Project 180: Off To A Shaky Start

 Project 180, Updates  No Responses »
May 162012
 

This is the first of weekly status updates for my efforts in getting healthy and fit.
Two weeks after I (re)started my efforts to become healthy and fit, I finally got some improvements (though minutes one).

The Good

First off, as mentioned in my earlier post, the day before I was about to start my work outs, I got rushed to the hospital. That put off my start for a week. Fortunately, the second week was more fruitful. I was able to reduce my rice intake to 1.5 cups per meal. Yeah, 2.5 cups was average.:) I was able to work out twice that week: a 33-minute walk around our community on Monday, and a Swimming workout (20 laps on Wednesday). I guess those initional efforts helped me lose a kilogram of unwanted weight. That brings my weight down to 110kg from 111kg on May 1, 2012. I’m pretty optimistic about this. So for now I’ll maintain my current approach: lower carbohydrate intake and increase physical activity.

The Bad

Unfortunately, I haven’t made any improvements on my sleeping habits. I am still averaging 2 hours of sleep a day. It’s not that I cannot sleep: I have to stay up longer to accomplish all the tasks on my workload for both my full-time employment and my business.

This will be fun.

Not A Heart Attack: Costochondritis

 Health  No Responses »
May 012012
 

On the eve of my Project 180 challenge to lose weight in 6 months, I got rushed to the emergency room of Medical City. When I woke up that day, I felt a slight heaviness on my chest. After lunch my chest started hurting. I was having a hard time breathing, too. Soon I was experiencing palpitations. I tried to sleep it off but when I woke up, the pain was more intense. My wife insisted we go to ER asap. When we got there, they took my blood pressure reading and it was the highest I got: 160/100 where my normal is 120/80.

They tagged me an urgent case and soon I was lying on a bed and getting an ECG test and being interviewed by the doctor, checking for all the signs of a heart attack.

Three hours later I was cleared to go home. The diagnosis: Costochondritis. According to Wikipedia, it’s a benign condition where the cartilage of your chest becomes inflamed. The symptoms sure felt like a heart attack. Fortunately it wasn’t.

To know more about Costochondritis, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costochondritis.

Because of this condition, the doctor advised me to rest a couple of days to let the inflammation subside. I’m not allowed to do heavy physical exertion to give my body a chance to recover. That means, the 30-minute workout I plan to do everyday has to wait for another couple of days later. Bummer.

Well, that’s a good start to my weight loss.

Another New Year, Another Chance at Getting Fit

 Diet, Updates, Weight Loss, Workout  No Responses »
Jan 032011
 

Ok, time for a full confession: I binged during the holiday season of 2010. Yes I gave in to the lure of food. I dove in, ate my fair share, and stored the consumed energy in my body.

I’ll let the photos tell the story.

This is me on the 1st of November, 2010.

Photo taken on 1 November 2010

This is me on the 3rd of January, 2011.

Photo taken on 3 January 2010

I obviously gained weight. I think. You be the judge.

I guess by now you have an idea of my top goal for 2011. Yes, it is to lose weight, AGAIN. This year, I’m taking it to a more realistic level: lose 60lbs in 9 months or 20lbs every 3 months. The end goal is to have a well-trimmed body by my 33rd birthday (le fin Septembre).  For the record, that will be from 233 lbs to 173 lbs in 9 months. I know it’s possible because I’ve seen some determined people do it.

How am I going to do this again? The plan is still the same: Exercise and Diet. The reason I failed the last time was I didn’t follow the plan.

As an incentive, we’ll be going to the beach this April, 2011. By that month, I should have lost 20lbs or equivalent to my set of love handles.

Oh, by the way, for those reading this, I have an incentive for you to follow my status. I’m giving away a brand new Nokia C3 phone on my birthday to the first person who can guess what my final weight will be on the 30th of September 2011 Manila time. I’ll post more details about that contest and also on the details of my weigh loss and workout plan within the week.

Cheers!