Slowly … slowly.
Food Journal (click to view):
Breakfast: 5 California sushi rolls (with brown rice), grapes, almonds
Snack: Protein shake with strawberries.
Lunch: Greek yogurt and banana
Dinner: Jack & Coke (lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots)
“Are you married yet?” I asked.
“Yes, are you?” she replied.
This was a small back-and-forth of a text message conversation I had this morning with my ex-girlfriend. I have a little apprehension about discussing this topic here, but when I committed to blog this life transformation, I decided I wasn’t going to be boring or hold anything back. This is relevant to my diet and exercise program, and my current weight. You’ll understand …
Getting a text message from my ex seemed slightly random at first. But then it occurred to me that it was almost two years to the day that we broke up.
Yes, she told me, she’s married now. And then: “are you?”
As if married is what I’m supposed to be. As if anything other than that is abnormal. That question seemed more like “aren’t you?”
I knew she was getting married. She and I share some of the same Facebook friends, as most ex’s do now. And some of those friends tell me what she’s up to, whether I want to know or not.
“Hey dude, saw a picture of your ex trying on a wedding dress,” a buddy told me recently.
I know this might be coming across as bitter, but I’m really not. I don’t harbor any ill will, and I don’t think about that relationship much anymore. This text message conversation, however, had that effect of reminding me of a time in the not too distant past where I was very happy. And for at least one day brought back a little bit of hurt.
When we broke up, it was a clean break. I didn’t want to spend time trying to be friends and going through that charade. I severed almost all of our ties, and we haven’t spoken on the phone since the day she moved out. The most we ever do is trade a few text messages, but it’s been at least half a year since I heard from her. Until today.
I really started to pack on the pounds after we broke up. Single people are not supposed to be the one’s who let themselves go, right? But for some reason I did. I took myself out of the dating pool and for two years I have not had a significant other of any real significance. And I got really fat. Like 261 pounds fat!
Back to that little bit of hurt. After our text message conversation, there was an image I could not get out of my mind for the rest of the day. It was an image of me and her sitting on our couch, watching our favorite together show, “The Office,” and cuddling with our cat, SevenToes.
SevenToes was my cat, but he inevitably became her cat, too. Other than me, my ex was the only person SevenToes has ever wanted to snuggle with. My cat loved her as much as he loved me, and that’s saying a lot after having so many roommates over the years. That cat was in a state of bliss cuddling on the couch with us, and so was I. They were my two favorite people, once upon a time.
Well, if you had told me at that moment two years ago that the girl next to me on the couch would be marrying someone else soon, and the cat sitting on my lap would be killed and eaten by coyotes, I probably would have jumped off a bridge into the Clark Fork River.
That was the image running through my head all day — the three of us together on that couch. Now she’s gone, and he’s dead.
And when I finally got to the gym this evening, I had the best fucking workout of my entire fucking life.
Food Journal (click to view):
Breakfast: One whole-wheat mini bagel with peanutbutter, banana, walnuts
Snack: Baked salmon, banana, walnuts
Lunch: Two whole-wheat mini bagels with peanutbutter, orange, hard-boiled egg.
Snack: Power bar
Dinner: 10 California sushi rolls with brown rice
The Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny's.
I went to Denny’s this evening for a condo association board meeting and was worried about whether I could pull off a meal that stuck to the Glycemic index. But you’d be surprised that the Grand Slam Breakfast can give you a good mix of protein and carbs. I ate everything (pictured above) except for the oatmeal, in which I took only a few nibbles.
Food Journal (click to view):
Breakfast: Power bar, celery, handful of almonds.
Snack: Protein shake with banana.
Lunch: Tuna salad
Dinner: Eggs, fruit and sausage and oatmeal at Denny’s (barely touched the oatmeal)
Snack: Two whole wheat mini-bagels with peanut butter, orange.
Unlike the last time I stayed in a hotel, I was prepared this time by packing my own food this time.
I have spent the past two days at the coast in Lincoln City, where I manage three beachfront condos. I am staying in one of those tonight, and usually when I travel I eat out and try to make my way to a local watering hole.
I associate hotel rooms with vacations, and vacations with partying, and partying with local watering holes.
But look at this guy, not only has he not eaten out once in the past 48 hours, but he packed all his own food, and he skipped the local watering hole in favor of Lincoln City’s public recreational facility to do interval training tonight.
Such is the life of a new man.
Food Journal (click to view):
Breakfast: Protein bar
Lunch: Whole wheat penne pasta with low-fat ground turkey, salad with lots of veggies and vinegrette salad dressing.
Snack: Oatmeal with dried cranberries, a scoop of whey protein and milk
Dinner: Power bar and stick of low-fat string cheese
I've lost 10 pounds in less than a month.
OK, now we’re talking.
I stepped on Paisley’s scale this morning before our 30-minute weight-lifting spree, and was excited by what I saw.
251 pounds!
