100 Day Challenge: Week Thirteen Complete

 Well, Didn't make much progress last week. Basically I just held steady. I weighed in this morning at 190.6 lbs. I think I actually gained .2 since last week but I'd have to look back to be sure. Overall, I've lost weight during this 100 day challenge. Just not as much as I had hoped. But again, if you look back over the 12 other posts so far, you can see I haven't really been good about sticking to eating better, working out or anything else for that matter. Trying to diet during election season when I'm traveling, exhausted, and trying to keep my head above water was not the best time for this challenge, but oh well. 

I started today off at 190.6 (mentioned above) and I actually got up and went for a 2 mile run. It actually felt good. Not very fast, but nothing hurt and it's been two weeks probably since I ran last. I have been hiking a lot instead of running, but I just don't feel like it's a great workout for me. 

Day 85: Monday, October 10th

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Chicken sandwich on wheat w/mayo

Dinner:  Popeye's chicken sandwich, fries and a medium Coke

Exercise: Ran in the a.m. before work. 2 miles easy. Felt good actually. I ran the whole way. Last time I ran, I walked the last quarter mile. 

Day 86: Tuesday, October 11th

Breakfast: skip

Lunch:   McDonald's fish sandwich, fries and a medium Coke

Dinner: Ordered Chinese food. Got chicken and mixed veggies with white rice and an egg roll. I had a mini-Coke to drink.

Exercise: 1.64 mile fartlek in the a.m. before work.

Day 87: Wednesday, October 12th

Only two weeks until the end of my 100 Day Challenge! Wow, it's coming up fast. 

Breakfast: skip

Lunch: I had a crunchy peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich on wheat

Dinner: Tonight, i made butternut squash ravioli with a pumpkin butternut squash sauce. I also made veggies and bread. I had water to drink but later had a mini-Coke to drink.

Exercise: n/a

Day 88: Thursday, October 13th

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Chicken tenders, mac & cheese, a biscuit and a bottle of water

Dinner: Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich and a mini-Coke

Exercise: 1.64 mile tempo run - fastest time this year for this course!! I started out thinking I'd do another fartlek, but when I got to the point where I was going to slow down, I felt really good, so I went farther, then farther and I just kept pushing the whole way. It was such a great feeling! 

Day 89: Friday, October 14th

Breakfast: skip    

Lunch: PB & J on wheat with water to drink

Dinner: BBQ Ribs, baked potato, cole slaw and a beer

Exercise: Easy two miles

Day 90: Saturday, October 15th

Breakfast: PB & J w/Honey on wheat

Lunch: Cheeseburger, tots, pork rines and a beer

Dinner: I was super full from lunch and just had a Coke around dinner time. I had no appetite at all.

Exercise: Hiked 1.5 miles at Max Patch.

Day 91: Sunday, October 16th - ONLY 10 DAYS REMAINING

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Arby's prime rib cheesesteak w/crinkle fries and a small Coke

Dinner: Beef w/mushrooms from a Chinese restaurant

Exercise: Today was supposed to be a long run day, but I had a ton of things on my to do list and my back was hurting for some reason. I raked, mowed, did laundry, took the car for an oil change and inspection, changed out 2 old register diffusers and replaced a toilet seat. Not of it was hard labor per say but I was definitely going non-stop all day dealing with projects and my honey-do list.

In addition, this was the first week all year...possibly in several years...that I ran four times in a single week. My ego really wanted to run a long run, but I think the universe was looking out for me. It's good to ramp up mileage slowly. 

100 Day Challenge: Week Twelve Complete

Woke up today, at 191.8. Not sure what I ate yesterday that caused me to gain weight overnight but whatever. I was under 190 for a couple of days last week. I'll stick to the plan and try to run more this week which will be very tough. I can at least to weights, push ups, etc... to be active. 

Day 78: Monday, October 3rd

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Had a candy bar for lunch. Today was INSANE. A salted nut roll it was called. 

Dinner:  Chick Fil-A for dinner. Had the grilled chicken sandwich with mayo, medium fries and a water. 

Exercise: n/a

Day 79: Tuesday, October 4th

Breakfast:  skip

Lunch:  Candy bard and an apple for lunch. Another crazy day. 

Dinner: We went to the movies so I was bad. I had a Hard Cider, a burger and fries, popcorn & raisinets. 

