Well as of today I am 270lbs. That is 2.6lbs less than I was a week ago when I started this blog. Which given that it was also the week of Thanksgiving, I think it's pretty good.
The desire to gorge was not as strong today as it was yesterday. I stuck to the diet without any problems. I found that dinner is actually filling me up. I only eat a Lean Cuisine meal, 1 cup of salad, and a piece of wheat bread. That would not have come close to filling me up before I started. But spacing out meals and snacks helps. And I am still drinking lots of water. I also make a conscious effort to take small bites and to chew slowly. I think that is helping.
Tomorrow marks the start of week 2. My goal this week is to incorporate more exercise. I only got in one day last week. I found myself less motivated to do so with the holiday. I'm going to aim for 3 days next week.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Hate loss - Taking Care of Myself
Why did I decide it was time to lose weight? I hated the way I looked and felt. It got to the point that I was no longer fitting into my clothes. And I simply don't have the disposable income to go buy new clothes because I got fat. I have so many items, shirts and pants, that I can't wear because of my weight. I prefer to wear my baggier shirts so that my stomach is not as noticeable. I have to wear my shirts un-tucked. And worst of all, I've had to wear my pants with the button undone. It is a horrible feeling realizing that you can't fit into your clothes. That you no longer look good in them. I was/am tired of feeling like that.
I've become much more self-conscious of my appearance because of my weight. I recently spent a lot of time going to job interviews. And I wondered what kind of impression my weight made. I'm certain my ill-fitting suits only accentuated my weight. Ever noticed how our bodies compact when we sit down? I'm well aware that my fat becomes more evident every time I sit down. When I am at work, I can feel my gut pressing against my desk. The worst is when someone is trying to squeeze past a tight area behind you, and you can't get any closer to the table because of your stomach.
I've found I've lost a lot of the confidence I once had. I no longer am comfortable flirting with girls because of my appearance. I have some good personality traits. I'm a funny guy. And that's how I want to be known. As the funny guy, not the funny fat guy. In some ways I've become a walking cliche. Lacking confidence has a negative impact on self-esteem. This has lead to me sheltering myself more. I've left my home a lot less than I used to. And being at home, I've gotten more inactive and eaten more. And that only added to the problem and then it became a vicious cycle. And the time came to break that cycle.
I hate who I am. I hate the way I look. I hate the way I feel. I am consumed by this hate. And now is the time for hate loss.I even toyed around with that as the title for my blog, but someone is using something similar already. Through weight loss, I can achieve hate loss. I can start to feel better about myself. I can look better. I can like who I am again. And I'll be healthier. I wish I could say the health aspects are a larger part of why I am doing this, but they aren't. It's really more about looking better and thus feeling better. The health ramifications are important as I get older. And I do want to be one of those healthy old people. But as a single guy, I want to get my looks back. And then find that special someone. And I don't want to be with someone that would take someone that looks like me. They should want someone that takes care of themselves. And I need to take care of myself. And that is what I am doing now, taking care of myself.
I've become much more self-conscious of my appearance because of my weight. I recently spent a lot of time going to job interviews. And I wondered what kind of impression my weight made. I'm certain my ill-fitting suits only accentuated my weight. Ever noticed how our bodies compact when we sit down? I'm well aware that my fat becomes more evident every time I sit down. When I am at work, I can feel my gut pressing against my desk. The worst is when someone is trying to squeeze past a tight area behind you, and you can't get any closer to the table because of your stomach.
I've found I've lost a lot of the confidence I once had. I no longer am comfortable flirting with girls because of my appearance. I have some good personality traits. I'm a funny guy. And that's how I want to be known. As the funny guy, not the funny fat guy. In some ways I've become a walking cliche. Lacking confidence has a negative impact on self-esteem. This has lead to me sheltering myself more. I've left my home a lot less than I used to. And being at home, I've gotten more inactive and eaten more. And that only added to the problem and then it became a vicious cycle. And the time came to break that cycle.
I hate who I am. I hate the way I look. I hate the way I feel. I am consumed by this hate. And now is the time for hate loss.I even toyed around with that as the title for my blog, but someone is using something similar already. Through weight loss, I can achieve hate loss. I can start to feel better about myself. I can look better. I can like who I am again. And I'll be healthier. I wish I could say the health aspects are a larger part of why I am doing this, but they aren't. It's really more about looking better and thus feeling better. The health ramifications are important as I get older. And I do want to be one of those healthy old people. But as a single guy, I want to get my looks back. And then find that special someone. And I don't want to be with someone that would take someone that looks like me. They should want someone that takes care of themselves. And I need to take care of myself. And that is what I am doing now, taking care of myself.
