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

Ho Ho Ho its off to run we go!

Well Ho Ho Ho everyone, the fatfitman stuck by his promise and ran in the Burlington 5k Santa run last weekend

 As you can see from the photos there were a lot of very dedicated people (4000 participants!) out in the morning chill to raise some money and do something healthy this holiday season

 That's me below in the pointy hat, sadly at my current weight I make a pretty good Santa, hopefully at the run next year the outfit will look a little more baggy!

 4000 Santas make a pretty big sea of red as we head out down Lakeshore Blvd.

 The fatfitman, my darling wife (left) our friend LC (right) and our two biggest fans who braved the cold to meet us at the end.

So how was the first 5k? Well, honestly, not as bad as I thought it might be. I finished in 43:03.9, which is not god by any means, but it's a start. More importantly I enjoyed it. I want to do more runs, and the competitive side of me wants to get better at it.

I think that's one of the things I have to key on going forward. I am a competitive person, I love my hockey, karate, and now the idea of running in a competition. I can only get better at each of these as I lose weight, and increase my fitness level. It takes hard work and dedication to to these things and to do them well.

The holidays have been predictably hard, my struggles with eating not helped by a week on the road in Atlanta, but those are just excuses. Self-improvement is hard, and I need to focus on what drives me to get better instead of focusing on what tastes good.

My family drives me, my competitive nature drives me, my desire is fueled by these things. I will improve, I will get healthy, I will lose more weight.

What fuels you, what drives you, what are you looking to change and improve as the year comes to a close?

Next entry will be the one year anniversary of the blog, an update on my status and my goals for the coming year.

Gotta walk before you can run

Ah tis the eating season, and for those of us who are addicted to food every day is a challenge.
The last two weeks have seen piles of my favourite foods, sweets and drinks placed in front of me, and so far so good, I remain around the 260lb mark.

I realized in the last few days that trying to lose weight at this time of year is setting myself up for disappointment, and with me disappointment leads to more eating. So, to stave off this dreaded cycle i am trying something different. I am focusing on not gaining weight, and maintaining my workout schedule despite the busy days ahead.

So far so good, this morning 260.8lbs, and a few days now until my next challenging evening event, so I shouldn't have any trouble eating healthy between now and the weekend.

Ah, and on the weekend, something new!

HO HO HO, that's what I'll be yelling as I participate this weekend in the Burlington 5K Santa run. For those of you not familiar with it, every year a few thousand people dress in full Santa suits and run 5K through the streets of Burlington ON. This year myself, my wife, and our good friend LC have decided to participate.

My frequent readers will know that i am not at a running weight yet, and the last time I tried to run at this size led to a back injury and several months away from training, so with that lesson learned I will be walking the course. This is hard for me, as I am by nature highly competitive, but I know if I keep this up I can start running more seriously come the spring time. If I overdo it now, I'll only disrupt my long term goals.

So get out this holiday season, enjoy yourselves, keep staying healthy when you can, don't overdo it when you can't. And if you are in Burlington this Saturday, I'll see you at the finish line!!

HO HO HO

@fatfitman

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

Long time away, where has the fatfitman been?

Ever find it hard to own up to something? Made a mistake and now you're stuck trying to hide from it. Even if the hiding is pointless, if everyone around you can see the mistake, or if the hiding itself is a dead giveaway that you've screwed up.

That's me since April 28th.

So what happened? Well, let's take it in turn.

5K run - Didn't happen, I injured my back in April and it curtailed my running plans to nothing. On doctors advice I stopped my running training until I lost some more weight (more on that in a minute).

So, my running is down, ok, what do you do when your plans go awry? You pick yourself up and you try something else. So I did, I attacked the P90X program and tried to make that my major exercise plan.

And then I injured my wrist. Couldn't bend my right hand for a few months.

So that's 2 strikes. How do I recover, I pick myself up again and find a way, I lower my calorie counts, I find some way to keep moving.

Boy I wish I could say I did that.

Nope

I ate, and ate, and ate some more. I got lazy, I stopped trying, I stopped blogging, I stopped believing.

I just plain stopped.

I quit.

And so here we are, November 8th. Almost 11 months from my start at 272 lbs, and I am 265.

It's so easy to get down, so easy to say forget it. So easy to look at the holidays coming, the challenges I faced and just give up until January. 

But I am not going to do that. Missing my goals is bad, giving up entirely would be far worse.

I can't change what happened April to November, I can't change that I stopped, I can't change that I hid from it (and from all of you), I can't change that it was the wrong thing to do.

