Weight Loss Week 0.5

I took the plunge. I finally got tired of losing and gaining the lase 20 pounds aver and over again for the last 3 years. This blog is serving many purposes, but most of all it is to keep me accountable for my actions. The more I put down on paper (web I guess) the more connected I will feel to my project and the more likely I am to continue with my good habits while limiting my bad ones.

A quick intro to who I am. I am 24, live in Green Bay, and I love to play lacrosse. Lacrosse is one of the motivating factors to why I am looking to make this big change in my life. I feel as though I have hit a plateau in my abilities due to my weight. Part of it is also the fact that I do not get as many opportunities to play as I used to, but if I was in better shape I could make up for the lack of practice. I am in no way shy about my body, so I will be posting pictures as time goes on. I am very comfortable with how I look, but it doesn't mean I am proud of it.

Here is where I am starting:

Goals: My main goal is to eventually weigh as much as I did when I graduated high school (220 pounds). Currently I am at 290, so that is 70 pounds that need to be evicted. Obviously, I don't expect this to happen over night or even in the course of a single year. I do expect to change the way I live and what I eat in the coming months to make this goal eventually become a reality.

Methods:   On Wednesday 2/13 I began a 2 month weight loss program from Complete Nutrition called CTS 360. My hopes is that the monetary investment into this product will keep me engaged and true to make sure I get the most bang for my buck. As I go through the next 2 months I will evaluate the individual products (5 in all) to see if I will continue using any of them after the 2 months is up. I will not be reuping the entire program however. The program in my mind is a kick start to making healthy changes in my life that will then carry over after the program is over. After 2 months the "training wheels" will come off, and I will then rely on my new habits to keep the weight loss going. I have also decided that going to the gym or working out in some aspect 5 times a week is a doable goal. I also plan on committing to one active event each month to make sure I always have an event to focus training on. This month is going to be an event called Hustle Up the Hancock in Chicago. If you are unfamiliar with the event basically the goal is to climb all of the stairs in the Hancock building as fast as you can. That is 96 floors and over 1600 stairs. My goal is to finish in under 30mins, and to beat my step father who is also doing this event. My mother is also joining us, however she is in much better shape than the both of us. Eventually, I will aim to finish before her in events just not yet. Hustle is next Sunday 2/24

Expectations: I think I will see a large weight loss in the first 2 weeks. Not because of the system, but because of how quickly my body can gain and lose "junk weight". I have been weighting around 280 the last few months, but I am coming off of a junk food heavy couple of weeks which ballooned me to 290. I have had it in the past where I have lost 10 pounds in a week just by not being a pig and going to the gym without any supplement aid. I think it will be a free fall to 270, but that is where the real work will start. If at the end of 2 months I weigh 260 or less I will be very surprised.

First Impressions: I meant to post all of the above earlier in the week in order to do weekly updates, but since I am on my 4th day on the program I figured I would give a look into the first few days. There are 2 things I have noticed so far. My energy levels have risen, and my appetite has disappeared.

With the energy, it is not a jittery caffeine feeling, but more of a higher level of alertness. I notice this the most at the end of the day when usually my eyes feel heavy, and I am not motivated to do much let alone go to the gym. From almost the first day I noticed that at the end of the day, no matter how stressful, I still have the energy to make it to the gym. Once I am at the gym I continue to feel the energy boost. Where I would sometimes make up a reason to cut my workout short I have been enjoying my workout to the very end to the point where I run out of things I want to do. It is also easier for my to stay focused at work.

I have also noticed that I simply do not feel hungry. Again this began at almost day one. Because of the work I do I really do not have a set lunch time. So it normally ranges from 12 to 2 when I eat. What I've noticed is that I will tell myself that it is time to eat, but if I get distracted by work I will completely forget. I actually left work yesterday without eating a thing since 730 that morning without feeling hungry. I realize this isn't something I should rely on as part of my weight loss (not healthy), but I do think it will help control how much I eat. Since I won't feel like I'm starving I won't eat half the food in my fridge every meal.

