Day 56 - Grindin'

More movement in the right direction.  I'll be honest, I was hoping for more of a rebound.  It's going to be tough and maybe not very healthy to hit my goal by Friday.  I'm still going to be strict and try to get as close as I can.  We'll see.  I'm going to be optimistic and keep reminding myself not to be a fat fuck.  I'll get there. 

Today's meals:
  Breakfast:   Pistachios and Dt Mt Dew
  Lunch:   Salad, grilled chicken breast, balsamic vinaigrette
  Snack:   The remaining handful of sugar popcorn and a spoonful of ice cream - moment of weakness
  Dinner: Two brats (no bun), side of sauerkraut, and some green beans.  Plus a small piece of chocolate for dessert.

Exercise:
  Pushup Challenge - Off day
  10k Steps -  Didn't have my phone on me at all today, but I'd guesstimate it was only 4k steps today
  Squats - 40

Vitamins & Supplements:  Multi Vitamin, Super- B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotic
                   More information here:  http://www.dbaff.net/2017/11/vitamins-and-supplements.html
Water intake:  6-7 glasses

Aside from the spoonful of ice cream and the small piece of chocolate it was a pretty solid eating day again.  I was busy at work and didn't leave my chair enough.  Silly enough, but not having my phone with me all day made it tougher to go on walks.  Seeing those numbers climb to the magic goal line is a motivation.  That's why fitbits and all the wearable exercise tech is so popular.  We like seeing that "Achievement unlocked!" message.  Anyway, still a solid day.  Gotta keep grinding.

Fifty-six days down.

Day 55 - Giddy Up

Alright, alright, alright.  Gives me a little motivation when I see results.  Today should be a back on the horse day.  We're back to work after the extended holiday vacation.  My goal is to eat smart and not snack on too much crappy stuff.  I'm really going to be trying to hit my 265 goal Friday morning.  Or as close as I can get.


Today's meals:
  Breakfast:  Chobani Greek yogurt, Dt Dew
  Lunch:  Salad full of veggies topped with a baked chicken breast.  Balsamic vinaigrette.
  Snack:  Flavored popcorn - sugary shit is addictive, Mt Dew White Label
  Dinner:  Barilla Veggie Rotini with meat sauce, cooked spinach, and a chunk of garlic bread.
                 These are the noodles I used:  http://amzn.to/2zurTH0
                 They are supposed to be made with 25%  pureed spinach and zucchini.  Didn't feel as
                 guilty eating these for dinner.

Exercise:
  Pushup Challenge - 30, I'm not really on the challenge path right now.  Just doing what I can.
  10k Steps -   10.5K steps registered on my phone.  Made a point to go for a walk after dinner.
  Squats - Off day.

Vitamins & Supplements:  Multi Vitamin, Super- B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotic
                   More information here:  http://www.dbaff.net/2017/11/vitamins-and-supplements.html
Water intake:  Better - probably around 8-9 glasses

I feel like this was a great day.  I ate well and knocked out some work.  It was super nice out so the wife and I went for a walk, I even kept going until I hit 10k steps on my phone.  It felt good.  I'm gonna keep this momentum going. 

Fifty-five days down.

Day 54 - Turkey Day Meal #3

The lack of movement yesterday may have played a part in my lack change this morning.  I guess I should be optimistic as it didn't go up again, but I just keep thinking that I'm not going to make my first goal - 265 by Dec 1st.   The challenge is getting tougher and tougher every day I cheat.

Today's meals:
  Breakfast:  Omelet - made at home and deliciously flavorful.  I'm guessing it cost waaay under $13
  Lunch:  Another traditional thanksgiving meal with a piece of cappuccino cheesecake for dessert.  I                  didn't overfill my plate and tried to focus on the carrots, plain corn, an other sides.                                The cheesecake was divine.  As you all know by now, it's (one of) my kryptonites so I                          couldn't pass on it. 
  Snack:   2 Dt Dews
  Dinner:  Large salad topped with grilled chicken and a questionable balsamic vinaigrette from                           Cracker Barrel.  It came with two deviled eggs and I snuck a couple of fries from the kids.
                 But hey, look at me making decent choices at a restaurant! 

Exercise:
  Pushup Challenge - No, excuse today was that I'd wait until tomorrow to start on a Monday. 
                                    I lie to myself a lot.
  10k Steps - ~4.5k registered on my phone.  Prob not much more than that in reality.
  Squats -  40 squats

Vitamins & Supplements:  Multi Vitamin, Super- B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotic
                   More information here:  http://www.dbaff.net/2017/11/vitamins-and-supplements.html
Water intake:  Pretty low today. I'd guesstimate 4-5 glasses.

This was another day where I traveled to visit family.  I could have taken a couple of different opportunities to get steps in or even pushups, but I didn't.  Given the choices I had today I feel like I ate smart without totally abstaining.  Still, the cheesecake wasn't a great call if I'm trying to meet my goals.  But I have this deep love for all things cheesecake.  I could have had 2nds and 3rds.  Anyway, today was better than yesterday, which was better than the day before, so I'm getting back on track after the holiday eatathon. 

Fifty-four days down.

Day 53 - Bump It Up

Well...   didn't expect another bump up.  Sucks.  I now have 9 pounds to lose before Dec 1st.  That's probably not doable in a healthy manner, but I'm going to really try to get as close as I can to that date.  I didn't think I'd take this much of a hit on the Thanksgiving dinner and subsequent leftover day. I'm 5.5 pounds up over the last couple days.  That's just ridiculous.

DBAFF!


Today's meals:
  Breakfast:  Veggie omelet   (Bought it at "The Original Pancake House" which is overpriced and bland. My omelet - $13.25.  WTF?) and a $2.25 tiny Dt Mt Dew (first one was bad so exchanged for a regular Dew - was told I wouldn't be charged for the second one.  Wha?  No free refills on the tiny sodas?  Not that I need a ton, but they were tiny and overpriced.  This isn't a foofoo cocktail at the club, this is a sugar water at an overpriced shittier version of iHop.)   Did not like, won't buy again.
  Lunch:  None
  Snack:  Dt Mt Dew, flavored popcorn
  Dinner:  Cheese, chunks of bread dipped in balsamic and oil, and a few pickles.

