10/8
Reed and Jen's wedding was a potential disaster, but I managed to limit myself pretty well. I had a beer, the dinner (chicken cordon bleu and a crab cake), and half of a mini-pie. Could've gone a lot worse. We're calling it a good decision.
10/10
Ahh, the Washington Capitals. My buddy was buying beers, so...I had several. Too many. Bad decision.
10/12
Went to fuel up at a gas station, and in a blink, I found myself inside buying a bag of Tostitos Scoops. What the hell, man? Not cool.
10/13
Another Caps game, another bad decision. This one was a road game, so I went over to my brother's house and munched down on some pizza. Bad, bad fella.
Current weight: 274.0 (even)
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Friday, October 14, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Psychotron/Disney Joe Update
So as you may have noticed (or not noticed, as it were), I haven't really been offering much in the way of updates on my progress as this "competition" has moved forward. I put "competition" in quotes, because I haven't really been doing my part to compete with the other participants in this contest. I have been lifting more than I have at any point in the past six months, but not so much that I'd say I'm really pushing myself to succeed.
The question of "Why?" is one I've been trying to work through in my head, and I've mostly come up empty. But I think perhaps one reason is that during this period, I haven't really been holding myself accountable by posting updates. So in an effort to stifle that weakness and see if I can't turn this ship around (despite the fact that it sounds like I'm ~20 lbs. behind already), I'm going to start posting more regularly. I haven't been counting calories since late September, and I think I'd like to find a way to be productive without having to do that. So I won't be posting my daily calories or anything like that.
What I will be posting is two things. First, I'll be posting my weight. While I do believe that I've gotten marginally more muscular over the past month, I'm still way too heavy for my lifestyle, and for my own preference/confidence. Losing weight is the end goal of all of this, and the one thing I want to hold myself accountable for more than anything else. So, I'll post my weight every time I post, including this post (at the bottom).
Second, I'm going to post decisions. My contention throughout all of this, including past attempts to lose weight, was that a person could improve their health, lose weight, and become more fit simply by altering a few decisions every day. I know when I was at my worst, I made a slew of poor decisions. I would buy bags of Doritos and Tostitos, knowing that they didn't stand a chance of lasting more than a couple days in my house. I would decline invitations to activities that required some movement on my part (walks, games of basketball, even trips downtown). And I'd order pizza every once in a while, and devour the whole pie (or pies) in a matter of hours.
These are the kinds of decisions I need to change. So what I'm going to do is start posting decisions, good or bad, that I make and remember. If I decide to pass on pizza and eat a Lean Cuisine, I'll post that. If I falter and do order Domino's, I'll post that as well. I won't post normal lifting sessions, but if I find myself debating whether or not I want to lift on a given night, I'll post my decision on that, positive or negative. The idea is that forcing myself to share my mistakes and my triumphs will help me to more frequently make good decisions. Maybe I can't win the monetary prize in this competition at this point, but the real prize is improved health, and that's still on the table.
So, as I mentioned, I've been pretty lackluster thus far, since my initial weigh-in. I've ordered pizza more than once, I've talked myself out of going for walks a number of times, and overall I've just disappointed myself with my decisions. However, when I weighed myself Thursday morning, I was surprised to see that I had actually stayed pretty much even (up 0.4 lbs). While up is worse than down, and I'm not proud of my process so far, I can't help but be a little pleased that I haven't lost much ground from where I was at the beginning of this competition.
I'm going to set a conservative goal of losing 5.4 pounds by November 1st (so 5 pounds off of my starting weight), and 10 pounds by December 1st. From the rumors I've heard, that will still leave me well behind our top competitors, but at this point, my competition is myself. Wish me luck.
Current weight: 274.4 (+ 0.4 lbs.)
The question of "Why?" is one I've been trying to work through in my head, and I've mostly come up empty. But I think perhaps one reason is that during this period, I haven't really been holding myself accountable by posting updates. So in an effort to stifle that weakness and see if I can't turn this ship around (despite the fact that it sounds like I'm ~20 lbs. behind already), I'm going to start posting more regularly. I haven't been counting calories since late September, and I think I'd like to find a way to be productive without having to do that. So I won't be posting my daily calories or anything like that.
What I will be posting is two things. First, I'll be posting my weight. While I do believe that I've gotten marginally more muscular over the past month, I'm still way too heavy for my lifestyle, and for my own preference/confidence. Losing weight is the end goal of all of this, and the one thing I want to hold myself accountable for more than anything else. So, I'll post my weight every time I post, including this post (at the bottom).
