tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25289714285360063382024-03-12T19:14:14.210-07:00Back to the WellThe tale of one man's battle for truth, justice, and six-pack abs.JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-83734082771767812312013-12-25T09:54:00.000-08:002013-12-26T13:17:49.743-08:00Weight Loss Journal, Entry number oneOkay, it is a little comical to keep writing these "Nothing can stop me now" posts, only to log back in 6 months later and have to admit I've actually gained weight! I think I was 253 when I last posted six months ago, and I'm about 268 now. Up 15. At last year's physical, I was 248, which means I am up 20.
So, if one definition of "insanity" is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results, then I am afraid I'm a nut job.<br />
<br />
Oh well.<br />
<br />
So what can I do differently? Eat three moderate meals and three small snacks and nothing in between? Hmm, not exactly rocket science. What else? Go to OA meetings? A possibility. Walk daily? Sure. Um. There, that's a plan.<br />
<br />
And...drum roll, please...document the entire thing in this blog. Seriously. If writing is helpful (one of the OA "tools," then writing a blog that might be helpful to others has got to be helpful too.
So this is entry number one. More soon. :-)JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-64971967632967649382013-07-09T04:48:00.000-07:002013-07-09T04:48:21.521-07:00The Road to 208It's been a little over a year since the last post here. I've posted a bunch at my other kazillion blogs, but Back to the Well has had a dry spell. Well, all that's about to change...<br />
<br />
I weight 253. It's time to get this weight loss thing over with once and for all. I have more important things to do in the next 30 years than to obsess about eating, weight and exercise.<br />
<br />
So what's the plan? I've had dozens of plans over the years; I've lost and regained hundreds of pounds. What sort of paradigm shift will make all the past plans and plots obsolete? Like the gunfighters I write about, I'll try to sort this out with bullets. :-)<br />
<br />
The goal and plan is as follows:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Get down to 208 or below, the weight I'd be required to maintain if I were in the Marine Corps.</li>
<li>Find the right exercise(s) that I enjoy and that fit into my lifestyle, and exercise regularly.</li>
<li>Move toward a low-fat, vegetarian diet. Maybe I'll be strict, or maybe I'll do turkey, chicken and fish.<br />We'll see.</li>
<li>Lose the next 20 fairly quickly, as these pose an immediate risk to my health.</li>
<li>Shoot to weigh 233 in 10 weeks or less (i.e, by or before Sept 17.</li>
<li>Lift and sculpt, but not at the expense of cardio and consistent weight loss.</li>
</ul>
<div>
That's pretty straightforward, don't you think? What are some of the possible exercise options?</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Walking.</li>
<li>Cardio machines and weights at Fitness One.</li>
<li>Cardio machines and weights with Josh at Planet Fitness.</li>
<li>Dumbbells in the basement.</li>
<li>Tennis or basketball?</li>
<li>Synchronized swimming.... :-)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I'll work on that part. More later.</div>
</div>
JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-53609130919311918742012-06-16T05:42:00.000-07:002012-06-16T05:42:03.193-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kUeMfp6zBjU/T9x7CWbcSGI/AAAAAAAAAGE/PJcL7FiJmqg/s1600/MSNGcover_small_border.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kUeMfp6zBjU/T9x7CWbcSGI/AAAAAAAAAGE/PJcL7FiJmqg/s1600/MSNGcover_small_border.jpg" /></a></div>
Okay, so this is not exactly diet and exercise-related, but I have to share with you that my first novel -- a western titled A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT -- is coming out this summer! I have written I don't know how many words in my half century of roaming this planet, I have published hoards of short stories and been included in a number of collections and anthologies, but this feel big.<br />
<br />
My first published novel.<br />
<br />
There is an interesting little tie-in to the true point of this blog. When I moved to Nashville a quarter century ago, I had reached the ever-elusive "goal weight" of 200 pounds (198 to be exact). When I hit town, lean and mean, everything seemed to fall into place. Withing a month, I had gotten into the top music publishers, I had been the subject of an Associated Press story about the next up-and-coming songwriter, I had purchased my first cowboy boots -- from Garth Brooks -- and I had arrived.<br />
<br />
So let me be clear: I do not believe nor support the thinking that "once I get to my perfect weight, my life, too, will be perfect." But for me, being at my healthy weight made me feel better. Physically and psychologically. My blood pressure went down, my cholesterol went down, I had more energy, I slept more soundly.<br />
