end of year

It's the last time this year I write to you...
I can't say enough good things about all of the people that have been in my corner this year. Thank you all!  I really don't think I could have done as well as I have without your love, belief and encouragement.

2 1/2 months into a new lifestyle and I have lost 39 lbs.! Granted, I have hella more to lose, but as long as I stick with it as I have been, I don't see an issue!

todays weigh in -- 372
caloric intake - 1681

doing the early blog tonight since I have to work some special event is supposed to be happening.. eh.
Happy New Year's everyone!

been a couple days

Since the stall occurred I have a little moody... lol which would explain (but not excuse) my lack of posting. Plus, with the holidays here, I have been a little busier than normal.
OK.. excuses out of the way.. lol
My stall lasted until yesterday ... weigh in was at 373 .. finally under 375!
Even better was today! --- official weigh in at 370! I am hoping to do an unofficial official weigh in on tuesday (first day of the new year) and be another pound gone. I just like the4 sound of 40 lbs gone in 2 1/2 months better than 39. lol
It's Saturday, so I am in the middle of my hell weekend as usual, well a little worse this week.. 7 shifts ... 4 days... sooo tired. lol
I hope everyone has a great weekend .. I'm off to work. again.

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas and I hope everyone has a wonderful day and that the rest of the year is fun and full of loving friends and family.


I was bad yesterday ... really bad.
I ended up going over my daily goal by 144 calories .. and normally I would say "eh, it's the holidays, I can afford one day of being bad", but as I have stalled out on the weight loss for a week and a half now, I'm kinda pissed at myself. some of that is being pissed off that I can't walk right now (well, not properly that is) it just hurts too much. I need to borrow my room mates stationary bike, see if I can ride that without the pain.
today's weigh in -- 376 lbs.
I'll update the calorie count tonight.

Stalled

It's saturday ... official weigh in day ... nothing to see, move along. I stalled ... same weight as last week but at least that means I haven't gone backwards ... lol
I blame the lack of walking (my hip still feels blown out) and my lack of fridge ( weird eating schedules and such). SO, I am thinking it should get back to normal this week... hopefully.
official weigh in - 375
calorie count for the day 2020.

fridge is back online

Wow! I had no idea how much having a refrigerator that  works means to my new lifestyle.
Even though tomorrow is official weigh in, I haven't budged at all this week, and I am thinking it is because my diet has been so backasswards without my fridge. Granted, I haven't gone back up, so that's good. lol
I have to say though, this was the right time to lose the fridge ... since Christmas is next week, work gave out $25 gift  cards to Publix, any other time, I wouldn't have that little boost to help restock.
Weigh has been steady at 375 the last 2 days ... lewt's see what tomorrow brings.
last nights calorie count 2104 and today's is 2235 ...grrrr.. need to get back on track

garbage pail dinners..

That's what my friend calls them. Mom calls them catch-a-can (or catch what you can) either way and no matter what you call it, a dinner with a friend that you make up on the fly is rewarding all on it's own, add in a great time just BSing and hanging out, makes it all worthwhile.
After hanging out with Jess, I went by Ybor .. where I had done security  for many many years ... and wow.. what a difference 4 months make. had the wrong vibe, the wrong people and other than a couple quick hellos, really wasn't worth the time. I guess I should have listened to my new motto. Save nothing for the swim back. Basically, going to Ybor to hang out was a step backwards, at least for right now it is. Maybe later on it will be back to being just a fun place to go.
Weigh in this morning was 376.
calorie count for the day ... 2022

The Hobbit

I don't care who you are or whether you geek out like i do or not... GO SEE THE HOBBIT!
Awesome movie. I will be seeing it a couple more times while it's in the theatre ... Can't wait for parts 2 and 3.
Last night's final calorie count was at 1623 ... ummm..  wow, I hadn't looked at it till just now.. ok.. lol
This morning's weigh in was 376.
I didn't take the walk today .. hip was still hurting, in fact I had to use my cane while out shopping with mom. it's better now, and hopefully will be ready for tomorrow.
tonight's calorie count is 1971. Cheat day at mom's isn't really that cheaty. lol

ups and downs.

OK.. so i am missing a couple days.. a lot of shite has happened and we need to get through this.. lol
first my pc died for a couple days, it's up and running now .. barely.. lol I'll be getting things fixed real soon.. hopefully.
2nd.. I killed my fridge...  don't laugh... lol I was defrosting the freezer (for the 3rd time this month) and got a little (read a lot) hack crazy with the big knife .. lol, ended up nicking the Freon line.. all food has now been tossed. will be replacing it sometime this week if all goes right.
Saturday's official weigh in ./.. .375 which is my New Year's goal... so 2 weeks ahead of schedule... no complaints there.
Today's weigh in was at 377, but figure that was from the wings last night and all the salt adding to water weight.. lol
took my walk today and had to quit 3/4 through ... 3 straight steps in a row it felt like my hip was popping out of place... the pain just shot straight up to my head... not good... my room mate came and picked my limping ass up  ... hopefully some rest will help.
But before that happened I was amazed at the fact that my workout shorts wont stay up anymore.. I looked like a hoodrat with my pants down around my ass.. lol time for a belt.
I will be on later to give a calorie count but first have to say...
Taking my nephews to go see the Hobbit tonight.. hell yeah!

