Okay, I'm in My Forties

Happy 41

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

Turning 40 was not hard for me.  I embraced it.  I blogged about it in a series of posts called "Facing 40."  In fact, turning 30 was harder for me.  I don't know why that is, but I suspect it has something to do with being 10 years wiser; blah, blah, blah.  

When I turned 40, I convinced myself that I was not yet in my forties.  I viewed 40 as its own age group.  It was partly tongue and cheek, partly me being serious.  

After my half marathon

Now here I am, age 41.  I accomplished several things during age 40.  I finished my goal of running 500 miles.  I actually clocked 503 by the end of 2013.  A month ago I ran my first half-marathon.  I hope to do another one before the end of the year.  I think the running may be a part of wanting to become more fit, but also part of a midlife crisis.  I'm trying to turn back or at least slow down the hands of time.

Not really me...

I've also declared 2014 "Operation Find My Abs", which is a quest to actually reveal a six-pack under the keg I've built up.  I know this is totally narcissistic of me to say, but I'm just being honest here.  I've lost sight of that goal recently, snacking on Girl Scout cookies, candy, and other sweet treats.  I've cut the sugar from my coffee and given up cereal for Lent (even though I'm not Catholic) in my attempts to lose some weight and tone up.  I'm learning it's much more than exercising, but eating right is key to this.

I want my 40's to be more fit than my 30's.  I've already run more in the first year than I did in that decade.  Thanks for reading and not judging me, or at least to my face.  

Facing 40 (Minus 1): DDP Yoga 30-Day Update

DDP Yoga

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents

Technically this is the 36-day update from when I started doing DDP Yoga, but 30 days sounds more official.  I started DDP Yoga with the same goals as most who use the program. I wanted to lose weight, get in shape and become healthier. I’ll admit that given my track record with these goals, I was skeptical if I’d make it to the 30 day mark, or if I’d get bored and distracted after one or two weeks. There were a few days during the third week that I hit a wall and had to force myself to continue on with the workouts. Thankfully that mental wall was quickly demolished.

So here we are with the first update. First, I want to get the “negative” out of the way. When I decided to start getting healthy, I wanted to lose 20-25 pounds. I’m not really overweight. I’m more skinny fat, as Triple H would say. So I don’t have a lot of weight to lose as much as I need to build some muscle definition. Also, because I have a bad hip, due to not having the upper part of my right hip bone, losing excess weight would reduce the stress put on the hip which would hopefully then lead to less hip and lower back pain. With the annual Wrestlemania trip coming up at the start of April and DDP appearing at WrestleCon, I set the goal to lose the 20-25 pounds by the time I arrived in New Jersey. Figured ten pounds a month wasn’t setting the bar too high.

Last night, I did my first weigh in since the day I started. My starting weight on January 25 was 194 pounds. My current weight as of February 28 is 188.  Instead of hitting the ten-pound goal, I only lost six pounds. At first I was disappointed that I hadn’t hit the goal but the more I thought about it, I questioned why I was disappointed. It wasn’t like I hadn’t lost any weight. I reminded myself I’m not running a sprint. This isn’t like The Biggest Loser where I have three months to lose as much weight as possible and then hope I can keep it off when the cameras stop rolling. If I continue on the same trajectory all it means is it’ll take me four months to get to the goal weight instead of two. Pretty sure I can handle sixty extra days.

Order it!

The other factor to consider is I didn’t set out just to lose weight. I wanted to improve my life and overall well being. Over the past 30 days, I’ve noticed I am sleeping better. I used to go to bed around 11 and would be awake at 2 and every hour after that until finally getting up for work. Now I sleep soundly until 6:30. I spend a lot of time during the day sitting at my desk at work. 

Over the past six months or so, I had noticed whenever I would get out of my chair, I would stand slightly hunched over with pain shooting through my lower back. In the last few weeks that pain is gone and I can stand up straight. If these positive changes are what happen after only a month, I can’t wait to see what happens over the course of the next year.

