Random Thoughts

Riley Standing

Trev, Rucell and Riley dropped by for dinner over the holidays (nothing special, just some roasted chicken and spaghetti, if I remember correctly - it was kinda last minute). Anyway, Riley can do an assisted stand now, hanging onto the coffee table. His favorite activity is to be tossed into the air, which is pretty tiring. Peekaboo is less tiring and received with less enthusiasm, though he still likes it. We confused him with my digital piano's vocal samples, he kept looking over to Rucell, who was sleeping on my couch.

Celebratory Summarization

So it was a fun holiday - I'm pretty sure I spent most of it eating. Christmas was spent with the family and surrounding days were spent with friends. Along with the aforementioned work lunches at the Keg and Swiss Chalet, I went to Montana's with friends (met Erich and Catherine's baby son Matthew for the first time) and just got back from the next door neighbors' house. (I'm so glad they decided not to move to Ottawa - they're so nice and their kids are adorable!) Also met Martin and Fiona's latest addition Oliver and played a bunch more games that I liked but of course can't remember the names of.

I walked to the mall this morning for Boxing Day. I went looking at a burr coffee grinder and Kitchenaid food processor, but they weren't that good deals, and the reviews on the grinder were mediocre. Instead, I came away with a clearance Kitchenaid cake pan to match the last one I got on clearance (lucky! Having a single round layer pan is kinda useless). I also got a mini-trampoline for 25% off - making it $45, which is about the same price as the online stores in the States. Carrying it back to the house was a bit of a pain though. More on the trampoline in a separate post, though.

Scaling It Down: Starting Over

aka "Excuses, Excuses!"

Ok, I'm going to have to start over again and do it properly in the New Year.

Firstly, holiday eating has been disastrous! (Though I guess I haven't really gained a lot of weight.)

More importantly, I'll start weighing in the mornings... my weight is too variable in the evenings depending on what I've eaten that day - the morning measurements have been much more consistent after, you know, going to the bathroom and stuff. I knew this, but I got the scale in the evening, so that's why I started then.

Scaling It Down: Week 2

Well, it was a disastrous week! Lots of Christmas candy at the office, Christmas lunch at the Keg and another Christmas lunch from Swiss Chalet took their toll. Baking brownies for various people also took its toll. Baking pizza with mom added further. So I didn't lose any discernible weight this week! Argh.
Actually, had the measurement been just yesterday, when I did most of the eating, I would've weighed 173lbs!

Date	Weight lbs	Body Fat %	Water %
Dec 6	172.6	27.7	52.8
Dec 13	171.0	26.4	53.5	Dec 20	171.2	27	53.2

Car Flakiness

Bleah, I think the car is allergic to Richmond Hill - whenever I go there it acts funny.

Last week, as I was leaving, the gas tank was reading empty and the gas light was on. I was pretty sure that I had left it with about a quarter tank of gas, so I was a bit concerned that there was a leak in the tank or something. Anyway, I pulled in to the nearest gas station (a no-name, old pump, full service station) and got 20 bucks of gas. When I turned back on the car, it was reading half full. 20 bucks wouldn't get me to half full, so I figure there was indeed gas in the tank.

Then, a week later, it feels like the power steering isn't as strong. But I'm not totally sure about that. I mean, it seemed really noticeable, but now I'm wondering if I was just imagining things - maybe it was seemed stiffer compared to steering on slushy roads...

Scaling It Down: Week 1

Week 1: Well, I did it - lost about 0.6lbs. Really, I fluctuate more than that on a daily basis. I weighed as low 1 lb less than that a couple of days ago. I followed the rules pretty good this week. More encouraging, my body fat was lowered and my water content was higher! (oops, slight correction - took the wrong day's stats!... Actually, I lost 1.6lbs!) Numbers after the jump...

Date	Weight lbs	Body Fat %	Water %
Dec 6	172.6	27.7	52.8
Dec 13	171.0	26.4	53.5

Scaling It Down

Amended rule 1 again! Added results for the 1 week mark

My sister got me the Tanita Body Fat Scale 680, so it's time for me to lose weight! But how? It's time to lay out some ground rules...

The Rules
1) No food after 9:30pm Amendment: If I need a snack, it has to be veg in nature with no added fat - like carrot sticks, celery sticks, some chick peas, an apple etc. Amendment 2: I can break this rule if I'm out with friends and am going to bed after midnight.
2) No seconds! Save some for later!
3) Fried food 1x per week - usually this'll be my weekly meal at Swiss Chalet.
4) Weigh in at 10pm nightly.
5) Make an exercise rule.

The Goal
Lose 1/2 lb per week

The Rewards
For every 5 pounds, $100 into the slush fund from the savings
If I can get to 155lbs, I buy myself this:
Roland FP-7 Digital Piano
It's pure extravagance, seeing as I already have a digital piano, but...