5th Monday Weigh In

252.5

Bachelor party weekend. Myrtle Beach. Casino Boat. Breakfast Buffet. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Off boat. Meet with party. Hamburger. Fries. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Back to Boat. Dinner Buffet. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Scotch and soda. Off Boat. Late night crappy hour. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Kamikaze. Beer. Beer. Beer. Beer. Tequila. Beer. Beer. Sleep. Wake up. Calabash Seafood. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Back on the horse today.

4th Monday Weigh In

249.9

Yard Work. Yard Work. Yard Work.

I actually slipped up a little on the food this week with a couple of bigger meals and a few ill-advised snacks but was able to get back on the losing track by shoveling and hauling dirt. Snacks are a key item for me right now. As I am trying to eat small meals at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I need to have something available at the mid-points between those meals. My two main snacks right now are an ounce of smoked almonds at 150 calories or a light, Byers yogurt at 110 calories. Both have enough protein to stave off hunger for a bit without giving me too many calories. WhenI don't have those available though, I can easily grap a 200-300 calorie snack without thinking. Got to get to the store and stock up.

I am starting to get those, "are you sick?," comments from people who haven't seen me in a month or two. Far from it my friend. I'm getting healthy. 250 pounds and people think I look sickly. It's my fault for letting them get used to the Big Pirate.

3rd Monday Weigh-In

253

Wait. What?

That is the same as last week. What happened? Too many Tex-Mex lunches? Too much alcohol? I know; the sausage did it. That's it, Saturday's sausage at breakfast. Alright, let's not go crazy here, blaming innocent sausage. I think my body is just slowing down the metabolic rate in response to the calorie cutting. That, coupled with the fact that it is nigh impossible to continue to lose weight at the rate I was. This is a real danger time. Without the daily results showing on the scale, it is easy to get despondent and return to the old ways and before you know it, "Hello again twenty pounds. Been on holiday? " I do feel thinner than last week though and the belt has gone down another notch so there was some tangible progress this week. On the excercise front, I worked in the yard Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, hauling dirt, raking, and pruning. I have a number of projects in mind that will require some very hard work so excercise should be taken care of for the next few month of Sundays. I still have not been able to start a habitual program during the week though. Morning comes much too early when you have to get up two or three times a night to deal with wandering children and the after work time is spent hanging out with the family. It looks as though I will have to strap one on my back and get out on the street.

2nd Monday Weigh In

253 lbs.

I have three "trouble" meals during the week: Friday lunch, Saturday breakfast, and Sunday lunch. Friday as I take the office out and we usually eat somewhere where the menu is not overly conducive to healthy eating, Saturday as it is family breakfast day and I love corn beef hash, pancakes, syrup, grits with butter, toast with jelly, coffee with cream and sugar, and sausage, and Sunday which is traditionally a big mid-day meal for me. I am trying to make sure to eat less than I normally would even if I do not well. I am also staying away from sugar and jelly. I am finding a high dose of sugar is making me feel a little ill as soon as I eat it so my body is adjusting to the new diet. Artificial sweeteners are not having the same effect so I've got that going for me.

I finally exercised with thirty minutes on the bike Friday. That, coupled with two days of pretty good yard work over the weekend helped me overcome some of the bad food choices I made. Five pounds in a week! Woo Hoo! I know I am still in a shedding phase and it will slow down and get harder. Conversely, eating well and less is getting easier each day I do it. From past experience though, I know it only takes few bad meals in a row to knock me completely off track.