Shawn

I'm still around...

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:03:56 GMT

I'm still around. The past couple of months have been damn crazy with life, work, et al. It's riding season in a few months again (motorcycles) and I need to get back on the wagon to get better prepared for it.

The diet MUST continue!

It's been a while...

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:02:28 GMT

So the whole diet thing hasn't been working out well for me over the past few weeks. My last weigh in was 2ish weeks ago and I feel like I've made zero progress in that time. I've not even touched my NS food. I feel like I've started to gain weight back as some of the clothes I just bought are feeling a bit more snug then they did when I tried them on. That and just an overall feeling of blah.

Fucking annoyed with myself, that's for sure. I gotta get back on track here. I gotta stop waffling on this. I need to resist those temptations that are thrown my way on a daily basis (D, you throw some too!).

I've actually found it to be more difficult to do the diet now that I'm on the day shift. Perhaps because it's just easier to hop downstairs and grab some food for lunch. That and the whole grocery shopping thing hasn't exactly been on the top of my priorities list.

I finally did my shopping last night and started back on things today. I've not weighed myself nor taken any measurements. I'm going to hold off for a week or two, get myself back in the groove.

That and, damnit, I need the motivation to hit the gym after work! That would be an excellent reason to stop working the 60-70 hour weeks that I'm doing!

Bah. I need sleep. Maybe that will calm me down.

Week 16 Weigh In

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 21:01:20 GMT

Current: 391 lbs

Change: 0 lbs

Total loss: 38 lbs

No change this week. Better then gaining!

Week 15 Weigh In

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:35:17 GMT

Current: 391 lbs

Change: +3 lbs

Total loss: 38 lbs

Pretty well expected that after Las Vegas last week, so no biggie. Back on the bandwagon full bore this morning. :)

Back from Vegas

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 01:19:41 GMT

Back from my vacation in Las Vegas and ready to get back on the diet wagon full bore. I did pretty good while in Vegas, well, except for that 3am country fried steak breakfast. ;) Regardless, everyone could tell that I've lost weight so that made me feel pretty damn good. Funny thing is that I noticed that I fit a *bit* better in the airplane seats...

Just got back from doing my grocery shopping so now I need to prepare my lunch 'sacks' for the week. I've not weighed myself today, though I probably should. I'll hit the scale in the morning and post it sometime tomorrow.

Onward...

Tough diet times

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 05:51:23 GMT

Next week is going to be tough for the diet. I'll be in Las Vegas for a family wedding and, well, not really giving a rat's ass what I eat. It's a vacation for me and I'm going to treat it as such. Vegas is my escape from reality and I'm going to enjoy it.

Of course, the Sunday after I get back & step on the scale, I'll be cursing those buffets and margaritas...

Week 13 Weigh In

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:56:02 GMT

Current: 388 lbs

Changes after week 13: -6 lbs!!!!

Total loss: 41 lbs

I don't know how I did it, but I did. I tried the scale 3 times this morning to make sure it wasn't lying. :)

Week 12 Weigh In

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 04:30:47 GMT

First off.... BEARS WIN!!!

Current: 394 lbs

Changes after week 12: -3 lbs

Total loss: 35 lbs

I can do better then that. I've not been drinking my water like I should, so that will change this week.

Also, I'm starting to do my weigh in on Sunday rather then Monday. It's easier since I'm back to the regular Mon-Fri schedule

Week 11 Weigh In

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 01:05:42 GMT

Start: 429 lbs

Current: 397 lbs

Change after week 11: -2 lbs

Total loss: 32 lbs

Let's see if I can bump that up over the next few weeks...

DROP IT! Challenge & Goals Update

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:37:12 GMT

Alright, time to give a long overdue update to my DROP IT! challenge:

On my two month mark, I wanted to:
-- Weight below 400
-- Drop a total of 6" from my waist.

I've succeeded in going below 400, but my waist inches has not changed. My bicep, chest, and quad measurements did drop though. I have to get back to work on that one...

