This week should be a great weight loss week for me! Listed below is what activities I have in store for myself…
Monday:
Couch 2 5K run in the AM (419 calories burned)
Very Brisk 20 minute walk (222 calories burned)
Softball Practice (831 calories burned)
Guitar Practice (83 calories burned)
Tuesday:
2 Very Brisk 20 minute walks (444 calories burned)
Softball Game(1029 calories burned))
Guitar lesson (96 calories burned)
Wednesday:
Couch 2 5K run in the AM (419 calories burned)
2 Very Brisk 20 minute walks (444 calories burned)
Lawn Mowing(1157 calories burned))
Guitar Practice (83 calories burned)
Thursday: (light day)
2 Very Brisk 20 minute walks (444 calories burned)
Friday:
Couch 2 5K run in the AM (419 calories burned)
Very Brisk 20 minute walk (222 calories burned)
Guitar Practice (83 calories burned)
Saturday:
Very Brisk 20 minute walk (222 calories burned)
Assisting with Wedding Reception setup (estimated 600 calories burned)
Sunday:
Couch 2 5K run in the AM (529 calories burned)
2 Very Brisk 20 minute walks (444 calories burned)
Guitar Practice (83 calories burned)
Holy crap; that’s 8273 calories burned in 7 days! I’m allowed to eat 15,561 (2,223 a day) calories during that span to lose 1-2lbs a week. I’m looking at or around a 5-7lb of total weight loss if I’m lucky with the extra activities.
As of this posting, I’m hovering between 346-348lbs. The weight all depends on the time of day, food consumed, etc. I’m hoping to reach my 1st goal of 330lbs by the end of July; thus far I’m ahead of schedule.
9 days left until veggie month reaches it’s conclusion. In my opinion, it’s just not for me. I feel as if I’m eating mostly carbs and dairy with some fruit mixed in. I do eat some vegetables and meatless products but in my case it feels as if I’m impeding my weight loss. Regardless, I’ve learned a lot about the lifestyle and what I can tolerate.
Until the next post,
Bill
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Eating Vegetarian (Kind Of)
Even though I’m succeeding at not eating meat, I’m not so certain I would be considered a solid vegetarian. I eat more fruit then I ever used to, a lot of dairy (which makes me a certain type of vegetarian by the way) and a ton of bread/carbs. I don’t eat enough veggies though. Brussels’ sprouts are ok. Some salads are ok, although I don’t like the vinegar dressings. Tomatoes and potatoes? Not an issue. I just don’t like the standard fare of veggies that are out there. I’m still working on it…
There are a few meatless “meat” products that aren’t so bad however. Max and Erma’s have a Black Bean Veggie burger that’s out of sight. Quorn has pretty decent Chick’N patties and that’s reviewed on this site. I’m still surprised at the amount of choice, as well as the amount of dollars needed to do this.
A few other interesting notes:
You have to be careful when eating out and requesting food; most soups have a beef or chicken stock base and that’s a no-no.
Vegetarian fare doesn’t necessarily mean lower calories. Some alternate forms of food for vegetarians hold more sodium and sugar to amp up flavors.
Many places still don’t have a decent vegetarian menu; clearly a sign of supply and demand.
On the dieting front:
I’m down to 349lbs! that’s 27lbs in 6 weeks folks!
Couch 2 5K is a bitch. But it’s working!
A Friend of mine and his Wife, Mike and Christina started a weekly conference call to help all of our friends to lose weight in 4 weeks. Kudos to them; the support really helps.
If it doesn't rain tomorrow morning, it's couch 2 5k time; otherwise I get to spend time with Mr. Elipticle!
More tomorrow!
Regards,
Bill
There are a few meatless “meat” products that aren’t so bad however. Max and Erma’s have a Black Bean Veggie burger that’s out of sight. Quorn has pretty decent Chick’N patties and that’s reviewed on this site. I’m still surprised at the amount of choice, as well as the amount of dollars needed to do this.