Second, I'm going to post decisions. My contention throughout all of this, including past attempts to lose weight, was that a person could improve their health, lose weight, and become more fit simply by altering a few decisions every day. I know when I was at my worst, I made a slew of poor decisions. I would buy bags of Doritos and Tostitos, knowing that they didn't stand a chance of lasting more than a couple days in my house. I would decline invitations to activities that required some movement on my part (walks, games of basketball, even trips downtown). And I'd order pizza every once in a while, and devour the whole pie (or pies) in a matter of hours.
These are the kinds of decisions I need to change. So what I'm going to do is start posting decisions, good or bad, that I make and remember. If I decide to pass on pizza and eat a Lean Cuisine, I'll post that. If I falter and do order Domino's, I'll post that as well. I won't post normal lifting sessions, but if I find myself debating whether or not I want to lift on a given night, I'll post my decision on that, positive or negative. The idea is that forcing myself to share my mistakes and my triumphs will help me to more frequently make good decisions. Maybe I can't win the monetary prize in this competition at this point, but the real prize is improved health, and that's still on the table.
So, as I mentioned, I've been pretty lackluster thus far, since my initial weigh-in. I've ordered pizza more than once, I've talked myself out of going for walks a number of times, and overall I've just disappointed myself with my decisions. However, when I weighed myself Thursday morning, I was surprised to see that I had actually stayed pretty much even (up 0.4 lbs). While up is worse than down, and I'm not proud of my process so far, I can't help but be a little pleased that I haven't lost much ground from where I was at the beginning of this competition.
I'm going to set a conservative goal of losing 5.4 pounds by November 1st (so 5 pounds off of my starting weight), and 10 pounds by December 1st. From the rumors I've heard, that will still leave me well behind our top competitors, but at this point, my competition is myself. Wish me luck.
Current weight: 274.4 (+ 0.4 lbs.)
Friday, September 2, 2011
So It Begins
The first two competitors have weighed in:
Marcus: 186.8
Joe: 274.0
Note: your weight will only be posted if you give me clearance to post it. If you prefer, I'll record it privately.
After some thought, I've decided my goal is to get under 250.0 pounds during this three month competition. It's a reasonable but aggressive goal. During my previous competition, I averaged 11.43 (repeating of course) pounds lost per month. In order to reach my goal this time around, I'd need to lose just over 8 pounds per month.
So, if you're looking to set your own goals, you can use my 8.76% to frame your plan. And I do recommend setting your own goals. In month three of my previous competition, my goal was to get under 300 pounds. The morning of the weigh-in, I was at 300.8, and I spent the morning and early afternoon running in the rain and playing Rock Band to try to burn off the weight I needed to reach my goal. My registered weight? 299.6. Goals are good.
As a reminder, you have 9 days to register your starting weight (the last day you can weigh in is Sunday, September 11th).
Marcus: 186.8
Joe: 274.0
Note: your weight will only be posted if you give me clearance to post it. If you prefer, I'll record it privately.
After some thought, I've decided my goal is to get under 250.0 pounds during this three month competition. It's a reasonable but aggressive goal. During my previous competition, I averaged 11.43 (repeating of course) pounds lost per month. In order to reach my goal this time around, I'd need to lose just over 8 pounds per month.
So, if you're looking to set your own goals, you can use my 8.76% to frame your plan. And I do recommend setting your own goals. In month three of my previous competition, my goal was to get under 300 pounds. The morning of the weigh-in, I was at 300.8, and I spent the morning and early afternoon running in the rain and playing Rock Band to try to burn off the weight I needed to reach my goal. My registered weight? 299.6. Goals are good.
As a reminder, you have 9 days to register your starting weight (the last day you can weigh in is Sunday, September 11th).
Friday, August 12, 2011
Psychotron Challenges Everyone
That's right, I'm challenging the whole lot of you.
I had spoken to a friend of mine about another one-on-one challenge, and he's being extended this same challenge. But I decided that a one-on-one challenge is only so much fun for people to watch; I think after two to three months, people here on the blog may have gotten a little bored of Nick and I yammering back and forth.
So I figured, hey, I've got money. And I know I benefit from the competition. So how about I do what Nick and I asked everybody else to do when we started, and put my money where my mouth is? I'm going to be extending a weight loss showdown wager to anyone who's interested. There are going to be some ground rules, to dissuade people from not participating in the spirit of the competition. The goal is, first and foremost, to lose weight, not to take coin off of your friends.
The framework will follow shortly, probably posted early next week, at which point any of you will be welcome to take me on. But just remember: I made mincemeat of Gargantuar. If you're gonna step to me, you'd better bring your A game.
