Americans Get Fatter

Americans continue to get fatter, with Mississippi and other Southern states leading the way, according to a report issued Tuesday by the advocacy group Trust for America's Health. The report found 29.5% of Mississippi residents were obese. Nine of the 10 states with the highest rates of obesity are in the South, the report says. Florida ranked 38th, with 20.7% of adults being obese.

At the other end of the spectrum, Colorado is the leanest state, with 16.9% of its residents obese — still above federal guidelines, which call for a maximum obesity rate of 15%. California ranked 30th, with 22.7% of residents considered obese. From 2004 to 2005, the percentage of obese people increased in 31 states and stayed constant in the rest. No state showed a decline. "Obesity now exceeds 25% in 13 states, which should sound some serious alarm bells," said Dr. Jeff Levi, executive director of the group. "Quick fixes and limited government programs have failed to stem the tide. The states with the highest rates of obesity are also those with the highest rates of hypertension and diabetes, which are typically associated with fat. The economic costs are devastating," Levi said.

At least 27% of healthcare costs in the United States are a result of obesity and lack of physical activity. No one knows why obesity is so prevalent in the South. Experts typically attribute it to poverty, cultural factors and diet.

The report makes several recommendations for decreasing obesity, few of them surprising. Among them:

• Food manufacturers should change nutritional information to reflect package size rather than serving size to avoid consumer confusion.
• Employers should provide time and facilities for exercise.
• Communities should be designed to encourage walking and bicycling.
• Schools should enforce existing guidelines for physical fitness and improve nutrition in school lunch programs.

This excerpt is from a news story by Thomas H. Maugh II. The obesity report is available online at http://www.healthyamericans.org/

Do It Right!

I am down to 298.0, so I am making progress in the right direction. To avoid having a sore hip, I have been doing my cardio in short stretches. What I have been doing is to spend ten to twenty minutes on any of the cardio machines (treadmill, elliptical, cross-trainer) and then do three to six sets (8-15 reps per set) of weight-lifting (for whatever body part I am working on that particular day: chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, back, etc.) and then go back and do some more cardio. Breaking the cardio into smaller chunks has meant that I hardly ever feel any soreness in my legs, hips, or back. That is good, since it encourages me to work-out more often.

Since I started out back in 2004, I have always been a proponent of getting exercise however you can do it. Whether it is in five minute increments or longer, the point is to get out to the gym or to the park (or where ever) and walk, run, lift weights, etc. I think that a lot of people who are overweight or have other health issues never get back in shape because they try too hard. Many people want to reverse decades of neglect and abuse in just a few short weeks. That is impossible.

When I started out on the road to physical fitness, I could hardly walk (417 lbs.) and I was very realistic. I had spent most of my life eating like a pig and neglecting my physical health. I knew it was not possible to reverse so much abuse unless I dedicated my life to changing my negative behavior. So I started, five minutes at a time. The human body is incredible. If you give it a little love and respect, it can accomplish great things.

Over the past two years of going to the gym regularly, I have seen a few people who start off with a flash and then disappear. Just a few weeks ago I was doing my thing at the gym and I saw this newbie who had already been on the elliptical trainer for a while. I spent about an hour at the gym, and this fat guy never got off the elliptical trainer. He had puddles of sweat on the floor around him. He must have spent at least ninety minutes on the elliptical trainer without taking a break. I have not seen him again.

There are many people like that. They have a look of desperation when they are working out at the gym for the first time. They don't want to be there, but they signed up so they can feel like they are trying. Then they do too much exercise in one day, thinking that they have to be on the same level as the people who have been going to the gym for years. They probably spend the next day or two feeling a lot of muscular pain, and then they may end up thinking of the gym (and exercise) as a painful experience.

Exercise is great in reasonable amounts. Exercise boosts your endorphin levels so that you feel better. Your body will tell you when you can do more, and it will also tell you when you are doing too much. Listen to your body! Good luck to everyone who is trying to lose weight and/or get in better fitness shape. It is a tough road, but if you are smart and patient; then you can make it!!

Finally under 300!

