Category Archives: Abilene

Day 558: Thursday and Stuff

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Hello!

I love all of you. There, I said it.

I still can’t believe my Facebook Page got to 200+ Likes last night!

This week I was feeling a little sluggish and lazy. Luckily I was able to pull myself out of it and have an awesome day! Good things. Alright, let’s get at it.

Breakfast: This morning, as per usual, we went to Atomic Coffee before class and school and stuff. I just had a bagel with butter and a little honey. It was fantastic and filling. Awesomeness.

Lunch: Today I had to go to a luncheon for a class. I walked from campus uphill both ways (yes, like your parents did when they were kids) to the downtown Double Tree. The menu had a lot of awesome healthy choices, but I was still thinking about getting something a little heavier. That was when my friend Andrew (the Edward Cullen lookalike) told the whole I was his dietician and then asked for a healthy option. It was the conviction I needed to make a much better decision. I ended up getting a grouper sandwich and instead of fries I got a salad with honey mustard. It was delicious, but it was also hard to conceal my picture taking ability in front of a bunch of strangers. When I got home I had a 100 calorie Klondike ice cream sandwich that was awesome. Then I ate two servings of chips.

Awesome Non Scale Victory: So today I was organizing my old fat clothes in order to sell them online (anyone want size 54 khakis or some really nice XXL polo t-shirts?) and then I found these bad boys. I bought these plaid shorts a few weeks before I started grad school. It was like folding up an American flag. Those things are huge. I was huge. Anyway, I held them up, thought for a second, and then got in one of the leg holes. They fit me in the waist. I know I’m not half them man I used to be, but I am making awesome progress. It was seriously the motivation I needed to get focused on losing weight. It also made me proud because this kind of picture is usually in an infomercial for some weight loss cookie or some shake that tastes like ground up chalk. This is proof that all you need is a healthier diet, a good pair of running shoes, a little patience and a persistent attitude. Oh yeah, and a bunch of awesome supportive friends doesn’t hurt either ;).

SAWS:So after that moment of NSV clarity, I decided I needed to keep it up so I can no longer fit in my current clothes and went to the gym. It’s kind of sad because it was one of my last times working out at Leach. I’ve burned a ton of calories in that place. Anyway, I wanted to keep up the same intensity I had when I was working with Joe so I went after it. I divided my hour into three 20 minute segments. The first 20 I did a circuit that involved stairs, burpees, box jumps, jump squats, push ups and running up and down stairs. It was awesome. Then, I got on the ARC Trainer and did 20 minutes on the weight loss setting which was a hill climb pattern of awesomeness. Finally, I did 20 minutes of abs. Elevated sit ups, this weird leg lift row and then holding a plank position. I felt like I made really good use of my hour, I did what I came there to do: sweat through my shirt.

 

 

 

 

Late Night Dinner: After staying on campus to try to get some work done, Megan and I went through the drive thru at Jimmy John’s (the only thing faster than their delivery dudes) and had a Turkey Tom sans mayo and a nice layer of avocado spread. Not to mention their classic pickle. The healthiest drive thru around.

So that was my day. Not too shabby. Although I didn’t write them down, I’m definitely back in the mindset of counting points and being better about what I eat. I was looking at an older post and I realized it took me 4 months to lose the last 15 pounds to break the 100 pound mark. It was because I was kind of a slacker and wasn’t strict with my points. With my new-found love for weight lifting, sticking with my points should be the perfect recipe for some serious weight loss. If anything my body would feel better, and isn’t that what it’s all about? See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 512: Back From a Hiatus

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It has been another long week. While I didn’t blog because I was pretty busy, I’m worried that I was sub-consciously not posting because my eating was just bad this week. What made it worse was that I saw pictures of myself and I really didn’t like what I saw. I haven’t had issues with body image at all this far in my journey, but I think that I have been stuck in this 238-243 pound range for four months it is starting to wear on me. It’s time to really start counting calories and to actually hit the 220’s. I hate feeling this way. This week has been eye opening.

