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Well, I'm still a funt, but jeez I walked some miles - often in the rain - around NZ over the last couple of weeks.
If you're near Paeroa, Karangahake Gorge is a must. Gets popular in summer I understand. Old mining shafts, walks by the river, train tunnel etc. Top spot. Didn't get to climb Te Aroha with Red Beard because the weather turned shitty, but it's on the list for next time.
Any of the shitloads of tracks around Rotorua should be on your list. I got the water taxi out from The Landing and camped overnight at Hot Water Beach at the South end of Lake Tarawera. Had the place to myself. Except for the sandflies who gave me a nice collection of welts.
Walked out on the Tarawera Track the next day - not for the faint of heart. Fucking landslips! Some amazing track tho and the DOC needs a pat on the back for it.
Got to see a bit of Taupo, including Huka Falls which I'd missed driving thru there the last couple of times. Then across to Taranaki where I walked from Egmont visitor Centre to Holly Hut.
Don't mind saying that was some of the toughest foot slogging I've done, and it was tougher in the rain on the way back the next morning. Had to cross a rapidly rising bit of water near a waterfall, which I would have videoed had I not been soaked; touch screens don't like water.
A lot of fun, plenty of discovery, and a bit of willpower needed.
Every kilometre was offset by the quantities of beer I drank, but I wouldn't change any of it.
Now to get back on the trolley...
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@nta You didn't miss out not doing the Te Aroha walk. That is a carnt of a track, the closer to the top you get, the more vertical it is, and the last section you are literally scrabbling up rock face while holding onto branches. There is nothing at the top but an aerial tower. Good view on a clear day, but it is REALLY exposed and freezing cold.
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Anyhoo, after a week or so being bloated after too much craft beer in NZ, and then another week of bloat recovering from it, I'm back on track with the whole fitness thing.
Have been for 2 x 3km jog/shuffle things in the last ten days, clocking 20 minutes or just under as I pathetically aim for my old 5 minute kilometres. Trying to run while massively constipated is less than fun, but it did the trick along with a shit* load of water and some kind of tea the wife recommended.
*pun intended
Weigh in this morning was 104.8kg and the aim for the next 10 weeks - including Christmas - to get back under 100kg. Starting a new job Monday and I have to buy new clothes this weekend because its back to business attire in the corporate area of our building rather than just free n easy API Developer guy in hipsterville.
Honestly I saw a fucking twat with a handlebar mo at work the other day in those ankle pants, wearing sandals. No socks, but still, that is in no fucking way OH&S compliant.
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@nta said in Back for more!:
Anyhoo, after a week or so being bloated after too much craft beer in NZ, and then another week of bloat recovering from it, I'm back on track with the whole fitness thing.
Have been for 2 x 3km jog/shuffle things in the last ten days, clocking 20 minutes or just under as I pathetically aim for my old 5 minute kilometres. Trying to run while massively constipated is less than fun, but it did the trick along with a shit* load of water and some kind of tea the wife recommended.
*pun intended
Weigh in this morning was 104.8kg and the aim for the next 10 weeks - including Christmas - to get back under 100kg. Starting a new job Monday and I have to buy new clothes this weekend because its back to business attire in the corporate area of our building rather than just free n easy API Developer guy in hipsterville.
Honestly I saw a fucking twat with a handlebar mo at work the other day in those ankle pants, wearing sandals. No socks, but still, that is in no fucking way OH&S compliant.
Sorry about that champ. We'll stick to smoothies next time.
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Right so the last couple of weeks:
Weigh in on Saturday was 105.6kg which is of course the wrong direction at +0.8kg - it wasn't a crash hot week for exercise, and I had a couple of sugarfests, so correcting that this week.
Run on Monday and Wednesday: covering 3km and 3.2km in 18 and 20 minutes respectively. That's about the pace I can maintain right now, while my knees readjust to the effort and extra weight.
Eating has been pretty good, except for yesterday's team building event which was walking around The Rocks here in Sydney, and then having a few beers. But I kept it fairly tame as I was driving.
Part of the drive will be fitting more easily into the new work gear I had to buy for the new position. Fucking Business Casual.
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Yesterday probably stopped it being a better week than results suggest - had to be in the city early for an all-day workshop with the vendor, so didn't have time for a morning run.
Then the only options in food were mostly sugar-based, though I ate small quantities to mitigate it. A couple of beers essentially killed it off, and I weighed in at 105.6kg again this morning.
Back into it this week and aiming for a big decrease as the exercise kicks in.
