Rants & Writings - July 2013

July 26 - Day Four 

The will power hasn't been broken yet; despite another rainy morning I followed through with my commitment to push myself harder on my morning walk and have made it another day pop-free.  

Perhaps small accomplishments in the scheme of life, but accomplishments nonetheless.

I shall carry on!

July 25 - Day Three 

I am proud to say that despite the rain, I got up and hit the streets for my morning walk.  Although the sound of the raindrops falling through the leaves on the trees outside the bedroom window made it tempting to skip the walk and return to bed, I stayed true to my commitment to myself.  For the third day in a row, I got out of bed and took an hour-long walk.  I have to admit that the rain felt refreshing although I should apologize to any onlookers for wearing the white t-shirt that clung to me like a layer of skin; I can only assume there were reports of sightings of the Micheline Tire man walking the streets of downtown Halifax.

I am also proud of myself for resisting temptation last evening and managed to avoid snacking on unhealthy choices after supper.  I came very close to caving when an opportunity arose to order pizza...but I put mind over matter and declined.  It's sad that resisting unhealthy eating options is viewed as an accomplishment however I will celebrate these small successes as they come.

 I don't ever see me getting to the point where I am counting each calorie or declining dinner invitations because I won't eat the food, however if I can discipline myself to get my eating habits and exercise regime I feel that I will be able to enjoy treating myself in moderation.

 At this point, its all about staying focused on the end result; a healthy mind and body.

July 24 - Day Two

One of the criticisms of social media is that it can seen as a platform for people seeking attention.  Although that may be true, social media can also be seen as a support system.  I have to admit, I was overwhelmed by the comments and support that I received yesterday when I posted on Facebook that I am attempting to take control of my health and well being.  And although this support is very much appreciated, the goal of reaching out to the masses (and by masses, I mean my friends, family and contacts) is to make myself accountable in my quest.

When the alarm clock went off this morning, my first instinct was to hit the snooze button and roll over to grab a few extra minutes of sleep.  I was fully prepared to skip my morning walk....but then I remembered that I've committed to honestly documenting my struggles and achievements as I work towards the goal of losing weight and maintaining a healthy life style.  At times I am a weak man and on my second day of this commitment to myself, I was fully prepared to skip this walk....but I didn't.  I got myself out of bed and took in a brisk, hour-long walk.  I have to admit, once I got out in the fresh, morning air with the smell of wet grass and sounds of a city just waking up, I felt invigorated.  I lost myself in my own thoughts as I pushed myself along the hills of downtown Halifax, dripping of sweat with each step.

I've decided to check the scales on a weekly basis as I do not want to discourage myself; I had hoped that these past two days of walking and slightly eating better would have shown better results but I realize that this will take a some time.  Realistically I shouldn't be surprised that I didn't lose 20 pounds in 48 hours!

I am back on the proverbial wagon when it comes to pop.  I've been a huge pop drinker for years and similar to an alcoholic who will drink aftershave and vanilla extract, I was not fussy on the type of pop I drank.  It could Coke, Pepsi, root beer, generic-brand soda...I didn't care as long as it was fizzy.  There was a point where I was drinking 2 - 3 litres of pop per day; it's surprising that I have a tooth in my head or functioning kidneys.  I gave up pop once before and managed to go about nine months without having a single taste; I was driving to work when the morning banter on the radio was a discussion on the worst foods we can put into our bodies and pop was in the top five.  Apparently, according to this discussion, pop is a leading factor for pancreatic cancer....so I immediately went cold turkey.  As mentioned previously, I am can be a weak man and was eventually lured back by the cola Gods.  That is until yesterday; I have poured any pop that was in my fridge down the drain and am once again pop-free.

My next step is to weed out night-time snacking.

July 23 - The Beginning

It begins by taking the first step.  I have lamented about my weight for some time now but have struggled with motivating myself to do anything about it.  

Although I was not particularly athletic, I was thin and fairly active growing up.  There was a point when I remember being thought of as too thin.  Then, in my mid-twenties, I enjoyed a period when beer and take-out food was my main staple and thus, I put on a great deal of weight.  I didn't realize that I was packing on the pounds until I was looking at pictures from a Christmas party and I was stunned.  I couldn't believe that I had put on that much weight!

I realized that I had to do something so I started by taking nightly walks.  I had just started this routine when I decided to relocate from Halifax to Toronto so I hadn't taken off much weight prior to the move.  One of the first things I discovered was that people seemed, at least to me, to be more active and health conscious in Toronto.  This became a huge motivator for me and I stepped up my walking routine.  

I've never enjoyed going to a gym.  Prior to moving Toronto, I joined a gym that was in the building where I had worked.  I thought that be committing to the yearly membership and having the fee automatically deducted from my bi-weekly paycheque that I would be be more inclined to go.  I was wrong.  To be honest, I still have no idea where that gym was even located in that building.  I never went once.

With keeping that in mind, I had decided that I would see I could achieve by just walking.  Of course being in a new city meant lots of places to explore so I took full advantage and spent my of my free time walking the sidewalks and pathways of Toronto.  Within six months I had lost over 60 pounds and was feeling great!!

As the pounds fell off I remember treating myself to new clothes; the first thing I bought was a black turtleneck sweater from Club Monaco.  It's been thirteen years later and I still have that sweater today; I'm hopeful I can wear it again.  When I returned to Halifax for vacation, it was an amazing high to run into people who would comment on my weight loss.  I felt great and I looked great.

I stayed in Toronto for only a year and moved back to Halifax.  I maintained my weight for over five years, putting on a few pounds here and there but easily taking it off if I put some effort into it...but then, after taking an office job and simply becoming lazier, the pounds started to pack on again.  It's amazing how all of a sudden (as it appeared to me) I was fat again.

A year ago I made an appointment for a routine check up with my family doctor; something I had been neglecting for some time.  I've had the same family doctor since I was a child; my doctor had a practice in my home town when I was growing up and he took me on as a patient after he relocated to Halifax a number of years back.  The first thing he commented on was my weight; he had concerns and told me of the health issues that could arise for being as heavy as I am.  Even fears of a heart attack, stroke or simply my chair collapsing under the weight of ass did not motivate me to get serious about eating better and exercising.

But....today is the day.  Today is the day that I start taking control of my health and well being.  Today I started the day by taking a brisk, morning walk and enjoying a breakfast that consisted of a can of low-sodium vegetable juice, a wholewheat English muffin with light peanut butter, a banana and a glass of skim milk.  I felt full and energized.  I have a salad for lunch.  My only concern is the shock to my body as vegetables have lately been the stuff I scrape off pizza or burgers.

I am already looking forward to fitting into the clothes that I haven't been able to squeeze into for the past few years!