Responsibility 199, what is it?

Responsibility 199 is a belief; I believe that to be healthy and to increase my longevity I need to weigh 199 pounds or less...
Responsibility 199 is a need; I need to reduce my weight, reduce my percentage of body fat, and the elevated threat of disease my present condition presents...
Responsibility 199 is a mission; I recognize that achieving 199 will be a challenge, perhaps the hardest I have ever undertaken...
Responsibility 199 is a commitment; I acknowledge that I must commit to action, commit to change, commit to myself and those I love to achieve this mission, to increase my longevity...
Responsibility 199 is ME.
Showing posts with label bacon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bacon. Show all posts

Monday, May 23, 2011

Day 400-401: Hock-A-Post


source
 Time is so short this morning that I am going to have to hock up a quick post and put it out there. Hope it sticks and is worth your time today...

Great workout on Saturday. Hit the YMCA, mangled the weight room, tortured the elliptical. And I hit the assisted-chin/dip machine. Man that machine wore me out. Which is just why I am going back for more tonight.

School, this the final week of high school for 3 of our 4 high school'ers. This coming Saturday the Senior graduates; just less than three months and she is off to college. A year'ish from now our Junior graduates..., two from now the Sophomore..., three from now the Freshman. Five from now were are flat broke and selling plasma so we can eat off of the dollar menu.

Nachos, I can safely report that I ate no nachos this weekend. Although we do have a cat named Nacho, and I did pet him, so call me guilty!

Saw a snipet of a tv show this weekend where the menu included chocolate covered bacon, If ever I was to get married again it would be to a piece of chocolate covered bacon.

If I could read your mind, what would I be reading right now?

My wife got herself a heck of a sunburn yesterday while we were watching our son play soccer. And he lost 6-1, doesn't seem right mom goes out there, gets burned while watching his team get burned. Should be a sunburn back guarantee with the price of admission.

My stomach just growled, I am ignoring it. Probably just my heart moving stuff around for the additional fortitude I'll be moving in. Ah, growled again; better hurry up and get that fortitude!

I followed many tweets about FitBloggin'11 which took place this past weekend. Sounds like a great time, need to give that consideration for next year. That link there goes to the sites page of links to posts from those who attended and reviewed their experience. Some great reading there.


Ok, that is what I have to share today.
What about you, what can you hock-up and share with me from your weekend?

I'll resume the leadership traits tomorrow...

Have a Great Monday!





Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Day 340 - Lilly, Miija and Solomon

While I wait for tomorrow surgical oncologist appointment, allow me to share a few more photos from my recent trip to Albuquerque.

Saturday morning we hit the golf course. Left to right my brother in law Peter and uncle in law Ray debate what b.s. the 'dry-heat' excuse for enjoying desert living really is…

Up top there you see one of the SEVEN sand traps I found myself in!

This is a cactus, behind the cactus is my golf ball. I couldn't rescue my golf ball without risk to needing a rescue squad to rescue me from the cactus, so I left that ball in New Mexico…

The primary reason we went to Albuquerque was to attend the National Fiery Foods & BBQ Show. Here is a poor picture of just how jam-packed the place was. Well over 150 vendors promoted their hot sauce, salsa, BBQ sauce and related products to HotHeads such as me…

I collect hot sauce so I had to bring back some new additions to the collection, here they are…

Yes, here is my favorite; someone has liquefied bacon into Hot Sauce form; genius!...

As we were unwinding before bed that night a baby scorpion helped himself to a stroll across the kitchen floor.
At this point I started to reconsider my decision to take the air-bed on the floor in the den…

Sunday we went to the Unser Racing Museum. Indy car racing is cool, not my favorite, but cool enough to check out one of the most famous Indy car racing families museum. There was a trophy room, if I tried to count them all I would still be standing there counting…

Luck was with us as a Gun Show happened to be going on the same weekend nearby. This 50-caliber machine gun caught my eye.
The price tag did not however so I left it right there on the table…

Monday before we headed back to the airport to come home we checked out The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, very cool exhibits. No, these are not the original atomic bombs dropped to end WWII… these scale-sized replicas of Fat Man and Little Boy were neat, we need an equivalent effort to eradicating cancer that went into making nuclear power reality...

