Doing My Happy Dance

Well, after a 2 week plateau, I finally lost some more flab. I won't tell you how much yet, you'll have to read all the way down to the bottom of the post. I love keeping you in suspense.

I think I've done really well while on the You: On a Diet plan, but I have to tell you, I was feeling a little discouraged the last couple of weeks. It's disappointing to step on the scale and not lose any weight. I'm only human, folks. I was bummed. But you know what? I DIDN'T GIVE UP. I kept up my daily walking. I didn't slurp up the ice cream or throw in the towel. I just kept doing what I was suppose to do. I kept my eyes on my goal, visualized how I wanted to look, and kept telling myself that I can do this. One meal at a time, one day at time, one meal at a time. Several times during my other weight loss attempts, when I got frustrated, I cheated. I ate what I've craved. Then I felt guilty afterwards, felt bad, and ate some more junk. Then I told myself, 'self, you've blown it now, no need to continue the diet, try again next week, month, year'. Sounds familar to anyone else? I know I can't be alone in this cheat/guilt/gorge/guilt/give up cycle, am I? I'm really proud of myself this time for not throwing in the towel. High fives anyone?

Ok, thanks again for reading and here's the numbers....

Anyway, Here's the numbers...

Week.....Date.......Weight.....Lost.....Waist....Lost

Start.2/28/2007.......297.....n/a.......57......n/a

1.......3/07/2007.......289......8.........56........1

2.......3/14/2007.......280.....17........55.5.....1.5

3.......3/21/2007.......275.....22........55........2

4.......3/28/2007.......274.....23........53........4

5.......4/04/2007.......271.....26........52........5

6.......4/11/2007.......267.....30........52........5

7.......4/18/2007.......265.....32........51........6

8.......4/25/2007.......262.....35........50........7

9.......5/02/2007.......259.....38........48........8

10.....5/09/2007.......254.....43........47........9

11.....5/16/2007.......253.....44........46......10

12.....5/23/2007.......249.....48........46.....10

13.....5/30/2007.......247.....50........45.5...11.5

14.....6/06/2007.......241.....56........44.5...12.5

15.....6/13/2007.......240.....57........44.......13

16.....6/21/2007.......240.....57........44.......13

17.....6/27/2007.......237......60.......43........14

That's right!!! 3 pounds and 1 inch this week.. 60 pounds total!!!

Take Care, Eat Well,

Rich

n2styx@comcast.net

Nectar of the Gods

I've received many emails lately asking me how I curb my hunger and what do I do about sugar cravings. So here goes....

To curb those hunger pains: First of all, I usually eat about every 2 hours. Main Meal, snack, Main Meal, Snack, Main Meal, Snack. That routine usually keeps me from getting really hungry. But when I just have to have something, I grab some raw walnuts and/or grab a "Pepsi Jazz Strawberries and Cream Soda" or a "Diet Dr. Pepper Berries and Cream" and drink them quickly. The carbonation, I think makes my tummy feel full, I feel bloated and the hunger is gone. I also take a short walk, around the block, around the neighborhood. That little amount of exercise takes the edge off my hunger.

For my sugar cravings, again, the NECTAR OF THE GODS.. "Jazz Strawberries and Cream Soda" or a "Diet Dr. Pepper Berries and Cream". Not only do I find that these soda curb my hunger, they take the edge off my sugar cravings. If I feel I need something more tactile, I'll eat some frozen blueberries, low/non fat yogurt, chew Trident Sugar Free Cinnamon Gum (see a former blog for Trident information), a square of Trader Joe's 72% Dark Chocolate or suck on a Sugar Free Creme Saver Strawberries & Cream Hard candy.

These work for me, indivdual results will vary. I've heard that if you eat sugar free candies and sodas that this will only intensify your craving for real sugar and more sweets. This isn't the case for me. My cravings are gone after a Creme Saver or a Diet Soda. Again, this works for me, individual results may vary.

