Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Anything that makes it easier...
I must give full credit to my hottie neighbor. She's been trying to lose weight (not that she needs to in my eyes, but who am I to say), so we chat about what a pain in the ass it is, blah blah blah. She had cancelled her 24 Hour Fitness membership and had been using a personal trainer for a while, but she still wasn’t seeing the results she thought she wanted (again, hottie. What is it with hot women? They either totally know it and are mega-bitches, or they haven’t a clue and are totally miserable. I don’t get it.). One day I ran into her in the parking lot (figuratively, not literally) and we got to talking. I asked how her trainer was working out. She said that she wasn’t seeing him that often now, and I asked what she had been doing. And THIS is the cool thing. She mentioned that there’s an Exercise On Demand channel on our digital cable system (Time-Warner Cable San Diego), and she’s been doing a bunch of the workouts on that. They have everything from Yoga to Pilates to basic cardio to Step to Dance to body sculpting, to abs and so on. They also have specialized sports training, geared to specific sports. I tried a basic program yesterday, and it was a phenomenal 24 minute cardio/toning workout! What a great idea! No need to go to the gym after work, change clothes, wait in line for a variety of machines, change clothes again, and finally get home around 7 pm. After wasting 15 minutes just on changing in and out of workout attire. Or worse. Dragging my ass home after work, and not wanting to leave the house until I go to work the next morning. Last night I actually waited until I was done with a poker tournament, but they’ve got programs ranging from 10 minutes to one hour. I can actually click “sit out” on my poker tournament and do a 10 minute session, and go back to poker without losing a bunch of money on the blinds. And I can do that multiple times during the game, if I really want to and the action lets me. And, I can get a quick session in while the dog is eating breakfast and GF is still sleeping. I’m really excited about this! This might be the “killer-app” that I needed to really make some progress. Keep coming back and I’ll be posting my progress.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
New Horizons, New Challenges
So. As much as the new work gig is in fact a GREAT job (and not just because I was off work for 6 months…it really is a great company), the physical office layout does not provide me with much in the way of blogging opportunities. The company was a start-up, expansion branch of a larger company. They have established themselves, and we are expecting to relocate to much larger digs in the next few months. In the meanwhile, I’m sitting at a desk, working on a laptop, with not so much as a half-height cube wall to separate me from my coworkers. Meaning, I gots no privacy!!! Thus, I don’t want to be sitting with Blogger open, inserting pictures and hyperlinks while my boss walks behind me. Which is my cheap-ass excuse for why I haven’t posted in a while. But I’m attempting to change that (wait, we’ve heard this before, haven’t we).
You may have noticed a new appearance, and a new blog header/description. I’m expanding (no pun intended) the goal of this here Totally Ghey Online Diary to include all manner of personal improvement…not just weight. For this, I give the majority of the credit to Dear and Patient GF. We were watching either a movie or a TV show where one of the characters was being called out for not being willing to change, to meet the needs of their significant other. And we both noted parallels in our relationship, particularly on my end of things. Basically (as if you hadn’t noticed from my lack of consistent posting and consistent gym attendance), I’m a lazy schlub, who really doesn’t want to give up my easy, lazy habits. Well, I’m going to try to change that. In addition to the obvious tracking of the weight issues, I’m attempting to get my finances in order, and be a better boyfriend. I’m going to better prioritize my life. Basically all the little crap that becomes the first casualty of a lazy attitude, that’s what I’m going to try and improve on. Right here and now, I can’t tell you specifically what I’m going to do, but I am going to try and use better judgment to react to life and its unique challenges. I do hope to post at least several times per week, if not daily, so we shall see. Wish me luck.
You may have noticed a new appearance, and a new blog header/description. I’m expanding (no pun intended) the goal of this here Totally Ghey Online Diary to include all manner of personal improvement…not just weight. For this, I give the majority of the credit to Dear and Patient GF. We were watching either a movie or a TV show where one of the characters was being called out for not being willing to change, to meet the needs of their significant other. And we both noted parallels in our relationship, particularly on my end of things. Basically (as if you hadn’t noticed from my lack of consistent posting and consistent gym attendance), I’m a lazy schlub, who really doesn’t want to give up my easy, lazy habits. Well, I’m going to try to change that. In addition to the obvious tracking of the weight issues, I’m attempting to get my finances in order, and be a better boyfriend. I’m going to better prioritize my life. Basically all the little crap that becomes the first casualty of a lazy attitude, that’s what I’m going to try and improve on. Right here and now, I can’t tell you specifically what I’m going to do, but I am going to try and use better judgment to react to life and its unique challenges. I do hope to post at least several times per week, if not daily, so we shall see. Wish me luck.
