I think I'm liking this...

So at my last post, I was expressing amazement that I'd dropped all the way down to 283.6 lbs, and was hoping that I wouldn't implode over the weekend.   And the weekend was a little of both.

 

Friday dinner was kind of doomed for us.  We got a late start, and wound up at a very good sushi place in La Jolla village.  They actually had an all you can eat special for $25 per person.  Danger!  Danger!   What made it worse was that, unlike some of the mega buffets like Onami or Todai, you actually submitted your order form to the sushi chef and he made your order fresh.  Jeezus did we eat a bunch, but damn was it good.   DAPGF and I did go for a short walk after dinner, and I did walk the dog later, but I knew I'd been a baaaaad Hoff.  To top it off, I wasn't able to hit the gym Saturday morning.  

 

Saturday's weigh-in: 285.6 lbs.  Yep, gained 2 pounds.  But once again, I knew that this was a temporary setback, and that I did have the ability to lose the weight again.   So lunch was actually pretty light…a lean, bbq pulled pork sandwich (no breakfast) and then a "smaller" amount of Mexican for dinner.  All told, I only took in 1500 calories or so, which is about the smallest amount I've ever consumed over one 24 hour period (without the assistance of Montezuma's Revenge).   DAPGF and I took a walk and then I had a pretty long dog walk.  I was hoping that I'd been good enough to maybe get below 285.0, which was my goal for the week.

 

And Sunday's weigh-in: 283.2 lbs!!!  w00000t!!  How about that!   My only fear was that I'd gone to the gym and then weighed myself fairly late in the morning, so I knew the much earlier Monday morning weigh-in would probably be higher if only because of that.   Anyway, no breakfast but lunch consisted of some calamari, some veggie spring rolls, and a shrimp cobb salad at a restaurant with one of the finest views in Del Mar.  That all seemed to work out relatively healthily.  Dinner consisted of some tasty evil Thai food and frozen yogurt for dessert.  We actually have a "boutique" yogurt place here (it's just how we roll in San Diego), and I couldn't resist a layer of cookie dough, followed by cookies and cream yogurt (it really tastes like a freaking oreo cookie, not just vanilla with oreo bits), followed by chocolate custard yogurt topped with actual crushed oreo.   Mmmm.  Sweet fattening goodness.  I took the dog out for her walk and prepared to face the Monday morning music.

 

Monday's weigh in: 285.4 lbs.  Yep.  I knew that Sunday torpedoed my progress.   My goal from the previous week had been 287.0, and I hit 287.4.  Since I was so close, I made my 2 pound goal for this week 285.0, instead of 285.4.  I didn't hit the actual target weight, but I did hit the 2 pound loss goal.  So again, because I got so close, this week's goal will be a weigh-in on Monday 7/23 of 283.0 or lower.  So I set out to work hard on that goal.  I was careful in my eating.  I did my bagel/cream cheese for breakfast.   Snacks consisted of wheat thins and string cheese, and I did go to the store at lunch and got some beef jerky.  All that protein, low in calories, and very low in fat.   Great nibble food to have around.  I did munch a bit more than I intended, and there was one other bad thing I did.   Sunday night, DAPGF and I were watching something on Discovery or Food TV or one of those channels, and they did a teaser on Twinkies.  GF asked when the last time I had a twinkie was.   Honestly it's been over 10 years, but it got me kinda jonesing.  When I was at the store, I looked at a box of twinkes.   Back in the day, Ho Hos were my guilty pleasure, but there's nothing wrong with twinkies.  So I look at a $3.99 box of twinkies, and right next to it I see a box of the Little Debbies Ho Hos knock-off's for only $1.29.   Well how can I pass up that bargoon?  So I had a few snack cakes on Monday afternoon.  Meh.   Dinner was Red Robin for the righteous BBQ Chicken Wrap.  It did come with "never-ending" fries, but I tried not go gorge myself on them.  I had a nice long walk that evening with the dog, and then another good one this morning, hoping that I'd not gained anything more than I already was.

 

Tuesday's weigh-in: 284.2 lbs.  Down 1.2 lbs!!  I think I may be getting a handle on this.   I know that I've got a loooong way to go to get below 240 lbs, but I'm starting to feel as though I'm understanding how to actually eat in a way that will help me lose weight.   And again, I must give props to My Fitness Pal.  Whether it's legitimate or I'm just psyching myself into increasing my metabolism, being able to track my caloric intake directly against what I burn, and more importantly being able to track all activities that burn calories, is really helping me see what I'm doing right, what I'm doing wrong, how to correct that, and what progress I'm actually making.   If you haven't tried it, check it out.  I think you'll be pleased.

 

 

So, umm, wow!

So.  My Monday weigh-in to start this week was 287.4 lbs.  This was .4 lbs heavier than my goal, and almost 2.5 lbs heavier than my low point of the week, one day previous.  Despite that setback, I was still feeling good.  I had proven that I can lose the weight if I am just careful about how much crap I shove down my neck.   Anyway, Monday was not the best day.  I had to run home at lunch and get some stuff I'd forgotten in the morning, which meant that I ate a lot more than I intended to.   I did hit the gym on the way over to Mom and Dad's house, but I counteracted that with chips, salsa, a quesadilla, and two huge margaritas at Chevy's, with my sister.  End result, Tuesday's weigh-in was about 1 pound heavier than Mondays.   Still, I was optimistic because I had proof that I could lose the weight.  And in this I must give DAPGF full credit.  She is getting older (like the rest of us losers), and she's finally noticing that her metabolism is slowing and the weight isn't staying off like she would prefer.   So we go walking after dinner, usually for about a half hour or so.  In addition, I did go to the driving range at lunch on Tuesday, and had some nice, long doggie walks.   Wednesday's weigh-in was down to 286.8!  Progress!  Wednesday I hit the gym after work and was really tight on what I ate.   Thursday's weigh-in, 285.4 lbs.!!  Thursday, I went to a work luncheon but lucked out with the food.  Salad, and penne pasta in tomato sauce with chicken breast.  And I went and played this tiny little 9 hole executive golf course near Casa de Hoff after work.   DAPGF was out, so I was very careful with what I ate (Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Pizza, yummy).  When she came home, we went for another 30 minute walk, and then I had a 45 minute dog walk.   Friday morning's weigh-in.  283.6 lbs.!!!!!!!  Outside of the few days surrounding my mother's death, I haven't been near 283 in several months at least.   I do have the weekend to worry about, but I'm doing too well.  You can bet your collective asses that I'm going to do everything in my power to not backslide.   And I've said it before and I'll keep saying it…My Fitness Pal is a phenomenal tool.  Honestly I couldn't tell you whether it truly is keeping me on track, or whether the idea of using it is making my body process stuff better I couldn't tell you.   I do think that it is keeping me on track.  My sister isn't a fan of food journals or exercise logs, but I say Nay Nay.   Because of how My Fitness Pal is set up, it really lets you see your progress.  One look and I can tell whether the physical activity I've done (again, it lets you track just about anything) has "made up" for whatever I've eaten, or whether I need to put in extra time at the gym to burn off something naughty I've eaten.   I think that's the key…having calories in and calories out integrated.

