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 Tragedy
struck this morning. I was gathering my food to prepare my breakfast
when I discovered to my & Kim's horror we were out of our beloved
fake bacon. What to do, what to do? Kim prepared her breakfast of egg
beaters and veggie chorizzo while I substituted yogurt for facon. Not
to bad at all. We did make sure to go shopping this evening to re-up
our facon stash. Along with my yogurt this morning I had berries and
multigrain flakes, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was
another cup of yogurt. Lunch today was one of my favorites, tomato and
corn chowder along wit a veggie chicken patty. My afternoon snack was
an oatmeal raisin cookie. Dinner this evening was one of the meals I'd
bee kinda dreading. Wedged potatoes and beef. I don't know why. I loved
it. I had 3 servings of broccoli and cheese sauce along with the
entree. Dessert this evening was.  I
had an outstanding, day long workout (more or less). I began at the gym
on the treadmill with my HIIT workout. 15 minutes of run a minute, walk
a minute, with my run speed at 8.0 again today. I moved on to train
arms next. 3 sets of press downs, 3 sets of overhead triceps
extensions, and 3 sets of machine dips. For biceps I began with 3 sets
of seated incline curls, followed by 3 sets of standing dumbbell curls,
and finishing up with 3 sets of rope curls. During the workout I had
two different people stop and congratulate me on my weight loss. Love
those compliments and a great opportunity to sing the praises of NS.
After the weight lifting was finished I returned to the treadmill for
35 more minutes. Part of the time was my usual uphill at a moderate
pace, but I also spent some time jogging as well. After lunch and a
little rest the pug and I walked two miles around the lake. For my
final cardio exercise of the day Kim, JJF, and I walked around the lake
again once she was in from work this evening. On the day I think I had
about 110 minutes of cardio for around 8.75 miles. Most of this was
walking, but more and more of the time is becoming jogging. I didn't
intend for this to happen, but it kinda feels good right now so I'm
gonna keep at it.  Leg
day tomorrow. My mom has promised to come in and train with me. Wish
her luck! I did have another NSV this week in the gym. I used my
Cardillo weight belt to train back with on Wednesday and I have moved
from the first set of holes in the belt to the second set. I think the
smallest I ever wore the belt was on the third set back in 1998 or so.
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This post is for November 18th, 2009. I had a late night and didn't attempt to post anything last night.  Today
was a much better food day for me. No wild cravings late in the day. No
desire to attack a box of Krispy Kremes. Breakfast was lowfat granola
cereal, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a
Supreme Protein Bar. Lunch was fettuccine alfredo & and a Morning
Star Fake Grilled Chicken Breast. My afternoon snack was a double
chocolate almond cookie. Dinner was one of my favorites. Veggie fajitas
with veggie chorizo! My dessert was a chocolate chip cookie dipped in a
cup of vanilla caramel tea.  I
had a great workout and cardio workout at the gym. My old training
partner DJ returned and trained back with me. Before the workout I did
15 minutes of HIIT cardio on the treadmill and got my run speed up to
8.0! We began the workout with a set of pull-ups (9 reps again this
week, maybe I'll get 10 next week). We moved on to 3 sets of pull
downs, 3 sets of t-bar rows, 3 sets of y-bar rows, and finally 3 sets
of straight arm press downs. We were joined by a friend who is one of
the owners/trainers of our gym for some more cardio afterward. I
knocked out another 35 minutes on the treadmill. Part of the time I did
my usual uphill walking, and the rest of the time I tried to keep up
with everyone else jogging. I didn't do great, but much better that I
thought I would. I burned about 650 calories in the 35 minutes of final
cardio. When I returned home I changed out of my sweat soaked clothes
to discover I had done so much cardio I was bleeding. My shirt was so
wet that as I jogged and the material moved on my body it eventually
scratched my chest and caused me to bleed. So I pulled a "sweat till
you bleed" move (wasn't that from an old C+C Music Factory song?). Good
sign of a workout. Later in the day Jumping Jack Flash and I took a
quick 2 mile walk around the lake to wrap up my workouts for the day.  Last
night found me driving to a property to check for a water leak at about
11PM. Out utility bill for the property was about $1000 more than
usual. I couldn't find the leak, but I could hear water rushing through
the main line coming into the propterty so I know we've got a problem
somewhere. So at least I know what I'm gonna be doing for the next few
days. Guess I better find my plumbers pants and get ready.