Starting Sunday August 26th, i wanted to:
-- Work out 4 days a week, minimum. Including lifting and 30 mins of cardio work each day.
-- Stop cold turkey on pop (or soda for you non-midwesterners)

Well, I did work out a few times since then, but nothing with any regularity. I've also been unsuccessful at going cold turkey on the pop. I've started drinking Diet Snapple Green Tea quite a bit, though. I do not buy pop to keep at home anymore, but when I go out or while at work, it's easy to just reach for a Diet Pepsi. It could be worse....I could be going for a Coke or Mt Dew! I'm really not all too upset that I didn't meet this particular goal, but someday, I would like to stop drinking the soda.

By March 2008, i wanted to be at 300 for my brother's wedding. Well, if you read further in my postings, you'll see that my brother has gotten married a bit ahead of time. So I need a new goal & timeframe.

The DROP IT! Goals
Maintain 3 lb/week loss at a minimum by:
-- Sticking to the diet 7 days a week!!
-- Regular work outs
By Christmas time, be down to 350 lbs
By July 2008 (one year after starting NS), be at or below my goal weight of 250 lbs.

I may end up readjusting my goal weight based on how I feel as I approach it. The BIG factor will be what size clothes I'll be wearing.

So there we go...onward....

Week 10 Weigh In

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:23:34 GMT

I did weigh in on Monday, but never posted....so here it is.

Start: 429 lbs

Current: 399 lbs

Change after week 10: 0 lbs

Total loss: 30 lbs

Held steady, that's good.

Oh, where to start...

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:18:58 GMT

So outside of the weigh-ins, this is my first post in a while. There's been a lot happening in my life lately that has really driven the diet, more or less, out of site for me. Let's see if I can remember everything that's happened over the past few weeks/month....

First the good:

-- My brother got married! Yep, him & my now sister-in-law (wow...weird to say) married last Wednesday in a private ceremony. It wasn't necessarily eloping, but it was something they wanted to do. I'm ABSOLUTELY thrilled for them and glad that they did what they wanted to. That does also mean I need to rework my weight loss goals a bit, though...

-- I got a promotion at work! I found out about it about 3 weeks ago and had to keep things under wraps until it was announced last Friday. Now that it's official, things are starting to role. This means no more graveyard work for me, at least not on a regular basis. I will be managing the department I have been working in for about 3 years, so there will be times were I'll have to be online late to help with issues. This also means I'll be on a more normal Monday thru Friday schedule, or as I refer to it, I'll be a day walker again. I'm hopeful that this will help me in regulating my diet more now that I have the structure. It also means that I'll be walking quite a bit more during the day...as in running to and from meetings all day! Yeah...the bad with the good, I suppose.

And now the not-so-good:

-- Dating sucks. I met a really awesome girl last week that I clicked with extremely well. She spent the weekend with me as well as overnight last night. Well, I'll probably never see her again as she has decided to move back to Indiana and felt she wasn't as ready as she thought she was for something real. This has been the most interested I've been in someone for a while and, once again, it's gone nowhere. I'm seriously thinking that staying single during my dieting period is going to be a VERY smart idea. I find that when I'm out with someone, I don't even THINK diet or portion control. I just have a good time all around, including in the foods I eat. And being the traditionalist that I am, I always pay for my dates. That shit gets EXPENSIVE!!! So single life shall continue...

-- D has had some tough times lately with her episodes. This past weekend, she had two. One Friday night after we were all out for the night and again on Saturday after we all went to a demolition derby. It started during the demo derby, a friend gave her a pill to help ease the pain, but it turns out it was something she was allergic to. Yeah, needless to say, it wasn't a pretty sight. On the way home, she said she had to go the ER so I booked it to the closest ER to my condo. The doctors there believe she is having seizures due to past head trauma...something that NO other neurologist has even considered. Sigh...we'll see where this one goes. It really kills me seeing her like this.

