THE PHOTO SHOOT

okay, so many of you (maybe two or three?) are wondering “whatever happened to this ‘supposed’ photo shoot you did that you lost all this weight for?” well, i can be honest when i say, it was TOTALLY worth the wait, because these shots came out pretty frickin’ amazing for a first-timer!!!

the backstory is that i’m a rich “well-to-do” about the town, type gentlemen with a pretty hot maid. she gets a little too snappy and things get crazy. i had sooooo much fun doing this shoot (will post the next once it is ready for viewing)!!!

so without further ado (or adon’t) i present My Nicole Marie:

CREATIVE MISCHIEF AND MAYHAM WITH A TWIST OF FILM NOIR

the reappearance of Phalkon

hello hello everyone! it’s been FAAAAAAAAR too long since my last update, but i’m determined to make things right. i’ve been INCREDIBLY busy with life lately, and i shall do my best to give you all updates.

i know it’s been way longer than i care to admit, but i will promise to attempt at least one blog a week FROM NOW ON!

so to keep things organized, let’s start with an outline:

1. i’m single.
2. my “new” band is becoming very successful.
3. i finally got back to taking college classes.
4. i’ve lost weight (a lot), and it’s opening up some new doors for me.

1. “i’m single”
yes, sadly, it’s true. after a very long fight, and a lot of heartbreak, i broke things off with my fiancee a few months ago. we were together for a little over two years, and although were very much in love, had too many problems that we just could not overcome by our selves. i won’t lie, it really sucks, still hurts sometimes, but the bittersweet side of that is that lately, i’ve been able to focus more on *ME* and have been busting my butt to make my life better…. which leads me to part two:

2. my “new” band is becoming quite successful.

i believe the last time i blogged, i talked about joining these guys, and i’m happy to say that although we’ve gone through a few personnel changes in the past few months, we are still enjoying a lot of success! we’ve averaged about 3 shows a month (or more) for the past year, and still have multiple shows scheduled throughout the rest of the year. additionally, we are looking at sitting down in the studio near the end of February to record our first singles. AMAZING!

NEXT!

3. getting back in school.

yes, i finally got my head on straight again, and decided to get my booty back in school. i am now 3 classes away from my associates in business management, and will then move on to a bachelor’s in pysch. SUPER EXCITED, BUT NOT NEARLY AS MUCH AS:

4. losing weight, and opening new doors because of it.

so, as i had blogged last year, i was trying out those “weight loss drops”, and they were absolutely a waste of time and money. i’ve now been on Herbalife and have been working out much more and staying active, and have lost *20LBS IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS*.

sweet baby jesus on a pogo stick! i’m finally below 150lbs (which i haven’t been in about 4 years), and part of this was motivation from A SHOT AT MODELING.

Backstory: when i lived in oklahoma, i met a lot of people, many of whom i still keep in contact with. one of those people is a lovely little lady who is a makeup artist. the photographer she works for was looking into getting some male models to expand her portfolio. my friend asked me, and i quickly said yes. this is what spurred me to lose the weight so quickly (and safely).

my first shoot was last weekend, and i already have another tentatively scheduled for the end of November.

*whew*

that’s a lot of stuff to happen in a year, and it’s not over yet! i’ve been immensely blessed with so many amazing things going on in my life right now, and will try my hardest to keep you all updated as well!

stay tuned…

My Journey (aka Day 40)

so this is now Day 40 of my Weight Loss Journey, and i’ve decided to once again rename this series of posts. why? because it’s not just about weight loss, this blog has transformed into a personal journal in general. it’s about life. my life. and the crazy stuff i’m doing.

it’s been probably years since i’ve done a meaningful blog, and that was back during the days of myspace (omg… myspace reference??? that tells you how long ago it was).

and now there’s just so much more you can do with a blog. you can link all of your networks together so incredibly that eventually everything you want people to hear *will* get heard. every one needs to know that they aren’t alone in the world. everyone needs to know that they’ve got someone out there who they can share a story with, someone they can help, or someone who just doesn’t know how to get out what they want to say.

i’ve been one of those people. before the days of blogging, i (like most people) had a diary. except my diaries were notebooks filled with poems and lyrics. being a musician turned into a form of therapy for me. and that therapy continues today.

one of my buddies in the office (john) is stretching his legs so to speak in this same way. he’s really good friends with another musician in town who’s making a really good name for himself and is certainly on the right path to stardom. anyway, he’s started writing songs with this guy, and finally got one of the songs he wrote played at this guy’s gig. he told me how awesome it made him feel, and i was proud of him, because i know how it feels. it feels damn good.

