SteveAx
First, a note: Today I got a comment from my friend Liz giving me kudos for losing 55 pounds… and it hit me (I mean I already knew this since I set it up) that the running weight loss total on here in the ‘About Our Blog’ section shows what I have lost since starting the Lighten Up program, but I lost 14 pounds from my high weight before I started that.. so today I decided to change that running tally to show all the weight from my all-time high… so no, I did not lose 16.5 pounds this week… and thank you Liz! 🙂
Second note: This past Monday when I refocused on my health and weight loss I had to guess at my weight (I entered 351) because I was heavier than our scal can weigh… we have one of those doctors scales with the weights and it only goes to 350 pounds…. and when I got on it was not having it. With the weights all the way over the beam was still pointing up… snd you can push on it and feel how close you are to 350 (not feel how many pounds, but just if you are really close to 350 or not.. how sad is it that I know this) So I guessed 351 which I figured was low. So after a solid week, last night and again this morning I weighted 347.5 pounds… so officially I lost 3.5 pounds since Monday… unofficially I believe it was more like 5-7 pounds (since my starting weight was probably higher than 351)
This week I exercised Monday and Tuesday, then slacked off… but the good news is that I have 3 days left this week right now and I plan to get a workout in at least twice more.
I also learned something last night.. when dieting didn’t go to Sizzler and don’t get popcorn at the movies (like I didn’t already know that) Cece and I went to a screening of ‘Yes Man’ and had dinner before. I figured I would get a small dinner and salad bar (which I did).. Got salmon with broccoli and small serving of rice and about 2/3 of a piece of cheese toast… no baked potato, no butter on the broccoli.. good solid meal… and the salad bar… I even brought in my fat free dressing packets so I wouldn’t use the Blue Cheese Dressing that I love and usually cover my salad with… so I started out at the salad bar very responsibly.. lettuce, mushrooms, carrots.. then came the blue cheese.. I had to have some so I put a small spot on the side of the plate… then around the corner.. imitation Crab salad… a small portion… and then a small serving of spaghetti and sauce… really not too bad… and I should have been done.. but then a second trip with another small portion of Krab salad, some tuna and pasta salad, spaghetti with a meatball this time and a chicken wing… so it was small portions of each, but I really didn’t ‘need’ that second trip…
Then to the movie screening.. when we get to go to these (thank you Joe) they give you each coupons for free soda and popcorn.. and the theater it is at (Archlight) has AWESOME popcorn with real butter… so on the way there I debated just getting a lite lemonade and no popcorn… and of course when I get to the counter I order one popcorn for Cece with extra butter and one for me with a little butter… of course I eat the whole thing… again a poor choice…
So the willpower is a little weak, but I have to look at this as a success. Why? Because 8 months ago I would have gone to Sizzler and had a steak and baked potato w/butter and sour cream and a salad drenched in blue cheeses, and 6-8 fried chicken wings and a large portion of spaghetti with 4-5 meatballs.. and a couple of cheese toasts.. then at the movies at least the amount of popcorn I ate last night (probably more) and perhaps some sour candy of some sort… so while I was not ‘perfect’ last night, it was a huge improvement!
I have been trying a new standard in the mornings… I am frying a single egg (with a little cooking spray) and then putting it in a half a pita… wrap that up in a paper towel (that makes the Pita soften up some) and eat it on the way to work.. then an apple at work and decaf green tea… that is breakfast… then lunch (4 of the 5 days this week) has been a salad with fat free dressing and a pack of 100 calorie snacks. It has been working well and leaving me quite a bit of food available for my dinner.
So this work week has been productive for the company and for my weight. My drive is still focused, I just need to be more vigilant in my choices and work on my willpower.
So the new beginning was today and I must say that I am pleased with my results… I got up and did the normal morning stuff and went to work… kept track of my food on my paper version of the FoodMover (I find it much easier if I just keep the food chart in my pocket notebook), got home and took Jake to the YMCA with me.. did 20 minutes on the eliptical and to change things up I did 20 minutes of fat burn on the exercise bike instead of weight training… was pretty tough, but I am glad that I did it and fell good right now… Took one of the new (December) recipies off RichardSimmons.com, the Chicken Pomodoro recipie, and cooked it… it was awesome… I was tempted to eat more than I had space for on my FoodMover… it was really good… but I was able to put it away and not overeat… I actually have a lot of windows left today.. most my vegetables and a lot of starch… as well as some fruit… I could eat right now, but I am going to have some water instead…. I also only had one Diet Caffine-Free Doctor Pepper (the BEST diet soda in the world right there with Diet Rite Zero) today as I am planning on increasing my water intake and lower my diet drink intake…
After dinner I remembered that tonight was the Richard Simmons chat.. and of course I was too late like always… but I did speak with a bery noce woman in Washington D.C… we shared some stories.. it was nice… felt helpful having someone else talk about what their struggles were.