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This post is for Tuesday November 17th, 2009.  Cooler,
rainy weather returned to our area so no dog walking today. All of my
cardio would have to be done in the gym. I began my workout with 10
minutes of HIIT cardio on the treadmill. I again increased my run speed
to 7.8 headed to 8.0 tomorrow. I trained shoulders next. I'm trying to
use different exercises this week so I started with a military press
machine for 3 sets, then on to a lateral raise machine for 3, next I
did 3 sets of upright cable rows, followed by 3 sets of rear delts, and
finally finishing with 3 sets of shoulder shrugs. I returned to the
treadmill for 35 minutes of incline 13, speed 3.9 to finish my cardio
for the day. Today was the most difficult day I've had food wise
since beginning NutriSystem. Everything went well all day until dinner.
Breakfast was a chocolate chip scone, facon, a banana, and a slice of
bread. My morning snack was a cup of yogurt. Lunch was bean & ham
soup and a fake grilled chicken breast. My afternoon snack was a
chocolate crunch bar. Dinner was lasagna, broccoli, cauliflower, and
carrots in a cheese sauce, and a slice of bread. After dinner I began
to crave all kinds of foods. It began with a crazy craving for deep
fried super salty catfish. Then the cravings morphed into a desire for
any number of foods ranging from chicken strips, chicken wings, chicken
livers, cheese burgers, hot dogs, tacos, red velvet cup cakes (where
did that come from?), brownies, cream cheese brownies, ribs, Reese's,
and finally Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Kim was working late so I dealt
with all of these things alone. I was sitting on the sofa in the dark
sweating, dreaming of this when she got home. Ultimately I didn't freak
and eat any of it.  Instead
I made a cup of tea and had a Supreme Protein Peanut Butter Chocolate
Bar. It has a little more calories than most NS desserts, but only
about 40 or so. I also ate a handful of arugula while watching The
Biggest Loser. This was the first time I've suffered from a mass onset
of wild cravings. Most, if not all, of those things would have made me
sick if I'd actually eaten them, so I don't think I really wanted them.
I just wanted the taste. Mainly the taste of nasty hot salty fried
goodness, or something super sweet. I left out my 2 second ice cream
craving in between the Reese's and KK's. Anyway, I more or less did
well and hope I don't have to go through that again any time soon.
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I'm up late tonight waiting on Kim to get home from work. Tonight is
her dreaded "on call" coverage night. While waiting I might as well get
today's blog entry ready and posted.  After
my WI this morning Jumping Jack Flash & I had a nice 2 mile walk
around the very foggy lake. Afterward I made my way to the gym and
began with a 15 minute HIIT workout on the treadmill. I managed to keep
my run speed at 7.5 today without feeling tired during the rest of my
workout. Mom arrived just in time to train chest with me today. We
changed things up a bit and began with incline dumbbell presses. I can
remember the days when I used to press 120#'s in each hand. Today I
tentatively began with 70#'s in each hand. I worked my way up to 75#'s
for the final two sets. After the presses we moved on to the hammer
strength decline machine for 3 sets, then on to a different chest press
machine for 3 sets, next was the fly machine for 3 sets, and finally I
finished up with 3 sets of dips. After the chest work we returned to
the treadmills where I knocked out another 35 minutes. 80 minutes of
cardio for the day.  I
had a pretty good day eating wise. I did sneak and eat a bite of smoked
gouda cheese late this evening. Maybe that was okay since I didn't have
any olives on my dinner salad tonight. Breakfast began with lowfat
granola cereal, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack
was a Morning Star fake grilled chicken breast. Lunch today was a salad
and a fudge graham bar. My afternoon snack was a chocolate crunch bar.
Dinner (which I ate with Belle, the pug, instead of Kim since she had
to work late, boo!) was maccaroni and cheese with beef, 2 servings of
cauliflower with cheese, a salad, and a slice of bread. Dessert this
evening was a double chocolate almond cookie along with 2 cups of
Indian Chai Tea!  I
had thoughts of either staying up very late or getting up very early to
see/photograph the meteor shower that is going to occur early in the
morning, but since I just saw a shooting star I think I'm gonna go to
bed instead. If I stay up all night I will be useless all day tomorrow.
If I was somewhere it was VERY dark, like say a dessert somewhere maybe
I'd stay up and try to get a great view, but since I'm in the light
pollution capital of the South I don't think I'll worry with it. I
guess I'll just stay up waiting to make sure Kim gets home safely. Good
night all. 
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I weighed in this morning at 214.7! I've now lost 60.3 pounds in 91
days on NS. I lost 2.9 pounds during the past week. My next goal is to
make it below 210 by December 1st. That might be a little difficult
since we will be out of town the weekend before the weigh in on the
30th, but a good goal none the less. Time to grab a dog and get in a
morning walk.
