Another Thanksgiving of Binge Eating

So I ate a bunch of food over the Thanksgiving weekend.  No restraint.  None whatsoever. 

If it's got corn syrup or gravy on it, then I'm eating that.  Probably 2 or 3 servings of whatever "that" is...

Anywhoo...

Now I decide to weigh myself after a binge eating free fall.  Bad idea, I know this, but I do it anyway.

The damage: 288.2 pounds!

So posting again and thinking I need to workout.

Will this actually happen?

I hope so, because I will be attending a wedding in May.  So this is the push, to slim down for a wedding spectacle.

Flexibility is so elusive

I'm not flexible.

I believe this is causing problems for me.  Phantom injuries that occur over night, no physical activity involved.  I'm just so tightly wound my sinews snap in the night as I re-position.

I really should stretch more often...it's just hard to get into stretching.  I fear that I'll look ridiculous.

And if people ask me what I'm doing at the gym I'll have nothing to say other than, "oh, I'm really getting into stretching.  I need to cut down on my sleeping injuries." 

Which will gather a response something like this...

My only course of action will be to scream, "DON'T JUDGE ME!" and run out of the gym.

I still won't be flexible.  Sleeping injuries continue to occur.  Vicious cycle.

Getting Fat Again...

Upon completion of my last weight loss challenge I reached 288 pounds from 308, which was great.

The problem is I've already ballooned back up to 297 after taking a break from the competition...

The roller coast of weight loss success/failure continues...

Time to get back into the healthy lifestyle of eating healthy and exercise.

Week 7: Weigh In

So I missed a bunch of weeks, but I'm happy to announce to nobody in particular (nobody reads this) that success has been occurring.

Weight - 290 pounds
Total Lost - 18.6 pounds

There's one more week of this work competition.  If success continues I'll break into the 280's!  Time to finish strong.

Week 3: Weigh In

Another week has come and gone...

More mild success to the tune of:

Weight - 300.2 
Body Fat - 36.8%

Trying to be patient with the results, but they are 2 pound baby steps every week.  The truth is I can work out more and with more intensity.

Free Ice Cream

I was just offered free ice cream and I instantly accepted.

I know ice cream won't help me lose weight.

I know that the competition penalizes the consumption of sweets.

Is the momentary sugar rush worth it?

Apparently yes.  Maybe next time I'll say no to free ice cream...

Week 2: Weight Loss Challenge Results

Another week is in the books.  I was able to get more cardio in so I received points for that (I did next to nothing in week 1), which was very helpful and moved me up the ranks of the competition.

In week 2 I finished 6th out of 23!  A nice jump compared to 20th place last week...

Here are the numbers for week 2 weigh in:

Weight - 302.6
Body Fat - 38%

Heading into week 3 with some momentum, I've got to keep it going!

1 Week of Weight Loss Challenge

It wasn't an ideal time to start a weight loss challenge...

My wife had surgery and it's been crazy with travel, a stay overnight in the hospital, and trying to be Mr. Mom for my children while my wife recovers. 

All of these things restricted time for workouts.  There were more pressing matters!

Yet my results weren't too bad:

Weight - 305.8
Body Fat - 38%

It is a competition, so the points during a chaotic week put me in 20th place out of 23 contestants.  Not bad considering I missed out on a lot of workout points.

With minimal physical activity I lost 2.8 pounds, drinking more water, eating more veggies & fruits.  Once I get back into the exercise things should really take off.

Weight Loss Challenge Accepted

So I tipped the scales at 308.6 pounds today.

The drop to 302 was short lived.  I need to get consistent...hence I have joined a weight loss challenge at work!  A group of folk working towards weight loss together - community.  This is an important ingredient for success.  Now I have it!  Let's see if it works.

Mild Success Abounds

So I weighed in today after lifting in the morning...

Weight: 302 pounds

Since my first post I've dropped 6 pounds.  If I hadn't been on the weight loss roller coaster before I would be more excited.  That's because the first pounds are typically the easiest to lose.  Getting active and trying to avoid days like my pancake and pizza disaster are all it takes to see some results.

We'll keep it going and hopefully the next weigh in is under 300.

Pancakes and Pizzas

I really went off the diet train rails yesterday...

At lunch some work friends collaborated a pancake buffet.  I did not resist.  To make it worse I slathered marshmallow creme and dark chocolate syrup all over the flapjacks.  Cake isn't enough, I need to cover it in liquid marshmallows.

