today is a good day

I stepped on the scale this morning before doing any of that 'morning' stuff, and it was at 300 even. Yesterday was the first day Id been back at the gym for almost a month (due to a financial nightmare that has since been resolved) For those of you keeping score, it looks something like this:

What does it mean when you dream that you almost died?

This is the question I was presented with this morning as lay in bed at 5 am. Note that sometimes I dream in first person, and I almost always dream in sound/color/smells, etc.

There was some sort of battle or war, and they were beige wearing-Chinese or something similar (probably related to my semi-interested following of what is going on in Korea right now, coupled with economic concerns and China). *We* were holed up in a school that resembled the one I attended for high school, but the land around it resembled more the first college I attended for 3 years. The aggressor shelled the exterior, and then used a type of flat, frisbee shaped artillery through the holes in the facade so they would bounce around inside the building first. We left via the rear of the building as the enemy was beginning to advance personnel towards the school. I sighted in a group of 4-5 and managed to neutralize them, but I called attention to my position behind a tree/mass of roots and was found.

I was shot three times. I woke up. It was around 4 am.  I then went back to sleep, and entered the same dream again, but I woke up back in the school again. I found myself in the company of a person I can only describe as "Gene Hackman"-esque from the Superman I era, coupled with his role in Enemy of the State. He had this cage/workshop/safe area built in the basement of the school that we had to get to, with a few other people that had straggled along back into the building. We, a small group, traveled through some tunnels, presumably to hide out.......


and I woke up again and lay there again for awhile, before deciding that I may as well wake up.

Checking in

My Suunto bumped me up another activity level yesterday. I'm not at an activity class of 5 on their scale of 1 being sedentary/bed ridden, and 10 being Lance Armstrong. Pretty cool

I also weighed at 303 today. I haven't gone this week because of stress and scheduling, and last week (Thanksgiving) I went just 2-3 times, once at the motel/hotel we stayed at. Ive just been watching diet.

The coolest thing has been watching my caloric needs drop. I started with a '3 lb a week' goal, and figured my BMR, and then based on that number subtracted an amount (1500 calories) from it. Livestrong adjusts your number based on your weight, so when I started at 318 lbs I need one amount, and now i'm  at almost 100 calories less daily. How cool is that?

That's right, Im back...

I have challenged the Qdoba, and I won.
Qdoba, for those of  you that don't know, is a mexican food place here in Lincoln. They make all sorts of goodies, on par with Oso Burrito and Chipotle, and some local LOCAL places. Their burritos are HUGE.

Kolette brought a burrito home last night for me. It was good. It was huge. It was 1am.

I just got back from Anytime Fitness and my middle of the day weight on the three beam scale was 311. My middle of the day weight in the same clothes at the VA a month ago was 317.6. My Sunnto watch bumped me up from an activity level of 3 to an activity level of 4.


Recreational


If you participate regularly in recreational sports or do physical work, and your weekly
exercise is:
● less than 1 hour, use 2.
● more than 1 hour, use 3.     Here is where I was


Fitness


If you participate regularly in sports or other physical activity, and you exercise heavily:
● under 30 minutes per week, use 4.   Here is what it bumped me to, today.
● 30-60 minutes per week, use 5.
● 1-3 hours per week, use 6.
● over 3 hours per week, use 7.




Keep in mind that I neither participate in regular sports, nor do physical work, but 3.0 was the happy medium since I was exercising regularly for a few weeks before I got the monitor. 1.0 and 2.0 are setting for no exercise at all.




Peak Heart rate 171
Avg Heart rate 158
"Training Effect" of 5.0-which is the highest it goes. Ive had a 5.0 every day since I got it, so I'm not really surprised that it bumped me up, but it feels good that it did. 

Here is what the last 29 days looks like:

2 days off the horse...

I had a dentist appt and a VA doc appt this week on Tues and Wed, effectively taking away my lunch hour that I use to go to work out. I kind of made a decision that if I was going to work  out several days a week, I didn't want it to cut into my time at home, so I go at lunch.

Incidentally, I got a confirmation from the VA guy yesterday that an issue i've been dealing with for years is definitely connected to my lower back injury and not in my head. It was hard to hear it, but i'm glad that I can point to a reason and we can move forward with dealing with it, and that my suspicions were correct. It wasn't a failing on their part, i've been mentioning it to them since 2002, I just never considered it at the top of my list to deal with.

