Weigh-ins and shootings

So I just weighed myself. No change. Still 214 lbs. I started walking my stairs though, so we'll see if that helps in the long run. But with the weather so nice outside nowadays, I feel an almost pathological urge to eat ice cream and laze in the sun... Well, at least I didn't gain any weight whilst traveling.

Anyways, if you have facebook, you've probably seen Farmville ads at least once if not more. If you're like me, you probably got sick of all that. So how does a chance to shoot (twisted and insane) farm animals sound for a change? You can try your hand at this game. It's not too hard. I got all but the two medals required for survival. Although I did have to reload twice to complete the game... I recommend turning off the sound.


Play Games at AddictingGames

So Round 2?

I finally bought a scale. It's one of those electronic scales that can measure to 0.2 pounds. It's also made from tempered glass and can track the weight of 2 users. There was another higher tech version that could measure body fat as well but it wasn't as nice looking, almost 50% more expensive and frankly, I think my body fat measurement will be depressing. The weight is depressing enough as it is.
So anyways, for the record it's 214 pounds. Which means that I am sub-100kg! That's a great first step. Haha. Now my target is 10 pounds from now till mid-May. The plan is to:

1. Reduce rice intake to 1/4 cup per meal
2. Only finish 1/4 of the potatoes in an outside meal
3. Eat more seafood
4. Oranges and Apples and Pears baby!
5. Wake up early to exercise. I've been trying but I have to wake up at around 6 to make this work. Means that I have to sleep by 11pm.

Incidentally, I have also suspended my TF2 for now. I need more time to organise my stuff and I want to learn VBA for realz now. Also, I will probably need time to prep for any advanced tests I want to take, be it the Pro. Eng. exam or something else.

Wish me luck. Round 2 int he quest to get fitter and better in life.

Day 4

Day 4.

In Minnesota now. Let's see how dieting works out when food is paid for.

Weight - DUNNOE.

Breakfast - leftover Spinach with portabellini, ham and onions + rice with brocoli & cauliflower x 1portion. 1 glass of veggie juice. 1 banana.

Morning Snack - n/a. On airplane.

Lunch - BK A1 Steakburger XT + Onion Rings + Diet Coke. ZOMG 940+450 calories. FUUUUUUUU. But it tasted so good.

PM Snack - n/a

Dinner - Grilled Salmon (dry and ugh) x 1. 1/2 baked potato. Unsweetened ice tea. Side salad with fat-free italian. Managed NOT to order the really delicious looking sirloin or ribs. Didn't eat the soft and fluffy dinner roll too. I'm impressed.

Exercise - no time. Have to wake up at 530 tomorrow to work out.

Need to lay off the BK. Zomg. But good work with dinner. Sirloin should be lean enough, I'll try that next time.

Day 3

Day 3.
Weight - Still unknown. Need to buy a scale. Going to MN tomorrow so that's off till when I get back.

Breakfast - 2 Egg (1 yolk) omelet with onions, ham, cheese and almonds (mmmm almonds). 1 glass of veggie juice.

Morning Snack - Dried Mango x 10 pieces

Lunch - Chicken Dumpling Soup + bag of crackers + 1/2 Jimmy Johns sub + Dried mango x 15 pieces. I think i over did the mango but I wanted to finish the bag before I left for MN.

PM Snack - Dried mango x 8 pieces

Dinner - Spinach with portabellini, ham and onions + rice with brocoli & cauliflower x 1portion. 1 orange, 1 banana.

Exercise -
2 x 15lb x 15 reps of bicep/tricep/delts(12lbs)/Side abs
2 x 25 leg raise (w/ 15lb), 2 x 30 ankle raises, 2 x 20 squats (w/ 15lb)
2 x 20 reps of situps, 'superman', push-ups and hamstring curl (using other leg as resistance)

Total time ~35 mins

Sleep earlier!

Day 2

Day 2.
Weight - Still unknown. Need to buy a scale.

Breakfast - Leftover Tequila Soaked Chicken Breast x 1 + rice with broccoli, cauliflower and almonds x 1 portion. 1 glass of veggie juice.

Morning Snack - World Market almond biscotti x 2

Lunch - Panera Bread Thai Chicken Salad + Chicken Noodle Soup + Apple.

PM Snack - Dried mango x 8 pieces

Slightly hungry by dinner but not hungry after working out.

Dinner - Almond crusted chicken breasts (pan-seared then roasted) x 2 + portabellini mushrooms x 3. Ate too much? Probably. Almonds taste good with mushrooms and caramelized onions though...

Exercise - 30 minutes on elliptical. 20 minutes of (2 mins 7mph + 1 min 5 mph) sets, 10 mins of warm up/cool down. 2.8 miles. Chin-ups 4/3/2.

Needs - try to stick to low carbs, high protein. Maybe more snacks in the day?

First Day of a (hopefully) New Age

Ok. So this lose weight thing needs some recording so this is it.

Day 1.
Weight - Unknown. Need to buy a scale.

Breakfast - Chinese Leftovers x 1 portion + rice x 1 portion. 1 glass of veggie juice.

Lunch - Chinese Leftovers x 1 portion + rice x 1 portion. 1 glass of veggie juice.

Dinner - Tequila Soaked Chicken Breast x 1 + rice with broccoli, cauliflower and almonds x 1 portion. 1 portion of melon medley and 1 orange.

Exercise - Weights 15 lbs, no extra weights. Standard 2 x 15 reps

Needs - try to stick to low carbs, high protein.

P.S. Totally random but whoever did this is genius.

Brazil Trip - Part 1

So some of you might know that I recently went to Brazil for some work. So here's the pictures and stories I have from that trip.

I took the late flight from Chicago to São Paulo and arrived at 10am on a Saturday morning. My first task was to go from the international airport (São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport) to the domestic airport (Congonhas Airport). To do that, I could either take a cab or take the 'Airport Bus Service'. I went with the bus service as it was more economical (31 reais vs ~100 reais) and I had time to kill on the first day anyways as my flight inland was on Sunday morning.
It's a trip from the east of São Paulo to the west and took me about 50 minutes. The bus basically takes you through some parts of the city and then on the outskirts for others.

It's a big city. Lots of sprawl and many tall building as well. Oh and the weather was great too. Blue skies, white clouds, 28 degrees C...
Either the Mystery Machine has gone into catering or this is a blatant copyright rip-off. But I guess everyone wants Scooby-branded baked goods and snacks.

There is some weird architecture here as well.

When I first saw the row of stuffed toys on the road divider, I was wondering what was going on, until I saw the lady hawking the stuff. Just like here, there are people who try to make a living from the road divider and at traffic junctions.

For a city of ~18 million people, Congonhas Airport doesn't look all that big or modern...

This is the hotel I stayed at the first night. It's like the Holiday Inn of Brazil. Unfortunately, their website isn't too informative in English.

Well, that's it for this first post. I'll continue later. I'm tired and it's bed time now.