I started the Slimfast plan today to lose some weight. It’s 5 p.m. and I’m hungry as shit! I could probably eat a Big Mac in about 3 bites right now. Of course that’s accounting for the time it’d take to sip a Diet Coke in between bites.

Ugghhh… I guess dealing with hunger is the biggest issue I’ve got to overcome at this point. I was able to quit an 18 year tobacco  habit a few years ago, this shouldn’t be too much worse. The biggest difference is that back then I had “The Patch” to get me through moments of weakness. I’d like to think that my resolve has been steeled over the years, but I think this is going to take every once of self discipline I can muster.

More tomorrow.

If I survive.

Long term goals can make you feel like there's an endless path ahead.

So I’m back to blogging about my efforts to lose weight after a month of silence. November turned into a busy month and left little time for blogging. I gave myself a few days off of the scale around Thanksgiving but found that I still lost a pound without trying which was nice since I expected a slight weight gain. That was a very satisfying pound.

I’ve decided to explore an idea I had a while ago, to focus on losing in small increments instead of the big number. At the end of this I will have lost about 85 pounds, but it’s hard to feel successful on a weekly basis with only a few pounds lighter. My interim goals are three pounds a week, which is still a lot per the weight loss literature out there but I think it’s sustainable.

Another way I’ve started approaching my weight loss in an incremental manner is by planning periods of focused effort follow by a week of relaxation. This doesn’t mean I intend to gorge myself during the week off, instead I’ll not track EVERYTHING I eat and stay off the scale.

There’s a long road ahead of me, I don’t want to lose sight of my destination halfway there. The image used in this post is Creative Commons licensed by Ryan Wick on Flickr.com

Yesterday I wrote about the diet changes in my plan to lose weight. Today’s post is about the exercise segment of the plan. As I mentioned previously a couple of sedentary (cube farm) jobs have contributed a lot to my weight gain over the last 10 years. When I was in the Army, not only was there mandatory daily exercise but I moved around a lot during the course of a day. Fast forward a few years to life within the gilded walls of a cube and Alex’s ass started ballooning. Because of this exercise has become a big part of my weight loss plan.

I don’t think exercise is the last weight loss strategy I’ll need, in fact I don’t think exercise alone is my solution to lose very much weight. I’m finding that I have to change the way I look at exercise and weight though, because like food it’s not just how much but also what I do.

After being diagnosed with Asthma, I completed a Couch-To-5k training plan that gradually increases the participant’s running to reach a goal of 5k continuous miles. The plan was a fantastic way for someone who’s always hated running to break into it. I’d run a lot during my time in the Army but that was 10 years ago so I considered myself a beginner. I can’t recommend this plan enough; I used an application for my iPhone (C25K) to manage my participation. I never would have finished without it.

So my plan.. much like the dietary changes I’ve made there’s not extensive science behind it at this point but more personal experience. The plan consists of a LOT of cardio with weight training and alternative exercises in the mix. Currently the alternative exercise is Yoga, which has been great. I’d never tried it until 3 weeks ago, but I find it a great counter to weight lifting and am surprised at the workout. At some point I’d like to join a boxing gym, to mix in boxing focused exercise but that’s down the road.

So here’s my current schedule:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday AM: Weight training Circuit

Monday, Wednesday, Friday PM: Elliptical Machine, 1hr

Tuesday, Thursday AM: 30 min Run w/ 25 minutes on an elliptical machine

Tuesday, Thursday PM: Yoga Class, 1hr

Saturday AM: 30 min Run

Sunday: Rest (maybe an hour on the cardio… we’ll see)

I’m currently spending 2 hours in the gym daily, which is more than I thought I would 6 months ago. I worry that it’s not a sustainable level for the length of time it’s going to take to reach my goals. Although it doesn’t feel like as much as it sounds. Obviously I’ve adjusted my schedule. My alarm goes off at 4:50 every morning, and I try to wrap up my daily work before 5 for the afternoon cardio. I’ve also started scheduling around the Tuesday & Thursday Yoga classes as my preferred time is at lunch.

Ultimately the question is what benefit am I receiving from all this exercise? I’ll actually cover that more in my next post which is on tracking and measuring. With this schedule I burn between 3800 – 4200 calories per day. Additionally I feel great in the mornings after I work out; personally it’s a great way to start my day.

That’s the exercise segment of my plan. I’d love to hear about any exercise tips you may want to share, feel free to put them in the comments below.

Note: the Fat Ass the title references is myself.

This is the first of a few posts in which I’ll discuss my plan for losing weight. I started off with the intention that I’d cover everything in a single post, but just getting through the dietary changes has taken more than I expected. My next post will cover the exercise changes I’ve made in order to lose weight.

At 39 I’m a fairly self aware person, if you don’t know yourself by this point in life then you have some issues. I know why I gained weight, sheer laziness and overindulgence. Looking at my Mom’s brothers, I think I’m also fighting against genes as they’re all large framed.

