Time: 5:50 AM
Weight beforehand: 360.1 lbs on our new scale
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Same program
Elliptical Reported Calories Burned: 426
Rating: Surprised by the weight and surprised by the calories burned
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
New Scale, New Goals, Review
I'd like to start with a bit of review. I got my computer display and mouse working properly again yesterday. Yay!
Our old scale only went up to 300 lbs. Then it started around the circle again. The kids had played with the needle a lot, and we didn't really think it was too accurate. It was often showing me at 30 lbs or so less than the scale at any doctor's office.
My wife thought that a scale that was more accurate was in order to help us really know what kind of progress we're making. We just got a Weight Watchers digital scale with battery powered memory for up to 4 users and a goal tracking feature. The only thing I know how to do on it so far is find out how much I weigh.
This scale is accurate up to 375 lbs it claims, and it looks like I needed it to be there. I would hope that the difference between this scale and the doctor's scale will only be 3 to 5 lbs going forward.
A bit more review - going from thinking I was 335 lbs to thinking I am 363 lbs is not fun.
The new information from the new scale means it's time for new goals. I'll take my old goals from the earlier post and edit here for the new information.
Goals: I want to be down at least 20 pounds by my oldest son's birthday in August. It appears I am well on my way to that, so I might increase it to 10% of my starting body weight, or 38.2 pounds, if things continue to go quickly. I want to be below 300 lbs (Yikes! That's 82 lbs in about 41 weeks! I hope I can average 2 lbs lost per week. It sounds reasonable.) by the new year. I want to get down to at least 250 lbs before I think about trying to maintain rather than lose, and I think a range of anywhere from 190 to 220 lbs would be pretty good for me going forward.
Hey, I know! Let's review some more! It's been 3 weeks since the doctor's visit. I've lost about 18 lbs, some of which must be fat. I don't seem to have lost much this week, which I think means that I'm down to the part where I actually can tell by how my clothes fit when I lose weight. This means that I need to see if I can average 2 lbs of weight loss per week now.
Our old scale only went up to 300 lbs. Then it started around the circle again. The kids had played with the needle a lot, and we didn't really think it was too accurate. It was often showing me at 30 lbs or so less than the scale at any doctor's office.
My wife thought that a scale that was more accurate was in order to help us really know what kind of progress we're making. We just got a Weight Watchers digital scale with battery powered memory for up to 4 users and a goal tracking feature. The only thing I know how to do on it so far is find out how much I weigh.
This scale is accurate up to 375 lbs it claims, and it looks like I needed it to be there. I would hope that the difference between this scale and the doctor's scale will only be 3 to 5 lbs going forward.
A bit more review - going from thinking I was 335 lbs to thinking I am 363 lbs is not fun.
The new information from the new scale means it's time for new goals. I'll take my old goals from the earlier post and edit here for the new information.
Goals: I want to be down at least 20 pounds by my oldest son's birthday in August. It appears I am well on my way to that, so I might increase it to 10% of my starting body weight, or 38.2 pounds, if things continue to go quickly. I want to be below 300 lbs (Yikes! That's 82 lbs in about 41 weeks! I hope I can average 2 lbs lost per week. It sounds reasonable.) by the new year. I want to get down to at least 250 lbs before I think about trying to maintain rather than lose, and I think a range of anywhere from 190 to 220 lbs would be pretty good for me going forward.
Hey, I know! Let's review some more! It's been 3 weeks since the doctor's visit. I've lost about 18 lbs, some of which must be fat. I don't seem to have lost much this week, which I think means that I'm down to the part where I actually can tell by how my clothes fit when I lose weight. This means that I need to see if I can average 2 lbs of weight loss per week now.
28 March 2008 workout
Time: 5:55 AM
Weight beforehand: 363.3 lbs on our new scale
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Here is a visual representation of the program I did again.
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Elliptical Reported Calories Burned: 417
Rating: New scale, more accurate weight. This scale is probably closer to the scale at the doctor's office, which had me at 382 or so when this all started. As for the workout, 417 calories is my personal best, beating yesterday's 401 to 405. New weight, new caloric burn high. Coincidence? I don't think so. It was hard to get there though, so I don't know when I'll match the 417.
Weight beforehand: 363.3 lbs on our new scale
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Here is a visual representation of the program I did again.
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Elliptical Reported Calories Burned: 417
Rating: New scale, more accurate weight. This scale is probably closer to the scale at the doctor's office, which had me at 382 or so when this all started. As for the workout, 417 calories is my personal best, beating yesterday's 401 to 405. New weight, new caloric burn high. Coincidence? I don't think so. It was hard to get there though, so I don't know when I'll match the 417.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tech Rant
I was using my computer just fine last night and shut it down normally when I was done. This morning, I booted up to find that my resolution had gone from 1920 x 1200 using my NVIDIA adapter (nice) to 800 x 600 using some built in Sga adapter (not nice). I spent over 20 minutes trying to figure out why it got changed and fix it, and now that I've got that taken care of, I find that my laptop mouse hardware has been disabled somehow and my auto-scroll feature is disabled. ARGH!
OK, so it's pretty low priority stuff, but hey, that's what pet peeves are for.
OK, so it's pretty low priority stuff, but hey, that's what pet peeves are for.
27 March 2008 workout
Time: 5:50 AM
Weight beforehand: 335 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Here is a visual representation of the program I did today.
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Rating: I'm still not enjoying working out. My desire to be healthier is stronger than my desire to not workout as yet. I made the program harder today hoping that I would be able to start getting a little more benefit from the workout - I think I had gotten used to the easier program.
Weight beforehand: 335 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Here is a visual representation of the program I did today.
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Rating: I'm still not enjoying working out. My desire to be healthier is stronger than my desire to not workout as yet. I made the program harder today hoping that I would be able to start getting a little more benefit from the workout - I think I had gotten used to the easier program.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
How To Be Wealthy
I read part of the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" during our vacation. The author gave the secret to being wealthy, and it's one you and I have heard before. It really is true, though, and people seem to ignore it anyway.
Ready? Here it is. Acquire income producing assets. Also known as spend less than you earn and save. Also known as put something away for a rainy day.