A few other interesting notes:
You have to be careful when eating out and requesting food; most soups have a beef or chicken stock base and that’s a no-no.
Vegetarian fare doesn’t necessarily mean lower calories. Some alternate forms of food for vegetarians hold more sodium and sugar to amp up flavors.
Many places still don’t have a decent vegetarian menu; clearly a sign of supply and demand.
On the dieting front:
I’m down to 349lbs! that’s 27lbs in 6 weeks folks!
Couch 2 5K is a bitch. But it’s working!
A Friend of mine and his Wife, Mike and Christina started a weekly conference call to help all of our friends to lose weight in 4 weeks. Kudos to them; the support really helps.
If it doesn't rain tomorrow morning, it's couch 2 5k time; otherwise I get to spend time with Mr. Elipticle!
More tomorrow!
Regards,
Bill
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Dick Genthe Service Center Debacle
Sometimes stories can transcend genres. Even though this is a blog entry about dieting, I felt a need to share this experience, during which I lost about 50 IQ points as well as 6 hours I’ll never get back.
Last week, my wife Angela called me on Wednesday during the monsoon that briefly passed. Her front passenger side tire was flat and she wasn’t sure what course to take. We lease a 2008 Saturn outlook and the tires are about as tall as she is so changing it by herself was not an option. Also, since no flotation devices were handy, she didn’t want to chance the flash flood that Pelham road was becoming so she called Onstar and found out we have free roadside assistance (thank God). The serviceman came out and tossed the spare on the vehicle and Angela started to make some phone calls, the first of which was to our new service center at Dick Genthe in Southgate.
I need to provide some background info here:
Our previous issue with the vehicle was handled by Saturn dealerships. About 3 months ago, Angela was driving to work after an overnight rainstorm. As she turned a corner, about a foot of water gushed out of the airbag slots dousing my wife. This did wonders for my wife’s state of mind and I was treated with a profanity laced call about the leak. I researched the issue while she was at work and discovered that there are sunroof water egress tubes that channel any excess water from the sunroof channel to the frame and out of the bottom of the car. These tubes were prone to get out of position and cause the water to flow in the cabin ceiling cavity, often flowing to the airbag placements and dome lights.
Armed with this info and the knowledge that Saturn was fixing these at no cost I took the car to Saturn of Southgate. After acting as if they knew nothing about it, they “found” the issue I was reporting and agreed to fix it. I had to go back again upon repair to have them fix some items they knocked out of place.
Saturn recently went belly-up and notified us that if service was needed on our leased vehicle, we were to take it to an “authorized Saturn Service Center” the closest of which was a GM dealership called Dick Genthe. Since this new dealership was closer than the Saturn one was, we were happy with choosing them. Saturn also provided us with 4 free oil changes, which for our vehicle was for the remainder of the lease. Pretty nice eh?
Once we transitioned to Genthe, I took the vehicle in for the first oil change and was told that they had not heard of the promotion from Saturn. Luckily, I had brought the e-mail along and after some lip chewing and brow furrowing they agreed to do it. I sat in the waiting room for 2 hours waiting for them to change the oil. Not a good start.
I also want to mention that the Hertz rental car place that is located there is a complete joke. They rarely have cars available and the ones they do have look like wind-up toy cars. My wife had arranged for a larger vehicle for work (she totes 3 children around at times) and was told that “all of the big cars are being used; it’s spring break you know…”.
Then, a few weeks later, we noticed a terrible grinding noise coming from our power steering area. We took it in and were told that the repairs could be extensive. We at first were given an impala to drive, and then a LaCrosse. The reason for this was we were told to come back and grab the vehicle but then were told that it wasn’t ready.
Anywho, that leads us back to the newest form of lunacy.
Angela called Genthe and inquired about getting in for repairs. They informed her that they could fit her in, but the cost for a new tire would be over $330 with labor. They never mentioned that they would look into fixing the tire. Angela called Belle tire and they said “bring it in, we’ll look at it”. Ang took it there and they claimed a rim leak was likely causing the issue and that it would cost about 250 for a new tire if she wanted one. They felt it was in good enough shape to drive and last awhile. This took about 30 minutes and cost us nothing. Way to go Belle Tire!