I had spoken to a friend of mine about another one-on-one challenge, and he's being extended this same challenge. But I decided that a one-on-one challenge is only so much fun for people to watch; I think after two to three months, people here on the blog may have gotten a little bored of Nick and I yammering back and forth.
So I figured, hey, I've got money. And I know I benefit from the competition. So how about I do what Nick and I asked everybody else to do when we started, and put my money where my mouth is? I'm going to be extending a weight loss showdown wager to anyone who's interested. There are going to be some ground rules, to dissuade people from not participating in the spirit of the competition. The goal is, first and foremost, to lose weight, not to take coin off of your friends.
The framework will follow shortly, probably posted early next week, at which point any of you will be welcome to take me on. But just remember: I made mincemeat of Gargantuar. If you're gonna step to me, you'd better bring your A game.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
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?
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?
Monday, June 6, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tropic Thunder
So our fifth weigh-in is this Saturday, up in Baltimore at Nick and Colin's place. Which, of course, means another party. I'm sure most of you have already gotten the invite over on the Facebook, but in case you didn't, you're getting this invite right here.It's going to be a tropical themed party. Ladies, you should use this picture as recommended attire. And remember, less is more.
I actually didn't own any kind of beachwear, so I hit the old Target and picked up a couple shirts and some flip-flops. Normally, you might not think this is noteworthy, but I used to not be able to buy clothes at Target because they were all too small. Granted, I haven't actually tried on the clothes I purchased, but they should fit. Hopefully. God, now you've got me worried. Thanks a lot, you twit.
Anyways, should be a fun party. Bring some beer/margaritas/daiquiris/pina coladas.
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.
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?
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?
Monday, April 18, 2011
Week 14 Update/Week 15 Goals - Gargantuar
No build up for this update, let's get right to the meat and potatoes of this past week.
Diet Goal - Track and post daily caloric intake
I decided to make this my diet goal on Tuesday last week, so I do not have Monday's stats, suffice to say it was probably close to Tuesday or Wednesday's.
4/12 - 1937
- Didn't make or bring lunch to work, so ended up eating out. Sometimes that is ok but usually ends up with more calories.
- Pretty much the same song and dance as Tuesday. The Capitals first playoff game was this day though and I went to Dan and Kristie Spiker's house for dinner. Awesome enchiladas by Dan and pretty low on the calories.
- I actually ate a lean cuisine meal at work so that cut down on the calories. What made it not as good as it could have been were the Reese's Pieces someone brought in. They are my kryptonite.
- I have another weakness and that is a good chicken salad sub/sandwich. I had two for dinner which totaled about 900 calories. Not a horrible day but could have definitely been better.
- A very light day on calories. Oatmeal for breakfast, I made toast and eggs for lunch, and vegetable stir fry for dinner. I had a sweet snack somewhere between lunch and dinner as well as a couple of after dinner beers, but nothing to tip the scales to crazily.
- For some reason the tables have turned. I am eating better on the weekends than I am during the week. I had leftovers as a brunch, some small peanut butter sandwiches for lunch., and some pasta with spaghetti sauce and carrots for dinner. Again, some after dinner beers changed the total a little, but Winter was coming...what could I do?
This goal is a TBD. I went to the gym Saturday, but I didn't run on the treadmill. Sunday I planned to go to the gym and try for my 15 minutes. I instead ended up watching the Caps game and then playing tennis with my roomie. Not a bad day but I didn't get to the gym. I am going today so I will attempt for my goal then.
So I was at the Gym Saturday but didn't run??? What, you may ask, did I do at the gym? My friend Ryan and I have been interested in trying some fitness classes at the gym and saw a Saturday morning Spin class. If you don't know what Spin class is, it is riding on a stationary bike at different speeds, resistances and positions (sitting/standing/leaning) for in my case a 55 minute class. There is a trainer who tells you what to do, when to do it and for how long. She is a good motivator as well. I distinctly remember her saying "Only 20 more seconds! You can do anything for 20 seconds!" Later on, 20 seconds turned into two minutes.
Overall I really enjoyed the class. It was a pretty intense workout and I couldn't keep up with everything, but the girl next to me told me she had to cheat for the first few weeks so I felt OK. I definitely sweat more than I think I ever have in my life, and that is saying something. The bike seats are pretty uncomfortable and since I have one arm, I have to lean more to get my left arm to reach the handle bars. Either that or rest my whole weight on the uncomfortable seat, which my butt is now paying the price for. I think I am going to go next Saturday and see how I feel after my second class.
Week 15 Diet Goal - No Reese's Pieces and no Chicken Salad Subs.
Since these are two things that I apparently have a weak spot for, I think it will go a long way to see if I can resist temptation for the week. Now what I can't do is go for a similar substitute taht is worse for you.
