Tag Archives: 24HR Fitness

It's Halloween.  It's over.  Last photo of my scale and my stanky toes has been taken.  3 months ago I had my official mid-life crisis moment after my wifes' cousin Carter thoroughly kicked my arse in basketball, and the reality of how grotesquely fat and out of shape I was hit me like a tornado.   (http://originalretrobrand.com/blog/?p=502)  It truly was a defining moment in my life.

I was in a hurry to get to the gym that fateful night, and quickly grabbed the shirt I would change into when I got there out of my closet.   I was disgusted when I put on my favorite Original Retro Brand Georgia Bulldogs shirt.  It was not nice and loose like when I purchased it 4 years earlier.  It was a chore to get it on my blubbery, pear shaped, obese frame, and I could barely breathe it was so tight....of course I could barely breathe after Carter ran around, over, behind, upside down, and everywhere else in crushing me on the basketball court.

That was it.  I wanted my life back.  For my son, for my wife, and for my BULLDOGS SHIRT!   I decided I would mix business with pleasure to help motivate myself back into shape.  Thus the "Fight For the Fit Challenge" was born.   So with my bosses blessing, and as most of you reading this know, a FREE Original Retro Brand shirt was given out the past 13 weeks to the customer who came closest to guessing my weight.   My goal was to lose 30 lbs in 3 months.  244 down to 214.   I figured putting myself in front of an audience would motivate me (and my stomach) to not embarrass myself by not losing the weight.   I also wanted people to know how strongly I do believe in the product I REALLY DO WEAR AND LOVE (I think I have about 150 Original Retro Brand shirts in my closet and that is not enough!).  I ran, played basketball, baseball, soccer, lifted weights, and even swam in my Original Retro Brand shirts the past 3 months, and they did not shrink, nor did the logo's fade after dozens of spin cycles.   They remain as soft and as comfortable as when I originally got them.    And now they fit me again....

Yes, I am proud to say that while I did not lose all 30lbs, I did see the scale say 219 lbs, and that is a sight I have not seen in 27 years.

And after I EAT A FEAST OF FAST FOOD today, and overdose on my sons Halloween candy, I fully intend of getting back in the gym and losing that last pesky 5lbs.   I've had brief (very brief) moments of losing 5-10lbs in the past, and have always gained them back quickly and then some.   I guess I am like any addict when it comes to food, and realize I could always overdose at any time.   This time, however, I really think I can make it last.  I feel better, have more energy, and enjoy playing basketball without having to call an ambulance when I'm done.  Beating Carter on occasion feels good too!

The winner of the final weigh-in has won TWO Original Retro Brand shirts and a bodybugg from 24HR Fitness ($250 value!).   As I've mentioned many times, the bodybugg is an amazing motivational tool that I used (and will continue to use) during the challenge.  The revolutionary new bodybugg makes it easy to manage the calories you consume and burn so you always stay in control of your weight.  Thanks again to 24HR Fitness for donating the bugg to me for the challenge.  Now to the final winner......There were 3 customers who guessed I would weigh in at 219lbs.  Thus I had to pick the winner from an Original Retro Brand hat. And the winner is Conor Cameron from Glenview, Illinois.  Conor was already notified, and has chosen a Georgia Tech, and a Northwestern shirt for his prizes.

Now that the contest is over, there is one important thing I must admit to.  I have been telling a lie.   NO, I really did lose 25 lbs.  No, the lie is that I've been saying that today was the last chance to win a FREE original Retro Brand tee shirt.   The truth of the matter is that the Original Retro Brand will begin a NEW
contest next Monday that will allow you an opportunity to win a FREE shirt every week AGAIN!   As long as there are 52 weeks in a year, your chance to win a FREE Original Retro Brand tee every week will be possible!   So be sure to check in next Monday, and every Monday to find out how YOU can win!

A final thanks to all of the folks who gave me words of encouragement throughout this entire process.   Thanks to Carter Deems for being my basketball buddy.  Thanks to Kevin Whitlark for his accurate cartoon renderings (onalark.com).  Thanks to the 77 people who voted for me in the poll.  And to the 20 people who voted against me?  Congratulations...you were right (except I didn't eat one twinkie the entire time.  I think I'll get one today).

