Melting In The Sun

Today I saw a man on a park track at high noon wearing black shorts, black shoes, a black t-shirt and jogging. It seemed maybe he was on his second or third run, because he looked slow and kind of hunched over. I thought, "Who in their right mind would pick noon time in South Texas heat (even in "Spring" time) to go out wearing all black and jog in the hot sun? It doesn't make any sense!"

Then it hit me.

This man's motivation is probably driven by the idea that the more he sweats, the more weight he will lose.

Okay, perhaps there could be other very good explanations for why he was out there at that hour wearing all black. But, come on, Ockham's razor states: all things being equal, the simplest explanation is often the best one. I think he was trying to maximize his sweat output. It's all part of the mentality of "NO PAIN, NO GAIN".

 First of all, in my view, nothing could be farther from the truth when it comes to exercise and weight loss. Let me make it clear that I am talking strictly about individuals efforts to become more active and exercise more for the express purpose of losing weight. This post says nothing about people using the no pain, no gain idea to prepare for an upcoming arduous sports competition or body building show/cat walk (whatever they're called).

Who knows what that man was trying to accomplish jogging in 90 degree South Texas heat with the sun riding heavy on his shoulders. But he looked like a regular Joe, overweight, mid to late forties. Not the prototype competitor for the next blockbuster championship boxing match, I'll tell you that. He should have been wearing a straw hat, light colored clothes and carrying a large water bottle at the very least.

I used to believe that if I made myself sweat a lot while exercising, this meant that I was losing weight faster. And, actually, that is not entirely incorrect. Of course, inevitably you will sweat while working out, even if the ambiance, or the weather, is cool. And if you sweat profusely, you might notice a slight, immediate drop on your scale reading. But this weight loss is merely water expenditure due to your body trying to regulate it's core temperature, especially when you are exerting yourself in an already hot environment. This weight is easily regained when you replenish your body through proper hydration by drinking plenty of liquids, and/or eating the right water-containing foods, like fruits and vegetables.

In other words, while you may be somewhat elated that you lost like two pounds on your run in the sun, this means nothing other than that you risked heat stroke, dehydrated yourself and weakened your body. Chances are that by the time you are done, you will be so tired and almost sick, that you won't be highly motivated to return to the track until possibly days later. So in the meantime, your body shuts down to repair the damage and any progress in actual weight loss is lost. This happens to individuals who push themselves to extremes in their workout routines, as well. They effectively make themselves sick and so for one or two days they are suffering from all kinds of aches and pains.

Weight loss through exercise cannot be something that you rush. It has to be tempered. It must be used wisely and consistently in order to get the most benefits from it, and have lasting results. If you begin an exercise regimen and achieve some small degree of positive results in a short span of time, stick to that pace and be patient.

If you are seeking to alter your routine to try to maximize the results then do so very moderately, because if you over do it, you will only jeopardize your body's exertion potential and end up hurt, which will lead you to a longer period of recovery; in turn, this could undo the results gained, which will very likely kill or seriously hinder your motivation. This will sabotage your entire weight loss big picture/long-term plan.

So remember, if it hurts, makes you feel weak, dehydrates you, or pushes you to extremes which cancel your immediate follow-up work out sessions because you are at home recovering from heatstroke or something, then it ain't a good strategy for weight loss.

Do as a snail does. It is the consistency in the snail's pace that gets it to its destination in spite of its slow progress. We are not snails, so we don't have to move tremendously slowly, but don't over do it and you will see that your efforts will be sustained for longer than you might have expected.

And that's the point: to create good, healthy habits which can be sustained for the long term so that you may not be stuck in a yo-yo effect of losing and gaining weight, because eventually you might not be able to lose the weight again.

After experiencing a certain number of failures, most people just give up and resign to their fate as obese individuals. Don't be that guy or girl who says, "I'm just big-boned." No one is born being obese. We become obese through the consistency of our bad habits and the absence of good habits.


***UPDATE!

This morning I had two fried eggs, pulled pork leftovers (about 12 oz. worth), 11 sautéed, mini carrots, two slices of fried, soft, white cheese, two raw Serrano peppers, two cups of old-fashioned oatmeal with 1/6 cups of milk, one tablespoon of real butter, two teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 12 oz. of cherry Kool-Aid. That's right, I took it old-school, eighties, trailer-park-style! I then took a 24 oz cup of black coffee sweetened with stevia for the road. For lunch, I had a single-sized bag of pork rinds with half a large avocado and washed it down with some water. I will be eating a large orange with lots of cold water in a while and that should hold me pretty good until the morning feast. Until then...hasta la proxima!

Battling the Bulge: A Lifelong Commitment

 

 

 

Before I was an obese adult, I was a normal child; that is, of "normal" weight. But before I was an obese adult, I was also and obese kid. That's me in the picture above at about seven years old. The guy below is also me only a measly five years later, at 12 years of age. 

