Friday, December 31, 2010

New Year's Resolutions

I know you have all been waiting in breathless anticipation for my New Year's Resolutions. Well, all your dreams are about to come true. Some of them have parts but I'm planning on making them all a reality.

1) Continue to Lose Weight
a)Lose at least 100 pounds in the calendar year 2011
b)Drop 4 pant sizes and 2 shirt sizes
2) Increase My General Health
a)Run a mile in under 15 minutes (this was originally 10 mins but 12-15
would be okay)
b)Ride 10 miles on my bike in under 45 minutes (not the exercise bike)
c)Learn to rollerblade (I have rollerblades but have never used them)
d)Compete in a 5-K (I may have to walk some of it but I'll do it; and
maybe 'Compete' is a wrong word, maybe 'Participate' is better)
e)Work towards competing in Stoneman Triathlon here in Springfield in July
2012 (This is shooting kind of high on the difficulty scale but hey, a
guy needs goals, right?)
3) Pass 3 CPCU Exams
4) Curse Less (I'm not saying I'm totally cutting out swearing, because that would
be really dam.....whoops, DARN hard for me at this point but I'm going
to make an effort to cut it down)

Well, that's all I got. I think those are some fairly far-reaching yet imminently attainable goals and resolutions. Did that make sense? Heck, even if it didn't, who cares, I'll make up for it by saying something, anything, that makes sense in 2011. It's bound to happen. Happy New Year's everyone and what are your resolutions?

New Year's Eve

Well, it's the end of the year 2010 as the last few hours count down to midnight. It's hard to believe that the year is basically over. But, a new one is about to come around I'm looking forward to it. I'm not sure if I've said that about many of the past few years. Many years I'm thinking about starting to change my life or try to and lose some weight. This year though, I'm 5 1/2 months into it and that's extremely exciting to me. This isn't new and just isn't a "resolution", I've been consciously trying to change my life and am making a real concerted effort to follow through and succeed. I have no "end date" in mind for this undertaking, I want it to continue the rest of my life.

I ended this year by riding my exercise bike for 36 minutes and made it 10.1 miles. The last 6 minutes were spent riding fairly easy after churning out 8.76 miles in the first 30 minutes. I felt pretty great afterwards and am really seeing progress. I'll be doing a year-end weigh-in tomorrow morning so I know what my '2010' weight loss ended at although my official weigh-in will still be Monday. This will also set me up to know my weight loss and progress for 2011.

To my all my friends, readers, followers...be safe this New Year's and be careful. Happy New Year's to all of you and I hope that all of your 2011s are wonderful and get off to a great start!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

New Year's Eve Eve

It's Thursday and the dread is building inside of me. Only a few more days until my vacation is over. I'm not thinking about it much because I've felt pretty good about how things have gone. I've had a good time off, a good Christmas, and a good birthday. I've watched some television, watched some movies, listened to some podcasts, rode my exercise bike alot and cleaned things up around the apartment. I have gotten some new stuff and gotten rid of old stuff. I've gone through a bunch of clothes that were too big anymore for me so that's been pretty good. I have a couple bags of clothes in my trunk right now that will be donated soon.

Other than that, things are well and my eating has gone pretty fabulously for being off of work. I'm pretty proud of that since being off of work and just being home alot has gotten in my way alot in the past. I'll post my New Year's Resolutions either tomorrow night or Saturday, I'm not sure yet but they are coming soon. Hopefully you all can wait a little while longer for them and know what I'm trying to do in this new year. I might do a little recap of what has been good or bad in 2010 as well. Just seems like the right thing to do just as a wrap-up for myself so I don't forget all the things that have happened.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

They Say It's My Birthday

On this day, we celebrate my birthday because well, it's the day I was born. I was born December 28th, 1976. Soooooooo, for all of my non-math friends out there, that makes me 34. My dad called me earlier and asked if I felt another year older. The answer really is no, although it's crazy to me that I am almost 35. I know, I know...all those over 35 are groaning but give me a break! When you got to 34 I bet you felt kinda crazy that you were almost 35. And to those friends of mine younger than me....shut up! HAHA! I say that to all of you with the proper amount of kindness, I swear.

Anyways, it was a good day. I bought myself a little present, the tv show Archer, Season 1 on DVD. I love that show! It's not for everyone but it's one of the funniest damn shows going. I rode the bike this afternoon for 30 minutes and went 8.34 miles which was a good distance and left me properly tired. I ended the day, besides writing this blog, by going to my birthday buddy Ryan's 8th birthday party. It was a really good time. Lots of kids bowling, a cup of diet soda and 3 slices of pizza. I had had a single cupcake earlier in the day so I didn't have any cake but there was a cool Dallas Cowboys cake with ice cream cups. It was a fun party and a nice way to spend the evening of my birthday.

All in all, 33 was a pretty decent year and I'm looking forward to 34. I'll get into that more at an end of the year with a year-end wrapup. So, in conclusion, Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #23

The week of Christmas apparently was very good to me. I watched what I ate everyday and even when I ate a little more than I should have, it wasn't alot more or anything out of control. Weighing myself this morning, I lost 3.2 pounds this week to bring my overall total to 84.2 pounds. YEA!!!! I don't think I'll get to my 90 pounds by the end of the year but between 85 and 90 pounds lost will make me very happy. This has been an exciting half a year and really a whole year but more on that later in the week.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!!!

Well, today is Christmas. I had Christmas with my family last week so I just stayed in Springfield today by myself. Although I was by myself, it was a pretty good day. I've watched some DVDs and done a few things around the place. Earlier today I rode the exercise bike for 30 minutes on a higher intensity and training setting. I got just over 7 miles but that was pretty good on the setting it was on.

I made myself a seasoned pork roast with cut up carrots, onion and baby red and gold potatoes and had that for lunch. I have 4 meals of leftovers for it so it should last me a little while. Had two lean burgers(no buns) and some peas for dinner so, on the whole, I ate really great today. I did make some sugar cookies yesterday but they just didn't taste very good. Hard to do anything wrong with them since it was prepackaged cookie dough that you just slice and bake but I just didn't care for them. I ate probably 4 or 5 of them and wound up throwing the rest of them out. I just knew they really weren't anything good for me for one thing but even though they tasted bad, I would've eaten them. I just didn't need them at all.

Well, the Cowboys game is about to start so I'll be watching that and rooting hardily for my Cowboys to finish off Christmas the right way with a victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Let's go Cowboys!

And a hearty Merry Christmas to anyone out there who reads this blog! I hope it was a safe and happy Christmas for you and your families. You've all given me the gift of support and I am deeply grateful for it. Merry Christmas!!!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Music

I've been meaning to do this post for awhile, not that many will care, but as I was walking through a department store a couple of weeks ago, I found myself singing along to almost every Christmas song that was being piped in through the speakers. There were Christmas seasons when I worked at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club that I HATED Christmas music because it was all you heard over your shift and hearing the same few songs, and ones you haven't picked, a whole bunch of times gets to be old very, very, very, very quickly.

Anyways, these songs are in no particular order but these are my favorite songs come around Christmas-time. Some you hear alot, some you hardly hear or don't hear at all unless you have the CD. Here it goes, please enjoy and let me know your personal faves.

Title........................................Artist
All I Want For Christmas is You.............Mariah Carey
Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)..............Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Ornament....................................Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Old City Bar................................Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Santa Claus is Coming To Town...............Bruce Springsteen
Merry Christmas Baby........................Bruce Springsteen
That Spirit of Christmas....................Ray Charles
Happy Xmas (War Is Over)....................John Lennon
Please Come Home for Christmas..............Jon Bon Jovi
White Christmas.............................Bing Crosby
I'll Be Home For Christmas..................Bing Crosby or Michael Buble
The Christmas Song..........................Nat King Cole
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas......Frank Sinatra
Blue Christmas..............................Elvis Presley
Christmastime is Here (with vocals).........Vince Guaraldi Trio
Where Are You Christmas?....................Faith Hill

Well, those are my Christmas songs and the ones that can always bring a twinkle to my eye, a song to my lips, a tap to my foot and the Christmas spirit to my heart.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Relaxing

I've been on vacation now for almost a week and let me tell ya, I really enjoy it. That's not to say I haven't been doing anything on my days off. One of the things around here I wanted to accomplish was going through my closets and getting rid of or donating a lot of things I don't use or don't need anymore. I've been donating clothes to thrift stores as they've gotten too big so that's cleared some space. My front closet was jammed with storage containers that I did not know what was in them. Sooooo, I went through those and rid myself of junk. I went through some other storage containers I had around and got rid of more junk. I know have a slightly cleaner and more organized place which makes me feel good. I at least got that accomplished over the last few days.

My eating has been going really well. I'm hoping for a good week this week and I think it's gotten off to a promising start. I could use a nice 2 or 3 pound weight loss this week. I wouldn't bet my life on it but it would be great if I could get that. Other than those things, the week has been kinda "boring" but in a great way as I'm really enjoying myself.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #22

Another week, another pound. I was excited this morning because I had lost one pound. Over the last couple of days, I had eaten a little more than I've been used to, so I thought I'd might wind up adding a half pound or so. Gosh, I may have lost 2-3 if I'd eaten a little less. The italian beef, spaghetti, cookies, pies my brother and mom(mostly my mom) made was so good though. Don't think I'm blaming them though for anything. Love both you guys and it was good to get some good food. And Stephanie, those little chocolate/fudge pieces you gave me were awesome! I don't know if you've ever commented on my blog but was there some peanut butter in them or something??? They were soooooooo good.

Anyways, I lost another 1 pound to increase my total to 81 pounds. Although it doesn't look like I'm going to get to 90 pounds lost inside the year it's been fabulous and I'm very proud. A pound lost at this time of year with all the goodies is pretty sweet!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Christmas with the Family

We had our family Christmas today. It was decided to do it a week early since my brother would not have the kids on Christmas day. I drove to my parent's house yesterday and spent the night. I actually slept pretty good and we watched the movie Toy Story. Well, my dad and I watched most of it and my mom watched a little of it.

Everyone got to open presents today though. We all enjoyed what we got. I got the 4th season of 30 Rock on DVD, a Minnesota Twins shot glass, a new shot glass case for my wall, $20 and a Duke Blue Devils cooler/freezer mug. A good day and lots of good gifts. Thanks to my Mom and Dad, Mike, Amie, Ashley, Ryan and Jacob. Love you guys and thanks for a happy holidays.

