That'll do, pig.
7/5/2011
Calories: 2,527
Tennis: 45 minutes
Had a nice stretch of tennis with Chip before my body basically shut down. It was hot as hell, we were in direct sunlight, and for some reason every bug on the planet seemed interested in what was going on in Woodley Gardens on Tuesday night. But it was nice to get out of the house, get a little sun, and remember how unbelievably awful my backhand is.
Still a bit too much snacking, though. I think it's high time I realized that having any kind of chip in the house is a bad call. It's so hard to meter myself with chips and pretzels; I need to just stay the hell away from them.
7/6/2011
Calories: 2,277
Rock Band singing: 45 minutes
Chip swung by again after work. We had talked about some Rock Band, but I wasn't really feeling it right when I got home, so we played a board game and watched PTI instead. Then, later, I decided I did want to play some Rock Band. I wore long pants and tried to sweat out some calories, though I realize now that I was just dehydrating myself. Oh well, more lessons.
7/7/2011
Calories (prior to weigh-in): 460
Calories (total): 2,580
No activities
For those unaware, our final weigh-in took place Thursday afternoon at the Battle Marshal's "garrison" (site of Saturday's culmination party, which you should all plan on attending). We conducted the weigh-in blind; that is, I know my weight, and Nick knows his, and Eddie knows both, but that's it. So when the results are announced Saturday, it'll be news to even us competitors.
Anyways, as a celebration of such an accomplishment (regardless of this last month's numbers), Nick's brother Kenny bought tickets for all four of us to go to a Frederick Keys game and enjoy a fully catered luxury box experience. It was magnificent, though the only reason I was able to stay remotely low on the calories was because I came in so low beforehand.
Looking Forward
I've decided that Friday and Saturday are going to be "free" days for me, while I figure out what my plan is going forward. Tentatively, I believe I'll continue to count my calories every day, because that's the one thing that I think has been a legitimately successful strategy for me. I think I'll also go through all of the previous posts, and all of my diet data from these six months, and try to draw out some useful information. I'm surprised to say that I'm actually looking forward to that "homework," for now at least.
See you Saturday, everybody.
Showing posts with label daily diary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daily diary. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 41
Son of a bitch this is getting tough.
7/1/2011
Calories: 957
No activities
My first day back in town was a rousing success. Well, speaking calorically. I didn't get any activity in, but I did go to a happy hour after work. I'd say keeping my daily calories under 1,000 including a night out is pretty goddamn impressive.
Oh, I mean, I played cornhole for like two hours, but I don't think I'd call that "activity."
7/2/2011
Calories: 2,210
Lifting: 20 minutes
Walking: 45 minutes
Saturday was like the epitome of what I'd like every day to be like. I had a solid amount of calories, nothing too extravagant, I ate food I liked, I got plenty of physical activity. A day to be proud of.
7/3/2011
Calories: 2,730
Walking: 40 minutes
I thankfully thought early in the day that I should get some walking in before things went south (or northeast, rather; the party was in Baltimore). I stuck with beer and a little wine for the party, but it turns out that doesn't help me at all when it comes to hangovers. I was a wreck the next day all the same. It's back to liquor for me.
Technically I did some walking in Baltimore on Sunday night, and some dancing at Mother's when we got there, but I can't assign any specific values to that activity, so I'm leaving them both off the list.
7/4/2011
Calories: 3,040
No activities
Okay, yes, Monday was a disaster. The only solaces I can take from it are A) it still wasn't as bad as my old school "bad days" used to be, and B) I only ordered the one pizza. We have to find the positives where we can, people. I spent most of the rest of the day sleeping or watching television, trying to recover from the madness of the night before.
Looking Forward
We'll have one more Daily Diary post, including the information from the remaining days before the final weigh-in. It's high time we start to talk about that, too. Six months have passed, and Nick and I have done some very good things, as well as run into some snafus. The trick here, maybe the toughest part, is what to do after our competition culminates. I know Nick and I still have weight loss goals that we haven't achieved, but I'm not sure if there's any more motivation to get out of this vehicle.
So how do we push forward? I know I've learned a ton of information about calories, as well as exercise suggestions, and I've gotten myself into some much better habits these days on both fronts. But can I really trust myself to continue on this path towards a healthier lifestyle without some kind of external accountability? I really don't know.
I know I don't want the time and effort spent on this competition to have been in vain. I want to become more fit, so I can play more sports for longer periods, and play them better. I want to keep losing weight so that, sometime in the year 2013, I feel comfortable enough to go up to a stranger and try to chat her up (I expect 2012 to be mostly apocalypse-related).
Whatever suggestions you can offer, I welcome.
7/1/2011
Calories: 957
No activities
My first day back in town was a rousing success. Well, speaking calorically. I didn't get any activity in, but I did go to a happy hour after work. I'd say keeping my daily calories under 1,000 including a night out is pretty goddamn impressive.
Oh, I mean, I played cornhole for like two hours, but I don't think I'd call that "activity."
7/2/2011
Calories: 2,210
Lifting: 20 minutes
Walking: 45 minutes
Saturday was like the epitome of what I'd like every day to be like. I had a solid amount of calories, nothing too extravagant, I ate food I liked, I got plenty of physical activity. A day to be proud of.
7/3/2011
Calories: 2,730
Walking: 40 minutes
I thankfully thought early in the day that I should get some walking in before things went south (or northeast, rather; the party was in Baltimore). I stuck with beer and a little wine for the party, but it turns out that doesn't help me at all when it comes to hangovers. I was a wreck the next day all the same. It's back to liquor for me.
Technically I did some walking in Baltimore on Sunday night, and some dancing at Mother's when we got there, but I can't assign any specific values to that activity, so I'm leaving them both off the list.
7/4/2011
Calories: 3,040
No activities
Okay, yes, Monday was a disaster. The only solaces I can take from it are A) it still wasn't as bad as my old school "bad days" used to be, and B) I only ordered the one pizza. We have to find the positives where we can, people. I spent most of the rest of the day sleeping or watching television, trying to recover from the madness of the night before.
Looking Forward
We'll have one more Daily Diary post, including the information from the remaining days before the final weigh-in. It's high time we start to talk about that, too. Six months have passed, and Nick and I have done some very good things, as well as run into some snafus. The trick here, maybe the toughest part, is what to do after our competition culminates. I know Nick and I still have weight loss goals that we haven't achieved, but I'm not sure if there's any more motivation to get out of this vehicle.
So how do we push forward? I know I've learned a ton of information about calories, as well as exercise suggestions, and I've gotten myself into some much better habits these days on both fronts. But can I really trust myself to continue on this path towards a healthier lifestyle without some kind of external accountability? I really don't know.
I know I don't want the time and effort spent on this competition to have been in vain. I want to become more fit, so I can play more sports for longer periods, and play them better. I want to keep losing weight so that, sometime in the year 2013, I feel comfortable enough to go up to a stranger and try to chat her up (I expect 2012 to be mostly apocalypse-related).
Whatever suggestions you can offer, I welcome.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Psychotron - Update
You'll notice that this post doesn't have a "Daily Diary" in its title. That's because I have no information for you regarding my vacation week. I had fun, I ate my face off, I played a little basketball, did a lot of swimming, and went kayaking (check Facebook for pictures). But I didn't keep track of calories, or the lengths of time I spent doing the various activities. I know that I mostly made bad decisions regarding food, and fairly good decisions regarding activities.
And I haven't weighed myself since getting back, but I'd venture to say I'm close to or equal to what I was when this month started. I'll have more information on that tomorrow morning (I always weigh myself in the mornings), but that'll be information for me, not you.
What this all means is that our final competitive month will basically come down to how much progress I can make in a single week. I did excellent today in my first day back, and we'll see how things shake out over the long, holiday weekend. I was invited to a party in Baltimore on Sunday, which will probably be messy, but I bet I can regulate myself so that it's a decent day. And I'll definitely be tracking my numbers for the rest of the way.
Look for my second-to-last Daily Diary on Monday or Tuesday.
And I haven't weighed myself since getting back, but I'd venture to say I'm close to or equal to what I was when this month started. I'll have more information on that tomorrow morning (I always weigh myself in the mornings), but that'll be information for me, not you.
What this all means is that our final competitive month will basically come down to how much progress I can make in a single week. I did excellent today in my first day back, and we'll see how things shake out over the long, holiday weekend. I was invited to a party in Baltimore on Sunday, which will probably be messy, but I bet I can regulate myself so that it's a decent day. And I'll definitely be tracking my numbers for the rest of the way.
Look for my second-to-last Daily Diary on Monday or Tuesday.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 40
Hey guys, no explanations this time around, I just wanted to get stuff posted before I head to the beach. Holla!
6/20/2011
Calories: 1,965
Rock Band drumming: 50 minutes
Lifting: 30 minutes
6/21/2011
Calories: 2,427
No activities
6/22/2011
Calories: 2,030
No activities
6/23/2011
Calories: 2,397
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 150 minutes
6/24/2011
Calories: 1,810
Walking: 30 minutes
6/20/2011
Calories: 1,965
Rock Band drumming: 50 minutes
Lifting: 30 minutes
6/21/2011
Calories: 2,427
No activities
6/22/2011
Calories: 2,030
No activities
6/23/2011
Calories: 2,397
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 150 minutes
6/24/2011
Calories: 1,810
Walking: 30 minutes
Monday, June 20, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 39
Still waiting for that first Garg post of the month...
6/15/2011
Calories: 2,005
Walking: 45 minutes
Made myself another pizza. This one was a southwest style dealy, with seasoned chicken, onions, and various Mexican cheeses. The chicken runs a little higher on calories than turkey pepperoni, but it was delicious, and I stayed within my daily target, so I was pleased.
6/16/2011
Calories: 2,467
No activities
I had about 700 calories in high fiber foods, from raisin bran to fiber bars to vegetables, all trying to kick this stomach thing. I also had plenty of non-high fiber foods, though, and that's where the problems came from. Add in a lack of activities, and you've got a bad Thursday.
6/17/2011
Calories: 2,404
Walking: 30 minutes
If it makes anyone feel better, 1,600+ of these calories were from lunch at Hard Times.
It doesn't, though, does it?
6/18/2011
Calories: 2,350
Walking: 25 minutes
Lifting: 20 minutes
Rock Band singing: 20 minutes
While the calories were a bit above my daily target of 2,200, I feel like I came away with a lot of good information. I went up to Jen and Chris's place for a little barbecuing, and I spent a good chunk of time talking calories with Jen and Rachel. Does that make me a little girly? Probably. But if this competition has taught me anything, it's that it helps to have people fighting alongside you when you take on a big project. Talking to other people who count calories helps me find out about all sorts of other food options, and I think it'll prove to be beneficial going forward.
6/19/2011
Calories: 2,655
No activities
Just a crazy, lazy, snack-heavy Sunday. I watched a couple movies, played some video games, and basically had a nice shitty Father's Day. Still, 2,600 calorie "bad days" are better than 2010's 4,100 calorie "bad days," right?
Looking Forward
So I think I'm finally on the other side of whatever stomach bug or condition I was dealing with. I think I have a tendency to try to solve problems with food (all problems, physical, mental, arithmatic...), so I'm expecting to have a much better week this week. Also, I've got to get in some good days while I can. I'm going on vacation with my family (and Gargantuar's) starting on Saturday, so it's fair to expect some straying.
The day isn't over yet, but Monday looks like a good start.
6/15/2011
Calories: 2,005
Walking: 45 minutes
Made myself another pizza. This one was a southwest style dealy, with seasoned chicken, onions, and various Mexican cheeses. The chicken runs a little higher on calories than turkey pepperoni, but it was delicious, and I stayed within my daily target, so I was pleased.
6/16/2011
Calories: 2,467
No activities
I had about 700 calories in high fiber foods, from raisin bran to fiber bars to vegetables, all trying to kick this stomach thing. I also had plenty of non-high fiber foods, though, and that's where the problems came from. Add in a lack of activities, and you've got a bad Thursday.
6/17/2011
Calories: 2,404
Walking: 30 minutes
If it makes anyone feel better, 1,600+ of these calories were from lunch at Hard Times.
It doesn't, though, does it?
6/18/2011
Calories: 2,350
Walking: 25 minutes
Lifting: 20 minutes
Rock Band singing: 20 minutes
While the calories were a bit above my daily target of 2,200, I feel like I came away with a lot of good information. I went up to Jen and Chris's place for a little barbecuing, and I spent a good chunk of time talking calories with Jen and Rachel. Does that make me a little girly? Probably. But if this competition has taught me anything, it's that it helps to have people fighting alongside you when you take on a big project. Talking to other people who count calories helps me find out about all sorts of other food options, and I think it'll prove to be beneficial going forward.
6/19/2011
Calories: 2,655
No activities
Just a crazy, lazy, snack-heavy Sunday. I watched a couple movies, played some video games, and basically had a nice shitty Father's Day. Still, 2,600 calorie "bad days" are better than 2010's 4,100 calorie "bad days," right?
Looking Forward
So I think I'm finally on the other side of whatever stomach bug or condition I was dealing with. I think I have a tendency to try to solve problems with food (all problems, physical, mental, arithmatic...), so I'm expecting to have a much better week this week. Also, I've got to get in some good days while I can. I'm going on vacation with my family (and Gargantuar's) starting on Saturday, so it's fair to expect some straying.
The day isn't over yet, but Monday looks like a good start.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 38
My apologies for both the length of time in between posts. Initially I was waiting for Gargantuar to post his monthly kickoff comments (which we're still waiting for, fella). Then I got a little woozy over the weekend, and I've been dealing with stomach discomfort for the past couple days. It's still there, but it's my responsibility to keep you guys in the loop on the happenings, so I'll give you a post.
However, my stomach bug is the reason for the brevity of some of the individual daily discussions. I assure you I'm not leaving out anything interesting. The way you know you can believe that is that it's me; nothing interesting ever happens around me anyways, remember?
6/7/2011
Calories: 1,855
Walking: 45 minutes
Still carrying the kickoff torch on Tuesday, I was able to have another positive day in both calories and activities. Unfortunately, it was the last really good day for a while...
6/8/2011
Calories: 2,515
No activities
I'm not going to say who I blame for my downward spiral over the next few days, but I absolutely blame one specific person. And I know it wasn't their intention, as they've tried to be supportive throughout all of this, but we had an interaction on Tuesday that messed with me psychologically, and I'm only now starting to be able to put it behind me.
Anyways, did a bunch of snacking on Wednesday, no activities, had a bad day.
6/9/2011
Calories: 2,385
Drumming: 30 minutes
Walking: 30 minutes
I was able to get myself back on the activities train on Thursday, though it was short-lived. I couldn't get myself going on the drumming, so I ended up bailing pretty early. The walk helped, probably, but it could've been a much more active day. And I've noticed that the more satisfying my activities are, the less I feel like snacking. So it's a double-whammy when I can't get rolling on some exercise.
6/10/2011
Calories: 2,535
No activities
Fridays are always pretty crummy as far as diet and exercise go. This one was made slightly worse (fitness-wise) by an extended outing that included a happy hour and a trip to the movies. It is not easy to resist buttered popcorn...or at least I assume it's not easy. I've never actually tried.
We saw Super 8, which literally everyone else hated, but I thought was fine. For all of my talk about hating everything, I think I actually like most movies. Not love, though, just like; we save words like "love" for movies like Jurassic Park, Zombieland, Lord of the Rings, Hoosiers, and Apollo 13. But Super 8 would get three stars on my Netflix ratings. Matter of fact, let me go do that right now...
6/11/2011
Calories: 2,985
Rock Band singing: 150 minutes
Lifting: 20 minutes
The calories were atrocious on Saturday, true. But I cite two reasons that it didn't really hurt me from a mental standpoint.
A) I had a really fun time. I went up to Joey's for a barbecue, then headed to a birthday party at another friend's house in Clarksburg. Both events were full of good friends and good times...and good drinks. But the point here is, good times.
B) The lifting I did (push-ups) got me SUPER sore. Only today on Tuesday am I starting to feel the tension wane. And the more muscle I build, the higher my metabolism, and the more effective my dieting and exercise will be.
So while it was obviously a bad day for the diet, I feel okay going forward.
6/12/2011
Calories: 2,170
No activities
Did I mention I got pretty drunk on Saturday night? I spent most of Sunday wandering aimlessly around my house, foraging for food and watching TV and movies, and reading. Finished the first Twilight book, by the way. It had some slow parts, but overall, it was decent. I'm in no rush to read the second book, but I imagine I will soon enough.
6/13/2011
Calories: 1,741
Walking: 45 minutes
I seem to almost always have good Mondays, which might be telling. Start of the work week, I'm coming off of good times over the weekend, feeling positive. Then I go to work, have the life sapped out of me, and by Wednesday I'm munching on everything in sight again. So, maybe it's time for a new job...
6/14/2011
Calories: 1,981
Walking: 35 minutes
Normal, average day. Nothing really noteworthy.
Looking Forward
...to Nick's first post this month.
However, my stomach bug is the reason for the brevity of some of the individual daily discussions. I assure you I'm not leaving out anything interesting. The way you know you can believe that is that it's me; nothing interesting ever happens around me anyways, remember?
6/7/2011
Calories: 1,855
Walking: 45 minutes
Still carrying the kickoff torch on Tuesday, I was able to have another positive day in both calories and activities. Unfortunately, it was the last really good day for a while...
6/8/2011
Calories: 2,515
No activities
I'm not going to say who I blame for my downward spiral over the next few days, but I absolutely blame one specific person. And I know it wasn't their intention, as they've tried to be supportive throughout all of this, but we had an interaction on Tuesday that messed with me psychologically, and I'm only now starting to be able to put it behind me.
Anyways, did a bunch of snacking on Wednesday, no activities, had a bad day.
6/9/2011
Calories: 2,385
Drumming: 30 minutes
Walking: 30 minutes
I was able to get myself back on the activities train on Thursday, though it was short-lived. I couldn't get myself going on the drumming, so I ended up bailing pretty early. The walk helped, probably, but it could've been a much more active day. And I've noticed that the more satisfying my activities are, the less I feel like snacking. So it's a double-whammy when I can't get rolling on some exercise.
6/10/2011
Calories: 2,535
No activities
Fridays are always pretty crummy as far as diet and exercise go. This one was made slightly worse (fitness-wise) by an extended outing that included a happy hour and a trip to the movies. It is not easy to resist buttered popcorn...or at least I assume it's not easy. I've never actually tried.
We saw Super 8, which literally everyone else hated, but I thought was fine. For all of my talk about hating everything, I think I actually like most movies. Not love, though, just like; we save words like "love" for movies like Jurassic Park, Zombieland, Lord of the Rings, Hoosiers, and Apollo 13. But Super 8 would get three stars on my Netflix ratings. Matter of fact, let me go do that right now...
6/11/2011
Calories: 2,985
Rock Band singing: 150 minutes
Lifting: 20 minutes
The calories were atrocious on Saturday, true. But I cite two reasons that it didn't really hurt me from a mental standpoint.
A) I had a really fun time. I went up to Joey's for a barbecue, then headed to a birthday party at another friend's house in Clarksburg. Both events were full of good friends and good times...and good drinks. But the point here is, good times.
B) The lifting I did (push-ups) got me SUPER sore. Only today on Tuesday am I starting to feel the tension wane. And the more muscle I build, the higher my metabolism, and the more effective my dieting and exercise will be.
So while it was obviously a bad day for the diet, I feel okay going forward.
6/12/2011
Calories: 2,170
No activities
Did I mention I got pretty drunk on Saturday night? I spent most of Sunday wandering aimlessly around my house, foraging for food and watching TV and movies, and reading. Finished the first Twilight book, by the way. It had some slow parts, but overall, it was decent. I'm in no rush to read the second book, but I imagine I will soon enough.
6/13/2011
Calories: 1,741
Walking: 45 minutes
I seem to almost always have good Mondays, which might be telling. Start of the work week, I'm coming off of good times over the weekend, feeling positive. Then I go to work, have the life sapped out of me, and by Wednesday I'm munching on everything in sight again. So, maybe it's time for a new job...
6/14/2011
Calories: 1,981
Walking: 35 minutes
Normal, average day. Nothing really noteworthy.
Looking Forward
...to Nick's first post this month.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 36
5/24/11
Calories: 2,140
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 80 minutes
Walking: 40 minutes
I must have waited too long to write this up, because I have no memory of Tuesday. Just none, at all.
5/25/11
Calories: 1,900
Walking: 50 minutes
A classic good day. I took some time to cook up a nice dinner for myself, and I definitely saved some calories with newly purchased Fudgsicles (only 40 calories apiece!).
