Monday, March 28, 2011

Killing Two Birds.....

I had made the decision that I would enter a 5k this year. In all actuality, I had no clue what that meant. I knew that there were healthy, crazy people who think it's all kinds of fun to run five kilometres for the heck of it. I didn't understand what it meant to them until I asked a few people what they got out of them. The over-whelming response was the sense of accomplishment they felt when it was over.

I did some investigating about entering a 5k - by that I mean I asked a friend to do all the work. Thanks Tammy!! - and found some interesting ideas. I finally decided on what I was going to enter after receiving some info from my wife. The hospice where Ang's mom received such amazing care is having a charitable walk in June. I will be entering with my wife and both of our kids.

I created a Facebook event in the hopes of having some friends join us on this hike. As a family, we have rarely done anything like this. There is one notable exception; we went camping last summer and there were some great trails. Everybody we were with had decided on doing the 5k trail and I wanted to be a part of the group. This was about a month before I was to start the Optifast and had made the decision to start some changes. To say this hike did not go well for me would be an understatement.

Before the first km was passed, I was cooked!! My back was on fire and my knees were about to explode. Well, at least I only had four left. The scenery was beautiful, the kids were having a blast and I prayed that it would all end. There was no part of my body that was not in pain. When it was finished, I found a picnic table to sit on, and it was in that moment I realized how far I needed to go. I was so embarrassed by what happened that day that I never thought it could get better...how wrong was I?

So, I will be entering the walk and any and all are welcome to join us. I would love to have a large contingent with us at Confederation Park and see if we can't raise some serious funds for a great place.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

A Trip Down Memory Lane

My journey has brought me to so many new places and experiences, that every now and then it's cathartic to be reminded just how far I've come. St Patrick's Day was this past Thursday which also coincided with the first day of the NCAA Basketball Tournament - if you think I'm calling those play-in games Round 1 you're crazy!! Ever since I was in college I would watch those Thursday and Friday games with buddies and have a great time. I wasn't able to round anyone up for the tournament but I did head downtown for some drinks with a couple friends to exert my inner-Irish.

The guys I went with are the two guys I do my annual Good Friday Hike/walk into the woods, drink a bunch of beer, go to someone's house and drink more, with. I don't see these guys as much as I'd like to during the year - busy lives and all that crap - but we always have a great time. We got caught up on families and work and talk drifted to my weight loss and all the resulting changes.

While the Hike is truly about getting together with friends and enjoying a few beers, there is an actual walking element. We talked about how I had to stop numerous times last year and even had to get Zack to carry my knapsack (it's a fathers and kids hike). By the time I got back to our spot I was sweating profusely and could hardly catch my breath....it was really bad. This thing was barely 3km and I couldn't do it and this was less than a year ago.

We stayed at that downtown pub for awhile and headed to another one which was a quick, short walk - which reminded me of another bar-to-bar short walk not that long ago. I was in Toronto with my brother and some of our Barrie friends. Rather than jump in a cab we decided to walk to the next bar on our list. While all the guys were getting ready to go, I started to sweat and freak out - I knew there was no way in hell I was making this short walk without needing a shirt change and a shower.

Well, true to form, five minutes into the jaunt I was sweating like Mike Tyson in a spelling bee. I must have stopped three or four times before making it there and the level of embarrassment was of the charts. I can tell these stories now, only because I'm far enough removed and can walk a fair distance without needing to stop repeatedly!!

It was a sobering - not literally sobering, as I was quite proficient with the green beer that evening!! - trot down memory lane to recall just how horrible my life was, not that long ago. The worst part is that there are so many stories like this. Our family vacation to Florida, our week away in Mexico, our summer camping trips, all of them could have been so much better if I'd made my journey a long time ago. I don't dwell on these kinds of thoughts as much as I would have even just a year ago, but it's ok to think about where I was and really fight to never go there again.

Monday, March 14, 2011

I'm Going to be a Trainer

As most of you know, Zack plays hockey and football. As his Dad, I am always talking to him about how he played and he always asks me what he can do to get better. HBO had a great series called Capitals/Penguins 24/7 in which cameras followed both teams around leading up to their outdoor game on New Year's Day. In one of the scenes,  Penguins coach Dan Bylsma could be seen grading each one of his players out of five after a game. Zack saw him do this and asked Ang and I to do that after each house league and Select game.

