Tiny Bubbles....

Come on sing along you know the words........ One of my biggest challenges has been finding time to exercise. Truth be told I probably have just not made it as important to myself as it should be. I promised this week to get at least 3 15 minute sessions in by weigh in on Friday. So far so good. Someone on the WW boards gave me an idea to find a time to exercise and then slowly find another time to do so and before i know it I would be exercising on a regular basis. With the arrival of Spring I have found my Wednesday (or Thursday) grass cutting to be a good hour to hour and half moderate walk so I have one day down. I have been trying to find time to walk around my building at work a little each day and that seems ok. I think my next real addition is going to be my Friday morning swim. My WW meeting is 3 blocks from the YMCA I belong to (and rarely use) The pool is open for open swim on Friday mornings and I usually hang around a little extra time with my daughter so I do not have to drive twice. So this week I will leave a little earlier and swim before weigh in. Not sure if it will effect weigh in numbers but not really concerned. So sing along and I will keep you informed ...... Tiny Bubbles........ ( not sure I want to know where those bubbles are coming from!!!!!!!!!)

1 flex point

Today was a great day..... It was my daughters birthday and we had a very good time. My solution to taking her to breakfast was doing extra circles and letting her play some pegal this morning before we were off to school (daycare). Circles? I am very fortunate that my work schedule is very flexible. I can get up in the morning do some work on the computer and hang out with her until 9 or 9 30 before I head to the office most mornings. My wife think day care is great for her. Her school teaches her so much, especially social skills. Anyway, she like to go around the culdesacs in the neighborhood before school and we have kind of made a game of it. Well this morning we did extra circles and even went past school ( she thinks that is funny). she even made drawings for her friends. She wanted to give them gifts on her birthday ( talk about being a proud papa). Anyway, I did great on water today, again exceeding my goal and did great on veggies. As I totaled up dinner from my daughters favorite pizza place I found that I actually needed to use one flex point...... guess I better get some exercise in to get an activity point!!!!!!!! Strong week continues to go well........ I will keep you posted

14 1/2 hour day but on plan

Talk about a long day. I started at 7:00 a.m. and it is now 10:20 p.m. I have been home since about 8:30 but I knew today would be tough. I planned ahead and packed all i would need I exceeded my water goal. Probably a little short on activity and did well with veggies. Tomorrow will be a good day cause it is my baby girls 4th birthday and it does not get much better than that. I thought about taking her to breakfast but want to find a better way to celebrate with her in the morning that does not revolve around food.. Maybe we will do extra circles ( I'll explain some other time).. 4 days left till weigh in and the start of the strong week is going well.......

A lump of butter

That is what I feel like today.... I did absolutely nothing all day. I just needed a non-active veg out day but it went a little further than even I had planned. No projects around the house, no work, nothing. The bad part is NO ACTIVITY. I literally did nothing. I mean nothing. I did climb the stairs a few times and grilled out some chicken but that was the extent of my day. This is the plan....... Strong on plan this week with most points going to veggies and fruit. The only exception will be some pizza on Tuesday night for my daughters birthday dinner ( her choice of restaurant and I will order a salad to cut down on the pizza consumption) Lots of water and at least 15 minutes a day of exercise ( One day will include cutting the grass so we will exceed 15 minutes)...... I will keep you posted on how my goal is going

Thought I missed another day?

Well, technically I did. Technically is the key word here. I went the entire day yesterday without looking at, touching or turning on a computer. And I thought WW was hard. Yesterday was the celebration day for my daughters 4th birthday and I swore I would not spend any of it using a computer. I did good. Had some cake, was social but did not snack really at all. well within points... So I will post again today for today. I am still at peace with the small weight gain and I am sure come Friday when I weigh in again that all will be right with the world.......

My first GAIN!!!!!!

I have to say that I am not as disappointed as I thought I would be. I gained .4 pounds. I looked back at my tracker and I did not go over on points.( I used 2.5 flex points) and I had 8 activity points for the week. The big difference in comparison is that I did not do too well on water, I drank far more diet pop instead and my food selections were more carb rich instead of leaning towards more fruits and veggies. I am hoping that this is the reason for the gain. Working for a better week this week.

worn OUT

and allergies are killing me... going to bed early..... weigh in tomorrow a.m. I will let you know....

I broke my belt today....

Yeah on the surface that would seem like a bad thing. It is one of those reversible belts. You know black on one side brown on the other. You just twist the buckle and presto you have a different color belt. Well I broke the metal, not the leather and it was not from putting too much fat stress on it ( i guess not anyway). When I began to examine the belt I noticed that I had a new pattern that had been worn down and IT WAS 3 NOTCHES DOWN FROM WHERE I HAVE BEEN WEARING MY BELT. One of those days that was tough and seeing that just made me say OK this is working. There is more to this than a number on a scale.......Tomorrow is weigh in eve... always a tough day for me for some reason. The good news is that end of the month stress at work is minimal this month since everything is getting done early..... Anybody know where I can buy a new belt?????????

