Life Gets in the Way Sometimes

I'm still going. We recently welcomed our 4th child into the world.

She and her mother are doing well. Despite the long days of watching the other 3 squids, I've managed to stay on the diet relatively well.

I played basketball on the 25th and weighed in as usual.

July 25 Weigh-in
WEIGHT: 196.0
Difference: 21.5 lbs. since May 1, 2006

I was so proud of myself after that weigh-in that I loosened up a little. I get curious about whether I can gain weight because the pounds seem to come off so effortlessly. So I pigged out on my mother-in-law's potatoes, green-bean casserole and spiral-cut ham. I ate big dinners and lunches on Wednesday and Thursday.

Thusday morning came around and I was on the basketball court again. About 30 minutes into my workout, I felt a tightness in my left calf muscle. It hit me right when I cut to the basket for a layup. I thought it was cramps because that's what it felt like, but the pain persisted especially when I tried to run. I stopped and tried to stretch it and massage it, but the pain didn't leave. So I had to shower early. It was painful to put pressure on it the rest of the day. I looked up my symptoms on WebMD and it turns out that it's a muscle strain.

This morning when I woke up, the pain was considerably less. I can walk "normally" now without limping. So I'll give it some rest until next Tuesday and then see how I'll do on the court.

Anyway, I weighed in Thursday morning too.

July 27 Weigh-in
WEIGHT: 198.0
Difference: 19.5 lbs. since May 1, 2006

Yesterday I had a really good day on the diet. I took the WO in the morning and then ate a McDonald's salad. Then I drank WO in the afternoon. I went to class that night and then didn't eat anything until I got home. When I got home, I just ate a ham sandwich. I really wasn't hungry all day long.

I havn't been taking the flax seed oil capsules lately ... just been forgetting. But I have been continuing to get some good sleep.

Anyway ... I'm still here. I probably will only post once a week until I hit 185 (which should be around the middle of September).

20 lbs. Later

There's not much to say at this point. I seem to be humming along in my quest for 185. I consider a day like yesterday a big success.

I took two tbsp of WO in the morning and then drank lots of water. I ate lunch at noon. I had a banana, a cup of yogurt and some pretzels. In the afternoon, I took two more tbsp of WO. That night I ate a decent dinner ... beef sandwich, grapes, pineapple, carrots, olives and a bowl of ice cream.

This morning I played basketball. I injured by left big toe. My right big toenail, if you recall, was ripped from the skin a few weeks ago causing me extreme pain. The right toenail is going to fall off ... it's completely black. Well this morning, I did it to the other toe. Although not as bad as the right toenail, it still hurts. I took my shoe off after playing and my sock was bloody. So at least the blood is escaping this time and therefore it isn't so painful.

So this week I only had two minor injuries ... a blister on my right hand (from sliding on the floor) and my toenail.

So after playing, I showered and weighed in.

Same time of day, same scale with just the towel (I finally realized I was spelling towel incorrectly).

WEIGHT: 197.0
Difference: 20.5 lbs. since May 1, 2006

Only 12 lbs. left & six months holding it to complete this quest.

Steady ... Steady ... Steady

My kids play this game that they made up. One of them stands against the wall while the other pretends to walk on a tightwire towards the one standing against the wall. While they walk, they hold their hands out to the side and say, "steady .... steady ... steady" and when they finally reach the other, they tickle each other and laugh. Anyway ... my weight is steadily holding and that made me think of their game.

I really didn't take the SW or WO this weekend. I just snack all the time and maybe eat an occasional meal. I did get to play some basketball on Saturday. Then the kids and I went swimming.

We've been melting here in Dallas. Last night coming home from class, the temperature was 98 at 10:00pm. We're supposed to be up to 106 today. The gym wasn't very cool this morning because of the heat.

Basketball was great this morning. I had a few solid games and I got a great workout.

After showering, I weighed in.

Same time of day and same scale with just the towl.

WEIGHT: 198.4
Difference: 19.1 lbs. since May 1, 2006

So I hope by Thursday I will have lost over 20 lbs. since starting the SLD. That will be a significant milestone for me. I remember one person who did the SLD who said that she had lost something like 25 lbs. I think it was around Thanksgiving time and she was pulling her turkey out of the refridgerator and it dawned on her that she had been carrying the weight of a turkey on her body all those years.

My waist is shrinking. At first I was excited that I had to constantly pull my pants up, but now it's starting to get annoying. I'm on the last hole of my belt ... so I'll be needing new pants and a belt before too long.

