Aren't Kids Sneaky Inspirations?

A great weekend for my wife & I. We went to see Ashley at college & got there just in time for her soccer game. They won, but she did not play. Being one of two freshman on the team playing time has to be earned. She played in their first two games. Go figure that the game she gets zip time is the game we drive 4 hours to go see. Oh well, we went to see her much more than we went to see her play.

After the game we went back to her dorm room; not as neat as it was when we dropped her off there a month ago. We met some of her new friends who were on their way out to go bowling. We took her to dinner somewhere she loves to go; Olive Garden- yuck! There we chit chatted for a couple of hours and just hung out. All seems to be going well with her at school. She adjusted much quicker than we expected. Not that we expected her to have any serious issues with the transition. It is very pleasing to know that your kid was able to leave home and take flight in a big way. Oh she has a long flight ahead of her, but so far she is soaring.

Here is a fun picture I snapped on the way home yesterday...

A tanker truck filled with coffee; wonder how many cups that equals?

We didn't take too  many photos on the trip, and I don't have anymore to share here right now; but there is one photo that I wish I had taken but didn't.

When we were in Ashley's dorm I was reading what she had scribbled on her white board. Allow me to note here that her white board looks marvelous as it was expertly hung by a master of stuff hanging a month ago. Ok, the hanging bit was not really the marvelous part. What was marvelous was what she had scribbled. Any guesses what she had written there?

Nope, not how much she misses us.
Nope, not when she is coming home next.
Nope, not even what she is going to buy us for Christmas.

She had goals writing on her board. Those objectives she considers so important that she wanted daily reminder of them. Huh, what a novel idea...

Decide what is important to achieve, commit it to writing, and display it in a place that when you wake everyday, you remind yourself of what is important to you.

Aren't kids sneaky inspirations? 

I'll be buying a white board today after work.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

In Short, In truth, Here I am

I've received a bunch, I mean a BUNCH,of inquiries as to ny whereabouts. I chose to reply to one of them, using that reply to organize my thoughts, and then after sending that email share them with all here via this post....

Hi Jody, thanks for checking up on me; I hope all has been well with you!

In short, everything is Ok here. Family is happy, healthy, everything is well with our home, work and school lives.

In truth, after we returned from vacation in early July I struggled to get my mojo back for forgoing ahead with my mission to slim down to 199. For a couple of weeks I kept doing the things I had been, but oddly the exercise was harder to get through, the meal discipline was harder to manage, the balancing of me-first in with my non-me priorities was harder to execute.

Even as I sit here and type now, I do not know why what was so easy, so enjoyable a year ago; I do not know why it suddenly got so hard. The best I can rationalize is that I was beginning to mentally burn out to some degree. Seeing that I knowingly decided to step back and take a break from what was proving difficult, I have no doubt that was it.

So here I am today, the weekend drawing to a close, August days away from closing as well. I've stayed away from the scale as its been a source of difficulty; difficulty in not seeing number continue downward. Today, I would guess it is 10 pounds greater than where is was a couple of months ago. Exercise has been very sporadic, my eating has been inconsistent from day to day.

Over the past couple days I've caught myself thinking more as I did a year ago. We (my wife & I) have put conscious effort into reversing the difficulty and regaining momentum. Over the next week we look to work on our consistency a day at a time. This morning we got off our butts and got them moving again in a big way with a 6.9 mile walk along a nearby forest preserve trail.

What is most frustrating is even through this difficult period, we have not forgotten how important it is to get healthy, to stay healthy. The reasons I started this mission some sixteen months ago have not changed. While the challenges and results of what we do vary from day to day, month to month; the reasons for living healthy lives are constant.

Understanding this, we must now harness the importance of these reasons in order to reclaim commitment and resume consistency.

I'll check in on your blog and those of others who I've missed this week!

p.s.. the picture at the top there is of my wife & daughter exchanging a tearful goodbye as we dropped her off at college nearly three weeks ago.


Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 368 - Three Something Wednesday

Not much response to the riddle, trivia yesterday. Perhaps a bad selection from the fun bag on my part. Lets give it another day and see if anyone takes a peek back to yesterday for a crack at any of these before I give out the answers. I know one member of my family who I believe peeks in here from time to time should recognize that castle. "Should", being the operative word there.

So what shall we do today?

Lets do something responsible for ourselves, something sincere for someone else, and something a few notches outside of our comfort zones.