 

So good luck out there.  Have a great weekend.

Cancer still sucks

Someday, hopefully sooner than later, we will find a cure for this shitty disease known as cancer.  But for now, here's a person who could use some kind words and thoughts.

 

Cross-posted at The Randomness and What Happened

The one in which we foresee both the good and the bad...

And the weekend was a mixed bag.  I had been making stellar progress this past week.   In fact, the Sunday weigh-in was all the way down to 285.0 lbs.!!!!  I haven't been that low in months!  I know the golfing was a major contributor, but I'd actually gotten down to 285.4 lbs for Saturday morning, so the golf counteracted the many beers consumed.  I proved to myself that I can actually lose weight, IF I DON'T GO OVERBOARD WITH STUFFING FOOD DOWN MY NECK!!!  

 

That last part is the key, obviously, and I aptly demonstrated it on Sunday.  After a fantabulous weigh-in Sunday morning, it was time to let the games begin.   I didn't hit the gym because my back was a bit sore, so I soaked in the steam room.  I sweated out a few calories, so I'm ok with that.   Lunch was a chicken taco salad thing that isn't too dangerous (no sour cream), but probably still fairly fattening.  Dinner was a BBQ Chicken Pizza at California Pizza Kitchen with DAPGF, and the cheese and carb-y goodness I'm sure did some damage.   Still, we went for about a 45 minute walk afterwards and made up for some of that.  The killer was what happened late that evening.   I pretty much hadn't been on the computer all weekend, and I wanted to check email, look at some of my favorite websites, and generally screw around.  So after DAPGF crashed out and I walked the dog, I jumped on the computer.  This is just shy of midnight, mind you.  Now, I know that you're not supposed to eat right before you go to bed, that it screws up your metabolism, etc. etc.   But the stomach started growling and I was needing just a little something salty.  So I went to the kitchen to grab something.  Did I grab a 60 calorie string cheese?   No.  Did I grab a few Wheat Thins?  No.  I grabbed the whole bag of Wheat Thins Toasted Veggie Crackers, using the rationale of "I don't want to make noise crinkling the bag getting out just a few chips, so I'll just bring the whole bag to the computer.   I'm not going to be on very long."  And next thing I know, 2/3 of the bag is gone!  End result, Monday's weigh-in was 287.4 lbs. 

 

Major bummer.  Not only did I gain 2.4 pounds from Sunday morning, but I also missed my goal.   Still, I'm trying to look at the positive.  I demonstrated that I can lose weight.  Now I just need to stop the little snacking problem.   Because the goal for this morning was to be 287.0 or below, the goal for next Monday (7/16) is 285.0 lbs or below.  I've got a couple of things working in my favor.   First, I get a bonus night at the gym tonight.  Little Sister is in town, and we've got to go thru some things that Dad has sorted out.   So DAPGF is on her own tonight and I'm hitting the gym on the way to Dad's (so weird to not say Mom and Dad's, btw, yesterday was their 40^th Wedding Anniversary.   Mom may not be here physically, but they're still married and Dad's still in love.  Cancer still sucks) house.  In addition to tonight, DAPGF starts teaching her new quarter this week, so instead of just one normal night of gym and online poker, I get two nights.   If the weather holds, I'm hitting the beach for some of it to catch the evening glass-off .  I also discovered a tiny little 9 hole executive golf course near Casa de Hoff.  It doesn't look like anything spectacular, but it will be good to work on the short game, pre-twilight fees are only $8, and the walking will be great exercise.   I had a good feeling about last week, and by and large I was right (except for the very end, which technically was part of the next week), and I've got another good feeling about this week, too.   Good luck!

Are the numbers really going down?

So yesterday's weigh-in was 286.8 lbs, and I was generally pleased that I'd only gained .4 lbs.  Yesterday was not a good food day.   DAPGF and I were house sitting over the 4^th, which necessitated my driving past (meaning thru) the drive thru on my way to work, and succumbing to the egg-y, cheesy goodness that is fast food breakfast sandwiches.   But dammit, I'm bound and determined to make up for it.  I walk the stairs all day.  I go to the driving range.   I know that DAPGF and I are going walking after dinner, and I know that I'm walking the dog later in the evening, but I'm pretty sure that it's not going to work.   When lo and behold, the email of emails comes down.  Our corporate office in Sacramento, where all of our network servers, internet servers, and email servers are located, is relocating and all of the servers were going to be shut down at 3 pm!   Well, hell!  If I can't even get on the internet, what's the point in staying.  So I left early and hit the gym on the way home!   Dinner consisted of mainly sushi, and the aforementioned walks. 

 

And the Friday weigh-in?  286.2 lbs!  Dropped .6 lbs!   As long as I don't completely fall apart over the weekend (and I'm golfing on Saturday which will definitely help the exercise side of things), I'll be ahead of my goal for the week.  

 

I have to say, My Fitness Pal is my new favorite thing.  I've kept the food diaries before, and I've tried to track my exercise, but this just works better.  First of all, it has a database of both food and exercise entries, and they run the spectrum.   Canoeing.  Golfing.  Playing a musical instrument.  Mowing the lawn (push or riding).   Walking the dog.  Walking up stairs.  I think this is it's greatest feature.   Not only can you track the obvious (20 minutes on the elliptical trainer burns 400 calories), but all of these things you wouldn't necessarily think twice about are listed.  It makes it much easier to see just how physically active you are, and it takes the calories burned and applies it to the calories consumed to give you your net figure.  It makes it so easy to see where you're doing things right, where you're doing things wrong, and what you need to do to make up for a poor decision (like going out to lunch with coworkers and having all fried appetizers and several beers, not that I would ever do anything like that!).   If you haven't gone over there to check it out, I highly recommend it.

