Category Archives: Weight Loss

No Pain, No Gain

21 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by in Cycling, diet, Gym, Weight Loss

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imageAt least that’s what I’ve always heard.  My first appointment with the trainer was on Wednesday of this week.  Like I said in my last post, he is one of my Eagle Scouts.  My main concern was that he would use this as a way to get me back for all the hiking that I made him do.  I’m not sure if he tried to get me back or not but I’m telling you one thing; I’m sore.  He worked my chest, my legs, and arms. He said he was going to take it easy on my first day then give me a good workout on the second day, that’s today.

Two things that I’ve noticed so far.  I want to go to the gym even on the days that I’m not scheduled to work with the trainer. I definitely want to get my money worth. The second thing I’ve noticed, and I’m not too impressed with, is the fact that I’ve gained two pounds since I’ve started.  We can’t have this.  I want to lose weight not gain it.  I’m supposed to talk with someone at the gym today about a Mico diet.  I’ve never heard of it plus I don’t do well with diet plans.

There is another thing I’ve noticed since I’ve been going to the gym.  There’s a lot more people there that are in shape than those that are not.  There are a few there that their shape is round like me but for the most part most are fit and trim.  It’s like those fitness commercials.  You never see a fat guy on a Peloton.  You always see a fit man or woman giving it their all on those machines.  I know it’s marketing but I think it would give us fat guys more incentive if we could see one of our own on those machines working out.  And why is it that they usually have a gorgeous blond, who is all fit and trim, curves in the right places and always smiling behind the sign-in desk?  They’re usually married, got two kids and 42 but yet look 21. 

UPDATE:  I got to the gym about thirty minutes early.  My trainer was busy with another client so I hopped on a spin cycle and for thirty minutes my legs had a decent workout. When it was time for my turn with the trainer we mainly worked on my upper body. It was already sore from Wednesday but I made it through. After my workout with the trainer, I spent thirty minutes on the treadmill.  When I left there, everyone knew I had a decent workout because there wasn’t a dry stitch on my body.  Maybe I can see a difference on my scales tomorrow.  At least I hope so.

I Joined a Gym Today!

19 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Cancer, Cycling, Gym, Weight Loss

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Well, actually I joined last Friday but I hired a trainer today.  I had no idea a trainer was so expensive.  Between the cost of joining a gym and signing up for a trainer, I’m spending over $300 a month.  Wow, that’s a lot of money.  But, if I can get in shape and lose this weight it will be worth it.  The gym membership is right at $40 a month for a year.  The trainer is $289 a month for six months.  I figured I could do without a few things for six months.  I will be seeing a trainer twice a week for an hour.  I had my free assessment today and the trainer walked me through the paces trying out all the equipment and letting me get familiar with them.  We didn’t really work out per se but I can tell we worked out. My main issue and I made sure I told the trainer this, is my breathing. 

I have three main causes of my breathing issues. One is I’m really over overweight.  286 to be exact.  My body fat is close to 40% and that’s really bad. Two is I have congestive heart failure.  My heart doesn’t pump enough blood through my body to carry enough oxygen needed when I exercise.  And three, the medication that I take for my CML causes fluid to accumulate around my heart and lungs.  When I have an issue with this it causes bad breathing problems.  Luckily, I haven’t had any issues with this since last August.

My plan is to work out three days a week, two of which will be with a trainer.  Funny thing is that my trainer will be a young man that was in my scout troop.  His mother also works there.  I just hope he doesn’t try and get me back for all those times I made him work.

I”m really looking forward to working out and getting back in shape.  Maybe doing it this way I will be held more accountable being that I’m forking out all this cash. My goal is to reach 225lbs before September of this year.  My short term goal is to get down to 275 so that I can get back on my bicycle.  It has a weight limit so I don’t want to get on there and break it.

I’ll try and post something every Friday to keep everyone updated on my progress.

See you then.

Life Has its Ups and Downs.

