It has been just about one month since I've started going to the gym and the results are astounding. Last night, I reached behind me to scratch my back and freaked out when I felt this hard lumpy thing - it was my shoulder blade! I was scratching my side and had a minor heart attack when I felt long, hard, bony things. Ribs! I have ribs! I've never felt my ribs before! Other things I've discovered: I have a pelvis, a collarbone, a chin and muscles. Oh boy, do I have muscles! Muscles in places I didn't know you could have muscles!

Something never seen or experienced

At 11:30am this morning, after a lovely 12 hours of fasting, I had my physical. My doctor informed me that I could have come in earlier for the blood test. Thanks, doc. There I was, all loopy in the head from a distinct lack of caloric intake and babbling up a storm, when my doc takes my blood pressure. 112/70. Are you kidding me?? I don't think I've ever seen a number like that. Then she checks my lungs - for the first time in the 10 years that she's been my doc, she hears NO wheezing, just perfect lungs. My weight is lower than she has ever seen (264). I think she wanted to hug me. It was all kinds of awesome. The bloodwork should be in tomorrow; I'm really curious about my cholesterol and glucose. I guess the internal improvements are just as noticeable as the external ones. Neat.

We have a winner

While partly inspired by the delicious salad I had eaten while out with a friend the other night, tonight's fare was, for the most part, an extremely fortunate accident.

Southwest Jupiter Salad-y Chicken
Large bowl
Chicken breast
Can of corn (I use no salt added, going to use 1/2 can next time)
1/2 vidalia onion chopped and separated into 2 piles
1/2 head iceberg lettuce
lime powder (I'm sure fresh lime will work as well)
2 tsp worstershire sauce
Rooster sauce to taste
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sodium free chicken bouillon
1-2tsp sugar (I used splenda)
fresh ground black pepper, oregano, basil, cilantro to taste
olive oil (2-3 second spray w/ my Misto)
honey mustard dressing (I used Ken's Honey Mustard spray)

Break up lettuce into large bowl
add 1/2 raw onions and 1/2 can corn (drained)
Toss and add a bit of dressing

Spray skillet or just add oil and heat to medium-high
Cut chicken into misshapen chunks and toss into pan
When half done, add onions and corn sautee 5 minutes
Add spices, worcestershire, rooster sauce and sweetener
When most of the liquid has cooked away, sprinkle with lime, toss and add to salad bowl
Top with dressing and eat!

Cardio has a friend!

This past week started a whole new direction in exercise: strength training. I've been building up my cardio (started with cycling - now I regularly 4-7 times/week - do 20-25 minutes on the elliptical, 30 minutes bike and 30 minutes brisk/very steep incline walking. The time has come to not only continue with weight loss, but to work on lowering my body fat percentage by building nice and lean muscle mass. More muscle mass also means a higher basal metabolic rate, potentially making the loss of the final 80 pounds easier.

For three days each week (evenly spaced out and no more than three days/week), I use the circuit at the gym: 10 weight machines that focus on the core muscle group. There's a traffic light to let you know the start and end points with each machine, the goal being to complete 10-12 reps during each green cycle. In between, there are steps to use to keep the heart rate up - I don't know if I actually NEED to do it, but I do each step for a minute between machines anyway. (Stepping up and down quickly for 60 seconds straight can be surprisingly difficult). Machine 1 minute, red light - switch to step, step for 1 minute, rinse, repeat.

I don't know the names of all of the machines, but the most memorable are the chest press, shoulder press, ab machine, leg press, bicep and tricep machines. The worst is the machine that works the Quadriceps. My trainer told me that, even after 25 years, it burns like hell. And does it burn! But it's not an "oh dear god it hurts!" kind of pain. It's more akin to, "oooh. Oooh. OOOH! I FEEL THAT. A LOT."

My body is changing so fast at this point - I have these muscles that I never knew existed. There's this weird one which totally freaked me out - right above the knee. Lifting my legs feels so very strange; they feel so light, as if they are filled with feathers. I don't know if one week of strength training can make much of a difference, but I certainly do feel stronger.