Take Care, Eat Well.
Rich
n2styx@comcast.net

Holding Steady

After enjoying Father's Day and accepting all the 'treats' offered on the day from my kiddos, I managed not to gain any weight this week! I didn't lose any either, but that's ok! It did make me think, though, how much in our culture we celebrate with food. What's a birthday, without cake and ice cream? What's Father's day without going out to eat with the kids? And don't even get me started about how celebrating the birth of Christ involves sweets of every imaginable combination. What's up with that?

Anyway, Here's the numbers...

Week.....Date.......Weight.....Lost.....Waist....Lost
Start.2/28/2007.......297.....n/a.......57......n/a
1.......3/07/2007.......289......8.........56........1
2.......3/14/2007.......280.....17........55.5.....1.5
3.......3/21/2007.......275.....22........55........2
4.......3/28/2007.......274.....23........53........4
5.......4/04/2007.......271.....26........52........5
6.......4/11/2007.......267.....30........52........5
7.......4/18/2007.......265.....32........51........6
8.......4/25/2007.......262.....35........50........7
9.......5/02/2007.......259.....38........48........8
10.....5/09/2007.......254.....43........47........9
11.....5/16/2007.......253.....44........46......10
12.....5/23/2007.......249.....48........46..... 10
13.....5/30/2007.......247.....50........45.5...11.5
14.....6/06/2007.......241.....56........44.5...12.5
15.....6/13/2007.......240.....57........44.......13
16.....6/21/2007.......240.....57........44.......13

No pictures this week. Same old me.

Take Care, Eat Well.

Rich
n2styx@comcast.net

Happy Father's Day!!

To all you father's out there, Happy Father's Day! Enjoy the day, relax and don't worry about the YOAD. On Father's Day, it's the YOAD less traveled. Enjoy the day with your kids and let them let you know how much they appreciate you and all you do.

Rich
Eat Well, tomorrow!

Rich

Another One Gone

Well it was weigh day and I lost another pound!! It's only a pound, but I'm actually surprised because last week I lost 6 pounds and contributed it to water or something freaky. I expected this week to actually gain weight to make up for the unusually big lost last week. But I lost another pound, I'LL TAKE IT!!

Here's the numbers...

Week.....Date.......Weight.....Lost.....Waist....Lost

Start.2/28/2007.......297.....n/a.......57......n/a

1.......3/07/2007.......289......8.........56........1

2.......3/14/2007.......280.....17........55.5.....1.5

3.......3/21/2007.......275.....22........55........2

4.......3/28/2007.......274.....23........53........4

5.......4/04/2007.......271.....26........52........5

6.......4/11/2007.......267.....30........52........5

7.......4/18/2007.......265.....32........51........6

8.......4/25/2007.......262.....35........50........7

9.......5/02/2007.......259.....38........48........8

10.....5/09/2007.......254.....43........47........9

11.....5/16/2007.......253.....44........46......10

12.....5/23/2007.......249.....48........46..... 10

13.....5/30/2007.......247.....50........45.5...11.5

14.....6/06/2007.......241.....56........44.5...12.5

15.....6/13/2007.......240.....57........44.......13

New Stuff

I started thinking about what I could do to get people to cruise over to my blog and spend a little while, so I found these neato Widgets. You can see them and use/play them if you scroll down the page, they're on the left side of the page. I thought Pac-Man was so appropriate for a bunch of dieters. Go figure. Enjoy!!

Rich

Yawn

After posting my daily routine and menus, I realized how boring and unexciting my days are. Blah. I hate keeping 'food diaries' and these post have been just that.. Therefore, I'm not going to post them anymore. Hopefully the days I've posted gave you a good idea of what I'm doing.

Eat Well,

Rich

Saturday

I slept in until 10 AM today. WOW !! That felt awesome.

10:15 AM - Cheerios with cinnamon, blueberries and raw flaxseeds

10:30 AM - Treadmill, Level 4, burned 320 calories, 1.8 miles. woo hoo!!

Noon - Yogurt w/flaxseeds and walnuts.

Went to the local fair grounds for the weekly flea market.. walked around for about 3 hours. I had a frozen custard. I couldn't resist. I figured I'd walk enough to burn it off.

4:30 - Yogurt

Friday's Routine

Slept in until 9 AM this morning. I have to work until 11 tonight, so sleeping-in was nice.

