Christmas Weight

We got a new scale for Christmas. It comes with the Weight Watchers Seal of Approval. It's pretty cool. It's digital and in addition to weight, it will tell me my body fat percentage and the amount of water I happen to be retaining.

I weighed myself on Christmas day and I was 217.6 pounds. My body fat was 33%. That is high. The book that comes with the scale says a male my age should be no higher than about 21%.

I have some work to do.

Snowy Exercise

I had a good exercise session this morning in the form of removing about two inches of light, fluffy snow from around the house. I didn't do my normal full blown snow blower removal due to the early hour. But I did clear off both the cars and the driveway around them, as well as the sidewalk out front.

Then I went down to the club and steamed and showered and weighed.

217!

Mr. Consistent.

Staying the Course

I am still holding steady at 217.

More Gross Stuff about Me

I go to my local Health Club in the morning. Sometimes I actually workout but usually I just go to shower.

This morning I arrived, had a good healthy shit, and went to the Steam Room to perspire. I was in there about 10 minutes before hitting the showers. As I was lathering up in the shower and getting into all the cracks and crevices where bacteria can hide, I discovered a tiny little turd. There were two other guys in the shower at the time, so I had to dispose of it surreptitiously. It rolled towards the drain but stopped short. It wasn't obvious and neither of the other guys noticed, as they were busy with their cracks and crevices. By the time I turned off the shower, it had rolled onto the drain but was a bit too large to fall through. I stepped on the drain as I left to give it a helping hand...or foot.

Guys like me are the reason I wear sandals into the shower.

First Weigh In since Thanksgiving

I have managed to maintain my not too svelte 217 poundage. That seems to be the spot my body prefers when I eat okay and don't exercise.

Not much chance of me exercising this week. Lots of Holiday stuff to take care of.

Nothing to Say Today

I rcneelty raed a ropret that skope of the wednors of the hmaun biarn and how it is albe to diphecer wrods eevn wehn tehy are all mxeid up...as lnog as the frsit and lsat lteetrs are in the poprer pisootin. Fkrnlay, I dno't baielve it.

Another Monday Weigh-In Day

It appears that nothing that I try to do, short of eating right and exercising, will help me to loose weight. Clearly, I am not going to make my goal of reaching 205 pounds by Thursday. I might have to actually try the exercising thing again. It has produced good results for me in the past. It is hard for me to escape the gravity well surrounding the bed in the morning. That is the most convenient time for me to workout.

At any rate, I am firmly ensconced at 217 pounds.

Net Loss

My net loss concerning my recent two day diet has turned out to be one pound. I managed to loose a total of four pounds, getting to 213. I weighed 216 this morning. Now perhaps I could have maintained that loss, even contributed more to the loss if I had done just a little bit of working out. Even the slightest effort would have been beneficial.

I managed to get up at five this morning and go down to the Club but only because I needed to get into work early. It seems I won't do that if it only benefits my physical well being.

I'm a dope!

I'm a Phat Dope!

Day One Diet Results of Two Day Diet

I have made it half way through this two day diet and I am impressed with the results. I lost two and a half pounds. I have another day to go on this and it has not been easy. I'm just so used to eating when I want. (Golly, I wonder if that contributes to my weight loss problems)

Anyhoo, I will make it through today and then attempt to maintain the loss. Perhaps I'll try it again next week too.

Holding Steady

I weighed in this morning and was still at 217. It's not at all surprising since I haven't made any effort to workout in the past week.

I got some anaerobic exercise on Saturday when I helped a friend with some moving. At 50, I am not built for that kind of work anymore. At the end of the day, I crashed. I was in bed by eight. But, as I said, it was a pretty good workout and I definately felt the burn.

I am trying a diet today. It is called the two day diet. It involves lots of water and hard boiled eggs. After consuming a solid 8 ounces of water in the morning, you are allowed one egg. Then you drink more water all morning (or tea (no sweetener)). At lunch, you get two eggs and then more water. I'm not sure what dinner involves. I guess I'll find out tonight.

This diet promises the potential of 5 to 7 pounds. I'm thinking that with all the water, I'll just pee myself thin. I'll weigh in again on Wednesday to check the results.

Monday Weigh-In

I was hoping that todays Weigh-In would produce slightly less weightage on the scale, seeing as how I worked very hard yesterday raking leaves. It was not to be. I weighed in at 217.

Pep Talk

Today is not Weigh-In Day but I was concerned because of the recent passing of Halloween. There has been a lot of sugary goodness surging through my system lately and I thought it might be catching up to me.

Surprisingly, I have lost two pounds. That puts me at 217 and 12 pounds away from my goal. I really must start concentrating on that more. I have to get a little disapline back in my life. I have to stop giving myself these Pep Talks and actually DO something about it.

The Goal

Today was Weigh In Day and it was about what I expected. 219!

I haven't done anything in the realm of working out over the past week. I did have an intense session in the backyard with a block of cement, but it was not what you could call an aerobic workout.

I'm going to try and run tonight. I might even make it two miles but I doubt it. Halloween is just about over so I have a month to lose some weight before Thanksgiving. Let's see how that goes!