For dinner we had some really good italian beef sandwiches, green bean casserole, chips, deviled eggs and a vegetable tray. I ate conservatively but I think I might be up a little on my weigh-in tomorrow. I did have a couple of Christmas cookies over the last 2 days and a piece of lemon meringue pie. Not bad but over the last couple of days I've probably eaten a little more than I should have. It's alright though, not going to let it stop me from achieving my weight loss goals.

Also, the other day I got a Wii Fit Plus Balance Board in the mail that my friends Dave and Amanda sent me for Christmas. Thanks guys! I'll be putting it to some good use!!

Friday, December 17, 2010

First Full Day of Vacation

Today was the first full day of my holiday vacation. I didn't feel like posting anything last night even though I had half a day off from work. And jeez, was I busy at work over that half a day. My boss even told me, "If you can get out of here at 12, RUN!!!" It was pretty funny but it was one helluva busy morning. I just kinda came home after that and had a relaxing, wonderful evening at home just doing nothing.

Today started off slow but I got all my presents wrapped for Christmas with the family, I bought 2 new pillows for my bed and changed to another set of my new flannel sheets...the blue ones now and just like the brown ones, they are comfy...and generally took it easy for the most part. I went over today to help Jeremy move a couch so a hospital bed could be put in so Kim could come home after her surgery on a broken leg. She's healing and home now even though some things could've(and SHOULD'VE) been handled much, much, much, much better by the hospital and its staff. Some things like that can just be a joke and while that sucks, it's good that Kim is home and definitely on the road to recovery.

Eating has kinda been sporadic these last few days. Stressed by work and then relieved by vacation, I may have let off the reins a little bit too much but it'll get back on track. I don't think the situation is bad, just not great for this week's weight loss but I'll do some things next week and things will be smooth.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Not Much Longer...

Until I'm on vacation. Just a few hours tomorrow but they are filled with some meetings, helping people and trying to get a couple of final things done for the year. It's been a long and productive year at work this year. Wish some things could've gone more smoothly in regards to matters with agents and how things are for them but overally, a nice year and some things moving in the right direction with my states. Hopefully after vacation this holiday season, I'll be able to come back refreshed and ready to hit the ground running in January for a productive 2011. Wow...2011...just seems strange to be to that year. Seems like yesterday it was just about to turn 2000. Guess this means I'm getting old that I'm semi-nostalgic. Oh well, just another thing to deal with.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #21

Well, definitely not as good a week this week as far as losing weight goes. I only lost 0.2 pounds for the week to bring my overall total to 80 even. I'm still happy though and if things go well over the next couple of weeks, I'll finish the year at somewhere over 80 pounds lost for the last 5 1/2 months...not too shabby.

I'm happy my life is changing....I'm proud that it is. I'm nowhere near where I want to be weight-wise but I'm getting there and I'm no longer totally embarrassed to go places and do things. There is still a lot of work to do but I feel more capable of walking around and keeping my head up high and not in the ground in shame. My clothes are getting smaller, my confidence is up and my self-respect is up which is just as important for me as getting into smaller clothes. I'm very excited for the next few weeks and to continue my journey.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

It's About To Get Cold!!!

So far, our winter here in Springfield has been pretty mild. We've had a little rain, a few snow flurries, a little cold but nothing too bad. BUT, that is about to turn. The last 2 days here have been pretty warm but we're supposed to dip to Highs in the mid-teens with lows around zero and negative windchills. We're only supposed to get a little bit of show but lots and lots of wind. I know it's worse in other areas though so I hope everyone in those areas is getting through it alright.

This week has been pretty good eating-wise even with the extra time off because of the flood at work. I went to lunch at a Chinese place with my friends Todd and Alison yesterday and it was a good time and a good meal. I still have one more day to go on this weekend and I need to do some laundry but I'm ready for this next week or work to start for one reason....I only have 4 working days left this year!!! Woo-hoo!!! There is still alot to do over these 4 days and especially because we were closed the last two but I'll get it done and am just ready for my longer vacation.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Unexpected Time Off

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I was about to hop in the shower when my phone dinged with a text message at 5:45 or so. Evidently a water main had broken at Horace Mann and flooded the basement and the office was closed. Now, the basement is where all the servers and things are located so it flooding is most definitely not a good thing. Lots of IT folks have been there all day trying to get all of our stuff back up and running. Sounds like they're making some progress but still a ways to go and since the water main isn't fixed yet and we do not have water to the building, we have tomorrow off as well.

Gonna be an especially busy day for me on Monday as I work Monday-Thursday next week and then will be off the rest of the year. Got to get some stuff done.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

What the Fudge?????!!!!!!

It's that time of year. It was finally the day. Don Closter brought in his wife's fudge today.....ohmygosh!!!! It's normally one of my favorite days of the year. This fudge is simply outstanding. It's a peanut butter fudge on the bottom and then chocolate fudge fudginess on top. The taste is simply heavenly. Once a year, Don brings in this huge tray of it. Three layers of small pieces that people gather some up and take home to spouses, kids, whatever. Someone who has been retired for 5years came in today for the fudge...that's how good it is!!!!

Anyways....I usually eat about 3 to 50 pieces. I actually don't know how many pieces I would eat but I'd say it was around 8-10 in a "normal" year. Today????? I had one. Just one. I picked it up around 9:30 this morning and kept it at my desk the whole day and enjoyed it around 3:45. Why did I keep it at my desk instead of eating it? I knew it was there and I told myself I had to eat that one first if I ate any. So, by waiting and eating it later, I didn't have the chance to have any more. It really was a lot easier for me than I thought it would be. But let me tell you, it was goooooooooooood!

Kay Closter's Fudge = outstanding
My willpower concerning the aforementioned fudge = outstanding

Those two things above make for a pretty good day and a proud one for me that I was able to resist. I would call that progress for me and I would definitely call it a success.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #20

Wow, 20 weigh-ins! I thought I was at #19 actually. Anyways, on to what you may have come here to read. Well, after a Thanksgiving week where I gained one pound, I came back strong this week and lost 5.6 pounds to bring my 20-week total to 79.8 pounds. Yea!!! Pretty exciting for me. I'm looking at an average of 4 pounds a week right now and that makes me pretty proud. I'm keeping strong and continuing to kick some butt.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Just a Few Days Later

I haven't had a whole lot to say these last few days so, as you've probably noticed, there have been no new posts. I went back to work and it was a looooooong week even though it was only 4 days for me. I got a lot of things accomplished though so that all worked out but I'm glad to get some time to relax this weekend. And hey, only 9 more working days left this year for me. Huzzah!

With how busy I was at work, in the old days my eating would've been pretty awful. Fast food, pizza, God knows what else....but this week was actually really good for me. We had poker last night as well and Van provided subs. I ate a small dinner here at home of soup and some cottage cheese with fruit and then at poker after I was out of the first game had one small section of a sub. Now, I probably could've put away numberous sections of the subs but I was able to resist and for that I'm proud.

I'm sure with Christmas, my birthday(and my birthday buddy Ryan's b-day), and vacation, I'll have a few things to say in the upcoming weeks. If I can make it through these weeks without pigging out, I should be pretty good for a little while and in the clear of MAJOR temptations. It's going to be a good December....at least I hope it is.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Sigh....

Had to go back to work today. Ugh!!! It was good to be back around some friends but man, did I get tired! The day was very long but I got through it. I did a lot of work and there's still lots of work to be done over the next 2 1/2 weeks. And by the way, did I mention it's really cold out there? Dang!!! Oh well though, we have to put up with it for a couple of months now. I watched 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' tonight and it's still AWESOME! I still enjoy seeing that special every year.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #19

Ugh. For the first time since I started on this journey, I did not lose weight or stay the same. Soooooo, you know what that means, I gained one pound. Argh!!! It makes me kind of sad but I was pretty much ready for it when, throughout the week, I noticed that the weight just wasn't going down as I stepped on the scale. Damn carbs!!! HAHA! I just ate a little too much...even though I ate MUCH less than normal....and wasn't as active as I should have been. I've got no one to blame but myself but I'm just going to put this behind me and keep on moving on. I'm still at 74.2 pounds lost as it is and that's still damn good!! I'll keep on looking forward to each week as it comes along and keep my eyes on the smaller prize.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Almost Over....

What's almost over? My vacation, that's what!! Only one more day since I'm still off tomorrow. I almost always take off the Monday after Thanksgiving and it's not for shopping on Cyber Monday, I just take it off if I can. I'm just not ready to go back to work but I guess I must at some point but I will enjoy tomorrow.

I need to get back on the horse tomorrow. I need to get back to the gym...I've missed the last 2 weeks because of work and then laziness from the holiday...but it's imperative that I return to that routine. I've already prepared myself to either lose no weight or maybe gain a pound or two back from this past week. I just wasn't as active as I would've liked and even though my eating was pretty good, it still was a little more than it would have been in a normal week. Every time I've stepped on the scale this week, I've been a little bit heavier than last week. I don't like either not losing or gaining a little but I'm not going to let it destroy me either. I know it's not the end of the world but I need to get rolling again. I'd still like to lose 90 pounds by the end of the year and that's still around 14-15 pounds away so I'm not sure if I'll get there but I'm sure gonna bust my ass and try to get there.

So I'll be getting up early tomorrow morning and "braving" the cold to the gym. This I promise to you and to myself.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving Eating & Black Friday

First off, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I know I have.

I should've posted last night about how my eating went but I was really tired after getting home and just kind of crashed for the evening and was asleep by about 9:15. You know I had to be tired because there was an NFL game on last night and I didn't stay up to watch it all. Anyways, I came out of Thanksgiving pretty proud of myself. I think my parents can attest for me, or my dad at least since he saw what was on my plate, that I ate pretty lightly. I had a couple of slices of turkey, a couple of small pieces of ham, a little bit of dressing(and for me, only having a little bit of dressing is something because I LOVE it!), a little bit of scalloped corn(same thing as the dressing), some green beans, one small spoonful of mashed potatoes, a spoonful of gravy, one roll and one deviled egg. I know this sounds like a lot but it really wasn't too bad. I did go back for one more slice of turkey and ham but that was it. Once I got back home, with some leftovers, I only had one turkey sandwich for dinner about 7:15 or so. I feel pretty good about what I ate but especially, what I DIDN'T eat. Oh yeah, I did one small sliver of pumpkin pie. But let me tell you something, I didn't have alot but it was all wonderful!!

