Buckling Down and Getting Serious Again

Being someone that has battled a weight issue practically all my life I have reached that point again where I have decided to take action yet again. I am at the heaviest I have ever been and in the worst shape of my life. The last few months have been really tough, even simple things seem to just wear me out.

So, that begs the question just what am I going to do about it? Well, for me I have had the most success using the Weight Watchers program although I have never been to a meeting. I have followed their point systems with good results and I know it works for me. I can stay on a diet when I set my mind to it and when I don't have to completely give up a type of food completely.

For example if I had to give up bread or sweets totally I would never stay on a diet. The great thing about the point system from Weight Watchers is that I can work in those kinds of foods in moderation. Right now I can have 28-35 points but I try to stay at 30. If I want a big ole yeast roll or a piece of pie I just have to make sure I stay within my points for the day. With the point system I have the flexibility to eat almost anything as long as I stay within my number.

I started counting points again last Monday and so far things have been going well. I am looking forward to weighing in tomorrow evening. I am handling the weigh in differently this time around as I am going to weigh in the evening before I eat dinner. I used to always weigh in the morning before I ate anything. I think weighing in before dinner will help remind me of my goal and hopefully be an encouragement. My toughest times are at night and of course on the weekends.

I'll have an update after tomorrows weigh in.

I Am Back, So Guess What

Since I am back to posting on this blog that can only mean one thing...... I am overweight still and I have to do something about it. Once again I have let myself down and now I find myself weighing more than I ever have and in the worst shape of my life.

The sad thing is knowing that I know how to correct the situation but I have been unwilling to put the work in to make it happen really bothers me. I know the Weight Watchers program works for me. I have lost as much as 55 pounds and kept it off for over a year before. But knowing is not doing nor is it commitment and therein lies the problem.

Am I ready to go back to counting points and writing down what I eat? Heck no! So what should I do? Well, for one thing I am resurrecting this blog. Between the writing and contact with fellow bloggers out there it was a great source of inspiration and information. Secondly, I am dropping fried foods and McDonalds. Thirdly, I am cutting out real desserts. I am also going to increase my water intake.

That is just a start because I know that only those few things will not produce long term successful weight loss. But, I have to start somewhere and right now that is all I am willing to commit to.

Yes, I am still Alive

I know I have been silent for too long, leaving my readers with no explanation to my absence.  I don’t really have a good excuse, I have rationalized my silence in much the same way I deal with my weight issues. But, today I was hit square in the mouth with the reality of my situation. So I will lay out my weak excuses for at least not popping on the blog and letting people know what was going on with me. 

In the first place I had reached the point where I didn’t want to struggle anymore with figuring out what to eat and how much I could eat. I know what types of food and how much to eat to facilitate weight loss but actually selecting and preparing the food is another thing. Needless to say I have been off program since my last post. I have eaten whatever and whenever I wanted not caring how much of it I ate. One of the things I didn’t want to fall into were blog postings of oops I fell off the wagon, but tomorrow is another day. I also did not want to be a hinderance to others with my failures. I have continued to follow the journeys of my fellow weight loss bloggers and I really didn’t want to have a negative impact on the community. 

Secondly, I have been battling something I have never faced before. I began to deal with stress and turmoil with comfort foods. Maybe I have been guilty of this before but only recently did I realize I was sitting in my chair worried about something and I would get up and make me something to eat. One night after Thanksgiving I was sitting in my chair watching TV when I realized I was not hungry but I was continuing to eat anyway and it felt good. That is until I remembered what I was doing before I made me some cream cheese dip. I was worried about my job and the direction it may take in the coming year. 

The other reason I have not posted on my blog is because I don’t like to admit failures. The way things have been lately that would be most all of my posts. If you ask the people I work with they would also tell you that I don’t like to ask for help. One of the reasons I started to blog about dieting and weight loss was to hopefully encourage others to succeed. It is hard to offer encouragement when I myself am discouraged. 