beer and a shot $2

A bar I used to work at has a special Beer and shot $2  ... it's 8 oz of PBR and a shot of the cheapest rotgut  you can find. No thank you. Earlier tonight I went and hung out with a buddy I haven'[t seen in a long while, and I knew we would be at the bar, so I made sure I had plenty of extra calories to waste ... lol  So one Bud Light and shot of Jack later I knew I wasn't much of a drinker anymore.. #1 it tasted horrible and two, I am apparently now a lightweight... lol buzzed big time.. lol
Good news though .. .only 166 calories for both.. so no worries.
An a stranger note ... you know when you get something new you want to try it out as soon as possible?  Well I got my socks in today... toe socks that is.  to wear with my toe shoes... the thing is, I haven't gotten my tow shoes yet.. still waiting on them. I still wanted to try my socks , so I put them on and instantly felt silly as hell having toe socks on with no toe shoes.. lol

weigh in today 376 .. i likes that number, let's see if we can keep it.. lol
calorie count for the day 1964 which left me 666 calories for the day ... \m/ yeah

schachatta

If I have one weakness it is schachatta from Alessi Bakery. it is sooo delicious and yummy... luckily I don't get it very often or I will never lose weight.. lol
My sister bought a small box and left it for me and her boys... it got tore the hell up. lol  Luckily it was a small box, I'd hate to see what happens if there is half sheet sitting there in front of me...
"agghhh... don;t look, it's not pretty"
lol
today was good.
early weigh in came in at 378
calorie count was 2108 ... i didn't do too bad ... lol

I am thinking I might start posting my blog on FB .. but there 's only a link for Google + anyone know a better way than to copy and paste the URL each time?

rain

The rain this afternoon killed half my walk, but at least I got a mile in first.
I got in my new headphones! I hate earbuds, they all hurt, so I ordered a set of fun over the ear types.

Still waiting on the new shoes and socks... You have to havenew socks to wear the new shoes.. especially when the new shoes have individual slots for each toe.

this morning's weigh in was 381.2 up a little, but still early in the week, so no worries ... yet.
Tonight's calorie count is pretty good ... 1741  make that 1821 ...  i think I'll have one more hot cocoa... lol

love me some sushi

good day with an awesome dinner at Joto's sushi bar. I have a new favorite roll ... called the half and half - half spicy tuna half spicy scallops in one roll... damn.. perfect.
this morning's weigh in was exactly the same as yesterday. 380.4
A little higher with the calorie count today at 2234 but still under goal for the day and the weeks average is around 1750, so not bad.
one more day and my "workweek" is done. c'mon tuesday! lol

i owe i owe i owe

off to work i go ... saturday nights get harder and harder.. sheesh
good day at work, good calorie count for the day 2005.
Time to get dressed and play with the drunks.. lol

saturday weigh in

It being Saturday means it's official weigh in day ...
380
lost another 3 lbs. total so far 29 lbs gone

a little higher

This morning's weigh in went a little higher than I expected for the normal fluctuations... grrr
382.6 ... we will see what tomorrow's official weigh in is.
I ordered my vibram's five fingers KSO's today ... see if they help make walks a little easier.
it's an early blogging night due to 2nd job coming up...
today's calorie count ... 1766
Hope everyone has a great weekend

Eats is yummy

Had a great night at Eats! 50 cent wings are the way tog o... their twangy sauce ( i had them add super hot sauce to it) is pretty good.
Tomorrow starts my weekend o'work and as usual I am not wanting to go, but oh well, the bills have to be paid.
this morning's weigh in was 380.4
tonight's calorie count is 1893.

long day

Today felt like three days wrapped into one... which is cool, cuz I got a lot done, and I still have a whole day of tomorrow.
morning weigh in was 379.4 ...
On my walk I added hand exercisers... and let me tell you ... 10 reps of 30 squeezes each makes a wrist sore.. lol

calorie count fro the day   1688.

steak ...

Mom made Palimeo Steaks tonight and damn they were delicious. And the good part is, even with three of them and some yummy pasta dish I was well under goal today.
My walk today included my set of 2 1/2 lbs ankle weights strapped on. My thighs hated me when I got home.. lol
I also picked up a pair of hand exercisers ... I am tired of the leaden feeling in my arms during my walk, so I am gonna use these to keep the blood circulating while strengthening my arms at the same time.
total calories for the day ... 1782

16 hours

16 hours of sleep and no dinner last night musta been good for me.. lol
this morning's weigh in is at 379.4
Let's see if we keep it off till official weigh in saturday

a little tired?

Apparently I was a lot tired tonight. I slept through dinner. oops.
I worked this morning, and around 3p took a good walk, and had a good lunch afterwards... at around 5p i though a nice nap would go great ... 7 hours later I wake up trying to figure out where i am and why i am so hungry.. lol
dammit, I was going to have 50 cent wings tonight.. lol
instead I had a slimfast and a yogurt.
this mornings weigh in was 382.6
tonights calorie count  is 1298 ... wow.. way low. it'll help make a nice average for the week. lol

Beef's

I love me some Beef O'Brady's on sunday nights.
It was a good day, had a mess load of wings for dinner and still come in well under goal for the day. 1725
average for the week about 1900. so damn good week.
One more day and the work cycle ends for another week.
Have a good monday all!

headed to work

I'm about to head out for work for the day.
just a quick weigh in beforehand.
382.4

weigh in day

So today was official weigh in for the week. last month I dropped 10 lbs in 1 week and came back up by 4 the next week. Last week I lost 9 lbs in a week and this week I actually dropped another 2.
Official weight today 383. 26 lbs gone.This is weigh in # 8, 7 weeks into new lifestyle. Hopefully this is how it goes from now on.
Calorie intake was pretty good today.  Same goal of 2630 a day (to lose 2 lbs. a week, it's 3630 to maintain where I am) and today was 1593. Not sure why I'm not hungrier than I was ... lol
OK.. another night at the bar. yay.
Hope everyone's weekend is going good.

quickie

A quick blog before going to work.
It was a good day.
morning weigh in was 384.  Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.
Calorie count for the day 2111.
but i figure going to work a second for the day should count as an exercise of some sort.. lol
have a good weekend all.

5 weeks left

So there are 5 weekends left in 2012. That means 5 official weigh ins. Goal # 2 is to be at 375 lbs by the new year, and seeing as how that is only 10 lbs away (and I am averaging 3.5 lbs a week), I am thinking this is not an unattainable goal.. lol  It's very possible that I am under 370 come that last weekend. That would mean 39 lbs gone in 2 1/2 months. damn. nice.

Today was good. Walk kicked my arse, lol.
I had plenty of energy left over tho .. so i did some serious clutter removal from the stuff stored away in boxes. got a couple more boxes to go through and some big stuff to get rid of.
calorie count for the day ... 2024.

weigh in

I feel so much better having the scale back.. lol
morning weigh in 385. can't wait to see what saturdays official weight is.
So here's a question.
Yesterdays walk was  a slow meandering walk got home and was barely out of breathe adn had a 35 minutes time ... today, i push myself damn near collapse from no air when i get home and it's a 40 minute walk?  I'm not complaining per se, just curious why or how that works. knowhadimean Vern?

good start/bad end

Today started out great. Went to work (today is my omelet day at the nursing home, so half day) had a good breakfast, got home took my walk  ... 2 miles in 35 minutes!!!!!!!! had a good lunch, then it went downhill from there. I went to Mom's house for dinner and after helping with the grocery shopping we got home, I watched stuff mom DVR's for me and she made yellow rice and chicken, peas, black beans a salad and there italian bread. Normally I can eat a little of each, enjoy everything and come out on top. Today was totally different ... I ATE a lot and I paid the price ... carb overload and pass out city ... ended up 200 calories under goal and feeling guilty as hell. Yes, I know I am still under goal, but I have been doing so good lately that it still feels like a setback. At least housecleaning is good to help burn calories. LOL. I "punished" myself and made sure i worked a little of the calories back off.
On a brighter note tho, I replaced my defective scale. so in the morning I will find out if I did any real damage.
total for the day ... 2190 .. grrrr.

I had queso!

LOL.. I am a very happy person today, I went to Beef O'Brady's for dinner and was able to have nachos and queso with my meal and still come in well under goal for the calorie intake!
 Plus I had a good friend come walk with me on my 2 miler. It was great we walked, BSed and when I got home, I wasn't as winded as I thought I would be. soon it might be time to add distance to the walk.
One annoying thing happened today. My new scale broke. dammit. I changed batteries, and followed all the procedures on the Taylor website for errors ... nothing.  As soon as I get out of work tomorrow, I will go by Walmart and see if they will exchange it for me. hope so.
Calorie count for the day 2057

wings 4 dinner

I love having 50 cent wings on Mondays again.. lol
Today was good.
I did everything I could think of to procrastinate my walk today. every argument was made, and I almost won... lost ... wait .. huh?
I had decided to forego the walk today, got up to change out of my workout clothes and before i could do anything else, I walked to the door and just made myself go through. Once outside there was no doubt I would go for the walk. lol
Averaging 40 minutes per walk now... do that for a couple weeks then I'll worry about getting it a little quicker.
Calorie count for the day was awesome ... 1635 .. that's damn near as makes no difference 1000 calories under goal. wow.
Have a great night all!

a new week

I forgot yesterday,.... I blame the room mate. I was going to post (really, I was) but he planted an idea in my head that wouldn't shake loose ... it was inception I tell you!
So yesterday mornings weigh in ... 385.4 and last night calorie count was 2169 I think the average for the last week was around 2100. so well under goal.
 This morning's weigh in was 396 even.
the walk was nice today, the sun felt great when I was in it and the shade was extra cool. I liked both sides of it.
Calorie count later!

sat night

It's another early blog night here... almost time to go to to work... I need to win the lotto or something.. this working all weekend at both jobs thing is really starting to hurt.

Calorie count was up a little today, but still well under goal, so no real worries. lol
2135 for the day.
I was thinking about it earlier. This is the second time i had a big drop for the week and last time I went bakc up 4 pounds, i figure it's safer to assume it'll happen again this week, that way if it does, no big, if it doesn't and I keep going down for next weeks official numbers then even better!
have a good one all, time to make the drunks behave!

weigh in

Official numbers for weigh in ...
end of 6 weeks ... 385.4 lbs.
That's 24 lbs gone.

Friday night

It was a good day all around.

I bought a subway 12 inch cold cut combo and split it up for lunch and dinner, add in sun chips and some greek yogurt, very filling and it all come in at 700 calories.

Between them and a light snack and breakfast, i kept the whole day at 2072. 

tomorrow will be official weigh in, but today was a nice 387.Even if I jump up 3 lbs to 380 it'll still be 4 under for the week, so all good on my end.. lol

it's friday, so early blog so I can go to work.

hagn!

Gobble gobble

1st off, happy Thanksgiving all!
Today was a little stressful. I kept my calorie count low for the most part of the dayt, knowing that I was going to go to Mom's for dinner after work. The stressful part was the internal fight I kept having over and over .... do i allow myself a cheat day or do I keep going like any other day?
in the end, I kept the count low enough that I could eat a seriously healthy (read large) portion of everything and not care... what really happened was I had a small amount of everything and got full ... and stayed under by 700+. lol
So there you go... I was going to allow myself to be bad, but my stomach had other ideas.. lol
but damn ... pumpkin pie was soooo good!

calorie count for the day 1882

updated

So here's an updated goals and milestones list that I was thinking of as I went to bed last night.

399 - below 400   done
375 by end of year - that will be 2 1/2 years weight gain removed
331 by April 15th 2013 - six months from start of new lifestyle AND my birthday
299 - when this happens it will be roughly  6 years of weight gain removed
250 - i just like the sound of it. lol
200 - final weight goal.
Once I hit 200 I'll decide if I am going further or getting more into weight training and toning and such or if I am good as is and go into maintaining.
AM weigh in 388.8

more wings!

