Day 251: 231 pounds

Well it looks like maybe the lack of exercise the night before resulted in an extra pound coming back on.  Bummer!  However I'm not going to let it get to me and will keep working hard.  Other than that I really don't have much to say about today.  My breakfast was the same it has been the past few days.  I went the leftover route for both lunch and dinner by having a stuffed pepper.  They might be packed with carbs, however I cant let them go to waste.  Besides eating those is still way better than eating some fast food burger or something of that nature.

I didn't get the chance to do any exercise due to a busy afternoon and baseball practice with Brady at night.  I will for sure be hitting the streets tomorrow!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel & Coffee
• Lunch:  Stuffed Pepper (1)
• Afternoon Snack:  Wheat Thins (few)
• Dinner:  Stuffed Pepper (1)
• Exercise:  n/a
• Weight:  231 pounds
• Grade:  B

Day 250: 230 pounds

I was back down a pound today from yesterday.  Good way to start the day!  I'm hoping that I continue to trend in that direction.  However it was going to be hard today because of what was on tap for dinner.  I don't really need to speak much to my breakfast or lunch (it’s outlined below in the recap).  But dinner, well that was a treat for me.  Dawn told me early in the day that she was making stuffed peppers.  When I got the news I was like a kid on Christmas Eve!  Stuffed peppers are one of my favorite meals and I could probably eat 6 of them with no problem.  However for those that have had them know they are stuffed with rice which means lots of carbs!  It wasn't going to matter; I had been looking forward to dinner all day and knew I was going to enjoy myself.

They do take a while to cook, so finally around 7pm we sat down to eat.  We had some dinner rolls and a salad to go with the peppers.  I didn't go overboard and had one and a half to go along with my salad and roll.  This worked out because now I have 4 leftover I can enjoy this week for lunch. 

After dinner I put on some comfy clothes and relaxed on the couch until I fell asleep.  I didn't go out for a run because Tuesdays are normally a day I give my legs a rest, but I have a feeling that I should have gone.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Toast & Coffee
• Lunch:  Cheese Crisp (1)
• Afternoon Snack:  Wheat Thins (few)
• Dinner:  Stuffed Peppers (1.5), Dinner Roll and Salad
• Exercise:  n/a
• Weight:  230 pounds
• Grade:  C+

Day 249: 231 pounds

I'm sure glad that weekend is behind me.  The wedding on Saturday was so much fun, but it kicked my butt!  You know you're in trouble when there is a full open bar and you're surrounded by a bunch of long time friends.  I'm pretty sure the food was good as well, however I don't really remember.  The weekend also had me going back up 2 pounds and back into the 230's.  However I think that's to be expected because I put everything on hold Saturday so I could have a good time.  The good news is I got back on track today and know those 2 pounds will be gone soon.

I resumed breakfast with my normal of the past few weeks.  A bagel and coffee, yummy!  For lunch I heated up a chicken breast that was left over from last night's dinner.  I ate that with a few sticks of celery that had some peanut butter on them.  Again yummy!  I will also add that before my lunch I went out for a run (2 miles) and then returned home and did some sit-ups.  I added a protein shake to the mix as well.  Brady had baseball practice tonight, so after that was over we stopped at Safeway and picked up a rotisserie chicken to take home.  Dawn and I cut up the chicken and made some chicken nachos.  They were so good.

So overall it was a good day.  I got back on track eating good and went for a run.  Good times!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel and Coffee
• Lunch:  Chicken Breast, Celery with Peanut Butter
• Afternoon Snack:  Protein Shake
• Dinner:  Chicken Nachos (Homemade)
• Exercise:  Run (2 miles), 125 sit-ups
• Weight:  231 pounds
• Grade:  B+

Day 246: 229 pounds

Well I dropped more weight, but it was only half pound this time.  None the less it was a half pound in the right direction.  As for the rest of my day, well it was great yet again.  I didn't go get a bagel this morning so I had to enjoy my coffee all alone.  Its pretty much a meal in a cup, so I think I'm ok.  Dawn had to go run some errands this afternoon to get ready for what is a very busy weekend.  On her way home she stopped and picked up some Wendy's and got me a grilled chicken wrap and side salad.  Just like the other day I cut up the chicken and made a killer salad.  However before eating lunch I had spent a good 3 hours out in the yard getting it all nice and clean.  You could eat off the porch if you wanted to!

