Tag Archives: weight loss

Why Weight Loss is Like Flopping in the NBA

Posted on by

This week, David Stern and the overlords in the NBA stated that it will begin to fine for flopping starting this season. There has already been outcries from the flopingest of the floppy such as Blake Griffin. For those of you who don’t watch the NBA, flopping, like in soccer, involves faking a foul like a hit in the face. This usually results in a fall to the ground, which reminds us all why we all hate fakers.

Here’s some of the worst of the worst…

So how is the Fotographing Fat Kid going to parallel this to weight loss? (I’ve never used third person before. Hmmmm…)

When you are trying to change your diet or trying to exercise more, you tend to start out really strong and full of excitement. Then around week 6, you tend to give in a little. Maybe you’ll skip a day at the gym, you might eat that piece of cake that you wouldn’t usually eat, or you do both. Then, you flop. Something goes wrong and you throw yourself down to the floor like a kid going in to a tantrum. “OMG MY DAY WAS TERRIBLE! A BIRD POOPED ON MY CAR AND THE CASHIER AT THE BANK DIDN’T TELL ME TO HAVE A NICE DAY WHEN I LEFT AND MY DOG TOLD HIS THERAPIST THAT HE WAS SICK OF MY ANTICS!!!!!!!!” That’s when you go to the fridge, look at that tub of ice cream and say “you’re all mine.” Then… you binge.

It’s easy to get tied up in thinking about what you think deserve when you want something that you know you shouldn’t have. Usually, you know deep down on those kinds of days that you want to cheat on your diet or your exercise. You want to find a reason not to keep your routine. So, you flop and while you think you have earned it, you are just pushing yourself further away from your goals. These are the kinds of days that make or break your health fortitude.

My advice on how to handle these days? Really think about whether you need that cheating trigger. Odds are, you can talk yourself out of it. Right now, I can hear the internet trolls wringing their hands, “but FFK, you shouldn’t deprive yourself!!!” Well know what? Half of my success so far has come out of doing things that others think are crazy, like having self control on things like full-fat dessert and things like that because I knew how much extra time running or lifting I would have to do to burn that off instead of burning off the weight that I have already gained. I’m absolutely not saying I’m perfect, but I have seen what works for people and it usually involves going outside of the “if it feels good, do it” mantra.

So the next time you’re ready to flop, think to yourself “is my healthy really going to benefit from this?” and then remember you’re ultimate goal and move on. You got this!

Day 746: Why Jennifer Livingston Is Awesome Edition

Posted on by

Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will hurt our hearts.
-Mrs. Robinson’s Classroom

This quote was on the wall of my homeroom class in 6th grade. It was my first day at a new school in a new town where I didn’t know anyone. “You see, sometimes we don’t realize how powerful our words can be” Mrs. Robinson explained after reading the quote. “Even if we don’t mean them to be. That’s why we need to watch what we say.”

This week, a viral video spread this week with a brave news anchor who stood up to a bully. She told her viewers that it was okay to be comfortable in their own skin.

I know a lot some people don’t think that the e-mail he said to her wasn’t bullying and if anything she was the one bullying him. These people are defining the word “bully” as someone abusing their position of power to control or harm others. To those people, I have to whole-heartedly disagree with you. Words are powerful. We can wield them to do great things and we can abuse them to hurt others, even driving some to end their own lives. In this “golden age” of communication where everyone has their own personal soapbox (also known as a Facebook page,) we all feel the need to share our opinion, not matter how ill-informed or toxic it will be received. We have reached a time where bullying is no longer exclusive to some, but accessible to all. We have to be better as a society. We need to be okay with people standing up for themselves. This anchor didn’t swear, she didn’t insult this man or his family, heck she didn’t even use his name on the air. She retaliated by creating a teachable moment out of it. She reassured us that it’s okay to be us.

Last night on my run, a guy on a bicycle called me fatso. (“How’s it going fatso?” to be exact.) how did I respond? Did I yell back at him? Did I hurl personal insults at him? Did I throw a stick in his spokes? No. I retaliated by running faster, pushing myself harder. In fact, I broke a personal record last night. I made myself better. That’s what we need to learn from Jennifer Livingston’s response, that we should make something great out of other people’s ugliness.

I’m proud of her courage and the example she has set for all of us. If I had heard an anchor say the things she said when I was little, I would have been a different person. Thankfully, I turned out okay anyway.

Thank you Jennifer. Way to brush them shoulders off.

 

See ya tomorrow.

Day 745: First Wordless Wednesday in October

Posted on by

Sick of the debates? Me too. Here’s picture of food I eat and stuff.

 

Day 744: Weigh In Time!

Posted on by

So I’m back!!!!!!!

I have eaten well all day, I got a little exercise in and I’m back on the awesome wagon!

So like I thought, I did gain this week, but it wasn’t near as bad as it could should have been. I gained .4 pounds so I’m back up to 228.4. At least I’m still in the 220’s. I’m shooting to lose a good amount this week but we’ll just see! Either way, it won’t be for a lack of trying. Good stuff!

