Day 59 Weighing in and not taking my own advice.

The fifty ninth day went good as far as the intake goes, I tried to spread the food out so that I ate every 2 hours or so, and got to 1372 calories for the day. I feel like I ate balanced enough and the day felt ok.

I thought Friday would never get here so that I can get an official weigh in for this dismal week. At the beginning of the week I was fully expecting to get by my second mini goal which was to be under 479 lbs which would have been my last known weight from about 6 years ago, but I cannot say that I made that goal this week. close but no cigar. I weighed in at 483 lbs last Friday and would have been more than ecstatic to get under that 479 mark this week, but I only made it down to 481lbs (480.8 actually but I am rounding) for the week, so thats only a 2lb loss. countless times I have told people via email, posts in forums or responses to blogs that 2lb loss in a week is a good loss, I can't take my own advice and support and knowledge to heart I guess, because 2lbs does not feel good to me at this point. I DO know that a 2lb loss is totally acceptable, but it just feels bleh to me right now. Hopefully I am just in some kind of slow down period that my body is forcing me into and the faster losses will come back this week, but if not I need to adjust my senses to realize that 2lbs is OK.

This 1983 Suzuki GS650 weighs in at 481 lbs

Nothing inspirational, nothing too witty for today, I am not unhappy, because a loss is a loss. nothing in the rule book says I have to be 100% happy with a 2lb loss right? also I did meet my cardio goal for the month and I am 45 push ups away from the push ups goal for the month (which I will meet after todays work out) so I am happy for meeting the work out goals I set for myself in the beginning of the month. with that I will give you the menu for the day.

02/28/2008

Breakfast
8:45 AM
8oz dannon light yogurt 90

10:00 AM
1 tbsp peanut butter 100
1 banana 105

Lunch
12:00 PM
1 progresso light soup 120
5 wheat ritz crackers 70

3:00 PM
4oz baked potato (home made french fries) 110
1 tbsp ketchup 20

4:15 PM
1oz Vermont sharp cheddar 110
8 wheat ritz crackers 112

Dinner
6:45 PM
2 grilled Gortons fish fillets 200
3/4 cup cooked white rice 150
1 cup fresh frozen corn 150
1 pat butter 35

Grand total of 1372 calories for the day, I kind of feel like I want to try something different this week like eating 1600 calories per day to see if it changes anything, and I feel like I should go one more week as is and see what happens. I will decide as the day goes on. I plan on researching it a bit on the net today and deciding the course of the week on my findings. I wish I could take my own advice and my own supportive messages about 2lbs being a good loss, I guess I am just spoiled by the big numbers I had been putting up..or should I say down.

As Ever
Me

Day 58

A new day, I cannot say that I am not still irritated at the weight loss, or lack there of, but I am not annoyed any more. I have to keep in mind that there is not a set amount of weight that will come off within any given week and that I am going to have slower weeks. oh well it is what it is. I believe as long as I keep my intake moderate and my exercise daily that my body will have no choice but to submit to my new ways, because I am not going back to the old way. if it comes off 1lb at a time I am going to have to be ok with it because thats just how it works sometimes. I went to bed at 10:30pm last night and slept through to 6:55am and thats the plan for tonight as well. my routine will remain unchanged for now, I want to see if this lull continues into next week or if its just that, a lull. being negative will do nothing for me. dealing with the problem and trying to figure it out on the other hand will likely do wonders. So, with that said, I am back on track and no more negativity from me, at least I can try.

Intake wise the day went ok, I am still under the 1500 mark, I think I need to tart eating a larger breakfast and or lunch so that I don't end up with an excess amount of calorie to make up at the end of the day. I shall attempt that from now on. I am getting ready to hop on the bike so I will keep this post relatively short, so onto the menu.

02/27/2008

Breakfast
8:30 AM
1 banana 105
1 tbsp peanut butter 100

10:45 AM
1 pear 120

Lunch
3:00 PM
1 progresso lite soup 120
1/2 cup cooked white rice 100

Dinner
6:00 PM
3.5oz pork chop 210
3/4 cup white rice 150
1 cup fresh frozen green beans 40
1 pat butter 35
1 tbsp ketchup 20

7:00 PM
1 zone perfect bar 210

Grand total of 1210 calories for the day, which is still low, as I said, I am going to try a larger breakfast to see if I can offset that. today I leave you with another quote.

"Avoid destructive thinking. Improper negative thoughts sink people. A ship can sail around the world many, many times, but just let enough water get into the ship and it will sink. Just so with the human mind. Let enough negative thoughts or improper thoughts get into the human mind and the person sinks just like a ship."-Alfred A Montapert -

With that I thank you for reading.

As Ever
Me

Exercise

20 mins on the bike and 30 push ups followed by a stretch routine. I am still annoyed but the exercise helped curb it a bit. I plan on riding the bike again later in the day. I get annoyed easily if I cannot figure something out, which doesn't happen often. this weirdo weight drop/raise has me annoyed.

this pretty much sums up my week so far where my weight loss is concerned.

Did I mention that I was annoyed?
As Ever
Me

Day 57 Honesty

My weight is not budging, usually by Wednesday I have dropped a decent amount of weight, this entire week since Friday my weight has fluctuated from +1 from Fridays weigh in to -4 and this morning I am at -1 from Fridays weight so 482 as of right this minute, lets just say I am less than enthusiastic about this phenomena. it took 57 days but I am frustrated. there is no way for me to sugar coat this. I am extremely irritated at this sudden wall I have hit, and it IS sudden. I lost 8 lbs last week and here it is just 5 days later and I have been up and down with the weight and am confused and irritated, I am doing nothing different besides I did not exercise on sat-sun which is not abnormal. to say that I am Pissed off at this thing that is happening in my body would only be honest.

can you figure out what it says?

none of that was actually from day 57 as its how I feel this morning. I heard on the news last night that Progresso Italian wedding soup is being pulled from the shelves because of that beef recall, because of the abused animals, Wonderful.....I have a cabinet full of the stuff. I was going to have a long post about the beef industry and why I am not eating it any more but I find myself in a not so creative mood currently. so onto the menu for day 57.

02/26/2008

Breakfast
8:30 AM
1 banana 105
1 tbsp peanut butter 100

11:15 AM
3oz deli turkey breast 100
2 slices lite rye 80
1 tbsp miracle whip 35

Lunch
2:30 PM
1 can low sodium itialian wedding soup 180

4:45 PM
1 pear 120

Dinner
6:30 PM
2 Gorton fish fillets 340
3/4 cup cooked white rice 150
1 cup frozen fresh peas 105
1 pat butter 35

8:30 PM
10oz 1% milk 137

Grand total of 1487 calories for the day, I apologize for the negative post but its the mood of the morning and I have decided instead of posting up the image of a hopeful fellow dancing along the trail to a weight loss, that I would post up honest feelings. I will not post up that all is well when I am so annoyed at this situation. thanks for reading and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

As Ever
Me

Late night Vegetable fun

Ok, so I was up and bored so I figured I would post up a quick entry with a couple pics from dinner. I made the salad for wify while she finished washing some dishes and thought I would be corny and try my hand at making it look good, I don't know if I succeeded but she said it tasted good.

Ok, this next one is just for fun I hope no one gets offended as its an X rated Pepper. I cut the pepper and looked at My wife and We just looked at each other and I grabbed the camera which was sitting next to me because of the salad pic. She said "why do you need a pic of it" to which my reply was "for the blog of course" she laughed and shook her head at me. so here it is..click it for a larger image lol. sorry had to post it ;)


Heres a photo of how much 1lb of fat is, so the next time only 1 or 2 lbs show up on that scale just imagine this picture and now that much fat is off of your body.