In addition to the body benefits which come from DDP Yoga, when you follow @DDPYOGA on Twitter, read the forums on the DDP Yoga website or follow people like Ben Miller (benfromdonatemyweight) and Slim (slimtronic5k) on YouTube, you take on a new positive outlook towards life.

For anyone on the fence about trying DDP Yoga, I would say get off the fence and own your life. It’s an addictive program that will have you looking forward to the next work out instead of dreading it. I can’t recommend it enough.

More information can be found at www.ddpyoga.com. If you sign up, tell them My 123 Cents sent you. Probably no one will know what that means but we could use the extra publicity. If you have any questions hit me up on Twitter or click on my name in the header to email me. 

Facing 40: Food Crime & Punishment

My little cup of Heaven.

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

Forty will be here for me in less than a month.  With the date looming closer, I've honed in a bit more on my fitness and nutrition goals.  Saturday night however, I had a big indulgence.  It turns out it was much bigger than I thought.

After a great night of wrestling with Pro Wrestling Collision, many of us headed to Steak N Shake for a late night (early morning at that point) snack.  I got the guacamole burger, baked beans, and to help my sweet tooth cravings a Double Chocolate Fudge shake.  I knew getting this was not the best idea in terms of nutrition, but at the time I didn't care.  The chocolate ice cream was mixed with hot fudge and topped with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and a cherry.  (at least there was a fruit involved, ha)

Today, to cure my curiosity I decided to look up the damage done.  Just the shake had 1,140 calories, 156 grams of sugar, and 39 grams of fat (including one gram of trans fat).  I was shocked.  But I was determined to at least burn off some of those extra calories.  I hit the treadmill at the gym and just started running.   I knew with my time constraints today I wouldn't be able to burn all 1,140 calories, so I aimed to do at least half.  After 4.6 miles, I burned 600 calories.  I also spent the day detoxing food wise, drinking my green smoothie and avoiding anything with sugar in it today.  No diet soda either.

I spent about 10 minutes eating that shake and it took me 38 minutes to burn off just over half the calories I consumed.  Looking at it that way makes me wonder if it was worth it.  Then I remind myself that is a once a month indulgence, but I do still need to stay vigilant about watching what I eat and exercising adequately.  Oh yeah, next time I'll order the small too.

Facing 40 (Minus 1): Positive Change

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart on Twitter

I’ve been struggling with this blog for the past few days. I’ll get to the reasons why in a few paragraphs. First, a quick recap of why we there are non-wrestling related blogs on my123cents. 

(In best TV announcer voice) Previously on my123cents, Kevin started a series called “Facing 40” where he reflected on his mortality as he closes in on the big 4-0 in March. His initial purpose was to talk about healthy lifestyle changes he was making in his life. After reading his blogs, I realized I should probably follow his lead and make some changes of my own.

The first step I wanted to make was to seriously commit to working out more and trying to shed some excess weight. Through a conversation with a co-worker, I ended up ordering DDP Yoga DVDs.  When I ordered the DVDs, I hoped they would help get my body in shape. What I didn’t expect was for DDP YOGA to be the catalyst for a potential complete life changing experience.

While I was waiting on the DVDs to arrive, I started searching YouTube for videos of other people using DDP Yoga to see how high I should set my expectations for success. What I ended up finding were two YouTube users chronicling not only their weight loss, but also other ways they were making their life meaningful and helping to give back to their communities.

The first was a guy named Ben who runs this website.  For every pound lost, Ben is donating a pound of food to a local food bank.  Check out his website and his video blogs to learn more. What’s better than helping others while helping yourself?

DDP Yoga

The other person is a guy who goes by the YouTube handle of Slimtronic5k.  Looking at his video uploads; I noticed they were either labeled, DDPYoga or TheNext40Days.  At first I only watched the Yoga videos as I was interested in seeing if the Yoga was working. Finally curiosity got the better of me and checked out the Next40Days videos. What I found was something that cut straight to the heart and weighed heavy on me to make real changes to my life this year.