Here are my three somethings...

For Myself:
Spend some time in reflection upon a commitment I've made? No More Fast Food.
A year ago yesterday I made that commitment. For the last 8 months of 2010 I bet I didn't eat a fast food meal more than 5 times in total. Here in 2011, I bet I've had a dozen. While not a all out fall of the wagon collapse of this commitment, I think it is safe to say I have a limb or two hanging over the wagons edge.

Today I am committing to getting those limbs safely back within the wagon but reaffirming to that commitment to change. Next week I expect to be released from the hold I've been placed on from lifting weights and strenuous exercise while I recover from last weeks surgery. I will be ready; man I can't wait to grip that bar and knock it around. Fast food will not benefit me in any way towards reaping maximum benefit from that exercise. Choosing to eat No More Fast Food will!

For Someone Else:
I am hoping others, YOU,  who read this will join me in this sincere act for someone else.
The someone else is Lynda over at Taking Less Space. In her post linked there from yesterday she stepped up bravely and owned up to having slipped up hard on the diet yo-yo. Please go read for yourself and help her any way you can.

For Lynda, this is what I have for her to ponder this day... Think, just stop and think quietly (after you read this post of course). Listen to the voices inside right now, who do you hear? I am willing to bet the $3.49 in my pocket that your Evil Inner Dialogue is back and louder than ever. Now listen harder to that evil, can you identify what its been feeding off of that has pumped up it's volume in your head? Find it, whatever it is, and focus on improving/eliminating that one loudest source of evil. For now, forget about all the other sources of angst, today they are not important. One day, today, you can choose to find & fix the primary root of your weight gain. This you can do, today, tomorrow and any day you choose.

Outside My Zone:
I'm going to have some fun with this one, I can't help myself; sorry (not). I have a personal purchase to make soon; not going to say what it is here to protect surprise factor from onlooking eyes. In most buying situations I do not haggle price much if at all. This item does have some room for price haggling. So I am going to haggle my face off.

The amount I may be able to haggle down is irrelevant as I have no intention of making the actual buy today, my need today is product comparison. The fun will come from observing the reactions of the store sales people as I drag them through a haggling that is really more of a hazing.

Do you have three somethings?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 286 - Got Core-Values ?

Chicken Hash

New recipes, most health bloggers like to take on the challenge of a new recipe. I know I certainly do. This past Tuesday I came across a recipe for Chicken Hash. After my wife & I did our cardio we whipped it up for dinner; there you see it pictured.

The picture doesn't do it justice, and if you ask my kids it doesn't deserve any justice. Simply it was too healthy for them. Beans are like boogers to them, my wife too. The sauce was tomato paste based, too thick and tomato'y flavored for them, thus it appealed to them like snot.

Oh well, I liked it just fine. You win some you lose some; and whenever you try to inject a better health option into your day you win regardless. Winning, we all want to win this mission to get healthy we are on. Not a day goes by a blogger doesn't post on how hard it is day in day out to win at this.

How do we win? Oh entire books have been written on that topic, I don't have a book in me. But I do have thoughts on what I believe to be a major ingredient in the recipe for winning; core-values.

It is relatively easy to scribble a list of characteristics we feel we ought to live by. Certainly this is an exercise we ought to perform, list out what defines us; what are our core-values. Have you done so recently? Or have you ever? Take a moment to do so today, this week, or hey how about now?

Here are the core-values I aspire to exhibit in my effort to win my own mission...

HONOR, holding myself to the highest ethical & moral standards. Respecting the needs others and myself while acting responsibility in my endeavors to better the same.

COURAGE, embracing fear so as to overcome it. Bringing the combined strength of my mind, body & beliefs to bear on all challenges.

COMMITMENT, living with determination and dedication. Striving with vigilance for excellence in life.

Now note above I said I aspire to exhibit these core-values. I will not pretend I do so consistently. I am not a Saint, just ask my Mother; second thought please don't ask her.

What I do know is that when I put honor, courage and commitment to practice I am more CONFIDENT, I am WILLING to take on greater challenge, I have more FUN, I am more VALUABLE to myself and others who depend upon me, I PERFORM at a higher level; I WIN.

What core-values do you aspire towards?

