I Have Loose Pants

I know I said before that I have loose pants. But I wanted to say it again. For a shout out to my in-laws from the Ohio Valley, "I'm just sayin'." :) Have a great Friday. I'm off to become a lesser man.

The Complement

Today I was in a meeting. This meeting was with people I know well, but ones I don't often see every single day anymore. One of my friends in the meeting shares a common desire in wanting to reduce the waistline. He's doing an awesome job of it too, it should be mentioned. So back to my point here. I was in the meeting and he was the last one in. 5 of us total and right when he walked in, he said something to the effect of, "Wow Troy, I can TOTALLY tell that you're losing weight. Way to go!" This was it! The first one! You see, I've yo-yo'd my weight for my entire adult life and each successful stretch for me includes that first "hey man, you're losing weight, aren't you?" complement. For those of us who deal with weight issues, you understand what I mean when I say that getting from the start of the diet to that first complement is an ETERNITY! Then, it seems that the process begins to get easier because more people start to notice and that, in turn, causes me to get even MORE motivated. So, today...it happened...FINALLY! To my friend, and you know who you are...THANK YOU! You just made my whole January!

Tightening Up

I haven't weighed in a few days, but I know I'm improving on this. I put on my pants this morning and they were certainly more loose. I didn't have to say 12 Hail Mary's before I put them on. You know, fresh out of the wash and dryer, shrunk a little bit, and I don't need the embarrassment of getting a triceps workout simply by trying to connect the button to fasten them. Not at all this time. I just pulled the pants on and fastened the button - no problem. It's not like the pants were hanging off of me, but they do fit properly (for the first time in quite a while). That was a reassuring feeling. THEN, I put on my belt. WHAT'S THIS?!? The second hole is almost not the one anymore. I put it there anyway, cause I'm not trying to be a hero here, but for the first time in as long as I can remember, my belt today is for aesthetic purposes only. I kind of like that! I will be in the third notch on the belt in a week or so, I would think. I love how my clothes are fitting now and as I've stated before, I'm in such a rhythm and routine here, that I don't want to mess anything up. I'm committed to the journey. And on we go...

In a Hurry!

Still doing good. Not much to tell. Feeling GREAT! Staying strong. Corban woke us up at 12:40 last night just to be MAD for about an hour. What's up with that? I'm gonna go into his room when he's sound asleep tonight and just start yelling for an hour and see how HE likes it. Smart move? Geez! Talk tomorrow.

Magnificent Failure

Today I left Dallas, but before I left, know this - last night I failed. Before you judge, hear me out. I actually was very pleased in my failure. During the day we were finishing a meeting in Dallas with one client, and setting up the dinner location for the other. "Dinner meeting." That has spelled disaster to me for almost 20 years now. Fun, deals being cut, appetizers, meals, AND desserts!?! Are you kidding me? Truly, I will be fighting the Mike Tyson of will power. And so the location was then set - The Cheesecake Factory. (gulp!) I could've done without a temptation like THAT! And, as fate would have it, "Mike Tyson" DID show up, and I lost. A few wings to start (no problem), then an southwestern egg roll (emmmmmm, do better Troy), then the meal was ordered. Beef ribs with fries and onion strings. The decision had then been made. BREAK NIGHT! But, here's how it continued on. The beef ribs were good, but I only ate 3 of the 6 provided. I had a few of the onion strings, and maybe 7 or 8 fries, and then....ummmm....I was FULL!!! What is going on here!?! After nice glass of (unsweet) tea, I caved again. "Yes, I WILL have the apple crumb cobbler with ice cream please." Ever been to The Cheesecake Factory? They bring it out in a wagon, there's so much. But again...this "full" thing. I bet I had 8 bites - TOPS! Can't be more than that. In the end, when I took inventory, of course it was my worst day so far, but I didn't have my heaven on earth dining experience I expected, I get full way too easy, and I wasn't even happy at all anyway. So, maybe I really have made good change after all. Today has been back to the routine. I think I understand now who I am in this whole process. Magnificent, right?

Big D!