In simplest form, the Next 40 Days is a program where for 40 days you set a goal or make a sacrifice. After the 40 days are up, you move on to a new goal or sacrifice. You can find out more about Slim and his wife’s 40 Days at their website, The Next 40 Days.

After finding that website and watching the videos, I decided to try and come up with my own goals for the rest of the year.  I think I’ve got some good ideas, but I’m still struggling to fill out two of the 40-day slots on the schedule for the rest of this year. Even though I’m still trying to think of something to put into those slots, I still wanted to get this blog out for two reasons. 

The first is the hope that by spreading the word it will inspire someone else to make a positive change. As I look around and look at society as a whole, I can’t help but think we would all be better served by more positivity and less negativity in the world. The second reason is accountability. By putting this out into the world, I’m making a pledge which people can call me out on if I fail to stick with these plans.

Here is what I have listed right now.

Jan 31-March 11 - DDP YOGA: Starting off simple. Commit 40 days to the program that started this snowball effect of change. In addition to working out, also trying to abstain from fast food and eat healthy.

At Wrestlemania weekend with the Headbangers
Photo courtesy: My 1-2-3 Cents

March 12 - April 21 – MORE SOCIABLE: I am not a people person by any stretch of the imagination. Working in a field where networking and socializing are keys to future employment, I really need to work on my social skills. This 40-day period also coincides with the weeklong trip to New Jersey/New York for Wrestlemania 29. With over 50,000 people converging on the area for the week, there should be plenty of opportunities for social interaction.

April 22 - May 31 – WRITING: February 22 marks my sixth year of being in Los Angeles. In that time I have yet to do any writing. While I never set out to be a professional writer (and if you’ve read enough of my blogs that fact should be pretty obvious) I would like to accomplish either writing a film or television script.

June 1 - July 10 – TRY TO LEARN SPANISH: I would really like to be multi-lingual and feel the first step is learning a language that I hear on a daily basis.

July 11 - August 19 –NO TV: I don’t watch a lot of television anyway. However, cutting out TV will hopefully allow more time to read the books I bought two years ago when Boarders went of business or continue writing or learning a foreign language.

August 20 - Sept. 28: TBA

Sept. 29 - Nov. 7: TBA

Nov. 8 - Dec 18.  - CHARITY WORK: Figure putting this one at the end of the year would make sense due to the holidays. If I’m in Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, I’d like to volunteer at a soup kitchen for Thanksgiving dinner. Then with Christmas, sure there will be numerous opportunities for other charitable work.

I am open to any suggestions for the two unclaimed spots. One of the ideas was the Acts of Kindness that Slim and Laura have listed on their schedule. I may work this in, but I also think this is something I could be doing in life anyway. We’ll see what happens. If I make it to August and still haven’t thought of anything, besides being really bad at thinking of positive changes, I’ll probably add some really basic and simple ideas.

I don’t know if this has had any affect on you as you read it. But if you’ve been thinking your life could use a change, or want to try and have a positive effect on your community, I encourage you to either give this plan a shot or come up with something on your own.

This might hurt, it's not safe

But I know that I've gotta make a change

I don't care if I break

At least I'll be feeling something

‘Cause just okay is not enough

Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions

I don't wanna go one more day

Without Your all consuming passion inside of me

                  “The Motions”-Matthew West

If you have any suggestions, or comments, please share them on our Facebook page.

Facing 40: I Am What I Am

Popeye would love it
Spinach, carrots, and banana smoothie

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

In the final weeks until my 40th birthday I've decided to make another change in my life.  I blogged about cutting back on the diet soda and it's actually going much better than I thought it would.  I had a one a day habit and then three or four on Fridays.  I'm not ready to completely quit as I look forward to my vanilla Diet Coke from the soda fountain at CrossRoads Coffee Company each Friday.  (It's the home of the Kevin HunsBurger too.)

