100 Days 100 Pounds

25 Day Travesty

2009-01-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

Well, the 25 Day Maintenance Diet did work that well. I ended up gaining 16 pounds. Granted, this was the Holidays and I did not work out for almost 3 weeks. I spent some time with my family which was nice. My whole family was together for Christmas for the first time in at least 6 years. Also, as discussed in an earlier post, I finally joined The Tequila Club. That was a good night, but the 2nd time we went was even better (Luckily, my brother-in-law was strong enough to join me in the club). Of course, shots of tequila usually make an evening better (7 shots down, 43 more to go until I get the velvet painting of myself on the wall...tell me that's not some sort of motivation).

I have been thinking about it recently, and I wonder what I would have done if my 25 day break had been in any other month. I think I would have done a lot better. The holidays have historically been a bad diet time for everyone. With all the effort I put forth on the diet, I just crashed afterwards, but I am sure, if the break was over the summer, I would have maintained a lot better.

This pic alone is pretty descriptive of the whole break:

Day 94 - 100, THE END of the First Challenge

2009-01-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

Net loss - 8.0, total loss 80.6

Feel free to read that last number one more time. I will wait.....that's right, in 100 days, I lost just over 80 pounds. I really did not think I could do this well. I thought I would do ok, I thought I would lose some weight, but I did not think it would be that much. First off, thank you so much to everyone who supported me on this and to all the people who answered my many, many questions (DM, that's mainly you).

I learned quite a bit on this diet about myself and what I can do. I realized that when I really focus on something and care about it, I will succeed at it (Granted, it was called 100 pounds in 100 days, but losing 80 pounds is still pretty impressive). I learned that I need to make better decisions when it comes to food (fast food is NOT the way to go). I make really good eggs (I knew this already, but it was reinforced). And the most important thing I learned is that I am a lot happier and more confident when I am exercising and losing weight, and those are 2 things I want to maintain.

One interesting thing about my diet that I learned from RM is the last thing I will share. He kept trying to get me to watch The Biggest Loser. I would try, but I am just not that into Reality TV, but I would still ask about the show as I was still interested to see what they were doing. I am not sure if I mentioned this in a previous blog, but I auditioned for this most recent season of the show, and obviously, was not on the show. For those not familiar with the show, there are about 16-20 adults who go to live on this compound and workout and people get voted off the show every week. Of those who started, 4 people stayed at the compound through the whole thing, with no job, with a personal trainer, with special chefs teaching them how to cook healthier food, working out several hours a day for 101 days. Of those 4 people, over 101 days, with all that, they lost between 75 and 85 pounds. While I was on my diet, I worked full time, had no personal trainer or chef, cooked my own food (of course there were days I went up a lot too, like after Thanksgiving) and was on it 100 days and still lost 80 pounds. No need to clap, I just patted myself on the back. But seriously, I was blown away when RM told me that. I was surprised that I did that well on my own and I wished I was on the show, because I would have won.

And on that note, here are some pics:

Face pic the 1st day

Face pic at the end

Body pic the 1st day

Body pic at the end

Random pic of me sleeping the day before the diet

Please continue to read my blog, as I try to maintain for 25 days and start another 100 Day Challenge in 2009. Happy New Year.

Day 87-93

2008-12-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

Net loss - 2.0, total loss - 72.6

Thanksgiving was good. So good in fact, that I gained almost 4 pounds. My family was in Chicago, so I went to a friends and went to town. I got there about 1.30 PM and started snacking until we ate the actual meal at 6.30. The food was so good though. Luckily, I worked through everything I ate within 2 days, and lost all that weight pretty quickly.

And I am almost done with the diet. I am excited. I am happy that this is done and that I did so well on it. I have a week to go, and then 25 days of restricted freedom. I say restricted because I plan to eat, but I know I have to control it and not go crazy. Then another 100 days, and by Tax Day next year, I will be all done.

I know these posts will not be every day anymore, but I will still post at least once a week.

Day 83 - 86

2008-11-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

Net loss - 4.6, total loss, 71.4

I broke through the barrier I wanted. All it took was hard work and discipline. And a lot of willpower. As I said before, I dressed up as Santa Friday night, pics below. That was fun, but to be honest, it was a little creepy. I just did not feel right trying to entice little kids with candy. Granted, most of the kids who were really wrong did want to talk to me anyway. They would look at me and cry.

Day 82

2008-11-21T13:10:00.000-08:00

Today - 1.8, total loss - 66.8

I had a good number today. I was really happy because it pushes me further along. This diet has been going so well, I almost don't want it to end. It is because of these new thoughts, I have made some plans for next year already. I am going to take 25 days off the diet and try to maintain the weight I am at. Not try to lose and definitely not gain. I will continue to work out everyday and see how my body reacts to a more normal diet. I will not go crazy, well, I am sure a few days will be over the top, but if I gain, I know that I need to go back to salads to lose those extra pounds. In the New Year, I am going to start another 100 Day Challenge to lose the rest of the weight. My goal right now is to lose 125 pounds total. I think I will lose between 75 and 80 pounds on this 100 Day Challenge, making the goal of the 2nd 100 days about 45-50 pounds provided I can maintain my weight. If I make my goal, I will have lost 125 pounds in 225 days. This is a pretty hefty goal, but I am already half way there in 1/3 of the days. It is so amazing. Where I started this diet and where I am now are so different. I have come so far and I know if I keep pushing myself, there is no reason why I can't keep going.

That being said, I am going to dress up as Santa tonight. I have to admit, I am excited. If you happen to be in, or near, Newport Beach, CA tonight, feel free to come by Fashion Island and see me.

I will post pics.

Day 77 - 81

2008-11-20T13:55:00.000-08:00

Net loss - 3.0, total loss - 65.0

The net loss on this post is a little misleading. I had a big gain after Saturday night, but it was for a good reason. Saturday night, I had dinner with some friends I used to work with and AA (luckily, she wasn't nervous). It was an amazing dinner, we had beef tenderloin, barley, and these bacon rice creations. It was all really good, but made me gain some weight. Somehow, that weight disappeared Monday though. I am not exactly sure what I did, but I dropped a lot that day.

Last night, I went out with some friends to dinner. I ate a lot more carbs than I normally eat, and even had dessert (REALLY GOOD). We had this prosciutto wrapped shrimp and chocolate mousse that was really good.

Nothing that exciting has been happening. I have been working out twice a day, which is part of the reason I have not been able to post. I have been thinking a lot about this diet though. For example, the past 2 weeks have been tough because I have been in the same 10 pounds range and every time I seem to drop a few pounds, they come right back. I realize now, that a 1/2 pound gain is not that serious. I really need to stop looking at where I am going and one bad day, I need to appreciate how far I have come and realize that I need to keep working. One day at a time...

Day 68-76

2008-11-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

Net loss - 4.2, total - 64.0

This has been a long week. I know I should keep posting more regularly, but I keep putting it off. I have had some bad days (as shown on the weight chart on the right), but I am maintaining. I keep working out, and I am trying to stick to my diet.

One thing I have noticed is how hard the middle 1/3 of my workouts are now. I am running now, well slowly jogging, and using that demon elliptical machine more and more. When I use the elliptical, I will use it for 60 minutes on days I don't lift weights. When I run, I have been building up to this, I run 15 laps on the outside lane of a track. The last time I went, I ran on the straight-aways and walked on the curves. Anyway, minutes 20-40 on the elliptical or treadmill and laps 6-10 are so hard to get through. I always try to talk myself out of the extra laps/minutes, but when I get through those, I know that since I have completed 2/3, I can finish what I started.

I really appreciate all of the support I am getting and all the people reading this. I will try to post more often. And cheers to my sister, who has started her own diet and has lost 15 pounds so far. Keep going.

Nothing really exciting has been happening since last week. I drove up to LA this morning to have breakfast with my friend Aesea. Her name isn't really Aesea, but when I met her Freshman year in high school, she told me that was her real name and, young, innocent gullible me totally bought it. It was good to see her and catch up.

I am sure there is more I could say, but that is all for today. And to whoever posted the comment to my last post, you are correct.

100 Day Challenge Update

2008-11-13T12:09:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry for the delay in posting, I have been lazy. Of the 3 things I am focused on for this diet (food, exercise and blog), the blog comes last. The past few days I have done extra workouts and have ignored this blog. Tomorrow, I will be posting a new blog and updating all the numbers and the weight loss chart.

More tomorrow, but for now, please enjoy this video:

Day 67

2008-11-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today - 0.8, total - 59.8

I am officially 2/3 of the way through this diet. I am really excited about all the changes and progress I have made. Losing almost 60 pounds and becoming much more active is really amazing. I am also really happy that I have been able to inspire people. I am the last person to think that when I started this diet, it would have gone so well. I do not have a good work ethic, honestly. One of my friends from college once described me as "lazier than dirt" (surprisingly, I still talk to him). I have worked out every day, hiking, walking, lifting weights, and I even tried running (I lied about that...it is really slow jogging).

I have even inspired other people to start dieting. One of the guys I work with wanted to lose weight, so he started my diet last week. I have not seen him yet, but from talking to him, he is sticking to it and really liking it. My sister has started working out and has already lost almost 7 pounds. And I know there are people who read this blog to maintain their diets, stick to it.

33 more days to go and 40 more pounds....

Day 66

2008-11-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

Today - 1.6, total - 59.0

I dropped a lot today, of course, that has to a lot to do with how much I dropped yesterday. It was really weird. Yesterday, I voted, early and with no line, and went to see DM. It was pretty uneventful. Afterwards, I went grocery shopping and then went home. All in all, nothing special. I made salads for the rest of the week and cooked my chicken and ate dinner (a salad). I was really bored with all the election coverage so I went to the gym again to walk for an hour. This is where it got a little weird.

I was on the treadmill for about 20 minutes when the urge to pee hit me. I tried to ignore it, but after 27 minutes, I was in pain and had to go. I went to the bathroom and I must have peed for about 1.5 minutes. I just kept going. I thought, ok, I must be empty now, I will walk for another 45 minutes. Once again, after about 25-30 minutes, I felt to the urge to pee again. I thought this was really odd as I was working out and had just peed....a lot. I held on until the end of the 45 minutes though and went back to the bathroom and peed for about another minute, if not longer. I have to say, it felt really good though. Have you ever had to pee so badly that when you finally started going, you shake because you feel so relieved? That is how I felt BOTH times. It was strange, but whatever water I was retaining was all gone.

The sensation actually reminded me of when I was in France. The summer between high school and college, I was in France for 2 weeks. I went with 3 friends from high school and we were staying just outside of Nice. It was an amazing trip. Every night, we would walk down to this bar and it seemed like every round we ordered was a shot and a beer. I was 17 and had no taste, so all the water downed beer seemed tasty. Anyway, about 2-3 times a night, I would get up to go the bathroom, slightly buzzed. The bathroom light was set on a timer, so you hit it once, and when you were done, it would turn off. This is fine, except every time I went to the bathroom, I would pee so long the light would turn off, and I would have to reach back and find the switch and hit it again all while still peeing...in the dark. And when I was done, I would be completely sober. This was very annoying, but I was young, and didn't spend too much time thinking about it, I would just order another shot. And on that note, more tomorrow.....

Day 65

2008-11-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

Today - 0.6, total - 57.4

ELECTION DAY. I went to vote around 9.30 today convinced there would be a line. I was so stoked when I got there and walked right in, signed in, voted and left all within about 10 minutes. It has been a long time since I voted, the last time was in 2000, so it felt good to do it this time. I am curious to see what happens and who wins.

As for the diet, I finally broke through a barrier. The last time I was working out and trying to get in shape, 2005, the most I lost was 57.2 pounds. I finally broke through that number on this diet and have lost more than the 2005 diet. It is a really good feeling especially since this time it took just over 7 weeks and last time it took 19 weeks. I have been much more disciplined about the diet this time though.

This is not a long post, I know, but if you have not done it, get out there and vote.

Day 62-64

2008-11-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

Net loss - 1.4, total - 56.8

I apologize for not posting over the weekend. My internet is still not working, thus, I cannot post from home. Halloween was ok. There was a lot of build up, then it kind of fell flat. I still dressed up though. On Saturday morning, I tried running for the first time. OK, I lied, it was more like slow jogging, but definitely faster than walking. I went to a track and walked 3/4 of a lap and then jogged the last 100 meters. I did about 10 of those and for the last 3, I walked half a lap and jogged the last 200 meters. It was not bad, but it was not great. I have never really run in my life, even when I played baseball. The total distance of the walk/run was 4 miles, so it was a good workout.

Saturday night was interesting. I went out with DM and my friend AA. For those of you who don't remember AA from a previous blog, read this before continuing. She once again confirmed her nervous farting and told more stories about it. I actually felt a little bad, because as she explained more about it (she hates meetings because she can't control her flatulence), the more me and DM laughed. DM was laughing so hard she was crying. Then it got weird. AA began to tell us, in detail, about colonoscopies. She has had 2, so she knew quite a bit about it. I don't feel it is necessary to go into detail, but let's just say, if you ever get one, get the kind were you are put under, unless you like the feeling of air blowing up your ass.

We went to Hennessey's in Laguna again, hoping to see The Creepers, who are a really good cover band. Once again, we were disappointed because there was a different band playing. They were ok. We saw some crazy stuff at the bar though. There was a guy, who either forgot Halloween was the day before and decided to dress up Saturday night as a douchebag, or really was a douchebag. It was hard to tell. It was too dark to take a pic, but I will try to describe what I saw. He was wearing torn jeans (with a huge hole in the knee), a sport coat, a dress shirt (unbuttoned to the middle of his chest and with the sleeves unbuttoned and way too long), and a lame silver chain. The best part was his hair. It was not that long, but it was greased back to his scalp and he had it pulled into the one of the smallest ponytails I have ever seen. He was an expert dancer though. In one 10 second span he went from air guitar to air drums and at the end, he even threw in some air piano. AWESOME. Oh yeah, and he was dancing with a chick who had the word "STARLET" airbrushed on the ass of her pants (we couldn't figure out the word at first, and had to stare at it for quite some time to figure out what it was). I think they got along because her hair was shorter than his, and pulled into an even smaller ponytail (which after I saw her, became the smallest ponytail I have ever seen).

Sunday was not that interesting. I had the day off, so I went to work out twice and watched a lot of football. Anyway, here are some of the pics from Halloween.

Day 60 & 61

2008-10-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Net loss - 1.2, total - 55.4

HAPPY HALLOWEEN. This is one of the best holidays of the year (besides my birthday and Christmas). I will be posting pics of my costume, but for now, what I will be is a secret. So I could not post last night as my Internet is not working at my house and I have to go to my friends to post (ultra annoying). But I am still here, and I am still working out. I want to thanks those of you who are still reading even after the week off.

It has been a few weeks, and I tweaked it again, so I will list my menu again. I have tried to cut out a lot more carbs again to break through a plateau, and it is working. Also, I am still trying to eat every 3 hours, but obviously, the meals are remaining pretty small. This is what I eat on a daily basis now:

Breakfast
1 banana (before I work out, this will not change)
2 eggs scrambled with onions, hot sauce, spinach and parsley (I also add 1/2 a piece of low-sodium chicken sausage (from Trader Joe's) and a slice of low-fat cheese on the the days I lift). I was adding peppers, but I found them to be too much. I really like the eggs and onions breakfast.

Snack 1
1 apple or pear
1 yogurt (it was Activia, but I switched to Dannon Light & Fit)

Lunch
Salad with lots of lettuce, spinach, parsley, broccoli, peppers (red, green and yellow), cabbage, and low sodium salad dressing spray.
3-4 oz of chicken - this I barbecue after using a no sodium marinade and then cut up and put on the salad.

Snack 2
1 low-fat string-cheese
4-5 oz of celery sticks and baby carrots (not 4-5 oz of each, 4-5 oz total)

Dinner (Snack 3), but this is not everyday,
2 turkey/lettuce wraps - 2 slices of low-sodium turkey, some spinach, mustard, 1 slice of low-fat cheese, 2 romaine leafs.

