"Beware the ides of March" Act I, Scene 2- Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare 1599...

It all started for me on the 15th of March (hence the "Ides of March" reference) 2007. I found myself struggling to do up the button on my size 36 waist Dockers® and wouldn't you know it... the dam button popped! Obviously I knew the pants were a little snug (OK, they were tight), but I just wasn't willing to accept that I just busted out of a size 36 pant! I was a size 30 when I got married in 1993 and this was the wake-up call, red flag whatever you want to call it… that I needed. I realized it at that moment, and could no longer escape the truth... I was a “FAT GUY”! I was going to have to do something about it, but I had no idea where to begin!!! I was tipping the scales at almost 230 lbs, which according to Health Canada was about 50- 55 lbs overweight for my 6 ft tall frame.

A couple days later, I picked up a copy of Morgan Spurlock’s film “Supersize Me”. I had heard the hype of this movie and thought, "how bad could it really be" so I decided to watch it for myself...  Wow, what a powerful message. I am sure the fast food industry in general and McDonalds® Corporation specifically were not at all pleased about this film, but the message was loud and clear. Processed food, whether it was from a restaurant (or bought from the grocery store e.g. those ready made "meals" you just pop in the oven or microwave etc.), contained so much carbohydrates (sugar) and sodium (salt) and God knows what else! This extremely high sugar and sodium diet was the main reason for our ever expanding waste lines. Couple this with the obvious lack of physical activity in the average North American's daily routine, and there you have it, a recipe for disaster!

I have obviously heard about the Atkins® diet (by Dr. Robert Atkins), the South Beach® diet (by Dr.Arthur Agatston), Jenny Craig®, Weight Watchers®, Herbal Life®, Diet pills, appetite suppressants the list is endless of “quick fixes”... and I've also heard or seen many friends/ colleagues/ acquaintances try and fail using these “guaranteed results” diet fads & programs. Other friends have joined gyms and paid outrageous fees to try and win the battle of the bulge, only to lose interest after a couple weeks or months ending in a huge waste of time, and money! Somewhere, somehow, there had to be a solution that would work for me...

Then one day, I had an epiphany… the answer was so clear & so simple- it was almost ridiculous in fact. As is usually the case (for me), whenever I am challenged with a new opportunity (read problem), I always look for a lowest common denominator solution, the root cause if you will. In this case, it was no different. All those diet programs and exercise contraptions aside, there really is only ONE WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT. That is simply: TO BURN OFF MORE CALORIES EACH DAY THAN YOU TAKE IN. It is really that simple- NO BULLSHIT!. So now, how was I going to do this, in the easiest and most economical way. It also had to be low impact, since I have 2 bad knees to consider as well. I also have a wife and 3 kids, and a full time job to work around, so joining a gym and dealing with the additional hassles that came with that was not in the cards for me at this time.

Eventually I came upon the realization that I already possessed all the ingredients that would help me accomplish this task....

1. Will Power- This is the biggest and most important issue when setting out to accomplish anything of this nature. One must be willing to change their mindset in order to accomplish the task at hand. I have always had a very strong sense of will power. When I make up my mind to do something, rarely, if ever, does anything ever stop me! This is how I kicked a 10 year addiction to nicotine… and this is also how I have succeeded thus far in my personal life and professional career as well. I figured this was just an extension of that same mindset.
2. 2 healthy and relatively strong legs. Walking is one of the best forms of exercise a person can do. Low impact, good cardiovascular, and for me- not overly stressful on the old anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries from my days as a mogul skier when I was a much younger man.
3. A bicycle. Cycling is also an excellent form of calorie burning physical activity.
4. I also had to drastically alter my diet & cut down on the # of calories I was eating every day. In other words watching what I ate- cut down dramatically on carbohydrates (sugar) and sodium (salt)...

A typical lunch would include a club sandwich on a whole-wheat bun; including a little butter and mayo, real cheddar (none of that processed plastic they try and pass off as cheese), fresh lettuce and a slice or 2 of tomato, some shaved ham, turkey, & roast beef (again- no processed meats) and maybe a couple strips of bacon. For snacks, I eat raw carrot sticks and fresh fruit, maybe a banana or an apple or an orange or some grapes. I have basically trained myself to skip dinner altogether, but if I do get the urge, I’ll eat a salad (without dressing) or I’ll make a quick omelet or something else light in calories. On weekends, I'll skip the big lunch and just have a snack of fresh veggies and fruit and wait for dinner, but again I'll have a  very nutritious/ healthy dinner that may include a main course meat dish e.g. roast beef, roast ham, roast or BBQ'd chicken, BBQ steak, seafood etc. along with fresh vegetables and a salad. What about breakfast you ask? I've never really been a big breakfast kind of guy aside from a nice large cup of coffee to kick start my day.

