11th week weigh-in

11 weeks of this, I think it may become habit forming.  Before I post my weight I want to let you know how proud I am of my wife, she has lost 12 pounds and she is not even exercising. (not fair) : )   Here we go for this week.

Beginning total:  280

Last week:        249

This Week        244

Weight lost this week   5 pounds

Total:     36 pounds  (graduation weight goal here I come)

nice weekend for a run

Had a great day today, Bible study then dropped the kids off for Sunday school then to the fair at Wentzville.  Started the day with a bowl of cereal and a lunch of beef jerky (food for the fair)  some baked chips, dinner was leftovers from last night.  Had a week moment and enjoyed half a donut but made sure to run 3 miles to hopefully burn it back off.  Will need to be careful tomorrow as I get together with family.  We are taking chicken breast, a veggie tray and an angel food cake with fat free whip cream covered with raspberries and blueberries.  Now I just need to restrain myself and eat very careful. Enjoy your holiday and will post my weight in the morning.

Breaks almost over

Well Tuesday I start back to school and I am not at all excited but I have got alot of work done during these two weeks off.  Finished gardening, tiled the kitchen, pictures hung, junk cleaned up and the list goes on.  I am learning a lot about myself and teaching myself alot through this journey.  Today I got busy early and started with peanut butter and jelly, we were running around during lunch so we stopped by Burger King and that is when I learned about myself.  I ordered a single BK stacker without cheese and split an value onion ring with my wife.  I know that even though this meal is unhealthy by cutting down I didn't destroy my calorie intake.  Dinner was pork steak, corn on cob, sweet potato and California vegetable blend.  Then the next learning curve.  My daughter made sugar free brownies which before I would have nibbled the whole pan away but tonight one small slice was more than plenty.  8:30 tonight me and Brea went running at the track and knocked out a couple of miles.  I know this weekend will be tough to eat healthy but with a little work I know it's possible. 

Hardee's could kill a diet quick

It's Thursday morning and I have a lot of work ahead today.  Yesterday was interesting with one tornado warning after another but no damage (PTL).  I worked around the house yesterday as I have taken a couple of vacation days but still ended up at the daycare during the storms to help send teachers home.  I did make it to the gym though and got a real good workout in on the weights.  I would love to drop down to 180 and be solid muscle at the same time. I am not sure it could happen at my age but we will work towards it and see.  Yesterday I had egg sandwich for breakfast, leftover pizza my kids left for lunch (I know it does not fall into the healthy category) I had green beans and potato's in the crockpot for dinner.  Snacked on baked chips and 3 chicken nuggets (it was during the storm and I think out of nervousness).  I would love to have gone to Joplin but did not want to just drive down and end up standing around but could not find anyone to hook up with to go. (maybe God has other plans).  I stopped by Hardee's for breakfast today but could not get myself to eat there after looking at the calorie menu so instead came home to another egg sandwich and will get to work.

Longest 5k ever

I know that a 5k is equal to a 5k but today I felt like I was in the twilight zone.  The run seemed as if it would never end.  The problem was it was uphill for the biggest majority of the run. We ran from the stop sign on Klondike to the stop sign on Clayton Huskey and if you know the area then you know the hill I am talking about.  Great workout though and my son and daughter both ran with me (or ahead of me).  Not the best day on the eating front, I really need to slow down and get my act together with the menu.  Bk hamburger for lunch and we were out so we stopped at KFC for dinner and I had t 2 pieces of the roasted chicken.  Really did not blow the calorie count but I also know this is not a very healthy habit and to many times of this and I would be in trouble. So today I am putting green beans and potatoes in crock pot and looking forward to a veggie dinner tonight.