As for SLD diet today ... I think I'm going to take a tbsp of WO in the morning and ditch the SW. I didn't know if it was just me, but I found out that others also tended to be more hungry when they drank the SW. I've noticed that the WO in the afternoon will supress my hunger for at least 3 hours. I hope it will have the same affect when I take it in the morning too. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Great Morning of Basketball

I think the shot of Omega 3 EFA's into my diet is helping me sleep more soundly at night. Last night I fell asleep soundly and was ready to get up when the alarm sounded.

This morning at basketball, I was active and accurate. It was a lot of fun.

After ball, I weighed in.

Same time of day & scale with just the towl.

WEIGHT: 198.7
Difference: 18.8 lbs. since May 1, 2006

Another side benefit (which has been mentioned by others) is smoother skin. Before getting on the SLD, I would often have skin outbreaks on my nose and nostrils. Every week or two, my skin would get really dry and red. Sometimes it looked really bad. Since taking a shot of oil every day, I've never noticed the skin on my nose go dry. The real test will be when the winter comes.

Anyway ... down with the pounds!

Broken!

I finally broke the 200 barrier!

Yesterday, I worked out ... did some shooting drills and then biked for 30 minutes. I weighed in and was 201.3. I wasn't suprised. For food yesterday, I had the SW in the morning, a McDonald's salad for lunch and then I ate a cup of yogurt and some green beans before class. On break, I ate a nectarine. When I got home, I found leftover pizza. So I ate 3 slices.

This morning, I played some great games of basketball. After showering, I weighed in.

Same time of day on the same scale with just the towl.

WEIGHT: 199.7
Difference: 17.8 lbs. since May 1, 2006

The last time I remember being under 200 lbs. was December of 1997. I was at my brother's for Christmas and I remember eating a lot of food. When I stepped on his scale and saw that was 200+ I was shocked. That was the first time I broke 200 lbs. I don't think I ever fell below the 200 mark since then. So for me, this is a personal victory. Now it's time to work on creating a buffer zone so I won't be bouncing back and forth between 199 and 201.

Today's menu: SW for breakfast. Yogurt, a nectarine and some wheat thins for lunch. Later in the afternoon I'll be taking a swig of walnut oil. I don't know what my wife will cook up for dinner. I'll probably have a salad.

I don't know if I stated why I switched to walnut oil. I read an entry on Seth's blog that he was testing with it and found some positive side effects.

To test this idea, I made two changes: (a) I started drinking 2 tablespoons/day
of walnut oil. Walnut oil (12% omega-3) is a much better source than olive oil
(1%) or canola oil (7%). (b) I started taking 10 flax-oil capsules/day (= 100
calories/day). Flax oil (58% omega-3) is an especially good source. (I drank
Spectrum refined walnut oil, which has little flavor, and I mixed it with water
to reduce its flavor. Another walnut oil I have tried, International Collection,
has a strong walnut flavor.)

What got me interested in it was the side affect of better sleep. I've always have had a hard time falling asleep ever since I've gone back to school to work on my MBA. So I'm giving walnut oil a try. I'm also taking 1000mg of flax-oil a day (usually with dinner). So far, I've been able to fall asleep faster and get up when the alarm sounds. Anyway, read the post to get the full scoop.

Unofficially at 200.0

Yesterday, I didn't take the ELOO in the afternoon as I was out of ELOO. My wife bought some walnut oil for me yesterday. So I'll be replacing the ELOO with WO. I ate a McDonald's salad for lunch and then before class, I ate a cup of yogurt and some cherry tomatos.

On my break during class, I ate one apple. When I got home that night, I ate some BBQ beef and some chips and salsa.

This morning I played basketball for about 90 minutes at one gym. Then I went to my "normal" gym and played for about 30 minutes more. I showered and weighed in.

Same scale, but about 3 hours later.

Unofficial Weight: 200.0
Difference: 17.5 lbs. since May 1, 2006

I was beat and had no energy at that point. So I ate a yogurt parfait (sp?) which was like frozen yogurt along with some fruit. I also drank some OJ. Then the family and I went swimming.

Just like last week, I took the kids to Sonic. I had an orange cream slushie with 4 tator-tots and a bite of my son's corndog. I'm done for the afternoon. I'll have a salad tonight and then call it quits.

I just need to do good tomorrow and hopefully on Monday I'll break that barrier.

Great Week

I'm really proud of myself. I worked out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and I'm playing basketball tomorrow. I stuck with the SLD every day this week and I feel great!

Yesterday before class, I went to Taco Bell and ate a crunch wrap supreme and a taco. After class, I ate two slices of turkey and some zucchini (sp?) bread.

This morning I did my plyometric workout and then biked for 30 minutes. After showering I weighed in.

Same time of day & scale with just a towl.

WEIGHT: 200.4
Difference: 17.1 lbs. since May 1, 2006

So no big loss, but still inching closer to that 200 mark.

Back to Last Week

Yesterday was good. I drank the SW in the morning, ate a cup of Yoplait cream peach yogurt and a Gala apple. I partook of the ELOO in the afternoon.

When I got home, I dug into a Rice Crispy treat. I fixed some mini bite sized pizzas for the kids. I ate about 3 or 4 of those along with a salad. Then I ate some banana bread and a few more bites of a Rice Crispy treat. Then I drank lots of water. I was done eating by 6:00pm.

This morning I played basketball for an hour.

After showering, I weighed in.

Same time, scale with just the towl.

WEIGHT: 200.7
Difference: 16.8 lbs. since May 1, 2006

I like how I got to 200.7 this week. It was "normal." Last week's 200.7 was probably due mostly to other factors. This week's 200.7 came the same way I've been losing most of my weight ... sticking to a routine and steadily losing the pounds.

So now the task at hand is to stick to the plan. I'm not going to binge on pizza this week. I drank SW this morning and am going to eat my same lunch as I've always had ... yogurt & apple (with an extra treat today ... cherry tomatos). Tonight I'll have a salad and then that's it.

I'm hoping to go to the gym tomorrow morning. I have class tonight and will be getting home late ... so it all depends on how good my rest is tonight.

2.8 Pounds Off the Mark

So I never recovered from that Papa John's Pizza binge last Thursday night. I'll be heading into a Thursday morning weigh-in above the 200 mark.

I played basketball this morning. It wasn't full-court. Only 4 people showed up, so we played 2 on 2. It wasn't much of a workout, but I was dead by the time we finished.

Same time, scale with just a towl.

WEIGHT: 202.8
Difference: 14.7 lbs. since May 1, 2006.

After basketball this morning, I drank my SW. I didn't eat until 11:00am. For lunch I ate a handful of Goldfish crackers and a nectarine with some V8 fruit juice. A couple of hours later I ate some Sunchips.

Tonight we'll have a small picnic when we go the park to let the kids play, then I'll be done eating for the day. Tomorrow I won't be able to work out in the morning. I might go to the gym at night.

Thursday will be the next big weigh-in to see if I break that psychological 200 lbs. mark.

Wild Swings

I'm struggling to push past that 200 mark. My weight has wildly been swinging between 204 and 200. But after reflecting on why that is the case, I understand.

On Thursday when I hit 200.7, I ended up eating about 5 or 6 slices of Papa John's pizza that night.

On Friday I polished off the pizza for lunch and then ate a huge taco salad dinner that night followed by angel food cake with strawberries and 100% cream. Later on while watching TV, I ate a Moose Tracks ice cream bar.

Saturday was better, but not much. I played basketball for 2 hours from 7-9am. Then I took the kids up to the gym and played another hour of basketball while they played in the child care place. I showered and weighed in at around 202.4. Then I took them swimming. We swam for about 90 minutes and then went to Sonic. I ate a strawberry sundae. The rest of the day I just snacked and ate whatever.

Sunday I was much better. I drank my SW in the morning and then had a P&B sandwich with chocolate milk for a snack. After church, I ate a taco salad around 3pm and then I was done for the day. That night, I drank two tbsp of ELOO with water at around 8:20pm.

This morning I did my plyometric workout and then biked for 30 minutes. After showering I weighed in.

Same scale, time of day with just a towl.

WEIGHT: 204.00
Difference: 13.5 lbs. since May 1, 2006

Today I plan on drinking lots of water to try to "cleanse" my system out. I'm commited to eating well today and tomorrow. I need to do better on the weekends. Somehow I need to find a weekend routine ... something to keep me from eating out of boredom. I also need to not visit the Tom Thumb on Friday to buy those ice cream bars!

If I were around 190 and popping back and forth between 190 and 194, I wouldn't mind so much. But I really want to drop below that 200 mark for good.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July. What will I weigh? Maybe after I get the food out of my system and after a good session of basketball (if anyone shows up tomorrow) then I'll be at 200.