The Slump Ends Tomorrow

I just finished my last day as the music teacher at my school.  They asked me back as a paraprofessional, but hopefully I'll find a job as a music teacher at another school.  I had a lot of sweets today, but I'm not viewing that as a downfall because tomorrow starts a new chapter in my weight loss journey.

So July is my summer break/job hunt.  I'll get lots of sleep and get to relax, but I'll also have time to work on my body.  Starting tomorrow, I'll be limiting my calories to 2000 a day and going for a bike ride every day.  I'll also be going to the gym 4-5 times a week.  I've planned out my meals for tomorrow (minus lunch, I've still got to figure that one out) and I'm going to the gym with Claire in the morning.

I know it seems like a lot, but this is my chance to reboot.  This is my chance to move substantially toward health and I'm not going to squander it.

Weigh-In Results

It's been another week.  My birthday came and went.  A job interview came and went, and so did the phone call telling me I didn't get the job.  I've been having a really hard time with the whole losing my job thing.  I haven't been binging, I've just upped the snacking and lowered the exercise.  My back is still in pretty rough shape and I just want it to feel better.  I have had some victories, however.  I went to the Minneapolis Pride Festival and refrained from buying any gross fair food.  I convinced my lovely wife, Claire, to bike to the gym with me instead of driving.  And I bicycle commuted into work today.

Let's get to that damn scale.

8'hh2.  Oh man, not 8'hh2.  Wait... turn your head 244.8.  Alright, that's not bad.  I came down .7 pounds.  At least I didn't gain weight like I thought I did.

This coming week is my last week teaching music at my current job.  My priority will be finding a job.  Hopefully, wallowing in self pity will be much, much farther down the list.

Weigh-In Results

Let's get right to the number.

245.5.  I gained .7 pounds, which, don't get me wrong, sucks.  However, it's not bad considering the week I had.  Last Wednesday I found out my music teaching position at my school was being replaced by a music therapy position so I'm out of a job for next year.  I've been stress-eating and if that weren't bad enough I hurt my back this weekend so I haven't been able to get much exercise.

The good news is I have an interview this Thursday, which happens to be my birthday.  I'm hoping that's a good omen and I'll get the job. 

Well, life is happening and I've got some extra things to juggle for a while.  But I think know I can make this work.

Weigh-In Results

I had a bad week.  I ate too much.  I didn't exercise enough.  I ate out about a thousand times and I grazed a lot at my sister-in-law's grad party.

I know I did bad.  Let's see what the scale says.

244.8.  A gain of 3.1 pounds.  This is unacceptable.  I know what I did wrong and know why I failed this week.  Things will be better now.  This week I'm going to be strong, exercise, and be just a little hungrier.  Starting now.  It's gym time.

Tatooine Hot

It was 103 degrees in Minneapolis yesterday.  It actually wasn't as bad as I would have imagined, but it was warm enough for everyone to turn on their air conditioners so the power went out on my block.  It didn't come on until right before I went to bed so I decided not to write a post for yesterday.

As soon as the power went out I decided I'd get going to the gym.  Then I realized my car was trapped in my garage and the only way to get to it was through an electric garage door opener.  So I walked.


After the gym I went to the grocery store.  I made some not-so-good choices there.  Nothing terrible, just some fruit-bar popsicle things.  They're very tasty but too high in sugar to be of anywhere near healthy.

It was still in the 90s and since my building had no electricity I was roasting.  I found a battery-powered lamp and plopped in a cold bath with my popsicle and a copy of Lord of the Flies.  Half an hour later, the power was back on and I went to bed.

I keep thinking about how well I did last week.  It's hard to remember that control feels a lot like being hungry most of the time and that voice in the back of my head demanding chocolate needs to shut up.  I'm trying to do as well this week but I'm not putting it together quite as well as I did last week.  Case in point with the popsicle.

I'm really tired and ready for bed.  I got back late from Cirque du Soleil.  More on that later (because it was awesome).  Goodnight.

Weigh-In Results

Happy Monday.  I've made some good choices and some bad choices this week, but overall, I think I did a pretty good job.  I resisted a lot of temptation this week, but pigged out a little this weekend.  We spent the weekend with the in-laws so there was a lot of driving and eating out.  Let's see if the scale agrees with my assessment.

241.7.  I lost 2.5 pounds this week.  I'm really happy about this.  I'd like to lose another 2.5 this week.

Claire's gone for the week so I'm all by myself.  Hopefully that will mean lots of exercise and eating right, but it might mean sitting on the couch in my underwear eating popsicles.  Actually, what it meant tonight is my evening was dedicated to working on my bike.

I'm so close to being done with this project.  Overall I'm pleased with how it's turning out, but there are so many pitfalls along the way.  Hey, kind of like losing weight.

My Bike

If you read my blog you know that my favorite way to exercise is biking. 

In my off-time, I've been working on rebuilding a road-bike frame my brother gave me.  I know it's not terribly weight-loss related, but I'd like to share my handiwork. 

This is what I started with.  No wheels, no seat, just a really ugly bike frame.

Next, I pulled the crank out.

Got most of the extras off here.

I stripped most of the paint off here.  Chemical paint stripper is some nasty stuff.  Probably not too good for the environment.

I stripped all the rest of the paint and rust off with a wire brush that attached to my drill.  You can't really see it here, but the frame was gorgeous shining in the sun.  It's almost a shame I painted it.

Next I primed.  Had a little overspray on the bricks.  Oh well, I think I'll just turn them over.

All set to paint.

This is how it looks now.  It's drying in my garage, just waiting for those beautiful wheels.  It's a shade more John Deere than I'd hoped, but I'm happy with the color.

I can't wait for the paint to cure so I can reassemble and get out on the road.