Day 47 What a Difference a Day Makes

So as ya'll recall, I had me a heck of a day yesterday. I was so starving, ravenous, heading towards crazy over the hunger all day. I want to thank all my bloggy friends for coming in and commenting with support and suggestions and ideas. That is what this is all about. I asked for help and by gosh, I got it! I love it! Thanks to Cathy, Christine, Jo, Dr. F, Vickie and Helen for weighing in. It means alot to me girls.

So after all that, guess who had the easiest day ever today? Yeah, it was me. I am fairly convinced that all my activity and low cal eating this weekend just threw me out of whack. I don't believe pizza was my savior or anything, but I think I just needed a high fat meal maybe to do whatever my body needed. Today, I was right back to my old menu and never once slipped or stumbled. In fact, at 5 o' clock today, I had only had 560 calories and was not the least bit hungry. To add to that, we had a highly estimated 500 for supper tonight ( wait till you hear what supper was) and then when I got home from cheer leader practice for Lauren and doing my 2 miles around the track, I had yogurt, celery with pb, a piece of cheese and like 17 peanuts, and my total is still only 1400 calories. I finally gave up cause I was full and am leaving the 400 on the table. I think my wisest choice is to maybe make myself get to my limit on the weekends since I am much more active then so that I don't deplete my glycogen or whatever it was that was causing my problem Monday. Any thoughts?

So on to today's menu and activity log. I had the usual one fried egg one fried egg white for breakfast with 1/2 cup Special K and 1/2 cup 1% milk, and some pineapple to go with it. I also had some pineapple for a snack too mid morning. For lunch I had my usual 2 ounces of turkey on a pita with brown spicy mustard, and for my afternoon, the usual tuna with brown mustard and dill relish. As I said, 560 calories to this point. Oh wait also had some habanero almonds by Blue Diamond, still the same calorie count, but man those almonds rocked! For supper, Kathy took three 4 ounce chicken breasts and cut them up into cubes, marinated them in Carribean Jerk marinade for a bit, then put them on skewers with orange bell pepper baby mushrooms and some squash. I grilled them all up and it was dang yummy folks! Oooooooo weeeee! I love that wife of mine! Healthy, low cal and filling! I estimated a high 500 just to account for the Jerk marinade. And for activity today, I did the push ups this morning, three sets of 15 and I finally got the last set in without having to really push myself hard for the last 5, so it may be time to go up in reps. Then I did three sets of dumb bell curls and three sets of shoulder raises with dumb bells. At lunch, I went to the high school track ( love to get outside to walk when it isn't a million degrees at lunch) and got 5 walking super fast laps in, then 2 walking at a normal pace laps in for a 1 3/4 miles, then I did 2 miles at a comfortable pace for Kathy and I tonight while Lauren was at cheer practice. So as we were driving home and I was thinking about how much better today was for me, I had this thought. "I got my Superman back on today" and I liked it. I am gonna start using it!

I am thinking bed time for Shane ya'll so I will catch ya'll tomorrow. Until then, love ya miss ya!!

Day 46 Do I Want to Call it Junk Food Day?

Well I will skip straight to the title. I was starving all day!!!! I started off with a normal menu of one whole egg, one egg white, some sliced pinapple and the bowl of cereal. I have been starving a lot since Saturday afternoon, so today I built in a mid morning snack of more pineapple to try to combat it. It didn't work and so after lunch and class, I had an extra pita and turkey sandwich for an extra 130 calories in the hope it would even out whatever was throwing me off. It did not and even after my tuna snack, which usually does the job of satisfying me till dinner, I could tell I was gonna be hungry in a short while. So on the way to my evening class, I stopped at Wendy's and got a 5 piece spicy chicken nugget to eat before class. It seemed like it was almost about to do the job until around 6, when I was hungry again! At this point, I was only up to 900 calories. So on the trip home, I decided that I was going to invest the calories in a Totinos pizza and see if that would plug the huge hole I was experiencing. It did thank goodness and at first it seemed offend my sensibilities. After all it was "junk food". But then it came to me, no it wasn't. It was a little different than what I have been normally eating lately. It was not conventional health food. But, and it is a big but, there is no real "junk food" if you think about it. There is just food. Food is food. The only thing that matters is your relationship with food. I had the calories to spend, I spent them on a food that I like and I never broke the balance of the calorie bank and trust. I think that is the hurdle many of us have in losing weight without some elaborate system, there is no "rules" on what to eat, what not to eat. Nobody has told you the "correct way" to eat to lose weight. In fact, it is all up to you, apart from the setting up parameters, such as the calorie bank and trust. The real challenge is training yourself to not overdo portions, to not bargain with yourself regarding the calorie bank and trust, to create new habits and attitudes towards food. No "rules" so that it becomes a sustainable way of life. Something you can put in your pocket and carry with you till you are old and gray, thinner and healthier. And if in all that, pizza is eaten, then so be it. If the occasional mini chocolate bar is eaten, then so be it. In moderation is the key folks, in moderation.

That being said, I am hoping for a clue to my recent "holy crap I am starving AGAIN?" problem. I am hoping someone, maybe my good friend Dr. F, can help me get this phenomena. I think I have a possible explanation. I just worry that maybe I am making excuses and I don't want to do that. I wonder if I was getting too much activity on too little calories the whole weekend. I mean I did a hard 5k on saturday morning, then golf and car washing too. Then on Sunday, I did another 5k but at a reasonable pace, then hiking for an hour and a half. In both those days combined I think I was like 1100 net calories after taking off for my activities, so an average of 550 unburned off calories for each day. Will that somehow make your body begin to ask for more food? Should I just ignore it and move on? I considered that it may be that on days like those, I need to raise my calories, but I don't want to use the activity as an excuse to eat more. I really worry about the consequences of allowing myself some slack. Oh I hate being inside my own head! Any thoughts or experience dealing with this guys?

Friends Making Mondays

Got this from Kenzi, it's called Friends Making Mondays. Copy and past the answers to the following and then paste the link in the comments section and teach some other bloggers more about yourself and learn more about others.


I like... to spend time with my wife, Kathy, and daughter, Lauren. I just feel like somebody when I am with them.


I don't like... that I let myself get in the physical shape I am in.

I love... being a family man after I was a bachelor for so long. My wife and step daughter make my life complete.

I dream of... getting through this final year in undergrad school and getting on with law school, hopefully finishing in the top ten of my class.

I wonder... how I ever got so lucky as to marry Kathy. I don't deserve her, but I will take it!

I know... that above all else, I want to take care of my girls and give them the best me I can. That is the mission statement behind this journey.

I went... out on a hike today with Kathy and Lauren and they both loved it! I hope to see us hike a whole bunch more this fall.


I have... a drive and determination that I never had before to finish school, get healthy and be somebody that Kathy and Lauren are proud of.

I think... that the day I graduate with my bachelors may be one of the best days of my life, even knowing I will be graduation law school one day.

I plan... go to law school and finish top ten in the class, land a good job locally and build a career that will allow me to retire comfortably.

I regret... that I didn't have the direction I have now on getting in shape and getting thinner.

I do... have a ton more happiness in my life now that I deserve. God is good to me and I love Him for it!

I drink... a ton of water nowadays, which is great since I used to drink a gallon or better of Diet Moutain Dew before.

I wish... that all my overweight friends could get the aha moment I did, and join me in this awesome journey to health and fitness. It is the greatest trip ever!

I am... in a very good place in general in my life. I cannot think of one area of my life I am dissatisfied with right now.

I am not... going to give up on this transformation journey. I have come so far in such a short time and I only see good things happening from here to the maintenance phase.

I need... to guard against impatience and my inner child. They can both knock me for a loop sometimes.

I graduated... with an Associates Degree in May 2009, but that was only the first step on a long row to hoe.

I hope...that Kathy is ready for a tough time during my law school years. I try to remind her it is gonna be a bear, and I just hope she is going to be understanding.

I want... the very best life for Kathy and Lauren. I don't mean stuff, I mean for them to know I got them taken care of. That all the struggles and insecurity they have faced all their lives are over.

