hmmm

well, I made my goal- sort of.

I'm now down to 229 pounds. Most of what I lost was fat, a little bit was muscle. The problem was not enough lean protein and not enough lifting (I only lifted twice last week.)

Hello, I'm not dead

I'm pretty sure no one but my sister is reading this- but anywho I'm not dead though I am slightly smaller. 233 lbs and 29% body fat. That's both good news and bad news. The good news is I've lost weight. Bad news is some of that was muscle. So- along with my eating less (out of both concentrated effort to be healthier and not being bothered to make something to eat) I need to eat smarter and start lifting more often. I've gotten better about hopping on the bike and getting my cardio in, but my lifting has been sporadic. And lean protein in my diet? Forget about it.

So, in the coming week I'd like to lose 3 pounds of fat. Big goal I know. But I'll do it by eating lots of lean protein (got to start on the shakes again I'm afraid, plus low fat cottage cheese and lots of tuna) lifting three days of the week and doing half an hour of cardio 4 to 6 days of the week. (Sundays off for sure)

I'll let you know how it goes.

goals, what goals?

OK, as I've been bad about tracking progress (and thus making any progress) I've kind of ignored my original goals. (Which is bad)

I need to refigure what I want by the end of the year. I'm still at the just under 240 mark where I've been for months- but hadn't measured my body fat since I first started. My parents have a scale that measures body fat through electrical impedance- which isn't super accurate but is typically pretty good. It will vary by a small amount depending on how well hydrated you are so it's best to take it under similar conditions etc.

But, yesterday I used the scale and I'm just under 30% bodyfat- which means... I'm still a fatty. But, that is down from 35%. 25% is considered obese for men (meaning overweight to a level that may harm your health) although some groups set the number at 30% (with 25% being borderline/overweight and 30% clinically obese)

So- I'll re-evaluate my goals soon, but right now that I want to get below 25% by the end of the year.
Continuing the daily exercise I've started back into again would be the first step, along with once again trying to eat a whole lot better.

hungry

I don't think it's that related to the running, but I'm constantly hungry. But, maybe the whole "exercise increases your metabolism throughout the entire day" thing is really true I suppose it would make sense that I'm hungry. (though it wasn't as bad when I was working out before)
But really, what good does increasing your metabolism do if you're constantly hungry and want to eat enough to more than make up for the difference?

New day, same old playlist

I didn't make a playlist for this morning, I just used Wednesday's but I felt more tired at the end than I did on Wednesday, so I hope that Monday doesn't kill me.

New day, new playlist

At 7:30 it was a lovely 75° and not too terribly humid, which made my run quite a bit more pleasant. I didn't run yesterday, my ankles were feeling a bit sore and I wanted to make sure that I would be able to run today. (I'm sure extra runs are good, but I don't want them to prevent my scheduled runs)

The playlist for today was:
Bob Dylan - Shelter from the Storm 5:02
The Unicorns - Clap 1:26
Weezer - Why Bother 2:08
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Annunciation Day/Born on Christmas 1:33
Weezer - You Gave Your Love to Me Softly 1:57
Pixies - Crackity Jones 1:24
Patton Oswalt - The Best Baby in the Universe 2:00
Starlight Mints - Buena Vista 1:32
Neutral Milk Hotel - King of Carrot Flowers Part 1 2:00
The Hives - Inspection Wise 1999 1:37
I'm From Barcelona - Oversleeping 2:18
Liz Phair - Glory (first 58 seconds only)

Well, that's about 24 minutes which is a pretty darn slow 2 miles, but I still feel pretty darn worn out afterwards. I still can't really call it running since that's about 15 minutes walking and 9 minutes running. I don't know what kind of pace I'll be able to keep in a couple weeks when instead of walking for 2/3 the time (like I am now) I'll only be walking for 1/3 the time. It will be interesting to see what kind of pace I can keep once I'm running pretty much the whole time. That's still weeks away, hopefully I'll make it there on schedule. If it's really too challenging though, I may have to throw extra weeks in the middle at the slower pace and turn the 2 months program into a three month program. (because I'm going to keep running once the 2 months are up anyway so I shouldn't be to angry if my progress is slower than I want.)


All in all, I feel pretty good. I ate half a banana, I'm going to eat some tuna and watch last night's Eureka then go hang out with Pancho for a few before he has to head out to work.

Todays playlist of very short songs

OK, today is day one of week two of the Couch to 5k, which means after a five minute warm-up walk I was to alternate between a minute and a half running and two minutes walking. Any normal person wouldn't have a problem with this. But I'm not a normal person, I'm a big fat American. So, I was a bit worn out by it all. And sweaty. 80° isn't that hot, but it was hotter than I expected it to be at 8:00 in the morning. It was fairly humid, but I can't really complain about that since Saturday night's rain is the only thing keeping it as cool as it is.

Finding short little songs is certainly made easier with iTunes letting me sort by length. I'm not sure if I'll run tomorrow or wait till Wednesday like on the program (I think I may need to put in some extra work to really be ready for next week) If I do go tomorrow I'll probably use the same playlist, but I'm pretty sure I'll make a new one for Wednesday.

Dan Bern - One Dance
Tori Amos - Programmable Soda
Jill Scott - Exclusively
Elvis Costello - Mystery Dance
Low - Hatchet
The Hives - Declare Nucleaire
Phish - Bliss
Go Sailor - Ray of Sunshine
Fountains of Wayne - Survival Car
Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI
Neutral Milk Hotel - Communist Daughter
Cee-Lo - Soul Machine

Running!

I'm still early on in the Couch to 5k program- which means my running is as much walking as it is running- which puts me at about a 12 and a half minute mile when I run two or three miles. Which is really, really, really slow.

Slow or not, this morning's run/walk was pretty good. A temperature in the low 80s certainly helped it be much more pleasant than the last couple of times I've run.

I think I'll make a specialized playlist for my next run to match up with my time running and time walking.

Holy Crap, I'm a fatty!

Yeah, so a large part of not blogging here on what has turned into my weight loss blog is that I haven't been doing anything to facilitate said weight loss, and as a result I'm still a great big giant fat person.

A few months ago I bought some new running shoes to replace my somewhat trashed mizunos which hadn't been used for running in ages. I was going to get another pair of the same model, but they didn't make that model anymore. I had liked the mizunos, but I also wanted something just a bit softer and more comfortable, but hopefully with the same support. I figured I'd try to find a cushioning shoe from another brand that was softer or more cushiony feeling. I have normal to high arches and don't over pronate so I don't need some sort of heavy duty motion control from my shoes, so I looked for reviews of neutral/cushioning shoes that said they were good for big runners. The asics nimbus 7 looked like it would fit the bill, and with the new model coming out I got them for about 70 bucks. ($50 under their original list price)

The only problem- was big runners obviously didn't mean me. The shoes seemed supportive, they were exceptionally comfortable to put on and walk around in. I knew right away they weren't providing the support of the mizunos- but I figured that would be fine since feet don't roll too much. Aww man- the gel may be comfy but I bottom those shoes out with my heel strike. After less than a quarter mile my knees and my back hurt. A lot. My knees alone wouldn't have been a big deal- but my back kept me from wanting to run any more after the first mile.

