330 And Falling

Week 6: Minor Setback

2012-03-13T08:04:00.001-04:00

WEEK 6: March 12, 2012 Weight: 251.4lbs Loss of (-.4) Total Loss:78.6

Ya, so you can see I didn't lose last week, I actually gained a small bit... I'm a bit surprised considering I had hockey twice, coached a couple of times and ran 5.22km's outdoors. Even went for the first walk in years with the Woman out at the Tree Farm (same place I ran a few weeks ago).

I didn't think I ate poorly except for one night for the Boy's hockey team party - and that's probably what did it.

So no big "WOOO, CONGRATULATIONS YOU BROKE THE 80LB PLATEAU FOR ME..."

On the flip side, the Woman bought me a pair of shorts from Old Navy... size 40. Previously I was/am a 42, but the 40's fit very comfortably... So, a nice NSV (non-scale victory). I'm looking forward to buying pants in the 30's. Never would have thought that when I was buying them in the 50's last year.

This week is looking to be busy once again... Hockey yesterday, today and tomorrow... Back to work on the weekend but going out Saturday night to some shag or something to celebrate St. Patty's Day. It will probably be fairly low key as the Boy is in a hockey tournament and could very well play in the semi finals/finals at 9am Sunday morning or something.

Also, inspired by my buddy over at the Clydesdale Project, I've been thinking about buying a bike....

Just the Facts, Man...

2012-03-10T13:09:00.001-05:00

So I ran 5k on the treadmill this morning with my new HRM...

Here's the Data:

Duration: 36:10
Calories: 611
Average BPM: 152
Max BPM: 177
Time In Zone: 10:06

A few things... I started doing interval training (8.0 and 6.0) but noticed I was out of the "Target Range" as soon as the speed bumped to 6.1... 6.0 I stayed constant at ~ 152-154BPM. 156 was out of the target zone. Cool thing I didn't realize - the treadmills were Polar configured - so my BMP went right to the front display on the treadmill, which was kinda cool... Didn't have to keep looking down at my watch.

Duration included my warm up and cool downs as well.

Calories are what I figured... It wasn't a very strenuous run, as I'm used to doing lengthy intervals. After the first ten minutes I basically just sat in my target zone.

Now... What to find out where I want my heart rate to be and what it all means! Kris??

Bloated?!?

2012-03-09T07:33:00.000-05:00

Good news or bad news?

I'm a good news kind of guy... So good news first.

My HRM came in yesterday! It's very nifty... The chest strap it comes with is very comfortable, and after a few minutes you don't even realize you're wearing it anymore. I was wearing it during the Boy's practice... I wasn't really exerting myself at all and I still posted near 200 calories lost in 45 minutes, heart rate steady at about 110.

The bad news?

I weighed myself and I've gained... More than 3lbs in 3 days... I know that's impossible unless I've consumed 10,500 calories more than I've worked off... Which, considering I played goalie once, played forward once and then ran 5.22km outside, and haven't gone crazy in the food department... IS impossible.

I have had a fair amount of cheese in the last few days, plus some processed pepperoni for mini-pizza's, so I'm thinking the high sodium content has me holding onto some extra water weight. I'm going to seriously limit sodium intake for the next couple of days and see how the scale reads for my weight in on Monday... A gain wouldn't make me a happy camper!

My HRM is here, my HRM is here!

2012-03-08T12:19:00.001-05:00

According to Purolater... that was quick! I'm going to shoot down on my lunch break and pick it up...

How exciting, in a really nerdy type of way *lol*

Tonight: Hockey practice... If my legs are okay after I might be inclined to go for a test run!

- K

I Am A Runner

2012-03-07T14:15:00.002-05:00

I'd do "Two Thumbs Up... but it'd have made picture taking difficult"

It feels weird to even type it, let alone say it in my head...

Today I ran the Boulevard Ciruit, which was just over 5k. I'd attempted to do it non-stop over the Spring and Summer but was just a BIT too far for me to do straight.

As you can see I DID IT TODAY - and nearly 700 calories burned to boot. I realize that it's not a breakneck speed or anything, but that's not what I was going for. I wanted to prove to myself that I could run the 5k... OUTDOORS... with poor running conditions (snow and water still on the trail) although the temperature (+2C) was great.

So that's that. :)

Yesterday my knee wasn't hurting too bad, so I popped some Tylenol and went and played hockey in the afternoon... There was only 8 skaters so it was a pretty good workout. I also took the Boy to his hockey practice last night. Tonight, I have to take the Girl to her practice (while possibly taking the Boy as a goalie for the girls to shoot at)

All in all, a great day!

The Heart is Where the Home is...

2012-03-05T17:48:00.002-05:00

Or is that the other way around?

Last night I went ahead and purchased a Polar FT4 Heart rate monitor... I was torn between the Fitbit and the HRM, and decided to try the HRM... It should be here next week, and I'm looking forward to trying it out. I'm curious to see how close it is between that, and the one on the treadmill.

I'd also like to see how many calories I actually burn in an hour of hockey playing goalie, and what Loseit site says. Also how much I lose during an hour of coaching hockey.

I'm also coming to a junction in my hockey 'career'... I'm 37 and not getting any older, although I love to goaltend, I'm not as flexible as I once was... The pads I wear are 36"+1's, where I should (because I am 6'4) wear a 38" pad... Unfortunately you basically have to custom order those pads which would cost in excess of $1,000... And the shorter pads are leaving the tops of my knees exposed a bit, and I took another off the knee cap today... I got on it with the ice quickly and Ibuprofin but I'm wondering how walking is going to feel tomorrow...

It's not the first time I've been kneecapped, and if its as bad as I think I might not be able to do much for the next couple of days... Which SUCKS. I've already cancelled my goaltending duty in the afternoon. I'm hoping I'll be able to do SOMETHING tomorrow.

Week 5: On the Horizon

2012-03-05T08:39:00.005-05:00

WEEK 5: March 5, 2012 Weight: 251.0lbs Loss of (2.4) Total Loss:79

Another successful week with a loss that I am very happy with... A couple of more pounds and I'll be in the 240's for the first time in... well... a long time.

This upcoming week should be a good one for eating and working out... I've got a couple of hockey games (for myself as a goalie), a few hockey practices (for either my daughter or ex-girlfriends son) and in between I'll throw in a couple of 5k interval runs.

Here's to dipping into the 240's for Week 6!

Picture Day!

2012-03-03T20:16:00.000-05:00

March 3rd, 2012 @252lbs.

I decided it was time to upload a newer picture of myself...

Sometimes the best way to see how far you've come is by seeing

yourself through the eyes of others...

I'm close to going down to a 40 pant size, where I was once a 52... Next week will be a busy one with 2 hockey games (for myself), a bunch of practices and games (for the kids) and a few gym times in there as well...

I jumped on the scale today and it showed 251... Here's to having the 240's on the horizon!

Summer of 2010 ~330lbs

Breaking Bad

2012-03-02T20:06:00.001-05:00

So I went and ran a 5k interval again today... 2 minute warm up followed by 8.0 to 5.5 intervals... I was pretty tired by the end, but decided to "kick it up a notch" and do 9.0 on my last minute...

Half way through, the treadmill died... Just shut right off. No power.

You can imagine what happened... I almost ran right through the front of the treadmill before I was able to brace myself... I wasn't injured, but it gave me a pretty good startle.

I jumped off the now deadmill, and on to the one next to it to finish the last bit of the run and then cooldown....

The rest of the day was physio and then an afternoon nap before midnight shift...

Beware the Ides of March...

2012-03-01T15:50:00.000-05:00

So I've thrown up a time counter on the right hand side to track how long it's been since I've had bad fast food (as in: Whoppers, double cheeseburgers etc etc) Prior to the whopper juniors, it was before Christmas the last time I had some... So I thought maybe this ticker might encourage more abstience on that front.

Gym tonight for a run, although my shoulder is killing me today... I'm also out of diet pop, so I figured I'd see how long I can go without it... Wish me luck!

Week 4 Weight In!

2012-02-28T10:27:00.002-05:00

WEEK 4: February 27, 2012 Weight: 253.4lbs Loss of (2.0) Total Loss:76.6

What a weekend... I decided to take a Me break from logging food knowing I was going to be hotel bound for 4 days while my 'step-son' was at his hockey tournament... I did exercise early in the week, but on Thursday we were in the truck headed out of town. My breakfasts were fine, usually cereal/toast, fruit but no juice... Lunch/Dinner often melded into one meal due to our game times and social calendar. One meal was at a local diner (fabulous), one visit to Famous Dave's and a visit to the Olive Garden. I did eat two Whopper Jr's on the way home from the trip... That's the first "fast food" I've had since before Christmas. I honestly didn't expect any loss for the week when I got on the scale this morning - but was pleasantly surprised with still having a 2lb loss!

Huzzah!

This week I'll get back on track after the weekend... In fact I'm heading out to the gym now to do some interval running for 20 minutes and maybe some upper body weights... I'm still dealing with this shoulder injury so that's still discouraging.

- K

Miles to the Giant

2012-02-22T13:53:00.002-05:00

Thunder Bay: Miles to the Giant Marathon

This was the potential 10k I was considering for this fall... They're trying out a 5 person relay Marathon (26.1 miles) this year which works out to a little less than 10k. I think that'd be a neat thing to do if I could find 4 more like minded people.

Upcoming "Vacation"

2012-02-22T09:54:00.003-05:00

Vacation:

So I'm heading to Duluth for the weekend with the 'family' for a hockey tournament... We're taking off a day early and staying at the waterpark/hotel down there, which the boys will love. Eating out for three straight days will be a challenge... Will see what the scale says on Monday - so no updates until my weigh in.

