No. Calories Needed

Literally.  As I mentioned over at No Credit Needed – my wife and I have purchased a new home!  It is situated in a neat little neighborhood – and tree-lined streets where we can take our daily walks.

Last night, even though it was cold, my son and I bundled up and went for our first walk through the new neighborhood.  The streets are paved, and allow for a continuous mile-long loop, without ever having to walk on a “main” road.  It’s pretty awesome.

Now that we are settled, I’m back in my workout routine.  I’ll head to the gym this evening, after work.  The new house and the new neighborhood give me a chance for a “clean break” from old patterns and routines.  I’m thankful for this, and excited about a new, healthier lifestyle.

We’ve already made a major change, one that can only have positive results.  In our old house, while watching television at night, we would snack in the den.  No more!  Now, all eating must take place at the kitchen table.  Period.  This includes snacks.  It’s amazing how this one change has already affected my habits.  Now, instead of hunkering-down in my chair and eating handfuls of cookies, I sit at the table, have a bite or two of snack, and then go about my day.  Pretty awesome.

Have a great day, and I’ll check in later with workout report.  Rock on.

Man, time is just flying buy.

Let’s see.  I’ve been doing a pretty good job.  I’m drinking my water and getting plenty of exercise.  On the food front – I’m still eating a bit more than I should, but I’m not really stressing.

I’ve managed to lose about 8 pounds, which isn’t bad considering how busy I’ve been.

I bounce back-and-forth between being “super into” dieting – and then just “kinda into” dieting.

Right now, I’ve got a super-duper-exciting project that I’m working on, so that’s keeping me very, very busy.  Instead of going to the gym, I’m getting tons of exercise, working (out and around) the house.

I’m REALLY digging my calorie counter – it helps me stay focused and motivated.

Honestly, I don’t really have a lot to blog about.  Life is good, the weight is coming off (little by little), and I have some very exciting things I’m working on right now.  Suffice to say, 2010 is looking like a much better year (all around) than 2009.

I hope you all are having an awesome 2010.  You rock!

This will come off as very wimpy for those of you who live north of, say, Atlanta, but it’s freezing here.  The Deep South isn’t supposed to get this cold!

One side-benefit of the cold weather – I’m just not that hungry.  I don’t know why, but I just don’t like to eat that much during winter months.  During the summer – man, that’s the time to pig-out.  When it’s cold, I’d prefer to just relax and try to stay warm.

I’m doing much better on my eating plan.  I’ve really enjoyed the past few days at the gym.  It feels so good to be back “in the groove”.  Next weigh in will be Monday, and I feel pretty confident that I’ve lost a couple of pounds.

I hope 2010 has started off well for you and yours.  Rock on.

After a couple of months of slight pain – and very, very intense pain last weekend – I went to the emergency room Sunday.  Diagnosed with a kidney stone, I was sent home with some pain killers and a recommendation to see a urologist Monday.  I went Monday and, armed with more pain killers and a couple of other medications, I tried for two days to pass the stone.  Unsuccessful, I went to the hospital today, and the urologist had to remove the kidney stone.  Long story short, and sparing you the details, I am in tremendous pain, high as a kite, but very thankful to have had the stone removed.  In the words of the urologist, it was “rather big” and I “would never have passed it”.

With all of the medication and fluids that I’ve had pumped into my body, I’ve gained almost 1o pounds.  My wife is pretty sure that my weight gain, which began about three months ago, started right around the time I started to complain about “lower back pain”.  Come to find out, it was probably the kidney stone.  Hopefully, now that the stone is gone, I’ll feel better, and be able to re-start my weight loss journey Monday.  Thanks for the prayers.  Rock on.

Well, this might explain things.

Back in March, when I was really doing well with my weight loss, my Dad came to visit me and help me do some work around the house.  The first morning he was here, I awoke with a terrible pain in my abdomen.  I went to the doctor, and he gave me some pain medications, and warned that I might have a kidney stone.

I took the medication, and after a couple of days, I felt much better.  So, I figured that I either passed the stone, or that there was no stone in the first place.  (I’ve never had a kidney stone, so I really didn’t know how one would feel.)

Since March, as you can see here at the blog, I’ve gone ‘backwards” with my weight loss and exercise routines.  I chalked this digression up to my usual pattern – lose weight, get excited, go back to bad habits, gain weight, repeat.  But this time, I felt different.  I really wanted to exercise, but I’ve felt SO lethargic.  And, I’ve been dealing with a constant “low-level” pain in my groin.

Sunday morning, I awoke to the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt.  Long story short, I have a kidney stone, and I may have to undergo some sort of procedure to remove it.  I’m headed to a Urologist today.  I’m a little nervous, but I am pleased that the “lethargy” and “low level of discomfort” were not simply in my head.  Now, hopefully I can deal with this stone, and move forward with my weight loss.