FatMan's Almost Daily Rant - Weigh In Results!!!

I missed posting yesterday, so I'm going to do an early one today. Just FYI, the scale gods were good to me yesterday. Even with the relaxed regime I did in the week leading up to the weigh in, I still came in with a 2 lb loss which I will take to the bank all day long. That puts me at 17.4 lbs down since my journey started a little over a month ago. I really feel that that 2 lbs was not earned but it happens. I was really expecting a gain. I guess I didn't fall too far out of wack with at least a loss. Like I said before, I really didn't fall back into the usual rut and kill soda and sweets. I did have some sweets but definitely no sodas. I don't want to get in the habit of doing that though because that is exactly how it has happened every other time. I do good up to about 10 or 15 lbs and then I slack off and add back that 10 or 15 plus another 10 or 15. I think I am better prepared now than back then though as I have others watching and keeping up with my progress.

Also just because I didn't post yesterday, it doesn't mean I didn't do the work. I put in my 30 minute walk again almost as soon as I got home and I also did a small 10 minute walk at work. The walk at work though was cut short because my back started up again and I didn't have my brace to help me. Also the shoes I wear to work are on their last leg and have absolutely no support left in them. I think I may start bringing my back brace and wearing my walking shoes to work everyday so I can get some time in. The only thing stopping me is the fact that my feet have a swelling problem at times and it makes the shoes a little uncomfortable after I have them on for a while. I don't want to get stuck having to be uncomfortable at work, but the benefits may outweigh the risks.

I'm also still plugging away dietarilly (is that even a word...lol). I eat my breakfast have a super light lunch and then a sensible dinner. I was trying to totally cut out carbs or reduce them to very low levels but it looks like it's not come to that yet. I plan to continue to eat like this until I plateau off in weight loss and then maybe strict down. Still no sodas and nothing from the snack machine at work.

The hardest thing I think I have to face right now is the getting up at 5 am. I REALLY want to walk early in the morning and then maybe a smaller walk at night and/or do some dumbbell workouts. Getting up that early though is like pulling teeth. I really need to get in the bed earlier but for some reason I just don't do it. The first few weeks on this new lifestyle, I was hitting the sack at 9:30 pm and I had no issue getting up at 5 am. Now I sometimes don't get into bed until 11 pm and if I have a lot on my mind, I wont drift off to sleep until 11:30 pm or even 12 am. Honestly, I know what it is but its hard to give it up. It's gaming showing it's ugly head again. I get on my game and it draws me in and that's it for the night. I have built out a schedule for myself and hopefully I can instate it starting tonight.

Today, with the weather as beautiful as it is, I think my concentration will be on yard work. I need to mow the grass and all that fun stuff so that will count as my walk today. With it being on the cool side, I don't mind mowing the grass so much but when it turns hot, I loathe it. Actually the only reason I don't mind it now is the fact that it gives me a good workout. I'm sure it still will in the summer, but with my allergy to humidity, it's a little harder. We'll see how things shake out. Who knows I may feel a little differently about mowing the grass once some of this weight is off.

Before I go, I have to get something off of my chest that REALLY irks me. My place of employment has a wellness plan that is technically optional. They say it is "optional" but if you don't do their screening and health assessment, your insurance rates go up a stupidly high amount. With that said, I have signed on and I'm doing my thing to get points for this wellness plan. I understand the need to reign in medical costs and I think the idea of a wellness plan is a general good idea. I don't like the fact that we are basically forced to do and "optional" plan, but so be it. If it gets me healthy then I'll jump through a few hoops. Thing is it seems my company is dead set against this. Every workplace promotion they set into place has something to do with food. They also are constantly bringing food trucks out front to sell some of the most unhealthiest foods known to man. The other day my company launched a big new product and how did they celebrate? They had a vendor bring in coffee and high end cinnamon muffins. Not only this but they put it right up front where you had to walk by them not only as soon as you walked in the door but also all through out the morning. Then after the vendors time was up, guess what they left? A HUGE tray of cinnamon muffins. It was everything I could do not to eat at least a dozen or so of those muffins. Then today I get to work and they come around passing out tickets. I inquire about what the ticket was for and they tell me they are bringing in and ice cream truck today and that ticket is for my free ice cream. I mean REALLY? You force us to jump through hoops to get healthy and then you offer us this free food that isn't even close to being compliant? Now they say it was free but somebody had to pay for each one of those tickets, muffins, burgers, dogs, or what ever the flavor of the weeks is. My thing is, if you were truly concerned about your employees weight, why not take all that money you spend on that crap and offer us a gym membership, or at least a discount at a fitness club. It makes me so sick to see this. Either they don't think, or they don't care, both of which really bites my butt. If I was smart about it I would have gone out there with my ticket and got the ice cream and threw it right in the trash. Thing is I don't think I have that much self control yet.

Anyways, I'll jump off my soap box. So far it's been a good day and I refuse to let this sour it. I am going no where near that truck and when I get home, I will mow the lawn and enjoy the night. I might even try to break out the dumbbells tonight and see if I can really tire myself out to fit my schedule.

Yall Be Great!

