No More Mr. Fat Guy!

Well, I only walked an hour and 15 minutes tonight.  And then I ate a big meal, although, except for a quart of goat milk, that’s all I’ve eaten today.  I was planning on walking the full two hours or more, but the gym was very crowded today.  The walking track surrounds a weight room on the second floor, and it was pretty packed.  The weight area only takes up half the room; the other half is empty, and that end of the track looks over a basketball court.  Normally there will be one or two people in there from time to time when I walk.  But today, after about 45 minutes, about 10 kids showed up, and each one had his own ball.  With the acoustics of the place, the noise was deafening, despite my earmuffs.  So I got out of there.

Did 2 hours and 15 minutes of walking today. Plus, I chased one of the kid goats who got out of the pasture and into the yard for about twenty minutes, which was not fun. But one day he’ll be my supper, so it all evens out. Speaking of supper, I didn’t do too well on that front. Stopped at Hardees. They’re having a Buy One Thickburger Get One Free campaign, so I got two of their third pound mushroom burgers. And fries. And a Pepsi. I know, I know…

The Mayo clinic has come up with a solution for the sedentary lifestyles of office workers. White collar workers don’t burn many calories sitting around all day, no matter how much mental energy they expend. Well, the folks at the Mayo think they have the solution - the treadmill desk. It’s not a joke. They claim that walking very slowly (1 mph) all day instead of sitting would enable a person to drop 66 pounds in a year. It will probably be a while before this trend takes off, but as our obesity epidemic only worsens, it wouldn’t surprise me to eventually see treadmill desks in offices all over America.

That’s what this former runner says. He racked up thousands of miles running, but now advises against it. He says our bodies are designed for long periods of low intensity aerobic activity, such as walking, and for short bursts of extremely high intensity activity, such as sprinting. But they’re not designed for long periods of high intensity aerobic workouts, such as running or jogging. It’s a very well written article, and I highly recommend that you read it.

Back on the horse. I just finished milking the goats after I got back from a 2 hour walk at the gym. And I think I solved the noise problem. As regular readers know, I’d started walking at the gym instead of outside in my rural area on account of two things: the heat, and a couple of unpleasant interactions with dogs. But a few days after signing up for the gym, they began playing the radio so loud that it was difficult to hear my mp3 player. This was after they had assured me before I plunked my money down that they didn’t play the radio very loud at all. I’ve complained a couple of times, but was told that most people like it that loud so there was nothing they could do. I thought about calling the director or manager of the place, but past experience tells me that that might bring a couple days of respite, and then things would go back to normal. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to quit going to the gym because that would mean quitting walking unless I buy a treadmill. But I simply can’t put up with that kind of noise level. I was looking at some noise canceling headphones on Amazon, but from what I’ve read, they don’t work very well when it comes to blocking noise such as music. They’re good at blocking steady, constant noises such as bus or airplane engines, but not noise that’s constantly changing. Then I remembered what a friend of mine used to wear when he mowed his lawn - shooter’s earmuffs. So I stopped by Wal-Mart and got a pair of them for $14. And they worked great. I slip the earbuds from my mp3 player into my ear, and then put the muffs on. I could hardly tell the radio was on, and I was able to turn the volume on my player way down. It’s not the most comfortable solution in the world; the earpieces are very tight to keep noise out, and after a while it’s slightly uncomfortable. And because of the pressure on your ear, if you adjust the ear pieces, the earbuds tend to fall out. It can be tricky to get the buds in just right, and then get the earmuffs on without dislodging them. But these are minor problems, and they’re not that big of a deal. Ideally, the gym wouldn’t play the radio at all, and everyone would just listen to whatever they wanted with their own players. But I don’t see that happening for a long, long time. Until it does, I can live with this arrangement.

I work weekends, so no walking til Monday. Check back then.

Same Fat Time!

Same Fat Channel!