 

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 198 - Let's SEE November

Hope that all enjoyed their Halloween. Two of our four kids still trick-o-treat; the oldest and the third oldest. The other two don't want to be bothered by it, or feel they are too cool, etc. Too bad, the other two do it mainly to hang out and have fun with their friends and that they do.

November is here and it is not going to wait around for anyone to enjoy the ride it has in store for us. Nov. 1 will soon be Nov. 2, then 3, 17, 23, 30 and done. So now, this minute, is the time to open your mind to the success possibilities for this month. Is your mind open? If so, then I bet one or more possibilities is dancing before your eyes.

Pick one, you may have more, but just focus on one at a time here. Got one? Great, what do you want to do with this possibility? Your attitude is correct if you think that is a silly question whose only answer is to turn that possibility into reality. Fine, bit harder question then; how are you going to do that?

If you believe it is important that this possibility becomes reality, then it does not deserve to be left to chance. It deserves a plan, a plan you can S E E... If you can see it, then you greatly increase the probability your possibility will become reality. Seeing is not hard, not at all. Simply take that possibility and...

Set a goal for it for this month; remember this is important so be specific with what reality will look like...

Establish a plan for how you will achieve; keep it simple but be sure to consider the actions you will take, the support/facilities you will need, the guidelines/rules you will follow, etc...

Execute your plan an action at a time and continuously review & improve your plan as November unfolds.

Here is the health/fitness Possibility dancing before me now: Weighing less than 250 pounds. If I stay true to what I have been doing, then I will end the month weighing 250 even. But if I amp my act up just a bit more, I can get into a new decade and also into the lower 1/2 of this 200's century. Here is how I shall SEE it...

Set for November if a goal to Weigh-In on Nov. 30th (a special Tuesday w/i for me) at 249.5 or less. My scale reads in tenths, but I record in 1/2 pound increments and I round the tenths up to the next 1/2, so 249.6 will not cut it, 249.5 it must be.

Establish a plan could be as easy as just doing what I have been, BUT... I just told you yesterday that I have been inconsistent with both eating & exercise recently. So leaving it at that shouldn't leave me brimming with confidence, and it doesn't. So here is my plan...

• No Fast Food, Candy, or similar food as poor in quality
• Exercise 5x week; 2x Cardio & 2x Strength & 1 Flexibility Workout (that will be new for me)
• Drink 2 liters, or more, of water a day
• Participate in #NovGTD, log my miles and tweet it up each day
• Calorie intake will be no more that 2000 calories and carb controlled
• Avoid inducing fasting response, eat 6x a day; 3meals and 3 snacks
• Eat breakfast at home to avoid skipping it
• Take fruit to work for snacks to avoid grabbing poor quality snacks at the office coffee shop
• Every other lunch at work will be a visit to the salad bar which is a treat since it is a good one
• Plan out evening meals to avoid creating last minute high-calorie dinners of convenience

Execute the plan. And I shall. I'll also continuously review & improve in my head and as well put up a review for the week prior in my normal Sunday weigh-in posts.

What November possibilities are dancing before your eyes?

 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 179 - All The Weigh

Kenz, over on All The Weigh posted a questionnaire last week. I've seen it answered on a few blogs, have enjoyed the Q&A and am giving it my attention here and now. If you enjoy this, take the time to answer these questions too in a comment on her fantastic blog, or in your own blog post. If you do, let Kenz know so she can enjoy your answers too.

Here are my answers...

1. What was your highest weight, what do you weigh right now and what is your goal weight?
320 pounds, my last weigh-in on 10/3 was 261.5 pounds; my goal wight is 199 pounds. Whew, 320, i can't imagine how I tolerated lugging that load around for as long as I did.

2. What is your #1 motivation for losing weight?
I probably answer this question a bit different each time when asked, there simply just is not one reason. But if I treat '#1' as if it is the most important reason possible, then that reason would be to do all I can not to die at a young age as a result of my own poor choices. And to a lessor extent because I want to wear with confidence swim trunks without also having to wear a tarp of a shirt to cover up the moobage.

3. Have you always been overweight?
No, although I have most of my adult life. I was 'puffy' in high school. I was fit in my early adult years. That gave way to weight gain in my later 20's and eventually obesity by my mid-30's.

4. When you want to give up what inspires you to keep going?
The fear of posting on my blog that I gave up, that I quit something. One of the greatest benefits of blogging is the accountability factor. The thought of having to say to all who read that I gave up; not a pleasant one in my head.

5. What is the #1 thing you look forward to when you hit your goal weight?
Writing that blog post. I have it scripted out in my head, it will be epic! As well I look forward to strapping on 121 pounds of weight (not sure how) and feeling once again - one last time - how that used to feel as a celebratory remembrance of what I used to be and how far I have come.

6. Do you have support on your weight loss journey?
Yes, oh my yes. My wife is there for me. My kids are too. Our cats benefit too as I give them more nibbles off my plate; yes our cats beg like dogs. And of course, the weight loss / fitness blogging community is in my corner in a big way too.

7. What is your favorite exercise?
Weights, free weights over machines. I love feeling strong and acting strong.

8. What is the most important thing you have learned on your weight loss journey?
Choices, it all comes down to choices. You have the power to choose, nobody forces you to eat crap and lay around like a pile of it. The program, the diet, the exercise, the secret to succeeding is not in any of them. It is within you. CHOOSE one that you feel good about, CHOOSE to make up your own, but just CHOOSE to get up and move more and eat smarter.

9. What is one thing you have given up that you miss the most?
Ordering at the drive thru and getting your feast within 38 seconds. That instant gratification stimulus of the fast food world is as addictive as the food itself. Eating healthy takes more effort, time; and it should. Being healthy, being happy, being alive is an amazing reward and the best rewards come from passionate & determined effort.

10. What is your strategy for losing weight?
I follow no plan because I find them to be boring and not very fun. If I can't have fun doing this then take me back to 320 please. Let me tell you something, I am having allot of fun. What fuels the fun is myself, I believe in myself. I simply believe in myself to make the choices necessary to get healthier each day. Think about that for a second... believing in yourself, how simple is that? Simply I choose each day to eat less, or burn more, or both. Keeping it that simple removes allot of stress from the mission.

The hardest part was realizing that this is what I want. You have to want to be healthy more than you want to just eat food to eat food.... Until a person can say that then he/she hasn't made the commitment needed to succeed; I myself have made that commitment. I've said it before, many have, getting healthy starts mentally; realizing why you want to get healthy and what it is going to require from you. If a person doesn't know how much, or how little, work this will be... how do they know they are ready for it?

Healthy weight loss does not happen by accident. We have to get ready for it, do a little homework. Know why you want it, what is involved is, and how you will achieve what you want. If you've done that, you've done the hard part. Now, if you believe in what you have come up with, you've set yourself up for success. All that is left is the simple part, commit to your belief in yourself and go gett'em.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 143 - BBQ'n & Drive'n

Hope all had a fine Labor Day yesterday. A good one was had by our clan. Since I took Sunday off from exercise I chose to exercise Monday holiday or not. My son & I got in a dumbbell routine and did five sets of push ups & sit ups. A good workout, and a needed one considering the food temptations to come.

Monday I was up before sunrise bringing the smoker up to temperature and getting five racks of baby back ribs on. See them in that picture there? Oh, no you can't, the lid is closed, silly me. Trust me they are in there. And in there they stayed for eight hours cooking slow on a low temp. When done they were proclaimed perfect.

BBQ'ing is a passion of mine and I am good at it. Mission to get healthy or not I will always get my BBQ'n on. The difference now is that I don't eat like the pigs I BBQ. Instead I exercise moderation with my passion.

Today I enjoyed just four ribs from the small end of the rack. That was probably two more than I should have eaten if I am honest with myself. The old me would have eaten an entire rack of ribs minimum. The old me was not responsible and could spell moderation even with spell-check. What, you like ribs too? Ok, here is a pic of the result for your eyes to feast upon...

Dry rub BBQ on the left and wet BBQ on the right. Two types of wet...

The bunch in front is sauced with Sweet Baby Rays and the bunch in the back is sauced with an Apple-Bacon blend.

As if the ribs weren't temptation enough I receive a call when driving home in the evening. This call comes with a request to bring home Dairy Queen for a couple of back home. It's Labor Day, sure why not some ice cream to end the holiday. Not for me, I told myself. A mile up the road I tell myself, well, I could have just a small blizzard, right? Two miles later, Nope, not going to do it; the ribs were enough indulgence today. DQ is now just a mile away, screw it, I am having Ice Cream! The DQ driveway in sight, NO! In the DQ drive thru which is six cars deep, Ok, treat yourself to a blizzard already and walk it off later. At the drive thru window I order a Peanut Buster parfait and a Oreo Blizzard, pay a ridiculous $8+ and drive of with ice cream for the sweet teeth at home. None for me; Commitment wins, Temptation loses.