5/26/11
Calories: 2,391
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 160 minutes
5/27/11
Calories: 2,427
Rock Band drumming: 140 minutes
A bit of a Rock Band marathon session between Thursday and Friday. I still don't know how much value I can assign to the Rock Band activities, outside of working up a sweat. But it's something. Better than nothing.
Going Dark
I've decided that for the final week of this month, I'm not going to tell you folks anything about my eating or exercise habits. Part of it is to keep Nick in the dark about how I'm doing, a little bit of gamesmanship if you will.
The other part is that I'd like to see how I react to a lack of public accountability. I'll still write down the numbers for myself, and I have the same 2,400 calorie goal as I've always had. I'm just not going to tell anybody whether I reached it or not. Should be interesting.
Good luck this week, Nikolai.
Calories: 2,140
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 80 minutes
Walking: 40 minutes
I must have waited too long to write this up, because I have no memory of Tuesday. Just none, at all.
5/25/11
Calories: 1,900
Walking: 50 minutes
A classic good day. I took some time to cook up a nice dinner for myself, and I definitely saved some calories with newly purchased Fudgsicles (only 40 calories apiece!).
5/26/11
Calories: 2,391
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 160 minutes
5/27/11
Calories: 2,427
Rock Band drumming: 140 minutes
A bit of a Rock Band marathon session between Thursday and Friday. I still don't know how much value I can assign to the Rock Band activities, outside of working up a sweat. But it's something. Better than nothing.
Going Dark
I've decided that for the final week of this month, I'm not going to tell you folks anything about my eating or exercise habits. Part of it is to keep Nick in the dark about how I'm doing, a little bit of gamesmanship if you will.
The other part is that I'd like to see how I react to a lack of public accountability. I'll still write down the numbers for myself, and I have the same 2,400 calorie goal as I've always had. I'm just not going to tell anybody whether I reached it or not. Should be interesting.
Good luck this week, Nikolai.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 35
5/19/11
Calories: 2,208
Rock Band drumming: 60 minutes
Walking: 50 minutes
A nice combo of exercise, the Rock Band drumming was a fun activity, and the walking was focused and deliberate. I like these days because it feels like I sort of make up for days in which I get little or no exercise...
5/20/11
Calories: 2,200
No activities
...like this day. Apparently I have trouble getting myself to be active on Fridays. Back to back weeks I didn't do any sort of activity on Friday (I mean, besides walking between my car and Buffalo Wild Wings). There is something to be said, though, for my decision to eat dinner at home for 650 calories, rather than scarfing down 1,000+ calories of wings...which I really, really wanted to do.
5/21/11
Calories: 2,445
Basketball: 120 minutes
The good part: I played two hours of basketball, worked up a nice sweat, got the muscles going.
The bad part: I jammed the holy hell out of my finger, which has stifled my non-walking activity since then.
5/22/11
Calories: 2,780
Walking: 15 minutes
As I said, my finger was pretty roughed up, so rather than doing any Rock Band drumming, I just went for a short walk around my neighborhood. I had thought it was longer than 15 minutes, but the clock doesn't lie.
I've also noticed that I eat/drink when I get bored, and it seems like Sundays tend to be my most boring days. So, it's about time for me to find an activity for Sundays...and other days.
5/23/11
Calories: 2,690
Walking: 40 minutes
The full caloric effect of getting drunk isn't felt until the next day, when I make foolish decisions to try to get my head back on straight. A breakfast sandwich, three servings of rice, and a variety of snacks put me into the red on my calorie goals. Blah.
Looking Forward
As I said, I think I need some activities, some distractions to keep my mind focused. Exercise is a good thought, and when he gets back from Myrtle, I think I'm going to take Spag up on his offers to play tennis. I guess I could play more Rock Band, but it's a lot more fun when used as a social event. I've also been trying to do some more writing, which is nice, but can be frustrating. And of course, frustration leads to boredom leads to snacking.
You guys got any other ideas on how to fill up time? I can only play through Dead Rising 2 so many times...well, probably. I haven't gotten to whatever that number is yet, but still, there's probably a limit.
Calories: 2,208
Rock Band drumming: 60 minutes
Walking: 50 minutes
A nice combo of exercise, the Rock Band drumming was a fun activity, and the walking was focused and deliberate. I like these days because it feels like I sort of make up for days in which I get little or no exercise...
5/20/11
Calories: 2,200
No activities
...like this day. Apparently I have trouble getting myself to be active on Fridays. Back to back weeks I didn't do any sort of activity on Friday (I mean, besides walking between my car and Buffalo Wild Wings). There is something to be said, though, for my decision to eat dinner at home for 650 calories, rather than scarfing down 1,000+ calories of wings...which I really, really wanted to do.
5/21/11
Calories: 2,445
Basketball: 120 minutes
The good part: I played two hours of basketball, worked up a nice sweat, got the muscles going.
The bad part: I jammed the holy hell out of my finger, which has stifled my non-walking activity since then.
5/22/11
Calories: 2,780
Walking: 15 minutes
As I said, my finger was pretty roughed up, so rather than doing any Rock Band drumming, I just went for a short walk around my neighborhood. I had thought it was longer than 15 minutes, but the clock doesn't lie.
I've also noticed that I eat/drink when I get bored, and it seems like Sundays tend to be my most boring days. So, it's about time for me to find an activity for Sundays...and other days.
5/23/11
Calories: 2,690
Walking: 40 minutes
The full caloric effect of getting drunk isn't felt until the next day, when I make foolish decisions to try to get my head back on straight. A breakfast sandwich, three servings of rice, and a variety of snacks put me into the red on my calorie goals. Blah.
Looking Forward
As I said, I think I need some activities, some distractions to keep my mind focused. Exercise is a good thought, and when he gets back from Myrtle, I think I'm going to take Spag up on his offers to play tennis. I guess I could play more Rock Band, but it's a lot more fun when used as a social event. I've also been trying to do some more writing, which is nice, but can be frustrating. And of course, frustration leads to boredom leads to snacking.
You guys got any other ideas on how to fill up time? I can only play through Dead Rising 2 so many times...well, probably. I haven't gotten to whatever that number is yet, but still, there's probably a limit.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 34
Initially I had tried to put together a formula for physical activity, but with all the various things you can do to get exercise, it's a little daunting. So I basically set a general goal of one hour of activity. It's a lot of time, but it's not like I really have anything to "do" after work anyways. Setting aside an hour of time every day to try to better myself is pretty reasonable.
The other thing is that, if it were easy, and something I would have no trouble doing every day, that's not much of a goal, is it? If I set a goal to walk 15 minutes every day, whoopie, who cares? Any day in which I accomplish my goal of one hour of physical activity, I can feel like was a productive day.
5/16/11
Calories: 2,020
Rock Band drumming: 90 minutes
Walking: 40 minutes
Monday was my first foray into the Boboli pizza realm, and I have to say, I was pretty happy with the results. I went for a "white" pizza, just threw some sliced red peppers and onions on the crust with some margarine and Parmesan cheese, and it was a tasty little deal. I had initially planned on just eating half of it and saving the other half, but space is limited in my fridge, and it was goooood. Even so, the whole pizza was 1,080 calories. And this was the full size pizza, not one of the personal pizza size ones (which are the ones I think I'll be using in the future.
Over on my other blog, Chip and I have been coming up with some ideas for pizzas to make. Chime in if you like, here or there.
5/17/11
Calories: 2,115
Weightlifting: 30 minutes
Tuesday is when I ran into my first question mark. Because I actually lifted weights over the course of about an hour, but it was while watching TV, sometimes breaking for 4-5 minutes at a time. The end result was a success, as I definitely got sore, and I worked up a sweat. But I couldn't really say that I "lifted weights" for an hour. What I should've done was gone for a half hour walk to make the point moot. Something to keep in mind for the future.
5/18/11
Calories: 2,250
Weightlifting: 15 minutes
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 60 minutes
My sister's boyfriend offered to grill up dinner for the family on Wednesday, so I went home for that. I had a few too many potato chips, but overall stayed mostly within my intended zone. When I got back to my house, I felt like singing, so I booted up the Rock Band. In between sets, I did some half push-ups. Half push-ups because they're sort of at a 45 degree angle; I do them on my stairs. I haven't got the upper body strength to push up my whole body just yet, but I get a good soreness out of this for now, so it'll do.
Looking Forward
Nothing really of note so far. I've done pretty well sticking with my physical activity plan. One thing I think I'd like to work on, though, is incorporating some more intense activities, or some more extended sessions. Like a 2 hour walk, or some serious basketball. Who's in?
The other thing is that, if it were easy, and something I would have no trouble doing every day, that's not much of a goal, is it? If I set a goal to walk 15 minutes every day, whoopie, who cares? Any day in which I accomplish my goal of one hour of physical activity, I can feel like was a productive day.
5/16/11
Calories: 2,020
Rock Band drumming: 90 minutes
Walking: 40 minutes
Monday was my first foray into the Boboli pizza realm, and I have to say, I was pretty happy with the results. I went for a "white" pizza, just threw some sliced red peppers and onions on the crust with some margarine and Parmesan cheese, and it was a tasty little deal. I had initially planned on just eating half of it and saving the other half, but space is limited in my fridge, and it was goooood. Even so, the whole pizza was 1,080 calories. And this was the full size pizza, not one of the personal pizza size ones (which are the ones I think I'll be using in the future.
Over on my other blog, Chip and I have been coming up with some ideas for pizzas to make. Chime in if you like, here or there.
5/17/11
Calories: 2,115
Weightlifting: 30 minutes
Tuesday is when I ran into my first question mark. Because I actually lifted weights over the course of about an hour, but it was while watching TV, sometimes breaking for 4-5 minutes at a time. The end result was a success, as I definitely got sore, and I worked up a sweat. But I couldn't really say that I "lifted weights" for an hour. What I should've done was gone for a half hour walk to make the point moot. Something to keep in mind for the future.
5/18/11
Calories: 2,250
Weightlifting: 15 minutes
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 60 minutes
My sister's boyfriend offered to grill up dinner for the family on Wednesday, so I went home for that. I had a few too many potato chips, but overall stayed mostly within my intended zone. When I got back to my house, I felt like singing, so I booted up the Rock Band. In between sets, I did some half push-ups. Half push-ups because they're sort of at a 45 degree angle; I do them on my stairs. I haven't got the upper body strength to push up my whole body just yet, but I get a good soreness out of this for now, so it'll do.
Looking Forward
Nothing really of note so far. I've done pretty well sticking with my physical activity plan. One thing I think I'd like to work on, though, is incorporating some more intense activities, or some more extended sessions. Like a 2 hour walk, or some serious basketball. Who's in?