 

Wherever you are, I hope you had a great 4^th of July, and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Progress!

As I said, I think it's going to be a good week.  I started off on the Monday weigh-in at 289.0.   Tuesday I spiked up to 290.4.  Monday's dinner was just wrong on so many levels, and it just illustrates how weak I can be at times.  After fighting pretty hard to limit what I ate, I went to dinner with DAPGF at this local curry place.  We go here fairly often, because the quality is good and the prices are very reasonable.   That being said, our "frequent diner" card has the requisite number of punches in it to qualify for a free entrée.  Woo hoo!   So instead of ordering the regular size, I ordered the large portion of their Teriyaki Chicken.  And I ate the whole bloody thing, including using my jasmine rice to soak up the rest of the (admittedly yummy) teriyaki sauce.   End result, despite an hour at the driving range in temps approaching 90 degrees, a half hour walk with DAPGF, and a 45 minute dog walk that evening, I gained almost a pound and a half for the Tuesday morning weigh-in.   But instead of getting down on myself, I resolved that I would be better on Tuesday.  I worked diligently to control my intake (using my new favorite tool, MyFitnessPal.com) and track my physical activities.  So on the 4^th, I woke up, walked the dog, and instead of hitting the gym I went to the beach (I <3 San Diego!) and got about an hour's worth of bodysurfing in.  Weigh-in when I got home, 286.0!!!  Cha-ching!!  Food and adult beverages are part of every 4^th of July celebration, and mine was no exception.   Weigh-in on Thursday morning, 286.4 lbs.  Considering the beer and pizza, I'm pretty satisfied with only gaining .4 lbs.  That gives me hope that my recent switch in the breakfast department, combined with a renewed effort at physical activity (more walking, more golf) will really get me on the downward trend.   I've actually met (and exceeded) my goal for this week…I just need to make sure I don't backslide.  Good luck with everything you're doing out there.

Well this is pretty nifty...

So courtesy of my fellow fat poker player, Big Slick Nuts, I present you with a pretty slick new toy.  Myfitnesspal.com.  I've kept the food diaries (Microsoft actually has a pretty nifty Excel template that does this), I've used the food databases, and I've done the exercise.   Myfitnesspal.com actually combines all of this in one place.   Enter some basic data (age, gender, height, weight, desired weight, basic daily lifestyle) and it will spit out a formula for how much net calories you can consume each day.   And here's where the integration pays off.  You enter your daily food intake.  Pick stuff off of their existing database, or if your particular item isn't listed, you can enter the nutritional information yourself and add it to their database.   The database isn't nearly as comprehensive as Calorie King , but by being able to enter your own foods it helps everybody out.  One other cool feature about the meal logs is that you can save a meal.  If you eat the same basic meal several times a week (packet of instant oatmeal and a banana, for example), you can save that meal combo and then it becomes a one-click process to log your breakfast.   Based on your nutrition plan that it created for you, it keeps a running track of how many calories you still have left for the day.  It also tracks your hydration, so you can make sure you're drinking enough water (unless you live in Tijuana!).  The final portion of this that makes it such a useful tool is the exercise log.  Did you walk the dog?   Log it and it calculates how many calories you burned.  Going to the driving range, walking up stairs, mowing the lawn, pushing a stroller, log it.   Based on the log, it calculates how many calories you burned, and then adds/subtracts that from your total calories consumed to give you your net calories for the day.  And the final capper?   It's free.  Go ahead and sign up.  I know that I can always use another tool to keep me accountable…you probably could too.

It's going to be a good week...

Sez me…

 

This past 2 weeks has been brutally hectic.  Working late several nights, over the weekend, all to get a proposal together for a potentially $1.8 million contract.   We got it done, and now it's a waiting game to see if my company is going to be called for an interview.  I've got more projects to work on this week, but I'm hella relieved to be done with that proposal.   Of course, if we get the project I'm looking at 2 solid years of being busy, but it beats being unemployed.

 

A side effect of the work situation was that I played practically no poker at all for almost 2 weeks.  My first game of any substance, hell the only game I played recently was a 9 player $11 turbo on Tilt that I got into at about 12:30 in the morning, because I finally had a moment and was itching to play.   I played solid ABC poker and managed to take 2^nd place…that was my first cash in a while so I'll take it.

 

Last week had some rough spots on the weight loss front, which I partially attribute to how busy I was with work.   No gym last weekend, no gym on Wednesday, and after working late on Wednesday I succumbed to the siren call of Pickup Stix' House Special Chicken.  And I added 2 pounds that evening.   I fought back during the remainder of the week, and made it to the gym on both Saturday morning and Sunday morning.  Sunday's weigh-in gave me a fighting chance at hitting my 2 pound loss goal for the final week of June, but Sunday's eating did me in.   I'm not sure exactly what it is about Sundays (meaning why DAPGF and I eat what we do on Sundays), but my Monday morning weigh-ins are never good.  Case in point.  Sunday lunch was this killer restaurant in Solana Beach , where everything is organic, lean, and home-made.  So of course we order some of the least healthy things on the menu.  Calamari as a (very tasty) appetizer.   A Caesar salad to split, and a spiced turkey meatloaf (it tastes amazing) sandwich with home-cut Kennebec fries.  Then dinner.   Rubios Fish Tacos for a shrimp burrito.  And the weigh-in this morning was almost 2.5 pounds heavier than Sunday's.  So I'm starting (again) at 289.0 lbs, which is just about the heaviest I've ever (knowingly) been.  But the difference is, I've got a good feeling about this week.

 

I can't point to any one specific thing, but I feel good about this week (and everything else to come).  Over the weekend I managed to get some good housekeeping stuff done.  I made it to the gym twice.  DAPGF's new semester of teaching starts, and she's teaching twice a week which means two days plus the two weekend days of gym (or beach) opportunities.   On the beach note, the weather here in San Diego has been fantastic (eat your hearts out), and I'm dragging my fat to the beach for some good wave action.   I've gotten current on all my bills that piled up when I was out of work last year.  My checkbook register is all up to date, I've planned out my budget for the next 6 months, and it actually looks good, and my car insurance is going down because a speeding ticket expired and goes off of my record.  

