And so it begins, the first day of my new life. It will be much like the old life but with less beer, healthier eating, and additional exercise. I weighed in today at 213.4, and I want to get under 200 again. The real goal though is reducing a beer belly that makes me look eight months pregnant. I feel like a picture of me must have been circulated that started this whole ‘men can have babies’ lie. Sorry for that!
Started the morning with a good long group walk on the backroads out to Waltermart in Subic. I’ll post those pics tomorrow. As is our custom, the after-hike food and beverages were at Kamto.
Came home and took a quick nap, then started a new workout routine.
We’ll know soon enough if I have the self-discipline to keep this up and reach my goals. Stay tuned.
I took advantage of my last night as a “free” man to engage in some serious beer drinking. Started at IDM, where the weekly raffle was to raise funds for Mike, the guy who got hit by a car last week.
Reports I’ve read say that Mike seems to be making slow but steady progress. He still can’t speak or move his left side but is responsive to voices and will give a thumbs up to visitors. He’s got a long road ahead of him, but from everything I’ve heard, this Marine is not one to give up. Good luck to you, sir!
Later on, I spent some time with my favorites at Cheap Charlies. It’s nice to have fun in that bar again. I had more than enough beers by the time I headed home. I guess I’ll be missing those days soon.
But life goes on, and this is Friday, and today the SOB will be held at Wet Spot. I’ll be there drinking gin and sodas and hoping I can pace myself so as to make it through the show.
Wish me luck!
Good luck!
I see the ab roller for the abs… just a reminder, though, that spot reduction is a myth: you can’t reduce fat in specific areas of your body by exercising those areas. The best way to get abs is through dieting. There is, of course, nothing wrong with using the ab roller to help condition your core; just know that that’s all you’re doing: you’re toughening those muscles, not making yourself any slimmer.
In terms of exercise, though, I really think you’re already doing pretty well. You walk several hours every day, a lot of that on hills. If you’re looking to burn more calories through exercise, you might try 5 minutes of something intense 3X a weekâjump rope, fast jogging, or even just five minutes up a really difficult hill near your home. I realize it’s easy to recommend intense exercise, and that it’s not so easy to do it. While I’m a big believer in staircase work, for example, I don’t enjoy it, despite years of having done it. So I’ll understand if you feel aversion to intense workouts. That said, there’s now a lot of science backing up the idea that short, intense workouts have healthy effects that last throughout the day (look up HIIT training).
Otherwise, for weight loss, diet is the main thing. You say you’re doing intermittent fasting on your current eating schedule; for a lot of people that means eating during a 6-hour window and fasting the other 18 hours. Some do 18/6; others do 18/8, or something easy like 12/12 (you can sleep through most of that fast). The hardcore go 23/1, i.e., eat everything in a 1-hour window and fast the rest of the day. The benefit of doing that is that you minimize your blood-sugar and insulin spikes, thus preventing your body from storing more fat. Maybe try OMAD (One Meal a Day) once per week and see how that works for you.
Your numbers from your doctor’s checkup don’t sound horrible at all, though, so in the end, just do whatever feels best. Again, good luck!
Thanks for the tips, Kevin. Yeah, I understand that ab exercise won’t eliminate the beer belly. My thinking is developing some stronger muscles will help me look firm and fit when (and if) the weight starts coming off. I will read up on that HIIT training, but I’m not sure if my lungs could handle a high-intensity workout. I’m huffing and puffing walking uphill these days.
Hopefully, I can achieve my goals through a better diet and beer reduction. I didn’t mean to mislead about the intermittent fasting–I’m not doing anything formal yet, just occasionally skipping a meal. I’m really hoping a calorie/carb reduction will get me to where I want to be. If I need to ratchet that up with some form of fasting, I’ll try. Self-discipline is going to be the biggest factor in this effort. No beers yesterday, so that’s a start of sorts.