Losin the tire
2004-04-26 10:33 a.m.
I�ve been wearing tanks (a.k.a. wife beaters) lately. It�s a step towards slimming back down. I read somewhere this weekend that Uma Thurman eats nekid to lose weight. Someone else mentioned eating in the mirror. Read elsewhere (I think men�s health) that a 5 mile walk and a 10% drop on food intake per day will cut 4% body fat in um... 2 months or something. Not that I have any idea what 4% body fat means, nor can I truly count a 10% drop in food.It�s pretty crazy how many �secrets� everyone has about health and weight loss. Add to that that we�re all different sizes and shapes with different tastes and metabolisms and it�s all a big nasty clusterfuck. Then there�s the fact that some people get their fats in their ass, and others on their waist. Some in their calves and thighs. Oh, and then some of us sit at a desk all day, while others are driving all day, and some are carrying boxes or pushing mail carts.
Add all that together and it makes health tips a big steaming pile of low carb, low fat, sugar free, high protein, low sodium, proven to lower heart risk, low cholesterol, no taste bullshit. What an industry to bank on, seriously. Especially now. Now that it�s reported that we, in America, are the biggest and fattest slobs on the planet. I�m sure if you left the Americas anytime previously, you would have heard that first hand, but now that the media and government are involved, it�s time to make some loot.
And it�s not that they�re wrong. They�re right. We�re a bunch of gluttonous fat asses. We super size. We have 100�s of remote controls. We host the �king of beers� (even though most big brand American beers suck). We drown ourselves in huge portions. We have little to no education regarding the food we put into our own bodies. Shit, most of us don�t know how to cook or feed ourselves.
We are about as prepared for food consumption as we are to drive, and I�ve met very few people on this planet who drive well. We�re taught a few rules (common laws of the road), about a week of behind the wheel training and then we�re given some laminated paper allowing public control over a 2 ton hunk of machinery. Fuck, it takes us 1 -2 years to learn how to walk, and now you want us to push heaps of metal and rubber around concrete asphalt that�s shared with walking pedestrians? Why do you think there are so many bad drivers out there?!?
Sure, we have health classes and junk at some schools, but not all of us do. For some reason, beyond just being high all the time, I don�t recall ever having more than a week of health education. Granted I went to private schools, but I figure such things have some sort of standard. Why am I one of the few of my peers who know how to cook? Why am I one of the few of my peers who actually look at a food label when shopping? Why haven�t I been doing this shit for years?!?
Ah fuck it... this rant has less of a point than I thought it did. I�m just annoyed by the fact that I feel undereducated about a very important subject, and as I look around me, it doesn�t seem that very many people are ahead of me.
So I�ve been wearing tanks lately, while at home, under everything including t-shirts, etc.... just all the damned time. It�s tight enough that it tugs in all the wrong places. I can actually feel my gut as I walk. Again, I�m not huge at far as being fat is concerned. About 5 - 10 lbs overweight at the moment (fluctuates hourly). And the fact that this shirt still tugs at me means a lot to me in my head. When I�m walking through the grocery store, that consistent reminder keeps my eyes on the labels.
I�ve cut my portions, just overall. I don�t eat too many carbs, but I eat some. Low carb bread, an occasional 2 or 3 flour tortillas (especially when I make em from scratch), or when my girl makes some mashed potatoes. I eat about 4 � 6 times a day and never fill � ranging from slightly hungry to satisfied. It goes well with my philosophies of maintaining balance overall. It�s taken me about 4 or 5 weeks to REALLY get the habit down. Now I don�t hunger for more than I need, and I don�t hesitate to grab a snack when I�m hungry.
I�ve also been walking about 3 miles every morning. Even today in the pouring rain, which was just plain fun as fuck. I love walking in the rain. I figure once I get the habit down, I can start running, and then even if I don�t feel like running for a day or two here and there, I�ll still have the walking habit. I�ve lost 5 � 9 lbs. sometime within the past 2 weeks.
Oh, and I still drink, although I cut out the beer. I may start drinking light beers or something, but for now, I just enjoy the gin, tequila, or vodka. Overall, the idea is not to be a slave to my health and diet. What�s most important to me is that I still enjoy eating and living, while staying healthy. I�m not trying to live forever, as fun and happiness is far more important to me, but wit hall the damage I do, regulation Is necessary. It also makes all of this easier. I never feel like I�m missing out or like I �shouldn�t� do something. It�s open season, once the gluttony is gone, and a lil education seems to go a long way.
Anyways, I probably won�t rid myself of this lil tire by summer time, but I hope to have most of it gone by the end of the year. And, well, that�s just some cool shit.