We decided to hold off on going to Genthe; we were assured that the tire was ok and would probably need very minor repairs.
Everything was hunky-dorey until Monday morning when Angela was about to go to work. The same tire was flat, so she contacted Onstar again and they replaced the flat, again. I was then marshaled to leave work early and go to Dick Genthe in the hopes of avoiding another day off of work. I arrived at the dealership at 6pm. I was assisted by Dave Lozon, a service rep. The service area was slow and I had hopes of a quick resolution. Fat chance. Dave asked about the problem and I informed him that it was a flat tire in need of investigation. Dave got into the cabin of the car and was initially unable to read the mileage due to the tire sensor error message. He claimed he was new and wasn’t used to the cars. I explained that I felt that the leak was likely coming from the rim or a screw hole that I pointed out. They had me remove and then replace the tire from the back of the vehicle and then they pulled it into the service bay. After a while, I walked out to see what the delay was and was told that they were just getting to it. This was at 7pm. At 7:45pm, I was told that the issue was a leaking Valve stem/tire sensor and that the part was not at the location; they’d get it tomorrow. As dave was telling me this, the tech ran out and said that they did have the part and he could put it on “real quick”. Dave told him that they were close to closing and that he had other cars to handle. He then asked if we could come in first thing the next day to finish the repairs. I informed him that my wife would be there and that she had to leave no later than 9:30am for work. I was assured that this would not be an issue. I then limped the car home to an unhappy wife who now had to get up at the crack of dawn.
Angela got there at 6:45am and didn’t leave until 9:15am. The car sat in the receiving bay until 8am or so; it appears that the techs don’t arrive until 7:30am or “around there”. They fixed the tire, explained that the tire sensors would likely never work properly again and sent her on her way. Angela immediately noticed a hard pull to the right of the car and the spare tire still in the back seat; they never replaced it. Angela called Dave back and he said that he didn’t know what the issue could be. When Angela mentioned that the donut was still in the back seat and not replaced, he said “well isn’t that funny…”. Angela had had it at this point and was ready to go postal on them so she called me instead.
I decided to take the direct approach and call the service manager, Dennis. Dennis answered and was very contrite. He explained that this was not the first time the donut was not replaced by this tech and that it should never happen. He was also apologetic about Dave’s lackadaisical attitude and after some work scheduled me to head back there a third time for repairs. He also promised to hold a Malibu at the rental place for me just in case.
On Thursday, I arrived at 6:50am. I was assisted by a service rep named Micheal who had no idea about why I was there. After spending some time investigating the account and interrogating me, he was able to get the car into the service bay. This occurred between 7am-7:40am. Dave touched base with me a few times, explaining the delays and what they thought the issue was. They basically had to re-align my car. The Hertz guy came by and was actually cool enough to hold the car Dennis promised until it was deemed that I’d need it.
At 9:30 my car was ready. I filled out the paperwork (everything was covered because of the lease) and they also corrected a wiper fluid recall while onsite. I was optimistic when the car pulled up, but also wanted to check things out. I asked the driver to wait and I checked the back seat. Lo and behold; the damn spare was still sitting there. I asked them (again) to place it back on the car and paced in disgust until they pulled it back around. That was at 9:50am. At no time did Dennis speak to me personally about the issues I was having. He did a decent job of trying to fix the issues that occurred, but at no time did I feel that this was an escalated issue.
No one should ever have to spend almost 10 hours at a service center for what essentially was a flat tire issue. The fact that we had to go back 3 times and explain 3 times what the issue was is ridiculous. I am currently looking for a new service center. I don’t think I’ll be buying a GM now either because of this. My Ford Dealership service center has never had these issues. I’ve also discovered that Dick Genthe has a history of these issues.
