What a Difference a Year Makes

218.4 lbs - July 25, 2010

July 25, 2011 - 158.2 lbs.

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Before and During

Weight control has always been a problem.  There were times when I was obese and times when I was at my normal weight.  I have weighed as much as 245 lbs and as little as 149 lbs in my adulthood.

Below is a timeline of my weight through adulthood:

1982-1985 – 190 – 200 lbs.

1986-1988 – 215-225 lbs.

1988 – 1994 – 170-180 lbs.

1994 – 1996 – 195-245 lbs.

1996 – 1998 – 245-185  lbs.

1999 – 2000 – 195 lbs.

2001 – 2004 – 170-149 lbs.

2004 – 2006 – 155-175 lbs.

2006 – 2008 – 175-205 lbs.

2008 – 2009 – 205-235 lbs.

2010 – Present – 229-198 lbs.

What makes this attempt different is my plan.  I have set my target at 150lbs.  I consume the caloric intake of somebody who weighs 150 lbs should weigh.  I also work out 60-90 minutes a day.  Most of my time is on the treadmill.  I walk 3.5 miles-per-hour on an incline.  I started at an 8-degree incline and increase the incline by 1/10 of a degree every time I am able to walk at the incline for a half-hour.  I am currently at 11.7 degrees and hope to get to 15 degrees by Christmas.

Here are two pictures.  The first picture was shortly after I joined the gym,  The second picture was taken this morning.

218.4 lbs - July 25, 2010

October 18, 2010 - 198.8lbs.

One thing I have noticed is that if you have a bad day (either by overeating or not getting enough exercise) on a give day, I’m better off staying with my plan than to try to compensate. Compensation leads to erratic weight fluctuation and messes with metabolism.

To see my progress since I have been taking pictures in July, click here.

Back to the Grind

I have to regain my focus.  I was focused with things I wanted to do until I got the opportunity to do it.  There were issues I was hoping would have been resolved by now.  The most glaring of which is I still do not have a car.  This should be taken care of within the next month.

One of my goals has been accomplished.  Working out is now part of my daily regiment.  The workout includes treadmill and swimming.  I had lost ten pounds since I started working out (but I had gained three of it back due to a lapse of overeating.)

Before you decide to vote for a Republican because of runaway government spending from the Democrats, ask yourself when the last time Republicans cut spending or balanced a budget.  Contrary to what the talking heads tell you, the Republican Congress and Bill Clinton never balanced a budget.  The best they did was slow down deficit spending.

Back to Blogging

There has been a lot going on in my life over the last couple of months.  I will sometime soon summarize some of what has been happening.  Right now, I have much to recollect, like my falling off many of my goals for 2010 (I have recommitted myself to those goals and will write about them tomorrow.

I have moved to a place where I will have more privacy and more time to blog.

Laziness or Not Prepared?

It’s probably both laziness and not being prepared for an outcome for a recent event that has kept me from blogging here.  The goals I have listed at 43things.com weren’t meant to be resolutions, but more like a “bucket list”.

I was sick for a few days and was preoccupied with shoveling snow seemingly nonstop from last Tuesday through last Friday.  There was a 21 hour period when I had no electricity.

Most of the goals I have set for myself have been put on hold until i get myself better situated.

Ten Years

I had my last . on Valentine’s Day 2000.

Valentine’s Day 2000 was a bad day for me.   I was dumped and was hurt. The fact that the relationship ended on Valentine’s Day was gnawing on me and I had to remedy it.  My solution was to go to a bar and get drunk.

I had had a Molson a few days prior and my stomach was aching before I could finish my first beer.  Although I did not drink the rest of that night, I had dismissed the pain as from a “skunky beer.”  The last thing I wanted was to deal with another skunky beer, so this time I ordered a rum-and-coke.

I have a tendency to nurse my drinks and this night was no different.  I had a sip of the rum-and-coke and placed the drink down. I had a second sip a minute later.  I soon felt an intense pain in my stomach.  I got up from my stool, took a couple steps, and fell to the floor.  The pain in my stomach only lasted a minute, but it was the most intense pain I have ever felt.  The bartender was about to call an ambulance when I waived him off and lifted myself off the ground.   After taking a couplle of deep breaths, I walked out of the bar and drove home.

I have not had a drink since.  I had stomach pains twice since, though neither were anywhere near the magnitude of that night (I took NyQuil for a cold a few weeks afterward and I had canned chicken noodle soup with crackers.  Adding crackers to canned chicken soup can cause fermentation.)

Much has happened in the last ten years.  September 11 and two new presidents.  (I was sober during the entire Bush administration!)   I went back to college and received a degree in Business management and Marketing.  Four states were blessed with having me as a resident.  Did I mention I was sober during the ENTIRE George W. Bush administration?

Tomorrow Will be a Better Day

Today was too long and with too many distractions to write anything like I can.  I will write something tomorrow as soon as I am done shoveling.