Just FYI..

(My last post was my 200th.  Forgot to mention it.  Go me!)

I had hit it hard Thursday and Friday, so I laid off the exercise today.  Maybe because of that, or because I had a smallish dinner (it tasted wonderful, by the way - it was a home made burrito using wheat tortillas), but for whatever reason, I was hungry this evening.

I thought about stopping at Krystal Burger and getting a half-dozen burgers and a large order of fries.  Instead, I opted for a pickle, a handful of jalapeno cheddar cheese Cheetos, and a big glass of water.  Yum!

It's Poison!!!!!!!

Today one of my coworkers brought a beautiful cake to work to share with everyone.  It was some kind of three layer white cake with extra fancy icing and shaved white chocolate on top.  It was gorgeous.  Everyone said it tasted great.  I ate a little sliver of white chocolate.


Later in the day, one of my other coworkers (who also has been very encouraging to me in my weight loss, by the way) was getting a piece of cake and asked me how my "willpower was doing" with that cake sitting about twenty feet away from me.


I told her, "No problem.  I'm not really tempted at all.  It's got too much sugar.  That's like asking me if I'm tempted to drink poison,  Sugar is my enemy."


"Really?" she asked.


"It's dead to me," I replied.


I know that may sound a little drastic, and I was joking (mostly), but I really wasn't tempted.  It didn't pass my three rule test.  It has been very interesting to find my entire relationship with food has changed.

On My Desktop

My laptop has Windows 7.  One of the cool things that Windows 7 can do, and it can do a lot, is gadgets on the desktop.  These are tiny little applications that can add the weather, a clock, RSS feeds, all kinds of things right on the desktop.


Today I added a countdown clock.  Right now it reads 121 days.  Can you guess what is in 121 days?  No peaking at a calendar!!  Did you guess Thanksgiving?


Wrong!!  Okay...you're actually right, it is Thanksgiving.  But that's not all.  It's also the Gobble Jog!  Wahoo!!


The Gobble Jog is a Tot Trot/1k/5k/10k fundraiser for MUST Ministries.  Must Ministries is a :faith-based organization that, for 38 years, has been dedicated to providing services to feed, clothe, and assist people living in poverty. MUST offers a range of services including emergency shelter, transitional housing, meals, groceries, clothing, job readiness and placement, financial assistance, children's programs, community support groups and access to free healthcare."


I'm doing the 5k.  I'm laying the gauntlet down.  I don't care if I have to crawl the last 100 yards, I will do this race!  Of course, I am hoping to actually run the entire 5 kilometers.  That's 3.1 miles give or take.


Who wants to join me?  If we get 10 or more as a team we get $2 off of registration.  We don't even have to do the same race!


(And my new shoes were great today!  Terran and I ran more than we ever have.  We're getting there!)

Healthier Is Possible

Due to some unforeseen circumstances this weekend, we ended up eating out a couple of times that we hadn't planned on.  Usually when we eat out, it's fast food.  Burgers and fries, Taco Bell, or maybe a sub sandwich.  Before, my plan was always to get the most food for my money.  The bigger the better.  But now, I eat differently.  Here's a couple of examples.

SUBWAY BEFORE:
12" Meatball sub on wheat with salt & pepper, oregano, cheese, mustard, pickles, and black olives
1460 calories (300 for a soft drink)

SUBWAY NOW:
6" roast beef on 9 grain whole wheat with s[icy mustard, pepper jack cheese, cucumber, banana peppers, black olives, pickles (lots and lots of pickles), bell pepper, salt (just a little) and pepper (a little more), and LOTS of oregano
420 calories


McDONALDS BEFORE:
Double quarter-pounder with cheese and large fries
1240 calories (230 for sweet tea)

McDONALDS AFTER:
McDouble and small fries
620 calories

Today I had Arby's.  We love Arby's.  In the past I would get the LARGE roast beef sandwich with a  LARGE order of curly fries.  Add in a LARGE Dr. Pepper, and you have around 1,500 calories and a LARGE Aaron.  (And I would usually finish Nathanael's, too.)

I got a medium roast beef sandwich today, and only ate half the bun (which is where half the calories and all the sugar resides).  My fries were also a medium, and I only ate half of them as well.  I learned my lesson.  I would have been satisfied with a small.

I'm beginning to understand that while it may be impossible to eat "healthy" everywhere, it is possible to make healthIER choices.

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So, I'm encouraging you (and myself), if you have to eat out tomorrow, make healthier choices, no matter where you go!

It's Not At All Like Riding a Bicycle

Today I got some new running shoes. Actually, they're the first running shoes I've ever owned.  They seem comfortable.  Hopefully they will help me with my gait.

"What's wrong with your gate?" you ask.

"No, not my gate, my GAIT.  G-A-I-T, as in the way I run," I reply.

"Oh!" you exclaim.  "How could I have been so silly.  Of course that's what you meant.  So, what's wrong with your gait?"