So, I switched to just doing the bike and the elliptical machine instead of running for a little while. (and shortly after that when my mom came to town I switched to doing pretty much nothing) I bought another new pair of running shoes- the nike structure triax 10. A support (but not motion control) shoe. It's softer in some regards than my mizunos- but is also bigger and more substantial than they were. They don't have quite the support that the mizunos did and have more cushioning- but they aren't going to bottom out like my asics. I figure if I lose enough weight I can rotate between the two pairs, till them I'll just use the nikes.


What I learned today while running:
1. I need to go earlier- trying to do a lunchbreak run at 11:30 is stupid. Even if it's a few hours from hitting the high temperature, it's still freakin hot. I could try to go late at night, but even now that it's almost 9 it's still 95 degrees out.
2. I am in way worse shape than I thought
3. Though my new shoes keep my knees from hurting, as big as I am I'm not going to get out of having my back hurt a little bit later in the day. (At least it didn't really hurt while running)
And really, I didn't actually "run" two miles- I walked most of the second mile, alternating between jogging and walking- but by that point just starting to jog a little bit got my heart rate up pretty fast.

I need to be much more patient. I know I'm in really bad shape, so I shouldn't be bothered by the fact that I can't run yet or even keep up a jog for all that long. I'll just keep trying to run and maybe eventually I'll be able to.

No new posts

that's because I'm not doing anything.
I think I'm going to have an offer on my house soon, which is good. Actually selling it would be nice.

I've got mixed feelings about moving- but I've got a lot of stuff to get done before then so I better get on it.

Harry Potter

Did everyone else like it?
I certainly did- though it is strange to finish a Harry Potter book and not be looking forward to reading the next one.

holdin steady

I didn't blog after going to the gym on Monday (my first time there in nearly a week)

I was surprised I hadn't gained weight and was still holding steady at 240, especially after going out to eat with friends and eating my favorite food three times in the preceding week.

Somehow though, I feel fatter even though I haven't gained weight. Maybe I've lost a little muscle- hard to really say. I've had OK days at the gym but I've really been eating horribly. I think part of my not wanting to cook anything is related to a more general not wanting to do anything. I'm doing stuff that needs to get done on the house- but not really much else.

Throw Me a Curve

While I was painting one of the bedrooms the other night itunes shuffling of songs kept me from being too bored. When the Go-Go's "Throw Me A Curve" started coming out of my speakers (yes, I bought the Go-Go's 2001 album God Bless the Go-Go's, you can laugh if you want- but it's fantastic) it made me smile even though it's far, far from being the best track on the album.
Cheesy as it may be, it made me think of some fellow bloggers, many of whom are trying to lose some weight/get in shape and seem to have very realistic expectations.

I'm glad my sister Jen has decided to adjust her original goal and recognize that 140 pounds would be way to thin for her (since she's 5'11") and that she can be both healthy and a little bit curvy. You should check out her site and throw some positive encouragement her way.
Chloe had a great (slightly long winded, but not at all self indulgant) post on Thursday about struggling against an all or nothing mindset, not just in weight loss/fitness but in all of life.
Andrew had a great post a couple of weeks ago on the frustration over weight people face because of the perceptions of others.
ErinAnnie has had a great week, including success with her Alli and diet plan. (but seriously Erin, how did you never try Salmon before? That's crazy! I'm glad you like it, its one of my favorite foods.)
Amelia frequently provides quality posts, and her few words on fatness certainly add to that quality.

Oh, and if you want to listen to Belinda Carlisle sing about NOT being a size zero you can totally just click on play.


The Go-Go's: Throw Me a Curve

It wasn't a bad workout

It wasn't great either.

Pancho's back in town but he's bailed on going to work out. Since he was my ride I didn't go Monday or yesterday. Boo. Today I finally got my car back with a shiny new transmission that actually works. So, today I went and lifted on my own and it wasn't too bad- I've probably had worse workouts but I've certainly had better.
I'm going to start taking a notebook to more closely track what I'm lifting and then set goals before I go- I think it will help me focus.

Oh, the weight is 238.5 which is just a bit less than last time, but I seem to fluctuate pretty much between 238 and 242 and it's been that way for over a month now. I know that I need to eat better and do more cardio if I'm going to move on from this plateau.

Tough Guy

I shaved my head again but left my beard long- so this is my requisite tough guy pose. I don't think it's working.

I busted out the tape measure last night and I'm doing ok on my goals. I've lost just over an inch from my waist and just over an inch from my chest since February when I made my original goals. I certainly haven't been as on the ball since then as I should be- an inch in five months makes it seem likely I'm not going to lose the rest by December, but I still think it's not an unrealistic goal but I'll actually need to work a bit harder at it.

I'm the same weight as I was when I updated my goals back in late March, but my arms and thighs are bigger, so I think if I've gained muscle and stayed the same weight I must have lost some fat- just not sure how much muscle I 've gained or fat I've lost. Overall I think things are good, I need to be a bit more committed but at least I'm still making progress.

even when I'm trying to eat healthy...

This meal that I ate earlier this week:


was 13 weight watchers points. I have no idea how many I'm supposed to have for a day since I'm not doing weight watchers, but it seems 13 points is a lot for one meal. It especially seems like a lot for one meal of chicken and pasta and veggies. I suppose it was a whole lot of chicken and pasta and veggies, (and about 70 grams of protein) so it makes sense. I also used a bit of butter in cooking it and I can cut that out to make a big difference. I'll figure out a good recipe and then post it and the points.

Spicy Shrink Yer Butt Salad

Not Martha recently posted a link to a Spicy-Shrink-Yer-Butt Salad recipe over at SundryBuzz.

Really, the last thing I need to do is shrink my butt since I barely have a butt anyway. However, if I have to shrink my butt to also lose my gut, so be it.

This really isn't a bad salad at all. If you haven't thought before to add beans to your salad to make a meal of it, you really should. Miss Sundry likes small white beans with this salad- I say that's absurd. Go with black beans and chili beans/red beans. I use one can of each to go with my bag of pre-washed salad mix. The combo of those and the salsa basically means you are eating chili. But it's a chilly chili instead of being hot, which is great for summer. I don't use salad oil or vinegar- the lime juice and salsa really mean you don't need any other dressing at all. Just be sure to go easy on the salsa a little really does go a long way.

