weight loss 2 Comments

Diet & Fitness Update: Weekends Are A Bitch

As I mentioned earlier, I’m going to start being more diligent about my weekends. It’s really not that hard: take a scrap of paper and a pen along and write down everything I eat.

Saturday wasn’t all that bad. Lunch was Panera, and dinner was Applebee’s. Panera has their nutritional info online; Applebee’s was more of a guesstimate. I ended up at the low end of my recommended calorie range (by SparkPeople standards, between 1510 and 1860). Didn’t exercise, only drank six glasses of water. Still not horrible for a weekend.

Sunday was another story, and it was screwed by one poor decision: lunch at Red Lobster. See, Aaron had this idea that I could pay for lunch, since I had cash in my wallet leftover from an ATM run before a con back in January.* (I rarely use cash anymore.) So, since I was paying, I decided we were going all out.

I honestly didn’t make a very concerted effort to be good; I was kind of curious what kind of calories and carbs I’d end up eating if I just ate a nice lunch at Red Lobster. So, I did. And I ended up eating as many calories as I should have eaten in one whole day, from what I can tell. I tracked what I could; the piña colada dipping sauce was nearly impossible to track for nutritional info, as Red Lobster doesn’t publish theirs, either.

Dinner, while low-carb, was NOT low-cal. My half-pound Schnuth-made burger had more calories than the fried shrimp I had for lunch, and helped me rack up about 2700 calories today. Again, no exercise, but I did at least drink my eight glasses of water.

The lesson here, for me, is: 1.) always track my food on the weekends, because it makes me more aware of what I’m shoveling in; 2.) eat simple: just say no to the heavy sauces and appetizers; and 3.) look at the big picture. One day does not a failure make. I’ll get back to my normal, healthy groove tomorrow, and soon I’ll learn how to avoid losing my groove on the weekends.

Learning experience. Identifying issues. Planning solutions. I’ll see 165 lbs eventually, and it’ll be effin’ sweet. Hell, seeing 190 before our Japan vacation will be pretty effin’ sweet, for that matter.

*Turns out that I did not, in fact, have the fifty dollars cash on hand like I thought I did. I ended up paying with my debit card and leaving a hefty cash tip, instead. Still have a little cash in the wallet, which is good for emergencies, I suppose.

webdesign

Step One Complete

Four composites are now completed and posted on a private website for my client to peruse. One of them totally sucks, one could become something decent, and two of them are actually not bad. Truth be told, I really like one of them, but it’s the most totally boring one of the lot. Says something about my style and personality, maybe, that I prefer the muted and beige and straitlaced design over the one(s) with bold colors and rounded corners and other elements I don’t usually use.

I sent the link to my clients around 9pm this evening; my self-imposed deadline was tomorrow. I said I’d have a completed website in four to six weeks once we finalize the design, and I think that sounds completely reasonable. The only issue is going to be figuring out how to allow them to make additions to content without using a database. (From what I can tell, it would cost extra on their hosting plan.) Their usual modus operandi is Frontpage, as I’ve mentioned before, and I’m afraid it would wreak havoc on any design I would throw out there.

We’ll come up with something. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

webdesign 2 Comments

Definitely A Learning Experience

I gave myself one week to come up with three to five composites for my website redesign client. No problem — I did similar projects with similar deadlines in college. VCT, graphic design, yeah. No problem.

I hate all of my ideas.

No, let me rephrase: I can’t seem to translate the ideas in my head to something that looks good on-screen. I feel like I’m missing lots of the finer details and the subtleties that I admire in other designers. Shadows, patterns, gradients, tiny lines and shapes and ornamentations that just aren’t popping into my head. The 4×3″ ballpoint pen drawings look like drawings of decent web page designs; my Photoshop comps look like a VCT 102 student put them together.

Maybe trying to take design cues from my favorite designers isn’t the best way to go. Maybe I’m being too hard on myself because of it. In any case, I have one evening and two weekend days to finish at least one and a half comps, if not more, and preferably improve on what I already have completed. If I have to give them crap and say they’re first drafts, I will, but I’d rather give them awesome comps and just let them choose what kind of website they want.

It’s just so frustrating. I finally have the opportunity to wow a client with my flair… and now… *pfft*

health & fitness

Quick Observations

Being creative on behalf of someone else is challenging. I’m designing for the opposite of my normal style: bold colors, fun, and purple. I have four detailed thumbnails complete, and I only think two of them are “fun”. I’ve started making the funnest one into a composite in Photoshop, and it’s started to take on a mind of its own. It’s very yellow… to go with the purple, of course.

Also: I am reminded once again that my beginning kickboxing workout is teh awesome. Even at 8pm.

If you’re interested in checking up on me, SparkPeople has made the diet and exercise logging public (per member’s discretion). If you really, REALLY want to know if I took my walk today, or how much I ate, or if I gave in and made macaroni for dinner, you’re welcome to look.

(And if you DO look, I know that today’s calories are scant. Don’t fret; I’m not making a habit of eating under 800 calories a day. I just didn’t pack a proper lunch today.)

I got James at work to join up on SparkPeople, and we’re planning to have some friendly diet/fitness competition. I’m not sure what kind of competition we’ll come up with, but I’m sure we’ll figure out something fun.