For those of you that have sent me words of concern and encouragement I want to apologize for my silence and thank you for reaching out to me. For those that have continued to visit my blog I want to apologize to you also. Now, what about the future? I am not sure about that right now. I want to lose this weight but I don’t know if I am truly ready to make the daily sacrifice. Will I return to blogging about my weight issues? I am not sure about that either. 

At least now you know what happened to me. I understand if you decide to unsubscribe from my feed or remove me from your bookmarks or blogroll. I wish all of you the best of luck. 

The Ups and Downs of Dieting

Ever since I reached that forty pound mark it has been a struggle to stay motivated and on program. I have looked back at my previous posts just to see how far I have come and to remind myself of where I was physically when I started. I am not staying on program consistently day in and day out. Some days I just want to throw in the towel or fat free whatever.

The last few days I have spent more time reading other peoples blogs in an effort to recharge my batteries. I have ran across a lot of good information out there and have read many similar stories of the battle to stay on program. From recipes to exercise tips and beyond it is time well spent when you seek out others that are on this journey with you. As you battle your own ups and downs take some time and surf the blogs of your fellow dieters there is a lot of information to be gleaned and inspiring stories to be read.

Will I get over the hump; only time will tell. One thing I know for sure is that if I don’t I will have no one else to blame but myself and a host of people to give credit if I succeed.

Pre Weigh in Jitters

My regular weekly weigh in comes around in the morning and with the results of the last two weeks I am not excited about the visit to the scale in the morning. I did something this past Saturday that I don’t normally do, I check my weight that morning. It made me feel only slightly better, Wednesday is D-Day.

I have heard a lot of talk from other dieters about how often you should weigh yourself. Some recommend only weighing once per week while others say you should weigh every day. I see the good in both approaches but I have chosen to weigh once per week. I have fudged a time or two like this past Saturday, but for the most part I have stuck to the once a week pattern.

What are your thoughts? Pardon the pun, you can weigh in with your comments below.

Week 27 and 28 Status Update

I know I have been silent for nearly two weeks now and I have no one to blame but myself. I have been really struggling with the whole diet thing lately. One of the reasons I started this blog was to be accountable and I have refused that mandate for too long. I almost dropped the diet all together over this past weekend.

I have had several things going on that are out of the ordinary for me in the last couple of weeks. I took some time off from my day job which is highly unusual and I have been given a writing opportunity on a website from another genre. I don’t want that to sound like an excuse for where I am right now because in reality it is the choices I have made that have me where I am right now.

I have restarted my diet again as of Monday and today is my first day back to posting on my blog. Since Monday I have maintained my point goals for the day and have not eaten anything I shouldn’t have. I need to get back to my walking schedule though.

The last two Wednesday weigh ins has shown a two pound gain each time. So at 28 weeks into my diet I now stand at a total weight loss of 39 pounds.

The Top Three Reasons Why I hate Diets

I have mentioned several times on this blog my motivation and inspiration to lose weight. Today, I want to talk about the top three reasons why I hate to diet. This list could be much longer but the motivation for this post comes from the current blog project over at Daily Blog Tips. Daniel encouraged bloggers to write on a subject using the number 3 as the theme.

What is it about diets that you and I hate so much? Is it the restrictive nature of what you can eat? How about the smaller portion sizes? Maybe your favorite foods are on the taboo list. How about since we are dieting we must be overweight? Well, I can’t answer this question for you but my top three reasons are listed below.

Number 1

The number one reason that I hate diets is that you can’t just live care free. Gone are the days when you just ate what you wanted when you wanted. Just joining your coworkers for lunch is now sometimes out of the question because they may be headed somewhere that is not a part of your diet plan. Strolling through the mall and have a sudden urge for a snack, if you are on a diet you need to just keep walking past that cookie, ice cream or pretzel that’s calling your name. Being spontaneous is not allowed when your are dieting.