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Kim and I have had a very nice, calm, quiet, restful weekend. Today we
walked over 6 miles, during which we walked 4 of our 5 dogs. The dog
who didn't get to walk, Barkley, doesn't do well on a leash and is
still a very timid dog (he arrived at our house as an abused dog about
a year ago). Anyway, other than our walks the only productive thing I
managed to do was shoot some photos this afternoon and evening. One of
my favorite types of photography is night photography. Digital cameras
are capable of capturing light that is not visible by the naked eye
making night photography very exciting (to me anyway). I didn't spend
to long shooting after dark tonight, but managed a couple of
interesting landscape and astronomy shots.    I
had a good "on" plan day. Breakfast was pancakes, facon, a banana, and
a slice of bread. My morning snack was a veggie chicken patty. Lunch
today was a salad, and pasta with beef. My afternoon snack was a
chocolate crunch bar. Dinner this evening was a large salad, a thick
crust pizza with black olives, fake chorizzo, and a little extra low
fat cheese. Dessert tonight was a chocolate chip cookie with a cup of
tea.  My weigh in (#13, I think) is in the morning. Hopefully I will come in around 215 or so bringing my total loss to 60 pounds. 
|
 Let
me be the first to say I'm shocked that UGA actually won their game
this evening. Pretty good game & I bet Athens will be rocking all
night. UGA vs. Auburn weekend was always one of the wildest weekends of
the year while I was in college. I guess 'cause it's a week or so
before Thanksgiving and almost all of the students are in town for the
weekend. As much fun as it used to be, I'm SO happy I'm home and not
out somewhere in Athens tonight.  Before
settling in to watch football Kim and I walked the dogs twice today.
Once before breakfast for 2 miles and once before dinner for about a
mile. That was all the exercise I did the entire day! Nice to rest some. We
spent a little time setting up and shooting a new photo of me to use in
the Nutrisystem Fall Contest. Worked out OK. We also snuck in a quick
photo of Kim and I both (now my avatar). Kim also helped me (she proof
read and edited out all of my mistakes, I have a degree in Finance, not
English) prepare a short essay to accompony the photos submitted for
the contest. Photos and essay below.   During
the past summer, I experienced a few incidents which made me realize
that I was significantly overweight and desperately needed to do
something about it. When my girlfriend, Kim, and I departed for our
summer vacation, I was embarrassed to learn that I could barely fasten
the lap belt on our flight. At one point during our trip, Kim carried
some of our bags up trail from a secluded beach near the Golden Gate
Bridge for fear that I would collapse and die from exertion. Finally,
later in the summer, I took a photograph of my father and I standing on
a pier at the beach. Dad looked like dad, and I didn’t recognize
myself. At that moment, I decided to do something about my weight. When
I returned home, I ordered Nutrisystem and began the program. I have
been successful beyond my dreams. Nutrisystem has helped me learn
portion control, reintroduced me to fruits and yogurts, and has made me
realize how much I love salads. I no longer look at foods that are not
part of the system and long for the day when I can eat them again. I
now look at the healthy foods and choices that I make on a daily basis
and realize how much happier and healthier I am by not eating the
things that got me in such bad shape to begin with. I have lost over 60
pounds, and I now fit into clothes I used to wear 10 years ago in
college. Prior to beginning the Nutrisystem program, I would typically
eat a couple of high calorie, low nutrient meals every day. Now, with
the help of Nutrisystem, I eat multiple, nutritious meals throughout
the day, and I never get hungry. After losing a significant amount of
weight, I no longer suffer the knee pain which has, for years, limited
my ability to enjoy life. I can now keep up with Kim on our evening
walks, and she doesn’t have to worry about me having a heart attack
while walking our dogs. Thanks to the Nutrisystem program, I’m in much
better shape and overall health, and I look forward to a long, happy,
healthy life with Kim. Thanks Nutrisystem.So I'm
officially entered into the contest. It's nice to be able to say I
entered. The sad thing is I would have happily paid $10k to loose this
much weight, so easily and quickly. Almost forgot, here's the photo of Kim and I.  Today
was a good food day. I wasn't "on" plan exactly. Breakfast was
pancakes, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a
cup of yogurt. Lunch was Kim's take on black beans and rice (she makes
it into a salad ki  nda
thing & serves it chilled, I love it). My afternoon snack was an
oatmeal raisin cookie. Dinner was a large salad, grilled octopus, and
1oz of Humboldt Fog cheese! Dessert this evening was a fudge brownie.
I'm pretty sure I came in below my usual amount of calories for the
day, but with the reduction in exercise today I didn't notice it at all. Looking
forward to walking the hounds a few times tomorrow, resting, watching
some football, and most def playing Modern Warfare 2 until my eyes
BURN!
