FatBlogger

Today is my birthday!

Big whoop right? I mean at my age, 47 now, are you even supposed to keep counting? 

OK, so what have I been doing so far this decade? Well I did walk / jog the Houston Half Marathon for charity, I raised $500 bucks for the Organisation for Autism Research. This was my third time doing it and this time no injuries to my foot which is nice. I didn't try to break any world records for obese runs, it took me 3 hours and 24 minutes.  Next year I am going to try to do it under 3 hours. 

I have lost 6 pounds so far, about a pound a week. Not a huge difference, but in the right direction anyway. I wish I could say that I was exercising, but no. Actually just made a few modifications to my eating habits, most notably eating at night.  I bought myself a huge 20lb bag of Basmati rice at Costco and have been eating it mixed with vegetable at night. Now, I do eat A LOT of rice, but it fills me up and stops me from eating ice-cream, chips and other crap...um, for the most part. 

On a personal note, my oldest got excepted at Texas State, my youngest is now sleeping in his own bed and potty training, and while that may not be a big deal for most 3-1/2 year olds, it is when they have autism. He has become so affectionate lately, it really is quite miraculous. 

Like most Americans right now, we are flat busted broke. The business is now only picking up, and how soon and how much it does will be the difference between the poor house, and losing the house, and eking out a living in this economy. But thats another post. 

Hope to chat more soon....

Baby B turns 1!

It is hard to believe it has been a year.  Cliche? Yes. True? Hell yes! Time just seems to be sucked into those little diapers, never to be seen again.

Yes, Baby B turned one about a week ago! He is healthy and happy and life is good. It is so far and away from where we were last year, with both Mommy and Baby in ICU. There is much to be thankful for.

I must admit though, I have yet to get a handle on things in my own life, and blogging is no exception. Just when I think we have a schedule down, he grows and changes and now there is a new schedule. He is the King, I am merely a pawn in his game. By days end I am just in a coma in front of the TV. Pitiful but not altogether surprising.

Here's looking at another  good year, maybe a bit more organized? A bit more productive?

Yeah...sure.

How about a bit more healthy? That would be something I could live with!

Where to start...

Lets start in the attic. Yesterday I was cleaning it out, #1 son and I found a box of old pictures when he was just a tadpole. He says to me, "who is that in the picture with me?" I said, "It's me you dolt!". About 60 pounds lighter. I stared at that picture for a few more minutes, and could hardly believe I use to consider myself "fat" back then. I wish I was "fat" like that again!

Over the last few months I have learned a lot about myself. First off, raising a teen and an infant is a challenge, one rarely desires what the other one wants, and I have to cook them entirely separate meals, imagine that! Baby B has taught me a few important lessons however, you have to crawl before you can walk, walk before you can run...and there are many, many falls.

Speaking of which, I am gaining ground on the weight-loss thing, I think. One of the most important, if not THE most important thing is that for the last few months, losing weight is not my sole purpose for living anymore. In fact I rarely think about it or measure myself within those parameters anymore. I think this gives me a better chance in the long run.

Routinely now I make better choices, which don't even seem like "choices" anymore. I like to eat whole wheat vs enriched products, I like to eat oatmeal  and spinach and fruits, in fact I prefer them to many items I thought I could not live without. Sure, occasionally I get the munchies for something bad, but I try to wait until the weekend, sometimes by then I forget about it anyway. I have my slips, but the time it takes to get back up again is now measured in hours, not days...or months.

I need to tighten things up a bit more, make more of an effort to do more, and I am doing that a bit more each week. Right now I am trying to do these simple things;

• Go to the gym 4 days a week, 30 minutes each time, preferably to lift weights.
• Stay on the eating "plan" at least 4 days a week (small meals, 6 times a day, SuperFoods).
• Walk for 30 minutes 6 days a week.

I figure that if I can do just that, I should get back on track to lose at least 5 lbs a month. My new goal is to hit my target by my 45th birthday.

So that is where I am at right now. Hopefully in the coming days I can "get out" a bit more and visit all of you in the wonderful world of Blogistan!

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Boy, the "holidays" keep coming fast and furious in this short month of February huh? LOL!

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Those are beads I am throwing your way!

Have fun with you own personal little Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. I decided that I am giving up food for Lent...or maybe I will just give up the hold food has over me...we'll see how that goes.

This really is one of my favorite times of the year, I always look forward to Easter. I just love the mingling of the old world religions of Spring Festivals with the Christian Resurrection, though the Catholic League would no doubt deny any such connection.

Regardless, it is a great time to take stock, get back on track if you are off, perhaps even a good time  for a sacrifice or two for the greater good?

Little known fact...Lent has built into it it's own "pass", that is, there is no "Lent" on Sundays. I guess I can eat then.

Happy birthday to me...

...and also a happy New Year! If you are Chinese or just looking for an excuse to celebrate... you have my blessing. As a matter of fact take the day off tomorrow too!

Today I am 44, and none the wiser. Jeez that is getting down right ancient. And while I started sliding down the slippery slope some time ago, I still think there is time left to live a life worth living...right!? I said right? Here is the part where you chime in with all the great things that middle aged people have accomplished throughout history!

