Time to turn over a new leaf - Day 1.

I have finally reached the point where I can no longer look at myself in the mirror. It is time to pounce it action and to reclaim my body. I made a decision last night during my two hour commute home that I was going to start eating less and healthier. This also means starting to take supplements to get the ball rolling.

I've put on quite a bit of weight in the last 2 years having gone through two breakups in that time and having eaten partly out of depression. Also, my activity levels have consistently decreased over the last 12 years and my metabolism has slowed.

I used to play Football and work out/lift weights 4-5 times a week on top of that. I was even in the Junior National Team for my country 3 times; I played Inside Linebacker and sometimes Iron-Manned offensive line as a guard.. I'm even responsible for breaking someone's thigh bone by doing a crab block on him with the Center :P It was quite unintentional, though, and the victim was actually a semi-friend with us and a future team mate.

I've gone from that, to just working out, but when I moved to the US, I began framing and that was very hard work. So eventually working out kind of petered-out, as well. Since then I've also moved to easier work/jobs that burns considerably less calories.

I've gone from rock-climbing 4 times a week to not having done it in years. I did Kendo for 8-months twice a week but busy schedule also terminated that love. It was really harsh on my feet as climbing was harsh on my hands and arms. I'm built too much like a linebacker to really ever be really good at either.

Before and during the beginning phases of Tango I was doing Ballroom dancing 3-5 times a week. That dropped eventually in favor of Tango.. the form of dancing that burns the least calories of the dances, lol.

So today.. and the last few years.. dancing Argentine Tango has really been my only exercise.
Now.. dancing is and can be good exercise but not alone and by itself. But busy schedule, tight budget, etc, all conspire against trying to start another program or activity. 4-5 years ago I bought a few year membership to Bally's and I went like 6 times in 2 years. I won't waste money like that again knowing that on a very short notice I might spend half the month out-of-state and on the road.

So I've decided to start a diet that initially will be built on the back of Myoplex shakes. I used the protein shakes when I was still working out and out of the many different brads I always liked these the best. I also intend to only buy groceries I never buy or that go bad if I do.. vedgetables and fruit. I have the interest and the motivation to burn off what I've put on as quickly as possible. Later down the road I intend to reinstitute more physical activities to assist in this goal. For right now, though, I need to accomplish the weight loss by way of my diet. Get back on the schedule of eating small and often.. 5-7 times a day versus what I've been doing last few months.. eating only once or twice a day and then gorging myself with crap.

And what has really bugged me the most about my diet and weight gain is that I know how good I look and feel when I am in shape.. and I also know exactly what to eat but I always revert back to the American TV-culture-diet. When I was playing football I even went through weeks of measuring everything to the gram to figure out what my intake was and to figure out how many calories I was burning each day. Back then it was 2,600 calories to maintain muscle and to slowly burn fat. These days I might pound in 5,000 calories in a day, easy.

I'm 6'-2" and currently weight 240 lbs. Now, all my life I've been outside the "normal" weight for someone my height and that is mostly due to muscle and bone density. I could never weight 180 or under and never have. I did weigh 190-195 when I was thin(ner) and much younger and I was a lean machine.

I believe that today with the muscle mass, or rather lack of it, my ideal weight would be between 200 and 210 lbs. I don't care, per se, how much I weigh as long as that weight is in muscle, but that isn't and is not going to be the case anytime in the near future. Muscle outweighs fat cells by a ratio of 9 to 5.

I thought about starting heavy and just doing shakes but I won't and shouldn't do more than 2 myoplex shakes per day or I'll be overloading on protein and that is bad too. I just need to make every other mean a banana/apple, etc. The first few days and the first week will be the hardest.. I remember when I did a 3-day fast and worked myself into it for a week by limiting my input and went completely organic and veggies and fruit only, and found out that after a certain amount of time things get easier. The 3rd day of the fast is also the best feeling one.. I didn't want to do a longer fast as I needed lots of calories and energy those days to support my work style and schedule. I, of course, ruined the benefits of the fast by breaking it with a huge meal of eggs, sausage, and pancakes >.< Oh well.

Feeling a little woozy right now and it's probably from starting heavy with the metabolism boost that has caffeine in it this morning. Caffeine from like soda never does anything for me and has never for example kept me up at night, but taken in an empty stomach can and has in the past put me in a weird flux. I tried some caffeine pills once to try and stay awake after a milonga in Denver for the hour and a half drive home but those made me seriously sick - I was hungry and dehydrated after the milonga. I'm actually online right now just to settle in on the feeling and let the shake I had an hour and a half early settle in and do it's job before heading down to the basement for work. I'm up in the mountains doing some trim carpentry in a house I trimmed out a year and a half-2 years ago. A little sidejob project. Certainly the thin air contributes to my feeling as well. First day is always a little off at an elevation of 10,000 feet above Sea Level.

Now.. the trick is to keep this diet going for the next few months is going to be a bear of a challenge. I hope to get the support I need to keep at it - or better yet.. quick results to keep me motivated. We'll see how much 'middle-age' has changed my metabolism.

Ta.