My First Goal Attained

It is amazing to think it has been 20+ months since my last post. Wow. My life has been crazy in the meantime. Since I last reported, I have been re-employed at the wood stove store, quit again, become a bookkeeper for a CPA, worked at the wood stove store some more, quit again, and am currently working as a bookkeeper for the aforementioned CPA. My older daughter has turned 5, my younger daughter is almost 3-1/2 and we have a new daughter, who is now 9-1/2 months old.

Needless to say, weight hasn't been on the forefront of my mind. Until recently, that is. As of June 1st, my family is now car free. I walk and bus everywhere. I had been hovering around 295-298 pounds since my last post, but, as of 6/1, I set 8 goals for myself:

285 lbs - 33% BF
275 lbs - 30% BF
265 lbs - 27% BF
255 lbs - 24% BF
245 lbs - 21% BF
235 lbs - 18% BF
225 lbs - 15% BF
8-12% BF maintained

The most important numbers are body fat percentage, as my goal is to keep and maintain 8-12% body fat. The total weight goals will be changed if my muscle mass changes significantly.

Today, I weighed 285 pounds with a BF of 32.9%, so I've reached goal one.

My goals will become more difficult to attain as I get closer to the end, but I also anticipate having more energy and physical ability by the time I get there. I'm looking for at least .5% per week, so here are the date goals:

275 / 30% - 10/15/12
265 / 27% - 12/1/12
255 / 24% - 1/15/13
245 / 21% - 3/1/13
235 / 18% - 4/15/13
225 / 15% - 6/1/13
8% to 12% - 7/15/13

Lets do this.

Dear Fat

Dear Fat,

It's been a while since we discussed your presence. For most people, forgetting about you around the Christmas season is simply a conscious oversight in order to put more effort into shopping, decorating and gorging. I understand you use this mostly to your advantage. Well, dear sir, the good news for me was that I did not succumb to your temptation this season. While you may have been snickering in hiding that I have not written on my blog in over a month, I am here to assure you that you have not won. We have quite the war ahead of us, and, while there will be many battles, I will eventually come out on top. You hold the cards at the moment, but my outlook is changing. Instead of saying that you are 35% of me, I will now say that I am 65% not fat. I even got up early this morning to tell you how I feel, and I plan on doing so again, so please let your friend Lazy know what he's up against as well.

But I digress. Fat, please take this as another appeal to transform yourself of your own accord, so we can forego this horrible dance and work together as a team. Failing that, I will be forced to convert you into energy and expend you against your will. It is not my nature to apply unwelcome pressure to another, but my hands are tied. Please try to understand.

Sincerely,

Edward the (soon-to-be-not) Fat Guy

From the soon-to-be-unemplyed Fat Guy

As of December 10th, I will no longer be employed. I have mixed feelings about this. If you read through my previous posts, you'll see that I rarely eat much on the days that I work, so I believe I will do better with taking care of myself. Also, this gives me the opportunity to develop my business, Redshift Designs. On the other hand, there is going to be a lot of stress in my life during the transition.

I would appreciate any tips people have about handling the stress of being unemployed and also any tips on the stresses of venturing out on my own business.

One thing that really helps me when I am stressed is baseball. In light of that, my lovely wife helped me set a sheet up over the swing to practice throwing. Also, I think it is more important than ever to go to the gym and get in some cardio.

Here are the stats for today:

Date: November 26, 2010

Weight: 290 pounds

Went to bed last night at: 1:00am

Got up at: 11:00am

Exercise: Sanding and mudding kitchen wall. 20 minutes throwing baseball.

Food:

Breakfast - oatmeal raisin cookies

Lunch - turkey, applesauce, apple pie

Dinner - quesadilla

Drink: Sporadic drinks of water. Two glasses of apple juice.

UPDATE: My wife would have you know that the oatmeal raisin cookies I had for breakfast were whole wheat and sweetened with succanet instead of sugar. Consider yourself informed...

It's Cold and Rainy...

The storms have moved in and its getting pretty cold outside. I need to find some good activities for exercise inside. I'm used to walking to work, but I'm a wuss and can't really take it. I jog the stairs at work, but there are only ~12 up to my office. Any ideas?

Date: November 17, 2010

Weight: 289 pounds

Went to bed last night at: 1:00am

Got up at: 7:00am

Exercise: Not much activity today. The cold that I have been fighting seems to have backed off most of the way and I have a bit more energy.

Food: Banana, fiber bar, hot dog

Drink: Too little water...

Vitamins, etc.: Cod Liver Oil (Yay! Vitamin D!)

Its Way Past Time to Post Again

Its been a few days since I did this, but I'm not going to try to catch up. I have today's info below. I've been pretty sick the last couple of days, and its no surprise its taking me a while to get better. I know I need to start eating better, and I've been given a lot of great ideas, but I just can't seem to get going. I'm going to try to be more positive this week.

Here are the stats for today:

Date: November 14, 2010

Weight: 289 pounds

Went to bed last night at: 1:00am

Got up at: 5:00am

Exercise: Not much activity outside of going to church.

Food: Banana, meat/beans/rice/cheese in a bowl, a couple corn dogs.

Drink: Sporadic drinks of water.

Vitamins, etc.: Two probiotics.

10th Day - 287 Pounds

I went to the gym last night and worked out for about 30 minutes. Then I went over to the community center and went swimming with the girls for another 30 minutes.

I went back to work today, and again I'm realizing that I didn't eat right or drink enough today. I need to start making a lunch and taking it with me every day. I also need some way to remember to eat and drink throughout the day; I get busy at work and don't think about it.

Here are the stats for today:

Date: November 10, 2010

Weight: 287 pounds

Went to bed last night at: 12:00am

Got up at: 11:00am

Exercise: Stairs at work and a small amount of hefting logs.

Food: Pretty much nothing.

Drink: Sporadic drinks of water.

Vitamins, etc.: Two probiotics.

How I Felt: Today started off well, but I slowed down quite a bit. I should have realized that I need to eat something every now and then...

9th Day - 286 Pounds

Woohoo! Down to 286 today! I weighed myself three times to be sure it was right.

I ate well again today, but I again did not get enough water. I'm also going to go out to the gym with a friend and then I'm going swimming with the family a little later tonight.

Here are the stats for today:

Date: November 9, 2010

Weight: 286 pounds

Went to bed last night at: 1:00am

Got up at: 10:00am

Exercise: Heading off to the gym and maybe going swimming later.

Food: French toast for breakfast; bread and peanut butter for a snack; homemade pizza pockets, peaches and corn for late lunch.

Drink: A couple glasses of orange juice; a couple glasses of water.

Vitamins, etc.: Two probiotics.

How I Felt: It was a really good day. I felt good about the food I was eating and really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my family. I think I did a really good job of thinking positively today.