Weight Loss...slow going

Why did I let myself get so fat in the first place?  I am the cautionary tale of how bad eating habits will come back to haunt you later in life.  I ate horribly.  I ate too much.  I ate unhealthy foods.  I could go on and on.  Now I am in my 40's, and really want to lose weight, but doing so is not easy.

I weighed myself, and as of yesterday, I am still at 259 lbs, which is right in the range of where my weight has been for more than a year.

I personally do not believe in diets, because I feel they do not solve the problem that most overweight people have...bad eating habits.  I have been working on this for a long time and have been able to lose about 60 lbs over a 7 year period and keep it off.  But I have plateaued.  Up until now losing weight did not take much effort, but now I can see it will take much more effort to get this excess fat off.

I feel I am doing the right things.  I am eating less and exercising a lot more, but there is much more I can do.  I now see that I am going to have to be much more militant about what I eat, if I am going to make my goal to lose 50 lbs within the next year....Stay tuned

a breakthrough of sorts

I have been a diabetic for 9 years, and had read about how important exercise was, but did not really listen.  I am now rapidly becoming convinced that exercise is essential in controlling blood sugar.  I have to also admit that there are times in the past that I have not done a good job controlling my blood sugar.  In fact I had not gone to the doctor for a while, and was sure that I was completely out of whack.  Well, since I have recommitted myself over the past 6 months, I have been really frustrated.  During the day I could, through diet and medication, keep my blood sugar down in the range that it is supposed to be.  However, when I would wake up in the morning, take a blood sugar reading, even when I had eaten well  (low carbs, no dessert, etc) my blood sugar would spike (usually between 170-200), which is actually not that uncommon for some suffers of diabetes.  This was in fact extremely discouraging.

Well, since I have been exercising (riding my bike) 3-5 times per week, I am now starting to notice that my blood sugar has started to come down in the morning.  I did a 19 mile ride yesterday morning (will do a recovery ride this afternoon) and my blood sugar readings all day were right where they were supposed to be.  Last night I was hungry and ate a bunch of crackers, which I was sure was going to cause my blood sugar to spike even worse than normal during the night.  This morning, my reading was 150.  Yes it was 20 points too high, but in the past even if I had eaten right, my blood sugar would be way out of whack when I would wake up in the morning.   Thus, I think I have made a big discovery.   Exercise is essential.

Remember, my experiences are anecdotal.  Each person is different.

Usury Pass Kicked my #$%@

My good friend, a paralympian and former world class wheelchair sprinter, convinced me that we should go ride the Usury Pass loop bike ride(he rides a hand cycle).  This loop is 18 miles long includes a 3 mile climb.  The climb is not steep, but it is a straight climb with absolutely no rest anywhere along that climb.  I told my friend I was probably not ready for it, but I would give it a try.

I went through a plethora of emotions during the climb.  First, I swore at my friend, who dropped me, because i was too slow.  I kept saying to myself, "I told you I wasn't ready for this."  Second, I could have sworn buzzards were circling me, waiting for me to die.  And third, I was supremely humbled when this sixty something year old man and his wife rode by me as I had stopped for the fourth time (I stopped at least three more times), showing no signs of fatigue, asking me if I was ok as they went by.

I did do it though.  I probably stopped more times than I should have, but I had several issues going on.  First, the lactic acid built up so fast in my legs that I would quickly have very little strength.  When I ride on my normal flat rides, I can pedal for a while, and then when the lactic acid builds up in my legs I can rest and coast for a while until my legs feel better.  On this climb, if I rested I slowed down almost to a complete stop, and since I was clipped into my pedals, I became fearful that I was going to fall over, because I would not be able to get my shoes out of the pedals.

But it was the first time in a while that I really felt huge.  Carrying an extra 50 lbs on a ride like this is frustrating.  I sure hope to be able to lose weight over the next year or so.

I do know, however, that I am getting in better shape.

Oh, and I am going to try that ride again in two weeks.

Ready for Usury Pass Loop? Not sure

I hate running.  My daughter, an accomplished cross country runner (#1 on HS team), loves it and would kick my behind if i dared race her.  But I have never liked running.  Even when I wasn't a fatty, I did not enjoy it.  It was not my thing.  Now that I am older and have the aches and pains of a middle aged man, running is painful.  A while back i bought some pretty nice running shoes and wanted to start jogging/running to get into better shape, but wnen I went out with my wife on my first jog, I immediately felt a good amount of pain in my knee that i have had trouble with for years, and realized that this might not be good for me, at least while I am carrying this extra weight.

I do, however, love cycling.  Even though I have not had a bike in more than 20 years, I always enjoyed riding one.  I grew up in a time where my friends and I rode our bike everywhere.  I served an LDS mission and rode a touring bicycle for most of that.  I had wanted to get a road bike for years and years, but never made it a real priority.  But recenlty I purchased one, and have been riding to get in better shape and hopefully to help me lose weight as well.  

I have a very good friend who is a disabled athlete (former US Paralympian) who also recently got a hand cycle and we have been going riding together.  We have done several 14 mile rides around our neighborhood.  I also have been riding on my own a few times a week (12-15 miles is my usual ride).  We are preparing to ride in the 40 mile version of El Tour De Tuscon on November 20.  Tomorrow, we have decided to tackle the Usury Pass loop that many cyclists ride.  It has a solid 3 mile climb, followed by 5 mile downhill ride and the loop is just over 18 miles.  I am sure it will wipe me out. 

The one thing I am learning though, is that exercise, in addition to diet is crucial to keeping control of my blood sugar.  When I do a ride, my blood sugar tends to balance me out some.  I will be posting my levels soon. 

Hopefully tomorrows ride won't kill me!

Its time to start

How do I start this blog without sounding clichéd.  There really is no way, so I will just start.

My name is Greg, and I am a fatty and a type 2 diabetic.  The former, however is hopefully about to change.  I am not sure much can be done about the latter.  I have heard that weight loss may help stabilize my glucose levels.  Whether this is true or not, I am not all that concerned about.  What I am trying to do is to make a make some life-changes--mainly to eat better and to exercise more often (hopefully daily).  

My plan for losing weight is two fold.  The first part is simple.  I plan on cutting my caloric intake to around 1600-1800 calories per day, and limit my carbohydrate intake.  I am not a believer in "fad" diets, and I have been somewhat successful in the past losing weight, by simply changing how I eat.  

The second part is to start an exercise regiment.  I have purchased a road bicycle and have been riding it a few times per week On Saturday I rode 23 miles and yesterday I rode 16.6 miles.  I am hoping to do something each day.  A friend of mine and I are riding in El Tour De Tuscon.  We plan on riding the shortest race this year (40 miles).  Its going to be tough, but is a nice goal to work toward. 

I weighed myself this morning.  I was at 263 lbs.  My goal is 205 lbs.  Once I get there, I will determine if I need to lose more or if this is a good weight for my body type.

Stay tuned for some before pics, including one from many years ago when i was truly a fatty.