Back to the gym today.

I felt agitated this morning, knowing that I would not be working out today. How cool is that? I have a dentist appt. this AM that I will carry my lunch hour for (since you can't take sick time except in 4 hour increments, but you can take vacation time in 2?) so I won't  be able to sneak off during the day. My nights are kind of limited since I get off between 5 and 6, so if I went and worked out it would be another hour not home.

Incidentally, Savage Garden came on the radio tonight and I actually didn't want to kill them. Stress relief from exercise, perhaps?

Here is my progression for the last 30 days. You can see when I started actively going to exercise, since just monitoring calories for the first month didn't do a whole lot. I try to keep myself at around 1950 a day, which, according to various BMR calc is about 1500 less than I should need to maintain myself in the low 300s. Doing just that I was gradually dropping a pound or so every week and a half. I also switched scales in there (The little red star around the 6-7th, and found that the one I had been using was 'off' compared to a three beam scale at the gym)

Heart Rate monitor-

I love this thing. I have a Sunnto T4d with a heart strap, that I got used from a watch forum in trade for something I wasn't wearing. This thing ROCKS! It talks to the machine im on so I don't have to fiddle with the cal/counter or the heart rate handles, and since it is strapped to me I feel its probably more accurate than the machine.

I worked out with it on Saturday and I blew off 764 calories in 36 minutes. I skipped Sunday, and then today I did 766 cal/34 minutes. WoOt!

Its nice to not have to worry about holding onto the handles, and I like that it monitors my heart rate and stores it. It also has a 'coaching' function that bases your next workouts from your previous ones. It hasn't learned enough about me, yet, though. I keep working outside of its parameters for my 'activity' level that I programmed into it at the start (slightly above three toe'd sloth).

Here's what my day looked like today. I eat pretty much the same every day, so its simple to keep track of it. See, honey-im eating! (my wife thinks I don't, or something)

ch ch ch changes 2...

 A month ago I went to the VA and got really disappointed. (some of you are thinking, "Its the VA, what's new?")

I had gone in to have an adjustment to my medicine, and to talk about some other things. What ticked me off was that their scale weighed me in at 317.6 lbs. I went home that night and checked my scale against their and it was only ".something" different. This was up 12 lbs from August when I started going in regularly again, with the only substantive change being different medication. Three weeks ago I started going to Anytime fitness more regularly, and keeping track of everything I put in my mouth, daily, just to get a baseline.

This week marks a month since then. Scale weight this morning 309.5.

I do believe that me and the Precor have started the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Kicking Precor's a**

So, today was day five out of five at the gym, boys and girls, and I did what is called "active recovery". That is when you still workout, but less intense. It gives you the benefits of working out, but doesn't cause as much stress, especially if you have been working out a lot. Ive been using either an Adaptive Motion Trainer (elliptical with resistance on all four points of articulation) or an Elliptical without the arms, but ramping up the incline.

I ended up at 502 calories (according to it) in 32 minutes. Thats a hair over 15 cal/min for you calculus majors Yesterday I did 40 minutes and hit 567. So, my 'active recovery' ended up netting an extra cal/min.

Active recovery, ha! Your father was a hamster, and your mother smelt of elderberries.

Here is what my week looked like (facebook people will have to go to oldguynation.blogspot.com to see the graphics, sorry)

The red line is what I ate, the blue line is the amount I set for myself (1945), and the green line is "net" taking exercise into account. 

Here is my calories from exercise for the week, total.

Friday weight

Because I don't want to mess with it tomorrow, and I have to have a day or two to cheat in there, somewhere....

So....*drum roll please....*

Last Sunday I was... I was 315 in the morning.(the bold numbers are the running average)

This morning I am....310. 5 lbs. WoOt! Yes, I know its partially water, but still.....ive maintained it thorough the week while increasing my water intake to some 50-60 ounces a day. 

counting down...

I'm kind of excited to weigh myself on Friday. My pants fit a little better, and other than feeling tired from working out, I seem to have more energy during the day. Im sleeping better, to.

Anywho, on the 6th I weighed 319 (afternoon weight) and 315 (morning weight) and at the gym in clothes i've been at around 315 the last few days after working out, but having eaten in the morning. We'll see what the scale says on Friday, Hmm?

