Psychotron - Looking Back

After putting a couple weeks between myself and the end of the competition, I decided it'd be fun and a good exercise to go back and look at the whole six month period and try to take some lessons away from it. This may end up being a mostly individualized exercise, but it will almost certainly help me going forward, and might help some other folks, if you find yourself affected by the same circumstances as myself. So here we go.

Lesson 1: Chips are bad.

This I really knew without looking back at any data, but the data supports my thinking. On most occasions where I had more than 150 calories worth of chips (which would indicate that I had more than a single-serving bag from the cafeteria), I flew up to 400, 500, or more calories just from chips that day. For some reason, I seem to have trouble leaving a half-full bag of chips around; I don't know why. Theoretically, though, not having any big bags of chips around would prevent those explosions.

I recently discovered Popchips at my cafeteria. I guess they're some kind of potato crisp that has fewer calories. A single-serving bag is 100 calories, but more importantly, the bags in the grocery store hold just 360 calories. They're smaller bags, but that serves me better anyways. I'm considering ordering a few cases from the website, but I worry that having a bunch of bags around might run me into the same trouble as the big bags. I bought two bags from Target yesterday; we'll see how it plays out.

Lesson 2: Girls keep me honest.

Let's be real here: the whole reason to get in shape was to make myself more attractive to women. Sure, getting healthier is a nice side effect, and it's cool that I can do more things comfortably on a day-to-day basis, and I do like that it's easier to play the sports I like for longer periods without getting quite so winded. But mostly, I want to be more attractive, and just as importantly, I want to perceive myself as more attractive.

The nice/tricky thing is, it's got kind of a snowball effect. When you make considerable progress, people notice and compliment you. That breeds confidence, which helps to motivate you to make more progress, pull more compliments, make more progress, etc etc. I told a friend today that I expect to be basically Channing Tatum by this time next year. Maybe not, but I want to keep myself in that cycle, on that "carousel of progress" if you will (lol).

Oh, of course, the relevant data. Well, I had a couple instances where I got some fresh, definitive, positive feedback from girls (I won't get into specifics; a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell). The average number of daily calories in the subsequent seven days: 1,472. The average daily calories during my general romantic high points: 1,810. The average daily calories during other periods: 2,209.

I can't argue with numbers like that. It's time to get my flirt on.

Lesson 3: Weekends are tougher.

This should probably be followed by something like, "Church is boring," or "Ice is cold." Of course weekends are tougher, but since the data backs that up, I figured I'd mention it. Saturday and Sunday: 2,238 calories/day, weekdays: 2,012 calories/day.

I think there are two main things I can do to try to settle down my weekend numbers.

1. One of my easiest times to shine is at work during the week. I normally have 300-500 calories at lunch during the week, but on the weekends, it seems to creep up more towards 800 calories. If I can make myself a lunch consisting of a sandwich and a single-serving bag of chips or some veggies for each day of the weekend, I might be able to nix this whole issue.
2. The other thing I can do is simply make myself more busy on weekends. Go out of town more frequently, maybe join a team or volunteer somewhere, just something to fill up some time so I'm not wandering around the house, tempted by all of the food I've got sitting around.
   

Lesson 4: I need the competition, at least for now.

I can foresee a day when I don't need competition to hold steady weight-wise, because I've built up a higher base metabolism, or because I'm more active, or because I turn some corner on monitoring my diet.

But it is not this day.

As Gargantuar fell behind in this competition, my performance waned. I was at my best when he was either thrashing me (in month 1) or still mostly even with me overall (through month 4). A number of factors played into that, but at least part of it was, I believe, the fading of the competitive motivation.

The eventual goal would be to figure out how to extract that competitive drive from myself without needing external motivation. But for now, I've been talking to another friend of mine about a new competition. We'll try to incorporate lessons learned from this competition, and I think we'll try to find another way to involve our groups of friends. The prizes were of course fantastic and very much appreciated, but they were a little passive for my taste. I think I'd like this competition's supporters to be a little more "hands on," so to speak.

One last time, I'd like to thank everyone for their support and contributions throughout the competition between me and Nick. Between the parties and the prizes and the weight loss, it's been one of the most rewarding six month periods of my life. It was an interesting experience, and one that I think has helped me turn a corner as far as my personal fitness.

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.

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.

Psychotron - Daily Diary 37

Is it early? Yes. Is it too early to make judgments on how this month is going to go? Yes. Is it too early to feel good about my direction?

No sir.