And allow me to finish with cat pictures; top to bottom say HI to Lilly, Miija and Solomon


Albuquerque was a cool city, a great time; I will return to enjoy it again someday!

Where have you ventured off to and returned home pleasantly surprised at how cool the destination was?

 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Day 302 - Nieces Don't Stop

Nieces, I have a bunch of them. One of them, Taylor, stayed with us yesterday and today. She is 4-1/2 and has more energy than anyone I've been around for a long time. A good decade since our youngest was her age. She doesn't like to sit alone, actually sitting is not much on her mind, ever. 

Today we she helped me make waffles and bacon, both pork & venison (pictured above). She was disappointed we didn't have any bear bacon like they do at her house.

After breakfast we went to get her Aunt's car washed. They have some nice chairs there in the waiting room. She found this one comfortable for 4 seconds...

A dollar was put to the test on the Skill-Crane game. She really wanted that blue bear and we got two plays for a dollar, both unsuccessful...

Back at home and it is time to relax, write a blog post, etc. right? Wrong, it is time to play with stuffed animals. She had to know allof their names. The white-rabbit didn't have a name tag, but it's label said made-in-china so I named it Chop Suey for her; yeah I know, not very politically correct...

And just when I thought it might be time for a nap, it was instead time to dance...



Right now she is watching a blu-ray about some dragons and naming them versus killing them, I don't know. But what I do know is that she is standing up or bouncing around the family room while watching.

She leaves soon to go back home. She says she is having fun spending time with us, She also says I fart too much. Nieces!



Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Day 287 - I Imagine It Is Real

source
Just wanted to share something I saw yesterday, a t-shirt with this on it:

Believe that anything you can imagine, you can make real.

Not certain of the origin of the quote but I think it was a recent slogan for Sony. Regardless, I like it... And I am imagining the following....

I imagine myself being able to walk on the beach (or wherever) shirtless and feel good about myself, void of the self-consciousness that plagues me today.

I imagine breeding a fat-free pig with all the flavor of a fat-fat pig.

I imagine all of those physical activities I was able to do in my 20's I will again be able to do in my 40's and beyond (not at the same times/pace/levels, but be able to do them start to finish).

I imagine the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series (Ok, there is nothing I can do to make this happen; a boy can dream).

I imagine earning my Masters Degree.

I imagine documenting all the inflections of the word 'dude'; I hear there are more than 30

I imagine celebrating my 50th wedding anniversary in 2049.

I imagine never again doubting my ability to be healthy, or anything else I believe I can be.



What do you imagine?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Day 279 - Give Me Teased & Taunted Over Self-Pity & Guilty

Is anyone else here an admitted yo-yo dieter? I am raising my hand here, which is hard leaving me to type with one hand.

Even after 278 days into this latest mission, the longest I have ever been on to seriously drop allot of weight; even now I still feel I am still struggling to stay focused on doing what I ought to do day in and day out. Even when I try hard and use my happy-focused face (see picture), it isn't always easy.

It is the mind-game of it all that really is the struggle though. By now I would hope this would be so 2nd-nature and that my mind would have stopped entertaining desires for vats of ice cream wrapped in bacon smothered in cheese sauce with a side of buffalo wings. But my mind still does taunt me so. Perhaps it always will.

I suppose there is an alternative; I could just give in. Oh how easy that would be. My mind would be at ease. Or would it? Wouldn't it just begin to taunt me in reverse, heaping scoops and ladles full of guilt upon me for diving into that which will keep me obese until my unfortunate death at a young age? Oh I know my mind would do just a thing.

So, I guess it is a choice of which mind-game I want to play. The game of being teased & taunted to eat what I know I shouldn't. Or the game of being self-pity & guilty for eating what I know I shouldn't.

I am choosing to accept the fact that I will be teased & taunted, perhaps forever, while hoping with all my super-hero powers that they will abate over time. And if not, I know I am strong enough to survive their assault upon my mind. I have to be - it is that simple; I have to be stronger than my temptations.

Which choice have, or will, you make?



Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Day 274 - I am Irresistibly Sweet

Saturday is here, sweet!

No real big plans this weekend. My wife has been fighting a naggy cold all week so depending on how she feels when she wakes up that will go a ways to determining whether it is a quiet weekend at home or if we venture out a ways.

Exercise is in my plans for this weekend. I did not get in as much during the week as I wanted. Now I know I cannot make up for lost exercise and I don't plan to try. But I want this weekend to include a couple of excellent work outs because I need them and I get a great rush at the end of a work out which was challenging, executed well and leaves me sweating.

Yesterday I received a very sweet surprise in the form of  The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award which Stephanie of She's In There Somewhere honored me with. I must say that is one delicious award.

With this award I need to list five guilty pleasures and then pass this on to three fabulous (& sweet) bloggers that I know and love; so here we go...

Let me do this backwards and hit up the trio of sweet bloggers to honor:
Karen @ Sunshine's Heart
MandaPanda @ Candyland To Bandland
Patsy @ Musings on a 100+ Weight Loss Journey

So, five guilty pleasures, hhmmm...

source
Bacon!
Bacon is romantic
Bacon is sexy
Bacon is intoxicating
Bacon is the secret to world peace
Bacon is the perfect vegetable
I LOVE Bacon



source
Buffalo Wings
We served wings at our wedding.
Wings are part of just about every party we host.
Even on my weight losing ways I enjoy wings once a week.







source
Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby
OMG, the best ice cream this side of Neptune.
Pretzels in Ice Cream - BRILLIANT!











source
White Almond Bark.
My Grandma would make this for me every year at the holidays.
That was the only time of year I got this treat.
These days my wife & daughter make it for me at the holidays.
They come real close to Grandma's work, close.







source

Labatt Blue, my favorite beer on the planet.
Yep, I am as patriotic an American as there is, but Americans just can't brew great beer.
Oh we brew some good ones, but great ones, not.












Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Day 213 - Guess, Sweat n Bacon

Guess if you dare, or not. But today is picture riddle day. Some riddles are easy, some not so much, what about this one? Have fun! I'll get you the answer tomorrow, or maybe earlier.



Quick re-shout out for Kelly with this post which shows pictures of some of those who participated in her 5k this past Sunday. Lotsa sweatn going on there, take a look.

After I got back home from my 5k on Sunday I spent a few minutes catching my breath. Then it was off to get breakfast in as I was starving. My wife & daughter jumped in and whipped up some french toast for everyone...

And not just any french toast but creme brulee french toast. Stuff is awesome, but oh so not good for you. I ate a slice and felt guilty about it for most of the day. I was in the kitchen cooking too. With my sons help we got busy cooking up the venison bacon...
before cooking

after cooking
On Saturday my son & I went & picked up the venison we had processed from our October hunts. Here is what 97 pounds of venison bacon and 48 pounds of venison snack stix looks like...

Ok, now that I am all hungry for venison, I am going to eat my apple now. No venison on the menu today. I have the days eats planned out. Something I figured I needed to do a better job at to shore up my efforts here. So simple breakfast planned, fruit for snacks, lunch shall be a visit to the office cafe salad bar and tonight is pasta night w/ veggies. Will have to be careful at dinner, more veggies than pasta.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

Responsibility 199, Gotta Do It!!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Day 160 - Breaking Any Rules?

source
Most who are looking to lose weight follow some sort of  diet & exercise plan. Some follow their plan tighter than grandma's girdle after holiday dinner. Others choose to be as disciplined as a rope made of sand is loose.

Either extreme or in between, most if not all have at least some simple rules they follow. These rules are based on what others who have been there before us have shared. Whether from commercially published authors with actual programs for sale or from the opposite, folks like you & me who have an opinion and the gumption to share it.

What would some of the common or popular diet or exercise rules be which you yourself do not follow?

E.g. Only drink calorie free beverages, no red meat, do not eat after 7 p.m., never skip a meal, log everything, exercise only in the morning, etc. Dozens upon dozens of rules have been shared with us.

