MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hoping everyone has had a wonderful holiday season so far. I will be back posting soon.

Mike

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope to be back on here with good news to post soon. Still in a eat good one day then eat bad another cycle, but I'm feeling much more positive than my last post. I know what needs to happen to get back on track, I just have to stop sabotaging myself and quit allowing others to aid in my own self destruction. Take care friends o'mine.

Mike

Wow...

I am pretty sure all those who once read and supported our blog have given up on us posting again. I would have. But I will write once more, and possibly for a final time, for me tonight. I am not going to speak for Chloe. She is 13, is doing 13 year old girl things and has a lot of things going on that rank above a hardcore focus on losing weight. For the record, she has gained some weight back from what was lost the beginning of the year and into the summer, but she is staying pretty consistent. So let me just use this blog to vent for a few about what's on my mind.

I screwed up royally. I gained pretty much all but 10 pounds back since July. My eating habits are the worst they have been. I have spiraled out of control. Any stress or frustration leads me to fast food, junk food and/or huge portions on my plate. Zero physical activity has replaced the neighborhood walks. I start the day with the best intentions, only to have a 2000 calorie dinner/snack evening. I would like to say, for the 1000th time, "I know what to do, so now I just gotta do it". But that is BS, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to fix my brain to not want food. I don't know if I should watch my calories, portions and/or carbs. I don't know the best way to plan a weeks meals with everyone eating differently and with a working families budget. Kinda hard to spend $30 on veggies and 4 days later see half have either went bad or just aren't getting ate. Of course that may be a cop-out since I could just buy my food each day that I am going to prepare and ditch the once a week shopping expedition. I hate this sooooo much. This 150 pound mountain that sits in front of me seems unclimbable. I feel like I am having to walk to Alaska, but still standing on the road in Kentucky. The success stories of those I read about are so inspiring, but looking at this blog and seeing how I was on that same successful path and blew it is so discouraging.

I don't know where to start back on track at. All I know is that if I don't my life will be over in the not too distant future. My asthma attacks are coming back, as well as the shortness of breath and chest aches. My knees feel like they will snap some days. I feel like such a failure to myself and my family. I doubt there will be anymore Mike and Chloe lose it posts for a bit. Kinda pointless if neither of us are losing it. So if anyone reads this, say a prayer or keep some fingers crossed for me that I will find a moment of clarity and a solution to why I fail at losing weight.

Mike

Quick update from Chloe

Hello everyone! This past Sunday my family and I went on vacation to myrtle beach, SC. While there we all gained a few pounds but no huge gains thankfully. My Aunt Lisa (mikes sister) called on Monday (while we were in SC) to inform us that my Grandma had been hospitalized due to an open place on her foot that had developed 2 bacterias in it. Only 1 has been identified because the other's not developed enough yet. She was first told that she had to stay until it was identified but now she has to stay for at least 3 more weeks. Ever since we got back from vacation, we've not made wise food choices... I'm hoping tomorrow my head will come back and I will make good choices and start exercising again. I'm going to try my best to motivate dad into getting back on track too. Thanks for all you support!

A quick hello...

Let me give a quick update on how crazy it has been lately for me (and Chloe):

My mom is having medical issues which is requiring me to be her health care person twice a day. Long story short, home healthcare is not covered to administer IV's twice a day and bandage her diabetic ulcer on her foot each day. Instead, they showed me how to do it. So each day at 5am we wake up to be at her house by 6am. From 6 til about 7:15 I wait with her while her IV does it's thing. By 7:30 I drive to work. I put in my 8-4:30 M-F and head back to my mom's to bandage her foot and give second IV. Usually we get home about 7:30 just in time to cook, eat and go to bed. Meanwhile, Chloe is her helper/assistant while I am at work. Of course we don't care a bit to do all this, but it is only a 5 days in and we are getting pretty tired. This is why our blog will be neglected for about another 25 days.

Weigh in stuff:

Awesome news this week, Austin has lost about 5 pounds since he started being more conscious of his eating. Chloe has lost, but not weighed in a few days. Her clothes are looking baggier though. I ended up gaining 6 pounds from the 5th to the 12th, but from the 12th to this past Tuesday I have lost 10 pounds! (I did eat a high calorie/fat meal for dinner tonight, but no biggies...I won't let it carry into tomorrow).

So that's all for tonight, and possibly a few days. Schedule is busy, but at least I'm usually too tired to snack late at night or even want to eat much when I get home. Have a great rest of the week friends.

Mike

Epic Fails...

Last week my post touched on my "cheat days" and how I credited them with keeping my cravings low which in turn aided in my success. I retract and denounce those statements. Since my two days off the plan last weekend, I have only ate right for two days. Chloe was at church camp all week and did equally bad on her food plan, but at least she moved around through the day. I am so ticked at myself and feel like such a failure. For the better part of 3 months I did the right things and lost 35 pounds, so it really sucks realizing that these past 7 out of 10 days has probably killed much of that success. Yesterday I would have actually been in my calorie range, but I had a 560 calorie coffee drink, 380 dessert treat and some nacho chips. Just reckless, stupid and old bad habits. Tuesday I will find out what the damage is on the scale.

Tomorrow is Austin's birthday. I will enjoy seeing my son blow out his candles on the cake, but will not be eating any. I have got to get back on cutting out bad carbs, watching my portions and walking more again. Tomorrow I will get my fresh start. It would be so easy to keep going down this lazy road, but I refuse to lose this battle. It's one bad week out of my life and will not derail me from future success.

