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I actually took a day off today...
....from work that is. I need to use up a couple of days of
vacation still carried over from last year or I will lose them and today was the first. I couldn't really afford to be away from work but needed a break nonetheless. I went with my wife and two youngest children to one of the local large waterparks. It was very nice to be able to walk around all day long wearing only a bathing suit and not feel self conscious about being overweight. Of course, all the teenie boppers in bikinis still made me look fat. Sigh. Still, as would be expected, there were many many folks there, from young children on up, who would benefit from a bit of dietary control. I wish them all well. There is a feature in this park where a cargo net is strung across a pool for about 25 feet, where the goal is to hang from the net and cross the pool hand over hand, stepping on these floating foam objects along the way. All very unstable and unpredictable. The object, of course, is to do the crossing without dropping into the water. My kids headed for this and told me that there was no way that I could do it. So, predictably, I now had to try. I made it maybe two feet across before I slipped off the first floating pad, lost my grip on my left hand and found myself hanging over the water on my right arm...with my youngest now squealing with delight that I was going to fall into the water. Nobody was more surprised than was I when I was able to pull myself up with one arm, grab the net again fully with two hands, then was able to cross the rest of the way without any problem. There is no way that I could have done this 10 months ago (I wouldn't have even tried) and I can't tell you how good it felt to be able to do it today. Is it because I am stronger now, or is it that I am no longer carrying an extra 100 pounds around? Probably a little of both, but who really cares. I got to spend the day outdoors with my kids at a waterpark and I loved it. I'm still working out with as much diligence as I can muster; at least 3 1 hour weight sessions per week and at least 3 1 hour cardio sessions beyond that. A couple days I have doubled up the cardio with the weights...I'm not certain that this is a good idea but I have been able to get through them both without issue and have felt good afterwards. I am clearly adding strength now and using a tape measure can state that I have added about 1" to my arms...both the forearms and biceps/triceps. My chest is starting to shape up but still needs much work. My legs, which I would have sworn had no fat on them, have lost about 2" in the thighs. That wasn't anticipated, but then neither was losing another 2" on my waist. I'm still carefully low-carbing and keeping my calories under control with about 70 g carbs/day and 1800-2000 calories/day at this point, which appears to be above my CCLL but also appears to be below my CCLM. Kind of hard to tell what is really going on at this point, my weight tends to fluctuate 3-5 pounds on a whim, but always returns to my low weight, and sometimes a bit lower. I appear to still be losing fat and I appear to be adding a bit of muscle as was my goal (if I can trust the tape.) I think it is now time to start tracking this objectively via body fat percentage. I'll check at the gym in the morning and see if there is anybody around who is handy with calipers. I have nothing else to share, I just wanted to check in and let folks know where I stand this week. I am happy with my progress and feel quite good. It is still not easy but this is definitely working. Have a great weekend folks. -- JJ. 275/179/175 - as of June 10, 2004 Atkins since Sep 1, 2003 http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jjsmythe/my_photos 1, 2, 3...92, 93, 94, 95, 96...almost there |
#2
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I actually took a day off today...
JJ, glad you took the day off, and had a blast!
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#3
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I actually took a day off today...
"JJ"
writes: snipNobody was more surprised than was I when I was able to pull myself up with one arm, grab the net again fully with two hands, then was able to cross the rest of the way without any problem. There is no way that I could have done this 10 months ago (I wouldn't have even tried) and I can't tell you how good it felt to be able to do it today. Is it because I am stronger now, or is it that I am no longer carrying an extra 100 pounds around? JJ, your pictures are astonishing, so the fact that you could do this just fits into that context. The 100 pounds would have dragged you down, you are probably also stronger, and you are probably also more confident. Would you have tried to continue had you fallen a year ago? Or would you have blamed your weight, laughed, and quit? I am clearly adding strength now and using a tape measure can state that I have added about 1" to my arms...both the forearms and biceps/triceps. My chest is starting to shape up but still needs much work. My legs, which I would have sworn had no fat on them, have lost about 2" in the thighs. That wasn't anticipated, but then neither was losing another 2" on my waist. I have two thoughts here. First, I think for someone on a really good weight-loss program, it probably takes longer to add muscle than to lose fat. It's just an impression; I'm sure someone will come in with some actual facts. And as for losing weight on your thighs, I didn't have that much to lose, but I lost weight on the tops of my feet, of all places! So I'm not surprised you lost weight there. You're probably going to lose it everywhere except your eyeballs. Great work on the weight loss, and your day with your kids shows what kind of payoff low-carb gives beyond just the better health and better body. You can do things you didn't do before, and you're more confident. Daria 166/under 145/under 145 sugar-free since 2/1/04 low-carb since 2/17/04 |
#4
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I actually took a day off today...
