Monday, September 10th 2012

Well here I find myself not having posted a blog for a long time.  I have said it over and over again that I need to keep up on this better.  So I will say it again..... I'm going to keep up on this blog and post more often!  I am however trying something new where each week I give myself a goal.  Something that I know I need to do better at or improve upon.  This week's goal, September 10th - 16th, will be to not eat any fast food or drink soda.  Maybe this will help drop some pounds.

239 lbs.

Thursday, August 16th 2012

So I think my theory on why I was up two pounds yesterday was correct, or at least thats what I'm telling myself.  I was down two pounds from yesterday!  I felt great this morning and that carried over into today.  I did take tonight off from running and exercise due to not feeling good.  I had one of the worse headache's I have had in a long time.  I blame that on the heat!  On top of that my stomach was rolling and turning every few minutes.  So I figured it was a good idea to take a day off.  Back at it tomorrow!

233 lbs.

 

Wednesday, August 15th 2012

I'm not really sure how I gained 2 pounds since yesterday.  I ate decent and did a good 45 minutes of exercise.  If I had to take a guess it might be a result of all the water I drank during my exercising.  I didn't start the exercising till about 9pm and drank a ton of water, so its possible that I still had a ton of extra water in my system this morning.  I'm not worried about it because I feel like I had a good day.  If it keeps going up then I will start to worry.  As for today, I was good again.  I ate good and got a good 45 minutes of exercise in.  

235 lbs.

Tuesday, August 14th 2012

Another good day today!  I was down one pound from yesterday.  I could have ate better than I did, however I did get out and go running.  I also did all my upper body and core exercises.  So in my eyes today was a huge win!  

233 lbs.

Monday, August 13th 2012

Im back, well at least I hope I am and that I can keep up on this.  I have decided to try a different format.  I think I'm just going to list my weight in some crazy large font and go from there.  After all the weight is the most important thing!  However for this post (since its been a while) I will give a quick run down on how things have been.  Back on July 16th I weighed myself and I was at 239.5 pounds.  This set me over the top and put me back into full diet mode!  I was on a roll and had got down to 234 pounds on the day I left to go back east.  Now I knew being on vacation I would probably come home 10 pounds heavier and based on what I ate I'm shocked that I didn't.  When I got home and got on the scale the next morning I was at 235 pounds.  I don't know if the scale was wrong or if I was seeing things, however I was taking it!  I really wanted to jump back into things full force the next day, however I just didn't have the energy and power since being home.  So I took the rest of the week to get back on Arizona time and adjust to being home.  So that beings me into today, Monday August 14th.  I'm focused, ready to eat good again, exercise daily and most important drop the weight! 

234 lbs.

Day 354

Booyah, another great day for me today!  I think its important for me to post something on a daily basis just because it helps keep me focused.  However I don't want to just write the same thing over and over each day.  So if it's a pretty normal day and I really don't have much to say then I will just keep it short and to the point.  This was the case today.  I did great and stayed focused all day.

My menu today was wheat toast, protein shakes, salad (homemade), grapes, spaghetti and carrots.  Yummy!

So today WAS good day and tomorrow WILL be a good day as well!!

Till tomorrow....

Day 353: 235.5 pounds

I ended my post from yesterday by saying that today was going to be a good day.  So from the minute I work up I knew I had to be strong and that things were going to be different from what I was starting to get used to over the past few months.  The first thing I said after rolling out of bed was "you can do this Bryan, you have done it before and can do it again.  Its going to suck, but you can do it".  This little pep talk worked well and helped me get through the day. 

I was faced with a few challenges, but didn't let any of them get to me.  We have a pantry stocked with just about everything and as much as I wanted to have a few cookies or a handful of chips, I didn't.  I will say that the hardest part was not getting my coffee this morning.  I decided that I need to cut back a bit on the amount of coffee I drink.  So today I went without it and boy did I pay for it.  My head was pounding! 

My eating today was AWESOME!  Wheat toast, protein shakes, salad for both lunch and dinner was my menu today.  The only snack I had was two graham crackers after dinner.  Winner winner chicken dinner!

Oh yeah, my weight this morning was at 235.5 pounds.  Yesterday it was showing 237 pounds and I pigged out big time, so I'm not sure exactly how it was a pound and half less today.  Either way I will take it.

