Umm, this "one little day" crap has got to stop!

So.  The past two posts have lamented the damage that one little day can bring to a fairly successful week of weight loss efforts.  In short, what progress I'd made throughout the week was undone by one day's worth of evil food.  This past week was by far the worst.  Granted, it wasn't really a good week by any stretch.  With the fires here in San Diego, it was smoky enough that I thought it prudent to avoid extended physical exertion outside, so the dog walks were cut short.  Combine that with the fires canceling school for practically everybody in San Diego County, and DAPGF's week of teaching was out the window.  With that, my gym nights were eliminated along with my eating Lean Cuisine-esque meals on those days she normally teaches.  So the stage is set for little to no progress.  Saturday morning, though, I managed to make it to the gym.  I only got a shorty workout in, because DAPGF was scrambling to get her final exams prepped for 3 classes all on one day.  Sunday was more of the same, with one exception.  We met my father for lunch at a brewpub near Casa de Hoff.  I know I did not make the wisest of choices, but I figured that with the gym I might survive with minimal damage.  Until dinner.  As with Saturday ( caturday?), I was helping DAPGF with her schoolwork (it sounds so sweet and innocent!).  She decided to reward me with dinner at my favorite Chinese joint in San Diego, Mandarin House.  Me and some friends order from this place (it does sit down and to go) as often as possible, to the extent that at one point several years ago, I could call up, tell them I wanted to place an order to go, they would reply "is this hoff?" I'd reply "yes," to which they would simply ask if I wanted egg rolls or not.  We ordered that often that they knew our order.  Anyway, I don't go there much anymore, because the food is simply too evil from a diet perspective.  Tasty as all hell, but all kinds of wrong from the diet perspective.  But DAPGF suggested it as a reward for all the help I gave her over the weekend.  So I went.  I did have the egg rolls, along with Kung Pao Shrimp and the Mandarin 3 Flavor Pan Fried Noodles (told ya I was a pastafarian).  Oh sweet flavor!  But I knew it was going to be a baaaaad thing on Monday.  And sure enough it was.  Last Monday (10/22) my weigh-in was 281.4 lbs, and my goal was 279.4.  I don't like being back in the 280s...I want to get through the 270s and work back into the 260s at least.  My ultimate goal is 240, but that's way off in the distance at this point.  Because this morning's weigh-in was 284.8!  WITHF (What In The Holy F**k)?!?!?!? 

Fortunately, I know that was a one-off experience and should only be a temporary spike.  Unless I do something utterly stupid food-wise today, my weigh-in tomorrow should be 282 or under.  DAPGF is starting a new teaching schedule, and my gym nights are dropping from 3 to 2 per week, but I'm going to try and make the most of them.  That and on the days that I don't make it to the gym, I'm going to do something physical during the day.  Most likely the driving range at lunch, but even walking at lunch.  The business park where my office is has lots of hills, so I should be able to get a decent 15 minute walk in that actually has an effect on things.  Wish me luck, peeps.

One Little Day...Revisited

When last we posted, we observed how one little day can undo a whole bunch of good efforts. In that example, my Monday 10/8 weigh-in zoomed up to 281.4 lbs, due to some Mexican Food and Margarita indiscretions. By mid week, I'd dropped back to 279.6, almost to my revised goal of 279.4 lbs. And then work blew up in my face. Gym time? Out the window due to late hours. Golf time? Yeah, right. Still, I was managing to hover within spitting distance of my goal weight, and even made it to the gym that Sunday (10/14). But Sunday was not a good day. Breakfast was huge, and then I played in a poker tournament. I only had a few drinks and no real snacking, so yay me. Unfortunately that was the last good effort on my part. Dinner consisted of Italian. Those of you who read What Happened with any regularity know that I'm a pastafarian. It can be in the form of Lo Mein (Chinese), Pad Thai (Thai), Lasagna (Italian), Udon (Japanese), or even SpaghettiOs. I lurves me some pasta. Hell, carbs in general (rice, breads, french fries, tortilla chips, etc.), but pasta kicks ass. So dinner consisted of fresh bread, fried calamari, a nice salad, and 4 cheese tortellini. I was baaaaad. And the Monday weigh-in reflected this by hitting 281.4! Again!

So this week's goal is 279.4 lbs. Again. So far it hasn't been great, but I'm making bits of progress. Work has been slamming me, so the gym hasn't happened at all. The dog had a good vet appointment last week, and the doctors have said that we can start increasing the physical activity levels, so I'm starting to increase the duration of the walks. Beyond that, there's not much happening. As of today (10/18), I was down to 280.6 lbs, and hopefully I can get back into the groove by the weekend. Wish me luck, peeps.