Simple, isn't it? Why don't we do it? The advice is the same from "The Richest Man in Babylon." Put some money to work for you. Let it earn interest, or buy you a part (or all) of a business that earns income, or purchase some other asset that is designed to produce money rather than consume it. Once your assets produce enough income to cover your expenses, you're wealthy enough to manage your assets rather than work for money.
Now we know how to be wealthy. Can we do it?
Ready? Here it is. Acquire income producing assets. Also known as spend less than you earn and save. Also known as put something away for a rainy day.
Simple, isn't it? Why don't we do it? The advice is the same from "The Richest Man in Babylon." Put some money to work for you. Let it earn interest, or buy you a part (or all) of a business that earns income, or purchase some other asset that is designed to produce money rather than consume it. Once your assets produce enough income to cover your expenses, you're wealthy enough to manage your assets rather than work for money.
Now we know how to be wealthy. Can we do it?
26 March 2008 workout
Time: 5:50 AM
Weight beforehand: 335 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Same custom program.
Rating: I'm not going to say nice things about working out today either, but at least it was slightly better than yesterday. Kind of like getting into a car accident at 25 mph is slightly better than getting into a car accident at 30 mph.
Weight beforehand: 335 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Same custom program.
Rating: I'm not going to say nice things about working out today either, but at least it was slightly better than yesterday. Kind of like getting into a car accident at 25 mph is slightly better than getting into a car accident at 30 mph.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Mind Over Matter
I suppose the feelings I had today are a big part of why most workout programs end soon after they start. My body is telling me in no uncertain terms that it doesn't like what I'm making it do.
It's very interesting to me just how much of a workout is mental - my body CAN do this, if I make it do it. It tempts me to not do it, and it complains the whole time, and I just want it to shut up and do what I tell it to. It doesn't stop complaining, and it doesn't shut up, but it does do what I tell it to if I keep telling it to do it.
Go go gadget mental determination!
It's very interesting to me just how much of a workout is mental - my body CAN do this, if I make it do it. It tempts me to not do it, and it complains the whole time, and I just want it to shut up and do what I tell it to. It doesn't stop complaining, and it doesn't shut up, but it does do what I tell it to if I keep telling it to do it.
Go go gadget mental determination!
25 March 2008 workout
Time: 5:50 AM
Weight beforehand: 332 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Same custom program.
Rating: Today I take back every good word I've ever said about working out. I'm tired, I'm grumpy, I'm mean, and I didn't want to work out. I didn't work hard, and my body whined at me the whole time to quit. The only good things about this workout were that I started and that I didn't stop until 40 minutes were up.
Weight beforehand: 332 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Same custom program.
Rating: Today I take back every good word I've ever said about working out. I'm tired, I'm grumpy, I'm mean, and I didn't want to work out. I didn't work hard, and my body whined at me the whole time to quit. The only good things about this workout were that I started and that I didn't stop until 40 minutes were up.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Easter
As part of our mini vacation, we did an easter egg hunt with some friends. The kids of course loved searching for the eggs, although some were not quick enough to grab the obvious ones before someone else did. They loved the candy hidden inside, and they loved running around.
I was a little turned off toward the whole thing at first, until I found a way to associate the egg hunt with the blessings of Christ. Christ has put many blessings in our lives, and many of them are obvious. Some, like having a world to live on and air to breathe, we don't even have to do anything to benefit from. Some, like the blessings that come from keeping the commandments, come from the small amount of labor it takes to bend over and pick up the egg, although there are those who don't know the commandments who don't see these eggs all the time. Some require diligent searching and effort, similar to fasting and prayer.
The nice thing about the Lord's blessings is that they are limitless and easily shared. Anyone can pick up the same blessing I get by doing the same thing I did to receive it.
On a related note, I certainly felt a special closeness with my wife and children yesterday. They are marvelous blessings to me, and I would be lost without them.
I was a little turned off toward the whole thing at first, until I found a way to associate the egg hunt with the blessings of Christ. Christ has put many blessings in our lives, and many of them are obvious. Some, like having a world to live on and air to breathe, we don't even have to do anything to benefit from. Some, like the blessings that come from keeping the commandments, come from the small amount of labor it takes to bend over and pick up the egg, although there are those who don't know the commandments who don't see these eggs all the time. Some require diligent searching and effort, similar to fasting and prayer.
The nice thing about the Lord's blessings is that they are limitless and easily shared. Anyone can pick up the same blessing I get by doing the same thing I did to receive it.
On a related note, I certainly felt a special closeness with my wife and children yesterday. They are marvelous blessings to me, and I would be lost without them.
24 March 2008 workout
Time: 5:45 AM
Weight beforehand: 335 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Here is a visual representation of the program I have been doing.
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Rating: Ouch. I enjoyed not working out during our little vacation. I tried not to eat too much, but I didn't get overly strict. In the end, it looks like I picked up 2 lbs, and the workout made my legs sore. In a I'm-afraid-to-admit-it way, I was looking forward to the workout and felt good that I was doing it.
Weight beforehand: 335 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Here is a visual representation of the program I have been doing.
3333333333434343434343434343433333333333
Rating: Ouch. I enjoyed not working out during our little vacation. I tried not to eat too much, but I didn't get overly strict. In the end, it looks like I picked up 2 lbs, and the workout made my legs sore. In a I'm-afraid-to-admit-it way, I was looking forward to the workout and felt good that I was doing it.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Sleep-no-workout-ing
No workout this morning as my wife and I both had a long night due to various children being awake at various times of the night. Our six month old, who had been doing quite well at making it through the night the last few days, was moved from our master bathroom to a sibling's room, and he decided that it just wouldn't do about 3:30 in the morning. His sibling was none to pleased with his complaints, either.
In the end, once everyone got settled, I decided to get up at 6:00 rather than 5:30. When 6:00 came around, I decided that we would all be better off today if I just got more rest.
The scale had me at 330 lbs this morning. We'll see what happens over the rest of the week as we are planning to leave for a short vacation this evening, and I'm not sure what the workout situation will end up being.
In the end, once everyone got settled, I decided to get up at 6:00 rather than 5:30. When 6:00 came around, I decided that we would all be better off today if I just got more rest.
