Last night I saw a new "got milk" commercial that I hadn't seen before. It insisted that I need to pour myself "one more serving" of milk every day. Suddenly I heard Nike and Nancy Reagan battling in my head . . . "Just do it" . . . "Just say no" . . . "Just do it" . . . "Just say no" . . .
Don't worry, in light of the epiphany I had last week, this was an easy victory for Nancy.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Got Milk?
I just had an epiphany this morning. One that may change my life forever.
This past week I've started tracking my food intake and counting up my calories. I've had no trouble at all staying below my 1500 calorie per day goal.
The truth is, I've never been a big eater. Yeah, I know, that's what fat people say until we track our food for a while and realize just how much we really are eating. But I've been studying nutrition/fitness for over twenty years. I have a pretty good grasp on what's in the food I'm eating. And I really am not a big eater.
I watched "Heavy" on TV this week. The guy pulls into Wendy's and orders six Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and three orders of chicken nuggets. That's like 3,000 calories in one meal. And I cannot imagine how that much food can fit in one person's stomach.
I eat like a mouse compared to this guy. If I stop at Wendy's, I'll order one double stack (360 calories). If it's McDonald's, I'll get a McDouble (under 400 calories). I almost never order fries or drinks. And I don't eat fast food more than two or three time a month.
Most of the time I eat at home. A typical day (when not trying to lose weight) is a couple bowls of cereal for breakfast, a sandwich and maybe a little bag of chips for lunch, and I rarely eat more than 800 calories for dinner. In total, that's only about 1600 calories a day. Throw in an occasional donut, brownie, Hostess cake, whatever, that's still only about 2,000 calories a day.
My Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is more than 2,000 calories a day. That means I burn more than 2,000 calories a day even if I do nothing but sit on the couch all day (which is not unusual for me since I am self-employed and work on my couch with a laptop).
So if I burn as many calories sitting on my couch all day as I eat in a day, why am I fat? This morning it hit me like a ton of bricks . . .
It's the milk, stupid!
In a typical day (when not trying to lose weight), it's not uncommon for me to drink 3-4 tall glasses of milk. That's 6-8 cups of milk a day. But I drink fat-free milk so it's ok, right? Well, 8 cups of fat-free milk is about 720 calories!
Of course I've always known that milk has calories. So I never drink milk when I'm on a fat loss kick. But when I'm not focused on losing fat, I don't think much about it. I berate myself for the one or two (small) DQ Blizzard's I may have in a month. I kick myself for the occasional maple bar (maybe once every couple months). I hate myself for the half-dozen chocolate chip cookies I eat when my wife or daughter makes them (maybe once or twice a month). But I think nothing about the 3-4 glasses of milk I drink every single day.
This morning, for the first time ever, it occurred to me that if I were to tally up all of the junk food calories I consume in a year, it would pale in comparison to the 200,000 to 240,000 calories a year I consume in my daily dose of fat-free milk.
The fitness gurus say we lose about one pound for every 3500 calories we cut from our regular diet. So, in theory, just by drinking water instead of milk, I will lose 50-70 pounds this year. That alone gets me almost to my goal of 75 pounds.
What's more, with the money I'll save by not buying all that milk, I'll be able to pay for that cruise I promised the kids.
This past week I've started tracking my food intake and counting up my calories. I've had no trouble at all staying below my 1500 calorie per day goal.
The truth is, I've never been a big eater. Yeah, I know, that's what fat people say until we track our food for a while and realize just how much we really are eating. But I've been studying nutrition/fitness for over twenty years. I have a pretty good grasp on what's in the food I'm eating. And I really am not a big eater.
I watched "Heavy" on TV this week. The guy pulls into Wendy's and orders six Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and three orders of chicken nuggets. That's like 3,000 calories in one meal. And I cannot imagine how that much food can fit in one person's stomach.
I eat like a mouse compared to this guy. If I stop at Wendy's, I'll order one double stack (360 calories). If it's McDonald's, I'll get a McDouble (under 400 calories). I almost never order fries or drinks. And I don't eat fast food more than two or three time a month.
Most of the time I eat at home. A typical day (when not trying to lose weight) is a couple bowls of cereal for breakfast, a sandwich and maybe a little bag of chips for lunch, and I rarely eat more than 800 calories for dinner. In total, that's only about 1600 calories a day. Throw in an occasional donut, brownie, Hostess cake, whatever, that's still only about 2,000 calories a day.
My Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is more than 2,000 calories a day. That means I burn more than 2,000 calories a day even if I do nothing but sit on the couch all day (which is not unusual for me since I am self-employed and work on my couch with a laptop).
