Weekly Wrap-Up

I thought about my dinner last night.  In fact, I kept thinking about it.  About how it wasn't sitting well with me.  I was troubled about the whole day.  I had thought about fasting today since I couldn't make it into the gym--you know can't burn the Calories, so might as well not eat them.  But Anna reminded me that my goal is to fast for spiritual reasons.  Not that there's anything wrong with fasting for your diet, right, Steve?  But I'm trying to focus my fasting on my spiritual life.  And then it hit me.  The reason for my fasting wasn't the fact that I missed a workout.  It wasn't the fact that I ate that fried, fatty sandwich last night.  It was because I needed to place God first.  Allow me to explain: I love food.  Like, really love food.  And last night, I put food first.  It seems hard for me to explain, but I believe that the primary role of food is to nourish; the secondary role is to satisfy; and the tertiary role of food is to allow me to use the word tertiary.  :)  Last night, I tried to make food satisfy me.  But that's not its primary role.  And I got into this whole problem (my obese life) by trying to get food to satisfy me.  It can't.  Anna can't.  Fame and fortune can't.  Only God can.  And I needed to remember that.  And I needed to live that.  And that's why I fasted.  I'm glad I could place God back in the proper position in my life--the top!  And I feel much better tonight.

Friday:
1- 15 minute session on the Elliptical
1- 20 minute session on the Treadmill (2.01 miles) 
1- 10 minute session on the Stairmaster (304 Calories)
1 set of 2- 60 second planks
45 sit ups
Walk 3 miles
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Fast

Total:
4- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
4- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill
4- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster
1 set of 2- 60 second planks
210 sit ups
Walk 15 miles
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Fast (2 days!)
Date with Anna

Remaining:
1- 15 minute session on the Elliptical
1- 20 minute session on the Treadmill
1- 10 minute session on the Stairmaster
3 sets of 2- 60 second planks

Goals for Next Week:
5- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
5- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill
5- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster
4 sets of 2- 60 second planks
210 sit ups
Walk 15 miles
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Fast
Date with Anna

Vampires, Counts, and Realizations

Gotta have fun with the title, right? 
So, the blood mobile came to work again today.  I donated again, and it was great.  But my day was packed, so I didn't get a chance to get into the gym.  I definitely won't hit all my goals, but it sure was worth it--I got to help save lives!  And that's definitely worth missing a goal or two.

After work, Anna and I had our date night.  For some reason, I really wanted something hearty--we went to "Tommy's Cafe" which is a local dive-diner.  I had a Monte Cristo.  I really wanted one, but this one was disgusting.  I mean, it was would have been good before my journey started.  But now, it really didn't taste that great, was greasy, and fatty.  Wow, how much things change.  I didn't even finish it.  I'm sure it was horrible for me, but I'm really glad that I tried it, if nothing else, than to learn that I don't really like that kind of food anymore.  So, I guess that was a good realization.  I'll probably try to find a nice Monte Cristo in the future, but it won't be able to be as tasty nasty as that one!

Thursday:
45 Sit ups
Walk 3.75 miles
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Date with Anna

Total:
3- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
3- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill
3- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster
165 sit ups
Walk 12 miles
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Fast
Date with Anna

Remaining:
2- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
2- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill
2- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster
45 sit ups
Walk 3 miles
4 sets of 2- 60 second planks
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily

Hot 100 Update 11

• Consistently achieve my weekly goals (missed two goals last week)
• Have a “Tigger Attitude” at work (even better now)
• Increase intensity on one machine (treadmill, elliptical, or stair stepper) bi-weekly (done)
• Only drink one cup of coffee a day (done)
• No alcohol (had two sips to try the quality of a couple of glasses for Anna)
• No Fast Food (done)
• Read three books (done--1/2 way done with my second)
• Cook dinner three nights a week (done)
• Stop eating at least 2 hours before bed (messed this up yesterday)
• End the year under 275 pounds (done)
• Add fasting into my spiritual life (done)
• Get plugged in at my church (went to the potluck last week. And spent some time meeting some new friends )
• Get to know my neighbors (We'll be making cookies to deliver to our neighbors this weekend--I promise it'll be this weekend)
• Develop a budget with Anna—and stick to it! (Anna's not ready to start our budget until the end of the year, but I figure we should at least start it.)
• Regularly achieve an estimated "burn" of 300 Calories in my 10 minutes on the Elliptical. (Hit 300 three days in a row!)
• Build up to an ability to run 2 miles in my 20 minute session on the treadmill. (Hit 2 today, but that was the first time...I'm building up, though)
• Lose enough size to fit into size 38 jeans and a large shirt. (Checked this weekend, and they're still too tight, but maybe soon)

Wednesday:
1- 15 minute session on the Elliptical
1- 20 minute session on the Treadmill (2 Miles)
1- 10 minute session on the Stairmaster (304 Calories)
60 Sit ups
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily

Total:
3- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
3- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill
3- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster
120 sit ups
Walk 8.25 miles
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Fast

Remaining:
2- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
2- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill
2- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster
90 sit ups
Walk 6.75 miles
4 sets of 2- 60 second planks
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Date with Anna

Biggest Loser Finale

Watching the finale of The Biggest Loser right now.  I'm not going to say anything about what's happening, but I'm just curious, since this is the first time I've watched the season, do all of the contestants after a certain week get surgery to get the extra skin off?  I mean, some of them have lost a significant amount of weight, and I don't really see a lot of extra skin (unless they have some crazy Spanx on!).  On top of that bit of "evidence," after a certain week, all of the current contestants wore clothing that covered their mid sections...and on the finale, they're all wearing clothing to cover mid-sections again.  Just curious.  Any proof either way?  Regardless, so amazing.

Tuesday:
1- 15 minute session on the Elliptical
1- 20 minute session on the Treadmill (1.98 Miles)
1- 10 minute session on the Stairmaster (306 Calories)
Walk 3 miles
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily

Total:
2- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
2- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill
2- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster
60 sit ups
Walk 8.25 miles
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Fast

Remaining:
3- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
3- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill
3- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster
150 sit ups
Walk 6.75 miles
4 sets of 2- 60 second planks
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Date with Anna

Baby, It's Cold Outside

So, fellow blogger, Ricky, had a nice post today about one of the costs benefits of losing weight.  Right now, it's 25 degrees Fahrenheit.  That's -3.89 Celsius, for my friends to the North.  That's cold, especially for the Pacific Northwest. Our average low is 35 degrees.  So yeah, cold.  But I don't remember being this cold last year.  Why is that?  Oh yeah!  Probably because I got rid of that 105 pound parka I was wearing 24/7.  I'm just not used to this anymore.  What a great problem.  Anyone else dealing with this?

That fun done, though, I'm very worried.  I know it's winter, but I'm not sure how many people are/were prepared for this kind of cold.  Especially those brothers and sisters of ours who can't afford heat, live in a car, or a doorway, or under an overpass.  So, for all of those of us who have, I'd encourage you to give. And, for those of us who have lost enough weight, we should have the conviction to believe that we won't go back to our old larger selves and donate those clothes to a local charity.  Okay, I'm off my soapbox now and going to donate most of my old clothes tomorrow.

Oh, and yeah, I need to get some kind of ski mask for my walks or something--I tried a scarf today, and it wasn't too fun. 

Through Monday:
1- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
1- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill (1.93 Miles)
1- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster (304 Calories)
60 sit ups
Walk 5.25 miles
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Fast

Remaining:
4- 15 minute sessions on the Elliptical
4- 20 minute sessions on the Treadmill
4- 10 minute sessions on the Stairmaster
150 sit ups
Walk 9.75 miles
4 sets of 2- 60 second planks
Read the Bible Daily
Pray Daily
Date with Anna