Playgrounds are fun

Today I took my kids to the playground.  They have really become little monkeys.  My daughter climbed the chain ladder to the top while my son liked to stay perched on top of the monkey bars.  While they did some of that, I was able to squeeze in some chinups and crunches.  I ran around with them a bit and then it was time to run more errands, but I really enjoyed the playground today with my children.  Besides, the weather was perfect.  We live in Florida.

Food: Honey Bunches of Oat cereal, apple walnut salad from Steak n Shake with raspberry vinagrette, a piece and a half of the wonderful alfredo bacon pizza, and a salad made with chopped cabbage, Ramen noodles, nuts, and a sauce which I should know the ingredients, bottle of Molson, coffee, and water

Exercise:  chinups, playground time with the kids

Weight:  Up .4 to have me at 175.5

Until tomorrow...

A dollar and 3 quarters

That is my weight tonight.  A dollar and 3 quarters.  Officially, I still have to lose .4 pounds to reach what I set for myself about 3 and a half months ago.  I also had a parent come and tell me that he is gong to give me some weights, demonstrate the proper form for lifting those weights, and a chart to remind me of the exercises.  I am excited about the weights, but I love my new chin-up bar.  It's a lot of fun. 

Food: blueberry muffin, fettuccine noodles with the Thai peanut butter sauce and vegetables, alfredo chicken pizza with bacon, a couple of mints.vvI also had carrots and a good portion of pomegranate seeds.  Also drank the normal coffee and water.

Exercise:  lots of chin-ups

Weight:  down .9

Until tomorrow...

Everything in perspective

Today I visited one of the students of Trinity in the hospital.  He had told me at lunch that his arm and left side of his face were numb.  His mother came and took him to the hospital close to the school.  A few hours later, he was taken to Arnold Palmer up in Orlando.  The doctors are performing two MRIs to see what could have happened.  When I visited the student, he was in good spirits and his numbness was gone.  He still had a headache and was hooked to IVs and other wires, but his family was around him and he felt good.  During these months of weight loss, I often lost sight of how there are so many out there who struggle with so many things that are so much bigger than pounds.  I pray for the people of Haiti, and I pray for all of the students of Trinity, especially those who are going through difficult times with health, family, or finances.

Food:  maple and brown sugar oatmeal, pasta with alfredo sauce and vegetables, strawberry shortcake, water, coffee, and a Yuengling

Exercise:  I am moving up in my chin-up count.  Tomorrow is the pushup-crunch day.  Maybe even a walk for my dog, but Kool is not holding his breath.

Weight: Down 3.3 .  That seems like a lot and I will likely gain a bit tomorrow, but that gets me within 1.3 pounds of my goal.  I can probably lose 1.3 pounds in a week.  My weight tonight is 175.9.

Until tomorrow...

At least my mom reads my blog

My mom wrote on my Facebook wall today.  She encouraged me to keep up with the blog.  Thanks Mom!  Anyway, yesterday's weigh-in was down .7 and today was another good day of weight loss.  It will be interesting to see how things come out tomorrow for the Official Weigh-In Wednesday.  Since last week wasn't especially newsworthy, I am hoping that my path on the straight and narrow this week will help me get back in line.  Besides, Valentine's Day is closing in fast, and that is when I wanted to be at my target weight.

Food:  two cranberry muffins, granola bar, fettuccine, turkey, and mixed vegetables in this really good sauce made with peanut butter, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, and Catalina Dressing (I substituted French).  I also had one more of those cranberry muffins and a Yuengling.

Exercise:  Played a little basketball at school and some chin-ups

Weight:  Down .4

Until tomorrow...

Science Fair Success

Today,  Trinity Lutheran had a very successful Science Fair.  One of our new teachers asked to make it a reality at the beginning of the year, and she made it happen.  There were a lot of neat projects, and I was very impressed with the students' hard work.  I served as a judge at the Science Fair.  I think I made the students nervous.  I am very proud of the whole event, the students, and the teachers.

Food:  granola bar, piece of pepperoni pizza, rice soup with extra turkey, bowl of Cinnamon Life, and some butterscotch chips.

Exercise:

Weight:  Up .7.  Normal fluctuations will happen so tomorrow I should see my weight dip

Until tomorrow...

