Yup, it's a Resolution Blog

And of course I pick an old fave, losing weight and taking better care of myself. So here we go, logging everything I eat, how much I weigh, my BF%, exercise, feelings and observations, and anything else I feel might relate. Maybe even recipes and tips. Yesterday I am not counting because it was still officially in the holiday eating spree, so I reserve the right to not beat myself up over that.

My diet and health philosophy is that I don't deny myself anything. I simply think about the effects of what I'm eating and decide if I want it or not. I started this food lifestyle last May when I was 240 lbs and didn't care what I ate or how much, and my size and physical conditions made it very difficult to exercise at all, even if I wasn't a lazy ass bum. I started with tossing out foods that were over 30% calories from fat and anything with high fructose corn syrup. Not denying myself, just realized those things were NOT WORTH IT and were the biggest source of my physical unhappiness. I started concentrating on whole grains, less meat, and more veggies and fruits, fresh and whole as possible. It took about three weeks to retrain my palate, but honestly, when I do indulge in the occasional high fat or processed splurge now, I don't like the taste and flavor as much as I like healthy alternatives. I also started paying attention to portions. Once a week I measure to keep myself on track and I aim for 1200 to 1500 net calories a day total. So far I've dropped 50 lbs and my injury and pain downtimes have gotten fewer and shorter. My target is to get down to around 135 with a BMI of about 20-25.

Exercise-wise I'm using a recumbent stationary cycle, an airwalker, biometrics (Greer Childers' 7-minute workout), light weights, tai chi, qigong, budokon (a combination of yoga and martial arts), and walking. Coming off a chronic hip issue (inflammation of the SI joint) and bilateral knee arthritis, I'm working slowly back into the exercise routine I had going last summer, starting with the 7-minute workout daily and alternating cycling and walking over 6 days, resting on Sundays.

My starting weight as of Jan 2, 2008, is 190.4 lbs with a BF of 41.4% and a BMI of 31. Let's get that down a bit, shall we?