One man reaching..

One packed weekend

2009-12-01T21:48:00.001-05:00

So this weekend started with Thankgiving which was one great time and then lead into Kaidan's kids party for his birthday on friday, Kaylor's baptism on Sunday and Kaidan's family birthday party tonight. Mean while we had friends and family come into town and it was a great time. Our friends and family make us realize how lucky we are. Pictures and details to come soon.

Countdown

2009-09-09T21:09:00.002-04:00

So the countdown is on. Kara's due date is October 29th and she is scheduled to be induced on the 24th of October. We are very excited and can not wait to met our little girl.

As for myself I continue to maintain my weight loss. I stay in that 188 to 193 range which is where I am comfortable. Now I have not run as much as I want to. In fact I am planning on going tomorrow, at least for a short run just to get going again. I have done a seven and a half minute mile which is my fastest and when I am running multiple miles I am pacing around 8 minute miles.

Talk more later

Almost a month

2009-06-20T02:07:00.006-04:00

So a month has gone by and a lot has happened. I ran in a 5k race and ran a 25:14 at a 8:08 pace. I was amazed. I loved competing in it and it was so much fun. I have continued to run since but not in great consistency. I multiple time including in North Carolina when we were there and maybe the lack of consistency has helped my quad fell better since it has stopped hurting(I injured it before the 5k race). I have been reading a lot about strides and pacing and all that good stuff including injury prevention, we will see how it works out for me as I get back into it.

So last week we went to the Outer Banks with Kara's family. We had an absolute blast. The kids loved the beach and loved hanging out with their uncles and aunt (6 and 8 respectively). They played in the sand everyday and Kaidan was swimming in the pool with only his life jacket and no assistance by the end of the trip.

Baby Alert: I think I had said this before my Kara is pregnant. She just hit 21 weeks and we know we are having a baby girl. We are very excited about have a girl and can not wait till her arrival in October.

Two strong words

2009-05-25T00:23:00.002-04:00

The two strongest words are "I can't". They are stronger then "I Do" or "Marry me". I can't is over used by people every day of the week. I can't get to the gym, I can't lose weight, I can't do this, I can't do that. Most of the time a person should say I won't get to the gym or I won't lose weight and so on. Because if you really try you CAN do anything you want. You want proof? OK, example: Do good and moral people say I can't steal that or I won't steal that?

I learned many years ago at a job I had that I can do anything if I am trained to do it. I said this at job interviews, and any other time I could fit it in to a sentence as to describe myself in the past. But really I never took it past work, and I know this because I gained more weight and I didn't do other things because of the great and almighty I Can't. Well tonight when I was running I thought about this and realized I can do anything and I know this because because a year ago I weighted 338 pounds and could barely get out of bed or put on my shoes without moaning groaning or sweating. I am going to prove this to myself next weekend when I run a 5k to support the Children's hospital at strong.

So remember the next time you say "I can't" rethink it and say "I won't" and I am sure your perspective will change.

BTW I ran 2 miles in 17 minutes tonight.

Until Tomorrow,
Night.

8 minute mile

2009-05-23T00:45:00.001-04:00

So tonight I went out running at the local high school track. I ran an eight minute mile. I have never ran an eight minute mile ever in my life. It was such a cool feeling. I continued to run more and completed a mile and a half at the same pace. I haven't run much lately but I signed up for a 5k next weekend. It is to benefit the Golisano Childrens hospital at Strong here in Rochester. Kara and I are quite passonate about supporting the childrens hospital here because the pediatric craniofacial group has done an amazing job with our oldest sons cleft lip. If you would like to sponser me email me. Lol. But seriously after the 5k there is a walk that we are all participating in. It is a great event and we have so much fun doing it. Well I will keep you all updated on my qoute un qoute training in the next week.
Until tomorrow
Night

Great Race weekend

2009-05-21T01:49:00.002-04:00

So this weekend is going to be a great race weekend. And thinking about that makes me want to start running and getting ready to run a 5k. I need to watch out so i do not start making excuses for not doing it. I have just over two month to get ready for it which will be way more then enough time. But if I want to do well I need to start running the distance now! So tomorrow when I post I will make sure to tell you about my run. It is not like it is going to take a lot of time. The ipod is charged, now I need to get some new podcast and I will be set. Have a good night.

Until tomorrow,
Night

Spotty blogger back and trying to be better

2009-05-05T23:55:00.005-04:00

I almost posted this on a forum as a response to someone then thought it may have been seen as an attack and not as a help, so I am going to post it here to motivate myself and anyone else reading this:

I agree with you all bodies act and react differently but don't let that be an excuse to rest on. If you want to be healthier put in the work and do not be focused on your weight be focused on how you feel. If you can do the active things you want without being winded and you can accomplish your goals (example: I want to climb a rock wall) then that is where you should be but if you are not feeling well about what you can do then maybe more work on exercise, what your eating is where you should focus. I only say that because I know I became so unhealthy because I lied to myself and it became progressively worse over the years to where I thought I was healthy at 338. I am not trying to attack what you are saying just trying to support you.

Now please read the next paragraph before casting opinions on me.

I used to put an hour into a post and now I can not find a few minutes to post. I come up with a ton of excuses not to even make a short blog, thus leading me not to post for a while and become absent. So when I was writing this on another site I thought about myself and how I make excuses for not working out, not posting here, not doing other things I need to do in life, such as the things my wife ask me to do (sorry baby). So I worte this instead.

"I agree with you all bodies act and react differently but don't let that be an excuse to rest on. If you want to be healthier you know what to do, you did it before. Maybe start with the pouch reset, search the forums for it and get back on line. Good luck and we are here for you."

I will write more tomorrow.
Night

I got new glasses. Crappy pic but what do you think?

2009-04-30T22:21:00.001-04:00

My birthday cake

2009-04-18T19:04:00.001-04:00

Good things

2009-04-15T00:56:00.001-04:00

So today was a good day all around. But I am tiredm hopefully I can continue this tomorrow morning.

Night.

Home

2009-04-12T23:47:00.001-04:00

So as I am getting ready for bed tonight and knowing I have to drive home tomorrow morning I am thinking to myself where "home" is. I know that home is where you want it to be. With my boys and wife squared is where I call home. It could be our house or where ever we are, as long as I am with them I am home. Now I need to add that I know that I am feeling nostalgic since we saw friends that we dearly miss. But maybe, just maybe, where we want our home to be is here. I do miss it very much but then I think of who and what we would miss back in NY. We will see where life takes us. Also just a heads up, last ultrasound looks good. Progressing well. Keep them in your prayers please.

Until tomorrow or the next day.
Night

My Want's

2009-04-08T01:47:00.002-04:00

Tonight I was thinking and I am going to write it out.

I want to be the father my father was. I want to be the coach of my children's sports teams, I want to help them with their home work, I want to provide for them and make sure I can give them everything they need. I want to teach them how to be good people, I want to see them off on their first day of school. I want to teach them to shave and help them fill out their college applications. I want to give them advise they will laugh at and years later look back and say, dad was right. I want to see them graduate and get married. I want to be called grandpa by my grandchildren and spoil them rotten.

I want to celebrate my anniversaries, birthday's and special events with Kara. Travel to fun filled family vacations where are children call us lame but always have fun. I want to grow old with her and sit on our porch and talk about how the old times were better. I want to go shopping for grocery's and sit around and watch tv together. I want to provide for her and make her happy.

I want to be proud of my family we have created and raised and have them be proud of me. I want to be a positive force in all the lives of my loved ones.

And that is why I have made the changes I have and I am working on being the best father and husband I can be.

Here is the cake I mamade for Cooper's birthday party. Also thee two is because it was Coop's second birthday.

2009-04-05T01:03:00.000-04:00

Eating

2009-04-03T20:37:00.003-04:00

So Bittner and I are went to the gym. Yeah I haven't been there in a while but now since I am dropping more weight without trying I have decided that if my body wants to lose more fat then I need to build the muscle. Now I am not trying to be one of those annoying people who would complain that they are losing weight but I am worried about it to a point. I am getting past where I want to be but I want to eat healthy still and it seems when I have been doing that I keep losing weight. To be honest I have been eating unhealthy food of late to curb the weigh loss and I keep dropping. I don't want to eat more because I am eating until I am full and eat 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. Now I am putting down about 1400 calories when I am eating health and many more when I have been eating like crap. That is the normal caloric intake for a gastric bypass post op patient. So time to get to the gym every other day. Now I know I have said this before but I am going to pull it off. But I am tired so I will post tomorrow about coopers birthday party today.

Until tomorrow,
night

Laying here thinking

2009-03-31T01:23:00.001-04:00

As I lay here in my bed I am thinking about how blessed I am. I am a very lucky man with a great wife, two of the greatest sons ever, a new child on the way, an awesome dog, great friends and so much more. I have been given more then any one man deserves. Thank you god for these blessing!

So today as I weighed myslf and expected a rise in my weight since I did not eat the best over the weekend I saw a new low of 191. WTF! I am trying to mintain and I have lost more. Maybe this is just a surprise and on Tuesday more it will jump back up but maybe not. I will go and see my nutritionist if I drop under 190 to see what I have to do to maintain. Also one of my worries is as the weather is getting better i and I start biking and running I will drop more. We will see and I will keep you posted.

Until tomorrow,
night

Sunday

2009-03-29T21:18:00.002-04:00

Today was an AWESOME day. I hung out with the family all day. It started with hanging with the boys, then a great breakfast then back to the house. After I got back to the house I cleaned and watched the race, played with Kaidan and Cooper and then had a great home cooked dinner with the fam. It was a perfect day. It was all about my family, all about my loved ones. I don't think anyone would complain about a day like that. What made it even better was it was completely relaxing. Jackson even enjoyed the relaxation time. Granted he relaxes all the time but we were with him. This was just a great mind clearing weekend. Yesterday was great and relaxing, today was, I wish every weekend was like this.

Until tomorrow,
Night

Sunday morning breakfast with aunt amanda

2009-03-29T09:53:00.001-04:00

Vince gets arrested.

2009-03-29T00:43:00.001-04:00

www.thesmokinggun.co/archive/years/2009/0327092sham1.html
Too fun and just think I used my sham woow I got for christmas for the first time today. lol

As I sit here

2009-03-29T00:14:00.002-04:00

So as I sit here tonight watching the tube I am reflecting on my day. I woke up, played with Kaidan and Cooper (higlight of my day), Played outside with the boys, detailed our two cars, washed my aunt and uncle's car and waxed a camry with Jason's help, all by 3:30pm. I also redid the dinning room, 80% done. Now I must also say I had either Kaidan or Kaidan and Cooper outside with me during this time. While completing all this today I could only think about how I would never have been this productive in an afternoon last year. I am enjoying the possibilities of what I can accomplish, Now I have to make the possibilities a reality. I will keep you updated.

