365 Days and Counting

I went to the gym a bit later than usual as it was raining pretty hard in the morning.  I only managed about 30 minutes walking on the treadmill when that same nerve between my 3th and 4th toes on my foot began to ache once again.  I had to stop and move over to the stationary bike where I stayed for an hour.  I will need to try to look that up again.  So far, I haven't had any luck finding what that might be. I did go to Costco and buy three bags of the sliced chicken strips being that they were $4 off the regular price.  I also go some more fruit, coffee, and ketchup along with a bag of Asian salad I thought I give a try.  I used my refund from my membership and still got back $11.  I then headed over to Wal-Mart in case they had any of the popcorn flavoring, which they did and I bought many more of those.  Now I'm pretty stocked up with them. I went to the movies and saw  Annihilation , which was just a litter over the top for me, thou...

No gym today.  It's supposed to storm tomorrow so I walked the park letting all know that we will pick up trash this afternoon and also handed out the monthly newsletter.  After doing that, we began the pick up.  Things went fine but it was almost 2 PM when we finished and so the day was all but over as I finally ate something and watched TV.  Over 10 K steps for the day. Food intake: omelet (200); chicken strips (300); fruit (150); chicken nuggets (300).  Good news on the Fitbit with the weekly report showing 38 miles covered.  Weigh in day after tomorrow and I am officially getting a little nervous.  I shouldn't be, but all I can do is wait.

It was an okay day.  I did most all my steps at the gym with the treadmill and bike.  I also did some walking through the store picking up some shrimp.  Total steps 11+ K.  It's supposed to rain like hell tomorrow, so I'm going to ask Cindy and Jose to do the trash this afternoon. Did very little other than exercise.  Watched some movies and other TV shows including some of the Olympics wrap up show.  Learned a small lesson: don't eat too much chicken. Food intake: fruit (100); chicken 2x (500); omelet (200)  The organic chicken breasts is going to be the chicken I buy for the future.  It's already cut and there is no breading, which cuts down on the calories and tastes just as good.  The entire bag is 1100 calories and there are about 5 to 6 portions per bag.  I may try to go buy a couple more bags while it's still on sale.

It is so odd for me to sleep a solid 8+ hours waking up only once at night.  I'm not sure if it's just a faze I'm going through or if the working out has made my body need the sleep.  Either way, I'm very glad of it, though I admit I do miss waking up and getting my day started at 4 AM. I'm starting to realize just how limited my daily routine has become.  Wake up, do the computer thing, do the morning requirements thing, go for my workout thing, come home and watch TV thing, and only occasionally break this up with a movie, or trash day, or a small chore for Cindy.  I suppose I also go to Penchanga once or twice a month, and of course off to Las Vegas or Laughlin.  Now that I write all this down, I suppose I do have many things.  I still have dinner at the folks and recently spending more time with my kids.  Okay, I suppose it's all good.  I believe what prompted this is the feeling that I'm watching TOO much TV.  After getting started, ...

Back home and back to the routine.  There is no question I am a routine kind of guy and most comfortable when things are predictable and safe.  I got back to the gym but didn't do any jogging as I wanted to ease back into it.  I only did the hour on the treadmill figuring that I'd pick up the rest later, which I did. After I got back home, I went to the office where Cindy handed me this months rents and I distributed them on 3rd St.  I'd volunteer to do the entire park, but I'm afraid if I do that, it would become expected of me every month, which is what happened when I was doing meters, so I will wait until she asks me and I will. Cathy posted a Royal at the Vue and and quad at Pick 'em at the Fremont...damn!  I played like crazy at both those and couldn't do squat, though admittedly, I did mostly win at the Vue, jut not much. I went to the movies and saw Game Night  and just as I assumed, it was very funny.  I am such a big Justin Bateman fan ...

Rough day at the casinos.  I woke up, took care of all the business of the morning and headed down to the lobby.  Cathy said she'd meet me for breakfast at 9.  That gave me an hour or so.  I walked over to the Fremont and played Pick 'em and couldn't catch anything other than on full house and lost my hundred.  I then tried NSUD on the same machines.  I wanted to give deuces a shot at least once this trip.  I had little luck there as I couldn't catch any premium hits.  It broke my heart when I was dealt A/Jc and trash and redrew only to see the K/Q/10c come up in the first three cards...yes I know, not the same, but it hurt nonetheless.  I end up dropping that $100. I went upstairs of the D to play at the Vue bar.  I managed to hit a couple of premium quads for a $50 profit when it was time to meet up.  We had the breakfast buffet at the Fremont.  It was only $9 in points taken off my card for the both of us...great deal. W...

As is my pattern, I woke up early, took care of all the morning routines and finally headed out to the Golden Nugget to sign up for poker.  They only had one table going and it was a no limit game.  There was no one on the 2/4 list.  He took my club card and added my phone number and said he'd text me when a table opens up.  He said that for now on, you don't have to wait around the poker room waiting for a seat to open.  Nice. I walked over to the Fremont and played some Pick 'em and then when the buffet opened at 7AM, used my points for a breakfast buffet.  I then walked over to the Four Queens and played some 9/6 Jacks and while there, got my text.  The table opened at 8:30.  A change here at the GN, their doubling of the high hands is now 8AM until 2PM, no longer starting at 2AM. I was having a rough time being card dead and have a couple coolers including my pocket Kings getting beat by two pair and my flush getting beat by a river full h...

I got up at 3:00 AM but that was okay being that I went to bed at 6 the night before.  I got all my computer things done and then headed to the gym at 4:45 and then got gas at Costco.  It’s trash day and we had a good one finishing in record time at 9:00 AM.  I headed for Vegas right away. Aside from occasional stop and go traffic, I arrived in Las Vegas at 2:30.  I checked into the D and it actually turned out pretty nice.  The room is clean and the bathroom is modern.  I got everything put away and then headed downstairs to play.  I stopped by the D slot club and had my $30 freeplay loaded on my card and was given a $25 food voucher.  Unfortunately, you have to use all of it at once. Along with those, I also had a $25 match play.  I put it on Black at the roulette and it hit.  Cool, first bet and I’m up $50.  I went upstairs and sat down at the Vue bar to play the 8/5 progressive BP.  There are progressives on the roya...

I went to the gym early and did my hour with some jogging mixed in.  It was a little easier than I had anticipated, but I still can't job for more than two or three minutes at a time.  That will increase as time goes on.  I did not make my 10 K today.  I was about 1000 steps short, so not the end of the world.  It was just too cold and my spirit simply wasn't in it.  I will make up for that today. It's 2:20 AM as I write this.  I went to sleep at 6 PM, woke up at 8:30, did my rounds and went back to sleep.  I then woke up at 12:30 and dosed another hour and finally got up at 2.  I had set my alarm for 4 anyway because I know I need to do the gym early so I can fill up the tank at 6:30 and be back in time to begin trash day. After trash, I will head on out to Las Vegas. I ate very little today.  Popcorn (500); a fruit bowl (100); and two chicken breasts (400).  It's interesting how the body adjusts.  I could eat, but I c...

I decided to once again go to the Mission Bay to do my walk and glad I did.  It was a great day of sight seeing and getting in most of my 12 K.  I also manage to do some jogging, which I will now begin to slowly incorporate into my routine.  I think it's time to move on to the next level.  This lower body fat bubble beneath my belt is by far the most troubling for me.  Not only do I find it the most unsightly but I know it will be the very last thing to go.  This is a new phenomenon for me as fat has not been a problem in this area before; however, I have never allowed myself to get this fat before, so if it's from that or that fact of my older age, I'll never know, but make no mistake, it is the focus of my diet. I decided to eat a two-item meal from Panda Express today instead of the usual one item.  I missed breakfast, so I had done the exercise on an empty stomach and was hungry by noon.  The only thing that bothered me is the choice betwe...

I'm thinking that yesterday was a typical day of what the rest of the year is going to be like.  The thing about this dieting, and I remember this as the same attitude I had in all the previous diets, is that food and exercise dominate my thought processes and planning for the entire day.  Though I will still visit family and friends, go to Laughlin or Vegas, or whatever, I'm thinking, "What am I eating today and when and where will I get my exercise it?" I'm not quite as sensitive to food commercials and fast food restaurant temptations as I've had in past diets, but I'm focused on getting through the necessary steps in order to achieve my diet goals for each day.  I honestly don't know if this is because I'm retired and don't have all that much more to worry about or if I'm spending too much time focusing on it.  Of course, it's still early in the diet and I realize I'm very sensitive and fearful on "falling off the wagon...

It was a good day on the steps meter.  I went to the gym and did the hour on the treadmill and 15 minutes on the bike.  I took my Ipad and it worked great.  It always feels great to have it out of the way early in the morning.  I went early because when I was done at 6:30, I bought gas at Costco knowing I'm heading up to the north county later. I went to the office to turn in my time sheet and take the monthly safety quiz.  I also finally got around to buying two side mirrors for the tractor from Amazon.  The company will reimburse me. I headed up to Carlsbad at noon and took the scenic route dodging the traffic on the 5.  It's always a more interesting drive even if it does take a tad longer.  I got to the Carlsbad Mall at 1:00 and though I was and hour and a half early, there were only three seats left for Black Panther .  I end up on the third row, far left seat. I then walked the circumference of the mall checking out the new stores...

After an hour on the treadmill and 15 minutes on the bike, I chose to go to Balboa Park today and walk off the rest of the needed steps.  It was perfect day for walking and I ended it with 13 K steps.  I did stop at the store to get some fruit for tomorrow's breakfast and some more imitation crap.  I have to be careful not to get anything perishable as I will be leaving for Vegas on Tuesday.  I fighting conflicting feelings about going and not knowing that I regret the drive and tend to get bored towards the last couple of days.  Unfortunately, the gambling wins/loss play a big part of that thought it shouldn't.  We'll see how it goes this time. Nothing much more to report today. Food intake: imitation crab and sauce...twice (400); BBQ chicken breasts (400); grapes (200).  I'm confident I'm over estimating the calories intake today, but that's okay.  I wish there was a definitive way to know these things rather than guessing.

It was a good day at the gym.  Managed an hour on the treadmill, a half hour on the bike, and another half hour on the treadmill for 12 K steps.  I also discovered I can use their WI-FI with my headphones and watch whatever I want to while exercising.  The headphones turned out to be a good investment even at $350.  The noise cancellation is a plus and the sound quality is just right for me. I still am in search for something in the afternoons that I can consistently add to my routine.  I'm still sitting around the house too much on either the computer or watching TV.  I would have gone to the zoo, or Balboa Park, or somewhere else, but the weather was cold and a little rainy.  As I type this, I think I'm being a little silly but I do have this urge to do more. Dinner at Mom and Pop's was successful.  He made egg noodle casserole which was mostly veggies and also good old carrot salad.  The only thing I had to eat was one piece on garlic ...

It was trash day and I was very worried that we would have to deal with rain, however, it was all sun all day.  We got done by 10.  I hadn't eaten all morning but finally made an omelet and had some grapes. I did manage to get in 12 K steps for the with the gym work and the trash run.  I remembered to cancel the Westgate reservations and made the decision to go the Vegas and stay at the D.  The meeting at 5:30 went okay and of course, towards the end turned into a bitch session but managed to get out after a little more than an hour. Food intake: grapes (100); omelet (150); BBQ chicken (500); pudding (150)  It's very much below my daily goal. I woke up at 3 AM hearing a distant female voice.  Then after about 15 minutes, it was louder.  I got dressed and walked around the area and couldn't find anyone.  I did manage to get another 3 hrs sleep and woke up late almost at 7 AM, so it will be a late run to the gym.

So, it was back to the routine.  I hit the gym early and got in my hour of walking.  I forgot to take my step counter, and that's frustrating.  I'm fairly certain I didn't get in my 10 K because it was cold and rainy, so I didn't do anymore walking.  I'm beginning the doubt my calorie count in that I should be feeling hungry and I'm not.  It seems I'm always eating.  Of course, that's not true but a little bit or paranoia is playing into my consciousness.  I'm starting to feel like I'm getting hints what a anorexic person feels like.  Anything I put in my mouth hurts my goals.  My head says different, but it's just the phase I seem to be going through at the moment.  I went shopping and picked up some more salad mix, imitation crab meat, and Pam.  I've been debating whether or not I'm spending more on food now than before the diet as it seems I'm going to the store all the time.  However, before I could buy lots of frozen i...

Being my birthday, I was concerned about eating too many calories, so I stayed with eating only grapes in the morning and then whatever was for dinner at Tracy's house.  I went to Pechanga to play poker from noon to 4 PM.  I never got into any serious trouble and was up most the game.  However, the last hour I went into a funk and didn't win a hand.  Fortunately, I did still manage a $10 win for the session (along with the $4 comps).  I was on the leader board with Aces over 10s for the first 15 minutes, but of course, that died by the end of the hour. The party for me and Jim, whose birthday is only ten days after mine was great.  Javier made pasta and salad.  I had two small portions of pasta and one sausage (it was good but I should have avoided it).  The sauce was amazing as was the lemon cake Aubrey and Gabby made for us.  I stuck to a small piece.  It's impossible to say how many calories I took in for the meal, but I'm confide...

Book club in the morning, so I made the bacon and sausage...I didn't sample a one!  The meeting went well and surprisingly, for a farce of a book, everyone liked it.  It was over by 11 AM.  I drove to Mission Beach and did my walk to Pacific Beach and back.  It was a total of 12,400 steps.  It's all cement and I managed even another blister. I will do that walk again, but will wait to get my feet in a little better shape. Food intake is a challenge.  To not be rude, I had a small portion of everyone's meal.  Half a pancake with syrup; a small square of potatoes; some deviled eggs; and fruit.  I can only guess that the entire meal was about 500 calories, considering my portions were so small. In addition, I had three chicken breasts with BBQ sauce (600) calories.  So, I'm confident I'm under my goals.  Today, being my birthday is going to be a minefield of calories as after poker, I head to my daughter's house for a party. 

Managed to get the gym done, and walked the park.  I also shopped at Costco.  All of this put me over the 11K+ mark. I stupidly picked up the wrong chicken and bought breaded chicken breasts instead of strips.  It's not the end of the world but it is  breaded and adds an extra 20 calories per breast.  I'll manage and be more careful next time. I continue to be concerned over the amount of food I'm eating.  According to everything I'm reading, I continue stay under or very close to the 1500 calorie total, but because I am not hungry or feel the need to eat, has me concerned, plus I'm eating four to five times per day, albeit low calorie items, and that feels counter intuitive.  All I can do is just continue and look at the results on the first of the month.  Though my goal is 10 pounds per month, I honestly want 11 this month that will put me in the 60s.  That would wonders for my self confidence. Of course I have a birthday party coming u...

Yesterday (I write these the following day) was an odd one.  My workout at the gym went fine walking my hour 3.5 miles but I didn't ride the bike knowing I was going to go for a walk outside later, which turned out to be Encinitas.  I had fruit with Cool Whip in the morning and then drove to Encinitas, parked and walked from one end, across the street and back.  By the time I was finished, I had made my 10 K steps for the day.  I enjoyed the walk a lot.  There was plenty of sunshine.  I have no idea why I just like to window shop so much.  I think I've always been curious about people's lives and what they do for a living and how they ever got to the point, where they had an idea, made it happen, and watched it either succeed or fail.  There were many bars, cafes, restaurants, and clothing shops.  The one shop that caught my eye was some kind of baby shop, which at 10:30 in the morning was busy with babies and young parents.  What they...

I started the morning with a fruit bowl.  It was good but I found the blueberries were mushy.  I'll have to look into that next time I buy these bowls.  I did do my workout, but I managed to get a blister on my right foot.  Why after six weeks I would suddenly get a blister, I have no idea.  Not much to report today as I did manage to get almost 70 pages in my book done.  It's not a very good book, but I will plow through it. Dinner at the parents went without a hitch.  I'm glad Pop is considering my diet (he doesn't need to) as he had rice with shrimp with tomato sauce, which was delicious and low in calories.  He did make me a piece of garlic toast...the first piece of bread I've had since the diet started. Food intake: fruit (50); jello (150); BBQ chicken (400); shrimp dinner (700). 

Trash day, so I hit the gym early and did my walk for an hour.  Turned out okay with no ankle or shin problems, but the balls of my feet continue to be sore.  Again, just hoping it's the beginning of calluses forming.  After the trash was finished, I had over 11 K steps, which surpasses my goal.  There seems to be a drawback to getting all the steps out of the way early as it gives me an excuse to little else the rest of the day.  This will need to end.  I was supposed to get some reading done, and I didn't do any, so this means, I will need to knock off at least 100 pages a day for the next three days to be ready for book club on Saturday. I did do a little shopping for some food picking up some fruit, fake crap, and bacon for Saturday. The rest of the morning I did my taxes.  I had to pay the Feds $408, which doesn't make ANY sense considering I got back $430 last year with about the same income.  I did get a $109 refund from the state....

