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+