Day 308 - Love The Little Things

Weight loss can be daunting at times. Especially when looking to lose a large amount of weight. So many questions, so many techniques, so many variables, such a headache to sift through it all to find that right fit for you.

Where ever you are on your journey, at the start, near the finish, or somewhere in between; you can look to some constants that help day in and day out. Constants that are also easy to incorporate and keep at. They are so easy because they are the little things that over time can add up to good percentage of our progress.

For me some such little things are as follows...

WATER.... I drink water instead of sugary sodas, juices, etc.

And because I do drink on average 80 ounces of water a day, I have come to accept that I need to visit the bathroom a time or two or three more each day than before. Up top left there you see my favorite place urinal to hook up with, I have named it Gargamel after the sworn enemy of the Smurfs.

STAIRS... I take the stairs at work almost always now.

Last April when U started doing this it was pure pain to go up the 4-flights needed to get me to my desk.

Today, I zip up these flights with the ease and grace of a bird in flight, or maybe of Larry Bird in his youth.

AVOIDING these traps at work and elsewhere.

Candy sales are diet-killers, although looking at the cash-envelope of this box can be lucrative.
Stuff the envelope in such a box if you are so moved to give aid, and then leave the candy bar in the box.
As you chew on that insane suggestion, I also suggest a little trick for addressing munchies by chewing on this...

And one last little aid that adds up...

MOVE... make moving your body something that has to happen.

At work, I schedule meetings in conference rooms at the far end of the building vs. the one 15-feet from my desk.

Or better yet on a different floor at the far end. 

Or even better still, in the adjacent building on a different floor at the far end.

Little things add up; yes very cliche isn't it. True, it is cliche, just as true as it is that little things add up!

What little things do you leverage to great progress?

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 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 16 - Change #3

Before I get into this weeks commitment to change, Change #3, I must say I dodged the Sunday bullet just as well as I did the Saturday shot. Caesar Salad was what I placed in my plates center and in a larger portion than I'd usually take so that there would be less room on the plate for other tempting stuff. The rest of what I placed on my plate were small portions of veggies or seafood. My one treat, a thin slice of roast beef. Man the food was good too; I would've had four or five plates of all the deliciousness three weeks ago, but instead today I had one and a half plates both of which had caesar salad blocking and tackling for me. Took the water bottle along again too... thanks again for those tips, they sure helped!

Change #3, hmmm, what is it going to be this week? This may seem like an easy one but I list it because I've learned that it is extremely important. Just last week I had a re-affirmation of just how important it is. Last week I had one 'red' meal. Going into last week I committed to have less red entries and exercise more than week once; both accomplished. Reminder, a red meal refers to when I log that meal in my food log in red ink which indicates I've missed the mark entirely in terms of healthy balance & portion. Meals well balanced and portioned; green ink. Meals just OK; blue ink.

In week two the one red meal I had was at dinner where I ate more steak than I should have. The steaks were small at about 4 ounces each; I had two. Three weeks ago a small steak in my eyes was 12 ounces. Oh how fast change can happen. Back to the 'red' day, yep you guessed it, I skipped breakfast. Actually I got it in late and what I ate was barely a mid-morning snack really. The rest of that day I struggled more with hunger pains than most days of late. Since starting this mission I've been good about eating breakfast and have definitely felt the difference in the days energy level and ability to dismiss hunger pains. So this is an easy one...

Change 3...

• Do Not Skip Breakfast

Goals for the coming week will be to exercise at least 4 times, two of each cardio and weights.

Did you get in your breakfast today?

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 10 - There I Am

There aren't a lot of pictures of me laying around since I am usually the one taking them but I wanted to at least get a mug shot for my blog here, figured one would be more appealing than that self-made blockhead thumbnail I've been using; you decide. I've done so and replaced my profile picture and also tossed it up on my "About Patrick" page as well should you want to see a larger image of me and my two chins.



This pic was taken yesterday at work after a long day. Not that I look any better at the start of the day :-)

That’s me at 2% of the way towards my weight goal. Although for any picture to be used for before-and-after purposes it needs to be a full body shot. That said I will try and accomplish this week.

Excellent day on Monday. Walked up the stairs once, the only time I needed to go from the first to third floors on Monday. Funny thing about it though was how I went about it. Yesterday I worked at a different location in the morning, a building that is just one floor. Then when I came back to the building I usually work at in the afternoon my mind was moving furiously over what work was at hand and the upcoming meeting I needed to kick ass in. With my mind there I came right in, hit the elevator button and up I went. While in the elevator, and then the short walk to my desk, and for a few minutes while I settled in I had a nagging feeling I had forgotten something. Had my Laptop bag with me so I had all I needed for work. Had my cell phone. You can probably imagine where this is going so I'll come to the point. After a minute just before getting into email it hit me, I had forgotten to take the stairs. D'Oh! A quick check of my watch told me I had just enough time to correct that oversight. So back down I went and back up I came on the stairs this time.

Two flights later I'm huffing away and making my way back to my desk. As I walk I start in on myself questioning why did I chose this change in week two? After a few minutes all was well respiratory wise again and I allowed myself more positive thoughts such as I am now one trip up the stairs closer to them not kicking my ass anymore.

Enjoy your Tuesday everyone and find some stairs to climb if you can.

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 9 - Change #2

Yesterday I was doing some reading on exercise and eventually had to stop as information overload was inciting a headache. But one oddity I read stuck with me for humor sake more so that sensibility sake. The tip suggested that if you work at a desk, and I do, then you need to take up the 'art' of fidgeting. Yes, it referred to fidgeting as an art. Apparently fidgeting can help you burn up to 350 more calories a day than not doing so. Great to know but I may be hosed on this one as I am not much of a fidgeter.

This article is on my mind this morning as I am about to decide on another change to commit to help me succeed in my mission. Worry not, I am not going to commit to fidgeting more. However, since they would have us believe that fidgeting is a form of exercise (trying not to laugh as I type here...) I am chalking up an exercise related change today.



CHANGE 2...

• TAKE THE STAIRS AT WORK DAILY

The building I work in is three stories, I work on the third floor. Yet I almost always take the elevator up and down every time I must go up or down. Now I do take the stairs occasionally, usually when others I am walking with opt for the stairs. Two flights of stairs doesn't sound like much, certainly doesn't look like much, but boy oh boy when I get those two flights behind me I am winded and my lungs work for several minutes before my breathing returns to normal. Gasping for air sucks. Masking the fact that you are gasping from others sucks even more. Therefore I choose to work at reducing my gasping ways when it comes to these stairs. Tackling them head on is the only way I know to do that. Just climb them more and more until I gasp less and less. If someone knows a better way, please share.
Stairs here I come.

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!