SharkysWorld

I’m going to try to fix that- there are tons of excuses- from the stress of trying to buy our first house to the frustration of not having decent Sharketo friendly snacks to just flat out mood swings.

The other thing is that I just can’t get into the routine of taking pills in the morning- my vitamin, fish oil, collagen, etc. I forget and it drives me crazy! I’ve forgotten to take my magnesium the last few days and had leg cramps every night.

I just can’t seem to get into a routine and stick with it…however, that is the awesome thing about Sharketo…I’ve slacked but still stayed under 20g of carbs and I’m still right at 393 lbs so there hasn’t been any gain.

Tomorrow is grocery day so hopefully I’ll get back on track- get a bit more strict and try to figure out a way to ensure I’m taking my pills.

I have no doubt Sharketo works because I’ve done it and I do feel better but if you don’t get a routine down, it makes it really difficult and frustrating…work has even been extra crazy so I’m not walking as much either and I can tell a big difference in the days I don’t get to walk.

So….this is my notice to the #SlackerNation….I need to revoke my membership and get my shit together and get back to dropping weight like a mad man!

We are in the final stage of the house buying process, hopefully we will close in early July. If everything goes through then the next few months should show a ton of weight loss. We will spend July cleaning and moving and then, in August, I’ll have an “official” Sharketo Dojo with all my equipment together and a place to just burn calories!

Fingers crossed!

Love, Peace and Sharkness
~~~~~shArky~~~~~

…it was actually hello!

So, last weekend we decided to have a cheat day and kick ourselves out of ketosis and we did that for a few reasons. First, I wanted to eat Raising Canes…because I love Raising Canes, and second, I wanted to see how long it took to get back in and how it would affect my body, weight and to just experiment. Experimenting and find what works for you is the ONLY way to successfully do Sharketo; what works for me may or may not work for you.

The wife only take a couple of days to get back into ketosis and to get back to the weight she was at, while it took me about 4 days to start showing signs of being back in ketosis and I’m 2 lbs. above where I was the day before we loaded up on carbs.

Last Monday, the weigh in AFTER the carb upload, I gained 7 lbs. and had jumped back to 399 lbs and this morning, I’m back to 394 lbs and should be back to my lowest of 392 lbs either tomorrow or sometime this weekend and hopefully I’ll get lower before Monday…would love to be around 390 lbs. I’m still ahead of where I wanted to be at this time and that is with all of the added stress of trying to buy our first home…a house that is beyond PERFECT for us and what we want! We’ve gotten passed a few hurtles and there are only two things left and then we will hopefully start moving in July! (One of the hottest months in KY…woo hoo!)

If everything goes well, I will have a dedicated spot to call my Sharketo Dojo- a place to be away from everyone and just work out- I have enough equipment to make a gym. I have the bike for cardio, boxing, kettle bells, free weights, an all-in-one weight bench/home gym, a stepper, heavy ball and yoga mats. It will be a great place to just blast some music and have no distractions. If it falls through, we will honestly be devastated- we’ve already put tons of money into the process- time, stress and just trying to make sure everything happens the way it needs to; fingers crossed.

So, in closing…please understand that if you screw up and take a day off and know yourself out of ketosis, you don’t have to say goodbye to this lifestyle- you just pick up the next day and move on and never think about it again. You HAVE to make this your normal way of eating 99% of the time- it has to be your normal. Eating Oreos or Raising Canes can’t be your normal- those things have to be saved for special occasions, breaks or just a celebration.

Love, Peace and Sharkyness
~~~~~shArky~~~~~

… And thanks for all the fat.

The wife and I are no longer in ketosis and it showed!

I’m using my weight on Monday mornings- regardless if I think it’s water weight or doesn’t really reflect reality and, today, I’m up 6-7 lbs, which I know doesn’t really tell the whole story.

