Category Archives: 100 pounds

Day 91: Christmas Vacation Update

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The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
-Mark Twain

It is true. I am still alive. It was been quite the trip so far… well not really. It has been a time of just relaxing and seeing old friends. However, it has been really weird not blogging and having this support system. Other than that, not having internet and not being plugged in has actually been kind of nice. Dare I say liberating. Right now I’m chilling at a Starbucks, deleting an ungodly amount of spam and wincing at the amount of articles to read in my google reader. Anyways, we have been good about counting points and keeping them in a journal to stay on track. So far, my body has only gotten mad at me once. I was stupid and tried to eat two of my favorite greasy breakfast burritos from my favorite hole in the wall joint and my body got a little pissed. Other than that, I have tried to be smart about what’s on my plate. Luckily, my mom has made sugar and fat free pies to counteract the buttermilk pie and the bourbon chocolate chip pecan pie. We are suppose to eat pulled pork sandwiches and brisket at some point this week so I’ll be eating a lot of light lunches from here on in. It’s annoying because my parents (who have been really supportive) ask if it’s okay to have certain things like brisket and at the time I’m like “Oh yeah sure!” then when the meal rolls around I’m like “crap, this was a bad idea.” Either way, I figure if I keep the portion controls down, keep exercising (which I have been every morning (I have fallen in love with the elliptical)) and to limit the sides with sauces (like my mom’s broccoli, cheese and stuffing casserole) I’ll make it out of this sucker alive. I know that I control everything that goes in to my body, but it’s been hard not to fall in to old habits. Then I look in the mirror or look at old photos around the house, and realize that this is all worth it. See ya when I see ya.

Day 88: The Tale of the Anytime Fitness Shaman and Our Quest to Abilene

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So I am a day behind in the posting and for that I apologize.

Yesterday morning, we went and worked out again with my folks at Anytime Fitness (which I am falling in love with.) There were only about 4 or 5 of us in there and 1 of them was this older Pakistani man who was just minding his own business and doing his thing. Then, I got on to the machine next to me and he just started to randomly talking to me. I guess since I still look like I am pretty out of shape (because… I am) he starts going Tony Robbins on me. “A few months ago I went to the doctor and my blood sugar was at 350 and he told me that I could go home and die or start working out” he said. “You have to get off the chair, stop watching tv and come here and work out. You have to do these things. I work out here 4-5 hours a day because I am 75 years old and retired so I have nothing else to do.” (This exchange went on for about 10 minutes and then my dad and Megan came over and he repeated this whole diatribe.) Usually I’m not a big fan of people telling me that I need to lose weight. It just really gets under my skin (like the time in high school when I delivered perscriptions to older people and the first thing this women said to me was “You need to go on a diet kid”) but this man was pretty inspirational. I can only imagine how easy it would be at 75 to just say “I’ve had a good run” and just eat what you want and let nature take his course, but this guy is being proactive and doing something about his life! It was quite the way to start my morning.

Breakfast: 2 eggs and 2 1/2 pieces of bacon 6.5 points

Lunch: After breakfast, Megan and I made our way to Abilene where we went to undergrad and where I had lived when I was very young. It felt weird to go back even though it had only been 5 months since we had left. Anyways, I called up a few people from my old job at Zachry Associates, an ad agency in Abilene, and we went to lunch at Abuelos (which is one of the best non-whole-in-the-wall mexican joints you will ever go to.) It was great to see everyone again. It was really hard not to get my old favorite meal which was a shredded beef burrito covered in queso with beans and these refried mashed potatoes. Instead, I got the tortilla soup (which was awesome) and salad which had shredded chicken, queso (which I got on the side) and beans. It was a really good lunch and I didn’t feel weighed down like I usually do after eating there. They don’t have their nutritional info online (#socialresponsibilityfail) so we had to do some invsetigating on this one. We figured out that it was about 12 points which wasn’t bad. Thanks to Christi (of the awesome blog The Frugal Novice) for the sick action shot.

Dinner: So after running a few errands, visiting old haunts, and finding out I got accepted as a full time graduate student at FSU (oh.. did I forget to mention that? :)) we went to dinner at Jason’s Deli with a lot of our college friends. We just made a Facebook event and invited everyone we could think of and it was a blast! If you haven’t been to Jason’s, they have a killer salad bar that could even make the Hamburgelur a vegetarian. (Jason of Jason’s Deli, if you are reading this, please come to Tallahassee!!!!!!) Anyways, I made an amazing salad with lettuce, baby spinach, broccoli, bell peppers, sunflower seeds, artichoke hearts, other awesome stuff, and low fat ranch. Oh yeah, and this red pepper hummus which made me cry it was so delicious. Dinner was about 10 points. Sadly, we thought about taking an action shot after some people had left (sorry: Greg, Whitney, Sean and Amy!) Thanks: (starting front to back Martin, Shannon, Melanie, Cole (the one who looks like Jesus,) Kyle, Jeff (who thought of taking the picture,) Steph (of Rufus vs. The Farm) and last but certainly not least Evan (ya nasty!) Megan was a good sport and took the pic. It was so great to see all of our friends and it’s even better when the conversation just picks back up when you left. It’s good to have friends.

On the way home (we left Abilene around 8:30) we stopped in the big city of Hico and grabbed some Dublin Dr. Pepper which is made in Dublin, TX where Dr. Pepper was born (they still have this awesome bottling plant downtown) and is made with pure cane sugar. I don’t usually drink regular soda, but I had to have just 1. For a 12 oz can it was 3 points and it was very sugary but delicious. (To put some things in context, I used to get a 44 oz fountain Dublin DP every time I went home and came back to Abilene. That’s like 11 points a soda twice in a weekend. How I was not  diabetic I will never know. Anyways, on Thursday I got to about 31.5 points but I had exercise points so overall it was a great day. See ya tomorrow… or…. something.

Day 87: Reporting Live From Texas!

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This sucker is going to be short. Forgive me. It makes up for other long winded rants that you have read.

We got up this morning at 5:30 and worked out with my folks at Anytime Fitness. I did a mile warm up then did dad’s circuit and it was beastly. I held my own for the most part. Fun stuff. 12 exercise points

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon 6 points

Lunch: Ham and Turkey Cheese Sandwhich with veggie chip (ever had those?) 8 points

Dinner: Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (which I haven’t had in decades) and a salad with Lite Ranch. A swelltastic 12 points

Dessert: One cookie with M&M’s 3 points

So I’m only at 29 points with exercise points to spare. And they say you can’t be healthy on vacation (Who says that? I don’t know.) See ya tomorrow

Day 85: Monday Madness

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When I say madness, I mean a day of nothing.

WE ARE FLYING OUT TOMORROW! I am so stoked! There is something about airports that I just love that I really can’t explain. Anyways, I am also curious/a little worried if I am going to need to use a belt extender. Since I was a sophomore in high school, I have been asked by a flight attendant if I needed one and if I they didn’t ask, I didn’t ask. Frankly, I felt if the plane went done (knock on wood) a seat belt wouldn’t help anyways (dark I know.) I am also a little worried since Megan and I might not be on the same row and I don’t know if I’ll be in an aisle or window seat. Either way, it’s a 2 hour flight so I can bear it. Alright, enough of that. Let’s talk food yo.

Breakfast: We ate Subway (no, I am not going Jared on you or anything.) So last night after the Subway drive-thru debacle, they gave us a 50% coupon (not because we complained or anything, it was just a promotion.) We had to use it in 24 hours so we used it on breakfast. I tried the double bacon with egg white on an english muffin. I added some spinach and red onions. It was really good and 4 points.

Lunch: So I had some leftover mac and cheese and three hot dogs because we had to clean out the fridge before we head out. (Oh didn’t I tell you? I switched to the “Eat like a 6 year old” diet) It was only 9 points and I was stuffed after. Not too shabby.

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: While I was cleaning out the fridge, I found the last piece of pie and a little fat free cool whip, so I took one for the team and put it out of its misery. I know, it’s a hard job, but someone has to do it :). Only 4 points.

 

 


Exercise: Despite the fact the wind chill was 20 outside, some folks from the college group played some half court basketball. IT WAS FREEZING but we had a blast. I’m not usually a fan of basketball because I always played with people that took it pretty seriously and I’m not one to take things seriously. (I did however play intramural basketball in undergrad and fouled out in 2 minutes one game. Not because I was malicious, I was just that bad.) Anyways, I actually played really well. One could say I even played raw. At one point I was carrying my team with my swagger shooting. We played for 2 hours and I was super sweaty the whole time because I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and a hoodie so it was 25 exercise points. Awesomeness (pray that I don’t get sick, actually pray for the people on my plane tomorrow that I don’t get sick.)


Dinner: I came home to the house smelling of fantastic chili. It was the best chili I had ever had. I had a serving and a half and it was so filling. It was 13 points with the chili and rice. What a great dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Presents! Megan and I decided to have our own little Christmas so we exchange a gift with one another. I got Megan a cute owl journal and she got me this Columbia vest that I have wanted for the last two Christmases! Pretty awesome!