Monday, May 16, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 33
So I pulled out a third straight victory that netted me a cool $100 cash. And it was all one dollar bills, delivered in a brown paper bag, so I got to feel like a mobster after I won. Pretty bitchin' move by the donor/Battle Marshal.
But hold the phone there. I'm still a big ass man...and a big-assed man. Being 288 pounds is great for where I was, but there's still a lot of work to do. And I've got a new plan on how to push forward and get closer to the body I want. Read on...
*By the way, sorry for the late post, I thought I had posted the first half of this already. I am error.
5/8/11
Calories: 2,555
Walking: 60 minutes
Sunday was Mother's Day, and while I got into the afternoon almost calorie-free (just 100 calories from some Froot Loops), I knew my victory would be short-lived. I headed up to my mom's house for dinner and board games, and dinner ended up being a couple plates of Chinese food. Add on a slice of chocolate cake, and you get the calorie count you see above.
I did manage to make it out for a good walk in the evening (after sitting around digesting for a while). And I was reminded that my mom's got a pool at her house. It'd be pretty smart to take advantage of that. And I've always fancied myself a pretty smart guy.
5/9/11
Calories: 2,263
Walking: 40 minutes
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 120 minutes
Both Rock Band activities are tough to assess as far as their actual impact. I mean, I know my legs and shoulders get sore when I play the drums, but whether it's actually building muscle, that's debatable. And I know when I sing and play guitar I get a little winded from time to time, and I definitely sweat up a storm, but whether I'm burning calories or exercising my lungs, difficult to say.
It feels like activity, though, so I'm keeping it on the board.
5/10/11
Calories: 2,450
Walking: 60 minutes
I have been eating more, though I don't know if it's as a result of me doing more exercise and needing more energy, or just the natural ebb and flow of my personal motivation and willpower. Ebb ebb ebb...
5/11/11
Calories: 2,188
Walking: 60 minutes
I make it a special point to take note of each reasonable Wednesday I have. I used to go to Hard Times around the corner every Wednesday and eat nachos and wings, sometimes have beer, and follow it up with some outrageous dessert at Carmen's; sometimes brownie sundaes, sometimes cheesecake, sometimes a couple scoops with a toppings bar, but always, always calorie-heavy. I remember doing the math once and coming out on the wrong side of 4,000 calories for the day.
So when I look and see under 2,200 calories and an hour of walking, I take a deep breath and appreciate the progress.
5/12/11
Calories: 2,129
Walking: 20 minutes
Weightlifting: 20 minutes
Thursday night started so promising; who knew it would turn into a bloodbath?
I got home from work and did some push ups, but not full push ups. I had to do them at an angle, on the stairs. Lifting up 280 pounds is still a little much to ask of my flabby arms. I finished my disc of Quantum Leap, season 3, so I popped it in the Netflix envelope and set out to drop it off in my neighborhood mailbox.
After I dropped it off, I heard footsteps thumping up behind me, and I was met by my brother and Tom, who had been wining and dining at Hard Times. I was (easily) convinced to hang out, and we ended up watching nerdy TV and taking shots of tequila. The calories may look reasonable, but the damage I did to my body that night was extensive.
5/13/11
Calories: 1,899
Walking: 45 minutes
One advantage of being hungover is that you don't eat quite so much the next day.
5/14/11
Calories: 2,720
Picnic activities: 60 minutes
Went out to a pair of parties. First, a family picnic with some of the best fried chicken I've had in a long time, as well as some tasty steak sandwiches. We tossed a football for a little bit, then had sort of a softball practice, in that we did some batting and some tossing, but nothing really extensive.
Anyways, after that I headed out to Westminster for Eddie P.'s birthday party. Stayed sober, but had some chips and a couple (delicious!) turkey meatballs. Westminster is ass far away, so I got home at like 3:30 AM.
5/15/11
Calories: 2,080
No activities
Yes, the calories were down, but no activities? Get it together Joe.
Looking Forward
So as you may have been able to tell from the information I posted, my focus this month is going to be on physical activity. With summer fast approaching, I've got precious little time to make myself look good without a shirt...or at least a little less like jelly.
Theoretically, the best way to do this is to get more exercise. More weightlifting, more walking, more turning walking into jogging, more tennis, more basketball, more everything. I'd like to get a weekly basketball game together, but I know people live far and have their own schedules (which include other weekly basketball games, etc). So I'll probably continue to focus on walking, and try to incorporate some more tennis, since you only need one other person for that.
I'm also pushing my calorie target back a little bit from 2,200 to 2,400 calories. The basis for that is to make sure that I've got the leeway to bring in enough calories to keep me properly fueled, but I'm also going to be honest with you guys; mostly I just want a little more leeway with my daily calorie intake.
We'll see if this shit works.
But hold the phone there. I'm still a big ass man...and a big-assed man. Being 288 pounds is great for where I was, but there's still a lot of work to do. And I've got a new plan on how to push forward and get closer to the body I want. Read on...
*By the way, sorry for the late post, I thought I had posted the first half of this already. I am error.
5/8/11
Calories: 2,555
Walking: 60 minutes
Sunday was Mother's Day, and while I got into the afternoon almost calorie-free (just 100 calories from some Froot Loops), I knew my victory would be short-lived. I headed up to my mom's house for dinner and board games, and dinner ended up being a couple plates of Chinese food. Add on a slice of chocolate cake, and you get the calorie count you see above.
I did manage to make it out for a good walk in the evening (after sitting around digesting for a while). And I was reminded that my mom's got a pool at her house. It'd be pretty smart to take advantage of that. And I've always fancied myself a pretty smart guy.
5/9/11
Calories: 2,263
Walking: 40 minutes
Rock Band singing/guitaring: 120 minutes
Both Rock Band activities are tough to assess as far as their actual impact. I mean, I know my legs and shoulders get sore when I play the drums, but whether it's actually building muscle, that's debatable. And I know when I sing and play guitar I get a little winded from time to time, and I definitely sweat up a storm, but whether I'm burning calories or exercising my lungs, difficult to say.
It feels like activity, though, so I'm keeping it on the board.
5/10/11
Calories: 2,450
Walking: 60 minutes
I have been eating more, though I don't know if it's as a result of me doing more exercise and needing more energy, or just the natural ebb and flow of my personal motivation and willpower. Ebb ebb ebb...
5/11/11
Calories: 2,188
Walking: 60 minutes
I make it a special point to take note of each reasonable Wednesday I have. I used to go to Hard Times around the corner every Wednesday and eat nachos and wings, sometimes have beer, and follow it up with some outrageous dessert at Carmen's; sometimes brownie sundaes, sometimes cheesecake, sometimes a couple scoops with a toppings bar, but always, always calorie-heavy. I remember doing the math once and coming out on the wrong side of 4,000 calories for the day.
So when I look and see under 2,200 calories and an hour of walking, I take a deep breath and appreciate the progress.
5/12/11
Calories: 2,129
Walking: 20 minutes
Weightlifting: 20 minutes
Thursday night started so promising; who knew it would turn into a bloodbath?
I got home from work and did some push ups, but not full push ups. I had to do them at an angle, on the stairs. Lifting up 280 pounds is still a little much to ask of my flabby arms. I finished my disc of Quantum Leap, season 3, so I popped it in the Netflix envelope and set out to drop it off in my neighborhood mailbox.
After I dropped it off, I heard footsteps thumping up behind me, and I was met by my brother and Tom, who had been wining and dining at Hard Times. I was (easily) convinced to hang out, and we ended up watching nerdy TV and taking shots of tequila. The calories may look reasonable, but the damage I did to my body that night was extensive.
5/13/11
Calories: 1,899
Walking: 45 minutes
One advantage of being hungover is that you don't eat quite so much the next day.
5/14/11
Calories: 2,720
Picnic activities: 60 minutes
Went out to a pair of parties. First, a family picnic with some of the best fried chicken I've had in a long time, as well as some tasty steak sandwiches. We tossed a football for a little bit, then had sort of a softball practice, in that we did some batting and some tossing, but nothing really extensive.
Anyways, after that I headed out to Westminster for Eddie P.'s birthday party. Stayed sober, but had some chips and a couple (delicious!) turkey meatballs. Westminster is ass far away, so I got home at like 3:30 AM.
5/15/11
Calories: 2,080
No activities
Yes, the calories were down, but no activities? Get it together Joe.
Looking Forward
So as you may have been able to tell from the information I posted, my focus this month is going to be on physical activity. With summer fast approaching, I've got precious little time to make myself look good without a shirt...or at least a little less like jelly.
Theoretically, the best way to do this is to get more exercise. More weightlifting, more walking, more turning walking into jogging, more tennis, more basketball, more everything. I'd like to get a weekly basketball game together, but I know people live far and have their own schedules (which include other weekly basketball games, etc). So I'll probably continue to focus on walking, and try to incorporate some more tennis, since you only need one other person for that.
I'm also pushing my calorie target back a little bit from 2,200 to 2,400 calories. The basis for that is to make sure that I've got the leeway to bring in enough calories to keep me properly fueled, but I'm also going to be honest with you guys; mostly I just want a little more leeway with my daily calorie intake.
We'll see if this shit works.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 32
5/5/11
Calories: 2,157
Activities: walk
My last real walk of the month. It wasn't huge, but it was enough to get the blood pumping. I've actually had some stomach discomfort for about a week, on and off, so I've had a little more trouble getting myself outside and doing stuff. Hopefully that'll subside soon, so I can get some more activity going.
5/6/11
Calories: 2,193
Activities: short walk
Just a brief walk, tried to get it in before the rain hit Friday night. I was successful in beating the rain, which was nice, but it's too bad I couldn't get more walking in, on the eve of the weigh-in. Oh well, have to just trust the process.
Look for the results of yesterday's weigh-in tonight or tomorrow.
Calories: 2,157
Activities: walk
My last real walk of the month. It wasn't huge, but it was enough to get the blood pumping. I've actually had some stomach discomfort for about a week, on and off, so I've had a little more trouble getting myself outside and doing stuff. Hopefully that'll subside soon, so I can get some more activity going.
5/6/11
Calories: 2,193
Activities: short walk
Just a brief walk, tried to get it in before the rain hit Friday night. I was successful in beating the rain, which was nice, but it's too bad I couldn't get more walking in, on the eve of the weigh-in. Oh well, have to just trust the process.