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This post is for Friday, November 13th, 2009. Again, I'm posting a day late.  Jack is one happy dog. Friday
is my leg day at the gym. I decided to get in a walk with Jumping Jack
Flash this morning before making my way to the gym. He and I had a
quick, quite cool 2 mile walk. At the gym I began with a little warm up
on the recumbent bike and then moved on to Smith Squats. This week I
got to train in my Cardillo Weight Belt (which was one of my mini
goals). It felt like a tight glove was holding me together while
squatting. I completed 3 sets of Smith Squats, then 3 sets of true
squats, then 3 sets of hack squats, and finally 3 sets of leg
extensions. For hamstrings I started with 3 sets of standing leg curls,
then on to 3 sets of seated leg curls, and finished with 3 sets of
hyper-extensions. Once home JJF and I walked again in the early
afternoon & he and I both walked with Kim when she got home from
work. A little less than 6 miles of walking on leg day!
 My
meals began with a screw up on my part. I intended to prepare maple
brown sugar oatmeal, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. When I took
my first bite of oatmeal I realized I had inadvertently made apple
cinnamon oatmeal. Quite a shock to what my taste buds were expecting. I
forgot to eat my morning snack before training so after I returned from
the gym I had 1oz of cheese. Lunch was home-style cheesy potatoes and a
Morning Star fake grilled chicken breast. My afternoon snack was a
double chocolate almond cookie. Dinner was veggie fajitas with fake
chorizo along with peas and corn. Dessert was a chocolate chip cookie
and a cup of tea.  Kim
and I are gonna try to shoot a new pic of me tomorrow to use in the
upcoming NS fall contest. If it turns out well I'll probably use it as
my new image on NS.
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This post is for Thursday, November 12th, 2009. Day late again. My next NS box (BBB, right?) arrived late yesterday evening. It really
seems like these things arrive more quickly after the second box. #'s 3
& 4 seem like they were only like about a week or so apart. Anyway,
a box filled with my favs & a new little friend. #60 "Focus Bear"
was hiding in the bottom of the box. Kim laughed and said the ten pound
bear should have been called focus, not the sixty. Maybe sixty should
have been called the "Hell Yes" bear.   Good
day at the gym. Well, it started even before the gym. Jumping Jack
Flash & I took a 2 mile hike early as Kim was preparing to leave
for work. I made my way to the gym afterward and knocked out over 15
minutes of HIIT cardio on the treadmill before moving on to my arm
workout. Mom and our friend P trained arms with me. Triceps first. 3
sets of press downs, 3 sets of overhead presses, and 3 sets of rope
press downs. Biceps next beginning with 3 sets of standing dumbbell
curls, and finishing with 3 sets of rope curls. I returned to the
treadmill for what was supposed to be 30 minutes of incline walking but
ended up being only 25 minutes because I could feel a blister forming
on the heel of my left foot. I bought some new shoes the other day and
was worried they might cause some issues as I get acclimated to wearing
them, but this problem was not related to the shoes, I wore some
ancient socks that were so loose they were causing the blister. That's
what I get for trying to find socks to wear in the dark. I had planned
on walking again with Kim after she got home from work but she was "on
call" last night and didn't make it home before 10 PM, so no second
walk for me and JJF. I did get a great eyeball and finger/thumb workout
playing the new Call Of Duty Modern Warfare game yesterday. I'm gonna
limit my play time and make myself leave the house at least once each
day over the next few days.  Another
good day with my meals today. Breakfast was an apple strudel scone,
facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a cup of
yogurt. Lunch was parmesan pasta and a grilled fake chicken veggie
thing (Morning Star). My afternoon snack was a chocolate crunch bar.
Dinner was spaghetti, broccoli & cauliflower in cheese sauce, and a
large salad. Dessert was a fudge brownie. This
week has been weird for me. I've been exhausted once or twice after
workouts and I think that has left me feeling like I haven't done
"well" this week. After recovering (read that to say waking from a nap)
I'm left with the feeling that I've gained about 20 pounds back. Going
back and looking over my food intake and training routine I know that's
illogical, but I still feel weird. Alright, enough weirdness from me.
