Day 44 - Memorial Day

A Happy Memorial Day to one and all.

Today most of us will go about our days, or lives, as we do just about every day. Many will engage in a variety of holiday activities, taking advantage of the day off of work, and enjoying the day with friends & family. And we should, for that is just what those who gave the ultimate sacrifice fought & died for; that we may live free and enjoy each day as we choose.

Part of the Memorial Day holiday in the USA includes a call for "The National Moment of Remembrance" which encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

I welcome all from all nations to join me in observing The National Moment of Remembrance with me.

Enjoy the day!

Day 43 - 19% Progress (and HAWKS WIN)

Hooray it is weigh-in day! Seriously, does anyone really feel that ecstatic about a weigh-in before they get on the scale. Personally I cannot say that I really feel ecstatic, but I do look forward to them. They are a validation of my behavior of the past week, whether or not I have lived up to Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

So let's get down too brass tacks. Brass tacks, does anyone reading this really have any brass tacks in their home? Brass, what is so special about brass tacks vs. say aluminum, or... yeah, who cares.

It is with grand jubilation that I report to you that this weigh in calls for an Oh Yeah! As of just moments ago I am now at 19% of the way to my goal; I've lost 23 pounds in six weeks, 5.5 of them this past week. Today I weighed in at 297 pounds.

Could it be? Could it seriously be that I have exited the 300's and will never go back for a visit?

Oh how I hope so!

No, "hope" need not apply here. I will NEVER revisit the 300's!!!!

Let it be said that May, 2010 was the last month I ever put a scale over 300, NEVER Again; NEVER!

Two days ago I received in the mail my reward for reaching my 10% weight loss goal (12 lbs. lost ); my new workout clothes. It sure felt good getting them in hand and knowing I earned them versus just buying them because I could. In just ONE more pound I'll have that 20% weight loss reward in sight. Nice to know, but let me not get ahead of myself.

Before I get to what is going on today, did everyone see my quick post yesterday evening of my wife & I? We attended game one of the Stanley Cup and we were like kids in candy shop; a sugar-free candy shop :-) I know most don't care two shakes about hockey so I will keep this brief. But my wife & I are life-long hockey fans. And the blood in our veins is Blackhawk Red. For the better part of the past decade our team has struggled and missed the playoffs. But the past two years they found their steel and have the Blackhawk nation on edge. When they were last in the Stanley Cup, 1992, I couldn't afford a vowel let alone tickets to such an event. But today, thankfully we could, so we went. Who knows when in our lifetime they will ever make it back. And did we get our moneys worth. A back and forth brawl with the Philadelphia Flyers for the entire sixty minutes. In the end, the score was 6-5, BLACKHAWKS WIN; see for yourself...

That pic may be a bit fuzzy, sorry; pic from my cell phone. One game down, three more to go and we are the Champions! Ok, deep breath, relax...

Today will be a challenge as it is party day. A party at the sister-in-law's to celebrate a couple of 8th grade graduations, Cameron our youngest and Alicia our niece. Also my wife's Uncle just turned 75 and of course we'll party in honor of Memorial Day too. I am sure many of you have similar food challenges this holiday weekend. We've been there before, we will be here many many times ahead. We also know how to survive these events and enjoy ourselves while even enjoy some tempting foods without completely wrecking our hard earned progress towards our weight loss / healthy living goals. What, need a refresher on what to do at a party and not over do it? So do I, it is always a good idea to revisit what works when faced with the challenge of temptation. Easiest way to do that is revisit some posts or mine, and comments of yours, on just that topic. My Day 13 post is where I asked for help and your comments which helped me come up with a game plan, and my Day 15 post illustrates just how well I did employing that generous and useful advice of yours. Or, review this - I just remembered that I've summarized allot of that good advice on my MY WHAT? page; once there just scroll down to the section titled, "What My Mission Has Taught Me...".

Ok, I have rambled on enough here. Whatever you do today enjoy it and stay healthy doing it!

GO BLACKHAWKS!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

My wife & I at game-one of the Stanley Cup...

GO HAWKS!!!

Day 42 - Scallops & Dumbbells

Welcome to the weekend Bloggers, a holiday weekend at that!

Scallops anyone? There on the left you see last night's dinner, bacon-wrapped scallops hit with some mesquite seasoning; these came off the grill 5 seconds after I took that pic. Accompanying them were some fresh green beans lightly sauteed in garlic - Oh my it was good!

Ok, enough food chat. Let's talk exercise shall we? My dumbbell routine has been on my mind so I thought I'd share it below. For all of these exercises I do 3 sets of 12 reps; except the 10th exercise which is a repeat of the 1st but for the 10th exercise I do 7 sets of differing reps; 6, 9, 12, 15, 12, 9, 6. Why do I do that for exercise 10? Really I don't know if it is wise or not, but it seemed to make sense when I cooked it up as a means to give the arms some added attention. Probably a guy-thing. My dumbbells range from 5 to 50 pounds. Currently I use from 10 to 25 pounds depending on the exercise and muscles involved.

1-Seated Concentration Curl

2-Lateral Raises

3-Two-Arms Triceps Extension

4-Bench Press

5-Triceps Kickback

6-Lying Fly

7-Shoulder Press

8-Kneeling One Arm Row

9-Straight-Arm Pullover

10-Seated Concentration Curl (again)

Aren't those animated gif's cool? They are them from dumbbell-exercises.com which I've found to be quite informative. The above dumbbell routine was put together on my own before I found this site. My idea was that it is supposed to strength train a variety of upper body muscle groups in one exercise session. Now having looked a bit more at this site and specifically at the page for Workout Routines for Dumbbell Exercises I wonder if I need to mature my routine a bit. I probably do but I'll need to do some more reading first and of course welcome advice from you.

Any thoughts? Is this routine something a trainer would give a thumbs up to, or, cringe in horror at? Do I need to modify it to do more to target specific muscle groups vs. trying to do them all in one session?

May you have a Magnificent Saturday!

Got any big plans for the holiday weekend?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!

Day 41 - What a Week

Been an odd week in that stuff that is not usually part of our routines have had to be handled.

Monday was actually a normal day in most respects. Although coming home late to nearly nobody home was odd. That was the day I did a short 30-minute burn on the elliptical vs. wasting my time watching television. Never did that before.
Exercise, check; got in 4 trips up the stairs at work too.
Healthy Eating, check; actually since I got home late my dinner was very light so maybe I under ate.

