My friend Jes asked me to post my daily menu which has proved harder than I expected cause I’ve been so busy, but, my days consist mostly of this:

Breakfast:

3-4 Eggs scrambled with onions
Snack – Cashews and Pineapple

Lunch:

Grilled chicken breast
Avocado
Mixed veggies – squash and zucchini

Dinner:

Fajita meat, brisket or some type of beef. I love beef. It’s what’s for dinner.
Vegetables – broccoli and cauliflower

I have not been weighing every day. In the past I have found that to be detrimental. If I see no progress I get very discouraged instead of just digging in and realizing that it is going to take time. I plan to weigh once a week and be happy with whatever weight loss I have. Loss is loss.

What do I miss most? McAlister’s Sweet Tea. I used to drink 4-5 glasses a week. I would order it half sweet half unsweet and I plan to get some on Superbowl Sunday. That will be my first “cheat” day after this 30 day challenge is up.

But… this “diet” is supposed to become a lifestyle. I’m still trying to mentally wrap my head around never having dairy or sugar or bread or anything artificial again for the rest of my life, but maybe I can cut those things back to like 10% of what I used to eat. So the occasional half-and-half and cup of coffee instead of 2-3 cups every morning. I’ve spent 36 years learning how to eat poorly, it’s going to take some time for me to figure out how to enjoy eating like this. Variety is the spice of life and right now mine is lacking variety for sure – but part of that has been because I have been really watching my carb intake as well. The fruits that I have eaten have been in moderation just so that I don’t get too many carbs and I burn the fat a little faster.

For now, wish me luck, I need to get below 300 pounds this year. It’s been too long that I’ve put this off… too, too long.

When I look back over 2011 it is a jumble of work, school and more work. I started the year with the goal to lose some weight, but I only stayed the same for the entire year. I got a personal trainer for 3 months and realized that personal training is worthless without a serious diet change – and I changed my diet, just not enough and not consistently enough.

Work was a nightmare. I worked for Denton Bible Church for the first 8 months of the year and was self-employed running both http://www.eddierenz.com my web design business and http://www.soundandshow.com – my DJ Business all while juggling the financial responsibility of Dallas Theological Seminary – which cost me about $5000 out of pocket which might not seem like a lot, but when you have to pay $600 a month on a self-employed/part-time church worker budget it can be a real burden.

As far as actual income for 2011 I did pretty good. I made almost the same Salary that I made with Texas Instruments but I still don’t have health insurance and I sometimes miss the security of that weekly paycheck, but, there is nothing like being your own boss. There is a thrill that comes with not knowing if you are going to make any money for the next month and literally living by faith and watching God provide week after week, month after month. I live a very nice life and the challenges that I face are mostly self-induced.

Some of the Highlights from 2011

1. Found Author Harlan Coben and have enjoyed reading his books.

2. Re-Branded my Web Design business to Chemist Creative.

3. Started going to The Village Church and I LOVE it.

4. Started my Masters in Media and Communication at DTS

5. Started Crossfit

So, what’s in store for 2012?

I plan to kick off the New Year with a 30 Day Paleo Diet challenge. This year I’m doing it with friends and we have consequences for cheating. How do you stick to a plan? Accountability with consequences. Our consequences is 30 burpees for every cheating incident. If you don’t know what a burpee is you can check it out here:

I’m also doing Crossfit which is definitely a challenge for me. Well, I think it is a challenge for everyone that does it and the real challenge is being mentally tough and pushing yourself beyond your limits. Here is a quick video so you can get the idea of the ridiculousness of these workouts:

While personal training pushed me to my limits I don’t think it pushed me like these Crossfit workouts have pushed me. Plus, you are doing the workouts with other people and so there is a community aspect to the workouts.

By the end of 2012 I’d like to look like Alistair Overeem… who by the way defeated Brock Lesnar pretty effortlessly last night in UFC 141.

Big Goals for 2012

1. Reach a Goal weight of 300
2. Pay off all miscellaneous debt
3. Visit Jimmy in Shang Hai
4. Run the 8 Mile at the Turkey Trot

I then ate regular food for 2 days and actually put on  4 pounds…. but, I’d also worked out wildly those 2 days and so I should have just stayed the same. It’s quite bizarre. But I’m continuing to press on with the diet and hopefully I can get down to 320 at least by August 1. i’ve got to continue to mold and work on my overall diet and workout plan until I have sufficiently figured out the right balance of carbs, fat, protein and workout.

I’ve never been more focused and despite the eye injury (Got hit by a racquetball racquet) I’m not going to be set back too far. I’m going to take the day off today and not workout, but it will be the first day in 15 that I haven’t busted my butt with at least an hour or two of cardio.

Much Love…. Eddo

I weighed 363.3 last Monday and 343.2 today. How you ask? By eating less and working out more.

