Sadly, and with pity, I join you in your Labor Day pity party. I also partook (is that a word???) in many beers over the weekend. We have only been drinking on Friday and Saturday nights, but for some reason, my brain shut off and it was partaaaaaaay all weekend! Yes, the scale reflects that for me today. Let's party!

I did try VEGGIE, I just couldn't get past Angie and her "linebacker" mentality to get to the fridge! God knows I tried, got the bruises to prove it! :)

OK TROO ~ I officially declare Labor Day 2007 a FREE day! We are off the hook! :carrot:

And to think I gained that pound and STILL gave up cheese for the day...

PITIFUL ~ PI ~ TEE ~ FULL!!

OK, so today I weigh in at 186 which is 1 pound away from my first goal. I have managed to get here from 201 pounds in 47 days. I should be totally excited right?....wrong....

:(WOE is ME :(

I will have you know that I am now drinking Coors Light...I used to make fun of my dad, many years ago, because he drank Coors! Could you imagine the :lol: laughs he would get if he (was alive) could see me now! Coors light...might as well be P water!

Angie and i went to Chili's tonight. Angie had the Honey BBQ sirloin with mashed potatoes...I had the "guiltless pleasure" salmon, black beans with pico de gallo, and steamed veggies....the only thing that used to be steamed in my life was my head after dealing with my employees!

Angie's meal had 1,510 calories ~ my meal had 655 calories and I actually brought home a little salmon for the mutts and Angie had about 1/4 of her potatoes left for the spoiled rotten mutts.

I sooooo wanted the bacon cheese burger! But I left feeling real good about my choices...uhummm...other than the 22 oz. draft of Coors Light...but then one cannot get too much water in their diet ....right?

OK, so that isn't too pitiful...but what about the cottage cheese and 3 freakin' olives I had for lunch topped off with 4 carrot ....baby carrot no lesss....sticks! I am starting to look a little orange!

A grown man having cottage cheese for lunch on a friday...ahhhrggghhhh! :mad:

I guess you could say it's manly as long as I had the olives with garlic :faint:

Down 15 pounds but the PITY PARTY IS STILL ON!

Come join in....I'll throw in a low cal juice box for ya! ;)

GREAT :carrot: ATTITUDE LORI!

Dear, the pounds come off just ONE at a time. It is neat when we can set goals of 5 pounds a week and accomplish them....BUT...that really sets us up for failure. If we just take one pound at a time...lose it...that's easy right? ONE pound gone ~ maintain just that one pound loss ~ then work on one more. No time limit...but...always focused on just that one pound. It is easy to focus on one ~ not so much on 20 or so. No time limit...why? Because we have the rest of our lives that we are going to do this...every single day we will do things to make better choices....perfect...ah...NO! but much better than before! ONE pound at a time ~ better choices each day = a much better way of life in mind ~ body ~ and (HOLY) SPIRIT!! fellow LCMSer!

I pray that Deb is healing from the loss of her husband. I remember when it happened.

Have a great week-end ~ PITY PARTY ON!


and now for my LATEST................

Well PITY PARTY-ERS! I reached my goal and then some. I weighed in this morning at 184 :carrot: I passed my first goal of 185 by ONE pound! I guess that "guiltless pleasure" menu was worth it!

But :( woe is me :( Was I able to go out for breakfast and eat to my :val1: hearts content :val1:...HECK NO! I would have loved to go to Bobby Jones's and have my three egg omelete with bacon and cheese or the Little Joe's Scramble, both with sourdough and hash browns...but nooooooo...I knew I would feel guilty! So I went with Angie and the goldens for a 3 1/2 mile walk to Starbucks where I had a small coffee and I had oatmeal when I got home.

Oatmeal....dang! Boy do I remember those BIG 'O breakfasts at Bobby Jones! :hun:

Next thing you know I will be ordering like ANGIE ~ "I'll have the veggie omlete with 1 egg and 2 egg whites, just 1 piece of whole wheat toast, substitute the hash browns for a fruit bowl and tea please."

No more :no: BIG 'O BREAKFASTS :no:

ISN'T IT A PITY!

Y'know, EZ, the REAL pity is that after awhile, if you DO happen to go out and EAT that big breakfast... You will feel SOOOO SICK!!! :p Gosh, this clean living just ruins everything.

More's the pity.

Jay

That's what I'm thinkin' JAY ~ is it really worth it? Then I look at your accomplishments and think...yep! It is!

We don't have Shoneys here, but about 17 years ago, a guy I did work for here built a house in Utah. He paid for my brother and I to come do the drywall on his retirement home, he paid for all our expenses. There was a Shoneys about 1 mile from the job that we ate breakfast at, I was actually pretty good then as far as weight, probably underweight...as I was most of my life until about 42....anyway I wasn't much into eating breakfast, but my brother would just PILE the bacon on and then some! He has lost 30 pounds in 2.5 months by the way.

I love Portals of Prayer...get them every quarter at church, I also get The Daily Bread....my problem...I don't always read them.

Tomorrow is 911 Rememberance at church with a BBQ...always a good show!

Take care, Gary

Ok, here's some more pit-tay. I just woke up in the middle of the night , its 3:30 AM and my stomache's absolutely STARVING. I wanted so badly to save my yogurt for the morning, so I had 1/3 of the McDOnald's cheeseburger my bro bought home for me on the way back from his car show. Yes, granted it's only 1/3 of the small little cheeseburger, but still.... grrrrrrr.

:bravo: :cp: :cheer2: :congrat: :cheer: Congrats on making your goal, and then some!!!! You rock!

