40 Pounds to Disneyland: The Vinylmation Trading Dash

 

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order.  

See my first 80 Pounds to Disneyland post for all the details.

Previous Post: 41 Pounds to Disneyland: It Could Have Been Worse

There are days where you wake up and have an idea so amazing, you know you have to try it immediately. Something that achieves multiple goals at once, and gives you an excuse to go to Disney World. I woke up this particular morning envisioning a way to exercise, get coverage for my writing on Vinylmation World, and hopefully wear myself out enough to sleep better than I had in days.

I was going to try something new, the Vinylmation Trading Dash. For those who don't understand the strange world of Vinylmation, the plastic figures are often sold in blind boxes, making it mostly random chance what figure you receive. To alleviate some of this randomness, Disney has provided one to two locations at each theme park where you can trade for either one of a few visible figures, or take a couple chances trading from a mystery box. This mostly results in receiving Vinylmation being clearanced at the outlet stores, but occasionally there's a hidden gem or two inside.

41 Pounds to Disneyland: It Could Have Been Worse

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order.  

See my first 80 Pounds to Disneyland post for all the details.

Previous Post: ? Pounds to Disneyland?: Changes

Next Post: 40 Pounds to Disneyland: The Vinylmation Trading Dash

This week is the first week that my wife and I have returned to decent eating habits and exercise. This is also one of the worst times of the year to return to healthy eating, as the annual Epcot Food and Wine Festival is ongoing. We've already indulged of it once, but I haven't completed my annual sampling of all the cheese platters available. I may have to starve myself for a week to compensate, but I will not be denied gourmet cheeses that would drive most people away with their scent alone.

Otherwise, getting back in to healthy eating isn't quite as intolerable as I feared. For one thing, it's been long enough that I no longer fear the site of Lean Cuisine boxes and have no more nightmares of salads consuming me. The reduced portions are proving problematic, but stomach shrinkage comes naturally over time. I have hope that this time I will make it to my goal.

? Pounds to Disneyland?: Changes

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order.  

See my first 80 Pounds to Disneyland post for all the details.

Previous Post: ? Pounds to Disneyland: The Hiatus

Next Post: 41 Pounds to Disneyland: It Could Have Been Worse

Last time I updated, the weight loss had gone on hiatus. This was a temporary delay while my wife recovered from her ankle injury. Soon, I would be headed back toward healthiness, working toward that grand goal of Disneyland.

Life had other plans, it seems. About the time my wife was able to walk normally again, I came down with a minor cough. This cough lingered for a week, then it proceeded to turn into a constant purge of lung-locked mucus. Fatigue and listlessness took over my body, and the days became a blur of barely conscious living. I finally gave into common sense and visited the doctor, who proudly announced like a game show host that I had a nasty case of bronchitis. A week of antibiotics, steroidal inhalers, and lots of rest later, I realized that another month had passed and my weight loss had started to reverse itself.

This isn't to say I'm giving up on my weight loss. Yesterday was the first day resuming my workout routine. I'm also back to eating healthier, something that's going to make life a little darker and less delicious for a while. However, I refuse to weigh myself until I've spent a couple weeks back in the routine. I know the first time weighing myself if going to be depressing, but I want the impact to be a little less severe. My natural reaction to bad news is to eat, after all.

Life with Theme Park Mice: The Plagues

Disney World draws people from all over the globe, every one of the 50 states, and quite possibly disguised extraterrestrial lifeforms. This mass of humanity brings together a wide array of languages and cultures to one place in a mostly harmonious fashion. All these people also happen to bring every virus and bacteria floating around their places of origin. It's like Epcot everywhere, except you're sampling the germs of the world rather than international boozes.

Some of the excessively optimistic tourists think they can avoid the plagues. They wash their hands constantly, carry hand sanitizer like a talisman against evil, and generally refuse to touch anything. Of course, eventually someone will cough in their vicinity, or they will have to reach for a railing to avoid falling.

Then, all those efforts are for nothing. Those people that are sick probably don't even realize it yet. Those that do realize probably don't care about infecting others. They handle every bit of the queues, touching props and jangling chains marking out the lines. They breathe the same air as you, standing much too close while shouting to people mere feet away. You will be exposed to the germs at some point, and eventually your immune system will break.

