christmas cheer

i swore that i would not be impeded by the past couple of holidays. i did pretty good with thanksgiving simply because i wasn't here; i took off to new york to visit my sister and we were not sitting much. we were traveling all over to upstate new york and out to massachusetts. after that, i went out to california for a week and visited my cousins. luckily there was a nice mountain trail there that i could do some running on a few days i was there, so i did pretty well. then christmas came. and i've gone up a few pounds. just couldn't say no to those danish butter cookies....mmmmm.

but all is well. i have a purpose in this endeavor that supersedes any other purpose that could ever drive one to make this kind of a change or development or commitment in their lives. when i was doing good last year losing lots of weight, i was being driven by two things: health and image. not for anyone else, but for myself. i knew that i needed to make some improvements for the sake of simply being able to live and to live comfortably. i also wanted to be able to look in the mirror and think 'damn thems some muscles.' the trouble is that both of those desires and purposes are very fleeting. your health can be great and yet your life can be taken in a moment. you can achieve that figure you desire and yet time will still get the better of you in the end.

so i have come to the realization that this needs to be about something more than myself or my health. there is an excellent line from a song that comes to mind; it is the impossible dream, from my favorite play, the man of la mancha, in which don quixote is telling what he believes makes a good knight. my favorite line is, 'to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause.'

that is what this has to be about. if your body is a temple, then it should be dedicated as such. if you would not go spraypaint on a temple, you should not have a tattoo; but likewise, if you would not take a bucket of tar  into a temple then the things that are detrimental to ones health should not be taken into one's body, and constant work must be done to keep the form of the body whole and healthy.

this has to be motivated by a religious desire for self improvement. it has to be something spiritual. if the spirit is made healthy, all other things will follow. i draw a lot of inspiration from this verse, and you don't have to be mormon to appreciate the significance of it or the value of the truth within it; it is rather universal.

1 nephi 17:3 And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.

that verse is what it's all about now. it's time to not only obey the big three commandments within the word of wisdom, but more especially to make the dietary guidelines a priority and to put my body into the kind of shape it needs to be to be of better use to God.

here's to a new beginning.

thus it is

so we had a bit of progress starting a couple weeks ago. i lost about 9 pounds over the course of 2 weeks. then i went on vacation for 2 weeks. surprisingly, i only put on about 3 pounds thanks to a bit of walking in boston and new york, and some good running on a hilly trail on the side of lake mendocino in california. however, this past weekend was full of lackluster dieting and half-ass efforts at the gym. starting tomorrow, it changes. gonna march into hell for a heavenly cause.

march on, people

fat guy, little coat

long time no talk of fat.

the story has changed a bit folks. i decided to stick with the gym a bit longer rather than trying to do workouts on my own at home. we all know that shiz don't work. so now i have a new trainer, good old travis quit. the new guy is named thiago (think tee-ah-go), from brazil, and pretty damn good at what he does. got some good new regimens going and the diet is a bit more solid, at least during the work week. plenty of carbs in the morning, not so much in the afternoon.

rock on.

Leg 1 - Progress...

...is slow, but it's happening. Here we have some new pictures. As I have said in the last post, Leg 1 is the stretch from 280 lbs. to 270 lbs. I am happy to announce that I am at 278.6 as the photograph shows. Apparently something is working. I think I need to find a more intense cardio format. I changed it up a bit for all of last week and did the same this week, starting with a 5 minute jog on the treadmill, moved up speed for 3 minutes, then higher for 2 minutes, back and forth for 20 minutes with a 5 minute cooldown. I think it is working better than the 20 minutes on the aerobic setting of the stairmaster and some of the other treadmill stuff I've done recently.

My awesome face. I shaved so that you can see my awesome double chin. That's what we're trying to get rid of here.

Front view. Awesome.

Side view. We loves us some bacon!

Upper thigh or quadriceps. Still hairy.

 

Calf.

Bicep

Progress, my friends.

Leg 1 - So it begins

Here we go folks. Today it starts. Leg 1, or the first ten pound round. From 280 to 270. This is where it starts. I believe I'm actually a bit over 280, but regardless of that, the starting point is 280 and this leg will not be over until I reach 270. Just makes it easier to think about in my head rather than worrying about every little ounce. So here's some starting pictures. I will take pictures of my face, front view, side view, arm, upper leg, and calf once a week and for every leg. Ha.

This is my face

This is me from a front view

 Side view

The lowly bicep

Quadriceps. Yes, I am a hairy man

And here is my calf. Very hairy still.

And this is the master chart. The pic in the middle is the goal for someday, the yellow papers are the chart for leg 1 and will change with each leg of the course. The big white cardstock at the bottom is the total chart. Here we go.

