Off the Grid - Low Carbin' It!

Well, in the parlance of the Bourne Ultimatum (the big spy movie)... I have "been off the grid" for a while. I have still been low carbing it, and am still absolutely loving low-carb life!

This morning I hit 300.0 lbs (simply 0.2 lbs away from breaking through to the 200's). My wife said if it was her she'd have spit or chopped off body parts to see the lower numbers. I accepted what I saw with joy, and realized that soon I would be trading in the 290's.

I've been stuck between 310 and 302 lbs, bouncing around for many weeks now. My losses have slowed, and I have been frustrated - but still committed. I was fighting it hard at low carb levels doing the same thing as usual at first - but was still pretty stalled. Then I slacked up a little and let my carb counts get a little higher. So I don't know. I figure it is normal adjustments the bod is making - and maybe the things that got me here to this point are now less effective (portions, etc). And also whatever it is, is something I need to adapt to. I have tried cutting portions, and increasing my activity. I have switched to mostly meat and eggs for a few days to shake out some progress. We'll see how it goes. But what was pretty effortless and fast progress has slowed of late for sure.

The other day my wife got me a new pair of 50" jeans that I tried for the first time. These were just a little snug, but are way less in girth than the 62" I wore a little more than a year ago (110 lbs heavier). That was a nice feeling to hit 50" there, and soon we will be into the 40's!

The clothes thing is funny as I am having to retire clothes that are now impossibly large on me, and am still working into the mix clothes that fit, and some that are still in the closet at varying levels of too big for me. I am on my second belt, and I am very near to drilling yet a new hole or two so it will continue to fit me. And as I continue to drop we are having to get more and more new clothes that fit me now. The old ones are so much bigger that they look absoutely silly now if I try to wear them.

My wife also bought me a leather jacket for Christmas (well, she got it for my stepson, but he couldn't wear it, so I got it - :smile:). It is my first leather jacket that I can recall ever having. It is nice and comfortable and warm, but I will admit to feeling a little like I was wearing clothes that I shouldn't be - or that belonged or were meant for someone else. As if someone would come up to me and say, "Excuse me, sir, but you are not supposed to be wearing this!" in an indignant tone. But just the same, it is very nice. :) I also have several new pairs of jeans that are very nice. I never had a pair from "Carhart" before, and I must say they are absolutely the most awesome pair of jeans I have ever owned. They are lined (super warm) and are super tough and super comfortable.

I am still working on using the elliptical machine we slavaged. I have replace two $00.80 parts and it works just like those at the Sears store. I am really happy with that. I have pitiful levels of endurance but hope to increase what I can do over the next few months. I make it several minutes of fast and hard work before I got to get off huffing and puffing, my heart pounding.

Dunno if anyone has ever heard of "Body for Life"? I have been thinking about trying to do it low carb, or something sortof like it. From what I can tell Body for Life is about portion control, nutrition, and high intensity excercise. I think I have made good headway on the nutrition front over the past year, but Bill Phillips advocates higher levels of carbs and high intensity physical training. I really admire the way that he stokes the body with 6 smaller meals (I am thinking insulin control and sugar regulation), emphasizes portion control, and has a strong emphasis on what I would call simple Positive Thinking and Positive Living. It is admirable. I just think that my personal way of doing it (if I did) would be to stay as low carb as I can. The other exercise advocate that has taught me and influenced me in the past is Bill Pearl ("Getting Stronger" and "Keys to the Inner Universe"). Bill Pearl is an excellent resource about types of excercizes, and routines that will help most anybody. I really like the way that Bill Philips does the journalling that goes to nutrition, excercise, goal setting, dreaming a little, planning, and positive thinking. That is something I want to do more of in the coming year.

I am so out of shape it's not even funny. I have little endurance. My cardiovascular health and lung capacity are seemingly pathetic. It will take me a bit to get to weight training, but that is my plan. I brought my free weights (dumbells) home from relatives I had lent them to, and I am hoping to be able to break back into some kind of routine there eventually. Eons ago I worked out and weight trained, and I need to slowly get back into it.

Regardless of what I do, I need to continue to make forward progress. Get healthier. Physically stronger. Anyhow, it's a day at a time kinda thing. :)