What This Blog Is All About

I need to be healthier. Badly. Individual efforts have not sufficed, so I'm hoping the support of friends, family, and anyone who happens along this blog can help me along.


For a fuller description of what I'm doing and how people can help, click here to read my first post.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Exercise Log August 30, 2009

Walked 2.5 miles with Steve, including up The Hill. Walked another 3 miles with Michelle in the evening.

Weigh-In August 30, 2009

331.4 pounds

Incremental Loss: 4.3 pounds
Monthly Gain: 2.9 pounds
Total Loss: 29.4 pounds

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Exercise Log August 29, 2009

Walked 6 miles around Old Settler's Park with Craig.

I honestly forgot until late afternoon to weigh myself, so will skip the weigh-in today.

Weigh-In August 28, 2009

335.7 pounds

Incremental Loss: 1.7 pounds
Monthly Gain: 7.2 pounds
Total Loss: 25.1 pounds

No exercise unless you count a session of LaserTag.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Exercise Log August 27, 2009

1 yoga class.

Weigh-In August 27, 2009

337.4 pounds

Incremental Gain: 3.8 pounds
Monthly Gain: 8.9 pounds
Total Loss: 23.4 pounds

Weigh-In August 26, 2009

333.6 pounds

Incremental Gain: 1.4 pounds
Monthly Gain: 5.1 pounds
Total Loss: 27.2 pounds

Exercise Log August 25, 2009

1 yoga class.

Weigh-In August 25, 2009

332.2 pounds

Incremental Loss: 2 pounds
Monthly Gain: 3.7 pounds
Total Loss: 28.6 pounds

Exercise Log August 24, 2009

Biked 5.5 miles in 34 minutes. Jump roped 203 reps in 9 minutes and walked a half-mile.

Weigh-In August 24, 2009

334.2 pounds

Incremental Gain: 2.3 pounds
Monthly Gain: 5.7 pounds
Total Loss: 26.6 pounds

A switch for the rest of the month - I'm losing motivation for a lot of this effort, especially the blogging. I'm skipping the food log the rest of the month so I keep up at least part of it. Sorry to disappoint.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Exercise Log August 23, 2009

Different tack today. 15-20 minutes doing stretches (yoga and not), then 217 jump rope reps in 13 mintues - longest streak was my last 28 in a row.

Food Log August 23, 2009

Lunch: southwest enchilada and tortilla chips from Chuy's
Afternoon Snack: Coke Slurpee and raisins
Dinner: salad and 3 pieces BBQ Chicken pizza from Promise Pizza
Evening Snack: popcorn

Liquid Refreshment: more soda than water - bad Me!

Weigh-In August 23, 2009

331.9 pounds

Incremental Loss: 0.0 pounds
Monthly Gain: 3.4 pounds
Total Loss: 28.9 pounds

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Food Log August 22, 2009

Brunch: 2 bacon/egg/potato/egg breakfast tacos from Taco Shack (THE place for breakfast tacos)
Afternoon Snack: 2 fudgesicles
Dinner: turkey ham and cheese Texandwich
Evening Snack: cheeseburger and fries

Liquid Refreshment: 2 glasses of water

Exercise Log August 22, 2009

9AM yoga class. Who knew I had hamstrings?

Weigh-In August 22, 2009

331.9 pounds

Incremental Gain: 0.1 pounds
Monthly Gain: 3.4 pounds
Total Loss: 28.9 pounds

Friday, August 21, 2009

Food Log August 21, 2009

Breakfast: leftover Chicken Romano and 1 bite-sized Special Dark
Morning Snack: 1 banana and 5 bite-sized Mr. Goodbars
Lunch: gyro and basmati rice at Pars
Afternoon Snack: 4 cookies and popcorn at the theater
Dinner: cheeseburger and fries from McDonald's

Liquid Refreshment: 3 glasses of water and 5 Coke Zeros

Exercise Log August 21, 2009

Biked 5.5 miles in 33 minutes this morning - I thought I'd go faster but I'll blame yoga this time.

