Day 412 A Super Saturday, Irene Below 200, and This Time I Really Did It!

Day 412

A Super Saturday, Irene Below 200, and This Time I Really Did It!

It was a busy Saturday that started earlier than the typical Saturday around here. I had a four hour broadcast to do at a car dealership before heading to Stillwater for the OSU-Texas game. I didn’t leave myself much time to cook this morning, so on the way to the broadcast I picked up a couple of 130 calorie fruit and yogurt parfaits (sans granola), one for me and one for my friend Brandon.

I had planned on using some of the down time in-between broadcast breaks to chat with Brandon about weight loss and his success earlier this year. And we did briefly, but really didn’t get too deep into the topic. I was there for a broadcast, so in keeping with that, I’ll find time to sit down and “catch-up” with Brandon real soon.

While I was there, Whitney showed up. You might remember her if you’re a regular reader of these writings. She’s followed this blog from Day 1, never misses a day, and is a real good friend. She’s lost an amazing amount of weight and looks just incredible. She told me that she had to adjust her goal down a little. She hit 135 and realized that it wasn’t where she wanted to maintain, so she dropped a little bit more. She looks healthy and happy. Her and her husband Jim have been incredibly supportive of each other. He too has lost weight and is feeling great. It was good to see her again. She has a genuine enthusiasm for life and everything along the way. She’s not the nearly 200 pound version of Whitney from a while back.

I’m not sure if Irene has had a chance to update her blog in a while. She’s been incredibly busy and our computers are both being repaired by a friend. So without internet access at home, I’ve been traveling to the studio to write this blog, and Irene can’t really write while managing the casino---so I thought I would tell you. Irene has officially dropped below 200!!! I’m very happy for her in this regard. She’s in the 190’s for the first time since her late teens. She’s incredibly happy about this as you might imagine!! I’m happy for her. She’s looking absolutely stunning these days. And what it’s done for her confidence is really profound.

Lunch at the dealership was ordered out. I ordered a grilled chicken alfredo pasta---easy on the sauce with mushrooms from Dominos—and NO BREAD BOWL! This isn’t an item that I would eat all of…oh no---I’m not spending that many calories on lunch! Even without the thousand calorie bread bowl, the pasta alone is 601 calories. I never order the breadbowl--1,000 calories worth of bread and butter garlic isn't anything I want or need! I have tasted it before, and it's good, but you talk about a horrible "calorie value," oh dear. I enjoyed half of the tin dish full. It was plenty and I felt good about the 300 calorie lunch. It was filling and delicious, not excessive. Had I finished the entire thing, well, it still wouldn’t have been over budget, but I wanted to go into the tailgating portion of the day with plenty of calories. So with my parfait and the pasta---I was sitting comfortably at 480 calories. Oh, the extra 50 calories in there? Non-dairy creamer for my coffee! I had 1,020 calories ready to go for the before game and after game festivities.

I didn’t enjoy the club level this time, it was a last minute change, because my uncles Keith and Sig were joining me for the game. I promised Anson that I would drive him and his wife home from the game afterward, so I had to arrange a ride to Stillwater. Rachel was happy to help me get there. She drove up to Ponca, picked me up, and delivered me to my grandmothers house to meet up with Keith and Sig. Rachel is such a wonderful friend!

I left my cell-phone in her car. And since her and a friend were headed to Oklahoma City for the night---I knew I would be without my phone for some time. I was so relieved when Rachel confirmed that the phone was in her car, because I had visions of me leaving it on the trunk of her car when I was dropped off. I just knew it was on the side of the road somewhere getting crushed. But it kept ringing, so it was in one piece at least---thank goodness. That phone has so much stuff on it, and no---none of it is backed up. I really need to learn how to do that. I felt so lost without my phone. I wasn’t able to do any “On The Go Videos” at the game. I had planned on a stair running video, but oh well. Maybe next time right?

The tailgate featured “Bevo” burgers. The Texas mascot tasted pretty good. (But the horrible game still left a bad taste in my mouth---and 50,000 other Cowboy fans—I don’t want to talk about it!) I had one “Bevo” burger, and it was great! I also grabbed a few Sun Chips, tomato slices and my water. I even spooned a little chili on top, a teaspoon, because it was the kind of chili that looked really loaded---it was good. Anson always has a wonderful tailgate and gathering of people. It was fun indeed.

After half-time, I shared a bratwurst on a bun with Uncle Sig. I gave him the biggest half, but still I counted my half as 250. Probably an over estimate, but that’s OK. As the second half was starting I found the stairs I needed to run. They go from the bottom of the north entrance, all the way to the top of Boone Pickens Stadium. I ran up those stairs until my legs burned hot. That burning pain is something I rarely feel in my workouts---and it’s something I want to feel. Stair running will now be a regular part of my workout routine. It’s really good and must be extremely effective---it certainly feels effective, oh my.

We’re planning another trip to Stillwater Sunday for a visit with Aunt Jean and Uncle Sig and everybody else. The trip will just be Courtney and me. Irene will be working on a special project at her job all day tomorrow.

It was wonderful to see Sig Saturday. They live in Michigan and up until Uncle Sig retired, they only made it down once a year. Every year I use to tell Uncle Sig the same thing. “When you see me next time I’ll look completely different.” I’ve been saying that to him since I was a kid. I always planned on losing this weight. It felt so good to so completely blow his mind with this transformation. OK, maybe “blow his mind,” isn’t the correct phrase to use…Uncle Sig doesn’t get overly excited about many things. But his happiness and pride for me and my weight loss success was evident. He just smiled and smiled. I finally did it. I’ve still got work to do, but finally I really did look like a different person the next time he saw me! During the game he told me that I looked like the bad guy from the “Die Hard” movie. I’ll have to watch that one again. Hmmm…I don’t know if that was a compliment or not. I think it was. Oh Uncle Sig, you are so you! And we love you man.

Thank you for reading. There’s so much more I could talk about. Like the jeans I put on for the game---the smallest I’ve worn since I was in Junior High---oh yes, that was incredible to experience. And how I didn't eat any minature candy bars today---even on Halloween---I just didn't run into any...believe me, I would have if the opportunity presented itself!! You know me, nothing is off limits! I’ll save it for later. Goodnight and…

Good Choices,
Sean