I think that is all I got to share tonight. I could write a book on how I feel, but I think I will sum it up by saying that we are not giving up and will work even harder than before to reach our goals! Take care friends.

Cheaters never win...or do they?

Hello again friends:

Today is kind of a so-so day for me. Chloe went off to church camp for the week, so kind of lost without my girl. Thankfully I got my boy and the wife to bug so I won't be too bummed. Anyway, let me bring you up to speed on the weight loss stats. I weighed in yesterday at the city biggest loser contest 6 pounds lighter than two weeks ago. Was great to be in a new weight range. It would have been better to be at 10 pounds lost, but slow and steady wins the race.

As mentioned in this post's title, I am cheating. By cheating, I have been letting myself have a Saturday or Sunday to eat what "bad" food I want, just not go crazy. So far this has not hurt me at all as I had kinda feared. Last month I was discouraged when I had a bad day on Saturday, but ate well the rest of the week. Once I seen that I still had a good loss and virtually no cravings that week I kept the experiment going. What I have found is that by having that extra 1500 calories (or more) that one day, the rest of the week I eat my 1600 calories without being hungry or craving any junk. In fact there have been several days where my calories only totaled about 1100. So I'm thinking the weekly calories in, even with my cheat day, are still averaging about 1600 a day and with my activity increasing it is keeping me on the right track.

Today though I have to confess my bad bad sinful ways from this weekend. I have cheated yesterday and today. Due to some health issues of my mom, I was at her house caring for her from early Saturday morning until about 3pm. I had ate nothing the whole day and was really hungry. So I figured my cheat meal would be a Chinese buffet. Fast forwarding to keep this brief, from Chinese on Saturday up until right now, I have ate like a madman. Chinese, pizza, ice cream and cheeseburgers n fries. Overboard much? Absolutely. Feeling bad for it? Yes, but not that bad. I know the rest of the week I will be back to packing my lunch and eating healthy dinners. I will also be back to walking at work and after work. These two days got my pizza, Chinese, fries and ice cream desires out of the way so I can be cool with my regular M-F routine. Tuesday will be a disappointing weigh in, but I will regroup and have a good loss by weeks end. Next weekend I will just have to get back to have a cheat meal, not an entire weekend.

Let me wrap this up:

I had mentioned getting my Fitbit last week...LOVING IT! It is giving my steps and distance walked, my activity level. little badges of encouragement and it communicates with MyFitnessPal.com perfectly. Even on my off days, I wear it and it keeps me aware of how lazy or ambitious I have been. It is also showing me how unproductive some of my sleep nights are allowing me to realize I need to be going to bed much earlier. I highly recommend getting one if you are trying to get/stay active.

Lastly, for those who like to watch weight loss shows on television, like Biggest Loser or Heavy, tonight is the season premier of Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition on ABC at 9pm eastern time. Last season was very inspiring, so I expect the same for this season.

Take care and have a great week!

Memorial Day Quick Update

Holiday thoughts:
This is a bittersweet holiday that we acknowledge. Cookouts, fun in the sun and being off work are all great benefits of this day. We also though take the time to think of my cousin who passed away on Memorial day a few years back. Then when we decorate family graves during the weekend, memories of our loved ones who aren't with us fill our hearts. We take a moment to reflect on those who gave all for this country and for those still in uniform. Thankful for them all.

How it went:
This holiday weekend was absolutely beautiful. My sister and nephew arrived Saturday and we had a great weekend hanging out with my mom. There was no big cookout. Instead, mom made her chili for chili buns and we had melon and strawberries for dessert. I used my Myfitnesspal app to figure the calories and serving size for her chili. Turns out was just about 280 calories for a bowl full. Unfortunately, I let old Mike make 4 chili buns with it and some chips with dip. By Saturday night I was about 536 calories over. Not bad, considering I still was under 2150 calories for the day. Chloe did just as average for that day too. Little over her limit, but not much.

Sunday we met up with my sister and nephew at a little Italian restaurant. This place has an awesome assortment of cakes in a big glass case right in the middle of the dining room area. I made sure to sit with my back to it. Poor Chloe was staring right at it and my sister made sure that we knew she would be trying a piece which then got Austin fired up for it too. We stayed strong through the lunch. I ordered a grilled chicken salad with dressing on the side and avoided breadsticks. Chloe had a turkey sandwich melt on rye along with steamed veggies.

Then came dessert...

Now usually we NEVER get dessert. This time though, my sister and nephew ordered a piece (which are gigantic pieces) and the dad in me took over instead of the dietician. I figured that they are kids and it's hard to just watch someone eat that stuff especially when you are a kid. I let them split 1 piece. I think it may have lasted 9 minutes before it was devoured. Again, they could have did much worse and they both got their dessert on without gorging on a whole piece each. I didn't have any, so I felt really good. Chloe got the regrets, but Austin was perfectly content with eating his half.

For dinner Sunday, my sister made a Mexican dinner for us. Long story short, it turned on my carb cravings and by 11pm I had consumed just under 2000 calories. This was 400 over my goal of 1600 calories. Chloe was also over her calories, but those pretty much left when the cake came to lunch.