My birthday, and the Chinese New Year on the same day, what are the odds? And are you ready for this...it is The Year of the PIG! Lets hope it ushers in a whole new era of transition.

To find your Chinese animal zodiac sign, and your horoscope for the year, click here.

New Years Eve - 2006

So...

Having psyched myself up for "The Big Day", the new beginning, I of course thought I would go out with a bang...or at least indigestion. Last Supper mentality...we have all been there right? Because the three of us (me, my wife and sister-in-law) are all going to lose weight we decided to snack on some of our favorite foods that might be out of reach for us in 2007, or the rest of our lives?

But of course, with my plan, nothing is really out of reach, in addition my favorite food, tomatoes, just does not seem like gorging material on New Years Eve.

Now previous to this day the entire household, including  my sister-in-law, all got colds and/or border-line flu symptoms. To quote my sister-in-law  "we felt like ass". Her and I went to Krogers to procure our booty for the evening. It was madness, crazy busy there. When we were finished and waiting in line we took an inventory of what we had. Chips, diet soda, chips, bread and cheese. Wow...we went nuts. We looked at each other and said simultaneously..."this is pathetic". Oh yeah, somewhere in the bottom of the cart was a pint of Ben & Jerry's Pistachio ice-cream, but Mrs. FB mysteriously misplaced it while unpacking?

The evening wore on and we rang in the New Year, having hardly touched, ate or drank a single thing we purchased. My 15 year old son, and his two friends who spent the night, quickly dispatched the evidence of our ill-fated plan. In other words...they ate everything.

The moral of the story? Get sick and go food shopping jacked up on cold medicine.

Not really.

So 2006 came to a close, not with a bang , but a whimper...a somewhat fitting end to the year that chewed us up and spit us out, the three of us limping across the finish line, looking forward to new beginnings.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!

  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

a post in two parts...

post began at 6:30 am - usual self-indulgent crap

I have never been able to understand my resistance to beginning. As I sit here and type this I am faced with it again, a huge wall of resistance. It seems like an enormous task to break through and there is so much riding on it. It is not 50 pounds, it is a life beginning and trying to begin. The damnable dam of fat holding it all back. Yes, there is the fear of diabetes and heart disease, good motivators, but not enough.

It has taken me awhile, but I have put together what may be the perfect plan to lose weight, easy, realistic, smart. If I was to begin, and stay with this plan, I could shed the pounds before the holidays arrive. A long time, but short in comparison to where I have been. I like the plan, the plan is me, it is unique, I made it, it works for me. It is easy. I can't do it.

Why? When I go to begin I find the resistance overwhelming! It is maddening. Monday morning, D-day, the the wall of resistance looms large, my inner voice begs for another day, another week, a time and place more convenient, a day to remember, there has to be a more important time to do this...wait.

phone call comes in, 7 am - a force knocking me from my routine

My mother has had a heart attack. She has been sent to Mass General where they will perform an angioplasty to remove a 100% blockage of plaque build-up in one of her arteries. She will be 70 next week, skinny, walks the dog every night, smokes. Her cholesterol is around 225 the doc says.

She has come out of the surgery fine, will be laid up for a few days. I am heading up there tomorrow to help out around the house with my father, take care of the pesky dog I never wanted her to get, and visit my wife's grandmother who is also in the hospital (they took out a intestinal blockage, looks benign). I don't know what the hell is going on up there, but I will try to let you know if I get near a computer!

This really cuts short my personal frustration for the moment. I will be back next week, hopefully ready to go, and a bit better for it. God, please let my parents have cable.

Springing into '06!

Well, it's finally here, the first day of Spring. Down here in Texas it means that scorching weather is not far away, time to enjoy the temperate days and cool nights, which I did walking my dog, Max, tonight.

Around each seasonal change I make attempts to set some goals. I like to use the seasons because they help break up the year into more manageable parts, and it also helps to remind me that things change, constantly. The world waits for no one right?. Get moving.

I haven't always been very mindful of the such things,  but I am getting better at it. This Spring I have set three personal goals, one of which concerns my health. Lose 25 pounds before Summer gets here. Of course that is only a portion of what I need to lose, but it would be a significant drop, and improvement in my health. I have other goals, more lofty ones, like run that damnable race! But patience is required here, one step at a time right? Lets just get to this, then we will see about then. By the time Summer rolls around, the baby will be here, and my life will be totally different...again. We will set the Summer goals, when Summer is here right?

A long time ago, when I ran, ran, ran..I would handle long distances by not thinking about it. I would simply look ahead to the light-post, or some such thing, about 1/4 mile up the road.."run to that", I would say. When I got there I would find another little goal, and another, and pretty soon the long trek was complete. I know it is good to think of the long view, I know it is a good thing to contemplate the long road, and goal ahead, but often to get there you have to think a bit more short sighted.

The goal might be to climb to the mountain top, but the path to it is nothing more than 100 little climbs, all end to end. Seems like a fair life lesson to remember, this Spring.