Cheat Day

Cheat Day!

I made my diet my bitch, then cheated on it... we're cool though.

Okay, so, but the food, am I right?  Nope, you're wrong.  How do you count calories and still eat good food?  Well, you can actually eat good food all the time, once you learn to prepare good, healthy meals.

But as for splurging, it's actually not so bad every now and again, just try not to go apeshit with it.  Every couple of weeks or so, I'll abandon the single chicken breast with side of veggie plate (I'm not really that boring, I'll try to put a few delicious concoctions up here to help get you started, should you be interested,) or single serve salad for some good prepared foods.  The last outting, for me, was pizza from Millie's (local joint with phenomenal pies,) and tonight I treated the family to Cookout...mmmmmmmmm...Cookout.  Anyway...

I got the Big Double Cheeseburger, a quesadilla, and a side of slaw with a large Cheerwine to drink.  Had them add lots of ice to the Cheerwine as I can't drink soda straight anymore, it's just too damn sweet.  The changes in your body chemistry that come from simple changes to diet and routine will amaze you.  And, on a side note, I am 'typing' this post up on my phone as the family finishes their meals, so, I apologize for any odd 'swipe'-related errors that might pop up throughout - will edit later.

But alas, did I ask the cashier at Cookout how many calories were in my meal?  Of course not.  I just know that between this morning's run and tonight's workout, I've got the calories counted for.  And even if I didn't, in this case, I lose between 2 and 6 pounds a week, so any misstep on account of even a weekly cheat day is easily remedied.  The wider gaps in spacing between are more to keep your body from acclimating to the nasty preservatives, oils, and other garbage in prepared foods.

Now, anything is acceptable on your cheat days, should you choose to have them, but I like to stay clear of the taboo fast food joints (McDonald's, Burger King, Hardee's, and the like.)  The main reason for this is ingredients and cooking methods.  If you've ever seen the documentary Super Size Me, you may have already given up certain fast food joints anyway.  But regardless, these cliche fast food "restaurants" tend to pack far more grease and unhealthy ingredients into their servings than a traditional restaurant or dive will.  There's also serving size.  Many fast food places have portions far larger than a normal person should be eating.  Avoid these, again, don't get reckless.

I can't say for sure that my meal from Cookout was any better for me than a 'Value Meal' from one of those other places, but I know it tasted better, had less grease and fat, and didn't feel so much like lead on my stomach, so I feel confident about my choice.  The pizza back a couple weeks ago, on the other hand...oh, yeah, I ate just a bit too much.  But, I recovered and got back into my routine rather than falling prey to old habits and bad choices.

It's up to you, really, where to go and what to get, but certainly avoid endless buffets and eating entire pizzas to yourself.  A little excess now and again is one thing, but falling back on the gluttony and ridiculous habits is something completely different and should be avoided at all costs.  It's worth the work, believe me.

I highly recommend against 'cheating' more than once a week (on your diet, asshole, not your significant other, never a call for that,) and try to keep mine to once a month, every other week (usually on a pay day,) at most.  The weight you lose, physically and metaphorically, from sticking to your diet and routine so much outweighs any temporary food related elation from such meals.  And soon, you won't even be able to finish meals like these... I could barely choke down the rest of my quesadilla after eating my burger and couldn't finish my side of slaw.  And, even watered down, I couldn't polish off my Cheerwine.  I laughed when my mother asked if I wanted a scoop of ice cream in mine to make floats like her and the kids were having... No, thank you... Way too sweet, way too heavy.

So, yeah, think it through, plan it out, and don't over-indulge.  The idea is to treat yourself to a small reward for all your hard work, not slip back into your old routine and abandon your new, healthier ones.   When you go so long without those old staple guilty pleasures, you'll find that you enjoy them so much more and in such more moderated amounts (less so much becomes more.)

If you ate your favorite dish every day, you'd most likely get tired of it quickly.  So, the truth in the opposite makes sense - if you wait a longer time-frame between indulgences, they'll be more rewarding.  As it so often is with great friends and lovers, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Back In The Saddle

Okay, so, new day, new post - I know, 6 years radio silence, then this?  Who would have thought.  I actually planned on starting this day with a new blog about the ridiculousness of the world today, then, sweat dripping off my chin to the floor below me, thought...wait...I had a blog about getting fit, right?  And behold, here I sit with some ramblings for you all.  I'm back at it, though, this time with a bit more commitment and confidence and no cooky, half-assed system, just legitimate, hard work.

So, my origin story.  Recently left by my most recent ex due to some bumblefuck bullshit I won't go into, that's not what this is about at all, but it did put things into perspective.  Here I am, 36, fat, tired, lazy, and not getting any better about it and now, single again.  Let me tell you folks, don't let the word single scare you in the least bit, sometimes it's what you need most.

In the last 5 months I've quit smoking, dropped soda's out of my diet, switched to a regimented, calorie counted healthy and well balanced (and DIRT cheap) diet including 3 adequate meals a day and some healthy snacks for while I'm at work, started running regularly (we have this WONDERFUL state park with trails leading all through the woods, been making those trails my bitch these last few days...)  Shit, I've flat turned my life around.

Little backstory, 5 years ago I was broke and getting broker.  Credit was shot in the ass (was 420 the last time I actually checked it,) lost my father's house, lost my truck (it just broke down and I couldn't afford nor see the point in getting it fixed, was an old ass beater,) lost my faith in God, man, and life itself.  Got into some drugs, a lazy, apathetic life style, quit a job I'd had 10 years because I just didn't like the work and was too depressed to put the effort into changing my situation at said job... life was a royal, raging bitch.

