Recently, T-bone and I agreed to play in a church basketball league. T-bone — aka “Mr. Basketball” — ended up poofing out after 3 games with host of issues I can’t divulge due to HIPAA regulations. LOL! That left me to play on my own with the rest of the team.

Now, I’ll be up-front on this… I have absolutely ZERO basketball skills. In fact, they are so poor that on most days I can’t even spell baksetball. I dribble off my feet. I don’t see passes coming. I try to pass, but the ball moves in slow motion when I let go of it. I try to get in low and post up, but get called for 3-second violations. So I move around, which has all the effectiveness of a dog sniffing for a place to pee. I might eventually find someplace to set up, but mostly I’m just sniffing. I try to get in for rebounds, but inevitably there’s some 6′5″ dude with 4′ arms in my way. I have a 3″ vertical jump, so most rebounds just bounce over my head.

But I run… and I do my best. So far I’m averaging about 4pts per game, a few rebounds, maybe an assist or two, and 2 fouls. I should have more fouls, but what the heck… I’m not trying to hurt anyone, especially me! Unfortunately, what I’ve found is most of the guys in my league should be calling me “dad”. Ok, not really, but they ARE mostly like 15 years younger than me!

Last night Emily and the kids came to watch… and I hit my first 3 pointer! YES!! Except the kids didn’t see it. My daughter didn’t believe my wife when she said daddy had hit a basket. My biggest fans don’t even believe it when I hit a shot! LOL!

Rodney Dangerfield had nothing on this. I wonder if they have a church shuffleboard league?

So it’s been a little bit since I posted. Some of you who follow this blog may recall my “Twenty-five in 105” plan, which was to lose 25 pounds in 105 days. I started at 225, and my plan was to be at 200lbs by the end of May.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. The truth is, apparently I bit off more than I could chew, and I wasn’t totally committed. I’m not even going to blame the fact that I had to wear a “boot cast” on my fractured left foot for six weeks during the 4-month period of time leading up to my goal date. The truth is, it just didn’t happen.

There are lots of reasons I didn’t hit my goal. Foremost, aside from the injury, was a lack of commitment to eating better. I have FAITHFULLY worked out at least 4-5 days per week, on both weights and the bike. And I have actually put on quite a bit of muscle, which I’ll attribute to my 4lb GAIN during that span. Muscularly, I’m probably as fit as I’ve ever been since college. But the truth is, I can’t lose weight eating cake and ice cream and chips and other junk foods.

So what does the future hold? I still have my goal of 200lbs, and hope to attain it this year. Starting July 9th, my team at work is going to begin another weight-loss challenge, so I’ll have some extra motivation. Wish me luck, and stick around to see how I do!

Ok… it’s been a while since my last update on my “25 in 90″ plan. What happened, you wonder?? Well… mostly it has to do with the fact that I have a fractured foot! Remember my previous posts about my left foot hurting… well, I finally gave in to the prodding from Emily and T-bone and went to an orthopedic surgeon. My self-diagnosis of “turf toe” was MUCH closer than anything the podiatrist had thrown out, but that wasn’t quite it. Following x-rays and an MRI, it was revealed instead that I have a fractured tibial sesamoid bone in my foot!

So there is my primary problem. I can’t exactly run on a broken foot. In fact, I can’t do much of anything. With my doctor’s blessing, I CAN still ride horses, and have been as much as possible. But it’s been cold and rainy a lot, too. Can’t ride my bike because it’s hard to get the special shoes on. I can still lift weights, and have been doing that, too… but even that is hard to get motivated to do when you barely feel like walking.

So that’s my sob story, and I’m sticking to it. My weight over the past weeks has fluctuated between 223 and 228. I still hold out hope that I can right the ship and at least lose 10-15lbs by the end of May, but it’s going to take some work and the ability to exercise. Right now, I’m hobbling around in a “boot cast” that comes up to my knee and gives me the all the mobility of a telephone pole. I have to wear it for 6 weeks, and it’s been 3. But I also haven’t been “faithful” to always wearing it, and therefore my foot is still sore. I need to do better on that, because I do NOT want to have surgery on my foot.