Well, today didn’t get off to a great start.  I was going to blow off heading for town to walk, but I talked myself out of it and got in the truck.  Went to the gym, popped my earplugs in to listen to George Noory, and took the first few steps.  And before I knew it, an hour was gone.  By this time they’d turned the radio up again, and so I left.  Sorta felt like a quitter, since I usually walk at least two hours a day, but then, that’s the nice thing about walking two hours a day - even when you only do half your normal workout, you still walked for an hour, and that’s a pretty good walk.  Then about 8 pm it had cooled off quite a bit, so when my friend John went out for a walk on the back roads, I went with him.  Got another hour in, and some good conversation.  So I made my quota after all.

Gotta work part time tomorrow.  Not sure if I’ll have time to walk or not.  Tune in to find out!

Just got back from the gym, where I did 90 more minutes of fitness walking.   That’s a total of three hours today.    Back at it tomorrow.

Same Fat Time!

Same Fat Channel!

I didn’t sleep much on Saturday night; probably only about 3 hours all together. Then I worked all day Sunday. When I got home I was beat, and went right to bed. Woke up around 5:15 this morning, and by 5:45 I was out on the back roads taking a long walk, enjoying the lack of a blaring radio, and listening to George Noory. Did 90 minutes. Later on I’ll head into town and do some more walking at the gym, and I’ll have an official weight to post tonight.

Don’t let age hold you back from getting in shape because you think it’s too late to make any difference.  It’s not true:

Adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle makes a difference, even if the change doesn’t come until middle age.

In fact, people who eat right and exercise more can substantially reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease and death even if they’re in their 50s or 60s, researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina report.

Consuming at least five fruits and vegetables daily, exercising at least 2.5 hours per week, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking can lessen your chances of heart trouble by 35 percent, and your risk of dying by 40 percent, compared to people with less healthy lifestyles, according to the report in the July issue of the American Journal of Medicine.

We don’t move enough.  And the little we do do move doesn’t get our heart rate up. That’s why we’re fat and out of shape, even if we don’t eat all that much.  A few extra calories a day can turn into an extra 50 or 100 pounds over a couple decades. Here’s an article by a Washington Post fitness columnist who used a snazzy new device to measure his activity during the day, and was shocked at just how few calories he burns.

I couldn’t sleep last night, probably because of too much caffeine intake. So I was up late reading a fascinating book I found in the library downstairs called Radical Honesty: How To Transform Your Life By Telling The Truth. John had told me about the book a while back, but it didn’t interest me. But after reading this article I had to check it out. I haven’t decided if the guy’s completely nuts, or a genius. But it’s probably one or the other. After reading about his week long workshops, which (according to the article) include one day where everybody’s naked, I’m inclined to go with at least somewhat nuts. But the book does have some interesting ideas, and there’s no doubt that all of us spend much of our time lying to ourselves and others about lots of different things. More honesty would definitely be a good thing. Anyway, so I got up late, and decided that it was more important to take care of some things around here than to head to the gym today. Not sure if it was the right decision, but it’s the one I made. So no walking or weight report today. And I’m working tomorrow and Sunday, so it’ll be Monday before I’m back at it. But I’ve had a good week so far - nine hours of fitness walking, and eating a lot better than normal.

Just got back from the gym. I only walked 2 hours today. I was planning on 2.5, but after the hour and 15 mark, my battery went dead in my mp3 player. So I took a break, drank some water, had a cigarette, and went out to my truck and got a new battery. When I got back, the radio had been turned up so loud that it was impossible to hear my mp3. It was already very loud, but I could turn up my volume and live with it. But now it was impossibly loud. So I went to the treadmill room and did another 45 minutes. I find treadmills boring; I’d much rather walk naturally. So after I got two hours in I left.

I don’t know when it became a federal law that all public accommodations must blare a TV or radio at all times and all over the establishment. If it’s not a federal law, it might as well be. One of these days people are going to wake up to the real, health damaging, harmful effects of all this extremely pervasive noise pollution. I can’t believe how used to it we’ve all gotten. Restaurants sometimes have 5 different TVs going, all on different stations, in addition to a radio or jukebox. It’s ungodly loud in almost every public place you go to. But of all the places you shouldn’t have to put up with this garbage, health clubs are near the top. It never ceases to amaze and infuriate me.

