Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Day Three

There were still a lot of "firsts" for me today.

Call me Bob.

I found something weirdly fun today as a large man, a feature that will surely disappear over time, but for now, I found funny enough to paste a smile on my face for most of my session.  I signed up for water aerobics.  The pool here is great, good temps for air and water, no kids, surrounded by glass, it is quite enjoyable.  It is a salt water pool, so no chlorine. (I'm told that this is leading edge tech for pools...what do I know)  I'm not sure the science of it, but supposedly it is better for anyone with respiratory issues ect.  You're still chuckling about water aerobics aren't you.  In hind sight, I have to say, I got a really good workout from it, I was huffing and puffing after an hour, let me tell you!  There is an evil woman (I'm sure she's quite nice actually) who put the screws to us...very nicely, but I know deep down she has evil in her. 

Anyhow, the fun.  I have always loved water, loved to be in it, on it, ect.  Well, the downfall of being a large man is that perceived body image allows you to make choices that steer you away from public displays of big-ness, not that this is good or bad...but how many of you have seen me in a bathing suit at the beach in recent decades?  Not many. Needless to say I have not been in water deeper than what my bath tub will allow in many years.  When I entered the pool today, I discovered that at my present size and weight, and in the salt water pool,  that I was perfectly neutrally buoyant.  Seriously, go ahead, toss me overboard and see if I sink....I won't!  I'm not sure why I found this so funny other than I'm in the knowledge that I'm here to reverse my position and the root cause of my fodder for today, but I could not stop laughing.  I could be in the deep end, not treading, not touching the bottom, arms raised above my head, and I would just ......float.......  like a buoy in the bay, like a log on a river, a respite for sea birds.  I tried to defy it, I couldn't make it happen.  I went back to my novice scuba training I had in high school telling myself I may need to put on a bigger weight belt if I'm going down!  I will say, that the dynamics of swimming change greatly when you mimic a giant floatie, just saying.  It was a humorous and adaptive morning.

I then had a couple of classes concerning portion control vs. serving size, which really was the most real world discussion I've had so far.  Basically, I'm going to boil this down to easy chunks for myself.  I eat out a lot.  Think of the last meal you had at a restaurant.  Now, when it gets served to you, divide each item into thirds, and discard two of those thirds (in a take home box)  The remaining is still probably larger than what a serving size is, but at least you are closer.  Lots of other useful data in this course that involved a lot of grams and milligrams and calories and stuff, but you get the gist of what I'm saying.  We do the same thing at home btw, but I'm holding back.

Met one on one with my nutritionist/dietitian to discuss my past habits, idiosyncrasies (sp?).  Really an encouraging meeting of which I also learned a ton!  Smart people work here....and I always thought I was smart! A smart ass maybe....

I took a core strengthening course today before my regular workout (60 minutes of Cardio every day at least).  This course had a little Thai Chi, a little balance work, some fitness stuff and really good transitions linking it all.  It was fun, involved a mat....never used a mat before... but I have apparently made the oblique gods angry.  They are very unhappy with me....I just went ahead and told them that the vacation was over and to step it up.  Apparently, I have more than one ab, they've just been shy.

My last class was with a doc who discussed meds and bariatric surgical  solutions.  The meds are scary, if you need details, go find the Alli web site and read the side effects.  I'd rather not discuss here... And surgery still seems radical, but is so very common and shows wonderful results.  For now, I'll see what I can do with diet and exercise with lifestyle change and go from there...

Feeling a little nauseous tonight.  I may have over worked myself today.  Dinner helped, but still lingers, it may be an early night to combat the tummy. Overall a really good day, but exhausting.  I'm wiped out!

3 comments:

  1. you're gonna feel nauseated for a bit. your body is adjusting, but it will!! soon you'll be in the habit of working out and it will feel odd when you don't. you'll even feel guilty!

    i am restarting p90x tomorrow myself.. i figure i might as well get back on the bus too. next summer i am going to the beach too, dammit!!

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  2. Rock on, brother, rock on.

    --Greg

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  3. learning to prepare your own meals will be a g-dsend for you... eating out is really unhealthy, the amount of butter and salt in restaurant food would blow your mind. glad you found a happy place :) loving this chronicle of your journey!

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