Gained more weight than I expected while on vacation. Sucks!  But I’ll get this off and will be making progress again soon!

Vacation is almost over. Almost time to focus once again on losing weight and getting into shape. I can do this - 50th Birthday is only 382 days away! I’m going to start the next 1/2 century of my life with a bang!

As if a trip abroad wasn't enough stress - we've got 66 hours until we leave and the freezer in the garage just went out!!  stressing out trying to find another before our plane takes off!

Had to go through some boxes of old clothes - it reminder me how little I used to be; how small I could be if I just applied myself! Vacation first - then working toward a new body as soon as we get back.

The days are currently filled with planning for my vacation - I'm looking forward to the food as much as anything.  The good news is I weigh less leaving for this vacation then I did when we went to Germany last year.  I fit into clothes that I wore two years ago when we went to Stockholm - and that's brought my spirits up.  What I've been doing this year has made a difference.  Now to see if I can continue that into 2018.

The holiday is over - and yet it isn’t. The food remains!  I was thinking of going back to the gym tomorrow, but then I realized how much it would suck if I hurt myself right before going on vacation. So I may wait until I get back.

Or maybe I’m just making an excuse.

Day after fat day. I don’t feel too bad. We’ll see what the scale says

It’s the day!! Eat all the food!

I’ve done nearly all the prep work I can do! 5 pies, 9 loads of bread plus a batch of rolls (some bread already used for stuffing) four dips, 18 eggs made deviled, crackers baked, mashed potatoes ready to be baked tomorrow as are two kinds of dressing, asparagus casserole, and green bean casserole - plus the turkey and the duck are being brined. Oh and the cranberry sauce is done.

Tomorrow it’s cook the meat, make the soups and bake all the sides - easy! ;)

I give up! Between the stress of cooking and the need to taste test everything I’m making weight loss just isn’t happening right now. Thwre’s No way I’m going to hit my goal by the time we leave for Germany!

Blah. Holidays have me completely off track!

Working on loosing weight during the holiday season is really hard.  I can't seem to put the effort and focus I need to when I've got so much going on.  Still going to try to hit the gym tomorrow - and then it's off to the store and starting thanksgiving dinner cooking.

This is hard!

Woke up this AM 4 pounds heavier then yesterday. Then I fell apart - food was terrible. I now feel sick and bloated. I want to to say fuckit. But I won’t.

today's been better

I've been logging daily for a week now - it hasn't made my food perfect, but has at least made me more aware.  Today went much much better then the day before.  Goal is to be 259 by the time we leave for Germany on Dec 3rd.  I was 263 this am.  I wish stick with it - stay focused and reach this short term goal.

still struggling

still not losing.  I'm not staying consistent.  I know all I need to do is say 'no' to the crap food, but it never seems to be that easy.

I want to be less than 260 when we go to Germany - that's just 6 lbs.  But man have I struggled to drop those 6 pounds!!

*sigh* I need to focus and stop fluffin' around.

I'm not blogging and wow! amazing! I'm not losing.  Been off track soo much lately.  Only good thing is I'm not gaining.  Trying to refocus for November but it's not easy!  So much going on, like holidays and a wedding!

Son is getting married Saturday

Oh and I'm putting in my resignation for a job I hate today.  Been here over two years and hated almost every day...

Feeling so much better right now!

Party and I brought my own diet drink -

Binging more than I would like but on food that isn’t sugar. Not gaining but not losing at the moment. But I’m down 33 lbs!

It's ok. Nothing sucks though weight is stubborn ;-/

Not motivated

Been struggling with motivation since last week. But, I'm still doing it. Maybe not as vigorously as I was before... but still doing it.  

Waiting for the scale to show my persistence. Thinking maybe I can see some more change in my face, but not anywhere else. Trying to be patient!

Is it really 30 lbs?!

My scale this morning says I'm down 30 lbs (263.1). I'm having a hard time believing it so I'll wait for tomorrow to be sure before celebrating.

Managed to get up early today to get my workout in. I had construction guys coming by at 8 so I had to get going so I could be home before they arrived. I made it and feel fantastic! Today is the start of week five and the first day that I'm going up in weights. I spent the last four weeks just getting used to lifting again. My muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints had to get prepared. That's done so now we WORK! I LOVE lifting heavy. Then a quick swim after and I'm done and feeling accomplished for the day!

Hey blogger!  Guess what!? I haven't been updating as much but I'm still on track and still losing weight.  things are going fabulous!

I'm down to 267!! so close to 30 down.  soon soon!

15 days into Sept and it's looking good..

a few less than perfect days (but not a complete meltdown) and 1 (out of 2 that day) missed workout.  And I'm starting really see the weight dropping - in my face and in other parts of my body too.

I've lost an inch in bust & waist and 2 in my hips so I'm happy with that...here's to even more progress in the next 16 days.

Pain pain go away!

After a great day yesterday I woke up this morning and was bummed to discover I could only hobble across the room.  Seems my foot pain/planter fasciitis in my left foot is back. I've gone over a month without pain was really starting to think I had beat this thing! But no.  I don't know if it was pushing it when running on the treadmill yesterday, or just wearing the wrong shoes to chorus last night but it's back.  A part of me wants to throw a tantrum or pout or yell and shake my fists, but none of those will help.

So, it's back to stretching, and icing, Advil, wrapping and babying my foot until it can get stronger... I'm not sure what that means for my workouts just yet.  I have a bike and a run on my calendar for tomorrow.  Perhaps I'll go easy today and see how I feel in the morning.  Wrapping my foot it tape is always an option and one that I used to use all the time back when I was recovering from the PF pain in 2003 (and still running).

Weight is now decidedly in the 260's (269.5) and that has me super happy.  I feel like things are surely moving in the right direction now.  We've got a rum festival to go to tonight.   I'm planning on drinking - but I'm going to avoid all the sugary mixed drinks and stick to the straight rum. AND I'm going to remember to eat before I go so that 1) I don't get knocked on my butt by the booze and 2) so I don't eat crap food while I'm there.

workout today is done

• Barbell Deadlift
  • 80 lb x 5 reps
  • 95 lb x 5 reps
  • 115 lb x 3 reps
  • 125 lb x 5 reps
  • 145 lb x 5 reps
  • 155 lb x 9 reps
• Pendlay Row
  • 75 lb x 10 reps
  • 75 lb x 10 reps
  • 75 lb x 10 reps
• Lat Pulldown
  • 100 lb x 10 reps
  • 100 lb x 10 reps
  • 100 lb x 10 reps
• Romanian Deadlift
  • 95 lb x 10 reps
  • 95 lb x 10 reps
  • 95 lb x 10 reps
• Swimming
  • 00:01:14 | 50 yd | 115 BPM | freestyle  (Warm up)
  • 00:04:40 | 200 yd | 143 BPM | freestyle (Workout)
  • 00:02:48 | 100 yd | 135 BPM | freestyle (Cool Down)

Is it Thursday already!?

It felt so good to be back in the gym today! Yesterday was my rest day and MAN did it feel good.  I had so much energy.  I almost felt guilty for not doing SOMETHING.  But, my brain and my body needed the break.

The real challenge came later in the day when someone brought gourmet cupcakes into the office. The pig brain/feast beast/Addictive voice whatever you want to call it started whispering... "You could have one.  Maybe the bump in calories and carbs would make you lose weight..." but I answered back.."It would never be just one..."  Then I focused on the fact that I wasn't even THINKING about eating until they brought in the sweets, and that I wasn't hungry, and that I've had cupcakes before and It's not like this isn't some food I've never tasted - and they never taste as good as I think they are going to and if I've gained tomorrow I'll certainly regret it... and then I grabbed a bag of almonds and a water and ignored the cupcakes.  AND THEN later in the day someone made popcorn!  The smell was just amazing and I felt like I was gaining weight just sitting there breathing the air... BUT I don't really like popcorn. I hate the way it sticks in my teeth and it always gives me a tummy ache after eating it.  So I passed that by as well. #noregrets

I wore my new sports bra to the gym today - it totally made me smile!

Even better was that after I was dressed I felt.. skinniner!  It feels like I'm betting my waist back!  (not from the side just yet, but from the front at least!

Workout today..

• Barbell Bench Press
  • 55 lb x 10 reps
  • 70 lb x 5 reps
  • 85 lb x 5 reps
  • 90 lb x 5 reps
  • 105 lb x 5 reps
  • 125 lb x 5 reps
• Dips - Chest Version
  • 10 reps | assisted | 190 lb
  • 7 reps | assisted | 190 lb
  • 8 reps | assisted | 190 lb
• Dumbbell Flyes
  • 15 lb x 10 reps
  • 15 lb x 10 reps
  • 15 lb x 10 reps
• Triceps Pushdown
  • 50 lb x 10 reps
  • 50 lb x 10 reps
  • 50 lb x 10 reps
• Cable Crunch
  • 100 lb x 10 reps
  • 100 lb x 12 reps
  • 100 lb x 12 reps
• Running (treadmill)
  • 00:46:28 | 2.5 mi | 0.5 %
• Dead Hang
  • 00:00:15 (PR)

Running is getting easier and easier (I run one minute and walk 1 minute) and I actually added a few extra minutes today just so I could hit 2.5 miles - it's exciting to be working out and getting better and stronger!

Labor Day Weekend - the wrap-up

Saturday - I did my workouts... ate on plan and all was good
Sunday - I did my workouts - ate on plan and all was good
Monday -  did my workouts -- and than all hell broke loose

actually, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't good either.  right after I got done working out I had some friends come over, and one of them brought a huge jug of Mojitos.  And I decided to have one.. then another and another and .... I didn't eat

So my carb starved body sucked it up.. big time!  I got a little, well, drunk.  I finally drank a bunch of water and ate a brockwurst right before bedtime, but it wasn't pretty.

I woke up this AM feeling shaky.  I knew things we're especially right.  Going on a booze fast isn't really a great thing to do.  BUT... I weighed in and the scale said 269... what!?  I tried again, still 269.  Scale thinks I lost 4 lbs overnight.  I'm thinking I was probably just dehydrated, but we'll know for sure tomorrow.

I took my pre-workout and talked myself into going to the gym.  "Just do one exercise" I told myself.  And I did!  and then another and another, until they were all done!

I got home and put on my running shoes.  "Just walk the whole thing" I told myself.  But when my watch said it was time to run. I ran.  And... it wasn't a struggle.  Yes, I felt shaky and I knew I wasn't running on clean fuel, but I felt, lighter and stronger and... it was strange.

Food has been good and clean all day today.  Right on plan.  Tomorrow is my rest day and strangely I feel like I don't even need it!  But I'll take it and enjoy it and look for more weight loss to come!

Labor Day weekend...The start

Yesterday ended as it began - good.

Had another party to go to.  It was a friend's birthday and we met our circle at an outdoor concert with drinks and a block of food trucks. I planned ahead by eating dinner before I left and taking an on-plan snack with me.  Then I told my husband that I wasn't going to drink - so he could - and I stuck with water the whole night!  I was pretty proud of myself.

Got up this morning and did my planned workout... a three mile bike ride followed by 30 minutes on the treadmill.  I got up really early to do workout because it was supposed to get to 111 today.. and it did.  Luckily we have A/C and a pool so we didn't suffer from the heat too terribly much.  It's supposed to be hot again tomorrow so to get my bike ride in again, I'll need to do the same.

overall - a good day yesterday and a good one so far today.


I'm going to spend some time this evening sewing up some workout clothes because I just don't have enough to past me all week - I'll share here when I'm done ;)

My new chart :D  Top 1/2 is Food bottom 1/2 is workout - let's go for solid green for September

Weight: 273.1 (still stuck)
Net Carbs: 35
Protein 149

Week 2:Day 4 of 4

Yesterday ended as intended.  Went to the party... as expected food was crap.

I drank my shake, ate my snacks and that was that.  honestly, I wasn't even tempted!  I love when I have days like this.  And strangely enough, last night I dreamt I was at a party with all sorts of tempting foods and I didn't eat any of it - I was totally NOT tempted.  So apparently my subconscious is as onboard with this as I am...

Made it to the gym today for my forth planned workout - that's 4 for 4 this week!  Did my weights and then headed to the locker room to do my swim...

Then I looked in at the pool - all three lap lanes were full - I started to get anxious.  When I got into the locker room it got worse!  I noticed a LOT of women changing into bathing suits!  Turns out there was a water exercise class getting ready to start.  Anxiety rose... I talked myself into changing into my suit.  Then talked myself into walking in a LOOKING at the pool... the lap lanes were still full and the class was starting... then I decided to check the outdoor pool (which I had never checked out before - and you can't see from inside the gym)  Turns out there were FOUR MORE lap lanes out there and none of them in use!  woooo hooooooo!  So swim workout got done and I can just relax the rest of the day.

Oh and weight seems to be ticking down just a little - maybe my body is catching up with my intention...

Workout:

• Barbell Deadlift
  • 80 lb x 5 reps
  • 95 lb x 5 reps
  • 115 lb x 3 reps
  • 125 lb x 5 reps
  • 145 lb x 5 reps
  • 155 lb x 9 reps
• Pendlay Row
  • 75 lb x 10 reps
  • 75 lb x 10 reps
  • 75 lb x 12 reps
• Lat Pulldown
  • 100 lb x 10 reps
  • 100 lb x 10 reps
  • 100 lb x 8 reps
• Romanian Deadlift
  • 95 lb x 10 reps
  • 95 lb x 10 reps
  • 95 lb x 10 reps
• Swimming
  • 00:08:03 | 300 yd (20 seconds faster than Monday's swim of the same length)

Weight:  273
Food:  Net Carbs 30 (ok for a workout day)
Protein: 105 - a little low

Pictures

These are pretty poor I agree but they are a start at least. Last week to this....

1) I need to wear the same clothes each time and 

2) I need to brush my hair! lol

I have a party to go to tonight so I made a plan and backed a lunch box

Peanut butter shake w/lots of ice and some low carb snacks.  It's all entered into loseit and I've told loseit that I'm done logging for the day.  So - this is what I'm having and I'm sticking to it!

Trudging along

I was looking through old blog posts yesterday and Man! When I'm on, I'm on!  If only I could bottle all the energy and excitement i used to have!

Today, still plugging along.  Scale isn't moving and that's a bummer, but I hit the gym and treadmill today and pushed my body hard!  It feels good to be moving and using muscles and pushing and and and... the results will come I know it!

Food yesterday was on point - I was about 90 cals over budget but that's within my tolerance.  Carbs were 27 Net.

Workout:

• Barbell Bench Press
  • 55 lb x 10 reps60
  • 70 lb x 5 reps56
  • 85 lb x 5 reps62
  • 90 lb x 5 reps65
  • 105 lb x 5 reps72
  • 125 lb x 5 reps82
• Dips - Chest Version
  • 10 reps | assisted | 190 lb (PR)4
  • 5 reps | assisted | 190 lb2
  • 5 reps | assisted | 190 lb2
• Dumbbell Flyes
  • 15 lb x 10 reps22
  • 20 lb x 9 reps22
  • 20 lb x 7 reps21
• Triceps Pushdown
  • 50 lb x 10 reps14
  • 50 lb x 10 reps14
  • 50 lb x 9 reps14
• Cable Crunch
  • 100 lb x 12 reps20
  • 100 lb x 12 reps20
  • 100 lb x 10 reps19
• Running (treadmill)
  • 00:35:02 | 1.9 mi | 0.5 %171
• Dead Hang
  • 00:00:13 (PR)

Weight today: 274.8

The more I dig...

The more interesting things I find!

I dug out all my weigh in records starting from April 2009 and put them into a spread sheet.  What I found was the following...  If I'm not weighing in every day, I average a net GAIN in weight!  Mind, completely BLOWN!  I always felt that weighing in daily was important but this just shows that not weighing in is a sign that things aren't going well for me!

Days Between Weigh ins	Average of weight loss/gain per day
1	-0.301
2	0.028
3	0.433
4	0.415
5	0.212
6	0.063
7	0.106
8	0.240
9	0.215
11	0.057
12	0.242
14	0.157
15	0.000
16	0.150
17	0.056
18	0.033
19	0.121
21	0.033
22	0.032
23	0.304
26	0.312
27	0.389
28	0.121
42	0.079
48	0.141
49	0.241
155	0.071
196	0.053

Well I may have found the problem....

I was looking back at some weigh loss gain loss trends and just realized... I gained 30 lbs in 2016!  How the hell did that happen!!!???

Hokey crap! Gained 30 lbs in 2013 too. Between the other years I only gained 10 lbs total. If I could figure out what was going on then.... (I think it was jobs I hated)

ugh!  I'm so tired and frustrated!!

I feel like I've been losing the same five pounds over and over!  Because I have!

Progress is just crawling and I've been KILLING the workouts for over a week and and thought my body might be reacting positively at least a LITTLE - but no.  The scale is CRAWLING downwards.  I bounces down a little one day than back up again the next.. then down a little again.  Yes, overall I'm seeing a trend but it isn't enough!  I'm sick of this body, sick of being fat and out of shape.  I've turned around my diet and exercise -- now I want my results and I want them NOW!!

It feels like I got fat overnight.. until I see that I was last in a shape I really loved in 2006.. over 10 years ago!  I need to ride this out.  Results will come.  I just need something else to focus on.  Clothes/measurements... Nope, don't see anything yet.  Pictures?  HA!  no!  I'm able to walk now - whereas before more than 15 minutes or so on my feet would cripple me so that's a positive.  It's a start I suppose... a small one, but a start.

But oh to be here again!

or even just here!

Even just to be in the 'before' photo shape!

I want to cry I want to scream I want to beat something, I want to curl up and sleep - hide from it all... BUT surprisingly I don't want to eat!  I'm angry...but not defeated!

New low weight!  Hooray! Took long enough!

Got all my exercise done the past few days and food has been good too. Now if I can just lose some weight!! I'm so ready to see some results. I know it'll happen. I'm jud t ready to feel the fruits of my labor.

Got all my exercise done the past few days and food has been good too. Now if I can just lose some weight!! I'm so ready to see some results. I know it'll happen. I'm jud t ready to feel the fruits of my labor.

Made it to the gym and lifted some weight... it felt great. Then did another run!  Surprisingly, it felt great too!

Still not losing weight - and was strangely not hungry today. I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow!!!

and one more thing...

A while back I noted that every time I've been constant with a program and lost a lot of weight... I was exercising consistently (as well as following an eating plan). I had thought that maybe my body required exercise to lose weight.  But that didn't really make sense - it's pretty well known at this point that you can't exercise you way out of a bad diet...

But than last night, when I was laying in bed unable to sleep, I had an epiphany! Perhaps the reason I lose weight when I exercise (and follow a diet) is not because exercise does some kind of magical thing to my metabolism but because it does something magical to my brain!  I'm pretty sure that working out regularly makes it easier for me to follow my food plan - and when I follow a food plan, I lose weight....

It's at least work giving a try right!?

Another day - another trip to the gym

That's right!  I made it again!

Legs were the plan today with Squats being the focus excercise.

• Barbell Squat
  • 65 lb x 5 reps
  • 80 lb x 5 reps
  • 95 lb x 5 reps
  • 105 lb x 5 reps
  • 105 lb x 5 reps
  • 120 lb x 5 reps
  • 135 lb x 5 reps
• Leg Press
  • 270 lb x 10 reps
  • 270 lb x 10 reps
  • 270 lb x 10 reps
• Lying Leg Curls
  • 30 lb x 10 reps
  • 30 lb x 10 reps
  • 30 lb x 10 reps (PR)
• Leg Extensions
  • 30 lb x 10 reps
  • 30 lb x 10 reps
  • 30 lb x 10 reps (PR)
• Cable Crunch
  • 60 lb x 12 reps
  • 90 lb x 12 reps
  • 110 lb x 12 reps
• and then a run/walk on the treadmill for 25 min (plus warmup&cooldown)
• 00:35:00 | 1.8 mi | 0.5 %
Food has been right on track, and I did 12000 steps yesterday so I'm almost back on track with my walking wager to average 8500 steps a day!

Weekend was ok

Weekend wasn't perfect. But it was better than average. Didn't workout as much as I would like and food wa at least below calories. Just way more carbs than I should be eating. It's. I say and I'm focused and ready to make this a killer week.

Went to the gym this AM. I decided to allow myself no-xplode if I went to the gym (pre-workout supliment) it has caffeine - something I've been avoiding for a lot of years now. Man... it was sooooooooooooooo good!  I know I'll crash later but oh so worth it.

Workout was good. I'm happy to say you can still see some muscle definition under my skin in my shoulders. It motivates me to keep on keeping on.

My workout for today was

Barbell Bench Press:

45lbs x 5reps
45 x 10
45 x 10
55 x 5
60 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 25

Dumbell Press:

35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10

Dumbell Side Lateral Raise

12.5 x 10
12.5 x 10
12.5 x 10

Barbell Curl

30 x 10
30 x 10
30 x 10

Preacher Curl

35 x 10

I only did one of these because I found it torqued my wrist too much - it just hasn't been the same since I hurt it over a year ago.

Hammer Dumbbell Curl

15 x 10
15 x 10
15 x 10

Than I did a few swimming drills in the pool and did a really quick 100 Yard workout.

It has BEGUN!  I feel so skinny right now!  lol

Unfortunately, because my weekend was spent waaaaay to lazily.. I'm way behind on steps for my healthy bet.  I'm supposed to average 8500/day and right now I'm only averaging 6400!  I'm going to spend a few days having to make up for that  😠😠😠  I think I'm going to set a goal to be back on track by next Monday.

Here's to feeling this good after working out again tomorrow!

Back at home

and man am I happy about that!  Seattle was tough on me. I have in several time to carbs and I didn't hit my goal of staying at 274. But, I'm back home now and back on track. I have a plan for exercise and am really excited about it. Yeah, I have some catching up to get back on track but I can do it!

Some ups and downs

I had the best of intentions yesterday.  It was all going according to plan.  Then I got to the airport and found the food was much much worse than I could have imagined.  I finally settled on a Chinese food place, figuring their 'bowl' would be a good choice for me.  I got steamed broccoli and (double) chicken.  Only, the chicken was breaded and covered in a sweet sauce!

I was too hungry to car at that point and just ate it all... Later at my hotel I stopped at the bar and had a whiskey - so not the best start to my trip, but I can do better.

No breakfast this AM since I have a lunch meeting where food will be provided.  It sounds like they will have food I can eat there.  Here's hoping.

Did get a workout in though - plus a .5 mile hike to the office from my hotel.  I'm killin' it! lol

I will STILL be 287 when I get home from this trip.. I WILL!

Workout complete!

https://www.fitocracy.com/entry/48992238

Hello Blogger my old friend

Today I've hit a milestone.  20 lbs lost.  It's taken FOREVER.  Not because my body doesn't want to lose weight but because I'm still having binge episodes.

When I'm "on" I feel amazing and strong, but then the feast beast whispers in my ear and I'm off and eating six Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  I think the 'good' food is winning out though because for the first time in a long time I've been making steady (if erratic progress down).  The top weight, before I turn in around and start losing again, is getting lower.  The trend is going down.  I feel a sliver a hope.

So, where does this leave me?  Well, at 274 lbs I'm feeling better - my feet hurt less.  I can put in over 9,000 steps in a day and not be crippled by foot pain the next day. I actually 'ran' the other day.  Wogged at 4mph for a minute and then walked at 2.5 mph for 1.5 miles... and it didn't kill me (and my feet didn't kill me the next day).

Since I don't buy clothes off the rack it's hard for me to say what size I wear.  So, I'm going to use this chart as a guide

Going by that I am currently a 3x size 24

In 2006 I was starting to fit into RTW size 10!  I will get there and go below that!! I will

So, what's the plan?  Well...I'm taking some stuff from "Never Binge Again" like making a list and sticking to it, caging the pig (what they call the feast beast) and working to stop listening to his nasty little voice. And I've pulled some stuff from Brooke Castillo; including her "Self Coaching 101" teachings for managing my emotions and her overeating workshop that's part of her Self Coaching Scholars program.