Other stuff besides food:

Per my FitBit info collected, we walked an average of 3 miles both Saturday and Sunday. Today we have not did anything to get any calories burned. The "too hot outside" excuse was handed out today. We also have drank a ton of diet soda this weekend, so tonight I am struggling to get my water in. With weigh in at work tomorrow, I am not too excited about seeing the scales. While I didn't do terrible, I sure didn't do good this weekend. It's all good though, two bad meals aren't going to send us on the wrong path. One meal at a time and we will reach our goals. Have a great week friends.

A family affair

This post is long, but I have to share:

My daughter Chloe has always taken after my side of the family in regards to size. She is tall and unfortunately has a slower metabolism like me that makes it easy for her to gain weight. My 10 year old son Austin has always seemed to be more like my wife in terms of size. He is on the shorter side and always was little. Since my wife is all of 5'2" and 120 pounds, I just assumed he would luck out and not have weight issues. I was wrong. Over the last couple years he has steadily gained weight. He has many of the traits of a condition that naturally leads him to not like many different foods. So his diet for the past several years has been composed of mainly processed foods. Plain cheeseburgers, cheese pizza, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs and pizza rolls pretty much summed up the only main foods he would eat. Mixed in through the week, we can get him to try a few things here and there, but not as much healthy stuff. He once went almost 2 days without eating when I told him eat some veggies and chicken breast or nothing...for fear of him collapsing, I gave in first.

It was our fault for feeding him this crap, but we really just didn't know how to get him to eat better. We did get healthier varieties at least. Reduced fat, no sugar added, sugar free and reduced calorie options were the priority, but it was still processed crap. Thank God that yesterday Austin had an epiphany about his weight gain!

After seeing that none of his jean shorts or khaki shorts fit anymore (he has been wearing out those grow with ya gym shorts), we had to go clothes shopping. It was such a defeated look on his face when I told him that the pair of shorts he was trying on was the biggest size in the boys section. Moments later, he had one of his rare asthma attacks. It had been years since he had one, but he has had two within the last month. When me and him got by ourselves, just us men you know, we had a talk. I told him that the recent rapid weight gain can cause his breathing issues. I also told him that all the sugary foods he should lay off on could eventually make his blood thick like jello and hurt his heart and body over time (Yes, two scary bold things, but 100% true). I asked him if he would be willing to not go on a diet, but just start eating a few more good foods and a few less bad ones. He started asking about what foods so I knew he was close to agreeing. For the first time he talked to me about his weight. He said he knew he was bigger because one of the parts of his playground he now has to turn sideways to fit inside. He also said he didn't want to be called fat in middle school. That killed my soul just knowing my shy little boy had been called fat no telling how many times and just had kept it bottled up. I kept my composure though, and told him that by August he would be much healthier and feel better if he followed our new habits. Austin agreed to do what me and Chloe (and the wife since she is supporting us too) are doing.

Today he ate carrot sticks, fruit packed in water, reduced fat string cheese and every other healthy food he could. So tonight he is going to bed full and only had about 1300 calories! I don't have him on a strict calorie count as he is only 10 and I am not 100% on recommendations for that age, but he is on a common sense food total. I couldn't be more proud that he is wanting to get healthier too, along with the rest of us!

Tonight we went on what probably was a 3 mile walk. It was so great that all of us were like ducks in a row walking around the neighborhood. We about killed ourselves on big hills, but feel all the better because of it. The lady at the gas station bragged on us for trying to get fit as a family and wished us luck. That made me even more proud of how we are living now as opposed to just a few weeks ago. If we can make these positive changes, anyone can. Don't wait for tomorrow, or Monday or the first of the month or whatever your excuse is. Start now! If you need support or encouragement to get started, but can't find anyone to talk to about it, we are more than happy to be there for you...just email me at pusserwade77@yahoo.com or find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/friendsoflosingit.

I'm backkkkk...- Chloe's post

Hello! I know, "Chloe posted?!?!" (btw: sorry its been a while). Anyways, I've (surprisingly) did pretty well. I started somewhere in the 190's and as of this morning I'm 185.3! I can honestly say I'm pretty proud of myself. So Sunday dad and I went a a 1 mile walk around the neighborhood and today, while dad was at work, I played Just Dance 2 on the Wii (no I didn't cheat and use just the required arm) for almost an hour and a half. Today I was at my Mamaw's house and I almost did really bad... She decided for breakfast she'd make eggs, sausage, and cinnamon toast and for lunch she made egg noodles in chicken broth, boneless, skinless chicken, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Luckily, I didn't! I made sure to measure out and stick to a single portion. Let's just say after eating a bowl of egg noodles in broth for dinner, I have 33 calories of 1600 left. Sooooooo that's about it! Oh wait, one more thing; I promise to post more often!!! Okay, now that's it :)
Thanks for supporting my dad and I through our weight loss journey! More posts to come soon!!!!

Better to slip than fall

Weight loss update

Tuesday's work weigh-in found me up almost 1 1/2 pounds. Obviously, I was not happy considering in my head I was eating very well and at least moderately exercising. Than last night I looked at my food journal I keep on MyFitnessPal.com and seen the issue. There is too much of a good thing. Too much lean protein, fruit and portions in general I am sure led to the hidden calories. Maybe the estimation of 6 ounces of chicken breast was off by a couple. The one cup of frozen mixed fruit that I eyeballed possibly could have been close to two cups. So today I broke out my digital food scales to weigh my proteins and my measuring cups for my fruits. Problem solved.

Now about that slip/fall title...

Let me be honest, when I first seen I gained I was ticked. I was not thinking of poor measuring or too much food on my plate. I was thinking about the breadsticks, pizza and other "good" foods that I passed on and thinking how I should have just ate them.

So in my frustration I had a mini meltdown in the kitchen yesterday evening...before the epiphany of why I gained. I must have thought I worked at a restaurant as I grilled out chicken breasts, smoked sausage and turkey burgers. Enough food that I will have chicken for work lunches for 2 more days. My dinner consisted of 2 chicken breasts (probably 12 ounces total), about a hot dog length section of sausage and a 6 ounce turkey burger with reduced fat cheese. No buns, bread or anything else. Had I stopped there, it would have actually been a good day and I would have been under my calories, the fat content for the day not too bad and my carb intake great considering the small amount of food consumed for breakfast and lunch. Of course I didn't stop there. Later on I had another chicken breast, about 2/3 cup of peanut butter (my food drug of choice) and about 4 bites of pasta salad I had gotten for the wife. That took me to over 2300 calories instead of my self imposed 1600 calorie limit. My carbs were well over my limit, as I am trying to only get my carbs from fruits, veggies and brown rice/whole grain foods. After chilling out and seeing the error of my previous week, full guilt set in. Chloe was especially disappointed as she was the one pleading with me to stay out of the kitchen and put the food down. Ignoring her support made me feel like a huge turd.

But as I stated, it is better to have slipped than to fall. Today has been great. Had the day off to take the wife to get dental work done. She couldn't eat this morning, so I didn't either out of support. It was 1pm before I had a 6 ounce turkey cheeseburger and 6 ounces of chicken breast. Nothing else to go with it, so have to have some fruits/veggies tonight. Small slips are going to happen, but I feel good knowing I can shake it off and keep going.

Chloe's update

Chloe is down 5 pounds as of this past weekend. This week she is attending the school district's Gifted and Talented Camp, so still more school work for her. She promises to add her two cents soon.

Have a great rest of the week. Our next post will be after I do my bi-weekly weigh-in for the city wide contest on Saturday. Take care!

Quick post

Brilliant idea today to take the family out to eat. Not brilliant when we ended up at Pizza Hut. So my typical internal battle began. The old me ordered the four of us cheesesticks, hot wings and a large supreme pizza. Thankfully the new me skipped the cheesesticks and pizza, and ate a salad with 400 calories of wings along with water to drink! Chloe did well too. She ate 1 slice of pizza and a few wings. More calories than she'd like, but much better than the old Chloe. So Crystal has plenty left for dinner and tomorrow since me and Chloe won't be partaking in it.

More awesome news came today. Chloe has lost 5 pounds since the may 1st! To add to that, my scales at home now register my weight! I am 30 pounds less than I was March 1st. I am so proud of me and Chloe. We have a long road ahead still, but we can already see progress.

Thoughts from a proud daddy

The reflective daddy stuff:
Today I seen my 13 year old, Chloe, get her 7th grade awards AND my 10 year old, Austin, graduate from 5th grade and get his awards. He will be at the middle school next year. My school system was K-6th grade and then junior high....but not this school system. It just feels so weird that my kids are both going to be in middle school. Where did the years go?!

Oh what wastes of time!
This reflection of time flying by leads perfectly into our weight loss, or more specifically mine. For years, about 30 of them, I have dieted in some form. This will be redundant to those who read my history of diets in my old blog, forgive me...got go with the flow. At 4 I was put on a diet by my pediatrician. This led to my mom packing my lunches, not letting me partake in the ice cream truck, going to Weight Watchers and even hypnosis. With the exception of one summer when I was about 12 or 13, I stayed fat. Between high school and now, about 17 years, I have did many things in an effort to lose weight. TOPS weight loss club, supplements, shakes, no carb diets, no fat diets, low calorie diets, cabbage soup diet, ear staple, self help books, prescription appetite suppressants and flipping myself with rubber bands when I wanted to eat. None worked. 17 years wasted, along with probably thousands of dollars. The reason they didn't work is because the only true solution is to eat healthy, move more and not pig out. Even with that solution, the old me still fights to eat the old way.

I have wasted so many years being overweight. So many times I could have been outside playing sports with the kids gone due to my lack of fitness. So many amusement park rides not ridden with the family due to not fitting. So many years of not feeling good enough due to the lack of self confidence from being so big. I could go on, but you get the point.

It is my pledge to use this year to lose my weight and live healthier. The second half of my kid's school years will be remembered as the time when their dad did more than ever before with them. Time is short and I refuse to waste anymore being overweight.

Now for the good stuff! 

On May 8, 2011 I weighed in at 389.6 lbs, which is about 24 less than the 413.## lbs I weighed in early March! This was 6.6 pounds less than last Tuesday's work weigh in. Keep in mind that these scales weighed me 6 pounds higher than the city's scales used for the contest, so this was even more encouraging.

Okay, I've went on long enough. I appreciate all those who read this and comment, but this is also my place to vent what's on my mind...so forgive me if some of the posts seem long, boring or all over the place. Take care friends.

Contest weigh in results

At a little after 10am I registered for the local contest. As promised I am posting my weight. First off, their scales weighed me about 6 pounds less than our work scales. As nice as that was, I have to prepare for Tuesday's work weigh in showing me a little higher because of the scale difference. I am posting my weight just to keep track of it and have some accountability. I know anyone reading this will be allies of weight loss and friendly, but if any haters give me any crap on my weight, I will hunt you down lay on you with dead weight until your scrawny lil butt is writhing in pain. Okay, now where was I? Oh yeah, my starting contest weight for 5/5/12 is 389 lbs. Much better than 413 lbs that I weighed the beginning of March. Chloe was too young to join, but will be posting her weight (maybe) on here tomorrow. I can't weight to see the number next Saturday!

