Food and Drink
OK, all the dread, anxiety, focused procrastination, dietary flagellation, and self-loathing has finally come to fruition. I have arrived, paused at baggage claim, stepped to the curb, and flagged a cab. The sign reads, “Welcome to the other side of the hill, Decline, population: You.”
What I’ve discovered on this side of fifty thus far is that all the dread and anxiety was useless. Before Monday, what I dreaded was my birthday. I supposed if I were to focus my dread on anything from here on out, it would have to be my impending demise- whenever that will ultimately occur; because just as 50 was inevitable, my penultimate dirt nap is unavoidable. Should I dread or allow it to elevate my anxiety to mimic what I was feeling just a week ago? I don’t think so.
The thing is, I magnified the importance of turning fifty to a ridiculous level when, in reality, it was just another day. Fact is, that’s what they all are. The previous 1,376 days (since the day this misadventure began) have been a finite string of 24-hour containers of time. Their end was no more significant than their beginning, and just as inevitable as anything else. What is significant is the CONTENT of those 1,376 containers.
The question I have for myself is, “Why did I choose to fill all the gaps in those containers with such useless emotion?” I mean, anxiety? Of what use was that? Dread? Puh-lease! Aside from creating an almost overwhelming sense of urgency, those two emotional states are stymying at best, and crippling at less-than-best. Better to focus on making each moment better than the last than to freak out over a date.
That said, how did I do during my forty-ninth year? Simple answer is, worse than previous. I had such high hopes and lousy follow-through and, as a result, gained 14 pounds. 14! Damn! That I have a net loss of more than 130 lbs. (most of which was during the first year) is only mildly consoling. What is most important is why and what I’m going to do about it. So what am I going to do? Simply put, “It’s the food, Stupid (er, I mean Steve).” More specifically, too much of it. I have got to pull it back a bit as portion-wise. So here’s the deal: commit to recording every scrap of anything edible that makes it into my gullet. No ignorant mastication. No procrastination.
Starting tomorrow…
Rock on.
Tags: don't be a weenie, don't be a wuss, failure, goals, never say die, portion control | 
1 Comment »
Twenty-three days left and I’m sweating bullets. No, not literally. I’m just back from the gym and I’m literally sweating some mixture of water, salts, and anxiety– my own special par-fume du stank cocktail of hopes, dreams, and massive action that signifies my verve and dedication to literally (yes, there’s that word again) working the bulk of my ass off, my gut off, my love handles off, etc (or, at the very least, reducing their girth).
Massive action is kind of a short-term thing with me and not all that desirable. I consider myself more long-haul than flash-in-the-pan. I’ve said it many times over the past few years (starting circa Steve v4.6) that I wasn’t into the quick fix and that whatever path I took/take was to be one I could/would/will maintain long-term. As far as physical activity goes, I think I’ve stayed true. Food-wise… not so much.
What have I learned? More than I knew.
I learned that for me, calorie consumption is the largest factor in determining how much weight I lose, maintain, or gain. I have been religiously (can I get an ah-man?) consistent with my workouts (similar things/duration). There were a couple of periods since Steve v4.6 (the past 3+ years) that I stopped woking out– a couple of times lasted about 2 weeks, during which I didn’t exercise at all. The weird/unexpected thing was that, after returning to the gym and weighing in, I discovered that I really hadn’t gained much, if any, weight during the preceding period of inactivity. Conversely, there were a couple of times when I was working out regularly but went on an eating binge and gained weight immediately. It seems that, for me, my weight is most immediately affected by food quantity and more specifically, carbohydrate quantity.
Short story; missing a week of the gym is not as bad as eating pizza three days in a row (FOR ME, your results may vary).
Rock on.
Tags: calories, carbohydrates, Exercise, food, gym | 3 Comments »
Image via Wikipedia
There are those out there who profess above-normal benefits inherent to certain foods and products. Me? I’m a believer in moderation in all things and that every type of food has some caloric/nutritional value. Are there some things that are more nutritional than others? Sure. It’s all relative. Pitting a Twinkie against a carrot is far from a fair fight in a nutritional contest during the short-term but in terms of shelf-life the Twinkie will probably provide a decent calorie count years beyond the carrot (HA! In your face, vegetables!).
For me, a modest diet of diversity has worked the best. Key for losing weight was to create a caloric deficit- aka eat less/move more. There wasn’t any miracle berry or any-anything that I added to my diet that helped me lose weight but rather an overall lack of calories.
Here are Meal Monster’s two cents about Acai berry for anyone who’d like to know.
The acai berry (ah-sigh-ee) grows in the Amazon rain forest and looks like a purple grape or marble. The berry grows in large palm trees, which reach as high as 80 feet. The fruit grow in bunches, and each acai palm tree can yield between three and eight bunches. The Acai berry is mostly seed pit and the rest is pulp.
Acai has a one-of-a-kind tropical fruit flavor and provides a high amount of nutritional benefits. The acai fruit contains high levels of antioxidants called anthocyanins. It also contains Omega Fatty Acids (healthy fats), Amino Acids, Fiber, Iron and many other vitamins and minerals.
Acai has significant nutritional, health and wellness properties. It is an antioxidant, an antibacterial, an anti-inflammatory, an antimutagenic and also benefits the cardiovascular system.
Acai berries contain very high levels of essential fatty acids & omegas proven to lower LDL & maintain HDL cholesterol levels. They also have a remarkable concentration of antioxidants to help fight free radicals and early aging. Acai is a source of a certain group of flavonoids called anthocyanins. The ORAC value of acai berry is higher than any other edible berry in the world! Acai berry is also an excellent source of dietary fiber!
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131 lbs. lost
and I still have a ways to go!
No Diet Plans
No Pills
No Exercise Classes
No Surgery
Just Sensible Eating
and Exercise
MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods
