Day 39

I was hoping to rebound today from what was a very unproductive diet day yesterday.  I work up early so I could go golfing with my two brother-in-laws and father-in-law.  I made a quick protein shake on the way out the door and figured that would hold me over till lunch.  I knew I would be drinking lots of water on the course because it was hot, however I don't think any of us thought it was going to be as hot as it was.  It was gross out there, probably the worst temp I have ever golfed in.  But as you all know I love golf, so quiting was never an option.  I will also add that having lost 15 pounds so far has helped improve my game.  I found it easier to stay balanced and get my hips around without a huge stomach in the way.  So in case your wondering I shot an 80, but it could have been in the mid 70's had I not bogeyed 6 holes on the back nine.  Fatigued had really started to kick in!  Another good thing was I probably lost a few pounds just in sweat.

After golf we all headed over to Zipps (sports bar) for some lunch.  Any weight I had possibly lost while playing golf I gained back at lunch.  I had an order of their golden/mild wings (12) with an ice tea.  I also had about 1/2 a glass of beer (blue moon).  I love Blue Moon so I could have easily had a few glasses, but knew that the chicken wings were bad enough so I stopped.  After we left Zipps Brett and I were talking about how we were still hungry as the wings didn't fill us up.  The round of golf really made us hungry.  So right before getting back to my house we passed "A Taste of Chicago".  We both said "Chicago Dog?"  This is one of those weekends that I'm going to have to deal with from time to time.  Being perfect on a diet every day is next to impossible.  I actually prefer to slip up every now and then because it makes you come back stronger.  So 12 wings, 1/2 beer and one Chicago dog later and I was spent!

I wasn't that hungry come dinner time, however did want to eat something.  We are out of food again (time to go shopping) so dinner was an "eat out" meal.  The kids wanted corn dogs from Sonic so off we went.  I was good and got two grilled chicken wraps.  When we got home I opened the wrap and ate just the chicken, tomatoes and lettuce.  They are not as good as Wendy's, but still for a fast food joint they were not bad.

So that was about it for today.  It started off great, got some great exercise but then went downhill for about 3 hours and then ended pretty good.  Other then the golf I didn't get in any other exercise.  One I was very worn down and two it was pouring from a massive monsoon storm going on.  Tomorrow morning I will be weighing in and am anticipate seeing a higher number then my last 230 mark.  If this is the case I will have to just kick it in high gear this week and get it back plus some.  

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  12 wings and 1 Chicago Dog
• Dinner:  2 Grilled Chicken wraps (chicken only)
• Exercise:  Golf (4 hours)
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  D- 

Day 38

Today started off really good.  I drank down a protein shake as I was cleaning the house.  However that's pretty much where it ended.  We had a birthday party for a family friend that was held at Peter Piper Pizza. I didn't go overboard and only had two and half slices of pizza.  I could have easily had more as there was tons of pizza's all around me.  They had cake and ice cream and I passed on that as well.  So really I had been doing somewhat ok up to this point.

After the party we went to Ikea as a family to get a few things for around the house.  We also looked at some beds for Brady and Charlotte.  We think that Charlotte will be going into the same bed as Lily and the best part is its only $90 right now.  Brady really wants some bunk beds and we found some that match his dresser for $289.  We will see.  If your wondering what this has to do with my diet, well nothing really. However if you have ever been to Ikea you know its freaking huge.  We pretty much walked every square foot of the place.  So it was exercise.  

When we were at Ikea we had lined it up with Dawn's parents for them to watch the kids.  Our original plan was to do dinner and a movie with Ashley and Brett.  Well dinner happened, but we didn't have enough time to make the movie.  We rented a Red Box (Hall Pass) and all came back to our house.  As you noticed, I skipped over the details of dinner.  Reason for that is because I was very bad, I mean very bad.  We went to Buca di Beppo (Italian) and ordered a anti pasta salad, two pasta entries and a bottle of wine.  It was all so good that I just wanted to keep eating.  Even the wine was good.  I'm not a red wine person but have been saying lately that I want to get more into it.  Tonight I did just that.

I have still have one more full day before I weigh in again on Monday morning.  Hopefully I can burn off what I ate today!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  2 and half slices of Pizza
• Dinner:  Italian Food = I was bad!
• Exercise:  None (some walking at Ikea)
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade: F

Day 37: 230 pounds

Booyah!  After having one of my best days yesterday I got up this morning and headed right to the scale.  I was so happy to see what I saw.  Not only did I finally break the 233 mark, but I hit 15 pounds total.  I had an extra step in my walk all day because of this.   So on that note high fives to me!

As for my day of eating and exercise today.  Nothing different to my breakfast and lunch menus, but dinner was a bit different.  I got home about 5:15pm and walked into a house that had been turned upside down.  Dawn went on this major clean kick this afternoon that resulted in cleaning out closets and cabinets.  You name it she was cleaning it.  During this time we made the kids some Mac-N-Cheese, but that was only enough for the kids.  Dawn and I finally ate around 7:30pm and boy was it gourmet!  I had a piece of grilled chicken with a small side of spaghetti.  Like I said, very gourmet (not), however to me it was perfect.  

I didn't get any exercise in tonight just because I went running last night.  I have been trying to skip a day here and there just to help give my legs and knees a rest.  I do plan on getting out tomorrow and working up a sweat.

Next weigh in day will be Monday morning.  Weekends are tough so lets hope I can come out of it at the same weight.  

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Breast & Yogurt Cup
• Afternoon Snack:  Yogurt Cup
• Dinner:  Grilled Chicken & Spaghetti
• Exercise:  None
• Weight:  230 pounds (-3 from previous weigh in)
• Grade:  B+

Day 36

It was a good day for me both eating and exercise.  Breakfast and lunch were the same yet again, don't feel bad I actually enjoy what I'm eating and have yet to get sick of it.  Dawn was going out to dinner with an old friend so after work I met her with the kids at Lily's gymnastics practice.  They ate before hand, so once it was over it was my turn for some food.  I kept it quick and easy and hit up Wendy's for some grilled chicken wraps.

After we got home the kids played for a little bit and then it was time for bed.  Dawn was still not home so that meant some quality video game time for myself.  I cant get enough of MLB11 The Show!  However I was able to put the remote down once Dawn got home.  At that point I put on my "running" attire and headed out for another productive exercise session.