 

I'm also trying something new on the diet.  I'm giving up on the oatmeal (for now) because one packet just doesn't do enough to keep me satisfied until lunch.   So I would then munch on my planned morning snack, and then my planned afternoon snack!  If I was lucky, that would hold me thru lunch, but then I'd have to go buy some sort of afternoon snack which seemed to never be low fat or healthy.   So I'm trying out a bagel with fat free cream cheese.  All told, about 260 calories and so far it's managed to fill me up better than a single packet of oatmeal.   Maybe if this one thing shows any kind of success, I can build some willpower off of that and do a better overall job of controlling my eating.

 

In addition to the gym and the diet changes, I'm going to the driving range.  The budgeting has allowed me money for time at the range once or twice a week, so I figure Mondays and Thursdays or Fridays (gym/beach on Tuesdays and Wednesdays) will give me some more exercise opportunities during the week, with the added benefit of keeping me occupied and not stuffing food in my face.   And for those of you who don't think swinging a golf club is exercise, go hit a hundred balls in 45 minutes to an hour.  I think you'll be surprised.

 

Finally, just having gotten some cleaning done around the house, buying a 2^nd hard drive cable for the new computer, getting the bills and budget current, I'm making a more concerted effort to plan my time wisely.   I suffer from poor time management skills, and it's been a problem both in my personal life as well as my professional life.  Having gotten caught up on my "chores" is giving me the opportunity to organize my overall life a little more efficiently.   Everything from planning out specific work tasks and checking email to playing poker and blogging, I'm trying to do a better job of time allocation and prioritizing.   Hopefully this will build on itself and I can apply it to all aspects of my life.

 

Self-control and will power.  This blog was started as a weight loss blog, and those two characteristics are key to any successful weight loss.   Maybe the expansion of the focus of the blog will help me control the expansion of my waist and gut!

 

The one in which we begin anew

I just wanted to get off a quick post before diving back into work.  Last week was pretty busy, and I wanted to see how my first full week of the mini-me goals went.   In short, we're starting over again this week.  My weigh-in this morning was exactly the same as last Monday.   Actually it was a little different…my body fat content dropped about 1.5%.  I don't know if that actually means anything useful, because that number fluctuates as much as my weight.   I know that I did a lot to torpedo my efforts…but I had help.  Happy Hour one night, and we all know how kind beer is to the diet.   No gym this weekend because DAPGF had me helping her house and dog sit, so the mornings this weekend got all screwed up, and while I tried to be careful with what I ate, I'm sure I could've done better.   We did spend the better part of Saturday afternoon walking around the Ocean Beach Street Fair (and I've got the sunburn to prove it), and a couple of nights DAPGF and I went for a walk through this big community park in the San Diego neighborhood we live in.   But 288.0.  Way too heavy.  Hopefully work will calm down by Wednesday and I can start thinking about going to the driving range and gym during the week.   We shall see…

And let the weight loss commence!

So.  Yesterday's post presented my new plan.  Instead of this lofty goal of getting down to 240 lbs, which as of yesterday morning's weigh-in would be a total loss of 48.2 lbs, I've got a new goal of losing 2 lbs per week.  I figure if I can keep this going consistently, I should hit the goal of 240 lbs by Christmas (just in time to put it all back on!).   IMO, it seems to be more effective and workable to set much smaller goals…the typical .5 lbs per day loss that someone putting forth mild effort looks so much more prominent when it is fully 25% of your goal, versus only being (in this case) 0.24% of the goal.  And the same is true on gains…a 25% gain can serve as a much greater wakeup call than a 0.24% gain.  And with that…

 

The weigh-in on 6/13 was 288.2 lbs.  I brought a typical meal spread to work…oatmeal, reduced fat wheat thins, Healthy Choice lasagna, chicken noodle soup, etc.   Between strategically scheduling snacks (wow!  I sound like some defense contractor or something!), drinking lots of water, and writing down my affirmations during times of snack-wanting, I managed to control my food intake.   And because DAPGF was teaching, I got to play online poker.  That meant that I didn't eat too much, because I didn't want to take unnecessary breaks from my tournaments.   So dinner consisted of one of the Vons (Safeway) "Eating Right" meals with some tortilla chips.  All told, not too bad food-wise.   And in addition to the 3 flights of stairs at work that I walked several times, I made it to the gym and then had a several mile walk with the dog last night.  It all paid off with a weigh-in this morning of 287.4…a drop of .8 lbs!  Considering I started this on Wednesday and I'm already almost half-way thru my first goal, I'm pretty pleased.  Let's see if I can keep it up.

The one in which we try something new...

As you readers may recall, the original intention of this here tube in the internets was to document my efforts to drop 40 pounds.   Well, I've only got 45 pounds to go!  WTF?!?  I was reading my buddy Big Slick Nuts' new blog, Hundred Day Head Start, and I had a minor revelation.  Large goals are great from a "showy" perspective.   Oooh, I'm going to drop 40 pounds, and then I'm going to run a marathon, and then I'm going to make a million dollars, and then…  The problem is that with a goal that is so far off, making the little steps that you obviously need to doesn't show that much of an immediate return.   So I'm going to apply the baby steps method and set much smaller interim goals.  A little bit every day, and eventually it will add up.   And it presumably (hopefully) will be easier to stick to, because small gains and losses will be that much more obvious when measured against the goal.  For example: Woo hoo (extreme sarcasm dripping from voice).   I lost a half pound, only 39.5 pounds to go.  And the opposite side of that is true.  Oh.   I gained a half pound.  Well, that's not too bad.  No worries.  No need to alter my behavior.   Now look at the same scenarios under the baby steps method.  Hey!  I lost a half pound!  I've only got 1.5 more pounds to lose this week!  And, oh crap.  I gained a half pound.  Ok, if I avoid having chips in the afternoon and make sure to make the dog walk tonight at least 45 minutes I should be able to undo that damage.   I'm so close to my goal this week, I don't want to backslide.  See, it all sounds so much more urgent and serious.

 

So my goal is to get my weight below 240 lbs this year, which I've been dutifully writing down in my affirmations.   That means I've got 48 pounds to lose.  So my baby steps goal is going to be 2 pounds per week.  As I've documented here, I'm quite the yoyo-er, and a half-pound drop in a day is nothing new.   By starting to measure myself against that particular yardstick, I'm hoping that I'll be more motivated to keep on it.  When you weigh 288 and you're trying to get to 240, a weigh-in of 288.5 doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.  When you weigh 288 and you're trying to get to 286 by Monday morning, that half pound becomes a pretty big farking deal.   Hopefully I will be able to mainly get on track with eating and take better advantage of exercise opportunities.  So wish me luck.  Maybe this will be the method that allows me to avoid backsliding.   Wish me luck.

