The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves! (my journal)

[DisDon]

December is a great time to go! Hope it's not postponed, but regardless you'll be in better shape once you get there.

Keep journaling...when someone first told me I should keep a food journal, I though it would be to huge a drain on my time from my writing. But, coming here to post my journal has been such a big part of my success so far. The support from people here is amazing. And it really helped me put everything into perspective and see this as a journey. Knowing I'd be coming back each day to post kept me on track even on bad days.

Keep up the walking...feet will get sore, but then they'll feel better. Then, YOU will feel better, and that's the real motivation!

You are totally right, doing this journal is keeping me going. Last night I ate too late, low carb tho, just didn't get my hind end up and out to walk. I felt bad about it all night and this morning, so after making sure all the hot spots were under control, I took off for a walk around the park next to the office here. It was good, almost too hot already, did I mention I hate the heat. Feet are feeling better already. Enjoying my book-on-cd while I walk, Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card. Got several good ones lined up at the library for when i finish this one. State of Fear by Michael Crighton, and going to start the Song of Ice and Fire series over again, George R. R. Martin, since the 4th book is FINALLY written, going to press. So far only the 1st book, clash of kings, is available on cd from the library, but its huge, so maybe the rest will make it before i finish it, otherwise i'll just have to READ it
I'm not doing quite as well as Mike on the soda front. I've allowed a little too much enemy infiltration, had 2 medium Dr. P's at Wendy's yesterday (they won't just refill it, but they'll give you another one for free if you ask, i'm pathetic enough to ask, gotta stop that). Then I had a can of Shasta Cola after dinner, took DD7 to the grocery store to buy a present for a late-notice birthday party this afternoon, and they have a vending machine outside with Shasta cans for 25 cents. So, if a medium drink from wendy's is 22 oz., guessing, then that's 22+22+12=56 oz. yesterday, dang, that was more than i thought. I was weak and bought a 32oz Dr. P on the way to work, that is SOO tempting for me, I've got to figure out an alternative in the AM . Ice wata, ice wata, ice wata. Need some right now, brb.

OK, Aaahh, that's better.

 

[keenercam]

Okay, Don. . .. step BACK from the soda! You know you can do it. You just have to COMMIT AND COMMENCE!!!

Thanks for clueing us in on the gorilla -- I had NOO idea, and was thinking maybe USF or something like that. Should have known better, right?

Congrats on getting a walk in. If you are anything like me, you will get to a point where you actually crave it. And if you only listed to your audio books when you are walking, it will incentivize you to get out and walk so that you get get on with the story! There is certain music that is only on my ipod, so if I want to hear it, I drag myself off to the gym and get on the cross trainer. I don't even let myself listen to it here in my office on the weekends, when I have my ipod docked. Find little strategies that work for you.

Keep up the great work! Congrats on choosing chicken for lunch instead of an evil double or triple burger.

 

[DisDon]

I've been avoiding this because I think its dumb when you haven't lost anything yet, but now it will be another motivation to me, to get one that shows some weight loss. Can't wait for that!!!

Okay, Don. . .. step BACK from the soda! You know you can do it. You just have to COMMIT AND COMMENCE!!!

OK, here goes <deep breath>, I'm gonna have 1 more today (with the last of the change purloined from DW's purse ), and then its ON, baby! Weekend are always easier for me anyway, less stress, and more DW supervision. Went all last weekend without any, got headaches on sunday night. Saw my cousin the chiropractor on monday, kind of funny, he's an old football player too, shorter than me tho, really has to wrestle me around to crack me. Meeting of the Pizza Guts. That helps with the headaches, and of course Ibuprofen!

 

[Mykelogan]

You can do this Don! I know you can! I know for me I was up near the 2L of Coke a day range before so I decided to use last week to ween myself off of it. Maybe if you try to cut your Dr. P consumption in half for a day or two, and then 1/4, etc. Either way, I have faith in you buddy! And you know the W.I.S.H. team is pulling for you and counting on you to help us get to the Superbowl of Weight Loss!!!

Don't make me pull out more football metaphors!!
hehe!
Have a great day!
Mike

 

[DisDon]

Don't make me pull out more football metaphors!!

OK! don't hurt yourself! hehe

So, a pretty good weekend. On the plus side:
No Caffeinated Pop.
Walked Sunday night.

