A Fat Man's Journey

An Attempt to Journey from Fat to Fit in a Lifetime. Eat right, Eat less, Move more

Category Archives: Hiking


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Things I would like to say


Talking to the younger me

I wish I could have a talk with me. The me I was when I was 40 or 45. The me that had stopped cycling and was gaining weight like I was paid by the pound.

I really wish the current me could speak to the former me.

I can’t imagine what the 40-year-old Me would say if I told him all I have learned about us. Would he be shocked or doubtful when I told him that we are bringing vegetarian chili to a cookout? What would his reaction be when I told him we don’t eat red meat or pizza or Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Would he be able to understand the truth behind my warnings about getting fat, being sedentary… I wonder if the 40-year-old Me would take it to heart if I told him how much harder it is if you keep waiting to turn it all around.

I would tell him how much of a struggle it has been to take off the weight. I would tell him about the fits and starts and stops and stumbles. I would warn him about the high blood pressure and the aching joints, the erratic heartbeat and the sciatica attacks. I wonder if he would understand.

I would beg him to start now, get on the bike, take of f the weight, do it before you turn another year older and another 15 pounds fatter.

I would tell him that the only regret that I have about my Journey is that I waited so long to start it.

Talking to the young man built just like I was who thinks he can’t do it

Yes you can. I did. I am not special. I am just a very normal man who decided it was time to make a change. I am a very normal person who has the same fear and frustrations and confusion about it all as you. I did it. You can do it. I can help. I can encourage you, support you, advise you on how to avoid the temptation, overcome them when you can’t avoid them and to get back on track when you stumble.

You can do it if you decide to do it. Make good decisions one decision at a time. One day at a time. One meal at a time. You CAN do it. Just decide to do it….

To the People who said I couldn’t and to the people who say I won’t

I proved you wrong and I will keep proving you wrong but that is not what I want to say.

I really want to ask why you are so negative. Why do you think the way you do and more to the point, why do you think I will benefit from you voicing your negativity? You lost 20 and put it right back on? Sorry oto hear that, I hope you can take it off again and keep it off. I know it is hard to do. Best of luck. Don’t bring your rain to my parade.

To the people who have always supported me

Thank you. A Thousand times thank you

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Yes, that really is a thousand thanks.

My friends, my family, the readers on this blog, the people I meet who have encouraging words… Through difficult times you supported me, took me on hikes, listened to me talk about the weight loss, read what I wrote, made veggie burgers or fish for me at the red meat conventions you call a cookout, agreed to eat at vegetarian restaurants, made low-calorie desserts, wrote encouraging comments on my blog, applauded my pictures on Facebook… In other word you cared. I cannot thank you enough, though I will try time and again..

Peace


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Sunday Night and I am getting Better


Recovery

I spent the last several days deeply under the weather with a very unpleasant head cold (are any of them pleasant?).

I missed two days of work and really have not been fully functional this weekend though Missus and I did celebrate her birthday on Saturday with dinner at a very nice Japanese restaurant with good friends. A very good time had by all.

I am feeling almost human. Work calls tomorrow and life will pick up speed again….

I needn’t tell you that I didn’t ride at all or walk much or do much of anything since Wednesday and I am feeling like a tree sloth right now, fat and slow.

The weight held steady, actually dropped slightly, so I am ok there. I flexed my eating (yeah, sure, a lack of appetite due to the cold had nothing to do with it) and avoided the bedridden weight gain.

Today it was a cold and dreary and wet day so there was no riding to be done even had there been no head cold to contend with. Somehow the fact that the weather would have kept me from riding in any case made me feel better about not being in any shape to ride…

Strange

By mid-week I suspect I will be in fine shape.

The coming week and weekend

The weather this week will be a challenge. It is expected to be warm but with a possibility of thunderstorms… Then of course there is the holiday weekend.

Travel to and from a big cookout out-of-state will make riding a challenge.

I will find a way….

How much one changes in a year…

I am not him anymore. I am starting to understand who I am now

310 pounds, Summer 2011.  I am not him anymore. I am starting to understand who I am now

At the cookout last year I was in the 235 pound range, 70 or so pounds down from my starting weight and people were STUNNED at my weight loss. I am 30 pounds lighter now and I have maintained the goal weight since last August.

I am simply not who I was a year ago. Not even close to the person I was two years ago.

I get less visits from the Black Dog, less episodes of depression. I am less anxious about my weight and less nervous about allowing the occasional indulgence.

Some things have not changed or have changed only in the depth of my commitment. I am still not eating red meats and I have started to phase out other meats, poultry and fish, as well. My commitment to fitness is deeper now. It was strong a year ago. It is a passion now.

I am always planning my next walk, my next hike, my next ride.

I am as passionate about my health as I was a year ago. I still talk about it incessantly. I am still writing this blog and still thinking out my days as they will relate to food and exercise.