One big tip she doesn't mention- rinse the beans and the corn. Especially black beans. Put them in the strainer and make sure they are really well rinsed before mixing them in with your salad. With chili beans you don't have to rinse them if you get the spicy kind and you're wanting that chili powder sauce stuff on the salad to make it more like chili- but I'd still give them a light rinse or at least drain them. If you don't rinse the beans and just mix a can of beans with your salad it will be gross. Really

As for Sundry's statement that you'll feel like you're cheating? Complete and utter bullshit. I feel like I'm eating a salad because it's an f-ing salad, I certainly don't feel like I'm cheating. But it's ok because I really don't have to feel like I'm cheating. I feel like I'm being good- but I don't really feel mad or ripped off.

Oh, and as for using chicken or shrimp as your protein with this meal they're just fine but pale in comparison to citrus/chili crusted grilled salmon. Yes, the salmon is higher in fat. But they're good fats, right? A piece of Salmon should be about 300 or 400 calories and 20grams of fat, so that would put it at about 9 or 10 WW points which is a pretty big indulgence. It is, however, an indulgence with 40 grams of protein.

Better than Bisquick Pancakes?

One of the Body for Life authorized recipes over at the website is the really simple "Better than Bisquick" pancakes.

So, I enjoyed them this morning, but are they really better than Bisquick?

Well, they are surprisingly good but you won't confuse them with light fluffy home made pancakes or even good pancake mix pancakes. But, they are lighter than expected and really taste very good. The big bonus is they are very high protein and fairly high fiber when compared to normal pancakes.

BTBQ Pancakes:
4 Egg Whites
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese
Combine ingredients in blender, pulse till blended, scrape sides and blend again till you have a fairly smooth batter, but don't over do it they don't need to be perfectly smooth. cook on 325F skillet. Makes between 4 and 6 small pancakes
Calories: 283
fat: 2g
cholesterol: 9mg
sodium: 680mg
Total Carbs: 35g
Fiber: 5g
Protein: 35g
weight watchers points: 5 (really 4.8)

obviously using 2% cottage cheese gives nearly the same nutrition, and you can of course go for low sodium cottage cheese too. I think the 2% cottage cheese changes the weight watchers points to 5.27 so I'm not sure how the rounding works.


Conclusion:
These are surprisingly good- and just a small bit or syrup or peanut butter really makes them a big winner. I don't know that they're for everybody- but definitely try them- they can be a good way to get in a lot of protein without having to choke down shakes or eat tons of eggs every morning for breakfast.

Thumbs up!

wowsers

You ever have one of hose dreams that seems completely normal until you wake up and then it's just totally weird?

I woke up at 6:09 from this dream where I was in Mexico at some bar/restaurant outside on a patio with some other people who were obviously Americans but who I met there in Mexico. Some of them bought me drinks so I had to give them to other people at the table. Some kids were coming and going from the table and tried to drink some of the drinks but thought they were gross and wanted to know why they weren't good like the paletas.
It was mostly college age (or a little older) guys at the table, but it was a mix of people and who was there seemed to kind of fluctuate. There were people walking around and kind of dancing on the patio as well. Then some women who were apparently American tourists as well but looked like bald trolls came and were dancing and hanging out on the patio. They looked kind of like the giant disgusting guy with swords for arms in the 300, except they were about four foot six and didn't have swords for arms. I think one of them did have 6 or eight breasts instead of two and was wearing bikinis or something that made it apparent. Instead of being shocked by the strange troll people it was just more of a "man those women are ugly" type of response in my head. It inspired one of the guys at the table to say it was time to cut off the drinks and head on out- otherwise who knows who they might go home with. I wanted to pitch in some money to pay - people were just putting cash on the table, mostly American dollars. In my wallet I just had 20s in American dollars and I didnt want to pay that much, but I also had pesos. I saw with frustration that I only had 200 peso bills to go along with the 20s- since all I drank was some juice or something and I didn't get any beer I didn't really want to pay that much. I gave a 200 peso bill to one of the guys anyway (strangely it was pink like 50 peso bills rather than 200 peso bills) and he just gave it to the waitress along with some other money (the waitress strangely happened to be an American girl with kind of blonde curly hair- and in my dream this seemed stranger than the troll women)

Yeah- it must have been the paint fumes from the bathroom because I have no idea where that came from. I guess the lesson learned is that if I get to go to Mexico again I need to remember to carry smaller bills so that I can easily pay for small meals or drinks.

Thursday!

I'm trying to blog more on the regular- I think it will keep me more accountable in weight loss terms- though when I'm crappy I don't really want to blog. I've had good days in the gym- but not been good when it comes to food.

Tuesday night I went to Hideaway Pizza with a group of friends. It was great. But see, the thing about hideaway on Tuesday nights is they just keep bringing you pizza, you have to eat it... right?

Then last night we did a little pot luck thing at my house. Robert's enchilada casserole was amazing. Seriously, it was great.

But- I couldn't sleep last night. I don't know if someone put some crack or msg in their potluck dish or something- so I didn't get to sleep till well after 3 am. So, I didn't get up early today and go to the gym and I took a nap in the afternoon as well.

I'm not going to go to the gym tonight- I'm going to paint my bathroom. (or finish painting it actually.)


And little sister, if you're still reading this I am still of the opinion that you should totally get a blog.

Happy Day!

So, I joined a different Gym, the newly opened Athletic Loft here in Norman. Why did I join a new gym when I'm probably moving in a couple months?
Well, there's no contract and no sign up fee. Like my previous gym it's open 24 hours so Pancho and I can work out when he gets out of work. But, the big bonus is it isn't all the way across town- it's just around the corner.

There are some ways in which it is much nicer than the 24hr fitness express where I was going before, and other ways in which it isn't as nice. The cardio area is bigger while the free weight area has as about as much equipment but is a bit more crowded than at fitness express. They do have unlimited tanning included with pretty nice tanning beds, but I'm pretty darn sure that's a service I won't be using.

My first couple days there have been pretty good. I had a good day lifting and good cardio too. So, I think the new gym will good for me. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

I'm so freakin patriotic, and I didn't even know it.

I didn't go to church today, instead I went to the urgent care facility to get all shot up with steroids. Why did I do this? Because on Thursday some poison plant decide to attack me- which meant I swelled up more and more since then. This mornint I couldn't open my right eye and I felt like what I imagine a pile of dog crap feels like.
So, I got the shot, got a prescription and went home.
Side effects of said shot and prescription include an increased appetite, so I ate a whole bunch today. That combined with not going to the gym for nearly a week means I've got to do better tomorrow. I've stayed right under 240, which is god but I should be much further along than this.