Exercise: n/a

Day 80: Wednesday, October 5th

Breakfast: English muffin w/butter

Lunch: McDonald's 2 Cheeseburger meal w/medium fries and a Coke

Dinner: Salmon and rice + Spam and rice sushi thing...Musubi

Exercise: n/a

Day 81: Thursday, October 6th

Breakfast: English muffin w/butter

Lunch: Turkey sandwich on wheat bread w/mayo

Dinner: I made Spaghetti and meatballs and a Caesar salad. I had water to drink. Later, I had a mini-Coke watching She-Hulk.

Exercise: n/a

Day 82: Friday, October 7th

Breakfast: skip

Lunch: Godfather's meat lover's pizza with a bottle of water

Dinner: Cheeseburger and tater tots w/water to drink

Exercise: 10 x 20lb curls & overhead press + 10 x 5lb front & side raises

Day 83: Saturday, October 8th

Breakfast: English muffin w/butter

Lunch: 10 Wings in sweet/spicy sauce w/water to drink. Had a mini-Coke later.

Dinner:  Cheeseburger and tater tots with water to drink. 

Exercise: 20 Push Ups

Day 84: Sunday, October 9th

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Steak taco, lamb gyro taco and a Coke. Also had some chips and queso.

Dinner: Spam and egg musubi (1) and Spam Musubi (3) and a Coke

Exercise: 4 mile hike to see 2 waterfalls at Graveyard Fields

100 Day Challenge: Week Eleven Complete

Today, Monday, September 25th marks 30 days remaining in my 100 day challenge. I have to be honest. I want to just scrap the whole thing and start over. I mean, I have lost 6 pounds...but honestly, I had lost that really quickly. Since then, I've been having sodas...sweets here and there...and not doing a good job avoiding fast food or at least making good choices. I'd say in all honesty, I'm probably about 50/50 when it comes to making good choices at fast food places. Getting sodas and fries is where I usually fail in trying to avoid fried/greasy foods. My weight keeps yo-yoing between 189.6 and 192. 

Early on in the challenge, I did get down to 188.2 but then I went on vacation and got a little off track. But rather than get back on track, I just kept eating like I was still on vacation. Work has been crazy, but let's be honest, that's just an excuse. Going through McDonald's drive-thru rather than going into Subway just another block down is a choice. That has nothing at all to do with how crazy work is or isn't. 

I'm going to see this challenge through. I think it actually paints a pretty good picture of what we tell ourselves are the reasons we don't exercise more or do better. I am definitely (I know I've said this all before...) make a real effort to finish strong. 

Starting weight at beginning of challenge: 197.2

Starting weight going into last 30 days: 191.4.

Weight loss in 70 days: 5.8lbs

Day 71: Monday, September 26th

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Leftovers - chicken broccoli stir fry with white rice and a glass of water.

Dinner:  Chick Fil-A chicken deluxe sandwich and fries. I only ordered the sandwich...no fried and no drink...but opened the bag, and there were fries. Oh well. I was good at lunch so should be OK. 

Exercise: I didn't work out today. I had planned to go for a run all this week but then dinner, errands, work, etc...all happened. It's also getting dark earlier. I know. All excuses. RUN IN THE FRICKIN' DARK IF YOU HAVE TO!

Day 72: Tuesday, September 27th

This morning was great! I finally broke through 190. I was 189.8! 

Breakfast:  2 pieces of sourdough w/butter

Lunch:  Campbell's Chicken & Sausage Gumbo soup

Dinner: Salmon w/Brussel sprouts & cous-cous

Exercise: 10 x 25 lb curls & 10 x 20lb overhead presses + 10 x 5 lb front raises and then side raises

Day 73: Wednesday, September 28th

Woke up this morning and I was 189.6! Feeling optimistic again. 

Breakfast: 2 pieces of sourdough w/butter

Lunch: Hardee's grilled chicken club sandwich and a bottle of water

Dinner: Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich and a bottle of water plus when I got home I had a bowl of chili w/cheese that my wife had cooked.

Exercise: n/a

Day 74: Thursday, September 29th

I feel like I'm getting back on track! I woke up today and was 189.2! I love being under 190lbs. My stomach is much flatter and my shirts fit better. Can't wait to get below 180. 

Breakfast: skip

Lunch: Subway's foot long Great Garlic chicken sandwich on white bread. 

Dinner: I cooked and made a lemon-pepper breaded tilapia, spaetzle and a salad with feta cheese, apple slices and walnuts.

Exercise: n/a

Day 75: Friday, September 30th

Hurricane Ian hit Florida yesterday is making it's way up to here in NC. 

