First an admission. I had a meeting to go to tonight, had an errand to run after it. Got home late.
Did NOT want to go do my row. No matter how brief the rowing workouts are right now as I build my form and stamina for longer sessions, I just had no desire to do it.
But I did. I went downstairs and did my planned session.
Why?
Because I got myself into this mess partially by taking shortcuts. Taking the easy way. Letting my bad planning become an easy excuse to not workout, or make a good meal choice, or just be lazy as a husband, father, son, friend.
This is about action. This is about seeing things through. So to the rower it was.
Speaking of planning, I'm away this weekend, so there will likely be no update until Sunday. I'll be off with no Internet access.
Does that mean no workouts? Bad meal choices? No accountability?
HELL NO!!
My DW (darling wife) has been hard at work making sure that I will have the right meal choices with me. It's amazing the support I get from her.
I've planned my workout schedule around my weekend. Friday, before I leave I have a strength workout from my friends @trainersonsite. Then Saturday is a scheduled rest day, and Sunday I'll be back in time to get my rowing workout in again.
It's this planning that's key. When we just react to what is happening we don't always leave ourselves enough time to do the right thing, so we do an easy thing.
I can't do that anymore, it lead me to misery, so I have a plan for how to maximize what I can. Sure the unpredictable happens, but we pretend it happens way more than it does. We know Sunday traffic is bad coming home from the cottage, but we pretend to be surprised when we get home at 10pm, too late for a workout. (For the record I am leaving early and expect to be home mid afternoon, lots of time)
Don't set yourself up to fail. Have a plan. Take action. Give yourself your best chance at success for all your goals.
See you Sunday with a recap.
- by the way, every Monday I will be featuring someone who inspires me to push myself, these are friends and family that I admire for their own stories, efforts or support. Be sure to check in on Mondays to see who is featured each week.
Today's Workout
Rowing 2400m
Calories Eaten - 2163
Calories Burned - 3448
Be well!
Showing posts with label fitfat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fitfat. Show all posts
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Monday, January 23, 2012
The 260lb bounce
For those of you losing weight, do you have a number that gives you trouble?
I do, 260lbs.
I've been over that number for along time now, and every time I approach it I bounce off it like some sort of damned trampoline.
I can't tell you the number of times I've hit it, like some sort of perverse paddle ball I slam into 260, then BOING, 261, 262, 263, refocus, 262, 261, 260, 259.8 (feel the trampoline stretch...) BOING 261 262.
I'm sick of it.
So the question is why? And I hate the answer.
The answer is me.
I focus for a few weeks, I maintain my discipline, and about the time I get near that milestone, I start to slack off. It happened again over the last couple of weeks. My commitment, particularly to healthy eating, started to slack off a bit and the hard work I had done to get down to 260 goes out the window.
The number actually means nothing. Nada, zilch. It's only in my head because I let that correlation start to convince me that somehow 260lbs is different than 261.
It isn't. It's just a number, one of many I have to work through in order to achieve my goals.
How many of your life's challenges are like that? How often do you say, "oh, that's the one I can't get past"? Are you being honest with yourself? Is it a true milestone? A true obstacle? or just something you let get into your head?
Is it simply you?
My demonic trampoline isn't 260lbs, its my own inability to maintain the commitment required to punch through it.
I was 261.4 this morning, after being 260.2 earlier last week. When I next write this blog, my goal is to be able to tell you that I maintained my discipline, that I ate healthy, that I exercised, and that I blew a giant hole in that 260lb trampoline, and tossed it in the trash, never to see it again.
Find your obstacle, the one you can't get past, and spend the next couple weeks with me breaking through it. Come back here Feb 6th with your own tale of conquest!
Follow me on twitter @fatfitman
I do, 260lbs.
I've been over that number for along time now, and every time I approach it I bounce off it like some sort of damned trampoline.
I can't tell you the number of times I've hit it, like some sort of perverse paddle ball I slam into 260, then BOING, 261, 262, 263, refocus, 262, 261, 260, 259.8 (feel the trampoline stretch...) BOING 261 262.
I'm sick of it.
So the question is why? And I hate the answer.
The answer is me.
I focus for a few weeks, I maintain my discipline, and about the time I get near that milestone, I start to slack off. It happened again over the last couple of weeks. My commitment, particularly to healthy eating, started to slack off a bit and the hard work I had done to get down to 260 goes out the window.
The number actually means nothing. Nada, zilch. It's only in my head because I let that correlation start to convince me that somehow 260lbs is different than 261.