Tuesday my wife was out with friends taking in a Cubs game (they won), so I got the kids all to myself to feed dinner. That really wasn't abnormal. What was however was that my son Ryan was eating his final meal before having his wisdom teeth extracted the next day. So I gave him the choice of what to have for dinner. He chose the Bento Cafe for some sushi (pictured to left).
Exercise, check; got in a great session with the dumbbells, and three trips up the stairs at work too.
Healthy Eating, check; the sushi rolls you see in that picture I did not eat. Those sauces are usually high in fat & sugar. Instead I had some tuna sashimi and a bento-box with salmon(3, maybe 4 oz. tops), a green salad and rice. Oh that sounds so good, when we going for sushi again?

Wednesday morning was spent at the oral surgeon with Ryan. He's a bleeder so it took a while before they would clear him to go. Here you see him after we got back home. Knocked out from the earlier anesthesia and later on some vicodin before sitting on the couch. With gauze still in mouth we had to wake him up after we saw he had nodded off; didn't want him swallowing and choking on it. But not before we took this picture to share with friends & family :-)
Exercise, un-check; took the day off.
Healthy Eating, check; I ate excellent all day before my son Andrew & I went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Look there, below, that's my basket of wings. What is that you say, how can I say that was healthy? Well let me tell you. Before disturbing that beautiful basket of heaven I put the six smallest wing pieces over by that celery and the six largest pieces into a take home box for my other boy Cameron (he ate them for breakfast Thursday - like me he is a wing addict). The sauce on these is Spicy Garlic which is their lowest carb sauce so not much unwanted sugar.

Thursday morning Ryan was up at 4:15 a.m. and needed a little help with his medicines but overall he is working hard at being a man and dealing with the pain and nuisance of having four less teeth in his head. In the afternoon I went with my wife to her doctor's appointment. Thankfully we received good news on her and the fear of possible surgery for her this summer has been erased.
Exercise, check; got in a 60-minute session on the elliptical in the morning. I worked from home both Wednesday & Thursday this week so no trips up any stairs to speak of. After dinner my wife & I went out for a 30-minute walk to end the day positive.
Healthy Eating, check; excellent meals and snacks capped off by firing up the grill for some sliders. Lean ground beef seasoned by a pro (me) and grilled to a perfect medium-rare (some to medium for my wife). A simple fruit salad to go with those delicious mini-burgers. I had my sliders (appx. 3 oz. each) without the buns and half the cheese the old me would have draped over them. Topped off with a couple pickles and a bit of my home-made salsa (oh it is good!)... why am I describing them so, here they are; see for yourself...

Why am I writing this food crazy post, it has me starving now :-o

Friday, well lets see what it brings. Back in the office for the days work. This being the Friday before a holiday weekend I'll likely cut out of here early assuming nothing needs attention. If I do, I am getting in some more cardio; perhaps a walk around a forest preserve.

So, How has your week been?
 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!

Day 40 - Progress Picture Day

My 10% Progress pictures are up finally, they are HERE or above via the link for MY PROGRESS PICS. I had the day off of work for the most part, hence the casual attire for a Wednesday. Hmmm, I don't see much difference, but it is only 10%.

Yesterday I stopped and filled up my gas tank. Now that's not too exciting or worthy of blog space is it? Nope, I agree, silly me. Kind of like posting on Facebook that you are 'Getting gas' when doing so; like anyone cares.

Well here is why that is important, at least to me. Across the parking lot from the gas station is a Culver's. Mmmm, familiar with this semi-fast food chain? Home of the 'butter-burger', which really isn't worth it's hype. They also are known for their frozen custard which deserves more hype.

Many many many times, I mean many, I have hit this particular Culvers drive-thru and grabbed a frozen custard for the rest of the drive home. And none of those times, I mean none, did I intend that frozen custard to be a meal replacement. Hmmm, the frozen custard diet, has a nice ring to it. No?

Those visits were purely impulse, just a feeding frenzy as if I were a shark in a pool of bloody custard flavored fish. Yeah, I put no thought into that analogy. Drawn to the place like a magnet, especially when I first stopped for gas next door & had a few torturous moments to stare at the place while gassing up.

Back to yesterday as I'm gassing up & yes I was staring at Culvers. I look at the marquee for the custard flavor of the day; OMG it is Chocolate Carmel Twist, that's a good one! And then it happened; I looked away before the gas tank was full. My mind went on to other things, the Blackhawks I think. Ok, so I looked away, not worthy of blog space. Well then how about this... Without conscious effort my mind, body and spirit stepped up as never before; I left the gas station, drove passed Culvers, past temptation, and didn't look back. Huh, who am I?

I am Patrick, nice to meet you by the way, who on Day 2 of this mission committed to NO MORE FAST FOOD, that's who. What else was I supposed to do?

I'm thinking NSV.

Who is in control of you today?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!

Day 39 - Whey To Go

Did some reading yesterday, been doing a lot of reading since taking off on this health mission. In a short period of time I came across three articles all of which mentioned their use of Whey Protein Powder. My initial reaction, "What the #*@% is Whey?" Being in a mirthful mood my mind fixated on the word Whey a bit & triggered old memories of Wayne's World where Garth would say "No way," and Wayne would reply "Way!" It is safe to say that this comedic-duo certainly was not debating the prospect of enjoying some Whey Protein Powder with their lunch.

There were a few common nuggets of info from these authors. Whey is an animal protein that is known for it's muscle building properties and therefore it is commonly added to shakes by body builders. Now I am not angling to being a body builder as anyone here that follows my blog likely knows. I am just trying to lose weight and get healthy again. Once I achieve that, who knows what I'll do with my new and improved me. But I know some of you do a bit of body building in your routines so I thought I would ask...

Whey Protein Powder, does anyone use it and what benefits are you gaining?

Final nuggets are that it is low in calories & high in protein. One author also said it may help prevent prostate cancer too; a bonus no doubt. All sounds good but I hope there are added benefits to justify having it in the house.

My cats seem to have caught the attention of some of you. Here is another picture, this one is Crush who you've met before. The kid, well that is Cameron, our youngest. Crush has an odd habit in that he likes to lick your hair when it is wet. Cameron just sat down after a shower, and Crush hopped up and started licking. Strange to be sure...

Quickly, ate very well yesterday and did an intense session with my dumbbells. Felt awesome! Today we'll be looking for some cardio.

OK, let me end this day's blog post with a favorite quote from Wayne's World; "I once thought I had mono for an entire year. It turned out I was just really bored." - Wayne Campbell

Party on Bloggers ;-)

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 38 - Podcasting

Recently I dusted off my iPod which I hadn't used in a year or more. It had to be well more than a year as most of the podcasts on it were from the 2008 elections. Now that I am walking, using the elliptical, etc. I wanted music to go with the exercise. In syncing up the iPod I dumped all of the old podcasts and went looking for news one related to health & fitness.

Over the past week or so I have listened to a dozen or more of the hundreds out there. So far none have blown me away as having new ideas, sound advice and just enjoyable to listen to. A lot seem to just spew the obvious. I'll keep searching for better.

The one I've liked the most so far is "The Fitness Boost". The author does a short podcast weekly which in part promotes his web site / blog and drives traffic there. Most podcasts do this so you have to accept that & listen around the sales pitches. He has been where we started, unhealthy & hoping for better. On his podcast his focus is motivation and mind set for living healthy vs. strict diet / exercise techniques. The latter you can get from him to at his site, although I admit I haven't really checked out his sit in depth. I suppose since I've come to believe this mission is more mental than practical is why this podcast appeals to me. As I said I will keep looking for other podcasts with fresh takes on inspiring, educating, etc. about being healthy.

Does anyone have a favorite podcast(s) they listen regularly to assist them with being healthy?

Yesterday exercise was 30 minutes on the elliptical. It was just 30 to fill some time. I intended to take the day off but when I got home I said why not jump on that vs. riding my recliner through some bad television. It was late, 8:30 p.m., and only our youngest was home watching stuff only teenagers can understand on the tube. What better way to wait for your wife to get home than to work up a sweat ;-)

Need to send a shout out to some blogger friends who have received well deserved rewards...

• Aylilth at Making my way to a better me
• Jody at Truth2BeingFit

Both have engaging blogs and my hats off to them on their awards. If you don't already follow them check them out!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 37 - Change #6

Hope everyone out there had a great weekend. Mine was good and accented by a Chicago Blackhawk victory to advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 18 years.

We were at a soccer game for my son so we didn't get to see the game on TV or hear it on the radio, but you can be sure I had my Blackberry browser in constant refresh getting score updates.

Right after the game my wife & I went right to Dick's Sporting Goods and got our Conference Championship t-shirts. Yes we are that into our hockey!

Here is one of the shirts, this one is my wife's; mine is black and way cooler than hers. But of course she looks better in hers than I do in mine...

This week's commitment to change is about exercise. So far the only exercise I have formally committed to is taking the stairs at work. I've said in past posts I want to exercise 'x' amount this week, or 'y' amount that week. In my five weeks on this mission I am beginning to get an idea of what the minimum amount of exercise needed is to help ensure weight loss as long as my eating is balanced & portioned properly, or, if it isn't then help ensure I maintain weight at least. At least I think I have a better sense of that anyhow.

Therefore, here it is...

Change 6...

• Exercise 4x weekly, 2x Cardio and 2x Strength; minimum

For the past couple of weeks I have done this at least, some days more. Certainly I will strive to do more and some weeks I will be able to do more. Yet reality is some weeks this will be it. But what I am also saying within this commitment is that if I am serious about getting healthy, and I am, I am also saying I believe I must be disciplined enough to make the time for exercise 4x a week.

Ok, back to what is important, who else out there is getting amped up over the Blackhawks?

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 36 - 14% Progress

Good Morning everyone!

This weigh in calls for an Oh Yeah! Last week's diligence seems to have paid off as I am now 14% of the way to my goal; I've lost 17.5 pounds in five weeks, 4.5 of them this past week. Today I weighed in at 302.5 pounds. And since I held onto my fist milestone of 10% lost for a full week I can now cash in and order that first reward of new "Work out clothes". Oh Yeah!

Now on to that 2nd reward at 20% lost, my rewards and other numbers are listed HERE

As you can guess I am pretty stoked about this past week and my progress overall. Gotta keep it up; gotta go get some more :-)

I weigh in on Sunday's, I am not certain really why I chose Sunday. It was either going to be on Saturday or Sunday so that I couldn't have the excuse of being rushed on a weekday morning and potentially skip a weigh in. Then again I know there will be weekends I am not home on Sunday and am not sure what I will do then. Well, yes I do, I will weigh in on Monday, duh. But as for why Sunday, well if I think it through then I guess Saturday morning seems dangerous. If I have a bad weigh in that morning and get discouraged then I have the whole weekend to really erase allot of hard work with a self-a pity party. Not that I can't do that after a Sunday weigh in too. Having it on Sunday I believe forces me to think about the next days weigh in during the day Saturday and provides a bit more motivation on making healthy choices. That of course leaves more mental challenge to stay healthy on Sunday after the weigh in. But after a weigh in such as this morning that won't be hard at all today as I am fired up and ready for more!

What day of the week do you hold your official weigh in and why?

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Walk Complete!

There it is, the Rollins Savanna. There's my watch too telling me I did this 3.5 mile loop in 67:25 minutes. I was hoping for 70 or less, so all smiles here.

You get any miles in today?

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 35 - What Today

Saturday is here. Saturday, what oh what shall I do this Saturday? What, I really have no idea. Saturday's are when we usually run a variety of errands, but maybe today we won't. All I know for certain is I need to find something fun to work into the day. I'm sure we'll figure it out.

So yesterday I was not in the mood to chat about exercise, food intake and that lot of usual subjects; it was Friday. Today, we'll give that serious stuff some time...

EXERCISE > I've been getting in daily exercise most of this week.Yesterday I set the treadmill for a 500 calorie burn and completed that in 57:24 minutes covering a distance of 2.75 miles. That was the first time I set the treadmill to go until I hit 500 calories, so I have no idea if that is a good time or not. Having covered 2.75 miles caught my attention more so than the time. I didn't plan to use the treadmill but my elliptical had a bolt break so I need to get to the hardware store and fix that. Put that on the list for today! Hope I can fix it, hate to think it can't keep up with me :-) Today I'm going to go for a walk around the Rollin's Savannah Forest Preserve which has a 3.5 mile loop walk/run/bike trail around it. That will be a challenge for me but I feel up to it. My wife is off on a challenge of her own doing a 5k walk with some friends from work. So there is our exercise planned for today.

FOOD > I've been eating good lately; a good sense of balanced nutrition and portioned right. What is that you say; what about the lasagna? That was Thursday night's indulgence but I had just a single serving, and not a huge hunk for a serving at that. Heck, it may have been the smallest hunk I've ever put on my plate. It was awesome and I could have had 2, 3, 4 more hunks for sure. But I held back, I didn't have any of the cheezy-garlic bread, just that single serving of heavenly lasagna. We had watermelon too for a light side dish to the lasagna and I did eat some of that up. Other than that meal, I've done well all week I believe. Tonight, I feel some fish coming on tonight. That is if the grocery store has anything fresh and inviting on hand. Tomorrow is weigh-in day, we'll see how the week's exercise and eating translates onto the scale.

