Birthday

I'm back.  I went out of town and decided to take a little bit of a vacation from everything, including the blog.  Complacency was starting to set in, and I felt a reboot was in order.  Luckily, today is a very good day to start again.  Today I turn 26, and I cannot help but reflect upon the last year of my life.  So much has changed for the better that, though I am another year older I probably have more years ahead of me now than I did at this time last year.  As for my missed weigh in, I will weigh in as usual this weekend, probably Sunday.  As an unofficial update, a pseudo weigh in #51, I will say that I have hovered around 290 the past week or so, so not great, but considering the lack of thought or effort on my "vacation" I didn't do too badly.  I am trying hard to get to 285 for the weigh in, so austerity measures are in effect.  The time off from work and thinking about my weight constantly is going to be a very good thing for me.  Since August I had been going with one or maybe two days off in a row, and rarely one without travel or rehearsal.  Having 5 days without work or theater, and 3 of those consecutively without any travel as well was much needed.  I was getting a bit burned out.  Now I feel more capable of buckling down and pushing through the last 50 or so pounds of weight loss I'd like to achieve.

Weigh in #50

Sorry about being a day late, but either Sundays or Fridays will have to be my new weigh in day.  I now work Saturday and Sunday, but Saturday is 8:45am to 6pm, and Sundays are only 10am to 5pm, so of the two I am much more likely to write and get an accurate weigh in on Sunday.  Fridays I am off of work, so that is a possibility as well.  I am going with Sundays for now.  Good results in the past 8 days.  Here are the numbers:

Current Weight: 286.8 lbs
Starting Weight: 440.2 lbs
Weight Loss This Week: 2.4 lbs
Weight Loss Total: 153.4 lbs

I am now just .2 lbs from my overall low water mark and excited to forge into new territory.  Another 16 pounds in 3 weeks is not going to happen, so my original goal of 170 total weight loss is out the window, but if I can break into the 270s by the end of the month I will feel good about that.  That means in just about three weeks I need to drop 7 pounds.  2 1/3 pounds a week is no mean feat, but it is doable.  Now to do it.

Epiphany

I am a little disappointed in myself.  I missed the last of my twelve days of Christmas.  Yes work has been busy, and I have an excuse, but I don't want to use one.  It just goes to reinforce my need for constant vigilance.  5 out of 6 is good, but not really good enough to get where I want to be.  To tell the truth the well of inspiration is a bit low at the moment.  I am sure by Saturday I will have a bit more to say, but for now that's all I've got.

Now for some planning.  My birthday is the 20th and the one year anniversary of my weight loss is the 30th.  On the 30th to celebrate both I want to go play laser tag at the whirlyball stadium on Fullerton.  Please comment if you would like to come.  We will have to walk in because a reservation is just too expensive (who knew an hour of laser tag cost $500+).  But I would love to have you all there to celebrate and get a little fun exercise with me.

Lords Leaping, Or Some Such

Today was fun.  I did pretty well with my intake, saw a fun movie, and got some good work done in my actor life.  I have been in voice lessons for a while now and have been building up my book for musical auditions.  My voice lesson went well and I have far more songs from which to chose than when I started up.  It was also very nice to get away from the frustrations of the day job, as I only had two very minor intrusions to think about today and I got to turn my mind off for a large portion of the day.  Rest is important, and today I got some.

10th Day

I am really running out of stuff to write about.  Epiphany needs to hurry up.  Tomorrow is an off day, so I plan to work out a bit and get in my meatless day, which wasn't today due to time constraints.  I am still struggling with mindless snacking and not doing the things I need, particularly eating fruit.  My culinary hero, Alton Brown, recently lost 50 pounds and he has done it by doing much of what I have done.  One of his go to breakfasts is a fruit smoothie, and I am going to try it out.  It is based on frozen fruit mostly and should be pretty easy.  We'll see how it tastes.

9th Day Of Christmas

Now it is time to buckle down.  This weekend has been fun, but I haven't been that disciplined and the problem is that the few calculated choices to indulge make it easier to slip up later.  Well, the holidays are over and I have 4 weeks until my 1 year anniversary.  I don't think 3 pounds a week is unattainable, but it will be very difficult.  This week has to lay the groundwork.  One more resolution is to eat slower.  This is something I can start immediately and should make a big difference for me.  My show closed today, so my time constraints should be lessened.  I can cook more, and the fact that my current job does not require me to order, eat, and return from lunch in less than 30 minutes should help me slow down and know when I am full before I have overshot it.  I also need to get back on the stick with exercise.  December was really bad for that, and building up a bit more muscle mass and getting some aerobic work will give me a little leeway with my intake and give me a little more of an edge with recovery.

For the events this weekend I did my part by bringing some snacks, and I tried to keep them a bit healthier than your usual gameday fare.  I brought my ubiquitous hummus, and lately I have been making rosemary hummus with fresh rosemary and rosemary olive oil, which has been a big hit, both to my palate and at the two parties I have taken it to.  I also made guacamole.  I love tex mex food and avocado, when eaten in moderation, is incredibly healthful and satisfying.  Yes it is fatty, but it is the right kind of fat, the kind that keeps your body moving.  The only problem with good fat is that it is calorie dense, so care is needed.  Lucky for me the guac was such a huge hit that 4 avocados worth disappeared so quickly I wasn't tempted to get seconds because there weren't any.  Other than the 4 avocados I included finely diced onion, a brunoised jalapeno, the juice of 1 lime, a good handful of finely chopped cilantro, 4 cloves minced garlic, and a couple spoons full of some homemade salsa I had around.  I don't usually like tomatoes in guacamole, but I used more the flavorful liquid of the salsa for some extra brightness.  I also seasoned it with ground chipotle, cumin, and salt and pepper.  Here are pics of the process, and I used my new camera which has a food setting, so tell me what you think:

You can see to the far left the onions.  They are soaking in water with a little vinegar, which takes some of the bite and bitterness out and makes the raw onion much more friendly.

You can see I diced the avocado in the skin and then I scooped it out with a spoon to keep a nice texture.

Weigh in #49 - 8th day of Christmas. Happy New Year!

Happy new year!  December has come and gone.  I have 30 days left until the 1 year anniversary of my first weigh in. 2010 is the second year in a row I kept my resolution.  In 2009 I resolved to stop smoking, and I have not had a cigarette since August of that year.  In 2010 I resolved to take control of my health, and though I continue to work I feel that I have taken that resolution to heart.  Before I announce my concrete resolution for the coming year here are the numbers for this week:

Current Weight: 289.2 lbs
Starting Weight: 440.2 lbs
Weight Loss This Week: 1.8 lbs
Weight Loss Total: 151 lbs

Not too bad, especially considering I polished off an entire bottle of sparkling wine myself last night (I brought a second to share).  One fun side effect of my weight loss is that I am a little bit cheaper date than I used to be.  Considering how much trouble I have with moderation in most things it is a very lucky chance that I have no problems being moderate with alcohol.  I just happen to enjoy a little bit of a buzz at a celebration with friends and it takes far less alcohol, and therefore calories, than it used to.    As for the week's results I was a bit shy of my goal, but chop off last night, which was a calculated indulgence at a celebration, and I'm right where I wanted to be, in 6 days no less since my last weigh in was on a Sunday.  From the last weigh in of November to now I only gained .4 pounds, which I feel is a very successful December.  It was a very nice way to end the year, and is going to be a great springboard into 2011.

Resolve and thou art free. 
                         -Longfellow


I have posted previously that my ultimate resolution for the coming year, though a bit trite, is "Better than yesterday".  Over 11 months of, if not hard, then constant work I have found that taking too long a view or focusing too much on the length of the whole journey is crippling.  All I can do is try to be better than I was the day before.  This applies in all aspects of my life.  There are so many things I want, and I now firmly believe they will come in their due time, but only if I am ready for them.  If I work an being a better actor, a healthier person, and a better man than I was yesterday, then the success, health, and relationships I am looking to build will come.  I have to believe that and do that which is in my control to achieve them.  So much relies on the chances of life that for someone who needs a rational and logical progression of events to make sense of things it can be maddening.  So I'll do what I can do and try to accept the rest.


As for a more concrete resolution I do want something specific towards which I can work.  Long ago this blog became about more than just my weight loss, so I feel comfortable posting that I resolve to be more accepting of the foibles of my fellow man, and of myself.  To be more concise I suppose I could say I resolve to accept imperfection with good humor.  I admit to judging myself and others too readily, so that is something I would like to work on this year.  Feel free to post your resolution as a comment.  I have found that public accountability is the surest way for me to maintain a goal,and if you would like to try that with your goals for the coming year please do so and we can keep each other on track.