Injury free

I'm back.  After I took a few days off from the gym and BJJ, my back informed me it was in bad shape.  For a period of about three weeks, whenever I stood from a seated position, wow, it hurt.  The doctor said that it was just a muscle issue and that it might take a while to heal.  Well, everything is back in order -- finger and back.  In order to minimize the chance that I'll be in that position again, I'm going to take about another four weeks off of BJJ and really work on my core.  I've been doing that the past two weeks and so far so good.

With the time off due to the back, I also fell back in some bad eating habits.  I gained about 10 pounds.  I really felt like crap for two reasons.  First, I knew that I wasn't eating right.  Second, when you don't eat right your body tells you and drags you down.  I felt tired all the time.  Being back on track, again, feels way better.  Lesson learned, again, don't get off track.  It doesn't do any good and no food can replace this feeling.

Weight this morning is 279.  Paleo loss equals 65 and total weight loss since March of last year equals 87.

I'm looking forward to a great day today.  My nephew is playing the role of The Beast in his school's production of Beauty and The Beast.  I'm going with my family to the afternoon showing.  This will be followed by attending a surprise birthday party for one of my fraternity brothers.  Haven't seen him in a long time nor have I seen some of the fellas that will be there.  Have a great weekend and remember, eat right!

Mallet finger

Bet you've never seen that as a title to a blog post.  That's what happened to my left ring finger this past Monday night during training.  Didn't even feel it happen, but when I first saw it, I thought it was dislocated.  Anyway, it has put a crimp in my BJJ for now.  It will take about six weeks to heal.

On to my current weight:  281.  Four pounds this week.  I obviously cut back on calories since my output was also cut back.

While I'm in the frustrated mood, I'll vent about something else -- my new TV.  I finally unboxed it and was going to set it up in my newly finished basement; however, it was missing three pieces for the stand!  I called Samsung -- it will take five to seven business days to arrive.  So, I'm going to go to NFM and see if they will make me happy and let me borrow from another TV while Samsung ships the parts.  I'll keep you posted, as I know you are on the edge of your chair by now.

Adjusting diet

Good evening!  This week was an adjustment week.  I've adjusted my diet to account for the extra calories being spent during training/lifting and drinking some recovery drinks after training or lifting.  Not paleo, but everything else still is.  Progress was achieved in a one pound loss.  I bumped up my protein intake and reduced both fat and carb; calories were increased.  We'll see how this goes over the next couple of weeks.

Wow, was I gone that long?

I know it has been over a month and I really have no excuse.  I'm back and ready to report regularly.  Weight this morning was at 286.  Truly disappointing that it took this long to lose five pounds.  The good news is that I've lost 80 total pounds.  80 pounds -- that's a lot; however, I still have a ways to go and I will accomplish my goals.  I've had great support from my family and friends.  Without them, this would be nearly imposible.  Thank you.

What have I been up to?  A little traveling abroad and I've taken on a new form of exercise in BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu).  I didn't think someone as big as I am could be thrown around like that by someone much smaller.  It is going to be fun learning a new skill and learn what my body can do given the right set of instructions.

Have a great weekend and I'll be back next Saturday.

Week 16

Still moving forward -- 291.  Total of 75.

I did purchase a new watch with a heart rate monitor.  It keeps track of calories burned, fat percentage burned and fitness level.  You enter your stats (height, weight, age) and it calculates max HR for your age and helps you stay in fat burning or fitness levels during your workout.  It is also compatible with the equipment at the gym, giving me a constant HR reading on the display.  The watch is a Polar FT40.

Week 15 report

Scale read 294 this morning.  Not necessarily the weight I was looking for, but it'll work.  I do have some other reportable items to share:

Neck size:  March 21.5"     Today 17"
Waist size:  March 58"     Today 52"

I've added some additional measurements, too, so that I can track how my body is adjusting to a more intensive cardio regimen.  I'm sure I have lost some additional inches in my legs and arms over the past two weeks, but did not get it recorded.  It certainly feels that I have.

