Archive for the ‘Exercise’ Category

Hot “fun” in the summer time

Posted: July 8, 2012 in Cooking, Exercise, family, Travel, Weight loss
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Warmest greetings!

As you know, we spent yesterday at a family gathering in the Reading, PA area. For those of you who think they live in a bad place, Reading takes the cake. Recently named the most dangerous city in Pennsylvania, Reading is pretty much a complete garbage pit filled with gangbangers, druggies and corrupt politicians. It’s like a smaller version of Washington, DC, but without the museums.

I might mention at the same time, Phoenix was only 106.

Might I also mention it was hot yesterday? I mean really stinkin crazy hot?

That’s kind of beside the point, though. The nice part of the day was seeing a lot of family members who we don’t see nearly enough of and getting a chance to catch up. My cousin Kurt, an avid baseball fan and blogger, was telling me of his newest venture where he talks about all things Wildwood. It sounded pretty interesting, but then I realized that I really don’t like the beach all that much.

I checked out the blog, though, and Kurt’s got some great stuff… useful reviews and such on restaurants, attractions and amusements, and he also covers a lot of the restaurants with gluten-free dining in mind, as he lovely wife is afflicted with celiac disease.

I mentioned I’m not a huge fan of the beach. It’s not that I don’t like the ocean breeze or the water, it’s that I hate sand. Not really sand, but the fact that sand gets everywhere, including some very uncomfortable places. It’s a pain in the ass to get rid of, and well, it kind of stopped being fun the older I got. I also have no interest in being a sun worshipper… I once got a sunburn in Vegas that was so bad I couldn’t sleep on my back for over a week. Ever since that time, I keep a lot covered. Well, that and the last time I attempted to go shirtless on the beach, Greenpeace showed up and was trying to push me back into the ocean.

I realize, though, that a lot of people like going to the beach and many people go to the same beach for the same week every year. I also find it ironic that these are the same people who look askance at me for going to Disney as much as we do. It actually cracks me up… they will say, “Why do you always go there? It never changes!” They don’t seem to understand that for The Management and I, it’s a chance to see many of our friends from all over the country, and the world as well. I also wonder what gives people the right to ask that? I don’t say, “Why are you going to the beach again? It never changes!” All I’m asking for is the same courtesy.

Enough venting about this. I’ll leave the topic by saying that people’s vacations are their business. Now, if someone feels the need to venture to a tropical wonderland like Myanmar, well, maybe that’s worth a raised eyebrow. Otherwise, just say, “Enjoy!”

It’s tiny, but it’s a tomato!

Today was a landmark in our lives, too. Today we picked our first produce of the season. A very cute little tomato. I mean little. Also noticed that there’s a little pepper growing on one of the plants and both the zucchini and cucumber plants have blossoms. I give credit to The Management… I might water them, but she plants them. I don’t have a green thumb. I have more of a black thumb. I could kill kudzu. As a result, I try to never touch the plants themselves. Seems the only thing I can’t kill is crabgrass. Sigh.

Dinner

Tonight’s dinner consisted of sautéed sea scallop pieces with steamed broccoli and fresh corn on the cob. We tend to buy the scallop pieces. It’s nice to get them for $4.99/pound rather than $18.99/pound for the whole ones. I like seafood… you can eat a lot without a heavy caloric penalty. Granted, there’s cholesterol and mercury and all that fun stuff, but it’s tasty and very adaptable to any kind of cooking.

On that note, I’m calling it a day. Morning appointment with the exercise physiologists followed by work and all that. I’ll be posting a review of the upcoming Roger Waters show on Saturday at Citizen’s Bank Park. I’m really psyched to see it after viewing some video clips.

Until next time!

P.S. If you’re going to Wildwood, NJ, check out my cousin’s blog: Beaches And Boards. Also, if you’re not doing the beach but are headed to the ballpark,  check out his other site… Ballpark E-guides.

Upcoming challenges

Posted: July 6, 2012 in Bariatric surgery, Exercise, Supportive Partner Woman, Weight loss
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Upcoming challenges… it sounds a lot worse than it is.

Let’s look at what’s coming up.