Here we go again

It's time to begin to cut into that 250 side of the weight loss. My body likes to lock up at the 10 marks with 270 then 260 and now I find 250 hard to bust through but I know persistants will prevail.  I am really feeling good right now and feel like my muscles are beginning to shape up somewhat and my endurance and energy level are building each day.  Yesterday I hit the gym and pumped the weights hard, burned the muscles really good.  Breakfast was a slice of breakfast casserole, lunch was 6 inch subway sandwich loaded with veggies and no cheese.  Dinner was peanut butter and jelly, not exactly square meals but it worked for the day and snacked on a protein bar. Today I skipped the gym because I have a lot of mowing and I plan on a 3 mile run tonight with my daughter if the weather plays nice.

11th week weigh-in

No congrats this week but no need to console either.  Never like to see a gain but there is a lot more involved this time around.

Beginning Total  280

Last Week          247

This Week          249

Gained 2 pounds

Things that went right:

1.  Ihate healthy and am not ashamed at what I ate this week. (my heart is happy)

2.  I passed on several opportunities for cake, and other junk food that I could have easily found justification for.

3.  We took my mother in law out to Mexican restaurant for late Mother's day and still had full basket of chips on table when we left.  (used to knock out 1st basket in about 5 minutes, this time 1 chip was all I took)

4. I exercised regular and hard and even got in a 5k race.

5.  I lifted more weight on every machine in the gym this morning.

Things that went wrong:

1. I thought being out of school would bring order but instead we are playing catch up and running extra errands and working around the house.  Really wild eating pattern

2.Usually eat 4-6 small meals a day and eat dinner about 5 P.M. but because of the extra work we have ate dinner as late as 8:30 at night.  ( not much I can do about it with just 2 weeks off school)

3. Didn't watch my portions quite as close with things such as counting out chips in baggies, carrying fruit and veggies.

5k fun

Well today was the big day, first part of my goal to run a 5k.  I was expecting rain but the day turned out beautiful.  I had a goal of 30 minutes which would be faster than I have ever ran before but did not quite succeed.  Time ran 30:02  2 seconds off (can you believe it)

Me about to die  almost over and no paramedics needed : )

Now how do I begin to train for the 10k in July (yuck)

Overcame today

Today was a day of overcoming several different obstacles.  The first was our preschool graduation and guess who was assigned to cut the cake.  I did it and didn't even lick my fingers when I was finished.  The second was exercising, I slept in this morning because I was so sore.  Since it was raining out I decided to come home and skip exercising all together but then my daughter dug out the dance mats.

Since she went to all of that work we decided not to use them : ) and instead went out and ran a couple of miles in the rain.  After the run we came home and tried a new recipe of Tuna steaks and mango salsa.

A little brown rice and veggie mix made for a great meal.  The recipe was a little to salty for our taste and a hair to spicy (if you can believe that) but the tuna steaks were well worth trying again.  I am catching myself wanting to snack more than I should.  I am going to have to put snacks in baggies again or I am going to get myself in trouble.  One more day and then the 5k.

lots of work

This morning started with a 30 minute workout on the stairstepper and then on to work.  Breakfast was a protein bar, lunch was a pork steak and dinner was leftover chicken, potatoes and corn,  snacked on kellog chips and another protein bar.  Today I was able to get a lot of work done.  Grass mowed, tires repaired, garden tilled and corn planted, flowers put in and brush piles burned.  Really great night of hard work.  I will be very sad when I have to return back to school. 

5k countdown

3 days left until the 5k and the weather is calling for rain (what a surprise). Last night I ran 4 miles and worked out 30 minutes this morning on the stairstepper. I really would love to meet my goal but it would take a miracle to do it at the point.  Now this is not my first 5k I ran about 3 years ago when my kids talked me into running (if that is what you can call what I did)  I huffed and puffed and walked and jogged and about died.  That was embarrassing enough but of course it doesn't end there.  During the awards ceremony I found out I was the only one in my age division so they were announcing teens first place with time of 17:00, twenty year old's first place with times of 18:00, thirty year old time of 40 minutes (yeah that was me, you should have seen the scowls I received that day).

Yesterday's menu consisted of fiber one bar for breakfast, veggie burger for lunch with baked fries and dinner was oven baked chicken (pictured above) with mashed potatoes (skim milk and very little butter substitute) corn on cob (no butter)  cole slaw (fat free mayo, apple vinegar and splenda)  very good meal and very filling.  I also got time to work the garden and mow some grass. (It is amazing what I can get done with no school) Tonight I am thinking Tuna steaks for dinner but will keep you posted.

I found a new friend

Today I am very tired, I assume I am coming down from finishing school.  I was up early yesterday and hit the gym and ran for 30 minutes on the tread mill but today I could not even get out of bed.  When the alarm goes off if it is the need to sleep then I switch the alarm clock and exercise in the evening.  This morning was one of those days even though they are far and few between.  For breakfast yesterday I had a bowl of Cinnamon Cheerio's and lunch was Tuna sandwich on 35 cal wheat bread, fat free mayo, egg and relish.  Dinner we cheated a little but not bad. I had an appointment next to Deweys Pizza in Kirkwood and everyone told me how great it was so we ordered a veggie pizza to take home. Can't say I really liked it which was good because 2 slices more than took care of me.

My new friend is Kellogg's Special K crackers chips.  110 cals for 27 chips and they are great. The only problem is stopping at a serving, it would be easy to put a whole box away.  I am going to start counting out the chips in baggies and putting the box in hiding.  Schnuck's has them on sale this week $1.88 a box they are $3.oo at Walmart so this is the week to stock up. 

I am trying to get ready for the 5k this Saturday so a lot of running is in order I will keep you posted on today's menu and exercise program.

10th week weigh-in

I am not sure if I really lost weight or if I took a load off of my mind to be finished with school. : )  

Hard to believe it has been 10 weeks, maybe I can do this after all.

Have you ever seen a fat man run a 5k follow this weeks blog

Beginning Total    280

Last Week          250

This Week          247

Weight loss             3 pounds

Total                     33 pounds    

This week in review

Things I have learned this week:

1. I am very tired of school and am so very ready to be done with it for good.

2.  I love the new Kelloges chips (I will blog on them more next week)

3.  I love it when my wife works out with me and diets with me. (better motivation)

4.  I really like gardening and feeding birds ( both are very relaxing)

5.  I am tired of rain (especially every single weekend) once a week would be more than plenty.

We fixed our menu for all next week and hit the store today, lots of fat free and low cal foods along with fruits and veggies.  Will try to post the menu each day of the week and let you know how they turn out.  Today was pancakes and eggs for breakfast, carrots for lunch, a skinny cow sandwich for snack and dinner will be a very low fat burger on wheat bread with baked shoestring fries.( haven't decided the veggie to go with it yet.)  Not real active today just playing catchup and trying to relax for the week.

A wonderful day!

It's a really rainy, miserable day outside and kind of cold but that doesn't matter.  Why?  Because I do not have studying to do today, no school work to think about makes a great day.  I have time to mess around with hummingbirds, look at my flowers, etc.  Today me and my wife got up early and hit the gym for about 30-40 minutes of stair stepping and running.  Then off to the stores for groceries and then took in some yard sales.  When I came home I found my hummingbirds had already emptied 2 feeders.  We probably have 10-15 birds so far and it is still early in the season.  Breakfast consisted of protein bar and banana, lunch was a steak and egg sandwich on wheat bread and we are going to play with some new recipes for dinner.  I am hoping to get some hard work in over the next week and get my menu's lined up.  I would love for the rain to give me enough of a break to get the rest of my garden in but until then I guess inside work is in order.  I hope you enjoy your day as much as I am.  God Bless!

Blog has been out

Sorry for the lack of post but the blog site has been down for repair but it chose a good time to do it because yesterday was my last final and as you may know from reading my blog I have not been real focused.  Today when the alarm clock went off I did not want to get out of bed an extra hour of sleep would have been nice but I was up and at em anyway.  I got a great workout in and pushed my muscles to the max. I am trying to eat real good today because my wife is taking me out to eat to celebrate passing another semester and no I am not going to report my calories : )  The truth is though now even if I don't report my calories I cannot do that to my body.  Tonight or in the morning me and my daughter will run a practice 5k because we are down to just a week before my first 5k. Beginning Monday my post will be more informative in case some are trying to being encouraged to lose weight as well.