09 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by in diet, Disability, Family, Retirement, Weight Loss

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A shelf I built for the kitchen but ended up in the garage

Life has been so stressful lately and I guess I eat more when I’m stressed.  I thought when I retired my life would be less stressful but lately, it hasn’t been the case. I’ve tried to stay on my diet but that hasn’t worked out so well.  The good news is that I’m back on it and I’ve already lost six pounds.  I’ve set mini goals and I’m about four pounds before I reach my first ten-pound mini-goal.  My twin daughters will be graduating from college in May.  They want to go on a cruise in June so this has given me an incentive to lose about twenty pounds before the trip.  I really hope I can do it.

As I’ve stated last time I wrote, I had applied for Social Security disability.  I had my hearing and I got a favorable decision.  I’m still waiting on my backpay as well as my first check.  This whole process has me concerned somewhat.  I’m not surer If I can explain it or not but it makes me feel inferior or worthless.  I’ve worked all my life and over thirty-two years at my last job, not they’re telling me that I can’t work.  I feel like I can do something but I’ve got to be honest with myself, I do have trouble breathing when I do anything.  No one will hire me at my age with all the issues that I have.  So I guess I’ll just have to get over it.

The last two days have been dry and I’m glad it has because the few days before that it rained at least four inches in less than two days.  The next four days we’re supposed to get at between six and seven more inches.  There will be a lot of flooding and trees down.  Let’s hope that the severe weather that is projected for Wednesday is not too bad.

Tomorrow will be a hard day for me.  One of my friends worked for Kimberly Police department and was shot and killed the other day while on duty.  He will be buried tomorrow.  If you’re a praying person please pray for Nick O’Rear’s family.

Life Goes On!

17 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by in Cancer, Diabetic, diet, Leukemia, Weight Loss

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_1TH9138Happy belated holidays! Wow!  It’s been a rollercoaster ride for me and my family.  There is no way I can put all that’s been going on in one post.  If I did, it would be a very long post and most would not read to the end.  So, that being said I’ll probably post several topics in the next few days.  I’ll go ahead and briefly tell you what’s been going on though.

Diet  Nonexistent.  I really tired but these holidays were just too much for my weak will power.  I am back on it but and I have lost a few pounds.  I got on my treadmill the other day and I think the thing has a weak motor.  I know I weigh quite a bit but I don’t think the thing should stop suddenly like that. Maybe I’ll rejoin the gym at the local Baptist church up the street.

Dad’s Kidney Stones Dad called me up before Christmas wanting to know if I could take him to the hospital to have a kidney stone removed.  It seems that my mom, which is in her 80’s, had to take her to a clinic in the early morning hours that morning.  The doctor there said that he had a stone which was too big to pass on his own.  1.2mm x .08mm.  The clinic did not have the resources there to break up the stone.  I took him to the hospital and the doctor there said that they normally do not call in the urologist for anything that small.  My dad and I looked at each other. I looked it up and 1.2mm is nearly half an inch.  I called the doctor out on it and he reassured me that my dad could pass the stone.   The day after Christmas, which was about a week later, my sister made an appointment with a urologist and had the stone removed.  I won’t go into how they did it but from the sound of it, I wouldn’t want to have it done.  I spoke to him yesterday and all is well.

Oncologist Report  I haven’t been or heard from my oncologist since last August.  A lot of things have been going on with different meds that had me concerned about my numbers.  You see, I’m on drugs for some ulcers in my lower stomach.  One of the drugs that I’ve been on is Zantac.  This drug has been known to lower the effectiveness of my cancer drug as well as cause cancer too.  In order for the ulcer med to have minimal effect on my cancer drug, there had to be a six-hour delay before I could take my cancer drug after taking the ulcer drug.  Now, the new drug they have me on after taking me off the Zantac, they want me to take it four times a day but still keep the six-hour delay.  Can’t be done.  So far I have only figured out that I can take it in the morning and once at night before going to bed.  This is crazy. Oh, by the way, all my numbers are good.  

Ok, that’s it for tonight.  There are several more interesting items that I want to talk about so stay tuned.