Tomorrow is a weigh in day.  Lets hope I finally can break the 233 mark!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Breast & Yogurt Cup
• Afternoon Snack:  Yogurt Cup
• Dinner:  Grilled Chicken Wraps (Wendy's)
• Exercise:  Run/Walk (30 minutes - 1.4 miles)
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  A+

Day 35: 233 pounds

This morning was a weigh in day for me and it was the same as Monday, 233 pounds.  It seems like I'm in one of those "stuck" periods that most people go through.  Its never fun when this happens, however on the bright side it normally means that at some point I will drop a few pounds within a few days.  So I will just hang in there and wait. 

I worked from home today as it was Wednesday.  This meant having to deal with the temptations of all the snacks in the pantry.  I did sneak a few Wheat Thins in, however stayed strong the remainder of the day.  The hardest part is not the food, its having to deal with Brady and his questions every 2 minutes.  I sure cant wait till he goes back to school!

Because I was home, I decided to cook up some eggs (whites only) and have those with my protein shake.  Lunch and my afternoon snack was the same as it always is.  As for dinner, well it was awesome.  We had steaks, baked potatoes and corn on the cob.  Talk about a hearty mean! 

As for exercise, well I will admit that I was a slacker tonight and opted for TV time on the couch.  Lots of good shows on Wednesday night (SYTYCD, Big Brother, Rescue Me, The Franchise).  Tomorrow for sure!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  2 eggs whites & Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Breast & Wheat Thins
• Afternoon Snack:  Yogurt Cup
• Dinner:  Steak, Baked Potato (1), Corn on the Cob (1)
• Exercise:  None
• Weight:  233 pounds (same as previous)
• Grade:  B+

Day 34

It was yet again another standard day for me.  Breakfast was the same, however I did mix in some veggies with my lunch.  I'm also becoming a huge fan of yogurt if you cant already tell.  Not only is it a good and healthy snack, but they are 10 for $4 at the store.  As for dinner, well it was taco night in our household.  I love taco night!  In the past it was normal for me to make two tacos and a tostada in my first helping.  Why that combination you ask, well that's all that will fit on the plates we have.  After cleaning my plate I would go back for two more tacos, sometimes another tostada as well.  Once those were gone I would make the rounds and finish the kids plates.  So doing some simple math, that's 4-5 full tacos and 2 tostadas, wow!  I'm pretty sure there have been times when I have done even more then that.  As for tonight, my plate was one taco and one tostada.  I did go back for seconds, but it was only for one taco.  That's a pretty good improvement if you ask me.

After dinner, Dawn took Lily out for a few school things.  Last night she took Brady so tonight was Lily's turn.  I gave Charlotte a bath, did some dishes, cleaned the kitchen and then called it night.  Time to relax.  No going out to exercise tonight, my legs/knees needed the night off from last night.  I pushed it pretty hard last night, so the break was nice.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake & Yogurt
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken & Veggies
• Afternoon Snack:  Yogurt Cup
• Dinner:  Tacos & Tostada (3 & 1)
• Exercise:  None
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  B-

Day 33: 233 pounds

It was another pretty normal day for me.  I don't have much to say that really jumps out so I will keep it short and to the point.  Sticking with my new game plan I weighed myself this morning before work.  The results were the same as my previous weigh in.  I will take it!  Hopefully come Wednesday it will be lower.  So stayed tuned!

I did get out and go for a run tonight.  Well its still not a full run, but more a combination of running and walking.  It works for me so that's all that matters.  Tonight was the first night that I noticed a difference in how far and how fast I was running before I needed to stop for a break.  It hit me at that moment that this journey, diet, change in lifestyle was really starting to work.  It times like this that make it easy to keep going and look forward to tomorrow, because we all know being on a diet is not easy.  Every day we are faced with challenges!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake
• Morning Snack:  Cup of Yogurt
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Breast
• Afternoon Snack:  Cup of Yogurt
• Dinner:  Spaghetti, Salad, Veggies with Garlic Bread
• Night Snack:  Protein Shake (After running)
• Exercise:  Run/Walk (30 minutes 1.4 miles) & 100 sit-ups
• Weight:  233 lbs (no change)
• Grade:  B+

Day 32

It was a normal yet not normal day for us.  The part that was not normal is we all went to Church this morning.  Not to get off subject, but I will here.  This was the first time ever that we all have been to church as a family.  Now I like church and what it stands for, however I have never been a fan of actually going.  This has been the case for as long as I can remember.  I'm sure my parents will agree that even as a little kid I would do anything I could to get out of it.  The first thing I would do would be to try and sleep over at a friends house on Saturday night so I didn't have to go.  If that didn't work and I was home, I would pretend to be sick or pretend to still be sleeping when everyone was getting ready.  Most of the time that didn't work and my parents got me out of bed, however I would then complain the entire time.  Well here I am 34 years old and still trying to pull the same thing.  Not only was it me, but Brady appeared to be a mini Bryan this morning.  It took me back to when I was a kid.  The saying "the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree" really applies here.  As for Lily, well she was excited and kept saying "we are going to church to listen about Jesus".   After me acting like I was 10 again, I decided to agree and just go with it.  We went to a Christian Church in Chandler called Cornerstone.  I will say that this church was nothing like I have ever seen before.  The kid area was like a school with all the classrooms.  The main church area has a cafe in the main lobby that pretty much resembles a Starbucks.  Once inside it was like being at a concert.  The entire experience I will say was pretty cool.  Oh as for breakfast, I mixed up a protein shake on our way out the door.

After church we stopped at the store to grab some lunch meat and fruit.  Once we got home Dawn mixed up a fruit salad and I made the sandwiches.  I had a turkey sandwich with one piece of cheese and lettuce only on a small hard roll.  After lunch Dawn had to go to a Baby shower so I hung out with the kids.  I added in a cup of yogurt for a snack and then it was time for yard work.  I had not done the yard since before we went on vacation so I was looking at a big project.  Oh and it was also 110 out.  I finally finished the yard work about 6pm, right before dinner.  For dinner Dawn made some veggie potstickers with peas and carrots.