The Stubborn Five

I am glad I am back on my game.  I didn't really exercise today, but I did eat right (for the most part).  I have come to the part of my weight loss that many people talk about; the last five pounds.  It seems as if I have mentioned before that I am four away from my weight goal, or that I have six to go, and so forth.  Wii Fit told me that I have 5.1 pounds to go.  I would really love to be rid of those pounds by Valentine's Day.  When Valentine's Day hits, I will chronicle my holiday weight goals and see how I did.  That should be a lot of fun.

Food:  granola bar, peanut butter and honey sandwich, carrot sticks, three slices of Pepperoni pizza (it seemed really good tonight), a few butterscotch chips, and two licorice sticks.  I am not sure why I had the impluse to eat another piece of pizza and the sweet stuff.  I did use the right word though; impulse.  I am pretty sure I wasn't starving.

Exercise:  It would probably go faster if I got more on the stick with this aspect.

Weight:  179.7.  Down 2.6.

Until tomorrow...

Failed experiment

I tried a little something different this week.  I thought that I had the system down and that I would just weigh myself on Wednesdays.  Big mistake.  It is amazing what a daily dose of accountability will give you.  THis was the first Official Weigh in Wednesday that I didn't lose weight.  In fact, it jumped.  A LOT!  I know what I need to do and it is so easy.  I got lazy.  There is no getting around the fact that I veered off my plan and it cost me.  Now I will spend the next week getting rid of the weight that I had just lost.  That is aggravating, but the work is worth fitting into my size 32 jeans and medium shirts.

Food:  Cinnamon Life, peanut butter and honey sandwich, apple, more Ciinamon Life, turkey manhattan with bread, mashed potatoes, turkey, and gravy.  I drank my coffee and water and had little snacks here and there.  Danger Will Robinson!

Exercise:  My daughter was sick today and I didn't get up early enough to walk before my wife left.

Weight:  Up 3.6.  That number is correct.  I almost swallowed my tongue, but my new clothes still fit and I will stick to my original plan of weighing and blogging EVERY day.

Until tomorrow...for sure...

Making it tough on myself

Tonight was movie night with the kids.  We popped popcorn, hoped that Nicolas Cage would find the National Treasure again, and even ate ice cream.  I say I made it hard on myself because I ate a bit more than usual and even snacked yesterday.  It is sometimes easy to get lulled into a false sense of security and to get lazy when you are close to your goal.  I will get down to it and when you see my weight jump, you will understand the name of my title.

Food:  granola bar, slice of cheese pizza, green beans, Starbucks Java Frapuccino ice cream, popcorn, grilled salmon, scalloped potatoes, salad with Asian dressing, a bit of wine, and now that I think of it, a LOT of water.  Maybe with a good set of aerobics during the next few days, I can make it that I lose weight this week.  We will call today a fluke.

Exercise:  More chinups

Weight:  Up 3.1.  Not a typo.  Last week, I went down 2.5 and found it all again in one day.  I'm not worried, but I do need to get on the ball.

Until tomorrow...

My wife's birthday

Today is my wife's birthday.  The kids and I cooked waffles this morning, I bought lunch, and we ate at Chili's for dinner.  We even had a little chocolate cake with java frapuccino ice cream.  Today is official Weigh-in Wednesday, and the results please me.  I really do think I can make my goal by the end of the month.  I just cannot think of the last time that I was even close to 180, much less 175.  I will keep at it.  Besides, I like wearing medum shirts and size 32 jeans.

Food: waffle, banana, honey mustard salmon, vegetables, rice, Newcastle, Sam Adams, couple dinky pieces of cheese pizza (son's) and a bite of grilled chicken (daughter's).  I then had a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate icing and the aforementioned ice cream.

Exercise:  lot of pushups and chinups.  I need some aerobic activity

Weight:  Up .2 but down 2.4 for the week.  My weight today is 178.8. 

Until tomorrow...

Weigh-In Looming

Tomorrow is the Official weigh-in Wednesday.  I wonder how many of those I will have until I finally reach my goal.

Food:  homemade granola bar, Spaghetti-Os with hot dogs, a few crackers with peanut butter, another granola bar, Southwestern salad made with lettuce, cheese, black beans, corn, salsa, blue cheese dressing, and tortilla chips

Exercise:  more chinups

Weight:  Down .2

Until tomorrow...

Still cold in Florida

The last two weeks have been unseasonably cold for us Southerners.  It is supposed to be in the 70s by Friday, but w e are not used to the 30 degree weather we have been treated to so far this new year.  It will be a welcome relief when the warmenr weather decides to come back.  The cold weather has also been an easy excuse to stay in the warm covers and not walk my dog in the morning.  I really just need to say "no snooze" on my way to sleep tonight and maybe I will get up when I need to walk my dog.

