Excercise for weight loss

Just a brief note to send my thanks to Jack Mecham and to recommend his blog and in particular an inspiring article called Exercising for weight loss at: http://blog.mattmecham.com/2007/05/14/exercising-for-weight-loss/
Now don’t get all hysterical and start leaping out of windows or hiding behind the sofa. Jacks article, certainly for me is inspiring and on the nail; it isn’t about running miles coughing and choking in the dark with a paper bag over your head to hide your identity from the neighbours “Oh look there’s that fat bloke trying to run around the block again.”
No don’t worry, it’s about the relevance of moderate resistance training to tone your muscles. The equation in Jacks terms is that the better the muscle form the more weight loss. In his own words: “A lot of people fear weight training because they assume that they’ll end up like Arnie in his prime. That’s simply not true. Arnie put in years and years of hard 6 day a week training to achieve his physique. Our aim is to increase our muscle mass and definition, commonly known as ‘to tone’”.
Hey I’m already on the web looking for a cheap set of weights.

My Weight Loss

My weight loss journey

My Weight Loss
My Name is Al and I am many things but currently I am 52 years old, 6ft and I weigh in at 22 stone. For those of you who measure in lbs that is 308 lbs, in Kilos, 139.7 kilos. I am starting this blog on day one of my weight loss programme. If I don’t lose up to 5 stone then I am highly likely to die young.
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Journal of Weight Loss journey
I am writing this blog as a record for myself and anyone who is interested about my journey to establish a permanent healthy eating pattern and loss of weight.

Professional Therapist
I am also a professional therapist and have specialised over 30 years in working with people achieve recovery from Alcoholism and Addictions. Today I put my money where my mouth is and practice what I preach. Below or somewhere near I will list some of the therapeutic ideas or steps I will be using to make this thing work. To enable this to work I chose to believe the following beliefs:

* All or most diets work if you work them.

* The best diets for me are fairly rapid but not too quick – don’t want bingo wings after all.

* The diet must involve a fair degree of lifestyle eating behaviour change.

* It’s not the diets or changes that don’t work; it is my failure to keep up with the programme that makes it not work.

* Like many things dieting or changing lifestyle is a mental task as much as behavioural – the inner game of change.

* I have all the inner resources I need to achieve this goal or goals.

* To be successful I need to employ whatever resources necessary to ensure moving forward on a day to day basis.

* I chose whatever beliefs empower my success provided no harm comes to others or small animals.

* This list is open to daily additions when necessary.

* Never throw the baby out with the bath water.

* Keep it simple stupid.

The why of it
How did I get this big? 30 years of sitting in a sedentary job, low threshold for exercise, formerly very heavy smoker, asthma, repeated diets over 25 years and eating more than I burn up, fat genes and the most important – I love food.

Thin Vs Fat
Some people are thin and eat huge amounts; some are thin and are food sensitive or food phobic even. I am a big guy, (a mesomorph) who loves cooking and eating food; taste is an important sense for me. I say, never trust a thin chef and don’t trust thin people to tell you or advise you about weight loss. How can they possibly understand, they cannot know what it is like to be food inclined or weight inclined.

Philosophically speaking
In the past I tended toward the philosophy, ‘accept yourself and love who you are whatever size you are.’ I still believe this to be true. Our culture is far too hung up on thinness and looks in its search for eternal life through suspended youth. We all grow old, droop, have wrinkles, blemishes, our parts start to hang rather than bounce or spring and for some, weight gain comes sailing a long with it. Thank God we don’t have to maintain the obsession of perfection which comes through that painful adolescent period of spots and ever changing body and hormones. However, for me, at this point in my life, I am having trouble carrying this weight around. My ankles and my knees struggle when I get up. My lower back hurts with just normal stuff, I have arthritis and my weight is making life a lot more difficult. My asthma plus weight means that exercise is more difficult. All in all I have to lose weight to ease the strain on my struggling body. If I was a horse they would take me out and shoot me b’ god.

Fat Mans Shop
I have run out of options with normal clothes shops. I spotted a ‘Big & Tall’ clothes shop the other day and went in to try and find a jacket. – Oh how the mighty fall. Gone, it would seem are the days of Next clothes shopping, even Primark security guards stand at the entrance shaking their heads as I try to enter. “Go away fat boy” they seem to say.

When I was a boy I thought like a boy
Oh I should say that since a boy I always thought I was fat: As I look through the old photos anyone can see that I was just normal –a big tall lad. When I figure out this Blog thingy I will put up some photos. What has happened is that I have made this delusional belief come true.

I come from the land of big bikes!

Step 1: Face the truth, no running away or hiding from what you know. Look in the mirror; don’t hold your breath, tense up or otherwise bullshit yourself. This is what has become of your body due to your combined behaviours, attitudes and beliefs. This has to stop now.

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