Im Starting With the Man in the Mirror

Ive posted a lot of times about losing weight. I dont know if this time will be different. Something has got to give though. I weigh 221.3 pounds right now. Most of my health concerns can be fixed by bringing that down to a healthy weight. My doctor would like it and all of my clothes will fit again if I get into the low 190s. I would love to get down to the 160s. So, I need to lose about 15-30% of my body weight.

Exercise: I am going to look into competing in triathlons. I would like to compete in one by next spring. In the mean time Im going to start training for 5k runs. I will also start riding my bike again. I would like to get a membership to a pool. My plan is to do one of these activities every day for at least 30 minutes a day. On the days that weather prohibits me from doing one I will be doing Wii Fit. In summary, I am going to be more active. I have to be.

Diet: I am pre-diabetic and suffer from acid reflux. My doctor says that both of these can be managed by diet. I am going to start by limiting my breakfast and lunches to only things that are compatible with these lifestyles. This means that I will not be able to eat anything at work. Nothing. No exceptions.

If you happen to read this blog still, you have probably gathered that this post has been a way for me to hold myself accountable.

Who Wants to Live Forever

Weve been in our new apartment for a month now. Its wonderful. As much as I hate moving, theres something exciting about a fresh start. Were the first people to live in this apartment since the major remodel and everything is in good working order and clean and nice.

Weve received all of Jacks bedroom furniture and many of the other wonderful gifts and have begun putting everything in its place so that when he comes home hell have the best bedroom a newborn could ever want. Many thanks to everyone who went to Jaimes baby shower and to those who couldnt make it and sent us gifts. They are all greatly appreciated.

All, that is, except my mothers. The Sunday prior to the baby shower my mom calls me up and asks, "What big items are left on your registry that you really really want?" This took me by surprise. My mom doesnt like showing her love by buying things or spending money. She prefers using guilt and manipulation. I took a moment to think about it and told her that we would really like the "travel system" (super fancy stroller that can also be used as a car seat) or the "pack and play" (fancy play pen). Both of these are on our registry at Babies R Us. Well, she was going to get the travel system, says a reliable source, but it was too expensive. Now Ill admit. $270 is a large price tag, but your the grandmother, very well off financially, AND ASKED WHAT BIG ITEMS WE WANTED. In the end, we received the $80 crib mattress that we registered for. Yes, thats right, $80 from grandma for the first grand child. Im pretty sure some of the people Im not related to (and didnt raise me) spent more then that and Im certain almost all my relatives spent at least that much.

This past week was quite exciting. Dan is living in Phoenix again, Jenna came out for a few days and my lovely wife returned from her week in MI. On top of all that I got myself a big birthday present. I got my truck. The one that I intend to veggie convert. Its a 1996 Ford F250 4x4 with a 7.3L Powers Stroke Turbo Diesel. Its glorious. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for the conversion kit and Ill be driving cheep.

1 Down, 37 To Go

OK, for the last three years Ive done that little year in review thing. And for the last three years my biggest failure has been gaining back the 15 pounds I lost over the summer. It really pisses me off. I hate the holidays for that reason. I hate myself for not having any self restraint. I hate Hershey for making Special Dark taste so good. I hate that I make excuses for not walking the dogs every time I take them out. I hate that people have no regard for others wants and give them pounds upon pounds of chocolate. I hate that I cant throw the candy away because its to "wasteful".

This morning when I woke up I weighed 201 pounds. If all went well Ill be 200 pounds tomorrow. Then Ill be 192 on the 11th and back to 187 (my low for 2007) by the 31st of January. Those 15 pounds are the easiest. Ive lost those every year since I was first over 200. Its the next 23 thats hard. But I plan on being at 164 by Turkey day. 164 falls on the high end of a healthy weight for someone my height, gender and age. This isnt a resolution. Its something I must do. Im too good looking to be fat.

Image found here.

Heart Attack Man

Ive set a new personal record low. Im under 190 pounds for the first time in years. I dont know when the last time I saw 18x on the scale was but its a beautiful site. When we moved to Phoenix I was hovering around 200 and when the family was in town in January and we were eating out every day I got up to 207. I am now about half way to where I realistically would like to be, in the low to mid 170s. Ideally Id like to get down to 164 but I like food to much and exercising to little to make that a realistic goal.

I havent had to make any major lifestyle changes to do this either. Nothing I dislike anyway, and that keeps me optimistic. I walk the dogs every morning. I ride my bike about 5 miles round trip on days I work. I drink weight loss shakes for breakfast and lunch on days I work. We drink almost exclusively diet soda. And I dont eat after 8pm. We still eat good tasty dinners with no regard to trans fat and carb count. Budget permitting we will eat out or get a pizza. It seems to be working pretty good. I have a feeling Im going to have to step it up to get under 180 but Ill address that when the weight stops going down.

Red Hot

Ive been making chili for several years now. It started out about average and over the years has gotten really good. Its to the point where Im thinking about entering a Chili Cookoff. Im not quite to the point of entering (I still use ground beef for my meat after all) but its getting close.

In preperation I decided to find out what associations and groups there are for the cookoff and what the rules are and basically how it all goes down. One thing that I found interesting is that beans are not allowed. Now Im just a white kid from the midwest and have only been to Texas once and that was for less then 5 hours along the highway but Ive only ever known chili with beans. Personally I dont have a problem excluding the beans. They certianly arent my favorite part and with the last incarnation of my recipe I only put half as many in anyway. It just doesnt seem right.

Anyway, Im going to take the beans out of my chili and figure out what form of meat Im giong to use. Perhaps Ill visit a cookoff once before I enter. At any rate, I have much work to do. This is one of the things Id like to achieve in life. Id like to win a chili cookoff.