After finishing up the morning coin collecting from my video games, I headed to the gym and walked for an hour.  I came back to the park and dropped off the left over new rule packages with Cindy.  I then wen to the zoo to finish my daily walking.  Once again, the zoo was absolutely beautiful and a great way to finish off my daily needed steps.  My feet continue to hurt at the blister area.  And though they are no blisters, they continue to feel like them, but I'm sure they are simply continuing to harden up, which is a good thing. I went to the movies and saw Den of Thieves that was pretty predictable and had plenty of holes in the plot, but was still good way to spend the morning hours with popcorn. I came back and watched TV.  I need to find a way to get away from the TV set a little more, though I've gotten better the past month.  Food intake: popcorn (500); salad (200); chicken (400).  Well under my daily calorie intake.

It's Super Bowl Sunday and I had no plans for the game.  I had considered going to Pechanga to play poker, but I simply didn't want to drive that far and back and I haven't had much luck at 2/4 poker lately.  I am considering moving over to 1/2 no limit sometime down the line. I did go to the gym during the game and walked for one and a half hours, which gave me my 10 K steps for the day.  Today, for whatever reason, my ankles and shins did not bother me, but the balls of my feet (where I usually get blisters) were hurting.  Perhaps I'm finally developing calluses--I hope so. The game turned out to be one the tightest and best games with the Eagles winning.  As I had considered not watching it at all, I enjoyed it a lot and am glad I did. Food intake: grapes (50); omelet (100); BBQ chicken (400); popcorn (500).  Just over 1000 calories (I still believe I'm over estimating all of these) for the day. 

It was a good day (keep in mind I write these about yesterday's progress and events) on the diet train.  Though I am still having muscle aches in my ankles and shins during my walks, I did still manage more than 12,000 steps thanks to distributing the new rules flyer throughout the park.  Add to that I ate under 800 calories and didn't feel deprived or hungry.  It's all good. Today is the Super Bowl and I have no plans.  I am considering driving to Pechanga to play poker, but that now seems unlikely.  I'll probably just watch at home.  I will get out and do the gym and whatever else it will require to get my daily steps in. I am re-watching all the Harry Potters on TV.  It's going to take a while as there are ten of them, but I'm enjoying them and understanding some things I didn't before and am enjoying watching the kids grow up on the series. Food intake: grapes (50); BBQ chicken (200); mushroom chicken (340); and salad (200).

I got Terry and Louise to the airport in plenty of time for their flight after having a good breakfast.  I was a good boy and had an vegetable omelet and a fruit bowl. I was a bad day for exercise.  I didn't do any.  I waited for Hugh who changed our meeting until the afternoon and I began stapling and folding notices to the all the residents that I will distribute tomorrow.  Hugh came, we had lunch at Rubio's and I stuck to a salad after having some chicken nuggets before he arrived. The movie we saw was The Hostiles , which was okay, but really dragged in spots.  The acting was superb.  I came home, had some chicken strips and that was it. Just nothing much to report today. Food intake: Vegetable omelet (reg eggs) and fruit bowl (150); chicken nuggets (400); salad (600); chicken strips (300).  Very close to my 1500 calorie limit, and there's a slight chance I may have gone over, but if so, not so much.  I have  to get back to ...

Tough day at the gym.  I began jogging trying to walk for five and jog for five; however, it only last for a round.  I tried moving it down to two minutes, but I simply in terrible shape plus my shins began to really hurt.  So, apparently, I have a long way to go before I can really start jogging five miles again. It was a day of errands and cleaning.  I bought some new sheets for the twin beds, some half and half for Terry's coffee, and did a complete spring cleaning of the place. I picked up Cindy and drove to the airport to pick up Terry and Louise who where right on time.  We went to the Corvette diner.  They all had hamburgers and I was a good boy and only had soup and salad. We chatted at Cindy's for a while and then went home and watched Planet Earth II and a couple of episodes of What's My Line. Food intake: grapes (50); chicken nuggets (250); soup and salad (450).  Under 800 calories and hardly felt hungry at all.

Weighed myself in this morning: one month and I weighed 280 lbs.  That is a loss of 17 pounds.  That is excellent news and encourages me.  However, I am fully aware that much weight loss in the first month could and probably is an aberration.  My body will likely adjust to the new standard of eating and exercise patterns and slow down, so my goal is unchanged 10 pounds per month.  I'd love more and would accept a little  less on certain months. Yesterday was an enigma.  I went to they gym, but having missed ONE day, I was having muscle strain in both my chins and ankles.  I didn't even make the hour.  I quit early as I was simply done.  I should expect occasional episodes like this and hopefully today I will get "right back on the horse."  Today begins incorporating jogging into my daily routine.  I tried it yesterday for just a couple of minutes and was surprised how winded I became so early into it.  This will be a lon...