Wow, the perspective. If I had gazed into a crystal ball three years ago and seen this weight, I would have fainted at the horror. But this is a 7 pound drop from last week, and I’m still convinced that Paisley’s scale is skewed on the heavy side.
But seriously, 7 pounds in one week.
OK, perspective please. Last Monday I was most likely retaining water. If you recall, I had an insane Friday night, slept most of the day Saturday and didn’t drink enough water.
But still, let’s put this all in perspective, since that’s the name of the game.
According to Paisley’s scale, I have now lost 10 pounds in 28 days. We are four weeks in, and at this pace I’m on track to lose exactly 25 pounds.
I don’t know if that will be enough for me to win the Just Lose It! contest, but it doesn’t really matter.
It’s all about perspective.
(Postscript: Since today is Valentine’s Day, I imagine you’re curious about who I went out with tonight. Here’s a hint.)
Food Journal (click to view):
Breakfast: Hard-boiled egg, brown rice, grapes, a few almonds
Snack: Protein shake with banana (not mixed in)
Snack: Power bar and orange (while driving)
Lunch: Whole wheat penne pasta with low-fat ground turkey, salad with lots of veggies and vinegrette salad dressing
Dinner: Grilled chicken, brown rice, celery and almonds
Is this really my shopping cart?
I went grocery shopping tonight.
If you’re following my blog, dear reader, you might have noticed something I mentioned in passing this past week. My mom helped buy and prepare my food the first two weeks of the Just Lose It! contest.
I didn’t ask or expect her to help, but she took a keen interest in my decision to change my lifestyle, learn how to cook and lose 50 pounds. My trainer gave me a comprehensive packet a week before this started. It outlined the program and had some sample menus and nutritional information. My mom saw it sitting on the counter, read through it and before I knew it she was shopping for my groceries and helping me prepare a week’s worth of food.
Does my mom live with me, you might be asking?
No, I live with my mom. Believe me, the women are lining up around the corner.
This is a temporary gig, and I’ll have my own place in March again, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about today.
I went grocery shopping for just the second time tonight since I began the weight loss program.
As I took my items to the checkout stand, I looked down at them and had to laugh.
Lettuce, bananas, yogurt, carrots, bell peppers, oranges, cantelope, low-fat string cheese, tuna, cottage cheese, whole-weat tortillas, avacados, grapes.
For a moment, I wasn’t sure if this really was my shopping cart, because flying pigs were circling it.
Food Journal (click to view):
Breakfast: Whole wheat penne pasta with lean ground turkey and garlic sauce, handful of walnuts.
Snack: Greek yogurt mixed with blueberries, small portion of almonds.
Lunch: Tuna salad and green dinner salad from New Seasons.
Snack: Protein bar.
Dinner: Grilled chicken, brown rice, small apple.
Click on this map to read an Oregonian story on the 4T Loop.
The Tram is the second leg of the 4T Loop.
Hiking is one of my favorite pastimes.
When I began the Just Lose It! program, I originally planned to do one long hike every weekend to supplement the hourlong cardio sessions I do Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, plus the interval training I do Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Better late than never.
Today was my first hike, and one of my best friends Tamara Young came along. Tamara and I have known each other for almost 12 years. She’s an entrepreneur with a photography business and a soon-to-open consignment shop, creatively titled Consign Couture.
Tamara and I decided we wanted to do an urban hike in Portland. I heard someone talking about a trek that’s all the rage lately, and it took us a little while to figure it out but thanks to the magic of Google and some help from our Facebook friends, we discovered the 4T Loop.
Tamara and I begin the 4T Loop.
4T is code for Trail, Tram, Trolly and Train. Check out the map here: Clickity click click.
It all started at the Oregon Zoo. The first leg was the trail, which left the zoo and wound through the West Hills of Portland. The path took us through Council Crest, and as we took in the view, I realized this was an infamous makeout spot from high school. I hadn’t been up here since I was maybe 17. And I’m not sure I’d ever been here during the day.
The end of the first leg of the 4T is surreal. You find yourself walking up a forest hill, and before you know it you see at multi-story building through the trees. And what is this tall building doing on the edge of the forest? It’s the backside of Oregon Health & Science University. No shit!
This brings us to the second leg of the trail: The Tram.
This was the first time either Tamara or I have rode the tram, which was built in 2006. When I first moved back to Portland two years ago I couldn’t believe they built this $57 million spectacle and I’d never heard of it (I also couldn’t believe that until today I hadn’t ridden it).
If you’re just going down, it’s free. That’s something I want the ladies to know as well.
Tamara was terrified of the tram as we boarded, and she sat down in the back and tried to keep her cool. I saw the frightened look on her face and decided I wouldn’t make fun of her right then. Instead, I decided later on to publicly humiliate her in my blog.
The view of Portland and I-5 from the OHSU Tram.
After the tram, there are two more legs of the 4T Loop. But we found ourselves in the South Waterfront District, and decided to grab some dinner at Soho Sushi, right next to the base of the tram. Afterward, we caught the trolly, which takes you into the heart of downtown Portland, and then the train, which takes you back to the Oregon Zoo.
