Back on track

I had originally started this blog as a way to keep myself honest when trying to lose weight, but it didn't exactly work that way. I ended up sort of abandoning it, not updating it, thinking that nobody really cared.

In the meantime, my weight is up over 300 lbs (again), and it scared me. I thought that it was time to get serious and actually do something about it. We had one of the gym chains sell off a bunch of their outlets to another chain, in order to "focus on our priorities", which is corp-speak for "we're losing money, so we're getting rid of the units that aren't making as much money as we'd like." So the Smoking Hot Redhead and I went to see what they had to offer, and to see if we could get a deal. We went to the local gym, and it felt like I was walking into the exercise yard at the local prison, and I was the new guy on the block. I hadn't seen so many gang tats and prison tats since, well, EVER. I was getting eyefucked from the moment we walked in until the moment we left. The staff was just stupid, and the gym smelled like they had it hermetically sealed to keep in the stank. (You know what I mean about stank, right?)

The next day, we went to the gym that was closest to SRH's old place. I had worked out there before, when it was the company that was bought out by the chain that just dumped it. It was the same equipment in the same location, just updated a little, but everyone was more friendly, more knowledgeable, and it didn't stank.  They still couldn't offer us a deal, so we did a quick bit of pencil to paper, and went over to the gym where SRH had her membership on hold.

We talked to one of the people there about what it would cost to reactivate the membership and add me on. They cut the normal add fees and monthly stroke in half, down to what it would be for a normal "couple's" membership. That was a month ago.

SRH and I have been carpooling to work 3 days a week, so it makes it that much easier for the two of us to go to the gym after work. I've been doing 2-3 days a week of cardio, and I'm starting to add 1 day of strength training on the machines. My plan is to increase my strength, endurance, and aerobic fitness. I want to be able to tote the >100# of gear from an LZ to the crest of the hill at ~10000 feet without wanting to drop dead. I want to be able to do the same hike as the Hotshot Crews. I know it's going to take a while, but I'm in this for the long haul.

Now, if I could stop eating so much crap.

Happy Hanuramafestikwasolstiyulemas

The good news is the holidays were good to me. The bad news is that it wasn't in a good way. I didn't gain, but I didn't lose, either. I didn't take the Phen every day, which I should have, so I nibbled WAY too much. I'm back on the wagon now.

288.4#

Dammit, I'm doing it again...

Well, I promised myself that I'd log in and publish at least a little something every day, but that's not happening.

I'm now a little over 2 months into this endeavor, and I've lost a little over 11 pounds as of the last time I weighed in. My goal is a pound a week, and I'm actually ahead of where I want to be. It took me a long time to get this weight on, so I know that it's going to take a long time to get it back off.

I had a little setback a couple weeks ago, where I gained 2 pounds, but that came right back off, and I'm on track again.

I'm probably going to have a good loss this week, since I ended up walking back and forth for about 6 hours during the Veterans Day Parade here in town. It's billed as the largest VD Parade on the West Coast, and I believe it. I probably walked 4-5 miles, as I walked back and forth trying to get all the entries lined out and in order. My feet were killing me by the end of the day...

The Ginger One and I went out for Indian food last night, and the Chicken Vindaloo was fantastic. It's so nice to have a good Indian restaurant in town after being without for so long. Frozen just doesn't cut it.

The first days are the hardest

Went to my first WW meeting back on Sunday. I don't know if it was their scale, or what I was wearing at the Doctor's office, but my weight was 7 pounds lower at WW.

There's nothing wrong with a salad, as long as you add a little protein. Bacon and chicken are good. Make it a full Chef's Salad, and you're golden.

OMG! Phentermine is good. I was using Pseudoephedrine or ephedra-containing supplements as an appetite suppressant, which worked, but I got severe dry mouth, and the jitters. I don't get the jitters, and the dry mouth is minimal.

I'm looking for as many low or no points snacks as possible that have flavor. I can only eat so many veggies and bland crap.

And so it begins...

I'm a fat bastard. There's no mincing words on this. I'm a couple of biscuits over 3 bills, and I'm not all that jolly. I used to be healthy, but eating too much good food and procrastinating on getting exercise has lead me to where I am today.

My girlfriend had been bugging me for months to go to the doctor for a check-up and physical. She said, "As long as you have insurance, you might as well do it." So I did, 3 weeks ago. Since I hadn't been in years (except when I was sick) the doctor ordered up a battery of tests. Not only did the vampires get me (blood draws) but he ordered up a babycam (ultrasound) view of everything going on in my midsection. He also scheduled me for a treadmill test.

I got a call from the Dr's office to come in to review my test results, which I thought we'd go over when I had my treadmill test. Everything was fine except for my cholesterol levels. Those were all on the outside of where they should have been. We discussed what to do, and one of the things that I've decided is that I need to get serious about my weight.

I'm going to get back on Weight Watchers, and get serious about getting more exercise. I'm going to chronicle everything right here, so everyone can keep track of my successes and failures, and I can look back on what's worked and what hasn't.

I got a prescription for Phentermine, which I hope will get me jump-started on my way. Sunday is my first WW meeting back, and I'm ready to get serious about this whole thing. The Doctor said that I should start a journal, and considering that I'm a computer geek, I might as well have a blog for everyone to see.