This past week I managed to check off 8 things off my list. Over all it was a pretty good week, even though our week was royally mixed up due to the "blizzard" we had in North Carolina.
It snowed pretty hard starting late Sunday night, I was off on Monday and Dee and Bailey had a snow day, so we had a nice day together as a family. Bailey even helped me shovel snow and clean off the cars. The snow turned to freezing rain that night, so all the roads were skating rinks on Tuesday. I went to work very late (2pm instead of 9am.) and came home 3 hours early. Dee and Bailey had another snow day.
Bailey ended up not having school ALL WEEK, due to icy back roads for the school buses. Dee and I did several trade offs with Bailey so we could at least get to work part of the time.
Sadly, the two items I missed on my list were big ones. I only managed to exercise twice last week (one walk and shoveling snow.) I also drank more than 3 sodas. I "only" drank soda on 3 days, but I had more than one each day, which violated the spirit of my list.
Every thing else on my list I accomplished pretty easily. So with a little hard work and discipline, I can do even better next week (hopefully the weather will cooperate !!)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
6 out of 10 Not great, but it's a start.
Well one week and a day into my New Year's checklist challenge, and I scored a 6 last week.
1) I weighed myself 4 time. Check !
2) I walked 3 times this week (almost 3 miles) Check!
3) Bailey and I went to dinner and a movie, quality time Check!
4) I shaved 4 times, and I even got a new electric razor. Check!
5) Drinking soda was my big FAIL this week. I had soda almost every day. Buzz :-(
6) I had fast food 3 times, so a near miss. Buzz
7) I flossed 5 times. Check!
8) I missed my medicine once last week. Buzz
9) I only checked my vital statistics 3 times. Buzz
10) Was able to do 4 chores. Check!
I was very close to getting 8 out of 10, and I will work even harder to do better this week. I have to set a routine so I remember to check my vitals and take my medicine every day. We have done some shopping, so there is more healthy/ ready to eat things in the house, so that should limit the fast food. Soda is still a big challenge, and will probably be all my life, but we have lots of bottled water at home to keep me from grabbing a soda.
I am still getting used to my new scale, and I am trying to see how accurate it is (the reading bounces around.) If it is accurate, I have lost 6 pounds since last Sunday. I sure hope it is right :-)
I am 2 days into this week, and I have have 8 things on the list accomplished, so there is some momentum building. I
1) I weighed myself 4 time. Check !
2) I walked 3 times this week (almost 3 miles) Check!
3) Bailey and I went to dinner and a movie, quality time Check!
4) I shaved 4 times, and I even got a new electric razor. Check!
5) Drinking soda was my big FAIL this week. I had soda almost every day. Buzz :-(
6) I had fast food 3 times, so a near miss. Buzz
7) I flossed 5 times. Check!
8) I missed my medicine once last week. Buzz
9) I only checked my vital statistics 3 times. Buzz
10) Was able to do 4 chores. Check!
I was very close to getting 8 out of 10, and I will work even harder to do better this week. I have to set a routine so I remember to check my vitals and take my medicine every day. We have done some shopping, so there is more healthy/ ready to eat things in the house, so that should limit the fast food. Soda is still a big challenge, and will probably be all my life, but we have lots of bottled water at home to keep me from grabbing a soda.
I am still getting used to my new scale, and I am trying to see how accurate it is (the reading bounces around.) If it is accurate, I have lost 6 pounds since last Sunday. I sure hope it is right :-)
I am 2 days into this week, and I have have 8 things on the list accomplished, so there is some momentum building. I
Monday, January 3, 2011
My New Year's "Check List"
I am not a big fan of New Year's Resolutions. They are often a punchline in a lame joke about how soon you are going to break them. I know myself pretty well, and I KNOW I will not last with any resolution I make at the beginning of the year, so I don't set myself up for failure.
I have been thinking long and hard about how the New Year is a great time to have a fresh start, and make positive changes in your life. I wanted to find a way of making those changes, without the disappointment of screwing up a resolution.
What if there was a way to score myself on how well I am doing ? That way it wouldn't be all or nothing, pass or fail. Finally, I decided to make a list of 10 things I can do to improve myself in some way. Then I would give myself a score from 1 to 10 based on how many of those things I accomplished each week. If I did all 10 that would be an awesome week, and if I only managed 3 or 4, it would be a crappy week.