Monday, January 08, 2007
The one in which we actually see a little progress
Well. As much as I'm an architect of my own disaster, I've determined that when GF and I go out to eat, it's not always good for me. Witness the following progression:
Last weigh in was 1/4, and the stats were 283.8 lbs and 35.4% body fat.
1/5 - 282.8 lbs and 35.1% bf. Personally, I did a pretty good job of controlling my lunch intake on 1/4, and that made a big difference.
1/6 - 281.8 lbs and 36.7% bf. Not sure about the jump in BF, but had long dog walks on 1/5. Very strict control on my lunch intake, and, here's the big one, Dear and Patient GF went out Friday night with friends. Yours truly went to the gym after work, ate a very reasonable dinner (pita and hummus sandwich and some Spaghetti-Os), and stayed home playing poker. End result, dropped some weight. Nice.
1/7 - 278.6 lbs and 36.0% bf. Holy carp!! DAPGF went out with other friends Saturday night, so I hit the gym again, ate a small frozen pizza (roughly 450 cal), and played more poker. I think I can definitely say that, despite my own failings wtih lunch at work, going out for dinners ain't the best thing for me either. Sunday could've been better. Brunch was a skillet mix of eggs, potatoes and such, and dinner was Thai. Finished off with a slice of ice cream cake to celebrate my father's birthday.
The morning weigh-in should be interesting. Still, DAPGF starts teaching this week, 2 or 3 nights during the week. Those are gym nights and sensible dinner nights. Also, gym on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I think I may be starting to get this thing under some control. Check back for further updates.
Last weigh in was 1/4, and the stats were 283.8 lbs and 35.4% body fat.
1/5 - 282.8 lbs and 35.1% bf. Personally, I did a pretty good job of controlling my lunch intake on 1/4, and that made a big difference.
1/6 - 281.8 lbs and 36.7% bf. Not sure about the jump in BF, but had long dog walks on 1/5. Very strict control on my lunch intake, and, here's the big one, Dear and Patient GF went out Friday night with friends. Yours truly went to the gym after work, ate a very reasonable dinner (pita and hummus sandwich and some Spaghetti-Os), and stayed home playing poker. End result, dropped some weight. Nice.
1/7 - 278.6 lbs and 36.0% bf. Holy carp!! DAPGF went out with other friends Saturday night, so I hit the gym again, ate a small frozen pizza (roughly 450 cal), and played more poker. I think I can definitely say that, despite my own failings wtih lunch at work, going out for dinners ain't the best thing for me either. Sunday could've been better. Brunch was a skillet mix of eggs, potatoes and such, and dinner was Thai. Finished off with a slice of ice cream cake to celebrate my father's birthday.
The morning weigh-in should be interesting. Still, DAPGF starts teaching this week, 2 or 3 nights during the week. Those are gym nights and sensible dinner nights. Also, gym on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I think I may be starting to get this thing under some control. Check back for further updates.
Friday, January 05, 2007
The one in which we try to get our fat ass in gear
Well. So far, the year is not off to a good start. I (jokingly) blame Dear and Patient GF, but she wasn’t the one stuffing food down my throat (for the most part).
My goal was to hit the gym every day possible. BEFORE I did anything fun, like playing poker. That was my big problem last year, whether I was working or not. I always was rushing home to play poker, or there was a tournament spinning up and I didn’t want to miss it, so I really avoided going to the gym. Great use of the membership fees. So this year was to be the big, consistent gym push. I actually started off making it work, attending New Years Eve in the morning, and then again New Years Day in the morning. Beyond that, haven’t set foot inside 24 Hour Fitness since. The reason I blame DAPGF is that she doesn’t start teaching again until next week. So she’s home every night and wants me to come home right after work so that we can have dinner. To top it off, one meal (NYD lunch) was a Pizza Hut lunch buffet and dinner that evening was Souplantation’s buffet. I don’t care if it is a salad place, BUFFETS ARE EVIL!!! I do not fare well in them, especially the Chinese ones. Even without the buffets, we are still going out for less than skinny meals. Lots of Mexican food, cheap Indian food, and the like. Tasty stuff, and not super evil, but still 700-1000 cal per meal.
But I have done plenty of damage all on my own. Lunch is really weird for me. For some reason I have this compulsion to go out and get something to eat, regardless of whether I brought a lunch, whether I ate it, or even what it consisted of. I usually bring something that requires at least heating in the microwave, so it’s not an issue of eating a hot meal. I really don’t know why I do it. Lord knows I don’t need to be spending the $$$$, either.
As much as it is me trying to sidestep the blame for my re-increasing gut, when GF goes back to teaching it will really help me out. First of all, I will be able to get back to the gym 3 nights during the week. Combine this with the at least one weekend morning (usually 2x) at the gym and the physical activity level really ramps up (and hopefully so does the metabolism). More importantly, those nights I eat at home. And I can do a much better job of controlling my food intake at home. Surprisingly, playing online poker helps that out, too. I’ll nuke up a small frozen pizza (400 cal) or a Lean Gourmet meal (300 cal or so), register for a poker game, and then have to wait for a break in the action to get my food out of the microwave. And if I multi-table (play 2 or more separate games at once, for those of you who don’t play poker online), I have even less time to get up and find something in the kitchen to shove down my throat. If I can take 3 nights where I might have normally consumed 900 calories and reduce that down to 400 calories, I’m saving 1500 calories for the week! As the guys in the Guinness commercials say, Brilliant!!
So this weekend it kicks off. GF is actually going out with friends both Friday and Saturday nights, so both nights I get to hit the gym and play poker! Woo hoo! Then Sunday morning I should be able to make it. Monday GF doesn’t teach, so that will be some dining out experience. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday become my power days at the gym. Abs and cardio every day, with alternating arms, chest, back, and shoulders. I’ve got 8 weeks before GF’s next semester break. Let’s see how far I can get. Which leads me into the ugliness of how far do I have to go. Let’s look at some ugly weigh-ins.
1/2 - 285.0 lbs and 36.4% bf. Yep. The buffets killed me. 'Nuff said. Absolutely the heaviest I've knowingly been. Bad, naughty Hoff.
1/3 - 283.8 lbs and 35.0% bf. Better. Not great, but better.
1/4 - 283.8 lbs and 35.4% bf. Same weight and smidge more bodyfat. This was due to one of my aforementioned lunch meltdowns. I had to run to Target and get a few things on my lunch break. Unfortunately, some evil bastard placed a Taco Bell just across the street from the shopping center where the Target is. Damn them to hell, and damn the Big Bell Value Menu. So much food for only $.99! Damn you Cheesy Bean and Rice burrito! Damn you to hell!
Had an extra long walk with the dog tonight, so maybe that will help lower things a bit. We shall see...
My goal was to hit the gym every day possible. BEFORE I did anything fun, like playing poker. That was my big problem last year, whether I was working or not. I always was rushing home to play poker, or there was a tournament spinning up and I didn’t want to miss it, so I really avoided going to the gym. Great use of the membership fees. So this year was to be the big, consistent gym push. I actually started off making it work, attending New Years Eve in the morning, and then again New Years Day in the morning. Beyond that, haven’t set foot inside 24 Hour Fitness since. The reason I blame DAPGF is that she doesn’t start teaching again until next week. So she’s home every night and wants me to come home right after work so that we can have dinner. To top it off, one meal (NYD lunch) was a Pizza Hut lunch buffet and dinner that evening was Souplantation’s buffet. I don’t care if it is a salad place, BUFFETS ARE EVIL!!! I do not fare well in them, especially the Chinese ones. Even without the buffets, we are still going out for less than skinny meals. Lots of Mexican food, cheap Indian food, and the like. Tasty stuff, and not super evil, but still 700-1000 cal per meal.
But I have done plenty of damage all on my own. Lunch is really weird for me. For some reason I have this compulsion to go out and get something to eat, regardless of whether I brought a lunch, whether I ate it, or even what it consisted of. I usually bring something that requires at least heating in the microwave, so it’s not an issue of eating a hot meal. I really don’t know why I do it. Lord knows I don’t need to be spending the $$$$, either.
As much as it is me trying to sidestep the blame for my re-increasing gut, when GF goes back to teaching it will really help me out. First of all, I will be able to get back to the gym 3 nights during the week. Combine this with the at least one weekend morning (usually 2x) at the gym and the physical activity level really ramps up (and hopefully so does the metabolism). More importantly, those nights I eat at home. And I can do a much better job of controlling my food intake at home. Surprisingly, playing online poker helps that out, too. I’ll nuke up a small frozen pizza (400 cal) or a Lean Gourmet meal (300 cal or so), register for a poker game, and then have to wait for a break in the action to get my food out of the microwave. And if I multi-table (play 2 or more separate games at once, for those of you who don’t play poker online), I have even less time to get up and find something in the kitchen to shove down my throat. If I can take 3 nights where I might have normally consumed 900 calories and reduce that down to 400 calories, I’m saving 1500 calories for the week! As the guys in the Guinness commercials say, Brilliant!!
