Five pound intervals

On my weight loss journey I noticed that my weight came down in five pound intervals. For example when I broke the 235 pound barrier I fluctuated between 230 to 235 pounds until I hit the 230 pound barrier. Then I fluctuated between 225 to 230 pounds. Right now I'm at a solid 220 pounds and fluctuate down to 216 pounds. This time it seems to hang around 220 and not let go. Last time my weight loss was stubborn I helped a friend move which was physically exhausting but it helped me jump down 5 pounds. I may have to increase my exercise program to make the next jump. The fat has got to go.

Life of a Fat Person

Some people believe it's OK to be fat. What they don't realize is what the future holds for a fat person. I'm not talking about people who are only 20 pounds overweight. I'm talking about people who are 50 or more pounds overweight. A shocking reality is that this extra fat will seriously effect their quality of life in a negative way as they get older. The extra fat harms the heart and the cardiovascular system. The heart works harder because of the thickening blood. Arteries become clogged and blood pressure rises. A recipe for a stroke or heart attack. The doctor prescribes blood pressure medication and cholesterol lowering medication which the fat person will take for the rest of his/her life. The fat person doesn't exercise enough therefore is always out of breath doing just menial tasks like walking. In the younger years the body is seemingly able to handle the excess weight but things will change for the worse. Joints start to ache and everyday activities are painful so the doctor prescribes painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills. The blood sugar rises and eventually turns into type 2 diabetes. The doctor prescribes shots of insulin. The good thing is that insulin helps the person to live with diabetes the bad thing is that the fat person has just complicated his/her life. Even diabetes treated with insulin can over many years cause poor blood circulation and lead to amputation of limbs. Loss of vision and total blindness is common. The body's joints take a beating carrying the extra fat around. Over years of this pressure joints like hips and knees wear out. The fat person can expect to have joint replacement surgery. Later in life a fat person will start to "waddle" like a duck when he/she walks. This walk is not normal it is just how the body copes with fat that pushes the body out of shape.

Keep Your Focus

It seems that after the holidays (when I indulged in sweets more so) I'm now fighting food cravings.  Fortunately I have been able to stav off the cravings by keeping my focus.  What helps me keep my focus is the fact that I haven't yet reached my goal of 200 lbs. Plus I went through my closet and got rid of 24 shirts that where size XXL. Now there is a lonely new shirt sized Large hanging there. Since I need to wear a uniform at work I went in for a fitting and ordered some Large sized clothes so I can get rid of my XXL ones. Since Large is the new me instead of XXL I'm encouraged and will continue to strive to KEEP MY FOCUS.
What helps you keep your focus?  Every little bit of success should be an encouragement to stay on track. Keep setting goals and work towards them.  I have not reached any of my goals on time but I've still lost over 40 lbs.  Not bad for a failure?  KEEP YOUR FOCUS!

Diet With Exercise!

Well I've got a doctors appointment in February and I would like to be close to 200 lbs by then. Since I put on 5 lbs. over the holidays I am now adding more physical exercise to my daily routine. I'm doing my ab exercises and running stairs or doing Tabata everyday. I used to take weekends off but not now.

Fat Tax

Have you heard the government toting with the idea of taxing fat people? The premise is that fat people end up costing the Medical Services Plan millions of dollars extra because of the "health conditions" that arise due to being fat. These extra costs come from joint replacement surgeries because of worn out joints from carrying the extra bulk, diabetes treatment and a whole host of other conditions that require expensive medicines and therapies. What do you think about the government taxing fax people to help cover these extra costs?

Holiday Over Eating

Well I indulged 2 weekends over Christmas and New Years. My scale showed no weight gain but a week later I'm up 5 pounds (225 lbs.) Oh well I'm back on ketosis in the Atkins diet. The best thing is that I'm back in the game. My goal is still 200 lbs,.

Ab Exercises for that toned belly!

I held off doing lots of exercises during the early days of my weight loss. My joints ached because of my excess fat! But doing the Atkins diet helped me lose fat and gain more energy and soon I did more exercises
Ab workouts help trim belly fat and tone your mid section. I wasn't looking for 6 pack abs but I wanted a flatter belly instead of a sack of potatoes tied around my waist.
Since I'm somewhat lazy I know that I have to make exercising something that is easy to do, without having to go to a gym or, buy expensive workout equipment. Using my iPhone I down loaded several apps that have to do with ab exercises. The apps even have short videos on how to do them properly and also have a built in timer to help with them as well.
The exercises I find most helpful are: the basic crunch; right & left oblique crunch; bicycle crunch; reverse crunch; long arm crunch; crossover crunch; half curl; vertical leg crunch and the plank.
I do each one of these abdominal exercises for 30 seconds with a short break in between. Afterwards I sure feel the workout! Interesting to note is that even though I haven't lately lost more weight but the exercises have given me a slimmer waist.

BMI - Body Mass Index

BMI = Body Mass Index. This is typically used to determine whether someone is obese. Actually just looking in a mirror would show the same. For me I need to get to 194 lbs. to enter the "normal" weight range for my height, so my goal of 200 lbs. may not be enough. However I don't like the look of a "skinny rake" so I'll see what I look like when I get close to 200 lbs. The problem with the BMI calculation is that it only calculates "mass per surface" it doesn't show how much fat or muscle is under a person's skin. Therefore a muscular athlete might be considered obese according to BMI but is actually fit. For me I want to lose the belly fat that hangs over the belt. When I look in a mirror I'd like to see a flat belly instead of a sack of lumpy potatoes. ** check http://www.wikipedia.com/ for BMI information. My next blog will cover ab exercises.

NEW YEARS - New vision of a slimmer you

Hey HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today is the first day of the rest of your life, sounds like a cliche' but really it is full of truth. No matter what success or failure one has endured last year this year is a new "slate" so I won't give up and hope you won't either. Don't worry if you've gone off the diet wagon just get back on and you're still in the fight. I had chocolates, champagne, pizza, cheese, baguette and sausage on New Years Eve. Today I'll still indulge but by Monday January 3rd I'll be back to the Atkins diet and back in the fight against fat.