And that is all I am eating these days, as well as drinking lots and lots of water. I think I am drinking about 3 liters of water a day. I have been on this diet for 61 days now and I am wearing pants that are 3 sizes smaller (comfortably) and shirts that are 2 sizes smaller. I feel really amazing when I put on clothes now, and that makes it so much easier to maintain.

Sometimes working out is really difficult though. For example, yesterday, I was going to go the gym in the afternoon for a second workout. I came so close to talking myself out of it. Even as I was driving there, I kept thinking I could just turn around and go home and it would be ok. As I drove in the parking lot of the gym, I thought about driving through to the other side and going home. When I got out of my car, I wanted to get back in. By the time I stepped on the demon elliptical machine, I was really close to calling it a day after 2 minutes, but somehow, I stayed on. I pushed through and went the 3 miles I wanted to go and I was happy I stuck with it. The feeling of pushing yourself through a workout and getting that extra mile, that extra minute, that extra incline is pretty amazing. I feel so good when I done working out, I just have to get through that first 5 minutes.

Like I said above, my clothes are shrinking as well, so I wanted to show off. I am a nerd, I know, but I wore some new clothes yesterday and I was really proud of it, so I was telling everyone who would listen that what I was wearing was much smaller than what I was wearing before.

Me, ready for work (shirt 2 sizes smaller and pants 3 sizes smaller)...striking a pose

Really, though, you might need to see the outfit again

This is my new sweater (I have never worn a V-neck before)

and pants that I have not worn in about 3 years:

WHAT? WHERE? Is Timmy trapped in a well? Who is Timmy?

Are you sure? I didn't see anything...

Over there?

I think you might be wrong, I am going to look the other way...

I hope you have a good, scary Halloween.

Days 52 - 59

2008-10-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Net loss - 7.8, total - 54.2

I am back. Sorry about the absence, but I needed to get away. I will be blogging again, everyday, and writing about how I am doing with this diet. I put the total loss at the top of this post, but there are daily numbers on the side. I also updated the weight-loss chart.

What has happened in the last week? I have been working every day and still losing weight. I am trying to stick to the diet, but yesterday I strayed. They had cake at work, so I indulged and had a piece of chocolate cake. It was pretty tasty. I tried to compensate by going to work out after work, and I still lost some weight, but not a lot.

I know I have been putting this off, but I am going to post some before and after pics.

This first one is me and Gootch on the Baseball Road Trip. We are in Pittsburgh

and this is a week before the diet started.

2 days ago, down 52 pounds, wearing clothes that were way too small 2 months ago.

Face pic from the start of the diet.

Today's pic.

That will conclude this post, I just wanted to get back into posting everyday. I am going to blog and workout everyday. 46 pounds to go.....

Day 51

2008-10-21T21:45:00.001-07:00

Today - 0.0, total - 46.4

I did not lose any weight today and that is ok. I went grocery shopping yesterday. As a treat for being on the diet for 50 days, I bought one of those salads in a bag (with dressing) and some pre-marinated chicken. It was a little salty, but it was really tasty. I didn't realize how much I have changed since the diet started. Before, I would have wanted something fried for dinner to celebrate followed by a chocolate dessert and no salad in sight. I know that this is how I am going to eat when I am done with the diet to maintain my new weight and I liked it. It was tasty and satisfying.

I really don't have much to say today, so that is all for now. More tomorrow.....

Day 50

2008-10-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.8, total - 46.4

I am halfway done, I am halfway done, I am halfway done. This is such a good feeling. I have been looking forward to it since I started. I know that now that I am halfway done I can keep pushing for the next half. I am really proud of what I have accomplished so far. I started out walking 2 miles a day and now I am walking 5.5 miles and uphill. I have dropped 2 shirt sizes and almost 3 pant sizes. I can fit into some of my clothes for the first time in 3 years, and I am now the lowest weight I have been in well over 3 years. This is amazing.

So what did I do to celebrate the halfway point of the 100 day challenge? I did yoga for the first time ever. Let me tell you how badly I wished it was being filmed. Grace, balance and any sort of flexibility have been lost on me but I tried. It was ok at first, the general stretching, but then the hard part started. I almost fell over several times, especially when we were supposed to be standing on one leg. Luckily, I was in the back row, in the corner by another guy who had never done yoga before.

Overall, a good day, and a great 50 days. Here's to 50 more...

Day 49

2008-10-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.0, total - 45.6

I went to the gym this morning instead of going on my normal walk. I figured I could do more there than just walking. I did the elliptical machine for 30 minutes and then walked on the treadmill for an hour. It was a good workout, but I was surprised by, not only how many people were there at 6 AM on a Sunday morning, but by the fact I was there at 6 AM on a Sunday morning. I have been thinking about using the bikes at the gym too, but I am pretty sure that would not be a pretty picture.

When I weighed in this morning, I was surprised that I dropped a pound. This means that I am at the lowest weight I have been in 3 years. Like I said before, I worked out with a personal trainer during the summer of 2005. I dropped a lot of weight, but put it all back on when I stopped working out and stopped eating nutritiously. With the pound lost today, I am exactly the same weight as the lowest point of working out in 2005. In 2005, to get to the weight I am now, it took 19 weeks. This time, it took 7 weeks. This weigh in was pretty amazing, and with the clothes shopping yesterday, I am really happy right now. I am excited to see what the weigh in will be tomorrow...

Day 48

2008-10-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.2, total - 44.6

HAHAHA. If you didn't read it, read my sister Shalini's lovely comment from the post yesterday (thanks for that sis). I know I need to put things in perspective sometimes, but I usually forget to do that. Today was a really good day. I admit, last night, when I was posted, I was pissed, but it had nothing to do with the diet. It is of no consequence what happened, I am over it now.

Today was really good though. Work was the same old same old, nothing new in that really. However, we were having a big sale. Let me backtrack a little. Before the diet, I was too big to shop at normal stores for clothes. Unfortunately, XXL shirts and size 42 pants just didn't cut it, which is what most stores carry. I had to shop at the Big & Tall stores (when I would shop, which was not often, I would always just say I went to the mall and that I couldn't remember what store I went to). A couple weeks ago, when I noticed I could wear smaller clothes, and wear them well, I started looking at the clothing at my store. Obviously, since the clothes didn't fit me before, I never bothered looking. Now, I admit, I am always looking at what we have and what I would like.

As my friend from cosmetics was leaving, I asked her to help me shop for some clothes. When we got upstairs, she asked me what my style was and I had no answer. Because I couldn't find clothes before, I always just wore t-shirts and jeans (now I have to think about style....brutal). As we were looking around and trying things on, I was blown away at the clothes that fit me now (we also had a lot fun with it and I cannot wait to lose more and go shopping again). Granted, some clothes still fit small and just don't work, but some of the clothes fit well and looked good. I felt so good about that and I really felt compelled to start pushing more on this diet. I think I am hitting a small plateau again, and the only thing to tweak now is that I have to do more when I work out. I am doing so well and need to not only maintain, but do more.

Whoo, ok, so after all that, I bought a shirt and tie and a sweater. Admittedly, I have never been a sweater guy, but a few more pounds to go and it will look really good. What a good day after yesterday. Who would have thought trying on clothes would do that.

Finally, to "Anonymous" who left the YouTube video for me to watch yesterday. Thank you for that, it was a good video. But who are you? Feel free to email me at: saschablog100@yahoo.com.

Day 47

2008-10-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.4, total - 44.4

Not much to report today. Lost more weight. Worked out pretty hard in the morning. Work was lame. Great.

Day 46

2008-10-16T20:23:00.001-07:00

Today - 0.4, total - 44.0

What a day. I went on a long walk today (which has now just become "my walk" as opposed to an "extended walk"), that was 5.5 miles. The worst parts were the 2 major hills I walked up. It was not easy, but I pushed through. I realized that like much of this diet, I do not like the struggle and the work, but if I make myself keep working, I feel better about completing something I put my mind to and I feel great about the results. I have really become adapted to this diet and exercising every morning feels so good.

After the walk, I was a little sore, but I think that was from yesterday. I am trying to add to my workouts, so I did the elliptical machine for 20 minutes. I did not like it. I made it through, somehow, but it wore me out. I then walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I walked 40 minutes at an incline including a total of 10 minutes at Level 5.0, which is more than I have been doing.
One really interesting thing about yesterday was that I was broadcast on the internet. Let me explain. I was talking to one of the people that works in Cosmetics the other day about my diet and what I had changed in my life. It turns out, her and husband have a nightly show that they broadcast on blogtv.com called J Francis Radio. She asked me to be on the show to get my story out, and so I said yes. Anyway, they called me last night and interviewed me about the diet. There are a few links as they break the video into 10 minute segments, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

It was good to get a new audience to share my story about this Challenge (and to those of you who listened last night, keep reading and tell your friends). I will also be on the show, in the studio, next Tuesday night. They broadcast at 9 PM PST at http://www.blogtv.com/People/Jfrancisradio, so remember to check it out.

Day 45

2008-10-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.0, total - 43.6

I am still going pretty steady this week, dropping 1 pound a day. I am going to go on that hike again tomorrow and I am excited. I think I will be able to do better this time. What is that you say? I never posted the video I promised of the hike? My bad. I finally got to finish editing it. Please enjoy this video:

Also, I have been looking at some pics, some before-and-after if you will. Just so you can see the difference, I am going to post some pics from today and from New Year's Eve 2006. As for the shirt I am wearing, it stems from a night out with some friends and confusion over shots of tequila (not to mention the Tequila Club) and me trying to reason with our waitress. This is the story as it occurred October 2006 (that I remember):

I went to a Mexican restaurant, Freds, in Dana Point with a few of my friends. We had some beers at bar while we waited for a table. As we had some time to kill, and my ability to do shots and still stand is always in question, we decided to take some tequila shots (and really, a shot of Patron always make a dinner better). We take the shots, get seated and start looking at the menu.

You may not know this about me, but it has been said that I have the attention span of a fly. I usually don't pay attention to any one thing for very long, so needless to say, the menu got boring. As I looked around the restaurant, I noticed one wall covered with some plaques and a bunch of pictures and the phrase (in GIANT letters), "The Tequila Club." I asked our waitress what it was and she explained that it was a list of people who joined and then consumed 1 shot of every type of tequila that they serve. I knew immediately that I had to join and ordered 4 more shots of tequila (I was informed that they only served 5 shots a day to a person for safety reasons as they had 50 varieties of tequila. Not that I would have done 50 shots, but I could have made a big dent in the list that night had there not been a 5 shot rule.). I did not care what the shots were, just the first 4 from the tequila list.

The shots were served in a timely fashion and after a few minutes I had taken 2 of the 4 shots ordered. At this point a young lady walked up to the table and following conversation took place (keep in mind, she was not in any uniform and had no name tag):

Her: I am sorry to inform you that the Tequila Club is no longer active, so I can take these shots back and not charge you, but if you keep them, I have to charge you and I have to charge you for the 2 shots you already did.
Me: Who are you? Do you even work here?

Her: I am the Night Manager, look I have keys.

Me: I have keys too, does that mean I work here?

Her: I have a $1,000 key.

Me: (Excitedly) I HAVE A $1,000 KEY ALSO. (Then there was an awkward pause where she just stared at me, then...) So the waitress does not know there is no more tequila club?

Her: I guess not.

Me: So you're saying she didn't get the memo?

Her: No, she didn't.

Me: It's a pretty important memo, don't you think? Shouldn't it be your job to make sure that everyone know?

Her: It is, but I still have to charge you for the shots if you keep them.

Me: Well, they are already on the table, I will keep them. Make sure everyone gets that memo though.

The waitress came back and tried to explain more, but by that time, I had had 3 shots of tequila and a few beers. I stopped caring, but I was annoyed about them trying to take the shots back. Were they going to dump them out or pour them back in the bottle? If they were going to dump them out and waste them, I should have been able to keep them. I really hope they weren't going to pour them back in the bottle, that would have been nasty. The night was fun anyway, and as a Christmas present, I was given the shirt that I am wearing below.

New Year's Eve 2006, front

New Year's Eve 2006, back

A few months ago

Today, front

Today, back

Not too shabby eh? Also, I talked about a walk with DM during the first week of this that was uphill both ways. I did not like that walk then, but I am going to go on that walk again today with her. I am pretty sure I will not like today either, but it will be a good test to see how much I have changed since I started. I am confident I will do much better today then I did 6 weeks ago. More on that tomorrow....

Day 44

2008-10-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.0, total - 42.6

I ate the Kashi Hot Cereal today. I had the Vanilla, and it really was not that full of flavor, but it tasted good. I was expecting a little more flavor, but I was not totally disappointed. I am interested to see how the Cinnamon flavor tastes.

As for work, it was not that interesting other than one thing. I was walking around the Fine China department and saw something that surprised me. I saw a crystal dreidel made by Waterford.

It is not that I have anything against dreidels, or Waterford, I just think it is really weird that we have a dreidel that cost $100 and doesn't even spin. Oh, that's right, I forgot to say that I tried several times to spin it and it would not spin.

Yesterday, I forgot to talk about what I was drinking. Obviously, no alcohol first of all, but really, all I drink is water. Every so often, maybe once a week, I have a Diet Coke. On the days I lift, I have a grape Powerade Zero (which is really good). Other than that, when I eat lunch, I add a packet of the Lipton Green Tea mix to my water. It breaks up the monotony of water.

That is all for this post, have a good one.

Day 43

2008-10-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.0, total - 41.6

I have tweaked my diet again. I realize that it has been awhile since I talked about what I am eating, so I will talk about it again today. I went grocery shopping yesterday, which overall, was not that exciting, but I did see something that made me a little confused. Check out the pic below:

As you can see, this is a box of Kashi High Fiber Cereal. What I don't understand is the picture or the name of the cereal. Good Friends? Are casual acquaintances not allowed to get an increased boost of fiber? Why are the people so happy? Are they so happy because they had experienced some blockage and they are now much more regular? If you click the link above, it takes you to the Kashi web site, specifically the page for this cereal. On that page it describes the cereal as follows: "This high-fiber trio of flakes, twigs, and granola is absolutely delicious." Am I the only one who does not get that excited about eating twigs? Am I a bird trying to build a nest? I do not understand. Can someone explain this please?

Just to clear things up, I am not bagging on Kashi in general. I did buy their oatmeal as I am trying to change what I am eating, and I have heard that Kashi is supped to be really good for you. In case you are wondering, I got the Vanilla and Honey Cinnamon flavors. As soon as I try them, I will let you know how it is. Anyway, I just don't understand the Good Friends cereal. Maybe it's just me.

I also bought Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt. I was eating Low-Fat Activia, but decided to try something new. The Light & Fit has less carbs than Activia, which should help.

Alright, now for the food. The first menu is for the days I lift weights as I will eat more protein on those days and the second menu is for the other days of the week.

Menu 1 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and possibly 1 day on the weekend as well)

Breakfast
1 banana - I still eat this every morning before working out.
2 egg scramble - I make this with onions, peppers (red, green and yellow), chicken sausage, spinach and parsley. Occasionally, I will eat this with 2 slices of Oroweat toast. I also mix in spices and hot sauce. It is really good.

Snack 1
Yogurt and an apple

Lunch
Salad - romaine, spinach, peppers (red, green and yellow), cucumbers, carrots, cabbage and this low-sodium/low-calorie spray salad dressing.
Chicken - I am going to barbecue chicken again and add about 3-4 oz to the salad (on some of these days, I will not have toast for breakfast, and I will make a sandwich for lunch).

Snack 2
Low-fat string cheese and either celery or carrots

Dinner (this isn't really dinner, more of another snack)
2-3 slices of low-sodium sandwich meat rolled with lettuce (and/or spinach) and mustard and low-fat cheese (I tried this tonight and it was really good)

Menu 2 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday)

Breakfast
1 banana - before working out.
Kashi Hot Cereal and an apple - More to talk about later after I actually try it.

Snack 1
Yogurt and celery

Lunch
Salad - romaine, spinach, peppers (red, green and yellow), cucumbers, carrots, cabbage and this low-sodium/low-calorie spray salad dressing.
Chicken - I am going to barbecue chicken again and about 3-4 oz to the salad.