So today WAS good day and tomorrow WILL be a good day as well!!

Till tomorrow....

The Last Straw!

I'M BACK!!

Its been way to long since I have posted anything on here, and to be honest even focused on this journey/diet.  This is not good at all.  Its not that I have forgot about it because its always a thought in the back of my mind.  Heck I probably think about it even more because I'm not doing good.  It sucks!  I'm sure everyone out there will agree with me when I say dieting is hard!  Its not easy by any means, it takes a lot of work, dedication, focus and support to achieve your goals and even then its extremely hard!

Well today was the last straw for me.  I have been following my weight on a regular basis and have known its been going back up little by little.  However it has been staying around the same number until the past few days and leading into today.  As of this morning I weighed 237 pounds.  Yes that's correct I said 237!  This is 12 pounds heavier from my lowest point of 225 and only 8 pounds under where I started last June 23rd.  Not good!  Now granted I'm still 23 pounds lighter from the highest I have ever been at 260 pounds.  But like I said today was the last straw.  Seeing that 237 number made me sick to my stomach.  I started thinking about all that hard work I had put in to lose the weight and look good and in that moment it all seemed like a huge waste. This was not what I had planned and sure as heck not what I wanted!  So right then I made the call that today was going to be the last day this non focused, non determined Bryan would be around.  I told myself "pig out all you want today because come tomorrow its time to get down to business".  So come dinner time it hit me that I needed to end the day with the same way I did the night before my journey started.  I needed to stuff my face with something that would leave a mark for the rest of the night and leave me feeling like crap.  For those that remember it was Filberto's that did the trick last time.  So tonight's "final meal" was yet again Filberto's.  I got a Steak & Egg Burrito and 3 rolled tacos with cheese & sour cream.  I would never eat this much from there and normally can barley finish my burrito, but the plan was to pretty much make myself feel horrible so the meal would stick fresh in my mind.  Well it did the trick, and I couldn't even finish everything.  But I know for a fact that come tomorrow and all next week I will still be thinking about that meal!

Another thing I decided to do to help lose the weight and kick start it again is grow my beard.  Everyone knows that I can grow a pretty awesome beard and grow it pretty quickly.  It had been a good 4 or 5 days since I last shaved, so today when I went in to clean up decided that I would grow out my beard and not shave it till I get back to my lowest point of 225 pounds.  This is great motivation because its summer time in Arizona.  Who the heck wants a beard in this heat!  However it will only be a face beard as I will keep the neck clean.  Come on, I'm not a total idiot!

So with that said wish me luck (again) as I get back on track and finish what I started a year ago this month.  Tomorrow is gong to be a great day for me!

Till tomorrow.......

Day 310: 229 pounds

Its been just about a week since my last post, so its time for an update.  In my last post I was down to 233 pounds after starting the week off at 235.  This was a direct result of my Laughlin weekend.  I continued to bust my butt off all week hoping to get back down under 230 pounds.  With lots of exercise and eating good, as of Sunday morning I was down to 229 pounds.

I also started tracking my weight and exercise on an excel spreadsheet by week.  I figure it will be much easier to post a weekly review as to my goal status.  Yes I'm a nerd who likes to use spreadsheets to track stupid stuff, but who didn't already know that!  Most people say my middle name is "spreadsheet".  So with that said, here is the summary for the past week.

For the week of April 23rd - April 29th (Monday-Sunday).  I started the week off at 235.5 pounds and by the end of the week I was 229 pounds.  That was a 6.5 pound loss in 7 days!  I exercised a total of 146 minutes, running 2.5 miles and biking 23.  I also did 350 sit-ups.  I have 55 days to go till I hit the one year mark.

Till next time!

Day 305: 233 Pounds

Hello, time for a new post! 