Rant over.

Tune in tomorrow.

Same Fat Time!

Same Fat Channel!

That’s what the scale at the Patrick Wellness Center in Fayetteville says. That’s the gym where I walk. I just got back from another 2.5 hour walk. That’s a total of seven hours walking since Sunday. I did an hour and a half, then took a break. Unfortunately, the water at the gym was shut off for repairs, so instead of rehydrating with H2O, I had little choice but to buy a can of pop. But that’s OK; that’s only two pops so far this week, and I haven’t had an A&W root beer in quite a while. So I had the pop, stepped outside and smoked a cigarette (yep, I’m still cool!), and got back to it. Did another hour, and then headed home.

And boy, am I starving. I had a cantaloupe this morning, and 24 ounces of goat milk. I’m trying to eat more fruits and veggies, and Dollar General had some cantaloupes that are a little past their prime for fifty cents each. I picked out two that were still nice and firm, and I’ll have the other one tomorrow. I mix in this health drink called Rice and Shine with the goat milk, along with some peanut butter to make it more filling. It’s actually pretty good. But after a 150 minute power walk, I’m famished. So I’m having some goat meat chili, courtesy of two male goats I took to the butcher a couple months ago.

Back at it tomorrow. Same Fat Time, Same Fat Channel!

Says here that one million American kids ages 6-17 used paid fitness trainers last year.  I find that very hard to believe.  Judging by the shape of the kids I see every day, the number is either grossly inflated, or the training’s not having much impact.

Cron’s right - bodies and scales sure do fluctuate. I decided that for the blog I’ll use the readings from the scale at the gym since I’ll be there at least five days a week to walk. It reads about 5 pounds higher than my scale at home. Yesterday the gym scale said 284.2 and today it reads a pound higher. Now, since I walked 2 hours yesterday, and didn’t eat all that much, I think it’s highly unlikely that I gained a pound these past 24 hours. It’s just the normal range of fluctuations. I’m not really too worried about what the scales say right now, anyway. I’m just recording the data for those who are following along at home, and to track my long term progress. I know that if I keep walking and eating right the pounds will eventually drop off.

I just got home from the gym as a matter of fact. I’d planned on walking 2 hours today, but I felt so good that I went a half hour over, for a total of 2.5 hours. A lot of people wonder how I can walk that long without getting bored. They can’t imagine doing it themselves. Well, I love walking to start with, so that helps. I’ve always enjoyed it, even if I haven’t always done it as much as I should have. But there’s no way I could walk a couple hours a day on my own. I can go an hour with no problem, and could do it every day. But much longer than an hour and the boredom factor becomes a significant obstacle.

That’s why I bought the mp3 player a while back. They’re getting cheaper all the time; mine holds 24 hours of talk and I paid about $35 for it from Amazon. If you want to get into some real heavy duty fitness walking I strongly suggest you pick one up. They’re a lot lighter and more manageable than a CD player. Anyway, as regular readers know, I generally listen to George Noory and his Coast to Coast AM talk show on my mp3. But there for a while he started having a lot of guests and discussions that I just had no interest in. That’s part of the reason I slacked off on walking, along with my heel problems. So really, if you think about it, it’s George Noory’s fault I’m still fat. Nah, just kidding there! Anyway, it had been a long time since I walked, or listened to George, or even checked the website to see who the guests have been lately. And then, out of the blue, a very good friend who lives in Los Angeles sent me a package in the mail. It was a brand new copy of Noory’s book. She knows how much I love the program, and out of the kindness of her heart decided to do that for me. It was really sweet and generous of her, and I still can’t get over it. And it reminded me how much I love listening to Coast to Coast AM. And it played a big part in getting me back to walking again. So thanks again, Melissa!

I’m still at my friend’s house, but I should be home sometime Tuesday. I’m on a terrible sleep schedule-going to be around 10am and getting up around 5pm. I’ve really got to figure out how to get back to the standard circadian rhythms and be a normal human being again.

