Head Colds Suck

The primary reason head colds suck is the fatigue that comes from lack of sleep, combined with the longevity, the weeks that the lack of sleep can last. Just when the body needs sleep most to to give the immune system the best chance to fight the cold bacteria or virus, sleep is scarce because laying down creates a post nasal drip that creates a cough that wakes the body. Sleeping sitting up, for this body, is painful as the anus does not deal with the constant pressure well, which leads to other painful conditions. So here I sit, uncomfortable and awake, when all the body really needs is sleep. Head colds suck.

S, M, T, W, F

This entry was meant to record the first steps in the new elliptical, but the recording motivation in the brain is not recording, or motivated to record, with any meaningful details beyond what follows. I believe I got on the elliptical for one mile each of the five days noted by the letters in the title in the first week of ownership. I've not explored the features of the machine in enough detail to have it save or transmit the data, but memory is the mile times were approximately...

I recall between 16 and 17 minutes, 16 minutes, 15:59 minutes:seconds, between 18 and 19 minutes, and about 18 minutes, respectively, for the first five sessions/days for each mile. The level of resistance apparently affects the speed/mile time, as the first day was the highest level of resistance, starting at 10, dropping to 5 after a few minutes, then to 2 for about a quarter mile, then 1 for the rest. On the fifth day, muscle and general fatigue (sleep was poor this week for several reasons) reduced the levels to 2 for the first minutes and 1 for the rest. I am not sure why resistance affects distance and time, when the rpms remain the same, or if it did, as stride length also changed from 24" for he first few days to 21 inches for the last two, with 20 inches for much of the last day.

Heart rate was so variable that I'd consider the numbers unreliable, as one day it registered a maximum rate of 186 and I honestly don't think that was accurate. I have not started using the bluetooth chest transmitter yet, which will hopefully provide a much more consistent and accurate heart rate. All five days were manual mode, as I do not want to push the body with machine-lead workouts until I am in much better shape, because I am in the worst condition I can ever recall being in and I am seeing the worst/slowest improvement I ever recall experiencing.

Both muscle fatigue and stamina have me close to maxing out at one mile, under 20 minutes, and I do not feel ready to push for 30 minutes, no less 60 minutes, which was they baseline workout up until this year. Weight, age, entropy, atrophy, and time away from workouts all combine to start this phase of working out at the lowest baseline ever.

Then there is the relatively constant post nasal drip, possibly due to allergies, more likely due to the immune system fighting a bacterial or viral infection. The post nasal drip is creating congestion and coughing, both of which create breathing challenges and even worse, sleeping challenges, hence sleep has been poor, as I previous mentioned. Poor sleep exacerbates the fatigue and reduces the recovery.

So there is the first record for the first week of living with the elliptical.

At least it is being used.

Continue...

It's Here

Or Not

Another pig-out weekend helped along by social eating, right here at home, no less. Yes, TA and I do share a love of food and we both put on 20-30 pounds in the past few months, at least. Body thoughts, not to mention food thoughts, seem to be dominating the daily blog lately. Last gasps of the self-indulgent madness? Four days to the elliptical, after all.

I wonder what will happen then lol.

Laughing is sad,

Narf.

Ignore The Challeges

Magnum ice cream, double stuffed oreos, fried chicken, gourmet pizza, big bags of chips, I don't even want to look in the fridge or pantry. Life with anther decadent foodie can be seriously challenging for a foodie trying to drop some pounds. Two yogurt and two protein drinks, about 400 calories, that's it. I hope lol. Will power like this has not been around for quite some times, so I don't know how long it will last. The elliptical arrives in eight days.

Be strong.

Please Stop Me Before I Explode

I went to a garden party, bloated. I was not hungry. I got around food, cold bland food, and I got hungry. Way too hungry. Eating until I could barely move is an old habit, a trap I have not fallen into in a long time. Here we are tonight. Ok, so buy the elliptical tomorrow. That's what I said to myself last week. Pity the fool who lies to himself. The best of intentions, that's what should be carved on the tombstone. Work left no time for me at all, not even a drink break, no less lunch or any other break. A phone call ordering something that costs more than $4,000? Not something I want to do without time to focus on the call. I have a doctor waiting for a call back too. Business hours have been for work business only the past few weeks, more than ever.

So where's the cookie?

Yeah, so anyway, the body moves through the days from task to task without pause for maintenance. The toll is poor labs (estimated, as I don't want to visit a doctor in the current medical system, since there are no overt symptoms, just the bloat and my sense that labs are out of whack), weight gain, and stress. The good news is I am writing this entry. These words bring the dietary habits, reduced exercise, and out-of-touch fool into consciousness, which is a big step in the right direction. Awaken, fool, and take care of the body as well as you are taking care of work business.

Cuz nobody else is close enough to be the daily reminder we would like to have. And waiting for proof that someone knows me and cares enough to be that daily reminder is a fool's errand. Cuz all we have is many years of proof that nobody does. Wah wah wah, woe is me, and the poor-me-pity party doesn't help a bit anymore. So share it off fool, nobody cares enough and that's life, it's your choice to live or die and you know what to do either way, s what'll it be?

I hope we choose to live.

Narf :)

Fat Girl on The Left

There are reasons, beyond those, for the return of the chocoholic self-indulgences. Pizza, Meatballs subs, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream (with chocolate fudge and/or chocolate shells, and then some... cheeburger cheeburger, even). The body calmly says "If I got on the scale, I believe I am well past 200, mos likely approaching 220 again." Then it screams.

We shopped for an elliptical machine. We worked more than 70 hours at the office this week, so I did not follow up on the purchase. Rushing a purchase of a few thousand dollars is not wise, especially when the product is meant to be a 20+ year commitment. Still, procrastination plays loudly. We just picked up the phone, but neither the store, nor the manager's number was listed in the phone. I know I called, I just must not have added either as a contact. Self-defeated again.