I was hoping to post something on my birthday as it was the day I originally set as my goal.  However that didnt happen, nor did I hit my goal.  I was not even close!  Not to worry, I'm not giving up.  I did weigh myself the morning of my birthday and I was 229.  It was not great, but I accepted it.  However the next day Dawn and I left for Laughlin and boy did I overdue it!  It seemed like we were always eating or drinking and didn't really get the best of sleep.  We had an awesome time, so I didn't really think about what I was eating and just went with the flow.  I paid for it when I got on the scale yesterday.  As I noted above I was 229 before we left, well yesterday I was 235.5.  Yeah I gained 6.5 pounds in a weekend.  You might be thinking how is that even possible.  Well I blame it on the crab!  Saturday night the buffet was all you can eat crab and I'm pretty sure I had at least 5 pounds!  It was awesome!  The good news is I busted my butt yesterday with a 45 minute/9 mile bike ride, 125 sit-ups and ate great.  Because of that I dropped 2.5 pounds yesterday!  I'll take it.

So now I'm setting a new goal date of June 23rd.  I don't think it's possible to get below 200 in just about two months, but I will work hard to get close.  I'm thinking more like being around 215 pounds is reasonable.  That would mean I need to lose 18 pounds in the next two month.  I can do it!  I'm also going to try and post more often, that should help keep my mind focused. 

So till next time.......

Day 292: 232 pounds

I figured it was time for an update on my Journey.  I wish I had a better weight number to report on, however having survived the Easter weekend by not putting on 10 pounds is a huge win in my books.  The Easter party Dawn's mom holds every year has enough food to probably feed about 200 people.  So between the food, candy and beer I'm surprised I didn't need help getting out of their house (haha).

I also have been dealing with some crazy allergies the past few weeks.  It hit our house hard as all five of us were suffering at one point or another.  However I do think it hit me the worse.  A pounding headache, burning and watery eyes, runny nose, non stop sneezing and a cough for 3 weeks is not fun.  But its the price we all pay for living in Arizona this time of year.  You don't get much better weather anywhere than Arizona in late March, early April!  The good news is I survived and have been feeling like a new man the past few days.  So I work up this morning focused and set on having a great diet/exercise day. 

I did stick to my normal breakfast routine that being an iced coffee and bagel, however I didn't put cream cheese on the bagel, I went with a little low fat butter spread.  It was pretty good!  Then after a few hours of working I decided to head out for a bike ride.  The temperature today was about 70 degrees with a little wind.  It was awesome out!  I rode for about 25 minutes and covered about 4.5 miles.  Once I got home I did about 5 minutes of jump rope and then 100 sit-ups.  At this point I was dead tired and ready for a shower.  Next came lunch!  I made a can of tuna and put a very little, I mean very little bit of mayo in it.  Its to dry out of the can, so I have to add it.  I ate that while drinking a protein shake.

It was a game day today for Brady so eating dinner was on the go.  Yeah I know this is never good, because eating out "quickly" normally means a drive thru.  Sure enough that's exactly what we did after the game.  We ran through Taco Bell and got some tacos.  I had 3 of them and enjoyed every last bite!  Now as for the game.  Well Brady's team (The Dodgers) was trailing by one run in the top of the last inning, with the tying run on third, Brady came up and grounded out to second, however the run scored!  Unfortunately the home team got a run in the bottom half and won the game.  The Dodgers are off to an 0-2 start, but both games were close.  The wins will come soon!  As for Brady, he was 1-2 with a single, walk and 2 rbi's.  Good game buddy!

So overall it was a great day!  Till next time.....

Day 284: 232 pounds

Yes I know I have not been doing good on keeping this updated, sorry. It's been hard to of late just because of everything we have been doing. Plus all my posts seem to cover about the same stuff, so they must be boring to read as I know they are boring to write.

However don't worry, I'm not giving this up. I will continue to post about my weight and the journey to break 200. I have 32 pounds to go and know I can do it. My original goal was to break 200 by my 35th birthday, however with only 16 days left I don't think that's going to happen. Im aiming for being at 220 by that time. 12 pounds in 16 days is a reach, but I think I can do it (as long as my allergies get better).

So for now going forward I will post something when I feel it's needed, such as a good weight number, or big family event, etc. I would also like to mix my personal life and it's adventures in to this blog. Afterall anything I do is part of this journey.

Till next time..........

Day 279

I'm a huge slacker latley when it comes to updating my blog.  It has been some very busy days over the past few weeks for me, so in fairness to myself I have a pretty good excuse.  Just because I have not updated my blog doesnt mean I have not been focused on my diet.  I feel like I have been doing pretty good over the past week, could it be better, of course!  However overall its been acceptable in my books.  I have not weighed myself in a few days, but plan to one day this week so stayed tuned!

