I did not post yesterday because I was in Provincetown and had a sporadic cell signal. I took the Fast Ferry down yesterday morning and was able to get accomodations for two nights. I am still in Provincetown, but have a better signal tonight. However, I can't get a signal at my hotel.

Needless to say, since I am in Provincetown, the weight reduction is on hold. Why go to the Cape if you are not going to party. Besides, next Wednesday, I go away for 30+ days on vacation. A few pounds is not going to make a difference.

When I return from vacation after Labor Day, I will, absolutely, positively start focusing on loosing 120 pounds by the end of 2005, that goal has not changed.

posted by Jim 10:43 PM

. . .

I had my usual bran cereal breakfast and ate lunch at the house for the first time since I stopped work. The contractor was back today to put a second coat of paint on the foyer. In addition to having lunch at home, I also did some tasks I wanted to get done before vacation.

In the evening, I saw Spider-Man 2 at the New England Aquarium IMAX. Although I saw the movie in the regular theater, seeing a movie again in IMAX is like seeing it for the first time. The size and clarity are amazing.

At the IMAX, I did have a diet soda and some hot chocolate chip cookies. I know I am bad, but the cookies were delicious.

posted by Jim 11:29 PM

. . .

I had a pretty good day today. My breakfast was the usual bran cereal, orange juice, and hot chocolate combination breakfast.

I had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner at a fast food place in downtown Boston. I went to Harvard Square before my geek meeting tonight at MIT. I did get two candy bars at Nini's Corner for a snack, but, overall, It wasn't a bad day.

posted by Jim 8:42 PM

. . .

I started the day with my usual bran cereal, orange juice, and fat-free hot chocolate. For lunch, I ate at the Chessecake Factory in Cambridgeside Galleria with no dessert. I did have a package of "Whoppers" with my diet soda at the movies.

After the movie, I went to the Pru Mall via the T (my favorite method of city transportation). Just before I left the house today, the empty light was glowing for the color cartridge in my network printer and I did not have any more of that model cartridge at my house. Best Buy at Cambrideside did not have any in stock and I remembered seeing a cart in the Pru Mall that sold remanufactured cartridges. I am not a fan of remanufactured cartridges and would not use them in my quality printer I use for my photos. However, the remanufactured cartridge would be ok for the networked, general use printer.

While I was at the Pru Mall, I did have a tea and a little snack at the B&N Cafe. I will have to go right by the 24/7 Krispy Kreme doughtnut shop in the Pru Mall when I walk to the bus. Since I am posting this blog entry from my Palm OS PDA / bluetooth phone (most of my blog entries are posted while I am still out using this combo) while enjoying my tea at the Pru Mall, I do not know if I will be able to walk by the Krispy Kreme without stopping for some morning doughtnuts.

On a positive note, I did loose 3 pounds since last Monday, even though I did not totally behave.

posted by Jim 9:16 PM

. . .

Well, not too good today. I had Krispy Creme doughtnuts with my bran cereal for breakfast and had a "Whoppers" with my diet soda at the movies. After the movies, I went to the Cambridge Brewery and had my usual bacon cheeseburger with caesar salad. Of course, I had vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Since I will be going on vacation a week from Wednesday, my goal for the rest of the summer should be to avoid gaining any weight and loose a few pounds if I can.

Starting right after I return from vacation in September, I will start the serious effort to loose 120 pounds by the end of 2005.

posted by Jim 11:13 PM

. . .

I started the day with my usual bran cereal. I did not have a traditional dinner; my dinner was a popcorn with my diet soda at the movies and a cupcake with my tea at the B&N Cafe in the Pru. Not the best of dinners, but ok once in awhile since I had a very late schedule today. I did not want to eat a big dinner too late in the day.

posted by Jim 10:37 PM

. . .

Another mixed day. I behaved at breakfast, my usual bran cereal. I did go to the Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner and had my usual 14 ounce New York Strip with the chocolate stampede dessert. I have been to the Longhorn Steakhouse so often that the waitperson asks if I want the usual. I certainly am a creature of habit, at least as far as restaurant eating goes.

