As I posted earlier, I had some trouble waking up in order to exercise. I've moved my alarm clock and have also set the timer on the t.v. to turn on. I think it'll definitely help. Yesterday was the first morning with the new set up. I should also add that I always set my alarm a little early and plan to hit the snooze button twice just to kind of ease into the day. Yesterday at 5:00 am the alarm went off (I also changed it from the radio to that annoying beeping noise), I got up, hit snooze and crawled back in bed. I did the same thing the next time it went off and I was annoyed enough to know that I'd stay up when it went off for the third time. I planned on getting up late this morning, but it worked equally well at 6:00. I only exercised early 2 days this week, so I'm going to shoot for 4 days next week.
I like my treadmill. It's comfortable to walk on and the controls are easy to use. I consider it to be a mid-range unit. We purchased it new earlier in the year and it has a few bells and whistles. It works well and I'm pleased with most of it. One thing I'm not pleased with, and this is a feature on most every piece of aerobic equipment that I've seen, is the calorie counter. What a completely useless and discouraging feature! I need to see if there is an available view that doesn't show calories burned.
Think about it. I spend 30 minutes walking on the treadmill, increasing my heart rate, sweating, breathing heavy and it barely covers the calories in the 2 tbsp of peanut butter that I'll spread on my english muffin. I realize that there are many more long term benefits to regular exercise other than the immediate calorie burn and those benifits aren't exactly measurable. But what could be more discouraging to a person trying to lose weight?
A person makes the decision to change, does their first work out and realizes that they've burned off enough calories to cover a grape. Really? That's going to motivate them to continue? Especially on day 2 or 3 when they're a little sore? I know because I've had that internal struggle in the past. I realize now that the exercise builds muscle which raises my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate - or the calories my body uses through out the day just keeping me alive) so I burn more calories through out the day. It improves circulation, will lower my blood pressure, etc... But I didn't always know that and it was disappointing the first time I calculated the calories burned.
We need to stop worrying about calories burned. I know some diet plans use exercise as an incentive to eat extra food, but I think that's counter productive. I need to get to the point that exercise is just something I do, like brushing my teeth or taking a shower.
If your actually reading this and also trying to make a change, forget about calculating the calories your burning! Unplug, turn off or put a piece of tape over the calorie counter. Don't go to a website and try and calculate a number. Work out hard enough that your breathing hard and your heart rate is up. Eventually everything else will fall into place.
I had some struggles this week and a couple days of feasting, but I still lost .8 pounds this week.
Starting weight: 362
Last week's weight: 360.8
This week's weight: 360.0
Loss for the week: .8
Total loss: 2 lbs
Friday, December 2, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The biggest challenge so far...
As I suspected I am having trouble getting up early to exercise. I knew that this would be the toughest part. Monday I slept in, but it was intentional. No really, it was! On Sunday, Encore played the extended version of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, back to back and I stayed up until midnight watching it.
Yeah, I'm a geek, let's move on.
I knew I wouldn't want to get up after 4 1/2 hours of sleep, so I slept until I had to get ready for work. Tuesday I got up and used the treadmill, but this morning I hit the snooze twice and then the off button. Right now I am pretty disappointed about it. It was my downfall a couple years ago too. I just stopped getting up and going to the gym. I know I could exercise in the evenings, but that presents a whole different set of issues. Morning is definitely best for me, so I need to get over this hurdle.
When I get home tonight, I am going to move the alarm clock across the room. If I do want to snooze, I'll still have to get up, get out of bed and walk to the snooze button. I'm also going to set the alarm on my t.v. so it turns on and I think I might put a timer on my bedside lamp so it turns on. I need to do a full out assault. The next step will be to have my wife come up with a squirt gun and no one wants that to happen. Well, she'd probably enjoy it, but I wouldn't!
Yeah, I'm a geek, let's move on.
I knew I wouldn't want to get up after 4 1/2 hours of sleep, so I slept until I had to get ready for work. Tuesday I got up and used the treadmill, but this morning I hit the snooze twice and then the off button. Right now I am pretty disappointed about it. It was my downfall a couple years ago too. I just stopped getting up and going to the gym. I know I could exercise in the evenings, but that presents a whole different set of issues. Morning is definitely best for me, so I need to get over this hurdle.
When I get home tonight, I am going to move the alarm clock across the room. If I do want to snooze, I'll still have to get up, get out of bed and walk to the snooze button. I'm also going to set the alarm on my t.v. so it turns on and I think I might put a timer on my bedside lamp so it turns on. I need to do a full out assault. The next step will be to have my wife come up with a squirt gun and no one wants that to happen. Well, she'd probably enjoy it, but I wouldn't!
Monday, November 28, 2011
One week down
In retrospect, the week of Thanksgiving might not have been the best week to start changing things!
