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I'm James Maxey, the author of numerous novels of fantasy and science fiction. I use this site to discuss a wide range of topics, with a heavy emphasis on cranky, uninformed rants about politics and religion and other topics that polite people attempt to avoid. For anyone just wanting to read about my books, I maintain a second blog, The Prophet and the Dragon, where I keep the focus solely on my fiction. I also have a webpage where both blogs stream, with more information about all my books, at jamesmaxey.net.

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Monday, February 18, 2013

Week 3: 234

I'm a little stunned by the number, but I weighed in this morning at work at 234. I've lost 10 pounds since the new contest began, and I'm now down 50 pounds since the first contest started in September.

Ironically, this week was my least active week since the contest began. I did manage to sneak in some hiking, including a two mile trek on Saturday in the snow with Cheryl. But, even with the reduced pace, I've still logged over 30 miles in the past three weeks.

It's starting to show, too. This morning I added another notch on my belt. I've easily lost five inches of waistline since September, and now the new pants I bought near the end of that contest are starting to feel a little loose.

This coming week, more lousy weather is lined up for my days off, and over the weekend I'm going to Roanoke for Mysticon. It's hard to watch my diet when I'm eating out three days straight. But, a week of slacking off might prove useful. People are always asking me if I feel better now that I've lost this much weight. Really...no! I'm worn out from walking all the time! I bought my walking shoes new in October and have already worn the tread smooth. The only walking I want to do this week is to go shoe shopping.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Week 2: 238

Probably for the first time since I was in my early thirties, my weight is finally under 240. Last week I walked over 13 miles, and Cheryl and I did nothing but vegetarian dinners at home. I finally prepared tofu in a way she enjoyed it, so now we can start working it into our rotation more often. Really, except for a rather sad attempt of turning cauliflower into a pizza crust, our veggie dinners were all pretty kick ass. Still, tonight, I'm definitely sinking my teeth into some sort of meet product.

The coming week looks pretty soggy. I'll be interested in seeing what kind of numbers I post next week without the hiking I've been doing.

Monday, February 04, 2013

Week 1: 240

Today was the weigh in after the first week of the weight loss competition at work. I've lost 4 pounds, putting me at 240 even. That means that, from the start of the last contest in September, I've lost a total of 44  pounds. It's also the first significant weight loss I've had in weeks. I was pretty firmly resting on a plateau of weights in the mid 240s. To get off the plateau, I literally walked my ass off. I logged over 17 miles of walking last week, with over 12 of that hiking along the Eno. 

The forecast is for good weather this Tuesday and Wednesday, so I'll get in some good distance those days too. This week is also going to be a night of all vegetarian dinners. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good weigh in next week. I didn't lose the most weight this week at work, but I know I've already lost the easy pounds. My only hope of taking this is to keep on plan, keep watching my calories, and keep walking.