Night Before Weigh-In And All Is Quiet

Today I had a TON of school work to catch up on. I let myself slide a little on that too and that is a dangerous thing to let happen. The end of the semester is fast approaching and I am not looking forward to exam week. These classes have made me start to question my field of study choice so I think I'm going to take a day off in the near future and go in to get counselling. It's funny because the class that I thought I would be having issues in ends up being the one I'm acing and the one that I thought I would ace ends up being the problem class. Ah well, all I can do is hunker down and get ready for it the best I can.

One thing that shocked me into action today is one of my friends at work who is younger than me was out of work all last week. With me being gone Thursday and Friday last week, I thought nothing of it. Well, when I came in today, he told me he was in the hospital having 2 stints put in his heart. I thought he was joking at first and kind of laughed but then I realized he wasn't laughing. This dude is about the closest to my situation as you can get. He has been over weight all of his life and went on a fad diet and lost a ton of weight only to see it jump back on him. It's the same guy I was commenting on walking with to the store the other day and him about wearing me out. I couldn't believe it. Here's this dude struggling with weight just like me and just out of the blue he gets admitted and stints put in. I don't know what to say but I got to get moving! Scary thing is that some of the symptoms that he was describing that drove him to go to the doctor, I have felt in the very near past. It's shocking to see someone so young going through something like that. If you would of lined up 100 people and told me to pick out the one with heart problems, he would have been the last one I chose. I'm beginning to think someone is trying to tell me something.

Anyway, I heard today that nothing drives people to church like the devil nipping at their heals and I think I can relate that to my weight loss journey because that's all it took for me. I did a walk at work and came home and headed straight out and walked the green way with the Ms. I could really tell the difference those 2 weeks set me back. My back wasn't the issue this time thanks to the "Amazing Brace", how sweet the sound =P. This time its my legs and knees. I powered on through it and got my 30 minutes in but it was not as easy as it was 2 weeks ago.

So tomorrow is the big Weigh In day and I get to see what damage was done on my 2 week absence. I don't really think it will be too bad, but you never know. If the scale gods are bad to me tomorrow, I know what I did wrong and I have already taken steps to correct it. If they are good to me tomorrow, well it will motivate me even more to get my big butt out there and move.

Also I missed my morning walk that I was supposed to do at 5 am this morning. I am not a morning person and not getting to bed at a decent time costs me sleep and that is a recipe for disaster for me. I say that and l;looking at the clock it's already 11:05 pm. WOW... I better be signing off.

Stats for today:  9584 steps, 4.52 miles, and 7 flights of stairs.

And as I leave yall with that, again I want to thank yall for yall's support and keeping me on my toes. It really means the world to me.

Yall Be Great!

Day #16: And It's Weigh In Part Deux!!

WOW! That's all I can say. My wife and I decided to take the kids along with the dog to the trail we walked yesterday. I'm going to have to think about what I was thinking because I hit that trail like it was a free buffet! I was zoned and before I even realized it, I was at our stopping point. There's a nice bench there where I take a quick rest before starting back. Once again the back raised its ugly head and let me know, almost exactly 10 minutes into the walk like clock work, how much I can't wait for this back brace. I pushed on through though. We ended up walking for 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back. My wife took the spazoid dog on the way in so I could concentrate on nothing but keeping pace. I took him on the way back to give her a rest from his darting all over at every squirrel. I really didn't start giving out until the last 1/4. I couldn't talk a complete sentence and sweat was pouring off me like no tomorrow. It felt AMAZING! One day I'm going to run that dang trail, mark my words!

Me Hittin It And Spazoid Kash

Along the trail there is signs for an upcoming 5k walk/run. I am seriously considering signing up. The The walk I did today was a hair shy of 2 miles, 0.94 miles each way. The 5k isnt until May 9th and I would think that if I continue to walk every day I should be able to add another mile to my distance by then. Heck with it, I'm going to do it. I'm going to get the website tomorrow when we walk and I'm signing up. I've always wanted to do a 5k and this is the perfect opportunity.

Anyway I found a new motivation today. It comes in the form of an app. The app is called Visualize You. Now what this app does is it takes your picture and morphs it into what you will look like at your goal weight. So I was playing with it and just fair warning these pictures can be used to scare of wild animals in emergency situations but also might crack your screen from ugliness, but I have no fear anymore! Take a look at these:

The one on the left is me at 364 lbs and the one on the right is me at 225 lbs. Loose the shaggy bum beard and I like the right SO much better. Its a small bit of motivation but its definitely something to work for. Y'all try it out. It's free and for Apple or Android.

Anyways, official weigh in day! I got on the scale this morning to a number of 364.2 lbs. I actually took an increase of 0.2 lbs for my time away from walking but I'll take it because for the week I was still down 3.4 lbs! I think I'm losing my weight in my trunk though because my pants are feeling baggy but the waist isnt budging much, just a bit. It's ok I know it will come. It's got to. I refuse to let it stay on me. I have a long way to go to make Mr. Right up there but one day, that will be me!

Stats for today 7,649 steps 5 floors, 3.61 miles and 60oz of water so far.

Thanks for reading and if you can't be good, Y'all be great!

Day #15: Holy Pitfalls FatMan!