Todays workout: 40 minutes total, 567 calories according to Precor, but divided up because "Fat burner" only goes for 33 minutes. I trust it vs. LiveStrongs "general elliptical 1137/hr" or whatever measurement.

A somewhat momentous occasion

Well, not a lot going on today. Made it to the gym again. Worked out. Felt pretty good.

but the big thing today, at the end of it all, was after. I hit the locker room and was taking off my shoes. This is when I usually stretch a bit, my lower back and leg. Just a sort of hang. Except today I kept going-to the floor, for 15 seconds.

This is a big deal. I havent' been limber or pain free enough to try to do that in a long  LONG time. I could in HS easy, but I was in theater and show choir. I could in college-more theater, and I could in the Army, so let say, after that.....oh, about 8 years.

Happy Birthday to me.

ch ch ch ch changes......

Little changes. I drank 56+ oz of water yesterday. Many of you (all 2's of you, probably) are thinking, Umm.....so?

Well, I should own stock in Pepsi. Seriously (SRSLY?) I can evaporate a 6 pack of 20 oz diet bottles in 2 days...more if im stressed out, or bored. Its like I forget the existence of water. I had 1 Mountain Dew yesterday. I just KNOW there is some green tennis visored guy that looks like my middle school librarian cranking away on a machine in the bowels of Pepsi ™  having a heart attack right now. It IS diet, but one thing I noticed this morning is that I felt a little better than I did yesterday when I woke up. Maybe it was better sleep, maybe my pancreas is thanking me, I don't know. I know that on Saturday mid day I weighed 319 in the afternoon (after the scale debacle), I weighed 315 yesterday, and I weigh 311 today.

Now, I know its probably water, so Im not committing it to being a trend yet, but hey, its downward progress and all I had to do was drink a butt ton of water. I did finally eat last night-some taquitos and 3 small fish fillets, so im not starving. This morning, however, Amigos is also weeping as I have changed my standard 2 breakfast burrito + 1 lg Mt. Dew order for 2 breakfast taquitos and dew. Not a HUGE change, but the two taquitos themselves have 1/2 the junk that that I get out of the two breakfast burritos. 360 calories-ish is a big deal, when you consider that ive been trying to eat around 2000 a day by keeping track at dailyplate.com. (its online DB of foods is really good, and has a lot of FF that I eat. Amigos/Kings isnt in there, but I goaded them into finally giving me what they had for nutritional info on their menu)

That means that by doing nothing else in two days but changing two habits I have (face it, the two breakfast burritos was pretty much autopilot) ive managed to drop 360 calories out of my daily, meaning that that 30-40 minutes I can spare during lunch at Anytime Fitness goes that much further.

TODAY-the elliptical, and a new play list. This should be fun.

More scale woes-scale drift relative to increasing weight

The general rule of scales is, if you don't like what weighed today, just weight until tomorrow. :-)  This morning, just as a whim (and to establish a baseline for me on the 'new' scale. I stepped on it. It weighed me at 319 in the middle of the afternoon yesterday, so, having not eaten last night, slept, done the 'morning stuff', I stepped on the new scale. 319. And the BF monitor wouldn't read. Okay.....step on the old glass scale that read 318 yesterday (a lb difference I can deal with. 313.5. WTH?

Briallen still weighed 54.5 on the glass one, and 57 on the new one. Trevelian weighed 74.5 on the glass one and 78 on the new one.
  
             Briallen    Trevelian
glass       54.5            74.5  
new         57                78
me          313.5            319

Trevelian Drift-3.5
Briallen Drift- 2.5
Me Drift-  5.5

Does anyone out there have any ideas on relative drift based on increasing weight with regards to digital scales?

Incidentally, my old glass scale weighs a gallon of milk at 8 lbs, which, for 3.78 liters, is right on.

*sigh*

You scale is lying to you...

I discovered this today. We have a Thinner scale from about 8 years ago, and a scale that I rescued from work a few months ago after one of our 'weight loss' challenges. Our scale always read about 3-5 lbs less than the 'work' scale, so it being a newer model of the same make I assumed work scale was more accurate.


Today, I bought a scale/BF/Water monitor, and tested them against each other with Briallen, the willing tester.

The results are below.

Im Tired, tired of being admired.... Tired of my weight, being mired....... Let's face it- I'm tired

SO...i'm skimming about on the internet and I come across the blog of a guy that dropped a huge amount of weight by literally working his ass off...and didn't mind telling the world about it. Not much different from many of the others of these you find flitting about in cyberspace, except this guy, minus about 30 lbs, could be me. (Tyler, 344pounds.com)

He works in a stressful, office environment, he's married with kid, he started out thin and basically athletic in HS (I played golf and performed/taught showchoir and was heavily involved in speech and theater. No slouch here) but then grew. He's sarcastic, practical, and generally seems to be a pretty good all around guy.

Ive been reading his posts, backward, from when he started on day 1 at 344, and im about 3 months down right now. He's not doing weight watching/calorie counting, he only works out about an hour a day, and he still works and has time to be home with his family. So..what the hell is MY problem?

In the last few months i've physically felt pretty good. In August I got on a drug regimen for pain that seems to work well and not turn me into a space zombie, i've got someone at work that has taken a lot off my plate so I can focus on other stuff. I'm a member of an Anytime Fitness near work and there is one near home...what is my major malfunction? The downer of not being in pain is that I haven't changed anything else and i've gained a LOT of weight since August. I was flirting with 300 at the beginning of August, averaging around 288-292. After 3 months of Neurotnin and meloxicam (and paxil, for another thing) I'm not hovering around 318. Im not happy. I'm kind of ticked off.

SO I'm going to make a conscious effort to weigh myself once or twice a week, mind what I eat (within reason), and go to workout at least 4 days a week to start, and hopefully nip this in the bud. There may be pictures....(well, links at least-you know-got to think of the kids) it may not be pretty. But please feel free to ride my butt about it. Ill even put in handrails, to start.

I went to the gym today, and my starting weight this AM was 318.

*sigh*

I'm Broken and the Military Kicked Me Out-now What?

So...the military kicked you out, your body is thanking you in oh so many ways, and you are now sitting at home wondering Now What?

In 2002 I was in the same place. I was injured during a training exercise and the ensuing fall caused me much pain in my lower back and extremities. I was a week from graduating from Basic Training, with a 15 mile road

march back to graduation and a night of sleeping on the ground looming a head of me. The Field Aid station motrin'ed me up and I went on my way-deal with it in AIT was what I was told, so I did.

4 months later after I got my first X-ray and MRI, I found out how bad it really was-fragmented disc, ruptured disc, nerve compression; you name it, I had it. I was a 24 year old elderly man, faced with imminent discharge from the service, and looking ahead at that life plan so meticulously thought out it was fading fast. I discharged, got my separation pay, got home, and then it dawned on me-Now What? The police department didn't want me, the postal service didn't want me, and the local penitentiary didn't even want me (to work there). Crap on a shingle!

I then discovered that since I was injured while on Active Duty that my injury was most likely Service Connected, and as a Veteran that was Honorably Separated I could receive some compensation for the limitations now placed on me. In order to accomplish that, you have to do 3 things: 1. Show an injury that was caused, or aggravated by Military Service, 2. Show a current disabilty, 3. Show a Nexus (connection) between numbers 1 and 2. But, how to get started was the big question. Hopefully my experience can provide some help for those that are finding themselves in the same position.

The first thing you need is a plan. I say that because if you don't have something to focus on, an end goal, the rest of this meandering process seems pointless.Continued motivation towards the final outcome will go a long way in accomplishing your goal.


After a plan, you will need your DD214, your discharge papers. This will prove you were in the Military, and there may be useful information on there such as duty stations, dates of service, awards authorized, and MOS's

held that make proving an injury in service to be plausible. That information is also almost always required if trying to prove a claim for PTSD.

If you have medical records at your final duty station, request them from the base medical facility. The VA will do so as well, but if you submit supporting documentation with your claim and have familiarized yourself with your medical history your claim will go much smoother. Using your medical records allows you to have dates, times, and places at your disposal to say what happened, where it occurred, and what treatment you received for your injury.

Once you have your own copy of your medical records from any treatment facilities you have been to, both military and civilian (especially if you were seen by a civilian hospital or clinic near your duty station) you are ready to go onto the internet or to the Regional Office for where you are in the United States and get an application for Compensation and Pension (VA form 21-526). This form is long, about 14 pages, but it will allow you to list out times of service, places, injuries that occurred, treatments rendered,how many dependents you have, and current physical/mental issues that you believe to be tied to that service. Fill this out completely and carefully. Make copies when you are done. Now, make copies of all your medical records that you collected, highlighting any relevant portions that are germane to your claim. Put your Full Name and SS number at the top of each so they do not get lost.