Brady had baseball practice tonight so dinner had to wait till about 8pm when we got home.  I made both of us PB&J's with a few Wheat Thins on the side.  Yes that seems like something you would eat at lunch, however it tasted darn good for dinner. 

I hope that I was good enough to get down another pound or so, but who knows.  One thing I know for sure is that tomorrow night everything diet related goes in my back pocket.  Its my buddy's wedding (Nick Cassaday) and I will not be worried about what I'm eating or drinking.  Its a full open bar, so watch out.  The good news is Dawn and I got a room at the resort (Gold Canyon) so we both can really have a good time and not worry about driving home.  Its going to be so much fun!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Iced Coffee
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Salad
• Dinner:  PB&J with some Wheat Thins
• Exercise:  Yard Work (3 hours)
• Weight:  229 pounds (down half pound from yesterday)
• Grade:  A

Day 245: 229.5 pounds

Another great day is in the books!  My weight was down another 1.5 pounds from yesterday as I now sit at 229.5.  Yes!  I have made it back into the 220's and couldnt be happier.  I just hope I can keep it going and it keeps dropping off. 

I kept my breakfast to the same as the past few days.  A bagel and coffee seem to be working so I dont mind rolling with it for a while.  I enjoy it and I guess thats all that matters.  For lunch Dawn brought me home a Grilled Chicken Pita from Pita Jungle.  She went to lunch with a co worker and was super awesome to bring me home something.  She's the best!  While she was at lunch I spent the time cleaning the house and doing work.

For the past two weeks Brady has been having baseball practice on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.  Then he has football on Saturday mornings.  So we really look forward to Tuesday and Thursdays.  However today we didnt have the night off.  Now that Brady is 8 he can start to be looked at for club baseball.  So Dawn and I have done some research and found a club team in Gilbert.  I emailed the coach for some info and he invited Brady to come to their practice tonight.  So off we went.  Dont get me wrong, playing baseball every night is not a bad thing.  I wish I could be a kid again.  So when all said and done, it was dinner time.  So this meant eating something out yet again.  I let Brady pick and of course he choose McDonalds.  I got the Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad and enjoyed every bite of it.  Its very, very good.

After dinner I went out for a run and then returned home to do some sit-ups.  I then called it a nigt!  What a great day!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast: Bagel & Coffee
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Pita
• Dinner:  Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad
• Exercise:  House cleaning (2.5 hours), Run (3 miles), 125 sit-ups
• Weight:  229.5 pounds
• Grade:  A+

Day 244: 231 pounds

So it looks like my weight number yesterday was not an error by the scale.  This morning I was down to 231 pounds, losing a half pound from yesterday.  I will take it! 

The rest of the day was great yet again, heck it was even better than yesterday.  For breakfast I went with my "norm" of recent that being a bagel and coffee.  I ran to Wendy's for lunch for both Dawn and I.  I tried something new this time, well not really, but kind of.  I ordered a grilled chicken wrap and garden side salad.  When I got home I opened up the wrap, cut up the chicken and put it in the side salad.  I will for sure be doing that again, probably in the near future.  Actually my dinner was very similar to that of lunch.  Brady had baseball practice tonight meaning no dinner till at least 7:45.  This also meant it was going to be a meal on the go.  I let Brady pick and he choose Jack In The Box!  Now I could have easily got a few tacos, maybe some curly fries or even an egg roll.  However I got their Grilled Chicken Salad.  It was awesome as well.

On top of my great day of eating, I also got in a run this afternoon.  I have really enjoyed running during the day around my lunch time.  Its one less thing I have to worry about after dinner.  Plus it allows me more time to relax and watch TV.  After my run I did my daily sit-ups and hit the shower.