Until later,
Night

Cooper taking his road test

2009-03-28T12:21:00.001-04:00

Push ups

2009-03-28T09:24:00.001-04:00

So something as easy as push ups were impossible before I lost the excess weight. But this week as I have been doing some working our I was able to do push up without much problems. It was such a cool thing and really made me feel good. Again this is a little battle but when you put all the battles together I have won it is a pretty cool and big thing.

Until later

Loving the weather

2009-03-27T23:33:00.002-04:00

So today was beautiful!!! The boys and I played outside and enjoyed the sunshine. I can not wait for tomorrow because it is suppose to be awesome here again. The boys wanted to go to the zoo so maybe we will do that in the am. If not I will be making sure to be outside for a while if not all day. I need to figure out some structured outside activities though. We play red light green light, play with chalk, and all the toys but i need to find some other things. Any ideas?

Until tomorrow
night

Cooper and I watching tv

2009-03-27T23:30:00.001-04:00

The boys and uncle nick dancing

2009-03-27T23:24:00.001-04:00

Here is a pisture of the boys dancing at the Smiles dinner tonight.

Tired

2009-03-27T01:03:00.001-04:00

So as I sit here at 12:45 and am waiting for my laundry to finish in the washer so I can flip it to the dryer I think about how lucky I am. I have two great sons, a great wife and a baby on the way. My wife is almost 9 weeks pregnant and we are excited. Her due date is in the end d of October. Yeah! What sucks about it all is that my mother doesn't know because I haven't spoken to her due to the choices she has made. Oh well, as sad as that is. I am going to take care of my family instead of worry, we have worried to long as it is.

So now I am maintaining at 193. This is a good place for me, I firmly believe that. Now I have been eatting better but not great so I do worry about that. I have been very good about getting my liquids and meds in and my six month lab results looked good. Things are good on that front.

Well my clothes need to be flipped and I need to go to bed.

Untill tomorrow,
Night

Eating

2009-03-20T23:50:00.003-04:00

Short and sweet. I am having to watch my intake. I need to make sure I am pushing my protein intake. I aim to get 80 grams at least a day and while sometimes I do very well with it sometimes I do not. I think I am going to focus on morning cardio exercise such as a run or a bike ride and then a good protein shake as part of my breakfast. That is about 25 grams of protein which isn't bad then I can add in a banana or fruit salad and that would create a good breakfast. I also have to make sure I am still choosing the rich in protein snacks and I will continue to use the protein bars because they are good for me and satisfy the sweet tooth I get at times.

One thing that beats me up is my carb intake. I need to lower it because it is causing me not to get in my 5 fruits and vegetables a day because I am choosing them as snacks instead. I should be grabbing an apple or pineapple or grapes instead. So that is my focus now.

As the weather gets better and I am leaving the YMCA, since I do not get there enough, I am focusing on exercising in the great outdoors. Hopefully that will work but I am really excited about running and using my bike more. I will have to keep everyone posted on how it goes.

Well have a good night and until tomorrow,
Night

Boys are getting Bigger

2009-03-18T21:19:00.002-04:00

Here are the boys at the St Patrick's Day Parade over the weekend. They are getting sooo big. I can not believe Cooper turns two in less then 2 weeks, It amazes me that he is 2. I feel as if the time has flown by, because it has. The last three nights after work the boys and I have played outside. I can not believe what they are doing. Kaidan is pedaling a bike, Cooper is throwing a lacrosse ball around and I am able to keep up so much better now. Heck the boys were helping me finish up the yard clean up today, They are good souls.

So as I look at this picture of Kara and I from last weekend and I am so amazed that at the last St Patrick's Day parade I was afraid to sit in the camp chairs because I weighed so much. This time I was amazed at how big the seat was. I am still having these wow's. I do enjoy them but now I am just trying to maintain my 193. I like the mid 190's, That is what the surgeons office said I should be around and I feel great at this weight. I can move easily and keep up with my boys.

Well I am beat so I am going to rest.
Until Tomorrow,
Night

Mobile blogging.

2009-03-17T21:26:00.000-04:00

So maybe mobile blogging will help me get it done. I am now down to 193 and maintaining. Some days I am up a few pound and then drop back down. But the positive is I am not dropping any lower. I do enjoy where I am though. I feel good and most definitely know I have made the best decision having my surery.

So today I saw people I have not see in over 8 months. It was funny seeing them because none of them recognized me. I fewlt good but at the same time it was over stim because I didn't know how to take all the complements all at once.

So I have not been to the gym in some time. I am getting my bike all prepped for the nice weather that is coming. I need to figure out how I am going to fit that in.

But now I have to go to bed soon. Work at 6:00.

Until tomorrow,
Night

The kids

2009-02-28T15:05:00.001-05:00

Yes kaidan is in the basket and coop is beating on him

So its been a while

2009-02-16T21:46:00.003-05:00

So in the time I have been absent I have been doing a a lot. I am down to 202 pounds, I went skiing with my cousin, and the Harmon clan went and visited my family in Long Island. When we were there my little sister showed me a ripstick. It was scary as hell but I couldn't believe that I could do it and picked it up so quickly. If anyone out there hears this, will you buy me one for my birthday. PLEASE!!

So I am planing on getting Kaidan on skates in the next couple of weeks. I want him to start skating, he was so excited this weekend watching his cousins play hockey and was saying how he wants to play. I felt so bad for not getting him on the skates sooner.

Until tomorrow,
Night

Ripstick

I'm Sick

2009-01-29T23:27:00.002-05:00

So I feel like crud. I can not focus nor do I want to. It took we ages just to add a few stupid widgets that may not even stay on the blog. Isn't it amazing how a head cold can just take it out of you? When I woke up today I knew I was in for it. I started feeling the pressure in my head, the running nose and the feeling of already being tired. Not a good way to start the day. So whenever I have done anything today it has been just a bit delayed. The morning was not so bad but as the day went on it kept getting worse. And everything i have done today continues to take more and more time. I am trying some OTC drugs to feel better for tomorrow to make sure I am not worthless. But as I sit here and write this I am sitting next to Kaidan and just put Cooper back down and realized just how lucky I am and a minor head cold may hurt but there is nothing that my sons can't make me smile through.

So tomorrow I get to go see my gastroenterologist. Now I haven't seen him in over a year so I am wondering what he is gong to say. Now I wonder how this will change the care I get since my guts have been rerouted and I seem to get scopes every other year. I know he will at least be happy about how much healthier I am living though. I will update tomorrow.

I should get Kaidan back to bed.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

Back to working out

2009-01-28T22:21:00.002-05:00

Well I got to the Y tonight which was a nice thing.

Heres the run down:

10 minutes on treadmill
10 minutes on elliptical.

Bis
Tris
Chest Press
Pullover
Lower Back
Abs
Leg Press
Leg extension
leg curls
Dips
Chin Ups
Lat pull downs
Hip adduction
Hip abduction

Also I think I found the format I like.

Until tomorrow
Night

So whatacha gota lota

2009-01-26T21:08:00.002-05:00

So snacking in the evening is killing me. I have been wanting snacks whenever I am sitting around at night. It doesn't matter if I am home alone or Kara is here. And it is during the night and not during the day. I am fine during the day eating well but my cravings kick up at night. Now I am not snacking on food that is bad but it is still unhealthy due to time and all that good stuff. I need ideas on how I can get over this. So far the only thing that helps with the snack cravings is coffee. I am having coffee as I write this at 11:15pm on a Monday night. I am lucky that the caffeine does not keep me up. Anyone have any ideas? I will keep you updated.

As for cravings, I have not wanted my favorites from the past. The McDonald's, BK and the fast food that I used to survive off of have not even appealed to me. Heck even the decent food that I can eat out I do not even want. I am not interested in any of them even red meat and potatoes that were a staple in my life have disappeared. I do feel much better about my food choices but I keep on myself because I do not want to get complacent and slide backwards. As I say that I have not gotten to the gym in a week. I make the big statement that I am going to go but I never got there over the weekend. I will be there tomorrow and Kara said she WILL go on Wednesday.

Now a little wow moment is it is so much easier to lay with my boys. If it is laying on the couch or laying on their beds, I take up so much less room now I do not have to worry about crushing them.

Enough for tonight,
Night.

Ripping down a banister

2009-01-25T21:43:00.003-05:00

So I started to strip the paint off the banister a long time ago and never finished it. Fast forward to today and Kara and I trying to figure out colors for the living room. We decided that we wanted to get rid of the banister and replace it. So I riped it out and now am looking at a lot of work to do to prep the living room for a complete overhaul. The next step is to replace the banister or build a half wall (the more likely option) then strip down the mantel and the window trim and crown moldings and base board moldings. After that I am going to sand all the walls and repaint. I am betting a month or so process to complete. Kara is going to love it!!!!! But I have to say I am going to take my time so it looks like it is professionally done. Wish me luck.

Going to the gym tomorrow by myself or with Jerm, I will write tomorrow and update.

Night

So the weather is freezing

2009-01-24T21:53:00.003-05:00

It is about 4 degrees outside and I just ran out to get Kara Chinese food. It is effing cold outside. Last winter I could run around in a fleece but now I am in a winter parka and still freezing due to being so much smaller. I guess being cold is better then being unhealthy. I really can not wait to see how I am in the summer with the heat. I want to know how my sweating will be when it is 90 out. I know things will be different but I will not know how different until that time. And I guess it isn't just how will I be when doing nothing but I want to know what I will be able to do in the nasty hea, biking, hiking, whatever.

I am really looking forward to being able to get outside and doing more of the things I really enjoy such as mountain biking, hiking, and anything everything else. Some of this stuff I will be able to do with the boys now such as riding on the canal path but some of them will have to be without them like the mountain biking in Tryon or finger lake trail. I just can not wait to share the experiences of the outdoors with the boys and maybe Kara if she will go also.

Night

131

2009-01-24T09:29:00.002-05:00

So as of today I am down 131 pounds. That puts me at 207. What a difference 5 months makes. I can do so many things now that I couldn't do prior to losing the weight. One of those things was where I sat for dinner last night. I would have never fit in the area where we were sat. It is cool because now I can go to the trendy eateries with cramped area and few tables, yeah not really my bag but the Lamb was excellent and so were the greens and beans, a positive for the protein.

As for the gym I haven't been there since Monday, yeah I feel just a bit like crap. I really need to go today and Monday to get back on track. Is that going to happen today Maybe. I will write the outcome later.

LOST

2009-01-22T23:12:00.002-05:00

So tonight I watched the seasons premier of LOST, which I have to say was great! I am obsessed with the show and have been counting down since the end of last season so when I missed it last night due to our anniversary I was pissed. But I was able to watch it tonight on the computer and it was cool.

