Day 562: Monday Stuff

I love to write, but I wish fate didn’t know that. You see I have a 20 page paper due on Wednesday night and my efforts have been minimized thanks to a crazy weekend . Anyway, so with that being said, I will keep this concise (the way I’ve been taught to write for the past seven years.)

In other news, I just bought a garnet and gold bow tie for graduation. This is actually happening.

Breakfast: I just had two waffles with peanut butter and a cut up banana. Awesomeness.

Lunch: We were lucky to both be home at the same time for lunch today so Megan decided to make a delicious lunch. A while back, our awesome friend Andrea suggested to try gnocchi some time. So we took some of our fresh basil and rosemary from our herb garden, added a little olive oil and garlic and created a beautiful masterpiece of deliciousness. It was only six points which is not bad at all! We then split some pineapple. It was a super filling lunch!

Snack and stuff: After my last Korzenny class ever 🙁 I stopped by Megan’s Old Time Ensemble just to say hi. Little did I know that Sarah the Stud had made her grandma’s carrot cake recipe. It was fantastic. I also had two little sandwich rolls and then a few rice krispy treats. Yum.

Dinner: Tonight, I tried a Healthy Choice sweet and spicy chicken. I was so impressed with how good it was! Then consensus is that Healthy Choice meals are a gamble at the beginning.

So overall, today was really good! I was good with my food and I ate my share of fruits and veggies. Good times. See ya tomorrow.

 

 

Day 558: Thursday and Stuff

Hello!

I love all of you. There, I said it.

I still can’t believe my Facebook Page got to 200+ Likes last night!

This week I was feeling a little sluggish and lazy. Luckily I was able to pull myself out of it and have an awesome day! Good things. Alright, let’s get at it.

Breakfast: This morning, as per usual, we went to Atomic Coffee before class and school and stuff. I just had a bagel with butter and a little honey. It was fantastic and filling. Awesomeness.

Lunch: Today I had to go to a luncheon for a class. I walked from campus uphill both ways (yes, like your parents did when they were kids) to the downtown Double Tree. The menu had a lot of awesome healthy choices, but I was still thinking about getting something a little heavier. That was when my friend Andrew (the Edward Cullen lookalike) told the whole I was his dietician and then asked for a healthy option. It was the conviction I needed to make a much better decision. I ended up getting a grouper sandwich and instead of fries I got a salad with honey mustard. It was delicious, but it was also hard to conceal my picture taking ability in front of a bunch of strangers. When I got home I had a 100 calorie Klondike ice cream sandwich that was awesome. Then I ate two servings of chips.

Awesome Non Scale Victory: So today I was organizing my old fat clothes in order to sell them online (anyone want size 54 khakis or some really nice XXL polo t-shirts?) and then I found these bad boys. I bought these plaid shorts a few weeks before I started grad school. It was like folding up an American flag. Those things are huge. I was huge. Anyway, I held them up, thought for a second, and then got in one of the leg holes. They fit me in the waist. I know I’m not half them man I used to be, but I am making awesome progress. It was seriously the motivation I needed to get focused on losing weight. It also made me proud because this kind of picture is usually in an infomercial for some weight loss cookie or some shake that tastes like ground up chalk. This is proof that all you need is a healthier diet, a good pair of running shoes, a little patience and a persistent attitude. Oh yeah, and a bunch of awesome supportive friends doesn’t hurt either ;).

SAWS:So after that moment of NSV clarity, I decided I needed to keep it up so I can no longer fit in my current clothes and went to the gym. It’s kind of sad because it was one of my last times working out at Leach. I’ve burned a ton of calories in that place. Anyway, I wanted to keep up the same intensity I had when I was working with Joe so I went after it. I divided my hour into three 20 minute segments. The first 20 I did a circuit that involved stairs, burpees, box jumps, jump squats, push ups and running up and down stairs. It was awesome. Then, I got on the ARC Trainer and did 20 minutes on the weight loss setting which was a hill climb pattern of awesomeness. Finally, I did 20 minutes of abs. Elevated sit ups, this weird leg lift row and then holding a plank position. I felt like I made really good use of my hour, I did what I came there to do: sweat through my shirt.