What a mess…
Last week, my wife Angela called me on Wednesday during the monsoon that briefly passed. Her front passenger side tire was flat and she wasn’t sure what course to take. We lease a 2008 Saturn outlook and the tires are about as tall as she is so changing it by herself was not an option. Also, since no flotation devices were handy, she didn’t want to chance the flash flood that Pelham road was becoming so she called Onstar and found out we have free roadside assistance (thank God). The serviceman came out and tossed the spare on the vehicle and Angela started to make some phone calls, the first of which was to our new service center at Dick Genthe in Southgate.
I need to provide some background info here:
Our previous issue with the vehicle was handled by Saturn dealerships. About 3 months ago, Angela was driving to work after an overnight rainstorm. As she turned a corner, about a foot of water gushed out of the airbag slots dousing my wife. This did wonders for my wife’s state of mind and I was treated with a profanity laced call about the leak. I researched the issue while she was at work and discovered that there are sunroof water egress tubes that channel any excess water from the sunroof channel to the frame and out of the bottom of the car. These tubes were prone to get out of position and cause the water to flow in the cabin ceiling cavity, often flowing to the airbag placements and dome lights.
Armed with this info and the knowledge that Saturn was fixing these at no cost I took the car to Saturn of Southgate. After acting as if they knew nothing about it, they “found” the issue I was reporting and agreed to fix it. I had to go back again upon repair to have them fix some items they knocked out of place.
Saturn recently went belly-up and notified us that if service was needed on our leased vehicle, we were to take it to an “authorized Saturn Service Center” the closest of which was a GM dealership called Dick Genthe. Since this new dealership was closer than the Saturn one was, we were happy with choosing them. Saturn also provided us with 4 free oil changes, which for our vehicle was for the remainder of the lease. Pretty nice eh?
Once we transitioned to Genthe, I took the vehicle in for the first oil change and was told that they had not heard of the promotion from Saturn. Luckily, I had brought the e-mail along and after some lip chewing and brow furrowing they agreed to do it. I sat in the waiting room for 2 hours waiting for them to change the oil. Not a good start.
I also want to mention that the Hertz rental car place that is located there is a complete joke. They rarely have cars available and the ones they do have look like wind-up toy cars. My wife had arranged for a larger vehicle for work (she totes 3 children around at times) and was told that “all of the big cars are being used; it’s spring break you know…”.
Then, a few weeks later, we noticed a terrible grinding noise coming from our power steering area. We took it in and were told that the repairs could be extensive. We at first were given an impala to drive, and then a LaCrosse. The reason for this was we were told to come back and grab the vehicle but then were told that it wasn’t ready.
Anywho, that leads us back to the newest form of lunacy.
Angela called Genthe and inquired about getting in for repairs. They informed her that they could fit her in, but the cost for a new tire would be over $330 with labor. They never mentioned that they would look into fixing the tire. Angela called Belle tire and they said “bring it in, we’ll look at it”. Ang took it there and they claimed a rim leak was likely causing the issue and that it would cost about 250 for a new tire if she wanted one. They felt it was in good enough shape to drive and last awhile. This took about 30 minutes and cost us nothing. Way to go Belle Tire!
We decided to hold off on going to Genthe; we were assured that the tire was ok and would probably need very minor repairs.
Everything was hunky-dorey until Monday morning when Angela was about to go to work. The same tire was flat, so she contacted Onstar again and they replaced the flat, again. I was then marshaled to leave work early and go to Dick Genthe in the hopes of avoiding another day off of work. I arrived at the dealership at 6pm. I was assisted by Dave Lozon, a service rep. The service area was slow and I had hopes of a quick resolution. Fat chance. Dave asked about the problem and I informed him that it was a flat tire in need of investigation. Dave got into the cabin of the car and was initially unable to read the mileage due to the tire sensor error message. He claimed he was new and wasn’t used to the cars. I explained that I felt that the leak was likely coming from the rim or a screw hole that I pointed out. They had me remove and then replace the tire from the back of the vehicle and then they pulled it into the service bay. After a while, I walked out to see what the delay was and was told that they were just getting to it. This was at 7pm. At 7:45pm, I was told that the issue was a leaking Valve stem/tire sensor and that the part was not at the location; they’d get it tomorrow. As dave was telling me this, the tech ran out and said that they did have the part and he could put it on “real quick”. Dave told him that they were close to closing and that he had other cars to handle. He then asked if we could come in first thing the next day to finish the repairs. I informed him that my wife would be there and that she had to leave no later than 9:30am for work. I was assured that this would not be an issue. I then limped the car home to an unhappy wife who now had to get up at the crack of dawn.