Then back to work (at home this time) and now I am updtaing the blog as promised… I believe that I did everything I set out to do today! 🙂
It was a good day, just planning tomorrow and remaining focused and calm about the whole thing. I stayed up to late last night watching a yoba/meditation show on PBS.. very interesting and it has rekindled my desire to learn meditation (in my spare time 🙂 ) so in bed early tonight.
So, were there any ‘breakthroughs’ today? Any life changing revelations? Nope.. not at all… but I do feel good and know I will feel better as I get closer to my goal weight. I know that I have a lot of people in my life that are very supportive (you know who you are) and that I will stumble (like I did over the last couple of months) and that it is hard to get back on track, but it can be done.
So tomorrow my plan is to pack more for lunch, come home from work and go to the YMCA and do eliptical and swim. Then have a healthy dinner while staying in the guidlines… and perhaps try to meditate.
Very late so this will be brief…
Tomorrow (12/1/08) is a new start. I have neglected this blog (actaullly avoided it) and my weight loss (which has become a weight gain) for too long. I have every excuse in the world ready, but know they are all just excuses. So tomorrow I begin again… 100% commited to the Lighten Up Diet, exercise, positive thinking and regaining my health and fitness.
I will write more here tomorrow and explain where I am at right now and where I am going.
So first, I have been stuck at the 342-346 area for 5 WEEKS!!! Enough is enough… I have been eating well, but not being as strict as I was when I was losing weight.. I also have not been exercising like I should (and not at all most of the time)… I still have my goals, but I have lost the extreme motivation that I had…
There have been several things that have made me ‘feel’ like I was more motivated… We bought a Wii Fit, (which by the way is AWESOME! More on the Wii Fit below) When I got it home we noticed that the weight limit is 330 pounds… so I decide to try it anyway and when you get on it, it weighs you… and tells you that you are over the limit… so my kids and wife are enjoying it… I really WANT to get below 330 so I too can enjoy it… Also, watching the first episode of ‘The Biggest Loser‘ last night was great… one guy lost 24 pounds his first week… I’m sure he ‘bulked up’ going into it, but that is still amazing! Oh what I could do if all I did was workout, eat food prepared by a diet chef and had a personal trainer yelling at me all day!
So why am I not motivated like I was… time and lack of results.. it’s a vicious circle I guess… I lose motivation, then that makes me stop losing weight, which causes me to be less motivated… etc.
What am I going to do about it? Well I have decided as of last night that I am not forcing myself to get back 100% on the lighten up program AND forcing myself to exercise EVERY day! That means on the elliptical or bike at home, or at the YMCA swimming or jumping rope in the garage or walking around the neighborhood… rain or shine, sick or well, tired or really tired I am going to do this NOW! I am going to use the desire to be on the Wii Fit and the motivation of watching the contestants on The Biggest Loser and breaking this 5 week rut!
This blog is a few days away from being 3 months old… I cannot afford health-wise to take this lightly (no pun intended) I need to refocus and kick myself in the ass to get going on the losing again. My hope for the blog is that I will start getting some comments posted.. any comments at all.. really if you are reading this PLEASE post something just so we know you are there!
Now about the Wii Fit… if you can swipe your kids Wii and find a Wii Fit at a store (which is difficult to do) I highly recommend you get it. It is WAY more than I expected it to be. It is a balance board that wirelessly connects to your Wii… when you start it sets up a profile for you and you stand on the board to weigh in.. it detects you balance and that is how you ‘exercise’.. they have yoga, strength training, balance training, etc.. the games are fun and you earn time that unlocks more games.. things like ski jumping, tightrope walking, hula-hoop (my wife’s favorite).. it doesn’t sound like it would be anything that can give you a workout.. but boy does it… and it tracks your progress too… you can set goals (like lose 2 pounds in the next 3 weeks) and it will help you achieve it. It is really a wonderful product and makes you want to play (exercise)
So Set your Tivo and fire up the Wii, and check back next week to see my progress!
Thanks,
Steve
So my wife and I got a rare chance to go to our favorite place for the weekend. Avila Beach is near San Luis Obispo, California and is about a 3 hour drive from home. The hotel that we stay at there ran an incredible special and we couldn’t pass up the deal.. and we both needed to get away SO bad…
So great trip.. lots of fun and very relaxing.. great weather… we had a BLAST! Now the down side is that there are GREAT places to eat there… and places that are not real Lighten Up friendly… so we decided to take it easy, and to really watch our snacking… and we did.. but I went off on the meals, not like I would have in the past, but definitely not on the program. For example I have breakfast ands had fruit instead of hash browns.. but I also had more protein on my plate than I am allowed in a full day… and I ate it all!