Went to Mom's tonight, which is usually a tuesday thing, but eh.. whatev
We made wings (well she made the wings, I just poured sauce all over em.. lol) didjano that thai chili garlic paste has no calories... hell yeah.. add a little honey ( 35 calories per tbsp) and stir, by the time you count up how much is on all the wings you have, might as well call it around 50 calories ... plus the wings at 34 calories per... yeah, it's easily becoming my favorite indulgence ... damn near guilt free.. lol ( I can't get rid of all the guilt)
I have to work the late shift tomorrow  (turkey day) so I don't get Thanksgiving dinner til around 8pm. it's gonna take a lot of willpower to not eat all my calories for the day before then.. lol
weigh in the morn was at 388, so looking like it's going to be a good official number this sat., we will see.
Calorie count for the day was 2181 damn you peach cobbler.. lol

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

sushi

oh man, I had some of the best sushi just now.
I went to Matoi Sushi on Dale Mabry (my favorite sushi joint) and got a sashimi salad ... the sushi, the salad it was all perfect. A nice treat for myself.
Even with the big dinner I came in at 2016 for the day calorie wise.
morning weigh in was at 387 ... i don't expect that to be the final # come saturday, but I'm not complaining if it is.. lol
Gonna go start a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle to obsess on for a while. lol

Slice

Decided to go back and try a place we used to frequent tonight. Slice on S. Dale Mabry, 50 cent wings.. yum.. lol came home and had hot green tea for the rest of the night.. so delicious.

The walk wa rough today, figure I haven't "walked" since last wednesday and I worked this mornig.. my heels andhips were not happy with me... well at least til the halfway point, then everything fell in line and I was able to get a real comfortable stride going. Hopefully tomorrow is easier. lol

calorie count for the day 1966 . six weeks in and I am consistently staying under 2000 calories now... and average of 2630 is what i need for a 2lb deficit each week. Still some fine tuning needed for the coming months and years, but thats part of the journey.

hooters

Yay! went to Hooters last night and had wings and hod no guilt... love the fact that I can have things I enjoy without worrying (too much ... lol)
Last night had a great count of 1937 even after a LOT of food at Hooters!
 So, my roommate bought me the scale and I promised myself I would use once a week to keep track of my progress ...lol.. that lasted until the very next morning. lol I figure I will do it so I'm going to keep a record of each day, but only the saturday weight is what I will be going by.
this morning - 388.2

Calorie forthe day and other fun facts later tonight

off to work

Another early blog ...  Saturday night, so it's off to work I go.
Had a great day. Since I had today off, my roommate surprised me a couple pick me up gifts. First off and early christmas present ... I have a digital scale now... yay... no longer having to wait til saturday for my news... need to find a day though that I know will be same bat time, same bat channel week after week so I can get as accurate as possible... maybe weds mornings... hmmm.. I'll think about it.
Second pick me up, We rode out to Zhills to hang out with my 2nd favorite family... we talked and talked and talked... I don't get to see them too often since my schedule usually conflicts with theirs, so it was much needed ... and appreciated.. So a big Thank you to Addog ... or is AdDog? I never know.. lol
Calorie wise he is a great influence on me too, today is a low low day... 1669 I'll take it!
Have a good night all!

shopping

Why the hell does eating better for yourself cost so much more than when eating like crap. It's damn well near  the point where I hafta get another part time job just to pay for the healthy living.; sheesh
It's friday and since I won'[t be at the kitchen tomorrow ( schedule's all funky cuz of Thanksgiving and people wanting off and stuff.), so I weighed myself today ... 394 lbs. which means I went UP 4 lbs. since last week, but at the same time I am at the same amount I would be if I just followed the 3 lbs. a week scenario and hadn't deviated from course last week. I still don't understand that. So, basically ... 5 weeks 15 lbs. another 6 weeks before the end of the year @ 3lbs a week should put me at 376whixh is 1 lb above my new years goal!
Working the bar tonight, so early calorie count 1904 for the day. have to fight the after work hunger tonight... don't want to add on ......

helped a friend

Still frustrated and depressed about some issues though I am trying to work through them ... the same as i did with the quitting smoking thing.
A friend asked me to help her move a couple weeks ago, and even though I wanted to call it off and just vegitate in my room, I went ahead and took my gloomy ass out ...  I am surprised she didn't smack me around a little bit, but she didn't and in all fairness, she tried helping me to have a good way without being too intrusive... you know those types.. right? lol
We did a little bit of moving, nothing too strenuous but it was to an upstairs apt., so i counted it as half my normal workout for the day.. lol Plus she took me out for sushi afterwards.... buy me sushi and I'll do damn near anything for you... (NO Mom, I will not change my hairstyle for a California roll!)
I kept an eye on my food to see what I will be cutting out soon but for now, I get to have most of it still..
calorie count 2095

not a good day

Today has not been a good day.
  I am getting frustrated on so many levels and all I can hear is "it takes time" "be patient" all of that... and today it doesn't help.. it just frustrates me even more..
I don't want to wait... I don't want to do this every day just to do it.. especially if I am not getting results or in today's weight check, going backwards .. then why the hell am I doing it?
The walking is getting harder, not easier ... WTF!  it friggin feels like going uphill, both ways, in the snow, with no shoes on ...  3/4 of the way through my walk it feels like someone is adding weight by the step.  The only reason I don't stop is because I need to get home.
  And now my f***ing computer chair is breaking down on me... because of my weight... so thanks for the reminder... as if I didn't already know.
calorie intake for the day 2045

Headaches

The meds are still kicking my arse... now it's headaches from hell, especially right after my walk, but at least I only have a couple days left with them, then I can do something about this tooth and get on with my life.
   I was trying to install a weight loss counter i can get from MyFitnessPal, but I can't figure out how to add it to the overall design of the site, instead of just posting it to a single post. Oh well I will work on it some more tomorrow. lol
Today was an awesome day calorie wise ...I had to eat extra just to make a good count.. lol
calories for the day 1755.
time for sleep., omelets in the morning.