What has changed? I am now much more accustomed to living the way I live now. It is now less forced. I am planning and thinking from habit now not from conscious effort. I run a tab in my head of everything I eat. I know the calories by heart now. I still record them in the LOSEIT.COM app, still record even one jelly bean. No though I do it from habit. It is natural for me to do this. I don’t have to remind myself, force myself, over think it.

A year ago I was constantly reminding myself to records it, plan it, think it, do it.

Now I just do it.

In situations like the upcoming cookout I will remind myself to not snack and nibble and I will remind myself to walk around a great deal to get in the steps. I will probably go up and down the flight and a half of steps on the deck 30 times or more in the course of the day. I will remind myself to make sure that happens.

It is in the day-to-day that I am beginning to grow comfortable, beginning to feel that this lifestyle has become my life.  I am learning to be the person I have become.  Sounds like the cart in front of the horse but, for me, it works just that way.

Peace


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Thursday and All is Well


Odd Things

I knew that losing weight and getting fit would bring on changes in my body. I just wasn’t really prepared for just how extensive those changes would be. As Missus and I did a next-to-last purge of the fat man clothes a few nights ago I came across a pair of dress slacks that I had for years. Wonderful wool slacks, a medium gray, the best pair of slacks I have every owned, now way to large. How large? I was able to put BOTH of my legs in to one of the pants legs… Should have taken a picture of THAT….

Jackets once too tight now wrap around me like a bathrobe. Sweater once snug are now like tents on me.

All three males in this household wear the same waist pants! 34-inch waist on the Older, the Young and the Dad….

Odd things.

Like these....

Like these….

I started wearing Bib-shorts for cycling a number of years ago because the waist on regular cycling shorts would roll down because of my gut. Bib-shorts would serve the dual purpose of preventing that and holding in the belly so I looked a little thinner.

I got to the point I was wearing XXL bib-shorts.

Now all my bib-shorts are too large on me (even the XL) and I now find that I wear a MEDIUM in a regular cycling short. How’s THEM apples….

Fortunately I do have a couple of pair of bib shorts that still fit OK and I can wear them but…. Well, I am looking forward to buying regular cycling shorts. IN A MEDIUM!

My jersey size is still an XL… Go figure… Well that is at least in part because I like a slightly loose jersey and my long torso begs for a longer shirt….

Odd things…

Trying to Keep the Calories UP

I am having trouble again keeping my calories up. I find that with the new job (and the increased walking and so forth) and my continued slide to vegetarian I am coming in at

Roasted Cauliflower, Sweet Potato, and Broccoli, Coriander Chutney, Matouks Flambeau Hot Sauce and Lentils in a spicy tomato Sauce...

Roasted Cauliflower, Sweet Potato, and Broccoli, Coriander Chutney, Matouks Flambeau Hot Sauce and Lentils in a spicy tomato Sauce…

1000 calories or more UNDER plan. This would explain why I have dropped 3 pounds this week on top of the two I lost on the ride this past weekend. I have dropped from 206 on Friday last to 201 this morning.

I have to watch this. Dropping that much that fast at this point is not a good thing. I have to find a way to increase the calories without putting myself at risk of losing control of my eating. This is a concern for me no matter what. I just have to watch it so closely…

Tonight I find myself at a 990 calorie short fall. This is after I allowed myself a chocolate chip cookie (empty, but delicious, calories). So I will be adding in a more substantial lunch at work to see if I can bring the calories up that way. I also need to increase the size of breakfast. Ding that my last three breakfasts have been less than 300 calories… Should be closer to 450 now that I am in maintenance mode…

When I was fat all I really thought about was food. Now that I am lean and for all of the Journey all I ever really think about is food.

Just a different angle on it now…

Giving Back to my Sport…

One of the nice things about an organized bike ride, be it a fund-raiser or just a fun ride, is the rest areas. Free food like PB&J sandwiches, bananas, cereal bars and the like, and water bottle refills, restrooms, and a place to rest up off the bike for a few minutes. They are staffed by volunteers who would probably rather ride but give back to their sport and work the rest areas instead.

I volunteered for a ride sponsored by my bike club last year because I could not ride due to my knee injury.

I was asked to volunteer again this year and I have agreed to do so. The ride is the Ramapo Rally and I will be working the Montville Township NJ rest area. Look for the guy with the Pepper Theme cycling cap.

I look at it as giving back to the sport that has given me so much.

All is Right, Right Now…

Life has normalized a little for us right now. I am working and feeling good about the new job. It is right in my wheelhouse in terms of skills and knowledge and I am enjoying the challenges and I feel on top of my game.

The boys are doing well. The Younger is doing well in school and he is great at watching the Older one for us. The Older one is doing fine, still is, and always will be, a challenge but he is settling a little and his rough times are getting shorter, less rough and a little further apart. We think we have found a program for him for two or three days a week and so he will be able to get out of the house and be with his peeps. That HAS to help. Missus is looking forward to a few hours a few days a week to herself.

It has been a rough road the last few months. I dealt with much self-doubt and frustration. In the old days I would have found refuge in food. This time I found refuge in activity. Cycling mostly, hiking as well. I found the release and relief in pushing myself. This is so far removed from where I was.

