I am starting the summer weighing 254 pounds.
I am 32 years old and 5'9".
When I was 25, I weighed 190. When I was 20, I weighed 310. So, it's been quite a roller coaster for the last decade or so. I pretty much had a 2-3 year chunk of time when I was 23-25 when I was losing 40 pounds a year and ended up looking and feeling really good in my mid-20s. Then I had some unrelated health problems (double detached retinas!), and life got really busy and stressful, and I've slowly -- even with regular, if sometimes halfhearted, exercise -- gained the weight back. I've gained about 20 over the last two years, and this last year, full of stress and lots of work, was a bad one. I don't know how much weight I gained for sure, but I know I just stopped going to the gym for a bit in the spring, and stopped tucking in my shirts and occasionally buying XXL before that.
I have muscles, so I know that BMI does not work that well for me; however, it is currently at 37.5, which puts me squarely in the "Obese" category and I would like to get it around 30 (which would put me in the "overweight" category).
I am gravely aware of what it means to be this overweight. Last year, I suffered from racing heart issues, perhaps from a combination of over-caffeination and Sleep Deprivation, but the weight doesn't help, nor does the stress that mounts when I'm not getting the endorphins from exercise. See, for me, it's not really about weight, but about feeling healthy. I know when I feel healthy and I know when I feel like a giant slug, and that has been most of this year.
I usually feel pretty good in August, after a couple months of regular and intense exercise (including biking everywhere). Last August, I even dated. This year, it seems to have happened again, where I barely feel healthy enough to run a mile and thus don't feel very great about myself. I need the summer to reboot and get back to where I need to be. Hopefully by August I'll have shed twenty or so pounds and, then, I can be more regular about my exercise when I start school back up (and, this year, I'm not teaching any new preps, or doing National Board) and get my life back. This year just felt out of control, health-wise. I lived a disorganized and unhealthy lifestyle. I need to stop that.
My sister gets married in October. I'm the Best Man. That's another reason. Need to look good in those photos! :)
I started back on the horse yesterday, with a superb workout. Today, I feel that wonderful sore feeling. I'm heading back, and thinking about doing the cycling class at 7 as well. I need to really kickstart myself. I don't worry about overdoing it at first because I've proven to myself that I can stick with a program as long as I'm not busy and stressed otherwise.
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8 comments:
This is good news that you're going to take care of yourself, lose some weight, get healthy and feel like dating. You wrote a lot about how you're going to lose weight but said nothing about eating less calories. After 25, especially after 30, losing weight is mostly about eating less calories. Exercise is good for your heart and keeps you from gaining more weight, but eating less calories results in weight loss. I'm on Team Epiph and convinced you can get out of the obese BMI and even out of the overweight BMI into the healthy BMI category.
It's definitely going to be a tough journey, but it's a road you've been down before. I have found that it is easier for me to stick to an exercise regime if I look at it less as a goal-oriented process and more of a lifestyle --no beginning or end, but just an ongoing commitment. If I may make a recommendation, yoga has done extraordinary things for my health and has had a far greater effect on my body than even super intense boot camp classes or running. It could be a great addition to your workout regime. Don't be intimated if you've never tried it before; everyone has to start somewhere!
Anon 1: Losing weight is a combination of eating right and getting exercise. At its simplest, you need to burn more calories than you consume. I eat pretty healthy as it is (vegetarian diet, lots of vegetables) and need to cut out some of the junk and cut my portions, but not overhaul my diet. I need to add activity.
Anon 2: Thanks. Unfortunately, my gym doesn't offer yoga, but it does offer a lot of other classes that I definitely want to get involved in. I definitely agree with your statement that it's a lifestyle choice, not a "diet".
ain't summer great. I too am cutting portion size and riding my bike everyday. We will be so energized for back to school.
i felt exactly the same way after last school year! Best of luck in regaining that healthy feeling!
Good luck on the journey!
Charm City Barfly just recently started contributing to a group weight loss blog of some sort. Sounds like something you might be interested in. I'm sure she'd be happy to give you the details.
If you need extra motivation, I highly recommend Fat to Fit Radio. They have a podcast where they focus on living the lifestyle of the thinner person you want to be. Its great stuff!
There are also tons of free podcasts out there for yoga if you are interested in trying it. I love Elsie's Live Yoga Class and Sage Rountree. And if you want a low key class (cheap too!), I can recommend the class I attend. Its held in the basement of a church every Mon night at 6 in the Overlea area. Let me know if you'd like more details.
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