Breakfast: This morning, the MacDonald family encountered quite a tragedy… we have officially ran out of peanut butter. I had to scrap through a few bottles for my waffles this morning. I guess it’s time buy some more!

Workout: This morning, I was ready to hit the gym. I didn’t get to play racquetball this week so I was super extra ready to burn some calories. I tried my hand at lift weights for the first time in… I don’t know when. I then realized how inept I am at lifting. Luckily, FSU offers free eight  personal training sessions to a limited number of students. Sign up is next week so I’m going to try to get in on that. Anyway, I did a few machines and then went to my old standby of the stairmaster. It was beastly and felt awesome. After a few laps on around the indoor track. I did a beastly 10 minutes on this arm cycle machine. MY ARMS ARE STILL SORE! So overall it was a pretty awesome workout.

Lunch-ish:I had a Lean Pocket. Yum.

 

 

 

 

Chili Cookoff Time!: Today was the Second Annual Meridian Woods Church of Christ Chili Cookoff! This year, some our friends (Megan, Stacy, Emma, Becky, Julie, Ben and I to be exact) decided to put together a team of awesomeness. Our brilliant friend Julie suggested that we go as Occupy Protesters and we went all out. Not only did we dress up as super hipsters, we had a tent, fliers to pass out and I took pictures of us with signs about the #OccupyMWCCChiliCookoff movement. (I’ll post them in this weeks Wordless Wednesday!) Anyway, I had some of our chili and then sampled the other awesomeness that other people had. There were a few awards and we walked away with “Best Team Name” (even though we never registered an official name so we were know as Occupy Chili) and “Most Creative Booth” We were super stoked! It was a great time of fellowship and delicious chili. (And yes, I know my award is upside down.)

Snackage:Since we were still pretty full of chili, Megan popped some popcorn so we are eating that while watching Aladdin.

So I don’t think tomorrow is going to be pretty on the scale, but I have hit a turning point and it’s time for The Fotographing Fat Kid to drop some pounds. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 506: Weigh In Day Time!

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Hello!!!

So the 500th episode of The Simpsons was on tonight… it was disappointing. Awe well. Anyway, so after Wednesday night, my stress level went down considerably which in turn made the rest of the week much better. I only got to work out once this week, but I was good with my food. With that all being said, I lost 2.2 pounds this week! This doesn’t get me back down before last week’s super gain, but I’m going to work really hard this week to get down to where I was two weeks ago (but if I lost more I would be cool with that too 😉 ) I’m really ready to even just be at 237 because that will mean I would have lost 120 pounds which would be pretty sweet. Also, I looked back in to my blog and I realized I have been stuck in the 240’s region since October… OCTOBER! In a way, I kind of feel I haven’t lost really any weight for a while. It’s time to get crackin! I know today wasn’t great, but this week is going to be Healthfest 2012! (Whatever the crap that is…)

Breakfast: This morning, a small group at church hosted breakfast before Sunday School (did I ever mention I’m teaching a Sunday morning class called “The Legit Women of the Bible?”) so we hit up that deliciousness. As you can see, I had a muffin, a piece of banana nut bread and fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch: So the plan was to just go home and eat whatever leftover we had lying around in the fridge. As we were taking our awesome friend Julie home, I thought about this one place really close to campus that was suppose to be pretty good called Bandidos Burrito Company.  Since we have moved to Tallahassee, we have been on the hunt for some decent Mexican food or at least decent chips and salsa. Our epicurean prayers have finally been answered! Their salsa was fantastic and chips were epic. I had the chicken and bean burrito (which was the size of a roll of paper towels) and Julie tried this really cool sampler of mini burritos (chicken, beef and bean) that I thought would be noteworthy as well. (Or Julie did, I can’t remember…) Anyway, it was reasonably priced, they had a $1 Taco Tuesday and it’s within walking distance to my part of campus. It’s pretty hard to beat. I can’t wait to go back!