So this weekend it kicks off. GF is actually going out with friends both Friday and Saturday nights, so both nights I get to hit the gym and play poker! Woo hoo! Then Sunday morning I should be able to make it. Monday GF doesn’t teach, so that will be some dining out experience. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday become my power days at the gym. Abs and cardio every day, with alternating arms, chest, back, and shoulders. I’ve got 8 weeks before GF’s next semester break. Let’s see how far I can get. Which leads me into the ugliness of how far do I have to go. Let’s look at some ugly weigh-ins.
1/2 - 285.0 lbs and 36.4% bf. Yep. The buffets killed me. 'Nuff said. Absolutely the heaviest I've knowingly been. Bad, naughty Hoff.
1/3 - 283.8 lbs and 35.0% bf. Better. Not great, but better.
1/4 - 283.8 lbs and 35.4% bf. Same weight and smidge more bodyfat. This was due to one of my aforementioned lunch meltdowns. I had to run to Target and get a few things on my lunch break. Unfortunately, some evil bastard placed a Taco Bell just across the street from the shopping center where the Target is. Damn them to hell, and damn the Big Bell Value Menu. So much food for only $.99! Damn you Cheesy Bean and Rice burrito! Damn you to hell!
Had an extra long walk with the dog tonight, so maybe that will help lower things a bit. We shall see...
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year!
What's the number one resolution out there? Lose weight! Me too! Yes, I know I've been at this a while, and I really only have myself to blame. Still, the dark times that befell me at the end of May did nothing to help me along the road to thinness. So having finally started working again, I am rededicating myself to losing weight and getting in shape. To set the tone, we need a starting point. To get that, we need to see how 2006 came to a close.
12/29 - 280.8 lbs and 35.7% bf. Today was a baaaad day. Started off good, with oatmeal. Then little sister & bro in law were heading back to the Memphis area, so we had to get together for lunch. An evil BBQ cheeseburger and fries at Chilis resulted. Then work closed down early, allowing me and 2 coworkers to head for Karl Strauss' Oriental Beer Garden for several pints. Yummy. GF wanted ribs for dinner, so Tony Romas continued the orgy of bad foods. Weigh-in Saturday morning was not looking good.
12/30 - 281.8 lbs and 35.2% bf. Yup. Not good. Saturday was better. Bagel for breakfast and then several hours wandering around the San Diego Convention Center at the SD Auto Show! Uber-fun for a car junkie like me. Quote of the convention from GF: she slides into the drivers seat on a Porsche Cayenne SUV and simply says "Ohhh."
Anyway, had our ghetto Mexican food (ghetto vegetarian...who knew), and Thai for dinner. As I said, the day started off well, but quickly went downhill. The weigh-in would tell the tale.
12/31 - 281.0 lbs and 35.7% bf. Wonders never cease. I am sure that hitting the gym first thing in the morning made the difference. Yep, I did manage to make it to the gym on the last day of the year. Yay for me! Didn't have breakfast. Lunch consisted of a sushi buffet. Yummy, but I ate waaay too much. Rationalized by way of "January 1st I'm kicking things into gear...I can have a blow out on the last day of the year..." Dinner was a superb dry aged, bone-in USDA Prime New York Strip accompanied by the most phenomenal tableside Caesar Salad to ever be prepared. Wandered around San Diego's Gaslamp District for a while, checking out the bars and parties, and settled on dessert at Ghiradelli's. A wicked chocolate and toffee sundae. Pure evil goodness. Finished off with Dick Clark dropping his balls on Time Square, and welcomed in 2007. GF went to sleep and I fired up the poker machine. I had actually been doing pretty well in the final few weeks of 2006, but '07 started off not so great, with my busting out of two tournaments just short of the money. Oh well. Just like the stock market, there has to be some profit taking, and PokerStars took some of my profits. Meh.
1/1 - 282.0 lbs and 36.2% bf. As I said, I had a lovely blow out on New Year's Eve, and had one more pound to show for it. Meh. I did manage to hit the gym, so points for me! Interestingly enough, Homeland Security seems to have taken over 24 Hour Fitness in San Diego County. Instead of simply showing your membership card and photo ID, now you walk up a "railed-off" entry, leading up to a turnstile like what you find going into stadiums or a subway station. You punch in your PIN #, and once their computer system confirms that your PIN is valid, then you place your finger on a scanner so that it can scan your fingerprint! Crazy. Anyway...
