We took a trip to Target tonight for some much needed eye drops. (My left eye has been very irritated and red lately; almost to the point of pinkeye.)

While there I decided to hit the clearance racks for some better-fitting clothes. It was on those racks that I found some Mossimo shorts marked down to the insane price of $6.24 (originally $24.99). The one problem: they were size 36.

Not wanting to pass up such a great deal for something I would definitely wear, I took the shorts into the dressing room to try them on–and they fit.

People, you don’t understand. I haven’t bern that size since my senior year of high school, well over 20 years ago. Although I’m struggling with getting down to 190 lbs., this accomplishment really motivates me to work harder.

Speaking of which, I also broke down and bought a Timex Ironman watch that monitors your heart rate, determines calories burned, etc. This works out really well on the treadmill, as does watching the all-new MLB Network channel to pass the time.

That’s all I have for now. I’m posting from my iPod Touch with the WordPress app so for the sake of putting less strain on my eyes, this is all you get for now

Here’s the post where I thank the products that helped me make it through my journey. For a list of people I thanked some time ago, you can click here.

Ready? Then here we go. Please note that I am not a compensated spokeperson for any of these products; I mention them out the kindness of my heart for helping me reach my goal.

Weight Watchers
While I never went to one meeting or charted my progress online, the Points Program is simple enough to follow that you really don’t need to. (I simply followed the literature my wife had after doing the program years ago.)

Unlike other weight loss programs where you’re practically required to buy their own food products, the Points Program allows you to pretty much eat anything you like, provided you take the time to calculate the Points in each item. 

From there, you determine whether what you’re eating falls into your daily Points intake. Heck, I ate Happy Meals on occasion for 12 Points including fries. While crunching numbers may not be for everybody, I decided that I wanted to get serious about losing weight I had to change my ways. I still count Points to this day, which will no doubt help me maintain what I’ve already lost. 

Another good thing about the Program is that there are quite a few nifty gadgets available that can help you keep tabs of your intake. It’s as easy as that, and I can’t thank the program enough for helping me understand the importance of portion control, not starvation. While I haven’t gotten a book deal for losing my weight, unlike somebody that lost a fraction of what I did and can’t shut up about it, I’m proof that Weight Watchers works. It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change.

Trek Bikes
That old saying of “You get what you pay for” is definitely true with Trek bikes. While I was hesitant at first to spend nearly $500 on “just a bike,” I soon realized that a Trek bike wasn’t like any other bike I ever had.

The quality is unbelievable and the ride is just sublime. I’ve put some hard miles on my 7200 model and it’s still begging for more, some of which I will put on it tomorrow when me and The Kid go for a ride while Mom runs a few errands. Even in my heavier days, the bike showed no signs of the burden being put upon it. My only addition to it was my old Garmin GPS unit which tracks just about everything: MPH, distance, elevation, tracks, etc. That just makes the ride more enjoyable.

Trader Joe’s
To the point: I love Trader Joe’s. With such a great selection of healthy foods, it’s no wonder the place it always croweded. But not everything they sell is healthy, which is why it pays to read the nutrition labels (which you should be doing anyhow!) My favorites include their veggie or chicken egg rolls (6 Points for two), 98% fat free bean and cheese burritos (4 Points each), and their unbelievable lentil soup and tuna salad.

Sure, their selection on many items is limited, but for quality food at good prices I’ll gladly make another stop for the other stuff I need.

iPod Shuffle
Walking was part of my daily routine and Apple’s iPod Shuffle made it more enjoyable. I loaded it to capacity with some random tunes, clipped on my person, popped in the headphones and away I went each day during lunch. 

At the low price of $49 for the 1GB model, the iPod Shuffle is sure to make your workout routine a little less of a burden. I know it worked for me!

Wii and Wii Fit
I would have never guess that one day a video game system would be helping me lose weight–and make me sweat!

You might recall how giddy I was when I found a Wii Fit at Target in May. At the time I was about 230 lbs. and broke a sweat just about every time I did anything on it. Over 7 months later, those 30 lbs. are gone and I can do just about any exercise the Wii Fit has to offer and not ever drop one bead of sweat. All I did was add 30 minutes of exercises to my daily routine, which already included at least 30 minutes of walking. Throw in a balanced diet with those two things and I ended up losing 30 of the last 50 lbs. I needed to be at 200 lbs.