This morning I went a few places for Black Friday shopping: Bergner's, Target and Best Buy. I went to Target with my friend Kari and her son Ryan. He told his mom that I had to go so I was able to stand in line with them. Who am I to say no???!! I got a couple of deals and also got some 'Buy One Get One Free' clothes at Casual Male Big & Tall. Those were some good deals. With a couple of other coupons, I got about $340 worth of clothes for about $140 and I needed a few new things. I've got some other shopping done for Christmas so it's been a successful day on a lot of fronts.

I've been off all week on vacation and the holiday and it has been a great time! It's gone a little fast but I've really enjoyed it. I still have the weekend and Monday off so I'm getting really close to having to return to the real world. It's been a superb Thanksgiving though and I hope that all of yours has been as great as mine!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving!

Well, today is Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving! Now that that's out of the way, it should be an interesting day. Need to keep my eating under control and I should be fine. I can eat a little more than normal today but I just can't go overboard. I think I'll be able to keep it under control pretty well though.

I've looked at ads online and I'm not sure if I'll be going out tomorrow for any sales. The few things I've seen, I've been able to order some things online. Bless Amazon.com!!!

I need to take a shower and get dressed so I can drive to my parent's house. I really don't want to get out of bed though. I'm way comfortable and it looks kinda cold out there. I know I have to get up though, looking forward to the meal, some leftovers, some football(Go Dallas....I'm cautiously optimistic) and some time with the family. I guess I better get up and start my day.

To everyone reading out there, Happy Thanksgiving!! May you all feel as blessed as I feel for having all of you in my life in some way.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Comics Are Gone

Today Jeremy and I drove to Bloomington so I could get rid of 10 longboxes of comics. It was just time and they had been sitting in my living room in the back for probably about 18 months. I got $225 for all of them so that was pretty sweet. I got a couple of trade paperbacks but still have $110 of store credit left. Jim at Acme is very fair and a good guy, I'll be going back again to use up more of my store credit.

While we were in Bloomington, Jeremy had to stop at Krispy Kreme to pick up some doughnuts. The girl working the counter offered me a free doughnut...a FREE doughnut!!!! Ohmygosh! I actually turned it down. It felt good to turn it down but dang, it smelled soooooooo good. After I turned it down, Jeremy took a bite of his and said, "It's still warm...." Really Jeremy??!!! HAHA! It was a funny moment.

Overall it was a very fun day and I thank Jeremy for giving me a ride to Acme. We had a good time though and I got some more space freed up. All in all, a fun day.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #18

Just did my Monday Morning Weigh-In and I lost another 2.2 pounds to bring my total to 75.2 pounds. I got past my first BIG milestone which was 74 pounds. By losing 74 pounds, I'm now below the weight I began at which I began 2007. In 2007 over the first 8 months of the year, I lost 110 pounds. Well, since then until July of this year, I gained back that 110 pounds and then put on an extra 74 on top of it. Well, I'm back below that 2007 starting weight and it feels pretty good.

I almost feel like I'm now at a re-start. I should be able to get to my goal of losing between 80 and 90 pounds by the end of the year. I've thought that was a very realistic goal for me and it's well within my grasp. It's an exciting feeling to feel renewed for all of this after 4 months.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Just Sunday

Not anything really big today or much to really say. I put up some new blinds. I feel pretty good about that and they've stayed up all day so I think I did it right. I'm pretty proud of that since I did it all by myself. I know that doesn't sound like much but I'm not very handy at all so something like this is pretty cool to me. I basically put the blinds up last night.

Today, I had to put a new toilet seat on the commode. I did that once a long time ago and had to replace the one I had. It went pretty quick and I got the new one on there so I've done two kinda-handy things in 2 days....that might be a record for me. Yea for me!

My Cowboys won today so that was good, my fantasy teams are doing alright today and my picks were pretty good so for now, I'm liking football again. I have a headache tonight though but am still looking forward to the new episode of The Walking Dead. It should be a good time.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Vacation Day #1

My first day of my vacation...yes, I count weekends...was pretty great. I went a few places today, I took a bunch of books to a used bookstore, I set up an appt to take my old comics to a store in Bloomington-Normal on Tuesday, I did some shopping. It was a very nice day and some good weather.

I got my new mattress yesterday and it is pretty nice. It's very firm yet comfortable. I also got groceries....man, I've done ALOT for me over the past couple of days. I've cleaned off most of my DVR shows, watched some football and I'm getting ready for a Sunday of doing absolutely nothing. YEA!

It's been a good start to my vacation, I sure hope that the rest of it is this good. Let's all hope it is!!!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

In Need of a New Picture

I need a new picture for the blog and Facebook. I'm going to have to let someone take a picture of me sometime. I'm not a big fan of pics but I've lost a bunch of weight since those photos of me in Disney World. I'll have to plan that for sometime here soon. I didn't take any "Before" photos or anything like that and I should have done that. Oh well, you live and learn I guess. So, hopefully I'll have a new picture on the blog and Facebook soon. I'll feel a little better about photos now than I ever would have 4 months ago.

One More Day

I've got to get through one more day before I'm off on vacation. I'm excited for that. I have to leave work a little early tomorrow because of a delivery that is going to be made around 3:00 but that's okay. I'm going to go in early and work through lunch as well. It will still be a busy day but I'm soooooo ready for it to be over.

Well, I finally had to turn on my furnace. It was pretty cold in here tonight and I thought it for the best. I probably could've "toughed" it out but I figured it was about time for it.

The week has gone by pretty quick because of work but I haven't eaten a whole lot this week. I just haven't really been too hungry and since I have been so busy, lunch has been a lot later than normal most days. I'm feeling good though and am hopeful for the holidays that I'm going to be able to keep things in control and come out of next week feeling good, looking better and leading into a great Christmas season.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Slow Yet Busy Week

I'm waiting for my vacation but I've had so much to do this week at work. It'll be nice to have some time off but I need to get my stuff done so that I can really relax. I think there will be one thing I might have to bring home and work a little bit over the holiday but that's okay.

I think I might get my new mattress tomorrow or Friday. Something broke in the one I have so I'm able to get a replacement because of the warranty. It's supposed to be delivered to the store tomorrow so I'm hoping for it. I'll be able to put on the flannel sheets to help keep me snug over the winter.

Weight loss is still going well and I'm eating well. Next week will be a big week since it's the holidays but I'm going to just take it slow and eat some smaller portions so I don't eat too much. I'm looking forward to the turkey though and some scalloped corn.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #17

Well, I weighed in this morning and I had lost another 2.2 pounds to bring my total weight loss in 17 weeks to 73 pounds. What a good week! I wanted to be at 74 lost this week but I'll take being just a pound away and I'll be past that first big milestone next week. It will just be a little something extra for me for Thanksgiving.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Whoa...

Well, I kinda like football again. My fantasy leagues have gone okay today but most of all, I kicked my brother's butt. I've had a rough season in that league as the leading point scorer but have had horrible luck in weekly matchups that's led to a 3-6, soon to be 4-6 record. AND to top it all off, the Cowboys won! That was totally unforeseen! After continuously losing football sidebets on this sadsack team, I won 2 of them yesterday to make back $20 I had lost. Soooooo, a decent day all around.

I've been very tired. I'm not sure why but over this past week and a half or so, my energy level has just been kaput. I have a very busy week ahead of me with work so this should be an interesting week but after this I have a few days off so I'm hoping I'll be able to get my energy level back up with a couple of naps and some general relaxation.

Well, I hope that tomorrow has a good weigh-in and I lose a few pounds, that would be nice. I'll talk to all of you tomorrow night, I hope all of your weeks get off to a great start.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Not One but TWO!!

On Friday I wore a pair of jeans that were 2 sizes smaller than I normally have worn to work. I'd been able to put them on for a little while now but they had not been all that comfortable but they were just fine. I was very happy and it was pretty sweet. I had to keep telling my friend Teresa to quit looking at my butt....just kidding. Although I did keep telling her that, I know she wasn't looking at it, just messing with her.

I'm doing alright this week. It's been a little bit of a weird week with being sick a day and then just dealing with the earlier darkness and everything. It just seems strange and throws me off a little bit. I'm ready for this week even though I have a bunch of work to do before my short vacation and the Thanksgiving holiday.

I think I might wind up down a pound or two for the week which is good and gets me closer to the weight I was at at the beginning of 2007. That's one of my first real milestones and I'm almost there...74 pounds have to be lost to be at that mark. There are the smaller 10 pound or 20 pound goals but this will be a true milestone for me. My first 3 REALLY BIG milestones are 74 pounds, 100 pounds and 119 pounds lost. The first 2 are pretty self-explanatory...74 to get back to 2007 starting weight, 100 just because it's 100. The 119 pound mark is to get me below another certain point and we'll discuss that sometime but just not right now.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Happy Veteran's Day

It's Veteran's Day today. I think it's great they have a day but they all deserve sooooo much more. My dad is a veteran, my grandfather was a veteran, I have some friends who have served. They deserve so much adoration, love, respect but especially our thanks. Our veterans have protected us and brought us all the freedoms we have today. Our current servicemen and women are helping to keep us all safe and it so appreciated, it's beyond words. If you see a veteran or current member of the military, shake their hand and let them know how much they're appreciated. Thanks to all the veterans out there and a special thanks to my dad. Love ya dad and appreciate everything you've done.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Shooting Some Commies....

The week has been going alright so far. Been eating well and with the exception of Monday, I'm feeling pretty good. I have felt a little tired but I think that's from the time change. The weather has been nice so I've gotten to walk a little at lunch or just be out. Low-70s in mid-November....kinda crazy.