Well let me tell you what has happened to me...

Ok.  So what has happened to me?  In short, I'm lame and I've been busy.   Quick recap?  That's all I've got time for, so for those of you who read The Randomness also, I apologize for regurgitating some of that post here.

 

Weight.  I wish I could say I've been a loser, but sadly that's not the case.   This past two weeks have seen lots of naughty food eaten, and pounds put on.  For the most part they've come back off, but overall, I'm up about a pound and a half from my weigh-in at the last post.   I have managed to get back on track in doing my affirmations, but they don't help much when we have a staff meeting at our branch location.  Yes, I had the Seared Ahi for lunch, which was probably the best option, but I'm sure that wasn't enough to counteract the effects of spinach/artichoke dip, deep fried calamari, and four pints of Stargazer IPA.   Hey.  We're consultants, and we can expense that stuff.  If they're gonna force me to get out of the office on a sunny San Diego afternoon, to go sit on the patio overlooking a huge koi pond while eating righteous seared ahi and drinking killer microbrews, well I guess I'll take one for the team.   Besides the dog walking, just about the only physical activity I'm getting is at work.  Our new office is on the third floor, so I do the stairs, up and down, several times per day.   This past weekend, I did make it to the gym both on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but Wednesday night's gym opportunity fell by the wayside in a minor traffic accident.   Not me, but some idiot on a bicycle trying to snake through stop and go street traffic got clipped by somebody who was making what seemed to be a legal turn into an apartment complex.   The rider looked to be generally ok (he was talking to the responding police officers), but the whole thing (3 cop cars, 1 fire truck, 1 ambulance) completely screwed up my commute and cost me almost an hour in getting home.   By the time I got thru it, the last thing I wanted to do was go to the gym.  Meh.

 

Poker.  Poker has been a cold cold world lately.  My once-growing bankroll has dramatically shrunk over the past few weeks.   There have been one or two instances where I made plays that were stupid, but by and large I've been playing well.  I'm just getting raped on the river, and I don't even live in the South (better?)!   Seriously, it's been almost funny, how predictable it's been.  An example, I follow 2 limpers and limp with my 66 from before the CO (cutoff for you non poker players, the seat before the dealer position, the small blind and the big blind).   5 of us see a flop of Ace-King-6.  Couple of bets and 3 of us see a K fall on the turn.  Schweet.   I've likely got the nuts unless somebody is slowplaying aces, kings, or big slick (AK).  First player to act ("Under the gun" or UTG) bets and a player in middle position (MP) calls.   I call, which puts me all in.  The river is a 7, and UTG shoves and MP calls.  Cards are flipped and UTG was playing A6 for two pairs.   Fine.  MP flips over 77 for his rivered 7s full of Ks, sinking my 6s full.  It's been that kind of run.   Suffice to say I'm taking a minor break to see if I can get out of this funk.  I'm doing pointless things like playing billiards and rummy online (and kicking the computer's ass) to see if I can get back into a winning groove.

 

Movie Review.  Knocked Up was very funny.  Biggest complaint, not getting to see Katherine Heigl's breasticles.  Second biggest complaint, having to see a fake version of her koochie (hey, it's the only word DAPGF finds acceptable, pick your own), in all it's crowning glory in mid birth.   It was even shaved, which I presume is just how she rolls.  The movie was very well done, and hugely humorous (although not quite up to the 40 Year Old Virgin).   It gets a little crude at times (duh) and some of the poopy references get a little old.  But the scene in Vegas with Seth and Paul Rudd taking mushrooms at a Cirque du Soleil performance was farking hysterical!   It is longer than 2 hours, so be sure to go potty before going in, if you're getting the Exxon-Valdez sized Dr. Pepper.  And for a completely different review, I also saw Once recently.  It's a story set in Ireland about a struggling musician, and how he falls in love with a Czech immigrant girl who gives him the motivation to actually write and record his songs (which tell the story of their almost-romance), and ultimately chase his dream of fame.   I know it sounds cheesy, but it was actually very well done and a great story.  The acting is great, and the music was excellent…typical folksy-rock coffeehouse fare, but better than most.   Obviously it isn't going to be as fast-paced as something like Live Free or Die Hard (can. not. freaking. wait!), but overall it was an excellent movie.

 

Last 5 songs I heard on Hair Nation: Poison – Look What the Cat Dragged In, Sammy Hagar – One Way to Rock, Motley Crue – Wild Side, Kiss – I Just Wanna Forget You, Ozzy Osbourne – Shot in the Dark.

 

Now that I've got my new computer, and can safely install my own software on it (Firefox, etc.), I'm starting to channel my inner geek.   I download Firefox, get the Google toolbar, and then start looking at all the ways to improve Firefox .  So I add buttons for Digg and Del.icio.us, which gets me into joining a bunch of these "social community" sites.   And then I read blogs like Wheatie's, and read about some of the cool stuff he's playing with ( Netscape, Buzznet, Last.FM, etc.), so I check them out.   So now I found the equivalent of an RSS reader for all of the social community sites, Mashable.   So when I get home tonight, I get to try and consolidate all of my online crap down into one simple site account.  Or theoretically that's how it will work.   Time will tell.  And when it does, I'll tell you.  Are any of you on any of these sites?  Let me know and I'll add you.   Or don't.  I've got lots of new online friends to play with.

 

Work has been extremely busy, with projects and proposals all coming due at the same time.  I cranked out a proposal last week, in the middle of working on an Air Quality statement for a project in the desert east of San Diego, then over the weekend I finished up a second proposal, which went out earlier this week, and now I've got two more proposals I'm trying to get done next week (both of them, both potential million dollar plus contracts – no pressure), while helping out on a third proposal, which is also due within the next week and a half!   Crazy.

 

So there.  We're updated.  See ya out there when I get a chance.