Sharketo is about learning what works for you- testing, researching and trying out stuff to see how your body is going to react; you can’t just hop on a Facebook group and ask –“what if I do this…?” because we are all different and our bodies react different. (however, there is a “normal” reaction that you can expect everyone to share.)

We had decided to have a “cheat day” on June 17^th, which would have been our two months on Sharketo but we moved it up a week. On Friday night, we had a couple cookies from Kroger…they are chocolate, caramel and nut and they are AMAZING! We would get them every Friday, when we got groceries and we haven’t had them in almost two months- that was a success…trust me!

Then, on Saturday, we went browsing for some things (INCASE we actually get our house!) and we decided to have Raising Canes (another favorite) –nothing is Sharketo friendly there but it’s still amazing; I finally got to try those new Caramel M&Ms and we ended our binge with some Oreo’s. (the M&Ms were a letdown, just FYI.)

Now, to truly gain 7 lbs, based on science, we would have had to eat 24,500 calories…which we didn’t…and that’s why that science is flawed.

We did go from eating 15-20 carbs per day for 7 weeks to eating several hundred carbs in one day.

We tested ourselves with those keto pee strips that the “keto elitists” will tell you are a waste of money and guess what- they showed exactly what we knew…not a trace of ketones…nothing…no change at all, yet the few days before they changed super dark.

The pee strips may not be perfect but we just proved that they are a decent way just to let you know and now we know. Yesterday, I had 1 net carb and 7 total carbs.

So…here is what I learned –

Eating a ton of carbs is going to make me gain weight (probably water weight) but it will make that number shoot up. I need to plan a day every couple of months to eat whatever I want, enjoy life and expect a higher number. I need to understand that if I go back to eating that way daily, I will gain all of my weight back within weeks and probably then some- this has to be lifelong.

I also think that some of the claims by people on the internet (mostly Facebook groups) are way over exaggerated! Those cookies on Thursday night still tasted as amazing as ever! Raising Canes was still incredible and I didn’t “crash” or get sick. Yesterday, I didn’t have a problem getting right back on Sharketo due to overwhelming cravings, I didn’t get deathly sick. I did notice a little drop in energy but that’s about it.

I think a few people my experience crazy things but most people use those things as scared tactics…either for others or trying to fool themselves. People carb cycle and it doesn’t kill them- they have cheat days and they don’t die…trying to make Sharketo permanent is going to have to be a choice and it has to be something I can live with.

Never having Raising Canes is NOT something I can live with…only having it every few months is.

This week, I’m going to be super strict and keep those carbs and calories low- I’m going to be doing my walking and exercising as much as I can and, I have a feeling, I’ll see a huge loss next Monday.

Now, for anyone who cares – we sign the final house loan paperwork today, there is a huge inspection tomorrow and then we have to worry about the appraisal. Once all of those hurtles are crossed, we should be able to call ourselves homeowners!

There is still a million things that could fall through- the house could be ready to crumble for all we know…but it’s looking good. Anytime we talk about it, we make it appoint to say “if we get the house…”- I realize that won’t really help the devastation if it falls through but it does help to keep it in our heads that it’s not our house yet and there is no guarantee.