6/5/2011

Calories: 1,665
Walking: 50 minutes

A Sunday under 1,700 calories is a good sign. Normally I have a lot of trouble keeping the calories under control on weekends, Sundays especially, so I'm pretty excited. My whole mindset feels good, though. I feel like I'm just back, plain and simple.

6/6/2011

Calories: 1,613
Tennis: 45 minutes

What's interesting and encouraging here is that the tennis, on top of being a very good workout, helped me avoid snacking. I knew I didn't want to be weighed down going into the tennis, so I didn't eat anything when I got home from work. But my tennis game wasn't until 7:15 (actually 7:30 due to some miscommunication). So there was a nice two-hour period which historically has been an issue for me in which I had the extra motivation to not eat. And it worked, and it was great.

Also, after playing tennis, I definitely affirmed that, while it's good to walk and play drums and everything, there's a whole other level of exercise out there.

Looking Forward

Sure, it was only two days, but they were two good days. More than that, though, I feel a whole different mentality coming into the competition's final month. I'm not sure if it was the letdown from last month, or the fact that we're in the stretch run, or the natural high that comes from a good party. But whatever the reason, I want to harness it, capture it, and employ it going forward this month.

Bee tee dubs, anybody want to play some basketball?

Psychotron - The Reinvention

So you've all seen how last month panned out, or didn't, as it were. There were a variety of reasons why things went poorly, mostly related to a lack of willpower. So now, I'm focused on how to get back on track.

First things first, the whole "going dark" experiment was informative. I do believe I need the public accountability to force myself to stay true, less so for exercise, but definitely for the diet. My activities were fine during the dark week, but I did a lot of unnecessary snacking, and I'm sure that at least part of it was because I didn't have to worry about sharing that information with others. BUT, it was nice to find out that I was still motivated enough to be active, regardless of the accountability.

The party was awesome; kudos to Nick on putting together a nice event. And while everything after about 11:00 is a haze for me, the pictures look like I had a good time. And I woke up in my own bed, so that was a success. I think I'm going to try to start drinking more beer; it should help me regulate my pace a little bit better, plus maybe I can do a better job of keeping track of calories if they're neatly packaged in an aluminum can.

I'm re-establishing the calorie goal of 2,200.

And I've got a new tack for weekends. Historically, I had a little more trouble being active on weekends, because I felt like I should be taking advantage of every moment of my downtime from work doing fun things, like playing video games, watching movies, visiting people, etc. The better way to think about it, though, is that I've got way more free time on weekends. Plenty of time for both recreation and exercising, as well as the opportunity to combine the two with basketball, tennis, Rock Band, or other activities.

Let the final face-off begin. Good luck, Gargantuar.

You're gonna need it.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Psychotron - Daily Diary 22

Trying to gear up for the stretch run, but after a bad weekend, I'm not hopeful that I'll be able to break 300 as I had set out to do. I'm still going to go for it, but I'm getting myself ready for the news. Best of luck to my competitor as we push for this month's victory.

3/27/11

Calories: 1,156
Activities: walk

Sunday was something of a recovery day for me. I spent most of the day watching season 4 of Dexter and trying to will my body to process the pizza I had on Friday and Saturday.

3/28/11

Calories:1,375
Activites: gym, walk

Good trip to the gym, got sore, worked up my heart rate, had fun. Well, no, didn't have fun, but the other stuff. After the gym, I went for a walk with my brother, which was really good as well.

3/29/11

Calories: 1,710
Activities: walks

I went for a walk right after work, then late in the evening, around 11:45, I headed out for a supplemental walk. It wasn't quite as long as the other walk, but it's always nice to stack up some more active time.

3/30/11

Calories: 1,826
Activities: none

I should've either eaten better or done some exercise on Wednesday, but it turned out that neither happened. I went to Hard Times for dinner, though I did get a salad with salsa instead of dressing. But I knew I was going out for dinner, and still had too much food during the day at work. I could've been down around 1,500 on the day, or at least gotten some activity. But now I do have a goal for tomorrow.

Looking Forward

In case you hadn't heard, our third weigh-in showdown is this Saturday at my brother's house. And while I'm not all that confident about winning, I am looking forward to the matchup, because I feel like it might be our closest match yet. So hopefully we'll both come out of it feeling good.

Although...FYI, my plan is to get blitzcranked, so I'll probably come out of it feeling exhausted.

Psychotron - Daily Diary 20

3/17/11

Calories: 1,580
Activities: super walk

So St. Patrick's Day ended up being much quieter than expected/hoped, due to a rash of sickness across the county (or basically just to one person). Anyways, while I didn't do any partying, I did hold tight on the diet. AND, I did what you'd call a super walk, or what I'd call a super walk. I walked for two and a half hours on Thursday night, occasionally picking things up to a jog. It was cool, being both crazy and uneventful. Crazy because it ended up being so late, and uneventful because nothing actually happened on the walk.

