Well, after a month back on the Geek Diet (well, less than that, since I waited until after we were back from the holidays, birthday, etc.), I've dropped ten lbs., from 215 to 205.

Granted, a lot of that was "easy" holiday weight, along with a good bit of water, too, I suspect.  Still, it's nice.  The "Geek Diet" has been working, I've been diligent about tracking caloric intake and outgo.  And I've splurged / rolled off the wagon a few times in there (and seen the results), but have by and large met my calorie counts daily and each week.  (Less eating at restaurants helps a lot.)  After a big first drop, I've been pretty steady.

So here's hoping that the next month will see me down to 200 (or less) again.

Filed under :: Weight
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And with the return from the holidays, it's time to get back on the Geek Diet.  I did my official weigh-in this morning, landing at 215 lbs. -- which, after two-plus weeks of holiday treats and big meals probably is not bad.

Back to the GeekDiet, then.  One difference this time is that I don't have a good PDA calorie counter.  BalanceLog, from HealtheTech, is no longer around.  Looking at the offerings on the Blackberry side over the weekend, there's very little that syncs between a PC (much easier to use) and the BB (much more convenient to use).  I'll probably continue to use the BalanceLog program on my PC, but it's a bit irksome to be limited that way.

Still, it's a worthwhile cause -- my health -- to accept some irksomeness in.

 

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So ... some folks consider New Year Resolutions passé.  And, certainly, there's something to be said for "resolving" every day to do what's right.  And there's something to be said against the standard cycle of promises made-and-broken.

That said, I'm a traditionalist, if nothing else, so here are a few to toss out there.  In fact, as reflections of last year, they are, pretty much, an ongoing tradition:

1. Spend more time with Kitten. Keep up the karate stuff, but also be more involved on a daily basis with her homework and other stuff.  Get that time in before she decides that Daddy is (like New year Resolutions) passé. 
2. Get my virtual world in order.  Get my blogs updated and cleaned up.  Increase traffic to WIST.  Get my photos caught up, including the stuff I have on other sites.
3. Write. Edit. Write. No real progress with that this past year.  It's not clear to me how, amidst all the other commitments I have, how to leverage this -- but it's something I really want to do.
4. Be fit. Repeat the 1,500 miles, keep up the karate -- and find a new Geek Diet tool.  Get back under 200 by June, and to 185 by the end of the year.  There are some things I can do toward that end (that are sustainable and rational); I just need to do them.
5. Ditto for last year's addendum, of course.

Reasonable plans for the future, stretch goals, or crazy-ass pie-in-the-sky?  I have no idea -- but let's see.

And here's hoping that for all of you, 2008 is at least as good a year, if not better, and that the New Year brings joy and prosperity to you and yours.  Happy New Year!

Filed under :: Blogging :: Karate :: Parenting :: Personal :: Weight :: Writing and Language
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So, how did I do with last year's resolutions for 2007?

Spend at least as much time with Kitten. Preferably more “quality time” — getting her involved with stuff at home, and being more involved in some of her other activities. She’s growing up into a fine young lady that I want to spend time with.

Well, something that was already in the works last year, but which came into fruition in 2007, was the whole karate thing.  That's been a lot of fun, and good exercise, but most importantly it's something we've been able to share.

Beyond that -- I keep trying.  I'm going to call this a hit.

Keep the house in a bit more order — a bit tidier, pursue projects and maintenance a bit more diligently, etc. This is going to mean (gasp) maybe doing a bit less of other activities. These sorts of things work better as routine, so I need to figure out how to do that in a flexible fashion.

We finished up some big projects, but I don't know that our overall "organization" has gotten any better.  Gotta deem this a miss.

Write. Edit. Write. Yeah, yeah. Need to think of some good strategies here, though, that don’t involved Daily Stuff — because my Daily Stuff queue is pretty much full.

Near zilcho in the writing department.  I've been hit-or-miss on the 100 Words stuff, and I set up a special blog to cover things, but it's just been (despite a novel bubbling in the back of my brain) something I've simply not taken the time or energy to pursue.  A disappointing miss.

Be fit. Keep the weight off, exercise more, and walk 1,500 miles to nowhere. Heck, how’s this — drop down to 185 by the end of the year. There’s an (un-)stretch goal for you! Or, more precisely, for me. But one I believe I can reach.

I actually hit my 1,500 miles to nowhere, and in the last few days of the year.  After a very lackadaisical spring and summer, I (ahem) hit my stride and caught up with that.

I also seriously started exercising more (and stretching), via my karate class begun in February.

As to the weight ...

Well, the good news is, I did actually get down to below 195 or so in March.  The bad news is, I've not been at all diligent about tracking my weight, though still trying to maintain a modicum of good habits (but further hampered by losing my Geek Diet technical platform).  Which means, my 31 December end-of-the-year weigh-in was .... 210 (approximately).

Hrm.

I'm going to call this a hit, if only because I feel like I'm more fit than I was, though I can also feel the pounds regaining. 

And, lest I forget, this addendum resolution:

And, it should go without saying (but I say it nonetheless) that I resolve to be the bestest partner, lover, hubby and friend to Margie, the most wonderful woman in the world.

Well, I've certainly given that one the ol' college try, and she keeps telling me I'm doing it, so I have to trust her (admittedly biased) judgment and call this a hit.

So -- 3-2, in favor of hits (or even 2.5-2.5 if we split the Fitness one).  That's not too bad.

