Day 192 of 365 52.60% complete

I have not blogged in quite some time. It is not because I have fallen off the wagon with any of my goals this year it is simply because I have been very very very busy these days. I completed our Family move to a house that I believe we will be at for many years to come. Our family has moved more than any family should. It is in part to me and my wife's bad financial decision making, my work locations, and the status of my marriage. We are in a good place right now on all three of those fronts and it appears we will be putting a flag in the ground and claim this land.

I am now over 50% of the way to completing this year without drinking and there are so many things I have learned about myself during this time. I would recommend that anyone do this with any vise that you may have and see what you learn about yourself. It has been eye opening. The main thing I realized is all the time I have been wasting… it is amazing how much more time I have for building positive things. The past month has been hard I must say – I have been thinking about wanting to drink but most of it is just simply to relax after a long day or with dinner at a restaurant. These are the small things that I miss right now. The time I have right now needs to be getting myself ready for the final push of this year… The hardest test is yet to come. I have tailgating, all inclusive resort in Mexico, and Christmas/New-years holiday to deal with. I am not going to lie and say I am not worried – especially for the tailgating part. I know nothing else during tailgating but drinking and eating. It will be the hardest challenge I have undertaken in my life next to repairing my marriage. I don’t know how I will make it through. Like I said this time right now will need to be preparing myself for the rest of the year. Day one of the tailgating season is 9/3/11 - less than two months away.

My weight is 206. This is great considering I have not worked out in a while but I have been working hard moving though… I feel good about where my weight is and I hope to lose another 5 pounds or more over the next few weeks.

I am still doing well and still on track!!! ONWARD!!!

Day 166 of 365, 45.5% complete

Day 166 and I feel great. I know I have not had much time blog but my new job is taking my morning time and that is when I usually blog and update my blog world. My weight of 206 is great to see. I thought I had reached my "sustainable weight" level. What I mean by that is I have been eating pretty much the same over the past two months and I don’t see that changing much. I have to make a full out effort to change some things about my eating habits to get my weight to lower. I am not comfortable with being 206 but I think I would be comfortable with being 199. If I keep myself out of the 200 range I think I will be happy. I hope that my weight can still keep going down because right now I don’t really want to change what and how I am eating.

I also ate some fast food so my consecutive days have ended. It was A&W with the family but still it was fast food type food. Since I have not eaten any and that also feels good. I have taken fast food out of my mind and even though I am not consciously keeping away from it my mind does not want it so I think I am doing well.

ONWARD people ONWARD.

Day 153 of 365 42% complete

Day 153 almost at that half way point. It certainly feels good to have gotten this far. I must say that over the past month it has been more difficult than at any other point. I am stronger for it now I know that. My fast food days straight are 46 days and counting. I don’t even really want to these days so that is a GREAT feeling.

I have not blogged much the past few weeks mostly because of my new work schedule. Over the past week I have not gone to the gym at all because I have been really sick and it has been something I have never had before. It is a cold/flue but it knocked me on my butt. Temp of 102, migraines, and horrible body fatigue. I am back up to about 85%. That was something awful. My weight right now is 207 (not official because it is my bathroom scale). I have maintained my weight through my sickness over the past week or so.
I am not going anywhere. I have things to accomplish!!!
ONWARD!!!

140 of 365

Day 140 of my journey. In all honesty I must say that the only time this journey of mine is difficult is when I hang out with friends or watch sports. That is interesting in itself. The next difficult bridge will be when tailgating season starts. I have put that out of my head because I don’t even want to think about how difficult that is going to be when the time comes. So for now I keep building my resistance and when that time comes I will be prepared. 33 days into my open ended challenge to see how long I can go without fast food… This may end up being difficult after a couple weeks but we will see. Finally my weight… 208. It feels like a good weight and really all I have done is try to cut back on night eating and keeping with my 3 days a week workout regimen.

To everyone out there that is struggling to find some strength please keep reading my blog. The drinking and weight loss thing is building momentum and maybe just maybe you can get some strength from me.

ONWARD!!!

Day 138 of 365, 37.8% complete

Day 138… 37.8% complete Wow I have been at this for a good amount of time now. I have not been blogging and posting comments on others blogs lately because I have been extremely busy with work and family and my morning time is being occupied by meetings. I have to find another time to dedicate to my blogging so I can stay on top of mine and others blogs. My weight is holding at 210 right now. I guess that’s ok but I really want to see it down at least 10 right now. I eat too much. That is the bottom line. Until I get serious about reducing my intake my weight will not go down. I just don’t know why I refuse to do something about that. My 30 day Fast Food challenge is complete now. I see a direct relationship between my weight and adult acne with eliminating fast food from my diet. I think as I go forward that I will just leave it alone completely. I enjoy not having to deal with the facial issues and added weight. Lets see how long I go without a challenge in front of me.