At the time, things were still good between my ex and I so I had that, and pretty much only that, going for me.  It was enough to keep my head above water, emotionally, but my body certainly took the toll.

So that's what I was working with - will post a picture of me topless at the time... fair warning, it's fucking scary.

Now, since I started tracking my goals and progress on May 22nd of this year (2017), I've lost just a pube-hair shy of 30 pounds, I can breath better than ever, I can sprint for a solid 30 seconds without being completely winded (trust me, this is an accomplishment,) make it up stairs, down stairs, carrying heavy loads, get through my job (manual labor intensive...) I mean, fuck, I just feel like a new man, as corny and cliche as that might sound.

On top of all of that, I'm taking time to better myself.  I've been reading (or listening to Audibles, say what you will, it's great to squeeze a whole book in within one shift at work,) picked up the violin again and have actually managed to make what sounds like music for the first time (I've put effort into this in the past, just not the way I am now, which I'll get into in later posts - my method, what keeps me going even on those rare days I'm feeling down and worthless, that never completely goes away when you've dedicated so much of your life to other people instead of focusing on yourself - that's key-point 1 there.)

But, I digress - That shit credit score I mentioned?  Between bills and other efforts I've made as of late, I've pulled it up above 500, which was just enough to get me into a car loan with only $300 down - So, from not having had a vehicle since ditching the truck over a year ago to driving the newest, cleanest, nicest, lowest miles driven, mechanically sound, and HOLY FUCKING FUEL EFFICIENT vehicle I've ever had, to say the very least, it's a huge morale booster.  That and hearing that you don't need your family to cosign?  I about shit bricks.

But I digress further, I do that a lot, get used to it... To start things off back in May, I weighed in at a flopping 237 pounds...hold on one second while I go hop on the scale, though this won't be a truly accurate read as, for my tracking, I weigh in daily at 7:30AM to keep it as accurate as possible across the board... but, for this post's sake...right now, I'm at 208.2 which isn't much of a change from my 7:30 weigh-in of 208.6, but note, your weight will fluctuate drastically throughout most days.

Like I said, just shy of 30 pounds, and let me tell you, it has made a world of difference...like, a Jupiter sized world... Old clothes fit, new ones need a belt, but I'm cool with that, I wake up refreshed, not groggy, even when I'm stupid and 'stay up too late', I get work done around the house, make it through my job without sweating buckets and looking like the town drunk... It's amazing, and only getting better.

I've been reading quite a bit lately about different ideas and practices to stick with new routines.  We all have made some resolution at some point... some seemingly rock solid, this is it, "I'm quitting smoking", "I'm learning German", "I'm starting my own company", "I'm..."...losing interest and forgetting I ever made that resolution within 3 months, on a good attempt.  I owe my dropped smoking habit entirely to my ex.  She found this home remedy online...sounded odd, but don't they all?  Said fuck it and gave it a shot... one shot... only once...it worked.  Put 1 half teaspoon of cream of tartar into 8 ounces of orange juice, stir, and drink.  Curbs the cravings, actually makes the taste of nicotine repulsive.  I didn't have an urge to smoke a cigarette, just drinking this concoction every 4 hours or so, for 3 weeks (stopped drinking it after 2-3 days.)  That craving was just because I was bored, had nothing to do (I thought,) and my hands wanted to keep busy.  I fought it.

In fact, I have smoked since... Out one night drinking with a good friend, and when you've got a little buzz going on, I mean fuck... what's better than a good long drag or six of a smoke.  She was kind enough to oblige, many times, but come the next day, no craving.  Stomach actually felt a bit off from the taste of the smoke still in my mouth.  Haven't touched a smoke since.

But from the ability to breath again came the ability to climb stairs without getting winded (the 4 to my back door, at least,) and from that came this notion that, fuck, if I can do this, what's a few sit-ups?  Now I do sets of 35.  Haven't been able to break past 10 since I was 10.  From that came resistance bands for while I'm lounging around at the computer, power walking at work on my lunch break, getting off work to ride out to Mayo Lake, that state park I mentioned, and run the shit out of the trails.

One step, folks, one step in the right direction is all it takes.  That and actually wanting the results.  REALLY wanting them.  You can want to lose 10 pounds and you can WANT to lose ten pounds.  When you want something, you want the result, when you WANT something, you put the work in.  In future posts, I'll cover more on figuring out what you really want and how the fuck you get it.  I'll also be reviewing some of the literature that I've come across of late as it pertains to this little endeavor of mine.

But without further ado, the pics... caution... it isn't pretty.

But, as I work 3rd shift and typically try to keep my sleep schedule on my days off, I'm going to leave you all with just one more bit of advice before crashing...then I'm crashing.  But that advice, if you think you want something, ask yourself why - do you want it for yourself or because you think it will impress someone else?  From what I've found, most of the times you want it for yourself, your chances are much better for success.  Don't lose that weight to impress someone, don't learn a hobby or language because someone else thinks you should.  Do it for yourself and only yourself.  Mind you, you can take all the help you can get, all the encouragement, every little bit keeps you moving in the right direction, but don't start out looking for that shit or you're just setting yourself up to fail.

Alright, as promised, getting the fuck off.  Until next time.