Monday Morning Weigh-In #28

Son of a Biscuit!!!!! Here we go again! Well, I'm up a pound to put my total at 94.2 lost. I'm really not all that angry, just kind of frustrated. I was feeling a little sick and a LOT tired all week which played a part in this since I really wasn't able to ride the bike. I'm feeling quite a bit better after the weekend so hopefully I can get back on track. Going to work hard towards a good week this week and crawl my way to 100 pounds lost.

I'd also like to send out a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to my friend Jason. I saw his note this morning that he has surpassed his weight loss mark....and not just barely, by 1.6 pounds!!!! Congratulations man! You're a huge inspiration to me and I'm proud to call you my friend and am sooooo overjoyed at your success! It's just a wonderful thing and am so happy for you, Sarah and the girls. Congratulations and keep up the wonderful work!!!!!!

Feeling Kinda Sick

This has been a strange week. I've been very low-energy all week and I don't know why. I went to bed really early last night and got some sleep but have still felt very low-energy today. This morning I especially felt pretty bad. I really did feel like I was coming down with something but as the day has gone along I've felt better. Getting sick would not be good for me right now.

I'm not sure how my weight loss is gonna go for this week. I've been up over my Monday weight all week it seems and I'm just not feeling great about it. Monday will be interesting but I'm hoping for a good day tomorrow. I've been frustrated all week by the lack of energy and just everything that has gone along with it. I'm doing my best but I'm not sure if that'll be good enough this week.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birhtday! Happy Birthday Dad! I'm proud to be your son and I know I'm not always the best son but you're a great dad and I love ya!

Sorry I haven't posted much this week, I haven't had much to say and I've been kind of tired. I don't know why I've been tired, but I've been going to bed a little earlier this week. I guess my body is just telling me that I need some more sleep. It's just been a long week and I'm ready for it to be over.

Anyways, Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

Monday Morning Weigh-In #27

Last Monday was a holiday and started out with a shock of a 2.8 pound gain. I thought that was a little strange because of the type of week I had had. Well, after a strong week of eating, lifting some and riding the exercise bike, this Monday was a lot better....a LOT better.

With my weigh-in this morning, I lost a total of 7.2 pounds!! So, in addition to the 2.8 pounds I had "gained"....I still have my questions about that and think it was more circumstantial than actual.....I lost another 4.4 pounds on top of that. That amount bring my total weight loss to 95.2 pounds. I'm inching closer and closer to 100 pounds lost which will be a HUGE milestone and will hopefully be coming in the next 2 weeks or so. Sooooo, along with the measurements from yesterday, this week has gotten off to a great beginning!

Sunday Morning Measurements - Week #27

I've needed to be more vigilant about taking my measurements every 3 weeks to make sure I'm still making some progress. I know I am though by my weight but also by how my clothes fit. My wardrobe is evolving little by little as I'm able to wear more things. More options are available to me since I don't start to sweat the moment I begin to move. That was always a HUGE hindrance when thinking about wearing anything long-sleeved or heavy. It's a good feeling to not always have little beads of sweat on your forehead as you stand in line at the store or do just about anything.

Anyways, here we go:

Waist: Lost 2 1/2 inches; 14 1/2 inches total
Neck: Lost 1/2 inch; 2 1/4 inches total
Chest: Lost 1 1/4 inches; 10 1/4 inches total
Hips: Lost 2 inches; 13 inches total
Left Thigh: Lost 1 inch; 5 1/2 inches total
Right Thigh: Lost 1/2 inch; 4 1/2 inches total
Left Calf: Gained 1 inch; Lost 1 inch total
Right Calf: Stayed the same; Lost 2 inches total

I know I gained on my left calf but I'm very happy with how both the right and left are looking. Pedalling that bike really starts to put a little bit of definition in them so I'm not worried about that. The first numbers are my 3-week losses so the month of January has treated me well. I've worked very hard for those numbers and am extremely pleased especially with the waist, chest, hips and thighs. Losing from around my neck is always slow going as I have lots and lots of chins but I'd like to think I've maybe lost one of them by now and only have 3 or 4 left. HAHA!

I've gotten a few really great comments over the last few days, especially from some people I didn't really expect to say anything at poker. Thanks for the compliments guys if you do ever read this, it does mean alot and I'm keeping on fighting the good fight.

By the way, I really need the Steelers to win to have a shot at a playoff pool I'm in that's worth $1000 if I win. Go Steelers!!!

A New Year of Poker

Had our first poker night of the year last night. Luckily I finished 2nd in the first game which was better than I finished in ANY game last year. For the first time since 2009, I came home from poker with more money than when I left. It's about dang time!

Today though was a pretty good day. Did some laundry, got groceries...just a normal Saturday. I was pretty tired all day though which is what made my time on the bike so strange. From the moment I started I was just kicking some butt. I complained earlier in the week about not topping my personal record of 12.46 miles. Well, I made it to 12.91 miles today. Just a little shy of 13 miles which is pretty impressive for me. I was very happy with that result even though I was trying hard to get to 13 miles at the end there. Glad that I seem to be able to improve my general health. I feel that I'm making some excellent progress.

Tomorrow I have to take measurements in the morning and I really hope they turn out well. I think my weigh-in will be good on Monday as well. Hopefully this is the beginning of a real good weekend.

Work Stinks Sometimes

Today was a difficult day for me to not overeat because I was soooooo stressed at work. It wasn't from anything that someone else did, I've been working on a project and thought I had it done except updating it for use now. Well, the data has not cooperated with me and has blown alot of my assumptions out of the water. I went over and over and over all the calculations and it all seems to be working. I'll be going over them again tomorrow but for about 4 hours today I was absolutely frantic. Well, that's pretty boring for most people so I'll move on.

As I said it was hard for me to not overeat because that's what I would have done in the past but I'm proud to say I did not do that today. I did eat a chocolate chip cookie from Subway because I walked there to get a sandwich but I stayed in control. I even rode 12.34 miles on my exercise bike in 45 minutes after I got home. I would have gotten even further but my calves started to cramp at about the 2:00 minute left mark so that slowed me down. I'm happy with the distance I went but upset I couldn't get about another 1/4 mile or so out of the ride. It'll all work out though and I'll be even stronger this weekend.

It's That Time of Year Again....Seriously??!!!

Well, the order forms have started to go around. I saw the first two today. Soon, the boxes will be everywhere and smell will be around. The pull, the tug, the siren call around every turn, every corner. Yep, those dang Girl Scouts and their delicious cookies. Those little girls turn into little devils every year! HAHA!

Now, you might say, "Brad, just don't order any." Well, I wish it was that easy. I probably will order some....1 box of Caramel Dee-Lites(or Samoas) and 1 box of Lemonades. I plan to leave these cookies at work and to make them last. Those of you that I work with and see every day, I ask of you to check on this with me to make sure that I am holding firm on this plan. If I go to totally eliminate them, I will only want them more. I know it will only make me crave them more if I have none and that can lead to overeating and all sorts of bad things...I know, I've seen me do it!!! This is not a diet and about deprivation, this is about learning to live and operate like a "normal" person and be able to set boundaries and stay within them. I know I can do this and I cannot fail. I've come too far to fall back now.

Also, I think my weight gain from yesterday and last week may have been some water-weight and other things because my weight is down quite a bit today from yesterday. No matter what though, I'm not going to be discouraged and am charging towards goals and will continue to do so.

Monday Morning Weigh-In #26

Well dangit! This morning was a bit of a downer as far as weigh-ins go. I'm not sure if I've got some extra weight from fluids or just having a heavy type of morning or something but the weigh-in was not successful. I weighed in this morning at an additional 2.8 pounds to change my overall weight loss to 88 pounds.