Other than that I think I am on a new path with my invention and starting to work on it again. So as I like to say – ONWARD!!!

Day 129 of 365

Day 129 and still going strong. My journey has been tested this year but I am still on top. The Fast food and Pizza challenge is also going well day 22 of 30. This weekend was a good weekend for me. I had a great business meeting for my invention and I resisted the temptation to drink while watching The Pacman beat up on Shane Mosley in a boxing match. Usually those events are accompanied by lots food, drinks, and good times. I simply had good times. It was an all around positive weekend.

Now to get to my weight... I am at 211. I'm not sure how I feel about that number. My first reaction when getting on the scale this morning was wow I am not making any real progress with my weight loss goal. My second thought was that I feel stronger than I have felt and I generally feel great right now. I know that the amount of food I am eating is directly affecting my weight status right now. I just eat too much. I don’t eat bad foods but I am just eating too much. I'm not sure how to deal with that. Everything about my life right now feels stronger and healthier so why do I feel down on myself about the amount of food I eat and my inability to get my weight back down into the 190's…? I'm not sure how to answer that right now. Maybe it will come to me in one of my workout sessions MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY!!!

ONWARD!

Day 125 of 365

I did workout yesterday but had a lot of work things to take care of. I weighed in at 209 and still feelin good.
Still good on both goals.
ONWARD!!!

Day 122 of 365

Day 122 of 365 – Day 15 of 30. All is well.

This morning I had a re-do on the scale. My weight dropped several pounds and I did not have a good eating weekend. I guess the regular scheduled workouts are setting in. It felt good to see a real move in the scale this morning. This week Friday I have another meeting for my invention so there is a decent amount of stuff I need to do to prepare. This week started off great and I will do my best to keep it that way!!!

ONWARD!!!

Day 119 of 365

Day 119 of 365 / Day 12 of 30 and I'm feeling a little better than the past few days. Some family issues along with my invention progress taking a halt has fuel this. I have a couple more meetings set up and I had some discussions with family members so I am able to breathe a little now. I still need more thought on my post yesterday…

Day 118 of 365

Day 118 of 365 still good – Day 11 of 30 still good! Yesterday I did make it out to the gym and I weighed in at 211. I was really busy and have been going through some things lately. My resolve on my journey is being tested. Some things are just not going the way I want them to.

Question - What do people do when they become stressed? How do people handle stress in life? This is a question that justifies most bad actions for people. People use eating, drinking, abuse, drugs, and the list goes on. My sister recently had a disk in her spine that ruptured and is in a lot of pain. She smokes and there has been research that links smoking to back pain and spinal deterioration. She has been going through back pain for years and has been smoking for years as well. She is in the hospital right now and says that it's just too hard to quit smoking. The stress of her life is such that she needs this outlet. Considering the alternative I just don’t understand why we decide to hurt ourselves more when we are going through stressful periods in our life and are already hurting. I am no angel and have justified stress relievers of my own – but why do we need to do this? We want the pain to go away – numb it - most of the time we just don’t care how we just want it to go away. We are a society of "get it right now". Pleasure and stress relief are at the top of the list. How do we condition our brains to go in a different direction? I just don’t know. I will be giving this some thought over the next few weeks.

Day 115 of 365

Day 115 of my Original Journey and Day 8 of my new Fast Food Challenge! Easter weekend went by and everything is still good with my journey this year. Usually this time of year gets a lot of hangin out and drinks with Family. Not this year! O.K. so I am still good with my Fast Food challenge but Oh Boy I ate up some stuff this weekend at My families celebration and my Wife's Family celebration. I only gained one pound and that is just crazy. I would have never believed it but I saw it with my own eyes this morning on the scale. To be completely honest I could have called it 211 anyway. Let me explain… what I usually do to determine my weight is that I get on the scale and the pointer circles around until it settles on a weight. If the pointer is even a fraction above the weight line I will call it the next full pound. Today, the pointer was just barely over 211 so I had to call it 212 but in all actuality I stayed the same weight from my weigh in on Wednesday.

Family always adds some interesting twists to holidays and my family added some. What I have grown to accept is that you can only control what you do in life and be happy with what and how you are living. Really there is nothing else. So I had to brush off some things and keep it moving. Nothing can get in the way of what I am going to accomplish this year. The path in front of me is so clear that I could paint that path in a real life Picasso and convince people it was one of his!!!

Onward!!!

Day 110 of 365

Day 110 and all is well. I got to the gym and in two days I dropped a couple pounds. Current weight 211. I am applying past failures to this current journey and I am stronger now. I am not eating meals after dinner, trying to keep with reduced fat and calorie foods, and working out three times a week. PLUS, I am three days into my no fast food or pizza 30 day challenge. The posted picture shows the ups and downs and I am guessing it is pretty typical of most people go through. I am trying not to be most people anymore and get down to a weight and stay there!!!

