Mr Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall

Its sort of funny how we think of our bodies....and don't tell anyone.  We give names or titles to our body parts...names that no one ever hears...and that we have no intentions of telling others.

I used to think of myself as a solid wall of fat.  And when I was at 292 pounds, it isn't really that much of a stretch.  I'd look in the mirror and just see so much fat that it just seemed like instead of having layers of fat...I had a wall.

But recently, I've had to change my opinion of how I looked.  While I'm still pretty fat, I don't see that wall anymore.  There are a few spots that I'm actually pleased with.  And those spots have separated my fat into pockets...or fat zones. 

Hey this is pretty big for me!  I have fat ZONES now...instead of a wall.  Here are my zones....

• Bottom of my pecs
• High point of my triceps
• Belly (of course)
• Obliques (darn love handles)
• Top of the thigh

Of course these should reduce as I continue to lose more and more of my overall percentage of body fat.  But the wall is gone...only zones remain.

Injury...ouch

I had a bit if a set back.  Last week my left shin started bothering me.  Since I was just starting a distance challenge with some of my new friends on Spark People, I hoped I could tough it out for awhile.  But after it became clear that it was just getting worse, I decided to drop the challenge and give my pour shin a break.

I've had shin splints before but it has been a long time.  And it isn't near as bad as then.  It isn't the painfully sharp stabbing that I had before.  It is a sort of dull, wrongness.  So most of this week, I've been taking it easy.  I have circuit training tomorrow.  I'll test how I'm doing then.  But no full out running still.

Hi Mom!

My Mom has joined Spark Pages!  She's all excited about the plans and recipes.  She finally got a page setup and started her own blog. 

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=BECKMIT

Good for you mom!  I'm glad you and Dad decided to take better care of yourselves.  Spark People is just the place to help you get started.  The foods they have listed up here are pretty good.  In face here is a low calories snack that anyone can enjoy....

Progress Report

It is really hard to measure progress without my scales.  Not being able to weigh-in is driving me absolutely nutters. 

I sorted out my closet the other day.  Got rid of the shirts that are just way too big on me now.  And found an old button up shirt that I completely forgot about.  It fit...then I looked at the size.  It was a 'large'.  Not an XX-Large....not an X-Large....just a large.  Cool...I wore it to work the next day.

I picked up a size 'large' t-shirt the a few days ago.  It is way to soon to wear it but when looking in the mirror I can see where someday it will be possible. 

I started my new strength training routine last week.  The first week is usually a bust because I spend most of the workout trying to figure out at what weights I should be starting and what my new maximums are.  So today, I started out strong, hit it hard, and had a great workout.

Because of my shin problems, I had to cut out the jump rope...but I replaced it with the row machine.  I have a problem with the jump rope anyway.  I think the one I'm using is too long. 

I guess that's it for this week.  So get off my blog and go walk your butt around the block for awhile. 

Speed Dog!

How Time Flies

Well, this week marks the end to another 6 week period.  And that means that it is once again TIME TO SWITCH OUT EXERCISES!  The body gets used to doing the same thing and eventually gets really efficient at doing it.  Which would be good if I wanted to be good at bench presses.  But that's not what I'm after.  I'm after muscle growth.  So to keep my muscles from getting used to the paces they are put through, I change out most of my weight training routine every 6 weeks. 

I've taken an additional step with my diet.  Eating 5-6 times a day makes food preparation a long process for me.  I've been taking the easy road by using pre-packaged foods for a couple of my meals.  A couple weeks ago I tried stepping away from that and eating only food that I prepared myself.  It has made a huge difference in the amount of sodium I consume....and I'm feeling a bit better too.  I'd like to think I've dropped some additional weight..but I just don't know.

The reason I don't know is because of another change in my life.  Some long time friends of mine have asked me to help them get started on the path to better health.  I won't post much about it because it is their story to tell, not mine.  But one of the things I did for them was to confiscate their bathroom scale so they wouldn't weight in again for a month.  And to support them, I said I wouldn't be weighing in during that month either.  So I have no idea what my weight is doing right now.  I think I'm losing but I can't be sure.  I'll know in about 3 weeks.

I've been getting more serious about running...still on the treadmill but clearing more distance than before...faster...and all that. 

I'm trying to sign up for a walking challenge on Spark People.  I didn't try to get my name onto the list until the last day, so I'm not sure if I'll make it or not.

Speaking of Spark People, my Mom signed up and learning the way of the Spark.  Good for you Mom!

Progress Report

Let's talk about pants.  Remember those size 34 jeans I was so excited about fitting into?  Well, I can already wiggle out of them now.  I don't think I'm ready for size 32 yet but at this rate it won't be long.

I ran out of clean pants the other day and had to wear some of my old size 38s.  Yeah...I looked like I was wearing clown pants.

  Recycled image...lol

Which is pretty funny because that's how I felt about the pants that the size 38s replaced back when I had to buy them.  For that story, be sure to check out TFG Goes Clothes Shopping!

