Dog FOOD and Exercise

How would you feel if you carried around four 20-pound bags of dog food all day? DOG TIRED! 2 years ago, I used to weigh 80 pounds more and that’s how I felt. Run down. Exhausted.

Now I feel marvelous. Did I take a quick-fix pill or follow a fad diet? No, I just ate less and exercised more. That’s the only thing that really works.

Now that Beth is off to England, I’m getting back to business. I have 30 more pounds to go. It’s time to get busy.

I’m tweaking my exercise routine.

-- Monday and Wednesday, I’m on the treadmill.
-- Tuesday and Thursday, I take Pilate’s. It’s not as tough as last fall. I’m improving … slowly. When we’re on the mats, I can even touch my feet to the floor above my head. Not bad for 55.
-- Then (weather permitting), I’m walking 4 miles a day on Saturday and Sunday.
-- I get Fridays off. (I LOVE FRIDAYS!)

I want to push myself further on the treadmill.
First 5 minutes … 15% incline … 3.7 mph
Second 5 minutes … 15% incline … 3.8 mph
Third 5 minutes … 14% incline … 3.9 mph
Fourth 5 minutes … 14% incline … 4 mph
Fifth minutes … 13% incline … 4.1 mph
Last 5 minutes … 13% incline … 4.2 mph

Not bad for someone who used to be ready to die at 3 mph on the flat.


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Are You FAT Because You’re FAMISHED? Part One







Diet gurus from TV to the Internet promise that with their special plan you can loose weight and not be hungry. Adkins says that fat is more filling. The Full Plate Diet pushes fiber for the same reason. In the United States over the past month, 671,000 web pages have addressed hunger and dieting. I’ve lost 75 pounds over the last year and a half. I have a few thoughts on the subject.



If you buy your 2-year-old a toy every time you’re at the store, guess what? He’ll expect you to keep doing it. If you regularly overeat, the 2-year-old in your body will throw a tantrum, when you stop. So what? Drink a glass of water, iced tea, coffee or diet pop. Wait awhile. If that doesn’t work, eat a piece of fruit, carrot sticks or some kind of 100-calorie snack. Get busy. Do something else. Don’t be a drama queen and fixate on it. Move on.



What makes you lose weight is eating fewer calories than you need, so your body burns the stored calories. A little hunger means you’re succeeding. I don’t recommend radical diets. Most people (including me) can’t stick to them. Starving yourself for a week solves nothing. Cut back enough so you loose a pound a week or 5 a month. When it quits working, you’ve reached the even point. Then, cut a little more. The idea that you won’t occasionally be hungry is just silly.



I’m pretty disgusted by the diet industry’s empty promises, but why do they get away with it? Because we want something for nothing! We want to lose weight without sweat and without hunger. Talk about spoiled 2-year-olds.

1 comment:

Pat said...

Thanks. I appreciate the good wishes. In fairness, it's not the goal because I'm ambitious. I was that much overweight. My goal is to end up in the 150 to 160 range. That’s where the charts say I should be. Hitting that will mean losing up to 120 pounds.
I let it get that bad and now I'm trying to clean up the mess. It's taking forever. I started the blog to help me deal with the frustration and keep me on task.