The next challenge was to come up with a list of 10 things to do. There are a lot of things I need to work on, and it was hard to decide which ones were important. I didn't want to do all of the usual things (exercise, eat right, etc.) Those are important, and many of them will be on the list, but there are other things that I should do more often, but I am too lazy or unmotivated to do frequently enough. I wanted to put those things on the list too, to hold myself accountable.
To some people it may not look like a very challenging list. You may do all of those things every day and even more, but this is my list based on where I am now. Each item will be an improvement on what I am currently doing. I want the list to evolve over time, I will expand how often I do things, or even add new and more challenging things as I succeed with the current list.
So here is the list;
1) Weigh myself at least 4 times a week
2) Exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes
3) Spend quality Daddy / Daughter time with Bailey
4) Shave at least 4 times a week
5) Drink no more than 3 sodas a week
6) Eat no more than 2 fast food meals a week
7) Floss at least 4 times a week
8) Take all my medication each day (at the correct time !)
9) Check my Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar 5 days a week
10) Do at least 4 household chores each week (dishes, laundry, etc.)
That is my list. Each week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday. My goal is to post my weekly score every Sunday on the Blog, Twitter and on Facebook.
Wish me luck !! I welcome any encouragement and feedback about my list.
I have been thinking long and hard about how the New Year is a great time to have a fresh start, and make positive changes in your life. I wanted to find a way of making those changes, without the disappointment of screwing up a resolution.
What if there was a way to score myself on how well I am doing ? That way it wouldn't be all or nothing, pass or fail. Finally, I decided to make a list of 10 things I can do to improve myself in some way. Then I would give myself a score from 1 to 10 based on how many of those things I accomplished each week. If I did all 10 that would be an awesome week, and if I only managed 3 or 4, it would be a crappy week.
The next challenge was to come up with a list of 10 things to do. There are a lot of things I need to work on, and it was hard to decide which ones were important. I didn't want to do all of the usual things (exercise, eat right, etc.) Those are important, and many of them will be on the list, but there are other things that I should do more often, but I am too lazy or unmotivated to do frequently enough. I wanted to put those things on the list too, to hold myself accountable.
To some people it may not look like a very challenging list. You may do all of those things every day and even more, but this is my list based on where I am now. Each item will be an improvement on what I am currently doing. I want the list to evolve over time, I will expand how often I do things, or even add new and more challenging things as I succeed with the current list.
So here is the list;
1) Weigh myself at least 4 times a week
2) Exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes
3) Spend quality Daddy / Daughter time with Bailey
4) Shave at least 4 times a week
5) Drink no more than 3 sodas a week
6) Eat no more than 2 fast food meals a week
7) Floss at least 4 times a week
8) Take all my medication each day (at the correct time !)
9) Check my Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar 5 days a week
10) Do at least 4 household chores each week (dishes, laundry, etc.)
That is my list. Each week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday. My goal is to post my weekly score every Sunday on the Blog, Twitter and on Facebook.
Wish me luck !! I welcome any encouragement and feedback about my list.
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
If any one follows my Blog, they will notice that Looooooong stretches between posts is not usually a good sign. Since my last post, more than 2 months ago, things have gone down hill some. I have not gone totally off the deep end, but I have slacked off more than I should have.
I had a week to myself while my wife and daughter were visiting family. I had planned to go to the gym almost every day, and get lots of exercise since I didn't have to rush home to spend time with the family. As usually happens, work got in the way a lot and I used that excuse to avoid the gym. To make maters even worse, I ate out a lot, and made unhealthy food for myself at home.
All of the slacking and poor eating started to catch up with me. I noticed that my new smaller belt notches were no longer fitting comfortably (The BAD.) I went back up one, then two notches, so I knew I was packing on the pounds again. I went back to the ENT for a sinus check up, and when they weighed my I had gained 7 pounds !! (The UGLY.)
While it wasn't a "shock" that I had gained weight, I saw all the signs, it was shocking to my how much and how fast I gained it back. I used that gain as a motivator to get back on track (for the um-teenth time.) I have been eating somewhat better, although I am still eating more fast food than I should. I have been much better about going to the gym and walking around the neighborhood. I am going to try and stock up on more healthy foods, and have things prepared, so I can avoid the drive through.
