Personal Note: Back on Weight Watchers

I had fallen off the wagon, as it were, back when I was unemployed and couldn't afford the weekly/monthly fees.  As a result - combined with other matters - my weight got back up to where it was the LAST time my doctor told me I was morbidly obese (310-ish).  So...

Started three weeks ago at 309 lbs.  Last week's weigh-in I was down 3 lbs.  I need to reach 15 lbs loss in about ten weeks, and then get it down to 30 lbs (the "ten percent" goal) within twenty weeks.  So right now I'm aiming for 294 lbs and then 279 lbs after that.

Just gotta cut back on the pizza.  And the chocolate.  And the sodas (seriously, that's a major part right there).  And the chocolate.  And the mac and cheese...

And while there's a big emphasis on eating more greens (and just generally eating less of the stuff that just makes you fat), there's a smarter emphasis on portion control than on cutting back on the "bad" stuff altogether (that creates denial, then total rejection of the dieting effort) combined with more activity (burn baby burn, Calories Inferno!).  Walk more, eat less...

So don't be surprised if you see me biking a lot more often.  Do be terrified, though: WHERE'S THE BRAKES ON THESE THINGS! AIIIEEEEEE...

Things to Do for 2014

It's a week after the new year started, I know, but this is more a To-Do List than a resolutions page anyway.

Need to improve at work.  The first months at a new place of employ is getting settled in, getting aware of the rules and office arrangements.  Now that I've been at Bartow Public for a year now, I need to step up a bit more, pick up on the classes I'm teaching for computer use and pick up on some of the duties a reference librarian should do.

Need to get more writing finished.  I've had way too many projects getting juggled and barely any finished.  On the bright side, I've gotten back into finishing up short stories well enough to get published in an anthology... and will get a second submission looked at for acceptance (here's hoping).  But there's three five stories on file needing completion.  One is two, maybe three chapters away from getting finished as a rough draft, at which point I'll need beta readers to test the narrative and destroy my work pointing out glaring inaccuracies and terrible dialog.

Need to lose weight.  I've gotten down to 277 lbs before, shouldn't be anywhere above 300 lbs, but here I am again.  A lot of the weight re-gain wasn't from a bad diet as it was the inactivity (and dour mood) brought on by prolonged unemployment.  But that's been a year now, I'm fully employed and doing well and need to get my body feeling as good as I need to.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

Just To State My Biggest Current Woe

...is finding where I can find a relatively cheap yet durable bicycle.  I need to get out more, and I prefer biking more than walking.  But I need to find a bike that can handle a 300-plus pound body (I'm not fat, I'm big boned!  No, seriously, being broad-shouldered and over 6'2" is part of the problem).

I think it's the tires I gotta worry about.  The last time I had a bike they kept going flat on me, and the bike in question was a 10-speed with thin wheels...