Love, Peace and Sharkyness
~~~~~shArky~~~~~

Good News – On Monday, my official weigh in day, I was down to 392.8 lbs…which is a loss of 33 lbs. while on Sharketo and 48 lbs. total. I’m still feeling pretty motivated, still enjoying the Sharketo lifestyle and still seeing decent results.

Bad News – Next Monday, I will probably be WAY up.

Not only have I been non-stop snacking (still staying below 20 carbs!) plus there is some stress going on in life right now. I think my calorie intake yesterday was around 2200…which is about 700 OVER where I want to be but man, I LOVE Nestle’s sugar free chocolate chips…and the new Chomp Beef Stick (made with only grass fed cows for all you keto elitist!)

Maybe I’m snacking because of the stress or maybe I’m just going to have an off week…I’m not sure.

So…on to the stress of the week.

I grew up in the project- on welfare and food stamps. I stood in line to get gov’ment cheese and those solid white cans of pork with just the black outline of a pig on them. When I started high school, my mom got on section 8 and we got to move into a house but when I graduated, she moved back to the projects. I moved out on my own- right into the projects (income based housing) and lived there until I met my amazing wife and we moved into an apartment together. Then we rented a duplex…then we moved into the house that we are in now and we have rented that place for about 8 years.

Yesterday….we signed a contract to make an offer on a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom brick home…to actually buy it and it be OURS. Now, there are a tons of things that can go wrong- the buyer could deny the offer (although it’s basically for asking price) or the house could not meet inspection/appraisal but whether we get the house or not isn’t really the issue- I mean, it’s the issue causing the stress because we both really love the house and it’s perfect for what we want. Not only is it 3 bedroom but a huge chunk of the basement is “finished” which is basically a huge 4^thbedroom that will become the home off of Sharkfin, Inc and Commons4Kids.

There is also a basement that will become the new Sharketo Dojo as well…with room for my weights, boxing stuff, bike and exercise equipment…a place that I can go, anytime, blast some music and workout.

The house is perfect for us and if we get it…it will be amazing. If we don’t, it will be a little heart breaking but we will be no worse off than we are right now…still…buying your first home is pretty stressful.

The main issue I’m trying to lay out is- a boy that was raised in the project on welfare and food stamps has worked his way up to the point of having a nice car, decent job and making an offer to buy a home, of course…my wife and I did it together but the point is- you should always work your ass off to better yourself.

If we get to buy a home and we continue to bust our ass, our son will be in a much better place than my wife or I ever were.

Keep fighting guys!

Love, Peace and Sharkyness
~~~~~shArky~~~~~

I’m not a fan of wedding anniversaries and I’ve posted about it before on my personal Facebook- I don’t think it’s fair because I’ve been with my amazing wife for almost 14 years. Why do I have to lose 3 incredible years when someone asks us – “how long have you been married?” Well…technically, we’ve been married for 11 years and I STEEL choose her…hahaha….I’m fucking hilarious!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I would have married her the night we met and I mean that with everything in me; it was truly love at first sight; that is the day I truly feel need to be celebrated.

I was a single guy, had my awesome bachelor pad and was talking to a few girls at the time….the moment she left my apartment, on the first night we met, I stopped talking to anyone else- there was no doubt in my head that I loved her.

We moved in together about a month later and we’ve been with each other every single day since October 20^th, 2003. There wasn’t really a rush to get married but I would have at any moment. She got pregnant and we got better jobs and marriage was perfect to start our family and get a nice little tax break. I mean, that is really all marriage is.

She had a Jolly Ranger in her mouth, pretty pregnant and we got married at the court house- we aren’t religious people. We had a big get together afterwards with fried chicken, friends and family.

It has been an amazing (almost) 14 years and while we celebrate 11 years of tax breaks today…I will always consider October 20^th, 2003 the greatest day of my life….that is the day my life took a huge change and made me who I am today…I don’t even want to think about where I would be if she hadn’t come along.

There is one thing that is sad about today, when we got married back in 2006, I was A LOT smaller! When we met, I was huge…then, in 2005 I dropped 117lbs! I had started to gain some of it back thanks to pregnant Taco Bell runs and me just slacking, but when I look at the pictures…it amazes me. I was probably around 300-305lbs and I looked pretty awesome.

So today is a big day- I get to remember how lucky I am to have the most amazing wife in the world and I hit 395lbs. – I’m 100lbs away from my lowest, back in early 2006 and I have something to look forward too…getting back to my wedding day weight!

Tonight, we have a babysitter for our son and we are heading out to Buffalo Wild Wings….not even awedding anniversary is enough to take a cheat day….not yet. (June 17^th is just around the corner!)

Love, Peace and Sharkyness
~~~~~shArky~~~~~