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Roast beef sandwich and a coke from the grocery store

Dinner: Outback Steak House. I had the small ribeye, loaded baked potato and seasonal mixed veggies. I also had some cheese fries and a large Outback Blonde beer

Exercise: n/a

Day 76: Saturday, October 1st

Breakfast: skip

Lunch: 10 Mcnuggets w/bbq sauce and a coke

Dinner:  Pulled pork taco and a shredded beef taco

Exercise: 10 x 20lb dumbbells for curls and overhead press. 10lb dumbbells for side and front raises. I also ran 2 miles and hiked 3.9 miles earlier in the day. 

Day 77: Sunday, October 2nd

Breakfast: skip

Lunch: Leftover chili and cheese

Dinner: Got chinese food. Had white rice, egg roll and honey chicken (breaded like sweet and sour chicken, but with honey)

Exercise: 10 x 10lb front and side raises + 20 push ups

100 Day Challenge: Week Ten Complete

 I started this week at 190 lbs.

Day 64: Monday, September 19th

Breakfast: I skipped breakfast.

Lunch: Not really hungry so I had some leftover caprese salad, a banana and a piece of sourdough toast with butter. 

Dinner:  I was on the road tonight for work so I stopped at Chick Fil-A and got a Chicken sandwich (breaded), medium fries and a medium Coke Zero...which I only took a few sips of and then dumped it out. 

Exercise: 12 x 20lb dumbbells - Curls and Overhead Presses

Day 65: Tuesday, September 20th

Breakfast: 1 Strawberry pop-tart because my wife wanted to get rid of the box. 

Lunch:  Campbell's Sirloin Burger soup

Dinner: Spinach, goat cheese pasta

Exercise: 12 x 20lb dumbbells - Curls and Overhead Presses

Day 66: Wednesday, September 21st

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: McDonald's Quarter Pounder w/Cheese and a bottle of water. No fries.

Dinner: 4 tacos, refried beans, chips and salsa and guacamole plus a salad.

Exercise: 

Day 67: Thursday, September 22nd

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Burger King chicken sandwich, onion rings and a Coke

Dinner: Chicken kabobs, roasted veggies and roasted potato salad with water to drink

Exercise: 12 x 20lb dumbbells - Curls and Overhead Presses

Day 68: Friday, September 23rd

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: 2 slices of Domino's pizza - veggie and pepperoni and a Coke

Dinner: Cheeseburger and french fries, Pisgah Pale Ale beer

Exercise: 12 x 20lb dumbbells - Curls and Overhead Presses + 10 x 5lb dumbbells front raises and side raises

Day 69: Saturday, September 24th

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Pulled pork BBQ, chicken and ribs with baked beans and a Coke

Dinner: Popeye's Chicken Sandwich and 3 chocolate beignets with a White Zombie beer to drink. 

Exercise: Hiked for 2 hours 

Day 70: Sunday, September 25th

Breakfast: Two breakfast tacos with eggs, cheese and sausage

Lunch: Skipped lunch since I ate breakfast

Dinner: Chicken & Broccoli stir fry (home made)

Exercise: 2 hour walk along the river on the greenways

100 Day Challenge: Week Nine Complete

 

Day 57: Monday, September 12th

I was on the road today. ALL day I was traveling so I ate like garbage. I could have skipped the sodas but I felt like I needed the sugar jolt with all the driving. I probably didn't but just told myself I did to justify it. 

Breakfast: Skipped

Lunch: 2 Cheeseburger meal w/fries and medium Coke

Dinner:  KFC 2 piece meal with breast/wing, coleslaw and medium Mountain Dew

Exercise: N/A

Day 58: Tuesday, September 13th

Breakfast: Skipped Breakfast

Lunch: Reuban sandwich w/onion rings and a bottle of water. I helped one of my counties out with a project and they gave me an "ooey gooey butter cake" as a thank you. I had several squares of it. 

Dinner: Indian spiced chicken breast from Trader Joe's, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and a salad.

Exercise: N/A

Day 59: Wednesday, September 14th

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Diary Queen cheeseburger, fries, medium Pepsi and a hot fudge sundae

Dinner: We went to the Mountain State Fair tonight so I didn't even try to be good. I had an Italian sausage with peppers and onions, 1/2 of a giant meatball on a stick, half an Elephant Ear, a Cinnabon cinnamon roll and a chocolate dipped ice cream cone.

Exercise: N/A unless you count walking around the fair.

