I am determined but......

Determination
Main Entry: de·ter·mi·na·tion Pronunciation: di-"t&r-m&-'nA-sh&nFunction: noun
1 a : the act of deciding definitely and firmly; also : the result of such an act of decision b : firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end
2 a : the definition of a concept in logic by its essential constituents b : the addition of a differentia to a concept to limit its denotation
3 : direction or tendency to a certain end : IMPULSION
4 : the fixation of the destiny of undifferentiated embryonic tissue

The past month has taught me several things about myself. Namely that I have been a fool. I use the word fool instead of idiot so I don’t feel bad about myself. Why have I been a fool you ask? Because it’s true. Lets start off with a little biology 101 lesson on the human body.

Your body requires a certain amount of food each day and at regular intervals. If it gets this then everything is fine so long as you do not over eat. The normal human being will have a normal metabolism and their bodies will process food and burn calories as it should. However, if the body does not receive enough food and at the proper intervals for a long period of time your metabolism goes into what is called “Starvation Mode”. Basically this means that it takes all the food you eat and instantly stores it away as fat. It does this as it thinks you are starving and hopes to keep you alive by fattening you up. Yes I know there is a more scientific reason but for now this will do.

OK, here comes the fool part. For the past 20 years or so my daily routine has been to have a cup of coffee (heavy on the sugar and cream) each morning with a cinnamon roll and then about 4 nights a week to have a dinner. Now granted there is the occasional trips to some fast food place on the weekends for one of those “dinners” but basically I did not eat a lot. Due to this my body has been in starvation mode for the past 20 years. Now anyone taking a look at me would never guess I was starving! At 6’ 2” and weighing 260 lbs I cut a pretty large figure. Not your usual starving soul by any stretch of the imagination.

So the first order of business is to jump start the metabolism and get it working correctly again. This is easier said (or typed) than done. Firstly I found that it costs a great deal to eat more often a day. Secondly I discovered a reason why so many people buy fast food that isn’t good for you…it’s because the stuff that is good for you costs 4 times as much!!! I’m not so sure I can afford to eat healthy. Imagine my shock when I went to the grocery store and bought healthy food, paid around $100.00 and walked out with only 2.5 bags worth of stuff.

So now the daily routine is Oatmeal in the morning for breakfast. Yes with a cup of coffee (still heavy on the sugar and cream)
Mid morning snack of celery
Sandwich with small salad for lunch (after a 1 mile walk)
Trailmix or something in the afternoon for snack
Reasonable meal for dinner

I have to admit that there are times I almost feel ill from eating so much. We won’t even go into the other bodily functions that a large intake of fiber can bring. Still, all in all I am determined to stay with this and see what I can do. On a good note, since starting to walk I have had less back problems so there is something good coming of all this. On a bad note, I have realized that all the walking in the world will not remove my gut so other exercises will have to be added in to accomplish this. I’m thinking of getting a bowflex for myself and the boys for Christmas.

OK, enough whining for now. Check back later for more updates and comments.

One last thing, thanks to everyone who has offered their encouragements since the beginning of this Project Overhaul!