$5 was donated each day of the challenge to the American Cancer Society's Relay for life. Please check them out and give if you can - I believe it's a great cause.

Where did the time go?  The Original Retro Brand FIGHT FOR THE FIT challenge that started back on August 3rd, is about to come to an end this Saturday, October 31st with my final weigh-in.  12 lucky folks have won a FREE Original Retro Brand shirt, including today's winner.  Whoever guesses my weight closest for the Halloween finale, will win a Bodybugg from 24Hr Fitness in addition to 2 Original Retro Brand shirts of their choice!

My goal of losing 30 lb's in 3 months so I could fit my Georgia Bulldogs XL Original Retro Brand shirt, and dress as an Original Retro Brand model for Halloween, will not be met I am sad to report.    I was only able to lose 1 measley lb this past week, leaving me 7.5 short with just 5 days before final weigh-in (I will not be going on a 5 day fast!).  Anybody that has battled the bulge knows that it is so extremely difficult to lose the weight, and so much easier to gain.   You bust your butt all week, and then even just one day of indulgence can tip that frickin' scale a notch against you.  I had the pleasure of working a trunk show this past Saturday with my pal Angela, and took the liberty of gorging on all of the delicacies that were offered (7 layer taco dip X 30 dips = thousands of empty calories) and that simply led into a lazy Sunday in which I will not elaborate what foodstuffs were consumed ( Egg McMuffins, pizza, chicken parm, wings, chips, and even some fruit!).

Hey, I'm not into walking the catwalk anyway.  And even though I won't reach my goal, my Georgia shirt actually does fit me well enough for me to proudly wear in public again.   I promise to give my all out this last week and break that dang 220 mark.   I haven't seen the scale say 219 or less since I was in college, and that is 27 years ago.

Before I forget, the winner for this week is Dante Samuel of Brick, New Jersey.  He has chosen an orange New York Islanders shirt - one of my personal favorites.   This is the comment he left and I couldn't agree more:  "220 is the psychological breaking point and too tough to break…..220.5"    Regardless, I am going to break that 220 barrier as my last shot at some glory!

If you are just reading this blog for the first time, why not take a shot at winning a FREE shirt from Original Retro Brand.   All you have to do is enter what you think I will weigh this coming Saturday in the Post/View comment section of this blog post.  Whoever comes closest will win (in the event of a tie, which happens frequently, names will be drawn from an Original Retro Brand hat to determine the winner).   You could also win a Bodybugg from 24HR Fitness.  The Bodybugg is an excellent motivating device which counts your calories on a daily basis, in addition to nutritional breakdowns, advice, etc., and has easily helped me lose weight during this challenge.

This will also be the last week of donating $5 a day to the American Cancer Society's Relayforlife.   It's a great cause, please check em' out if you can.  You can follow my progress (or lack of..) on Facebook and  Twitter.

It's really crunch time now, folks.   Maybe I need to do more crunches?  Maybe I reached a plateau because I really kicked butt this past week, but only lost 2lbs!!   I actually beat my nemesis, Carter, 3 games to 2 last night in hoops.  I lived on bags of frozen fruit and almonds all week, lifted weights, ran, did sit-ups, and ONLY LOST 2LBS??!!!

I even faced the ultimate temptation on Saturday, as I was assigned to cover the Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech game:  TAILGATE.   Lucky for me, I got caught up in Atlanta traffic, and arrived at the tail-end of the tailgate.  I was only able to scarf down the last remaining brat, burger & brew.

My good fortune continued as I took my seat behind the Yellow Jacket end zone.   As luck would have it, a beautiful & bubbly coed name Megan was sitting right next to me (I've been happily married to my own beautiful Georgia Tech coed for 14 years - hi honey!).   What are the odds she would be wearing an Original Retro Brand shirt?   Very good.

