usa today’s 8-week weight loss challenge.

reason #14 … because i want to be a success story.

today on good morning america chris cuomo interviewed three people who had lost over 100 lbs (one even lost 250lbs) in conjunction with usa today’s annual weight loss challenge. one of the person’s “a-ha” moment was when he visited his dentist. his dentist him that because his blood pressure was so high, he would not perform the procedure on him.

next to each interviewee was a pile of potatoes, with each spud representing a pound lost. the lady who had lost 250 lbs. had 3 boxes of potatoes next to her. she had said when she first started losing weight she lost 10 lbs in the first week, and this scared her. her aunt encouraged her by telling her to go to a supermarket and buy two 5-pound sacks of potatoes and to carry them around. you feel how heavy they are? the aunt said, well that’s what you were carrying around a week ago.

i started a second walk today. i plan on doing twice-a-day hourlongs now, if time permits. hang in there.

the weekend is here

it’s saturday morning and i thought i’d share something.

last wednesday, me and a friend were talking. i told him, i’ve been 277 before, back when i let myself go.

but i haven’t been 277 with a new outlook on life and newly gained confidence.

today i fit into an older pair of slacks.

there’s no way i’m giving this up now.

phil 4:13.

day 17 … aborted freeverse

reason #13 … cos being active fights off depression

so during my morning walk i had planned today’s entry out. i was going to ramble, freeverse style on my morning walk.

how
with each assertive step i took
this morning
i’m fighting off my depression and angst

how last night’s missteps
were now
now
being redeemed with today’s
advances

how
the color
of the neighborhood
seems to creep out from the gray of the spring
fog

how the music
pumped into
my ear canal
was keeping me in time
keeping me fired up

then, during my homestretch i discover … my keys were missing.

i am stuck outside my own house.

there goes the poetry.

i try opening my screen window to gain access to the door, to no avail. i wake up a neighbor to borrow his phone, call my sister and ask her to drive 12 miles here to bring her set of keys. she arrives a half-hour later.

i specifically remembered putting those keys in my pocket before heading out. i figured i had dropped my keys somewhere while i was walking. we got into her car to retrace my steps to see if they were still on the path.

nada.

now i have to go to home depot and get some duplicates.

and maybe a nice keychain that won’t fall out my pockets.

i’ll freeverse next time.

day 16 … permanence … random entries …

reason #12 … cos body fat is jiggly. i don’t want to be jiggly anymore.

i’m halfway through governor huckabee’s book … i’ll have a full review soon … it’s a pretty simple book by an ex-fat guy for fat guys … i just finished the chapter titled “stop expecting immediate success.” i especially like that one. he says that this time around, he was seeking to gain health instead of lose weight, and that’s why he was successful. he says that while the first few weeks i’ll drop quite a bit of weight (which is still all kinds of awesome), that i shouldn’t expect the next couple of weeks to have the same kind of progress … also, most importantly, i mustn’t treat this as a diet, a phase, something temporary and seasonal before i can go back to pizza and coke. i’m setting out to change my lifestyle, so i must realize that the weighing scale does not tell me the whole story.

so with that in mind, i’m going to try a little stunt: i’m NOT going to step on that bloody 2×2 black plastic square with digital readout for two whole weeks. not until monday, april 7. for the past two weeks i’ve been weighing myself everyday, so i’m going to practice some self-restraint and resist looking. i’m going to keep doing what i’ve been doing so far in terms of healthy eating and exercise (it seems to be working). but this time, i’m just not going to fuss about the poundage. that sweet, sweet ever-decreasing poundage.

ahem. wish me luck.

after reading yesterday’s blog, my sister suggests that i burn my pants once i hit a bmi of 30 (which’ll make me overweight and not obese). i say yay. a friend of mine also suggests i try basketball; it adds concentration and the use of both hands. i say yay to that too.

for those of you who find solace in scripture, here’s one …

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13 (ESV)

have a lovely day, y’all.

two weeks / numbers

so i guess it’s finally time to reveal some important numbers.

