27 December 2008

Well, I may be the only person in history who actually *lost* weight over the Christmas holidays...

Sigh...

I appear to be down six pounds over the last month (186, currently) and trust me, it's not for lack of eating.

That "casual" Christmas job turned out to be a full time, non-stop, bucket slinging, cart pushing and generally moving-as-fast-as-you-can-without-getting-wound-up-in-the-machines kind of gig.

A job where feeding, sadly, means loading product into really long machines, untangling the bits that get shredded, and then bombing buckets of the finished product onto pallets that maniacal forklift drivers take...somewhere...I"m not sure where and never really asked and it was never apparent because the building I was working in was so big it had an internal horizon complete with vanishing points. I was mostly concerned with not getting run over by said forklift drivers.

But it's done...for now...though I suspect the layoff is temporary and solely so that the Corporate Entity (I'm not mentioning any names because I don't want to get "Dooced", however, it's larger and more complex than the governments of many small countries) doesn't have to pay for Christmas Day and New Year's Day as a general holiday.

I won't be sad to go back because I suspect Christmas is the busy time (which is why they hired casuals in the first place) and the people all appear to be quite nice to each other there and the money's good.

I'll have to learn to pace myself, though...all the floor workers are thin and sinewy (from the bucket slinging). Should prove to be an interesting gainer challenge.

Other good news is that I appear to have lost mass mostly on my butt and thighs...which is okay because I'm not really gunning to have a big butt. My belly appears to have survived the experience mostly intact.

It seems to me that when I gain fast, the weight tends to settle more in my belly so if I really work at it over the next few weeks, I could end up with an even bigger belly at 192lbs this time than I did the last time I was 192lbs. Talk about a blessing in disguise.

And an interesting experiment. I'm glad I've been keeping track with pictures.

I'll keep you posted as to the results.

18 December 2008

So I have a day off...from both jobs...what a luxury.

I appear to have lost a couple of pounds though it's hard to tell. It could just be dehydration. The night job involves a lot of running around and repetitive moving of heavy boxes full of stuff. It's also incredibly dry in the building - I'm certain it's climate controlled to be that way. I've gotten some major static shocks from the piles of plastic bins that are all over the place in there.

I'm kind of surprised, actually, that I haven't dropped more weight. I've been doing my best to keep eating but I've been really, really active lately.

I'm feeling frustrated that I haven't made more gains and may in fact be going backward.

Today I plan to catch up, at least, and hopefully start gaining again.

13 December 2008

Well I'm still around...

Things have fallen into more of a routine here. I'm still working two jobs, both of which are quite physically demanding. I've got the hang of it now though, and am pacing myself so I'm not working myself into total exhaustion.

I'm still at 192 lbs though I expect that to change as a gain more muscle mass from the extra exercise. It doesn't feel like I've lost any of my belly (if anything it's getting firmer and denser - from the exercise maybe?)

Though I can't devote quite as much time to gaining, I am taking every chance I can get to eat as much as possible. I think this has helped stave off any kind of weight loss over the past couple of weeks.

Now that things are settling out a bit and Job #1 is beoming less active, I hope to continue my upward climb.

As much as I'd like to reach my goal of 200 lbs this month, I just really don't see being able to gain those last eight pounds in just two weeks. I mean, I could, I suppose but I don't think that would leave me in much shape for work.

In January Job #2 should be ending which means I'll have a lot more time to devote to this...so I'm moving the goal to 200 lbs by the end of January.

Wish me luck...

7 December 2008

So not much progress to report. It's been insanely busy - work, sleep, eat (not enough though), repeat.

The worst of it is done now, however.

I'll post again when there's more to talk about...

2 December 2008

Just a quick note to update...

Been working like a dog (as anticipated). Trying very hard just to maintain what I've gained so far. I have a feeling by the end of this, I *will* have gained weight but it will be muscle and not fat. While being muscular isn't a bad thing, I'd much rather be fat.

Anyway, everything I've gained so far is settling in nicely and I'm getting used to the added bulk. I know, it's not much...so far...but it's enough that I notice it when I move just right or when I'm climbing stairs fast and notice I'm jiggling in ways I never did before.

I'm looking forward to the time that the worst of this crazy time is over and I can settle back into quietly packing on the pounds.

I'll keep you posted. Sorry I don't have anything more interesting to report...