Monday, November 1, 2010

Healthy Sustainable Weight Loss


Twenty pounds of excess body fat on a small framed man like me is not a pretty sight.....and I like to "get lucky" whenever possible. Plus the "apple shape" is a heart attack risk factor. In the last year I've lost 12 pounds while adding muscle mass, with losing a final 8-10 pounds my goal. Here is how I lost that 12 pounds, VERY slowly at first, then more rapidly as of late.
The pic of me with pecs to die for was rendered hilariously some months back by a very skilled photochopper by the screen name of 'MonaroSS' at the forum http://www.gminsidenews.com/ that I have belonged to for years. He is a straight guy in Australia who noted my appreciation for men with nice pecs...so he grabbed my avatar image and grafted it onto a torso I know I will never have...but with me also achieving BIG time strength gains in the gym due to supplementing with whey protein, L-arginine, and three week cycles of Velvet Beans (like a high school kid I've even rolled up my shirt sleeve and told a few friends "Feel my first ever bicep!!!") seeing this comical image does sort of inspire me to stick with these new approaches:


1. No seconds (I love my own cooking)

2. More protein, fewer carbs

3. Taking my iodine supplements more routinely

4. Serving my meals on salad vs. dinner plates....and again no seconds.

5. Starting an approx. 16 mile bike ride up Bayshore Blvd., around Davis Island then back home
about a month ago (this has lowered my resting heart rate, plus the endorphins are helping me
push back against a low grade depression that I "owned" about a month ago stemming from
losing my dog Sweety on May 11, my long-suffering Mom on May 28th, then the VERY recent
demise of a rapidly evolving delightful 7 month long intimate friendship that suddenly
appeared last April after 2 years of "discreet meetings" with a handsome, intelligent and very
articulate sweet man who suddenly announced several days ago he is not gay and ended our laughter-filled, fun and often tender friendship....LOTS of loss for me to process. Had I been biking all these years after 2 knee injuries forced me to stop running 7 years ago I doubt I'd have packed on that gnarly-looking 20 plus pounds!
Treadmills and elipticals bore me in minutes....but I SAVOR this bike three times weekly,
seeing birds and dolphins, how the waters of Tampa Bay shift. I am using "intervals"...peddle
hard for a few minutes, like into the wind, or up a bridge to get my heart rate up, then slow, back and forth.


6. I take smaller bites and eat more slowly after a lifetime of being a vacuum cleaner at the
table. The only fast food I eat is Taco Bell bean burritos....up until a few years ago I could eat
FOUR.....by last year it was 2. Nowadays just 1 fills me! The only downside to downsizing
my stomach is during my monthly feast at Tampa Buffet at Britton Plaza, I now can eat just
3 plates of sushi and cooked seafood vs. 7.


7. I am not a snacker unless I am "altered" but if I get evening hunger I chug-a-lug ice cold
filtered water right from the pitcher in the fridge.


8. I cook only with healthy oils like coconut, roasted sesame and extra virgin olive, but now I
use them LIGHTLY vs. slathering them into meals as I cook.

Regardless of the progress I make I doubt I will be posting pics of me shirtless any time soon, so enjoy the hilarious photochop that MonaroSS posted at the GM forum as a open, good natured joke,


John


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