Naked Jog Approaching

Way back when I started my weight loss journey at nearly 420 pounds, I jokingly passed the comment that if I reach my goal weight of 250 pounds I’d jog naked up the street. At the time knowing how many times I’d failed to stick to past diets and my history of valuing fatty foods over a healthier and trimmer body, there was no way I honestly expected to ever come close to reaching that goal. Therefore, I had no fear of ever having to strip off my clothes and take a quick run.

I’m reminded of one night in September at a Men’s League Golf Party when after our round we were sitting in the clubhouse eating our meal and drinking our free booze watching the World Hockey Championships. Canada was losing late in the game and one of the guys, clearly having had too many wobbly pops, made the bold statement, “if Canada wins this game I’ll streak naked up the number one fairway.” No sooner had Canada come from behind and won the game, he was up and out the door tearing off his clothes as he went and sure enough he was streaking up the fairway as promised. It’s an image I can’t erase from my mind.

So back to my dilemma; as of today, my current weight is 253.6 pounds. Yup, you guessed it, I’m just 3.6 pounds from reaching that lofty goal I set for myself a little over a year ago and have lost a total of 165.2 pounds. Now I realize I’m not compelled to do anything I’m not comfortable with. And I can guarantee I would never do it when there are children around.

If I do finally reach my goal I’ll decide then if I’ll do it. I never said at what time of day it would happen but should I find the courage to get naked and take a stroll in my birthday suit to celebrate the accomplishment, I’m pretty sure it would happen after dark late at night.

So then people will question whether I actually did it or not. If It does come to pass that I find some hidden courage to put myself out there like never before, I’ll be sure to video it and take photos which I will carefully edit for public consumption.

But of course, regardless of what actually happens and whether I really go through with it, the feeling of accomplishment and knowing that I successfully attained my goal will be reward enough for me. I can’t speak to how the ladies will feel.

Toronto Is A Mess

Before you read any further, keep in mind that I haven't been in downtown Toronto for many years and I fully expected there to be changes. I don't mind change but the inconveniences that go along with those changes can be quite a hurdle for some people.

Yonge-Dundas Square

I actually love Toronto. More so in the summer than the winter but overall I think it's an amazing city full of interesting things to do and a wide variety of people both sane and off the wall.

This past Saturday I had tickets to the Toronto Maple Leafs game. They were playing my favourite team the Montreal Canadiens and I was looking forward to attending the game with my 75 year old father who is a life long Habs fan as well.

We decided that since we hadn't been to Toronto in a bunch of years that we'd go up early, catch the GO Train in Oshawa and take it to Union Station and then go from there.

First off, I have to wonder how many people get to ride the GO Train for free. Me being an honest person, I entered the Oshawa station and forked over the money for my Adult ticket and my fathers Senior ticket which were both Day Passes so we could catch the return train after the game. At no point on either trip did anyone ask to see our tickets. I could have just as easily, and I'm sure many do, walked through the station and just hopped on the train. When the game was over we did the exact same thing walking up to track level and boarding the train for the ride home. I could have saved myself $30.

Dad in the Eaton Centre

That's a minor thing. However, upon arriving at Union Station we were greeted by some bad news. The Subway wasn't working. Judging by the extreme construction going on outside the station on Front Street, I can only assume that was the reason for it. We had planned to jump on the Subway for the short ride up to the Eaton Centre.

It really isn't too far up Yonge Street to Queen Street where you can enter the Eaton Centre from the South entrance. Just a few blocks, but for a 75 year old man who isn't overly active, that's a good hike uphill. We could have jumped on a bus but to be honest, I don't have a bloody clue what bus to take so it seemed a safer bet to just hoof it.

By the time we got there my father was beat. He was shaking from the cold and exhausted from the hike. It took him quite a while to stop shaking but he was days before he had recovered from the walk up and back.

Now after resting and doing a bit more walking at the Eaton Centre we decided the best bet to keep my dad warm was to take the PATH back to Union Station and the Air Canada Centre for the game. I'd never walked the PATH before but it's underground out of the cold and wind so it made sense. It was actually quite a nice walk but all of the restaurants and stores were closed which I thought was odd for a city of this size.

Dad and Me waiting for the game to start at the ACC

My biggest complaint about the PATH was the fact the public washrooms were locked. Every washroom we came across was locked and the further we went the worse we needed one. I finally asked a security guard where I could find an open bathroom. He pointed us south to another closed food court area where we did locate a place to relieve ourselves. I'm sure we couldn't have been the only people cursing the city that day and I know for a fact my father wasn't the only senior citizen down there where bathrooms would be a welcome sight.

Despite the transit mess and washrooms like Fort Knox, we did get back to Union Station. Dad was exhausted and I was tempted to just get back on the train and head home without going to the hockey game but the stubborn old fool wanted to wait to see if he felt better.

Montreal playing Toronto. The Habs won of course!