Minus side:
Bought pies from Marie Calendar's, a banana cream for the family, and a pecan for me It was supposed to be for Father's Day, a little late. MC pies sale this month, bad for diets. No one else in the house likes pecan, which is good for me because I love it, but bad for me because I love it. Its gone now.
Ate pretty good other than that, no real carb blowouts.
Scale said I was down 5 yesterday morning, but back up 2 today. I don't trust the fluctuations like this, if i see something more permanent I'll get excited.
Ok, so i'm off to the chiro cousin again now, had a little bit of a headache yesterday, nothing really yet today. Looks like i might get to go mow my father-in-law's lawns tonight, that's a bit of exercise. ARRR

 

[TigerCheer2009]

Hey!!!!!!!! Welcome to WISH!!!! You're doing soo well!!!!!!! Keep up the good work and stay away from the Dr P! (Do you want a cheer in your journal? Since you are a rough'n'tough football player...)

Good luck!

 

[DisDon]

Hey!!!!!!!! Welcome to WISH!!!! You're doing soo well!!!!!!! Keep up the good work and stay away from the Dr P! (Do you want a cheer in your journal? Since you are a rough'n'tough football player...)

Good luck!

Thanks, sure, I like cheerleaders!!!

 

[TigerCheer2009]

Okay! I'm back from cheerleading practice. Are you ready? I sure as heck hope so!

Ready...Okay!
Health is the best; the all new sensation,
Heading for the glory, the best in the WISHnation!
Hey Excess Body Weight get ready for a fight,
Don can't be beat, oh YES that's right!
You yell it! Yes You can! (or Don's The Man! depending on your personality!)
Good luck! We're behind you until your journey's done
DisDon and the WISHers are number 1!!!!

 

[DisDon]

Okay! I'm back from cheerleading practice. Are you ready? I sure as heck hope so!

Ready...Okay!
Health is the best; the all new sensation,
Heading for the glory, the best in the WISHnation!
Hey Excess Body Weight get ready for a fight,
Don can't be beat, oh YES that's right!
You yell it! Yes You can! (or Don's The Man! depending on your personality!)
Good luck! We're behind you until your journey's done
DisDon and the WISHers are number 1!!!!

Thanks, that's GRRRREEEAAATTT!

 

[TigerCheer2009]

Glad you liked it!!!!!

 

[DisDon]

OK, nothing groundbreaking to report except, following Mike's fine example, I'm now on day 4 Caffeine Free! I'm feeling the committment more than I'm feeling the urge, so, heck yeah!
Didn't walk yesterday, just helped mow the in-law's lawn. Will definitely walk tonight, I don't care about those rain clouds i'm seeing out my window
Food's been hit or miss, yesterday was my work at home day, ate a polish dog, no bun like my 5 yr old DS likes them, then ate at IL's. MIL heated up a big stouffer's lasagna, had a decent bit of that, fed some of mine to the baby, she's 10 months now, has 3 teeth, thinks she can eat anything. Had salad and corn, and some of MIL's yummy whole wheat bread. Makes me want to make some of my own, resist the urge. Would have had some Rhubarb Crisp, but MIL forgot about it while we were all out working and playing on the lawn, it became Rhubarb Ultra-Crisp (Cajun-style). had a little ice cream, shared with the baby again. Its a good thing she exercises all the time.
Today I had a Breakfast Hot-Pocket and a granola bar out ofthe breakroom for breakfast, and leftover pot roast and veggies for lunch. Veggies was a few carrots and potatoes, not too much. Horseradish on the roast, mmmmmm, one of the things i like that no one else in the family can stand, like sauerkraut. So, just before writing this, I broke down and ate a big piece of caramel brownie thing from the breakroom. Curses on the breakroom! I justified it as better than my usual afternoon get-out-of-the-office snack, a 44 oz Dr. P. It wasn't worth it, not that good. Ok, got to get a little more work done before i go home.