So, so far so good I think. I have not noticed any negative changes to my body, and don't worry I will share, in maybe too much detail, if I do feel something negative happening. So for now that is all I have. I think I will continue to post updates every weekend on the progress that week. You will also notice that I use this blog for college lacrosse related postings. I will be doing those during the week.

2013 Week 1

@QIKSTICKLAX IS BAAAAAACK!!!!

Can you really believe that it's been over a year since I spent 20 hours pouring over data from 2011 to predict the 2012 season? I can. Oh how things have changed since then!

A real quick recap on how I fared with my predictions last year...I selected 3 teams that would surprise and be in the Top 20 at the end of the year and 3 teams that would disappoint and finish outside.  I was wildly successful on one team from each group (Loyola #1 and Penn #33), however the other teams did ok enough to prove me wrong. Skipping ahead to the NCAA field of 16 tourny....I successfully guessed.....er...picked 10 of the 16 teams. However, I only got one of the final four teams right. So shows what I know.

ANYWAY. Enough living in the past. What's up this year? Well Top 20 reactions Surprised by the inclusion of Ohio St and Fairfield also my perennial dislike for Princeton has renewed. I don't think they will do much of anything this year. Also, No love for the boys in Orange? Guess they will have to prove themselves.

Only doing three picks per week this year. Makes it an easier commitment for me since I will be sharing this blog with another venture of mine (to be previewed later). Hopefully my buddy @LongStick Lax joins in. Should be fun.

This weeks picks:

Duke v. Notre Dame      Final Duke 7 Notre Dame 9
I love teams who come out of the gate swinging, and Duke seems to do that every year. If they don't find and stick to a goalie though it's going to be a long year on both ends of the field. Offense basically has to score on every possession.

Notre Dame is on the same program with it's first 6 games coming against Top 20 teams. We all know one thing ND won't have a game with over 13 goals scored on them. You heard it here first remember that. 

Umass v. UNC              Final Umass 12 UNC 13

Umass had a great year last year and made it all the way to Memorial Day weekend. This year they return 3 of their top 4 scored including a guy named Will Manny. I don't know him, but I think thats good.

Have you seen UNC's "Welcome to the Grind" video? Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptiWGFHfeh8. I'll wait for you to watch it......Doesn't it just make you want to go do 100 push ups then run a mile? WOO! UNC seems to have a safter schedule this year when compared to past seasons, so every big game counts extra. Lots of scorers on both sides. Who's defense will hold up long enough?

Denver v. Penn St.        Final Denver 15 Penn St. 7
Running out of time.....Denver wins big. Penn St. isn't quite ready to hang with the big boys yet.

One final note. I will be sharing this blog with another project I am running. I will be keeping a weight loss journal. I'll have another post soon to intro that but the basics....I'm 24 years old 6' 1" tall and currently weigh 290 pounds. I'm not shy about it nor am I proud. I started a weight loss program this morning and figure the more people know about it the more accountable I will be to stay on track. Any and all support is greatly appriciated. Also follow along on Twitter @ManDisappearing.

Thanks all. Good luck to everyone this weekend, and play smart play safe.

Full Season Prediction/Early Season Reactions

Woah how did February get so far away from me. I have had my preseason breakdown done for about 2 weeks now, but this is the first time I've sat down to type it all out.

So, essentially this post will be in two parts. First being the preseason preview that takes up about 20 pages of paper in a notebook (don't worry the resulting section will not be that long), and the other with be a check up to see how my predictions are going plus other reactions.

PREVIEW:

I guess the best way to do this is explain my methods that lead me to the conclusions I reached without having to show you all of the numbers involved. Basically, I took stats from last year and looked at who the team lost verses who they kept and their key new players.

After about 4 hours of number crunching and making guesses and assumptions this is how the Top 20 will shake out at the end of the season, and their records.

