$gut–
In the mid-ninties, I went from a single, heartsick, nervous and twitchy young geek who ran about 30 minutes a day (and that weighted in at about 70 kilos) to a much happier and well-loved geek who spent a lot more time snuggling on the couch.
I also went from cooking to live to cooking for love. Apparently, cooking for love needs about 10x as much butter, cream and sugar as when you are just cooking to live. The hazards of having gone to cooking school and having grown up with the Southern cooking ethic of, "I love you, now eat!"
As a consequence, I've sat more or less uncomfortably at a weight of about 100 kilograms (that's 220 pounds for those of us still using Imperial) for the last decade or so. At a height of 183 cm (6 feet), that puts me on the cusp of the clinical definition of obesity (and at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and a host of other diet-related ills.)
Last year and earlier this year, a few friends started nudging me to get fit and have been great role models. Shane's been exercising and eating well, Rasmus has gotten fit enough to start running marathons (and he no longer resembles the rare Danish sea pear) and Derick - inspired by Rasmus - has started running as well. Now the only Danish sea pear in the group is me. I've made some vague promises, but never really got around to getting started.
Last month, I made sure to walk at least 45 minutes most days. I wanted to get into good enough shape to start lightly jogging.
Today, I worked up a real plan for exercise and diet that should help get back down to a reasonable weight and up to level of fitness. I also took my first light run and it went pretty well.
My basic plan for exercise the next month is this:
- 30 - 45 minutes of walking and jogging first thing in the morning. I am currently doing 10 minutes of walking to warm up, followed by 15 minutes of jogging, followed by 10 minutes of walking. While jogging, I am taking short breaks as soon as I can feel my form beginning to deviate. I'm trying to be careful, as I'm a good 20 kilos over what could be considered an acceptable running weight and it would be very easy to injure myself. I've also picked up a new set of good runners that are a bit ugly, but comfy like mad and a dream to run in - even on less-than-ideal trails.
- 10+ pushups, 10+ crunches, 10+ squats, 5 minutes of punching.
- About 30 minutes of other light, incidental exercise throughout the day (walking, cleaning, playing Wii, etc.)
My plan for diet is basically this: fill up on veggies and fruit, and let the rest sort itself out.
More precisely, I'll be going for about 3-5 meals per day of the following:
- 100 grams of raw fruit (eg. a small apple) (about 50 calories)
- 100 grams of raw low-starch veggies (eg. a couple of medium-sized carrots) (about 50 calories)
- 100 grams of cooked low-starch veggies (eg. about three 5" spears of broccoli) (about 30 calories)
- 50 grams of beans (eg. 1/3 of a cup of edamame) (about 60 calories)
- 50 grams of starch veggies (eg. 1/2 a small potato) (about 60 calories)
- 1 tablespoon of fat (about 100 calories)
- 1 tablespoon of nuts or seeds or cheese (about 100 calories)
- An egg or an ounce of leaner meat (about 65 calories)
Throw in some falling off the wagon from time to time (ie. a hamburger at about 550 calories or a pint of beer at about 250 calories) and I'm set for my caloric needs. Plus, I'll be so regular that you could run an ntp server.
I'll be doing my best to avoid simple starches, sugars and alcohol - none of which do particularly nice things to me and my blood sugar.
I'll be keeping track of my progress on Traineo. Even better, I'll be getting coaching and moral support from my brother-in-law Dan (who is currently training as a Kinesthesiologist.)
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Posted on Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 at 19:59
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September 24th, 2007 at 0:56
It's good to hear this. I'm in the same boat and at about the same weight. I've recently started walking and am trying to work up to jogging. It is hard to get over that initial hump to running when you are as heavy as we are and out of shape. I'm glad to see other people working on this too. :-)
September 24th, 2007 at 5:59
Hey Al,
I've sent you an invite for Traineo - maybe we can help each other out? Also, I'll be posting what I am doing and how it is going on my blog - there might be some useful stuff in there for you.
September 24th, 2007 at 8:55
The title of your blog suddenly seems very apt.
Good luck.
September 24th, 2007 at 9:10
Thanks Luke!
September 24th, 2007 at 9:44
Congratulations on your new path!
September 24th, 2007 at 9:48
Thanks Mike!
September 26th, 2007 at 6:09
Wow, way to go. Good luck.
Perhaps if we bump into each other in a strange city at some point in the future, we can jog a little bit.
September 26th, 2007 at 8:34
Zak,
when I started with jogging again in June (after "pausing" 10 years), I bought me a copy of the book "ChiRunning": http://www.amazon.com/ChiRunning-Danny-Dreyer/dp/074325144X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0345580-0655360?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190824454&sr=8-1
It helps to keep your spirit and body in sync.
Sandro
September 26th, 2007 at 8:48
Thanks Joe! Thanks Sandro! –zak
September 26th, 2007 at 10:52
There's a reason that one of the *only* phrases in Skurare that I remembered was "sat-SOO-ree!" (YOU EAT!)
As she waddles away….
September 29th, 2007 at 23:29
why not just bike to work? i have beeen biking 3-5 days a week since mid june and have lost 1/2 inch on my waist and gained some muscle; it's been great!
September 30th, 2007 at 0:50
Hey Mammy,
Heh - just like my knowledge of German revolves around food. :)
September 30th, 2007 at 0:50
Hey Roland,
I'm on the road six months of the year and I'm only in the office about 1 day out of 5 in those remaining six months. That wouldn't do much to work the pounds off. :)
September 30th, 2007 at 9:57
oh all right then
biking to mozilla office might work if you can arrange a semi-permanent bike there
and i am sure scandinavian bike shares could be arranged
oh well i dream of a 'biking is easy and ubiquitious' world :-) coz i really hate running, jogging etc and biking for me is fun anywhere in the world!