State of stuff

I figured I'd just jump in and say what has been going in IRL for the few of you who read this and DON'T see me on a regular basis!

Amongst other things, I've been working very hard at personal organisation and self-actualisation (oooo, Kurt Goldstein reference!) to get my head together. Part of this has meant curating personal life a bit and focusing. Sooo...

1. I can finally say that I know how to play guitar. I play reasonably OK and enjoy it. I even formed a rock band! Playing music is the most fun thing I do.
2. I cut a lot of my Warhammer army. I didn't play it much and when I did, it wasn't particularly fun. I kept enough for playing kill-teams which is about the scale of battle I enjoy.
3. Playing RPGs (as seen by all the sessions notes I post here). I've fallen in love with the Starfinder setting/game and hope to run and *gasp* complete a campaign of it!
4. Yeah, not doing computer games. They just don't really speak to me anymore. What I liked about CoX was not just running around being a superhero, but having friends in the virtual world. No other game does that as well and most CRPGs are just "meh" anymore.
5. Reading a number of comics beyond KODT including: Domino (currently being written by Gail Simone, Pathfinder, and Trade Paperbacks I find interesting.
6. Managed to fix my focus so that I can actually successfully read books a bit more. Not as much as peeps I know, but better.
7. Work just isn't going to define me. I have what I do to earn money, and I leave it at the end of the day. To maintain a puritan work ethic, I have to like what I do a LOT more than what I do to get cash.
8. Listening to many podcasts - I may talk about those in another post.
9. Not as much TV but more movies.

If the spirit moves me, I might talk about all of these a LOT more in depth. We will see!

Diet and Fitness Update - 5 Months into "My Last Diet"

First of all, it's worth reading this post from October or at the very least this post from January on My Last Diet.

Since October, I've more or less been eating in moderation and working out at least 4 times a week at the YMCA in the "G.I.T. Fit" Class. Its based on the principles of Crossfit and many of the workouts resemble that.

Oddly, I've lost NO weight - and I'm OK with that. I've dropped two pants sizes and I went from huffing and puffing after a quarter mile to running 1.25 miles non-stop. I went from doing 18" step-ups to 24" box jumps. I even learned how to swim! I still have a ways to go before I finish carving fat off of my body, but I've made more progress in five months that I have in the previous 39 years.

Details of what I've been doing can be found here. I've been mini-blogging on the Nerd Fitness forum tracking my progress. Eventually, I plan to collect my observations into a few cogent posts here.

I will probably post more on this, but I wanted to share my experiences thus far. Its been working - I'm getting healthier.

Finally, on Saturday I ran the Spartan Race.

From Mar 27, 2011

I CAN FLY!

HOOOO YEAH! 24" BOX JUMP!

My Last Diet

As you may be aware, I've been busting my butt since October trying to get thinner AND fitter. I've been calling this "My Last Diet" because this is the one that will work (and IS working) and the one I'm going to be on for the rest of my life. I'm also going to need to watch what I eat. Some people can get away with not thinking about it, but I'm not one of them.

I've always said (even at my fattest) that the real key to losing weight is to eat right and exercise. I still maintain this. The trick is that if you are trying to do that, and it isn't working, you aren't trying HARD enough.

I am now working hard enough. Aside from doing Y-Extreme Fit at the local YMCA I've also been counting calories. Calorie counting works. Need proof? See Tyler and Matt. And soo, you will see ME.

Yes, I did loose a ton of weight after gastric bypass surgery - however, I do not recommend it! There are complications, you don't feel well, and it screws up a lot of things about your life. Worst of all, there is NO guarantee you will keep it off. I know - my weight started creeping back up. So, I said to my gut in my best Gandalf voice, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

Today, I'm eating right, counting calories, and exercising. I FEEL GREAT!

So I decided to share what I'm doing with regard to eating in hopes of helping out the 3 of you who read my blog!

Eating Plan:

My total calories each day are less than 2200. I always infuse protein immediately following my workout (usually skim milk + a scoop of whey powder). I TRY to design my weekday breakfast and lunch as follows:

• No MORE than 1/3 of my calories come from as low glycemic carbohydrates as I can get (die sugar! Go Fiber!)
• No LESS than 1/3 of my calories from protein (preferably complete proteins)
• the rest in fats of 30% Omega-3's and 60% Omega-6's
• Drink Minimum of 1 gallon of water per day

Obviously, I do not always hit these guidelines; that's OK, it's a target to aim for.

I should also note, that after doing this a while, I've been breaking up my meals. While I may go grab my Favorite Chipotle Salad for lunch (I'll post on that later) I usually eat about half of it at lunch time, and then the rest a couple hours later. I'm starting to do the same with dinner.

Yes, my weight has been coming off. My clothes are fitting better. I have enough energy.