Wait, we can find the number by looking in out-going calls for the approximate time I called last weekend. There it is. Wait again, the store guy, who was not the manager and had no clue about the equipment, sent me a quote by email (he had to call someone to find out how to do that... I was not impressed, nor was I buying anything through him that day... then, the overly busy week). Then, a sudden search today shows the model I am closest to buying (Tue es300) doesn't even appear here in a top review and advice site (graphic below). The expensive well known brand (Precor) does though, and it is still an option.



I am very glad I did not impulsively call to order the es300 because there is no es300. That is the machine I asked for at the store and the ignorance store clerk sent me a quote for the ps300, a model that does not have one key feature that would have had me unhappily sending it back after delivery and installation. As I learned here, even professional gym store clerks can be quite ignorant. The clerks gross obesity, failure to get up out of his chair, and complete lack of knowledge about the basics of the machines should have been a clue, but he called another store and they sent me the quote. If I could find the elliptical I want at another store, I'd likely choose the other store, but this store has the two brands I've narrowed my search down to, True and Precor. Precor is more expensive and takes up more space, but is the premium gym model. True is not as easy to find.

Back to reassessing machines.

Push to buy soon continues on (thanks Jane) and off (everybody else) though, so soon?

Narf :)

Crossing 200

Again. Not a good feeling. Too much already cooked food in the fridge for a serious fast, so cut back? I can try. A week or two of smaller meals. Fewer snacks, or none. Lasagna, meatloaf, fried chicken, fries, mac and cheese, five kinds of chips, and more. All needs to be eaten or thrown out in the next week, two if I take my chances with spoilage. It wont be easy. Exercise would be wise, but so out of the habit, so out of it. Buying the elliptical has become a joke, alas, and the few people I tell laugh. I don't laugh most of the time, I know how serious it is. I am dying, faster than I should. Because I don't move enough when I move. Yet working 12 hours a day, too much sedentary work. Much change habits. How many times have I been here before?

Who am I asking?

Narf...

Emo Eating and Return of the Burn

It would appear as though my emotional hungers are powerful stuff and can easily dominate this life when I am not distracted by something more healthy or focused on staying aware of optimizing this body or in love (or something like that). Also, the weakness of the rectal tissues appear to be a permanent aspect of life as breaking the routine of laxatives to give the body and digestive system a break from consuming chemicals lead right back to the bleeding and while I appear to have better control of the pain (or is that just scar tissue or dead tissue metastasizing or something?) with menthol-zinc ointment, the daily medicating was never in the plan for this life. So now two medications, on oral and one rectal, are part of my daily routine. BID, even. Sometimes more.

Blah, but still, I run the bases and bounce around in life with too much energy for my age group. I play ball a few times a week and I feel like I'm lazy and don't exercise enough. Now if I only could buy that elliptical...

Motivate!

Good News

Medical, that is. The Cholesterol is 168. Serum Iron is normal, though Hgb is still low. A lifetime of low Hgb and each time I change doctors or go to a specialist they want to do tests and treatments and nothing changes. So I tell them not to do anything and just get to know this body. Eventually they stop needing to see me. So the Nephrologist says come back next year. The Hematologist is still every three months cuz of the low Hgb. The Gastroenterologist hasn't called me in well over a year. I would like someone to check the pains in the right side when I sleep on my right side, but so far I haven't pushed and simply don't sleep on my right side. The tinnitus still rings louder than ever, especially after eating salts and spices and raising the blood pressure. The left side of the neck cramps stil come and go. The left arm has been hurting more than usual in recent weeks, but I am hoping it will subside with exercise and rest, in proper balance, as it often does. Still no Dermatolgist.

I think I covered everything. The Primary and Nephrologist in the past two days were very happy with me. The body was 185 on the Primary's scale and 187 on the Nephro's scale. The BP was 109/74 at the Primary. The LPN at the Nephro has no clue how to take blood pressure and faked the numbers. The cuff was not on roperly and she bend the tubes under each other to be able to see the dial which was in my armpit. I took my own pulse and blood pressure after she left and she was wrong. She claimed 130/70, I got 112/74. I'll go with the Primary's results. Malpractice with a patient on a blood pressure medication, but I tolerate her because the Nephro is good and very flexible, giving me my prescriptions when I didn't have a Primary, so he's my back up Primary. He also has a iron therapy Nurse in case I ever decide to go there. I just wish he would get a clue about his incompetent LPN. She forgot to ask for a urine sample. Nephrology, look it up if you don't get it. Maybe I'll get back in the 170s this year. Onward, aye?

Oh, did I mention I've been sleeping on my back more than ever? Significant, even if you don't know why.

Narf :)

Ouch

Maybe I really was struggling (referring to the title of the previous post, without reading it, though). No elliptical in months. too many calories and carbs and fats. The body is bloated and achy, especially after a week of softball. The pitching arm hurts more than it ever has, partly because of the lack of exercise, but also because of the excessive pitches I throw with the Sunday team because they have no defense and want a lot of batting practice. Must let the arm heal. The past three days, after a major pig-out couple or few months and especially high calorie road trip to the world series (softball), I cut calories to under 500 a day and all low calorie low fat low carb protein drinks. Not the healthiest way to drop weight, but it's the way I am choosing this week because I think and hope it is better than fasting, especially since muscles need healing. The digestive front (and back) has been stable and painless and bloodless, so there's the good news.

Falling out of touch with me is worse than feeling alone out here in cyberspace, so I hope to be back again soon and a lot more often. Feel free to care, it might feel good even. Walk on through the wind, ya know?

Stay strong and narf!