I didn't get around to do normal exercise (run, bike, sit ups, etc), however did do 2 hours of yard work.  I swear that is more of a work out then running!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Turkey Sandwich with cheese & lettuce
• Afternoon Snack:  Cup of Yogurt
• Dinner:  Veggie Potstickers with Peas & Carrots (Jen-ny!) =)
• Exercise:  Yard work (2 hours)
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  B+

Day 31: 233 pounds

Today marked the 31st day and official one month mark on this journey that I started June 23rd.  I weighed myself last Monday when we got home to see what kind of damage I had done on vacation.  Before we left I was down to 234 pounds (11 pounds total).  Unfortunately when we got home I was back up to 238, gaining 4 pounds.  Of course I was not to happy with this, but came to terms with it because after all I was on vacation.  Is it even possible to lose weight while on vacation?  I don't think so.  I knew that if I was good all week and could get those 4 pounds back by my one month mark.  Well I did just that and an extra pound.  I'm happy with having lost 12 pounds so far and am knocking on the door to enter the 220's.  I can't recall the last time I was under 230.   Its also worth noting that my first goal from my first post was to lose 20 pounds in 2 months.  I'm more then half way there and feel pretty confident that I can lose the 8 pounds if not more by August 23rd.  To reference an 80's song "watch out here I come". 

Going forward I'm going to weigh myself and post it every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  I think this will make for some good suspense in waiting a few days to see the new number.  Hopefully every time I report back it will be a lower number then previously reported, however its possible it goes up or stays the same.  Remember losing weight is not easy, but I'm doing my best at it.

I will also say that not only am I proud that I have lost 12 pounds in one month, but I'm also proud that I have posted something every day.  Knowing that I have to wright a post every night for many to see helps me keep focus on the final prize, breaking 200!  

If I had to grade my first month I would say it was a C+!  I would have graded myself higher, but I got off to slow start with my exercise, ate/drank horrible on July 4th and had a vacation where I gained 4 pounds.  However overall I think I had a great first month and can hold my head high.  

Now on to today.  As you all know Saturdays are cleaning day in our house.  I told Dawn that I would clean the entire house while she took Lily to dance and ran some errands.  I started about 9am and was done just after 1pm.  Call me crazy, but when I set my mind on cleaning I actually enjoy it.  Besides its a great form of exercise especially when you mop!  Now of course there are times when I don't like to clean and will complain most of the time.  Those times are normally started with "Bryan it's time to clean, head to the bathroom" or during a sporting event that I don't want to leave the couch for (Sunday football).  I drank a protein shake as I was clean and that held me over till lunch time.  

For lunch I made myself another grilled chicken breast and ate that will a tall glass of Ice Tea (no sugar). The kids had some chicken nuggets and I did sneak a few of those in that they left over.  I'm pretty sure it wont do any harm.  I had to work a Dbacks game tonight, so it was the soup & salad combo from the press lounge yet again.  I'm really starting to enjoy the salad bar and the different soups they put out.  The other night I had a curry & carrot soup.  I don't think I would have ever tried such a soup, but since it was the only option I went with it.  Surprisingly it was pretty good.  As for tonight, they had vegtiable beef.  Its important to know that in the past it was normal for me to get a full plate of salad and a full plate of food from the buffet add a cookie for desert and chase it all down with two cups of soda.  Its no wonder why I seemed to ballon out during the summers!  

So overall it was a great day, I did great on my eating and got 4 hours of exercise by cleaning the house.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Breast & 2 Chicken Nuggets
• Dinner:  Soup & Salad
• Exercise:  House cleaning (4 hours)
• Weight:  233 lbs 
• Grade:  A+

Day 30

I'm a day behind in posting about day 30 (yesterday), however last night was date night with the wife so I didn't have time to get a post in before bed.  We went to see the movie Friends with Benefits with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.  It was funny and I recommend it.

As for my day with eating and exercise.  The first part was good, but the second didn't happen because it was movie night.  I stuck to my regular routine and ate from the same menu I have been.  It seems to be working.  As for dinner, well we didn't really eat anything other then movie food.  We had some popcorn, candy and a box of chicken nuggets.  Yes we are those people that get "cooked" food at the movie theater. The chicken is really good, trust me.  Now don't think I ate all of this, because I didn't.  We shared the chicken, ate about 1/4 of the popcorn and 1/2 the box of candy.  It was well worth it for date night with my sweetie!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake & Yogurt
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Breast
• Afternoon Snack:  Cup of Yogurt
• Dinner:  Chicken Nuggets
• Night Snack:  Popcorn & Candy
• Exercise:  None
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  C+

Day 29

Another day in the books and another day closer to the one month mark.  I started this journey on the 23rd of June and here we are 2 days away from it being the 23rd of July.  Today was a good day on the eating front, however I didn't get the chance to exercise because of working the Dbacks game.  One of these days I'm going to try and get up at like 5am and do it before work.  Might be easier that way.  

Well other then that I don't have much to say that's not been said in previous posts.  Lately every day seems to be the same as the previous and I don't want to sound like a broke record.  So I will just list my daily recap and head to bed.  =)

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake
• Morning Snack:  Cup of Yogurt
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Breast
• Afternoon Snack:  Cup of Yogurt
• Dinner:  Soup & Salad
• Exercise:  None
• Bonus:  No coffee or soda
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  B+

Day 28

Today was good.  It being a Wednesday means I worked form home.  I spent most of the morning still catching up on emails from when I was out.  Breakfast consisted of a protein shake and a cup of fat free yogurt.  When I was at the store last night I loaded up on some yogurt, it makes for great healthy snack.  Now I just need to keep the kids from eating all of them!

Like I have said in previous posts that I like to eat around 1-2pm each day.  However today lunch time was noon.  The main reason for this was because I couldn't take listening to Sponge Bob from the other room anymore.  I told Brady it was time to turn it off so we could eat.  I made him some chicken nuggets and a grilled chicken breast for myself.  I also had another yogurt with it.

After lunch it was right back to work.  Not to get off subject, but I did suggested to Brady that he hit some baseball off the tee for a while rather then watching TV and guess what, I won!  I knew suggesting something baseball related would easily beat out TV.  I thought by doing this it would allow me to focus on work and not be distracted by the sounds of Sponge Bob & Patrick.  However I spent more time watching and helping him out.  Oh well, work can wait when it comes to father son baseball time!

As for dinner, well you guessed it we still don't have anything in the house.  This is a crazy week since we got home on Monday afternoon.  I worked the Dbacks game on Tuesday night and again on Thursday and then Saturday.  Dawn has a baby shower on Sunday so this really only gives us Wednesday and Friday to eat as a family.  We decided to not stock the house based on just two nights this week.  This could result in wasted food which means wasted money.  So with that said we ate out again tonight.  Well we didn't go out, but ordered pickup from Pei Wei.  We got chicken lettuce wraps for us and a chicken teriyaki over noodles for the kids. 

Once dinner was over and baths complete I went up and got the kids some ice cream.  I was strong and didn't get anything.  However Lily fell asleep on the way home, so when we got back I was tempted to eat hers.  I didn't for a few reasons, one being I cant on my diet and the other is I didn't want to face off with the Drama Queen herself in the morning when she goes looking for it.  That could turn ugly (I love her more than anything)!

