Motivation for Monday
Per Pippa’s very flattering comment, I decided to make my Toastmaster’s speech this week’s Motivation for Monday. Be sure to adjust your sound. Enjoy.
Log My Loss
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A Little R & R
Today I took a much needed day away from the office. Unfortunately, we had somewhat of an urgent issue that I still had to take care of, but I only had to work 30 minutes or so. While it has been a relaxing day, it has been a busy day. It’s funny how busy can still be relaxing as long as the day-to-day grind changes up a bit.
I didn’t do formal exercise today as my foot is still not quite 100%. It is close though. I did do a lot in my garden though, which was quite a bit of walking. Not enough to count for anything, but it kept me busy.
Eating has been a little tough today. Days off really make me respect and admire those of you who work from home, are stay-at-home parents, or are currently unemployed. It is harder for me to stay focused on eating good when I am at the house all day. Breakfast this morning was an apple with three tablespoons of Super Pecan Butter and a cup of ff, plain yogurt with lemon Jello powder. Lunch was two eggs, two lf turkey sausages, two tomatoes, and two peppers. Supper was a piece of lean round steak, three roasted peppers, five cherry tomatoes, and a small serving of cole slaw. I have not decided if I will have a mid-evening snack or not. It is getting late, so probably not.
I ran across an interesting food comparison on portion size today. It is truly amazing how this has changed over the years. I, for one, am someone who feels I have to get my money’s worth. This is a constant struggle for me. I have to keep telling myself, “It is okay to put the fork down before you finish the meal. Really, it is okay.” Nonetheless, I still struggle with it.
First Video Post – My Thoughts on Cheating
Well, here is the long awaited first video post. Let me assure you, this is a little lot harder than it looks. 
Tony’s post is I Have No More Tears, which I encourage you to read if you have not already.
Another Medical Update and Old Pics
Okay, I heeded all the warning I got here, and I went to the doctor today. She was unable to determine exactly what the problem is, but she feels like it is not serious. However, she has referred me to a podiatrist, who I will see in a couple of weeks. She told me that while she didn’t think this was anything to really be concerned about, she went on to say that I have bad feet. You see, my feet are really flat. While I have big feet, meaning I wear shoes, depending on the brand, between 12.5 and 14. However, as my Dad has told me more than once, my feet are BIG. In other words, 4E width is not quite as wide as I need. The representative at Fleet Feet, a shoe store that specializes in putting runners and walkers into shoes that really fit, told me that I needed to wear the thinnest socks I could buy because my feet were a little too wide for the widest shoes they had. My doctor went on to explain that this is not a good thing, and I will probably continue having trouble with my feet the rest of my life. I happen to believe I can do something about that, but I also think it is a good idea to see the foot specialist.
Fortunately, my doctor’s visit ended up with a great ending. We again discussed my current health status. She agreed that my blood pressure was still a little low, even after recently coming off the Toprol. She then gave me some samples of the same blood pressure medicine I am on now at half the dose. That means that I am now taking a 1/4 of the blood pressure medicine I was on 3-4 months ago. I don’t know about you, but that is some of the best news of the day. She went on to tell me that she fully expects I will totally come off this medicine in November when I go for my physical.
Last information on the doctor’s appointment – she told me I could slowly, and she stressed slowly, begin to add in a little more push ups. My arm is feeling better, but it is important to not re-injure it.
I did not exercise again today. I had planned on doing something today, but I ended up being up way too late last night, so I slept in a bit. I am taking tomorrow off, and I intend on doing a decent workout tomorrow, even it it doesn’t contain walking.
Eating was good. Breakfast was an apple with three tablespoons of Super Pecan Butter and a Waltzer Tomato. This is one of my heirloom tomatoes and it was pretty good. Not my favorite, but nothing at all to compain about. I also had several smoked peppers. Lunch was the meat off of a sandwhich and a salad that was pretty much lettuce (work meal again). I ate small because I had actually brought my lunch. Afterwards I had my pork chop, a little cole slaw, a tomato, and a couple of peppers. Supper was at my Mom’s house for my birthday. I had a sirloin steak, a salad with Bacon Ranch Dressing, and some mixed vegetables. For dessert I had a peach. After I got home I treated myself to a square of dark cayenne chocolate with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter. Mmmm!
