Do not be afraid. Only Believe.
I don’t know about you guys, but I love me some comic strips. Not all of them. These days my favourites are Dilbert
The funnie is that I was going to go as Linus for Halloween. I also tossed around the idea of Charlie Brown’s ghost costume (he’s the one on the right), but I think it would be more comfortable to wear real clothes instead of a sheet.
It’s funny, this diet and exercise thing. I realized today that I’m no more or less hungry now than I used to be, and I garauntee I’m eating much less. I’m more convinced now than ever that it is a mental thing. I’ve never had that much will power, and I had always figured I just needed to trick myself into thinking I needed to exercise and eat differently if I was ever going to do it.
It started a week and a half ago when I decided not to stop and grab a breakfast sandwich from the gas station on my way to work. I had oatmeal (rolled oats, not the sugary kind of instant oatmeal) at work, and there really was no reason for me to need to get a sandwich. I managed to drive by, but after that I have to fight the urge to avoid McDonalds or Chick-Fil-A (who has the BEST egg and sausage biscuits ever). Those two are usually easier to fight, and I was able to pull it off. The next day, I went through the same thing, but decided that it was completely mental. I knew I didn’t need that stuff, and the only reason my brain said it wanted it was because it’s ubertasty. I don’t need to eat stuff just because it tastes good.
The day after that is when I started this plan. Today is the beginning of a new week, and I managed to do all of the workouts from last week as well as pretty much stick to the food plan. The only times I didn’t were when I didn’t have the opportunity to: at Leadbetters’ for Chris’ birthday, at church on Saturday night, and on Sunday when we had our church outing. However, I did make choices during those times. Not too much on a plate and no seconds, the small piece of cake, and I even was able to avoid my usual 3 or 4 donuts at the outing. Instead I ate 1/4 of a donut (with unsalted peanuts, so it wasn’t completely without nutritional value) and a nectarine. The amazing part was that I didn’t even have a hankerin’ for the sweets! It was surprising to me, and impressive to everyone else. I scoffed at their powder-filled faces over the top if the delicious, nutritious fruit that I had.
By the way, as of Monday, I’m down 5 since I started.
-j
First, I decided to finally use this site like it was supposed to be used. So, my dear readers, prepare to be bored. All one of me.
Now on to the entry. Being a homeowner, I have to learn to become a homemaker. First order of business: I need to buy a bed set. I need a duvet, comforter, and maybe some shams. Speaking of which, what is the purpose of a sham? If you ask me, their name says it all: it’s a pillow that you can’t use, therefore it’s a sham, an imposter, a mockery of my tired and weary head! But that’s just me.
I started thinking about these pillows, or maybe these. But I decided against it. I did, however, pick this up.
In 5 to 10 business days we’ll see if it works in my room. If not, I can take it back.
Next: nightstand.
-j
For some reason, the other day I just decided I would start the whole working out slash dieting thing again. I still hate that word – diet. It automatically brings to mind the yo-yo diets that people get themselves on to lose weight only to find themselves heavier than they were before within a few months. I know how that goes because that is how my life has been. This time, however, it’s going to be different.
I’ve known for a while that the trick isn’t to eat less. I don’t really eat that much. The trick is *what* you eat. If I make bad food choices, I won’t get anywhere. For a few years I’ve been good at maintaining, just really bad at losing. The other problem I have is lack of activity. Changing one or the other will have an effect. In fact, when I had a trainer, I didn’t change my eating habits and still lost 20 lbs in three months all because I worked out three times a week for an hour.
I’m not sure what changed my mind, or shall I say jump-started my desire, again. I’ve been paying $12 a month for Men’s Health’s Personal Trainer and Nutrition Expert, but I haven’t ever used the tools the way they should be used. All that is changing. I don’t remember feeling this motivated to keep going. Granted, it’s only day two, but I know what I used to feel like and this is different. I think I finally decided to go through with it. Maybe it’s to prove to myself that I can; I’m sure that’s at least one reason. No doubt there are others.
I started at 313 on Wednesday, and today I’m 310. Three pounds in 24 hours isn’t too shabby (I know, I know…it’s water weight). But I know that if I stick to the workout and nutrition plans, I can keep going down. When I get to 290, we’ll have a party. I have to get that far in six weeks to prove to Steve that I can do it. He lost 23 pounds in six weeks on the Bowflex challenge. I think mine is better. We shall see.
-j
I'm Jason, and I like to write.