The odds were also in favor of Georgia Tech. They defeated # 4 ranked Virginia Tech behind 3 rushing touchdowns from quarterback Josh Nesbitt.  For the moment, my prediction for Georgia Tech to take the ACC crown (see post from September 8,) looks like genius.  On the flip side, I picked VTech to lose to Miami, and Boston College (they won both) and for them to defeat Georgia Tech (they didn't).......genius not the word.

So now I have 12 days to lose 8.5 lbs.  Can you say colonic?  I can't, and won't stoop to such drastic measures to reach my goal.  I know it doesn't look good right now, but I am still determined to play this out, and continue to work my arse off.   Maybe the scale was off today, and I'll have a 4.5 lb swing going into the last week.  If I can drop at least 4lbs, I have an outside shot at this thing.

Now to announce the winner of the FREE Original Retro Brand t-shirt for week # 12:  Chris Glavine from Novia Scotia, Canada, guessed my weight right on the money @ 222.5 lbs.   Chris has chosen the Montreal Allouettes shirt from the Canadian Football League, and we will send it out asap.

Thanks as always to 24HR Fitness for their generosity in sending me a Bodybugg for this challenge.  Don't forget that in addition to the shot at a FREE Original Retro Brand shirt every week, a Bodybugg will be given away on the last weigh-in of the challenge (10/31 - Halloween!).   $5 a day has also been donated to The American Cancer Society's Relayforlife, since the start of the "Fight For The Fit",  and will be continued until the challenge is over.  Please give if you can!

FIGHT FOR FIT FLASH:  My XL Georgia Bulldog shirt is feeling pretty comfortable and almost LOOSE!  It's been through about 50 washes, and is STILL standing strong.  Durable, soft, and comfy as ever!

"There are only 4 weeks until Halloween, Daddy!"   With these words, my son reminds me that I will be dressing as Batman to go along with his Robin (from Teen Titans cartoon-he's hooked), and NOT as a slim Original Retro Brand model when the FIGHT FOR THE FIT CHALLENGE comes to an end.   While I may be wearing a bat cowl and purple tights on October 31st,  I still intend on reaching my goal of losing 30lbs and wearing my XL Georgia Bulldogs Original Retro Brand shirt too!

Having gained 2lbs last week with 34 days (and 17lbs to lose)  until my final weigh in, drastic measures had to go into effect.   I stepped up my cardio, and cut back on calories and the result is a loss of 3 lbs.    While I am glad to see 228 lbs on a scale for the first time since I had an afro (bald spot started to appear in a big way in 1999), I fell about a half pound short of the 3.4 lbs needed to stay on track.

When the Georgia Bulldogs lost a heart wrenching defeat to LSU on Saturday, I could easily have gone the way of the wing, (as in chicken, which averages 95 calories per wing people!!) but I honkered down like a hairy dawg and ate a bowl of delicious oatmeal instead!    27 days and 14 lbs to go!!!!

NOW, the winner of the of the FREE Original Retro brand shirt this week is .......Keith Hughes of Rye Brook, NY.   Keith, and last week's winner Bobby Tang both guessed 228, but I pulled the name Keith out of the Original Retro Brand hat, so he gets the FREE shirt!!  I've already notified Keith, and he has chosen a "Smoke Edna May" cigar shirt which is prett-ay, prett-ay cool!

FIGHT FOR FIT CHALLENGE PRIZE UPDATE:  Our friends at 24HR Fitness have decided to donate a Bodybugg to the person who comes closest to guessing my weight on the day of the final weigh in!     The Bodybugg has really been a driving force in my motivation and success to this point.  It does a whole lot more than count your steps, I promise you that!   You can read more about it HERE.   BIG THANK YOU to 24HR FITNESS!!

You can follow my progress (or lack of) on http://twitter.com/retrobrand and the Original Retro Brand FAN page on Facebook.   I am also donating $5 a day to the American Cancer Society’s Relayforlife for the duration of the challenge.   It’s a great cause, so please check it out…

THANK YOU HEBREW NATIONAL!!!  Yes, before I reveal the winner for week # 5 in the Original Retro Brand's  FIGHT FOR FIT CHALLENGE,  I must pay homage to the one food in which I always crave, but thought I could not have.    The Hebrew National 97% Fat Free hot dog is delicious, spicy, filling,  and only 40 Calories!   Perhaps it is not filled with much nutritional value, but in this 1,500 calorie a day battle for flavor and fulfillment, I give it 10 out of 10 Matzoh Balls!!

