Category Archives: Grad School

Day 486: The Case of the Mondays Make Me Sad Edition

Posted on by

Today was rough. Grad school is so stressful sometimes. I’m really ready to graduate, get a job and not have to worry about school anymore. What I am ready for though is to lose some weight this week! It felt awesome to get on the scale yesterday and see that I had made some killer progress! I think I’ll be able to replicate that this week even though I felt like death today for the majority of the day. Nothing like having to present for a quarter of your grade in your class while sick. No bueno. Luckily though I think it went well! Anyway, as you’ll see, I didn’t eat much today. So let’s talk…

Breakfast/Lunch: I had a Tervis full of hot green tea because my head and throat were not doing too hot. Even though I slept like 11 hours between a nap yesterday and sleep last night, I was not feeling well at all. I went to work for two hours and then realized if I stuck around, it was going to be bad news bears because my stomach started to hurt like crazy too! No fun. So, I went back home, crawled in to be like Rip Van Winkle (side note: I was in a Christmas play one time called Rip Van Christmas when I was in 5th grade in Abilene Texas. I rocked it.) and took a power nap while watching a show about knitting on Create (I heart PBS.) After I woke up, I had a ham sandwich with some Cape Cod reduced fat chips. It was weird because I felt so much better after that. 6 points

Dinner: Somehow, that sandwich and chips really held me over (as if my stomach was smaller than when I was 350 pounds or something…) but when 7:30 rolled around, it was time for dinner. Megan and I decided to hit up Mellow Mushroom for a calzone. We kind of burned ourselves out on MM so it was good to go back again. I just had a regular cheese calzone in all of its oozing cheesy goodness. I would have taken a picture, but it was trivia night and I didn’t want to get disqualified. Figure this out though, I didn’t know the answer to the question “Who was the 1989-1990 NBA Rookie of the Year” (answer: David Robinson aka my idol) but I did know the answer to the question “Which fictional book by H.P. Lovecraft was also called ‘The Book of the Dead?'” (answer: The Necronomicon.) Hooray for knowing the name of obscure early 20th century literature but not knowing any sports trivia. Fail. Anyway, a whole calzone was 18 points.

So I had no idea that I hadn’t eaten much today until I was writing this. I was full all day, but I could have drank much more water especially since my sinuses were dried out. I guess I’ll do that tomorrow. I didn’t do Insanity today, but I will tomorrow since I should be feeling better by then. I was also a little apprehensive to do it today because my heel was hurting still today from I guess all of the roots I ran over. Plus my quads are super sore too, but I guess I could just stretch them out though… I’m not smart sometimes. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 485: WEIGH IN TIME!

Posted on by

What up G!

So since November, I have been in a weird plateau that has kept me in the same weight area off and on. I’ve been ready to drop enough weight to get in to the 230’s and stay there. All of the work I did this week helped put me in the right direction and to drop the weight that I need to! I lost 3.8 pounds this week! I haven’t lost that much since the week before Thanksgiving! (Except for that time I lost nine pounds in 24 hours thanks to food poisoning, but that doesn’t really count.) So now I am down to 239.2. I think if I can lose some more this week, it will take care of at least this plateau. I was looking at the Insanity calendar of doom and this week is cardio power and balance every single day. Then, Phase Two of death starts. This ought to be fun.

Breakfast: This morning, we actually got up early enough to get some breakfast before church. We went to our old standby Jim and Milt’s for their cheap $2.55 breakfast. The coffee is always good and I think I have figured out the best way to eat plain grits: brown sugar, butter and Louisiana Hot Sauce (give it a whirl and thank me later.)

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch: After church, we went to Publix on the hunt for some lunch. It’s always dangerous to go to Publix while your starving, but we decided on something delicious: roast beef sandwiches! (Billy… don’t forget your sandwiches! Did anyone catch that reference?) So Megan made some roast beef sandwiches with au jus and topped with some reduced fat gouda we bought last week from Earth Fare. They were flippin’ epic, and as you can see they were delicious.

Also, we both ate some Cape Cod chips when we were in the car after Publix (yes, were ridiculously hungry.)

 

 

Dinner: Since it was Chinese New Year… at some point, our great friend Julie invited some people over to celebrate the occasion through the act of eating and watching Mommie Dearest (those ideas were mutually exclusive.) Anyway, since Julie lived has lived in China, she knows how to whip up some wicked awesome Chinese cuisine. I started out with rice, dumplings and cold cucumber. After I tried a few other things, Julie brought out this awesome kung pow chicken that was the best I have ever had. We had a great time and the food was fantastic. Thanks for a good tie Julie!