All things considered I didn't do too bad. I managed to work out 3x last week and stuck to my calorie count on 5 days. For the first week I'm pretty pleased. See, I have a theory about diets in general. People get fired up about starting one, empty all their favorite foods from the fridge and cupboards and start eating grilled chicken, cottage cheese and rice crackers. After a week or two of this, they go bat-shit-crazy and order one of everything from the drive-thru menu. Then they get discouraged and go back to their old eating habits. The same thing with exercise. People will join a gym, start an exercise class or buy a dvd and go full bore through their first routine in months or years. Then they spend the next 3 days in agony because their bodies aren't used to any activity beyond a walk. When they can again move without pain, the last thing they want to do is try again. I don't blame them. I've been there, it sucks.
I now try to take a more laid back approach. Consider all the changes that need to be made.
First, in order to cut back on calories, I have to know how many calories that I'm eating. That means that I have to start reading labels, looking up nutritional information and recording what I eat. I also need to pay attention to portion size and start planning my day. Am I going out to dinner? Should I have a lighter lunch?
Second, I have to exercise. To exercise, I have to find an hour or so of free time in my day. From past history, I know that I do better if I exercise first thing in the morning. That means that I have to get up earlier. Since my old routine would be to roll out of bed, shower, dress and leave for work, I'll have to allow a little extra time and get up about 90 minutes early. On average, I tend to stay up until midnight so I'll have to start going to bed around 10:00 pm.
These are all big changes to my routine and doesn't even consider the physical aspect of preparing healthier foods and exercising. When you look at all these changes, it is easy to get overwhelmed and quit. The thing to remember is that there ain't no rule no where that says I gotta do it all at once! I didn't get fat overnight and I'm not going to get skinny overnight. I can take some baby steps and that's what I plan to do the first couple of weeks. Eventually, I'll be exercising every day. Eventually, a healthy diet will be intuitive.
So last week, I worked out with weights twice, using light weights trying to get my muscles accustomed to being used again. I walked on the treadmill three times at a slow speed, trying to get my legs used to moving again. I tracked my calories for 5 days. I got up early 2 days. I also got up and exercised Thanksgiving morning. I weighed myself Thursday morning and weighed 360.8. I lost 1.2 pounds. I probably put some of that back on again Thursday and Friday. However, this week is a new week and I'll do a little more exercise and keep counting calories and I'll lose a little more.
End of week 1: 360.8
Total loss: 1.2 lbs
All things considered I didn't do too bad. I managed to work out 3x last week and stuck to my calorie count on 5 days. For the first week I'm pretty pleased. See, I have a theory about diets in general. People get fired up about starting one, empty all their favorite foods from the fridge and cupboards and start eating grilled chicken, cottage cheese and rice crackers. After a week or two of this, they go bat-shit-crazy and order one of everything from the drive-thru menu. Then they get discouraged and go back to their old eating habits. The same thing with exercise. People will join a gym, start an exercise class or buy a dvd and go full bore through their first routine in months or years. Then they spend the next 3 days in agony because their bodies aren't used to any activity beyond a walk. When they can again move without pain, the last thing they want to do is try again. I don't blame them. I've been there, it sucks.
I now try to take a more laid back approach. Consider all the changes that need to be made.
First, in order to cut back on calories, I have to know how many calories that I'm eating. That means that I have to start reading labels, looking up nutritional information and recording what I eat. I also need to pay attention to portion size and start planning my day. Am I going out to dinner? Should I have a lighter lunch?
Second, I have to exercise. To exercise, I have to find an hour or so of free time in my day. From past history, I know that I do better if I exercise first thing in the morning. That means that I have to get up earlier. Since my old routine would be to roll out of bed, shower, dress and leave for work, I'll have to allow a little extra time and get up about 90 minutes early. On average, I tend to stay up until midnight so I'll have to start going to bed around 10:00 pm.
These are all big changes to my routine and doesn't even consider the physical aspect of preparing healthier foods and exercising. When you look at all these changes, it is easy to get overwhelmed and quit. The thing to remember is that there ain't no rule no where that says I gotta do it all at once! I didn't get fat overnight and I'm not going to get skinny overnight. I can take some baby steps and that's what I plan to do the first couple of weeks. Eventually, I'll be exercising every day. Eventually, a healthy diet will be intuitive.
So last week, I worked out with weights twice, using light weights trying to get my muscles accustomed to being used again. I walked on the treadmill three times at a slow speed, trying to get my legs used to moving again. I tracked my calories for 5 days. I got up early 2 days. I also got up and exercised Thanksgiving morning. I weighed myself Thursday morning and weighed 360.8. I lost 1.2 pounds. I probably put some of that back on again Thursday and Friday. However, this week is a new week and I'll do a little more exercise and keep counting calories and I'll lose a little more.
End of week 1: 360.8
Total loss: 1.2 lbs
Monday, November 21, 2011
The Journey begins (again!)