Angela got there at 6:45am and didn’t leave until 9:15am. The car sat in the receiving bay until 8am or so; it appears that the techs don’t arrive until 7:30am or “around there”. They fixed the tire, explained that the tire sensors would likely never work properly again and sent her on her way. Angela immediately noticed a hard pull to the right of the car and the spare tire still in the back seat; they never replaced it. Angela called Dave back and he said that he didn’t know what the issue could be. When Angela mentioned that the donut was still in the back seat and not replaced, he said “well isn’t that funny…”. Angela had had it at this point and was ready to go postal on them so she called me instead.
I decided to take the direct approach and call the service manager, Dennis. Dennis answered and was very contrite. He explained that this was not the first time the donut was not replaced by this tech and that it should never happen. He was also apologetic about Dave’s lackadaisical attitude and after some work scheduled me to head back there a third time for repairs. He also promised to hold a Malibu at the rental place for me just in case.
On Thursday, I arrived at 6:50am. I was assisted by a service rep named Micheal who had no idea about why I was there. After spending some time investigating the account and interrogating me, he was able to get the car into the service bay. This occurred between 7am-7:40am. Dave touched base with me a few times, explaining the delays and what they thought the issue was. They basically had to re-align my car. The Hertz guy came by and was actually cool enough to hold the car Dennis promised until it was deemed that I’d need it.
At 9:30 my car was ready. I filled out the paperwork (everything was covered because of the lease) and they also corrected a wiper fluid recall while onsite. I was optimistic when the car pulled up, but also wanted to check things out. I asked the driver to wait and I checked the back seat. Lo and behold; the damn spare was still sitting there. I asked them (again) to place it back on the car and paced in disgust until they pulled it back around. That was at 9:50am. At no time did Dennis speak to me personally about the issues I was having. He did a decent job of trying to fix the issues that occurred, but at no time did I feel that this was an escalated issue.
No one should ever have to spend almost 10 hours at a service center for what essentially was a flat tire issue. The fact that we had to go back 3 times and explain 3 times what the issue was is ridiculous. I am currently looking for a new service center. I don’t think I’ll be buying a GM now either because of this. My Ford Dealership service center has never had these issues. I’ve also discovered that Dick Genthe has a history of these issues.
What a mess…
Thursday, June 10, 2010
It’s been awhile so let’s catch up:
Almost 2 weeks ago I posted a few articles about weight loss and tips that could help. Now that I’m vegetarian until 6/30/2010, I’m trying to utilize that to the fullest.
I’ve boosted my water intake by 50%. I now drink about 6 glasses of water daily to offset hunger pangs.
I’ve tried to eat bigger breakfasts as well to pump up the metabolism that’s been mothballed for 4 years.
I’ve increased my workout regiment as well.
So…
I’m currently at 359lbs on the GNC scale and 351lbs on the home scale (with no clothes). Clearly, my clothing has a significant impact on my weigh-ins so I’ll be using the home scale now instead and taking photos for proof. Since I started in May, I’ve gone from 376lbs to 351lbs. That’s 25lbs in 6 weeks folks; not to shabby. Now with my current dietary intake I should be dropping faster yes? Not so fast. Last week’s weight loss was a measly 1lb. Looks like I hit that darn plateau.
To break through, I’m consistently using Couch 2 5K and Fitness USA. Couch 2 5K has been amazing for me from an endurance point of view. Also, once I swat away the annoying Gym rats at Fitness USA, I get a decent workout as well. Every time I go in there though, I keep getting asked if I want a personal trainer. Or a personal one on one with the people who monitor the gym. Or a pet monkey. It’s always something. VERY annoying. I will say that it’s been very hard to make time to work out; something always seems to come up. A flat tire on Angela’s car; more on that tomorrow, work, fatigue and personal events. It’s starting to die down so I’ll be back on track this weekend.
Going veggie has been a challenge. I’ve pulled into a few fast food places, only to skulk away in shame. I haven’t had any meat at all but the very fact I pulled into them was bad enough.
I’ve also only tried a few veggies since I started. I’ve realized that I’m still not a big fan. Yet the interesting thing is that I can tolerate eating less meat, which I never thought I’d say. I’m eating a whole lot better and seem to feel better overall except for one thing. I really feel very fatigued at night or of I only get 6-7 hours of sleep. That never was a problem before but now it is. It may be due to the lack of consistent protein. I’ll be looking into that.
My clothes fit very loose now and I’ve also reached the tweener stage of sizes. Right now I’m between 4xlt and 3xlt. My face has also gotten slimmer; I look less and less like Bluto and more like myself. Looking at photographs from early this year, the changes are noticeable.
That’s it for now; I’ll have more tomorrow and describe to you the hell that is Dick Genthe Automotive services. Also, keep an eye out for a few reviews; as it’s veggie month I’ve got some interesting items to tell you about.
I’ve boosted my water intake by 50%. I now drink about 6 glasses of water daily to offset hunger pangs.
I’ve tried to eat bigger breakfasts as well to pump up the metabolism that’s been mothballed for 4 years.
I’ve increased my workout regiment as well.
So…
I’m currently at 359lbs on the GNC scale and 351lbs on the home scale (with no clothes). Clearly, my clothing has a significant impact on my weigh-ins so I’ll be using the home scale now instead and taking photos for proof. Since I started in May, I’ve gone from 376lbs to 351lbs. That’s 25lbs in 6 weeks folks; not to shabby. Now with my current dietary intake I should be dropping faster yes? Not so fast. Last week’s weight loss was a measly 1lb. Looks like I hit that darn plateau.
To break through, I’m consistently using Couch 2 5K and Fitness USA. Couch 2 5K has been amazing for me from an endurance point of view. Also, once I swat away the annoying Gym rats at Fitness USA, I get a decent workout as well. Every time I go in there though, I keep getting asked if I want a personal trainer. Or a personal one on one with the people who monitor the gym. Or a pet monkey. It’s always something. VERY annoying. I will say that it’s been very hard to make time to work out; something always seems to come up. A flat tire on Angela’s car; more on that tomorrow, work, fatigue and personal events. It’s starting to die down so I’ll be back on track this weekend.
Going veggie has been a challenge. I’ve pulled into a few fast food places, only to skulk away in shame. I haven’t had any meat at all but the very fact I pulled into them was bad enough.
I’ve also only tried a few veggies since I started. I’ve realized that I’m still not a big fan. Yet the interesting thing is that I can tolerate eating less meat, which I never thought I’d say. I’m eating a whole lot better and seem to feel better overall except for one thing. I really feel very fatigued at night or of I only get 6-7 hours of sleep. That never was a problem before but now it is. It may be due to the lack of consistent protein. I’ll be looking into that.
My clothes fit very loose now and I’ve also reached the tweener stage of sizes. Right now I’m between 4xlt and 3xlt. My face has also gotten slimmer; I look less and less like Bluto and more like myself. Looking at photographs from early this year, the changes are noticeable.
That’s it for now; I’ll have more tomorrow and describe to you the hell that is Dick Genthe Automotive services. Also, keep an eye out for a few reviews; as it’s veggie month I’ve got some interesting items to tell you about.
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