So right now, this day, this week, All is Right with my little corner of the world.

A little side note

A note to my friends at home, on Facebook and on this blog, and to my family for their support of the Ride 4 Autism.  So far your generosity has raised nearly $1000.00 on my ride page.  I am stunned and deeply humbled by the generosity.  Thank you

Peace.


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Tuesday Reflections and Feelings


How it REALLY Feels

I have written about this before but I have given it more thought and I want to write about it some more.

Loving it!

Loving it!

How good do I feel?

People often say something to the tune of “I bet you feel great” or “You must feel wonderful”, referring to how I feel physically now that my body no longer carries around so much extra ME.

I always answer the same way, in the affirmative. I do feel great, I do feel wonderful. Things that once ached all the time now don’t ache at all or ache rarely or less. The interesting thing though is that it is only in retrospect that I realize how awful I felt.

I didn’t know at the time that being fat and out of shape caused so much of the aches and pains. Much of it I put down to getting older. The inevitable consequence of an aging body. I didn’t understand, or didn’t want to understand, that it was the weight, the abuse of the body from carrying over 100 pounds of excess.

How does it really feel? It feels as though I have taken 10 or more years off my body. I can do now at 52 what I could not do at 42. I can do at this age what 15 years ago was becoming a struggle. I feel as though I have lost not only pounds but age as well.

How does it really feel? It feels as though life has been given back to me. It feels as though I have opened closed doors and found a me I thought was lost forever.

Losing the weight, building the fitness feels like I found a secret to life. It is the kind of thing that if it happened for you overnight after the visitation of three spirits you would open the window and shout it out to all who would hear and you would buy a prize turkey for everyone in sight.

Do I feel great? What it better than great?

NEXT

With the Five-Boro behind me now I am looking forward to the next few adventures.

I am going on a hike this coming Saturday with good friends MT and PGB. I believe PGB said it is something like 8 miles of trail. Included in this is a “Billy-Goat Climb”, meaning, I suspect, that it is a hand-over-hand steep ascent. I am really excited about this. Not so long ago PGB would not have even proposed such a hike to me. Now it is simply another good hike in good company.

If I get back early enough I will go on a bike ride to the Bike Club Picnic. We will see. I plan to ride Sunday afternoon as well, once we return from visiting my Mother-In-Law for Mothers Day.

June 2nd I have the Tour of Bergen County. 45 miles through the hills of Northeastern New Jersey. That should be fun but I am nervous about the hills.

June 8th comes the next big challenge, the Ride 4 Autism. 62 miles through the countryside of central New Jersey. Beautiful area. This ride is very dear to me as it raises money for Autism awareness and research. It is my daily hope that treatments for Fragile X Syndrome will be found as a direct result of this research.

Between this weekend and the Ride 4 Autism, I will get in as much cycling as I can. I really need to hit the hills. I need the practice and I need to build the stamina and leg strength.

I need to find more rides for later in the year. I want to do the North-Fork Century on Long Island at the end of the summer but it is a very expensive and I am not sure I can justify the expense.

There is another Century ride in Connecticut in the fall that appeals to me and I am giving it serious thought.

Of course there will also be some hiking in there.

This is what I mean when I say I opened a door and found a me that was lost forever.

Eating

Today marks day three of vegetarian eating. No meat of any type: mammal, bird, or fish. This isn’t really intentional. It is just progressing that way.

We have added quinoa to our menu to increase the amount of protein we are getting, also added more beans. We also get protein from dairy. We are sliding to vegetarian, not vegan.

A typical dinner: Kabocha and Butternut Squash, Brown Rice, mixed greens and a Sweet Potato

A typical dinner: Kabocha and Butternut Squash, Brown Rice, mixed greens and a Sweet Potato

We are excited that local produce will start to hit the market in a couple of months and we will plant our own garden in another couple of weeks. We are especially looking forward to home-grown veggies…

The boys are not following us on this so far. They continue to eat red meats. Burgers are a big favorite. We are trying to set the good example and we encourage them to follow. We have had limited success so far. The Older One eats anything we serve him so we are having more success with him. The Younger One…

If you had told me two years ago this would be me I would have scoffed.

Life, who knew?

Peace


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Weight Variations


It Don’t Mean a Thing if you aint got that Swing

I am amused when someone tells me they are “exactly” XXX pounds. “I always weigh exactly XXX pounds, have since High School….”

I know it seems absurd that anyone would say that but I have had several people tell me this with minor variations in wording.

When someone asks my weight I say “between 200 and 205″. It is then that some will say the “exactly” comment.

I don’t weigh the same from one hour to the next.

The last week or so my weight has been swinging like mad. I went from 203 to 208 to 202 in a matter of four days. I am talking 6:30 AM weigh-in after morning rituals. 203-208-202….

Since I started this Journey I have not seen anything even close to this sort of mad swing.

Not worried about it or anything, just amazed really. I don’t feel the swing. My clothes didn’t suddenly get tight. I didn’t suddenly feel sluggish and fat. I just saw it on the scale. I checked on another scale and it was within half a pound. Weird.