Hi. Welcome to my blog. To begin with, I should probably explain the title. Kasper Gutman is a character in the classic film "The Maltese Falcon." He was known as "the fat man" and was played by Sydney Greenstreet. Nick Charles is the character known as "the thin man" from the TV series of the same name, played by Peter Lawford. Therefore, this blog will chronicle my journey from a fat man to a thin man.
In case you were too lazy (slacker!) to read my short bio, I will reiterate it. I am 43 years old and I currently weigh 362 pounds. I am on medication for high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. I'm tired of taking pills and I'm tired of the various aches and pains that come from being an overweight slug. My doctor keeps trying to talk me into gastric bypass surgery and I really don't want to go that route. I know it's worked for many people but I really think I can do this the old fashioned way.
They say I need to understand why I'm overweight. I know why. I like to eat and I'm lazy. Yes, for me, it is that simple. Other than a few short spans, I've been overweight my whole life. There isn't any deep seated emotional cause, I'm not repressing any feelings, I don't hate myself, I don't hate my parents, etc... I like pizza, I like hoagies, I like big macs, I like pie (I really like pie!), I like doughnuts. I think that if 2 pieces of pizza are good than 4 pieces must be twice as good! I also like my recliner, my remote control, my laptop and my nook. A perfect evening for me consists of my wife, a large pepperoni pizza and a good book. Toss in a blizzard from dairy queen and it's beyond perfect. Notice the pattern?
Some of you may know that I did this once before. Around 2007 or 2008, I went from 375 pounds to 294 pounds. Then I let myslelf slip into old habits and slowly gained most of that back. I accomplished that loss by keeping my daily caloric intake to 2000 and by going to the gym 5 days a week. You'll notice that I didn't say I cut anything from my diet. That's because I really didn't. I just made smarter choices. My wife and I cooked healthier dinners and I ate reasonable portions. If we did order pizza for dinner, my wife and I split a small pizza and we ordered a salads on the side. If we went out for icecream, I got a small instead of a medium or large. If I wanted a Big Mac, I ate a Big Mac and cut back on my other meals. I'm going to follow almost the same steps that I used last time.
Instead of joining a gym, I set up a home gym. I have a treadmill, a Weider weight machine and an exercise ball. I will also use my Nintendo Wii for a half hour every evening for an added cardio boost. I'll track my calories using the app from Spark People.com. That's it. I take a One-a-Day multivitamin, but I won't take any appetite suppressing, fat blocking or metabolism boosting drugs.
I'm going to update this blog weekly and keep my journey public. I have plenty of support from my wife and family, but an extra layer of accountability never hurts!
In case you were too lazy (slacker!) to read my short bio, I will reiterate it. I am 43 years old and I currently weigh 362 pounds. I am on medication for high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. I'm tired of taking pills and I'm tired of the various aches and pains that come from being an overweight slug. My doctor keeps trying to talk me into gastric bypass surgery and I really don't want to go that route. I know it's worked for many people but I really think I can do this the old fashioned way.
They say I need to understand why I'm overweight. I know why. I like to eat and I'm lazy. Yes, for me, it is that simple. Other than a few short spans, I've been overweight my whole life. There isn't any deep seated emotional cause, I'm not repressing any feelings, I don't hate myself, I don't hate my parents, etc... I like pizza, I like hoagies, I like big macs, I like pie (I really like pie!), I like doughnuts. I think that if 2 pieces of pizza are good than 4 pieces must be twice as good! I also like my recliner, my remote control, my laptop and my nook. A perfect evening for me consists of my wife, a large pepperoni pizza and a good book. Toss in a blizzard from dairy queen and it's beyond perfect. Notice the pattern?
Some of you may know that I did this once before. Around 2007 or 2008, I went from 375 pounds to 294 pounds. Then I let myslelf slip into old habits and slowly gained most of that back. I accomplished that loss by keeping my daily caloric intake to 2000 and by going to the gym 5 days a week. You'll notice that I didn't say I cut anything from my diet. That's because I really didn't. I just made smarter choices. My wife and I cooked healthier dinners and I ate reasonable portions. If we did order pizza for dinner, my wife and I split a small pizza and we ordered a salads on the side. If we went out for icecream, I got a small instead of a medium or large. If I wanted a Big Mac, I ate a Big Mac and cut back on my other meals. I'm going to follow almost the same steps that I used last time.
Instead of joining a gym, I set up a home gym. I have a treadmill, a Weider weight machine and an exercise ball. I will also use my Nintendo Wii for a half hour every evening for an added cardio boost. I'll track my calories using the app from Spark People.com. That's it. I take a One-a-Day multivitamin, but I won't take any appetite suppressing, fat blocking or metabolism boosting drugs.
I'm going to update this blog weekly and keep my journey public. I have plenty of support from my wife and family, but an extra layer of accountability never hurts!
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