Day 834: Christmas Recap

What a trip.

Driving in Louisiana is a nightmare, but man is their food amazing.

Instead of spending a crapton of money flying, we rented a car and drove across four states to spend Christmas with my folks in Texas! It was great to spend time with my parents and to see some old friends.

I’ve been on the road for a long tine this weekend so I’m going to recap a little more tomorrow. All in all though, I did eat a lot this past week, but I really did make an effort to be mindful with what I ate and I ate a lot more fruits and veggies than I have in a long time. With that being said, I did overdo it a few meals and I have retained a bit of water. Hopefully that will go down soon. Either way, I’m about to start Skinny Rules in a few days which is going to change everything. More on that tomorrow. In the mean time, here are some photos from our trip. From chicken n’ waffles to Molly the Dog, it was a great trip. See ya tomorrow.

Photo Dec 29, 8 00 22 PM Photo Dec 28, 12 12 10 PM Photo Dec 28, 11 55 45 AM Photo Dec 27, 7 05 12 PM Photo Dec 25, 11 21 36 AM Photo Dec 24, 5 07 47 PM Photo Dec 23, 8 13 41 AM Photo Dec 23, 1 53 53 PM Photo Dec 22, 11 30 07 AM

A Christmas Message From The FFK Edition

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
We’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year…

Day 823: What Up Weigh In!

Hey!

Been trying to meet you!

BTBubs…did you know that I have a Facebook page? Today starts my journey to get at least 1,000 fans by Labor Day 2013 (kind of obscure I know but just go with it…) Check it out! I put up some mildly funny things and other weight-loss-related banter. https://www.facebook.com/fotographingfatkid so check it out!

Okay, WEIGH IN DAY!  I am finally back in the 220’s…barely. I weighed in this morning at 229.8 pounds so I have lost 2.2 pounds this week! I was pretty stoked about it! This might be my last official weigh in for 2012 so ending on a high/low note like this will work with me.! My last weigh in post from 2011 was at 241 pounds so I have been ssssssssssssslllllllllllllloooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy making progress to the top of Mt. Fitintoskinnyjeans.

That’s all I really have to say about today…other than Megan makes one epic pecan pie. Today was kind of a splurge day. Tomorrow will be better. Wordless Wednesday! (With video?) See ya tomorrow.

IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME IN HOLLIS QUEENS!!!

Day 822: Monday Post Stuff

I have no clue why I put “Day 221” on last night’s post. I would have gone back in time… to this post! (Well…close to it.)

Anyway…

Today was another big day in the weight loss win column. I was super good with my points! I will end up a little over because we are making Christmas goodies for friends and family so how can you not steal a cookie or a gum drop?

Breakfast: Now the hordes of college students have gone back to their homes in South Florida, this town is empty. It’s glorious. Not only can I get to work in less than five minutes, the caravan of cars in the drive thru lane at Starbucks is minimal! So I decided to head over there to get a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. I got the turkey bacon, egg white and cheese breakfast sandwich. Turkey bacon is generally hit or miss, but this was pretty good despite the fact it was kind of gray. Anyway, the sandwich was only 6 points and it kept me full the whole morning.

Lunch: I went the Jimmy John’s route today for lunch. I had the Turkey Tom with avocado spread instead of mayo. (Seriously Jimmy John’s, get a low fat option for the mayo!) I also bought a thing of Thinny Chips which were awesome! The only thing was I thought they were only 3 points because that’s what the nutrition facts say online. That’s only for one serving and a bag is two. Way to be sneaky Jimmy! Tisk tisk tisk. Either way, the sandwich was 7 and the chips actually came out to 5. 12 points 

I had a 2 point Fiber One bar. Yum.

Dinner: We had leftover spaghetti with Al Fresco sausage. We both had a massive salad before which helped along with some green beans. It was only about an 8 point dinner!

After Dinner: Like I said, we are making some Christmas goodies so when we were out and about, we got some Bolthouse Farms Holiday Nog. It’s only 80 calories and 1.5 grams of fat for a glass compared to 200 a cup for other brands! Now I’m not a huge egg nog snob, but I know what I like: thick, not too much vanilla, and  creamy. It passed my test! 2 points. 