The scale had me at 330 lbs this morning. We'll see what happens over the rest of the week as we are planning to leave for a short vacation this evening, and I'm not sure what the workout situation will end up being.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
An interesting dieting website
A friend of ours pointed my wife to http://www.thedailyplate.com/ as a good place to find and track calories. I am feeling too busy to really dig into it right now, but it looks interesting.
My wife did a little investigation and figures that my workouts are burning over 900 calories, where I thought it was more around 375 (that's what the elliptical machine says, but I don't enter in my weight. Does that make a difference?). She looked up how many calories were in the food we had from Bajio's last night. She was able to estimate how many calories were in the homemade whole wheat pancakes with chocolate chips she made for breakfast, all at the site listed above.
Hopefully I'll get more time to look into it in depth soon.
My wife did a little investigation and figures that my workouts are burning over 900 calories, where I thought it was more around 375 (that's what the elliptical machine says, but I don't enter in my weight. Does that make a difference?). She looked up how many calories were in the food we had from Bajio's last night. She was able to estimate how many calories were in the homemade whole wheat pancakes with chocolate chips she made for breakfast, all at the site listed above.
Hopefully I'll get more time to look into it in depth soon.
18 March 2008 workout
Time: 5:45 AM
Weight beforehand: 333 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Same as last time, except I added another 10 minutes of the 3/4 switch for a total of 10 minutes at level 4.
Rating: I couldn't even sleep-workout for very long this morning. I figured since I was slightly up on weight and feeling awake I'd make the workout harder. I'm not dead, but I feel the extra work!
Weight beforehand: 333 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Same as last time, except I added another 10 minutes of the 3/4 switch for a total of 10 minutes at level 4.
Rating: I couldn't even sleep-workout for very long this morning. I figured since I was slightly up on weight and feeling awake I'd make the workout harder. I'm not dead, but I feel the extra work!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sleep-workout-ing?
Sleep-working-out? Yeah, the name needs work. I need a word to describe my early morning workouts. I've discovered that, since I usually don't want to get up, I can close my eyes and "rest" while working out.
I've found that it can help the time pass more quickly, and the most interesting thing I've noticed is how I tend to focus on my body movements and responses. I seem to be able to tell when I can increase my speed a little and how my body is responding to the load on it.
I have also noticed that I can't keep my eyes shut for the whole workout. Even if it's not counting occasional glances to see how much time is left. With about 15 minutes left, I seem to be more alert and awake and wanting to have my eyes open.
Of course, now that I'm done, I'd love to have a nap!
Lastly, hurray for no flood during this business trip!
I've found that it can help the time pass more quickly, and the most interesting thing I've noticed is how I tend to focus on my body movements and responses. I seem to be able to tell when I can increase my speed a little and how my body is responding to the load on it.
I have also noticed that I can't keep my eyes shut for the whole workout. Even if it's not counting occasional glances to see how much time is left. With about 15 minutes left, I seem to be more alert and awake and wanting to have my eyes open.
Of course, now that I'm done, I'd love to have a nap!
Lastly, hurray for no flood during this business trip!
17 March 2008 workout
Time: 5:45 AM
Weight beforehand: 330 lbs - 23 lbs in just over a week????
Length: 40 minutes
Program: 10 minutes of level 3, 10 minutes of 1 minute at level 4, then 1 minute at level 3, then repeat (total of 5 minutes at level 4), then 20 minutes of level 3. The elliptical machine remembered my settings from last time.
Rating: I was worried how I would respond after 3 days off, but things went just fine. I don't know that I'll ever be a workout fanatic, but I hope to be consistent.
Weight beforehand: 330 lbs - 23 lbs in just over a week????
Length: 40 minutes
Program: 10 minutes of level 3, 10 minutes of 1 minute at level 4, then 1 minute at level 3, then repeat (total of 5 minutes at level 4), then 20 minutes of level 3. The elliptical machine remembered my settings from last time.
Rating: I was worried how I would respond after 3 days off, but things went just fine. I don't know that I'll ever be a workout fanatic, but I hope to be consistent.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Things that make you feel ...
Motivated:
Being "the fat guy" in the airplane that everyone hopes they don't have to sit next to.
Wondering if this is the time you will have to first ask for a seat belt extender in the airplane.
Loved:
Having your wife hiding near the door to jump out and scare you when you get home from a business trip.
Kissing your wife after getting home from a business trip.
Having your six month old child follow your movements around the room so he can keep an eye on you.
Confused:
Not getting enough sleep to be able to keep up with conversations.
Being asleep enough to snore but awake enough to wonder if it was you that just snored.
Sad:
Thinking that there is a chance that one of your children has been abused.
Having no good idea when or where or who perpetrated the abuse.
Wondering what you could have done better as a parent to keep something like this from happening.
Grateful:
Knowing that Christ has made beautiful lives out of people who started with awful things happening to them and then turned to Him.
Recognizing that the Lord can help us through anything we might face individually or as a family.
Thoughtful:
Wondering what to put into a post about feelings after the previous two emotions.
Deciding that this is the end of this post.
Being "the fat guy" in the airplane that everyone hopes they don't have to sit next to.
Wondering if this is the time you will have to first ask for a seat belt extender in the airplane.
Loved:
Having your wife hiding near the door to jump out and scare you when you get home from a business trip.
Kissing your wife after getting home from a business trip.
Having your six month old child follow your movements around the room so he can keep an eye on you.
Confused:
Not getting enough sleep to be able to keep up with conversations.
Being asleep enough to snore but awake enough to wonder if it was you that just snored.
Sad:
Thinking that there is a chance that one of your children has been abused.
Having no good idea when or where or who perpetrated the abuse.
Wondering what you could have done better as a parent to keep something like this from happening.
Grateful:
Knowing that Christ has made beautiful lives out of people who started with awful things happening to them and then turned to Him.
Recognizing that the Lord can help us through anything we might face individually or as a family.
Thoughtful:
Wondering what to put into a post about feelings after the previous two emotions.