 

 

 

 

Late Night Dinner: After staying on campus to try to get some work done, Megan and I went through the drive thru at Jimmy John’s (the only thing faster than their delivery dudes) and had a Turkey Tom sans mayo and a nice layer of avocado spread. Not to mention their classic pickle. The healthiest drive thru around.

So that was my day. Not too shabby. Although I didn’t write them down, I’m definitely back in the mindset of counting points and being better about what I eat. I was looking at an older post and I realized it took me 4 months to lose the last 15 pounds to break the 100 pound mark. It was because I was kind of a slacker and wasn’t strict with my points. With my new-found love for weight lifting, sticking with my points should be the perfect recipe for some serious weight loss. If anything my body would feel better, and isn’t that what it’s all about? See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 472: Monday and a Late Weigh In

I’m kind of a slacker and I was out and about with friends last night. My bad.

So yesterday, I was hoping for a big loss, but the last half of the week was full of eating out and overindulging. Either way though, I still lost .4 pounds so basically half a pound. Overall, I’m happy about my loss. I’m ready to drop in to the 230’s (which is 1.2 pound away). Hopefully with all of the Insanity this week I’ll be able to drop below.

NSV: There is a silver lining to all of this. To the left is 2011 Nathan who was barely below 300 pounds and the right pic is from last night. I can’t wait to see what I will look like in January 2013.

 

Breakfast: I got to sleep in this morning (which was glorious) so I had a quick breakfast. I just had an English muffin, a little pb and a banana. Yumness!

Lunch: After wishing on every shooting star and rubbing every lamps with genies religiously, they have finally opened a Jason’s Deli in Tallahassee!!! While they have awesome sandwiches and potatoes, their salad bar is the best thing on this earth. I stacked up that salad like a boss, not to mention dominating their awesome roasted red pepper hummus. I can’t wait to go back… like… tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: When we were out and about, we went to Black Bean for a quick dinner. I just had some black beans and rice and some tostones. Pretty good stuff.

Insanity: Tonight was the second fit test for Insanity and overall it went pretty well. I improved in most of the areas so that’s a good sign. Either way, I was exhausted. After my workout I had one of those awesome one point Healthy Choice fudgsicle bars. And now I’m watching Arrested Development (going through the series for the third time. STEVE HOLT!) See ya tomorrow.

Day 425: Wordless Wednesday Foo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 385A: Where The Crap Have You Been? Edition

[Insert so witty comment about blogging here]

So this kidney stone of a week has finally passed. It was painful when it was building up to this point and boy did it hurt when I got it our of my system. What’s on the agenda now? MORE HOMEWORK! The fun never stops here in Tallahassee (even when you’ve stopped and you’ve had enough.) [Insert Micheal Jackson dance move here.] Anyways, my eating this week has been pretty rough. I’ve tried to keep it in check, but it’s been hard with being so busy which has lead to eating out and grazing like a boss. However, soda has not touched these lips (no matter how tempting it’s been.) I have discovered the awesomeness known as flavored seltzer water which has no calories and no sodium so I’ve been throwing that back a lot this week. I’m finally going to get some exercise in this weekend with racquetball today and a morning run tomorrow. I’m running a 5k next Friday evening so I really need to get in to training mode to record a good time. I also still need to figure out my costume for too. Any suggestions? I really like the idea of just wearing a Flash shirt. It will be funny and ironic all in one. Hmmmm…

Anyways, in lieu of a Wordless Wednesday and such, here are a few pics from this week. Please note the food truck pics. Last night, we went out with some my friends from my department to this lot around Lake Ella where food trucks camp out on Thursday nights. Hipsters aside, it was pretty awesome. From a pulled pork taco with chipotle mac n’ cheese on top and a grilled pb and j, it was a good night. So ladies and gents, I give… PICTURES OF THINGS AND STUFF!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 378: Saturday!