Number 2

The other thing I really hate about dieting is that healthy food costs more than calorie and fat filled normal food. I can be on the cheap side so this one really bothers me. For example, I can buy a regular loaf of bread for a dollar but my low calorie high fiber bread costs me over two dollars. Stroll down the snack aisle at your grocer and check out the prices of the 100 calorie snacks. I can buy a huge bag of chips for the same price as a small box of 100 calorie chips. All of the lower calorie and reduced fat items are more expensive than their regular counterparts. I’m sure it costs more to make the diet versions than the regular ones but that doesn’t make me feel any better.

Number 3

I love cookies and bread but both are high in calories and can be high in fat also. My family sometimes called me the cookie monster because I love cookies so much. If I had to pick only two foods to live on for the rest of my life it would be oatmeal raison cookies and pizza.

Do you also hate to diet? Join in the discussion and put your reasons in the comments below.

South Beach Diet Chicken Alfredo a la Roma

Breast strips and fettuccine pasta in Alfredo sauce and tomatoes with broccoli, red Bell Peppers and yellow carrots

The Specs 260 Calories 8 Grams Fat 8 Grams of Fiber

This was the first frozen South Beach Diet entree I have tried. I really like their refregerated wraps especially the Turkey and Ham. But this meal left a bit to be desired.

I prepared this meal according to the instructions on the package, if I were to have this one again I would reduce the cooking time by about 40 seconds. The vegetables were pretty good event though the peppers were soggy. The Alfredo sauce was the hightlight as it was creamy and tasty. The chicken chunks were good. HOwever, the pasta was on the tough side and clumpy. Like I mentioned earlier if I reduced the cooking time maybe it would be better next time.

I might give it another shot sometime just to see if reducing the cooking time keeps the pasta from being tough and sticking together. Let me know what you think if you have had this one before.

Week 18 Status Update

Week 18 Status Update

This mornings weigh in was uneventful as the scales settled right where they were last week. That is still a win for me. I can’t complain if they stay the same. If only they had stayed the same for the past few years.

That leaves my total weight loss at 36 pounds. If I could ever get some exercise into the equation I could probably start scaring the fire out of the 50 pound mark.

Reward Yourself for Dieting Victories

This past week I met my mini goal of 35 pounds lost. Since my diet began I was able to not eat any real pizza. My favorite is Double Dave's. I was tempted many times to have some great pizza but I always held out till I had met that first goal. On Sunday night I rewarded myself, and my daughter with a trip to Double Dave's.

The great thing about this is that I have no guilt. I made a commitment to wait till I reached that mark before I ate any pizza. Normally when you eat something as high in fat and calories as pizza it is a failure and you feel guilty. But for me this was a victory to be celebrated. Now the tough part comes in the coming days and weeks. Just like a baseball team can't keep celebrating their last victory, I can't rest on my victory. I must continue on without Double Dave's for awhile. I must also continue to watch what I eat every day.

I still haven't decided what my next mini goal will be. Until I do I need to just keep to the program day by day.

Getting the Momentum Back

The last few days have been a bit of a struggle. I haven’t blown my diet but I have been fudging the Weight Watchers point system some. As I have had some success in dropping pounds and inches I tend to get a little lazy with my diet. I start out the day knowing that I have had three to four points for breakfast. For lunch I normally take it and that controls the point total for my day at work. However, when I get home I have been neglecting to write down the points so by the end of the night I am over.

Now, I’m not over because I am eating cake and cookies, I’m not even having fried foods and pizza. I’m just eating more of the foods that help me stay on the program. Whether it is two extra 100 Calorie Snacks or more pretzels or chicken it all adds up. So, my challenge for this week is to count those points and to not go over.

Today was a good day. I had my normal breakfast followed by lunch at Subway. I had to travel to one of our stores that is 80 miles away and I did not get a snack on the road. For dinner I made my sandwiches with some beans and then had a snack bar for dessert. The total for the day was two points under my limit.

Tomorrow will be a tough day. We are migrating our computer systems at work tomorrow night so it will be a very long day. Still, I must count those points and not go over. I am three pounds away from my next mini goal and I would like to get there next week.