I'm not the only one who weighs-in. Here is another one of our cats, this is Nacho.

A few weeks back he settled into this bucket at the vet for his own weigh-in, he weighs 11.2 lbs which the Vet said is perfect. Hmmm, if 11.2 is perfect I have a heck of a lot more weight to lose than I thought.

Saturday is happening, go gett'em people!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 34 - Laugh

Friday is here. Did you hear me; FRIDAY IS HERE!!!

Time for another visit to the lighter side of things. I saw this yesterday and thought it worthy of sharing here. Hope you enjoy…

Ten New Diets by Judy Pokras

You've tried Dr. Stillman's Quick Weight Loss Diet, the Sardine Diet, the Grapefruit Diet, and more, but you're still lugging those extra pounds around. What's a food lover to do? Good news! Ten new diets have just arrived on the scene. One of them is bound to do the trick.

1. The Internet Diet. You lose weight because you're so addicted to being online, you don't eat for days at a time.
2. The Fantasy Diet. You eat a Collard Wrap while fantasizing you're really eating Death by Chocolate.
3. The Play With Your Food Diet. You're so busy making a castle out of your mashed potatoes, you forget to eat them.
4. The Food Chess Diet. You and a friend play chess using food tidbits as chess pieces. You are only allowed to eat when you capture your friend's players. You lose the game and you lose weight.
5. The Rolling Table Diet. You sit on a chair on wheels, trying to eat at a table on wheels. The motorized floor under your table is constantly shifting, so you don't get to eat much, and thus lose weight. (This is similar to The Seasick Diet, but takes place in your own land-lubbing home.)
6. The Fisherperson Diet. A fisherperson holds a pole whose end is attached to a morsel of food in your mouth. Every time you try to bite down on the food, the fisherperson pulls the food away.
7. The Puffed Food Diet. All your favorite foods are re-made in the style of puffed wheat or puffed rice. Your Cheese Ravioli is now mostly air, so you don't gain any weight.
8. The Mock Puffed Food Diet. In this diet, all the foods you like to eat are made of styrofoam, to resemble the Puffed Food Diet. Now you can't eat the food at all. (You try to, and spit it out.) You really lose weight.
9. The Edible Flowers Diet. You are only allowed to eat edible flowers. You get bored with them and eat nothing, thus lose weight.
10. The Love Diet. You munch playfully on your sweetheart's hand. You gain no calories; you lose weight. Your sweetheart loses interest in you because s/he preferred you with love handles.

Ok, maybe that was goofy more so than funny - but, I don't know about you but the Rolling Table Diet sounds like fun! And the Mock Puffed Food Diet does not sound fun at all.

This weekend we have absolutely nothing planned. Nothing worth noting here anyhow. Which means we should be able to find plenty of time to exercise, watch NASCAR and Hockey - Go Blackhawks!

What do you have planned this weekend?

Whatever you do this weekend enjoy it and stay healthy!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 33 - Lasagna In Da House

Yesterday my son & I walked around Lake Andrea (2.25 miles) in 44:40, that's two full minutes better than the last time we walked it. The walk sure felt good, and we sweated good too as it was sunny & in the 70s. The new PR (personal record) or not it was a genuinely great time burning calories!

What exercise have you enjoyed recently?

School is ending in the next couple of weeks for our kids. The summer break is all but here. We have no firm/set 'big' vacation plans this year. Just a week trip to a few colleges in Illinois, Iowa & Wisconsin. Our oldest (girl) is a senior next year and the three boys are close behind her. Part of me is glad we don't have an extravagant vacation planned; too much temptation & opportunity to fall off our healthy mission. Don't get me wrong, I love me a nice vacation, but it is not what I need this year. And I don't need a super~duper vacation to have a blast with the family.

Who has vacation plans for the summer?

Tonight is lasagna night! Or better explained by being lasagna night it also means my wife is cooking. She is a good cook, but she doesn't like to cook & therefore doesn't cook much. She gets an urge to whip up her amazing lasagna 2-3 times a year. The kids wish it would happen 2-3 times a week ;-) This lasagna has not been modified in any way to be healthier than usual. So we can't pretend it is anything but what it is, an indulgence and a gift. So I'll enjoy me a savory portion tonight, just one, and no more. Which also means my exercise before dinner needs to be savory as well. Yeah, the words savory & exercise, they don't seem to go together do they? Nor do scrumptious, delectable or ambrosial; all of which also describe said lasagna. How about I just exercise my tail off without an adjective to describe it…

Go get yourself some Thursday...

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 32 - Snack Attacks

So how did Tuesday go for you? It was a fine day for myself. A good job of working though my dumbbell routine and a good job adding a couple of new dumbbell exercises suggested by Jody in her Tuesday post. Thanks Jody, I still feel them in my arms & abs. Tuesday was also a good eating day and a good day at work and home too. Hope your Tuesday was as good or better.

Wednesday is here, and it shall be a cardio day I do declare! Plan is to walk around Lake Andrea with my son after work, haven't checked the weather report; hope it plays nice. If you get a moment today check in on a fellow blogger I follow regularly, Lisa ...she is a veteran blogger and has made progress since starting her journey but seems to be in a slight rut lately. Maybe together we can help her out and on her way forward again.

Yesterday I had a snack attack, a serious snack attack. You know the kind with teeth, claws and some sort of jedi-mind powers that can lift and throw a perfectly healthy human, or a very overweight one, into a vat of ice cream. Yeah, one of those dreaded snackinators came calling on me. Just a month back I'd still be digesting that ice cream. However yesterday, a month into my mission, I repelled that attack; albeit barely. It occurred on my drive home and I was oh-so close to taking a left towards those golden arches. I told myself I'd get a chicken sandwich, like that wouldn't hurt.

How do you suppress snack attacks?

Thankfully I drove by, shook my head and grabbed a stick of gum. It was an impulse move grabbing that stick of gum; it was the closest thing to food I had in the vehicle. To my surprise just a few minutes into some frantic chewing, and I did chew as if I might find a prize inside if I just chewed hard enough, after just a few minutes my hunger abated, my mood calmed and I made it home having added no empty calories to my body.

Maybe I should have known it as it seems obvious today, but chewing a stick of sugarless gum does suppress the urge to snack. A strong flavor gum would likely do an even better the job I imagine. Not sure if it is a physiological thing, or, a mental thing, but whatever it is about gum, chewing it slays the snackinator.

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

p.s... Happy Birthday Dad! I miss you with all my heart & soul. Until the day we meet again - stay peaceful.

Day 31 - Magic Fitness?