What about the good ?? How can there be any good news in all this bad news ? Well I have still not have had a drop of soda !! I have not had any in more than three months !! I have not been with out soda for this long since I was weaned off the bottle when I was a baby. It has been one of the biggest challenges I have yet faced, but the cold turkey method is working well. So that is The Good.
I had a week to myself while my wife and daughter were visiting family. I had planned to go to the gym almost every day, and get lots of exercise since I didn't have to rush home to spend time with the family. As usually happens, work got in the way a lot and I used that excuse to avoid the gym. To make maters even worse, I ate out a lot, and made unhealthy food for myself at home.
All of the slacking and poor eating started to catch up with me. I noticed that my new smaller belt notches were no longer fitting comfortably (The BAD.) I went back up one, then two notches, so I knew I was packing on the pounds again. I went back to the ENT for a sinus check up, and when they weighed my I had gained 7 pounds !! (The UGLY.)
While it wasn't a "shock" that I had gained weight, I saw all the signs, it was shocking to my how much and how fast I gained it back. I used that gain as a motivator to get back on track (for the um-teenth time.) I have been eating somewhat better, although I am still eating more fast food than I should. I have been much better about going to the gym and walking around the neighborhood. I am going to try and stock up on more healthy foods, and have things prepared, so I can avoid the drive through.
What about the good ?? How can there be any good news in all this bad news ? Well I have still not have had a drop of soda !! I have not had any in more than three months !! I have not been with out soda for this long since I was weaned off the bottle when I was a baby. It has been one of the biggest challenges I have yet faced, but the cold turkey method is working well. So that is The Good.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
5 more pounds and another notch on my belt
I was back at a Doctor's office again today with my seemingly never ending sinus infection. It was an ENT office. When I got there they weighed me in, which I thought was a bit unusual since they were only looking at my nose.
It turned out that I had lost another 5 pounds !! That was after eating a large lunch and 64 ounces of water. I am now down to 373lbs, which is 28 pounds lost since May. Other than my stupid sinus infection and a few gym related aches and pains, I have been feeling great ! I had to punch another notch in my belt this week too, pretty soon I can go "shopping" in my closet for clothes that didn't used to fit.
I didn't think a trip to the nose doctor would bring about a lot of weight related revelations, but there were several. When ever you go to a new doctor's office you have to answer a ton of questions like "have you ever had this, or are you that ?" and today was no exception. Having all my health maladies laid out before you is kind of depressing (I am morbidly obese, diabetic, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a family history of cancer and heart disease, etc.)
After my exam, the Doctor looked very confused (not a good sign from a Dr. !) It turns out that he was REALLY struggling with how best to treat me due to my size. It probably didn't help when I told him I was 737 pounds and not 373 (who knew there were verbal typos.) After a lot of internal debate, he decided he had to up my dosage and length of time of my steroids and antibiotics because to my weight. Also the Prednisone was going to really jack up my blood sugar, so it was going to effect my Diabetes.
I am going to keep the momentum going and hope that the steroids don't mess with my weight and blood sugar too much, wish me luck !
It turned out that I had lost another 5 pounds !! That was after eating a large lunch and 64 ounces of water. I am now down to 373lbs, which is 28 pounds lost since May. Other than my stupid sinus infection and a few gym related aches and pains, I have been feeling great ! I had to punch another notch in my belt this week too, pretty soon I can go "shopping" in my closet for clothes that didn't used to fit.
I didn't think a trip to the nose doctor would bring about a lot of weight related revelations, but there were several. When ever you go to a new doctor's office you have to answer a ton of questions like "have you ever had this, or are you that ?" and today was no exception. Having all my health maladies laid out before you is kind of depressing (I am morbidly obese, diabetic, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a family history of cancer and heart disease, etc.)
After my exam, the Doctor looked very confused (not a good sign from a Dr. !) It turns out that he was REALLY struggling with how best to treat me due to my size. It probably didn't help when I told him I was 737 pounds and not 373 (who knew there were verbal typos.) After a lot of internal debate, he decided he had to up my dosage and length of time of my steroids and antibiotics because to my weight. Also the Prednisone was going to really jack up my blood sugar, so it was going to effect my Diabetes.