Snack: When Megan and I did some clothe shopping at the mall (where I bought this studly blazer and new jeans a size smaller!) I had a skinny caramel machiatto from Starbucks. Pretty good stuff.

So yeah, about that new jeans thing… I’m down to 40’s! Pretty awesome considering about 17 months ago I was year size 54 pants. (At one point I was even wearing 56’s…) Anyway, so since I bought my new jeans from Old Navy, they are having a promotion that you can buy another pair between March 1-31st. My goal is to buy a new pair of 38’s on March 31st. This is going to require a lot of core workout and sadly… more Insanity. Better get started…

 

(Somewhere in here I had some hummus and chips…)

 

 

 

Dinner: I just had some leftover chili with some basmati rice. I also had some light strawberry shortcake. So today wasn’t too bad, but there is always room for improvement. Last week, there literally wasn’t enough time to work out, but this week there is a little more room in my schedule so I’m going to work out more to get some inches off of my body. See ya tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 480: Tuesday

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So I know this is a late post and it’s going to be short and sweet. Sorry that I’m not dedicating the time in to telling you all about my day but Papa Fotographing Fat Kid needs his sleep. It’s one of those days where you look back and realize you have been doing work in some capacity all day whether you wanted to or not.

Anyway, to summarize my day in one fell swoop of a sentence, I did the following awesome things:

homework

taught public speaking

made a grilled cheese sandwich on my Weber

ate at the awesome Jason’s Deli

had a doughnut GASP!

more homework

listened to a lot of Baroque music (because if it ain’t baroque don’t fix it! Yuck yuck.)

 

So that’s about it. In lieu of a comprehensive post, I thought I would share an article I wrote for Fitblogger last January about my thoughts after losing 50 pounds. Consider it a bonus post. Let me know what you think! See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 389: Tuesday

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So yeah, I messed up the day number. I’m losing my mind.

It was a pretty good day I guess, just another day in grad school. I’m ready to retire in to the real world. (Yes, you read that right.) Anyways, let’s talk about food and stuff.

Breakfast: I was out of milk and organic peanut butter (what’s a boy to do?) but we had some conventional Peter Pan Peanut Butter so I had that on my waffles. It just wasn’t the same.

Lunch: I just had some pretzels and hummus (you know, the usual) and it was good as usual.

Snack: I had a couple atomic fire balls which really aren’t bad but I had to get rid of the rest of them so I would stop eating out of stress.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: Tonight, I made some chili awesomeness for dinner and we had it with some tortilla chips. It was one of the better batches I have made.

So as you can tell, it was just another boring day. Nothing too exciting. Maybe tomorrow will be a little better BECAUSE IT’S GAME 6 AND WORDLESS WEDNESDAY!!! Get stoked. See ya tomorrow.

Day 224: First Monday of the Summer Edition

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Let the summer fun begin…

Today was the first official day of summer and it was pretty awesome since we were getting ready for out trip to Disney!!! Needless to say we are pretty stoked to get out of town and to just take it easy for a while (In this context, “take it easy” is defined as fighting off Euro trash from cutting in line at Splash Mountian.) Anyways, so at this point, like the kid in the commercial, I am too excited to sleep!

Breakfast: I had a wafflewich. Can you say… YUM!!!!!!!!!! 5 points

Snack: I had Christian Nachos (matzo and laughing cow) twice today so I’ll just put it right now 4 points

Lunch: Before we went out and about, we had a Kashi pizza which is good in theory but not really that filling which sucks because it was 9 points.

Snack: We went to Earth Fare to get some trail mix for the trip (we are going to be eating well on our trip!) and Megan found some Newman’s Own dark chocolate that was on sale. I had half of the bar which was 3 points.

Snack: Publix had a deal on Odwalla (which I’ve always wanted to try) so I bought a superfood drink and a chocolate protein drink. I had the superfood one which was epically delicious and 3 points.

Dinner: We haven’t had our awesome creamy stovetop mac and cheese in a looooong time so we finally made it again tonight. I never thought mac and cheese and broccoli would go together, but brother let me tell you it is something special for your mouth. I had a serving and a half with a lot of broccoli for 9 points.