Weigh-In August 21, 2009

331.8 pounds

Incremental Loss: 1.3 pounds
Monthly Gain: 3.3 pounds
Total Loss: 29.0 pounds

Exercise Log August 20, 2009

Yoga class. Never felt so good doing something so badly.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Food Log August 20, 2009

Breakfast: 1 bacon/egg/cheese breakfast taco from TacoDeli (not my favorite place)
Morning Snack: 1 banana
Lunch: some calamari and tortilla chips with sour cream and half the lunch portion of Chicken Romano at Cheesecake Factory
Afternoon Snack: 1 box of raisins and 2 Mr. Goodbars
Dinner: theater popcorn

Liquid Refreshment: 7 glasses of water and 3 Coke Zero

Weigh-In August 20, 2009

333.1 pounds

Incremental Loss: 0.7 pounds
Monthly Gain: 4.6 pounds
Total Loss: 27.7 pounds

Also I'm wearing a 3X Tshirt today for the first time in a long time.

Food Log August 19, 2009

Breakfast: bacon biscuit and banana-strawberry yogurt smoothie from ChickFilA
Lunch: Turkey Tom from Jimmy John's and a bite-sized Hershey's
Afternoon Snack: box of raisins
Dinner: Royal Red Robin burger and steak fries

Liquid Refreshment: 2 Diet Cokes and a lot of water

Weigh-In August 19, 2009

333.8 pounds

Incremental Loss: 0.6 pounds
Monthly Gain: 5.3 pounds
Total Loss: 27.0 pounds

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Exercise Log August 18, 2009

Attended my yoga class.

Food Log August 18, 2009

Breakfast: sourdough English muffin with peanut butter
Lunch: cheeseburger and fries at Wendy's
Afternoon Snack: box of raisins
Dinner: turkey and swiss sandwich, bag of Baked Doritos, and banana
Evening Snack: small handful of trail mix and 3 stolen waffle fries

Liquid Refreshment: 4 glasses of water and 3 Diet Cokes

Weigh-In August 18, 2009

334.4 pounds

Incremental Gain: 3.8 pounds
Monthly Gain: 5.9 pounds
Total Loss: 26.4 pounds

Monday, August 17, 2009

Food Log August 17, 2009

Breakfast: 2 McDonald's hash browns
Morning Snack: asiago cheese bagel with honey almond cream cheese
Lunch: small Texadelphia cheesesteak and tortilla chips
Afternoon Snack: box of raisins
Dinner: chicken and broccoli white rice bowl with egg and carrots at Zen
Evening Snack: some crackers, cheese, squash, and gluten-free chocolate at a party

Liquid Refreshment: all water but I forgot to count

Weigh-In August 17, 2009

330.6 pounds

Incremental Loss: 2 pounds
Monthly Gain: 2.5 pounds
Total Loss: 30.2 pounds

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Exercise Log August 16, 2009

Walked 3.5 miles with Michelle tonight - 1.5 miles on a middle school track and 1 mile each way.

Food Log August 16, 2009

Breakfast: sourdough English muffin with peanut butter
Lunch: southwest enchiladas, rice, and tortilla chips from Chuy's
Dinner: Amy's frozen dinner of rice mac n cheese and an apple

Liquid Refreshment: Didn't count, but all water today

Weigh-In August 16, 2009

332.6 pounds

Incremental Gain: 1 pound
Monthly Gain: 4.1 pounds
Total Loss: 28.2 pounds

Food Log August 15, 2009

Breakfast: sourdough english muffin with peanut butter
Lunch: turkey sandwich with mustard and mayo and 2 glasses of apple-cranberry juice
Dinner: bacon cheddar burger, tots, and cheese fries from Waterloo and 2 excellent slices of strawberry birthday cake with cream cheese frosting

Exercise Log August 15, 2009

Walked 7 miles around Old Settler's Park with Craig.

