Don't Be Cruel

I mean....WTF?  Really?  A group of women go to the gym and, rather than do something wild and weird like, oh, I dunno, exercise...they clump together yakking it up.  Besides the irritating point that they were IN THE WAY of others trying to get at machines or weights; their conversation tended to be about other people in the gym.

Now, normally, people talking around me doesn't bother me.  I'm fairly deaf and with my music, I can drown out everything.  Yet their conversation caught my ear and, like driving past a horrible car wreck, couldn't stop myself.  Here are some snippets I overheard.

"Look at that whale on the treadmill.  Gawd, you can hear her legs pounding all the way over here".

"Yeah, them monster boobs must hurt flying up and down like that."

"Check out the fat guy with a cane.  Jesus!  He can barely move his lard ass."

"I don't know why these blobs bother coming here every morning.  Really turns my stomach to look at their huge stomachs."

"ha ha ha ha ha"

.....and on and fucking on. 

The one major difference between these assholes and the people that they were making fun of is that the people they were making fun of were actually working out.  The assholes did what assholes do....just hang around and stink up the place every now and then.

The gym is the place to go to GET fit, not to show everybody how fit you are.  Making fun of fat people at a gym is like going to a hospital and making fun of sick people.  I know a lot of people (myself included) that struggle with the low self esteem of being badly out of shape.  A major difficulty is overcoming that enough to get ourselves into a gym and start doing something about our bodies.  I've personally found that most people do not even notice if you are fat or out of shape because they are focused on their own training.  The few who might are supportive because you are there doing something about it....it's a common cause.  I belong to the YMCA.  It's a Christian organization but I'm an atheist.  They don't care...because it's all about having a place to get and be healthy.  The only membership requirement is to pay your dues.  Fat people are welcome.  This is where you belong!  

Next time you see a new person, one who obviously has not even thought about exercise in decades...smile at her or him.  It takes a lot to take that first step.  We all have taken it.  Aren't you glad nobody tripped you to amuse themselves?

Keep your heart true.

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Vacation?

I hate vacations.  Really.

Oh....I love the time off, being able to relax, getting away from the daily grind, and all that other stuff of being off work for a few days; but it's a real pain in the ass to return to the office.  Paperwork doesn't stop and it just piles up waiting for me.  

I need another vacation.

Just Picking & Grinning

For now....but will be back soon.

Who Wears Short Shorts

I've generally avoided wearing shorts for the last few decades.  Mainly because of the pasty whiteness of my legs with highlights of scars from past misadventures, which nobody wants to see.  Also there was the unappealing look of scrawny legs topped off by a overhanging gut, which nobody wants to see either.  However; with the toning I'm getting in my legs and the increasingly hot weather that makes wearing sweat pants stupid, I'm needing to get myself into some shorts again.

Now...remember....I haven't really worn any shorts since Reagan was president so styles have changed.  My shorts of choice were just an old pair of jeans with the legs cut off.  I quit wearing those when informed that they are extremely "gay".  I didn't really care about that, but I was also told that they are extremely out of fashion and a man who wears them is considered to be a doofus and laughed at by the public at large.  So, not only would others at the gym consider me to be gay, but I wouldn't even be able to catch the eye of any gay guys because of my fashion dorkiness.  My insecurities can handle only so much abuse.

Younger guys these days wear baggy-ass shorts that seem to go down to their ankles and I can't see much point.  May as well just wear pants.  I tried looking for some workout shorts but there seems to be a conspiracy against having pockets....couldn't find any.  I got a couple of pair of nice cotton shorts but, without pockets, I had to carry a bag around like a little purse with my wallet, keys, MP 3 player, a card saying that I'm a diabetic so that if I start acting like I'm drunk call an ambulance rather than just throw me out....all the little things I need in my daily trek to the gym.  Big pain in the ass.

Then I found cargo shorts (heavenly music in the background).  These are great.  They come down to around my knees.  Comfy as all get out.  And pockets all over the freaking place!  I can't believe I had gone this long without trying on a pair.  I may even wear these things to work.

I have camouflage colored so that I can sneak through like a ninja.

Leg Day

I finally am starting to wear shorts to work out in the gym.  The weather's getting warmer so I'm not freezing in the morning though I still have the pasty white skin from a long winter.  I'm also noticing that my legs are more muscular thanks to all the months of leg exercise days.

But I don't like them.  Leg days, that is.

