November 5, No Excuses

I split yesterday's exercise into 15 minutes on the indoor cycle and a 1.2 mile walk. I went with something a little different on the cycle by adding five 1 minute sprints followed by 1 minute of easy (12 mph) cycling. The walk was twice around the perimeter of the property (.95 miles) and to the mailbox and back (.25 miles). I like the perimeter walk. It's hilly and grassy and better than road walking.

I had a good diet day. I'm liking eating more fruits and veggies. They are more filling than I would have expected and are way less calorie dense than meat and dairy products. Plus they are way more nutritious than meat and dairy products. It's actually been a pretty easy way to come in low on the daily calories without feeling hungry at all during the day.

The mixed greens, carrot, cabbage, radish salad with a bit of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and some seasonings, topped with tuna with mayo and a little relish was dinner.

John

Here I go again!

It has been a while since my last post. 
I posted this over at Out of My Hat. 
Yeah, it's time to get busy, once again.

I'm back to logging foods on the My Fitness Pal app. It's kind of a pain in my oversized ass, but it seems the best way for me to help reduce the size of it. I've done well today and still have 450 calories available today, so I'm good for a late snack if I decide I really want one.

I did not get any exercise in today. I still need to decide what that's going to look like. I get some daily activity in just by working around the yard, but activity is different from exercise and I need to figure out what I'm going to do.

I'm pleased with this as a first day back to paying attention to my diet.
I need to push to protein up a bit (that always seems to be a challenge).
My break down today is 42% carbs, 33% fats and 25% protein.
My target is 35% carbs, 35% fats, and 30% protein.
I don't mind the carbs being up a little if it is from whole grains or fresh fruits. I just want to be careful about the added sugars and processed starches.

Tonight's dinner:
Baked potato w/butter and sour cream
Smoked salmon
Kale salad.

Be well, 
John

Ugh! Maybe It's Time for a New Approach to Healthy Living

At this time last year I weighed 258 pounds--not the heaviest I've ever been, but pretty damn close. 
Over the next several months I managed to lose 28 pounds and was 230 by September. Then I just got lazy -- lazy about exercise, lazy about diet, lazy about caring. Ugh!

Now I find myself back at 248 pounds and basically starting over at a year older. I add the year older because I'm finding age to be a contributing factor in the increased difficulty of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 
My new approach is to make this more of a mind-body-spirit health kind of journey. I have some thoughts on how this will look and feel, but I'm not entirely sure how to express them at this point. There will most certainly be some Eastern influence in the way of meditation and philosophy, perhaps also in the physical exercise part. Although a person wouldn't normally consider reading to be a part of a weightloss or healthy living program, I think that reading will most definitely fuel the mental and even spiritual health part and be a significant contributor to the physical health. 

One of the gifts we gave to ourselves this past Christmas was an Instant Pot Duo. It's a pretty multifunctional kitchen device that can cook, slow cook, pressure cook, bake, hot air fry, and more. It's easy to use and easy to clean. Although we are still on a discovery journey with it, we've used it in preparing most of our meals. Of course, the fixing healthy foods part and consuming smaller portions is still up to us.

A new approach to an old struggle.
Let's see how this goes.

John

June 3

It seems that I've got the hang of keeping a pretty close watch on the calories. I probably need to pay more attention to the type of calories -- fats, proteins, carbs. I do some, but I need to do better.

I have mixed my own breakfast cereal. It's a mix of rolled oats, a bag of raw walnuts, cashews, and macadamia nuts, and a bag of dried berries. A half cup serving is 199 calories with 29.2g of carbs, 7g of fat, and 5.5g of protein. I generally add a little 2% milk and eat it cold, but I could add water and heat it in the microwave for a hot cereal. Yesterday I added some fresh strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. It was a nice healthy way to begin the day.

Exercise:

Yesterday was okay. Only 8,343 on steps, but I did put in 30 minutes on the exercise cycle. My ass is kind of feeling it this morning. I like the cardio work that it provides over just walking and may find that I'm doing it more often. 

Today I'll hit the weight machine again. Eventually I'll work out my own circuit routine to use a couple of times per week.

I don't know where others struggle the most on their fitness journey. Although I can certainly get overindulgent where food is concerned, regular exercise is my real nemesis. It's much easier for me to get my head around controlling diet than it is to stick to a fitness program, but I'm working on it.

Be well,

John

June 2; Daily Diary

June is off to a good start. An early walk set me up to reach 10,000 steps for the day. It was only two miles, but it made a good start for the day. Throw in a little yard work and a later walk for the mail -- bam! 10,326 steps!

I did spend a little time (30 min) on the weight machine. I was mostly just reacquainting myself with different exercises and stimulating some muscle memory. I'll be keeping it lighter weights and higher reps for a little while. It's nice to have that option to add some diversity in my exercise plan.