Almost Struggling

I should have gone to bed and fallen asleep. I've been ready to sleep every day this week in the afternoon, sometimes earlier. I've been feeding the body caffeine. I am thinking in short bursts now, because the mind is tired and the body is way more tires and the sugar level is low because the challenge I am taking on is calorie reduction again after a few weeks of weight gain due to enjoying the high carb high fat foods I so dearly love. The food blog is due fr many updates, but for now, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Or not, as if anyone reads me anymore (surprise me, I'd love it, but I am so comfortable alone I might as well be comfortably numb and laughing at everything and loving every minute of it as long as I don't look outside my mind cuz the world is a sick place these days and people are the disease, but that's another struggle I am almost struggling with and if you don't see the laughter in my word play then you really don't know me, but that's ok, you don't have to, there's no law or anything).

What kind of body blog is this, anyway?

Commit to the change, now.

Phew.

Not Your Fault

I ean, I was keeping in touch and could say nobody cared so I stopped coming here (or anywhere) because, like, what's the point?... but it's not you. Leave it at that before I change my mind lol?). So I told myself I would go liquid tonight after letting the weight rise back to 190 (191 at the doctor's office fully clothed) and pigging out yet another weekend, but the two boxes of cookies and chips sitting next to me and the leftover pasta and cheese spreads in the fridge, well, maybe tomorrow. I really must go low-calorie liquid very soon.

After many weeks of no blood, no pain, no itching, etcetera, the tear is back. It took three or four actual real poops this time, alas, and I let it happen, naturally, but it's not nearly even close to as painful as it's been in the past (the menthol anesthetic effect or the healing? Maybe both). Anyway, this is what brings me back here I guess, for where else should I chastise myself about eating habits and lack of daily exercise and weight gain and all the other self-destructive suicidal physical madness I do?

It's your fault. I mean,just because nobody cares, or so it seems (and feels) in day to day life, why should that influence how much I care about my life choices? Really now, how important do you think you are?

Laughter heals. Hope it's good for you too. If not, may you find your own way.

Early morning explosion of words, almost, look around, aye?

and narf :)

Remedies

Ok, so this time I am not ignoring the issue in the tissue so I don't explode on the commode. I see why Elvis and some others die there. I kept the body on a liquid diet Thursday through today. Dropped weight, cleased intestines, healing asshole. I believe I finally have a dietary and medical regemin that will work (as opposed to the years of doctors not having a solution). Yay for being less self-destructive. Bits of the regime are in other daily blogs, but essentially I am giving my digestive tract very little to do so it excretes very little and therein allows the hemorrhoids to heal.

I also sat less this weekend, though more than I intended because I had ratings to do outdoors at the softball field and I wanted to get some typing in. Laying dowm for too long has it's issues too. The kidneys are not happy and I just maintain some balance for them. The right one especially. Sleeping on my right side leaves me not feeling good with kidney-back pains for a couple of hours the next day, but sleeping on my left side only is not comfortable.

The food monster is sad and lonely and missing food, especially chocolate, pizza, cheese, and a few other things, but I went way overboard. Proportions (in portions) and moderation (in calories), that is what I must do.

It helped that I resolved some environmental frustrations in the living space.

Solutions, find them and do them.

Continue returning to health.

Alone, alas, as usual.

Still, do it.

Narf. :)

My Asshole is Calling Me an Asshole

The daily blog might gross the weak out tonight, so be warned, beware, and be prepared. I actually tore myself a new asshole today. I stayed home from work until mid-afternoon because it took all morning to pass the poop. No poop for two days, I should ave known. I set myself up for serious pain. Even with four or five suppositories and finger manipulation there was lots of blood. I hope I am not in for weeks (months?) of serious pain and all that comes with the bleeding and swelling and skin issues. The medication regime I finally figured out (partially by accident and without any professional medical help at all, thanks docs) has been working great for months, but I tore up all the healing I did this morning. Kinda numb now, and no appetite. I reaffirm that I will not be eating tonight and I will have only liquids for at least a few days, maybe until I have a painless poop, which might be weeks. Be optimistic.

I need a standing desk.

Stop laughing, it's only funny if you love me. Feel free to laugh with me if you do. Wouldn't mind you letting me know, I mean, the worst may be over for now and I sure could use a hug and some love. I bought $40 worth of digestive system medications. Crossed the line and bought lidocaine. I will mix a dab into the calmoseptine and see what happens. I refilled the stock of laxatives and hemerrhoid suppositories. I haven't used one of those much in the past couple of months since figuring out the laxative/creme/ointment treatment. They (the rhoids) expanded considerably in the last few weeks due to diet, lack of exercise, and sitting way too much (so why am I sitting now?), though the calmo and massage has helped reduce them. Until today. The food monster took over and the body pain the price.

This entry is, I hope, the start of taking body health more seriously again.

In case it matters.

Still Floundering, Without the Flounder

There's flounder in the freezer, but I've been eating pizza and White Castles and lasagna and all sorts of other high calorie foods late at night. Days are protein drinks, but I've been caving in at night and on weekends. Stopping tomorrow would be a wise thing to do. March must be a low low calorie month, no other sensible move. Maybe writing this will help. Hey, I'm still wearing the 34 waist pants and I'm comfortable in large T-shirts without stretching them out. Probably around 190 pounds. Ish. Drop ten pounds in March, at least. Fifteen? Twenty? Ok, ok, fifteen if I can, but at least ten. Under 180 again. We can do this! Stop the self-destructive eating and get back to the gym (or buy the damned elliptical already).

Please?

Not Really Here

Obviously, I stopped begging myself to stop bloating and I stopped getting on the scales and I stopped going to the gym and I stopped being smart and healthy, but I am still wearing the 34 inch waist pants and still need a belt to keep them up, so it can't be too bad. Maybe. I am just noting the current not-here status of the body, m'ok? Maybe cuz the rhoids and itching kicked up again this weekend. Get it together kid, you don't want to die, right?

