Fatness Be Gone

Some things are looking positive. If they get better soon, which things are looking on the upside, then maybe I can get back to concentrating on getting in shape.

I can’t wait to get back out there but being able to buy food and put gas in your car to look for work are a little bit more important. It’s crazy. As a fat guy trying to lose weight, I am literally starving. Not in the good way, but in the new Obama Era way…. People who’s businesses were destroyed by the Obama economic policies and pending tax increases (very few people are throwing parties, and restaurants/Hotels are struggling so I don’t get much work these days. Even in the freelance computer support area things are tough.) and now can’t even find a job sorta way hungry. It’s been the Year Of Hell, and we’ve got three more to go. Can we impeach this guy yet? What about a recall?

Well, with the Depression in full swing, I lost a lot of business that I had to get again. I’m still looking for work, but at least now I have some coming in, so I can go back to completing my weight loss goals. I’ve gained a little weight, I’m at 304, but I am no where near the 349 I was when I started. Oh this next week is not going to be so fun. But I have to do it if I am going to reach my weight loss goals for the year. I don’t have much time left before my 39th birthday, so I’m a going to be getting back into it. Who knows, maybe I can find some comedy material in my struggles.

So far so good today. Have started to keep track of my caloric intake and calorie expenditures. So far, 90 minutes on the stationary bike, and another 90 minutes when I get home from working tonight. Let’s see how it goes.

Sorry folks… the recession has gotten me busy looking for work…. I am trying to lose weight, but I’m almost out of cash so I’m going a little hungry… I’m down to about 285, and the business prospects are starting to look up…. the beginning of the south florida entertainment season is starting to pick up, and I’m now doing standup comedy as well… working hard at it. Got a good response at my standup comedy graduation at the ft lauderdale improv… I’ve even mad some fat/weight loss jokes!

If you want to see my performance, then go to:

I get back on the program on monday! 45 pounds away and I will feel comfortable enough to start dating again! Woohoo! I can’t wait!

I’m starting to get back into the workout thing. Luckily for me, it’s not been too long since my last workout.

Here’s is today’s bike ride:

Here is today’s walk:

It wasn’t too bad. I got off to a late start, but I’ve accomplished a lot today.

This is going to be a short post.

Basically it goes like this:

I had a really crappy workout month. I got busy with a few projects and some work that I had to do to make some money. Lets just say that making balloons out in the middle of the day in the hot, humid South Florida summer saps the energy out of you quickly. At least I burn an average of about 1200 calories when I do it, according to my heart rate monitor, anyways.

I was able to do 35.3 miles today, but, I got the flat that could not be repaired, and by the time I finished, It was starting to rain, so I just turned around and went home. Three holes, and one patch that would not take. I’ll try fixing it Wednesday night after my gig. I’ve got lots to do tomorrow, so I’m hoping to make a 2 hour walk and a weight lifting session in the morning.

That’s about it. No maps today.

I knew this was going to happen. But it is the beginning of the second part of preparing for the body for life competition. It hurts my arms trying to keep my arms in the typing position.

I also was able to ride to the Balloon shop in Kendall. I was almost hit twice, one of them almost ran me off the road. They were both women. One, an old gag in an SUV in Coral Gables. She made a left turn from the opposite side of the road just as I entered the intersection. This happened in between the Luxury Car Dealer and the Village of Merrick Park. I will go over the video and post it if it came out decently. The other incident was when I was riding back on Killian and tried to get over to the MDCC South Campus. I was at the Left Turn signal to enter the campus and this stupid teenage girl went around me to the right (Where I was heading) and almost ran me off the road. That one scared me. I had a good mind to follow her to her parking spot and chew her ass out. What a bitch-a-roonie-doonie. (You must watch the ‘Garage Sale’ episode of ‘That 70’s Show’ to get the reference, if you are interested)

Well, I had a personal setback this week and started to fall into old habits. I gained 3 pounds but I’ve caught myself, and will be getting back on the wagon tomorrow in the morning. I am learning a lot about myself and how I let my emotions control my eating habits. I didn’t realize it until recently, but I am emotional eater. I’ve recognized it and now I have to figure out how to minimize and hopefully break this habit.

Also, as of tomorrow, I will start to keep track of how long I have gone since smoking a cigarette. Yes, I bought a bunch of cartons right before the tax increase for the ‘children’. Now, since I don’t want to pay for the children, I will be forced to quit smoking. I’m down to my last pack so it’s cold turkey time. It’s also part of the life change that I set out to complete at the beginning of this blog.