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Been a pretty fucked couple of months after the Kiwi trip. First dealing with the change in jobs, and the crazy mother-in-law bullshit, and just generally lacking motivation on the 42 degree days.
However, on Boxing Day we caught up with friends, and the husband - a few years my senior - has shed 25kg in the last 5 months. Fucking hell that's pretty fair going and he wasn't doing much special besides cutting down on the shit eating.
Its clear I just haven't wanted it enough. Particularly as I had to buy a new work wardrobe and I'm at the limit of it.
So I went for a walk tonight, then mowed the lawn afterwards. Fairly warm day so a bit of a sweat on. Have tightened up the eating a bit and will continue with the walking and a bit of body weight at least once per day. RMR needs a boost.
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Fuck been a while eh?
A few things on the health front: currently weighing in at 103.4kg. Not bad considering I've just been on holiday.
The mother-in-law (hereafter referred to as The Dementor) is still in a home instead of dead, meaning the wife's generally still stressed out to shit. I guess it has created a bit of depression for both of us as we try to adjust to all the new bullshit in our life.
We just spent a week in Fiji and even though Mrs TA was crook as a dog, we had a great time - outside the bedroom at least. Bit hard when she's hacking up a lung every time she lies down
That said, the intimacy side hasn't been crash hot the last 6 months, which is partly due to the wife worrying about The Dementor.OK, this next bit is me generally talking about personal shit, but I think its important that I flag it here in case anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation.
I've been having issues on the "bedroom performance" front over the past couple of years, on which I could not really pin a probable cause until very recently. Tried Viagra - and it fucking works - but a day later I'd get a migraine, so that kind of vascular medicine isn't cutting it, and is potentially dangerous.
Those exercise-induced migraine auras (loss of vision) were one thing. Easy to avoid: don't exercise. Kind of counterproductive to reducing my funtliness. But when I went through all that with the neurologist I had the MRIs, CTs, and even a carotid ultrasound to check there were no blockages in or around the cranium.
A few weeks ago I started having this thing called pulsatile tinnitus which is basically where you can hear - like really fucking HEAR - the blood flow through one of your ears.
Some people get regular tinnitus with is the high-pitched thing that goes away. This is like more like listening to the ultrasound of your unborn child's heartbeat (for those who have heard it), or having the sound in your ear of roaring as your pulse runs through the veins near your hearing. Not the thumping of your blood in your ears when you're exerting hardcore, but just this ... pulsing. It would go away after a bit, but was quite off putting, and even happened when I was sitting still.
In any case, you add up the migraine-style aura, the pulsatile tinnitus, and the erectile dysfunction, and suddenly you're looking at circulatory issues.
And, potentially, cardiac issues.
In a guy whose Dad had his first heart attack at 46, and his last one at 67. And even though the old man was a two pack a day smoker for the first 20 years of adulthood, genetic factors are fucking massive in this arena.
This is the thing about all the tests I did for the neurologist: none of them were done under physical stress, under which I am prone to the symptoms I have (except the pulsatile tinnitus but fuck that guy anyway, he's new here).
So on Thursday next week I'm off to the cardiologist to get wired up to a bunch of machines and run on a treadmill. Which should be highly amusing given I've barely run fucking anywhere the last couple of years. At least there will be medical staff on hand if something goes pop, and a hospital across the road
Hopefully this comes back with some kind of physical issue that can be remedied with the appropriate short-term medication or procedure, and I can get back to exercising both in and out of le boudoir
In the meantime I'm taking on the discipline to get some bodyweight done, along with some brisk walking. No sense stressing out the old ticker if there is something lurking in the deep.
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Oh and one other piece of advice: never ever ever ever ever Ever EVER STOP EXERCISING!
More than ever, I now regret slowing down 4 years ago to take an extended break. I should have kept up the fucking running and body weight work at a maintenance level.
Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference to anything. Maybe I would have dropped dead going for a run some day. Maybe I'm just talking myself into a panic about this before even knowing what the cardiologist is going to say.
But I would not be in THIS situation if I'd kept on being 91kg and bloody happy with it.
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@nta said in Back for more!:
Fuck been a while eh?
A few things on the health front: currently weighing in at 103.4kg. Not bad considering I've just been on holiday.
The mother-in-law (hereafter referred to as The Dementor) is still in a home instead of dead, meaning the wife's generally still stressed out to shit. I guess it has created a bit of depression for both of us as we try to adjust to all the new bullshit in our life.