As for today, well it was good.  The weather has been amazing latley and today was another one of those days.  I took advantage by getting out during my lunch break and doing some yard work.  Oh how I enjoy being outside this time of year. I wont be saying that here in the next few months.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:   Bagel & Coffee
• Lunch:  Tuna Sandwich (homemade)
• Afternoon Snack:  Fiber One Bar
• Dinner:  2 Cheeseburgers (McDonalds) =(
• Exercise:  Yard work (2 hours)
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  C+

Day 273: 231 pounds

So I got on the scale today thinking it would be a good thing.  I have been doing good the past two days and yet I'm still the same weight I was the last time I checked.  Bummer!  However I didn't let it get to me and I kept focused on today.  I didn't really get in any exercise mainly because my legs needed a break from back to back days running 2 miles.  I did however have another good day of eating, at least in my mind I did. 

Tomorrow I plan on getting out and going for either a bike ride, a run or maybe even some driving range time.  It has been a while.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel & Coffee
• Lunch:  Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (leftover from Dinner)
• Afternoon Snack:  Celery with Peanut Butter on top
• Dinner:  Southwest Chicken Salad
• Exercise:  n/a
• Weight:  231 pounds
• Grade:  B+

Day 272

It was another great day for me today.  I ate great (see below) and went for a nice run in the sun this afternoon.  I followed up the run with some situps and a protein shake.  I didn't weight myself today, but plan to within the next day or two.  So stay tuned!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel and Coffee
• Lunch:  Turkey Sandwich (homemade)
• Afternoon Snack:  Protein Shake
• Dinner:  Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (homemade) & Celery Sticks
• Exercise:  Run (2.5 miles) & 125 situps
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  A

Day 271: 231 pounds

Today was the first day in a while since I have posted something.  This past weekend was nuts for me because Dawn was in Colorado for a wedding.  So I got to play Mr. Mom for the weekend, and boy was it crazy.  I'm glad its in the past and boy am I glad Dawn is home!

So that brings me to today.  I got on the scale for the first time in 5 days and was happy to see 231 pounds.  My eating this past weekend was not the best just because we were on the go almost every day.  When I say on the go I mean a birthday party on Friday night for both kids, dance practice for Lily Saturday morning, baseball practice Saturday afternoon for Brady and then another birthday party for Lily Saturday afternoon.  Thank goodness it rained all day Sunday allowing us to just stay in the house and do nothing.  It was the best.  So back to today.  I had to go into the office today for work, so on my way in I stopped and got a coffee and made that my breakfast.  I did get out early so Dawn and I went to lunch.  It was awesome.  For dinner Brady and I went to the store and picked up some lunch meat, rolls and fruit, so we had "lunch" for dinner.  The kids loved it!  After dinner was over and everything was cleaned up I went out for a run.  It felt good to set my legs free again!

So overall it was a great day.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Iced Coffee
• Lunch:  1/2 Sandwich, 1/2 Salad combo from Paradise Bakery
• Dinner:  Turkey Sandwich (homemade) and some grapes
• Exercise:  Running (2 miles), 125 sit-ups
• Weight:  231 pounds
• Grade:  A

Day 266: 230.5 pounds

Granted I was down a pound from the previous day, but other than that it was not the day I was hoping for.  It started off with toast and coffee for breakfast and then some chicken for lunch.  Dawn baked some chicken breasts the other night with some pepper and garlic on them.  They were even better leftover.  So between breakfast and lunch I was feeling pretty good about my day.  However come dinner time is when it went south again.  We all went to pick up the girls together because after we had to go get some birthday presents for this weekend.  Because of this we were going to be "out" at dinner time so the easiest thing was going to be picking up a $5 Hot & Ready Pizza from Little Caesars.  Can't beat that deal!  I had two slices and will say enjoyed every bite!

I had also been planning to go running all day and was hoping to get that done after dinner.  However things changed and I was not able to get out.  Dawn is leaving for Colorado in the morning, so I had to keep the kids in check while she get everything ready.  So once again my day was not where I wanted it to be.  I will try again tomorrow, however with Dawn out of town for the weekend it will be very hard to get out and exercise.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Toast & Coffee
• Lunch:  Chicken Breast (1)
• Afternoon Snack:  Cookie (1)
• Dinner:  Pizza (2 slices)
• Exercise:  n/a
• Weight:  230.5 pounds
• Grade:  C+

Day 265: 231.5 pounds

Sorry its been a while since I have posted anything.  Things have been super busy since my last post (Thursday, March 7th), but its with good reason.  We could be here a while if I went into deep details, so I will keep it as short as possible and just list something for each day.