i am 25 years old, my height is 5′11″ and, at the start of this little project of mine, my weight was at 291 lbs.

that calculates to a bmi of 40.6 (obese)

now, two weeks later, my weight is 277.4 and my bmi is 38.7 (still obese, but hey.)

that’s 13.6 lbs!!!

it feels great! yesterday at a church picnic, people started noticing my weight loss. i had lost some of the bulge in my neck. that actually kept me from getting way too much from the buffet table!

the problem for me is, i celebrate way too early. when people start noticing my weight loss, it gets into my head, and that’s when i start slacking off again. this praise i’m getting is supposed to encourage me, to push me forward, not to tell me to stop.

so now it’s time to intensify. these next few weeks, i’m going to start doing some strength exercises, lift weights, build muscle. today my workout walk was significantly easier. i could easily take on songs with 120 bpm, songs that made me huff and puff two weeks ago. so i’m going to chuck my slower songs and put some faster songs in my mix. also, i plan on actually increasing my calorie intake a bit more, just so that my body doesn’t think it’s starving itself and goes on the defensive. i’m not starving myself, actually. promise. i’ll stay way below the fat counter, of course.

right now my most immediate goal is to fit into my slacks again, pants i haven’t worn in a year because i couldn’t fit in them anymore. once i get there, i’m burning my old jeans.

thanks to all for your continued support!

day 12 … weekend reading

reason #11 … windsurfing.

a book came in the mail today. “quit digging your grave with a knife and fork” by former next president of the u.s. mike huckabee. actually, current governor of arkansas, who plays the bass guitar and lost 110 pounds. wow.

i’ll be reading this over the weekend. have a great one, y’all.

day 11 … cheat day comes early

reason #10 … cos i have chubby hands. i don’t want chubby hands anymore.

going to lunch with some friends today. my first “eating out” since i started. brazilian barbecue. oh my. i love brazilian barbecue.

my friend last night told me i should enjoy my meal, and not actively seek to “deprive myself” today. after all, i am going with friends and i am paying top dollar for the meal. of course, maintain the necessary precautions, he said. trim the fat, watch the carbs, eat your veggies. have a slightly heavier breakfast so i won’t pig out so much. the worst thing you want when going to a restaurant is to be hungry.

and workout like hell afterwards. oh wait, that was my idea. and no soda. please.

day 10 … my walkabout mix

reason #9 … so i can run a 5k one day.

when i started my workout / walkout last week, i only had two songs on my mp3 player to walk to. they played over and over until i got sick of them. the reason for using only these two songs was, the songs had to be at the right tempo so i can keep my walking pace up. if a song is too slow or too fast i won’t keep up with the beat and simply walk, usually slower than my ideal pace.

so yesterday i scoured my collection for songs i can powerwalk to. i figured out the tempo to each song using this site. my ideal tempo is from 113 to 122 beats per minute. factors for choosing the songs were mainly the beat. i really like songs with a “four-on-the-floor” bass drum pattern. i also picked songs that pump me up. also, songs that have a lot of variety within them are great, with “explosive” moments littered throughout, just so i don’t get bored.

my playlist is 2 hours and 37 minutes long. there’s enough songs on here to ensure that i don’t have dig into my pockets every now and then to press “skip.” here they are, sorted according to beats per minute.