meds

These meds are kicking my arse! Took a walk after work today at 2:30 ... probably not the smartest thing to do in the first place.. lol But with this penicillin giving me headaches already, the sun and heat did not help at all.. yeah yeah, as Dad used to say .. "Look in the mirror and say dumbass three times".
The other thing the meds do is make me tired all the time.. I can barely sit at the puter for more than five minutes before I am nodding off in my chair. head slams down on the keyboard ... it's not pretty. lol
Today's calorie intake... ( i know why you're really here.. lol) 2096

sunday

Today was torture at work ... I was able to ignore the lasagna and breadsticks with no problems... but the boston cream pie... now that was temptation hell.. lol But I preservered, bareley... lol
Thats one of the hardest things about this lifestyle change.. I cook 5 days a week, and its good food, just not food I can have, most of the time.
I can't wait to be done with this medication ... the penicillin has me nauseous all the time.  But it's working so I guess I can't complain too much. Pain is almost all gone and swelling has gone down down down.
Last but not least .. calorie intake for the day 2301 .. weekly average looks like it is about 1950 which is good.
Have a good night all

ribfest

I did not realize how much ribfest kicked my ass until I got home and showered. Then it hit me. I could barely keep my eyes open afterwards. lol
My buddy Wayne and I went to ribfest yesterday and it was awesome ... I was expecting to tell you how I used it as my cheat day and did really bad on calorie intake, but in actuality, I did very well. intake of 1876, so I was still 750 short of the new goal and was full from some wonderful bbq.
Heart was awesome BTW!
Add in a little walk to get there and a little walk back to the car... it was a good day.
And this was there!!!!!

'72 E-type Jag. yum.

tooths!

So I was in too much pain and delirium to post last night..
Went to teh ER first thing yesterday morning. I had developed an infection above the gum line in the cheek area and that caused a huge swelling. and lots of pain. Since (at the time) the gum hadn't created an abscess  they couldn't do much except give me some scripts. penicillin and tramadol. between the two I have been nauseous and headachey and have had some of the worst cotton mouth in my life. I made myself eat throughout the day yesterday, but it was mostly soup/ yogurt and apple sauce.I ended up with 1480 as my caloric intake and that's only because i drank a couple slim-fast towards the end of the day. lol
This morning was worse on the upset stomach front, and NOW the damn gum line is showing an abscess which means I will be able to lance it and drain it soon. that will help immensely. Still eating mostly soup and yogurt tho with a couple slices of bread with pizza sauce and cheese on them. nothing tough or crunchy for me today thank you very much!
Two items of interest happened today ....
the first is ... since I won't be at the kitchen tomorrow (ribfest in st. pete) I went ahead and weighed myself today ... 390 lbs. that's 10 lbs lighter than last saturday ... 19 lbs in 4 weeks!I can't say it was the toothache and lack of solid food that did it this week, but I can't say it didn't help. lol
Because of the new weight the app I use to watch my calories with has updated itself. Instead of 2750 a day to help me lose 2 lbs a week, I am now at 2630not counting the last couple of days of course, i have averaged 2100 a day for the last 3 weeks, so I will be able to stay under, and now have to start thinking about what to take out and when for the further reductions.
OK.. this is an early night of blogging due to the fact that I have a football game to watch tonight.
Go Knights!

swollen

1 good thing about having one side of your face swollen to the size of a grapefruit ... calorie intake stays low.. lol
intake for the day 1677
hoping the ibuprofen and heat compresses work, if not, I will be heading to the ER tomorrow.
Goodnight all

well ... damn

So, ummm ... oops... Monday a good friend sold me her ipod nano 6th gen for a ridiculously low price (love you Ginger) and I am loving it ... calorie intake was 2047

Tuesday was a good day with a my usual 2 mile walk .. .but i came in at 40 minutes instead of the normal 45. did a power walk for the last 1/4 mile or so. calorie intake was 2655 ( enjoyed those shish kabobs a little too much.. lol

Today has been interesting so far. worked, came home, napped then took my walk, started to add a whey protein drink for cool down period,  feeling good. now my upper jaw is swelling up form what may be an abscessed tooth. not good.
more info later. yay

late nights

So far the hardest time i am having is after working the bar friday and saturday nights. Working those extra hours, hell, just being awake those extra hours gets me starving by the time I am heading home. If it is a day that I have to go right into day job (out of the bar at 3am, in the kitchen at 5am) I can manage with a glass of water to quiet the hunger then get an early breakfast at the kitchen, but those days that I know I won't be going into the kitchen til 11am, those are the ones that hurt. luckily I keep my calorie count low enough that an occasional slip that late wont kill me, but I need to figure something out, so it doesn't become a problem.
Today was an okay day. ended up with a calorie count of 2346, not great but definately doable.

Have a good week all.

Fri and Sat

So apparently I fergetted again. lol
So last nights caloric intake was 2108 and today 2154. Both well under goal.
Weighed in today... 400 even. so 9 lbs gone in 3 weeks. I was seriously hoping for 399 .. i really want to hit my first goal, but I guess I have to wait another week to see that.
Trying not get frustrated, I keep telling myself , patience. and I "know" it takes time, but it can seem like time takes too long sometimes.
Making this an early night.. it is saturday, and we all know what that means.. yay .. job 2. Be glad when I don['t have to juggle two jobs anymore.. it would make setting a routine soooo  much easier. lol Until then, I have bills to pay and weight to lose, so I will keep doing the best I can.

take it slow.

This morning I had to add a couple hundred calories to yesterdays intake because I decided to have a couple ciders after work. ( they didnt really need me, so Larry paid me off with a couple drinks instead of money.. lol) I was still under goal for the day, but it hurt all the same. 