Now on to the real issue at hand.  Since last Monday, I have lost another 2lbs, bringing my current weight to 233lbs.  So now I have lost 11 lbs in 33 days.  I must say I am a bit frustrated as I cut my calories 500 a day, and still can't seem to drop 3 in a week.    The other area I need to work on is toning.  Indeed it is satisfying to lose the weight - I'm feeling better, and the pants are loosening up, BUT....being as soft as an Original Retro Brand shirt is not a good thing (these shirts are REALLY SOFT!). Time to get serious in the push-ups and pull-ups department.

Ok, ok, enough of  that stuff.   Time to announce the winner of the FREE Original Retro Brand shirt for week # 5, and that winner is John Kim who guessed 233 on the nose.  We will be sure to notify John and announce what shirt he has chosen on the Original Retro Brand,  fan page on Facebook.   If you have not won a Free shirt yet, you still have 7 more weeks to take a shot.  Simply guess my weight before next Monday, and enter that guess in the post/view comment section at the end of the latest FIGHT FOR FIT  blog post.

As has become my weekly practice, I'd like to thank those of you wishing me good luck in my quest to lose all this dang blubber by Halloween, so I can dress up as an Original Retro Brand model, and fit my old XL Georgia shirt.   Thanks to the guys at 24HR fitness for sending me a bodybugg - I love it,  The biggest thanks have to go to my bosses at Original Retro brand for letting me do this silly thing!

I continue to sponsor the American Cancer society, by donating $5 a day to the Relayforlife.  I urge you to please give generously to the charity of your choice.  You can follow my progress (or lack of..) on Twitter and Facebook.

And we have our 4th Winner in the Original Retro Brand FIGHT FOR THE FIT challenge...Chris Glavine (we don't know where he is from yet!) guessed Andy's weight right on the nose @ 235 lbs. We'll notify Chris and find out which shirt he chooses and post that shirt on the ORB Facebook page.  For those of you just finding your way to this page, the FIGHT FOR THE FIT challenge is my attempt to lose 30 lbs by Halloween, so I can wear my favorite old Georgia Original Retro Brand shirt that USED to fit me, and dress up as an ORB model (then steal my kids candy and get fat again).   Whoever comes closest to guessing my weight each week wins the shirt of their choice from the Original Retro Brand website.

Another week in the books, and another 2 lbs off the body!   I was really hoping I could take off at least 3 this week, but I've now lost 9 lbs in 26 days and am ready to attack this week with a mad vengeance!   Mentally I am acting as if I am training for opening day of College Football season, and need to "make weight," in time to suit up for the Dawgs in their highly anticipated match-up with the Oklahoma State Cowboys.   Remember the key word is "acting."   I bet I could still be a kicker...

There are actually 10 more weigh-ins leading up to the final weigh in which we will make a day early on Friday, October, 30th, or 67 days from today.   I need to drop another 21 lbs, or 3.1 per week.   I've averaged 2.8 so far, so I have to really step it up.   I have worked out for 26 days straight, and have limited my caloric intake to 2,000 calories or less.   If I want to drop that 21, it's time to work out more, and drop the calories to 1,500 per day.  This is going to be extra difficult with football season starting.   Tailgating at Georgia Tech and Falcons games = Dogs, burgers, Wings = big problem.  Heck, the Braves are in the hunt for a Wild Card, and the "All You Can Eat," seats are a real bargain!    I can do this....I can do this.....GOING TO BE HARD to do this.

Want to thank my friends at 24HR Fitness once again for sending me a bodybugg, which is always by my side (it's attached!) for inspiration and motivation,  and all the folks pulling for me.   I am also donating $5 a day to the American Cancer Society's Relayforlife, and urge you to support the charity of your choice.   You can follow my progress (or lack of) daily on      http://twitter.com/retrobrand and Facebook.