Have you see an advertisement lately that sounds something like this... 10 foods that burn fat... Or this... Our pill, powder or drink slims & gets you ripped... Or...

I'm sure we've all seen ads like these in magazines or websites, perhaps even on some of our favotite blogs. I've peeked into the details of a few of these ads over the years; usually at times when I wasn't dieting or working at getting healthy. Just a few minutes hoping to discover that magic to quickly returning to the fitness glory of my youth. Each time I've come away unconvinced & unwilling to go there.

But, still these marketing marvels get me wondering. Just last week I read up on two such popularly seen pills. After 30 minutes of reading I had more questions than answers, unconvinced again. Plus there seem to be some serious law suits alleging neglegence that may have resulted in harm to health including death. Justified legal action or not, I have no idea. But the risk doesn't justify the lack of certain & safe reward as I see it.

Therefore as I write this I doubt there is any way to do this short of earnest discipline & effort.

If anyone has opinion or experience to the contrary I'd enjoy hearing about it; do you?

Today is work out day, I took yesterday off. Thinking dumbbells after work. Maybe a walk too if I can, hope so.

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 30 - Change #5

Time to commit to another change. This week's is a food commitment. Well, maybe it is a behavior commitment. That makes no sense, everything we do to get healthy is a behavior commitment. Yep, it is a food commitment. Why am I rambling?

For perspective, I know for a fact I have done great harm to myself in not knowing when enough is enough. Not necessarily when eating a meal, sure there too, but I am talking about on a daily basis. Eating late is something I've done out of habit for years. Dinner may be at 5, 6, or 7 p.m., and bed time a few hours later. But seldom a day would go by I wouldn't eat another snack, sneak a nibble of something, just before bed. And I am not talking a 100 calories snack, nope. Two or three times that amount most likely and more so on some evenings. Why? No idea. But I know it is not only not healthy, but I know I cannot get healthy if I allow myself to do so. Therefore...

Change 5...

• Don't eat after dinner

For the past month I have lived this change, minus one or two days, and my progress to date certainly has something to do with not eating anymore after dinner is done. So today it just seems to make sense to chalk it up as a change to commit to.

Have you made any commitments to change lately that are making a difference in your life?

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 29 - 11% Progress

FIRST > Happy Birthday to my sister! She is three years younger than I and has been healthy her whole life for the most part. May that be true for a long time to come.

SECOND > I have been given an award! Thank You River and also Kyle. River bestowed it upon me yesterday, and Kyle did so back on April 30th. I must confess that when Kyle awarded it to me I didn't understand it, how awards work here, so I didn't make the connection as to it's meaning and the thoughtfulness behind giving it to me. Recall, I am new to Blogger, as of today I've only been here 29 days. But today, I do get it, understand the awards I've seen on the many blogs I follow and I am honored to have been recognized by both Kyle & River. Thank You both of you!!!

Now that I get it, I then too recognize that in accepting this award I have the following rules to consider:

1-Get really excited that you got the coolest award EVER!
2-Choose one of the following and post it on a blog post.
(a) Get really drunk and blog for 15 minutes straight, or for as long as you can focus
(b) Write about your most embarrassing moment.
(c) Write a “Soundtrack of your childhood” post.
(d) Make your next blog a ‘vlog’/video blog.
(e) Take a picture of yourself first thing in the morning, before you do anything else (hair, make up, etc) and post it.
3-Pass the award on to at least three, but preferably more, awesome bloggers as yourself. Don’t forget to tell them.

For Number 1; oh yeah I am excited! No doubt there...
For Number 2; Hhmmm, 2a is the obvious choice but man I am not looking for a hangover, 2c is not doable as I am no mix-master, 2d is something I am not set up for and should fix, 2e requires me to think about doing so as I wake up which is not likely, so... 2b it is (see below).
For Number 3; There are so many I could pass this on to, but in sticking to the rule for just three I shall bestow this upon... Blue, Trina, and Dave

All three have inspired me in various ways, gave me things to think about which 29 days ago I wouldn't have considered, and simply are very deserving of this honor for their efforts. Blue, Trina & Dave please accept this award and have fun in passing it on.

Here it is 2b; My most embarrassing moment... Way back in college on a hot summer evening my girl friend & I went for a swim which turned into skinny-dipping. We had only been seeing each other a week or so and this was the first time we had seen each other naked. About 15 minutes into the 'skin swim' she swam back from the raft we were on to shore, and started getting dressed. I got back to shore just as she finished dressing, just in time to see her grab up my clothes and towel and bolt! She ran off, what could I do but chase her, and I did until she tossed them over a 8-foot fence into the back yard of a house twenty some yards away. She said sorry and ran back to the car and took off!!! Pissed, obviously, I made my way over the fence and started grabbing up my clothes. As I reached for them on the grass the back door to the house opened and an eruption of cheers and jeers followed. Before me now was a dozen college kids well on their way with their evening drunk. Some I knew, others not, regardless I was quite embarrassed and dressed in record time. I got over that quickly though and joined the party; haven't thought about that in years. Oh, she showed up at the party an hour or two later. It was all a set up I never saw coming; college prank. We had a few more weeks of good times and that was it; oh to be in college again. Thank goodness that in the days before digital cameras, you-tube and the like.

THIRD > Can I get an Oh Yeah! As of this morning I am 11% of the way to my goal; I've lost 13 pounds in four weeks, 3 of them this past week. Today I weighed in at 307 pounds. After another week I'll cash in on my goal for reaching the 10% Progress mark assuming I haven't had a backslide back under 10%; and that aint happening.

Feeling good today; hope you are too this Sunday!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 28 - Vernon County, WI

Good Morning Blogger!

This morning my wife & I, along with my brother in law and two of our nieces, have awaken in Vernon County, Wisconsin. Well I am awake (5:30 a.m.), they continue their slumber. I am making this blog post from my blackberry; hence why the test post yesterday of our youngest cat.

That is Monica, my niece, in this photo. We stopped for dinner last night at Quaker Steak & Lube in Madison, WI; about 75 minutes south of here. QS&L is known for it's wings and some wickedly wonderful sauces. I am a wing fanatic so we always hit this place when we make this trip.

Monica is what I call a 'saucey' wing eater, just look at all that sauce on her face :-) ,and that's after wiping her mug for this photo. Alicia, her older sister not pictured, she's the opposite, a 'spiffy' wing eater; not a drop of sauce on her anywhere as she worked her plate.

You may be wondering what a place like QS&L did to my 'diet'. Actually I think I did well. I had a single order of wings vs the 1/2 bucket the old me would have started with. A side salad was enjoyed with it too. Yesterday I ate very well before QS&L, knowing I'd go there for a late dinner. I also left work early and got in an exercise session on the home gym. So I am hoping at worst yesterday was a wash. We'll see tomorrow as it is weigh-in day.