Day 60: Thursday, September 15th

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: I was not hungry at all so I skipped lunch. Probably recovering from last night's binge of crap.

Dinner: Chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes and green beans. Also had a biscuit with apple butter and then a sweet tea to drink. Later I had mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Exercise: N/A

Day 61: Friday, September 16th

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: Godfather's personal pizza, coke, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup 4-pack. It was a rough morning at work. 

Dinner: Chipotle Steak Bowl with black beans, mild salsa, cheese and Guacamole.

Exercise: I actually exercised a little. I did 10 x 20lb dumbbells for Curls and overhead presses.

Day 62: Saturday, September 17th

Breakfast: I was starving for some reason. I had a fried egg and a biscuit with butter and grape jelly.

Lunch: I skipped lunch. I'm not used to eating breakfast so I just wasn't hungry.

Dinner: Two slices of mushroom/onion pizza and a caprese salad.

Exercise: N/A

Day 63: Sunday, September 18th

Breakfast: Skip

Lunch: I wasn't real hungry so I had a banana and a piece of sourdough toast with butter.

Dinner: I had an 8 piece Sushi, a side salad and a mini-Godzilla roll

Exercise: 10 x 20lb dumbbells - Curls and overhead presses.

100 Day Challenge: Week Eight Complete

 It's getting close. Too close. I feel like...no...I know I'm not where I wanted to be at this point. I thought I'd be farther in my weight loss but vacation and continuing less than good choices have slowed my progress. 

Day 50: Monday, September 5th

It's been 50 days and I'm down in weight overall. This morning I was 190lbs. I'm down 7.2 lbs but I should be much farther along. I thought I'd be around 183 lbs at this point given a 2 lb per week weight loss. But vacation set me back and then since I've been back, I've not been running and the weights I've been doing have more been to make me feel like I did something, but it is by no means an actual workout. 

I did do better yesterday doing 2 sets of 10 reps for four different exercises, but I can do better. 

Here's what I ate and did today:

Breakfast: Piece of coffee cake. 

Lunch: Chick Fil-A grilled chicken sandwich and I added Mr. Stubbs BBQ sauce to snazz it up a bit. I just had water to drink. I skipped the fries and save calories and money.

Dinner: For dinner, I had a BBQ chicken sandwich at Panera. No other sides or a drink. Just water. 

Exercise: N/A

Day 51: Tuesday, September 6th

Breakfast: Skipped breakfast

Lunch: Chicken Tender wrap with Ranch dressing and home fries.

Dinner: My wife made a pecan crusted salmon with ravioli and a Caesar salad.

Exercise: N/A

Day 52: Wednesday, September 7th

Breakfast: Apple cider donut

Lunch: I had leftover ravioli

Dinner: I had 2 Chicken sausages on hot dog buns, green beans, and a baked potato.

Exercise: N/A

Day 53: Thursday, September 8th

Breakfast: Skipped breakfast

Lunch: 4 slices of Mellow Mushroom Pizza: Pepperoni, 2 cheese and a meat lovers. It was SO good. I should have just ate the two slices I originally took but they were just so good. 

Dinner: I had dinner with my son and his girlfriend. We went to a really good taco place called Que Chula. I had 3 Asada (Steak) tacos and plantains with water to drink.

Exercise: N/A

Day 54: Friday, September 9th

Breakfast: I had two crumpets with butter. They are like English muffins in case you don't know of them. I had tea to drink. 

Lunch: I was driving all over today for work. I had McDonald's. I got my "usual" 2 cheeseburger combo meal with medium fries and a medium Coke. 

Dinner: For dinner, we got Carraba's to go. I had the salmon capperi with garlic mashed potatoes and a Caesar salad. I had a little of the bread and oil...about 2 slices.

Exercise: N/A

Day 55: Saturday, September 10th

Breakfast: I had two crumpets with butter. 

Lunch: I had a Chick Fil-A breaded chicken combo with a medium fries. I ordered a Coke Zero to drink. Better than a regular Coke, but I really don't like to drink things with Aspartame. Plus carbonation in general makes me bloated.

Dinner: In a moment of weakness, I had Burger King. And not just any BK, but the Whopper with cheese, onion rings and medium Coke. It was weird, becuase I was kicking myself for ordering a drink (especially since I had a soda earlier) but it was all seltzer so I threw it out and just drank water. Guess the universe was looking out for me. 

Exercise: N/A

Day 56: Sunday, September 11th

Today is just 45 days to go. A little over six weeks and I'm just not doing as well as I wanted to in both diet and exercise. I decided I needed to really kick my efforts in gear. 

