Enough Reasons

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Last day of the month.  Glad to end it on some relatively good notes.  I did not expect the drop on the scale after last night's utter failure but I got one.  Yay.  I wonder if that means the consequences will be delayed.  Could be, though today has been okay so far.

Managed to push myself out the door this morning after coming up with two good reasons, only one of which was that I"m paying for the membership.  They were good enough.  Just barely.  There was a little bit of dontwanna this morning.  Woke up before 4:00, wasn't dozy until after 5:00, then I delayed getting up about as long as I dared.  I do need to get going a little bit earlier but nothing radical.  For reasons.

Breakfast:  2 eggs over easy w green chiles, 2.5 strips CF black pepper garlic bacon, V-8, coffee

Decided to change up the eggs.  Flip was timed well but they could have used another minute, they were decidedly easy.

Lunch:  Leftover ovencheesburger w mustard and onions

Quite tasty, though rather messy.

Dinner:  Ham, salami and cheese sub, garlic cheese bread w pizza sauce, 12 oz Miller Lite, Tillamook mint chip

Sigh.  Poor preparation.

Exercise:  Walk, 20 minutes.  Nothing crazy, just a little over a mile.  I did jack up the pace a little toward the end as I felt better than usual on the treadmill, even had better balance.   It was nice out this morning - if it were going to be this nice this weekend (it is not) I would go for a longer outside walk.

83.8

Bare Mins

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Continuing on.  Not much zip this morning.  A little late getting out the door but I did make it and put in at least a little effort.  Average morning of work followed.

Breakfast:  2 eggs scrambled w green chiles, 2.5 strips CF black pepper garlic bacon, spicy low sodium V8, coffee

Had an odd strip of bacon so extra half today.

Lunch:  Brisket, a little spicy bbq sauce, smoked mushrooms, bread and butter pickles, slice of bread

I did manage to resist the brown butter rice krispie treats this time.  Small win.  Mushrooms were extra tasty today.

Dinner:  Dominos bklyn sausage, pep cheese bread, 12 oz Miller Lite

Welp.

Exercise:  Walk, 10 min, plus 15-20 min of weight room stuff.  Feels like the bare minimum but it counts.  I was just annoyed with the treadmill and bailed in favor of more time with a medicine ball and various machines.

85.0

Blustering

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Not a great deal of pep today.  I was tired last night, started nodding off about 8:30 (unknown how much of a role the tryptophan played) and crashed around 10:00.  Was annoyed to wake up at 1:00, but once I got rid of some liquid I slept better.  Managed to push myself out the door a little after 6:00, which is later than I want, but not terrible.  An overall OK morning.  Scale dip was nice too.  Put me down fractionally for the month, but I'm still vey much on the high side.

It was definitely a day I would not have walked outside - 20 degrees and windy.  Bitterly cold.

Breakfast:  2 eggs scrambled w green chiles, 2 strips CF black pepper garlic bacon, low sodium spicy V8 juice, coffee

Repeat, again tasty.

Lunch:  Soup, grilled cheese, banana

Finally got into the new batch of soup, very solid.  Maybe fractionally less good than the prior batch but still very much fine.  Had one package of homemade bread left in the freezer so I'm using that up.

Dinner:  Mixed nuts, 12 oz Miller Lite, Home ovencheeseburger, no bun, with mustard, onion and green chiles, SF vanilla pudding

Cleaned up the nuts I bought week before last.  Managed to fight off the urge for pizza (darned emails).  Burger was tasty.  I had some good milk to use up so I had pudding too - new packaging on the box, not sure if it's a new formula, but it was less set than usual.  

Exercise:  Walk, 1 mile, 20 minutes.  I find treadmill walking to be very, very boring.  And tedious, since I don't have good balance and have to pay attention to that.  It is going to be a struggle to ramp it up much.   I would like to get to 30 minutes, not sure I'll go beyond that.  Maybe add in some longer outdoor walks on nice weekend mornings.  Maybe.  Oh, and no weights today, felt a little time crunched.  Was just glad to get something in.