39 Pounds to Disneyland: Halfway There

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order.  

See my first 80 Pounds to Disneyland post for all the details.

Previous Post: 42 Pounds to Disneyland: The Wall
Next Post: ? Pounds to Disneyland: The Hiatus

Since the beginning of the year, I have already lost over 40 pounds of weight.  To put that in perspective, that's like a large sack of bird seed was constantly weighing down my body, and now it's been removed.  I feel lighter, look a little less bulbous, and fit into clothes that I kept claiming had shrunk in the dryer.

All these things excite me, of course.  However, what's really driving me now is the realization that I'm over halfway to getting to Disneyland.  Now I have less than 40 pounds to lose until I finally visit Walt's park, and it seems like an achievable goal.

All along I knew that I'd hit the wall, and my reward at the finish line was the inspiration that would get me through the malaise.  It worked like a charm.  Now I'm dedicated again to eating better and getting my daily exercise, because it's only a matter of time.  I will reach my goal, and I will have my trip, and I will try not to regain all the weight through vacation eating.

 

Of course, this means that I'm rekindling one of my old passions, trip planning.  Since I don't know exactly when I'll reach my goal, I can't book any hotels or flights, or buy tickets, or really do anything that's productive.  Ignoring logic, I'm still starting the process because it's fun.  I've already purchased some guidebooks and will read them front to back to front again.  It can only increase my anticipation, and thus I will drive myself harder to reach my goal.  I'm over halfway to Disneyland, even if I'm two thousand miles away.

42 Pounds to Disneyland: The Wall

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order.  

See my first 80 Pounds to Disneyland post for all the details.

Previous Post: 46 Pounds to Disneyland: The Disney World Crawl
Next Post: 39 Pounds to Disneyland: Halfway There

I am a little over 42 pounds away from my weight loss goal.  One week ago, I was a little over 42 pounds away.  I'm pretty sure tomorrow it'll be 43 or 44 pounds.  After 3 months of mostly consistent progress, my diet/lifestyle change/size reduction has finally hit the wall.  It's that horrible time when progress seems to stagnate, effort dries up, and my dear friends apathy and distraction come around to visit.

Generally speaking, I'm surprised it took this long.  My entire life I've been a stress eater, which is a horrible vicious cycle.  If your immediate reaction to being called fat and ugly is to eat something unhealthy, you feel doomed to follow a terrible cycle, and feeling doomed also makes you eat.  While I'd never say my life is bad, trying to help support the household through inconsistent freelance work while looking for a more stable job position is stressful.  In addition, working from home means any time I'm agitated, depressed, or just bored, there's a refrigerator and a full cupboard waiting for me downstairs.  For a while I resisted the alluring hum of the fridge, but I'm finding myself inexplicably staring inside it far too often lately.

46 Pounds to Disneyland: The Disney World Crawl

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order.  

See my first 80 Pounds to Disneyland post for all the details.

Previous Post: 55 Pounds to Disneyland: An Apology to the Manatees

Next Post: 42 Pounds to Disneyland: The Wall

One of the problems with working from home is that it's hard to stay active.  Trapped inside all day with little reason to leave the house, it's extremely easy to get into a pattern of sloth.  I've been using Wii Fit to get a daily dose of exercise, but even that grows tedious after a while.  There comes a day where you just have to leave the house before you go mad or sink into a listless, coma-like state. Those are the days where I do the Disney World crawl.

This is not visiting the parks in any kind of sane sense.  When I performed this ritual yesterday, I rode zero attractions, watched no shows, and barely stopped moving for more than a minute at a time.  While I usually do have some reason for these bouts of madness, such as taking photos to go with my writing, the greater purpose is to keep moving and keep up the heart rate.

Food Finds: Earl of Sandwich

Finding healthier, or at least fresher, food options at Disney World is not always easy.  While most full service restaurants have decent variety and quality of food, their prices are high and reservations are near impossible to obtain without advanced planning.  Quick service restaurants often have limited selection with only one or two options that aren't fried, greasy, or fat filled.  During the mealtime rush, food is also prepared in huge batches with speed taking precedence over quality, sometimes even thorough cooking.