 

 

Do Over Again

03 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by in Weight Loss

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I was doing so well and then just like a car hitting a stone wall, it stopped.  It’s really laughable.  This has happened so many times in my life that it really didn’t come as a surprise.  I’m upset and then again I’m not because I knew this was going to happen.  In the past several months I have forked out about $100 on diet plans and a gym membership.  I was following both when I got sick and had to be put in the hospital.  Of course, when I got out I was so weak that I didn’t feel like doing anything, including eating right.  I saw myself sliding down but I just didn’t feel like doing anything about it.  I thought about Thanksgiving coming up and that didn’t help any with all that food around so I decided to wait until the first of December.  Starting on the first of the month always seems easier for me for some reason.  Well here it is the 3rd of December and I’m already sliding a bit. It’s been too cold to get out and do any walking or hiking.  I’ve got a membership at a local church gym but I have always had an excuse as to why not to go.  It’s will power, or should I say, the lack of it, is the main reason I’m not doing well.

Since I know what the problem is you would think I would know how to fix it.  Well, I don’t.  I eat the wrong things, I snack too much, I don’t exercise enough.  I come up with a plan to exercise and I always find an excuse why not to exercise.  I’m doomed.  I’m by myself during the day and I have no one to push me out of this recliner.  I have no one to hold me accountable but me and I’m not doing a very good job.  This cold weather is killing me because it’s too cold for me to get out and do any type of walking.  I don’t want to even get out to get to my truck to drive to the church where I’m sure the gym is heated.

I’ve lost 50 pounds before and I know I can do it again but I was working then.  I had to get up and get out of the house by a certain time.  I walked at least 15,000 steps a day then, now, I’m good to get around 4,000 steps.  I had my meals at the same time every day because everything was structured.  Now, not so much.  I have my wife get me up at 6:30 every morning so that I can take some of my daily meds.  I have to wait an hour before I can finish my meds and eat breakfast.  Then it’s a six-hour wait until lunch. I do this because of my cancer med can’t be taken within six hours of one of my morning meds.

Tomorrow is a new day.  Let’s hope I do better than the past two.

End of Week 2 Update.

04 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by in Photography, Weight Loss

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This has been a very busy week.  Last Thursday was the last day of a very busy month.  I will not schedule as much as I did last month.  I never thought November would ever get here.  If you saw my last blog, you read of my accident with the band trailer.  I never heard anything today so I guess everything went alright with the insurance company.

The above picture is of an iron pour.  Sparks in the Dark, as they called it.  About 100 boy and girl scouts paid $20 for a scratch block so that they could “scratch” in the mold design so that when they poured hot iron into the mold, they would receive their artwork in solid cast iron.  This was Saturday night, which was very cold to me.

I lost two pounds this past week.  I thought about joining a gym with a personal trainer, one that would tell me what I’m doing wrong and maybe would develop a plan for me to follow.  Then I got to thinking, why would I do that.  Why would I pay for something that I knew in a few weeks or even a month or so, I would change my mind and not go.  I would be just wasting my money.  There is a gym, however, that a church sponsors that I have already joined a couple of weeks ago.  It’s only $5 a month and there’s no contract.  You can go one time a week or five times a week and it’s still the same price.  There’s no physical trainer though.  They do have some cycles, treadmills, a weight room, and ellipticals.

It’s supposed to be pretty and warm the first part of this week.  I think I’ll go to this gym or go to the track and walk.  It’s going to start turning colder by the end of the week so if I’m going to enjoy the outdoors I’d better do it now.

Over Zellous Hike

30 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Photography, Weight Loss

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I’m going to let the video speak for itself.  I will say this though, even though this was only a four-mile hike, the hills were tough for me.  I can go to the track and walk five miles and be sore a few days but walking in the woods with all these hills, that’s a little different.

http://www.tannehill.org/

 

Week Two My Weightloss Journey

28 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by in Retirement, Weight Loss

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I gained a quarter of a pound during the week.  I fluctuated a pound or two throughout the week.  I have several issues that I’ve got to get settled.

