Day 267 - NSV Saturday

Wishing a great day to all of you. A busy Saturday, weekend, planned here. Just a quick post to share an NSV from this past week.

In the past I have shared NSV's regarding my belt and punching holes in them; it is a common NSV for those who lose weight consistently over time. I have since purchased a new belt which I wear at work. It has 7 holes and immediately I needed to use it to the 5th hole, leaving me only 2 more holes to lose into.

This week I started using that 6th hole. In the past I've moved it to the 6th hole but it wasn't comfortable enough to use daily. Now, I declare computability on hole 6!

Have any NSV to share?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 266 - Some Friday Follows

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Wazzzup? Hey There! Yo... or just plain Good Morning...

Yep, it is Friday and I have no desire to talk about me. I am good, real good, I just haven't an interesting thought re: ME at the moment.


SOooo, since it is Friday and my next stop is Twitter to pump out some "Friday Follows" ( For you tweeters hashtag #FF ), why not put up a couple of them here and shout-out some fellow bloggers/tweeters whose own interesting-ness recently grabbed my attention.


Maybe you are already following on with them, if so you are as lucky as I am. If not, then this is your lucky day!

Vinny over at The Fat To Fit Diary - he tweets at @VinnySlavin

His blog link there is to his post yesterday. He shared some good news in first post of the new year; a nice number summing up his 2010 success and a grand announcement to kick off 2011. Check him out, comment & #FF him up.

Cindy Lou over at jillian inspired journey - she tweets at @jillianinspired

We've shared a tweets for a few months. Cindy's got great focus; her 2010 saw her lose a mess of weight, go on a cool cruise with Jillian Michaels, fight through some challenges and run a bunch. Why she doesn't have more blog followers is a mystery to me, I certainly need to enjoy her journey there as much as I enjoy her tweets. Oh, and I recommend that you do so also!

Oh I have a bunch more #FF love to give... whether you tweet or not is irrelevant; on your blog or however you can, follow someone up with some friendly thoughts today!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 265 - Perfection Aint A Shake Away



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Seen any images on television, the web, anywhere of extremely beautiful, perfectly gorgeous, people? Certainly you have, I know I have.

Recently I caught a commercial for the Shake Weight. Last night I saw one for some twisting abdominal chair that easily could double as a dungeon torture device. Let me tell you, if I really thought for a minute I could Shake or Twist my way to looking as perfect as the paid models in these ads then I wouldn't be writing this now; I'd be Shake'n & Twist'n.

Sure, they are exercising. If we exercise & keep at it we are likely to look better in time. Upon making the decision to buy such a device does anyone truly believe they'll end up looking as perfect as these models? Sadly, I am guessing some do.

Millions of these devices are sold which means millions of people are using them either a little or allot. Soooo, where are all the model-perfect bodies amongst us? At Target this week I saw none. Nope, none at work yesterday nor at Dick's Sporting Goods last night. Tonight I'll be at Costco, think I'll see any there? Oh I suppose it could happen, but my hopes aren't high. Where my hopes are high is on the price of gasoline being tolerable there.

Well if these model-perfect bodies aren't in these every day places we frequent, where are they? I'm beginning to think there are oh-so-few of these bodies in proportion to the mega-millions of average to imperfect bodies amongst us. Ok, I've always thought that.

Without any researched fact to support this next thought I'll go out on a limb and say that a vast majority of these model-perfect bodies are not just the result of determined diet & exercise; but also deliberate cosmetic enhancements. Yes, I know, shocking to suggest. Or is it just a shockingly obvious thought?

Hey, they are models, or movie stars, or of some other professionals who make their bacon (and never eat it) because they have smokin hot, cut to model-perfect bodies. Ok, that's fine, their choice, hooray & good luck to them.

Back to us.... We work too. We have friends and families too. Most of us here eat healthy & exercise too. Yet we don't have model-perfect bodies. Well, maybe one or two (oh-so-few) of our fellow bloggers do or are close to such a body. But perhaps I should just speak for myself...