I sometimes... wonder what my life will be like in 5 years. I think alot about it and hope that I am doing all the right things to make great things happen for my family.

I always... get this happy heart feeling when I am driving home to Kathy and Lauren. I love that drive! It always makes a long or rough day just fade away when I walk in and my girls are here doing their thing!

I can... walk three miles pretty dang fast now!

I work...in a law office with the greatest attorney now! It is a recent move for me. I love the old law firm but I LOVE this one!

I cannot... afford to rest on my laurels. I have to keep moving ahead and making progress.

I avoid... complacency. It will get you in the end if you let it!

I will... continue to try hard and work my butt off to get where I am headed physically, family life, education and professionally.


Now it's your turn to answer these questions so link up my friends!

Day 45 The Griffins Go Hiking

I can barely hold my head up as I type this. I really wanted to get to this sooner but at one point today I realized I had some homework and studying I needed to do. So I am getting around late but I don't like to push to the next morning anymore cause I do workout now. So here goes, pardon any bad spelling or crazy rambling.

I had the best day you could ask for today. I got up a little later than usual, but I still got my walk in first thing this morning. I did get my three miles but today was once again not about time as I was sore as all get out. After that, I came to the house and made myself breakfast. It was an excellent breakfast too of one egg, two egg whites scrambled in with sauteed onions and mushrooms, served on a pita bread with some salsa on top of it all. I think the calories were like 195 on that !! So I got everyone else fed and then headed out to mow the back yard and weedeat it. I got all the crap Scooter has dragged out into the yard up and thrown away, then set to work. I cut the lawn a little lower than usual today cause I figure we will get rain this week and I won't be able to get to it till next weekend and I want it as short as possible for that! I got the back yard squared away and had about an hour before Kathy got home from work. I decided to get a shower in and get ready for our hike.

Folks, I had the best time ever on this little outing.I was starving as soon as Kathy got home so we headed out to eat at the park here are a couple of pics of the spread and the little day use area we at at:









We wound up going on a ride in a pontoon boat with a park ranger for an hour and a half. She was great, and told us all about the lake, the property around it, how the water system taking the water to Fort Smith worked, about the dam and the surrounding wetlands, I mean a ton of stuff about the park. It was great.



The views while we were on the lake were gorgeous, even if it was a cloudy day.








So after that, we got back on plan and headed out to the trail that is on Lake Fort Smith Park. It is called the Highland Trail and it is I believe 165 miles long. It was one of the first and longest trail systems ever made in America. We only did the first mile and some change and it was so great to see Kathy and Lauren getting into the hiking and being outdoors mode. The whole trip was Kathy's idea and she pushed until we all got to going. Here a few shots from the trail:









There are a bunch more but I am tired and don't have the energy to keep putting them pics up... haha. So before we came home, I took Kathy and Lauren to Artist's Point. I have seen it a million times, but they had never seen it and it never occured to me to take them to it. So we headed up the road a little ways and here is a picture from that stop:



So all in all, I had not only a great day but a great weekend. I stayed just under budget calorie wise both days, I got a total of at minimum 7 miles walking or hiking, found out I could jump rope again, and all sorts of fun stuff this weekend. I am however ready to get back to work tomorrow so I can rest up!

Day 44 An Overlooked Blessing

Wow what a day. I was on the go all day till 3 o'clock, then I actually took a nap in the middle of the afternoon for like 2 hours! I really needed the sleep, I could tell.

So my morning started off with my inherent inability to sleep in! I woke up around 4:45 and it was immediately obvious I was not going back to sleep. So, I caved in and got up and fixed coffee, kinda puttered around this here internet, and then, after my second cup o' joe, I headed out to hit the mean streets of Shadow Mountain Village. I had a plan. I think I talked about how my block has one long sloping hill and one steep uphill climb that is kinda short. I usually go clockwise around the block, which leaves me going down the sloping hill and up the short steep hill. Today I decided to got counter clockwise and have to deal with the long sloping hill and see what that does for me. It was a challenge folks! But, and here is the part I am proud of, I set a record for a three mile time today! I got all three miles in in 52 minutes, 24 seconds. But wait, that's not all (I watched a lot of commercials on tv, it had to be said) not only did I get it in record time, it was because I jogged the final stretch! It is like 200 yards and I know that is not huge, but I did it and was only slightly out of breath when I got here!! Can I get a woo hoo!!

After I finished that, I did a little walking around the yard to cool down. I love that it is so cool in the mornings and I can linger outside when I am done walking. It has been so hot and humid the last month. So I came in and sat for about 20 minutes reading the paper and I realized I had not eaten breakfast yet. So I did my usual of one egg fried, one egg white fried, a bowl of cereal and this morning I finished off the plum I had left. After that, I realized I needed gas for the lawn mowers, so I ran out to the store. Back in the day, that would have equaled a soda, prolly a twenty ounce Diet Mountain Dew, but I have totally gotten rid of that habit! Not only is it good for me, it is saving me some money too. Sodas are getting just outrageous. So I got back and got the front and side lawns mowed, the drive way edged, the yard weed eated and the drive way blown off (love my new blower). So I had told Lauren that if we got our work done fast enough today, we would go out to the driving range and hit some golf balls. She did her chore of weeding the rock bed out front and blowing off the driveway sorta, so I kept my promise and we loaded up the drivers and headed out. I had a great time hanging with Shorty. I think she is the next Michele Wi!



So after that, we met Kathy at Firehouse for subs and I had the turkey with no mayo but kept the cheese for some reason. It came out to 490 calories and was well worth it.

When we got back to the house, we had a car washing party. Both vehicles got washed and Kathy's got the inside detailed. By that time, I was bushed and couldn't hold my head up any longer. I zonked out for a couple of hours between 4 and 6 and it was a refreshing nap. I was totally re-energized after that. So I fired up the grill and cooked us up some chicken breasts and Kathy made them into salads for each of us and they were yummy. I am shocked at how much salad dressing I used to use as opposed to how much I use now. We buy the light italian with like 50 calories to each tablespoon and I used two tablespoon worth rather than a 1/4 cup like I used to. I have seriously made some big changes.

I got a bit of a wake up call today about a blessing I may have been overlooking. I was reading Michele's blog and how she talked about how she is at a disadvantage considering her being a woman and her age, and she has realized it will be a long slow journey for her to get where she wants to be. I have to admit, despite all my bad genetic traits, the one thing I have on my side is that I am able to quickly put on muscles, get in cardio shape pretty fast, and I am able to pull of weight pretty quickly without getting extreme in any facet. I mean I am eating less but I get around 1500 to 1800 calories a day, I workout with weight for about 20-30 minutes every week day morning, I walk about a mile and a half a day on weekdays and try to get two 5k's a weekend in. That is not pushing any amazing barriers. I mean Doctor F kicks the crap out of me in the exercise realm! I love to read her blog but man do I feel like I am lazy when I do! But, in 43 days, I lost 29 pounds, and I realize that is amazing! It took work on my part, but again, not as much as some would have had to do to get that number. I will remember this from now on after Michele made me realize it.

I am stealing an idea from Dr. F and I have started trying to keep up with the calories burned in my activities. I did that this morning and I was in a calorie deficit for the whole morning. I burned 505 calories walking this morning but I had 200 for breakfast and 110 for a mid morning snack, then I burned 305 mowing the lawn and 200 at the driving range for a morning total of 905. I didn't surpass that number until my afternoon snack of tuna at 2:30. Wow, how cool is that? I am at 1595 after supper and a celery stick with peanut butter. Which brings me to another point, I also don't slather the celery with peanut butter like I used to. I get a table spoon worth of peanut butter and spread it out over the celery stalk. ON the bigger outside ones, it just barely covers, but when you start to get the smaller inside ones, it is a bit more satisfying. I am debating about what snack I want to finish off the day. I wish we had more fruit at the house but we don't. If I can't find anything good, I may just call it a day and leave the other 205 on the table.

Kathy got the pictures from last weekend's Silver Dollar City trip downloaded to the puter and I have to admit, it was a bit of a reality check. I was not impressed with my appearance, and it really made me think if that was me 20something pounds lost, what the heck did I look like before! So to illustrate, here is one that is fairly typical of the batch:






Here is me with some cool hair!



So while I have all the markers of having lost weight, I got a visual cue that I am on about mile 3 of a 26.1 mile marathon, and I gots a ways to go! In the past that may have derailed me but now, it just makes me more determined!

OK, it is Finding Nemo time!! Catch you fine folks later!!

Day 43 Sup wit dat?

I am so totally ghetto yo! Ha ha. So today was a great day as far as finding out my weight loss, but I could not stop being hungry all day! I actually got to 1700 calories today! I didn't eat anything crazy, I stayed under bank, but I kept being hungry all day! Here is a breakdown of what I had:

usual 1 whole egg and one egg white, 1/2 cup Special K with 1/2 cup 1% milk, I had the small kolache or pig in the blanket at the donut shop, I had a fat free key lime yogurt at the office, I had about a half cup of cantaloupe at my parents house, I had a cool spicy chicken wrap at Chick Fil A, we had grilled boneless skinless chicken breast tonight, mine was 5 ounces, with some pasta salad thing Kathy likes to make, and then I insisted on Braum's frozen yogurt but no cone any more, in the cup, and here is the one thing I may be a little ashamed of. We have a bag full of mini candy bars (thanks Bobbie!!) in the freezer, so tonight, I had a Mr. Goodbar mini. It was good and I had one, so that is a real feat folks! But like I said, I was at least nagging hungry and sometimes really starving hungry. I am just now not being hungry for the first time today.

I am a dork ya'll. I am really looking forward to my weekend of 5k's around the block. Who am I? I never would have thought I would say those words! What do ya'll have planned for your weekend activity?

It looks alot like bed time here in the Griffin household. I guess I am gonna get off here and get headed back that way. I will catch everybody tomorrow!!

That's Right!!! 268 folks!

Yeah baby!! Another two weeks of hard work have paid off and I am down 7 more pounds! Praise God! I am just so excited folks!! I am in the 260's for the first time in probably 7 years!!

And if you're ready for more yipppee news, go check out Michele's blog too. She may or may not have good news for ya!

Day 42 RIP, I Knew You Well

I have to admit, I am loving my new trend. I just can't get to my calorie bank limit lately and it is fine by me!! I am at like 1310 after breakfast, lunch snack dinner and a couple of other snacks after supper. And the best part, it is all healthy food today! I am falling in love with Kathy's tuna salad, lettuce and pita supper. Fills me right up and is mmmm mmmmmm good! Oh I left out my new skill! I can totally separate the egg white from the yolk!! I am saving me 50 calories per breakfast!!! I am pretty psyched about that!

I got a really great workout in this morning of crunches and military presses, then I got a great really fast walk in at Wal Mart for lunch. But it doesn't end there. I estimate at least a mile and a half at lunch but then I also walked two miles around the track at Lauren's cheerleading practice. I just kept walking and walking, not fast mind you but at a decent pace, and Kathy joined me for 5 of the 8 laps. It was two nights in a row she and I walked together. I could get used to this. But that sentence leads me to the subject of today. I think I officially said good bye to someone I knew for a long long time. I am not sad to see him go. Goodbye and good riddance "sit around Shane". You did have a good run buddy, but your time is gone. It is but a memory that I will carry with me. So, tonight was just a realization that you had left me. I no longer sit on my butt for hours on end behind a computer screen or in front of a television screen. I get up and move, I am active and I love it! We even have a hike in the works for this weekend if things fall together. A hike!!!

Tomorrow morning is the big weigh day for me! I am so pumped and excited for this one. I don't know why but I seriously see me getting down in the 260's, say 268 maybe. It should be great!!

Day 41 The Seed is Planted!!

Happy Hump Day folks (get your mind out of the gutter Christine!!). It is Wednesday and I have had the best week ever so far. I am loving my new job, I started my senior year in college, and I am doing so well on my diet and working out!! God has blessed me mightily by answering all my prayers! I am rejuvenated and ready to work hard for A's in school, my work is very satisfying now that I am a billable resource, and I am really beginning to feel how much better conditioned I am physically, mentally and emotionally. Here is a great example, I went for a walk tonight with Kathy. We are in different places as far as what physical shape we are in, so I took it easy for her laps and then I took off like a bat out of hell for mine and just noticed how much faster I was walking even moreso after that! Another example of the great changes in my lifestyle is one that deals with food. I remember back in the day, I got lots of dirty looks from Kathy for going in the kitchen after supper and making a bologna sandwich, or grabbing a bag of chips and killing half of them or the most common one, two hot dogs, but not once, but twice during the night. I was a junk food junkie and was ecstatic about it. Well tonight, while I was walking my last lap, want to know what craving so bad I couldn't see straight? Get this. I wanted a stalk of celery with a tablespoon of peanut butter spread over it!! No junk, actual food with a nutritional value!! And other nights I want fat free yogurt, cantaloupe, strawberries..... all those crazy health foods I avoided before! That is my cravings now! I mean wow folks, how crazy is that!?!

Another thing I want to brag about is I think one of my main goals at the outset of this journey is coming true. I think Lauren is starting to catch on that I am doing this and is interested in it. She has started asking me more and more often "how many calories in this?" and she will say " I am watching my calories too" even though she isn't really I don't think. Apparently she asked Kathy the other night why I don't like pasta and Kathy told her I didn't consider it a good calorie value. It apparently stuck with her because she asked me tonight about it and said huh really? Now she did eat her mac and cheese, but at least I know what I am doing is making an impression on her. I saw her the other day eyeballing my belly and you could see her wheels were in motion. She never said anything, but I could tell she was thinking.

So over the last three days, I just am not getting any where in the general vicinity of my calorie bank. As I type this, I am done for the day and I have 1390 calories and once again, not the least bit hungry. I did have to do some fast thinking today though. I let myself run out of eggs (oh and I have a story about eggs too!) so for breakfast I had a full cup of cereal and milk. I usually do a half cup of each and keep my calories down that way. I knew I really needed some protein too though or I would be starving around mid morning. I recently decided that since my new office has much less kitchen capacity and I don't have quite the flexibility of eating privileges there, I would go ahead and stop taking heat and eats for lunch, and instead, I bought some of those pitas I talk about all the time and some low sodium turkey breast lunch meat and brown mustard. For lunch now I am having three slices of the turkey breast, two tablespoons of brown mustard, and all that on a pita. It is a total of 140 calories and it yummmmy!! So for my protein, I stole from my lunch meat and got that in. I had three slices of it and it was great even without the pita. For my snack I had my usual tuna with brown mustard and dill relish. I still like that for a snack, but I am fixing to start looking around for a new alternative with similar protein content and calorie value. Are there any suggestions? So anyway, that gets us to supper. It was not the most healthy supper but it was dang good. Kathy took some bell peppers and onions and sauteed them in EVOO (wait for it) then she sliced up a polska kielbasa sausage and cooked it all together, with a salad on the side that I used the last of the bleu cheese dressing on. It was only a tablespoon though so it was 150 calories, and the serving of kielbasa I had was around 465 calories. I ended up the day with my two favorite evening snacks, yogurt and peanut butter on celery! mmm mmmmm good Maynard!

So I am less than 32 hours from my next weigh in and I am chomping at the bit! I almost went for a sneak peek tonight, but one of the other things I am working on in my life is my patience. It has gotten me in some binds before and I need to get that shored up if I am going to be an attorney. So any way, I am psyched. I have it figured out already. Scenario 1: I have not lost 11 pounds again, but I have lost around 6 which puts me in the 260's and that was my goal for this weigh in. I am happy and my attitude goes sky high! Scenario 2: I have not lost much weight at all if any, at which point I re-evaluate the last two weeks, see where I likely screwed up and go at it even harder than before! OOOOH RAH Bloggers!