I picked up Call of Duty:Black Ops earlier this week and have been shooting me some Communists! :) Kinda fun but I know I need to limit my time on the PS3 so I'm still moving around and burning some calories. Just need to play in moderation although I think this weekend I may be playing quite a bit. We'll just have to see.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Feeling Poorly

So I woke up this morning feeling a little strange. Not really bad at first, but strange. I got all my stuff out to the car and sat at my table for a few minutes like I normally do but then when I got up from the chair, I felt a little dizzy and nauseous. I thought it would pass so I took off and started driving to the gym. Well, lets just say that about halfway there, I got really dizzy, really nauseous and decided to turn around and come back home. Stayed home from work and slept for another 3 hours or so today.

I ate some toast and then had some chicken noodle soup for lunch along with a jello cup. I just sort of layed around. It was bad for me because I have a lot of work to do at work. I had my friend Jeremy bring me my work laptop and I did some stuff for about 2 hours until I got frustrated with how slow some things were going. I'm going to have to do alot over these next 4 days but I'm up to the task. Things need to get done and they will get done.

I'm feeling better tonight but still a little tired. I'm not sure what hit me this morning but since I was driving, it made me worried. Tomorrow will be a good day though, I know it. Onward and upward I guess. Just thinking I hope I feel well early in the morning tomorrow.

Monday Morning Weigh-In #16

Well, I lost 2.8 pounds this last week so I'm up to a total lost of 70.8 pounds. Woo-hoo! I did get what I wanted for the past week so that's good. More news about my day coming up though...it was just a pretty strange, bad day.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Really????!!!

I hate football this year. I know I've said this before but I actually am serious. Dallas is completely terrible and fantasy football has been awful as has my picking of games. Oh well.

Today was pretty good. I slept in a little bit and with the extra hour of sleep, it made for a nice 8+ hours of sleep. I'm now watching the 2nd episode of the Walking Dead on AMC and it's pretty awesome! This has been a pretty great show so far and it's one of my favorite comics although I only read it in trade paperback form. I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn't watched it.

I guess I'm ready for this week. Got to get up in the morning for the gym and then I have a bunch of stuff to do at work. It'll be a busy week that's for sure. I'm hoping my weigh-in tomorrow is good and I've lost a couple of pounds. I know that I'll feel better if that's the case.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Lazy Saturday

I did alright at poker last night. Got my $20 back the first game but was 3rd out in the 2nd game. The games were fairly quick too so I was home at 10:00. Got to sleep in a little bit this morning and then had a lazy kinda day. I did laundry, ran a few errands and cleaned up a little bit. Exciting day, huh? It was a nice, relaxing day though. I had a good steak for dinner and ate really good today so I'm hoping for a good weigh-in on Monday. Even just a couple of pounds would make me very, very happy. If I can just get 2 pounds, I'll have lost 70 pounds....I'm just really hoping for that.

Sorry this has been so boring but it was just that kind of day.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Shuffle Up and Deal!!!

Gonna play some poker tonight. Hopefully I'll win some money as well tonight....I doubt it based on the rest of the year. I'm 10th this year out of 17 people in our poker league. It's just been a rough year....decent cards but just not good enough. I haven't had a problem too much with my play, I keep getting beat by "slightly" better hands.

Anyways, today was a pretty good day. I'm glad the workweek is over but I've got a whole heckuva lot of work for next week. I've got sooo much to do but I'm going to get through it. I've only got a little over 2 weeks to go before I get some vacation time so that will be nice. Just some time to lounge around after going to the gym.

Well, here's to a good weekend for everyone and hopefully a couple of pounds lost for me!!!!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Frustrated

I'm just not losing any dang weight and I'm eating the same and working my butt off!!!! Argh! It's not a bad frustrated where I'm going to quit or anything, just a little frustrated. I will say that clothes are still fitting better but I'm just not seeing the numbers go down. Sorry....just had to vent for a moment.

I've had a good week this week so far. Working out hard on the elliptical and getting in some really good weight workouts in addition to that. I've been taking the stairs at work again and am feeling pretty good although my legs feel like bricks by the time I get to the 3rd floor. Hopefully soon I'll make it to the 4th floor and then the 5th.

I'm glad that election day is over. I just don't care about it and am just so damn overjoyed that I don't have to see any more attack ad commercials for a loooooong time. I'm ready for 10,000 Christmas commercials. I want more with those awesome Coca Cola bears....not sure why but they always make me smile.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Just Some Random Monday Thoughts

After losing EOM on Friday I did have a weak eating day that day but nothing, NOTHING like the old days. Other than that though, my eating was good for the week and I worked out. I need to start doing the steps again though. I did them the first couple days of last week but didn't at the end of the week and today. I was carrying in some things this morning so going up the stairs would have been more difficult. That's no excuse though, I still should do it and I'm going to go up them tomorrow morning.

I did a little more strenuous workout this morning with both amount of weight and on the elliptical. I came out of it tired but in a good way and knowing I had done some good work. I just hope it'll translate for me next Monday so I can get November off to a good start.

I'd like to be around 90 pounds lost by the end of the year so with basically 9 weeks to go, I need to lose at least another 22 pounds which is approximately 2.5 pounds per week. My body just needs to kick it into gear and start burning some more fat dangit!! With working out though, I know I'll develop some muscle so that'll take the place of fat and that will lead to me bing leaner which will be nice. As long as I keep dropping some weight each week and clothes keep fitting better, that's what it's all about.

Monday Morning Weigh-In #15

I once again had a subpar week losing weight. I did lose 0.8 pounds this week to bring my 15 week total up to 68 pounds. Wow, getting to 70 lost has become a total uphill struggle!! I'm not discouraged although I wish I could've been 2-3 pounds. It's still a negative number though so every bit helps and that's how I'm looking at it.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

EOM Outcome

I didn't feel much like posting anything last night. As you could probably figure out, I lost EOM AGAIN!!! For the 3rd time in my 10+ years and the 2nd time in 14 months, I lost. While it is an honor to be nominated and be a finalist, it also sucks hard to not win. I got a lot of support though after my loss and had an awesome lunch with some great co-workers and friends and they helped to cheer me up.

Other than that, Friday was boring. Saturday has been alright. I washed the car for the first time in a long time and it looks soooooo much better. After that, I went a got a few groceries. I happened to be there at the same time as Dan, who was with his wife Amanda and son, Jonah Blue. What a cool name!! On the way out, I saw Jeremy who was still trying to get me to go see a live show of Rocky Horror tonight. Just not a big fan so that would be a no. Thanks to Jeremy and Kim for the invite though.

I have to do measurements tomorrow morning so that'll be interesting. I don't think this will be a very good weight loss week so I'm not expecting much on Monday morning. I just need to keep going though and the weight will start coming off again.

I got a request on Thursday for some pumpkin bread so that was part of the groceries I picked up earlier and will be making that tomorrow. It should be a good day and I'm hoping to sleep in a little bit and just have a good day. I need to finish off my speech for Tuesday but I'm still not sure what it's really about.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Interview

I'll start off by saying I didn't take the stairs this morning. I was too nervous from having my EOM interview later in the morning. I also didn't want to start sweating or anything because I would start doing that taking the stairs.

Anyways, I think the interview went alright. I answered their questions and thought I did so very effectively. It was weird that there were 3 people from last year's committee that were there either filling in for others or still on there. I liked it though and my day was pretty good otherwise. Tomorrow morning at 9:45 is the announcement of the winner so maybe I'll have some good news tomorrow night. I'll still be going to work out in the morning and I plan on making it a good one.

I'm ready for the weekend although I also have to come up with a speech idea for Toastmasters on Tuesday. I need a 5-7 minute speech put together by then. I know I'll figure it out over the weekend, I just need a topic though.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

This Post's Title Is That It Has No Title

I worked out hard this morning at the gym. Did a very good back workout and a strong 30 minutes on the elliptical. Getting up was a bit of a struggle but I was able to get up and still get to FitClub on time. I have to do measurements on Sunday since it'll be 15 weeks so I'm looking forward to that. I was able to put on and wear some jeans comfortably for the first time in a long time. I might wear them for work on Friday.

I'm ready to get tomorrow over and especially the EOM interview. I'm not really "nervous" for it....that'll be tomorrow...just ready for it to be done. I walked downtown with Jeremy and Kari today to Cold Stone Creamery. I got a huge ice cream sundae....no, wait, I got a small watermelon sorbet that only has 160 calories. Yea me!!! It was very tasty and Kari treated us both with a gift card. Thanks Kari! It really hit the spot.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Again??

I heard that refrain a couple of times today. Why did I hear this you may ask yourself. Well, I'm a finalist for Employee of the Month, or EOM. This will be the 3rd time I interview for this. The first time was in February of 2006 and I thought I had nailed the interview and was going to win: I lost. The second time was in August of 2009 and I was against one of my closest friends and they deserved to win for what they were doing. I had 2 chances to be happy for the person who won: I lost and so did they. Just total crap.

Well, now 14 months later I'm a finalist again. While I'm certainly flattered by being a finalist and the fact that co-workers had to care enough to nominate me again, we'll just have to see. I don't want to lose for the 2nd time in just over one year. Things are going pretty well for me and this "stress" or whatever might be counterproductive for me. I don't deal with rejection very well at times so this will be a test for me especially if I was to lose. I interview on Thursday morning and the winner is announced on Friday morning.

Anyways, enough with that stuff. I've been taking the stairs now and things are going alright. I can only make it up to the 3rd floor right now but if I just do that every day for a week or two I know I'll be able to make it to 4th floor and then to 5th floor. I'm pretty glad to make it to 3rd because not too long ago just climbing one flight would just about to kill me so this is some good progress.

I've also started doing 30 minutes on the elliptical at the gym and am doing pretty well with that although I've only done it once on Monday and plan on doing it tomorrow. I enjoy the elliptical so the 30 minutes seems to pass by pretty quickly. I just need to keep doing well and keep my eyes on the right path I've been on and not veer off course. It's gonna be a couple of hard days but I'm going to get through them.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #14

After hitting some big numbers these last few weeks, the weigh-in came in a little low this week. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not disappointed...it just came in a little bit lower than I hoped. I lost 1.4 pounds this week to bring my total lost in 14 weeks to 67.2 pounds. I think my body caught up to me with working out and I got the "slow" week that everyone eventually encounters. I'm proud though of how things are going and continuing on my losing ways.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

We Now Resume Our Regularly Scheduled Programming...

