6/26/08

The missus and I had an awesome time in a great place and are back and raring to... well.. hey, we're still married, alright? Truthfully, twenty years has been the duration of a blink of an eye. It's been great thus far and I look forward to many more years with a person who's earned sainthood many times over. Articulation and eloquence evade me when I attempt to describe just how I feel about my wife so I'll put it this way, she rocks, and rocks hard!

Some day I'll figure out how to say stuff right. Moving on...

Surprisingly there is a downside to having a decadent vacation of self-indulgent whimsy. I call it a conspiracy of consumption and binge-side gastro-economics or, in simpler terms, eating lots of crap adds a few pounds. Turns out that the metabolic honeymoon is over for this old fart and acting like a Roman emperor just before The Fall is a sure way to roley-poley martyrdom by way of congestive heart failure.

To our credit, we did quite a bit of walking but as I've learned over the past several hundred days, over-consumption trumps exercise just about every time in the weight loss game.

So- bringing things back into focus and on target to reach my goals is the first order of business today. I've been to to gym, had my smoothie, and am dedicating myself to organization and planning so that reaching my current goals is an inevitability. I'll be tracking all food intake and exercise on the FitDay website (it's worked for me and it's free so it's double-awesome) and applying everything I've learned while losing the previous 150 pounds.

This morning's workout consisted of:

Biceps Curl - 160/10/3
Pull Downs - 130/10/3
Butterfly - 220/10/3
Triceps Extension - 100/10/3
"Not Worthy"* - 70/10/3
Calf Raise - 60/10/3
Leg Lift - 150/10/3
Bike to and from gym

Today's smoothie:

1/2 Banana
1S EAS Protein (chocolate)
1S Ground Flax
1/2S Açaí Pulp
1T Peanut Butter
1P Crystal Light
Water

*"Not Worthy" is done on a weight machine but is based loosely on the following:

What a month this is! Hitting a weight loss goal, becoming a year older, and the coolest thing of all- celebrating twenty (20) years of matrimony.

That's right, this Wednesday my wife will have completed twenty years of a life sentence that can be best described as "cruel and unusual" while I on the other hand will mark the twentieth installment of an eternal wedded bliss annuity.

It truly has been wonderful; I have an awesome wife and great kids and all are inspiring, challenging, and motivating. Best of all, they don't seem to mind my presence all that much. Good times.

I really don't have to look very far for reasons to work towards being healthy. There are way too many things that I don't want to miss due to illness or disability; too many things I want to see my kids accomplish, memories to create, aisles to walk, etc.

It's not all selfishness. I want to be there to help them meet the challenges they'll face in life- as a hand, a shoulder, a resource.

I'd be hard-pressed to do much of that from hospital furniture or an urn on the mantle.

That's much of why I want to improve myself physically. I also want to improve the other aspects of what constitutes a "Steve" er, I mean, me.

I hereby dedicate this next year to not only losing another 40 pounds but improving myself in other ways as well. I'll focus on being a better husband, father, friend, and all around dude.

I got so many reasons WHY, HOW is going to be really cool. Stay tuned.

Today, my bride and I will head off for a little vacation. We've farmed the kids out to a few friends so it's just us- off for a little beach and sun not unlike we did two decades ago.

In the meanwhile, don't eat this: Men's Health Magazine - Worst Food in America.

Seven minutes of heaven, baby! That was my pedal home this morning. What can compare to the wind in your face as the gym shrinks quickly into the background after an invigorating hour of pushing and pulling. Ah, sweet sweat evaporation and the promise of an ice cold smoothie packed with protein and a little something-something! No round about meandering through the burbs for me this morning- it's just Point A to Point B and back again. Got stuff to do!

I was up a pound this morning but I'm not going to let that harsh my mellow. The scale will continue to dip so long as I remain steadfast to my goals. Besides, I'm thinking that the Chinese take-out we had last night was my Judas and its' ill effects are oh-so temporary.

I'm trying a couple of new things this week.