Exercise,Exercise, come on everybody do your exercise

Was that from Saturday morning "school house rock"? I do not think so but it was from somewhere in my child hood. Today was a great day for NSV for me ( Non-scale victory). First of all I passed a big social food test. The "guys" wanted to go to the "Chinese buffet" for lunch. I did not want to be the social party pooper but buffets are what helped me get like this in the first place. I did some quick research and found that if I stuck to the steamed dumplings and hot and sour soup (which i love) i could survive this and still not feel like I was deprived.... All went well and I am very proud.

Came home and cut the grass. No blisters this week (read post from about 10 days ago about assistant greens keeper and you will know what I mean. A good solid 75 minutes of moderate walking and I feel like a million bucks.........

Miss a Day , Miss alot

WOW. It looks like I did not post yesterday. I was shocked to hear this because I was convinced that I did. It looks like, in my mind, that I thought Saturdays post was what I did Sunday. I swear I am not delusional from lack of food or anything ( I could live off the fat of the land for months to come) I really thought that I had posted. We had a long and prosperous weekend completely redoing the bathroom with new floor, new paint, new lighting, etc..... So I guess it could have been the paint fumes. The bottom line is that I was active. My wife and I are both finding it easier to get motivated to do things and have the energy to do them. I think I have said it before but it is amazing how little you think of food when you are keeping busy. I wonder how much I have eaten over the years out of shear boredom? You know, not actually hungry but since I was not doing anything else that I would eat something and as I gained weight what I vicious cycles that became......... just a thought

Moving Forward

Last night I left off with talking about moving forward. This was because my wife and I had just gotten done watching "Balboa" . I know it another Rocky movie ( still love the song) , I think it is like Rocky 72........ Whatever you think of the Rocky franchise you have to admit that each movie usually has a great message embedded somewhere. Well Stalone gave us a great one this time..... at least I think so....... Basically he said " It is not how hard you can hit. It is how hard of a hit you can take and still get up and keep moving forward" I have to admit it was like a light bulb going off for me. Truer words have never been spoken .. Life is full of all kind of challenges. Moving forward may be the biggest............

Goodbye 350's

Today it became official. I lost 1.8 pounds to hit 349. No more 360's, no more 350's EVER...... I have lost 15.2 pounds in 7 weeks ( ahead of my expected pace). I have to say I feel great about what I have accomplished. I feel tons better and know that it will only get better as I move forward. And that is the key moving forward............

Post 48 is almost late!!!

I got so into working tonight on a project that I almost forgot to make my daily post. The good news is that I was not sitting around thinking about what I am going to eat. Weigh in is in the morning and here is hoping that we are done with the 350's. I will let you know....... time for bed now ( Dan I know you are still up!!!!!!!!)

High Water

I said hell or high water i would exercise 15 minutes today and based on my walk at lunch today I would say I pretty much qualified. It was a beautiful day and it did me good both physically and mentally to get out and get some fresh air. The one thing I need to remember in sub conscious mind is that feeling that exercise gives of reducing hunger. Lets face it, you just are not as hungry after you exercise ( I know walking a few minutes at lunch is not much of a workout but you need to start somewhere) Lets get one more in before Friday weigh in.

Tax day was taxing

Ok so I had to pay taxes. The good news is that it was not as bad as I thought. I have to say that today was tough on the food front. Here it is about 830 and I only have 3 points left. That is unusual for me. No doubt about it I am a stress eater. I also did not eat very healthy today. Lots of carbs little veggies and fruit. I will have to do something about that. I know the answer is to replace the stress relief of eating with exercise but once again I am having trouble with motiviation on the exercise front. Believe it or not I am still trying to heal my blisters from grass cutting.. 15 minutes tomorrow come hell or high water I will exercise

If only......

It were as easy to lose weight as it is to lose not only the computer file of last years taxes but the printed version too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No Grand Slam

Tiger will not win the grand slam this year..... The Reds were swept by the Pirates........ but you know what. I had a good day. It was Daddy daughter day and we had a blast at the Depot and painting together. She did water colors I did the door ( she is 3)........ I end the day with points left but very satisfied and without the need to get them all in today......... Let us see what this week will bring. I hope to be done with the 350s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Support

I posted yesterdays blog on the WW site and while not surprised by the level of support I was pretty stoked by the great advice in putting the loss of 1 pound into perspective. This is not a one week plan. this is a new way of eating healthy. My body will follow. We had dinner with a friend tonight and while it was healthy food it was prepared with a little more fat, etc than I have been used to in the last 6 weeks. I have a little heart burn. Kind of funny that I used to eat like that and more all the time.......... Even passed on the 200 calorie 11 gram of fat cookie... Ok I had half for 2 points but in the past I would have had at least 1 if not 2 or more........ So slow and steady is the race.

