DrFeelgood

W5D5: one regular DrP in the morning, and I made sure not to have any more caffeine after 9am. Lunch was the meatloaf prep, augmented by way too many work snacks. When I got home I had a few more snacks, then MFG made beef chili for dinner which I ate with rice, cheese, and a big side of steamed broccoli. After dinner I finished off the rocky road and the Cocoa Pebbles, so at least those are gone in time for the next challenge. 5043 kcal

W5D4: I'm only counting sugary sodas for my Drink goal now, so just one large DrP after a DPZ and a DDP in the morning. I'm going to finish up my sugarless drinks then cut them out and go back to just the regular one. Having zero-calorie sodas available has severely increased my caffeine intake which has messed up my sleep; and for some reason they seem to increase my appetite. By the beginning of the next challenge I'll be right back on track with my Drink goal. Eat was another 4k disasterpiece. Too much snacking on junky 'food' while at work in addition to my regular meals led to a small but not terrible overage for the day, but then I went to the store and took advantage of some sales. One huge bowl of Cocoa Pebbles and another huge bowl of rocky road ice cream later I had easily blown the day's target. 4033 kcal, and the week stays red. Move was good. I set up my net in the backyard as soon as I got home and spent an hour working on my golf swing. It was continuous and decently sweaty. I'm half dreading and half looking forward to the scale this week--it's not going to be a good number, but that could be a good thing for the next challenge.

W5D3: one regular DrP in the morning, then a DPZ with lunch which was the meatloaf and mashed potatoes meal prep. In the afternoon I had a Reese's. For dinner MFG made grilled boneless-skinless chicken thighs with rice, and I measured and ate enough to hit my target for the day. Alas as the evening wore on I added another 1200 kcal of snacks--mostly peanut butter and chocolate chips. 2957 kcal for yet another red day. I'm claiming a bonus Move since I hit a large bucket at the driving range after work yesterday. Those chocolate chips were a double whammy; in addition to the substantial calorie hit they also had enough caffeine and sugar to completely derail my sleep. I stayed up way too late rewatching Pacific Rim.

04/21: 214.6 (+3.4) Illness and total disregard for fitness goals leads pretty much where you'd expect. I wanted comforts and sought them in the usual places--mainly the ice-cream freezer, with assists from the candy aisle and the melty-cheese cadre. I think I'm all comforted up now, so hopefully I can get back on course for the remainder of this week.

W4D7: one DPZ in the morning. I fasted until the evening, then I ate a light dinner. That seemed to jumpstart the hunger sharks again, and my subsequent evening snacking ran the day's total almost up to target. 1706 kcal for the only green day of the week. Week 4 Check-in: 214.6 lbs on the scale, which is a little higher than I anticipated. Looks like this is going to be my first challenge since respawning that ends higher than it started. That was bound to happen eventually. W5D1: one regular DrP and a bunch of DPZs. Eating was way high. Morning was consumed with church duties, which was nice, then I did some shopping on the way home. I spent the afternoon and early evening in the kitchen doing meal preps (week's lunches and Sunday family dinner), then the rest of the day was just chilling with games and YouTube. W5D2: woke up cruddy again and took another sick day. I stuck to one DPZ in the late morning, but I didn't bother to rein in my calories and I didn't do anything for Move either. Spent the whole day on the couch surfing YouTube and eating all the remaining gluten-free foods and snacks I bought/made over the weekend. I was finally able to get a good night's sleep without any cold medicine last night, and I woke up this morning feeling much better. Let's hope that translates to a good streak for the remainder of this week.

Hunger didn't stay quelled for long, and the illness (or its effects) is being stubborn. I keep thinking I've kicked it, but then a coughing fit will jack up my sleep. Hope to be rid of it soon. I wish I could think of a couple easy wins to shoot for, but at the moment I'm kind of stuck. I got my performance appraisal at work last week which was excellent. I did manage to fix a toilet at home on Friday, so that was nice. My guitar playing at church on Sunday was pretty not bad. Fitness-wise I made a tasty meatloaf with mashed potatoes for this week's lunch prep. I'll take those.

W4D6: well I finally managed to stop the hunger--it only took 6,000 calories and nearly making myself sick, but at least now I don't want to eat anything at all. No Move goal for the day, and Drink is a pass because only one of my sodas for the day wasn't zero-sugar. This week has been garbage; I need a hard reset and some easy wins.

W4D5: we ran out of DPZ, so I had a can of regular DrP in the morning along with a bag of Cheetos puffs I snagged on the way to work. Lunch was the meal prep. In the afternoon I got hungry again so I ran out to the mini-mart for another bag of puffs and a king-size Reese's. After work I ran a couple errands on the way home and added another Reese's. For dinner at home MFG made tomato sauce with spicy Italian sausage links. I boiled 2 servings of GF spaghetti and topped it with sauce and cheese, but I avoided the sausage links since spicy doesn't always agree with me and I still had to go to band practice. After band I was still hungry, like ravenous, so while I was at the store picking up a few things for MFG I also grabbed some ground beef and a bag of chips so I could make another dinner when I got home. I pan-seared a cheeseburger patty and made a lettuce wrap, then I ate that alongside a big bowl of chips. And when all the food was gone and I had finished cleaning the kitchen I sat down with a "pint" of chocolate peanut butter Haagen Dazs and watched some TV for a while. 5175 kcal, and I honestly still felt like I could've easily eaten another thousand before bedtime. I have no idea why I was so hungry, but I just didn't have it in me to fight it. I probably could've made some better choices quality-wise, but my options are also pretty limited. At least I enjoyed the day. Probably going to write off the rest of this week, take the L on Sunday morning, and then try to hit it hard next week to close out the challenge.