It's been 3 days since my last post. That is the longest I've gone without posting and the longest I plan to go. As could be seen from my last few posts, I was tired at the end of last week. I just felt very worn down and just wanted to rest. I didn't go to poker on Friday night so I could just rest and take it easy. It made me feel bad to skip poker but it just wasn't in me to go.

I also didn't do a whole lot on Saturday until the evening when I met some people for dinner and then went to a trivia contest in Jacksonville. Jeremy, Kim, Kari, Gayle, Teresa and myself went over there and won a hard fought battle by 1 question in the last round. It was a very fun evening and we each won $50...or, $40 in profit since it cost us each $10 to play. We finished 3rd there last year without Kari so maybe she's our good luck charm? Who knows?

Not much to say about Sunday but it's been a nice one so far. Nice weather, did a few things around the apartment and getting things ready for the week to come. I've gotta start doing some steps tomorrow so it'll be an interesting morning after working out. I used to walk the steps all the way up to the fifth floor where I work but I know that won't be possible at first. I promise to do the best I can though. I'll be back tomorrow with a weigh-in and maybe another post in the evening. It's been a good weekend though and I'm feeling alot better.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Just Kinda Tired

It's been a long week. I'm really pretty tired and this weekend I have a few things to do. I have poker tomorrow night and then I'm going to kick some trivia-ass on Saturday with my team, "We're What Willis Was Talkin' 'Bout!" It should be a good time though.

I worked out pretty well on Wednesday morning. I did a shoulder workout that I hadn't done in awhile and my left shoulder has been telling me that since then. It doesn't really 'hurt', more of an annoyance than anything. I have to get up tomorrow morning and get on in there to do my leg workout. I've also been doing 25 minutes on the elliptical this week so that's got me feeling pretty good.

I'm going to start taking the stairs at work on Monday. I know I won't be able to make it up all the way to 5th floor at first...I know, I'm a pansy....but I also don't want to die of my heart exploding in the Horace Mann stairwell. I'll start by climbing my way to 2nd or 3rd floor for a week, then taking the elevator up the rest of the way. Well, maybe I'll have to do that for 2 weeks instead of just 1. I know I need to do this though as it will increase my cardio fitness and climbing stairs is always good exercise although I hate Stairclimber machines. Just not comfortable for me to do. But anyways, I'm going to start trudging up those steps again on Monday....say a little prayer for me, I don't necessarily like climbing steps although I will get used to it.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Blog Post #100

Well, I've made it to 100 blog posts. Not quite one hundred days on my journey since many Mondays there have been 2 posts...weigh-in and another...but getting close. I started on this journey on July 19th and here we are on October 19th and I'm still going strong. That's 3 months down the road and I can hold my head up high and feel a great sense of pride and accomplishment with what has happened so far.

I've been down this road a time or two in my past. I've felt this good after 3 months before and then had it fall apart. 2007 for example....soooo, I'm trying not to put the cart before the horse and trying not to get too far ahead of myself. I'm proud of what I've done but am still holding myself back on getting too big a head through this ordeal and life change because the true test will be where I am a year from now or even another 100 blog posts from now. About that time it will be part way into 2011 and I'll be 6 months into this.

This blog has really been something new to me. It's been somewhat therapeutic for me. I'm single and live alone and don't get to converse with many people at night after work...I'm not a big fan of the phone since I had some phone-based jobs in the 90s. So, I don't get to talk alot about my day or my life or some of the hard times I have with trying to eat right, exercise, etc with all these changes. But you guys reading out there are the best. I get loads of encouragement from all of you and I appreciate every single bit of it. You are all a HUGE part of this and I want you all to know this...I could not do this without you. Losing weight is a very personal thing and something you have to do for yourself but I've learned that you can't do it alone. The times I have failed, and there have been many, have been because I have not been interested in a support system or in putting myself out there to be helped. I can be a very independent, stubborn person at times and that has been a good thing in some situations but has also been a detriment in my life in losing weight.

I believe though that this blog is helping me evolve and trust more in people with what I reveal. There are still lots and lots and lots and lots...well, you get the idea...of things I haven't told you and those are things I'm not ready to divulge and with some of them that I might not ever divulge but I'm feeling more at ease.

So, in a closing to a very rambling blog entry, I'd just like to say a hearty "THANK YOU!!!!" to all of you reading, commenting, supporting, helping, motivating, listening and respecting what I'm doing. But most of all, thanks for believing in me maybe more than I may have believed in myself. 100 blog posts down and the rest of my life to go...thanks for being along for the ride and I'm looking forward to continuing down this road together.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #13

Well, weighing in this morning was pretty sweet. I lost 7.8 pounds this week to make it a grand total of 65.8 pounds lost so far!!! That's pretty sweet and got me past my 3rd 20-pound increment pretty easily. Gives me a little more than a 5 lb/week average which is pretty good in my mind. I still have a long way to go but things keep moving along nicely.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

I Really Hate Football This Year

Another Sunday, another Cowboys loss. They are now 1-4 and just suck. They can't seem to get out of their own way, commit too many penalties and hand momentum back almost immediately after they get it. It's just very depressing to me but hopefully they get better. Just gotta keep hoping I guess.

I rode the exercise bike this morning for 30 minutes and got in 8.04 miles. I was tired afterwards but not too bad. Tomorrow morning I'll up my time on the elliptical to 25 minutes and am really looking forward to it. It's been a good week this week with eating, exercising, everything. Wow, lots of E-words there. I'm slowly working on my closet and getting out clothes that are too big for me. Another week or so and I think I'll be taking out either 3 or 4 pairs of work pants...khakis and black pants. I'd still like to be able to get into smaller shirts but that will come with working out and dropping inches from my chest and around my shoulders.

Well, I'll be back tomorrow with a weigh-in update in the early evening and let's all hope it's a good one. Just another 2 pounds and I'll pass another 20-pound increment...my 3rd one...which will be a nice little milestone. Good numbers, good numbers, no Whammies!!!!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Well....They Can't All Be Good

I tried a new recipe today. I'm not sure why it intrigued me but in a new healthy cooking magazine I get, there was a recipe for Curry Chicken Soup. Now, I've never really had Indian food and not truly sure if I've ever had anything with curry in it but my mind thought this would be a good opportunity to try it. For decisions like these, I should really kick my mind's ass.

Now, the soup wasn't awful.....it just wasn't good. I think it was the curry though. Other than that, I think this could be a good chicken/vegetable/tomato-type soup. I would've had another bowl to freeze and have later but it just wasn't worth it. I did get some of the chicken pieces out because I didn't want to waste that but the rest went down the garbage disposal. I'm also really hoping the curry doesn't turn against me and turn my digestive system into a bubbling cauldron of stinking dreadfulness. Keeping my fingers crossed!!

Other than that, it was a nice day. Got groceries, did laundry, cleaned up a few things and bought some flannel sheets for the bed. JCPenney's was having a good sale and I got some $60 sheets for $23.99. I picked up 2 sets. It still isn't cold enough consistently for them but soon, very soon.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Finally the Weekend

This has been a really long week dear readers. Just a lot of things at work and extremely busy. I had an extremely bad headache last night which led to no post last night. I've felt much better today though and went to work out this morning. Got in all 3 of my workouts this week and thinking about going tomorrow morning as well.

I'm working on cleaning some items out of my closet that are now too big for me. It's a pretty tremendous feeling to be able to do that. I actually think I need some new jeans because the ones I have are too big and my other ones are a little too small since they are 2 sizes smaller. I'm going to wait until I can fit into those though so I don't have to spend any more money. I'm really needing to get into some smaller shirts but I haven't quite gotten there yet. Soon though...soon!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Workout Wednesday

I had a bunch of meetings at work today and have a bunch of meetings tomorrow. Goody, goody!! All in all though, work is good.....just a whole lot to do. It's United Way week though so I'm hoping to win some stuff on Friday with the donated baskets/items. Lets all hope Brad wins an iPad!!!!

My workout this morning went really well and while leaving me tired, left me very fulfilled. I'm adding some weight to what I'm doing and not getting too stiff or sore which is an excellent thing. I also did 20 minutes on the elliptical on one of the programs....Cross Country...which provides one heckuva workout. The resistance moves around and just when you think you're doing good, the resistance gets raised and your pace slows down. I just really need to keep pushing through it and try to maintain some type of pace when that happens. I wound up doing 1.45 miles today in 22 minutes...20 minutes with a 2 minute cool down. I left Fit Club feeling very good about myself and knowing that I'm doing a very good thing for myself.

Workouts are kinda fun right now. They're still tough but I feel pretty wonderful right now.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

I'm Bringin' Sexy Back

Oh yea! Just like JT and TJ, I'm bringing sexy back!! With all this weight I'm losing, I'm starting to get lots of comments. Several compliments in the last few days which have made me feel pretty awesome which makes me want to kick more butt. Thanks to Stephanie, Cindy, Kari, Teresa, Gayle, Mindy and Denise for all their wonderful thoughts and words of encouragement over the last couple of days. I've also gotten a ton of encouragement from guys I know as well. It really does mean alot and I'm greatly appreciative and thankful to know all of you.

I've been working out really well in the morning and keep feeling better and better. Getting up in the morning is becoming a little easier with each passing day and I'm really beginning to see some results. The waist is shrinking and the confidence is rising. I just feel better about myself. I still have a long way to go but I'm moving in the right way which always makes me feel better.

Tonight I had one of the nights that I would've eaten badly in the past. Work was just kinda rough today and I wound up staying late until about 5:30. On my way home in the past I would have stopped at a drive thru or ordered a pizza once I got home but I just came home tonight and had some 2 lean beef burgers along with some cottage cheese and canned peaches. It's basically the total opposite of what would have transpired in the past. That really makes me feel proud and gives me a huge sense of accomplishment. I still have to keep working at it all and I know this so I can't take something like this for granted but it's a great building block for the future.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #12

I weighed in this morning and lost another 4.6 pounds to have now lost a total of 58.0 pounds in 12 weeks. Woo-hoo! Hopefully next week I can be over 60 pounds lost. That would be pretty nice. With going back to the gym and working out, I'm hoping that the 4-5 pounds lost a week might continue. We'll see. I'll be happy with anything truthfully but if the slightly larger numbers can continue for a few weeks, it would definitely be a boost.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Sunday Morning Measurements - Week #12

Unfortunately I'm up kind of early but I guess I did go to bed a little early last night. On the bright side, I got up and did my 12-week measurements. I was supposed to do 6-week measurements for myself but I got 2 days after I supposed to do them and finally remembered so I just decided to wait for the 12th week.

