Weigh-In Week 7

251.8! That's what the scale said this morning. A loss of 5.4lbs.

I told you I had a good feeling about this week. I guess I was just retaining water last Friday. I made my lovely wife double check the scale just to make sure I wasn't seeing things. She was kind enough to point out that I am only 1.8 pounds away from showing up on the weight chart. Woo-hoo!



Our winner this week is Nato. Even though he was nearly 2 lbs. off with his guess, Nate was still the closest. For his ability to randomly guess better than the rest of ya all, Nate will be receiving a package of Flat Out of his very own. If he plays his cards right, he may even be invited over for a Flat Out Pizza night.

Thanks for guessing everybody. Have a great weekend.

Tony
7/27: 251.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
31.8 lbs. to go

p.s. Don't forget you can now subscribe to this blog via e-mail.

Guess How Much I Weigh Conest - Week 7

My armpit muscles hurt. This is how out of shape I am. I did another 12 push ups last night and now my armpit muscles hurt, along with my shoulder muscles and my arm muscles, etc. I guess I'll have to learn the actual names of muscles as part of my new fitness plan.

I am scared to say this for fear of cursing the weigh-in, but I feel really good about this week.


Step right up, step right up.
Guess how much I weigh and win a fabulous prize.

To Recap:
Every Thursday I give you my stats for the week and you guess what you think the scale will say on Friday morning. Go ahead and click on comments at the bottom of this post and leave your guess.

I will post the winner when I post my weight on Fri. morning. If we get ten or more guesses I will have a prize for the winner.

Stats for the week of July 23rd.
Walked / Ran: 11.5 miles

Calories Consumed: From Thursday morning through Wed. night I have consumed aprox. 12565 calories.

Calories Burned: From Thursday morning through Wed. night I have burned aprox. 28441 calories.

33% of my calories have come from fat.
10% of those calories came from Saturated Fats.

48% of my calories came from carbs.

17% of my calories came from protein.

Let the guessing begin. Good Luck!


Tony
7/25: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

Dump All Your Fat Friends

According to this recent study it could be dangerous to be my friend, at least for another couple of months. I found this study to be pretty ridiculous, but what I find even more ridiculous is the media hype. This was the lead story on the front page of the paper this morning.

This is pseudo, headline science. It will be talked about on Letterman and Leno for two days and then disappear, never to make a real impact on any ones life. Meanwhile, for the next two days the story will feeds the stereotype the fat people are weak willed and have no control over thier own bodies. And that is what really bugs me about this whole thing, it's just one more brick in the wall of our "don't blame me, I'm not responsible" culture.

For those of you who were spelunking or doing ostrich imitations yesterday here is the gist of the Study.

"People who notice their friend packing on pounds might want to steer clear if they value their sleek physiques."

Sorry to interrupt, but what a horrible way to start an article on supposed science. Talk about feeding our anti fat culture.

The study, published in the July 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that obesity is "socially contagious," as it can spread among individuals in close social circles. The likely explanation: A person's idea of what is an appropriate body size is affected by the size of his or her friends.

Conversely, the researchers found that thinness is also contagious.

Taking a look at my friends and my family, many to most of whom are at the worst mildly overweight, I'm think neither one of the above statements are true.

Here is my favorite part of the article.

"But when the person on the receiving end did not label the first person as a friend, there was no "obesity contagion" effect in the other direction. The distinct variable here is who calls whom a "friend."

In other words, if I'm fat and your not you must not really be my friend. I think this means I only have like 2 friends. All the rest of you skinny, so-called friends, I'm not talking to you until you start packing on some pounds. ..or I lose another 30.

Tony
7/25: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

Recipe Wednesday

3 post in one hour! I know it's overkill but we can't skip recipe Wednesday.

With the busy weekend I still haven't managed to cook up last week's recipe. Hopefully I will get to it tonight. I am really excited about it.

This weeks recipe comes from my friend Char by way of her daughter Caitlyn. Thanks Char.

Crockpot Chicken Chow Mein

1-2 T. vegetable oil
1-1/2 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
6-8 green onions, sliced, including greens
1-1/2 C. celery, sliced
1 C. low sodium chicken broth (*I double this)
1 T. granulated sugar
1/3 C light soy sauce
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 clove garlic
1 can (8 oz.) bean sprouts (I use fresh)
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and sliced
1/4 C. cornstarch
1/ 3 C. water


Preparation: Heat oil in skillet, brown chicken pieces, stirring to brown all sides. Put chicken pieces in crockpot. Stir in all ingredients except cornstarch and water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Combine cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl; stir until cornstarch is dissolved. Stir into the slow cooker liquids. Keeping cover slightly ajar to allow steam to escape, cook on HIGH until thickened, about 15-30 minutes. Serve over rice or Chinese noodles.