Personal Progress 11/28/09
Today was a rough day. I was very tempted to just forget the diet and gorge. It crossed my mind to eat until I could eat no more. And then it hit me that I was a bit disturbed by how dependent on food I am. That kind of enforced my determination to beat this. I love food, but I don't want it to have that kind of control over me. So it is with pride that I can say that I stuck to my diet. Let's hope tomorrow is a bit easier.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Personal Progress 11/27/09
Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I, of course, went off my diet. I was still pretty good with it. I ate very little up to the point of dinner. And I didn't overdue it then either. Today I've eaten less than I normally would have. I probably came in at around 1000 calories for the day. I wasn't very hungry for the first part of the day.
I did find myself today missing being able to eat what I want whenever I want. But that freedom and carelessness is what lead me to where I am now. So I pushed the thought out of my head.
Days off work are the hardest for the diet. Not keeping as busy, I find my mind wandering to food and eating more. Almost makes me look forward to going back to work. Almost.lol
I did find myself today missing being able to eat what I want whenever I want. But that freedom and carelessness is what lead me to where I am now. So I pushed the thought out of my head.
Days off work are the hardest for the diet. Not keeping as busy, I find my mind wandering to food and eating more. Almost makes me look forward to going back to work. Almost.lol
Tip- Make the most out of your salad
I've never been able to eat salad by itself. I've always smothered it in a lot of dressing so I could have a taste in every bite. However, when losing weight, you can't do that. And one tablespoon of dressing does not go very far when poured over one cup of salad. Then I accidentally stumbled upon the solution.
Take a small container with a lid, like tupperware, and make your salad in that. Pour the dressing on and then shake thoroughly with the lid on. This mixes the salad in the dressing quite well and gives you that flavorful taste in every bite.
Take a small container with a lid, like tupperware, and make your salad in that. Pour the dressing on and then shake thoroughly with the lid on. This mixes the salad in the dressing quite well and gives you that flavorful taste in every bite.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Personal Progress 11/25/09
Well I'm feeling thinner. My pants seem to be fitting a bit better. Maybe it's all psychological, but I'll take it. :) I do feel less like my stomach is trying to burst out all the time. That may also be why I'm hungry a lot as well. There were different points of the day where I could not wait until my next scheduled meal/snack. I find myself looking forward to them. I'm not so sure that is a good thing. We will see how it plays out.
Tomorrow is going to be a cheat day. It's Thanksgiving, what can one expect. I am headed to a friend's house and plan on partaking of the feast. And then Friday, it's back to the diet.
Tomorrow is going to be a cheat day. It's Thanksgiving, what can one expect. I am headed to a friend's house and plan on partaking of the feast. And then Friday, it's back to the diet.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Personal Progress 11/24/09
Today went a bit easier than yesterday. I wasn't as hungry early in the day. That may have been due to me being busier at work as well. I was very tempted to go off diet, however. A bunch of co-workers went out for Greek food. The idea of a gyro was quite tempting. I resisted though and ate my half a turkey sandwich and meal bar instead. Thinking about it now, I'm not sure I made the right decision.lol
I also worked out tonight. After getting home I went and rode the stationary bike for a half hour. Ended up going over 8 miles and burning over 200 calories.
I've been trying to incorporate things I've read before to help feel fuller throughout the day. I am drinking a lot of water. And I'm taking smaller bites and making sure to chew thoroughly. I generally scarfed down my meals before. So it takes a real conscious effort not to now. It seems to be working though.
I also worked out tonight. After getting home I went and rode the stationary bike for a half hour. Ended up going over 8 miles and burning over 200 calories.
I've been trying to incorporate things I've read before to help feel fuller throughout the day. I am drinking a lot of water. And I'm taking smaller bites and making sure to chew thoroughly. I generally scarfed down my meals before. So it takes a real conscious effort not to now. It seems to be working though.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Personal Progress 11/23/09
Another day down. I had school this evening so I didn't get a chance to exercise. I did, however, stick to the diet. It was pretty much the same as yesterday with a banana added in for an additional snack. I've gotta admit that I am hungry. It was really bad between my mid-morning snack and lunch. And now in the evening, I am pretty hungry. I'm just gonna bear through it. I figure I will have a few days like this until my body adjusts to my new eating schedule.
I used to just wait until I was really hungry and then shovel down a lot of empty calories. I'd usually only eat two meals a day with some random snacking mixed in there. So my body has to get used to less food and spreading it out more evenly. It is taking a lot of will power to not go eat something right now. I just keep thinking about my goal.
