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.


Thursday, September 24, 2009

As FAT Goes By (Play It Again, Sam)





There’s something to be said for insulation. At 270 pounds, I was rarely cold. I suspect I’ll have to bundle up this winter just like everyone else. It’s late September and I’m already chilly.



I ran out of diet lunches yesterday, so I walked to the pizza place down the block. I used to get their Rueben sandwich with potato chips all the time. Depending on the ingredients, it ranges from 600 to 900 calories. Yeah, I had to give that up. Fortunately, I like their spinach salad, too. They’d noticed my absence and how much less of me there is. “How did you lose all that weight?” I have a standard answer,” Eat less and exercise more. It’s boring, but it works.” Weight loss isn’t an action-packed adventure. It just lets you feel better.



My roommate in college lost a significant amount of weight. She’d always been fat. As her new body emerged, she noticed “growths” in odd places. That’s what she called them – “growths.” Worried, she called the doctor. She was feeling bones through her skin for the first time in her life.



I wasn’t a fat kid, but I have battled weight my whole adult life. Winning. Losing. Even winning at losing. Now as a slimmer body emerges from the fat, I am rediscovering my ribcage. I like it.

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