I will be resetting my diet plan to the beginning and bringing it closer to the Body For life model. I hope with the weight lifting and the changes to smaller, more frequent meals, I can achieve better results. With the weight I’ve lost already, I feel that I have taken enough pressure off my back and am am ready to start lifting machine weights.

My tentative workout plans for the next month are as follows:

Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays

– Machine weight circuit training plus two hours race-walking on the treadmill.

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays

– Step aerobics, core and abdominal training plus two to three hours road cycling.

I have also done the following:
a) Reset my diet master plan. I now have until the 9th of July to reach 250 pounds.
b) I’ve reset the map-my-fitness challenge to start tomorrow. In order to complete the challenge, I must lose 50 pounds within 60 days of Mother’s Day 2009.
c) I had my body measurements taken. I have lost two inches from most parts of my body. My calves have gotten a little bigger (probably all that walking and cycling) and my neck stayed about the same. Now that I am about to begin weight training, I expect those numbers to improve over the course of the next month or so.

Well, here is the map:

Here’s the Nike+ Data:

The walk wasn’t too difficult. I stopped for a minute at the bank and then had a Subway Footlong half way through. I was listening to one of those Star Wars Audio books so time passed by really quickly. I’m not too sore, either.

I’m also able to get rid of some of my old fat clothes. I’m keeping a pair of pants to do the standard before clothes/after clothes thing that every one else has done. I’ve gotta do it!

I am going to be checking out Pro Fitness Centers gym in Coral Gables. It has great, no contract, no initiation fees for only $38.99 per month. I want to start lifting weights at least 3 times a week. Seeing as though I am not sure what my living arrangements are going to be, this will work out for the time being. There is another closer to where I live, and I will check that one out as well.

I wore through my pant during this walk. Not a bad thing. I was getting ready to get rid of them for a smaller pair, anyhow.

I have been asked what race walking is, and I found a you tube video that explains it nicely.

Some people don’t get it because you look funny when you are actually do it. But, in all honesty, it is one of the hardest things to do. The olympic level guys are race walking 50k races in under four and a quarter hours. That’s roughly 7.3 miles per hour. That is more than double the speed that I am averaging which is about 3.5 miles per hour.

The sport of race walking takes it’s tool on your shins, so be prepared to spend extra time stretching and massaging your shins for the first week or so while you are getting you legs broken in. Make sure that you have plenty of water, I personally fill my camelback with water and use that in the hot Miami sun.

If I can get my speed up to four miles an hour, I would be excited. But I am sure that the speed will come as I lose more weight. I won’t be holding the extra weight. Only time will tell. For more information on race walking, click here or go here for the wikipedia page.

I came across this article a few days ago on The Huffington Post regarding Jillian Michaels.

In the article she discusses her strategy in helping to motivate the contestants on The Biggest Loser:

“I push them really hard,” the fitness guru said this week. “They are 400 … pounds! Hello! They are not just going to get on the treadmill and run. It doesn’t work that way.”

She is completely correct. Most obese people will not have the inner strength the get up off their couch and exercise. I am a living example of this. I’ve made some changes to start correcting this bad habit, and it is a day to day struggle for me. I have to constantly keep challenging myself in order to keep on going. It’s something that I have to live with for the rest of my life. The best thing about this weight loss journey that I am undergoing is that I have finally come to terms with this particular fact and I am better off now than when I was in denial about the whole thing.

Michaels marveled that anyone could misinterpret her training style.

“People are like, ‘She’s so mean to them.’ And it’s like, ‘Really? Do you REALLY think so? Do you really watch the show?’ … Now if I was calling them names, that would be mean.”

When Jillian does things like this, she is only doing it for the benefit of the person at the receiving end. There is a reason why The Biggest Loser contestants are there. The more whining and crying that you do, the sooner you are going to go home. Jillian is only trying to help keep these people on the show. If the contestants can’t see it, then they should just go home.

It is a more militaristic and no nonsense approach to training, which I like because it makes you both mentally and physically tougher. Life isn’t easy, nor is it fair. It’s the exact opposite approach that the other trainer, Bob Harper takes. I just can’t relate to his whole, peace, love and zen program that he preaches. It’s just not my style. Give me a trainer with the attitude of a high school football coach any day.

You should check out the comments at the bottom of the article. There are some doozies there.