This morning the scale says 299.4, which is great. I did not get much sleep, and I already went to the gym. It has been about eight years since I was under 300 lbs. Sometime in 1998 I blimped past the 300 point. Just to bring back a few memories, here are some photos from the recent past. The one in the green shirt is from March of 2004. I was at around 420 lbs. The photo in the blue shirt is from August of 2004, when I was weighing in at about 390 lbs. The photo in the red shirt is from December 2004. At that point I was at around 371 lbs. It is hard to tell much difference. I actually look fatter in the later photo.
I had started going to the gym in March of 2004, just after my daughter's birthday. I think that at some point, I was sure that I was going to die soon. The people around me looked at me with pity. Anywhere that I went, people stared at me whenever they looked at me. A lot of folks just looked through me, as if I was invisible. I was slowly fading from life due to my morbid obesity.
Why did I start exercising? I saw that look of pity in my daughter's eyes. One day I realized that unless I started losing weight, she would have to grow up without a father. Denial is part of any addictive personality, and most addicts (food, drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.) can BS themselves into the deepest pits of hell. It was the firm conviction in my mind that I was going to die that got me going in the right direction.
Free your mind, and your butt will follow (or move your butt and your mind will follow). I appreciate all of the positive remarks and encouragement that I have gotten from everyone on this blog and at the gym (not to mention my family--they have to put up with the most!). Several people in the past week have told me that they were proud of me. I am flattered and humbled. It feels good to hear that. Unfortunately, I have a long way to go. This is a photo of me today. I am still a 299-pound lard-ass! The journey continues; one day at a time!

300.6 and Tagged?

Today I weighed 300.6 on my digital scale! Then I took my socks off, but the weight stayed the same.

I have been Tagged by Bunnygirl (and I liked it):

Here are the rules: The player of this game starts with "5 weird things/habits about yourself ". In the end you need to choose 5 people to be tagged and list their names. The people who get tagged need to write a blog about their 5 weird things/habits, as well as state this rule clearly, then tag 5 more friends. Don't forget to leave your friend a comment that says "you're tagged!" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1.) "You are unique, just like everyone else." I remember all those Twilight Zone, Mission Impossible, etc., stories where normal looking people were kind of weird. So one of my weird things is that I when I meet new people I wonder if they have any weird stories to tell about themselves.

2.) Fear of Buffet Restaurants- I used to search for them, the buffet restaurants. Back in College, we would visit the Chinese Buffet Restaurants just to see who could eat the most food. The fear of the buffet came many years later when I hit 420 lbs. or so. I remember the last time I went to the Chinese Buffet and had about three plates of food (back in college I could do 4); and I was out of breath from eating too much. That is probably the closest thing to a heart-attack that I can recall. I could hardly get out of my chair, and walking out of the restaurant and to my car seemed like a 26 mile marathon. After that, I have associated the Buffet with a heart-attack.

3.) Fear of compliments?--Another weird one. Perhaps it is similar to fear of friendships? Any time that I have ever done something that caused others to compliment me it has given me some stress.

4.) Fear of parties? Back in 1974, Holy Cross School was having its end of the year dance (New York City). I was in sixth grade, and for the first time ever I got to dance. I danced with Elizabeth Jones, who I really had a major infatuation with. I also got to dance with Maria Delgado (?) who was a very nice girl. We were all in sixth grade at the time (I wonder what happened to them?). Anyhow, that night I felt like a million dollars. The next day, the mood was gone and I never connected with either of those cute girls. My self-consciousness kept me from telling them that I liked either one.

Does anyone remember that DEVO song "Too Much Paranoia?"

5.) Fortune Cookies--I always used to put the good fortunes in my wallet and I would carry them around for months or until I got a new wallet. Back in the old days, they always had some of those cool sayings by Confucius.

I have tagged five people. I hope you will do it, certainly a lot like Truth or Dare. If you want to see another example, check Bunnygirl's blog and see how she did it! The chosen people are Candee, Paul, Kristen, Miss Chris, and Cassie-B. Of course, if you want to tag yourself and post the five weird things/habits, just post a message to let us know, and we'll check your blog (I know I will)!

My Inner Dog

Time for my monthly re-cap. Weight loss was two pounds (1 kilo). I am at 302 lbs. This month I went to the gym 22 times, and I worked out with weights 15 of those times. I spent a total of 835 minutes (13.91 hours) on the elliptical trainer, for an average of 38 minutes of cardio per visit to the gym. Last month I had put in 1,185 minutes, which was down from 1,970 in May.

So what's going on? I am eating less, that's for sure. I am doing about 60% less exercise and I managed to lose a couple of pounds. I have all the inertia of my lifelong history of failure working against me. It is like a mental block. Two steps forward, one step back. I have to get my sh-t together and keep eating less but put more effort into the cardio. I am not upset about my lack of interest in going to the gym.

I have noticed that my inner child is like my dog, Brownie. The more positive attention that I give to my dog, the harder she works to learn and to follow commands. In my experience; animals respond to love, affection, and positive stroking much better than they respond to stress and fear. So today after I walked Brownie; it occurred to me that I should treat myself as well as I treat her. Instead of berating myself for all of my many diet failures, I need to just pat myself on the head and say: "It's OK. You're a good dog."