So I haven't been blogging in a few days. I am happy to report that I haven't deviated too much from the path in these few days. I am slammed with school and work and I also jumped back into a game that hooked me for 2 years of my life. I have also developed a back issue that shows itself everyday I walk around 10 minutes in. If you didn't know, I had a pretty serious accident about 14 years ago and now am the proud owner of 6 inches of high grade titanium lining a portion of my spine. No excuses though. That's the focus of today. So I have ordered myself a back brace and I am excited at the possibilities of having a walk without back pain.

I'm going to make this short tonight as I just finished a pretty intensive test and assignment for school and I'm getting ready to chill. I will write more tomorrow because it's weigh in day...YAY! Just know that while I didn't hit the trail like I should have, I was still doing stuff in the yard and such cause its that time of year...DOUBLE YAY!! At the last weigh in on Saturday, I came in at 364 is a little over 15 lbs. Then Easter happened and yeah..we'll see. I didn't over do it and I STILL have not had a soda so we shall see what the weight gods have in store tomorrow =).

Today, I hit the wife on a new trail and did pretty well. I kept up almost there and back but gave out the second half. One of these days, I'm gonna race by her, so watch your back Ang! I saw person after person walk around me and speed off and I got to thinking, they must think I'm stupid being out here huffin and heavin but you know what, that walk was probably 300 tines the distance I used to walk not even a month ago so they can watch their backs too, cause I'm comin!

Stats for today, 8409 steps, 3.97 miles, 8 floors and I'm just finishing up my 80th oz of water. Not a bad day to kick it back off. We'll see what tomorrow brings! BRING IT!

Motivation for today is like I said, no excuses. So I found a perfect example of this. His name is Bob Wieland.

This dude right here...WOW! Mr Wieland was a Vietnam soldier that got both of his legs blown off from a mortar mine. That didn't stop this dude. His list of accomplishments are mind numbing. This dude finished the  1986 NY Marathon, not in a wheel chair, this dude walked the whole thing on his hands! He has since gone on to compete and finish many marathons all on his hands. He also walked across the US on his hands to raise awareness for Vietnam Vets. Probably the most incredible feat though, he is the only double amputee to finish the Kona, Hawaii Iron Man race without a wheelchair.

Now if this dude can do it, who am I to stand here and say I can't? Hats off to you Mr. Weiland. Read more about him here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Wieland

http://www.bobwieland.com/

And hats off to yall for reading. I'm still going and just wont quit! Yall be Great!

Day # 10: Not Only Hanging On but Moving UP!

Today was the 10th day since I have had anything but compliant food and drink. 10 days! Funny thing is I can count my cravings on one hand. 11 days ago, I couldn't tell you how many calories I ate in a day but I'm sure it was enormous. I haven't even so much as walked by the snack machine at work. Don't get me wrong, there are still things I need to cut out of my diet and lifestyle but I will work on them slowly. I think I have made a huge step in the right. I kind of feel bad for the vending machine business that stocks our machines at work because I'm sure they have noticed a substantial drop in sales. 10 days though...wow! I still remember the last naughty thing I had, it was a plate of nachos at the local auction barn and a Super Big Gulp soda from the local gas station. I don't miss it in the least. The food I'm eating now is far and beyond more healthy for me and it is paying dividends hand over fist. NEVER AGAIN!

So I went out on my walk today and decided to walk with my wife and my spazoid canine life mate Kash. Not only did we walk further than my normal walk but I kept up with her for half the way, 3/4 of a mile I'd say. After we reached the train tracks, it felt like someone was stabbing me in the back and I was huffing and puffing but I stayed right there with her. No way on that first week would I have been able to go that far much less keep up with Speedy Gonzales. I have to say though that I am so proud of her. She gets out there everyday and humps it for at least 30 minutes, usually more. That is far and away a huge leap from both of our sedentary lives we led just 2 weeks ago. I think though that I could probably have kept up with her a little farther if my back didn't start up. I am considering finding me a back brace but I know that's going to be a challenge not only financially but also finding one that will fit around me. I guess you don't know until you look so that's what I'll be doing here shortly. Back to the walk though, I got all the way back in my neighborhood and I had thoughts of turning and heading straight to the house. Right as I came up to my turn, the little voice in my head said "Go until your finished, not until your tired." So I turned left instead of right and walked all the way around my block to get back home. It's very interesting to watch my body change and my endurance grow. It excites me to imagine the possibilities of things that I could do in the near future. As you know, I signed up for the Autism walk but that isn't until October. I'm thinking of finding me a closer 5K and going for it. Nothing would top off a week like finishing a 5K. I can imagine myself crossing the finish line already! I'll keep you posted on that.

I bumped my step goal up for this week to 6000 steps and I reached it with no problem today. Stats for the day are: 7125 steps, 3.36 miles, 3 floors and 80 oz of water. I can really see how water is helping me to not only loose this weight but also is keeping my skin from being dry. I had a 4 day weekend this past weekend and didn't really drink the water I should have and it showed on the scale with a plateau and my knuckles on my hand were like deserts again. That proves it to me that I need at least 64 oz and the more the better.

Anyways, it's about that time so I'll leave you with my motivations for today. Thank Y'all for reading and Y'all Be Great!

Two For Tuesday!! Official Weigh In!!