Thats all she wrote, or He in this instance. just a late night interlude for you to ponder over whilst you read along with my progress.

As Ever
Me

Day 56

That kick in the rear worth of exercise seems to have recharged me, I feel good and like I am back on track from the mood from yesterday. I drank enough water and tried to keep my sodium low. I weighed myself and I am down the almost 1 lb that I was up and almost another full lb on top of that, so I do believe it was water weight being held in because of the lack of H2O and excess of sodium that was causing it. which does still put a damper on my loss for the week because usually by Tuesday I am down 3+ lbs from Fridays weigh in, but it does appear I am back on track, BUT this is just the first day after I think I figured out my problem, we shall see on Friday. onto the menu.

02/25/2008

Breakfast
9:00 AM
1.5 cups bran cereal 180
1 cup 1% milk 110
1 small Dannon yogurt 45

Lunch
12:30 PM
2 boiled eggs (beet eggs) 140

2:15 PM
3oz deli turkey breast 100
2 slices beefsteak rye 80
1oz sliced tomato 5

Dinner
7:15 PM
5oz steamed shrimp 150
1 cup snap peas 60
green salad 50
2 tbsp lite Ceasar dressing 90
2 pats butter 70

8:30 PM
5.5oz cubed watermelon 45

Grand total of 1125 calories for the day, which is very low but we had an extremely low calorie dinner added to my already low calorie day. I will try and get closer to the 1500 mark for today. I feel better and have rehydrated myself.

As Ever
Me

More Exercise and thought

Ok its 11:30 am, I just got back in from a 25 minute walk, its beautiful outside today. I was also doing some thinking about my intake and decided to look at my sodium intake for the past week. I am WAY above the needed sodium for the last 4 days averaging 220% sodium for any given day, it ranged from as low as 171% to 273% for the last 4 days. so...with that said maybe thats why I appear to have not lost anything? not sure yet. BUT I am going to watch the sodium and get back to drinking like a fish for the rest of the week and see how it goes.

I will figure this out, if I haven't already

As Ever
Me

Exercise

OK its an hour after my AM post I just did 20 minutes on the bike and 40 push ups, a stretch routine and I am going for a walk in a bit and will likely ride the bike this afternoon again. I am actually annoyed at this stall with the weight dropping. I will not take no weight dropped for an answer. so in response to the lovely ape in my previous post "Oh what to do, what to doooo?" the only thing that I can think of...work out harder and try and figure out why I stalled. Yes I know these things happen when losing weight BUT I won't take that for an answer, after all I am Wonder boy....

There WILL be a loss by Friday anything else is unacceptable.

"It’s a very funny thing about life, if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it." -William Somerset Maugham-

As Ever
Me

Day 55

The trip to Cabelas went well, as it turns out they have a small aquarium in there with some fish species local to CT as well as some not so local fish, I saw a Snakehead in one of the tanks along with some Bass and Salmon, its very small but very cool at the same time, theres also a diorama with mounted stuffed animals on a huge mountain that is 2 stories high in the center of the store, the aquarium is inside that diorama. they have a good selection of used rifles and a ton of pistols and all at decent prices. its 2 floors and over all a nice place to walk around on a Sunday afternoon.

I came in at 1242 calories for the day, still low. I am finding it harder and harder to get in all of my calories. if I am being honest, I am a little concerned today. I weighed in yesterday (Sunday) and had a slight gain from Friday, 8/10 of a lb, so I figured I would weigh in today as well (Monday morning) and I weigh exactly the same as yesterday. something that I did, I stopped drinking as much water as usual for the last 2 days of last week which led me into Saturday doing the same thing, this was not on purpose, if you follow the blog you know I had a little concern with the green tea because I found mold in some home brewed tea late last week which was seemingly giving me stomach aches, and led to the less water. also I have not exercised since Thursday. I shoveled snow for at least 1.5 hours, I guess that would count as exercise but I did not ride the bike or do many push ups at all since Thursday. Can any of this be why I don't have a recorded loss since Friday? I don't know yet. my other concern is the low calories. I have been low on calories more than not lately. can this be my breaking point as far as my body saying "ok Buddy it was a nice run now we need some more" again, I am unsure. I will likely be experimenting a bit this week with the intake, I may let it go this week and just step the exercise back up, maybe I just need more exercise? again, I am unsure. this is that part I did not want to come. I am working hard as far as eating right goes and I admittedly have slacked on exercise since Thursday was the last day that I actually did what I would call a "workout" stay tuned for more on this subject..onto the menu.



02/24/2008

Breakfast
11:45 AM
4oz deli turkey 120
2 slices whole wheat bread 140
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
1 small dill pickle 5

Lunch
2:45 PM
1 small dannon yogurt 45

Dinner
6:15 PM
5.5oz pork chop 330
3/4 cup cooked white rice 150
1 cup fresh frozen corn 140
1 pat butter 35
1 tbsp ketchup 20

8:15 PM
1oz Vermont cheddar cheese 110
8 wheat Ritz crackers 112


Grand total of 1242 calories for the day, and I start the day very concerned with what I am doing. I won't let it get me down or even change my path at all but it is bothering me a bit because I can't figure out what changed in a day or 2 time. last week I lost 8lbs and suddenly I go 3 days with zero loss, its just odd. anyways thats my day, thanks for reading

As Ever
Me

Day 54

the Fifty forth day has come and has passed, another successful day at this. I had a chat with my best friend last night and I admitted to him what my weight was and is. I am not sure I wanted to but we were chatting and it just sorta fell out of my mouth. oh well, he was supportive either way and even said "wow dude thats biggest loser type drops" lol I just laughed when he said that. he said that he was gaining weight, he is 6'1'' 230 so I don't think its a real big deal ;)

The day went fine, we just hung around the house pretty much all day and no exercise. I do feel like I ate too much and too late even though I did stay under calories coming in at 1495, you can check out the menu to see what I mean. I haven't drank Green tea in a few days and I feel like its affecting my loss in a negative way so i need to get back into drinking it daily again. the mold issue has/had me worried so I stopped drinking it all together, its been just water for the last 3 days or so.

Were on our way out the door, were going to the new Cabelas just to check it out today, so I will be on with the menu now.

02/23/2008

Breakfast
10:45 AM
1 boiled egg (beet egg) 70

12:00 PM
1 banana 105
1 tbsp peanut butter 100

Lunch
3:00 PM
1 can tuna 150
3 slices lite rye bread 120
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
1 dill pickle 10

Dinner
6:30 PM
5oz deli turkey 150
3 slices whole wheat bread 210
1 tbsp Miracle whip 40
6oz potato (home made french fries) 165
2 tbsp ketchup 40

10:30 PM
4oz deli turkey 120
2 slices whole wheat bread 140
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
1 small dill pickle 5


Grand total of 1495 calories for the day, as I said earlier I feel like it was too much too late, that turkey gets me every time, I probably could have went without that late sandwich, but wify rented a movie and blah blah blah, I was bad lol. not really but still...wow way to argue with myself eh? lol. anyways thats the day.