I know, I'll set a goal! I will weigh 205 pounds by Thanksgiving. There it is...on paper...well, on cyberspace...for all to read.

Monday Weigh In

I haven't run since last Thursday...something I plan to rectify tonight. However, I have had a pretty active weekend working around the house. The trees are dropping leaves by the bushel and I have been trying to stay on top of it. I'm using a power vac that sucks up the leaves, but I'm still getting quite a workout.

I was hoping for some improvement on Monday when I weighed myself but that was not to be. I'm a fat 219. Maybe I should stop eating Candy Corn.

New Day, New Attitude!

It always amazes me how a run and your attitude about the run can differ from day to day. I ran last night after I got home. I had to drag myself out there to do it, and I didn't really have any great expectations for getting through it. As soon as I started, I knew I was going to do two laps around the park. (That's two miles.)

It had rained earlier so once again everything was very crisp and clean smelling. I breezed through the first time around. I am not referring to speed there. My first mile was 12:52. But it was enjoyable and my breathing felt really good.

About a quarter mile into the second lap, my body, specifically, my legs, started rebelling. I wanted to stop and walk but I wouldn't let myself. My final time was 26:05 so I slowed down a bit more on the second lap.

For now, I'm going to concentrate on distance and worry about speed later.

My main point here is that while I was hating running the night before, I very much enjoyed and embraced the experience last night. I guess you can't have a good workout without a bad one to compare it to.

Thoughts on Running

There is a guy who I see running around the park all the time. Let's call him Mark . . . cuz that's his name. I first noticed him a couple of years ago. I would be working in the yard and Mark would run past. Half an hour later, I would see him pass by again. Another 45 minutes or so and there he is again. He runs every day and his short runs last two hours. Running for him is a major part of his life.

I know it can be stress relieving. You can get out there and clear your mind. But it's hard to clear your mind when all you can think about is how much pain you are in.

Now, I am a wimp! I do not suffer pain gladly. So I was thinking about all this as I ran the park last night. It had been raining earlier so everything was very crisp and clean smelling. I was trying to enjoy the run. My breathing was fairly even and unlabored. But my legs were screaming at me. I made it around to the mile mark and stumbled to the house.

The important thing is that I did it, for the first time in a week. And I did it in 12:16.

Worn Out Run

I had a horrible run last night and only made a mile. I was trying to speed up my time for the first mile by running short quick bursts. It wore me out. I ran the first loop and stopped. I did the mile in 11:38. That's a little discouraging because I have had faster miles. I was trying for a faster time and didn't make it.

Once You Go Two, You Have to Contin-U

I hit the split time button on my watch as I crossed the one mile mark and was really surprised to see that it read 12:50. I knew I was pacing myself in anticipation of running two miles tonight, but I didn't think I was lumbering along at that lethargic pace. It doesn't matter though because I made two miles.

The problem now is that I can't go back. It's going to be very difficult for me to justify running a shorter route because I now know I can do two.

The worst part of running for me is the pain in my legs. It's not excruciating. It's just pain that I have to tolerate. I was surprised and pleased to notice tonight that my breathing was pretty good and there was no pain in the chestal region of my heart...which is always good.

And once again, I would like to comment about the absence of pain in my feet. I have had to deal with tender feet in the past and that problem seems to have gone away as mysteriously and inexplicably as it came.

Oh, I almost forgot. My total time for the run was an unimpressive 26:05. However, I am impressed that I was out there for 26 minutes...let alone running the whole time.

Rode Hard and Put Away Wet

I had an encounter with a lot of Gin on Saturday evening. It did not seem to leave my system until yesterday (Monday). I have just been feeling drained the last couple of days. I spent most of the evening in bed last night. Consequently, I feel much better today.

I did force myself to run last night. I really didn't want to but was pretty pleased with myself when I made the whole mile. It was an anemic 11:43 for my time but still, I made it and that is a victory to me.

I'm trying to psych myself up to run two miles tonight. I am hoping that if I concentrate on positive affirmations and write it down here, that will give my brain the incentive to make it happen.

Real Monday Weigh In

220!

What more can I say?!

Monday Weigh-In

Since my week has been all messed up, Weigh-In Day, which is usually Monday, was moved to today. This is because...well, it's just because.

As expected, it was not good news. 219! Still, it is not as bad as I expected. I thought I had put on about five pounds after my San Francisco weekend.

On the positive side, I ran last night and took a minute off my time from the previous night. (11:33) I also ran this morning at the Club and did a little lifting.

I have always thought that running on the treadmill was easier than running the same distance on the street. That was not the case today. I could only keep at 6 mph for three minutes before I slowed to five and even then, I didn't make the whole mile before I had to slow to walk for a bit. Still, it took me about eleven and a half minutes to go one mile...same as last night.

I think I'll run tonight as well.

Return of the Phatman

I have an appointment to see my General Practitioner three times a year. I get my blood drawn and tested beforehand so we can see how all the different cocktails of drugs I am taking are working to regulate my heart condition, which is bad...cuz I'm fat.

