Weight Loss / Sweater-Vest Update

Back in August, I decided to get serious about losing some weight. As we advance in age, extra weight (i.e. belly-fat) is basically poisonous, so I’ve been told. So, I joined Weight Watchers Online where you track everything you eat and it tells you how much you’re overeating. You’re allotted a certain number of points per day and if you go over that allotment, it’s bad.

The more you exercise, the more points you get to eat. The thing is, I really don’t like to exercise at all. It’s a shame, really, because my employer basically pays for us to have a membership at a really nice health club. What’s more of a shame is that this really nice health club is next door to my workplace and even connected to it via an underground walkway. I just need to get off by backside and slog over there.

Working out in the morning is a no-go. I’m basically a grouchy amoeba in the morning. When I wake up, my hair resembles a sea creature striking a defensive posture, so I’m not about to hit the gym looking and feeling like that.
Exercise before work? Yeah, rub a lamp.

You’d think that I’d go to the ever-so-convenient gym after work, but no. I’m really tired after work and besides, I need to get home to watch recorded episodes of Judge Judy each day.

So, I pretty much kept within my allotted eating points on Weight Watchers but wasn’t losing any weight. Oh, there was the occasional foray of hitting the fried chicken & tater-baby place, but I really did learn to change my eating habits pretty well. Sushi for lunch and my mango-lemon-spinach-parsley smoothie in the evening have been my friends.

Finally, I figured out how to hit the gym. Do it during my lunch hour.

It was perfect. By 11:00 am, I’m pretty much coffee’d up and anxious to get away from the office. Going to the gym in that state of mind actually wasn’t revolting.

So, for the past two weeks, I’ve “hit the gym” just about every workday. I have my nice music on my little iPod (this week, it’s Handel’s Messiah. Last week, Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Week before that, The Killers.)

And you know what? The weight has come off. I’ve dropped five percent of my body weight (from 230 lbs to 218 lbs) I’m actually in danger of getting a little bicep action going on, too.

Oh, and get this. I’ve bought my first pair of shorts. I’ve never owned a pair of shorts before. Miss Healthypants had the honor of seeing me in my gym shorts the other day. (I still haven’t been outside in them, though.)

Now, they say that you should reward yourself when losing weight. I really love argyle sweater vests so I went online to find one. It was frustrating -- every time I found one I really liked, it turned out to be for a toddler. Maybe I should get me one of those so I can order sweater vests that I really like.

Finally, I found one and ordered it.

Won’t it look great with a blue shirt and a new pair of jeans? Pretty soon, I’m going to be quite the catch, sweater vest notwithstanding.

I’d better get a pre-nup on hand. One never knows.