The Weight is Over: I'm going to look and feel great this year!
Jan 12 '06 (Updated Feb 14 '06)
The Bottom Line The Weight is Over: my entry in the Diet and Exercise Write-Off!
Normally, I'm not one to make new-years resolutions, but my own personal health (both physical and mental) is of importance to me and it is something I want to improve this year. But here's my latest "getting to know me" type write-off entry, in romasuave's "Diet and Exercise W/O".
1. What is your current Weight? (optional)
213 lbs. It's fluctuated over the past few years in conjunction with how I was feeling mentally. When I was really depressed I got as heavy as 230 - 235 lbs, and about a year and a half ago I got back down to about 189. Sadly, it's gone up.
2. What is your goal weight, or how many pounds do you want to lose?
My ideal weight based on my height and a number of other factors, that I forget at this particular time, is about 170 - 175 lbs. That means I need to shed about 40 lbs.
3. Are you currently on a diet regimen? If so which one?
I'm not on any particular diet, but I've found that the advice given by researcher / nutritionist Gary Null is fairly sound and overall, practical and safe.
When I'm not gorging in junk foods such as chocolate, or sodas & pop, hamburgers or fries, etc. I try to follow a very balanced approach to life.
First, I drink a lot of water, always with a bit of lemon and limejuice. I also try to increase my intake of other juices - both fruit and vegetable. I also don’t drink cow’s milk, as I’m allergic to it (I can drink it in small amounts every now and then, luckily I’m not lactose-intolerant), but I do prefer soy as a regular alternative to dairy milk. I've found a few local companies that produce very good soy milk (some of it tastes like crap) as well as things like soy-yogurt and soy ice cream.
I've never added extra salt onto things, only what a recipe requires and overall I do try to eat balanced meals. While cutting back on red meat, I do consume chicken and fresh, organic wild fish (mainly, salmon), as well as organic fruits and vegetables. Luckily, more and more companies are producing cereals, breads and other products derived from fresh organic products. For example, I love the various organic alternatives that exist as a replacement for whole wheat, by using alternative grain flours like kamut or spelt.
And when I'm more disciplined, I avoid extra sugars, chocolate, cookies, baked goods, chips, chocolate bars and other candy. But right now, I'm not disciplined, and when I'm not disciplined it definitely has an affect on my health and well-being. I feel drained, emotionally and physically, part of that is due to mild depression, which then leads to me not caring about what I eat - so I go for crap I shouldn't eat and then my system gets run down, I'm tired and sleep more and generally feel worse all around.
But I need to get disciplined.
My birth mother died at the age of 53, and we don't have much medical data on my birth family. I was very sick as a child and almost died a few times when I was very young. My adopted mother has developed type II diabetes, and also suffers from heart disease, which her entire family suffers from. She had a major surgery last year to remove blockage from a major blood vessel in the right side of her throat, it was 90% blocked and this spring they will be opening up the left side to clear that out as well. So, at 28, if I want to live a long life, I know I need to live a much more health and physically active lifestyle. I don't want to go overboard with it - our culture seems to push us towards idealized images of what we should all look and feel like but I feel that trying to achieve those ideals can be more stressful than just trying to generally, overall have a more positive outlook on life that also includes eating better and exercising more. In the end, it's all about finding a healthy balance that's right for me.
4. When did you begin your current plan and how's it going so far?
Well, I haven't begun eating properly again. I'm still junking out on crap and sodas, etc. and I haven't exercised in awhile.
I am trying to change this though. I'm taking the bus more now, because in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, doing too much driving can be hazardous to your mental health - it takes longer and longer to get places and people can be very, very rude to other drivers. No one follows the rules, no one stops at stop signs, so many people run yellow and even red lights, in short, it's crazy.
So that's helped. I find when I take public transit more, not only is it cheaper financially than driving with the insane price of gas nowadays, but I walk more. I love walking. It helps provide a destressor to my life.