One of our local markets carries Açaí pulp in the freezer section. It's claimed to contain:

- A remarkable concentration of antioxidants that help combat premature aging, with 10 times more antioxidants than red grapes and 10 to 30 times the anthocyanins of red wine.

- A synergy of monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fiber and phytosterols to help promote cardiovascular and digestive health.

- An almost perfect essential amino acid complex in conjunction with valuable trace minerals, vital to proper muscle contraction and regeneration.

That what I read on Oprah's website so it's got to be fan-freakin'-tastic and I'm onboard [toot-toot!]. So here we go, todays' smoothie:

1/2S (packet) Açaí Pulp
1/2 Small Banana
1T Peanut Butter
1S EAS Protein (Chocolate)
1S Ground Flax
1/2Pkg Crystal Light (Metabolism)

This mixture tastes remarkably sweet- perhaps a little sweeter than I like. We'll have to see if a weeks' worth of this stuff helps or hinders my efforts.

Moving on...

Everyone who knows me is antagonistically aware of my mildly obsessive paranoia (I'm told it's quite charming, really) when it comes to germs, cats, toxins and doing things in threes, so it was no surprise when I began drinking solely from a 27oz stainless steel bottle I bought from Kleen Kanteen rather than my usual 44oz Nalgene or the 32oz-er with the custom narrow-neck straw cap.

I read that, while most likely safe, the Lexan Nalgene bottles can release BPA under certain circumstances. Link BPA to the lovely horrors of breast and prostate cancer and other health issues in animal studies and I'm thinking, hey, I have both breasts (in moob-form) and a prostate so why risk losing them to cancer? Add that I'm running about a gallon and a half through my bottles and past my kidneys each day and that I'm kind of an animal, and I'm- well, let's just say that I like my Kleen Kanteen (despite them using a K instead of a C -- ugh, drives me nuts when people do that). I bought mine at Amazon. I'm going to order the larger 40oz version this week. They're a little spendy so if you'd like to buy me one I won't stop you. If you buy one, maybe you could tell Kleen Kanteen that I said it was a good idea and perhaps they'll send me one out of gratitude. Wishful thinking, I know, but a guy's gotta dream.

It's eleven (11) days past my goal date (6/6/08) and I've finally achieved my initial weight loss goal of losing 150 pounds BEFORE my birthday. Yup, that SUCKS in a glass-half-empty kind of way. Don't get me wrong, yippee and all that, it just makes me twice as motivated to kick my fat arse into gear this year and hit my goal WAY AHEAD OF TIME! Boo-yeah!

The past several days have been pretty good; my birthday was enjoyable (merriment all around), my health screening was excellent (due I'm sure to dropping some pounds), and Father's Day was tremendous (I am blessed with a great family). I was also at the finish line when my wife finished running a half-marathon (she's my inspiration).

So, this week begins with me feeling grateful, healthy, and inspired. How can I help but feel motivated to take massive action on my latest list of goals and debauchery? OK, so maybe the debauchery will have to ride in the back seat of the Steve-mobile but I have to tell you, I'm totally jazzed.

Moving on.

My weight loss goal is a 40 pound loss before June 6, 2009 using what I learned over the past year. You know what? I believe it's do-able and with summer coming up I'm really looking forward to the challenge- and what a challenge it's been so far! I'll tell you what though, reading about the experiences of others on their blogs and websites has really been encouraging. I've learned so much and found help and inspiration when I needed it. Thanks to all!

I'm considering today a starting point for everything to follow. Armed with the what I've learned (my 50 tips) and a healthy bloglist, I'm confident I'll reach my goal.

My after-gym smoothie this morning consisted of:

1/2C Frozen Berry Mix (blueberries, blackberries, and Raspberries)
1Serv EAS Protein (Chocolate)
1Serv Ground Flax
1/2 Small Banana
1/2Pkg Crystal Light (Metabolism)
Water

296 Calories

Holy crap!