Weigh-In August 15, 2009

331.6 pounds

Incremental Loss: 3 pounds
Monthly Gain: 3.1 pounds
Total Loss: 29.2 pounds

Food Log August 14, 2009

Breakfast: 2 bacon/egg/potato/cheese breakfast tacos from Rudy's
Morning Snack: box of raisins
Lunch: peanut butter and Mr. Goodbar sandwich with a bag of Cheetos and 2 bite-sized Snickers
Dinner: 7 mini-rolls with brie and apple chutney, pecan-crusted chicken, broccoli, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, a cup of hot chocolate, and a chocolate silk pie (I think) from Eastside Cafe and a stolen bite of patty melt from Freddy's
Evening Snack: 5 pieces of cheese at a party

Liquid Refreshment: Sorry, I really don't remember the numbers, but water and Coke Zero only

Weigh-In August 14, 2009

334.6 pounds

Incremental Gain: 0.6 pounds
Monthly Gain: 6.1 pounds
Total Loss: 26.2 pounds

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Exercise Log August 13, 2009

Biked 5.5 miles in 34 minutes this morning - I think I can improve on that time.

Food Log August 13, 2009

Breakfast: 1 banana, a little trail mix, and 2 bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast tacos
Morning Snack: 2 bite-sized Special Darks
Lunch: rice/sour cream/cheese/lettuce burrito from Chipotle
Afternoon Snack: 1 bag of Cheetos and 2 carrot sticks
Dinner: tortilla chips and beef fajitas at Chuy's

Liquid Refreshment: 5 glasses of water and 4 Diet Cokes

Weigh-In August 13, 2009

334.0 pounds

Incremental Gain: 0.8 poiunds
Monthly Gain: 5.5 pounds
Total Loss: 26.8 pounds

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Food Log August 12, 2009

Breakfast: 1 sourdough English muffin with peanut butter and a banana
Morning Snack: 1 box of raisins
Lunch: 1 turkey sandwich with swiss and provolone and a bag of Cheetos
Afternoon Snack: a bag of Cheetos
Dinner: chicken and broccoli white rice bowl with carrots and egg at Zen and a chocolate chip cookie
Evening Snack: small handful of trail mix

Liquid Refreshment: 6 glasses of water and a Diet Coke

Weigh-In August 12, 2009

333.2 pounds

Incremental Gain: 0.7 pounds
Monthly Gain: 4.7 pounds
Total Loss: 27.6 pounds

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Exercise Log August 11, 2009

1 yoga class. I feel a little bad when she says "This next one might warm you up a little bit" and I'm already dripping ... er, glistening.

Food Log August 11, 2009

Breakfast: leftover pasta
Morning Snack: 1.5 chocolate donuts from Lone Star Bakery
Lunch: beef fried rice from PFChang's
Afternoon Snack: a Coke Classic and some trail mix
Dinner: 1 sourdough English muffin with peanut butter, greens/carrots/apple/almond salad with Cashew Tamari dressing, 2 orders of fries

Liquid Refreshment: 4 glasses of water and 2 Coke Zeros

Weigh-In August 11, 2009

332.5 pounds

Incremental Loss: 3.9 pounds
Monthly Gain: 4.0 pounds
Total Loss: 28.3 pounds

Exercise Log August 10, 2009

Walked 5 miles with Andy around Pflugerville.

Food Log August 10, 2009

Breakfast: sourdough English muffin with peanut butter and a banana
Morning Snack: grapes and blueberries
Lunch: leftover pizza and some carrots and broccoli
Afternoon Snack: raisins
Dinner: pasta with asiago cheese and greens/carrots/apple/almond salad with Cashew Tamari dressing (meant to have more protein but the turkey didn't work out)

Liquid Refreshment: 6 glasses of water and 1 Coke Zero

Weigh-In August 10, 2009

336.4 pounds

Incremental Gain: 3.5 pounds
Monthly Gain: 7.9 pounds
Total Loss: 24.4 pounds

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Exercise Log August 9, 2009

Walked 4 miles with Kat, Steve, and Avery, including 2 miles up The Hill. Oy that hurt.