9:30 AM - Omelette with veggies cooked in olive oil.

10:45 AM - Tradmill, 30 minutes, 275 calories gone!!

11:30 AM - Low Fat Yogurt with raw flax seeds and 6 walnut halves.

1:30 PM - Salad (Romaine Lettuce, Tomato, Feta, Walnuts, Chicken Breast, Cranberries)

2:30 PM - I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go... blah

6:00 PM - Salad (Romaine Lettuce, Tomato, Feta, Walnuts, Chicken Breast, Cranberries)

Thursday's Routine

Got up, and hit the treadmill rightaway! 275 calories GONE!

9:00 AM - Ate Cheerios with Cinnamon, Blueberries and 2 Tablespoons of raw flax seeds

10:00 AM - Went to Costco and avoided all the 'free sample' booths (yay!) I did make myself walk up and down every aisle, because I like to look, because of the exercise.

12:30 PM - Ate Lunch, (Rice Pilaf and Chili) from Yoad Book.

3:30 PM - Ate a cup of Dannon "LIght and Fit" Yogurt (Strawberry - 60 calories, 0 Fat) with 6 walnut halves and 1 Tblsp of raw flax seeds

5:30 PM - 1 baked Chicken Breast.

7:30 PM - 2 squares of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate (72% Cocoa).

Wednesday's Routine

8:30 AM Woke up, went potty, and got on the scale

8:45 AM - Ate Cheerios with Cinnamon, Blueberries and 2 Tablespoons of raw flax seeds.

9:00 AM - Walked to the grocery store, shopped, came home, total time, 40 minutes.

10:00AM - Took my weekly pictures, wrote my blog, while watching "The View" (Rosie, I miss you)

10:45 AM - Ate a cup of Dannon "LIght and Fit" Yogurt with 6 walnut halves and 1 Tblsp of raw flax seeds

12:00PM - 30 minutes on the treadmill, 275 calories gone!

1:30 PM - Salad (Romaine, Walnutes, Crandberries, Feta, Turkey Breast), Lipton Diet Green Tea.

3:00 PM - Grabbed some raw walnuts and ate them while watching 'Hell's Kitchen' (recorded).

5:00 PM - Dinner time. I'm eating Rice Pilaf and Chili, both from the YOAD book. Yummm.

OMG!!

Wow! I cannot express my amazement and surprise when I stepped on the scale this morning. 6 pounds!!?!?!?? How can this be? I'm trying to think of what I did this week to justify 6 pounds. I can think of nothing. Did I have a big water loss? Was it fat? Was the scale on the fritz? I'll accept this today, but I'll be leary next week.

Here's the numbers...

Week.....Date.......Weight.....Lost.....Waist....Lost
Start.2/28/2007.......297.....n/a.......57......n/a
1.......3/07/2007.......289......8.........56........1
2.......3/14/2007.......280.....17........55.5.....1.5
3.......3/21/2007.......275.....22........55........2
4.......3/28/2007.......274.....23........53........4
5.......4/04/2007.......271.....26........52........5
6.......4/11/2007.......267.....30........52........5
7.......4/18/2007.......265.....32........51........6
8.......4/25/2007.......262.....35........50........7
9.......5/02/2007.......259.....38........48........8
10.....5/09/2007.......254.....43........47........9
11.....5/16/2007.......253.....44........46......10
12.....5/23/2007.......249.....48........46..... 10
13.....5/30/2007.......247.....50........45.5...11.5
14.....6/06/2007.......241.....56........44.5...12.5



Eat Well,

Rich

The Routine

Several people have asked me what I'm eating every day, how much am I exercising, etc. I will TRY (yeah, I hear Yoda, "Do or do not, there is no try" in the background)

to post daily what I did, what I ate and when.

So here goes....

Since I worked until 6:45 AM this morning, I came home and went to bed. I slept until 11:30AM. I woke up, and after reading the paper and doing my normal 'morning grooming' stuff' (please don't ask for details) I went to the grocery store. I got home about 12:30 and ate 1 cup of Low Fat Yogurt while cooking the YOAD Chili and Rice Pilaf. At about 2 PM I ate a salad with Romaine Lettuce, walnuts, turkey breast, feta cheese, cranberries, and chopped cucumber. I portioned out containers of rice and chili and placed them in the freezer for later meals. At about 5pm I ate a portion of rice and chili. At 5:30PM I walked 30 minutes on my treadmill (level 3) which burned 275 calories, walking a distance of 1.6 miles. I drank a lot of Lipton Diet Green tea during the course of the day. It's now 7PM and I'm done eating until tomorrow. I plan on watching "America's Got Talent" tonight on tv.

Yeah, I know, I live a real exciting life. woo hoo!!

Take Care, Eat Well,

Rich

What a Week

It's been a crazy week. The biggest thing that happened is my hard drive on my 3 month old HP Pavillon CRASHED. I was typing an email and the computer froze in the middle. So I did the 3 finger salute (Ctl-Alt-Delete) and rebooted. But the new HP wouldn't hear of it. I got a "Cannot read from hard drive" message when I tried to boot. I tried several utility programs to try to recover the hard drive (including one from HP), but the Hard Drive gave up the ghost. Luckily it is still under warranty and after talking to "ANN" with a curiously heavy Indian accent, I got a new hard drive overnighted with 'Recovery" software Disks. So I got my HP back up to 'just like purchased' status and began the task of reinstalling all my programs, email contacts, favorites, etc..

Why am I mentioning it here? ALL MY Before, during and after pics of my journey to lose weight were on my hard drive. They are gone. The only ones left are the ones posted here and at the link posted on here. "All my photos in one place". Although it's a good selection of my pictures, I had a lot more. Oh well.

Tomorrow's weigh day and I'm hoping all the stress helped shed some pounds.

Take Care, Eat Well.

Rich

50 Pounds Less Comparison Pictures

Here's a before and after picture. 50 pounds difference in the two.






February 23, 2007 - 297 lbs.......................................May 30, 2007 - 247 lbs

Pop in the Bon Jovi and Crank up the Stereo!!

"... oh oh, We're half way there....."

Well today was the day I reached my half way point to my goal weight AND my waist size. Probably just a coincidence I reached the half way point for both in the same week, because my goal weight is just an arbitrary number I wanted. Anyway, the stereo is cranked up and I'm very much doing my 'happy dance'.

There are 2 things that are totally blowing me away.
1. You: On a Diet is SOOO easy. I'm eating every 2-3 hours, the food is great, there is NO starvation. Where have you been all my life?? I truly believe people, like me, who are overweight really don't know how to eat right. Sure, we hear about fruits and veggies, we know not to stuff down the doughnuts, but until I read Dr. Oz's book, I didn't understand how everything really works. I DIDN'T really know how to eat a complete week of healthy food, how to prepare it and how often I should eat. I was always told that if I wanted to lose weight, just don't eat as much, starve yourself. Sure, that works for the short term, but it sucks for the long term. You: On a diet is a plan I can stick with the rest of my life. I'm finally eating right, eating healthy and eathing good.. And my body feels sooooo much better now. I have more energy, less back and joint paint, I feel more awake, alert and active. THIS ROCKS!!!!

2. I cannot believe how fast I've lost his weight. 13 weeks and 50 lbs and 11.5 inches off my waist!!!! Are you kidding me?? The hardest part is always starting a diet plan, this plan is so easy, I never felt deprived and it never really felt like I was on a diet. Exercising (walking 30 minutes a day) has become part of my morning routine. I'm actually looking forward to it. But 50 lbs in 13 weeks!?!?! C'mon, how horribly I must have been eating before.

I'll stop rambling, here are my numbers.

Week.....Date.......Weight.....Lost.....Waist....Lost
Start.2/28/2007.......297.....n/a.......57......n/a
1.......3/07/2007.......289......8.........56........1
2.......3/14/2007.......280.....17........55.5.....1.5
3.......3/21/2007.......275.....22........55........2
4.......3/28/2007.......274.....23........53........4
5.......4/04/2007.......271.....26........52........5
6.......4/11/2007.......267.....30........52........5
7.......4/18/2007.......265.....32........51........6
8.......4/25/2007.......262.....35........50........7
9.......5/02/2007.......259.....38........48........8
10.....5/09/2007.......254.....43........47........9
11.....5/16/2007.......253.....44........46......10
12.....5/23/2007.......249.....48........46..... 10
13.....5/30/2007.......247.....50........45.5...11.5





Eat Well,

Rich

Approaching the Half Way Point

It was another good Weekly Weigh Day. I'm 2 pounds of being half way to my goal of losing 100 lbs. If the next 50 lbs goes as easy as the first, I will be strutting my stuff in no time at all!