Deciding that this is the end of this post.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Have a Happy Pi Day
Thanks to feeling like I really should check my work email late last night before going to bed, I've been informed that it's Pi Day today, approximately.
http://www.piday.org
For a mathematically humorous way to spend 20 minutes, poke around the site a bit. I enjoyed the Pi Raps on YouTube link. Please note that I am a geek and find enjoyment in things that others might find boring.
http://www.piday.org
For a mathematically humorous way to spend 20 minutes, poke around the site a bit. I enjoyed the Pi Raps on YouTube link. Please note that I am a geek and find enjoyment in things that others might find boring.
No workout today
I'm really tired. Today is Friday, one week from my doctor's visit. Counting the week starting that day and ending yesterday, I've worked out 6 days in the week. Of course, counting today through next Thursday, I'll likely only work out 4 days in that week. Another justification bites the dust!
I actually feel like missed days are inevitable in exercise just like bad days are inevitable with diets. I just can't give up due to one missed/bad day, but I can't let myself believe I'm still following a program if I have too many missed/bad days either. Gotta keep it real.
I actually feel like missed days are inevitable in exercise just like bad days are inevitable with diets. I just can't give up due to one missed/bad day, but I can't let myself believe I'm still following a program if I have too many missed/bad days either. Gotta keep it real.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
13 March 2008 workout
Time: 6:45 AM CDT (in MDT, that's too-freakin'-early o'clock)
Weight afterwards: more than 350 lbs since I was above their scale limits
Length: 35 minutes
Program: Weight Loss program on hotel elliptical machine
Rating: The hotel has a decent gym, but this reinforces my thought that a gym is not the right environment for me. Still, I'm glad a got a workout today.
Weight afterwards: more than 350 lbs since I was above their scale limits
Length: 35 minutes
Program: Weight Loss program on hotel elliptical machine
Rating: The hotel has a decent gym, but this reinforces my thought that a gym is not the right environment for me. Still, I'm glad a got a workout today.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Time and Priorities
Part of the reason I was so worried about getting started with working out is because I am already feeling short on time to accomplish the things I would like to do. I try to make time for my family and helping around the house, and that leaves me very little time to study something I find quite interesting, investing and trading.
I'm hopeful that my focus on getting up earlier in the morning to make sure I get a workout will help me to get up just a bit earlier still so that I will have time to study investing after the workout each day. I have bought a few courses and subscribe to some newsletters, but it is pretty hard to keep up right now.
One of the reasons I'm interested in studying investing is because the world is becoming more of a global economy each day. Lots of pressure is put on governments to impose tariffs and other restrictions on trade to protect jobs. In the end, I believe efficiency will win out.
I've seen job outsourcing in my profession happening for some time. Fine tuning is still taking place, and there will always be opportunities locally for the right talent. However, I believe that I should take advantage of this time to prepare myself educationally for either the time when I need to choose a new profession or the time when I am successful enough to leave this one behind. I believe that managing a portfolio is something that can be done successfully and not be outsourced without my consent.
I'm taking some training materials with me on my business trip to occupy my time during the flights and 3 hour layover. I hope to get some good accomplished.
I'm hopeful that my focus on getting up earlier in the morning to make sure I get a workout will help me to get up just a bit earlier still so that I will have time to study investing after the workout each day. I have bought a few courses and subscribe to some newsletters, but it is pretty hard to keep up right now.
One of the reasons I'm interested in studying investing is because the world is becoming more of a global economy each day. Lots of pressure is put on governments to impose tariffs and other restrictions on trade to protect jobs. In the end, I believe efficiency will win out.
I've seen job outsourcing in my profession happening for some time. Fine tuning is still taking place, and there will always be opportunities locally for the right talent. However, I believe that I should take advantage of this time to prepare myself educationally for either the time when I need to choose a new profession or the time when I am successful enough to leave this one behind. I believe that managing a portfolio is something that can be done successfully and not be outsourced without my consent.
I'm taking some training materials with me on my business trip to occupy my time during the flights and 3 hour layover. I hope to get some good accomplished.
12 March 2008 workout
Time: 6:15 AM
Weight beforehand: 340 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: 10 minutes of level 3, 10 minutes of 1 minute at level 4, then 1 minute at level 3, then repeat (total of 5 minutes at level 4), then 20 minutes of level 3.
Rating: I did not want to get up again. The workout got off to a decent start though, and I was even feeling a tad energetic, hence the slightly harder workout. By the last 12 minutes, I was dragging, but I made it. We'll see how things go on the business trip.
Weight beforehand: 340 lbs
Length: 40 minutes
Program: 10 minutes of level 3, 10 minutes of 1 minute at level 4, then 1 minute at level 3, then repeat (total of 5 minutes at level 4), then 20 minutes of level 3.
Rating: I did not want to get up again. The workout got off to a decent start though, and I was even feeling a tad energetic, hence the slightly harder workout. By the last 12 minutes, I was dragging, but I made it. We'll see how things go on the business trip.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Details, Goals, and Diet
I'm realizing (okay, I spoke with someone on the phone who told me) that I haven't provided much detail about what kind of workouts I do. I also haven't posted about my goals or diet. Here we go.
Details: We own an elliptical machine, built by Nordic Track. We used some of the money from the sale of our last house to get a relatively high end one, mostly because we had to in order to safely support my weight. I've used it off and on in the ensuing two years, but my current workouts consist of using one of the various programs that it offers or creating my own.
I don't think working out in a gym would work for me on a regular basis. It's hard enough to get up and workout in the underwear I was going to change anyway. I can't imagine myself packing a bag and driving somewhere only to go and change and workout and shower and change and pack up and drive back home.
Goals: I want to be down at least 20 pounds by my oldest son's birthday in August. It appears I am well on my way to that, so I might increase it to 10% of my starting body weight, or 35 pounds, if things continue to go quickly. I want to be below 300 lbs by the new year. I want to get down to at least 250 lbs before I think about trying to maintain rather than lose, and I think a range of anywhere from 190 to 220 lbs would be pretty good for me going forward.
Diet: I haven't done very much with this since the doctor's visit. I've been making good changes this year though, mostly due to my wife's improved energy after her latest surgery. She has been so kind and thoughtful in making healthy meals that are filling so that I won't stop and buy fast food on the way to work or to feed the family dinner. I'm enjoying the berry smoothies that she makes (I don't eat berries on my own - I should change that). I'm trying to eat the apple slices and other fruit options she provides. I'm glad that she makes such wonderful foods with so many vegetables (you should try her homemade pizza! Who knew that zucchini, onions, spinach, mushrooms, sometimes olives and summer squash would make such darn good toppings?! The kids won't eat pizza from any of the stores with anything but cheese or pepperoni, but they'll devour hers!).