It isn't. It's just a number, one of many I have to work through in order to achieve my goals.
How many of your life's challenges are like that? How often do you say, "oh, that's the one I can't get past"? Are you being honest with yourself? Is it a true milestone? A true obstacle? or just something you let get into your head?
Is it simply you?
My demonic trampoline isn't 260lbs, its my own inability to maintain the commitment required to punch through it.
I was 261.4 this morning, after being 260.2 earlier last week. When I next write this blog, my goal is to be able to tell you that I maintained my discipline, that I ate healthy, that I exercised, and that I blew a giant hole in that 260lb trampoline, and tossed it in the trash, never to see it again.
Find your obstacle, the one you can't get past, and spend the next couple weeks with me breaking through it. Come back here Feb 6th with your own tale of conquest!
Follow me on twitter @fatfitman
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Half measures have availed us nothing
One year ago today I noticed my weight had jumped up to a startling 272.4lbs
I set out two simple goals;
A) lose 53lbs, putting me below 220.
B) run a 5k race
Well, looking back, how did I do? Not great. Today I weigh 264.4 lbs, so in one year I lost only 8 lbs. I participated in a 5k race, but by no means did I run it.
What happened to my year? I could list some excuses easily, injury, kids, time constraints.
But they are excuses. What's the real truth?
Half measures avail us nothing
That's the cold hard truth. I'm not trying to lose 10lbs to fit into a smaller pair of jeans. I'm trying to reverse years of neglect on my body. And I spent a year doing it half-assed.
Honest appraisal, I have more than 60lbs to lose. That's not to look better, that's simply to be healthy. Say what you want about BMI, but I need to lose 40lbs to not be classified as obese!
These are big numbers, these aren't "I'm going to cut down on my pasta" numbers, these are my life needs an overhaul numbers.
I would eat right, then not
I would log my food, sometimes
I would workout, when I felt like it
Half measures avail us nothing
This cannot continue. I cannot simply do the few easy things and expect a true change. I cannot simply hope things will get better while eating a cheeseburger. I cannot become more fit by averaging one workout a week.
So lets turn it around. Let's fix it. Now.
Goals for 2012
Goal #1: Get below 205 lbs. Once I am at that weight I'll take an appraisal of what a reasonable goal weight should be for me
Goal #2: RUN a 5k. Not walk, not half and half. Run. The whole way. This one might be harder than the weight loss.
Half measures avail us nothing
I'm not going to get there without changing how I do things. I can't occasionally log my food. I can't occasionally workout, and I can't occasionally blog about it.
Logging food is how I hold myself accountable for my choices, it has to be a daily thing.
Working out is good for my waistline, my heart, and for easing stress, 6 times a week is not unreasonable.
Blogging is my accountability to friends and family, my way of sharing my struggle, and hoping others are motivated to join me. I need to aim for weekly, but at least every 2 weeks I need to be in here, good or bad.
When I achieved successes during 2011 I did the above. When I stumbled in 2011 I did them occasionally.
Half measures avail us nothing.
No half measures for 2012. This is my year, this is my 40th year, this is the year I meet the fitman again.
@fatfitman
I set out two simple goals;
A) lose 53lbs, putting me below 220.
B) run a 5k race
Well, looking back, how did I do? Not great. Today I weigh 264.4 lbs, so in one year I lost only 8 lbs. I participated in a 5k race, but by no means did I run it.
What happened to my year? I could list some excuses easily, injury, kids, time constraints.
But they are excuses. What's the real truth?
Half measures avail us nothing
That's the cold hard truth. I'm not trying to lose 10lbs to fit into a smaller pair of jeans. I'm trying to reverse years of neglect on my body. And I spent a year doing it half-assed.
Honest appraisal, I have more than 60lbs to lose. That's not to look better, that's simply to be healthy. Say what you want about BMI, but I need to lose 40lbs to not be classified as obese!
These are big numbers, these aren't "I'm going to cut down on my pasta" numbers, these are my life needs an overhaul numbers.
I would eat right, then not
I would log my food, sometimes
I would workout, when I felt like it
Half measures avail us nothing
This cannot continue. I cannot simply do the few easy things and expect a true change. I cannot simply hope things will get better while eating a cheeseburger. I cannot become more fit by averaging one workout a week.
So lets turn it around. Let's fix it. Now.