Snack 2
Low-fat string cheese and carrots

Dinner
2-3 slices of low-sodium sandwich meat rolled with lettuce and mustard and low-fat cheese

After much thought, and consulting with DM, I think it will be good to change up what I am eating and control the carbs more. I am really starting to like this diet. I also realize that I am satisfied with what I am eating which makes sticking to the diet that much easier. We will see how it turns out at the end of this week.

Day 41 & 42

2008-10-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Net loss - 0.6, total - 40.6

I could not post last night as my internet decided not to work. I am not sure what the problem was, but there was nothing I could do. So, it is Sunday and I am watching the Chicago Bears game. Since I live in Southern California, the powers that be do not show the Bears here very often, so this is making me really happy to watch the game. Now if they could win, that would be even better. I changed my schedule a little bit for the game. I was going to go for a long walk today, but I woke up late, so I cut my walk in half (so I can watch this game), and I will go for another walk after the game.

Speaking of my walks. I had to work yesterday, so I woke up early and went for my walk yesterday morning like normal. I was not aware of what the weather was when I left and I nearly froze. Before I continue this, I have to say, it is not very often that I complain about being cold. Since I am large man, it is almost like I carry around my own personal heater and I do not get cold. One example of this follows: A few friends and I decided to go to Disneyland (which, according to rumor, is the happiest place on earth.....that does not sell beer) a couple Decembers ago. December in the OC is a lot different from December in Chicago (where I am from), so I wore a t-shirt and jeans. My friends wore hoodies and complained about the cold, but I thought it was ok. In fact, I noticed people there wearing scarves, mittens and even winter coats. I thought it was really weird, especially when we left and the temperature in the car said 55 degrees (13 degrees Celsius). That day I was not cold. Yesterday, I was FREEZING. My hands were numb and even my toes started to get cold. I did not like it, but when I made it to the top of the hill, the sun was out and it warmed up a little. I was still so cold, I didn't sweat which is very odd for me.

As for the diet, here are some pics.

This is from the first day of the diet.

This is from today.

I continue to be amazed at what I am doing and how well it is going. I was not really sure how I would react to this diet when I started, or even how well I would do. 6 weeks in, 41 pounds lighter, stronger and more energetic. I feel so good. What can you do in 6 weeks?

Day 40

2008-10-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today - 2.4, total 40.0

I was shocked to see how much I have lost since my last weigh in. I was not expecting that much of a drop. I am now right back on track as I have dropped 40 pounds in 40 days. 40 Pounds. It is such a big number and it makes me feel really good. I think a lot of that has to do with the hike from yesterday (which is mapped out here).

I am going to post a video of the hike, but that will have to wait. I did not finish editing it yet. As for pics, there will be more. It got late really quickly today, so this is a short post.

(To the person who posted the anonymous post yesterday, who are you?)

Day 39

2008-10-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.6, total - 37.6

Today was a good day. I had the day off so I went on a hike with RM and did laundry. The hike was really good while laundry was boring. The hike was long, but I made it through. We hiked in the Aliso and Wood Canyons Park. I have never been there, but it is beautiful. The hike ended up being exactly 6.0 miles and we walked it in just over 2 hours. I was really impressed by this because the first half of the hike is mainly uphill and there are parts that are really tough, but I pushed through it and made sure that there was only minimal resting. For the most part, we kept moving, and we only stopped to take pictures. This again reinforced that I am able to recover faster. RM even noticed that when I was going uphill, I was breathing hard, but when we got to flatter areas, I was breathing easier pretty fast.

Alright, enough boring reading, here are the pics:

This is the first part, we walked through the park to get to the trail.

Entering the trails, I still have no clue about

what I am getting into at this point.

After the main climb, up the Cholla Trail, which was the hardest part,

this is the view overlooking the 73 from the top part of the trail.

Me in front of the Saddleback mountains.

This was about 1/4 of the way through the hike. We are overlooking Laguna Canyon Road

(I hate driving on that road, but I enjoyed looking at everyone else suffering on it).

The only wildlife we saw on the hike was a bunny

(I was pretty happy we did not come across any snakes or cougars).

I am pointing at the hill I do not want to walk up. It was tough to get

up that hill as it is pretty steep and I had been climbing a lot already.

This is me hating RM for taking pics of me walking up the hill.

The view from the Top of the World (who knew it was in Orange County),

and also the halfway point of the hike (the view is a lot better without the haze).

Me realizing that we are only halfway done.

Right before we headed back down towards the end of the walk,

the view of where we had been.

And finally, the end. This was my favorite part.

And that is it for this post. RM took some video of the hike which I still need to go through. I am going to add it tomorrow.

Day 38

2008-10-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.6, total - 37.0

Today was an interesting day at the gym. I lifted (there will be a gun show on December 10, get your tickets now), and then got on the treadmill. The first 20 minutes were fine. I walked at an incline for 12 minutes. Then 2 people got on the treadmills on either side of me. On one side was a little brown man who apparently believes in East-Indian hygiene habits (he was a little ripe, and I know I get funky when I work out, but I am pretty sure it is not as bad as this guy). On the other side of me was an older lady (60's) who clearly was more concerned about how she smelled than the little brown man. She must have over compensated by bathing in her cheap perfume that smelled really bad. It smelled like a really bad knock off of a good perfume. And I forgot to mention the best part, there was a fan in front of all 3 of us that was oscillating. UUGGGHHH, every time it turned left, I got a big whiff of stinky to the right, and when the fan turned right, I nearly choked on $3 perfume from CVS. I was not amused to see I still had 39 minutes left on the treadmill. Somehow, I persisted and made it through the hour. They both left after 20 minutes, so I was able to breathe again.

As for food, I make the best eggs. I really do. This is a pic of what I eat every morning. I scramble 2 eggs with peppers (red, green and yellow), onions, and spinach. When the eggs are done, I put salsa on top of it. (This would be a better pic, but I burned them slightly today).

I have said it before, but I really like what I am eating and that is making such a big difference. I have been tempted to stray from my diet. The other day, when I went home, I really wanted chocolate for some reason. I found some and had a piece in my hand (a small individually wrapped Dove bar). For some reason, I stared at it in my hand and realized that I didn't need it. I was OK without eating it so I put the piece back. I resisted and I was pretty happy about that. It's a small change, but it is a positive change in this lifestyle shift. I just need to keep it up.

Day 37

2008-10-07T22:25:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.2, total - 36.4

Today was a good day. I am really starting to get back to normal after that brutal Sunday. I am really starting to like this whole weight loss thing. I also realize that this is so much more than a diet, it is a lifestyle change. I am making positive steps in my life such as going on 2 walks in a day to fight through what I was feeling. There are some other changes I have noticed in the past 5 weeks:

1. It's not so much that I am getting smaller, my clothes seems to be getting bigger at the same time. I am wearing pants 2 sizes smaller than the ones I wore to start the diet and I am on my last notch of my belt. I have not bought a new belt in a long time. I am also wearing clothes I have not worn in least 2 years.

2. I have more energy than before and when I am active, I don't sweat as much as before. I started out on short walks and I am now walking 4.5 miles a day.

3. Faced with the option of sitting around and being active, I am choosing to be be active. Twice now I have gone for 2 walks in a day and I have gone paddle boarding after my morning walk (even waking up at 5.30 AM on a Sunday).

4. When I do something more active, I recover a lot faster than before. What? You want an example. Of course I will share one with you. Shown below is the escalator in my store:

It might not look like much from the pic, but they are pretty tall and I work on the 1st floor. Today and yesterday, I worked the opening shift and when I got to work, I had to put my lunch in the fridge in the break room which is on the 3rd floor. Both days, instead of using the elevator, I walked up both sets of escalators (the escalators are not turned on in the morning before the store opens, thus, they are reduced to stairs) from the 1st to the 3rd floor (which is not that much, but is still like climbing 5-6 flights of stairs). Both times I climbed them, I was out of breath, but not for that long, maybe a couple minutes. Before the diet, I had to climb the escalators after work and I was struggling. I was so out of breath even after 5 minutes, that I was embarrassed.

Overall, this is going well and I am excited to continue and maintain.

Day 36

2008-10-06T19:30:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.4, total - 35.2

Wow. I am shocked that I lost that much weight today. I know going for a second walk helped. After reading the comment left by DM, I realize that going for 2 walks on a really tough day is such a change in my routine. Normally, I would have sat around and probably eaten even more. It actually felt good to get out and do something positive for once instead of wallowing. Also, thanks DM for reminding me what the name of the restaurant was. I could not remember in my last post, but the name of the first place we went is The Confidential. It was good, but then again, all we had was nuts and olives.

I realize I have lost a lot of weight in the past 5 weeks. James left a comment and asked a good question. I really don't know where I will be in 5 years or even next year. I do know that if I keep seeing the results and keep getting the compliments, it will make it easier to stay on this diet. After the 100 days are over, I know I will need to continue to exercise every day in order to maintain a healthier weight. As for the 1 pound a day, I know that is a lot, and I also know that my pace will slow down. For now, I am enjoying the weight loss and I really feel like I am doing it the right way, but I am well aware that this will slow down. It is not possible to lose weight at this pace for a sustained period of time, but I just have to maintain my diet and exercise to continue to move toward a slimmer me.

Thanks to Charles for the positive sentiment. I know I should have made it to the kayaking extravaganza yesterday, but I just could not bring myself to get out of my house. I felt a lot better after my 2nd walk and I will definitely be there for the next outing. As for the Chicago Cubs, I am still a fan. Just my like my sister (and her angry comment from the other day), Cubs fans have experienced a lot of pain (1989, 1998, 2003, and the last 2 years just in my lifetime alone), and we will continue to support them. One of these years, they have to win it all, and I will be happy in the knowledge that I have always been a fan. There was a positive though. The Chicago Bears won easily yesterday and are now in first place in the NFC North.

Shalini, I know it isn't smooth sailing. I know it is tough. I started thinking about all the things I have started, even the last time I tried to lose weight, and I got to thinking about how I never finish anything. I think I just was afraid of failing and falling short and regressing. This is something in my life that is very important right now and I know I have to not only complete it, but maintain it. I am feeling a lot better today. Getting on the scale and seeing the loss made me feel a lot more confident. I was so confident in fact, that when I went to the gym, I increased the weights I was lifting. I am still afraid of failing, but I know I need to take it one day at a time. One step at a time. One pound at a time.

Work was not that interesting today. Retail really is not that great a job. For example, I mentioned the Christmas ornaments and the glitter (glitter that gets all over my face and clothes after handling the ornaments). I really prefer ornaments like the one below:

Please note, no glitter. Nothing shiny that will get on your face when you wipe it after handling this ornament.

As work was slow, I was thinking more about Saturday night in San Diego. I forgot to mention that we ducked into Hooters in an attempt to wait out the rain. It was very convenient that the Haunted Hotel was right next door. I totally forgot to mention how hot our waitress was. She was so attractive we took a picture.

And on that note....

Day 34 & 35

2008-10-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Net loss this weekend - 0.4, total - 33.8

Yesterday, I went to San Diego with DM for a friend's b-day. It was pretty nice except that it started raining. We went out to some bars in the Gaslamp Quarter (which is an awesome place and you can check it out here)and even went to The Haunted Hotel. I have to say, overall, it was not that scary (you can check out here), and we had to wait in the rain, but by the time we left, the rain had stopped. The night was fun and it was good to go out with some friends. There was something interesting that I noticed that I want to talk about.

We met one of people at his downtown apartment that was about a mile from where we went. As it was a nice night out, we decided to walk to the Gaslamp. Had it been before my diet, I would have been worried about this but most likely, I would not have said anything. The worry would stem from me not being able to keep up and being out of shape and I would feel bad for walking slow and being out of breath. Amazingly, this did not happen. Granted, DM and the other guy walked really fast and I had to nearly run to keep up, but that's the thing, I did keep up, for the most part. By the time we got to the first bar, I was not out of breath and I was not sweating. If it had been 2 months ago, I would have lagged a lot, I would have been out of breath, and I would have been sweating a lot (which would have made me worried about smelling bad). I was shocked to realize that I wasn't sweating and thus, did not have to worry about odor.

I ate relatively healthy yesterday despite being at bars all night. I ate a Caesar salad from Marie Calendar's in the afternoon, some roasted chestnuts, salted almonds and olives from the first place in SD (I would tell you the name of it, but I really have no idea what it was called), and some sushi from the Tiki Lounge. The only problem I think was that I ate so late at night (we didn't eat until about 10.30). The best part was that I abstained from alcohol last night. I stuck to diet coke and water even after watching the Cubs lose (again), I wanted to drink quite a bit.

As for today, I was supposed to go paddle-boarding and kayaking again, but I did not make it. DM asked what my excuse was and I had no answer. I still have no answer. For some reason, I woke up depressed. I thought that going for a walk would clear my head and I would feel better. This did not happen. I almost felt worse. I really have no idea what it was, but I was in a horrible mood all day. I could not turn off my mind and I kept turning things over and over and just could not shake what I was feeling. This happens to me every so often and I just have to fight through it. I even ate horribly today. My roommate brought me back a Denver Omelette from Ruby's. I knew I should not eat it. I did not want to look at it, but something made me eat it all and the diced potatoes and wheat toast that came with it. Eating that depressed me more because it reminded me how I used to eat because I hated myself and hated how fat I was because I could not stop eating fast food. I took a nap and went for another walk and I am starting to feel a little better. Maybe walking 9.5 miles a day will do that.

I am interested to see what my number is tomorrow and if I am losing weight again.

Day 33

2008-10-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.6, total - 33.4

Today was a good day. I wore some clothes today that I have not worn in quite some time. I was kind of out of clothes for work, so I tried on a pair of pants that is 2 sizes smaller than the pants I usually wear. I was so shocked/happy that they fit. They fit well. I also wore a shirt that I have not worn in long time also. I have to say I looked pretty good. I also noticed that I am down to the last buckle on my belt. More of this and I will need a new belt and new clothes.

Anyway, I am at home, it is Friday night, and I am going to watch a movie.

Day 32

2008-10-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.8, total - 32.8

Another day, almost another pound. This is going to be a short post. It is late and I want to go to bed. Today was a good day. I went to see DM and RM before work. I made plans to go for a bike ride on Saturday morning with RM which will be a nice change of pace. Not that I have a problem with my morning walks, but a bike ride will be something different that will keep me going.

Work was not bad today. It has been slow recently. There was something weird that I noticed with the Christmas stuff we have in the store. In the Fine China department, we have all of these china figurines. One in particular reminded me of the Snow White version of Santa Claus. Maybe it is just me, but I have never seen Santa surrounded by forest animals, using a walking stick and with a cape. Wait a minute, maybe it is the friendly Pimp Santa. He has a cape and a walking stick and seems to be treating the animals nicely. And the statue is big. The Snow White Pimp Santa (that is the name I determined it should have) is about 2 feet tall and a foot wide. Very odd (there is a Pimp Santa Cookie Jar also, if you are interested).

Day 31

2008-10-01T20:30:00.001-07:00

Today - 0.4, total - 32.0

Things are going well. I woke up early again to work out. It was a good workout and I am getting through the treadmill hour with more incline and more speed. For example, I walked 25 minutes at level 4.0 of the incline at an average speed of 3.4 mph. It isn't blazing fast, but it is fast enough. Actually, I like the routine I have. 3 days a week, I go to the gym (24 Hour Fitness) and lift weights and walk on the treadmill for an hour. The other 4 days, I take a walk by my house. This walk has been changed and extended and right now, is about 4.5 miles and has a huge hill at the beginning and an uphill on the way back as well.

After that, I went to work. Nothing exciting about the job, but I had a great lunch with my co-worker from cosmetics. She has made it clear that we are not friends, we just work together. She was nice enough to forget her lunch and eat a grilled cheese in front of me with a side of mousse. Brutal. Of course, she is same person who had the sliders, hmmmm, maybe I should stop eating with her. Maybe not, we usually have good conversations (and by good, I mean really funny, crude and not at all PC).

Last night I talked about the movie I watched. What I forgot to watch was "The Biggest Loser". I watched the first 2 episodes and I liked it. I am really do not watch reality TV shows, but this is a good one. Fat people working their ass off trying to lose weight, much like me, but without the cameras. Seeing the differences before and after is pretty inspiring. I am hoping that I will see the results they do and if I stick with what I am doing, I will. I already do see some of the results which makes it that much easier to stay on it.