I suppose it can be written off to water weight or “stuff” processing through the system (so to speak). Still. In the year plus of this Journey I have not seen this sort of thing over a 4 or 5 day span.

Odd.

FOOD PICTURE:

The warm weather has allowed us to grill!!!

Grilled Tuna, Grilled Mushrooms, Saute' of kale and collard greens, Grilled onions with sun dried tomato, rosematta rice and coriander chutney,

Grilled Tuna, Grilled Mushrooms, Saute’ of kale and collard greens, Grilled onions with sun-dried tomato, rosematta rice and coriander chutney,

Pushing

I have been riding my bike a great deal. Been putting on the miles. Since the first of April I have ridden 140 or so miles. I have also been walking and hiking and keeping busy in other ways.

I have been fighting the temptations of good food and excuses to eat.

I keep pushing. I am not happy with my weight at 200-205. I want to be under 200 pounds. I want my weight to be 195-200. I keep pushing.

I am eating better than ever. I am close to being a vegetarian now. I no longer eat poultry and I gave up red meats over a year ago. Only my addiction to fish keeps me from becoming a full-fledged vegetarian.

I keep pushing.

I rode 50+ miles two weekends ago so I rode 60+ this past. If the weather will cooperate I will ride 70+ this coming weekend.

I keep pushing.

I plan to ride 100 miles each weekend in June if the weather will cooperate. I hope to get to 200 miles per week by September.

I keep pushing

I plan to weigh 195-200 pounds by my Goal Weight Anniversary in August.

I keep pushing.

Why?

Because I have been fat.

I won’t go back.

Peace


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Hiking and Biking


A weekend of activity

I spent much of this weekend active…

On Saturday I hiked at the Rockefeller Preserve. Something between 10.4 and 11.6 miles. I don’t quite trust the GPS app on my iPhone….

The beautiful blue sky from the parking lot of the Preserve

The beautiful blue sky from the parking lot of the Preserve

views along the way

views along the way

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View Towards the Hudson

View Towards the Hudson

It was in any case a good, brisk hike and I enjoyed being out in the almost warm air of a day that seemed to promise that better, warmer weather is just around the corner after all.  I really enjoy the preserve with its walking trails, surprising vistas, peaceful woods and burbling brooks. You can almost forget the real world while there…

DSCN0165

On a trail bridge over Route 117

On a trail bridge over Route 117

 

DSCN0169The hike was the longest I have taken in a long time and it was relaxing while being energizing. The sole downside was the pain in my feet from a poor selection of socks…

I was very good about eating when done with the hike. It would have been easy to fall in to the trap of taking advantage of the extra calories burned but I kept the day to 2300 calories. Exactly where I want to be for weight maintenance.

Today I joined the local bike shop for their weekly Sunday morning ride. Thirteen of us went off on a short ride of 22+ moderately hilly miles. I loved the ride for many reason, not the least of which was that much of the ride went through my old-home-town. I was very happy to have conquered a hill I had never ridden up successfully, always having to walk a part of it. This time I rode the entire hill. This victory was tempered by having to walk a longer, steeper hill later in the ride. Several other walked it as well so I didn’t feel quite so badly as I would if I had been the only one…

My new goal is to conquer Two Bridges Road…

So 11 miles walking yesterday, 22 riding today. A very good weekend of activity and I have controlled the eating…

With the 5-boro ride just four Sundays away I need to build the base miles. Riding in the evening will be difficult due to the unpredictability of my day. Based on how I felt today, I can do the 42 miles of the ride but I would really like to build up the stamina for some of the bridge approaches…

I am feeling really good. The surgically repaired knee feels great. I have no pain, no discomfort at all when cycling and only a minimal amount when going downhill while hiking and that is in the ligaments, not the damaged meniscus. This is a good thing!

Peace


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When I forget, all I need to do is remember


Staying in Control

There are times when the temptations are very difficult to resist. Today I was out on the road and I was very hungry. It was about 1:30 in the afternoon. Well past the normal lunch time and I had not eaten since breakfast at 6:45. I had my normal breakfast of a cup of cereal, cup of blueberries and half a cup of lactose free 2% milk. A little under 290 calories so I call it 300. A good way to start the day. I will sometimes eat lunch. Sometimes I don’t bother. Today I was HUNGRY. Eat my left thumb kind of hungry….

best pizzaThere was the pizza parlor. The sign said “VOTED BEST PIZZA IN TOWN THREE STRAIGHT YEARS: 2010, 2011, 2012!” Ohh so tempting…. I was half way towards convincing myself that I would go and have JUST ONE SLICE….

SO SO SO wanted to….

I was running all the excuses in my head, all the justifications, all the rationalizations..

You know that I am sure: I have worked hard today, I need the calories… I will go for a long long long walk on Saturday to burn it off… I DESERVE IT….

So easy to fall in to the trap…..

I didn’t. I stopped myself. I started to forget the disciplines I have put in place, the strictly controlled course I follow… I was so ready to tip in to the abyss.

But I stopped myself.

I stopped, I thought. I pictured the me of 16 months ago. I had started to forget but I didn’t. I remembered the me I was then. The 310-pound me. The 48-inch waist me. The Obese me. I stopped. I put the min d back to the place it needed to be.

I had a cup of pineapple and two McIntosh apples… It held me until dinner.

When I forget why I just stop and think and I remember why. I remember who. I remember what.

I remember the pledge I made to myself, to my children, to Missus. I pledged that I will never go back to that place, back to the 310 pound me. I would never do it, I would never forget.

When I forget, all I have to do is remember. Today was a close call. I will remember it.

WARM(er) Weather IS COMING!!

Going to get some miles on this soon!!

Going to get some miles on this soon!!

The forecast is for mid-50′s this weekend. I am so happy I could plotz (Google it). Saturday MAY be a long hike or a moderate distance bike ride with the club (40 miles), not sure which yet. Sunday will be a ride with the local bike shop. Short ride, 22 miles, but it will be a fun ride. I may also hike in the afternoon Sunday unless Missus wants some housework out of me…

I have been going slightly (ok, not so slightly) stir crazy with the cold weather. I love the hiking and I am glad that I can get out there and do it but I really want to ride. I have some long rides planned this year and I need to lay down the base miles and get ready for them.

WARM(er) Weather is Coming!!!

Just had to share.

Plans for the garden

One of the nice things about a house in the suburbs with a reasonably large yard is the ability to plant a garden and grown some of our own food. For years we planted tomato and pepper plants but the last three we have not as disruptions in our life made it questionable if we would be in the house at harvest time.

Now that our situation seems to have settled somewhat and our diet progressing ever closer to vegetarian… WE are planning a garden again.

This one will be larger and more ambitious than any we have grown before.

Yummmmm LOVE tomato....

Yummmmm LOVE tomato….

Tomatoes of three or four varieties, hot and sweet peppers, red and golden beets, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, both summer and winter varieties, and herbs. We may decide on other plants as well but that is the plan right now.

We are looking at a plot 20 by 30 feet or so. We are now in pursuit of a roto-tiller we can rent or borrow…

I expect I will write more about this as we move along…

Peace


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It’s All Good


This is about me

This is about me, this blog, the tales of this Journey. I have never pretended to know much about nutrition or fitness or anything about this except as it relates to ME. I tell the story of my Journey, my trials, my tribulations. I talk about my failures and failings, my successes and my growth.

52 years old (minus one day). I think this is the best picture ever taken of me. Wish I had hair.....

52 years old (minus one day). I think this is the best picture ever taken of me. Wish I had hair…..

This is not about what is right or wrong because it is all good.

If you are doing something completely different from what I am doing and you are having success then it is good. If lifting weights for hours in the gym is your way and it works for you then it is good. If you made the difficult decision to have gastric bypass and it was your last best option and it is working for you then it is good.

I decided that the way for me was to significantly reduce my calories, from over 4000 a day to around 1500, to change the foods I ate, eliminating the trigger foods as well as red meats, peanut butter and jelly and pizza and changing to a nearly vegetarian diet and lastly, to significantly increase my physical activity with hiking and cycling. This is what has worked for me and it is good. For Me.

In the year plus that I have been on this Journey and writing this blog I have been told that I am doing everything wrong, that I will regain the weight, that my method is “stupid”… I have been told that I have to follow a special diet, get rid of carbs, eat only meats, eat only veggies, eat like the caveman, eat like the astronauts….

If that is what works for others, it is fine with me. My opinion really doesn’t matter when it comes to YOU. My opinion only matters when it comes to ME.

The only thing that matters is SUPPORT. Encouragement and support are the backbone of any successful plan.

Think about this: If you have a friend or family member who is significantly overweight and that person decides to get fit they are embarking on what SHOULD BE a life changing course. And it is hard. And it is frightening. And they need support. Not criticism.

When I say significantly overweight I am not talking about 10-15 pounds or even 20-30 pounds. I am talking 70 pounds, 80 pounds, 100 pounds or more. I am talking people who are carrying around an extra person, not a few extra pounds.

I am telling you that the weight loss and fitness Journey I started on December 27, 2011 has been at once the most rewarding and frightening thing I have ever done. Imagine this: 50+ years old and you change everything you possibly can about the way you eat, exercise, live. You go from eating indiscriminately to recording everything you eat. You change from sitting on the couch to walking 5 miles in the freezing rain because you have to get in your miles.

You give up some of your favorite foods, you push yourself to learn new ways to cook, new ways to shop, new ways to live.

And all the while you are diving deep in to your brain trying to understand why you have been slowly killing yourself with food. Why you have been “committing suicide by a thousand bites”.

Imagine that this is you. It isn’t easy is it?

The Journey is hard. It doesn’t matter how the Journey is made. It is hard. It is hard for everyone on it. I have lost 105 pounds since December 27, 2011, 120 pounds from my peak weight. It has been hard. It has been rewarding. It has been the best thing I have ever done for myself and it has been the scariest thing I have ever done to myself. I think that this holds true for anyone on the Journey.