Exercise:
  Pushup Challenge -  None
  10k Steps -  ~2k steps registered on my phone.  I didn't have it on me for a lot of the day, but it's                             probably not far off.  Not a very active day.
  Squats -  None

Vitamins & Supplements:  Multi Vitamin, Super- B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotic
                   More information here:  http://www.dbaff.net/2017/11/vitamins-and-supplements.html
Water intake:  Still too low - 5 glasses maybe

The omelet at shitty iHop wasn't the best tasting, but was the healthier option.  It was way more expensive than lots of the other options, but I've learned that the healthier options are generally more expensive.  A healthy tax.  I do feel good that I made that choice even though I hate spending money.  I'm still lacking on the exercise.  I'm finding it way too easy to come up with excuses.  I need to buckle down on that.  My first goal of 265 by Dec 1 is looming in my mind.  I thought it would help me to make good choices around the holiday, but that's not playing out. 

Fifty-three days down. 

 

Day 52 - Black Friday

A four pound bump.  Eh, whatever.  I can lose it again.  It was worth it.  Lots of different diets recommend cheat days, that's what this was.  Granted, I have a lot more cheat days or meals than I should probably. 

I'm hanging out with family again today.  I'm sure leftovers will be had. 

Today's meals:
  Breakfast:  Leftover piece of steak and a glass of Naked green juice.
  Lunch:  Slice of pizza, chips, and dip.
  Snack:  Cheese, crackers, summer sausage
  Dinner: Grilled hamburger, leftover salads, chips, and a six pack of beer.

Exercise:
  Pushup Challenge -  zero
  10k Steps - nope
  Squats - nada

Vitamins & Supplements:  Multi Vitamin, Super- B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotic
                   More information here:  http://www.dbaff.net/2017/11/vitamins-and-supplements.html
Water intake:  Not enough

I really intended this day to be my "back on the horse" day.  It was not that.  I didn't eat well and I didn't do anything for exercise.  It was a beautiful day out and I pretty much stayed in the house.  I now have 7.5 pounds to go before the first of December.  That's 6 days away.  I'm hoping that a lot of these gains are going to swing back the other way quickly.  I don't have room for any more cheat days.  Gotta be a strict over the next several days. 

Fifty-two days down.

Day 51 - Fatfuckfestgiving!

Nice way to start out the day!  Too bad I'm going to ruin the drop with some fatfuckedness today.  It's Thanksgiving today.  Probably my favorite holiday, because of the 3 F's - Family, Food, Football.  I'm not planning suicide by food, but I am planning on eating a little of almost everything offered.  Maybe I'm just rationalizing my gluttony but Thanksgiving only happens once a year.


Today's meals:
  Breakfast:  None, saving space for lunch and dinner
  Lunch:  Traditional Thanksgiving meal - overrate but not to the point of puking.
  Snack:  Pie
  Dinner:  Another traditional Thanksgiving meal.  Again, probably overrate, but not as bad as lunch.

Exercise:
  Pushup Challenge - Nope.
  10k Steps -  Didn't have my phone on me, but did go for an after dinner walk.  Prob 6-7 blocks.
  Squats -  Nope.

Vitamins & Supplements:  Multi Vitamin, Super- B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotic
                   More information here:  http://www.dbaff.net/2017/11/vitamins-and-supplements.html
Water intake:  Not enough today.  Probably only 4-5 glasses.

Lots of good food today.  I overrate and ate things that were really high in calories, but I don't feel guilty.  I had a really good day yesterday (still sore from the moving) and planned on eating what I did.  I didn't eat so much that I felt ill, just enough to feel overly full.  I only had one plate full at lunch and dinner, with space between most of the items.  I think I had seconds on some scalloped corn, but that was it.  So, while not perfect, it was a better approach than my years past.  Plus, taking a walk after dinner was new this year.  It definitely felt good to get out and walk off a little bit of the fullness.  I know it wasn't very much, but again, it's an improvement over years past and another step in the right direction.   All in all, a good day.

Fifty-one days down.

Day 50 - Pre Game

At least it's not up.  No movement from yesterday.  Kinda expected to drop a little as I ate pretty light yesterday, but after the 4 pound swing yesterday I'm ok with it still showing 270.

I woke up still sick.  The headache isn't as bad as it was yesterday, but it's still there.  We'll see how I feel after helping my buddy move houses in the cold.  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving so I want to make today a day of good choices.  Going to try to stay focused and remind myself "Don't be a fat fuck!" throughout the day.



Today's meals:
  Breakfast: 3 Omelet with lots of veggies
  Lunch: None
  Snack:  Flavored popcorn, Dt Dew, White Label
  Dinner:  Half a steak, large salad, large Fat Tire beer

Exercise:
  Pushup Challenge - See "helped friend move".
  10k Steps -  Didn't have my phone on all day, but for half the day I got more than 7k.  Would guarantee that I got well over 10k if I included all of the time helping my friend move houses.
  Squats -  See "helped friend move".

Vitamins & Supplements:  Multi Vitamin, Super- B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotic
                   More information here:  http://www.dbaff.net/2017/11/vitamins-and-supplements.html
Water intake:  Maybe not a gallon, but feel like I hit 8-9 glasses easily.  Had 3 17oz bottles while moving, drank a large glass at dinner, and few more throughout the day.

So, the move wasn't too bad.  It was cold, but not ridiculously cold.  We ended up getting everything in two large moving truck loads and probably 4 pickup trucks.  I definitely got my workout lifting and carrying boxes and furniture up and down stairs all day.  I'm already sore - but it's a good sore.  Definitely the best workout I've had since starting paying attention to being fat.  Plus, I didn't give in to the temptation of fancy doughnuts that were payment for me helping my friend move.  Should put me in a good spot for tomorrow's eatathon.

Fifty days down. 

Day 49 - Before The Storm

Way more of a drop than I expected.  And, I feel much more hydrated due to the higher amount of water and lower amount of pop yesterday.  I'm sure some of it is fluctuation in water and some of the previous day's increase was probably due to the same.  Anyway, glad to see the weight trending down again.

Nothing too crazy planned for today, so I should be able to eat a bit better and get the weight trending down again as Thursday is Thanksgiving, and I do plan on eating more than I should then.  I'm still gonna be conscious and maybe eat less than I would have in the past, but still more than I would normally. 

Today's meals:
  Breakfast:  Gluten free muffin, half a banana, a small orange, Dt Mt Dew
  Lunch:  3 egg omelet with onions and spinach and cheese
  Snack:  A few cheese slices, a bite of cheesecake, and a White label
  Dinner: Homemade popcorn and a couple slices of summer sausage

Exercise:
  Pushup Challenge - Didn't do today
  10k Steps - Low, only 3k today. 
  Squats -  Didn't do any

Vitamins & Supplements:  Multi Vitamin, Super- B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotic
                    Specifics here - Vitamins and Suplements
Water intake:  ~7 glasses

So, I had a pretty good headache going from around 11 am on through the rest of the day.  I doped up on Tylenol and ibuprofen but it raged on.  I've also go a nasal thing going.  I knew it was just a matter of time before I got this as my wife is right in the middle of a nasty cold.  Thank you for sharing, honey!  As a result, I didn't walk much and definitely didn't feel like doing pushups or anything else.  It also led to my sporadic snacking for snack/dinner.  My goal is to do more tomorrow.  I am supposed to be helping a friend move into their new house so I'm sure I'll get my steps in there.

Forty-nine days down.

Vitamins and Supplements

Vitamins and Supplements

I'll preface this by stating that I am not a doctor or health professional, hell I don't even play one on TV or the internet.  But, if you are interested in what I take on a daily basis I've listed it below with links to Amazon.  I'll try to keep this post updated if I change anything.  

Multivitamin

I take a multivitamin daily.  I'm eating less food and less variety so I take one of these to provide the vitamins I'm not getting via food.  

Right now I'm taking an Equate - One Daily Multivitamin, Men's Health Formula

Amazon link here:  http://amzn.to/2zWLSkA

Probiotic

I take one probiotic daily.  Probiotics provide bacteria and other microorganisms that are helpful to your body.  These microgoranisms and bacteria are present in your intestines and help your body digest food.  

More information here:  https://nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics/introduction.htm

Right now I'm taking a Spring Valley 10X Digestive Care Probiotic Dietary Supplement Capsule daily.  It has the highest number of active cultures per capsule for the price that I found locally.  

Amazon link here:  http://amzn.to/2BaGMPQ

Super B-Complex

This was recommended to me by a medical professional.  Here's a Livestrong page with some of the benefits:  https://www.livestrong.com/article/383697-how-does-vitamin-b-complex-help-your-body/

I do believe that most of these B-complex vitamins are covered in my multivitamin, but this will fill in the gaps.  It's water soluble so I don't have to worry about taking too much.  

Right now I'm taking a Spring Valley Super B-Complex, Metabolism Support

Amazon link here:  http://amzn.to/2hSboRt

Vitamin C

I'm not really eating a lot of foods that are high in vitamin C.  Again, my multivitamin provides some, but this will supplement what it doesn't provide.  This is a water soluble vitamin so there is no fear of taking too much. 

Additional information here:  https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/

Right now I'm taking a Spring Valley 500mg Vitamin C tablet each day.  

Amazon link here:  http://amzn.to/2Ba95Ox

Day 48 - Onward and Upward

Two more pounds in the upward direction.  Ugh.

I'm really going to try to be better today.  I know there will be a slight issue with some leftover wings, but I intend most of them to go to the kids.  They appreciate a good wing as well.  Otherwise, I am going to try to eat light - salads or omelets.

I'm going to start adding a couple of new fields to my posts so that I can track any vitamins or supplements I take and to remind me of the challenges that I want to focus on for exercise.  I may not hit them all at once, but they need to be there to remind me daily that I should be working towards them all.

Today's meals:
  Breakfast: Well, I got the leftover wings outta the way - 4 wings w/ some blue cheese.
  Lunch:  Large salad with lots of veggies, olives, sunflower seeds, and chow mein noodles
  Snack:  Dt Mt Dew, small slice of cheesecake
  Dinner: Another salad similar to lunch, except that I added a little bit of pulled pork.

Exercise:
  Pushup Challenge - 1 set of 13, 1 set of 10 - Doing them the "new to me" way and feeling the burn.                                     This doesn't follow the challenge, but I'm not able to do nearly as many with
                                   the new form.
  10k Steps - Per my pone, I walked 4308 steps.  I'm guessing that's a bit low as I didn't have my
                     phone on me most of the day.
  Squats -  Air squats, these weren't really on my radar until I read about Tim Ferriss doing them in
                 his 4 hour body book.  I did 40 of these today.
                 How to do Air Squats:  https://www.livestrong.com/article/211859-how-to-do-air-squats/
                 4 Hour Body:  http://amzn.to/2BaUvGo

Vitamins & Supplements:  Multi Vitamin, Super- B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotic
                    Specifics here - Vitamins and Suplements
Water intake:  8-9 glasses

Well, I kinda knew the leftover wings (and cheesecake) would be an issue, but I didn't really over eat.  The breakfast was a bit heavier than normal, but the rest of the meals were really light.  It kinda helped that I felt like crap from yesterdays fat fuck feasts and didn't really want to eat.  I had a bunch of things to do and was running around all day too, so food was an afterthought.  Hopefully the scale reflects the busy day and lighter meals.

Forty-eight days down.

Day 47 - Off The Rails

Again with the upward movement.  Ugh.  I really thought that I was in check yesterday.  I suppose what I'm thinking and what's actually happening aren't the same.  I must be eating more than I'm mentally noting.

Well, I was hoping to have a better baseline to support today's planned fat fuckedness, but it is what it is.  Today I'm meeting some friends at Hooters and watching NFL games for the better part of the day.  Not planning on much in the way of exercise or healthy eating at least for lunch.  I'll try to tone it down for dinner and will probably skip breakfast as I'm going to have a large lunch.

Today's meals:

Breakfast: A bite of leftover pizza to help take my multivitamin.