Goals for 2012
Goal #1: Get below 205 lbs. Once I am at that weight I'll take an appraisal of what a reasonable goal weight should be for me
Goal #2: RUN a 5k. Not walk, not half and half. Run. The whole way. This one might be harder than the weight loss.
Half measures avail us nothing
I'm not going to get there without changing how I do things. I can't occasionally log my food. I can't occasionally workout, and I can't occasionally blog about it.
Logging food is how I hold myself accountable for my choices, it has to be a daily thing.
Working out is good for my waistline, my heart, and for easing stress, 6 times a week is not unreasonable.
Blogging is my accountability to friends and family, my way of sharing my struggle, and hoping others are motivated to join me. I need to aim for weekly, but at least every 2 weeks I need to be in here, good or bad.
When I achieved successes during 2011 I did the above. When I stumbled in 2011 I did them occasionally.
Half measures avail us nothing.
No half measures for 2012. This is my year, this is my 40th year, this is the year I meet the fitman again.
@fatfitman
Monday, November 21, 2011
And now the hard part
So, 2 weeks ago, 265lbs
This morning 260lbs.
Gotta say I am pretty happy about that. Worked out more days than not in the last 2 weeks, ate better (though not perfect) and ultimately am rewarded with 5lbs of weight loss.
Last time I saw the sub-260lb me was earlier this year, and not long before I found ways to short circuit myself. Hopefully this time I can say goodbye to the 260lb me forever.
What's to stop me? The holidays.
Every dieters nightmare, the holidays bring with it turkey, stuffing, chocolates, wine, candied yams, mashed potatoes made with cream, more wine, snack foods, appetizers.
And that's just the food.
Parties, drinks with neighbours, office lunches, festive specials.
And that's just the events,
Shopping, crazy malls, food courts, what to buy, interminable lines, out of stock, in-laws coming over, every weekend booked from now til January.
Basically, it is 6 weeks of high-stress, surrounded by the food that got me (and many of you) into trouble in the first place.
So how do we get past it? Well, first acknowledge it's going to be hard, be ready for it. I won't be expecting 2lbs a week out of myself over the next few weeks. I do however expect to continue losing. With that in mind this is the time to be especially vigilant on all those days you don't have an event.this is not the time of year for a quick trip to Wendy's, or for some extra little weekday treat. This is when 90% of your meals have to be very healthy options. Balanced, filling, healthy meals, because the other 10% are going to be trouble.
As for that other 10%, well, a few tips. Avoid loading up on breads, enjoy the main courses, avoid the appetizers. At parties, stay away from those easy snacks that seem to keep filling your mouth while you chat with friends. Watch how much you are drinking, switch to water when you can. Be very mindful of EVERYTHING you put in your mouth this month, don't mindlessly snack.
Lastly, but importantly, exercise. It's a busy time of year, but this is when you have to say "My health comes first" find the time to work out. Morning, after shopping, before bed, just get moving. Find ways to sneak in extra burn, don't fight for the close parking space at the mall, park in the far reaches and enjoy the walk. the exercise will help with all the extras we are bombarded with, and its a great way to bleed off some of the stress.
It's this time of year where we face the most challenges, re-focus, put in that effort, and make this a truly happy, and guilt-free holiday season.
I'll see you all at the malls. I'll be in parking lot Z, Row 30, right next to the abandoned shopping cart.
@fatfitman
This morning 260lbs.
Gotta say I am pretty happy about that. Worked out more days than not in the last 2 weeks, ate better (though not perfect) and ultimately am rewarded with 5lbs of weight loss.
Last time I saw the sub-260lb me was earlier this year, and not long before I found ways to short circuit myself. Hopefully this time I can say goodbye to the 260lb me forever.
What's to stop me? The holidays.
Every dieters nightmare, the holidays bring with it turkey, stuffing, chocolates, wine, candied yams, mashed potatoes made with cream, more wine, snack foods, appetizers.
And that's just the food.
Parties, drinks with neighbours, office lunches, festive specials.
And that's just the events,
Shopping, crazy malls, food courts, what to buy, interminable lines, out of stock, in-laws coming over, every weekend booked from now til January.
Basically, it is 6 weeks of high-stress, surrounded by the food that got me (and many of you) into trouble in the first place.
So how do we get past it? Well, first acknowledge it's going to be hard, be ready for it. I won't be expecting 2lbs a week out of myself over the next few weeks. I do however expect to continue losing. With that in mind this is the time to be especially vigilant on all those days you don't have an event.this is not the time of year for a quick trip to Wendy's, or for some extra little weekday treat. This is when 90% of your meals have to be very healthy options. Balanced, filling, healthy meals, because the other 10% are going to be trouble.