As Ever
Me

Day 53

I always seem to get a late start with posting on the weekends. nothing really extraordinary to report for the day besides the snow that we had, I did find out why I was getting stomach pains a day or so ago, I had made a batch of green tea and had not touched it for a few days (6 maybe) because I had some Arizona left, I ended up drinking the tea I had made and noticed that there was something in the bottom of the jug. it looked like mold or something. I don't know if it was from the tangerines in it or if it just molds in time, but I tossed the tea and have a new jug to make it in from here on out, and I will try and consume it faster, like within a day or two. I will be researching the mold thing online to make sure I am right.

I looked in the almost full length mirror in our bathroom and noticed that I DO look like I lost a good amount of weight. I have been smiling all day because of it. then I noticed the shirt that I am wearing today is a size smaller and I had not worn it in quite some time, it must have got put in the closet in the wrong spot and I didn't notice I grabbed it. so I am happy about that as well. there is no doubt in my mind that by the summer I will be significantly smaller than I am currently. I can look at my wife and see that she has lost a lot as well. she looks totally different and its just about 27lbs that she has lost if I am remembering correctly. so we are both doing well. I did go over my calories slightly for the fifty third day but only because I counted wrong, hmmmm for having nothing to report today I sure wrote a lot, so onto the menu.

02/22/2008

Breakfast
8:30 AM
1 banana 105
1 tbsp of peanut butter 100

10:45 AM
1 pear 115
1/2 of a dill pickle 5

Lunch
2:30 PM
1 lite Progresso soup 120
8 wheat ritz crackers 112

4:30 PM
1 boiled egg (beet egg) 70

Dinner
6:15 PM
2 Gorton fish fillets 340
3/4 cup white rice 150
1 cup canned peas 120

8:00 PM
2 cups of bran cereal 180
1 cup of 1% milk 110


Grand total of 1527 calories for the day, it was a good day all around but then again I haven't had many bad days, I still don't crave foods, actually, speaking of craving foods, I have not been drinking as much water for the past couple days, originally I thought it was because of the stomach aches I had but I have also been craving salty foods, so I think I may need some more sodium. I try and keep it low but maybe I need a little more than I think I do. so I will be looking into tracking my sodium. I recently made a profile on thedailyplate.com so that I can track sodium levels etc. Thanks for reading.

As Ever
Me

Snow and Exercise

We got about 9 inches of snow today. it snowed all morning with a small break around 10:00 am, so I went outside and shoveled the walk and driveway, it was about 3-4 inches at that point. took maybe 40 minutes, and I did not get winded which was great! then it started getting serious, and started snowing again and did not stop until 6:30 pm so around 3:00pm I went out to take a layer off of it. and was out there for close to an hour, I shoveled almost all the way back to the back yard (we have a semi long drive way you can park maybe 7 cars in it end to end) so I got some good exercise in because of the lousy weather. as I said it continued to snow until around 6:30 so theres some snow left out there for the morning, so it would appear that I will get some shoveling exercise in tomorrow as well. here are a couple pictures from this afternoon.

A tree on the side of my house that I thought looked cool

My poor California Mustang all covered in snow, I heard it mumbling profanities at me while I shoveled

A look out at the road from in the driveway, you can see the snow accumulating where I just shoveled!

I just thought I would post up some of my day, hope you enjoyed the pics :)

As Ever
Me

Day 52 Weighing in.

Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality, the other, a matter of time. I have achieved both in the past 2 months with a lifestyle change. I have come from a father worried about the longevity of his life to someone that knows He will be successful in dropping the weight that has figuratively as well as literally held him back in recent years. I work out daily and watch what I eat. I also find myself wondering how could I be sticking to this as easily as I am right now, and yet found it so hard in the past, either way I am very pleased with My results so far.

I did have a bit of a rough day, I was hungry all day and had stomach pains. I can't explain why or how that happened but it was to the point that I was just sitting on the couch feeling like "just give me a pizza" . of course I resisted. but I did want a Bacon pizza badly.

I lost a total of 8lbs this week bringing me down to 483 lbs total. you could say that I am overwhelmingly happy with what the scale had to say to me this morning. I could not be happier with this weeks drop.

This Kawasaki VN750 Vulcan weighs 483 lbs

Onto the menu for the fifty second day.

02/21/2008

Breakfast
10:00 AM
2 multi grain english muffins 200
3oz sliced tomato 15
1 boiled egg (beet egg) 70
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35

11:30 AM
1 Zone perfect bar 210

Lunch
2:00 PM
1 banana 110
1tbsp peanut butter 100
1 dannon lite yogurt 60

Dinner
6:00 PM
5oz pork chop 300
1/2 cup cooked white rice 100
1 cup frozen green beans 45

7:30 PM
16 oz 1 % Milk 220


Grand total of 1465 for the day, I am over all happy with my results and am going to end this post with another quote. "A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop" -Robert Hughes -


As Ever
Me

Eclipse

As promised...

Click the image for a larger view

Nothing more to report as of right now, other than 15 mins on the bike and 40 push ups I weigh in tomorrow I am very hopeful that I have lost a good amount of weight this week (which I know I have) because I cheated and looked this morning ;) thanks for reading.

As Ever
Me

Day 51

Last nights eclipse was pretty cool and there will not be another until late December 2010 so I am happy that I got to see it. my son and daughter got to see it too so that was fun as well. I did get a few pictures (not great ones) and I will post them up as soon as I can find my card reader.


The intake was good for the fifty first day, I hit 1280 calories and didn't eat all the way to 1500 because I decided to not eat just to get them in. we had a bit of a late dinner and that didn't leave a lot of wiggle room as far as getting in some good light calories later on.

I did cheat and weigh myself yesterday and this morning, it did not move from yesterday to today but the total for the week so far is good as far as I am concerned. I am happy with the number I saw on the scale this morning, you will have wait for tomorrow and the "official" weigh in day to see that number ;) I find that weighing myself a couple times a week seems to help me stay accountable, one because if I see that the number has not moved much I work harder for that day and the next, then I weigh in again and if the number is good it gives me a feeling of accomplishment therefore I work harder, its a win win for me in that respect.

onto the menu.

02/20/2008

Breakfast
8:45 AM
1 banana 105
1 tbsp peanut butter 100
1 boiled egg 70

11:45 AM
1 can tuna 150
1 tbsp miracle whip 35

Lunch
2:15 PM
1 can light progresso soup 120
1 Dannon light yogurt 60

Dinner
6:00 PM
small green salad 50
2 tbsp light Ceasar dressing 90

7:00 PM
7oz roast chicken breast 350
3/4 cup cooked white rice 150


Grand total of 1280 calories for the day, its low, but i said I wasn't going to eat just to eat. I think I need to find a balance between not eating just to eat and making sure that I get all of my calories in during the day so that I do not end up with a reserve of calories at the end of the day.

As Ever
Me

Exercise

Its 9:15 pm and I just finished my workout, 25 minutes on the bike and 40 push ups. I ran into a small bump earlier and could not do it until now. I do not want to skip another day.