I used to just wait until I was really hungry and then shovel down a lot of empty calories. I'd usually only eat two meals a day with some random snacking mixed in there. So my body has to get used to less food and spreading it out more evenly. It is taking a lot of will power to not go eat something right now. I just keep thinking about my goal.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Personal Progress 11/22/09
Today was the first day of my endeavor to lose weight. All I did was start my new diet. That consisted of:
Breakfast- Slim Fast shake
Snack- Slim Fast snack bar
Lunch- half a turkey sandwich on wheat and a Slim Fast meal bar
Dinner- Lean Cuisine entree, 1 cup of salad with a 1tblspn or lite salad dressing, and a piece of wheat bread
Snack- and I will be eating a low fat yogurt here in a few
It went pretty well. I wasn't hungry most of the day until later in the evening.(such as right now :) ) Maybe if I had eaten a snack between lunch and dinner and pushed dinner back further. I'll get the chance for that tomorrow when I head into work. As an added note, I also drank water with everything except breakfast.
Breakfast- Slim Fast shake
Snack- Slim Fast snack bar
Lunch- half a turkey sandwich on wheat and a Slim Fast meal bar
Dinner- Lean Cuisine entree, 1 cup of salad with a 1tblspn or lite salad dressing, and a piece of wheat bread
Snack- and I will be eating a low fat yogurt here in a few
It went pretty well. I wasn't hungry most of the day until later in the evening.(such as right now :) ) Maybe if I had eaten a snack between lunch and dinner and pushed dinner back further. I'll get the chance for that tomorrow when I head into work. As an added note, I also drank water with everything except breakfast.
You're Fat and It's NOT OK!!!
Did the title catch your attention? Did it make you nod your head in agreement or make you a little angry? Whichever it did, it accomplished its goal, which was to get you to stop and think about your own weight and your own perception of weight. I know this phrase is something I have said many times, both to myself and about others. And this phrase is one of the motivating factors that has helped push me to start this journey to lose weight.
We seem to live in a time when fat is becoming more widely accepted in our country. People are justifying their weight issues by bandying around the phrase "it's what is inside that counts". And that phrase is 100% right. But notice that no where does it say that it the ONLY thing that counts. Looks do matter. More importantly, health matters. And both are good motivators to do something about your fat.
They are the reasons I have started down this path and started this blog. I want to lose weight. I want to look better. I want to feel better. And I want to feel healthier. And this blog will allow you, the reader, to follow along the journey with me. This blog will chronicle my day-to-day effort to lose my waist, hence the title "Waist No More". Along with my daily journal entries on my personal progress, I will also post articles I write regarding the issue of being fat and losing weight. My goal is to do at least one article a week along with my daily personal progress reports.
Now I have mentioned myself a few times in this blog already. But who am I? Well, for the time being my actual identity shall remain anonymous. This is for my own benefit as I start this and work on being more comfortable with who I am. Who I am right now is a 33yo male. And these are my starting health stats:
Height: 6'
Weight: ~272.6lbs
Waist: ~52.5"
Systolic Blood Pressure(should be under 120): 124
Diastolic Blood Pressure(should be under 80): 99
Total Cholesterol(should be under 200): 138
HDL Cholesterol(should be over 40): 23
And for the looks portion, here are some beginning pics:
My goals are to get my weight, waist, blood pressure down and to get my HDL cholesterol up. What are my target goals? I want to get below 200lbs and get my waist down to 36" and get my health stats within their healthy ranges.
Now all of this is much easier said than done. I am well aware of the obstacles that stand in my way. Those include:
-I'm lazy. I admit it. I sit around all the time. I am a computer person and spend all my time on a computer. At work I am sitting at a computer. At school I am sitting at a computer. When I go home, I spend my time at my desktop playing games, or sitting on my couch with my laptop. The plus side to being so sedentary is that it won't take much to make a drastic improvement.
-I have no car. How does that affect my health? It has an impact on my diet. Getting to actual stores to get real groceries is more difficult. So I have been going across the street to Dollar Tree and Big Lots and getting my groceries there. And while convenient, I can only get canned or microwaveable goods there. Can't get fresh meat or fruits and vegetables. So a lot of the stuff I eat is high in preservatives. Speaking of food...
-I love to eat. I truly love the taste of food. So when I find something I enjoy, I tend to gorge on it.
-Papa John's BBQ pizza is delicious. This stuff is like crack to me. :)
-I'm busy. I work full time and go to school. So that makes it more difficult to eat healthy and find time to work out.