sometimes you just need to let things out in order to let go. you have to let go to move on. sometimes it’s much harder than you think, but once you make that initial step, the rest of the journey is easier.

and i’m not just talking about emotions (because that is a long post in itself), but everything. whether it be losing someone close to you (like a good friend of mine had happen last year when she lost her father to cancer), or an addiction, or even weight loss. there are so many simple things that eventually pile up to make that obstacle seem so enormous, that a person is just afraid to even start trying.

so i’m using this as my own personal stepping stone. not just for weight loss anymore, but for my personal and emotional journey. the ups, downs, ins, outs, and all the craziness in between.

hold on tight, it’s gonna be a crazy ride!

My Weight Loss Journey (Day 37 + weekend update!)

hello again, everyone! i’m trying to stay up to date with EVERYTHING, so here’s a few things that have been going on.

well, friday i had to wake up early and head down to Lubbock for monthly company training, which went well. in addition to the training, we had company pt, and i’m very pleased to say that despite not actually *running* on a track in at least a month, i was able to stay in the small group we had and run 5 miles at an average pace of 9min/mile

pretty intense, and i wasn’t really that tired afterward (although, now my legs are sore as hell!)

my weight has very very slowly been dropping again. last time i weighed myself, i was just barely over 153lbs… but then i also partied a bit friday night (two coworkers had birthdays during the week, so we kinda had to catch up :P)

needless to say, i was pretty damn hungover saturday, so not much was done at all, aside from some vacuuming and unloaded and loaded the dishwasher.

today has been much more productive!

i finally got around the filling in the garden and planting my best sprouts

for those of you wondering what should grow, i’ve got 4 spinach plants, and about a dozen bell pepper and hot pepper plants. so basically, i can make spicy salads 😛

 

in addition to that, i also got some more work done on my music. for those of you who don’t know, i am a musician, and although i do a lot of solo stuff, i’m technically still working on stuff for my band Prototype Theory. if for some reason you haven’t heard of us, you should check this out (because it’s pretty badass).

also, getting ready to get some gigs lined up in the area, so that should keep me busy too for a while, but i promise to stay active with the blog posts! (seriously!).

let’s see… what else? oh yeah, made some horrible snack food the other day. well, i say horrible, but it was DELICIOUS!!!

hot dog-stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon. MORE WIN THAN YOU CAN SHAKE A STICK AT.

here are a few pics

omg…. so freaking delicious.

 

anyway! that’s it for my update! catch you all on the flip side!

My Weight Loss Journey (Day 34)

first off, i would like to apologize for the sudden inconsistency in my blogs lately. work has been a biatch, and i’ve been under some stress lately.

ANYWAY, some quick updates on everything here and there:

1. i have stayed at a semi-constant 156.8lbs for the past few days, so i’m gaining muscle, and burning fat at a constant rate, apparently.

2. i was taped (for a BMI) yesterday morning and have lost an inch in my neck, and an inch and a half around my waist. so that tells me that although i have hit a weight plateau, i’m still losing overall mass.

i had a massage yesterday, and although i certainly needed it, it felt as though the therapist was trying to massage the table, and i was merely in the way. i had to have my girlfriend massage me AFTERWARDS because i hurt. but, i felt much better when i woke up this morning (although i was DEAD tired) to do Insanity.

Insanity is going well, i can certainly feel progression in my body. i wouldn’t say the exercise is getting easier, but i’m certainly able to get further through it before my body starts getting pissed off at me.

apparently, my company is supposed to have a PT test next month, so that will be excited to see physically just how much i’ve progressed. the last time i took a PT test with my company (which was about 6 months ago), i scored around a 270 (out of a possible 300), so it will be very interesting to see what results i’ll get.

i’m feeling very good about myself overall. i feel like other than when i was deployed, i’m actually pushing myself daily. i’m eating better, i’ve cut out sodas, i’ve cut back on alcohol (haven’t had a drink in 3 days. i usually only drink on the weekends now), i’m eating more fruits and vegetables (which will increase even more, once the garden takes off), and i’m seeing visible result.

all in all, i feel great doing this journey, and i’m certainly glad i started it now, before it got too much worse.