You mentioning your visit to Chili's brings me flashbacks to my recent fiasco of a visit. I'm glad that you were able to exercise some semblence of CONTROL when you ordered the Salmon off the guiltless menu...I hope that I can do that the next time we go there.

Way to go, Gary!!!

Nice of your brother to bring you some food VEGGIE ~ HASN'T HE EVER HEARD OF A SALAD? What a pity....;)

TROO ~ It is BECAUSE of you that we went. I wanted to try the "guiltless pleasure" menu...you sold me, I figured with your disaster I could learn something...THANKS!!

Just :kickbutt: kicking :kickbutt: this PITY PARTY up a bit as we head to the week-end. I don't want anyone to think I forgot to send their invitation :no:

It has been a :( sad :( sad week for me....how so? you ask...well let me tell you...grab a hankie....:cry:

As you know I passed my goal last Saturday, by a pound , leaving me little to shoot for :( As I was explaining my dilema to my lovely wife ANGIE I hear this :fr: freakin' noise come out of her mouth, weired, it started out as kind of a giggle then turned into the loudest belly :lol: laugh :lol: and continued something like this :lol3::rofl::lol3::rofl::lol3::rofl: for...oh...I don't know how long...I got :mad: and took the dogs for a walk...I circled the house several times before it stopped. When I finally came in and asked...in :?: confussion :?: "WHAT?"....she just walks away shaking her head so hard she needed to call her chiropracter for a :callme: phone massage :callme: yelling at me "Nothing to WORK for? Are you kidding me? Look at your stomach!"

I explained to my friends at church and work that ANGIE "suggested" that I "might" be able to lose a few more pounds. I :love: love :love: my wife...she always gives me purpose in life!

So off on the treadmill and dog walk, "better choices" routine I went. My first obstacle was ................to be cont.

Knucklehead nephew just called, needs a ride.......

I'm back. I hate it when I am in the middle of posting...not easy one fingered...and he needs a ride home from school. But hey, it's an easy way for me to pick up $20!

Now :chin: where was I...Oh yea....my "pain" :stars:..my obstacles...

SUNDAY ~ BBQ at church to remember the 9 11 01 tradgedy. Very moving as usual, then we proceed to the BBQ...now it's FREE...ok, so I make a donation anyway ;)...but it is ALL you can eat too. Now I am really hungry :hungry: the little 'ol bowl of oatmeal just don't cut it when you have to eat lunch at 12:30 :no: So as I proceed through the line, my eyes see tri-tip sandwiches on awesome rolls, hamburgers, hot dogs, 2 kinds of potato salad, :devil: deviled :devil: eggs, watermelon, cantaloupe, bags and bags of chips as FAR as the eye could see...oh my Auntie Em....

So...MY pity? In the deal....I walk away with a nice tri-tip sandwich, 1 :devil: deviled :devil: egg, one hot dog NO BUN and some watermelon. NO chips...No potato salad...No hamburger....no cupcake...pie...ice cream...no glory!

MONDAY ~ I have 2 doctor appointments in the morning, get my walks in with the dogs and the treadmill, leaving me time to make dinner...this keeps ANGIE :) happy, since she has to work all day. Well, I make lasagna....awesome lasagna...absolutely forgetting that I cannot have servings for 12 anymore! I have a serving and a half, I guess. :( There it sits, the leftovers...all alone and un-touched in the fridge...waiting just ~ waiting for me to be weak :cry:

TUESDAY ~ We have leftover turkey so ANGIE makes turkey tostados...one of my favorite's...anything mexican food...:hungry: I limit my self to 2...I didn't even know you could eat less than 5...ever!

WEDNESDAY ~OK, so I am off work, being the nice guy..;) I am I take ANGIE'S car into the shop. She says she hears a "flapping" sound......I ask her if it might be her MOUTH?....my head still hurts :stars: Anyway, they tell me a couple of hours, so I take off walking...5 miles later ending back at the shop I spot a SUBWAY across the parking lot. Being very hungry from all the miles I go over to get lunch. The 12 year old behind the counter...why was he working there on a school day...:dunno: Asks me "What can I getcha dude?"...getcha dude...OK...well I answer back, "I will take the BLT on sourdough, load the veggies and cheese and give me the double bacon, bag of potato chips and a large Dr. Pepper:....somehow it came out "I will have the turkey breast salad with no cheese, extra lettuce and tomato, no dressing just a little oil and salt and pepper with a water."...........WHAT!? in the heck happened? :shrug:

WEDNESDAY DINNER ~Again, my turn to cook, ANGIE has yoga after work so I suggest hot dogs...not one of her favorite's, but she plays along. I make the Hebrew National 50 calorie ones from the fridge...looking the Nathan dogs (pre Gary's better choices journey) in there right in the "eye"...:( Anyway, I cut up a watermelon and throw on a can of Bushe's beans...oh...and grab the bag of Wavy Lays in the garage pantry...for knucklehead nephew and Angie. I "load" haha :lol: haha my plate with one hot dog on a bun, one plain hot dog no bun, a scop of beans, a little watermelon and...are you ready for this?...12 chips! that is what is called...are you ready for this?....a serving! ~ Heck I always thought a serving of chips was as many as I could eat in one sitting out of the bag!!...one :fr: freakin' serving...what a :joker: joke!

I refuse to drag you down my PITY PARTY TRAIL anymore today....

PARTY ON ~ YOU PITIFUL GUESTS! ;)

Your story has touched my heart. Tears are rolling down my face even now. I, who have made single-serving-chip-packaging an art. Oh EZ, the suffering! The doggone suffering of it all!

Uh-huh. :dizzy:

Jay