So I’m at roughly 30 points today so I’m going to try to be good for the rest of the night since I have the weigh in in the morning. Excited to see how that goes. See ya tomorrow.

Day 221: Sunday Update

WARNING: this is going to be a hodgepodge of a post.

So today was pretty good with food. I did have a cinnamon roll and eggs for lunch but even that wasn’t too bad (wasn’t really filling though.)

A few months ago, Megan and I bought Bob Harper’s Skinny Rules book  which has a crapton of fantastic guidelines for weight loss. Bob Harper is a stud. Anyway, we are going to commit to the Skinny Rules for the month of January. It involves a lot of eating just real food. Something we have kind of deviated from recently. So with that will come some challenges, but ultimately a healthy kickstart to 2013! More on that later.

On Friday, we went with our friends Andrea and Phillip to Victorian Christmas in Thomasville and ate at the incredibly delicious Sweet Grass Dairy. If you come to Tallahassee, we’ll take you there!

Photo Dec 14, 7 54 27 PM Photo Dec 14, 10 06 56 PMPhoto Dec 14, 10 06 56 PM

Photo Dec 14, 8 08 47 PM-1

 

Finally, here is my favorite Will Ferrell skit. The week of awesome Christmas videos has begun! See ya tomorrow.

Day 818: Thursday Time!

For the interest of time, let me break this food down:

Breakfast: Toast with peanut butter 4 points 

Snack: Fiber One bar (that was oddly juicy…) 2 points 

Lunch: Leftover delicious chili! 11 points

Snack: Fiber One bar 2 points

Dinner: Peanut Butter Sandwich 4 points 

SAWS: Played Ultimate Frisbee with some friends from work. (Shout out to my Admissions peeps!) Followed by going for a very very cold run in Southwood. There were also some awesome Christmas lights out there!

Snack: Popcorn 5 points 

So today, I totaled out to 28 points! Hooray for being back on track! Megan and I did a lot of planning about how we are going to be weight loss studs in 2013. Get stoked. See ya tomorrow.

 

 

Day 817: A Worded Wednesday!

If you aren’t watching the 121212 concert, YOU ARE A FOOL! PRetty epic stuff.

So I haven’t been on here in a while…well a week…which is pretty long for this Fotographing Fat Kid. Frankly, I’ve been pretty bummed. Mostly just about weight loss. I’ve been looking in the mirror and for the first time in a while just not liking what I see. I just feel flabby. My clothes fit the same, but I feel and look softer than I did when I was training and hitting the gym. (SOOOOOO READY TO HIT THE GYM!!!!) If you have gone through that, you know how frustrating that can be. It felt I was still where I was a few years ago. It felt like I was back to square one.

That all changed today…

This morning, I had a sharp pain in my chest that dropped me to the ground which really shook me. Luckily, Megan was quick on her feet and got my two baby aspirin. I felt fine after, but I still went to the doctor to see what was up. (Don’t worry, I just had a sharp muscle spasm. Either way, that ish was scary.)

The doctor wanted to do an EKG to find out to see how my heart was doing. Then the nurse looked at my EKG reading and  asked me the question every guy loves to hear: “You exercise don’t you?” It was like a movie when the girl asks the meat head “Do you work out?” then they guy flexes his muscles until his bicep turns into objects like ships and stuff like Popeye. It was the most encouraging thing she could say at that moment since I was shirtless with my glorious man boobs and loose-skin exposed for all to see.

What I’m trying to say is that while my body might not be ripped, my insides know the truth. My body knows the miles I’ve ran, the hours of racquetball and the crapton of calories I have avoided. It was the reaffirmed that I am still on the right path even if I did gain this week. It was awesome.

So that’s all I have for tonight. Points and other fun things to come. See ya tomorrow.

Day 809: Weigh In Day

Hello!

My allergies are killing me, the smell of burnt popcorn is still in my nostrils and my hip hurts. So let’s get this sucker going.