Did much better today though. Took my usual 2 mile walk, came in 2 minutes quicker, then came home and did my usual thursday full clean ... dishes, laundry and even rearranged some heavy furniture. Hell, I still had a ton of energy, so I decided that after finishing laundry I was going to go for another walk, well I sat down to wait for the last load to dry, and 20 minutes later when I got up, I realized, OH HELLS NO, I wasn't going anywhere except a hot shower. lol I hurt all over. So I took my shower and met up with some friends for dinner.  Calorie intake for the day was 1698 ... make that 1778, I'm gonna have a greek yogurt for dessert.

Halloween

Pulling an extra shift at the bar tonight for the Halloweeners that might be getting drunk after dealing with kids and houses and idiots in general. lol
Today was good all around , a little depression that's been hanging over me the last week or so has lifted ... a little. And I did real good on calorie intake again. I just might be getting the hang of this. total for the day is 1920.

Every wednesday ( unless something happens) I work in the actual dining room of the nursing home I am at making omelets for the residents and employees, it's the only time i pull out the full chef outfit and not just the pants, apron and whatever shirt I happen to find on the floor (kidding) that day.

Here's a pic of me in uniform. Plus, it's a good starter pic for me. figure I'll have to get smaller jackets and so I will get new chef pics each time. Just another time lapse kinda thing.

Clam chowder goodness

Today was a good day.
I spent time with the family, learned to make clam chowder, it was awesome! And did great on calorie input .... 2003
Crossed another item off my shopping list ... Got a refurbished Ipod nano. older only 4gigs, but will come in handy as all when I go on my walks and later on on my rides.

Not much else for today, so I hope everyone has a great night.
Omelets for the patients in the morning!

End of the day

So did good with dinner and still had enough to eat. Total calorie count for the day is 2033.
Updated my shopping list

Weight set
Toeshoes ( I am fascinated by them.. lol)
Scale
Ipod (refurbed is the way to go)
Bicycle (big boy sixe... lol)
I'll keep adding and subtracting as things go along.
Have a wonderful week!

Wha' happen to sunday?

Well it looks like I missed an update for Sunday... oops.. Sorry.
I worked both jobs ( I don't work the bar on Sunday normally) and in my haste to get an hour nap, I fergetted.
So, yesterday's calorie intake was at 1980, making it a good day.
Today is on par to be another good day at 1693 before dinner, well not as good, but good. I will be having a burger later. lol with a salad, so all is not lost. lol
This week along with my 3 days of walking, I will be adding a crazy exercise to my days off. Rearranging my room. lol
A lot of bending pulling and tugging will be done. yay. the worse of it is clearing off my overstuffed bookshelves so i can move then refill them .lol
I;'ll be on later for an update to the count for the day.

10/27

Doing the blog a little early tonight since I have to be at the bar soon.
Today's weigh in was at 403, so another 3 lbs off. Not too crazy that it wasn't more, but I will never the less take it.
Calorie intake was 2026. Try to keep it at nothing but water the rest of the night.
Have a good weekend all!

Guilt

Today started dietary appreciation week at the nursing home I cook at. The powers that be have decided that all aides should wear matching uniforms (luckily cooks and chefs can wear chef uniforms not scrubs) and to help everyone along they bought 2 sets of uniforms for everyone in the dept. ... except me. Why? well cuz scrubs (I do get scheduled as an aide once in a while) my size would cost too much. SO I get to buy my own turn in the receipt and get paid back the equivalent of one the others uniforms. yay.
All that aside ... lol
They bought us pizza from Marco's here in S. Tampa. I don't know if you have ever had Marco's pizza, but damn! it's good.  I budgeted 2 slices in my calorie intake for the day and indulged ... until 5 minutes after I was done ... then the guilt set in and got even worse once I got home and saw how much I just ate up in calories for 2 slices of pepperoni godness ( yes it says godness not goodness... lol)
Granted, I portioned out my calories for the rest of the day and will have 488 left for the day, but the feeling is still there.
It like yesterday only 100 times worse. I just couldn't sit there being lazy, at least, not so early in the new lifestyle. It would be so easy to fall back into old routines.

Well, it's Friday ... and we all know what that means. That's right boys and girls, very little sleep for the next couple days for me.. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I might be working the bar Sunday night as well as Wednesday night  due to Halloween fun over the next week. Extra money, less sleep and more stress. Why haven't I hit that lottery yet?

Total calories for the day 2262 (damn you pizza, damn you to ... my belly)

on my walk

So today something pretty awesome happened on my walk ... which I had no intention of talking...grrr.. lol
I'm on the sidewalk and usually it's just me so I walk dead center, if someone else comes up, I move over to let them pass with no issue. I figure it's the polite thing to do and whoever it is, usually nods or smiles to say thank you. Well on today's walk I came up against either a run/walk group or a really crazy coyinkadink.  As I am walking I come up against 25 walkers, joggers and runners all within the same 100 feet or so... I mean just littered with people going opposite of me. The awesome part is ... wait for it ...
This song came on my headphones and I instantly pictured the video in my head ... lol

I, of course, didn't knock anyone over, but it really was hard not to. lol

During each walk I have had some great ideas, questions and rants that I wanted to add to this blog, then I get home and completely forget everything I wanted to talk about.. lol

Today's calorie intake .... 2249. I am seeing a pattern I need to adjust. Yes I am consistently under my goal, and the average for the week is still low,  But it will be easier for me in the future if i can manage my intake lower then 2000 on a regular basis now.

oops

I just realized I never posted anything yesterday. And I know if I let myself slip too often, I will stop altogether. My only excuse is exhaustion. lol
Work, no nap, another 2 mile walk and food at Mom's all led up to me not being able to keep my head up at the keyboard last night, so I just laid down and passed the hell out.lol
Calorie intake was a little high at 2406, but it was soooooo good. LOL... I have to behave at mom's or go ahead and assume that's going to be my cheat day. I don't really cheat on my cheat day as it is, I might just do that.
OK.. back to normal blogability later today.

i forgot ...