Why are we here? This 200+ acre farm in the middle of nowhere is where we hunt. It is owned by a close family friend and he is talking about selling it. So we've come up to ponder buying a portion of it as we'd hate to lose the ability to hunt here. Today we'll walk all over this place to size up a 50 acre hunk to make an offer on. You know what that means; "fresh-air cardio" baby!

Well I hear movement from the bedrooms, so I'm about to have company and need to wrap this up.

You getting in your cardio today?

Have a phenominal weekend!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Test email to blog post w/ picture

That is 'Zinger' messin w/ my easter present

Day 27 - Oh Yeah! NSV

Friday - It is Friday everyone!

But you knew that. I am liking this Friday quite a bit so far because I've had a Non-Scale Victory today!

For a long time now I have used either the inner-most belt hole or the one a hole outward when I've had to add some breathing room after a bad meal, bad day, bad whatever. Each day would be different and it wouldn't be unusual for me to adjust one or more times during the day. But now, and for that past week or more, that's no longer the case. It dawned on me this morning that I haven't used that one a hole outward in a while. Lately I have been comfortable leaving my belt constantly secure to that inner-most belt hole. SWEET!

So, to celebrate I'm going to have me a double-cheeseburger and fries for lunch- whoohoo! Yeah, NOT… Seriously, I'm celebrating this by simply recognizing it and recording it on my blog under 'My Non-Scale Victories' (see sidebar on left). Today's entry there shall read: >Regularly using the inner-most belt-hole; no longer adjusting outward after bad meals or days

Look forward to having to go another hole inward. Except that there is not another hole inward to go to on this belt. So either I get to punch a new hole or buy a new belt. Something I'll have to figure out when I get there.

Exercise and my recent discipline to getting it done has certainly helped this NSV occur. Yesterday I planned to get exercise in, what was it I said; "I have an elliptical machine that hasn't been used in about a week; I am going to make it wish it had never been assembled"... well I am not sure if the machine had any regrets when I got off, it did it's job and wore me out. I put in a full one-hour on that thing yesterday. When I hit my previous best of 45 minutes I still had gas in the tank so I kept going. At the 50 minute mark though my tank was quickly drying up; just my mind growing tired I figured. Determined to push it a minute or two more I stayed on. When I saw that one-hour tick by I said enough, you win elliptical. Until next time.

What was your latest Non-Scale Victory?

Have an amazing Friday!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 26 - Tick Tock

Super busy day today so I need to speed blog here. Ah, speed blog, that made me recall dinner with my son last night at Applebee's. Not a favorite place of mine, not even close, but I tried a dish off of their new 550 calories or less menu and was quite pleased. Good idea and glad it was on the menu. But that’s not what speed blog reminded me of re: dinner there. There were signs up all over the place advertising speed dating. At Applebee's? Never done speed dating, I am married and have not been on the market for many years and when I was the concept would not have appealed to me I'm sure. But at Applebee's? Well, whatever generates business for them I suppose.


So, short on time, but regardless this day shall be mine. Can't find motivation outside as it is monsoon season here in Chicagoland. Therefore I have to look inside myself for motivation today. And I shall gain it through a series of victories I intend to chalk up. They are as follows…

1-I have a storage-area-network for our enterprise system (SAP) that needs to be replaced. Today I must align the project plan our vendor so that we can meet the fresh request to replace it months earlier than originally planned; this will be done.

2-I have a salad bar in the cafeteria at work that see's me make the same salad most days; today I will change it up and snap that rut.

3-I have a file & print replacement project that has hit a wall with regards to which back up technology to use; that won't be the case at day's end.

4-I have an elliptical machine that hasn't been used in about a week; I am going to make it wish it had never been assembled.

5-I have a wife, an amazingly gorgeous and lovely woman of a wife; I am going to… well let's stop right there.

What victories shall you chalk up today?

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 25 - Mad Cat

My wife & I have 4 kids, all teenagers. Yeah I know, what were we thinking? We also have 4 cats. Yeah I know, just how hard did we hit our heads?



One of our cats, Crush (pictured), has a lot of dog in him. His primary canine trait is that he begs for food while we eat dinner. And because we apparently hit our heads rather hard we will indulge him with a small bite or two at most meals. Meat, just about any meat, he works those big eyes hard for a taste.



As of late Crush has not been so happy. For 25 days now he hasn't been getting the goodies as he used to. Simply our meals have been healthier; more veggies, fruits, better grains and a bit less meat. Just a bit less. Getting healthy or not, I am a carnivore; always will be. However since I've been eating portion-wise I have been less generous in giving into his pandering. Poor Crush; he can get healthy too.

Tuesday was a good day. Ate good, didn't exercise though. After four days in a row getting the exercise in I decided to take a day off. My lazy-boy needed me you could say.

Stairs, a quick stair thought. Recall my change #2 was to take the stairs at work. And I have been doing so, two or three times a day. Yesterday I ascended the four times; my first four-peat! May not sound like much but I got a small 'Oh Yeah' out of it.

Busy day today; work, lunch with a colleague, dinner with one of my sons, then a school event with another son. I'm ready for it and I'll have it my way, healthy!

Its hump day, what are going to do with it?

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 24 - My Rewards

Monday was a great day. Ate superbly, hit the dumbbells and had my best workout with them so far, just a fine day. Let's see if Tuesday can go just as well. How was your Monday?

Ok, yesterday I wrote about rewards - Thanks for your comments on rewards, opinions on deserving them, affordability, etc... So yesterday I stopped short of defining my goals. Having left myself hanging there I thought about them often throughout Monday and have made my list. The structure is to reward myself for every 10% of progress. I am looking to lose 121 pounds from my start of 320 pounds so every 12 pounds lost is another 10% and a reward will be mine! I set this up based on stuff I like and want; good characteristics for a reward don't you think? However, setting each reward at 10% had me thinking that that is 10 rewards and those can add up to a lot of cash if I don't show a little restraint. To add a bit of balance I set it up so the odd-tens, 10%, 30% etc... these would be fairly inexpensive rewards. At least compared to the even-tens, 20%, do I really need to explain that ? ;-)

Enough explaining, here are my rewards which I intend to visualize myself enjoying as a means to motivate me to get to my goal weight of 199 pounds...