First off, its tomorrow’s picnic and the abundance of picnic food. Especially as I have a cousin who invariably brings a tray from the Philly Pretzel Factory. Pretzels have long been a weakness for me… especially soft pretzels. In the bad old days, I’d eat an entire box of Superpretzels in one sitting. The ironic thing is that I wouldn’t use the salt packets… guess I was trying to be healthy or something. Probably something. I’m lucky in that I’m not a huge fan of potato salad and the like. Not quite enough carbs, I suppose. Not sure what’s on the menu, but I will do my level best to stay the course.

Next week I’ll be struggling to do five days a week at the gym. I know I’m going to have motivation issues… I always do. Luckily, Ryan has pointed out a little fact. If you tell yourself you’re just going to do a little, you more times than not will wind up doing the work you normally do. And besides, even if you do an abbreviated workout, you still have done more than you would have done otherwise.

Speaking of workouts, I did get to the gym today, as did Supportive Partner Woman (queen of the crossramp!). There were a few changes to the facility, but the equipment is still where it was. I started on a CrossRamp with fixed handlebars. I’m not a huge fan, but the ones with moving handlebars were occupied. I did five minutes as a warm up, then went to the arc trainer for another five. I noticed that the regular ellipticals were open and did another ten minutes before moving over to the weight room. I worked my chest and shoulders, but managed to throw in some back and leg work as well. All told, about 50-60 minutes and it felt pretty good.

Afterward, SPW (and I headed home and I watered the plants outside, then threw together a couple of veggie pizzas for lunch. These are so easy to make and they are pretty tasty. I take two of the FlatOut Italian wraps, some pizza sauce, a little mozzarella, and cut up some Roma tomato and green pepper. Put the flatbread in the oven for five minutes at 350, take it out, spread two tablespoons of sauce and around 1/4 cup of mozzarella. Sprinkle with the cut vegetables and throw it back into the oven for five more minutes. You have a tasty lunch coming in at around 200 calories. Not too shabby. Actually, between that lunch and my bowl of cereal and banana for breakfast, I was at negative calories for the morning. Oddly, I didn’t feel too hungry.

This brings me to the final challenge. As many know, I’m pretty addicted to Diet Pepsi. I managed to get from six bottles a day down to two. I’m going to try to wean myself off of it completely in the next couple of weeks. See, Dr. Ku and Dr. McPhee mentioned that studies have shown for whatever reason, both Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke seem to stimulate the appetite. Not saying that’s my only issue, but it’s worth a shot. Until I can get to total water, I’ve been drinking Propel Zero and little pouches of 4C. I love these things and have recently turned SPW (drinker of caffeinated beverages!) on to the half and half. Between that and the Propel, I’m doing better on my beverages, plus, since the 4C is sweetened with Splenda, I don’t need to worry about the aspartame melting my brain any more than it already has.

Anyways, that’s all I have for you this evening. Hope to report back over the weekend on how my face off with the picnic food went.

Have a great weekend

It must be really hot outside…

Posted: July 6, 2012 in Exercise, Physical activity, Weight loss
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because I’m actually thinking of going to the gym.

I know, you’re waiting for it to snow. I am, too. I’m thinking a half hour of cardio, maybe some light weights. Nothing much, but I’m starting to get to the point where I feel I should be going on my off days. I guess that’s a good sign.

See, I haven’t really been able to take walks at work these last few days. It’s been too dang hot. I really don’t want to come back completely drenched and smelly. This way, I can get drenched and smelly and if the opportunity presents itself, I can maybe squeeze in a short walk later in the evening.

You’re probably saying, “Uh, dude? There’s like a big mall not far from you.”

I know that, but the sad fact is that with my weight as high as it is, walking on the hard tile really wears on my ankles and knees. So, this way I can hit the elliptical, sweat, and all that good stuff.

Now, where did I put my membership card?

It’s Thursday, must be time for another butt whuppin’

Posted: July 5, 2012 in Bariatric surgery, Cooking, Exercise, family, Physical activity, Weight loss
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Greetings!

Having just returned from another session at the gym, I’m feeling pretty good about myself. In just three sessions, I’ve managed to get my cardio up to 30 minutes without totally feeling that my heart is going to say “Oh, hell no!” and jump out of my chest. That’s a good sign.