Now ... what about next year ...

Filed under :: Karate :: Love and Marriage :: Parenting :: Personal :: Weight :: Writing and Language
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Robo-Dave suggests:

1. The Sins of PowerPoint. For the love of God, send this to all your business associates.

2. How to maintain classroom discipline ... 1950s style.

3. Folks who do pot gardening are probably familiar with hydrogel crystals, which absorb water (and so can release it slowly into the soil). Some Italian researchers are working on a diet hydrogel pill -- swallow with watter, and it swells up in your stomach and makes you feel full. Yeah, it's not "diet and exercise," but I could see it being handy for some people (or before a large, tempting dinner).

Filed under :: Job Jollies :: Media :: Potpourri :: School Daze :: Weight
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Just as an update, the weight thang is holding steady at 194-195. I've a couple of ideas on how to push down further (my "final target" is 175) ... but, by the same token, I know for a long while being persistently below 200 was a huge (so to speak) thing for me, so while my goal has evolved, I need to acknowledge the milestone progress made.

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Casting about this morning for something to keep my bod warm, I grabbed a sweater I got back in college or so.

Yikes. It actually, um, fits. Nice.

Bobbing just under 200 at the moment, back on the Geek Diet wagon, after various trips and visits (alas, business trip next week likely not to help much), and trying to get back into the Walking Thing reliably (despite the weather and ice floes). And today I start something new that's fitness-related, which ... I'll blog more about later.

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So as of 20 December, I weighed 197.

I made a conscious decision I wasn't going to worry about weight over the holidays in Faerie. I knew it would be a frustrating, aggravating, and, ultimately, losing battle.

I didn't go overboard -- I didn't scarf down everything in sight. But if I saw something, and wanted it, I didn't whip out my Treo and see if I had any spare calories for the day. I just took one.

That, coupled with much more minimal exercise, meant that, well, I knew I would gain weight.

The bad news is: according to our old bathroom scale, I'm now at 207, for a grand total of ten pounds.

The good news is: I got a new WeightWatchers scale from the Ks, which is far fancier than anything I actually need, but which looks very nice and is digital and all that. And according to it, I weigh "only" 205 lbs. So I've already lost two pounds just by changing scales (logic corrections not welcome).

As of today, I'm back in the regimen -- walking whenever possible, counting the calories, maybe even taking some exercise classes. I expect I'll get back under two hundred at a decent clip, and then continue on to my next goal.

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Let's start off with a review of last year.

1. Spend more time with Kitten.

Managed to do this, actually. Continued the tradition of driving her home from after-care on the couple of days of the week she was there. Went with her to karate. And spent more time (the both of us did) assisting with homework.

2. Try to cut back on external commitments some. Family first.

Didn't do nearly as much stuff outside the house. Continued to spend time with Margie playing CoX, etc. Tried to prioritize even my work schedule around Katherine's needs.

 

3. Write. Edit. Write.

Fell down more than a bit here. While I did the April Storyball, and even set up my own Writing blog, my attempts to prioritize working on existing works, and extending into others, didn't go anywhere (heck, even . Even resolutions to do the next best thing, GMing, never really gelled. An "activity too far."

 

4. Keep the weight off, and walk 1,500 miles to nowhere.

When all was said and done here, I felt pretty good in this category. Weight went up during the year, but since October (and, ahem, excluding any tracking over the last week or so) I dropped about 15 lbs to go under 200. So huzzah there.

I'm probably going to be about 20-25 miles short on the 1,500 miles -- too many times I just didn't get the walking thang done. But I managed to really stick to the walking at lunch, and that helped a lot in a lot of ways. And Margie and I walk together a mile or two on the track while Katherine's in karate, so it was all pretty good.

And what about next year? Well, I don't know as I'd call these "stretch goals," but how about

1. Spend at least as much time with Kitten. Preferably more "quality time" -- getting her involved with stuff at home, and being more involved in some of her other activities. She's growing up into a fine young lady that I want to spend time with.

    

2. Keep the house in a bit more order -- a bit tidier, pursue projects and maintenance a bit more diligently, etc. This is going to mean (gasp) maybe doing a bit less of other activities. These sorts of things work better as routine, so I need to figure out how to do that in a flexible fashion.

    

3. Write. Edit. Write. Yeah, yeah. Need to think of some good strategies here, though, that don't involved Daily Stuff -- because my Daily Stuff queue is pretty much full.

    

4. Be fit. Keep the weight off, exercise more, and walk 1,500 miles to nowhere. Heck, how's this -- drop down to 185 by the end of the year. There's an (un-)stretch goal for you! Or, more precisely, for me. But one I believe I can reach.

Happy New Year, all!

Filed under :: Home Improvement :: Parenting :: Personal :: Walking :: Weight :: Writing and Language
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Well, I took what was probably my last official weighing of the year (for various logistical and metrics reason), and came in solidly (so to speak) under 200, at 197. A nice way to end the year, especially given my diet over the last week-plus. That I'm headed off to Faerie and its sumptuous feasts there for the holidays doesn't fill me with optimism about how I'll actually cross the end-of-year line, but ...

And, as of last night, I'm just 57 miles from my 1,500 for the year. We'll see how that goes. Again, going off to Faerie is going to knock my walking schedule all to heck, but there's plenty of periods of intense activity there, so there's a good chance I'll make it.

Filed under :: Walking :: Weight
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