Cruising

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 269.9
Today's Weigh In: 271.4
Days to Goal (March 31): 1 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 9 out of 10.5 (1.5 to go!)

Ok, so I probably won't hit my goal of 10.5 pounds by tomorrow, but it's possible. If I could hit it before April 1 and start off April under 270, I could definitely deal with that.

I'm heading into the last day of the month going strong, believe it or not. For the past what - 5, 6 months - I've been stagnant. This month, I've started out above 280 (again), and I am SO close to being under 270.

The last few days have been a tough challenge, but I can say that I've done pretty damn well. When we went out for dinner a few nights ago, I had the salad at Red Robin when I really wanted the burger. I saw a 272.0 on the scale yesterday which was nice, and then it pushed me through until yesterday. Yesterday I had the two parties - the FAT party (which was awesome, great work by Kevin and Beck), and then my cousin's surprise party (that she knew about - you can't get ANYTHING past a woman).

I did great - and with help by Erin. I told her on the way to the bar that I wasn't going to drink anything, because I was doing so well on the day. When I got there and around my family (who were "slightly lubricated"), I really wanted to have a beer. Erin reminded me (a few times) about what my goals were, and long story made short, I was doing Karaoke with a glass of ice water in my hand all night. Sober Karaoke - it was my first attempt at it. It's definitely a different ballgame ;)

Which brings me to today - I ate well before the two games because I knew there were going to be a TON of temptations. I get to the Red Wings game and it was easy to pass on everything because I knew we were headed to the Ford Field suites next for the NCAA game (Kansas vs Davidson, GREAT game!) - and the food and beers were free, as opposed to $8.50 for a 22 ounce Bud Light at the Wings game.

So we get to Ford Field and there's a feast good enough for the Last Supper. Crab cake sandwiches, chicken/cheese quesadillas, every type of chocolate and beer you could think of - cheeses on top of cheeses, all my weaknesses. I had a little bit - but I was more concerned about serving sizes, that's always the killer.

Kristen and I were talking at the FAT party about this - how it's not that we're sliding into the habits of eating BAD food - but that we're slipping into eating larger portions of what we're used to eating, which doubles our calories without thinking about it. So, I had limited amounts and tasted a few things. They gave us this chocolate/caramel brownie thing that was *HUGE* - I took it, cut about 3 bites off of it and had that, and put the rest of it in a bowl and took it home for Erin.

Good for me - I get to limit what I ate and was able to enjoy some chocolate within reason, and good because I got mega-bonus points for being at the game and being considerate enough to be a good husband and bring some home. Bonus.

So, I got 271.4 today - and I'm hoping to see it continue. I don't know if I expect a big drop today, I did have a pretty healthy Captain and Diet Coke, some brownie and a small quesadilla - but considering what obstacles I faced in the food realm this weekend, I think I'm pretty proud of myself. Tomorrow's official "Birthday Dinner" is Applebees - I'll be working off of the Weight Watcher's menu.

Let's make April amazing.

Not TWO Far

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 269.9
Today's Weigh In: 272.0
Days to Goal (March 31): 4 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 8.4 out of 10.5 (2.1 to go!)

What can I say? The weight's moving slowly but surely in the right direction, and I can't complain about that. I've been eating well, the Metabolife seems to be working, and I've been in the gym every day. Tonight we ended up going to dinner and out for drinks - I had a Cobb salad minus half of the stuff, and I gave half of the bread to Erin, and had the other half - meaning like I had 3 bites of bread.

Then, out for drinks Erin and I both ordered a 22 of Blue Moon. I took a few sips, but all I could think about the calories - and how I've come SO far lately. I love me some Blue Moon, but not more than I love me some 260's, so I sipped on mine, barely making a dent. When she had like an inch at the bottom of her glass, I traded her. I probably had 6 ounces of beer tonight.

Small successes.

I've got 3 days left - can I lose these last 2.1 pounds? Only one way to find out.

Goal and Weekend To Go

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 269.9
Today's Weigh In: 272.4
Days to Goal (March 31): 4 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 8 out of 10.5 (2.5 to go!)

I just wanted to post earlier than 10:30pm at night because usually by then the blogs are pretty uninspired due to exhaustion.

This weekend is huge for me. I dropped another .6 or so today, and it's because I'm working my ass off. I've been eating perfectly, a handful of almonds on the road to school, a bowl of raisin bran before I leave, a pork chop and a small serving of fake-mashed potatoes for lunch today, I had a 210 calorie cup of soup around 4pm becuase I was starving, and we're going to have a smart dinner tonight.

I made one of my decisions easier on myself for this weekend - on Monday for my birthday dinner I chose to go to Applebees. There was about 30 restaurants I'd rather go to - and I would have gone to in the past - that I would rather go to. In the past, the birthday dinner was the reward. High fat, something I normally wouldn't have (can someone say "Louis' Pizza?), and I'd enjoy it while all the while saying that 'birthday calories don't count".

This year, I choose to do my celebrating with the scale. Applebees has a great weight watchers menu that I can have a nice dinner, enjoy my family and still keep it where I need to be.

That is what's important this year.

4-Pound Dash

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 269.9
Today's Weigh In: 273.0
Days to Goal (March 31): 5 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 7.3 out of 10.5 (3.2 to go!)

So yeah - yesterday it was 277, today it was 273. Not really holding my breath for another day like that, but I ate the same as yesterday, worked out the same as yesterday, took the same pills as yesterday, so I need to stick to the right direction.

I've got to get under 270 - at least SEE it, by my birthday on Monday. And you want to talk ROADBLOCKS?

Friday - going out to eat, then to a show, and then to a bar.
Saturday - FAT Party (wahoo!), then surprise party at a bar.
Sunday - Going out Red Wings game (3pm), possible NCAA tourney game if the schedule works out right. Game times haven't been announced.
Monday - Detroit Tigers Opening Day, my birthday, going out to dinner w/ family for birthday.

So I've got some choices to make this week. Tomorrow is my last "easy" day before my birthday, and I have to get a head start. Thinking I might double up on the gym - before school (6am) and after work (6pm) - then it's just a matter of what I want more this weekend. Do I want to have fun and celebrate? Or, do I want to be the *ULTIMATE* Weekend Warrior and have something to celebrate AFTERwards?

It all comes down to how important this is to me. This ain't going to be an easy weekend, but what the hell - if it was easy, everyone would do it. Who's with me?

The Placebo Effect?

Weigh In: 277.4

I'm trying something starting yesterday that I never thought that I would want to use, but sometimes you have to step out of the box. I've been looking at different supplements for a while and wanted to use something that would kickstart my body. It's no secret that I've been going half-ass while trying to convince myself that I've been going full-ass for a while now. No one works out 6-7 days a week and doesn't lose weight by eating right.

So, I'm trying Metabolife. I got the ephedrine-free, caffeine-free version. It's got a bunch of whatever-dohickey extract stuff in it, but the purpose is to speed up the metabolism safely while supressing appetite. Sounds like a load of crap, doesn't it?

The strange thing is, it's working. I'm not sure how, or if it's just my mind wanting to BELIEVE that taking these pills 3 times a day is working, but it's working so far. I've noticed my ability to keep from eating too much has been better. I've noticed that I've had more energy lately. I've had a better focus.

So, it may very well be the placebo effect. It could be my brain making my body BELIEVE that whatever is in this potion is working when it's really just me being mentally stronger - or even FOOLED.

So what? If it works, it works. The bottle is worth 8 weeks, and they said "Lose 25 pounds in 3 weeks!". Commercials are crap, and sales pitches are even bigger crap - and I can say that since I'm a salesperson by trade. Maybe it's a mental game.

Whatever it takes, though. If I have to use a pill as a crutch, frankly - I'm at the point where I'm ok with it. I need to drop this weight, and if I need to "cheat", I'm going to cheat.

Btw: Kevin and anyone else who wants to play basketball in the Troy, MI area, let me know - we're going to start on April 8th - time pending.

Secret Potion

Weigh In: 277.4

Not really much to say again tonight. I've been at a loss for words lately, but it's because it's the same old stuff, just a different day. I made a point to eat STELLAR today. I did everything right. Was in the gym at 5:45 this morning and had a solid 60 minutes in the gym.

What else can I say that hasn't been said? I finally got back to everyone's blogs today - sorry that I've been out of commission lately. I feel like I've got 100 things going on and sometime replying to blogs seems overwhelming when you haven't done it for a while. I had to reply to like 12 of them today, so hopefully I got to everyone.

I'm not sure why I'm speechless here tonight. I'm sitting here in front of the computer and have writer's block. Erin will tell you, it's not often that I am speechless, I like to talk - but tonight, I am just drawing blanks.