Seriously, I’m starting to feel some small changes in myself. Not only am I actually being active, I look forward to these sessions (does that make me a masochist?) and I’m finding myself able to dig deep into my psyche and pull out an extra rep or couple minutes on the elliptical.

The elliptical… quite possibly my favorite piece of cardio equipment. I get a good workout and it’s not as hard on my knees and ankles as the treadmill. They’ve also had me up on the arc trainer as well, which I don’t care for as much due to chafing. Might need to invest some money in a case of Bodyglide. Our friend Mel swears by the stuff. She’s like the Bodyglide queen… as she should be. She runs marathons and stuff and knows all about this sort of thing.

In the good news department, I was able to up the weight on my strength training and the intensity level on the cardio. It’s a good sign and both Cory and Ryan seem very pleased with my progress. I’m nowhere near where I want to be, though, but all good things take time.

Tonight was also my first visit to support group. I’ll surely go again… I found it very informative. I would like to stay longer the next time, but I had a lot of prep work to do for my next group of trainees. The program consisted of a brief talk by a success story, in this case a woman who dropped 175 pounds. There were before pictures and the after was quite astonishing. After her talk, Dr. Ku and Dr. McPhee took the floor for a Q&A with the guests. It was interesting, as both men seem very down to earth and very positive. They were following it up with a snack sample, but neither Supportive Partner Woman (sitter in uncomfortable chairs!) nor I were really into a tuna and white bean salad. I did manage to score a couple of interesting recipes that I will have to try. One is for a chicken chili that seems like it could be quite tasty. I’m always up for good chili.

So, that’s all I have for today. I hope everyone is staying cool as we have a few brutal days ahead. So much so that the Yard Sale of Doom, Part Deux, has been postponed. I’ll miss seeing everyone, but I won’t miss the yard sale all that much. We still have a picnic to go to in the afternoon with my side of the family. This time, no surprise party that I am aware of. Yay?

Until next time.

I’m feeling very psychic today…

Posted: June 29, 2012 in Exercise, friends, Physical activity, The Management, Walking, Weight loss
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I’m going to predict that between 1:00 and 5:00, the air conditioning will not be running.

OK, OK… there was a call last night from PP&L saying that they would be cycling the AC off due to expected load concerns. See, in an effort to save $8.00 a month, we let them install a switch on the AC that would allow them to cycle the AC. Maybe we should go shopping or go to work early in an effort to stay cool.

The primary focus of today’s post is the recovery from yesterday’s visit to the gym. I ached in quite a few places, and while my ankles are a little tender (you try carrying 368 pounds), the only other part I’m having issues with is my quadriceps. And only when I try to sit down. I blame the squats. I felt so good yesterday that I even took a 15 minute walk last night during my second break.

I was really pleased to see that the efforts of Supportive Partner Woman (user of the elliptical!) and I have inspired one of our friends to start a major weight loss effort. She’s even started writing about her process on her blog, which you can check out here. We are so proud of you, April… keep up the good work!

I never really compiled a list of what my process is for losing the weight. So, I’ll take a stab at it.

1) Exercise. Even just a regular walking program. We’re not talking Olympic speed walking, but a nice 3 mph pace… something to get the heart pumping and blood flowing.

2) Physical Activity. Take extra steps. Make two trips instead of one with the laundry. DO SOMETHING!

3) Nutrition. Be mindful of what you put in your mouth. As a diabetic, this can be quite challenging for me. Keep the carbs to a minimum and lots of fiber. Fiber kind of counteracts carbs, so if you eat a Mission Carb Balance wheat burrito wrap, it may say there’s 32g of carbs. There’s also 26g of fiber, making a total of 6 net carbs. It’s tough for somebody like me who could (and often did) eat a dozen potato dinner rolls at one sitting. Does this mean you can’t have any carbs? No! Just exercise some restraint. Also, when you’re jonesing for a snack, consider an alternative. Instead of reaching for the chips, grab a half cup of pistachios and get the protein instead of empty carbs.

4) Fluids. Fluids are important. Water is your friend. I was guilty of swilling Diet Pepsi the same way that a wino swills Boone’s Farm. It was nothing for me to drain six 20 oz. bottles of DP in a day. I’ve gotten that down to two. I’ve reduced my consumption by two-thirds and I’m still managing. That means I’ve also reduced my daily caffeine intake by a corresponding amount. Instead, I located a 64 oz. water bottle in an insulated case and I’ve been trying to drink that much every day.

