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.