Pre-TGIF!

It has been a tiring, but productive evening. Made a low calorie french onion and mushroom soup along with baked chicken breasts on the side. I also made my very first smoothie (I know, way behind on that one) with lowfat soy milk, frozen unsweetened fruit and lowfat plain yogurt. Chloe thought it was too thick, so gotta tweak it a little. Total calories for the smoothie was under 110 so I was pretty happy with that. I ate all but 45 of my self limited calories today. Eating too far under my calories usually turns in to me wanting to binge eat. All is still going well with the eating, but didn't get any exercise.

The Facebook like page is somewhat Greek to me. I am trying to wrap my head around how I would like it to look, but can't figure out a couple things. Give it time and I'm sure it will be worth a couple seconds spent on it. Have a great Friday friends!

I promise this is the last time!

Okay, I realized I should have made a Facebook "like" page instead of a regular page. So please bare with me, and visit http://www.facebook.com/friendsoflosingit# and like it.

This way we don't have to look at each others non-weight loss posts from our regular Facebook pages. Like it and then add some posts to help out on ours and other folks weight loss journeys. Hopefully we can make it a great place to go to for support.

Take care,
Mike

Find us on Facebook

I have started a Facebook page for this blog in hopes to build a friendly space to add tips, recipes, encouragement and a place to share laughs, successes and slip ups and have support and friends to help everyone's weight loss journey.

http://www.facebook.com/mikeandchloeloseit

Friend us and spread the word to others who want to lose weight or just get/stay healthy!

Smiling tonight...

The end of the small weight loss contest at work was today. It began in mid March, but I really was on again and off again during that time. The lack of carbs over the last week helped me shave 6 pounds since last week and 14 pounds overall. That was 3.5 percent and enough for 5th place. Since we immediately started a new contest, my current weight of 396 pounds will be my starting weight. That is much better than the 413 pounds I weighed at the beginning of March. Without a doubt, I feel like I am on the right track! I am not doing a Atkins or other low carb diet, let me be clear on that. I simply have focused on produce, lean meats and avoided chips, crackers, cookies and enriched bread.

Biggest Loser just announced the winner on TV. Even though they had personal trainers, 12 hour workouts and no stress of everyday life, I am still encouraged to see a person my size become that size. I may not be competing for thousands of dollars, but I am competing for a longer life. If I can keep that thought in my head when I am tempted to eat stupid, than I will overcome my cravings. I will say it until everyone is sick of me saying it...ONE HOUR AT A TIME is what will get us there. Yesterday is proof that all it takes is one split second to eat a trigger food and start a binge. Today was a good day and God willing tomorrow will be too!

Also, in case you are wondering, Chloe is bogged down with school work so she hasn't had time to put in her 2 cents. So be ready for her 25 cents worth once school is over. Take care friends.

More BAD than good...

And so it goes, just when I think I got my eating routine down I slip up. It started out great. Dropped the kids off at school, took my final exam that I've been stressing over (and passed ;0), avoided all the fast food on the way back home and then I walked in the house. Since I had the day off work and knew I'd be home alone, I knew there would be temptation to eat bad out of habit/boredom/etc. I did not realize that I would hold strong until 11am and then have a ferocious inner beast take control and ravage the kitchen. In my almost blacked out state of eating through the day, I have surely hurt the progress made over the last 4 days. Just for the sake of documenting my self destruction, let me list the no-no foods that I managed to sniff out and consume: chocolate chip ice cream (with peanut butter on top), one plain bagel w/cream cheese, way too many pistachios and two sandwiches for dinner. Shame, disappointment and general ticked offness (yes, that's not a word, but it fits) sums up my mood.

As stated previously, this won't keep me from moving forward. I got a new work weight loss contest starting tomorrow and the town's weight loss contest begins for me Saturday. There will be a lot of motivation to keep on track, but today certainly was a setback. That's about all I got tonight. I know it will be better tomorrow and hopefully my positive, confident demeanor will return by then. Take care friends.

Mike

Good outweighed the bad...

This beautiful day led us to Cumberland Falls to spend a little over an hour walking around the park. Unfortunately, I am still too out of shape to attempt the trails, but I got plenty of exercise just walking the paths and stairs. A big part of us going there is the gift shop. Both Chloe and her brother like seeing what unique items they have. They also usually like to get some rock candy. At 63 calories and 12g of sugar, it really isn't the worst thing Chloe could grab as a treat as long as she just got one. They usually end up thrown out before ever fully consumed anyway. Unfortunately, Chloe broke bad and chose the heaping soft serve ice cream cone at the snack bar across the path. The nudging and disapproving looks I threw at her (at her request I remind you) were completely ignored. Than the guilt set in about halfway. As I sat with my diet Ale81 soda, Chloe began to realize that ice cream was not gonna get her to the goals she has set. I was so proud when she chucked the remaining cone in the trash...as did Austin.

After we left the Falls, we went to our town's walking path near downtown. We proceeded to walk an additional 2 miles on top of the 1 mile at the falls. Sure we felt like we were going to succumb to the heat and fatigue, but we feel like a million bucks right now! For dinner I fixed us taco soup, which was more like chili to me, from a weight watcher recipe online. It is awesome and very good for you without tasting very good for you. The link to the recipe is below.