Lunch: 9 Breaded chicken wings, a bowl of fries, blue cheese dip, and 4 Miller Lite draws. It was truly an All Pro Fat Fuck American meal! I enjoyed every minute of it. The resturaunt it'self was shitty - bad service, depressing waitress, 5 broken TVs, couldn't get connected to the game we wanted, broken chairs, chipped drinking glasses, charged a dollar for my extra side of blue cheese, and had a confusing bill which included 5 separate printouts and one that didn't belong to anyone at the table. I was assured by the manager that my credit card wasn't charged for the strange receipt because it had a different server listed on it. I of course trust her 100% as the resturant was so well run I don't imagine there being any kind of incorrect billing going on. Maybe it's someone's thing, but there were 4 TVs showing 2 different tennis matches, 1 on the QVC channel (I shit you not), 1 showing a replay of a college game, and 2 on some racin' talk show. WTF? I LOVE Hooters and it probably accounts for 80 pounds of my overall current fatness, but this kind of WTFness is why they are closing up shop in most places.

Snack: Wasn't lunch enough? No snack needed.

Dinner: After the first games we left Hooters and went to Twin Peaks. Better service and better overall vibe. Our waitress was at least personable and attentive. I just drank water here and was going to go without eating but allowed myself to get pressured into buying some food. These friends aren't the healthy good influences that I was with on Friday. I ended up buying some sort of chicken and biscuit appetizer. It was just ok. I should have bought a salad and endured the friendly teasing. It was a much heavier meal than I wanted and I wasn't even that hungry. I regretted the choice immediately. THIS is why I'm a fat fuck. I really need to get over being worried about what someone else thinks. Who gives a fuck if someone thinks I'm girly for getting a salad or nothing at all. I don't give a shit about those that look at me and think "There's a fat fuck". It was that and a combination of sitting at a resturaunt just drinking water and not buying anything. That made me feel a little guilty. I think it was the combo that pushed me into buying something. Plus, the app I ordered was cheaper than a salad. I should have paid that 2-3 dollars extra and gotten something healthy. Then, I wouldn't have felt bad about sitting there not buying something and I wouldn't have felt guilty about eating shitty food.

(Sorry for the wall of text.  It's all fresh in my mind and I still feel guilty for being a fat fuck.)

Exercise: Nope

Overall, not a healthy day at all. Got the fat shame and guilt going on. And I have leftovers so I'm sure I'll eat wings tomorrow cause I'm weak.

Forty-seven days down.

Day 46 - Buffer Day

Up a pound and a half.  I didn't expect to be up any really.  I'm guessing the salad/chicken yesterday was a bit higher calorie than I thought.  I figured around 600 calories for the granola bars, 400 for the pop, maybe 150 for the eggs, a hundred in the bites here or there, and 800ish for the salad w/chicken and 2 small wings.  So, still around 2,000 calories.  Maybe it's water weight or normal fluctuation.  However, I was proud that I made restrained at dinner and was hoping for no change on the weight. 

Today's going to hopefully be a bit lighter as I'm taking another trip with some friends tomorrow and I plan on being a fat fuck for that lunch maybe dinner.

Today's meals:
Breakfast:  3 egg veggie omelet
Lunch:  A couple crackers, some cheese, some avocado and yogurt dip.  The dip was a variation on the following recipe:   https://www.cookforyourlife.org/recipes/avocado-tahini-dip/  I didn't add the cumin or the olive oil.  Instead I added a couple small scoops of plain Greek yogurt.  I didn't want guacamole so this fit perfect.  It was light and flavorful. 
Snacks:  A bit of grazing on the above mentioned dip, crackers, chips, cheese, but I didn't feel like a fat fuck - I was conscious of my eating.  I did have a Dt Mt Dew and 2 White Labels throughout the day.  Still more than I should have.
Dinner:  a slice and a half of Casey's pizza and a large side salad with lots of veggies. 

Maybe grazed a bit more than I should have but I think I held myself in check through most of the day.  Not exactly the strict day I had hoped for, but not as bad as I could have been. 

Forty-six days down.

Day 45 - Football Trip

So, I dropped half a pound.  There's just been a lot of hovering around this number for a while.  And I have a feeling it's not going to move down a whole lot with the events that I have coming up.  I should feel like I'm going to make good choices, but I feel like I'm in a bit of a rut.

Today's meals:
Breakfast:  Two scrambled eggs, no veggies
Lunch:  see Snacks
Snack: Three Nature Valley Oat Crunch granola bars (http://amzn.to/2zSOccl), a handful of popcorn, and a couple of bites of my kids ice cream sandwich, Dt Dew
Dinner: We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and I ordered a salad with grilled chicken and vinagrette.  I actually made good choices!  I still stole two wings from my kid, but was way better for me than a plate of wings and fries.  I did have two full strength Mt Dews with my meal.  Overall, it wasn't a horribly bad food day. 

Exercise: Not a ton, only got in 6.6K steps.  Still not doing anything consistent.  Still haven't gone back to the pushups. 

Today was a trip to the state football championships, so I was stuck in a car or stadium seat for most of the day.  Given that fact I didn't do as bad with food as I could have.  I was with a couple of healthier guys today so there wasn't as much temptation to be gluttonous.  Maybe the scale will agree tomorrow. 

Forty-five days down.

Day 44 - Taco Party

Not surprised, I haven't really been strict on the diet.  And, today's not going to be any easier.  We have another birthday dinner tonight.


Today's meals:
Breakfast: Veggie omelet
Lunch:  Pistachios and ghost pepper chips
Snack:  Cherry turnover, Dt Mt Dew
Dinner: 1.5 Tasty Tacos original flour tacos, tasty tators, queso, some fries, and jello cheesecake for dessert

Exercise:  None

We celebrated another birthday and I went hog wild.  Ate way more today then I should have.  I ate so much that I got sick.  My stomach was torn up.  Was it worth it?  No, I should have stopped halfway through dinner.  It was good, but I ate long after I was full.  It was like I couldn't stop once I started.  If the food is there I keep going.  The positive is that I drank a lot of water while at work today.  Baby steps. 

Forty-four days down.

Day 43 - More Water Please

Well, proof that I haven't gained 20 pounds in the last couple days, but I haven't lost anything either.  As I noted in my last post, I know the problem, it's the lack of motivation and willpower.  

Today's meals:

Breakfast:  Mini pecan pie (work folks shared, it's prob my favorite pie) and Dt Mt Dew

Lunch:  Chobani Greek yogurt and pistachios

Snack:  Two slices of buttered toast, some cashews, kettle corn, and a Mt Dew Green Label

Dinner:  Taco salad - heavy on the veggies, light on the cheese.  Some chips crumbled on top.