Like the Trek bike, the cost was definitely justifiable. 

Subway
This was the perfect alternative to what I normally had for lunch: Lean Cuisines or Smart Ones. In fact as I blogged here, I recently chose to eat lunch there for two weeks by ordering a $5 footlong and splitting it up over two days. Not only was it tasty, it saved me a bit of money as well.

I have my favorites: Veggie Delite, Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki, Turkey Breast and Ham. From there I had condiments added as I so desired, but never got mayonnaise or any oils–I only asked for mustard. Your choices are practically endless so you can mix things up each time you go, and having such a variety is a good thing.

Reebok
When I decided that walking would be a part of my daily routine, I decided I had to buy some shoes that could handle it.

Enter Reebok which, next to Vans, have been my shoe of choice for many years. But rather than buy a few pairs of low-end styles I opted to spend the money on a couple nice pairs of running shoes, and both have held up tremendously. In fact I still wear either pair today, despite being a little worn on the bottom.

Well, I think that about wraps up this “commercial” of sorts. In closing, I’d like to once again thank each and every one of those products for delivering what they promised and helping me make losing weight more enjoyable than I ever thought possible!

I’ll post again when there’s something new to talk about. Until then, don’t lose sight of your goal(s), everybody!

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Looks good, but I think at times that I either need to replace the batteries in the Wiimote or Balance Board.

As you can see, one day I was below the “Obese” line and the next day I jumped well above it. My diet was steady and I did no extra eating on those days. In fact, I was about as good as ever on those days.

Yet the numbers dipped and then went up. Go figure.

I am now at 214.3 lbs and feeling great. We’re headed to the L.A. Zoo today so there’s a lot of walking ahead of us. Exercise!

See you later

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I woke up, got out of bed, and went straight to the den for some Wii Fit. I did this for many reasons, mostly because lying in bed and slamming the snooze button for 30 minutes is just wasteful. It was also a way to kick-start my blood flow as I’ve been really tired at my work desk lately, and I wanted so see if this helped.

I did mostly aerobic workouts: Hula-Hoop, jogging (full island lap), step aerobics. (The yoga and strength will wait ’til tonight.) I went and took my shower shortly after the workout, which was nearly 30 minutes total.

So how do I feel? I’m munching on my traditional Thursday Subway Veggie Delite sandwich and I have to admit, I feel good. I think this change is going to work out just fine.

With the holiday around the corner, you know what that means: food-a-plenty. So stay focused, try to eat in moderation, and I’ll see you back here on Monday.

Have a safe and happy 4th!

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Keep in mind that this is in addition to everything else I do: eating right, walking, etc. That long stretch downward was the week I was sick; the sudden spike afterwards was Father’s Day when I obviously felt good enough to eat plenty. The red dot is a note: “I ate too much.”

Also know that the Wii Fit scale seems a bit off at times, nowhere near what my bathroom scale reads.

A nice investment so far. Now if I can only get my employer to reimburse me for it…

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This entry is a SimulPost and can also be seen at HolographicMeatloaf

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Despite a Memorial Day filled with eating, I kept all in moderation and stayed focused. In addition to eating right in terms of both food and quantity, I stayed active.

You see, we bought a new washer and dryer set and barbecue on Saturday, rented a truck from Big Box Home Improvement Store, hauled them home and with the help of my father-in-law, unloaded them, removed the old units, and replaced them all. There wasn’t much time to think about eating during those times so I took advantage of it and savored the moments knowing that they would only help me lose weight.

And you see the results: 2.3 lbs. dropped this week for a Weigh-In of 230.7 lbs. The 220s are definitely in sight!

Today’s walk was cut short to one mile as my left knee and back are a bit sore. It started last week when our cat Ozzie decided he’d start sleeping on top of me after months of not doing so. As such, my sleep movement is restricted (as I tend to be a restless sleeper). That fuzzy little guy needs to find another bed…

The Weight Watchers Points Excel Chart is still being worked on as of now. It’s almost done–promise!