Day 40 I Do Believe In God and Prayer

I am getting around to this waaay later than I would like. I got caught napping last semester and got myself a D in Economic Analysis, so I am hypersensitive to my grades this semester. I had only gotten one B before that and it bothered the hell out of me, so think what a D did! So this year, I am staying on top of my hybrid classes and their electronic assignments and getting my A's back baby!

I have had two days in a row of around 1300 calories, not by way of planning,I just seem to have a wife that is getting the whole calorie thing and making better suppers in the spirit of the lifestyle change. I had around 635 calories by the time I got home. Kathy had cooked me a boneless skinless chicken breast and a cup of green beans for supper! I was ecstatic to have such a good and filling meal and only spend 400 calories on it! I then snacked on something I been craving and since I was only at 1045 calories for the day, I went for it. I had me a tablespoon and a half of peanut butter smeared on the pita bread that Sean and I love so much! I topped that off with a glass of milk, only now, I drink 1% baby! Woo hoo! So I was almost content but I decided that I would also eat me one of those low fat sugar free puddings Lauren has been munching on lately. It wasn't bad, especially for 60 calories, but it wasn't great either. I am on the fence.

So I was out getting a couple of mile walk around the neighborhood this morning. I swear to you folks, I had no idea that I was a slow walker solely because I was fat! I killed lap times again this morning. I got two miles in at just under 28 minutes!! I was so stoked! But while walking, I revisited something I have thought about before and just haven't gotten around to discussing on here before. I hope not to offend anyone that reads this blog, but if I do, then so be it. I am a man of faith. I believe strongly in God and his never ending love for us, and Jesus who died on the cross to save us. So here is my story. Before this journey started, I had tried in the recent past to get back on the "diet wagon" but for whatever reason, I just couldn't get no traction. I would have limited successes only to sabotage them or just give up without any reason. I was so downtrodden about my failures. I began to ask God to help me, to get me that spark back, to make me understand how important this is. I was mad at myself for being selfish and not looking out for my family and their future like I should. I would get so sad when I imagined me dead and Kathy trying to make it without me. But I just couldn't get right in my mind to get going. So I prayed and I prayed multiple times to Him. Please God, don't let my ignorance and hard headedness keep me from the job I was put on this earth to do. Enter AOL. I am not an AOL subscriber. The only reason I had any contact with AOL is it was my job to monitor all the e mail addresses for the law firm I worked at throughout the day to see if any e mails needed to be routed. Well when you log into AOL, they have a few stories they are headlining that day. I typically didn't pay much attention to them other than when I was waiting for the screen to change to e mail mode rather than story mode. Well that day, the story about Sean scrolled across before the screen changed and I glanced it for just a second. I was intrigued, so after checking the e mail, I went back for Sean's story. I read the first paragraph and realized I needed to forward this link to my home e mail and check it out that night. I did, and I swear my eyes were opened! Sean's blog made me see the forest without being impeded by the trees, it made me realize that I had just been overthinking the process and having the wrong end goal. I wanted to get skinny, but not change the way I ate afterwards. I realized that day, it wasn't gonna happen that way. I had to make a lifestyle change. Seeing all those posts and knowing where Sean was after such a long journey gave me that glimmer of hope, that "I can get there from here, if I just try" feeling. It was the sign from God I had prayed for over and over, and I wasn't gonna pass on it. Now, I saw that article on a Wednesday I think. I didn't start right away because I had a trip to Texas for a funeral and knew that it wouldn't be the best time to do that. But I marinated in the idea of starting a blog all weekend until Sunday night when we got home. I did it, I went for it! I started my blog that night and started to count calories for real the next morning. I have not looked back since and I can honestly say, I believe God has been a big part of keeping me on my path. He has given me the countenance and wisdom and want to that I asked for and I plan on putting it to good use!

I am a witness to the great things God can do if you ask. I hope you are too. So before I got to bed tonight, I am gonna pray. I am gonna pray for all the folks out there who are lost and want to be found, who don't know how easy it is if you just let it be. I am gonna pray that they too stumble upon Sean Anderson's Blog and get the much needed shove in the right direction I got from it.

Day 39 Yeah That Student Desk Is My B*tch!!

First day of school was all in all a good one. I went to my lunch time class and I ran into a couple of friends in it. It is Sociology of the Family and it seems like it may be an ok class. Then my evening class, which is distance learning also, which means that the professor is in our classroom but there is a video and audio link to 5 other classes throughout the state, was not quite so great. The technology is just not up to par yet and it is always a cluster. So it took a lot longer than it should have for trying to get things started so I didn't get out as early as I would like. But I do like this professor and I don't mind it going longer I guess.

Had a weird kind of eating day. Not a bad weird, a good weird. I always read Christine's blog and say, how does she get by on those calories? I mean seriously, if she makes a 1000 it is a miracle. So today, I was in a tizzy. I did get my two eggs and 1/2 cup of cereal and milk in for breakfast and that was great, but for lunch I grabbed a can of soup I had, Harvest something or other, and the whole can was 50 calories worth. I didn't realize that until after I had it and needed to write the calories down. Wow, really 50 calories. My snack after lunch was my usual tuna with brown mustard and dill relish. And my before class snack was another Bumble Bee tuna snack pack. All told before class I had a total of 580 calories. That is around 300 less than usual. But I wasn't hungry at all. I am starting to wonder if I shouldn't reign in my calories to 1500 now, just to get it over with. Oh and for dinner, Kathy made a chicken salad with mustard, very little Miracle Whip, like 2 tablespoons she said, and onions and celery in a pita cut in half and stuffed with the mixture with lettuce on the bottom. I finished off the day with a frozen yogurt cup from Dannon. I am at this very moment at 1200 calories! And again, still not starving!! I like that I got so much protein today too cause I did a heck of a workout today and needed to rebuild muscles from that and yesterday's walking! I think I am gonna lead off the day with cardio tomorrow though. I didn't get any today and I am not looking good for time. I like to sleep so that will come first.

Well on to the title. As I am sure you have guessed, I got stuck in one of those high school student chairs today with the built in desktop that only allows for skinny folks! All through college, I have never liked being in the class rooms that have those. I always feel like I am causing internal injuries squeezing in there. I did not even think about the fact I had trimmed down when I walked in that class room and saw that, so I steeled myself for the upcoming pain, when voila! I slid in with no problem!! Holy crap it was so cool! And I have a new goal. I want to double the space between me and my desktop by the end of this class! It would be a great achievement!! Which reminds me, I was so down on me for my eating yesterday, I forgot to mention that at Silver Dollar City, I rode my favorite roller coaster three times Sunday!! I was so happy, and the best part, Lauren and I were riding together!! She is addicted just like me! I even bought the photo of us on the last ride. I will try to figure out how to get it on here soon.

Ok, I am gonna open up about a problem, or I guess more like an issue I have had the last 5 or so days. I have really been up on myself and my appearance here lately and I just feel so studly and proud of me all the time. Suddenly around Thursdayish, I started feeling like I was a fat turd again. I knew I wasn't but I just didn't have that great attitude and swagger about me. I had all my indicators that showed I was still thinner than the beginning, but in my consciousness, I just knew I was fat. It is winding down, and I worked all through it with new habits I have gained not being lost, but I wonder, did any of you really successful people I follow ever have those periods? In the past, when I got that feeling, it was all over but the crying baby. I would head out to fill that void with food, food and food. I hate that I was there, but it did give me a new dose of confidence in myself and the change of lifestyle I have chosen. I just don't want to have to deal with that a lot. I suspect a loss on the scale this Friday would likely bring with it a whole new burst of enthusiasm.

I have homework, so I better wrap it up. I sure did enjoy the posts of the folks I am following today. Kenzonce again made me look like a lazy turd, but I am glad to see it!! Allan made a very nice offer to help me with my diet. I know some find him abrasive, but I have never had one problem with him and will continue to associate with him even if he is a self proclaimed "leper" haha. All of you crazy bloggers add something to my journey and I am eternally grateful for it. I only hope that I can do the same for you!