Good news- it seems to be working. I still look like a monster, but at least I can open my right eye all the way. I really should have taken a picture before the swelling went down.


The swelling going down is nice, but the best part was that as I was getting naked this evening so that I could shower I realized there was a bandaid on my ass. Makes sense, that's where I got the shot. But, you know what the amazing part was? It was an American flag bandaid. I guess they took me for a loyal Bushie. Either that, or a passionate hippy in opposition to our government's policies. It really seems those are the only two groups that ever wear an american flag on their bodies at or bellow the waistline.

How did I not know about these bandaids before? Why would I ever use any other bandaid if it is possible to display my patriotism (despite not being a loyal Bushie) every time I have a wound. I think that I would take a cue from Left Eye and company, or even Nelly and wear them as fashion statements even when I didn't have an injury that required them.

As I got in the shower thinking of the American flag that was previously on my derrière and I somehow got "The Babysitter's Here" by Dar Williams stuck in my head. The king of romance wore an American flag on the seat of his pants, but I think in the end he was kind of a butt-head, so I'm still not sure about the company I keep.
Regardless, I figured I should share some Dar, Babysitter first, and then Christians and the Pagans (which isn't really a video, just the song with a lovely nature pentagram background) I certainly hope you enjoy them as much as I just did.

Babysitter's Here

Christians and the Pagans

hey fatty, you can't wear that anymore

Well- though I've lost some weight and some clothes are now big or fit me well, I'm still a great big fat guy and there's stuff I haven't worn in ages that is still too small.

So, this morning I packed up winter clothes and clothes that are to small to make my closet a little less crowded.


I've had good days at the gym- but I'm not getting the muscle growth I want and it's because my diet sucks- not enough lean protein and too much crap. The next few weeks I'm going to step up my diet since my mom will be in town and I'll be more motivated to cook since it won't be just for me- thus less quick junk food.

Argh!

Well, still 240. I didn't have that great a workout- I felt really tired and pretty weak and wasn't lifting much at all, even doing a sled squat rather than just regular squat in the squat rack. I was certainly lifting much more last week than I was this time. I suppose that's not too big a deal. As long as I'm lifting more over time even though day to day may be up and down I'll be fine.

Weight loss blog

Well, dangerously lazy is pretty much purely a weight loss blog now, which I think is good. I do need to post more regularly if the interweb is to truly be my accountabilabuddy. I haven't blogged about much else lately- though I've had lots of things I could blog about and didn't want to or things I wanted to blog about and didn't. Everything from finding out my license was suspended when I got pulled over a couple weeks ago to what's going on out in the blogosphere. I'm sure I'll still blog about non-fitness related things, but they won't make up the bulk of the blog.

But, as weight loss goes my most recent weigh in on Monday night still has me right at 240, which is fine since it was my first weigh in or work out since the weekend roadtrip and wedding. I usually eat fairly poorly while traveling, and the trip made me miss a couple workouts.

I haven't eaten extremely well since the road trip either; I've been doing lots of the "I'm leaving town" dinners with friends or "I'm in town just for a couple days" dinners with old friends I haven't seen in ages. (really I shouldn't let that get in the way at all, I can make healthier choices when eating out.) I'll see tonight whether it's had too much of a negative impact.

My weight is like a roller coaster

Well- not really so much. Basically I'm at the same place I've been for weeks and weeks (months?)
Just a smidge under 239

Pancho gained 5 pounds- but last night was his first time at the gym in over 2 weeks. (I'd been in that time but not as consistently as I should have been going)

I'm glad I'm not gaining weight back. I'm trying not to eat too crappy- but I'm certainly not eating really well either.

I'll keep you updated on the weight loss (or stagnation) and try to look at the internet as my accountabilabudy since Pancho isn't quite enough of one. Most of my original year end goals are still doable- but they'll be tough. I don't think I'll have all the upper body muscle gain I had originally wanted (though lower body shouldn't be a problem) so I may readjust those goals again. My arms look and feel like they are bigger- but they aren't really much bigger at all they're just starting to look a bit more toned.

what I'm doing tonight.

Nothing fun.

What I'd like to be doing tonight-
going to see this band and this band open for this band.

So, if anyone has seen the Oohlas live, please tell me they sucked.
Thank you.

If I had hair, part 1

Those of you who know me (and many of you who don't) probably know that I'm not really a fan of the fact that I'm losing my hair. Sure, I often shave my head entirely and act as if I were all totally cool with the not having hair thing- but really I'm not.

So... I often wonder what I would look like if I still had hair. When I saw someone else had posted pictures of themselves with different hairstyles and colors that you can see on yourself when you upload a picture at clairol.com I had to check it out. And I must say, I look freakin hot with hair. I did screen caps of a bunch of different options, so every once in a while I will post one here- starting today with one of my favorites. It's a look I call "Fascist Harpy" named after my most favoriteauthor/pundit/self important crazy person since it's a version of the basic hair-do she sports. (Though her hair is much more bleached blond)




Yes. I'm definitely sexy. And, despite my beard, I'm also much less man-ish in this hair-do than the woman who inspired its name. (I suppose it's the lack of pure evil, or the less prominent adam's apple that's keeping me more feminine)

all apologies

Oh, and to anyone who does read my blog- I'm sorry for the long and boring posts.

I personally am a fan of the funny. I don't mind less than funny posts on other blogs when they aren't novel length. I don't mind novel length posts if they are funny. But man, it seems I'm combining the worst of both worlds.

So- maybe when I'm less focused on how fat I am there will be some funny. Until that time, look at this as a bitching about my diet blog and read at your own risk.

well damn...

Well, if you look to the left, to the left (all of my shame in a box to the left) you can see that I have gained just a bit more than the 5 pounds I predicted in my couple of weeks off- because not only did i not go to the gym during said time- I ate horribly. It was as though I consciously fell off the wagon and did the whole "well, I'll be better next week" thing to justify eating horrible food, and lots of it.

Having most of a week spent in a hotel and eating out all the time didn't help- but I usually did the big eating out thing and/or ate crappy food. No salad for me- unless of course the salad was just a precursor to much more horrible food.
OK, I'm back though. Frank won't be joining me in the gym till Monday- and this morning's workout made me feel like I was going to vomit. I lift a lot more doing the super squat machine I do with actual squats. (a lot more still being relative in that it's still less than 300 pounds- but my heavy set with actual squats is less than 200 so 270 seemed like a lot when I looked at the plates loaded onto the bar) I felt like I could do more weight because I didn't have the muscle strain "I'm going to fall over" type of feeling that you get when you are lifting those last few reps but afterwards I realized I really had exerted myself and felt pretty beat. Which of course made it hard to move on to other exercises afterward.

