Last Updated on May 25, 2017 by Michael Brockbank
Los Angeles is a wonderful place. Although I loved the atmosphere, the foliage and the ocean, I need my children more. As a result, I’ve moved back to the metro area of Denver. Now that I’m home, I realized just how much I miss this city. So, what do I do now?
Getting My Bearings in the Metro Area
The house that I’m living in isn’t nearly as fancy as the place in Los Angeles. However, I am paying the same amount for close to three times the square footage. I’m still sharing the place, but it’s a house with someone I’ve known for quite some time. He’s a good guy and I trust him.
And that’s the most important thing really.
I’m not in the area that I want to be in, but it’s a place to start. Since I haven’t spent much time in this part of the metro area, I’m going to have to explore a bit on foot. Essentially, it’s the same process I did when I moved to LA. I find it to be the best way to discover places and how much effort I’ll have to put into a walk to go shopping.
I’m just jazzed that I am so close to a Safeway.
The Fitness Side of Things
According to Google, there is an Anytime Fitness about four miles from me. This is nice as I still have a membership at the facility. Now, this trip to Anytime is downhill to get there and then uphill to get home. Which really isn’t all that bad. But I need to keep in mind, it’s going to take a few days to acclimate to the change in altitude.
I am used to breathing at sea level, and coming to Denver has a way of sapping that ability. That just means I have to be smart when it comes to exercise and not get discouraged if I get winded sooner.
I’m currently planning out the fitness challenge for next month. My friend and I are competing to see who will lose the most weight. I still have about 50 pounds to lose before Halloween, so I need to make next month count.
The trick about reaching fitness goals is making sure you don’t make them too difficult. When you do not achieve those goals, it affects how you approach the rest of them. It can start to weigh on your self-confidence and may begin to feel like you’re setting yourself up for failure.
However, you don’t want them too simple. Otherwise, it could take you much longer to reach the end objective. Push yourself, just not to the point of breaking.
Eating Healthy
During my transition to the metro area, I ate pretty poorly. Now that I am here, I need to focus more on getting back into the habit of cooking my own meals. One of my objectives in the next week or so is creating my own recipes to replace the Trader Joe’s meals I relied on in LA.
Because Safeway is a bit closer than Trader Joe’s was, I feel a bit more comfortable with buying meats and such without worrying about spoilage. In fact, I am looking forward to posting some of my recipes on this website. It’s part of the reason I created Crossing Colorado in the first place.
Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any kind of health food store nearby as of yet. Nothing like the Whole Foods I had just up the street in Los Angeles. That’s OK for now. It’s not like this move is a permanent one. Just long enough to help everyone get established and help my ex get back on her feet.
What’s in the Future for Crossing Colorado?
Now that I’m home, I have a lot of plans for this website. I am looking forward to putting in some maximum effort to get the ball rolling and doing far more for myself as well as anyone who wants to visit Crossing Colorado.
Biking Trails and Maps
One of the things I love most about the metro area are the trails that sprawl across the different suburbs. They are perfect for walking and riding a bicycle. I had no idea there were so many of them though.
One of the things I really want to add to this website are maps and reviews of the different places you can go to get some cardio. Even if you simply want to have a beautiful nature walk, there are many to choose from when you’re near the Denver Metro area.
Video Content
I started to make YouTube videos for Crossing Colorado, but I haven’t been as productive as I would like. I want to show people how they can move from being out of shape and obese to healthy and happy. If anything, I want to make these videos so I can look back and see how much I have changed over time.
And I can tell you right now, there is a significant difference.
I want to focus the videos more on health and fitness news, such as new products that come out or anything else that sparks my interest. I’ve come across a lot of fun and cool things over the last few months I want to share with everyone.
Recipes and Nutritional Info
I’ve always liked the idea of sharing recipes. Cooking is one of the things I love to do for relaxation. When I was in LA, I cooked a lot. I almost forgot how much I enjoy it. And, not to toot my own horn, I’ve come up with some very tasty things.
I don’t want to simply just add a recipe book, though. I want to show the nutritional value and proper portion sizes of each meal. After all, this is a key element to losing weight. A lot of us are grossly overfed. And I want to help people realize how much money and waistline they can save simply by reducing the intake.
Consistent Content
One of the things I want to work on the most is adding more content to this website on a regular basis. I’ve been a bit lacking in performance, and for that I apologize. Now is the time to get off my butt and get busy.
One of the things I really want to do is add more experimental data using the tools I have available. For example, what activity burns more calories: 100 reps of bicep curls at 30 pounds or 60 reps at 50 pounds. Even though these are both the same total weight by the end, I am betting its the lighter weights.
It’s stuff like that which I really want to dig into. Things I can see with my own eyes and experience for myself. This way, I can control the variables and develop data that may be beneficial to others.
And Miles to Go Before I Sleep…
This is just the first step to the rest of my life. I had a six-month vacation in LA that helped me recharge my batteries mentally and work on fixing myself physically. If it wasn’t for that trip, I have no idea how I could survive. I was having severe heart issues and other physical impairments.
The most important thing is that I need to apply what I taught myself in LA to the Denver Metro area. I still have a long way to go, but I am confident now more than ever that I will survive this and become more than I am today.