SideKick Dad

One day my son and I were looking through his batman toys and it sparked a conversation. 
He asked me who I would rather be, Batman or Superman?
Instead of giving my answer,  I asked him who he thinks I would be. After some thought,  he said,  "I think you're superman.."
My response was a typical father's response,  "Well,  I am strong,  fast,  I see and hear everything,  and sometimes I am out of this world. "

He smiled a little and said told me, "No,  because I'm batman. "
Kid has my sense of humor. 

This also made me think,  probably more than I should have. 
What superhero am I?

After much self deliberation,  I came to the conclusion that no matter what superhero I think I should be,  the one I have to be,  is Alfred.

Yep.  Batman's Butler.

My kids are the heroes.  I have to make sure they grow up with a true sense of morality,  empathy,  fairness, self worth and selflessness. 

Alfred did all of that and then some. 
This is the time to put myself aside and focus on what those to can do for the world. I have to be there when they fail,  fall,  scrape and bleed as much as I am there for when they succeed and heal. 
I'm a hero in their eyes.  They are mine. 

I'll be superman for as long as my kids need me to,  but,  in the darkness, behind the scenes and when they sleep.  I'll be Alfred. I'll be the sidekick dad. 

First a little about myself.

 I am a former Athlete. I was working out 3-5 hours a day and maintaining a high metabolism. Basically I could eat anything I wanted to and maintain my weight and physical being. The problem came when I "Retired" from the dream, but continued to consume with the same habits. At my peak I was 185 lbs, 5'10. I could run a 5.20 mile and Bench press 300 lbs. At my worst, I was 310 lbs, inactive and living off of Jack n the Box.

After 7 months of the Atkins diet (2005) I lost 110 lbs. Mixed in with running and some plyometrics. I was thin, my pants size went from 52 to 38 and I was happy with the way I looked, it wasn't the same muscular tone I used to be but at least I wasn't huge. I even returned to play ball for 3 more years.

Since then Ive fluctuated weight from 187 lbs to 240 lbs. Recently I lost 50 lbs in an 11 week local version of "the biggest loser" contest. I felt sick, without energy and dehydrated. I lost this weight using a low carb diet mixed in with running 5 miles a day. After the contest I quickly gained 42 lbs back. (Over the holidays).

Present:

I started INSANITY on January 4th 2011. beginning weight was 225. I am currently half way through the recovery week and I am giving a review of what it has been like. (I also had 2 back surgeries  from a herniated disc Nov. 2010 and Dec. 2010.)

for 1 year I lived off of Ibuprofen and sometimes pain meds with my back never fully recovering all the while working a rigorous job in construction. After 2 weeks of insanity, all back pain was gone, and it has not returned. After the first week I lost 12 lbs. I follow a 2100 net calorie diet, roughly 3000 calories per day minus burned.

Over the past 4 weeks I have not lost a single lb. I push myself through every workout to try and attain maximum results. I get frustrated with this sometimes. I took midway pictures and compare them to beginning pictures and I definitely see the difference. My cloths fit better, I have lost inches, Physically I haven't felt this good in years.

For the second half of INSANITY I am changing my diet to a complex Carb (Maintain) diet. I am currently 212 lbs and unhappy with my weight loss results. Following the low fat, no fat 2100 net calorie diet, I feel is not getting the best results for my body. This workout is not building muscle. It is trimming fat and toning muscle while building endurance. I see no reason why I should not be losing weight. I would like to follow the advice of people in the forums saying "just wait until the Max workouts and you'll see the weight loss results." I will re-post the results after I finish the next 30 days.

Overall I am very happy with the INSANITY results thus far.