1)  Scheduling.  I can’t seem to find a schedule that seems to work. I want to be able to work out the same time every day, eat more or less at the same time every day and do everything else that I have to do.  One thing that put a cramp in my schedule last week is that my truck stayed in the shop more than at home.  I did get a chance to walk to the shop a couple of times and I was able to get some steps in.  The shop is a little over a mile one way from my house.

2)  Willpower.  I love to eat sweets as does my wife.  There is always something in this house that calls my name late at night.  In fact, my wife made chocolate chip cookies last night.  I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have any. In fact, most are still there, in a container sealed with a plastic lid.  I’m trying my best not to go into the kitchen.  She is a fanatic when it comes to chocolate, especially when it comes to that special time of the month.  I can and have told her not to purchase the stuff but alas, it somehow appears out of nowhere.

3)  Energy.  I have plans on getting out and going to the track or to the church and using their exercise equipment but when it’s time to go I find myself feeling tired and not wanting to go. If I do go, it’s like I have to force myself to get up and go.  Once there I’m fine. I want to go above and beyond my current skillset and I end up hurting myself.  I’ll give you an example.  Last week I went to the track to walk about 45 minutes.  I ended walking close to two hours because I wanted to push myself further and further.  I hurt for several days after that.  I just need to learn to take it easy until my body is ready.

I can do this.  I have no doubt about it.  After all, I lost close to 50 pounds the last time I stayed on this diet.  And, if I recall, I had the same trouble getting started last time.  The trouble is staying on a diet and keeping this weight off.

I have a hike planned for tomorrow and the next three days it’s supposed to rain.  I’ll try and visit the church gym one of those three days that it’s supposed to be raining.

Good News/Bad News 10/21 Update

21 Monday Oct 2019

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Good news; I lost 7.5 pounds.  Bad news; It was more.  Yes, I had lost 11.2 pounds in one week and I know 1) It was mostly water weight and 2) It was not healthy for me to lose that much in one week.  I did well all week staying on a schedule but came the weekend. When I worked, it used to be right the opposite.  I did well on the weekends but terrible during the week.

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I got involved with hauling the band trailer and at least twice I week I have to haul it to football games and competitions.  Friday night I forgot my prepared meal and I had to find something to eat.  Nothing but concession food.  So, I grabbed a hamburger and ate just the meat.  About an hour later my sugar dropped.  So, back to the concession stand again and this time I got, I’m afraid to say french fries.  That was the start of the decline.  Saturday was bad and we won’t discuss Sunday.  I tried but evidently not hard enough.  Anyway, here it is Monday and I’m back on the diet.

Seven pounds is nothing to scoff about.  Staying on a schedule is the key.  Knowing what and when I’m going to eat ahead of time helps me stay in control.  Anything that comes along that is not planned throws me off.  This past week has taught me a lesson.  I’ve got to be prepared for anything.  I can put low carb meal bars in my backpack when going on those band trips and I can store these Glucerna shakes in my cooler as well.

Dieting Comes With a Price

17 Thursday Oct 2019

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After spending an hour and forty-five minutes on the track I completed just under five miles and over 10,000 steps.  I’m so sore right now I can’t move my legs.  When I worked I average about 15,000 steps a day.  Now I’m lucky to get just over 2,000.

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My low carb diet plus exercise is working but you’ll have to wait until Monday to find out just how well it’s working.  My morning routine of scrambled eggs and sausage is about to get old but I’ve been doctoring them up with different spices to make them taste different.  If you’ve never tried “Slap Yo Mama” seasoning you need to try it.  It’s kind of spicy and the flavor stays with you for a while but I have to say that it makes a bowl of scrambled eggs quite palatable. I’ll try and post a picture tomorrow or the next day so you can see what it looks like.

The next few days will be busy and I doubt that I’ll reach any of my goals but that not saying that I won’t try.  I’ll get a few steps in while grocery shopping in the morning but I’ve got to go to a high school football game tomorrow evening.  Saturday afternoon I’ve got to pull a trailer for the high school band about two hours from my home so they can have their instruments for a band competition.  It will be about midnight on Saturday night when I get home.  Sunday might be a good day to get some steps in but we’ll see.