In general, I have an appetite suppressant for the next month or so, but I don't need it right now because working out is making me not hungry (not the normal, I'm full kind of not hungry - the I'm too tired to eat kind of not hungry).
Let me know if you have further questions. :)
Details: We own an elliptical machine, built by Nordic Track. We used some of the money from the sale of our last house to get a relatively high end one, mostly because we had to in order to safely support my weight. I've used it off and on in the ensuing two years, but my current workouts consist of using one of the various programs that it offers or creating my own.
I don't think working out in a gym would work for me on a regular basis. It's hard enough to get up and workout in the underwear I was going to change anyway. I can't imagine myself packing a bag and driving somewhere only to go and change and workout and shower and change and pack up and drive back home.
Goals: I want to be down at least 20 pounds by my oldest son's birthday in August. It appears I am well on my way to that, so I might increase it to 10% of my starting body weight, or 35 pounds, if things continue to go quickly. I want to be below 300 lbs by the new year. I want to get down to at least 250 lbs before I think about trying to maintain rather than lose, and I think a range of anywhere from 190 to 220 lbs would be pretty good for me going forward.
Diet: I haven't done very much with this since the doctor's visit. I've been making good changes this year though, mostly due to my wife's improved energy after her latest surgery. She has been so kind and thoughtful in making healthy meals that are filling so that I won't stop and buy fast food on the way to work or to feed the family dinner. I'm enjoying the berry smoothies that she makes (I don't eat berries on my own - I should change that). I'm trying to eat the apple slices and other fruit options she provides. I'm glad that she makes such wonderful foods with so many vegetables (you should try her homemade pizza! Who knew that zucchini, onions, spinach, mushrooms, sometimes olives and summer squash would make such darn good toppings?! The kids won't eat pizza from any of the stores with anything but cheese or pepperoni, but they'll devour hers!).
In general, I have an appetite suppressant for the next month or so, but I don't need it right now because working out is making me not hungry (not the normal, I'm full kind of not hungry - the I'm too tired to eat kind of not hungry).
Let me know if you have further questions. :)
11 March 2008 workout
Time: 6:30 AM
Weight beforehand: 340 to 344 lbs, depending on the angle I stand on the scale.
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Level 3 the whole way.
Rating: It finally happened. I did NOT want to get up today. I did NOT want to workout. I wanted to quit after 25 minutes, then after 30, then after 35. I stuck it out. I feel pretty run down (I've got a cold). BUT I DID IT.
Weight beforehand: 340 to 344 lbs, depending on the angle I stand on the scale.
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Level 3 the whole way.
Rating: It finally happened. I did NOT want to get up today. I did NOT want to workout. I wanted to quit after 25 minutes, then after 30, then after 35. I stuck it out. I feel pretty run down (I've got a cold). BUT I DID IT.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Man Rant
This is your fair warning. I am about to post things that I would normally not say out loud due to consideration of tact and class. You may be offended by what you read here. Do not read further if your feelings are easily hurt. You have been warned.
I respect women, and I love my wife, mother, sisters, and daughter. Sometimes, though, I wish that they could just deal with things like men instead of women.
Men communicate by exchanging information. They process the information they've received, and if there is any doubt or confusion about the information, they will generally ask for clarification or a fight.
Example:
Man 1: The USU Aggies stink this year and don't deserve to go to the NCAA tournament.
Me asking for clarification: You talkin' to me?
Man 1 providing clarification: You heard me, stinking cow herder.
Me asking for a fight: You want to take this outside?
Women communicate by building relationships. The truest meanings of conversation are carried not in what is said, but how it is said, and how it might be interpreted. They will exchange hellos in passing and spend the next 30 minutes trying to decide if the other woman hates them, and if so how much, and how much venom they should put into their next exchange.
Example:
Woman1: Hello
[Possible Interpretations, depending on tone and body language, among other factors]
- I can't believe you wore THAT today.
- I still hate you from when you didn't say hi to me three years ago when we were within 50 feet of each other in the Mall of America.
- I'm envious of your appearance, but I want to look like I couldn't care less.
Woman2: Hi
[Possible Interpretations, depending on tone and body language, among other factors]
- You vile hussy, you.
- Nice hair. Did your curling iron cause some singes this morning?
- What are you looking at? Do I have something in my teeth?
The possible interpretations get even better when one woman tells another woman about something a third person (or farther down the chain) said. We'll come back to this one later.
Notice that none of the possible interpretations are casual greetings. Of course, women often do exchange casual greetings and recognize them as such, but that falls outside the scope of my rant and will therefore be ignored for the time being.
This is why men and women can be so confused in a relationship for the first little while, like 10 or 20 years. A man asks for information, and the woman tries to build the relationship. The man asks for clarification, and the woman feels that the man doesn't care about the relationship.
Example:
Woman: Honey, can you please put the seat of the toilet down when you're finished using the facilities?
[Possible Interpretation] He loves me, and knowing that I would like the seat down will help him to show me that he loves me.
Man: Why do I have to put the seat down? Isn't it just as easy for you to put the seat down? Do I ask you to put the seat up when you're done?
[Editorial note] A man asks these questions because he is actually curious as to why WHO puts the seat down matters, and he would like to compare and contrast the scenarios of a man putting the seat down versus a woman putting the seat up. The poor sap has no clue that he has inadvertently brought his sweetheart to the brink of tears.
Woman: I can't believe you don't want to put the seat down. It's not like it's hard!
[Possible Interpretation] How can he say that he doesn't want me to be happy? I'm not asking him for some impossible thing. Doesn't he love me the way I love him?
[Editorial note] If a woman were to answer the man with something like, "I use the toilet with the seat down 100% of the time, and you use it with the seat down about 50% of the time, which equates to roughly 75% of the total uses are with the seat down. It would be more efficient to put the seat down after each time it has been raised", she would instantly "win" this argument/discussion at least 95% of the time. Of course, if the man would have answered her question with something like, "I'd be happy to do that for you", he'd have her happy as a clam most every time.