85.8

Let Us Roll

Monday, November 27, 2023

Sigh, back to work.  Not something to look forward to.

Slept poorly again, though not quite as bad.  Woke up a couple minutes before the alarm and managed to kick myself out the door after 30 to 45 minutes.  Ended up a little late getting to work but not awful.  Weight was up after a rough weekend of eating.  

Going to be a crazy busy week.

Breakfast:  2 eggs scrambled with green chiles, 2 strips CF garlic pepper bacon, V-8 spicy low sodium veg juice, coffee

Thickest bacon ever.  But a tasty meal.

Lunch:  2x mexican 2x american tacos, a few olive oil chips

Cleaned up the chips.  Fortunately I did not have many left as satiety was slow kicking in.  Had tacos for lunch since I'm having leftovers for dinner.

Dinner:  Leftover turkey and all the trimmings

Done with the feasting until Christmas, I think.

Exercise:  A mile walk in 20 minutes, plus 10 minutes in the weight room.  Again just doing a few basic things I remember, maybe tonight I'll have some time to research beginner routines.

90.0

Two Downs

Sunday, November 26, 2023

So grateful for the extended weekend.  I worked for a few hours yesterday and should probably do the same today, though I do hope to shift things some so that I can start taking Sundays as a true day of rest.  Not sure I'll get there, since I have decades of experience cramming things into Sunday, but it's a goal.

Also in the not likely category is an unbroken string of YMCA days, but I'm happy to be 2 for 2.  It was very much a low effort trip, but the key is that I went.  I woke up late, slept horribly and felt lousy when I did get up but fortunately it passed soon enough to get myself out the door.  Yay.

I would have liked to have gotten a weigh in first thing to know just how awful yesterday was, but I didn't.  Instead I took it after coffee and a little food, after working out, etc.  Not consistent with my usual practice.

Breakfast:  Lazy bagels w veggie cream cheese, coffee, Frederik's chocolate caramel coconut balls

Opened the bag of chocolates last night (so add to yesterday also), cleaned them up.    Also cleaned up the cream cheese - may try not buying more to have that help me quit the lazy bagels.  I have to say, bacon and eggs sounded awful good when I got back from the Y.

Lunch:  Leftover frozen pizza, olive oil chips

Meh.  

Dinner:  Turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, peas, rolls with butter, cranberry, lime jello salad, 12 oz Miller Lite

A little bonus thanksgiving meal.

Fourthmeal:  McD 2x mcdouble, sprite.  Idiot.

Exercise:  Just shooting some basketball for about 25 minutes.  Constant movement, even if slow paced, lots of lifting, stretching and bending.  Got a sweat going so absolutely I'm counting it.  Not going to push it too hard just yet, let's commit to a half hour a day of something most days and go from there.

89.6

Committed To The Program

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Looks like I am all in.  I signed up for the YMCA yesterday.  Then I decided to get some new workout clothes so I went and spent some money.  At least there was a black friday sale, lol.  Dug out other things I needed like my water bottle and gym bag.  I'm equipped, let's go.  Committed a bunch of money so I had better be committed to getting my work on.

And ... I went.  This morning wasn't exactly as planned, but okay.  I woke up a little after 3:30 after some poor quality sleep and just gave up.  I got up, lounged about, had a cup of coffee and finally pushed out the door at 7:00.  I would have left earlier but the Y doesn't open until 7 on the weekend.  Doh.  I'm sure I'll pay for this tonight, but let's hope it's the start of a schedule shift.  It's entirely possible that the wine had something to do with the lousy sleep, but at least I didn't get any cramps.

Breakfast:  Banana, lazy bagels w veggie cream cheese, coffee

Had a banana I bought last week while waiting for the lazy bagels.  I bought a single banana yesterday as well, not going to make a habit of it I don't think but I was glad to have it.

Lunch:  Turkey, bacon and swiss sandwich, chips and onion dip, pickle

Fat sandwich, but it was kinda meh.  I bought some deli turkey and it just was not anything.  Oh well.

