What Has Chile Been Up To?

I know it's been quiet on this blog lately and I apologize. However, my current focus is really on losing weight and increasing my fitness so I spend most of my blogging time at my newer blog: Chile's Little Weight Problem. Over there, I talk about why being overweight and out of shape is a problem, not just because it is unhealthy and unattractive, but because it does not bode well for thriving if things get as bad as many predict they will due to peak oil, economic collapse, and/or climate change.

For my own accountability, to track my progress, and to share what I'm doing with others who may be interested, I am keeping a Food Log and an Exercise Log on the blog. Every bite of food I eat gets recorded in the food log. I'd say this helps keep me from "cheating" but I don't really need it for that. Since switching to eating lots of potatoes, my cravings for sugar, chocolate, coffee, and fatty foods have pretty much been eliminated! All of my exercise is recorded in the log. It does not include the regular chores and activity such as vacuuming or laundry, but it does include significant yard work where I've worked up a sweat from the labor.

I wanted to share some good news with my regular readers here. The following is cross-posted from the other blog and includes milestones that I have reached recently.

Today I will be laundering and then packing away the biggest of my "fat pants." I'm going to save this pair for comparison when I've lost all my excess weight. This morning, I put on a pair of pants that I could not zip up two months ago. Last month, I could zip them up but they were unattractively tight. Now they fit fine, which is good because otherwise I'd be down a pair of pants because of the ones that are too big.

Although my sidebar only records my weight loss from May 23 (17.5 pounds to date) because that is when I fully committed to eating right and exercising, today's weigh-in shows that I've lost over 20 pounds from my highest ever weight recorded earlier this year. I'm beginning to feel like I'm getting my life back! And I'm really looking forward to cleaning out the closet by next year so that I have clothes for only one size. The charity thrift stores will be cleaning up with all that I will be donating over the rest of the year.

As you can see by the sidebar, I have achieved my goal already for a healthy blood pressure. (It was 99/61 on Monday.) I'm sure my cholesterol is back down under 200 where it should be by now and I'm eagerly looking forward to new bloodwork in September to find out for sure. My eventual goal is for it to be 150 or lower as research shows that is the safest level to ensure no heart attacks. However, since excess weight contributes to higher cholesterol, it is unlikely mine will be that low until I lose more weight. Insurance will not pay for it to be checked again until next year (unless medically necessary - which it will not be!)

As you can see by my exercise log, I have been working very hard out in the yard. We're doing a big project that involves a lot of manual labor: using a pick/mattock, using a drop bar, digging, and hauling dirt, gravel, and rocks around in buckets and a wheelbarrow. I've put in over 9 hours on this since we started on Saturday. Normally I'd be in a fair amount of pain. However, thanks to the strength training I've been doing, I am not. I'm sore and I'm tired but I am not in pain. My back and shoulders have been holding up just fine. My feet are sore, but that is due to screwing them up years ago and they always get sore when I spend time standing on them in one place. (They generally hurt less when I walk than when I stand in place.)

The future implications for this are good. With increasing fuel costs (peak oil, political upheaval, aging electrical grid), we expect to need to do more and more without the benefit of machinery powered by electricity or oil. Being more fit will make this easier and it looks like I am already on my way. Note in the exercise log that I did not skip my regularly scheduled strength training workouts just because I'd already done work in the yard.

Are you taking steps in your life to lose weight (if you need to), improve your physical health (shown through measurable lab numbers), and get more fit? If not, what are you waiting for?!