Whew, Hello

Hi. I was going to write a post about how motivated I feel to exercise and practice fencing, but now that it's so late I just feel drained and dreading tomorrow's early work-day. I believe i'm 217-218 right now.

I said about a year and half ago or more that when I hit 210 I was going to do fencing and badminton. I got a little antsy and couldnt' wait anymore for the fencing. So I decided to order about $200 worth of gear. One of the things they say that locks you into a program is making an investment in it!

So, even though I'll be dog tired tomorrow and the snow is really coming down out there, I've made a monetary investment in the sport of fencing that I hope will take me far. I've begun stretching like Cara's mom showed me, though it will help when Anna is here because many of them are facilitated (partner) stretches. I've just been trying to work the ol' legs out in the meantime, doing splits and lunges and stuff--god it's amazing what hurts me. It's not just getting old, I have a problem, which is very bothersome.

I think I found out how to stretch before a fencing tournament, and I think I will be a little nicer to myself when I lunge--I used to go all out and bang my foot against the ground and really stretch my groin/hip when I threw myself at an opponent. That could be why I'm having problems now? lol.

Anyway, It's 2009. 10 years ago I won the State High School Championship. That's a long time ago. But for 1/3 of my life I've been wondering how far I can go in this sport. Fencing is nice because even though joints and flexibility matter, you're not out once you're older. I'm not THAT old yet, but given the amount of practice hours it takes to become 'elite...' well, let's just say I may be by the time I get there.

No one becomes great over night, but I want to see how far I can go. Who knows what rating or awards are in my future? I'm confident that I can get my E, probably my D, by November of 2010. I think there's some timing and technique I have to get back, but I think I can pull it off. After the D, pursuit of the C... and I'll be a contender at Nats again.

It's been 9 or 10 years since I've been on the scene seriously. I have no idea what advances in the game have been made, except the thorny issue of changing the timing. For all I know foils aren't made the same way anymore (though I'm sure they are).

218 lbs. Overweight now. Fencing is a chance to continue that drop, but it's not the only one. There's badminton, walking, running and of course nutrition. These are all doing good things for me. Here's to keeping them coming.

Expect this blog to take on more of a chronicle of training as that goes. I'm going to try to use this blog to keep myself accountable. It's nice because if it's missing entries, I know that I haven't been thinking about it, and if I write the same excuses or any excuses, I'll know to make myself accountable.

Speaking of responsibility, if I dont sleep now I'll be utterly worthless tomorrow. God it's white out!

nite!
mcsm

I feel awesome today! It's raining a lot, but oh well. My jacket should protect me :) I'm officially 219!!! No longer obese!

I'm liking myself in the mirror more and more as well, too.

I bought some fencing shoes, a glove and a practice foil. Need to stretch more. Off to work!

--mcsm

Today was not the most productive day, as usual. I'm up late, but I'm starving. Very low calorie, low activity day. Boy today was weird. Tomorrow will be better.

MCSM

Resolution for tomorrow

• Hot oatmeal/cereal and fruit for breakfast
• Panera you pick 2 turkey sandwich lite mayo sub field greens, low-fat soup and 1 whole grain baguette, plus an apple
• Bowl of pasta, steamed veggies and toasted everything bread.
• Snack on veggies in fridge.
• Drink lots of water. Avoid pop
• 1 cup of coffee max

--

• Walk 4 miles total
• Stretching
• Sleep at a decent hour
• Zazen

No-sleep binge, where I talk like a schizo.

So Anna's out of town, which apparently means I stay up way later than I'm supposed to. I'm getting a lot of chess playing in, but I'm still not sure the sleep sacrifice is worth it...

...okay, I KNOW it's not worth it, but man what the hell am I doing?

Anyway, today I way 222 still, plus or minus a pound, depending on the day. Shouldnt' focus on the weight TOO much, but I do feel like this is "my" weight when I don't exercise. Now that I'm carless, I walk 2 miles to and from work every day. For a 220 pound guy walking 4 miles at about 13 minutes a mile will net me about 460 calories burned a day. 5 days of work is 2200 calories a week. If I walk 4 miles a day, 7 days a week, I will burn 3120 calories.

