Saturday I went shopping for work pants – first time clothes shopping since I can’t remember when.
First, a little background.
I've lost a ton of weight in the last few months.
Right before Christmas vacation, Jennifer, a sweet co-worker, made an off-hand remark in a way that told me it was anything but off-hand about my baggy pants.
So when I got home I grabbed my wife’s makeup mirror and checked out how I looked from behind and was shocked by what I saw. I looked like I was wearing clown pants. It was ridiculous. No way could I wait until I stopped losing weight to buy new pants.
So I told my kids that they could go ahead and get me a new belt (I had added six notches to my old belt) and shirts for Christmas and I was going to buy new pants while on vacation.
Well, right before Christmas I had a minor car accident. No one was really hurt but it was unnerving. For a while I didn’t want to drive even though my car was operable. I didn’t even finish my Christmas shopping or visit my brother and sister for Christmas because they didn’t live nearby.
I just kept imagining pieces of my car falling off on the freeway and thinking about how narrow car lanes are in Phoenix and how when driving home after the accident I had felt the cars on either side of me moving in on me.
I'm much better now but it's still kind of bothering me.
So I didn’t drive the rest of my vacation unless I absolutely had to. The first trip after the accident was to a car dealership for a repair estimate and I was nervous driving the entire way.
So the morning back to work, I grabbed for my work pants and realized I hadn't bought those new pants.
Now back to Saturday…
Of course, I was excited at the prospect of finding out what my new waist size was.
I am not too proud to admit I went to Targets. I hate shopping and Targets are everywhere and relatively cheap so that’s where I headed.
When I got to the Men’s Department, I asked the sales lady for a tape measure. I measured 46 inches around. Wow, was that disappointing. That was only about a two inch improvement over my old waist size.
But then I tried on a size 46 pants in the fitting room and the pants practically fell off. I realized I had measured girth instead of waist size. Did I mention I don’t know much about clothes. So I then tried on a size 40, 42 and 44 pants. All too big for me. And then I tried a size 38 and it was just right.
I had gone down 10 pants sizes. Wow!
And for the first time I can remember I enjoyed shopping for clothes. If I keep losing weight, I might actually start looking forward to it.
Regards,
Philip
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The new and improved me....
Thursday had a physical – first doctor visit since 2009.
Doctor said I was on the right track by losing weight, exercising and being careful about what I ate and watching food portions.
Then I jokingly said I would have to be emaciated to match what the BMI (Body Mass Index) stated was average weight for a man my height.
The Doctor told me I would be surprised. Most people were last at the weight in high school so think it’s impossible to weigh that much again. But while it’s takes a lot of work, it’s still possible to weigh what you once did in high school.
That’s when I noticed how thin he was. And when he had first come in, I had noticed he had the energy of a much younger man (he’s one year older than me – 58).
Which lead me to think that maybe he knows what he speaks of.
Of course, I didn’t ask him if he was speaking from experience. I thought that would be too personal a question to ask.
But then he does move like a young man.
So my question is this….what is one’s ideal weight?
Previously I thought my ideal weight would be whatever weight left me feeling and looking healthy.
I was going to continue to lose weight until I got around 200 lbs (currently at 228) then stop and see how I felt. If 200 pounds was still too much, I was sure it would be close to my ideal.
But now this new Doctor is telling me that BMI is a reasonable way of determining a person’s average weight. And BMI is calculated by adding 100 pounds to 7 times every inch over 5 foot which means that at 5’11” my BMI equals 100 + (7 * 11) = 177 pounds.
I use to weigh 185 pounds before I gained all that weight. And even back then I thought I was way too skinny. And, of course, once I was no longer that skinny a few relatives and friends confided I had been too thin.
I forgot to mention I have a stocky built. I’m barrel chested. I’m big boned. I carry my weight much better than most. In fact, usually when I meet someone the same height and weight as I am, that person looks much, much heavier.
And I don’t want to be obsessive about my weight (so maybe I should stick with my original plan.)
But did I say the Doctor bounded with energy, didn't lumber, moved with ease.
I’m curious to hear what others think. Go with my original thought, go with BMI or go with something else?
Regards,
Philip
Doctor said I was on the right track by losing weight, exercising and being careful about what I ate and watching food portions.
Then I jokingly said I would have to be emaciated to match what the BMI (Body Mass Index) stated was average weight for a man my height.
The Doctor told me I would be surprised. Most people were last at the weight in high school so think it’s impossible to weigh that much again. But while it’s takes a lot of work, it’s still possible to weigh what you once did in high school.
That’s when I noticed how thin he was. And when he had first come in, I had noticed he had the energy of a much younger man (he’s one year older than me – 58).
Which lead me to think that maybe he knows what he speaks of.
Of course, I didn’t ask him if he was speaking from experience. I thought that would be too personal a question to ask.
But then he does move like a young man.
So my question is this….what is one’s ideal weight?
Previously I thought my ideal weight would be whatever weight left me feeling and looking healthy.
I was going to continue to lose weight until I got around 200 lbs (currently at 228) then stop and see how I felt. If 200 pounds was still too much, I was sure it would be close to my ideal.
But now this new Doctor is telling me that BMI is a reasonable way of determining a person’s average weight. And BMI is calculated by adding 100 pounds to 7 times every inch over 5 foot which means that at 5’11” my BMI equals 100 + (7 * 11) = 177 pounds.
I use to weigh 185 pounds before I gained all that weight. And even back then I thought I was way too skinny. And, of course, once I was no longer that skinny a few relatives and friends confided I had been too thin.
I forgot to mention I have a stocky built. I’m barrel chested. I’m big boned. I carry my weight much better than most. In fact, usually when I meet someone the same height and weight as I am, that person looks much, much heavier.