I didn't get the chance to exercise today as my knee was a bit sore.  I didn't want to push it.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake & Yogurt
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken breast & Yogurt
• Dinner:  Chicken Lettuce wraps (4) & ice tea
• Exercise:  None
• Grade:  B

Day 27

Oh the joy of returning to work.  As much as I didn't want to return to work, it still was nice.  One nice thing about being back to work is your not sitting around with nothing to do but want to eat.  After the weekend I had up in the mountains surrounded by tons of food, going back to work is just what I needed.  

I kicked off the day with a protein shake as I headed out the door.  We still have not had the chance to get to the store, so there was no packing a lunch today.  I knew the day was going to be busy since it was my first day back to the office in over a week.  However I still made time to get some lunch.  The only quick, easy and fairly good for me meal was none other then a grilled chicken wrap from Wendy's.  I sure do love those!

Now not only did I have to work a full day at my normal job, but I also had to work a DBacks game.  This had me worried because normally I will eat a huge meal in the press lounge.  When its just sitting in front of you buffet style its hard to contain yourself.  However I did good and just got the soup and salad portion of the buffet.  I had a small bowl of veggie soup and a normal size salad with lots of good veggies on top.  It hit the spot and held me over till the end of the game.  The game didn't end till about 10pm and I was hungry as I was leaving the ballpark.  I filled up my water bottle to help fill the void.

On my way home Dawn called and needed me to stop at the store.  I was cutting it close to when they closed so I only got a few things.  I will say that being in a grocery store at 10:30pm and hungry is not fun.  Everything I walked by I wanted!  I went down the cookie/chip isle on purpose just so I could force myself to be strong.  That was not easy as I really wanted to rip into a thing of Oreos.  Cant you picture me sitting down on the ground with Oreos all over me and a gallon of milk opened sitting next to me (haha).

I didn't get the chance to exercise because I had to work all day and night.  Tomorrow I will for sure get out for a run or bike ride, maybe both!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Wrap (No tortilla)
• Dinner:  Soup & Salad
• Exercise:  None
• Bonus:  No coffee or soda, only water all day.
• Grade:  A

Day 26

Today was the last day of our vacation in Greer.  We had to be out of the cabin by 10am, however with the kids getting up early we ended up leaving about 9.  After I had the van all packed up I took a quick shower made a protein shake and we were on our way.  We stopped in Pinetop for a quick breakfast as no one had ate before we left, just me and my protein shake.  We drove thru Jack-In-The-Box for some breakfast jacks and kept on trucking!  It was about 11:30 when we got to Payson and all still a bit full from the breakfast jacks we decided to pass on lunch and keep on heading down the hill.

We made it back to our neck of the woods about 1pm and by this time everyone was hungry.  Coming back from vacation means having nothing in your house to eat.  We stopped at Wendy's and I got two of the grilled chicken wraps.  Up to this point my eating had been pretty good.  Unpacking the car in 110 degrees also made out for some good exercise.  I looked like I had just got out of a pool.  

Dinner time came and still with no food in the house meant eating out again.  It was a pizza and wings night.  This is where my eating went south.  We ordered from Barros pizza, enough said!

The good news is that the day is over and that means our vacation is officially over.  Yes that's sad, however its good.  It means that tomorrow I will be back on track with my diet and exercise.  I will report back a new weight total probably by Thursday or Friday.  

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake & Breakfast Jack
• Lunch:  2 Grilled Chicken wraps from Wendy's
• Dinner:  3 slices of pizza and 3 wings
• Exercise:  Nothing normal
• Grade:  D

Day 25

I don't have much to say about today, however I will say something just so I can keep up with my posts. 

Today = bad! 

I will say that being on vacation is not good for diets.  I headed into the vacation knowing that there would be meals that would be bad for me.  I started off great with watching what I ate, heck I even got out and went running.  However the past two days have gone down hill.  But I have been having a great time and just going with the flow.  I will get back on track when this vacation is over and we are back to the real world. 

Daily Recap:

I don't even remember all the things I ate except the homemade Gumbo Justin made for dinner.  Amazing!
Grade:  F

Day 24

The day started off good as all the guys woke up early to go out and golf.  Before leaving I made a protein shake and had an apple.  After golf we all stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch on the way back to the cabin.  I had 2 bean burritos.  Once we got back we relaxed for a little bit and then started to make dinner.  For dinner, Dawn made her homemade chili, Justin made BBQ Ribs and for the side dish we had corn bread.  Now all the dinner food was really not that bad had I only kept it to one serving.  But with ribs and chili it was not possible.  When your on vacation in the woods there is not that much to do other then play cards, eat and drink.  I managed to accomplish all of those today.   

So to sum up today, it started off great but went down hill big time at dinner and after.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake & Apple
• Lunch:  2 Bean Burritos
• Dinner:  10 ribs, 1 bowl of chili & cornbread
• After dinner snack:  Snacks, snacks and more snacks
• Exercise:  Does golf count
• Grade:  F

Day 23

Today was our first full day on vacation and I will say that it wasn't that bad.  I woke up about 6:45 this morning, got dressed and went out for a run/walk.  It was so freaking nice out that I didn't want to go back.  However I knew breakfast was going to be served and Dawn would need help with the kids.  My breakfast was a little bit of scrambled eggs, two pieces of Bacon and a protein shake.  Overall it was not that bad.

I made it through the morning without snacking and for lunch I made a turkey sandwich and had a little bit of chips and salsa.  It was awesome!  After lunch was over it all pretty much went down hill. 

I snacked a few times between lunch and dinner.  I don't recall exactly what I ate, but know that it was not good for me.  For dinner we made buffalo ranch chicken sandwich's, its very good and yes very spicy.  Its made in the crock pot so the chicken is baked not fried.  We also had some turkey and stuffing that Justin made and I had a little bit of that also.  I was pretty full from dinner however did snack more throughout the night as we all played some cards.  I am proud that I didn't have any coffee, soda or beer at all today.  So that's a win in my books.

As for exercise, well as I stated above I went out for a run/walk this morning for about 30 minutes.  I also did my 100 sit-ups.