Weigh-in

As of Sunday morning, I'm 268!! I haven't seen the 260s since about 1996.

Back in April, I purchased a gorgeous wool pea coat from Global Thrift for only $8. It didn't fit; not even close - I could not get it around my belly - The buttons were about 6 inches form the buttonholes. Last night, in the 90 degree heat in my apartment, I decide to try it on - and it fits! What really sucks is that it will be way too big by the time winter rolls around.

Mmm..cabbage

When I'm hungry and want a quick and light snack, I'll shred up some cabbage (or iceberg lettuce) and whip up a quick dressing.  Mixed together, it makes a delicious and filling treat that clocks in under 100 calories.  It's especially good on a hot day.

Last night, I was craving the cabbage, but I wanted a little more substance and wound up coming up with this:

Sweet and Sour Spicy Cabbage
1tsp sesame oil
1/2 head green cabbage (napa works well, as does a firm lettuce)
1/2 cup barley
1/4lb ground turkey
1/2 medium onion (I used a sweet vidalia)

Dressing:
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp ginger

hot pepper to taste (I typically use nam prik or sriracha)

Shred cabbage and pop into bowl
Slice onion into thin rings and mix with cabbage
Prepare barley according to package.

Brown turkey and season to taste (I used black pepper, sodium free beef bouillion and a1tsp of black bean paste)

Combine barley and meat, add last tsp of sesame oil and fry quickly on medium-high heat for just a minute or two (two evaporate any remaining moisture and possibly add a bit of crispyness)

Turn meat/barley mix into cabbage bowl.
Pour dressing over everything and mix all ingredients well.

Makes a LOT of tasty dinner, but the whole thing is only 800 calories.

I am the fine, fair and rotund offspring of Adonis and the Buddha

I'm feeling so good lately; it's such a surprise at times. So good that I'm tackling some of those hard to bear areas of life. There's a lot to be said for simply treating yourself well.

Over the last month, my cooking style has radically shifted. Instead of grandly planned, time consuming meals, I've been making quick and easy things. In the beginning of the gout attack, I had to focus on lower protein foods and gumbo fit the bill nicely:

Quickly Mumbled Gumbo

beef and chicken stock (1-2 cups each...I use sodium free powder)
1 green pepper
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
1-2 medium tomatoes
5-6 pods okra or 1/2 eggplant cubed
meat (usually chicken or fish)
sage, thyme, black pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper, liquid smoke
1/4 cup complex carbs (brown rice, black beans, cracked wheat..any will do)

optional rue (tastes 100x better with it, but adds about 300 calories):
2tbs unbleached flour
1tbs vegetable oil (extra optional)

If you choose to make the rue:
with oil:
heat oil and flour in skillet slowly over low heat, stirring constantly. Never stop stirring. Seriously. You stop and it will burn. When the color changes to the tone of peanut butter, remove from heat and add to holy trinity mix below.

without oil:
add flour to skillet and heat slowly over low-medium heat. Keep stirring. Same as above with oil, but it will take longer.

The purpose here is to cook the flour so that it develops a nutty flavor.



Toss your holy trinity (peppers, onions, celery) and tomatoes into a nonstick skillet and simmer for about 10 minutes.
To a crock pot or rice cooker, add holy trinity and the rest of the ingredients and spices. Make sure to add plenty of cayenne pepper.

Turn on crockpot or rice cooker and cook until your carb is fully cooked.

Now, to thicken it up even more, you can do one of 2 things:
1. Add okra to the pot before cooking
2. Sprinkle in some Gumbo File

Serve with your favorite greens and die from deliciousness!

MildlyExcitedMiling

The purpose of this blog is to track my positive eating habits and record all of the tasty recipes along the way. As this is to benefit my health, it's only fair that I incorporate other health related topics here. Bicycling contributes to my health, and the eventual goal is the ability to bike the 12 miles to work each way every day. So, while I'm working up to it, I'm stuck driving, so that makes it a valid topic.

