So. My blog. Yes, it sort of has died again but revived it will be. Loads of things to chat about, or simply journal as who am I kidding, I'm the only one who reads this stuff...ha! :)

Firstly, my weight loss program. I had my 6 month check-in a couple days ago and over the last 6 months I have lost a total of 30lbs, one shirt size and 3 pant sizes. Things are looking pretty good. Chatting with the specialist folks I asked if I can stay in the program I'm on for another 6 months, checking-in with them every 2 months after which possibly revisiting the notion of surgery if I "plateau" so to speak or am not as successful.  I am quite happy with my weight loss and if I can lose another 30lbs over the next 6 months, that would be wonderful! It has not always been easy though but with the progress I have seen, I'm optimistic I can keep things going in the direction that they are supposed to be going.

Secondly, school. Things have been kind of at a stand still. However, I'm in the frame of mind that it's kind of a now or perhaps, my goodness, never time. Daryl and I have been working on refining an idea over the last 4 months and I have been doing some background writing and I think things are shaping up to be something very worthwhile. My official date to be completed is April 2012 but I see an extension, just one, that will take me into the summer, completing, hopefully, August 2012.

I have also begun looking for academic positions which, to me right now is strange as there is still loads of work to do, but most of these are looking for September 2012 and beyond start dates so it does make sense.  I am looking everywhere but particularly interested in those locales where I can build upon the work I am doing in human-computer interaction.

Thirdly, Winter 2012 is going to be a hectic time not only for my research but also life in general. I am teaching CS 100 again (yay!) and I am working over at Luther College as well, tinkering around with their website some more.

Finally, Christmas!! This year is kind of a new experience for me but I am looking forward to the next couple weeks: family time and even a road trip to Banff is in there!! Looking back, it's been a good year for me, full of new experiences indeed :)

So with that, look for my annual "album of the year" post to be up over the next couple weeks; I have about 60 or so albums to dwinddle down into a top 10. Oh my indeed!

...and with all of that, Merry Christmas! -tMac

It seems I've decided to keep this blog going for a while longer ;)

A couple months ago now, I met with some doctors to discuss some weight loss options. Diets and actual surgery (gastric bypass, a life changing event) was discussed. I've more and more come to the realization that there are things I could, no, scrap that ~ things I *should be doing to become a more healthy person. I had been exercising a lot, or so I thought. But seeing some recent pictures of myself, I decided more action was needed. Even with the exercise I was doing, which was still pretty good according to what the doctors and nurses I met with told me, and not to make excuses, but it has been a little demoralizing at times when I've put in some effort, re: exercise, and yet I saw no result, re: weight loss. That all said, there were obviously more things I could have been doing...

For the last month, starting exactly on June 2, with the recommends of the doctors/nurses I have boosted my exercise routine and begun keeping a food log.

With respect to exercise, On top of walking to work when I go into the university (roughly a 5km round trip), I have begun treadmilling 5 days a week (Monday through Friday) for 1/2hr with increasing speed and incline. On the weekend days I go for a walk around the neighborhood each day, roughly 3.5km.  I have also begun to lift weights again ~ 3 days a week (Mon-Wed-Fri) and have already begun to see/feel my muscles growing back.  I started working out in the evenings but on the recommendation of Jason, shifted to morning workouts and those have stuck and I haven't missed a day yet. Since starting I have more energy and I feel much better about myself.

With respect to the food log, at first I was like, "I really don't think this is going to work." However, after about a week I began to notice substantial things I could change. Being a "calorie counter" is not really what I had wanted to be doing but it does help, generally, structure the food I eat on a daily basis. Basically I began to realize some of more less healthy eating activities I had been doing that I would not have given a second thought before (e.g. having two hotdogs as opposed to just one supplemented by a salad, fruit, veggie, which is really more for less). Some of you reading this may be like, "well, duh dummy" but really ok, perhaps I was being a dummy with some of my choices ~ sure.  That said, it still is a hard process, picking food, especially given the variety of options we have out there ~ and especially so if you're like me and you simply love food ~ preparing it, cooking it, and eating it....yes, I love it all :)  It's quite easy to be overwhelmed and to be honest, I still am sort of overwhelmed. On a side note, I've begun actively looking at doing some research with respect to my PhD work ~ how I can design some sort of decision aid to help people like me ~ I know more exist! I am very excited about some ideas my supervisor and I have.

Anyways, the main idea is that I've started the process and stuck with it and that's what counts!

To date, approximately one month after starting all this, I have lost 15 pounds (steadily ~ it fluctuates between 15 and 20 lbs, but it seems to even out at 15), gone down one pant size, a few notches in the belt, and have more energy then ever before. Plus, although a work in progress, I think I've become a more positive person...although this is still a work in progress indeed! This is a very exciting time for me right now, progress has been made! :)

So, here's to another month and hopefully some more progress.  Hopefully I'll write more on my experiences! -tMac