[GoodOlBoy]

It is amazing how people assume it is food related. Of course most of the time it is. Let me break it down this way. Around six to seven months ago the Doctor made me write down everything I ate exactlly to the letter (I mean brand, etc too) What was discovered was that on the average day I was consuming less than 1800 calories. Thats for a hole day. Some days were much less (Had several 600 calorie days a week in there) and some days were a great deal more (Had a few 4000+ calorie days a month when I would go on a soda rampage IE looking at the notes I had 7 of those days in two months) What was also discovered was I had low thyroid, borderline diabetes, and almost zero activity in a given week (Winter was on. 99% of my activity was squirrel hunting on the weekends) A series of tests run on me also revealed that I have a metabolism that has de-evolved to what would probably have been considered the norm during the early middle ages. My system actually only needs around 500 calories a day to survive and around 700 to thrive. Anything in excess of 1000 was completely packed away as body fat. IE my system ALWAYS thinks it is in survival/starvation mode. Add the fact that I don't get enough excercise in and poof you have 300+ pounds.

Now as for not having enough time to take care of yourself? I am a 31 year old man with responsibilities. I don't live in a city. I spend 50+ hours a week at work and 20+ hours a week on the road. Now since your average week has 168 hours in it. -70 for travel and work = 98. - 14 for personal hygene and grooming (I spend about an hour getting ready every morning and another hour winding down in a hot shower at night) and you have 84. -49 for average sleep of seven hours a night = 35. -7 for bathroom breaks (totalling about an hour in a given day) = 28. now that leaves on average 4 hours a day of down time right? Wrong. -4 (and hour each time plus drive) for Church once on Wed and Twice on Sunday. = 24. Meals (about an hour each time beacuse thats the only time the family gets to visit. I am only home for supper since breakfast is now a granola bar eaten on the road. And including breakfast and lunch together on Saturday and Sunday) - 11 hours a week = 12. Now assuming that my wife and I are trying to have children (Which we are) and assuming I go grocery shopping for the house (Which I do) And the Yardwork (yep) and picking up my brother from work until he gets a vehicle (Can we see a pattern yet) Taking out the trash for two households (mine and my grandparents) feeding and watering the dogs and the chickens (3 dogs 53 chickens) gathering yard eggs. I give it approximately 20 minutes a day in which I collapse into a recliner from exhaustion. That 20 minutes a day is now spent on a excercise bike. And soon that lunch hour will be freed up for me to hit up the wellness center (assuming I ever get the hardware firewall configured and in place)

So don't assume I am a lazy overeating bastard just because that tends to fit the model. Believe it or not there are people in this world whose metabolism is not designed for the life we now have. 4 pork chops? It would take me over a week to eat 4 pork chops. I can't even finish a whole burger from burger king on 99 cent whopper wednesdays (and I don't care for fast food anyway) without the fries.

Don't misunderstand. I did not start this thread to whine about my weight and get sympathy. I started it because I needed advice because I HAVE to get rid of this fat. PERIOD. I needed a little encouragement no matter how childish that may be. My life should be all the encouragement I need. But what can I say other than it wasn't.

Lets highlight today for example. 1/2 of a natures own granola bar (Pecan Crunch Variety Serving Siz is two bars so deviding their Nutrition Facts that is 47.5 calories, and approx 2 grams of fat) . Two 20 oz bottles of Sam's Choice Purified drinking water. Half a take out container of fried rice from King Buffett, Nacogdoches Texas. And supper tonight will most likely consist of a small salad (Read about 1.5 cups of shredded lettuce and nothing else) with a tablespoon of Olive oil and a few grinds of black pepper on it. It is possible that later I will also snack on an 8oz bag of unsalted unbuttered microwave popcorn. And I would bet you I drink at least another bottle and a half of water before I get in some sack time. This weekend I will probably treat myself to some dead creature slow cooked on an open flame the way God intended.

I don't overeat, in fact I under eat. As it is I am so disinterested in food and eating that I literaly could care less about 99% of the food available on the market. Priority issues? Yes I agree. I let the lives of 4 other people be more important to me than my own.

You know that little thing that they say about diets and excercise? You should consult a physician? Well I already did. His answer was with my messed up metabolism, low thyroid, and other issues was that I should take eight types of medicine and get more rest because I am never going to do it on diet and excercise. . . . . . He's wrong. I will do it on excercise, diet I already have bagged.

Now back to the issue of needing more exercise and what kind of excercises work and what ones don't (BTW which ones DID work for you and which ones didn't?). We will see how the bike goes, and if I can make it into the wellness center on Monday in spite of myself.

Thanks for the encouragement everybody.

GoodOlBoy

[Edited to add] If anybody else is trying to loose weight and would like to start comparing weekly notes on loss/gain. Excercises etc Just let me know.

Thanks.

GoodOlBoy (AKA Fatman. . . . . . for now. . . . .)