Man, still looking for the information he requested, or a fight: You're right, it's not hard. Ipso facto, why must I be the one to do it all the time?
And on it goes. I would guess that most of those who will read this post have had a conversation very much like the one I described. Nod your head if it sounded familiar, if you haven't already nodded.
Tangentially, why is it that the woman in the argument can get upset, yell, scream, and say mean things to the man, but when the man starts dishing out the same in return, the woman runs away and won't work the problem through to a resolution until she's cooled down? Why can't the man do that? Why is it that when a woman is upset about something outside of the relationship, she can stomp and bluster and wave her arms about, but the man is supposed to take it all in while remaining calm and providing what little verbal comfort he can muster? Why can't the man bluster and pace?
Obviously, the answer to the second question... Oh wait, I'm only going on 10 wonderful years of marriage. Can I say obviously and be truthful about it?
Anyway, the answer to the second question would seem to be that behaving in the calm, comforting way is the way the woman needs to be comforted and helped to vent her frustrations. Then the man goes to Guy's Night Out and vents to his buddies, who promptly forget about it because they've got their own problems to deal with.
Now, let's extend this thought process a step or two further. Suppose that a woman heard from another woman what a third woman (a friend, a family member, a neighbor, or otherwise relationally important person) had said about the first woman's children not being under control in the third woman's opinion. Let's now suppose that the first woman's husband is informed of the issue. How is he to respond?
He may think that it's a problem between the two women, but since the third woman didn't tell the first woman directly, he wonders if there might be a possible misunderstanding. However, if he presents that as a possibility and asks if the two concerned parties might want to actually talk about it, he may not be building the relationship with his wife. He may want to contact the accused party directly, but then he might be overstepping the bounds that his wife would prefer him to keep.
Now let's add to this scenario an undercurrent of feeling that several extended offers of relationship building activities have been rejected when distance between the parties does not appear to be a huge problem. Now let's add in a feeling from the party of the first part that the children of the party of the third part have had similar issues as well. Now let's add in a willingness to forgive past wrongs if the other side will do the same, but an uncertainty if that will happen due to the lack of open communication. Now let's add in a desire to know "What have I done or not done to cause this?" Now let's add in...
Fortunately for the husband, the first woman has done a lot of hard work in learning how to speak Man. Sometimes she has to work at it, and sometimes she has to tell the man that she is speaking Man to him. He now knows that he is authorized to deal with this problem like a Man.
So, to tie it all together, I ask: You want to take this outside?
I respect women, and I love my wife, mother, sisters, and daughter. Sometimes, though, I wish that they could just deal with things like men instead of women.
Men communicate by exchanging information. They process the information they've received, and if there is any doubt or confusion about the information, they will generally ask for clarification or a fight.
Example:
Man 1: The USU Aggies stink this year and don't deserve to go to the NCAA tournament.
Me asking for clarification: You talkin' to me?
Man 1 providing clarification: You heard me, stinking cow herder.
Me asking for a fight: You want to take this outside?
Women communicate by building relationships. The truest meanings of conversation are carried not in what is said, but how it is said, and how it might be interpreted. They will exchange hellos in passing and spend the next 30 minutes trying to decide if the other woman hates them, and if so how much, and how much venom they should put into their next exchange.
Example:
Woman1: Hello
[Possible Interpretations, depending on tone and body language, among other factors]
- I can't believe you wore THAT today.
- I still hate you from when you didn't say hi to me three years ago when we were within 50 feet of each other in the Mall of America.
- I'm envious of your appearance, but I want to look like I couldn't care less.
Woman2: Hi
[Possible Interpretations, depending on tone and body language, among other factors]
- You vile hussy, you.
- Nice hair. Did your curling iron cause some singes this morning?
- What are you looking at? Do I have something in my teeth?
The possible interpretations get even better when one woman tells another woman about something a third person (or farther down the chain) said. We'll come back to this one later.
Notice that none of the possible interpretations are casual greetings. Of course, women often do exchange casual greetings and recognize them as such, but that falls outside the scope of my rant and will therefore be ignored for the time being.
This is why men and women can be so confused in a relationship for the first little while, like 10 or 20 years. A man asks for information, and the woman tries to build the relationship. The man asks for clarification, and the woman feels that the man doesn't care about the relationship.
Example:
Woman: Honey, can you please put the seat of the toilet down when you're finished using the facilities?
[Possible Interpretation] He loves me, and knowing that I would like the seat down will help him to show me that he loves me.
Man: Why do I have to put the seat down? Isn't it just as easy for you to put the seat down? Do I ask you to put the seat up when you're done?
[Editorial note] A man asks these questions because he is actually curious as to why WHO puts the seat down matters, and he would like to compare and contrast the scenarios of a man putting the seat down versus a woman putting the seat up. The poor sap has no clue that he has inadvertently brought his sweetheart to the brink of tears.
Woman: I can't believe you don't want to put the seat down. It's not like it's hard!
[Possible Interpretation] How can he say that he doesn't want me to be happy? I'm not asking him for some impossible thing. Doesn't he love me the way I love him?
[Editorial note] If a woman were to answer the man with something like, "I use the toilet with the seat down 100% of the time, and you use it with the seat down about 50% of the time, which equates to roughly 75% of the total uses are with the seat down. It would be more efficient to put the seat down after each time it has been raised", she would instantly "win" this argument/discussion at least 95% of the time. Of course, if the man would have answered her question with something like, "I'd be happy to do that for you", he'd have her happy as a clam most every time.
Man, still looking for the information he requested, or a fight: You're right, it's not hard. Ipso facto, why must I be the one to do it all the time?
And on it goes. I would guess that most of those who will read this post have had a conversation very much like the one I described. Nod your head if it sounded familiar, if you haven't already nodded.
Tangentially, why is it that the woman in the argument can get upset, yell, scream, and say mean things to the man, but when the man starts dishing out the same in return, the woman runs away and won't work the problem through to a resolution until she's cooled down? Why can't the man do that? Why is it that when a woman is upset about something outside of the relationship, she can stomp and bluster and wave her arms about, but the man is supposed to take it all in while remaining calm and providing what little verbal comfort he can muster? Why can't the man bluster and pace?
