Sunday, March 7, 2010

Well, I weighed myself this morning and I came in at 211. So I have lost a pound this past week. I also got to the gym again today after church. Since I lifted weights yesterday, and am incredibly sore, I just did cardio today. 1/2 hour on the treadmill, 15 minutes on a bike and 15 minutes of swimming laps in the pool. So, I'm getting there and starting to get back into shape.

Eating hasn't been to great today. I had ham and potato casserole for breakfast - I know what you're thinking but it was good. I snacked on some sausage, cheese and grapes at church and had a sandwich for lunch. That's when I went to the gym. When I got back, around 3:00pm I ate my dinner (leftover steak and potato from Outback last night) so my body could use that food to feed the muscles and burn off the excess calories.

Well, at least it looks like I'm heading in the right direction finally. I'm getting back in shape and the weight is slowly starting to come off. Without a doubt, weekends are my roughest time with dieting. So tomorrow, I'll get to the gym again first thing in the morning and begin eating just healthy food again until next weekend. I think at that pace I should do pretty well.

Back in 2002 when I lost 30 lbs and dropped my weight to 180 lbs I worked out regularly and ate pretty much everything I wanted but I kept my portions small. And I still believe that for me, portion control is everything. So if I can stay away from junk food during the week and just keep it to a minimum on weekends I should do ok. Til next time.

Rob

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Had a wonderful day today in so many ways. Since I got a break in my computer repair onslaught, I was able to get to the gym this morning for the first time since I started trying to live healthier.

For breakfast I just had a multi-grain English Muffin and a cup of tea. I then went to the gym and worked out which really felt good since I've only been there twice since Thanksgiving. I know I'm going to pay for it tomorrow though. I'm starting to feel sore already.

After my workout I grabbed a sugar free smoothie at Nature's Table and headed home. It was a beautiful sunny day today although a little cool around 60'. When I got home I was able to leisurely work on a couple laptops I have here while eating some mixed nuts.

For lunch I had some leftover ham and potato casserole, not the best for losing weight, but I was able to keep the portion small. Then later in the afternoon I had some pineapple and watermelon slices.

I kind of blew it with dinner though. We went to Outback in St. Augustine with DeAnne's sister and her boyfriend and of course we had a coupon for a free Bloomin Onion. There's absolutely no way I can pass up a Bloomin. And to drink I had a Shirley Temple which is 7-Up with cherry juice, meaning more sugar.

Oh well, for the most part I did pretty well. Just hoping I can keep up with working out as well as trying to eat better. That's it for now. I haven't weighed myself. I'm afraid to because I sure don't feel like I'm losing any weight. We'll see.

Rob

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Well, I have to admit I haven't done very well the past two days. And today was the worst. I started off good with a whole grain English Muffin and a cup of tea for breakfast. Then I had an appointment down in Ponce Inlet so I gnawed on some Ritz crackers on the ride down there and had some mostly unsweetened iced tea. But unfortunately my diet ended there today.

By the time I was done with my 2 appointments in Ponce Inlet and Port Orange it was 1:30 and I was starving. I had to get back up to Palm Coast for another appointment so I stopped at McD's to grab a quick hamburger - Not good. One thing I learned today, after being good for the past week and a half, eating mostly veggies and meat with a few carbs thrown in, eating just a little McD's made me feel real lethargic. It is amazing how your body knows and is effected by bad food.

Of course, I sit here now feeling like a stuffed pig on a spit. When I got home from work, DeAnne tells me she's making a ham and potato casserole for dinner and has invited her parents over. How on earth am I supposed to resist that. I LOVE potatos and ham and onions all of which are in that dish. Well, needless to say, being tired and hungry, I dove in with reckless abandon.

Now, feeding a growing boy, (growing out that is) a ham and potato casserole after he hasn't had potato's in weeks is like giving candy to a kid who hasn't been allowed to have it for a long time. But do we stop there? Nooooooo, of course not. Then my wife buys mint chocolate chip ice cream. Just got to have some of that and put a little butterscotch syrup on it. Anyone seeing a pattern here? the couple pounds I've lost over the past week and a half, I've probably put back on in one day and then some.

Well I'm not giving up. Tomorrow I have no early appointments so I'm heading to the gym, first time in weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up for a while. I bought eggs and omelet fixings for breakfast and nut and fruit to snack on. Hopefully, I'll be able to improve from there.