So that’s about it. I can feel a cold/allergy craptasticness coming on so I’m going to bed almost immediately after this. This week is going to be nuts with Insanity, but if I count my points and drink water like a fish (hey George… the ocean called…) I will be in good  shape. See ye tomorrow.

 

 

 

Day 484: Saturday Stuff

Posted on by

Okay where was I? Oh yeah, allergies in January are a pain. Luckily though the weather has finally started to feel at least fall like which I will take at this point! Okay, food and stuff time.

Breakfast: I just had two waffles with peanut butter. Standard deliciousness. Definitely nothing new.

SAWS Part One: This morning, I went to Leach and played squash for the first time ever. To quote one of the guys I played with, it was like playing racquetball with a pomegranate. The racket (and in essence, the game in general) is a hybrid of a racquetball racket and a tennis racket. The ball however is basically a small sphere of rubber that has little to no bounce. Anyway, I didn’t do too well but I didn’t care. I’ve never been super competitive in sports. I was just there to learn the basics and burn some calories. Good times.

Lunch: We just went to Subway and again just did the basic ham and cheese awesomeness. Good stuff.

Coffee Break: This afternoon, I spent some time at the newest coffee establishment in Tallahassee: Atomic Coffee. They have a couple of different ways to make iced coffee. I tried the Thai coffee which was sugar, half and half, spices and whip cream (I skipped on the whip.) It was fantastic. I think I have my new place. It’s not Starbucks and it’s not hipster-filled… yet.

SAWS Part Two:  Like I said earlier, the weather was fantastic today so I thought it was time to field test my Vibram Five Fingers with some trail running. We ran in the trails behind our house and it felt great. I haven’t ran since I started Insanity and I could really feel the difference in my for and in even my footwork (I had some quick feet!) After running up and down everywhere, I burned a crapton of calories. Between that and squash I burned a total of 730 calories. WHABAM!

Dinner: We have already been to Jason’s Deli three times, but at this point, it’s one of the cheapest places to eat out and some of the healthiest food around! I had the salad bar (as always) and Megan had soup. When you buy them together it shaves off like $3. What a deal. (“There’s still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you’ve got a stew going!”) (the people who are suppose to get that quote will get it.) As you can see, I dominated and made an epic salad. Awesomeness.

So overall was a pretty awesome Saturday. Food was good and I burned a ton of calories. Hopefully the weigh in will show. See ya tomorrow.

Day 482: Thursday Stuffy Stuff

Posted on by

It was a dark and stormy night…

Yeah I know, generic beginning. Get over it.

Well, I did Insanity last night and it was epic. I went to bed and woke up still high on endorphins (it also helped that I had a Venti Americano so I was wired like a mad man.)

Breakfast: I just had two pieces of toast with peanut butter. Best breakfast ever (except for a wafflewhich or the Paris Coffee Shop in Fort Worth.)

Lunch: I went to a job fair today at the Civic Center and under the guidance of the always-wise Andrea de Lobo, I went the lounge/dining area in the FSU Law School. They were selling Pollo Tropical chicken with rice and beans. It was good. And delicious.

Snack: When I got home I had a bowl of Cheerios. Yum.

Dinner: (I know, FINALLY A PICTURE!) Tonight we went to the Korean BBQ place on Tennessee for something a little different. Every time I have gone there, the dumpling soup always sounds appealing, but I could never steer away from their Korean Pork. Tonight I finally gave it a whirl. It was really good, but I think I’ll stick with my pork from now on.

Workout: The other night, I met some of the members of the FSU Racquetball Club and they said they play a couple nights a week. Tonight I decided to join them and I got worked. I’ve essentially been playing the same 5 people for about 2 years so playing people with a different style is challenging. I only got to play two games until they evacuated Leach because there was a tornado warning. Awe well.

So that’s about my day. Nothing too exciting. I’ll make it more interesting next time. See ya tomorrow.

Day 481: Wordless Wednesday With Video and Big Announcement in Said Video!