 

 

So today I got to 30 points and I still have some exercise points to work with a little while later. Here’s the deal, tomorrow I am going to weigh in in the morning to see where we are at before we head out. I’m going to try to weigh at my mom’s clinic on Wednesday to see how accurate it is. Also, my family doesn’t have internet for the time being, making daily blogging a little complicated. Luckily, we live close to a Starbucks so I’ll probably be sending posts intermittently. Either way, I’m going to closely watch my points and try not to stray too far away. See ya tomorrow.

Day 84: Weigh In Day!

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Seasons Greetings!

I hope everyone had a great Sunday! (Other than the Cowboys losing in a close one to the Eagles.) So I was hoping to break the 50 pound mark today but I guess that was a little over ambitious. Regardless, it was a pretty good week. I lost 2 pounds! Pretty tight yo! So now I’m at 310.6 which is still ridiculous to me! In Mid-September I was pushing 360 and now I’m knocking on the 290’s. It’s like I don’t even remember what life was like back then and I never will because I will never be back the that size ever again and you can take that to the bank. Here’s hoping that I will break 50 pounds next week (fingers crossed.)

Breakfast: Crystal, the college minister’s wife at our church (and a devout reader) brought these awesome cinnamon streusel muffins for the morning class. I usually eat before church but we were in a bit of a rush this morning. I might have to skip breakfast more ofter because they were delicious! I looked it up and it was 4 points.

Lunch: So we have unintentionally started a Sunday lunch tradition: Creamy Stovetop Mac n’ Cheese with broccoli. It was sooooooo good. For a serving and a half of the mac and cheese was only 9 points which is so filling (not to mention steamed broccoli is epic… yes, I said broccoli is epic. I am a boring fella.)

For a snack I had a orange for 1 point.

 

 

 

 

Dinner: We went out to buy a few more things before our trip so we decided to grab some dinner before hanging out with the college group. We saw a Subway that had a drive thru so we thought “how bad could be?” We were behind a lady who I’m pretty sure had never been to a Subway and thought the process of sandwich making was such a foreign concept. We lost our patience very quickly. So we ordered and drove up and the same lady was arguing with the cashier. It was quite the scene. Anyways we finally got through and the 8 point broodwich was delicious (did anyone get that reference?)

Dinner Part 2: When we got to the house, our friend Kyle (who does not live there) was making baked BBQ chicken. He has been really supportive and has really held me accountable especially at the beginning of the weight loss journey. Anyways, he is an awesome cook and the chicken was delicious. I had a breast and a drumstick so it was 10 points which was totally worth it.

So today I got to 32 points which makes sense because I felt nice and content all day. See ya tomorrow.

 

 

 

 


Day 83: A Weekend With Nothing To Do???

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It’s so weird to have a weekend with no lingering assignments or annoying reading due (books are dumb) it was nice to wake up to nothing or any set agenda for the day. So. Awesome.

Breakfast: I just had two dry waffles which was 3 points. I missed the pb, but we were heading out the door and driving with waffles and pb is a dangerous combo. (I guess it is, I don’t know. Sometimes I just say weird things to prove my point.)

Lunch: There was a holiday art show in one of the lovely parks downtown and one of our friends was selling his photography so we went to go check it out. We checked out the show and then decided to go to the Florida Capitol Building since we hadn’t been there yet. The new state capitol in Florida was built behind the old building which is now a really cool museum. One of my favorite sections was dedicated to different campaign ads state and national. They had election pins as old as the McKinley administration, but the one pictured was one of my favorites.

 

 

 

After walking all around, we  tried the Subway Cafe downtown. It was actually pretty fancy. They had pastries and a cappuccino machine and everything, however we were just there for the sandwiches. Megan and I split the footlong black forest ham on wheat in all its delicious glory. We just got water but the cups were so small! I don’t usually gripe about such nonsensical things (for those who know me personally you know that’s a lie) but a regular cup costs like 6¢ to make. Just give me a regular cup! Okay, I’m off the soapbox now. Anyways, the sandwich was 8 points.

Snack: After our escapade downtown, we fought the crowds at the mall. We did some Christmas shopping there and another big strip mall close by. When it was all said and done, we had walked 5.03 miles (I wore my pedometer) so we were pooped by the end of it. I also went to Dillard’s and tried one some clothes. I think I found the pair of jeans I am going to get with some Christmas money which was awesome and I found out I went down at least one size in button up shirts which is a also awesome. I tired on a 3xBig Polo oxford shirt, which is the size I always have worn, and I was swimming in it. I tried on the 2xBig and was a little baggy but it fit very comfortably. Thank goodness Christmas is right around the corner. Anyways, we went home and I had a slice of pumpkin pie which was 4 points (I recognize that the preceding sentences don’t necessarily coincide. That’s the joy of Weight Watchers.)