Ok its now 9:31 pm, I just remembered that there is a total eclipse tonight the totals out around 10:04 pm and it is absolutely crystal clear outside so I just ran out and took a look at it. its about half way covered currently and I snapped a few pictures, this eclipse is suppose to be red so I will try and get some pictures of it at its peak and i will post them on the AM's entry. you will have to excuse the not so gorgeous pictures as I do not expect them to come out beautiful as I am shooting through a digital, (a nice digital but still) Ihope to get at least a few decent pics.

ok now that I am off track and want to go look at the moon this post is officially done! lol

As Ever
Me

Day 50 Reflections

There is a quote by Henry Rollins that says "Half of life is f***ing up the other half is dealing with it." I feel that statement holds true for me as far as my weight issue goes. I have moved onto "the other half" at this point. I know that I have changed the way I look at eating. I do not struggle to make sure I am eating right any more and I don't crave things like cake, or cookies or Pizza, well maybe pizza a little bit, But who can blame me? CT has some of the best pizza in the country as far as I am concerned. CA comes in last place for good pizza, wow as I typed that out I realized that I know where to get good pizza from coast to coast, and there you have the first part of the quote on the front end of this post. I now know that I have to do this, not only for my Wife and Children, but for Me. With the discipline of marine I have to look at this task, for its one of the biggest and most important tasks that I will ever have to complete. "Drinking it up here boss" like Luke says, I carefully watch what goes into my mouth and check in with myself and make sure its the right thing to do.


I can remember a time in my early 20's when I was much healthier but not slim by no means and Whoppers at Burger king were 99 cents and while waiting in line at the drive through with my brother, cousin and best friend, someone (I can't remember who) said "hey how many ya think we could eat" and my best friend said, "I dunno but if ya wanna try I'm buying" and it was on! when all was said and done I had eaten 8 whoppers, and I mean full on whoppers, none of this taking toppings off or anything. we all attempted it and only god knows how many we bought that day but the number of 8 is what went down my throat. that day falls into the "Half of life is..." section of my life, I know it was more like some young bucks having an I'm tougher than you contest and couldn't turn down a challenge, but man, 8 whoppers? "hey remember the time we ate all of those whoppers" is not as cool a story as it use to be before I was 500 lbs...

Anyways, let me get on with the intake etc etc etc for the 50th day. it was a good day and I was at 1245 cals for the day, and I did not get any exercise in at all for the day, my Father in law stopped by and had one of our "low calorie tacos" that we make so often and he got to play with the kiddos for a bit. it was a nice quiet evening because after dinner the kids bombarded him and I was able to get in an hour on my Guitar undisturbed. over all all is well and the keep on keepin on is hanging in there.

onto the menu.

02/19/2008

Breakfast
10:15 AM 1 banana 105
1 tbsp peanut butter 100
1 dannon light yogurt 60

Lunch
2:30 PM
1 can tuna 150
2 slices whole wheat bread 140
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
2oz sliced tomato 10
crystal light 15

Dinner
6:00 PM
1/2 cup refried beans (3 tacos) 90
3 small mission white tortillas 165
1oz Kraft lite cheddar cheese 50
2 oz tomato 10
1oz lettuce 5
2tbsp red taco sauce 10
2 slices jalapeno 5
1 Gortons fish fillet 170
less than 1oz chopped onion 5

8:35 PM
8 oz Cantaloupe 80

9:00 PM
2 tspn honey in green tea 40

Grand total of 1245 calories for the day, I will with 100% certainty exercise today (Wednesday) because I actually feel guilty that I skipped it. we got a bit of snow last night, less than an inch, but its cold out so no walk for me so it will have to be the bike. either way I shall make it so. Thanks for following along with my trip to the half, and keep those comments coming, they help a bunch.

As Ever
Me

Day 49

Things are going well. last night My wife took my mid month picture for comparison later on. I have been taking a picture twice a month, so every 2 weeks and I am photo shopping them into one large picture that can be compared. the picture from Jan 6th and the one from Feb 18th when compared there is a big difference. I am very happy with my decision to take the pictures because honestly I can't see as much difference in myself as the pictures depict. all of my "normal sized" clothing is too big at this point as well. Monday while cooking dinner my wife came into the kitchen and said "wow honey your swimming in that shirt" and I had not noticed it really so I took a look in the mirror and to my surprise, I WAS swimming in it! and this is a shirt that before Jan I would wear normally. I have to admit that I feel like a kid on Christmas when I see things like that. the over all feeling is one of accomplishment.

I have some heavy gallon jugs (the ones that I get when I buy my Arizona Green tea) and have been brewing my own tea at home. what I have come up with is 3 tea bags in a gallon jug with hot water, I put the lid on it and let it brew for a couple hours and when its still hot I take 1 peeled tangerine and drop the slices into the bottle and let it cool, place that in the fridge to further cool and when I want some tea I can just pour a glass, add 1 tspn of honey and I have a lightly flavored tangerine green tea, which is actually very good. most times I don't even put the honey in, it has a very light clean taste to it.

onto the menu for the day.

02/18/2008

Breakfast
7:00 AM
1 beet egg 70

9:00 AM
2 light wheat english muffins 200
2oz sliced tomato 10
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35

Lunch
12:00 PM
1 Dannon light yogurt 60

1:45 PM
1 can Italian wedding soup (which I have to say WOW! to) 200
1 pear 120

4:00 PM
1 boiled egg (beet egg) 70

Dinner
6:15 PM
2 Gortons fish fillets 340
3/4 cup cooked white rice 150
3/4 cup mixed frozen veggies 60
crystal light 20
1 pat butter 35

Grand total of 1370 calories for the day, this has become a lifestyle for me, it is no longer a "diet" I don't crave sweets, I don't miss eating a huge bag of chips, I don't miss eating a huge dinner with a big glass of soda. I can honestly say this is how I will eat from now on. Brave words from a guy thats barely 50 days into a life time of change eh? it is honestly how I feel about it though and I can say that the only thing that I do miss is Milk, I would drink a lot of milk before I started this but I am not craving it so I guess I can only say I miss it because I like it so much. My wife has followed suite and is eating healthy and losing weight by my side and my children are learning good habits so that they will not have to deal with something like this when they grow up. I woke up today feeling Calm and at peace with this decision and as stated I feel no pull to the dark side any more. This will be success.

As Ever
Me

Exercise

I have not posted an exercise entry in a bit so I shall today. I rode the bike for 15 minutes and did my push ups as well as my stretch routine. I have to say that I am enjoying watching my monthly minutes and push ups go up each time I work out. I feel better and better each day and I thank everyone for the support that I have received thus far.

I have been reading more and more peoples success stories, Like David Smith who lost 401 lbs, and theres a Gentleman named Charles on 3FC whose story is amazing as well with him losing more than 300 lbs, and now this Varsity blues actor fella Ron Lester who lost 315 lbs that I posted in my previous post. it gives me hope that I may be the next success story.

I know I am the next success story!

As Ever
Me

Day 48

Another day another step closer to the ultimate goal of being healthier, lighter and thus happier. I stupidly stayed up until 2:30am last night and was up at 6:50am today (Monday) because I get into researching something (totally not related to this routine) and I lose track of time. so I am a little more than sleepy today.

The forty eighth day went well. 1435 calories for the day and I had a heavier than usual breakfast. I usually sleep in on the weekends and end up eating really late in the day for my first meal, I need to address this too. I don't think its a good thing to do that.

the menu for the day was 3 big meals and 1 small snack in the evening, which I also do not like to happen, I think having 2 medium sized meals and one large one and a few snacks through out the day works out better.

Heres a picture of Ron Lester from Varsity blues after his weight loss, looks good doesn't he?

Number 69 is the guy on the news

As I type this theres a fella on the today show that weighed 500 lbs, he lost 315 lbs wow what a difference in the guy. its the actor from that movie "Varsity Blues". I had mentioned in an earlier post at the beginning of January that I think the media will be hitting the weight loss/obese thing hard this year, and its still on every channel almost daily. a story about someone losing a huge amount of weight. I think its good that they show these things for awareness etc but I think its a bit much at times as well. every story on tv as of late seems to be weight related, obesity the new smoking!