Rob

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Oh well, maybe this diet is just not going to happen. I've been eating like a rabbit for over a week now and have barely lost a pound. My day started off good with Oatmeal and frozen blueberries and a cup of coffee. My mid morning snack was a green Bell Pepper. But as good as I started out, things just fell apart from there and I completely blew it today.

I was getting my Jeep repaired in Ormond so of course I couldn't keep it from forcing me to stop at Panera's on the way home. And you know what that means - right a caramel Frapp and a bears claw. Ugh, sugar and massive calories. But I wasn't done. Lunch was at Crispers where I had a cup of their delicious Kickin' Crab Chowder. After a relatively healthy dinner of steak and peas DeAnne and I went to Scoops where I got a big huge Cherry Vanilla waffle cone. That place has the best. I think I'm doomed to be fat. Just can't resist all the constant goodies calling my name every time I drive by.

I think I'm going to be 300 pounds by this time next year. It would have helped if I saw just a little progress. Oh well, I guess I'll try again tomorrow. :(

Sunday, Feb 28, 2010

Hey folks, I thought I'd give an update on where things stand as I haven't posted in a couple days. My weight is now down to 211 as of this morning despite having spaghetti for dinner at my in-laws Friday night and Chinese with them Sat night. But I kept my portion sizes small and did not go back for seconds. I was very surprised to see that I actually lost a pound over the weekend.

For the most part though I've been good. I had fried eggs and 1/2 of an all bran English Muffin for breakfast Friday and a banana for a snack. And I've pretty much been sticking to that kind of routine. Mostly salads for lunch.

I've decided that weekends will be my reward meals but all with small portions and not going back for seconds. Now today I had a couple doughnut holes and a piece of quiche at church. We then went with some friends to Sonny's afterward and all I had was their bottomless salad bar and some chicken with unsweetened iced tea. Oh yea, and one piece of their corn bread, its irresistible.

So that's pretty much been my weekend. Now back to my regular schedule. Hopefully, I'll be able to start getting back to the gym this week at least to do some cardio and light weights. That will help speed up my metabolism which should help speed up my weight loss a bit and tone up my flab. Once I lose my weight, then I'll start lifting heavier weights to put on more muscle mass. I just want to lose the weight first.

Ok, that's it for now, got to get back to computers. God bless

Rob

Day 4 - Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010

Hi there, well this is the 4th day of my eating right and it hasn't been a good day. First I wake up, have breakfast and weigh myself. And what do I find?? I actually gained a pound. How can this be? Practically the only thing I'm eating is veggies, fruit and nuts. I'm going to turn into a rabbit, and then I gain a pound??? You've got to be kidding. I could be eating ice cream and do that.

Well, needless to say, I started off my day a bit discouraged. I did learn something today though. When you're on a diet and you gain a pound it sure makes it difficult to stay motivated. Its as if everything you've been working toward has all been for naught. It also makes it a lot more difficult to pass by Books-A-Million and not stop in and visit Joe Muggs for a nice cold caramel Frappacino. I am truly addicted. They are better than Starbucks.

Anyway, as for my diet, I did pretty well today all things considered. Not sure about lunch though. I had a cup of corn chowder and a hard boiled egg. I'm sure that chowder had plenty of calories. But aside from that, I think I did pretty good. I certainly didn't gorge myself and walk away from the table with my stomach in a wheel barrow.

I've really got to start getting back to the gym. If I could just get caught up on some of these computers I'd have some time to put in an hour or so at the gym. I do need to exercise badly though. Its been a couple of weeks and I'm really feeling flabby. Oh well, I guess that's about all for today. My menu for today is below.

Menu

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs and a cup of tea with a little honey.

Mid Morning Snack: A couple handfuls of Cashews.

Lunch: 1 cup Woody's corn chowder, 1 hard boiled egg, a couple forkfulls of salad.

Mid Afternoon Snack: 1 small peach, a couple saltine crackers.

Dinner: 1 club wrap, a couple forkfulls of coleslaw, 1 onion ring (These were DeAnne's but I just couldn't resist stealing one.) and 1 cup unsweetened iced tea at Houlighans.

I resisted having any snack tonight. I've just been too busy working on 3 laptops and a desktop to even think about eating. I just had a nice hot cup of relaxing Chinese green tea with a tsp of honey.