So today I got to 33 points again so basically I just need to cut out one extra snack a day (or not eat non-filling pizza) and I will be okay everyday. I’ll definitely work on the because I WANT TO LOSE SOME MORE WEIGHT! PPPPPPIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAA. See ya tomorrow.

Day 215: Im Back!!!!!!

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In case you forgot, my name is Nathan MacDonald and this is my blog. Nice to meet you.

Sorry for my lack of blogging this week. It was the last week of classes and I had two massive papers due on the same day. I’ve written and read a crapton this semester. Hooray fro grad school. Anyways, I just have a final on Thursday and then my first year of grad school will be done!

So I was sick with a bad cold, got better from that, got pink eye, got rid of that, and then I had a mutant canker sore (100% from stress) right next to my molars so eating anything hard was so much pain. A lot of this week I have been eating soft foods like mushy rice and beans. It has been a lot better today, but that had a lot to do with what I ate which I have a feeling will playing in to my weight numbers this week. My weight has super fluctuated this week and however bad it is tomorrow I have the summer (and the rest of my life) to make up for it. If I gain, how could I be mad? It will be Easter, and we have A LOT to celebrate that day.

Breakfast: I actually got to sleep in today (which hasn’t happened at all this semester) so I got up and made some bacon and eggs. According to Megan, it was the best breakfast she has ever eaten. Anyways, it was a pretty big breakfast and so it was 10 points. I think I was starving.

Lunch: Before heading over to Megan’s departments end of the semester party, we went to Subway to get some lunch. We split Subway and it rocked. 8 points.

Party/Dinner: The party was delicious. There is always a bounty of delicious ethnic foods so it was hard not to try everything. Overall, what I ate wasn’t too bad… except for the 3 blondies I ate. Oh, and cold sesame noodles which were basically peanut butter and  ramen. The food wasn’t bad per se, but my portion control was just off today. I avoid eating cookies and brownies usually, but I think today I was just so relieved after 72 hours of straight stress and writing about Cold Stone (yes, I wrote a 18 page strategic marketing plan about Cold Stone yesterday Ironic huh?) I was just ready to indulge a little bit.

Workout: I haven’t had a chance to workout at all this week, even though I desperately wanted to. Luckily, Leach was open so I headed over there while Megan was working on her mutant papers. The gym traffic was light, as expected, so I hopped on an elliptical and went to town, I did a cross training program for 40 minutes. I was going at it pretty hard, but then I realized the girl next to me, who got on around the same time as me, had burned a good hundred some calories more than me. Not to be outdone, I added more resistance so I would work harder. That’s how I burned a beastly 601 calories in 40 minutes. Thanks random girl next to me on the elliptical for unintentionally pushing me harder. When I got home I had some rice krispies.

Non Scale Victory: This is a weird thing to celebrate, but today it’s my shadow. (Yes, my shadow.) My shadow was always a reminder of how big I was, I would look down at my arms, think “oh, I’m not that big! I’m fine! [Insert other naive comments here]” but then I would see my shadow and think “well.. this sucks.” It never lied, it always showed who I was and what I looked like. Also, it was always round. Very round. Today while at the party, I looked down at my shadow and I didn’t recognize it, my shoulders were a square shape and I wasn’t near as wide. It was pretty insane. So no matter what happens with the weigh in tomorrow, it could be worse, I could be round. See ya tomorrow.

Day 204: Tuesday Times

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Sup yo!

So I went to the doctor and I found out that I just have some weird cold virus that is going around the school. The doc just said just drink a lot of water and to get some sleep and that will take care of it. It’s good to know that I’ll survive, but in the process, I got Megan sick! So we are in a bit of a role reversal where I’m playing nurse now instead of her (that sounded a lot weirder than it was suppose to…) Anyways, the last time I went to the doctor, my blood pressure was really high like 150/80. The nurse was a complete jerk and gave me a lot of crap about being big… but that’s for another blog. Anyways.. again, today my blood pressure was 108/50 and this nurse was thrilled! She was like “what ever you are doing keep it up you are doing awesome!” Then I told here about my weight loss and she was even more impressed. Pretty awesome trip to the doctor. Anyways, good times.