So my Journey is my own. I can’t tell you and I won’t tell you how to do this. If you are going about it in a completely different way, that is fine. I am happy that you are on the Journey. It’s all good.

Whether or not you are on your own weight loss and fitness Journey, support your friends and family and even the strangers you meet who are on the Journey. We need the support. This is hard. A pat on the back helps to ease the Journey.

Mileposts on the Journey

outer-banks-milepost_000When I started this blog I would report on mileposts I passed along the way: 20 pounds down, 30… and so forth.

As they started flying by and it became “expected” I reported on them less often to the point that I have not really written about them at all in months.

I have passed a few recently and I wanted to write about them a little.

I passed my goal weight on August 8, 2012. I hit 209 pounds that day blasting right past the 210 pound goal. That was 228 days ago. For those 228 days my average weight is 202.5 pounds. Today I weighed 203 pounds when I stepped on the scale. Yesterday I was 202.6. I go up and down as much as a pound from one day top the next. So I am essentially right at my average weight since I hit my goal. And I am 7-8 pounds under my goal. 228 days at or below my goal weight.

The cold weather is interfering with my cycling plans but I am still getting out for hikes. The milepost here is the 7 straight weeks of achieving my fitness minutes. ….

More Hiking Today

I went for a short hike yesterday. I went close to home and climbed the trails around Turkey Mountain in Northern New Jersey. I think many people outside of the area might be surprised that New Jersey has wilderness areas and hiking trails but those of us who live here know. There are beautiful views, steep climbs, deep woods where the sound of traffic does not disrupt….

The hike was just under 4 and a half miles and was with good company. The air was crisply cold and the sky was mostly clear. There was snow cover on much of the trail but it was not a difficult hike and we made it safely.

A view across the valley. You can see One World Trade Center in the distance.

A view across the valley. You can see One World Trade Center in the distance.

I hike most weekends now. I know it is frustrating Missus that I spend so much time away from the family on weekends but Missus also understands how important the fitness aspect of my Journey is to me.

I am hiking again today. I am driving to a park and I hope to get in 6-8 miles. This will give me 10-12 miles for the weekend and that will be good.

I am wishing for warmer weather but instead we are getting more snow tomorrow. This is getting old.

So I will keep hiking. I can hike in the cold. I find it very difficult to ride in the cold.

More hiking today.

Peace.


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Sunday and a Hike


Went for a walk in the woods…

I went for a walk in the woods today, a hike if you will. I walked with a friend, SA and his niece M. We walked nearly nine miles and we walked at a good pace and we chatted and we enjoyed. It was a great start to a very good day.

Today's Hike

Today’s Hike

The hiking is one of the activities representative of the changes in me over the last 15 months or so. When I started this Journey, or even before. Going back to the first time I walked at the Rockefeller Preserve in October of 2011. I think the hike was about 4 miles and I was spent at the end. I remember facing the long hill back up to the parking area and I wanted anything but to hike that hill. I managed but I stopped three times on the way. I got to the car and I was winded and exhausted and questioning my sanity for even thinking about that walk much less doing it.

Now hikes are so important to me. I try to plan one most weekends. I don’t get tired. I just keep going. Where once I struggled to maintain a 2-mile per hour pace I now walk over hill and dale at a three and a half mile an hour pace. TO me the hikes are illustrative of the overall change. Not just the change in weight and fitness but more deeply than that, it chows the changes in the mindset that can take place when you commit yourself to change.

Along the Trails at the Rockefeller Preserve

Along the Trails at the Rockefeller Preserve

As SA, his niece, and I walked, I found it easy to chat because I was not getting winded. I enjoyed the hike and didn’t even think to stop for a break. I realized after the hike that perhaps I should have offered a break to my companions but they didn’t ask and I didn’t feel the need….

The woods were chilly today. It was low thirties as we walked but the exertion was enough, along with the layers of clothes, to keep me warm. I was able to truly enjoy the hike. I didn’t have to concern myself with being tired. I could just hike.

As we approached the end we decided to take a side hike to the top of the overlook. It is a good climb and we walked briskly. We didn’t stay long at the top; just long enough to snap a few pictures and then we headed back towards the bottom and the long climb back to the parking lot. These were the two longest and steepest climbs of the hike.

Some Breads for dinner tonight

Some Breads for dinner tonight

I guess this is just a way of saying how good I felt today. I finished up in time to get home and make some breads to have with dinner tonight. We enjoyed the company of our friends DG and PG. I made a shrimp and chicken sausage Creole. Very tasty. Well received.

I would not have had the energy for a long walk and an afternoon spent in the kitchen a year ago. Now I don’t even question it.

High Point-Cape May.

A happy development from today’s hike is the possibility that SA will join KAR and me on High Point-Cape May adventure.