Starting tomorrow, no more desserts!

posted by Jim 6:57 PM

. . .

Today was a mixed bag. Breakfast was my usual bran cereal, but I did have a "Kit Kat" with my diet soda at the movies. I ate at Charlie's in Chesnut Hill Mall after visiting the Apple Store. I admit my guilt, I had a Boston Creme Pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. It was very tasty, but I have to watch it with the desserts.

posted by Jim 9:25 PM

. . .

I did ok today. I had bran cereal for breakfast and a roast beef sandwich for lunch/dinner at Kelly's Roast Beef in Natick. I did not have any snack with lunch/dinner; however, I did have M&M's with my diet soda at the IMAX Theater at Jordan' Furniture in Natick.

I still feel confident that I will maintain my slow progess toward my weight loss goals. I just have to be careful with the snacks.

posted by Jim 7:14 PM

. . .

Today was an ok day. I had bran cereal for breakfast and only had a diet soda at the movies. I had a sandwich with chips and a diet soda at D'Angelo's for dinner. I am trying to get away from a big sit down multi-course meal each night to assist with my weight loss. I'll reserve the big sit down meals for the weekends and maybe one weekday.

I also have to enter a new word into my lexicon - "small". When I order things, I usually order "large" or "extra-large". I must replace "large" / "extra-large" with "small" / "medium".

posted by Jim 8:09 PM

. . .

I did ok today (for a change). I had my usual bran cereal for breakfast and had dinner at Sbarro's. At the movie, I only had a diet soda and did not have a dessert after dinner. I did stop at the B&N Cafe in the Pru Mall and had a tea with no sugar and no snack.

If I can keep up this eating behavior change for awhile, I'll do ok with my weight reduction goals.

posted by Jim 6:21 PM

. . .

Well, I am really being a bad boy. I had Krispy Kreme doughtnuts with my bran cereal breakfast, and had a brownie sundae for dessert after my caesar salad, bacon burger dinner at the Harvard Gardens. At least at the movie, I did not have any snack with my diet soda.

I know I have written this many times before, but I must absolutely start a major eating behavior modification and start loosing the 120 pounds I desperately need to loose. I am really going to try again starting tomorrow, Monday, July 19, 2004.

posted by Jim 9:14 PM

. . .

I was a bad boy again.  I have not given up, I just have given myself a few days more before returning to the proven weight loss eating behavior modifications that worked so well for me in 1999.
 
I had my usual bran cereal for breakfast; however, I did have a snack with my soda at the movies and did have a dessert after a nice caesar salad - pizza dinner at Pizzeria Uno.  In addition, I had a large chocolate chip cookie with my tea at the B&N Cafe in the Pru and stopped at Krispy Kreme on the way home to get some doughnuts for the morning.  I told you at the beginning of this post that I was a bad boy today, and I certainly will not start my eating behavior modifications tomorrow since I will be having some Krispy Kreme doughnuts with my breakfast.
 
I will be difficult to loose weight this summer.  I just got finished attending Macworld with numerous evening social events and will be going on vacation for a month to Quebec City, Montreal, and Lake George, NY.  My goal is to not gain weight on vacation (I know I will not loose any while on vacation).  In prior years, I always gained on my summer vacation and I hope to reverse that trend this year by not gaining any weight while on vacation.

posted by Jim 11:52 PM

. . .

Well, I was a bad boy today. I did have my usual bran cereal breakfast which is fine. However, I had a snack at the movies with my diet soda and had a dessert with my steak dinner at the Longhorn Steakhouse.

I only gained 1 pound during the 4 days of Macworld. I want to loose weight, but limiting my gain to 1 pound during a week with a lot of social activity is not too bad.

I do have to focus on my weight reduction now that Macworld is over.

posted by Jim 9:40 PM

. . .