Exercise:  Still slacking.

I feel like I should note that I'm now taking a multivitamin, a probiotic, vitamin C, and vitamin B12.  

Today was better overall.  Slightly less pop, more water, and less popcorn.  We'll see how the restraint effects the scale tomorrow.  I still need to get on the ball as far as exercise goes.  And the water level isn't great.  I did get the blog post out there right away.  Getting there!  

Forty-three days down.

Day 42 - Mind Hunters

No pictures because I watched Mind Hunters on my phone in bed last night and I fell asleep then the battery died.  If you haven't watched this series on Netflix, I recommend it.  And hey, I'm on the internet so I'm a trusted source.  I can tell you that I did weigh myself and I'm still over 270, 270.5 to be exact.  The struggle continues.

Today's meals:
Breakfast:  Pistachios, Dt Dew
Lunch:  Taco salad - heavy veggies, no chips, light on the cheese
Snack:  Moar popcorn!, a couple graham crackers, Mt Dew White Label, piece of bred and butter
Dinner:  Leftovers: ribs - 4 bones, a few fries, pickles, and half a pork tenderloin

Willpower was not with me today.  Did OK until I got home, then I gave in to a bunch of "just a few more".  I wasn't living the DBAFF life.  I've had horrible portion control and haven't been able to resist the sweets I was resisting earlier.  Maybe I'm crazy but I feel like it's directly related to my decreased water intake and my increased pop intake.  Like, the pop is giving me more of a sweet craving and the water isn't filling me up or hydrating me.  I'm not a Dr., but that's my hunch.  I read something in the Timothy Ferriss book about pop, even diet pop, creating chemical reactions in your body that inhibit fat loss.  Self, you need to drink less pop and more water. 

Don't be a fat fuck!

Forty-two days down.

Day 41 - Day Off

So, back up to 270.  Not exactly the news that will help me outta this slump.  It could very well be water weight due to the salty BBQ, or it could be the fact that I overate.  I've got the day off work so hopefully I can stay focused on the goal.

Today's meals:
Breakfast:  3 egg veggie omelet
Lunch:  late breakfast, made up for no lunch by eating too much snack stuff later
Snack:  Popcorn - flavored and covered in sugar, Dt Dew, White Label
Dinner:  Taco Salad - heavy on veggies, no sour cream, light cheese, a few chips

Exercise:  Lots of walking while shopping and lots of house cleaning, but no real exercise. 

I definitely overate on the popcorn.  It's loaded with sugar and was a bad call.  But, it was so fucking addictive.  Much like the crack flavored crackers.  The good and bad is that I think we ate nearly all of it. 

Back to work tomorrow.  I don't know which place has more tasty temptation at the moment. 

Forty-one days down.

Day 40 - 260s!

Woot!  Made it to the 260s!  Gotta celebrate those small victories, man.

I do want to keep the trend going.  However, for some reason I'm feeling pretty weak again today.  I've been in a slump.  The 100 pushups have given way to "I'm sore, I'll start again tomorrow".  I've even been buying a lot of pop again - which means less water drinking.  Plus, I'm still getting these post written late.  UGGGH..  there have been so many distractions lately. 


Today's meals:
Breakfast: 3 egg veggie omelet
Lunch:  Yogurt - ate the lunch pretty late
Snack:  Mini snickers, Diet Dew, Mt Dew White Label
Dinner:  BBQ ribs - 4 bones, a few fries, a few fried pickles and cheese curds.  Zero veggies.

Exercise: Nope.. 

Well...  in a slump for sure.  Even though the scale looks good I don't feel like I'm doing the right things.

Forty days down.

Day 39 - Last Home Game

Sooooo close to another mini milestone.  It is a bit of inspiration to eat well enough at the tailgate that I can break through to the 260s.  Today is the last home game, so the last tailgate.  Sad it's over, but feel like it will be easier to eat better on Saturday's now. 

Today's meals:
Breakfast: 2 egg and veggie breakfast burritos, some chex mix, 2 Mt Dew White Labels
Lunch:  See Breakfast... it was all one long meal during our tailgate
Snack:   ??  I'm sure there were some, but I don't remember now.  Sorry.
Dinner:  3 egg veggie omelet

Overall, not as bad as it could have been.  My team lost in pretty dramatic fashion, but I stayed away from the beer and the breakfast burritos were decently healthy.  Things I didn't do good on... exercise and water drinking.  260s tomorrow??

Thirty-nine days down.

Day 38 - Dead Phone

No proof today, but I did weigh myself at 270.5.   Sooo close to another milestone.  I'm hopeful that I can break through to the 260s tomorrow.  Unfortunately, tomorrow is also a day where I'll be facing a lot of temptation at the football tailgate I'm going to.  If I break through to the 260s tomorrow it might help deter me from wanting to eat too much shitty food.  Be strong and "Don't be a fat fuck!".

Today's meals:
Breakfast:  Pistachios again, was going to eat a
Lunch:  Chicken breast and salad
Snack:  Mt Dew White Label, a few candy corns, a mini snickers, a mini Reese's
Dinner:  Some cheddar cheese, a few little smokies, I'm pretty positive there was more, but I can't remember for the life of me... 

Exercise:   None.  Should have been my next day of push-ups but I hurt bad enough that I didn't do them. 

Not my best day overall - especially for remembering shit to put on here.  Not sure why, but I've been putting the blog on the back burner and have been forgetting, so this is me retroactively trying to remember what happened a couple days ago.  My reminder to stay on it.  Pushups, walking, and documenting for motivation. 

Thirty-eight days down.

Day 37 - Soreness

I like this picture because my red toe nails aren't really showing - plus I'm down weight. 

My arms and chest are really feeling the results of changing the push-up form.  I can definitely tell a difference.  It's going to be tough to do another round on Friday.  But, the good news is I can actually feel that I did something.  My muscles don't get strained from working on a PC in my cube. 

Today's meals:
Breakfast:  Pistachios
Lunch: Chicken breast, salad, and two slices of cheddar cheese
Snack:  Mt Dew White Label, Diet Mt Dew, a couple candy corns, and a mini resse's cup
Dinner:  2 Brats, some pickled peppers, and cooked peas

When I made chicken breast with salad last night I boxed up a couple of servings to take as lunch. That's another thing that almost every single weight loss book and site tells you to do - make healthy meals in bulk and divide them up in containers to take for lunch throughout the week.  When you do this it makes it easy to just grab the container on your way out the door for work.  Convenience counts.  So, that's what I'm took for lunch today and will do so again tomorrow.  Trying to make it easier to resist temptation.

Thirty-seven days down.

Day 36 - Stalled

Stalled for the last couple days.  I know the next few weeks are littered with temptation - tailgating tomorrow, birthday dinner next week, out of town watching football next week on two different days, plus Thanksgiving is coming up.  If I want to make it to 20 pounds lost by December 1st I need to stay on the ball.  I planning on splurging in the food department at most of those events so I need to be doing well enough on all of my other meals to weather the storm.

Today's meals:
Breakfast:  Two spoonfuls of peanut butter (another idea from the Tim Ferris book for a quick snack)
Lunch:  Chobani greek yogurt, string cheese, some pistachios
Snack:  Two slices of cheddar cheese, White Label Mt Dew, about 10 Paqui Ghost Pepper chips (not the 1 chip challenge), these:    Paqui Haunted Ghost Pepper Tortilla Chips 5.5 oz
Dinner: Chicken breast and a side salad with lots of veggies

Exercise:  Day 3 of the 100pushups.com challenge.  Today I did the following sets:
                                  11, 15, 9, 9, 13
It still sucks. I didn't make it through the last set of 13.  I just couldn't do it.  Prior to doing these pushups today I was looking on YouTube and found this video on how to do proper pushups.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IODxDxX7oi4
If you do them correctly they are a pain in the ass..er shoulders.  Ultimately I couldn't finish the last set as doing them correct like was killin me.  I'm going to keep on trying them the "correct" way, but I may stay on Day 3 of the challenge for a while until I can get them down without issue.  Just like the weight loss stuff - gotta stay the course. 

Thirty-six days down.

Day 35 - Forgotten

Well, I thought I took a picture this morning but it wasn't on my phone.  So, we'll assume I'm about where I was yesterday.  Maybe we'll see a big drop tomorrow morning and that will be a confidence booster. 

My goal for today is to not mindlessly snack.  I want to eat healthy meals and concentrate on vegetables.  So, the gameplan is a late morning veggie omelet.  A light lunch - maybe the normal yogurt and string cheese.  Then, a salad for dinner.   I want to limit the snacking to carrots or pickles or something like that.  Although, I'm still rocking a bit of heartburn so maybe I should stay away from pickled items.  Also, I want to be heavy on the water today.  I'm still going to have some pop, but need to up the water intake.  So that's the plan... we'll see how it turns out.

How today's meals turned out:
Breakfast:  Nothing
Lunch:  3 egg omelet with veggies - went with an additional egg as I missed breakfast
Snack:  Cashews, Mt Dew White Label, sliced cheese
Dinner: Manwich sandwich, cooked spinach, some corn

Exercise:  Played ball with the kids...  not really much exercise, but not sitting on my butt.

Today's eating was much better than the last two, however I'm guessing it will take a bit for me to get back truly on track.  While I had a few days off I went to the library and picked up Tim Ferris's 4 hour body.  I'm about 100 pages in and he's got some interesting ideas, but some of it's a little bit out there.  He promotes a slow carb diet.  Which is similar to what I was doing when I was on the ball, but his is a bit more strict than what I was doing.  He promotes eating within (I think) 30 mins of waking up - so not the mini fasts that I referenced previously.  He also talks a lot about supplements.   I'm not sure about the supplements, I'll have to look into it a bit more.  I'm all for probiotics, and will probably get back on that after I'm done with my current antibiotics I'm on.  He also talks about having one full cheat day, which definitely appeals.  He believes this high calorie day helps keep your body from basically going into starvation mode.  Makes sense to me.  Anywho, here's the book:

The 4 Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman
(Full disclosure: If you buy from that link I get a kickback.  If you're interested in buying the book and like my content, feel free to help a brother out.)

I might try to implement some of the things that he talks about. For example, one of the things he says is a good breakfast is 2-3 hard boiled eggs for the protein.  That's one of the things I wanted to add in anyway.  He also is very strict on the no white carbs - white bread, potatoes, rice, etc.  I've been mostly trying to get rid of those anyway.  One of his testimonials ate at Chipolte for lunch and dinner, modifying the burrito bowl to only include low carb items.  I think I could maintain on that type of meal for a while.  In fact, I basically had that as  dinner for a long stretch.  So, some ideas of what to continue and what to try.  If nothing else it's an interesting book and is getting me motivated to stay the course.  I've listened to some of his podcasts before and read some of his other stuff and like his work.  I'm sure I'll have more to add as I read on. 

Thirty-five days down.

Day 34 - Baby Steps

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but it absolutely sucks how quickly you can put on weight and how long it takes to lose it.  Just a couple of days eating too much can ruin the momentum.  I suppose that's why most people have a cheat meal, not a cheat week like I just had. 

The good news is that all of the Halloween candy has been eaten, taken to work, or given away.  So, that temptation is gone.  Plus, the seasoned crackers are gone as of me writing this - I had some more today.  I'm just glad we don't have any restaurant meetups this week.

Today's meals:
Breakfast:  Some seasoned crackers
Lunch:  Yogurt
Snack:  Homemade popcorn, a mini Snickers (there was a couple hidden!), Mt Dew White Label (x2)
Dinner:  Homemade fish soup.  Never made it or had it before.  Was actually really good and probably decently healthy. 

I can tell that my diet is not ideal as I've had heartburn today.  Sucks. 

Exercise: This is day two of the 100pushup challenge.  Today I did the following sets:
10,12,8,8,12
I'm glad that I started  the push up challenge on Friday so I had two days off as I was still a bit sore.  It's crazy how much strength I've lost. 
I also took a bike ride again.  I haven't done the official measurement, but I'm still guessing it was 2-3 miles round trip.  I almost turned around due to the cold.  The wind picks up and freezes your fingers to the grips.  I might have to start using the elliptical to get my muscles working.  It's just not as scenic. 

Thirty-four days down.

Day 33 - Yikes

Technically, I'm still on track to lose 20 pounds by Dec. 1st.  However, in the short term I've fallen backwards.  There's a bit of a "fuck it, lets just eat it all and get it out of the house" going on.  Feeling weak still.