I neglected to post on my birthday- due in part to merriment and frivolity associated with adding a ring to the old trunk, you know, birthday merriment. The thing is, life can indeed get in the way of my best intentions and if I let it, thwart plans altogether. I am repentant but make no excuses- only recommit and confirm future efforts.

Forty-seven years ago and after 147 hours of excruciating, body-wrecking labor, my mother awoke in a cabbage patch to find a stork gently tucking a swaddled bundle of joy between the leaves of maternal toil and sacrifice and with the determination akin to crusades and pilgrimages, nurtured me to adulthood. A lot of stuff happened between then and now but hey, the purpose and scope of this little exercise is to chronicle the events occurring from the time I realized I needed to eliminate an ungodly amount of weight from my body and my next birthday (which was Friday, June 6th).

And so I have. The really cool thing is, though unsuccessful in reaching my weight loss goal, I learned a lot along the way; stuff that should streamline my efforts through this year as I work to lose another 40 pounds before my NEXT birthday.

#1 - Pay Attention, Stupid!

It's amazing how much and how quickly things can get past me- and I'm talking about things like calories past my lips and years slipping into my past. I have to pay attention to everything that is happening, the results I'm getting or the time I'm wasting in order to facilitate positive change.

That's it, the number one thing I learned while living as Steve v4.6 and it's the my #1 priority as I move forward to lose the next 40 pounds before my next birthday (there, I said it again, "Lose 40 pounds before my next birthday." Now it's got to happen!).

Moving on...

Many have expressed an interest in seeing some before and after pictures. What do they think- I'm running some kind of freakshow here? Well hey, then a freakshow it shall be. I'll get some pics together for my next post. In later installments I also post specific exercises, recipes and other examples of how I'm applying everything I've learned (I'm talking about my 50 tips) on this next leg of my journey.

I used to dread birthdays- each one marking another year as an uncomfortable hulk. I feel so much better now and look forward to improving each and every day over the next year- not just by losing weight but by going after other aspects of my life that my previous condition of obesity affected.

Until next time, rock on Steve v4.7 (ew! I will NOT start speaking in the third-person!)

Today's muse:

Coach: What's shaking, Norm?
Norm: All four cheeks and a couple of chins, Coach.

If you're as ancient as I am (or have expanded basic cable) you may recognize the characters above as the bar-tending retired baseball coach and the rotund malcontent accountant whose weekly exchange of greetings in a Boston pub (where everybody knows your name) became the standard of comedy in the era of the feel-good sitcom.

Now, part of what made Norm's character funny was his self-deprecation. He was a "big" guy, a guy who's steady diet of beer and stool-sitting was paying off in chins and moobs aplenty. He didn't hide it, he'd jiggle it in your face for a laugh- and laugh I did. I don't think I'd laugh much at the fat jokes any more. I've been "Norm" and it hasn't been all that funny. I was, and still am, a self-deprecating SOB. It's a "first strike at one's self" method of self-defense in order to head off outside attack. Ah yes, the psychosis of coping.

Anyhoo, here I am at the end of a long trek realizing that I am at the beginning again. I've shed almost enough weight to shake the "obese" label and now I'm ready to attack "overweight". That, in fact, is my ambition for Steve v4.7; to take all that I've learned and use it to lose another 40 pounds before my NEXT birthday.

But what of Steve v4.6? Don't I still have a few pounds to lose and a couple of days left during which to lose it? Why yes. Yes I do and yes I will.

#2 - The Road Has No End

It's said that "Half the fun is getting there." I say that "getting" is really all there is- and is where my focus should be.

#3 - Enjoy Life

Nothing is more tragic than a life wasted on wishing I was doing something else. There is joy in doing- doing it right now and enjoying the process before time runs out.

#4 - I'm Dying

The fact is, ultimately, we all are. That inevitability alone should be enough to motivate me to make the most of every moment I have "topside". And killing myself with gluttony is a wasted effort- better to focus on better and better life experiences than waste time shortening a life that's already (by design and happenstance) very temporary.