It's no surprise, then, that Earl of Sandwich in Dowtown Disney's Marketplace is packed full every lunch and dinner.  The photo above was taken at dinner on a Tuesday during the slow season.  Many of the full service restaurants still had seating available, yet the Earl had a line nearly out the door.  Why is this place so popular?  Because it has fresh, hot, amazing sandwiches for $6 each.

55 Pounds to Disneyland: An Apology to the Manatees

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order.  

See my first 80 Pounds to Disneyland post for all the details.

Previous Post: 60 Pounds to Disneyland: 7 Reasons to Lose the Fat

Next Post: 46 Pounds to Disneyland: The Disney World Crawl

In general, I consider myself a relatively enlightened person.  I try not to judge others, consider all sides of issues equally, and above all not hold prejudices.  Thus, I find it horrifying that I have perpetuated a stereotype.  I have compared my excessive poundage to that of an innocent victim that deserves no such shame.  The truth of the matter is: I was wrong, manatees are not fat, even if I am.

The worst part of spreading this lie is that I knew manatees were just naturally large creatures, with very minimal body fat.  For some reason, I continued to claim they are filled with blubber, like me, and not the relatively healthy, if slow moving, creatures they are.  These are beautiful animals, though I still don't know how they were once mistaken for mermaids.  I guess when you're a dehydrated, cabin feverish, rum besotted, scurvy ridden, possibly one eyed pirate, anything looks attractive compared to a fellow pirate.

60 Pounds to Disneyland: 7 Reasons to Lose the Fat

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order.  

See my first 80 Pounds to Disneyland post for all the details.

Previous Post: 75 Pounds to Disneyland: Temptation Strikes

Next Post: 55 Pounds to Disneyland: An Apology to the Manatees

I've been fat most of my life.  I could use kinder language about myself and deny the harsh truth, but it has been decades since I could be considered a proper weight and years since the last time I wasn't obese.  With all that time spent being a porker, then, I can say that I've found lots of reasons, both petty and important, for shedding those miserable pounds.

1.  I'd Like to Not Die Young- I'll start with the obvious.  Of course, there's no way to be certain in life.  Tomorrow I could find myself struck by lighting while being attacked by a vicious dachshund while falling overboard on it's a small world.  Not sure how I get struck by lightning while inside a building, but that's not important.  My point is that life is unpredictable.  However, I can predict that 150 pounds of extra weight is only going to shorten that unpredictable life and increase the chance that the words "heart attack" or "diabetes" will be part of my obituary.

75 Pounds to Disneyland: Temptation Strikes

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order.  

See my first 80 Pounds to Disneyland post for all the details.

Previous Post: 80 Pounds to Disneyland

Next Post: 60 Pounds to Disneyland: 7 Reasons to Lose the Fat

The Disney Parks are both a great benefit and detriment to my weight loss.  They definitely give me a reason to be active and walk miles upon miles at a time, especially when my favorite rides are on the opposite ends of the park.  I don't mind exercise when I trick myself into doing it.

However, I also find something more than just exercise while walking these theme parks.  I'm forced to pass numerous restaurants, snack stands, and carts peddling the most decadent desserts and foods known to man.  Humongous cupcakes, massive sundays, french fries with unlimited cheese sauce, burgers topped with onion rings and bacon and grease, all these things tempt me as I try to improve myself.

80 Pounds to Disneyland

 

The continuing tales of one chunky Disney fan's personal quest to lose 80 pounds and visit Disneyland, in that order. 

Next Post: 75 Pounds to Disneyland: Temptation Strikes

There are two things that have retained their pull from my childhood and continue to influence my life.  One is a fascination with the Disney company.  The other is a fascination with food.  The former mostly just drains my wallet, but the latter has resulted in an ever-expanding waistline.  Late last year, I finally exceeded the 300 pound mark, obliterating any excuses that I hadn't gained that much since the last time I weighed myself.

The problem then became not how to lose weight, but rather how to keep myself motivated.  Saying I was going to stay active and eat healthier is easy enough.  Actually following through, as time to exercise shrank and the wonderfully tasty theme park food continued to call to me, was a far more difficult proposition.  I once shrank 60 pounds just by being too active to think about food, while interning one summer in London.  Once I returned home to the usual grind, my weight resumed its steady march upward.