Fat Ass Nation, Fat Ass Habits - Week 4 of Training - Thoughts and Progress

My greatest fear for my son, is him looking like this

Lets be frank, articles confirm what many already know; we are a fat nation. If the title disturbs you, its probably because you may realize that it is a true statement.  Its such an issue for the US that our own First Lady has chosen to make it a priority during her husbands term in office.   You could avoid watching Super Size Me and live under the assumption Morgan Spurlock is a "Radical Liberal" in the same vein as Michael Moore if you like.  But one trip outside your door on a 30 minute walk will quickly reveal the size of our nations appetite (pun intended).  I noticed it long ago, but buried my head about my own weight in a plate of donuts.  It would take personal disgust with myself, concern for my son, and a lack of energy to push me to do something about it.

I am now entering the full fourth week of training.  In less than four weeks, I have lost at least 14 lbs, if not more since this past Monday.  I have increased my endurance while both walking and lifting weights.  Working out does not see to be a chore now and more habit that my brain wont allow me to avoid. The Daily Mile has been a great tool for not only keeping track of my workouts, but keeping me motivated.  As I move forward, my workout regime is taking shape for weeks five and six, as I ramp up my endurance on the first full phase of my Mesocycle.  I am using periodization as a method of both overall fitness and weight loss.  Often used for sports, periodization is a method of working out that address three of overall areas of fitness; endurance, muscle building (muscular hypertrophy), and strength.  Soon I will begin planning for building muscle mass. The more muscle I have, the more calories I burn per day just maintaining it.

The combination of daily exercise and weight loss have made me painfully aware of food labels.  On every piece of food we buy, however they are something that is rarely reviewed. A look at this sample label shows that this product is 1/3 fat. Eat the entire container, and you have taken in 360 calories, 120 from fat.  Looking at these labels, now causes me to pause before taking a bite, and made me aware of what I put in my body.

I have been using Diet Analysis Plus 8.0 to track my diet, and it measures each aspect of the food I eat. It also makes me think even more about what I eat as I enter the information. I am now firm in the belief that if we took the time to read the labels we would avoid a lot of foods bad for us more often.

As I move fully into the fourth week, I feel stronger, and more fit.  I feel I am getting thinner. Thanks to everyone on DM for all the motivation thus far.