Never eat more than you can lift.
Week of Focus: Workout
I tend not to write about my food and workout schedule. I find it to be boring. So this post will be a bit different…I will write about my workout schedule. As I posted earlier, the weight has been coming off. It has been steady and not too hard. But I want to see what happens when I have a week of focus. This is my week of focus: workout edition.
So what does this mean? Well, exactly what it sounds like. I have not had a week of workouts. I usually exercise 3-4 times per week and maybe a hike or some heavy walking on the weekend. This week, I will be doing a cardio workout (40 minutes min.) each day. That will be 7 gym cardio sessions. I started on Saturday and today is Tuesday.
Food - I will be eating my normal diet: low-carb (sugar), high-protein, high-vegetables.
When I started the week (Saturday) I was stuck at 296lbs (134.2 kilograms). I will stay off the scale all week and post the results next week.
Photo by: Christian Robertson
I’m FIFTY!
When I stepped on the scale today, I was not expecting a milestone. At some point in life, you decide enough is enough. That point came to me when I stepped on the scale and it read 347. It was at that point that I decided to focus on myself. Today, the scale read 296.4. FIFTY pounds shed.
When you go day-by-day and lose one or two pounds a week, you don’t realize how much all those ones and twos add up. Mine have added up to 50 and I am kinda excited.
Photo by: Berkeley Robinson
What’s in your Orange Juice…wrong!
I never thought that my OJ tasted the same each time, but now that I think about it…it does. Now that I think about it; it creeps me out. Juice is not only bad for you because it is striped of fiber and has been turned into a sugar delivery mechanism, but it’s also a taste-less, odor-less liquid (water?) that is colored and flavored to be orange-like. Is nothing real? Read the following article:
http://www.foodrenegade.com/secret-ingredient-your-orange-juice/
Image from: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/dspruitt
Source: foodrenegade.com
Worst Apps, Sides, and Starters | Eat This, Not That
I very much enjoy Men’s Health online. They have a lot of good information about food.
A funny thing has happened to America’s restaurant appetizers, starters, and sides: They’ve started growing bigger than the meals they prepare us for. It’s now common to wolf down 500 or 600 greasy calories before we even start on our entrees, or alongside our already-giant burgers.
The story of Jamil Macias, half the man he used to be
Man this guy, Jamil, reminds me of me when I was 17. My first year in college, I lost about 40 pounds and came home after my first year looking good. But I turned back to the processed foods and video games and started adding back the weight. I hope this guy keeps it off and is an inspiration to other people. It can be done, one day at a time, one hour at a time.
Macias pushed himself further each night, progressing from walking to running, in addition to eliminating fast food and replacing processed, sugary foods with fruits and vegetables.
Obesity may cut a generation's lifespans
The thought that your kids or grand kids may die only a few years after or before you die is scary. Baby-boomers are living longer, and their grand children could die soon after. And way? Because of a virus, did society collapse into dystopia? Sadly, these generations are killing themselves with food.
From the The Seattle Times:
…researchers used new statistical tools to predict the number of deaths from obesity-related illnesses.
Small Victories
Weight loss is about small victories. I have been ‘dieting’ (I need to find a new word) since October ‘11. To date, I have lost 45 lbs (20.411kgs). It’s been slow but steady. Last week I realized I could shop ‘off the rack’ at Target and yesterday, I tried on my old suit. The pants kept falling off so I took them into the tailor to have the waist brought in. That was my small victory for the week.
We have all put on cloths only to find that they no longer button and it makes us feel…sad/bad/defeated. But if you’ve ever had the opportunity to put on some pants, button them, and then watch them fall to the ground because they are too large. Well, let me tell you. That feels good.
HERE’S TO SMALL VICTORIES!
PHOTO BY: Mario Alberto Magallanes Trejo
French, mashed, or baked. They all equal DEATH!
What is a potato but a big ball of calories. Another study confirms that calories fried in fat is a bad thing. In fact, potatoes may be one of the worst things (next to sugar soda) for your diet. Skip the fries, chips, and baked potatoes from now on.
Fiber For the Win!
High fiber foods help you lose weight because they make you feel full quicker. Next time you go out to eat, have a nice lefty leafy salad as an appetizer and a small main course. And stay away from the French fries!
Sugar-free or Surgery?
Study finds that weight loss surgery keeps the weight off better than dieting. However, if you take the time to learn about the foods you are eating, the results are equal to or better than getting weight loss surgery. So it turns out that learning how to ‘eat right’ is a great way to lose weight.
Fat Cloths at Target
I am happy to report that I am now able to buy clothing ‘off the rack’ at Target. This is partially because I am dropping weight and partially because Target has embraced the fat market. They now sell men’s pants (and shorts) sized up to 44 inches (waist). I just so happened to fit in a 44 inch waist so I am now shopping at Target. ‘Fat people’ is a growing market and Target is smart to sell to them. As I come down in weight, I am happy that I can stop shopping at Casual Male, a big and tall store, and start looking for clothes at my local Target. There is less of a social stigma shopping at a Target instead of a “fat store”. I also feel like I am making strides as I move out of the big and tall store and into the mainstream. I was getting close to the end of the rack at the fat store. Size 44 is on the petite end when you’re shopping at a big and tall. They have clothing for people with a 64 inch waist. It was part of the challenge to move down the rack from my high of 54 inches to my new 44 inch slimness. Now the fight will be to get down to 36 inches, my all time ‘adult’ low. One day at a time.
PHOTO BY: Steven Goodwin
To promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing.