So yeah it was a great day!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel & Coffee
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Salad
• Afternoon Snack:  Thin Mint Cookie (only 1)
• Dinner:  Grilled Chicken Salad
• Exercise:  Run (2.5 miles), 125 sit-ups
• Weight:  231 pounds (loss of half pound)
• Grade:  A+

Day 243: 231.5 pounds

Wow, by far the best morning ever!  When I weighed myself I was shocked to see that I was down to 231.5 pounds.  That was a 4 pound drop in one day.  It must have been a bunch of water weight or something.  Granted I did stick to 3 meals with small portions and cut out a good amount of sugar.  Hopefully it wasn't just an error on the scale.  We will see tomorrow when I weigh myself again.

So aside from the great weight number, the rest of my day was pretty good as well.  I kept my breakfast pretty simple with a bagel and coffee.  I didn't really get the chance to eat lunch because I was asked to go golfing.  I was bus with work up till I left, so I grabbed a granola bar on my way out that I would eat on the course.  Once golf was over I rushed home so Dawn could get to the Little League team mom meeting.  This meant I was feeding the kids and myself tonight with whatever we had in the house.  I made Lily and Charlie a small frozen pizza that they shared and Brady wanted some leftover pasta.  I had one small piece of leftover Chicken Parm and a very small portion of pasta.  I didn't really want pasta for dinner, but there was no other options.  I kept it small and when done I didn't feel full.  After dinner I did more jump roping and sit-ups before calling it a night. 

Great Day!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel & Coffee
• Lunch:  Granola Bar & Water (yes I know it should have been more)
• Dinner:  Leftover Chicken Parm and Pasta (Very small)
• Exercise:  Golfing (4 hours), Jump Rope (5 minutes) and 100 sit-ups
• Weight:  231.5 pounds (loss of 4 pounds)
• Grade:  B+

Day 242: 235 pounds

Not much to report on from today other than it was pretty good.  The weekend was flat out horrible that left me 2 pounds heavier than what I was on Friday.  That is not good!  So now I'm left with just one week till the wedding and I really want to be under 230 by that time.  I'm going to do everything possible this week to make that happen.

I'm tired and really not in the mood to type anymore so I'm going to end it like that.  Wish me luck again tomorrow.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Eggs/Peppers/Cheese with a coffee
• Lunch:  Leftover Chicken Parm (Very small piece, it was homemade)
• Dinner:  Southwest Style Salad with Grilled Chicken
• Exercise:  4 mile Bike ride, Jump Rope (5 minutes) and 100 sit-ups
• Weight:  235 pounds
• Grade:  C+

Day 239: 233 pounds

Yet again the same weight as the previous day.  One of these days I will snap out of it and actually drop some weight.  Its not that I have not been trying.  I feel like I have been eating decent and I have been exercising daily.  Granted I have been snacking on valentines candy and girl scout cookies here and there, but I have not over done it by any means.  I guess I just need to try harder to avoid the sweets! 

The rest of my day, aside from the weight in went good.  Breakfast was the norm, toast with a coffee on the side.  Before eating lunch I needed to finish cleaning the house as I didn't get the chance to do our bedroom or mop the day before.  So I took an hour to get that done and then while the floor was drying I headed out for a mid day run.  When I got home I made some chow mien noodles with gravy for lunch.  Now that I think of it, that was probably not the best of choices since the noodles are fried.  But it tasted so good!  Brady had baseball practice from 5:30 to 7:30 so dinner had to wait till we were done.  Once it was over we picked up a pizza and took it home.  Again probably not the best of choices, but it was a Friday night.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Toast & Coffee
• Morning Snack:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Chow Mien Noodles
• Dinner:  Pizza
• Exercise:  Run (2.5 miles), 100 sit-ups, 1 hour of house cleaning/mopping
• Weight:  233 pounds
• Grade:  C

Day 238: 233 pounds

Yup, I weighed myself again this morning and it was yet again the same as yesterday.  I need to do a better job laying off the sweets as I think that's the reason I'm not losing anything day to day.  Its either that or the unnecessary carbs.  So my approach today was to be stong and lay off the sweets in the house and not eat as many carbs.  So for breakfast I did have some carbs, but it was in the form of some toast.  Toast can be good for you, it just depends on what kind.  We eat wheat bread, so thats ok.  I did have a Starbucks coffee with it thanks to my sister-in-law Ashley.  She came over this morning as her and Dawn were going to see their cousin in the hospital who just had her second baby.  So that ment I got to watch my neice Carsyn for a little bit, all to myself!  Awesome!

