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 142 - Happy Labor Day

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Labor Day is the unofficial end of the summer.
Labor Day is an occasion for getting your BBQ'n on.
Labor Day is a day for towns, villages, cities to put on parades.
Labor Day is unfortunately where politicians will appear at these parades and open their mouths.
Labor Day is referenced throughout the year as when the NFL and College football seasons will kick off again.
Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

Whatever Labor Day is to you, enjoy this day.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 141 - 43% Progress & Five-Oh'Yeah

A good morning to you all...

This morning was weigh-in day, and a it was great validation of all the hard work, mental & physical, I've put in over the past 4-1/2 months. The milestone hit today is just a number, but if you asked me 4-1/2 months ago if I'd have been able to hit it by the end of year, let alone in 141 days; I'd have said nope, not likely.

This morning I have lost 43% of the weight I have set out to lose.

That's 51.5 pounds lost over NINETEEN weeks; 2 of them this past week.

Today I weighed in at 268.5 pounds. Oh Yeah!

Yes, 50 is just a number. It represents what? Well, let's see...

• 50 less pounds to threaten my cardio-vascular health
• 50 more pounds of confidence to believe I can accomplish this mission
• 50 less pounds to inhibit my ability to do the exercise I need
• 50 more pounds of motivation to try things I thought myself incapable of 4-1/2 months prior
• 50 less pounds to have to explain when I get my annual physical
• 50 more pounds of energy to keep me off the couch and on task
• 50 less pounds to prevent me from getting on a roller coaster
• 50 more pounds of knowledge to put to use in getting healthier and healthier
• 50 less pounds to toss around as excuses for not living life as I wish I could
• 50 more pounds of blog followers who fuel me with the wisdom & respect of their own stories
• and I could go on...

So 50 is just number; and today it is my favorite number.

What is your favorite number today?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 140 - Rebounding From Wedding

The afternoon is almost gone and I am just sitting down for some blogging. It will be a short sit as I need to get ready to go see my son play soccer soon. But at least wanted to get a post up and checkout a few blogs before I go. I'll be back this evening to read more blogs and see how everyone is doing.

Hope all of you are doing well as we start this weekend. A long holiday weekend it is too. Myself, woke up feeling sluggish. Between the wedding rehearsal on Thursday evening and then the wedding Friday I am wiped out. And I was not even in the wedding party, so you can imaging how wiped out my wife is. So much so she is upstairs taking a nap before the soccer game.

While I didn't go binge crazy over board at these two events I did eat a good 300-400 calories more that I intend on a given day, where a given day day for me is 1700-2000 calories. Lets just say I likely took in 2500 calories on each of the last two days. Not terrible, the old me would have taken in 3-times that. Not good either as I did eat more than I should have. Thus why I felt sluggish this morning too.

But I did not let that feeling get to me, I did the opposite actually. Instead of wallowing in some pity I used that feeling for motivation and declared this a Two-A-Day day. In part to get moving to relieve myself of the sluggish feeling and in part to undo any damage I may have done the past two days. Weigh in day tomorrow, and I am weighing in and announcing the milestone achieved tomorrow as I set out to do at the beginning of the week.

First up on the Two-A-Day: Stanton Hill. My son was with me and as well the JV high school football team was there using the hill. Luckily the section I use was available and off we went. A brisk 60F day out made it pleasant, though the high winds were a bit of a nuisance. Last time out here I missed a new PR on this hill by a few seconds. It had been over a month since I hit the 20 laps up & down mark. We set our sights in on 21 this time and gave it all we had. And have it we would, we nailed 21 with about a minute to go,not enough time to get in a 22nd lap, that'll have to wait for another visit and be happy with this PR, Oh Yeah!

Second up on the Two-A-Day: the 3.6 Mile Neighboorhood II loop. AI had a light lunch after the hill and a brief rest and then off I went by myself for this walk. My goal was an hour, my best so far was just over 61 minutes. This is a loop through our sub-division, into the next and around two large park and back. All concrete and asphalt, some small inclines and declines; friendly walking terrain you could say. Along the way I listened to the latest podcast from MizFit & Shauna, which was both motivating and at the same time there were parts where I just wanted to sit on a park bench and listen because my own breathing was getting in the way of listening. But know I had the luxury of listening to it again later on, I kept going. And going I went to a 60:43 finish. Aother PR for this day, Oh Yeah!