Well, today was the last day of Macworld Boston. I did ok considering I was at a convention. I started with my usual bran cereal and had a meatball sub with a slice of pizza for lunch at Macworld. I had no snacks during the day at Macworld.

After the show, I went to dinner with some friends. I did have two beers while we were chatting before having a burger for dinner. I did not have any dessert.

posted by Jim 11:39 PM

. . .

For the first time, I went out for dinner after the BOSPDAUG meeting last night, and, unfortunately, I did have something to eat - spaghetti and meatballs. The meal was very tasty; however, I definitely did not need another dinner. I had not planned on going out for dinner after the meeting; in fact, I had never gone out to a post-meeting dinner before because I had to get up for work so early. Now that I am retired, I don't have to get up early for work anymore. In the future, if I going to go out for dinner after the meeting, I will eat a late lunch and not have anything else until the after-meeting dinner.

Today, I did ok, my usual bran cereal and a sandwich for lunch at Macworld. I had a sub for dinner on the way to the Macworld party. I did have a hurricane and a couple of beers at the Macworld party. That's ok, I don't drink often enough to impact my weight reduction to any extent.

posted by Jim 11:39 PM

. . .

Today was another good day. I had my usual bran cereal for breakfast and a burger with fries for lunch at Macworld. At Macworld, I only had one diet soda and no snacks. I had a turkey sandwich at Au Bain Pain for dinner on the way to the BMAC meeting in the evening.

Again, considering I was at a convention, I did very well.

posted by Jim 8:43 PM

. . .

Considering that I was at a convention today, I had an excellent day. Breakfast was my usual bran cereal and I had a burger with fries for lunch at Macworld. I had no snacks at Macworld and only had one diet soda.

At the Final Cut Pro meeting, I had a couple of small items and had a beer for the first time since September. I don't intentionally avoid alcohol, I just don' have the desire for it very often, usually only on vacation or at a social event.

posted by Jim 6:49 PM

. . .

Overall, an ok day. I had bran cereal for breakfast and stopped at the Cambridge Brewery for lunch/dinner. As usual, I did not have any alcohol, but I did have some vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Tomorrow starts Macworld Boston. I have to be sure that I eat reasonably and avoid snacking while attending Macworld. Concession stands can be my downfall.

posted by Jim 8:08 PM

. . .

Overall, an ok day. I had bran cereal, orange juice, and fat-free hot chocolate for breakfast. For lunch/dinner, I had an individual chicago classic pizza and caesar salad at Pizzeria Uno. I did have the oreo cheesecake for dessert. The dessert was very tasty; however, I got to limit the number of desserts I have.

At the movies, I only had a bottled water and only had a tea at the B & N Cafe in the Pru Mall (did not have my usual lemon crumb bar).

As long as I can skip dessert, I think I'll be ok, and, although I know it will be tough, I feel very positive about meeting my goal of a 120 pound weight loss by the end of 2005.

posted by Jim 9:12 PM

. . .

I had a bigger dinner tonight than I would have liked, but overall, I did ok today. For breakfast, I had bran cereal and went to the Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch/dinner. At the Longhorn, I had a big steak dinner with a chocolate stampede dessert. I should not have had the dessert, but other than the dessert, I behaved. At the movies, I only had a bottled water.

A dessert once in awhile is ok; however, I do have to be careful that dessert is only an occasional treat and not a regular part of my dinner menu.

posted by Jim 8:06 PM

. . .

I am off to a good start with my eating behavior modifications. I had bran cereal with orange juice and fat-free hot chocolate for breakfast. At the movies, I only had a bottled water. After the movies, I had an excellent pizza for lunch/dinner with no dessert at Emma's.

Tonight, I am going to the opening of the French Film Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Hopefully, I will not have anything to eat at the festival.

posted by Jim 5:58 PM

. . .

Well, I really celebrated today. I had french toast, eggs, sausage, and bacon for breakfast. At the movies, I had a popcorn with my diet soda. I went to Longhorn Steakhouse and had a nice steak with a chocolate stampede dessert. I really did it up big on my last day before focusing on my weight loss eating behavior modifications starting tomorrow.