Breakfast
Nothing
Lunch
Geez. The only places open today were the champagne brunch type places, and the budget didn't support that option. What do we finally find open? A Pizza Hut buffet! I tried to be good and have the salad first and 3 small pieces of pizza. Not feeling too optomistic.
Dinner
To continue the theme, Souplantation was one of the few places open that wasn't a dirt cheap Mexican place (there's a time for that type of food, and it's usually right after a session in the waves off of Del Mar or at 2:01 a.m. after the bars close. So. Buffet again. But hey! It can't be bad...it's salad!!! I'm quite sure that Tuesday's weigh-in will not be pretty. So it goes.
So Happy New Year to any of you who still stop by here. May you be strong enough to keep your resolutions and may those of you who are going thru the weight loss process find continued success. See ya out there!
12/29 - 280.8 lbs and 35.7% bf. Today was a baaaad day. Started off good, with oatmeal. Then little sister & bro in law were heading back to the Memphis area, so we had to get together for lunch. An evil BBQ cheeseburger and fries at Chilis resulted. Then work closed down early, allowing me and 2 coworkers to head for Karl Strauss' Oriental Beer Garden for several pints. Yummy. GF wanted ribs for dinner, so Tony Romas continued the orgy of bad foods. Weigh-in Saturday morning was not looking good.
12/30 - 281.8 lbs and 35.2% bf. Yup. Not good. Saturday was better. Bagel for breakfast and then several hours wandering around the San Diego Convention Center at the SD Auto Show! Uber-fun for a car junkie like me. Quote of the convention from GF: she slides into the drivers seat on a Porsche Cayenne SUV and simply says "Ohhh."
Apparently my next vehicle needs to be the Cayenne. Black looks pretty sweet, but I hate keeping black cars clean. Maybe a nice Titanium Gray with the ebony leather. As if I can actually afford one! Maybe in a few more years...
Anyway, had our ghetto Mexican food (ghetto vegetarian...who knew), and Thai for dinner. As I said, the day started off well, but quickly went downhill. The weigh-in would tell the tale.
12/31 - 281.0 lbs and 35.7% bf. Wonders never cease. I am sure that hitting the gym first thing in the morning made the difference. Yep, I did manage to make it to the gym on the last day of the year. Yay for me! Didn't have breakfast. Lunch consisted of a sushi buffet. Yummy, but I ate waaay too much. Rationalized by way of "January 1st I'm kicking things into gear...I can have a blow out on the last day of the year..." Dinner was a superb dry aged, bone-in USDA Prime New York Strip accompanied by the most phenomenal tableside Caesar Salad to ever be prepared. Wandered around San Diego's Gaslamp District for a while, checking out the bars and parties, and settled on dessert at Ghiradelli's. A wicked chocolate and toffee sundae. Pure evil goodness. Finished off with Dick Clark dropping his balls on Time Square, and welcomed in 2007. GF went to sleep and I fired up the poker machine. I had actually been doing pretty well in the final few weeks of 2006, but '07 started off not so great, with my busting out of two tournaments just short of the money. Oh well. Just like the stock market, there has to be some profit taking, and PokerStars took some of my profits. Meh.
1/1 - 282.0 lbs and 36.2% bf. As I said, I had a lovely blow out on New Year's Eve, and had one more pound to show for it. Meh. I did manage to hit the gym, so points for me! Interestingly enough, Homeland Security seems to have taken over 24 Hour Fitness in San Diego County. Instead of simply showing your membership card and photo ID, now you walk up a "railed-off" entry, leading up to a turnstile like what you find going into stadiums or a subway station. You punch in your PIN #, and once their computer system confirms that your PIN is valid, then you place your finger on a scanner so that it can scan your fingerprint! Crazy. Anyway...
Breakfast
Nothing
Lunch
Geez. The only places open today were the champagne brunch type places, and the budget didn't support that option. What do we finally find open? A Pizza Hut buffet! I tried to be good and have the salad first and 3 small pieces of pizza. Not feeling too optomistic.
Dinner
To continue the theme, Souplantation was one of the few places open that wasn't a dirt cheap Mexican place (there's a time for that type of food, and it's usually right after a session in the waves off of Del Mar or at 2:01 a.m. after the bars close. So. Buffet again. But hey! It can't be bad...it's salad!!! I'm quite sure that Tuesday's weigh-in will not be pretty. So it goes.
So Happy New Year to any of you who still stop by here. May you be strong enough to keep your resolutions and may those of you who are going thru the weight loss process find continued success. See ya out there!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