Health:

That general malaise that I've been feeling and coughing I've been having may be an indication of the onset of pneumonia or broncitis again. Today at worked I was coughing and a couple of times the phlegm was streaked with a bit of blood... sure enough, that's an indication of the lining of the lung tearing which is common for those two ailments. I had pneumonia twice last year, putting me on the couch for a combined 2 weeks, and once you get it it becomes easier to get... So this isn't cool. IF I have time tomorrow I may have to hit the Walk-In clinic for some drugs as a precaution.

Dropped to 254.0 today... I'm looking forwards to see the 240's!

Week 3 - Victory is Mine!

2012-02-20T10:03:00.002-05:00

WEEK 3: February 20, 2012 Weight: 255.4lbs Loss of (4.7) Total Loss:74.6

By the gods, a good week! I even cheated (twice actually - Valentines Day and Friday night with beers) and I still posted a great loss... Of course, I helped to offset it by running ~ 15kms, multiple on-ice coaching sessions and a work out here and there... And of course being very vigilante of what I consumed on the other days.

Unfortunately, I have come down with some sort of chest cold... One of those that starts out in your lungs and there's that gurgling when you exhale and coughing up some nice chunks of lung butter. Ya, I love that word... Daughter told me that years ago when she was young, so I use it often now... Which really sucks as I can't physically run due to coughing and spasms when I exert myself (sad face)... I'm somewhat prone to coming down with broncitis and pneumonia (twice last winter), so I'm hoping that I'm not headed in that direction.

First Outdoor Run of the Year

I wasn't planning on it being a run... Figured on a beautiful day I'd take the dog out to the local tree farm and go for a walk... After about 2 minutes of walking, I thought "screw this", turned on my Runkeeper app and set off. Obviously I wasn't really prepared for this (wearing heavy gloves, scarf, heavier winter coat) but I figured, "What the heck" and off I went...

It wasn't easy running either... These are snow packed trails, with some icy hills to climb and descend, all the while dealing with other dog walkers... I quickly became overheated and stuffed my gloves/scarf into my coat pockets and unzipped it half way down... But I kept trodding on.

I had to make a couple of brief breaks in my almost 4k run due to meeting up with other dogs and getting leashes tangled and what not... and one point I turned down a dead end road and had to retrace my steps (you can see that on the image on the right hand side).

Runkeeper is great... It logged my times, my route, my speed... Every 5 minutes it'd give me an update of how far I'd run and what my pace was! Very inspiring!

Although my time was much slower than what I'm used to, I figured given the situation it wasn't too shabby... I was going to do the Boulevard circuit on Sunday but this chest thing knocked me down and told me otherwise...

Hopefully it clears up soon, and here's to another positive (ie: negative) week ahead!

- K

In Between Nights...

2012-02-16T19:49:00.001-05:00

Gym day again today, consisting of a 3.5km interval warmup (5.5 to 8.0), a lower body workout and then a 1.5km interval cooldown (5.5 to 8.0 again).

Leg Workout (Generally)
Leg Curl (Laying): 90x10, 90x10, 90x10
Leg Curl (Seated): 105x10, 105x10, 105x10
Hip Abductors (Internal): 80x15, 80x15, 80x15
Hip Abductors (External): 150x15, 150x15, 150x15
Leg Press (Seated): 305x10, 305x10, 305x10

Tomorrow I'll probably do another 5k tomorrow after physio followed by a hockey practice...

Bored @ Work

2012-02-16T06:25:00.002-05:00

Registered my domain and did a bit of updating to the look/layout... I think it flows a bit better than the older one...

Record Breaker

2012-02-15T19:58:00.001-05:00

Today I ran again, another 5k. Again I did one minute intervals with 5.5 and 6 being my 'resting' states, and 8.0, 7.5 and 7.0 being my fast intervals, for the entire run. I posted my quickest 5k ever at just under 27 minutes. I was pouring sweat by the time I was done, but I felt like I could have kept going... Good feeling!

That felt good... But what felt better?

Getting on the treadmill and running 'faster' and 'longer' than two skinny guys on either side of me... Couldn't help but look down and see one guys intervals at 5 and 6, and the other at 5 and 7... And I probably had a good 60lbs on these guys. I'm not taking pleasure in their running pace, I find it more of a measurement of how far I've come in my running... If you're bored, look back to my posts in April of last year and you can see what I mean.

So ya, YAY ME!

I also noticed another loss today and I'm hoping to keep it going until I post next Monday, although weekends are always tougher.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to do either a leg workout after I get up, or perhaps a Fitness Evolved cardio/yoga session for an hour... We'll see how I feel.

Add: Valentine's Day I overdid it on the food... I got the 'significant other' and I Chineese food and also picked up a "heart shaped" bbq chicken pizza... as well as some 'gourmet' cupcakes (which I had one)... Although I allowed for extra calories during the day, it was still a bit of a bump (which, by the way, I don't regret)

Week 2

2012-02-13T07:50:00.000-05:00

WEEK 2: February 13, 2012 Weight: 260.1lbs Loss of (1.1) Total Loss: 69.9lbs

Yes, I know it's only 6 days, but I figured I'd make it a Monday to Monday thing... Last week went well, physically. Hit the gym a three or four times, did some running and a workout... Throw in a couple of hockey practices and things were good on that end.

The eating part was pretty good... Couple lapses for mini-donuts that I bought for the Boy and a bit too much pasta, but nothing crazy... Hopefully clamp down on that 'extra' stuff this week and get a bigger loss than 1.3lbs for next weeks weigh in!

- K

Run Forrest Run...

2012-02-11T09:02:00.001-05:00

On Thursday I ran again... Another 5k but more intervals this time. Base of 5.5 and bumping it up to 7.0 every minute... The ole legs were burning after that half hour!

On Friday I went to physio and afterwards hit the gym. I ran a 2k warm up lap and then went into a lower body workout... On a few of my exercises I had to lower my weights (haven't worked out in 6 months), but a few (seated leg press = 315lbsx10x3) were good... Ran another 3k at the end to get my 5k for the day in... This morning feel pretty good, legs are a bit sore.

Another thing I did was bundle up a bunch of my 'fatter' clothes (some 2XL and 3XL clothes) in garbage bags and dropped them off at the local Salvation Army... I'm not going to be going back there again.

Oh, I also bought a new scale... I guess the old one was worn out so depending on how you leaned you could vastly modify your weight: like 5lbs+ in some cases. The new scale seems pretty stable, and this morning I found myself down 4lbs :)

Hope you're doing well in your quest!

- K

Week 1 - Starting Over, or Continuing the Run

2012-02-08T00:28:00.002-05:00

WEEK 1: February 7, 2012 Weight: 261.2 lbs Loss of (N/A) Total Loss 68.8lbs

A few of my co-blogsters are breaking their lives down into smaller, manageable time frames... Weeks, for the most part. I've decided I'm going to give this a try and see how it goes... I'll endeavour to keep better track of consumption and exercise via Loseit.com and post my weekly reports as well (running Monday to Monday)

Wish me luck!

Hockey, hockey... and more hockey

2012-02-07T23:13:00.001-05:00

The daughter had an out of town hockey tournament the past weekend which, overall was a lot of fun. Hockey was played, light beer was had, meals were eaten... Two thumbs up!

I'm back home now, and decided to layout my plan for the week... Monday I worked days. Today I went for a run (5k in 28 minutes). Tomorrow morning I have physio at 9:45am (so ya, only 2.5hrs of sleep for me) and I'm going to fit in a lower body workout at some point before I go back to sleep for my second night shift. Thursday I plan on another 5k run in the afternoon, and Friday will hopefully be an upper body (light on the right shoulder) workout... Toss in a hockey practice on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and two on Sunday and it should be a productive week!

I'll be back to post if I've held myself to that accountability or not!

Physio!

2012-01-30T21:50:00.001-05:00

Woke up this morning and hit the gym at 830am for a run... Ran the 5k in 29 minutes... off to physio for more work on my shoulder and finger...

The physiotherapist gave me the thumbs up for VERY light workouts with my right shoulder... Like starting with 6lb weights, nothing over my shoulder or extending my arm. Limited yes, but it'll be nice to start to get into the groove of things...

In between nights tomorrow, so nothing going on. Probably another run on Wednesday followed by hockey practice.

On it goes!

2012-01-28T07:24:00.004-05:00

The past few days I've hit the gym twice for a 5k run... Bumped it up to a constant 9 minute mile so the 5k was slightly over 27 minutes. Also did a couple more Evolved workouts, and played some hockey on Thursday.

Flip side, I went out three times last week, which usually involved beer and food of some sort. So there's no weightloss but I'm okay with that. Had a great week, met some old friends, met some new ones.

Oh, and one of my buddy's getting married next January in Jamaica and asked me to be his best man at his wedding. AWESOME! Can't wait! :D

Back to work for the next four days...

An Afternoon Affair

2012-01-23T20:00:00.002-05:00

... with my Xbox...

I slept for about 4 hours after my midnight shift and wasn't feeling motivated to hit the gym for a run today (that and the weather is absolutely crappy)... So I decided in lieu of a 5k run I threw in the Fitness Evolved "game" and did a 45 minute workout...

It consisted of Wall Breaker (I LOVE THIS!), Jumping Jacks (medium then hard - boy that one gets the blood going!), some Cardio Boxing and some yoga.

Tomorrow will be some hockey! Yay... I'm recovered from the tournament and good to go...

2012 Running Calender

2012-01-23T02:22:00.002-05:00

A couple of the girls at work are really pushing me to set some goals and do some formalized runs this year... So I took some time to plan the year out of what my options are...

March 18th: St. Patty's Day - 5k (off)
June 16th: Grandma's (Duluth - would need to book 1 day off work)
June 17th: Special Olympics Torch Run - 5k (off)
Sept 23rd: Miles with the Giant (10k) and the Terry Fox Run (5k) (off)
Sept 30th: Run For the Cure - 5k (off)

There's a few more races that haven't been finalized yet... But that's not a bad start eh?

