A bit over due, but worth the wait...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've been busy. I'm sure everybody is busy, but I really am. Out the door super early for work, back late. And when I've actually been in my office instead of some client's office, I've been hella busy on this new project that kicks off July 1. On top of work, DAPGF just went out of town, had a birthday party for a neighbor, and my Dad is in the process of moving. It has been a bit busy.

So, last Sunday, 6/8, my weigh-in goal was 277.0 I had (obviously) been at 279.0 for the previous Sunday, and set up my usual 1.5 pound goal. Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it. I did lose some weight, though, so no backsliding and I'm still under 280! 6/15, my weigh-in was 278.4 lbs, for a .6 lb loss during the week. I did my usual yo-yo thing, but it was a much smaller range of weight. Sure I didn't drop a lot off, but neither did I put on a lot, so I'm generally satisfied. And from 278.4 lbs, my goal for 6/23 is 276.9 lbs.

This is going to be an interesting weekend. I started off on fire. After a .2 lb gain after a Father's Day steak dinner with DAPGF and my Dad, I dropped down to 276.6! Holy crap! I think there was one moment a year an a half ago that I hit 275, and that was only due to a bout of food poisoning. Since Tuesday morning I've actually gained a little bit back. We had the aforementioned birthday party for the neighbor, and that involved appetizers and margaritas at a Mexican joint near Casa de Hoff, so that was expected. Wednesday I was actually on track for a pretty good showing...I was working in my capacity of Public Information Officer for a local water district, and doing a lot of door-to-door, up and down condo stairs in 95 degree heat. And that's where the problem came in. Milkshake, baby! I wanted it, I needed it, so dammit, I got it! It was gooooood. And baaaaaaad. But with DAPGF gone until Sunday morning, here's what I've got to look forward to: walking back to the train in predicted 100 degree heat on Friday afternoon; a run to the gym and/or the beach for some waves Friday evening (not sure how motivated I'm going to be, but the intent is there), followed by a (hopefully) healthy dinner of my choosing. No restaurant planned, so maybe I can avoid the large calories associated with a big dinner out. Saturday morning gym and beach, followed by a presumably healthy lunch at home (again, no restaurant). Dinner will likely be with my Dad, whom I will be helping move, so there will be exercise, but there will likely be beer as well. Must be careful. Sunday morning will be a repeat of Saturday morning, with the gym/beach/breakfast or lunch at home. DAPGF is back Sunday evening, so that will return the dinner plans to normal. Hopefully, though, I will have had the willpower to take advantage of the weekend and drop some serious weight. Wish me luck, peeps.

The one in which we achieve a major goal...

Well how about that! Last Sunday's weigh-in turned out to be 280.6 lbs. That would set the goal of a 1.5 pound loss at 279.1 lbs. Generally, I did fairly well during the week. I didn't really lose anything, but I also didn't really gain anything. I did get sick on Wednesday, to the point of staying home from work on Thursday. The surprising thing was the weekend, though. We ate very carefully on Friday (Thai veggie stirfry) and I hit the gym Saturday (caturday?) for a weigh-in of 279.0 lbs! Yay me, but wait! This is a pattern of mine. Sunday, being weigh-in day, usually involves some backsliding from Saturday's weigh-in, even if I do go to the gym. And Saturday night was expected to be even worse. DAPGF and I celebrated 6 years (?!?) together by going to Fleming's Steakhouse for a righteous meal of dead cow and assorted stuff. She had the petite filet, and I had a 16 oz New York Strip that was melt-in-your-mouth yummy. Bread and their House Special potatoes (told ya we lurved our carbs) made with real cream, jalapeños, and cheddar cheese, and a complementary piece of their molten lava chocolate cake, accompanied by whole whipped cream and whole vanilla bean ice cream. OMFGA was it wonderful, but I was sure that I'd pay for it Sunday morning. And to top it off, because of long doggie walk and needing to get the car washed, I didn't make it to the gym. Weigh-in result? 279.0 lbs!!!! I made my goal and had an official weigh-in of under 280! And it was 2 weigh-ins in a row under 280!!!! Yay me!

So the goal for Sunday 6/15 will be 277.5. I'd have to go back and look, but I believe that will be the lowest weight I will have knowingly had since I discovered that my scale was broken back in 2006! And I must say, I'm on an excellent start! This morning's weigh-in? 279.0 lbs! And what makes this weigh-in that much more significant is that, not only was there no physical activity involved beyond a 10 minute dog walk, but the weigh-in occurred at 7:30 a.m. The weekend weigh-ins usually occur around 11 a.m. So that tells me that I actually went against the grain on Sunday and lost more weight! DAPGF is going to be gone nearly every night this week, so I am going to have some good gym opportunities along with safer food options. This may turn out to be a really good week. Here's hoping I don't screw it up!

Better late than never, I suppose...

This post is long overdue. It's late partially because my schedule's been screwed up at work, and partially because I've been embarrassed that I finally had some backsliding. But here we go.

2 weeks ago, my hoped-for weigh-in (Memorial Day weekend) was 278.7, which would've been my first "market closing" weigh-in of under 280 in a looong time. I had done my usual yo-yo thing, but was climbing back down and approaching my goal. Saturday 5/24 actually saw me at 279.6, so I was within fingertip distance of my goal. I'm still not exactly sure what happened to me (hey! great blog title!), but Sunday's weigh-in bubbled back up to 280.6 lbs. My first bit of backsliding...a gain of .4 lbs for the week. Ahh, but the weekend is still upon us, and Monday's weigh-in dropped me back to 279.8. Not the real goal, but a weigh-in of under 280! Woo hoo!! So I figured I'd take my goal from Monday's weigh-in and simply aim for a better Sunday, so the goal for 6/1 was going to be 278.3.

278.3 lbs. Hmmm. I was off to a good start, with Monday not causing any damage, but then the wheels fell off. DAPGF was out teaching, so I caved into my evil urges and ordered Kung Pao Shrimp from PF Changs. Oh so freaking tasty, but pure evil. The weight jumps to 281. Then to 282! Then by Thursday I was back on the train thing, which got me some exercise and food control. Friday was even better, because I had to go to Riverside with my boss for a meeting at 10 a.m. No train walk, but I figured I'd get home early enough to maybe get a quickie workout in. Noon hits during the meeting, and one of the guys asked if anybody wanted lunch. My boss and I said we just wanted to work through, so we could get on the freeway headed south before traffic went to hell. So we plowed through and took off. At that point, I figured I could wait until we got back to my boss' place, and I'd hit some fast food on my way home. But the traffic gods actually helped me out. The freeway was packed, so I wound up taking Coast Highway (PCH) from Encinitas down to La Jolla. That helped me because there is no fast food located along the PCH. So I just gave in and drove home. I did have some Wheat Thins when I got home before we went out to dinner, but basically I hadn't eaten anything but a bagel all day. I made it to the gym and the beach on Saturday, and it showed. My weigh-in was back down to 279.4 lbs. Not quite to the goal, but given where I'd been the day before, it was a good sign. Saturday lunch was my downfall, though. Veggie burgers...no problem. Fries...major problem. I have come to the conclusion that potatoes, french fries in particular, are NOT my friends. And to make matters worse, DAPGF and I go to lots of places that serve them (Applebees, TGIF, Fuddruckers, Burger Lounge (a hoity-toity but uber-yummy burger joint in downtown La Jolla) and other such places. I always gain weight when fries are involved, and I really need to be better at avoiding them. I really need to be better at avoiding carbs in general, but that's difficult when the places you go to eat serve one or more of the following: bread, pasta, tortillas, tortilla chips, rice, fries, hash browns, and so on. End result, Sunday's weigh-in (despite a good workout at the gym) was back in the 280s somewhere (I don't have that day logged into My Fitness Pal yet).

So whatever the exact weigh-in was on 6/1, the goal for 6/8 will be exactly 1.5 lbs lighter than that. The week started ugly, despite a good workout on Monday evening. I once again fell victim to my baser urges and had lunch at Pizza Hut's buffet! What was I thinking?!? Still, this morning's weigh-in was back down to 280.2 lbs, so maybe I can make up the badness and get back on the downward trend. I wish you luck, peeps.