Something is different. I can't put my finger on it but something is definitely different. First off, my wife and I decided today would be a good day to get a little yard work done. I hate yard work. I loathe it. If I could get away with it I would pave my front and back yard over and paint it green.

I took a little walk at work today with one of the guys from work and Holy Crikey that dude walks fast! We made it to the natural food market and back in 8 minutes flat. It usually takes me at least 15 minutes. This dude is almost the size of me and he almost had me jogging. I kept up though. I don't know if he slowed down or if he was showing off but I think I have my new target for walking. Anyways, I got back and lo and behold they were passing out hot dogs. I cannot resist free food so I jumped right in line. They looked at me like I was crazy when I told them no bun and no chips and walked away with nothing but 2 dogs on a plate. That's cool though, I usually don't eat lunch so it was a nice surprise from the norm of a tablespoon of peanut butter.

I got home and my wife was already out with the dog. She came in not far behind me so I waited about 30 minutes and asked her if we were going to do the yard today. She said she was tired from her walk, so I said what the hay, I'll give it a go myself. So I pull out the mower and was shocked when it started after pulling the chain about 20 times. So I started mowing, and I mowed and I mowed and I mowed. Usually I have to take a break half way through the back yard and after the front yard and before weed eating. Not today! I got the back yard, front yard and the weed eating done all in one go. Normally, I would be done for the day after that. I wasn't. I came in, ate my supper and did the dishes all in another go. Guess that's more than two for Tuesday but hey, it rhymes...lol! I checked my stats and right now I am sitting at 10,300 steps, 4.86 miles walked, 9 flights of stairs, and 84 oz of water and it's only 7 PM. I am seriously considering going out for my walk also just to hit that 5 mile mark. I'll probably pass though as I don't want to tempt fate and wake up and not be able to get out of bed in the morning,

So today was the official weigh in day. I have to say the amount of weight I have lost is far beyond what I thought I was going to be able to do in this first week, even with it only being water. I do think though that I am going to try another scale because it still bothers me that my scale at home is showing 10 lbs less than the doctors scale. I may start doing my weigh ins at Harris Teeter as they have a scale there. But, for the first week, I came in with a total weight loss of 11.6 lbs. I actually recorded a 1 lb gain from Monday to Tuesday but hey that's ok with me. 11.6 lbs is nothing to scoff at. And with all the exercise I'm getting over riding the couch like usual, I should continue to see weight loss for a while. If not, I'm still not stopping. I'm feeling way too good to stop now.

And here is the motivation for today. Y'all be great!

Day # 8: Another Exam And The Start Of The Extended Walks

I slipped up yesterday. I got comfortable and let it go. I did good on my diet, nothing I would consider cheating, no ice cream, candy bars or soda so that was a plus. But I did not walk yesterday. After the Saturday at Carowinds, my body was tired. Plus yesterday was Wrestlemania and I haven't seen any wrestling in years. So I took a day. I know I should have gone out and it wouldn't have taken me 30 minutes but I didn't and it's now behind me.

Today on the other hand, I hit it HARD! I started off the day dealing with the ever stressful financial fitness, which I wont go into here because that is a whole other blog in itself. But I stuck to my plan on eating and I had to go take another exam today. So I run up in there and it was just stopping raining. When I came out, OMG! the weather did like a 180 today. It is beautiful and cool out there so I decided to put in my walk early. I stopped by my mothers work on the way home and just said hello for a bit and headed home. Who did I come across but my dear wife with my spazoid canine companion Kash, out on the trail already getting it. I came in dropped off my stuff and changed into some old workout clothes I had in the top of the closet. I was shocked but they did fit me, close and tight but I could sit without them exploding so that was a good thing. I'm starting to be able to fit into more of my older clothes. More on that in a bit. Anyway, so I head out and I'm thinking just around the block and back again, but then I remembered the promise to myself to extend my walks starting this week. So I said I'll go to the stop sign and back which would be the same walk  I did the other day where I ran the last leg. I got to the stop sign and was still feeling OK so I said, I'll go to the church and circle back. Same thing, I got to the church and felt OK so I kept going all the way to the railroad tracks which I have never walked to in the 12 years we have been living here. I'm not going to say when I got back in my neighborhood, I didn't wish I did that but it happened and I'm dang proud of myself.

So second think about today, I went through a small part of my closet trying on some older clothes. I have some that are still WAY too tight to be out in public in but I did come away with 3 or 4 new shirts I can add to my rotation. I have one particular shirt I have been hanging onto all these years. The one that I said one day I'm going to fit in this shirt and it's going to be awesome! I haven't gotten that far yet but it does actually fit around my neck now so I know I'm getting there. My pants feel looser also. I know its only the first week but I can feel slight differences starting and they are getting me excited. I have a whole other wardrobe just waiting in boxes for me to be able to fit into them again so this might be fun.

Thirdly, I snuck another peek at the scale this morning and I think my scale might be broken. It said I was another 2.2 lbs down. I'm full out sprinting to that 350 goal and it's got me puzzled. That's a total of 12.6 lbs so far with tomorrow being the "official" weekly weigh in date. I don't understand how or why the scale is moving at such a fast pace now. There's no way that is all water. Or is it? I know the first time I lost all my weight back 20 years ago, I started out the same way but I only dropped 10 lbs in a week. Oh well, I'll take it. Let's see what the scale has in store for me tomorrow morning. I got a feeling it will be a positive either way.