So with breakfast behind me I focused on cleaning the house.  However I didnt mop today and will get that done tomorrow.  After I was done Dawn went and picked up some lunch for us.  Yeah, we need to make a strore run and load up again!  So for lunch we had grilled chicken sandwichs from McDonalds.  We all went out for dinner to California Pizza Kitchen, but we didnt get pizza.  Dawn and I each had a salad (they have good ones), mine was the BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad.  It was the first time I have tried it and was not disappointed at all.  It was awesome!  After dinner was over we went home, got the kids ready for bed and then relaxed on the couch watching TV. 

Overall I think it was a great day!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Toast & Iced Coffee
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Sandwich
• Dinner:   BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad
• Exercise:  House cleaning (1.5 hours)
• Weight:  233 pounds
• Grade:  B+

Day 237: 233 pounds

So after the day I had yesterday I wanted to know how much weight I had put on in one day.  I was fully expected to see a few pounds, however it was only one.  I will take it.  So as of today I was back up to 233 pounds.  I headed into today with the game plan of eating light meals and drinking lots of water.  This was the plan because I was hoping to flush my system of all the sugar I had ate yesterday.  You don't want to keep that stuff in your system long and you really don't want to add more on top of it.  That will just make it harder to lose and more than likely make you gain weight.  Darn you sugar!

So for breakfast I made a slice of toast and ate that with some home made ice coffee.  Before lunch I had decided to go out for a run.  It was a nice day again and figured I would get it out of the way early yet again.  I followed up my run with a tall, cold protein shake.  For lunch Brady and I got Subway. He had a half day at school, so I let him pick what he wanted and of course he choose Subway.  So it was a roasted chicken breast sandwich with lots of veggies for me.  Dinner came a little later than normal for me and Brady just because he had baseball practice from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.  Once we got home I made us each a cheese crisp and called it dinner.  I did however sneak in a few girl scout cookies after dinner.  Dawn ordered some from a co worker and they came in today.  So needless to say we now have a few boxes of cookies in this house on top of all the candy.  The next few days could be rough.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Toast & Iced Coffee
• Morning Snack:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  Roasted Chicken Breast Sandwich (Subway)
• Dinner:  Cheese Crisp (1)
• Dessert:  Girl Scout Cookies (3)
• Exercise:  Run (3 miles), 100 sit-ups
• Weight:  233 pounds
• Grade:  B

Day 236: 232 ponds

I went for back to back weigh in days just so I could see if I did any damage yesterday.  The results were positive as I dropped 1.5 pounds yesterday.  Hopefully that's signs of good things to come.  Its been a long time since I have dropped into the 220's so I would really like to get back there this week.  But of course its going to be tough.

Since today was Valentines day and there was going to be tons of sweets around me, I had decided to give myself a "pass" day so I could enjoy it with Dawn and the kids.  However this didn't mean I was going to pig out and eat everything in sight.  It meant that if I wanted to enjoy a few "not so good for me" things that I could.  So with that said here is a quick recap of the day.

For breakfast Dawn and I had bagels.  We then went out for a lunch date to Pita Jungle.  I had a grilled chicken pita with lots of veggies and humus inside.  My favorite.  After lunch upon returning home is when I went for a few of those "not so good for me" things.  Just like any Valentines Day, there is going to be chocolates.  I was lucky enough to have received a heart box full of them.  Another favorite of mine.  I had a few of those after lunch while doing some work.  For dinner we picked up a Papa Murphy's Pizza (cook your self at home) that was in the shape of a heart.  The kids loved it!  Then for dessert we all enjoyed Rice Crispy Treats that Dawn made in the shape of hearts with a tint of red.  Again the kids loved it.  So after all that I was ready to just relax on the couch and fall asleep.  No exercise due to it being very cold, rainy and windy outside.  I will resume tomorrow.

Happy Valentines Day!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Pita (Pita Jungle)
• Afternoon Snack:  Chocolate Candy
• Dinner:  Heart Shape Pizza (2 slice) & Salad
• Dessert:  Rice Crispy Treat
• Exercise:  n/a
• Weight:  232 pounds

Day 235: 233.5 pounds

Today was a great day for me, even the weekend I had wasn't that bad.  So I started my day off by getting on the scale to see what damage I needed to do going forward.  Surprisingly I was happy to see the 233.5 number.

After dropping the kids off at school I stopped by and picked up a bagel for Dawn and I for breakfast.  I love me a nice fresh bagel in the morning!  It was such a nice day today that I decided to mix things up a little bit, and went for a mid day run.  I didn't just do this because of the weather, but Brady had baseball practice tonight and knew I wouldn't have time.  I will say that it was nice to get it out of the way early.  After my run I did my sit-ups, jumped in the shower and then had some lunch.  Lunch was very simple, it was a PB&J day for me.  I enjoyed that with a protein shake and called it a meal.  Since Brady's practice was from 5:30 to 7:30, dinner was on the go.  We decided to stop at Wendy's on the way to the fields and ate in the car.  I had two grilled chicken wraps and nothing else, well I did have a bottle of water to help wash them down.

That was about the extent of my eating for the day.  Now with tomorrow being Valentines day, I'm sure there will be some chocolates in front of me at some point.  Its only one day a year, so I plan to enjoy a few,  but not a full box.  Maybe give myself one or two per day as a reward if I do good.  We will see.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel with low fat Garlic/Herb cream cheese
• Morning Snack:  Protein Shake
• Lunch:  PB&J sandwich
• Dinner:  Grilled Chicken Wrap (2) form Wendy's
• Exercise:  Run (3 miles), 125 sit-ups
• Weight:  233.5 pounds
• Grade:  A

Day 231

I really need to kick myself in the ass and get back on track.  Its starting to become easier to not be focused than be focused.  This is not good and I really need some motivation to head back in the right direction.  Now granted I have not been feeling that good and Dawn was out of town, so my focus level has been about zero.  On top of that today was Dawn's birthday so as a family we went out to dinner.  Then tomorrow we are going out to eat with no kids and probably a movie.  So tomorrow is going to pretty much be a wash as well. 

Serious, I need to get it going again.  I will be going to a wedding on the 25th of this month for Nick Cassaday and all the guys I went to Vegas with.  I would like to look and feel the same as I did on that trip with those guys.  I don't want to look like I let myself go once we got back.  So I have two weeks and one day to drop just 8 pounds.  Its going to be tough, but I can do it.  However it can only be done with some serious focus and motivation. 

Lets do this!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel and Homemade Iced Coffee (it was pretty yummy)
• Morning Snack:  4 Ritz Crackers
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Wrap
• Afternoon Snack:  8 chips with salsa
• Dinner:  Pizza from Grimaldis (the best pizza place on earth!)
• Dessert:  Small slice of ice cream cake for Dawn's Birthday
• Exercise:  House cleaning 2.5 hours
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  C-

Day 229

Its been a few days since my last post.  This is not because I have forgot, but because I have been either busy or not feeling good (currently).  In my last post I mentioned that I was due for a big weekend.  Well that was the case.  On Saturday we had a surprise 80th birthday party for Dawn's grandma and Sunday was of course Super Bowl.  Between the two events its safe to say that I didn't eat that good.  On a positive note I didn't drink any beer (I was the driver), so that helped.  However all the food was not good. 

Coming out of the weekend I had fully planned to get back on track and put the weekend behind me.  However Dawn left for Cleveland Monday morning and the rest of us have been a bit under the weather.  So with that said I have had no motivation to really do anything.  When you don't feel good you cant get your mind focused.  Hopefully within the next day or two I will start feeling better.  If this runny nose/throat thing goes in the wrong direction then it might be a few weeks of dealing with it.  Lets hope that's not the case.

I will keep posting daily and hopefully starting tomorrow I will resume my daily recaps.  I'm also planning to get on the scale in the morning.  Not looking forward to that!

Day 225: 232 pounds

After what I thought was a good day yesterday, I decided to get on the scale this morning.  I was hoping to break the 232 pound lock, however that didn't happen.  I'm still the same weight I have been for a while.  I cant seem to get past this number.  I remember a while back I was stuck around this same number and then all of a sudden I dropped into the 220's getting down to 225.  I know I will get back there again soon.

As for today, well it started off with me writing a post about yesterday.  Yes I know I am a slacker.  The rest of my day was very busy, but I did manage to have a good diet day.  Since I enjoyed the toast so much yesterday, I decided to go with that again today for breakfast.  Since I enjoyed my burger last night for dinner, I decided to go with a leftover one for lunch and eat it with a small side of Mexican rice we had the other night.  A 100% leftover lunch = awesomeness!  Dinner was on the go for me tonight because I had a few things to get done before tomorrows big event.  I didn't want any fast food, so when looking in the fridge for something quick, the only thing I could go with was another burger.  It was the last one!  I heated it up, put it on a bun and headed out.  Dinner done! 

No time for exercise tonight, but I was on the go so much that I think I had a pretty good day.  This weekend is sure to be another busy one filled with lots of good food.  Sunday is Superbowl Sunday, its going to be hard to watch what I eat that day.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Wheat Toast (2 slices)
• Lunch:  Cheeseburger and some Mexican Rice
• Dinner:  Cheeseburger (on the go)
• Dessert:  Granola Bar
• Exercise:  n/a
• Weight:  232 pounds
• Grade:  B- 

Day 224

Yeah, its Friday morning and I'm writing something about yesterday.  As I mentioned in my other post, I'm working on this video project where I'm creating a movie from photos and inserting music throughout the entire thing.  Its been a huge project that I have spent close to 30 hours on over the past few days.  It needs to be done by Saturday morning, so needless to say this is why I didn't get time to write my post last night. 

So here it goes.  Yesterday (Thursday, February 2nd) was good.  I stuck to my diet really good and didn't eat anything that was going to hurt me. Breakfast I had two slices of wheat toast, lunch was some leftover spaghetti from the night before.  For dinner I grilled out some burgers and we cooked some sweet potato fries in the oven.  The burgers were amazing and tasted so good!  I'm not a huge fan of sweet potato fries, so I only had a few of them.  After dinner and while working on my movie project I enjoyed some reduced fat kettle corn pop corn.  Yummy.

I was planning to go running right after dinner and even gave myself a 45 minute window to do so.  However the weather was not that good, it was cold, very windy and it looked like rain was on the way.  I think I could handle running in a light rain fall, however running when its windy is not fun at all.  So I passed on the run.  I cleaned the house in the morning, so I got a good 2 hours of "exercise" in. 

Hopefully I get time tomorrow to post something, but since its a Friday and we have lots to get done before Saturday, I would not bank on it. 

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Wheat Toast (2 slices)
• Lunch:  Leftover Spaghetti (small bowl)
• Dinner:  Cheeseburger with a few sweet potato fries
• Dessert:  Pop Corn
• Exercise:  House Cleaning (2 hours)
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  B

Day 223

It was a decent day for me today. I ate good, however didn't get the chance to exercise. I'm trying to take a night off between running and having done 3 miles on Tuesday, today was my night off. I will more than make up for it tomorrow since its cleaning day.

For breakfast I had a bowl of Raisin Bran and a cup of coffee. For lunch I got out of the house and went to Subway for a sandwich. I had a 6 inch roasted chicken breast with tons of veggies. I did however have a bag of sun chips with it. Dinner we cooked at home and made chicken quesadillas and had a Mexican style rice with it. It was a very good dinner.

After dinner I got back to working on this movie/photo project I have been working on for the past few days.

Daily Recap:

Breakfast: Raisin Bran Cereal and coffee
Lunch: Subway chicken sandwich and chips
Dinner: Chicken Quesdillas with rice
Exercise: n/a
Weight: n/a
Grade: C+