Week 13 Status Update

This morning brought a pleasant surprise as I stepped onto the scales. I was fully expecting that I would have gained a pound or two since my last weigh in. Instead, I am holding steady at 31 pounds lost.

Beginning with the Easter holiday followed by a trip to Mexico I had exceeded my points just about every day. However, I did not go nuts eating I just ate what was available and what I wanted. Luckily the desserts in Mexico are less than appetizing. The only dessert I enjoyed was the fried ice cream one night after dinner. There were plenty of fresh fruits so I tried to eat a little more fruit than normal. The only meal that was really fat and calorie packed was breakfast. I ate omelets, bacon and pancakes most mornings. But all in all I think I did okay.

So, after returning home this past weekend I found it a little tougher to stay on the program than it had been before I left. It helped when I returned to work Monday and got back into my routine. I’ll keep plugging along as I try to get to that first mini goal of 35 pounds. My daughter will be glad when I make that goal; she is ready for some Double Dave’s Pizza.

Just a Quick Note

I am back from our vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico. We had a great time. I wanted to take a quick moment to let you know that I did not go completely nuts eating everything in site while I was there. I have only gained one pound since my last weigh in. Yea!

I will get back to my regular updates over the next couple of days. In the meantime here is one of the pictures from our trip.

We Will Resume Regular Programming in a Few Days

This is a test of the emergency blogging center for people away from their computers. For the next few days I will be away from my PC and unable to update you on my progress. I will also be taking a short pause from my diet. I am not planning on going nuts but I will eat some things I probably shouldn't. I will make good food choices where I can.

So, for the rest of you I hope you have a good week and much success with your diets.

Low Fat Tips Made Easy

Just a quick note on a couple of things you can do to help reduce the calories and fat in your meal planning. Tonight we changed our normal menu up a bit by replacing our customary chicken breast with fish. It was a nice mix up in our menu and fit in well with my diet.

Tonight I prepared one of my favorite vegetable dishes, baby carrots sautéed in fat free Italian dressing. But instead of the usual chicken I had thawed out some Tilapia filets. I placed them on foil in a baking dish and then poured some fat free Italian dressing over them baking them until the meat was flaky.

I wanted some bread to go with the meal so I made some cornbread from a prepared mix. One way to cut some calories and fat is to use skim or low fat milk instead of whole milk. Most prepared mixes also call for an egg. If you substitute Natural Eggs or Egg Beaters you can eliminate some more fat and calories. My teenage daughter likes corn bread but she was reluctant to try it with the “fake” eggs. When she finally gave it a chance she couldn’t really tell the difference.

To recap you can use fat free Italian dressing to give fish or chicken a snappy flavor while helping reduce fat. Whenever you can, substitute eggs for non fat Natural Eggs or Egg Beaters.

How do you use Italian dressing? Do you have some tips for reducing fat in your meals? Leave a comment and lets see what kind of things people are having success with.

Plan Ahead for Success

The last couple of days have been a little tougher than usual. I guess the disappointment of not losing at least one pound has contributed to the harder time I have had. But, I have to keep my eye on the big picture. The good news about the fact that I did not lose any weight last week is that I did not gain any either.

Yesterday at work things were a little wild and crazy. The day started with a two hour meeting followed by an unexpected event. We are building a new facility for one of our stores and we are getting close to move in day. On my way back from the meeting I received a call from our T-1 vendor that they were on site and ready to install. As I hung up the phone it dawned on me that the electricians still haven't brought the power up in the mechanical room. I didn't want to delay the circuit install so we have the UPS running on an extension cord till Monday when the power will be up.

By this time it is after my normal lunch hour and I am hungry and having that nagging feeling that I have an excuse to just eat what ever since I am behind schedule now. Here is where it is important to have an idea of the restaurants close to the office where you can eat quick and stay on your program. I would be passing a Wendys on my way to the other store. I know that the chili there fits into my program for lunch. When I get there they are backed up out to the street. Great, I can't even turn in off the highway to get in line. There is a Subway five minutes away so I make my way there.