Basically, what I was talking about last night happened…well kind of. I had a no gain or loss week. I’m at the same place I was last week, which makes me want to go at it a lot harder this week. So that’s what’s happening.

Also, I ran five miles and it felt awesome until I got home. I think sitting in a hot shower for a while sounds good to me.

So that’s about it. In lieu of a long post, here’s a picture of me with Santa when I was a baby. Enjoy. See ya tomorrow.

me and santa

 

Day 808: Monday and Stuff

Hello my reading minions!

(Okay… I guess you’re really not my reading minions. If you were, I would have commanded you to recreate the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters to fulfill my dream of assembling, then eating, the world’s biggest s’more of all time. I wonder how many calories that would be…anyway, where was I?)

Let me give you a recap of this past week: Christmas.

That’s right! Although it’s been in the mid to high 70’s and even the 80’s for the past few days, Megan and I have been deckin’ our halls like a couple of bosses! Like a lot of you, we are both Pinterest nuts but aren’t the craftiest people. (Even though I should be. My mom had her own craft business when I was little. I wonder if crafting is a recessive gene…) Anyway, we have been making different Christmas knick knacks and such for ourselves and others. It’s been nice to do something with my hands. It’s weird to have actual free time. I have spent the past 25 years studying, working, and up until a few years ago, eating and abnormal amount of calories. It’s nice to leave work at work and have a little time to twiddle my thumbs. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m trying to find a hobby, something physical or tangible. I love to write and I love to blog, but I do both for my job so I’m not sure this is really a hobby anymore. This blog has turned in to more of a lifestyle which is completely awesome!

So that’s where I’m at. I’m trying to find a hobby that I can do when I create a product. Something different. Something challenging. Any suggestions?

Anywho, along with all of this knick-knack-pattywhacking, I have been trying to lose weight. I don’t always make the best decisions, but I’m doing my best without going nuts. But the fact of the matter is I need to go nuts with weight loss. I’m in this weird place where if I would just push a little harder I would make some crazy strides. I have been in this 227-235 zone for almost a year, breaking through to the next level but then reverting back. The thing is, I know that I will look and feel so different in 30 pounds. The difference between 235 and 265 is insane so I can only imagine what I might look like and feel like. And I don’t mean that in a vapid way, more in the way of I want to be healthier way. Looking better is just an added bonus.

Not that this is an excuse, but it really has been hard not having a gym. It was just one of those things where getting a pass to the gym at FSU is more complicated than it should be. (Well, if you want the married discount. Long story.) Luckily, that’s going to change next semester so I’ll be able to play racquetball, lift and do other fun gym stuff very soon. On the other hand, it’s been bearable because I do run three times a week which has taken a lot out of me. The long runs on Saturdays are about to get longer too. It’s more of the toll they take on my joints. 10 miles of the same repetitive movement becomes painful. But on the other hand, if I was 30 pounds lighter, would my body heal quicker? As you can tell I’m dealing with a lot of chicken/egg scenarios that I have thought about a lot but haven’t put down on paper…or blogosphere.

My issue is that I have played the weight loss game for a long time. It’s like on the Biggest Loser when the players start the play the game where they know what to do that week to win. Granted sometimes that just means drinking a gallon of water the throw a weigh in. That’s been me. My trend recently has been to weigh in on Tuesday, get stoked and eat a lot of what I want, then do the same thing Wednesday through Friday, and then really hit it hard on Saturday and Sunday like drink a lot of water to rehydrate and eat what I’m suppose to eat. Because I’m up four or five pounds. Before I know it, I’ve lost a little to have a “loss.” So I’m not really losing, I’m just maintaining. The thing is is that I have proved myself that I can maintain..at around this weight. I have kept more than 100 pounds off since I hit the 100 pound mark in August 2011. I think I might be scared to take it to the next level. To break that 200 pound mark eventually. Even 225 pounds on is such unchartered territory that is excerifying (terrifying and exciting) for me to even think about. Time to keep counting, running and blogging. The rest will follow. See ya tomorrow.