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!

To Gym or Not To Gym

 This is me when I was down to 232 lbs.

and a lot more active.

 

 

I've never been fond of exercise for the sake of it. I know it bears many fruits. It's great for you to stay lean or built, depending on what you want to do. But to me it's tedious and not my bowl of menudo. I get bored easily. Biking is the one thing that I really enjoy when I get a chance every once in a long while. Being a single father of two little boys is tough stuff. There is very little time left for personal hobbies. Especially when these hobbies involve you having to make arrangements for someone to take your kids for a couple of hours. I much rather wait and use those occasions for matters that can not be put off, like working after hours or going to the dentist (my premolar tooth on the right upper side is killing me right now).

 

My guess is that most people abhor exercise. Even though you see gyms full of people going at it, and gyms popping up all over the place in every corner, still, the majority of people much rather chill and down some chicken wings with a couple of cold ones than hit the treadmill. It's understandable. It's not natural to get on these machines and walk and walk, and end up absolutely nowhere when you are done. That's right, exercise machines are unnatural and arbitrary. So I've picked up on certain tips on how to go about achieving the effects of exercise without having to drag yourself to a gym, or step outside your everyday routine.

 

First off, stop fighting for the parking spot closest to your building where you work. South Texas College people, you know I'm talking about you. I work there and I used to do the same thing as everyone else. You get to the parking lot. It's packed like there's a free concert or something. Instead of driving on further, way down the lot or across the street to another lot, you instead opt to circle around over and over like a great white shark looking for victims to bite. You waste more time doing this than actually parking farther from your respective building. Not only that, but the farther away you park, the more you have to walk to get there. And if you are late, the faster you have to walk there as well. Think about the benefits of this self-imposed "inconvenience". Every step counts. And when you get to your building, TAKE THE STAIRS, PEOPLE! You might think not, but just these two changes can make a tremendous difference on your health and weight.

 

Secondly, whatever you are doing, whether you are washing dishes, organizing your Cd's, watching the tube or cooking dinner, don't just stand there or sit there. Move! Take on a rhythm. Or if you got no rhythm, then start jogging in place. The point is don't totally waste your potential time for some-any-kind of exercise just because you are "busy" and can't make the time to "exercise". Exercise is something that we do when ever we get our bodies in motion. It's not like saying, "Oh, I can't light those candles because I have no matches or a lighter." If you are fully, or even partially, able to move your body, that is all you need to burn calories. Unless the goal is to bulk up muscle, then you would need more intense "workout". But even then it does not mean that you have to put your feet inside a gym. Chopping wood, lifting heavy objects repeatedly, like broken branches, old batteries, etcetera, will yield the same results. Just get imaginative. If you want to get all Hercules and stuff, well then yeah, maybe you should invest in a gym membership or home equipment.

 

Lastly, I once read somewhere the general rules for ensuring the maximum calorie burning at every chance you get. The rule goes:

 

If you are lying down, sit up.

If you are sitting up, stand up.

If you are standing up, don't just stand there, move.

If you are moving and can walk, then take a stroll.

If you are walking, start jogging.

If you are jogging, run.

 

I don't know how far you could actually take this line of scenarios. I'm not even sure that the rule went exactly like this. But you get what I'm saying. The point is to keep on moving. Every day at every hour in every situation that you can squeeze in an extra demand on your body to exert itself and expend energy, you are doing yourself a favor. This, combined with a proper diet and the occasional meal substitution as I mentioned yesterday, will have you melting away the pounds little by little at first, and then eventually you are going to have so much energy that you will actually WANT to join a gym or offer the neighbor to mow down his jungle-looking grass and cut down all the trees suffocating his house to release all that new found extra energy.

 

 

UPDATE!

 

Today I ate like a pig! Okay, I exaggerate. I had three fried, sunny side up eggs, five long strips of bacon, thirteen stir fried mini-carrots, and two mozzarella cheese sticks with a 12 oz. cup of orange juice for breakfast. For brunch, I had 1 1/2 cups of old fashioned oatmeal with 1/3 cup of milk, six blue berries and a tablespoon of real butter. I washed that baby down with black coffee sweetened with stevia. For lunch, I had a handful of peanuts and cashews, a banana, and a bottled water. For late afternoon snack, I ate four strips of dried pork jerky, three mozzarella sticks and a few sips of diet iced tea. I think I ate more than usual, but I also parked far from my building, which means that my energy needs were more demanding today. Parking way out of the way forced me to have to walk for the equivalent of about thirty minutes; starting from my car to the building, then back to my car for lunch, then back to the building, then back again to my car at quitting time. Now that's exercise I can get with.

 

Come back sometime. I will be sharing some pretty embarrassing pictures pretty soon. You'll be quite amused as I parade my chubby childhood here for ratings! :p