We are just under 2 weeks into our healthy habits, and there has been no shortage of chances to screw up. Just yesterday I was sitting less than ten feet from a man devouring a plate of buffalo wings and onion rings. I'm sure I stared for a minute, but than I was over it. Today I went to a BBQ place and chose a salad bar while plates of brisket and ribs surrounded me. So here I am on a Saturday night thinking of all the delicious food I passed on this week and couldn't feel prouder for myself (BTW, Chloe has did equally well too...but I will let her put her own words on here later, so this post will be reflecting my thoughts only, lol).
This last two weeks have been the easiest I have ever had when trying to implement new healthy lifestyle techniques. I can attribute that to my wife joining Chloe and I, and two great friends talking to me daily and us helping motivate and encourage each other. This is not a one day at a time thing, this is a one hour at a time mission. All it takes is giving into a pack of candy or a slice of cake that could send me back to the mentality of "I already screwed up, might as well eat this too", and sabotage this whole journey...again. I would like to think I am strong, but when it comes to food I am far from it. I am not depriving myself of foods, but I am avoiding the ones that I know lead me astray. The loaf of Italian bread, pizza, ice cream, Doritos and even sugar free candy have all been blacklisted from my food list. I can't stop at one piece of sugar free chocolate, I eat the whole back of 7 pieces in a day. A serving of Doritos just ticks me off and makes me want more. And the whole "just eat one or two slices of pizza" that everyone (skinny) tells me to do just doesn't work for me. So instead of moderation for these items, I stay far away.
But enough of what I don't eat and let me share what I have been eating. I have found ground turkey breast to be perfect for oven baked burgers and dinner size Italian meatballs. Weight Watcher's has frozen chicken breast already in 5oz serving sizes that are trimmed and easy to throw in the oven for 140 calories each. Broccoli, cauliflower, romaine lettuce and any other veggie is on my plate with each meal. Instead of bread, I am eating these heart healthy pitas from Joseph that are made with oatmeal, flax seed and whole wheat that are only 60 calories and only 4 net carbs. One night we put them on a cookie sheet, spread salsa on them, topped with a little shredded cheese and canned chicken breast for a quick low calorie Mexican pizza. Flatouts flat bread is another good low calorie/low carb bread substitute. Finally, my most common food has been oatmeal and a banana for breakfast. I just use 1/2 cup quick oats and add 3 packs of Stevia/Splenda and a little cinnamon and I am good to go. Now that I have a bag of flax seed, I will add that to it for some added health benefits.
My area of opportunity remains exercise. I still am pretty sedentary, except for being on the go on the weekend. I hope to either start walking at Walmart around the edge of the store, or have the weather break to get some neighborhood walks in just to get some moving around in. I also need to quit the diet pop and just drink water...but that will have to wait until I know for sure I am good with my eating. You may not believe it, but a Diet Mt. Dew really helps when I want something sweet. And yes I realize the artificial sweetener is tricking my body into thinking it is sugar which causes a release of insulin that in turn causes my body to crave food/sugar...but in my head I swear the pop helps so let me live in denial, lol.
I will end with some results. I weighed in on 1/3/13 at 395 lbs. Initially I ate well 1/2-1/4 (yes, not too long) and didn't really get back on track until 1/7/13. As of last Tuesday the 15th I was 383 lbs. In the past I would have been ticked it wasn't a huge 20 pound loss in two weeks, but I am ecstatic about 12 pounds! I really didn't suffer or starve to get there. I also have found my appetite shrinking and my clothes getting looser. Thank God that I got my senses back to see where I was heading if I kept doing what I always did. It is full steam ahead, probably for the rest of my life, on eating/living healthy. More to come later friends.