I decided to use all my years of combined dieting success and failure knowledge to my advantage. Lowering my carbs has always seemed to work well for me but it never seemed satisfying or sustainable. Counting calories was too complicated and cumbersome. I needed a program that allowed me a tiny bit of flexibility along with long-lasting results.

I kept eating my almonds for breakfast and for dinner along with lots and lots of water and a small lunch that normally consisted of about 30 carbs and lots of protein and fat.

The body actually burns fat better as a fuel than carbs and so you would think that I would be too tired to sustain three hour workouts EVERY. SINGLE. DAY last week. But I did and the intensity only increased instead of decreasing despite the decline of my caloric intake. That includes weight lifting to insure I don’t lose muscle mass – which, I can still bench press 275 10 times and so I think my muscle mass is doing just fine.

I’ve been sure to take my vitamins and joint supplements with this regime as well and I’ve never felt better.

Some people may say, “that’s unhealthy!!!” or “It’s mostly water weight!” – but they say that only because they really don’t know their butt from a hole in the ground.

Water weight is normally stored on people who don’t exercise or diet and secondly, God created our bodies so that they would be able to store so we could use it when needed. It’s like a wharehouse full of gasoline and I’m burning it up with exercise.

Part of my plan has come from reading Wilbur Smith books where these hunters in the African bush would literally chase elephants for 20 miles in a single day jogging through rough terrain with minimal water and food. Their bodies would lose fat quickly, but they would only become more fierce.

So my goal is to lose 60 pounds by Aug. 1st and I figure if the 360 pound guy on the biggest loser can do it, so can I.

On Monday I started a diet. I’m self-employed and so I get to set my own hours and it really helps when sticking to a diet and exercise routine. South Beach always works great for me and so I thought I would give it a whirl. I got up and weighed Monday a heft 363.3 pounds. Ouch. That was what the scale said, I wasn’t in any pain myself.

I decided to go for  a long bike ride and then to eat healthy all day and by healthy I mean strict low-carb with a few almonds and very little dinner.

Tuesday I got up and weighed 360.0 – not bad I thought, but that could easily be water weight. Yesterday I repeated the day almost exactly but I added in an extra hour of cardio and some weight training.

Wednesday morning I got up and weighed 355.0 – wow – that’s 8 pounds in 2 days. Would it be possible for me to lose 22 more in 8 days? I don’t see why not.

This morning I got up for the 4th day in a row and road my 14 mile bike ride. Then after I went to the gym and lifted for about 30 minutes followed by 90 minutes on the treadmill.

I’m eating almonds and water for breakfast with a spoonful of peanut butter tossed in the mix.

Lunch is an omelette with sausage (Yep, I fell off the no pork wagon) and the omelette is made with some extra egg whites and avacado, some onion and some salsa. Dinner has been almonds and cashews.

I’m wondering if I can handle a night at the gym tonight for some extra cardio? Perhaps a quick hour on the elliptical machine will do me some good. If I weigh 352 tomorrow then I am going to keep this up for the full 10 days adding more and more workouts until I have dropped 30 pounds. It might kill me, but it will be fun to see if it is possible.

What is it about online dating services that makes me feel like I am bargain basement shopping? It’s like I have this selection of women served up before me that are last year’s models or returned items that someone else didn’t want. I know what you are thinking: Harsh Much! But it’s true.

I’ve been trying Match.com for a month now and it seems that everyone they are matching me with is divorced. When did people start getting divorced in their twenties?

I’m probably being too judgmental or even unrealistic cause I know there are some amazing divorced women out there, but I sort of want to be my wife’s first husband. When someone has already been married then I feel like “Hey, you already had your turn, let some the rest of us have a shot!”

Match.com gives me 5 new matches a day and most of the time I can look at their profile and tell if we would actually be a good match. I have talked to a couple of girls through email and I can’t help but be bored.

One girl said, “It’s torture for me to get to know someone through email.” And I wanted to respond back, “If that is the case, then you should give me a good reason to want to meet you in person. Be interesting. Be funny. Be witty. Charming. SOMETHING!” Snore.

I have a tendency to quickly write out a long email that gives insights into who I am and what I am looking for without coming right out and saying it. I ask important questions up front like, “Were you ever a dude?” and “Are you a Wiccan?” It’s important to get these questions out of the way at the beginning instead of finding out on the third or fourth date and you’ve already french kissed on the front steps of her lair.

I promise that I am not hardened or set in my ways, but the last 4-6 relationships, the girls I took out from e-Harmony, Wilbur Smith novels and the 33 years I have lived on this Earth have wizened me and enhanced my bullcraptometer.  Online dating services allow people to put their best foot forward on an online profile but I think it also attracts people that fall into these categories:

• Desperate
• Shallow
• Married
• Divorced
• Perverts
• Crazies
• Hopeless Romantics
• Gold Diggers

I’m sure that makes me sound jaded, but I’m just drawing a conclusion based on my own personal experience and observation. But I also believe that in every field full of weeds you can find a beautiful wild flower… Somewhere in this great wide world there is a woman who will understand my heart and see me for who I am – flawed, but awesome.  She’s out there somewhere and I plan to find her.