Yesterday was one such appointment. The scale at the Doctor's Office put me 227. That is fully clothed so I know it's a little off. However, I have also known that the scale at the Club runs a little light. But that is my reference scale. I haven't been to the Club since last Thursday so I don't know where I am in relation to the Doctor's scale.

I tried to get up this morning and get my ass down to the Club for a workout and a weigh-in. But, no such luck!

I haven't worked out since Thursday because I went on a long weekend trip to San Francisco. While I didn't workout, I did walk . . . a LOT! And they have hills in San Fran. I'm thinking of moving there just so I can walk and get in shape.

I did run last night and my time for my mile was a dreadful 12:46. The Phatman is BACK!

Bad Workout

I got on the treadmill and after a brief warm up walk, took it up to 6 mph and began my run. I was able to maintain that speed for only 2 minutes. I was dying! I slowed down to five mph and even that was difficult.

I didn't even look at how long it took me to get to a mile. It was just an all round bad workout. I am able to be philosophical about the whole thing though.

You can't have good workouts if you don't have bad ones.

217.5

Monday is Weigh-In Day here at Adventures in Phatness. It was not a good day. I somehow managed to gain over two pounds this week, even with all the exercise. I can only assume that I am building muscle mass and that accounts for the extra weight. Also, I'm the Queen of France!

I had trouble getting out of bed again this morning but I managed to make it to the Club and spend 20 minutes on the Cross Country Trainer. I'll get a good workout tonight when I go home and hang some drywall on a bathroom ceiling.

Small Achievable Goals

I woke up today to a beautiful Sunday Autumn morning. It seemed appropriate to get a little workout in. I was able to talk my wife into joining me for the run. Normally, she doesn't run on Sunday. It is her day of rest. But she grudgingly agreed that she needed to get out and "git r dun!"

She runs much faster than I so to say she joined me is not correct. It is more like I looked at her butt as we ran and watched it get smaller and smaller as I continued to slow.

We only ran a mile and I was again determined to beat my previous time...and I did! I made the mile in 10:51, knocking 8 seconds off my best time. It's no milestone but it is a progression of achievable goals towards my final end goal of not being dead...before my time.

One Complete Week of Workouts.

I ran after I arrived home last night and I did go more than a mile. Not much more. Maybe a quarter mile. I kept a pretty slow pace. My mile was about 12 minutes which puts me at 5 mph. My total run time was 14:53. I want to build up my strength so that when I go for a run, I can do 20 minutes easily. I'm not quite there yet.

I will run again tonight and that will be 5 consecutive days of exercise. I think this blog can take part of the credit for that. I have been reluctant to let a day go by without being able to post some sort of workout news here.

Just a warning though. I doubt I'll have any workout news for Saturday or Sunday. I'll probably take those days off.

Later that day: I am happy to report that this Blog is indeed serving its purpose. I came home tonight and didn't really want to run because I had stopped after work and had a beer. But, I made the promise to myself to get in a workout and the prospect of having to report here that I didn't was enough to make me run.

And a good run it was. I decided to go for time rather than distance. I ran my mile in 10:59. That made me very happy to see I was able to push myself enough to break the eleven minute mark. My next goal will be to get to the 10 minute mark. That's a pace of 6 mph and a difficult milestone for me to reach. I can build up the endurance to go for distance but I have never been good at combining speed with distance.

Why I'm Fat!

I did not get out of bed and go workout this morning. Instead, I got up and stopped and had pancakes on my way to work. This means I will be running tonight when I get home. Unless I am able to come up with some reason not to.

And that is why I am, and probably will continue to be, fat!

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

I slept too late today to make it down to the Club for a workout, just a shower. I'll have to run tonight when I get home. I had an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder episode when I was getting dressed. I put all the combination locks in my row of lockers on "zero". No reason! Just weird!!

I had an urge just a while ago to go to the bathroom. There was a major BM coming on. While walking to the bathroom, I suddenly coughed and the force of the cough was enough to load my underwear. I had to remove my shoes, my pants, my undies. I had to wash out my underwear in the sink. How Gross! I sure am glad I'm anonymous!

UPDATE: It is later in the day and I have completed my run. I ran a mile in 11:12 and that is an actual mile as opposed to a treadmill mile. That's a good pace for me...one which I hope to improve. I also want to increase my distance. I was planning on running further tonight. I was hoping to go two miles but I was still dealing with sphincter issues that kept me from making my goal.

Workout Day Two

I had trouble getting out of bed this morning but I finally escaped the gravity well and made it to the Club. I set the treadmill at 6mph and maintained that speed for five minutes. Then I slowed down to 5 mph and kept running at that speed until I reached a mile.

I also did a little lifting. I'll be doing more of that in weeks to come.

215.25

The scale at the gym says 215 and a quarter so that's where we shall begin. I'm fat and I want to be not fat. I will actually settle for less fat. Fifteen pounds less fat would be good.

I have been going to the gym regularly for the last few weeks but only because my bathroom is being remodeled. I go down to use the showers. Today, I actually put on the work out togs and worked out. I did 20 minutes on the Cross Country Ski Trainer and I ran on the treadmill for a bit. I ran for three minutes at 6mph. That's good for me and that's the one to watch. I want to build up that time.