Part of the reason I went with Fat Bastard as the title of this blog was that it is quite descriptive of my current role.  I’m clinically obese and yes, I am a bastard.

No, I’m not typically a bastard to other people.  I’m a bastard toward myself.  I treat myself poorly and that lead to the obesity.  It also ocassionally rears its ugly head to prevent me from getting fit.  Like it did over the past few weeks.

I went on a few binges, beer, salty and sweet snacks, etc.  As such, I’ve probably crushed a couple of months worth of hard work.  How’s that for being a bastard?

Well, I put him back in the box.  I am going into tomorrow with a renewed commitment.  Still targeting 195lbs by next April.

Thanks for the well wishes and support!  They do mean a lot to me.

I’m back home from my business trip and have slept enough that I should be over much of the jet lag.  I was really looking forward to my weigh in.  I’ve been working really hard on my cardio and have been doing well on my diet.  I hadn’t officially weighed myself since I left three and a half weeks ago, but in my mind, I was looking better and had dropped a lot.

Well, reality sucks…

Three lousy pounds.  I know, I know.  Any loss is good news.  Still, I felt like I had lost more and this is an emotional hit.

But I’m not going to back down.

I have decided that I should keep a food and activity journal.  I’m going to do this for a few reasons:

• I’m not losing weight as fast as I thought I should.  Perhaps I’m eating more than I realize.  I need some data to help me evaluate.
• I’m going to ween myself off of caffeine.  Logging my caffeine intake will help me monitor that.
• I want to start stepping up my physical activity.  The journal will let me set benchmarks to push myself against.

Onward…

Sorry for the delay in the updates, I’ve been quite busy with my day job and the side stuff.

This past week I went to Bintulu for some site visits.  While this trip was great as far as learning more about my employer and our industry, it wasn’t so great for my diet and excercise challenge,  I have nothing to blame but myself.  Ididn’t make working out enough of a priority.

Now that I’m back in Kuala Lumpur, that has changed.  I have put in two hours of cardio and one 100 push up challenge workout since Saturday (more on this later).

Overall, my diet wasn’t too terrible while I was in Bintulu.  I continued the trend I’ve been on for the past couple of weeks.  Since I’m waking up a few hours before breakfast, I have a small snack, usually fruit after my morning workout.  I eat a very large breakfast, pretty much eating whatever I want and making sure to get plenty of protein.  I then eat a moderately sized lunch, trying to make good, low fat choices.  I’ll then have a very light snack at dinner time (at least three hours before bed).

I did learn one ver important thing about myself this week.  I am severely addicted to caffine.  Diet Coke wasn’t readily available and I refused to switch to the high sugar regular Coke.  As a result, I experienced several crashes that had me reeling like a junky.  I definitely need to address this.  But that will have to wait until I get back to the States.

I started week three of the 100 push up challenge today.  I’m spreading this out a bit more than week to week, but it seems to be working.  Week three is a big step up in volume.  Too big of a step for me.  I felt good that I made the 25 push ups on the first set (my starting max out was 24).  But the last set of 25 proved to be too much and I had to stop twice during that set.  So, now we evaluate and adjust.  I’m stronger than I was when I started, so I will figure out how to keep my improvement going.

I’ve pushed up my return home to this Wednesday night.  So, I should be back in the US and on my feet Friday morning.  That means that I’ll have a weigh in on Sunday morning.  On line with goal, I should be down another 4 lbs, but I’m really hoping it is closer to 8 lbs.  As a reminder, my last weigh in had be at 218.5 lbs and I really want to break down below 210.

See you on Sunday!

Okay, so now I’ve been traveling for better than a week.  And overall, it has been a great trip healthwise.

I finished out my week at a company family day at Sunway Lagoon water park.  I wasn’t in the mood to do much in the water, but I did have one trip highlight.  I met the 100kg weight limit (with shorts, shoes and shirt) to do the Zipline.  yea me!  This is particularly good because it was a mid-day weight and I almost always weigh more during the middle of the day than I do first thing in the morning (as much as 5 lbs more some days).

I took Saturday and Sunday off for workouts, given that I had done an hour of cardio for seven days in a row, I felt I was entitled to take a couple of days off.  Don’t worry, I was back on the elliptical this morning.