My Weight Loss Journey (Day 30 + weekend update!)

so i’ve been sitting at 154lbs now for the past couple of days, which is a good thing! i still see that i’m toning up more, so i’m still progressing, just gaining muscle at the same rate i’m losing fat.

this is Day 30 with the drops, so that means i have to stop now, which honestly i don’t mind, because once i began working out with the Insanity program, i don’t think i needed the drops anymore.

to summarize my use of the HCG drops regarding whether or not they work, i would say no, they don’t. the only possible thing these drops may accomplish is slightly curbing your appetite. i believe (and so does most of the research i’ve done) that the majority of the weight loss people go through while using *only* the drops is because of malnourishment and starvation. i mean, come on. it’s a 500cal a day diet they expect you on, a body NEEDS calories, carbs, etc… TO SURVIVE. and muscle has more nutrients than fat. the drops work by causing your body to eat itself, with the good stuff going first!

alas, i digress. bottom line, i don’t think the HCG drops work. they may for you, but they really didn’t for me. a DIET and EXERCISE worked for me. either it’s a massive placebo effect, or it just didn’t work for me.

CONTINUING! so my workout schedule for the weekdays are Insanity every morning, and then something (usually p90x or running around with my dogs) after work. am i tired? yeah. am i noticing results? hell yeah.

i have much more endurance, my body is greatly toning up, i’m getting my six-pack back, and my tan is looking pretty sweet!

so for my big project this weekend, i’ve begun working on the outside portion of my garden. there’s a nice little strip outlined by sidewalk in my backyard that is perfect for a garden. the only problem is that that section was HORRIBLY over-run with weeds. and not just any weeds, we’re talking urban jungle.

so i attacked that chunk of land like it slapped my momma.

pictured: an earthly ass-whooping

started that portion on friday afternoon (probably only worked an hour on it), and spent all day saturday clearing all the dirt (by shovel, by myself, because i’m a beast) until i reached my desired result:

i could easily hide a body here

so needless to say, i was pretty tired. but i put a scoop of creatine in my water bottle and followed that with a protein shake and i was good to go!

for dinner, i splurged a little because hey, it was movie night! made chili-cheese dogs with onions and jalapenos, and my gf and i grabbed a couple of beers and watched U-571 and Green Lantern…

until we passed out around midnight 😛

so that’s the journey thus far, i will probably keep posting until i reach about 60 days. also, i need to take mid-journey pics today to add to the before-after-during segment at the end.

i hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!

My Weight Loss Journey (Day 27)

so i’m writing this in the morning, and although this is more of a supplemental posting, i felt the need to do so because i kinda short-changed everyone with yesterday’s post.

i’m feeling good. bottom line. i’m nearing the 30 day mark, and although i’ll be extending this journey to 60 days (due to the Insanity workout being a 60-day workout plan), i feel that this weekend i will more than likely post a few photos (and maybe a few photos of my in-progress garden).

speaking of Insanity, i’m feeling like even in the course of a couple of weeks, i’ve made some massive progression. for those of you who don’t know, during Day 1 of the Insanity program, you have to do a Fit Test just to see where you are. yesterday, i took the Fit Test and did *much* better than Day 1.

my body is looking much more fit, and even though i’m staying between 155-156lbs, i’m looking more trim.

now THAT being said, i’m going to start adding more light workouts during the evenings and possibly some strength training including a little P90x on days i’m feeling extra pumped up.

my diet is much more balanced now. fruits, vegetables, grilled meats as much as possible, some milk, and eggs. also, a protein shake *every* morning, with at least 3 bottles of water during the day, and trying to lay off the alcohol even more (except during the weekends, of course… after all, i am human).

so i hope this all helps make up for missing posts the last few days. hope you all had a great Easter weekend, and hope the weekend coming up is safe, healthy, and full of fun!

My Weight-Loss Journey (Day 26)

so, i will start off by apologizing that i’ve been slacking off on the updates (seriously, i’m sorry), but things have been rather hectic and upsetting at work, and time hasn’t allowed me to sit down and update.

i will not bore you all with daily routines, but i will summarize by saying that through Easter, i ate a lot of eggs, didn’t work out for about 3 of the days between now and the last update, and drank a lot on the weekend. that having been said, i’m still taking the drops and ATTEMPTING to get back on good eating habits (BUT EGGS TASTE SOOOOOO GOOD).

also, i seem to have hit another plateau. i’ve (luckily) been able to retain being at (or very closely around) 155lbs. which is pretty amazing, but i’m hoping to get to 150lbs (PLEASE?????)

i’ve been working on my garden (which i will post pics soon), and hope to have at least enough to sustain some healthy snacks (although, most of what is growing is spinach, bell peppers, and hot peppers).

so long story short (or tl;dr), i’ve been able to stay constant with my weight, and this week have been getting back to daily exercising 🙂

i hope that was enough to tide you all over, i promise the next few blogs will be better!!