And later that evening my wife and I went out for a brisk walk to end it on a healthy note. Again a fine Labor Day yesterday. How was yours?

Tuesday it is today, back to work. My day today started with a drive into work. It was an oddly congested and I'll say adventurous drive. One which I decided to try & find some fun in by capturing some of it's emotions...

#%$@&!, Cut off by a squishy little car; I hate squishy little cars!

Argh, the squishy little car has NO brake lights and is getting bigger in my windshield extremely fast!

Ha Ha!... Local radio'heads talking about Illinois politics; best comedy on the air.

Soooo, when was the last time I used my moon roof?

PLEASE... why do trains run during peak commute time?!

Um... is that cow doing a heimlich maneuver on that other cow?

Really? I left home with my own barn door wide open...

If I had three wishes, what would I do with them?

Uh Oh!

Oooo, somebody knows how to dress for traffic.

Green, the light is GREEN, Yippee!!

So, how was your commute today?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 131 - Seen Da Light

Top-o-Thursday to you.
"Time sneaks up on you like a windshield on a bug." -- John Lithgow
 
Great day yesterday, near perfection in eating & exercise. All meals balanced, portioned well, and mighty tasty too; what more can a healthy wanna be ask for?

Exercise before work was 5 sets each of sit-ups and push-ups with stretching exercises between sets; Thanks to all who answered my call the other day for help with stretching. After work my son & I walked Lake Andrea. Well, we didn't walk it all, we jogged the last .2-.25 miles of that 2.25 loop.

Funny thing was my pants were falling down while jogging. Picture if you can my 272'ish pound frame jogging in dockers & a dress shirt (on Wednesday's I don't go home before going up to hang with my son), having to hold his pants up with my left hand while fumbling an ipod nano with the other because I knocked the ear cords out with my right hand as it pumped away. I must have looked a mess, or a fool; and I loved looking just as I did.

We finished that loop in 35:29 minutes, a good 2.5 minutes faster than the previous best. Guess I can't call the Lake Andrea PR a walking event any longer. It is now a place to get my body around as fast as I can with a mix of walk, jog, crawl, skip, moon-walk, and dare I say better fitting clothes?

So yes, I enjoyed ruling the day yesterday - have you ruled a day lately?

I shall soon post that I have lost 50 pounds, it may be this weekend or next; but it is coming soon...
I shall RESIST temptation to return into the dark and put back on any unhappy weight; nope I have Seen Da Light.

I have learned so much in the past 131 days, thanks in large part to many of you; and I thirst for more...
I have LAUNCHED this mission to 199 pounds or less in pursuit of greater happiness; yes I have Seen Da Light.

I will remember that being healthy is all mental, my will to change and my choice to act; I and I alone decide success over failure...
I will FORGO excuses of all form as cause to choose unhappiness; I have Seen Da Light.

I am happier today than yesterday, tomorrow will be happier today, the next 45 years will be my happiest yet...
I AM Responsibility 199; I have Seen Da Light.
(picture of me up there at son's soccer game this week seemed fitting)

Have You Seen Da Light?

 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 121 - Three For Victory

Source

A call to arms has gone out within my head. Having given thought to what I need to do here to get back on track with losing at least 1.5 pounds a week here is the trio of actions I have decided on...

First, I have reviewed MY CHANGES, a list of eight changes in behavior that has I evolved as I got into this mission. Holding firm in my commitment to these changes is the first thing I need to do.

Second, I need to socialize my food & exercise log this week. Many times I have said it that I do not count calories. But I do log what I eat, and do for exercise, in a small note book, I have talked about my log and how I log on DAY 16. To this day I have been consistent in that approach. This week I shall share that log with my posts with my food consumed the previous day. Yesterday log looked like this...

• 7a - Tomato Juice
• 730a - Exercise: Shining Hills Forest Preserve, 3 miles in 58:14
• 1030a - Tomato & Mozzarella Salad w/ Olive Oil & Celery Seed Dressing
• 1p - Cheese Stick
• 3p - Burger w/ Salsa & Grilled Onions. Lettuce Wedge w/ Salsa & drizzle of Blue Cheese Dressing
• 7p - Grilled Chicken Breast, Grapes, Cherries

The reason I keep this log is to have a reference to look back upon in situations just like this one I am in now. In the pages of the past two weeks I have way too many red entries than are acceptable, and too many blur. Driving for a return to green entries!

Third, Mix it up, exercise that is. I am going to give exercising in the morning before work a try this week at least once. My thinking here is with the kids going back to school, the day light hours decreasing, I am bound to find it easy to succumb to excuses in the evening to not get in the exercise I need. Hedging that with morning exercise may do the trick. We'll see.

That should do it. I am open to suggestions, always have been - so share them if you got them; please!!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 112 - What Revealed & Relapse

Well, some excellent guesses took place with yesterday's visual riddle.

I won't hold out further on you, there it is, it was an old Polaroid Instant Camera. Do you have one? I have two laying around still. Loved these. Still do but in the day of digital photos they are completely impractical. But I used mine right up to the day I became digi photo aware.

The weekend is here... what does it have in store for you?

For me, exercise today. I didn't get any in yesterday as desired. Too busy balancing working from home and trying to get caught up on work stuff, doing my best to care for my wife and the kids - teenage kids - had needs all of the sudden. So, I hate excuses, hate them I tell you, but I let excuses in and keep me away from exercising. Worse, oh so very worse, I ate like a vampire at a neck models convention. Are there neck models? I know there are hand a feet models.

Anyhow, yes, I am here today for the first time in 112 days to admit a relapse. Not a huge titanic sinking relapse to my food addiction; but enough of one for which I feel shame. I just failed in juggling the squeezes on my day and sanity with my ability to make good choices in the face of difficulty.

Today I feel weak, pissed off, but back in control. It is mid-afternoon as I sit here, I have eaten well so far, taken care of the needs of the family most notably my wife (she continues to recovery wonderfully), and am about 45 minutes from heading out for some exercise with my son.

Today will be amends for yesterday and a return to commitment. Tomorrow will be another, and then the day after that, and so on.

I promise!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 107 - Stress Triggers Chow

Yesterday I made that smoothie you see there. It had been a while since I made one, we had a bunch of fresh ingredients on hand, so I went for it. Yes, I served it in a beer glass; I am a guy. What is it, well lets see if I can remember. I don't always measure ingredients, actually I seldom do, for this smoothie, I was just throwing stuff in the blender that looked good before giving it a whirl. The ingredients; greek yogurt, milk, strawberries, a banana, a wedge of watermelon, almond butter, sugar free cherry preserves (I admit I am addicted to cherries), crushed ice, uncooked steel cut oats. Probably sounds weird when written out, but if you tasted it without knowing the ingredients I bet you would have enjoyed it. I sure did, very yummy.

STRESS - stress is pinging me today like sonar ruins a submariners day - My wife enters the hospital tomorrow morning for surgery and will spend a few days there before returning home to recover for a month. We've both done well to put that reality aside while we vacationed, but with the vacation over, back to work today; we can't keep it put aside for much longer. Stress is something I usually keep at bay very well, actually I thrive in it. But this stress is different than every day stress, I think. It feels, smells and tastes differently, therefore I likely need to deal with it differently, or do I?

I've seen a number of bloggers chat about stress and how they succumb to eating poorly when stressed. I am no different, I can probably attribute a good half of my obese-ness to eating because I was stressed, bored, pissed, whatever emotional state I looked to sooth through food.

Today, I am stronger in the head than I used to be and thus at less risk to stress eating. But, being committed to getting healthy and being healthy for the rest of our lives we know that this is a daily effort. Each day we must make a mental commitment to good choices before we can then succeed at actually executing them. No matter what the day brings as it wears on, stress, joy, misery, amazement, smiles, jeers, whatever; we have to leverage our mental strength to not eat because of emotion.

Sounds so easy doesn't it? Ha! If only it were.

The fastest way to set back those weight-loss goals is to give into emotions and eat to calm them. So how do we not do that which we know will harm us? First we must learn what triggers us down that dark path, the path of the stressful chow down.

What triggers your stressful chow down?

For me idiots stress me to a bad place. I know, idiots is a bit strong. When working with others who refuse to learn their craft to be able to contribute at a high level, they drive me to eat burritos. Nothing wrong with ignorance, we are all ignorant at times. If you work hard to learn hard and deliver hard at what you do, no stress on me working beside you there. But if you are careless about your work, then get outta my way and pass me that burrito!