Onward People!!!

Day 108 of 365

This is a good day! I got my butt out to the gym this morning AND I have started my next 30 day challenge with no fast food that will include Pizza as well. I always feel awesome at work after working out in the morning. I want to sit down and think about why I would decide not to workout everyday if this is how I feel afterwards. I am more confident at work, more energetic, and just all around feeling better about myself no mater what is going on in my life.

So my weight… well it was just a little higher than I had hope but certainly better than where I thought I was. 213. That’s not a bad weight but it is 23 pounds over my target weight and needs an all out effort to get myself back there. Today was a good step in the right direction. I got down to my target weight the middle of August and now it is the middle of April. I picked up 23 pounds in 8 months. Looking at it like that I guess it's not too bad but it is still not a good thing. I have to find a way to maintain my weight. My first go at it failed and I need to really understand why so that when I get back down to 190 I can keep it there.

As I like to say… ONWARD!!!

Day 103 of 365

103 Days and counting… It really feels good that I have been able to battle the temptations and keep with my 365 day journey. This past weekend was a big weekend in the journey. Friday the wife and I went to the Casino and did not have to worry about kids the next day. We won over 1000 bucks and had plenty to celebrate… from the re-kindled love, to not having kids around, to winning over 1000 bucks. We had plenty to celebrate and in the end I stuck with my cranberry juice and red bull cocktails! There was even a point where we went to the room of some of her co-workers (who were all drinking and had more than just a few drinks) and spent some time there with them. Everyone was drinking and in all honesty I really didn’t have any thoughts about wanting to at all. It was interesting being on the other side of it. THEN came Saturday where I hung out with my friends from my hometown and ended up at a couple bars and dance clubs. There has never been a time where I visited spots like that and didn’t have a least one drink… That was a bit difficult but in the end my journey is still on course and I have a couple new stories to tell. Funny that I never noticed how bad peoples breaths smell while they are drinking at the bars and dance clubs…

Now to get to my weight, eating, and working out. I have got myself to a point where I am disappointed in myself. My weight is probably up around 215, I broke the fast food streak, and I am not working out at all. I feel weighted down. I have made a promise to myself that I am getting back into the weight room starting 4-18-11. This is the new start date for Fast Food, Pizza (including pizza rolls), and working out. I don’t like where I am at physically and mentally and most if not all of it has to do with my eating and working out.

As I like to say so often… ONWARD!!!

Day 94 of 365

Day 94 and still on track. Day 32 of my 30 day Fast food challenge and I was successful in that challenge. I think I am going to continue on with it and in a week or so add pizza to the list.

Today marks a new day for my job responsibilities here at work. I moved facilities and I am working on a new program now. Change always feels strange but it is the one constant in life and I don’t mind it so much. I have to find out what all I am going to be responsible for and begin diving in. It should be interesting and should keep me busy and keep my mind off of food and other distractions.

ONWARD!!!

Day 91

Day 91 and it is no joke (April 1^st). 91 days for my libation journey and 29 days into my Fast Food Challenge. I can honestly say that the fast food challenge is helping keep my weight steady. My home scale is saying I am keeping a steady weight of 205-210. I believe it has everything to do with keeping the fast food junk out of my body. I will need to speak with my friend to see if we can extend our original challenge as well as adding another part to it.

I have not determined a starting day for my workouts. The wife and I have not talked yet to determine a good starting day. I am looking forward to it. I NEED to get my but back in the gym. My body is feeling a bit weak lately and I don’t like it.

Everything else is going good – I can't complain.

Day 87

Day 87 of the original Journey and Day 25 of my Fast food challenge. Getting the fast food out of the way first… I don’t miss it and don’t think about it. Five more days and then I will put another 30 day challenge in with my friend!!!

Day 87 means that in three days that will be 3 months. That’s a significant time period. I have already seen big changes in my life and have seen where I can improve. This has been a great thing for me to do and I would imagine that at the end of it I will be so much stronger than I have ever been in my life.

My weight… well my house scale puts me at 211 and that is before getting into the shower. My guess is that I would weigh about 214 if I were to go to the gym. It is time again to get serious about my workouts. I have some added motivation seeing how I planned a vacation with the wife in Mexico in early November. So I will come up with my start date to get serious and the wife and I will do it together.

ONWARD!!!

Day 80

Day 80 of 365 (Drinking) and Day 18 of 30 (Fast Food Challenge). Still going strong with both. This past weekend has been a tough one for the family. We have chicken pox in the house and strep throat. Our kids have been sick much more recently than in years past. Hope the area we moved to is not contaminated or something like that. Lots of home time this weekend. I am home from work today because my wife has been taking days off for the sick kids and it is starting to get noticed at her workplace. So I am the home mom and it is weird but I like it when I get the chance to do it.