2700 Calories burned a week is considered optimal for someone weightin 220 lbs.

Now, this is getting ahead of myself. I need to factor in diet as well as physical activity. A few things:

• Congrats, the physical activity will certainly be helpful in your quest to shed pounds. 3500 less than you NORMALLY consume/expend will lose you 1 pound a week. However, there are other activities you could be doing besides the walking to help you LOSE that weight.
• Smaller or different portions at Panera.... after a visit to the website, 1 whole grain baguette portion is 190 calories. Mayonnaise on the sandwich is 110, cheese is probably 90, and a cup of Creamy Tomato is 300.... I hate to admit it, but I think I know exactly where I need to cut down on what I eat. Fat-free mayo, spicy mustard is okay, no cheese on the sandwich, and only 1 baguette with the soup will cut 280 calories outright. Mediterranean veggie will cut about 200 more. Tomato soup once a week! Low-fat the other days.
• I snack/eat late at night for some reason. I always want a quesadilla at about 11:30 at night. Maybe if I plan for a late-night snack I can avoid this one.
• Use the bike at the workout center. Yes, it's cold as balls. Yes, it may be occupied, but it counts your progress and you like using it.
• Try some anaerobics at home. You have the apartment to yourself for a few weeks, experiment with home-workouts. Maybe a house-hold routine is very good--who knows, a situation where you and Anna take turns using the bedroom or living room for working out could be optimal. Now is a good time to figure out the furniture situation.
• Do fencing and badminton/racquetball you crazy.

So, do I have a plan? No, but I'm glad we had this chat....

Saw 221 on the scale yesterday. Still hovering around in the 221-223 range. I think simply adopting a healthier lifestyle has done the trick so far. I'm two pounds away from being merely "overweight" and not "obese." My current BMI is like 30.1 or something... less than 30 is considered overweight.

I need to continue eating well--somehow I survived the holidays without permanent weight gain-- and continue to exercise. I've been walkign a lot, and that seems to have been quite a benefit. I need to step it up, perhaps by doing some running.

I talked to a friends' mother about my hip problems. She has recommended some good stretches, with the caveat that if I lose control of my bowels or bladder go to the hospital immediately. You got it, doc! But I think they will seriously help.

220=overweight.
210=my target fencing conditioning weight. 1-2 lbs. a week? Today is December 1st. By January 1st I could be at 215. February 1st I could be at 210. I don't really want to wait that long to do fencing conditioning. I also don't that long to lose the weight though. I'm excited!

I guess I should do the responsible thing and set a goal. I'm probably 222 officially still. At least according to Anna's scale. Today is December 1st. I'm going to shoot for 215 by New Year's.

Back to basics then--walking, running, eating right, stretching, and some conditioning. I'm trying to not eat fast food (Panera doesn't count). Hopefully I'll be able to reign that in. With my current budget I shouldn't be indulging in extras to much anyway.

I've been experimenting with minimalism lately. Since I couldn't seem to get away from facebook in a satisfactory way, I manipulated my friend list so that it is only with my closest friends and family, who do not use facebook as a diversion (and therefore don't rope me into it as well). I swear I've gotten more things done online.

I've been thinking of a lot of things I can reduce. I think whatever I can fit into one hamper is plenty. It will keep the place smelling better if nothing else, and I'll have a good place for clothes--I want to try to hang everything up if I can (using the living room closet is acceptable). There's really no reason for a big bulky thing like a dresser--so if I can cease using it, I will be in good shape.

This is for my mental and financial health--I find myself being frequently distracted by the internet. I'm trying to use it instead of let it use me. I have been frequenting chess.com more often. I am doing this with intention and because I enjoy chess rather than because it is a diversion. At least not a harmful, all-consuming one.

I better get to the bank before it closes.
MCSM