My Rewards~
10%~Work out clothes (all I have now are old t-shirts, shorts & sweats from the 90's)

20%~Computer bag (the one I have now is in bad shape)

30%~Three Pack of Hot Sauce (to feed my hot sauce collection, nearly 300 bottles with room for more)

40%~Masterbuilt Hitch-Haul® Cargo Carrier (We are a family of hunters and this will come in handy)

50%~Four Pack of Hot Sauce

60%~Hunting Rifle (Savage Arms, not sure yet whether to get a 7mm, a .308 or a .30-06; time yet to decide; hunting season is in November, can I achieve this one by then?)

70%~Five Pack of Hot Sauce

80%~Bedtime Reader's Nightstand (actually to use by my chair in the family room)

90%~Six Pack of Hot Sauce

100%~Daytona 500 Week of NASCAR racing (My wife and I are big NASCAR fans and we've talked about going to Daytona soon so we may as well earn it. This one, the 100% reward, is a joint goal. My wife is working at losing a chunk of weight too. So which ever one of us that gets to their 100% first has the added incentive to help motivate the other the rest of the way because we want to go to Daytona!)

If you have a rewards list you are working toward I would love to see it; who has one?

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 23 - Change #4

Hope everyone had a good weekend and a successful week last week. A new week is here, welcome to another Monday.


Monday's are change days for me in my mission. These have been the hardest posts I make each week. You would think it may be easy since I am in no doubt making many changes from the old-unhealthy me to the new-healthier me. When it comes to this post it is not just about changes, but about a sincere commitment to that change. As well they are meant to be beyond the obvious, e.g. eating better, getting in some exercise, etc. This is only my 4th change and identifying impacting changes that really define a new me are not no-brainer's, I take them seriously.

This week's change may not seem like a real change to some at first but instead a want or a goal, however it definitely is a change for me.

Change 4...

• REWARD MYSELF FOR SUCCESS

Huh... Reward myself? Yep, rewarding myself is not a behavior, or better yet not a discipline, which I have ever practiced genuinely when it comes to my health. In the past if I wanted something, I went and got it. Not much thought to whether I deserved or needed it. If I didn't want something then I avoided it. Not much thought to whether I might be better off for having it. Sound familiar at all? It sounds like my old eating / exercise habits to me.

What I've been missing is a discipline to identify that bridge between my health behaviors (good and bad) and which are in my best interest and that of my family both today and in the future. Rewards may be part if that bridge, that discipline, I'll need to sustain momentum and motivation through to the end of this mission and then maintain a healthy lifestyle forever onward.

Is self-reward really necessary? Can't I just get it done without a 'carrot' to chase? Perhaps, probably, or; maybe not. Let me try and add a hint of I am placing self-reward into perspective. Here I am talking about rewards for healthy behavior. What about my professional behavior? My career is filled with plenty of risk and thus plenty of consequence & reward is present. I've done well to attain much reward. Why? Because I've always known what my efforts can bring me if I work smart; the tangible financial gain and the intangible sense of being valued if not necessary. Knowing these rewards are there to be had, I've chased them. Same could be said for my behavior towards family and marriage. The tangible fulfillment of the want for love & companionship, and the intangible sense of pride from providing for the needs of those I love. Knowing these rewards are there to be had, I've worked smart at being a good husband and father.

So, what about being healthy? As all of us driven to lose weight have made the decision to learn what healthy behaviors are and finally acknowledged the tangible and intangible benefits of being healthy are there to be had if we want them. But, for whatever reason, as clear and righteous as those benefits are now becoming apart of us; we've really known them for years but ignored them until recently. For some of us decades of ignorance is in our wake. Together we could fill hundreds of blog pages listing these benefits. But listing them is not my intent here. My intent with committing to a new change weekly is to forge behaviors that will increase my chance of succeeding in my health mission so that my health becomes as great as the successes I have achieved in career and marriage.

I chose to see myself as victorious!

I acknowledge my accomplishments by celebrating my successes small & large in ways that motivate me to go on and achieve my ultimate goal.

I control who I am, I've acknowledged that several times in this blog. Part of that acknowledgement means realizing I control what makes me feel good and keeps me going for more.

There you have it, my change for week four; I will reward myself for success.

What about the actual rewards. Oh worry not, my mind is in hyper-drive working through that detail believe me. Those thoughts aren't ready to put on paper and share yet, but they will be very soon; later this week soon. I've all but decided to set up rewards as I achieve each 10% mark in my mission; for me 10% = 12 pounds. As I am close to that first mark now, I have to get this nailed this week. Stay tuned...

How about you, do you reward your successes and if so how?

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 22 - 8% Progress

First of all - Happy Mother's Day to all; have a great time today giving Mom's everywhere a big Thank You for all they do.

So lets get down to brass tacks, today is weigh in day; Today I weigh 310 pounds...
After three weeks I am 10 pounds lighter than when I started, 3 of those pounds were lost this past week.
After three weeks I am 8% of the way to my goal - Oh Yeah!

Achieved my exercise goals I set for myself at the beginning of the week; to exercise at least 4 times, two of each cardio and weights. It is going to be a busy week this week so I am going to maintain that as a 'minimum' standing weekly exercise goal for now. Certainly I hope to raise the bar and increase the amount of exercise I do in a few weeks after I've proven to myself I can at least meet this goal consistently.

My gorgeous wife & I are on our way out for a walk now, so off to a good start on that goal for this my fourth week.

Again, Happy Mother's Day!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 21 - Hello Weekend

So who has plans for an awesome weekend? Certainly Mother's Day will see most have plans of some sort with family. Myself, Sunday is just a day at home as there are kids sports activities planned. Beyond lavishing my wife with some gifts Sunday will be fairly routine. Recall we celebrated our Mother's Day with a brunch last weekend for all the moms and grandmas; so glad no buffets this weekend.

Today I get my wife all to myself so we're going on a date. Dinner will be included, Cooper's Hawk, so there will be a bit of temptation to survive. But I am trying a technique I read somewhere he on blogger; go online and preview the menu before you go and decide on a healthy option to order. The idea is doing so lessens chances you will give into temptation's best shot at beating you, when you are at the table looking over the menu on a hungry gut surveying all of the many non-healthy options seducing you. Having look at the menu this morning I am going to order the Pistachio Crusted Grouper. Now I must admit, these technique does seem a bit rigid and may take a hint of fun out of dining out. While I have decided to try this I will listen to the specials the wait staff has to offer and compare them against my choice and then make the final decision. We'll see how it goes tonight.