Obviously, the answer to the second question... Oh wait, I'm only going on 10 wonderful years of marriage. Can I say obviously and be truthful about it?
Anyway, the answer to the second question would seem to be that behaving in the calm, comforting way is the way the woman needs to be comforted and helped to vent her frustrations. Then the man goes to Guy's Night Out and vents to his buddies, who promptly forget about it because they've got their own problems to deal with.
Now, let's extend this thought process a step or two further. Suppose that a woman heard from another woman what a third woman (a friend, a family member, a neighbor, or otherwise relationally important person) had said about the first woman's children not being under control in the third woman's opinion. Let's now suppose that the first woman's husband is informed of the issue. How is he to respond?
He may think that it's a problem between the two women, but since the third woman didn't tell the first woman directly, he wonders if there might be a possible misunderstanding. However, if he presents that as a possibility and asks if the two concerned parties might want to actually talk about it, he may not be building the relationship with his wife. He may want to contact the accused party directly, but then he might be overstepping the bounds that his wife would prefer him to keep.
Now let's add to this scenario an undercurrent of feeling that several extended offers of relationship building activities have been rejected when distance between the parties does not appear to be a huge problem. Now let's add in a feeling from the party of the first part that the children of the party of the third part have had similar issues as well. Now let's add in a willingness to forgive past wrongs if the other side will do the same, but an uncertainty if that will happen due to the lack of open communication. Now let's add in a desire to know "What have I done or not done to cause this?" Now let's add in...
Fortunately for the husband, the first woman has done a lot of hard work in learning how to speak Man. Sometimes she has to work at it, and sometimes she has to tell the man that she is speaking Man to him. He now knows that he is authorized to deal with this problem like a Man.
So, to tie it all together, I ask: You want to take this outside?
10 March 2008 workout
Time: 6:15 AM
Weight beforehand: 340 lbs (13 lbs between Friday evening and Monday morning? It's got to be water weight, bodily waste, and scale oddities. I'd be surprised if I've lost 1 lb of fat. Still, the number going down is nice.)
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Level 3 the whole way.
Rating: Definite improvement. I still have sore calf muscles, but I pushed through this workout a lot easier than the previous two. I still had to slow down for the last 10 minutes or so, but at least I got off to a slow, and then faster, start and middle part.
Weight beforehand: 340 lbs (13 lbs between Friday evening and Monday morning? It's got to be water weight, bodily waste, and scale oddities. I'd be surprised if I've lost 1 lb of fat. Still, the number going down is nice.)
Length: 40 minutes
Program: Level 3 the whole way.
Rating: Definite improvement. I still have sore calf muscles, but I pushed through this workout a lot easier than the previous two. I still had to slow down for the last 10 minutes or so, but at least I got off to a slow, and then faster, start and middle part.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Sunday Observations
Why is the day of rest always so busy? I'm glad, especially on the day that Daylight Savings starts, that we don't have church until 1:00 PM right now. We've got to get ourselves and the kids ready, have a babysitter come so we can go to choir practice from 11:00 to 12:00, make meals, prepare lessons, and go to church. After church there are more meals, church members to visit, missionaries to feed, etc. It's a good thing that all these things help us feel uplifted.
Speaking of uplifting, I teach a Sunday School class of 8 to 9 year old kids. As you may know, kids at this age have lots to do and think and talk about, and a lot of that is unrelated to the lesson topic. One thing that I have been able to count on, though, over the two years I've been teaching this age group, is that the Spirit of the Lord always seems to cause them to be quiet and respectful when the scriptures are being read aloud in class. They may not be paying attention, as shown when we ask them about what we just read, but the class is never so quiet and peaceful as when we read from the scriptures, especially when it's one of the kids reading. It's very interesting to see in action.
My muscles hurt less today, but that might just be because I'm not working out on Sunday. We'll see how things go tomorrow.
Speaking of uplifting, I teach a Sunday School class of 8 to 9 year old kids. As you may know, kids at this age have lots to do and think and talk about, and a lot of that is unrelated to the lesson topic. One thing that I have been able to count on, though, over the two years I've been teaching this age group, is that the Spirit of the Lord always seems to cause them to be quiet and respectful when the scriptures are being read aloud in class. They may not be paying attention, as shown when we ask them about what we just read, but the class is never so quiet and peaceful as when we read from the scriptures, especially when it's one of the kids reading. It's very interesting to see in action.
My muscles hurt less today, but that might just be because I'm not working out on Sunday. We'll see how things go tomorrow.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
8 March 2008 workout
Time: 6:00 PM
Weight beforehand: 347 lbs (allow me to mention that my children have "enhanced" this scale many times over the years, and it has called the accuracy of said scale into question)
Length: 30 minutes
Program: Heart rate program that varies the incline. I didn't wear the heart rate sensor, so I had to deal with the less accurate sensors in the handle grips. It stayed mostly at level 1, but I saw as high as level 5 at times. My pace was tortoise-like to be able to finish it.
Rating: The pain killer helped me endure, but once I stopped, I didn't want to move any more. I had only taken half the maximum dose though, so the other half soon followed.
Weight beforehand: 347 lbs (allow me to mention that my children have "enhanced" this scale many times over the years, and it has called the accuracy of said scale into question)
Length: 30 minutes
Program: Heart rate program that varies the incline. I didn't wear the heart rate sensor, so I had to deal with the less accurate sensors in the handle grips. It stayed mostly at level 1, but I saw as high as level 5 at times. My pace was tortoise-like to be able to finish it.
Rating: The pain killer helped me endure, but once I stopped, I didn't want to move any more. I had only taken half the maximum dose though, so the other half soon followed.
Business Travel and House Flooding
For some inexplicable reason, the last three times I have gone on a business trip, there has been a flood in the house. Two of them were caused by my oldest son playing in a bathroom, and one was due to a faulty sprinkler system installation by the previous owners. I feel badly that my wife has to deal with these floods without me being around each time.
Guess what I have scheduled for this coming Wednesday through Friday? A business trip to Austin, TX has been graciously bestowed upon me by the manager of a different group at work. He's sending one of his guys to one of my customers so I get to tag along.