And that brings us to the end of this post. Have a good day.

Day 30

2008-09-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.6, total - 31.6

30% done. This is so sweet. I am amazed at how far I have come on this diet. I am pretty sure I said this before, but when I started, I was skeptical. Seeing what I have accomplished, and seeing the results, I am really happy I have come this far. And I want to thank everyone for their comments and their support, but I know that I am the one waking up at 5 AM and going to work out. It is me walking on the treadmill and hating every minute of it until I am done.

Today was more of the same. I work up early, went for my 4.5 mile walk and then went to work. After work, I went to DM's house to watch a movie. We watched Son of Rambow (yes, that is spelled correctly). I thought it was good, but a little slow.

That is all for today. More tomorrow and the next 70 days.

Day 29

2008-09-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

Today - 2.0, total - 31.0

I love when I have the day off, except when I get woken up by a phone call at 6:30 in the morning. I was a little bummed, but made up for it by going to the gym and working out. I actually had a good workout even though I am sore from all the paddle-boarding yesterday. I'm walking faster on the treadmill than before and I am using level 4.0 on the incline now.

As for the rest of the day, I went to hang out with DM all day. It was low-key. We took some pics and did measurements. I am down 7.5 inches on my waist which is pretty amazing. I am really liking all the results I am seeing and all the changes. For example, the jeans I wore today used to be so tight, I didn't even need a belt to wear them. Today, for those same jeans, I had to wear a belt as I can now take them off without unbuttoning them.

That is all for today. I am really tired and want to get some sleep.

Day 28

2008-09-28T17:15:00.001-07:00

Today - 1.0, total - 29.0

I am happy I am losing weight again. It feels good. I woke up early this morning and went for my walk. After that, I went paddle-boarding again. What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was windy, and I did horrible. I think I fell in about 20 times. Today, I did so much better. There was no wind, so I was able to stay up longer. I even made it around a couple times without falling in. Granted, this is all without actually standing up. I found paddling on my knees is what is going to work for me right now. I did try standing up today, and I did a lot better. I was able to stay on my feet for a few minutes, or at least what felt like a few minutes, it might have only been about 15 seconds.

As for what it looks like:

This is first step. Lessons on how to be on the board.

Then, there was getting more help and tips.

After that, I tried by myself (I fell in about 3 seconds after this pic was taken).
I even tried kayaking (oddly enough, we fell in about 3 seconds after this was taken). I also tried the 1 man kayak.

Needless to say, 3 seconds later....

Finally, I tried sitting on the board.

Success (and I did not fall in).

Thus, it was a fun day. Tiring, but fun today as well.

Day 27

2008-09-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.8, total - 28.0

So today was the big day. Paddle-boarding. I did not succeed. I pretty much spent the day falling off the board, swallowing salt water and swimming back to the shore. I really have no ability to balance. I think I should have known better because I almost fall off the treadmill every time I use it. And it isn't like I lose my balance once or twice on the treadmill, I have to pay attention or I could fall off any minute. Paddle-boarding was not pretty. By the end of the day, I got the hang of it a little. Instead of standing, I was sitting on the board and paddling that way. It was actually fun, and I am going to try again tomorrow. There will be pictures, but I have not received them yet.

As for the diet, it is going well. I am back to losing weight, and I am still ahead of the 1 pound a day curve. I am not sure why, but eating fruit has started to affect my negatively. The last few times I have eaten an apple, I have had really bad stomach pains. I didn't eat an apple today, and I felt fine all day. I have to tweak what I am eating again so that I am still getting some fruit in my diet.

That is all for today, after my morning walk and the paddle-boarding, I am tired.

Day 26

2008-09-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.8, total - 27.2

I am feeling so good. I am losing weight again and I am noticing some more small changes. My shirts are fitting so much looser now, which is cool. I really feel like I making good strides. It has been a good week, and I am going to go get some rest. I am going paddle-boarding tomorrow (pic bleow). We'll see how it goes and I will post some pics of it.

Day 25

2008-09-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.0, total - 26.4

SO SWEET. Not only am I 1/4 of the way done with this lifestyle change, but I have broken through the plateau. I am 25% of the way through and I am still ahead of the 1 pound a day. Stepping on the scale this morning and seeing the weight loss, I was so happy. I really feel like I am making huge strides in this. I am eating such good food and I feel great working out. I realize a lot of these blogs have started to sound repetitive, and I am sorry, but I am not sure what else to talk about.

Ok, so, 25 days ago, I was 26.4 pounds heavier, I was a little nervous about this whole diet and I really didn't know what to expect. Going back through the last 25 days, I can see how far I have come. I feel different, which I can't quantify, but I can definitely tell. I don't want to drink alcohol, I don't feel tired, I don't sweat as much (working out not included), and I feel satisfied with what I am eating. My good friend from college (who is a nutritionist), told me that "bored eating leads to binge eating" recently and it concerned me. I don't want to fall off the wagon and lose the progress I have made, but when I think about it, I am loving what I am eating and really kind of surprised I am losing weight still. It makes this diet so easy. Also, I went to a website to see what my BMI (Body Mass Index) is now, and what it was, and I was shocked to see it has already gone done 4 points. Obviously, I am still above the point I want to be, but after 25 days, I am 4 points closer to getting to a good number.

I read something when I was in high school, and I am pretty sure it is true, but I was thinking about it today at work. For every pound overweight a person is, there is an extra mile of blood vessels and capillaries that the body produces to supply blood to that pound. With the weight I have lost, that is a marathon's length of blood vessels and capillaries that I have lost. This means my heart has to pump a little less as my blood does not have to travel as far. It is a weird thing to think that there are 26.4 miles less of blood vessels and capillaries in my body, and that is just a bit longer than a marathon, but like I said before, I get bored at work a lot.

25%. 1/4. Bring it on.

Day 24

2008-09-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.0, total, 25.4

Zip. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I am firmly on the plateau. I am not losing, not gaining. It is annoying, but I just have to keep pushing. I have to keep going. This is tough. I have changed my diet a little. I am going to eat less fruit and cut out those carbs and see if that will help. I have added some more protein as well. For example, this morning, I had 2 eggs scramble with peppers, onions, spinach and some low-fat chicken sausage. It was really good. Also, for my second snack today, instead of a pear, I had some celery. Some tweaks that I am hoping will pay off tomorrow morning when I step on that scale.

Even as I write this, I am hungry, but staying away from my kitchen. Too many temptations. Until I break through, I will keep these brief.

Day 23

2008-09-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today - (0.2), total - 25.4

Uuughhh, I hit my plateau. I knew it was bound to happen, and I was expecting it, but I still don't have to like it. I am still in a good place and I am 25 pounds lighter than when I started this, so I am happy about that. I know I need to maintain, keep working out, keep at it (I cut cheese out of my diet and put it into this blog apparently).

I really have nothing to say, but I am glad I am eating sandwiches now. They are really good.

Day 22

2008-09-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.4, total - 25.6

I am back on track. I did go for two 4 mile walks yesterday to make up for the weight gain. I realized, after talking to DM, that this is a lifestyle change. Normally, on a Sunday, or any day off, I would do nothing. I would sit around, watch TV, eat and that's it. I am really happy I got out and did something. Even though it was just for an hour, it was better than sitting around for that hour, and going on 2 walks is twice as good.

I really feel like I am making improvements in what I can do also. When I started this program, I walked about 2 miles a day, and when I used the treadmill, it was a very painful hour without any incline. Today when I went to the gym, I walked for an hour and did about 13 or 14 minutes of level 3.0 incline. Last week, I was walking about 25 minutes at level 2.0 and have stepped up the incline (granted, the difference between 2.0 and 3.0 is not that much, but it is a change).

I also have noticed my clothes are fitting looser, which is nice. I used to go to work, tie my tie and immediately unbutton the top button of my shirt so I would be more comfortable. Now I can work all day with the top button buttoned and I am fine. My neck is smaller than it has been in a long time. It is a little change, but it is a satisfying difference.

That is all for today, but I am hoping for a good number tomorrow.

Day 21

2008-09-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today - (1.2), total - 25.2

I let myself down today. I had a goal for today that I totally blew last night. I went out with a couple co-workers last night to a BBQ restaurant in Long Beach and I tried to be good, but I had a Caesar Salad. It had grilled chicken on it and I thought it would be ok (I tried to look for the Nutritional info on the salad, but it is not available), but getting on the scale this morning was pretty discouraging. I went for a walk anyway after that, and I think I might go for another one this afternoon to make up for it. I know I took a step backwards and I just have to fight back. I am pretty sure the sandwich I made might have changed what my body was used to, but I think it should be ok.

So, I took pics of the walks I go on in the morning. These pics show why I walk outside as opposed to a treadmill.

This is view into the valley looking at Mission Viejo.

This was taken from the same point, but looking south.

This is the top of the hill looking into the valley.

This is also from the top of the hill, but looking the other way.

This is the hill I walk up now, well, part of it, looking down.

This is the view from 1/3 up the hill looking up.

More of the uphill view.

That is all for this post. I am going to go for another walk after I watch some football.

Day 20

2008-09-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.0, total, 26.4

SO SWEET. 20 days done. 1/5, or 20%, in the books and I am ahead of schedule. This makes me so happy. I have been thinking about this all week, as I knew what today meant. It means that I am sticking to my commitment. I am making a difference and I making improvements. Alright, enough patting myself on the back, I know I can't rest on what I have done, but continue to improve. Also, just to show you, the top pic is from Day 1 and the lower pic is from this morning (also, remember you can click on the pictures for a larger image).

Seeing as I have eaten the same thing for the past 19 days, and I wanted to try something different, I have changed my diet a little bit. The main change I am making is that I am not making my brown rice and chicken for now. I am going to be making sandwiches. I will still get my carbs and protein, but in a different, tastier form.

So how did I make my sandwich you ask? Good question, let's go over it.

First, you have to toast the bread...

The next step is the condiments: Mustard on one side and

a low-fat Cream Cheese mixed with a Red Pepper Spread (from Trader

Joe's) on the other side...

Lettuce is next (thanks to LoveSocks for the "lettuce on both sides" secret)...

More veggies is after that with Tomatoes on one side and cucumbers on the other (pepper on the tomatoes is good too)...

4 slices of low-fat Peppercorn Turkey is so good...

Top that off with a slice of low-fat Provolone and some Parsley...

Put it together, cut it half (thus, one half is all mustard and the other half is the red pepper/cream cheese spread) and add a pear...

Finally, add a small salad, and you have a really good lunch. A really, really delicious lunch.Enjoy the rest of your day.

Day 19

2008-09-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.4, total - 25.4

Wow, so I wanted to sleep in today. Thank you Dirty Martini for calling me at 6 AM. The only positive is that I went to the gym and worked out and by 9 AM, had the rest of the day in front of me. Working out done, I went to hang out with DM all day. It was actually a good day. The Running Man (RM) and DM helped me with my weight chart that shows how much weight I have lost compared to the 100 pound goal (looks good doesn't it). After that, I went and watched DM ride her horse.

Eventually, we made it to Target to get me a food scale, finally. I tried buying one last week, but luckily, it did not work. Now that I have one, I can actually measure my food, and thus, get a more accurate look at the calories I consume every day. I also bought some inserts for my shoes so they are more comfortable (I hate to admit it, but I'm gellin). DM then made up for waking me up, by making me a big salad for dinner (thanks).

That is all for today, I am tired and it is late.

Day 18

2008-09-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.0, total - 25.0

Wow, 25 pounds. This is great. 25% of the weight loss goal already. This has been a great experience. I was talking to DM today, and another friend yesterday, and even after only a few days, I feel great. I feel like I am sleeping better, I have more energy and I feel different. I don't know what it is exactly, but there is a difference. I know there will be a plateau, and I know I can fight through that. I feel stronger about what I can do and what I am doing (btw, as I am typing this, I am watching Hole in the Wall. This is such a ridiculous show, I had to include a clip (which, if I was on the show, would probably look a lot like what happens below)).

Work, HA. Work was interesting today. I have the next 3 days off, awesome, and for some reason, it felt like I was in school and there was a long weekend. I don't know why, but I was so hyper in the last hour of work. It really felt like the day before a holiday weekend. A little wierd. Also, as I said the other day, we have our Christmas stuff out already. It has only been 2 days, and we already have a couple boxes of broken ornaments. I would have taken more pics, but really, you see one box of broken ornaments, you've seen them all. Another annoying thing about the ornaments is glitter. When I handle them, I get glitter all over my hands, which is hard to get rid of, and then I touch my face and the glitter is all over my face. I hate that.

The other interesting thing happened at work today was that one of the cosmetics counter was having a promotion to highlight their new Brow Bar. They were doing free eyebrow waxings. So, yes, I got my eyebrows waxed. I realize that my eyebrows aren't that bad, but they were connected. Now they are not. I went from eyebrow to eyebrows in one rip of the paper. The lady who did commented on the fact I didn't flinch. I feel pretty good about the whole thing.

That is all for today, I am sleeping in tomorrow.

Day 17

2008-09-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.0, total - 24.0

I hate to say it, but today was more of the same. I woke up early to work out (that hour on the treadmill is such a pain, but feels so good when I am actually done), and then went to work. Work was not that interesting other than the fact we already have Christmas stuff in the store. It is so early, and so annoying. There is nothing like a store full of ornaments (and some weird ones as shown in the pic on the side) and it's not even October.

Enough about that. I know I have said it before, but, finally, this blog is about my menu. Below is a sample of my average daily food:

Morning:

1 Banana (before workout)

2 cups of Cantaloupe or Honeydew

1 cup of Grapes

1 Hard-boiled Egg

Snack 1:

1 Activia Yogurt, low-fat

1 Orange or Pear

Lunch:

1 cup Brown Rice

4-5 oz. grilled Chicken (marinated in a low-sodium Garlic-Herb Marinade)

Salad with 1 to 2 cups Romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup Spinach, 4 slices of Cucumber, 4 Grape Tomatoes, 1/2 cup Broccoli, 1/2 Cauliflower, 1/4 cup Peppers (Red, Green and Yellow), 1/4 cup Carrots, and 1/4 cup sliced Celery. (I try not to put salad dressing on this, but there have been days that I put a little on.)

Snack 2:

1 Apple (This varies a lot, but is usually a piece of fruit, or some Celery sticks or some Carrots.)

That is all I eat in a day. I have been drinking a lot of water. 5 or 6 bottles of water and on days I lift, a 20 oz of Powerade Zero (mmmm Grape). That is all for today.

Day 16

2008-09-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today - 0.4, total - 23.0

I struggled to wake up today. I knew where I was going and I did not want to go. I finally got going and went on my morning walk. I walked a different way today and walked up the giant hill by my house. According to the elevation maps, it is only a 250 foot change, but in a short distance. I am happy to say I made it to the top without stopping, but it was not easy.

Work was boring again. I apologize for these past couple blogs. I feel a little tapped out, but I am staying strong on the diet. More later...

Day 15

2008-09-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.6, total - 22.6

I feel great today. After a slight gain, I am back on the weight loss slide. I went to work out this morning again. I lifted more today than I did last week, and I still feel fine. One of the changes I made was that I was just doing 1 set of 15 reps, but today I did 2 sets of 10 reps. Not much different, but a change and more of a workout (it sounds like very little, but I am trying to build up to more). I walked on the treadmill again, and it was a little painful. For some reason, my shins were hurting, but I kept walking. I used the incline again today, the first time for 0.4 miles at 2.0 and again at the end of the walk at 2.0 for over 7 minutes. It really is a brutal thing to be on a treadmill for an hour, but it is so satisfying when I finish. Also, I don't know if this is common now, or new, but the treadmills at my gym have decline, so for a few minutes, I walked down hill as well, which was nice.

Work was pretty much the same old, same old. I had lunch with my new friend from cosmetics which was nice. She is a little crazy, but has also been inspired by me and my diet. She decided that she is going to stick to her diet as well. This means she cannot order sliders and wings anymore (she is the one who was nice enough to eat sliders in front of me when I was eating rabbit food Saturday night). And it was slow today, and I did not walk that many laps, but I did get 4.4 miles just at work, according to my pedometer.