Oh almost forgot my stats:  6108 steps, 2.88 miles and 36 oz of water and it's not even supper time yet!

So motivation for today I'll leave you with these photos and a video. Take 'em to heart and be great!

Day # 6: What an adventure!

So I had to go into CPCC early this morning for a test in programming. Not what I really wanted to do this morning, but it's one day so it's cool. I think I did pretty well. The program worked as it was supposed to but  the only thing I have to worry about is the efficiency factor. I'm really good at toying with things until they work. I used to work on websites without knowing any language. I would peice things together and figure out a solution kind of like MacGyver..lol. The problem with this is sometimes the program I write may not be the most quickest or best way to solve a problem. My feeling is, hey, it works so it's all good. Professors have other views of course. But we'll see, I'm sure I'll get the grade I deserve.

So immediately after coming home from the test, we decided to go to Carowinds and get our season passes. We've been holding onto these printed papers since Christmas, which surprised me that we haven't lost them in this time. So we pack up and head out. I was shocked when we got there and it really wasn't that crowded. I expected the turn out to be incredible with the hype on the new Fury 325. The weather undoubtedly turned most people away as it was pretty dang cold out there today and I cannot imagine riding a coaster in cold weather. Carowinds and coats just don't go together. We walked in and was out in less than 5 minutes with our new gold pass cards. While I'm thinking about it, let me do a quick rant. I remember the days when Carowinds season passes were sold for the same amount as the year. So in say 1987, you could buy a season pass for $19.87. I may be wrong on that but it is in my brain as truth for some reason. Anyway, everything in there is astronomically priced. We usually avoid any eateries or gift shops because of this. So the first thing I see when we pull up to the gate is that parking is $15 now without a gold pass. $15 just to park your car before even getting to the park! Then we get in and this year they are doing like Disney and the other parks and doing this FastPass thing where you can skip the long lines and jump to the front. I almost hit the floor when I saw how much that was. $50 per person! so for the four of us it would have been $200! That is insane! My wife said all the rides today seemed to take forever to load and unload and I have to wonder, is that just opening day norms or is that planned to drive people to buy FastPass? And then we went into a gift shop on the way out and I saw a Fury shirt in there and it had a tag on it for $80! I just had to shake my head. Oh and a bottle of water is almost $4 in there too.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox and back to it. I hit my steps goal in no time today.  I had 5,000 steps almost before we got to the first ride. I definitely didn't drink any soda in there because I think I would have went bankrupt. I didn't drink water though and I am felling it right now. I only ate 2 hard boiled eggs before going for the test this morning so I'm surprised we didn't fall into the trap and just pig out. It was a good day though. My kids got to ride everything they wanted. Well, almost. My wife and youngest were going for the bigger rides and some of them had too long of a line, Fury 325 included. And then there was the debacle of the NightHawk. It was closed when we first arrived but they opened it up soon after and my wife and youngest jumped in line. They got all the way to be the next in line and it broke down. I hated it for my kid because that was the only coaster she hasn't ridden in the park yet. Me, I was sitting on the sideline like usual. Too big to ride anything in there. It really does suck to sit and watch you family have fun on these rides and you cannot fit on them. I tried about 3 years ago to get on the Vortex with my youngest but when they dropped the bars over my head, they wouldn't lock because I was so big. It still haunts me to this day hearing the operator say, "Well we can get the over sized bars and put them on for you." This after pushing the bars against my chest like he was trying to break a rib. I was utterly embarrassed and should have learned my lesson then. I could have had this weight off of me by now and enjoying all the rides with my family. But like I said, it's more motivation to stole the fire that is growing inside of me. It might not be this year but I swear with my last breath, by next year, I will be on those rides!

So stats for today: 9,006 steps (almost double my goal), 12 oz of water (that's gonna have to change), and 4.25 miles walked. I also had a good victory afterwards. We went to Hardee's and I did not get a soda! I also ordered my burger with a lettuce wrap instead of a bun. Oh, and I almost forgot, I peeked at the scale again this morning and I have officially lost my first 10 pounds! I was sitting at 368.8 lbs so that's the first time I have seen a number under 370 in over a year! I must be doing something right.

And one last thing before I give you my motivation for the day, I have officially signed up for a walk. It's not until October, but it is for a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. Some of you may know that my daughter is on the autism spectrum. She fights the fight every day and I cannot say enough how proud of her I am. She has overcome things that I know would have broken me as a kid! She is constantly on the AB honor roll and is so close every semester to being on the A honor roll. So I have decided to join the Walk for Autism coming in October. I will post more about this in the coming days as I find out more information. It is a fundraising walk so you may see me asking for donations or fundraising when I can. From what I was reading, you can also join our team and walk with us if you choose and I would welcome anyone into the group.

With that said, here is my motivation for the day. Y'all be great!

Day # 5: OMG was that Fat Man?