Today's Meals:
Breakfast: Seasoned crackers - I made more for the get together yesterday.  Dumb move.
Lunch:  2 egg omelet with veggies.
Snack: seasoned crackers, 4 small sized candy bars, Mt Dew White Label
Dinner:  Leftover pork tenderloin sandwich and fries.

Exercise:  Took a bike ride.  Probably not real far, maybe 2-3 miles.  I can tell I'm out of shape, but it was good to get up and moving.  I'll try to get a real number on how far I went in the next couple of days.  Unfortunately, it's freezing f'n cold out and only going to get worse so there won't be many of these bike rides for a while.

Slacking on the veggies today.  Got a bunch in the omelet, but not much else.  Again, this is the "totally broke my stride and ate out for several days straight - hang over".  I'm getting back on track slowly, but surely. 

Thirty-three days down.

Day 32 - Bday Party #5987

I love and hate the fact that the daily weighing gives me instant feedback.  Today it's reminding me that I'm still a fat fuck and haven't been doing the right thing.  I was already aware. 

Today's going to be another day of temptation.  But aren't they all?  Well, we have another family get together with a smorgasbord of food.  The fact that I felt weak when I woke up isn't good.  I'm kinda falling back into the bad ways.  I could have had a salad at any of the places that we ate at over the last several days.  I should have had a salad at each of them.  I still find it hard to make good choices when out and about.  See, I fucking LOVE food.  I love cooking.  I love trying new places, new foods, interesting things.  It's fun to eat, drink, and be merry.  I just need to learn to do it in moderation.  That word is foreign right now. 

Today's meals:
Breakfast: Yogurt
Lunch: Cheese, summer sausage, crackers, a couple of chocolate chip cookies.
Snack:  Mt Dew White label, 2 glasses of Pepsi, I sampled some dips and chips as well.
Dinner:  Bowl of chili, crackers, a few bites of birthday cake and ice cream, small candy bar or two

I feel like I overate for sure.  The chili should be ok, but the grazing on random crackers, dips, etc. was not ideal.  I'm guessing the scale will reflect the overeating again.  I've talked to the wife and she's on board with buckling down again after these last few splurges.  I just need a few days to get back on track.

Exercise:  None.  The shoulders/pecs are still sore from yesterday.  I'm going to try to make a point of not just sitting around all day tomorrow.  Maybe go for a walk or bike ride if it's nice enough out. 

Thirty-two days down.

Day 31 - 100Pushup Challenge

Nice nails!   Yeah, I let my daughter paint my nails.  In case you haven't figured it out with those nasty toes, I'm a dude.  A dude that's secure enough that he can have pretty red toenails with a sparkly gold clear coat on top.

No change in the weight.  While I would like to see it continue to drop, I'm glad it's not going up due to the not eating at home.  I think I only ate at a restaurant a couple of times in the 30 days prior to this 7 day stretch where I have or will eat out several times.  Not ideal, but I need to learn to make good choices at these outings or at least prepare by eating really light leading up to and after the splurges.  Moderation. 


Today's meals:
Breakfast:  None, had errands to run
Lunch:  2 egg omelet with lots of veggies including spinach.
Snack:  Mt. Dew and a couple of snack sized candy bars
Dinner:  Pork tenderloin, fries, 2 Mt Dews, a few fried pickles.  I started out cutting the sandwich in half and cutting off all of the extra tenderloin intending only to eat half of the sandwich.  I slipped back into fat guy mode and ate the whole sandwich by the end of the event.  No bueno.

Exercise:  So the title alluded to it, but this is officially the first day of my 100pushup challenge.  I'll be honest, I already don't feel as committed to this as I do the losing weight journey.  I'm gonna give it the college try as I want to be healthier and more fit, but I can tell it's going to be a chore to keep motivated.  I know, I should be excited and not sabotage the thing before it starts - I'm just being honest, it's not exciting.  So, I did the initial test yesterday and I can tell you I'm weak.  The initial test is just you trying to do as many perfect form push ups in a row as possible.  I did 13 consecutive push ups and then started struggling and losing form.  I could have probably pushed out a few more mediocre ones, but it didn't matter as the test would have put me in the same tier even if I got to 20.  Today was day one and I had to do the following sets with 60 seconds rest in between:
         10, 12, 7, 7, 9+
I'm weak.  I made it through, but am definitely feeling it in the pecs and shoulder area.  It's disappointing as I, like a lot of people, used to be fairly fit and considered myself a strong person.  I'm old now and shit isn't like it once was.   Maybe that will help motivate me to keep this side challenge going.  It looks like I'm only supposed to do these three days a week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday seems to be what's going to work for me.

Thirty-One days down.

Day 30 - Lounging

Small bump back, but no worries.  If I maintain the course things will work out.  Today's another family dinner to celebrate a birthday.  Sounds like we're heading to a buffet.  This one has a salad bar, so my plan is to stop there first.  I'll probably eat some of the other high calorie offerings, but the goal is to mainly fill up on the good stuff.  Gotta keep reminding myself that filling up on the bad shit will keep me in fat fuck status.  Don't be a fat fuck.

Today's meals:
Breakfast: One cinnamon roll - the small out of the tube ones.  (not exactly fancy or healthy)
Lunch: Two egg omelet filled with veggies and a small amount of cheese.
Snack: Snack sized kit kat, Mt Dew White label.
Dinner:  McDonalds grilled chicken pico-guacamole sandwich, med fries, med drink (one Dr Pepper and a refill of Dt. Coke).  Then followed it up with a small bowl of froyo with blueberries and a few candy bar crumbles on top from Orange Leaf. 

We were going to do the buffet for dinner, but the birthday child changed their mind at the last second.  While there would have probably been more temptation to eat more at the buffet I probably would have eaten at least some salad and veggies.  Plus, this McD's chicken was dry as hell and tasted horrible.  Oh well, it was still lower calorie than some of most of my sandwich options.  I also stole a two chicken nuggets from my kid.  Which probably made up the difference from the sandwich bites I gave out as a "try this, it's horrible, right?".  I probably could have done without the dessert, but the dinner left me wanting.  I figure I'm probably still pretty close on calories as I only had the omelet and snack stuff prior - those aren't exactly calorie high items.  Hopefully my calorie guesstimation is close. 