That makes three. I am hoping that we might get a fourth but three would be fine. Two would be fine. I just don’t want to go alone…

We plan to do the ride in early September over the course of three days. We expect to travel light with just the spare tubes and so forth that any cyclist would ride with. This is contingent on getting someone or a few people to act as our support team. Carrying our luggage so to speak… Meeting us at the rest areas, getting our hotels set up and the like. Any volunteers?

So much planning yet to do for a little (240-mile) bike ride…

Weighty Issues

Stepped on the scale and expected to see that I had gained a little weight. Nope. 201.6 pounds this AM. This is something that is amazing me really. Even when I think I have been over eating it turns out that I am doing a fair job of regulating my consumption after all. Even though the calorie counts look right, it sometimes feels that I am over doing it.

I need to trust myself a little more perhaps.

Will the warm weather EVER get here…

WE are expecting snow tomorrow afternoon in to the night. March 18 and we are looking at snow…

I am done with this. I need some 50-degree days. I want to get on the bike more than I have been. I have 7 weeks to the 5-boro ride and I need to lay down a base of miles…

This cold stuff is not doing it for me.

I can hike in the cold but I have never been able to adjust to cold weather cycling.

Sigh..

Peace


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Hiking, Baking, Dinner, and Talking about Weight Loss


I Went Hiking Today

Not far. About three and a half miles. Ice on the trail cut the hike short. Not really wanting to break my neck… But it was a fun hike. I went with my friend PGB to Harriman State Park in Sloatsburg, New York. We have hiked there two or three times before, maybe more. The trails are more challenging than at the Rockefeller Preserve and it is MUCH closer to home. PGB is good company, intelligent, witty and patient. Who could ask for more.

I think we would have hiked five or six miles if the ice had not presented a problem.. Waiting for better weather….

Crampons would have helped…

A Waterfall along the trail at Harriman State Park

A Waterfall along the trail at Harriman State Park

It was a really good day for a hike. It was cold but not windy and once in a while a little sun poked through. Mostly it was gray and overcast and I think I say a few snowflakes. I wish we could have gone farther but there was that ice..

Bread Baking

I have mentioned here many times how much I love to bake bread. With family coming to dinner tonight I wanted to make sure that I served a delicious dinner with some homemade bread. With the hike cut short I was able to make four loaves of bread: two whole wheat and two potato-flour and egg breads.

I am so relaxed when I make bread. So at peace. I really wonder if I should have been a baker.

The bread came out very well. The Older One loves the whole wheat and the guests enjoyed the potato-flour and egg bread.

It is always a boost when the foods I make are well received.

Here is the recipe for the Potato-flour & egg bread:

All my bread recipes assume you have a KitchenAid or similar heavy-duty mixer.

  • 5-6 cups of All-purpose flour. I use King Arthur brand. I have tried many others and for breads I have found none as good.
  • 2 packets active dried yeast
  • 2 cups of hot water: about 110 degrees F.
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons table salt
  • 4 tablespoons potato flour. Again, I use King Arthur Brand.
  • 2 large eggs
  • Egg wash
  • Sesame seeds

Dissolve the sugar and the yeast in the two cups of water and allow the yeast to proof. About five minutes. You should see a nice head of foam form after about 5 minutes.

Put the first two cups of flour in the mixer bowl and add the salt and potato flour.. With the flat beater and the mixer set at speed two blend the salt and potato flour with the two cups of all-purpose.

When the yeast is finished proofing give it a good stir with a fork and then pour all at once in to the mixer still mixing on setting two with the flat beater. Add the two eggs. After one to two minutes you should have a soupy mix in the bowl. Turn off the mixer, remove the flat beater, scraping clean with a spatula. Put in the dough hook. Set mixer to speed two and add two level cups of the all-purpose flour. When well incorporated add one more cup.

After the fifth cup is well incorporated you will add the sixth cups a small amount at a time until the dough is forming a ball and leaving the sides of the bowl clean. Stop the mixer and feel the dough. It should be SLIGHTLY sticky.

If it is very sticky add a small amount of flour and run the mixer until the added flour is well incorporated. Stop the mixer and feel the dough again. Repeat the additional flour until the dough is slightly sticky. Remove the dough from the bowl and form in to a ball. Place in an oiled bowl and cover. I use cooking spray to oil the bowl and I cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a worm place to rise until doubled in size. This should take about an hour.

Punch down the dough and cut in to two equal sized pieces. I use a kitchen scale to make sure I get this right. Form in to ball and place on an oiled baking sheet. I use the silicone baking sheet liners so I don’t need to oil the baking sheet.

Gently flatten the balls of dough until they are roughly 6 inches in diameter and as round as you can form them. Make sure they are far enough apart on the tray so they can rise properly.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until roughly double in size, about 45 minutes.

Make an egg wash with one whole egg and an equal amount of water. Mix together well. When the dough is done with the second rise, gentle brush with the egg was so the entire surface of the dough has a light coating of wash. Sprinkle liberally with the sesame seed. Score the dough with an X. Place in a preheated oven at 400 degrees. Back until golden brown. Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes.

Today's Potato-flour & Egg bread.