That is it for today. Tomorrow, I am changing the route of my morning walk, but there will be more about that tomorrow.

Day 14

2008-09-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today - 1.0, total - 21.0

I am back on track. I was so happy/relieved to get on the scale this morning and see the weight going back down (especially after going out to eat last night). I really am starting to like this diet and the workouts. I woke up again and walked (4 miles) before work. It actually makes work easier as far as standing all day and walking around. I walked a total of 6.5 miles today including my morning walk. It doesn't feel like that is that far, but I did go over my daily 10,000 steps. I had to go in early for a meeting today, which really was not that exciting, until my boss announced to everyone that I was on a diet and that I had this blog. It was a little odd, but at least everyone knows now.

Today is Sunday, so football is on again. Unfortunately, the Bears lost today after last weeks huge win over the Colts. These are lazy days, so there is not much to blog about.

Day 13

2008-09-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

Today - (0.6), Total - 20.0

That's what it is. Lucky number 13. Today I gained 0.6 pounds. Admittedly, this depressed me a little this morning. I waffled about going for a walk, but when I stepped out the door, I thought a lot about it on my walk. I ended up extending my walk, again, and it is now about 4 miles according to my pedometer ( I drove it in my car, and it appears my pedometer is pretty accurate). I realize that every once in awhile, especially after tweaks to my diet, there will be days that I either don't lose or even gain weight. I also realized what I think is the cause of this. Yesterday was the first day I ate the chicken broth brown rice. I bought the low sodium broth, but it still had a lot. I think this extra sodium played a part in water retention as I drank the same amount of water that I have been drinking, but I did not pee that much. This made me realize that instead of all broth, I need to split it, and cook with 1/2 water and 1/2 broth. Tweaks. Small changes. I tried it one way, it didn't work and so I must change it and try again. I am still going strong.

Work today was not that exciting. A pretty vanilla day, but after work I went out with one of my co-workers and her husband. I met her awhile ago but never really hung out with her that much before the last 2 weeks. We went to Dave & Busters. BRUTAL. Of course, they ordered the sliders and fries. I fought really hard and was pretty unsure I could hold out, but I ended up getting the house salad without cheese. It was basically salad greens and a few grape tomatoes. I am actually really happy about the fact I held out as this was my first time at a restaurant since the diet began (also, including work and dinner and walking around after, I got about 7,200 steps, or 3.4 miles today).

The more I think about it, I am actually happy where I am at right now. 13 days is not a long time and I have a lot to show for it. More tomorrow...

Day 12

2008-09-12T20:25:00.001-07:00

Today - 1.4, total - 20.6

Today was an interesting day. I woke up early to go workout before work. I lifted again at the gym, which was ok, but then I got on the treadmill. First of all, I noticed that my heart rate is adjusting to the walking. For example, on Monday, my heart got up to 173 and averaged 163. Today, it started around 140 and stayed in the 150's. It did not get above 160 until I walked at an incline, which I only did for 5 minutes and only at 2.0. I was walking a little faster than normal today too. I have to say, it feels so good to work out and I feel good after I am done.

The other weird thing that happened on the treadmill happened after I switched machines. The machine I was on did not have a fan, so I switched to the machine that I thought had a fan pointing right at it. I started on that machine and noticed that there were 2 breezes I was enjoying. 1 was from the fan in front, which was actually positioned to hit my treadmill and the one to the left of me, and another was from the ceiling fan behind me. This positioning meant that my front left side and my back were being cooled, but the front right side was not. It is a very weird feeling to have 3/4 of your body in the path of a breeze. I could actually feel the beads of sweat build up on the right side of my forehead and not the left. Very odd. Of course, by the end, neither of the fans mattered.

Work was pretty good, it was slow. I wore my pedometer for the first time. I walked about 6500 steps, or just over 3 miles. I wasn't sure how much to expect, but I did not walk that much today. I didn't do any laps, so I guess 3 miles isn't that bad. (I did reset my pedometer before I took the pic, obviously).

I think that is it for today. Oh yeah, I had my new rice today. It was really good and went well with my burnt chicken. Thanks for both DM.

Day 11

2008-09-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

Today: 1.2 pounds, total: 19.2 pounds

There are still more changes to come on this blog. I am just getting the hang of the formatting and the html codes to change it to how I want it. I think it is pretty close to what I want. As for what I did today, more of the same. I woke up, went for a walk (it has now been extended to 3.6 miles), and made my food for a few days. This was a little different than normal. I got a recipe from Dirty Martini and had to get some ingredients for it, chicken broth (fat free and low sodium) and thyme. I tried a little after I made it and it is pretty good (thanks DM). After that (and much scrambling), DM and I went to Walmart to get a pedometer and a food scale. This was a fun experience as the whole time, we just found ways to insult each other and waste time. What was supposed to be a quick trip took over an hour because she ended shopping for other stuff (really, who needs a place mat with all the Presidents of the US on it? It will be outdated in 4 months). The best part was that when I got my scale home, it was broken and would not work. BRUTAL. I returned it, but used the trip as a chance to test the pedometer. Apparently, from my couch to car to Walmart and back was just over 400 steps. Not a bad start.

As I was talking about food, there is story I think you might find interesting. I mentioned before that I was on a weight loss program three years ago. When I started that, my trainer told me to only eat fruits and vegetables. This was made easier by the fact that I lived and worked right next to a Ralphs grocery store. Every day, I would get the pre-cut fruits and vegetables and eat them and I didn't think much about it. The food would make my stomach hurt, but I just thought it was the fact that the only vegetables I ate before the diet were surrounded by meat, cheese and bread. One day, one of the guys I worked with took me to Whole Foods and I had their salad buffet. No pain. Nothing. And it tasted better. I didn't notice or think much about it until I ate at Ralphs again and the pain came back. It almost made me nauseous. That was the last time I ate from the salad buffet at Ralphs and the last time I had an upset stomach after eating only fruits and vegetables. Maybe it's just me (DM thinks it's all in my head), but I felt a difference. There must be something that they spray on their food to keep it fresh longer. I don't know, but that is my story. Now I am getting my fruits and vegetables from Trader Joes.

One more day done, one more pound, one more step closer.

Day 10

2008-09-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

Weight lost today: 1.0 Total weight lost: 18.0

I am 10% done, 1/10 of the way there and I feel great. I am so stoked about how I am doing and all the support I have gotten. Today was a normal day, woke up early, worked out, went to my friends (but did not scramble) and then went to work. I did walk figure 8's at work again, but I was so bored, I counted the steps and did some math. Here goes: 1 circuit is 128 steps which means that it is about 320 feet (this is based on the average step being 30 inches as I have not measured my steps yets). That means for every 16.5 laps I do, that is 1 mile. I have no idea how many laps I did, but I was walking for quite some time. Tomorrow, I am going to buy a pedometer so that I will have to do less math. Not that I mind the math, but I think having a pedometer is a little more accurate than counting steps and using an average step length.

Moving on. Thanks to Chachi, I have a new drink. He told me about Powerade Zero when we were on vacation. I have never been into energy drinks or really had a use for them, as I was not very active before. I tried the grape version of Powerade Zero and I really like it. It tastes so much better than any other sports drink I have ever had. As an added bonus, there are no carbs and no calories and it has extra B12. I am not going to drink it every day, but I think I will get it on days that I lift.

I think that is all for today. I am going to be making changes to this blog and hopefully it will be more interesting. Please let me know what you think.

Day 9

2008-09-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am sore. I woke up this morning and I felt good. I went for my walk and even extended it a little bit. I had pre-made my lunch (my salad and brown rice and chicken), so getting ready for work was easy. However, when I got to work, I realized how sore I was from lifting yesterday. I knew it would happen, and I thought that I did not do that much yesterday, but it was I was more sore than I thought I would be. Raising my arms above my head was painful (ok, so I just passed out for an hour, but I am back). It feels good though. I know this is just the beginning.

I feel like I should talk about my food. I talked about exercise, so food is the other major change I have made. I do not eat as much now, but I eat more often. I try to eat every 3 hours or so. In the morning, I have a banana before I walk. After I work out, I have either some slices of cantoulope or honey dew and grapes, but I am going to add to that a hard-boiled egg after I work out so I have some protein. I have a snack a few hours later, it is usually a piece of fruit and/or a yogurt. For lunch, I have my rice and chicken and salad. My brown rice is pretty plain right now, but I got a recipe for it yesterday that should make it tastier. I marinate my chicken in a low-fat/low-sodium garlic herb marinade that is pretty good. My salads this week have romaine lettuce, spinach, green and yellow peppers, cucumbers, mini-tomotoes and celery. I don't always use salad dressing, but sometimes I use a low-fat Caesar (as that is all I have right now). I have another snack a few hours later which is usually another piece of fruit or carrots. I realize this is not much food, but I don't feel that hungry. There are times that I get hungry between snacks, but when I decide I am done eating for the day, I do alright.

As for my walk, I said I extended it, but I also changed it a little. I used to walk up to one light (uphill), and then down two lights. This was not that long a walk, but now I walk up two lights and back down (it doesn't sound like much, but these are not normal blocks, they are about 1/2 a mile long). Also, I used to cross the street, but I stopped that. As you can see in the picture, on one side of the street, there are trees a few feet from the wall. The last time I walked between the trees and the shrubs, a spiderweb broke across my nose. This was enough to make me stay on one side of the street as the tree-shrub-spider web playground runs the whole length of the street. In fact, that same morning, there were a few place I had to walk around the tree because I saw a big web and even bigger spider between the tree and shrubs.

That is all for today. I am going to lift again tomorrow, so I am going to get some rest.

Week 1 Results

2008-09-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

Today was Day 8 and it was a good day. I had the day off and I got a chance to do stuff I have been putting off. I did laundry, made salads/rice/chicken for a couple days, and I finally went through the pics from my camera. Also, for some unknown reason, my laptop decided to work today. This made me happy as I could add the pics from my trip to my laptop. I also had a chance to go to the gym and starting lifting. I didn't really do that much, but I tried to do what I was doing when I was working out before. It felt good, and then I walked for an hour on the treadmill. Walking for an hour on a treadmill is such a mental exercise. The physical part is there too, but it is really hard to stay walking and keep going for an hour. I was able to focus on my music and I kept saying, "One more song, one more song." This hour was better than last time, but not much. I picked a treadmill underneath an oscillating fan, but it did not help that much. Thus, about 15 minutes into it, the sweat began and it didn't end. I mean really, it was pretty bad, but I doubt you want to hear about it. I mean, hear more than I have already said. I feel like I need to drink about a gallon of water to make up for the sweat I lost. OK, enough, moving on.

And now the results. So far, on this diet, I have lost 16 pounds. I am so stoked about the results, but I know this pace will not last. I know that it will slow down and I will need to continue doing what I am doing. I also had my measurements taken again. As far as that goes, I was not really expecting much to change, but I have lost 4 inches off my waist. That is pretty exciting. I am ahead of the pace and fell like I am going to enjoy the results a lot. That is all for today, it is late and I have to get up early so I can go for my walk before work.

Day 6 & 7

2008-09-07T19:21:00.001-07:00

This blog is a day late, but still worthwhile. I could not get to a computer yesterday and thus, have to double blog today. Saturday was not a good day. I woke up early to walk and then went to work. We were having a sale and it was so crowded. It is annoying to work on a day like that and the people that show up don't really help. It's not that I have a problem with working in a crowded store, it's just some of the people are really rude.

Enough whining about work. After work, I went over to my friend's house. I work with her, so we decided to hang out after work. The best part was that her dog became my friend right away. The dog sat on my lap and would not move when my friend called her. This made me happy.

Today, Sunday, was much the same as yesterday. I woke up, but not as early, and went for my walk and then went to work. I stretched my walk a little, but not too much. I am starting to like waking up and going for a walk. It is a nice start to my day and gives me a chance to get out and get some fresh air (well, as fresh as the air is here).

The other good thing about today is that football is starting. The Bears are actually on national TV right now (and winning), so I am not that focused on this blog. I hope you had a great weekend. There will be more tomorrow as this is the end of the first week.

Day 5

2008-09-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

Clever title, I know. I am very creative. Alright, I am feeling pretty good. My legs are not hurting much, if at all. I think I started this workout/diet at an advantage. I have been thinking about this process and the diet I was on before and I think I should explain:

About 3.5 years ago, I moved to California from Chicago (It wasn't actually Chicago proper, but no one has heard of Winthrop Harbor). I move to LA and worked in an office training for the job that made me relocate. My boss there hooked me up with a physical trainer and I began a diet/workout plan. I remember it very clearly. I was in brutal shape, worse than when I started this diet. My trainer told me I could only eat fruits and vegetables and only drink water, no meat, dairy, salad dressing, fried food etc. I thought he was crazy, but the results were fast and impressive. When I started that diet, I was very sedentary. I worked at a desk and did not exercise at all. The pain in my legs and body lasted for about a week before I felt comfortable and I could do very little when I first started.

As much as I hate my job, more on that later, I think it's helping me on this diet. For the past 9 months, I have been on my feet 40 hours a week, walking around a lot and staying relatively active (granted, I would come home and sit on my couch, but I wasn't sitting at a desk all day). So when I started this, I thought it would be brutal, but I have jumped into it pretty well. I like walking and I feel like the walk I take by my place should be extended. I am adapting well and I am very happy with how the diet has progressed in a very short time. 5 days, 5 workouts, 5 days of healthy eating. It is very early in the program and I need to pace myself.

As for my job, there are times, I get very annoyed and sometimes very amused. I will not whine about how it annoys as I am not sure if the customers at our particular store are less than average intelligence or if they don't try. One amusing story is that I actually had a customer tell me that she wanted something shipped to an island and that she couldn't drive to the island because the island was surround by water. Let that marinate, I'll wait.......Ready? I felt that I could not let the opportunity pass and inquired if the island was surrounded completely by water. She said it was. Ridiculous.

That is all for today. Have a good one, 1/20 done.

(For R (you left the comment about tilapia), please email me saschablog100@yahoo.com)

Day 4

2008-09-04T22:46:00.000-07:00

I am exhausted. Really. Tired. I think my treadmill travesty from last night wore me out. I have these massive cobwebs in my legs that are killing me. I think I underestimated some things. Let's see, my job requires me to be on my feet, and walking around, 8 hours a day. I have gotten used to that, but then I took 12 days off. Instead of easing back into work, I decided to start working out, walking on a treadmill and uphill both ways. I am sore. I went for a walk this morning before work. Bad idea. I also knew that I needed some more exercise today so I did some laps in the Large Department Store where I work. I was actually doing figure 8's, one loop around the pots and pans and the other loop around the escalators. I have to admit, after about 10 circuits, I was in pain. I kept going, but, not very fast. No one stopped me to ask what I was doing.

I know by next week, I won't feel anything, and will be in the full swing of this, but for now, I want to whine. Get over it. Actually, I think when I went walking with Dirty Martini, I caught a little whine from her. She has it bad and it must be contagious. I think I will feel better soon.

My food has gotten a little more exciting, as all I have been eating since I started has been fruits and vegetables with a few hard-boiled eggs thrown in. Knowing I had other food in the fridge waiting for me, when I got back from my walk, sweating ridiculously again (as a side note, I figured once I got home, that would be it, no more sweating....I was wrong. I feel like I should get a headband or something, but it will just be a sloppy mess when I am done working out and apparently even worse 45 minutes after I am done working out), I made some food. I had some chicken breasts and some brown (yeah, that's right) rice. I marinated the chicken, and cut all the pieces in half and made the rice. After bbqing, I had half a chicken breast, about a cup of brown rice and an apple and some celery. It was so good, but the rice was a little bland. I saved the extra chicken so I will have some chicken (look at him, he loves it) the next few days. Sweet.

I am going to try to wake up early tomorrow so I can walk before work again tomorrow. This is painful, like I said, but I have to keep going. I have a goal and I have a plan. 4 days done.