So, eat right, work out, be diligent. It'll eventually come off, right?

.. right?

Hacked

Looks like all of http://makeforum.net, the free site provider that we host the FAT Coalition forums on, has been hacked.

http://fatcoalition.makeforum.org/

I don't understand why these weaselly little nerdy asswipes think it's cool to screw with everyone, but the entire makeforum.org site is being hacked. Losers.

I'll update as I know more.

Too Much

Weigh In: 274.8


The title sums it up. I woke up at the normal time but couldn't go to the gym this morning. I worked at 8am but because of Good Friday, I didn't get a chance to work out because the gym opened last this morning. So, I did 50 sit up and 50 push ups. Totally felt like I was blowing it off.

So, I was out of sync today. I snacked on some jelly beans today, which is out of character. Not a ton of them - but for some reason I grabbed some. I hardly ever do that anymore - I was just saying in the comments of my own blog last night that I don't get the urge to eat the crap we have laying aroudn at work - and here I go dipping into the jelly beans. Probably only about 20 of them (180 calories for 14), so it's not a killer. It's more the fact that I had them than the calories themselves.

Then we went to Max & Erma's for dinner. I had a Sante Fe salad which is one of the better options, but then I had 2 breadsticks at 210 calories each. And then I had 3 bites of Erin's spicy (fried) chicken sandwich. And a beer.

I do so well all day long usually, and then I end up having dinners that are too big. I'm not quite sure why - I geuss I could go into the whole "it's my culture, it's how I was brought up, it's just how I'm used to" eating too much thing - but the bottom line is, I need to change my mindset of dinner being a big feast. It's absolutely killing me. It's like I do SO well for 23.90 hours, and then in 10 minutes, I blow it.

So, it's all about the weekend. I'm at the exact same spot as I was this time last week. I need to figure out the whole dinner thing. I'm not sure what mentla block I have, but I have to break through. Why bother being perfect the rest of the day if I'm just going to blow it at night?

Timing

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 275.2
Days to Goal (March 31): 11 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 5.2 out of 11

Let's see how tomorrow works. I ate really well (again) today, but I ended up eating dinner after 9pm. I really didn't want to but there just literally wasn't 10 minutes to eat. I came home, 30 seconds after I got home my lesson student was there, and then when she left I had to take off to my wife's aunt house because she's doing some photography stuff for us. Got back to the house at 9ish. Had a chicken breast, salad, a piece of whole grain bread and one of those tiny jelly cup things with pineapple in it. Had turkey chili, some veggies and a diet pop for lunch. Had coffee for breakfast.

So, since I weigh in early, that'll probably cause my weight to go up. A bit frustrating because my body doesn't have any allowances. I'm sure it'll be up tomorrow, and it'll piss me off again. I wanted to start eating dinner EARLIER, and having smaller portions for dinner, which means I'd have to start eating more during the day. My time schedule just never works out - and that's a bit annoying. Something I have to overcome. Everything is on the run lately, I'm glad I'm busy with things I enjoy - but I'll be damned if I don't have a second to breathe.

One thing I was thinking about - once I do my 'official' student teaching and not this 15/hr a week stuff, I'll be on my feet ALL day. I won't have time to eat, I'll be moving constantly, and I think that might help me get to these goals I want to hit. But that's 5 months away - and I'm just tired of these 270s.

I'm exhausted so I'm not feeling up to analyzing everything, but the bottom line is, I have to start eating earlier, I need to start eating more meals and have smaller portions. It's the common sense stuff.

PS: I made a slight adjustment to my goal at the top of the post - I'm setting it for 11 pounds in March, trying to get under 270 by my birthday. More realistic (I hope).

Breaking the Cycle (and Happy Spring)

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 274.4
Days to Goal (April 16): 40 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 6 out of 20

Slowly, but surely.

One thing I've been thinking about lately is how and when I do my workouts. I do mine in the AM - but I feel like perhaps I should start getting more exercise at night. Just a thought - what's everyone's opinion on this? Does it matter WHEN you work out?

I know the two trains of thought - one is what I tended to fall under, the other I've heard often. Working out in the morning gears you up for the day. Alternatively, workout out and night lets your body work at a higher rate while you sleep. I'm not sure if I buy that it makes a difference either way, but that's what has been on my mind lately. Also, I wonder if working out at night (say, after dinner) helps the food process through your body quicker, resulting in a higher level of digestion and helping weight loss.