<br />
To quote Martha Stewart, it was a good thing.<br />
<br />
So now, as my first novel is about to get published, I am once again approaching my healthy weight. My highest has been 282. For years now, I have gone up and down between 275 and 260. Now I am in the low 240s and will soon see the 230s for the first time in 5 years. Even that was short-lived, though. The last time I was in the 230s for any significant length of time was back around the time Josh was born. And he is now 16.<br />
<br />
So I will continue to slowly but surely get healthier...just in time to promote my FIRST PUBLISHED NOVEL, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT!JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-29415213135871942392012-05-26T07:13:00.001-07:002012-05-26T07:18:28.588-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oopK7ZDmFIM/T8DgjAgtpwI/AAAAAAAAAFg/G951y4pd4dE/s1600/biceps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oopK7ZDmFIM/T8DgjAgtpwI/AAAAAAAAAFg/G951y4pd4dE/s1600/biceps.jpg" /></a></div>
Okay, let's be real: no, that is not my arm. But let's not be disparaging. The guy in the picture is obviously working hard, and if he keeps it up, someday his arm will undoubtedly be as large as mine.<br />
<br />
My thigh, that is.<br />
<br />
I am shooting for 245 by May 30. I am about five pounds away. My more astute readers will realize this means I haven't really lost anything since the conclusion of my LAST bet. Not true! I have lost the five pounds I immediately gained back since the conclusion of my last bet and the commencement of this one.<br />
<br />
Enough math. The burning questions is this: how am I going to pull off losing five pounds in four days?<br />
<br />
First, let's discuss the buffer. I learned from the last bet that if I throw on the sweats and do one hour on the eliptical in the cardio zone I can sweat off four pounds. But I have also learned that a crisis at work can easily prevent me from getting to the gym in the morning, so I can't bank on that. I need a legitimate strategy.<br />
<br />
Here are the "silver" bullets:<br />
<ul>
<li>Write everything down </li>
<li>Eat only 39 WW points</li>
<li>Drink, drink, drink -- water, not wine</li>
<li>Move, move, move -- walk, cut the yard, go up and down the stairs</li>
<li>Play ultimate with the kids</li>
<li>Hit the speedbag</li>
</ul>
<div>
I think I need to plan to rev the metabolism every two hours (on the even hours) for at least 10 minutes. And drink one cup of water or tea.. Okay, then, two more bullets:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Every two hours (on the even hours):</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Do 10 minutes brisk activity</li>
<li>Drink 8 ounces of water or tea</li>
</ul>
<div>
Okay, so that sounds like a plan, then. I'll update this -- probably, maybe -- throughout the weekend to keep you posted.</div>
</div>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-87988948703801770692012-04-18T15:13:00.000-07:002012-04-18T15:13:54.303-07:00Major Milestone: I am down to 1/8 of a tonI haven't blogged on Back to the Well, in...well, ten months. But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy.<br />
<br />
For the first time in five years I am back down to 250 pounds. How did I do it? Writing down everything I eat and tracking Weight Watcher points. Like Charles Barkley. Also walking and doing the eliptical.<br />
<br />
What's next? First, 240. Then 230. After that, 220. Then 210. My ultimate goal is 208, the highest weight allowed by the Marine Corps for a man of my height and age. Why 208? That's a long story. I'll save it for another time.<br />
<br />
So here's the plan:<br />
<ul><li>Write everything in the food journal</li>
<li>Have 38 points a day</li>
<li>Walk, run, lift with high reps</li>
</ul>I'll write something more entertaining next time. For now, get ready to go out and buy my new novel, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT, coming out in May. I'll write more about that too.JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-44892267078490061182011-06-28T17:13:00.000-07:002011-06-28T17:13:30.648-07:00270 to 220: Getting Back Down to Fighting WeightHere goes.<br />
<br />
Starting tomorrow, June 29, I am beginning my comeback. I'm sure I've written about this somewhere, but I'll go ahead and do it again. Here are the milestones through the years:<br />
<ul><li>180 -- Sophmore year at Cornell (1982)</li>
<li>198 -- Summer I left for Nashville (1986)</li>
<li>228 -- Working at Saturn after Josh was born (1995)</li>
<li>230 -- Moved to Houston (2004)</li>
<li>240 -- Diet bet at Biogen Idec (2006)</li>
<li>259 -- Lowest weight, reached several times, in last 3 years</li>
