FatBloggers.net A little push to lose the tush.

I would like to take the opportunity to welcome a new FatBlogger to the fold. John from John Is Fit. He is just beginning to trod the road we have been traveling, lo these last 8 months. I told him that this was a good place for support, confession and the occasional swift kick in the pants.

He already exists in the Blogrolls of many of our contributers, now he is here to bring his uniqueness to our collective.

�PS - He will be designated John C. on this blog and I will be John T.

The September 2007 issue of Men’s Health magazine again lists a number of criteria to determine your fitness level. At first glance, these 5 exercises elicit a response of, Oh, hell no! But then I began thinking about it, and I think that by this time next summer, I could successfully accomplish a couple of these feats of strength and agility.

1) Single Leg Squat - Stand on a bench. Hold your arms in front of you and flex your left ankle so your toes point up. Keep your torso upright, bend your right knee and slowly lower your body until your left heel touches the floor. Pause 1 second, then push yourself up.

0 reps = Out of Shape
1 rep = Average
3 reps = Fit
More than 5 reps = MAN Fit

2) 1-Mile Run - Go to your local track and take 4-laps.

More than 10 minutes = Out of Shape
8 minutes = Average
7 minutes = Fit
Less than 6 minutes = MAN Fit

3) Vertical Jump - Against a wall, extend your arm and mark your reach with chalk. Then jump as high as you can and make another mark. The space between marks is your vertical jump.

Less than 16″ = Out of Shape
16-18″ = Average
18-24″ = Fit
More than 24″ = MAN Fit

4) Chin-Up - Start from a full hang, hands shoulder-width apart, palms toward you. Pull your chin over the bar, and then lower your body back down.

0 reps = Out of Shape
4 reps = Average
8 reps = Fit
More than 9 reps = MAN Fit

5) Push-Up - Assume the classic push-up position: legs straight, hands beneath your shoulders. Brace your abs. Keeping your body rigid, lower yourself until your chest touches the floor. Then push back up until your arms are extended.

Less than 20 reps = Out of Shape
20-34 = Average
35-44 = Fit
More than 45 = MAN Fit

So, how would you do?

242.4! That’s what it said on the scale this morning. A loss of 3 lbs. exactly. That makes ten straight weeks of losses.

Like John, this was a bit of a suprise week for me.�I had a big loss last week so I assumed I have a small loss or no loss this week. Again�I was plesently suprised when I stepped on the scale.

No picture this week. Sorry. I am on vacation on a strange computer and I can’t get the picture to post right.

If you really need to see me in my white t, you can head over to�Guess How Much�I Weigh.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Tony
8/17: 242.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
22.4 lbs. to go

The nature of my current work assignment makes the certainty of making it to the gym sketchy at best on the three days leading up to weigh-in. When I ended up putting in 15-hours on Monday, I was worried that I would register two consecutive weeks of gains for the first time. I don’t want to say that there was no need to worry, I don’t want to become complacent and expect a positive outcome on the scale each week. But a positive result is exactly what I got!

I think that this week, as I notched 2.5 significant benchmarks, it is appropriate that we find ourselves in Southern California! California State Route 330 runs 15.4 miles from San Bernardino to the resorts of the San Bernardino National Forest featuring a 6% grade along its entire length! Just like the road to my goal, its an uphill climb with a number of hairpin curves, but the scenery will be spectacular when I get there!

Anton, a drum roll please�

Starting Weight (Dec. 22, 2006): 392 lbs.
Starting BMI: 51.7
Weight Today (August 16, 2007): 330.8 lbs.
Current BMI: 43.6

Weight Change This Week: -5.0 lbs.
Total Loss: -61.2 lbs.
NEXT Goal: Lose 25 lbs. by Labor Day (0.8 lbs to go!)

Cross-Published on Rejected Reality

I’m having a pretty good day (more on that in the next post), so I thought I would start putting a bit of my own� fingerprint on FatBloggers.