The one in which we see what damage one little day can do...

It's amazing how a week's worth of progress can be erased by one day's worth of "indiscretions".  My goal for this past Monday had been 276.8 lbs.  By Saturday morning I was down to 277.8, and getting closer to the goal.  But the entire week had been nothing but frustration for DAPGF, due to a variety of things work-related.  But on Sunday we managed to address some of the items and figure out an action plan to deal with the issues she's been facing.  I won't go into details, but think "jerk-off boss" and go from there.  Anyway, after our success in getting thru the weekend, DAPGF wanted to celebrate.  Here in San Diego, we gots us some wicked-tasty Mexican grub, and I'm not talking about El Pollo Loco or El Torito.  In particular, there's a California State Park that is called Old Town San Diego, and it reflects San Diego's Mexican and Native American heritage.  Think Williamsburg, VA, but with modern amenities and you won't be too far off.  So we went to our favorite Mexi joint there, had a couple of freshly made tortillas while we waited for them to call us for a seat, and then sat down.  Service was unfortunately a little slow, so we consumed a lot of chips and salsa, which weren't the best things for us (but oh were they tasty!), but what can you do?  Then the meal came.  Caesar salad, fajitas, beans, rice, and Margaritas galore!!  Oh and they were potent.  Any time you can smell the tequila as the waitress simply sets the glass down on the table, you know you're in for a good time.  End result, though, my weigh-in on Monday 10/8 was 281.4!!!  Holy crap!  I haven't been north of 280 in quite some time!  I guess my goal for 10/15 is going to be 279.4 lbs.

But as I've said many times, I'm still optimistic.  I know I can lose the weight, so I'm just going to go ahead and lose it!  Despite not being able to hit the gym yet this week, and having a 22 oz Breakwater Pale Ale with my lunch at the Rock Bottom Brewery on Tuesday (had to go to a meeting for work downtown, and it was from 11:30 to 1:30, so I earned a lunch…and I'm expensing it!  I looove being a consultant!), my weight this morning was down to 279.6.  Progress my friends, progress.  Just wish me luck in keeping it going.

(Hopefully) A Return to Progress

Greetings and Salivations!  New month, new efforts!  September wasn't a bad month, it just was a kind of screwy and ineffective month.  Those few of you still stopping by here at What Happened know that my dear doggie has been of ill health.  Specifically, she was diagnosed as having an "exploded" disc in her lower lumbar region.  Simple version, one of the discs in her back had broken up into bits, and the bits were putting pressure on her spinal cord.  This (logically) was the source of her pain, lack of energy, etc.  She had surgery to clean things up on 9/25, and it was a resounding (if not expensive) success!  She is already getting her energy and appetite back, and even though she's on a restricted physical regimen, she would rather be back to doing the usual stuff, like 45 minute walks through the canyons adjacent to Casa de Hoff.  For pretty much the entire month of September, though, she's been on restricted activity, either by choice via the pain or after we got her on steroids, by doctor's orders.  I think it was this that was one of two major contributions to my lack of progress in losing weight throughout September.  Every day, I would have two 40-60 minute walks at a reasonably moderate pace (varying 3.0-3.5 on a treadmill).  With the pain and restrictions, those walks got cut down to 5-10 minutes each at a slower pace, thus removing two major calorie-burning activities every single day.  The other contributor to my lack of progress was also dog-related.  Most nights that DAPGF taught, I had to head straight home to keep an eye on the dog, or take her to a doctor's appointment.  As such, of the 20 or so gym opportunities I had during September, I probably made it only 4 or 5 times. 

Still, it could have been worse.  As it happens, my weight on 9/1 was 278.6, and the weigh-in yesterday on 10/1 was 278.8.  And yesterday was screwy unto itself.  Because doggie came home late last week from her surgery, DAPGF worked from home on Friday to keep an eye on her, and I stayed home on 10/1 to keep an eye on her.  Interestingly, I managed to do a better job of not snacking than I do at work.  Despite a dinner that consisted of Jack Daniels Shrimp, potato skins, fries (they came with the shrimp), and a piece of Oreo chocolate cake from TGI Fridays, I managed to drop .2 lbs and weigh-in at 278.6 on Tuesday morning.  So far I've been really good at not eating anything extra, and I made it to the driving range to try out my new driver.  My slice is still fugly, but I'm getting pretty good power out of the new club.  I'm planning to hit the gym tonight, and with DAPGF teaching I get to stay home and eat a Lean Cuisine for dinner.  Tomorrow should be a pretty good day.  My goal for 10/8 is 276.8 lbs.  I've obviously had a problem breaking past the 275 barrier, but I think I've got the start of some momentum.  Wish me luck!  Keep it up out there!