Day 38 A Success But I Wonder

I know this about today. I did stay under bank. And I keep looking over today's choices and they don't seem bad at all, excepting the grilled chicken sandwich that I ate with the bread on it. I am so down on the bread in a meal thing. I think I will put my input on the board here and let my peers decide if my nagging feeling of not doing that well is justified. So here goes:

For Breakfast:
less than or about a cup of raisin bran with 75 calories worth of milk, and I peeled an apple and ate the meat but not the core.

Snack:

We stopped at Wally World and bought me some of those Bumble Bee tuna snack pack things with the tuna salad and crackers. I had that and and orange between breakfast and lunch.

Lunch:

Another NSV for me. I ate at a buffet with fried chicken and fried catfish. I only had one little plank of catfish, choosing instead to indulge in the three bean mixture of green beans, black beans, and I think Kathy called then chick peas. I had around 2 cups of that which I am pretty sure had vinegar in it, then I had some cherry peppers I think Debbie said they were called. Basically they were round jalapenos or at least tasted like jalapenos, then two stalks of celery and some cole slaw.

Supper:

I had Dairy Queens grilled skinless chicken breast sandwich, no mayo, only mustard, and instead of the fries, I had a side salad with fat free italian dressing, and 5 fries.

Last snack of the night:

I had a handful of those gold fish crackers on the drive back and then at home, I warmed up the last I would say 6 ounces of meatloaf, I needed protein! So what do you guys see there that you would be ashamed to say you ate or that would make you feel a little off about eating it? Am I just being too picky?

So I did not do any formal exercising on Saturday, just the walking and swimming we did. But today, I did get up early and head out for a walk. I decided I would do a thirty minute walk and that would prolly be about enough after walking down the one huge hill our motel room sat on, and up the other side of the gully to where the office was. I was worn out less than 10 minutes in after those two hills! I kept on and walked up to the McDonalds on 76, then turned around and headed back to the motel. I got back to the room but had only walked for 26 minutes, so I said ok, I turned right back around and headed back for the killer hills! I got a very good workout this morning and my legs and abs were all sorts of upset about the situation. Well I can add prolly another couple of miles to my total miles of the day, cause we walked all of Silver Dollar City all day looking at shops and going into a couple of sections I didn't know existed until today! I usually am all about the rides when we are there, so I get tunnel vision and miss a lot apparently. So anyway that was my thinking about getting protein in me, I need some rebuilding tools dang it! Anyway, after doing all my calculations, I came in at 1590 calories for the day and I am pretty sure my workout and walking all day cuts that number down at least significantly.

I am so glad to be back home. I like the controlled environment here. I need to maybe start planning better for these trips and maybe taking food along to keep me from having to be slave to the bad choices available in these places. What do ya'll think?

Day 37 Silver Dollar City Fun and the Realization of Power Over Habits

So today was the beginning of our little weekend get a way to Branson. I decided to take a different way up that I knew about before but never had taken. I get bored with driving the same way all the time. So I am that guy that you see on Google Maps trying to find some other route just to not have to look at the same stuff and go to the same places all the time. So I may not be taking that way again to Branson as apparently it is the Mecca for the "I will drive 10 miles an hour under the speed limit for no apparent reason" people. Oh I forgot to mention I am a lead foot too. So we finally got to Silver Dollar City around 11ish we had a pretty good visit. I was torn on how to handle the rides situation, but I eventually decided that I was not ready for the possibility of having to get off a ride for being too fat, so I am awaiting the March return and hanging my hat on that great feeling I will have then. WE didn't stay as long as usual as it was hot, crowded and we had a great pool waiting on us at the hotel. We got back and all of us were dressing quickly to get in the pool. I cannot express how nice it was to jump in some cool water and splash and swim around! It made me feel so alive!! Alot of guests were out and we were all just having a great time and playing pool frisbie and having contests to see who get get to the bottom faster..... just plain summer fun!!

I had what I would consider a not all that clean eating day, but I kept my calories low and made the best choices available to me when I chose food. We all got up late for the trip and were rushing around so I did not get to cook my breakfast. So the girls were determined to stop at that same donut shop I take Lauren too. I knew I did not want donuts, so when we stopped for gas at the close by little store I used to work at, I got one of their little breakfast biscuits they make there in the store. I got the sausage and egg one, foregoing the cheese and all the other crap I usually get. It was a total of 300 calories, actually I know it was less, but I wanted to account that much so I would keep my count artificially high as I didn't like the choice. I did the same thing when we bought lunch at Silver Dollar City by inflating my chicken strips calories too high as well. So finally, I get to make good choices last night at Shorty Smalls. I had the teriyaki chicken breast, rice pilaf, and green beans and I was never so happy to have a good calorie value meal in all my life!!! I savored every bite of that meal. So here was my newest aha moment. I got outvoted on where we would have desert. I wanted to go to Braum's for frozen yogurt in a cup. Everybody else wanted to go to the local frozen custard place. So I went along to get along. I came extremely close to making a big mistake!! So everybody ordered the small junior cup and I was having a problem figuring out if I could use the rest of my 300 calories here as there was no nutrition info on the custard. I asked my mother in law what custard was made of and she said basically cream and sugar just like ice cream. Well I hem and hawed and debated and finally ordered a cup, the smallest one with nothing on it. I just had that gnawing feeling in my stomach to not eat it, it was a bad deal, just walk away. But that old habit of everyone else is kicked in and I took a couple of bites, tentatively even begrudgingly I would say. I even had the guy that talked about "you paid for it, better eat it" in my ear screaming. But I just couldn't ya'll. I just couldn't. I could tell it made my family a little weirded out that I was having this battle right in front of their eyes, so I put it to bed, and threw the custard out. It was incredibly awesome! I loved that victory more than any others along this road!! It seems food victories are the sweetest!!! So after all was said and done, I had 1510 calories for sure, and whatever two bites of custard would equal for the day in a situation that would have easily had me at 3000 in the past. I think I am getting this you guys, and I only hope that my getting can help someone else get it too one day. If you are reading this and wondering if you can get here from where you are, yes, yes you can and it will one of the greatest things you will ever accomplish. I promise you, you will bask in the feeling and feel more powerful over your destiny than you ever have!!

To Vickie, Jo, Bridget, Sean, Doc, Christine and Michele, thank you all for the great comments on yesterday's post. You guys are my rocks and I appreciate the encouragement and support you guys give me!!

Day 33 What? I Didn't Go Over the Bank?

I had a heck of a Friday. I got up and got my Shorty around and ready for school. One thing I had worried about when school started back up is that Lauren would want to go to the donuts shop on Fridays like we had in the past. I know it is not healthy for either of us, but my deal is I like that we have something that we do together and she spoke of it often during the summer, even after I started my lifestyle change. So I managed to hold off on a real breakfast by having two tablespoons of the tuna left over mix from the night before. I had worked out and was starving, so I knew waiting another hour was not an option. Lauren indeed did ask for the donut shop and I obliged with the hope that the shop had some healthy choices, but I just had not noticed before. Sadly, the shop did not carry fiber bars or muffins or any other thing that may leave me feeling like I had made a wonderful choice. What I did wind up doing is buying a kolache, or as others may call it, a pig in the blanket, which research wound up calling around 270 calories. With the tuna and the kolache, I wound up doing 370 calories for breakfast, which is a bit above average for me, by like 10 calories, so I was marginally happy with that. I did not pack a snack however. I surprisingly was not starving at lunch, but I don't think I am going to start skipping the mid morning snack just yet as I think it contributes to my metabolic successes I have had of late. So thru lunch I had eaten a total of 755 calories, then the tuna snack left me at 855 calories.