-- The puppy. Yes, D found me a puppy dog. A bit of background...I'm a dog lover and always have been. When I bought my condo, I was on the fence about getting a dog since I don't believe in keeping them couped up inside all day. Earlier this year, I rescued a pup but it didn't work out. He was yipping all the first night and there was a complaint lodged against the HOA on it, so I opted to return him to the rescue. I was starting to get to the point of finding another pup when D brought over Jack. This was about a month ago. She found him wandering on the side of the road, checked for a chip and nothing. She tried to give him to others but no one would take him. So I decided to take him in, thinking I'm almost ready so let's give it a go. Well, I wasn't. Had him for about a week and he was an abolutely AWESOME puppy. Very mellow, cool, he listened, and didn't have that many puppy-type accidents. But I just could not get attached to him. At all. I hate to say it, but I resented him being there and I really cannot explain why. D and I also went through a rough patch there as I had a bit of a feeling that she forced him on me, but that's blown over. Last I heard, Jack was adopted by another family, but that's all I know. I still feel like an absolute turd for not allowing myself to open up to him, but I can't force something like that.

-- Money and bills and debt. Need I say more? Thankfully with my promotion is also coming a raise. With that, I should be able to pay things down a bit more and I'm also starting in on my 401k again, which i DESPERATELY have to do.

So there's the catch up, at least the major points of the past month or so. Now what? Well, time to get back on track and refocus on me in a more positive light. This promotion is the start of something new for me and I feel I need to renew myself and my energy in focusing on myself. The regular schedule will help in maintaining the diet and I WILL start a regular workout schedule as well. Things are looking up and that's what I need.

Monthly Measurements

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:24:06 GMT

Month 3 Measurements:

Area - this month (to date)
Bicep - Down 3/4" (down 2.5")
Chest - Down 1 1/2" (down 3.5")
Waist - No change (down 3")
Quad - Down 2" (down 3")

So the waist hasn't changed in the past month, which I'm not terribly surprised at. I am finding, though, that my fears may be coming true in that my waist/stomach may be the area that I don't lose the weight very fast. Sigh.

Onward...

Week 9 Weigh In

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:09:10 GMT

Start: 429 lbs

Current: 399 lbs (!!!!!)

Change after week 9: -4 lbs

Total loss: 30 lbs

YES! No longer a 400 pounder!

Week 8 Weigh In (a day late)

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 23:29:31 GMT

Start: 429 lbs

Current: 403 lbs

Change after week 8: +2 lbs

Total Loss: 26 lbs

I have a theory or two on this which I'll blog about later... Not too pleased with myself, though.

Overall, a bad weekend for dieting

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:45:56 GMT

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. This weekend severely sucked from a dieting perspective, and a lot of other perspectives for that matter. Some things that I *really* need to keep in mind...

-- When I get stressed, I crave comfort food. I need to have it, and in mass quantities.

-- When I don't want to think about something, when I want to avoid drama that involves me, I look for an escape and part of that is...you guessed it...food.

-- I still have a problem with bored eating. Sitting in front of the TV, on the computer, whatever. If it's free time, I'm going to chow down.

During my (odd) work week, it's pretty easy since I have the structure to my day. The days off tend to be all over the place so my eating habits follow that same habit. This is one of the places that personal accountability, responsibility, and self-discipline are going to have to come into play. I've talked about it before and it's just rearing its ugly head more and more these days.

Alright, I'm on the train home now...at 8:45am. The joys of the graveyard shift! Home, sleep half the day, wake up for a conference call, back to sleep for a few hours, then back to work. This is NOT going to be a fun day.

Week 7 Weigh In

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 15:55:04 GMT

Start: 429 lbs

Current: 401 lbs

Loss after Week 7: 1 lb (grrr...)

Total Loss: 28 lbs

Eh, at least I'm losing. I wasn't exactly on plan all of last week either so this really doesn't surprise me much. On the bright side, I did do some walking last week, tho only 3 days of working out rather then 4. Just need to keep with it...and with staying away from the temptations!!

Damn you ComEd!

