Walk of Life: Episode 2 - Fox Point (Monday April 25, 2016)

When I started this podcast a week ago I knew that today was going to be a day to record another episode. I was kind of looking forward to it and not at the same time. I knew that on Monday April 25, I would be a mess of emotions and there was no telling how this would benefit or detriment an audio recording. Even though the results are mixed, it is still important that I captured my feelings at this time because today was 5 years to the day that my younger brother Timmy passed away at the age of 24. It's been a very long 5 years, but at the same time I feel like it was just yesterday because the wounds and emotions feel so fresh. I feel like if I keep typing then I will just be rehashing everything I say in this episode, so click below to listen to find out what I was feeling on that day:

Direct Link to listen / download: http://pookon.com/music/walk%20of%20life%20ep2%20apr25.mp3

Timmy was the best friend I could ever have and it hurts me so much to know that I have to spend the rest of my life without him. I think about him every single day because that is one more day since he was (physically) in my life. I hate to have negative thoughts and let them hamper me from enjoying my life, but I can't help but think about how much life would be so much better if he was still here. I'm thankful for every opportunity that I have gotten in the past 5 years and I certainly have enjoyed every single adventure that I have been on. But I will always play the "what if" card no matter how many times I tell myself not to. That's how important he was to me and how much of an influence that he had on my life and on me as a person. Life is hard. It throws a lot of things at you that you really are never ready for. But you just gotta keep on going dealing with them and moving forward. You gotta keep on walking. On that's what this podcast is really all about. Today was hard. But tomorrow things may get better. Who knows what will happen in a few weeks? But I know that I will be here to to provide yet another snapshot on my life during this walk of life.

 - pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/
https://twitter.com/pookondotcom
https://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman

Walk of Life: Episode 1 - Mark Travel (Friday April 15, 2016)

Welcome to another foray into podcasting. While "Burnin' Down the Podcast" from The Daily Burner is on hiatus, I figure it's time to get my spoken thoughts out there again. My last solo podcast "The Drive to Stay Alive" went for about 25 episodes from October 2012 to March of 2014. And while I certainly will go back to that Podcast in the future, I decided that the "Walk of Life" could be kind of an offshoot of that (which was recorded in my car during my morning and evening commute to work) but tailored to my current situation. I now live about 5 minutes away from work, so recording during my commute wouldn't give me enough time to talk. But I do take a half hour walk during my lunch break, which gives me more than enough time to snapshot a moment in my life. While each "The Drive to Stay Alive" episode was around 50 minutes long, I'm going to try to keep these around 10-20 minutes. Just long enough to get my point across and get my thoughts out there. Episode 1 is 15 minutes long and basically gives an introduction as to what I'm trying to do here. Check it out by clicking below:

Direct Link: http://pookon.com/music/walk%20of%20life%20ep1%20apr15.mp3

So that's basically it. I'm not premeditating these episodes or writing down future topics for discussion. I'm just going to hit record when I have an idea and see what happens. That means each walk/episode should be fresh and spontaneous (not to mention topical). I'm excited to see what happens, but more than that I am eager to talk out my feelings and ideas and get them on the record. I don't know where this idea will take me or how long it will last, but the important thing is that I'm still trying. And still walking. And I'll keep on doing that until I'm no longer able to.

 - pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/
https://twitter.com/pookondotcom
https://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman

Even It Out Month 3 - Day 31 (Sunday January 24)

As you can see by the date this was posted, I haven't written anything on this blog or about this Even It Out challenge since December 5th. I apologize for that. But I didn't really have anything to say and by the time the month came to a close, I didn't want to report on the results. I started out December at 350 pounds. I finished the month at 356 pounds. If you've been following along, this would be the first time that I gained weight during this experiment. And not only that, but I gained a lot of weight. I was consistently losing 1-2 pounds and feeling better every day. So what happened? Everything was going great until the holidays. I set up my schedule of eating every other day so that the eating days landed on some holiday parties, Christmas Eve and on my Star Wars Marathon on the 18th (when I watched Episodes 1-6 in preparation for seeing The Force Awakens on Saturday the 19th). As soon as Christmas approached, the wheels fell off and I failed to put them back on.

I went to church on Christmas morning and I fully intended to go the entire day without eating (as I had on every odd day this month). But then I ate some snacks around lunch time and it all went downhill from there. I figured that I could use Christmas as a cheat day and then I could get back on target. I should have known better. The whole reason I did this challenge is that I know I can't handle moderation. Once I get a taste I don't want to stop. I want the whole thing. Then after eating it all I sit around feeling sick wondering what happened. By the time I weighed myself on January 1st, to no surprise I had gained a lot of weight in a short period of time. The Holidays can be a real bitch for so many reasons. 

This is why people make New Year's Resolutions. They usually involve giving up something or losing weight. I'm guilty of falling victim to this ploy and setting unachievable goals. That's why I didn't set any this year and also why I decided to end this Even It Out challenge. While I can't argue with the results when I was sticking to the plan, I know that I did make some mistakes along the way. It's now the end of January and I weigh the same that I did at the end of December. While this could be construed as a bad thing, this means that I've been able to maintain my weight without having to give up eating every other day. I definitely need to keep on losing weight and become a healthier person, but I was going about it all wrong. What good does it do to give up eating on an even or odd day if I eat like shit on the days when I can eat? That does even it out. Instead of say consuming like 2,500 calories in a day, I would consume 0 in one day and 5,000 in the other. So it's all the same in the end. I didn't pay attention to what I was eating and how much I was eating, which is why this approach ultimately does not work.

But it did garner some positive results. I have lost like 10-15 pounds and kept if off (for the most part). I have figured out yet another way that doesn't work for me. That means the only way to being healthy is eating right and exercising. Who would've thought? This sucks. I thought that I could come up with a magic solution that would produce incredible results, but it turns out that the tried and true method still works the best. I guess there's nothing left to do but pay close attention to the food I am putting in my body and make sure to get plenty of exercise. Damn it.

 - pookon -

http://www.pookon.com/
https://twitter.com/pookondotcom
https://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman