Transformation Day 27

Where does the time go? Already January has come to an end. Winter is starting to ease off a bit and, though there is still snow here and there, a few days hint at the return of warmer times. It seems that weeks just fly by in a blur.

Still transforming. I believe I overdid it on crunches in my desire to get rid of TDG (the damn gut) and have quite a bit of soreness to contend with. TDG is kind of a blessing and a curse for me. Having TDG out there for me to see all the time is somewhat motivating. I keep reminding myself that I didn't always have TDG.

Yesterday's meals:

Grapefruit
cottage cheese and yogurt
wrap with veggie dog and swiss, salad
V-8 and small handful of nuts
wrap with turkey and salsa
chocolate and peanut butter bar (I ain't perfect)

Transformation Day 24

I grew up in a small town in the Texas Panhandle. It wasn't a bad place to be as a kid but was very boring as a teen. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. Same people every day that you have known your whole life. While I was in High School, there was literally nothing at all to do on a Saturday night but hang out. Most of the places that we hung out at were along back roads. Me and my friends would all park our cars at night along side some road away from town. Drink some forbidden beer, lie about our sex lives, and brag about what we would do once we managed to get out of school.

On one particular night of drinking and lying and bullshitting, one guy decided that he needed to relieve himself. Not just with a beer induced whiz, but with what is sometimes euphemistically called a number two.

Well...this guy seemed to have some aversion to snakes, of which there were plenty of in that part of the world, so he decided to take advantage of the clear and varmit free area offered by the paved road we were parked alongside. Just us guys. Nobody ever used the road during the night. Somebody had a stash of napkins from a local drive thru. So off he went into the middle of the road to do his bizzness.

Right about half-way into the process.....headlights come up on him from around the corner.

The guy frantically tried to pull up his pants but was so flustered that all he managed to do was get them twisted up around his ankles. In a desperate attempt to get out of the way of the car that was quickly approaching, he started doing a mad hop and shuffle to the side of the road. The car zipped by and I remember a flashbulb image of an older couple staring open mouthed at some kid with his pants off dancing on the road. The guy managed to get to the side of the road where he promptly fell into a culvert covering himself with stickers and mud.

The rest of us were roaring. I thought I would never again laugh so hard in my life.

Until somebody yelled "snake".

Transformation Day 23

Well now, it's a pretty significant day for me. I just received the last payment notice for my beloved red pickup. I've been paying on it for nearly six years. Every month, year after year, though divorce and marriage...I've paid on this thing. I am the only person to own it and, other than whoever put twenty miles on it getting it to the showroom floor, I am the only person who has ever driven my little red truck.

Is it silly to be happy about completely owning a vehicle free and clear? Is it prideful to have the smug satisfaction that every single bolt on my pickup is my property alone and belongs to no one else?

I dunno. All that's really going through my mind as I write the final check to Ford Credit is....

Monday Cat Blogging

Transformation Day 16

If you look up at the top of my blog page you'll notice a little quitmeter that shows how long I've gone without smoking and how much money I haven't spent on cigarettes. You may also notice, if you happen to have been visiting for the past couple of weeks, that it has been reset.

Yes...dammit...I relapsed....but like any desire to make a change in one's behavior, sometimes it takes multiple efforts to get it right. So I tossed out the cigs, slapped on a patch, and am giving it another go. Being a non-smoker is critical to my goal of being fit in my fifties. All the right eating and intensive exercise doesn't mean squat if I continue to suck on those coffin nails.

Trouble is, I do so many activities while smoking...especially writing. Right now I keep wanting to reach for a cigarette and a lighter every time I have a pause in my typing.

I'm going to the gym. It's probably the one place and activity that I've never associated with smoking.

Monday Cat Blogging

I normally don't keep track of what I eat on free days, hence the name free day, but I wanted to see in print just what I do on Sunday's. My suspicion is that I'm probably undoing a lot of work during the week by overdoing it on one day. Sure 'nuff, after looking at the list, I'm thinking I need to tone down the day-long food orgy.

Yesterday's meals:

apple turnovers
half box of Girl Scout cookies
yogurt
nachos
ham and cheese sandwich
chips and dip
bowl of peanuts
three soft tacos...loaded
chips with meat, refried beans, and lotsa cheese

Transformation Day 14

I love coming across stuff that helps me in my quest for becoming less than I am. Today I picked up something that I'm really pleased with; It's called Stevia. I bought the box of packets above and I think I may just do without sugar from now on.

I've never liked saccharin or Sweet N Low. The stuff always tasted more bitter than sweet to my tongue. Aspartame or Equal is just evil. I always imagine tumors growing in my brain when I ingest that crap. Sucralose, or Splenda, has never thrilled me. It has a slippery soapy feel in my mouth and I suspect it of giving me headaches.

This stevia is great though. Natural. No calories. No carbs. No glycemic index. Best of all...it's actually sweet!


Yesterday's meals:

oatmeal
yogurt
turkey and green beans
V-8
chicken with spinach and pasta
yogurt

Transformation Day 13

Yeah, I've got a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies in my house. It's taking a great deal of will-power to stay out of them until my free day. It helps when you look at the nutrition label on the boxes....fat city. I know that I can't just eat a couple and, once I open a box, I'll munch on the cookies until they are gone. The thing is...the cookies are really not very good. They're dry with no taste other than the sugar. Plus, they are way overpriced, about a quarter per scrawny little cookie.

So why do I buy them?

It's not because I want to support young girls in their fundraising efforts. Heck, I haven't bought a box of Girl Scout cookies from an actual Girl Scout in thirty years. I buy them from parents, usually at work. The parents corner me with an order form and browbeat me into buying a few boxes for their little darlings. I took the boxes home so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat them at my desk.

My wife's only response when I lugged all the cookies through the door was "what...no Thin Mints?"


Yesterday's meals:

oatmeal
cottage cheese and yogurt
fish and veggies
V-8
spaghetti and meat sauce
2 cookies (I know, I know)

Transformation Day 12

I hate phones. Well, I don't really hate phones in and of themselves, I just hate talking on the things. I hate answering phones. I hate calling people on phones. I would rather do just about anything at all than spend time with a phone next to my ear.

Which may seem a bit odd considering that my job requires a great deal of work with a phone

Maybe that has something to do with it? I mean, to me, talking on the phone equates to work. At work, every phone call is a demand upon me to make decisions. When the phone rings in my office it's not because somebody wants to chit chat and pass the time of day. I'm on the spot. I'm required to resolve some type of problem. I HAVE to answer the damn thing.

Off work...I have no reluctance to let my phone ring without the slightest urge to respond. I guess I also project that feeling toward others by assuming that they would not necessarily want me to give them a little ringy dingy out of the blue. This causes some problems with me; such as other people thinking that I just don't want to talk with them or that, maybe, I don't even like them.

no, no, no

Phone phobia is my little personality disorder. Most of my family and friends understand and tolerate this idiosyncrasy of mine. It's also not as if I'm some type of Luddite either....email is the best thing to come along since sliced bread. Email, IM, YouTube; I love all that stuff.

You want to talk to me? I want to write to you. There's a happy medium in there somewhere.



Yesterday's meals:

oatmeal
yogurt and cottage cheese
tuna and rice
small bowl of chili with lots of jalapenos
chicken breast and potato
pear

Transformation Day 10

I am so jazzed. I managed to talk my wife into joining me at the gym yesterday. I'm hoping to make it a regular thing.

Today is also my little sister's birthday. She's FIFTY!


How 'bout them glasses. hahahahaha. Happy birthday Sheryl.


Yesterday's meals:

oatmeal
cottage cheese and yogurt
tuna sandwich
handful of nuts (not hungry)
roast, potato, brussel sprouts
pear

YAAAAAHHHHH!

I was going over all my stock investments this morning. It's a little thing I have in case I ever retire and wish to purchase a higher grade of dog food or splurge on medication to keep me alive. Last year sucked! I lost over 40% of my portfolio value. I would literally have done better if I had just spent the money on lottery tickets.

Then I switch on the news for more reports of massive multi-billion dollar bailouts for all the a-holes that have been sucking dry my pension and are responsible for the economic meltdown in the first place. It's so nice that our taxes will ensure they will not face any financial hardship.

You can probably guess what the government bailout plan is for regular folks like us.

Sigh. All the more reason, I suppose, to keep myself as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Obtaining a transformation to become physically fit is, for me, much more of an imperative than simple vanity. Oh...looking better would be a plus. I'd love to get into smaller clothes and see a lascivious leer in my wife's eye. But there is a more basic need to achieve this goal of health and fitness.

Survival.

Monday Cat Blogging

Transformation Day 7

FREE DAY!




Only 24 hours. No time to blog.

Transformation Day 6....whoops

Okay...I messed up. In a mindless moment of hunger mixed with boredom, I stopped in front of a geedunk machine at work and bought myself a Reese's peanut butter cup.

Did it taste good? Surprisingly, not really. Pretty unsatisfying as far as my hunger went as well.

Do I feel guilty? A little, but I'm not going to beat myself up for it. I'm not letting one little piece of candy be an excuse for giving up.

Yesterday's meals, sans the no-no sweet:

oatmeal with honey
yogurt smoothie
meat pattie with salad
V-8
roasted chicken with potato
orange

Transformation Day 4

My usual schedule is a bit off this week due to end of the year paperwork that everybody wants turned in yesterday. I think I've managed to get my head above water and things should smooth out for a few months. Still...I have to teach a class this morning which kind of blows my workout until later today.

Yesterday's meals:

oatmeal with honey (yeah, I like oatmeal)
yogurt smoothie
Swedish meatballs and salad
V-8
spaghetti with meat sauce, one piece of garlic bread, and salad (a bit heavier than planned)
orange
lots of water

Chow Down

Tuesday's meals were probably a bit more than I needed since I went out to eat for lunch. I went to a Thai restaurant, which is not too bad since Thai food is generally healthier than the fare at most places...but the portions were generous and I cleaned my plate.

oatmeal with honey
yogurt smoothie
phad thai, spring roll, crabmeat roll
(skipped 4th meal cuz I was still full)
turkey sausage with potato and carrots
orange
water, water, and more water

Chow Down

Monday's meals.

oatmeal with dab of honey
cottage cheese with yogurt
Lasagna (really...only 200 calories), salad with lite vinaigrette
V-8
lean pork chop, salad with lite Italian dressing
orange
water, water, and more water

Stats Stats

Okay....time for some numbers. I have taken the before photos but I'm not going to show them until the end of three months for comparison purposes. Everybody, including me, has had their fill of my fat before pics.

My measurements as of 1-4-09:

neck - 16 inches
chest - 46 inches
stomach - 50 inches
waist - 45 inches
bicep - 15 inches
forearm - 12 inches
hip - 45 inches
thigh - 22.5 inches
shin - 15.5 inches
weight - 223.2 pounds
body fat - 40.2%

In lieu of a photo of myself....think of this, with toothpicks stuck in for arms and legs.

Monday Cat Blogging

Texas, Our Texas

The opening words to the state song of Texas. Not, as many non-Texans think, "the eyes of Texas are upon you" though that's probably a catchier tune.

I was born and raised in Texas. This year marks a significant shift in my life. I have now lived continuously in Kansas longer than I have lived anywhere else, including my beloved home state. I'm thinking of myself as a Kansan more and more. I'm even losing my twang...though I still toss out a "ya'll" when I speak.

They say that there are two types of people; those that live in Texas and those who wish they lived in Texas.

I like Kansas....but if I had my druthers....

Hello 2009

Pretty much a wasted day. I stayed up until midnight to ring in the new year. Well, actually, I woke up at midnight thanks to my ignut neighbor who shot off lots of firecrackers. I tried to stay awake. I didn't even drink any alcohol.

Whatever. A new year doesn't really mean much to me these days other than I'll be spending the next couple of months trying to remember to write "09". I did have a heaping helping of black eye peas and bullied Vicki into eating a spoon-full...she hates the things.

I also spent the day working on the Transformation assignment.


I'll be writing a great deal about this in the next few days.