I spoke about going to my friend Bobbie's house in yesterday's blog and one of my worries was saving enough calories for there as I was not sure of what the menu would be. We typically have steak when we go up. But Bobbie knows about my new lifestyle and my commitment to the calorie counting. So she cooked us up some delicious kabobs! It was boneless skinless chicken in Caribbean Jerk sauce and red bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, grape tomatoes! oh it was yummy eating and each kabob stick only had around 120 calories worth of food on it! so on the side she had made corn on the cob, half cobs, and a salad. She had these bottles of I want to say salad spritzers. These things are amazing! I read the nutrition label to find that the one I had, Italian something or other, was only 10 calories for 10 sprays. So I assumed that ten sprays would likely not do much. Wrong! It covered the salad plenty and tasted great!! So all told, I had an estimated, highly at that, 500 calories at supper. But wait I forgot! On the way up to Bobbie's (it is about an hour and a half drive) we all knew supper was going to be late and so we decided that we would grab a small something on the way up. The decision was made that we would stop at Arby's for Junior Roast beef sandwiches. I for some reason had gotten it in my head they were only 150 calories. I later found out they were 270, but it was a no harm, no foul situation as I had not eaten enough calories for the day to go over!!

Now here is the great thing. All day, I had kinda had a fleeting notion to not hold myself strictly to my 1800 calorie bank. "You are doing so well and it is the Branson trip weekend, just be responsible" I told myself at first. Guess what, the real me, wasn't hearing it! I quashed the idea within a second or two the two or three times I thought about it today!! I mean it was not even an option to me!!! Then, when I was debating about the piece of garlic bread I ate last night, I struggled with the idea as I just have gotten so picky about calorie value lately. I had plenty of room for it, but I seriously debate about bread every time now (thanks Christine for putting that in there!!).

So I don't recall if I have mentioned our kittens on here before or not. Dot the cat had a litter of kittens about two and a half weeks ago, four of them. Well she had been doing a fairly good job of keeping them mothered up, but she has began to not do so well the last few days. We lost one this morning and it was the one Lauren and I wanted to keep, the runt. I chalked that up to prolly just the runt not getting fed like the rest, etc. Well when we got home this afternoon, we discovered that the little black kitty had gotten awful weak on us and so we started feeding it milk with a dropper. It had apparently progressed to the point that it was beyond saving and passed away last night as well. We are hopeful the last two will make it. As we were inspecting the other two last night for wellness,we discovered they were covered in fleas! So we stayed up till 2 tonight trying to get them uncovered. Kathy is very fearful that if we bathe them in Dawn, which we know rids the fleas, that Dot won't recognize them as her own and stop feeding them. I was a huge stress ball and worried sick about the kittens, yet I did not feel the need to eat to suppress or make it better! I am really really starting to believe in myself and gain confidence in my ability to make the better choices now a days! I am not to the point that I will stop counting calories, as it is a great comfort to me and keeps me focused, but I can see a point in the next couple of years in which I could possibly forego the process. I have often wondered if that would be possible for me, in fact I wrote a post about it at one point. I just can't believe the great things that Sean Anderson's Blog put into motion in my life! I mean wow folks, wow. It just took that one nudge, that one inspiration, that one "aha!" moment! I admit I have not read all the entries, but I have read most of the beginning and the last years worth and I recommend it to everybody I know that expresses any interest in all in what I am doing to lose weight. I honestly credit Sean for all the new found success I am having and I hope that he is able to get set up to put his message out there for the public to see and take the same inspiration from as I have. So as I just want to salute you Sean Anderson. I know I am doing the leg work, but you planted the seed and made it grow and for that I am eternally grateful!

I have to get up in about 4 hours and get ready to leave for Branson, so I am gonna sign off here with my usual request. Please, keep blogging and sharing your experience with me for the inspiration I get from it, and I will try to do the same for you!

Day 32 A Strange Conundrum

Happy Thursday! I am so excited, I have a half day tomorrow, I get to go visit a good friend who is kindly selling us a nice functional washing machine in exchange for us coming to visit and share a meal with her. I love me some Bobbie Wiley! She is a great friend to have!

At my new job, the building is like 85 percent picture windows. Today I was walking my laptop down to the computer guy at the end of the building. He was trying to get my computer to talk to the network so I can use the wireless printer. He did battle with it all day, but he had to concede at the end of the day and promised to take up the fight tomorrow. Well on one of my several trips back and forth, I happened to look into the window and notice me. I have looked at myself in the mirror a million times since I have started this, but for whatever reason, this glance hit me the hardest. Do I see a skinny guy yet? No. But I also don't see that guy that looks like he is carrying a full term child, and is wagging (yes literally) his belly out in front of him. I love that guy I saw today. He was there the whole time, but I just had to go look for him. There is another, thinner and healthier guy in there too. He is hiding, but lurking and looking to get out of the great hole I dug for him. Slowly, surely, I am lowering that ladder down to him. Hold on guy.

So I haven't talked about it yet, but I have a great mother in law! She is so determined to go ride rides at Silver Dollar City in Branson, she is taking my family and paying the whole way for a weekend! I am really excited to go, but I have a conundrum. I have to make a hard decision between now and then and I have weighed(no pun intended) some of the possible consequences and repercussions of this decision. So I was thinking it honestly looks to me like I have dropped enough inches off this frame to fit most, if not all , of the thrill rides. However, I have two reservations. One being I really want to have a grand triumphant return to Silver Dollar City in March after a long winter of weight loss and healthy exercise and eating. I want to hear trumpets blaring and angels singing as I proudly wait in each line of each ride I have either had to get off of or didn't ride for fear of having to get off of it. I want that so bad! I can taste it! I don't want to take that away from me this weekend. Two being, I have one of two things that could happen on these rides this weekend. I could have greatly underestimated my inches lost, get in line for these things, and still have the disappointment of not fitting at all, or possible having to crush my skeleton to fit in. ORRRRR, I could fit in each ride well, and suddenly think "I got this!" and then lose some of my momentum and drive because I conquered one of my main challenges to myself. I am honestly not drama'ing this up (Lauren hates that term, I tell her to stop drama'ing it up when she is trying to pretend she is going to puke for eating something healthy!)I really am at a point of I can't decide. My initial thought is to ride the rides I have fit on recently, still enjoy myself, and walk away a happy camper in that regard, saving the triumphant return for March. But I really love thrill rides dang it! I welcome any thoughts you may have on this subject.

On to my daily "what I ate". It is kinda crazy, with this new job, I have not lost the urge to exercise, but I have lost the desire to eat during the day. I literally have forgotten the mid morning snack two days in a row, and got my afternoon tuna in late both days. Just not hungry and not looking to eat. So my calorie count has been low when I get home. I took care of that pretty quick yesterday with meatloaf, but today it was tuna wraps in that pita bread and then washed down with cantaloupe, a pickle from the jar mother in law made us, some salsa and chips, half of the chips I threw away and finally I wanted a bit more protein so I ate a couple of ounces of the left over meatloaf from last night. After all that, I am at 1440 calories. I likey. I could get used to this. Oh and one more anxiety this trip has caused me. I was debating the idea of weighing off cycle. I was gonna weigh tomorrow and see if I had made my next goal already. If the scale said 269 for me, I was going to ride the rides. But I decided no, I like the consistency I have been able to build up in my new lifestyle and I am gonna stick with it. I believe Sean nailed it when he said that consistency is the one thing lacking in many "diets", that urge to "reward your good day with a treat", that is poison my friend. It is going exactly against what it is you are trying to do, stop eating irresponsibly. I know weighing is not the same as giving myself a treat day, but as an athlete you get alot of superstitions and it just kinda sticks with you as you go on to being a non athlete. I have been successful doing what I am doing so far, so no good reason to change that!

I feel terrible that I haven't really done much blog visiting today. I have been busy all dang day and then had to come home and do some more work. I got Kathy's tires rotated for the trip too, so that is one less task. I think I have some collateral now to convince her to pack me up for the trip dang it! I hate packing! I promise I will try to do better tomorrow. I love seeing all the great stories and often draw a great deal of ideas and inspiration from many of them. I like every one of the ones I follow too. Most have different tones and it just goes to show, there isn't just one way to go about implementing a life change, there are several. So my bloggy type peeps, keep on inspiring me, and I will try to do the same for you.