But the thing about that is that the old pants were really getting old and needed to be replaced anyway.  This is time is different.  I've never had to replace pants before that were still in good shape. 

I'm wearing my old XXL shirts less and less.  Opting instead for my XL shirts.  Double X is just looking ridiculous on me anymore.  

Well, that's it for now.  Keeping it short.  Some one told me that I get a bit long winded on my blog.  So I'm going to try to cut back a bit.

Pug says, "Get out of here before I 'cute' you to death!"

Mirrors and other reflective stuff

I get up in the morning and dutifully do my workout...even on days that I just don't feel like it.  And because I push myself to keep to this important part of my daily regiment, I tend to feel more awake, alive....and just a little self righteous.  By the time I get to work, I'm feeling pretty darn good about myself.

And that's where it all comes crashing down on me.  As soon as I get out of my car and start to approach the building, I can see my reflection in the huge glass entryway.  I have to watch myself as I walk up to the door....in that unforgiving glass....that horrible glass.

All that changed about a week ago.  Now before you ask, NO I didn't toss a rock at it.  I wanted to...but I didn't.  Last week when I walked up to the door I didn't look that bad.  I looked ok.  I mean, I'm still fat...I still have a long way to go.  But I don't look bad anymore.

Since then I've noticed that I've been feeling pretty comfortable in my skin.  I'm not so anxious about weigh-ins.  I'm more concerned about pushing my body and seeing what it can do than worrying so much about if I'm losing weight.

That's when something really amazing happened.

I was getting ready for work one morning.  I looked into the bathroom mirror and recognized the person looking back at.  I think only people that gained a bunch of weight and then lost it will truly know what I'm talking about.

For me, getting really fat meant that everyday it because more and more difficult to recognize myself in the mirror.  At my heaviest (292 pounds) my body was so distorted that I didn't know the person in the mirror any longer. 

But now I look into the mirror and I can see....myself.  I little heavier than I remember....and a little older too.  But I know that guy in the mirror.  His name is Robert.

New Picture

Those of you have have been on either www.TokenFatGuy.com or my Spark page, www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=TOKENFATGUY, have probably seen my 3fat picture.

Well, I've been trying to get a good 4th picture added on.  I finally got a good candidate.  So I posted it on Spark and everyone seems to like it so now I'm making it official.  This will be the new 4th picture....

Now let's pull it all four together...

Darn dogs!  Get out of here!

There we go...What's everyone think?

Changes

Before I get into the changes, I must warn everyone that an alligator has been seen wandering around my site.  Try not to be too concerned about it.  But if spotted, be sure to send me an alert.  Do not approach this vicious beast.

Now...on to the changes...

Those of you that entered the site from the front page may have noticed that I took down the top 10 count down.  Truth be told, I wasn't accurately counting it down.  I'd lose 2 pounds and I'd only mark it down once.  Or I'd drop not quite a full pound and I would still count it as a full pound.  I thought it would all average out in the end to about a pound a week.  But in the last 3 weeks I've lost 6.5 pounds....so the count down is pretty much over.  So I'll put something else there.  The count down was fun for awhile...but it is time to move on.

I've updated the weight loss page so the weight loss graph is current up to last Sunday.  I've been updating the copy on my Spark Page and sort of forgot about the other one.

I've made a couple changes on the blog page.  The first was to change how many blog entries are displayed on the current view.  So now when you scroll down, you can see last week's blog entry too.  So if you missed a week, you can find it easy.

The second change the blog was one that I've been wanting to make for awhile.  For my long time readers, you may recall a few special entries I did called "Token Fat Guy's Laws of Motion".  The first of those laws is still referred to as the funniest thing I've written.  But the problem with those entries was you had to dig through the archives to find them.  So I've added them to the 'Links' section in the pane just to the right.  Now you can go to the Laws easily.

I've continued to work on editing the archives to remove the junk characters.  Hopefully, I'll have some time to do that this weekend.

Progress Report

Something amazing has happened.  Back in December, I was experiencing a nasty plateau.  For weeks it seemed like my weight just wasn't going to move.  But I continued to keep trying.  Then my life got turned upside down when I had to make an emergency trip back to my home state of Michigan. 

When I got back, I was delighted to learn that I'd broken through the plateau with a 3 pound loss.  Then the weight kept coming off...and off...and off...

But two weeks ago it finally slowed down.  I barely lost half a pound.  So I'd assumed that I was slowing down again.  I even told a couple of my coworkers that they'd probably seen the last of my 'dramatic' weight loss.  Two days later....I weighed in 3 pounds lighter.

Since my Michigan visit, the following has happened..

• I've lost 14 pounds
• Fit into size 34 pants
• Broken my speed record on the treadmill (again)
• Returned to the weight I was at when my wife and I met
• Dropped down to class I obesity

January has been a good month for me.

Alligator Report

This just in, I've managed to rally some of our dogs into a strong fighting force and they have brought the problem with the rogue alligator to a close.

Now get off my blog!