This place will kill me yet

I am so sick of books!  I have books in my car, next to my bed, in the living room, everywhere.  No not fun books but school books that someone wrote to torture me and ruin three years of my life. (thanks for letting me vent)  Yesterday is a blur because I spent it studying for supposedly an easy final that turned out to be very hard. (Not surprisingly, that is the way nursing school has been all the way through.)  I did get to the gym and got a good 40 minutes of aerobics in before work that really did help start my day off on a good foot.  I ate a protein bar and orange for breakfast and leftover spaghetti for lunch.  Had some leftover roast and small salad for dinner with a protein bar for late night snack.  I also snacked on a yogurt with blackberries.  Overall I sat in a car and studied till final and left my brain a pile of mush.  One more final and then two weeks off and I am really looking forward to it.  Without stress who knows how much weight I could really begin to lose.

What a mistake

Monday I hit the gym hard and got a good day of weight lifting in before work.  I am doing more pull ups, dips, push ups and also improving in upping the weights on the machine.  I ate a protein bar and orange for breakfast and then mid morning the mistake happened.  I was craving something junky all weekend and decided to grab 2 whitecastles to break the craving.  Now the mistake was not ordering to many castles the mistake was ordering any at all.  Did it break the calorie bank? not necessarily but a whopping 140 cals a piece just isn't worth it but that is not the mistake.  After eating the white castle my stomach payed the price all day.  Now I have been known to put away a lot of castles in my day and before never had a problem but hitting my stomach with that grease yesterday tore my stomach to pieces. (not worth it) For lunch Jill made whole wheat pasta with boiled chicken breast and some tomatoes. (very good and simple)  Dinner was a pot roast with sweet potatoes, green beans and snack was a blackberry light yogurt with whole blackberries added in.  My daughter took me for a 2 mile run and ran me into the ground but it felt reallyy good.  I think the next time I am craving something junky I will pass up the castle, any other ideas???

9th week weigh-in

After last week I finally saw some success in more than just my weight.  Thank you to all my friends for the advice and encouragement last week.  The scale may not be moving much but things are definitely starting to take place.

BP on Friday was 112/60  much better than the 160/110 at the start.

Great encouragement (you can read the blog before this about six flags)

Beginning total    280

Last Week           252

This Week           250

2 pounds for week    (30 pounds total)

Six Flags a much better day

Today my brother and his family invited us to Six Flags.  As much as I appreciated the invitation it really scared me a lot.  If you have read my bio you know that one of my most embarrassing moments happened at Six Flags last summer.  I tried to get onto the Batman with my son and I had to get off because the buckle would not fit over my fat stomach.  Can you imagine having two park employees trying to squeeze you in and then announcing they could not do it I was to fat for the ride. I walked away having to leave my son to ride alone.  So now you see why I was scared to go today.  I was really wanting to wait until the end of the summer and go when I reached my goal but we went today and guess what they wanted to ride first.  After waiting int the line I climbed into the seat and was able to pull down and latch the buckle with room to spare. (yahoo)  No struggle and a lot of fun.  Thanks Scott and Michelle Andrew and Oli for a great day.

Rain's not stopping me

Up this morning to get my daughter dropped of at hairdresser to get her hair done for prom and I took advantage of the moment to hit the gym.  After hitting the weights I hit the road and ran a 5k.  I hope that will shake up my weight loss a little bit.  After working out I had a protein bar and orange.  For lunch I had a 1/2 pork steak sandwich since we were still waiting for my daughter.  Wow my hair only takes about 5 minutes to cut. I cannot imagine 4 hours in a chair.  Tonight for dinner we are having our Cinco De Mayo (I know it's not May 5th anymore) with fat free tortilla's lots of peppers and onions with chicken and salsa.  Hopefully this week I will have my breakthrough.  I did have good new that I will post again on a post by itself bp 112/60 see my heart is responding to my workouts even if my weight is not.  My lifting at the gym has definitely improved and I have put on about 10 pounds on each machine and on some I have put on 20.  I will eventually see the breakthrough I need.