Delayed updates for Week 12 and 13

Good day!  I've been doing some traveling and am now back.  It was a rough week during Week 12 in Dallas. This time the guys wanted to go out every night.  I kinda needed to do it to build relationships with some folks in other offices, so it didn't sit well with my weight.  I weighed in at 302 at weeks end.

Week 13 was spent traveling as well, only this time I was able to get back and stay on track.  I had an opportunity to weigh myself this morning (part way into Week 14) and the scale read 296.  That brings total weight loss to 70 pounds!  Paleo loss is at 48.  I've started some elliptical training the past couple of days and I have to say I'm addicted already.  It feels great.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving with my family and friends.  And of course to the HUSKER v. IOWA game on Friday.  I hope it is a good game.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Report on zucchini goulash

This was really good.  Easy to make and makes a ton of leftovers.

Week 11 completed

The scale confirmed what I was thinking, that I had a really good week.  It read 300, for a loss of four pounds for the week.

I've made the switch to eating grass fed beef.  The price for ground beef is nearly the same as sugar feed beef.  The other cuts are more expensive, but I think they are better for you.  Certainly less fat and calories.  I shop at a store called Hy-Vee.  They are located in the midwest, based out of Iowa in West Des Moines, which is where the store I shop at is located.  It is the closest store to their headquarters, so I am sure it gets more attention than most.  The health food section is really good.  If you have never really looked at the products that they sell in those four or five aisles, I think you would be amazed.  I'm thankful to have such a store so close to home.

On the plan for meals today is zucchini ribbon goulash.  It looks good and I'll have a taste report for you next week.

Week 10

Good morning!  My week 10 results are in.  If you were looking for week 9 results last week, I apologize, but I was out of town.  It was a roller coaster of a week, due to being out of town.  I visited an old work colleague who knows how to cook and doesn't do so with regard to health, thus I indulged a tad.  My week 8 updat was at 309.  Last Monday (after the weekend) I weighed 314.  This morning I weigh 304.  I didn't do anything different, just got back on paleo and away the weight went.

I'm still doing cardio nearly every day.  About 30 - 50 minutes per.  This has mainly been in the form of walking.  Now that it is starting to cool down, that should force me back to the gym.  Weight training will then be added, not in the form of heavy lifting, but rather toning and strengthening joints.

Oh yeah, a report on chicken pancakes.  I've received probably 50 inquiries over the past weeks as to what they are like.  They are delicious.  I preferred them with BBQ sauce over wing sauce.  I'm betting they would taste good with natural maple syrup as well.  Very easy to make, too.

A big game for the Huskers today versus Michigan State.  It is a home game for the Huskers -- I hope that gives them the edge.

Another side note, I received my iPhone 4s yesterday.  It is nice; I like Siri.  The EVO screen was really big.  I had forgotten just how large it was until I returned to the relatively tiny iPhone screen.  Plus side -- it is easier to operate with one hand than the EVO.  Also switched over to a Mac at home for my main machine in my office.  I can't believe I didn't do this sooner.  I love this operating system.  That's quite a statement coming from someone who has made their career pimping Microsoft software.  Oh well.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

What a difference a day can make

Good morning!  Yes, it is a good morning.  My attack that I detailed yesterday has been dramatically reduced. If anything, this will serve as documentation for myself.

Yesterday's regimen included four ibuprofen, four dark cherry concentrate capsules, some dairy (in the form of a glass of milk and some cheese) and only bacon for breakfast from the meat category.  My toe is just about pain free this morning.  I'm going to take two more ibuprofen this morning and try not to take any the rest of the day.  This really, obviously, doesn't prove anything, but I just wanted to document this for my sake more than anything else.

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Two months in

The scale read 309 this morning, for a loss of three on the week, 35 in two months of Paleo and a total of 57 since March.  I have a nice gout attack going on right now in my right big toe.  It is really painful and flared up on Tuesday, overnight.  Given that, I'm more or less forced to make some dietary changes.  These changes may be long term or short term -- I'll have to see how it goes.  For the immediate future, no meat and I'm adding dairy.  Also supplementing with black cherry concentrate.  I realize that takes me off paleo, but it has to be done.

The last flare up occurred after I ate some craw fish down in Dallas.  This flare up -- I can only attribute it to tomatoes, eating a lot of meat or the beer from last weekend.  Probably a combination of the latter two.  That means beer is out for a while now, too.  In the six months that I didn't have any beer, I never had a single attack.  Since I've added it back, I have had two in a month's time.  So, in talking it out here on my blog, it might just be the beer, which I can handle more than not eating meat.

My dog is really upset with me right now, as we had been on a two week streak of going for a nightly walk.  Hopefully this ends soon and we will both again be happy.

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Week 7 results

Weigh in this morning at 312, a loss of two.  Moving in the right direction.  Had a pretty good week.  I tried my hand at making soup (paleo chicken and carrot curry), didn't turn out too bad.  Was able to put some leftovers in the freezer, too.

Have a good week!

Week 6 is over

Here's what happened.  Last Saturday, I decided to go off diet.  What I ate really doesn't matter, it is the result that matters -- a two pounds weight gain.  I think it proved a point to me; that it did absolutely nothing for me.  That situation won't happen again.  As a result, it took me two days to get back to where I was on last Saturday morning.  I then kicked it into high gear with additional cardio, but fell short of my goal again this week.  My goal was four pounds and instead I only lost three, down to 314.  If it wasn't for that day, I would have been down five for the week.  This is hard work and maybe I'm being too hard on myself.

Week 5 results

Good morning.  Week five is in the books and my current weight is 317, which makes this a three pound week.    A solid week, but I was really wanting four pounds this week.  That would have brought me to a total loss of 50.  So I'm kind of disappointed with myself.  I did start cardio this week and I'm sure as I increase the number of workout days, it will only help my weight loss continue.

Tried a couple of new things this week.  I'm not much of a vegetable eater, so I tried some green juice (Simply Green Juice on this blog).  If you don't like these things raw, chances are you won't like them as a juice.  I'll try a couple of the other ones in the near future.  Also made some of this BBQ sauce that I used to eat some left over pork I had in the freezer.  It is pretty good.

Not much on tap for the weekend.  Will probably watch some football today and mow the lawn.  I'm sure my loyal hound will want to go out for a tour later today, too.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Week 4 update

I am a couple of days late in posting, as I was traveling all week.  The week was spent in Dallas, where I attended a Microsoft Lync class.  It was a good glass and I learned a lot about a product that I've been selling and talking about all year.

And now for the real update.  I weighed in on Saturday morning and the scale read 320.  I owe a big thanks to our scheduler in our Dallas office who arranged special meals for me, as they catered in lunch each day.  I did try a gluten free pizza, without cheese, which turned out to be pretty good.  It was topped with beef, jalapenos and onions.  My plan for starting cardio last week was thwarted by a gout flare up in my right big toe.  Hopefully this week I can get going on that front.

Also, to update the doctor's visit on the 9th -- he took me off fenofibrate!  Obviously this is awesome news.  I even had a beer on Saturday to celebrate.  He is impressed with my results thus far and if I continue, the trips to the doctor should get fewer and fewer.  My next goal is to get off one of the hypertension meds on the next visit.  Exercise will help that effort tremendously.

Week 3 results

324.  This brings Paleo weight loss to 20 and overall weight loss since March to 42 pounds.  I recently looked back at my stats from March, and things have improved.

• Blood pressure then 152/89; now 120/75
• Fasting blood sugar then 135; now 85

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning.  It will be interesting to see my blood work results.  I'm curious to know how my triglycerides are doing given my new diet.  My hope is that he takes me off the meds for that, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high.  Another significant change comes in my lower legs.  Three weeks ago, I had circulation issues.  Swelling around the ankels; pressing in my skin with my fingers on the lower parts of my calves would result in the indentation staying there for several seconds after removing my hands.  This is all gone.

On the down side, it was tremendously difficult to watch football Saturday.  I can't tell you the last Saturday during football season that I didn't have at least one beer.  On the upside, I wasn't in bed by 9 that day either, as has been the case in the past, so it was certainly more productive.

New things tried this week:  crock pot chicken, apple glazed pork loin, stuffed green peppers (minus the usual cheese and rice) and turkey on the grill.  Everything was very good.  I didn't get to the chicken pancakes -- stay tuned on that front.