Temptation Hell

2012-01-22T23:28:00.003-05:00

The "Free" Cupcakes on the table...

That's what I'm going to start calling the lunchroom at work. It's always someone's birthday, or someone decided to bake... or... or... and then there's always the "snack cupboard" loaded with junk and sweet, sweet temptations.

I'm putting a challenge to myself to only consume what I bring with me from home. That's it. Wish me luck!

Of "Your Shape" and Hockey

2012-01-22T22:43:00.002-05:00

So I picked up Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 for the Xbox Kinect last week... I wanted something a little different to get me going, that also included a bit of yoga as well (which I'm hoping will help me increase my flexibility for goaltending and life in general). I've only played it once but it was actually a lot of fun. I tried a couple of the "warm up" games, jogged down a couple of New York city blocks and did the intro to yoga section twice. I was sweating pretty good by the end of my half hour workout (200 calories according to the Kinect). I look forward to using it again!

This past weekend I was involved in an International Law Enforcement Hockey tournament... 4 hockey games over about 36 hours. Feeling a bit sore, but a good sore. No major injuries. Good times, but whatever calories I burned off were consumed back into my body in the 'liquid' form, if you get my drift... That and all the appetizers they were serving at the 'closed party' at a local bar on the last night of the tournament. Spent most of the next day recovering *lol*

Working nights today and tomorrow, but I plan on going for a run when I get up tomorrow.

- K

5k at a time...

2012-01-17T16:07:00.003-05:00

Ran another 5k today after I went to physio and had my finger x-rayed... 30 mins and I was done. No pain at all, which is a very good sign. Got that 'runners high' afterwards... I had almost forgotten how good it felt.

We'll see tomorrow how the legs are doing *lol*

I've decided I'm going to try and track total KM's ran this year on the side of my blog... and maybe the # of ice times I play as well... Just to give me some perspective...

- K

"What would you like to hear first?"

2012-01-16T10:03:00.001-05:00


No, my Doc doesn't have a limp or is addicted to pain meds (That I'm aware of)

So I went to see the big Doctor today - follow up to my blood work in December and to get an opinion on this finger/knuckle of mine...

"What do you want first? Good news or bad?"

I chose the good news...

"Your blood sugars are completely normal, your cholesterol is normal and it seems as if all your insides are in great working order!"

/golfclap YAY ME! In the back of my mind I was thinking I had slipped even though I have been maintaining and it fucked everything up and I was going to have to go back to pricking my finger and taking medication and feeling crappy like I did before.... But I guess that's not the case ;)

The bad news?

"Well, I think you've got a fracture in that finger of yours. It's caused a lot of swelling which in turn has caused the stiffness which is why it's 1) still painful and 2) you have very limited range of motion. We're going to get that thing X-rayed and I need you to start passively flexing your finger both in and out... Try and regain SOME range of motion. If it is fractured we'll have to see how badly it is before we can choose a course of action."

So there we go... I figured that was the case, but sometimes you just hope you heal up and everything just goes back to normal...

That goes for both your body, and your heart.

- K

A Week Off...

2012-01-16T01:42:00.001-05:00

As of this morning I'll have a solid 6 days off going into a night shift next Sunday.

In this time I will:

Take Parker to one, maybe 2 practices (on ice time for me too!)
Have my hockey on Tuesday (MAYBE Thursday)...
Hockey Tournament: 2 Games Friday, 2 Games Saturday
Drink Friday, Drink Saturday, Suffer Sunday
Coach hockey on Wednesday

It's going to be a very busy week! Wish me well and no injuries!

Sore!

2012-01-12T11:47:00.001-05:00

Yes, I was sore for 2 days after my run... Still had coaching Wednesday night so it was good to get out and skate and work out the muscles for an hour. I also did 4 songs on "Just Dance 3" for the Xbox and had a bit of a sweat going... Fun stuff. I'm going to pick up the Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 next week and start using that as well.

Eating better is going well...

I'm really looking forward to the local Law Enforcememnt hockey tournament in town next weekend... 18 teams... 5 games... There's a social at the Neebing Roadhouse Friday night (Molson sponsored) and then Saturday night is the big dinner event at the NorWester... There will be alot of beer consumed and other things, so it's good I'll be burning thousands of calories playing hockey. *lol*

Also considering running down to Duluth the week of 24th-26th to pick up some groceries and a little well deserved R&R.

Oh, and going to the gym again tonight!

Run... Run for the Hills

2012-01-09T12:09:00.001-05:00

Yes...

So today I brushed off the running shoes and hit the gym... With the rest of Thunder Bay. Stupid New Years Resolutions. At least most of them will be gone by mid February lol

I didn't take it too slow today, I wanted to push myself... So I did a full 5k in just under 30 minutes with a 1% incline. Intervalled between 5.5 to 6.5 to spurts of 7.0 The big part was that I did it, and didn't stop.

This is a big deal for me, being out of running since September due to this stupid rotator cuff injury. The good news? The shoulder doesn't hurt much and I've got physio later. I've got a feeling that tomorrow the legs will be a bit rubbery, but I'm also playing hockey tomorrow as well. So I'll skip running tomorrow and run on Wednesday morning before an hour hockey practice that night.

I started tracking on Lose It again, which is a great motivator if you're struggling to keep up with the whole lifestyle thing.

Lunch time, going to chow down on some soup...

- K

2011 and 2012

2012-01-08T16:55:00.001-05:00

2011 was a terrible year, probably the worse I've experienced.

That being said, there were some positives that I take out of 2011 and try to bring forth with me into 2012:

1) My overall health

Dropping over 60lbs and being taken off my diabetes meds and high blood pressure pills. Being able to run 10k in an hour. Being able to play 2 hours of hockey in a row without dying... Hell, playing one hour of hockey without collapsing is awesome. I've been able to maintain my weight within 5lbs since August and I'm hoping to get on the right track to losing again!

2) My job

I'm happy and humbled to say that I have a great job with great benefits in todays somewhat uncertain economic times. I enjoy going to work (95% of the time) and it allows me to do things I wouldn't normally be able to do. In 2012 I officially reach 8 years of 'continuous service' (Although I've been here for 11) which entitles me to another week of vacation :)

3) Hockey, hockey and more hockey

I love it. I love watching it, I love playing it, and I love coaching it. I did all three last year and hope to continue doing it all in 2012.

4) A Solid Core of Close Friends

One can never have enough! You know who you are (and yes, my Ex falls into this category)... and to the big bunch of new friends I made as well!

So, there you go 2011. I'm glad to see you gone in SO many ways, but you'll never be forgotten!

Of Pad Thai and birthdays...

2012-01-03T20:24:00.002-05:00

I've got a DATE tomorrow!

My daughter turned 14 years old today... 14. Seems like forever ago she came home from the hospital... Next fall she'll be in high school.... /sigh Happy Birthday Kiddo! I'm taking her out for dinner tomorrow to celebrate... Either Mongo's or Montana's, and possibly a movie after.

Picked up a bunch of groceries today... Kellogg's Red Berry cereal was on sale, so I picked up a bunch of boxes. Cooked a couple of chicken breasts up with a bag of mixed veggies with some pad thai sauce and took it to work with me tonight... Currently snacking on carrots and light ranch dip and a mini-orange.

I'm going to hold off on the weigh in until Thursday morning... Scale's always screwed up when I'm working night shifts :)

ADD: Oh, and I'm thinking of 'taking up' downhill skiing... My friend Mike and his wife have recently started skiing again, and I purchased Hannah downhill skis for winter... So... Mike's going to take me to a local ski shop and help me pick out some stuff, possibly go out on Friday and kill myself. I'll keep you all informed lol

Let's Try and Get Back on the Wagon

2012-01-02T21:19:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow I'm going shopping... I need 3 bins to hold all my Christmas ornaments and I need some groceries...

0% plain yogurt... Frozen berries, cereal, fruit, carrots, brocolli, snow peas.. Getting the picture? :)

I'm hoping that since I've plateaued and maintained for the last 3 months that I should be able to drop some weight relatively quickly as my body has gotten used to it... Guess we'll see.

I'm going to attempt to run again on my days off (only 5k) and see how that goes. I will be playing hockey on Thursday... Shoulder still aches and I'm still going to physio for that... I also have to make an doctors appointment for 1) follow up to my December blood tests and 2) Getting X-rays or an MRI on my knuckle to see what kind of damage I'm looking at...

I also ordered a Kinect for my Xbox 360... Comes with three games, and also picked up Just Dance 3... See if we can burn some calories looking like a goof but having some fun in my own living room :)

Stay tuned! Weigh in tomorrow...

'Movember and other Musings

2011-12-01T21:53:00.001-05:00

A Movember to Remember

So I've been slack in many areas this last month. I've gone back to eating somewhat poorly (although nothing like before)... Exercise has decreased, and I've put on 5lbs. I'm not going to bore you with my excuses... I'm just going to pull up my pants and get on with it again.

I've been attending physio for my shoulder injury, twice a week. Ultrasound, heat pads, some movement exercises and sometimes electro 'shock therapy (TEMS stuff)... Usually I come out feeling better than I went in, but sometimes not. The clinic is welcoming and my physiotherapist is nice... They estimate 4-6 months recovery time... It's nice to deal with someone who understands the pain of this stupid injury.

I also went to the Foot doctor people and I was fitted for some orthopedic footware today... Probably get some dress shoes for work and some new running shoes.

I'm hoping to get back on the running bandwagon by Monday.... I've got a busy weekend coming up.

I've also grown a good ole '70's porn stache to raise awareness for Prostate Cancer... $350 raised. Thanks to those that donated :)

Kev

iPhones, Ice Climbing and Self Assessment

2011-11-06T12:24:00.001-05:00

The last couple of weeks has been crazy busy... Between work, my hockey, coaching my daughters hockey team, coaching my Ex-Gf's son's hockey team and my buddy from the Sault visiting for 5 days... I haven't had much of a chance to do anything.