And I don’t want to be obsessive about my weight (so maybe I should stick with my original plan.)
But did I say the Doctor bounded with energy, didn't lumber, moved with ease.
I’m curious to hear what others think. Go with my original thought, go with BMI or go with something else?
Regards,
Philip
Saturday, January 1, 2011
This is going to be a stupid post
I don't have a history of keeping new years resolutions but this year will be different (right!).
My new years resolution is to get healthy or at least as healthy as one can get at my age (57 year old).
In August 2008, I posted that in 2001 I stopped going to the gym and gained about 100 pounds in order to make myself so unattractive that I would be undesirable. I did that because I knew it would be difficult, if not near impossible, to keep my vow of monogamy as long as I was attractive enough to draw attention.
I know it sounds vain. I am not at all attractive. At least not in my eyes. But I am a type. The hirsuite, masculine, swarthy guy that seems working class but isn't. This is attractive to some men -and- I am usually attracted to these men because they are mainly what I like which is somewhat pretty, intellectual, solid middle class types.
In other words, wherever I seem to go there seemed to be guys attracted to me that I was attracted to so I had to do something. So I did something incredibly stupid. And here is the thing...I knew it was dumb, I knew what I was doing was harmful to my health but I wanted to do whatever it took to make sure I could keep my end of the deal - I didn't ever want her to worry.
So I did the stupid thing. I gained a 100 pounds because 50 pounds wasn't enough (I thought I still looked too good) and when I finally hit a weight that made me certifiably so self-conscious that I felt nobody would look my way (about 80 pounds) then it took me another 20 pounds before I could hit the brakes enough to stop any further weight gain.)
So there I was seven years later in 2008 weighing 100 pounds more and facing health problems.
There is longetivity in my side of the family. It is not unusual for people in my family to live into their 80's and a few have made it into their 90's.
I realize now I can't take this longetivity for granted because I got readings in May that indicated I was already facing problems that I don't think long living family members faced until much later in life.
Those readings made me realized being fat was not just unhealthy; it was shortening my life.
And I said enough is enough. I have been an idiot too long.
So I got on the internet and read about what I could do and drew up a plan. I have now lost 55 pounds, am eating healthily (more veggies, fruits, eliminating as many processed especially fried foods as I can) and exercising (first walking then joining the gym and doing aerobics, now weight training and aerobics).
And I am starting to think I look good again. Actually, it's just not me. I have gotten lots of positive feedback.
So why am I posting? Because some of this positive feedback has not just come from coworkers and my wife and my friends. There was a guy following me around Crate and Barrel on Thursday. And a guy kind of staring at me intently at Targets last week. The first incident didn't bother me but the second one did. It was a mixture of terror and excitement. I am still dwelling on it. Hopefully, this post will put it to rest.
I tell myself I am older now and should be able to handle this kind of stuff but it still freaks me out. What bothers me is those men picked up on something to act the way they did. Is my neediness that obvious? I don't trust myself.
But I am going to get healthier. I have to or I am not going to make it into my 80's like most of my family.
Regards,
Philip
My new years resolution is to get healthy or at least as healthy as one can get at my age (57 year old).
In August 2008, I posted that in 2001 I stopped going to the gym and gained about 100 pounds in order to make myself so unattractive that I would be undesirable. I did that because I knew it would be difficult, if not near impossible, to keep my vow of monogamy as long as I was attractive enough to draw attention.
I know it sounds vain. I am not at all attractive. At least not in my eyes. But I am a type. The hirsuite, masculine, swarthy guy that seems working class but isn't. This is attractive to some men -and- I am usually attracted to these men because they are mainly what I like which is somewhat pretty, intellectual, solid middle class types.
In other words, wherever I seem to go there seemed to be guys attracted to me that I was attracted to so I had to do something. So I did something incredibly stupid. And here is the thing...I knew it was dumb, I knew what I was doing was harmful to my health but I wanted to do whatever it took to make sure I could keep my end of the deal - I didn't ever want her to worry.
So I did the stupid thing. I gained a 100 pounds because 50 pounds wasn't enough (I thought I still looked too good) and when I finally hit a weight that made me certifiably so self-conscious that I felt nobody would look my way (about 80 pounds) then it took me another 20 pounds before I could hit the brakes enough to stop any further weight gain.)
So there I was seven years later in 2008 weighing 100 pounds more and facing health problems.
There is longetivity in my side of the family. It is not unusual for people in my family to live into their 80's and a few have made it into their 90's.
I realize now I can't take this longetivity for granted because I got readings in May that indicated I was already facing problems that I don't think long living family members faced until much later in life.
Those readings made me realized being fat was not just unhealthy; it was shortening my life.
And I said enough is enough. I have been an idiot too long.
So I got on the internet and read about what I could do and drew up a plan. I have now lost 55 pounds, am eating healthily (more veggies, fruits, eliminating as many processed especially fried foods as I can) and exercising (first walking then joining the gym and doing aerobics, now weight training and aerobics).
And I am starting to think I look good again. Actually, it's just not me. I have gotten lots of positive feedback.
So why am I posting? Because some of this positive feedback has not just come from coworkers and my wife and my friends. There was a guy following me around Crate and Barrel on Thursday. And a guy kind of staring at me intently at Targets last week. The first incident didn't bother me but the second one did. It was a mixture of terror and excitement. I am still dwelling on it. Hopefully, this post will put it to rest.
I tell myself I am older now and should be able to handle this kind of stuff but it still freaks me out. What bothers me is those men picked up on something to act the way they did. Is my neediness that obvious? I don't trust myself.
But I am going to get healthier. I have to or I am not going to make it into my 80's like most of my family.
Regards,
Philip
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