Look for the results of yesterday's weigh-in tonight or tomorrow.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 31
In the spirit of more frequent posts, here's the information for the past couple of days:
5/3/11
Calories: 2,355
Activities: Rock Band drumming
Got pretty drunk, actually. Definitely too drunk for a school night, but it did contribute to me falling asleep at like 11:00, which is ass early for me, so who's to say whether it was good or bad?
No, it was definitely bad. But I worked up a good sweat drumming before I passed out. Drumming and lamenting the Washington Capitals. Sigh.
5/4/11
Calories: 2,200
Activities: walk
It was kind of a cool day. I cooked a decent dinner (spaghetti and meatballs), matched my daily calorie goal exactly, and had a classic 75 minute walk in the evening. It wasn't exceptional, but it was the kind of day that I can look back on and say, "I can live my life like that. I can eat responsibly and exercise every day." Which is a pretty nice feeling.
Looking Forward
...to the weigh in. In reading my competitor's posts about how much he's exercising, I'm not very optimistic about the results, but Saturday should be nice regardless. First, because it's another milestone, another day that goes into the record books for this competition, and another success, even if it's a little bit smaller than previous months. And second, I mean, it's a gathering of friends. If nothing else, it should be fun.
See you there.
5/3/11
Calories: 2,355
Activities: Rock Band drumming
Got pretty drunk, actually. Definitely too drunk for a school night, but it did contribute to me falling asleep at like 11:00, which is ass early for me, so who's to say whether it was good or bad?
No, it was definitely bad. But I worked up a good sweat drumming before I passed out. Drumming and lamenting the Washington Capitals. Sigh.
5/4/11
Calories: 2,200
Activities: walk
It was kind of a cool day. I cooked a decent dinner (spaghetti and meatballs), matched my daily calorie goal exactly, and had a classic 75 minute walk in the evening. It wasn't exceptional, but it was the kind of day that I can look back on and say, "I can live my life like that. I can eat responsibly and exercise every day." Which is a pretty nice feeling.
Looking Forward
...to the weigh in. In reading my competitor's posts about how much he's exercising, I'm not very optimistic about the results, but Saturday should be nice regardless. First, because it's another milestone, another day that goes into the record books for this competition, and another success, even if it's a little bit smaller than previous months. And second, I mean, it's a gathering of friends. If nothing else, it should be fun.
See you there.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 30
I saw Nick's posts and it occurred to me that I hadn't posted in a while, even though I said I'd try to post more frequently. Sorry about that. Back to it.
4/28/11
Calories: 1,590
Activities: walk
Points: 4
I had planned to try to have a kick ass day on Thursday, since I knew the weekend was always a wild card as far as calories. I did pretty well, could've maybe done better, but well enough to call it a very good day.
4/29/11
Calories: 2,020
Activities: walk
Points: 2
I was at a pretty good pace leaving work, and even with Chipotle on the menu for the evening, I had planned out a fairly reasonable burrito (670 calories). But after the Capitals played crummy and lost Game 1 against the Lightning, I tried to snack away the blues. Really, 2,020 calories is a perfectly good day, but breaking the 2,000 calorie barrier means I lost a point. I worry that this point system might not be a good motivator, based on my personal sentiments whenever I think about it.
4/30/11
Calories: 2,390
Activities: short walk
Points: 1
As expected, Saturday was a little dicey on the calorie front. I went down to DC for Mark's engagement party, and helped myself to a hamburger, a chicken kebab, half a slice of cake, and plenty of potato chips and Miller Lite. Not eating hardly anything outside of the event kept me pretty safe, so that was good.
I didn't get much walking in. I mean, we walked to and from the party from the Union Station Metro, and I walked for about 15 minutes when I got home, but it didn't feel like dedicated walking time. More like moseying.
In case you weren't keeping track, that total put me at 16 points for the week, two points short of my original goal of 18 points. Here's my analysis of it: aren't these goals supposed to offer some kind of positive reinforcement, not just the call to action from coming up short? Even my 4 point day felt like a semi-failure because I was just 190 calories from picking up another point.
I averaged 2,057 calories per day last week, compared to 2,007 the week before. So besides being mostly a disaster for my confidence/motivation, it also doesn't seem to have offered much in the way of progress. As a result, I'm scrapping it. We're going back to the everyday goal of 2,200 calories, since that seemed most effective.
5/1/11
Calories: 2,385
Activities: walk
A doubly rough day. We had a family barbecue at my mom's house, which is the kind of event I sometimes have control problems with, as you might remember from the previous day. After that, the Caps lost a heartbreaker in overtime. Honestly, only having 2,385 calories on Sunday was pretty impressive.
5/2/11
Calories: 1,720
Activities: none
Back on track, just a good day. The one thing that I'm a little displeased with, though, is that I seem to be getting too many of my calories from snacky foods. Like, it's nice that I'm able to portion out my potato chips and cookies, thanks to the help of some 100 calories packs, but I know it'd be better if I just had regular food, like meats and vegetables and grains. Something to improve upon.
Oh, the lack of activity last night was due to a shortage of white socks. I even started out on a walk, but I was slipping around inside my shoes with my black socks on. Don't worry, laundry day was yesterday, so we're good to go.
Looking Forward
It's pretty cool that Gargantuar signed up for that 5K. I was extended an invitation to do it as well, but there seemed to be pressure to "run" it, and I'm simply not there yet. Am I doing well? Sure, and I'm happy to say that I feel like I'm having an easier time walking, and working in little spurts of jogging. But there's no way I could run for a quarter-mile straight, let alone 3+ miles. I feel like, with so many people looking to "run" the distance, I'd feel disappointed in myself for ending up so far behind the rest of the participants. Maybe next year.
I also said that I'd try to offer more opportunities for people to comment/contribute to the blog, so here we go:
What are you bringing to the party on Saturday? :)
As an FYI, I'll be buying burgers, hot dogs, buns, condiments, paper plates, napkins, and a couple cases of beer. I've also got some bottles of liquor handy. Things we'll need: more beer, soda, snacks, desserts, and whatever else you think people will enjoy. Saturday's supposed to be 70 degrees and overcast, so it should be a nice evening for a cookout.
And yes, I've got a whiffle ball set.
4/28/11
Calories: 1,590
Activities: walk
Points: 4
I had planned to try to have a kick ass day on Thursday, since I knew the weekend was always a wild card as far as calories. I did pretty well, could've maybe done better, but well enough to call it a very good day.
4/29/11
Calories: 2,020
Activities: walk
Points: 2
I was at a pretty good pace leaving work, and even with Chipotle on the menu for the evening, I had planned out a fairly reasonable burrito (670 calories). But after the Capitals played crummy and lost Game 1 against the Lightning, I tried to snack away the blues. Really, 2,020 calories is a perfectly good day, but breaking the 2,000 calorie barrier means I lost a point. I worry that this point system might not be a good motivator, based on my personal sentiments whenever I think about it.
4/30/11
Calories: 2,390
Activities: short walk
Points: 1
As expected, Saturday was a little dicey on the calorie front. I went down to DC for Mark's engagement party, and helped myself to a hamburger, a chicken kebab, half a slice of cake, and plenty of potato chips and Miller Lite. Not eating hardly anything outside of the event kept me pretty safe, so that was good.
I didn't get much walking in. I mean, we walked to and from the party from the Union Station Metro, and I walked for about 15 minutes when I got home, but it didn't feel like dedicated walking time. More like moseying.
In case you weren't keeping track, that total put me at 16 points for the week, two points short of my original goal of 18 points. Here's my analysis of it: aren't these goals supposed to offer some kind of positive reinforcement, not just the call to action from coming up short? Even my 4 point day felt like a semi-failure because I was just 190 calories from picking up another point.
I averaged 2,057 calories per day last week, compared to 2,007 the week before. So besides being mostly a disaster for my confidence/motivation, it also doesn't seem to have offered much in the way of progress. As a result, I'm scrapping it. We're going back to the everyday goal of 2,200 calories, since that seemed most effective.
5/1/11
Calories: 2,385
Activities: walk
A doubly rough day. We had a family barbecue at my mom's house, which is the kind of event I sometimes have control problems with, as you might remember from the previous day. After that, the Caps lost a heartbreaker in overtime. Honestly, only having 2,385 calories on Sunday was pretty impressive.
5/2/11
Calories: 1,720
Activities: none
Back on track, just a good day. The one thing that I'm a little displeased with, though, is that I seem to be getting too many of my calories from snacky foods. Like, it's nice that I'm able to portion out my potato chips and cookies, thanks to the help of some 100 calories packs, but I know it'd be better if I just had regular food, like meats and vegetables and grains. Something to improve upon.
Oh, the lack of activity last night was due to a shortage of white socks. I even started out on a walk, but I was slipping around inside my shoes with my black socks on. Don't worry, laundry day was yesterday, so we're good to go.
Looking Forward
It's pretty cool that Gargantuar signed up for that 5K. I was extended an invitation to do it as well, but there seemed to be pressure to "run" it, and I'm simply not there yet. Am I doing well? Sure, and I'm happy to say that I feel like I'm having an easier time walking, and working in little spurts of jogging. But there's no way I could run for a quarter-mile straight, let alone 3+ miles. I feel like, with so many people looking to "run" the distance, I'd feel disappointed in myself for ending up so far behind the rest of the participants. Maybe next year.
I also said that I'd try to offer more opportunities for people to comment/contribute to the blog, so here we go:
What are you bringing to the party on Saturday? :)
As an FYI, I'll be buying burgers, hot dogs, buns, condiments, paper plates, napkins, and a couple cases of beer. I've also got some bottles of liquor handy. Things we'll need: more beer, soda, snacks, desserts, and whatever else you think people will enjoy. Saturday's supposed to be 70 degrees and overcast, so it should be a nice evening for a cookout.
And yes, I've got a whiffle ball set.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 29
So far, I'm not sure about this whole points system. More on that at the end.
4/25/11
Calories: 1,360
Activities: walk
Points: 5
One thing I will say about the points system is that I do love having another piece of data to report, even if it's completely derivative of another piece of data (the calories). I'm a big fan of lists. Anyways, really good day, good bounce back after a tough Sunday.
4/26/11
Calories: 2,396
Activities: Rock Band, walk
Points: 1
I included Rock Band because I sweated my ass off while playing. Just soaked. Thank goodness I bought a headband for just such an occasion. That's right. I wore a headband to keep sweat out of my eyes so I could read the Rock Band guitar notes for Your Touch by The Black Keys and Centerfold by J. Geils Band. So if you didn't feel superior before...