And now we return, to the saga of Hoff

Hello blog world!  Sorry I've been away, but I've been busy.  Combination of holiday weekend, with friends in from out of town, and FINALLY BUYING A NEW COMPUTER, I've been a bit busy.   Also, things have been hectic at work, so what can you do?  Obviously based on the time stamp I'm posting from work, so I'll keep this short and sweet.   And sweet starts us off with…

 

Weight.  Again, I'm still yoyo-ing.  I'm actually really disappointed in myself for a couple of reasons.   First of all, last week DAPGF went out one evening with some friends, giving me an opportunity to go to the gym after work.  Didn't happen.   Also didn't happen on my normal gym day.  And then the holiday weekend, with an extra gym-friendly day.  Nope.   Not once.  Combine that with a couple of days where I completely lacked self-control (mmm, kung pao shrimp), and you've got a recipe (recipe, food, ha ha ha ha ha!  Ok, that was lame.  I'm sorry) for disaster, and it never really happened.   Yes, there was one day where my weight got over 287 lbs, but as of Wednesday's weigh-in I was at 285.6, only .2 lbs over my yoyo weight.  Of course I'd like to be lower than that, but I'll take what I can get (and not just the food!   Ha!  Comedy, comin' at ya!).  One other thing I've noticed is that I haven't been doing my affirmations for the past week and a half.   I will be remedying that starting today.  Believe it or not, it really seemed to help me focus, especially by writing them down at times of the day when I would normally be thinking about feeding my face.   And I can't think of a great segue, so we'll just go now to…

 

Poker.  Been getting my ass handed to me.  Doesn't seem to matter which site, or what game.   PokerStars or Full Tilt.  No Limit Hold 'Em or Pot Limit Omaha/8.  I'm just getting no love from the decks.   At least I can watch myself get destroyed on a 19 inch LCD again, instead of a dinky 14 inch laptop.  Which brings me to…

 

My new computer!  HP, AMD Athelon 64x2 Dual Core 4800, 2 gb ram, 320 gb hard drive, Vista, yadda yadda yadda.   The only downside I've discovered is that both my new wifi usb receiver and my wireless keyboard/mouse both are 2.4 ghz.  I don't know if it's a signal conflict or if the keyboard/mouse signal is just weak, but every now and then the keyboard won't respond or the mouse clicks won't register.   Hasn't been a problem (yet), just mildly annoying.  By and large, though, it's good to have my own machine back.   I finished copying my 15 gigs of mp3s over, so I can get back to listening to music again, reload the mp3 player for the gym, etc.  I can also freely install stuff like Open Office, games, Stumble, etc., without worrying about the IT Nazis at work.   Which brings me to…

 

Work.  Last week I was busy working on an Environmental Impact Report for the City of El Centro, and focusing on responding to Air Quality concerns (side note, this shows the power of the agricultural industry in this region.   As a very windy desert area, air quality is consistently not in compliance with the standards established by the State of California.  Yet they readily allow the use of crop dusters for pesticide application, as well as allowing the farmers to burn their fields every so often to recharge the soil.   Crazy.).  So I was finishing that up and my boss dropped a Request for Proposals on me, on Wednesday afternoon.   And it was due by the end of the day on Tuesday, after the holiday!  It took some work over the weekend, but I got it done.  Some days it is dull as hell, some days I forget to look out the window to see if it's dark out there yet.   Still, it beats the hell out of being unemployed.

 

And friends, where would we be without friends?  My buddy Zippy, Mrs. Zippy, and the little zipper are in town from the smallest state in the Union.  Time with them, eating, drinking, hanging out.   Nice and relaxing, which I definitely need.

 

But now I've got another two proposals to work on, so back to work.  That's where I am right now.   How about you?

The One In Which We Find Ourselves In A Familiar Spot

I swear to God I didn't plan this, but I'm exactly back to where I was with the last post.  In several aspects, actually.   First, I'm still yo-yoing.  Back on 5/8, my weigh-in was 285.4 lbs.  Since then, my weight has done the following:

 

DAPGF and I went to Sizzler on 5/8 for their salad buffet (there's that word again) for dinner, and that was probably the major contributor to my gain.

5/9 – 287.0 lbs. 

 

I ate a reasonable lunch on 5/9 (Healthy Choice entrée and some soup), and despite working late and missing the gym (and subsequently getting my ass handed to me at the online poker tables), I didn't eat much for dinner.   Every little bit, I guess.

5/10 – 285.6 lbs. 

 

On 5/10 I had to run some errands for Mother's Day (getting things for DAPGF, who is my doggie co-parent (yes, we're lame…so what), and despite what our father has wished since our mother died, my sister and I decided that we wanted to celebrate Mother's Day in honor of our mother.   Mom's favorite candy, which she faithfully requested from each and every family member at Mother's Day and Christmas, is Almond Roca.  So I bought a package of it and mailed it off to my sister, figuring that she'd get the symbolism and that it would bring back good memories.   She, on the other hand, completely devastated me.  After the memorial service and before she left to return to the land of Deliverance, she took one of Mom's favorite T-shirts.   When she got home, she cut it up and made a pillow and sent it to me, so that I could have something of her to hold on to!  It was all I could do to not break down bawling in the Post Office.   Anyway, I needed some comfort food and went thru the McDonalds drive thru for some fries and a shake (bad, evil Hoff!).  DAPGF and I went to this rotisserie place for dinner that was reasonably healthy (although the 5 cheese gourmet mac and cheese was pure evil goodness…if Darth Vader had some of this handy, Luke Skywalker would've crossed over to the Dark Side in a heartbeat).

5/11 – 286.4 lbs.

 

On 5/11 I knew I had to work hard to redeem myself from Thursday.  I was very strict about my snacking (no vending machine) and my meals (Lean Cuisine, no drive thru).   Dinner was at Applebees (near a movie theatre – movie review coming shortly), and DAPGF and I split a salad and the coconut shrimp.  Not bad all things being equal.   And Saturday morning I managed to make it to the gym before weigh-in.

5/12 – 284.6 lbs.

 

Something I've discussed before is that on the weekends I do my weigh-in a few hours later than I do during the week.   As such, I think any weight loss may seem exaggerated, due to having a few hours of activity with no food intake prior to the weigh-in.  Anyway, 5/12 was shaping up to be a pretty good day.   Hit the gym, and DAPGF and I went to the Health and Beauty Expo at the San Diego Convention Center.  Walking around, all health supplements and health foods, should be great, right?   Well the walking around was fine, but sampling all of the health munchies and power bars that were available probably added several hundred calories to the mix.   Lunch was at our local ghetto vegetarian Mexi-joint, Pokez.  It was righteous as always, but I was baaaad.   I had a carne asada quesadilla (they're not just vegetarian), so not just a huge flour tortilla, not just a bunch of excellent carne asada, I had about 5 pounds of cheese in this beast!   But that wasn't as bad as dinner.  We went to one of my favorite places in San Diego, Rockin' Baja Lobster.  DAPGF had the most excellent shrimp fajitas, and I had the lobster lover's combo, which included lobster bisque, lobster enchiladas, and a lobster taco.   Mmmmmm, evil on a plate.  Which of course brought me to Sunday's weigh-in.