Yeah, but pizza, bacon, chocolate mousse, and ice cream... so good.

Bloat and Slight Gains

Maintaining the 34 inch waist, though the diet bring more gas and bloat. Laxatives and Whey Protein shakes will do that. Also the fat-free dairy products. Exercise helps push the gas through, but no gym this week doesn't help reduce the bloat. Being stinky might not be so appealing to the new roommate, but I sense it won't be an issue as it's a big house and he appears to be a very easy going guy who very much needs the income and wants someone safe around the kids. Some softball tomorrow, a charity tournament, so some exercise if it doesn't rain.

Still, I must get to the gym more.

Duly noted.

So Much Gas

The combination of laxative pills (two kinds, I'll be more specific another time), magnesium citrate, mineral oil, vitamins, the diuretic, perhaps the lisinopril, and the carbs certainly produces a who lot of gas. I wonder if it will be an issue for the new roommate or his kids. I'm supposed to get half the house, but with their bedrooms less than two feet from my bathroom and my bedroom less than two feet from the from door, well, we shall see. I learned that cutting back on the laxative regime will lead to a recurrence of bleeding, especially if I eat solid foods. Anyway, it was a pig-out weekend with a gourmet dinner in the middle of it and seriously sugar-filled carb desserts right up to the writing of this entry, so I will hopefully return to the weight reduction choices for the rest of the week and get to the gym at least a couple of times. Sleep would be wise too.

I must move my boxes from storage and pack up and move my stuff from here into the new place over the next two weeks. Exercise is good. Sleep is necessary. Talk me into it, aye?

G'nite, sweet princess, wherever you are.

Sleepless Stress

In spite of very poor and very limited sleep this week that lead to emo eating and poor-me blues and then, the bleeding started. Hard poop. The next day, chocolate, cookies, carbs, foolish. More bleeding. Not as much pain, yet. Then, tonight, the gym. The elliptical. 60 minutes, 7.17 miles, 128 pulse with the pulsometer. I don't think the elliptical pulse readings were accurate yesterday. Or the pulsometer isn't. I lean toward the pulseometer. The outer quads ached afterward. Protein helped. Orally I upped the laxatives, stimulants, Magnesium Citrate, and I added Mineral Oil. Topically I loaded up with the two meds that worked before. Gonna have to poop again, the cycle of pain, I wonder how bad it will get this time. And how long it will last. Hopefully this...

I fell asleep after "this, whatever it was.

Again (please)

Maybe if I am polite it'l work better. I do like to please. So Friday night I did two 30 minute sessions on the elliptical at level one. 3.39 miles for the first and 3.66 miles recorded for the second. I took a fifteen minute break between the sessions. Tonight I did 60 minutes straight with the first 30 minutes on level 2 and second 30 minutes on level 1 and 7.45 miles recorded. So second workout in three days and this one faster, longer, stronger. I followed the 60 minute session immediately with 15 minutes of cool down at about 4 mph. Breathing fine and could have pushed harder but was near enough a safe limit to feel great about it. Pulse was over 150 by the 10th minute and over 160 by the 20th minute and over 170 for the last 10 minutes. For as accurately as I could estimate based on the qonky elliptical machine pulsometer. I must remember to bring my own. Now I just need to do this a few times a week. Please.

M'ok? :)

Recommit (please)

Yes, I ask myself to recommit tonight because it is a choice and I hope I make the right choice. A pig-out day at work was stupid. Somehow I motivated myself to head back to work and get on the elliptical after getting back here from work after 7PM. Then I got serious. 30 minutes on the elliptical, the first five challenging, the second five challenging, challenging all the way to the 30th minute. The layoff showed. Still, 30 minutes and 3.39 miles. Working through stupidity (and grief, but that's another deeper story).

I stopped because I didn't bring water. I thought a bit. I played a phone game. I listened to the TV. I walked over to my office and put four 20 ounce waters in a bag and went back to the gym. I emptied the bowels and bladder and got back on the elliptical. 30 more minutes. 3.66 miles. The energy was juiced, but still challenging. Th best news is the stamina was excellent (compared to now, not compared to where I've been in this life. There was no heaving, no heavy breathing to catch my breath afterward. No cramping or muscle pain at all, anywhere (not even the neck) and the body was chilled as it is 58 degrees outside and 63 degrees in here when I got back and the hot water was just warm, so no warm up in the shower.

There was this soft almost euphoria and sense of stupidity. The stupidity was realizing how many days and evenings I made excuses not to go to the gym. Worked too many hours (I worked 12 today). Not enough sleep (I maybe not 6 hours last night). Too many days of low-cal in a row (I had less than 500 calories Sunday through Wednesday and Maybe 1200 calories on Thursday and then at least 3000 calories today). Temperature (air and water, see above). Excuses, bullshit excuses.

Every time I do this I face the stupidity of the avoidance of the gym and recommit to not empower the fears, laziness, procrastination, self-pity, self-destructive behaviors and the stupid thoughts that lead me to the decision not to exercise. It is so wrong. Such a wrong choice. So stupid.

Recommit.

Please.