What about exercise, who has exercise planned this weekend? Myself, I'll be working through a home-gym weight-workout today; actually soon after posting this. The past couple of days I have got in my cardio so not planning any today. Thursday I did a 2.2 mile / 41.5 minute walk and Friday I did 45 minutes on the elliptical. Sunday I might get some cardio in; I only say might as it is supposed to be a windy, cold, wet weekend here and I'd like to get outside for that cardio if I can. Where I'd really like to go for a walk is back to the forest preserve I walked in this past Thursday evening. This is a place nearby which I had never been to before. It was far larger than I expected and excellent for walks and runs of distances of a mile or two to five plus if you wish to make it one lap around this place. Weather permitting we will do so. Hmmm, I think you can call that a Non-Scale Victory; perhaps it's more of a discovery. However had I not decided to go on this mission I would likely have never gone to that preserve and discovered how cool it is. Yeah, I think I chalk it up as a NSV. No?

Sunday is weigh in day for me. Not expecting to have a let down today so I am hopeful to report a nice loss tomorrow. I'll be happy with anything at least 1.5 pounds less than last Sunday. That's my goal, 1.5 pounds a week minimum.

Have fun with your plans, your exercise, your day today!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 20 - Lighten up

Nope, Lighten up does not refer to a thought on losing weight. Although that would've been a good title for a rant on 'lightening up'. Instead I myself need to lighten up if only for a day. My recent posts have been fairly serious in trying to undertand when to eat, exercise, take supplements and what if any, etc... and thanks to the many of you who have shared your thoughts in a serious and sincere manner.

But today it is a day to give the brain a rest from all those heavy thoughts and inject some laughter. So here I go...



A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy replied, "No ma'am, they're dead."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: Ever wonder about people who pay $2 for a bottle of Evian water?
A: Just spell "Evian" backwards!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Johnny: Daddy, are caterpillars good to eat?
Father: Have I not told you never to mention such things during meals!
Mother: Why did you say that, Junior? Why did you ask the question?
Johnny: It's because I saw one on daddy's lettuce, but now it's gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With more than twelve billion catalogs being mailed annually, it's little wonder that marketers are distributing mailing lists anywhere possible. In one particularly cruel move, the proprietors of a chocolate catalog purchased the mailing list of a weight-loss organization. Chocolate sales rose almost immediately, but the weight-loss group wised up and now keeps it clients' names to itself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A family of three tomatoes were walking downtown one day when the little baby tomato started lagging behind. The big father tomato walks back to the baby tomato, stomps on her, squashing her into a red paste, and says, "Ketchup!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, that's enough from me. I take no credit for authoring any of them, thanks to ahajokes.com.

Got a funny? Share'em if you got'em.

Laugh out loud today!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 19 - Supplement It?

Yesterday was a great day as it was my wife's birthday. We had a good time celebrating her notching of another year even though we each included a slice of birthday pie in the celebration. Got a work out in yesterday which I hadn't planned as time made itself available, cool. But today, today I am feeling more hungry than I have in many a day. Could it be that slight slip off the health-wagon with piece of pie that has my system hearing to the hunger pains more today? That is my guess. Whatever the cause they can make all the noise they want, I am not listening though.

Been pondering what else I might need to consider down the road to help my progress, or maintain it, or in general improve my health period. Nutritional supplements seems to be a gaba-gazillion dollar industry which means people are buying and using. Myself, other than a multi vitamin a couple times a week ( I rarely remember to take one ) and the recent use of a protein shake or bar as I've started my mission here, other than that I am not making the supplement industries stock tick upwards. I did some reading on the what's out there to see if I am missing the boat and I really can't tell. Seems more support for using them than not, but no real consensus on what to use and when or really why. Part of the confusion, at least for me, is that there are so many different supplements. Thousands of vitamins, minerals, oils and combinations of them. Powders, liquids, gels, oh my! Some of my favorites as I read, Ginkgo biloba; sounds like what I order in a Chinese restaurant. Chondroitin, wasn't that one of the monsters in those bad Japanese films that battled Godzilla?

Not sure any of these are really needed if I eat balanced meals. But then maybe my diet isn't as balanced as it should be at the vitamin & mineral level. How about you, do you take supplements routinely to shore up your diet?

Thursday is here; does anyone ever care about Thursday? We all look forward to Friday. Then Wednesday, hump-day, gets some cheer as it is the halfway mark to the weekend. But Thursday, which could be seen as Friday Eve, gets no real love does it. No idea why I thought of that and no more reason why I thought to jot that down here. Good mood I guess.

Happy Friday Eve to all!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 18 - When Do I...

When should a person trying to lose weight do their exercise? Obviously a person's personal/professional schedules will influence when they have time to exercise, but forgetting those for a moment, when is the best time of day to exercise? From what I gather in some various readings it seems the best time is first thing in the morning before eating; Agree?

In my reading I recall the notion that when you exercise with an empty stomach then you are burning fat, but when exercising on a recently fed stomach you are burning energy from that food. While this on the surface would seem to make some sense I have to imagine what you've eaten has something to do with how readily available that food is to be used as energy. If I down a piece of fruit I'd expect it to be ready to burn quickly, but a turkey leg will need longer to give me fuel; Right?

Assuming the best time to eat is after exercise, when should a person eat after exercise? From what I gather it seems the best time is within 15 minutes of concluding exercise; Agree?

Some of what I read suggests that it doesn't matter if you don't eat up to two hours after exercise to refuel. In part I hope this is more the reality than the suggestion you have a 15 minute window only. After I work out I am thirsty, but not necessarily in a mind to dash right to the pantry. perhaps I haven't got to that point yet in my exercising yet though.

My thoughts are on those questions after yesterdays experience. I committed to working out yesterday but life happened so my intent for when & how I'd exercise when I woke up didn't materialize in reality. Oh I did workout. But not right after work as I had planned to have the time to get in a high quality session. Instead due to my own bumbling of things that had to be done I didn't get time to myself until 9:30 p.m. yesterday. As I am a 5 a.m. riser, by 9:30 p.m. on most days I am not interested in sweating. But, motivated by my mission I at least altered my planned workout to one I knew I could do at that time so I'd at least get some exercise in. I had eaten dinner, a light meal really, at about 8:45 p.m., so not quite an hour before I started using the exercise bands in the living room and doing crunches from a stay-ball. As I exercised I didn't feel any ill effect from having just eaten, but again it was a light meal. I was tired from the day's work, but still managed to feel good about the exercise band routine I went through. When I was done my blood was pumping and I could've stayed up for a while longer if desired but I knew it was time for me to turn in so I did. That’s when a I started asking myself the questions above.

Whatever the right answer is in terms of when the best time is and when to eat considering exercise, regardless I have to imagine that if you can exercise/eat when ideal, as long as you do so then you are still better off.

A day off exercise today, for good reason… Happy Birthday to my gorgeous wife!

We still plan to eat well with a mulligan being taken for some birthday pie (she likes pie more so than cake).

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!