5/13 – 286.0 lbs.

 

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there.  As I noted earlier, DAPGF is the mother of my 4 legged child.   As such, I took her to one of the many Mother's Day brunch buffets (there's that word again) here in San Diego.  A ton of food (omelet bar, pasta bar, ribs, sushi, taco bar, ice cream sundae bar, peel-n-eat shrimp, crab legs, and on and on) was waiting to be consumed.   So consume we did.  Eventually we finished, went home, and promptly passed out.  Now, I hadn't made it to the gym Sunday morning, because DAPGF and I washed the dog.   Granted, it was a workout unto its own, but seemingly not a substitute for the gym.  Anyway, after arising from our food comas, we went out to dinner (do we ever stop eating?!?).   Boston Market seemed to be acceptable, because the one thing that we didn't see at the buffet was a turkey carving station.  Prime rib and leg of lamb, but no turkey breast.   So a nice roasted turkey sandwich covers dinner, and home we go.  After a decently long dog walk, sleep.  Monday morning was a short walk, 15 minutes of Exercise TV, and a magical weigh-in of…

5/14 – 285.4 lbs.

 

Yep.  Right back where I was.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring…

Who here likes to play with Yo Yos?

And I see we're back to where we were before…both figuratively and literally.  The figurative: I've been a compulsive yoyo-er regarding my weight.   I'll drop a few pounds only to gain them back within a few days.  I haven't figured out if it's because I lost the weight that I feel I can slack off, or if it just happens to be some weird life rhythm (I eat at restaurants with DAPGF for a day or two, I eat Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice meals by myself for a few days, and then I'm back to eating with DAPGF), or if I'm just weird.   If you ask my sister, she'll probably tell you I'm weird.   The literal: on my last post 5 days ago, my weight was 285.4 lbs.  In the time from then to now, I gained one pound, dropped it followed by dropping 2 more pounds, and then gaining those two back and winding up where we are today:

 

5/8 – 285.4 lbs.

 

I can definitely say that the weight gain during this was a combo of DAPGF's and my fault.  I went out for lunch on 5/3 for some righteous Kung Pao Chicken, which naturally came with egg drop soup, an egg roll, a cream cheese wonton, and fried rice.   Not the healthiest combo.  And then that gets topped off with dinner at Souplantation!  Frankly I'm surprised that I only gained a pound off of all of that.   And the 2 pound loss registered on Sunday morning was a little optimistic.  Saturday DAPGF and I had a pretty light lunch at Pickup Stix (Chinese again…sensing a trend), and then I went and played in a poker tournament that afternoon.   I had several beers during the tournament, but most of them were of the "light" variety.  Dinner was both late and light, Rubios for some fish taco goodness in honor of Cinco de Mayo.  The optimistic part came with the fact that I did go to the gym, but more importantly I weighed myself roughly 3 hours later than I normally do.   That extra 3 hours with nothing but water really does make a difference.  I try to be consistent in the conditions of when I weigh myself…minimal clothing, no food intake, relatively early in the morning.   Sometimes when I go to the gym on the weekends, I get a later start which translates into a weigh-in time several hours past the usual.  Either way, the Monday weigh-in (which happened to be 285.4 lbs) was likely a more accurate measurement.  Bonus, I got my ExerciseTV workout in this morning after the dog walk.  And that was probably the deciding factor in helping me to keep from gaining anything over yesterday's weigh-in.   Maybe today I can get back on the downward trend.  Wish me luck.

The one in which we almost dodge a bullet, or It's merely a flesh wound

Well I didn't hold up to lunch as well as I'd hoped.  I went to a freaking buffet!   A Pizza Hut buffet!  Fortunately the slices there tend to be small, so the damage was not as bad as it could've been.  Also because I'm a sucker for chocolate, I had several of those Lindt chocolate truffles for dessert.   Very good and very bad.  I had a very small snack (about 65 cal worth of baked chips) and went to the gym.  For dinner I was on my own, because DAPGF was teaching.  So naturally (because I'm stupid and like pizza), I had one of those Celeste frozen pizzas.  410 cal worth, and then some Budget Gourmet little snack things (kind of like mini egg rolls) and that was another 410 cal.  So to recap:

 

Breakfast:

Banana Bread Oatmeal – 150 cal

 

Snack:

½ oz baked chips – 65 cal

 

Lunch:

Pizza Hut Buffet – 1000 cal (est)

Truffles – 440 cal

 

Snack:

½ oz baked chips – 65 cal

More truffles – 440 cal

 

Dinner:

Celeste Pizza – 410 cal

Budget Gourmet Snacks – 410 cal

 

Total:  2840 est.

 

Now my snacking was amazingly under control, I drank a boatload of water, and I did my affirmations.  So I did several things right, but I was still expecting an ugly weigh-in today.   So I climb onto the scale and it reads:

 

285.4 lbs

 

From yesterday, I only gained .2 lbs.  Now I know that any upward movement isn't a good thing, but given how ugly things were, I'm beyond pleased that 2/10 of a pound is all I gained.   And I think this helps confirm that the snacking is really a strong contributor to my weight issues.  Something to think about.

Who Knew

So yesterday was interesting.  As I mentioned, we were finishing up our office relocation, and not everything was completed (some things still aren't).   My normal meal "activities" at work include a packet of instant oatmeal for breakfast, a frozen Lean Cuisine-type meal at lunch, and a variety of snacks throughout the day to counteract any positive benefits from the oatmeal and lunches.   Unfortunately, we have no microwave so I was unable to heat water for the oatmeal or nuke my lunch.  Fortunately, our corporate overlords who were "helping" with the move were kind enough to supply us with healthy alternatives.   For breakfast I had two donuts, and for lunch I had three slices of pizza and some diet coke.  I managed to not snack all day, because we were busy enough that I didn't have enough time to reflect on whether I really needed to eat something.   As bad as those "meals" were, I thought that my moderation on quantity combined with my lack of snacking might actually work out for me weight-wise.  

