Do not let the Holidays go to waist! #TGWL

Here’s the thing. I’m by no means a Fitness Geek. I’m just a normal person who reached the point where I was tired of how I looked. The problem is I’ve reached that point several times over the years.

I’d decide to exercise, the pounds would drop down to a point, but then they’d slide back up and I’d get discouraged and stop.

Back in 2000 I had a bad hair-do, a cheesy ‘porn star’ mustache, a sarcastic smirk, and I was carrying around 220 lbs on my 5’9” frame.

In 2004 I was still at 217 and I had decided to start trying to work off the weight. I had a goal in mind of getting down to 185 and staying there. I struggled with this goal until 2010, managed to get down as far as 180 a few times but couldn’t ever stay there and I got discouraged and slipped back up into the mid 190’s where I pretty much stayed until May of 2012.

In May of 2012 I started a little challenge with my friend Tim Biden that we called #TGWL, for, at that time ‘Tech Geek Weight Loss’ because me and pretty much everyone are tech geeks. The acronym has remained the same but has moved to ‘Twitter Geek Weight Loss’ because, well, Tech Geeks aren’t the only people wanting motivation to help lose weight and the little challenge between us two had turned into as many as 32 people in June.

On May 1st I was at 193. Today, as I write this I am at 179. Remember that old goal of 185 I had that I could never maintain? Well, for the entire month of Sept the HIGHEST my weight has been is 184 and has hit as low as 178.

Mind you, I still have the bad hair-do and the sarcastic smirk but thankfully I have long ago gotten rid of the porn star mustache and I’ve now managed to drop the extra pounds also. My new goal, which I now know I can hit, is 175 lbs.

That’s a little background. I do have previous blog posts about the #TGWL challenge over the summer months if you want to move back through my old posts and read them. I’m more than happy to go through details on what I’ve found that works for us ‘normal people’ if you’re interested.

Now, however, on to my point for this long winded blog. Holidays are coming. Holiday FOOD is coming. Holiday DESSERTS are coming. But so is Holiday Blues, Depression, and then doomed to failure Resolutions.

I, for one, plan to eat and drink whatever the hell I want during the holidays and you know what? I’m still going to stay fit and on track. That’s because I’ve finally found what works for me.

Dive in, work towards better habits with help, find what works for you and end this year on a huge high note. All without having to resort to eating like a horse. While ‘fitness gurus’ eat their oatmeal, protein drinks, cans of tuna, and their Tofumpkin Pie with Whipped Soycream Topping I plan to actually enjoy the holidays.

If you want to find what works for you, if you want to get encouragement, or a swift kick in the butt (as needed) from others who are struggling right there with you then I’ve got our Holiday #TGWL list posted below and we’d all love to have you. This time it’s for the entire 3 months left of 2012 so this is the home stretch of 2012.

This blog is blathering out of control so if you would like to hit me up on Twitter to talk then my name is pretty simple, @mikerigsby.

Q4 2012 Twitter Geek Weight Loss Challenge #TGWL

Nail the notch!

“Ok, Mike. What the hell are you ranting about this time?”

Well, I could’ve titled this “Nail the hole!” but that really doesn’t sound right.

Here’s the thing. If anyone’s followed my chatter on Twitter long enough they know I’m working, in my own manner, to lose weight and get in better shape. I might be doing things that true fitness experts disagree with but I’m improving. I’m getting ‘healthier’.

This morning, while getting dressed after my Friday morning gym workout, I noticed something.

I have an old leather belt that I’ve owned for easily 15 years, maybe more, and today I found that the lowest notch on my belt that I have ever used was a bit too loose. The next one down was still a bit too tight still, but that didn’t matter because it’s the obvious signs of wear on my old belt that I noticed. About three notches in my belt show wear from the years but that ‘next notch’ has never been used.

Guess what? It’s going to get used!

Everything we want to accomplish in life has ‘notches’. You want that promotion? That’s a notch. You want that new Certification? That’s a notch. Remember when you were little and your mom drew ruler marks on the door frame to measure your height?

When you actually hit a higher ‘notch’ it was the greatest feeling in your young world, for about an hour, until you saw that there were more notches above it and you wanted to nail the next one.

All those dates on the door frame, those worn out belt holes, those closed work orders, those plaques showing Certifications achieved, whatever. Those are notches. Those are obvious, irrefutable proof that you are ACHIEVING something. You ARE succeeding at your goals.

That number on the scale that you stand on every morning? That’s not exactly a notch because it changes constantly. People watch that number and it’s their entire world when they’re exercising and trying to get in better shape. That’s not good. Muscle actually weighs more than fat does so that number, while a ‘guide’, is not a ‘notch’. It’s good to keep doing the weigh-ins because the scale is a valuable tool to help you reach the real ‘notch’ but it’s just that, a tool. It’s that heckler in the audience during your stand up routine. When you’re doing good it’s your best friend. When you slip, because we all will, it’s your worst enemy.

Stop stressing over that number! You want a real notch? Look at yourself in the mirror in your underwear. Scary thought I know but seriously. Take a private photo even. Then kick serious ass, working your hardest to exercise more, eat better, work towards getting healthier. Then after a month, look in the mirror again. Take another photo. Compare the two.

Those ‘love handles’ that we all have and all hate? Hate handles really. I bet they’re a bit smaller. That under arm flab that we have? I bet there’s noticeably less of it? Those blue jeans that fit a bit looser than they used to? That certification test you just passed?

THOSE are notches!

If you want to achieve anything in life, find your notches. You find the ones you’ve already met and you find the ones that you’re still trying to get to. If you keep moving forward to reach your goals you WILL, period. It’s an absolute fact. You will only ever fail if you stop trying.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got notches to nail!

#TGWL May Challenge Winners

While everyone who entered our little #TGWL (Tech Geek Weight Loss, Twitter Geek Weight Loss) Challenge are Winners for even being willing to give it their best effort we do have some actual winners.

Tyler Johnson, @innomination, took First Place for the Men with a total percentage loss of -6.63%, total pounds dropped of 11.20 lbs. He started the challenge at 180.2 lbs and finished in at 169.0 lbs, which was his personal goal to reach. Awesome job man!

Kim Couch, one of Tiffani Feathers, @TackleItWithTif‘s, Boot Campers took First Place for the Ladies with a total percentage loss of -4.27%, total pounds dropped of 6.40 lbs. She started the challenge at 156.2 lbs and finished in at 149.8. Excellent work Kim!

Both will be getting some cool swag graciously provided by @NeoCellSport & @RoadID that Greg Feathers, @feathersgw, was awesome enough to get lined up for us.

Now, myself, @mikerigsby, and Tim Biden, @timbiden, are also winners because Josh Frankel,  @joshuafrankel, agreed to donate $2 per pound that Tim and I managed to lose to Share Our Strength, @nokidhungry, a fantastic charity that helps feed needy kids.

Tim was able to drop 4.09%, a total weight loss of 6.5 lbs and I dropped 2.49%, a total weight loss of 4.70 lbs. Between us both that’s 11.2 lbs  which gets a donation of $22 to Share Our Strength. This makes me quite happy.

Every single one of the people who participated in the challenge did awesome whether they were able to drop any pounds or not. We all worked hard, started thinking about what kinds of foods we eat and started more active, healthy activities.

Since the contest was based on percentage lost, not total weight lost, he didn’t technically take First Place, however, Brian McKee, @furicle, earned his addition in here. The man kicked serious butt. He started May at 217 and ended it at 204.2 for a total weight loss of 12.8 lbs and 6.27%. He also deserves special recognition for being the guy who has totally tricked out our #TGWL spreadsheet with all the graphs and formulas.

I have a feeling Brian is going to be the one to beat in June.

On to #TGWL June and more healthy habits! Join us!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av79QEDB2dmodDN3QlFLOHo1bV9rY19VeFREOHg3M3c

Our awesome prize sponsors!

#TGWL Weight Loss Challenge Month Two

What the hell is #TGWL? Tech Geek Weight Loss, Twitter Geek Weight Loss, Thank God We Love, umm, Donuts!

Ok, so that last one really doesn’t work.

Never the less what #TGWL is, is a personal challenge among friends on Twitter who really don’t like what they see when they look in the mirror after their morning shower.

Every one of us is our own worst enemy.

On one shoulder we have a little Devil telling us how amazing a cream filled chocolate donut would taste with a Super Big Gulp full of Mt. Dew to wash it down.

Welcome to America. (Mind you, this challenge is open to anyone, anywhere. We just all know the “nutrition” image the US has)

Here’s the thing. On our other shoulder there is a neglected, seldom listened to, meek Angel whispering that a healthy salad and a glass of water would be a far better meal.

The problem we have is that little bastard Devil really screams, he doesn’t whisper so we very rarely ever listen to the Angel. What this challenge is, is a way to remind you that you’re not alone. Everyone has those two on our shoulders, everyone would honestly rather listen to the Devil and tell the Angel to get bent. This group and this challenge is to help us listen to that Angel a bit more often.

Am I telling you that you can’t have that Venti White Chocolate Raspberry Mocha with Whip Cream every morning on your way to work? Well, no, not exactly. What I’m telling you is, maybe, drop down to a Grande and skip the whip cream. Then maybe work back to a Venti, but only on Fridays.

Am I telling you that you can’t have that massive ice-cold beer? Hell, no. What am I, an idiot? (Don’t answer that!) No, I’m saying, save it for Friday night, after you’ve “behaved yourself” all week.

In the mean time, go for a walk on your lunch break. Have a baked chicken breast sandwich and raw veggies for lunch instead of that Triple Bacon Cheeseburger and Large Fries.

Keep an eye on the calories you bring into your body and what you burn with more physical activity. Try to eat healthier alternatives. Use Honey in your coffee instead of processed Sugar. Whatever. You’d be amazed how many ways there are to get healthier.

As far as the challenge goes, basically all we are doing is tracking our progress on a Google Docs spreadsheet and then keeping each other motivated in Twitter using the #TGWL hashtag.

This challenge is open to anyone, anywhere. It would be kind of nice if you had a Twitter presence just because that’s the outlet most of us are using to keep each other motivated. However, this isn’t necessary. The only goal we all have is to get healthier and to try to have a lower number at the bottom of the spreadsheet than we did at the top.

By no means is this a challenge to become Anorexic!

Things you must keep in mind. Your weight will fluctuate all over the board. You’ll drop 3 lbs one day and pick them up the next. No one cares!

You need to remember that muscle weighs more than fat does so that scale is only a rough guide. Watch the holes on your belt. Did you drop a hole?

Can those skinny jeans you wore 6 years ago that are hanging in the back of your closet fit now? That is fantastic! That is the measure that matters. Not that lying bastard scale.

Your mirror will tell you “You’re getting better”. You’re scale will only tell you “You can still do better”. If you want to succeed, listen to both.

Hell, listen to both your Devil and your Angel too. Just do both in moderation. Balance. We love our sweets. So what. Just try to love fewer of them while eating healthier and exercising more. You’ll be amazed how good that Pizza will taste on Friday if you’ve earned it by “being good” all week.

The only rule that is an absolute requirement, period, is that you be honest.

Be honest with yourself, be honest with us.

No matter how bad you think you look in the mirror there is someone, somewhere who would see you and desperately wish they had your body the way it is now. Inspire yourself, inspire others. Kick some serious ass at trying to get healthier habits all month.

Then, by god, at the end of June go out and eat a Bacon Cheeseburger the size of your head!

By all means spread the word, hit me up for more information, encourage others to join, whatever. Let’s do this!

Some awesome resources and a disclaimer:

First off, this month’s spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av79QEDB2dmodDN3QlFLOHo1bV9rY19VeFREOHg3M3c
Anyone who clicks the link has access to modify the page so please be careful with making any deletions, etc. The page wizard @furicle has done amazing things with the calculations and graphs on there and I don’t want to see that messed up.

Two fantastic friends on Twitter and both are Personal Trainers: Greg and Tiffani Feathers, @feathersgw & @TackleItWithTif.
If you’re not Following them, you should be. They’re excellent athletes and excellent motivators that will give you sound advice and a swift kick in the butt any time you need it.

Some awesome websites and applications that many of us are using:

Fitocracy: http://www.fitocracy.com/
If you want to add a Gaming element to your exercise for some added fun, this is the cool site for you.

NerdFitness: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/
A fun, realistic website for us normal ‘Geeks’ who just want to get healthier and not necessarily become a full on Athlete. I highly recommend this site.

MyFitnessPal: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ An excellent site for keeping track of your Food and your Exercise, plus you can share successes with friends, leave messages, etc. It has mobile app options as well. Many of us also use this application and I also highly recommend it.

As far as a disclaimer goes, I want to make it very clear that I don’t recommend anything that I don’t personally believe in, be it websites, exercises, people, products, etc. This is a real challenge for real people and in no way, shape or form is it bought by any corporations. On occasion we may even have prizes for the challenges but these are provided by cool, recommended companies with no strings at all attached.

So, who’s with me on this? You want to look better at the end of Summer than you did at the beginning? Let’s kick some butt and lose some of it while we’re at it.

BYOD Sucks and here is why I say that

Here’s the thing.

I’m not a “Solutions Provider” or an “API Architect” or any of the other IT related positions who stand to gain a substantial amount of business when BYOD get’s implemented in the Enterprise.

Amazingly enough, these types of “journalists” are the guys who are writing a vast majority of the ‘Pro-BYOD’ related blogs that are out there in droves right now.

These guys are sharks who smell blood so of course they’re going to be all for BYOD in the Enterprise and praising the wonders of it and scoffing at all those who are against the idea.

Me, I’m one of the poor bastards who would actually have to support, troubleshoot, and maintain a BYOD implementation. I’m a Network Administrator who actually “get’s his hands dirty”. I’m out there in the trenches, dealing with everything from basic Desktop Support issues on up. Luckily, due to security related issues where I work, we will almost without any doubt never implement any kind of BYOD environment. Quite the opposite here actually.

However, I still see things from the side of the people who support infrastructures once they’re implemented unlike these guys who would do the implementation and then wash their hands and walk away. Either that or they would charge a staggering rate to act as Consultants to support the BYOD implementation that they pushed for.

Since I am a Support IT person I can see several reasons to back up why I am highly against BYOD.

1. Standardization:

Do you really want any number of possible different combinations of Smartphones, Laptops, Tablets, etc. etc. in your Enterprise?

Do you really want to become skilled enough to support every possible issue that could arise on dozens of different types of devices? Bugs, Hardware failures, Patch Management, Software installation quirks, compatibility issues, the list is practically endless. Even down to the petty grade school crap of one user who might have a personal device that is better than another user in the same position’s device and now you get to listen to them whine about it. It’s bad enough now when all we do is offer a decent choice of certain devices to choose from.

There’s also a certain look of professionalism when all the systems in your company match and look like there was obvious thought put into their implementation.

My answer, hell no.

2. Security:

Ugh, where do I start? Viruses, Malware, Tracking Cookies from individual’s internet surfing outside the company, any number of possible Crapware installations. Just exactly how far does a company’s authority to enforce activity on an employee’s personal equipment go? Do you really want to deal with the endless different issues that can arise from personally owned equipment being used on your business network? Should IT really be responsible for cleaning up malware infestations on systems that don’t even belong to the company?

Then there’s also the angle of intellectual property? So your company deals with some kind of sensitive information and this user has lots of it on their laptop? Their laptop gets stolen or that user gets fired or laid off. Now what? If you have a legal team I’m sure they’re going to love dealing with the manure storm that can arise in that situation.

At least if the device is company owned there is an assumed liability already and controls to prevent that kind of thing can safely be implemented without the user having any real say over it. If something is owned by the company then decisions that are best for the company can be made much easier concerning the use of said device.

3. Liability:

Ok, so your user accidentally drops their laptop down 3 flights of stairs. Their personal device is now in pieces all over the lobby? Now what?

Does the company now buy this user a brand new replacement device? Refuse, and the user sues over it’s loss since they were on company property doing company work on their personally owned device.

Chances are high this new device will be better than the one that was broken since gadgets update so quickly. So now the business buys a replacement? What happens when the user leaves the employ of this business? The cost of that device is now lost and this user now has a nice shiny new device paid for by the company.

There are potentially dozens of other reasons to add to this list and each one can have dozens of different little sub-categories of reasons within in them. Enough to turn this blog entry into an Encyclopedia. I think the basis of my opinion is made well enough with just these three.

While BYOD may be an excellent choice for small companies that don’t have the resources to have an on staff IT department saying BYOD is inevitable for the Enterprise is simply ludicrous.

May-June Tech Geek Weight Loss Challenge #TGWL [UPDATE]

Well, this little challenge, initially between 2 people, has taken on a life of it’s own and it is seriously awesome! As of this new blog post we’re now up to 15 people!

Come join the fun! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av79QEDB2dmodDliS0VKYlltN1FNelp5Y3VQVTdyRWc#gid=0

Below are some important updates and at least one that I’d really appreciate some participation in from the folks joining our challenge in as well.

First, the one I’d love to see folks show their gratitude for:

WE HAVE PRIZES! Thanks to Greg Feathers for driving us on and working for some more motivation, the awesome folks over at NeoCell Sport are tossing in a prize.

They are throwing in some product to whomever ends this thing with the highest percentage of weight loss.

http://www.neocellsport.com/product.php

Amanda Lamm has dived in to give this sausage fest some class and she could really use some more ladies to show us guys how it’s done. The folks at @NeoCellSport have also agreed to throw in some beauty products if the one walking away with this challenge is a woman. So, ladies, you want Amanda to show you up here? Let’s do this!

As a matter of showing appreciation, I’d really like to see you guys give @NeoCellSport a Follow on Twitter, and/or a Facebook Like from their website.

http://www.neocellsport.com/index.php

http://twitter.com/#!/neocellsport

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Collagen-Sport/127216557351487

Some personal motivation for myself and Tim Biden, since this “little” challenge started between us. Mr. Joshua Frankel (@JoshuaFrankel), the self proclaimed “Pixel-pushing Graphic/Web Designer and Closet Geek” with Thycotic Software has generously agreed to put up $2 per lb totaled that Tim and I can lose for donation to Strength.org.

Just for a friendly thank you there, I’d also like to see you guys toss some love his way.

Twitter: @JoshuaFrankel
Blog: http://www.joshuamfrankel.com

He may, or may not, have any help from his employer but either way I also think Thycotic’s products are worth checking out anyway so head over to their website and see what they do.

http://www.thycotic.com

Most importantly, check out  Joshua’s charity of choice for his donation at http://strength.org. A very cool charity doing some seriously important work.

EDIT 05/01/12: Well, Greg Feathers, @feathersgw and Tiffani Feathers, @TackleItWithTif have come through again. In addition to the above, we now also have a $15 RoadID Gift Card to include with 1st Place.

Please follow @RoadID on Twitter and check out their page at http://roadid.com and thank them for supporting this challenge.

EDIT 05/03/12:

The folks over at @NeoCellSport have added an extra incentive just for the ladies!

Give them a Follow, kick the guy’s butts at the #TGWL challenge and you get your choice of the above mentioned product or:

Collagen Plus C Liposome Serum

Collagen with Vitamins Herbal Beauty Mist

Neocell Advanced Hyaluronic Acid Lipsome Serum

Please give them a Follow on Twitter or Like on Facebook or hit me up if you want more information.

 

Now, since this is getting serious here, a Disclaimer:
This is all in fun. No corporate buy offs, no padding our numbers. We’re all online friends who just want to shed some pounds. As such, if you want to join but feel uncomfortable posting your weight for all to see, let me know on Twitter and we will work it out so you can join in without feeling frustrated or embarrassed.

As far as physical prizes go, I’m also recusing myself from receiving any. Doesn’t mean I won’t give you guys a run for your money, so to speak, I’m just doing a lot of organizing and record keeping so I don’t want it to look weird when I win.

I’m cool with Joshua’s charity donation on my behalf. Greg can be in charge of the prizes since he’s the one doing all the work to get them so if I do happen to win he can determine what to do with the items.

Also, if you’re outside the US and do happen to kick our Yankee butts at this challenge, rest assured I will personally make sure your prizes get shipped to you. We’ll make it happen!

May-June Tech Geek Weight Loss Challenge #TGWL

Not completely sure how it started but this morning, Monday 04/30/12, I was talking about needing to lose some weight with a buddy of mine, Tim Biden, on Twitter.  One thing led to another and him and I decided to give ourselves a little challenge to get each other motivated since we both wanted to get in better shape.

4 Weeks, starting Tuesday 05/01/12, ending 06/01/12, lose 12 pounds.

A nice, low-key goal, we figured right on! Let’s get each other motivated.

Well, a bit more conversation went on, some talk with Greg and Tiffani Feathers, who are both Professional Trainers and also friends of mine and, guess what, well as I said above, one thing led to another.

Now, we have, as of this writing, a total of 8 people joining this little challenge.

Guess what? There’s plenty of room for more! You got what it takes to keep up with a bunch of Geeks! The more, the merrier.

4 Weeks, 12 pounds down. If you’re not in the US you have it even easier! That’s only 5.5 KG! You can do that!

Think you can keep up with a bunch of Tech Geeks & Twitter Friends, bring it on! Add yourself to the Google Docs list I’ll link below, track your weight honestly, both up and down, and we’ll see you on 06/01. Bring IT!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av79QEDB2dmodDliS0VKYlltN1FNelp5Y3VQVTdyRWc

Edit: We’ve decided, to make this more reasonable, and less of a sausage fest hopefully, that instead of 12 lbs in 4 weeks it’s just a ‘May the Best Percentage loss Win!’ challenge. C’mon ladies. I’m getting tired of all these sweaty guys taking up all the challenge space here!

To keep things fair, perhaps if possible, take a photo of your scale (or in my case probably the Wii balance board) and post here or Twitter with the hashtag #TGWL