Mike
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
A Much Needed Reboot
It has been ages since I have actually had the desire to post anything regarding my weight loss on this blog. When I started this little personal blog for me and Chloe last year, it was meant to lay out our eating and fitness habits for the world to see, even if only one other person read it, to keep us accountable. Where we lost focus was that WE needed to keep ourselves and each other accountable and this blog should have just been an outlet for venting our thoughts and feelings. Since July and our vacation, the eating well left and the fitness has been non-existent. The pride of losing around 50 pounds was replaced with the disgust of gaining about 40 of it back. I won't go any further into the negativity I was feeling...previous posts sum that up enough.
Instead, I will focus on the personal reboot to the mind and body that is taking place. Chloe and I are about a week into continuing our weight loss journey. We did an initial weigh in, but are only going to weigh once a month to avoid falling back into the scale discouragement that often occurs on days we weigh more than we think we should. Chloe is 14 now and still growing and developing into a young woman. The last thing she needs is to develop an eating disorder over trying to lose weight. So we are keeping things realistic and easier for her to do. She watches her calories on the MyFitnessPal app, still allows herself to eat what she likes (in moderation) and is avoiding as much fried and sugary foods as possible. So far, so good for her. I have focused on trying to cut as much processed foods from my diet as possible. Fruits, vegetables, lean meat and whole grains are a staple to my eating plan. Bread, sweets, crackers, cookies and other junk food are not part of it.
My wife has joined MyFitnessPal with us to help her get healthy too. While she has no weight to lose, she too realizes how unhealthy our eating has become. Our son Austin...well, let's just say we do what we can to get him the right foods, but at 11 years old and super picky he has an alternate menu most meals. Eventually adding our walks back into our routine, along with basic exercises at home, should help all of us even more.
So that is about all I got for tonight. As always, I hope this blog will inspire someone one day on their weight loss journey as much as I hope it keeps me on mine. Also though, keep in mind, this is pretty much my (and Chloe's) journal that will be used to vent and brag about the good and bad through all this. I am not writing to win 20000 views, I am writing for me. No need to critique my posts or slam the blog. I hope my friends and those also trying to shed some pounds will find future posts insightful or motivating, and that they will leave a comment to help inform or motivate us as well.
More thoughts, tips and rants to come. Thanks for reading and keep the fingers crossed or say a prayer that this will be the last reboot we need.
Mike
Instead, I will focus on the personal reboot to the mind and body that is taking place. Chloe and I are about a week into continuing our weight loss journey. We did an initial weigh in, but are only going to weigh once a month to avoid falling back into the scale discouragement that often occurs on days we weigh more than we think we should. Chloe is 14 now and still growing and developing into a young woman. The last thing she needs is to develop an eating disorder over trying to lose weight. So we are keeping things realistic and easier for her to do. She watches her calories on the MyFitnessPal app, still allows herself to eat what she likes (in moderation) and is avoiding as much fried and sugary foods as possible. So far, so good for her. I have focused on trying to cut as much processed foods from my diet as possible. Fruits, vegetables, lean meat and whole grains are a staple to my eating plan. Bread, sweets, crackers, cookies and other junk food are not part of it.
My wife has joined MyFitnessPal with us to help her get healthy too. While she has no weight to lose, she too realizes how unhealthy our eating has become. Our son Austin...well, let's just say we do what we can to get him the right foods, but at 11 years old and super picky he has an alternate menu most meals. Eventually adding our walks back into our routine, along with basic exercises at home, should help all of us even more.
So that is about all I got for tonight. As always, I hope this blog will inspire someone one day on their weight loss journey as much as I hope it keeps me on mine. Also though, keep in mind, this is pretty much my (and Chloe's) journal that will be used to vent and brag about the good and bad through all this. I am not writing to win 20000 views, I am writing for me. No need to critique my posts or slam the blog. I hope my friends and those also trying to shed some pounds will find future posts insightful or motivating, and that they will leave a comment to help inform or motivate us as well.
More thoughts, tips and rants to come. Thanks for reading and keep the fingers crossed or say a prayer that this will be the last reboot we need.
Mike
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