Hello from the Georgia Dome.
Clemson and Auburn are battling on the field below me, and I'm waging a fight of my own. Located directly behind me is the media food line which, in this instance, happens to have one of the best dessert sections you'll find this side of a Swiss chocolate factory.
Good Lord, will temptations never cease.
Well, of course they won't. I've been good, though, sticking to salad, broccoli and two chick-fil-a patties (minus the bun). And of course water, water and more water.
My work here tonight will keep me busy and away from the food line, so I think I'm in pretty good shape here. Time to concentrate on football.
So, this is the last post of 2007. New Year's Eve in Atlanta sees me about three weeks into my attempt to take back part of my life. Two more days until my third weigh-in.
What will I look like this time next year? Follow me in '08 and see.
Happy New Year everyone.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Another Temptation
Another family gathering tonight. Another chance to fall off the wagon. But overall I think I did pretty well.
Stayed away from the chocolate cake, the lemon drop cake, various cookies and even ice cream that came out later. Needless to say it was extremely difficult sitting there watching others indulge, but I made up for it by focusing on the music trivia game were were playing and beating hell out of the entire room.
You have your moments of triumph. I have mine.
Thankfully the holidays are almost over. Up next is a night or two in Atlanta to cover the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Once that's done, my follow-up visit to the doctor is Jan. 3.
Get through the out of town temptations, get clearance from the doc to begin physical workouts, and we will be ready to kick this thing into another gear.
My friends and family continue to be very supportive in all this (though they offer said support through a mouthful of cake. But I digress...LOL).
I hope they stay on my case and don't let me waver.
Next weigh-in day (Wed., Jan. 3) seems like a long time away.
Stayed away from the chocolate cake, the lemon drop cake, various cookies and even ice cream that came out later. Needless to say it was extremely difficult sitting there watching others indulge, but I made up for it by focusing on the music trivia game were were playing and beating hell out of the entire room.
You have your moments of triumph. I have mine.
Thankfully the holidays are almost over. Up next is a night or two in Atlanta to cover the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Once that's done, my follow-up visit to the doctor is Jan. 3.
Get through the out of town temptations, get clearance from the doc to begin physical workouts, and we will be ready to kick this thing into another gear.
My friends and family continue to be very supportive in all this (though they offer said support through a mouthful of cake. But I digress...LOL).
I hope they stay on my case and don't let me waver.
Next weigh-in day (Wed., Jan. 3) seems like a long time away.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Post-Christmas Good News
I could hardly believe it when I stepped on the scale today.
Through a weekend that included a Christmas party, a big dinner with our friends from England and the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners, I still lost three pounds. Since last Friday.
That's 12 pounds in the first nine days.
It was somewhat astounding, by my standards anyway. But I continue to maintain that the two biggest factors at the moment are the amount of water I'm taking in and the sugar I'm not.
That, along with maintaining my no white carbs approach has been successful so far.
I go back to the doctor on Jan. 3, and immediately following that I intend to begin a workout schedule of some sort. I know that's a key to getting major weight off, but I also know me. I've learned from my past failures.
If my mind isn't exactly right heading into working out, it won't happen. Much like the overall lifestyle change. I had to be shocked into changing the way I eat. Now adding the exercise is the next step.
So far I couldn't be more pleased with the way things have gone. I know there will be difficult days ahead. However, I hope now I have the strength to get through it.
I know I have the support. Thanks to all of you again for the emails and phone calls.
They mean more than you can possibly know.
Through a weekend that included a Christmas party, a big dinner with our friends from England and the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners, I still lost three pounds. Since last Friday.
That's 12 pounds in the first nine days.
It was somewhat astounding, by my standards anyway. But I continue to maintain that the two biggest factors at the moment are the amount of water I'm taking in and the sugar I'm not.
That, along with maintaining my no white carbs approach has been successful so far.
I go back to the doctor on Jan. 3, and immediately following that I intend to begin a workout schedule of some sort. I know that's a key to getting major weight off, but I also know me. I've learned from my past failures.
If my mind isn't exactly right heading into working out, it won't happen. Much like the overall lifestyle change. I had to be shocked into changing the way I eat. Now adding the exercise is the next step.
So far I couldn't be more pleased with the way things have gone. I know there will be difficult days ahead. However, I hope now I have the strength to get through it.
I know I have the support. Thanks to all of you again for the emails and phone calls.
They mean more than you can possibly know.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve musings
The last couple of days have been interesting.
Christmas party on Friday. Work for a bit at Wingin' It on Saturday. Friends from England over for dinner on Sunday.
Holiday temptations are bad enough anyway, much less when you're finally getting serious about losing weight.
All things considered, though, things went reasonably well. Stayed away from all sweets. Had zero cake, cookies, candy, etc. That, alone, is quite the accomplishment this time of year. Also stayed extremely light on the white carbs (though I had to have bit of spaghetti noodles with my Skyline Chili. You can't eat Cincinnati chili without it).
Otherwise, it was turkey, a bit of ribs and lots of good veggies over the weekend. Wanted to weigh myself on Monday to see if I had been as good as I thought I was, but the Wellness Center at OMH - where they have the small elephant-sized digital scale - was closed.
So, we wait until Friday I suppose. I know after a full week I feel a bit better, system-wise. All the water I'm drinking is doing its trick.
***
Good to see Doug Hogan honored by Collegiate Baseball as a Third Team All-American.
The Clemson catcher is coming off a surprise year in 2007, and now will be counted on to lead Jack Leggett's Tigers this spring. Knowing his work ethic, I can say with full confidence he'll be equal to the task.