I wanted to post up the simple yet very yummy pickled eggs recipe or "Beet eggs" that I have been eating since I was a young kid thanks to Grandma. very little ingredients are needed and I think its very tasty.

What you will need
1 16oz jar of sliced pickled beets (bought at any grocery store)
6 boiled eggs
1/4 of a small onion
1/3 cup white vinager
1 empty 32oz jar with a lid

Optional items
pickling spices (I find them not needed)
sugar

What to do
pour some of the juice and beets from the jar into the larger 32 oz jar and then put the eggs into the jar, then pour the rest of the beets and juice into the larger jar. then add the vinager to that. slice the onions into thin rings, separate them and drop them into the jar. put the lid on and turn the jar upside down a couple times to mix the beet juice and vinager, make sure all of the eggs are below the surface inside the jar. put it in the fridge and enjoy the eggs in 24 hours. I recommend letting them pickle for 48 hours for better flavor but they should be ready in a day.

if you wish for a bit sweeter or stronger flavor add some sugar and or pickling spices, in my opinion neither are needed. don't forget to add the calories from the sugar into the equation if you add it

70 calories each for the egg and the beets are low calorie as well, if you eat 1 egg and about 4 slices of beet its about 90 calories together, and the best part is that you can just keep adding eggs back into the mixture as you eat them and have a nice supply of the "beet eggs". I hope you enjoy them if you try them!

onto the menu for Day 48....

02/17/2008

Breakfast
12:30 PM
4oz deli turkey breast 200
2 slices whole wheat bread 140
1 boiled egg (pickled with beets) 70
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35

Lunch
3:30 PM
2 slices whole wheat bread 140
4oz deli turkey 200
2oz sliced tomato 10
spicy mustard 0

Dinner
5:30 PM
2 cups Dads home made soup 350
3/4 cup cooked white rice 150
crystal light 20

8:45 PM
1 pear 120

Grand total of 1435 calories for the day, over all a good day, I did not ride the bike like I had wanted to, but thats ok because I will ride it today more than usual and make up the time. sorry for the novel of a post, but I thought that "beet egg" recipe was too short for its own post. thats all for now and as always thanks for reading.

As Ever
Me

Day 47

I completed my 7th week of this change today and am seeing results. I mean actually seeing them! I am extremely excited about that. I had a meh day last night and this morning (Sunday) because I am thinking about the subject in the last post. it is something thats bothering me more and more. the fact that I have to get a surgery (most likely) is maddening enough, stack the fact that its going to cost me as much as its going to is the icing on the cake so to speak. so with that said I had a bit of a hiccup as far as the excitement goes. it is gone for now because theres nothing I can do about it so why worry about it right now.

I have decided to pick up the pace this week and see what happens, I will not change the intake at all other than not eating something "just to hit 1500" but the exercise is going to be stepped up. meaning riding the bike on weekends and possibly 2 times a day and trying to find as much as I can do to get more movement into my day. walking in addition to bike work when weather permits etc etc etc. I really think I need a heavy bag for my basement. I use to work out on one before I was injured and now that my back seems to be feeling a bit better I want to incorporate the bag into the day again, I have been looking on Craigslist to see if I can find one free or on the extremely cheap, I will keep looking.

onto the menu..and I will be posting the recipe for the "Beet eggs" in a later post.

02/16/2008

Breakfast
11:00 AM
2 boiled eggs (beet eggs) 140
8 wheat Ritz crackers 112
1oz Vermont sharp cheddar 110

Lunch
3:45 PM
1 can progresso soup 120
2 slices light rye bread 80
2oz sliced tomato 10
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35

Dinner
6:45 PM
6oz deli turkey breast 300
3 slices whole wheat bread 210
3/4 cup veggies 55
1 1/2 tbsp Miracle whip 55
1 dill pickle 5

10:45 PM
1 Dannon light yogurt 60

Grand total of 1292 calories for the day, I resisted making a giant bowl of popcorn during the movie last night and had a light yogurt right before we started it. the movie was ok, other than the woman (Jody Foster) that had never in her life seen violence suddenly runs into every evil man in NYC after her initial run in with some thugs. 6 of 10 score from me, Wify liked it better, she says 8 of 10. I also wanted to thank the 2 people that sent me personal emails yesterday after my post with the skin concern. I appreciated the time you took to write me.

As Ever
Me

The fortysixth day part Deux.

I didn't have a lot of time earlier to post up but I wanted to make sure that I got the menu posted up in case I couldn't make it back on tonight. today was uneventful got some chores done and a nice ride on the bike in the morning along with some push ups. I am feeling good.

I have been thinking about this weight loss and what happens next if I am successful as far as a surgery goes for the excess skin. this is something that is bothering me a bit, one because I don't want to have all of this extra skin on me that doesn't hold anything in any more. secondly the cost, I have looked around and its very expensive and I am worried that I will be walking around with this 20 lbs of skin on me and that will not be good. so I have been bothered with that as of late. I know that it is a long way off but I cannot help thinking about how we will not be able to afford the surgery(s) that I will need. I was reading about a fella named Dave smith who weighed 630lbs and lost it. he now weighs 229lbs now, I saw pictures of him pre skin surgery a week ago or so and its been in my head since then. I guess I will cross that bridge when I get there. its just a bridge that I don't look forward to reaching and at the same time cannot wait to get there. bittersweet...

last night I went through all of my pants and took out all of the pairs that are 2 sizes smaller than what I was wearing in December and put them into my dresser and put all of the larger sized pants on the back shelf in the closet. I have to say that was a great feeling. all of the pants I was wearing 2 months ago are just much too big right now. I can still wear them with a belt but they are noticeably big on me.

Wify is pushing me off of the computer so that we can watch "The Brave one" with Jody Foster, she rented it tonight so I will cit this off here for now and will be posting tomorrow with todays menu. I just wanted to post a full on entry for today. Thanks for all of the support.

As Ever
Me

Day 46

Not a whole lot to report for the 46th day other than a 45 min walk, and were trying to get out of the house atm but I wanted to get a post in for the day so I will make this post a quick one ;) so heres the menu.

02/15/2008

Breakfast
8:30 AM
2 cups bran cereal 180
1 cup 1% milk 110

Lunch
1:30 PM
1 can progresso soup 120
5 wheat ritz crackers 70

2:30 PM
1 boiled egg 70

Dinner
6:00 PM
3oz pork chop 215
1 cup peas 140
1 cup cooked white rice 200
1 pat butter 35
1 boiled egg 70
5 pickled Beet slices 20

Grand total of 1230 calories for the day, I went a little light on calories for the day because I am not going to eat just to get the calories in any more. when I am done I am done, thats my story and I'm stickin to it. I will attempt to get as many in as I can but won't force myself to get them in. Thanks for followin and sorry for the short post, we be in a bit of a rush this morning.