But I can change what I do today, and tomorrow, and from here on.

Change with me, come back to the blog, come back to your own challenges, change what's nagging you.

You'll be happier for it.

fatfitman

Follow me on Twitter @fatfitman

Challenges Challenges

What a frustrating week.

My exercise is up, my calorie intake is down, my diet is balanced. My wife is working out with me and as motivated as I am.

Sounds good right?

My weight is the same, my back is so sore I can't run, I'm basically not moving and it's driving me nuts!

I know, I know, stick with it, it's a bump, a bounce, a plateau. I get it. Just frustrating. I hate not seeing results on the scale, so I have to look for them elsewhere.

I found them...The other day doing my P90X routine I was able to do some of the ab workouts that had stymied me before. It's a small thing, but it points to changes in my body, in my core strength. My abdomen is measurably smaller than it was a few months ago. Both good indicators it's working.

But the best news was during a doctor's visit. My blood pressure has come down. Substantially actually. That was VERY encouraging.

We can get so focused on a goal, especially with weight loss, that when the goal is elusive we miss all the things that are also changing for the better. If I was strictly looking at the scale I would be pretty depressed and angry about this week. but I'm not. I'm not jumping for joy either, but I am revelling in the small things this week as I fight through this little weight burp.

It's a challenging journey, and that's ok. It's good to push ourselves, it's good to set lofty goals. And it's also good to appreciate achievements outside those goals, to keep motivation and fire burning inside as we go through some of the hard parts.

Speaking of challenges. On the weekend we had a family party. My cousin is leaving for Scotland, and her mother, my aunt, turned 50.

My Aunt has always enjoyed athletic pursuits, tennis, golf, softball. She was a natural athlete when she was younger, and continues to be even now. When I was a kid, I looked up to her for her athleticism. I went to her softball games at night, loved watching this little spark plug play. She was a very positive role model.

I know she reads this blog, and has enjoyed my writings. So, here is my shoutout to her, and my challenge. In this your 50th year, pick a goal for yourself, tell us what it is, stick to it for the year, enter year 51 better than you entered year 50. turn that competitive fire and energy you have into something hugely positive for you. Whatever it is, health, fitness level, improving your golf handicap, volunteering at something. But pick something, use the 25 year olds energy you have to accomplish something at 50 you can look back at and be proud of, continue being that great role model for your daughters, your nephews and nieces, and add to it being a role model for living young at an age when so many people say it's too late to change.

Good luck

@fatfitman

Motivation in 140 Characters or less, thanks @BL11Austin

Journeys of change are hard. Ask anyone who is on one or try one yourself and you'll see. If you know someone who has quit smoking, lost weight, kicked a bad habit, gone back to school, well, then you know someone who has challenged themselves and come out better for it. But take a second to appreciate just how hard a trip it was.

It's never an easy trip, and there are lots of pitfalls along the way. Lots of reasons to just go back to what is comfortable. Lot's of reasons to simply live in the now instead of being focused on your future.

And sometimes we need a little help, and sometimes it comes from surprising sources.

Earlier this week I posted a blog quoting Austin from The Biggest Loser. When I sent out a tweet tagging Austin I immediately got a response from him encouraging me. But that's not where the story ends.

The next day was hard, really hard. I didn't want to work out. I wanted to eat about half a tub of ice cream and just feel better for a minute. Then I took a quick look at my blog, I noticed that my last entry had 10X the amount of traffic I normally get. But I didn't know from where. I logged into twitter and discovered to my great joy that Austin had tweeted a link to my blog to his followers, and all these eyes had come over to read my story.

All these people, many in the same boat as me, reading about my struggles, my achievements, my journey.

And a funny thing happened. My motivation went through the roof. My next entry couldn't be about a failure. I couldn't let myself down and have to share that with everyone.

Austin, this young 20-something from California had, in under 140 characters, got me off a couch and out the door for a run.  The ice cream forgotten, a healthy snack in its place. My journey uninterrupted. The struggles of the last 6 weeks erased, I wake up this morning back to 258.6, those extra pounds shed and me ready to continue.

I know weight loss, and any self-help goal has to be motivated by your own desire to change, it has to be a little bit selfish. But sometimes we all need some help. Sometimes it's a friend with a kind word. Sometimes its a family member with nothing more than a look. Sometimes it's a quote, an image, a TV show that gets us moving.

And sometimes its a stranger, a young man, tweeting from California, who gets us going again.

Thanks Austin,  I needed that.

Fatfitman