Category Archives: Fantasy Football

Trying to Get it All Aligned

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“When the mooooooooooooon is in the seventh house
and Jupiterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr lines with Mars…“

Wait…that’s not what I mean…

You hear it all the time “get fit in the gym, lose weight in the kitchen.” While I have fought with this notion for a long time, I’ve seen how true it really is through out my weight loss journey. With that, it’s been easy to have one component of that statement down and have the other one completely lopsided.When I lost my first 100 pounds, my eating was at the forefront of this journey. Sure I worked out, but making smart decisions helped peel off the weight. Some time after that, I lost sight of that. I got caught up in the fitness side a little too much and it seemed to throw me off because I didn’t know how to refuel properly with my eating. Then, I started training for my first half marathon which kind of put my weight loss dead in the water because, contrary to popular belief, you don’t always lose weight when you train for long distance races like half marathons. So right now, I’m not training for a specific race. I’ve put on about 15 pounds since December so I want to get that off ASAP to get my weight loss momentum going.

Since I’ve been working out regularly, usually a combination of running and circuit training classes 3-5 times a week, I feel awesome and actually strong for the first time in close to forever. In the past, I’ve been quick to beat myself up when I want to go work out in the “bro den” (the part of the gym that has free weights, benches, awkward grunting) because I don’t feel like I belong. But how can I make progress if I don’t work out in there? (I’m going to talk about more on that in a post I’m working on. Stay tuned.) Anyway, the point is that good things are happening. After working out regularly like this for the past ten weeks, it would be really hard to stop. I just love it too much!

So now that I’m in such an awesome place with my fitness, I’m really working to change my eating. I’m eating fruits and veggies like they’re going out of style and I’m incredibly intentional about drinking water (#alltheclearpee).

But I’m not perfect…
Can I still pound down a bag of potato chips? Yessir.
Do I hoard candy sometimes like those spoiled brats in Willie Wonka? Sure do.
But…Do I immediately regret it? Now more than ever.

I really hate that feeling of regret after a mini-binge, so I’ve been trying to combat that with just abstaining as much as I can. I tell myself that I won’t miss it in 5 minutes because all they are are just impulses. For example, we walked by a cupcake store in Tallahassee and I thought I really wanted one.

I knew I had two options:
1) Keep walking and go on with my day
or
2) Go in, spend money on a dessert that I’m generally kind of ambivalent towards, and then sulk because I could have spent those Weight Watchers points on bacon.

So, I’m making progress with my eating! I really feel like I’m on the verge of everything lining up for some serious weight loss awesomeness.

Speaking of weight loss…

I lost 2.8 pounds this week! After losing 3 pounds or so two weeks ago, I gained it back last week. (Between kidney stones and traveling, the MacDonalds have been a little cray…) This week, I wasn’t perfect at all. In fact (and if you try to troll me on this, so help me…) I had McDonald’s for the first time since we’ve lived in Tallahassee. I drove to Jacksonville twice this week and I really needed some coffee and breakfast. So, I had an Egg McMuffin and a hash brown. It was 12 points. I counted it and I moved on. I also ate at Hardee’s for breakfast one day and I counted it too. So I wasn’t perfect, but I counted my points and I exercised to bring balance to the Weight Watchers force. This past week was once again proof that when you count regardless and exercise, everything will fall into place.

Count all the points

 

Day 607: Saturday Time!

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My glutes hurt so much. That’s all that needs to be said about that.

Yesterday, I went back for a second helping of craziness at Bootcamp Fitness. Laurel wasn’t there so DK, another instructor, gave us the business. A alot of planks, a lot of pushups and a lot of running. All within this warehouse of awesomeness. It felt awesome to work out again. I’m really glad I went. Being sore feels right.

Alright, so today was pretty good food wise. I know a lot of people say it, but fruits and vegetables are the best thing that has ever happened to weight loss. Your body just feels better when you snack on celery and bananas. Give it a shot sometime!

So this morning I slept through breakfast. That’s what Saturdays are for right?

Lunch: When I first got up, I had a banana and then we made some salads for lunch! Instead of some heavy dressing, Megan suggested to use seasoned rice vinegar. It was awesome! It’s really light and has a little sweetness to it. It went well with the salad of sliced turkey breast, cucumbers, green bell peppers and romaine lettuce. It was no Jason’s Deli but man was it close. 4 points. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: I said a while back that I was going to hold off on froyo after I went to a self served place and created a 20-something point yogurt monster. Today, we went to TCBY and decided to get a pre-portioned sized froyo treat. I got the kid’s sized cup of mocha almond. It wasn’t a ton but it was enough. Like a lot of people, I will eat whatever is on my plate, but I don’t miss it if it’s not on my plate (does that make any sense?) so having a small 2 point treat was perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: later in the afternoon, I had some Fage fat free yogurt with honey. It was awesome and the best thing to eat to hold me over until dinner. Yumtastic. It was only 3 points and then I had 1 point of these really good white cheddar cheesy poofs we got at Central Market while in Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: We haven’t really grocery shopped since we have gotten back so we decided to go to Chick-Fil-A since we both had a good amount of points. (Not to mention that we haven’t been to the good ol’ CFA in a loooooooong time.) I had the 8 piece chicken nuggets combo meal which was just as awesome as I could remember. To make things more awesome, it was customer appreciation night and they were giving away a four pack of their breakfast chicken minis. (Nuggets in these delicious little biscuits.) While the free four pack was good, that didn’t mean they were free points. Dinner was 21 points and 8 points of that were those little “freebies.” The moral of the story is that free food isn’t worth the cost.