<li>270 -- Current weight</li>
<li>282 -- Highest weight ever</li>
</ul>Here's the plan:<br />
<ul><li>1800-2100 calories/day</li>
<li>Roadwork 5 times/week</li>
</ul>I'll keep you posted.JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-19732892775300731052011-06-18T06:30:00.000-07:002011-06-18T06:58:19.363-07:00Lean, Mean...Softserve Machine?Two sixty-eight.<br /><br />For the past two or three years I have been in a rut. On the high end of the rut is 270, the low end 260. I work out and diet and sweat and run away from ice cream, and I slowly and painful drop to 260. I relax, even a little, eat a second (or third or fourth) slice of pizza, break off half a cannoli (and then a quarter and then an eighth, before repeating the process with a second or third cannoli) and before I know it I am once again knocking on the door of 270.<br /><br />I've been lifting (see "Pumping Iron -- The Musical") which, in addition to a constantly aching right shoulder, has given me a little of my musculature back, but the fact remains: some guys have a six-pack, but I've still got a pony keg.<br /><br />I have to bite the bullet and go cardio. Walking is actually very effective for me. I walk 30 or more minutes a day, and the number on the digital scale starts to fall. Eliptical, treadmill and other gym machine cardio is good, but it bores me out of my freakin' mind. I like jumping rope -- and have a zillion different kinds -- so that's good. I love P90x, but can't find the DVDs. (They're somewhere, I know it.) I like working outside, and I have always been fond of good, old-fashioned, Marine Corps calisthenics. So I have a lot of options.<br /><br />What I need is a plan.<br /><br />Okay, then. <strong>Here's the plan</strong> that begins from this moment on:<br /><br /><br /><ul><br /><br /><li>30 min. morning roadwork (walk/run) or ropework AND/OR</li><br /><br /><li>30 min. lunchtime cardio (eliptical/class/etc.) AND/OR</li><br /><br /><li>30 min. evening walk/run/calistenics.</li></ul><br /><br /><p>At minimum, I will do 30 min. of SOMETHING everyday. If I miss the morning, I shoot for lunch. If lunch doesn't materialize, then it has to happen when I get home. In short, I can't go to sleep until I've done my 30 min. NO EXCEPTIONS.</p><br /><br /><p>It is June 20, so I will shoot to weigh 250 (loss of 18 pounds) by August 30.</p><br /><br /><p>Motivational comments welcomed!</p>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-57183856907631679722011-05-25T18:44:00.000-07:002011-05-25T19:13:13.732-07:00Pumping Iron -- The MusicalMy new philosophy of fitness can best be summed up by quoting Apollo Creed's former trainer, Duke, talking to Rocky in the sixth and final installment of that franchise:<br /><br />"To beat this guy, you need speed - you don't have it. And your knees can't take the pounding, so hard running is out. And you got arthritis in your neck, and you've got calcium deposits on most of your joints, so sparring is out. So, what we'll be calling on is good ol' fashion blunt force trauma. Horsepower. Heavy-duty, cast-iron, piledriving punches that will have to hurt so much they'll rattle his ancestors. Every time you hit him with a shot, it's gotta feel like he tried kissing the express train. Yeah! Let's start building some hurtin' bombs!"<br /><br />I don't like running. The treadmill and eliptical are boring. What I have always liked, though, is picking things up and putting them down.<br /><br />So I've been lifting weights. It's a challenge, given my shoddy rotator cuffs, but I have to say, it's fun. I used to be strong. Real strong. And now, slowly but surely, I can feel it coming back.<br /><br />I just bought a used copy of Joe Weider's Ultimate Bodybuilding. It's great because it lays out some simple plans and principles to follow. So I guess I'll fool around with this for a while.<br /><br />Anyway, time to fix me a protein shake and flex in the mirror. :-)JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-5470908985336387762011-01-25T15:00:00.000-08:002011-01-25T15:18:58.909-08:00"I Used to be Fat"Have you ever seen that show on MTV, <a href="http://www.mtv.com/shows/i_used_to_be_fat/series.jhtml">I Used to Be Fat?</a> I am not usually a fan of the extreme weight loss reality shows (like <a href="http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/">Biggest Loser</a>), since people who lose weight and keep it off typically lose 1-2 pounds a week -- as opposed to 90 pounds is 100 days. But something about this show reminds me of the single-minded determination I used be able to muster.<br /><br />My plan is to get to 211. I weighed 266 at the end of 2010, so that means I need to lose 55 pounds. Now I could go on <em>I Used to Be Fat</em> and lose it in a month and a half, but I'm thinking I'll take it a little more leisurely than that.