For the first time since starting this new way of life, I had a very, very stressful day.  Last night, before I went to bed, I noticed that I was getting a larger-than-normal amount of traffic over at the No Credit Needed site.  Turns out, Lifehacker has linked to one of my posts!  Yay.  But, then I began to stress that the additional traffic might pull my site off line (and I was worried about ways to take advantage of the extra traffic).  I was a little hungry, and I went to bed later than usual.  I woke up this morning with a terrible sore throat, and banging headache.  I went outside, and my tire on my car is flat.  Not sagging, but F L A T.  So, I spent the better part of the day at the auto shop, getting some new tires.  I only had a few minutes for breakfast, so I grabbed some fruit and a water, but by lunch time, I was STARVING.  (Poor planning, NCN).  So, my body reverted to it’s old ways, screaming “Fast Food, Fast Food!!!”.  I literally had to use every ounce of willpower that I possess to get in my car, drive home, and fix a healthy lunch.  My body, even now, is demanding junk food.  Seriously, I can FEEL the pull towards the refrigerator.  If you’ve never struggled with your weight, you have no idea how difficult it can be to deal with this ‘addiction’.  But, I’m staying STRONG!  Lots and lots of water, fruit, some protein.  I shall overcome, baby!  I want to thank all of you for your comments and for subscribing to the new site.  You rock!

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For the first two weeks of 2007, I did not exercise.  I wanted to be sure that I was eating properly, getting plenty of rest, and changing my attitude about food.  Now that I’m on a solid track with my eating, I’ve begun to add in some exercise.  (Personally, I’m not a big fan of the word “exercise”.  It sounds so… “routine”.  But, I can’t think of a better term, so I’ll stick with using it.)  The real truth is that I’ve been rather sedentary for the past 10 years, pretty much wasting my twenties simply eating, and playing a little golf from time to time.  (I’m actually a pretty decent player.  The one “advantage” of the extra weight was that it slowed my swing down and I had to concentrate more on my short game.)  Of course, during the past 10 years, I’ve also gone “exercise crazy” from time to time.  I’ve used all of the following, ridiculous “techniques” to get in shape:  Walking for three hours straight on a treadmill (after not walking on a treadmill for 3 years).  Joining a gym, and working out 3 times a day for a solid month, and then never going back.  Investing in hundreds of dollars of unused exercise equipment, including weight benches, bands, balls, tapes, and DVD’s.  Playing softball (again, after not playing for 3 years) and running so hard that I tore my hamstring.  These are just a few of the silly things I’ve done in the name of “fitness training”.

Now, I’ve decided on a much less radical, much more common sense approach.  We own an awesome treadmill, a gift from my parents, and I walk on it for about 30 minutes a day.  I’ve also played Tennis a couple of times in the past week.  I’m also doing a lot of stretching and some flexibility work.  Today, I picked up my dumbbells and did a few arm and chest exercises, just to get some blood flowing.  At this point, I’m not going to focus on much, if any, real strength training.  Every single other time that I started working out, I would push myself so hard, and I would end up quiting, due to pain, injury, or exhaustion.  Right now, I’m feeling better than I have in 6 or 7 years, and I don’t want to rock the boat.  I think one of the main reasons people get frustrated with their exercise routines is the overload of information that is now available.  Here I was, fat and overweight, and I was concerning myself with protein shakes, glucose loads, and how many squat repetitions I should be doing.  In other words, I had “information paralysis”.  My mind has so many facts, so many things that it was worrying about, that in the end, I just did nothing.  Now, I’m walking, playing outside with kids, hitting a few tennis balls, getting a good full body stretch, and doing some very light weight lifting.

My weight stayed the same today:  234 pounds.

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I weighed in this morning. I now weigh 234 pounds. Here is my latest chart.

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Whenever I face a challenge, I like to create a series of GOALS.  Usually, I create short-,mid-, and long-term goals.  Here are my short-term (less than two years) goals.

By the end of summer, 2007, I’d like to weigh less than 200 pounds, so that I can enjoy the beach and the pool.

By the end of summer, 2008, I’d like to reach my goal weight, so that I can enjoy rule the beach and the pool.

I want to be able to play soccer, tennis, golf, and touch-football, and only worry about “the game” and not “the weight”.

I want to smile big for the camera.

By the end of summer, 2008, I want to take a family photo, and stand in front!

I want to be the one who says, “I’ll wait up for you…”

I want to shoot below par.  I want to shoot below par while wearing a size L, not a size XXL.

—etc—

I have other goals, most of them of a much more personal nature.  I think that it is important to visualize WHERE I want to go, and WHO I want to be, WHEN I get there.  Then, I start to take the necessary steps for reaching my GOALS.

Nest Post:  My Short-Term Fitness Plan

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Here is a (partial) list of the foods that I now eat. I do not eat 3 “traditional” meals. I eat every few hours, in an attempt to keep my body from feeling hungry or weak. (A slight bit of hunger, especially in the morning is a good thing. It proves that I did not overeat before bedtime.)

Meat: 92% Lean Beef, Boneless and Skinless Chicken Breast, Sliced Turkey (I do not eat, nor have I ever eaten seafood of any kind. I also do not eat pork.)

Fruits: Bananas, grapes, strawberries, apples (Fuji and Granny Smith), pineapple (canned), peaches (I live in Georgia!)

Vegetables: Potatoes (boiled or baked), green beans, butter beans, corn, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, lettuce

Starches: Besides the starchy vegetables listed above, I also eat brown rice and whole wheat and whole grain bread. I also eat oatmeal and grits (again, I live in Georgia!).
Snacks: Popcorn, Kosher Dill Pickles, Sugar-Free Ice Cream

Supplements: Daily Vitamin and Calcium

Liquids: Water and Diet Mountain Dew

Here’s the basic daily food routine:

Breakfast: Oatmeal and Banana

Snack: Apple and Grilled Chicken

Lunch: Grilled Chicken, Baked Potato, Green Beans

Snack: Grapes and Strawberries

Supper: 4 Oz. Beef, Butter Beans, Brown Rice

Snack: Popcorn and Kosher Dill Pickle

(I also use salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard, and a little teriyaki sauce. I’m still eating too much sodium and consuming too many soft drinks. As my health improves, I hope to break little habits, one by one, until my routine is completely healthy. As it is, I already feel 200 percent better than I did two weeks ago, and I’m super psyched about my new eating plan.)

For those of you who watch your carbs, proteins, fats, etc., I had to create a plan that I could actually follow. The above is just a “sample” of what I might eat. Again, the only “rules” that I have are: I must not feel lousy 1 hour after eating a food, and I must stay around 1500 - 2000 calories a day. Trust me, I know about insulin loads, glycemic indexes, anaerobic exercise, the whole nine. This time around, I’m keeping things super-simple, especially in the beginning.

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