I have Excuses

My weight was up again this week (277.6 lbs).  But I have been sick over the last week and a half or so, so I haven’t been exercising.

Unfortunately this is also part that momentum thing I mentioned earlier.  I have to get moving in order to stay moving.  When I stop, I tend to stay stopped.

I don’t understand

After a week my weight went up to 277.0 lbs.  I guess in life a little rain must fall and in weightloss a little fluctuation must occur.

Yesterday was “Tomorrow”

In college, before my Senior year, I took an internship writing a file distribution program and an e-store for a corrugated container company (they make cardboard boxes). During that summer I ate a Monster Burger from Hardees almost every day for lunch. That was two large beef patties, bacon and mayonnaise…every day.

I don’t know how much weight I gained, but it started me on a trend. I was never really an athlete. My football playing weight in High School was 205 lbs (though closer to 195 lbs after training camp)…and yes, I did think I was fat. But I was in good shape (just not necessarily an athlete). That summer (I call the PSI/NASA summer) pretty much ruined that arrangement. (My future bride worked at NASA that summer…which only contributed to my anxiety.)

I hit my all-time low (or high I should say) when Dante was 6 months old and we moved to Charlotte. I tipped the scale above 300 lbs. I made some small changes to my diet and I got down to 260 lbs over a 9 month period.

Since then I have slowly been creeping back up. I keep telling myself that I will get back in to shape. “I’ll start tomorrow”. Somehow it never happened.

Well, yesterday I started. For two whole days now I have gotten myself out of bed at 5:45 AM to go for a “jog”. I use that term lightly. I am in such horrible shape that I actually walk more than I jog. I am also returning to my altered eating habits. They are not designed to loose weight fast, just to ensure a steady and maintainable weight loss.

I have a lot of reasons to get in to shape. Not just that I am fat (though going to the pool isn’t much fun when you have to display a tummy my size).

I have trouble keeping up with my kids now. I get tired after half an hour or so. My next door neighbor’s son is 9 and he can’t ride a bike. His father no longer feels comfortable catching him if he falls. I would like to help (I am much stronger than he is), but I can’t keep up with the bike. I want to be capable of teaching my kids to ride a bike when the time comes.

My father died at the ripe old age of 55 (9/11/1946 to 9/20/2001). He didn’t die of obesity. He actually died of a heart attack. But he was obese. He did have diabetes. And he did have trouble with exercising.

But Monday was the kicker. I went to the doctor. My blood pressure has been slightly elevated for the last decade or so, but still in the normal range (130/70). Monday it was 150/94.

I am 30 years old. I want to know my grandchildren as my father didn’t…having died before my son was born (the first in his generation – excluding children of my cousins). High blood pressure, cancer, diabetes and obesity all run in my family. I need to take steps now to ensure my future health.  I am working hard to retire…I want to live to enjoy it (not just sit in my house waiting for death)

Part of this post was to post my current numbers. I figure if I keep a public log of my weight and blood pressure I will more easily be able to keep up with my diet and exercise program.

Weight: 276.0 lbs

Blood Pressure: 150/94

Distance run in 20 minutes: 1.25 Miles (estimate)

Exercise has inertia (I hope). If I sit still I will continue to sit still. If I move, I will continue to move. I am trying going to be a mover.