Write It Off

OK, this whole week has been a complete write-off as far as diet and exercise goes. I'm back on the low carb diet starting today, but I probably gained 5 pounds since Tuesday. I'm still below 300, so the battle was not completely lost.

We had a good Thanksgiving meal, with only a few heated arguments amongst the in-laws. The Honeybaked Ham was excellent as always, and I finally finished off all the dressing yesterday morning. We still have half a turkey breast that hasn't been touched that I'll eat on early this week.

I did enough hits on MTurk by last Tuesday that I ordered my Petzl helmet with no money out of my pocket. I'll be working on earning some Christmas presents next so we can save on spending that. Our 13 year old dryer finally gave up the ghost last night, so we had to order a new one from Home Depot today. Thankfully Marissa's grandmother gave us some money for the holidays to spend on the house so that didn't bite us too bad.

We're still planning on pulling up the carpet in the basement and getting the concrete stained. I'm going to try to initiate that this week to see if we can get it finished before Christmas. Sir Blubbly better prepare himself for some heavy lifting soon.

Thanksgiving Bloat

I really wanted to go below 290 before Thanksgiving got here, but I seem to be on a plateau again. I've slacked off a little on the walking in the last week, so that would most likely account for the fact I haven't lost as much. I'm thinking it might be time to move the weight bench down into the basement soon and start throwing some plates up. When I was at the House of Heff last I lay down on his bench and did one rep of about 140 pounds. I used to work out regularly with more than that, so I probably need to add some more muscle to keep the calorie and fat burn going. The good news is that Paul Clemmons let the Big Tobacco Lobby influence him yet again and has chosen to completely go off his diet for the last week or so. I'm sure Sir Blubbly is packing on the weight even as you read this.

Shame on Heff

Well apparently Heff sent me a heavily modified copy of the group shot of the Hatchers and the Heffers taken at his house last weekend. I accidentally discovered his shenanigans and I've carefully restored the photo to its original format, which I present to you below. I just think the truth should always be first and foreskin when it comes to photography.

Must Catch Paul

Fellow fat boy and low carb enthusiast Paul Clemmons, who as far as I know is still closely affiliated with the Big Tobacco companies, has a different approach to the low carb lifestyle than I do. He likes to cook more and have a greater variety of food, while I like instant gratification and can eat the same stuff for weeks on end.

I've been trying to avoid eating mostly fatty foods this time around on the diet, so I don't go for the chicharrones too often. This week however, while getting a diet coke at the local Mapco I noticed a new offering from Golden Flake which was hot pork rinds with Louisianna Hot Sauce. I bought a bag and they were good. Very good. I know any yankees reading this are recoiling at the thought of eating deep fried pork skins, but hey, you shouldn't knock it til you try it.

I also tried the new low carb version of Reese's Cups last night at the basketball game when I was working the concession stand. Two cups has 1 net carb and they didn't taste too bad. The peanut butter is drier than the normal ones, but it was nice to have taste of an old favorite without feeling guilty about it.

I'm down to 290 pounds this morning, so the combination of sticking closely to the low carb diet and doing a lot of walking is really paying off this time. I'm actually considering skipping the dressing and potatoes for Thanksgiving this year, but honestly I don't see it happening once the meal gets here. The best I can hope for is to only blow it out on the carbs for one day and then get right back on track.

Quick Update

I'm down to 292 pounds this morning, so the extra walking and sticking firmly to the low carb diet is paying off nicely. I only walked 1.5 miles yesterday at lunch, but I had to help some friends from church move last night so that made up for it. Since the wife is going to be busy at a shower this weekend I'm thinking about hitting a trail somewhere around Nashville on Saturday. Maybe one of the Warner parks or an extended trip on the greenway.

Here's a picture of the Hatchers and the Heffers from this past weekend at the House of Heff. I still definitely look fat in that picture, but you should see the picture from 32 pounds ago. I apoligize for the crappy orange and blue stuff Heff and Donna are wearing. Some people just weren't raised any better. Check out that beautiful pregnant woman, though.

24 Hours in Bama

We drove down Saturday afternoon to Columbiana for a baby shower that was held Sunday afternoon. We ended up taking Marissa even though we originally didn't think she was going to make the trip. She did good on the way down, and spent most of the trip laying in the back of the Montero listening to me cuss at the Alabama/LSU game on the radio.

That evening I walked from my brother's house to Heff's house and back, which brought my weekly walking total up to 12.6 miles. This is the most I've walked in one week since I started tracking it 6 weeks ago. My next goal is to get to 14 miles a week but it may not be this week since my legs still feel like they're shot.

We visited with Donna and the Heffer for a few hours and when Heff forwards me the photos I'll post a group shot. I was disappointed a little since there was no cheeseball awaiting me and the grill was never fired up. There was chili but I was a little afraid of the possible carbs so I passed.

On Sunday we went to church with my mom, ate at Bernie's as is the required tradition, and then showed up at my cousin Sam's house for the baby shower. The loot was plentiful and the Montero was so stuffed that Marissa couldn't lay down in the back for the return trip to Tennessee. Highlights of the gifts include a Diaper Genie, the swing Marissa was craving, and lots of diapers and wipes and other needed baby equipment. Even my old Tuba buddy Dick Sturm showed up and I got to catch up with him for a while.

It was a good weekend but we were all really tired when we made it back to the house. I'm still dragging this morning and I'll probably try to go to sleep early tonight. Time to go get more coffee. I'm at 296 lbs this morning, so no major weight changes over the weekend.

The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month

I wanted to take a minute to thank all of the veterans I know for their service. That list includes Jerry and Alison Morris, Mike Ray, Chris Whitworth, Bill Wilkins, Jimmy Disney, my dad James Hatcher, my uncle Eugene Hatcher, my cousin Keith Wortham, and anyone else that I'm sure I'm forgetting.

If you're interested in learning more about the history of Armistice Day, or Veteran's Day as it's now known, check out the article at Wikipedia.