It's boring!  For males, working out the legs is nowhere near as satisfying as exercising the chest and arms.  I can do an intense upper body workout and feel invigorated by the soreness afterward.  With lower body..I just feel sore.

But I know it's important.  So I do it.  I can't go back to chicken legs.

Guaranteed Smoking Cessation Method

I'm thinking about writing a book filled with cutting edge techniques and advice on how to quit smoking.  I hope to make a load of money because I've discovered an absolutely sure way to quit tobacco use.  Not only are results guaranteed but the effects are immediate and very inexpensive.  I'm basing it on all the things I've learned with my success in completely giving up tobacco and nicotine after 40 years as a smoker.  

Slim book.  One page.  One sentence.

Stop smoking!

What's that?  You wanted something complicated?  Something magical?  Maybe a pill or complex system that would make the withdrawal easy?

Sorry.  The best and only way to stop smoking is to just stop smoking....cold turkey.  Yeah, it's uncomfortable for a few days but it gets easier.  It also works.  If you are considering quitting and using patches, gum, lozenges, or even vaping; you are really only fooling yourself.  That is the hard gained lesson I had to learn, and it took a heart attack and hospitalization to teach it to me.  

Quit.  Really....just quit.  You know it's the only way.

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Some Motivation Required

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Snacking

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Snake Oil

The Joy of Diabetes

                                           
There is nothing like having to stab yourself and bleed several times a day.  Here I give some helpful tips on how you too can experience the wonders of a diabetic lifestyle.

Getting More Strength

Well okay....I've just about finished my first case of Full Strength and I have to say that I am very pleased with the product.  Now, I'm not claiming that I popped out in muscles just by drinking one of the shakes every day.  I got the muscles through a lot of workouts in the gym.  What the Full Strength did give me is good nutrition that was easy to fit into my busy day AND satisfied me so that I wouldn't get hungry after an hour or so and stuff my face with a bunch of crap.

It helped.  This is good stuff, I just can't say that often enough.  I'm ordering more before I run out.

....and getting some chocolate this time...

Warm for Form

There were two very different type of people at the gym this morning.  One was a dude that appeared to load massive amounts of weights and almost bust a gut doing one or two reps before moving on to something else.  Basically, wandering all over the gym trying a little of this and a little of that, but not really having any plan.  The other was a rather smallish woman who was doing multiple reps, increasing the weight a bit with each set, and maintaining absolutely impeccable form.

Guess which one was making better use of their time?  Guess which one is, pound for pound, much stronger?

I think the woman may have thought I was ogling her but I was actually just studying what she was doing...because I wanted to copy for myself.  I was paying very close attention to how she was lifting.  I would hire her as a personal trainer because she evidently knew what she was doing.

The dude may have thought I was trying to hit on him since I was smiling when watching him too.

Why The Gym?

That's what I was asking this morning while I was trying to get in my upper body workout at the YMCA.  Actually I was asking myself silently in my mind but directing it, along with my best WTF glare, at several guys sitting on the machines.  Not doing anything.  Just sitting...talking....on their cell phone....looking at the birds through the windows....hell, just about anything but actually using the machines.  Oh, I ask to work in and they were at least courteous enough to allow that but...jeeze...I really shouldn't have to ask some asshat to move his butt off of every single machine so that I can do weird things at the gym, like exercise.  Even the free weight area was crowded with guys just milling around and mostly yakking on their phones.  One laid his right by my feet while I was doing curls and I was sorely tempted to have a little oopsey and drop a dumbell on the thing.

This is what confuses me.  Why go to the gym just to socialize?  Seems that it would be a better venue to go to a coffee shop or something.  At least there you don't have to pay for a membership, just buy some crappy overpriced coffee and maybe some pastry with an unpronounceable name.  The point is, at a coffee shop they could sit on their butts and yammer till the cows came home.  They would still have about the same risk of breaking out in a sweat.

At the gym, they are in the way.  Shoo.  Shut yer pie holes.  Bodies under construction.

Got Strength?

I took the plunge and bought a case of Full Strength.  It's a nutrition shake specifically designed for men and particularly good for (ahem) more seasoned men.  It was a bit of a difficult plunge because, as most people who know me know, I'm picky about how I spend my money.  Full Strength is pricey.  Including shipping costs, this stuff comes out to about $5 a serving.  That's not outrageous for a nutritious and satisfying meal...but if it turned out to be just another BS product that sits on my shelf, then I would be annoyed and my wife would be more so for wasting money AND kitchen space.  So I had to be careful.  Had to make sure this was something that I really wanted and something that would really be beneficial for me.