Last of all, I ran across some old pictures tonight. I don’t talk about this often on here, but I am sure you have all noticed that I am very guarded to not slip up on this journey. There is a reason for this. Twelve years ago I lost a lot of weight. In fact, I lost a lot more weight than I have this time, and I lost it really quickly. I lost 77 pounds in 120 days. I ended up losing right at 100 pounds total. Unfortunately, I had a diet mentality at that time, and I could not wait to get off my diet. Unfortunately, when I began eating like I had always eaten, I began to acheive the body I had always had. That is the difference this time. This time I am making a lifestyle change. Anyhow, my lowest weight I achieved was around this time of year twelve years ago. It was also almost ten pounds less than I weigh now. The pictures that I ran across are some of the only ones I have from that time. In these pictures I weighed around 188. In my humble opinion, I think I look better now than I did then. Of course, I may be using my rose colored glasses. I am certain that I am healthier than I was then, as I did almost no exercise at that time. So here you go, skinny Steve from 1997 (compare this to my latest pictures on my Progress Pictures page:
Great Day and a Garden Update
As expected, I did not exercise again today. I just felt it was better to lay off on the foot at least one more day. I may get a short walk in tomorrow depending on how my foot feels in the morning.
Speaking of tomorrow, yours truly turns 36 years old tomorrow. Unlike a lot of other people, I have yet to dread my birthdays. I don’t really suspect this will ever happen, but it is pretty hard to predict the future.
My eating was good again today. Breakfast was simply an apple with three tablespoons of Super Pecan Butter. Lunch was the meat (1/2 roast beef and 1/2 turkey) and vegetables from a sandwich. As this was not that much, I also had a pork chop, two tomatoes, and several peppers. Mmmm! Supper was a few fillets of crappie (fish), some great cole slaw, a few smoked jalapeno, and several cherry tomatoes. Just a bit ago I had a small piece of dark cayenne chocolate with a little Super Pecan Butter. This wasn’t as good on the chocolate as peanut butter, so I ended up eating ten almonds. In case I haven’t mentioned this before, I eat the nut butter with the fruit and dark chocolate to slow the digestion, which should prevent hunger feelings. Anyhow, as the night has ended I have eaten a sf fruit flavored popsicle.
My father-in-law fixed me up with a big mess of Habaneros this evening. They are as hot as I can handle it, but I do like them roasted. I am going to try to smoke these though. I also smoked about 20 jalapenos last night, which really turned out well.
On the topic of peppers, I now have my first Red Savina Habanero growing. I am not sure how long it takes to fully mature, but I suspect it will be a week or more. Right now it is about the size of a drop of water. I cannot wait to try this. While it will be hotter than the typical orange Habaneros (by 3x or more), it is supposed to have a better flavor. I am anxious to find out myself.
I also picked my first Waltzer Tomato tonight. It is a little lighter color than I expected. Not quite pink, but not the dark red I like so well. I will probably eat this for breakfast tomorrow, so I will post my thoughts then. I will also take a picture of it tonight for my garden page on this site. I am anxiously awaiting the Cherokee Purple, which is yet to have a ripe tomato. That is the one I am desiring most this year. I hope it is as tasty as I anticipate.
Edit: Sorry for the edit, but I cannot believe I keep forgetting this. I have noticed something about my body this week that is very exciting. When I am sitting and leaning forward, my stomach has started folding inward instead of poking outward. I am not sure this makes sense to anyone, but rest assured, it is an awesome thing!
NEAT Activities
According to studies, lean people fidget more than obese people. What does that matter? Well, these NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) activities can burn extra calories. So what can you do about it? Start doing something when you are doing nothing! Check out this article on lifehacker for more!
Unfortunately, exercise did not go as planned today. It is not that I wasn’t ready — I was. As I have written about on here before, I have some problems with my feet, among those is gout. However, that was not the issue today. It is something else that I have not identified yet. I really need to go to the doctor about it, but it never seems like the right time. Anyhow, what happens is I have a sharp pain in my foot right behind my smallest toe. It is comparable in pain to gout, which can make it very hard to walk on. I can walk though, I just have to walk more on the inside of my foot, but walking for exercise is tough. Fortunately, it usually only lasts only a day or so. It may be well enough tomorrow to exercise again, but I am not going to push it. That being said, I may take a short stroll with my wife tonight. I can handle this with very little pain since the walk is short, easy, and slow.
On the flip side, eating was great. I had one egg and one small turkey sausage for breakfast. I complimented this with a sliced green pepper and a couple of sliced roma tomatoes. Last, I ended with an apple with three tablespoons of Super Pecan Butter. While this may seem like a lot, remember, this was the end of my full day fast. Oh, wait a minute, I forgot that I also had a handful of pecans sometime during the night. Lunch was taco salad with no salsa or cheese, just veggies (including a really hot pepper) and sliced chicken breast. There was also a small amount of ground beef. Supper was a pork chop, some sauteed green beans and peppers, and a tomato. Since then I have also had three raw Cubanelle and Green Peppers. I also had a 1/4 cup of Smoked Chickpeas.
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