Not much to give you today. I've been a VERY good boy on my discipline still. No cracks in the armor. I'm loving it. Feeling tons of energy, sharper mind, and looser clothing. Haven't weighed in a couple of days, but I will when I get back into town. All's well though. Interesting note, as a die-hard sports fan (particularly football), it was pretty cool this morning when on this business trip to Dallas today, while in a relatively empty Cracker Barrel for breakfast we sit near Dallas Cowboy player Keith Brooking. The guy has been an all-pro for many years and is a stud. I spoke to him briefly and he seemed to be pretty cool for a passing encounter. Give me 6 months and I'll be able to crush him! :)

Confidence

Energy and confidence are here. I've asked them to move in and stay...FORVER! I really do feel like I'm doing well now. I was in a rush this morning, so I don't have the numbers for you, but even if somehow it went up a pound or something (which I really doubt), I'm not fazed. I'm now in my groove, rhythm, or whatever you wanna call it. I really DO regret getting to this point. It's like I lost control and didn't know how to stop. How do you weigh the cost on something that makes you feel great RIGHT NOW vs. a long arduous road back to feeling great ALL THE TIME. It's the same principle as investing money. Do without now for the better "health" of the long run. I feel good about the money part. I'm trying to get the intake part down. GET THIS - I even brought exercise clothes to work. Granted, I've not used them yet (excuses, excuses, I know), BUT, I thought to do it, and even WANT to do it. I even brought my ipods out of retirement and they're charging in my USB drive as I type this note. God is so good to me. I'm pumped. (did you notice?)

I'm Excited

This morning I woke up and 320 was waiting on me. I know that's still a big number, but I really feel like I'm hitting my groove now. I have momentum. I'm not famished anymore. I'm not eating a ton - because I don't desire to. I'm way off of breads and starches and all of that. In short, I'm 9 days in and starting day 10 and I have no fear of foul up. I'm really gonna make a hard run at this. I'm beginning to feel a little bit better, but I have a long way to go. I weighed twice. That's how I know it's legit. :) Happy Hump Day.

Ouch.

Remember the refereeing from yesterday? That was really fun. However, Big Boy Troy hasn't exactly been training for the Decathlon lately, so when I woke up this morning, my sore muscles were there to greet me. It's ok, I can get around fine and it's just enough soreness to remind me that we're doing the right thing here. I lost 2 more pounds. 322. Even looking at that number looks HUGE, but it's going down, and that's the objective. Happy Sunday to you!

FOUL!

Today is a bit different. Well, first of all, the diet is going GREAT! No cravings, no starvation, nothing like that. I'm doing it right and not backing down. Still on 324 today, but that's fine. I know the results are coming. This is day 6, I mean after all! :) I digress. Today, my brother and I embark on yet another wild-hair idea. We're now "refs." Proper term is "referee." He came to me and said, "hey man, what would you think about making some extra money by reffing basketball games on Saturdays for the Parks and Rec league?" He had me at "extra money." So, skipping past the part of buying the necessary outfitting materials, meeting the most interesting people at the Social Security Office (long story), and braving the cold and snow of Old Man Winter's breath, today, we go. In fact, at the time of this composition, he is 8 minutes away from his first of 4 games. $20 a game. Not bad, right? HEY! Maybe I'll lose weight doing this. Oh the HORROR!

Remember Me?

I failed. Let's just get that out in the open right now. I failed. I went to the holidays with good intentions, and being snowed in with gobs of time on my hands failed me. Today I am 324. I actually think that's better than it was too because I'm back in business and dieting hardcore for 5 straight days now...but it was only this morning that I had the strength to stand of the platform of PURE COLD-HEARTED HONESTY. It doesn't get more straight-forward than a scale...and I knew that, so I avoided it. And as a result, I avoided this blog too. But, encouraging reminders from "Lucy" and "Blaze" made me rethink that this was a thick and thin, good and bad, ugly and pretty journey, so I needed to own up, be a man, and forge ahead. After all, these were MY choices and I can't lay blame anywhere else. So, with that, goodbye lots of pizzas, goodbye 7-layer cookies, goodbye apple crumb pie (and all of your floured, baked, white-sugared brothers and sisters), and HELLO 2010! I'm still committed to the race. I just fell down. While I didn't expect to fall into an Entenman's bakery rack, I did, so I move on. Gotta do this!