Thanks for the new thread. I weighed this morning back down to 225.8......At least I'm consistent. Literally two years I've been hovering around this weight.
I have two giant concerns. Belly fat, and a big feeling of
malaise (linked because I just learned this word myself a few weeks ago). I really don't care about the number on the scale if I feel and look better. I could weigh 350lbs, so long as my belly fat goes away and I'm not so dang run down all the time.
My dad has a GIANT belly. The rest of him is still somewhat slender, but he's serious hiding a beach ball under his shirt. Legs and arms are still "normal" so it's not really a "traditional obese" look. Probably sounds crass, but I'm sure how else to describe it. I'm starting to develop the same shape and need to nip it in the bud. Of course there are all the studies out there that point at how much of an indicator of health problems belly fat is. I really really need to avoid that pitfal if I want to be around to see my youngest graduate (I'll be 40 this year, and he'll be 2).
The second concern is that malaise feeling. We have a finished basement that our boys play in a lot. I'm winded after a single flight of steps, and it takes far too long to recover. With an 8yr old and an almost 2yr old. I need to make sure I'm not just around, but I can anticipate in activities with them. Running/jumping/playing, Nerf wars in the back yard, bicycle rides through the park, soccer practice buddy, things of that nature. As a guy that was 175-180lbs and completed a 1,400mi bicycle trip just weeks before my oldest was born, this is very troubling for me. I was a wrestler in high school, then in college I ran a little bit and picked up cycling. College didn't stick and I worked in construction for quite some time and rode the bike as well. I can remember weeks were I had 300+ miles on the bike outdoors after a 50hr week on the jobsite. I was in SIGNIFICANTLY better shape overall.......I want back to that place.
So I need a plan right? What am I going to do to change my habits, patterns, and lifestyle to get back to a place of good fitness?
Step 1 has been to ride the bicycle every single day. Might do 20 minutes to just say I did it. Might ride an hour if I'm feeling good about it. I have a really nice road bike, and a set of rollers setup in the basement. Haven't ridden outside this year, but I've been on the bike every single day. Going to attempt to keep this trend going all year, although I'm sure I'll miss a day here or there. Currently I'm attempting to simple "not die" while riding. As my fitness improves I'll be adding in interval training to build lung capacity. I used to do this when I was riding outdoors a lot and I think it helped with a general feeling of fitness.
Step 2 has been to go through an app simply named "lose Weight". It has a routine of about a 10-15min, mapped out on a calender. Excercises are somewhat varied, require no special equipment, and are something I can do before work, or in the evening as time permits. I haven't been super diligent with this, but need to really make it a priority. I think this is where the belly fat will go away if I stick with it.
Step 3 has been some "cold turkey" changes in diet. I hate the process of counting calories, and general nutrition checking. Clearly I'm not good at it, it seems like a pain to me, and I'm always annoyed by it, so I'm not going to do it. Instead I'm simply cutting out some things that I know are REALLY bad for me (like soft drinks, alcohol, sweet tea, fried and fatty items), and doing portion control. This is clearly NOT the best way to do it, but I love food, and have tried other ways without great results, so I'm going to give this a try. I'm somewhat leaning on the "I used to eat like a horse and weighed nothing because I just burned it all off during the day" mentality here. We'll see if it works or not, my guess is it's not going to do me any favors.
Anywho, there's the plan. Now I just need someone to yell at me when I feel like not doing something. Who wants to follow me around with a stick and wack me on the head when I pickup a soft drink or go for a bowl of ice cream?
(and you mentioned interest in a thread for this year)
Since she preps most of the food in the house, it's just easier. 
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