'Become who you were born to be!' -Lord Elrond

I think Labor Day is an appropriate day to make a declaration, just because it is rich in the spirit of the common man, the laborer that goes to work before the sun rises and in some cases does not go home until after it has set. It has the spirit of revolution and strength and a renewal to commitment built into it. Seeing as I am at a point where a serious commitment, or a renewal of an old commitment, must be made, I have decided to write a declaration or manifesto of sorts to state my reasons, my opinions, and why I think others should follow my lead.

Work is one of the number one problems I see with the American people today. We do too much of it, dedicate too much of our lives to it for too little of a reward from it. In other countries, people work to live, while here we live to work, striving for that essentially worthless green piece of paper that, as we have seen in recent years, inevitably becomes nothing more than the paper that it is, and no policy or speech can make it any more convincing either to the outside world or to those within our own nation.

Meanwhile, the jobs that have come to dominate the American job market are such that generally place people at a desk or in some other sedentary position where the mind is allowed to work but the body is placed on a lower tier of priority. As a result, people are getting fatter and fatter, searching for some miracle that will fix the problem instantly, without effort. All the while, they continue to eat whatever is most convenient, close at hand, or cheap, without much or any thought to the content or quality of what they are eating.

This has not been a problem for me for the most part. I work in a very active industry where I have to roll large cast iron pipes ranging from 300 to 3,000 pounds, for ten hours each day. I am very active, but I have not always eaten the proper foods or the proper amounts of them, thus I am in the position I am in.

As Americans, I believe we were meant for more than what we are right now. Our country is falling apart and our people are not much better. Things need to change, but we cannot count on politicians or business leaders to change things. It starts with the individual. So I invite you to read this declaration I have written, to do your best to understand it, and if you feel it is something you can commit to, put your name to it as I have. This is not just about losing weight, or looking or feeling better. This is about being better. This is about becoming more (or less :) ). This is about becoming the ideal you, in body, in spirit, and in mind. If you can commit yourself to this, do so, and then pass it on to anyone and everyone you think needs to have a new beginning.

The Labor Day Declaration

Be it known, on this the fifth day of September, in the Year of our Lord two thousand and eleven, from the Coast Pacific to the Coast Atlantic, and to all the citizens of the world who may read this declaration; as we the American People, and most especially the American Working Man rest from the labors of daily life that have come to consume our lives to such an extent that the health, wisdom and education of this nation is waning; as the summer months come to a close and the cold dark of winter begins to set in; I here declare the day is not dead, and the unconquerable spirit of man, too long retired in the habit of careless hibernation must now rise, and must with doubtless courage stand to take his right place again.

Today, the irons of old habits must burst and be buried deep in the caverns of memory where they may serve only as a reminder and a token of the past; of its reality, of its tyranny, and of its cruelty.

Today, a new vision must be born as a fire from the ashes and a light out of the darkness, to scorch the blackened and decayed mind back into vigorous life.

Today, the arm will be made strong; the foot firmly planted, the heart heard as the thunder in the heavens, and the spirit will again shine with the splendor of all the stars in the cosmos.

Today, a new world begins, a new dream is born, and the first courageous step forward shall be made.

Man must acknowledge the three realms of person: the physical, the spiritual, and the educational, and must exercise and build them all in the purpose of growth and realization. They each must be built independently in the pursuance of their interdependent use; man must realize they cannot be wholly independent and the growth of one is intrinsically dependent on the growth of another. 

A man without education cannot build his physical stature and without spirit could not long endure the pains of physical growth. 

The spirit is weak when the physical body is apathetic and unwilling to serve its turn, or insufficient or overly confident education dispels the reality of spirit from a man’s mind. 

Education is essentially useless when the spirit loses a sense of wonder and curiosity for the world, or when there are no possibilities for physical application.

I here declare that the physical will again be given its proper place in the line of priority, with the spiritual to aid its course and the educational to bring them both to fruition.

I here declare for myself that I will walk with a purpose; that I will run with a strong hope; I will bear the weights of iron in the interest of becoming stronger than the inferior element and to subvert it from a bruising chain of restriction to a sure footing for progression.

I here declare that the many good and wonderful fruits and grains of the earth shall be the basis of my sustenance, as the most worthy materials on which to build the spirit, the mind, and the body.

I here declare that the senses will no longer play overlord, that they will never be overindulged, whether taste or smell or other that may turn from worthy to detrimental.

I here declare that the flesh of fish and fowl shall from this day be the only worthy meats to provide fuel for the fire of my soul, and the machine of my body; and that the flesh of the larger beasts shall only be used in times of holiday or dire necessity.