Day 31 A New Job And An NSV Or Two

So as you may have heard, I got a new job and started it today!!! I really loved it so much today. I like a challenge and this is areas of the law I don't generally do, so I am learning something new too. Aaaaaand with Cheryl being a mediator, attorneys are in and out of there all the time and guess who got to put several faces to names today. That's right, it was me! I think Cheryl and I both like each other. She decided that I needed to not work off a kitchen table after all and we moved me a makeshift desk to my area and she even let me hang an unclaimed picture of Nolan Ryan with an autographed baseball in the frame over my new desk!! Tell me this isn't a great job already!

So in all the rush and bustle of a new job, I still managed to get over to the track and get in a walk at lunch. It was a bit hotter than I gauged as I walked out the door though, so I will go on over to the nearby Wal Mart tomorrow instead. Of course that was added to the mile and a half that I got in this morning!! I am excited that I got that in and it was a nice cool morning, but I think I am going to go ahead and go back to lifting in the morning and walking in the afternoon. It just works out better timewise. Which leads me to one of my NSVs today. At the track, I remembered that I was thinking I was so much faster the other day at Wal Mart so I decided the next time I was at the track I would time myself. I know I used to do like 5 minutes and some change laps around the standard track, today, just a scooch over four minutes per lap!!!!! And it may sound stupid, but I just feel more powerful. I can't explain what I mean, but I just feel my muscles moving, especially my core muscles and it just makes me feel like..... I don't know, I just can't explain it! As for my second NSV for the day, it kinda took me by surprise actually. I did it then realized that I had done it and made a mental note to post it here. I carry all my weight in the belly, and I mean all. So my big ol' round belly has kept me from being able to squat down for several years now. I was taking some trash out at the office and dropped a magazine as I was walking but I had a box on my shoulder, so I squatted down to pick up the magazine and realized, "holy crap, I just squatted!". Now it was not super easy, but I got back up fairly easily too so that tells me my core is getting better. I say that to say this, I am in pain today from the crunches last night!! I am not in that great of shape, but I am about 40% on my way I do believe!

Eating was super excellent for the day. I had my usual breakfast of cereal, eggs and added half a banana for breakfast and the other half for a snack mid morning. I am so psyched that I realized that I can half a banana, it don't need eat all at once! And for lunch, I had my heat and eat meal that was like 290 calories, and the mid afternoon snack was the usual tuna for muscle building!! Kathy made her famous meatloaf and green beans with mac and cheese for sides. I am so proud that I have sworn off mac and cheese. I had none as it is just a bad bad calorie value. So all told, I had a 600 calorie meal to go along with the other 870 calories from the rest of the day. I wanted a yogurt, but I instead had to eat a Starbird maybe, not sure of the brand, but it was a mixed vegetable steamer packet with like potatoes, roasted red peppers, snap peas and other various veggies. It was a total of 200 calories for the packet and it was yummy! I still have 130 calories in the bank but I just don't feel the need to use them. I am stuffed.

So I don't know who follow Jack Sh*t gettin' fit, but I love the guy, he cracks me up everyday. So in his honor, I wrote a song that is sung to the tune of the song that goes 'why do birds suddenly appear, everytime you are near" only my lyrics go something like this:

Look at pounds
suddenly disappear
holy cow,
where's my rear?
just watch me
I will be
Skinny Shane!!!

Not bad for a first effort by someone that has zero creative talent!

Well bloggers and blogerrettes, I must put the laptop away for the evening. I will see everyone in the morning where I hope to see as many great posts I saw today about weight loss and determination. I keep on being inspired by you guys and I will keep trying to do the same for you!!

ADDENDUM:

So after I originally posted this, I remembered we had bought a cantaloupe that was already good and ripe two days ago, so I went ahead and cut it up. I did have a cups worth for 60 calories, which still leaves me 70 calories shy for the day. It was yummy though! I just had to come and disclose the extra calories in the spirit of me being honest on this blog.

Day 30 Exactly What I Hoped For When I Started Blogging

So this is twice in the last week that I have made a "these posts spoke to me" post in another blog. I got the nod in Christine's blog today. I gotta tell ya, I loves me some Christine. She is totally willing to hold my feet to the fire and make me tell her my menu for the day if she thinks I have somehow slipped or slacked. She is someone I admire very much for her journey and her attitude. So for someone like her to have taken something from my blog, it seriously is an honor. It is exactly what I was shooting for when I started this thing up.

I am not sure what my deal was today, but I was in such a great mood! I was nailing my eating, hit the road early this morning for a mile and a half walk, got the washer taken apart only to find out that it died, cleaned the garage, changed Kathy's oil in her car and grilled some tilapia on the grill for supper. I did have a worthless period from around 1:30 to 3:30 but I had that coming maybe? I dunno. So anyway, the snacking urge just wasn't there, and I went grocery shopping, so that is amazing. Anyone else ever have that situation? You went shopping and one of your purchases so appealed to you that you couldn't wait to get home and finish all of it!!! I used to rush to get home with great excitement for that purchase to "get in my belly!!". I am seriously so proud of how, in just one short month, my attitudes have changed so drastically regarding food. I still have to think about it more than I like, but stopping myself from eating on a whim is pretty easy now. I just use the 'pomp and circumstance" method and voila!

So on to the menu for the day (just for Christine's benefit, so she don't hassle me!):

I had two fried eggs and 3/4 cup of cereal and 2 percent milk, a handful of grapes and half a banana for breakfast (375 calories) and then for a snack about mid morning I finished the banana (50 calories). For lunch, I met Kathy and Lauren at Firehouse Subs and I had the medium cornbeef sandwich, held both the cheese and mayo and came in at 425 calories for the sandwich. I was not all that hungry but I still had some tuna with dill relish and spicy brown mustard for a snack because I am still sore from working out and walking so much lately and I want some muscle rebuilt dang it! The tuna set me back 110 calories and was yummy! So after doing the garage cleaning and oil changing, I set to cooking Kathy, Lauren and me some tilapia on the grill, 100 calories per filet, and Kathy nuked some french cut green beans and boiled a bag of brown rice. Our total supper was a wonderful 340 calories and so dang filling it was surprising!! So while at the store today I bought some plums on a whim for a snack to try and keep the fruit coming. I was so frikkin excited to find out that those bad boys are only 30 calories! So I am now sitting at 1360 of my allowed 1800 calories and the only thing I am interested in eating tonight is maybe some of my yogurt, which will be 80 calories so I most likely will wind up at around 1440 calories for the day, well shy of my 1800 calorie bank!

I was talking to someone today that I saw at the store I used to work at and they asked what I was doing to lose weight. I told them about the calorie bank and explained how limiting your calories makes you start to make good choices rather than eat the crap that has terrible calorie to filling ratio and how if you want to not starve on this diet, you begin to make those changes. They totally got it too! I have told many in the cyber world about my joy in doing this, but that was the first person I talked to personally who took it to heart and I hope to keep spreading the gospel IRL. I am so excited and I just can't hide it!

Ok, I gotta get off here and do some crunches dang it! I switched around my routine by walking this morning, so I gotta do some weight training! I am also gonna troll around and see what bloggers inspire me. I wish I was able to keep up with them and do one of those posts I have been a part of twice now! I need to keep a notebook close by to write those down! So until I see you again, keep on inspiring me and I will try to start writing down when you do.... oh and I will try to do the same for you!!!

Day 29 Not Sure What to Call It

So I spent the majority of the day at home alone today. That is a trap situation for me. I worried what would happen. Well, I am not sure if I really fell in the trap or not. I suppose that in terms of how many times I ate a snack, it was more than usual, however, it was things like a stalk of celery, 4 strawberries, half a cup of grapes, another stalk of celery. So anyway, that was my worry. Seeing it, I guess I was overreacting, but I was worried about it leading further.

I got the job I interviewed for today. I am looking forward to a totally new challenge. I like Cheryl alot already and she has her priorities straight I think. So I start Wednesday and am quite excited. I will miss my peeps at Baker Law Firm, but it is a new chapter.