Dinner:  Home pepperoni pizza, 24 oz Miller Lite, slice of leftover cheesecake

Last slice of the cheesecake.  Last of the bigger dough balls, going back to the smaller ones in the future.

Exercise:  Yes.  Opened with a mile walk, just over 20 minutes on the treadmill.  Then did a very light weight workout, a short one.  Just some twists, med ball raises, lat pulldowns, overhead presses and one more thing I'm forgetting.  Just 10 or 15 minutes.  No more than 2 sets of anything.  Did not want to push it hard.  Other than being wobbly when I hopped off the treadmill -- I don't like treadmills, fortunately there is a little indoor track option as well as ellipticals etc -- I felt fine.

85.8

Fun Dips

Friday November 24, 2023

Hah.  I do enjoy the unexpected drops.  Even when they're tiny.  You never, ever expect to drop weight on Thanksgiving of all days.  I ate plenty.  I ate bad stuff.  But on this one occassion being active was enough to "burn it off".  Nice.

Lots of cleanup to do this morning.  While I do that I'll be pondering whether I am going to join the local YMCA.  Really it would be a rejoin, we had a family membership when I was growing up and I briefly joined a decade or more ago.  I am primarily motivated by the fact that I haven't found walking outside to be as enjoyable as it was when I was doing it ten years ago.  I really should not spend the money, should be cutting expenses not adding them, but I do think if I eat less crap I'll be able to offset the cost.  I don't really spend money on entertainment, so I can call this that.  And maybe I'll make this (plus some new workout gear) my annual Christmas gift to myself since I don't have much of anything else on that list this year.  Just a couple kitchen things that I can easily live without.

Breakfast:  Lazy bagels and veggie cream cheese, coffee

Again.  I'll probably have these a couple more times this weekend, but I definitely need to get away from them.  Lots of carbs and no satiety (though the latter is better than usual today - the psyche says I am not, the stomach is trying somewhat to override).

Lunch:  2x Wendy's singles

Audible, on the go.

Dinner:   Home Run Inn frozen meat lovers pizza, chips and onion dip, beaujolais nouveau

Also an audible called at the gorcery store.  Meh.  Will have a slice of leftover cheesecake later.

Exercise:  Uhh.  Super busy day, on my feet a lot, many stores.  But nothing that "counts".  Phone has my step count even higher than yesterday, though, so at least there is that.

84.4

The Feast Is ON

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving.  One of our finest holidays, a fun day generally featuring family, friends and food.  Hard to go wrong with that. 

Enjoyed a surprise little drop on the scale this morning, certainly was not expecting it, not after eating pizza and a little chocolate last night.  Didn't even process a lot of stuff or dump water.  No complaints, though.

Going to be a fun day of cooking and then eating.  Lots to do.

Breakfast:  3 eggs over hard, hash browns, 3 CF sausage links, avocado, coffee

All good stuff.  Enjoyed it, even if I overcooked the eggs a bit.  Was just going to do sunnies, but didn't get it right and just flipped late.  Whatever, still tasty and since I eat them mixed with the potatoes not a problem at all.

Lunch:  Leftover pizza, chocolate covered pretzels

Keeping it light.

Dinner:   Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls w butter, cranberry, nuts and mints, beaujolais noveau, turtle cheesecake, lemon meringue pie, coconut cream pie

Simple, only ate about half of the items on offer.  Quite a feast.

Exercise:  Nope.  Slept in, didn't get up until 8:30.  Pathetic.  I will say that I put in a lot of set up and tear down work, was very active and on my feet.  I am now very tired, so it's like I exercised.

84.8

The Quiet Before

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

A pretty quiet morning.  I think quite a few folks got an early jump on the holiday.  I have some things to do this afternoon but I'm looking forward to being relatively undisturbed.

Surprised to have a small dip on the scale this morning.  Ate a lot yesterday and it was super carby.  Did manage to dispose of a lot but still, a drop of any amount was not expected.  I'll take it.  Hoping to be a lot more disciplined after the holiday and shooting for a personal reset over the weekend.  We'll see.

Breakfast:  Pancakes, sausage, coffee

Not the best of the pancakes, I heated them a bit much.  Sausage was fine reheated.  Still a solid if carby opener.  There was a treat at work but I have resisted so far.

Lunch:  Soup, grilled cheese

Really think this was the best batch of soup ever.  I hope the batch I made last weekend is as good.  Also a superior grilled cheese.

Dinner:  Deluxe pizza, 12 oz Miller Lite, caramel pecan clusters

Pre-holiday feast.  Place was busy as expected.

Exercise:  Nope.  Reset needed.  

85.8

Slow Transitions

Tuesday, November 21, 2023 

Slowly but surely winter mode is kicking in.  Cold and rainy this morning.  A thoroughly unpleasant morning, I was glad to have the furnace on and a full day in a warm office.  Almost done with my project.  I have to finish it up tomorrow and then it's on to the next.

Breakfast:  Buttermilk pancakes w butter and maple syrup, CF sausage links, coffee

Pleasantly surprised that the links didn't take too long to cook.   I have leftovers for the next two days.

Lunch:  Leftover lasagna, cheese toast

WAY overdid it.  Oh well.  Carb overload.

Dinner:  Smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread chorizo stuffing, brussels, sweet potato casserole, cranberry.  12 oz All Day IPA.  Will have a bowl of Tillamook mint chip later  (add one to yesterday also).

Local place, special menu item for charity.  Pretty good but yow that was a lot of food.  Couldn't finish it.  I'm weird, I would have preferred just extra turkey, mash and gravy, but oh well.  Glad I did it.

Exercise:  Nope.  Let's hope for a holiday reset.

86.6

As They Say Coulda Been Worse

Monday, November 20, 2023

Yes.  It could have been worse.  After a dreadful eating day, only a small gain.  Yay.

Otherwise, glad for a short week.  Lots to do, still have that deadline  Ugh.  So much work that needs to be done.  It's a little out of control.

Breakfast:  2x Egg McMuffin, coffee

Audible.

Lunch:  Leftover lasagna, garlic toast

Not bad.  Just bad for me.

Dinner:  2x mexican 2x american tacos, 12 oz Miller Lite, cheese toast, mixed nuts

Tacos not as fat, could have used another one.  Have the hunger tonight.

Exercise:  Nope.  Still way off.

86.2

Sad Inflation

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Sigh.  It's a shame the weekend is already half over.  I'd say thank goodness for a short week, but it's going to be insane.

Up again on the scale.  Initially my reaction was omgwtf but then I rememered there was a bump yesterday as well, it wasn't as much of a jump as I thought.  Which doesn't make it better - steady gains are just as bad if not worse - but at least it's more understandable.  I do need to fix things though.

It just won't be today.  Alas.  And we're again off to a very late start - I woke up at 5:30, was up for a little while, then dozed off in the recliner and then it's 9:30.  Yeesh.  

Breakfast:  Lazy bagels w veggie cream cheese, coffee

Again.

Lunch:  Taco bowl, Siete lime chips

Okay.  I had some taco meat thawed that needed to be used up.

Also:  Popeyes spicy chicken sandwich, caramel peanut clusters

Dinner:  Lasagna, salad, garlic toast, 12 oz Miller Lite, vanilla cake w ice cream

Birthday party.

Exercise:  Nope.

86.0

Dehydration List

Saturday, November 18, 2023

TGIS.  Off to a weird start.  I got to sleep slightly earlier - not as much as hoped, but a little.  Woke up at 4:45 and pretty awake.  Puttered around until about 6:00, then fell asleep in the recliner.  Hard.  Did not get up until 9:15.  Yikes.  I definitely needed the extra sleep but man that is not going to help fix the schedule.

Decided that I need to make an addition to my list of the most dehydrating things on earth.  #1 is exercise in hot weather, #2 is Pizza Hut, the brand new #3 is Subway.  Good grief did I ever drink a lot of water after dinner last night.  I have disposed of quite a bit of it but I'm sure there is more to go.

Anyway, lots to do and I'm obviously way behind the schedule I had planned.  Gotta get going.

Breakfast:  Lazy bagels w Meijer veggie cream cheese

Pretty sure I screwed up the proportions - I was intending to make a half batch but suspect I used the flour amount for a full  Since I don't measure anything or follow a written recipe for these, I guess I should not be too surprised.  Turned out fine though.

Lunch:  Taco salad, al pastor

Audibled, as I was hungry by the time I got home from the grocery store.  Not as fat as usual (I could tell by the weight of the container, confirmed when opened) but that's fine, it was still great plenty.

Dinner:  Home pizza pep gr beef, 12 oz All Day IPA, avo oil chips

Pizza night.  Tasty as usual.

Exercise:   Nope.  Mad about this.  Also decided last night that I might join the YMCA to facilitate getting some exercise during the winter months that does not depend entirely on weather conditions.

84.2

Little And Late

Friday, November 17, 2023

TGIF.  Doing this late, so it's even the weekend already.  Yay.

Not a great day, not a great week.  Not even that much to say about it.  Weight will be up tomorrow.  Drinking tons of water tonight.

Breakfast:  Pancakes, sausage, coffee

Again.  Last of the sausage.

Lunch:  Soup, grilled cheese

Again.  Last of the loaf, tossed what little was left due to threat of mold.

Dinner:  Subway meatball subs.  Siete salt and vinegar avo oil chips

Bleah.  Way too much.  Didn't really like the chips, will not buy again.

Exercise:  Nope.  Way too little.

82.4

Extra Fat, GCs Too

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Another day of meh.  No pep, no inspiration.  At least it was a productive morning.  Long ways to go on my project but it's coming.

Once again up way way too late.  Dunno that I got to sleep much before 1.  Which is nuts.  It's going to take some work to fix that I am afraid.

Breakfast:  Pancakes, sausage, coffee

Usual.  Did up the sausage as I am going to finish the package off tomorrow.  Hoping to switch to full CF product next week.

Lunch:  Soup, grilled cheese

Extra fat sandwich.  First soup from the batch I made last night and it was very, very good.  One of the best bowls I've had.  I'm hoping that the small batch method continues to crank out this kind of result.

Dinner:  Dominos thin pep ham, stuffed cheesy bread, 12 oz Miller Lite

Think I'll ever get it through my thick skull that chain pizza sucks?  Dumbass.

Exercise:  Nope.  Starting to get really cranky about this, though I've felt so poor physically that it's hard to envision doing too much.

82.0

A Very Mid Kinda Day

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Midway point of the month and just an all around mid kind of day.

Nothing much to say.  Stress level is up and rising.  Exercise has been non-existent.  Sleep insufficient.  I am glad that a holiday weekend is coming, but I have a major project that's due before the break and that will make the next week miserable.

Breakfast:  Pancakes, sausage

Again.

Lunch:  Can of Bush's southwest zest beans, grilled cheese

Took a look at the soup I pulled and (a) it's not at all thawed and (b) it's from an old batch.  Not sure how it managed to hide in there as long as it did but I'm probably not going to eat it.  In hindsight I should have audibled to the leftover burger, but oh well.

Dinner:   Mixed nuts, 12 oz Miller Lite, leftover baconovencheeseburger, home popcorn w butter

Probably a bit much.  Not many regrets thought.  Ovenburgers are ridiculously easy.  I am out of ground beef at the moment, so repeats will have to wait for next week, but this is tasty stuff.

Exercise:  Nope.  Still do not have answers.

82.0

Hurried and Harried

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

It's been a rocky stretch.  Woke up this morning a little early but it wasn't because I was rested.  Instead, I got another flareup of back issues.  More obviously than this past weekend this one seems to be muscular rather than spinal.  But whatever it is, annoying to the max.  And I'm not sure what causes it exactly or how to solve it.  I was fine last night, so I imagine it has something to do with how I was sleeping.  Thankfully it is abating somewhat.

Anyway, otherwise more of the same.  Infinite work that needs to be done, not infinite energy.  On the plus side I gave up a little of Sunday's gains despite eating way too many (i.e. more than zero) potato chips.

Breakfast:  Pancakes, sausage

Standard couple buttermilk pancakes with a little butter and maple syrup.  I have enough sausage patties to get through the week, but that's it.  I think I'll have to hit the farm this weekend and hope that the pork is restocked, since I'm also out of packages of bacon.

Lunch:  Soup, grilled cheese

Standard.  Fresh loaf of bread, I'm going to try freezing a bunch of it.

Dinner:  Mixed nuts, 12 oz All Day IPA, home ovenbaconcheeseburger

Sounded good, was good.  And will be had again tomorrow.

Exercise:  Nope.  Schedule off, injured, not good.  I also felt really off yesterday.  Today seems to be better in that regard.

82.8

Bad Thoughts Sad Actions

Monday, November 13, 2023

Sigh.  I knew yesterday wasn't great but I didn't think it was that bad.  The scale disagreed.  Good grief.  Nobody should have this much talent when it comes to massive gains (and, yes, the occasional massive loss).  It is ridiculous.

Not a great morning.  Happy that I was not as tired as I thought I would be, but I can tell that there is some accumulated fatigue.  Words aren't coming smoothly, I'm cranky and the excessive stress isn't doing good things.  Hopefully this afternoon will be better.

Breakfast:  Buttermilk pancakes w butter and maple syrup, sausage patty, coffee

Cut down quantities, this batch also quite tasty.  Eventually I'll need to ax this for fewer carbs, but for the next couple of weeks I'll probably continued to eat 'em.

Lunch:  Meatloaf sandwich

Can't believe I forgot the photo.  Dangit.  Leftover meatloaf, a couple slices of cheddar, 3 strips of leftover CF bacon, two slices of buttered bread.  Very, very tasty.

Dinner:  2x mexican 2x american tacos, 12 oz Miller Lite, jalapeno chips

Fail.

Exercise:  Nope.  Schedule not improving.

83.8

Overcoming Fail A Theme

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Sigh.  Once again I have failure to reflect upon.  And it wasn't even delicious failure.  It was nothing but expedience, which is a nice way to say laziness.  Fast and cheap.  About the only way it could have been worse is if that slot hadn't already been planned for pizza.  It was just going to be home pizza, smaller in quantity and much higher in quality.  No seed oils and other crap.  At least the scale wasn't up.

Anyway, it was interesting to me to note that my pulse was a LOT higher last night.  After eating way, way too much and then pretty much just relaxing in the recliner for several hours, it was almost 100 when I went to bed.  It was still elevated this morning, though curiously I got a significantly lower than usual top number on my blood pressure.  I suspect that was just a bad reading and should have re-taken it but I did not.

No huge plans for today.  Very late, sluggish start, lots to do but not much pep.  Back is a little better than it was yesterday, which is a plus.  It was annoying having trouble even shifting in bed due to it.  Not much is going to get accomplished when moving hurts.

Breakfast:  Lazy bagels w veggie cream cheese, coffee

Late breakfast, zero satiety, early lunch coming up soon.  Also ended up having two slices of bread, one with a little butter, the other with cream cheese.

Lunch:  3 eggs over easy, hash browns, 4 strips CF bacon, hatch chiles, pace picante sauce, sour cream.  Bloody mary

You gotta love a breakfast bowl.

Dinner:  Meatloaf, box potatoes, green beans w cheddar cheese, 12 oz Miller Lite

Sunday dinner.  Almost forgot the photo.

Also:  TB 2x chipotle chx burritos, "root beer"

Exercise:  Nope.  Reasonably active day but as usual not the dedicated time.

80.2