Whut Happened?

I dunno. I'm trying to figure it out. I'm trying to decide what to do next or if I even want to do anything more with this challenge stuff. I was going along with a full head of steam, then it just unraveled. Tremendous amount of pressure from work, a loss in my family, and some illness put exercise and diet on a back burner. Before I knew it....a week passed....then another....then a month.

I'm pissed off...mostly at myself.

I'm thinking that, maybe, I just don't want to transform as much as I say all the time. Perhaps I'm not really willing to do what it takes. Perhaps I'm lazy.

Today I am fat, lethargic, sick, and smoking again. I feel like shit. I'm sitting here wondering what it will take to get me to do what I know I need to do.

Monday Cat Blogging

Day 39

This is just peachy. I've had a very sore back all week which is making it pretty hard to do anything at all. I'm fairly certain I didn't do it with exercise. Maybe it's just one of the things about being over fifty I have to live with. Maybe it's the weather.

I dunno. I just know it sucks.

Something to Make You Smile

Day 31

One month over. My weight is still hovering around 215 but I am noticing differences....small things that probably nobody else does but, nonetheless, pleasantly surprise me.

Such things as being able to put on and take off my jeans without unbuckling my belt and unbuttoning and unzipping. Just slip them off like a pair of pajamas. I'm also starting to sport that baggy britches look that is popular among some young folks.

And...this morning.....as I woke....I had my hand resting on a bicep and couldn't even believe it was my own arm.

Changes are happening.

Monday Cat Blogging

Day 25

I may not be posting much in the next few days. I'm pondering a change in the look of this place. It's a slow process for an old fart like me. I have most of the bad qualities of a geek without any of the expertise.

Any suggestions at all will be needed and welcome.

Day 24

Inspiration. Where to get it? From a book? Another person? How do you get that push to be motivated to implement drastic changes in behavior and lifestyle?

I believe motivation has to come from one's self. All too often it seems that we want to find somebody that will make the changes for us. We search high and low for someone who will move us, alter us, enlighten us, plan for us....do the work for us. And we are willing to shell out big money in this quest. There are many folks in the world who will gladly take your money and tell you to do what you can tell yourself. Heck; send me a hundred bucks and I'll tell you a sure-fire way to lose weight.

Inspiration is fine. Being motivated by the actions and advice of others is okay. Yet, in the end, it is you that gets up in the morning and decides how to spend the day. It is you who decides what to eat. It is you who commits to working out. All the diet and exercise gurus in the world will not "make" you lose a single pound nor add one inch of muscle to your body.

It's up to each of us to deliver our own swift kick to ourselves.

Day 22

A bit of a crimp in my exercise plan for today. I have to hang around the house and wait for the delivery of a new bed. Until then....I can get in a bit of a workout by using the old bed as a trampoline.

Day 18

Six well balanced and portioned meals a day. That's the BFL plan and it goes with the idea that giving your body what it needs every two or three hours during the day keeps the metabolism at peak efficiency, as opposed to loading down with calories that your body cannot use and therefore stores as fat. Pretty reasonable idea.

But what happens when you just are not wanting to eat that last meal of the day?

This is something that I'm struggling with. My 6th meal comes around 9pm and I'm not wanting to eat it because I'm not hungry. Plus, I generally go to bed at 9 or soon after....I'm old and, besides, I get up very early to exercise in the morning.

I don't know what to do about this or if I should even bother worrying about it at all. After all...I don't wake up hungry.

Day 16

I love my gym! Anytime Fitness....I wish I had joined a long time ago. Since it's open 24 hours a day, I can go anytime I wish and it's hardly ever full of people when I do go. I think that the most I've ever seen in there at one time was about four. The best part is that those that are there are busy with their workouts so that you can concentrate on your won. Most times I'm there alone. It's like having my own personal gym.

Another great thing about this place is the equipment. It is state-of-the-art and ergonomically perfect. No joint pains. It is a joy to use the equipment for my old bones.

Finally! I now look forward to going to the gym.