I'm not totally sure what happened because I had a pretty good week. Maybe I've hit the first plateau and I need to mix it up a little bit with what I'm doing. It probably isn't a bad idea to do that. I'm not worried though because measurements are due next weekend and I checked one of them on Sunday and I was down a little more around the waist so that is encouraging. I didn't do the others but things are still progressing...so that's a plus. I've just got to keep working hard and it'll still keep coming off. Even though this weigh-in went in the wrong direction, I know I'm still moving in the right direction and that's the big key for me.

Salmon on Sunday

Sunday has been a pretty good day for me. Did a few things around the place, finished reading a couple of magazines, did some lifting(still not alot but have to start somewhere), rode the bike for 12.35 miles in 45 minutes, and ate some wonderful chili. My chili is almost gone but the NFL season is almost over and that's when I like to have chili. Watched the Bears and the Jets win today and I have to figure out who to pick for next week to stay in a football pool that could be worth $1000 to me if I won.

I tried something new for dinner tonight. I was going to make a salmon filet on the George Foreman Grill but wanted to do something different. Well, I had some ciabatta bread left(I really like ciabatta bread!) and thought I could make a pretty good sandwich with the salmon so I did the following:

1) Toasted the ciabatta on the panini grill
2) Combined some low fat mayonnaise with some lime juice and red cayenne pepper and basil...cayenne added a little kick
3) Cut a couple of thin slices off a little block of mozzarella
4) Spread the lime-mayo on the toasted ciabatta and put the mozzarella on it..microwaved this for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese a little
5) Put the salmon on the ciabatta with some lettuce as well
6) Most importantly...ate it and enjoyed it ALOT!

I have to say that it was a dang fine sandwich. I'll have to have it again sometime and just keep trying to think of some new things to have and ways to add even more flavor to all these wonderful things I'm eating now.

I'm hoping for a little weight loss this week but we'll just have to see. The weighing in in the mornings hasn't been the best even though I've had a good week on many fronts. Well, keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll let you know tomorrow! I'm thinking thin! HAHA!

Long, Long, Long, Long Week

Holy jeez! This one week has felt like 2 weeks. It's just been a long one all around. I haven't gotten to ride the bike much this week because I've had some things to do each night and just haven't been able to. I know I'm just kind of making excuses and it makes me mad at myself. I WILL be riding the bike tomorrow no matter what is going on.

Tonight I finished putting together the new weight bench and I'm really liking it. I can finally lean back into the bench position and not feel like everything is going to collapse beneath me or that I'm going to crack my skull on the bar because of where it's positioned. That was something that bugged me since I had bought that old one. I do have to buy an extra package of the floor guard stuff to put underneath it since it's a little longer than I thought. That's not a big problem and will be taken care of tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to being able to do some lifting again.

I'm looking forward to watching some football tomorrow while having to do some laundry and go get some groceries. I need to get a haircut sometime but I might wait to do that until Monday or next week after work. Well, this post is a little late in the evening and I'm looking forward now to going to sleep. Sleep well and have a great Saturday!

Something New

Probably about a year or more ago I removed the leg extension from my weight bench. Now, I did this to save some space and in this regard I was successful. BUT, the unintended consequence of this action was that the bench became not very useful for me.

Now first off, this weight bench was a pretty cheap one and quite old. It was never a very strong or sturdy bench but it did the job. I foolishly believed that removing the leg extension from this bench would not harm it in any way. What it did to the bench was totally throw off the balance on it and make it difficult for a large person such as myself to use it. There were many other problems to go along with this but the fact that the last time I lifted on the bench I had major issues with getting back up and off it basically sealed its fate.

Tonight, I bought a new bench at Dick's Sporting Goods. Also, big props to my great buddy Jeremy who helped me get it home. Thanks for the help as anything I pick up at a store that is large, Jeremy is my go-to guy to help me get it home. Thanks again!

Once again, as with the old bench, it's nothing extra special but it's a strong bench and much sturdier. I tested the one at the store and it's very comfortable and the pads to lay down on are longer than the current ones and will work out very well. It's currently sitting in the box in my living room as I will put it together tomorrow night and getting the two benches swapped out. Something new and exciting to lift some weights here at home again.