Breakfast: Skipped breakfast

Lunch: I had a southwestern omelet (black beans, sour cream, tomatillos, cheese), home fries and a biscuit with raspberry jelly

Dinner: Tonight I had Fatz Cafe, with my favorite ribs! They had a special, one pound of their ribs with a side for $9.99. I had the sweet potato and I added butter and cinnamon. 

Exercise: I ran 1.64 miles which took 20:04 and then walked for another 10 minutes for a total of 30 minutes of exercise. 

100 Day Challenge: Week Seven Complete

A new start

Well, I did get better towards the end of this past week but it was too little too late. My weigh in this morning was 191.8 lbs. Down .2 lbs. from last week but it should have been more. I mentioned in my last post that I ran again this past Saturday and it was good to be active again. Also, yesterday's hike was so nice and relaxing.

Day 43: Monday, August 29th

As I mentioned above, I weighed in at 191.8 lbs. Still over 190 but oh well...I'm still down overall. Weight loss (contrary to popular belief) is not a continuous downward trend. It very often looks like a wave pattern. dips and rises but with an overall downward progression. 

I skipped breakfast. I also hit snooze three times so I didn't exercise this morning. But I am very motivated to run tonight and also to do a workout with my dumbbells later on.

For lunch, I wasn't really hungry. I have some things in the house I could eat but I just don't want any of it. Instead, I opted for a Belvita Breakfast Biscuit, cup of Green tea and two slices of Pumpernickel, toasted with butter. 

At dinner, I had a Wendy's classic and medium fries. I didn't mean to get fries but they were in the bag. I just had water to drink.

I did exercise! I did 10 curls and 10 overhead presses with 20lb dumbbells.

Day 44: Tuesday, August 30th

Breakfast: Skipped Breakfast

Lunch: Canned salmon on 2 Sourdough bread slices

Dinner: Spinach pasta w/2 zucchini fritters (like potato pancakes). I also had a blue moon light beer. Not sure why I grabbed one out of the fridge, but I did. 

Exercise: 10 curls and 10 overhead presses with 20lb dumbbells.

Day 45: Wednesday, August 31st

Breakfast: Skipped breakfast

Lunch: Leftover spinach pasta w/canned salmon

Dinner: 2 hot dogs on buns and a salmon burger on a bun. Also had a salad.

Exercise: 10 curls and 10 overhead presses with 20lb dumbbells.

Day 46: Thursday, September 1st

Breakfast: Skipped breakfast

Lunch: McDonald's 2 Cheeseburger meal w/fries and a medium Coke

Dinner: 2 slices of cauliflower pizza with mushrooms and a salad

Exercise: 10 curls and 10 overhead presses with 20lb dumbbells.

Day 47: Friday, September 2nd

Breakfast: Skipped breakfast

Lunch: Banana & Leftover cauliflower pizza w/mushrooms 

Dinner: Panera Bread Co. - Had a Mediterranean bowl with chicken and just water to drink. I also had half an ice cream sandwich and glass of wine. 

Exercise: I took the night off from weights.

Day 48: Saturday, September 3rd

Breakfast: I had something my wife made. It was scrambled eggs, asparagus, & potatoes. It was in a casserole dish so it was something like an omelet. I also had a big slice of coffee cake that she made as well as a piece of plain pumpernickel and a piece with grape jelly. No idea why, but I was ravenous this morning. 

Lunch: It's unlike me to eat breakfast so I was not hungry at all when lunch rolled around. 

Dinner: I had salmon with asparagus and zucchini. I had a light blue moon beer and an ice cream sandwich for dessert. 

Exercise: I did my usual 10 x 20 lb dumbbell workout. Just curls and overhead presses.

Day 49: Sunday, September 4th

Breakfast: I skipped breakfast but did workout as you'll see below with my wife in the a.m.

Lunch: We went out to brunch with my son and daughter which was so amazing! We went to a place in Asheville called Tupelo Honey. I had the scrambled eggs with bacon, sausage, tomatoes and challa toast. I had a water and a mimosa to drink. 

Dinner: I had a Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack, Chicken BLT with pimento cheese sandwich and french fries. I just had water to drink.

Exercise: First think in the morning, my wife and I worked out together. We did Curls, Tricep extensions, overhead presses and then she did should raises and I did Bulgarian Split Squats. She used different weights. I used 15 lb. dumbbells for everything.