My Weight-Loss Journey (Day 21)

i will again continue with “i’m still taking the drops”, but at this point i’m not giving much credit to it, since i’m keeping pretty much the same diet i’ve been doing all along (except now drinking prune juice daily (which IS DELICIOUS)), and now doing Insanity every morning.

today was no exception. i woke up early, did my stuff, and when i came home and weighed myself, i was 157.4lbs!! so i can pretty much say i’ve lost 10lbs in 20 days! 😀 i’m proud of myself, but it’s not enough! i want to get ripped! i’m hoping to lose at least another 5lbs by the end of the month, as well as get more ripped and defined (yowza!).

today after work i mowed the lawn, then let my dogs run around the backyard, chased them around for a good half-hour, then did some ab work (i’ll call that my second workout of the day).

i’m really digging being active again. i haven’t *wanted* to work out this much since i was deployed, and now i’m just wanting to do something all the time! it’s AWESOME. i think after i work out tomorrow morning, i’ll walk for a mile or so to get a good low-impact cool down, and still work it.

as far as the weekend goes, i’ll be upping my protein considerably (hellooooo, easter eggs!!). so i’ll be sure to do some weight training on that morning. get a good burn. gah! i just want to do so much now!

also, i practiced earlier (i play guitar, keyboards, and lead vocals in the band Prototype Theory), and boy was my arm getting tired from shredding! i gotta practice more, and hopefully get some gigs in town (but more about that later).

 

anyway, in closing, i hope everyone has a safe and happy easter weekend!

My Weight-Loss Journey (Day 19)

so i’ve decided to rename these blog entries since i’m no longer basing my weight-loss solely on he HCG drops.

i’ve begun to realize that these drops are probably intended more for people who are more than just 10+ pounds overweight, and geared towards those that are close to being obese. Am i trying to badmouth those people, or this system? no, i’m merely going to point out some basic things i’ve learned thus far on this journey.

HCG diet: if you eat only 500cal a day, you’re going to lose weight. you could sit in bed playing video games all day and would lose weight at 500cal a day. it’s not a “system”, it’s a fact. do the drops help? maybe. research proves that hormones ingested are broken down in the stomach, and not fully absorbed. does holding it under the tongue help? maybe, but i don’t think it’s the best way to go about it, since the shots were pretty much outlawed by the FDA.

hormone control aside, i do feel like i have a little more willpower and less hunger pangs to go and grab that tasty bag of doritos from the cabinet.

in it’s defense, i do think it helped with the beginning push, i feel however, that since i wasn’t obese, i plateaued very quickly, which is why i’m no longer calling this the HCG Journey. i’ve started working out (starting full-time on Day 18) doing the Insanity workout routines in the morning with my coworkers. so yeah, with these extra variables, i will in no way attribute my weight loss solely to the HCG drops. do they help? maybe, but my fear of muscle atrophy and overall mass deterioration has forced me to start working out, and changing my diet (mainly an increase in protein), to combat that.

having said that, i weighed myself yesterday morning (Day 18), and found that i was back down to 160.4lbs. AWESOME. my goal is to lose at least 10lbs in 30 days (although the Insanity program runs for 60 days, during which i will continue blogging, charting my weight loss, continue with before and after pics, and also the primary reason i changed the name of the blog entries). yesterday, my diet was pretty sparse, which surprised me, considering how hard i worked on day 1 of Insanity. breakfast was the usual tea, water, protein shake. lunch was pretty much water, a handful of peanuts, and a handful of various vitamins. pre-dinner snack was a boiled egg. dinner was a salad with extra veggies and eggs. delicious, and a high-protein day.

as for this morning (Day 19), after Day 2 of Insanity, i got home and weighed myself (before a heavy poop later in the morning (sorry)), and i had finally broken the 160 plane!! i weighed 159.8lbs! which is pretty amazing in itself, because i haven’t been at that level in at least 8 months (probably closer to a year).

so at this point, i’m really proud of myself, i’ve lost almost 8lbs in 19 Days, still have 11 Days, and hoping to lose at least another 5lbs if i keep up with my workouts. and i’m planning on doing Insanity in the mornings and P90x (minus Plyometrics and CardioX) in the evenings.

holy crap, i’m gonna wear myself out really quickly. def time to up the vitamins and protein!

GET RIPPED!