10×10 in 2010

Archive for January, 2010

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. We did not weave the web of life; We are merely a strand in it. What we do with the web, we do to ourselves…
– Chief Seattle

Chief Seattle’s quote might sound like an environmental statement, but that’s not my point.  There’s a corollary:  What we do to ourselves, we do to the web – to those around us.  For anyone who has children this is intuitively obvious – especially after they repeat in public something we said in private, when they were at the other end of the house.  Kids hear everything, they see everything. This is true in a wider sense, though.  The choices we make have similar effects on those around us.

Applied to the 10×10 in 2010 project, I’m trying to be mindful that my decisions impact others.  If I die of a heart attack in the back yard, as my grandfather did when I was younger, I rob my family in a very real sense.  We are all examples, whether good or bad.  Changing my life with this big, hairy audacious goal helps me (I lose weight, get healthy), and hopefully those around me as well.

Day 28, 19 lbs total

The End of the First 4-Week Cycle

The 8 Minutes in the Morning program runs in 4-week cycles.  Jorge Cruise, the author, says to repeat the cycle if you have more weight to lose (I do).  In fact, since this is a year-long project, the cycle will repeat a total of 13 times.

Next week (tomorrow) begins the second cycle, where all of the exercises repeat.  The original 8 Minutes book is designed as a workbook, designed for you to write in each day’s progress and motivational notes, etc.  It’s already well-covered in graffitti from earlier cycles a few years ago, so I created my own packet in Microsoft Word with the exercises and journal entry slots.  Having it in an editable format is useful. I added a morning prayer to the front cover and am slowly changing the daily quotes to other, more personally-meaningful sayings.

Learnings This Week

Here are this weeks’ observations and learnings.  As always, if I did something stupid, it’s not a license for you to follow in my footsteps – let common sense apply.

• It is much easier to exercise in the early morning when the rest of the family is asleep. It’s hard to hear the body’s responses when the kids are swirling around like a desert tornado.
• Even the best recipes get boring if you eat them all the time.  Next time I make black bean burgers, it won’t be a quintuple batch…
• Weighing in on Thursday mornings after breakfast is a GREAT way to inspire the amount of panic necessary to hit 2 lbs by Sunday.
• Sharing your weight loss plans with a wide circle is a great way to get little motivational booster shots at random times.  Thanks to Terry, Dave, Brian and Vince this week for asking how it’s going, it helps keep me on track.
• Finding a smaller piece of clothing you can wear, something that used to fit, then didn’t, and now does again.  Pure Joy!

Have any learnings or comments?  Click the comments link below and let me know what you think! Words of wisdom, encouragement and correction always welcome. (All comments moderated to keep out the riffraff.)

Week 4 Results

• Starting Weight: 328 lbs.
• Last Week: 312 lbs.
• This Week: 309 lbs.
• Weight Lost: 3 lbs. (19 pounds overall)

Source: Flickr

Yesterday I hit a new milestone – shopping for a new shirt in my own closet.  As the weight slowly comes off, existing clothes first begin to loosen, then they start to be, well, too big.  I’m not quite to the “too-big” stage for recent clothing items, but it was an all-day boost to be wearing a shirt that hadn’t seen the light of day in over a year.

Pretty exciting, actually.

In the movie “The Bucket List”, actors Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson portray two men on a quest to accomplish things that they’d always wanted to do, before they died.  I’ve been thinking about this for a few weeks now as the 10×10 in 2010 project gets under way; why wait until you’re on death’s doorstep to start planning out those amazing experiences?  Instead, think of the things you used to enjoy, and those amazing experiences you can look forward to once your own journey is behind you.

Source: Flickr

The world is a huge place, and being unhealthy really starts to limit how much of it you can get out to experience.  (I mean, there’s no way I’m hiking up a huge mountain pushing 330.)  As a way to keep motivated, put together a list of those things that, when you’re healthy, you get to do (or do again!)