Another semester almost gone.

School and dieting do not mix, come to think of it school doesn't mix well with anything.  Don't worry I am not cheating but just not eating right. I am not going over in calories but I am not getting the fruits and veggies that I am needing to get in me.  What makes this so hard is I am always on the run right now and besides carrots and celery veggies are not real east to eat on the run. (have you ever seen anyone with a bag of greenbeans).  My last class was over last night except for finals so things should begin to get better.  Did not hit the gym for last two days but will try to run tonight depending on the weather.  Today I drive to Kirksville to pick up my son from college so I will travel with my faithful bag of beef jerkey  and maybe I can find some carrot sticks.  To anyone trying to get weight loss advice I have failed you the last couple of weeks and I apologize for that but will be back on track next week.  No more days of fiber one bars and peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, next week more nutritious meals will become part of my schedule again.

Thank you everyone

Thank you to everyone for your advice and information.  I have no idea how to respond to the comments each one makes except for on the blog itself so hopefully many of you are reading it. I had over 50 people check in on me Monday (talk about motivation)  Don't worry I am not dicouraged I was just bummed. I was back at it hard again this week.

I reached into my sugar bowl this week for a scoop of sugar (don't start throwing stones, it was for the humming bird)  I still find it hard to believe that the sugar bowl (which holds about four pounds of sugar) was emptied at least once every two weeks, sometimes more (no it was not for the hummingbirds)  The bowl is still almost filled to the top and we have not bought sugar in 8 weeks now. (not even Splenda)  What a difference this has to be making on our body.  To think how much this will effect us over 8 weeks then 6 months then a year and so on. Wow what a difference.  I thank the Lord because this is the first time I really feel like my life has changed.  The last time I lost weight was for a contest but it was not a lifestyle change.  It has really been hard for the last few weeks getting through school but even my unhealthy eating right now looks completely different from my regular eating 3 months ago.  I will make it and my body is thanking me for it.



8th week weigh-in

Ok I need some information from someone (anyone) please.  I have no idea what is going on.  I was going to only weigh-in on Monday but the last few weeks I weigh every morning to keep myself on track  but if anyone asked how much I have lost I can only give them Monday's weigh-in amount.  Thursday I weighed in at 248 and by Sat morning was weighing 247 and I was so pumped up I was already thinking about what to post in my blog but then Sunday morning rolled around and I weighed in at 253.  Unbelievable and I worked hard all weekend and kept on a strict meal except for one.  Breakfast was an egg sandwich on 35 calorie bread, baked chips, lunch was a light peanut butter and jelly sandwich and dinner we splurged at the mall and ate Mandalay chicken, fried rice and 1 crab rangoon a very small portion   (one meal surely could not have added 5 pounds)  If 3500 equals 1 pound then I would have had to eat 15000 calories in one day.  With all of that said here is today's very disappointing post.

Beginning     280
Last Week 252
This week   252
Total for week: A big giant 0   : (     (please read blog and help)
On the plus side I added 10 pounds to all of the weight lifting machines this week.

Who is this woman????

When I first married my wife she was about 20 pounds underweight, through the years she slowly gained weigh and although still very far away from fat, she was carrying some extra weight.  For breakfast she could never resist biscuit from a restaurant if anyone offered.  Something has happened though now that we are eating healthy she has lost 10 pounds by doing nothing different than eating healthy.  Then on Friday in a moment of weakness I offered to go to Hardee's and get us a biscuit instead of her usual quick answer of yes, she instead answered "do you know how many calories is in that thing"  To my surprise I instead ate a protein bar and she a bowl of cereal.  Even after 20 years I still don't know this woman but I am very proud of her.