The key to any fat burning regiment is that DIET ALONE WILL NOT WORK! You must do this in conjunction with a DRAMATIC INCREASE in your physical activity in order to burn through your stored energy (aka calories... aka fat!). I said earlier that walking is one of the best forms of exercise a person can do. On March 29, 2007, I started walking around my neighborhood. I mapped out a 7 km course, which winds in and out on all the streets in our neighbourhood & around the pond etc. I would always take a bottle of water with me to replenish my liquids. By the way, drinking a lot of water is also a key ingredient to any weight loss program. Not only will it curb your appetite to a small degree, but it is also critical in metabolizing and flushing excess fat and sugars! I walked this 7 km route pretty much every day- mostly in the morning. It only took an hour- so it is not a leisurely stroll... but more of a brisk walk. After a couple weeks, I would also alternate between jogging a block, and walking a block, but this put a lot of additional strain on those bad knees of mine, so I couldn't sustain that pace very much.

This is my walking route:

Towards the end of April, I added cycling to my daily exercise routine. Since I was walking in the morning from about 6:00-7:00 am, I decided to cycle the same route, but adding a couple more blocks here there and everywhere so that the course was between 10-12 kms depending on which extra blocks I include and depending on time factors and my particular mood each day- but it was a minimum of about 10 kms. This is my usual cycling route:

As I said- when I started this regiment, on March 29^th, when I was 228 lbs. By Easter a couple weeks later, I was at 222 lbs, and after a month down to 212 lbs. On Victoria day weekend; 206 lbs, on Canada Day; 191, and by mid-August- 20 weeks into my "NO BS- Weight Loss" regiment I lost 50 lbs! This made my average weight loss (per week) about 2 1/2 lbs...

Summer 2007 Update:

During my vacation the first week of July, I all but eliminated the walking part of my exercise regiment completely... since I was yearning for a more rigorous workout! I replaced it with longer more rigorous cycling trips and daily repetitions of sit-ups and push-ups. I purchased a new bike from Raleigh®- a model called "TORA" which is a dual suspension, 21 speed mountain bike...

All summer, during evenings and weekends I could be found riding up and down Cambridge's rather extensive cycling trails- for an average 15-18 kms per day. I found most of these trails via "Google" and a site maintained by an avid cyclist in the area named Bob McMullen aka The Trail Guy.  I started to get curious as to things like speed & distance etc.- so I added a computer sensor which measures speed, distance, average speed, top speed & has a timer and odometer etc. On weekends throughout the summer months I would routinely ride for 25 to 30 kms and on my 43rd Birthday- September 16th, 2007, I celebrated by riding for 43 kms! (my longest ride thus far)!

Since mid- August, the weight loss has all but stopped, since there isn't much fat left on me... what little of it there was left, was being replaced with muscle mass as a result of my workouts and better eating habits! At present, I am tipping the scales between 175 and 178 lbs depending on what time of day I step on the scales.

Fall 2007 Update:

Well the weather was getting colder, so I needed to come up with a new solution to my daily workout... My answer came in the form of a BLACKBURN®- Trackstand Trainer. It is a special device I can attach to my bike which essentially converts it to a stationary spin cycle. Angie surprised me with it for my birthday! (She's so thoughtful, but I think she also likes that I am not a fat guy anymore too! LOL). When the weather got too unpleasant to ride outside, I washed my bike and brought down it to my recroom, hooked up the Trackstand and I was good to go! It isn't as enjoyable as riding the bike trails along the Grand River, Speed River or any of the other trails in Cambridge, but at least I still get my daily workouts, and I usually couple this with an episode of Smallville, CSI or Prison Break! I now ride at high tension in 21st gear for about 20 to 30 minutes a day and I am also up to  50 sit-ups and 30 push-ups, twice a day (once in the morning before my shower and then again in the evening before I pack it in for the night). I am still sticking to my "no processed food" diet with the exception of when I take Angie and/ or the kids out for dinner when it is virtually unavoidable...

After a long and snow filled winter the nice weather has FINALLY returned! I couldn't wait to get back on my bike to enjoy the nicer weather and the trails in Cambridge! That day finally came on Sunday April 13th. It was SO nice to get outside again... We got Maddie a new bike since she was way too big for her old one, and we celebrated by taking to the trails! One of her favourite trails in the area (and mine too) is along the Speed River in north Cambridge. A couple of the foot bridges were washed away or damaged from the excessive spring thaw this year, and the trail was still a little wet, but we had fun all the same! Maddie looked very happy with her new wheels! I told Rob and Livvie they could have new bikes as well, since they DO need them, and riding the trails is something we can ALL enjoy together... but they needed to earn them by way of having their rooms clean and getting their chores done and generally being more cooperative with me... (Teenagers...) LOL!

 

Frameset SIZES: 19.5 inches FRAME: New Alpha SLR hydroformed frame Double Butted FORKS: Manitou Slate Comp w/lo 100mm travel Wheels WHEELS: Shimano M535 center lock disc TIRES: Bont Jones ACX 26x2.1 Drivetrain SHIFTERS: Shimano SL-M511 Deore FRONT DERAILLEUR: Shimano FD-M510 Deore REAR DERAILLEUR: Shimano XT CRANKSET: Shimano Deore 44A/32S/22S Octalink CASSETTE: Sram PG950 11-34 9spd PEDALS: Shimano 505 Components SADDLE: Race saddle SEATPOST: ProMax suspension HANDLEBARS: Bontrager Crowbar Select OS Riser STEM: Bontrager Select OS/7d HEADSET: VP semi-cartridge Slimstak BRAKESET: Shimano M535 Deore hydraulic disc

Pete Anes
November 10, 2008