Food:  apple caramel pecan crunch cereal, piece of cheese pizza, small orange, pasta mixed with a lot of vegetables and alfredo sauce, popcorn with some olive oil

Exercise:  some chinups

Weight:  Down 1.3

Until tomorrow...

Yes, I did have licorice

Tonight was weird when it comes to my diet.  I missed breakfast which is rare, and then I had a wonderful lunch of salad and a small piece of cheese pizza.  Then, the wheels fell off.  My staff went to Garibaldi's which is a nice Mexican restaurant.  It started with the obligatory tortilla chips which seem to magically reappear, and then Dos Equis was two for one.  Then I "had" to get a small beef enchilada and eat two jalapeno poppers.  That probably would have been more than enough, but when I got home, I had to eat some popcorn with the family during a movie, and I had a serving of Red Vines.  Whew!  I need a walk, some pushups, crunches, and some chinups, but it's cold, I'm tired, and all of that can wait until tomorrow when I eat right.   I'm allowed a day off but it's still way too close to Christmas to be this loose in my eating.  Hmmm.  Anyway, it was a fun time at Garibaldi's. 

Food:  all of the above

Exercise:  My dog looks kind of sad

Weight:  Static

Until tomorrow...

Official Weigh-In Wednesday

I think I am back in the groove...kind of.  I am eating right, doing a lot of chinups, pushups, and crunches, but the bed was entirely too warm this cold morning to go for a walk.   It's supposed to be just as cold morning, but I'll see if I can pull myself from the comfortable sheets and blankets.  If I keep after this, I can be pretty close to my weight goal by the end of this month.  Fun stuff.

Food:  apple pecan caramel crunch cereal like yesterday, leftovers from last night (pasta with shrimp and vegetables), and tonight's dinner was chicken over rice with a sauce that had brown sugar, soy sauce, carrots, green and red peppers, and pineapple.  It was tasty.

Exercise:  abovementioned pushups, chinups, and crunches

Weight: Up .7.  This has me currently at 181.2.  I have "officially" lost 30.4 pounds.  I expect to be under 180 by next week and in two to three weeks, be at my projected goal.  We'll see what happens after that.

Until tomorrow...

Almost back in the saddle

I haven't quite gotten back into the rhythm yet.  Exhibit A being that I did not write a post yesterday.  I thought about it, but that is as far as I got.  Tonight I actually had follow through.  I should have been more motivated to write last night.  I went down 1.5.  Since it is Official Weigh-In Wednesday tomorrow, it should be rather interesting.  Today was another good day of eating well and making good choices.  The Wii Fit told me I have 6 more pounds to lose in order to make my goal.  That's pretty exciting.  I wonder though sometimes if my goal should be around 171 instead of 176, but that is me getting caught up in the numbers game.  I know that if I continue to eat right and exercise, my body will find the right weight. 

Food:  I tried this new apple caramel crunch cereal from Post Selects this morning.  Then I had another piece of cheese pizza from Five Star and then tonight, my wife and I made a dish that consisted of shrimp, Italian dressing, onions, mushrooms, and artichokes over fettucine.  It was great and I am looking forward to having it for lunch tomorrow.

Exercise:  Reps on my chin up bar and yesterday I walked the dog and did the 100 pushups app, but no walk today for my dog.  Tomorrow, no problem.

Weight:  Down 2.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Until tomorrow...

New Year, still plenty of work to be done

I just arrived back in to Florida this afternoon.  I had spent the last week in Minnesota, and it thanked me by lowering the temperature to 21 below zero this morning on my way to the airport.  Christmas and New Years was fun in all ways.  I didn't exercise a whole lot and I had some sugar cream pie and fruitcake.  That being said, I am back and I plan on meeting my weight goal by the end of the month.  It is going to take some serious commitment, but I am willing.

Food:  oat and peanut butter fiber bar, BK Veggie burger, apple fries, Five Star Pizza's buffalo chicken roll and a slice of cheese and a slice of pepperoni.  I also had coffee and although some water, not quite enough.

Exercise:  100 pushup drill (new iPhone app), reps on my new pull-up/chin-up bar.   I will take my dog for a walk tomorrow. We had a dogsitter for the last week.

Weight:  Up 3.3 to have me at 184.  Keep in mind that my weight goal is 174.6.  About nine pounds in about three and a half weeks.  Time to start sweating!

Until tomorrow...