We just spent a week in Fiji and even though Mrs TA was crook as a dog, we had a great time - outside the bedroom at least. Bit hard when she's hacking up a lung every time she lies down
That said, the intimacy side hasn't been crash hot the last 6 months, which is partly due to the wife worrying about The Dementor.OK, this next bit is me generally talking about personal shit, but I think its important that I flag it here in case anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation.
I've been having issues on the "bedroom performance" front over the past couple of years, on which I could not really pin a probable cause until very recently. Tried Viagra - and it fucking works - but a day later I'd get a migraine, so that kind of vascular medicine isn't cutting it, and is potentially dangerous.
Those exercise-induced migraine auras (loss of vision) were one thing. Easy to avoid: don't exercise. Kind of counterproductive to reducing my funtliness. But when I went through all that with the neurologist I had the MRIs, CTs, and even a carotid ultrasound to check there were no blockages in or around the cranium.
A few weeks ago I started having this thing called pulsatile tinnitus which is basically where you can hear - like really fucking HEAR - the blood flow through one of your ears.
Some people get regular tinnitus with is the high-pitched thing that goes away. This is like more like listening to the ultrasound of your unborn child's heartbeat (for those who have heard it), or having the sound in your ear of roaring as your pulse runs through the veins near your hearing. Not the thumping of your blood in your ears when you're exerting hardcore, but just this ... pulsing. It would go away after a bit, but was quite off putting, and even happened when I was sitting still.
In any case, you add up the migraine-style aura, the pulsatile tinnitus, and the erectile dysfunction, and suddenly you're looking at circulatory issues.
And, potentially, cardiac issues.
In a guy whose Dad had his first heart attack at 46, and his last one at 67. And even though the old man was a two pack a day smoker for the first 20 years of adulthood, genetic factors are fucking massive in this arena.
This is the thing about all the tests I did for the neurologist: none of them were done under physical stress, under which I am prone to the symptoms I have (except the pulsatile tinnitus but fuck that guy anyway, he's new here).
So on Thursday next week I'm off to the cardiologist to get wired up to a bunch of machines and run on a treadmill. Which should be highly amusing given I've barely run fucking anywhere the last couple of years. At least there will be medical staff on hand if something goes pop, and a hospital across the road
Hopefully this comes back with some kind of physical issue that can be remedied with the appropriate short-term medication or procedure, and I can get back to exercising both in and out of le boudoir
In the meantime I'm taking on the discipline to get some bodyweight done, along with some brisk walking. No sense stressing out the old ticker if there is something lurking in the deep.
Cheers for putting it all out there mate. Really hope you find a solution to all of this. It's not fair if you have the will but your body (or in this case head) won't let you.
Good luck mate.
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@rancid-schnitzel said in Back for more!:
Cheers for putting it all out there mate. Really hope you find a solution to all of this. It's not fair if you have the will but your body (or in this case head) won't let you.
Good luck mate.Thanks. Its kind of funny looking back, but I spent a lot of time looking for a neuro solution when the rest of it was pretty much staring me in the face. Feel like this is a positive step to getting myself back in the shape I want, while heading off any future issues.
As the GP said to me the other night, in a way its good the Viagra gave me migraines. Some guys just keep popping the pills for years, and die from heart disease without realising it may have been the underlying cause of the ED.
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Looking back at some of my measurements on old spreadsheets, there are some good (if humbling) goals there:
"Peak NTA" - 9th March 2013
90.1kg
Chest 107cm
Waist 94cm
Hips 101cm"Current model" - 16th June 2018
103.4kg
Chest 120cm
Waist 112cm
Hips 112cmGood eating will get me most of the way there, along with walking, abs and bodyweight I reckon.
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@nta said in Back for more!:
Current model
I did weigh myself 8 weeks ago at a peak fatness 97.6kg (coming off an injury and winter here)
Have lost 1kg a week and now 89.5 or so.
Have been doing some hill sprints on sundays plus dips and pull ups (back on 12 strict), mid week 2 * 30 minutes spinning at nights, and eating less carbs (fewer).
easy
will go for very toned 85kg then up the fitness even more.I also have heart issues in family, so focus on being fit to avoid any mumurs. When not fit I have sometimes. When I do hill running repeats, I am hitting 240 HB, but after a minute it's down to 110.
Hope this info helps you.
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@nta you're welcome, I think the biggest point is the regular exercise mixed with low carbs (like, half a bowl of rice a day) while being active at work, keep it up for 3 months, and that's a loss of 10kg. Go for it.
Also, spinning at over 200 watts for 30 minutes....