So these are the things I'm thinking about. Next up is trying to FIND TIME to work out a bit more. I'm not going to change my morning routine, but perhaps I can find time to do more at night. Something has to give -and although the weight came down a bit today again, it seems to be hovering. I need to do something EXTRA.

Tomorrow's the first day of spring - it can't come soon enough.

Workin' it Out

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 276.4
Days to Goal (April 16): 41 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 4 out of 20

Ok, so it seems like I'm going backwards. I eluded to this yesterday, but I had two things going against me in today's weigh in. First off - the beer consumption. Had a good time, and you could tell by the scale. It was up today. Also, I changed the 'time' that I weigh in - I used to weigh in AFTER the gym in the morning, and now because I'm going to the gym and changing/showering there and heading straight to work, I weigh in right when I get out bed. Traditionally I get about 2 pounds(ish) lower when I 'officially' step on the scale after the gym.

So, it went up. But I'm not sweating it, because I just stepped on the scale before dinner (one of the highest times of the day for me) and I was at 275 - lower than I was at my weigh in, and I usually drop 1-3 during the night, so I'm not TOO worried. I hated seeing it, but it is what it is.

I went to the gym this morning at 6:30am nd did 40 on the Eliptical this morning, went to school and work, left work at 6pm - went to volleyball at 7pm and then played for two hours straight, got home around 9:15 - Erin had made turkey sloppy joes, so I had a small bowl (probably about 6-7 bites) with no bread, right out of the bowl, and I'm calling it a night.

I'm starting to get that sense of urgency. There's 13 days left in the month and I *NEED* to get to the 260s. It's crunch time.

St. Patty's Day

This is going to be yet another quick one.

Ate perfectly today. Worked out in the AM.

Drank 2 pints of beer and a tall beer for St. Patty's tonight, plus one soft shell taco from Taco Bell around 9:45pm. Not the greatest move - but you know what, it's a holiday, I enjoyed it and I won't look back.

My weight has been STUCK again. I keep fluctuating between 274-276, it was high this morning too. I have been doing the whole 3 S's thing, going to the gym and THEN weighing in, but I'm changing that (as of this morning, which is why it was high this morning). I decided that I'm going to weigh in right after hitting the can, but before anything else. It gives me a better barometer, and even if it is a little higher (usually lose 1-3 pounds at the gym - water weight I'm sure), it'll give a better idea of what I am straight out of bed.

Plus, my schedule has been weird - this way, if I weigh in as soon as I get up and then shower at the gym instead of coming home, that shaves about 40 minutes off my prep time, so that means I get 40 minutes of sleep more. VERY valuable.

So, I've been breaking even. Been looking into a few alternatives to help give me that extra push. I will keep you guys updated as I go.

Going strong - but I have a feeling the 60+ ounces of beer isn't going to look too good on the scale in the morning.

Right back at it tomorrow morning. I've *GOT* to get under 270 in 2 weeks - 14 days until the birthday.

Weekend Time

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 273.6
Days to Goal (April 16): 45 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 6.4 out of 20

Ok, well at least the weight came back down to where it was 2 days ago.

Going to be a short one tonight. Ate well, worked out - same old story. I'm trying to work out a way to get the church gym available so Kevin and I (and anyone else who wants to play) can play hoops at least once a week. The more activity, the better. We'll see how that goes.

Also, this is yet another weekend. So many times we've seen the Coalition members (obviously including myself) do so well during the week just to see a week's worth of efforts erased on the weekend. We know what to do - so let's just DO IT.

17 days until my birthday. I'd really, really like to have a 5 day average under 270 by then. Let's see what we can't work out.

Q and A

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 275.4
Days to Goal (April 16): 46 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 5.0 out of 20

Here's a riddle for you.

Q: What do you get when you work out in the morning, eat right and hold off the temptation of eating pizza, and instead eating your scheduled lunch of fruit and turkey chili?

A: A 2 pound weight gain.

I'll never figure my body out, and why it reacts the way it does, but it just proves what I've been saying to be true. All I need to do is walk PAST a bakery to gain a pound. In this case, I was in the SAME ROOM as pizza and put on two.

Not sure why - and it does bother me, but being a veteran of this war against fat, I know that this is just what happens. I had a good eating day again today to go along with another workout, so I don't expect that to stick.