It wasn't a bad eating night. It was, however, a bad drinking night.
4/27/11
Calories: 2,186
Activities: walk
Points: 2
So, four days in and we've got 9 points. That means we need 9 more over the next three days. Is it impossible? Certainly not. Is it a challenge? Absolutely. Three points per day means about 2,000 calories per day, which is lower than my daily goals ever were. So it's on. Probably my best tactic would be to try to get 4 or 5 points on Thursday, to leave a little wiggle room for the weekend.
By the way, it wasn't just a "walk" on Wednesday night. I managed to find myself about a mile from my house when we started getting torrential downpours in Rockville. I crossed my fingers and hoped that my mp3 player wouldn't short out (looks like it's alright), and double-timed it back to the house, but not before my clothes got soaked through and through. It wasn't bad, though. There's something refreshing about walking around in the rain.
Looking Forward
So I find myself feeling more tempted to misreport my calories now that there's a score associated with them. I've been able to stay true so far, but the new scoring system really seems to bring out the cheater in me, and I don't like it. I'll go through it for the rest of this weigh-in period, but it's on thin ice.
Our next weigh-in party has been scheduled for May 7th at my house in Rockville. I tried to email everybody the details, but if you didn't get that email, let me or Nick know and I'll get you the information.
We don't have a theme or event this month, just a barbecue hangout party. But we're definitely looking to have a themed party in June. Post any theme ideas in the comments, and Nick and I will decide which is best. FYI, next month's party will likely be in Baltimore.
4/25/11
Calories: 1,360
Activities: walk
Points: 5
One thing I will say about the points system is that I do love having another piece of data to report, even if it's completely derivative of another piece of data (the calories). I'm a big fan of lists. Anyways, really good day, good bounce back after a tough Sunday.
4/26/11
Calories: 2,396
Activities: Rock Band, walk
Points: 1
I included Rock Band because I sweated my ass off while playing. Just soaked. Thank goodness I bought a headband for just such an occasion. That's right. I wore a headband to keep sweat out of my eyes so I could read the Rock Band guitar notes for Your Touch by The Black Keys and Centerfold by J. Geils Band. So if you didn't feel superior before...
It wasn't a bad eating night. It was, however, a bad drinking night.
4/27/11
Calories: 2,186
Activities: walk
Points: 2
So, four days in and we've got 9 points. That means we need 9 more over the next three days. Is it impossible? Certainly not. Is it a challenge? Absolutely. Three points per day means about 2,000 calories per day, which is lower than my daily goals ever were. So it's on. Probably my best tactic would be to try to get 4 or 5 points on Thursday, to leave a little wiggle room for the weekend.
By the way, it wasn't just a "walk" on Wednesday night. I managed to find myself about a mile from my house when we started getting torrential downpours in Rockville. I crossed my fingers and hoped that my mp3 player wouldn't short out (looks like it's alright), and double-timed it back to the house, but not before my clothes got soaked through and through. It wasn't bad, though. There's something refreshing about walking around in the rain.
Looking Forward
So I find myself feeling more tempted to misreport my calories now that there's a score associated with them. I've been able to stay true so far, but the new scoring system really seems to bring out the cheater in me, and I don't like it. I'll go through it for the rest of this weigh-in period, but it's on thin ice.
Our next weigh-in party has been scheduled for May 7th at my house in Rockville. I tried to email everybody the details, but if you didn't get that email, let me or Nick know and I'll get you the information.
We don't have a theme or event this month, just a barbecue hangout party. But we're definitely looking to have a themed party in June. Post any theme ideas in the comments, and Nick and I will decide which is best. FYI, next month's party will likely be in Baltimore.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 28
See below.
4/22/11
Calories: 2,398
Activities: short walk
I picked up the Battle Marshal and Gargantuar for dinner at Roy's Place (by the way, just a terrible website). I tried to choose something a little healthier by avoiding Russian dressing, but my sandwich ended up having a lot of cheese on it, so in retrospect, oops. Next time, just order what you want, right?
We went back to Eddie's and watched Hobo With A Shotgun, which was more of an experience than a movie. The level of vulgarity they hit was pretty extreme.
Anyways, I took a roundabout way on my walk back from Eddie's, but only about a half hour's worth of walking. Hence, "short walk."
4/23/11
Calories: 1,912
Activities: walk
Went down to DC to watch the Caps close out the series against the Rangers...and that was awesome. I made sure to minimize my calories before we headed down, which turned out to be pretty smart, because I had about 1,800 of my calories in the time between when I left my house at 1:15 and when I returned 8 hours later.
Got a good walk in, but that's nothing new. It is worth noting, however, that since last Friday, which we'll refer to as The Pizza Incident, I've managed to push myself to at least get 30 minutes of walking in every day. Shame can be a powerful motivator.
4/24/11
Calories: 2,459 (1 point)
Activities: walk
Easter Sunday. It was kind of tough to eat smart with so many delicious options at my mom's house. Au gratin potatoes are a kind of kryptonite for me under any circumstances, but at a family gathering, forget about it.
Looking Forward
You might have noticed that I added a point score for Sunday's entry. I'm going to use Nick's recommendation of 18 on the weekly points goal, and we'll go Sunday to Sunday. So, I need to pick up 17 points over the next six days. I'm expecting it to be a successful tactic; I'm already trying to gameplan a 5 or 6 point day tomorrow so I don't have to stress myself out on the weekend trying to get to 18.
As I said, I'll try to post more frequently going forward, so you guys can track my progress.
No call to arms for discussion this post. It's late, and I need to sleep. Talk amongst yourselves.
4/22/11
Calories: 2,398
Activities: short walk
I picked up the Battle Marshal and Gargantuar for dinner at Roy's Place (by the way, just a terrible website). I tried to choose something a little healthier by avoiding Russian dressing, but my sandwich ended up having a lot of cheese on it, so in retrospect, oops. Next time, just order what you want, right?
We went back to Eddie's and watched Hobo With A Shotgun, which was more of an experience than a movie. The level of vulgarity they hit was pretty extreme.
Anyways, I took a roundabout way on my walk back from Eddie's, but only about a half hour's worth of walking. Hence, "short walk."
4/23/11
Calories: 1,912
Activities: walk
Went down to DC to watch the Caps close out the series against the Rangers...and that was awesome. I made sure to minimize my calories before we headed down, which turned out to be pretty smart, because I had about 1,800 of my calories in the time between when I left my house at 1:15 and when I returned 8 hours later.
Got a good walk in, but that's nothing new. It is worth noting, however, that since last Friday, which we'll refer to as The Pizza Incident, I've managed to push myself to at least get 30 minutes of walking in every day. Shame can be a powerful motivator.
4/24/11
Calories: 2,459 (1 point)
Activities: walk
Easter Sunday. It was kind of tough to eat smart with so many delicious options at my mom's house. Au gratin potatoes are a kind of kryptonite for me under any circumstances, but at a family gathering, forget about it.
Looking Forward
You might have noticed that I added a point score for Sunday's entry. I'm going to use Nick's recommendation of 18 on the weekly points goal, and we'll go Sunday to Sunday. So, I need to pick up 17 points over the next six days. I'm expecting it to be a successful tactic; I'm already trying to gameplan a 5 or 6 point day tomorrow so I don't have to stress myself out on the weekend trying to get to 18.
As I said, I'll try to post more frequently going forward, so you guys can track my progress.
No call to arms for discussion this post. It's late, and I need to sleep. Talk amongst yourselves.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 27
Today I had a conversation with A-Bo, one of our strongest and most active supporters. Over the course of that conversation (and perhaps unbeknownst to Anthony), I came to the decision that I'm going to post more frequently. Rather than waiting four or more days in between posts, I'm going to try to post at least every other day.
Additionally, I'm going to ask something of all of you, and of myself. I think this blog would be more effective for Nick and I, and possibly more entertaining for you guys, if there was more going on. So, my intention will be to offer some kind of comment on most of Nick's posts, and ask those of you out there in the interwebs to try to contribute to the conversation when you can. In that vein, I'm going to do my best to add some kind of question or appeal at the end of each of my posts, to encourage discussion.
Starting now.
4/19/11
Calories: 1,909
Activities: walk
Nothing too noteworthy that I can remember. This is another reason I should try to post more regularly. I forget everything I did on Tuesday night. I think maybe I drank and played LoL and went for a late night walk? That sounds right. I know I walked because A) I wrote it down, and B) I always walk. Well, not always, but enough.
4/20/11
Calories: 2,150
Activities: walk
Wednesday night was great, then terrible, then fantastic. Let me explain.
First it was great because I hung out with my longtime friend Sam Tanious for about an hour, then went on a walk with my brother's cool wife Rachel. Then it was terrible because the Caps went down 3-0 in the second period of Game 4 against the Rangers. Then it was fantastic because the Caps came all the way back to win in double overtime.
I had a few too many chips over at Eddie's house, but 2,150 isn't a bad number at all. I haven't figured out what my goal is these days, but 2,200 was my second, reduced goal number, so we came in under that, which is nice. And as I mentioned before, as long as I keep it under 3,300 calories, I should be losing weight.
4/21/11
Calories: 1,930
Activities: walk
Sort of just hovering around 2,000 calories, which is okay, but I remember really relishing those random 1,110 calorie days. I'd like to figure out a way to motivate myself to get back to that occasional burst of restraint.
Looking Forward
So the one thing I'd like to figure out before my next post is how to set up my goal daily calorie count. I had an idea that I think might work, but I'll need some input (remember?) to determine exactly how I want to set it up.
The basic idea is that I'll award myself a particular number of points for reaching certain calorie levels, and aim for a specific target for weekly points. For example:
Under 1,000 calories: 6 points
1,000 - 1,399: 5 points
1,400 - 1,699: 4 points
1,700 - 1,999: 3 points
2,000 - 2,199: 2 points
2,200 - 2,499: 1 point
Then, minus one point for every 100 calories over 2,500. Let's go ahead and just establish that structure, and try to come up with a weekly point goal. Twelve points? Twenty? If it were earlier in the evening, I'd go back and figure out what some of my weeks have been like, but as is, that's TBD. The 2,500 calorie goal would result in a minimum of seven points per week if I held to that, and the 2,200 would be at least fourteen. So I think we have to look at fifteen points as a minimum, right?
Additionally, I'm going to ask something of all of you, and of myself. I think this blog would be more effective for Nick and I, and possibly more entertaining for you guys, if there was more going on. So, my intention will be to offer some kind of comment on most of Nick's posts, and ask those of you out there in the interwebs to try to contribute to the conversation when you can. In that vein, I'm going to do my best to add some kind of question or appeal at the end of each of my posts, to encourage discussion.