After I finished eating I felt like this...

And then it got really obese...FREE PIZZA.  Right after I gorged myself on pancakes.  Certainly I have no need of this free food.

I caved in.  I ate a quarter of a pizza despite being filled to the brim with pancakes.  Ridiculous.

Pizza and pancakes rocked me.  Failures like these just make me want to quit, but setbacks are part of the process and change is gradual.

You're Not Fat Until You Break Chairs

That flimsy, plastic, folding chair never had a chance.  It's poorly made and totally worthless.  If you're not going to build a quality product, why bother making it?  Money I guess...but now the damage is done.  Nothing drives home the message more clearly than publicly sitting on a chair and breaking it.  It's like having a herald sound the trumpet, "Hear ye, hear ye that person is fat!"

I've broken my share of chairs and benches.  The first occurrence happened in first grade.  I was bouncing up and down on the bench at lunch when a loud crack reverberated through the concrete room.  The wooden bench snapped.  The janitor wasn't happy.  I was embarrassed.  To daily remind me of my husky nature a duct taped bench waited for me at lunch and demonstrated I was not kid-sized.

As an adult I've wised up.  I do not attempt rest on flimsy plastic chairs.  Still I face chair failure at unexpected moments.

This weekend I was indoors, but I wasn't safe.  The antique chair is equally risky.  I gingerly sat upon the dusty old chair.  It's holding...I can breathe.  Within minutes a felts something hit my toe, it was a loose bolt fallen out.  The strain of holding me wiggled loose a bolt.  Of course this happened when I was stuffing my face with chicken nuggets, reinforcing the problem - you're too fat!  Don't sit on me!

In summary: I have broken many chairs.  When this occurs I feel fat.  Could the world make better chairs?  Yes.  Should I lose weight?  Yes.

When You Weigh 300 Pounds Embrace Low-Impact Workouts

Recently my knees have been aching constantly.  Ballooning up to 308 pounds will wreak havoc on one's knees.

What's the solution?  Low-impact workouts.

There are a variety of options available to suit your fancy.

Elliptical Machine
The most common low-impact option available at gyms is the elliptical machine.  Usually there is a small fleet of these somewhere in the gym.  It's easy on the knees and you avoid pounding the pavement that running on the treadmill incurs.

Cycling
Closely related to the elliptical machine, cycling is a great way to get your heart pumping without shattering your knees.  Whether you hit the open road or cycle on a stationary bike the sweat will flow.

Swimming

I've tried swimming before.  It's not my personal favorite for a couple reasons:

It's not always readily available - gyms don't always offer a pool and when they do space is limited.  There are typically hardcore swimmers that love to hit the water at ridiculously early times like 4 a.m.  Just go in the afternoon you say...NO.  That's when all the rascals get let out of school and the pool area is infiltrated with 4th graders in swimming caps.  If a lane happens to open up you end up getting lapped mercilessly by children.  Sigh.

This point is also petty, but I don't like the feeling of being completely soaked and trying to dry off before getting dressed for work.  Clothing always sticks to your skin and you're never completely dry when you get dressed.  It's probably just me, but I dislike this.

If you can live with these two inconveniences swimming is exhausting and protects your knees.

Rowing

With the advent of Crossfit the rower has catapulted to fitness fame.  Very fit and very cool people are doing this - usually after doing burpees for five miles, preceded by wall ball, and power cleaning a small child.  At any rate, I find this to be a fun and dynamic change of pace from the more common elliptical or cycling day.

There you have it, four awesome, low-impact options to safeguard your knees.

308: The Scale Speaks Truth

All great journeys are motivated by a moment when you realize that change must occur or destruction will arrive.  For me that happened when I looked down, over my increasingly large belly, to see the digital numbers on my scale...308 pounds.  Yikes!

To put things in perspective I'm a large adult male (not a 12-year-old girl as the gummy bear background and Hunger Games parody title may lead you to believe.  I just like candy.  What can I say?  I'm overweight.).  At 6'3" and a former defensive tackle, my frame can carry a lot of healthy weight.  Currently the poundage is NOT healthy or lean.  During my playing days the most I weighed was 286 and that was a powerful 286.

Football is over and my weight has soared to a new pinnacle of chubbiness.  Enough is enough.

Starting this blog is an attempt to process and correct my weight problems.  I anticipate a lot of thoughts about emotional eating, fitness plans, and finding a balanced solution that controls my weight. 

I hope that my journey can help someone else in the same boat.