It was a fun day with everyone, so I'm not that upset at myself for what I ate.  At least I still got in some exercise.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Eggs, Bacon, Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Turkey Sandwich with Chips and Salsa
• Afternoon Snack:  Junk!
• Dinner:  Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich
• Night Snack:  Junk!
• Exercise:  Ran/walked (30 Minutes) & 100 sit-ups
• Grade:  D+

Day 22: 234 pounds

Today was day 22 and 3 full weeks on this journey.  I weighed myself this morning not because I wanted to see I had lost anything, but more so because I wanted to know what my current weight was before leaving for vacation.  Surprise, surprise I was down to 234 pounds!  This is a total weight loss of 11 pounds in 22 days.  Yes!

We work up about 7:30 this morning and as Dawn got the kids ready I packed the car for our trip.  We headed out around 9am, but had to make a few stops (gas and breakfast) before really hitting the road.  The kids really wanted donuts so of course we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts on our way our of town.  Now since we are on vacation and I had a long drive ahead of me I decided to get an iced coffee.  This was the first one in 22 days and let me just tell you it was amazing.  Once coffee ever few weeks is not going to kill me! 

We met up with Brett, Ashley and the kids for lunch in Show Low around 1 o'clock.  We don't really know the area, so there was not a ton of places to eat for all of us so we settled on Denny's.  I got a grilled chicken salad and drank iced tea.  However I will day that the Chicken Ranch sandwich Ashley got looked amazing.  It was probably to spicy for me anyways. 

We rolled into Greer just after 3pm, looked over the cabin, unloaded our cars and got settled in while we waited for Dawn's parents and Justin and Rainie.  For dinner Brett grilled out some burgers and dogs.  I had one burger and one dog both with no buns.  I ate the burger over a piece of lettuce and some onions.  It hit the spot, however Brett did make fun of me.

After everyone had arrived we got everything unpacked and all the food put away.  We all hung out in the bar area, yeah the cabin has a full bar, its pretty cool.  I will admit that there was some snacking and beer drinking going on.  However I didn't have any beer tonight (cant promise for the next few nights), only drank water.  I did however snack on some grapes and had a few Wheat Thins. 

Overall I think the day was pretty good considering it was a travel day.  Normal time spent traveling in cars results in lots of snacks, fast foods and soda.  I kept it under control today.  Lets just hope I can keep doing it the next few days while we are here.  Justin is an amazing cook and he brought 5 racks of ribs and stuff to make gumbo.  I might be in trouble that day!

I didn't get the chance to do any exercising, however am hoping to get up early in the morning and get out.  We shall see.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Iced Coffee (Dunkin Donuts)
• Lunch:  Grill Chicken salad with Ice Tee
• Dinner:  1 burger served over lettuce and onion and 1 plane hot dog
• Night Snack:  Grapes & Wheat Thins 
• Exercise:  None
• Grade:  B-

Day 21

It was a very busy day today as we were getting ready to head to Greer.  With that said I don't have a ton to talk about because I don't really have the extra time to type it all out.  I will give a quick recap and report back tomorrow (hopefully).

Breakfast was two eggs followed up by 45 minutes of running/walking.  I added a protein shake after my run and then did the yard work for another 30 minutes.  Lunch was a piece of grilled chicken with a tall glass of ice tea.  Now as for dinner, well that was an "on the go" meal that consisted of Jack In The Box.  I went with 3 tacos and let me just say that they were awesome.  I will say that in the past I have been able to mow down 4-6 of those tacos, tonight I could barley get through 3.  Plus my mouth was on fire from the hot sauce they put on them.  

Other then dinner, my day was great!  

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  2 eggs
• Morning Snack:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken
• Afternoon Snack:  None
• Dinner:  3 tacos via Jack In The Box
• Exercise:  Ran/Walked (45 minutes) 130 sit-ups
• Bonus:  No coffee or Soda
• Grade:  B+

Day 20

Only one word can describe today....

AWESOME!

Ever since I started working for the DBacks back in 99 I have always wanted to work the All Star game if it ever came to the valley.  Well 12 years later I got my wish!  It was amazing!  I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve in the minutes leading up to game time!  Like I said in my post last night, I have grown up watching the all star game, I live for it each year.  Now I knew tonight would be special, however I didn't think it would hit me as hard as it did.  Being there in person, watching the opening video, listening to the national anthem and seeing all the players come out for the line ups was simply amazing.  At that moment it got me thinking about all those years watching it on TV and now being there in person getting ready to keep the score for 45 thousand fans, well yeah it was emotional (in a good way). 

So like I said, it was awesome.  But enough of that and back to the topic at hand.  I had a somewhat good day of eating and a not somewhat good day of exercise.  I didn't have any breakfast but did sneak in some nachos that Dawn made for herself and Brady before I left for the game.  They were yummy, not good for me, but yummy.  Lunch and Dinner were yet again the same as the past two days.  I don't think I will be eating Subway again any time soon!

I will get back to writing more about my diet and exercise starting tomorrow.  We are going on vacation Thursday till Monday, so I might not have many good things to talk about.  However either way I will report back status.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  None
• Morning snack:  Homemade Nachos
• Lunch:  6' Turkey sandwich, Sun Chips and an Oatmeal Cookie
• Afternoon snack:  None
• Dinner:  6' Turkey sandwich, Sun Chips (no cookie)
• Exercise:  None, however lots of walking around the stadium
• Bonus:  No coffee or Soda
• Grade: C-

Day 19

What a day it was today.  I'm going to change it up a bit for this post.  Normally I just post about waking up making breakfast and then lunch, dinner, etc.  This one is going to be different.

So as everyone knows I'm a huge baseball fan, I eat, sleep and breath baseball!  Some say (i.e. Dawn) that I'm to obsessed with baseball, but I don't think so.  I feel its perfectly normal to watch baseball any minute of the day.  The best part is I have Brady in my corner also.  Granted he loves his Nickelodeon shows, but he also loves to watch baseball like me. 

Anyways, as my previous posts have mentioned the MLB All Star game is in town and I have the honor of working all the events.  Yesterday it was the Futures Game and celebrity softball game, today was batting practice and the Home Run Derby and tomorrow is the actual All Star game.  Yesterday was a blast, being able to run the scoreboard for the games next great players was awesome.  Last night I thought man these 3 days are going to be great.  Then came today and it was even better.  The batting practice and home run derby were simply amazing to be a part of.  I have grown up watching the home run derby and live for it every summer, so again being part of it was even more amazing then yesterday's events.  Tonight I got to keep track of the home runs and outs that were displayed on the scoreboard and let me just say I was busy!  There was a total of 95 home runs hit during the entire night.

Based on how the past two nights have gone with each night better then the previous, I sure cant wait for tomorrow.

As for my diet today, well I did great.  I woke up and had a few hours to kill before heading out to the ball park.  After I dropped the girls off I came home and made one egg for breakfast.  I was also able to get a run in before I had to leave, it was very hot out, but felt really good to be out in it.  After my run I downed a protein shake and was off to work.  Both lunch and dinner was provided by Subway to us employees.  They gave us "boxed meal's" that consisted of a sandwich, bag of chips and either a cookie.  For both meals I went with the Turkey sandwich on wheat with sun chips and chocolate chip cookie.  I will admit that I did have my chips at each meal and only one of the cookies.  It was pretty much the only thing I ate all day so I didn't feel as guilty.  I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be the same thing as it will be another long day at the ball park.  Yeah I know quit complaining Bryan!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  1 egg
• Morning Snack:  Vanilla Protein Shake
• Lunch:  6' Turkey Sandwich and Sun Chips
• Afternoon Snack:  None
• Dinner:  6' Turkey sandwich, sun chips and one cookie
• Exercise:  Running / Walking (45 minutes) & 130 sit-ups
• Bonus:  No coffee or soda for 19 days!
• Grade:  B-

Day 18

No new weight updated today! 

Today was the start of the MLB All Star weekend at Chase Field.  I will be working all day all three days.  I will try and keep up with my posts however they might be very quick.

I had to be to the ballpark by 11am this morning, so I only got to eat breakfast with the family before leaving.  As for breakfast, well everyone wanted Dunkin Donuts and there was no getting out of it.  So as I was waiting in the drive thru line all I could see was the iced coffee picture on the menu.  It was killing me to sit there, look at that picture, I wanted one so bad.  However I fought it off and just ordered what I was told.  When I got up to the window I had to wait a few minutes while they made Dawn's bagel breakfast sandwich, so while sitting there I had to watch the lady make the next car's coffee and it was iced!  I wanted to jump through the window!  When all said and done I was driving away with no coffee, yeah for me!

Because of the massive amount of media coverage for the weekend, our press lounge dinning room was converted into "media central".  This meant we had to get lunch from the concourse.  I didn't want anything bad so I went with a 6' turkey sandwich from Subway.  The game lasted about 3 hours and then we had a 30 minute break before the celebrity softball game started.  This short break meant no time for dinner, so I grabbed an apple and ate that.  Once I got home I heated up the left over slice of pizza and watched some Big Brother.

I will be right back at it again tomorrow.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Protein Shake (Vanilla)
• Lunch:  Turkey Sandwich
• Afternoon snack:  Apple
• Dinner:  1 slice of pizza
• Exercise:  None
• Bonus:  No coffee or Soda
• Grade:  B-

Day 17

It was a typical Saturday in the life of Bryan.  I woke up about 7:30 to the sounds of Charlotte yelling for a parent.  Before Dawn took Lily to dance, I made some eggs and toast for both of us.  While she was gone I cleaned the house.  Once she got home we got ready to head to the mall for lunch and some walking around.  The mall is a great place to escape the heat during the summer.  Both Dawn and I had salads, Lily macaroni-n-cheese and Brady a turkey sub from Subway.  After we ate we walked around the entire mall for a good 2 hours.  Hey walking is exercise!

It was about 5pm when we got home and almost time for dinner.  Lily had fallen asleep on the way home from the mall so we waited for her to wake up before eating.  Dawn and I were wanting to eat in and make some veggie potstickers, however both kids wanted Pizza and since its Charlotte's favorite food we knew she would want that also.  So technically we were out voted.  Its starting to become a tradition in our house to have pizza on Saturday nights.  I kept it somewhat small and didn't go to over board when eating.  

As for exercise, well that didn't happen because of the massive monsoon storm that rolled through the valley and mainly Gilbert.  I didn't feel like turning into that old guy from the movie The Great Outdoors. Nine..nine...nine....nine....ninety nine times!

One positive thing from is that I got more protein powder!  I cant wait for my breakfast shake!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  2 eggs & 1 piece of wheat toast
• Lunch:  Asian Chicken Salad
• Afternoon Snack:  None
• Dinner:  2 slices of pizza and 4 wings
• Exercise:  None
• Bonus:  No coffee or soda
• Grade:  C-

Day 16: 237 pounds

Fifteen full days in the books and still going strong.  I weighed myself this morning and granted I didn't see a huge drop, it was still a drop.  The week started off rough with the Holiday so I have been digging myself out of that hole all week.  So I have lost 8 total pounds through 15 full days.  I will take it!  This upcoming weekend and next week is going to be an even bigger challenge for me.  I have the MLB All Star events/game Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and we then leave for vacation on Thursday through the weekend.  Hopefully I can be tough.  

I did good all day with my eating except I didn't have breakfast.  I simply forgot as it wasn't on my mind.  I really need to buy more protein powder so I can make quick shakes on my way to work.  My lunch was the same as it always is.  We went out for dinner to Paradise Bakery and I had a salad.  The best part about today was I got out and exercised for the second time this week.  My goal was at least 3 night and I still have two more days left in the week.  You can do it!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  None =(
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken
• Afternoon Snack:  Water, water and more water!
• Dinner:  Chicken Salad
• Exercise:  Running/Walking (30 minutes) & 150 sit-ups
• Bonus:  Still no coffee or soda
• Grade:  A

Day 15

So today was one the first day that I felt like I had lost some weight.  I could tell right after I was dressed for work.  Now I haven't weighed myself in a few days, mainly because of how I ate on the 4th but for some reason my clothes felt like they were a bit looser, but who knows.  I will probably weigh myself again in the next few days so I will be able to know for sure. 

I had a little bit of extra time this morning so I made three hard boiled eggs (only ate one) and a piece of wheat toast.  I filled up my water bottle before leaving the house and drank that on my way to work.  It was a good thing because it was nasty hot out this morning.  Lately the mornings have been very humid, it stinks! 

I continued with my same routine for lunch and went with a piece of grilled chicken and some broccoli.  In case your wondering, I buy the bags of pre grilled chicken from the store.  They are great and heat up in under 2 minutes.  Mix them with some veggies and you got a great quick and healthy meal!

It was an on the go night for dinner.  Dawn had gymnastics with Lily and was not going to be home till after 7pm.  When she got home we decided to hit up Taco Bell and I had two tacos and one bean burrito.  It wasn't good for me, however I didn't go overboard.  After I was done I didn't feel full at all so I know I didn't over eat. 

The only exercise I did was some situps.  My legs were pretty sore form the running I did last night so I figured I would skip a night and get back at it tomorrow. 

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  1 egg white & wheat toast
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken & Broccoli
• Afternoon Snack:  2 egg whites
• Dinner:  2 Tacos & 1 Bean Burrito
• Exercise:  150 sit-ups
• Bonus:  No coffee or soda
• Grade:  C (Bad dinner & little exercise)

Day 14

Today marked the 14th day on my Journey.  Its starting to get to the point where everything I have to talk about or report is very similar to previous days.  I don't want to bore everyone with the same type of info over and over again, so I think going forward if i dont have anything that really strikes me then I will just go with a quick daily summary and outline what I ate.  Of course if something big happens that I want to share I will for sure blog about it. 

So as for today, well it was good.  I worked from home so right there it was a good day.  After I dropped the girls off I came home, made a quick breakfast and got right to work.  It was a very busy day as I was backing a few people up that were on vacation.  Around lunch time Brady had asked me what I was making as he was hungry.  I told him a piece of grilled chicken and some left over broccoli.  He said "nasty"!  The kid doesn't know what he's missing.  So after him driving me nuts for 30 minutes on wanting McDonalds I caved in and took him.  He was the only one that got lunch from there (yeah me!).  When we got home I heated up my awesome lunch and got back to work.  Because I worked so hard, I gave myself a little bit of a snack after lunch.  Chips and Salsa!  I limited myself to just a few, but it hit the spot!

Brady was spending the night at Nanny & Poppy's again tonight as he was going to work again tomorrow with Poppy.  He will have his hands full after the massive dust storm we had last night.  On a side subject, go check out the photos from our dust storm.  The photos are simply amazing!  Anyhow, Poppy picked up dinner on his way home so the kids ate dinner over there, McDonalds again!  I was strong and didn't get anything yet again!  When I got home I made myself more chicken and called it a day on eating!

Now the very the best part!  Exercise, yes it happened today!  I ran/walked for 30 minutes and did 150 sit-ups!  I was very proud of myself when I was done.  High Five!!!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  1 egg & wheat toast
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken &  Broccoli
• Afternoon Snack:  Chips & Salsa (small)
• Dinner:  Chicken
• Exercise: Ran/walked (30 minutes) & 150 sit-ups
• Bonus:  No coffee or Soda
• Grade:  A+

Day 13

Today sure felt like a Monday!  I didn't want to get out of bed and when I finally did it was 8:05am.  I normally leave to drop the girls off between 8:15 and 8:30, so you can see that we were very behind schedule this morning.  I think when I work up I was still in a food comma as I was full and my stomach hurt because of everything I ate yesterday.  Because of this I skipped breakfast.  I know eating breakfast is the most important meal of the day, however I just didn't feel like I wanted to eat anything yet.  I packed my lunch, grabbed the girls and headed out.

Once I got to work it hit me big time that I didn't want to be there (what else is new).  I was tired and had no motivation to do anything.  All I could think about was coffee and how bad I wanted one!  Lunch came around 1:30 and it was a piece of grilled chicken and an orange.  It did the trick and I knew it would hold me over till dinner.

Before leaving the house this morning Dawn said she was going to cook Orange Chicken & Broccoli with white rice for dinner.  I love this meal so I was thinking about it the entire drive home.  It tasted so so good and I so so bad wanted more then one plate, however stuck to my guns.  

Today was also going to be the starting day of getting out and exercising.  I was set and focused that tonight was going to be the night for sure.  I was all set and ready to hit the streets after dinner.  However there was one very large issue.  An Arizona dust storm rolled in around 7pm and quickly covered the entire valley.  The news reported there was zero % visibility on the ground and they sure were right.  We could barley see our back wall.  I figured I would have run into a car or vice verse had I gone out.  

Overall today was good.  I know I should have ate more, but what I did eat was good and in good portions.  I didn't fully fail on the exercise part, mother nature was at fault!  I did do some sit-ups while watching some TV!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  None
• Morning Snack:  Orange
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken breast & Orange
• Dinner:  Orange Chicken & Broccoli with White Rice
• Exercise:  150 sit-ups
• Bonus:  Still no coffee or soda
• Grade:  B+

Day 12

Happy 4th of July!!  The morning was very busy, I made breakfast (two eggs), helped Dawn make Red White and Blue strawberries for the BBQ.  I watched 62 hot dogs get consumed in 10 minutes (pretty amazing by the way) and spent an hour doing yard work.  Good times!

I knew that there would be endless piles of food at the BBQ, so held off from eating anything at home.  I did however decided yesterday that today was probably going to be a bad day of eating for me.  Cant go to a 4th of July BBQ and only have a salad or something small.  See last year the highlight for me was Sheldon's bacon cheeseburgers.  They were amazing and I couldn't wait to dig into one this year.  Lets just say that I got my fix times two!  I wont go into details on what I ate today, but it was bad.  Hey, it was my country's birthday and I'm proud to be an American so I was not going to let her down.  I lived it up and had an amazing time.  I will say that having changed my eating habits over the past two weeks sure has shrunk my stomach.  I was full in no time, however felt I still needed to eat more (oops).  When I was not eating bad I was swimming (3 times). 

So again Happy Birthday America, it was a great day to be an American, but not to be on a diet!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  2 eggs
• Lunch:  None
• Dinner:  BBQ Awesomeness
• Exercise:  Yard Work (1 hour), Swimming (3-4 hours)
• Bonus:  No coffee or Soda
• Grade:  F- (If the letter Z was a grade it would have been given)

Day 11

When I woke up I really wanted some coffee.  This is probably a result of not getting to bed till almost 3am.  Why, well MLB the Show 11 on the playstation 3 could be the greatest game to ever come out if your a baseball fan.  I felt like a kid again up all night playing video games.  Anyways as for breakfast, well it was very easy this morning.  Brady had some corn pops and Lily, drum roll.......oatmeal!  I fed Charlotte a combination of both.  I had a few bites of the oatmeal but that was it.  I wasn't that hungry and knew that I would make up for it at lunch.  I did drink a bottle of water if that helps!  

We stayed home for lunch and made macaroni and cheese for the kids.  I had a very small bowl of that and some more edamame.  Yesterday I made some sun tea yesterday and have been drinking pretty much just that the past two days.  Its pretty quick and easy to make sun tea when its 115 out!  I pour it over a full cup of ice with no sugar and its perfect.

A few weeks back we had some steak and chicken kabobs at Brett & Ashley's.  They were amazing and ever since Dawn and I have been wanting to make them.  So we thawed out some steak and chicken and diced up some veggies (green & red peppers, red onions and pineapple) and fired up the grill.  Our side dish, no surprise here was corn on the cob.  By the way its so much fun standing over a grill when its over 100 degrees out, but we do anything for some good cooking!  I will say heat and all that it was fun to be outside to watch our first Arizona Monsoon dust storm roll in.  It was cool!  I have also added a photo below of dinner when it was cooking.  Hopefully I can do this more often.

I'm feeling a lot better but still have a cough and don't thinking its smart to get out and run around just yet.  Yes I know that I'm slacking on the daily exercise part, but my goal this upcoming week is to get out 3 nights and either walk, bike or run.  

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Water and a few bites of Oatmeal
• Lunch:  Mac-N-Cheese & Edamame with Iced Tea
• Afternoon Snack:  Beef Jerky
• Dinner:  Chicken & Steak kabobs with corn on the cob
• Exercise:  None
• Bonus:  No coffee or Soda (11 full days)
• Grade:  B+

Dinner = yummy!

Day 10

Oh how I love the weekends and more so a 3 day Holiday weekend.  With having weighed myself in back to back days I decided to take a few days off.  I will probably check in on Monday morning before our big 4th of July BBQ at the Babcocks.

Last night was the first good night of sleep I have had in the past three days as I didn't wake up once.  Looks like I got my wish and this cold is dying out.  I just hope that one of the kids doesn't get it next.  Breakfast was two eggs scrambled, one piece of wheat toast.  Dawn and the kids also had eggs and toast, however Brady added a bowl of cereal to his while Lily and Charlotte had some oatmeal as well.  All around it was a great balanced breakfast for everyone.

After breakfast was done and the dishes cleaned it was time for some FCF (family cleaning fun).  This is normally a Saturday routine and everyone helps out.  Well the kids spend most of the time dancing around the living room while Dawn and I clean.  But non the less its still a family effort.  After a few hours everything was cleaned and the floors mopped.  I think this counts as some exercise!

We headed to Costco for lunch.  This wasn't just because they have cheap food, but because they keep it really cold in side and its fun to walk around.  Anything to beat the heat!  You can kill at least an hour if not more looking at stuff and getting free samples (that's the best part).  So the plan was to eat lunch there however after buying our stuff and then not finding an open table for 5, we decided to just head home for something quick.  So we made some nachos in the oven for the kids and then Dawn and I had some Edamame that we just got at Costco.  Quick, easy and good!

We didn't want to cook anything tonight because we already had the house and kitchen clean.  So when this is the case the next best thing is ordering a pizza.  Pizza Hut got the call and it was thin crust pepperoni and boneless wings.  The awesome thing is I only had 1 slice of pizza and 3 wings.  I was very proud of myself for pulling that off.

There was desert, however I didn't have any.  Dawn made homemade strawberry shortcake and by homemade I mean everything (except the strawberries of course), pound cake & real whip cream.  It looked very good, however I didn't feel like going to the ER for some reaction. See I'm allergic to strawberries, or at least I think I am.  Back when I was 17 I ate some and had a really bad reaction and have never had one since.  I'm sure its nothing and I would be fine, however I don't want to take the chance.

Overall the day was great.  I woke up after a good night of sleep, my cold was almost gone, I ate good and was very disciplined with my food and stayed very active all day!  Oh and the best part.....I got my beef jerky at Costco!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Two eggs (scrambled) & wheat toast
• Morning snack:  Apple
• Lunch:  Edamame
• Afternoon snack:  1 piece of beef jerky
• Dinner:  Pizza (one slice) & 3 boneless chicken wings
• Exercise:  Cleaned the house and mopped (2 hours)
• Bonus:  No coffee or soda, only Sun Tee (no sugar)
• Grade:  B+

Day 9: 239 Pounds

Now up till this point I have not weighed myself in back to back days, however after the amazing dinner I had last night I wanted to see what damage I had done.  I was shocked to see that I was down another pound and broke the 240 mark.  I will take it!  As a result of being sick and fighting this cold I told Dawn I would sleep on the couch so I wouldn't keep her up all night coughing, etc.  Charlotte took my place in bed and I'm sure loved it!  I didn't sleep that good and got up a few times and drank a few bottles of water, so maybe that was why I lost that extra pound.  Who knows, but I do know that I'm super happy to be under 240 and down 6 total pounds.

Breakfast was another quick meal as I was leaving the house.  I cant taste or smell anything so didn't really care what I ate as long as it was good and healthy.  Yeah you guessed it, one egg white, orange and a bottle of water!  I love eggs by the way and will eat them any way they are cooked 

Even with not being able to taste anything I still needed to have lunch.  I packed some grilled chicken before leaving the house and ate that around 1pm.  I paired it up with an orange and some water.  I will say that I need to mix up my fruits as I'm getting sick of oranges.  However having a cold they do wonders!  I'm not sure what happened, maybe its a new microwave, but my chicken was cooked a bit more then normal.  It was more like a piece of chicken jerky (is there even such a thing?).  However I'm a huge fan of jerky so it didn't bother me at all!  I will say the thought of jerky has me wanting to get some peppered steak house jerky from Costco.  Boy is that stuff good.  Dawn only lets me buy it if I'm going camping because I wont be around the house for the aftermath.  Lets just say its powerful.

We debated over going out or staying in for dinner for about 30 minutes.  It was between going to get Mexican food, I suggested fajitas because the grilled chicken, onions, peppers, etc wouldn't be that bad for me.  Or staying home and making taco salads.  We decided to stay home and go with taco salads.  There was one issue, the ground turkey we had was bad.  So dinner turned into whatever we could find in the fridge/freezer.  The result was a frozen pizza for the kids, some veggie pot stickers and left over chicken with vodka sauce for Dawn and I.  My plate consisted of a few pot stickers and a very small serving of the chicken and pasta.  Overall not that bad.

After dinner we headed out to get some ice cream from Dairy Queen.  Both Brady and Lily got a mini cookie dough blizzard and Dawn a cherry dip cone.  I was strong and didn't get anything, but sure did want a Heath Blizzard!

Overall the day was good.  I'm really hoping this cold I have been fighting decided to fly south here soon because I cant take it anymore.  Being sick sucks, plus its causing issues for me to exercise.  

Daily Recap:

Breakfast:  1 Egg white, Orange & water bottle

Lunch:  Grilled Chicken & Orange

Afternoon Snack: none

Dinner:  Chicken and Pasta & Veggie Pot Stickers

Exercise: none (damn cold)

Bonus:  No coffee or soda!

Grade:  B-