So today I had the day off. I had a website I had to build for a project in my Information Technology class and I think it turned out pretty well. The problem I ran into today is when I work on a website, time goes into a crazy fast forward. I took advantage of not having to work today to grab some extra sleep of course, but soon after I fixed my breakfast at 10 am (horrible me) , I checked the clock and it was 2:30, time for my wife to get home. I don't know what it is but doing that kind of work just puts me in a zone. I can't stop until everything is perfect. The real problem is I didn't do anything else today. It needed to be done though, and it turned out excellent so I'm glad I took the time to do it. I had my Skype conference with my classmates to unveil the project and after that, that's when I noticed I was getting hungry. I grabbed a tablespoon of peanut butter to tide me over and soon started making my supper. I was so hungry by the time I started piecing it together, I kind of over did it. I'm proud I didn't have any bread with it but I killed 2 cans of tuna and 3 hard boiled eggs like they owed me money. I made a HUGE tuna salad and had 2 boiled eggs on the side. I think its the first time in my life I have overeaten on a salad.

So after supper, I was ready to veg, even though I had less than 500 steps in. Well my wife came to me and asked me if I was going walking and I started with the excuses. I ate too much, my back hurts... etc. Thankfully she didn't give up and I strapped on my shoes and we headed out. I was set to do my normal walk but the dog really has a problem walking with me because I am so slow. If I walk faster, I burn out quicker and my back is killing me when I'm done. So my wife and kid went on ahead of me and when I reached my normal turn around I turned and started back to the house. My wife and kid continued. As I was walking back, the dog pulling me to hurry up, I started thinking, "You know, you're a piece of work. You post on this blog about trying to turn your life around and how much work it's going to be and then you do the same walk to the same stop sign every day. You aren't even trying to push your limits." So I walked the dog up to the house, put him inside and headed back out. This time I walked around the block which has a couple of more hills than the normal route. I kept my pace steady and pushed through any pain. When I got back to the entrance of our neighborhood, my wife and kid were just coming back from their extended walk. So up the hill all of us went back towards my house, all the while that voice still saying "You're not doing enough!" We topped the hill and started to turn down our street and it hit me. "You wanna run, then do it!" so by God I did! For the first time in I know at least a decade, I pulled my sweats up and I started running. It wasn't but probably 20 yards and I know I looked like a fool but who gives a damn! I WAS RUNNING! I ran all the way to my front yard and it felt so weird. I haven't run for exercise since I was in 10th grade and I am 43 years old now. Pushing 370 lbs down the road isn't easy but it felt wonderful and believe you me tears of joy are running down my face as I type this.

I cannot wait until the day comes that I can run around my block just once. I cannot wait until the day comes when I don't have to struggle to put on socks. I cannot wait until the day comes when the thought of dread doesn't fill my being when I have to tie my shoes. I cannot wait until the day comes when bending over to pick up something I dropped isn't a public spectacle. I cannot wait until the day that I can buy clothes in a "normal" store. And if I have anything to say about it, that day WILL come.

OK, enough boo-hooin...lol. Even with that emotional session, I have to admit I did not reach my goals today. My stats for the day were:  4,159 steps, 1.96 miles, and 56 oz of water drank. I did however climb 11 flights of stairs today also and that's a new record for me. I also steered away from soda and bread successfully today. Take the good with the bad is what I've always heard. I think I have more good today than I have bad.

On a side note, since I have a wonderful daughter who is on the Autistic Spectrum, I have decided to sign up to walk for Autism. They aren't having it until October this year so I think I have plenty of time to ready myself. I'll post more about this as I officially sign up and learn more about it. Also my wife has suggested I do a review post for my fitbit, so look for that in the near future also.

Anyways, I'll leave y'all with some photos of the day, one of them jumped out at me and made me think of FogDog so I'll add it too.

Y'all be great!!

Fat Man!!

Day # 4: And Still No Soda!!

That's right, 4 days and not a drop of soda has crossed these lips. I honestly have to say water is my main drink now. So far this week I have drank 308 oz of water! I bet I used to drink double that in sodas and NO water. I noticed today my knuckles on my hands aren't as dry as they usually are. They still are a little dry but they used to look like a dry desert, all cracked and scaly. My knees also. It's really amazing what water can do.

Water is also the main contributor to my weight loss. I peeked at the scale again this morning and it was a whopping 3 lbs down. So that's a total of 7.4 lbs in about 4 days. I'll take that all day long. I can't wait until Tuesday when I can get an official weigh in. I'm shooting for the big 10 and I honestly think it is achievable. I know its not safe but it definitely is a nice start to my journey.

I ran into the old back pain again today on my walk but it didn't stop me from making my goal. I REALLY can't wait until something as simple as walking doesn't make me feel like I'm going to be crippled afterwards. I know this can only be achieved over time and its going to take ME doing it. I've always wanted to run. I have never in my adult life run for any amount of time. I think that's going to be my major goal is to one day actually go out to a track somewhere, and just run. Not going to happen before I can walk painlessly so I think I'm going to look into a fundraiser walk that I can sign up for sometime in the future and put my money where my mouth is. It'll give me something to strive for because if I fall back and don't do my walks, well then it's gonna get really weird come walk time. It'll keep me motivated and honest. More on that probably tomorrow.

This ones going to be short though cause again I'm tired. But today's stats were 6347 steps, 75 oz of water and 2.99 miles walked. I'll be bumping up my goals next week so let's get thing thing done!

Here are my photos of the day:

Y'all be great and drink a big glass of H2O for me!

