Fat Boy on a Diet, Don't try it.

Pilgrim’s Progress, et c

fatboyonadiet — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:22:19 +0000

So, as I stated before, I am an awful blogger. But here is a post about progress.

In the past two months or so, I have lost about twenty pounds, I have been working on quitting smoking, which has not been the most successful of ventures, but I smoke significantly less than I used to.

I have started a jogging routine, as mentioned before. I do longer distance on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (between 5.4 and 8.0 miles, depending on how I feel) and then do about 3.2 miles on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

The jogging has done a lot, not only has it helped cut a lot of weight off, but it also has done a lot to tone my leg muscles. It has also done a lot for my overall emotional well being. I feel a lot better after a jog and I feel better overall throughout the day. It has been great to cope with stress.

3500

fatboyonadiet — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:59:11 +0000

One pound of fat is approximately 3,500 calories. Get to burning them.

Mayan Doomsday: Bring it.

fatboyonadiet — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:49:53 +0000

Here are three facts:

1. The Philadelphia Marathon occurs each November.

2. The Mayan prediction for the end of the world is December, 2012.

3. I am fat and out of shape.

What do these three facts have to do with each other? In this crazy post-modern world we live in: everything. While I am currently fat and out of shape, this blog is about my attempt to change that. Here is my plan: In November 2012, I will run the Philadelphia Marathon.

Will it be the full or half marathon? I have no idea. I hope to God that it is the full marathon, but with where I am starting from, the half marathon would surely work as a harbinger of the apocalypse.

Here is for hoping. I have started working on doing a jog/walk/jog routine around Media, my path (1.6 miles) can be seen on the map below.

View Larger Map

I plan on soon investing in a good set of running shoes and begin to jog/run the same path, slowly working my way up. Once I am comfortable doing 3.1mi/5k, I may start trying to run some local 5K events until I feel comfortable doing a marathon.

Wish me luck.

Updates

fatboyonadiet — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:33:21 +0000

I am the worlds worst blogger and I apologize for that. Count this blog as the third attempt to blog, failing horribly on one in the past and moderately awful on the other (as in I still update it once every three months or so). Fat Boy on a Diet is not down for the count though, so here is an update.

In the last three weeks, I have:

Lost 16 pounds.

Quit Smoking.

Reduced my Drinking.

Started Jogging/Walking 3-5 Miles a Day.

So, all-in-all, things are going well.

Goals

fatboyonadiet — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:26:24 +0000

As strange as it sounds, the main inspiration behind this diet is a shirt. Not just any shirt. I have an older friend in Media who I met one day on my way to work. I was wearing a Clash t-shirt and we passed by, exchanging “How are you?”s. A few steps later, I hear him say, “What ever happened to The Clash?” After a fifteen minute conversation about The Clash and about how his daughter’s went to the school my boss’ wife taught at, we were friends.

So, about two weeks ago, I am on my way back from Trader Joe’s and I see him. He motions for me to stop and I stand and wait for him. It turns out that he had been doing some early summer cleaning and had happened upon a few boxes of old clothes, mostly belonging to his daughters. However, in the mess of clothing, he had found a shirt that he bought in 1982 at a Clash concert. He told me that it was probably a tight medium so it wouldn’t really fit me, but he wanted me to have it, to give to a girlfriend or just to keep around. About a week later, I was having a cookout as he and his wife walked into town. He talked to me for a few minutes and about two hours later showed up at the cookout again to give me the shirt, which it turns out is a large.

I don’t know if I’m built to wear a medium sized t-shirt even if I were at an ideal weight for my height. They say the best test to gage your build type is to wrap your fingers around your wrist. If they overlap, you have a small build. If the tips touch, you have a medium build. My finger tips are about an inch and a half apart. The fact that the shirt was a large and not a medium gave me hope that I could wear it one day. Thus this weight loss rampage was fueled.

That is a long introduction for me to talk about my goals, but it work because the first goal is to get down to wearing large t-shirts so that I can wear the vintage 1982 Clash t-shirt with pride.

Anyway, when I first stepped on the Wii Fit the other night, I weight in at about 255lbs. A lot, but about ten pounds less than what I was expecting. In order to be in the “Normal” category for BMI, I would need to drop down to about 153lbs. At this point, my first goal is to fit in that t-shirt, after that, the next big goal is 180lbs. I haven’t weight 180lbs since middle school. Because of that, I have no idea what 180lbs would look like on the 24 year old version of myself. I have more muscle mass and I’m taller (not much, but some). At 180, I’ll re-evaluate my goals, see how much more weight loss and muscle toning might be needed. I’m less interested in what a number like BMI tells me than in actually looking and feeling healthy.

With that said, since my initial reading on Tuesday night, last, I have lost 9.6lbs.

Getting Fit

fatboyonadiet — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:41:21 +0000

I had thought about joining a gym round these parts. I even went as far as to spend two or three days comparing about fifteen different gyms in the area and had one picked out to join. Then I figured I’d make things interesting. I am absurdly nerdy. Absurdly nerdy might not even scratch the top layer of just how nerdy I am. I am surrounded by bead art made by my roommate (it is damn good art, check it: http://www.doctoroctoroc.com), I have boxes on top of boxes of books (a lot of literature and more RPG handbooks than are healthy for one person to won), and between my roommates and I, we have over 20 video game systems. It got me to thinking, going to the gym is fun, but it is not anywhere nerdy enough. So, I went out a few nights ago and bought a Wii Fit. Who needs to go to the gym when you can run in place, gyrate your hips, tree pose, and generally look like an asshole in the privacy of your own home (well, maybe not privacy if you have friends like mine who like to watch you and laugh, but at least I know them).