<br /><br />I will eat 2400 calories a day--600 calories for each of the three thirds of the day: 6-12, 12-6, 6-bedtime. I'll do the 100 Pushups plan and cardio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and I'll lift weights Tuesday and Thursday.<br /><br />I'll divide it into three phases:<br /><ul><li>Phase One will be from 266-250.</li><li>Phase Two will be from 250-225.</li><li>Phase Three will be from 225-211.</li></ul><p>I'll write about each phase once I figure out what each will entail. :-)</p>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-11198368703955218002010-08-06T07:06:00.000-07:002010-08-06T08:16:42.412-07:00$500 for 5KOkay, forget everything I said about bets being bad.<br /><br />Bets, good.<br /><br />My younger sister Rosina L. Hunt, Esq., a successful Rhode Island lawyer and ultracompetitive sibling like myself, has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged me to a race. In October, we are running in the <a href="http://www.runforbob.org/">Run for Bob</a> in Franklin, Tenn., sponsored by the <a href="http://www.hockymca.org/">Hockamock YMCA</a>.<br /><br />Because she's a woman, she insisted I give her the same time differential that the Marine Corps gives women: three minutes. So if a man has to finish the race in 30 minutes, a woman has 33. To get a perfect score on the running portion of the fitness test, a man has to do <a href="http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/l/blfitmale.htm">three miles in 18 minutes</a>, and <a href="http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/l/blfitfemale.htm">a woman has to do it in 21:00</a>. Can't argue with that. If it's okay with the Marine Corps, it's okay with me.<br /><br />I've been trying to follow the <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml">Couch to 5K program</a> at <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/index.shtml">coolrunning.com</a>. Its a three-day-a-week, walk/run program that is definitely doable. Not easy - not for me, anyway - but doable.<br /><br />Weight is 261, mile time is 11:12 for one mile.<br /><br />I'll keep you posted.JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-4206648311755383922010-05-29T20:29:00.000-07:002010-05-29T20:31:30.816-07:00260 (down from 280)On the road again.... :-)<br /><br />Doing P90 X with Mr. Tony Horton. Slowly getting back to the well. <br /><br />Updates to come.JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-24989234189969000752009-12-01T08:32:00.000-08:002009-12-01T08:36:24.240-08:00RopesI bought four new jump ropes. One is a weighted speed rope, another a plain cheap plastic speedrope, and two school yard ropes with sections of plastic. The last two are slow and make me want to sing, "Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a dish...."<br /><br />So THIS will be the key to my getting back into shape. :-)JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-71306699797345242972009-09-25T07:02:00.000-07:002009-09-25T08:56:42.578-07:00Wei Wu Weight Loss<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SrznOZcPadI/AAAAAAAAADg/tV3QW_SJ1d4/s1600-h/wuweight.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385433488961792466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SrznOZcPadI/AAAAAAAAADg/tV3QW_SJ1d4/s400/wuweight.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Okay, this has gotten embarassing. It's like the episode of Friends when Phoebe first tries to visit her father, and she sits there in the front seat of the cab, with Joey and Chandler encouraging her from the back, and she keeps saying, "Okay, so here I go. I'm going. Here I go." And yet she doesn't budge.<br><br />That's like me and my recent weight loss attempts. Bold proclamations followed by...nothing. My weight has continued to hover in the 260-270 range. <br><br />Still obese.<br><br />But now I am changing my tact. The Taoists have a phrase, wei wu wei, which means doing without doing. This is most often taken to mean doing without striving or fretting or over-thinking. In martial arts, it is like the concept of no-mind. Letting your subconscious or muscle memory or whatever do the moves, while your mind remains essentially at peace.<br><br />And so that's my new plan: have no plan. Just get healthy. <br><br />Not sure how engaging this will be in terms of blog entries. We'll see. You can always comment to let me know.</p>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-83040622207063051402009-07-21T19:15:00.000-07:002009-07-21T19:27:31.386-07:00One more round, Tommy, one more roundOkay, so here I am, back at it. I weigh 266 -- down from the infamous high-point of 280. Finished 10 weeks of Weight Watchers at Work with a net loss of, like, six pounds. (The first half of the session I gained weight, no fault of Weight Watchers, just me.)