Ok, I am off to the shower and to soccer. Have a great day everyone!

Catch your blogs later this evening and catch you back here tomorrow for my weigh in.

Oh, have you checked out MizFit & Shauna's podcast? If not use that link up there and give it a listen; good stuff!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 139 - My D'Oh Tonic

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Up at 4:30 a.m. yesterday and went out for a walk on my neighborhood 2 mile loop. I don't know if itis walking first thing in the morning that makes a difference, or if I'm just on a performance up-tick, or what, but I obliterated my PR's for that loop & my 1-mile walk time, 31:53 and 15:30 minutes respectively. The loop time was more than 1-1/2 minutes faster than my previous best. Maybe it is the darkness and that my eyes can't wander off as far & lose focus. Whatever it was, I aint complaining.

When do you exercise, a.m., noon, p.m.? Have a preference? Liz posted yesterday on the pro / con of when we exercise; I enjoyed this read and am sharing it here for you to enjoy as well.

Wedding day today for our friends Eileen & Brian. Have the day off work, leave about noon'ish to get my wife where she needs to be, then the wedding with the full one-hour plus Catholic mass, then a reception complete with dinner and dancing and all the typical reception stuff. Perhaps home by midnight at the earliest. Wish me luck in my upcoming fight against today's food temptations.

On Sunday I reported a 2 pound loss for last week and my pleasure with it. Indeed I was pleased. But, I know I left something on the table. No, I'm not talking about an extra serving of pork chops; I did leave that on the table on purpose. However I also made a mistake that saw me leave on the table the opportunity to lose more weight last week.

What did I do, I drank tonic water. I usually drink a 20-24 ounce glass three or four nights a week. I like tonic water, always have. About a month ago I was looking for an alternative to diet soda, and water, and remembered tonic water so I scooped up a few 2-liter bottles and have been working on them.

What's wrong with tonic water? Myself, I thought nothing at all, I mean; it's just carbonated water right? Enter my wife. She comes home Saturday morning from the grocery store with DIET tonic water. Huh? What do you mean diet, it's water with bubbles and quinine; how much more diet can you get?

For validation I go check the nutrition facts on the bottle I've been drinking, ARGHH! It is loaded with high fructose corn syrup - WHAT!!! An 8 ounce serving is 100 calories. Yikes, on nights I've enjoyed a glass I've sucked in an extra 250 - 300 calories. D'Oh!

Down the drain that bottle went, and I thanked my wife. She saved me sooner rather than later; imagine if I hadn't discovered this for say 3-6 months from now? Perish the thought.

So, had I not been so dim-witted I may have had a hair better progress in the bank. Oh well, I am really not mad, not at all. Over the past 136 days you may have picked up on that I am very calm headed; not easily upset or put off. Live and learn, love and laugh; and laugh I did at my tonic water error.

Have you made any diet errors?
Please say you have, I can't be the only one; can I?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 138 - Fit To KISS

Rain Rain Rain here yesterday. Didn't stop me from getting up early (430am) and getting in a work out on the home gym and busting out a bunch of sit ups & push ups. But it did wash out my plans to walk around Lake Andrea in the evening.

Oh well, I'm good so far on my planned exercise. Ate great again yesterday so I've got a groove going here. That said, I need to be sure I don't get comfortable or complacent. Seems when I do my guard falls and I tend to let temptation a bit closer than is safe.

This evening we go to the wedding rehearsal for our friends Eileen & Brian. It'll be fun, and easy for me; I am just there as the husband of a bridesmaid. Oh and a friend I suppose too :-) Looking forward to it, is it time to go yet? No, how about now?