As you all well know, I've lost 53.4 pounds in the first 11 weeks and have a weigh-in tomorrow morning. But, after 12 weeks I've lost the following:

Waist: Lost 8 inches
Hips: Lost 6 1/2 inches
Right Thigh: Lost 4 1/2 inches
Left Thigh: Lost 4 inches
Neck: Lost 1 inch
Chest: Lost 7 inches

So, I'm very happy so far with my progress and the losses I've seen. Clothes are fitting so much better and there are even some I've had to stop wearing because they are TOO BIG!! How good a feeling is that????!!! Pretty awesome, that's how good! I'll post again on measurements in another 6 weeks or, 11/21/2010....let's see how how well I've done before Thanksgiving hits me.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Day-To-Day

I woke up this morning thinking I would go to the gym in the morning for a little while. Well, when I woke up my left thigh was really hurting me. Must've been those squats I was doing yesterday. I'm not sure why, but even with a very low amount of weight, squats can really kill my legs. Anyways, I decided to man up and go on in. I didn't do any leg work except for 20 minutes on the elliptical but I did a shortened shoulder workout as well. That 20 minutes on the elliptical was 5 more minutes than this past week and what I will do all this week.

One of the strange things that happens when I'm going to the gym are these little aches and pains. I'll wake up with them or I'll have them the night before but once I get dressed to go and get my stuff ready, things do not hurt so badly. That's not to say that all those nuisances go away or that it goes away completely, but it's not quite as bad. Hopefully with a day of rest tomorrow the thigh will feel much better on Monday. Once again, besides the elliptical, I won't be doing the leg workout until Friday morning so the leg should be just fine by then. I think I would show up on an NFL team's Injury Report as: B Melton(thigh) - Day-to-day. Day-to-day status....aren't we all?????

Friday, October 8, 2010

End of the Work Week

It's finally Friday! This week has been very long. I'm not sure why but some weeks seem longer than others and this one just took forever. I did go and work out this morning so that went really well. I did some leg exercises and then the elliptical which I kept raising the resistance on until I was at 17 which seems fairly high. My legs were tired after going through that but still in pretty good working order as opposed to some other times when I've basically hurt myself. That is what I'm working to not have happen so....so far, so good.

We had a really beautiful day today in Springfield. I walked downtown with Alison around lunchtime so I still the energy to do that after the morning workout. It's been a really good day and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I am going to go to the gym in the morning for awhile to do some work on the elliptical again and maybe some weights, not sure yet on that.

I'm working hard on this and am feeling really good but especially good about myself which is a nice feeling. The goal is to just keep moving in the right direction and that's what is happening and it feels really spectacular.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Getting Up Is Rough

Waking up in the morning is one thing.....GETTING up early in the morning is another. I stared at the alarm clock briefly this morning as it was blaring at me to get up. Unfortunately...or, fortunately depending on how you look at it....it did not shut up and turn itself off like I was telling it to with my mind. Soooooooo, I dragged my weary ass out of bed and got myself off to the gym again. I had my protein shake and was out the door by 5:15am to get there by 5:30.

Now, the funny thing about the gym is that it's been a few years since I've really gone regularly. It was 2007 when I first joined and went 6 days a week for about 6 months. One of the things you notice is that you see the same people all the time. I would like to think that I kind of became one of the "regulars" during that period but who knows? Fast forward 3 years and you know who I see there in the morning??? About 75% of the people I remember seeing back then!! It's sort of spooky really but most of them look like they continued going to the gym while I look like I ate enough food to fill the gym. It does have a strangeness to it though to see alot of these people again. Mind you, I don't talk to any of them because I don't want to but I see them just like they see me.

I did get in a nice workout though this morning. I kicked it up a notch on the elliptical by still doing 15 minutes but adding 2 levels of resistance every few minutes so that when I ended I was on a resistance 11. I did some various weights, still trying to loosen everything up before I dive into some lifting plans but I'm feeling pretty good.

At lunch, I walked with Kari, Jeremy and Teresa down to the Farmer's Market. I didn't really get much, just a loaf of Challah bread so I could have some with my pasta on Pasta Night, but it was nice to walk downtown with them and it was a beautiful day out. It was just gorgeous and I'm glad we went out. I needed the walk although I'm very tired tonight. I don't have the gym tomorrow but would like to go for a walk and get in some time on the exercise bike in the evening. I'll let you know how it goes when I give you all the gift of another post. HA!

One last thing....holy crappin' crap Roy Halladay pitched a helluva game in the playoffs. A no-hitter against the team that beat the Cardinals for the NL Central....darn impressive.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday

I didn't go to the gym today. As I've said, Mon-Wed-Fri for now. I slept pretty well last night but I was pretty tired. I was a little sore today but nothing too bad. Just a little soreness through the upper chest which I figured would happen. I will be going again tomorrow morning so I am a little excited. Going to do some weights again and the elliptical. I really like the elliptical machines so time seems to go by quickly for me. That makes the cardio work a whole lot easier in the grand scheme of it all.

My eating has remained good and I'm going off of a menu I prepared on Sunday so I can stay ahead of everything and get things ready the night before. I've also found myself buying a few cooking magazines that specialize in lower calorie or healthier recipes. I've found quite a few I want to try and I will. This weekend I'm going to try and put together copies of the recipes so that I have them all ready and know what to pick up to make them. That's one way I've been trying to keep myself totally in it, some different recipes and different flavors. I know my friend Jason and his family have been doing that too. It all just gives me something to look forward to and find something new that I can make from time to time.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Gym Day

Well, I did it. I went back to the gym for the first time in probably 2 years or a year and a half. I was pretty nervous for it and had a little bit of trouble sleeping but I got up and got dressed and got my stuff which I had put together last night and walked out the door. All in all my workout went well. I did some chest exercises and some leg stuff to try and loosen up and then I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and then walked 8 laps around their indoor track. All in all I felt good about the workout and how I've felt after the workout. I'm definitely going back on Wednesday...just 3 days a week for a few weeks and then full boar back into it.

Over lunch I went with Kari, Jeremy and Teresa to look at the build site of the house that Kari is having built. They've started framing and doing other things so it was kind of neat to see. Lots of work to be done but it's getting there. Gayle Meyer at work was wondering when she would get her shout out in my blog because she was feeling a little left out. We decided it would be after the Trivia Night some of us are doing on the 23rd since she is our team captain. Wait until then Gayle and you'll get your shout out!!! Hey.....wait.......hmmmmmmm.....

Monday Morning Weigh-In #11

I know this is much later than normal but with my Monday morning weigh-in earlier, I lost 2.2 pounds for a total of 53.4 pounds lost. I'm feeling pretty good about that although I do wish it was closer to 3 pounds but I'm happy with it. I'll have more of an update on the rest of my day in a little bit but I left work a little late tonight so I need to have my dinner.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

First off, the Drive-By Truckers rule! The show I went to last night in St. Louis at The Pageant was just fabulous. The opening act, The Henry Clay People, were very good and had a local guy named Warren on drums because their drummer had a family emergency. He was one hit of the night with the crowd as was their ender, a cover of Springsteen's Born To Run which I love. But, the Truckers played for about 2 hours 15 minutes and it kicked ass the whole time. I will definitely be looking to go to more DBT shows in the future.

Today was kind of a lazy day. I had my chili and watched football. I also did a few things around here to get myself ready for tomorrow because I'll be returning to the gym so I had to get my lunch ready and my clothes and well, just all sorts of things. I'm going to go to Fit Club early in the morning like the old days. Going to start with some light weights and heavier on cardio. Here soon I'm also going to start taking the stairs at work again. That will help me build up some endurance so that needs to happen.

Sooooo, don't get all troubled that there is no early morning weigh-in. It won't be coming until the evening but I will try to post on Facebook from my phone what the numbers are so people are still able to see. I want you all to know along with me whether it's been a good or bad weight loss week so I'm going to keep you all involved. Think some good thoughts for me as I drag my butt out of bed in the early morning cold and get it going earlier than it has had to in quite awhile.

T-Minus: 0 days! WHAT TIME IS IT???!!! HITTING THE GYM TIME!!!!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

What Time Is It???!!!!

It's Drive-By Truckers Time!!! Tonight I'll be going to a Drive-By Truckers concert in St. Louis with Ben Rudin from work and a couple of other people. He got me into the Truckers about a year and a half ago and this is my first opportunity to see a show. He says it'll change my life but we'll see about that. I'm sure I'll have a great time and I love their music so I'm very excited for it. DBT! DBT! DBT!

Needless to say, there won't be a post tonight so this will have to do. I'm fired up about going back to the gym on Monday. I think I'm going to start off with trying to go in the mornings and see how that goes. Now, for the first 2 or 3 weeks, I'm going to just try and go 3 times a week to ease back into it. I'm going to work on some cardio and some weights.

Also, there probably won't be any more Monday morning posts on the weight loss so you'll all have to wait until later in the day for the update on how things are going. Just thought I'd get you all ready for that so you aren't wondering where those blog updates have gone.

T-Minus: 1 day

Friday, October 1, 2010

I Hate Dentistry

Sorry for the lack of a post last night. In the early evening I got a tooth drilled and a temporary crown put in. I was pretty well numbed up all evening and in a small amount of pain. It didn't hurt badly, more of a major annoyance. Anyhoo, I went to bed early and just didn't feel much like being on the computer.

Today was a pretty good day, the weather was nice out and I went for a short walk at lunch. My friend Kari and I walked to Jimmy John's to get a sandwich for lunch and then walked back. I got the Hunter's Club sandwich with no mayo. It was freaky fast and freaky good. I chose Jimmy John's because earlier in the week I got a $10 giftcard from my boss and her boss for doing a good job on a project. It's nice to be recognized and be rewarded. I don't know if they read this but thanks again!!

