Things have been going pretty good since I last wrote. After hurting my back, I haven’t been doing much strenuous activity, including working out, unfortunately. Tomorrow, Wednesday, is when I will resume my workout. I’ll take it slow and pace myself until I get back into it.

In the meantime, I have been walking a lot more. I was out of town last week for a wedding. We had a great time. And, I did a good bit of walking. The downtown area was more walking-friendly than driving-friendly. We also did quite a bit of walking during our visit to the N.C. Arboretum. Good times.

I didn’t really stick to the eating plan, this weekend. I haven’t eaten until I was completely stuffed all year. This weekend, I did once. It was when we went to the Mellow Mushroom. I ate a lot of pizza and was completely full. The first time in six months I’ve done that. It was the one lapse I had all weekend. Fortunately, it was early in the weekend. After that, I did more to pace myself.

I did eat quite a bit — more than I probably should have — at the rehearsal dinner. We had a BBQ buffet, and the food was excellent. But, I stopped before I got to the point that I did at MM because I didn’t want eating that much to become a habit.

Other than Mellow Mushroom and the rehearsal dinner, I didn’t over indulge on anything. I had pretty healthy breakfasts, making sure I got fruit each time. We stopped at the healthiest fast-food-ish places (Subway, Panera) and I avoided getting a lot of ice cream or milkshakes. So, all in all, it was a good weekend for the Y of D.

As far as money goes, I could have done better. I bought a bunch of things that I probably didn’t need this weekend including a camera bag, a tripod, and some swimming shorts. Still, I budgeted money for it and did not go over that amount, though I was close.

So, I’m still on track, I guess. I would feel a little bit better about how much I ate if I had been working out the past few weeks. But, since I haven’t, I really need to get back into it, so I don’t gain any of the 32 lbs. I lost back.

It’s been a little while since I updated mainly because I’ve been recovering from a back injury I sustained about two weeks ago. I was working out and everything seemed normal when I finished up.

After working out, I usually get on the computer and cool down. Then, I take a shower — usually within 15 minutes of finishing my workout. Two Wednesday’s ago, I didn’t jump in the shower. I sat at the computer for an extended period of time… maybe an hour or two without moving.

When I got up to move, my back hurt. It was only slight and I got up and took a shower. After that, I layed down. When I got out of bed, I could barely walk.

The next day, however, it got a little better and I was able to walk, albeit a little slower than usual.

Meanwhile a friend calls me with free tickets to a NASCAR racei n Charlotte. I decide I’m going to try to make the race despite my back. So, I rented a car and tried to drive down from here (about 7 hours.)

Half way into the ride, we stopped to eat and I could barely get out of the car and into Panera. It took me a long time to get inside and then a long time to stand up to leave. We decided it would be best to turn around and head home rather than try for me to maneuver the crowd at the race.

I was really sad/annoyed because I missed a chance to go to the race. But, health is priority one.

The doctor gave ran some tests and gave me some medicine, which helped. It’s been about a week and I feel about 100% better. 

I hope to be back working out next week. I’m trying to take it slow so as not to hurt my back again.

While all of this happened, our refridgerator decided to die. It still stays cold, but not as cold as it needs to be. And, the freezer is not freezing. We get the new fridge on Monday.

Until then, we’ve been eating a patchwork of meals from stuff we have/need to get rid of  and we eat out more than usual. 

These two issues at the same time have made things difficult in the Year of Discipline. Specifically, I can’t work out because of the injury, and I can’t eat healthy because of the fridge problem.

Still, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of maintaining things. I’ve been sticking to the eating plan as much as I can.

While at work, a lot of people said I looked thinner, thinking I lost weight because I was out of work for a few days. Truth is, I’m down 32 lbs because of the Y of D.

Been a while since I’ve blogged here. Things have been going about the same way they were going before. I’ve managed to keep staying disciplined in my eating, limiting my intake of garbage, opting for healthier snacks.

I’ve lost a total of 30 lbs. It fluctuates really. No day, I’m up 2 lbs, the next down two. I feel like I may have hit a plateau in terms of weight loss. I’m thinking of upping my workout routine and protein intake.