3/18/11

Calories: 2,046
Activities: none

Unintentionally, I didn't eat meat again this Lenten Friday. I tried out a crab cake at the cafeteria, and while it wasn't exactly excellent, it kept my calorie count pretty low...which I immediately stifled by eating some chips over at my brother's while watching March Madness. Kept everything below the goal of 2,100, but it was close.

I also watched just a terrible movie. It's called Carriers, it stars Chris Pine, of Star Trek fame. And that's about all I can say positively about the movie. It was billed as a horror, but was never scary. It also wasn't very interesting on any level...like, throughout. The most I can say for it is that it was on my Netflix queue, so I was able to remove it and make space for better movies after watching it. So, well done on that.

3/19/11

Calories: 2,267
Activities: none

The "none" isn't entirely true; I played Rock Band for about 20 minutes. But I didn't feel like that constituted enough actual activity to be worthy of notation.

I went to my cousin's house for a "bake-off," which was exactly as tempting as you'd expect it to be. I managed to keep things under control, but between the various flavors of cupcakes and other assorted desserts, I definitely had more calories than I'd hoped. Still, I was under my original goal of 2,500 calories on the day. I'm thinking that what I might do is set an everyday goal of 2,100 calories, and pull back the goal to 2,500 for "splurge" days. We'll see.

3/20/11

Calories: 1,890
Activities: walk

Cooked up a couple steaks, which weren't great, but were good. I assign half of the credit/blame to myself and my weak cooking skills, and the other half to my choice of cut (which was the cheapest I could find). Still, it was good enough that I'll do it again...just as soon as I get a refill on the propane.

I actually took two walks, but they were both on the short side, maybe a mile apiece.

3/21/11

Calories: 1,997
Activities: leg exercises

The same leg exercises I talked about before, to roughly the same extent. I meant to get to the gym, but I got caught up at work and didn't end up getting home until six. Should I have gone anyways? Yep. Lesson learned; just go to the fucking gym.

Week 10 Update "Remember The Burger King" - Gargantuar

That is how I feel right now. Well, maybe not exactly, but I bet it's very close. But first, let's rewind and take a look at the past couple of days.

Monday

So I don't know how to qualify some of my meals. I usually eat some type of fruit (Monday it was grapes) and then a packet of oatmeal for breakfast, but I always spread it out over like two hours. I don't know if that counts as two snacks or just one "meal." For my purpose, I'm going to call it a meal and if I ever eat something more substantial for breakfast and then fruit, the latter will be a snack. So Monday I had three meals and two snacks throughout the day, totaling 1150 Calories. This is where that third 100-200 calorie snack would have put me at just the right amount of calories for my taste.

This is my early week for work when I get off at 4pm and I started it off right. I got home after getting some much needed groceries, and quickly changed into work out clothes. It was so nice out I decided to walk to Patterson Park where, thank God, I didn't get stabbed. Once there I began walgging (walk/jogging - Once it becomes more jogging than walking it will become wogging). It felt great to get out there and actually see people out and about just enjoying the nice weather. Living in the city is so much more fun once the weather is nice. All total I was out for 45 minutes and totaled with my lunch time walk I burned approx 655 Calories.

Tuesday

I got a lot of sleep Monday night, so I was feeling pretty energized on Tuesday morning. I had the same breakfast as Monday and ate great throughout the work day. I also took my usual lunchtime walk which was nice. I had Chipotle for dinner at the one that just opened up near my house but I have found a low calorie item. Just a fajita burrito bowl with chicken tomatoes and lettuce. Still tasty for only 365 calories. All totaling 1180 at this point.

I then went out to see my friend Joe play guitar and sing at "The Horse You Came in On" in Fells Point. I decided to have two beers as it had been a low calorie day. I had a good time, hung out a bit after the show, and then drove home. On the way home, I impulsively stopped at a Burger King and bought a Tendercrisp chicken sandwich. Yes fans, I'm as disappointed in myself as you are. This broke about 15 of my rules, mainly just eating late (it was 1030pm) and eating fast food. The worst part is that now, at 530am on Wednesday, I feel like poop. It totally was not worth it. I have now vowed to "Remember The Burger King." Instead of having a fine calorie day of 1435, I ended up at 2235 and still feel like crap for hours and hours later. Remember The Burger King.......