Friday, 9th:  It was our 11 year Anniversary,  so we went out and enjoyed an awesome dinner.  We both ate to much, but worth it!  Its only once a year, you have to enjoy it.  We did watch some of our video and that made Lily want to see Dawn's wedding dress which lead to something else (see below).

Saturday, 10th:  Charlotte work up with pink eye!  Dawn took her to the doctors while I took Lily to dance.  I also had to meet up with some friends so we could pick our Fantasy Baseball Draft order.  We all met at a Starbucks!  I was also dealing with a massive sinus cold that felt like the flu.  It sucked!

Sunday, 11th:  Took Brady to a Spring Training game, Rockies vs. White Sox.  It was an awesome time!  He caught two baseballs during batting practice.  Boy was he happy!  Of course with any baseball game there is going to be be ball park food.  We didn't over due it, but still enjoyed ourselves.

Monday, 12th:  I worked in the morning for my normal job and then had to work a baseball game in the afternoon.  After a long day and being stuck in horrible traffic I just relaxed the rest of the night.

Tuesday, 13th:  Took Brady to another Spring Training game, Diamondbacks vs. Angels.  It was hotter than on Sunday and there were way more people.  However it was still an awesome time!  He got two more baseballs during batting practice, one from Miguel Montero and the other Henry Blanco.  Then later in the game he met an old dback player (a legend).  Picture below!

Wednesday, 14th:  Today was the first day in a week that I was able to just relax at home and get some work done.  Brady had baseball practice at night, but other than that it was an easy going day!

Hopefully tomorrow (Thursday) I will be able to get back on my exercise routine.  Its not that I haven't been very active, I'm pretty sure all the walking between the two baseball games was well over a few miles.  But I still need to get back in to the swing of things.  I have just about one month left till I turn 35.  That was my goal to break 200, but I don't think its going to be possible.  However I will do everything in my power to get close. 


Lily in Dawn's wedding dress!

 

Brady watching Rockies batting practice.  He got two balls!

 

He got two more balls during batting practice at the Diamondbacks game.



Brady & Luis Gonzalez "Gonzo"!

Day 258: 230 pounds

Well I was down another pound this morning, so that was a great start to the day.  As for the rest of my day, well it was pretty basic and simple.  Nothing big happened other than work and baseball practice for Brady.  I will add that Dawn didn't cook anything for dinner since Brady had practice and we (Brady and I) were at the fields till about 8pm.  So she ordered a pizza and we enjoyed some leftovers once we got home.  I love me some pizza!

I didn't get out and exercise mainly because of Brady's practice and because it was freezing out.  Half way through his practice I had to go sit in the car because I was so cold.  Yes, its me complaining about being cold.

Well that's about all I have to say about today.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Bagel & Coffee
• Lunch:  Egg Salad Sandwich
• Dinner:  Pizza (1 slice) and 4 Boneless Wings
• Exercise:  n/a
• Weight:  230 pounds
• Grade:  B+

Day 257: 231 Pounds

It was a pretty good day!  It started with me being down two pounds since yesterday, so right there I was off to a good start.  I think my eating was ok, it could have been better, but it still was not that bad.  We did reward the kids with some dessert because they were so good tonight.  We took them to get some ice cream, well it was frozen yogurt from one of those soft serve places.  I did get a small cup of fat free Coconut yogurt.  The rest of my meals are listed below in the recap.

Other than that there wasn't anything special or different about today.  Tomorrow is another baseball day for Brady, so it will be a busy one.

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Iced Coffee
• Lunch:  Egg Salad Sandwich
• Afternoon Snack:  Protein Bar
• Dinner:  Chicken & Veggies (on pastry puffs) & Salad
• Dessert:  Fat Free Coconut Frozen Yogurt (small cup)
• Exercise:  Run (2 miles), 125 sit-ups
• Weight:  231 pounds (down 2 pounds since yesterday)
• Grade:  B+