Rules, yeah... rules & I have a respect for each other but best friends we are not. With respect to diet & exercise and more specifically this mission I have had myself to play by the rules more that usual. Yet, some popular rules I just have to break...
  • Bacon, the concept of giving up bacon is akin to practicing evil in my mind. I love bacon, it has so many uses. And I will always have it in my diet. Today, I choose to eat less of it and enjoy it less often, but enjoy it still I do.
  • Exercise at a certain time, seems morning is suggested as best most often. My schedule allows for exercise but the time is not consistent day to day. Even if it were, I'd get bored if I had such a frigid routine that I exercised at the same time daily. I exercise whenever I can,whenever that time is.
  • Leave some food on your plate. Never! Even when I was eating to be obese I didn't put any food on my plate that I was intentionally planning to waste. I know this rule is tailored to restaurant eating. But even there, garnish aside, if I don't eat everything I am served the rest comes home. Wasting food is disrespectful in my book. Drawing strength from pushing away food staring you in the face; there has to be a better way.
  • Eat slowly. Why I have no idea, but I eat fairly quickly most of the time. No, I don't inhale my food like a jet engine sucks in unlucky birds. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. Chat between bites, sure. Upon reading rules that suggest putting down the fork between bites, or chewing each bite at least 30 times; I've just had to stand firm to who I am and rebel against this one.   
                                                        FRIDAY... have fun today folks!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Day 136 - Tagged I Am

Excellent day yesterday at the eating and at the exercise. Balance, portion and yum all accounted for well. The dumbbell routine thrashed my upper body quite well as did the push ups. Sit ups too, it was just over a week ago I re-discovered my ability to even do sit ups once again. Now five sets of them are part of my exercise routine. So good day yesterday on the getting healthy front. How about you, was yesterday a good health day for you?

Before I forget, the answer to yesterday's picture riddle; a Strawberry Smoothie!

Jo was the first to guess a smoothie, Lori followed her up with the exact flavor of strawberry. I was afraid that was going to be too easy yet when guesses like cheese, meats, tile and a baseball bat started rolling in I backed off of that fear. And LEGS, a bunch of guesses it was a leg, this I didn't expect and got a great chuckle from, fun! Ok, whose ready for a smoothie?

Let's keep the fun a rollin here; Rapunzel has tagged me which requires me to answer 8 questions about myself then make up 8 new questions to tag 8 of you with! Without further delay here are the 8 she gave to me...

1. What is the biggest change you've made that's helped you succeed in your weight loss efforts?
A: On my blog I have listed 8 changes which I have committed myself to, it is hard to say which is the biggest impacting change. If pressed to choose one, #4 Reward Myself For Success. For me I've come to embrace that being healthy has to be fun, you have to enjoy it if you expect to be healthy for a life time. Rewarding myself when I attain goals I've set, now that is FUN!

2. What's your toughest temptation?
A: BACON!!! I love it, I would wrap myself in it if I didn't think I'd be tossed in a straight-jacket. I still enjoy bacon, but a slice or two a week is all. Not 1/2 pound in a single sitting.

3. What program are you following? (WW, South Beach, etc)
A: None. Eating healthy & exercising, it is just that simple. I do try and keep bad carbs in check, but it would be wrong to say I am on a low carb diet. I've come to learn when you have a food addiction living healthy in spite of it is all about being mentally strong. The program, or non-program, you choose is irrelevant until you have set your mind straight that you are going to get healthy. Not just try & do it, nope, that you ARE going to DO IT. Once your mind is set, then figure how how you want to do it and it will happen.

4. Who has been your biggest fan and supporter?
A: My wife. She knows how important this is to me, to us. Even though she knows that my getting healthy means I will be around allot longer, she still wants me to do it :-)

5. Any naysayers who've attempted to sabotage your efforts?
A: Not really. I read that some bloggers get emails from other bloggers criticizing them for this or that. I have had none of that. I may be my biggest naysayer. Even though I am more confident & positive than I ever have been about being healthy, I still have a daily episode where I tempt myself to have just one trip through the drive thru or order the 20 ounce rib eye just this once. While one of anything may really be ok, luckily I have not listened to the argument because I fear one will turn to two, then three, and then I may as well forget it. Me, only I can sabotage this mission.