One diner I had three types of grilled fish.. steamed veggies and a baked potato… but I also had Breaded, Fried Green Beans for an appetizer and a bowl of clam chowder…
So anyway I expected to gain a small amount of weight… I hoped it wouldn’t be more than 4 pounds.. so was I in for a shock when it was a gain of 9-10 pounds (can’t tell exactly since I had to back to the old POS digital scale since I was over 350 again)… so that was Monday when I weighed 356.8…
That morning I went back on the food mover and now I am down 4 pounds… on track again and getting back on track with the exercise tonight.
It really taught me how easy it is to convince yourself that it is okay to take off this day or this weekend (or this meal for that matter) and how devastating it can be to your progress. I have been at about the same weight for a month now and I am tired of it. I need to refocus all my efforts and be serious again… I need to get below 300 and not be stuck here in the 340-350 range.
Next trip away I will still have a great time with my wife and we will eat at the same places.. I will just have to make the right choices and stick to it!
This recipe is for about 2 servings (depending on the size of the chicken pack you use)
1 Package ‘Party Wings’ (Also known as Drumettes… I used a small (1 1/2 pound) pack)
Ground Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powser
Red’s Buffalo Sauce
Red Rooster Sauce
Fresh Lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste
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Preheat oven to 400°. Rince the wing sections with water and drain well. Sprinkle with ground cayenne, garlic powder, salt and peper over wings and stir to mix.
In a large glass baking dish place a piece of parchment paper to cover the bottom of the pan. Arrange wing sections on paper with open area in between each.
Bake in overn uncovered, turn once when golden… cook until both sides are golden brown.
In bowl mix Red’s hot sauce (about 1/3 cup) Red Rooster Hot Sauce (about 2 TBS) and juice from 1/4 lemon. Mix. Remove wing setions from oven and place into hot sauce mixture. Stir well to coat. Remove and place on plates.
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Our rating from 1 (yuk!) to 10 (I’m really not cheating?): 9 (you have to like spicy)
Serving size: 5 Wing Sections
Our estimated exchanges:
3 1/2 Protien
1 Extra
NOTE: These are a favorite and are VERY spicy… What I do is I weigh the wings that I take and then I weight and subtract the bones after I eat them… that way I know how much chicken I actually ate and I just count 1 protien for each ounce of chicken. You could also dip in a fat free ranch which would cut the heat a little
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I don’t remember if I read this somewhere or if someone told me… but as strange as it sounds it helps…
When you get up and look in the mirror in the morning get close so you see your face really well and smile at yourself… take just a couple of seconds and try to give a genuine, happy smile…
Take it in… it is amazing but for me it brightens up the morning mood… I am so not a morning person and before I started doing this I can’t remember the last time I looked at myself and smiled…
Everyone reading this (if anyone is reading this), try it tomorrow morning.. come back and comment and let me know if it helps your morning mood at all!
Steve
So today I was able to weigh in on the infamous ‘doctors scale” (see changing scales)… so while the POS digital scale weighed me in at 342.4 (officially 64 pounds from all time high!) I went to the more acurrate scale… 347.0… I can live with that… so assuming that my all time high was accurate (it was at the real doctors so I believe it is close) I have lost 57.6 pounds (45 on the Lighten Up program since 6/8/08.. just under 2 months!)…
Eating is getting a little blan.. haven’t been making new dishes or trying new things (one thing I need to start doing again) and the exercise is still not where it should be. Water intake is also WAY down. These basics are all things I have to change now to keep going down the right road.
Just a quick note… after last weekends weight gain I was able to get back on track and refocus on the Lighten Up program.. today I weigh 349.2.. that is 57.2 pounds lost from my high of 406.4!!! And, Since June 8th (when I started the Lighten Up program) I have lost 42.8 pounds!
I believe this is the second largest weight loss that I have even had… and the first one was crash dieting and extensive exercising every day (I was 18 years old at the time. While I need to make myself exercise more often (I only made it to the gym once this week so far, and have not been on the bike or elipcitac at home at all) but the food part has been relativly easy. I do lose a protien exchange and a fruit exchange (going from 2405 calories to 2270) but I also get to live longer… so that’s a fair trade.
I feel good… I am wearing jeans again and some of my 3X shirts… I don’t feel as uncomfortable and not as self-concious about my size when I am in a group.
Steve
After this last weekend was over, I had gained 6 pounds! I really thought I was staying on track, and know I went over on my exchanges a little on Saturday, but I was shocked at the 6 pounds…
So Yesterday (Monday) I was fully back on and lost a little over 2 pounds… so I am refocused and anxious to get to below 350!
It’s really interesting the mental burden that gaining the hard-lost pounds causes… I tried my best to not beat myself up and to not lose sight of the big picture and the ultimate goal, but that is really hard sometimes.
I know that to get through this, I have to exercise more often.. that is the key, I think, to making this work at this point.