BigSean’s FatBlog

Hopped on the scale and got a good 40 minute workout (included 5 min warmup, 5 min cooldown).

Today I went to the gym and weighed in at 336 pounds, definitely a move in the wrong direction. When I’m not posting, it’s a pretty safe bet that I’m off the rails. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill on a weight loss program setting, burning 310 kilocalories. My knee has been fully recovered for about a month.

I weighed in at 339.5 today. Clearly the head-in-the-sand diet, the ice cream-sugar-fat-and-soda diet, and no-exercise calorie burning philosophy isn’t working out.

Fat Man Unleashed creator Israel Lagares has big stones and has put his weight loss journey out there for all to see. If his feedburner stats are any indication, he’s a guy who’s doing what most of us only wish we would do. Get our big, fat, junk-food eating asses out of the lounge chair and into motion. Success is what this guy is experiencing.

He’s started vlogging, something I’ve also been telling myself to do.

So what are you waiting for?

When I weighed in, I was pissed.

Yes, pissed.

I’ve been busting my ass for what? 329 pounds! Screw that noise. I was mad, so I got my ass in the NuStep Recumbent Cross-Trainer, cranked it up to 7, and cranked up my iPhone with my mix Cheesiest Pop Music of the 1980s. I was determined to bust my ass and see if I could burn off those two ice cream waffle cones I had last night.

With “just a little further” I set my ultimate goal at burning 1/3 of a pound, 1167 kilocalories. I made it with 1 extra. I kept resetting the difficulty between 6 and 7, depending on what my back and heart were telling me and when I needed to down some water. I’m still drenched in sweat.

HUAH. Frackin’ A!!!

Somewhere when I got to the roughest part of the workout, I was hit with that almost forgotten feeling - the endorphin rush. I haven’t felt that since my running days when I was an Army ROTC wannabe infantry officer. I’m telling you, when that rush hit, I got my second and third fracking wind.

Now, I’m very likely to skip tomorrow because I know I’m going to be sore as all hell; however, nothing beats the feeling of a great workout. Screw the 329 pounds. This ain’t bingo. As long as I consistently burn more than I’m taking in, I’m golden.

Wow, I’m really wiped out. Quite sore and today’s workout was very rough. I almost gave up at the mark of 150 calories burned. Excuses popped into mind. But I thought: “Just a little further. Let’s get to 180.” After that, break 200. Then march on to 300, then just 350 and then I could quit. 10 more. Just do 405, beating any workout. Then, another minute. A few more calories. Finally, I finished off at 425 and 45:27 seconds.

I would like to extend thanks to Julius Caesar for accompanying me on this workout. His words of encouragement, spoken to his men fighting in Gaul and Germania nearly 21 centuries ago, were tremendously helpful in keeping me motivated to go “just a little further.” Music, wonderful for pushing through a workout when you’re feeling up to snuff doesn’t do the trick when you’re tired and are looking for an excuse to quit.

So thank you, Caesar, for your assistance. For those interested in military history, I can’t recommend highly enough The Commentaries: The Conquest of Gaul and The Civil Wars (iTunes). It’s an engaging, personal book, written by one of the most accomplished commanders of the ancient world. The audiobook is one of my most cherished. Thank you, Joe, for the gift of this audiobook.

Anyway, I’m glad I pushed through and am now enjoying leftover BBQ from Monday’s dinner. Friday is nearly upon us. It’s a short day for me, I get off at 5:00PM, and plan to put in another turn at the NuStep cross-trainer.

While I continued listening to the Gallic Wars, my tempo was slower, so I switched to cheesy 1980’s pop music and it made a huge difference with my pace. I burned 401kcal in 40 minutes on the NuStep Cross-Trainer.

While the picture shows 40:12 and 403 calories, I had stopped at 40 minutes and 401kcal and it took me several seconds of fiddling with my iPhone to take some picts. The other photos were too blurry to use.

I need to get a new headset and a case for my iPhone, since sweat trickling down the wires shorts out the click button that controls music. My current set of headphones suck.

I’ve got to knock out some stuff at work in preparation for a huge big-deal series of meetings this week. Workouts sure help out with the stress.

Since I have an engagement tonight, I decided to work out at lunch. I hit the scale and weighed in at 331 pounds. Another few weeks will show where the trending is and what I can expect in the coming months.

I forgot to set my weight on the recumbent cross-trainer until I was 22 1/2 minutes into the workout, so the 201kcal burned is not accurate. As I don’t have another figure and don’t want to take a WAG (wild assed guess), I’m sticking with the number I have despite its inaccuracy.

At lunch, I figure I can get 30 minutes at the gym which is a few minutes walk from work. With a walk to and fro plus a shower, I’ll just make it - so no time for screwin’ around.

Oh, I listened to The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar audiobook instead of music on my iPhone. It’s a great book and I’ve listened to it a few times.

I weighed in at 333 pounds today and kicked butt at the gym.

The recumbent cross-trainer is my current favorite machine. It works my arms and legs and doesn’t tear up my back. I used one like this when I was in physical therapy for my back. Today I did 40 minutes and reached 380kcal. The time isn’t really important to me, it’s the calorie count.

While I know it’s a wild assed guess, I want to ensure that I reach at least 350kcal per workout. If I can manage to do that 10 times, that’s one pound. Five times, one half pound. I’ll adjust that accordingly, but it gives me a goal to shoot for.

After the cross-trainer, I spaghetti-legged my way up two flights of stairs to the track and walked a bit over a mile at a slow but steady pace. I did 10 laps and it’s a 1/9th mile track (long story as to why), so there ya go. This served as more of a cool down than anything else.

I felt good and was in a good mood. I was looking forward to the workout and it’s a great stress reliever. Huzzah.

I just have to be careful not to be over-enthusiastic and mess up my back again. But this is a pace I can deal with for now and I’ll adjust to what my body tells me.

Anyhoo, here’s a mirror pict so you can see my rotundness. This pict was taken in not the most flattering pose after my cool-down. A dude walked in whilst I was smiling and gave me the oddest look. It was awkward in the locker room there for a minute. LOL.

Weighed in at 335, which is disconcerting, but not unexpected. About a year ago, I was celebrating 298 pounds. Oh well, I am where I am. No sense crying over scarfed ice cream.

I did 40 minutes on a reclining cross-trainer burning 350kcal and about 100 steps per minute. If I can manage this 10 times per week, that’s 1 pound. I think I can manage that.

40 minutes is pushing it a bit, but I can manage that at lunch. I usually work through lunch, which is a habit I need to break anyway.

Next, I’ve got to track and trim the intake.