74 carbs

That is the amount of carbs in a packet of Pop Tarts, along with 400 calories.  Pop Tarts are one of the few total garbage foods that I still consume.  Ali sometimes will make a comment about how it is easy for me to be thin.   Every time she says that, it annoys me. 

I used to eat horribly for my first 30 years on the planet.  And for the most part it didn’t affect me.  Well there was a period of time during my first marriage that I joined in so much with the gluttony that my in-laws practiced that I ballooned up to a very doughy 210 pounds.  My wake up call came when during a vacation at the shore, I did one of those silly things where they take your picture and then super impose it on a magazine cover.  My pose was shirtless, with me making a muscle.  When I saw the end result, I was sickened by the love handles that were popping out of the picture and burning holes in my eyes.  I looked like I had a layer of jello under my skin.  That was the start of it.  I became more concerned about what I was eating and the amount of it.  Unfortunately, my ex-wife and her family never had such a revelation and continued on with their gluttony and that issue was one that drove a huge wedge into the relationship.

Anyway, the changes I made back then were minor, as I hit 30 I slowly made more changes.  I used to go to the gym 2 to 3 times a week, and looking back, my workouts were very limited in comparison to today.  I used to do the exact same thing week in and week out, not knowing that the repetition leads to diminishing returns.  I still didn’t eat great, I just tried to eat less.

As my thirties have progressed, I slowly have cut out things from my diet, I started reading nutrition labels and I started eating a lot of frozen meals that made portion control automatic.  I used to have applesauce with nearly every meal.  I would open the lid and pour a big pile of it on my plate.  Applesauce was a condiment for me.  It went with everything.  Applesauce and steak? No problem.  Applesauce and spaghetti? Yep did that too.  Applesauce and macaroni and cheese? The nearly perfect dish.  However one day I just quit cold turkey.  I identified apple sauce as totally empty calories, basically a soppy pile of sugar.  I haven’t had apple sauce for years.

I always have had a sweet tooth, I was a big cookie guy (still am)  Oreos (especially double stuffs) and Chips Ahoy used to be a regular grocery trip staple.  That changed too.  I went from Double Stuffs to regular Oreos.  I went from regular Oreos to the reduced fat Oreos that were much drier and less satisfying.  Then I eventually cut cookies out.  Instead for desert I have something like a Zone Bar that still is sweet but also has protein and other nutritional value to it.  Instead of drinking regular soda or Chocolate Ahhh with meals, I became accustomed to diet soda and nowadays I normally just have a glass of ice water with my dinner.

My workout routine changed greatly, especially when I moved to Florida.  My buddy that I work with is pretty huge and was close to body builder size.  When we first moved here, I used to work out with him at Gold’s Gym, doing so opened my eyes to the flaws of my exercise routine.  I learned to mix up my routine every week, keeping my body in constant guessing game.  I went from working out 2 or 3 days a week to working out 4 or 5 times a week.  I concentrated on what I was doing and for the most part tried to increase the intensity of what I was doing. 

The end result of my decade long effort has been maintaining my body weight right around the 190 mark.  A few times when I was on a kick to really lean out I was close to 180.  The few times I dabbled with creatine my weight inched across 200 but that was more muscle than fat. 

So what is the point of this lengthy rap?  Oh yea, when Ali tells me it is easy for me to be thin I get annoyed.  I suppose keeping my weight constant has nothing to do with working out 5 days a week and vastly modifying my eating habits.  It’s not rocket science, just motivation and a bit of hard work.