Category Archives: Harry Potter

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 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 464: Weigh In Day Time!

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Why Hello!

Sorry I didn’t post the last couple days. Even though I haven’t been blogging, I have been really good with my points and I’ve been drinking water like a fish. So last week I burned a bunch of calories and I can feel my body changing (no, not like puberty change) and it paid on the scale. This week I lost 1.8 pounds this week. Like I said earlier this week, I kept telling myself not to get mad or down if I didn’t lose a lot this week, but all things considered I’m really happy with my loss this week. I mean, I did lose three times as much as I did last week. I am down 115.4 pounds and I’m at 241.6 pounds. I feel like I have been stuck in the 240’s for a looooooooooooooooooong time and that’s because I have. My birthday gift to myself (which is Friday. Take note.) is to break through the 240’s for good and never go back. I know a while back I was hoping to be in Onderland by my 25, but you have to respect and understand your body because it will do its own thing (whether you like it or not.) I feel like we have a good thing going with Insanity right now. It is (very) hard, but you make really good use of your exercise time and when you work out like that, your body begins to crave healthy fuel which makes the diet portion of our lifestyle a whole heck of a lot easier. It also helps that our lives are going to be grad-school-strength crazy for a while so we have had to plan out our meals so we don’t eat out every day. The crockpot is going to be used a lot this semester. Yumtastic awesomeness.

Breakfast: I just had two low fat Eggo waffles (much better for you than the Walmart brand) and a tablespoon of peanut butter. It was a pretty good breakfast for being on the go. 4 points.

Lunch: After church, a couple of the young professionals from church went out to Red Elephant for lunch. I had the standard awesome Oriental Salad with seared Ahi Tuna. It was magical. 10 points (from what I calculated)

Snack: I had 4 points of chips and salsa. Hooray for awesome stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: Tonight, we decided to hit up Super Perros for a little Colombian awesomeness. I decided to go with the veggie plate which had rice and beans, salad with honey mustard (random I know) and sweet plantains. I also had a chicken empanada which was good but a little greasy for my liking. Pretty awesome and filling dinner.

So overall today was pretty good food wise. This week is the first full week of school which will be insane, but it will be fun nonetheless. We also start back up Insanity tomorrow (Sundays are a rest day. A much needed rest day might I add.) which will be awesome. Should be an interesting week. See ya tomorrow.

Day 437: Monday of Finals

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Why hello there little fella… lost?

Well if you are lost and you have landed on this blog, welcome to the awesomeness!

So today was the first day of getting the train back on the rails so to speak. We figured finals would be a good time to get everything back in order and so far so good. However, I’ve already decided I need to change one of my resolutions from last night for 2012. One of my resolutions was to get in to the 180’s by the end of the year and I’ve decided to tweak that just a little bit. By December 31st, 2012, I want to be half the man I used to be. I want to have lost 50% of my body weight from when I started this journey in 2010. My official beginning weigh in weight was 357 whopping pounds even. So if you do simple math (which I can’t do. God invented calculators for a reason folks!) that means for me to have lost 50% that would mean I would be at 178.5 pounds. Not too much more than what I was looking at, but it gives me an actual goal to look ahead to and stay focused on. So with yesterday’s weigh in, I will have to lose 65.5 pounds in about 377 days. That’s plenty of time right? Like I said last night, this goal will have to align for this ultimate goal to be complete. Here goes nothing…

 

 

 

Breakfast: I woke up early so I could proctor a 7:30 am final (hooray) so I just had a banana to get me through. Then after the final, Megan met me up on campus at Einstein’s to have bagels and my favorite coffee in the world (seriously, their hazelnut vanilla coffee is the bomb. It will literally blow up in your mouth and shrapnel of deliciousness with demolish your tastebuds.) Anyways, I had an everything bagel with cream cheese. It was pretty good and it held me over pretty well.

Lunch: For lunch, I made microwaved a Chicken Suaza Smart One. Delicious, but nothing too exciting there. Just a good ol’ lunch.For dessert I had an orange.

Pre-Workout Snack: Before we headed over to Leach, I had a piece of toast with peanut butter. It was amazing. I also had some caramel rice cakes because they are awesome too.

 

 

 

Workout time!: Once again, I have made Leach my second home on campus. Even though we went during “rush hour” I was still able to snag one of the last working bikes to do about a 30 minute ride. For the longest time, I was scared of the bikes. The small seat hurt my large butt, and it wore me out. Now, my butt is fine (in more ways than one ;)) and it still wears me out, but the latter is okay with me. Like I said, I did a 30 minute ride and by the end of it I was soaked and my entire body hurt from my shoulders to my hips. I was just overall sore. It felt awesome. I can’t wait to get better at the bike so I can maybe get up the courage to try a 40 minute spin class at FSU. Anyone care to join me? Misery loves company…

After I got home I had another banana.