On many occasions Zack has asked me to help and be a coach on his team. There were many opportunities to join a few friends on coaching staffs at the arena but I was too embarrassed to do it. Mountain Arena, where Zack plays, has a free course for all it's trainers so they are better prepared to help any kids that get hurt on the ice. This would have been a great opportunity for me to get behind the bench with a few buddies, but more importantly, my son would have been excited to have me back there.

I had always turned down these offers because of my weight. I could not fathom having to walk across the ice to a hurt kid and potentially fall on the way. How would I get up? Would the other team's trainer have to come out to help my big ass up? How would I get to one knee to help the kid if I even made it over there? This people, is a quick gateway into the mind of a fat guy. Every choice I made was based upon whether I thought I could do it, and as I've mentioned before, my self esteem was pretty low, so you can guess how many fun things I skipped out in, just in case.

This coming up year will be a little different. I was asked if I wanted to be a trainer with a friend who was going to coach and I quickly snapped up the opportunity. I guy whose lost over 110 lbs doesn't hide behind fear and fat anymore. A guy who has walked/run 5km's regularly, doesn't shy away from a little walk across the ice. A guy who started this journey so he could have a better life and participate more in the lives of his beautiful children will tell you that this was what it was all about....

Monday, March 7, 2011

It's funny how I see someone I haven't seen in awhile and they are shocked by my appearance. Having been getting used to my smaller self for months now, when I have the opportunity to talk to someone who has no idea what I've done, it's quite invigorating. I used to always joke that I was the go-to-guy on questions about drinking and eating.

During my chat Sunday night at Zack's hockey practice, I became a source of info for someone in regards to weight loss, and weight loss tips. Understand that in no way do I think I have anywhere near the info necessary to properly guide anyone, but to be able to give him info that he found helpful gave me a pretty good feeling. While we were chatting he pulled out his smart phone and began looking up "swaps" that he could make to see how tough it would be to cut 500 cals/day to lose one pound for a week. Suffice to say, he was able to cut over 500 cals and he didn't even make any dinner changes.

The 5K training has resumed outside with a nice 6K walk to the bank. I am really starting to realize I enjoy walking/running outside way more than on a treadmill. Having another helping of snow has made it difficult to get my walk into the gym, but I know it won't last. Having the gym be almost 6K roundtrip is a great bonus but there are not sidewalks the whole way there so the mud on my shoes makes it less than enjoyable right now.

So it's another week in the books and as always there were successes and some failures. Life is always going to be an up and down adventure but you will learn everything you need to know about yourself by how you come back from the downs than by how you enjoy the ups...although the ups can be pretty awesome.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Where Ya Been?

Has it really been two weeks since I've written anything? What the hell have I been doing? Well, not going to the gym is a quick answer. Before this goes any further, I will say that I have really over-hauled my diet in the last week - The Blues Fundraiser Dance not-withstanding!! That night got sideways in a hurry....I am, however, a phenomenal dancer and my weight-loss allowed me to stay out there longer AND with a drier shirt!! - and after a trip back to the gym I was able to weigh myself in at 340.5lbs. All this means I have managed to maintain my weight for the last six weeks.

What does all this mean? Is this something to be excited about, or should I be disappointed that I didn't lose weight? I have not missed out on anything in the last 45 days. I've had cake at birthday parties, treats with the kids, drinks with friends and all the while I've managed to keep my weight. I haven't had a fast-food burger in at least two weeks - major accomplishment in the Burmaster household!! - but I have had a salad for lunch, everyday during those two weeks.

I've also been adding some salad before dinner to cut down on how much food I need to put on my plate. As I learned, human beings lose weight through diet, not exercise. One pound is equal to 3500 cals. As a big guy a good workout will burn a lot of calories. I was on the treadmill for 45 mins this morning and it burned 575 cals. I would need to do that six times to LOSE ONE POUND!!! Conversely, it is extremely simple to find 500 cals/day to take out of your diet. Switch the cream in your coffee to milk, look for low cal versions of your favourite products or leaner cuts of meat. Switch from 2% to 1% milk, and other small, minor changes can help you cut out 500 calories/day, helping you lose one pound for the week.

All of these changes are easily accomplished and it's in your grasp. I am getting back into the game, although, I don't think I ever left. I wasn't as aggressive as I could have been, but it seems like I've learned enough to keep myself afloat.