And that's another thing I'm trying to do – destress my life. I've decided that I'm going to pull back from my work with the Student Association, as with the current political situation things are very chaotic. I didn't do well last term because of it. I've tried to fight the good fight but there is only so much you can do. I'm going to help some friends who are running by helping them run a strong, by the book campaign (even though the book has become corrupt, we're going to hold ourselves to a higher standard and essentially follow the old moral rules that existed for campaigning). I'm also assisting in assembling affidavits for a possible court case that could come up shortly against some people in the Student Association who have committed acts of fraud. And that's all I'm going to do. I can't stress about it anymore, I'm not going to run as a candidate. If I run, I'll put my all into it at the expense of everything else, and it's only student politics.
Time to get on with my life, finish my degree, get back into my first love - the arts and film.
5. What other diets (if any) have you tried in the past? What were the results?
I don't believe in diets. I just try to live a balanced lifestyle.
6. Do you include exercise with your diet? If so what activities or workouts are you performing?
When I was at my best, I was going on a morning bike-ride everyday starting at 5am, going around the entire length of the Vancouver seawall, starting by the Bayshore Hotel and working my way around it all the way, then continuing under the Burrard Street Bridge, the Granville and Cambie Street Bridges, past Science World, and sometimes over to Granville Island, and then up to Broadway, heading eastbound to Main Street, back down towards Cordova and up through Gastown, past Canada Place and finishing where I started, by the Bayshore, at my apartment. It takes about two hours to do this route, it's mainly flat, but it's a long distance and it helped keep me in shape.
And as I also said above, I try to walk a lot. I also like swimming, but I'm far from being any kind of a good swimmer, I may even take some lessons to improve my technique. I'd like to start working out more, and may get a friend who has provided personal training to see if he'll show me the ropes for free. My friend back east has said I should get into something like Karate or Yoga, and I may just do that later on in 2006.
7. What was your most dramatic weight loss?
Never had a dramatic weight loss.
8. Have you ever gained back the weight after a diet? If so why?
Never been on a diet, but when I get depressed I can fall off the boat of trying to live healthy and when that happens, I put on weight.
9. Out of the following: Neck, arms, legs, calves, abs, shoulders, back, chest...which do you feel is most defined?
Arms, back. If I can get myself back on track this year, maybe all of them will be well defined by year's end.
10. Which area from the above mentioned do you feel needs the most work?
romasuave's answer to this is the exact same for me, that is "My abs, I have a bit of a gut forming and my love handles are getting no love from me,
the abs have always been problematic for me."
Here's an inspirational read - Captaind's Top Ten Reasons to Join a Gym.
11. What is your impression of the "real women" ads you see on billboards advertising skin care products (women in white bras and underwear posing and smiling)?
Some of those ads are very hot, it was great to see them on Oprah a few months ago, although I can relate to how a woman must feel when they see the image that society seems to pressure onto them, because I know I'm not perfect - I'm far from being the chiselled soap opera or rock star hunk you see on TV although sometimes I wish I was, as if that would make more socially acceptable. In the end, it has to come down to how you feel inside as an individual, without relying on or holding yourself up to the perceived standards imposed upon us by North American pop-culture and the marketing wizards behind today’s supposedly hot brands. Sadly, too many of the latest and greatest fad diets play into this marketing driven culture of ours that is always trying to reposition us and redefine who we are as individuals based on a preceived set of needs and wants that may or may not be honest or true.
Read More About Me...
Steve's responses to his: DO YOU KNOW CANADA QUIZ Write Off... (New!)
Bon-Appetite: My Entry in the Food-Lover's Write Off (New!)
What Lies Within: A Memoir (New!)
On my involvement in 2 Non-Profit Organizations
The Knowing Me, Knowing You Write-Off Survey
My thoughts on writing utensils...
WHICH WEATHER CAN YOU WEATHER?
1994: When I was 17...
All About Me...
And, if you haven't already done so, please participate in my DO YOU KNOW CANADA QUIZ write off...
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Member: Steven Lee
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Reviews written: 173
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