Resetting the Set Weight

Obviously, things change. So I feel bloated and uncomfortable now at 180 when there was a time when 220 was my discomfort weight. With all the griping I've done in the past week about feeling bloated and needing to cut calories and being in the mid-180s, the house scale (lowest of the scales I use) read 174.8 this morning. That would be less than 180 n any of the scales I use as they are not more than 3 pounds apart. So I obviously need to adjust my set weight and realize I do need to be under 170 to be comfortable (at least until I add more muscle, if I add more muscle). This is good news in many ways, except the pants I really like are no longer available in 34 and I may need 32 waist more permanently soon. 30? I doubt it, but who knows if I start actually exercising daily again. Anyway, I just wanted to set the record straight on the weight since I fooled myself for the past week. I will continue the low-calorie daily intake until the weekend though and see how close to 170 I can get. Feeling good, though stressed about several life challenges (propane heater, moving, the usual loneliness, and probably more you can find elsewhere in other daily and other blogs).

This is good.

Pushing the Limits of Sleeplessness

It's actually well past 4 AM (wide awake, in case it matters and you understand) and the eyes are blurry and the body is stressing and I really should be sleeping but the mind will not go quietly into the night these days. I did not get to the gym because I did not have a change of clothes or proper footwear (lame excuse, of course, but they always are). I did keep calories under 1000 for the past 24 hours once again, which makes three days now. Tomorrow I am hoping to get out of the office and do some walking. Push, rest, push, rest, must return to that cycle and do it right. Say it again, it matters. Where are you?

Restart

Yesterday and today were calorie cut back days. The belly bloat must go. Even though I am still wearing the 34 inch pants, I don't like being in the 180s now. I'll wear 34 inch pants with a belt if I can't find 32 inch pants when I drop to 170. The body and mind are together on this desire now. So hope is strong that I will do it in spite of the holiday season. And exercise, I must kick daily exercise into gear. I did not sleep last night, so softball is all I am going to do, but they don't let me run (in spite of my showing them I can) so even on softball nights I must get to the gym. An elliptical investment in the new place, perhaps. Tonight, however, I will not push on no sleep at all and two large coffees during the day. Still wired after softball. Play the phone game, start nodding off, get sleep tonight. Tomorrow, continue low-calorie week (except for if Jackson calls for lunch for one meal as she might) and gym please.

Restart.

Laxiness

It's a laziness mixed with a lackadaisical whimsy (and love of food) mixed with laxatives and a whole lot of personal living space discomforts that kept me from the gym or any activity recently and put the wight back into the mid-180s, at least (though the 34 waste pants still need a belt), so I note that here with the hope that I will change that tomorrow. It's well after midnight and I am not sleeping too. Stress from many sides is not helping. Moving soon, which should help change the discomforts (change them, though they will still be there). Still, somehow, there is joy inside. I'm kinda sorta crazy like that. Even alone.

Lighten Up

Yes, the dietary plan is lighten up to give the digestive tract an opportunity to heal again. It can't be good to have feces mix with the blood stream every day. The challenges, positive (moving, new roommate, new people, new cleaner space, more space) and not so positive (moving, unknown new roommates, kids, cramped bedroom and bathroom space, lack of privacy, moving expenses, double rent expenses, new tires expenses, holiday expenses {financial stressors suck and were never much mind for me until age and lack of retirement possibilities hit me in the face like a ton of bricks}, continued loneliness, laziness, procrastination, self-pity, depression, stupidity, and the horrible state of humanity, just to mention a few not so positives), have the body stress levels high and did I mention the effect (or affect) of lack of exercise or de-stressing activities and let's not forget (how can I?) the recurrence of the digestive bleeding and pain with every bowel movement.

So how was your day?

Narf :)

The Bleeding Returns

Why not make t the headline, it is the dominant feature of the day so far and I really do need to keep track of it, so I even mentioned it in the daily blog. This blog is probably better for the sensitivities of humanity who are fond of fart jokes but not fond of digestive illnesses, so the details will go here. This body has it's challenges in spite of feeling energetic, youthful, and wonderful most of the time.

I did not use any ointment or jelly or cream today and went to the bathroom and sure enough, the itching, which had subsided after increasing on and off for most of the week turned into pain as the skin tore off and the anus bled. Back to the full regime of two medications and petroleum jelly lube before defecating. Also, additional laxatives and lower calories, minimal for a few days and mostly liquid diet after tomorrow (one more holiday dinner to attend, a fried fish place, but I will do my best to go light).

I have pizza and cheese-loaded eggplant parmesan that I will need to re-freeze for now and hope for the best when it is re-cooked. I was hoping the cycle would not return when I ate some solid foods and slowed on the topical meds and laxatives, but it returned and I can only hope I can catch it before it flares into a multi-week (or longer) pain in the ass (alas, that is what it is) that makes defecating excruciatingly unwanted.

I also reduced exercise and put on a few pounds, so the body is teaching me to stop doing that. I am going to do my best to get an elliptical machine for the new place I will be moving into over the next 30 days. I must do my best to find the motivation to use the work gym more often. I must cut the calories again.

Doctors don't seem to be able to help. I must get back on the regime I figured out and hope the daily laxatives do not do too much long term damage and don't take too many years off this life.

So how are you? :}

Pigged-Out Weekend

Yes, so many calories. Tonight a pound of spaghetti, my way, finished the weekend. So much food I did not even record it all in the food blog. Still fitting into the 34 pants and just over 180 pounds and setting myself up for a fat holiday, so no more please. At least not until Thursday lol. Th itching is coming and going and responding to the treatment, so I must get more sleep, wash ore, put medication on more, sit less, and eat lighter. Still on the laxatives and probably will be a while longer.

Sleep.

Still 180

I finally remembered to add this entry, which means I am confident enough to bring this process into consciousness (welcome to the method to my madness) and perhaps even expound a bit. I've been maintaining 180 pounds for a while now and had to buy more belts and exchange the new 36 waist pants for 34 inch waist pant and those are starting to be too big as well. I can wear 32 inch waist pants now. I still want to get to 170, but the maintenance of 180 is important too. I'm running faster (they are not pinch running for me all the time anymore) and my stamina is improving (though I still need to get to the gym more often). The itch is back after a few weeks of no itch or pain and it seems likely it is due to increased carbs and increased sitting, dangit. I am in the process of medicating with the hope of preventing the itching from become painful and spiraling into the cycle of split fissures, bleeding, and hemorrhoids. Time will tell.