As Ever
Me

Day 45 Weighing in

Day 45 went well, I had 1495 calories and my pops came by for a visit, he didn't mention either way if I looked as if I had lost weight, it was nice to see him. the eating went good and I felt good, though I skipped exercise all together because he was here, and if I am being honest I was bad with exercise all week, I only rode the bike 2 days and that was it, I am a little upset at myself for that. it will not happen again, I almost feel like I have become too comfortable with this and I am not working as hard as I can be because of it, that will not happen any more either. I plan on working out hard this week to see if theres a difference. I took it easy this week and I kept my calories as close to 1500 as I could every day and did not have as much Green tea as I have been. where as before last week I was randomly having 1200-1500 calories jumping around, drinking at least 32 oz of green tea per day and working out hard. even with all that said, I am a close to 500lb guy eating 1500 calories and exercising moderately (this week anyways) there should still be a loss. keeping the calories at a steady 1500 was on purpose, drinking less tea was accidental and less exercise was not being committed and I wanted to just admit that so I can fix it. I feel that the random calories per day ranging from 1200 to 1500 helps keep the body guessing so i will return to that tactic. exercise will be stepped up, and theres 3 gallons of green tea made in the fridge. all of this probably has you thinking "hmmm what was his weigh in if hes talking like this" welp...

I woke up this morning (Friday) and was thinking to myself "think light" I came down stairs and hopped on the scale and it read anywhere between 490.8 to 491.4 so we shall call it 491lbs which is a 5 lb loss since last Friday. somehow I am disappointed with that number, crazy right? I mean thats a 5 lb loss in a week! but I know that I slacked on the exercise so I am annoyed at myself. I should be happy but I am not. and its my own fault because I know that I didn't work as hard this week as I have been. I also think not checking in a couple times during the week on the scale can be why I slacked. oh well, another week down and another 5lbs lost :).

This Kawasaki ZRX1200R Weighs in at 491lbs

so with that I give you the menu for the day.

02/14/2008

Breakfast
10:00 AM
1 banana 105
1 tbsp peanut butter 100

Lunch
1:30 PM
1 boiled egg 70
1 hebrew national hot dog 45
2 slices whole wheat bread 140
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
crystal light 20

2:15 PM
8 wheat ritz crackers 112
1oz Vermont sharp cheddar 110

Dinner
6:30 PM
3oz steamed Broc 30
5.5oz roasted chicken 303
Green salad 50
3 tbsp lite Cesar dressing 135
crystal light 20
2 slices pickled beets 10

9:00 PM
1 Zone perfect protein bar 210


Grand total of 1495 calories for the day, the plan will change starting today (Friday) NO slacking on the bike and ride in the am, NO eating something just to make up the calories, DRINK all of the 32 required oz's of Green tea per day, and last but not least NO FEELING BAD because it was "only" 5lbs, 5lbs is a great number! I just really wanted to hit the 480's today :( lol VERY wishful thinking as it turns out.

As Ever
Me

Day 44

Happy Valentines day to everyone! another reason to spend money on recycled paper pressed into cards and buy pounds of cheaply processed chocolate wrapped in red cellophane. I did have a show down with an 8 pack of Cadburys creme eggs at the store where I bought some cards. they stared me in the face and in sequence the little gold wrapper chicks on the packages all looked at me and I swear I heard them whisper "ahhh there he is, we knew you would come for us" but I did not buy the colorful foil wrapped evil, I simply walked away and the eggs all sighed together when they realized they would not be bought. I rounded the corner only to be faced with a frog with a wig on that was singing a Beyonce song holding a heart, I thought to myself WTF is that about, and then more chicks on an end cap. alas I resisted again and the eggs shall remain on the shelf. I won that battle and the creamy little eggs can stay on the shelf with the Beyonce frog.


The forty fourth day of the second month was a good one as far as intake went, 1491 total calories in, and extra exercise to boot because of the snow, I have been making sure I get as close to 1500 as possible lately by eating carrots to make up the numbers. my chest is a bit achy lately, I think its all of the push ups, I probably on any given day do 60-100 push ups through out the day, because of the soreness I am going to take a few days off with the push ups and see if it goes away.

I have been brewing my own green tea at home for a while now and I have started sweetening it with honey instead of sugar, the honey makes it so much better than the sugar and is only 20 calories per tea spoon.


Onto the Menu for the day.

02/13/2008

Breakfast
8:45 AM
1 banana 105
1 tbsp peanut butter 100
16oz green tea w/ 1 tsp honey 20

9:15 AM
1 Dannon light yogurt 60

Lunch
2:30 PM
1 Gortons fish fillet 170
1 cup cooked white rice 200
1 pat butter 35

Dinner
6:15 PM
1/2 cup refried beans (3 tacos) 90
3 small mission white tortollas 165
1oz Kraft lite cheddar cheese 50
2 oz tomato 10
1oz lettuce 5
2tblsp All Natural Salsa 10
crystal light 20
sliced Jalapeno 5
less than 1oz onion 5
3/4 cup canned corn 120

8:00 PM
8 Wheat Ritz Crackers 112
1 oz Vermont Sharp Cheddar 110

8:30 PM
4 oz of baby carrots 54
1 tbsp Ceasar Dressing 45

Grand total of 1491 calories for the day, pretty good day for the intake. I have been giving thought to having to get a surgery for extra skin removal lately. I don't like the idea of it but it would seem that it is going to be something I will have to do, more to come on that later. hope everyone has a great V day!

As Ever
Me

A cold, wet, slushy interlude.

We got 4-5 inches of snow over night, My son is home from school today due to the cancellation and its been raining on top of the snow all day. This will surely freeze over night into a nice big sheet of ice, woohoo fun! currently theres a flood warning for this area, welcome to New England!

I spent 40 minutes clearing the driveway, so 40 mins of extra exercise for me ;). I would push the snow/slush out of the way and it was replaced with water. its crazy wet out there. when I came in I was as wet as if I took a shower, I didn't have gloves on so my hands looked like prunes :) . its actually not that cold out the thermometer we have in the back of the house says 34 degrees.

My father is stopping by tomorrow, I am curious to see if he notices a difference in the way I look. (hes not the type to say so if he did) but maybe he will if he does. he lives about an hour from me, the last time I saw him was on Christmas.

Anyways I just thought I would pop in with a mid day post.

As Ever
Me

Day 43

What can I say? another day under the belt. I still think to myself why it took so long. I have been riding the bike in the evening, which I think is a bad idea, but its just working out like that. bad because riding late keeps me awake later and I want to try and get as much sleep as possible.

It would appear that today (Wednesday) I will end up with some extra exercise as there looks to be a few inches of snow (maybe 5) but its almost a down pour of rain atm so it will need to be shoveled away at some point, when it stops raining of course ;). there is a flood warning in affect because its warming up yet theres like I said about 5 inches of snow and down pouring of rain. yuck is just about all I can say about it.

intake for the 43rd day went well I came in at 1490 for the day but was hungry late on in the day. over all another good day. onto the menu.

02/12/2008

Breakfast
8:30 AM
16 oz green tea w/1 tsp Honey 20

10:45 AM
1 banana 110
1 tbsp peanut butter 100

Lunch
2:30 PM
1 can tuna 160
2 slices whole wheat bread 140
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
1 light Dannon yogurt 60

Dinner
6:15 PM
3oz pork chop 185
1 cup white rice 200
1/2 cup kidney beans 100
crystal light 20

8:15 PM
1 Zone perfect bar 210

9:00 PM
1.5 tbsp lite ceasar dressing 70
6oz baby carrots 80

Grand total of 1490 calories for the day, not a lot more to say here, another day down and another pound lost (hopefully) again I thank you for following along.