Day 3

2008-09-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

UUUgghhh. I made it through the day, but it was not easy. Much thanks to those leaving comments, please keep posting. Today, was not that bad. I worked for the first time since my vacation and was very happy it was not busy. I made all my salads for the week last night, so all I had to do was make breakfast this morning. I am not a fan of fruits and vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I really don't like it, but when I step on the scale, I like it. I know the long term is more important than the short term so I have to keep going.

After work, I went to the gym to walk on a treadmill. I know this is an old joke, but it still amazes me that people will try to get the closest possible parking spot in the gym parking lot (even driving around a few minutes to find it), and then go in the gym and walk on a treadmill. I do it too, so maybe it's not that weird. I felt like 2 days of hills called for a day of flat walking. I was wrong. I forgot the mental concentration and willpower it takes to stay on a treadmill for an hour. Walking outside, even with the hills, is easier because even if you want to bail out, you still have to walk back home. On a treadmill, you can hit stop and just walk to your car (which, if the cards align, is as close as possible to the entrance to the gym). Tomorrow, I am going to walk outside again. Below is a break down of my thoughts for my hour on the treadmill:

60 minutes to go (MTG): Feels good, glad I came here, 1 hour to go.

59.34 MTG: Must cover the timer or I will stare at it the whole time.

55 MTG: Am I done yet? I'm feeling tired.

50 MTG: My legs hurt, my shins are starting to feel it, how much longer?

45 MTG: 1/4 done, in 3 minutes, 30% done, 2 minutes after that 1/3 done, I think I can, I think I can, but my shins hurt a lot more now.

42 MTG: Starting to sweat, I should have picked the treadmill under the fan. This will not turn out well. I think my legs are broken, my shins are screaming.

40 MTG: Seriously, I'm in pain (my legs appear to be intact somehow), let's check the pulse, 159, not bad.

30 MTG: Where did that last 10 minutes go, I must be passing out. I am glad this treadmill has rails on the side or I would have fallen off like 15 times. Why can't I balance? Is one leg shorter than the other? Is the room tilted? I must investigate when I am done.

28 MTG: I am in pain, I am over halfway done, let's just stop now. Pulse 162.

27 MTG: Stop being weak. We got this. We got this. Legs finally warming up and that blister is not a factor.

25 MTG: Sweating a lot.

24 MTG: OK, really...are we there yet?

22 MTG: I can't do this.

20 MTG: 2/3 done, I CAN do this.

15 MTG: I hate exercise. I want a cheeseburger.

12 MTG: Sweating even more. I can feel the sweat bead up on my forehead after I wipe it. Gross. Both shirts I am wearing are wet. Next time, I am using the treadmill by the fan.

10 MTG: Alright, 5/6 done, we can do this. Pulse 169.

4 MTG: What is longer, the first 40 minutes or the last 4 minutes? I think it might be the last 4 minutes.

1 MTG: Finally.

1 hour done: Nice, I knew I could do it, now just 5 minutes of cool down.

I have to re-assess the mental willpower it takes to do this. I know I can, I just have to stay on the path for one more step, one more minute, one more pound, one more vegetable, one less temptation at a time. 97 days left.

Day 2

2008-09-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a day. I'm kidding, it was kind of boring. I am still in the process of trying to set up this diet, my food, my exercise, my website, everything. I think I am going about it the right way. The one HUGE block in that path is that I cannot get my laptop to go online. There is no reason for this. My laptop, every so often, decides that the internet is boring and refuses to connect. Seeing as I have all my information on that and I want to use that one computer alone (instead of the one I am typing this blog on), I have to figure that out.

I went to my Dirty Martini's house today and went over the diet and took measurements. Wow, nothing is more depressing than being fat and taking measurements. After that, she shaved my head. Not bald, but very short. I was considering shaving my goatee for this as well, but seeing my shaved head, decided against. We did have some fun shaving my head. She shaved the top of my head and left the sides so I looked like Bozo the Clown....and we took pictures. Good times (and yes, she did eventually shave all of it).

After the haircut we went for a walk. Dirty Martini claims the walk was 4 miles, but I think she might be wrong. I did some rudimentary calculations using the angle of the sun, triangulation, and the position of Saturn and determined that the trip was closer to 6 miles (and that I need to return Triangulation: It's More Than Just Pretty Pictures). I thinked I mentioned the uphill nature of my walk yesterday, but California is truly amazing. We were able to walk uphill at the beginning of the walk, and at the end as well. I actually felt like an old man complaining to some young whippersnapper about how he had to walk to school uphill both ways. WE DID IT. We walked uphill leaving and uphill returning. Granted, we made a circle and did walk down a big hill in the middle of the walk, but that doesn't matter.

As for the diet, it went well. I felt like I ate a lot today, but it was almost all fruits and vegetables. Thank you to everyone showing support. Please keep leaving comments and reading.

Day 1 (these titles will be a lot easier now)

2008-09-02T09:55:00.001-07:00

This is a day late as well. I know I have to blog again today to catch up and I will. I started THE Diet today. Waking up at M...'s house on the last day of my vacation, hungover, and it being the first diet day, it was really hard to not eat something. I decided to wait until I got to the airport and had a smoothie. The plane ride was not that exciting until, when asleep, I determined that the club soda I was drinking should be knocked off and soak my right leg. It is not fun to be stuck on a plane and have one leg soaked. Luckily, it was club soda, so it cleaned itself.

I got home and went out to by a new cell phone and groceries. I realized soon after getting to the grocery store, lists are good to have. I bought a lot of fruit and vegetables and chicken and brown rice. The food I eat will not be that exciting or tasty, but I know I will like the results and have to stay focused on that. After a snack, I went for a walk. I've been a couple walks around my place, but decided to walk further this time. Unfortunately, the extended part of the walk was all uphill, but I know that whole 100 days will be uphill, so I have to just take it one step at a time and focus on what is right in front of me.

I realized yesterday was a day of firsts. First day of September. First day of the diet. First time I walked past McDonald's. First time buying mass amounts of fruits and vegetables. The first step out of the door on the way to the first walk. The first time I felt I wanted to give up and go home. The first time I fought through the urge to quit and kept going. The first weigh-in.

I am excited about this process and happy that it is finally here.

This is the End

2008-09-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

This blog is a day late (and a dollar short). The BBQ on Saturday at M...'s house was fun because a lot more people showed up than I thought would. M... made some fantastic burgers we had Deviled Eggs. Always a good combo. M... and I felt the need to drink more than we should have and stayed up to play Madden (he lost). There is a lot that could be said about that day, but more has happened since.

We woke Sunday morning feeling like stir-fried ass. I realized that as it was my last Sunday, I chose the best possible breakfast to have, McDonald's. I really think that they must use some addictive substance in the McGriddle because it is so ridiculously good. It is almost unfair that there could be any food that tasty. Anyway, after breakfast and a few inappropriate comments, M... and I were forced to attend our Fantasy Football Draft (as opposed to phoning it in). This was the first time in 4 years I was able to attend the draft as I live in California and everyone else lives in and around Chicago. Our league is big enough that we have 2 conferences. M... and I are in different leagues, so we stayed for the whole thing. As we were eating pizza and drinking beer all day, by the end, we could not wait to get out of there and go to White Castle. What a great last meal. We went to M...'s house and M..., Bell and I hung out for a little bit with one of Bell's friends.

Sunday was the last day to eat/drink anything I wanted. I felt a little like someone on death row, except for the fact that the next day brought about a new healthier life instead of death. I am lucky to have the support here and I know that the people who put their goals on the whiteboard will work as hard as they can to meet those goals. I am really excited for this diet to start. I didn't want to leave Chicago, or leave the lifestyle I had grown accustom to, but I know that as the 1st approaches, I will be prepared and it will be necessary.

I Missed Yesterday

2008-08-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

I missed a day on this blog. My bad. I really have no excuse. We got back from Philly around midnight Thursday night. I ended staying at Chachi's house that night. After we woke up, he took me to my best friends house. I did nothing yesterday. I scrambled a little bit and rewrote the blog that got deleted. I was actually on the blog yesterday but did not add one as the font HTML was messed up. This is why the 2 blogs before this do not look normal. Also, because of the font oddities, I could not add pics. I will add pics when I get back to California.

Yesterday, my best friend (M...), and I hung out for awhile, but as he was working from home, I took his 2 kids (he has 2 stepchildren, 9 and 14 years old) to Dairy Queen for Blizzards. I felt that it was a good idea to have some ice cream before the diet started. After that, M... and his wife (Bell) were doing stuff around the house so I was taking care of Baby Dre (the Goddaughter). I really have never been very good around children, even my nephews. Little children make me nervous as they are very fragile. Even holding my niece on her christening, I was a little apprehensive. I don't know what it is about Baby Dre, but I am very comfortable holding her. Of course, she is really cute, so that helps. And she is a really calm baby, as long as you are holding her and walking around. In fact, as I was walking her around yesterday she fell asleep in my arms. Ridiculous.

After much trash talking and a little Madden '09, we watched a movie and called it a day. Today we are going to BBQ at M...'s house. Bell is in the kitchen now making Potato Salad. That will be all for now, I might try to post again today afterwards, and if not, tomorrow.

Road Trip Day #5

2008-08-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

It has been a long week. We all woke up this morning just exhausted. After showering and reading (reading something brutal and probably illegal in most states), we left our hotel. We wanted to have 1 more Philly cheesesteak, so we went to Geno's again. Seriously, best cheesesteaks ever. Ever. Anywhere. So good. After eating, we started the drive. This is by far the worst leg of the trip. We're all tired and Philly is nowhere close to Chicago. We decided the best way to endure the trip was to bring extra cheesesteaks. We each bought 2, but Gootch bought 6. Such a good idea. So the timeline looks like this:

12.30 pm: Get to Geno's and buy cheesteaks.

12.35 pm: Finish first cheesesteak and head to car.

12.45 pm: On the road, thinking about the cheesesteaks.

3.45 pm: A fter 3 hours of driving, we stop for a rest and we had a cheesesteak.

6.45 pm: 2nd rest stop and last cheesesteak. This stop was in Ohio. We didn't even make to Indiana with cheesesteaks (and really, 6 hours after the purchase, the cold cheesesteak was still better than any other cheesesteak I had had prior to the trip).

As we were out of cheesesteaks, the rest of the drive was a blur. I slept some, to the annoyance of Gootch and Roy, my bad. We made it back to Chachi's house by midnight.

Overall, not a bad trip. 27 hours of driving, 6 states (7 including inebriation), 3 baseball games at 3 different stadiums, massive amounts of beer, NY's best pizza, Philly's (and the world's) best cheesesteak and a lot of memories. I can't wait for next years trip.

Road Trip Day #4

2008-08-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

Apparently, my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. This is one of those things that you don't need to worry about. So let's see, we left for Philly today. We spent the obligatory night in NY (I look like a wookie) getting wasted and felt the effects this morning. To explain the wookie line, according to my three traveling companions, I leave hair in the bathroom shower and I snore like one. Granted, of the four of us, none of us have ever actually met a wookie, but Roy, Gootch and and Chachi are convinced that I snore like one. Maybe, I snore like one or one snores like me, but either way, I should get this checked out.

This morning we got up and headed to Philly. This was, by far, the easiest leg of the trip. It was only about 2 hours to drive so we had some free time. After getting to Philly and showering and reading we went to do the one thing we felt necessary while there, get a Philly cheesesteak. There are 2 places that are legendary, Geno's and Pat's. Both places are across the street from each other and are really not that big. Chachi and I decided to get one from each and split it so we could experience both. PHENOMENAL. Far and away, the best cheesesteaks we have ever had. The one weird thing that we noticed is that Geno's was easily better than Pat's, but Pat's was still better than any cheesesteak I had ever had. I am not sure what it was, but everything about it was so good.

After that, we went to the game. We saw the Phillies play the Mets. We got to see Santana pitch for the Mets, but again, we were not that interested in the outcome. This lead to walking around the stadium, which is really nice, and leaving the game early. We went to hotel and got some food and headed out for the night. Shockingly, after 4 days of driving and partying, we were all exhausted and just wanted a quiet night. We rallied and ended up having a good time though.

That is all from Philly until tomorrow.

Road Trip Day #3

2008-08-27T01:14:00.000-07:00

New York, New York, it's a hell of a town, you know the Bronx is up but I'm Brooklyn down. It's the New York day of this road trip and we are exhausted. Pittsburgh showed us a good time last night after the Cubs batting practice, but we had no idea what was in store today. This is an exceptionally late blog for me, but I feel like I have to get it in. We drove this morning, sorry, I drove this morning while everyone slept, to New York. It was an uneventful drive other than the fact that Pennsylvania is all trees. There are miles and miles of rolling hills COVERED in trees. Trees as far as the eye can see for the entire state. I am pretty sure that the state is all trees except for Philly, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. Also, a lot of the towns end in "burg" which is a side note most won't care about.

We got to NY and showered and read and made our way to Yankee Stadium. This was an easy feat by the simple use of the subway (LA, I am looking at you). The game was, in all honesty, not that exciting. I think that we were way too excited about the fact we were seeing a Red Sox-Yankees game to get emotionally involved in the outcome. After a few beers, and me falling asleep in the seats, we decided to leave. As a side note, in Pittsburgh, we were 8 rows from the field and in NY, we were 4 rows from the top of the stadium. It is a drastic changed in perspective, but I still took some good pictures.

After the game, we went out. Bar hopping in Times Square is not that difficult, regardless of what people say. In fact, it was cheaper than I thought. I bought a round, 2 beers and 2 mixed drinks, for less than $30. Not too shabby. By the time we hit the 3rd bar, it was officially my birthday. Gootch and I did a shot of Patron. By the time Roy and Chachi decided they were actually men enough to do a shot, we took down some Jager. I am beginning to think that was a bad idea. Wait, no, scratch that, Jager was the best possible option at that point. The only reason for that is because a song came on from the jukebox that riled up Gootch. In fact, it got him so upset, we made a wager on who sang the song and I won. He owes me money and he is bitter and I am happy. He is going to read this and be pissed, but he should have known better.

At this point, I have the Roy cacophony in the background and I know I need to go to sleep. The next blog will be from Philly. Take care.

Road Trip Day #2

2008-08-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning spooning an ironing board. The more I thought about the opening line of this blog, the more I thought I should explain it. Here goes.......The first time I went to Las Vegas, all 3 guys I am on my current road trip with were in Vegas with me. One afternoon, resting between drinking/gambling/debauchery sessions, Chachi was sleeping on a chair in the room. He started snoring (I really can't blame him for this, I snore like a lumberjack, but as I was awake at the time, I detested the excessive noise). As we wanted to rest before the night out, we decided that the only way to stifle the noise was to put the potted tree and unfolded ironing board next to the chair. That did not work. Thus, the ironing board in bed with people sleeping began.

Not very much happened last night. We searched for bars that were open but soon realized that there were very few Pittsburghians that wanted to drink on a Sunday night. We ended up at the hotel bar and drank our fill. This morning, after waking up with an ironing board, we went to get food. As we were across the street from the ballpark, we went to the closest bar for food. The very uninterested waiter/bartender got our order wrong (Oh, that's right, when I ordered the Mushroom Swiss Burger, I actually meant the Bacon Cheddar Burger), but the fries were really good.

After that bar, we walked across the river (Allegheny River), and went to the hotel where the Cubs are staying. We saw a few of the players leave on the bus. This was a exciting, but felt vaguely stalkerish. After that, we went back to the hotel to rest up for the game.

We went to the stadium and we were impressed. Pittsburgh clearly decided that the stadium was worth more than their team. There were so many Cubs fans I determined that we were in Wrigley Field East. For a home stadium, it was empty. The majority of the people there were rooting for the Cubs. The Cubs were in great form tonight and destroyed the Pirates 12-3. We were very happy about this and celebrated like any Cubs fans would.

We went to a bar with some Canadians that were also Cub's fans. I love the fact that there are Cub's fans everywhere. Tomorrow we drive to New York. This might not be that coherent, but it has been a long day.