Good news, not good news, continue...

Allowing The Food In

Instead of continuing toward the 170 mark, I ate food today. That is, I ate today. No exercise. That's all.

The Never Ending Short Story

Not this one, cuz it stopped being short somewhere along the way. More likely the current brief daily blog, but be that as it may or may not be (should you care beyond here), I just returned from the gym. Sixty minutes on the elliptical which said I did 6.94 miles. 3.3 miles at the thirty minute mark. While I don't trust the accuracy and have not maintained the stats enough for comparisons, 588 calories. After a 5 minute cool down, 7.32 miles and 631 calories. Level 7 for the first 3 minutes, then level 2 until the 53 minute mark, then Level 1. 8 rpm for the last 3 minutes, 9 rpm for the last minute, peaking at 12 rpm for the final ten seconds. Continuously increasing speed to the last step and the best news is I worked all day, but still felt like I could play ball or even go another hour. Two hundred calories all day. No cramps, no wooziness, Twelve hours sleep last night brought me back to this. After 60 ounces of water, 179.6 on the digital and 181 on the beam balance. I weigh in at the primary doctor tomorrow and hope for under 180 on her beam balance scale with cloths on. There's always hope :)

It matters to me.

After A Pause

No applause. Grins, though. Acceptance does that, no matter how bad it gets. A few days of cutting back calories lead to accepting an invitation to a friend's place where he insists on trying to make one feel guilty, uncooperative, and difficult to please just because I want fewer calories than he is serving and I don't want him serving portions to my plate. Portion control is even more important than what you eat, but he takes my choices to lose weight as a personal affront and whines to everyone about how difficult I am to serve. So I ate more calories than I had all week, but I was 174.6 before I left so whatever. More of the same at another friend tomorrow, then a few days of near fast and I may be back under 175. Find more in the food blog, which has almost become a weight loss blog, which is so boringly un-foodie lol.

I have not been getting to the gym.

Boo me.

Bloat and Fatigue

Not sleeping enough this week so not exercising enough and eating too much, all the old habits that are not good for the body. I just wanted to note that here so it might not get unnoticed by me in the physical reality for too long. Tomorrow is another day. Sleep tonight. Exercise more. Do the right thing.

Change.

Why No Gym Sunday?

The push must push harder, dangit! I caved into food tonight. I had no bowel movement today or yesterday (maybe not Saturday or Sunday?) likely because I was cutting back on calories and going to the gym and the body was squeezing every calorie it could out of the food, but that was concerning and may have contributed to my cave-in (see food link above). Still hungry. Some emotional hunger must be thrown in, but I made the mistake of buying pizza and the pepperoni and cheese and bread screamed for my mouth. Eb cooking bacon at 10 PM didn't help. Still hungry. I was a sleep in the chair at 8PM and rolled into bed and the sleep ran away. World Series, bacon in the air, I caved (did I mention I caved?). I shall start again, soon, I hope. I may need to finish the pizzas cuz I am craving another right now. I have to learn to cook them just right, after all.

The gym for just over a half hour after work is the good news. Elliptical for the entire time, approximately 6.5 mph. If only 6.5 mph n the elliptical was 6.5 mph on the road, or even the treadmill. Alas, I am so very out of shape. I was not into it today, was in work shoes, but I did get there. I didn't record anything except a 77 pulse five minutes after stopping. That's actually very good, but I still feel in terrible shape. The heart apparently still remembers the positive effects (or are they affects?) of marathons and long distance workouts. I miss those on so many levels. Someday, I hoe to feel the twenty fifth mile feeling again. Or at least the fifteenth. Meanwhile, I doubt the muscles could run a mile in under 12 minutes today, maybe not under 15 (please don't let me find that out to be true).

Why are we not sleeping?

Narf.

(why am I laughing? lam)

Sigh.

Narf! :)

Pushing The Limits again

Minimal calories for several days, more pounds lost, and the fatigue felt after two softball games had me almost woozy tired after softball and last night's gym workout so that inspired me to do more food shopping (see the food blog). Weight is dropping as the digital scale here reached 174.8 this morning. It is typically a few pounds less than other scales as I noted, last night the digital scale at the gym hit 176.6 and the beam balance scale hit 179. I am not far from a weight that requires some closer monitoring to make sure muscle tissue is not damaged especially because the heart is a muscle and damage to that muscle can be irreparable. The body feels wonderful now after eating a semi-balanced balanced dinner (missing greens, but vitamins taken) consisting of a mini-pizza and a bowl of shrimp, cauliflower rice, onions, and assorted spices (again, food blog for details). So many blogs, so little time.

Is this that final push to be back into shape?

There's always hope :)

Back to The Gym

Good fatigue though as I spent two hours at the gym tonight. Yes Saturday night alone at the gym. I am glad I am lucky that my job offers a free gym. Anyway I did an hour on the elliptical at 6.41 mph which is the fastest I’ve done yet. Since today was another a low-calorie day, I felt the muscle fatigue. The stamina wasn’t bad. I suppose I have to push harder. After the elliptical, I played with the weights for a while. My arms are amazingly weak. The 10 pound dumbbells were all I would work with until I went to lower weights. Muscle tone and strength have diminished considerably with this large weight loss. I know I should’ve been working out while I was losing the weight, but nobody’s perfect, right? LOL

I peddled the exercise bike for a short while while I watch the rest of a couple of college football games. So just a protein shake yesterday, and a very low-calorie meal today, and the work out combined to leave me fatigued but feeling very good. The scale here said 176.8. The digital scale at the gym said 177.6. And the beam balance scale at the gym said 179. That’s the first time I got the beam balance scale under 180. I hope to keep it there. The meal was a bag of onions, a bag of cauliflower rice, and two pieces of flounder. The onions and the cauliflower were maybe 100 cal. So the meal was probably under 300 cal. That’s all for today except for a couple of protein shakes. So it’s a 500 cal day. Yesterday 100 calories. Sleep now, hopefully a new lowest weight tomorrow.