As my post title says, the good things we did today far outweighed the bad. This weight loss thing is not easy for us, but we keep fighting no matter the missteps along the way. I cannot guarantee in an hour I won't eat something stupid...but I can guarantee that I will pick up the pieces and keep heading to my goal if I do. One day (or in my case, one hour) at a time is the only way to succeed. My past failures further reinforce that motto. Don't hesitate to leave a comment, we would love to see some feedback. Hopefully if you are on a weight loss journey you will get with us and we can all help each other out!

Mike

Recipe link for Taco Soup WW style: http://www.food.com/recipe/weight-watchers-low-fat-taco-soup-157732

We are back!

Been way too long, but the blog is alive and well. School is winding down for both of us, so the long absences of posting are over.

Here is the jist of whats been going on:

For every day of healthy eating, we had about 1 1/2 days of eating crap. Only one day of exercise and did not drink our water enough. Tuesday 5/1, we weigh in to see our 3/5 - 5/1 results. Right now I am about 7 pounds down, but Chloe hasn't weighed.

Today I completely took hold of new found motivation that flared up two days ago. After sitting with my mom for the 80th time at our local hospital Wednesday (infection, she'll be okay, enough on that), I felt I was looking at my future. She is a diabetic, has heart disease and hypertension, had a strok, cancer, heart stints, double bypass, eye surgeries, neurapothy and countless infections and muscle/joint issues. It is by God's grace that she heals up farely decent and still is self sufficient.

I could easily have these same problems if I follow the same path. With my weight though, an early death is more likely.

So today, I recommitted to eating veggies, fruits, lean meats and swearing off junk, fried foods and sugar filled foods. The kids and I went for a little over 1 mile walk to start a fitness regimen into our plans.

Chloe hasn't quite rekindled the same drive to get back on track. After some negativity was vented from her, she conceded she too needed to be back on track. She told me I have to keep her on track and encourage/scold her when needed. I let her know that works both ways.

On May 5th We are joining a "Biggest Loser" type contest our town is hosting. It runs through 8/11 and person with highest % lost wins $1000. My prize will be losing weight. I will also be in another work contest and will actually do my best this time.

So that is the skinny on where we have been and where we are. Stay tuned to see where all that is taking us. Take care and talk to you soon.

Mike

Happy Spring Time!

Sorry for the long delay, but work and school has filled the schedule book. Chloe and I have continued to eat smart (for the most part) since my last post. I am currently down about 8 pounds and Chloe is down 4, but I swear our clothes fit us much better than those numbers would let on. We are still taking things one meal at a time. Now that spring weather is here we hope to increase our activity. Unfortunately our work and school schedules will hinder that until early May. I'm sure we will be able to squeeze in at least 3 or 4 walks a week though until that time. Sorry to be so brief, but I am wore out and I know if I write any more than this it will just be my usual rambling, lol. Hope everyone is doing well and feel free to leave a comment to show support or if you need some encouragement yourself on your weight loss journey. Take care.

Mike

Just like Gene Autrey...

I'm back in the saddle again. Sure it took us weeks to get my head straight and bad food cravings under control, but at least it happened. This morning the desire to get healthy was off the charts. Memories of last year's weight loss and eventual self destruction came to my mind. Instead of looking at it as a failure, I am encouraged in knowing I/we can do it and that we know the right way to do it. My only negative I will post is my weight. I am at my highest weight ever, 413 pounds. But me and the kids, both Chloe and my son Austin are doing a healthy eating contest. Weight loss percentage will be a factor, but also how we eat and exercised will be big on who wins. Next week we will post our week 1 progress. Before that time comes though Chloe and I will aim at giving a update to keep us on course. Thats all I got for now. Take care friends and thanks for the comments and emails of support!

What's new...

Nothing. Since we have no news of massive weight loss or intense workouts, this post (and blog in general) has grown quite boring. It isn't the blogs fault though. Really, it isn't necessarily a bad thing either. Many a weight loss blog has gone dormant due to the author(s) simply throwing in the towel on the whole weight loss journey. The fact that I sit here typing is still evidence there is fight left in us. Enough of this blogging reflection, let me get you up to speed on me and Chloe.

At 7pm last night, I was eating boneless wings, steak, wonton tacos and my son's fries at Applebee's restaurant. Chloe was sharing the wings with me and eating her chicken penne pasta. I devoured all of mine along with food from other plates, while Chloe took over half of her dinner home. The ride home I experienced the same guilt, frustration and crappy filled to the brim glutton feelings that I have had thousands of times before. While I was dealing with that, Chloe was entering her calories into her My Fitness Pal app on her phone. This is just a one meal snapshot, but more and more meals lately have been like this. I self destruct for an hour while Chloe does damage but stays relatively close to her target calories.

From this point on, this post is all about me. Chloe is doing good besides me setting her up for bad meals...hopefully the next few moments of writing this will lead me to a solution to stop doing that to us.

The desire and motivation are there, but the implementation of following through my previously tried and true eating habits has ceased to occur. I have purchased the big boy workout apparel, good training shoes and a kitchen full of healthy veggies, fruits and lean protein sources...but the clothing sits, the shoes like new and the food inching towards the expiration dates. It has become a new routine to eat out or get carry out orders in lieu of cooking at home. Obviously the choices for healthy options can be made, but my old thought process causes me to select "good stuff" instead of what I could make at home. Unfortunately the "good stuff" is what is leading me to risks of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and dying a way too soon death. Yet, those thoughts are but a fleeing thought as the plate of (insert decadent deliciousness here) sits in front of me.