I’ve been gradually doing the harder workouts, increasing weight, and doing exercises that isolate certain muscles more. It’s been slowly working. What I don’t want to do is jump to a new, harder routine, and then end up being more likely to stop the workouts because they’re too difficult or I am too sore.

I think gradually increasing is the best approach because it makes it more likely that I’ll stick with it, long term.

Ad far as everything else goes, I’ve been plugging along. Working out and trying to eat healthier. I wouldn’t say I eat completely healthy, but I am certainly a lot better than I was.

Haven’t updated in a while, but things are going pretty good. I’ve been sticking to the eating plan, and maintaining a consistent workout regime. Despite a few minor setbacks, I’ve still managed to stick to both plans.

I missed working out this week due to an electrical problem at the house. It has been fixed, so on Monday, I should be able to get back to my routine. I’ve also started walking more, and now that it is warm out, I can do things around the house and in the yard, that help me burn energy.

As far as food goes, I haven’t had any major lapses, though over the last couple of weeks, I’ve gone to Dairy Queen more than I should. What’s worse is that I got a large Sundae the last time I was there instead of a medium. Not the biggest deal in the world, really, considering that I’m getting  more exercise, but I still have to minimize the large sundaes.

Last week, I also got two pudding cups at work. (Not on the same day.) The pudding tastes very good, and has fewer calories than a milkshake, which is what I am usually considering when I end up buying the pudding. But, I need to stop that. I don’t consistently eat the pudding, but I could certainly fall into that trap — the justification being that it’s better than a shake. Truth is, if I want to keep losing weight, I have to stop eating junk like this.

I’m not too concerned about it, but I am also aware of it now and need to control it. Last night, (Thursday night) was tough. We ate around 8:45 p.m., and by midnight I was hungry again. One of the things I used to do was eat right before going to sleep. I haven’t done that in months. Last night, I almost did.

I was very hungry. I had already brushed my teeth, showered, and was in bed for the night. But, I couldn’t shake the hunger feeling so I went downstairs. I decided that I wanted something sweet and would have some graham crackers. I opened the box and was getting ready to open the sleeve to have some and I stopped. I decided to look around for something else to eat.

There were a couple of things that looked appetizing, but I decided it wasn’t worth it. I didn’t know if I was really hungry or if I just wanted to eat to eat. So, I went back upstairs. About 15 minutes later, I went back downstairs to get graham crackers. I’d spent the 15 minutes rationalizing out how I lost weight, and I rarely if ever eat after 8:30 p.m. so a couple of graham crackers wouldn’t hurt. I took out a glass to get some milk to go with them, and took out the sleeve again.

Then, I thought about it and, again, decided it wasn’t worth it to eat them. I didn’t need to. I wasn’t really hungry, I just think I wanted something to do. So, I headed back upstairs. I layed down and went to sleep feeling quite proud that I didn’t give in to temptation. So, good for me.

Also, I need to re-think my workout program too. Once I get back into the swing of things, I am going to switch from three days per week to four. My body is getting to the point where I am maintaining the weight I lost, but not really losing anymore. I think my body has adapted to the workout. And, while I still find it challenging, I need to get back to where I am getting results. I’ve lost nearly 30 lbs, and I need to keep going.

The other thing I need to do, as part of this Y of D thing is get rid of some things around the house. I have a lot of junk that I don’t get rid of because of either money spent on it, or wanting it – despite not actually using it. So, I need to really go through and pare things down. We’ll see how it goes. At the very least, I have to get rid of the comic book collection sitting in my closet, some papers I don’t need, and some old clothes. 

 Hopefully, I can donate some of the stuff in the coming weeks.

Last weekend was Easter week and I decided to head up to New Jersey for a long weekend with the family.

Up to this point, things have been going pretty well. I was sticking to the eating plan and working out consistently. We decided to leave Thursday night to head to NJ. I wasn’t feeling well on Wednesday due to allergies, so I didn’t work out. Friday night was out because we were out of town.

We got back on Sunday night. I was off Monday, but still didn’t work out. I could’ve worked out yesterday, but I didn’t — laziness, recovering from allergies still.

Today, however, I decided to make no excuses. The longer I went on without working out, the harder it would be to start, so I got back to it. When all was said and done, I was more tired and sore than usually, but I felt great. It was good to get back into it.

Eating has been what has suffered the most over the holiday. Thursday night, I ate before we headed up to NJ. We didn’t stop on the way, and other than some Crunch & Munch, I didn’t have anything on the road.

Friday started out relatively healthy, having a bagel and some fat free cream cheese. But, by the afternoon I was still eating relatively unhealthy. I did take a walk to the park with my Nadia, Nyah, and Diane, my stepmother. So, I got a tiny bit of exercise.

Saturday, I had two begals with nonfat cream cheese for breakfast. I had some White Castle for lunch. I used to be able to eat 30 burgers (they’re mini, but 30 is alot) in one sitting. This time, I had 5. Better, but still, it was fattening, greasy fast food.

I visited my sister in the early afternoon and had some of a vegetable platter she put out. I also snacked on some cheese cubes she had. At one point, it became activity eating and I quickly stopped.

When I got back to my father’s place, we had leftover pasta and turkey burgers for dinner. This was relatively healthy. But, the ice cream, apple pie, and canolies we ate afterwards were not. The canolies were small and were not completely filled, but I still ate a good bit of them.

Sunday, I had eggs and an english muffin for breakfast. For lunch, I had two turkey burgers. And, for dinner, we had the customary Easter turkey with homemade mac and cheese, stuffing, sweet potatoes, potato salad, and asparagas. 

My father cut his hand and had to go to the emergency room, so my sister ended up finishing up the meal. This led to mixup which resulted in cooking the wrong part of the asparagas. Long story short, I didn’t eat green vegetables.

All in all, I ate a lot. I almost had two servings of everything. I didn’t eat till I felt stuffed, but I probably was closer to being stuffed than I ever had since starting the Year of Discipline. for that reason, and the fact that we’d be on the road for 4 hours, I skipped dessert.

When I got home, however, I did have a piece of pound cake that my sister sent me back with.

At the time, I didn’t reget eating it, but after not working out the Monday after we got back, I started to feel a little bad about it. But now that I’m getting back on track with the working out and eating, I feel better.

It’s good to be back and get back into my routine…

This was a pretty good week for the Year of Discipline. I’ve stuck to the eating plan almost every day. I even ate well last weekend, without over indulging. It would have been a perfect week, food-wise, if not for a retirement party at work yesterday.

Up to that point, I was on track without any lapses. But, when I got to the party, they had a platter with cheese and cold cuts. They also had a veggie plater, shrimp cocktail, fresh fruit, beer, wine, and a carrot cake.

I skipped the beer and wine. But i had a few little cheese squares. They had cheddar and pepperjack. Both were good, but the Swiss was incredible. It took a lot of self control to stop eating it. And while it was good that I did, I still ate a lot of it.

I also had a good bit of turkey, salami, and ham. I had a little bit of pepperoni, too. Each piece was small, which made them more dangerous. It’s sort of like eating a bag of chips, where they’re so small it’s easy to lose track of how much you’ve had. After my third trip (we had to little paper plates, so each trip didn’t have a ton of food on it), I knew I had to stop.

I had some broccoli, cauliflower, and cucumbers. Those alone would have been fine. But, I had some of the dip that went with them. My guess is that the dip was not low fat.

Then came the cake. It was good. And the woman cut it into pretty big pieces, even for my standards. I took a really small piece, since I felt like I ate a lot of the cold cuts. My piece was roughly half the size of the pieces the woman was cutting.

Later, though, I had another small piece, which defeated the purpose of taking the tiny piecei n the first place.

All in all, it wasn’t wise for me to stay near the food. I should’ve got a little and then moved to the other side of the room. Instead, I stayed by the food, which led to me eating a little more than I probably should have.