I forgot to mention about the walk earlier ... Halfway through, just after I passed Ballast Point Park, I found a chain on the side of the road. It's a good 4 feet and 20 lbs and has large industrial strength hooks on both ends. Well, I picked it up and draped it over my neck for the rest of the walk. I figured adding an extra 20 lbs while walking couldn't hurt, and if anything, I can add stuff to the chain using the hooks. Os, as I get better and faster and longer walks, I can keep adding weight.
Today's calorie intake was pretty good, total for the day was 1765 ... that's 985 under goal. I doubt it'll be like that all the time, but it's good to know I can do it on occasion and not feel starved or cheated somehow.


I think I will keep the same walk going for a couple weeks, no need to push for longer or faster just yet.

2 miles

Walked 2 miles today. Took it easy @ 45 minutes, but I am not in a hurry about this, so "Es todo Bien".
That's one of the major issues I had before when trying to lose weight, I wanted it to happen overnight, right away, NOW! I have lost a major amount of weight before and it was because I took my time and kept at it and didn't rush things, so I know I can do it, I will do it.
Today's walk was sponsored by "Gattaca"

"I never saved anything for the swim back"

A line from the movie that kept repeating itself in my head as I was walking.

I think I have to make this my motto.

Only me ... lol

So I go to Big Lots and buy a cheap ($20) vidcam that also takes pics, spend another $6 for an 8gb memory card, get home and realize I didn't buy aaa batteries for the damn thing.. lol
is cool, I will pick them up tomorrow i suppose. lol
worked the kitchen early today, got home, napped got up and did upper body stuff from the workout dvd and then went to dinner, it was a good night.
Ima have a Dannon light  greek yogurt (vanilla this time) for dessert (already counted in my numbers for the day and do some reading before getting a full nights sleep. I get two night a week to do this, and I am plan on taking advantage of it.. lol
calories for the day 2500.

cheat day

So today was my cheat day and I still came in under goal ... barely.. lol
day six of recording and average so far is 2200, 550 under goal on av erage, which should make it a 3 lb loss each week before adding in the walking and dvd hell.
2 minor goals to start off.
399lbs.
and 375 by the end of the year.
the first is easy to understand ... it being the under 400. thats just important to me.
the other one is a very attainable goal and has a little bit of significance. a little over 2 years ago, I weighed myself at work and was at 380, i didn't like it, but didn't do anything about it back then ... now I am and I want to erase, if you will, the last couple years. plus I like having had lost 34 lbs in 2 1/2 months.
OK.. time for sleep, another early day tomorrow.

3 lbs.

So, it's been 1 week since my wake up call. I didn't go to the store til monday for the healthy food. I didn't start walking til tuesday. and the first day of working out was weds. So ... if I can lose 3 lbs on a half assed week, jus tthink what I can do when I am working towards the goal for the entire 7 days.

I'm going to have to do a light version of the workout tonight, both hips are already on fire and feel blown out, but even if all I do is the upper body stuff, I will still do something.
Since I won't be on later (working the bar again) I'll go ahead and do my calorie intake now.
Total for the day 1833. OK.. time to yell at the tv.

It's Friday

OK.. so this is a one post kind of day seeing as how I have to be at the bar in an hour.
total calorie intake was 2016, so another good day of keeping it below goal.
Since i worked all morning and now will be working all night, I only did the warm up and cool down formt eh dvd, I didn't feel like trying to walk around at the bar tonight in pain.. lol

Bought the smallest George Foreman Grill and cooked up a couple chicken breasts. spiced them up a little and added them to my salad. it was for the win!
Tomorrow is weigh in time at work ... a little nervous and excited at the same time.
I found a good scale that actually will carry my weight for around $25, guess i'll be picking it up soon.
 

Day's end

So I walked a little farther, cleaned a hella more than usual and did a little better on my dvd. Ate a little more than usual calorie wise, but still come in under recommendation so no worries there.
Total calorie intake today was 2400, according to my app if i did the same everyday  for the next 5 weeks i'd be down to 393... well it doesn't take in the fact that I plan on doing less on the calorie part and it doesnt factor in the exercise or walking, so hopefully i hit 393 sooner.
Either way, the number that (for right now) means the most to me is 399. thats the first of many smaller goals.
and since I am only weighing myself once a week at work, I won't know til saturday. or i buy a super expensive scale for home.. lol.. yeah right.
have a good night all.

another walk

Added 1/4 mile to the walk today. not as painful, but still hurting during and after (a little).That puts me at 1 mile. ok.. if i can keep adding each day a little at a time I'll be ok with that.
Something that might stop the walking thou ... One of the ladies next door has a good sized mountain  bike she isn't using anymore (she bought a new one) so I am going to see if she will sell it to me, if nothing else, on days I work both jobs, I can get a ride in instead of a walk.
As it stands I know i will be able to walk on tues, weds and thurs ... fridays and saturdays i pulled double, so it will greatly depend on shift times, sunday and monday i will either have to wake a little early to do a workout or if i work the morning shift then I can still add in a walk and workout.
Either way the workouts happen every day. I will yell at Anna K. or Richard S. at least once a day. I promise.
OK... off to make a nice salad for lunch then after a cool down hit the dvd.

day 3 done

So after all is said and done ... total calorie intake is 2047 and that's after having a little ice cream for dessert.
Wellll, I wasn't going to throw it away.. lol
I will be getting Greek yogurt and Jello cups with fruit in them for desserts from now on.
I actually had a lot to eat today and still came in under goal. if I keep this up It will be 3 lbs a week just from calorie counting instead of 2lbs.
Add to the fact that I am exercising now on days and will be adding them to days I work as I can  that'll do nothing but help.
Goodnight.

today

Doing good so far today on the calorie count .. ... I have 1262 left for the day and all I have is dinner left, and that looks like it will be a tuns fish sandwich and nice salad. so Ima gonna be well under again.

