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