Week 15 Exercise Goal - Run for 20 min Straight on the treadmill
I have to keep moving the target if I want to reach my ultimate goal come June 11th. I will update you all after i go for 15 minutes just to let you know if I passed or not.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Week 14 Status - Gargantuar
Exercise Update
Sorry only one post last week, I actually found myself pretty busy last Thursday and Friday. So what have I been up to? Pretty much the same old song and dance. I only went to the gym twice last week, but I did play tennis once. So far this week I went to the gym on Sunday and played tennis yesterday. I hope to get back to the gym today to keep up the working out. I've noticed a big difference in my workouts too. When I used to run on the treadmill it was 5 minutes running 3 minutes walking. The last time it was 10 minutes running and then 3 minutes walking. I kept that up for about 40 minutes.
Diet Update
I desperately need to go grocery shopping, as not having groceries in the house leads to worse eating habits. Nothing too crazy, but definitely not as healthy as my meals would have been had I made them myself. I also have been slacking documenting my daily caloric intake. I still mentally keep track but I have not been keeping track past that day's results.
I also had a huge splurge weekend this past weekend. My work took the office out for dinner to celebrate some good results, which led to me eating alot more then I should have. Then Saturday we had hotdogs, hamburgers and sausages. I also partook in a few alcoholic beverages. What made it worse is that Psychotron was there and he kept himself in restraint. Eating the low-calorie hotdogs. What a jackass. So I figure my goals should revolve around pushing myself on the things I want to maintain, and doubling my efforts on the things I've been slacking on.
Week 14 Diet Goal - Document (and publish) Calories for Each day
Clearly this is something I have been letting slide. It really helps to visually see how many Calories you take in each day and for long periods at a time in a row. I hope to get back on track with my logging of each day's successes or failures.
Week 14 Exercise goal - Run 15 min Straight on the Treadmill by End of the Week
So I now have done 10min straight without stopping and think that 15min is a modest yet important goal. If i can keep increasing by five minute increments each week, I soon will be able to complete a 3.5 mile obstacle course in under 35 minutes. Say, that comment seemed awfully specific.....
Looking forward
This is a picture of some of the the "warriors" running in a Warrior Dash race. It's a grueling obstacle course race that varies in length but is around 5k. There are many around the country each year and there are other similar events out there. Last year my roommate Colin ran this event and I watched. Since that day, I knew I wanted to do it myself. Colin, myself, and two other friends have all signed up for the Poconos course on Saturday, June 11th. This particular course is 3.5 miles long and the course layout is listed here. It is my goal to run this race in under 35min. If anyone would like to come race, watch, cheer, or just get drunk, you should make the trek.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Month 3 Thoughts
Well month 3 is in the books and it was a good one. We both tried valiantly to obtain or own personal goals as well as win the month 3 prize. Where as I came up a bit short, Joe was able to surpass his goal and take home the baseball tickets as well as the $50 gift card for clothing. A huge congrats to you for also now being under 300lbs. I know this is only the beginning but being under 300 for the first time in a long time is a major accomplishment and I am proud of you. Now that I have that done, I can go back to hating your face and trying to crush you. Here are the overall competition stats.
Gargantuar
Total weight lost: 39.6lbs
Total percentage weight lost: 12.78%
Psychotron
Total weight lost: 47lbs
Total percentage weight lost: 13.56%
Psychotron is leading the overall competition by: 0.78%
Clearly the competition is up for grabs as of right now. 0.78% is right about 2.5lbs for me right now, meaning that if I was up to 42lbs lost it would be dead even. Looking back at the month it's easy to see where and how I could have done better. Just looking at the beginning of the month posts about Burger King and how slow of a start I had makes me wonder how much better I would have done if I was on top of my game all month. Nothing I can change now, I'm still pretty happy with my ending results, just upset that I was so close to my goal and to winning the month.
Month 4 Thoughts
My original goal before the competition was to lose 60lbs in 6 months. That would be an amazing start and I would have been under 250lbs total. Now that both Joey and myself have pushed ourselves hard and are both averaging well over 10lbs a month, 60lbs should be a pretty easy target. Month 4 is a five week month as the fourth week is April 30th and May 1st. Given that it's a bit longer I am setting an ambitious goal of 15.4lbs. If I were to meet my goal I would be at 55lbs for the competition in 4 months. I would be very pleased with those results and would consider 80lbs in 6 months, a reachable target. What the hell right, reach for the stars!