Today’s Potato-flour & Egg bread.

Dinner

I made Shrimp Creole with chicken and Chicken Sausage for dinner tonight. Of course you could use chorizo or any other sausage of your preference. I would not use Italian style sausage. Wrong flavor profile. I use a chicken and garlic herb sausage that we buy precooked. Very good and fits the Creole very well.

It was very well received by my family tonight and I really enjoy cooking it. It comes together very quickly. The prep takes some time as there are a lot of things to cut and cook ahead…

This is based on 5-servings from this recipe, not including the rice....

This is based on 5-servings from this recipe, not including the rice….


Much easier than it should be!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 lb Chicken Sausage. We use a fully cooked chicken with garlic and herbs sausage.

1 lb raw shrimp, deveined and shelled. I like larger shrimp. Any size would probably work just fine.

1 green bell pepper seeded and coarsely chopped

1 red bell pepper seeded and coarsely chopped

1 yellow bell pepper seeded and coarsely chopped

1 medium onion coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley

28 ounces of canned diced tomato drained but reserve the liquid

1 tablespoon of crushed thyme

2 tablespoons of crushed or diced garlic

Black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste)

Butterfly the chicken breasts and grill in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Make sure to give the chicken a good sear and turn as needed to brown nicely on each side. Cook until the chicken is JUST done. Set aside, when cooled enough to handle cut in to half-inch pieces.

If using the precooked chicken sausage, slice the chicken sausage in to ¼ inch thick slices and set aside.

If using raw sausage or a sausage like Chorizo, slice in to ¼ inch slices and fry in the pan you just removed the chicken from. You want to render the fats and give the Chorizo a nice sear. Set aside.

There should be plenty of fats in the pan now from the chicken (and the Chorizo if you used them). Add the peppers, onion and garlic in the pan and give them a good stir fry, you want the peppers and onions to begin to wilt and caramelize just a slight bit. Add chili powder and thyme and black pepper to taste. Add in the chicken and sausage.

Give the spice a little time to blend in and give up their flavors while stirring. Now add the tomatoes. Stir well and add a few spoonfuls of the reserved liquids from the tomatoes to help deglaze the pan.

Now add the shrimp and continue to cook until the shrimp are cooked through, stirring constantly. Add the reserved liquid a few ounces at a time to maintain a “wet sauce” but not make it soup-like. Add the chopped parsley right at the end of the cooking time and stir in.

As soon as the shrimp is cooked through the dish is ready. Taste the broth and season to taste.

Serve over rice with a bottle of hot sauce at the table. This is also very good over linguine

Talking about Weight Loss

Of course some of the conversation concerned weight loss. I have lost a few pounds as you all know. Inevitably we talked about it. When you lose over 100 pounds people want to talk about it and I am really happy to oblige.

The question always comes up and I cannot answer it strongly enough to make it clear I guess. I have not now, nor have I ever at any time during this Journey of mine been on a special diet. I am not on Paleo, Atkins, South Beach…… OR ANY OTHER dig name or little name or self invented diet. I am not on a diet.

The fact of the matter is that I eat less than I used to.

I don’t PIG OUT the way I used to. I had some more bread tonight than I normally would and I had a very small piece of pie today. I stayed within the calorie limits I place on myself and YES I COUNT CALORIES.

The point I am making here is simple to me. Eat less, eat right, move more. That is what I tell friends and family and complete strangers. I am thinking of making it in to the T-Shirt.

I want to live this way for the rest of my life. I love it. I enjoy being lean. I love the way I eat and I love talking about the weight loss. I am proud that I have done this without a special diet. Without Juicing. Without fasting. Without any of the fads that seem to crop up each spring along with the dandelions. This has led some to think that A) I am knowledgeable about weight loss and B) that I am disdainful of the diets and such.

I was able to do it and the temptation is to say that anyone can do it if I can but I know it is not true. I cannot tell you why I have been able to do it so far. Nearly 8 months since reaching my goal weight I am still under that weight and maintaining it. I fully expect to lose 5-10 more pounds with the arrival of spring.

So I want to clarify:

A) I am not knowledgeable about weight loss. I only know what has worked for me and what continues to work for me. I know that a proper nutritional profile is critical so I make sure to eat a well-rounded diet of grains, vegetables, fruits and proteins. I watch my calories to make sure that I stay within the plan.

I know that exercise is important so I walk, hike, bike…

I also know that most weight loss comes from how much you eat not how much you exercise. I try to maintain a balance.

B) I am not disdainful of, negative about, or against the diets and surgeries and medications that are out there. For me they have proven unnecessary. I cannot tell you why.

I am proud that I have done it without the diets and such but I know that there are people for whom they represent the best options. I can only say this: you need to learn to eat right and eat less if you are going to maintain the weight loss after you reach your goal and you move away from the diet.

And talk about it. Talk about it all the time. It will help you keep a focus on it.

Hey, I SHRUNK!

Hey, I SHRUNK!

Like a Clown Suit....

Like a Clown Suit….

Peace.

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