 

[DisDon]

Ok, just wanted to check in today and say, hmmm, not sure whether to get excited or not. This is day 5 with no Dr. P, Coke, Shasta Cola, caffeinated beverages of any kind. I really want one this morning, I'm thirsty and haven't gone and filled my water mug yet, but, NO WAY, JOSE!
So, I weigh myself yesterday morning, down about 3 from the start, then last night my wife gets on the scale, says "hey, did you know this isn't set to 0?". She says its off about 4 lbs, so she sets it back to 0. So I get on with my clothes on, no shoes, and it says down about 4, oh well. So, here's the kicker, I get on this morning, in my birthday suit (sorry, hopefully no visual), and, good criminy, it says 389! When I started it was 398, don't know if that was affected by the calibration being off. I'm still not 100% convinced, but I'm going to take that as a win, and change my clippie.
I got to thinking, and I truly can't remember ever consciously starting a diet/exercise plan and actually noting a significant weight loss. My biggest weight loss was when I left on my LDS Church mission. We go to a Missionary Training Center 1st, 3 weeks for english speaking, 9 weeks for foreign speaking. I went to Peru, so I learned Spanish. I entered the MTC at 275, very out of shape, lifted weights for about an hour a day, and after the 9 weeks I still weighed 275 but I went from a universal machine (all they had) bench press of a few reps of 220 or so to 10 reps of the 300 lb. stack. Then I went to Peru, was placed in a very backward region, where I walked pretty much all day long everyday. I lost 45 lbs in 2 months, and kept losing a little so that for most of my mission I varied between 205 and 215. For me that was quite thin (remember, short legs, 6'1" tall, big bones). It was the best time in my life health-wise, and all this time since that I've been gaining I've always known in the back of my mind that it was possible for me to lose it. I just never really made the serious committment necessary. There's so many excuses, things that i've let get in the way of my health. I've worked 2 jobs most of my married life, worked for Domino's for 11 years or so off and on, drove cab part time in Denver for a couple of years while we lived there. The only physically strenous job I've had was at UPS loading trucks, but that was only for a few months, the cab driving was much better pay. I've never been a huge eater, I've enjoyed the occasional all-you-can-eat buffet, but i'm not
a bank breaker there. I seem to overeat enough to gain weight, then just maintain for a while, then do it again. The soda has been a big problem, but I really think I'm going to conquer it this time. ARRRR!
Food-wise, it was cheap taco night at Del Taco, so I brought a bunch of those home for the family. 6 Ultimate Tacos and 9 soft tacos for $7!! I ate 3 Ultimates (they're not THAT big) and still felt a little hungry, so I unwrapped one of the little soft tacos and scraped it off into a salad. That did the trick. No snacks or treats of any kind, but I didn't walk either. Gonna do that this morning in the next little while, then maybe again tonight with the family. This is cool, in my mp3 playlist it just got to Grim Grinning Ghosts, and then the Main Street Electrical Parade. Man, I've got to get to WDW, losing weight and getting in shape is a big part of my plan.

Check out the new 5 lb. clippie!!! Won't it be cool when people come to read this and its like the 50 or 75 pounder!!!! Yee Haaw!

 

[Mykelogan]

Don, you are the man!
You are doing a great job, I think kicking the soda is a big help for us all! All the corn syrup, and sodium, and chemicals gone, and now flushed out of our bodies! Keep up the good food choices to, I am sure your weight loss is a reality!

Keep the good work up and have a great day!

Mike

 

[TigerCheer2009]

Hey there, Don!

You deserve to celebrate for the 5 Carbonation Free Days! Woohoo! And for that awesome new clippie!

I know how you feel about really noticing the changes. And I am very proud of you! You can do this, you're gonna do this, you are doing this! And YES!!! I drank my water. Thank you for nagging me.

Positive thoughts, smiles and a harsh wind to blow away all of the excuses coming your way!

 

[lovinaz]

Hi Don, it's AmyT here. I read your initial post and was laughing - Humorous it was, yes (sad attempt at Yoda quote)! I'm not quite as addicted to soda as you are, but I HAVE to have a Diet Coke every day! I limit myself to one can at lunchtime, and it's diet, but I know the feeling when I don't get it, and it ain't pretty Perhaps if you tell yourself you can have 1 single can a day and when you drink it, you're done for the day? I know, it's easy for me to write that, but that way you are still cutting WAY back, and not totally depriving yourself.

It sounds like the breakroom is your worst enemy! Maybe everytime you have the urge to go in there you could take a 5 minute power walk instead!! Keep up the positive attitude and the walking!

 

[keenercam]

Hey, Don! LOVE that new CLIPPIE!!!! You're awesome!

Keep up the great work!

And, you are so far down the road to total non-dependence on caffeine that you are so smart not to give in to a craving now. Keep drinking plenty of water. Just think. Every ounce of caffeine you don't drink is likely replaced with the very healthy H2O alternative. That is something you are doing for you.

I have to tell you -- I CANNOT wait to come back to read your journal some months from now and be reading about your current clippie only to see that by then you have moved on to a much much greater number showing on that clippie.

Thanks for inspiring me today!

 

[DisDon]

It sounds like the breakroom is your worst enemy!

Yoda: Remember your failure at the breakroom, strong in the darkside of the force, it is!
I'm staying out of there today, ARRRR!

 

[DisDon]

Hey, Cam, Jen, Mike, everyone, I sooo appreciate your comments and encouragement. I've been looking through some other old journals, have noticed some where the author seemed pretty much alone in the journalkeeping, that would be tough. Glad to have some friends here, I'll try to keep doing my part in other's journals too. This is gonna be great!

 

[lovinaz]

How are you doing today DisDon? Staying out of that breakroom?

 

[DisDon]

How are you doing today DisDon? Staying out of that breakroom?

Well, I did get my breakfast hot pocket out of there, not very nutritious but its protein (along with carbs and fat), keeps me from getting too hungry before lunch. I've been meaning to make a breakfast casserole that I can cut up and reheat each day. Must do that tonight. Other than that, NO BREAKROOM!! Got my 32oz ice water, I fill that every morning, most days I drink it all and get more before I go home, plus I drink a lot of water at home, so I feel good about that.

OK, this is day 6, and I think i'm really on the way to breaking the habit. I'm not even feeling that tempted, guess I was ready for a change I've tried to do this many times before, its been my new year's resolution for about the last 5 years running. It must be all the great encouragement here, and the fact that its all written down here.
So, yesterday was a pretty good day. I hadn't walked since Sunday night (lawnmowing notwithstanding), so by last night I was gettin' MAD. Kids were driving me nuts, when Elaine (DW) got off the JetBlue phone at about 10 I was snuggling the baby, trying to get her to sleep, but she was hyper. I was feeling sleepy, but suddenly! I just jumped up, changed into my walking shorts, hooked up my mp3 cd player, filled up a water bottle, and took off out the door!! All by myself! Take that! Walked like a maniac, (well, like a maniacal version of me). I was out about 45 minutes, went back with the car and measured this morning and it was 2 miles! Insides of the tops of my thighs are a tad sore this morning, no problem. Felt great to do that, and got to listen to some rockin' tune too. I could get used to this!
Food, hmm, well, I did ok, not great, on the carb front, but basically just ate too much of everything. For lunch I wanted something big and filling, should have had a salad, but went and had a Carl's Jr. 6 dollar Guacamole Bacon Burger . I did eat just the burger, no combo meal, so no fried or soda, but that was a monster. It was yummy, I did eat the bun, so, shouldn't do that very often.
Then for dinner I had an idea. I like italian, make spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread for the family quite often. I thought, what if instead of meat sauce i made meatballs, and just ate some of the meatballs myself with sauce and cheese, and skipped the spaghetti. I could have salad and viola! no carbs. Well, it was a great theory, didn't work out this time but definitely next time. It was my first attempt at meatballs and they turned out pretty good if i do say so. I looked at a couple of recipes online, kind of just took ideas from them and did my own thing. I took a pound of burger, an egg, a piece of bread broken up (probably skip that next time), toasted a little freash garlic chopped fine, some parsley flakes and oregano, salt and pepper, mixed it all up, made little balls out of it in a baking dish and baked it at 400 for a while. I was afraid they would be too garlicky, but everyone liked them. Problem was, I went ahead and ate the spaghetti and garlic bread anyway, dang it. Elaine had even bought fresh corn-on-the-cob, ate that too, yum, and a salad. Way too much food, and it took me a while to cook it, so we ended up eating at 8 pm, too late at night. I've got the leftover spaghetti and meatballs and salad in the breakroom fridge right now, oh, ha, just realized i left the garlic bread home, that's a good thing. Ok, plan, i'm gonna eat just the meatballs and salad for lunch, take the spaghetti back home. Willpower!! GRRR!
Scale still said 389 this morning, I'm going to take that as a win, didn't fluctuate back up. BTW, looked at that Walking to WDW thing, that's 2500 miles from here!!! My counter says 153 days until my trip, that would be about 16 miles a day.