Being aware of the obstacles has helped me to make a game plan of how and what I am going to do:
-I got a ride to the store yesterday and bought food for the next two weeks. I planned out every snack and meal for the next two weeks and bought it.
- Drink more water. And I've cut out soda completely.
- I will walk on the treadmill every day I don't have school for 30 minutes.
- I'll use this blog to help motivate me past the laziness. My readers shall help keep my accountable.
I think this gets me off to a good start. I am also aware and accept that I might have days where I go off diet. Especially with this being the holiday season. If I do, I just pick up the next day and continue forward. No fretting about it and using it as an excuse to quit. And today was my first day on eating properly. I shall document that in a different post since I have gone on long enough in this one.
I welcome any comments and emails that you want to submit. I hope everyone gets something positive out of this blog. I know I fully expect to. I will warn up front that I plan to take a very blunt and forward approach with this. I don't think coddling offers the right encouragement in today's society when it comes to being fat. So I do expect some hate mail with my approach to the subject. But at the same time, I hope it is that extra push that others need.
We seem to live in a time when fat is becoming more widely accepted in our country. People are justifying their weight issues by bandying around the phrase "it's what is inside that counts". And that phrase is 100% right. But notice that no where does it say that it the ONLY thing that counts. Looks do matter. More importantly, health matters. And both are good motivators to do something about your fat.
They are the reasons I have started down this path and started this blog. I want to lose weight. I want to look better. I want to feel better. And I want to feel healthier. And this blog will allow you, the reader, to follow along the journey with me. This blog will chronicle my day-to-day effort to lose my waist, hence the title "Waist No More". Along with my daily journal entries on my personal progress, I will also post articles I write regarding the issue of being fat and losing weight. My goal is to do at least one article a week along with my daily personal progress reports.
Now I have mentioned myself a few times in this blog already. But who am I? Well, for the time being my actual identity shall remain anonymous. This is for my own benefit as I start this and work on being more comfortable with who I am. Who I am right now is a 33yo male. And these are my starting health stats:
Height: 6'
Weight: ~272.6lbs
Waist: ~52.5"
Systolic Blood Pressure(should be under 120): 124
Diastolic Blood Pressure(should be under 80): 99
Total Cholesterol(should be under 200): 138
HDL Cholesterol(should be over 40): 23
And for the looks portion, here are some beginning pics:
My goals are to get my weight, waist, blood pressure down and to get my HDL cholesterol up. What are my target goals? I want to get below 200lbs and get my waist down to 36" and get my health stats within their healthy ranges.
Now all of this is much easier said than done. I am well aware of the obstacles that stand in my way. Those include:
-I'm lazy. I admit it. I sit around all the time. I am a computer person and spend all my time on a computer. At work I am sitting at a computer. At school I am sitting at a computer. When I go home, I spend my time at my desktop playing games, or sitting on my couch with my laptop. The plus side to being so sedentary is that it won't take much to make a drastic improvement.
-I have no car. How does that affect my health? It has an impact on my diet. Getting to actual stores to get real groceries is more difficult. So I have been going across the street to Dollar Tree and Big Lots and getting my groceries there. And while convenient, I can only get canned or microwaveable goods there. Can't get fresh meat or fruits and vegetables. So a lot of the stuff I eat is high in preservatives. Speaking of food...
-I love to eat. I truly love the taste of food. So when I find something I enjoy, I tend to gorge on it.
-Papa John's BBQ pizza is delicious. This stuff is like crack to me. :)
-I'm busy. I work full time and go to school. So that makes it more difficult to eat healthy and find time to work out.
Being aware of the obstacles has helped me to make a game plan of how and what I am going to do:
-I got a ride to the store yesterday and bought food for the next two weeks. I planned out every snack and meal for the next two weeks and bought it.
- Drink more water. And I've cut out soda completely.
- I will walk on the treadmill every day I don't have school for 30 minutes.
- I'll use this blog to help motivate me past the laziness. My readers shall help keep my accountable.
I think this gets me off to a good start. I am also aware and accept that I might have days where I go off diet. Especially with this being the holiday season. If I do, I just pick up the next day and continue forward. No fretting about it and using it as an excuse to quit. And today was my first day on eating properly. I shall document that in a different post since I have gone on long enough in this one.
I welcome any comments and emails that you want to submit. I hope everyone gets something positive out of this blog. I know I fully expect to. I will warn up front that I plan to take a very blunt and forward approach with this. I don't think coddling offers the right encouragement in today's society when it comes to being fat. So I do expect some hate mail with my approach to the subject. But at the same time, I hope it is that extra push that others need.
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