Monday Morning Weigh-In #25

The calendar has moved fully over into 2011 and our first full week of 2011 is over and it was a pretty strong week. I had the one bad meal last week with going to IHOP but I am allowed one of those every once in awhile. The good thing about that day was this....it could have gone more out of control. After getting home that evening, I thought, "Hey, I had a bad meal for lunch, I could probably order a pizza. Why not? I could just make it a whole bad day." That's the type of thinking that's got me into big trouble and I was able to resist that urge which made me happy and proud of myself.

Anyways, I weighed in this morning and for my 25th weigh-in, I lost another 1.8 pounds to bring my total to 90.8 pounds. Woo-hoo! I figured I would lose about 1 pound because that or less was about what I would weigh-in most of the week. It's exciting and I keep moving closer to a next goal of 100 total pounds lost. Just 9.2 pounds away...hopefully there sometime by or in February.

Football and the Bike

I made it through my first week back to work. Hoo-ray! I was up until kind of late last night but was doing things around here and very sleepy. I wound up sleeping until what is pretty late in the morning for me at 9:45. But since I went to bed at about midnight, I still did get quite a bit of sleep. I really did need it though and I felt good all day long.

Football started late today and I really didn't do much very exciting throughout the day. I got on the bike during the Saints-Seahawks game and rode 45 minutes. The sweet part was that I went 12.46 miles in that 45 minutes, a personal best so far. But wow, the Seahawks won which is sort of good for me in a football pool I'm in. Good for me and now I need Baltimore to win tomorrow to keep me alive.

It's been a pretty boring Saturday in some regards but that's what I was looking for out of this day.

Good Eats, Bad Results

My friends Alison, Todd and Sherry took me out to lunch today. It was a birthday lunch. They had asked me to go last week but I just really wasn't in to going anywhere or putting on pants so I declined until this week. It was my choice and I chose for us to go to IHOP. I had had a craving for pancakes for some time and just went, "Heck with it, I'll have that for lunch. I'll eat a smaller breakfast and not much dinner." Well, that's exactly what happened.

I got the Ham and Cheese Omelet made just with egg whites and it came with 3 pancakes. It was soooooooooooo good! But then, my body kinda fired back at me. Evidently I'm not used to eating that amount of food anymore or something because it upset my stomach and I just didn't want to have anything else after that. The rest of the day at work kinda stunk because my stomach was doing things I didn't it to really do. I"m not saying much more because that would be TMI but I felt much better after I got home. I only ate some soup for dinner but my tummy has settled down.

Now, if they're reading this, I don't want Alison, Todd or Sherry to feel bad or think it's their fault. I ate what I ate and what I ate is what I ate and I know what I ate and let me tell ya, I ate it. It was good and tasty and I thank you all for taking me out. It was greatly appreciated and a great time with great friends.

Tired Now...

I did have to go back to work yesterday. It was an alright first day back although I was extremely tired at the end of day thus the lack of a post last night. I got home last night and rode the bike for 45 minutes and got to 10.75 miles. That wasn't too bad but I was a little slow throughout it since I was a little tired. Tonight was much better because I felt like I had more energy. I did the same "Aerobic" program as last night and did 11.75 miles in the 45 minutes. I felt much better about that than last night as well and I'm not quite as tired which is nice as well.

The last two days of work I've done something I have not done alot in the last probably 7 or 8 years of work....I wore button-down long-sleeved shirts. I haven't worn them because they would make me sweat and with my size, I couldn't find ones that really fit me right and that I felt comfortable in. Well, I finally feel comfortable in them so they're being worked into the rotation which also makes me happy. I've gotten a lot of comments the last few days that I'm looking a lot better which just gives me more motivation that people are noticing. I've even had some of my guy friends notice and make comments that they can really tell I've lost alot of weight. I'd like to say thanks to all of you if you happen to be reading this, it really does mean alot.