Honestly, I'm getting tired of being in the 270's. I've done what I should be doing, yet the body doesn't want to seem to let go. My brain wants to start changing things around, but we've been there before. I'm going to just continue what I'm doing - eating right, working out, and living healthy, and the weight will come off.

In the meantime, keep pizza out of the same room with me.

Slowly but surely

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 273.6
Days to Goal (April 16): 47 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 6.8 out of 20

We're getting there slowly, but surely. Time to keep on going.

Not much to report except for one thing I'm pretty proud of. The bands had a party day today at school - they earned all "1"s at Festival, I think I mentioned that - but today they had a big pizza party. And since there's 2 bands, that means 2 pizza parties.

Yup, I had to fight through 2 pizza parties today.

And I won.

So I feel good about that.

Otherwise, not much news. Just sat down for the first time since about 6:30am, it's now 10:40pm. Actually, about 15 minutes ago I was able to chill out. Busy day, but got a lot done. We bought a new patio set so I went to the gym, to school, to work, home to teach a private lesson (sax), and then finish putting the patio set together - I had to install the thing, not too bad, but time consuming.

The Coalition's been pretty slow again lately - hope you're all going strong.

Bend but don't break

Weigh In: 274.4

Yup, the weight's starting to stay put. I had a good workout this morning, and my eating was pretty much on the money. This is what I had:

PB&J for breakfast (timing issue, had to eat on the road. Best of the available choices)
Turkey chili, banana & apple for lunch.
Pork chop cooked in EVOO and salad for dinner
1/2 cup (in the measuring cup) of ice cream for dessert (140 cals)

I know what you're thinking about the ice cream, and that's fine. Erin gave me the look tonight too when I had it, but I just felt like it. I've been doing pretty stellar when it comes to the eating right thing - I even had a few temptations today and was able to avoid them. I made sure to have one serving - half a cup - and I used the measuring cup as the bowl so that there was no deviation from the serving size. I don't feel bad about it at all.

Other than that, a pretty non-eventual day. I had volleyball tonight and pretty much played as if I have never played the game tonight. Totally sucked. But, it was an hour of sweating balls, so that's ok in the long run. Tomorrow's another day, hope you're all going strong.

4 days til' TGIF

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: ?
Days to Goal (April 16): 49 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 6.4 out of 20

Didn't think to weigh in this morning. Had a ton on my plate this morning, and just didn't. Got up, ran to the gym, and ran to school. Same old, same old.

Not a lot to report today - I ate great, I did what I had to do, and then I'm headed to bed (late again). I'll be back in the gym in the morning.

Erin made a comment about how healthy my lunches are. I'm starting to get the hang of it. Tomorrow's lunch? Turkey chili, banana and an apple. Breakfast will probably be a bowl of Raisin Bran again, and I'm sure she's got a healthy dinner made up.

One small note: I was feeling that "I want to eat everything in the fridge" feeling tonight when I was at work. I knew Erin wasn't going to be home until after 6:45pm and I usually get off of work at 6:00, which means I would have been home without her home. Because I felt one of those uncontrollable binges coming on, I just stayed at work. I spent an extra hour at work because I just didn't trust myself to be responsible with an unmanned fridge.

That's sad, but that's the truth. I feel good about my decision to not put myself in a vulnerable position. It's pretty bad that I knew I couldn't control myself if I ended up there - but I took a neccesary step to avoid a pitfall Whatever it takes, I'm going to do it. Ideal situation or not, I came out ahead tonight. Here's to a good Tuesday.

Sunday Cruise

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 274.2
Days to Goal (April 16): 50 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 6.4 out of 20

Not too much to say tonight, but I want to post something. My weight's slowly coming down, I'm still in the gym damn near 7 days a week, and I'm doing well. I've lost 6.4 pounds this week but I can't get TOO excited because it came from me seeing the 280's again, and this is weight lost over and over again. Hard to have a parade over this - but I suppose it's better than NOT losing the 6.4 pounds.

Ate well today. Raisin Bran for breakfast (late), sunflower seeds and 2 apples during the day, and Orange Roughy w/ minestone and salad (with two pieces of bread) at the restaurant tonight. I could have done w/o the bread, but over the course of the day, I did well.

Not much else to say - been a quiet weekend around the blogs. Hopefully you all come strong tomorrow morning for the March 10 Challenge. Let's hear how the weekend warriors did this time around.