So if I burn as many calories sitting on my couch all day as I eat in a day, why am I fat? This morning it hit me like a ton of bricks . . .
It's the milk, stupid!
In a typical day (when not trying to lose weight), it's not uncommon for me to drink 3-4 tall glasses of milk. That's 6-8 cups of milk a day. But I drink fat-free milk so it's ok, right? Well, 8 cups of fat-free milk is about 720 calories!
Of course I've always known that milk has calories. So I never drink milk when I'm on a fat loss kick. But when I'm not focused on losing fat, I don't think much about it. I berate myself for the one or two (small) DQ Blizzard's I may have in a month. I kick myself for the occasional maple bar (maybe once every couple months). I hate myself for the half-dozen chocolate chip cookies I eat when my wife or daughter makes them (maybe once or twice a month). But I think nothing about the 3-4 glasses of milk I drink every single day.
This morning, for the first time ever, it occurred to me that if I were to tally up all of the junk food calories I consume in a year, it would pale in comparison to the 200,000 to 240,000 calories a year I consume in my daily dose of fat-free milk.
The fitness gurus say we lose about one pound for every 3500 calories we cut from our regular diet. So, in theory, just by drinking water instead of milk, I will lose 50-70 pounds this year. That alone gets me almost to my goal of 75 pounds.
What's more, with the money I'll save by not buying all that milk, I'll be able to pay for that cruise I promised the kids.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Facebook hates me
So I decided to make my fitness quest public and post a link to this blog on facebook.
But I didn't want people to skim past it thinking it was just another link to just another interesting article that they don't have time to read. So I opened up Word and wrote a heartfelt plea for my friends to help my on this quest.
After I posted the link to the blog, I attempted to post my heartfelt pleadings to my friends explaining why they should visit the blog. Only then did I learn that it was about six times longer than allowed by facebook. So I had to break it into six mini posts.
Then, after I refreshed facebook, I saw that it had buried them behind a link that says there are six posts from me. Does anyone want to click on a link to get six more posts? I don't. So maybe nobody will read the six buried posts. But just in case someone comes to the blog, here's what my buried facebook posts say:
I don't use facebook much so I didn't know I couldn't post something that long. I suppose my multiple mini-posts were probably a gross violation of facebook etiquette. Maybe all my friends will "unfriend" me and I'll be cryin' myself to sleep tonight on my huge pillah.
But I didn't want people to skim past it thinking it was just another link to just another interesting article that they don't have time to read. So I opened up Word and wrote a heartfelt plea for my friends to help my on this quest.
After I posted the link to the blog, I attempted to post my heartfelt pleadings to my friends explaining why they should visit the blog. Only then did I learn that it was about six times longer than allowed by facebook. So I had to break it into six mini posts.
Then, after I refreshed facebook, I saw that it had buried them behind a link that says there are six posts from me. Does anyone want to click on a link to get six more posts? I don't. So maybe nobody will read the six buried posts. But just in case someone comes to the blog, here's what my buried facebook posts say:
“I’m CJ, and I am fat.” With those words, I started an anonymous fitness blog five years ago (see my last post). There I have periodically documented my successes and failures on my quest to get fit. So far, the failures have taken a big lead.
Three weeks ago, I weighed in at my heaviest ever. I know some people think I’m only 30-40 pounds overweight. But I don’t have 220 pounds of lean body mass like Rulon (Biggest Loser contestant). I’m actually a 150 pound guy wearing a 100 pound fat suit. In fact, I have a higher bodyfat percentage than Rulon.
I have set some lofty fitness goals for this year. I am more determined than ever to get fit. And I’m off to a good start. But past experience says my motivation will wane in a few weeks or months.
So, after much internal deliberation, I have decided to make my fitness quest public and ask for your help. I need encouragement and accountability. I’m going to start posting some of my workouts on facebook. It would help keep me going to know that people are watching for them.
Also, for the first time ever, I am posting a link to my blog. As such, it will no longer be anonymous so I’m really opening myself up here – in a way I’ve never done before. If you have any interest in getting to know me better, you can learn an awful lot from my blog posts. Maybe more than you ever wanted to know.
Please visit and read at least the posts I’ve made this week so you know where I’m at and what my goals are for this year. Comments would be greatly appreciated.
I don't use facebook much so I didn't know I couldn't post something that long. I suppose my multiple mini-posts were probably a gross violation of facebook etiquette. Maybe all my friends will "unfriend" me and I'll be cryin' myself to sleep tonight on my huge pillah.