So today I got to 31 points which is only 3 points over. So tomorrow I get back on the scale. I’m sure it won’t be pretty, but I’m in a really good place with my exercise and weight loss which means I’ll be back in the saddle again. I’m also looking at running a 10k in a few months. Having a goal to train for will make it easier to work out. See ya tomorrow.

Day 566: The Day That Felt Like Thanksgiving…

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Today, I received from “fan mail” today via Facebook. My boy Will has been my friend since college and he is going to be the next Woody Harrelson (actually, just insert your favorite actor’s name here.) I feel kind of bad because little did he know that I was going to have a horrendous food day today where I divulged in deliciousness instead of eating for fuel. I know I’m not a robot, nor am I made of stone, but I think today was bad. I should have done better. In defense, these past two weeks have been more mentally exhausting than pledging (BT) and I think the residual stress led to enjoying food a little too much. With that being said, Megan and I were talking about it, and we realized we used to always be this stuffed. Being uncomfortably full is a foreign feeling, which is a win in itself. You take the good with the bad right? Anyway, thanks for the kind words Will, and I’ll still be waiting for you when you wake up ;).

Okay, so since it is the end of the semester, there were a ton of parties today. We conquered three parties in five hours (which gives context to the paragraph above.) So let’s get started shall we?

Breakfast: Waffles and peanut butter. Yum

 

Breakfast II: Breakfast Lives! In the attempt to become better locavores, we went to the Farmer’s Market at Market Square to check out their wares. It was our first time and we were really impressed! Farms like Orchard Pond were even there! We ended up buying a plethora of different fruits and veggies and even some grass fed beef from a farmer from south Georgia. (I can’t wait to make burgers with it.) Anyway, while we were over there, we went to this French bakery that we had always heard about called Au Peche Mignon. Sadly, before today, the only French bakery I had been to was in the France Pavilion at Epcot. This place blew it out of the water. I had a croissant that was stuffed with asparagus, peppers, onions, and just enough cream cheese. They had everything from eclaires to truffles to fresh bread. I can’t wait to go back. After that, I cracked open a grapefruit that we had bought at the Farmer’s Market. The last time I tried a grapefruit I was in elementary. Still not a huge fan, but it was definitely edible.

Lunch: I had a boca burger with chips on an english muffin. Not too shabby. And I know someone will inquire so I’ll just put it out in the open: yes, that is Whataburger ketchup. Yes, I have been to Whataburger recently.

(I’ll just let that sink in for a moment.)

On the way to Thomasville on Thursday, I went through the drive thru to get a diet coke. Growing up, I lived by two gluttonous axioms: the best tasting fountain drinks and the best ketchup came from Whataburger. I love Whataburger ketchup, probably more than I will love my first born. Since this whole weight loss thing, I haven’t even been in the parking lot of a Whataburger, thus keeping me apart from my favorite condiment in the entire universe. So, when I went through the drive thru, I had to ask for a few packets of it. My wish was granted, and my life was epic once again. So now I have two packets left. I’m not sure what I will use them on… suggestions?

 

 

Round One: So the first stop was Megan’s end of the semester party at her professor’s house. Now usually, the Musicology parties encourages “healthy dishes” but this year Sarah the Stud and her cohorts decided to challenge the status quo and baked a cake. A Pizza Cake. Three stories of veggie pizza awesomeness, layered together in perfect, yet disgusting harmony. Although I had eaten my share of other food, I still took a small “slice” of the cake. It was interesting.

Round Two: After we were done (and it had stopped monsooning outside) we made our way across town for our friend Becky’s birthday party! There, I had a burger and some baked beans. Happy early birthday Becky!

 

 

 

 

Round Three: Tonight, our church honored the college graduates with a dinner at Cracker Barrel! So we made our way over there! At this point I was getting pretty full, but I had multigrain waffles with eggs and bacon with hash brown casserole. Needless to say I brought home a box full of breakfast food.

So that was today. A lot of parties and a lot of eating. I loved every minute of it. Well… tomorrow is weigh in day. I think I would have been okay this week (I was down in the middle of the week) but today probably killed that. It’s a part of life and this whole learning process. Megan and I decided that we are going back to points and being hardcore counters again. We both have big goals for the summer and watching what we eat will be the key. See ya tomorrow.