I never considered myself an emotional eater. Stories of those eating to stifle their pain and depression fill the internet and self help shows on television. I honestly do not have anything going on or from my past that I dwell on that much to need pain stifling. We all have had bad stuff happen to us. Family members die, marriages have rocky times, work stress builds and other everyday life issues happen to us all. Not everyone reacts by being gluttonous, but when a fat person eats a double Whopper they must be in pain according to the experts. So right off the bat, I am denouncing the emotional eating as a cause for my meal meltdowns.

Compulsive eating? Well, I don't sit and graze all day on food. Typically I eat a bad dinner and maybe a crappy side item with my otherwise healthy lunch. Although, I could watch Food TV all day and potentially eat at every place they visit. But I don't think about eating all the time. I have been known to eat out for lunch and dinner, picking bad choices at both. Maybe I am a 25% compulsive eater since I do have a habit to graze on my wife's leftovers (since only about 3 bites actually fills her up).

So I still sit here typing and expressing my thoughts here on this blog, hoping you are not too bored reading this rambling, and continue to wonder where my issue lies. Is it the fact I have been put on a diet since I was 4 and am now just sick of it? Is it the defeated feeling I have for letting myself get this big and feeling like it is impossible to lose so much weight? Is it wanting a plate of food more than wanting to work for weight loss? Do I live to eat instead of eat to live? Honestly, as I type those questions out and look at them I think it could be a little of all those things, especially the first two. Even though this needs to be a lifestyle change and not a diet, the years of dieting along with my current weight and reflection in the mirror just makes me want to throw something. So going back to the emotional eating subject up above, maybe it really is a bit of emotional eating when I throw healthy eating out the window. All I know is that if I don't get this figured out soon, this will all be for nothing since I will be 6 feet under. People at my weight do not live long and I am not foolish enough to think that I am different. 

As I have said in this blog several times, and in my previous blog a hundred times, today is a new day. I have no idea what lies ahead of me, but there are things in my life I can control. It's making the right choice that has been the issue, but today and going forward I can do things right. Hope my next post is shorter and not as in depth, but this blog is a tool to help me and Chloe too, and laying it all out there sometimes is the best way to help one's self find the answers. Take care friends.

Mike

Hello Everyone...

I know it has been a long time since our last update, but it's been hectic. School and work have been way harder than last semester and Chloe's schoolwork has required more time as well. Unfortunately we have fallen into the snacking while studying trap and choosing not so good meal options. Even though the desire and attention to weight loss remains there, the strong motivation weakens more often than we'd like. Not cooking as often has been a deterrent, along with purchasing cheaper foods that are not good weight loss choices. So with vacation less than 6 months away, I am stuck in a rut. While Chloe strives to enter calories in her MyFitnessPal app, I end up most days feeling defeated in how I have ate and end up blowing dinner too. I am so proud that Chloe is at least near the right track and feel very ashamed that I have lent a hand in sabotaging her progress. I know what needs to be done to live healthy, lose weight and reach my goals....it's the staying on course and silencing my old self that is the hard part and reason I haven't. I despise how much I love food. Cooking it, eating it and watching shows featuring it. I have not given up though. This blog and this post are a reminder to myself that there is fight left in me to drop this weight.

Today is a new day. I slept late so I have not had a chance to make a bad food decision. So today I will hit the proverbial reset button again and keep moving on this journey. I don't know when I will post next, but I will make an effort to do so within the next week. Take care friends.

Mike

Didn't plan to, but...

So I didn't really anticipate posting anything tonight, but here I am doing so. Nothing really big has happened in the last 24 hours to warrant a post about me and Chloe. About now you are thinking "is he just going to ramble on and on?!"...No, I'm not.

I just read a story on CNN.com about a man who lost 270 pounds (and still going) since 2010 after a major health scare. His name is Bryan Ganey. I urge anyone looking for a shot of motivation and inspiration in their weight loss journey to check out his blog at http://ganeybypass.blogspot.com/

That's all I got for now. In case you are wondering, today was a good day as both our calories were in goal range. More to come later...take care friends!

Mike

Confession time...

I won't make excuses for the lack of posts, but I will give some reasons. We have back slid more than once the past two weeks on our eating. Besides that, school and work have occupied our time. So here I bare our confession and testimony that we are good now. Candy and chips, along with too large portions found us off and on last week. I am sure it set me back, but I have not weighed lately to see. With a renewed focus to lose weight, helped in part by a tiny school desk in my English class, we are back to tracking calories and have ditched the crap foods.

I will wrap this post up since it's so late, but I got a couple items to share. First, listen to Fat2Fit podcasts or online for tips and info on weight loss (click their link on our blog). Also download their awesome free app loaded with useful weight loss tools. Just search fat2fit in the app store. These guys are such great motivators and educators, as well as entertaining to listen to.

As always, we welcome all comments and words of ecouragement. We know our blog is rough around the edges, but we'll continue to try and improve the posts as our journey continues. Take care friends!

Mike

School's in, School's in!