Well that's all for today folks. Keep me in your prayers as I continue to eat like a rabbit. God bless

Rob

Wednesday Feb. 24, 2010

Alright, well so far I haven't eaten any junk food I've been pretty good and posting to this new blog is going to be a big help. I weighed myself this morning and I'm still at 212lbs. But that's ok, at least it didn't go up. Ok, below is what I had to eat today:

Menu

• Breakfast: Oatmeal (real not instant) with frozen blueberries and a cup of hot tea with a teaspoon of honey.


• Mid Morning Snack: 1 banana and some Cashews.


• Lunch: 1 leftover lamb chop and an orange.


• Mid Afternoon Snack: 2 Celery sticks with peanut butter, a few carrots.


• Dinner: Piece of ham steak and peas.


• After Dinner Snack: 1 bowl of grapes.

And that's all she wrote for today. I did not exercise today as I was too busy with work. Probably will not tomorrow either as I have an early appt. further south.

Rob

Day 2 - Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010

Wow, I weighed myself this morning and already dropped to 212lbs. That's exciting but don't worry, I know from past times that there are plateau's coming. But it's neat to think that my body is already reacting to the better food.

Well today I've had a nagging headache all day due to my drastic cutback on junk food but I'm sure some of it could be related to job stress.

Anyway my menu for today was:

• Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, 1 cup hot tea and 1 tsp. of honey.


• Mid Morning Snack: 1 Whey/Soy Protein shake and a few handfuls of Cashews.


• Lunch: The rest of my leftover salad from last night.


• Mid Afternoon Snack: 1 banana, a few grapes and a couple cheese slices


• Dinner: 1 Large lamb chop and Asparagus.

Well I think that's it for today. I can't remember if I had anything to snack on last night after dinner. Oh, yes I did, I had a few carrots. See you tomorrow.

Rob

Monday, Feb 22, 2010

Introduction

Ok, I'm starting this new blog so all my Facebook friends and friends and family who aren't on Facebook can keep track of my progress and hold me accountable. I'm not planning anything major with this blog. It's just going to be like a little personal diary or log book to help me keep track of my progress as well as anyone else who might be interested. There will be no fancy writing or heavy politics here, just things from my heart and what's going on in my life regarding my weight, diet and exercise.

I know there are millions of blogs and websites about dieting and exercising and losing weight and living better etc. I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here. I'm not trying to create the next diet fad or exercise fad. I'm just letting people see for the next few months or maybe years, what I'm up to, in trying to improve my health.

Actually, my health is not all that bad. I recently had a physical and the doctor said I'm in perfect health. I have been exercising off and on for years and right now I've been off. But my blood pressure was 120/80 which is good, my sugar levels were normal, about 90 - they say less than 100 is good. And my cholesterol is down from 260 a couple years ago to 219. So things are pretty good, I just need to get my weight down now and eating is my biggest problem. So lets get started with day one.

DAY 1

So to begin, I start things off by weighing myself this morning and I'm 215lbs. For me that is very heavy because I'm only 5'8". That is almost the heaviest I've ever been. 218lbs is my record and that was back last year.

But this year I am determined to lose 40lbs or more. I'd like to get down to 170. That would be just a bit more than high school weight. My plan is to start by attacking my biggest problem area and that's my eating habits. I love carbs. Not only because they are delicious but because most stuff that is processed comes in a box that is easy to make and quick to clean up. I love to cook, but I'm no chef. I like to make quick easy meals that taste great. In that department I think Rachel Ray is my hero. I'm not one for cutting up a bunch of ingredients that takes an hour just to prepare.

So my first goal is to eat healthier. That does not mean I'm going to cut out all carbs just a lot of them and a lot of sugar. This means no more chips, pretzels, popcorn, butter, ice cream or soda or McD's, Wendy's, KFC or BK - You know I'm crying as I'm writing this - no more potato's, rice, bread or pasta unless its for lunch. From now on dinner will only be meat and veggies. Snacks will be only fruits, veggies, nuts or cheese, which I do love but oh! I'm going to miss my pretzels and chips with cheese dip. :(

Menu

Here is what I had to eat today:

• Breakfast: 3 Scrambled Eggs, 1 mug hot tea with a little honey.


• Mid Morning Snack: 1/2 dozen baby carrots and a couple handfuls of Cashews.


• Lunch: Bowl of rice with some leftover chicken breast butter and salt mixed in.


• Mid Afternoon Snack: 1 Banana.


• Dinner: 3 meat salad and unsweetened iced tea at Woody's Barbeque.

Today I did not exercise at all. Too busy with work.

So here's where I start. Monday, Feb. 22, 2010 and we'll see if I can lose any weight and not have a heart attack.