 

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 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.

109: The Day After the Doozie

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So… sorry I didn’t have a post last night, I’ll explain a sec but let’s get to it. Since on Thursday I made some bad food decisions so Friday I decided to make up for it and I think I did pretty well. I’m still trying to get back in to the swing of things after vacation which is always a little hard but I think Friday set me in the right direction.

Breakfast: I just had a a banana and tried my hand at making a smoothie. I just put strawberry, banana, and orange juice. Oh yeah… and cinnamon? I was watching the Today and they said that putting cinnamon in food serves as an antioxidant. I put 1/2 a tsp of it before I blended and I actually couldn’t taste it. Anyways breakfast was 4 points.

 

 

 

 

Exercise: Matt and I played racquetball and it was awesome. It felt good to get a good sweat out. Then we worked out for a little bit but the gym was still pretty packed. (Plus they were playing Jonas Brothers so the music was very uninspiring.) I worked out 13 points worth.

Lunch: Lunch, which was like at 3:30, was really good. I baked 3 chicken tenderloins and steamed some broccoli. This is possibly the densest meal you can eat for the points. This plate is only 4 points!!!! Since the broccoli is free. I was really full after. The chicken took a while but it was worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: We were invited over to the Schuberts house for dinner and to get to know each other better. We know the Schuberts from church and Sharon has had her own success with her weight loss journey. She has lost more than 50 pounds too! We had spaghetti and this awesome salad with dried berries, pecans, tomatoes and croutons. I put this home made sesame dressing on it. I had seconds on both since I was still not even out of my exercise points for the day. For dessert we had some angel food cake with heated up blueberries and some cool whip. It was really good.

So we were both really exhausted from the week and we got home around 10:30. I went straight in to the bedroom to watch TV, thinking that I would write my post in a bit. Then Antiques Road Show came on and I was glued in (I’m a loser.) Then before I knew it, I woke up and it was 6:00 am. I woke back up a little later and I realized I forgot to write it. So now I’m doing it. Overall Friday was a good day. Today I’m playing basketball with some guys from church. Should be a blast. See you… later.

Oh Thank Heaven For Day 11

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Γεια σας (Daniel Wise, you better know this or you didn’t study hard enough for your Greek Test)

It’s been another rainy day but I’m still not complaining. I’m thinking about changing my fantasy football team name to the San Francisco 49ers since I’m about to be 0-3 unless Devin Hester can get me 11 points (help a brother out Hester!)

Breakfast: If you haven’t discovered the wonderful world of Kashi you are missing out my friend. After TrailMixGate 2010, I was on a mission to find a better breakfast/snack option. We had bought Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal in the past so I went with an oldie but a goodie. It’s a little expensive (but since I just gave Kashi a shout out I hope they’ll send me some free cereal) but it’s really good for you. The 2/3 cup serving has 6 grams of fiber alone! I had 2 servings (3 points) and a the milk was 2 points. It was a really filling breakfast.

Snack: Usually I wouldn’t go on a rant about something orange related (unless it was burnt orange) but am I crazy, and did no one else have an  orange peeling device that looked like a crochet needle with a hook? I told Megan the other day that we needed to buy one and she tried to convince me that such an instrument didn’t exist. Anyways, today I just used a pairing knife and cut that 1 point sucker up. I usually butcher anything I try to cut up but after doing this (pictured left) I think I might drop out of this PR thing and become a surgeon instead. (This is the most boring paragraph ever.)

Lunch: Today I did the leftover thing and more and more that’s becoming the trend. Before, instead of leftovers, I would just go eat out which was getting expensive and getting pretty bad for me. As you may recall from yesterday’s blog the tacos were only 4 points a piece. The shells weren’t big enough to fill the meat that the recipe calls for so I made some nachos sans the cheese. Instead I just put the taco meat, the pico de gallo, and a little H-E-B salsa from a bottle that we brought with us unopened from Texas. (I could do a whole blog series about how much we miss H-E-B, but that would be more boring than that orange paragraph.) Anywho, the chips were only 3 points for 9 chips and the tacos were 8 points total.

(This is where a picture is suppose to be but I failed and I was too hungry to take a picture but let’s be honest, you know what Chick-fil-a looks like.) Dinner: Megan and I went on a little Chick-fil-a date for college night. We each got an 8 piece nugget and we split a large fry. Chick-fil-a is actually pretty good if you are on a diet if you need to eat something greasy and delicious. So the nuggets were only 6 points, half of the large fry is only 5 points, and 2 points for BBQ sauce. Overall a really good eating out meal.

Snack: another 1 point orange. We all know how I feel about that.

Overall today I wrangled up 31 points. I wanted to work out today but it didn’t happen this morning but I’m going tomorrow and it shall be epic. See ya tomorrow.

P.S. We just started to watch that Mike & Molly show (the one about 2 heavy folks getting together.) From what I’ve seen so far, I might have a really good rant tomorrow. You’ll just have to see…