Weighted in this past Saturday. Another 3.2 lbs down bringing my new weight down to 221. Starting to feel pretty good again. I can't wait to get back to 205. I feel like a kid at that weight. I hate that I let myself get back up to 227 but between my last job and the addition of another kid I refound some pounds.
I wanted to share one thing I do on my weigh in days as well that helps me keep my sanity when trying to eat health. After my weigh in on Saturday morning I eat whatever I want the rest of the day on Saturdays. No point watching, no calorie counting, just sheer consumption. I've found that if I do this a few things happen. First of all I enkoy the healthy eating more. Since I go absolutely hog wild on Saturdays I feel more inclined to eat as clean as possible the other days of the week. In my mind I feel like I have to earn the treat so I strive to eat as clean as possible. The other thing I have found is that I don't feel like I am totally restricting myself. Whenever I see some thing that I want to eat or I notice a craving I make a mental note and it goes on the "To Eat List" for Saturday. Lastly, I've found that the cheat day actually helps you lose weight. I didnt used to do cheat days. I have read different articles that suggest by having splurge days it keeps your body guessing. If you eat very few calories every day, after a while, your body doesnt burn body fat as efficiently because it makes adjustments for the reduction of calories and stores body fat accordingly. This is natures way of keeping us alive. Your body notices a reduction in calories so it begins to hold on to every calorie consumed to prevent starvation. If you're consuming plenty of calories the body doesnt feel as though it needs to store body fat so it can burn them. I'm sure there is a lot more science that goes into this but since I've instituted "cheat days" I never have had a problem losing weight.
Just remember why we take care of ourselves. I take care of myself for my boys and to stay out of the Dr. office. I have an aversion to doctors and law enforcement. Every time you get around those guys they're always looking for something that they consider wrong. So, create some healthy habits today. This way the next time you have to Stand Up and Survive there will be less to lift!
Monday, November 11, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Health Care: An Apology, A Realization and Where We Go From Here
So I'm sure that everyone has seen that the President has finally had to conceed that he lied to the American people regarding health care. The President finally manned up and apologized: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-apologizes-people-losing-health-coverage-085336794--politics.html I really don't know why though. How can a person be sorry for a plan that they endorsed and continue to stand by? If you are truly sorry for your actions wouldn't you try to mitigate your mistake by making the situation right? I mean, you are the most powerful person in the world buddy. Im trying not to go into a complete rant over this as I'm sitting here typing because it won't do any good.
I'm bringing this up because the Presidents actions display a key under lying lesson here. The lesson is this: The leaders of this country will lie to its constituents to get anything and everything they want. I'm sure most of you are thinking, "No sh1t! We already know this." While most people do know this at first glance many have not thought about the long term implications to themselves or their families. When the President is comfortable enough to lie to the American people and then follow it up with an apology without changing course it means that you absolutely cannot trust anyone or anything the government tells you. This idea goes pretty deep into the rabbit hole even for me, but the bottom line here is that the government and the President has set a new low for how honest they feel they have to be with the American people.
Now, the bottom line here is we can't do a whole lot in the near term to stop this. What we can do though is to take small actions in our everyday life to mitigate the crap our government is putting us through. Start by taking better care of yourself. Get some exercise and put the triple cheese burger down. Learn a new skill. Buy a few extra cans of food and put them away. Go out and meet your neighbor. Learn to shoot. Build a sense of community with the people around you. I promise that everything is going to get worse before it gets better as far as the government is concerned. Build a group of "go to" people that can help you in a bind. We can only worry about the things within our sphere our influnce, so go out and influence your sphere damn it! :)
I'm bringing this up because the Presidents actions display a key under lying lesson here. The lesson is this: The leaders of this country will lie to its constituents to get anything and everything they want. I'm sure most of you are thinking, "No sh1t! We already know this." While most people do know this at first glance many have not thought about the long term implications to themselves or their families. When the President is comfortable enough to lie to the American people and then follow it up with an apology without changing course it means that you absolutely cannot trust anyone or anything the government tells you. This idea goes pretty deep into the rabbit hole even for me, but the bottom line here is that the government and the President has set a new low for how honest they feel they have to be with the American people.
Now, the bottom line here is we can't do a whole lot in the near term to stop this. What we can do though is to take small actions in our everyday life to mitigate the crap our government is putting us through. Start by taking better care of yourself. Get some exercise and put the triple cheese burger down. Learn a new skill. Buy a few extra cans of food and put them away. Go out and meet your neighbor. Learn to shoot. Build a sense of community with the people around you. I promise that everything is going to get worse before it gets better as far as the government is concerned. Build a group of "go to" people that can help you in a bind. We can only worry about the things within our sphere our influnce, so go out and influence your sphere damn it! :)
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
So I joined a Glock League
So this past Saturday I went with a co-worker and shot in my first Glock Shooting Sports Foundation (GSSF) match. I didn't know what to expect but found a good natured, competetive atmosphere that is condusive to bettering myself as a shooter. The match is indoor and consisted of 5 distances of 10 rounds a piece. Each distance had a time alotment so, while it was static shooting, speed and accuracy was the ultimate goal. The set up for Saturday was 10 rounds at 25' in 10 seconds, 10 rounds at 75' in 15 seconds, a new target was then sent down range for the final 3 positions which were 10 rounds in 30 seconds at 75', 10 rounds at 50' in 15 seconds, and 10 rounds in 15 seconds at 25'. These distances and times vary from match to match. A match is held the first Saturday of every month and 3 matches constitute a full match. A winner is determined by averaging there best 2 months and that is their score.
Now, I don't own a Glock so I borrowed my co-workers 17 and let it rip. I had never shot under a time constraint so the first clip was shot way too fast, but I finished my first score with 310 out of a possible 500. I wasn't happy with that obviously but you have to start somewhere. The cool thing about this league is that you can shoot as many "rounds" of competition as you wish and you take your top score for the day. Not to happy with the first round I took another crack at it and shot 390. My personal goal was to shoot a 400 figuring that 80% was pretty respectable for a gun I had never shot. There were so pretty damn impressive shots too. My co-worker posted a 467 and his previous month was a 498. I have to say I'm absolutely hooked. Got to go buy a Glock now.
Look into these if you get the chance it appears that alot of ranges across the country do these. I like it because now I want to go practice my shooting and the practice will be more purposeful. It was a blast!
Now, I don't own a Glock so I borrowed my co-workers 17 and let it rip. I had never shot under a time constraint so the first clip was shot way too fast, but I finished my first score with 310 out of a possible 500. I wasn't happy with that obviously but you have to start somewhere. The cool thing about this league is that you can shoot as many "rounds" of competition as you wish and you take your top score for the day. Not to happy with the first round I took another crack at it and shot 390. My personal goal was to shoot a 400 figuring that 80% was pretty respectable for a gun I had never shot. There were so pretty damn impressive shots too. My co-worker posted a 467 and his previous month was a 498. I have to say I'm absolutely hooked. Got to go buy a Glock now.
Look into these if you get the chance it appears that alot of ranges across the country do these. I like it because now I want to go practice my shooting and the practice will be more purposeful. It was a blast!
Monday, November 4, 2013
Weight Watchers Weight Loss Update
So I had my first Weight Watchers weigh in this past Saturday. It was a respectable 4 pounds lost. So from my original 227 starting weight I am now at 223. If I can weather the holidays I should be around 205 by new years. Losing weight is damn tough during November and December but if I can make it I can ride the wave of all of the new years resolution people to summer. I also keep telling myself that this is to help to avoid the Obamacare cluster fu&!. I hope this short post helps keep some folks motivated. Its hard to stand up and survive if you can't stand up!
Friday, November 1, 2013
An Interesting Indicator for Civil Unrest
So today the food stamp program took a hit....
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/01/deep-cuts-to-country-food-stamp-program-start-friday/
I have mixed feelings on this matter. While I understand that there a thousands of hard working folks out there that are busting their ass to make ends meet that this will hurt, there are also a lot of lazy moochers out there who need the cut to force them to actually get up and go to work. So how is this an indicator for civil unrest??? This is an indicator to watch because if the government continues to cut off subsides to people who truly depend on them two things will potentially happen. One, crime will increase, and two the potential for civil unrest will increase. Think of it this way. If you had to feed your children, what length would you go to? Personally, I would resort to hunting and fishing because thats what I did as a kid and I know how to do it effectively, but if you have lived in the concrete jungle your entire life you don't have this skill set. Now, if I couldn't hunt and fish the next best option is to take what I need by any means necessary. Hell, I'd off my neighbors if thats was my last resort to feed my boys. So, if we have a whole lot of hungry people who have depended on the government their entire life they have two options. Take to the street and protest to the government to reinstate help or just take what they need from whoever has it. If its known that you are a prepper you better buckle your chinstrap and put your mouth piece in because the zombies are coming for your supplies.
Keep things like this in mind when you read the news. Look for these potential indicators and let family members know whats going on. This is just another way you can stand up and survive.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/01/deep-cuts-to-country-food-stamp-program-start-friday/
I have mixed feelings on this matter. While I understand that there a thousands of hard working folks out there that are busting their ass to make ends meet that this will hurt, there are also a lot of lazy moochers out there who need the cut to force them to actually get up and go to work. So how is this an indicator for civil unrest??? This is an indicator to watch because if the government continues to cut off subsides to people who truly depend on them two things will potentially happen. One, crime will increase, and two the potential for civil unrest will increase. Think of it this way. If you had to feed your children, what length would you go to? Personally, I would resort to hunting and fishing because thats what I did as a kid and I know how to do it effectively, but if you have lived in the concrete jungle your entire life you don't have this skill set. Now, if I couldn't hunt and fish the next best option is to take what I need by any means necessary. Hell, I'd off my neighbors if thats was my last resort to feed my boys. So, if we have a whole lot of hungry people who have depended on the government their entire life they have two options. Take to the street and protest to the government to reinstate help or just take what they need from whoever has it. If its known that you are a prepper you better buckle your chinstrap and put your mouth piece in because the zombies are coming for your supplies.
Keep things like this in mind when you read the news. Look for these potential indicators and let family members know whats going on. This is just another way you can stand up and survive.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Anyone Can Track You: Make changes where you can to protect yourself
In this day and age a person can be tracked any where and a majority of it is self inflicted. Take a look: http://news.yahoo.com/report-nsa-broke-yahoo-google-data-centers-171452135--finance.html While I'm sure you're all aware of the NSA spying its apparent that the net is much larger than anyone ever though. So with all of the spying that our government believes is necessary lets look at some ways to negate it.
1. Unplug
While not practical, just turn it off. Turn off the phone and the laptop. They cant track what isn't there. But lets be honest. If you function in the day-to-day rat race this isn't really possible.
2. Limit what you share
Lock your social media sites down. Review your settings on a regular basis on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, etc. Facebook is notorious for changing these settings without letting folks know. There is also facial recognition software operating in the background of facebook. If your settings arent set properly you could be caught in the background of a photo and facebook could recommend that you be tagged in a random persons picture because it recognizes you face.
3. Turn off your phones location services
Take 10 seconds and turn off your location services on your phone. If you let it your phone will relay your location 24/7. While the only fool proof way to stop this is to turn the phone off and remove the battery, turning the GPS function off will help.
4. Get a Stupid Phone
If smart phones scare the hell out of you go to Walmart and get a pay as you go phone and use that. These don't have GPS and the aren't tied to you personally. I like to keep a pay as you go phone as a back up in the event that I ever need to have a phone and don't want my number recognized. Push comes to shove I toss the phone and get a new one for around $15.
These are just a few options. If you dive in and do some research you'll be scared to death of what is possible. We will come back to this topic at some point but until then Stand Up and Survive!
1. Unplug
While not practical, just turn it off. Turn off the phone and the laptop. They cant track what isn't there. But lets be honest. If you function in the day-to-day rat race this isn't really possible.
2. Limit what you share
Lock your social media sites down. Review your settings on a regular basis on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, etc. Facebook is notorious for changing these settings without letting folks know. There is also facial recognition software operating in the background of facebook. If your settings arent set properly you could be caught in the background of a photo and facebook could recommend that you be tagged in a random persons picture because it recognizes you face.
3. Turn off your phones location services
Take 10 seconds and turn off your location services on your phone. If you let it your phone will relay your location 24/7. While the only fool proof way to stop this is to turn the phone off and remove the battery, turning the GPS function off will help.
4. Get a Stupid Phone
If smart phones scare the hell out of you go to Walmart and get a pay as you go phone and use that. These don't have GPS and the aren't tied to you personally. I like to keep a pay as you go phone as a back up in the event that I ever need to have a phone and don't want my number recognized. Push comes to shove I toss the phone and get a new one for around $15.
These are just a few options. If you dive in and do some research you'll be scared to death of what is possible. We will come back to this topic at some point but until then Stand Up and Survive!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Hedging My Bets with Gold
So most preppers arent big fans of the stock market and I can understand why. Typically, its a monstrosity that is influenced by politicians and a$$holes with money. While I dont really like the whole situation either I recognize the fact that the stock market is about the most effective way to make your dollar grow over time. Stop and think about it for a second. Overall the politicians are going to do everything in their power to make sure they make money and that their buddies make money if its within their power to do so, so get on the train and ride.
Currently the stock market is enjoying record highs which allows the pessimists/realists of the world, like ourselves, a great opportunity. Stock market 101: If stocks are on a roll, generally speaking, money safe havens like gold are cheap. Now, if you are a prepper you naturally believe that things at some point are going to come crashing to a halt. Now, there are only so many beans, bullets, and bandaids that you can buy. Take some time and look into buying a gold ETF now.
An ETF is an exchange traded fund and is bought and sold like a stock but is actually a fund that consists of many stocks to allow for diversification. Right now the IAU iShares Gold Trust is around 12.50 a share. A few months ago it was trading at an all time high of $20 per share. I fully believe that we're going to get trapped into this government shutdown nonsense in a few months again anyway. The stock market will fall off its current record highs and the sheeple will start hiding their money again. When this happens gold will go back up and you can make a few extra bucks.
We as preppers tend not to follw the sheeple and are pessimists in general. We might as well try to profit a little off of this screwed up contraption that we call government and the stock market. Besides, who wouldn't like a few extra bucks to put toward a new Barrett .50 right???
Currently the stock market is enjoying record highs which allows the pessimists/realists of the world, like ourselves, a great opportunity. Stock market 101: If stocks are on a roll, generally speaking, money safe havens like gold are cheap. Now, if you are a prepper you naturally believe that things at some point are going to come crashing to a halt. Now, there are only so many beans, bullets, and bandaids that you can buy. Take some time and look into buying a gold ETF now.
An ETF is an exchange traded fund and is bought and sold like a stock but is actually a fund that consists of many stocks to allow for diversification. Right now the IAU iShares Gold Trust is around 12.50 a share. A few months ago it was trading at an all time high of $20 per share. I fully believe that we're going to get trapped into this government shutdown nonsense in a few months again anyway. The stock market will fall off its current record highs and the sheeple will start hiding their money again. When this happens gold will go back up and you can make a few extra bucks.
We as preppers tend not to follw the sheeple and are pessimists in general. We might as well try to profit a little off of this screwed up contraption that we call government and the stock market. Besides, who wouldn't like a few extra bucks to put toward a new Barrett .50 right???
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