Glad you asked.

The problem is that the last time I really ran the year ended with '00'.  It's been over ten years.  My body, in a lot of ways, has forgotten how to run.  During a 100 yard run, I''ll go from tight shoulder to loose shoulders, running on my toes to running on my heels, swinging my arms wildly (okay, not that wildly) to holding my arms close to my sides, clenched fist to a relaxed hand...and every combination of these.

I'm really have to re-learn how to run.  It is definitely NOT like riding a bicycle.  When I started running, I could feel muscles I hadn't used in years working, stretching, doing what they are designed to do.  Which is why I think I know how to solve this problem, though...

Keep doing it until I get it right!

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To all you runners out there:  any tips?

A Chuck Woolery Moment

In case you don't know who Chuck Woolery is, he was the original host of Wheel of Fortune, but is probably best known for hosting Love Connection.  During his Love Connection stint, when he was segueing to commercial, he used to say, "We'll be back in two and two."  His explanation was that each commercial break was about one second to fade to commercial, two minutes of commercials, then one second to roll back to the show.

Today I had a "Chuck Woolery Moment".

Last month, I had my yearly employee physical, but I wasn't able to get my TB test.  I'd been on steroids because of a upper respiratory infection, and if you're on steroids, you can't have the test.  So today and I had my test.  While I was there I asked the nice nurse-lady to check my body fat and BMI again.

The results?

In one month I've lost 2% of my body fat and 2 points on my BMI.  My own personal "two and two".  Thanks Chuck!

Top 10 Things I'm Looking Forward To

For those of you that have never been extremely overweight, you may have a hard time relating to this list.  For those of you that either are (or have been) overweight, then I imagine you'll know from whence I am coming.

When I near my weight-loss goal, the top 10 things I am looking forward to are:

1. Going to a concert/sporting event, and being able to buy a t-shirt.
2. People not assuming I want their extra food.
3. Not having to evaluate all the chairs in a room to determine which chair is most likely NOT to fail when I sit on it.
4. Not feeling sorry for people that sit next to me on an airplane.
5. Clothes shopping at a store with neither Big nor Tall in the name.
6. Not even noticing if my current route involves stairs.
7. Eating ice cream in public without feeling like people are judging me.  (Please, no crunchies in my smoothies.)
8. Never searching for the "maximum load" sticker on a ladder before climbing up it.
9. Making the statement "one size fits all" true for me personally.
10. Riding any ride I want at Six Flags.  (Sometimes I think they need to add a "You must be this narrow to ride" sign in addition to the "You must be this tall to ride" sign.  Ask me about the Batman ride at Astroworld sometime.)

What did or would make your list?

You're Not the Boss of Me!

(The title is not a quote of my son, though it could be.  He has said that in the past.)

One of my in-shape, thoughtful friends and her husband are coming over for dinner Saturday.  She was nice enough to make sure that bringing cookies for dessert wasn't going to throw a monkey wrench in my weight loss plans.

I told her to bring the cookies.  If I want one, I'll eat it.  If I don't, I won't.  No problem.

I've told a few people that I could eat the way I am eating right now for the rest of my life, and I truly believe that.  It's simple:  cutting back on sugar in general, no sugary drinks, stay away from white foods (white rice, white bread, white potatoes), and eat reasonable portions.  That's it.

It's NOT a diet.  I've dieted plenty of times.  I know a diet when I'm on one.  I'm not on a diet, but I am eating differently.  The big mental shift I've made is that when I'm on a diet, the DIET is the boss.  The DIET says, "Aaron, you can't eat that.  Aaron, you can't have that."

Now, I'm the boss.  No diet is my boss, and food is not my boss.  When I'm presented with a choice of what to eat, or how much, I just ask myself a couple of questions.

1)  Am I truly hungry?  (If the answer is "no", I don't even go to the other questions.)
2)  Is there something just as good and convenient that would be better for me?
3)  Does this move me closer to, or further from, my goal?

I know it sounds a little complicated.  But now that I've been doing it for a month, it takes a half second.  Here's an example.

Someone brought Dunkin' donuts to work for my office last week.  They sat on the table about 15 feet from my cubicle all day.  I'll be honest.  In the past, I would have eaten 2 or 3 when they arrived, and then ANOTHER 2 or 3 throughout the day.  Hey, why not?  Free donuts, right?

But now, I'm the boss.  Not the food...and not a diet.

I walked by the donuts at least a half dozen times that day.  The first time I walked by I opened the box and took a look.  I thought to myself, "Huh!  Look at that.  Donuts...lots of sugar.  Not worth it."...and walked on by.  The second time I walked by, I didn't even slow down.

It's not a situation of "I can't eat that", but simply "I don't want to eat that".