Ah, and now onto some critiques about Wii Fit. It’s a long piece so I’ll add a break here…

The Wii Fit is turning out to be a fun purchase despite the naysayers and parents who get offended when it calls their snowflakes fat. But even with the fun factor, I’ve learned a few things (the first two being from a previous post):

• If you have carpeting, place a piece of wood underneath for an accurate weight measurement. At first I weighed 146 (!) lbs. but after placing a piece of wood under the platform, my weight was correct. The little extensions that come with the unit are supposed to be designed to make up for having a thick carpet but are pretty much useless in that respect. I suppose that you could, however, use them to make the board higher (when placed on a piece of wood) for the step aerobic routine.
• The Weight Loss Goal only goes up to 22 lbs. so if you plan to lose more, you’ll have to start at 22 lbs. and once you reach that, start again with the remainder. In my case, it’ll be 22 lbs. plus another 10+ lbs.
• The “Total Playing Time” on the Wii Home Page for Wii Fit is not the same as the total amount of time spent exercising. For example, I exercised for an hour last night but my Total Playing Time was nearly 2 hours. Think of it as a(n American) football game: it may take hours for only a small amount of action. The rest of the time is spent on taking pee breaks, catching your breath, choosing the next workout, etc. So if you plan to workout for 30 minutes, make sure you have at least a solid hour.
• I’d recommend wearing socks while using Wii Fit. I wore flip-flops all weekend and if I hadn’t worn socks, I can imagine what the board would have looked like.
• Even if you have carpeting, I’d recommend wearing running shoes for the jogging routine, especially if one is on the large side. With this workout I had a tendency to land on the balls of my feet which is not the norm if you are running (in which case your feet would land heel-toe). It became rather uncomfortable after a few tries.

That’s about all I have so far. But here’s the real question: is it fun?

Yes, it is most definitely fun. Just about all of the aerobics workouts are worthy of a drop of sweat, the yoga poses are challenging, and the strength workouts can be tiring. In fact this week, in exchange for my nightly sit-ups, I will be using Wii Fit for at least 45 minutes. I want to see if the results are any different and naturally, I’ll post my thoughts here.

See you later, and have a great week!

I’m a Wiik (ha!) late to the party, but I got my Wii Fit at Target this morning! Watch for an interesting follow-up later today.

UPDATE 7 p.m.: My experience at Target when purchasing my Wii Fit is about as interesting as anything.

I arrived a bit before their 8 a.m. opening time where the usual group of Hot Wheels Dorks was congregating in the hopes of finding the latest Treasure Hunt vehicles. When the doors opened, I bolted to the Electronics Department and stood in line.

That’s when things got, um, interesting. There were about two groups of men speaking in a foreign tongue that I could not decipher (or even take a guess at). And at the risk of offending anybody I won’t even venture to give their native tongue a name. But these guys all had a few things in common. They all:

• Had California Reseller’s Permits, which means you’ll see plenty of overpriced Wii Fit units on the street real quick;
  
• Worked in teams, speaking with their cohorts at a blazingly fast rate of speed during the checkout process so as to confuse the cashier(s);
• Bought Target Gift Cards in addition to the units, one of them for $1,000;
• Paid in cash;
• Bought the same brand pre-paid cell phone with their Wii Fit unit.

It all seemed rather strange to me and their transactions were pure and utter chaos. One of them claimed he gave the cashier $150 and not the $120 she had tendered, one claimed he was charged too much, and once they were all done and trying to sort out their take in this little con, one of them actually tried to take the unit I was paying for as it was being rung up. By then I had had enough of their bulls***.

“That one’s mine, f***er,” I told the greedy bastard. His hand retracted quicker than he could speak.

So to the Electronics Department at Target T-195 in Long Beach, CA (my former store, BTW), if your registers are off at the end of the day, this could very well be the reason why. Those guys worked fast, talked fast, and seemed ready to swindle.

Anyway…I’ve only had a few minutes to spend with the Wii Fit. Here’s a few helpful hints:

• If you have carpeting, place a piece of wood underneath for an accurate weight measurement. At first I weighed 146 (!) but after placing a piece of wood under the platform, it was correct.
• The Weight Loss Goal only goes up to 22 lbs. so if you plan to lose more, you’ll have to start at 22 lbs. and once you reach that, start again with the remainder. In my case, it’ll be 22 lbs. plus another 10+ lbs.
• I “jogged” and did the Hula Hoop exercise. It’d definitely fun!

I’m sure I’ll be adding more to my other blog so check it out for more info and results. I begin using it tonight so we’ll see how things go!

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This entry is a SimulPost and can also be read at HolographicMeatloaf.com