Breakfast: I was in a rush to get to campus to get in for an appointment so I brought a Fudge Brownie Clif Bar for breakfast. The Fudge Brownie one tastes a lot like those no bake haystack cookies that mom used to make. Pretty good 4 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch: After being cooped up in the doctors office, I was pretty hungry for good lunch. I went to Pollo Tropical for some chicken and black beans and rice. It had been a while since I had the good ol’ 1/2 chicken combo so it was a good lunch. 13.5 points.

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: Before my marathon of classes, I needed some caffeine to get through. I had a skinny iced caramel macchiato and it was delicious. 3 points. (P.S. this might the weirdest face I’ve ever made on this blog.)

Snack: When I got home, I had matzos and cheese. 2 points

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: Since Megan wasn’t feeling well, she said that she wanted some Pizza Hut for comfort food. We had thin crust pepperoni, onions and tomatoes. It was delicious but, 16 points for four slices.

So I got up to 38.5 points. Ouch! I was going to work out today, but it did not happen. I am going tomorrow morning though and I am going to give the rowing machine a whirl. Should be a good one. See ya tomorrow.

Day 196: Special Monday Weigh In!

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What’s Up G?

So I really hadn’t a clue how this weeks weigh in was going to go but I have to say it went out better planned. I lost 4.8 pounds! Holy Coke. I don’t know how, but it totally worked out! I’m now down to 275.4 pounds.

Know why that’s awesome?

A) I have lost 81 pounds total which is sooooo close to 100 pounds!

B) I’m in the 270’s

and

C) The last time I was on a scale and it said 275, Clinton was in office and I was in 8th grade. It’s been a long time. Holla.

Next week, prepare for another awesome weigh in.

Breakfast: I went with the Wafflewich because they are awesome and delicious. So awesome. 5.5 points.

Lunch: I got up to the Capitol a little early so I went to the Capitol Grill and attacked the salad bar. It was pretty epic and about 8 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: I had a cinnamon toast wafflewich with pb and awesomeness. 4.5 points.

Dinner: We went to Mellow Mushroom for dinner and it was soooo good. We split a calzone and a brushetta with balsamic vinegar on a bed of spring mix. It was about a 13 points meal which works because it was a ton of food. (And yes, I have a hot wife.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So today I got to 31 points so I’m on point. Sorry this is  brief post. See ya tomorrow.

Day 193: A Really Bad Day

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I have no clue how today happened. Sometimes when your sick, you just want to stuff yourself with gross delicious goodness. I’m not proud of how today went, but that’s just how it goes. Please don’t judge me.

Breakfast: Before I went to work, I went through the drive thru at the BK Lounge for some greasy goodness. Luckily, the BKs in Tallahassee still carry the Enormous Omelet Sandwich even though it is discontinued (I love Tallahassee.) I had the sandwich with some tater tots for 22 points. Not a bad breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch: After a rough morning, I needed some comfort food. I went over to Monks and ordered this awesome burger my Dad ordered when they were here for Thanksgiving. They make the best double bacon cheeseburgers ever! It was perfect with a side of sweet potato fries and a regular coke. I haven’t had regular soda in soooooo long but I had earned it. 25 points and I was still hungry! I don’t know why I was such a bottomless pit today!

 

 

Dinner: On our way to our college retreat this weekend, we all went to Chili’s for some chow. I was bad and had the Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers. They used to be my favorite thing in the world so it was like eating an old friend… wait what? Anyways, It was awesome but it was pretty beastly. It was 35 points. Oops.

So… it was a pretty bad day. I got to 82 points. I really don’t know what I’m going to do. I think I might just give up. After all. Being 357 wasn’t all that bad…. See ya tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Dessert: