Walking My Way To Fitness

billupp — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:13:23 +0000

It has been a long time since I have posted due to not being able to walk. I have not been able to walk due to an injury. My lower left stomach area has been bothering me since early August. I did not know if it was a pulled muscle, a hernia, or something eles. Well, I finally have had it totally checked out. I had a CT scan done, and what the doctors found was that I did not have a hernia, but I do have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This is not causing my pain, but it is contributing to my overall health. I need to drastically change my diet. By eliminating sugars and saturated fats, I should be able to reverse the effects of the disease, and also help my blood sugar level and my chloresteral level. This will be a great thing.

But, this liver problem is not creating my pain, and the doctor is thinking that it is a strained muscle. I have to take it easy, and am on an anti-inflamitory medicine. Hopefully this will help, and hopefully I will be back on the trail to walking my way to fitness!

Thanks for reading.

The Month Of September…

billupp — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:51:03 +0000

Well, the month of September has come to an end, and I wanted to update my progress on my walking to fitness. Since I am a high school teacher, my walking time has taken a hit. I am not walking on a daily basis, but I am still walking 3-4 times a week. Plus, I am back to playing golf again, so I do get to walk 18 holes at least once a week. Even though my walking had gone down, I have been able to keep a control on my eating. I am very conscious of the amount of sugars that I am eating, as well as making sure that my meals are remaining small. All of this is leading me to feel much better and to be losing weight.

What is in store for my future walking? Well, the weather is getting cooler, which means I may be using my treadmill more and more. I am actually looking forward to doing some walking in the winter months, but I do know that their will be many days where I cannot accomplish this. However, I do intend to continue with my diet and my exercise and hopefully I will attain my goal to Walk to Fitness!

Great Update

billupp — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:59:58 +0000

It has been a while again since I have updated my progress. Since I have started this walk to fitness at the beginning of July, I have lost 13 pounds, and I am tickeld to death. I still have many more pounds to go, and with winter fast approaching, it is going to be tougher to get the incentive to go out and walk in the cold and snow, but I am feeling much better about myself. My sugar intake is down, I have reduced the number of “snacks” I eat, and my mealtime portions have been shrunk. I thought that this would be very tough, and at the start it was, but now I look forward to my walks, and I do not miss the extra food like I thought I would.

As I continue this quest, I will keep this blog updated (hopefully much more often than I have been.)

Keep walking!

Another week…

billupp — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:27:31 +0000

It has been another week since I have posted here about my walk to fitness. I have a strained abdomanal muscle, so I have not been able to walk much over the last few weeks (about 2 times, totalling about 45 minutes.) However, I have kept to my diet of very low sugar and small portions at meal times. I have supplemented my daily meals with fruits for snacks in the mid morning and mid afternoon. To date (about 1 1/2 months) I have lost 10 pounds on this new diet. I am very excited!

More this week as I get back to walking again.

Been a while…

billupp — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:14:05 +0000

Sorry it has been a while since I have posted. I have been suffering with a pulled muscle in my stomach, which has made walking sort of tough. In the interim, I have been watching everything that I have been eating. Staying as far away as I can from pre packaged food and fast food. I have been eating much smaller portions at dinners, and eating fresh fruits (it is watermelon season!)

So far, I have lost 4 pounds.

As soon as my pulled muscle heals, I will be back to my daily walks.

Until then, good health to you all.

Day 3

billupp — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:39:27 +0000

Today is Monday, day 3 of my Walk to Fitness.

Breakfast was cereal and milk, with coffee.

Lunch was a nice salad, with a plum.

Dinner was spaghetti and a glass of milk.

Walked 30 minutes tonight, and then did a 20 minute workout on my Total Gym.

Day 2

billupp — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:37:40 +0000

Today is Sunday, day 2 of my Walk to Fitness.

Breakfast was bad. 2 sugar cookies and coffee. Lunch was better, a nice salad. Dinner was good, half a steak and some sliced tomatos.

Did not walk today.

Welcome to the new me…

billupp — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:27:16 +0000

I have started this blog to chart my progress to a new me. Well, not a new me, but a me that I once was, many years ago. You see, in my youth, I was a slim (some would say sickly) boy. Over the course of time, I have ceased to be as active in my exercising, and have become more active in my eating. So much so that I have now hit a weight that sounds more like the horesepower of a new car. To that end, I have committed myself to getting back to a manageable poundage that will of course let me live a long time.

In order to do this effectively, I have come up with a simple plan.

STEP 1-Visit your doctor. Before you start any exercise regimen, please see your doctor to make sure that there is nothing physically that would prevent you from doing this.

STEP 2-Eat less of what you like. The problem with most diets is that they cut out foods that taste good and replace them with foods that don’t taste at all. I am of the opinion that we should keep the foods that we like, but eat less of them. Instead of sitting down to every meal and feasting as if it were Thanksgiving, I propose eating half sizes of what you already eat. Hit the dinner table, take half of what you use to eat, and spend time talking to your family, friends, etc.

STEP 3-Walking. This may sound silly, but I think it is the best way to get back into shape. If you are like me, then then idea of weight lifting and parading around a health club is about as appealing as a root canal. My plan is to walk 45 minutes a day, 5-6 times a week. It does not matter if it is in the morning or evening, or if it is around your town or on a treadmill. Walking is the key. Walking works all of your muscles, as well as your lungs.

When you are setting your goals of how much you want to lose, do not go overboard on it. For example, I would love to be around 185 pounds. Right now, I weigh (gasp) 239 pounds. That is a 54 pound reduction to get to my goal weight, and it sounds unreachable. My doctor gave me a goal of 220. Once I reach that, then I reset the goal downward 10 pounds at a time, until I reach my target of 185. These small steps are much more realistic than one big step.

OK, so here we go. I am a 42 year old, married male, 5’11″ tall, and I weigh 239 lbs. It is August 1, 2009. Let’s see if I can accomplish my goal and walk my way to fit!

AUGUST 1, 2009-Walked 55 minutes today.

Breakfast-Couple bowls of cereal and a couple cups of coffee.
Lunch-Roast beef sandwich, glass of milk, and bowl of chicken noodle soup.
Dinner-Roast and potatoes, left over chicken noodle soup.