So it’s an uphill battle… I could probably slash my caloric intake and see some progress, so maybe I’ll get right on that… on Monday. =)

Happy Easter!

This update is for the week of March 2nd to March 6th.

Weekend Update: I did okay over the weekend, I guess. Better than the previous weekend, though I filled up on leftover lasagna on Saturday and biscuits and gravy on Sunday. I’m really getting tired of the cold weather… you just can’t DO anything outside.

Week In: 224.1 (I forgot to weigh Monday, so measured on Tuesday)

Monday: I was pressed for time, so I barely got my weights in. It’s been a few days since I last did any cardio, so that’s not good. I wasn’t doing bad until dinner. LOL! I had suggested having a “nacho bar” for dinner, and Emily took it from there. Suffice to say, had I eaten any more I’d probably be writing in Spanish right now. =P

Tuesday: Oatmeal/breakfast. Got some cardio in today, finally! Had a very lite lunch, but was still full from the nachos. lol! Emily is making BLT’s as I write, so I’ll try to behave myself. Weighed in… wasn’t as bad as I feared it would be, but will have to work hard to sustain the 2lbs I was down on Friday.

Wednesday: Oatmeal/breakfast. Didn’t get to work out today, but took my son to McDonald’s for lunch while Emily was at an appointment. I actually did well… had a southern-style chicken sandwich and side salad (okay, and just a few of his fries). For dinner I had a piece of leftover lasagna and salad. Later had some corn chips and salsa as a “snack”.

Thursday: Got in some cardio on the bike. Usual breakfast and lunch. The thermometer said 67°, so I went to Troy’s to ride. It felt like 45° to me! But I got in a good ride, so that was some cardio. Had a small fried rice and eggroll for dinner. But hey, I usually eat a large, so that’s progress, right? … right?

Friday: Had a ‘naner for breakfast, usual dealio for lunch (yogurt/fruit/crackers). Worked out on weights and then got in around 20 minutes of cardio. Feeling a bit stiff from riding yesterday, but will try to get out there again tomorrow. if the weather co-operates. It’s Friday, and Friday means pizza… so I probably ended the day in a wash.

Week Out: 223.2 … just a nudge on the dial, but I’ll accept nudges.

This update is for the week of February 23rd to February 27th.

Weekend Update: It turned out to be a “long” weekend for me. I took my son for a haircut and McD’s on Saturday, and had a burger and salad. Additionally, we spent Saturday night and Sunday at my wife’s parent’s house, where I ate waay too much. Taco’s Saturday night, cereal/donuts Sunday morning, barbeque Sunday night (see previous entry) followed by pie.

Week In: Was unable to weight since I was not here… (scales at home are worthless)

Monday: Didn’t do bad, food wise… had a foot-long veggie sub. May have gone overboard with the dill pickle pringles and bowl of ice cream with strawberries and thin mint cookies. lol! Still, that was pretty much all I ate all day. Did not exercise. Tuesday: Did not exercise again. My foot is still sore, so on cold days that I’m not at work, I’m a bit at a loss. Had oatmeal for breakfast, Arby’s for lunch, and red beans and rice for dinner. I don’t think I went overboard, which is a good thing. But it’s just SO hard to avoid fast-food.

Did not exercise . My foot is still sore, so on cold days that I’m not at work, I’m a bit at a loss. Had oatmeal for breakfast, Arby’s for lunch, and red beans and rice for dinner. I don’t think I went overboard, which is a good thing. But it’s just SO hard to avoid fast-food.Wednesday: Oatmeal for breakfast. Worked out (weights) and weighed… 223.8! Somehow - I’m not sure how - I managed to drop 1.5lbs. Of course, that could’ve been water weight. Had yogurt for lunch, soup and sandwich for dinner. I’m hoping I’m still down on Friday, but the lifting probably pumped me back up after being off for four days. I REALLY need to lay off the fast food and chips/crackers. I did successfully avoid the donuts at home, though (and yes, I saw them)!

