weight loss
Quick Sunday blog question (please comment with your reply) … What do you find the hardest thing to stick with when trying to get fit or lose weight?
Is it eating right, being active, getting enough sleep? Everyone has their difficult habits to break. Continue reading
A quick list to adjust and build on…
#10 – Cut Portion sizes:
I can eat huge amounts of food… that doesn’t mean I ‘should’ eat huge amounts of food.
#9 – Track All Food:
Every bite that I take needs to be accounted for on my food chart Continue reading
I got an email newsletter from Richard Simmons a few days ago and it was focusing on drinking eight cups of water a day… I’ll admit that I have been very bad at this for a long time… I bring a bottle of water with me to work pretty much every day, but by the time I am leaving I have only consumed 8 oz or so.. and then when I get home I don’t do any better… I do drink my 16 oz of decaf green tea almost every weekday, but not water.
So I decided to figure out a way to get this working… Continue reading
Cece and I had a nice New Years eve with all the kids… dinner out (I was good and had Vegetable Fajitas) and went to the movies (I was not so good and had popcorn) and saw Marley & Me.. If you are a dog person you will sit there crying your eyes out at the end… (I am a dog person) Continue reading
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 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!
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
So it took me a long time to get in the frame of mind that I am in right now. I have known for so long what I needed to do to lose weight and be healthy. I have know the risks to my health and my life that being morbidly obese has caused. I know that I am shortening my life with my family and kids (whom I love very much)… but none of that mattered for so long.
Now I am looking toward the future. I know I have a long trip to lose the weight and get back in shape, but I see the road there now.. a few weeks ago I saw nothing. I know it will be hard, but I am looking forward in a lot of ways to proving to myself (and others) that I can do this.
How did I get into this frame of mind? I tried for a long time to get into it. I wanted it, but it just wasn’t happening… I was keeping myself from getting there. I know now that it took reaching out and getting support in return and, in my case, reaching out to someone outside of my circle of family and friends. I have a wonderfully supportive group of family and friends, and they are there for me whenever I need them, but I needed something else. I reached out and got some encouragement… then more… and then I found some success and now I am hooked.
I don’t know what will give you that push to get the frame of mind that you need, but I know that if you have tried before and failed, then you need to think outside the box… outside of the circle of support that you have and keep searching until you find it.. it is out there, and you owe it to yourself and your family to keep searching.. just like I did!