Still haven't lost enough weight. People leave a 1 seat space cushion around me
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
True Story!
Once upon a time, not so long ago... I hurt my knee during a run. After 2 weeks off, I'm back into my race training. The good news is that I've still got some time. The bad news is that I've only got 3 weeks, one of which I'll be in San Francisco. Hill training, anyone?
7 miles this Sunday
8 miles next Sunday
9 miles the following
Then it's race day. It's time to rise up to the challenge of my rival. Something something something something THE EYE.... OF THE TIGER!
7 miles this Sunday
8 miles next Sunday
9 miles the following
Then it's race day. It's time to rise up to the challenge of my rival. Something something something something THE EYE.... OF THE TIGER!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Injury & slight derailment
I injured my shoulder. Simply put, I shrug my shoulder up when I do most upper body exercises. This reduces the space between my arm (humerus) and the tip of my collarbone (acromion). During and after exercise, it's normal for this area to be inflamed; however, that swelling combined with my tendency to squish it all together is causing the tendons in my rotator cuff to be worn down.
Consequently, I've started physical therapy and stopped all lifting from the waist up.
When I stopped running back in 2002 (after only starting in 2001), I never missed it. Not for a minute. I never thought I'd miss lifting either, but I do. I don't know how long it takes for one's muscles to significantly atrophy, but I'm convinced that I'm getting weaker with every passing day.
And this brings me to the snowballing problem. I'm not lifting, so I'm not putting as much effort into my nutrition. I should be increasing my diligence, but instead I'm skipping days of food logging, snacking on high calorie foods, and not watching my macronutrient distribution (i.e., getting roughly 40/40/20% from protein/carbs/fat, respectively). I've all-but-abandoned my weight loss spreadsheet and will have to put in some dummy numbers.
The optimistic take on this is that I've been able to concentrate on my running. I'm still training for the Broad Street Run and that's going well. Slow, but well. I'm still weighing myself daily, and have lost a couple pounds over the last 3 weeks that I've been slacking. So it's back on the wagon for me again. When I started, I really wanted to be in fair shape for when we opened the pool - basically, not be embarrassed to go in my own pool. Just working out and sticking with a diet for this long (6 months, 40 pounds) has given me the self-confidence to be able to swim in front of others, but I'm still going to have a bit of a gut. I have 10 weeks until pool season starts. Best case scenario is that I'm 20 pounds lighter then, and that only puts me 7-12 pounds away from my goal of <=15% body fat - unless my shoulder injury has caused my lean mass to plummet.
Consequently, I've started physical therapy and stopped all lifting from the waist up.
When I stopped running back in 2002 (after only starting in 2001), I never missed it. Not for a minute. I never thought I'd miss lifting either, but I do. I don't know how long it takes for one's muscles to significantly atrophy, but I'm convinced that I'm getting weaker with every passing day.
And this brings me to the snowballing problem. I'm not lifting, so I'm not putting as much effort into my nutrition. I should be increasing my diligence, but instead I'm skipping days of food logging, snacking on high calorie foods, and not watching my macronutrient distribution (i.e., getting roughly 40/40/20% from protein/carbs/fat, respectively). I've all-but-abandoned my weight loss spreadsheet and will have to put in some dummy numbers.
The optimistic take on this is that I've been able to concentrate on my running. I'm still training for the Broad Street Run and that's going well. Slow, but well. I'm still weighing myself daily, and have lost a couple pounds over the last 3 weeks that I've been slacking. So it's back on the wagon for me again. When I started, I really wanted to be in fair shape for when we opened the pool - basically, not be embarrassed to go in my own pool. Just working out and sticking with a diet for this long (6 months, 40 pounds) has given me the self-confidence to be able to swim in front of others, but I'm still going to have a bit of a gut. I have 10 weeks until pool season starts. Best case scenario is that I'm 20 pounds lighter then, and that only puts me 7-12 pounds away from my goal of <=15% body fat - unless my shoulder injury has caused my lean mass to plummet.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Pinch Test on Thursday
Has it been 6 weeks already? Thursday marks another 6 point skinfold body fat measurement day. From memory, my BF% numbers have been (roughly):
- 34% @ 0 weeks
- 31% @ 6 weeks
- 30% @ 12 weeks
- 29% @ 18 weeks
If hoping makes any difference, I'm looking for 26% this time.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Stuff Fat Guys Can't Do #5 - Order a Small Anything
I'm in my truck waiting for my daughter to finish her Girl Scouts meeting. I'm sipping my XL coffee from Dunkin Donuts, and it reminded me of how I fall into the value trap. I have never ordered a small coffee. Or a half-dozen donuts. I look at the menu and I'm sucked into ordering one of the larger sizes simply because I get more for my money.
I know in my head that ordering a small would satisfy my desire, but I just can't do it. The simple advice would be to break the habit, but with respect to Ralph Ellison, "I yam what I yam.". I've adapted by getting the big size and then sharing it with my wife. How she manages to stay thin and tolerate not having her own item is beyond me.
And that's part of it too. I don't want to share. It's mine, dammit!
This isn't a particularly insightful or helpful post, but it was on my mind and I had some time to kill while I sit in my EXTENDED CAB, LONG BED pickup truck. Damn, I can't even buy a small truck - and I don't even need one this size!
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