Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Time to work out, not pork out

Today is the first day of a new school year. Like many teachers, I approached the start with great trepidation. Nobody likes knowing their summer has disappeared and the responsibility of work suddenly reappearing seemingly out of nowhere. I especially wasn’t looking forward to returning so soon. This isn't because I dislike my job (on the contrary I love it, there’s not a better gig in the world) but now I’m not getting the thrill of being a “stay-at-home dad.” I’ve grown very fond of sleeping in each morning and playing with Caffrey all day long. I’m truly going to miss that. However, I needed to get back to work so that I could get back in a more healthy state.

In the spring, shortly before we went on summer break, the school district offered it’s employees a chance to have free physicals done here in Odessa. If we didn’t do them, we could see our insurance costs go up so I think every person in the district took advantage of it. It was an eye-opening experience as my results were quite poor. To quote Navin R. Johnson from The Jerk: “I failed everything but the date of birth.” My LDL (bad cholesterol) was high and my HDL (good cholesterol) was low. My BMI (Body Mass Index) was horrible. According to the people doing the physical, for my age and height, I should weigh somewhere between 160-190 pounds. I don't think so. If I ever get that low I’ll look like a shorter version of Shawn Bradley or a dude version of Kate Moss. Oh, and my blood pressure was high as well. I told the nurse that if she had my job of working with disciplinary issues everyday and finish the basketball season on a 22-game losing streak, her blood pressure would be high, too. Surprisingly, the only result that was normal was my glucose. This shocked the heck out of me and almost caused me to spit out the Sweet Tea I was drinking at the time.

So anyways, this was the kick in the pants I needed to start getting healthy. I joined the Grain Valley Community Center’s gym and was working out five days a week throughout the month of May. Everyday after work, I would get on the elliptical for 30 minutes and lift for 45 minutes. Heck, I was even getting there and working out before school on some days. I was feeling great and dropped 10 pounds. The plan was stay there for May, and then in June, we’d all join the Y in Blue Springs. My GVCC membership ended in early June, but we didn’t join the Y. I was swamped with basketball camps and had the bad cases of gout and there was just no way that I could workout in that condition. It wasn’t until mid-late July that we did our membership at the Y. And wouldn’t you know it, that month of work that I put in to drop 10 pounds in May was all for naught as it came back and I’m right back where I started from. I wasn’t working out, and my eating habits that I had established during the last couple months of the school year went down the drain just like that month of working out. I was eating and drinking out of boredom (dang you, McDonald’s Sweet Tea and Smoothies!). You see, I’m a very routine-oriented person and being at home all day with a baby means no routine. Now that school’s back in session, I can get back to my morning and afternoon schedule:

5:55 Get up and get ready for the day (including drop CC off at daycare at 6:50)
7:20 Get to work, walk the halls a little, get ice from the lounge for my waters
8:30 Eat breakfast of yogurt and granola, nutragrain bar, or oatmeal bar
10:00 Go for a walk in the building then eat a 100-cal pack for a snack
12:30 Lunch consisting of leftovers from night before with 100-cal pack or granola bar for dessert
3:05 Head home, have a snack, workout, get CC, go home and wait for Laura to get home for dinner.

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. My summer went nothing like that except for the “wait for Laura to get home for dinner” part.

So that’s where we are. Since today is the first day of the school year, it’s the first day that I’m getting back on the health wagon. Not only do I need a routine (which I now have again), I also need motivation and accountability when it comes to stuff like this. Here’s where you and this blog are going to help. Each Tuesday, I’m going to post something on here about my current weight and just a short note or two about the workouts. If you feel that I’m slacking, I want you to tell me about it. Now, with that being said, according to my weigh-in this morning, I’m tipping the scales at just over a deuce and a half. Ok, 260 to be exact. My hope is to be down to 225 by the time we have our first basketball game which is 105 days (15 weeks) from today. It’s going be tough to reach that goal with my birthday, Halloween and Thanksgiving between now and then, but with all your help, I think I can I can make it. Then the trick will be to maintain it. After all, I have a reputation as one of the most "nattily-attired basketball coaches" in the area and I’ve got some kickass suits that I need to be able to suit up in again this season ;)

Ok, it's now time my for my 10:00 snack. Probably do some butt-clinches at my desk, too. There's no time to waste.

2 comments:

  1. This may not be something you want to try, but I did weight watchers, well still trying to do it, and lost at least 8 pounds in like a months time or so...I do have to admit that I am also running a lot (trained for the half and now currently training for the full) but I think the eating part is usually half the battle...They also have programs just for men. even if you don't do it, I am pretty sure you can do it! You seemed like a pretty disciplined person and have confidence in you! Good luck!

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  2. We've done the WW thing 6 or 7 years ago and it worked great. I went from 292 pounds down to about 230. Then we stopped and over the years the weight crept back on and I've been hovering in the 245-260 range ever since. I want to try to get the job done without coughing up cash to WW or something like it first.

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