Day 15

I know a guy on YouTube, Sean (visit him, he's a helluva inspiration) , who in an effort to eat more healthy decided to go vegan. In fact, I think he is into vegan raw...which means he prefers to eat unprocessed and uncooked veggies and fruits. One of the things he has run across though is the old "war" people have about eating meat versus not. Sean seems to have the right attitude; namely, he's eating what he wants and everybody else can do the same. Sean prefers not to eat meat and that's cool. At one time I was a vegetarian and I was for several reasons that are still valid to me.

1. Americans eat way too much meat. We really do. I've been to a lot of other countries and the average American eats more meat in one sitting at the dinner table than most other families have in a week.

2. The factory raising and slaughter of livestock to supply all that tonnage of meat to Americans is cruel. We can go on and on about whether it is reasonable to project human standards to how we treat animals; but the bottom line is that inflicting cruelty and pain on a creature that can experience it, I believe, diminishes us as humans.

3. Meat is so full of hormones and chemicals as to render it toxic...especially in the amounts served. Good grief; people die from eating hamburger at fast slop places.

4. Humans are not carnivores. We have no fangs. We do not chase down prey. Without our technology, in fact....we ARE prey.

Now...let me clarify. I am no longer a vegetarian. I eat meat. I like meat. If there is no BBQ in heaven, I don't want to go. What I have done is take in mind my considerations about meat.

1. I limit the amount I eat. Not every meal must have a meat. I do not need meat every day. Even the guidelines with BFL suggest only a serving of meat about the size of a deck of cards. That's not much folks.

2. When I buy meat, it is from independent producers that treat their animals well. Open range beef and cage free chickens. A happy animal is a tasty animal. It costs a bit more but it's worth it.

3. As above, only animals and dairy products free from growth hormones and not fed god-knows-what kind of swill just to fatten them up for sale. As for fast food......bleeeeech! I would just as soon share dinner with my cats.

4. Actually, humans are scavengers...like buzzards. Way back in primitive times, the only way a human got any meat for his dinner was to find some carcass rotting in the sun. In fact, I think that's why fire started being used to cook meat...to kill the bacteria. Cavemen who cooked their road kill didn't die from explosive diarrhea like those that ate it au natural. Cooking also masks the aroma of rotting flesh. Today we use catsup.

I think the best way to go is just be conscious about what you are putting in your mouth. Grains, veggies, fruits, and nuts should be the overwhelming basic of the diet. Toss in a bit of meat protein once in awhile to give the amino acids that can't be found anywhere else.

But above all....pay attention to what you eat and don't waste time preaching to others what they should eat. Be an example rather than a preacher.

Day 10

Ever hear of a guy called Dave Freeman? He wrote a travel book titled 100 Things to do Before You Die. Freeman also died a few weeks ago at the age of 47 due to an accident in his home....only managing to do about half of the things on his list.

Bummer.

...or is it? He did, after all, pursue his life as he wanted rather than wait for "someday" to come around before starting.

Yeah, it is too bad that Freeman died at a fairly young age. I'm sure it was unexpected to everybody close to him. Certainly it came as a surprise to him. Death usually does for most of us, and that is my point today.

Most of us don't think about dying. We don't get up in the morning knowing that it might be our last. In this entirely human characteristic of denial about our own mortality, we also tend to have a nonchalant attitude about living. Tomorrow will always be there. We'll do that later. I'll put that goal on hold for awhile.

If you knew this was your last day, what would you do?

If you are thinking of a lot of things you would feel an urgent need to cram into the next 24 hours...you aren't living right now.

Day 3

A little change up for today. Usually, on three-day holiday weekends, I take Wednesday off as my holiday since my work schedule has me off on Mondays anyway...but I have a couple of meetings this morning that I really can't afford to miss. So, I'll go into work and take the afternoon off and probably the afternoon tomorrow as well. Rather than going to the gym early this morning, I'll drop by after lunch and spend a bit more time than scheduled. I want to go through all the machines and document what settings I need so I don't have to fiddle with them every morning from now on.

Dieting going well. Ground turkey breast is God's gift to fat men.

Day 2

So here it is, another year.

Change?

None. I'm still fat. I'm still out of shape. I'm still taking before photos and I'm still starting challenges.