Slow and steady wins the race

But it ticks me off. I only lost one pound today. Now grant it I lost so i should be happy but I really wanted to be done with the 350's.. I am not at 350.8.... I just can not seem to get a good steady, higher weight loss like I have done in the past. I always stay within my points. I rarely use flex points and if I do I limit them to the first part of my week. I guess my lack of exercise is the issue it is all I can say it could be.... I am doing everything else right. I guess I could be wrong about being upset of 13.4 pounds in six weeks but come one guys we are supposed to lose weight faster.............

Asst. Greens Keeper needs Ibubrofen

Remember Bill Murray in "Caddy Shack"? I thought about him today as the 2008 Masters started and decided I needed to do a little greens keeping in the yard before our beautiful 70 degree weather turned to 40 and rain........ :-( Our lot is a little less than an acre and I decided that a good activity would be to push mow the yard after work..... I also had thrown away my "outside tennis shoes" at the end of last year and decided to wear my golf shoes instead (kind of where the "Caddy Shack" reference comes in) Good News is that I had about 2 hours of moderate activity, the most I have done in MONTHS. The bad news is that I can barely move, I have blisters on my feet from my golf shoes and I have some kind of rash they have not identified ( another stupid movie reference from "City Slickers").. I feel good about my activity and looking forward to weigh in.................

God Bless You

God made the trees bloom overnight............and allergy season has officialy arrived in our home.... AAAAAAAAA CCCCCCCHHHHHHOOOOOOOOO See you in the a.m.

all quite on the home front

You know I took a mental health day today and did some work around the house. It was a good day. No real food challenges ..... so I will leave it at that for today.......

H2O

Yesterday when I said I did not get enough water in. Boy, did I mean it. My body is craving it today. No I did not eat anything salty but I am working on ounce 72 today.... yeah I said 72. Another good day and feeling pretty strong. Still have not done a damn thing about exercise. I can not for the life of me figure out why I do not want to get motivated enough to do so. One real motivation for losing weight slapped me in the face again today. Diabetes! No I do not have it nor do I ever want to get it . A very dear friend of mine, who had diabetes since he was a kid, died today after a long battle with complications from the disease. I will miss you Steve and my only regret is that I wish I could have been a better friend to you. You were truly one of the good guys.........

The good, the bad, and the loss of the ugly

The good is that it was almost 70 today and was great day to be out in the yard working, playing and just getting some fresh air. My wife and I had a great day getting lots of early spring cleaning done outside and capped off the day with grilling turkey burgers on the grill... Her own special mixture of turkey and seasoning and it was GREAT...... real great family time also.

The bad is that I did not write anything down that I ate until 9:00 pm tonight!!!!! That is a first in 37 days. I just was not near a computer today. Now i see why the paper method may have some benefits. Sitting down and recreating was difficult but I do not believe that I missed anything and am still within my points range except I did not get enough water in.

The loss of the ugly is that I measured again today and I have lost the following.

3 inches off of my chest!!!!!!!
2.75 inches off of my waist!!!!
.75 off of my arm!!!!!

That is a huge NSV for me

10%

10% of our time is up already? This is day 36. I can not believe that time is flying like it is. In 36 days I have learned a lot. I have learned how I eat, why I eat and how, over time, I will take this weight off. I am reminded every day my motiviation is counting on me, my family. I have lost 12.4 pounds. I will never see the 360s again and soon I will never see the 350s again. I have lost inches. I feel more comfortable in my clothes. I have to get exercise to be my way of life. That is the goal going into 20 %

1.4 MORE

1.4 more pounds are gone. May not sound like a lot. We have all been spoiled by the Biggest Loser Show. I, unfortunately, do not have the ability to work out 8 hours a day. Hell I can not seem to work out 10 minutes a day. I am going to change that this week... 1.4 pounds more that I will never see again....... Tomorrow is a mile stone Day 36..... 10% of the way through my journey.................

Weigh in Eve and I am not being creative

Ok so I have been writing a lot of stuff just to say i wrote on the blog today. I am going to do it again tonight. Tomorrow is a big weigh in. Trying for 2 losses in a row. Actually, I have lossed every week I just do not count the .2 lbs week........ This weekend we will get pictures and new measurments and a more fun blog to read.....

Work or Eat?

The amount of planning that it takes when I know I am going to have a long day at work is amazing. I hope that as I get use to my new life style that I am able to find a way to make better choices. The nice thing about WW is you can eat anything as long as you control portion and make good choices. Again, my problem is getting home at 8 or 9 at night and having 25 points left. So here again I hope I am not sabotaging myself by not getting all my food in........ weigh in in 2 days

Have to eat.

I know I have said this over and over but it amazes me how much you have to eat. What I mean is that here I am again at 9:30 with lots of points left. I came home starving and had 29 points left!!!!! Way to many. Means I did not eat enough this morning or at lunch. I have to find a solution to this problem.