Yesterday was the first Meatless Monday in a few years. I think it's a good thing. I don't think Chris is as sold on it. We typically do breakfasts and lunches separately, so those are easy. A shared dinner is a little trickier.

Yesterday I experimented with a portabella parmesan. I liked it. Chris wasn't a fan.

Overall, I had a good diet day, finishing under my daily target without the additional calories added for exercise.

Today's a new day and it's time to get to work.

Be well,

John

Not a Great Food Day

Maybe it's just being restricted, but there is way too much snacking going on. Most days aren't too bad. Yesterday was worse. Time to focus more on what I'm eating.

Step-wise it was a good day -- 12,411.
It's a new day.

Be well,
John

Year 60, Week 1

So it's actually 1 week and a day since I let this slip my mind yesterday.
I did weigh in at 258 this morning. That's -2 for the week and keeps me on pace to reach -60 by 60.
Diet has been decent with a few indulgences. I've made a few healthy dinners -- a meatless Monday portabella mushroom sandwich, a shrimp, potato, corn, asparagus dish, an easy chicken salad.

Exercise hasn't been very regular -- a couple of walks and a little stretching and light calisthenics.
I need to do better.

Overall, I'm not disappointed.
Week 2 is underway.

Be well,
John

Dec 11: On the road again

I was back to walking yesterday -- three miles. It was a slow three miles -- 57 minutes, but it felt good to be out. The temperature was around 40f (4.5c) and sunny so it was comfortable in sweats.
I did not hit 10,000 steps for the day. No big deal.

I did well on the diet front except for the maple kisses that came in a Christmas package from our Canadian friend. I will be both happy and sad when they are finished!
We had a light, healthy supper of tuna salad.

It's another sunny day so I'll be out on the road again today. Maybe I'll add a mile in order to get to 10,000 steps.
Maybe not.

Did not weigh today.

John

Dec 2: Looking back

I did step on the scale this morning and I am right where I was in June of 2013 -- a whopping 258 pounds! It was (and is) the most I've ever weighed.
At that time I set a goal to lose 54 pounds in my 54th year. I did it (and then some), but now here I am -- again.
Ugh!

I'm not looking to take a year this time. I just want to be steady about eating better and getting some exercise. Regular posting here will help. I doubt that I'll post daily, but a weekly update will help. Feel free to journey with me.

I managed a two mile walk yesterday and just over 5300 steps.
Yeah, I need to move more.
I guess I'll also go back to food logging. It's a pain, but it's amazing how much you can eat and be unaware of really eating. Making healthy habits takes time. Losing the unhealthy habits is even harder.

This was last night's dinner:

Bacon wrapped chicken breast stuffed with mozzarella cheese and asparagus, baked potato with butter, sour cream and cheese.
Probably could have done without the bacon and sour cream on the calorie count, but it was pretty tasty!

John <><

Second week --

Today begins the second week of spring and of my renewed commitment to health.
I did manage to walk every day of last week and reached 10,000 steps in each of the first seven days of spring. I even managed a very little amount of running.

I also moved my weight machine into a different room in the basement to make way for furniture in the man cave. I did get a little use out of it, but I still have much work to do to make its new location more functional.

On the diet front --
I have become more aware of everything I am consuming and am doing better at restricting less healthy options and being more careful about when I consume certain types of foods. I did drop a couple of pounds, but nothing to brag about at this point. Although I haven't done it yet, I do plan on taking some body measurements this week and tracking that progression. I think that overall body composition is a better indicator of health than body weight.

There is lots of rain in the forecast for this week, so I'll have to see how the walking goes. I do have a recumbent cycle and a Nordic Track for indoor work if I run into a rainy day with no breaks.
I also need to finish getting my garden in as I will be gone next week.

Here we go!
Week two towards better healthy living!

John

January 1, 2017

So it is a new year and time for new goals!
To be honest, last year was not a very good year on the health and fitness front. This year will be different. I wrote about the struggle a month ago and have already started back on the right track.

The long term goal is to live a healthier lifestyle which includes daily physical activity and a well balanced diet. I am planning on a series of short term goals to make that happen. I really don't want to set an annual goal of walking a set number of miles because I want to be flexible when it comes to daily activity rather than being fixed on having to walk daily. However, my typical walk is about an hour in length so I think that I should occupy that time with something else or a combination of walking and something else.

There are a few areas that I want to focus on for exercise.
The first is yoga.
I've played around at it for a little while but have never been really serious or regular about learning and practicing yoga. I've only been to a few classes and have mostly used books or followed along on You Tube classes. I'd like to work on the body weight strength moves and on some inverted balancing. To date, I've mostly worked on flexibility.

Another area for work is on some short burst high intensity interval training.
I've never done any P90X or Crossfit types of workouts and don't know that I really want to. I do plan on using our weight machine for some low weight/high rep circuits and using some HIIT exercises along the way.