I am going to keep the momentum going and hope that the steroids don't mess with my weight and blood sugar too much, wish me luck !
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Back in the saddle again (of an excercise bike)
Well I signed up with Snap Fitness today. http://www.snapfitness.com/concordnc/home It is open 24/7 which works out perfectly for me and my after work workouts. It has nice new, modern equipment, and I will be able to get a great workout there.
I was sad to cancel my Peak/ ZX membership, but they were not meeting my needs, and fueling lots of excuses for me. The clubs were older, but I liked them, but only staying open until 10pm just wouldn't work for me. They tried to change my mind (I had already signed up at Snap) but I didn't like the 24 hour club they were trying to send me to. Then they tried to lay a guilt trip on me, why does the fitness industry have to be so sleazy sometimes ? I had a similar experience at Golds Gym back in Georgia.
The trip to the Dr went OK, I didn't gain any weight (but I hadn't lost any either :-( With the way my health has been lately, I was happy with staying the same. I just hope the new medicine will kick this stupid sinus infection.
My plan is to go to the gym after work tomorrow, stay tuned to my twitter feed (@billmdee) for updates. Wish me luck !!
I was sad to cancel my Peak/ ZX membership, but they were not meeting my needs, and fueling lots of excuses for me. The clubs were older, but I liked them, but only staying open until 10pm just wouldn't work for me. They tried to change my mind (I had already signed up at Snap) but I didn't like the 24 hour club they were trying to send me to. Then they tried to lay a guilt trip on me, why does the fitness industry have to be so sleazy sometimes ? I had a similar experience at Golds Gym back in Georgia.
The trip to the Dr went OK, I didn't gain any weight (but I hadn't lost any either :-( With the way my health has been lately, I was happy with staying the same. I just hope the new medicine will kick this stupid sinus infection.
My plan is to go to the gym after work tomorrow, stay tuned to my twitter feed (@billmdee) for updates. Wish me luck !!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
It's official, I have not had any soda for one week (has the stock price of Coke started to fall ?)
After my post last week, I did a lot of thinking and soul searching.Upon reflection, I determined that I have not made a serious enough attempt to control what I put in my body. My previous efforts were a first good step, but not enough to make a large impact.
Fairly organically, I stopped drinking all soda. I just made the decision not to drink one Coke with lunch, then didn't drink one with dinner. After realizing how (relatively) easy it was to give up, I just decided to not drink any at all. It was very rough for the first three or four days, I was in full caffeine and sugar withdrawal. I had headaches, a lack of energy, and cravings. After they all passed it has been much easier.
I also made several other changes too. I have reduced the amount of carbs I have been eating, no chips, less bread, no sweets, fewer french frys, etc. I have also stopped eating late at night when ever possible, no desert or snacks after 8:00. If I have not had dinner at work on nights I work late, I have a small mini meal, with the healthiest food we have ion the house (Salads, etc.) I did have a Sub from Harris Teeter last night, but it was loaded with veggies. We made a run to BJ's Wholesale Club to stock up on healthier eating options.
I go back to the Doctor tomorrow (stupid sinus infection won't go away) so I will have an "official" weigh in, and see what he says about every thing, so look for another update tomorrow.
Fairly organically, I stopped drinking all soda. I just made the decision not to drink one Coke with lunch, then didn't drink one with dinner. After realizing how (relatively) easy it was to give up, I just decided to not drink any at all. It was very rough for the first three or four days, I was in full caffeine and sugar withdrawal. I had headaches, a lack of energy, and cravings. After they all passed it has been much easier.
I also made several other changes too. I have reduced the amount of carbs I have been eating, no chips, less bread, no sweets, fewer french frys, etc. I have also stopped eating late at night when ever possible, no desert or snacks after 8:00. If I have not had dinner at work on nights I work late, I have a small mini meal, with the healthiest food we have ion the house (Salads, etc.) I did have a Sub from Harris Teeter last night, but it was loaded with veggies. We made a run to BJ's Wholesale Club to stock up on healthier eating options.
I go back to the Doctor tomorrow (stupid sinus infection won't go away) so I will have an "official" weigh in, and see what he says about every thing, so look for another update tomorrow.
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