6. Do you have a favorite "legal" food that helps keep you on track?
A: Fruit. I have never eaten so much fruit. Fruit has replaced most of my snacks. And I believe you have to have between meal snacks; at least I do. So apples now replace potato chips. Peaches replace candy bars. Grapes & Cherries replace donuts & fritters (OMG I miss fritters). You get the picture - eat your fruit people!

7. How do you see your life changing once you reach goal?
A: See my bucket list on my blog under the page titled: "MYSELF". I will actually be able to do all of that. ALL of it. At 320 pounds (where I started this mission) it was a pipe-dream list. When I get to 199 or below it will be a list of stuff that will be done; whether that stuff wants me doing it or not - I am doing it!

8. What's your dream outfit once you get to goal? You know we all have one! :)
A: Come on Rapunzel, you can't gather this on your own, you have to ask? The swim suit worn in the movie Borat of course! Seriously, I have never ever ever, no way have I ever, never have I felt comfortable in a suit. My hope is that by being fit, I can get a new tailored suit and feel good in it. Not that I'd wear it often, but when I need to, knowing I can feel good in it would be oh so nice.

Ok, here are the 8 Bloggers I would like to TAG next...
  1. Dee
  2. toosexy4thisfat
  3. Blue
  4. Keelie
  5. River
  6. Kyle
  7. Michael
  8. Luke
Here are your 8 questions, enjoy & be sure to tag other...
  1. You can have one super power, what would it be?
  2. Which do you see as more important, diet or exercise?
  3. If we're forced to become vegetarians by law could you do so or would you frequent the black market for meat?
  4. Do you consider the word 'Obese' to be a proper word to define those extremely over-weight, or do you consider it to be improper if not a hateful word?
  5. Do you believe that Elvis died on August 16, 1977 or was his death a conspiracy cover up?
  6. How much water do you drink a day and do you agree that water intake of 8 glasses a day or more is critical to a healthy body?
  7. Aliens have invaded earth and landed a mile from your house, do you run for the hills, do you grab a weapon & charge, or do you try and communicate with them?
  8. Is your current approach to getting healthy an approach you consider to be fun and can you do it for the rest of your life? 
Have Fun!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Day 70 - World Cup Feast

The USA plays Ghana today in the World Cup. Only sixteen teams left and the remaining games are elimination games. Win, and move on. Lose and go home. Our kids are huge soccer fans and all into the World Cup fever. The game starts in about an hour.

This morning they awoke and asked that we have a feast for the game. Ok, I like a feast, so I ask what they want; chicken breasts, salad, fruit, wild rice; does any of that sound good to them? Oh no, not for a world cup game, "We want a Bacon Explosion!", they say in unison. Apparently my wife made them a deal; if the USA makes it to the round of sixteen they can have a Bacon Explosion. Yeah, our kids love there Mom allot :-)

The Bacon Explosion, have you heard of it? (click here for recipe). Oh it is nothing short of a culinary master piece. As good as it is, it is also very bad. An all out blitzkrieg on a healthy diet. Being the trooper I am, with the help of my son Ryan, I have made one for them. There you see the one we made this morning as it hit the smoker for its 2.5 hour smoke bath. Basically the Bacon Explosion is a pork lovers delight that consists of pre-cooked bacon bits wrapped within a layer of Italian sausage and then that layer of sausage rolled up in a lattice of bacon slices. It is about the size of an american football before it gets smoked. I also put some onion and jalapenos in mine.

Whew, I am getting so hungry writing this. However, I am making this Bacon Explosion for them for the most part. I shall allow myself a small slice of this delicacy, and no more. We are also grilling up some corn on the cob and a salad will be made as well. This morning my son Cameron whipped up a batch of salsa which I've shared with you before (click here for that recipe). I'll get a bunch of that salsa goodness busy in a good sized salad and that will be my main course. The slice of bacon explosion love will be my side dish.

Exercise, we went on a walk this morning to get some cardio in. I plan on getting in my dumbbel routine sometime this afternoon after the game too. Definitely trying to be sure I burn off whatever Bacon Explosion that does enter my body today.

What are you up to today? Watching any World Cup action??

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!