Speaking of our anniversary Kara and I went out last night to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. We went to Mr Dominick's down in Charlote and it was excellent. I had Scallops over greens and beans, AWESOME! Then we decided to go to Phillips European and had a great dessert and damn good coffee. I think I found where my cousin can work after Pastery school. But I thought that the desserts were going to kill me on the scale but today when I weighted myself I was at 209 which is my lowest so far. Maybe if I din't have the dessert I would have been in the 208 range.

Now I haven't been to the gym since Monday... I feel like crap since I haven't gotten there. I AM going tomorrow night. I AM GOING! But I am tired and need to get to bed, so...

Night.

Hope your watching

2009-01-20T10:36:00.001-05:00

Who is watching the inauguration today? Now I was not a Obama supporter but it is amazing to see to turn out. Hopefully he is a good answer to America's problems. It is what our great country deserves!

This post was in development for a few days.

2009-01-17T09:23:00.007-05:00

Time for dropping the science boys and girls. I needed to do some research on the running thing. I was worried that I might hurt myself and not be able to continue working out so I did the running 101 edumacation. I found some reputable outlets and read up on how to prevent injuries, stretching and warming up, pacing (which I suck at except when on a treadmill) and all the other good stuff that goes along with the running stuff. I will keep searching and reading.

Work out on Satuarday. We got to the gym later in the day and found out that we could not leave the kids in the child watch for that long and had to pick them up within 55 minutes so we focused mostly on cardio. I ran again on the treadmill which I liked and then used a Cybex machine. Here is the run down of the gym:

Cardio:
-Treadmill: 20 minutes (running for one mile and walking for a mile)
-Cybex machine: 10 mintues(almost)

Weights:
-Abs, weighted and hanging
-Leg press
-Lower back

Whenever I go to the Eastside Y I always look into the spinning room and want to try it. It seems like it would kick my ass but I think I should try it. So I printed a schedule out and am going to try to make it to one of the classes. I do not believe it will be something I do a lot but I at least have to try it to figure it out.

Today's workout was nice. It seems as if Jerm and I are getting into a good swing of things with working out. I don't know if we go to work out or to hang out but I think it meets somewhere in the middle. But one thing that does piss me off is the child watch at the Greece YMCA. All except for one time have the staff there come to get me about the boys. If it was a good reason I have no problem but tonight 15 minutes into working out a staff member come over and tells me my son wants me to change his diaper. NO you change it, I don't care if it is a 1 or a 2 just change it. If I go and change it he is going to throw a fit when I go to leave. And then when we were leaving the same staff member come out and tells me my son is crying. When I get to the child watch area I look at him so he can't see me (sneaky, sneaky) and he is walking around and NOT crying; then when he saw me he yelled my name but no damn tears. Every other YMCA I go to has never had a problem nor do they come and find me unless something big is going on. Why is it the Greece teenies can't handle their jobs? On to my list...

Cardio:
-elliptical 10 minutes
- stair climber 5 minutes
-weak I know-

Weights:
-Bis
-Tris
-chest press
-shoulder press
-ab abduction
-ab adduction
-dips on gravitron
-hanging abs
-leg curls
-lef extension
-leg press
-lat pull downs
-rows

And the plan is to go to the Eastside Y tomorrow.

Now I know the blog is changing a little bit because I am not as focused on losing the weight and now I am more focused on the toning and working out aspect. Also many of the wows that happen have subsided and my perceptions of life is somewhat stable. But a few big things are my goals and the toning of my body now. One of the bad side effects of losing weight so fast (surgery or not) is loose skin. So I am trying to tone and build muscle so I can feel better about my appearance for myself. At the weight I am now, if not for the loose skin I would have very little gut and spare tire. So it is a focus area for me but I need to be realistic and understand that it is not going away for some time and if it was it would most likely be because I am gaining weight back; which isn't going to happen. Also many of my goals are fitness and active based. Climbing the rock wall, riding single track on my mountain bike, that kind of stuff. Hopefully it will not disappoint. Also I am big into my blog because it keeps me focused and motivated.

Well until Tomorrow,
Night

Testing mobile blogging

2009-01-16T23:45:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to see if the post would work from my cell.

Round and round

2009-01-16T22:09:00.002-05:00

When do you say when? Who can answer that?

So I didn't get to the gym tonight but have made plans to go tomorrow. I am looking forward to it, surprise, surprise. I can not stop thinking about climbing the rock wall. I think that will be a lot of fun when I can accomplish that.

I have been having some late at night cravings. Maybe I shouldn't be staying up so late, that would be the easy thing. Maybe I should be drinking more during the evening. I think it is more of a boredom thing though. I need to find a constructive hobby for when I am at home and bored. Housework only goes so far. I really do not need a hobby, I have a ton of things I could do here, maybe read a book that I haven't gotten to, finally get the banister stripped down, or one of the many other things I have around here to do. But I did say housework only goes so far but really I do love doing things around here though. and I really do need to drink more during the day and night. Maybe I will start drinking soy milk, I will have to look into it.

Until tomorrow,
Night

3 Miles!

2009-01-15T21:36:00.004-05:00

So since we never got to the gym yesterday I stopped there today and just did cardio. So when I got there I started running on the treadmill. I ran 2 miles straight on the treadmill and then I went over to the indoor track and ran another mile. I am very excited because this is something I really wanted to be able to do. Now I need to learn the science of running. I even looked at the rock climbing wall and if I didn't have to go pick up the kids I would have made an attempt to climb it, no one else was around so I would not have made a complete ass out of myself.

Until tomorrow,
night

Overnight shift

2009-01-13T22:24:00.002-05:00

Tonight I am going to work an overnight shift at work. What is cool is I get to spend the day with my boys tomorrow. We are planning on the Y tomorrow night also so I am excited about that also. Tomorrow should be fun. I do miss spending hours and hours on end with them every day. Rambling off. Sleepy on.

Until tomorrow,
night

2 blogs... 1 blog

2009-01-12T21:20:00.007-05:00

So after trying to work two blogs I am deciding to combine them. We will see what happens.

Well tonight Jerm and I went and worked out and the fun thing is I am enjoying working out and am finding myself wanting to continue doing so and not dreading it. I do attribute most of it to having someone to work out with. Jerm and I turn working out into an improv show. Basketball moves, messing with each other, motivating each other, it is a blast. Now also part of my enjoyment of working out could be I am in much better shape and able to do more easier. Times can be stressful but I have found working out is a time when I just relax and not stress about everything else around me.

So today we:

Cardio:
20 minutes

Weights:
Biceps Curls
Triceps
Leg press
Hip Abduction
Hip Adduction
Rows
Lower Back

Hammer strength machines:
Lat Pull Downs
Leg extensions
Leg Curls
Abs
Shoulder press
Chest Press

So I have been wanting to go back to school for some time. I have come up with ideas and then never followed through because the stresses of life. I always have some excuse for not doing what I want when it comes to schooling. After thinking about it to be fair to myself and my family I need to pursue it. Now I am at a point and time where I need to figure it out. The When, How, Where, are things I am working on. I know what I want to go back for, it has been the only idea that has continued to come back to me over and over again. I think it is time to make it happen, I know it is. Now the cool thing is I will able to fit into one of the desk at a school!!! That may make you laugh but a year ago that was a reason not to go back to school. How sad is that? Not bettering myself because of my weight, SAD!

As for another fitness goal, drum roll... To climb the rock wall at the Eastside YMCA. I have looked at that wall since we joined in 07 and always wanted to climb it. I even said when I lose the weight and build muscle I am going to do it, then I became an absent member. I didn't go back to the Y till I went through the surgery so now I can make it happen. I am trying to think what I well need to be able to do to pull it off. We will see and I will keep you all updated, maybe with pics also.

Well until tomorrow,
Night

Little things make me happy.

2009-01-11T00:49:00.003-05:00

So last night Kara and I went to see Bride Wars, a very manly flick. But the coolest thing of the night was when I sat in the movie theater seat, There was extra room on BOTH sides of me in the seat!!! How cool is that? Then we went to Applebees and when I sat in the booth there was a ton of room to spare. Loving it!!!!

So looking at my food journal over the last few days I see that I have been doing very well when it come to eating the right food. And when we were out at dinner last night I found myself passing up unhealthy choices for healthy choices. I had a blackened Tilapia with vegetables and I even subbed out the potatoes for a mixed vegetables.

So today I worked on some electrical around the house. And down came the Christmas Tree. Nothing big but a friend came over and the 5 kids ran around all day long and my aunt and uncle came over later and had dinner. It was a great day even though things are crazy.

Until Tomorrow,
Night.

Hit a workout goal.

2009-01-11T00:30:00.002-05:00

I hit my first workout goal today. I ran more then a mile without any slowing down or walking. That was a goal I made before surgery and I did it today. What made it even better was that I had already done 18 minutes on an elliptical prior to the run on the treadmill. I am loving that. I can not wait until I extend that. Now for my next cardio goal is to run two miles without slowing to a walk even for a second. The other cool thing that happened was Kara joined Jerm and myself at the gym today. She did cardio and even started lifting weights with us. It went well and was a lot of fun. it is late so I will write tomorrow morning.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

Best friend's, girlfriend's, half sister.

2009-01-09T22:36:00.003-05:00

Who knows where that line comes from?

Long day,

I am down to 212. Total weight loss to date is 126. I am stoked, I have done very well with it. I track my food intake now and it is going well. I know what is I need to do and I am doing it. But damn other shit is fu-barbed. I am trying, and trying to be my best in life and hopefully one day I will get there. Hopefully it doesn't crash prior.

I have only got to the gym once this week, I will be changing that tomorrow; A good work out is coming, maybe I might over do it! Jerm you coming?

Well I am going for a walk and dealing with my head.

Until tomorrow,
Night

New Day

2009-01-07T21:58:00.003-05:00

So stress comes in many forms, and I have some now. Life throws you curve balls and it is how you deal with it that defines you in my opinion. When crisis hits I know I do well but it is dealing with the mundane I am always trying to work on, it isn't that I am bad at it, I call it an area on concentration because i know I can get distracted. Know I know I am a very blessed person, I have two beautiful sons, a beautiful wife, goods friends and family, a job I love and an awesome dog. So where the stress comes from is i always want to be the best I can be. I want to be the best father, the best husband, the best friend, the best employee and Jackson's best friend that I can be. One of my weaknesses is I try to do so much because I put a large amount of pressure on myself. I need to check myself and give myself enough time to be a quality person in all aspects of my life. I want to and know I can be a quality contributor in every aspect of my life. I guess writing this made me realize this is my New Years resolution. I also am going to make sure to utilize the gym as one of my fun stress relievers and time for myself.