Incidentally, most folks seem to be expecting a bit of a down year from the Tigers in '08.
I'm not so sure. Jack seems quietly confident that this team will surprise some people. I tend to agree. I told folks after last season that the 2008 team would be better than most expected, and that was before fall workouts.
If what we saw in the fall is any indication, the Tigers will surprise some folks.
Remember, you heard it here first.
Christmas party on Friday. Work for a bit at Wingin' It on Saturday. Friends from England over for dinner on Sunday.
Holiday temptations are bad enough anyway, much less when you're finally getting serious about losing weight.
All things considered, though, things went reasonably well. Stayed away from all sweets. Had zero cake, cookies, candy, etc. That, alone, is quite the accomplishment this time of year. Also stayed extremely light on the white carbs (though I had to have bit of spaghetti noodles with my Skyline Chili. You can't eat Cincinnati chili without it).
Otherwise, it was turkey, a bit of ribs and lots of good veggies over the weekend. Wanted to weigh myself on Monday to see if I had been as good as I thought I was, but the Wellness Center at OMH - where they have the small elephant-sized digital scale - was closed.
So, we wait until Friday I suppose. I know after a full week I feel a bit better, system-wise. All the water I'm drinking is doing its trick.
***
Good to see Doug Hogan honored by Collegiate Baseball as a Third Team All-American.
The Clemson catcher is coming off a surprise year in 2007, and now will be counted on to lead Jack Leggett's Tigers this spring. Knowing his work ethic, I can say with full confidence he'll be equal to the task.
Incidentally, most folks seem to be expecting a bit of a down year from the Tigers in '08.
I'm not so sure. Jack seems quietly confident that this team will surprise some people. I tend to agree. I told folks after last season that the 2008 team would be better than most expected, and that was before fall workouts.
If what we saw in the fall is any indication, the Tigers will surprise some folks.
Remember, you heard it here first.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
A New Start For Me, A New Start For The Blog
It has been well over a month since I've posted anything here. As things got busier along the Clemson trail I admittedly slacked off where the blog was concerned.
But now I'm back, and trying to get this thing going again. I'm also trying to get something else going again - my mission to lose weight.
Most of you may have seen the post on TigerNet, or heard my radio show a couple of weeks back. I have had a couple of warning shots fired across my bow from a medical standpoint. Fortunately, nothing major has been found out of whack and what areas of concern there are will be remedied by dropping major pounds.
Easier said than done, to be sure. Goodness knows I've failed at a number of different attempts to take it off, but none of those had the weight (pun intended) behind it that this one does.
Not only do I have a couple of medical issues out there, but my dad has been diagnosed with more serious issues that are weight related. He, almost 60, is now trying to do the same thing I am. Only he's doing it out of reaction to bad news.
I'm doing it to try and stay out of his situation when I get his age (I'm 40).
Anyway, I've started a low carb-related diet plan. No potatoes, bread, pasta...basically anything white. Perhaps a piece of wheat bread once in a while, but that's it. Also, no sugar - which means cutting out candy and any other type of goody that might be available this holiday season.
The only sugars I'll get are natural, from fruit. And I'm limiting myself to no more than two diet sodas a day. Everything else is water. Tons of it. And maybe the occasional unsweetened tea with dinner if we eat out.
So far, so good. In the first five days I dropped nine pounds. At this point, I intend to weigh myself every Friday if possible - using the same industrial strength scale each time for consistency.
How much was my starting weight? I'll tell you that after I drop a few more pounds. But needless to say, when i joke about being "twice the man I used to be," it really isn't a joke.
My intention is to keep this blog updated on more of a regular basis, providing frequent updates on my weight, ups and downs of the process, and of course drop in my sports opinions as well.
It's good to be back. And while I hope you're seeing more of me here, I hope you'll be seeing less of me out there.
Know what I mean?
But now I'm back, and trying to get this thing going again. I'm also trying to get something else going again - my mission to lose weight.
Most of you may have seen the post on TigerNet, or heard my radio show a couple of weeks back. I have had a couple of warning shots fired across my bow from a medical standpoint. Fortunately, nothing major has been found out of whack and what areas of concern there are will be remedied by dropping major pounds.
Easier said than done, to be sure. Goodness knows I've failed at a number of different attempts to take it off, but none of those had the weight (pun intended) behind it that this one does.
Not only do I have a couple of medical issues out there, but my dad has been diagnosed with more serious issues that are weight related. He, almost 60, is now trying to do the same thing I am. Only he's doing it out of reaction to bad news.
I'm doing it to try and stay out of his situation when I get his age (I'm 40).
Anyway, I've started a low carb-related diet plan. No potatoes, bread, pasta...basically anything white. Perhaps a piece of wheat bread once in a while, but that's it. Also, no sugar - which means cutting out candy and any other type of goody that might be available this holiday season.
The only sugars I'll get are natural, from fruit. And I'm limiting myself to no more than two diet sodas a day. Everything else is water. Tons of it. And maybe the occasional unsweetened tea with dinner if we eat out.
So far, so good. In the first five days I dropped nine pounds. At this point, I intend to weigh myself every Friday if possible - using the same industrial strength scale each time for consistency.
How much was my starting weight? I'll tell you that after I drop a few more pounds. But needless to say, when i joke about being "twice the man I used to be," it really isn't a joke.
My intention is to keep this blog updated on more of a regular basis, providing frequent updates on my weight, ups and downs of the process, and of course drop in my sports opinions as well.
It's good to be back. And while I hope you're seeing more of me here, I hope you'll be seeing less of me out there.
Know what I mean?
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