I still have no endurance- so running tomorrow should be fun. It is getting nicer out- but I think I may just do the treadmill anyway since I've got some sinus stuff going on and I hates my allergies when I run outside.

OK, so new goal: be back under 240 by the end of next week, and down to 235 by the 12th of May. That's real doable. It means I need a caloric deficit of about 1700 calories a day. While that probably seems huge to most normal people- it isn't that big a deal when you are a giant fat man like I am.
Using the BMR Formula, it seems my base metabolic rate has me burning 2335 calories a day. Using the Harris Benedict equation
I can then find out how many calories I burn at different activity levels. So, if I am very sedentary then I should be burning about 2800 calories a day. If I were to be extremely active (hard training twice a day) then my daily caloric burn would be just a smidge under 4450. That is highly unlikely- but with moderate exercise 3-5 days a week I'd average 3600 calories burned a day. Which means if I can just keep my daily calories around 2000 I should reach my goal. (although were I to step it up and work out like crazy I could be at 230 by the 12th instead of 235)

Really, I also know that I need to take into account the decreased base metabolic rate as I lose weight and that I will burn less calories. I still think that keeping at 2000 calories a day should be fine- I will probably train a bit harder than "moderate" exercise but not quite as crazy hard as full on twice a day. (honestly, if you aren't an athlete on a team training for a new season, two a day training just seems like a symptom of anorexia. While I'm in no danger of eminent starvation I don't want to get into habits that could become unhealthy in the future. I may occasionally do more exercise than once a day- but it will only be if I'm doing something like playing ball with friends as a leisure activity on top of going to the gym)

I knew there was a reason I'm up so late

My sleep schedule is way off lately.
Right now I'm avoiding finishing some work and trying to figure out if I should just go to bed - in the midst of it I've got the tv tuned to VH1 classic- where from 2AM-3AM they have a show called "The Alternative" which i described as "videos from unconventional bands of the '60s, '70s and '80s" when I press the info button.

It is in fact more of a 80's alternative with the occasional instance of other decades thrown in- with more early '90s than '60s and '70s.

But I must tell you, it is fantastic. I smiled as the Pixies Velouria started- because I realized I had just seen some Portishead, REM, The Samples and The Pixies. In a row. On the tv.

I like music videos- I don't know why, I just always have. And I used to complain about MTV and VH1 no longer showing any videos, but I realize the complaint is kind of stupid. Despite that, this show is great. It goes beyond even what 120 minutes used to be. It includes some of that- but seems more like a video version of a 1994 college radio station. (OK, maybe the semi-commercial college radio station- but still... it's pretty nice)

I am way to much a consumer of pop culture. I often think I ought to exert a lot more mental energy into things that are, you know, productive. Instead of watching Fishbone videos.

Because really. Fishbone videos are pretty absurd.

But it's Fishbone.
On the tv.
I have to watch. (while I multi task in my time wasint by writing on my blog)

crushes

I have a bit of a man crush on:


My roommate Judd finds Brown's show Good Eats to be extremely annoying. I do agree that it is often over the top and/or stupid, but I enjoy it thoroughly nonetheless. I also think he's quite good hosting and doing the play by play for Iron Chef America.

Since being introduced to the blogging world a few years ago I have had a number of different blog crushes, but the most recent blogcrush is most definitely Amelia. If you don't read her blog, you should certainly go check it out.

No wires attached

I helped coach some of the speech kids before they went to Nationals- which meant I got to hear all of their speeches. One that was a mixed bag was the persuasion from the kid who's really the best overall competitor about personal internet security.

It made me decide I ought to check out some more info on it. There's a blog that seems to have a lot of info on wireless LAN security. It's clear there are a lot of things I really should do differently- but I wasn't too surprised that it seems I'm doing most things pretty much right.

There's a step by step on how to secure your wireless network, which is helpful. It's a bit bloated in some ways and seems to have more info than is needed, but don't let it intimidate you it's a pretty easy read. The big thing I've been worrying about lately is that WEP encryption though not perfect is far better than nothing. One thing it recommends that I don't do is changing encryption keys often. Were I in a more easily compromised environment (a company with a parking lot where people might pull up, or within range of the street and wardrivers) I would probably be more concerned.

In full disclosure, one reason I'm reviewing the site is because they have a contest to win a free router for writing a review of the blog. It's one that looks pretty cool, not too advanced, but the usb print server on it would be really nice. To be eligible I'll have to put the blog up in my blogroll- which really isn't a big deal since I think most people probably ought to look more at how insecure most of their actions on the internet are and what they can do differently.

fatter and slower

I "ran" 2 miles today in about 27 minutes. 3 minutes more to do the same distance as last time. The course was a bit different today, but one I thought was easier. I suppose my last run may have been a bit shorter than two miles. Today I felt crappier. I don't know if it was giving blood monday night, or just it being kind of windy today, but I kinda sucked. I spent more time walking, and the walking wasn't as fast.

Halfway through the second mile I sprinted for about 100 yards and it absolutely killed me. I was barely walking straight after that let alone walking quickly.


All that said, I do want to apologize for whining about my lack of progress when really I've been doing fairly well, especially considering how minimal my changes have been. I saw this commercial and thought it was funny since I've definitely known couples who go through this same thing. And really, I'm kind of that guy. I quit drinking soda, increased my lean protein intake, and started lifting sporadically and lost 15 pounds in a month and a half. I'm not a big fan of diet pills- though I won't criticize those who feel that they help as part of a diet and exercise plan- I just think too many people look at them as a magic bullet. If you haven't seen the commercial check it out.

wow...

words can not describe

Just a couple of pounds

Yeah- it's been a bad eating little exercising weekend extravaganza.
Friday, I ate poorly. Saturday afternoon was a wedding reception with great food (and one where I got to give the toast) Later Saturday night I ate at Chili's with friend. (I know, Chili's sucks. I also know they have some healthy options. None of the healthy choices were consumed, only crap was consumed. And it was delicious.)
Monday night I had wings.

And of course, there was a bit of candy eating spread throughout that whole time.
Which means I wasn't too surprised to weigh in at just a smidge over 241 this morning.

But that's alright. Tomorrow will likely include both lifting and cardio. It should, of course, be fun.

freakin-a

yeah, I know I said I couldn't wait till May and that I didn't care about all the great music coming out over the last couple weeks and that all I care about is waiting for Bjork and Tori.

but I lied

I want to buy a whole crapton of albums
this one
and this one
oh, and also this one
& this one (for when I feel like cutting)
& this (despite the mixed reviews)
I think I want this one (it's a whole lot different than his last one, at least what I can tell from the one song I've heard. Granted that song was about 3 hours long)
I also want this (even if she does sound like she's trying too hard to chanel Sugarcubes era Bjork)
I also think I want this one.