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 09:08:13 GMT

So I'm at home, getting ready for work tonight, and at 6:30pm the power goes out. I call up and find out that power won't be restored until 10:15pm so, well, there goes dinner for me at home. It never even occurred to me until after I left to bring a dinner in with me & fix it at work. So, instead I had a salad in the dark and..ugh...taco bell...when I got in. I was good about it, but still would really have preferred to have brought in my meal.

Wow, I actually said I preferred an NS meal over Taco Bell. What the hell is going on with me...

DROP IT! Challenge Long Team Goal

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:37:32 GMT

Alright, here's the #1 long term goal from my DROP IT! challenge.

My brother is getting married sometime around mid-March next year. I have the honor of being his best man, so I want this to be as great of an experience for him as possible. I'm really thrilled to see him with such a great woman and to see him completely happy with his life.

So, I figure, I'll throw a bit of a curve ball in there & surprise them when the time comes. :)

The wedding is about 6 months out. 6 months...26 weeks.

By the time the wedding comes, I want to be 300lbs or below. That works out to being a 4lb/week loss on average. Based on my loss rate thus far, I think it's quite possible for me to reach that goal, or get close to it (like within 20 lbs).

So there we have it. Who wants to join in with me on this little challenge endeavor? :)

DROP IT! Challenge Update

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:25:47 GMT

Alright, so things didn't really start on Sunday...rather Monday...

Started working out yesterday and planning on sticking with it. The gym I go to actually has some good people there, so I don't know why I let that little insecurity get the better of me. You know, that insecurity that I'm going to be scrutinized and ridiculed. Petty and childish, I know...

Didn't have any pop since brunch on Sunday and feeling no ill effects from it, which is nice.

Oh, and of course, 2 lbs from being under 400. Hopefully meet that one next weigh in. The measurements will have to wait until the 2 month mark as I don't want to half-ass it.

Onward into the fray we continue...

Week 6 Weigh In

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:08:32 GMT

Start: 429 lbs

Current: 402 lbs

Loss after Week 6: 5 lbs

Total Loss: 27 pounds

Another weekend, another binge

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 09:41:54 GMT

Well, I guess it was a bit of a binge, but it was completely pre-meditated as well. I knew I needed one meal that would just satisfy my cravings for 'good food.' Well, Sunday brunch at my favorite pizza place definitely did that. There was a time that I could completely chow down at those things, but after a couple trips to the buffet, I was beyond stuffed, damn near sick...and felt that way for the rest of the day. Still...was good stuff. :)

The bored eating struck again too. Downed an entire bag of multi-grain goldfish Saturday night/Sunday morning. Ugh...that shit has got to stop.

Today is weigh in day, later on this morning actually. We'll see if that hindered the progress...I hope not.

Ugh...

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:36:42 GMT

Man, I'm hungry. Had my lunch an hour & a half ago and my stomach still feels completely empty. This is going to be one of those mornings that I'll have to fight the urge to get a breakfast burrito downstairs. Probably going to be white knuckling this one...

Here's hoping that massive quantities of fine quality H2O help do the trick...

Challenge time!

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 05:32:03 GMT

So here I am, in the midst of my 5th week on NS. I'm down 22 pounds and feeling good about things so far. I have some concerns that I'm working through as far as dedication (binge eating, gorging, bored snacking, etc) and those will come together in due time. My working out also hasn't quite materialized as I wanted it to and that's solely due to my lack of motivation.

Thus, it's time to challenge myself a bit here. Here's the outline/plan:

Starting Sunday August 26th:
-- Work out 4 days a week, minimum. Including lifting and 30 mins of cardio work each day.
-- Stop cold turkey on pop (or soda for you non-midwesterners)

Obviously, these are ongoing challenges to myself. So I need to setup some goals to achieve with my challenge:

On my 2 month mark (September 16th):
-- Weigh BELOW 400 lbs
-- Drop another 3 inches from my waist

I call this the DROP IT! challenge. I'll figure out more goals as time goes on, but this is a good start I believe. Please leave your comments, ideas, thoughts!

Monday Weigh in

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:52:50 GMT

Monday weigh in: 407.

That's another 2 lbs down for a total of 22 lbs in 5 weeks.

:)