Because, I knew where I could eat and what to eat I was able to stay on the plan yesterday. I recommend if you don't already know what options you have close to your work that you find out. It is very easy to make the wrong food choice in a rush. By knowing what and where your best options are you can choose wisely.

A little planning can help you stay on your diet even when your schedule falls apart.

Exercise – Do I have to?

I have lost 21 pounds in seven weeks. Like most people I lost more weight at the start of my diet. This past week I had my lowest weekly weight loss of only 1 pound. To this point I have not added exercise into my weight loss tool box yet. That will need to change now.

When I successfully lost weight in the past I walked regularly from the start. Walking is my preferred method of exercise. I’m not big on going to the gym but I have in the past. The trouble with the gym is it seems to really eat into the amount of time I have available for the day. Walking allows me to be able to just get up and walk any time, any place.

You may enjoy the whole gym experience. The biggest advantage the gym offers is the variety of activities you can participate in. Most facilities have every kind of cardio device imaginable to add to the old stand by of weights. Many gyms offer group training classes revolving around a myriad of exercise mechanisms. When I was going to the gym my favorite activity was spinning. For those of you not familiar with spinning it is a special stationary bike with adjustable settings to simulate different conditions. Spin classes revolve around music with your trainer instructing you as you pedal. Its not for everybody as it is a pretty intense workout.

This weekend the new daylight savings time takes effect. Now I won’t have anymore excuses to not walk around the neighborhood after work. Now that I have had that initial surge of weight loss I have to get moving.

Whether you are a walker like me or an adrenaline junky pushing yourself to new limits you’ve just got to get moving. Experts will tell you it’s about diet and exercise if you want to see healthy long term results.

This is Why We Diet

I woke up this morning and went through my normal routine. First I fix me a glass of Diet Coke before I go wake up my daughter for school. Then I fire up the computer and check my email, ebay stuff and my blog stats. That’s when it hit me, what was I going to wear to work today?

It had been a few days since I had done any laundry so I wasn’t sure if I had a shirt to wear today. I went to the closet and sure enough I only had one shirt. The problem was it did not match any of the pants I had hanging up.

So, I looked in that section of the closet where I put my clothes I used to wear. I took out a shirt that I had barely worn before I grew out of it. To my great pleasure it now fits perfectly! That is why we deprive ourselves of the food we want to eat.

So, the next time you wonder if it is really worth it, take a look at the clothes you used to wear and imagine how good it will feel to wear them again.

You Have to Start Somewhere

I have started on this quest to loose weight once again. Actually I am in week 7. So far it has been a successful trip. I have lost 21 lbs. in the first seven weeks. I am going to be sharing with you my journey as I continue to work toward a lighter, healthier lifestyle. I will be sharing my opinions on food choices and writing reviews of the menu choices as I try them out.

For a little background on me I have always been on the heavy side. From grade school to high school and beyond I was always one of the “big guys”. I played sports growing up and into a large portion of my adult life. But, I really loved to eat good food. Within the past year I had really gained a lot of weight and it was getting harder to do simple things like breathing. I finally decided to get serious about my weight again. I have dieted successfully in the past. My first diet success came with the First Place weight loss program. It was a group program with a biblical element that mirrored the Weight Watchers point system. I lost 55 lbs. and kept it off for about two years.

After I gained the weight back I made a couple of runs to loose that weight again but it never lasted very long. Here I am again dieting but this time I am adding the blog angle to the program. Hopefully by sharing my story with the world it will help me maintain my weight loss. One of the things I like about dieting is talking to others about food that can help you loose weight.

Well, you may be asking what diet am I on. I am following the Weight Watchers program as a guide. I have never been to a meeting before, but I have been successful with the program on my own. My wife has done the program before with the meetings and the literature. If she hadn’t done that I don’t think I would be having the results that I have.

I am looking forward to this journey with you. Feel free to comment or ask questions. A blog is more useful when there are two way communications.