I finally bought a scale for the house and it is letting me know that I am floating between 205 and 210 over the past week. It is not that expensive of a scale but it feels to be accurate for me. That is where I believe I am at so it will help to keep me in line. Working out… Hmmm… that is a big question for me I want to start back up and stay with it so I will have to give it some thought on when and what kind of intensity I will have.

Off to e-mails and daddy daddy daddy stuff

Day 75

Hello to all. I have not been working out so I have not posted much. Posting is what got me through my original journey so I think I am going to post M/W/F no matter if I work out or not.

This weekend the wife and I went to a restaurant and then to a movie... something terrible happened and I think I am O.K. though. The wife and I were sitting at the bar and she ordered an appletini and I ordered a redbull and cranberry juice (it's surprisingly good and uplifting for an short period of time). She finished her drink and had the cherry left. She said she could never tie the stem into a knot and I remember I did it once a long time ago. I said let me try and I put it in my mouth and tried to tie it... after a second I realized that it had been soaked in the drink for a while and the stem had drinks in it. I spit it out and grabbed a bunch of napkins and began spitting into the napkins. I probably looked crazy at the bar... I was sad thinking I had ruined my effort this year but after some though I figured that I could not taste any alcohol and kissing my wife after she drinks I can taste it anyway so I don't think there is any harm there. Kissing the wife after she drinks... I have to think about that one - but I don't think that counts either.

I posted a comment on my friends PATRICK (click on his name) blog and I wanted to add that comment to my blog. It really says what is on my mind right now...

For me weight gain goes mostly with my mood. The family, job, and wife situations influence my mood tremendously. I have not been able to understand it completely and I continue to struggle with it. I feel great when my weight is down. I have more energy when my weight is down. I am upbeat when my weight is down. So why don’t I control the one thing that I know can make my mood better and that is my weight. I cannot control what my family, job, or wife does so why not focus in on the things I can control. This is not a new concept and I continue to struggle with it. One day I hope to understand it and find a way to level out my moods no matter what the uncontrollables are doing…

Day 68

I have not posted a blog in a little while because I have not made it out to the gym. Typically I will post a blog once I have gone to workout that morning. No need to worry that I am not keeping my goals for this year. Every day that goes by I am more and more comfortable with this 365 day journey. Actually I have added a 30 day challenge to stop all fast food and I am currently 6 days into that one and going strong.

One thing that I don’t like about myself is that if I get out of my routine even for a little bit it is difficult to get myself back on. I have not worked out in a few days because my work schedule got really hectic. I just did not have the energy to work 16-18 hour days and then get up after a short couple hours of sleep and work out. Now that the work schedule has calmed down I have not gotten myself back to my M/W/F routine and unfortunately that is typical for me. This is something I know about myself and needs work.

I have talked from time to time about an invention I am working on and something big happened a few days ago. I submitted my invention to the US patent office and now my design is protected. I am starting the next phase of my development work and it is exciting. A friend is helping with the CAD work so I can get a professional prototype made. It is a very exciting time for me. The family is as calm as it has ever been, the wife and I are at a GREAT place, and the step daughter is healthier mentally than she has ever been I think. Things are in a good place for me all around. If I could only get my eating in line it would be the icing on the cake for my life.

ONWARD people ONWARD!!!

Day 59

Day 59 and I am still doing great with my mission for this year. Honestly I don’t think about it right now and only when the weekends come and I hang out a bit does it even enter my mind. I think I am in a great place. Now as for my weight I have not gone into the gym for a week now and I know I have pick up about 5 pounds at least. My work schedule has been crazy the past couple weeks and it started to take a toll on my workout schedule. I started trading sleep for working out because I was putting in 16 hour work days these past couple weeks. It has really put a strain on my body and has completely disrupted my heating habits. I do not eat on any regular time schedule and it makes it hard to eat healthy when I am really hungry and have not eaten for 6 to 10 hours at time. I usually end up eating fast food. The outrageous hours are over for now so I hope I can get myself back onto a regular schedule. Here we go!!!

Day 52

Day 52 and I gained a couple pounds over the weekend. It comes as no surprise because I basically ate anything that was around me. I did not eat a 4^th meal at all but my choices for my 3 meals a day and snacks along the way were pretty bad. I think some of it is coming from my mood these days. I should be all smiles and positive right now but I am not. I am having issues with the wife, normal marriage stuff I guess, but it is really affecting my mood and my eating. I just don’t know how to fix everything in the home and it really does have an effect on my weight and eating. Being in a funk is not fun at all. You always want to start to throw a pity party for yourself but you know that wont help but it makes no difference. You invite people to the party and hope they feel sorry for you to. I hate these times and hope I get out of it soon. Don’t know if there is a fix for the marriage issues right now or ever so accepting things as they are seems to be my only option. A messed up option no matter how I look at it but it is my life. I said a long time ago once in a poem I wrote (in 1995) that all I want is peace and my mind to rest… well I am still looking for that. Tough start to my week but as I would say in a situation like this… ONWARD.

Day 49

Day 49 and I am down to 203. It is a great feeling to know that I can maintain what I am doing long term and still be down around 203. The verdict is still out as it pertains to 190 and the way I am eating and working out so I guess we will have to see. I am still not eating a meal after dinner but I am not 100% focused on content for the rest of the meals I eat. That is the next big step. I think I will need to evaluate what I am eating throughout the day. I know that this is probably the only way I will get down to 190 and stay there.

I am in a bit of a funk these days -me and the wife and I are getting on each others nerves. I think it is normal stuff but it is affecting my mood right now. Through it though I have been able to focus on the game plan right now so I am proud of myself. In the past I have let problems with the wife influence how dedicated I am to myself. I hope the funk goes away soon.

Day 47

Day 47 – wow time just flies by so fast. My weight is 205 and I am extremely happy with where I am at with everything. My eating this week has not been all that great content wise, but I still have not had a meal after dinner. I believe this is a big reason why my weight continues to drop.

It is very interesting how my life is going this year… I am doing vastly different things now that I am not drinking these days. It appears some of the people in my life were there because of casual drinking. Very interesting. I knew things would be different but I had no idea it would flush out things like this… Like I have said I will return to having a drink here or there but this time already has shown me some things and it will continue to I suppose. ONWARD!

Day 45

Heart Day… The made up holiday to spend money… If we are doing our jobs we don’t need a holiday to hand out flowers, gifts, and cards. I don’t spend money on this day and I do not end up in the dog house for it. WHY? Because I try and make lots of days valentines day and do special things all the time.

206 this is a really good weight. It means I maintained my weight over the weekend which is a notorious time to gain a pound or two. I am happy and there seems to be a rhythm these days with my day to day activities. I wanted to report out on something  PATRICK (click on his name to see the post) asked us to post last week…

This week my eating plan contains – NO FOOD AFTER DINNER – MAYBE LIGHT FRUIT SNACK… ACHIEVED!!!
This week I will take a box of toothpicks and – MAKE A STICK FIGURES WITH MY KIDS… not exactly… Two of my kids have February birthdays so we combined them to have one party and had 30+ kids there… um I wish I had made stick figures… that party wore me out
This week my exercise will consist of M/W/F 40 MINUTE ELLIPTICAL WORKOUTS… ACHIEVED!!!
This week when I stumble from plan I will immediately – CRY THEN BLOG TO PATRICK AND TELL HIM ALL MY FEELINGS ABOUT IT. Did not stumble so I did not need to cry to Patrick.
This week I will take that odd-sock from the laundry and – TOSS IT – YUKE. DONE!!!
This week I will challenge myself to try – AND NOT EAT AFTER DINNER… ACHIEVED!!!
This week I imagine myself punching the snot out of MYSELF! Did not falter so I did not punch myself!!!

Day 42

206 and my weight is slowly dropping.  It is important to note here that I have done nothing different in my day to day activities except that I have stopped eating a 4^th meal each day. Diet and Exercise is the key to a healthy life. One without the other will just not get the job done in the long run. Today I stepped up my workout a bit and I am a little sore but as I have said in the past I love the way my body hurts after a good workout!!!

One thing that I am starting to notice about my routine is that I really enjoy the workout days and I really enjoy my days off! I think for now the formula is working and I will stick with it.

I am going to do a little Patrick now and ask you to tell me what your formula is right now that is or is not working for you!!!

ONWARD!!!

Day 40

207 – that is great to see! It has a lot to do with me not eating after dinner… I have successfully not eaten after dinner for two straight days. Now when I say eat what I really mean is eating a true "MEAL" after dinner. I started eating a full meal around 9:30/10:00 at night. I am not sure why but I was getting hungry and eventually a snack turned into a full meal. Now that I am focusing on this meal I need to eliminate the weight is coming down. I have not done anything different in my day to day except for eliminating my forth full meal of the day.

This does not come as a surprise because when I lost all my weight the first time around I was not eating full meals at night. Somehow I just lost my way for a little while. Good to be back on track.

ONWARD people ONWARD!!!!

Day 39

No food after Dinner!!! I went into the bedroom and forced myself to go to sleep at 8:30pm. I hope I do not have to keep this strategy but I made it through one day!