Another is complete lack of organization that causes lost time, money, effort; whether at home or work. That said lets understand I am not uber-organized, but, I am organized enough in all things to be productive. In the past I have been super organized about eating, so organized that I had the cookies right next to the candy bars which were right next to the twinkies, etc... so being organized has a bad side too I suppose.

When spinning my wheels because I am in an unorganized mess, I look for king size snicker bars. If all are working to improve the situation and its organization, no stress on me working alongside the effort to get better. But when the complete mess around us is accepted and ignored, then get outta my way and pass me that candy!

So, lesson objective; know what triggers you and watch out for them. Then, have a page in your mental playbook ready to go to when stress triggers you. Everyone's playbook may look different. Here is mine...

Each day as I start I have a mental plan of when & what I am going to eat across the three meals and two snacks. When stress pushes me, I pull out that playbook and am reminded to stick to my healthy eating plan. Just having that playbook reminds me I am committed & dedicated to Responsibility 199.

If I must eat, in my desk at work, truck glove box (who has real gloves in there) & pantry at home I keep these places ready with healthy snacks. At hands reach I have a healthy choice awaiting, makes it easier to succeed and suppress the trigger to chow down.

An alternate to eating during stress is even better than grabbing healthy choices. Hobbies are great alternatives, if you have any that is. Myself, I guess blogging is a new hobby of sorts. When tempted to get into the chow down line, jumping on the blogs is a great way to avoid doing so.

I know some who say reading a book does it for them. Reading reduces their stress and gets their mind focused else where. Reading, not-blog reading, but books I can do it for a while but if I am really stressed it isn't a quick enough relief. Writing on the other hand, that does calm me. Whether it be an email, a draft of tomorrow's blog, whatever; writing allows me some escape from the source of the stress.

When a work spending time on hobbies may not be ideal, nor may reading for leisure. Getting up and taking a walk to the opposite end of the building, or the other building, works for me. I work at a large corporate complex so this is an option for me sometimes. Otherwise at work if I can't wander, I change to another project. I manage a half-dozen projects at a time on average and when one is driving me to burritos, I put it aside and grab hold of another for a while. The point, do something different.

And of course, work out to relieve stress. Exercise leads to fitness, duh... which leads to increased energy, yep - duh... which leads to increased confidence, uh-huh it does... which leads to better ability to deal with stress, true? For me it is.

 What do you do to put the stress chow down back in it's box?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 69 - Blue Streeeeeak!

TGIF to all of you in blog-land. A day off of work my family & I. Off we are to play for the day in Milwaukee. We'll take in a tour at Miller, then have lucnh at Maders - OMG Almond Crusted Trout, and then Usingers & stock up on pork products. The over/under bet on how much bacon we bring home is 5 pounds, any takers? So, yeah, no temptations for us to fend off today; good-grief what we put ourselves through in the name of family fun.

Click HERE for Blue's post yesterday re: Streeeeeak!

Do you read Blue's blog? If not, please do. Her post I linked there is the inspiration for my post today.

Above you see my own Streeeeeak! picture, it'll be on my blogs side-panel going forward; I am calling it My Streeeeeak!-o-Meter.

Blue, she said we could set up rules for it as we wish. Well if Blue said so, then by gosh I am going to do so.

Here are the rules of my own particular Streeeeeak! I am going to do my Streeeeeak! on a weekly basis, so I will tally up weeks I live up to these rules. My rules are that I abide by the changes I have committed to. They can be seen to the left on my side-panel (My Changes (I'm Committing To)) or here: MY CHANGES. Each week I do abide by them I will tally up one on the Streeeeeak!-o-Meter. If I don't abide then the tally returns to zero. I'll do the tallying on Sunday with my weekly weigh-ins.

Way to go Blue!!

I am going to Streeeeeak! How about you?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 62 - Cow on a Skateboard

FRIDAY, that's what today is in case you didn't know.

This weekend my wife & I are going out of town to attend a wedding for a buddy of mine from high school, Mark or 'Vish' as I've known him for nearly 30 years. Very happy to see my friend who I haven't seen in nearly 2 years; last time was at our 25th high school reunion in 2008. This is his 2nd time around with wedding knots so it is a low-key event. Low-key or not, the temptations will be abundant. Bar food everywhere, beer beer & more beer everywhere. You see, I have never been with this guy and not out drank him. Well, I won't out drink him this weekend; my wedding gift to him :-) I will survive this weekend!

