Fit by 60! - TomO's Pledge

Good on ya Tom!

Plateau's suck. Bottom line. I wish I could be so positive about mine, but its been going on for some time now. (like A MONTH!!!) Oddly enough the weight has gone up and down, but my waist is still getting smaller. I don't think it muscle mass however, since I haven't been training with weights as much...

Ahh well, your continued good attitude helps me to keep going and keep my chin up. Nice to see how hard you are working, you definitely deserve the day off.

I wish my poor little mother were so motivated. She like us, is on a weight loss journey, but she has just turned 60 and is now starting to feel that now it is simply too late. 60 = old = almost impossible. I try to encourage her as much as possible, since 60 isnt old at all, and even though not as easy as being 20, it is not impossible either. I have given her the link to this site and I hope she reads your diary among others, so she can see that 60 could be just the beginning and that it doesnt need to be the end of the world!

Keep up the good work buddy! Thanks for sharing!

sirant
 
sirant said:
I wish my poor little mother were so motivated. She like us, is on a weight loss journey, but she has just turned 60 and is now starting to feel that now it is simply too late. 60 = old = almost impossible.
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60 is too old?? I hope not! I'll be 59 in 4 months, so your mom isn't that much older than I am.

But it is harder when you get older, I won't deny that. At least it is for me.

However, being older does confer some benefits. Not that I would call myself wise, but at least with a few decades of experience you tend to have a bit more patience and understanding, and you don't fall for "magic solutions" as easily. Of course, for real knowledge, I still have to turn to Coach Steve, who is 30 years my junior. :eek:
 
Friday, March 16, 2007

Weight: 244 - Plateau #2, Day #29.
BP: 115/78, Pulse 48 - WOW! :)

I'm nearing the length of the previous plateau, which was 31 days. Still I feel great today, optimistic and healthy. It was nice having an off day yesterday as well -- kind of revved up the old tired engine. Good thing, because today's some intense interval training.

Yesterday was basically a wash as far as calories. 2,414 burned, 2,378 eaten.

A friend of ours came over for dinner and I made a tasty dish: a stir fry with bak choi, celery, snap peas, snow peas, carrots, enoki mushrooms, garlic, pine nuts, pecans, tiger shrimp, and scallops, in a "gravy" made up of grapefruit vinegar, small amount of olive oil, and small amount of low sodium soy sauce. Served over white rice. Delicious! Usually I would have done brown rice, but I was short on time -- first time I've had white rice in 4 months!

Had 2 glasses of wine, too -- maybe that's why I slept so well.

Snapshot of my food intake yesterday:
View attachment 2834

I'm not going to worry myself to death about this stupid plateau. There's a great book called "Zen and the Art of Archery," by Eugene Herrigal (?). It's a gem of a book about how when you learn to do the journey the right way, the destination will come [Steve, you would love this book!] In one part, he spends months just learning how to hold his bow, how to breathe with it. He doesn't understand why at first, but when he really does feel that the bow is an extension of his arm, suddenly he shoots far more accurately. I remember reading how Tiger Woods did sort of the same thing. He found that his swing was keeping him from improving, so he changed it. For a while we didn't see him win, but then he came back with a vengeance.

I'm doing all the right things, I know that. Eating more healthy than I ever have. Great variety and intensity in my workout program. Daily deficit of around 400 calories. I just have to give it some more time so that the "bow becomes part of my arm."
 
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Well put as always. I think you are right about how you are more patient and understanding because you have a few more years under your belt... I got quite frustrated when I hit a plateau. Enjoy your weekend.
 
Sprite said:
Well put as always. I think you are right about how you are more patient and understanding because you have a few more years under your belt... I got quite frustrated when I hit a plateau. Enjoy your weekend.
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Thanks, Sprite. Of course, when you get older, you HAVE to be more patient, too. You just don't have the energy for all those false starts!
 
Just stopping in to see how you are doing and it looks like even though you are in a plateau, you are still staying positive. Keep up the great work, and the weight will begin to move soon!

Thanks for the inspiration and positive outlook.
 
Morning Tom, thanks for the book recommendation. I am always looking for good books in the human development realm.
 
Tom,
I gota quick question for you:
When doing your resistance training do you use your calories used from your heart monitor, or by the generic in fitday?
 
TomO said:
Weight: 243.0 - Plateau #2, Day #28

Last night I had a feeling that somehow the plateau would be over with. But no such luck. Rather than rant, though, I thought I'd take stock this morning of some things I'm thankful for.

  • The ability to tie my shoes without wheezing
  • The feeling that I can walk anywhere without getting a heart attack
  • Not hearing my heart beat at night when I'm trying to go to sleep
  • Not feeling guilty when I have a "cheat"
  • Looking at all indentations on my belt from where I used to be
  • Feeling healthy, even if I still look fat
  • Being able to do a harder workout than most people in the gym
  • Feeling like I'll be around my wife and kids for many more years
  • Having more knowledge about how my body works, even though I still feel like a total ignoramus a lot of the time.
  • Getting control over food, instead of vice versa
  • Looking forward to seeing myself in a picture one day
  • Being able to play a game of racquetball with my kids without keeling over.
  • Getting rid of plantar fasciitis
  • Not dreading getting my blood pressure checked
  • Looking forward to my next blood test
  • Getting healthy through applying knowledge rather than relying on some "magic formula" or "special diet"
  • Having knowledgeable people to go to for help
  • Getting lots of support from people here and friends & family

Just writing that all down made me feel better for today!

