Been gone a little while now, travelling for work has taken me away from the keyboard and kept me too busy to blog recently.
I know travel is where my weight loss can really struggle. It should be a place I can make great headway, I have the time and facilities to work out, I can easily choose which restaurants I eat at and what I consume. I have no other responsibilities eating into my time.
But it never works that way.
I lose my accountability on the road, I make excuses. I eat poorly, I skip the gym.
But worst of all, I lie to myself.
"that was a good workout"
"I can afford another slice"
"I'll do two workouts tomorrow"
All lies, lies that lead to pounds, lies that lead to guilt, lies that lead to frustration, pounds, guilt.
Guilt and frustration lead me to saying the worst lie of all "I'll start again tomorrow"
And then I eat....I binge, I blow weeks of effort in hours.
Sure I do a few things, a 10K walk one day, some elliptical another. But nowhere near enough.
And when you are trying to change your body and it's take on food, you need to keep the good habits, the bad ones come to easy. You can't just flip a switch and say ok, back at it. And so I return home, a little bigger, but worse, with no momentum, no pattern of success.
And you start over.
The first step is this blog, taking ownership of the behaviour, admitting it, and starting the good behaviours again. Today was a good first step, no failings today, not exemplary, but a good solid day.
Tomorrow, I'll ask the same of my self again, eat right, do a workout. Start the good patterns, be honest with myself.
No more lying around...No more lying.
@fatfitman
Monday, March 5, 2012
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
Monday, January 9, 2012
A new year begins for all, and a new decade for me!
Monday seems like a good day for regular blog entries, so we'll aim for that going forward, as I said before, ideally weekly, but bi-weekly at the least.
Welcome to 2012 everyone, a new beginning to the rest of our lives. A chance as we say goodbye to the old year to say hello to new habits and a new outlook.
And for me, a special milestone last Thursday, my 40th birthday. Celebrated in fine style with my beautiful wife.
You can't ever move forward unless you know where you have been, and you can't measure your changes unless you know where you are now. So, some key points for where I am now.
Current Weight : 261.4 (made it through new years and my birthday with a 3lb loss, not bad, now time to really go)
Current BMI: 35.4 (Obese Class II)
Waist Circumference : 45in (40inches is the point at which heart and diabetes risk increases)
5K Personal Best : 43:03.9
# of pushups before exhaustion = 18 (ugh, wow that's low)
Turning 40
I've been asked a few times in the last few days if turning 40 has bothered me, if I feel older. The simple answer is no. But there is a more complex one.
Turning 40 has been difficult for one reason, from a standpoint of health very little has changed for me in the past decade. Make no mistake, overall my life is VASTLY superior to where it was 10 years ago. Family, job, happiness, all dramatically better. But the one thing, the health of this now 40 yr old body, that hasn't changed. I've gotten older, but I've missed so many opportunities to get fitter.
So rather than languish on that shortcoming, I need to use it to power me into the next 40 years. I don't want to waste 10 years, 10 weeks, 10 days or 10 minutes in my drive to a healthier 41 year old me. I don't like feeling this way, and it is in my power to stop.
They say you are only as old as you feel, well I can't wait to find out how much younger I feel as the weight comes off and the energy goes up!
I have to give a couple of shout outs here, first thanks to @bl11courtney for the retweet recently, great to have some many new people on board with me!
Second, to my friend NS, congratulations on your 30lb weight loss. Your success is inspirational!
Hang in there everyone, keep at your plan, keep looking at your goals, keep yourselves and others motivated for change, and lets all change together!
@fatfitman
Welcome to 2012 everyone, a new beginning to the rest of our lives. A chance as we say goodbye to the old year to say hello to new habits and a new outlook.
And for me, a special milestone last Thursday, my 40th birthday. Celebrated in fine style with my beautiful wife.
You can't ever move forward unless you know where you have been, and you can't measure your changes unless you know where you are now. So, some key points for where I am now.
Current Weight : 261.4 (made it through new years and my birthday with a 3lb loss, not bad, now time to really go)
Current BMI: 35.4 (Obese Class II)
Waist Circumference : 45in (40inches is the point at which heart and diabetes risk increases)
5K Personal Best : 43:03.9
# of pushups before exhaustion = 18 (ugh, wow that's low)
Turning 40
I've been asked a few times in the last few days if turning 40 has bothered me, if I feel older. The simple answer is no. But there is a more complex one.
Turning 40 has been difficult for one reason, from a standpoint of health very little has changed for me in the past decade. Make no mistake, overall my life is VASTLY superior to where it was 10 years ago. Family, job, happiness, all dramatically better. But the one thing, the health of this now 40 yr old body, that hasn't changed. I've gotten older, but I've missed so many opportunities to get fitter.
So rather than languish on that shortcoming, I need to use it to power me into the next 40 years. I don't want to waste 10 years, 10 weeks, 10 days or 10 minutes in my drive to a healthier 41 year old me. I don't like feeling this way, and it is in my power to stop.
They say you are only as old as you feel, well I can't wait to find out how much younger I feel as the weight comes off and the energy goes up!
I have to give a couple of shout outs here, first thanks to @bl11courtney for the retweet recently, great to have some many new people on board with me!
Second, to my friend NS, congratulations on your 30lb weight loss. Your success is inspirational!
Hang in there everyone, keep at your plan, keep looking at your goals, keep yourselves and others motivated for change, and lets all change together!
@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, December 19, 2011
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
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.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
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
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
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
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