Another day in the books!

Here I sit with another day in the books and I am TIRED! I haven't really been doing too much but what I have been doing is such a dramatic change from my norm that it has worn me out. I guess that's a good thing though. When I hit the sack I am out like a light and if it weren't for the bio waking me I would probably be solid until 5 AM. I really hate getting up because like last night, I awoke and hit the bathroom and checked my fitbit for the time on the way back to bed. I was hoping and praying that thing wasn't going to say 4:50 AM or something but I got lucky and it was only 1 AM. I REALLY hate when I get up and find out its minutes before I have to start getting ready for work. I almost feel the urge to throw a serious lay-on-the-ground-kicking-and-screaming fit. I am working on that though from a tip from FogDog, I have stopped drinking after 5 PM. Hopefully that clears that up.

As far as today, I had a decent day. I hit on 3 of my major goals so I'll take it. I walked 5725 steps today, 2.70 miles and drank 84 oz of water. I also snuck another peak at the scale this morning just to be sure I didn't dream the loss and lo and behold, I lost another 2.2 lbs. I know its water but it's 2.2 lbs closer to my goal. I am now less than 25 lbs away from my mini goal of 350. I need to think of a reward for reaching my mini goal. I want something other than food, and something useful. What have you slated for a reward for reaching your mini goals?

Now that I said that I just watched a pretty good video on motivation. In this video, a few of the things the person was saying is, one, you don't need to expect weight loss on a scale to succeed. I am totally on board with this. I know my body puts on weight and then holds onto it like it was gold and I know from my previous experience loosing weight that if you just keep up the fight, the weight loss will come. I know I'm dropping weight rapidly at first because of water but I think this will help keep me going when that scale slows down. I realize that massive weight loss every week is not sustainable and I actually look forward to the challenge of keeping going when that scale stops.

The second thing I took away from it is he said the changes you make have to be sustainable. You can't put your everything into weight loss and let your other responsibilities fall to the wayside. You also cannot carry a crazy fad diet on forever. At some point you have to live with your decisions. One of the diets I was looking at doing was the Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead juice diet. I understand that juicing can be beneficial and I agree that it has its benefits but I do not see it as a sustainable lifestyle. Doing a juicing to jump start your diet I think is a good idea but I really don't find vegetable juice appealing. I honestly think I would last maybe a day at best on that diet because I like to bite too much...lol. But all kidding aside, nothing against juicers out there, if that's your thing OWN IT! I think with the vast differences in everyone out there today, there is a diet that fits your lifestyle the most and you should go for that.

And the third thing he said that I am certainly going to incorporate in my daily routine is visualization. He says to see yourself at your ideal weight, imagine what its going to be like, what your going to look like, how people will react to you once your hit your end goal weight. I will be using this in the mornings when I first get up and I have quiet time to myself before jumping in the shower and starting the rat race.

One more thing and I'll stop. He also said for this to be a success, you have to work for it. Its not going to be a cake walk and there will definitely come times when you just don't want to do your exercising or you'll give the excuse you have no time but you have to push those thoughts out of your head and again realize why your doing this in the first place. You are bettering yourself and that is one of the most important things I took away from this video. When the legs are cramping and saying " You don't need to walk today, you've been doing so good for the past week or 2 weeks or month", you gotta bitch slap that voice and tell it "NO! WE WILL DO IT!"

So I know that was a long one but I'm really enjoying this blogging thing so look for plenty more to come as I continue this journey to the real me.

And here is the video I watched. It's about 20 minutes and it looks like this dude has a lot of good videos in his YouTube account so I'll be watching him for a while. It is from Actualize.org's YouTube account. What sites or videos motivate you?

Weigh Day Ends Up Being A Great Day!!

So I set today as my unofficial "weigh in day" just because I weighed in last week on Tuesday so, hey, why not. Let me preface this post by saying I am at the heaviest weight I have ever been in my life and I am not proud of it. It wasn't as bad as I had thought originally though. I went in for a bio metric screening which I had to do for my work and I was expecting the scale to top out at a minimum of 400 lbs. When I got on the scale, I was surprised and it came up as 387.6, still a mountain load of weight but at least it wasn't 400. So last week when I weighed myself at home, the scale for some reason was way off that figure. The scale at home read 379.2. So the weight I am going with for recording purposes is the 379.2 as I cannot go to the doctors office every week and weigh. 

That being said, I got the second surprise this morning. When I jumped on the scale it read 376.8. This is for a week where I did not do anything exercise wise and really ate like I was trying to die. So it's not but a 2.4 lb loss but hey, I'm taking it. My toe hasn't flared up again since last week and so far this week I've been putting it in. 

Just a couple of things I've noticed in these past 2 days, first I haven't had a soda in 2 days. That is like Willy Wonka not eating chocolate. I used to be able to pound a twelve pack of mountain dew in a weekend. I usually averaged about 4 or 5 20 ounce sodas every day, day in and day out. That was on the weekdays. On the weekends, it was legendary how much soda I consumed. I have had a couple of cups of coffee and 1 glass of crystal light and the rest is water. Today so far I have drunk a total of 89 ounces of water and I have another 12 sitting in front of me now. I hope to reach the gallon a day status at some point.