The thing is, I've found with all these mental excercses at the moment I need to refresh them daily. I need to be reading and/or listening to something that puts me in the right mindset daily!  So I'm trying to put a plan for that in place.

For the actual EATING part I've made the following food rules to cage my pig.

My Rules

• I will never eat anything with flour; all types including any grain, gluten free, nut flours, bean flours, corn starch, coconut flour, wheat germ, guar gum etc.
• I will never eat anything with sugar; including added natural sugars, nectar, fruit flavorings, syrups if they appear in the first five ingredients on the label.
• I will never eat anything with trans fats; Margarine, partially hydrogenated oil, deep fried foods including chips and fries, non-dairy creams, popcorn, etc.
• I will never eat processed, concentrated and refined foods including all juices, smoothies, alcohol
• I will always sit down to eat my meals (at a table if possible)
• I will never eat in a moving car
• I will always plan my meal before sitting down to eat it
• I will never eat between meals
• I will never eat before noon or after 10PM

Except…

When I have decided to do so - 24 hours in advance

These may change over time- I keep them in a google doc and will refine as I move forward. I'm thinking of changining the not eating before noon thing because on days I'm not at home it's easier to eat breakfast and dinner instead of lunch and dinner. But I'm going to play in by ear and just invoke my "Exception" clause for a while.

Overall I'm trying to eat primal/low carb ketogenic. I need to lose weight and I also need to balance my blood sugar (My A1C was 6.5 last time I was at the Dr's) and lower my blood pressure (It's been high the last few times I've had it checked). So healthy eating and some exercise is important... The food has been coming along slowly but surely. I need the exercise to step it up. that's my focus this week.

Which sounds all well and good except I'm leaving to go on a business trip tonight and will be eating two (or three) meals a day at restaurants all this week! And I'm not sure my hotel has a gym....

But I'm ready to take this on. I just need to follow my rules and do the best I can. The goal is to stay at 274 this week.

I've put a few structures in place for myself. This first of these is a new website I've found called Healthy Wage. You pledge an amount of money and if you hit your goal, they pay it back to you PLUS SOME. I've set up a Healthy Wager that I will win 140 lbs in 16 months. I know, it sounds crazy to me too. I've never really been below 170!! since high school. I'm backing this pledge with a payment of $250/month. That's a pledge of $4000! BUT I will win $8,200 if I make it! I also made a 'walk more' exercise pledge. I need to average 8,500 steps a day for the next three months. This one only cost me $60 and I'll just share the pot on this one - so I may only get my money back, but it's a fun incentive.

You can check it out here: https://hwage.co/31460/.

I'm also beeminding my progress

https://www.beeminder.com/samboddy69/130by50#

And I'm using Habitica to track my "to-do" list and to help me track the habits I want to build up - it's fun and geeky and you should check it out.

https://habitica.com/

Ok - now that all of that is out of the way Here's the plan for the next few days.

Today: Had a good breakfast, snacked on nuts at lunch and I'm grabbing food at the airport (eating before noon was planned) I need to look up what's available at the airport so I can grab something that's on plan.

Tomorrow: Big breakfast at the nearby diner, skip lunch, dinner at a nearby restaurant - chicken and veg and/or beef and veg or something similar should be easy to find. I would like to go to the pub one night while I'm there... We'll see since I'm eating with family one night and eating lunch with a friend one day. I'm going to give myself one free meal to have some carbs and alcohol on this trip... it's just a matter of when I'll use it.

I brought workout clothes and I want to hit my steps goal each day I'm away (8,500) and if the hotel has a gym I'm going to lift weights each of the days too. Since my hotel is in the same building as my office and I don't have to be in the office until 10AM there's plenty of time to get a workout in first thing. Maybe if I get the exercise habit started while I'm away it'll be easier to keep it once I'm back home... One can hope.

And.. that's that! More to come in the days that follow.