Day 100: 227 pounds

I take pride in saying that I have completed 100 days on this Journey.  I have stuck with it day in and day out and am not slowing down till I get to my goal of breaking 200!  I will say that when I started this back in June I felt like I could do it and would not give up.  However as everyone knows diets are not easy, they normally only last a few weeks, maybe a month tops before the person is back to their old ways.  But I have been strong, determined and focused on the end prize…breaking 200.  Yes there has been some up’s and down’s, but that’s to be expected and it has only made me stronger.

I worked from home again today and Dawn was home with the girls (they don’t go to the sitter on Friday’s).   I stared the day by weighing in and it was the same as the other day, 227 pounds.  Oh well, I’m sure I will lose a pound or two by Monday.  So than after a quick stop to pick up some bagels it was back home for some work.  After about 2 hours I decided to start cleaning the house.  I like to clean on Friday’s just because it’s one less thing we have to do on the weekends and we all know that I don’t like to do anything on Sunday’s but watch football.  Dawn had a lunch date with some friends so she took the girls and left me alone.  I got the entire house done including vacuuming and mopping in about 2 hours.  After cleaning I heated up some left over’s for a quick lunch before getting back to work.

Dawn and I had date night tonight (Dinner & Movie) so we dropped the kids off at her parents and enjoyed our alone/free time.  Dinner was at BJ’s Brewery before we headed over to the theater.  Since it was date night, I didn’t want to worry about what to order and eat, however thanks to Dawn she talked me into the Chinese Chicken Salad.  It was awesome!  We also ordered the Spinach Artichoke Dip as a starter.  Mix those together with a nice Oktoberfest Micro Brew and it was a hell of a meal.  We still had some time after dinner before the move started and Dawn wanted desert so we headed over to the Cheesecake Factory and shared a piece of cheesecake.  Yes I was bad tonight, but it was date night so I had to enjoy it.  We finally made it to the movies and both of us didn’t want anything as we were to full.  This might have been the first time ever that I have gone to a movie and not got anything to drink or snack on.  Oh and the movie we saw was called “Drive”.  It was good, interesting, but good!

As for exercise, well I cleaned the house for 2 hours and I will say that I was sweating just as much if not more then when I go running.  I’m pretty sure those two hours gave me a really good work out!

Daily Recap

• Breakfast:  Bagel
• Lunch:  Leftover Chicken & Veggies
• Afternoon Snack:  Balance Bar
• Dinner:  Chinese Chicken Salad, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Beer
• Desert:  Cheesecake (shared 1 piece with Dawn)
• Exercise:  House cleaning (2 hours)
• Weight:  227 pounds (same as previous weigh in)
• Grade:  C-

Day 99

Its crazy to think that tomorrow marks the 100th day I have been on this journey.  Wow!  As for today, it was good.  I was pretty busy with work most of the morning so I didn't really think about food after my bagel for breakfast.  Come lunch time Dawn and I had some errands to run so we took that time to do them.  In just over an hour we were able to go to two banks, the Cox store, buy some new towels and get a new patio set.  It was time for some new towels as all of ours were at least 10 years old.  As for the patio set, I'm super excited for that!  We have been wanting a new one for a while now and found one on smoking sale that we couldn't pass up.  This is the perfect time of the year to be outside, so I cant wait.  After all of that we came home ate some lunch and I got back to work.  So yeah it was a busy day.

Brady had a baseball game tonight at 5:30pm, so dinner was going to wait till after the game.  The game was good, they lost, but he played great!  He got the start at catcher and did very good (photo below).  After the game was over he wanted tacos from Taco Bell so we swung by and took them home.  It's not what I was wanting, however it was his choice because he played so good. 

After dinner was done it was time to go running.....for the 4th night in a row.  Yes!!! 

Daily Recap

• Breakfast:  Bagel & Coffee
• Lunch:  Leftover Chicken & Veggies
• Afternoon Snack:  Honey & Oats Granola Bar
• Dinner:  Taco Bell (2 tacos, 1 bean burrito)
• Exercise:  Running (20 minutes)
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  B-

Day 98: 227 pounds

Yes that is correct, 227 pounds as of this morning.  Talk about a great way to start the day!  I have been working extra hard the past few days and it showed this morning when I weighed myself.  Very happy with myself!

I worked from home again today so after a few hours of spreadsheets I decided to head out for a run.  I will say that i'm really starting to enjoy running in the middle of the day.  After my run came time for lunch.  I decided to go with the same lunch again today as yesterday, because I knew there was still some left over peas.  It was yummy!  I also had to work the last Dbacks game tonight, so headed out there about 5pm.  Now I say last game because it was the last game of the regular season.  But its not over for us as we will be facing the Brewers in the NLDS starting Saturday.  So we will have at least one more home game next week (hopefully more).  I are dinner at the ballpark and decided to go with the full meal rather than just the soup and salad.  Reason for this was because it was the last game of the season.  They wont offer food during the playoffs because our press lounge gets converted into a media hub.  Anyways, the dinner was good.  I had a small side salad with a plate of steamed broccoli and this chicken and veggie mixture thing.  I think it was supposed to be Chicken Pot Pie, however there was no crust or anything.  It was just chicken and veggies.  It looked odd, but it tasted good. 

So again it was another great day for me.  I ate good and exercised yet again.  Oh and I lost 3 pounds since my last weigh in.  High Five!

Daily Recap

• Breakfast:  Bowl of Cereal (Raisin Bran)
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken & Peas
• Afternoon Snack:  Peach Yogurt
• Dinner:  Chicken w/veggies, Steamed Broccoli and a side salad
• Exercise:  Running (30 minutes)
• Weight:  227 pounds (down 3 pounds from previous weigh in)
• Grade:  A

Day 97

It was another great day for me!  I had to work in the office for the first part of today and then it was home to finish before picking up Brady.  It was actually nice to be in the office for a change as it was the first time I was there in a week.  However I will say that its so much easier to work from home, no commute, no dressing up, no having to listen to the crazy women on the other side of the wall yell at her kids all day.  Good times!

I did good on my eating today and got some exercise in.  On my way into the office I stopped and got an iced coffee, it held me over till lunch time.  For lunch I heated up a piece of grilled chicken and opened a can of peas.  Grilled chicken and peas, now how healthy is that!  About an hour after lunch I grabbed a cup of peach yogurt from the fridge and put that down like it was a shot of whisky!  On my way out the door to pick up Brady I took a handful of Wheat Thins and a bottle of water.  I normally have to wait about 10 minutes for him to come out, so this was going to be my little afternoon snack.  For dinner it was just going to be me and the kids.  Dawn had dinner plans with some work friends so it was up to me to cook.  I had everything out and ready to make spaghetti, but at the last minute the kids changed their mind and wanted Bologna sandwich's.  I didn't argue this because making those takes about 2 minutes and has no clean up.  Spaghetti takes a while and involves lots of dishes.  Yeah I know, I go big time when I cook!

After dinner I put on my shoes and hit the streets.  The weather was so perfect that I wanted to just keep going and going but then remembered that I was not Forrest Gump and my knees were starting to burn.  But none the less I got a nice run in and in back to back nights. 

So again it was a great day.  I'm really hoping that tomorrow when I weigh in its under 230 pounds.  I have been working hard the past two days and really don't want to see that number ever again.  Diets are for sure not easy!

Daily Recap

• Breakfast:  Iced Coffee
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken, Peas & Peach Yogurt
• Afternoon Sack:  Wheat Thins (handful)
• Dinner:  Bologna sandwich with some Sun Chips
• Exercise:  Running (25 minutes)
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  A

Day 96: 230 pounds

So if you read my post yesterday you would know that I have not been happy with my day to day performance over the past few weeks.  I also stated that I had the feeling that I was going to be up in weight.  My assumption was correct as I was up to 230!  That's a 3 pound gain from my weigh in on Friday.  However I was not that mad as I knew it was going to be the case.  So rather then being upset I got focused on the day and getting back on track!

I have been working form home on a regular basis, so after dropping the kids of this morning I picked up a bagel and returned home to get back to work.  I stayed busy for a while and then found some time to vacuum and mop the house.  Once I was done I did a little more work and then got ready for my run.  It was so so nice to be out running at noon and not have it be 115 outside.  I was so happy with myself that I got out and went running.  It felt great.  After a quick shower it was time for some lunch.

Brady had a game tonight so we were at the fields for a few hours.  It was not a pretty game for us as they lost 15 to 3.  Ouch!  Because of the time of game, dinner had to wait until after and at that point it was going to be something quick.  Wendy's got the group vote.

So overall it was a great day for me.  I was determined to be strong all day, and that I was!

Daily Recap

• Breakfast:  Bagel
• Lunch:  Grilled Chicken Breast & Yogurt Cup
• Afternoon Snack:  Wheat Thins (few)
• Dinner:  Grilled Chicken Wrap (2) from Wendy's
• Exercise:  Running 30 minutes
• Weight:  230 pounds (3 pound gain from previous weigh in)
• Grade:  A

Day 95

Oh how I love Sunday's!  Today was the best because I just got to sit around the house, relax, watch some football and practice some baseball with Brady.  Great day!  That pretty much covers it, no need to go into details, because there really isn't any.  I was lazy!

I will say that among my sitting around I got to thinking about the past few weeks and my diet/journey.  When really thinking about it, I have not done near as good as I did before going to Vegas.  It actually got me depressed for most of the afternoon.  I have not been exercising (only a few times), granted I was sick for a while and still have a cough.  I have also been snacking on little things here and there the past few days, again not good!  This is one downside to the coupon shopping going on in my house.  Lots of stuff in the pantry.  My meal eating times have not been on target like in the past and my portion size has grown a little bit compared to when I started.  My weight seems to go up and down more then just going downOne thing that I have stuck 100% true on is soda.  I have not gave in to a can, cup or glass of soda in 95 days!

So after being pissed at myself for a while it got me thinking....this is enough!  Serious!  I need to be person I was before going to Vegas.  Focused and determined!  I know when I weigh myself tomorrow my weight is going to be higher then what it previous was.  Maybe it wont, but I have a good feeling that it will.  I'm kind of hoping that it is as it will be the cherry on the Sunday!  Its time and the time is tomorrow!

No daily recap today as I'm just looking to get this day over and start fresh!  Wish me luck.

Day 94

It was another crazy and busy day for us.  It started off with Brady having baseball practice at 9:30 for about 2 hours.  Lily had a party 1pm for a friend in her class.  The nice part was her friends older brother is one of Brady's friends so he got to go also.  Dawn took them, however I stayed home with Charile so I could get ready for the DBacks game at 5pm.  I was hoping for a fast game so I could get home and just relax and watch the ASU Football game.  However I should know better by  now than to wish for a quick game.  Normally when you say or think this, it will go extra slow.  This was the case tonight, however the reason was something I have never seen in my 12 years working games.  We lost half our power in the stadium and all the lights went out.  It was cool to see and watch the fans react.  We have a roof, so we never get rain delays, so in a way this was our version of a rain delay.  I finally got home about 9pm and was able to catch the end of the ASU game.  Perfect way to end a crazy day!

As for my eating.  Well it started off with a bowl of cereal before Brady's practice.  When at practice a few kids came up to me trying to sell some power bars for a $1 as a fundraiser.  I was able to help them out as I only had one dollar on me.  Brady and I ate it when he was done with practice.  It was pretty good, some of those powerbars can be pretty nasty and not have much flavor, but this one was good.  When we got home from practice it was time to starting thinking about lunch.  The kids were going to eat something at the party, so it was more for me and Dawn.  Since I don't like to waste leftovers, we heated up the last few pieces of pizza.  I didn't eat at the game because I was still full from lunch, however I brought a Balance Bar with me in case I got the urge for a snack during the game, and I did because of how long it was taking.  By the time I got home I was still hungry, but didn't want to go get anything or eat anything big.  I went with a Lean Pocket (yummy!).  So overall not bad, yet not super good. 

I didn't have time to exercise because of all the stuff we had going on and with having to work a game.  Plus I have this cough right now that I think is related to allergies, its driving me nuts.  At random times I will just start coughing because of a tickle in my throat.  Its the worse!

Daily Recap:

• Breakfast:  Raisin Bran Cereal
• Morning Snack:  Power Bar
• Lunch:  Leftover Pizza (2)
• Dinner:  Balance Bar (at game) & Lean Pocket (at home)
• Exercise:  none
• Weight:  n/a
• Grade:  C+