(I really need to be better about this whole blogging thing…)

So today was pretty good. It might have been the first time ever that I have to do homework on a Saturday. This semester is going to kill me. Anyways, I’m hoping my Rangers will be able to pull out the W tonight, but I guess we’ll see how it goes. (THEN THEY BOOMSTICKED A 9 RUN INNING!) Good times.

Breakfast: I had a mix of grape nuts and Back to Nature granola which was BOGO at Publix. It was a super awesome combo 0f deliciousness.

Lunch: Megan was going to get her hair did and dyed at the mall so we went to Jimmy John’s for some subtasticess. I had the Beach Club with half the mayo. It was yummy as always.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: After Megan got her hair awesomefied, we went to Target so I could buy some new clothes. At this point, I’m done to about three shirts that actually fit. The rest are pretty baggy. Anyways, we got some Starbucks in Target. I got my classic Venti Iced Caramel Machiatto. It’s been a long time since I had had any Starbucks so it was delicious.

 

 

 

 

Dinner: We decided to grab a light dinner out so we went to Red Elephant. Although they’re known for their pizzas, they have this awesome oriental salad with seared tuna. This time, we also tried their spinach artichoke chip which was awesome! A pretty awesome dinner.

So today wasn’t too bad with food. I’ve been drinking my water this week and for the most part I’ve been staying within my points. I think I gained last week because of my high stress last week but we’ll see if my mellowing this week will help out. Here’s hoping for an awesome loss. See ya tomorrow.

Day 181: Weigh In Day!!!!!!

Why Hello!

It’s been way too long since I have posted and for that I’m sorry. I have gotten a lot of guff (yes, I said guff) from people about missing two posts in a row and for that I thank you. I really appreciate the support and accountability this community provides. It is a key contributor to my success so far and with the century pound mark in sight, your support is appreciated now more than ever. So thanks for calling me out Matt DC. I know you were just giving me a hard time, but it meant more than you know. So this morning I got in the scale with low expectations. We had to eat out the majority of last week due to the insanity of our schedule (somehow this week is going to be more insane. What what!) Anyways, for the few posts I did have, you saw the cheesey goodness that I consumed in mass proportions so I was just hoping to at least maintain (it would have been gained if I hadn’t worked out.) Well, my metabolism must be better than I think. I lost 2.2 pounds! Pretty awesome stuff!!! I am sooooo close to being in the 270’s now. I weigh 280.4 so super duper close. So with this week’s loss, I am 23.4 pounds away from 100 pounds. It’s getting there! Like I said this week is going to be bonkers, but we are going to be smarter with meals so 270’s: see ya soon!

Breakfast: So I made two packets of double fiber oatmeal but had it in the microwave too long. It always feels like when you make two packets, it either has the consistency of snot, or it blows up and gets all over the microwave. Well… the latter happened, and a large portion of my oatmeal was everywhere. (No, I did not eat the oatmeal shrapnel left in the microwave.) It was about 5 points worth of oatmeal. Yumtastic.

 

 

 

 

Lunch: After church, we needed to eat somewhere pretty fast so Megan could meet up with her friends for their study marathon. We ended up going to the Panera next to our house. Panera’s food is deceiving because you expect it to be healthy since it’s fresh but then it’s more points/calories than you hope. Regardless, it’s delicious so we still go there :). I had the half asain sesame chicken salad and half a Mediterranean veggie sandwich. It was really good and the salad was huge for just being half a salad. For the salad, the sandwich and the yummy baguette, it was 14 points. Not bad for how good it tastes.

 

 

Snack: While I was studying, I had 3 points of pretzels. That’s 30 pretzels. Holy cow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: So this was a little different. While Megan was studying with our friend Catherine, I was at my small group and they had gotten dinner. By the time I was done it was 9:00 so I was starving. Megan texted my with news of leftover Chinese so I headed over there. I had Megan’s left over orange chicken with rice and an egg roll. I was good at the time. It took me back to my favorite super cheap Chinese place in Abilene where you could get a mountain of food for about $4. While the savoring moment lasted for a while, I still have the sodium taste in my mouth as I’m writing this. Not good. So it was high in points, and I have no real way of figuring it out, but here is what I know: I’m not the same guy I used to be. A meal like this was what I ate at least 3 times a week and it didn’t phase me at all. Tonight, I tried to go back to my old self and it wasn’t near as good as I remember. That’s so encouraging to me. To me it means that it would take a lot to get back to where I was, and that’s how I want it.

Snack: We went to Publix to get some groceries including watermelon and Cinnamon Toast Eggos which I have never had. They were delicious and  2 points.

So today wasn’t the best, but I have learned from my mistakes and I plan to work hard this week to lose a good chunk of weight. It’s going to be an interesting week. Bring it on. See ya tomorrow.

 

 

FSU WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SWEET 16 BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 114: Wednesdayness

Sup Champs!

Before I start my typical ranting and food pictures, I just want to congratulate my good friend Christi for joining Weight Watchers Online! I’m really excited to watch her progress and celebrate her success. Definitely check out her awesome blog, The Frugal Novice. She has some great tips on saving some change and really awesome giveaways so check it out…. now!

Breakfast: I just had a bowl of cereal (4 points) and I forgot to bring a snack to my noon class so I was pretty hungry the whole time.

Exercise: So Matt and I had planned on getting some lunch and then get our racquetball, but then we decided to play first (which was smart. I’ve never played racquetball when I was full but I imagine it would not end pretty.) Anyways, it was a lot of fun and I worked up a really good sweat.

Lunch: As you can imagine, I was pretty hungry. We decided to try Jersey Mike’s which is pretty new to Tallahassee. It was the first non-subway sub I have had in… forever and it was pretty good, but no Jimmy John’s. I had the Turkey Breast and Provolone because the sign said the turkey was 99% fat free. Way to be tricky Jersey Mike! I got home and looked up the nutrition information and it was rough. My sub still had 15 grams of fat and it was 11 points. It also had almost 70% of my daily sodium. Pretty nuts, you could say I couldn’t get any nuttier OR CAN I!?! I kept looking at the nutritional info and most of the hot subs actually have trans fats. Those are still legal???? Pretty crazy. Overall, it was good, but I’m not sure when I’ll be back.

Snack: Megan and I went and studied at Starbucks. They just came out with a “skinny” Carmel Macchiato so I gave it a shot. It was actually pretty good and didn’t taste much different. I had the Iced Grande and it was 3 points.

Dinner: So far this week we have been pretty good about eating early, but tonight we ate a little late. I put some chicken in the oven and while that was baking, I made an awesome salad with all the fixins. 4 points. Then I steamed some broccoli to go with the chicken. It was really good. The chicken was only 3 points too!

So overall today, I ate 25 points while is not a lot but the sub really filled me up, but not in a good way. I’m really at the point where I don’t care how many points food is, rather I care about what I put in my body. Anyways, TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!! Which not only means I’ll be 24, but I’ll find out if I beat my challenge to break 300 before tomorrow. I’m really nervous to weigh in tomorrow but we will see how it goes. Either way, I will break 300 and if it doesn’t happen tomorrow, it will happen soon. [Thinking thin] See ya tomorrow.

Day 112: Monday Mayhem!!!!

Sup Gang!

Today started pretty awesomely, this week my blog is featured on Fitblogger! I wrote an article on what I’ve learned after losing 50 pounds. You should definitely check it out. It’s been cold and drizzly with sadly no snow in sight (I know school just started back up, but a snow day would be nice. Especially since I doubt it would take much precipitation for Floridians to shut everything down.) I just have one class today, so I got home, listened to jazz, habitually checked for comments on the article, and did homework. I have to say it was an okay day (rhyming not intended.) Anyways, let’s talk food.

Breakfast: I just had a bowl of Kashi Berry Crumble cereal. It was the bottom of the box and for most cereals that means a lot of sediment from broken pieces, but with granola it’s a dense amount of chipped away deliciousness. It was a thick 4 point breakfast.