Thursday: Oatmeal for breakfast, no lunch, lasanga for dinner (thanks Cindy!). Lots going on at work, so did not work out.

Friday: Oatmeal/coffee for breakfast, sandwich/apple for lunch, hotwings/beer for dinner. Managed to work in my weights.

Week Out: 223.4

I managed to lose 2lbs since my last “official” weigh-in, so I’m on track. Hopefully I can sustain it through the weekend!

No, that was NOT my nickname in high school. It was what I ate WAAAY too much of at Emily’s parents house this afternoon. Pork barbeque, two kinds of tater salad, homemade mac-n-cheese, and two kinds of pie. I’m still full, and I ate over 6 hours ago and have sat the throne twice! I won’t be at work tomorrow, so I guess I’ll have to wait ’til Tuesday to see what kind of damage I did on the scales. And that’s not accounting for Saturday night’s taco dinner. Props to my mother and father in-law for such good meals this weekend. =)

Now it’s time to get serious. I just put $30 down on a tux rental and bought some new Wranglers. It would REALLY suck if neither fit me come May. I’m sticking to my 25lb goal, but I think I made it a tid-bit harder on myself this weekend. I DID get my hair cut, though, so that should account for at least a pound. lol! Maybe I’ll fast tomorrow to balance it out. Think I can make it through a whole day on nothing but Coke Zero?

This update is for the week of February 16th to February 20th.

Weekend Update: Overall I didn’t do bad… not as bad as some weekends. lol! We went to my parent’s house for lasagna dinner on Sunday, so I had more than my fill. No real exercise, as I’m still fighting my foot problems. It was a good “last meal” to get back on the right track, though. =)

Week In: 225.3

Monday: This week is, of course, my “rededication” week. Today I went down to the gym and did my usual M/W/F weights and light cardio workout. Had a light lunch and dinner. Put away the last of the strawberry pretzel “salad” my mom made on Sunday (at least, my share) and two “miniature” cupcakes, un-iced. The sugar in the redhots I got for Valentines Day is probably going to kill me for a week. LOL!

Tuesday: Hit the fitness center for 30 minutes on the bike. Did not eat so well today, though I didn’t eat a lot. Just not quality stuff. Avoided the cupcakes. =P

Wednesday: Had a big meeting today, so had the “turkey sandwich, chips, cookie” boxed lunch deal. Hit the weights per my normal M/W/F routine. Had to work late, so we ended up with pizza for dinner. That didn’t help… but still avoided the cupcakes! lol!

Thursday: Despite my best efforts, I’m still not doing as well as I’d like with my eating habits. I’m not snacking, but I’m having a hard time getting in good meals. Of course, given that it was free, I had a bigger lunch than usual yesterday. I almost did today, too. Someone had leftover pizza from meeting… lots of big ‘ol slices with everything. I was about to put a couple of slices on my plate, but decided instead to pass. That’s progress! lol! Instead, I had my usual “yogurt, fruit, and crackers” lunch. Went to the fitness center for some more time on the bike.

Friday: I lifted a few weights really fast just to keep the motion and burn steam, but I didn’t change clothes or break a sweat. I also had a crappy lunch… someone here had a birthday party and there was a ton of food in the break-room (sandwhiches, cheese/crackers, eggrolls, chips/dip, etc.). It was just a sucky day for many reasons, which I won’t get into right now.

Week Out: I did not weigh in today. Just a guess, but I’m going to call this week a wash. I actually didn’t do bad this week. There is a lot of room for improvement, but I didn’t hog-out either. I found myself making good decisions (passing on pizza, cupcakes, etc.) and bad ones (eating eggrolls, etc.). My foot is feeling a little better, so I’m hopeful by next week I’ll be able to pick up the pace a bit. I’m out on Monday, so I’ll weigh-in on Tuesday next week.