When I last filled my gas tank, I dropped a whopping $50 in my little 12 gallon tank. I decided then that I would attempt hypermiling. While I didn't go to the extreme, I made small changes in the way I drive: no jackrabbit starts, cruise control on the highway and no faster than 60mph.

I filled up my tank with 12 gallons on 5/22. I just filled my tank up again this evening. A typical tank gets me between 290 and 310 miles. With the incorporated changes, I hit 380(!!) miles! That's a difference of 24mpg before and 31mpg after. The second best part? I'm so much more relaxed. Let everyone else break their heads and wallets over jockeying to be first. I'll be here in lane #2, just above the speed limit.

There's other steps I can take as well: refilling before hitting empty, popping into neutral on hills and getting my oil changed. I'm not ready/willing to go the the extremes of turning off my car at the peak of every hill, but it would be great if I can pull a few more miles out of a tank. At this rate, I'll be saving a nice chunk of money every month.

He's not dead, Gym

I'm officially a gym member. I'm fairly nervous; cycling and walking outside is great because no one can see you*. In a gym, everyone can see you.

I fell for the upsell (originally, it was $10/month but I took the $20/month deal because it allows me to use other gyms in the network, and there's a 24 hour one right near work. That makes it worth it to me.) It comes with unlimited use of tanning beds. It doesn't get much creepier than that (aside from the unlimited use of the massage chairs).

Now that it's official, I need to put the finishing touches on my Massively Muscley Calisthenics Laden Adventure Management System! (MMM...Clams!). I'm designing quests, a combat system and developing an XP based reward mechanism based on a natural metering system so that it can't be gamed easily (and really, you're only cheating yourself). I'm also planning to make it scalable to massivly multiplayer, possibly incorporating armies in large and intricately detailed campaigns. The old school D&D freak comes out at again!

Seriously, anything that can boost motivation is a win in my book. Even though my motivation is extremely high at the moment, I know that will flag at some point. It needs to be FUN and stay FUN or I will get BORED.

Boredom is the ultimate mind and body killer.


*It's true.

He's me. While I'm still a fat man, I'm less of a fat man than I was 6 months or even 3 months ago. I'm hovering between 272 and 274. I've been hovering here for a couple of weeks; I think I've hit the weight plateau. Interestingly enough, this is roughly the same weight I was down to when I lost all the weight on the ADD meds.

That's fine, because things are still changing down there. I'm developing lean muscle mass - my thighs are like rocks, my chest is hard and kind of bulge-y (this is a good thing), my arms are tightening up.

I'm cycling between 8 and 15 miles per day. I'm joining Planet Fitness after work today. I eat well, I eat on target and I don't go to bed hungry.

I don't know who I am, and while it's exciting, it's also a little frightening.

I woke up this morning at 5:30am; no alarm clock necessary. I got up, had some water, chomped down some oatmeal and skim milk, got dressed, stretched and hopped on my bike for a quick 30 minute ride.

Ten minutes in, having completed the river route and now blissfully breathless cruising through the Mt. Feake Cemetery, I nearly fall off my bike; I don't know who I am. But it's me. All me.
While I'm still the fat guy above, I'm really not the fat guy above, anymore. When my heartrate monitor hits the 175bpm alarm, I'm disappointed that I need to tone it down.

I, not so rigorously, stick to my daily calorie allotment. I'm flexible and most importantly, I'm forgiving. I play loose on the weekends. I went 800 calories over? It's ok. Just don't do it every day. I'll make it up during my workout. There's no penalty, just slower weight loss, and that's ok, too.

It's a frightening brave new world that I've entered. My legs (via pedals) frequently propel me at speeds upwards of 20mph. The intense pounding of my heart as I'm climbing a tough hill reminds me that I'm alive. The panic attacks are gone. Best of all, when I'm working out, my head is utterly and completely clear of all the shit that swarms around me. Work is breaking me? Ex girlfriend getting into my head? General FatManBrainFuck causing depression and anxiety? All I need to do is push myself into some cardio and it's tabula rasa. I spend my days yearning for the exercise. This is not me. This is some fascimile of me. I like this better version of me.

Best of all, I don't even care how dorky I look.