Yeh, starting tomorrow, July 8, 2004, I will focus on modifying my eating behaviors with a goal of loosing 120 pounds by December 31, 2005.

posted by Jim 7:46 PM

. . .

Still partaking in my "mini-celebration" of my retirement. I had Krispy Kreme doughnuts with my bran cereal this morning for my breakfast. At the movies, I did have a package of "M & M's" with my diet soda.

After the movies, I ate at Charlie's Kitchen, one of my favorite Harvard Square eateries. And, yes, I did have a nice dessert after my Hot Turkey Sandwich dinner.

I am still confident that I will drastically alter my eating behaviors starting Thursday, July 8, 2004, and begin my long journey to loosing 120 pounds by December 31, 2005.

posted by Jim 7:41 PM

. . .

Still having the mini-celebration of my recent retirement. I had a nice breakfast, went to a movie, and had dinner at the Cambridge Brewery (I had no alcohol). I had "Whoppers" with my diet soda at the movies. A mini-hot fudge sundae was my dessert after my cheddar bacon burger at the Cambridge Brewery. After visiting a friend, I stopped at the B & N Cafe in the Pru and had a tea, lemon crumb and bottled water. On the way to the bus, I picked up some Krispy Kreme doughnuts for the morning. Hopefully, this will be the last time I stop for doughnuts; however, it will be tough because the Prudential Krispy Kreme is open 24/7.

I am still confident that I will intensely return to my proven weight loss eating behaviors starting Thursday, July 8, 2004. My goal is still to loose 120 pounds by December 31, 2005.

posted by Jim 5:45 PM

. . .

I definitely didn't start my eating behavior modifications today, although I at least thought about them. As I indicated in yesterday's post, I will continue to have a mini-celebration until next Thursday, July 8, 2004.

Today, I had a big breakfast and had a full pizza for dinner after my movie. During the movie, I had "Mike and Ike" candy with my diet soda. I also had some cookies before I left the house.

I know it will be very tough, but I must start intensely focusing on my weight reduction starting Thursday, July 8, 2004. Hopefully, I will be 120 pounds lighter on December 31, 2005.

posted by Jim 8:26 PM

. . .

I had a good breakfast and ate lunch/dinner at Sbarro. During the movie at Copley Place, I did have Reese's Pieces with my diet soda.

I visited a friend and on the way home, I stopped at the B & N Cafe in the Pru Mall for a tea and lemon crumb. This lemon crumb (tea is ok) has got to stop.

Since this is the long holiday weekend,I will indulge a little bit (I will not pig out), and start the intense weight reduction focus onThursday, July 8. This new date will allow me a full week after my official retirement (June 30) to indulge a little before the intense eating behavior change on July 8. My goal is still to loose 120 pounds by the end of 2005.

posted by Jim 9:48 PM

. . .

I did not do as well today as I would have liked. I had two of the remaining Krispy Kreme doughtnuts with my bran cereal this morning. I had an early lunch at Sullivan's (first time at Castle Island since June 16).

At the movies, I had a diet soda with no snack. After the movies, I went to Bertucci's for a nice dinner. I had a full dinner and had no dessert.

I did have a lemonade and lemon crumb at the B & N Cafe in the Pru Mall (I have to ensure that this does not become a habit).

I do have to be more careful and ensure I do actually return to the weight loss eating behavior modifications. Remember, I want to loose 120 pounds by December 31, 2005.

posted by Jim 8:13 PM

. . .

I had my bran cereal (no doughnuts) for breakfast. Stopped in the Coolidge Corner Clubhouse for a sandwich lunch before going to the Coolidge Corner Cinema. At the movie, I just had a diet soda. After the movie, I did have a pizza and a diet soda for dinner.

Although I probably should have had a lighter lunch and dinner, I did not have any snacks, which is good.

I am still confident that I will loose 120 pounds between today, July 1, 2004, and the end of 2005.

posted by Jim 6:10 PM

. . .