Anyways, it's been kinda funny to me that everytime I go somewhere with someone now, they ask if they're going to get a shout out in the blog and my answer is always yes. I enjoy spending time with my friends and find it encouraging that they read my blog and wonder if they will appear in it. Thanks guys for reading and doing all you can to help me out. If I can make you happy with a shout out, I'm more than happy to oblige. :)

T-Minus: 2 days

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Movie-time!

I walked down to the Farmer's Market with Teresa and Jeremy today. It's getting late in the season and there are only a couple of weeks left for it. The vegetables and fruit are somewhat dwindling though. I did pick up a nice green pepper, some more kick-butt salsa and some homemade pasta. The pasta will work nice to make a little side dish for some meals.

Then, Jeremy and Kavan came over for Wii Bowling night although we wound up just watching a movie. It was a good evening though and we had some fun.

Thursday should be fun. We get to have an additional casual day at work and they're having the Seafoam 880 at lunch along with a cookout. The Seafoam 880 is where teams of 4 ride a small child's bike around the Horace Mann plaza. It sounds dumb but ohmygosh, it's hilarious and fun to watch. I could never do it and am a little jealous of those who can ride those bikes. It should be a good time and supposed to be a nice day weather-wise.

T-Minus: 4 days

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Messed Up Workday But A Good Day

Today was a kind of messed up workday. Just a lot of TX Property. I try not to bore you all with mundane details of work but I only mention this because the day went by very quickly with some meetings/phone calls but I don't feel like I got much accomplished. I have a lot of work coming up here though and that's been one of those things that has caused me to eat poorly so this will be a pretty big test for me coming up. I'm dealing with everything well though and trying to keep it all in perspective especially considering how important this is to me.

Tried on some clothes tonight and am wearing a smaller pair of pants to work tomorrow which makes me pretty proud. Shirts still aren't working out the best but they're getting better and I feel like in maybe another month or so I'm going to really be able to move down a size and feel comfortable. I'm excited about the pants thing though which is excellent. I think I'm going to be able to retire 3 bigger pairs of pants which will join a pair of jeans that I moved down from a couple of weeks ago.

I did a measurement of my waist tonight as well and I'm down about 6 inches. I'm going to do my first official measurements next Sunday morning which will be 12 weeks since my first measurement. I will post an update on those after I've done them next week.

T-Minus: 5 days

Monday, September 27, 2010

I Went Out Walking...

...with a Bible and a gun. Wait, that's a U2/Johnny Cash song. Where did that come from? Anyways, thanks to everyone for the congrats on the weight loss. It makes me feel good to know people are out there reading and caring about my success. I know a couple of people have said that I have inspired them to try to lose some weight too and eat better and I hope that I can support them the way you have all supported me. It's more appreciated than I could really put into words.

I did go walking today with someone who enjoys being mentioned in the blog so here is your moment......TERESA!!! All I can say when she asks me to go for a walk is "Yes Drill Sergeant!" She knows what that means, she's funny. We went for a walk that was about 1.4 miles. It was a beautiful day out there and it was a nice trek around downtown Springfield. It's been a good day and I hope I sleep well tonight.

T-Minus: 6 days

Monday Morning Weigh-In #10

I've lost over 50 pounds...woo-hoo!!! It was good standing on the scale this morning. I am down 3.8 pounds for this past week bringing my total lost to 51.2 pounds. It's very exciting for me. I thought I might have a good week and I sure did. 3.8 pounds lost makes me very happy. It is exciting to have lost more than 50 pounds in 10 weeks.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

9 Points

Sunday has been pretty good to me so far. I slept pretty well last night to start it off. Did a few things around here this morning and had some chili for lunch. That's still some good chili. The Cowboys won to avoid going 0-3....thank GOD! Three of my fantasy teams have already won for the week and then there's the one in the league with my brother. The Sunday night game is just starting and I need 9 points from Shonn Greene to beat Mike. So I'm rooting hard for this because it'll make me avoid going 0-3 in a league where I've scored alot of points so far.

I know, I know, someone talking about fantasy football isn't very exciting. Well, it's my blog and deal with it! HAHA! Just kidding. I made a homemade tomato soup recipe that my friends Jason and Sarah sent me. I thought it would make more but it was pretty good. Made 2 bowls so I froze one for later. It was tasty though. Just a little bit ago I rode the exercise bike for 30 minutes and went a distance of 7.8 miles. I feel pretty good though so that's nice.

I hope to have a couple pound weight loss tomorrow, I'd be very happy with that. That would be a really great way to start the week out for me. I'm just doing everything I can and I'm feeling like things are going well. I'm very hopeful for the next few weeks and maybe some of the big changes I'll be making with the gym and trying to exercise more.

T-Minus: 7 days

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Stroll Down Memory Lane

I went and saw some more soccer today. This time it was my buddy Ryan play a game. It was over on the fields across from UIS so I took a drive past the old apartment. It used to be 145 University Court West...now, it is some address at Bluebell Court. Bluebell Court??!!!! You've gotta be kidding me! I don't really want to go in there but it would be fun. There is a ton of new stuff out at UIS that looks pretty nice. I don't drive over that way much so driving past there is sort of fun.

Not much of a day otherwise. I'm hoping that football tomorrow goes well so I can quit saying "I hate football." Looking forward to some chili too.

T-Minus: 8 days

Friday, September 24, 2010

Holy Crap! How Long Is This Day??!!!

It was an extremely long day at work today. I mean, it felt LONG! It's one of those days that you would look at the clock to see what time it was, do work for what felt like an hour and then look at the clock and it was 5 minutes later. Holy crappin' crap! It was just a really long day...why can't my days off feel this long???!!!

Right now I'm clearing off some stuff from the DVR. Lots of premieres this week so just a few things to watch. Not sure what all I'm doing this weekend...probably not much. Gonna ride the exercise bike some and going to go for a walk tomorrow...at least I'm planning on it. Might go watch some more kid's soccer tomorrow but not 100% sure of that. I sure hope we can have some great weather all weekend, that would be really nice and could lead to me getting some good sleep each night.

T-Minus: 9 days.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Not Much To Say

I had a fairly boring day today. I got some good work done at work and stayed a little late. After that I went to see my friend Kari's daughter Lauren play soccer in Rochester. She always gets a big smile on her face when she sees me...such a cutie! Had 2 extra lean burgers for dinner and then watched a couple of season premieres...Big Bang Theory, Community and The Office.

Other than that, it wasn't a very big day but it's been a good week. There are a few things this week I would probably do a little bit differently looking back on it now but it's been a good week. I like the weather cooler so I'm happy it's cooled back off at the end of the week again. It's Fall and I like having my windows open, I sleep better.

T-Minus: 10 days

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Hump Day and a Decision

I have to apologize for no post last night. Had a tiring day on Tuesday so I didn't feel like posting. Tuesday was our 3rd quarter Recognition Committee outing which was a community service-type outing. A group of us went to the Habitat for Humanity build sites here in Springfield and did some good, old-fashioned manual labor. Did some digging, pulled up some concrete forms, shovelled some rocks. After doing that, I was just tired and felt like only laying around soooooo....no post.

Anyways, today was a pretty good day like yesterday but I'm ready for the week to be over. Eating has been good but I need to do some more exercise but yesterday was good for me. Need to ride the bike some more and get out for a walk this weekend.

I need to start doing more and I know it. I think my body has gotten used to the 2,000-calorie/day eating so it's become a little bit harder to take off some weight without adding in more exercise so that's what is next. I'm working on getting up earlier in the morning and on October 4th, I'm heading back to the gym. It's going to be slow going at first to get myself into some type of decent workout shape but I'm determined to go.

Sooooo, for those of you that work with me on Monday, October 4th ask me how the gym was and for those of you who are faithful readers, send it along in an email or a comment. Help keep me accountable. I'm not going to let you down and I'm NOT going to let myself down.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

No Connection, No Post

Most nights I post something to this blog to keep everyone informed on how things are progressing and how I'm feeling. I planned on putting together a post last night but I mysteriously lost my Internet connection for most of the evening. It's been a loooooooong time since that happened to me and it took me by surprise. It was a real pain in the butt.

I really didn't have a whole lot to say about yesterday though. I did have a nice weight loss in the morning but that was about it for the day. Had a bunch of meetings at work in the morning...just kinda tiring but I got some good things done. Today we have a Recognition Committee Philanthropic Event. Some people will be going to Ronald McDonald House to clean and do things around there, some are going to the Habitat for Humanity Restore to clean, restock shelves, etc and some are going to two Habitat for Humanity build sites to do some yard work, some general cleanup and things like that. I'm going to the HfH build sites and hope to have a good time. It's going to be warm out there so we'll just have to see how it goes.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Monday Morning Weigh-In #9

After coming up with a 0 pound weight loss/gain last week, I hoped to lose a few pounds this week and come up with a nice number. Well......I weighed in this morning and I was down 2.8 pounds for the week to bring my total weight loss up to 47.4 pounds in 9 weeks. I'm very happy with the number this week and need it to continue. Like I've said, losing about 3 pounds a week is what I'm looking for and if I can stay consistent and keep that up, it would be a great thing.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Seriously??!!!

All in all today was a good eating day. Had my normal Sunday breakfast and then a bowl of chili for lunch and topped it off with a NY strip steak with a small baked potato with salsa for dinner. For a little after dinner treat, I had a small scoop of orange sherbet and lime sherbet. Very tasty and extremely refreshing.

But, my Cowboys suck. Totally, totally suck. They lost today to the Chicago Bears. And you know what? The Bears deserved to win and beat the heck of Dallas. Congrats to the Bears and to Ben Wagens, to whom I now owe a lunch. I can't believe that I'm starting out this year losing the little game bets I make with some friends. My luck has been pretty horrible. I might as well just give Stephanie Fuller money for the bet we've already made on the Cowboys-Colts game later this year. Jeez!

I rode the exercise bike today while watching the game so I'm glad I accomplished that. Other than what's happened with football, I've had a nice day and a good day with my eating. I'm still working hard and keeping my head up. I'm really hoping for a good week weight loss tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed that I pull a good number tomorrow. I know I'm working hard for it and I hope it shows in the numbers in the morning.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Big Bang Theory

Earlier today while running some other errands, I picked up the third season of 'The Big Bang Theory'. I love this show. Even though I watched these episodes while they were on first-run, I've been watching them again. This show just never fails to crack me up. By the way, did you know that Kaley Cuoco, Penny from the show, loves me? It's true, here's a picture to prove it:



Anyways, today was a good day. Slept in a little bit after poker from last night. I didn't play the best in the first game but finished 4th in the second game. It's kind of sad to be excited to lose LESS money than I have the last few months.