Day 38

Day 38 and I made it through the superbowl… Well I was at home so it was not that difficult – I did not make it out to any superbowl parties. So as you can see I have gained a couple pounds and it is no surprise. I received great input from my friend Patrick in response to my post on Friday. I will think on it for a bit… The truth is that I have just not decided to deal with my eating and I am walking around just trying to stay blind to it. It is working and I just continue to eat. I continue to eat at all hours and anything I can get my hands on. I do not eat constantly but I do eat a bunch of the wrong stuff and certainly at the wrong hours. I think I need to start with no eating after dinner and decide to just start doing it. I have been working out regularly now and it appears that the workouts are keeping me from gaining a lot of weight. So I am happy that I have decided to work out regularly but I am disappointed that I just can't get off my butt and start to deal with my eating habits. When I post Wednesday, after my workout, hopefully I will be able to tell everyone that I did not eat after dinner and have some things to say about that.

Day 35

Today I weighed in at 209. I thought I would have gained a pound but I am glad to see the 209. To be honest I have not started to focus on my eating habits yet. I am not sure why. I know this is the only way I will get myself back down to 190 but the motivation is not there. I still have a huge motivation for not drinking and working out M/W/F but for some reason I just have not pulled it together to start. Anyone out there have any insight? Been there before and can give me some pointers? I want to but the desire is not there.

Other than that I am doing well. Family and work is going well. I am blessed and I am happy right now.

Day 31

Thirty one days. Wow. I made it through some football games and pay per view boxing matches without drinks. Superbowl, clubs, and tailgating will be interesting when they come around!!!

I am up another pound and I am not upset by it. I am not eating well at all. I am eating after dinner and eating too much in general. I hope that because I have so many days into my first goal of the year that I can now start to focus on my eating. It needs work. It is so hard! There is no reason to sugar coat it. Now that I am working out again I am hungry more now. I need to focus better.

ONWARD!

Day 28

Day 28 – Weight 208. Up one pound. That means nothing I am going downward and small ups is part of the program no matter how hard you are working out and eating right. So I feel good and I am right on track still. When I think about 28 days of not drinking I think damn… I can't believe it has been 28 days now. It is without a doubt that this is the longest I have gone without drinking since 1994 – even if it is just one beer to watch a game or something. Do I miss it…? I can't say that I do and I think that is why this is not so difficult right now for me. I have not gone through some tough periods though so the jury is still out on how "easy" it will continue to be. There will be times I am hanging out and nights that I just want to relax. Funny that alcohol "a depressant" is what some turn to relax and enjoy themselves…
My eating is O.K. I guess. It is not getting in the way of the weight loss but I am guessing that when I get into the 198-202 range that my eating will be a big part of getting back down to 190.
Life is good! I cannot complain.

Day 26

I have a new follower - Bringing Pretty Back – welcome. I have a standard statement I am using for new followers to catch up – I lost a bunch of weight really fast – put some of it back on – and now I am trying to get back down to that goal weight with a slow and steady approach.
Day 26 and I am now down to 207. It seems I am losing weight at the same rate as before when I was working out everyday and watching everything I ate. It feels much easier to stay on the road I am on then the last month of my initial journey AND the three months leading up to my current journey. I am not so focused on every little thing and it is giving me a peace that I did not have during my "mad man" workouts and food intake.
However I have been irritated for no apparent reason the past couple days. Maybe it has to do with the drinks maybe not. I hope it passes. I am being a bit of an ass with my family the past couple days…
O.K. I need the weekend to be here already.
ONWARD!!!

Day 25 - New follower

K. Garner – welcome. Long story short – I lost a bunch of weight really fast – put some of it back on – and now I am trying to get back down to that goal weight with a slow and steady approach. Should be interesting where I am at in a month…

Day 24

I have a new follower – welcome paleo gurl – you can go back through my posts to see whats going on but the short of it is that I lost a bunch of weight real fast put some of it back on now I am trying to get back down to that weight and maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle.
So I made it to the workout spot this morning and I was happy to see 208. I am certainly making strides in my overall approach to eating and working out. I feel a balance coming over me and it feels good. So this is also 24 days of no drinking in 2011 and it has been surprisingly less difficult that I thought it would be. During the football games this weekend I wanted to partake in the festivities but soon after the kickoff I was happy with my cranberry and ice… I had fun playing lasertag with my kids, nieces, nephews on Saturday and then sledding down a BIG hill Sunday late morning. Always fun to get the cousins together they don’t get to see each other much. I think the activity this weekend helped with the 208 I posted today. Staying active during the weekends are a goal of mine too.
To those who have followed my blog for a little while I have completed my prototype of my invention and it works surprisingly well!!! I am extremely excited. I think part of the focus on completing the prototype came from not drinking this year so far. Really there are just a few minutes here and there I have for such things and if I spend them dragging because I drank the night before things just don’t get done. So as I like to say at times like these… ONWARD.

Day 21

M/W/F workout schedule is starting to feel normal. The day break in-between seems to be well timed and helps me to WANT to go workout the next day. I am searching for my balance between working out and the food I eat. I am getting to understand how it will work going forward. I just have more feeling out to do with what will and will not work. I am on the right path – I will get there. I believe that.

Wow 21 days. Imagine not doing something for 21 days that you are used to doing frequently during that time. Fast Food, TV, drinking, etc… I have already learned that I have used "events" as excuses to drink and not because it would be nice to have a drink. I already see how much drinking was a part of my life and how much drinking is a part of peoples lives around me. Some realize it other do and don’t really care. For me I am going to drink again but I think after this year I will understand how it should and should not be a part of my life.

ONWARD!!!

Day 20

I have a new follower – SHALLY. Thanks for joining. I am struggling to find a routine that I can take with me the rest of my life. I have been a long way this past year and hope this year will be a great one!

Day 19

It appears I have a new follower. JAMES welcome. In short I lost a bunch of weight fast put some of it back on so here I am…

Today when I hopped on the scale it was 212 and I sort of figured that was the case. I have been working out M/W/F and it does not seem to have made a difference – except maybe that the bleeding is a drip now and not a flow. Anyway, during my workout I had some thoughts about my weight gain… First thing that came to mind was "it is clear that I am not focused on this so I might as well stop until I get focused". I almost slapped myself while on the elliptical (that would have been fun for anyone watching). The second though came really quickly after the first and that was to go back to working out everyday and that would ensure that I will get back to losing weight. You know what… it would – but that is why I am here right now. I did not build a steady healthy lifestyle with my weight loss. So what do I do now? This is so hard - so so hard. I guess I need to stay with the M/W/F schedule of working out and find a way to stabilize my eating. Honestly I have had no control over my eating lately – fast food – chips – pop – it really has gotten out of control. I am glad that a part of my brain is sticking with the workout schedule but some other part of my brain is allowing mindless eating. This will be a challenge. I think that my first step in the right direction is eliminating fast food. That will start on my 23 day. If you remember from my blog someone once told me that if you do something for 22 days it is now a habit. Well I have been drink free for 19 days and once I reach the 22 days I will start the fast food 22 day countdown.

I don’t feel great about where I am at but I do feel like I am putting the right thoughts in my head and some of the right efforts are there. So as I would say… ONWARD!

Day 17

Today's post will not be about me. It will be about Dawn - click on the link right here => DAWN'S BLOG " - who is going through major surgery. She lost over 200 pounds naturally and today is her body lift surgery. Pray for her and her family during this time. We are all pulling for you Dawn!!! Rest well!!!

Day 14

Two weeks in and for the first day this year I think I feel strong. My breath is starting to get back again and I am having fewer struggles with myself to get up in the morning to go work out. I do feel good with where I am at and only see good things ahead this year. There is a huge hill by my house and I am going to take the kids sledding tomorrow – and the wife and I are going to get out for a bit tonight. Other than that I am just glad it is FRIDAY!!!

I have two new followers for my blog

"reneasskinnylove" and "Robin"

Thanks for joining. I am working through some issues with maintaining my weight and what to do with my "extra" time in my life.

Day 12

Day 12 and everything is still on course. I always fear that in the beginning I don’t focus as much as I should and I start to fade out. This time does not appear to be that way. I am now 210 and I hope that is the highest I will be for the rest of my life. The goal is 190 and I have no idea when I will get there but I am on the right path.

Working out Monday/Wednesday/Friday feels right. While I was working out this morning I got the feeling that this is where I need to be. The gym the workout equipment the TV's the sweat the pain – it all seemed right. While I am there I do not think – oh shit when will it be over. I love working out and the feeling I have when I am done. I guess that is a great thing and will help to keep my but there 3 times a week.

This week as I have said is to get my rhythm back with working out and the next week is to start focusing in on family/invention/poker. Everything is on track.

ONWARD!

Day 10

Day ten and I feel pretty good. As you can see I got to the gym today and as usual I love the way I feel after a good workout. I was pissed to see my weight at 209 but honestly it could have been MUCH worse. I am glad I cut off the bleeding when I did. In the past when I got down to a good weight I put it all back on within a couple months and kept it on for no less than a year.

As far as the drinking I just did not realize how much it was a part of my life. I now see that the one drink before bed 2 times a week was such a routine that I just did not know what to do with myself this past week. The one thing I did in its place was to eat. Now that I am back in the gym it will be easier to keep the food away. But I really think it will be a positive thing to keep the drinks away this year.