LEG DAY TOMORROW. That should end any weird feelings I have 'cause I'll
be numb.  |
 I've
picked up on a trend concerning my workouts today. Occasionally I have
bad (as in I feel weak and exhausted) workouts. They all have been on
days when my routine gets thrown off. Today was such a day. Kim was off
work today so we slept in a little, had breakfast together, and just
hung out around the house this morning. I didn't make it to the gym
until after 12:30. My meals were kinda off as well. By 12:30 I'm
usually finishing up my lunch. Today I'd just barely finished my
morning snack. I began my cardio with about 17 minutes on the treadmill
doing a HIIT workout. I increased my run speed up to 7.5 for the
running portion of the exercise. When I finished on the treadmill I was
tired. I usually do about 20 minutes (at a slightly reduced speed)
without any exhaustion to speak of. I pressed on and trained back
afterward. I began with 9 pull-ups (woohoo, I added a rep this week),
then 3 sets of pull downs, followed by 3 sets of hammer strength pull
downs, then finishing with 3 sets of T-bar rows. Normally I would have
done at least 6 more sets but I was to tired to continue. I returned to
the treadmill where I assumed I would grind out about 30 minutes of
walking at incline 13,  speed
3.9. I made it about 6 minutes. I was so exhausted that once I got home
and had my lunch I went to bed for about 2 hours. This evening Kim and
I did get in a two mile walk around the lake, so I did get in about 55
minutes of cardio on the day, but no where near my normal amount. So
back to the trend I've noticed, I am evidently a routine freak. If my
routine gets altered I don't preform well. If my meals are pushed back
I feel weak. If I train later in the day I feel weak. Combine a few
alterations to my routine and I might as well not even leave the house.
Tomorrow my mom is scheduled to return to the gym and train arms with
me. I'm gonna try to keep my routine on track and see if I'm able to
have a good workout.  I
had an "on" plan day, albeit a little off timing wise. Breakfast was
actually the same as yesterday, oatmeal, facon, bread, and a banana. My
morning snack was the same as everyday (see what I mean by routine), a
cup of yogurt. Lunch was a little different toady. Since I was so
exhausted I wanted to add a little more calories and protein to my
lunch so along with my red beans sausage and rice I had a Morning Star
Original Chick Patty (soy of course) used in place of my lunch veggies.
My afternoon snack was a double chocolate almond cookie. Dinner tonight
was another change using some more soy based products. I added some
fake chorizo sausage and a couple of fake pieces of pepperoni to my
thick crust pizza. I added a large salad to the pizza for my 2 of my
veggies, letting the fake soy meats constitute the other veggie. Pizza
tasted great (I did add a little sheep's cheese as my fat) and the
salad was good as always. One of the things I've discovered I love on a
salad is jicima (yambean). It is a Mexican veggie (taproot actually).
It looks like a big root. It is mostly water, and tastes somewhat like
an apple (yes, it's sweet). I love it. The only places we can find that
have it are some of the small Mexican groceries in our community.
Anyway, love me some yambean! Dessert this evening was a white
chocolate chunk cookie along with a cup of Indian Chai tea! Off to bed and up early to get back on my routine and have a good workout in the morning!
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 Hurricane
Ida has parked herself over the South and brought a large amount of
rain to our area. My poor hounds have had to stay inside most of the
day today. The precipitation has also put a damper on my cardio routine
today. The only cardio I was able to do today was at the gym. I was
running late so I began with only 12 minutes of HIIT instead of 20.
After my shoulder workout I got in another 30 minutes on the treadmill
at incline 12.9, speed 3.9. My mother joined me today for my workout.
We began with military presses, then side lateral raises, moved on to
upright rows, and then finished with rear delts. I went on to do a few
sets of shoulder shrugs on my own afterward. Tomorrow we train back and
I'll get to try to up my pull-ups into the double digits.  I
had another "on" plan day today. Breakfast was maple brown sugar
oatmeal, a banana, facon, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a
cup of yogurt. Lunch was vegetable beef soup (and it was extra good
because I was freezing and soaked) along with corn and peas. My
afternoon snack was a white chocolate chunk cookie. Dinner this evening
was a large salad, macaroni and cheese with beef, broccoli &
cauliflower in cheese sauce, and a slice of bread. Dessert this evening
was a chocolate crunch bar & a cup of Indian Chai Tea! W  e
recieved a new shipment of teas and cheeses today (we've kinda gone
cheese crazy). The teas were the before mentioned Indian Chai and
Midnight Iguana. The cheeses were a triple cream called St. Andre, a 3
year old Italian Parmsean, a raw sheep's milk cheese, and an aged
goat's milk cheese called Humboldt Fog. All were amazing (I sampled a
tiny taste of each). The St. Andre and Humboldt look like cakes. I'm
preparing a post on my personal blog about the cheese and will post a
link here once it's published. Here's a pic to hold any of you cheese
lovers over.  Hopefully the rain will move on sometime tomorrow and Kim and I can walk/wade around the lake late in the afternoon.
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