Thirty days down. 

The Goals - Updated 2/15/2018

So, the initial post kinda threw out some loose goals, but I need to put some nitty gritty out there.

The main goal is weight loss.
Obvious, I know.  I started out at 285.5.  My ultimate goal is to be at 215.  When, not if, I get there I'll re-evaluate.  I haven't been at that weight for a long time.  But, it's been the goal weight I've had every single time I board the "get healthy wagon", so I'm gonna get there this time dammit.  I don't really have a date in mind for when I want to hit this goal.  I don't have a wedding or a vacation or any big event that is prompting this life change.  So, I'm going to do some math to figure out my goal date. 

                      285.5
                    - 215.0 
                         70.5 

I have a total of 70.5 pounds that I want to lose.  Most sites/docs/articles that I've seen state that it's ideal to lose 1-2 pounds per week.
(CDC - https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html)   A pound of fat is roughly 3,500 calories.  So I'll have to eat/work off/have a deficit of around 7,000 calories a week to lose 2 pounds.   https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/calories/art-20048065
I'm going to be optimistic and say that I can lose 2 pounds per week on average, meaning it will take me 35 weeks to accomplish my ultimate goal.  I started this journey on October 5th, 2017, 35 weeks later would put me at May 28th-ish, 2018.  I'm going to round up and make my goal date June 1st, 2018.

Now, most experts would say that there needs to be short term goals sprinkled in there somewhere, milestones to make sure you keep on track.  It's a lot easier to focus on smaller goals that can be obtained quicker.  It keeps you focused and gives you little 'wins' so you don't get overwhelmed trying to reach that overall huge goal.  I'm setting my first milestone at 20 pounds lost by December 1st.  That's just over 8 weeks into it, so that would work out to being a little over the ideal 2 pounds per week lost, but I think it's doable.  I'll set another small milestone at that point.

Summary
Starting Weight:                285.5
Goal Weight:                     215
Goal Weight Loss:              70.5
Goal Date:                        June 1st, 2018
1st Milestone:                   265.5 - 20 pounds lost by December 1st, 2017 
                                          *Achieved on Dec 8th, 2017*
2nd Milestone:     250.5 - 15 pounds lost by February 1st, 2018
                                           *Achieved on Feb 9th, 2018*
3rd Milestone:      240.5 - 10 additional pounds lost by April 1st, 2018


A side goal is to be healthier overall.
Losing a lot of weight will by default make me more healthy.  Along with losing weight my goal is to eat cleaner and be more active.

The first step in my mind is to drink more water and limit my pop intake to one 20oz a week.  This is going to be a process, but I know I can do it.  I've gone without for months at a time, it's just a matter of weening myself down and then replacing the pop habit with a water habit.  It's doable, and I've already made large strides here.  I've mentioned before that I would drink something like a 2 liter a day.  I'd buy a big gulp at work and drink that in the morning.  Most days I'd then buy a 20oz in the afternoon at work.  When I'd get home I'd pour a glass of pop and would have at least another glass or two before the day was over.  I'm currently averaging a 20oz a day.  I bought a bunch of 20oz six packs on sale a while back.  I'd like to be done with pop when they are gone.  I have several left.  I'll continue to try and have 1 a day for the several next days until they are gone.  I'll allow myself to have one a week, but I'm hoping it will be unappealing at that point.  In years past when I've quit soda it's lost it's appeal pretty quick, tasting overly syrupy and too sweet.

I also want to concentrate on eating much larger portions of veggies.  I've started on this as well.  It's one of the keys to weight loss.  This one will be harder to measure.  I just need to keep it as a conscious effort.  It starts with me buying more veggies at the store and making them available.  I'm trying to plan my meals and make sure there is a vegetable at each meal.  I'll try to find a way to fit them into lunch as well.

The next goal is being more active.  I'd like to get to the point where I'm doing some sort of physical activity a minimum of 20 mins per day on average.  I'm not sure where to start with this.  I've got a few options that I like.

• The 10K-15K steps a day challenge:  
• NY Times article
• The 100 Pushups a day challenge:
• 100pushups.com
• The couch to 5k challenge:
• Coolrunning site

Whatever I end up doing I'm sure it will be some sort of mix and match and will morph over time.  It'll start out light and less frequent and hopefully evolve into a more complex routine.  

So, there are my goals.  These will change, maybe even weekly, but this is where I'm at right now.  I'm not a dietitian, a physical trainer, or any sort of expert so I have a lot to learn, I'm sure.  The whole thing is a journey to a better life and I've got to start somewhere.  

Day 29 - Boo!

Peak-a-mother-f'n-boo!   Actually lost weight?  I musta really thrown my body off, cause I certainly didn't think I ate well enough to continue losing.  Huh...  good deal.

Today should be ok.  I've got a few days off of work to make up for some weekends that I had to work and then I've used some normal PTO.  So, I'm gonna need better will power being stuck here alone with all this damn candy.  I made a small mistake today and opted for a Diet Mt Dew and slice of pizza for lunch instead of my normal fare.  I was eating with some friends and just wasn't feeling like eating something cold.  It was one slice.  The poster said it was 210 calories... I'm guessing that's low.  Anyway, I need to stop these little cheats here and there as I have planned cheats coming up when we go out to eat for those family get togethers.  I'm going to try to treat them like I did with Culver's.  I'm going to eat, but try to make decent choices.  I'll allow myself something other than a salad, but it's not going to be the fat boy burger with a side of extra fat fuck.  (You're very cussy tonight, CFF!  Yeah, sorry.  Little bit fired up for this time off.)  Anywho, I've planned to eat healthy and light leading up to these outings as well.  I stopped by the store and stocked up on veggies for my mid morning omelets.  I'm pretty excited about those.  You'd think it were all you can eat Hooters wings and fries not a omelet with extra veggies.

Today's meals:
Breakfast:  Nada
Lunch:  Diet Mt Dew and a slice of sausage and pepperocini pizza
Snack:  Cherry Pepsi, 4 snack size candy bars, a few candy corns, and some cashews
Dinner:  Taco salad - lots of veggies (fresh mushrooms, red bell peppers, onions, etc), salsa, small sour cream, light on the cheese, and ground turkey.

Twenty-nine days down.