A new sign of success: Rolls due to loose skin sinking in when I lay and sit. It is uncomfortable but in a sadistic way it makes me feel good because it is a sign of how well I am doing. Now I do not like the way it looks but I am now so much healthier then I have been in so long so I am happy about it.

So last night due to the holidays and some of what I have been eating I decided to make a food log. I am tracking my meals, my snacks, my fruit and vegetable intake, my med intake and my fluid intake. I wanted to do this so I can track my nutritional intake. Also it will hopefully be a motivator for me to eat healthy and make me answer to myself when I think about eating something or after I eat something. Hopefully it works like I want it to.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

Feeling good

2009-01-06T20:56:00.002-05:00

So I watching the the new season of the biggest loser tonight and there is a man on there that has had gastric bypass and now weights 400 pounds. He has gained the weight back because he did not utilize the tool as it is meant to be. I guess I am writing about it because it is proof that the gastric bypass is not an answer it is a tool that with eating right and exercise helps you be healthy. Now the reason I watch the show is because it really is cool to watch people make such drastic changes in their lives and become so much healthier.

So today I was expecting to wake up with pain from exercising last night. But to my surprise there was no pain. That was nice. So tomorrow I have to work late and I will not be able to go and work out with my friends. So I am hoping to wake up early and go so I can get back before the kids wake up and I can get them up and spend the morning with them, It will allow for some nice laid back time with the boys. I am very excited about that.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

2009-01-05T22:27:00.003-05:00

So as everyone knows but I am going to state it. Working out makes me feel so much better. I just feel so much better, I have much more energy, I have a better out look and am just smiling more. I have been having fun at the gym also with the Bittner's. I guess it is what everyone has always known working out with someone is so much better then doing it on your own. Motivation, conversation and fun is what becomes of it, not just busting your ass for a sweat.

So now I am not focusing on how low my weight gets but more on the shrinking of my gut, waist and legs. I know that I have dropped a ton of weight and I know I want to lose some more of the fat but since I am working out I am gaining muscle so my weight may not change at all or I may even gain some. We will see and maybe I can add a waist tracker.

I know I have spoken about this before but I am still surprised when I can sit in an area that before I could never have. I guess It is weird because I am not a different person. Yes I have dropped a ton of weight and I feel better but I am not a different person mentally so I still get caught off guard. It is a nice wow.

And btw I love the bald head.

Until tomorrow,
Night

Painting

2009-01-04T23:09:00.002-05:00

So today was the first time I had done any painting since I have lost weight. Now the funny thing is It looks so much better then the painting I have done before. I attribute it to the not being so tired by everything I do. Taping was a breeze, painting was a breeze, even though I was still in pain bending down was a breeze. If I do say so myself Kaidan and I did an awesome job. That was about it today. I will write more tomorrow. AI am getting back to the gym with Jerm.

Pain and 34's

2009-01-03T21:31:00.004-05:00

So today we were out doing things with the kids and my muscles just hurt so bad from working out. Now I am talking about my hips muscles and abs, ouch. They hurt but it feels good because of the positives that will come from it. So I am very stoked about working out on Monday and look forward to keeping up on it. I know it seems like a very little thing but I need to keep myself motivated. Motivation can dry up very quickly so if I purseverate on it enough I will be able to make it a habit and stay focused on the long term benefits of the weight training and cardio work

During the day we went and I got a few new pieces of clothing. So when I was trying on pants I found that I have to buy a 34 waist now. I am so excited about that fact. I have never worn that size ever in my adult life. About eight years ago I weighted 220 and wore a 36 inch waist but never a 34. So today was a good day and I felt really good. Hell I even am wearing size large shirts. I love that one. I am so proud of all the work I have done and I love the benefits such as keeping up with my kids and not being so self conscious about myself and helping me be a more open person. I do love my life and everything I have in it.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

Happy New Years

2009-01-03T08:46:00.003-05:00

SO how is everyone on this glorious Saturday? I am doing quite well. My legs still hurt from yesterdays work out. I tried a few machines I have never done before and they worked very well. The insides of me legs are still burning this morning. So the Bittners and I have made a somewhat schedule up so we can get to the y more often. I have to say I am still living the high right now. I enjoy working out so much right now because it is so much easier then it was when I was so much heavier. I also found myself pushing myself farther and harder then I am used to. Hopefully my Laziness bone may be one of the things Im losing with the weight. So we are gunning to go 3 times next week and hopefully I can get Kara to come along with us.

So the holidays went well for me and as of this morning I weight 214 pounds. That comes downs to a 6 pound loss over the holidays. I can handle that because I am betting I put 6 pounds on just on New Years eve last year.

New Years Resolutions:
1) Get to the Gym at least 3 times per week
2) Eat More Fruits and Veggies
3) Make sure I am getting in my protein and medications.
Not a long list, not an extensive list but a doable list I believe. I am going to focus on eating right and exercise.

Until Tomorrow,
Night/Day

BTW

2008-12-30T23:58:00.000-05:00

Christmas pictures coming soon

Good workout

2008-12-30T23:44:00.002-05:00

So today the Bittners and I hit the gym. It felt so good! I was able to burn some frustration off and it made me feel much better. The weights burned and I really pushed until I was close to muscle failure. Now I was amazed when I got on one of the machines and couldn't believe that I fit into it. Yeah! I believe there would have been no way I could have fit into it before. Also i saw someone I used to work with and she had no idea who I was until Jerm said my name out loud. At that point she said hello and acknowledged she didn't notice me because I had lost so much weight. It is funny because I can now hide directly in front of people.

So the new year is almost here and I will most likely not post until the 1st. We are having a few people over at our house. It is funny to look back at what I would have been doing 10 years ago. I have to say though that I truly have no regrets in my choices in life. I get to ring in the new year knowing I have done the best I can.

BTW Christmas was good and I had a good time. The kids loved their presents and it was nice to see the family. It would have been very nice to see the Long Island contingency but hopefully a upcoming holiday could be the time to see them. They did have fun though and they are safe and healthy.

Until next time,
Night

Hello

2008-12-22T23:47:00.002-05:00

How is everybody? I have been good. Yesterday Kara and I did most of our Christmas shopping completed. The best thing was we were able to do it as a family except for the time we were getting the kids presents. So today I went and picked up Kara's presents from me and the boys. I hope she likes them but we will see.

Tonight I was talking to my friend and neighbor who just had surgery in October, I have spoken about him plenty of times, and he seems to be doing well and excited about his journey. Also his wife brought me over some very good sugar free cookies over the weekend. They were excellent and his wife and him have found many good recipes that fit within our diet guidelines.

I am tired so untill tomorrow,
Night

Dec 20th

2008-12-21T00:13:00.002-05:00

My father would have been 61 years old today. I do miss him and I hope to be half the father he was. I know he is looking down on us from heaven and watching over us but I do miss him so much.

Today we went as a family to a Holiday Party put on by a surgeon Kara works with. We had a blast and it was a great family experience. They had fun things for the kids such as Santa, balloon animals, a magic performer, wax molding of hands, a kid special buffet and then they had a tons of great food and a lot of fun such as professional pictures and stuff for everyone. It was a great party but the best part of it was we were able to go to a very nice party and it was for the whole family. The kids loved it and ran around like crazy, and so did some adults that were there. A funny thing was that people who had treated me at the hospital during my surgery and Kara's friends were so amazed by the change that has taken place in my weight. It makes me happy because It reminds me of the health benefits that I am receiving from the changes.

When we got home I took Jackson out for a walk and just loved the snow that has fallen over then last few days. It makes everything so beautiful and really makes you understand how lucky we are to have the lives we have been given. It really made me so thankful for the decision I made to have my surgery.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

Hello

2008-12-18T00:39:00.003-05:00

So getting back into this and adding the new blog I decided to match out the formats. We will see how it goes. So today I worked for a while and took a long lunch to hang with the family but went back in and worked late so I never got to the gym. I am going to go tomorrow with or without my friends. I just feel so blah without getting there but at the same time it is so hard to get myself there without motivation from others. Now when i get there I feel great and love every minute of it. But for sure I am going tomorrow.

So Christmas is coming and we need to get stuff done. We have not done much shopping but we will complete it in time, we kinda have to. But I have given myself the best present ever and that is this surgery. I am in such a great place in life and and only going forward. I know look forward to coaching my children in sports when they get older and being active with them. I am happy and thank the lord for all I have been given.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

New addition

2008-12-16T20:52:00.002-05:00

So today I added a new blog to the blog family of Scott today. It is a blog that will track my weight training and cardio information. I have not worked out like I should so I was hoping that tracking it on line and have to answer to people about it will help motivate me to make sure I am at the gym as much as I need to be. We will see how it works out. I will post more tonight or tomorrow but until then I am going to set up everything on the new blog. the address is workingoutwithharmon@blogspot.com. See you soon.

sleepy time

2008-12-15T00:23:00.001-05:00

I am so tired so I am going to bed but I will catch up tomorrow. Are we going to the gym?

Youngster Day

2008-12-13T22:05:00.011-05:00

YO YO YO I am taking this post back to the old school, so grab your License to Ill cassette and get ready for some ill shit. No but seriously I had a blast today and felt like a kid again when sliding down a 30 foot slide with the boys, climbing up a tower of hay and watching robot chickens sing, it was a great day and reminded me why I love my life so much. These are the things that would have been so much harder to do just a few months ago, so it makes me love the journey I have gone through. It is also cool because I have so many good memories with my family when i was younger so I am glad my sons are having them now. I do miss the way my life was back then but I do know that if anything was different my life won't be where it is today.

So today we went and had breakfast with Santa and then went and got our Christmas tree. We bundled up the kids and we went to Stokeys and found our tree, cut it down and dragged it with the help of Kaidan. All he wanted to do was get it home and decorate it so we ended up getting it lit and standing, not in that order. Tomorrow will be the trimming day. We also had Hot chocolate and sweets and hung out. It was a blast all around. We had so much fun and it was such a blast to spend time with the ones I love and having memories that will last forever. I am a lucky man.

So during evening I had felt bad that I have not exercised so I took the dog out and walked for about an hour. It was a great walk that allowed me to stop by and see my neighbor who had the surgery in October. Damn man he looks great and looks so much younger. It drove me to walk for extra time. Not because I am trying to compete with him but because I see the difference in him and it was inspiring to me.

Well until tomorrow,
Night

I did it!!!!!!

2008-12-12T22:32:00.004-05:00

I have been itching to do it and so tonight I did. I shaved the head again. Now I haven't done it in some time growing a nice little mane, at least for me it was. The back story to it all is I shaved my head from march 2006 to August 2008. My wife and better half loved the bald look on me and was worried when I told her I was going to grow it back. Now as I have started to grow it back she has complained because she likes me now with just a bit of stubble on the head and none on the face. But over the last few weeks I have been dying to shave it again. So i did. What do you all think? Answer the poll question.