5) Support and Goals. This has been the biggest struggle. I’ve found that having SPW on board has helped a lot, as has the support I’ve received from you, the readers. Many of our friends in the Disney community have expressed support, even volunteering to do a 5K alongside us when we reach such a point. That might be many months into the future, but it’s one of my goals. My immediate goal would be to keep losing and keep learning how to keep it off.

The author in 1998, right around 400 pounds.

So, there you have it. It’s not scientific… it’s mostly common sense. This is stuff that I always knew and just chose to ignore. You can only ignore the 800-pound gorilla in the room for so long (or the 400-pound fat guy in my case). My advice is to face the gorilla early and avoid the struggle later. Your body and your self-esteem will thank you.

Enjoy the weekend!

I survived!

Posted: June 28, 2012 in Bariatric surgery, Exercise, Physical activity
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Greetings!

I survived my first session with the exercise physiologist this morning. I currently ache in some muscles I forgot I had, but it’s a good ache. Hope tomorrow will be the same story.

I arrived at the Bariatric Physician Specialist office at 10:00 and Cory came out to get us. There were several of us in the session, and I figured I’d be the one in the worst shape. Cory, one of the trainers, took us back to the workout area. It’s a well-appointed space with several treadmills, ellipticals and rowing machines, as well as some machines and free weights. There are lots of windows to look out over the parking lot at the health campus. (For those of you not familiar with the health care systems in Cow Country, the Health Campus is a sprawling cluster of buildings containing all sorts of medical offices… in addition to the bariatrics suite, there’s a women’s and babies hospital, a rehab center, a hospice facility, and soon to be a cancer center and forensics lab.) Not the most awesome view, but nice to get some sunshine.

Cory started things off by explaining their procedures. They require diabetics to bring their glucometers and test before and after workouts. There’s locker and shower facilities, and clean towels provided.

They wanted to get a baseline on me, so Cory started me out with 20 minutes on the treadmill. It was a little choppy at first, but I soon got going up to around 3.1 mph and on a slight incline. Not too bad for someone who hasn’t set foot in a gym for the better part of two years. After I was done on the treadmill, Cory took me over to the weight machines and had me do some chest work. They are able to modify the form, which is a good thing since I have a partial tear of my right rotator cuff. After a couple of 12-13 rep sets, we started with the “S” word. Squats. Or, the enemy. He was smart and broke up the squats with reps on a pulldown machine. After more squats and pulldowns, it was back to the treadmill for a ten minute cool down period.

After the workout was done, we checked blood glucose again. Before I started, it measured 110. Afterward, I stuck a 97. Both are good readings, but I did take a glucose tablet before I started the workout, since the 110 seemed a little low. Next time, I’m going to just see how far it drops, especially since Cory or Ryan will be there to monitor what I’m doing.

I can’t thank those guys enough… For the first time I actually feel like I might get something out of going to a gym. At the very least, I’ll learn the proper form for lifting. The funny part was I didn’t want to leave the gym. Oh, well… little steps are a good thing.

I have another session on Monday… I’ll be sure to tell you all about it.

Two posts in one day? Sheesh!

Posted: June 27, 2012 in Bariatric surgery, Exercise, Stress, Weight loss
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Yup… you read the title correctly. I’m opting to use part of my break to write rather than attempt a distance record. See, the dogs were barking after last night’s walk. I thought it best to take an abbreviated walk rather than risk blister city and be knocked out of action for weeks until it fully healed.

So, tomorrow morning I have my first session with Ryan. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also pretty intimidated. Here’s a guy who’s exceedingly fit, next to me, Captain Schlub. My biggest exercise is usually raising a fork full of food to my face. I’m looking forward to it because here’s a guy who can teach me how to get the most out of a workout. I’ve done the gym many times, and it never seemed to help. It was like I wasn’t getting anything out of it. Plus, I was always intimidated by the gym because of my bulk. Some of the looks you could get from other members were downright brutal. I got the impression that they were offended by the mere presence of a fatty among them.