DG511 wrote:
JJ, your pictures are astonishing, so the fact that you could do this just fits into that context. The 100 pounds would have dragged you down, you are probably also stronger, and you are probably also more confident. Would you have tried to continue had you fallen a year ago? Or would you have blamed your weight, laughed, and quit? Thank you. Honestly, I don't think I would have even tried to begin with and there are lots of reasons for that: I probably wouldn't have gone to the park to begin with a year ago but, if I had, I wouldn't have tried this more for concern of injury than for fear of failure. Would I have been able to hold on with one arm, and pull myself back up with one arm after a partial fall is not even a guess...no way could I have done that. I'm paying the piper today for this little feat of exercise...mighty sore, my triceps are killing me. I have two thoughts here. First, I think for someone on a really good weight-loss program, it probably takes longer to add muscle than to lose fat. It's just an impression; I'm sure someone will come in with some actual facts. And as for losing weight on your thighs, I didn't have that much to lose, but I lost weight on the tops of my feet, of all places! So I'm not surprised you lost weight there. You're probably going to lose it everywhere except your eyeballs. I don't believe in the slightest that any muscle gain I might have to this point is on par with the amount of weight lost in fat. I've only been back after the weight training for about 2 full months now and I don't expect overnight success. Still, the visible difference is reassuring, though it remains subjective. Even the tape measure is subject to error, as would be calipers should I have somebody measure with those to do a body fat calculation. I may spend the money to do a water immersion BF test as this appears to be the most reliable method, but I am trying to determine if there would be any real value to doing this. I suspect that doing this at intervals of say 3-4 months would be beneficial in terms of knowing what is working and what is not. Great work on the weight loss, and your day with your kids shows what kind of payoff low-carb gives beyond just the better health and better body. You can do things you didn't do before, and you're more confident. Thanks again. If you were to read my original postings to this group, you would see that being able to do things with my kids again was high on my list of primary motivations. I've never lost track of my original set of goals, though I have had to make adjustments along the way to achieve them, or correct when I found myself on a wrong track. -- JJ. 275/179/175 - as of June 10, 2004 Atkins since Sep 1, 2003 http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jjsmythe/my_photos 1, 2, 3...92, 93, 94, 95, 96...almost there |
#5
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I actually took a day off today...
This is a repost due to a user-error on my part.
In article 8nKAc.70899$0y.56983@attbi_s03, says... There is a feature in this park where a cargo net is strung across a pool for about 25 feet, where the goal is to hang from the net and cross the pool hand over hand, stepping on these floating foam objects along the way. All very unstable and unpredictable. The object, of course, is to do the crossing without dropping into the water. My kids headed for this and told me that there was no way that I could do it. So, predictably, I now had to try. I made it maybe two feet across before I slipped off the first floating pad, lost my grip on my left hand and found myself hanging over the water on my right arm...with my youngest now squealing with delight that I was going to fall into the water. Nobody was more surprised than was I when I was able to pull myself up with one arm, grab the net again fully with two hands, then was able to cross the rest of the way without any problem. There is no way that I could have done this 10 months ago (I wouldn't have even tried) and I can't tell you how good it felt to be able to do it today. Is it because I am stronger now, or is it that I am no longer carrying an extra 100 pounds around? Probably a little of both, but who really cares. I got to spend the day outdoors with my kids at a waterpark and I loved it. GREAT job, JJ! Of course, now I keep picturing you swinging there by one hand, looking HOT, and then pulling yourself up fanning myself :-) -- Saffire 205/154/125 - 5'1.5" Atkins since 6/14/03 Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333 |
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