Side notes
It has almost been 90 days since the start of the competition. I have never consistently dieted and exercised for 90 straight days ever. A lot of the credit has to go to my friends and family that have been so supportive throughout the competition. All the people that have donated prizes and helped cook meals and just give words and prayers of encouragement, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know Psychotron feels the same way I do. I hope we make you proud and also able to see that anything is possible with the support of some awesome people on your side.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Month 3 Weigh-In Week Goals - I'm So Excited!
I'm very excited for this coming Saturday's Month 3 Weigh-In. After a very disappointing showing last month, I'm eager to see how I did. I've been working a bit harder and I hope it has paid off. I'm not sure how much weight will be lost or if I meet my month 3 goal of 13lbs lost, but I've been noticing a huge difference in my workouts.Week 11 Update
Last week was a very good competition week for me in my opinion. My diet goal of staying away from booze for the week was relatively easy to mantain. I didn't go out Friday night, staying home and chtting with a few griends over video games. Saturday night I hung out with some people who were drinking some wine and beer, but nothing too crazy so it was easy to stay dry. I think I'm gonna stay sober this week as well, just to keep my momentum going for the weigh-in.
My exercise goal of buring 500+ calories six days out of the week was a bit aggressive and I didn't reach my goal. However, I did end up playing tennis twice, walgging once and i hit up the gym twice for a total of five days over 500 calories burned. I think the aggressive goal helped in my motivation to at least get to five.
Also, both days at the gym my cardio workout was very satisfying and I definitely noticed a difference in my stamina. Sunday's cardio was 40 minute total, 10 min on ARC, 10 minutes on eliptical and 20 on treadmill. (I was at a new gym trying some equipment out) of the 20 minutes on the treadmill, I was able to run for 14 minutes 7min running 3min cooldown twice. I think soon I'll try 10 minutes straight with a cooldown and the 10 minutes again. I'll keep ya posted.
Month 3 Weigh-In Week Goals
I'm still obviously going to stick hard to the diet this week, but my main goal is about exercise. I will go to the gym four times this week. Normally I'd say something about playing tennis but the weather is going to be crappy. Also, it's only four days as Saturday is the weigh-in and after party and then Sunday is my mother's birthday and I will be spending the day with her.
I hope a bunch of you can make it out to Eddie's house in Rockville Saturday. It's going to be a lot of fun and we will crown a month 3 champion. Wish me luck!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Week 11 Update - Gargantuar
I feel pretty good after thie first few days of the week. Including Sunday, I played tennis with Colin three straight days after work, each for over an hour. Singles tennis is definitely a great way to get exercise and we both can see our old forms coming back to us. Monday we made a chicken and fresh veggie stir fry (a little oil, mostly water). I ate that for dinner both Monday and Tuesday nights. Yesterday I was feeling pretty sore and the weather was poopy, so I took a break from exercise. For dinner I made pasta with a ground turkey spaghetti sauce. I don't know what it is, but I think I actually prefer ground turkey to ground beef, at least in my pastas.
Weekly Goals Update - Burn 500+ Calories 6 days / No Alcohol!
So with taking Wednesday off, I have burned 500+ Calories 2 out of 3 days. I am feeling much better today so I think I'll be able to hit the 500 Calorie mark again. I haven't been drinking any alcohol at all, but we all know the weekends are the biggest problem there. I do have some tentative weekend plans that involve going out, but I can always not drink and have a good time. I'm naturally drunk anyways.
Going Forward
I think going forward I might try to stick to a three days on one day off program as far as cardio goes. Although it will likely depend on the weather and my work schedule. I'm really trying to buckle down these last two weeks before the weigh-in. It stinks to lose and even more so because there are some awesome prizes on the line. I hope everyone can come out to the April 2nd Weigh-in/Battle Marshal Eddie's Birthday Party. It's an afternoon grill out and beer fest. Should be good times.
Weekly Goals Update - Burn 500+ Calories 6 days / No Alcohol!
So with taking Wednesday off, I have burned 500+ Calories 2 out of 3 days. I am feeling much better today so I think I'll be able to hit the 500 Calorie mark again. I haven't been drinking any alcohol at all, but we all know the weekends are the biggest problem there. I do have some tentative weekend plans that involve going out, but I can always not drink and have a good time. I'm naturally drunk anyways.
Going Forward
I think going forward I might try to stick to a three days on one day off program as far as cardio goes. Although it will likely depend on the weather and my work schedule. I'm really trying to buckle down these last two weeks before the weigh-in. It stinks to lose and even more so because there are some awesome prizes on the line. I hope everyone can come out to the April 2nd Weigh-in/Battle Marshal Eddie's Birthday Party. It's an afternoon grill out and beer fest. Should be good times.
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