My last post was a) from Japan, and b) about WoW, neither things of which I am involved with at the moment. Never mind that it was also from over a year ago (15 months maybe?).
Well, I guess with the plethora of time I have, I think I'll update this. Mostly random musings, which I usually do on Facebook. My friend and voracious blogger
Rob seems to cross-post all the time.
So, what new? All my (very few) readers will know that I'm back in Canada. I am also currently unemployed, a fact about which I am currently ambivalent.
(Actually, not quite so ambivalent since seeing a recent credit card statement, and then paying said credit card statement, and then seeing its effects on my ever-shrinking bank balance. This has prompted me to a) get real and start tracking my finances, and b) re-evaluate my spending habits.)
Of perhaps more relevant news is my recent go at weight-loss. In the first two months of my return to Toronto, I fell into the very bad (for my health) habit of eating. A LOT. My routine was play games all day, and eat chips. Repeat for about 60 days.
No, certainly not good.
I suppose the major kicker was a photo taken for an application for my MA TESOL degree, which I hope to start in January. I have a mirror on my desk, which I use to check my teeth, trim nose-hairs, and other facial hygiene related things. As it's on my desk, I'm usually hunched a little forward, in FPS mode. This means my chin is out, which pulls the fat on my neck back. HAHA! NOT FAT!
Then of course I took a picture, in which I must stand tall, shoulder back, chest slightly out. This is the more realistic representation of me, and wow it was apparent just how fat I had become.
To give a concrete example, when I left Japan, I was probably clocking in around 97 kg. In the two months that followed, my weight went up to 103 kg. All that was pure fat.
AND IT SHOWED! Did it ever show!
I'll estimate that I was consuming between 2500 to 3500 calories a day, and the only exercise I was getting was with a keyboard and mouse.
At the beginning of November, I decided that I would begin my dieting. The old adage of eat less move more is ever my guiding principle, so the first thing on my list was to limit my caloric intake. I am now on a diet of 1800 calories a day, excepting Sundays which is my cheat day.
At the beginning, I was hard-pressed to keep to this limit. I knew immediately that I would have to cut out all the junk food. I also cut out the majority of my carbs at dinner. Lunch is almost always a 6-inch Subway sandwich.
Yes, I am on the Subway diet, and it's working.
My initial problems were hunger. I don't think there's any real cure for this but to wait until your stomach gets smaller. Now into my 3rd week of dieting, I find that I can easily to till 1 or 2 in the afternoon before getting REALLY hungry. Plus, the Subway and soup fill me up pretty good.
Next on my list was tracking what I ate. If anyone reading this is serious about losing weight, I seriously suggest this. Search this blog for dieting posts, and you will most certainly find that doing this was a key component for me for losing weight. Now, the fact that I keep rebounding is another thing entirely, but the fact remains that this is a weight-loss tool par excellence.
Next consideration is exercise. I am living a fairly sedentary lifestyle, with no work to burn calories. That's bad. Initially I started doing just push-ups (inclined, girly-man push-ups because I am weak). It didn't last long because I was doing them only semi-regularly (like every time I went upstairs), and soon they disappeared entirely.
Oh how I wish I had shipped my Bowflex dumbbells from Japan!
I toyed with the idea of buying them again here, but the price-point always seemed too high. But instead, my eyes turned to kettlebells.
Right now, these things are rocking my world.
Small, versatile, and a good weapon in a pinch!
OK, maybe not the weapon part. But the idea is bafflingly simple and perfect for my situation. Generally speaking, my routine will involve carrying them up stairs (modified farmer's carry), swings, and either shoulder presses, chest presses, or cleans.
Alright, enough blathering. What are the results? Sadly, I left my Tanita Body Fat Weight Scale at home, and all I have here is a crappy (but stylish) digital bathroom scale.
There you go. Where as previously I had done a crazy caloric restriction (which unsurprisingly led to massive weight-loss), I'm doing a more modest 3-4 pounds per week, or about 1.5 kg a week. So far so good. I went from a start weight of 101.3 kg, to my current 97.9 in about 2 weeks. I plan on keeping this up until I hit my personal best of 85 kg, at which point I'll re-evaluate my goals/lifestyle.
Phew, long ass post. Next ones will be shorter, I promise ;)
