Fat Guy in Little Coat.

Hello Everyone. Sorry it’s been a few days since the last blog post, but I wanted to be sure and check in and give you an update on the weight situation.

As the three of you that read this before know, I usually weigh in on Sunday, which I did. I did not, however, blog about it, and I’m sure you were all heartbroken. Well, things are different now. It’s not about trying to hit a goal, it’s not about the numbers, it’s about maintenance. So, no more stats. I’m just going to tell it like it is.

When I started, I weighed in at 222 lbs. This Sunday, when I stepped on the scale, it read….221 lbs. Yeah, that’s not monumental…however, I’m going in the right direction, especially considering all I can do is ride the exercise bike in the morning.

Now, I did weigh myself again this morning, and I came in at a solid 219 lb. That’s unofficial, though, as the official weights shall only be registered on Sundays. This Sunday may not be as good, though, as Turkey Day is on the horizon.

Like I said before, I’m not expecting monumental gains. I’m not pushing myself to the extreme and really cutting back on what I eat. Right now, it’s more about getting into a routine and trying to keep up a generally healthy lifestyle…which is much harder than it sounds.

But, if I lose one pound per week, that’s perfectly fine with me, as long as I’m going in the right direction…and right now, that’s where I’m headed.

Brett

I have to admit something, the wife and I may have a new obsession…actually, it’s more her than me, but I still share it.

That obsession is butternut squash.

Yeah, I know, it sounds weird…but go with me on this. It’s delicious. One day, the wife decided she wanted to make one. She cut it up, threw on some seasoning, tossed it in the oven and a little while later we had this amazing, roasted, healthy side dish. It’s really, really good.

The only bad thing about it, though, is that it’s really hard to slice. Squash has a very thick outer skin, which makes it tough to get through. However, the reward of delicious, roasted squash is well worth it.

The reason I say this is because that’s what we had for dinner, along with turkey burgers. It’s a good meal. It may not seem like it, but this roasted squash is a great replacement for fries. Seriously…don’t shake your head…try it, you’ll like it.

Some people listen to music to get fired up for a workout. Some people watch sports. Others watch other kinds of television shows or movies that get them fired up for a nice workout.

Me? I watch cartoons.

No, you read that right, cartoons. Not just any cartoons, though, old-school Animaniacs. Not just any old-school Animaniacs, but DVDs of old-school Animaniacs. I’m sorry, I love it…I admit it. Yeah, I’m a nerd…and I’m proud of it.

In all honesty, though, it’s nice to have something to kind of distract you from working out. No matter what you’re doing, a workout is tedious…and boring, so having ANYTHING to distract you is great…especially if it’s hilarious cartoons from my childhood…like this:

Good stuff. Next time you go for a workout, give it a shot. You won’t even know you’re sweating until you’re done.

Well, it kind of feels like I’m starting all over again….because, basically, I am. That’s not a bad thing, necessarily. I’m still kind of trying to get back into my routine. The hardest part, I think, is trying to make myself get up in the morning and get on the bike. Once I’m up and doing it, it’s fine…it’s just getting there that’s tough.

The other thing that’s tough is avoiding the massive snack cabinet at work. You see, about once per month, the office I work in replenishes the snacks that they offer us. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but there’s literally a U-Haul van full of snacks and drinks that fill the cabinets and fridge in the kitchen, everything from chips to nuts to fruit snacks and beef jerky. You name it, it’s probably in there.

It’s tough to avoid, but I’ve managed to do a decent job so far. I snack a little, but strategically. I try to have one snack between breakfast and lunch and one in the afternoon, just to keep my metabolism going….I hope. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. We’ll see how it plays out this weekend.

For dinner, though, the wife (how crazy is that?) and I had some amazing chicken sandwiches with tater tots. I was going for sweet potato fries, but they didn’t have any, so I had to rock the tots. Everything in moderation.

I’d say so far, so good for this attempt to get this whole ‘health’ thing back on track, but like I said, we’ll see how it goes this weekend.

In the meantime, check out the latest digital short from SNL…pretty funny:

Well hello everyone, it’s been a while…a long while…but I’m back, and for good reason. The quest, which I had completed, is back…and for very good reason. I had a couple minor setbacks the past couple months, and I’ve fallen off the horse a little bit.

(Need a refresher on the previous quest? I don’t blame you. Click here for a refresher.)

It’s been months since I’ve been updated, and I apologize for that, but there’s been a specific reason…I haven’t exactly been healthy…at all. It turns out that all the running I did over the past year and a half or so wasn’t exactly good for my lower extremities. Back at the end of July, I started having some pain in my right ankle. I laid off of it for a little while, but then went back to running. A couple days later, it blew up to about twice the normal size. I wrapped it up thinking it was sprained, but it never went away.

It turns out I had what is known as an Osteochondral Lesion of the cartilage, which basically means part of the cartilage had worn away to nothing. Making matters worse, there was a piece of loose cartilage floating around in there that was keeping me from bending my ankle.

Well, you can’t regrow cartilage and it doesn’t heal, so I had to go under the knife. This happened at the end of August, and I’ve been recovering ever since. I was on crutches from the middle of August until about two weeks ago.

On top of that, I have a condition called Ulcerative Colitis, which is an inflammatory bowel disease (yeah, probably TMI, but it factors in, I promise). Well, I had taken an antibiotic back before the wedding to get rid of a skin rash. The antibiotic ended up causing a massive flare up of my colitis, with a side of C. Difficile, an intestinal infection.

What does that have to do with my weight loss? Well, I had to take prednisone, a steroid, for about two months or so (I just stopped using it last week) which helps reduce the inflammation of this extreme flare up. The problem with taking a steroid is that it makes you extremely hungry and also makes you gain weight. Also, my MLB career is definitely over before it even began.

However, I had gotten down as low as 193 lbs. before I had to stop working out. With the lack of exercise plus the steroid, I have put some of that back on. My last weigh-in, Sunday morning just like before, I was up to 222 lbs.

Making matters worse is the fact that I have to completely change my routine. The doctor that fixed my ankle recommended that I not run for exercise anymore, so I have to turn to the exercise bike and eventually the elliptical machine. Right now, though, all I can do is the bike, so I have to make the best of it. Eventually, once I get out of the walking boot I’ve been wearing, I’ll be able to elliptical, so I’ll have to switch that up. However, I’m just happy to get back into a routine and break a sweat each morning.

While the Fat Guy that began this quest back in 2008 isn’t quite back, he’s well on his way. It’s time for me to get this thing back on track, and it starts now, with this post. My goal is different this time, though, and it’s actually a two-part goal. First, I need to shed the 22 lbs. I put back on to get back down to 200 lbs. Once I hit that, I’d like to see if I can get myself down to about 180 lbs., pretty much just to see if I can.

So, all four of you that read this before, welcome back. I hope you’ll join me again. I promise it won’t be all updates about me, I’ll throw some interesting stuff in there, but help me stay on track and get where I need to go…without the aid of running…

Brett