Today started the new semester of school for my wife and I. The added stress over the weekend and today leading up to the start of classes (3 of my 4 are online and the other one is on campus Thursday) almost lead me to breaking bad on how I ate. With the exception of the rib bliss that Chloe talked about from Friday night, I actually kept things in check...as did Chloe. Just to add to what has been said about the whole rib night, my calories were 1200 more than I "allow" myself. In hind-sight, those 3000 calories would have been a light day of eating on many days in the past. It makes me proud to know that even on my worst eating times I still have enough drive to update my calories and start fresh the next meal.

Saturday we ended up going to Taco Bell to eat. Up until the moment I ordered I had considered chucking all my daily calories for some of my old favorites. I didn't. Instead, me and Chloe opted for the light Fresco menu items. High five for the Youngs!

So here we are on Monday. Every one of us doing homework (I'm done for the night) and too busy to focus on food. That is until now, when Chloe just asked for a healthy snack and I sit writing about food. Oh well, that is the struggle of a food lover. One meal at a time has been working for us so far, so maybe I'll have to make that one meal and snack at a time. Not much exercise going on lately, but we'll eventually get it put in to our routine. Til next time, take care!

-Mike

BBQ belly

Hey everyone. I have some good news and bad (that was good at the time) news. Good news, I'm down to 188.5 from 191.0 (YAY! *Clap, clap, clap*)! And now for the bad news (that was good at the time)... My family and I went to Sonny's BBQ for dinner tonight and I had a half rack of dry rub ribs, a sweet potato, mac-n-cheese, and 2 pieces of garlic bread. I not only royally screwed up but so did Dad (Mike) when he ordered all you can eat ribs (he ate about 1- 1 1/2 racks total), mac-n-cheese, fries, and 2 pieces of garlic bread. I went 631 calories over 1600 cal. and Dad went at least 1000 calories over. Needless to say, we had a very bad night and we are now beating ourselves up for it. We've both promised to get back on track tomorrow. Well, I'm headed to bed since everyone else is. Either Dad or me will update later on tomorrow. Night everyone and God bless! -Chloe

Mamaws House

Hello! Well, winter weather has finally hit KY and you know what that means... Snow day! Thankfully, my parents got to work ok and my brother and I are at Mamaw's house for the day. We've been here for an hour and already she is already mentioning leftovers from a church dinner that are not healthy at all. So far I've avoided fried eggs and bread with a serving of Cheerios and milk, and a glass of orange juice. Ugh, this should be a "fun" day. Oh well, I just have to remember my reasons for starting my new lifestyle and make good choices. Wish me luck! -Chloe

Here we are!

Here's our faces...and the rest of us...to put with our names and our story.

That's me and Chloe taken today. I weigh in at about 405 pounds and Chloe is 191 pounds. We can't wait to have "skinnier" pics posted in the coming weeks. And yes, I realize the "fat boy" shorts are hideous :o)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hello 2012! The new year brings an opportunity for a fresh start to each of us. We can move past the not so good events of last year and focus on the potential for great things this year. I use the word "potential" for a reason. Almost every year I have thinking I would make great changes for the better and by mid-year have seen them falter. As discouraging as these memories of failed resolutions are, I am using them as motivation for this year. Chloe and I are determined more than ever to break old habits and re-invent ourselves as healthy individuals.

Our year is beginning with our gameplan:
Common sense has to make a come back with regards to how we eat. The days of eating at buffets and leaving feeling like crap are over. No more crap (snack cakes, chips, cookies, etc...) will be brought in the house. It's so easy to say that we'll just have a little every now and again, but it's even easier to have a whole bunch of it often. We gotta get back to shopping around the border of the grocery store and ditch the middle. This is the area where the produce, proteins and dairy are kept. The middle is primarily the processed foods that we need to avoid. We also have to get moving. No more searching for the closest parking spot. No more sitting around for hours at a time. Even if it is just walking at first, we have to become for physically active.

Obviously, the gameplan isn't rocket science. Eat in moderation, make healthy food choices, increase activity and support each other. Can't get much simpler. It's just a shame it took so many years to accept this.

I have always wanted a quick weight loss or a magic solution. At one point, and for some of these several points, I have tried all of the following weight loss ideas: Weight Watchers, T.O.P.S, Slim Fast, Metabolife, bee pollen pills, green tea diet, low carb, no carb, The Zone, protein shakes, cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet, "Mayo Diet" (turns out, there is no official Mayo Clinic diet), liquid diet, Adipex, Dexitrim and countless other pills/diets. All were tried with the hope of fast weight loss. Only Weight Watchers advised sensible eating and slower weight loss...which is probably why I never stayed on it for long. TOPS was just a weight loss club for weigh ins and support...unfortunately I was about 30 years younger than everyone so felt kinda out of place. I'm sure the other things have worked for some, but there is no perfect weight loss plan for everyone. Fortunately though, as long as you stick with it, eating smart and being active works for everyone.

The hardest thing for me will be handling a slow and steady weight loss. I am impatient, I can admit that. I am as of last week I'm 400+ pounds and I am not happy. I want it off and quickly, but quick weight loss does not equal long lasting weight loss. This will be a mental thing and hopefully support from family and friends along with the blog and other people's books/blogs will fix my mentality on slow weight loss.

Our weigh in numbers will be posted probably Tuesdays since this coincides with The Biggest Loser show (I know we are not on the show, but it makes sense to me to use the same day :o) Pictures will be posted soon today. They were freshly taken just before I started this post.

It's been a long post, but future posts will be shorter I promise. I look forward to the comments and support from anyone reading this and hope our journey can help anyone who is on their own weigh loss journey. Take care and talk to you soon!

Mike