As Ever
Me

Day 42

The forty second day has come to pass, I almost did not ride the bike, it was 9:00 pm and I had not ridden and I thought to myself "why" and decided to get on and ride, followed by push ups. I keep hoping that it will be warm enough to take a walk but it has been in the very low teens as far as temperature goes. It is sunny and bright right now (Tuesday morning) but the thermometer says that it is 18 degrees, so there will be no walk today again. I have a silly Idea to wear a back pack when I start walking when it warms up but I want to load it with the amount of weight that I have lost up to that week, when it warms up we shall see. Its expected that were going to get a half foot of snow Tuesday night so some more unscheduled exercise for me with some snow to shovel Wednesday morning. I don't really mind.

An observation that I have made. I noticed that I don't sit as much as I use to. I find myself just walking around the house looking for something to do "busy work" sometimes just wandering around moving things around. theres a lot more chasing my daughter around now too, which she loves! she will take off towards the stairs and start running up to play, now normally this would get a reaction something like "not now honey lets play down here" but lately its been more like we go tearing up the stairs and play upstairs for an hour. we are both enjoying this new way.


Intake for the day was...well.. perfect, I hit 1500 calories exactly. past couple days to make up the calories I have been eating either a banana or an apple with peanut butter on it for a snack around 8:00 pm. I haven't eaten that since I was a kid, I have to admit that I am enjoying it. I feel like I keep repeating myself but I feel great and am very happy with the results I have gotten so far. this new way of life has become second nature for me now, when I first began I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off counting and figuring etc etc. now? I can look at a plate and know roughly whats there as far as calories are concerned, I still measure everything but now I can wait until after dinner to add it all up because I know about what each item counts as, instead of counting, recounting and then counting again for good measure and eating a semi warm meal. now its easy peasy. this is turning into a long post so let me get onto the menu before I write a Novel.

02/11/2008

Breakfast
8:45 AM
1 banana 120
1 tbsp peanut butter 100
1 Dannon light yogurt 60

Lunch
12:30 PM
1 Dannon light yogurt 60

1:30 PM
3 hebrew national hot dogs 135
2 slices light rye bread 80
3/4 cups white rice 150
1 pat butter 35

Dinner
6:00 PM
2 Gortons fish fillets 340
3/4 cup rice 150
1 cup green beans 40
1 pat butter 35
crystal light 20

8:15 PM
1 apple 75
1 tbsp peanut butter 100


Grand total of 1500 calories right on the nose, everything I just wrote pretty sums it up, I am in a great mood, have a load of energy, wish I could go for more walks etc, and can actually see results that keep me coming back for more. again I thank you for following.

As Ever
Me

Day 41

Sunday was uneventful at best. it was very cold and very windy almost all day, 14 degrees and wind chill in the negatives. weeeee fun. so no out door activities for Me. intake was good for the day I did come in about 200 short but thats ok. I have managed to stay off of the scale all weekend, this is the longest I have lasted without checking it since I have had the scale and its drivin me nuts lol.

I find myself calm today (Monday) and with an empty head, is that a good thing? maybe also I have been noticing lately that I don't have to give this change much thought and I am right on track, meaning that I do not have to think about it any more, I just eat the way I am suppose to and I exercise and its not like I am doing anything out of the normal. this lifestyle has become "the norm" for me. I have zero urges to eat bad food and I actually catch myself looking at the clock to see if its time for my work outs. it feels like my early 20's again minus the partying ;) .

Back to the wind and cold for a moment. Last night as we went to bed the wind had picked up and the news said it was blowing at 40 MPH, now add that to the fact that it was 10 degrees outside and it made for something nasty. the wind was howling so loud that my daughter could not sleep she kept waking up and crying, we tried to tell her that it was ok, and my wife tried to tell her it was airplanes but she ended up sleeping in our room with us because she just could not calm down. I also worry that something (trees) will blow over onto my car in the driveway with all of this wind, there are branches all over my back yard not that far from the car, its not being driven in the winter months because of the snow/rain etc, and its not in a garage. this wind has to stop! lol she is a California car and is not use to this weather, I swear when I looked out the window at it yesterday it gave me a dirty look! I am rambling now, let me get to the menu.

Just thought I would post a picture or 2 of my Baby in the driveway since I mentioned it

02/10/2008

Breakfast
11:00 AM
2 hebrew national hot dogs 90
2 slices lite rye 80
1oz Vermont cheddar 110
8 Ritz crackers 128

Lunch
3:30 PM
1 can Tuna 175
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
2 slices lite rye bread 80
1 Dannon light yogurt 60

Dinner
6:30 PM
3oz steamed shrimp 100
3/4 cup white rice 150
1 cup green beans 40
1 pat butter 35

9:00 PM
1 banana 120
1 tbsp peanut butter 100


Grand total of 1303 calories for the day, I actually had to eat last night just to eat and get in some calorie. the banana was not needed as far as hunger goes. over all a great day and like I said earlier. its just natural to me at this point. I don't see me failing at this, now I wonder about how much weight will be dropped in a years time. 100+ lbs is my prediction, stay tuned to find out!

As Ever
Me

Day 40

As in my previous post I mentioned that we took a look at a couple homes, now were crunching numbers to see if it is actually possible to do something as far as buying one of the houses we saw. wify really liked it, and so did I. The land it resides on is just about perfect for us as far as set up and amount of land. I would like 10 acres so that it can be hunted on but 2 acres does the job too just no hunting.

More good news! I had tried on a pair of jeans a while ago and found that I was a size smaller but could not fit into the next size down (so 2 sizes) last night (Saturday night) my wife said that my shirt looked huge on me so of course I said "Nuh uh" but she insisted, so I conceded and agreed after looking at myself in a mirror. so I tried a shirt on 1 size smaller and it fits! well almost. its a little snug but I could 100% wear it out and it would look ok. but thats not the good news! I am down another pants size! those jeans that didn't fit last time, They fit now! so just because I am me, I said "no way" so I pulled out 5 pairs in the smaller size to try them all on and they all fit, perfectly I might add. so its official I am down 2 pants sizes and almost a shirt size, and all in 40 days! I am extremely excited about this new finding and my wardrobe has just become huge as I have a ton of pants in that smaller size, as well as a ton of shirts in the smaller size for when I get there (it should be soon they almost fit perfect now). so to reiterate, I am ecstatic!

The food for Saturday...I did come in under calories but we did order pizza out. I had 3 small pieces of pizza it weighed out to just about 8oz. surprisingly to me, I did not enjoy it. I thought I would enjoy it but I did not lol. on top of the not enjoying it, it didn't fill me up. so lesson learned. I will reserve pizza as a snack or something in the future. I did feel bad after eating it too sort of like I did something bad, which its not. I fully came in under calories. here is the menu for Saturday.

02/09/2008

Breakfast
12:00 PM
1 dannon light yogurt 60

Lunch
2:15 PM
2 slices whole wheat bread 140
1 can Tuna 175
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
1 pear 120

Dinner
6:00 PM
3 small slices pizza 8oz 520
3oz baby carrots 40
1 tbsp lite Cesar dressing 45

9:00 PM
1 Zone perfect protein bar 210

10:30 PM
dannon light yogurt 60

Grand total of 1405 calories for the day, including some pizza so I didn't want to go to 1500 in case my calculations were off. I am very excited about the jeans fitting and look forward to them being loose! my belt is useless as well. I cinch it up to the last hole and its not tight enough to hold my pants up if I walk. so I need a new belt too! each day I find something that makes me feel like this is working, but the pants thing is amazing to me. Thanks for following along.