Dinner: So since we are leaving on Tuesday, we don’t really want to buy any groceries but we don’t want to eat out a whole lot so we are getting creative with what’s left in the fridge. Tonight Megan made this awesome breakfast scramble with potatoes, onions, bacon and eggs (if it’s a scramble, does that imply eggs? Just wondering.) It was fantastic and really hit the spot. My half with a piece of toast was only 11 points which was legit.

 

 

 

 

After a day about nothing that turned into something, I ate a total of 26 points which works just fine with me since I went over a little into my weekly points this week. I went at least 11 points in which works. It’s a little more than I am use to but that’s okay. Tomorrow is weigh in. I’m 5.6 pounds away from the 50 pound mark which is just unreal to me. I don’t think it’s going to happen, but I would obviously be okay if it does happen 🙂 See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 82: Finals Are Over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Who puts a final on Friday in the afternoon? Seriously? So dumb so dumb so dumb so dumb. Anyways, finals are over and now it’s time to focus on Winter Break! We are going to fly out in Tuesday!!!!!!! So stoked. Anyways, let’s talk food.

Breakfast: I had the wafflewhich of awesomeness. So tasty. It was 8 points but it was good because it held me over for most of the day. I also had a 1 point orange.

Lunch: Since my final was a 3:00 and Megan’s was at 1:30, I was going to park by my department and then take the bus over to the union for some Pollo Tropical. After waiting for 15 minutes for a bus, I finally got on one then he drove for 100 feet after my stop and then he parked on the side of the road and ate his lunch. I just got off in disgust and then got a diet coke and a 4 point Nature Valley granola bar. It held me over, but roasted delicious chicken would have been nice…..

Dinner: After the final (which I did adequate on) we went to Mellow Mushroom, a pizza place in Tallahassee, with some peeps from Megan’s department. It was good but pretty pricey. We ordered a 10″ cheese pizza and for some reason they brought us a pepperoni pizza. I would say fail, but they didn’t charge us for a pepperoni which was more and I had the points too so awe well. We split it in half (2 slices each) and it was about 14 pointsish (that’s according to the WW site but it’s like 7 point for a slice from a place like Pizza Hut and our slices were much smaller.)

After Party: After dinner, we hung out at our friends Christian’s apartment. We had a blast just hanging out and relaxing after a crazy semester. He had some ff pretzels that were only 2 points for 20 pretzels. I had about 6 points worth. At one point, I went outside and I saw a huge raccoon. I ran away from it and it ran in to the woods. It was awesome.

So today I was at 33 points which is pretty good. Sorry this post is so late and for the lack of pics. I’ll make up for it. See ya tomorrow.

Day 8-0: A Whirlwind of a Day

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80 days. Legit.

Today has been pretty nutzo, full of lessons of learning to go on faith. To explain today, I take you back to pre-Weight Loss Fotographing Fat Kid. Once upon a time, (this summer) I applied to get in to FSU for grad school. I had been looking for a job in Tallahassee and it was slim pickens and my grades in undergrad were kind of cruddy because I didn’t hit the books like I should have so I knew getting in was kind of a long shot. Anyways, when I took the GRE in June, my score well below the admissions requirement, but the department still let me in as a non-degree seeking student and under the condition that I would work retake the GRE and get a closer score. Well, the semester went by and I spent more time on my classes instead of studying for the GRE. So about a month ago I decided to retake today since it was finals week and there wasn’t much going on. Anyways, so a lot was riding on the test (obviously it doesn’t depend all on the score, my grad school GPA is a factor too) and I woke up this morning with unbearable sinus pressure and snot coming out of every orifice. I was freaking out. How could I take such a huge test with this bad of a sinus attack? So I sent out a facebook plea for prayers and they were definitely felt and heard (thank you.) I actually did better than last time! I somehow did really well in the quantitative section which really surprised me because I’m really bad at math (go figure.) I still didn’t get as high of a score that I needed, but it’s in God’s hands and there is no other place that I would rather have it. Anyways, quite a day. Let’s talk about some food.

