Chubby For Life?

“Many different weapons are directed against us. Some of them have already stuck into us, others are hurtling toward us and about to arrive, while some that were intended for others strike us a glancing blow. We should not be surprised about any of the things that we are born to face, “Many different weapons are directed against us. Some of them have already stuck into us, others are hurtling toward us and about to arrive, while some that were intended for others strike us a glancing blow. We should not be surprised about any of the things that we are born to face, things that no one should complain about because they are the same for everyone. I mean it: they are the same, because even the things people escape are things they could have suffered. A law is fair not when everyone has experience of it but when it is applicable to everyone. Tell your mind to be fair, and let us pay the taxes of our mortality without complaining”.

– Seneca, Letters 107.5-6

I got on the scale this morning and found I lost another .2 pound. It seems consistent with what has happened in the past yet I feel impatient. I’ve only been doing the reboot for a week and I shouldn’t have such high expectations. In the past after ten days or so the loss would stall, frustration would kick in and I would cheat. I’m aware of that and will push through it. I plan to give this a minimum of one hundred days. At that time I will fully evaluate what I’m doing and make adjustments.

On the life front my father- in-law’s house sold today. One less distraction and more free time. I’ll be investing more time into the gym and hopefully if the humidity ever dials back, get back on the bike.

Things are going well. I have no real complaints. Another busy day with the realtor finalizing things and tying up lose ends.

1974 I”m on the far left.  In a high school play called The Physicists

I'm beginning to think it is time for a bit more balance in my life.

I played poker three days in a row. The amount of hours spent playing poker is not in line with the many goals that I want to achieve in my life. I haven't been ably to study guitar, chess or any of my other hobbies to my satisfaction.

My health allows me to do all these things so it has to become foremost in my thoughts. The plan is to play less poker, but make games I do play count. Music and writing is what I do for my mental health. The gym comes first.

I find myself making better choices health wise. I needed a break tonight as I was just tired. I found myself craving something. Before this I would have had some high calorie, high carbohydrate food like pizza or ice cream. Instead I had Noosa Yoghurt. It's damn tasty and a small container (4 oz) is only 150 calories

Better choices in how I spend my time along with how I eat will make a difference over time.

No time for a video today. I played poker last night and didn't get to bed until 3am. Slept in until 8am and went to the gym to get my steps in. I have a full day of poker ahead so I'm glad I did something early.

This was when I was much younger. I was slimmer but made up for it with the twenty pounds of hair.

Get busy with life’s purpose, toss aside empty hopes, get active in your own rescue—if you care for yourself at all—and do it while you can.” – Marcus Aurelius

Went to the gym to get steps in and check out the free weights room.  Walking around I watched some of the old fogies (some younger than me) playing Pickle Ball.  I spoke to the front desk about finding a personal trainer.  Even though I am on a fixed income I think it would be wise to find someone who can guide me through this.  A few names were given with texts being sent out.

I am losing weight slowly and I can feel my endurance increasing.  So far everything is going according to plan.  I feel good.

From ten years ago

I made a mistake today that I’ve made in the past that has been diet destruction.

My wife’s phone died and as with most folk her entire life is in it.  We headed out to Verizon early and spent a lot of time there.   While out and about got a bunch of things done that have been needed to be done.  Here’s where the problem was.  We hadn’t eaten and it was 2pm.

In the past we would get busy, not eat and head to some eating establishment.  Feeling like I’m starving I overeat, go home and take a nap.  Get up and eat some more.  Then since the diet was busted eat some more before bed, no more.

We decided to go to Olive Garden.  The wife loves it there and I can find food.  In the old days I’d have a couple bowls of soup, seven or eight garlic breads and a main course.  Instead I pulled up MyFitnessPal and realized I could have one bowl of Chicken & Gnocchi soup (250 calories), Lasagna Classico (650 calories) and two bread sticks (280 calories).  Total of 1180 calories for a combined breakfast and lunch.  With a light dinner I would stay under my limit.  When I was done I was full and satisfied.  I can do this.

I’ve been walking five miles every day since I started and this heat and humidity has been brutal.  If I don’t walk in the morning I am screwed.  I walked last night and if felt like I was breathing through a straw.  It was even worse today.  I can’t let myself stop due to weather so we did something about it.  The wife and I joined a gym today.  We joined Splashzone in Oberlin.  Now I can go there and swim, workout and walk.  Hell, we can even play Pickle Ball! Day by day I’m removing excuses and replacing them with opportunities.

This is one more day when I’ve been going non-stop.  A friend invited me out to a shooting range and a shot a couple different hand guns.  Had never fired one before.  It as an interesting experience. At any rate I didn’t have time to make a video.  I’ll get back on that horse soon.

Things are going well.  I’m down about ten pounds.  It’s working and I will keep making adjustments.

Things are going well.  The weight is dropping slowly but surely.  I spent the morning cleaning up a corner of the basement.  Tonight I’ll be setting up the weight room.  I have weights, assorted bars, a weight bench and pull-up machine.  With it set up I will no longer have any excuses.

I took my brother to The Seidman Cancer Center today.   I’ve been helping him battle cancer for the last two years.  His cancer has come back again and it doesn’t look good.  They are going to start him on a clinical trial for an immunotherapy drug.  Even if he gets in, there is a chance that he will not get the drug, but a placebo.  So, it looks like I have months of taking him to Cleveland for treatment.  I watched my other brother go through this six years ago.  I was with him when he died. My mother became ill right after and I took care of  her.  The stress has been with me for too long.

When we left he was hungry for Red Robin so we stopped in.  I was able to use MyFitnessPal to find the best option on what to eat.  Even eating at a place like that I was able to find healthy lower calorie options.

Yesterday was a great day.  I got up very early and walked over five miles.  At the end of the day I had over seven miles.  I kept my calories down and everything is going well.

Today has been a bit crazy due to my father-in-law’s house going up for sale.  So many little things to take care of.  In the past I would have been so busy that I would have abandoned my plan, come home and ordered a large pizza.  Back then I was on the Whole Foods diet.  A whole pizza, whole chicken, etc.  That was my old life.

Got a new app for the iPhone.  I’ve been using Fatwatch and like it because it uses a moving average for the graphs but it isn’t being updated so I switched over to Monitor Your Weight .  It does everything that Fatwatch did and a lot more.  Here is a screenshot.

Notice it says Obese Class III?  Ouch!!!  Good thing I’m doing something about this before something serious happens.  I have been deceiving myself for too long.  I can walk five miles at a brisk pace non-stop, it fooled me.  No more.

I started doing Tai Chi for flexibility.  I studied Tang Soo Do when I was in my twenties but at this age I want a more internal style.   I found The Great Courses lesson on it and I’ll be doing that daily.

I plan to start doing light weight training soon but want to be smart.  The last thing I want to do is injure myself.  I’ll do the research and start slowly.  I have all the equiptment, all I need now is the knowledge.

Looking back it was silly for me to start this program before I went to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker Main Event.  I had won a free seat into the $10,000 event.  The time right before, during and right after were fraught with challenges.  No matter, I started yesterday and will continue unabated.

Being raised by an agoraphobic I have been averse to travel up until the last few years.  Las Vegas was a milestone for me and a bizarre experience.  I met many of my poker heroes, from Humberto Brenes to Marcel Luske.  It was an experience that I will repeat.

Looking at my pictures I’m actually surprised at how heavy I look.  Especially when we went to Red Rock.  The desert was beyond beautiful.  The tour bus took us to spots and we would get out and take pictures.  The 120°F heat was brutal.  If I stood in one place too long I would have been just a grease puddle.

I had never seen desert before and the incredible beauty and sheer vastness was surprising.  I have to go back in the Fall or Winter so that I can hike.

To show you how bad I look here is a photo of me in the desert.

This will not stand.  I will lose the weight.

I started the weight loss thing a short time before I went to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker.  I made it late day two before I busted. 

It was impossible to anything health wise while I was here.  Either I was very busy or it was 118F.  

I’m coming home tomorrow and I am twice as motivated as before to get in shape. 

What  a day!

The air conditioner in my wife’s car died so I made an appointment to take it in.  The wife forgot about it so this morning at 7am I took it in.  It’s four miles from my house so I saw an opportunity for early morning steps, before the humidity kicked in.

On the way I saw a new sign outside our development for the Self Store-It.  I was impressed that they misspelled the name of the street it was on.

 We were to have a carpet guy, landscaper and handyman come to the house later in the day.  They all got there early just as the wife was getting up.  Here’s where the fun begins.  The wife comes over and gets involved with them, telling them what she wants.  Suddenly she realized she had a hair appointment and she was late.  She takes my truck and heads off.  As soon as she’s gone I realize that the key to the house is on the truck key ring.

I had the handyman take me into town for the key off the wife’s key ring at the repair shop.  We got back and as we pulled in the wife called.  In her rush she had forgotten her purse and the car was on E.   Meanwhile the neighbor who I’ve only waved to came over and started telling me about his melanoma.

I showed the handyman what I wanted and the landscaper what I needed.  Got back in touch with the wife and told her to dig around and she should be able to find $3.18 in change.  I headed home, eager for a respite.

Grabbed my good old Martin guitar and strummed a D chord.  The e string broke, whipped around and missed my eye by a quarter of a millimeter.  Luckily I was wearing glasses.  I changed the strings and played a few songs.  Feeling better I thought I’d write on my blog.

I hit the keys on the keyboard and nothing happened.  I checked the wire and it had chew marks where the cat had been munching like a feline termite.  Damn.  Ruined.

The wire eating culprit

In  the past I’ve allowed the chaos to derail my efforts at a healthier life.  I can no longer do that.  Push through it, then past it.  No more excuses, no more reasons.