Friday, January 27, 2012

Time to refocus, plan and act to overcome obesity

I have not been focused on my weight for a long time now. I've been more focused on my overall fitness. And while I feel my overall fitness level is higher than it's ever been, I believe I am ready again to put more of an emphasis on reducing my weight again.

At the beginning of summer 2011, after nearly a year and a half of maintaining a strict, 1,800 calorie diet and doing resistance training at least four days per week, I weighed 255 pounds. I was elated, but a bit burnt out. I decided then that it was time that I started to add some more spice into my life and enjoying my newly fit body in the outdoors.

By August, when I moved to New England and began hiking, my weight had settled in at about 270 pounds. Throughout the fall I would often hike between 20 and 25 miles per week, usually two to three hours per day, five days per week, sometimes more. This increase in activity also led to an increase in appetite, and calorie-counting went out the window. But I still maintained my weight, hovering between 268 and 273 pounds.

Today I went to the local YMCA on a guest pass and weighed myself on scale for the first time since November, and I'm still holding steady, weighing in at 273. While I enjoy what I'm doing from a fitness perspective - still hiking up a storm and now adding mountain biking to the mix - I yearn to get back into the gym and also would like to focus once again on caloric intake.

Over the next week I'm going to begin calculating the calories of some of my favorite meals. I'm also going to begin cutting out some of the snacks I've been allowing myself to splurge on from time to time, these being ice cream, candy, corn dogs and hamburgers. Eating out is also going to have to come to an end, at least for a time. My goal is to get back down to 255 by the end of February.

Beyond that, I would like to get back on course with my weight loss so that I can achieve my goal of overcoming obesity once and for all. This time, I'll set my sights on my 41st birthday, August 9, 2012. I feel this is a realistic goal, and once I'm back on course with my diet I'm sure I'll begin to shed the pounds at a rate of about one to three pounds per week.

Here's my plan: 1) Return to an 1,800 calorie per day diet, 2) Hike or walk a minimum of 20 miles per week, 3) Do three sets of the first five exercises in the Tar Heels Medicine Ball Workout at least three days per week, and 4) Ride my bike at least 10 miles per week.

The hardest part of this plan will be calculating my caloric intake using home-cooked food instead of pre-packaged meals. Home cooking is cheaper and healthier, I believe, so it is worth the effort I'll be putting in to figure this stuff out. Plus, my partner Khizer is on a career path to become a registered dietitian, so he will be helpful in calculating the nutritional balance of our meals, too.

So, here goes nothing! I'm glad that I took some time to relax and be easy on myself, but I'm ready now to push onward toward my goal!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Clothes still fit one year on!

I'm going for a job interview today and I'm happy to realize the clothes I bought a year ago when I reached my current weight still fit. They say maintenance is the toughest phase of weight loss, but I still say that's bull! I'm on autopilot with my diet and exercise. When you're weighing in for weight loss you know it's a much bigger challenge. Once things get stable for me out here in Albuquerque I'm going to go at it again. I'd still like to lose another 40 pounds.