Breakfast: I just had an English muffin and peanut butter 3.5 points 

Snack: Today, I made sure that I had plenty of snacks at my disposal to snack on to fight off the candy around the office. So, in the morning, I ate a banana and a Fage yogurt with honey. It was fantastic. 3 points 

Lunch: We had some leftover taco meat from taco and cheesecake night (yeah…that actually happened) on Friday. So I weighed out 4 oz of meat, and put it on two delicious La Tortilla tortillas that are only 50 calories and 7 grams of fiber. Oh yeah, and a TON of salsa. For dessert I had two oranges. 8 points. 

Snack: I was offered half of a rice krispy treat from my boss, couldn’t say no to that (not gonna lose my job over refusing a rice krispy treat 🙂 ) plus, they are the beast dessert option while on a diet. It was only 1 point! 

Exercise: Tonight I had a softball game which was fun! I got a couple of hits, a couple RBI’s so that was fun. Sure we lost, but it’s still fun to get out there. Anyway, I really really really really really really really wanted to go for a run when I was done because I wanted to try out my new shoes. I guess I’m going to go out for a run in the morning since it will be in the mid 60’s (is it sad that I’m thinking about wearing a hoodie since it will be “so cold?”)

Dinner: I had some leftover chili and chips with a little cheese. It was only 11 points.

So that’s it for the day! I got to 26.5 points which is awesome. I haven’t eaten so little and been so full in a while. The key? fruits and veggies yo!

See ya tomorrow.

Day 743: Catching Up With You!

Posted on by

Hi. How are you?

I know, I know, it’s been a while. Let me show you what I have been doing…

I got these awesome bad boys, (You like?)

This came in the mail from the awesome folks at Weight Watchers,

And I drew this on my whiteboard at work because I need to buy some Halloween decorations for my office.

Now that we got that all figured out, let’s talk. I have been really crummy with my eating lately. I’m just hungry…a lot. I’ve been eating veggies and fruit a lot more, but meaningless carbs seem to rule my life. What’s even worse is that I don’t even feel like I deserve to have a lose tomorrow, I really don’t. This past week has proved to me that you really can’t lose weight without both diet and exercise. Sure I ran 7 miles on Saturday, played racquetball on Wednesday and did some weight training on Sunday, but if the calories aren’t in check, it just doesn’t work. So that’s where I’m at right now. While I did do better today, I still ate a cupcake, two cookies and some candy. The thing is, I used to be able to say no to sweets when I was on my weight loss game, but now I even go out of my way to get candy from a co-worker’s office (let me clarify, I don’t steal their candy, there’s just a communal jack-o-latern.) So with this time of the year coming up, the sweet temptation is going to be there and I need to be better, especially because when I break 200 pounds, I’m going to buy an awesome spin bike so I really won’t have an excuse to work out. No matter what, there will always be an exercise machine waiting to be used in our spare room. Right now, I’m about 28 pounds away, which seems like nothing when I’m on my weight loss game, but an eternity on days like today. Tomorrow is going to be a rough weigh-in, I know it will be, but whatever happens, you will see points of my food. Now I’m ready to start. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 693: Gaining Confidence

Posted on by

Hello!

I can’t flipping wait for college football. It’s only a few days away and it feels like flippin’ Christmas morning.

20120827-215237.jpg

So sorry about not post the last few days. We went out to beautiful St. George Island for the annual Musicology beach trip. We swam with dolphins, ate delicious food and hung out with great friends.

Yesterday I was going to post, but then I fell asleep while watching an episode of Doctor Who. On Sunday, I had a massive non-scale victory. Our church is putting together a softball team for a city league and our first practice was yesterday afternoon. The last time time I played softball, I was embarrassing and when I say that I mean I felt embarrassed when I was playing. All during undergrad, I was the intramural team joke. I had fun and I made people laugh, but in all reality I was a waste of a player. The last time I played softball, I went to swing, I farted in mid-swing and struck out. I uttered “I hate my life.” While I meant it in a humorous way, the reality was that I was in a dangerous position. I was on the cliff of my life taking a turn for the worst. Sure, I was a pseudo-active 350-pounder, but I knew I was one injury away from gaining a lot of weight because that’s what happens when you’re that size.

As I was saying…so yesterday, I was a little worried about how it was going to go, but I that all changed when I went up to bat and clocked it. In our scrimmage, I was 5 for 5, had an RBI and had 4 runs. I was whipping around the bases like crazy. It felt awesome. Don’t get me wrong, I’ sore as all get out today, but I feel awesome. Earlier this week, I thought about what would happened if I did gain a significant amount of weight from just being laxed about food. After being actually competitive in sports affirmed the doubts I was having. This work is paying off, I won’t lose sight of that again. See ya tomorrow for a weigh in that could go either way.

Buying New Running Shoes? Here Are Some Things You Need to Know!

Posted on by

I love infographics, especially when it’s from a company that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Thanks REI for making something so awesome!              Are you looking for shoes? Did this help? Let me know!