Newnan’s Largest Lessener 7

Oh My Gawd! 

My mom is reading this.  One, this is amazing because she can barely turn on the power for her computer.  Two, she’s the most passive aggressive supporter of all time, “you’re very funny, partly fictional writing” and after telling her I got a raise, “how much…oh I thought you were making more than that.”  Three, she can hold a grudge.  I didn’t become an inhuman monster because of the loving and caring environment I had growing up.

The Numbers:

	6/21/2009	2/9/2012	3/9/2012	3/16/2012	3/23/2012
Neck	21.00		18.00	18.50	17.75
Left Arm	18.25	16.50	15.25	15.25	15.00
Shoulders	58.50	58.50	55.75	52.75	53.75
Chest	58.00	56.75	53.00	53.75	53.75
Waist	60.00	55.00	51.00	50.50	50.00
Hips	52.50	49.00	46.00	46.75	46.25
Left Thigh	34.00	28.50	26.50	26.50	24.75
Left Calf	18.50	18.50	18.50	18.00	17.75
Left Ankle	11.50	10.50	10.25	10.25	10.00
Left Wrist	8.50	7.75	7.50	7.75	7.75
BP	170/115	159/104	147/93	136/87	134/88
Pulse	78.00	70.00	75.00	71.00	60.00
Weight	350.00	319.20	297.40	295.20	292.20
330					11.45%
					8.46%

Another week and another THREE pounds down!  The percentage from 02/09/2012 is 8.46% and the goal is 25%, more than a third of the way.  Now it gets tough…I don’t want to go to longer fractions like 8/15^th.  And half is 12.5%, with 3.3 a percent that’s going to take about 14.00 lbs.

Exercise:

So the elliptical is still the strangest of body movements for me.  Either I’ve been walking wrong my entire life or this machine is designed to make it feel like running in loose sand or up a hill.  I suppose that is a good thing as it really is working muscles that I don’t get to with weight training, biking or walking.  Still every other day is filled with dread.  Last night I stared at the silent contraption for about an hour trying to think of reasons to not use it.  Finally, inexorably, I stepped in the machine and did about three minutes.  It doesn’t hurt, but it aches.  I stop and sigh and walk it off.  I sit and watch a few minutes of ’30 Rock’ and I want to say I’m done.  But I’d gotten up to 11 minutes on Tuesday after 9 minutes on Sunday, so there was no way I was quitting and going to work in the morning and having someone asking me how many minutes I did. 

I’d probably be able to lie, but no.  I got back on the machine, feeling its mocking lights pop up as I moved the pedals, “oh really, wanna try again cupcake?” it says to me.  Then I hit the start button and walk or elliptic or whatever it’s called.   Five minutes, no problem and then around ten I can feel it.  The heart rate rises, the breathing gets labored and I feel fucking sick and fantastic at the same time.  At thirteen minutes I wave the white flag, but feel like the winner.  The goal is at least 30 minutes and 3 plus 13 was 16 minutes that night.  More than half way there!

Nutrition:

Just figured out that the “flavored” tuna servings are for 2.5 and the numbers of course are for 1.  So the spicy tuna is really around 180 calories instead of the 60 or so you get with plain tuna.  It’s a bitter, fishy tasting pill to swallow, like an Omega 3 supplement.  Reading labels sucks.  More importantly American food manufacturers suck.  Guess what, sugar can be “organic” and “all-natural”.  Oh yeah, it can also be “fat-free.”  Even when you go as hard core as I like to try, whole fruits and vegetables – no juices and limited “prepped” items.  I avoid damn near everything outside the diet plan that can last on a store shelf for months since these have all sorts of chemicals, not to mention sodium.  Yet, even buying fresh made foods leaves you exposed to high salt items and other hidden triggers like sugar or flour.  Low carb, but wait legumes have tons of carbs on top of loads of proteins.  Eggs are huge on protein and low on carbs but high on fat.  Food is like Whack-A-Mole eating…chase fat and get high with carbs, then whack carbs and you get too much fat, control all that and the salt kills you.  Calories do matter, but how you get them matter more and eating too much good food is as bad as eating a little bit of bad food.

Is your head spinning yet?  My won’t stop.

Serenity now!

Today’s diary of a Fat Kid:

Most of my recollections of my childhood aren’t particularly sharp and mostly go from about 1976 forward.  I lived in Minnesota until I was 13.  In the Midwest butter is a super condiment, you cook vegetables in it then coat them with in on your plate.  You smear a thick layer of it on breakfast pastries like a second layer of frosting.  White bread with butter is an appetizer, a side dish and sometimes a dessert (when served with jelly or jam).  Grilled cheese and tomato soup was a favorite meal…buttered bread with American cheese melted in the middle, Campbell’s soup made with milk and a pat of butter melting in the soup bowl.  Every meal was starch heavy, rib-sticking, hearty comfort food. 

Not only did I eat with regularity, no fear of missing a meal, but also heard on more than one occasion that I needed to eat everything on the plate in order to get dessert.  Rewards for overeating were Hostess cakes or homemade chocolate chip cookies.  To this day no meal feels finished until my belly is near bursting and then I have cake, ice cream or cookies for dessert.  Even on this new lifestyle of eating, rice cakes with Nutella is my “chocolate cupcake” special dessert.  Oh and count me in the group of kids who heard, “finish your food, there are kids starving in China.”

The Plan:

This week I’ll continue to work toward a 30 minute cardio program.  The weather is supposed to be nice (thanks global warming) so I’ll get out and walk some to fill in the gaps.  Still I will get back on that effing elliptical every other day until I am comfortably doing entire workouts on it.  I can be stubborn when I feel like it.

I’m on vacation this week so I’ll be using exercise as the work with movies as the reward.  Also trying to not play computer games or watch TV until I get my workout in for the day, so more of that when I’m home all day.  The real challenge is keeping on a good food plan when home all day with no set schedule.

Also really want to be under 290.00 lbs when I weigh in on Monday and try for a 5lb week next week.  Lose 20 lbs in April?

Later!