Saturday Is Somebody Too

Weigh In: 274.

The blogs usually slow down on the weekends, and I have a basic theory on this. It's not that we don't care on weekends, but because our schedules and routines are different. Chances are, many of us don't work on the weekends, or have a different time committment.

I'm not breaking new ground here, but stating the obvious. I think that we have to collectively start putting more pressure on our weekends. How good we do on Monday through Friday, we should have that kind of success on the weekends. And some of us do - those are the ones in the Coalition that are losing the pounds. Those of us (me included) who have been spinning the wheels, chances are we don't put as much effort into the weekends as we do the weekdays.

Saturday is somebody too. Saturday and Sunday deserve as much of our dedication and committment as the rest of the week. Are you proving that you're a Weekend Warrior? If so, then awesome. If not, what can you do better?

Oh, and side note - went somewhere for dinner (Woodward Avenue Brewery) where there weren't many good choices for dinner. I thought I'd grab a dinner salad but they all looked like 1000 calories traps. They happened to have "turkey chili" as an appetizer, so instead of going all out on my dinner, I chose the turkey chili as my meal with a side salad.

Weekend Warriors, my friends. Monday "Tuck's Big Challenge" weigh ins make these weekends even MORE important.

Long But Great Day

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 274.6
Days to Goal (April 16): 52 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 5.8 out of 20

Today was a great day, but it had nothing to do with weight loss. Remember how I said I'm a student teacher and I'm working with the middle school bands? Today was our "Festival" - a competition where each band is rated on 3 songs and a sight reading piece. Long story made short, I was in the gym at 6am, to the school by 8:30am, and I left the school around 8:30pm.

The results from the contest? Each band gets a rating from 3 judges - "I" (one) being the best, and "V" (five) being the worst. They strive all year towards this contest.

The 7th grade band?

They got straight "I"'s from 3 different judges.

The 8th grade band?

They got two "I's and a "II" - which gives them a final rating of "I"

We swept it. I'm INCREDIBLY proud of them.

I'm proud of myself too - bringing this back to weight loss. I had a PBJ for breakfast (running out the door), coffee during the morning, 220 cals of Chicken Noodle Soup and 2 oranges for lunch, and then a pretty damned good Chili-Lime Grilled Chicken Salad (250 cals) at Applebees off of their Weight Watchers menu with their French Onion soup (150 cals).

Great day all around - I'm EXHAUSTED, but I wouldn't trade today's achievements for anything. There's only one thing better - and that's me NOT having to set my alarm to wake up early on a Saturday morning.

Weekend warriors, everyone. Stay strong.

Heading into the weekend

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 275.0
Days to Goal (April 16): 53 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 5.4 out of 20

Short and sweet one tonight, I'm pretty exhausted. Band festivals are tomorrow so my entire day from 8am until about 9pm is going to be dedicated to rehearsals and two major performances, so here goes nothing. It's already 10:30pm and I'm wiped out, so don't expect much out of this blog.

The weight creeped up .4 pounds today, but you know I'm not complaining. Just have to keep going strong.

The coffee thing is working, but I still have those cravings. Haven't quite figured out how to get them out of my head - I'm starting to believe that I'm NEVER going to, so it looks like I better gear myself up for a lifelong fight. I can deal with that.

Not much else to say - long day ahead, but it's a TGIF. Oh, and just got done watching American Idol just now, and all I have to say is, I'm "TMTH".

Someone should slap that kid. Twice.

Good To The Last Drop

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 274.6
Days to Goal (April 16): 54 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 5.8 out of 20

I think I may have found myself a secret weapon. I've been wanting to eat a lot lately between meals for a while, and have always had to eat something.

Coffee.

I don't know why, but I like coffee all of a sudden. With Equal or Sweet and Low. And a tiny bit of creamer. About 20 calories worth. For some reason, coffee cures cravings for me. It's been like that the last few days. Hungry? Go grab a cup of coffee and it goes away.

Not sure why, but not sure that I care. If it works, then so be it.

The weight dropped pretty hard again today, so you know I won't be complaining. I ate well again today, and all I can think of is that I'm wondering when the weight's going to stop coming off. From 280 to 277 to 274 in two days? That's one thing that drives me crazy about my body. Don't get me wrong - I'll take 6 pounds in 2 days, but my body's fluctuation drives me up a wall.

Take most of you for example. Eat bad, and the weight goes up by .4 pounds. Eat good, and it goes down .4. Me? I walk past a bakery, and I put on not 1, 2 or 3 - but FOUR pounds. It seems like it's always an extreme. At least it goes both ways. I don't expect to lose 6 more pounds in the next two days - but I'm going to work as if I do.

Yet another day

Start Weight: 280.4 (March 3)
Goal Weight: 260.4
Today's Weigh In: 277.4
Days to Goal (April 16): 55 remaining
Total Pounds Lost: 3.0 out of 20

I'm blatantly stealing Kevin's idea - and since the two of us have been doing this side by side since Day 1, it seems appropriate that we fight together on our way down to 260. Kevin posted a blog about pride a few nights ago, and it struck a chord with me. Everything he said, I felt. This pushed me to flat out copy him, and push both of us OUT of the 270s forever. And forget just the 270's - the 260's as well. And after a 15 months of doing this, we're within .2 pounds of each other. Separated at birth? Very possible.

I've been looking for a source of motivation lately, and I've been struggling with it. I've been looking at myself, other people, reading articles, just trying to "do something" - everything.. and nothing has been working for me. Strangely enough though, reading Kevin's blog yesterday, the one I linked to, drudged something up.

Kevin and I have always been like this - gung ho for a while, and then RIGHT when we're JUST ABOUT to really do something, we choke. Something keeps us from hitting that goal. I know this sounds like the 'same old' crap .. but the way I see it - this is another fork in the road. Do I choose to fail again, or do I choose to succeed. It's really simple.

So, Kev - if you're up for it, let's do this together and break through. You're in town now, so let's get this done. What do you say - and anyone else who is up for it.

HUGE month in March? No more bellyaching and excuse making? We control our OWN bodies instead of our weaknesses doing it for us? We can call it a 'challenge' if you want, or we can call it leaning on each other as a team, but whatever we call it, it's about damn time that we cut out the bullcrap and pity parties that we're both giving, and just knock it out of the park.

Eye of the Tiger. Anyone with me?

New week

I blogged last night about how shitty things were, and frankly, I wanted to post another blog before you all commented on that one because I want to leave last week in the past.

I haven't been doing right. I have been eating poorly, and I've not been motivated to do anything about it. I feel as if I've been looking for excuses to eat like shit because I'm stressed out and it's making me feel sorry for myself.

Frankly, that sucks. I went to the gym this morning like I always do, and I got on the Elliptical. I was planning on doing my same old 30 minute workout and while I was running, all I was doing was thinking about how I have been failing myself. So, when I got to 30, I just kept running. I was angry when I was running today - all I could think about is why I was in the gym, busting my ass every single freaking day, and then I go and screw it all up by eating like a bat out of hell.

So I went the full hour. I left my warmup pullover on the entire time, I wanted to sweat out as much as I could. When I was done, I could have rung the sweatshirt out.

March 3rd already. I'm back to where I was at the beginning of the year. I f'ed myself again.

28 days until I turn 31. I've got a choice to make.

Weigh In - 280.4.

Another weekend gone

Not much to report on today - but things are going to be changing soon. I'm not sure how, but I've been doing a lot of soul search lately.

February was about as bad as you could write it up - I broke the diet way too much, I couldn't stay focused - it just went to crap. March *NEEDS* to be better.

I turn 31 on March 31. I still haven't taken control of what I need to take control of. I'm looking into options and alternatives to keep me going - honestly, if it wasn't for this blog, I would have been off the wagon this month. It's a tough go - and I can only use life's distractions for an excuse for so long.

For those of you in the "Tucks' Big Challenge" - sorry that I've slacked on getting results up - I *HOPE* to have them up tomorrow. It's been just.. well, not good lately. For those of you who root me on in this blog, and for those of you who are getting bored with seeing my struggles, hang in there with me. Motivation has been lacking lately - but I'm trying to get something meaningful out of this. I know you've all heard this a hundred times - but I'm trying to reinvent myself. Trying to find out WHY I do what I do - WHY I can go to a Euchre party and not be proud enough of my efforts to NOT eat everything I can find.

It has to get better - I'm not going to be one of those people who lose all this weight, rest on their laurels, and then gain it all back. That will NOT be me. I've earned what I've earned - that will not be taken away.

More later - stay strong.