This general feeling of not being welcome has become a constant. I’m not saying everybody is like that, but you can see the disgust that my weight causes in some. I said in an earlier post that it seems that fatties are the only group it’s still ok to discriminate against. Seems that the beautiful people are disgusted by what they perceive as unattractiveness. Found a good article at Jezebel.com about the anti-fat hate crimes that are taking place. Here’s a small excerpt:

People tend to have unconscious but powerful negative reactions to those they find unattractive. Weight specialist Dr. Ian Campbell: “It’s innate in people to dislike what they see as a lack of attractiveness. It makes them think such people are worthy of derision. Very young kids have been shown to have a bias against their overweight peers.”

It’s sad, really, and while this is one of the things that the bariatric program has taught me. It takes work, but you can lose the weight and be healthier. I know I can get there. I made it once from 410 pounds to 270. Now I’m going to learn how to finally make the life changes I need so as to not rebound. Whether or not I have an operation, there are medical options as well as surgical. Plus, I have support that I didn’t have before.

If I leave you with anything tonight, please don’t ever feel ashamed to ask for assistance. If you feel you have nowhere else to go, search for bariatric physicians or ask your regular doctor. There are so many folks willing to help you be healthy and if you’re willing to listen, they can help. This is something I’m finally learning. I’m not alone. You don’t have to be alone either.

… We have news for the beautiful people. There’s a lot more of us than there are of you. – Lewis Skolnick

On today’s menu

Posted: June 27, 2012 in Cooking, Exercise, Physical activity, technology, The Management, Walking
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Good morning!

To all my Facebook peeps, I know I just posted a piece this morning… that was actually done last night. For whatever reason, WordPress doesn’t seem to like to post to Facebook automatically.

June 26 route

I set a new distance record last night on my walk. I’m posting a picture of it… gotta show what you do and a picture is worth a thousand words or something like that. The red is what I travelled and when I reach my goal, I will have covered the blue. Supportive Partner Woman (getting healthier in her own right!) tells me to take my time getting there and she’s right. After months of inactivity, my feet are still a little tender and it would be good to not get a blister again. You will note that there’s a little hiccup into a store. As it turns out, I won $100 through our walking challenge at work and I stopped to pick up some Propel Zero Kiwi Strawberry water for our team captain.

So, moving on to today’s menu. One of my favorite things to grill is pork tenderloin. I usually do a simple spice rub, mainly seasoned salt, garlic powder, and thyme.This time I’m going to try something new. For years, SPW’s sister has done a beef preparation that simply involves slathering horseradish on the meat before roasting it. The serious bite of the horseradish is pretty much roasted out, leaving a slightly zesty flavor that permeates the meat. I’m going to try this on the pork tenderloin. Since I have two tenderloins defrosting, maybe I’ll do one of each preparation and see which tastes better.

I also have soaked a bunch of black beans to make chili again. Since it went over so well the last time, I never got to freeze any of it, so I hope to this time.

Due to the prodding of SPW (aka The Management), I’ve started making use of an iPhone app called LoseIt. This helps me track my daily calorie consumption and subtracts calories burned through exercise. One of the neat features of the app is that you can use it to scan barcodes of your food and the app will pull in the relevant nutrition information. It’s not perfect. there’s some things you have to guess at, for example, it might take a while to enter a Chipotle meal, because each element of your burrito bowl needs to be entered separately. It allows you fo add custom foods, though, so theoretically you could easily total up what your burrito was and add a burrito line. I’m still exploring the app, but so far so good. There are many other apps out there to assist you in tracking calories… you might need to try more than one until you get one that suits you. That’s part of the fun.

One othe rthing I’m considering is posting a series of pictures of me and my weight over the years… from the good to the bad to the orca fat. I’d like the opinions of you, the readers, so I added a poll.

Until the next time, have a great day!

On the right track

Posted: June 25, 2012 in Bariatric surgery, Exercise, Food porn, The Management, Wegman's, Weight loss
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Greetings from the land of the slimmer!

I had an appointment this morning with the exercise physiologist and dietitian at the bariatric center. First thing, I got weighed. It was a cool 368 lbs. That’s a vast improvement over my last visit to the clinic for group where the number was 380. So, 12 pounds in about three weeks. Much better. The funny thing is that before you can have surgery, they ask that you lose 10 pounds. Guess I took care of that.

