Good morning, campers! We’re one week away from the halfway mark in the Big Skeezy Challenge 2011. Can you believe it? Last week we watched as Big Skeezy succumbed to his debaucherous ways and gained four pounds, pushing him back up to 296. The battle with the 290s has been an epic one, rising and falling as he tries to get through the wall he’s semmingly hit. How would he do in Week 25? Let’s break it down:
Man, oh man! It’s been quite the week for me, I gotta tell you. After I shot back up to 296 last week I was pretty pissed off to say the least. Over the last few weeks I’ve been stuck in limbo, unable to break through and start losing weight again (at least at any kind of decent clip). I decided this week to follow through on the experiment I have been flirting with over the last couple of weeks. Here’s what it is:
No beer.
Yeah, it’s really that simple but I’m also a man of simple pleasures. I enjoy beer and, because I spend most of my Friday nights at Hollywood Park’s dollar beer night, it’s not as easy as you’d think. Everywhere you go there are beer specials. Also, my usual post-Hollywood Park hangout serves Coors Light tall boys. Win! Still, this entire challenge is about willpower and overcoming temptation. I figured that because I’d hit the wall something had to be changed. I changed my workout routine and it probably helped but now I needed something else. Cutting out beer for a week was step two.
So there I was, not drinking beer. The odd thing was that I spent most every night last week out and about. Usually I take most weeknights off hoping to stave off the inevitable crap shoot my weekends usually become. I was honestly out every night last week except for Thursday. Thursday was Skeezy time. Also, I needed to do laundry. My meals remained the same but the workouts changed a bit. I decided to go back to basics and stop running myself to death on the treadmill. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill instead of the now common 60. The weight routine remained the same.
And then it was Friday. Time for Hollywood Park! The gang came out in force, as the English Beat were playing after the races that night. The beers came to our section in droves. Hell, you only have until 9PM to get $1 beers so you have to move fast. Watching my friends take advantage of this deal is like watching a line of ants move back and forth from the anthill to a pile of food. It’s a constant stream of people moving in both directions, stopping only occasionally to talk about what’s going on. It’s a thing of beauty. In any case, I ended up having two vodka sodas and a CUP OF COFFEE. Yeah, I said it. It kept me remarkably sober which cannot be the same for this poor gentleman we found passed out on a bench. Naturally, I posed with him:
The Tattle Tale came after the concert and I indulged in some whiskey and some vodka (exclusively – not together). It was another great night which culminated in me making my way home to hit the ol’ hay.
Saturday morning came and it was off to the gym. Later that night I attended a house party in Venice with the guys. I started immediately by playing beer pong. “But Skeezy! You aren’t supposed to be drinking beer!” you say. That’s why we used jungle juice in the cups instead, baby girl! Once that was done I had a good swerve on and spent the night mingling and drinking. I didn’t get hammered but I did hit a point where I shouldn’t drive so I didn’t. I slept there until about 5:00 AM and then made my way home. Why didn’t I just ride home with the guys? That would be because the guys all left without saying anything. Oh, the adventure they had…except for Kendrick who, having reached the end of his tether, went home early.
Sunday came and it was time to make phone calls and help everyone piece together the night. I then picked up some baked chicken and made my way to Kyle’s pool where we dominated two games of Trivial Pursuit against these nice people we met. They were so nice, in fact, that they came back up to Kyle’s and made us dinner. A couple more friends joined us and we had some lovely pasta.
Monday, as usual, was back to the grind. Monday came and Monday went, leaving me here to stare Tuesday in the face. Wake, bathroom, scale, and found…
…I’d lost seven pounds. The brings me down to 289 and a total loss on the year of 82 pounds.
Whew! I finally cleared that 290 hurdle. Well hello there, 280’s. Nice to see you…for now.
Looks like that no beer thing helped, huh? In honor of that I have decided to announce the newest phase of the Big Skeezy Challenge 2011:
The 100 Pound Beer
What’s the 100 Pound Beer? Aside from sounding like the greatest beverage of all time, it’s a continuation of the experiment I embarked on last week. Until I reach 100 pounds LOST, I will not have a sip of beer. No beer at all. None. Zero. FML.
See you next week! Until then, keep your foot on the pedal.