Well, he eventually did, or at least he said he did and we made it to the game. But not before the poor guy had to walk to the South side of the ACC to Gate 4. I thought I was going to have to get him a wheel chair or carry him after the game to get him home. Once the game ended we made the long walk back to Union Station and on to the GO Train for the ride back to Oshawa. The train was full and after a few stops a seat opened up and dad was able to sit down and rest. I knew he was tired when he handed me the keys to drive his truck home.

I hope to visit Toronto again in the near future to do some shopping but I hope if I do go in the summer, the city is more accessible. I realize that upgrading the cities infrastructure must be done and they try to do it with as little frustration to the public as possible but for some it's just unavoidable. While it isn't an issue for me, there are thousands of other tourists who will rely on the services that weren't available to us on this particular visit.

Wild Winter Needs To End

What a crazy winter this has been and as of today there really doesn't appear to be any end in sight to the madness.

Normally I can handle the snow but the cold weather is what usually bothers me. This year however we've seen higher snowfall amounts combined with the frigid temperatures and I'm nearing my breaking point. The thoughts of going "Postal" are creeping in. Okay, not really but I've had enough of it.

I've lost count the number of times I've had to shovel the driveway or use the snow-blower since November. I've had to replace one rear window in my car that blew out one night the mercury dipped to minus 30 and I picked a good time in my life to start lifting weights because it came in handy when I spent three straight days chipping four and five inches of ice out of the driveway and the walkway.

I'm not a skier and I don't own a snowmobile. I don't like ice fishing and while I'm sure those who do enjoy these activities have had a wonderful winter season, I truly hope their fun is about to end.

The only interesting thing that has come from all of this cold weather is the ice formations on Lake Ontario. The Great Lakes have seen nearly all of their surface area covered in ice this winter which hasn't happened in a very long time.

At Presqu'ile the waves combined with the cold have created some impressive ice volcanoes and formations that are really quite something to see. In recent years on my visits to the park there wasn't much ice at all but this year really made up for it.

I'm not one to venture out on to the ice because I just don't trust what's happening underneath it but even from the shoreline I was able to get a few photos of life in the winter at the park. But I won't lie, the green grass and leaves on the trees can't come soon enough for me.
 

Weight Isn't Everything

As I continue to work towards improving my health I’ve been learning a few things along the way. Probably the most important thing I’ve learned is to not focus on the results when I step on the scale.

I think for those of us in my generation and older, we focus too much on weight and dropping those numbers. That isn’t to say that losing weight isn’t a big deal. In fact it’s a huge deal for many people suffering from obesity. But there’s more to achieving a healthier lifestyle than dropping pounds.

When I started on this road to increase my chances of living a longer life I was solely focused on the numbers that I saw when I stepped on my scale. My success or failure was based on seeing those numbers drop. The more the number decreased the happier I was and the more successful I felt about what I was trying to do.

There isn’t anything wrong with that…up to a point. Once I stopped just reducing my calories and walking and began making regular visits to the gym to lift weights and build muscle, my weight loss stalled. What the heck was happening?

I was still eating as I’d planned and I was exercising by walking, jogging on the treadmill and had recently started burning more calories by getting my heart rate up on the elliptical, which is my new favourite form of cardio at the gym. It’s tiring but easier on the joints and I think I actually burn more calories with a 35 minute workout.

So why wasn’t my weight still dropping. The fact of the matter is, by lifting weights five days a week I was adding muscle which weighs as much or more than fat. Building muscle burns fat as well. So even though my weight was maintaining at a steady number, my body was still making positive changes.
My waist, thighs, wrists, arms, neck, legs and butt among other fatty areas were still shrinking and in fact are still shrinking. My weight hadn’t changed a bit but my body shape is still transforming and improving. My new jeans I got for Christmas are already getting loose on me. My boxers that used to be really snug are fitting much better. The 2X T-shirts I bought that were a tad snug around the belly are now loose and hanging much better now. 
Lifting weights, building muscle and toning the body is just as important as a healthy diet. It took me some time to learn this but now I can’t imagine not lifting weights at least a few times during the week. I’ll slow down a bit in the summer months just because I’m more active then but during the colder seasons and currently I find myself at the gym working with weights a minimum of five days a week.

I still step on the scale and get a little disappointed when I don’t see my numbers dropping, mainly because I set a goal for myself when I started this journey and want to reach that number. But I’m trying to change my mindset to not focus on the weight but rather the results and my appearance.

I'm working at it!

Two people at 250 pounds can look entirely different in their body types. One could be obese with a huge belly and flabby limbs while another will look much thinner and more toned. They weigh the same but their overall health is completely different.

So I’m trying to learn that weight isn’t everything but that won’t stop me from working towards getting to my original goal of 250 pounds. That would mean I’ve dropped the needed 168.8 pounds to attain this goal I set for myself when I started.

And where am I currently in this endeavour? As of today I weigh 258.2 pounds for a total of 160.6 pounds lost. This leaves me a total of 8.2 pounds away from my goal which in all honesty, I doubted I’d ever have a hope in hell of reaching. But now even this king of all pessimists has to admit it can be done.