And today is an OFF DAY! I need it. I'm physically kind of tired. I'll take a walk with my dog, but that will be about it for today.
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That's beautiful! Really, makes me feel good reading it :eek:
 
TomO said:
I'm doing all the right things, I know that. Eating more healthy than I ever have. Great variety and intensity in my workout program. Daily deficit of around 400 calories. I just have to give it some more time so that the "bow becomes part of my arm."
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Have you had a physical recently? If all your stats are healthy, then you're in the right place--the weight may be not as important--not that you should give up!
 
RJAZ520 said:
Tom,
I gota quick question for you:
When doing your resistance training do you use your calories used from your heart monitor, or by the generic in fitday?
Click to expand...

Thanks for stopping by, RJ. I use my heart rate monitor for all calorie stats. I've found that online estimates don't fit me very well, and the machines are either way under or way over, depending on the kind of cardio I'm doing.

Curvie Girlie said:
Have you had a physical recently? If all your stats are healthy, then you're in the right place--the weight may be not as important--not that you should give up!
Click to expand...

Thanks for stopping by, CG. My last full physical was in September last year, and it kind of scared me into getting serious about changing my life, even though I had started that July. They basically told me that I was headed for hypertension, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. BP back then was 145/93, and pulse was 67. I haven't had a blood test since then, so I don't know if my LDL /HDL has improved, or if my blood sugar has gone down. But I do take my own BP and pulse every day, and that has improved enormously. In fact, today's, at 115/79 and pulse of 49, was the best I've had in 8 years.
 
maleficent said:
if my blood pressure were ever that l ow they'd run for the crash cart because it meant i was dead :) way to go...
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LOL, It'll get there, just wait!

Part of the reason I started taking my bp every day (aside from being scared), is that when I'm bummed out about my endless plateaus, I can take some pleasure from the improvement in those numbers at least.
 
TomO said:
Weight: 243.0 - Plateau #2, Day #28

Last night I had a feeling that somehow the plateau would be over with. But no such luck. Rather than rant, though, I thought I'd take stock this morning of some things I'm thankful for.

  • The ability to tie my shoes without wheezing
  • The feeling that I can walk anywhere without getting a heart attack
  • Not hearing my heart beat at night when I'm trying to go to sleep
  • Not feeling guilty when I have a "cheat"
  • Looking at all indentations on my belt from where I used to be
  • Feeling healthy, even if I still look fat
  • Being able to do a harder workout than most people in the gym
  • Feeling like I'll be around my wife and kids for many more years
  • Having more knowledge about how my body works, even though I still feel like a total ignoramus a lot of the time.
  • Getting control over food, instead of vice versa
  • Looking forward to seeing myself in a picture one day
  • Being able to play a game of racquetball with my kids without keeling over.
  • Getting rid of plantar fasciitis
  • Not dreading getting my blood pressure checked
  • Looking forward to my next blood test
  • Getting healthy through applying knowledge rather than relying on some "magic formula" or "special diet"
  • Having knowledgeable people to go to for help
  • Getting lots of support from people here and friends & family
Click to expand...

Hi Tom! I just love your list...you have a lot of success to be proud of. I try to make a gratitude list so I can stay balanced when I find that I am getting discouraged or feel a pity party coming on.... ;)

I can completely relate to the frustration of the dreaded plateau...I just got off of one myself. I kept myself motivated similarly by reminding myself of all the benefits of my new way of eating and excercise, that "outweigh" the numbers on the scale. :D

Beth
 
Workout Log - 3/16/2007

Here's today's workout:

Interval training on the elliptical: 60 minutes, 1000 calories, max hr = 164 (98%), avg = 136 (82%).

Set 1 - 5 x 1 min. zone 3 sprint, w. 1 min. rest
Did first at level 12, 200 rpm (same as 3/8)
Did 4th at 210 rpm (200 on 3/8)
Did 5th at 220 rpm (200 on 3/8)
Reached 142 bpm on #1 (148 last time)
Reached 155 bpm on #5 (155 last time)

Set 2 - 5 x 30 sec. zone 4 sprints, w. 30 sec. rests
Did 1st 4 at level 12, 230+ rpm (same as 3/8)
Did 5th at 250 rpm (230 last time)

Reached 148 bpm on #1 (no change)
Reached 157 bpm on #5 (155 last time)

Set 3 - 1 x 2 min. zone 3 climb + 1 min. zone 4 climb
Did zone 3 climb at level 14, 135 rpm & reached 149 bpm (147 last time)
Did zone 4 climb at level 16, 130 rpm & reached 159 bpm (158 last time)

Set 4 - 3 x 2 min. zone 3 climbs + 1 min. zone 4 sprint w. 2 min. rests
Did zone 3 climbs at level 14, 130 rpm
Did zone 4 sprints at level 12, 200 rpm (190 last time)
Climb 1 topped out at 148 (no change)
Sprint 1 topped out at 155 (154 last time)
Climb 2 - 149 (no change)
Sprint 2 - 157 (no change, but increased to 205 rpm)
Climb 3 - 150 (no change)
Sprint 3 - 161 (165 last time, but increased to 205 rpm)

So, all in all, a pretty good workout, with some minor improvements here and there.
One thing that definitely did improve was recovery between sprints. Before, I was dropping about 20 beats in a 2 minute period; today it went to about 23.
 
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