So during this whole adventure I have been looking for support. I have found it on a website i frequent which is for the most part a message board. There are people from all over the world on the site but mostly from the states. I have even found a decent amount of people from the rochester ny area on the site. I had not been on the site much for a bit in November and found myself missing it and needing the support it gives. Know that other people are going through the same thing you are is a big help and getting advice and support from people who are living the same experience is huge. Now my neighbor, who i have talked about before, and I talked this week and we decided to go to the next support group together. He had his surgery in October and is doing excellent (60 plus pounds) but he is feeling that he needs the extra support from the group also. So January will the first time for both of us. We're virgin's. lol!

So my fluid intake has not been staler lately and I am seeing that on the scale. Now it could be a bunch of different things but when i am successfully pushing my fluids I have less intake of carbs and see better results on the scales. I need to keep pushing them as I have in the last few days. Also I need to get my ass to the gym at least four times a week. I have not been doing that and I really need to to get to where I want to be. I see weight storing in my thighs and my belly and I want to lose it in those areas badly. Hopefully me putting this into writing will get me to go more 4 times a week. Also if my friends would go with me it would be better. AND Now that Kara is working 3 12's we can go as a family with our friends! How does that sound? (pointed question)

Now since i am Making my comeback to the blog, i am going to promise to post at least 5 times a week. With the snow falling, the Christmas tree coming and everything else going on I need the support from the blog.

Untill Tomorrow,
Night

So it has been a while

2008-12-11T21:56:00.003-05:00

Well I have not posted in a while and I am back. I sound like an addict that shows up when he needs something. I am now down 112 pounds total and I feel so much better. Keeping up with the boys, working, building my shelves, everything i do I feel so much better. I do have to say that I have missed the support I received from writing in my blog. Just knowing that someone may be reading it keeps me going and amped up about striving to do the best i can. I do have a lot of catching up to do but i am not moving on it tonight because I am so tired.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

One thanksgiving down, One to go.

2008-11-29T09:40:00.004-05:00

What no love for the dog and cat? Well we had a nice Thanksgiving and i hope all of yours were nice also. I found that I am much more of an extrovert then I ever thought. I really did like sitting around with everyone and catching up and shooting the breeze. As for the eating thing I realized that I am following my meals to closly with liquids. It has not made for an enjoyable experience. Twice in the last week had it hit me and I felt like crap. So last night we went out with family for Dinner and I really made sure to not follow my food with liquids to quickly and it worked well. I guess it is a bit of a reality check. I got comfortable and was eating to quick. But I did weight myself today to see how the last two days have treated me and I am now down to 333! Not to shabby, I LOST WEIGHT OVER THE HOLIDAY! That is the first time ever for such an event. Now on the flip I drank 2 glasses of wine last night before dinner and I have felt it twice so far today. The sugar from the wine makes me dump (which is a technical term). Now I did weight myself before those experiences today so I didn't cheat on my weight. Woo Hoo

The Christmas lights are complete. I will have to post a pic when I get them but I did feel like Clark Griswold while putting them up. I was waiting to fall off the roof but it never happened. I am wondering what it is going to look like and how bright it will be since I have never had 16 strands of LED lights on the front of my house. I am betting it will be an experience. I hoping it will be Classssssy! heh

Until tomorrow, I am proud of you Chris.
Night

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T21:53:00.007-05:00

So I first want to write that I am so thankful for my family, friends, health and everything else. The weight loss has made me so thankful every day for the new life I have come into. Everything is easier, from playing with my kids to doing daily things. I love my life and everyone in it and am thankful for everything God has blessed me with. I am a very lucky man.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY, GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE. So I have been having some apprehensions about thanksgiving dinner but they stopped last night when my friend said that would suck that I would be able to eat much tomorrow. And at that point and time I realized that I have no need to be worried because my relationship with food is totally different now a days. Like I have said before i used to live to eat now I am like the general public and eat to live. I understand I can only eat a little bit and I make sure to savor the taste and eat only foods I find worth it. Those foods are my fruits, proteins and healthy snacks. I am looking forward to squash and not the desserts so i believe that is an improvement.

Until tomorrow,
Night

Catching up

2008-11-26T00:25:00.003-05:00

So I am down 101 pounds. It boggles my mind that since August 22nd I am down 87 pounds. Kara believes I am anorexic but i have been eating and getting in the proper nutrition. I am loving my new life weight so much less. My time spent with my children and wife is so much better and rewarding. I don't wake up every morning with back pain and I wake up with a better outlook on life. Also I find my sleep so much better and I feel so much more rested when I wake up. I took for granted what I had for so many years and now I really understand how lucky I am and how well I have it. I wish my mother would understand that.

Until tomorrow,
Night

101

2008-11-23T01:40:00.002-05:00

So Al I am going to say is 101. I lied, I have lost 101 pounds total!!! That is the equivalent of the chick in the picture. I can not believe that 8 months ago I was living with all that extra weight. I would not want to carry that girl around all the time. That is what i was doing though. Well short post for tonight. I WILL post Sunday night.

A few days, a few things.

2008-11-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

Catching up

2008-11-18T23:13:00.007-05:00

So I am not pushing my liquids like I should be. It is not a difficult thing to do but I have been slowing over the last few weeks. So last night when I packed my lunch for today I packed about 60 ounces of liquids and I did drink them all throughout the day. Now this is also piggy backed by my protein consumption. I have really been trying to keep it up. One of my problems is my breakfast are usually not protein filled, which is a problem, big time. I need to make sure to give myself enough time in the morning to have a good protein rich meal. Today I was up at 6:15 and it has made my attitude about the day so much better, not to mention I was not rushing to get out of the door (always a positive). I am going to continue trying to get up early and see how it treats me.

So I have not been posting much lately because I am trying to juggle work, home and everything else. It is hard for me to get myself motivated to write when all i want to do is sleep by the time I usually write my post. I will try to be better because I find blogging to be therapeutic for me, sad I know. On a high note, work is going well still and I really do enjoy it. The people, the position and the individuals have made it a nice few weeks so far.

So on Saturday I had to go to AAA driving school. When I arrived everyone was already there and I wasn't nervous or self conscious walking into the room with everyone looking at me. I thought that was a nice change in my life. Also when I got into the desk I noticed it was a small desk. I am so glad I am 95 pounds down now because I would not have fit in it before. I fit into it without issue and was comfortable without fat spilling over which would have also happened before the weight loss. Another nice little wow.

So tomorrow is gym day with the Bittners. They are coming over to the Eastside Y and we are going to work out there. I am hoping that the getting up earlier in the morning will also help me to get to the gym before work. I really need to be there consistently. I owe it to myself to do my best losing weight in the window of opportunity I have. I have talked the talk now I need to walk the walk.

Until tomorrow,
Night

Monday

2008-11-18T00:09:00.001-05:00

So today was weight in day and I have dropped 3 pounds which equals 1.36077711 kilograms to make my grand total 95 pounds down. Now I have to say I knew the weight loss was slowing but I know I am not helping it in any way not working out as much as I need to. I am going to try and get to the gym tomorrow night and then again the following day also. Ok, Kaidan woke up so i am done for the night. Tomorrow night should be a long post because I have a ton I want to write about.

Night

Whats up

2008-11-15T02:08:00.002-05:00

So my long awaited trip back to the gym went well. I did cardio and a little bit of weights. The high point to the night was most def watching Kaidan climb up and over the very large inflatable. He did so well and it was a blast seeing him smile because he did it. This is defiantly a driving point for me to get there at least 3 times a week if not 4. We will see. Another bonus out of it was I got to hang out with friends, and as some of you know I do not have many of them. But the small group i have are a great pack.

Driving school on Saturday. My new job is sending me to driving school because of my driving record back in the day. So tomorrow I get to spend 6 hours at triple A and re learn all the stuff I know. You know I do not understand it. You hit one pedestrian and everyone thinks you are a danger out on the road. LMAO

So today when i went to work I grabbed a backpack of mine that has a laptop sleeve. I really thing I need to have good protect on my work computer because I do not want to break one. But the WOW thing happened later in the day. As I was getting ready to leave work I put the back pack on and went to buckle the waist band for some odd reason. I could not believe to see how big the strap was set for. The waist band barely fit around my waist before and now the band at that setting is too big for the biggest part of my torso. Hell yeah that felt good. Well it is 2 am so i am going to go to bed.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

Long time so posty

2008-11-12T20:12:00.007-05:00

So on Monday I weighed in and I was down 5 pounds which equals 2.26796185 kilograms. I can not complain about weighting 246 down 92 pounds total and 78 pounds down from the day I arrived home from the hospital (Aug 22 2008). I am feeling great and can not believe it. I even made my PCP amazed by my progress and even made him laugh hard when I saw him on Monday. I had to have a med changed and during our conversation and talking about the side effects, which neither of us though was a negative. But now we changed the med and will see what happens. The funny thing is the new med has a side effect of weight loss. Lets see if that changes any of the weight in.

So after I got out of work on Monday I went and got some new work clothes that fit me. I have to say after wearing clothes that were huge on me I see the difference even more now when I am wearing clothes that fit. A XL shirt and 38 inch waist pants. In the words of Kaidan; "I love it!" I can not completely realize how much my life has changed except when I look back at old post and then i truly understand how much I have changed in this whole experience. My eating habits, my outlook, my interactions in life. I will say this again, Besides getting married and having my buetiful sons this was the best decision of my life.

TV So this weekend My uncle David and myself installed our bedroom tv into the living room. It was a whole day project but it turned out awesome. The picture above is what it looked like as we were running the lines and the bottom picture is what it looks like completed. Now I just have to deal with the old tv in our bedroom.

Until tomorrow night, I will post because I have to work late and I want to give you some inside details of the workings of my mind, and I am going to the gym tomorrow, Go team super awesome wolf squadron!
Night.

Been a good week so far.

2008-11-05T23:23:00.006-05:00

This was supposed to be posted last night, opps:
So the last three days have been good. Well my abscess has deflated and work is going well. I am excited to get past the training aspect of it and start getting my feet wet. The work is the same as my old job but guidelines and way things are done are different and will keep me on my toes for a while I bet. I am trying to figure out the balancing two houses. I have done it before successfully but not for more then a few months. I think it will be easier here because of the support level i believe is there. I have also found many positives to this agency. I believe they are what makes this agency a great agency to work for, but it is a bit preliminary to say. Also everyone I have met seems very cool.

On to today's info.

So I have been thinking about my confidence level for a bit tonight. Now thinking back I have seen my level rise so much. I have not worried about feeling like the elephant in the room and have not worried about sweating and becoming nervous when doing things out in public or in my house. I wrote a while ago about how I have felt like that all the time before but over the last two weeks I have not even thought about it. I guess being back at work and not worrying about what people think of my size made me think about it. It could also be that I my random mind stumbled upon the thought tonight and I was amazed thinking how the stress from that is gone. YEAH!! At least some stress is gone.

Until tomorrow,
Night.

First day

2008-11-03T22:17:00.006-05:00

So my first day on the job went better then this guys. My activities were filling out a bunch of paperwork and then I watched a ton of videos that I have seen before. It comes with the territory and I am just glad to be working again. First impression went well and I really believe I am going to love working for this agency. Now I have to say i felt very comfortable and confident interacting with new people with my 87 pound weight loss. I hope that continues while keeping me grounded. More info to come.

6 pounds = 2.72155422 kilograms and that is what the rims weights in the picture. So today was weight in day and I came in at 251. That is a 6 pound drop in a week and I can not complain about that. Now I am hoping that i can continue that for a bit longer, especially with the holidays coming up. What I have read said you will lose the majority of weight in the first 6 months and I am planning on dropping as much as possible. My goal at this time is 199 but i do not know if that is where I will end up. The most important things is I am healthy and able to live a longer life to see my children grow up.

So when i woke up this morning I felt some discomfort in my mouth. I believed it was a canker sore but then in the evening I looked at it again and noticed it was most likely not a canker sore. I call my dentist and he told me it is most likely an abscess and that he wants me to come in first thing tomorrow morning so he can check it out and get me some antibiotics for it. Now hopefully he will be able to drain it also so the pain will go away and my face will not have a deformity. I like my new face with so much less weight on it. The other issue is I do not know what time I am wanted at the new job because the HR rep had to leave before she could tell me today. I know that I have a meeting at 9 so I will make sure to be there before that and I will call her at 8 tomorrow to see what she has for me.

Well until tomorrow,
Night

2008-10-31T22:06:00.006-04:00

So Halloween was fun. The kids got a kick out of the first house then Cooper melted down. Kaidan made it through the night without issue and had a blast, I think he liked running around with his uncles and aunt the most. Followed second by eating goodies at Vicki and Larry's. Cooper was so cute wearing his Dalmatian costume, the best part was his little tail. I could not believe he even left his hood on all night.

Until I got the call today from the HR rep from my new job I was afraid something would come up and take the opportunity away. There is no reason why to think that but I have been looking for three months and did not receive an offer yet. So when I got the call today I was told my orientation was going to be at 9 a.m. on Monday. Yippie back to the real world. I really as excited but I bet you could tell that by my repeated ramblings about the job. The ramblings could also be my nerves. We will see.

So tomorrow is Labors of Love. Labors of Love is a charity event put on by my church and coordinated by my mother in law and another woman from our church. My mother in law puts so much time into this event and it shows by the outcome and the money donated to the recipient. There is a craft sale, and a fabulous lunch that serves food prepared and donated by members of the church and a few outside companies. Today Kara and I helped do set up for the event. Now we have done this before but let me tell you today was so much easier then ever before. The loss of weight made the whole time so much easier and allowed for me to do more. During the day i spoke to a few people and I was talking about my weight loss and this incredible journey. They seemed really receptive and they continued to compliment me on how good I look. I even opened up and shared the story to them about the booth thoughts I wrote about a couple of days ago at the Coal Tower. That was a huge thing for me because sharing in this blog is easy because it is my thoughts, I have the computer to hide behind and I do not know who is reading it. Doing it in person is different because I am opening up to someone and seeing their reaction and have nothing to hide behind. It was just another note on how I am changing through my weight loss. So if you have a chance stop out and browse or at least have an awesome lunch it is from 9:30 to 4 tomorrow.

Until Tomorrow,
Night.

Can't wear it

2008-10-30T23:39:00.001-04:00

So my wedding ring is way to big and I can not wear it anymore without risking losing it. It was a cool wow. I feel like a pregnant woman because I am going to buy an interim ring to wear until I start to level off my weight. I am going to do so because I do not want to have my wedding ring resized twice in six months. I know the meaning behind the ring is the most important but I never want to lose the ring Kara gave me on our wedding day.

So here are the pumpkins Kaidan and I carved. I am so excited about trick or treating with Cooper and Kaidan tomorrow and seeing them all dressed up. I just hope Kara is feeling better. I know how much she will hate it if she is still feeling under the weather tomorrow.

Well until tomorrow night, I will post pics of the kids trick or treating.
Night

New Look

2008-10-30T00:43:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the new look of the blog. Hope you like it.

Night

Running for the new job.

2008-10-29T21:02:00.005-04:00

So today I had to get my finger prints done for my new job and my drug test. Per state regulations all employees in my field have to have a criminal background test done. The finger printing was easy for me but then came the drug test. That test was a little difficult for me. The reason: peeing on demand is not so easy anymore for me. The reason is I can not just slam fluids and be prepped for the test. I can only take in about 8 to 10 ounces of fluid an hour so i have to start prepping a few hours ahead of time. My appointment was for three o'clock and when I arrived I only gave a sample that was too small. So she gave me 30 minutes and when i came back I was able to give a quality sample. I was happy because now I do not have to go back tomorrow morning.

Just a few more lazy days before I start working. Now really my days are not really lazy with 2 boys under the age of 3. The reason I say lazy days is because I do not have the responsibility of a job currently. I am somewhat stressed about going to back to work but I am really really excited about it and I am getting organized for it. Today we were able to figure day care issues so I will not have any stress about that during work and Kara is now going to work 4 10 hour days so we do not have to worry about day care on Wednesday. A positive.

Today I went and saw a friend of mine who I saw on Friday. He told me that I look smaller today then I did on Friday and stated it was in my face so wasn't attributed to my clothes I was wearing. Another cool thing was when we ate breakfast out this morning (I had 2 eggs and some fruit) but I was worried about the size of the booth and when I got into it there was so much extra room in the booth, for a moment I was reverting back to the way things were when I was 338 pounds. So after I had thought about that wow I realized I am really living the mantra, eat to live not live to eat. Some of the proof is when going out to eat, my menu selection is different. I am looking for the healthy foods on the menu and not sausage gravy or corned beef hash. I used to think about going out to eat as a great thing but nowadays I would rather eat my meals at home because eating out just seems like a waste now a days. I have made many changes of late and am loving it. I was even having a conversation with my friend tonight about diets and healthy eating and I didn't feel like a poser because I am living what i am talking to him about.

Well have a great day.
Night

News

2008-10-28T22:22:00.004-04:00

So today I got a job offer after 3 months of looking. It is a Program manager position with another agency in Rochester. This is pending my OMRDD approval and my license check. So hopefully I will be starting work at the start of next week. I am very much looking forward to getting back to real life. I am somewhat nervous about going back to work though because it has been 3 months since I have worked. I will keep you updated on what happens. I am excited though! Now the only difficult part is figuring out day care. It will all fall in place I am sure.

I am going to make Monday's my weight in days. I decided today to stop weighing myself everyday and make Monday's the day. I picked Monday's because I hope weighing myself after the weekend will help me keep any weekend cravings at bay. Also I hope that it will push me to do long weekend workouts so that they may turn the scale down a bit also. We will see hoe this plan works out and we will also see how many times I weight myself before Monday. Good Luck to me.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Night

It has been a while.

2008-10-27T20:01:00.004-04:00

So it has been a few days since I have posted and I am down 2 pounds. Now with the addition of the new diet I have not pushed the liquids as much as I should be but as of today I am back on the fluid horse. It has been difficult coming up with variety as I have started this phase but I have been eating well. There is a ton of variety I can have but when I think of having a meal the ideas seem to escape me. That is why I need to stay with planning the meals ahead of time and not making them on the fly. One nice thing is I am not having cravings for unhealthy foods. I have a bowl of cut pineapple and cucumbers in the fridge so when I am picking at food, it is on fruits and veggies. We even have ice cream and cookies in the house but I have not wanted any of it, not even a taste.

A nice wow this weekend is my belt doesn't fit me anymore. When I started this journey I was at the edge of having to buy a new one, it was tight and at the last holes. Now I still have to buy a new belt but because it is to big and since I have no ass I need one to hold my pants up. As for the ass comment many people have told me that I do not have one anymore. One friend even told me in a joke saying I had a fat ass and now I have none. This is another one of the nice problems to have.

So the big deal on Sunday was all about carving pumpkins with Kaidan. We carved two of them, the ones he calls mommy and daddy pumpkins(the big ones we have. It was such a cool thing to do because it has been years since I have done this. They both came out fairly well and Kaidan and I had a blast doing it.

I also got to the gym this weekend and had a great workout. I am looking forward to going tomorrow.

Night.

Next step

2008-10-24T21:36:00.003-04:00

So I was released into the regular eating world. I able to get some foods that I haven't had in ages such as a fiber one bar and a few pretzels. I know the pretzels were not the greatest thing to have but I only had 2 of the small ones. So to accuratly track my new found intake I started a new food journal. I will track every thing that goes into my mouth will be tracked even if it does not make me happy to have to write it. I believe that will help keep me on the right path. We will see. Well have a great night. I will write more tomorrow night.

Night

Here are the new Pics prefaced by my before pic.

2008-10-23T19:56:00.005-04:00

Now this was my before pic, 79 pounds heavier then I am today.

The front View

The side View

I am feeling pretty good and now down a total of 79 pounds. It boggles my mind!!! Looking at my old picture, there are only a few because I hated myself in pictures, I am amazed by the loss. And then by mistake I put a pair of my old jeans that were tight before on today and they were huge on me. I couldn't believe that my thighs were so big that they filled up the legs. I must have been very good at lying to myself because I never believed I was that big. I knew I was fat but not that fat. Bad camera angles, poor fitting clothes but never was I as big as the pictures showed me. Well I was WAY wrong. Which is a another driving force in me not wanting to ever gain the weight back.

So tomorrow I am going to the surgeon's office and being set free on a regular diet. I am wondering what else they are going to say to me. I know there has to be something else. But I believe I am prepared for the next crucial step. I have food ready, now I just have to find out about the calories information. We will see what they have to say.

Well untill tomorrow have a beautiful life.
Night

All went well

2008-10-22T22:26:00.005-04:00

Well i just want to notify all that Kaidan's surgery went well and he was even eating pizza tonight so he is getting by just fine. We were back in our house by 10:30 am. He is a resilient one, He never missed a step today. Kaidan was so brave and calm before the surgery in pre-op, he never got scared or started freaking out. I was so proud of him because I now Kara and I were like ducks on the water. We never showed to him we were nervous but under the surface our minds were racing. He even recovered quickly, which is one of the reasons we were home so early. Tonight he was even running around the grocery store with me playing like we were a train and race cars(while shopping, we don't just go and hang out at Wegmans). It was so cool just running and playing for the whole time and not worrying about sweating.

