier than that was that I started doing this right when the Holiday Season started (a time filled with extra sweets and ample opportunities for gorging and slacking off).
However, I thought of this as my Slow Burn Christmas gift to myself: Gaining My Life Back! My goal at that point was to get to 185lbs in a year, so that by the next Christmas, getting clothes for gifts would be a whole new level of exciting (since they would all have to be smaller sized).
Over the next 9 months, all filled with Peaks & Valleys, I saw slow & steady improvements. I started to get more comments from people on what I was doing at that point. I would talk up DDP Yoga & training at the dojo. I also did a Video Blog on my YouTube Channel (ZenTwister). I called the whole Series "Project Keg-To-A-6 Pack" or KTA6P for short.
As of August 26th, 2013, I hit my goal of 185lbs! I still had a slight tire around my waist, but it was definitely a lot less noticeable than it was!
At that point, I put some new goals into place. Namely, to get stronger than I was and be able to do things like Pull-Ups & Black Crow to Handstands. I also set a goal that I would get Certified as a DDP Yoga Instructor in 2014.
When November 26th, 2013 rolled around, I was faced with a big Valley. We had one car crap out on us, the other car get hit by a deer, our funds get to a point where I wasn't sure on how our Christmas was going to be (to the point of going to the Food Pantry Giveaways to make sure my family had enough to eat) and worse of all, my Grandmother died.
In the interest of full disclosure on my progress, I did a couple of Video Blogs about it. I wanted to use what was happening to my family & I at the time as a lesson that even though Dark Times in life happen, it was not going to deter me from staying positive, Living Life at 90%, and keeping up with my progress I had fought for over the past year.
Out of that Valley came a lot of positive things!
First & Foremost, it showed me how truly Awesome out TeamDDPYoga is! A few people that I hold truly near to my heart (Matt & Liz), stepped up to lend a hand up. It was an act that I hope to repay to them them in whatever way I can!
Secondly, it proved the Live Life at 90% adage! It also proved another saying" "Tough Times don't last. Tough People do!" As it turned out, we were able to get one car repaired, the other car replaced (with the gracious help of our extended families), and right our finances with a bit of Hard Work & Overtime.
Bottom line is: Instead of wallowing in the dark, I took action to Light It up and Move Forward!
Throughout that whole ordeal, I did not waiver on a workout, nor did I fall back into old eating habits. My weight has stayed around the 185-195lb range. I'm not going to stay I wasn't stressed out and feeling low, because those dark places were definitely there. However, I refused to allow them to control my life!
Fast Forward to today: My weight has evened out and waivers around 190-199lbs. I now wear a size 33 pants... something I had not been able to do for the past 16 years! I am in the dojo 3-4 times a week, with one of those days working on teaching a DDP Yoga Level 1 Class. I am not Certified yet, but it is only a matter of Time & Hard Work!
We are going through another financial Valley at this point. My wife quit working at my office to focus on her Jewelry Business, so we have only one steady paycheck at this point.
However, the Own This Day Adage still holds true! It may mean that I don't get to do things I want to do this summer when I want to, but it is not going to hold me back from my goals. It is also good time to use this as a E-i-E moment and take steps to make this doesn't happen again! Pushing forward to get Certified so that I can officially Teach DDP Yoga is going to be part of that. It also means that I'm going to spend some more time on this blog, promote my wife's business (Wynter Creations) and make sure that we can both be successful!
The Bottom Line this time is: There are Great Things ahead for us! They are going to take Hard Work, Flexibility and Owning This Day each & every day, but we will get there!
Thank you to everyone that has followed along with me so far! I hope I inspire you in whatever is happening in your life, you always have the chance to.....
#OwnThisDay
Travis "#MidwestStrong" Roberts
It took me two months of dabbling, feeling a little better doing the Diamond Dozen, Energy & Fat Burner workouts before I had my E-i-E Moment. My crazy thought was that I was going to start cutting back on the Wheat & Dairy intake and start stepping up the workouts a little bit more over a long period of time. Crazier than that was that I started doing this right when the Holiday Season started (a time filled with extra sweets and ample opportunities for gorging and slacking off).
However, I thought of this as my Slow Burn Christmas gift to myself: Gaining My Life Back! My goal at that point was to get to 185lbs in a year, so that by the next Christmas, getting clothes for gifts would be a whole new level of exciting (since they would all have to be smaller sized).
Over the next 9 months, all filled with Peaks & Valleys, I saw slow & steady improvements. I started to get more comments from people on what I was doing at that point. I would talk up DDP Yoga & training at the dojo. I also did a Video Blog on my YouTube Channel (ZenTwister). I called the whole Series "Project Keg-To-A-6 Pack" or KTA6P for short.
As of August 26th, 2013, I hit my goal of 185lbs! I still had a slight tire around my waist, but it was definitely a lot less noticeable than it was!
At that point, I put some new goals into place. Namely, to get stronger than I was and be able to do things like Pull-Ups & Black Crow to Handstands. I also set a goal that I would get Certified as a DDP Yoga Instructor in 2014.
When November 26th, 2013 rolled around, I was faced with a big Valley. We had one car crap out on us, the other car get hit by a deer, our funds get to a point where I wasn't sure on how our Christmas was going to be (to the point of going to the Food Pantry Giveaways to make sure my family had enough to eat) and worse of all, my Grandmother died.
In the interest of full disclosure on my progress, I did a couple of Video Blogs about it. I wanted to use what was happening to my family & I at the time as a lesson that even though Dark Times in life happen, it was not going to deter me from staying positive, Living Life at 90%, and keeping up with my progress I had fought for over the past year.
Out of that Valley came a lot of positive things!
First & Foremost, it showed me how truly Awesome out TeamDDPYoga is! A few people that I hold truly near to my heart (Matt & Liz), stepped up to lend a hand up. It was an act that I hope to repay to them them in whatever way I can!
Secondly, it proved the Live Life at 90% adage! It also proved another saying" "Tough Times don't last. Tough People do!" As it turned out, we were able to get one car repaired, the other car replaced (with the gracious help of our extended families), and right our finances with a bit of Hard Work & Overtime.
Bottom line is: Instead of wallowing in the dark, I took action to Light It up and Move Forward!
Throughout that whole ordeal, I did not waiver on a workout, nor did I fall back into old eating habits. My weight has stayed around the 185-195lb range. I'm not going to stay I wasn't stressed out and feeling low, because those dark places were definitely there. However, I refused to allow them to control my life!
Fast Forward to today: My weight has evened out and waivers around 190-199lbs. I now wear a size 33 pants... something I had not been able to do for the past 16 years! I am in the dojo 3-4 times a week, with one of those days working on teaching a DDP Yoga Level 1 Class. I am not Certified yet, but it is only a matter of Time & Hard Work!
We are going through another financial Valley at this point. My wife quit working at my office to focus on her Jewelry Business, so we have only one steady paycheck at this point.
However, the Own This Day Adage still holds true! It may mean that I don't get to do things I want to do this summer when I want to, but it is not going to hold me back from my goals. It is also good time to use this as a E-i-E moment and take steps to make this doesn't happen again! Pushing forward to get Certified so that I can officially Teach DDP Yoga is going to be part of that. It also means that I'm going to spend some more time on this blog, promote my wife's business (Wynter Creations) and make sure that we can both be successful!
The Bottom Line this time is: There are Great Things ahead for us! They are going to take Hard Work, Flexibility and Owning This Day each & every day, but we will get there!
Thank you to everyone that has followed along with me so far! I hope I inspire you in whatever is happening in your life, you always have the chance to.....
#OwnThisDay
Travis "#MidwestStrong" Roberts