Road Trip Day #1

2008-08-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

The party last night went really well. It was especially fun to see Fordy steal a shot off the bar and turn around and walk away. At the end of the night, I decided that we needed a bottle of champagne. It wasn't a regular bottle, but a magnum (we used to buy magnums of champagne for $10 and drink them at Scummy. Granted, it was always a good idea to buy the champagne, at the time, but after the first glass, we would have to force ourselves to finish it.). When we left, I grabbed a bottle for him, and did not think too much about it. We went back to my best friends house (with White Castle, I don't have that in California so I eat as much of it as I can when I come back home......mmmmm sliders). I repeatedly said how I procured the bottle for my friend and that he should drink it. He did not drink it. Neither did I. Nor did anyone as we were too busy shoving as much White Castle in our faces as we could. It was only in the morning that I realized that I did not grab champagne, I accidentally grabbed a bottle of red wine (which was literally labeled as "Soft Red Wine"). I am very happy we decided not to drink any of it.

Today, we left for the 2008 version of the Baseball Road Trip (we being me, Gootch, Roy and Chachi). Driving from Chicago to Pittsburgh is not that exciting. Gootch and I were in the back seat and had wars with our water bottles. We stopped in Ohio to eat and got assaulted with a wide variety of life forms we were not familiar with. Seeing a group of Amish eating Burger King is a site that will not easily be repeated. I think we only got really scared when Chachi and I saw the guy with 1 eye. When we got here, we went to a few bars and ended up at the hotel bar. Our hotel is across the street from PNC Park and tomorrow we will see the Pirates play the Cubs.

There has been much discussion about this blog and what I should post on it. Obviously, a lot of it will not be posted, but I have many ideas now. Take care and there will be more tomorrow about the baseball game and this trip.

The Dirty Thirty Party

2008-08-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

I am in Wisconsin drinking a 40 (that's right, I had to roll to the sto' to pick up a 4-0) as I type this. Today is going to be a great day. I made the mistake of staying up late last night (technically, I think it might have been morning when I went to sleep) and was a little late getting going today. I went to Antioch and had lunch with a friend from college that I will call Hanna. I was trying to remember the last time I saw her and really have no idea when that was. I am thinking it has been around 5 years. It was good to have lunch with Hanna and catch up. Hopefully, it will not be 5 years before I see her again.

Tonight is THE party. Dirty Thirty. We are going to Sunnyside (or as it should be called, Scummyside). I have a long and storied history with this bar. In fact, one of the people I am drinking 40's with, Fordy, and I used to go there all the time. I used to go there with Big Mike too, but he will not be able to make it tonight, unfortunately. There are many stories about this place, getting kicked out, getting cut off, whatnot, but those I don't really need to tell. This should be an interesting time.

I leave tomorrow for the road trip, and I am so excited about it. The next blog will be from Pittsburgh.

Chi City, Chi City

2008-08-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

Today I flew back to Chicago. Airports are not really that exciting, but the guy who did the cavity search was surprisingly gentle. It was a good flight, but the departure was delayed. Apparently, it rained here for 5 minutes and caused the plane to leave 30 minutes late. We made up the time in the air, so we didn't land too late. I was picked up by a friend I don't see as often as I would like.

Right now, I am at my best friend's house in Wisconsin. It is so humid here, and full of mosquitoes. I do not miss those 2 things living in California. I did meet my Goddaughter and she is so cute. I believed my friend when she told me the little girl was cute, but I had to see it to believe it. It is always nice to come back and hang out here, but it makes me really miss the Midwest, other than humidity and mosquitoes.

That is all for now. I am going to blog more tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow....

2008-08-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

I am on my way to Chicago tomorrow. I am so excited about this. I turn 30 next week and my family is having a party for me and another friend from high school at a bar in Kenosha called Sunnyside. This bar holds many memories for me and the co-host of the party, Fordy. We went there many times as did me and Big Mike. We went there so many times and had so many....fun nights, we started to call it Scummyside. I am really stoked to see my sisters and brother and friends and to finally meet my Goddaughter.

I had my physical today. I went to see a new doctor, Dr. Mark Galbraith, in Laguna Niguel. It has been awhile since I had a physical, but it went well. I have to edit the video, but I will post a video about it when I get back from Chicago. My blood pressure was normal, 118/76, and my EKG was excellent. I have to wait on the results of the bloodwork.

I hung out with my friend again before work. We talked about the Project, again, and scrambled, again, and watched the videos from the physical. I also got to my friend Mo. I don't get to see him that often, so it was nice to talk to him. I also got an early birthday present from my friend that was awesome. It's a book of movie quotes which is sweet (thank you). Work was not that interesting. It was a short shift, so it went by pretty fast.

That is all for now. My next blog will be from The Windy City.

If it weren't for that horse......

2008-08-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure the only way I will get these posts done is to put on MTV Hits and listen to all the bad music they play and stupid people they put in front of a camera until I finish the latestet post. I wish we got MTV Jams in the OC. In regards to my post about "reading" yesterday, everything seem to be better now. No more pain, thankfully.

Tomorrow morning I go for my physical. I am looking forward to it. I want to know where I am starting and cannot wait to see how this turns out. I am a little nervous about it now as I read a long email from a friend (who is a nutritionist) about the right and wrong ways to lose weight. I am pretty sure I am going about this the right way.

Today I went to work. I was supposed to be in the Children's section again, but avoided it as it was not busy. Instead I worked in the bedding/bath section with my good friend again. It is very weird, there is an elderly lady who works in the bedding section that has been accused of senility. I am happy to report, she readily confirmed her insanity today. My friend asked her about her marriages (she's been married 5 times). The following is the conversation we had when she said she married for the 1st time when she was 20 years old (this is more or less the exact exchange, honestly, I am not creative enough to make up what she said):

Me: "Was it a shotgun wedding?"
The Crazy Lady (TCL): "Sort of, not really, well, they had a really nice house and they were rich. I made the mistake of marrying rich."
Me: "It was only sort of?"

A few random lines of chatter, but no explanation of "sort of shotgun wedding", then:

TCL: "I had 4 kids with him and 3 miscarriages in 6 years."
Me: "Wow, you guys got busy."
TCL: "The pill doesn't work on me. I took it but still got pregnant."

Many thoughts ran through my mind at this point, but I got distracted by my friend hiding behind a post dieing of laughter so TCL would not see her. Then out of nowhere:

TCL: "I had a watch, but because of the earthquake, it stopped working. I didn't wear it for a day, then it worked again, but then the battery died."
Me: "Yeah, earthquakes do a lot of damage to watches."
TCL: "I know, after the earthquakes, it stopped."

I have been trying not to swear on this blog, but really WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN? How does an earthquake make a watch stop working? Maybe I missed a day in science class that explains the correlation between plate tectonics and the inner working of a watch. Does anyone know how this works? She then goes on to explain:

TCL: "I can't wear metal watch bands or bracelets because my skin eats the metal."
Me (thoroughly confused at this point and trying not to laugh at TCL or laugh because my friend can barely contain herself): "Is your skin acidic?"
TCL: "Yes, I can only use certain lotion."

At this point, my head was tilted as far as it could go to one side, I was confused almost to the point of mental breakdown and had to walk away. I really don't know what else to say about this, but really felt the need to share it with you.

Enough about work, and enough of this horrible music. I'm going back to SportsCenter. Enjoy your health and your non-acidic skin (if you have acidic skin, I apologize).

Leave Britney Alone

2008-08-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hello, y'all. What's going on? Nothing? You want to hear from me? OK, here goes. It is Tuesday night and I am watching a Britney Spears video. I feel as bad about it as you do, but I am trying to focus on this blog and I can't help that the music channel plays bad music videos. I've decided not to change the channel until I am done with this post. Although, she is hot and likes to strut around in very little clothing......FOCUS. Whew, that was close, I am almost got enchanted, but the video is over. Now they are playing a Kanye West video. SOOO much better.

I woke up early this morning and was planning to get a physical today at a walk-in clinic, but, consulted with my counsel, and decided against it. I made an appointment for Thursday morning at a regular doctor's office. As I was already awake, I headed over to my friend's place before work. I even brought breakfast (bagel sandwiches are super tasty). We went over more about my blog and The 100 Days Project. This is going to be pretty serious. (They are now playing a new Kanye video about Chicago and makes me really miss home and makes me wish I could leave tomorrow. I am going back to the Chi on Friday and I am so excited.) And of course we Scrambled (which is why I ignored you on IM, Don, my bad.)

Work. Work today was really easy. The HUGE SALE in Children's was nothing. Nothing. It was so slow, I ended up going around the floor giving people breaks. However, I kept getting annoying customers who would change their minds every 5 minutes. (They are now playing this new Rihanna song about a lover who cheats on her and she kicks him out and she is strong enough to move on. Isn't this the same song Beyonce put out last year about a lover who cheats on her and she kicks him out and she is strong enough to move on? Maybe, maybe not.) One good thing good about work today was that I got to work with my good friend again. She is one of the few people I like that work on my floor. I get to work with her tomorrow as well, and B one last time.

One last thing I feel we should talk about. I think that if I am going to be as honest with you about my weight, exercise, food, cholesterol level, etc, I should be honest with you about everything. Yesterday, as it has almost become a daily habit, I went to my friend's place before work. It was a normal day: talk about the blog, lunch, whining, inappropriate/offensive/thoroughly disgusting conversations/videos/pictures (mostly about pinkies and sandboxes.....yeah, no need to spend too much time thinking about that (sorry WP)). Video update: they are on the 2nd of 2 Chris Brown videos. I like his music and his videos, it makes it easier for me to tell this story. Where was I, oh, yes, Thunder Cloud, anyway, we decided to have lunch. We got food from the Cheesecake Factory. I got an appetizer as I sometimes have a tough choice picking food, let alone all the changes I want to make to the order (Slow Lo, you know what I mean). Anyway, I chose the Buffalo Blasts thinking I had never had them. When they arrived and I ate them, I realized 3 things: 1. I have had them before, 2. I should have ordered Ranch to go with them, and 3. I do not like them (even if I had had the Ranch). Little did I know that the 3rd sentiment was about to be excruciatingly reinforced. This morning, I went to bathroom to "read" like I do every morning. After......release, I had the most agonizing "reading" pain I have ever felt. It was so bad, I could not even read, I had to put my book down and writhe around on the toilet for about 5 minutes (they certainly got the BLAST part right!). It was ridiculous. I really thought that I might have eaten glass shards the day before but forgot about it. I never want to feel like that again. I was in so much pain, I didn't want to wipe (if you are concerned, I "read" again when I got home from work and everything seems to be back in order).

And on that note, I will leave you. Hope everything comes out alright for you.

Back to Work

2008-08-18T23:15:00.000-07:00

I worked again today. It was not a bad day. I got to have lunch with my friend B again. Unfortunately, she is quitting, so this was one of the last times we will work together or have lunch together. We have really gotten to know each other well over the last few weeks and I'll miss working with her. I work tomorrow and Wednesday in the Children's department. I am not sure about this. I will be over there for a big Back-to-School sale. Ugghh. I am not sure about my patience with kids.

Also, recently, the floor I work on has undergone a makeover. It used to be my section, bedding/towels, fine China and furniture. We got rid of the furniture in our store and to make up for it, moved Children's and Lingerie down to my floor and removed all the dividing walls. So now, if you walk down a certain aisle, on one side are pots and pans and on the other sleepwear. If you go to the China section, there is crystal on one side and bras on the other. It doesn't really make sense to me.

As for this project, I am really looking forward to starting. I think there will be a lot of positive outcomes.

I really don't have anything else.

Laundry Day

2008-08-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today was not that exciting. I did laundry and sat around a lot. I did end up going to the Large Department Store, where I work, to have lunch with my friend. It was a nice distraction. I also got my car washed. It was about time, I had been neglecting it. My plan tonight is watch There Will be Blood. I've heard good things about it.

This is a really lame blog, I know, I apologize. I am tapped out. The last 3 blogs took a lot out of me. There will be more tomorrow.

IT"S BACON

2008-08-17T01:40:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAMS!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, MY FAVORITE PENGUIN!!

I really wanted to make this blog all about bacon, but I decided against it. I am not sure, but I think I might have mentioned this before, I like bacon (IT'S BACON, I'D GET IT MYSELF, BUT I DON'T HAVE THUMBS). It's crispy, it tastes good, what more do you need (I'll tell you..I've had bacon pancakes, yes, that's right, bacon pancakes. Let it marinate. Soooo good.). In fact, when I was in college, Miller High Life (the Champagne of Beers) ran a billboard ad campaign that featured their logo as 3/4 of the billboard and various phrases on the remaining 1/4 (I have no picture for this, but I will continue to look). Anyway, one of the phrases was "Potato Salad, Egg Salad, I like salad." However, my favorite one was very simple, all it said was "I like bacon." AWESOME!! (people from Boston, please feel free to add "WICKED" in front of "AWESOME" (that means you Collin and Emily (the "K" is silent) Waters)).

"How was my day?" you ask? That was very nice of you, I will tell you. I woke up and went to work (I was going to wake up early and do stuff, but that stupid sexy snooze button (super sexy) won me over again). Work was not bad today. The Large Department Store that I work at had a sale. It was pretty busy, needless to say (yet I felt the need to say it, odd). (I think you might have noticed, but I think I am going a little overboard on the parenthetical phrases. In the previous paragraph, I put a parenthetical phrase in a parenthetical phrase in a parenthetical phrase and I want......I just went cross-eyed.) Wow, this might (might?) be getting brutal.

After work, I went to my friend's father's 80th birthday party. I was the camera/video man. It was an interesting evening, as I just had a digital camera. Let me explain, this was a big party, and when you are at a big party, the "professional" camera guy usually has a normal camera, big lens, focus, "say cheese", what not. So, when I walked up to a table, with my little digital, and said, "I am taking pictures for the party", I got some weird looks. One table was very reluctant to let me take their picture (let alone videotape them). Eventually, people found out I was legit and not some random party crasher taking pictures of everyone. This made my job a lot easier. Afterwards, we went to an arcade and played some skee-ball. With the tickets we won, my friend bought a stretchy monkey. A monkey that stretches (run w/it). We ended up at my friends place and played Rock Band for awhile. I really enjoy that game.

That is all for today. I hope you enjoyed today's blog. Please feel free to leave a comment. Let me know what you think, any improvements I can make, any topics you would like me to discuss, and recipes for bacon I might not know about.

By the way, I typed this whole thing with no pants on (wish you were beautiful, the scenery is here). And to all a good night.

The Nomadic Lifestyle

2008-08-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I said I was hanging out at a friends house before work. I decided not to go home and then to work, so I brought my Large Department Store uniform with me and was going to change there, then go to work. A great idea right? Right? WRONG. I left my house in a hurry and did not evaluate my outfit properly. When I changed, I realized I was wearing pants that are a little too short, white socks and I didn't bring the belt I normally wear when I go to work (I have 2 belts, one for work and one for play, I only had my casual belt with me.). Also, my hair has gotten rather long (I realized a month ago that it was time for a haircut, but then decided that I am going to cut it when I start the diet.), so needless to say, it was a bit disheveled. Please refer to the photo below:

Facebook. I am a fan. I've found that Facebook is a great way to get in touch with people. I have been in contact with people I have not talked to in over 10 years (yes, this is going somewhere). There is one friend in particular, that I knew in High School, I have been talking to that lives in the Bay area, we'll call him RN (not because he is a nurse, those are his initials, but if he were a nurse, a male nurse at that, he would be RN, R.N.). He is the type of friend that I can talk to while using the bathroom. Not many people have reached this status in my life, for obvious reasons, but he is one. RN called me recently and asked what I was doing. I happened to be changing in bathroom at the time, so I replied honestly, "I am not wearing any pants." Once again today, I am at my friends house before work (I dressed for work before leaving my house this time, it's much safer, but my hair is still unruly.), and she called to get an ETA. I had just gotten out of the shower, heard the phone ring and saw it was her so when I answered the phone, again honestly, without saying hello, I said, "I'm not wearing any pants." This got a good response and made me think that I need to answer the phone like this more often. So, if you call me, do not be surprised if you hear, "I am not wearing pants," instead of hello.

