Update - 07/17/2007

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while - been pretty busy.

So what's the update? I stepped on the scale this morning and found that I've dropped another few pounds. Now, we won't get into specifics just yet, but let's just say that I think it's about15 pounds so far. Not too bad!

Now all I have to do is keep this up and I'll be there in no time!

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RUNNING LATE TO WORK - WHAT TO DO FOR LUNCH???

OK, it's not exactly a secret that I'm a bit of an insomniac - stress and such - and occasionally I'm going Mach 2+ to try to get to work on time. This means that my original lunch plans just went straight out the window since I didn't get it together the night before. So what to do???

Well, there's the Wheel of Death in the break room, but that's not the greatest thing in the world. The Wheel of Death is a tongue in cheek nickname for one of the vending machines given due to a couple of people who believe that their gastrointestinal troubles were caused by sandwiches from the machine. Whether or not this is the case, I don't know. Most of the food is pretty good if you ask me, but the sandwiches are a few days old and usually leave me wanting more. Also on the rotating menu are frozen burritos, hot pockets, etc., hard boiled eggs, bagels with packets of cream cheese, and a few drinks like frappiccinos and Red Bull.

There are also a couple of other standard vending machines, but I won't go there. The only decent thing in those are the 130 calorie packages of pretzles.

So with this in mind, what do I do? I go over to the industrial complex food court and straight to Subway! Yes, they really do have good food and it's not loaded with fat or calories. A 6" sandwich with a couple of slices of turkey, a couple of slices of cheese, lettuce, bell peppers, a few olive slices (probably about one olive all together), onions, a small amount of oil and vinegar and finally some salt and pepper is my favorite there. It's light, healthy, and full of flavor, and close to work! Their website even has all the info you could want about their menu and nutrition informaition. This is one case where I think the company's spokesperson is truly credible.

I'll be sure to post some other healthy (and slimming) options when I find them, too.

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STEP ONE: OPERATIONAL STEP TWO: STILL PENDING

Speaking from experience, losing weight takes two things - diet and exercise.

Changing your diet is step one. Exercising is step two.

I think I've got step one to an operational state, but step two is still pending. There are several reasons for not having kicked my but into gear yet. They may sound like excuses (and probably are to some extent), but they're there.

The weather here in Las Vegas ain't exactly the same as San Diego. Today it was about 111 degrees. Tomorrow is supposed to be 112 or 113 degrees. Thursday may tie the record at McCarren airport for the highest temperature ever at 118 degrees. This is not conducive to exercise. Sure, there's a gym for all the residents of the apartment complex, but I'm not really one for indoor exercise or machines. Back in San Diego, I went running in the evenings and I got into trying to surf, and riding my bike all the time. This is one of those times I miss San Diego.

Even with the heat, I'm working on getting outdoors for some exercise that won't wreck my feet or cause other problems. Running would be a bit of an issue as my back starts giving me problems after a short time. Ditto on the rollerblades. I'm probably going to get my bike back in working order - just gotta get a good pair of bike shorts (also from experience) and a mount for my GPS receiver.

Swimming is probably the best exercise for people like me - no stress on the joints, no back issues, and no overheating! I may have found an aquatics center not too far away, but I need to do a bit more research on it.

I'm definitely going to keep up the proper diet and I'll be sure to post updates on the exercise front.

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PROGRESS UPDATE - STILL BEGINNING BUT GOING WELL

OK, I've been working on this seriously for just under a week. More like five days. Time for a sitrep.

I think it's going well!

Breakfast lately has been a banana & bagel (usually no cream cheese). Lunch is a sandwich, something like a salad, maybe some pickle spears, definitely some fruit, and some baby carrots for munchies. We had some of the Mahi Mahi last night, but we're still working on getting the rest of the stuff out of the freezer so it hasn't been all fish and chicken on the grill yet. Dinner has still been very healthy - lots of salads, veggies, and a bit of chicken or fish.

I've taken to eating sunflower seeds when I get the muchies at night. Not that many, just something to do with my mouth other than fill it with junk.

Stepped on the scale again last night and while I'm still glad it's not alive, it didn't go quite as far around the dial as it did before.

PROGRESS!!!

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NOW WE'RE GRILLING!!!

I mentioned my new "Foreman type" grill in my second post and I thought I'd write just a bit more about it and why I invested in it.

Some might wonder why one of these grills would be a requirement for my new diet. It's simple - less fat in the food means less fat in me. The fat that cooks out of the meat goes right down the channels and down into a catch tray. Sure, the same thing happens on a normal outdoor grill, but apartment dwellers have to keep those quite far away from the building and the weather doesn't always cooperate.

The model I bought is the Hamilton Beach Meal Maker Express 25325 just like the pic at the top of the page except that mine is white. This is my second grill like this, the first being an actual George Foreman grill that was actually rather small. Sure, there are brand name Foreman grills on the market with many of the same features and the same size as this one. The reason I chose this particular model was that Wal Mart actually had it in stock that night. Oh yeah, it was cheaper, too.

The smaller Foreman grill I have (which will soon go to a new owner) has one big drawback for me - no removable grill plates. My roommate always said it was easy to clean, but somehow water always seemed to get where it shouldn't when I cleaned it. No, it wasn't plugged in when this happened, but it carried with it some of the essence of the food that was being removed from it. The next time it was fired up, you'd smell it. The new Hamilton Beach has the removable grill plates. Much easier to clean.

One feature that this new grill that's not found on a Foreman grill (as far as I know) is that the top can flip all the way over, doubling the cooking area. A little leg folds out from the lid and presto - mucho cooking area! OK, so you have to flip the food and it takes longer to cook, but it's there when you need it. There's even a little spout to carry the grease from what's normally the lid into the catch tray.

Another feature that this grill has that my older Foreman doesn't is a timer. The timer has to be running for the grill to be powered up. It's not necessary, but it's nice.

The first meal cooked on the new grill was mahi mahi steaks last night. Just as wonderful as I remember them. My roommate doesn't think as highly as I do about them, but that's OK. She can have what she wants and I'll have the chicken or fish on the grill.

If you don't already have one of these wonderful little appliances, I highly recommend picking one up. Fast, healthy cooking was never easer.

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FIRST STEPS

So I kicked off this endeavor with the fanfare initial post. Yes, I'll do this and I'll do that.

Now it's time to take some action.

What have I done so far you might ask? Let's review.

The first order of business was to obtain a better version of the Foreman Grill than what I already had. What I already had was good enough for a couple of small peices of meat, but you'd have to do one at a time if they were a reasonable size. Wal Mart was out of the size I wanted with the Foreman signature, so I got a slightly different model instead. Details on this will follow in later posts.

With the fat reducing grill in hand, it was time to go grocery shopping. At Costco.

No junkfood on this trip! Nope, I got the good stuff I used to eat a while back. Tops on the list were some individually vacuum packed mahi mahi steaks and boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Next up was fruits and veggies. Big bags of baby carrots, broccoli florets, a jar of pickles, and salad. Unsweetened, fresh mango slices (YUM!!!!!), raineer cherries, and bananas.

I've never gone away from diet soda, but I also picked up a whole bunch of 1 liter bottles of Kirkland Signature water. Trouble with soda, even diet, is that it has caffeine and a few other undesirable things. Granted, diet is better than all the sugar in regular for calories. The problem with the caffeine is that it pulls water out of your system. If your body constantly thinks it needs more water, it will start to try to retian it - and its weight. A well watered body is a better working body, too because all the bad stuff is regularly flushed out as well.

Breakfast the past couple of days has been something like some Honey Nut Cheerios with soy milk and a banana. Lunch is usually a turkey sandwich, pickles, fruit, carrots, and salad. Dinner has been a bit different (reasonable portions of normal stuff) while we use up the stuff in the freezer before going to the chicken and fish. Last night was small shrimp on salad with salsa and baby carrots on the side.

You get the idea. I'll try to go into a bit more detail in later posts, this is just a beginning.

Thanks for reading and as always, feedback is appreciated!

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STARTING OVER AGAIN

It came to me last night when I was watching a new TV show - Shaq's Big Challenge. For those of you who haven't heard about this, Shaq - the NBA superstar, has decided to take on childhood obesity and get a group of kids into shape. I saw myself several times in those kids even though I'm 30 years old. Check out the show - it's something on network TV that's actually worth watching for a change!

So what came to me? The fact that I'm way too fat and I need to get off my ass, put down the junkfood, and get into some semblance of shape to ensure that I'm not at the midpoint of my life at 30 years old. I stepped on the scale (thank God it's not alive!) and I really didn't like what I saw. The reading was depressing. It made me angry. Seriously pissed off as a matter of fact. I haven't been this tweaked in years. Democrats and the immigration debate don't rise to this level!

You see, I managed to get down from the high 200's to 195 pounds a couple of years ago. I managed to keep the junkfood out of my mouth, ate healthy, and exercised my butt off - literally! I was lookin' good!

Then I started computer school and was working nearly full time. I gave into the junkfood and convenience. I admit I have a soft spot for pizza and Costco chicken bakes. Gardettos and Doritos. Oh, and cream cheese croissants and bear claws and Bavarian Cream donuts, too. And I've developed a taste for GUMBO!

I wasn't exercising nearly as much. I was eating junkfood. Then I moved to Vegas.

Through nobody's fault but mine, I sat around the apartment when I wasn't working. Then I got a job in a call center. I sit on my butt at home and at work. I get breakfast at the gas station and lunch from the vending machine known as "The Wheel of Death." I eat too damn much. I snack. It ain't right. It ain't healthy.

It has to change! And it is changing starting NOW!!!

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