<div><br /></div><div>So here's the plan:</div><div><ul><li>Count Points (a Weight Watcher thing)</li><li>Work out everyday at lunch</li><li>Lift twice a week with Josh</li><li>Walk a lot</li></ul><div>Not rocket science. </div><div><br /></div><div>My ultimate goal is 208. Since my current weight is 266, that means I've got 58 pounds to lose. I've set the following milestones to achieve:</div><div><ul><li>256</li><li>248</li><li>240</li><li>232 (weighed this briefly -- one week -- in 2006)</li><li>224 (weighed this in 1995 at Saturn before Josh was born)</li><li>216</li><li>208 (weighed this in 1987 before I got married)</li></ul><div>Not much more to the plan at this point. But I've got some momentum. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'll keep you abreast of my progress.</div></div></div>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-67950874623430564162008-10-07T14:52:00.000-07:002008-10-28T04:56:08.151-07:00Sine Qua Non: Exericise (without which, it ain't happening)I am certain -- as certain as one can be without examining the actual DNA -- that I have the <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1647517.ece">fat gene</a>. This is the little piece of code in one's DNA that predisposes one to packing on the pounds. This is why some people are happy with little portions of healthy food, while others of us crave piles of pasta and sacks of Big Macs. This is why some people eat all they want and stay thin as a rail, which others of us look the wrong way at a piece of cake and put on a pound.<br /><br />This fat gene, called the FTO gene or more affectionately the "Fatso" gene, is on the 16th chromosome. This explains why I have always harbored a secret dislike of 16 (through not nearly as much as I dislike <a href="http://supak.com/George_W_Bush_worry.jpg">43</a> and his dad, 41).<br /><br />But just when you thought all was lost, the Amish come to the rescue. Researchers discovered that, among Amish men and women, those who were very physically active were able to circumvent the negative impact of the Fatso gene. Exercise, therefore, is the first number of the combination lock, the secret ingredient -- the sine qua non, that without which it ain't happening. (This is the sort of losey-goosey translation that would make my Latin teachers at Choate cringe and suggest I try Spanish or French.)<br /><br />So my first step is to take my first step. Walk, that is. Rather than worry too much about what I eat, I am going to focus all my effort on establishing the habit of getting regular exercise. At first, this will be walking a lot. At least once a day for 20 minutes. We'll see where we go from there.JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-50947061168851036642008-09-25T14:35:00.000-07:002008-09-26T07:05:11.213-07:00Gaining and losing: the great, cosmic weight loss yo-yo<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SNwEgJyxS4I/AAAAAAAAACw/4BqZY4QyiME/s1600-h/graph080925.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250076216038345602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SNwEgJyxS4I/AAAAAAAAACw/4BqZY4QyiME/s400/graph080925.jpg" border="0" /></a>As I was walking from Park Street to South Station, I glanced at my reflection in the storefront windows, and it dawned on me: it ain't even Christmas, but I'm already working on my Santa belly!<br /><br />Fast on the heels of that thought was my realization that, despite my confidence at the outset of this blog, I can no longer deny the underlying irony -- I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to getting down to and maintaining a healthy weight.<br /><br />Well, that's not exactly true. I know a lot. I am just not particularly successful at applying my vast knowledge.<br /><br />Okay, here's what I do know. To get down to and maintain a healthy weight, you need to do one or more of the following:<br /><ul><li>Exercise regularly to rev your metabolism and keep your head in the game</li><li>Drink water to stay hydrated and avoid thirst masquerading as hunger</li><li>Eat less calories (to lose) or no more (to maintain) than you burn</li><li>Eat vegetables and fruits</li><li>Eat lean protein</li><li>Eat whole grains</li><li>Drink some skim milk</li><li>Avoid refined starch, sugar and alcohol</li><li>Limit fat</li><li>Eat six small, as opposed to three (or less) large meals daily</li></ul><p>Is there anything else? I think that's pretty much it.</p><p>If it's so freaking simple, how is it that I cannot manage to get down to a healthy weight and stay there? </p><p>Perhaps the secret lies in <em>why </em>I, or anyone for that matter, eats. What do we hope to get out of the meal. Perhaps it is one or more of the following:</p><ul><li>Energy</li><li>Nutrition</li><li>A full belly</li><li>Serotonin</li><li>A pleasant, sensual experience</li><li>Relief from stress (see serotonin)</li><li>Relief from boredom</li><li>Relief from fatigue (see energy and/or nutrition)</li></ul><p>Are those the only reasons? Seems like the bulk of them.</p><p>So, given my encyclopedic knowledge and first hand experience, this should be easy. But, judging from the reflection in the storefront windows, it is not.</p><p>So, I will go back to the drawing board and I'll be back with the new plan. Stay tuned.</p>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-44558593639609551512008-09-09T14:58:00.000-07:002008-09-09T15:14:32.726-07:00The Time Has Come: The Healthy Elvis Diet<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SMbyk8tq4BI/AAAAAAAAACo/6f_RzbwSZdE/s1600-h/HealthyElvis.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244145532706414610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SMbyk8tq4BI/AAAAAAAAACo/6f_RzbwSZdE/s400/HealthyElvis.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p align="left"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SMbxuIIDw3I/AAAAAAAAACg/jXZvMsWNUow/s1600-h/HealthyElvis.jpg"></a><br /><div>I have concluded my final diet bet. It was a draw. Now I have to figure out how to motivate myself to get back on track and again begin moving down to 208.<br /><br />In other words, it's time to resurrect my own diet creation: The Healthy Elvis Diet.<br /><br />The Healthy Elvis Diet began with a simple premise. Anyone can lose weight if they make healthy versions of the foods they normally eat. I remember thinking to myself, "Even Elvis." And just like that, a diet was born.<br /><br />I bought a book of Elvis's favorite recipes and healthified them. The obvious place to begin was the king's signature sandwich: peanut butter and 'nana. I substituted whole wheat for Wonder, natural salt-free peanut butter for Skippy, and the toaster for the skillet full of butter. Voila.<br /><br />That is the first step in this diet. Eat a healthified peanut butter and banana sandwich every day. I like mine at breakfast, but you can have it any time, really.<br /><br />Do that for a week, then we'll go on to step two. Oh yeah, and drink 48 ounces of water a day. Just those two things: PBB and H2O.</div>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-68353052638479993832008-08-27T15:01:00.000-07:002008-08-27T15:17:56.937-07:00Lose [the bet] to lose [the weight]Okay, the time has finally come to say "Enough is enough."<br /><br />You can not lose weight and keep it off by crazy dieting. Everybody knows this, but most of us -- myself included -- still harbor the secret desire to drop the weight fast and <em>then</em> get sensible. But I (and I suspect more than a few of you) are living proof it doesn't work that way.<br /><br />The last weight bet I'll ever make concludes on September 2. I have 15 or so pounds to drop between now and then. And you know what? I could do it. I'm serious. I could eat cabbage soup, work out like Michael Phelps and drench layer after layer of sweatclothes, and I could drop that insane amount. And even as I say it, there's a part of me egging me on, saying "Yeah, man. Do it! Win!" But in this case, losing (the weight) is losing (the war).<br /><br />To be healthy, we have to...be healthy. We have to eat in moderation. Not too much, not too little. We have to exercise regularly -- and at a healthy intensity and duration. And until we embrace this truth, we will never reach a healthy weight long enough to enjoy it. We will always bounce back up.<br /><br />So I am refusing to do it. I am turning my back on the cash (glorious cash) and the short-term satisfaction of Pyrrhic victory. Instead, I am cutting my losses (literally and figuratively) and going back to slow and steady. Going back to counting points and tracking what I eat on weightwatchers.com. Going back to trying to be healthy -- not just thinner.<br /><br />In other words, I have to be the loser to actually lose and thereby win.JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-55023538267457698482008-08-16T08:19:00.000-07:002008-08-16T08:23:04.733-07:00Compute Your BMI -- without an advanced degree in mathematicsFor those of you motivated by my last inspiring post to determine your own Body Mass Index, here's an easy BMI calculator from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/">BMI Calculator</a>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-35726535021157900422008-08-07T04:51:00.000-07:002008-08-07T14:58:44.153-07:00My Goal: Become Overweight<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SJrruLPmYPI/AAAAAAAAAB4/_VVB0joamQ0/s1600-h/BMIstuff.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231753095668982002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SJrruLPmYPI/AAAAAAAAAB4/_VVB0joamQ0/s400/BMIstuff.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Body Mass Index (BMI)</strong> was invented so people of different heights could compare there relative fatness...I mean fitness...in some meaningful way. Somehow, some scientist somewhere said, "What if we take a person's weight in kilograms and divide it by the square of his or her height in meters?" (An obvious solution....) And so BMI was born. To convert that crazy formula to English measurements (i.e., to use pounds and inches), you just have to multiply the whole crazy mess by 705. In other words, here's the formula: <div><div><div></div><div></div><div>BMI = Weight (lbs.) / Height (in.)2 x 705</div><div> </div><div></div><div>So, according to BMI, I am currently Obese. At 280, my highest weight and the point from which I began this recent weight loss, I had a BMI of 37. As you can see from the chart above, that put me at the high side of Obese. Eleven more pounds, and I would have been categorized as Morbidly Obese. Yikes.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>Now, at 253, I have a BMI of 34 and I am now officially closer to being merely Overweight. To actually attain my goal of being merely Overweight, I'd have to weight 217. That means losing 36 more pounds.</div><div></div><div>But at 217, I feel and look pretty damned good, to tell the truth. To get down to Normal, or 187 pounds, would put me at a weight I haven't seen since 1982.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>Let's just work on getting down to Overweight. We'll see where we go from there.</div></div></div>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-55660913494767868342008-07-31T08:48:00.000-07:002008-07-31T08:59:54.239-07:00The Second Weigh-In: The Diet Bet Dilema ContinuesThis is just a quick update on, yes, another diet bet. And no, it's not "my friend," it's me. And yes, I have to drop an unrealistic amount or weight to win, thereby violating healthy weight loss rule #1, never try to lose an unrealistic amount of weight.<br /><br />Be that as it may, here's the scoop: I have to weigh 247 1/2 by Tuesday, July 5. Last I weighed, I was 258. So once again, it's 10 pounds (10 1/2 actually) with 4 days to do it. It reminds me of a line from a Bob Dylan song:<br /><br />"Here I sit so patiently,<br />waiting to find what price,<br />you have to pay to get out of<br />going through all these things twice."<br /><br />I guess I'll go with the <a href="http://backtothewell.blogspot.com/2008/06/two-days-till-weigh-in.html">winning strategy from one of my earlier entries</a>.<br /><br />After this, though, all bets are off. Seriously. For a while anyway. The goal is to lose slowly and to keep the weight off. Crazy diets and diet bets are not the best way to achieve that. So this is it. The last diet bet.JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-58115224741561612552008-07-21T06:19:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:35:19.071-08:00Weight Loss as of 7/21/2008<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SISNGP7A2lI/AAAAAAAAABg/Ia425D2id9U/s1600-h/fatstats080721.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225456606149401170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SISNGP7A2lI/AAAAAAAAABg/Ia425D2id9U/s400/fatstats080721.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-1707916952785360972008-07-20T19:21:00.000-07:002008-07-20T19:34:57.290-07:00Back to the basics: losing weight and getting in shapeOkay, so I got a little carried away with the making money part of blogging and forgot my mission: eating right, working out, losing weight, and getting back in kick-ass shape. My original goal was to motivate myself and anyone else who wanted to come along for the ride. And that's what I'm going to get back to.<br /><br />"But what about the how-much-money-I'm-making-from-this-blog posts?" some of you are wondering. "I liked that part."<br /><br />Not to worry. I've spun that off and created a new blog called <a href="http://bloggingfunandprofit.blogspot.com/">Blogging for Fun and Profit</a>. In that blog, I'll let you know how much your clicks on my Google Ads and purchases from my Amazon.com recommendations have netted so far. In this blog, I'll let you know how much weight I've lost and what my body mass index (BMI) has dropped to.<br /><br />Also, some of you have asked that I include the weight I lost prior to starting the blog. On December 23, 2007, already stuffed with holiday feasting, I tipped the scales at a hefty 280. At 6'1", I had a BMI of 37.<br /><br />At last weighing, I was 260. So I've lost a total of 20 pounds and my new BMI is 34.<br /><br />My long-term goal, as I've mentioned before, is to get down to 208, the highest acceptable weight for my height according to the United States Marine Corps. That would give me a BMI of 28.<br /><br />I'll look at the whole crazy subject of weight charts and BMI another time.