If a (before I kick the) Bucket List is for those on the outbound train, what would you name a list for people getting their lives back?  Post a comment below with your ideas!

Gerret’s Starter List of Fun Things to Do Post-Weight-Loss

This is my list – you should go start your own, then post it somewhere visible (like the front of the refrigerator…)

1. Go downhill skiing
   There are few things to compare with flying down a mountain with the wind screaming by.
2. Take off Shirt at Beach
   (at least, without the threat of Greenpeace trying to slide me back into the water to save me…)
3. Shopping for clothes
   (whole new wardrobe, in normal sizes)
4. Run a 5k. And a 10k. And a Half-Marathon.  On the same day.
   (Yes, I’ve read Born to Run, and I can. not. wait. to lose more weight and start RUNNING again.)
5. Paddle a Kayak without rolling it
   (Heather, Dan, Kathy, I’m looking at you…)
6. Play Racquetball
   Really miss racquetball!

Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.
–Henry Ford

January’s over half-over, and the project has been under way for a full three weeks now.  Carrying the eating cards is becoming more comfortable, and it’s an opportunity to start a conversation with those curious about the project. Mary at work helped the project along by denying me access to the magical Dove Chocolate dish on the counter.  The card system does provide for a small amount of treats and cravings so it’s not total privation.

The black bean burger recipe got a big workout early in the week – we mixed up a quintuple (5x) batch on Tuesday night; it yielded 27 burgers.  Bagged and frozen, the burgers have served all week as the lunch centerpiece.  They’re not quite as tasty reheated, but the cafeteria at work has Frank’s RedHot.  Poor drowned burgers.

Learnings This Week

Some random educational thoughts for week 3 of the project.  These are personal, anecdotal observations.  If I do something stupid and you follow my example, remember Mom asking “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you follow?”  Let common sense apply.

• Stretching in the morning after workouts is a great time to listen to your body.  If a stretch hurts, you’re probably pushing it too hard, back off a little.
• It’s better to have a lousy workout than no workout.  Even if you’re not feeling particularly well, do the exercise.  That way when you’re not feeling well later, you can look back at *this* success and remind yourself it can be done.
• The mirror is a poor gauge of weight loss, especially early on when you’re still the size of a beached whale.  A better gauge is the fit of your clothes (my poor wife needs a whole new wardrobe after running for a few months).
• This is going to sound strange, but hunger is your friend. Now, I’m not talking about ravenous starvation.  Walking around feeling stuffed (or even just full) probably means you ate too much.  Having a mild hungry feeling is your body’s way of saying, “Hey, I’m eating into some fat reserves here, just want you know.”

Have any learnings or comments?  Click the comments link below and let me know what you think! Words of wisdom, encouragement and correction always welcome. (All comments moderated to keep out the riffraff.)

Week 3 Results

• Starting Weight: 328 lbs.
• Last Week: 317 lbs.
• This Week: 312 lbs.
• Weight Lost: 5 lbs (16 lbs overall)

If you’re like me, mornings are a rush to get up, get ready, and get out the door.  This recipe for breakfast burritos takes 5 minutes to make and will hold you over to lunch without holding you back.

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs
• Hot Sauce (I like Frank’s RedHot)
• A dash of water
• 2 Flour Tortillas (6″-7″)
• 2 oz. colby-jack cheese

Directions

Lightly spray the inside of a small microwave-safe bowl with cooking spray (this makes the bowl *much* easier to clean later.) Crack the two eggs into the bowl and add a dash of water. Add 2-3 dashes of hot sauce (keeps the eggs from inflating when they’re cooked). Scramble well with a fork.

Put the eggs in the microwave for 2:15 (two minutes, 15 seconds) – Your mileage may vary depending on microwave power, etc.

While the eggs are cooking, put the two tortillas on a plate, add an ounce of cheese down the middle of each tortilla, and add hot sauce to taste.

When the eggs are done, cut them into strips with a butter knife, then slide half into each tortilla.

Roll up the tortillas and enjoy breakfast!