 

And then there was dinner with DAPGF.  We actually went to a little Italian place in La Jolla, where we split a cobb salad and then split a plate of angel hair pasta with marinara sauce…nothing exciting but very good and probably not too damaging.   But wait!  There's more!  The Italian joint was unfortunately mere blocks away from Marble Slab ice cream…a less corporate and (at least to DAPGF) better tasting alternative to places like Cold Stone Creamery.   Ok.  Maybe I can get away with a single scoop and minimize the damage.  Nope.   DAPGF whips out this coupon for a buy one get one free 2 scoop waffle cone.  So I "suffer" through this horrible combination of Swiss Chocolate and Birthday Cake (yes it actually does taste like birthday cake) ice creams, mixed together with cookie dough.   The things I put up with.  So we head home to watch some tube and then I go walk the dog.  The dog actually wants a long walk, so I get just about an hour's worth of walking exercise in at the end of the evening.   The extra lightness of dinner combined with the long doggie walk must have done the trick. 

 

5/2 Weigh-in: 285.2 lbs, down .4 lbs from 5/1

 

After the donuts, pizza, and ice cream, there was no way I thought I'd actually drop a bit of weight this morning, so I am jazzed.   And things are off to a positive start today.  No microwave yet, so lunch will be a crap shoot.  But we did get our uber-bitchin' coffee maker set up.   I don't drink coffee, but it does have a direct hot water line so I was able to make my oatmeal this morning.  I did have a small snack in the middle of the morning, about a half an ounce of Lays Toasted Ranch Chips, which totals roughly 70 calories.   I'm not too worried about that.  Besides, I've been drinking water like it's going out of style to try and keep feeling filled up.   We shall see.  I am heading to the gym this afternoon, and if I can keep things under control at lunch and manage to avoid too much snacking in the afternoon, I should be in pretty good shape tomorrow morning.

An attempt to return to normalcy

Again, I want to express my extreme gratitude to everyone who stopped by and offered condolences regarding my mother's death.   It hasn't been easy, but it certainly has lightened the burden, knowing that so many of you have offered your prayers and warm thoughts.

 

But there has to be a return to a semblance of normalcy, and in this case it would be my weight.  Interestingly, from the morning before Mom's surgery (Wed 4/18) to the Friday after the memorial service (4/27), I dropped 5 pounds.   I actually was back below 283 pounds, for the first time since The Troubles hit me last summer.  There may have been some factor of depression there, but I attribute it to one main thing…I was busy and therefore not snacking.   And as a side note, I hadn't even made it to the gym since the day before surgery…no unusual physical activity beyond the dog walking.  I noticed a slight rise on last Monday and Tuesday (4/23-4/24), when I was back in the office.   I had to sit at the computer reading things, and naturally I felt compelled to snack.  But when Wednesday hit and I was off work and dealing with family and getting ready for the memorial service, I wasn't snacking.   It wasn't until Saturday morning that I noticed an increase of 2 pounds.  To thank DAPGF for going above and beyond in being supportive through all of this, I took her out to a swanky restaurant in La Jolla for their tapas buffet lunch.  It is very tasty and the menu items tend to be on the healthy side (calamari salad, chipotle pepper hummus dip, sushi, etc.), but anytime you factor the word "buffet" into it, any health benefits tend to go out the window.   And that was followed up by a nice dinner (huge chicken sandwich) and several beers with little sister and her hubby at a brewpub just blocks from Casa de Hoff.  End result after everybody went home and it was back to just DAPGF and I at our place, Monday morning on 4/30 I weighed in at 286.2 lbs.  Granted, that was still down more than a pound from the day before Mom's surgery, and was identical to what I weighed on 4/1.  And roughly 3 pounds below my all time (knowingly) heaviest.  

 

Now we enter a new month, one with some promise of being better than April.  One example: the last day I'd done my affirmations was the morning before Mom's surgery.   During the following week, I obviously had some other things on my mind and didn't do them.  For the most part, without the affirmations my weight did alright, but I did notice that I seemed to have a little more control when I was doing the affirmations.   And at around 9:45 a.m. this morning, when the snack bug seems to strike me the hardest, I wrote them out.  Granted, we're doing our office relocation today, and I figured that while I waited for the intranet and phones to get reactivated, it would be as good a time as any to do the affirmations.   And I haven't snacked today.  Granted, because of said relocation, our corporate masters saw fit to ply us with doughnuts this morning (no microwave for my oatmeal) and pizza for lunch (again, no microwave for the Lean Cuisine).   Still, I think I managed to control my intake reasonably well, so unless dinner with DAPGF turns into a disaster, I should come thru today in good shape.

 

5/1 Weigh-in:  285.6 lbs, down .6 lbs from 4/30.

 

I attribute this drop to the aforementioned office relocation.  When last my coworkers and I spoke of the move, it was determined that we'd go into the office Monday morning, and when the phones and computers were shut off and the movers showed up around noon, we'd scatter and work from home.   I showed up Monday morning just after 8 only to find that the phones were already off and nobody was there.  So I checked on a few things and left.   After getting home, I played a little poker and looked at computer prices online.  Side note, I played a few random games of poker during the past week (once the day of surgery while in the hospital waiting room, before the complications hit, and a couple of times over that following weekend as a mental break from everything else), and I was tearing it up.   I won 3 of the 4 tournaments I entered, and on a total investment of roughly 35 dollars I won about $150.  Not bad all things being equal.   Anyway, being mentally focused on the poker and researching computer prices distracted me from the need to graze during the day on Monday.  DAPGF and I even went to Sizzler for the salad buffet for dinner, and my weigh-in this morning was still down from Monday morning's.

 

So to recap, the family is slowly returning to a normal level of function (just to reassure you, we'll never be back to "normal" ever again, but you understand), I'm back on a roll for losing weight, I've been on a roll in poker, and I even managed to pay off one of my credit cards just before the end of the month.   And now we've moved my company from their original, tiny suite of crappy offices to a much swankier, 5 times larger suite in a much nicer area.  So family, weight, poker, finances, and work all seem to be heading in the right direction.  As a start to the month, I'll take it.  Keep checking in, and I'll keep you updated.

 

As a side note, Google in their attempt to take over the online world as Microsoft has done with the OS world has created a way to store, modify, share, etc. documents and spreadsheets online.   It also means that it becomes much easier (for those of us who aren't Alpha Geeks and don't know how to program Java or whatever) to embed those docs into blog posts.   I've been tracking my food intake on an MS Excel template that I downloaded from Microsoft specifically for that purpose.  If I can get that all figured out, maybe I can add that feature to future posts here.   We shall see.