Just call me "Monk"
Remember the show "Monk" -- the defective detective? My wife likes to call me Monk because I have a tendency to become very obsessive about things. Sometimes this is good. Other times, not so much. This morning I've been thinking about how my obsessive nature has affected my fitness journey.
I have quite a few hobbies that I enjoy. But I do not do hobbies casually. I become completely, thoroughly obsessed with one hobby at a time -- and completely lose interest in all others. Sometimes the obsession lasts weeks. Sometimes months. Never years.
For example, I like chess. But I don't casually play a game of chess every now and then. No, I go years without even looking at a chess board. Then, one day, out of the blue, I will remember how much I love chess. Maybe it's because I've just watched a movie about chess, or one of my kids has asked me to play a game of chess with them. Suddenly, my entire world revolves around chess. I think about it every waking moment. I renew my long-forgotten goals to increase my very average chess rating to the Grandmaster level.
I go the library and check out every chess book I can find. I spend hours every day learning chess strategies -- on the internet and in books. I watch replays of narrated chess matches and study the strategies. I practice strategies and tactics over and over on the computer. I surf the internet to find every chess-related website in existence. I spend hours on Amazon.com shopping for the latest, greatest chess strategy books and computer software. After reading hundreds of reviews, I buy two or three of the best rated books and a program or two.
Then, one day, for no apparent reason, I wake up not thinking about chess. And most likely I will not think about chess again for several years. Maybe I just temporarily lost interest. Or, maybe, I happened to pick up one of my guitars and remembered how much I love playing guitar.
What happens next? You guessed it. The next few weeks, or maybe months, is nothing but guitar -- playing guitar, reading guitar magazines, researching the latest and greatest equipment, etc.
The last time the guitar bug hit I happened to be on vacation in Maui. I had brought a few guitar magazines to read on the airplane. By the time I got to Maui it had become a full-blown obsession. All I could think about was getting a guitar in my hands. I went to a local guitar shop in Maui to see if there was any chance I could rent a guitar for the week. No luck. If they hadn't all been so expensive, I would have bought one. Instead, I bought a couple of music theory books. I spent hours in my hotel room studying my music theory books and surfing the internet for guitar related websites. I even started planning a week-long program at the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles. When I did finally get home and get my hands on a guitar, the obsession lasted maybe a week. Then I didn't touch one again for many months.
So how does this relate to my fitness quest? It's probably pretty obvious. Fitness is one of the many hobbies that I get around to every few years.
I first got the fitness bug in high school. I got very interested in bodybuilding and fitness in general. I have studied it in great depth over the years and I become very obsessive about it every few years. But rarely for more than a few weeks or months at one time.
The longest was during my first year of law school when I was at the gym lifting weights at 5:30 AM every day. That lasted the length of the school year. At the age of 28 I was stronger than I had ever been and was only a few months short of achieving my goal of a single-digit bodyfat percentage. But after the summer internship, the obsession was over.
Twelve years later, as of the beginning of this month, I had lost 15 pounds of lean body mass and gained a whopping 85 pounds of fat.
Needless to say, fitness is again my current obsession. The good part of the obsession is that I have already lost nearly 10 pounds of fat this month and am still going strong. But I do not want it to end in a few weeks or months when I become obsessed with something else. Some way, somehow, I've got to learn how to sustain my desire to be fit. It has to become a regular part of my life rather than one of the hobbies that I return to every few years.
I have quite a few hobbies that I enjoy. But I do not do hobbies casually. I become completely, thoroughly obsessed with one hobby at a time -- and completely lose interest in all others. Sometimes the obsession lasts weeks. Sometimes months. Never years.
For example, I like chess. But I don't casually play a game of chess every now and then. No, I go years without even looking at a chess board. Then, one day, out of the blue, I will remember how much I love chess. Maybe it's because I've just watched a movie about chess, or one of my kids has asked me to play a game of chess with them. Suddenly, my entire world revolves around chess. I think about it every waking moment. I renew my long-forgotten goals to increase my very average chess rating to the Grandmaster level.
I go the library and check out every chess book I can find. I spend hours every day learning chess strategies -- on the internet and in books. I watch replays of narrated chess matches and study the strategies. I practice strategies and tactics over and over on the computer. I surf the internet to find every chess-related website in existence. I spend hours on Amazon.com shopping for the latest, greatest chess strategy books and computer software. After reading hundreds of reviews, I buy two or three of the best rated books and a program or two.