That's right; I am not perfect! And furthermore; I will never be model-perfect. At least that is my belief, and I am fine with that.

If perfection is defined as the images we are faced with regularly, I am Ok accepting I will never be perfect.

Are you Ok with that?

Do any of you believe you will achieve model-perfect bodies?

Or want one enough to do what the Shake Weight dude up there did to get his?

 

 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 264 - Seriously, Do Not Take It

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Calorie advice is not always best taken seriously such as that shared yesterday. Some days, we get advice such as the below, and know it out to seriously not be taken...

Food you do not order has far less calories. Therefore eat guilt free off of the plate another person has ordered.

Food passes through the stomach four times faster when eaten while standing, thus we absorb a quarter of the calories. Eat while walking, six times faster. While running, eight times. Unfortunately while driving fast calories don't pass through a dozen times faster, oh well.

If you slice your pie and cake portions neatly then you will be less tempted to trim those poorly left edges and inhale them. But, even if you do, everyone knows that trimmed dessert edges have nearly zero calories.

Calories on seconds are raised to the 2nd power, on thirds to the 3rd power; and so on. Therefore do not go back for more, instead get it all plated the first serving.

Those mini sausages and cheeses served with toothpicks have less calories as some escape when the appetizer is stuck. Thus always look for those stuck with multiple toothpicks if you want to enjoy more appetizers.

Remember to have SERIOUS FUN when getting healthy, you & and everyone around you will Thank You for it!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 263 - We Should Earn This

Losing weight is not easy, is it? Oh the behaviors required to lose weight and be healthy are easy to conceptualize and understand, but executing them often are anything but easy for us mentally.

If you agree with that, or even if you do not I suppose, the question I'd like you to consider is this; If you believe that being/staying healthy is really important, do you also believe being/staying healthy is worth earning?

Oh I certainly do believe it must be earned. Healthy is not anything we are given, gifted, or get unless we earn it. Many if not most things in life are this way too; e.g. money, property, trust, love, etc... and let us be honest, we put a good deal of effort into earning and maintaining many of those things don't we? I know I do!

Hmmm, before you can answer the earlier question above perhaps it would help if you first pondered this one; Why? Why is being healthy important & worthy of being earned?

Well, I could go into a long list of reasons why and validate each point with why being healthy is needed; but let me keep this to a simple-straight-forward answer, "I WANT IT"

Come on now... think again to our examples of money, property, trust, love... why do we endeavor so in attaining these? Because we WANT them. Money, I want it so I have positioned myself to be able to earn a good living so I go after it hard... Property, e.g. toys, gadgets, stuff of all sorts are what I want around me so I go after them when the want for them strikes... Trust & Love, big time wants of mine as when these have been absent in my life I have felt miserable, utterly miserable!

Being healthy, yes; I want it. But I won't come to attain it if I do not get busy earning it. But, BUT, coming to realize that getting healthy has to be earned is not the main point I waish to make here. Rather it is this, I feel GREAT when I have something I know that I have earned.

I treasure that which I have accomplished via earning it. The things I am most proud of in life are those I have earned; e.g. when I earned my bachelors in 2007 (see pic above). That which I have earned I put the greatest continuing effort into in order to preserve and keep.

We Should Earn being/staying healthy because we WANT all the GREATNESS that comes from doing so!

That is my opinion, what is yours?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 262 - Thinking A Bit Deeper

Do you Tweet? If so, connect with me there; I am Rspnsblty199 and love it for quick in & out health chat from my blackberry, itouch, etc. through out the day whenever hitting the blogs is not in the cards.

Monday! So happy it is Monday, the holiday break is over and days that include work are here again. Uh Huh I am, probably not a notion shared by many, but I am at my best when it comes to ME when not in holiday mode.

This is day-three of the new year, not that I am really counting. But I'll use the neatness of the new calendar for a mini-reflection of my most recent healthy living performance...