Oh, and I almost forgot bout this, I downloaded it illicitly what seems like a year ago since it wasn't available here in the USofA- now the American version apparently has some new content. (and not only am I a sucker for new content, I feel kind of bad about having stolen it last year) Though it's not really exciting and new anymore, it is quite fun. I think it's driving with the windows and sunroof open while summer blissfully approaches type of album


All this stuff and when I stopped by Guestroom last week I bought the new K-OS album over all of them. What the hell was I thinking?

I'm too broke to buy all this stuff.
Crap- I could buy more stuff back when I worked for the man. Maybe I should call him up and see if he needs a shill.

i am a big, fat, slow guy

Well the weather cleared up and dried out a bit, I got an email from my prof saying class was canceled for this afternoon, and I thought "Hey, I can go running!"

And it was a reminder that I am a big, fat, slow guy. I'm a little ashamed that it takes me about 23 minutes to "run" 2 miles. Really it was more of a walk a bit run a bit then walk than a run. But after the first mile I switched the ipod from The Who to Mastodon which helped me at least walk purposefully and feel like a badass.

freakin thunderstorms!

My sleep schedule being out of whack lately I went to bed extremely early last night and then got up before 4 this morning. I decided to just stay up- I got to read my scriptures, goof around on the net, and eat a delicious breakfast (steak and egg fajitas) with tons of protein (it's strange to have eaten about 90 grams before 5 am)

I thought that I'd take a couple hours to goof around on the net and wait for it to be sunny outside before I hit the street to do actual running rather than pretend running on a machine inside a building. But instead of getting sunny it's gotten thunderstormy. A nice and warm 68 degrees is kind of offset by the 20mph winds, the torrential down pouring of rain, and the lightening. (If not for the thunder and lightening I might just go anyway- I think it would be fun to jog a couple miles and then come back home and jump right into a nice hot shower)

Well... maybe I'll just play some ddr or something. I haven't done that in ages.

best... t-shirt... ever

Ready Made let me know about a flicker stream of T-Shirts seen at SXSW. And I think that, by far, this one is my favorite.

(and for the record, I do not, in fact, hate Mr. Bjork.)

239 and a half

At the gym I was just a bit heavier than 239 and a quarter and a bit lighter than 239 and a half.

Somehow I'm still making progress.

The gym totally kicked my butt though- I was fine until near the end. I tried to do too much on my tricep pull downs and then again at the very end with the hammer curls. Which left me light headed and then nauseas. It wasn't too bad, but it kept me from eating as much as I would have liked to post workout. (I'm still not really getting enough protein.)

It was good to have Pancho there again. I don't go consistently when he can't go, and my workouts are usually a little better when I go with someone.

Fat Rant

Meta posted the "Fat Rant" video over at her blog Girls That Eat Pizza You should go check it out.

I agree with the message overall. "Diets" don't work because a drastic temporary change can have drastic results- but they'll be temporary.

Diet should be about eating better forever, exercise should be something we always do as part of an active life. When we make small changes our progress is going to be more gradual, but I think it is more likely to be permanent.

I somewhat disagree with the video in that I do think that it is possible to overcome genetics to some extent, though I do agree that some people just aren't designed to be tiny thin (just like others aren't designed to be extremely huge bodybuilders.)

I think her point that we should accept who we are is great, but a lot of people with that attitude miss the part about "if you're already eating better and exercising" I know I've used the "Well I'm just fat and can't do anything about it" excuse and it just serves to make you unhappy as much as trying to be a body type that you aren't does.

The point from the video that I love is that all of us need to go out and live our lives no matter where we are. We can't let being too fat get in the way. I think it's one of many things we use to stop ourselves from living. It isn't just "once I lose weight" I can do this, it's:
"Once I get this place cleaned up I can decorate (have people over, work on other stuff... etc)"
"Once I can stop smoking then I'll go back to church"
"Once I can get good at this game, then I'll play with other people"
and a whole host of others.
I know I'm guilty of doing those sorts of things. Often we put up these barriers and
we don't change them because then we'd have to face everything else. Sometimes we want to face other things, but those initial barriers we set up are so overwhelming we don't know where to start. And a lot of the barriers we set up actually keep us from removing those barriers. Being worried what people will think of the fat and/or weak guy at the gym or the pool ensures you're always going to be the fat and weak guy everywhere.


Pancho is worse about these things than I am- and it's hard in the fitness department because he's in much worse shape than I am. Being 6'1" and 240 you can kind of pretend you aren't that fat. But you can't really do the same at 5'9" and 300. At that point he really just gets depressed in that it seems insurmountable and that he isn't really making progress that seems significant. A lot of the cardio options are too hard on his knees- but he won't go swimming. He doesn't swim well but he refuses to learn. He doesn't want to be the dumbass that doesn't know how to swim- and more than that he doesn't want to be the fatass that should know better than to be in public without a shirt on. It's frustrating because I think that swimming would be really good for both of us. I really do love the guy like a brother, he's one of my best friends in the world and it's hard to see him unhappy with life. I hope he can start making some real progress and feel better about himself (and I hope that my progress can continue or increase as well)

I'll continue to post about my progress here. Even though few people read it- I think that it keeps me accountable a little more than if I weren't posting.

accent

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The South
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

gooooooal!

Later today I am going to go to the gym with Pancho- yes he's finally coming back to the gym after an extended break. I'm pretty happy about it, though I'm not feeling too great (I haven't been sleeping well- allergies in the season change make it hard to breathe.)

At the risk of sounding like a total ass that always talks about his muscles or how much he lifts I'm changing up a couple goals from my original February 8th post on fitness and weight loss goals.

I've lost weight and look like I have, but not drastically so (15 pounds isn't that big a difference when you are well over 200) I've lost an inch from my gut and a half inch at my neck. So, it looks like weight loss goals should be good to go. None of my other upper body measures have changed. Biceps and chest are both still the same. I think that reaching my bicep goal is going to be a stretch.
I figured lower body I wouldn't put on much muscle since my legs are already kind of big from carrying around a big fat guy. My calves are a bit bigger (maybe half an inch each) so the goal there is doable but possibly a stretch. The thing that really surprised me was the gain I've made in my upper legs. My quads and hamstrings are noticeably stronger and I've already reached my goal for my thighs.
So, all goals for where I want to be by December 30th are saying the same except-
Neck: 16" (original goal was 16.5")
Thighs: 28" each (original goal was 26" each)

I think all my goals are certainly possible. I will have to do a bit more cardio than I'm doing to keep losing weight- now that it's getting nice outside (once the allergens die down a bit) I can run outdoors instead of just getting on a treadmill. I'm still trying to do better with what I'm eating. I still eat junk- but I'm trying to eat less of it and eat more quality foods. Overall I think my progress is pretty good but if I want to keep it up I probably need to work harder than I am.