Read the rest of this entry »

A new joint US/UK study finds that increasing kids’ physical activity by as little as 15 minutes a day can cut a kid’s odds of getting fat in half.  Healthy food choices and portion control are big factors, too, but it’s obvious that lack of exercise is a big part of why our kids are getting so fat.  I don’t know about you, but I was required to take a phys ed class every day up until 9th grade.  From what I understand, nowadays many, if not most, elementary and middle schools don’t even offer phys ed, let alone require it.

I’m still right around 275.  I’ll be heading back to my house in a day or two, and I hope to keep up the momentum I’ve built up in the past few days.  I’m going to try to ride my bike for at least half an hour a day, and possibly walk half an hour a day with my Exerstriders, and lay off the sweet tea, substituting water instead.  I’m feeling really good about my progress, although I’d hoped it would be faster.  But almost 30 pounds since December 22 is nothing to sneeze at.  My weight has fluctuated for the past several years between 285 and 303, and now that I’m down to 275 I feel like I’ve broken through an important psychological and physiological barrier.  My next milestone will be to look down and see a weight below 270, even if only 269.9 pounds.  Also, since I’m not quite as big as I was, and exercise isn’t quite as uncomfortable, I’m going to try to work some things besides cardio in.  I’m sure you’ve all seen the informercials with Chuck Norris for the Total Gym.  My friend John has something like that, and I may start using it a little each day.  I also want to work on pushups and situps.  Not sure how many I can do of either, but it won’t be very many.

A Back Exercise should always be included in a workout routine. If you have severe back problems, you may need to roll up a towel and place it under your back for additional support. Depending on the condition of your back, you may want to start slow and only do one set of ten. However, eventually you will want to begin tightening your stomach in this manner and doing crunches, but not sit-ups. Many people find it helpful to place an ice pack under their back when they finish with this ab exercise for relaxation and to relieve potential inflammation.

Regardless of your reason for wanting to begin a back exercise routine, you should determine what kind of shape your back is in. If it is already in good shape and does not hurt often, you are probably ready for more intense workouts. However, if you have had past back problems or your back is currently giving you trouble, you may want to begin with back tightening exercises to develop a foundation for later back exercise.

More interesting fitness reading: Don’t miss Food That Lower Cholesterol, Dieting Pills and High Energy

I’ve never paid more than $30 for my walking shoes, and usually a lot less than that. I either buy them at Sam’s or Costco, or I go to one of these small, independent shoe stores that are everywhere and look for clearance items and closeouts, You’d be surprised at the quality of shoes you can get for $10 to $25. I’ve read a lot of articles advocating expensive running or walking shoes, but I’ve never had a problem yet with my cheap walking shoes.

Now there’s a new study that backs me up. In this article from New York magazine, experts say that ideally we should walk barefoot; that shoes harm our feet. Of course, walking barefoot isn’t a realistic option for most people. In fact, I can’t believe anyone in America is going to start fitness walking barefoot. But, here’s the really good part. In more than one study, people who wore cheap walking and running shoes had fewer injuries than people who wore expensive, premium shoes.

Consider a paper titled “Athletic Footwear: Unsafe Due to Perceptual Illusions,” published in a 1991 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. “Wearers of expensive running shoes that are promoted as having additional features that protect (e.g., more cushioning, ‘pronation correction’) are injured significantly more frequently than runners wearing inexpensive shoes (costing less than $40).” According to another study, people in expensive cushioned running shoes were twice as likely to suffer an injury—31.9 injuries per 1,000 kilometers, as compared with 14.3—than were people who went running in hard-soled shoes.

The article goes on to talk about several companies that are designing shoes that are much closer to the experience of walking barefoot. Some of the companies are Masai Barefoot Technology, Vivo Barefoot, and Vibram Five Fingers. They’re not cheap, but some some are no more expensive than most running or walking shoes. If you’re having foot problems, you should check them out.