week 2 in review

What did I miss this week:  I really miss snacking and eating food without counting calories. 
                                            Chinese food
                                             Salsa and chips

What I learned this week:  It is not easy losing weight
                                          America's restaurants and stores are not designed for healthy eating.
                                          People really do read my blog and are sending encouragement
                                           I am sick of nursing school (sorry just needed to throw that in)
                                           You do not have to go hungry to eat well.
Obstacles for the week:  all day car trip on Friday
                                        cold and lazy Sat
                                        A thank you dinner in St. Charles with lots and lots of food

It really does not require a large amount of exercise to lose weight but you just need to do something.
Today I got out of bed and jogged two miles
Breakfast:  oatmeal, wheat toast, skim milk
Lunch:  crock pot chicken, potatoes, carrots, green beans.
Dinner:  Have not got there yet but it is in St. Charles (now we will find out what I am made of)
Weigh in tomorrow morning will post results.

I have a goal.

My new goal is to be the blog that everyone wants to look at.  The reason I have chosen this goal is I will have to prove results to make this work.  To make the blog more reader friendly I will plan on posting pictures and recipes of the foods I eat and the servings that I eat.  I am really fired up and know that I will succeed this time but I will need to know that people are reading.  This week about 30 people a day stopped by and several shared tips and encouragement whether on the blog or facebook and in person.
Today was a hard day as the weather was in the 30's and windy.  I didn't run today and thought it would be a good rest for my body but I did try to stay very busy around the house. I had oatmeal for breakfast with a piece of toast and apple butter ( I should have skipped the apple butter)  I ate a lunch/dinner at the same time which was the rice, beef and tomato mixture we used for the stuffed peppers last night.  We put it on a tortilla and added some salsa for a nice burrito.  Why I did not eat lunch earlier I'm not sure but the oatmeal really filled me up.  I was shocked to find out how many people have used blogs for weight loss but it was really encouraging to see.

Traveling makes it tough

Today I had to spend over 9 hours traveling on the road.  I'm not one to just drive I love to nibble on food as I drive, my favorite is a bag of beef jerky.  Now beef jerky is actually low in fat and calories but the sodium level will blow you away but with some planning I made the trip work.  I packed a turkey sandwich and apple for lunch and I did drink diet soda for the caffeine kick.  I bought a bag of beef jerky(the one pounder from Sam's) and then made a plan so I would not eat the entire bag.  I took a sandwich bag and placed just 2 servings in it and it helped with the munchies.  After arriving home my wife had stuffed peppers waiting for me.  Even with traveling I was able to stay under 2000 calories today.  After I returned home me and my daughter went for a 2 mile run in the rain and I actually jogged the whole distance, it was much more than a waddle actually a nice steady jog.  Thank you to all of my blog readers for keeping me on track.  Monday will be here soon and I am ready to weigh-in.

Hunger

Last night I went to bed slightly hungry.  I felt guilty when I woke up this morning thinking that it has been along time since I have been hungry.  What a glutton I became and just think about how many really go to bed hungry every night.  I know I need to get my eating under control.  The blog spot has been a great help.

Breakfast:  granola bar and apple
snack: cup of Cheerios
lunch:  turkey sandwich on wheat and a big helping of mixed veggies
Dinner:  Baked cod, peas, and brown rice that I mixed with green and red peppers and a small amount of cheese.
Calories so far just under 1600 while planning on eating a light blueberry yogurt for evening snack.
I Jogged (or some may call it a strange waddle) almost 2 miles tonight I walked about 300 yards of it. 
Very soon I will knock the whole thing out without walking.
I found a great web site for those wanting to have a great hand in losing weight. http://www.calorie-count.com/
thanks Sandy for sharing this with me.

Counting Calories

I now am starting to realize why I am so fat.  Do you realize how hard it is to find something healthy to eat if you get hungry while your away from home.  Run into any mini-mart or fast food restaurant and see what I mean.  Even the things that seem healthy are high in calories.  Buy the box meal at Taco Bell and eat a full days calories in one meal and let's not even talk McDonald's.  A handful of snacks here and there can throw off a healthy eating pattern quick.
Now saying that I did not cheat today and was able to stay focused although I did get hungry while I was out I did not stray.  ( I think you all would not let me hear the end of it.)  The usual breakfast and lunch and for dinner I made Chicken breast in Salsa (Thanks Jenn) baked shoestring fries and broccoli.  Total calories today 1700 and a two mile walk/jog with hills included.  I need to do some research on the best foods to eat at bedtime (only when I am really hungry)

Here's a web site to figure how many calories your body needs a day.
http://nutrition.about.com/od/changeyourdiet/a/calguide.htm

School makes it tough

I didn't get to post last night because I am in nursing school right now.  You would think that while we are learning to make people healthy that somehow that would let us work on our health as well.  Instead nursing school has just about killed me, the stress and many, many hours of sitting and studying have really took a toll on my body.  One way I study is to sit in my car on a parking lot for over 5 hours, no distractions this way.  But I used to keep munchies with me.  Yesterday I did munch on a small bag of trail mix but made sure I made up for it by eating a light dinner.   Working out was a challenge but after last nights test instead of heading for the computer lab I went across the street to the Computer Science building and ran up four floors of stairs for 15 minutes and then walked the campus for another 15. 
I tried to switch up my meal pattern by starting with protein but really did not like the switch tomorrow I go back to fiber for breakfast. I had turkey sandwich for lunch and a bowl of green beans and about 2 oz of pork tenderloin for dinner.  Not bad for a test day.

Week 2 Begins

The encouraging words today were enough to send me over the top.  Without a doubt I need accountability.  I did add some running to today's exercise,  I'm not sure I would even be willing to call it a jog  how about a wog half walk half jog.  The tendinitis in my ankle is killing me.  The doctor gave me anti-inflammatory but I quit taking them because of my high blood pressure.  As long as I have my eating habits back in order and exercise regularly I think I will go back on them. 
Breakfast was an apple and bowl of cinnamon Cheerios
Lunch was a turkey roast beef sandwich on wheat  no toppings
dinner was wheat spaghetti topped with my own creation of chicken breast, tomato, squash, lots of green, yellow and red peppers and some chicken broth.  Spiced up with some different seasonings and it hit the spot.
Finished the night with half cup light blueberry yogurt, added about 10 blueberries and a sprinkle of granola.  Not a bad day of eating and my heart still likes me.