Week 22: Round Five Begins

Week 21 | Week 23

309.6 pounds. That’s how much I weight Friday morning. I lost another 1.6 lbs. This is significant because I am now in a bracket of weight that I have not seen in over two decades. in 19.6 lbs I will have arrived at my weight as an 8th grader. 290 lbs is my new goal for the course of this project. I am making progress, slowly, but surely, and this morning I feel bulletproof. I feel fantastic. Busy. I am buzzing with energy, things are humming along. Tedious? Yes. The constant thinking of food, the balancing act, the worry, the stress, and the feeling of failure just over the edge, always just a step or two away. This is the way, and the narrow path is getting more and more narrow.

Folks we have made it to round five and his corner is alive. He’s grinning, even though that last round shook his soul.

The same could be said of his opponent. The enemy is unwaivering, relentless. He is an expert at keeping on the pressure and a master at exploiting weakness. There’s a reason he’s undefeated. There’s a reason he’s the champion. There’s a reason this could be the fight of the century.

We’ve never seen our man go this far without throwing in the towel, or landing on his face. What are we getting out of him tonight?

The rest of the world also wants to know…

Oh the things in my head. The narration of this entire journey unfolding through the eyes of imaginary announcers. I am sitting in the corner, waiting for the bell, getting ready to kick ass this round. I may take a few hits, but I got this. The heel spur is gone. The right arm is still hurting, but not too much. The energy is back. I have fought off the seasonal stuff so far (I am dreading when the pollen gets to me). My A1C is now 5.9 (Back into the levels of pre-diabetes). My corner is doing its job and now I have to do mine. I have to win this fight. I’ve left the shallows, I am heading into the deep water. Will I make it to round 12? No time to think now. Back on my feet.

Ding Ding.

Week 22 Summary

Quesadillas My Friend
This week comes with an instructional, minus the photos and extra page goodness. Last week was more of an homage to those tortillas. This week I want to expound on those flat pieces of bread. If you are not familiar with a quesadilla, let me share with you what I call a quesadilla: A grilled tortilla sandwich. That’s the simplified version. Below, however, is a step by step with ideas for you to branch out. The versatility is there for the taking, just get creative!

1. Decide how you want to slay this beast. You want to go big? (Fiesta style!) Filling but easy? (Breakfast style!) or Just easy (Cheese and Ham!). Do you want to be a boss ass chef and go with something sweet (Apples N Cream!). Try my own creation: Uncle Johns Bad Ass Nacho Quesadillas That Will Make You Slap Your Momma and Kick Your Dog.
2. Brown some burger meat (Points vary, but I use around 5 points here), when browned, season with salt, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, garlic. No I don’t measure. Learn by doing you bums. Dump some hot Rotel tomatoes on top of that and a cup of water. Cook that until the liquid is gone.
3. While that’s cooked, slice up an onion, a belle pepper, or none of that if you don’t like. These things are good for you!
4. Get a skillet, heat up some olive oil, a tsp will work. (1 point). I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter works, but I find it has a funny taste when cooked like this. That’s probably cancer or something.
5. Get out some nacho cheese. Spread a little bit on your tortillas. It doesn’t take much (2-4 points worth).
6. Throw a tortilla, cheese side up, on the pan and put your taco meat on, put your veggies on, drizzle some taco sauce, the spicier the better because spicy food is legit. Put the remaining tortilla on cheese side down. Smoosh gently.
7. Lower that temp, these tortillas cook impossibly fast. After you feel some warmth on the top, flip that bad boy over. Use a plate, upside down over the pan, and flip if you’re scared. Flip it with a spatula if you’re a boss. Cook the other side.
8. Once it’s done, quarter it up, serve with corn and black beans and enjoy a real healthy meal.

Bikes, Double Steps, Setting Sights
My exercise bike is amazing. It has circuits that change resistance as you ride. It has the ability to set a pursuit where it just continues to increase. It’s comfortable for about a half hour and it has a fan and a set of speakers. I have been exclusively riding because of my heel spur issue, but walking is about to get back.

Speaking of walking, At work I am mindfully climbing all stairs two at a time. I am trying to avoid going downstairs because I feel that potential sting of aggravating the spur. I am pretty springy on those stairs. Feels neat.

I have some goals that I may never reach because of life, but here are my ideas:

• I want to do a day hike. Not necessarily a distance in mind, or a time, but just a day where I spend the majority walking some direction, absorbing the sights, enjoying the outdoors. I would like to do this once a week if possible.
• I want to go kayaking/canoeing. I would love to do a multiple day trip down the Sabine, but I need to actually learn how to kayak before I take that challenge on. The river can be dangerous when they turn the generators on, so I need to prep for that. I want that challenge.
• MORE FISHING TRIPS.
• Start lifting.

Image Slice

Sharing My Life Story 1: College Screwed Me
I believe a lot of succeeding on a diet is the ability to self reflect. The ability to look back, see what I did, and admit that was wrong, and think about ways to avoid those mistake again. That’s how a person learns and how a person changes. Time to reflect.

I guess around 2010-2011 I was in the midst of college. I was writing a ton of papers, studying, observing classes, planning lessons and I was simply overwhelmed with work that required a tremendous amount of sitting and brain melting. I was dealing with some great stressors at the time: Gas was $4 a gallon and I was driving abount 150 miles a day, I had just lost my job and was trying to tutor and write papers on the side for cash, I was not exercising at all and I was bored. I was constantly sick and the lady I was working with during my methods hated me. I spent most of my time at school with no real stimulation. Just work. Becoming a teacher is stressful.

While writing and studying I would eat constantly. Chips, sodas, candy, burgers…I was constantly shoveling fuel into the furnace. The harder the assignments, the harder I had to think, the hungrier I became. It was normal for me to eat 5 or 6 Whopper sandwiches for lunch (Lunch was hours long because I was constantly schooling). I didn’t drink water, I drank cokes. Sonic Route 44 root beers all day. If I heard about some specials, I would go and get a tone of whatever. 50 cent corn dog day? I was eating a dozen corn dogs that day. $2.49 lunch special? I’ll take 5 of those to go please. I had no bottom to my hunger. I had no control.

I stepped on the scales one morning and I had hit a milestone. 400 lbs. So what. 6 months later, still schooling and preparing to go into student teaching and I hit another milestone. 450 lbs. I student taught at 450 lbs. Miserable doesn’t quite explain how I felt, and I had no idea what was going on under the hood. I spent a year unemployed after graduation and I was eating the same amount of crazy food, but was not driving the miles now. Then shit kind of started hitting the fan. Everything started being revealed then…

To Be Continued…