The hardest part is keeping up with all the food I eat. A banana here and apple there a container of pudding every now and then followed by a piece of string cheese. Every single item counts, every delicious calorie, every teaspoon of olive oil – it all adds up.

The best thing about Weight Watchers is that I haven’t been all that great at staying within my point limits. On occasion I go over or there are days when I blow it altogether, but I think my diet is more balanced now and I eat a more fruit and vegetables than I ever have. I also love that I don’t have to deny myself food at a party or an event. Instead, I plan for that birthday bash by using my bonus points on those days and instead of having three pieces of cake I just have 1 and a half!

I’d like to lose 3 more pounds by January 31… but if I don’t I still feel pretty successful and this is new for me since my whole life I’ve measured my weightloss success by dropping huge amounts of weight in an unrealistic amount of time. If you’ve tried every diet on the planet, I encourage you to try this one. It might change your life.

Real Body Fitness

Pamela Micks
Certified Personal Trainer
214-536-3304
pamela@realbodyfitness.com

I wish that you could follow me around for a couple of days and see what my life is like. I wake up and start working immediately, then I take lunch which is usally me eating alone and reading a Wilbur Smith or Dean Koontz novel.

When I get off work I like to relax for about 30 minutes after I change into my workout clothes. I like to eat before working out and so I find some food in the house or I go and pick somehting up. I then go to the gym. If I ride my bike to the gym then I don’t do cardio at the gym, I just lift until my arms hurt – until the pain in my rotator cuffs is so unbearable that I have to hug myself to deal with the pain. I do curls and back exercises until exhaustion. When I try to do one more rep of anything my triceps, biceps or back muscles immediately Charlie Horse and I know it’s time to stop.

In the morning I eat Kashi high-protein, high-fiber cereal. I drink 50 grams of a low-carb protien drink. I take fish-oil tablets that are supposed to help the joints. At night I drink a Nitric Oxide beverage that tastes like diet fruit punch cough syrup called Nano Vapor.

What’s in naNO Vapor?

naNO Vapor™ delivers clinically advanced anabolic growth factors, a unique neuro-amplifying matrix, cutting-edge thermogenic compounds, potent cell volumizing complexes, and a never-before-seen combination of vasodilators for a powerful, multi-angled approach to musclebuilding.

This is only the beginning. I’ve got so many more things to incorporate into my overall training plan, but I don’t want to over-do it. What I’ve learned from years of failure and success is that trying to do too much at the beginning is a sure way to incur severe burnout and I need to make this program work for me unlike any other program in the past.

One thing I also must mention – the Fish Oil Joint pills are working fantastic. After just a few days use I already feel less pain in my elbows and heels. I should have done this a long time ago, but better late than never!

I thrust the bar back up the rack with a clank and hugged myself. I listened to “Closer” by Ne-Yo on my iPod while I geared back up for the final 10 reps. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… I pushed all the way through to 15 before I was forced to quit again.  My breath came in short gasps and so I focused on slowing it down. Deep inhalations followed by a slow exhale. I concentrated on the pounding in my chest and immediately could tell that the breathing exercises were working.

This week I added just 10 pounds. My goal is to be able to do 225 40 times non-stop by the time Desperdo tryouts get here in October. I picked up the 145 pounds and busted out 25 reps easily. The second set was even easier and is always the easiest because the muscles are warmed up. By the 3rd set I could start to feel the burn, the tearing down of muscle fibers and the build up of lactic acid. I continued to focus on my breathing and form and on the 4th and final set of 25 I pushed through with ease. 145 pounds 100 times isn’t a great feat, but what is great is to see how quickly my body is responding to the torture I am putting it through. Now it’s time to up the ante…

With just 2 months of training to go I have to increase my running, improve my diet, start taking post-workout recovery shakes, ice my joints, cool down in the hot tub and sauna, and if I really want to get serious I will start on a regimen of creatine and a host of other MuscleTech supplements that taste and smell awful but that over time I have found that they actually do work.

Last night I am talking to Attic Monkey about all of this and I tell him, “Dude, just imagine how much easier it would be to be a full time athlete. I’m doing all of this on top of working 40 hours a week at work, what if all I had to do was workout 4 hours a day, then work on recovery and then when I go home that time is mine, the workouts are done because the workouts were, well, Work.”

This little conversation only inspired me more. What if I could become a paid athlete for just a few years? After that I would like to tour the states as a motivational speaker. I would publish a book on eating and exercise and then of course I would write an Autobiography about my experience and how I went from Corporate America, to being a Fat Mavs ManiAAC dancer to being a Dallas Desperado.

So people keep asking me, “What have you been up to lately?” Well, pretty much working, working out, and taking care of my body and my house. What have you been up to?