1. Virginia (12-2)
2. Cornell (13-2)
3. Johns Hopkins (13-2)
4. North Carolina (11-3)
5. Notre Dame (9-3)
6. Duke (11-4)
7. Denver (11-2)
8. Syracuse (10-4)
9. Bucknell (13-2)
10. UMass (10-3)
11. Villanova (10-4)
12. Maryland (8-5)
13. Harvard (10-4)
14. Yale (8-5)
15. Colgate (9-4)
16. Penn St. (8-6)
17. Georgetown (9-4)
18. Army (10-4)
19. Loyola (9-3)
20. Fairfield (10-5)

Obviously there are some teams here that started in the Top 20 that didn't make it to the end, and also teams that didn't start there that end well.

Top 20 Busts:
Hofstra: It's not that I think Hofstra is a bad team (far from it) I just don't think they can beat the big teams still. I have them ending with a 7-7 record with only 1 against a Top 20 team. They have to win 10 games to stay, and I don't think they will.

Princeton:
Every says that their season last year was down because of injuries, but I think this year won't end any differently for one reason. To win games you have to score goals, and I don't think they are capable of scoring more then they let in. Yes they have a fantastic defense and goalie, but no one on the other side of the ball can really carry this team. This is why they will end the season with a below .500 record. Sorry Tigers.

Penn:
I think they rode their early season win over Duke for far too long last year, and their schedule this year is very tough. They may be able to pull off a win against a Top 10 team, but they will lose the other 3 and probably a few against the rest the Top 20. They just aren't that good.

Drexel:
Honestly, they don't have to do much to fall out, and they have a very tough schedule. Sorry Dragons, but it will be a long season. Hold tight.

Top 20 Busters:

Georgetown:
Even with their first loss against Maryland I think they will surprise a lot of teams and take down all of their low-mid Top 20 opponents. They are pretty solid at all positions, and I think they will get stronger as the season goes on. If they get a big early win watch out, because they could ride that all the way into the postseason.

Loyola:
Again, more solid all around then they are given credit for. They don;t have the toughest schedule, which may hurt them come tournament time, but they will win more than their fair share.

Army:
Even with their full and heavy schedule they will win more than they lose and make a few teams sweat through the end of the game, because they will play all 60 minutes every game and do it well.

Tournament Seeds:
I did get a little carried away and predicted through the Memorial Day. This is that I came up with:

Seed #
1. Virginia (At Large)
2. Cornell (Ivy League Champ)
3. Johns Hopkins (At Large)
4. North Carolina (At Large)
5. Denver (ECAC Champ)
6. Duke (At Large)
7. Notre Dame (At Large)
8. Syracuse (Big East Champ)
9. Bucknell (Patriot League Champ)
10. Maryland (At Large)
11. UMass (Colonial League Champ)
12. Georgetown (At Large)
13. Harvard (At Large)
14. Villanova (At Large)
15. Stony Brook (America East Champ)
16. Siena (MAAC Champ)

The final four will include Cornell, Hopkins, Virginia, and Denver with Virginia going back-to-back.

FIRST 2 WEEKS:
Well with all of that laid out my current prediction record is 35-10 making me correct 78% of the time which given the turbulent nature of early season games I feel is respectable. I think it is a little too early to start talking about disappointments and trends since it is so early. However it isn't too early to talk about the upcoming week's games...

Princeton/Hopkins Friday 3/2 Hopkins Win
This game will be the first big game for both teams. If Princeton can find a way to shut down the high powered Hopkins offense this game could be close, but Princeton will not win a shoot-out game.

Cornell/Army Saturday 3/3 Cornell Win
Cornell's first potential challenge. If they aren't careful with the ball or effective on defense Army could make them sweat at the end of the game.

Maryland/Duke Saturday 3/3 Maryland Win
This is a huge early season match up. Both teams have huge points to prove. Maryland has to show they can score with their new core of attackmen, and Duke has to show that they can show up and score against big teams. I can see this game ending up in a shoot-out and Maryland has shown they can score in bunches more than Duke. Should be close.

Ohio State/Penn State Saturday 3/3 Penn State Win
Both of these teams are fighting for early season recognition. Both scoring early big wins (OSU against Denver Penn St. against Notre Dame), and are looking at this season to bring their programs into the Top 10 spotlight. Will be a close hard fought game with so much on the line.