I'm feeling really, really good right now and it's a wonderful thing. I'm working hard and keeping my spirits up and my eyes on the prize. It's been a good start to the year....a real good start.

Monday Morning Weigh-In #24

This first weigh-in of the year was pretty awesome. Even though I have to go back to work this morning, this is a very nice way to go back. Evidently on Saturday when I weighed myself to get my final 2010 weight loss, I was feeling kinda 'chunky' or something. HAHA! Well, I weighed in this morning and for the whole week, I lost 4.8 pounds, or 3.0 pounds less than on Saturday morning. YEA! That brings my 24 week total to 89 pounds overall. What a great way to wake up and get things going. I'm feeling pretty happy right now!!!

Back To Reality

Dang, where did the last 17 1/2 days go? I have to go to work tomorrow and it seems like I just started my vacation yesterday. Oh well though, it's really been a good holiday vacation. I got done a lot of things and had a good Christmas, birthday and New Year's. I finally got my money back in my NFL Pick'Em league by winning a week which was nice. I've watched some good TV on DVD, some good movies and just really enjoyed my time off.

Anyways, I had a nice dinner tonight with a swordfish steak and a baked potato. I also took a jello cup and added a little Cool Whip to it to make a nice little dessert...it's very tasty. I rode the bike for 50 minutes today and went a total of 13.1 miles. I did a 30-min set and then a 20-min set back-to-back. I need to find my instruction manual to figure out how to increase the time on the set programs so I can just go for 45 minutes or an hour if I feel like it. Overall I felt really good about the distance I went in the time I had. I actually took yesterday off from riding the bike because I had ridden it everyday for 9 days and just thought a day off would recharge my batteries. I'll be looking to continue riding each night after I come home from work.

I'm taking some time off from the gym since this is the time of year that everyone and their dog will be at the gym at whatever time of the day. I completely understand it though since we all have New Year's Resolutions. I'm going to continue doing things here at home though for the next few weeks. I just hate being around ALOT of people and I know getting the machines I want will be more difficult and we'll just let people kind of weed themselves out of going to the gym.

I'm anxious for my weigh-in tomorrow. I know I'm down 1.8 pounds from my unofficial weigh-in yesterday so I'm hoping to maybe lose another half a pound or something to get 2011 off to a good start. I've got a long year ahead of me but I'm looking to make it an awesome year!

24-Week Measurements

It's been a long time since I took measurements on a Sunday morning. I'm really supposed to do it every 3 weeks but truth be told, I've just flat-out forgotten. It hasn't been that I haven't wanted to do them, they've just slipped my mind. I'm going to try and be better though about them because it's a good barometer of where I am, really even better than my actual weight.

Well, lets end the suspense and get to where I am compared to 24 weeks ago:

Waist: Lost 12 inches
Neck: Lost 1 3/4 inches
Chest: Lost 9 inches
Hips: Lost 11 inches
Left Thigh: Lost 4 1/2 inches
Right Thigh: Lost 4 inches
Left Calf: Lost 2 inches
Right Calf: Lost 2 inches

I'm pretty proud of those numbers while at the same time being a bit embarrassed. I still have a long way to go and I've taken a FOOT off of my waist!! That's just a little crazy but I'm still happy. Those are 12 inches that are NEVER coming back.

Final 2010 Weight Loss

It's now 2011 and it's time to wrap up the amount of weight I lost in 2010. I slept in a little bit this morning which was nice but weighed myself after that like I would normally do. Well, since July 19th to December 31st of 2010, which is 165 days, I lost a total of 86 pounds. HUZZAH!!! That's a little bit better than 0.5 pounds a day!

I'm very proud of my weight loss for this year and know it's going to continue into 2011. As you may have read from my resolutions, I want to lose at least another 100 pounds this year which would still not get me to my goal weight but we're working towards it. Every pound helps...heck, every 0.1 pounds helps. It will all add up and get me to where I want to be. I start out 2011 very hopeful and ready for a wonderful year!