Starting now.
4/19/11
Calories: 1,909
Activities: walk
Nothing too noteworthy that I can remember. This is another reason I should try to post more regularly. I forget everything I did on Tuesday night. I think maybe I drank and played LoL and went for a late night walk? That sounds right. I know I walked because A) I wrote it down, and B) I always walk. Well, not always, but enough.
4/20/11
Calories: 2,150
Activities: walk
Wednesday night was great, then terrible, then fantastic. Let me explain.
First it was great because I hung out with my longtime friend Sam Tanious for about an hour, then went on a walk with my brother's cool wife Rachel. Then it was terrible because the Caps went down 3-0 in the second period of Game 4 against the Rangers. Then it was fantastic because the Caps came all the way back to win in double overtime.
I had a few too many chips over at Eddie's house, but 2,150 isn't a bad number at all. I haven't figured out what my goal is these days, but 2,200 was my second, reduced goal number, so we came in under that, which is nice. And as I mentioned before, as long as I keep it under 3,300 calories, I should be losing weight.
4/21/11
Calories: 1,930
Activities: walk
Sort of just hovering around 2,000 calories, which is okay, but I remember really relishing those random 1,110 calorie days. I'd like to figure out a way to motivate myself to get back to that occasional burst of restraint.
Looking Forward
So the one thing I'd like to figure out before my next post is how to set up my goal daily calorie count. I had an idea that I think might work, but I'll need some input (remember?) to determine exactly how I want to set it up.
The basic idea is that I'll award myself a particular number of points for reaching certain calorie levels, and aim for a specific target for weekly points. For example:
Under 1,000 calories: 6 points
1,000 - 1,399: 5 points
1,400 - 1,699: 4 points
1,700 - 1,999: 3 points
2,000 - 2,199: 2 points
2,200 - 2,499: 1 point
Then, minus one point for every 100 calories over 2,500. Let's go ahead and just establish that structure, and try to come up with a weekly point goal. Twelve points? Twenty? If it were earlier in the evening, I'd go back and figure out what some of my weeks have been like, but as is, that's TBD. The 2,500 calorie goal would result in a minimum of seven points per week if I held to that, and the 2,200 would be at least fourteen. So I think we have to look at fifteen points as a minimum, right?
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 26
You'll see it below, but it was about as bad a weekend as I've had since I started keeping track of my calories.
4/14/11
Calories: 1,335
Activities: walk
The calm before the storm.
4/15/11
Calories: 3,825
Activities: none
So here's what happened. I woke up in the morning with discomfort in my stomach. I tried a couple different tacks to combat it, eating a breakfast sandwich in the morning, and trying to drink a lot of water during the work day. But the discomfort remained. I got home and thought that maybe a walk would set things right, but it only exacerbated things towards outright pain, and I only walked for about 10 minutes before I decided I was done (hence me not reporting it as an "activity").
So I did the only thing that felt right: I ordered a meat lover's pizza from Pizza Hut. And then ate most of it. You can see the results above, but I will say this: it put out the fire. My stomach was relaxed the rest of the night as I watched the Caps win game two over the Rangers.
4/16/11
Calories: 3,195
Activities: MS Walk
I woke up at 6:30, showered, and went down to DC for the Multiple Sclerosis walk on Saturday morning. It rained the whole time, sometimes hard, and the sidewalks/roadways had puddles galore. But I was with good company, and it was for a good cause, and I just like walking, so it was probably the most enjoyable three-mile walk through inclement weather I've ever endured.
The calorie data is fuzzy from Saturday. I drank heavily, and I would definitely believe that I may have overestimated the amount of calories I drank that night. But it's close enough, and overestimating puts a worse spin on the numbers, which will hopefully turn me back towards the light side of the force.
4/17/11
Calories: 2,025
Activities: walk
The worst thing about Sunday was the Caps game. It was excruciating to watch, and seemed to last forever. I got a walk in, and was back close to my calorie goals (though still surpassed it by a pinch). I did get in about 90 minutes of walking though, which is always good.
4/18/11
Calories: 1,730
Activities: walk
Finally back in order. I brought my lunch to work, had a salad and a Lean Cuisine for dinner, and overall just tried to restrain myself. And I did. And I got another good walk in.
Looking Forward
As I said, it was an awful weekend. But I'm glad that, at least for Friday, I continued to keep precise track of my calories, and forced myself to post the correct information (as I said, who knows what happened Saturday). We all have our mistakes, and I'd say this is my biggest drop off in this entire competition. Nick was able to overcome his Burger King trip and have a really good month; now it's my turn to bounce back after falling off the wagon.
I'm revisiting my calorie goals again. The 2,000 x 5 / 2,500 x 2 concept might not be the best fit for me. I'm going to play with some ideas and report back.
I also went to the grocery store yesterday and tried to equip myself with the tools to succeed. I bought some fruits and vegetables, and other low calorie items. I'm looking forward to hopefully having a solid week that I can feel good about. Now, who wants to play some Rock Band on Friday or Saturday?
4/14/11
Calories: 1,335
Activities: walk
The calm before the storm.
4/15/11
Calories: 3,825
Activities: none
So here's what happened. I woke up in the morning with discomfort in my stomach. I tried a couple different tacks to combat it, eating a breakfast sandwich in the morning, and trying to drink a lot of water during the work day. But the discomfort remained. I got home and thought that maybe a walk would set things right, but it only exacerbated things towards outright pain, and I only walked for about 10 minutes before I decided I was done (hence me not reporting it as an "activity").
So I did the only thing that felt right: I ordered a meat lover's pizza from Pizza Hut. And then ate most of it. You can see the results above, but I will say this: it put out the fire. My stomach was relaxed the rest of the night as I watched the Caps win game two over the Rangers.
4/16/11
Calories: 3,195
Activities: MS Walk
I woke up at 6:30, showered, and went down to DC for the Multiple Sclerosis walk on Saturday morning. It rained the whole time, sometimes hard, and the sidewalks/roadways had puddles galore. But I was with good company, and it was for a good cause, and I just like walking, so it was probably the most enjoyable three-mile walk through inclement weather I've ever endured.
The calorie data is fuzzy from Saturday. I drank heavily, and I would definitely believe that I may have overestimated the amount of calories I drank that night. But it's close enough, and overestimating puts a worse spin on the numbers, which will hopefully turn me back towards the light side of the force.
4/17/11
Calories: 2,025
Activities: walk
The worst thing about Sunday was the Caps game. It was excruciating to watch, and seemed to last forever. I got a walk in, and was back close to my calorie goals (though still surpassed it by a pinch). I did get in about 90 minutes of walking though, which is always good.
4/18/11
Calories: 1,730
Activities: walk
Finally back in order. I brought my lunch to work, had a salad and a Lean Cuisine for dinner, and overall just tried to restrain myself. And I did. And I got another good walk in.
Looking Forward
As I said, it was an awful weekend. But I'm glad that, at least for Friday, I continued to keep precise track of my calories, and forced myself to post the correct information (as I said, who knows what happened Saturday). We all have our mistakes, and I'd say this is my biggest drop off in this entire competition. Nick was able to overcome his Burger King trip and have a really good month; now it's my turn to bounce back after falling off the wagon.
I'm revisiting my calorie goals again. The 2,000 x 5 / 2,500 x 2 concept might not be the best fit for me. I'm going to play with some ideas and report back.
I also went to the grocery store yesterday and tried to equip myself with the tools to succeed. I bought some fruits and vegetables, and other low calorie items. I'm looking forward to hopefully having a solid week that I can feel good about. Now, who wants to play some Rock Band on Friday or Saturday?
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 25
The big two-five. How will we celebrate it? By posting exactly the same as usual. So enjoy it...exactly as much as you normally do. So not very much.
4/9/11
Calories: 1,720
Activities: walk
Considering I went up to Baltimore and ate hot dogs and chips and drank a couple beers, the calorie count is pretty solid. And I'm glad I managed to get in my walk before heading out of town. It was also nice to spend some QT with Gargantuar and his band of merry men, aka Colin. Where was Patrick, you ask? Where indeed.
4/10/11
Calories: 1,860
Activities: walk, Rock Band
Spent most of the day dilly-dallying, but I did go for my walk early again, and later on went over to a friend's house to play some Rock Band. We both like doing the combo (singing and playing guitar), so we alternated between that and drumming. Played for about two hours, got the blood pumping and the sweat dripping.
That's right, I spent my Sunday getting sweaty by playing Rock Band. Form an orderly line, ladies.
4/11/11
Calories: 2,333
Activities: Rock Band
Right when I got home, I decided I wanted to have a few drinks, and a good complement to drinks is Rock Band. I only played Rock Band for about an hour as I was killing time before some serious PC gaming (and you wondered how my bachelor stock could get any higher), but enough to again work up a sweat. I decided to use Monday as one of my two weekly "splurge" days, staying under 2,500 calories, but surpassing the regular limit of 2,000 calories. Monday might seem a little early to use a splurge day, but I think it's better to separate the splurges, rather than spend them on Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday.
4/12/11
Calories: 1,985
Activities: walk
Woke up not feeling great (probably at least somewhat due to the drinking the night before), so I took the day off from work. I watched a lot of TV, found time for a walk, worked on my resume, and got a nap in. Overall, a fairly productive day.
4/13/11
Calories: 1,945
Activities: none
I had meant to do something productive (walk, Rock Band, gym) after work, but I ended up hanging out with my roommate a little bit, and then I watched the Caps' opening playoff game, which went into overtime. By the time the game was over, I was pretty tired, though I stayed up a while playing Magicka with Chip. It was fun, and I don't regret it, but I should've tried a little harder to incorporate some physical activity. Oh well, something to improve on.
Looking Forward
No real changes, just going to stick with the calorie plan. See you soon.
4/9/11
Calories: 1,720
Activities: walk
Considering I went up to Baltimore and ate hot dogs and chips and drank a couple beers, the calorie count is pretty solid. And I'm glad I managed to get in my walk before heading out of town. It was also nice to spend some QT with Gargantuar and his band of merry men, aka Colin. Where was Patrick, you ask? Where indeed.
4/10/11
Calories: 1,860
Activities: walk, Rock Band
Spent most of the day dilly-dallying, but I did go for my walk early again, and later on went over to a friend's house to play some Rock Band. We both like doing the combo (singing and playing guitar), so we alternated between that and drumming. Played for about two hours, got the blood pumping and the sweat dripping.
That's right, I spent my Sunday getting sweaty by playing Rock Band. Form an orderly line, ladies.
4/11/11
Calories: 2,333
Activities: Rock Band
Right when I got home, I decided I wanted to have a few drinks, and a good complement to drinks is Rock Band. I only played Rock Band for about an hour as I was killing time before some serious PC gaming (and you wondered how my bachelor stock could get any higher), but enough to again work up a sweat. I decided to use Monday as one of my two weekly "splurge" days, staying under 2,500 calories, but surpassing the regular limit of 2,000 calories. Monday might seem a little early to use a splurge day, but I think it's better to separate the splurges, rather than spend them on Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday.
4/12/11
Calories: 1,985
Activities: walk
Woke up not feeling great (probably at least somewhat due to the drinking the night before), so I took the day off from work. I watched a lot of TV, found time for a walk, worked on my resume, and got a nap in. Overall, a fairly productive day.
4/13/11
Calories: 1,945
Activities: none
I had meant to do something productive (walk, Rock Band, gym) after work, but I ended up hanging out with my roommate a little bit, and then I watched the Caps' opening playoff game, which went into overtime. By the time the game was over, I was pretty tired, though I stayed up a while playing Magicka with Chip. It was fun, and I don't regret it, but I should've tried a little harder to incorporate some physical activity. Oh well, something to improve on.
Looking Forward
No real changes, just going to stick with the calorie plan. See you soon.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 24
4/3/11
Calories: 2,980
Activities: none
Terrible, terrible day. I blame most of it on Saturday's crazy fun (but highly toxic) party. I was pretty out of it most of the day, and didn't really think about what I was eating until it was gone. Maybe the most disappointing part, though, was my lack of a walk. I really want to get in the habit of walking at least 45 minutes every day.
4/4/11
Calories: 1,400
Activities: walk
Back to walking, and it was a good one, over an hour. Also the calories were back under control. Overall, a nice return to the grind.
4/5/11
Calories: 2,140
Activities: walk
Dancing with the devil here. The most questionable part is that I had some food that I didn't really regulate; some Ledo's pizza, some chili, and some potato chips. I didn't have much of any of them, but trying to figure out exactly how many calories I had was a tall order. I did get a late night walk in again, though, so I feel good about that.
4/6/11
Calories: 2,140
Activities: walk, walk
Nothing special, couple of walks, watched hockey, ate food.
4/7/11
Calories: 2,168
Activities: walk
See 4/6, minus the hockey.
4/8/11
Calories: 1,975
Activities: walk, walk
Both of my walks on Friday were in some level of rain. I went for a walk shortly after getting home from work, and that walk was straight up in a downpour. Then I went out late in the evening for a second walk, which was through drizzle and mist. Mist, not Myst.
Looking Forward
So, as I alluded to last time, I've got a new framework I want to use for my calorie-counting, because I feel like I'm having trouble with my current system. So here's the plan. Rather than trying to stay under 2,200 calories each day, I'm going to try to stay under 2,000 calories on most days, but allow myself two 2,500 calorie days per week. That should open up some more opportunities for drinking, going out, etc, while forcing me to stay a little more honest on days when I should have no trouble staying on form.
I'm still hoping to convince myself to do more cooking. Safeway is extremely close to my house, close enough that I could very reasonably go grocery shopping two or three times a week. That means I can buy fresh meats and vegetables, and not worry about them going bad before I use them. Well, in theory I can do that. This has been an idea of mine for a while, and I have yet to follow through. So we'll see.
Calories: 2,980
Activities: none
Terrible, terrible day. I blame most of it on Saturday's crazy fun (but highly toxic) party. I was pretty out of it most of the day, and didn't really think about what I was eating until it was gone. Maybe the most disappointing part, though, was my lack of a walk. I really want to get in the habit of walking at least 45 minutes every day.
4/4/11
Calories: 1,400
Activities: walk
Back to walking, and it was a good one, over an hour. Also the calories were back under control. Overall, a nice return to the grind.
4/5/11
Calories: 2,140
Activities: walk
Dancing with the devil here. The most questionable part is that I had some food that I didn't really regulate; some Ledo's pizza, some chili, and some potato chips. I didn't have much of any of them, but trying to figure out exactly how many calories I had was a tall order. I did get a late night walk in again, though, so I feel good about that.
4/6/11
Calories: 2,140
Activities: walk, walk
Nothing special, couple of walks, watched hockey, ate food.
4/7/11
Calories: 2,168
Activities: walk
See 4/6, minus the hockey.
4/8/11
Calories: 1,975
Activities: walk, walk
Both of my walks on Friday were in some level of rain. I went for a walk shortly after getting home from work, and that walk was straight up in a downpour. Then I went out late in the evening for a second walk, which was through drizzle and mist. Mist, not Myst.
Looking Forward
So, as I alluded to last time, I've got a new framework I want to use for my calorie-counting, because I feel like I'm having trouble with my current system. So here's the plan. Rather than trying to stay under 2,200 calories each day, I'm going to try to stay under 2,000 calories on most days, but allow myself two 2,500 calorie days per week. That should open up some more opportunities for drinking, going out, etc, while forcing me to stay a little more honest on days when I should have no trouble staying on form.
I'm still hoping to convince myself to do more cooking. Safeway is extremely close to my house, close enough that I could very reasonably go grocery shopping two or three times a week. That means I can buy fresh meats and vegetables, and not worry about them going bad before I use them. Well, in theory I can do that. This has been an idea of mine for a while, and I have yet to follow through. So we'll see.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Psychotron - Daily Diary 23
I just realized I haven't posted since a couple days before the weigh-in, so I'm running this up now. This will include the days leading up to the weigh-in, as well as how I managed to get under 300 lbs on the big day.
3/31/11
Calories: 1,832
Activities: walk
4/1/11
Calories: 1,370
Activities: walk, walk
So here's what happened. I weighed myself on Friday morning, and I was about 304. As you can see, I had a nice day diet-wise on Friday, and went for a walk when I got home from work. Weighed myself again that evening, came in at 303.8. I figured it was a lost cause, but I was bored late night on Friday, so I went out for a second walk. All totaled, I walked for about 2 hours Friday night, including a few brief stints of jogging.
I woke up Saturday prepared to sit around and wait for the party to start, but I wanted to get an idea of where I stood. So right when I woke up, I hopped on the scale and looked down: 300.8. I took a deep breath and said to myself, "This is an amount of weight you can lose today." I called my brother, talked over a couple options, then set out to hit my goal.
It was raining pretty hard at about noon, but I knew I wanted to get some walking time in, so I threw on a jacket and set out. I got pretty well soaked, but had a good 40 minute walk. When I got home, I weighed in again, still 300.8. I chalked a little of that up to still wearing the sweaty shirt I had walked in, but it looked like it'd be tough to get to my goal at that point. Still, I turned on Rock Band 3, set up the microphone, grabbed a guitar, and played for an hour and a half. I forced myself to move around, pretend I was on a stage, did some kicking and jumping, and basically did everything I could think of to work up a sweat and lose as much water weight as possible.
Mission accomplished.
Looking Forward
All of that hullabaloo will end up putting me in a rough spot for April, because while I weighed in at 299.6, my actual functional weight is probably more like 302-303. So I'll likely have to lose 3-4 more pounds than I'll get "credit" for on weigh-in day. I don't regret it, though; 300 lbs was one of my big goals coming into this whole competition, and reaching it was gratifying. Not sexually gratifying, but gratifying nonetheless.
My month 4 goal weight is a bit conservative: 290 lbs. I know that Nick is going to be bringing it hard this month, and there's nothing quite as sweet as a cash prize. But my goal for month 4 has always been 290 pounds, since the first weigh-in. In case you're curious, my month 5 goal is 275, and my month 6 goal is 265. And it's not like I'll just stop if I get to 290; I'm really liking my daily walks, and as I said, I've added a little punch to them with the spurts of jogging. I'm going to stick with that.
I have a couple other things I want to change/incorporate, but I'll save those for my first post-weigh-in blog. Since, you know, that'll be coming like tomorrow.
3/31/11
Calories: 1,832
Activities: walk
4/1/11
Calories: 1,370
Activities: walk, walk
So here's what happened. I weighed myself on Friday morning, and I was about 304. As you can see, I had a nice day diet-wise on Friday, and went for a walk when I got home from work. Weighed myself again that evening, came in at 303.8. I figured it was a lost cause, but I was bored late night on Friday, so I went out for a second walk. All totaled, I walked for about 2 hours Friday night, including a few brief stints of jogging.
I woke up Saturday prepared to sit around and wait for the party to start, but I wanted to get an idea of where I stood. So right when I woke up, I hopped on the scale and looked down: 300.8. I took a deep breath and said to myself, "This is an amount of weight you can lose today." I called my brother, talked over a couple options, then set out to hit my goal.
It was raining pretty hard at about noon, but I knew I wanted to get some walking time in, so I threw on a jacket and set out. I got pretty well soaked, but had a good 40 minute walk. When I got home, I weighed in again, still 300.8. I chalked a little of that up to still wearing the sweaty shirt I had walked in, but it looked like it'd be tough to get to my goal at that point. Still, I turned on Rock Band 3, set up the microphone, grabbed a guitar, and played for an hour and a half. I forced myself to move around, pretend I was on a stage, did some kicking and jumping, and basically did everything I could think of to work up a sweat and lose as much water weight as possible.
Mission accomplished.
Looking Forward
All of that hullabaloo will end up putting me in a rough spot for April, because while I weighed in at 299.6, my actual functional weight is probably more like 302-303. So I'll likely have to lose 3-4 more pounds than I'll get "credit" for on weigh-in day. I don't regret it, though; 300 lbs was one of my big goals coming into this whole competition, and reaching it was gratifying. Not sexually gratifying, but gratifying nonetheless.
My month 4 goal weight is a bit conservative: 290 lbs. I know that Nick is going to be bringing it hard this month, and there's nothing quite as sweet as a cash prize. But my goal for month 4 has always been 290 pounds, since the first weigh-in. In case you're curious, my month 5 goal is 275, and my month 6 goal is 265. And it's not like I'll just stop if I get to 290; I'm really liking my daily walks, and as I said, I've added a little punch to them with the spurts of jogging. I'm going to stick with that.
I have a couple other things I want to change/incorporate, but I'll save those for my first post-weigh-in blog. Since, you know, that'll be coming like tomorrow.
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