I've tried Full Strength before and liked it.  It's probably the only nutrition shake that I've ever had that didn't taste like some chemical cocktail mixed in a dirty sock.  This stuff is actually pretty tasty.  The nutrients it has is ideal.  Also, it is put out by Shawn Phillips, who is a no-nonsense straight-talking fitness guru that I trust.  There was a slight problem when I tried to order a case and they were out of chocolate.  Evidently, they only make this stuff in small batches and it's not stockpiled somewhere in a warehouse for several years...which is good.  Still, I didn't know if I would like the vanilla flavor (they only make it in the two flavors).

The primary reason I need a shake to replace a meal is due to my job.  I don't get an official lunch break, I just eat when I can where I can.  Most times that means at my desk.  More times than not, it means that I don't have enough time all at once to eat a decent meal.  The nutrition shake is my answer.  I can mix it up and drink it down in a few minutes...but there are some requirements that I need for that; it has to be something that will satisfy me because I don't want to be hungry again in an hour or so, it has to taste good so that I will actually look forward to drinking it rather than holding my nose and gulping it down, and it has to mix well in a shaker bottle since I rarely carry a blender in my shirt pocket.

The Full Strength met those requirements.  Some time ago I had done a taste test on the shakes and thought they were great but I had only tried the chocolate at work in the shaker bottle.  Would the vanilla taste okay shaking it by hand at work?  Should I risk getting a whole case of something that I'm not absolutely sure will work for me?

Fortunately, there was an answer.  Full Strength and Shawn Phillips will offer free samples.  You pay for shipping but that's reasonable....can't expect a company to give out freebies to any yahoo who asks for it and stay in business for very long.  Paying shipping makes you put some skin in the game.  They only give out so many samples a day so, if you don't make it one day, try again the next.  Anyway, I sent off for a sample so that I could try the vanilla at work.  Needless to say it met all my expectations and I am now a confirmed customer.

I usually don't shill for products, but this is a really good one.  Check out the web page.  Check out Shawn Phillips.  Get a sample and try this stuff yourself.  You won't regret it.

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Hauling Ass

It's one of my pet peeves.

 Yeah...I know...I have a bunch of them, but this peeve really peeves me more than usual.  They are in stores all the time.  Huge fat people using the store-provided scooters to navigate down aisles loading up on food.  Now, I really am not one to judge others, and I completely understand that some physical disabilities are not always obvious...but c'mon....these folks are using the scooters because they are fat and too damn lazy to waddle around the store to pick up their supply of Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

Don't get me wrong.  Being a few hundred pounds overweight is definitely a disability.  I would imagine that even taking a few steps for some of these people would be flirting with heart attack or stroke, and I'm not against people using the scooters who just are not as fortunate as me in being able to walk around during the day.  What it is that really burns my grits are those who use the scooter to load up on all the types of food that most likely got them into the shape they are in to need the scooter in the first place.  It's just a lack of personal responsibility.

For example.....

I have type 2 diabetes.  The reason I have it is because of a lot of bad health choices over many years.  I could have avoided it but I chose to be in denial until it hit me in the face and I couldn't hide from the facts anymore.  From that point, I could have gone in two directions.  In one, I could have continued doing what I was doing, continue with the denial, take medications to treat the diabetes as well as the host of other physical ailments that would have followed, and complained about poor little me having a disability.  In the other, I can accept responsibility.  I couldn't do anything to change what I have already done to my body, but I can damn well control how I take care of it in the future.  That required changing some things....what to eat, what not to eat, stop smoking, exercise, exercise, and more exercise

And that's the same with morbidly obese people.  I'm not blaming them for being fat.  There really is no point in that.  What I do blame them for is STAYING fat.  If I see a really fat guy at the gym, I don't sneer and ask them what the hell they are doing there.  I know why they are there.  They want to change.  I respect the hell out of that because everybody at the gym is there for the exact same reason.  If I see a fat person on a scooter in the store picking out veggies, fruit, and lean foodstuffs....I think it's great and I will really admire them for wanting to change.

I see a fat person straining the load limits of a scooter while piling their basket up on Twinkies and day old donuts....I might sneer, but I'll probably thank the heavens that nobody I care about has their short unhappy life.  I'll feel sorry for them and hope they want to change before it's too late to change.