Stay the course, keep it up, continue...

Hanging On To Will Power

Challenging myself to remain firm to my commitment to drop back under 170 and just when I get back on that horse, I find my way back to zero will power. Tonight, a half dozen protein drinks filled my belly to it's rafters and all those calories will keep me at 180, at least. The size 36 waist pants are falling down without a belt, so the news isn't all bad. I am still hungry, so the news is not all good. I did get to the gym last week, but not this week. Weekends seem to be a roller coaster ride. Then again, weekdays too. Commitment is random.

So how are you?

Narf :)

Stalling Around 180

I may have crossed back over slightly, but not by much. What scale is accurate, anyway? I still have ten pounds to drop, at least, especially if I do not start rebuilding muscle. The point is I have stopped the weight loss and am lingering around 180. Medical professionals would tell me this is a good thing for the body, letting it adjust to a new set weight. The taste buds and hunger monster are not amused... or pleased, for that matter. Some days I eat more than others, but I am still not Italian buffet or can count the major calorie meals I've had in the past five months on the fingers of one hand. Still, enough calories to maintain and not lose. Impulse got me tonight. I was set to have the second day in a row of just protein shakes and yogurt and pow, without thinking, three 45 calorie nathan's franks topped with a bag of onions cooked as red onions my way on four slices of 40 calorie wheat bread. Seriously yummy, but completely unplanned. Start again tomorrow, maybe.

A few hours ago I was at the gym ready to exercise when I realized I forgot my ID so I couldn't get in. Closer to the workout I need to do every day, just not there yet. Habits are so challenging to change sometimes, especially when sleep is not consistent or abundant enough. The body is in a good place though. Not topical or inserted medications for more than a week, just laxatives to maintain a soft smoothe poop. Probably not the best thing to do on a permanent basis, but I'm taking a break from the doctors and keeping in close touch with the intake and output.

Compromise is not satisfying for long though...

Gym

Ok, so impulse took me to the gym. Part of the motivation was wanting to be under 180 when I get together with Jane tomorrow because she respects her body and is probably my primary motivator for keeping in shape (though time has shown I can ignore any motivation as I was over 200 pounds for quite some time). The broader motivation was seeing my arms wither and wanting to swing the bat with more power (softball) and overall feeling the weakness in my core and diminishing stamina as the years roll by. So...

10/6/18 11:00 PM. Pulse 61 O2 99%
2.61 miles 30 min Level 8 2nd st elliptical
Pulse over 130 O2 96%
1.51 miles 20 min Level 2nd st elliptical
Pulse over 120 O2 99%
After 15 min pulse 83 O2 98%

and then...

1.51 miles 20 min Level 2nd st elliptical
Pulse over 120 O2 99%
After 15 min Pulse 83 O2 98%
After 1 hour Pulse 68 O2 98%

I'm not dead yet. lol. Sigh :)

Continue...

Under 180

The scale stayed under 180 for three days now. Though it did not go below 179. Tomorrow is another party barbecue and it will be more challenging to resist after softball practice in the morning. The bowels have not moved all week. More likely due to the extremely low calories and liquid protein diet rather than issues in the bowels but I can’t be sure and I haven’t much confidence in the doctors. I will see the doctor as soon as I get back from the weeklong softball tournament that starts Monday.

I feel pretty good except for when I need to go to the bathroom. That probably is one reason I am so strict with food intake mostly liquid and very low calories. I do want to drop the weight but it is easier to resist food when I know Val movements are so painful. The body can easily afford to drop another 10 pounds I think especially since I’ve lost a lot of muscle over the last five years or so and I really do need to get back to the gym if I want to keep playing softball.

Reaching goals is a good thing and that’s what I’m doing. It will keep the labs down to where they need to be keep my health insurance free, and keep me off more meds. I just wish the doctors could get to the bottom of my bottom problem. LOL sort of. :-)

Life With Hemorrhoids

At the moment I am waiting for the magnesium citrate and water and stool softeners that I took when I got back here to start working. The suppositories I used, to be precise, one prescription suppository followed by a hemorrhoid suppository, are working really well and I am doing my best to lay here quietly still so they do not explode out of me prematurely before the magnesium citrate and stool softeners do that their thing. I can only imagine what the very extremely rare burgers and cheese and all that that is doing in my gut right now. There’s no pain or any discomfort there is some pressure because for the first time in at least a week is actually solid food in the gut. Still 179.4 pounds.

Shrinking or Exploding

I ate two extremely rare high-fat frozen burgers with three slices of extra cheese on each, eight or nine meatballs, and some broccoli and carrots. Four months away from this, mid to end of May through June through July through August. At the moment I am waiting for the magnesium citrate and water and stool softeners that I took when I got back here to start working. The suppositories I used, two glycerin suppository followed by a hemorrhoid suppositories, are working really well and I am doing my best to lay here quietly still so they do not explode out of me prematurely before the magnesium citrate and stool softener pills do that their thing. I can only imagine what the extremely rare burgers and cheese and all that other stuff is doing in my gut right now. There’s no pain or any discomfort there is some pressure because for the first time in at least a week is actually solid food in the gut. 179.4, still.

