A sunny day at the Bonneville Dam

So, a week ago it snowed, and this Saturday it was almost 70 degrees! What's up with this crazy weather? It was so beautiful this weekend, we had to get out and do something. Heather nominated a quick trip to Bonneville Dam to see the fish hatchery and ladders. It's about a 45 minute drive down the Columbia River Gorge, past Multnomah Falls (where we got engaged) and it was gorgeous. Here's a few pictures from the day.

The kids grab a quick snack before we go see the fish.

Quite the first impression to see this HUGE sturgeon fish at
our first exhibit. The kids were freaking out.

Evan wasn't so sure if he would want to try to land
one of these guys while fishing!

The trout ponds were packed with trout of different ages/sizes.

For .25 you can get a handful of fish food pellets
and watch the trout fight for some food.

Who knew the ducks like the pellets just as much!

Note the sign just off screen...Do not climb on handrails.
That's my little lawbreaker!

Outside at the fish ladder.
We didn't see any fish working their way up the ladder.

Evan was impressed by the maze the fish work their way
through, especially the "four" tunnels they get to go through.

Not a fish to be found. Oh well.

The Dam set up a little house that promoted energy efficient usage.
Hollyn just thought it was a cute little house.

Family pic!

The kids were impressed with the water.
We also drove down the road below, got closer to the river,
and saw where a sea lion was grabbing salmon.

Show me NO money!!

OK, as one of my four readers razzed me...NO, I'm not going for the world's record in "longest time between postings!"

My life over the last few months has been streamlined down to THREE categories in which I spend my time.

1. Family.
2. Work.
3. Exercise/Diet contest at work.

I can't vouch for that order being accurate though!

But the 12-week diet contest at work ended today, so my priorities are shifting a bit and I thought I'd take a second to fill you all in on how it went, as well as some exercise tips I picked up along the way.

Let's get right to the results of the contest. There were two parts to it. 1. Biggest % change in body weight. 2. Biggest change in body fat %. Each side was worth $500 (thanks to my CEO who threw in $500 of his own money to the prize pot!). The big question was always "would ONE person win the whole $1000?" I was definitely trying to!

But alas...despite all my success in dieting/exercising...I came home with $0! One lady won BOTH sides, beating me on the body weight side by .38% which equated to 0.8 pounds! So close, so close. On the body fat side, she crushed everyone, and I ended in 3rd place anyways, so I don't feel so bad about that one. But missing the $500 on the weight side by 0.8 pounds was rough!

Now...before you start mentally chastising me for not trying hard enough and getting that last 0.8 pounds off, I have to inform you that the reality is I actually had no business being that close in the first place. I knew the competition was getting stiff a couple weeks ago, so in advance I took today off work so I could have the ability to hit the gym this morning for a killer "last chance" workout. And that I did! I worked out for 3 hours, losing 3.5 pounds just this morning! So...could I have lost another 0.8 pounds? Sure. But I don't feel bad that I lost by that little.

OK. So here's the numbers.

Starting weight on 1/14: 206.6
Ending weight on 4/4: 175.4

Body fat % on 1/14: 26.7% (yeah, it had gotten that bad, folks!!)
Body fat % on 4/4: 21.0% (still not great, but headed in the right direction)

That's a 15% change in weight and a 22% change in body fat!!

And where do we go from here? Well...our fitness efforts shift back to the whole family again. Heather will focus on cardio only for the next month or so to get ready for the big Bloomsday walk we do every year (www.bloomsdayrun.org), and I will switch back to more of a balanced workout between weights and cardio. Also, with summer coming we're excited to get the kids in some fun activities too. Gymnastics, soccer, basketball, etc.

So, what did I learn over the last 12 weeks? Here's some tidbits in no particular order.

1. Cardio exercise is better suited for short-term weight loss.

2. Resistance training (lifting weights) has so many long-term benefits I would encourage it to anyone of ANY age.

3. You don't have to lift "big amounts" of weights to be effective. I had more success with slow, steady, deliberate movements. A trainer I worked out with a couple times showed me how to combine long, full-range contractions with short, final-squeeze contractions to really get the burn.

4. When doing cardio, make sure you stay in your fat burning zone to optimize your efforts in fat loss. There are calculators out there to determine this range, but it's essentially:

1. Calculate your MHR (max heart rate) by subtracting your age from 220. Example: 220-37 = 183


2. Determine your RHR (resting heart rate) by taking your pulse for one minute when at a complete rest. Then subtract your RHR from your MHR. Example: 183-56 = 127


3. Calculate your zone percentages. Example: 55% of 127=70; 72% of 127=91.


4. Add RHR back to both zone numbers. Example: 70+56=126; 91+56=147

There you have it. With my numbers, I have to keep my heart rate between 126-147 to most efficiently burn fat as I do cardio! Your goal is at least 30 minutes with 60 being optimal.

5. I found two times of the day to be the OPTIMAL for doing cardio. First thing in the morning and after lifting weights. First thing in the morning has some detractors, as they say you compromise muscle loss when you exercise on an empty stomach. Others say when you have no fuel in your stomach (after a night's sleep) your body quickly turns to its fat stores to fuel you as you do your early a.m. workout. I, personally, subscribe to the latter thought! Later in the day I found it most helpful to do weight training first, to burn through any food consumed that day, then doing cardio when you're back at an empty fuel status.

6. I don't have many tips on food/diet, except to say that I am a FIRM believer in a balanced diet. I am not a fan of any plan that withholds a certain element out of the diet (i.e. like Adkins restricting carbs). Find balance by limiting fat intake to healthy fats, use carbs to fuel your body, and get enough protein to build muscle mass.

7. One other thing I will say about food intake when dieting... you will ABSOLUTELY harm yourself in the mid- to long-term if your diet consists of "starving yourself." It's just not worth it, don't do it! Aim for a weight loss of NO MORE than 2 pounds a week, by reducing your calories by roughly 300 below your BMR. BMR = Basal Metabolic Rate, which you'll find a ton of calculators if you just Google it. My BMR is roughly 2000 calories a day, so for me to lose weight in a healthy way I reduced my intake down to 1600-1700 calories, and then created a larger calorie deficit by exercising. Remember, it takes an overall calorie deficit of 3500 to lose one pound.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm drained! It's off to dinner at Red Robin with the kids.

I should take two seconds to thank some very important people who enabled me to do all this.

1. My wife. Absolutely. Without her, NO WAY this happened. So many times she watched the kids while I spent hours at the gym! She sacrificed just as much energy as I did to give me the chance to do this!

2. Evan and Hollyn. It got to a point this last week where Hollyn saw I wasn't home and asked if I was "at work or the gym." She missed her Daddy a lot and vice versa. Evan wasn't effected quite the same way, but definitely understood what I was trying to accomplish. As a family we had many discussions around being "unhealthy" (not FAT) and hopefully I've set a good example for the kids to understand. When you swim in our gene pool, you need to understand that making healthy choices needs to happen sooner rather than later.

3. My MP3 player, Jon and Taylor - two LA Fitness trainers who actually know what they're doing, fish and brown rice, my co-workers and extended family who encouraged me regularly, Saucony running shoes, patella tendon knee straps, and on and on.

This story would have ended so much better with a deposit in the bank, but alas I will settle for being a healthier, happier person. On to the next fitness goal.