Last, but not least, I am a YouTuber. By this, I mean that I like to watch videos on YouTube (it also works that tuber is a type of potato, get it, couch potato, but I digest...). Did I mention I have a video on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFQWJnWIhYU)? No? I have a YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFQWJnWIhYU). Ok, back to the story. I was watching the TAPE DELAYED Olympics last night (sorry, I am still a little bitter NBC). I watched Phelps win another gold after READING about it because NBC HATES the West Coast (apparently, I am more bitter than I thought). Anyway, I came across this video that some kid made, and it now has almost 5 million views (come on people, I only have 200, step it up, please). It's a Weird Al song, I know, but I think it's pretty good. So, on that note, enjoy the video and may all your Scrambles be filled with 6-letter words (except you RN, stop cheating).

Oodles and Oodles of Noodles....

2008-08-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

What did I do today? I got up early and went to my friends house to hang out. We have been Scrambling all day and talking about my diet (starting September 1st, mark your calendars.). We came up with some good stuff, even discussing working out and what to eat (btw, I had a HUGE burrito for lunch) and supplements. We also argued a little because she misunderstood me (not surprising, she doesn't listen and makes wildly irrational assumptions), but we worked it out. I am starting to look forward to this diet, but not how much info I will posting about myself.

Tonight, I have to work. It's only a short shift, which is really pointless to me. It's not that I mind working, but I would rather work a full shift. It makes more sense to me. One advantage, is that it goes by really fast.

Does anyone else understand NBC's refusal to show the Olympics live on the West Coast? I know this only affects us out here, but it is really annoying. I don't want to read about Phelps winning a gold, I want to watch it. They don't show the Super Bowl, NBA Finals or any major sporting events on tape delay (they even show the Super Bowl live in China.). This is biggest sporting event in the world, and we have to read about it. What is even worse is that they have the "Live" tag at the top of the screen. They don't even have the decency to remove it or add previously taped. This is one of those things that is too ridiculous to comprehend, and if I think about it too much, blood my start shooting from my ears (if it weren't for that horse.......).

Whew, I need to calm down, deep breaths, etc. I know, I am going to post a video I really like. I owe this all to my friend Don, who sang the song to me the last time we golfed. He sang the song, not once, not twice, but the whole round. I then went back to my friends house and everyone there was more than happy to sing it to me for the rest of the weekend. Enjoy.

The song from the above video can be sung with the words below:
I'm a Saschapotamus, I got noodles on my back, noodles on my back, noodles on my back.

Wednesday Night Live

2008-08-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

I am watching the Olympics. I am starting to think that on the rare nights that I don't watch the Olympics, then I will mention it. Phelps will not win a gold today. Of course, he doesn't race today, so his chance to break more records is still available.

I woke up early this morning, had some breakfast and went to work. I got to work w/my friend all day which made the day go by pretty fast. We always have a good time working together. I was also able to have lunch with my other friend today. Overall, it was a good day.

I want to add more to this post, but I am falling asleep. I'll write more tomorrow.

Tuesday Night Special

2008-08-12T22:47:00.001-07:00

Actually, it is not that special. I got to sleep-in today, which was nice, but was a little weird. I have gotten into the habit of waking up early. After that, I had some breakfast (BACON!!), then went to work. Work was good today. Like I said, I work in a large department store. I work on the first floor in the area that sells small appliances (toasters, coffee makers,blenders, etc) and cookware. I also know the bedding/bath area and the fine China area. This allows me to wander around and "help" people. I was able to "help" my friend a lot today which always makes my days better, but, of course, she opened and I closed, so I was pretty bored the last 3 hours after she left. We get to work together tomorrow though.

Now I am home, watching the Olympics, again. Saw Phelps win a gold and break a world record, again. He now has more golds than anyone. I love watching sports, but the one thing that annoys me is that the commentators repeat the same bit of information so many times. Phelps' race lasted 1 minute and 52 seconds. During that time, the commentators mentioned 15 times that he had already won 3 golds and had 3 world records already this year. They also mentioned 25 times that if he won gold, which the commentators were not afraid to award him before the race even began, he would have more than anyone.

Enough Olympics, I am going to watch a movie. I am going to watch City of God. It's a Brazilian movie about the slums in the 60's and 70's. It really is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Some people think it is violent, but I think I have become desensitized to the violence in (what? No, Mr. President, I did not say I became de-scent-ified. I still have the ability to smell.) movies. I watched Boondock Saints last night. I really like that movie as well. I suppose it might be a little too violent as well, but it is a really good story. It is also impressive that it the first movie from the writer/director.

Before I go, Phelps just won another gold (4x200M relay) and broke another record. That's 5 gold medals and 5 world records in this Olympics alone. Say good night, Huey. Good night, Huey.

Maximus Monday

2008-08-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

Where to start? How about last night? I watched the Olympics again, but before I talk about that, today India won its first individual gold medal ever. Abhinav Bindra won the 10M air rifle. Go India!! I watched swimming last night (even as I type this, I am watching swimming again). I watched the Men's 4x100M relay. It was one of the most exciting sports events I have seen this year since the Super Bowl. The French team made the mistake of saying they would "smash" the American team and as the last leg started it seemed like it would come true. As they made the last turn and about halfway through the last lap, I thought it was over also. Somehow, the American anchor, Jason Lezak, started to close the gap and ending up edging out the French team by .08 seconds. I was blown away. All the replays, from all the different angles, were shown and I was still in awe every time I watched it. When they made the final turn, Lezak was a full body length behind and closed the gap in the last 50 meters. The American team also broke the world record by 4 seconds. The race was so fast, the 5th place team, without even winning a medal, was fast enough to break the world record. Awesome.

My day today was not that exciting. I Scrambled and then went to work. Work was not that exciting today. I did get to have lunch w/my friend that I work with (I've had lunch w/her before, but have recently been going to lunch more often. I am happy about this, we have good conversations.). We talked about going out to have a drink this week and, after looking at our schedules, determined that sometime in October of 2009 should work out nicely. Stupid conflicting schedules.

Also, I realize that I said I would list my food that I eat daily. I decided that it's a little boring to see that and I also have that calorie counter program that I am using. I might list a weekly count of average calories/fat/carbs. When I start the diet, which will be September 1, I will be listing more of the changes in my eating habits and workout routine. For now, I will just ramble about the Olympics and going out and other stuff. Enjoy.

Lazy Sunday

2008-08-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

It's me, me, me, Sascha MC, in the place to be, the big brown voodoo daddy (how do I do that voodoo that I do).

I did nothing today and it was everything I thought it could be. After last night, I really did not feel like doing that much. I cooked and ate some bacon and eggs (so good), watched a couple movies, that were not that good, and watched the Cubs win. Go Cubs! It is a very exciting year to be a Cubs fan. They usually do well until June, then sputter and ultimately fail. It is now August and they are still in first place. I just hope they can hold off the brewers.

One more thing about last night, taking pics with an iPhone is not that easy. iTried to take pictures, but iFailed. My friends got annoyed that iWas having so much trouble taking their pics. iAm pretty sure it was not my fault because iDon't think that the iPhone takes good pictures, they are very grainy. This is just my opinion, iCould be wrong, iShould do more research which iWould if iHad an iPhone. But, iDigress, on to more interesting stuff that iThink you will like.

We have spiders. HUGE spiders. These pictures do not show it very well, but outside of my place, in the bushes, there are these really big spiders. I counted 10 webs and all the spiders look the same. I am not a fan of spiders, so it freaks me out a little. These spiders are literally 3-4 inches long, and their bodies are about 1-2 inches long. I went outside today to take pictures to share with you, but the pics really don't show their size. The other day when I went to the pool, I checked the bushes around my complex and there were no webs anywhere else. I think it might be a spider conspiracy. The spiders got together, discussed, proposed ideas, filibustered, and voted and, somehow, they chose the bushes outside my front door.

That is all for today. I am going to watch the Olympics. I want to Scramble, but other players are not playing their turns (you know who you are, play your turns.).

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!

2008-08-10T02:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a day. Last night, when I got home from work I watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Luckily, I missed the beginning which was supposed to be amazing. I watched the athletes enter the stadium and walk around, which, I have to admit, was pretty boring. Watching people walking in a circle and turning left is not thrilling (I would rather watch NASCAR because it's faster and people crash.). The lighting of the torch was pretty spectacular though, and I am glad I kept the TV on (but I was really confused as to why Bob Costas kept calling it "the cauldron"). The guy "running" around the top of the stadium was awesome (which, if you choose to, can be read as "AWESOME!!!").

Today, I woke up, and went to work. I work in a large department store. It is not a mentally taxing job, so I find myself losing focus very easily and just wandering around. In fact, there was one day that I walked around the entire floor just to see if my manager, or any manger, would say something to me. After a few laps, I started carrying merchandise with me. After 10 laps, with no questions, I got bored and went back to my area. There is a lot more I can say about this job (wifey, you know what I mean), but what I did after work is much more interesting.

After work, a good friend called me and I met up with her and 3 other people at a sushi restaurant in Laguna. One of my friends was there and I met 2 new people, all women. Yeah, that's right, it was me, 4 women, sushi and beer (giggety giggety goo). They had already eaten, so I got the leftovers, which I did not mind. I was more than happy to make sure no sushi was wasted, that would have been rude (SUSHI!!!!). We came up with some great ideas about this blog and some pictures for it as well (actually, it was mostly talk about me posing in suggestive photos with a bear. I would love to explain that sentence, but I won't, let your mind run with it.). After eating, one of the women left, so it was me, dirty martini, AA and the birthday girl (hereafter, BG).

From there, we went to a bar called Hennessys. On the way there, AA admitted that when she gets nervous she farts. I could barely drive I was laughing so hard. One more time, she gets nervous, she farts. She even told a story about being nervous in front of her boss and letting a "silent but violent" one rip (I've always used "silent but deadly" but it looks like it's time for a new phrase.). I actually thought dirty martini's head might burst because she was laughing so hard (Sorry AA, I had to talk about that, it's way too good to keep to myself.). Back to the story, Hennessys normally has a cover band, called The Creepers, play on Saturday night. They are such an awesome (this use of the word actually needs to be read "AWESOME!!!!") band, but unfortunately, tonight was a dj. I take that back, it was an exceptionally bad dj (he was so bad, he doesn't deserve to be a DJ, just a dj.). At one point, he actually begged for a drink (We were stupid enough to get him a drink and he had the nerve to say he wouldn't play a song for us. RUDE.). Instead, he played a remix to a song, but it was a bad song to begin with, and it was bad remix, so it was a bad remix to a bad song. BRUTAL. We left after that and went across the street to The Marine Room.

One thing about going to bars with women is they can talk their way out of cover charges. Being the only guy with 3 women means I don't need to pay the cover either, sweet. Thanks. The Marine Room was pretty lame. It's an old person bar, not that I mind old people, or old women for that matter, but it was boring. So from there we went to the Dirty Bird. It's a cool bar, but it was super crowded and super warm, so we only stayed about 5 minutes.

From there, AA left, so me, dirty martini and the BG went to a bar in Dana Point called Turks. It was pretty chill. We talked about tattoos and went over ideas for new ones. It made me really want to get one. I think if I had my way, I would get about 10-15 more.

That is all for today, but it was a fun night. It is very late, and I am very tired. More tomorrow.

(PS. (I refuse to apologize for parenthetical phrases.) (Get used to it.))

Slow Friday

2008-08-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an interesting day. After watching a movie, the nephews and I went to the pool to swim. My 3 year old nephew has no fear at all when it comes to water. I walked him over to the deep end, which was 5 feet, and showed him an underwater hand stand. Immediately, he dove into the water to show me he could also touch the bottom, but he is not quite good at diving yet, so he basically just floated underwater then came back up. Both newphews really enjoyed it when I would stand on the edge of the pool, pick them up and throw them in. It was really nice to have them around.

As for bowling twice yesterday, it did not happen. The bowling alley we went to had league bowling so we could not get a lane. This turned out ok as we just went to a bar called "The Player's Lounge" in Westminster. I love dive bars, and this was a first class dive bar(and a bikini bar, mine was purple w/gold polka dots, very sexy). The awning outside boasted that they had pool, darts and games and that they were a "Sport Bar" but did not clarify which sport that was. I was hoping it was curling, but once inside, it appeared that the one sport was Sportscenter, which I did not realize was a sport.

From there we went to a bar in Long Beach called.....something. They had pretty good chimichangas. We had a couple beers(they had Leinenkugels on tap, which made me happy), then called it a night. Overall, it was a good night and I enjoyed being able to hang out w/my friend that I never see and hoped that the night was good for everyone and there will be another, but he will have to let me know.

I had to take a nap again between paragraphs, I am tired. My morning wake up call was earlier than I thought it would be today. As for my calorie counter, if I did it right, I had 5,000 calories and 213 grams of fat yesterday. YIKES! I will reconsider some of the foods I eat. It is very shocking to see that I would intake that many calories in a day. So far today I have had 700 calories and 31 grams of fat(mmm eggs and toast).

Well, that is all for today, I have a very strong urge to read (that was for you dirty martini).

Thursday, Slurday

2008-08-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Today I went bowling with my 2 nephews who are 3 and 5 (of course, he told me he was 5 and 1/2). They are really smart and it amazes how much they already know. The 3 year old was able to recognize and remember a Toyota (this also meant that they would scream the type of car of every single car we passed). When I was that age, I am pretty sure that if you asked me what a car was, I would have stared at you blankly and tilted my head to one side. As a matter of fact, even now, if you asked me to recall something, I would probably stare at you blankly and slowly tilt my head to one side. It is fun hanging out with them, but also tiring.

Ahh, ok, I am awake again. I had to take a nap after that first paragraph. The other thing I did today was download a program that tracks my daily calories. They have a HUGE database that includes almost everything you can think of including restaurants and drinks (however, I could not find bacon wrapped chicken, or bacon wrapped asparagus or bacon wrapped shrimp. Hmm, they could add a whole category of bacon wrapped foods. I will send them an email.). According to the software, after only having breakfast and lunch, I have already exceeded my daily calorie limit (which is 2,000 calories) and my daily fat grams limit (which is 61 grams). Clearly, I have some work to do if I am going to be successful at this diet. (If you want to check out the software I downloaded, go to www.calorieking.com and you can download a free 7-day trial.)

My plan tonight is to go bowling again, or a bar, or if I am lucky, both. I am going to see my friend from college who lives in Long Beach. I feel a little bad because I have not seen him since New Years and I really have no excuse, but I am excited because we usually have fun when we hang out (and he tells really good stories).

That is all for today, I am watching Iron Giant with the nephews now and will write more tomorrow (possibly about what I do tonight).

(And I apologize for my ridiculous use of parenthetical phrases.)

The Beginning

2008-08-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

Good morning. This is my first real blog. I am starting a diet next month and this is my attempt at getting used to the blog world. Next month I will be shifting to my website, and by "my website", I mean I own it.

I never thought I would own a domain or put so much personal info on it, but now that I am started (and there is a topless pic of me on youtube), I am starting to feel more comfortable about it, but at first, I was as scared as I look in this picture. I will be sharing a lot more about me than I really feel comfortable doing, but I think as time passes and the results are visible, it will be easier.

I will be keeping track of everything I eat and all my physical activity everyday. I have just received the ultimate in calorie tracking book and will be posting what I am eating and how many calories I consume in a day, week, etc. and how my consumption changes over time.

What I have consumed today:
whole grain toast, 2 slices
butter, 1 tbsp approx.
american cheese, 1 slice
Pam to grease pan
eggs, 2, scrambled
onions, chopped, 1 handful
pepper, 4-5 vigorous shakes
curry powder, 3-4 plentiful shakes
salsa, 1 oz
orange juice, 15 oz
water, 1/2 liter

For lunch I will have:
steamed dumplings, 8
dumpling sauce, 1 oz
green tea, diet, w/citrus, 1/2 liter

For dinner I will have:
Spiderman fruit snacks, 1 packet
granola bar
sandwich made w/country potato bread, mayo, coney island mustard, turkey (2 slices) and ham (2 slices)
diet coke, 12 oz

That is all for today. More tomorrow.

First Entry

2008-08-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

Hello. I am new to blogging. I am not sure what to say, but rest assured, I will think of something. More later.