I also will have new pics of me taken tomorrow but here is one from the hospital today of Kaidan and I. Yes I know I need to shave. The smile on Kaidan's face was there because this was taken before the surgery. The last pictures I had done was 2 weeks ago and I had an extra 12 pounds on me. We will see what they have to offer the eyes.

As for my weight loss I am down another pound today which brings the total to 77 pounds gone forever. I am even into xl shirts and jackets with out any problem. Tonight i had to find an old xl fleece to wear to the store because all my jackets are way to big for me. Loving It! I still have a long way to go but this is a great feeling. When we were at Wegmans tonight I even bought food for my next step into the regular diet, which starts on Friday. There is now a lot of produce and healthy food at the Harmon household. I know that prepping the food is going to be an area where I have to be on top of so tomorrow I will be cutting up a lot of food and planning my first few days so I eat the right amount of food and get started on a good foot.

Well today I counted my blessings and am truely happy with my life.

Night.

I am BACK!

2008-10-21T19:53:00.008-04:00

So we arrived home late last night and it was very nice to be home. We all went to bed pretty quickly and slept later then usual this morning. When I weighted myself this morning I had only dropped 2 pounds since Friday. I was disappointed but I have to understand it is still two pounds which is great but I guess I had unrealistic goals. I also have to realize that I did drink some wine this weekend (not part of my approved diet), 3 glasses on Saturday night and 2 glasses on Sunday night so maybe that didn't help. The 3 glasses of wine I drank on Saturday were at dinner with Kara. We went to a restaurant that she loves in Lancaster. It was awesome. I had these scallops with sweet potatoes and an apple cider reduction, absolutely amazing!(another reason) Kara had a grilled Cesar and some excellent risotto. Now granted I was able to eat only 3 scallops but they rocked! But really at the restaurant I felt much better because I have lost so much weight so far. I didn't feel as if I was the elephant in the room vacuuming up my plate and five feet away from table because of my gut. A positive.

On Saturday in PA I decided to go hiking(photo from my hike). I hiked an area in the Mt Gretna area called Governor Dick. Kara and I talked about taking Kaidan up the trail with me and I decided to check it out first and if all went well i would bring Kaidan the next day. On the way up I went the difficult trails (I thought they were all the same, wrong). The whole time I was thinking that there is no way Kaidan can make it up. But on the way back down I found the easy trail. It was a nice stone laid trail that Kaidan could make it up. The next day we never made it to Gov Dick because we had a ton of other things going on so I took a three to four mile walk around Manheim. It was good cardio work so I couldn't complain and i loved every minute of it. It reminded me how much I do love the outdoors and that i need to get back out there and work my butt off because it makes my outlook on life so much better. When i was younger I would ride my mountain bike on single track, i would hike and play sports outside with people and it was so much fun and great exercise. I need to push that more.

Tomorrow morning Kaidan is having surgery on his lip. They are doing a lip revision which is a small surgery but it is surgery. It makes you think about how important your loved ones are to you and that even the smalls things make you worry so much. At times I want to protest the all the surgery's because it is purely cosmetic and does not change any functionality for his life but then I think and realize it will most likely make his life easier during the difficult times at school, and sometimes he does bit the excess and it does hurt him. Please say a prayer for him though. I love you bubbala(Kaidan) and munch(Cooper).

I lost 14 pounds from May 08 to my surgery on August 20th. From August 22nd to September 19th I lost 34 pounds. From September 20th to October 21st I lost 28 pounds. The total weight loss is 76 pounds to date. It is crazy to me that earlier this year I was carrying around the equivalent to this black lab in every move a made, getting up, walking, playing with my sons. It makes me feel very stupid for being so nervous about the surgery. The surgery is helping me become so much healthier and like I stated so many times before it will hopefully lead to a longer and better life.

I love my life and am so very lucky to have what I have. Count your blessings no matter how bad life gets and never forget what you have.

Night

First road trip

2008-10-16T20:03:00.003-04:00

So tomorrow is the first trip since surgery. I am looking forward to it but I am a little nervous. Test time! I am definitely excited about the trip and looking forward to hanging in PA for a weekend and seeing family but as I have said before I am worried about the food intake during travel and when I am there. We will see how it goes. The worst that can happen would is I will not eat by my diet guidlines and that would suck but I do not believe that will happen.

well if I can find a computer I will post but most likely I will not be able to.

Night

Time stamps

2008-10-15T21:49:00.001-04:00

Just to let everyone know the time stamps are not always right. They reflect when I opened the post but not when I publish the post.

Night

25 pounds

2008-10-15T16:17:00.005-04:00

So i have dropped 25 pounds since September 20th. What a fitting time to hit this spot because the poll I put up ends in a few hours. No more voting. So myself and someone else were correct. Back on point: This is a huge number and a large amount of rice. The total so far is 73 pounds since I started this journey. So if that wasn't enough of a WOW today, Kara, the boys and I went to the store today and I was able to get into a size xl shirt, which I can wear now and 38 waist pants which fit but not as well as I like so those I will wear in a week or two. This is a high for me. I am excited to get on the scale everyday and see the progress I am making. Even on the days I do not lose weight it makes me happy because I have worked for this tool and the work I am putting into my weight loss is making me so much healthier. As I prep myself for being able to eat any style foods next Friday I believe I have many of my worries taken care of, such as fast food, low protein foods, all the crappy foods I used to eat. I am looking forward to that time because I will be able to prove to myself if I am speaking the truth or if I am just lying to myself and all of you. I bet I am telling the truth though. We will find out.

Talk to you tomorrow,
Night.

Moderation

2008-10-14T09:55:00.009-04:00

Preface: I should have done this as my first post last month.
I used to eat and never think that the food would be there later. It wasn't That i believed the food fairies would come and take the food in the middle of the night, it was a just never thought that yes i can have this later or two days from now. It was the immediate gratification aspect that I focused on and that is something I am working on because if I do not have that under control, I will not be successful and all this effort was for not.

Now on to my daily info:

So today Cooper and I went for a walk where we live. Cooper only wanted to walk for the first half of the trip so I carried him the rest of the way. Now what i started to think after that point was that if I was carrying both my sons plus a gallon of water during the walk it would have been equivalent to what i used to weight and have to carry around on a daily basis. That was another realization of how much weight I have lost in such a short time. Even when I was putting clothes together to take to donations I found it amazing that I was wearing all these clothes just a month and a half ago. Kara was surprised that all those clothes that did not fit me any more and I had to remind her the amount of weight I have lost. I continue to tell my friend who just had the surgery how fast it will happen. I look back over the last month and a half to two months and it seems as if it was just yesterday I started on this adventure.

Later in the day I went to Wegmans and I grabbed a grocery basket. I used to never get them because I hated carrying them. They would rest up next to my body and I felt uncomfortable with that happening and it made me wider then I already was. A cart was safe because it somewhat hid me. Back on point; During carrying the basket around I noticed there was no rubbing of the basket on my clothes. Also I never felt my arm weaken due to the basket and I wasn't switching it from hand to hand as I used to. Plus I never worried about sweating by just carrying a basket. See even the little things I over analyze and find the positives out of it, the negatives also. I try to make sure to notice the little things that are changing because those things keep me motivated, It is only once in a while when there is a big wow moment.

Also I am down 2 lbs today. The picture is of two pounds of cookies, david's to be exact. When i was searching for a picture of something 2 pounds I found this but overlooked it because it wasn't appealing to me. Back a few months ago I would have wanted a cookie just by looking at the picture but now I can only think about how many calories and other things that are not good for you in it. Granted I know everything in moderation works but at this stage I am an all or nothing guy. It is something I have learned to work well with to transition into new things in my life. Of course I am going to have a sweet here or there but I always need to remind myself of the work that it has taken me to get to the point I am at, the surgery, the appointment, 6 months of time.

As i am finishing up my blog tonight I am watching The biggest Loser and they have this challenge, The person to eat the most calories would win the right to make up the new teams. When the total calories were read all i could think about was how much work it would take to burn them. And it reminds me everything in moderation.

Night

70 pounds

2008-10-13T15:04:00.005-04:00

So as of today I am down 70 pounds total and 56 since 8/22/08. I am now more then half the way to my target weight of 199. Now I know the weight loss is going to slow in the coming months. It has already slowed some, From 8/22/08 to 9/19/08 I lost 34 pounds and from 9/20/08 till now 10/13/08 I have lost 22 pounds and I know I am not going to to lose another 12 in 6 days. But I have been watching my food intake and making sure I get my protein and have started having the vegetables I can eat during this stage. I have not run into many foods I can not tolerate. Recently I have been worried about how much I can eat but as I wrote last night I have found out that my mental stopping point is the right one. Tonight I was eating and realized that stop point at the last second. All went well but I found humor because I was eating extra green beans. To me that proved that I have not been writing lies. I am really making those healthy choices with my food. Cravings have decreased ten fold and the healthy living skills that I went over with my nutritionist have stuck. YIPPIE!!!!!!!

This weekend I am going to my wife's family reunion. I believe this will be a big test for me and my healthy eating choices. Whenever we would go to PA to see Kara's family we have always eaten well and I do not mean healthy. This is my first time back since the surgery so that is why I believe this will be a test. I want to take my mountain bike and push up bars with me so I can get some exercise when I am there to keep me focused on being healthy.

Well have fun everyone. Night.

Mental Status

2008-10-12T21:19:00.002-04:00

We took Kaidan and Cooper to Powers farm market today. While taking pictures there I was squatting and bending to get angles on photos and it was so much easier to do then when I tried just 3 months ago. I was also more steady with the camera and was able to carry Kaidan for a few and not get winded. I am loving this new life I am coming into. Again I am finding myself more open when in public and not sheltering myself from others and worried about their thoughts. I like the direction my life is headed in.

Whenever I eat I have always known when I needed to stop. It is a mental warning, it isn't a physical warning. So tonight at dinner I ate a little more past my mental warning to find out if I was physically full. I did this because I was worried I am under eating. Well I found out my mental stopping point is correct and it is where I need to stop from now on. The result: I didn't stuff myself but I ate enough to become uncomfortable; a feeling I never want to feel again. Now for dinner we had Chicken Pot Pie (Not frozen but homemade Pot Pie), one of my favorite meals ever. I did not enjoy it that much tonight. I do not know if it was my obsession with food that made it so appealing and tasty to me but now since I have started to change my diet and really focus on losing weight I do not have desire to eat like I did before. The appeal of food is not nearly as strong as it once was. Yes I have a craving here or there but not the desire to eat crap food or eat all I can find. Before I could have eaten crap at every meal or over eaten with no worries for the most part and now I look at regular portions and wonder when I will or if I will ever be able to eat that at one sitting or look at portions that restaurants serve and think to myself that there is no way I could ever eat all that food. Well I am done. Night.

