Whoa (a la Keanu Reeves)...where did the last month go?

Hi Fit Fatties at Heart,

Sorry for the neglect. Don't think I don't love you, think about you, and cry about you.  I've just been very busy with work the last month.

So let's talk.

I'll go first.

Todd 2, Easter Bunny 0.

That's right.  For 2 years that upright, dextrose-doling varmint has tried to knock me out of my routine by leaving me all kinds of goodies and I've escaped unscathed, although, I must admit, I've happily sampled a few of his wares.  Next year I'm buying a shotgun and shooting whatever moves in my house between 12 pm and 9 am on Easter Eve to assure a three-peat.

I've continued to maintain.

When I originally lost weight in 2009, my goal was 170, and my low was 168- down from 222. Since then I've gone up a few pounds- I'm currently around 173-174. I attribute that weight gain to muscle from spending more time lifting at the gym since losing. A few times along the way I've gone up to 175-176, usually due to holidays. I've maintained through a disciplined diet and almost daily exercise- the only tried and true methods for long-term weight loss and maintenance, in case you were wondering.

Multitasking has helped me immensely. I told you about the recumbent exercise bike I acquired about a month ago and for which I built a computer platform (pictured above). It's helped me a lot to be able to do cardio and work at the same time.

What else?  Let's see...in the last month I learned that excess salt causes blood to retain water, which in turn puts excess pressure on veins and arteries.  That's why excess salt is bad.

So what's new with you?  How goes the healthy eating and exercise?

Calorie posting...good for fit fatties at heart?

The FDA is moving to post calorie information on restaurant menus. According to a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune from 4/2 entitled "Calorie Counting on Menus to Exempt Movie Theaters," this FDA mandate will probably be in place by 2012 in over 280,000 restaurants.

Here's my reaction:

Clap, clap, clap. I don't think posting calorie information will do much to help the 66% of overweight Americans, because when I was a fatty, I thought it was fun to load up on calories (I still do, just not very often). In my opinion, it's just unnecessary nannying by a federal agency.

I strongly believe the only thing that could really help the masses desire to eat healthy is a resurgence of social stigmas painting being overweight as undesirable...similar to anti-smoking campaigns. I don't know who would fund them.

The bottom line is, if someone is serious about eating healthy, he/she IS NOT buying fast food for lunch.