Anyway, I digress.  Years ago I read in Men's Health Magazine that spinach is a super food.  I'd eat it raw, but I hated every minute of it.  I want to get the vitamins and nutrients from this veggie, so in recent days I've started making a smoothie from it.  I'd tried this in the past, trying to get the right combo of fruits and vegetables, but never could nail it.  Earlier in the week I think I hit the jackpot.  I throw some raw spinach, carrots, and a banana in the Magic Bullet with a little bit of water and I have my mid morning snack.

I get stares and questions from my coworkers.  My favorite being "why are you drinking baby poop?", but in all honesty it's not that bad.  I dare say it's actually good.  It's a way to get some extra veggies into my diet and replace some of the fruit.  While fruit is good, too much can be too much sugar in the diet.

Will this new smoothie concoction be a permanent staple in my diet?  It will be for the time being, especially now that I've put it out there for the world to see.  I may not be as strong as Popeye as a result, but I do feel better at the end of the day and that's the point.

Getting Fit: DDP Yoga

DDP Yoga
ddpyoga.com

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

Kevin has written a few blogs about trying to alter his lifestyle and become more fit as he approaches 40 in the next couple of months. While I still have a year to go before hitting the milestone, I myself have been saying I need to change up my habits and lead a healthier lifestyle. The big question was how did I want to implement this change and could I stick with it.

Last August, a friend gave me the P90X workout. I started doing the daily workouts and had a good routine going for about two weeks. Then my chaotic lifestyle kicked in again and I was having trouble finding time to squeeze in a workout just one day a week.  Needless to say I stopped even trying to convince myself I was going to be able to achieve the goals I had set for myself and went back to living my normal life.

As the end of the year drew near, I started thinking about new year resolutions and with Kevin doing his “Facing 40” series, I found a motivation to stop making excuses and follow through with getting into shape. After all, I can’t have Kevin showing me up in New Jersey for Geek Week. He’s the married one with kids. I’m supposed to be the cool one. Right?

Initially I had planned on going back to P90X. I knew the workouts and they were something I could do at home on my own schedule. The problem quickly arose where instead of staying home at night as I planned, I was once again finding myself going out with friends to movies or special events and not getting home until 11:00 at the earliest. Doing an hour-long high impact workout at that time just wouldn’t work. I thought maybe I could get up an hour earlier every day and do the workout at 5:30. However, because I am usually awake every half hour starting around 2am, I could never motivate my body to get out of bed at 5:30. Two weeks into the new year and I had only done one work out. It was looking like my lack of focus and determination would come back to sabotage me once again.

One day while talking about my lack of workouts with a co-worker, he mentioned he had just gotten the DDP Yoga DVDs and was going to give them a try. I knew former wrestler “Diamond” Dallas Page had come up with a yoga routine, but I had never actually looked into finding out what it entailed. Doing a quick YouTube search, I found the video of Arthur Boorman, a former paratrooper who went from not being able to walk without assistance to 

being able to run.  

I was intrigued to know if DDP Yoga was really that good or if Arthur’s story was the exception to the rule. After watching some other videos and reading blogs from people trying DDP Yoga, I decided to order the DVDs and give it a try.

One of the aspects I was most intrigued with is DDP Yoga is a No Impact workout. I was born without the upper part of my right hipbone. As a result, my right leg is about 1.5cm shorter than my left. It also means I have less range of motion in my right hip and have occasional hip pains. One of the issues I found with the P90X workouts was the amount of lunges would usually cause my hip to flare up in pain. I have been advised by my doctor in the past to do normal activities and if I experienced pain to stop. Basically I need to not take it too easy because I need to strengthen the hip as much as possible. Getting back to the DDP Yoga program, I was curious to see if I’d be able to perform the yoga positions with my hip not having full range of motion and if the moves would produce pain.

I borrowed my co-workers DVD and went through the Diamond Dozen, which are the 12 basic positions/moves, used in the workouts. There was only one move that I couldn’t do as well as I had hope. With a confidence that I would be able to do the workouts, I went ahead and order all three DVDs, bought a heart monitor and then waited for my package to arrive.

The DVDs arrived on Tuesday and it was time to take the first step to living 90% as DDP says. I started off with a refresher of the Diamond Dozen before moving onto the Energy workout.  For about the first half of the program I questioned if this would really work as I didn’t feel like I was working out. By the end of the workout though, I had worked up a sweat and could feel my body asking was going on, as it wasn’t used to being this active. This morning I woke up and did the Wake Up mini-workout. 

In addition to being No Impact, the workouts appear to be 20-30 minutes long, which will hopefully be easier to accommodate my schedule, though I have done well the past two weeks of not being as crazy busy. Plus, technically the DDP Yoga system is scheduled for every other day though as DDP mentions, you can customize the workouts depending to fit your schedule.

It’s only been one day, but given the relative ease of the workouts, the fact I’m putting this out for the world to see so I’ll have some accountability as I don’t want to look like a quitter, and my personal competition with Kevin, I can see myself sticking with it and hopefully I’ll get the results I’m aiming to achieve. The hardest part will be changing my eating habits. As a confirmed bachelor who is used to fast food and take out, actually buying groceries and cooking meals could take some time to become a normal occurrence.

My goal is to provide updates every 30 days. If I have success with this, hopefully it’ll help someone else who is trying to lead a healthier life. For more information on DDP Yoga, click here.  If you have success stories of your own or are trying to get in shape/live healthier yourself and want to share your progress, let us know on the My123Cents Facebook page or Twitter. 

Update:  Kevin has started the program too:

Facing 40

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Six months from today I will turn 40.  As I officially begin my descent down the hill I thought I'd start a series of blogs and videos dealing with this new stage in my life.  My goal is to share health, nutrition, and fitness tips, as well as stories from others in my boat.

I once thought 40 was old.  I don't feel that way anymore.  I plan to embrace this milestone birthday and make the most of it.  But to be able to do that, I've got to work at it.  I have never been an athlete.  In my teenage years I ran cross country.  Then for the 20 years that followed, I didn't do a whole lot.  Even during those cross country days, I wouldn't say I put my best foot forward.

About seven years ago I was having a conversation with a coworker who is in pretty good shape.  I told him I felt like I was too old to get into a regular fitness routine, coupled with my weird work schedule and at the time two young children.  He told me that those were just excuses and it's never too late to get into shape.  I joined a gym and made some radical changes to my diet and lost about 20 pounds.

This is how they Disney does candy apples

I was able to keep at it, working out and eating healthy up until 2010.  We went on vacation to Disney World and I used the excuse "I'm on vacation, I'll eat healthy again when we get home."  Well, we were on vacation in October.  Then Halloween happened and all the candy around the house made it too tempting.  Thanksgiving taunted me with a cornucopia of calories and of course Christmas brought many sweet treats along with the beverages associated with New Years.

So I officially fell off the wagon and haven't been able to get back on.  It's been a struggle.  I've gained back some of the weight I had lost.  I stopped going to the gym completely.  Not completely, I could probably count on one hand though how many times I've been in the last year.  I do own a BowFlex and use it from time to time.  Nine months ago I started running, but again, not with any consistency.

I've watched several of my friends commit to getting healthy.  So as I face 40, I've decided to refocus my efforts.  After all, I am a medical reporter and the co chairman of the Southern Illinois Men's Health Conference.  It's time to start leading by example.

My goal is simple, by the time 40 comes in six months I want to look and feel better than I do today.  That doesn't seem too crazy.  I've done the weigh in, I'm officially 181.0 pounds.  I don't necessarily want to loss any weight in this adventure, but rather tone up.  They say we all have abs under the belly fat, now the goal is to find them.

Thanks for reading today, and I hope you come back for more installments of Facing 40.