Lunch: So I was going to have salad and a sandwich for lunch, but I didn’t get past the salad. As you might recall, I had this awesome salad last week that had nuts and dried berries in it so I tried to make my own with some trail mix. The mix we have is mostly pumpkin and sunflower seeds and pine nuts so it made it a lot more filling. I ate the first bowl and I liked it so much I made another! For two salads with Fat Free Honey Dijon was 6 points. Awesomeness. (Oh yeah, and green tea!)

 

 

 

 

Snack: On Sunday, we bought some Spicy Blue Corn Tortilla Chips from Earth Fare so I had some of those. They are pretty hot but pretty good and for 14 chips was 3 points which isn’t bad for chips. This face is of terror from their deliciousness.

Snack: Since we are out of Publix Multigrain Waffles 🙁 I had a piece of toast with peanut butter. 3.5 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: It was my day to cook, so I made chicken spaghetti… again (and no I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing.) This batch was a lot better. I baked the chicken with some sage, rosemary and thyme (no parsley, sorry Simon & Garfunkel) and some minced garlic. It looked and smelled really good, but my meat thermometer is broke so I dried them out a little. Anyways the chicken spaghetti was 13 points which is a lot of points but it was was a lot of food!

 

 

 

 

Exercise: Today was our round 2 of Couch to 5k and it went pretty well. Since it was cold and gross outside, we went up to Leach (WHICH WAS EVEN PACKED AT 9:30 AT NIGHT!!!!)  and ran on their track. The running surface has no give so I’m a little sore in weird places like my neck. Anyways, we had a good run and worked up a pretty good sweat. 

Snack: After the run, I had a banana and some Unsweetened Chocolate Almond milk that we bought on sale. It was good, but could have used a little sweetener. It was 3 points so a good post run snack.

So overall today, I ate 32.5 points worth which is over, but with the run I’m good. See ya tomorrow (and be sure to check out my article and let me know what you think!)

 


Day 110: The Tale of Two Exercises

It’s been a pretty tiring day, but the lack of homework makes it okay. (The lack of homework actually means the lack of doing any.)

Breakfast: I was going to play basketball at noon so I bulked up with some peanut butter and waffles. It’s such a great breakfast before any kind of exercise. Hooray for 8 points.

Exercise: Basketball was great. It was a heckuva lot better than the last time we played when it was 20 degrees outside. We played 4 on 4 half court and I made a few decent shots. Overall, basketball is a lot easier than it use to be (a lot less wheezing and begging for death.) That was 13 exercise points.

Lunch: After bball, my friend Kyle wanted me to try his favorite salad at Chick-Fil-A really bad so we picked up Megan and went over there (I’ve never seen a guy so ecstatic about a salad.) We all had the Chicken Tender Salad and I went with Fat Free Honey Mustard. The salad definitely lived up to the hype. It was 15 points so a little high but really filling.

Exercise Round 2: Megan really wanted to go for a run but I was pretty tired. I went anyways :). We decided to start up Couch to 5K since there is a 5K at Disney during ESPN The Weekend that’s 8 weeks away that I really want to do. The first workout wasn’t too bad (and would have been a piece of cake if I hadn’t had played basketball earlier in the day.) I’m really excited to see how it affects my time. We’ll see how it goes. Anyways, I went 2.2 miles and burned 4 exercise points.

 

Dinner: We had chili and watched the Seahawks defy the odds and whip up on the Saints. It was fantastic and 8 points. A lot of food for not a lot of points.

So I had another good food day in my effort to finally get down below 300. (I’m so close!!!!) Anyways, I got to 31 points and with the exercise points I was well under. Other than my snafu on Thursday, it’s been a pretty good week. I’ll definitely have to keep it up! Before I go, I just want to give a shout out to my Parents and my Sister who tore up their 5k today! My parents shaved off more than 10 minutes on their times from the Turkey Trot and my Dad even won a prize for his age category! I’m so proud of y’all!!!!

Weigh in on Sunday. Bring it. See ya tomorrow