Assuming that I receive the blood work results before the weekend, I'll probably make another entry letting you know the updated stats.

Week 2 results

The results are in...and they would of course be hard to beat the first week.  When I stepped on the scale this morning, I weighed in at 328.  That meant a loss of three pounds during week 2.  Not bad; still in the right direction.  Here's what I've learned (or learned again):

1. Losing weight is simple math.  Calories in < calories out.  Period.
2. I know what my number is in order to lose weight with little or no exercise.
3. Track everything, it will help you figure out why things didn't go the way you had planned.
4. Try new things.  You may be surprised.
5. It is no fun to go to The Palms and not be able to "enjoy" myself as I have in years past.
6. I make a really good, hot and spicy burger.

This next week I plan to increase my activity level by going to the gym at least three times.  I'm also going to try chicken pancakes this weekend.  New things tried this past week:  homemade fajitas (needs some work), paleo chocolate cake (wow, really good), red curry chicken (not bad, needs improvement), yellow peppers on the grill (delicious).  I'm going to make crock pot chicken tomorrow, finally, assuming my bird is thawed.  Being that I'm cooking more, my dishwasher is certainly getting more work.  The old thing works like a champ -- the best one I've ever owned.

Side notes:  I took back my glasses.  They have rubber socks at the ear.  On the outside of the sock are raised circles that hurt my ear after I wore them a couple of days.  Oakely is shipping some new socks, but they weren't made for these glasses.  I'm having them ship a different frame, too.  My trusty old glasses appear to be better than the pair I spent all sorts of money on.  Figures.

GO BIG RED!

One week in the books

The first week went better than I expected.  Total lost for the week was 13 pounds; I weigh 331.  My expectation was around nine.  I'm feeling great and am excited to have found something that works for me and is relatively easy for me to follow.

Of the things that I said I would try, I've only made one of them so far and that was garlic chicken.  It was something I just put together and it turned out to be pretty good.  The leftovers were good as well.  It was chicken, garlic (freshly minced), green pepper, red pepper and onion cooked up in some butter.  Next time I'll try to find a recipe, as it didn't have much garlic flavor.  The crock pot chicken will probably be made on Monday and left to cook while I'm at work.

I have decided to make a slight modification to the diet to cut back on the fat a little bit to see how that works.  For the past, oh, I don't know how many years, I've made peanut butter toast for breakfast.  It was quick, easy and tasted good.  Being on this diet has kind of forced me to put on my cooking hat, but I don't like to put it on in the morning.  What this means is that I'm getting tired of eating scrambled eggs for breakfast.  I'll throw in a protein shake once in a while made with a whey isolate.  It came highly recommended from a friend of mine who has also been doing a lot of research on diets.  That and some frozen berries should be delicious way to start the day.  JUGGERNAUT!

I'm getting fairly pumped up for the football season to begin.  It is the HUSKERS first year in the Big 10 and expectations are high.  The start of the NFL season is also upon us.  Our fantasy league's draft is this weekend back in the town where I started my first college experience -- Maryville, MO.  We are having our draft at the sweet Palms.

Another side note, I got some new glasses today.  I've been battling eye infections over the past couple of years, so I dumped the contact lenses and decided to see if that has been the cause.  So far, so good.  I like my new specs.  They definitely give me a new look.  I'll see if I can get an updated picture on my blog before the weekend is out.

Speaking of the weekend, have a great one!

Grocery shopping day

Monday I usually buy my groceries for the week and today was no different.  I had several new things on the list, including some things I had never before purchased nor did I think I would.  This included carrots and celery.  Also on the list was coconut oil, almond flour and almond butter.  The latter proved to be a very exciting purchase for me, as it is a very good substitute for peanut butter, which is something that I've had for breakfast since I was little.

On the docket to make and/or try this week:  apple chips, fruit crumble, nut flour muffins, chicken in the crock pot, garlic chicken and then making chicken stock from the chicken bones.  Stay tuned to see how these turn out.

This weekend will present a challenge for me, as I will be out of town overnight on Saturday.  It is football season and our draft is Saturday.  There will be lots of temptations, but I'm going strong and really no need to deviate.