But...then again.....

I haven't gained any weigh in the past year. I know more now than I did last year. I eat healthier. I live healthier. Maybe that should count for something?

9-1-08
216 lbs
40% BF

New Gym

Well...at least new to me. I have griped and complained about the YMCA for some time now. Crowded, noisy, long drive from home, closed on every holiday imaginable, and generally just not very enjoyable anymore. I've driven by this place every morning on my way to work and thought about joining. My interest was prodded along by my friend Boyd who joined up in his neck of the woods.

So I took the plunge and went to check it out.

Nice place. Friendly. Clean. Equipment is top of the line. Not crowded and those that are there are there to work out and are not interested in fashion or social posturing. And it is open all-the-time.

I should also mention that membership is fairly cheap. I got a family membership for $35 a month. The YMCA is about three times that cost.

The one draw-back is that the cushions on the weight machines are all some type of weird purpley-pink color; but what the hay, at least they aren't patched up with duct tape.

Spare Time? What Spare Time?

I know I haven't posted much recently, certainly not on a regular basis, but I've been putting in some serious hours at work. My agency had an accreditation inspection this week that required everything from medical charts to the waste basket to be just-so perfect. On top of that; the agency decided it would also be a good week to switch over to our new computerized paperless system....which ran about as smoothly as a three legged hog on a frozen lake.

I've been spending long days at my desk at my laptop until my eyes are spinning and I can hear the faint sizzle of my brain frying.

The week is almost over though. I just need to hang on...so to speak.

New Toy

These are so cool! They are called Perfect Pushup and you can get them in a lot of places. I picked these up at Wal-Mart for about $20.

What they basically do is allow your arms to rotate while doing push ups. Now...that may not seem like much but the workout these little doo-hickies give the chest, shoulders, abs, and arms is amazing. It takes old-fashioned push ups to a whole new level.

Obesity...the 21st Century Disabiliy

I was at the grocery store today, completing my weekly challenge of finding healthy foods amid all the high fat, high sodium, high carb, low nutrition, and overly processed crap that fills most of the shelves. While wandering up one aisle and down the other, I noticed something.....there were a lot of people whizzing around in those little electric carts that stores provide for those folks who have difficulty walking.

The strange part though...the part that really made me go "huh?"...not one single person in the carts was old, feeble, paralyzed, or even looking as if they just felt a bit under the weather. They were mostly young. And by young, I mean 20 or 30 ish....maybe a couple of the advanced years of 40.

They were all, however, fat. Not chubby. Not overweight. Immense! (the above is stock footage, I wouldn't be mean enough to actually take a picture of these huge shoppers). It's really strange when you think of it. Morbidly obese people who are so out of shape that they cannot even walk to get the junk they eat to maintain their massive girth.

Now...don't get me wrong. I'm not condemning these people. I feel sorry for them. What a lousy way to live. How dreadful to have an existence dependent upon a machine to haul you around because you are unable to carry all the fat hanging on to your body.

But for the grace of God though....

I walk. I run. I bike. I even dance.

because I get to

How Much is Too Much?

Is there such a thing as too much exercise?

This is a question that was put to me by a friend the other day when I mentioned that I was hoping the rain would hold off so that I could get in a little jogging or bike riding in the evening. I had explained a bit about the program, alternating weightlifting with cardio during the week. My friend noted that I had done weights in the morning and was suggesting that it might be bad to do cardio the same day AND do it again the next morning.

I forgot to mention that this friend is about a hundred pounds overweight and would rather cut off a finger than take a stroll around his block.

I can agree that too much of anything is not a good idea. At my age, I certainly pay attention to what my body tells me when I'm lifting weights or slinging around a kettlebell. I can't recover from injury like I use to and pushing beyond my limits could seriously put me out of action for weeks. Cardio is the same, I suppose. I mean, I don't want to push to exhaustion but I'm finding that my body enjoys the activity. It needs to move. It needs to sweat. The whole point of doing this thing is to be more active...after all.

I dunno. Still....how do you answer people who give fitness advice that they obviously do not take themselves?

Without hurting their feelings of course.