 

Dinner: Megan made some awesome chili for dinner. It was… well, awesome. Like yesterday with the mac n cheese, I was able to limit myself to just one bowl while being able to be content with what I had. My issues with seconds has always been that I just want to keep eating because it’s so good, not necessarily that I am still hungry. I’m finally learning how to handle that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dessert: So like I said a while back, I wanted y’all to call me out if I had toppings on my froyo the next time I go. Well, I think you’ll be pretty proud. Look mom! No toppings! Now I know what you might be thinking, and yes that is a waffle bowl. What I have found out is that if I use the waffle bowl as a delicious container, then I don’t get as much froyo overall. And since a waffle bowl that size is not that many calories, it totally makes it worth it. So judge if you must, but get over it.

Well that’s about it for today. I don’t have a final tomorrow, but I do on Wednesday morning at 7:30 am (WHO THE CRAP THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA? WHO IS UP AND FUNCTIONING THAT EARLY!?!) so I’ll be studying for that all day, along with some gym time in there to get the endorphins kicking. See ya tomorrow.

PS: Check out my new Fotographing Fat Kid meme generator! Are you creative? Make one and then let me know so I can check it out. Better yet, upload it to my awesome Facebook Page. NOW GO GET THOSE CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING!

Day 360!!!

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HI!!!!!

(Hello there! Thanks for reading!)

So I’ve been due for a decent weigh in, but for the past few weeks I haven’t been really sticking to it. This week, we have been working on our budget which has meant less eating out, which in turn has lead to less calories and sodium. Fun stuff. Anyways, this week I freakin lost 4.2 pounds! Which means I am down to 250.6 pounds! So close to jumping in to the 240’s! I’m so stoked. However, I really want to exercise this week, but my leg hurts really sore. I’m not really sure what I did during racquetball (I blame Jonathan) but it’s pretty sore so we’ll see what happens. Here’s to another week of weight loss awesomeness!

Breakfast: I just had a 4 point Nature Valley peanut butter bar. Yum.

Lunch: So on Friday, we got two large pepperoni pizzas from Pizza Hut for $11! (Thanks student discount/discount card!) Obviously, we didn’t each eat a large pizza on Friday (since this isn’t Nathan circa 2005 writing this) so we have a lot of leftovers. I had two slices which was still awesome! It’s pretty tight when you can spread an $11 food over at least 5 meals each.12 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: After a nice Sunday afternoon nap and a few episodes of The Simpsons, we went and ran some errands around town. We stopped in to TCBY for some froyo! We also had a discount card for that so we got BOGO deliciousness. I had a waffle bowl full of chocolate chip cookie dough. It was pretty awesome. 8 points

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: For dinner, we were both craving for some Chinese food, so we got some takeout from Panda Express. Before we got there, we looked up on the Eat This Not That app for the best entree. We both decided on beef broccoli which had an -A rating. For 3 points a serving, I had that with some brown rice we made at home. It was a pretty awesome 10 point Chinese dinner.

Then Megan made cookies… and they were awesome. I had 6 points worth.

So today, I unintentionally ate a lot of sweets, but that happens. This week I’m really going to be good with my food, not drink any soda (like I did this week. Water makes a difference folks!) and I’m going to try to at least go on a walk tomorrow and then turn it up a notch later in the week. 240’s or bust folks. See ya tomorrow.

Day 237: First SAWS Weigh In Day!

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SAWS!!!!

How’s it going everybody! Sorry for that whole not blogging thing yesterday. To summarize Saturday: Wii Fit, Wedding Singing, Workout, burned more than 700 calories. Tada, there was yesterday’s post. Okay, now that that is out of the way. Today was the first post-SAWS weigh in day and I was hoping for a loss of around 2-3 pounds if not better. So you can understand my disappointment when I only lost 1.4 pounds. For the first time in a while, I had worked out every day, and for the most part I stayed on point with my points. I’m thinking that the weight loss honeymoon is over and that now it’s really going to be work to lose every week. I know you’re really only suppose to lose 1-2 pounds healthily so maybe that’s where I’m at. You know what though? I’m okay with that. With lifting weights regularly is going to change my figure more too and add muscle so I’m definitely not going to change what I’m doing. Regardless, I’m in the 260’s (269.2 to be exact) for the first time in at least a decade and I have lost a total of 88 freakin’ pounds. The reality is, every weigh in I am treading in to new weight loss territory. And that feels awesome.

