The Weigh-In Game

One thing about losing 100 pounds in a year like I did in 2000 - going from 350 to 230 - you get to know your body pretty well.

This morning, I had a hunch. I walked into my closet and first grabbed my size 42 jeans, but then started looking for some 40s. I found a pair, grabbed them and looked. Damn they look small.

Still, I felt like I might be able to squeeze into them.

I did.

Granted, it was like cramming a barrel full of pudding into a ziplock sandwich bag, but they fit. I buttoned them, zipped them and was even able to breathe. After running around to show my wife, who was thoroughly uninterested since she was still trying to wake up, I had to take them off.

Yup, they fit, but if I would’ve worn them to work I probably wouldn’t have written this blog. It’s hard to type when you’re passed out on the floor.

I think we all get it at some point. In high school and college it’s called senioritis - it’s when you are winding down your last few weeks and you don’t want to do anything.

I’m not quite that bad, but it has been difficult to continue blogging. I basically took last week off, both from blogging and working out. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, it was probably good for me to do that, it has me refreshed this week.

Sunday is my next in-body analysis and Monday will be the final post for this blog. Thanks to everyone who has commented - either by way of this blog or e-mails or when they see me out somewhere. Hopefully, my weight will be at 240 or less. We’ll see.

Just got back from lunch. I went home, took my EFAs and started to put my frozen chicken breasts in the microwave.

Then I realized - I wasn’t hungry. In fact, I had no desire to eat whatsoever. This, while rare when it comes to my appetite, can be dangerous for someone trying to lose weight. I know it’s important to still eat. It keeps the metabolism going as opposed to slowing it down because your body thinks you’re starving it (my body shouldn’t be worried about that). It also makes you less hungry later in the day. Skipping a meal can easily lead to “pigging out” when the next meal comes around.

So, I ate half of my recommended meal and made extra sure to bring my mid-afternoon snack to work. That way, I won’t eat everything in the house when I get home tonight. (I’m saving that for Cajun Fest tomorrow

Have a great weekend - and if you see me at Cajun Fest, cut me some slack, pretty please.

Since receiving an e-mail notifying me that a group of Border Capital Bank employees were going to have a friendly competition on weight loss, I haven’t heard from them. I hope they haven’t lost so much weight that they’re too week to type! (plus, that would be bad for business

Translation: Let me know how y’all are doing!

In other news, this is going to be a pre-confession.

My mom was Cajun (What’s a Cajun? Read here), from the deep bayous of Louisiana. For the past five years, I’ve wanted to go to the Cajun Fest (Read about it here), the annual feast thrown by the Edinburg Rotary Club.

This year I am going. End of story. I’ve been very good with my diet and exercise and not only am I seeing a difference (both in weight and shape) but people have been commenting fairly regularly, and that’s probably the best motivation to keep something going (and to make sure that after this evening of Cajun food that I get right back on track).

So, have a great weekend - and eat some Cajun food if you get a chance.

I know I’ll pay for it, but I am willing to sacrifice for this evening of real Cajun food (

There are so many things that one must do when effectively trying to lose weight: eat smart (notice I didn’t say DIET) and exercise are right at the top of the list.

In addition, something that has aided me is taking essential fatty acids 20-30 minutes before I eat a meal. These acids hold chemicals that go to your brain and tell it that you’re full or satisfied. In essence, they suppress appetites.

EFAs are found in all sorts of food. This Web site has the best explanation I’ve seen on what EFAs do for a person.

These are especially important for someone like me, who drinks and eats incredibly fast. As a kid my dad would ask me what the rush was when we were eating at the dinner table. So I take my EFAs and I’ve been able to tell a difference when I sit to eat my meal.

That now leads me to my confession about Super Bowl Sunday.

I started great, eating the right foods in the morning - but then I stopped. I knew I was going to a Super Bowl party so I thought I would just wait til then to eat again.

To top it off, I didn’t take my EFA before I went to the Super Bowl party. When I got there I was:
a) starving
b) starving even more

Studies show that when people starve themselves, chances are when they find themselves in front of a bunch of food, they are gonna - in non-scientific terms - pig out.

I would’ve been a perfect subject for the study. I ate like there was no tomorrow.