Second, on my walk tonight, my back didn't start giving out until I was almost done. I walked the same walk as I did yesterday but without feeling like someone was stabbing me in the back the whole way. I also put in 7500 steps, 3.54 miles and 5 flights of stairs today. So I have already increased my exercise, if just for one day and it didn't affect my back negatively. Also last night I slept probably the best I have in a while. I only remember waking up once and that was a bio break from all the water. Now the fitbit will tell you otherwise. It shows that I woke up 25 times and had a sleep efficiency of 89%. That's the lowest its been since I've started wearing it, but I woke up ready for the day.

With all this extra stuff I'm doing, along with logging all my food which was a very good day for me today, I think the scale should move a good bit in the right direction next Tuesday. If it doesn't though, oh well, I'm going to keep on until it does. I'm eating well, exercising and getting plenty of rest and I'm starting to feel it. 

And before the images of the day, let me invite anyone with a fitbit to add me. You can see my profile at //www.fitbit.com/user/38D5JS. Keep me in check, please! Add me and let's do this!

And here are the pics of the day:

One small step that hopefully leads to one giant leap

So there I was... I had every intention of doing good, really I did. I came home last Tuesday after doing a small walk at work and did a short 15 minute yoga stretch. Well, that's what the video was titled. For me it was more of a lay on the ground and grunt for 15 minute workout. I think I'm about as limber as a 2 X 4, but I have at least one good reason for that. 8 inches of titanium in the back usually makes one a little stiff. Well that and so many years of riding a couch. But I got through it, generally unscathed and with a whole new item to track, flexibility. Soon after that though my toe exploded in what I am guessing was a gout attack. I haven't had them for a while but this one was mercifully brief. By Friday I could at least put my shoes on. Why is it every time I've ever tried to start this machine up, and believe you me this isn't my first go 'round, something jumps me. I know the no excuses thing but honestly, I tried to walk at work on Wednesday and that toe was not having it. But it has subsided and today I hit the ground walking. According to my fitbit, I made 5,778 steps, walked 2.73 miles and climbed 3 flights of stairs. I know its not that much really, but from where I'm coming from, I might as well just finished a marathon. When I say I was living a sedentary life, I mean I was sedentary. The only walking I did was to the car to get to and from work and to the kitchen/bathroom and then that was more of a shuffle than a walk anyway. My life was spent in recline mode. So it's a little bit but I'll take it and honestly, its not easy carrying 380 lbs almost 3 miles. So NYAH! =P

 Another thing I am starting to do is track my food and water intake. I did pretty well on this today, I had my eggs and sausage for breakfast and skipped out on lunch, which I know I shouldn't do but I did, and had a sensible spaghetti supper. The only reason I had spaghetti was we needed to get rid of it and I'm not one to be throwing food away. I was raised with that being a sin which is probably part of my problem now.

 Anyways, I've not jumped off the pier into the deep end yet but I'm getting there. It's really going to be awesome to see movement on the scale again. I used to tell people I bought one of those talking scales but when I got on it, it said "One at a time please." I still remember the days when my wife and I were on the low carb diet back before it got trendy. That was tough. You didn't have all the choices you have today. No protein bars, no meal substitutes. It was a strict diet and I flourished under it. I lost around 80 lbs and got down to where I felt the most comfortable I have ever felt in a pair of shorts. Those were the days. Slowly but surely I'll get back there. One step at a time, one meal at a time and one pound at a time. It will happen! And here are my images of the day:

Hard starting up

Boy, starting out can be rough but this is ridiculous. I know what I need to do but just making that jump is somehow eluding me. I have been saying tomorrow everyday for 2 weeks now and even I'm getting tired of it. Every day something comes up or I make a terrible decision to keep going to the bad habits. What's even worse is in some areas I'm doing it only to not do it. I get out of bed every morning at 5am so I can hit the shower and park myself on the couch for 30 to 45 minutes before heading off to work. I can name 10 things right of the top of my head I could be doing but don't for some reason. That's plenty of time to exercise. Then on the food side, you know how you get stuck in a rut? Well that's me, but that rut has grown to a trench and I'm clinging onto it like my life depends on it. Seems I have more excuses than results and that saddens me.

But only I can do it and I'm just going to have to dust myself of and get to work. I was really wanting to lose a little of this weight before summer hit, because we got the kids season passes to a local theme park and I really don't want to be trying to walk around that place in summer heat as heavy as I am. Honestly, I would really love to lose enough weight to be able to ride with the kids but I know that's not likely this year. That is one of my goals though and I think I may use that as motivation to get my butt up and moving. The weather is just to nice this time of year and my fitbit is pretty much useless as it stands right now.

Well, anyways, time to start so no time like the present I guess. I'm heading out for a walk on my lunch. Let's get this fitbit some data it deserves.

Have a wonderful day and keep me in your thoughts please!!

Update: Well that wasn't too bad. It wasn't very much, 10 minutes around the building, but that's 10 minutes more than yesterday. Also it seems I have a 15 minute yoga stretch session scheduled for after work, so we'll see.

Update 2: And 15 quick minutes of yoga to boot. Man have I got a looooong way to go. Oh well, one way or the other that day will come. Now I just have to commit myself to being healthy when that day arrives instead of sitting on the couch.