241

I haven't been consistent in going to the gym - Pancho not wanting to go, my little brother being in town, and lots of other little excuses have kept me away. I have been eating less, but not necessarily better. So, going to the gym today I knew I'd lost weight but doubted that all of it was fat.

I really need to strengthen my lower back, because it's holding me back on leg days. Even when I'm using proper form as much as possible it seems I make my lower back sore when doing enough to really work my legs. (Plus, I still have trouble going low enough in a squat without bending forward too much.) Squats and deadlifts I feel it in my lower back. I switched from deadlifts to just doing the hamstring leg extension machine- and it worked out fairly well. About halfway through my sets my legs felt really good.
I feel like my calves have gotten weaker and if I have lost muscle some of it is from my calves. I need to not just eat less but watch my diet better to get enough protein, and then I need to be more consistent at heading to the gym.


I went to target post workout (being nasty and sweaty wasn't too bit a deal since it was still well before 9 and hardly any one was there- but I still felt like maybe I should just wait until I wasn't gross to go) and got a few things including some cheap steaks (which will make a very nice friday afternoon spring break lunch) and a chefmate crockpot which I'm going to use to bake some no knead bread. (I'm not cutting out carbs too much, just trying to eat good protein and veggies along with the carbs) I'll try to take some pictures to show how it turned out (since I think I'm the last person in the blogosphere to try the no knead bread, I doubt anyone really cares.)

May

May 1st?
May 7th?

But I don't want to wait two months.
I recognize wanting to get albums from artists I loved in the 90s rather than what the cool kids are listening to now makes me a dinosaur (and I suppose with it being these two particular artists I imagine some would assume a gay dinosaur) but I don't really care. I'm a crotchety old man annoyed by these kids today and their dang music. And that's how I like it.

yeah.... about that.

OK, so my going to gym for leg day thing didn't really happen till last night. So, I spent pretty much all week not in the gym. And I ate crappy. Lots of fast food, not great choices at home, and then a horrible eating extravaganza at Temezcal (pretty good local Mexican place) last night with Pancho, D-Train and The Thrill. (only D-Train actually uses that nickname- but I'm not going to use the real names of people who don't blog or who blog semi-anonymously. It does mean I have to occasionally make up stupid nicknames for people. you know, like "The Thrill")
The four of us drove to Tulsa earlier in the day so that we could pick up the piano Pancho bought on ebay. We all rode up in The Thrill's accord and then Pancho rented a U-Haul one way. The transport of said upright grand was a lot easier than expected- having four people really made it possible. Had it just been two of us it would have sucked big time. Pancho and I went back in the U-Haul and D-Train and The Thrill followed in the accord.

Anyway, long story slightly less long when we got back to Norman with everything put away and the U-Haul turned in we had to go get a big dinner to hang out/celebrate/uhm... not really sure why we had to, but we certainly had to.

Now that all those excuses are out of the way it leads me to my disappointing news that when I did go to the gym quite late at night the scale read a not so shocking 248. After losing about ten pounds I've gained almost 3 back.

New week new start. By the end of the week I want to be back at 245
I'll keep you posted.

246

OK, back just over half a pound- and now at about 246. Yeah... so I haven't been to the gym in a few days and haven't been good over the weekend in my eating practices.

But- that's cool. I'm all about being back into going to the gym even when Pancho can't go. I'm excited for leg day tomorrow, it should be fun.

Stupid consequences of past decisions.

As I go through my (far too last minute) law school application process and think about where I want to go to school I realize all the east coast options will be freakin cold for at least a couple months.

I asked Smash about DC and she said this about the weather:

So, on average, I'd say it's unbearably cold for 1.5-2 months and then just uncomfortably cold for the rest of the winter. You will manage--we all do.

But I don't want any unbearable cold. I want a month or two of uncomfortable cold with the rest of the winter on the cool side of pleasant. I want to live in NorCal in the freakin bay area.
You know, if I had just done my work and taken school seriously and gotten a 3.7 I could go to Berkeley. Berkeley people. A 3.7 would put me at their 25th% for grade point and with my lsat at their 75th% it would put me right about in the middle of their accepted students and give me a pretty good shot.
Sure, I could possibly go to Hastings. But Hastings is in one of the most ghetto parts of SanFran and I'd be a whole lot less likely to land a good job in the area after graduation.

Maybe I should just go to Arizona State and live in Phoenix. Phoenix isn't bad, right? I wouldn't feel like I'm missing out by not being in NYC or DC right? Maybe if I keep telling myself that I'll eventually believe it.

A day late...

and three points short.

I got my LSAT score last night rather than today, so although I was planning on posting about that today- I actually could have posted last night once I got it.

I did fairly well. I'm two or three points lower than where I wanted to score, but I still scored well enough that I am quite happy with the score and am pretty sure I will get in some of the places where I applied/am applying. Now I'll get to hurry and turn in a few more applications to places with March 15th deadlines and then play the waiting game to see who lets me in.

I'll make sure to tell the internet where I get in, or at least where I end up deciding to go.

Poriton control

I totally forgot to mention getting a kitchen scale. While grocery shopping at the Super Target I bought a kitchen scale so that I could measure portions better. I got an electric one that also has nutritional info built in (for about 1000 different foods, you can add 99 more custom foods.) You type in the code for the food you want and it tells you the weight and all the basic USDA nutritional data for that specific amount of that food. The thing that makes it really cool is storing the info into a running total so you can pretty easily get a total for a meal or for an entire day.
It's smaller than the picture makes it look, but it seems to work really well. The biggest reason for the scale was to make sure I'm getting enough protein. I know that I've been falling short of the recomended 1g-2g of protein for each pound of body weight when trying to build muscle.
So, the new toy may mean I start a more accurate food journal which may show up here from time to time.

245 and a quarter

My legs will certainly be sore later today and tomorrow, (and probably Saturday as well) but right now they feel great. I know I can squat more than I am right now, but I don't want to risk injury while I'm still working on form there. By the end of the year I want to be squatting 300 which should be eminently do-able. People much smaller than me lift more than that. It's far outside of powerlifter territory for a guy my size but it's still a good bit of weight.

I'm staying solid in the weight loss. Today the scale wasn't even half a pound lower- I suppose I can't really expect to have lost a whole pound or even half a pound in just a day or day and a half. The scale says I'm just a smidge over 245. So, it looks like I'm still right on track for my goals. Even though it's still early in the process it's good to know things are going according to plan.

New Crack

Coca-Cola Cherry Zero has me in its clutches.