Of course, there are other things. But at this point, the main thing is to keep moving forward.
My January goal will be to complete this 3000 squat/1000 push up challenge.

I will still need to fill my hour and will give myself the occasional day off.
Right now, I'm planning on yoga three or four days per week and will start at home but try to find a class or studio that is suitable for an old beginner like me. 

On the diet front, I'm going for the short term goal of tracking my intake via the My Fitness Pal app for every day in January. Even though I have started using the app again, I have not been very disciplined about my tracking, so for the short term anyway -- 31 days -- I can do this!

That's my January Resolution plan.
I'll let you know about next months plan when next month gets here!

Be well,
John

End of week 2

http://outofmyhat.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-struggle-continues-2.html

John

Monday morning reflections

It's the last Monday morning of June and I have to admit that I've had some pretty humbling revelations during the month of June.

A family wedding and several kids' camps have netted a few photographs of yours truly and they weren't pretty pictures!
While I have certainly been aware that I have put back about half of the weight I lost a couple of years ago, seeing it from the perspective of others -- wow! I probably need to print a couple of those pics and keep them posted where they will remind me of just how unhealthy I look.

And I definitely need to be more vigilant about my diet.

Even though I have not been too active (walking, yoga, etc.) lately, I still believe in eat for weight management and exercise for fitness as a way of taking care of one's self. I need to get back to doing both!

I find that logging foods during the day is the best way to keep track of the calories and types of foods I eat. I also find it to be a pain in the butt -- clearly a figurative lesson in "no pain, no gain."
I think that the inactivity of my retirement has also led to more enjoyment of food as a means of entertainment and a means of satisfying pleasure cravings and viewing food less as a means of fueling my body. The consequences of those perceptions are pretty evident in the pictures and on the scale.

So --
Not gonna wait until July or after the holiday weekend. I see no point in wasting the few remaining days of June and the beginning of July. Today I am back to faithfully logging food intake and eating for a healthy lifestyle. Like before, I'm just not going to go crazy with the fitness/exercise stuff. That's just not me and doesn't work well when I try to force it. Walking, cycling on the stationary bike, and a little yoga is about all I plan to engage in and probably not on an everyday basis.

I think that another thing that may help me in my weight management is to keep posting my progress. I know that not many people read this blog, but writing my progress (or lack of it) will keep me aware of it and hopefully, on track.

Here goes!

Be well,
John

Processed Food Fast

Just as an experiment, I think that I'll keep a log of the processed foods that I consume during the day.
For the most part, we have eliminated most processed foods and primarily shop the perimeter of the grocery store. If you use the perimeter method of shopping you'll find dairy, meats and produce and skip all of the canned, boxed and prepared foods.

About the only regular processed food item in my diet is whey isolate protein powder and I really need to increase my use of that and get a little more protein into my day.

I am a believer that abs are gained in the kitchen more than in the gym and need to get back to focusing on diet and preparing healthy meals. Our big meal of the day (usually late afternoon/early evening) isn't the problem. I think that lunch or midday eating is the biggest obstacle in my daily diet. Breakfast is not too bad, usually coffee and a smoothie or maybe some eggs.

The midday meal is a problem because it is usually unplanned and is whatever is available when I decide to eat. If I am out, that usually spells trouble on the healthy scale. I know that there are healthy options for eating out, but the truth is I tend to go for the fast option rather than the healthy one.

Late night snacking is also a problem. I need to make some more protein/fiber cookies or stick to a fruit smoothie and leave the nachos alone and the ice cream in the freezer! I know -- those things shouldn't be in the house if I'm sticking to the perimeter shopping method!

I know that my diet diary will show several processed items from time to time. I haven't eliminated them from my diet. I just want to see how I stand and how much of an adjustment is necessary to be comfortably healthy.

Comfortably healthy is my personal term for the compromise I'm willing to make between absolutely no junk food and satisfying my dietary cravings with an occasional indulgence or convenience.

So this isn't really a fast from processed foods as much as it is an awareness of processed foods. The awareness should create a marked decrease in consumption...
...at least that is the hope!

Eat well.
Be well.

John <><

Healthy eating: The traveling challenge

Tomorrow we begin a week long trip to the beach in Cancun Mexico.
As you know, eating a healthy diet on the road can be challenging -- especially at an all inclusive resort!

On the good side, there will be plenty of healthy choices -- fresh fruits and veggies, fresh seafood, not too sweet desserts.
On the bad side, there is just so much food!

If you just sample a little of half of what is available you'll have over eaten by plenty! It is so difficult not to try the many different dishes that are available. I love trying new foods and new ways of preparing food. It's a party for the eyes and for the taste buds!

So here is my strategy:
Make healthy choices often.
Use moderation always.
No guilt for the inevitable indulgences (it's only a week).
Enjoy!

I'll let you know how that works!

Bon appetit!

John <><