As for that other 10%, well, a few tips. Avoid loading up on breads, enjoy the main courses, avoid the appetizers. At parties, stay away from those easy snacks that seem to keep filling your mouth while you chat with friends. Watch how much you are drinking, switch to water when you can. Be very mindful of EVERYTHING you put in your mouth this month, don't mindlessly snack.
Lastly, but importantly, exercise. It's a busy time of year, but this is when you have to say "My health comes first" find the time to work out. Morning, after shopping, before bed, just get moving. Find ways to sneak in extra burn, don't fight for the close parking space at the mall, park in the far reaches and enjoy the walk. the exercise will help with all the extras we are bombarded with, and its a great way to bleed off some of the stress.
It's this time of year where we face the most challenges, re-focus, put in that effort, and make this a truly happy, and guilt-free holiday season.
I'll see you all at the malls. I'll be in parking lot Z, Row 30, right next to the abandoned shopping cart.
@fatfitman
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Nothing happens in a straight line
I'm just back from 2 weeks on the road. The first week was for business in Cleveland. More on that later. The second trip was 10 days in Florida with my family. To save on airfare we drove down.
In a straight line it is 1184 miles from Toronto to Fort Myers, FL. By car it is 1520 miles. 340 miles, 20% of the trip is zig zagging your way down the highways, 340 extra miles because it's not a straight line drive. We have to go around obstacles like hills, lakes, valleys.
Weight loss is similar. I'm not just going to go and drop 50 straight pounds...I wish. I'm going to have good days and bad, good weeks and bad. I'll get to my goal, but I'll have travelled a lot further than 50lbs to get there.
On January 30th I announced I had lost that first 10lbs. well, a few weeks on the road has proved to be a detour. I now weigh 263.8.
I could get all depressed here, and quit the process. I could say, well, it's bad, so I'll start tomorrow and have a nice grilled cheese and bacon sandwich for lunch. but just like driving to Florida, i want to get there. I don't want any more detours than I have to make. So the bodymedia armband is back on, I have an exercise date with my wife tonight, and we start pushing deeper into the process.
Some people have been asking me how I managed on the road with food and exercise. Well, it is HARD!!! Driving along seeing nothing but McDonald's, Cracker barrel, KFC...All poor choices. Subway was my salvation. Turkey subs, light or no mayo, lots of veggies, water to drink. healthy snacks in the car, made before we set out by my wife. Planning a little, waiting until we saw a Subway saved untold calories.
During the business trip it was even worse. At least in Florida we were staying at my parents house allowing us to cook. While in Cleveland I had to really watch what happens in the restaurants. Salad appetizers, dressings on the side, choosing small beef dishes (careful with chicken, many restaurants saute, or sometimes even presoak the chicken in butter!), went out for fish one night.
I was less successful with the exercise, in Cleveland I should have done much more, in Florida lots of walking.
All in all 2lbs or so gained after 17days on the road is not terrible. It's a detour. I didn't go too far out of my way, and I am ready for the next leg of the journey. I have to push hard these next few miles to make up some lost time, but overall...I'm still on course. How about you? Still on that good track?
In a straight line it is 1184 miles from Toronto to Fort Myers, FL. By car it is 1520 miles. 340 miles, 20% of the trip is zig zagging your way down the highways, 340 extra miles because it's not a straight line drive. We have to go around obstacles like hills, lakes, valleys.
Weight loss is similar. I'm not just going to go and drop 50 straight pounds...I wish. I'm going to have good days and bad, good weeks and bad. I'll get to my goal, but I'll have travelled a lot further than 50lbs to get there.
On January 30th I announced I had lost that first 10lbs. well, a few weeks on the road has proved to be a detour. I now weigh 263.8.
I could get all depressed here, and quit the process. I could say, well, it's bad, so I'll start tomorrow and have a nice grilled cheese and bacon sandwich for lunch. but just like driving to Florida, i want to get there. I don't want any more detours than I have to make. So the bodymedia armband is back on, I have an exercise date with my wife tonight, and we start pushing deeper into the process.
Some people have been asking me how I managed on the road with food and exercise. Well, it is HARD!!! Driving along seeing nothing but McDonald's, Cracker barrel, KFC...All poor choices. Subway was my salvation. Turkey subs, light or no mayo, lots of veggies, water to drink. healthy snacks in the car, made before we set out by my wife. Planning a little, waiting until we saw a Subway saved untold calories.