Last week was full of indulgence, including eating out about 5 times, drinking lots of beer and generally not doing anything outside of hockey.

Today I adjusted my weight and started to track my food again. Tonight I will go for a run 5k after work... Tomorrow I go for my follow-up with my Dr. reguarding my shoulder ultra-sound (which still nags me).

I have found myself 'indulging' more than I should when I get depressed about the situation with my Ex, so somehow I have to work through that and get my ass back on track. On the positive side, I've pretty much maintained the 250ish lbs I have been for the past two months... Haven't put any back on. I'm hoping that once I restart my journey I'm able to push the 240lb boundary again within a couple of months.

Visited Old Navy the other day and ended up walking out with a few t-shirts and hoodies... The place is turning into what Canadian Tire does to me as well... can't walk out of the store without buying SOMETHING.

Oh, I did finally purchase an iPhone... So that should make tracking food easier when I'm out and about....

K

PS: A guy at work has volunteered to take some of us out to learn how to ice climb this winter... So I signed up. What else do I have to lose other than my life? lol

2011-10-20T09:15:00.000-04:00

And it begins anew...

Hit the gym yesterday for a 40 minute eliptical workout... and later an hour on the ice coaching. Calories under 2k for the day. Attempted to do an upper body workout but the shoulder pain and weakness was a bit too much so I stopped that. (ADD: My follow up for my ultrasound is November 7th... another two weeks... yehaw)

Going to hit the gym after work tonight for perhaps a 5k run, and caloric intake shouldn't be an issue...

Need to pick up some milk though for my smoothies and cereal...

Back in the Saddle

2011-10-15T23:29:00.001-04:00

Alright... Time to get 'back in the saddle again".... as the old song goes. Sunday/Monday I'll be out at camp putting my trailer away for the winter, after shooting some small game and drinking some beers...

Tuesday, I'll be back at it.

I'm going to be diligent tracking food
I'm going to stay under my 2,100 calories/day
I'm going to 1) get to the gym every day or 2) play hockey on days when I don't
I'm going to break the 250lbs plateau by the middle of November for good.
I'm going to abstain from pure junk food as well again. No more empty calories.

Life itself, continues to be tough... Just when I think some things are looking up, someone comes along and pulls the rug out from under you. /sigh

Moving forward...

2011-10-12T08:52:00.002-04:00

So my trip away and beers and eating out for a week didn't add up to numbers on the scale... Neither did an awesome Thanksgiving supper I made for a friend, my Ex, my Ex's son and my Ex's grandmother... Turkey and all the trimmings! (Except the stuffing I forgot still in the box... there's always something you miss when you cook so much food)

Walked the dog the otherd ay around Boulevard (5.4k) and played hockey Tuesday as well (as well as coaching hockey for a couple of hours on the ice).

Weighed in this morning at 251.2lbs... Nicely maintained for a week of 'splurging'. Back to the grind, and back on the treadmill... Tonight I'm going to do a short run and then do a lower body work out.

The coppers I play hockey with on Tuesday were stunned at my weightloss.... "There's Carlson! Where's the rest of him!" lol That hockey is the highest calibre that I play at... It has a bunch of ex-pro's, NHL draft picks and OHL/AAA players. It was also a guage of how far I've come, but of how far I still have yet to go. My endurance was fine (I wanted to keep playing after our hour was up), but my flexibility was lacking. I'm thinking it's time to start doing some yoga.

Also got another nice vest from Old Navy... Definately nice being able to shop there again... Cheap clothes that look half decent!

Onward bound...

2011-10-06T07:38:00.001-04:00

Heading home today... Looking forward to seeing my dog and sleeping in my own bed, and sleeping past 630 Friday morning.

Here's to looking forward!

2011-10-05T13:01:00.001-04:00

I'm lonely and sad.

I'll attempt to combat that by some shopping at IKEA, Bass Pro Shops and Pro Hockey Life, after eating at the Pickle Barrel.

Wish me luck.

If that doesn't work, there's always the casino.

A week down under...

2011-10-04T08:10:00.001-04:00

1) I'm in Orillia for the week... On Sunday I hopped on the hotel treadmill and did a high tempo run for 25mins at what I figured was "7" on the treadmill back home... It was an older treadmill and it showed "12", but I know it wasn't like the 12 at home. Indulged in some deep fried pickles, coconut shrimp and some nachos/dip on my birthday, as well as a couple of beers. No regrets.

2) Ate healthy for breakfast and lunch and hit Montana's for ribs... Skipped the beer and had a diet pepsi. Ran outside today along the beautiful downtown Orillia waterfront.... Ran a 5.8km loop in just over 30 minutes... WITHOUT stopping. Big accomplishment for me.

3) Today going to hit the eliptical for 30 mins after work, then we're going for beer and wings tonight (a routine on Tuesdays down here)... There's some Orillia folk going to join our committee as well, should close the bar down.

4) Wednesday will be heading down to Vaughn to do some shopping... IKEA, Pro Hockey Life and Bass Pro... with dinner at the Pickle Barrell.

5) Thursday I head home.

6) Hi Laura! :)

Enjoy your week!

"Your Momma Dresses You..."

2011-09-30T16:41:00.002-04:00


36 yrs, 363 days old...

I'd been complaining about my 3XL coat for awhile now... and how you could fit the entire village of Murillo in it with me... Today as a surprise, my lovely Ex decided to take me for lunch at Boston Pizza (had the 'healthy' chicken stromboli (~800 calories with a small caeser salad)) and then shopping at Old Navy for some clothes...

Ya, my previous nemesis... Old Navy, how I used to loathe you.

I settled on a really nice warm vest and a couple of good ole Old Navy hoodies... Very nice!

Sometimes I get spoiled too :)

Tonight is dinner with friends... Either the Prospector, The Keg or the Sushi Village... Haven't decided yet...

I slept all morning due to working midnights so I didn't have any breakfast today, which overall will help my calorie count tonight when I go out.

T.G.I.F. FOLKS!

"The machine that goes... PING!"

2011-09-29T19:33:00.003-04:00

So today I finally got in for my ultrasound on my shoulder... The injury occurred at the end of June, but through my 'laziness' and my doc being on vacation and ultrasound people being busy... well time flies.

A shoulder ultrasound... but not MY shoulder...

It was relatively painless of course, except when he had me put my arm behind my back and then pushed the scanner thing-a-ma-bob hard around the socket. 15 minutes and it was over... Now they'll send the pictures off to the doctor and I'll have to book another appointment to see him in 2 weeks.

Yehaw.

9km and Upcoming Travels

2011-09-28T19:33:00.002-04:00

Sunday is my 37th birthday... To celebrate it, I will be travelling (via plane) to Orillia, Ontario where our General HQ's is located for a week long meeting. I'll be put up in a nice hotel, eat on the company dime and see some old friends. It'd almost be like a vacation if I didn't have to work 8 hour days.

That being said, it will be a challenging week for the waistline. Tuesday is generally wing and beer night at the local Wild Wing... Thursday will probably be the Mandarin buffet with a friend/co-worker and his parents (it's tradition once a year!) To combat that, I have to have a plan in place!

Sunday morning (my birthday) I think I'll do another long run to get the day started... Afternoon flight, then dinner, birthday drinks with friends down in Orillia.

Breakfasts won't be an issue, although I may bring a box of my own cereal. They've got a pretty good (and healthy) spread there with fresh fruit and such. Lunch is at the HQ and it's generally awesome, with lots of healthy stuff. It's dinners that'll be the issue.

Monday is usually Theo's (the awesome Italian place - easy to blow calorie count)
Tuesday is wing night (easy to blow calorie count)
Wednesday... unknown
Thursday - Mandarin (impossible to stay under calorie count)

So I'll be running every day.... There is a treadmill and a hot tub at the hotel, which I will be taking advantage of to help balance the calories that will follow. I will attempt to make healthy choices at dinner... I may even try new foods... We'll see :)

Today, I did Week 4, Day 1 of Beyond 5k. I again did a 1% incline, but bumped up my walking speed to 4.0, and my running speed to 6.0 (10 minute mile) The run was 3 18 minute segments with a one minute walk between... So I ran for 54 minutes, and walked for 10. Yay me!

Still hovering around 250lbs... Seems to be my current body happy point *lol*

Add: I'm bumping into a lot of hockey parents now that the season has started again... Most have been commenting on my weight... One guy was super impressed....

I also used to dislike air travel... I wasn't at the point where I needed seatbelt extenders, but I was getting there... It was often a hastle to get to my seat first because I knew I had to figit and fuss to get the belt extended all the way... then had to suck it in to get buckled up. Now it's not an issue :)

Feel the burn...

2011-09-26T07:57:00.001-04:00

Wow what a busy 4 "days off"... First day off I worked a 12 hour night shift on OT... Friday ended up babysitting... Saturday ended up working a 12 hour day shift as a favour for a friend... had the kidlets Saturday night.

Sunday morning I had hockey (goalie) at 8am... Ran errands for the rest of the day, then at 4:30 -6:30 coached my daughters hockey team (first practice)... That was followed up by another hour of ice (goalie again) at 9pm... Home in bed by 11... Up this morning at 5:30 for work.

Man, I'm tired... and sore... but it's a good sore... It's a sore that remind me that... "Hey, a year ago you would have played one ice time and have been done 45 minutes into it... and been down for the count for 2 days after.." but yesterday I had 3 hours of ice time and I actually played better at my night ice than I did in the morning.

Good stuff.

Scale News: Not much has happened with the scale. Still hovering around the 250lb mark. Today I have to call to confirm my ultrasound for my shoulder for Friday...

Add: This morning I steered away from the summer berry cereal towards two 'egg mcmuffins' (homemade), without the bacon. I figured after 3 skates yesterday my body could use a bit more protein and carbs. Light lunch today, and probably a frozen pizza tonight (800 cal)

Count the steps taken, not the steps remaining....