Didn't I say I was off the crack?
bah
whatever

This is a beverage sans calories, and thus it woos me in to its sweet caffeinated embrace.
Though, at the rate I'm drinking the stuff I certainly hope all the fears about aspartame are unfounded. Otherwise I won't know whether to blame it on the Coke or the cell phone if I develop cancer. And when that happens, how can you be part of a class action law suit? Can you just blame both and be part of two class action law suits?

My headphones, they saved my life

I went to guestroom last night to buy Patty Griffin's new album as a birthday present for a friend because I was certain it was something she would like. They didn't have it, so I figured I would get her The Crane Wife even though it would probably be different from what she usually listens to because I think that she'll like it when she gives it a chance.

Something new since I'd been to guestroom last (about a month and a half ago) was a wall full of Steve Keene paintings (mostly) based on album covers. I was talking to the owners while checking out and Travis asked me if I wanted to get the painting of The Crane Wife. I told him I didn't but asked if it was too big a pain for him to get the ladder out and get the down the Bjork Post He was glad to (Travis is a nice guy, and I suppose asking him if it's too much trouble to sell me something was kind of stupid anyway)

I'm quite happy with my purchase. I know a lot of people think Keene's stuff isn't really art, and that's just fine with me. It looks good on my wall and I'm pretty certain it's the best 25 bucks I've spent in quite some time.

245.5

Felt kind of crappy in the gym this morning, overall I was fine but not really lifting as much as I wanted to.
The gym's scale said I'm down to 245.5 which surprised me because I was almost certain I'd gained some weight back. I suppose I haven't been eating too poorly and have kept off the crack (dr. pepper and coca-cola) but I haven't been too consistent in doing cardio. I know I could pretty safely create a bigger caloric deficiet than I do now. I really ought to find something I can do at home in the evenings- maybe start playing DDR or get some sort of cheesy exercise video. I was thinking of a Katamibar based on Meta's endorsement. It seems like a cardio program that includes some core strengthening might be good (and let me skip on core when I do leg days.) But, I checked out the website and it's about twice what I expected (or am willing) to pay. If anyone does read this, and has recomendation for home cardio videos I certainly am open to recomendations.

247!

Tonight (or, I guess this morning) was leg day. My legs feel great but I know they will hurt tomorrow.
Pancho working this schedule this week is a bit crap- but it actually is nice to have the gym pretty much to ourselves when we go at night. Not sure whether we are going to lift on Friday before he has to work or after he gets done. Morning makes a better schedule for the rest of the crap I have to do, but night's not too bad and I can sleep in during the time where I would have been at the gym in the morning.

Now, for the kind of good news. The scale at the gym says I weigh 247. That doesn't actually mean I've lost 13 pounds- I was using a different scale before- one that seems inacurate (if the one at the gym is accurate) but also does say I've lost at least a couple of pounds. It's just the bathroom scale we've got is so non-precise that it is hard to tell if I've lost 1 pound or five. Despite my starting weight probably being lighter than the just over 260 that the bathroom scale showed I'm going to stick with the original goals and look to be somewhere between 190 and 230 by the end of the year but at about 12% body fat instead of 35% body fat.

Workin out

Well, to update I've done well lifting but haven't gone on a couple of cardio days. Pancho has gone to lift with me once and we're going again tonight rather than this morning.

I lost some weight and then gained some back. I'd love to say I'm gaining muscle and that's all that's going on- but I'm certain it isn't. I feel a bit stronger after a week and a half of lifting but I don't think I've really gained much muscle yet. I'll re-measure after a month to see.

As for the weight loss then gain I have had a couple of crappy eating days going out for mexican food with friends. I think that I am about a pound lighter than when I weighed myself but it really is hard to tell with the crappy bathroom scale here at the house- it really isn't very precise. I need to start weighing myself at the gym, at least once a week. I'll hop on and see tonight or tomorrow.

Fat!

Well, I'm 5 pounds shy of the fattest I've ever been.

And I do want to change. I figured that just wanting to be different is pretty nebulous and that I should make some goals. Of course, as the saying goes, goals are just wishes if they aren't written down. And I suppose putting them up for the world to see (even on a blog that I know no one reads) ups the ante a bit more.

To know where I want to go, I figured I should know where I am so I pulled the scale out of the cupboard and stepped on. (which is how I know I'm five pounds shy of the fattest I've ever been)
Wow...
Yeah two hundred and sixty pounds. Two. Six. Zero.
then I got out the fat pinch caliper measurer (which I bought years ago but are almost brand new) to figure out my body fat percentage. Looks like I'm right at 35% Yeah- not just fat- but obese. I am officially obese.
But, I didn't stop there. I got the clothing tape measure out.
Neck - 17.5"
Chest - 48"
True Waist (gut measured at my belly button as opposed to on my hips where I actually wear my pants.) - 48" (if I fully inhale and stick my gut out rather than holding it in.)
Biceps (flexed) Right/Left - 15.25"/15
Thighs (quadriceps flexed) 25"/24.75"
Calves (flexed) 17"/17"


So, I know where I am (fat) so where do I want to be?
By my birthday (December 30)
Weight - 215-220
Neck - 16.5"
Chest - 46"
True Waist - 40"
Biceps - 17" each
Thighs - 26" each
Calves - 18.5" each
between now and then I want to lose 60lbs of fat and gain 15-25lbs of muscle. Have a body fat percentage of 12-14%

That means if I start Monday I'd need to lose almost a pound and a half of fat each week and gain just under half a pound of muscle. Seems do-able.
What am I going to do to actually get there? No super strict diet plan, but some changes. First- I need to stop drinking soda (which I've recently done) and drink a lot more water. I eat out all the time currently. I need to only eat out two or three times a week and only do crappy fast food once or twice a month. (and not drink soda any of those times) I definitely need to start eating breakfast (either oatmeal or an egg white omelet) much more often and just generally eating less crappy food. To gain the muscle I want I'll need a lot of low fat protein along with decent carbs. I'll start on the protein shakes Monday and start eating more lean chicken and fish.

I also have really missed going to the gym- so that's definitely on. Pancho has committed to going to the gym 3 times a week to lift with me (and he needs it more than I do) I'm going to go lift with him Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday I'm going to run or do some other focused cardio (occasionally I may swim)
In addition to the exercise I'll go do more sports type activities with friends- racquetball with D-Train and the Mench, some basketball, and ultimate Frisbee with the institute kids.

OK, so that's a long post. But it gives my yearly goals and some general plans for reaching them.
I think that I may eventually want to put my progress up on a sidebar like some other bloggers tracking their weight loss. I'll blog about how the first day goes on Monday- after that I'll put up progress every Friday or Saturday along with goals for the next week.

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Lunch with old friends

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Hot-Rod BTO

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Aren't they cute?

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JFK big pimpin

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Axis & Allies

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Tired on New Year's eve

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Where I bought my new phone