The first part of my appointment was with the exercise guy. I found Ryan to be very upbeat and encouraging. He was impressed by my walking regimen and wants me to keep it up. He also set up some appointments for me in their fitness center. It’s not big, but they only have six people at a time in there. They have shower facilities and most importantly, Ryan and/or Cory are there to show you how to exercise and lift weights safely and correctly. I start with a one hour session on Thursday and I’m really looking forward to it. Apparently, one of the risks with bariatric surgery is the  loss of muscle mass. As such, they want to build it up so you don’t lose all of what you have.

Cedar plank roasted Copper River salmon with mushroom risotto and steamed broccoli

Following my appointment with Ryan, I met Cory, the other physiologist. Then it was off to meet the dietitian, Shauna. She also seemed to be very supportive and was pleased with some of the dietary progress I’ve made. She was pleased to hear that both The Management and myself like to cook, and she was really pleased with last night’s dinner. We were at Wegman’s on Friday and I managed to pick up some Copper River salmon. I roasted it on a cedar plank with a sheen of olive oil, fresh ground pepper and sea salt on top. To go along with it, I made a mushroom risotto and steamed broccoli. The Management approved.

Today’s route.

So, I also added a new track to my walking playlist. I think my hair band loving friends will like it. Many might remember an 80’s hair band called Warrant. They were in the news in the past couple of years thanks to the death of lead singer Jani Lane. So, this weekend, XM 80s on 8 was playing a countdown from 1989 and Warrant’s little known track, Down Boys came on. It was very catchy and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. It sets a pretty good pace and I’m kind of scared to check my feet, because I might have overdone it a little. I did manage to walk about half of the Red Rose Commons perimeter. This gets me a little closer to my goal.

The one constant today is that everyone assures me I’m on the right track. It’s not easy, but when I saw 36_ instead of 37_, well, that’s a nice motivator. I’d love to have a 35_ next time. We shall see.

When walking feels more like swimming

Posted: June 19, 2012 in Exercise, Walking, Weight loss
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It’s never a good sign for keeping cool when the best way to describe the air outside is to call it “chewy.” Currently, it’s 79 degrees and 84% humidity. I’ve gone for walks in worse, but usually when I have a shower waiting for me afterward, or at least dry clothes.

Days like this present a problem for me as I’ve started to like walking at work during my lunch break. Conventional wisdom says it’s better to eat your bigger meal earlier, so I’ve started eating my dinner during my first break, walking over lunch, then either another walk or a little reading over second break. As I don’t want to go back to work after a walk smelling like a locker room, I was torn between walking and not walking. It was at that time I recalled the words of exercise physiologist Ryan, who said that anything was better than nothing. So I took a shorter walk with an air conditioning break in the middle.

See, we’re fortunate to be located near a shopping center with a lot of big box stores. My goal is to get to the point that I can walk the entire perimeter of the shopping center in a half hour, hopefully without huffing and puffing too hard. Then, maybe get to the point where I can do it in 15 minutes. On the map to the right, the lines in red are today’s walk, the blue lines are the goal, and the pinkish ones are my farthest walks so far. I’ve tried to increase the distance walked each day, going to a different store as an easy way to mark distance, since iPedometer isn’t always accurate.

Today, I just went to Home Depot and wandered around, not really stopping, but doing a lap of the store to keep moving. It cooled me down so I wasn’t drenched by the end of the walk. It was nowhere near as nice as it was last night. The Management and I got a nice walk in, going from the parking lot to the concert and back. If you’ve ever been to the Philadelphia sports complex, it can be a hike, depending on where you are parked. Look at the map to the left… our path is in red. Since the weather was so nice, it wasn’t too bad.

Moral of the story, every bit helps. If you can’t get your full walk in, do some of it. If you don’t feel like it, tell yourself that you’re only going to do a little, then when you get to that point, you’ll probably want to keep on going. I know I usually feel that, mainly because I’m outside and don’t necessarily feel like going back to work after I’ve been out on a lovely evening.

Also remember, if you’re going to walk, be mindful of traffic. Cars don’t always see you, even if you’re a big galoot like me.

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