2011-09-22T14:33:00.001-04:00

~340lbs summer of 2010

250lbs fall of 2011

Sometimes you have to remind yourself how far you've come, and not how far you have left to go.

Start the day off right...

2011-09-22T04:57:00.002-04:00

For the most part, breakfasts now fall in the 'good' category as far as caloric intake goes... but yesterday I decided to forgo my usual Fibre Plus cereal or berry smooth for breakfast (~300 calories each).

Yesterday I made not one, but two fried egg sandwiches... Didn't think much of it until afterwards when I input it into "Lose It!"

Roughly 800 calories later, I was bemoaning my choice...

One would have been fine, but sticking with my yummy cereal or smoothie would have been an even better choice.

This journey entails a lot of learning... Learning about food for sure, but more importantly, learning about yourself.

Commit to Fit

2011-09-21T18:43:00.000-04:00

A fellow goalie from over at the Goalie Bulletin Board ("homeworkfilms")is one of the finalists in the Subway "Commit to Fit" contest... to basically find the Canadian version of Jared... Can't help but root for the guy!

Commit to Fit - you can vote once/day

If you get a chance, click the link and vote for the guy, I"m sure he'd appreciate it!

2011-09-20T20:13:00.001-04:00


This can of Coke Zero has approximately 30 seconds to live!

My buddy over at "Forty Fitty" said people like photo's... So here's one of me on the hunting trip I was just on..

Anyways...

Last night I was exhausted... I contemplated hitting the gym after work - but I ended up grabbing a McCains thin pizza and watching True Blood... Yes, I ate an entire pizza myself... Was ~1100 calories. Even with that, I was at my BMR for the day, but I still felt guilty.

But man was it good!

When I decided to eat it, I made a deal with myself that if I did, I'd be hitting the gym for Week 3, Day 3 of "5k to 10k." I did, and ran 51 minutes with 2 one minute intervals at the 17 and 35 minute mark. Felt good... In fact, at about the 30 minute mark I realized I wasn't even breathing hard... so I decided to pick it up a bit. I bumped my speed from 5.5 to 5.6, then 5.7... Then I did some intervals of 6... the last two minutes I bumped up to 7. Good times.

I was tempted to go lift some weights today, but I've decided I should really hold off until I get my ultrasound of my shoulder on the 29th. I'd hate to worsen the injury before I even know what it is!

On a side note, I've decided to help coach my daughters hockey team this year... So instead of 50 minutes on the sidelines each practice, I'll be on the ice. Couple that with me picking up two more groups for scrub ice - I'll be at the rink all the time this winter!

Here's a shout out to Kris and Cory... fellow weightloss guys in near identical boats as myself. If you get a chance, drop by their blogs and say *hi*.

Also, don't be shy to post comments, I appreciate the feedback, both good and bad!

Add: I was at 249.2lbs this morning, after inhaling that entire thin pizza!

I'm baaaaaaaaack!

2011-09-19T12:49:00.000-04:00

So last night I showered off the mud and the dust from an enjoyable 4 night stay in the bush... Bird hunting wasn't overly productive, but that's what happens when most of the folliage is still on the trees. If the birds aren't on the road, odds are you'll drive right past them more often than not.

As far as my weight, I figured I'd pack on at least 5lbs while I was gone...

2 of the 4 mornings I had cereal for breakfast... Often no lunch (or those small Kellogg bars with 90 cals), followed up by a good dinner. That being said, the good dinner was never... stuffing my face. One night it was some ribs, a potato with toppings and some beans. Another was some fish and home made fries... Another was steak and beans. I did indulge in some beverages of the adult variety though.. but mostly vodka with Coke Zero, Bud Lime lites (157 cals) or Molson 67 (yup, you guessed it... 67 calories a beer). Caveat on the 67 though - it's only 3% alcohol and not a lot of taste.

Sunday night after a shower I hopped on the scale for giggles...

248.5lbs.

I had actually lost weight while I was out. Even this morning, after drinking a fair amount last night I still weighed in at 249.4lbs.

This is the first time I've weighed in at the 240lb range in years... I'm sure I'll have some yo-yo-ing around the 250lb barrier, but to see it once... Feels great :D

Case of the Missing Moobs

2011-09-13T18:55:00.001-04:00

Just a quick one...

I jumped in the shower before work today, and as I was turned sideways infront of the mirror I noticed... the lack of moobs... I know for women boob lose is a definate side-effect from weightloss... My ex went from a large C to a B cup, and was distraught about it...

I'm not having that same reaction to my loss. :D

It's one of those "non-scale victories" that folks talk about...

ADD:

I had to run home from work to let the dog out... and it's cold outside! Brr... So I grabbed my fall jacket from last year... And christ... You could almost fit two of me inside of it! I could pull it away from my stomach by about a foot!

So ya, guess I need a new coat...

2 more sleeps...

2011-09-12T20:27:00.004-04:00

and I'm off hunting for 5 days... Fresh air, zipping along on the quad and having cold beverages around a roasting fire at night... Awesomeness...

After work last night I played hockey (played out) with a new group I've never played with before... They weren't bad... pretty disjointed play though... not a lot of flow. Still got a good sweat on after 50 mins and pushed my last shift nice and hard.

This morning, I hit the gym again. I was going to do Day 3 of the Beyond 5k program, but had some serious issues when my ipod froze after about 15 minutes... I then switched to another 35 mins of interval running... Pushing a normal 5.5 run up to 6, 6.5 and 7 for two minute stints... Was really sucking wind after running at level 7 for two minutes, I tell ya!

So a midnight shift tomorrow... sleep and errands during the day and another midnight shift on Tuesday night... Then off into the bush until Sunday night, so no updates til then!

Have a good one guys!

K

"Lest We Forget"

2011-09-11T09:56:00.001-04:00

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, I received a phone call from my father, telling me to get out of bed and turn the TV on...

It was a little before 9am on a sunny Tuesday morning. I flicked on the tv just mere minutes before the second plane impacted the South tower. Sickened, I watched the live news feed until I had to report for my shift at 2pm at the district jail.

I'd never seen the jail so quiet... All tv's were on the news... No one talked... No one argued. It was stunned silence.

Ten years later, I find myself watching over 10 employees at a police communication center. We field 911 calls, dispatch officers and generally try and help to bring peace and comfort to people during their most trying of times.

At 10:29, we will broadcast a "10-3" (complete radio silence unless emergent) over the radio for the entire NW region of Ontario - for a moment of silence in an otherwise hectic day... to honour not only those that we've lost, but to honour those that do the job, and the people that we do the job for.

We will never forget.

Happy B-Day Dad!

2011-09-10T07:05:00.001-04:00

Friday was my father's 61st birthday... At times it's a birthday we never thought he'd make it to, given the sepsis that he had in January of last winter... Near two months in the hospital and oh-so-close to death... But there he sat yesterday, enjoying shrimp, crackers and his rum and coke.

Happy 61st pops!

Friday I hit the gymin the morning for 45mins on the elliptical... I went home, and the dog looked sad so I took her for a walk around Boulevard lake, which runs 5.4kms (did it in 45 mins with the dog)... but man was it hot!

The rest of the day was spent doing a few chores then over to Dad's for a few drinky-poos and some snackies (which took the place of dinner for me).

Overall, great day!

Today (Saturday), I'm back at work for the start of my 4 on/4 off rotation. I might get a run in tonight after work, but we'll see how the day goes. It's a long one when you get up at 5:30, and you're not home til 7pm that night.

On the Run Again...

2011-09-08T12:26:00.000-04:00

So after my seriously awesome news last night, I hit Kabab Village for some seriously good beef schwarmas (they were out of chicken :( ) Then treated myself to a Cold Stone "love it" sized ice cream... Honestly... I didn't find it worth the money, especially for the size they give you. I think I'll stick to McDonalds low fat vanilla cones for the occasional treat (and they're only like .99 cents!)

Weighed in today and lost a couple of pounds... hit the gym and started my running program again, and did 3x17 minute intervals with 5 min warm up/cool down walks. Feelin' pretty good! The 240's are in sight, and I think I'm going to push it hard the next couple of weeks and see if I can get there!

On a side note, with hockey season approaching for my daughter, I'm running into some people I haven't seen since the winter... One of the hockey moms nearly didn't even recognize me, had to do a double take... The compliments still feel great, and it's great inspiration to keep up the work!

Me? "A Poster Child"??

2011-09-07T16:04:00.003-04:00

Ya, that's what my doctor said today...

He took a look at my stats from November... and compared to the ones from the end of July.

Nearly 70lbs lost... HCL and LCL now both in target "normal" cholesterol range. Blood pressure now in normal range (was 'high' and I was on meds). Blood sugar level from 76 to 55 (which he said was nearly unheard of to drop so much in such a time frame).

Effective immediately, I have been ordered to stop all my diabetes meds (read: Metformin) and my high blood pressure pills.

I now have a 6 month and one year check up with him to see how things are progressing.

To celebrate, I'm heading to an Lebaneese restaurant tonight with friends - Kabab village! Gonna get me some chicken schwarma baby! :D

On the shoulder front, he's pretty sure I have a Supraspinatus muscle injury... I've been scheduled for an ultra sound for September 29th.. *sigh* Three MORE weeks of this.

On the exercise front, I hit the gym again this morning... Broke myself back in slowly by doing 50 mins on the elliptical... Then came home and cut the grass.

I'll be back on the running regime tomorrow - although I've got to be honest spending an hour running is starting to lose it's luster... This interval training for weight loss has peaked my interest...

Desert Buffets vs Willpower

2011-09-05T19:55:00.000-04:00

So I'm sitting here at work tonight for my last twelve hour shift before my days off... My shift decided to have a "desert night", where everyone brings in a different type of desert and we share.