Food Log August 9, 2009

Breakfast: bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast taco from Taco Cabana
Lunch: salad with greens, carrots, onions, and chicken, 4 pieces of white pizza from Promise Pizza, and a natural cane sugar cola (your guess is as good as mine)
Afternoon Snack: banana and handful of trail mix
Dinner: cheeseburger, fries, cole slaw, a little mac n cheese, and part of a brownie and a bread pudding at Cover 3
Evening Snack: Coke Slurpee

Liquid Refreshment: 6 glasses of water

Review to Date (through Week 10)

I've fallen off the review wagon a bit, so here's kind of a sum-up. I'll try to get better about weekly updates.

Total Pounds Lost: 27.9 pounds (4.4 pounds off my best, but still 7.73% off the original and my 5th-best day)
Total Days with Workout: 57 out of 69 days, encompassing 150.5 miles walked, 62 miles biked, 2 evenings of basketball, 2 yoga classes, and 2 bowling outings
Amount Raised for the Buffaloe Scholarship: $667.90

A few years ago, either on my 29th or 30th birthday, I set an internal goal of losing 30 pounds by the next birthday. I could never even get started as the goal just seemed too big (and I obviously failed to start a blog). This summer I lost it in 2 months, and that's just cool. It's still amazing me how much I can do if I just push a little bit. Even though my eating's not as good as it initially was, the activity is still a huge gain this summer.

Also, if I may be permitted to brag, I just got the results from my blood work taken on Wed July 29 (comparisons from a mid-May set of tests).
Glucose (expected 65-100, I've been told 90-130): 129, down from 188
Hemoglobin A1C (long-term average blood sugar measure, expected 4.0-6.0): 5.5, down from 8.1
Triglycerides (cholesterol-type chemical, expected under 150): 148

That feels incredibly good. It accomplishes a tremendous part of the goal for this effort, although I still want to push all the numbers further down.

Weigh-In August 9, 2009

332.9 pounds
Incremental Loss: 2.3 pounds
Monthly Gain: 4.4 pounds
Total Loss: 27.9 pounds

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Exercise Log August 8, 2009

Biked 8 miles this morning to the nearest 7-11. Unfortunately I got a flat on the way back so I didn't complete the 10 miles. On the plus side, I conquered the hill of AW Grimes going north from 45 - didn't put my feet down the whole trip except as required by traffic.

Also walked 1 mile tonight with the wife, Beth, and Beth's 3-month-old daughter Penelope. Strollers are short little things - do I get extra credit for pushing it along?

Food Log August 8, 2009

Breakfast: 12oz Coke Slurpee and a banana
Morning Snack: 1/2 peanut butter sandwich and trail mix
Lunch: peanut butter sandwich with some chocolate chunks
Afternoon Snack: 3 egg rolls from Jack In the Box and a stolen spoon of Oreo blizzard
Dinner: Pork Tenderloin Spinach Salad and a few sweet potato fries from Kerbey Lane
Evening Snack: popcorn and a Coke

Liquid Refreshment: 6 glasses of water

Weigh-In August 8, 2009

335.2 pounds
Incremental Gain: 0.9 pounds
Monthly Gain: 6.7 pounds
Total Loss: 25.6 pounds

Exercise Log August 7, 2009

Walked 4 miles at the Rec Center, and spent about 10 minutes doing yoga stretches afterwards.

Food Log August 7, 2009

Breakfast: 2 pieces of whole-wheat toast with peanut butter
Morning Snack: 1 bag of animal crackers
Lunch: cheeseburger and garlic parmesan fries at Cover3 with one bite of cod and about 1/2-cup macaroni and cheese stolen from fellow diners
Afternoon Snack: 1 bag Cheetos and 7 bite-sized Mr. Goodbars
Dinner: about 10 tortilla chips, a banana nut smoothie, a small Garden Patch salad, and farfalle gorgonzola at Mother's

Liquid Refreshment: 7 glasses of water and 2 Coke Zeros

Weigh-In August 7, 2009

334.3 pounds
Incremental Gain: 1.0 pounds
Monthly Gain: 5.8 pounds
Total Loss: 26.5 pounds