W4D4: one DPZ, then lunch was my meal prep. In the afternoon I bought a Reese's. Dinner at home was leftover pork chop and sweet potatoes. I kept getting snacky throughout the evening, and I added a bunch more calories in the form of corn tortillas, butter, cheese, and chocolate chips with peanut butter. 2559 kcal--maybe recovering from illness has my metabolism ramped up; it's definitely messing with my sleep. Move was a pass. I did as planned and hit my fairway woods (as hard as possible) after work--they easily passed the test for build quality, and they're performing the way I'd hoped so now I just need to learn to swing them properly. When I got home I immediately changed into gym shorts and did a simple bodyweight circuit with squats, pushups, bridges, and crunches. Three rounds of that gave me decent jelly legs, so I called it good. More strong than lean, but forward is forward.

W4D2: one DPZ in the morning. Lunch was leftover chips with beans and cheese, then I ate all of the remaining shredded lettuce as a salad. For an afternoon snack I ate more chips. MFG made ham and bean soup and gluten-free cornbread and butter for dinner. In the evening I ate an apple, then I ate way too many chocolate chips while watching Arsenal lose to Aston Villa again. 2093 kcal Move was a bust; my lungs just weren't feeling up to it plus I was still exhausted. W4D3: one DPZ. Lunch was chicken with brown rice, broccoli and carrots, and a pan sauce I made with the last of the pot roast drippings from Saturday. That lunch is my meal prep for this week. In the afternoon I snacked on some cheese, peanuts, and way too many more chocolate chips. For dinner I grilled a pan of pork loin chops and oven-roasted some cubed sweet potatoes. 2136 kcal Both were sick days, but this morning I'm recovered enough to be back in the office. In the various bursts of energy I had over the last several days I managed to make some tweaks to a few of my golf clubs, so the plan is to go hit them after work this afternoon. I'll need to do another strength session this evening, too; and I've got to get my snacking back under control--those chocolate chips were too easy. I still think I can make some good progress with what's left of the week as long as my body is willing to cooperate.

W4D1: one enormous DPZ in the morning and I ate a bunch of chips during sound duties at church. For lunch I ate a leftover portion of the pot roast with carrots and mashed potatoes. In the afternoon I treated myself to a Cadbury Roast Almond bar while watching the Masters, then for dinner we ate the rest of the leftover taco meat from Friday night--MFG and the boys made nachos & fried shells while I had four giant tacos on steamed corn tortillas with beans, beef, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Later in the evening I ate some more peanut butter with chocolate chips and closed out the day at 3045 kcal--red but not terrible for a 'cheat' day. Still fighting off the respiratory junk, so after church I mainly just loafed on the sofa and watched golf. Later in the evening I did some guitar practice to start preparing for what's going to be another busy music week--hopefully there aren't too many new songs to learn before Saturday.

Hope you feel better soon! It's the opposite of fun when our guts betray us.

I've had issues with my knees for years, mostly only when I'm required to climb stairs and ladders. Doctors were all too willing to waste my time and money, so I decided to just live with it for as long as I can. I sincerely hope you have better luck with yours.

As of this morning I feel like I'm finally on the mend. Each day this week got progressively worse through Saturday--very much not fun. This couple has tons of friends and family, and I was honestly flattered to make the cut for the main event. It'll still be nice to see and congratulate them in a few weeks, and at least my family got to go and represent us well. MFG looked beautiful in her new dress and shoes. 💘 W3D7: one DPZ in the morning. I ate leftover butter chicken and rice for lunch, then in the afternoon I ate a couple of buttered corn tortillas for a snack. Since MFG was busy all day I cooked our dinner: pot roast (beef chuck) with whole carrots braised under the beef and a side of mashed potatoes. I ate a sensible portion of that, then later in the evening I had a couple of small apples for extra calories and fiber. 1638 kcal. Week 3 Check-in: scale said 211.2 lbs this morning for a loss of 0.7 on the week (since Tuesday). That's still above this challenge's starting weight, but I'm feeling good and moving in the right direction. 211 today looks and feels a bit leaner and stronger than 210 did last month. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and just watch the improvements slowly build up. I did go ahead and raise my calorie targets slightly on the spreadsheet since I'm not quite ready to drop below 1700 per day yet. Two weeks to go; let's get it!

04/14: 211.2 (-0.7) Not bad for a middling week that started late and ended with a nasty illness--I spent all of Friday and Saturday lying on the sofa and watching golf when I wasn't napping. I did get a couple of workouts done and I mostly stayed on track with my calories once I got home from Texas, but even then I had 3 yellow days against only 2 greens. Better than the scale, I think, is that I can feel things tightening up and getting stronger with my return to proper exercise, and I'm getting more compliments again from friends who want to know what I'm doing to lose the weight. The week ahead should give me a good chance to beat my 2024 low and maybe even break all the way through the 210s to see a 209-point-something as long as I can stay disciplined.