Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Weight loss, slack time and such...

I haven't really gotten the time in my basement "gym" that I had hoped for until these last two days. What weight I've lost has been a lot more due to diet than excercise.

I have one of those metabolisms that craves carbs, and is very good at turning them into fat, so I've cut my carbs dramatically, along with cutting my calories by 1/3 or so. I'm not really tallying things, but am probably consuming around 2400 a day, split over the course of 5 or 6 meals. I've cut my beloved French Vamilla latte to one every other day, cut diet soda entirely, and am drinking lots of water. One or two of those "meals" are whey or whey and soy "protein shakes" with ice cubes and water through a single serving blender cup.

When you've broken 300, dropping 20 is nothing! When I hurt my back I was sleeping on the couch because I couldn't get in and out of bed, living on painkillers and muscle relaxers, and lost my appetite entirely. I dropped almost 30 in a month from the time I hurt myself 'til I started therapy.

So though the number is "nothing" it's the trend I hope to continue.

After I watched the cat for a while yesterday and he (finally forgave me and) seemed OK after his shots, I went downstairs and after a few minutes on the "bike" to warm up I did a push-pull chest-back workout that I spread over 4 hours, taking longer between sets than I would have were I not just "getting back into things". (Resting 'til my heart slowed down each time instead of trying to keep it elevated like I did in the gym last time around.) Since I'm using entirely free weights this time, instead of a Smith Machine and some Nautilus equipment, some of the things I'm doing are new to me and I need to get a feel for them as well. 11 sets of various things, quitting at 6:30 in time to get the trash out and get in the shower before Dottie pulled in.

I had put a movie on "her" Netflix list she hadn't heard of (mine is full of silent and classic stuff) when she didn't have anything on it a while back. "Hustle and Flow" is a Terence Howard movie I had heard him talk about in a "Fresh Air" interview, and he seemed very proud of it. I wasn't sure, especially when we watched the first 15 minutes, where it was going but it turned out to be a very good movie. Definitely not something for younger ears, though!!! Someday, if I'm around 40 years from now, I expect him to have a career like Morgan Freeman has...

So now, off for another protein shake and then downstairs to do a "leg day"...

May the week be kind!

alan

3 comments:

Jennifer said...

I'd call twenty pounds a good trend, from any starting weight. Keep it up, Alan, and don't sell yourself short on the significance of those results!

Kranki said...

Yeah, 20 lbs is great! You should be proud. I am trying to work up to start working out. I got my bike out of storage and bought a helmet. Just have to grease up the gears and get some air in those tires before winter hits, right.

;-)

Wish me luck.

Barbara said...

Twenty pounds is great. I have 10 final pounds that seem to resist all efforts. I got down to my ideal weight last year when I got sick but as soon as I was well, those 10 pounds found their way back to my hips.

A few months ago I bought a rebounder for my cardio and I love using it. Our house is small (remember I live in a cottage) but I've set it up in front of the TV in the living room so I can watch Nova and bounce.

I too do free weights for my upper body and I'm doing very well since my shoulder surgery last fall. I've increased the weight but am doing fewer reps.

What do you use for your legs?