While I was working out I realized some things. I was not really being true to myself when I was on my last journey to find harmony and lose 55 pounds. It's clear now that the weight loss part of it was more of a goal like my journey to Graduate from the University of Michigan. Let me explain – when I dropped out of school twice in pursuit of my engineering degree from Michigan I got to a point where I would have stopped at NOTHING to get my degree. I did stop at nothing. My wife (girlfriend at the time) was pregnant with my first child and I walked out the door to go to Ann Arbor to finish my degree. I did not walk out on her but she felt like I was. After the first week she realized that only my body was gone. I called all the time and spent all the weekends I could with her where she was staying. Once I got my degree I did not have to do anything to keep it. No one could take it away and I would have it for life… I looked at losing 55 pounds the same way. The only problem is I may NOT have it for life and someone CAN take it away – that someone being me. So now I need to look at this as a life style goal and not a diploma goal. The journey I was on was fun and exciting yes it was – but now I need to develop good habits that will stay with me for ever.

I have a new focus on things and now is a very exciting time for my life. This year will be important to the rest of my life…

ONWARD!!!

Day 7

Day 7 and I am glad it is Friday. I need to take the weekend and rest my mind and body. This week has been hard for me and I am glad it is done. I have been short tempered with my family and not so helpful at work. Monday marks the first day of my return to the gym and I am looking forward to it. It has been a few weeks now and I hope my body does not just say no and refuse to move… That would be funny.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will blog to you again after my first workout of 2011! See you then.

Day 6

So I have had some time now to clear my mind and think about how this year will play out. Monday will be the start of my M/W/F workouts. I think the main thing with eating will be having my last meal at dinner time! I will start with those two main things and the rest I believe will fall into place quickly.

I wanted to update everyone on a couple things going on. My wife and I are doing very well. Over the past couple months she has been telling me she loves me without being set up to do so. It has been years since I have heard her say that. So, we are doing well. My folks made the comment after the holidays were over that we looked so happy and I guess we are.

The step daughter has jumpstarted her adulthood by getting pregnant. There is so much I could say about all that but bottom line is that we have to prepare her for motherhood and have many talks with the other kids in the house. Her drama is moody now, not disrespectful and dangerous nonsense, so I guess that is good. I have raised my last infant so that being my mind state this may be difficult for me.

I took some time off of my blog to get my mind in order. I needed to get grounded in what my life challenges will be going forward so I am not constantly belly aching about things. I am there and think I can focus on everything that is my life.

As I like to say…

ONWARD!!!

Day 5

Today is day 5 of my new journey and I just feel tired, irritated, and jittery. I guess my body is getting adjusted to the journey. I thought about what the next few weeks are going to look like and at the base of it will need to be working out. That is the first thing I need to get in order. Sadly the workout facility (the dingy small shower one) has closed and I will need to spend an extra 40 minutes of driving time each day to make the gym. This is sort of a big deal and I need to get my mind prepared for it. I am taking one day at a time right now but I do feel the need to look ahead just a bit. Once I have gotten myself into a groove with working out the next in line will be getting my invention moving. I wrote more and then deleted it – this is enough for now. I have to take these days one at a time and stay slow and steady. So there it is. I want to keep things simple this year and plug away. I have a good feeling about this year.

Day 4

Today marks day number four of my new journey. I have never had a new years resolution and continue to believe they are worthless. What is the difference between the beginning of a calendar year and 365 days that start February 18^th? NOTHING. I believe timing is everything in this world we live in and this time is no different for me. The timing of my life made it so Friday December 31^st was the last day I could take some of my old ways. I just could not take it anymore. Interesting that my 2010 blogs added up to 100 posts and that my new journey started on 1/1/11 – very interesting but irrelevant.

So what is in store for me this year? I guess it is the execution of some long awaited dreams for me. I have always wanted to get in a few large poker tournament fields (500+ or so) and see how I do. I have made it to final tables and won smaller tournaments but nothing substantial. I am good enough to sit at any final table in non professional events but I have never proven that. It is time, I believe, to make that happen. Also, I have been toying around with patents and business ideas for a long time now and have never made the final push to make it happen. I have always seen myself working for me (yours truly) and having no other boss but the ball and chain. These are two big things that are dreams for me and I have not done enough to make them happen.

Outside of those two things health and family will be heavy on my mind as well. I will be getting the kids involved in more activities and maintaining a sensible weight through controlled eating habits and exercise.

There it is. As I have blogged before the outline and plan is easy – the execution is the difficult part of life.

I know you all will be there to support – slow and steady as my friend Patrick once said to me!!!

Don’t Call It A Comeback

Happy 2011 to all.

I hope the past couple months of the holiday season has gone well for everyone. I have struggled a bit and needed some time to get my mind together. So me and my mind (now a united front) are back to get things in order. Today's post will be simple just to let you know I am back. I will begin the 2011 journey tomorrow so please get use to tuning back into my life. It will be a year of weight loss, maintaining, personal happiness goal setting, family growth, and abstinence from drinking. Should be one great ride… Stay tuned.