Posted on by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 480: Tuesday

Posted on by

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 479: Manic Monday

Posted on by

So this week was about dominating my eating habits and burn some serious calories to get the crap out if the 240’s! Today was a good day but just a weird day with food. I tried the eat the “eat every two hours” method which really kick starts you metabolism and it really worked because I was hungry all day. Okay let’s get to it to it to it to it to it… (JACK SPARROW! I’ve lost my mind.)

Breakfast: I brought a bag of Cheerios and a banana for the first installment, follow by one of those Smucker’s Peanut Butter and Jelly Unwhiches which are actually pretty good! I also had a banana. Yumness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch-ish: Today at work, my work buddy (and real life buddy as well) Andrea and I worked with the media at an event in the College of Law. What’s a fringe benefit of being a PR stud like me? FREE FOOD! I had four little meatballs, some cheese and crackers, a little sandwich roll and one chicken wing. Hooray for free food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: Tonight I had leftover chili with some leftover cornbread. It was just as spicy and awesome as last night.That’s all that needs to be said (other than I can eat much less chili than I used to.)

SAWS: Tonight I got back in to Insanity and it was brutal. I did the Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs, two programs back to back. I was doing really well in Pure Cardio, but during the re-warm up during Cardio Abs, my right calf always seems to cramp up. The rest of the session is on the ground though so you it was okay to keep going. I’m not sure if it is the Fivefingers or the fact that doing anything after a long session of Pure Cardio is nuts, but I’ll keep my eye on it so I don’t do damage to my leg.

So like I said today was weird and I didn’t track my points really. Tomorrow is going to be a lot better about that. Mark it. See ya tomorrow.

Day 477: Saturday Stuff

Posted on by

Hello. Welcome to my blog.

So the Seminoles dominated another ACC rival today. Please file this under things that the Fotographing Fat Kid loves. I’m soooooo ready to go to a game! Okay, I know this isn’t a sports blog, either way it’s still an exciting time in Tallahassee.

I also have a confession to make: I haven’t done Insanity in the past couple of days. On Thursday, I wasn’t feeling that well and I went to bed early. On Friday I played racquetball with my friends Jonathan and Alex and burned about 900 calories. Today, I just kind of ran out of time. I’m at that point in Insanity when it has gotten a little repetitive (this is nothing new to anyone who does workout videos. It’s the circle of life) and eventually the program shifts to a different set of videos that are incredibly harder. For now though, I guess I’ll bear through it until then. Hmmmm… The issue is I love the results I get from Insanity, but the 40 minute workouts dominate the rest of your day if you don’t do them early in the morning or really late at night. It’s tough. Any suggestions? Has anyone else been in the rut I’m speaking of? Help a brotha out!

Breakfast: This morning, I went with Megan to Breugger’s Bagels which is pretty close to our house. They had a “healthy” bagel sandwich option with egg whites and turkey sausage with some red pepper pesto. It wasn’t bad, but then I read online that is was 9 points and had 38% of your daily allotment of sodium. I say healthy in quotations because while it’s still better than other breakfast sandwiches, 6 points of Kashi Go Lean is waaaay more filling and less points. Just kind of how it is. I also had a 3 point plain bagel later in the day. Even if you’re not on a diet but you are just watching what you eat, it’s still important to look at nutritional information online. The term “low-cal” and “healthy” are all relative. Just a thought.

 

 

That Time Megan and I Made TCBY Change Their Rules: (No, seriously.) So Megan and I are froyo fiends. It’s a little cray cray. Anyway, we have this coupon card that gives us BOGO at any TCBY and the one next to our house has a 30 cents an ounce promotion right now. Basically, we were getting froyo for 15 cents an ounce… that is until they issued a decree banning our extreme couponing of sorts (we also bought $122 worth of stuff at World Market today for $14, but that’s for another blog.) So I know what some of you are thinking “Coming Fotographing Fat Kid! They couldn’t have made that rule for just you and Megan!” Well get this JACK! So we go to pay and we told them we had a card and before we explained it the cashier said “BOGO right?” It’s like they had a picture of us behind the cash register or something. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Oh yeah and the yogurt was good and that’s what we had during lunch time. We weren’t really in the mood for an actual lunch. Around 3 I had some spaghetti.

 

 

 

Free Pizza and Iced Coffee: While on our expedition out and about in the burg that is Tallahassee, we went to RedEye for some coffee and we found free pizza (don’t worry, it wasn’t on the ground. IT WAS IN A DUMPSTER! DUMPSTER PIZZA IS THE BEST!) Actually, there is a little place in Midtown called Luna’s  that had a trailer/pizza oven parked out in front giving away free pizza. They told us they were going to be selling pizza there on Friday’s and Saturday’s from now on and they were giving away free samples today! It was fantastic! The ingredients were fresh and their meat pizza was sinful. So many animals on one slice of deliciousness. I was impressed and I can’t wait for next Friday, Friday, getting good pizza on Friday!

Dinner: So after free pizza and afternoon spaghetti, we were pretty full for a good while. It worked out though because I was marinading some chicken breasts from Fresh Market in Stubb’s chicken marinade. They had been soaking in his delicious concoction of spices in the fridge for about 8 hours so it was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good! Before though, we had a delicious salad with Bolthouse honey mustard that’s made with yogurt. It’s only 45 calories for a serving of dressing! We also had some sweet potato fries which were good but random :).

 

Overall, it was a good day. As always though, the first half of my week was good and then after Wednesday I make some bad decisions with my meals and my snacking. I really need to work on that! Anyway, I’m about a pound and a half away from being in the 230’s which would be so awesome. Just seeing a different second number would be so much more encouraging. I guess we’ll see. See ya tomorrow.

Day 474: Wordless Wednesday Yo!

Posted on by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 473: Paula Deen and Other Fun Things

Posted on by

I love Paula Deen. When I look in to those gorgeous baby blues, my soul just melts. Now, all I see is a PR nightmare meets a dangerous image of food that will kill people. (I won’t even get in to her being paid off by a pharmaceutical company. That’s for another blog.)

For those of you who haven’t heard, this morning Paula Deen was on Today this morning and proclaimed that she has Type 2 diabetes and that she doesn’t see it as a death sentence. Instead of recommending that those afflicted with the same illness should exercise and abstain from eating her fattening food, she believes in her support program and some medication that she (and Al Roker) is a spokesperson for.

The tone of the Paula Deen Interview was frustrating to me. She made it sound as if type two diabetes was like a cavity or a canker sore that you just bear with until it goes away (or kills you, or takes a limb like your foot, or… well you get the idea.) I understand her motive to down play diabetes, she has an image to protect and a product to sell. Sadly though, she represents the American ideal that it’s our right to eat all of the fattening crap we want and no one can take that away from us. Who cares if it rots our insides? Who cares if it builds up plaque in our arteries? Who cares if it makes us contestants on the Biggest Loser? As long as our taste buds are happy right? While Paula Deen repeatedly says in the interview that she stresses moderation on her show (which I have never heard her say that, but that’s beside the point) most people have no idea of what true moderation actually looks like. Heck, I don’t even know. I’m still trying to figure that out. I think this all really hit me hard today because I just dealt with the idea of food rewards this week and how crappy I felt after the fact. I know it’s cliche, but food really is fuel and nothing else.

On a lot of levels, I can relate to poor Paula. In an interview I heard with Deen on NPR a few months ago, she talks about each recipe and each meal as a way to commune with loved ones that she has lost. For the longest time, eating out equated to community. I’ll never forget all of the Taco Bueno and Pizza House I ate with my brothers in Frater Sodalis at ACU and the fun we had around those tables even though we were going through the hell of pledging. Since then, my idea of food has had to change. I’m now to the point where I finally am able to balance the social aspect of eating out while being able to stay within my points. With that all being said, coming from a family of diabetics, I knew the danger I was in when the scale kept climbing and my waist kept expanding. Even in middle school, I wanted to get tested for diabetes (I was 275 pounds in 8th grade with a 44 inch waist along with the genetic history. I was a prime candidate.) because I knew the dangers of it. I had already accepted that the Big D (and I don’t mean Dallas) was going to be a part of my life. Thankfully, the changes I have made in my life are constantly lowering those chances.

As a society, we need to rethink how we view food. A lot of us are still eating the way our grandparents did, except they were out in the fields or in the mines while we are sitting behind a desk in a sedentary lifestyle. I think this new concept looks different for everyone. Either way, you have control of what you put in to your body. Don’t let food have so much control over all of your life. When you are able to say no, it slowly (emphasis on slooooooooowly) becomes easier which helps you in turn make better decisions.

So Paula, (oh yeah, that’s what the post was about) you have a platform that could be used to show that diabetes could be overcome (or at least handled) with eating right and exercise. Instead, you are once again promoting the lie that pills make it all better. I guess we’ll see how that turns out for you. See ya tomorrow.