<br /><br />Eat right. :)JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-56114112903078929152008-07-17T15:01:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:35:19.312-08:00Pounds pouring off, payola piling up<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SH_BgG9uJiI/AAAAAAAAABU/RwrI1WfD3zo/s1600-h/DPP080717.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224106850142529058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SH_BgG9uJiI/AAAAAAAAABU/RwrI1WfD3zo/s400/DPP080717.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Perhaps I am easily impressed, but I can't believe I have made $22.30 by writing about my battle to get back to the lean, mean Jason Hunt of my youth. It took me years to write my two mystery novels about Deke Rivers, and yet my blog earnings have already outstipped my novel earnings...by $22.30.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>Maybe I almost missed my true calling. Think about it. All America has been transfixed on the Herculean efforts and phenomonal transformations of contestants on NBC's <a href="http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/">The Biggest Loser</a>. Maybe, just maybe, I am meant to at last attain my fame and fortune <strong>not</strong> by writing hardboiled classics, and <strong>not </strong>by matching the weight loss heroics of those biggest losers, but rather by endlessly struggling for merely <strong>meager</strong> results -- and writing about that.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>Maybe I am supposed to be America's Most Moderate Loser. Or America's Least Impressive but Funniest Loser.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>Hmm. I'll continue to comtemplate the possibilities, and you can continue to click on the ads, and together we'll see just how far this thing goes. If any of you have other ideas for how to make this blog into even more of a cash cow, please post a comment.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>And yes, with $22.30 of revenue, I think I am now successful enough to once again dust off and reveal to the world my secret weapon in the battle against pudgacity and out-of-shape-itude. Yes, beginning with my next post, I will start sharing the secrets of "The Healthy Elvis Diet."<br /></div><br /><br /><div>"Thank you. Thank you very much."<br /></div><br /><br /><div>Till then, eat moderately, exercise enthusiastically, and click gratuituously.</div>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2528971428536006338.post-59901252523569487762008-07-16T04:25:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:35:19.470-08:00Blogging and jogging for bucks<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SH3dBfx6A4I/AAAAAAAAABM/Xq6K5lEZQX0/s1600-h/DollarsPerPound.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223574160600073090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BFZjhHkIZxY/SH3dBfx6A4I/AAAAAAAAABM/Xq6K5lEZQX0/s400/DollarsPerPound.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Okay, so let's make this interesting for my homies in Corporate America. It is not enough that I am slogging through the early morning fog, knees throbbing and sweat raining down, in an effort to shed unwanted pounds. (If the slow, steady tedium of diet and daily exercise is agonizing on the participant, how much more so must it be for the spectator.) To keep readers, I need to spice up this blog, add some hard numbers and inject massive doses of motivation, to make it more engaging for you -- and potentially more lucrative for me.</div><br /><div>So I've added stats. I've started with the birth of this blog, and I am tracking the following figures:<br /></div><ul><li>How many days the blog has been up</li><br /><li>How many posts I've published in that time</li><br /><li>How much weight I've lost</li><br /><li>How much money I've earned from people clicking on the ads</li><br /><li>The rate in lbs./wk I'm losing</li><br /><li>How much money I've earned in $/lb. </li></ul><br /><div><strong>Goal-setting</strong></div><br /><div>My goals for this little experiment are as follows:<br /></div><ul><li>Lose 60 lbs.</li><br /><li>Maintain a rate of 1.5 lbs/wk</li><br /><li>Earn, via ads, $10/lb.</li></ul><br /><div>The last goal seems the most ambitious, but that's where you come in. Everytime you check out my latest, ever-more-motivating entry, click on all four ads in the upper righthand corner. (You have to use the down arrow each time to get to new ads -- a usability faux pas, if you ask me.) Then send a link to the blog to everyone you know who is even remotely interested in losing weight and getting in shape -- and remind them to click on the ads. You can explain to them that it is an experiment in grassroots e-commerce.<br /><br /></div><div>I know $10/lb. sounds tough. But together we can do this. :-)</div>JasonHunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111649472335165483noreply@blogger.com1