Still, I didn’t feel stuffed after the party. Before the Y of D, I would’ve eaten until I was stuffed. Since I didn’t this time, I still feel good about myself. But, I know I’ve got to get back on track and I have to do better next time.

As for exercise, everything is on track. Still working out according to plan. But, I’m still contemplating moving from a three-day-per-week workout plan to a five-day-per-week plan. I need to keep my body from getting accustomed to the workout.

Another week of sticking to the plan. I’ve followed the eating plan pretty closely. On Saturday night, I had a couple of pieces of Polly-O string cheese that I probably could’ve done without. I’d count that as a minor lapse. But, other than that, things have been pretty good.

Last weekend, I went to Dairy Queen twice. The first time, I got a chocolate shake. Normally, I get a large chocolate shake. But, in the Y of D, I got a medium. One day, I’ll get a small, but I’m not there yet. I also took a lot longer to drink it than I used to. So, that’s good.

The second time, I have a medium hot fudge sundae, as opposed to the large I normally get. Again, a better decision considering. So, all in all, I stuck to my plan of eating less, even when going to DQ.

I’ve also been exercising regularly. It’s been getting easier to be consistent with it. Even if I don’t feel like it beforehand, I do it anyway knowing I’ll feel better afterwards. And, I end up feeling great.

All in all, this week has been predictable. I ate what I was supposed to eat, and worked out as much as I was supposed to. So, I feel pretty good about things. At this point, I’m pretty much on cruise control.

Another week in the Year of Discipline and things have been slightly better than so-so. I’d say they were decent to pretty good.

I stuck to the eating plan for the most part. The exception was on Monday night. Long story short, I told Nadia I’d take care of dinner but forgot to take meat out to thaw because I had to rush out in the morning to get my car inspected. So, I decided to order pizza.

I actually ended up geting a calzone, mozzerella sticks, and fried mushrooms. Nadia and I shared the mushrooms and mozz sticks. Together we ate them all, with me eating the lion’s share. At that point, I had half of the calzone left. I wasn’t full, but I wasn’t entirely sure I was still hungry.

Still, I ate it. the last few bites felt more like activity eating than eating because I wanted it. The good thing, though, is that I didn’t feel stuffed like I do when I’m full. That’s a good thing, I think. It tells me I didn’t eat to the point it hurt. But, I did eat more than I probably should have.

I’ve stuck to my exercising routine. I haven’t missed a day in a couple of weeks now. I feel like i’m getting stronger and more solid. I’m still at about 26 lbs lost. I am considering upping the frequency of my work outs. The weather is also getting nicer, so I might start taking walks after work.

I’m also working on a few projects at work. Nothing too stressful, but projects that are keeping me busier than usual. That’s a good thing. This week alone, I completed three semi-important tasks. So, I feel like I’m on track. Things are going pretty good right now.

It’s been a week since I’ve updated, and things have been middle of the road. Not good, not bad. Eating has been, for the most part, on track. I did lapse a couple of times. Nothing too bad, but certainly not making healthy choices that are in line with the Year of Discipline.

Over the weekend, I ate more than I should have, particularly on Saturday. I had pizza for dinner, and ended up eating more than two pieces, which is too many. I also had cheesy bread, which only added to the calories. I didn’t eat until I was stuffed, but I wasn’t too far away from that feeling. Fortunately, I got back on track this week.

I have been back on the plan since Saturday, and feel like I’m back in my rhythm. I’ve been making healthier choices, and eat normal-sized portions. I feel good about that. The one thing I need to work on is upping my protein intake.

When I used to take protein shakes, I felt much better after workouts, and had more energy. So, I’m going to go back to that. Otherwise, after a rough Saturday, things have been pretty good, and are getting back to normal.

Last week, Wednesday and Friday, I didn’t exercise because I had to work late. I know it was an excuse, but I was just genuinely tired. So, I skipped both workouts. I did, however, up the amount I was walking around, but I don’t think that was enough to compensate for not working out.

This week, I got back on track, working out on Monday. I think that next week, I’m going to go from working out three days a week to five. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I may start going for walks, and trying to be more active. That should help.