In Sunday's post I spoke of being able to fit into 2XL shirt comfortably now. There it is in the picture, the one I picked up that day, it fits amazingly well, Oh Yeah! Sorry, couldn't help myself to an early Oh Yeah.

Yep, you are not seeing things. It is a retro KISS t-shirt exactly the same as the one I owned when I was a teenager. Well that one was probably an L, or XL at most, and this one is new, allot newer, like 30+ years newer. Oh, and you bet your sweet cheeks I am wearing this to the wedding rehearsal tonight.

KISS, still a big fan. Like many people, my favorite music is still what I enjoyed as a teen. Oh I listen to a bunch of stuff from the decades since too, in fact my favorite band, Chevelle, has only been at it about 10 years. KISS is more than just outstanding music to me, it's music holds a boat load of memories for me too.

Some of those memories are probably better left where they are, in my mind. But one memory I have of KISS is simply cool beyond cool. I am talking Grandma Cool. The year was 1977 and I had recently discovered KISS. Quickly I was not just a fan, I was a member of the KISS Army. But I didn't have one of their albums, everyone else did, but not me. I heard it everywhere but in my own home.

It didn't seem likely to happen any time soon either as I had asked my parents to buy me my favorite album, but they would not. Apparently I still owed them for the new baseball bat they bought me, details. When my Grandma Alma heard that I was into KISS she didn't do what many Grandma's would have, turn up their nose. Nope, she went to the record store to hear what they sounded like.

She thought they were terrible and would tell me "Grown men in make up ought to be in the circus," or something like that. Her opinions noted, and quickly dismissed, I still thought she was cool for having listened to them. But a minute later her coolness factor rose ten-fold when she handed me a brand-spanking-new copy of KISS' album "Rock and Roll Over", my favorite.

Those of you who know their KISS will recognise that album cover on my t-shirt there. So this shirt is not just cool because my getting healthier has allowed me to fit into it, it also brings back cool memories of my Grandma.

Thank You Grandma!

Come on, you must have a cool Grandma story, fess up!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 137 - A Happy 101

Eating was excellent on Tuesday and exercise was minimal. Soccer practice in the early morning and a soccer game in the evening stunted my available time, well, I let it stunt it. After work when we got the game the previous game was 25 minutes behind schedule so I went next door and got some cardio in on Stanton Hill. Not my usual event where I do as many laps up & down in 30 minutes, didn't have time for that. But I did have time for about 1/2 of it before our game started. Planning more cardio this evening and more excellent eating today as well. Are you?

Karla was so kind as to honor me with a thank you by giving me a Happy 101 award. Thank you Karla! Nice looking award, look at them cup cakes. I like cup cakes, and they have sprinkles too! Zero calories if you just look, or if you try & lick them off of the monitor screen. Not that I tried, serious, I didn't.

OK, awards are fun, and awards have rules. Rules by definition are not always fun, but remember, these rules came with a picture of cup cakes, so I dig in to them with pleasure; the rules that is..

First, I need to state 10 things I like...

1. Greek Yogurt (recently discovered awesomness)
2. Alternative History author Harry Turtledove 
3. Hunting (just deer hunting now, next year going to turkeys too)
4. NASCAR & Roush Fenway Racing (greatest sport on the planet)
5. Real BBQ'ing (especially ribs & shoulder, if I didn't need money I'd do it at a competitive level)
6. Hockey & the Chicago Blackhawks (2nd greatest sport on the planet)
7. Exercise (Yep, never thought I'd say that, but I have come to like it)
8. Darts (my father played for money, I play with the kids to be a more connected father)
9. Collecting Hot Sauce (collection is almost at 300 bottles now, I'll get some pics of it soon)
10. Franks for the Memories (Best wings on the planet)

Second, I need to pass this award on to 10 other bloggers I wish to share some cup cake happiness with...

1. Dee
2. Amelia
3. Aliana
4. Misunderstood and Admired
5. MandaPanda
6. Deb
7. Jo
8. Tish
9. Clyde
10. Alan (Pounds Off Playoff)

 Thanks again Karla!

Everyone, whatever it is you choose to do today; enjoy!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!