I here declare that from the rising of the sun all my available faculties shall be employed to exercise and train the three realms of person; that I shall exert all force within myself to release the latent heat within, to break the spirit from its frozen dormancy, to issue forth and flow to light and life.

I here declare that I will overcome my limitations, both those bestowed and ordained by nature and those built by that enemy called doubt. I will allow neither real pollutant nor imagined word to hinder my progress forward.

I here declare that I will become the person that I was at birth ordained by God to be.

Let the new course be established. Let the rudder be held fast. Let no storm or wave misdirect the path to turn the sailor from his destination. In all the rage of the elements, of earth, of time, of space and of hell, keep a steady eye and a head unbowed.

Let all the dreary, hopeless masses follow now. Let the willing and the dreamers dare to live again. Let the common and the beaten rise and try again.

The world and all its tangible matter and philosophical orders cannot be trusted for support. Governments will fall under the ego of the governors. Funds will fail by the greed of the bankers. Companies will break and work will be lost. Love will be shattered, misshapen, and replaced with instinctive lust.

Only in the person, in the single and individual can any man ever trust. Only in a well-forged body, a keen and sensible mind, and a sure spirit that has found itself right in the eyes of God can any man ever find success. Let it be so now.

Let all who will follow give sign, in like manner as I, that is, that I here seal my commitment to this edict in that I here affix my name, and with it my honor and reputation.

Javier Rodriguez - Author

Sincerely,
Fat Guy, Little Coat

Good times and good business.

Good day today. Got up early, had myself a good breakfast, consisting of five large eggs, a couple of flour tortillas (which I now know is not good for you...ALWAYS LOOK AT THE CALORIE CONTENT AND DON'T EAT ANY WHEAT BASED PRODUCT THAT ISN'T WHOLE WHEAT. DON'T CARE IF IT'S CHEAPER), some sour cream, cheddar cheese, onion and tomato. Pretty good business. Big glass of water and some orange juice to round it off. The solids by themselves totaled out to be 870+ calories. Sorry, I won't take an exact count. I just round up.

Went to work and we actually had a pretty busy day as far as pipe-rolling is concerned. I had a lot of 12 inch pipe come outside because the 24's and 16's were going in the oven, but I still had a decent number of those sizes come outside. When you get rolling those things fast and crazy like I sometimes have to do to keep up with production, you get a pretty good workout.

On each of my breaks I had a piece of string cheese, a nectarine, a handful of grapes, and on my lunch I had about 2 cups of boiled beans that Mom made the other day with some onion and two more flour tortillas.

When I got home I had another 2 cups of beans and 2 flour tortillas with a huge glass of water. Total water intake today was probably somewhere around 4 or 5 liters. Not bad.

So the total calorie intake, even with the ridiculously high calorie flour tortillas was only 2386. According to Travis I should get about 3000, which I think is damn near impossible if you're eating healthy and especially with my work schedule. So Julie's and my suspicions were correct. Whether by Travis's calculations or the recommended calorie intake for an adult male of 2500 per day, I'm not getting enough calories. So we will be working to fix that for sure.

Then I went to the gym about 6 o'clock, drank some Hemo Rage Black, or as I like to call it, T-Rex Piss, which Travis had recommended as a pre-workout about a half hour before to get a little extra umph in my business. Did a ten minute warm up on the stairmaster, went crazy on the squats with a rep pattern of 15, 12, 10. 8, 6, 4, 2, going up ten pounds every time and finishing with 245 lbs. if I remember correctly. Then I did 4 sets of hamstring curls, a slue of other things including some woodchoppers and lunges with a twist at the high point, then some ab work, then a 25 minute run on the treadmill.

Got on the scale when I got home and I was a little over 278, which means I lost a bit. Good times, good business, great workout. Good things are in store.

And remember to try the T-Rex Piss....

Sincerely,
Fat Guy, Little Coat

Post the First

Hello fellow fat folks. Or not fat folks, whoever you are. Yes, I am fat. We are here to change that. Maybe. That's the first goal anyway. The second goal will be to be as honest about it as possible.

First, some background. Beginning at the end of 2009, I got my gym membership renewed, got a trainer by the name of Travis Guymon. Good guy, good trainer. Had some major success from January '10 to about June '10, lost 40 lbs throughout that time frame. Then I started going back to school, didn't have so much time for the gym, and so I've put 30 of that back on, but still been pretty consistent in going to the gym. Well I can't afford any school right now and my plans to move to New Mexico fell through for the time being, so we's be gettin back on track. Except I only have a month left of gym membership and I don't plan on renewing it, so it could get interesting here in a month.

Follow me. You will follow me.....or else.....

Sincerely,
Fat Guy, Little Coat

ps. if you don't get the fat guy little coat reference, you suck at life.