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

To Skip A Meal

Some people associate skipping meals with restriction dieting or even eating disorders. But the science pointing in a conclusive sense to the act of skipping a meal being a health risk is not really there. In fact, there is really no difference between skipping a meal and fasting. Somehow, though, fasting has a positive connotation, while skipping meals is THE DEVIL! (BAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!...sorry). As I have mentioned before, I don't come on here claiming to be an expert in the science of food consumption and human body metabolism. But what I do relate here is my story. I can tell you confidently that skipping a meal is not only safe, it could be beneficial to you, as it has been for me. Unless, of course, you place very arduous workout demands on yourself, then yes, you do need to spread out your meals to cover your energy needs throughout the day. Nonetheless, when I say "skip a meal" I don't mean eat absolutely nothing. I mean just that, skip a "meal".

A good friend of mine expressed some concern about my post which I published yesterday in which I make it clear that I would not be eating dinner, since it was 7 p.m. and I don't have dinner after 6 p.m. (except on special occasions). She said "No meal skipping!" I don't want to make her sound like she doesn't know what she's talking about, because she is the type that works out a lot and is very disciplined about exercise, so of course, she needs to spread out her meals to meet her energy needs throughout the day. It's just that I believe that the act of skipping a meal can be managed to great benefit. And besides, there isn't conclusive evidence that skipping, or missing, a meal has negative effects, unless certain conditions are present. Therefore, you could benefit from it, but this depends on which meal you choose to skip. Say for instance that you skip breakfast. That could be good if you make sure to have lunch and an early dinner, preferably before 6 p.m. However, just because you skipped breakfast does not mean you can eat more during lunch or dinner, by the way.

In my case, I always have a big breakfast because that is when I break my fast, which lasts about 12 to 15 hours. By the time I have my breakfast I am hungry but not starved. That's the funny thing about it. When you have trained your body to stop being so spoiled asking for empty carbs in the form of starchy foods and bad calories in the form of sweets, eventually it gets the hint and stops being so whiny about it. So for me, when I have my breakfast, I don't have a big meal because I feel starved, I do so because I love food. It's a treat to celebrate my discipline. It also provides me with most of the calories and carbs that I will be needing for the greater part of the work day. It also makes the struggle of trying to control my lunch food consumption. Instead, by lunch time I feel only moderately hungry and am able to coolly choose light food to eat, such as high protein, low carb meals or just fruit or peanuts with water. This may sound like an open-and-shut case of restriction dieting. But I beg to differ!

I want to ask a question and I would like anyone to give opinions on the matter. I have never read up on this craze out there in the dieting zone, but I hear that the Paleo diet has gained much popularity. I am assuming that it deals with people eating a whole lot of natural, organic foods and no highly processed products. Maybe even more tilted toward protein consumption. But the question is this: "What would the eating habits of Paleo humans consist of?" I'm asking for opinions, but if there is an anthropologist in the room who wants to educate us, then feel free to drop some knowledge on our thick heads. In the meantime, I'll tell you what that means to me.

I think, just by what I have read or seen in cable shows about Paleo humans, it's clear that most of these people didn't have ready access to food like we do by any measure. So it would make sense that these individuals would very likely be missing meals all the time. I bet there were even days they went without any meals at all, other than nibbling on roots, or dried meat (if anything). Back then, the primary task of every day, I'm sure, was the acquisition of food through hunting and gathering. And they didn't live in the Garden of Eden, so they really had to bust their butts to kill game or find edible plants, fruits, and nuts. This wasn't accomplished everyday. It is pretty freakin' hard to bring down a good-sized animal when you don't have rifles and guns. Also, since agriculture and domestication hadn't been invented yet, they followed the herds into lands sometimes barren of edible plant food. And, yet, they not only survived but thrived, carrying the torch to these more opulent times. Let's face it, the three meals a day recommendation is a modern invention.

Well, that's my rationalization for skipping a full meal at dinner time and just having some light snacks and water or diet green tea. I gotta tell you, it's been quite helpful to me in the sense that I have much more control of my appetite. I am not constantly obsessing over food. I feel much more energetic through out the day. And at night, I sleep like a baby, without any gastro-intestinal issues that keep people up...or their bed mates, if you know what I mean.

So my recommendation? Read as much about it as you can. Talk to people about the topic. Learn as much as you can. But, while you confirm the information here, do as Adelle Davis said, "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper".


UPDATE!