As Ever
Me

Day 39

Chiming in late! We went out and looked at a couple homes this afternoon (Saturday) We are interested in one of them but not sure were ready to commit just yet. its 2300 sq feet, 3 acres of land half wooded and half cleared with a hill in the center behind the house. so we were a bit busy today as far as that goes.

Day 39 went well as far as calories goes, I made a nice pair of breakfast burritos/tacos which were ok but I doubt I will make it again, I just prefer an omelet :). over all a good day all around. I am trying to stay off of the scale until Friday, its going to be hard I know it! but I will try. I will keep this post short because were still a bit busy tonight. but I wanted to make sure I posted. so heres the menu.

02/08/2008

Breakfast
10:00 AM
1 whole egg 70
3 egg whites 48
2 mission white corn tortillas 110
2oz tomato 10
1 slice cheddar cheese 70
less than 1oz green bell pepper 5
1 pat butter 35
1 tbsp salsa 15
less than 1oz onion 5
1 glass crystal light 5

Lunch
12:00 PM
1 Dannon light yogurt 60

2:45 PM
2 slices whole wheat bread 140
1 can Tuna 175
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35

Dinner
6:15 PM
2 light cups of home made soup 320
3/4 cup cooked white rice 150
1 tbsp sugar in home brewed green tea 48

8:30 PM
1 dannon light yogurt 60
1 Nectarine 70

Grand total of 1431 calories for the day, so as you can see its just an average day as far as the calories go. the home hunting on the other hand, I sorta wish we were ready to buy right now but were locked into the lease that we have from when we moved back to CT from CA, I really liked the house we looked at and its only 15 more mins from wifys place of work so not bad at all. tonight (Saturday night) I had sort of a not so good dinner, and I feel like crap for it. ahhh but that is for tomorrows post. Tune in tomorrow kids! for the exciting second part of the weekend. oh and sorry the post is so late in the day.

As Ever
Me

Day 38 , Weigh in day

Just another day in the life of a fella doing something for himself, the day went fine as far as intake and exercise goes. I feel like I did not get enough water but otherwise good. I had coffee for the first time in about a month and man do I miss it lol. its all good though my results are satisfying and I contribute everything that I do to the numbers I put up, or should I say down.

I weighed in at 495.6 so I will count it at 496. when I weigh in I weigh myself 5 times to see where it goes in case of a variation. it ranged from 495.6 to 496 even I usually take the highest weight and use that, so 496 it shall be. thats more than 3 lbs since Tuesday. I am happy with the loss. I am going to try and stay off of the scale all this week. its hard for me because I like to see that I am making progress. it seems like smaller amounts because I weigh in biweekly. if I were to take a weeks loss I was 503lbs last Friday, so its a 7lb loss this week total. I am rambling on now lol. onto the menu.

02/07/2008

Breakfast
9:00 AM
big cup of coffee w/2 tbsp sugar 96
4 tspn coffee mate 40

11:30 AM
3oz roasted chicken 165
2 slices pumpernickle bread 120
3 dill pickle slices 5
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
1 dannon lite yogurt 60
1oz sliced tomato 10

Lunch
3:30 PM
1 zone perfect bar 210

Dinner
6:00 PM
2 Gortons fish fillets 340
5 bites of a green salad w/ lite ceasar 50
crystal light 10
ketchup 15

8:10 PM
1oz Vermont sharp cheddar 110
8 wheat Ritz crackers 112

Grand total of 1378 calories for the day, I am happy with the loss and overall satisfied with the results so far. I think my sodium was heavy and water was light for the day, and its the day before weigh in but it is what it is. Thanks for reading and following me with this challenge of challenges.

As Ever
Me

Exercise and a meal

Exercise for Thursday went well, I rode the bike for 20 minutes and did my push ups and then stretched. easy peasy. Also I thought I would post up a quick easy and tasty chicken salad I have been making lately.

I use 3oz of roasted chicken breast and I chop it up fine, add 3 slices of dill pickle chopped up, 1 tbsp of miracle whip, and pepper to taste. mix well in a bowl until its all even and put it on some pumpernickle bread add some tomato and there you have it. I only use about 2.5 oz of the chicken on a sandwich and eat the last bite :) it consists of the items below, I added a lite yogurt as a side. its 395 calories if you eat all of the chicken and add the yogurt and for just the sandwich its 310 calories, and very tasty if I do say so myself.

3oz roasted chicken 165
2 slices pumpernickle bread 120
3 dill pickle slices 5
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
1oz sliced tomato 10
1 dannon lite yogurt 60

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As Ever
Me

Day 37

So, I skipped exercise again, my shoulder was still feeling odd, and the last thing I need is to put myself out of the exercise game. BUT something I noticed, and this could just be a fluke or a variety of different things, I hopped on the scale today and since I have not been exercising, Tuesday-Wednesday and today is actually Thursday. so 2 solid days no exercise, I have lost more weight in that couple day period than any other 3 day span yet. this makes me think I should be eating more calories per day. so maybe its time for an experiment. The other thing that has changed is I have been taking Lecthin regularly, so maybe thats contributing to the more than usual loss. or maybe its just a good week. I don't know, and I don't know what I will do whether it be more calories and keep the exercise the same, or no exercise for a week to see what happens (which I do not want to do) , or no change at all and be happy with what I am doing so far.

Pretty good day a far as intake went, just under 1500 calories for the day so I am happy with that. I am totally convinced that if I had a food addiction that it is gone. I find myself forgetting to eat at times and remembering only because my daughter will ask for a snack or something and realize is been 4 hours since I have eaten a thing. I do drink almost constantly, whether it be green tea, water, or crystal light.

My clothing is looser! now I know I have only a recorded 13lb loss but remember I had been doing this for almost a full month before I had the scale, and after getting the scale I am on a 1lb per day pace (faster than that for the past couple days) and if its a 1lb per day pace for the entire time (which I don't count on even though its likely correct) that would mean I am down almost 40 lbs! for a person of my stature for clothing to be looser it would have to be a substantial amount of loss for that to occur. anyway, I am down a pants size. a whole pants size! all of my pants that I have been wearing now fall of of me! even with a belt they don't stay up. I am on the last hole in my belt and its not really holding the jeans up, so time for a new belt! My shirts are fitting looser too. not so much to go down a size but definitely looser. I couldn't be happier with my results thus far. I have to dig through the closet and a couple boxes where I have my old cloths and see if I can find a few pair of pants! that feels good, I got to tell ya. unfortunately I know that I don't have many pair in 1 size smaller. But I have a ton of pants 2 sizes smaller (some even brand new with tags still on it) so I am all set for when that happens. I will just wear what I have in 1 size smaller and the too big size with a belt until then. wow that part of the post got long fast lol, I guess I am happier than I thought about it. let me get onto the menu.


02/06/2008

Breakfast
9:15 AM
2 cups bran cereal 180
1 cup 1% milk 110
Dannon lite yogurt 60

Lunch
3:00 PM
3oz roasted chicken 165
2 slices pumpernickle bread 140
3 dill pickle slices 5
1 tbsp Miracle whip 35
glass crystal light 20

Dinner
6:15 PM
2 cups dads chicken soup 350
3/4 cup white rice 150
crystal light 20

7:30 PM
1 pear 120

8:15 PM
1 banana 105


Grand total of 1460 calories for the day, did I mention I am down a pants size? lol I mean a God honest whole size. I can't believe it. I did notice my pants getting looser but a whole size! I am in high spirits and have a distinct feeling of accomplishment going on right now. Thanks for reading!

As Ever
Me