113    The Features – Blow It Out
113    Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
113    Stars – The Night Starts Here
113    Charlie Hall – Walk The World
114    Patrice Rushen – Forget Me Nots
114    Paul Baloche – Hosanna
114    Andrew Bird – Imitosis
114    Maroon 5 – Makes Me Wonder
114    Jason Mraz – No Doubling Back (taken from his live album)
115    Phil Wickham – After Your Heart
115    No Doubt – Hella Good
115    The Go! Team – Ladyflash
116    Red Hot Chili Peppers – Love Rollercoaster
116    David Crowder Band – O Praise Him (All This For A King)
116    David Crowder Band – O Praise Him (Oceanic Mix)
116    Paul Baloche – Open The Eyes of My Heart
116    Mae – Painless
116    Jimmy Eat World – Work
117    The Fray – Over My Head (Cable Car)
117    Justin Timberlake – SexyBack (yes, i know)
118    Sonicflood – Open The Eyes of My Heart
119    Jason Mraz – No Stopping Us (live)
120    Kenna – Baptized in Blacklight
120    David Crowder Band – Can You Feel It
120    David Crowder Band – Here Is Our King
120    Lincoln Brewster – Let The Praises Ring
120    Kenna – Loose Wires / Blink Radio
120    Jack’s Mannequin – Miss Delaney
120    Kenna – Out of Control (State of Emotion)
120    Mute Math – Plan B
120    David Crowder Band – Revolutionary Love
120    Cloetta Paris – St. Elmo’s Fire
120    Mute Math – Transformers Theme (awesome breakbeat)
121    Kenna – Say Goodbye To Love
122    Fee – Burn For You
122    David Crowder Band – Our Love Is Loud

yes, eventually i’ll tire of this mix. by that time, i hope to have songs with faster tempo. my jogging mix.

day 9 …things i learned from the beach/walk

reason #8 … cos every time i look at the scale and see a lesser number, it feels like awesome.

yesterday i went to seal beach to walk / run with a friend. here are several things i learned, either from my friend, or from the general “being at the beach” shtick:

1. if your walking route is a straight line that stretches from here to eternity, go as far as you can push yourself on the first half. that way you HAVE to walk that same “as far as you can” distance back to your car.
2. don’t expect to sweat as much. it’s windy out there, even with the sun. it’s kind of like swimming. you’ll still get a workout.
3. who needs an mp3 player when you’ve got the sounds of the ocean?
4. if you can, and you must, walk / run on the sand. if you can overcome the initial “feet sinking” sensation, the sand adds great resistance. yesterday we did the first half on solid path and the other half on the sand. there was also added resistance because we were walking against an angle. not to mention the occasional “run away from the waves” move.
5. without a vantage point, walking on sand WILL feel like you’re going nowhere. hang in there.
6. tighten your core while you walk. extra workout. but don’t tighten your shoulders. if you’re not ready to really walk/run, then ankle and wrist weights would serve as extra workout as well.
7. propel fitness water has way less calories and way less sugar than vitamin water. aaaand, since the gatorade corporation is trying to compete in the newfangled “vitamin-enriched water” market, propel fitness water is now fortified with vitamins. at least that’s what the label says.
8. total workout time: an hour and a half.
9. totally worth doing on a regular basis.

tomorrow, i’ll go over my newly-formed workout mix.

day 8 … the freezer is your friend.

reason #7 … so i can have a more active lifestyle.

so i got through the weekend. my freezer’s stocked with all these leftovers and bringhomes from church and parties me and my family went to over the weekend. it’s a filipino thing, taking home food from parties. that way nothing gets wasted. a lot of it, however, is stuff i can’t really eat, and i don’t want them going bad, so into the freezer they go.

a little description of my diet. my mornings consist of oatmeal, those single packs by quaker oats. one cup of those is enough. i could plausibly add fruit to the mix, but i usually don’t.

lunch is usually a heavier fare, though it’s significantly less than what i used to eat. usually it’s some form of meat and lots of green vegetables. last week it was spinach. today i added a little bit of brown rice. on saturday my sister made meatball curry, so i had that today. yum. fruit for dessert if i want to, but sometimes not.

if at 3 if i get a bit hungry, i’ll have a snack. probably yogurt. or wheat crackers.
dinner is pretty light. featherweight. last week it was cottage cheese, fruit and a slice of whole-grain bread. i stick by the “nothing after 6″ rule so dinner’s usually around that time. basically, that’s something in my stomach every 3 hours. and i’m not starving myself, either.

for me, portion size is key. most of the time it’s sticking to what the nutrition facts “serving size” says it should be. other times i’m just eyeballing it. also, lots and lots of water is important. and no, no sweets, no sodas, not even the diet ones.

this diet worked for me last week. this week i plan to be a bit more creative, trying out other food combinations just so i won’t get bored with it.