Today, in order that I quell the possible idea that people might think I am using extreme measures to lose weight, I changed my meal plan. I had a grilled chicken quarter leg, half a large avocado, a side salad, green tea, and about two tablespoons of hummus for breakfast. For lunch, I had some more of that good chicken (the other leg, :p), the other half of that avocado, more side salad, two grilled mozzarella cheese sticks, two eggs, and a small slice of cheesy pork sausage. Don't sound like much of a diet, huh? Then for dinner replacement, I had a banana, a handful of redskin peanuts, and a bottled water. Tomorrow, I'll delve into what to do when you don't have all the time in the world to dedicate to the gym. Feel free to write your comments and/or take the survey up on the right hand, upper corner of this page.

Hasta pronto!

P.s. Here is a link to an interesting article about skipping meals:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/the-risks-and-rewards-of-skipping-meals/

It's an oldie but a goodie. Enjoy! :)

What to do about hunger.

You won't believe it (I didn't either) but most of the time when we feel a little rumble in the tumbler and immediately envision a gigantic three meat, double cheese burger with an order of large fries--biggy it, please--and a jug of cold, popping soda, it's usually not hunger that we are experiencing; it's thirst. You don't believe me, huh? I don't blame you. I thought the same way. "How the hell is any random guy going to tell me that I don't know my body well enough to know when I am hungry versus when I am thirsty?" Well, that's exactly what I'm telling you.


***Disclaimer***

[Now, first off, I ain't no nutritionist. But this blog does not purport that. I am a common guy who has experimented with the relationship between food consumption and weight gain/loss. I can tell you from personal experience that this is true for me and I am not the only one saying it. Look it up and you'll see.]

Now, when was the last time you actually skipped a meal because you did not have absolutely any way to feed yourself? Probably never. Unless you live in some third-world country and got nothing but dirt to chomp on. Otherwise, food is so accessible these days that most of us live within walking distance to a fast-food joint. What's worse is that it is not only readily accessible, it's dirt cheap! Edible dirt, actually, is harder to find and probably more expensive than fast food and junk food, but healthier for you, I bet. We are surrounded by food. This level of availability does not let us ever go hungry. In fact, we don't know what it is to truly be hungry. Don't get me wrong, there are natural processes and responses designed by nature to get us to feed, drink and do everything else our bodies need for existence. But we are so out of sync with what our bodies have to tell us that when our bodies tell us that we are full, what do we do? We take a minute to breath, wring our hands, chit-chat a little, burp and come right back to that scrumptious meal because we are used to it. In our society, the majority of us are taught to always try to get the most for the least. That's why when we are confronted with the question of fast food versus health food, we tend to choose the fast food primarily because it is cheaper. Also, we share a culture geared toward the pleasure of the senses. Everything is about constant stimulation and very little processing. That's what happens when we watch movies or get on the Internet. We view for laughs and action, and only rarely for seeking content which could help us grow intellectually, emotionally or skill wise. So, too, do we behave this way with food. It's about pleasing the pallet and rarely about fueling the body. And it's so easy and pleasurable to satisfy the pallet.

Well, I'm one of those that enjoys food very much for the flavors and textures and rarely see it as simply fuel for the body. If I were always seeing it as such then maybe it would be easier to make better choices about what to ingest. It's like being at the gas station and filling up your tank with piss. Chances are your car ain't going to run. Unless, of course, you drink Tequila like water, then maybe you got a chance. Most of us know what it feels like to eat a very tasty meal but then be incredibly sluggish afterwards. That's because we didn't feed our body the right fuel for it to function properly. When you feed on things with high fiber, water, and nutrients, the break-down process in the stomach takes on a whole different aspect. You don't get high insulin spikes. The water and fiber help you feel fuller for a longer period, and the nutrients are released evenly so that you are adequately fueled and ready to go.

This brings me to the answer to the question posed today. What to do about hunger? First, drink some water. You don't like water? Get some diet green tea. Have some non-sugary liquid first and ponder the question of hunger. Then if you still feel the pangs wreaking havoc, confusing those around you about whether you farted shamelessly or not, go for some fruit or veggies like carrots. I know, it's not as glamorous as a big ole bucket o' chicken but it will help you get your mind off the idea of solving the problem with fast food or junk food. (Unless, of course, it's your normal eating time, then have yourself a full meal, but lay off the refined carbs and sugar, please.)

So try it. The first step in changing the process of gaining weight is making small changes to our behaviors, our habits. Instead of reaching for the candy bar, go for the water. If it quells your "hunger" then it wasn't hunger at all but thirst coupled by a response to some situation or stimuli. Like eating a huge fast food meal after a long, tough day at work. Or eating half a chocolate cake 'cuz your relationship is in shambles. These are responses to external pressures and not internal needs.

UPDATE!