Even away I'll try and make posts this weekend from my cell phone as best I can, I probably shouldn't guarantee I'll post though. As well I'll try and follow on with you if I can. And if I can't, I'll be back Monday to work and to blogging.

Exercise, I don't think I have talked much about exercise in my recent posts. Yes, I have been getting in my exercise, at least the minimum I've committed to; see my commitments here.

Monday this week I did my dumbbell routine and then did my 2 mile neighborhood walk. No exercise the past two days. Yesterday I went downstairs and got busy on my home gym routine. But, it didn't go so well. For some reason I couldn't get into a groove. With each rep, the form just wasn't happening, I felt as awkward as a cow on a skateboard.

After three of the ten exercises in my routine I was really struggling to do more than 3 or 4 reps without stopping for a breath. Sad! Looking to the ceiling, I considered going upstairs and trying again later.

Silent for too long the obese-michelin-man looking lessor-demon creature of my past sat up on my left shoulder & piped up. After a snort and chuckle, "Aint happenin, givin the pantry a workout is happenin though", he offered.

Silly suggestion, but, perhaps he has a point. Maybe I was zapped and needed an energy boost. So I scurried upstairs and grabbed a slice of water melon and gobbled that down like a coyote at a prime-rib buffet. Was that dumb? Eating a piece of fruit during a weekend hoping to get some fast energy to carry me through the workout?

Back in the basement, exercises four, five and six are forced; ugh just not feeling it. What is going on? "Have some more'n that watery melon, and a beer, huh, huh, how bout one?" the hungry-demon jabbed on.

Not wanting to give in I start exercise seven. But after the first set, I've had it with the bumbling display I was putting on for the Demon and gave in to him. Up the stairs I went to see what dinner would be tonight. Leftovers; one left over pork chop and fresh caesar salad for me. Dinner done, it was yummy, I eye up my recliner for it is time chill into the evening.

"Horse$#i%!!!!!", screams the healthy-alien inside me.

"Huh, where you been, playing chutes and ladders with my intestines?" I bark back.

Smiling to myself, I ask around for a walking buddy, but nobody is game. No problem, I am a big boy and can go outside alone. My 2 mile neighborhood walk here I come. Ipod on, check. Cell phone, check. Alien and Demon, um check. Off I went.

Bugs, bugs the whole way. That sucked, well the Demon found it funny; yeah I could hear him laughing. Before I knew it I get to the 1-mile turn, check the watch, hhmmm, 18:02, not great but not bad at all.

"You know if you do the second mile in the same time you'll get a new PR for this loop", states the Alien.

"Really?" I ask myself.

"Yeah, really, I can ADD!" exclaims the Alien.

"HaHaHa...", the Demon roars in eiree laughter, "It's called multi-ply-intation you Alien fool!", he fusses.

"Enough you two, Enough! Hold On." I announce.

Purpose found, pick'em up and set'em down. Groove found, Form happening; this cow was Rock'in that sidewalk. Ipod volume maxed, sweat giving into gravity, bugs; didn't even notice them still playing their irritating game.

That second mile came in at 17:09, a PR for a mile stretch, The loop came in at 35:12 - more than a minute faster than my previous best for another new PR. That called for a few fist-pumps in the drive way. Cool indeed - Way Cool, made up for that poor home gym workout earlier.

"Did it?" the Alien asks calmly.

"Ha, umpnh", the Demon tried to start up another laugh track but was quickly silenced by the Alien foot that found the inside of his mouth.

The next five minutes were all Alien. Watch, check. Ipod volume back to max, check. A starting line on the sidewalk found, check. Off I went.

Around the block I went, just a bit more exercise to be sure I redeemed myself for earlier. Not really sure how far it is around my block, certainly I will check the next time in the car. Regardless how far it may be, I got around it in 4:35, slow or fast who knows.

Heh heh...it was fast. I forgot to mention that Alien inspired extra block, he got me to JOG around the block.

It wasn't pretty, not even close. It wasn't easy, oh I came so close to stopping. But I made it around without stopping. First time I jogged in an embarassing large number of years.

Oh Yeah - I Rocked that last block, I Rocked that work out; I Rocked this day!!

If I don't get to blog this weekend  - you keep Rock'in all weekend!

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!