My plan: I brought in a fruit mixture (strawberries, grapes and cantelope) and I plan on passing on everything else... But man, does everything look and smell fantastic. First round of a type of chocolate cake just went by... I passed the first round.

Wish me luck!

Tomorrow I'm GOING to go running after I wake up. No if's, and's or but's! AND I'm going to really cut back my cheese intake... I've been consuming too much of it lately and it's way too high in calories to achieve any real weightloss.

Hockey again...

2011-09-04T19:47:00.003-04:00

So no gym last night... One of my co-workers was promoted to full-time so we went out to celebrate... I had a nice big 34oz of draft, 5 wings, some calamari and some shrimp... Not a very healthy dinner, but I accounted for it. The ex stopped by again later in the night, so I was able to work off a little of it then. ;)

Today I got suckered in to going to play goalie before work... So I was at the rink at 4:15, on the ice from 5-6pm, at work for 6:15 and showered... on the floor (to work) at 6:35... Hockey wasn't bad, it just wasn't especially intense today... I finally broke a sweat about 20 mins in, and could have played for another hour. Of course, I say that NOW, but I think if I went back four months I would have been as done as dinner *lol*

Relationship wise, things freakin suck. I haven't talked a lot about it on here, but I've been dealing with a long term girlfriend and we've had issues. I just found out that she's still been talking to a third party that caused issues, and I had to call it off. I'm better than that. I don't deserve to be "Someone Elses Chelsea"... Going to be rought few days.

I have a feeling I'll be hitting the gym hard this week.

Add: Oh, and I finally have my doctors appointment on Wednesday to get the results of my blood tests and such I had in July! Get to see if this weightloss has had any impact on my Type-2 diabetes... my cholesterol or my blood pressure... but I can't help but worry that I'm going to be deeply disappointed if things haven't changed.

Lack of sleep?

2011-09-03T07:16:00.002-04:00

So Thursday night I got maybe 4 hours of sleep total... which made for a very long 12 hour shift at work. By the end of it, I just went home, made a couple of fajitas, watched 2 episodes of Mad Men and crawled into bed at 9:30.

I'll see how I feel after work tonight, I wouldn't mind getting a run in.

On the good side, I have already dropped the 1.4lbs I gained while on vacation. Yay!

Vacation over!

2011-09-02T08:42:00.005-04:00

So my whirlwind of a vacation has come to an end...

Before I left for Minneapolis, I made a conscious decision to not worry about my diet/weight while I was away... No fretting over a scale, or calories consumed.

The Minnesota State Fair was mindboggling... the amount of people (105,000 on opening day) was just staggering... I tried a bunch of different, unhealthy food during the day, but the family would buy one portion and split it amongst the four of us... Plus the fact we were walking for about 6 hours during the day was a lot of exercise...

Mmm... cheese curds!

Eaten (in no particular order):

Deep fried pickles
Deep fried spam
Deep fried cheese curds (oh so yummy!)
BBQ wings from Famous Dave
Chocolate milk from the "All you Can Drink for $1" stand
1/4 of an ICEE
1/4 of a hickory stick
1 piece of chocolate covered bacon (not as good as I'd hoped)

Also consumed the first real fast food I have eaten in about 4 months (chicken mcnuggets on the way to the Twins baseball game). They're not as tasty as I remembered an I don't see myself falling off the wagon for them (lol).

Upon weighing in yesterday I was up just over one measly pound.... Gotta say I'm very happy with that! I'll lose that by the end of the week, and I'm back on the wagon!

ADD: Oh I played hockey yesterday... Played forward as they already had two goalies. I can't tell you how good it felt to 'fly' around the rink like I was 10 years younger! One of the guys commented that the colour red on me was slimming (Montreal Canadiens jersey/socks)... I agreed but thought to myself, "No, it's the 60lbs I've lost since Christmas!". But ya, it was nice to play an hours worth of hockey and still have legs at the end of it!

Off on vacation, back Sunday!

2011-08-23T09:27:00.000-04:00

So I'm packing up the whole famn damily and we're heading off to Minneapolis for 5 days... We've got three concerts lined up (Adele, Reba McIntyre and Def Leppard (with Heart)), the Minnesota State Fair, the Renaissance Fair and probably most definately some shopping (Hello Ikea, Menards, Sam's Club and Cabellas!)

It's going to be a busy 5 days... and it's 5 days of eating out... I'm going to make sure I hit the eliptical a few times at the hotel and make a really big conscious effort to eat well. I'd hate to come back up 10lbs when I'm at a plateau to move below 250lbs.

Part of the pre-trip ritual was taking the truck in for some maintenance (read: oil change, tune up)... I figured I'd run home after I dropped it off (It's about 4k), but alas the shins/ankles aren't my friends today. I guess the pavement pounding was a little worse than I had originally feared and they were tight and sore today. So I turned it into a 35 minute brisk walk home... and I'll do the same when I go to pick it up later today.

Small steps, right?

Conquered Boulevard! (5k run)

2011-08-22T13:38:00.000-04:00


Aerial shot of Boulevard Lake (5km)

A beautiful morning today... 11C with a slight wind... Nice and cool.

I put the running shoes on, grabbed the ipod and headed to the Lake. After a brief 3 minute brisk walk, I picked it up and began to run. It was beautiful... sun shining, Canadian geese on the lake feeding, polite people as I journeyed around the path.

It was a bit harder than running on the treadmill. I didn't find the impact much different, but going against the wind and then going uphill (a decent grade) right at the end did me in. I was able to get about 75% of the way around before I had to stop and walk as I ascended the hill by Black Bay Bridge. The path continues up and down for about 1.5km's until you come back to the parking lot... I grabbed my breath twice more before finishing, in a time just under 30 minutes.

30 minutes for jogging 5km... For a 36yr old guy tipping the scales at 255lbs... Running non-stop for 20 minutes...

Sometimes this journey is too surreal for words.

246lbs...

2011-08-20T00:50:00.001-04:00

Is the BMI equivalent of "Overweight" for my height... not "Obese", where I currently reside...

A minor waymarker to strive for in my trip...

Work interfers with Work outs...

2011-08-19T19:09:00.001-04:00

Headed back to work Wednesday and Thursday day shifts... I had full meaning to go for a run after work both days... but man, if you don't get a good nights sleep, then get up at 5:30 to work a long 12 hour desk job... throw in a shoulder injury (still don't know if its a tear or a sprain, but damn it's annoying)... the temptation to jump on the couch and have a beer when you get home is just too much...

And it was the last two days.

This morning I was up bright and early and hit the gym, doing Day 1, Week three of Beyond 5k... I'm now up to 3x 17mins with 1 minute breaks. I felt so good (tired, but good) the last two minutes I pushed the speed from 5.5 to 7 and basically sprinted my way 'home'...

I also purchased a digital kitchen scale today! I had been waiting for it to go on sale from Canadian Tire for the last few weeks... It goes from $30 to $10 every few months... First thing I did was weigh the chicken breasts I'd been cooking lately (the frozen ones that come in bags from Sam's Club)... They came in at 7-9oz's, which was about what I figured... They're big! :D I'm hoping that the scale will give me a more accurate total of the food I'm consuming so I can get back on track with the weight loss... Of course, turning down the girlfriend when she asks what type of Blizzard you want would be a start... And I'm going to start doing that again today!

The Boulevard 5k

2011-08-17T12:19:00.000-04:00

The city of Thunder Bay has a beautiful park in the middle of the north core... Boulevard lake has walking/biking/running paths around the entire lake, which is almost exactly 5km's in distance... Great for helping people gauge their distance... The circuit itself is fairly flat - another bonus for those gearing up for running.

On Sunday, I walked the route with some friends and my dog to get a feel for it... I'm in the process of mentally preparing to run outside. I'm thinking either an early morning or evening run, probably in the next couple of weeks...

Should be interesting...

The Fair

2011-08-17T11:38:00.002-04:00

The Canadian Lakehead Exhibition was in town over the weekend... In two visits (once after Mongo's to see a movie) and on Sunday night for a few hours I indulged in 2 elephant ears, 3 perogies, 4 cabbage rolls and a big hot italian sausage... Very yummy.

Combine that with being busy on Monday and Tuesday meant I neglected my run, so I've got to get that in tonight... I

And after all that 'binging', weighed in at 254.6lbs... Also scheduled my follow up Dr's appointment for September 7th... will see how this new lifestyle has affected my blood work.

Another day... another run!

2011-08-13T12:28:00.001-04:00

I hit the gym again this morning and ran the last day of week 2... the 3 x15min runs... Was a bit tired at the end, which was good... The last two minutes I usually bump it up from 5.5 to 7 and just power through to the end. I briefly contemplated doing an upper body workout, but the throb in my shoulder suggested otherwise...

Hit 255 again today... Tonight I'm hitting Mongo's Grill for dinner for the first time. Wish me luck that I don't over do it! At least it's relatively healthy food though, right? Stirfry! (ADD: I had 3 medium sized stir fry portions... One seafood, one all meat and one veggies... All very tasty and 'relatevely' health)

On the more TMI side of life, the weight loss has definately had a positive impact on my libido... Let's just say that we almost made it 7 days in a row... haven't done that since... well... ever! lol

Sorry, they won't fit!

2011-08-10T10:33:00.001-04:00

Me taken mid March (320lbs)

Me taken mid July (260lbs)

No update's on the shoulder unfortunately...

Although I'm tired I'm going to tough out another 45 min run tonight... Weight is still hovering around the 256-258lb area...

Non-scale Victory: My father called yesterday to offer me some of his old pants (new, never worn)... He said he'd drop them off - they were a 46 or 48 waist... I cheerfully advised him they were way to big - I was a 40 or 42 at most :D

Slow Healing

2011-08-07T17:16:00.001-04:00

So the shoulder isn't 100% yet, and still aches after a long day...

I did hit the gym this morning and did Week 7, Day 1 of B210k... It was 15 and 1's (15 min run, 1 minute walk), three times for 45 minutes... Felt good afterwords... I've been missing that runners high at the end of it. Tomorrow would normally be an eliptical/upper body day, but with my shoulder I'm going to skip it... Will probably just go and ride a bike for an hour or something.

I'm digging the berry smoothies I've been making... 1 cup non-fat yogurt, 1 cup skim milk, some frozen berries... a tad of vanilla extract and a tablespoon of splenda... Throw it in the magic bullet and voila... Yummy cool drink around 300 calories! I picked up some vanilla whey and egg protein powder last week on the advice of a friend... It's high in calories so I'm only going to throw that in there post workout.

I've been following "Fat Kris's" blog for the last week or so... Dude is pretty much in the same position as me at the moment... Large amount of weight loss behind us, but currently mired in a plateau... Nothing can be more frustrating... You do the exercise, you watch what you eat and count your calories... and nothing happens... I may be on the verge of increasing my caloric intake to restart my metabolism again.

Of course, hitting the weights again once my shoulder is better may just do that for me too...

Add: This morning I weighed in at 255.4lbs... My lowest weight that I can recall in a loooooooooooong time.

And in rushes August...

2011-08-02T13:38:00.000-04:00

August 2nd... Where's the summer going??

After nearly 3 weeks of vacation, I had 'ballooned' back up to near 270lbs... A few days of exercise and such has brought me down to just below 260lbs. *yay*

I've got either a shoulder strain or muscle tear which is causing me a lot of difficulty on my right side - so no weights for awhile... But I've managed to get back into the running game, which is definately better than nothing. I'm redoing Week 1 of the 5k to 10k program.

I'm also using the LOSE IT website and APP religously, and I have to say, it's a wonderful tool... can't recommend it enough, especially since it's free!

Loseit.com

2011-07-17T09:44:00.000-04:00

I was in Barnes and Noble the other day, and noticed a "Top Iphone App" magazine on the rack... I took a look and found one of the best apps was called "Lose It!", and it's FREE.

So I downloaded it, and off we went. It estimates your BMR (Base metabolic rate), which for me is about 2,200 calories/day... You plug in the food/quanity that you have, and can also track the exercise you do (Including SEX!)

It also has an online portion where you can add/edit things as well, as well as forums for chitting and chatting with other folks, for both motivation, knowledge and support....

So far, so good!

Mid July Update

2011-07-16T12:08:00.000-04:00

So I've basically been on vacation for the past couple of weeks... This involved a trip to Winnipeg, the Soo and Duluth... Which included a fair amount of restaurant eating... but also a trip to the gym in each city.

I had kind of plateaued on the weight loss, but increasing muscle mass... This morning I hit 263lbs, so it's possible I've broken through.

Bad thing is I took another puck to the knee on Thursday, making it difficult and painful to walk/stretch the legs... So no running for at least a few days :(

K

Happy Canada Day!

2011-07-01T12:56:00.000-04:00

So the gf officially gets in her place today... Stress, sadness and tears all around. 5 years...

I've settled in to about the 265lb range... I was able to buy XL shirts from Walmart, which was really nice :)

I found a 10k running program that goes from where Couch 2 5k leaves off...

I have noticed I've put on muscle... My biceps alone have gone up 2" in the last 3 weeks, so again, very nice.

I'm going to be on a few vacations over the next 3 weeks... Hopefully I'll be able to fit in some exercise time during my trips to work out the few light beers I'll be consuming :)

Chin up!

K

Thumbs up and Thumbs Down

2011-06-25T05:29:00.001-04:00

So ya, "Thumbs Down" to my relationship coming to an end... She moves out next week... :(

"Thumbs up" to my continued effort and dedication to the gym and eating better... I am now on week 9 of the Couch to 5k program (5 minute warm up, 30 minute run, 5 minute cool down) and still doing the weights on off days. I realized today, that after all this time... that the treadmills were in MILES. I've been working up to doing 5k... So today I noticed it was 3.6 MILES, that put me way over 5k.. In fact, I've been running 5k for weeks now without really even knowing it.... That was kind of cool...

Off day Saturday (in between midnight shifts) but going to play a little tennis with my step-son... Sunday is another 1.5 hours of hockey and then back in the gym monday for another run.

I went to Walmart today, looking to pick up a few more work out t-shirts... I instinctively grabbed a 2XL... then thought I'd give an XL a go... I tried it on and it fit :) I grabbed an XL dress shirt and it fit while standing up (and looked sharp!) but bunched when I sat down.... Soooo close! Another 15lbs and I'll be buying some more new clothes! :D

My ex's friends have noticed my weightloss... that feels good when they mention to her how good I look.

Lots can happen...

2011-06-22T09:02:00.001-04:00

in a week...

I went from being in a fairly happy relationship to having it disolve right infront of me...
I had to purchase new pants (my 54" were way too big... ended up downsizing to a 44" pant)... picked up a couple nice pairs of shorts as well... I hit walmart and bought 3 nice tshirts in 2XL as opposed to 3XL... but I'm right on the cusp of wearing XL stuff, so I'll hold off buying more clothes for a couple of weeks
Hit 266lbs today... 1lb short of my April 3rd goal of 50 lbs
Signed up at "Fitforlife" (it was called McFit (stupid name)) - decent place... Nice and bright, all the equipment is new, and it's close to home
Moved on to week 8 of the "Couch to 5k" program... It consists of a 5 min warm-up, 28 minute rune and a 5 min cool-down... also started weight training on my off days from running.

So will know more on the relationship front next week... As it stands now, her and her son are supposed to move out for July 1st... and my house will be empty again :(

Stalls and the 280 Barrier

2011-06-14T11:48:00.000-04:00

I finally broke down and picked up some new t-shirts and a pair of pants yesterday... Went from a 52" pant to a 44" pant... The belt I had been wearing is now too large and kinda just floops there... guess I'll have to buy a new belt next...
I'd been flirting with the 280 barrier for near two weeks... Two trips to camp (where there's yummy food and booze a-flowin) slowed that down, but yesterday I was 279 and today a comfy 277lbs! Woo!

I visited a local gym (Push fitness) and had a tour... I've decided I have to start doing weights again - it's been 16 years since I last hit the gym... Nice place, $24 every 2 weeks... Will probably be signing up next week I think...
My friend who is getting the RNY procedure is now scheduled for mid July... I'm seriously reconsidering my choice to have this major procedure...

Sliding Sideways

2011-06-06T11:00:00.000-04:00

So 4 days at camp drinking beer and ceasar's, and then a 4 day conference in Hamilton eating at restaurants and drinking beer... and I'm 282lbs today...

Played hockey for 1.5hrs yesterday... haven't run in a few days, will probably start up again tomorrow...

Doing straight 25 minute runs now :) Feels good!

The Dreaded w5d3 run!

2011-05-24T00:44:00.000-04:00

I'm still plugging away at running the Couch 2 5k program... The other day was the dreaded week 5, day 3 run... Which was 5 minute warm up, 20 minute run then 5 minute cool-down...

I was pretty apprehensive before starting it (previous days were 8 mins run MAX) and didn't know if I'd die doing it (no, not literally)... But I did it... "Somewhat" easily I might add - I figured I could have run another 10 minutes.

It was really wierd... It was like I was in a 'zone' where it didn't hurt, the breathing wasn't too laboured and I just kept plugging away.

It felt awesome to get it down, and I did a few fist pumps to Lady Gaga as the 20 minutes expired.

Weight: Held 286 for the past couple of days :)

Had my endoscopy on the 12th. It was pretty uneventful... Waiting was a bore, but the actual procedure I was knocked out for... No sore throat or anything and was able to go to work the next day.

-K

Couch to 5k

2011-05-05T10:49:00.000-04:00

So here I am on week 4 of the C25k program... It's basically 1.5hrs a week of jogging/walking spread out over 3 sessions...

I'm currently at the: 5 minute warm-up, 3 min job, 1.5min walk, 5 min run, 2.5min walk, 3 min jog, 1.5 min walk, 5 min jog and 5 min cool down.

I've also been doing minimal weights after the run.

Weight this morning: 297lbs.

I've also discovered Shirataki noodles! Excellent replacement for pasta noodles if you can handle the mild rubbery texture!

Now into April...

2011-04-23T00:53:00.000-04:00

I waited patiently for 3 months to hear about my endoscopy... Finally received a letter in the mail - it's scheduled for May 12th.

In the mean time, I joined the "Biggest Loser" competition at work... I also started doing the Couch -2-5k running program... It's been going farily well, all things considered - about to move into week 3 of that.

I started at 315lbs on April 1st, and I'm now flirting with 300... I also had to put a new notch in my belt to keep my pants from falling to my ankles...

... and waiting...

2011-03-02T12:28:00.002-05:00

Two months now and STILL waiting on my endoscopy appointment...

/frustrated

Another Hurdle passed

2011-01-04T13:01:00.000-05:00

Hey guys...

Just got back from my 8 week follow-up... Good and bad.

The NUT thoroughly and completely wipped my ass... Although I have done some of her recommendations (eliminated diet pop, no coffee, reduced portion size), I haven' t been varying my food, or adding enough (if any) vegetables and fruit... So, ass whopped, another follow up at the end of the month... time to hit the Superstore and stock up on some veggies/fruit...

The Doc': ECG - hearts fine, no issues... Blood sugars - out of control... Constantly above 9... She added another pill to take in the afternoons to try and bring it down. Cholesterol - NORMAL! Wooo! It was very high 6 months ago, so to have it normal again is good...

Apparently my protein level is too low... which looks like it is caused by a deficinecy in vitamin D... Nearly at critical levels... So I have to take this 'super dose in liquid form' of vitamin D every week for 8 weeks (50,000 units per dose)... Shoppers didn't carry it in-stock, so they order will be in within the next day or two.