Day 2: The first thing I ate today was a banana. I then had two scrambled eggs with pork chorizo this morning. I also had a small avocado with pork rinds. I sauteed about ten mini-carrots, and grilled two mozzarella cheese sticks. And, lastly, I had about three tablespoons of hummus. All this was my breakfast. For mid-morning treat I had a 20 oz. black coffee. For lunch I had a bottled water with a individual-sized pack of roasted peanuts. (I'm guessing about 10 oz. actually). It's 7:00 p.m. Central Time (U.S./Canada). I don't eat after 6 p.m. I am feeling the hunger a bit. I am going to have a hot cup of green tea with Stevia. That should hold me...barely. (Personal note: Stop using the "Day" counter; could be cumbersome after a while).

Getting started...again.

The Background Story

 

This is me when I was at my largest. 336 lbs. roughly. The last time that I actually bothered to check my weight when I was obese in 2009, that was the reading. After that, I subconsciously decided to pretend it was not true, that i did not look bigger than my refrigerator, and that I could not possibly weigh all those pounds. "The scale is definitely not properly calibrated," was my deep down rationalization. It wasn't until early 2010, when I had a health scare that landed me in the hospital for what I thought was for sure a heart attack, (but which according to the attending doctor was just a panic attack) that I realized the seriousness of my blindness when it came to the negligence of my own health. I realized I would have to do something or possibly reach a very early death. You would think that this moment of epiphany would have yielded immediate change. Well it did not. I still couldn't get off my fat ass (physically and mentally) to effect the change that I need. It wasn't until November 2010 that I actually started the move toward a healthier me. I began with portion control for starters. Then I proceeded to educate myself about the benefits of certain foods and their effects on weight loss efforts. Then I began to include light exercise in my daily schedule, like walking, riding a bike, or simply playing with a soccer ball or shooting hoops with my sons (which I never did before on account of being incapable of moving faster than an 90 year old, arthritis-laden senior. 

 

By May 2012, after a full year and a half of modifying my lifestyle, I had lost 104 lbs! I used nothing in the form of pills (other than fish oil capsules, very infrequently), nor did I use expensive diet programs, and much less did I use any medical procedure to achieve my results. I did it purely on drive, education, and perseverance.




The Current Situation



Sadly, though, as tends to happen with success stories in the weight-loss world, I slowly and imperceptibly began regaining some of that weight. This is me just one week ago, and 33 lbs. over my achieved weight of 232 lbs. I have checked some height and weight charts and it seems that for a guy like me, 6' 2" and of a "large frame", I should supposedly be weighing about 195 lbs at the most. I don't believe that to be the case. You can see how I look at 232 lbs above in the second picture. I look damn near skinny. If I were to lose another 37 lbs after that, I would look skeletal. I'm not crazy about the anorexic look. But the worst thing about this current situation is that now, I have not been able to regain the momentum that I had created when I began losing serious weight. Many things have changed. For instance, I have a different job with more demands. I sold my treadmill thinking I didn't need it because of some alternative exercises I had come upon, which I can delve into on another occasion. I have become much more active as a writer and engaged in public speaking events. All this takes time, not to mention I am a single father and have all the duties of the home and my kids all to my self. And, worst of all, I have not felt the drive and dedication I once had to effect the change that I desire.


The Challenge

This brings me to the point of this blog. I am committed to regaining the momentum that I once had and fully transform myself into the person I know is hiding in this rough, damn near amorphous exterior. So I invite anyone to come and check out my progress and my methods to achieve this goal. I will describe what measures I employ, such as what i eat on a daily basis; type of daily exercise (if any); and any information that I find useful about what foods are good or not good to consume when attempting to lose weight. This is my pledge: I will lose 33 lbs. at the rate of one pound per week, so roughly four pounds per month for eight months plus one week (4 x 8 +1 = 33).

I began my effort yesterday (Monday, April 8, 2013). I will admit, I am starting in a rather drastic manner, for I had two eggs, about seven mini-carrots dipped at the tip with hummus, four cheese sticks, one small avocado and a hand-full of pork rinds; all of this was my breakfast. But then I only had a medium sized banana and a handful of redskin peanuts and cashews with a bottled water for lunch and then an orange for a two p.m. snack. After this I only had water for the remainder of the day and a cup of black coffee in the evening. So i am confident that if I am able to maintain this pace (albeit a bit more balanced with the right foods and exercise) I will have lost one pound by the end of the week. Remember, I started at 265 lbs. Monday morning. I will be weighing myself every morning but only reporting the resulting reading on the morning after the last day of the "diet week". That's right. I am creating this concept right here. The "diet week" will consist of the days spanning from Sunday morning to Friday night. Saturday will be my "day off". This means that I will report my weight before breakfast and then be able to eat whatever I want, and binge drink if the occasion calls for it the entire day! :)

One day down, 230 days to go. Wish me luck!


Gabriel H. Sanchez