Exercise Log August 6, 2009

Took another yoga class. This one felt much better.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Food Log August 6, 2009

Breakfast: bacon biscuit and hash browns from ChickFilA
Lunch: 2 banana nut minimuffins, 2 bite-sized Mr. Goodbars, and a peanut butter and raisin sandwich
Afternoon Snack: 1 bag of sun chips and 2 Special Darks with almond
Dinner: 1 energy/protein bar, 1 bag of Doritos, 2 bags of Cheetos, a Whataburger and fries
Evening Snack: a small cup of chai tea

Liquid Refreshment: 4 glasses of water and 4 Coke Zeros

Bad mojo Thursday night. Dunno exactly why I went quite so nuts, but yoga quite frankly busted me out of it quite nicely.

Weigh-In August 6, 2009

333.3 pounds
Incremental Loss: 4.8 pounds
Monthly Gain: 4.8 pounds
Total Loss: 27.5 pounds

Exercise Log August 5, 2009

Walked 4 miles with my cousin.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Food Log August 5, 2009

Breakfast: 2 pieces of whole-wheat toast with peanut butter
Morning Snack: 2 homemade chocolate chip cookies from a coworker
Lunch: 4 blueberry/banana nut minimuffins and 1 box of raisins
Afternoon Snack: 1 banana and 1 bag of Cheetos
Dinner: 2 banana nut minimuffins and a chicken-broccoli rice bowl with carrota and an extra egg from Zen

Liquid Refreshment: 8 glasses of water and 2 Diet Cokes

Weigh-In August 5, 2009

338.1 pounds
Incremental Gain: 0.4 pounds
Monthly Gain: 9.6 pounds
Total Loss: 22.7 pounds

Well the rate of gain has slowed. And tonight I'm walking for the first time since Sunday morning - definitely need to re-up the exercise.

Exercise Log August 4, 2009

Took a 75-minute hatha yoga class. Not exactly high-energy, but I was sweating through a lot of it (nope, not the hot yoga where they crank up the heat, just that out of shape for holding myself up). I don't know if this will end up being my thing, but will at least finish the 8-session class I started and see how I feel then.

Also, they serve a cup of tea at the end, so that should've been in the food log (as well as the bit of trail mix I washed it down with).

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Food Log August 4, 2009

Breakfast: 2 pieces of whole-wheat toast with peanut butter
Morning Snack: banana
Lunch: chicken waldorf salad with bleu cheese dressing at California Pizza Kitchen, 2 pieces of buttered white bread, and 2 Mr. Goodbars
Afternoon Snack: 1 box of raisins and 2 Mr. Goodbars
Dinner: turkey sandwich w/provolone and swiss cheese, a bag of Sun chips, about a dozen grapes and 2 Mr. Goodbars

Liquid Refreshment: 5 glasses of water and 1 Coke Zero

Weigh-In August 4, 2009

337.7 pounds
Incremental Gain: 1.2 pounds
Monthly Gain: 9.2 pounds
Total Loss: 23.1 pounds

Monday, August 3, 2009

Food Log August 3, 2009

Breakfast: whole-wheat toast with peanut butter
Morning Snack: box of raisins
Lunch: whole-wheat turkey and baby swiss sandwich with carrots and broccoli and 5 tortilla chips
Afternoon Snack: 1 chicken/beef combo fajita with cheese and sour cream
Dinner: whole-wheat peanut butter sandwich
Evening Snack: 1 onion ring and a handful of trail mix

Liquid Refreshment: 4 glasses of water and 2 Coke Zeros

Weigh-In August 3, 2009

336.5 pounds
Incremental Gain: 8 pounds
Monthly Gain: 8 pounds
Total Loss: 24.3 pounds

I enjoyed the weekend too much. I don't know if the overeating momentum or the exercise momentum will play out in the next couple of days.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Exercise Log August 1-2, 2009

Saturday, August 1: walked 6 miles around Old Settler's Park with Craig. Turns out I was undercounting our earlier walks, but I won't try to make any corrections.

Sunday, August 2: walked 4 miles along trails with Kat, Steve, and Avery.