 

 

 



 

The GQ model in this next picture is me at about 24 years old. Forgive the quality. I don't have a scanner...yet.

 

 

 



 

 

You're probably wondering, "What's this last pic got to do with anything? I thought the theme was the formative years?" Well I had to try to offset the embarrassment of having shared with you that pic in the middle. Not exactly one of my proudest stages. But the real reason for including this third one in which I look slim is to illustrate the degree to which I have lost weight as an adult, since I already shared the one showing the degree to which I have gained weight. I told you that my highest weight level was 336 lbs. In this picture here at 24 years old, I was weighing 220 lbs. People who knew me before slimming down to that weight wondered and asked me if I was dying, had some terminal illness or was hooked on meth. 

 

That picture might not seem to illustrate an unhealthy, skinny guy to your eyes. But that is the point I want to highlight. Until about two days ago, I had never truly stopped to look back at my long battle with weight management. But then I started going over some old family photo albums and realized for the first time that I haven't lost, or gained, weight only once or twice in my life. I've been on a roller coaster of gaining and losing fat and I never even realized it. I was a child of normal weight for my entire "childhood" until I was an older kid, when I became over weight. In my very early teens, from about eleven to 15 years of age, I was obese. Then my hormones won the debate over whether I was more interested in girls versus food, so I slimmed down a lot. From age 15 to 19 years old I was at first thin, then slightly chunky. From 19 years old to 23, I was an overweight "big guy". That's how people who care for me described me. "You're big boned. You look good. A big guy like you would look awkward or sick if you were to lose a lot of weight." From age 24 to about age 30 I was thin, as the picture here illustrates. Then again, from about 31 to 35 years old I ballooned to the whopping 336 lbs. And now, I'm back again to a more "normal" weight.

 

Why the entire run-down? I just wanted you to visualize what has been going on in my long battle against the pounds. A battle which I was oblivious to. In part because when you get so out of shape, it is difficult to accept that you have let yourself go and are morbidly obese. Even your mirror lies to you. The scales are always wrong. Or nowhere to be found because, really, who needs them? And your loved ones, God bless their noble souls, are in on the self-deception with you, too! Perhaps it is culture. Perhaps it is refusal to call things as they are. Or maybe they're shy about calling you out on your girth and don't want to hurt your feelings. And then there is the traditions of the Rio Grande Valley. I don't blame my heritage and culture. I am responsible for my own health. But when you are addicted to a substance or alcohol or food, constantly attending carne asada parties on the weekends, or even bar-b-ques during the week 'cuz--hey, screw it! Light it up and pop open a brusky, bro!" Yeah, that is called enabling an addict.

 

When I was a child, I had a very stable appetite. But certain family members who had grown up in extreme poverty in Mexico and knew what it was to be without good food, felt they were doing us a great good by indulging our growing interest in the pleasure of eating as we started growing more. My mother would try to control our habits of asking for seconds after having had an adult-sized serving. But that is where my lack of self-control was born. A few members of the extended family would stop her and tell her to leave me alone and not stop me from eating as much as I could handle. "Don't worry, it's just a phase. He'll outgrow it, you'll see. Just let him develop an interest in girls and you'll see how fast he slims down. All big boys like him are like that. Let him eat what he wants."

 

They meant well. But they had no idea that their kindness was a curse. A cycle of bad habits that has taken me the greater part of my life to bring under my complete control. My mother had the right idea all along. Stop the overeating before it's too late. But it was too late.

 

Today is a good day, for I have seen the light. This effort I am making to change my destiny is the definitive attempt. The measures that I am taking here to lose weight are not part of a new "diet" phase. It's a total change in lifestyle. From the foods I eat, to the activities I choose to engage in. I no longer watch TV for hours on-end while rotting on a couch. I no longer eat simply for the pleasure of the pallet. Now I use my time wisely and for some physical profit. Now I no longer live to eat, I eat to live.

 

 

UPDATE!

 

This morning I had three cage-free chicken eggs, sunny side up. I grilled four slices of ham and sauteed about 12 mini-carrots. I also had three mozzarella cheese sticks and dowsed the entire meal with hot sauce. I washed it down with about 6 oz. of iced tea. For brunch, I had 1 1/2 cups of old-fashioned oatmeal with a 1/4 cup of milk, one tablespoon of real butter, and about two teaspoons of ground cinnamon. After that, I had a 12 oz. cup of black coffee sweetened with stevia. For lunch, I had an order of eight garlic Parmesan chicken wings with a side of sliced, raw carrots and celery. And to drink, I had a Diet Coke. After all this good eating, I have not felt hungry, so I did not eat anything else.

 

****Spoiler Alert!

 

Tomorrow is the day of truth. I will be weighing myself after I wake up sometime in the morning and will be posting the results on this blog. So be sure to check it out if you want to know the effectiveness of my strategy for weight loss. Hasta pronto!