Week 4: I Sweat More

I weigh 164 pounds (or so).

And I sweat more.

A lot more.

Those who know me very well are familiar with the area around my left wrist known as my “sweat spot”. It’s a small area just below my hand that arbitrarily sweats profusely. It could be hot, cold or even room temperature and my wrist would just bead with sweat. It’s kind of gross, but I’ve had it all my life. Some people think it’s an overactive sweat gland. Who really knows? I’ve never bothered to ask a doctor about it.

My sweat spot reached its prime in my youth. It would sweat all of the time. If I ever placed my hands in my lap while it was flowing, I would end up with a big round wet spot in an area where wet spots are least desirable.

But the last few years have been relatively dry. I could leave my hands in my lap without fear of a wet spot. I thought maybe as I was getting older, the sweat spot was drying up... until this week.

I’m not a doctor or anything, but I think my exercising has essentially woken up my high metabolism. The high metabolism I used to have as a kid… when my sweat spot was free flowing. You see where I’m going with this? I have a theory that my mysterious sweat spot is linked to my metabolic rate.

I’ve done absolutely no research on this, but does anyone know? Can exercising rekindle a metabolism level from my youth? I'm not exaggerating when I say it's been sweating all day today. This hasn't happened in a long time.

So here I am in the middle of Week 4…

Ladies, have you ever seen a guy and said “I want to sink my teeth into that beef.”?

I want to be that guy. (Hey, why not? lol)

See you in a week!

Week 3: My Heart Skips a Few Beats, but Not on Valentine’s Day

I’m not sure how much I weigh. There was a plethora of projects that came across my desk this week and I simply forgot to weight myself. No biggie. And a few things came up this week that prevented me from exercising, but I was able to run/walk on the treadmill three days this past week for 30 minutes at a time. I even surpassed two miles a couple of times!

But on Wednesday, February 13, my heart skipped a few beats while using the treadmill. I figured that I was probably overdoing it and so I simply slowed down. The next time I ran/walked, I did a little more walking than running and all seemed well.

I got a haircut last weekend and now my sweat has nothing to stick to. It just simply rolls down my face and splashes onto the running deck. (Was that too much information? Probably.)

I’m trying to eat the right portions and avoid seconds and thirds, but Laura makes some damn good food and it’s really difficult.

Doesn’t that look good? That’s what she made for Valentine’s Day. It’s Rachel Ray’s Chicken Francese. And this…

… is Pots de Crème. That was for dessert. It was so rich that it made Donald Trump look more like Donald Chump! (That was funny, right?)

So without further ado, here’s me at the end of Week 3…

As you may recall, my Choose 2 Lose team is the Lean Squirrels. Our team captain, Kris, drew up this prize-winning poster.

Awesome!

So anyway, here’s the real me at the end of Week 3…

I think I’m making progress. I feel different. I have a lot more energy and a lot more confidence…perhaps a little too much confidence. I’ve even been looking into this…

Hmm. On second thought, maybe I’ll just volunteer or something.

Week 2: Choose the Shoes

I weigh 166 pounds. Two pounds down… not too bad!

This isn’t a diet. I’m not eating breath mints for lunch. I’m just simply being more aware of how much I eat and how much exercise I do. I still enjoy a lot of the foods I ate before this contest. I still drink pop (soda) and beer, but just less of it. I use the bulk of my lunchtime to exercise on the treadmill in Asbury’s Fitness Suite.

And as you may be able to tell from the photo above, I finally got new shoes… with the right orthotics! This happened because my supervisor, Audrey, (who is a coach for Team in Training) took me to Fleet Feet herself. (She didn’t believe I would go there myself.) She’s a regular there and knew they would be able to help me get exactly what I needed. I ended up getting a pair of Brooks Adrenalines. If you’re a runner, you probably know all about them. If you’re a Simpsons fan, think Assassins.

The shoes (and orthotics) really make the difference. I was able to complete a 30 minute walk/run without feeling like death. And I traveled a distance of nearly two miles!

No Powerthirst necessary!

So here’s me in the middle of Week 2…

And the Fitness Specialists at work have been very helpful. Every time they see me using a machine incorrectly or doing something wrong, they’re quick to assist!

At this rate, I may actually run this year’s Golden Mile!

I’m feeling good.

Feet Don't Fail Me Now!

I’ve started exercising!

I used the treadmill a few times last week and “rode” an ancient exercise bike on Friday for 20 minutes at Level 2. I think I’m off to a decent start.

Some people told me that my plan to gradually work my way up to running was not a good idea.  They suggested that I oscillate between walking and jogging… maybe three minutes of walking and one minute jogging and work my way up from there. I tried this on Thursday and it nearly killed by feet. A few people think I may need new shoes.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this four-year-old pair. I cut grass in them all the time! But I think my flat feet aren’t helping much either. They never used to hurt me this much before, but pounding them off the treadmill surely beat them down. Some of my Facebook friends (which are also my real-life friends) suggested I take my flat feet to Fleet Feet in Bethel Park and get sized up for a solid pair of shoes. I’m really considering it.

And, to be honest, I’m not big into “watching time”. I walked until I felt it was enough and jogged until I felt I couldn’t do much anymore. But I guarantee I did less jogging than walking.

Some people told me that maybe I was in so much pain because my body hasn’t moved like that since my late teens. Heck, it’s probably a combination of this and the shoes! *sigh*

I’ve been eating healthier too… and trying to stick to portion sizes. I ate a salad almost every day for lunch. One day, I had some kind of tuna in a pouch. When I opened it up, it was like some kind of fish paper. (It was neat and tasty, so I’m not complaining!)

I’m going to keep on keeping on. If all goes well, perhaps I’ll be able to live out the rest of my days between the pages of Kmart’s circulars modeling pajama pants.