I kept my food intake at a minimum.  I may have actually gone too low as by Sunday afternoon, my energy level was low and this morning I struggled to maintain the pace/heart rate levels from last week.  But I did persevere.  A good breakfast, lunch and dinner today has me felling better.

Tomorrow morning I catch a flight out to Bintulu to do a three and a half day site visit.  I should be on the go quite a bit, and probably won’t have as much control over the content, timing and amount of my meals.  I’ve been very regimented this last week (more on that in a later post), so this definitely will be a challenging week ahead.  Wish me luck!

Here I am on the other side of the world, literally.  Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful place and I strongly recommend a trip here if you ever get a chance.  It is truly one of the best samplings of Asia you’re going to find.

I’m here for work, which means I am spending my days in the office (you can see the Petronas Towers in the background of this picture, can you see me waving?).  I hope to get outside a good bit more over the weekend.

In the mean time, I have been fairly well disciplined with my workouts.  Which takes me to a funny story:

I showed up at the gym yesterday at 5:30am.  The security guard told me they weren’t scheduled to open until 6:00am, but that he would get someone to open up for me.  How is that for service?  Well, they guy he went to go get showed up about 10 minutes later and told me they don’t open until 6:00am.  So, I went back up to my room and waited the 20 minutes.  Okay, maybe it wasn’t so funny.

So, I’ve managed an hour of cardio each day since I got here (and plan to do the same today).  I have a very good relationship going with the elliptical!  I’m also back on track for the 100 Push Up Challenge (completing Day Two of Week Two today).

The hotel I’m staying at has a great breakfast buffet.  I am making sure to get a very good breakfast each day.  I figure it would be very hard for me to overeat at breakfast.  I’m getting a good solid lunch, but watching my fat (mostly fish and grilled beef and chicken).  Then I eat very little for dinner (more like a snack).  The hotel also has a very nice happy hour (free beer/wine and hors d’oeuvres) that I’m avoiding like the plague.

I’m making sure to get plenty of sleep.  Well, it isn’t so much a choice as my body is mad at me for the whole jet lag thing.  Thirteen hour time shifts are brutal!

Despite the travel, I’m doing quite well right now.  The only measure I have for that assessment is how I feel.  Isn’t that the most important thing anyhow?

I’m not talking about the store (I’m over twice as old as anyone that should be wearing those clothes is).  I’m talking about a gap in my weigh-ins.  Even though I’m posting this on Sunday, I actually did this weigh in on July 3rd.

Down yet another pound since my last weigh in on Sunday (and this was really just half a week).  Not too shabby, huh?

Yes, this was an off-cycle weigh in.  Why?  And what is all this “Gap” stuff?

I’m traveling in SE Asia this month and actually won’t be returning home until August 2nd.  I’ll be going a month between weigh-ins, which is actually a bit scary.

I know I could use a scale here (or I could have brought my scale from home), but I want to try going without the training wheels for a bit.  I still know what I want and that comes more from look and feel than what the scale tells me anyhow.

So, the plan for the month (yes, I’ll be answerable to you, so there will still be regular posts):

- Eat sensibly (order good food and don’t feel compelled to finish the plate)

- Snack regularly with fruits and nuts to keep my metabolism going.

- No alcohol.  I might treat myself to a chocolate every now and then (can you say turn down service?).

- At least five hours of cardio work per week (break that into five to seven workouts, mostly in the morning on an empty stomach).

- Resume the push up challenge at week two.

- Begin working back, biceps, shoulders and abs in two to three high rep/short rest workouts per week.  Along the push ups (chest and triceps) this should begin to tone the muscles I’ve buried in fat and set up a platform for me to begin to build muscle mass after I break 200 lbs (going down of course).

I’m almost looking at this trip as an fitness boot camp.  When I’m not working, I plan to be active.  No hanging around the hotel room.  This hotel, which is where I’ll be for most of my stay has an excellent fitness center and the breakfast buffet has a lot of good choices (and many bad ones).  I’m in a good place, physically and mentally.  Let’s go!

About a year and a half ago, I visited with a nutritionist to try to get my weight issues resolved.  I learned quite a bit that day.  But I really only applied a few things to my overall lifestyle (the rest was quickly aborted).

One thing I took away from that discussion was that Flax Seed Oil contributes to prostate cancer.  So, generally, I’ve been avoiding flax seed oil since.

However, I’ve noticed the stuff cropping up in just about everything.  And since my grocery store has a very limited selection, I’m faced with figuring out the lesser of two evils.  If given a choice between oils I know are bad for me and flax seed oil, which should I choose?

I did a bit of research and here are a few articles I found:

• Mayo Clinic - Flax Seed and Flax Seed Oil
• Cure-Guide.com - Flax and Prostate Cancer
• Barleans.com - Flax Seed Oil - Prostate Cancer Prevention
• Web MD - Prostate Cancer Diet

My take away?  Since my family history has me more at risk for heart disease than prostate cancer, I’m probably better off opting for flax seed oil products (when fish oil isn’t appropriate).  But I saw nothing in my research that told me I should actively shun flax seed oil.  The studies are far from conclusive.

I’ll make sure to visit my doctor regularly and have the oil checked.  If a problem arises, I’ll know to drop flax seed oil then.  See your doctor if in doubt.

Well, I didn’t lose much this week (just half a pound), but then I did enjoy myself at some of Louisiana’s finer establishments.  Hole in the wall Cajun restaurants are the best (unless you’re trying to lose weight).

I also didn’t work out as heavily as I could have.  I let my push up challenge workouts fall out.  I’ll get back on it tomorrow morning.

I am at a total of 15 lbs lost.  I’m on target for my year long journey.  So, all is good in the world!

I will be weighing in on Thursday morning since I’m going out of town.  The dangerous part of this is that I’ll be traveling for a full month.  Keeping focus during that time will be challenging, which is a main theme of this blog.  We will persevere!

Yep, that is the next step in this journey.  As of yesterday, I will be abstaining from alcohol.  This is a permanent choice.  No going back.  What was significant about yesterday?  Nothing in particular, but I am on a business trip and that is when my overeating and empty calories hit their peak.  Also, I’ve been looking back as a way of planning my life going forward (If you don’t study your mistakes you’re more likely to repeat them).

I’m doing this for two reasons:

1) It isn’t fun any more.  I’m generally a pretty outgoing guy.  I don’t need alcohol to overcome shyness or make a scene more enjoyable.  Also, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that I don’t process alcohol as effectively.  I don’t feel well the day after I drink.

2) I was looking at pictures of myself when I was younger.  Unlike most people, beyond a few weekends when I was 14-15, I didn’t start drinking until I was 30.  And consequently, I weighed less than 200 lbs.  And since I want to get back to that place, I figure I probably need to go back to the lifestyle I had back then as well.  That included getting plenty of exercise and no alcohol.

And the add on benefit of lower restaurant bills won’t hurt either.

All cross America we are beginning to feel the pinch at the pump. I’ll admit it, my truck takes almost $100 to fill up, which is a sobering thought. But ever the optimist, I starting thinking about this from a slightly different perspective. Maybe, just maybe, $4 per gallon of gasoline is a good thing.

Hear me out.

When our budgets get squeezed, we each have to resort to changes in our behavior in order to make ends meet. Exactly what changes are we making as the result of rising costs?

I for one am not going out to restaurants as often (yes, that is a part of my eating/diet plan), but it definitely is cheaper to buy groceries for a family than to eat in a restaurant. As a result, I’m eating better. I’m also eating less as I look to stretch a meal into leftovers for the next day’s lunch.

I’m also driving my Can-Am Spyder (a three wheeled motorcycle) to work. It burns much less gas than my truck. And because I lean into the curves, it is working my core more than driving a car or truck. Yes, that is relatively minor, but small changes do make a difference over time. I’ve also considered walking to work (although the 90 degree plus days with South Arkansas humidity would leave me a bit unkempt). Are more people walking? Or at least walking to the closest bus/subway stop? I imagine so.

My girlfriend (fancypants) was telling me that the company she used to work for is now allowing all employees to work from home one day per week as a way of helping their employees deal with the higher commuting costs.  Fewer cars on the road, driving fewer miles also means cleaner air.  Think about that one for a while.

Another area where I can see a potential positive is where companies might cut back on employee travel to make it through the economic slump.  Less travel means fewer business meals and tempting hotel bars/mini-bars.  I definitely feel more comfortable sticking to plan when I’m home.  I’m not sure my travel will be reduced (due to the nature of my job), but for many, I could see this being a real possibility.

I’m not so sure that paying more for gas is a curse. It might just be a blessing for many of us. What do you think?