Day Sixteen

So the 2nd Weigh in................240 lbs...............one lb this week.

Last week was phenomenal on the loss. I did not expect much this week and I am pleasantly surprised that I lost 1 lb. I can tell that my body is changing. My face already looks a little thinner. I think my body adjusted to the extreme change I have put it through.

So I assume that next week I may lose 2 lbs or so. The key is that I am focused on Phoenix Bill. I did not cheat this week at all. I hit the gym again this morning and was on the Gerbil Machines for 90 minutes. I feel great.

Must stay focused, like I have been. I know that my body will go through some peaks and valleys as I climb this mountain back to Phoenix Bill. I am thrilled that I have lost 11 lbs in the first two weeks.

This coming week you will see some blogs about my life/health stages in more detail. This will be an expansion on the outline I discussed on the Jan 8th blog. I want to drill down into more of the why and how I got here and how many times I have gone through the yo-yo. The focus on this is more of a self examination so that I can permanently teach myself to avoid old bad habits.

PS Look for more fun photos too.

Day Fifteen

Yesterday was hectic. But still managed 50 min on the elliptical and another 30 on weights. Run Gerbils, Run! I feel amazingly stronger. I must say I am feel like there is the really strong healthy person under this coating of fat. And in only two weeks.

I will admit that when the stress in on full press, my false appetite rages. I want to hide in the pantry and eat every little snaky I can get my hands on. The joy and release of mindless calories. But I did not. I did eat a small 2nd helping of Suz's homemade chicken pot pie. Yummy! Not the best for me. So I will have to pay for that tomorrow and avoid the carbs.

So I was thinking last week about how really bad all processed food is. When you really sit down and think about it, man made food is horrible for us. In fact, man made anything just does not work. Good old mother nature is the best source for nourishment.

It seems to me that any time man invents something there is always some kind of negative repercussion. Think about it. All the chemicals and salt etc in the processed food. All the carbs which pretty much all processed food is. It is junk because we invented it.

And think of all the wonderful technology we have invented in the last 200 years and how much waste in creates. It is mind boggling.

I am big time into recycling as you can see. (if I died tomorrow Suz would just throw everything in the trash and stop recycling--to much extra work) And we have missed the recycle pick up two weeks in a row . I cant believe all the paper, corrugation, plastic, glass, aluminum that we amassed. We used to throw all that away. Think about all the landfills with all the waste that could actually be reused.

Think about all the processed food we buy and how much waste/trash that produces. We truly are what we eat. YUCKO! When I take one small bite of junk food now, I immediately taste salt or sugar. Huge amounts of them. Blah (sticking my tongue out at the same time).

Day Fourteen

Ninety minutes on the gerbil machines. Felt very strong. Off to the Doc in the afternoon. He told me to keep pushing. I revealed that I have canned the blood pressure meds. He said that is ok but we need to watch the BP. He said that Diovan stays in your system for six weeks. So I have six weeks to work hard and lose this weight and lower the BP at the same time. I will go back and see him in early May.

I can tell that I have slowed on my weight loss, so my guess is that my body is adusting to all the changes. I am not cheating at all. Gotta keep my head in the game. I have not weighed myself but I can tell that nothing has changed since last Saturday. But I still have a couple of days.

Very busy with work. Normally I would run to the pantry at night but not enough time due to work and kid activities. This is a good thing. Idle time makes bellies grow.

Suprise, suprise.....the Wall Street Journal had an article the other day where people who watch four or more hours of tv a day have weight and heart issues. And they spent money studying that ? Ha Ha.

Day Thirteen

Last night came home tired. On the road 10 hours -- a long day in the car. Did get in my hour on the elliptical at the hotel in the early am. Have a ton of work today. Came home and ate dinner then disappeared upstairs in the home office until 8:30pm.

But alas, first thing tomorrow off to the Y again. And I have a 2:45pm appointment with my Doc.
The workouts are helping. Slept adequately on Monday night at hotel. The bed sucked, but I was so tired that I easily fell asleep.

Picked up some more provisions on the way home yesterday. Protein shake mix, and Bare Naked Granola High Protein. I will have a better blog tomorrow.

Felt drained last night. Ate too much for dessert.....little bit of my new granola, an orange and an apple with peanut butter. Monday night did not have a dessert. Trying to skip nights on desserts, which are generally one piece of fruit.

So now you see what just two days of intense driving and sales calls does to me. I called on 11 customers in two days with lots of driving in between.

Day Twelve -- Road Trips, Exercise, and Eating Out

Road trips are the bane of all male sales representatives who struggle with their weight. Married men are generally animals of routine. We settle into the life of home, but when we are on road trips, our routine is interrupted, drastically.

When you live in the "big city" and travel on sales trips in small town middle America, your choices shrink. So one has a tendency to go with the obvious choices, which is generally "bar food" -- anything fried, and of course there is homestyle cooking. Both are far from healthy. Fresh and simple food generally is not an option. Sure there are decent diners in small towns, but they serve you darn good home cooking: biscuits & gravy, meatloaf, country fried steak, hamburgers, fries, tator-tots, fried fish, green beans, mashed potatoes, country fried chicken, fried chicken, and salads that consist of iceberg lettuce.

Sounds dismal, huh. Well, sometimes there are moments of discovery like last week in when I found a BBQ joint that made a Smoked Chicken Caesar Salad with romaine -- glorious green, fresh romaine. And you can always find McDonald's which can work when you are in pinch and no lunch appointment. They have salads that are edible.

Yes, traveling can be a land mine because it is easy to give in. But you can choose grilled chicken sandwiches instead of open-faced beef sandwiches with gravy. And have slaw on the side instead of fries. There are grocery stores, too, and other fairly large towns that have great grocery stores that have fresh food and ready made meals for dinner.

As far as exercise goes, many large to medium towns have YMCA's and if you belong to one you can use one out of town for free. And the hotels of course have treadmills (gerbil machines). They sit in that little room down the end of the hall, all alone calling your name. They whisper "Come walk on me, run on me, sweat on me." Ha Ha. Think of it: Your wife will ask, "Are you having an affair on your trips? You always come back home so refreshed and smiling." And you can say in response, "I have indeed found my new love................it's.......a........treadmill."

One hour of treadmill this morning. And Panera yesterday for lunch and again for dinner--soup and salad both times.

Discipline is a choice. And focus is the name of the game.

Day Eleven--Phoenix Bill--The Final Resurrection

I now have a solid goal in mind. I had an epiphany yesterday while I was on the elliptical.

My goal is to look like Phoenix Bill which is the picture you see above. So from now on I will be using the term Phoenix Bill and after you read below, you will know what I am referring to.

This picture represents a purely fit physical speciman of myself. (Do you think my arms could get a little longer and maybe drag on the desert floor? I think my arms stretched out from dragging a 100 lb jackhammer around all summer.) This pic is from summer of 1986 during my trip to the Grand Canyon. I was at my absolute best.

I think that "Phoenix Bill" is the perfect title for my goal. First of all, the Phoenix rises out of fire from death and destruction -- which, let's face it, I am headed toward. Plus I am going to Phoenix with Suzanne for Memorial Day Weekend in May of this year for our 12th Anniversary. So I have 5 months to whip myself into shape for this trip. So this trip represents a return to myself.

On the road today and tomorrow. Up early today and off to the Y at 5 am. Hit the weights and elliptical. Usually Tuesday is weights but on the road no weight room but I have access to treadmills. So since I am gone one night I will switch it up and still keep my routine.

Day Ten

I am off today. Sunday will be my rest day. Suffice it to say, I am exhausted. But come back tomorrow, Monday, and you will see a new post.

Happy Sunday.