Weight Struggles

I have been struggling with my weight for about a year and a half. Most of it comes from being extremely active to sedentary almost instantly when I got my cushy desk job. That, and I kept eating 3k+ Calories a day.

I went from being about 160 lbs in the summer of 2010 to 225 lbs just a few weeks ago. My conditioning and strength is terrible. I have attempted multiple times to stay active with Ultimate Frisbee leagues, Softball, and hiking/backpacking/camping.

I purchased a pair of 10 pound dumbbells in late June and have tried to work out at least 5 times a week. I haven't always met this goal, but by and large I have been doing pretty good. Along with the nightly workouts of about 30-40 minutes(~5 exercises, 10-20 reps, 5 sets) I have cut back pretty hard on what I eat. Not too drastic, but for a week and a half or so my diet consisted of a foot long sub and maybe a few snacks during the day.

These 2 coupled together have helped a lot. It is August 9th 2012 as I am typing this and my weight this morning was 215. There has been a fairly steady downward trend, a few lbs here or there, a jump back up, but never too far in the wrong direction. Probably just average fluctuations. This morning my scale reported ~215 lbs(I checked the calibration multiple times). I am feeling pretty good about this.

I have a frisbee league starting near the end of the month and I am not in cardio shape, but the weight loss/muscle gain is a great step. I need to get out and jog/sprint. I also have a big hiking/camping/backpacking trip in a little more than a week. I need to get out and get a little bit of hiking in before this. My current goal is ~200 lbs by the end of the Ultimate Frisbee season(around Thanksgiving).

Another problem, directly relating to the Cardiovascular conditioning is this dang desert. It is still a blistering 110+ at 9PM. It is so overwhelming to try and train when it is so hot. I have no idea how I used to train in the Houston summers when it was so humid I was nearly swimming in my own sweat as I ran.

The worst thing about my weight issue is that i keep comparing my current conditioning/strength/shape to the 160 lbs 18-20 year old me. I used to be in fairly good shape. Pretty good toning. This current pile of mush is extremely depressing. And depression leads to a desire to eat more. It's a very vicious cycle.

Good practices I have learned, and making attempts to follow, include staying hydrated(lots of H20), drinking a full glass of water or 2 before eating, limiting my self to one normal sized portion(not a huge portion that you cannot finish, Jessica), and working out(walking, lifting weights, running, playing games, anything really). Spend about 45 minutes or more working out. I like to turn on Netflix and exercise as I watch, currently reliving Scrubs. I have also worked out as I am playing video games. Even though its a struggle, starting and getting through the first set is the highest hurdle. Once I am warmed up, I want to do more. I guess it's all about perspective.

In the past few weeks, between the previous blag post and this, I have been fairly busy. A lot of it has been watching Scrubs and working out. The other big sink has been Orson Scott Cards "Ender's Game" and, just recently, "Ender's Shadow" series. I need to write up something about the "Ender's Game" series, as I have been finished with it for a few days and it took me about one month to read the entire 1800ish pages contained in 4 novels. I must once again thank Amanda and Ryan for suggesting them to me. Such a very good series.

As a teaser, if the Appetizer weren't enough, here is a bit more. "Ender's Game" and the rest of the series, focus on a war with an Alien species that had attacked Earth and the general humanity of humanity. Card discussed many interesting facets of the human psyche. The Sci-Fi takes a back seat most of the time, being generally just a setting backdrop.

That's about it for now. Working out, watching what I eat, attempting to lose weight, watching Scrubs, reading, and working. That's been my life the past few weeks. I will get a review(possibly synopsis) of the "Ender's Game" series up soon. Plus I still need to finish recanting my literary journey through at least the end of my high school career. But, if I had already finished that, where would be the plot hook to keep you coming back for more?