Type up a narrative page, listing what medical conditions you are claiming to be tied to your service, note all included relevant medical records for each, like a term paper. Don't write long paragraphs-keep it short

and sweet. A paragraph at the top explaining the problem, and then some bulleted lists of conditions, medical notes, medications taken, how the injury/s affect your daily life, and how you are physically limited by the conditions will suffice nicely. Now you probably have a few typewritten pages. Good. The more you can do for the rater, the less they have to do for you. Put the whole mess together (after making more copies, if necessary) and mail it certified/return receipt, to your VA Regional Office. That's it. Now, sit back and wait, or go fishing, or read Robert Jordan, you are looking at some time before you will receive anything back from VA. Months without a response is not unheard of. You will probably get a form 21-4138 mailed to you in this process as well, a "Statement in Support of Claim". This form will allow you to amend, correct, or add things to your current claim if you feel that that information support it. Doctors records not included in your original file and 'buddy' statements are submittable with this form as well.

At some point after this you will probably get a letter from VA saying that you have to go to an appointment(s) called a C&P (compensation and pension). During this exam the doctor will examine you, your medical records, and make a determination finding that will be sent to VA for the Rater to look at and cross reference against your medical information.

That's all there is to it, for your initial filing, anyway. Sometime, months later, you will receive a determination letter from VA, indicating your level of disability awarded for your condition(s) and the amount of compensation, and the breakdown of that amount if you have any dependents that will turn 18 at some point in the future. Your first dispersement will usually be direct deposited about a month later, and will follow monthly on the 1st day of each month, unless there is a holiday or weekend that falls on that day.

In my next installment, Ill walk you through what to do when you get your rating back and don't like the results.

Once more unto the breech...

So im filing for an increase to my disability rating, after discovering that while I was rated for radiculopathy in my right leg, I was initially diagnosed at Ft. Lee with radiculopathy in both legs, from a disc injury.

We'll see how this goes. Thanks Veterans Benefits Network for all the help over the years in filing information.

What is up with the scripted 'opposition to this "flawed health care bill....." language? They are all lining up in the house to repeat it in lockstep. Shouldn't they be, I don't know, debating something useful? Instead they all line up to pout, synchronized like.

Rummaging around trying to find my Che Guevera beret, and listening to "Legend". Shall I wear brown tomorrow? *honeslty, if you can't see the black humor and sarcasm in this, you need to relax*. If my doctor was going to pack up and flee to Canada as a result of an up-vote today, I think she would have told me.

Stay classy, America. I don't care what you think about the freaking health care bill, but it doesn't give you an excuse to act like assholes and bigots. Honestly? Supporters and Detractors are supposed to take you seriously when your preferred form of protest is this?

So...here I am-It's March...

...and Ive started exercising 3-4 days a week. I started two weeks ago, at the end of February, and I lost 2 days this week due to being sick. Im still congested, but I got some weight lifting in today. I took some before pictures but Ill spare you. Basically I want to blog here more often about the process, and make myself accountable for this. Ive done real well in the last few weeks. Week 1 I went to the Y 3 days, week 2 I went 4 days. This week its going to be 2, possibly 3. The first two weeks I was just doing cardio, but this week I decided after reading an older issue of Men's Health (thank's Cindy) where they had a 'Spartacus' workout designed for the guy in some new Starz show that consisted of some very simple full body/bodyweight/kettleball assisted moves. The whole shebang takes 40-50 minutes so its a circuit and weights at once.

I forewent that, and instead got out a copy of Body for Life that I have had for awhile. While I don't think ill come out quite that good in the end, id bet they probably didn't think they would either, so here's me, at week three (or week one of BFL workouts) here on the Raggedy edge.

my progress thus far since the 23rd ish of February....



The last two weeks ive been doing elliptical or the treadmill for 20-25 minutes and a bike for 10-15 for warm up. Today was different, though with the BFL upper body. It's not brutal, but ill need to be careful not to overdo it. Its 5 sets, and then a 6th of another upper body muscle group, with the upper body divided into something like 4 sections. With all the machines in the Y it's actually hard to find some to do the exercises that the book suggests, so dumb bells or something may have to suffice.