I hope ya'll got to see my earlier post today with the pictures. I am still in awe of how much different I look with 22 pounds lost. I wonder what the next month will hold.

You have to be kidding me!!

Hey guys, this is not today's post. It is what used to be know in the 40's as and "extra" when big news happened after press. This is not big news per se, but I just got knocked on my butt when Kathy texted this picture of me to me she had on her phone. This is the morning of July 4 this year:




This is me yesterday wearing the exact same shirt:



Talk about shocked! I was floored when she sent me this picture!

Day 28 Fully On Board !!!

Could things get any better? Not sure how but I suppose it is possible. I mean barring an amazing job offer or a lottery win, I just don't know how. This has been the best day because Kathy has decided to commit to this journey with me! She has kinda be semi on board by default, but today she let me know that she is fully full on in this journey with me! She has a bit different approach with calories and that is fine, I am just excited to know that I have a partner! So we decided that today, we would each get pictures made. Hers for her first day and mine for my 275 pound accomplishment. So here is Kathy Day 1



Here are two of me, one head on and the other a side view at 275. I have to admit I actually see myself in my head skinnier than the picture shows. Not complaining though!



So like I said, it was a great day. Kathy, Lauren and I made supper together and it was so good and filling. It was a pork chop each, some spinach, corn, and some boxed cheesy potatoes. MMM MMM it was yummy!

I did my second 5k this weekend today. This time it wasn't about time though, it was about finishing. I did, but quite frankly I was totally wiped out for the rest of the day. I finally managed to get out of the recliner and take Lauren swimming at our favorite swimming hole for awhile and then we made supper together, but I got sleepy alot sooner than normal and can barely keep my eyes open right now. I think I just used up all the glycogen and wore my muscles out. I may just only do a weight workout tomorrow morning and spend the rest of the day letting my legs recover.

Well folks, good night and as always, keep on inspiring me and I try to do the same for you!!

Day 27 Wisdom From a Strange Place

I finally got settled down from the excitement of such a great weigh day. I was just ecstatic all day Friday, and it lasted till bed time, which was even later than usual. I know the next weigh day is not going to be as big a weight loss, I am fully braced for that already. I am just going to keep being consistent like I have been, keeping my activity level up and know that even if the number is smaller, I am not defined by that. There are so many benefits to this new lifestyle that if a number were the only goal I had, I may be in trouble. I would be one heck of a short sighted guy then. I have been that short sighted guy in the past. I am now the guy that sees a much bigger picture. I notice how my back doesn't hurt when I walk for more than 5 minutes, I notice how my shirt, it doesn't cling to me like it used to, I notice that when I go to get up out of my recliner, it isn't nearly the production it used to be, but most of all I notice my smile. It is around alot more than even before. I have always been a happy positive person, but I wonder if Kathy isn't about to hit me in the head for my overly high positive attitude and good mood here lately. I would understand if she was a little annoyed. But dang it, I am happy to see all these things happening, to take them in and enjoy them, knowing that it is only the beginning!

So on to the title. I will probably get blasted over this, and I will take it cause I would do it probably too. But anyway, today I took Lauren to meet Jason and his girls and we all went bowling. Well on the way, I agreed to cede control of the radio to Lauren who promptly chose the soundtrack to that Hanna Montana Movie. Well it has one song on it called "The Climb". I have "heard it" before but never listened to it. I have to say it has a message I took to heart today. One of the lyrics is "there's always gonna be another mountain, always gonna wanna make it move". That is true of this journey. It is not a walk along a white sand beach with waves washing along the shore. It is a hike up the frikkin' Rocky Mountains! There is not only the physical part of the journey, but the mental, much like if you were hiking through the Rockies. It isn't just about climbing the face of the mountain, it is about being confident and sure of your ability to do so. So the song goes on to say "it ain't about how fast I get there, it ain't about what's waiting on the other side, it's the climb!" Truer words have never been spoken. Look folks, this trip is not about that "goal" we have set. It just isn't. This trip is about a metamorphosis. It's about changing you, who you are and what you do. It is about your attitude towards food, exercise and all matters health related. It is about how you handle stress and situations that typically would trigger an over eating binge. It is about finding new ways to think about food, about finding new ways to deal with stress without food as that ever present "rescuer". You aren't really aiming for the "goal" you have set, you are aiming for the new behavior you develop while GETTING TO THAT GOAL!!! Hey I have many times lost weight, I never developed the new habits, the new attitudes. I let the goal be the end all be all. Once I got there, I was done. Yay me. I was concentrating on the wrong thing, I was thinking about what was on the other side of the mountain, not the trip to get there and the valuable lessons learned. I may have made it to the other side, but I didn't get to stay there. That my friend will be the change I make on this trip. I will pay attention to the journey, no matter how long it takes to get there. I will take knowledge from my travels that will make getting to the destination great, but I will always remember the climb from now on.

I totally got my 5k in this morning. I was on fire! It was another day of Zoom Zoom for Shane! I have decided that tomorrow, I am going to get another in and this time I will finish it rather than crapping out at the half way mark. I felt so energized after the walk and I got alot done today

A great thing happened to me today. I follow a very nice lady named Michele , and she said something that made me feel so good! I know the blog is supposed to be mostly about me, but I really want other people to take something from this. I want people to go "man that fat guy is doing it, no reason I can't ". I want to hopefully inspire someone, to make their journey either get started or make it a little easier for them when they encounter a bump in the road, a road block, or any other difficulty. Well Michele posted a few blogs she had gotten some inspiration from during the past week. I made that list and I was so honored and proud to have done so. Thanks so much Michele. It meant the world to me to know that.

I have had a great eating day! Kathy is really starting to take notice and get on board with this lifestyle change. We had all low cal, healthy meals today and it was so nice. I am pretty sure I was in a negative net calorie range for at least until after lunch! I burned more calories during my walk than I at at breakfast, then I push mowed part of my yard too, and that was that much more burned. I may not have gone into a positive net balance of carbs until 2 o clock or so! Kathy finally found those pitas that Sean likes so well at our Wal Mart. Sean is quite right, they are invaluable! Great calorie value, great taste and very versatile. I highly recommend them.

I need to get off here and find a snack to finish the day out. I plan on looking around at some of my blog friends blogs and seeing what they are up to. I hope that they are able to come read mine as well today and take a little something from it. So ya'll keep on inspiring me, and I will try to do the same for you!!

Day 26 Deja vu!!

Day 26 was a good one to be sure!!! I woke up to the alarm as we stayed out late last night to watch the meteor shower and had a great time. It is great to see kids see thing like that for the first time and really be in awe and amazement. Lauren is dead set on us waking her up and letting her see the shower when it peaks. WE told her we would. But I digress. So the alarm goes off and I jump up and do my morning business. Straight to the closet to get the scales and a huge surprise! Another 11 pounds less of Shane and I know am down to 275 from 297 at the start of my journey. That's right, two weigh days in a row and 11 pounds lost in each one! If i do that again, I will be happy and a little freaked... haha. I also lost a inch and a half off my belly. I can't wait till the tape measure is out of the fifty inch range, I will tell you that!!

My next goal is just to get out of the 270's next weigh day, so 269 is my next goal. I don't know how to set a goal for the inches lost, so I'll just keep going till the number begins to be in the 40's I guess. I am debating about starting to do some crunches a couple of days a week starting next week. I know my core is tightening up but I need to get my gut a little better off than it is.

I am going back out tomorrow morning for another 5k. Not sure if I will go around the block or to the trail at Van Buren Park. I think prolly the block. I think I am gonna go ahead and shoot for two in a row again this weekend, but this time I will just keep going even if I have to go slow or take a break in the middle on Sunday.

Oh and I have a dumb little test I do with my steering wheel. I have been trying to fit both my hands between my belly and my steering wheel since this all started and today, I was able to with rubbing a knuckle or anything! Woo hoo!!!

Ok, we are fixing to head out to watch meteors. I hope my progress makes someone else completely motivated and that I can have a positive effect on them the way Sean did me! So keep on inspiring me friends, and I will try to do the same for you.