So, my main exercise routine is going to be comprised of an hour (or more) of Wii Fit each day. Thirty minutes before work for an early metabolism boost and a half an hour before I cook dinner. I have a feeling from my early thoughts on Fit, it might turn into way more than an hour a day, but we’ll see. I am also going to start taking half an hour or so walks after dinner, which will hopefully turn into jogs or runs as I get into shape.

To make this blog more interesting, I have plans to try and get some folks I know (a few of which have lost a weight thanks to the Fit) to join me in recording ourselves looking like idiots on a balance board for the entertainment of anyone who may start reading this blog.

Fear Not

fatboyonadiet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:13:06 +0000

Fear not, dear readers. This first initial burst of blog entries seems overwhelming, but I will not be posting like this every day. There will probably be 1-2 small updates each day.

My Mission

fatboyonadiet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:11:52 +0000

So, I realized that in my initial post, I talked about the reasons I wasn’t dieting and what I wasn’t going to do, so for anyone who actually decides to follow this blog, I wanted to do a quick post on why exactly I decided to undertake this journey and some of the loose guidelines I have set up for myself to begin to get healthy.

As I said in my last post, I’m not really doing this for self-confidence or self-image issues. I’ve always been pretty comfortable with who I am and confident in the way I live my life. What scares me is the long history of heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, et c in my family. On both sides. In multiple generations. So, I’ve finally hit the point where I realize that I am a few months from turning 25 and I need to make some serious changes in my lifestyle, lest I end up another set of statistics in Hereditary Health Problems and Surprise, Fatties Die Quicker!

The question then becomes: I want to lose weight and get fit, but I don’t agree with any given diet out there, so what do I do? I went through a health craze a few years back and read a lot, so I have a good idea of how the body works and how to shed weight and build muscle, so I have come up with my own system (not a diet!). Here are the general guidelines I will be trying to live by:

1. Eat whole grain over white grain, whenever possible (this applies to bread, rice, pasta, et c).

2. Eat leaner meats over fatty meat, whenever possible (chicken, pork, et c instead of steak)

3. Drink water/tea/natural juice instead of soda (I allow myself 1 can of diet coke at dinner)

4. Exercise in a variety of ways, at least 1 hour a day (more on this in another post)

5. No deep fried food

6. Eat 4-6 meals a day (3 larger, 1-3 snacks)

The next one might be the most important part of making sure a system like this works.

7. Take 2 meals a week to eat whatever the hell I want.

Anyway, that is a brief outline of what I am going to be trying to do over the coming months. Another post will follow (probably today) about my plan as far as exercise goes (and that is where this will all get more absurd).

Recipes

fatboyonadiet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:44:31 +0000

I didn’t make anything terribly crazy the last two days, but that is probably a better place to start. These two recipes are quick, easy, and damn tasty.

Hummus Chicken Pita

1 Whole Grain Pita

4 oz. Chicken

4 Tbls. Garlic Hummus

1 Tbls. Lite Sour Cream

1 Tbls. Lite Ceasar Dressing

1/2 Green Bell Pepper, diced

1/4 Cucumber, skinned, sliced, quartered

1/2 Cup Spinach, roughly chopped

Season your chicken with a little bit of salt, pepper, cumin, and some lemon-herb seasoning, and slice it into thin strips.

Cook the chicken until it is done.

Spread half the hummus over the whole grain pita.

In a bowl, mix the rest of the hummus, the sour cream, and the dressing

Toss in the veggies.

Put the chicken down over the pita and then cover with the veggies.

This meal is really great. It is quick and easy and allows for a lot of variation within a very tight recipe. Add any veggies you might enjoy, make it interesting. Mushrooms, carrots, and celery are all great options. Mix up the leafy greens a bit too. One night make it with lite Ranch instead of Caesar, it all works.

Spinach Chicken Parm

4-6oz Chicken Breast

1/4 Cup Spinach, roughly chopped

6-7 Small Mushrooms, finely chopped

1/4 Cup Lite Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat Oven to 350

Season chicken breast with salt, pepper, lemon-herb seasoning, and Italian seasoning.

In a pan, cook the mushrooms and the chicken together. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, until brown.

Cover chicken breast with mushrooms, spinach, and mozzarella cheese. Put into oven until the cheese melts nicely.

Food Journal

fatboyonadiet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:12:43 +0000

So, here is a break down of my meals for the last two days, with recipes following. I’m also working on another post about life, love, and the pursuit of skinniness.

Tuesday, July 7^th, 2009

Breakfast:

Toasted seven grain bagel with lite cream cheese

Lunch:

Whole grain pita with chicken, hummus, cucumbers, and peppers

Dinner:

Mahi Mahi filet over rice with mushrooms and shrimp, pita chips and hummus

Wednesday, July 8^th, 2009

Breakfast:

2 egg omelet with spinach, lite mozzarella cheese, pepperoni; Oatmeal with brown sugar and honey

Lunch:

Lemon-pepper chicken with spinach, mushrooms, and lite mozzarella cheese

Dinner:

Chicken and fat-free organic ranch on a whole wheat pita with mixed veggies