I chose to stand up on the last two legs of the 4T, because I wasn’t convinced the five-mile hike that started this adventure was enough of a workout. But I was just glad to get a hike in. Finally.
Food Journal (click to view):
Breakfast: Oatmeal with scoop of whey protein, dried cranberries, milk
Snack: Hard-boiled egg with pomegranate Greek yogurt (12 grams sugar)
Lunch: Soho sushi roll and St. Helen’s sushi roll at Soho Sushi
Snack: Progresso Chicken & Wild Rice soup
Dinner: Grilled chicken and apple
Weighing in at 246.2 pounds on my scale.
We are adding a new feature to this blog: the Friday Weigh-in.
We are going to use my home scale for this weigh-in because I think it’s more accurate than the scale Paisley makes me stand on before our Monday morning workout. Also, I want to gauge my progress Friday morning to mitigate any effects of binge drinking on the weekend.
Paisley’s scale is still the Official Unofficial Weight.
My home scale should now be considered the Unofficial Unofficial Weight.
Just so we’re clear, on Jan. 17 a Lloyd Athletic Center employee took my Official Official Weight, as well as several measurements of my body. (Get your mind out of the gutter). When the Just Lose It! contest ends, I’ll say more about my Official Official Starting Weight, and compare it to my ending weight, but for now we’ll measure my progress through my Unofficial Unofficial Weight and my Official Unofficial Weight.
There is about a 10-pound discrepancy between Paisley’s Official Unofficial Scale and the Unofficial Unofficial Scale.
To try to pinpoint my true weight, I stepped on three scales today.
First, I used the Unofficial Unofficial Scale and came in at 246.2 pounds.
Second, I stepped on the Parents’ Unofficial Scale and came in at 238 pounds.
Third, I stepped on the Brother’s Unofficial Scale and came in at about 248 pounds.
So … I don’t really know how much I weigh. I just know I’m still fat.
But I’m working on it.
Food Journal:
Breakfast: Whole wheat penne pasta with lean ground turkey and garlic sauce, sliced red bell pepper, celery.
Snack: Protein shake.
Lunch: Buffalo chicken wrap with tomato-basil tortilla (just one of the two), low fat string cheese.
Snack: Buffalo chicken wrap with tomato-basil tortilla (the second of the two), handful of walnuts.
Dinner: Whole wheat penne pasta with lean ground turkey and garlic sauce, handful of almonds.
A whole wheat pasta dinner did not satisfy my hunger. Why? Not sure.
Tonight I experienced another incident of insane hunger.
I was so fucking hungry when I had dinner that I didn’t feel satisfied afterward, and I think my portion size probably already pushed the limit. I had to chug water to try to fill my stomach and make my hunger go away. My snack three hours earlier might have been the problem. It was too small, and not well-rounded.
Food Journal
Breakfast: Pork chops, brown rice, walnuts, 1 small California sushi roll
Snack: California sushi roll with brown rice (5)
Lunch: Baked salmon, salad with dried cranberries, walnuts and blue cheese with vinnegrete salad dressing
Snack: Two low-fat string cheese servings
Dinner: Whole wheat penne pasta with lean ground turkey mixed with garlic tomato sauce. One sliced red bell pepper sliced. Celery.
Exercise: 30 minutes of interval training at the gym. Low speed: 4.5 mph. High speed: 7.1 mph. I was a little out of my routine tonight, beginning the workout at 9:15 p.m. instead of in the morning.
Image courtesy of Everkinetic.
My female trainer started talking shit today.
I once was an awesome leg presser, back when I had a personal trainer for 16 months in 2002 and 2003. He had more than 40 clients, and I was in his top 3 on the leg press.
I don’t often get to brag about my muscles, so bear with me.
This didn’t happen overnight, but my quads and my glutes became rock solid over time. I trained at small facility where I was the only person in the room, other than my trainer. He would push me so hard that I would be yelling at the end — actually, it was more like screaming.
OK, I’m bragging. But it actually wasn’t that cool. The bottom end of many of my boxers got to the point where they were too tight around my thighs. I also cannot recall a time a woman looked at my upper thighs and asked me, “Wow, do you work out?”
The leg press was the first exercise we did every session (which was only once a week then; it’s three times a week with Paisley now). And I felt I spent too much on the leg press at the expense of other exercises, like curls. I never got the bulk in my arms that I had hoped for.
But damn, those rock solid thighs.
Paisley knows this, because I’ve told her about it more than once. Hey, let this overweight 32-year-old have something to brag about!
So what did she say to me today as I finished my second set on the leg press?
“Wow, good job. You finally got up to the weight I press.”
Food Journal:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with milk and dried cranberries; walnuts
Snack: Protein shake with banana
Lunch: Tuna wrap with tomato and veggies in spinach tortilla
Snack: Hard-boiled egg, small apple, low-fat string cheese
Dinner: California sushi roll with brown rice (six)