Virginia/Syracuse Sunday 3/4 Virginia Win
The crown jewel match up this week brings two storied programs together for a great Sunday game. No more football? Who cares with this match. I think this year is a rebuilding season for the boys from Syracuse, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. With a coach like Desko and players like they have anything is possible. I have no idea how close this game will be. I can see it being close or UVA blowing out Cuse. Still, no matter. When these teams come to play magic happens.

Check in next week to see the a (shorter and more informative) update.

QikStick

Weekend 3 Results

QikStickLax went 6-4 last weekend making him 14-6 on the season. LongStickLax went 5-5 in his opening week.

Stay tuned for this weeks matchups...

Weekend 3 Picks

C's Picks: (Season 8-2)

Friday:
Syracuse vs Virginia 6:00
Winner: Syracuse.
This is probably the most anticipated game of the early season, because it matches up the two teams that are essentially tied for 1st in the coaches and media polls. The key to this game is going to be which defense can stand the tallest. It will be a shootout between the offenses which could easily end in the teams splitting 25 or more goals. 'Cuse I believe will have a slight advantage at the faceoff X with Thompson scoring a coule of quick goals on restarts to hold momentum on Syracuse's side. Both goalies are top notch, but I think Syracuse's D hold up better and allows less goals than Virginia's

Saturday:
Army vs Cornell 12:00
Winner: Cornell
But it will be close. Army had a great come back cut short against Syracuse last weekend. I'm just not sure if they are underrated, or just played really big last week. Cornell has some big scoring threats and a decent D which I think will be enough to topple the Black Knights.


Duke vs Maryland 1:00
Winner: Maryland
While I don't think we have seen Duke's best yet this year (especially after that aweful loss against Penn) I don't think it will come out against the Terps who are coming off a blowout win against rival Georgetown.

Johns Hopkins vs Princeton 1:00
Winner: Johns Hopkins
Hopkins continue on their early season roll against a Princeton that is probably overrated.

Penn State vs Ohio State 1:30
Winner: Ohio State
A couple of Big Ten schools that have both gotten off to solid starts. Ohio State comes out on top since Uncle Joe isn't on the sidelines for Penn State.

North Carolina vs Umbc 12:00
Winner: NC
This is another put up or shut up game for NC. A team they should beat, but the loss to Ohio State is still hanging over their heads. If they lose this game their season could be on the line.

Hofstra vs Harvard 1:00
Winner: Hofstra
Still a lot of speculation around Hofstra on if they deserve to be ranked where they are, but I still think they will beat up on Harvard.

Hobart vs Colgate 1:00
Winner: Colgate

Albany vs Delaware 1:00
Winner: Delaware

Umass vs Brown 1:00
Winner: UMass

E's Picks: (Season 0-0)
Let's do:

Friday:
Syracuse vs Virginia 6:00 - orange

Saturday:
Army vs Cornell 12:00 - army - kidding. Cornell
Duke vs Maryland 1:00 - maryland
Johns Hopkins vs Princeton 1:00 - blue
Penn State vs Ohio State 1:30 - bucks
North Carolina vs Umbc 12:00 - nc
Hofstra vs Harvard 1:00 - hofstra
Hobart vs Colgate 1:00 - colgate *upset*
Albany vs Delaware 1:00 - delaware
Umass vs Brown 1:00 - breeze brown

Weekend 2 Picks

Here are my picks for the weekend...

Fri:
#12 North Carolina vs Navy 7:30
Winner: North Carolina
I'm picking North Carolina in this game, but it isn't an easy pick. I think they have a lot they need to work on especially clears and ground balls. I think Navy can out heart the Heels. This will be a very close game if NC doesn't come out swinging to open an early league.

Sat:
#6 Cornell vs Hobart
Winner: Cornell
Don't see this game being close. It will be a decent look at Cornell since it will be their first game of the season.

#7 Hofstra vs #8 Princeton
Winner: Hofstra
This is more of a gut pick. Princeton will have a stingy defense as usual but I think Hofstra will find a way through. Again, hard to tell since this will be both teams first games.