Tony
7/24: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

12 x 12 = 24

As promised, I put down Harry Potter for 10 minutes last night and did my push-ups.

I managed 12 push-ups before my arms gave out. And these were real push-ups, not the kind the girls got to do in junior high gym class.

I was really suprsied that 12 was all I could do. I figured I'd be able to do at least 20. Turns out push-ups are hard. I did manage to do a second set of 12, but it was really pushing it to get that twelfth one in. We'll see how I progress as I start my training.

As I type, my Dad is filling my in-box with workout info. Thanks Dad!

Tony
7/25: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

Running In The Rain

I had every excuse not to get out and walk/run yesterday. I had a 2 hour lunch meeting which knocked out my usual workout time. I was home alone with the girls last night. It was 90 degrees out. It was raining.

I was settled in for the night playing with the girls when I realized, even though those are really good excuses, they are still excuses. So, I loaded the girls into the stroller and ventured out into the rain. The girls love playing in the rain and it was 90, so I wasn't too worried about them catching a cold or being miserable. We ended up having a fun outing and I got my workout in.

I'm not sure if this is dedication or bad parenting. I'm going with dedication.

Tony
7/25: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

Amazing Abs In Only 6-Weeks

So the plan was to buy a Men' Health Magazine, follow all of the work out routines in said magazine and reap the glory of a beautifully sculpted body in just 6-weeks.

Unfortunately the collected genius of the number 1 men's fitness magazine in America has failed me.
The problem is, all these exercises require equipment that I don't have, can't afford and can't store at this time.

I was hoping to find some routines that involved things like hand weights and my own body. What I found instead was a need for barbells, weight benches and pull up bars... and a lot of manliness. As Phoebe of Friends fame would have said "Men's Health is seriously testosteroney."


By no means am I abandoning my plan to sculpt and tone my way to blond Adonis status, I am simply putting it on hold pending further research. I know next to nothing about putting together a proper workout and since I can't afford a personal trainer at this time I am going to fall back to the next best thing... my dad.


I'm hoping my father can help me put together a work out plan to get me started. This is the first my Dad is hearing about this, since I forgot to ask him at the game last night. I suppose I had better ask him properly.

Dad, will you help me put together a workout? I know this isn't the first time I have asked, but I promise I won't abandon this one after 2 weeks.

I am also planing to hit the library. Girls think big brains are sexy too, right? The goal will be to do some more research into exercise and try to tailor my new plan to be a perfect fit for me.

As a sign of my commitment I will do some push ups tonight. I'll let you know how many tomorrow.

Tony
7/24: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

The Slump Is Ended...or at least on hold.

Man did you guys miss a good softball game last night...unless you were there.. We lost by 2 runs to a team that should have killed us, which in my book is a win. We were in the lead most of the game and lost it in the last inning.

I was 3 for 5 at the plate with three great line drives right up the middle. It was such a relief to finally hit the ball. I have felt like such an anchor these last few weeks. Lets hope I can carry it through to next week.

Tony
7/24: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

Stuck Between a Double XL And A Hard Place

Last Friday I wrote briefly about being anxious to fit back in to some old clothes. Normal I wear shorts and t-shirts to work, part of the privilege of working in a creative industry, but every once and awhile I have to actually put on a dress shirt. Such was the case last Wednesday.

I started out with a dress shirt that I had purchased in January of this year when I was at my heaviest. I bought the shirt after realizing none of my clothes fit anymore, which was the original impetus for getting healthy. I was swimming in the shirt.

With great joy I grabbed a dress shirt that had been purchased a few years ago, an XL. I slipped my arms in slowly, savoring the anticipation of a wonderful new wardrobe opening before me. Unfortunately the anticipation was short lived. The shirt fit, but was noticeably snug around the middle.

My choices were look like a little kid in his daddy's clothes or look like a fat guy in clothes that should have been shelved 10 lbs ago. I chose the over-sized shirt. This is why I was in a slight funk over the 1 lb. loss on Friday. I wanted big results to offset, what I in my twisted impatience, saw as a clothing set back.

Here is the happy ending to this tale of pride and preening. Yesterday, I hit up the Target clearance rack, my home shopping turf. I grabbed a couple of XL tee shirts and a pair of Size 40 shorts to bring home and try on. Normally I wear a XXL tee shirt and a size 42 in pants. I was feeling good about the weekend and thought, what the heck lets throw caution to the wind and see what happens. In all honesty I assumed I would be bringing all of the items back.

I was pleasantly surprised to only have to bring one item back. The shorts were not, as I had feared, too small, they were too big! I ran them back on Sunday night and tried on a pair of 38s, which fit almost perfectly. A little snug in the sides but let me tell you snug has never felt so good.

I plan to give it another two weeks then I'll try slipping into a few more of those XL dress shirts again.
Tony
7/23: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go