Ultra-sound good... So no medical issues to stop me from proceding forward... Just have to get scheduled for the throat thing which she says takes about 2 weeks...

Metting with social worker - went very well... Nice lady, asked normal questions drug/alcohol/smoking/social life/home life etc questions...

So ya, 3 weeks til follow up and I should know for sure then whether it's a thumbs up, or thumbs down

Situation Normal

2010-12-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

Received a call almost immediately to reschedule my shrink appointment... BUT, apparently he's busy... and I'm now seeing the local Social Worker instead...

Good thing is that it's on the same day as my Dietician/Doctor meetings (January 4th), so I can just go and get it all done in one day!

Out of the blue I did some forum searching for bariatric threads... And came across one that was 5 years old.. I pm'd a couple of guys that have had the surgery, and they were both tremendously helpful. One gentleman pointed me to http://www.obesityhelp.com/ A LOT of useful stuff there about the surgery, pre, during and post op... as well as long term living...

Great stuff, thanks guys!

Uh, What?!

2010-12-14T22:47:00.000-05:00

So the shrink called me today... Said I was late for the appointment... I advised him my appointment was scheduled for tomorrow at the same time... He disagreed.

It seems that I'm not the first person the front desk has made an error on as far as scheduling appointments go...

Christ... who knows when I'll be able to get another appointment... On the plus side, at least I can sleep in tomorrow between night shifts.

"That joke was old 30 years ago"

2010-12-12T13:55:00.000-05:00

Is what she said I made a comment to the elderly ultrasound technician concerning the scan of my midsection... No chuckle, no witty remark in return... Just that. I realized it was lame when I said it, but I never thought I'd feel dumb for saying it.
The ultrasound itself was fine... Lay on your back, then your sides... Smothered in some warm jelly stuff. Took about 20 minutes total...

Shrink visit in a couple of days... The apparent "Bad Cop" in this entire procedure.

On the flip side, rumour has it that Hamilton just opened 15 more spots for T.Bay patients, and it could be as soon as April that I could possibly get in.

Honey, I Shrinked the Kids

2010-12-07T01:46:00.000-05:00

Last week I hit the hospital and had 9 vials of blood taken from my arm and also had an ECG test to see how bad my ticker was... Won't get the results from that (unless it's SUPER bad) until my Jan 4th followup appointment with the clinic...

So my shrink appointment is in a week... my stomach ultrasound is on Thursday morning... So far, so good... Almost completely cut out diet pop from my repitoire... Thought it'd be harder.

I guess if you don't buy it in the first place, it makes it harder to drink.

Simple logic.

Step #1 and #2 Complete

2010-11-11T09:14:00.000-05:00

So I've had my interview with my dietician and a quick medical visit to the doctor... I'm just waiting on a phone call to find out when my blood tests and ultrasound are.

My dietician was great... Information I received was nothing new (Having spent time with one when I was originally diagnosed with diabetes), but she was pleasant and easy to talk to... That took about an hour. We developed some things I really need to change...

Like the "no" diet pop thing.. Ugh. I think that's gonna be harder than anything as hell, maybe easier than giving up pasta in large portions.... /cry

The doctor was VERY nice... She made me regret having Dr. Davis as my family doctor here in town... Blood pressure was a little high, and my heart thumped pretty hard - which alarmed her...   I was worried that it might jeopardize the chance of surgery, but she reassured me that it would actually help, not hinder my chances...

So now I wait... Oh, I did schedule my 2 hr assessment with the Clinic psychologist for December... and my 2 month check up with my doc/dietician is January 4th.

Since I was diagnosed with diabetes I have managed to successfully change SOME habits. My pasta/bread is now whole wheat/grain. My milk is now 0% instead of 2%.   My coffee is now decaf with 2 milk/3 sweetener instead of regular 2 cream/2 sugar...

And I weighed in at 320lbs!   So that was a bit of good news there, that I'd lost some weight since the early spring...

Notes from my Orientation

2010-10-11T22:39:00.001-04:00

So I had my 2 hour orientation meeting... There were about 10 other prospective patients there... I was the youngest there by probably 10 years...

Anyways, here's the low down.

Oh, and my first two meetings (Dietician/Shrink) are during the first week of November.

Before Surgery
- no caffeine for 2 months
- no alcohol for 3 months

Assessment
- complete Questionairre
- attend all appts (3-4 clinic visits)
- complete all medical testing

Followup - the next 5 years

There is reimbursement for some travel through the northern travel allowance fund
- laproscopic surgery (4-6 small incisions)

Recovery
- hospital stay ~ 3 days
- stay near Hamilton for a couple days after surgery in case of complications
- 4 to 6 weeks for full recovery

Liver Shrinking Diet
- 2 to 4 weeks prior - liquid diet (900 cal), 4x per day

After:
--8 weeks for transition from liquids to soft diet
1) clear fluids (one day)
2) clear fluids plust a protein drink for 2 weeks
3) full fluids (milk/yogurt/jello etc) for another 2 weeks
4) pureed food for 1 week
5) minced food for 1 week
6) solid after 7 weeks
After surgery diet changes:
- no alcohol for 3-6 months
- no caffeine for 3-6 months
- no carbonated beverages... EVER
+ plus supplements for life

Medications afterwards:
- you can not take most anti-inflamitory meds (Advil/Montril etc) as they are hard on the stomach and can lead to ulcers (Tylenol is fine)

Post Op:
- meds for ulcers
- needle to prevent blood clots for 10 days (Not covered by OHIP)
- meds for nausia/vomitting and pain

Expected Weight Loss
- 60 to 70% of excess weight in 2 years.

Budget
- Optifast for 2-4 weeks ($160-$400)
- liquid proten diet for 4 weeks ($150-250)
- Vitamins and minerals $20-$40/month
- Blood anti-clotting agent ($150 for 10 days post op)

2/3rds of patients keep the weight off

Orientation Meeting...

2010-09-18T01:15:00.001-04:00

Set for October 4th...

Supposed to be about an hour and a half...

Diagnosed

2010-08-31T08:42:00.000-04:00

It's been awhle since my last post... The last year or so I've been feeling lethargic most of the time, getting up 5+ times per night... Had bouts of diziness I couldn't explain...

Well after visiting my doc, and getting blood tests... You guessed it - type 2 Diabetes.

So I'm on metaformin x4 tabs a day and some pills to help control my cholesterol (which at my second blood test is now back in the normal levels).

Since starting the meds, I've noticed a definate improvement in the way I feel...

I've also made the decision to try and go forward with gastric bypass surgery. I had been referred to Dr. Wyant here in Thunder Bay, who refers people to the Duluth Clinic for surgery... Since then though, the Ontario goverment has invested $75million for increasing access to Ontarians who require the surgery. So I have been referred now to the TBRHSC for 'assessment'. If everything goes smoothly, the surgery is in Hamilton Ontario...

So today I'll make the call to see when I can get into one of their Information meetings concerning bariatric surgery...

Sick days...

2009-11-18T08:21:00.000-05:00

So I've been sick on and off the past couple weeks since I started eating better. Coincidence? lol

On the plus side, my weight is now registereing at ~328lbs, as opposed to the "ERR" message of a couple of weeks ago.

I've cut back my portion size by a fairbit, and everything is okay. The world hasn't exploded and my brain is still in tact. I have not been having bread with my spaghetti (whole wheat, thank you) and the portion is 1/2 of what it used to be. My lunches are simple (soup or tuna etc). I went out for lunch the other day and had the salad/club wrap. I even asked if they had whole wheat wraps, but to no avail.

My Christmas staff party was the other night, and I'm pretty pleased with myself. I did indulge in snacks and whatnot, but probably not nearly as much as what I used to consume.

So far, so good.

Broke the scale!

2009-11-12T00:21:00.000-05:00

Well not literally. I don' t think I've weighed myself in a year. At that point I was struggling with maintaining about 310lbs or so.

The batteries in my scale were dead, so I picked up a couple from Mal-wart today and put them in. Little did I know that my scale only reads up to 330lbs. So I got a big fat (pun intended) "ERR" message when I stepped on it.

So the "350 and falling" isn't precisely true. I do know that I"m over the 330lb mark though, and 350 wouldn't surprise me.

Breakfast: 2 pieces of toast/peanut butter and milk
Lunch: tune wrap (whole weat) with some cottage cheese
Dinner: chicken breast/salad

11pm: 2 pieces of toast
3am: carrots/dip

Eating well when doing the shift work thing is hard.

I need to be energized...

2009-11-11T08:19:00.000-05:00

I have to run off to get a new battery for the scale... so I can accurately follow how I'm doing.    Monday was good, as was Tuesday.

I actually had spagetti tuesday, but instead of a HUGE plate with 4 pieces of bread and a big glass of milk I only cooked a handful of rotini. It filled a medium sized bowl and I had that with 2 small pieces of bread and a small glass of milk.

And I felt fine after.

I did stay up late last night and got the munchies hard around midnight.   I had 2 small pickles to try and tide me over and it succeeded.

There's a gym 2 blocks from my house. I'm thinking of joining.

So it begins...

2009-11-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

There was one, brief moment in my life where I was not considered over-weight.

That would be back in the early '90's when I was attending university... And that can be attested to the fact that I couldn't afford food half the time... and the other half I was too busy with girls or hockey or school.

Right now, I'm the biggest that I've ever been. I now find I'm having to buy 3x size clothes and worry that the t-shirts are long enough to cover my stomach. I find my energy level extremely low, and even getting out of chairs is getting increasingly difficult. Diabettes is just around the corner - I can feel it.

I have to do something.

So this is how I'm going to proceed.

I started this blog in an effort to help me move forward, hopefully on a path to better eating and taking care of myself.

I'm not sure exactly how I'll get there yet... My plan as this blog, is a work in progress.

PS - I hate blogs, but maybe this will give me the incentive to get'r done.

PSS - I hate that get'r done guy. Not funny at all.