Keeping In Touch

The scale stayed under 180 for three days now. Though it did not go below 179. Tomorrow is another party barbecue and it will be more challenging to resist after softball practice in the morning. The bowels have not moved all week. More likely due to the extremely low calories and liquid protein diet rather than issues in the bowels but I can’t be sure and I haven’t much confidence in the doctors. I will see the doctor as soon as I get back from the weeklong softball tournament that starts Monday.

I feel pretty good except for when I need to go to the bathroom. That probably is one reason I am so strict with food intake mostly liquid and very low calories. I do want to drop the weight but it is easier to resist food when I know bowel movements are so painful. The body can easily afford to drop another 10 pounds, I think. More importantly, especially since I’ve lost a lot of muscle over the last five years or so, and I really do need to get back to the gym if I want to keep playing softball.

Reaching goals is a good thing and that’s what I’m doing. It will keep the labs down to where they need to be keep my health insurance free, and keep me off more meds. I just wish the doctors could get to the bottom of my bottom problem.

LOL sort of. :-)

Hey 180

I am not quite ready to leave the 180 mark behind, but the scale at the house read 179 this morning and the scale at the supermarket read 183 fully clothed in the afternoon so I am approaching the milestone of dropping under 180 for good (until and unless I get stupid again, which could be the death of me, but I will eat chocolate and frosting and pasta and pizza and cheeseburgers and ice cream and fudge and more again someday. In moderation, as they say, whoever they might be. The healing is not going as well as usual and next week could be a painful experience as I plan on eating real food most days as I play in a week long softball tournament out of town and will be staying in a room and sharing a bathroom with three or four other guys and chauffeuring at least one of them around all week. Not a whole lot of privacy to wipe my ass, to be blunt.

At the fields my only alternative may be filthy out-houses so I best travel with my wipes and ointments in my pocket as I wander around all day. Balancing magnesium citrate and stool softeners with real food and not too many calories will be a trip and I dearly hope I do not have to rush off the field. I best have wash clothes, foam soaps, sanitary pads, and chance of clothes ready as well. Diaper? I haven't gone there yet, but I am considering buying and bringing some. The title might as well be referring to age, not weight. What a drag it is getting on. A smelly drag at times. Will anyone stay awake with me?

Who's gonna love me when I'm old?

Yay, Ouch, Itch

With today and yesterday totaling 620 calories combined, the scale read 180.8. Tomorrow the scale might read in the 170s for the first time in years and I feel great, except for the nether regions which cry out with burning pain upon every bowl movement and itch like crazy from time to time. Balls itching, asshole burning, tired of not finding the remedy with any doctor. The balls itching is new and started in spite of starting baby powder. Tried and true remedies (baby powder was always my go-to) and doctor recommended remedies are simply not working. The maladies bounce from fissures to yeast infection to hemorrhoids to fungal infection to who knows what. Pain, itching, no medication is working and it's just gotten progressively worse over the last three years. Medical science sucks. It is definitely helping me lose weight as I dread another bowel movement this week.

So how are you?

Aversion Therapy

Tat is what my bowel movements have become. Just as there is a muscle group on the left side of my neck that demands better posture when I slough for too long or too much, there is now a muscle group, a bunch of cells, and who knows what else in my anal area that is demanding I eat better, lose weight, and possible give up the uninhibited freedom of choice my taste buds and mind has had all through the decades in this life. No more two pounds of pistachios or m&ms or half gallon of ice cream or twenty ounce steak or half pound double bacon triple cheese burgers or four to six slices of 18 inch pizza with extra cheese and assorted toppings or cookies dipped in icing or and real thick whipped cream ... what is this, the funeral for food blog?

Apparently that is why they call it an asshole.

Digestive Wonk

The digestive system is all sorts of wonky. Pasta and protein, even with salad and in moderation, just turned into a nightmare to pass and the exit is raw and sore again. I think I will keep solid food to a minimum again this week, which was the goal for weight loss anyway, but the pain is a wonderful incentive. I wonder what the week out of town at the softball tournament will be like. I wonder if I will have an leak or explosion on the field. A wonky digestive system really sucks. The regular food and weight gain was definitely not a good move, but I am back down in the mid to low 180s according to the very wonky house scale. I haven't been to the gym in a couple of weeks, another big mistake. The ab muscles are so weak, the flatness that used to come when I dropped below 190 is not there. The full blown hernia (if a double hernia is two sets of abs, what's it called when all the abs are blown out?... the doctor says nothing to worry about, but should I be doing sit ups, crunches, and other exercise with when the ridge of abs pops out a few inches every time I sit up?). Am I whining? lol. Sigh.

So anyway, sub-180 by next Monday, maybe. How are you?

Good Softball Workout

Last week was even more intense and I was social and ate eighteen wings and spent $29 for lunch and then ate dinner at dinner time here and I am trying to wrap my head around getting rededicated to seriously strict calorie reduction this week. I want to enjoy the splurge of restaurant food (won't always be my choice) next week for the six days I'll be gone, so this week, hard core. Getting to the gym would be a wise move. The bathroom is still not my friend as poops have gotten closer to normal in texture, but the pain continues. I didn't follow up on the doctors because they don't seem to be helping. I stopped the meds completely and returned to baby powder and we shall see how the body reacts. Life continues, alone.

In case it matters.

More Calories, Less Movement

Two full meals today, a lot more food in one day than mos, maybe the most in one day since the start of the calorie cutting in May. Most of the day was spent sitting in a meeting, so less exercise than most days. A large painful bowel movement after an evening nap. Itchies on the ankles and feet again. The water is not hot enough to help the feet either. I miss hot water so much. Bites or reaction to eating carbs this week? The itching scrotal sack is not as bad as it was earlier in the week, the new treatment is hH-suppository, zinc oxide ointment on the anus, and baby powder everywhere else.

Continue.