But...they do it on TeeVee

I watch the Biggest Loser, yes I do. Great drama. Inspirational. An all around entertaining show in which I look forward to watching each and every week. I really get amazed at the weight losses. Ten pounds or more a week. A contestant who loses only four or five is considered a slacker.

Then I look at my challenge and see that I've lost a total of 1.8 lbs since I started three weeks ago. One-point-eight! WTF?

Here's the difference. In the first place, those guys on the Biggest Loser are immense. Not overweight, not obese; freaking three, four, or more hundred pounds. I think one contestant this year was over 500 lbs. It's not muscle either, so doing any activity at all and cutting calories down to sane levels is bound to shed a lot of weight in a big hurry. Secondly, the contestants on that show work out, with trainers, a minimum of six hours every day. They have nothing else to do....no job, no family, basically no life.

So am I happy with my piddling loss so far?

Nope. But I'm considering that I'm probably losing the weight at about the same speed that I gained it in the first place. I also have one big advantage over any biggest loser....my pounds will stay gone.

Monday Cat Blogging

Cardio Day

I had a plan of running along the trail that is close to my home. That was the plan. Now, I don't know. I will not have an opportunity to go to the gym for another 32 hours... at least.

Maybe if I just walk very fast everywhere I go today?

Losing It In All The Wrong Places

Well...this is a fine how do ya do! After two weeks I'm finally noticing some significant changes in my body. I'm getting smaller...yes I am...there are parts of me that are slimming down very nicely. Trouble is, it's not particularly where I want to be slimmer. I'm losing weight on my feet like crazy; so much so that I can barely keep my shoes on through the day. I also seem to be getting thinner fingers as my wedding ring feels on the verge of falling off.

But my belly? Oh...it's still sticking out there to beat the band.

Monday Cat Blogging

Compromise

I happen to like rice. It's easy to prepare, cheap, nutritious, non-fattening, and goes well with just about anything. The common wisdom; however, is to eat brown rice rather than white. Trouble is....I don't particularly like brown rice. Oh, I can eat it and I can tell myself that it's better for me than the fluffy white rice while I'm spending several minutes trying to chew a mouthful, but there is no joy in the meal. One thing I have learned is that, if I don't like what I'm eating, I'll quit eating it eventually and most likely will find something else that is not so good for me. So I compromised. I've mixed half and half of brown rice with some sticky sushi rice. The blend is perfect, giving me the best of both.

And I think this is the secret to sucess on any type of planned eating. I see a lot of people go on diets that are all about exclusions. Don't eat this. Never eat that. I see a lot of people fail those diets because....let's be honest....those that need to diet do so because they LOVE to eat. I just feel that you do not have to give up the pleasure of food in order to be healthy.

Monday Cat Blogging

The end of my first week on the BFL challenge sees me with 214 lbs. Not exactly going in the right direction as far as weight loss, but I feel a bit better.

Start

Yesterday was my first day in starting a 12-program. I've decided to get down to basics and go back to Body for LIFE. I've also decided that I didn't particularly like putting up before photos of myself for all my readers to gag on...so I spared everybody the especially horrifying parts.

I'm not in as bad of shape as I have been in the past. My weight is 213 lbs, which is much lower than it was at the first of the year. I lack a great deal of muscle tone so, though I've lost about twenty pounds, I'm basically just a slightly smaller version of myself rather than physically fit. That's kind of why I went back to BFL with it's emphasis on weight training as an integral part of the whole process of losing weight. I did an upper body workout yesterday and pushed it to my limits...which wasn't much, but I'm hoping that ceiling gets higher every week. Today is cardio and I thought that I would do some fast walking for a couple of miles.

Oh....and I felt comfortable being at the YMCA. I made the right decision.

Sweet Little Lies

Twenty of them actually. Sweatshirts. Large and bulky, great for hiding the gut and helping me to ignore being overweight and out of shape. I wear these almost exclusively. My favorites are the XXLT sizes.

Trouble is...as the weather gets warmer...it gets a bit harder to keep wearing them. There is a reason why they are called sweatshirts. With the onset of Spring and temperatures climbing into the 80's, the little lie that I tell myself and others that I wear these shirts because they are comfortable starts to appear somewhat delusional.

Easter Cat Blogging