A day out

2008-10-11T23:03:00.002-04:00

So a few of us went to the Scarecrow fest in Fairport today. The high point for Kaidan and Cooper were the fire trucks they were able to climb on and in. This is another situation where I have seen the impact of my weight loss on time with the kids. Holding Kaidan on my shoulders or carrying Cooper has become so much easier since I am down 68 pounds since I started this adventure. I know it might get old to hear but the impact on my life is so huge. I was more comfortable in a public setting because of the weight loss and that translated into my sons having more fun because I was not distant and preoccupied with worrying about what others are thinking about my size.(I still have a bunch to lose but not like I did before). This situation just reinforces the reasons why I have changed so much in my life and had this surgery.

Night.

Fun day

2008-10-10T21:55:00.002-04:00

So today started out well and continued in the same trend. I went in to fill out an application and ended up with a really good interview. The two positions I interviewed for are positions that I believe I can do with out much of a problem. Also the two interviewers were nice and we were able to have a good dialogue so it was enjoyable and I was set at ease. Also they liked my qualifications and my versatility. Now that I wrote about this interview and possible job I am sure it is going to fall apart and I will not receive an offer. Keep me in your prayers.

The rest of the day gave me time with Kara and a nice conversation with my neighbor who just got home. But then I picked the kids up and took Kaidan to the season opener for the Amerks. We only made it through the 1st period but I have to say Kaidan had a blast and we would have made it longer but we arrived an hour early and by the time the game started Kaid was already tired. It will definitely be something we will try later in the year but it did get his interest in ice skating even more amped up.

As for me I feel good and was down another pound today. I am taking my insane amount of meds and have been supplementing with a protein shake everyday I need one. Looking back over the month and a half since the surgery and the 8 months since I first went to the seminar this is the greatest decision I have made besides marring Kara and having my two children. But remember this decision will help me live a longer and healthier life most likely and enhance the decisions to marry Kara and have Kaidan and Cooper.

Smile everyone. Night.

Just one of those days

2008-10-09T20:25:00.002-04:00

So down another pound today and I have been focused on eating my meals. It has been easy for me to identify my cravings. When I am hungry I know I need to go get something to eat and when that happens I want to get something that is healthy. When I want that ice cream my wife is eating next to me or the snacks my sons are having, those are my cravings. They are very easy to identify, I just need to keep my resolve as high as it is now. If I continue with that it will make the journey much easier.

As for the gym I did not get there today but I did take the kids to the Zoo and completed about an hour of walking so i got my cardio in today. I do feel bad about not getting there and I feel that I let myself down by not going. Tomorrow before I pick the boys up from day care I am going to go to the gym for a while. I am going to to do 45 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and do both upper and lower body or the weights.

A positive today was I got a call from a potential employer and I have to go in tomorrow morning and fill out an app and talk to people about the position. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I need a job and I am so blessed by the fact that I have been able to spend so much time with Kaidan and Cooper but I feel like crap because I do not have a job and am not contributing as much to my family as I should be. I know it will work itself out but I just need to keep my moral up about the search.

Well I hope everyone has a good day. Night.

Gym time

2008-10-08T21:46:00.002-04:00

So after my post yesterday I realized I have not been to the gym this week and I need to get my ass there. Last week I went three times and swam with Kaidan once. This week I have not been there yet. So tomorrow I am hitting the gym. Nothing else much to say tonight. Night.

New Pics

2008-10-08T14:19:00.005-04:00

So here are picture of me taken today at 65 pounds down.

Me at my finest

A front view

And a side view

I can see the weight loss in my face but I still see the parts of my body that I do not like so seeing the pictures do help me see the loss.

So pics are up. I will post for real later.

Smiling as long as I keep the picutre in tune.

2008-10-07T20:02:00.004-04:00

So today I am down a total of 50 pounds from the day I arrived home from surgery! It doesn't sound huge to me because In the first month I dropped 34 pounds but then I think about it and I have dropped 16 pounds in the last 17 days so after taking all the info in my brain and processing it I realize that it really is a ton of weight. Keeping the picture in tune and rationalizing how much I am losing is amazing. Now I know many people are reading this and calling me names because of the weight I have lost but remember I was extremely overweight, I qualified for the surgery, I was fat! Also I have worked for 6 months prior to this surgery for my insurance to pay so I could have this TOOL for weight loss. Remember this is a tool and even though I have had this surgery it is very easy to regain the weight if I do not change my lifestyle. Also if I did not make the decision to work my but off to lose the weight I would be losing it much slower. I joined a web forum a while ago and have notice people who were larger then I and have lost their weight much slower then I have. I have read their stories and hear them talk about what food they are eating, the amount of food they are eating and how they are not exercising, That is not how they are going to lose the weight as quickly or reach their lowest possible healthy weight. You can not slack, you have to work very hard to do this. Just know every time I cook dinner for my kids or am around people who are making dinner for family I have to remind myself how damn good I feel and how damn good I will feel in a few more months and in another year.

On another note, I was talking to my neighbor who is having the surgery tomorrow afternoon. I was able to set his mind at ease somewhat and was able to let him know how much his life will change. He is more focused on life after surgery then I was, he knows that his life is going to change. That is a good point of view to have because if you have follow this blog I stated before I was never thinking about life after surgery, I was just wanting to make it through surgery. It made me very stressed and not enjoy the trip to surgery, I was always afraid something was going to happen. I just hope he knows the ride he is in for, because I didn't. I am surprised by the leaps and bounds my life is changing which makes me nervous about the future. I am worried that the leaps are going to get smaller, that I am taking for granted the changes in my life. It is an amazing trip that does so much for you, like a high. The reason I started this blog was so i could go back and remember the changes because I know I am not going to be able to recall the emotions I have during this journey. I do not want to forget the highs and lows. You learn from both.

relaxing day.

2008-10-06T21:20:00.003-04:00

Well today was slow and event less. Hung out at home most of the day and that is about it. But a high point is the weather has started to get colder here and I have gotten the fireplace cleaned and going. It is enjoyable to sit in front of it at night I just wish Kara was around to enjoy it also. But one of the greatest benefits of the fireplace is it does help supplement the heating aspect of the house.

As I continue to lose weight I have been donating a ton of clothes. Today while sorting clothes, I sorted out a few sweatshirts and pants for the shed. It is a great feeling to do but now I have to buy clothes for the interim. It is hard for me to spend the money on clothes I am only going to wear for a while. I know it is a stupid problem to be bitching about but a problem none the less. But I am lucky, I have dress clothes so if I find a job I will have clothes for work and not have to purchase any. I also have been buying universal clothes as I call them, athletic clothes, I can wear them to the gym, around the house and then also wear them out to the store. Lets face it I am a male, who cares what I wear to the store.

Night

Suprise Suprise

2008-10-05T23:07:00.003-04:00

Well today was fun. The family got up early and participated in the breast cancer walk in Rochester. It was a lot of fun and the kids did well even though Kaidan spent more then half of the time on my shoulders(which was a blast) and poor Cooper had to hang out in the stroller the whole time. When we arrived home everyone took a nap except myself, I watched the race and football. About a hour into watching t.v. I found out my brother in law was in Buffalo for work. After talking to Kara about it Kaidan and I took a trip up to hang out for a bit. The last time I saw Richard was back in May so it was nice to spend some time with him. So we decided to go to Duff's for wings. I had some excellent wings (3 total) and found out something important there. That my stomach does not like fried food even though I picked the meat off the wings and did not eat the skin. Well I guess I will learn what foods I will be able to handle as I go. Everything I have read says everyone is different and everyone has problems with different foods, but one thing most people have had problems with are fried foods. Yet again, live and learn.

Another thing that is Kind of cool is in the last 24 hours I have seen three people I have not seen in some time and all three were impressed with my weight loss. That makes the situation a little more real. Because when I look at myself I know I have loss weight because I can see it in my face, my clothes and I feel better but I still see all the extra weight I need to lose. I am my own worse critic. Well i am going to keep working hard and keep getting healthier. Night

Your Lucky

2008-10-05T00:16:00.002-04:00

So today was very productive. We were able to get a lot of work done around the outside of the house. Kara did get on my case about the amount of food I have been eating though. That is because she knows that the amount of food I been eating is still not as much as I am supposed/told to be eating. I have to say again that I am not trying to avoid eating, I am just have not been thinking about it which is probably a good thing; I have not been having hunger pangs. I would be more worried if my mind was constantly focused on food that I want to eat and the planing of the meals. But another goal of mine should be to find a happy medium so I remain healthly. But I am going to add at this point I have made sure to maintain my meds, fluid and protein intake. So much for tonight. Tomorrow I will explain the your lucky title.

A little family, and a little revelation.

2008-10-04T00:51:00.004-04:00

First off thanks Kara for the PR. I love you baby.

Now I am going to preface this with I do not try to make excuses for what I did when I was younger (I stopped that many years ago). I know that if I made different decisions in my life I would not have done some of the things I did.

And now for my rant.

Well in true Mom fashion she lost it yesterday and is on her way to screwing up her life in Cali. For the last week she has been telling my sisters and myself that she needs recognition and has stated in so many words that anything that had happened since my father died was our own fault. Yes I made some bad decisions and should have done different things in my life but if she was around and not pushing me away and not having faulty priorities, then my life would have been different. But looking at it from a different perspective; I am so happy that I led the life I have because if she did not do the shit she did then I would not be married to Kara and not have a great life with 2 beautiful sons. My family puts the fun in dysfunctional!

Now for something on the lighter side.

I added a weight tracker to the bottom of the blog so you can follow my weight loss, since at this time the blog kind of revolves around how my life is changing and how my feeling, perceptions and experiences are effected through the weight loss. (Suggestion from Kris).

I am finding myself much more motivated to do more things. It is because I have more energy due to the fact I am not carting around the extra weight. Looking back I am so happy I made the decision to have the surgery. The changes so far have been immense! I remember a few months ago I was telling my neighbor how nervous I was about the surgery and he was telling me I was going to be fine. Even the day of the surgery I was so nervous the anesthesiologist asked me if I was excited for the future and I told him I hadn't thought of it because I was so scared of the surgery. I was very lucky also because my wife (Kara) is an Operating nurse at Highland hospital and was able to pick the surgical team (Thanks Fred, Kris and Maria) Plus I was even allowed to keep my underware; VIP Baby! (lol). I have to say I am glad I wasn't so paralyzed by fear I did not have the surgery. If I knew how good I would have felt just a month and a half out, I would never have been scared. Now today I was speaking to my neighbor, who is scheduled for Oct 8th, and he is getting nervous. I told him he would be fine as he told me but I wish people who are nervous about this surgery knew how good they would feel afterwards. I'm just a month and a half out and there has been such a change, it is enhancing my wife's, my children's and my life.