Breakfast: Dayquil and Halls, the breakfast of champions (and people with colds)

Lunch: I just had some chicken soup and a ham sandwich which was a total of 6 points works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: During the GRE, I didn’t feel sick at all, but it hit me like a sack of snotty hammers when I was driving home. When I walked in, Megan had put up some Christmas lights! The house is very Christmasy now. Anyways, since we are both still sick, sat and enjoyed some r&r before venturing to free burritos at Chipotle! We bundled up and headed out. Were we sick? Yes. Was it cold? Freezing. Then why go out you ask? BECAUSE IT’S CHIPOTLE!!!! We only had to stand outside for a few minutes and then we got in to the newest Chipotle in the world. It’s a different lay out than most and it’s pretty cool. Anyways, we got ours to go because we were starting to feel a little sick again so we ate at home. Anywho, I had the chicken burrito with the works: cheese, guac, and sour cream. It wasn’t so much stress eating, more of just relief eating after a stressful day. The burrito was really high, like 26 points high, but it was delicious. We definitely won’t be able to go there all the time, but I’m still in the process of trying to find a better, lower point option there like a veggie burrito bowl or something. Anyways, Megan just made some low fat chocolate chip cookies which was 2 points. Yum.

So today, I’m at 34 points so 2 over isn’t too bad. See ya tomorrow.

Day 79

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I’m feeling sick. No bueno.

Megan has been sick and I have been fighting it pretty hard but I woke up with a little drainage in the back of my throat so that’s awesome.

Breakfast: in efforts to fight off the crud, I had a glass of orange juice (2 points) and when Megan had said that she was getting sick on Facebook, one of our friends suggested this home remedy that involved unfiltered apple cider vinegar, honey, and water. I wasn’t skeptical, I figured it would work, but I figured it was going to taste disgusting. And it did. I got it down and it actually really helped. It burned where it was hurting so I just equated that with healing.

 

 

 

 

Lunch: Since we were sick, we had some other food with healing power: chicken noodle soup (or as my dad called it: German Penicillin because that’s what my grandma made for him when he was little.) It felt so good down the pipe. Since it was only a point for a cup (2 points) I had two Hebrew National 94% ff hot dogs with buns which was 6 points. Not too bad of a lunch.

 

 

 

 

Exercise: Matt and I played some racquetball again today to try to sweat this crud out. I apologized to him in advance if I started to reek of apple cider vinegar half way in to it. (I don’t think I ever did smell, but I did sweat a lot more than I usually do.) Anyways, it felt good to get a good cardio work out. We played for a hour and a half so it was 22 exercise points which was just epic. After, I had 6 points of snacking which was baked lays and a chocolatey chex bar.

Dinner: I made some vegetarian chili at home because we just felt like staying in and recooping from this semester. I added a lot of Tabasco so I could clear my sinuses and it worked… for a bit. Anyways for two servings of chili and rice with cheese and a big glass of milk it was 19 points which is a lot but it really sticks to your ribs and keeps you a lot fuller than 19 points from a restaurant.

 

 

 

 

So today I got up to 35 points but with the workout points I’m alright. I have been bad and I haven’t been doing my sit ups and push ups so I got back on track by doing 75 of each between commercial breaks during the Biggest Loser. Feeling pretty good. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 78

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Finally an assignmentless Monday,

It was a great day full of… not much. Woke up and it was freezing outside. I know I keep saying this, but it really does feel like fall here in Tally. AND CHRISTMAS IS ONLY 19 POINTS AWAY!!!!! HOW CAN YOU NOT BE EXCITED!?! Anyways, on to food.

Breakfast: While Megan was busy studying and writing papers, I made some breakfast. Back in the day, there was nothing better than a fast food breakfast sandwich, (at one point, everyday I got a mocha and bacon egg and cheese griddle which it around an 800 calorie breakfast. Yikes. The sad part is that I was aware about how bad it was because I had looked it up but I still put that in my body. My how things have changed.) Anyways, we had a few WW bagels left and so I made a Bacon Egg and Cheese Baglewich. It was 5 points and then some watermelon for 1 point. A good alternative to some breakfast greasy goodness.

 

 

Lunch: I had some leftover mac and cheese. Absolute yuminess. I put some ketchup and mustard on it like I usually do with leftover mac and cheese. Does anyone else do that? Anyways, it was 6 points.

 

 

 

 

 

Snacking: I had 3 points of chips and a 2 point chocolatey chex bar. (BTW, this is me while I was cooking. That is an Alaskan Ulu and that is my crazy face.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: Even though we are going to Chipotle on Wednesday, we were still both craving some burrito action so I made black bean and cilantro rice burritos. It was awesome as always, but I also tried my hand at making baked tortilla chips. I brushed 4 flour tortillas with some olive oil, cut them in the sixths, then threw them in the oven at about 350 for about 10 minutes and I flipped the cookie sheet around once. They were a little burnt, but pretty good. Dinner was about 10.5 points which was a little high but that was also for 2 massive burritos so it’ll work!

 

 

So today I am at 27.5 points which will work. See ya tomorrow.