Note that appears unrelated but will tie in soon, I promise: My next door neighbor built a lovely house just over a year ago. He owned his own heating and cooling company which he has since sold for what appears to be a tidy profit based on his lengthy trips to Mexico and Germany with the family. He's a very nice guy, and I wouldn't mind someday having the success I imagine him to have.
I got a call today from a different neighbor that the next door neighbor's house had been flooded. I went over to help out and found out that he had been out for about 2.5 hours this afternoon (they need to sell the house so they can get a place with a mother-in-law apartment for one of their mothers, who is aging and in need of help. The realtor said they had a showing today so he took the family out during that time). When he came home, he found the front door slightly ajar with his own hose from the front yard sticking into the house either eighteen inches or six feet (I thought I heard him say six feet over the sound of many wet-dry vacs, but he held up his hands about eighteen inches apart). Someone had put the hose in his house and turned the water on about a quarter of the way. We were cleaning water out of the formal living room, kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, and basement, and we quickly discovered water dripping through the tile flooring into the ceiling of the basement, through the ventilation system, and throughout the basement. He's got his basement ceiling torn up in a couple of different spots, and with the 20 to 30 plus neighbors who showed up to help, we must have dumped over 50 gallons of water that we'd picked up. I feel really bad for him to be going through this, especially when it was on purpose and when he's trying to sell.
Now for the tie-in. A certain part of me is hoping and wondering if his flood, which I helped clean up for about an hour, will count as the flood for my business trip this week. I'm not superstitious, but I feel bad for even entertaining the thought in the first place. I've told my boss, in jest, that if my house floods again while I'm gone, I won't go on any more business trips because they are too expensive to recover from. I have never had anything like what he had happen though.
I reduced my workout length appropriately to compensate for the work I did helping to clean up and due to the fact that I was dreading my workout all day. My muscles hurt, as expected when one first starts an exercise program. Luckily, my marvelous wife reminded me that I should take a pain killer to kill the pain this afternoon, and I'm doing better for taking that advice.
Guess what I have scheduled for this coming Wednesday through Friday? A business trip to Austin, TX has been graciously bestowed upon me by the manager of a different group at work. He's sending one of his guys to one of my customers so I get to tag along.
Note that appears unrelated but will tie in soon, I promise: My next door neighbor built a lovely house just over a year ago. He owned his own heating and cooling company which he has since sold for what appears to be a tidy profit based on his lengthy trips to Mexico and Germany with the family. He's a very nice guy, and I wouldn't mind someday having the success I imagine him to have.
I got a call today from a different neighbor that the next door neighbor's house had been flooded. I went over to help out and found out that he had been out for about 2.5 hours this afternoon (they need to sell the house so they can get a place with a mother-in-law apartment for one of their mothers, who is aging and in need of help. The realtor said they had a showing today so he took the family out during that time). When he came home, he found the front door slightly ajar with his own hose from the front yard sticking into the house either eighteen inches or six feet (I thought I heard him say six feet over the sound of many wet-dry vacs, but he held up his hands about eighteen inches apart). Someone had put the hose in his house and turned the water on about a quarter of the way. We were cleaning water out of the formal living room, kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, and basement, and we quickly discovered water dripping through the tile flooring into the ceiling of the basement, through the ventilation system, and throughout the basement. He's got his basement ceiling torn up in a couple of different spots, and with the 20 to 30 plus neighbors who showed up to help, we must have dumped over 50 gallons of water that we'd picked up. I feel really bad for him to be going through this, especially when it was on purpose and when he's trying to sell.
Now for the tie-in. A certain part of me is hoping and wondering if his flood, which I helped clean up for about an hour, will count as the flood for my business trip this week. I'm not superstitious, but I feel bad for even entertaining the thought in the first place. I've told my boss, in jest, that if my house floods again while I'm gone, I won't go on any more business trips because they are too expensive to recover from. I have never had anything like what he had happen though.
I reduced my workout length appropriately to compensate for the work I did helping to clean up and due to the fact that I was dreading my workout all day. My muscles hurt, as expected when one first starts an exercise program. Luckily, my marvelous wife reminded me that I should take a pain killer to kill the pain this afternoon, and I'm doing better for taking that advice.
7 March 2008 workout
Time: 6:00 PM
Weight beforehand: 353 lbs
Length: Approximately 40 minutes (I kept changing programs on the elliptical machine)
Program: Mainly level 1 due to my heart rate being higher than the settings want it to be
Rating: I made it through the full time, barely. No tears, yet, but lots of groaning and soreness.
Weight beforehand: 353 lbs
Length: Approximately 40 minutes (I kept changing programs on the elliptical machine)
Program: Mainly level 1 due to my heart rate being higher than the settings want it to be
Rating: I made it through the full time, barely. No tears, yet, but lots of groaning and soreness.
Starting Today
I've been pondering doing a blog for sometime. I find myself so busy that I thought I'd hardly ever update it. Then I went to the doctor yesterday.
As background, I like to describe myself as large in stature and wide in girth. I have known for quite a while that I needed to do something about my weight, but I always found an excuse for not focusing on it terribly hard. My life has now settled down about as much as it's going to, and my excuses have run out.
The doctor said I need to diet and exercise. Which diet and what exercise really don't matter, but I need to really cut back on my caloric intake and exercise 40 or so minutes 5 times a week. This is slightly more than my previous regime of not drinking pop to save calories and working out for 20 minutes when I wasn't too tired.
A big part of this blog, at least at the beginning, is to help motivate me to keep up with my lifestyle changes. I can't give up in a short amount of time - this has to last forever, ideally. Wish me luck!
As background, I like to describe myself as large in stature and wide in girth. I have known for quite a while that I needed to do something about my weight, but I always found an excuse for not focusing on it terribly hard. My life has now settled down about as much as it's going to, and my excuses have run out.
The doctor said I need to diet and exercise. Which diet and what exercise really don't matter, but I need to really cut back on my caloric intake and exercise 40 or so minutes 5 times a week. This is slightly more than my previous regime of not drinking pop to save calories and working out for 20 minutes when I wasn't too tired.
A big part of this blog, at least at the beginning, is to help motivate me to keep up with my lifestyle changes. I can't give up in a short amount of time - this has to last forever, ideally. Wish me luck!
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