During the business trip it was even worse. At least in Florida we were staying at my parents house allowing us to cook. While in Cleveland I had to really watch what happens in the restaurants. Salad appetizers, dressings on the side, choosing small beef dishes (careful with chicken, many restaurants saute, or sometimes even presoak the chicken in butter!), went out for fish one night.
I was less successful with the exercise, in Cleveland I should have done much more, in Florida lots of walking.
All in all 2lbs or so gained after 17days on the road is not terrible. It's a detour. I didn't go too far out of my way, and I am ready for the next leg of the journey. I have to push hard these next few miles to make up some lost time, but overall...I'm still on course. How about you? Still on that good track?
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Bodymedia - Weight control through technology
I am not a Bodymedia rep, sales guy or marketer, these opinions are my own, and I gain nothing from any sales or clicks on the bodymedia website. I have not included a link as I do not want anyone thinking I am gaining from this. You can easily google bodymedia and it will take you right there.
We all need some help if we are trying to gain control of our eating, weight, exercise habits. I'll be using a tool from Bodyedia called the FIT armband. This device helps me monitor exactly who many calories I burn over the course of my day. It's worn on your non-dominant arm and measures things like temperature, perspiration, movement etc.
The idea is to take the guesswork out of your daily calorie burn...Not just how much you burn on the treadmill, but all day, everyday, while you work, while you sleep, while you play with your kids.
Why is this important? Well, weight loss is essentially a math equation. If your calories burned exceeds your calories eaten, you will over time lose weight. About 3500 calories per pound.
The key thing is the accuracy of the measurements, treadmills and other exercise machines will give you an approximation, but they can be off substantially. Plus, you don't know how much you are burning in all your other activities.
The FIT armband doesn't just track calories, it tracks sleep, how long your moderate exercise was, how long you exercised vigorously, how many steps you took.
All of this information is helpful, but of limited usefulness if you aren't tracking everything you eat...And I mean EVERYTHING. Snacks, portion sizes (accuracy is important!), drinks, sauces (a diet killer) etc etc etc. Included as part of the FIT program is access to some online software that makes tracking your food daily an easy task. The software is simple and intuitive, with an encyclopedic database of food, including many restaurant and brand name packaged food. if its not there, you can add your own.
How effective is it? You'll see it used on virtually all the contestants on the Biggest Loser (very motivational show btw if you are trying to lose weight). I personally used it to lose 15lbs early last year, I regained them when I stopped using the tool. I know at least one other person who used it to great effect as well, losing over 20lbs.
Its not the answer for everyone obviously, but it's the tool I'll be using for my journey. If you have your own successful tools, I'd love to hear about them.
We all need some help if we are trying to gain control of our eating, weight, exercise habits. I'll be using a tool from Bodyedia called the FIT armband. This device helps me monitor exactly who many calories I burn over the course of my day. It's worn on your non-dominant arm and measures things like temperature, perspiration, movement etc.
The idea is to take the guesswork out of your daily calorie burn...Not just how much you burn on the treadmill, but all day, everyday, while you work, while you sleep, while you play with your kids.
Why is this important? Well, weight loss is essentially a math equation. If your calories burned exceeds your calories eaten, you will over time lose weight. About 3500 calories per pound.
The key thing is the accuracy of the measurements, treadmills and other exercise machines will give you an approximation, but they can be off substantially. Plus, you don't know how much you are burning in all your other activities.
The FIT armband doesn't just track calories, it tracks sleep, how long your moderate exercise was, how long you exercised vigorously, how many steps you took.
All of this information is helpful, but of limited usefulness if you aren't tracking everything you eat...And I mean EVERYTHING. Snacks, portion sizes (accuracy is important!), drinks, sauces (a diet killer) etc etc etc. Included as part of the FIT program is access to some online software that makes tracking your food daily an easy task. The software is simple and intuitive, with an encyclopedic database of food, including many restaurant and brand name packaged food. if its not there, you can add your own.
How effective is it? You'll see it used on virtually all the contestants on the Biggest Loser (very motivational show btw if you are trying to lose weight). I personally used it to lose 15lbs early last year, I regained them when I stopped using the tool. I know at least one other person who used it to great effect as well, losing over 20lbs.
Its not the answer for everyone obviously, but it's the tool I'll be using for my journey. If you have your own successful tools, I'd love to hear about them.
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