Then, one day, for no apparent reason, I wake up not thinking about chess. And most likely I will not think about chess again for several years. Maybe I just temporarily lost interest. Or, maybe, I happened to pick up one of my guitars and remembered how much I love playing guitar.
What happens next? You guessed it. The next few weeks, or maybe months, is nothing but guitar -- playing guitar, reading guitar magazines, researching the latest and greatest equipment, etc.
The last time the guitar bug hit I happened to be on vacation in Maui. I had brought a few guitar magazines to read on the airplane. By the time I got to Maui it had become a full-blown obsession. All I could think about was getting a guitar in my hands. I went to a local guitar shop in Maui to see if there was any chance I could rent a guitar for the week. No luck. If they hadn't all been so expensive, I would have bought one. Instead, I bought a couple of music theory books. I spent hours in my hotel room studying my music theory books and surfing the internet for guitar related websites. I even started planning a week-long program at the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles. When I did finally get home and get my hands on a guitar, the obsession lasted maybe a week. Then I didn't touch one again for many months.
So how does this relate to my fitness quest? It's probably pretty obvious. Fitness is one of the many hobbies that I get around to every few years.
I first got the fitness bug in high school. I got very interested in bodybuilding and fitness in general. I have studied it in great depth over the years and I become very obsessive about it every few years. But rarely for more than a few weeks or months at one time.
The longest was during my first year of law school when I was at the gym lifting weights at 5:30 AM every day. That lasted the length of the school year. At the age of 28 I was stronger than I had ever been and was only a few months short of achieving my goal of a single-digit bodyfat percentage. But after the summer internship, the obsession was over.
Twelve years later, as of the beginning of this month, I had lost 15 pounds of lean body mass and gained a whopping 85 pounds of fat.
Needless to say, fitness is again my current obsession. The good part of the obsession is that I have already lost nearly 10 pounds of fat this month and am still going strong. But I do not want it to end in a few weeks or months when I become obsessed with something else. Some way, somehow, I've got to learn how to sustain my desire to be fit. It has to become a regular part of my life rather than one of the hobbies that I return to every few years.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
C25k: W1D1
Well, I started the Couch to 5k program again today. I really liked it when I did it a few years ago, so I'm using it to get started running again.
Today was week 1, day 1 (W1D1). I was definitely winded at the end of each jogging interval, and my calves were really tight, but I was able to do the full routine.
Most importantly, it felt great to be out moving again.
Today was week 1, day 1 (W1D1). I was definitely winded at the end of each jogging interval, and my calves were really tight, but I was able to do the full routine.
Most importantly, it felt great to be out moving again.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The New Improved Plan
Ok, so I've lost eight pounds in the last couple weeks. Weighed in at 247 this morning. So I'm no longer at an all-time high. But can I sustain the momentum long-term? Here's my new improved plan: get the kids involved.
While my wife and I have taken one cruise, and several trips to Maui, the kids have never done either. And they are green with envy. So while brainstorming a way to get them actively involved in keeping us motivated to get fit this year, it occurred to me that a Hawaiian vacation for the whole family would get them really excited. So my wife and I made a deal with the kids (ages 8-15 now) that if they help us lose a lot of fat this year (75 pounds each) we will take them on an "epic" vacation. That means either Hawaii or a cruise.
We have made a pyramid chart to put on the fridge that the kids will use to track our progress. As I expected, they got really excited about it. And they are pushing us every day to get up and exercise, reminding us to eat healthy foods, etc. They each make dinner one night a week and, hopefully, this will help them choose more healthy dinners.
But wait, there's more! They don't have to wait a full year or more to get any benefit from the deal. We also promised them that after every ten pounds lost we will take them out for a family activity of their choice. They've already planned some of them out. After the first ten, it will be an evening of roller skating. After the second ten, it will be a night at the movies. After the third ten, we get to go bowling. The fourth is still undecided, but for the fifth (50 pounds lost), we take them to a water park. The sixth and seventh are undecided and then, as mentioned above, the grand prize is Hawaii or the cruise.
They've already given us some ideas and made some other plans for us as well. For example, we've been having pizza/movie nights (at home) most Fridays for quite a few months now. They suggested that we take the pizza money and have Friday swim nights at the local indoor pool instead. We agreed that we would cut pizza night down to maybe once per month, and go to the pool at least once per month.
Also, for our weekly family night, they plan to have us doing active things rather than vegging in front of the TV. It helps that we bought the Kinect for the X-box this Christmas. They love playing Kinect games -- and we've been having a lot of fun with it too.