Worked a half day today, went to Walmart afterwards. I got prices on several things I need ($60 will get most of them this fri or sat) and picked up my first dvd. Biggest Loser Home Challenge. Ouch!

the warm up kicked my ass.. lol but i stuck around for the first workout (cardio) and the warm down. I'll be adding the strength portion soon, then add weights to them later on. but damn, Anna K.< you're a sadist. lol
update on full calorie count for the day later. as for now, ima find me some icy hot. lol

count for the day

After all was said and done, Tuesday closed out at 2097 calories eaten.
I added a new app to my Kindle Fire called My Fitness Pal.
looks good and will make keeping track of my daily intake a lot easier.
I put in all the info it asked and answered all their questions. The result was according to this I can have 2750 calories a day at a light activity (normal workday at the kitchen or bar or walking on days off) and lose 2 lbs a week.
I plan on eating less than that a day plus I will be adding the dvd exercising in to boot, which should put me to 2.5 - 3 lbs a week.
I work a half day tomorrow so I plan on going for another walk ... If I can do ten more feet tomorrow than I did today, I will be happy. That's my plan. Push a little more each day. The little goals will eventually add up to the large ones.

There are two major goals.

1. get down to 200 lbs. 
2. Be ready for tough mudder 2014.

Some people will look at 2014 and laugh ... well they aren't over 400 lbs. so screw them.

on a little more serious note.
I asked and added a total of 10 people to this blog ( at least for the first couple months)
All of you inspire, motivate or make me want to do this ... not for you (no offense) not for anyone out there, but for me, for my health, for my life.
I will make it public and let anyone that wants to follow do so, but for now, I need this to be a little private.
Thank you all.

shopping list

Things I need to look for and pick up as I can.

1. Weights ... nothing major for now, but a good hand set will go a long way.
2. Walking shoes (don't you dare call them runners, do I look like a runner? lol) I will prolly go with hiking boots of some sort, mostly for the arch and ankle support. The work boots I have right now will work for a while, bit I can just imagine the pain I will be in, if this is all I wear.
3. Workout DVD ... the room mate gave me a couple video names he likes and  uses, and from what he's told me of them, I may go the same route. 
4. An extra heavy duty scale .... the normal ones are usually 300 or less, boo hiss 
5. Ipod I have Audio books I want to listen to while walking as well as my music.  
6. George Foreman grill .... gotta cook those chicken breasts properly .
7. Small digital camera.

There will other things as I go on. But for now, those are the immediate needs/wants.

seriously?

I did not realize how bad it was...
 I just got back from a walk that was less than half of what I expected to do. I don't know exact distances, but I think I just did 3/4 of a mile. I made it from my house to the Light at the corner and back. In my optimism, I was wanting to go all the way to Ballast Point Park (roughly a mile away from my house) and back.
WOW.
I can hear the chant "one step at a time"  in the back of my mind, but dammit, talk about ego buster ... and it's not like I was expecting to finish Tough Mudder today.
Caloric intake so far is on a good start, if I can keep it low to average all day then at least that will help.
It's Tuesday, so I will be going to my mom's today to hang out, watch movies and have dinner, I'll just make sure if it's a "heavy" dinner to go light on proportions. And since I am going there any ways, I can drop off all the excess cans of coke and dr. pepper sitting in the fridge.
I'll update at the end of the night, if for nothing to get caloric intake written down.

Day 1.

 It's been a "thing" in the back of my head for a while now, but until recently, that's where it stayed.
Over the past weekend I found out how much I actually weighed. Let's just say, I was surprised, more so than I should have been.
 I am a large man, and I knew I was overweight, but as to how much over I was, I liked to keep a guesstimate.
Some facts to start us off.
I work two jobs, Friday - Monday are my usual shifts. I am a chef at a nursing home F-M and W, and I am security at a bar F and S nights.
I am 42.
I weigh (as of last Saturday) 409 lbs.
I don't want to weigh that much, so I am now in the process of doing something about it.

I started a couple weeks ago without realizing it. I decided it was time to quit drinking sodas, I stopped going to fast food joints, and I quit buying frozen pizzas in bulk. (that really was the hardest)

Today I did a little research (as I will tomorrow and as long as I need to) on different weight loss techniques and diets and blah blah blah. ad naseum. So far I have decided that the best way for me to do this is to do what worked the first time around (I went from 325 down to 205 in a little over a year). Watch calorie intake versus calorie output. Oh, and a little exercise wouldn't hurt either. lol

So for now (things will change as I become more active and lose weight) at a light activity kind of day (which is what I call a normal workday if I don't add exercise or something else into the mix) to keep my current weight I have to have an intake of 3350 calories a day... ouch. ( it jumps to 3900 when I add exercise)
For me to lose weight healthily and steadily I would need to cut my intake in half and should be able to lose a steady 3 - 4lbs a week. Even at only 2.5 lbs a week, that comes out to be 130 lbs in a year. My ultimate goal is 200, If I can go lower and not look emaciated I will keep going, but I know 200 looks good on me, so there it is. At 2.5 a week, by the middle of June of 2014 I will hit goal. But I will have to keep it to a very strict course.

Today I did good at an intake of 2000 calories, and I can already see where I can make improvements. Within  a month I should have this down pat and flowing smoothly. Tomorrow will be day one of the walking, by the weekend I hope to have T - Th as days I walk, F - M as days I follow along with an exercise dvd. Sweatin' To the Oldies! lol
 I have already and will be taking pics of the process, but don't know if I want to show them just yet. I will decide tomorrow.

And to those of you joining me on this journey, I thank you.