I hope that Dallas can win tomorrow and I'm going to be riding the exercise bike while that game is on. Need to do some additional work and get a few pounds off this week. I didn't like not being down any weight last week so I need to be down a few. I'll be happy with just 2-3 pounds so it's not like I'm wanting alot. Here's hoping for a good time on Monday morning.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Poker Tonight

I've got poker tonight. I didn't post last night because I fell asleep pretty early. We have poker tonight and I hopoe I can win some cash. I've hardly won anything this year and am way behind for the year. I'm not sure what the weekend is going to hold but I hope it's a good one. Well, I at least hope that the Dallas Cowboys can beat the Chicago Bears. If they don't, I don't think I'll hear the end of it from ALOT of people.

My eating has been good this week so I don't want to people to worry that my posting has been a little haphazard. Just haven't had a whole lot interesting to say, had a headache some nights, been tired, and fallen asleep a little early a few nights. It's been a pretty good week though. I need to figure out something for dinner tonight before poker but I'll come up with something good....NO FAST FOOD! I haven't eaten fast food in almost 9 weeks now which is good. I have gone to Subway but I don't think that really counts as fast food. Gonna keep up this streak, it's a good one!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Thursday Morning Note

No post last night. I went to bed a little early last night. I had a bad headache and just didn't have a whole lot to say anyways. Just needed some sleep and to get rid of the pounding that was going on in my head.

Yesterday was a nice day though in some respects. Walked down to the Farmer's Market with Jeremy and later did 1 1/2 laps around the building with Teresa. As we were walking around, the sprinklers turned on which was kind of funny. We didn't get sprayed but it somewhat startled both of us.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

What Day Is It?

I have no idea why but today seemed like Wednesday all day. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part but that's how it felt. I'm very disappointed because now it'll feel like there is an extra day in the week. All in all it was a nice day though. The weather has been really nice and I've been getting through my days a lot easier than I was last week. Just trying to take it easy and relax a little bit to get my legs back under me because it felt like I was going a little astray. I feel like I'm on the right track again though and that is a good feeling that I got through the rough patch.

I woke up a little early this morning and I'm not sure why I was soooo awake. I decided I'd have a treat for a weekday breakfast and I made myself 2 fried eggs and 2 slices of toast. It was very tasty and I'm glad I was up to have it. It'll be back to cereal or oatmeal tomorrow morning though. Once in awhile during the week is nice but can't have that too much even though eggs pack alot of protein in them....lots of fat in the yolk so best in moderation.

Monday, September 13, 2010

A Good Day

Monday has really been pretty good to me. Nothing special but I haven't had any cravings or crazy things. It's just been a pretty normal day and evening and it's been kinda nice. Just watching some Monday Night Football and can't believe that one of my Fantasy Football teams is gonna lose because Joe Flacco and Shonn Greene just haven't done so well. Oh well, it's a long season and I'm going to win some championships this year.

I want to send a special shout out to my buddy Jason. He has now lost 117 pounds and considering how great he looked when I saw him in April at the Final Four, I can only imagine how fabulous he's looking now. He's worked hard for it and I'm envious. I'm working to get there but I'm proud of my buddy. I'm sure his wife and 2 daughters are just as proud of their husband/father. He's a great guy and one of the guys who's really helping me along and keeping my spirits up. Keep up your great work Jason, I'm rooting just as hard for you as you are for me. Great job!!!

Monday Morning Weigh-In #8

Well, two months end with a thud. I was the exact same weight as I was last week so I end 8 weeks at the same weight loss I had last week, 44.6 pounds. As I said last night, I am happy I didn't gain. I never ate badly this week but just ate some more than what my normal has been. I'm just glad to be able to move on to a new week and not have had last week really wind up hurting me in any way.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Football and Chili

The NFL Season really started today. Huzzah! It's been a fun day and right now the Cowboys are losing to the Redskins 3-0. Hopefully the Cowboys can kick some butt the rest of the game. I made chili earlier today as is the custom for me on Week 1 of the NFL season. I made a different type of chili today with different types of beans, ground turkey, lots of spices and it was all made in the crock pot. It was pretty good and have 3 servings in the freezer for the next few weeks.

I don't think this will be a good weight loss week. I was basically the same this morning as I was last Monday so if I am down, it might only be a pound or I might be up a little. It has been a rough week so I am very happy to get this week over and just move on from this week. I feel like my clothes are fitting better or, are looser than what they were so that's a good thing and something to be proud of.

It's been a difficult week but it's just about over and I feel like I'm going to have a very good week next week. I can just feel it. Soooo, whatever the scale tells me tomorrow I'll just be glad for what little I lose, what little I gain or if I stay the same....because whatever the result I could've been up alot more this week if I had given in to some cravings.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

A Nice Piece of Fish

Tonight I had a nice salmon filet for dinner. I'd had it frozen in my freezer for a month and a half or so but I thawed it out and cooked it on the George Foreman...yes, I actually still make lots of things on the old Foreman Grill...and it tasted pretty good. Had it along with some corn on the cob and a little cottage cheese with some grapes in it.

I've had a pretty relaxing day today. Did a few things around here and ran a few errands in the morning. Unfortunately the Miami Hurricanes lost to Ohio State this afternoon. Just too many turnovers and when Miami did something good, they just let OSU do something good right away after it....very disappointing.

The first full day of the NFL season is tomorrow and I'm very excited about that. We've had some good weather and I'm feeling alot better than I did around the middle of this week so that's good. I know I'll have days like that and getting through them without any real damage is the key. I've come through stronger and am still on the right course, that's the important thing.

Friday, September 10, 2010

A Better Day

Today went better and more smoothly. I'm not sure what really set it off but it was a pretty difficult evening. BUT, I have some great friends who are very supportive that I appreciate and some great parents. Thanks for the email Mom, it meant alot! Love you and Dad both alot!

I'm not saying that today was some type of cakewalk but I never really felt like going over the deep end. It's definitely not a time to believe that things are going to be easy but I hope that things will now smooth out. This is gonna be a good weekend, I can feel it. I'm hopeful and holding strong and keeping my head up. I have no reason to hang my head in any shame because while things got bad, I still kept on course.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll be back to stupid jokes and stories about killing bugs and things. HAHA!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Just Struggling Right Now

I'm not sure why it's happening right now but I've been struggling the last couple of days. I still haven't "cracked" or anything and eaten horribly but I've really been tempted to and it's just been some rough sledding. I knew this would happen at some point but I felt so great at the beginning of the week that it's taken me completely by surprise that this going on right now.

I was actually on Papajohns.com tonight and thought about ordering a Large Thin Crust pizza with ham, pineapple and mushrooms with light sauce and light cheese. I didn't do it though. I just couldn't do that to myself but in some ways I really, really wanted to. Giving in would've been so easy. I know that while I was eating too much pizza I would've just hated myself but kept eating. I KNOW this is how I would've felt because it's happened before. I didn't do it though so that is a little victory.

I haven't been sleeping the best. Well, once I get to sleep I'm okay but falling asleep has been a bit of a pain in the ass. I thought I was past that since for a few weeks I was really sleeping great and falling asleep easily. This came after a short time of falling asleep trouble when I first cut the calories down.

Right now, I just feel like I'm fighting against myself and my "normal" nature and it's extremely difficult. I know if I can get past this though I'll be a stronger person for it and will also have more faith in myself and what I'm capable of. But, it is a real true test of faith and some intestinal fortitude to fight through this. I know I can't lose this fight and I'm not going to lose this fight. I'm worth it dammit....I'm worth the fight.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Wii Bowling

Had Wii Bowling Night for the first time in a few weeks tonight with Jeremy and Kavan. Although we didn't actually play any Wii bowling, we had a good time just sitting around talking about stuff. Was really nice to have an evening where I had actual people in the apartment to talk to. Every once in awhile I need that. Although we really didn't talk about my weight loss, it made the night easier and I had somewhat struggled the couple of nights before. Once again, not really eating a whole lot but wanting to eat more.

On another positive note, football starts tomorrow night!! YEA! I'm really excited for it and then a great weekend with NFL all day Sunday and on Saturday, Miami is at Ohio State so that should be fun. It's going to be an awesome football weekend with my real-life teams, my fantasy teams and my pick'em leagues. On to the championships!!!!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Not A Great Post

I just don't have a whole lot tonight. I had a bad trip to the dentist. Have to get a crown because the tooth around a big filling has started to chip away and then I have two very small cavities. Even after what's left of my insurance, I still will have to cover a little more than $600 so I'm not very excited about that. Just really wasn't a good day today on many fronts. My eating has still been good today although not 100% strong. Of course, the worst thing I ate was a couple of handfuls of Special K cereal so it's not like I've gone crazy. Just a struggling kind of day but still holding strong.

Monday, September 6, 2010

I Think I Have A Blister

It's been a really good day off. Didn't really get a "nap" but rested some while trying to fall asleep. Probably for the best that I didn't because it would be harder for me to get to sleep tonight. Earlier today I went for a walk around the Westchester subdivision. Round trip to my apartment was about 2.75 miles so that was pretty good. My legs were tired and a little sore but not going as far as I did on Saturday was probably a good idea. And yes, I think I have a blister forming on the bottom/side of my right foot.....that SUCKS!

Anyways, it's been a really good Labor Day Weekend and I'm very happy with my weight loss for this past week. I'm almost through 2 months and things are going along very well and I'm proud of my progress. There is still a long way to go and I'm keeping my eye on those goals but the best thing I'm really doing is keeping my eye on short-term goals and just getting to those. This way, I don't get discouraged because I'm not to 100 pounds lost yet or anything like that. One day at a time....one pound at a time. Looking at that way can be tough sometimes because we all want "problems" to be solved quickly but I didn't put all this weight on in one day, it's not all gonna come off in one day. Perspective is very important for me right now. I'm liking myself and respecting myself alot more right now and that's just as important as any individual pound that's lost.

Wow, that was kind of deep for me.