Saturday Jan 1, Consuming 1,900+ calories is more than I should consume when leading my life in a healthy manner. Even on days where I bust out some meaningful exercise 1,900+ is not likely to result in a day of weight loss. I performed no exercise this day however. I'd like to keep it closer to a range between 1,500 & 1,800 daily. Looking at the nutrient breakdown my days intake was 50% carbs and 25% each fat & protein. Ideally I will cut the carbs in half and replace those calories primarily with lean proteins.

Sunday Jan 2, I did exercise today giving the elliptical a furious thrashing after finally fixing the thing. Ok, it thrashed me; I just didn't feel like walking out in the cold today. A better eating day than yesterday... At 1,800 calories and carbs closer to 40%, just a bit better not allot. We'll take it though and onward we go to the next day where the opportunity exists to be even better.

Monday Jan 3, TBD...

Yesterday I received many great comments on my weigh-in post; Thank You all who chimed in with encouraging words and thoughts. I would like to give a shout out to contributor who set my mind to thinking a bit deeper about all of this than I was.

Christine played this role of mentor for me this day and if you did not read her comments then today is your lucky day as I am copy/pasting them here for you to ponder too...

Okay Patrick. Remember the weight loss fundamentals that I think maybe you lost track of:
1.) Exercise does not equal weight loss. You can't exercise your way down the scale. Exercise is good and you should keep doing it, but it won't make you skinny.
2.) Watch your "empty carbs." If you are going to eat carbs, make sure they are from a real plant, such as a baked potato. Bread is not a plant.
3.) Watch your sugar intake.
4.) Eat lots of protein. If you get hungry, EAT! But eat protein.
5.) Don't shy away from "healthy fats" like nuts, avocado, fish, cheese. Just eat them in small portions (after all, they are high in calories). Just supplement these items with high-protein foods.
6.) EAT! Don't starve yourself because the scale is being mean to you. Eat regularly, just eat small meals.
I know that sounds like a lot, but it's all basic, fundamental stuff that you already know. Just re-evaluate what you're doing and get back on track! You can do this!!

All good stuff there, all I've heard before and agree with; Thanks Christine! I admit to not always keeping the basics in the forefront of my mind and adhering to them, obviously I have not over the holidays.

Hmm, what would happen if I did? I KNOW, I would get to create a post like THIS ONE and share it with all of you!

If you didn't 'watch' that post I linked in the last paragraph you are doing yourself an injustice; please watch it. And when you have and come back here and tell me...

Where are the basics at in your mind today?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 261 - 53% Progress

In a word, STUCK, is how I shall summarize my holidays. Stuck as far as weight loss overall. I didn't weigh myself as frequently over the last month-and-a-half, although when I did my weight continued creeping down at times, or didn't move at others. Yet, when I weighed in today I came in up a few pounds to see 255.5 pounds on the scale, a mark I weighed in at in mid-November.

While I knew I dipped into a few more holiday / new years eve treats than I should have, I didn't expect that result. Thinking back, I should have expected exactly that. Even though I was getting in some exercise, it wasn't as determined an effort as I was putting in last spring, summer & fall. Simple math right? Take in more calories than you burn off will result in weight gain 100% of the time.

The positive mind within me finds victory in this weigh-in however. Over the past month-and-a-half which covered the holidays I was STUCK. I didn't pack on 10-15 pounds of holiday cookie wight which I've done many a year. I didn't sit idle on my butt giving zero consideration to exercise which I've done many a year. So compared to those many other years the 2010 holiday eating season was victorious.

My aim remains to weigh 199 pounds or less in life, and that will happen in 2011.
My intent remains to lose 1.5 pounds a week, assuming I do just that I'll reach 199 by the end of September.
My stretch aim would be to weigh 199 by the end of June when we depart for a Hawaiian vacation.
My intent needs to amp up to lose 2.25  pounds a week for that to happen.

In 2010 I came to know some important and cool abilities which I possess:
I know how to lose 1.5 pounds a week...
I know how to eat healthy...
I know how to exercise with purpose...
I know 2011 is going to be another great year, just as 2010 was.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!