I’m still around 26 lbs lost since I started this thing, but I’d like to keep losing more weight. But for that, I’ll need discipline.

It’s been nearly a week since I’ve posted, and things have been so-so. On Thursday, I stuck to the eating plan. For breakfast I had yogurt and a banana. I had my normal cheese sandwich and pretzels for lunch, and I had an apple and a orange as an afternoon snack.

On Thursday night, I made pasta from Nadia’s “pasta of the month” gift she received from her sister. It was good, but I did not overeat. All in all, I felt good about my eating on Thursday.

Friday, we ran out of fruit at home, so for breakfast, I bought a fruit salad from my work cafeteria. I also had two biscuits with butter and jelly. I should have only had one.

For lunch, I bought a buffalo chicken wrap, as usual. I also had a Cherry Coke Zero and pretzels. I had an orange as an afternoon snack.

Friday night, I had leftover spaghetti for dinner. I didn’t overindulge Friday either. So, I felt pretty good.

We had friends visiting from out of town, so it was more difficult to stay on the eating plan. I need more discipline for that.

Saturday morning, we went to Eggspectation, where I had an egg-white omelette, a bown of fruit, home fries, and two orders of wheat toast. I probably could have done without the second order of toast, but all in all it was a relatively healthy meal.

For lunch, I had grilled cheese and pretzels. So, I was still on track. For dinner Saturday, we went to Jerrys where I had a cheesesteak and fries. I also had a slice of pizza. I’ve managed to trim the amount of food I eat when I got to Jerry’s by ordering a regular-sized cheesesteak instead of the large. This time, however, I inadvertently asked for a large combo.

The good thing is that they did not fill the large-fries container up completely. So, I ended up eating fewer fries than I do when I order the regular-sized fries. But, I had the slice of pizza, which more than offset the benefit of eating fewer fries.

For dessert, we had pound cake and ice cream. I ate a little more than I should’ve, and combined with dinner, took me off of my eating plan.

Sunday morning, Nadia made eggs, turkey bacon, and biscuits for breakfast. I didn’t overeat, and felt good. Nadia also made ziti as a late lunch. I ate a little bit more than I should have, but I didn’t overeat at lunch either.

For dinner, we ordered Chinese food. I got the usual, crab rangoon, shrimp lomein, a Philadelphia roll, and steam dumplings. I didn’t eat too much of it and felt pretty good afterwards.

I had a little bit of ice cream and pound cake, and that is probably what pushed me into another a day off the food plan. I think without the ice cream and cake, I would have been fine. But with it, I ate more than I should have.

Monday, I had two cinnamon rolls for breakfast. They were very good.

After that, I had to take my car inspected. So, I dropped it off at the mechanic and walked home. It was a decent bit of exercise. I think I walked somewhere between a mile and a half and two miles. I was a little sweaty, but I felt good. It was good to get some exercise.

For lunch, I had leftover lomein. This time, I didn’t overeat because there wasn’t very much left.

For dinner, we went to Smokey Bones with Nadia’s mom. We share a pretzel basket appetizer. I had one and a third pretzels. For the meal, I had salmon, broccoli, and a baked potato. I was going to get a loaded baked potato, but I didn’t want bacon. The waitress told me that bacon was really the only difference on the loaded baked potato, so I got a normal potato.

The meal was very good, and relatively healthy, so I felt pretty good. A little later in the evening, I had some Thin Mint cookies. I was going to eat pound cake and ice cream, but the cookies seemed like a slightly healthier choice.

Tuesday, I stuck to the eating plan, eating my usual breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack. For dinner, we had leftover ziti. I didn’t overindulge, nor did I eat more than I should have. I had just the right amount.

But, shortly after dinner, I ate more Thin Mint cookies. normally, this wouldn’t be a problem because I eat one serving. But, this time, I ate a serving and a half. Not the worst thing in the world, but if I keep doing it, it will move me away from my goal. So, I need to get back on track.

As I said before, things have been so-so. I need to stay focused, continue my workout routine, and keep going. Things haven’t been horrible, but they aren’t exactly where they need to be so I need to work on getting there.