I recommend that if you are considering going on a "diet"...don't.  Make some positive changes in your eating habits, be healthy, but YOU be the boss, not a diet.  If you want to lose a few pounds (or a lot, like me), before you pop that pop-tart in your mouth ask yourself question #1.

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What ONE thing can you do to help yourself (in regards to eating) TOMORROW?  Drink an extra glass of water?  Eat breakfast?  Single meat burger instead of double meat?  Let me know if you do something and I will most definitely cheer you on!

New Addiction

It may be too early to declare it to the heavens, but I think I have a new addiction.  To be honest, I always thought that people that talked about "runner's high" were just trying to talk other people into suffering with them.  But now that I've actually experienced...had a little taste of it...I think there might be something to it.

If you read my last post, you know that I had something of a "moment" on Saturday morning when I actually ran for the first time in years.

Last night, my work out partner and I did six "laps" on my personal walking track, which equates to about 3 miles.  We ran about a half mile of the 3 miles.

Today, I was a little sore, but I couldn't hardly wait until tonight to see if I could run again tonight...and I did.  I did 2 laps, ran about a 1/4 mile.

We'll see how I feel in a  couple of weeks.

I Think I Teared Up

In case you haven't been keeping up, I've commandeered the empty sub-division next door as my personal walking track.  The other night I took it our for a one lap test spin.  Today I hit it a little harder.

I did three full laps (in addition to walking to and from), which equated to about 40 minutes of hard walking.  If you were to look at the map, you would see that the track is a modified figure 8.  The "straightaway" in the middle is about 100 yards long.  Here comes the exciting part.

As I was starting the second half of my second lap, and I came up to the straightaway...I started running.  Almost without making the decision.  I don't know whether I just wasn't working hard enough walking or what, but I took off in a brisk trot.  That's right...a BRISK trot.

(Please realize, the only "running" I've done in the past eight years has been to McDonald's.  I wasn't even really sure if I could run without hurting myself.  We'll find out in the morning about that.)

Now, the strangest part.  I ran the straightaway, and when I slowed back to a walk, I felt great!  I had a rush of adrenaline, my heart rate was up, and I felt great!  I actually got chill bumps and I think I might have teared up a little.  Why did I tear up?  Do you know how long it has been since I have equated working out with feeling GOOD?

So, my challenge to you today is get out, get active, and make your body feel good!

Make a Choice

This evening, I went to dinner at the Marietta Diner.  It's a pretty popular place, and they are well known for their ginormous desserts.  In general their portion sizes are HUGE!


You may have noticed that the title of this blog is "Make a Choice".  Tonight, that's what I did.


In the past, I've been a constant victim of the "I'll start fresh on Monday" or "I'll start after the holidays" syndrome.  No more.  I wanted so bad at dinner to just eat the way I always have and "start over" tomorrow.  But there's a cost every time you do that.  It pushes your goals back.


So tonight, I made a choice to eat a half of piece of bread with a little butter, instead of 4 pieces of bread with a layer of butter.  I ate two small pieces of their spinach pie instead of a half dozen.  I had water to drink instead of sweet tea.  Cheryl and I split a dish of Broiled Stuffed Filet of Flounder...and we still brought home enough for my lunch tomorrow.


I can't really tell you what the difference is in calories between this meal and the meal I would have eaten in the past.  I'm guessing that this meal was 1/4 of the calories.  It felt good to box up half of my plate and leave not feeling more stuffed than the flounder.


Tonight my choice was moderation.  Each choice is a separate choice, and each GOOD choice, is one step closer to my goal.


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If you're reading this and you could stand to shed a few pounds, I want to encourage you to not wait.  Right now, pick one thing that you are going to do differently tomorrow.  One positive choice you are going to make.


Let me know about it.

One Secret to Quick Weight Loss

I've discovered one of the must un-talked-about secrets of quick weight loss.  Are you ready for this?

Here it is:

Gain a whole lot of weight.  When you need to lose about 150 lbs., the weight just melts off!

A Novel Concept

A while back, I read an article about some hackers that had been busted.  Apparently, they had created a website that when visited would install some malicious software on the person's computer.  Not only would this malicious software capture the username and password to that person's online bank account, it would send it to a server in Russia.  This server in Russia would then compute how much money would be safe to remove from the account without causing too many red flags, and withdraw that amount.

But that's not all.  Then, every time that person thought they were going to their online bank account, the malicious software hidden on their PC would redirect them through the Russian server.  The Russian server would then, on the fly, change the way the bank website displayed on the person's computer, so that the illegal transactions did not show up.

To the person with the infected computer, it appeared as if everything was fine.  The way that it was discovered is that someone actually brought up their bank's website on two computers at their house:  one infected with the malicious software, and one that wasn't, and could see the two different bank balances side-by-side.

Wow! Trojans...keystroke loggers...server redirects...rewriting HTML on the fly...these guys were geniuses.

My only question?

...

If they're this smart, why didn't they figure out a way to make money legally?