When I left the service 10 years ago I weighed in between 225 and 230 as best I can remember. That was overweight for the Army and I’ve been fighting a losing battle ever since. Over the next 5 years I gained another 20 pounds primarily due to a lack of exercise and sedentary work in a cubicle. A poor diet which included a lot of fast food didn’t help.

In 2006 I went to work at Dell with 2 of my best friends from college. This newfound work social life brought an increase in lunches at restaurants, which increases daily caloric intake if you’re not vigilant (which I wasn’t). Combine this with a lack of consistent exercise and a slowing metabolism; the results were another 20 pounds.

So what has this taught me? That I got fat because I ate too much and sat on my ass too much. It’s that simple.

Unfortunately I’m not one of those people who can lose weight at will. I’ve made various attempts at weight loss over the last decade, some more half hearted than others. I had a good experience with Weight Watchers, but am not interested in the group dynamic now. I tried Body For Life years ago, and was seeing success before it was derailed by a lot of business travel. At this point it seems a little over complicated, but I might revisit it when I hit the inevitable weight loss plateau.

I’ve decided to start my weight loss journey the old fashion way: eat less, exercise more, and measure, track & record everything along the way. My “plan” isn’t for everyone, which is ok since it’s about me and not them.

After increasing my exercise level exponentially this summer, I noticed that I had shed a pound or two but not a lot compared to the increase in my activity. I had previously been attempting to maintain a specific caloric deficit every day, the formula was eat 500 calories less than you burn per day to lose a pound per week and 1000 less per day to lose 2 pounds a week. I kept close watch on my numbers and didn’t really experience the results I was looking for,  in fact I didn’t really see any results except for maintaining my weight.

In late September I decided to ignore deficit target method since it wasn’t working. Instead I started using the daily calorie goal on livestrong.com (previously thedailyplate.com) as my goal, but without inputting my daily exercise for more of a simple calorie reduction. The first few weeks had daily calorie goals of 1800 (+/- a few).  I immediately started seeing results. The weight loss chart didn’t look like a cliff, but the decline I was looking for was starting to become apparent. In 2 weeks I went from 283 to 279.8 (10/7). The next 2 weeks didn’t see the same results; I was at 277.6 on 10/21. That was frustrating, but not necessarily unexpected.

After a weekend of not paying close attention to my diet (more on that in a minute) my weight was back up to 279 on 10/26. That doesn’t sound like a lot if you’re not trying to lose weight, but for me that was like a week of effort was washed down the drain. I decided to tweak my daily diet again, this time I addressed the WHAT and not the HOW MUCH. I’ve left my daily target at the Livestrong computed target amount, currently 2,125 calories per day but have decided to cut back on carbohydrates. It seems my body is VERY efficient at storing the energy in carbs, lucky me. My personal goal is 100g of carbs per day. I didn’t read any scientific studies to come up with this number; it just seemed like a good place to start. I’ve already seen a difference as I’ve lost nearly 6 pounds in four days. Holy cow! I don’t expect my weight loss to continue at this pace, but it’s hard to argue with the short term results.

Summarizing my diet “plan” is pretty straightforward: eat for a target consumption of calories that is less than I was previously eating daily, and limit my intake of carbohydrates or simply “Eat Less Fat Ass”.

So I’m back on the blog after 6 or 7 months. Yeah… well… uh… who’s counting?

In a previous post I discussed my desire to lose weight this year. Until recently, that effort was best described as short circuited. I never really put my heart into it in the spring. I’m not sure why, but that’s changed. There wasn’t a single moment or incident that I can point to as some sort of epiphany which preceded my renewed dedication to losing weight. I’m now on the opposite end of the spectrum, having become obsessed with tracking my daily caloric intake and expenditure.

I was diagnosed with Asthma in late spring.  I’m not sure how long I’ve had the condition, but I suspect it started in Desert Storm. After hostilities had concluded, my unit was left in the Kuwaiti/Iraqi desert like so many others with oil well fires burning all around us. I can only imagine what contaminants were in the air we were breathing. I distinctly remember the oily residue that was constantly being cleaned from our vehicles and coughing phlegm that was an unnatural brown tint.

Desert Storm Oil Well Fires

The diagnosis hasn’t really made a change in my day-to-day activities, but it has had a profound effect on my exercise efforts. The medications have eased my breathing to the point that breathing while running now is significantly easier than what I’ve experienced since I was in my early 20’s. It’s almost as if I had previously been running with a surgical mask. With my new found lung capacity, I recently finished a Couch-To 5k program. Completing the program has definitely contributed to my newfound rededication to losing weight.

So far I’m down 10 pounds, but my ultimate goal is to get to 200 lbs. I honestly don’t remember the last time I weighed 200 lbs, it was likely around 1992. Ten pounds isn’t a bad start but I’ve got 75 more to reach my goal.

What’s my plan? I’ll post on that tomorrow; right now I’ve got to change clothes to go to the gym.