Breakfast: I just had a bowl of Kashi. Nothing new. However, we bought some Back 2 Nature cereal (you know, the hippy kind that’s in a bag to make it more earth friendly) since it was BOGO at Publix so I’ll have to review that this week. 4 points

Lunch: After church, the young professionals class went to Moe’s for lunch. As you may know, I’m not a huge fan of Moe’s but I can stand it every once in a while to at least give it a chance. I had the Art Vandalay Jr. Lite with grilled veggies, guac, the works. It was a decent sized burrito and their salsa bar is pretty epic so it eased my craving for queso (which is a delicious demon that I deal with daily.) The burrito with chips was  12 points so it wasn’t bad and I would definitely have that again.

Afternoon Snackage: It was a gorgeous day in Tallahassee with a high barely reaching 80 so Megan and I sat outside and read our respective Harry Potter books and enjoyed the day. While out there I had an english muffin with honey to enhance my reading experience. 1 point. Then, we went over to Starbucks and I had some dirty coffee for 3 point.

Dinner: So grocery day is tomorrow so by this time in the week, we are getting a little creative for meals and this week Megan delivered. She made this Pasta Premavera with shells that turned out really well. The serving size was huge for only 5 points so I had half a serving of seconds for 7.5 points. 


Evening snack: I had a Vitatop with a glass of milk for 3 points. Hooray.

So today I got to 30.5 points which works fine for me. 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 181: Weigh In Day!!!!!!

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Why Hello!

It’s been way too long since I have posted and for that I’m sorry. I have gotten a lot of guff (yes, I said guff) from people about missing two posts in a row and for that I thank you. I really appreciate the support and accountability this community provides. It is a key contributor to my success so far and with the century pound mark in sight, your support is appreciated now more than ever. So thanks for calling me out Matt DC. I know you were just giving me a hard time, but it meant more than you know. So this morning I got in the scale with low expectations. We had to eat out the majority of last week due to the insanity of our schedule (somehow this week is going to be more insane. What what!) Anyways, for the few posts I did have, you saw the cheesey goodness that I consumed in mass proportions so I was just hoping to at least maintain (it would have been gained if I hadn’t worked out.) Well, my metabolism must be better than I think. I lost 2.2 pounds! Pretty awesome stuff!!! I am sooooo close to being in the 270’s now. I weigh 280.4 so super duper close. So with this week’s loss, I am 23.4 pounds away from 100 pounds. It’s getting there! Like I said this week is going to be bonkers, but we are going to be smarter with meals so 270’s: see ya soon!

Breakfast: So I made two packets of double fiber oatmeal but had it in the microwave too long. It always feels like when you make two packets, it either has the consistency of snot, or it blows up and gets all over the microwave. Well… the latter happened, and a large portion of my oatmeal was everywhere. (No, I did not eat the oatmeal shrapnel left in the microwave.) It was about 5 points worth of oatmeal. Yumtastic.

 

 

 

 

Lunch: After church, we needed to eat somewhere pretty fast so Megan could meet up with her friends for their study marathon. We ended up going to the Panera next to our house. Panera’s food is deceiving because you expect it to be healthy since it’s fresh but then it’s more points/calories than you hope. Regardless, it’s delicious so we still go there :). I had the half asain sesame chicken salad and half a Mediterranean veggie sandwich. It was really good and the salad was huge for just being half a salad. For the salad, the sandwich and the yummy baguette, it was 14 points. Not bad for how good it tastes.

 

 

Snack: While I was studying, I had 3 points of pretzels. That’s 30 pretzels. Holy cow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: So this was a little different. While Megan was studying with our friend Catherine, I was at my small group and they had gotten dinner. By the time I was done it was 9:00 so I was starving. Megan texted my with news of leftover Chinese so I headed over there. I had Megan’s left over orange chicken with rice and an egg roll. I was good at the time. It took me back to my favorite super cheap Chinese place in Abilene where you could get a mountain of food for about $4. While the savoring moment lasted for a while, I still have the sodium taste in my mouth as I’m writing this. Not good. So it was high in points, and I have no real way of figuring it out, but here is what I know: I’m not the same guy I used to be. A meal like this was what I ate at least 3 times a week and it didn’t phase me at all. Tonight, I tried to go back to my old self and it wasn’t near as good as I remember. That’s so encouraging to me. To me it means that it would take a lot to get back to where I was, and that’s how I want it.

Snack: We went to Publix to get some groceries including watermelon and Cinnamon Toast Eggos which I have never had. They were delicious and  2 points.

So today wasn’t the best, but I have learned from my mistakes and I plan to work hard this week to lose a good chunk of weight. It’s going to be an interesting week. Bring it on. See ya tomorrow.

 

 

FSU WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SWEET 16 BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!