#4 Maryland vs #14 Georgetown
WInner: Maryland
Georgetown will be outside the top 20 by season's end. This will be their first step. Maryland will get it's season going strong.

Pennsylvania vs #10 Duke
Winner: Duke
They will get their offense going after being shut down last week against ND. Duke needs to find more guys to draw doubles so Turri and other shooters can get some room.

#5 Stony Brook vs #1 Virginia
Winner: Virginia
This game is going to be a SHOOTOUT! This game could easily end with 25 goals split between the teams. The winner will be the team that can play more defense which will be Virginia. Stony Brook is one of the few teams that can keep up with Virginia's O. SB needs to find room for their big scorers somehow.

Towson vs #15 Loyola
Winner: Towson
I saw a lot of great things from Towson last weekend against Johns Hopkins. Towson just needs to find a quarterback to run the offense. Loyola is coming off a last second win against Navy, but I don't think the excitement will carry over to the this week.

#11 Umass vs #13 Ohio State
Winner: Umass
Ohio State beat an overrated unproved UNC squad. Ohio State was psyched up at home and came out with something to prove and they did. This week they have to face a much sounder UMass team that knows what it's offense is all about.

Sun:
#2 Syracuse vs #18 Army
Winner: Syracuse
This is a rematch of the playoff game last year that Army won in double OT. The end of this game will be nothing like the end of last spring for 'Cuse. This won't be close and there will be no mercy. Syracuse comes in with a chip on their shoulder the size of a Blackhawk helicopter.

Penn State vs #3 Notre Dame
Winner: Notre Dame
ND's stingy D will do a number on Penn St. offense. And Brenneman will do a number on the Nittany Lion's goalie. Here's a quick trip. He shoots high. There I just got you about 8 saves.

C.

Comments on New Rule Changes

Alright, if you haven't heard yet there are a few new rules coming into this season. There's really 3 of them that I'm going to talk about.
First, and frankly most important, is the increased penalties for checks to the head. Going off of the nation's new found awareness of concussions the NCAA has included the ability to asses 2 or 3 minute penalties for blows to the head, like cross-checks. The idea behind this change is to protect players from wild checks that can cause injury. Overall a great idea.....but there was an incident over the weekend that made me raise my eyebrows a bit.

Not sure if every watched the Duke v. Notre Dame game on Sunday, but on one of the face off D-man Chris Hipps (#27 on Duke) received a down right nasty cross-check to the back of the head which knocked him out of the game. I haven't heard anything about him since so I can only assume he is alright now. Anyway, the checker only received a 1-minute penalty. This play was a picture perfect example of why this new rule was made, but wasn't enforced. To be honest lacrosse is a fast sport and I will give the ref the benefit of the doubt and say he didn't see what exactly happened. Then there needs to be additions to the rule that allow officials to look at the hits later after the game to see how bad they were. Bad enough, and additional penalties should be enforced. You knocked a guy out of a game on an illegal check, well you should be taken out for a game too....only fair.

Second, is the change from the "down, whistle" procedure on faceoffs it is now "down, set, whistle". This is supposed to cut down on FOGOs "rolling" or getting early starts on faceoffs. It will also cut down on procedure calls for FOGOs lining up wrong. During the Hopkins v. Towson game they mentioned that the Hopkins coach looked back and said that 60% of the faceoffs his team lost was because of this rolling. He didn't happen to mention what percentage he won because of it, but that's another story. The outcome of this will be more false start procedure calls from FOGOs trying to anticipate the whistle, a more even faceoff, and more and longer epic camera closeups on the ball. All around good things.

Lastly, the new clearing time rules. The old rule was once the ball changes possession the offensive team had 20 seconds to get it over the mid-field stripe and then another 10 seconds to the box. New rule is the offensive team now has 30 seconds to get into the box. No break down. It's a great idea because it will keep the game going by cutting down on turnovers caused by balls getting hung up between mid-field and the box. Anything that keeps the game going makes me a happy lax fan. Maybe they can make the box smaller so it's easier to step out....just kidding.

That wraps up my comments on the new rules. Next post will be E and my picks for the weekend.

Later

C.