I just moderated a comment on a post Lady Rose wrote back on July 18th entitled ‘Rethinking healthy eating plan’. The commenter made the point that where you eat is almost as important as what you eat, he then linked to an online polling site. Rather than sending our readers away, I have posted a NEW POLL on the right to make the sample group more focused to our purposes (college statistics paying off).
So, vote away and leave your thoughts!

After a trip over my handlebars a week ago last Monday night, I got back in the saddle again this morning and took a long ride.  Well, long for me, anyway.  I rode from my house and made a twenty-mile round trip to Hat Rock State Park, a place I believe I’ve blogged about before. I was gone a couple of hours, but I took some time while I was there to ride around the park a little bit, and even up the trail and around the rock itself.  The trip back was a little tougher as it was more uphill, but not too bad. 

The other evening, I was invited to participate in a group ride from our local bike shop.  When I got there, I quickly found that these were real road hounds with nice road bikes and all the right gear.  I was way out of my league.  I appreciated the offer, but I politely declined.  Hey, I’m just a guy with a trail bike and a helmet.  I had the idea to maybe start a fat guys’ biking group for guys like me who are just wanting to be in shape.  You don’t have to be a die-hard rider to get a lot of benefit out of a group ride.  I’ll have to ponder that one for next year. 

I found this in my Men’s Health Magazine.

“A fat belly makes you a bigger man - and less of a man, says a new study in the Journal Of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. When researchers studied 584 men for almost 20 years they found that a 4-point increase in body mass index accelerates your natural decline in testosterone by 10 years. This corresponds to a gain of 30 lbs. for a 5′10 man. ”
-Men’s Health August 2007, pg. 50

I am 5′11′ and still 60lbs. overweight. Which means I have the testosterone of a 55 year old man. Add the extra 40 lbs. I was carrying in January and I had the testosterone of a 70 Year old man.

Hmmmm, I wonder if you get the testosterone back as you lose the weight or if it is gone for ever like youth and innocence and my copy of the first Wallflowers CD that mysteriously disappeared. The one before the band sold out and became crappy.

According to Wikipedia

“Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid. Testosterone plays key roles in health and well-being. Examples include enhanced libido, energy, immune function, and protection against osteoporosis.”

Tony
8/14: 245.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
25.4 lbs. to go

Cross Published on Guess How Much I Weigh

This summer has been marked by profound change for me.  My weight loss–and it’s associated lifestyle changes–have just been one part of it.  I’ve also been through a divorce, moved to a different town, and have taken on some different responsibilities at school with our upcoming school year.  Some other family changes–both positive and not–have also taken place for me in the last few months.  It’s been quite a summer, to say the least.

I’d also like to announce another change here at FatBloggers.net.  Our very own John Thomas has agreed to take over the day-to-day operations of the site, and will be eventually taking over ownership of the whole thing.  Oh, I’m not going anywhere, I’d still like to serve as a contributor here.  After all, I’m still on maintenance and have a few issues with that to work out as I continue through Weight Watchers. I’m not done with this thing; not by a long shot.  I just feel that it’s time for the management here to change hands, and John is just the guy to do it.  He’s an outstanding blogger in his own right (if you haven’t read his Rejected Reality blog, you really need to), and  is well on his way to goal weight.  He’s the one I credit with getting me started on Weight Watchers in the first place. 

So thanks to all of the contributors, posters, and readers who have made this place what it is today.  I’m amazed at the traffic we’ve gotten since last March.  I credit this site both with my weight loss so far, and my continued maintenance in the future.  I’ll keep checking in just like I always have been.

245.4!!!! That’s what it said on the scale this morning. That’s a loss of 4.8 lbs.

I am finally under 250! I can’t tell you the last time I weighed less than 250. I know for sure that I have been over 250 since 2003 and probably back even further than that.

This was a strange week for me. I injured my leg playing softball and was unable to exercise. I figured I was going to have my first gain. As you can imagine I’m plesently suprised.

Tony
8/10: 245.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
25.4 lbs. to go

Last weigh-in - Week #20

Loss since last weigh in - 9.6 lbs.

Total loss - 36 lbs.