In addition to getting the kids involved, I think I am going to make my efforts public this time. Sure I've had this blog for the the past five years, but it's anonymous and nobody reads it. And I don't think I've ever sent it to anybody. This time I think I will announce my weight loss goals on facebook and post my workouts there as well. That way, all my thousands of facebook friends can hold me accountable (ok, all ten or twelve of them).
I am restarting the Couch to 5k program and use an iphone app that will post my workouts to facebook if I want. I think I will. After the C25k program, I will be using the imapmyrun app, which is a really cool app that uses gps to track my runs. I can have that app post my runs to facebook as well. I may even post a link to this blog. Maybe nobody wants to read my "battle of the bulge" ramblings, but knowing that they have access to it may help keep me motivated.
While my wife and I have taken one cruise, and several trips to Maui, the kids have never done either. And they are green with envy. So while brainstorming a way to get them actively involved in keeping us motivated to get fit this year, it occurred to me that a Hawaiian vacation for the whole family would get them really excited. So my wife and I made a deal with the kids (ages 8-15 now) that if they help us lose a lot of fat this year (75 pounds each) we will take them on an "epic" vacation. That means either Hawaii or a cruise.
We have made a pyramid chart to put on the fridge that the kids will use to track our progress. As I expected, they got really excited about it. And they are pushing us every day to get up and exercise, reminding us to eat healthy foods, etc. They each make dinner one night a week and, hopefully, this will help them choose more healthy dinners.
But wait, there's more! They don't have to wait a full year or more to get any benefit from the deal. We also promised them that after every ten pounds lost we will take them out for a family activity of their choice. They've already planned some of them out. After the first ten, it will be an evening of roller skating. After the second ten, it will be a night at the movies. After the third ten, we get to go bowling. The fourth is still undecided, but for the fifth (50 pounds lost), we take them to a water park. The sixth and seventh are undecided and then, as mentioned above, the grand prize is Hawaii or the cruise.
They've already given us some ideas and made some other plans for us as well. For example, we've been having pizza/movie nights (at home) most Fridays for quite a few months now. They suggested that we take the pizza money and have Friday swim nights at the local indoor pool instead. We agreed that we would cut pizza night down to maybe once per month, and go to the pool at least once per month.
Also, for our weekly family night, they plan to have us doing active things rather than vegging in front of the TV. It helps that we bought the Kinect for the X-box this Christmas. They love playing Kinect games -- and we've been having a lot of fun with it too.
In addition to getting the kids involved, I think I am going to make my efforts public this time. Sure I've had this blog for the the past five years, but it's anonymous and nobody reads it. And I don't think I've ever sent it to anybody. This time I think I will announce my weight loss goals on facebook and post my workouts there as well. That way, all my thousands of facebook friends can hold me accountable (ok, all ten or twelve of them).
I am restarting the Couch to 5k program and use an iphone app that will post my workouts to facebook if I want. I think I will. After the C25k program, I will be using the imapmyrun app, which is a really cool app that uses gps to track my runs. I can have that app post my runs to facebook as well. I may even post a link to this blog. Maybe nobody wants to read my "battle of the bulge" ramblings, but knowing that they have access to it may help keep me motivated.
Two Years Later
My how time flies. Nearly two years without a post is a pretty good indication that I have yet to win this monumental battle. But I was somewhat encouraged when I looked up my blog today and discovered that I only weigh two pounds more than I did on the day of my last post, nearly two years ago.
Of course, I haven't remained steady this whole time. In fact, we did pretty well in that competition (second place -- and did not lose to "the champions"). My wife and I each lost about twenty pounds. But of course, the contest ended, life went on, and a year-and-a-half is plenty of time to regain 20 pounds and then some.
After the holidays this year I got on the scale for the first time in many months and was not happy to see another new all-time high. This time it was 255 pounds. So, of course, I am jumping back on the fat loss wagon. Will I be able to sustain it this time? I think so. I know, I've said that before. But this time I have a new, improved plan -- as I will explain in the next post.
Of course, I haven't remained steady this whole time. In fact, we did pretty well in that competition (second place -- and did not lose to "the champions"). My wife and I each lost about twenty pounds. But of course, the contest ended, life went on, and a year-and-a-half is plenty of time to regain 20 pounds and then some.
After the holidays this year I got on the scale for the first time in many months and was not happy to see another new all-time high. This time it was 255 pounds. So, of course, I am jumping back on the fat loss wagon. Will I be able to sustain it this time? I think so. I know, I've said that before. But this time I have a new, improved plan -- as I will explain in the next post.
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