By the time I got home, I was wishing there was no tomorrow. My stomach felt like I had eaten a bowling ball - with salsa verde. I was in pain for hours. As I laid in bed, moaning and groaning, my wife comforted me with these words: “If you’re gonna throw up, don’t do it on the floor. I don’t want to clean that out of the carpet.”

Sympathy of the greatest kind, huh?

Oh well, I deserved it.

Sunday sucked - to put it simply. Everything that I’m not supposed to do, I did.

But, I’ll talk about my bad self in a later blog. Right now I want to talk about another accomplishment.

Ever since going from 350 pounds to 230 in 2000 I’ve said that I can really tell if I’ve lost weight, gained it or just maintained - even if it’s just a pound or two. I’ve felt that in touch with my bodyweight it seems ever since that wonderful year.

Saturday I was in touch with it again - feeling I could put aside my 44-sized waist jeans and try to stuff myself into my 40s (and you thought I was talking those big ole beer cans, huh?).

My hunch proved to be right as I sardined myself into a pair that had been hanging idly for about a year in my closet.

It’s kinda funny. I have 44s, 40s and 38s in my closet - but no 42s. I guess that goes back to my 300-pound days. I really couldn’t afford to keep buying a next smaller size. In fact, my first change of clothes went from size 52s to 46s. And even though I had been losing the weight steadily over the course of a few months, people seemed to think I lost it all overnight - just because of the new clothes.

Well, I wore the 40s most of the day on Saturday. They were a bit tight but it’s still a step in the right direction.

Then came Sunday… check back later today, or tomorrow, for that confession. It won’t be pretty.

I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t been able to do the 50 bench presses with 30-pound dumbells in each hand all in one set.

So on Wednesday I decided to drop down a bit and use the 27.5-pound dumbells. Of course, after I was done (I got 48 in before my left arm just wanted to collapse) I had this surge of guilt come over me and went to Isaac.

“Dude, is it ok that I dropped to the 27.5-pound weights and almost got to 50?”

He looked at me with a little confusion, then said “we don’t have 27.5s.”

Then silence.

That’s when he realized I was talking about the dumbells, not the barbells.

Translation: I was supposed to be do 50 reps of the 30-pound barbell, not 50 of the TWO 30-pound dumbells.

I guess it’s kinda ironic that I was using dumbells… seems almost fitting for me, doesn’t it?

Tonight: The lifting routine continues, followed by 2 to 2 1/2 hours of volleyball.

My current weightlifting routine looks like this:

50 bench presses (30-pound dumbells in each hand)
50 curls (30-pound ez-bar)
50 pulldowns with the rope (set at 30 pounds)
50 militart presses (30-pound ez bar)

I had been doing them in sets, usually doing 10-20 reps of each in a rotation - presses, curls, pulldowns, presses.

Then Isaac said “Try to get to doing all 50 at once.”

So I tried it last night. Ugh.

The results, on the first time around:

- Bench Presses (35 reps)
- Curls (all 50!)
- Pulldowns (all 50!)
- Military Presses (25)

So, I still have a way to go but for the first all-out attempt, I’m pretty happy with that performance. On the down side, my back is a tad bit sore but it may be from the workout or from sleeping funny.

Still, there’s more progress and can’t wait to see my next in-body analysis, probably around mid-February.

I received an e-mail from Irma at Border Capital Bank in McAllen. Associates there have begun a weight-loss competition.

That is awesome! For me, there’s nothing better than some good competition - especially in the short run. It also means great support.

Irma said she had lost 3 pounds by last Sunday, but gained two back by Tuesday morning - DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT! Take it from me (and read my blog about my obsession with the devil in the bathroom, also known as the scale) the scale is your enemy. Hide it, break it, give it to your neighbor as a Valentine’s Day gift (with chocolates, of course). Your body weight can fluctuate 2-3 pounds daily easily so a regular check on the scale is not a good indication and can lead to more frustration than anything.

The BCBers (Border Capital Bankers) apparently are doing their competition in 31-day increments and expect the challenge to last 3-4 months. I applaud their effort and look forward to hearing from them regularly.

And remember, this is a marathon - not a sprint. Be smooth, be steady, be consistent - remember, it’s so much easier to catch a wagon that you’ve fallen off of than it is to catch a train! (whatever that means)