Here's the numbers....



Week.....Date.......Weight.....Lost.....Waist....Lost
Start.2/28/2007.......297.....n/a.......57......n/a
1.......3/07/2007.......289......8.........56........1
2.......3/14/2007.......280.....17........55.5.....1.5
3.......3/21/2007.......275.....22........55........2
4.......3/28/2007.......274.....23........53........4
5.......4/04/2007.......271.....26........52........5
6.......4/11/2007.......267.....30........52........5
7.......4/18/2007.......265.....32........51........6
8.......4/25/2007.......262.....35........50........7
9.......5/02/2007.......259.....38........48........8
10.....5/09/2007.......254.....43........47........9
11.....5/16/2007.......253.....44........46......10
12.....5/23/2007.......249.....48........46..... 10



I'm now wearing my 40w Levi's comfortably!!! Gotta Love it!









Take Care, Eat Well.



Rich

Another Pound!

This weeks results weren't as spectacular as last week's, but it gave me a smile on my face anyway! I didn't take a picture this week. I figured, no one is going to see any change with only 1 pound lost. How come if you gain 1 pound, everyone notices??

Here's the numbers....
Week.....Date.......Weight.....Lost.....Waist....Lost
Start.2/28/2007.......297.....n/a.......57......n/a
1.......3/07/2007.......289......8.........56........1
2.......3/14/2007.......280.....17........55.5.....1.5
3.......3/21/2007.......275.....22........55........2
4.......3/28/2007.......274.....23........53........4
5.......4/04/2007.......271.....26........52........5
6.......4/11/2007.......267.....30........52........5
7.......4/18/2007.......265.....32........51........6
8.......4/25/2007.......262.....35........50........7
9.......5/02/2007.......259.....38........48........8
10.....5/09/2007.......254.....43........47........9
11.....5/16/2007.......253.....44........46......10

Take Care, Eat Well.

Rich

What a Wonderful Wednesday Weigh In

I was VERY pleasantly surprised today at my weigh in. (Results to follow). I began thinking of what I did different. Here's what I came up with. I increased my walking to 1 hour 3 days a week. I bumped up my "Weight Loss Walking Program" on my treadmill from level 2 to level 3. That bump caused me to burn 298 calories per 30 minutes (up from 268 calories from level 2). And finally, I started taking one of those 'miracle pills' I had laying around the house. Now, let me tell you, I've been a sucker for all the miracle pills advertised. You know the ones.. "just take a pill and you'll have the body of Brad Pitt...". "Lose weight while you sleep"... etc. NONE OF THEM EVER DID WHAT THE SNAKE OIL SALESMEN SAID THEY WOULD DO.

Well I saw this bottle at my local Costco (If you're a regular reader, you already know I LOVE COSTCO.) Here's a picture of the bottle. It's called Green Tea Fat Burner made by Applied Nutrition.

If you go to www.costco.com and do a search for Green Tea, the product will come you. You can read about all the ingredients in the product. I won't bore you with them here.

I was walking down the aisle of Costco and saw this product and to be honest, what caught my eye was the 'green tea'. I'm an avid drinker of green tea and figured I can have my green tea and burn my fat at the same time (interject my sarcasm at the 'burn my fat at the same time' line). Anyway, a couple weeks ago, I ran across the bottle in my pantry and decided to start taking it daily.

Now, I don't know if it's the pills, the increase excercise, or just a natural drop, but I LOST 5 POUNDS AND 1 INCH THIS WEEK. I'll let you draw your own conclusions... It will be interesting to see next weeks results.

Here's the numbers....

Week.....Date.......Weight.....Lost.....Waist....Lost
Start.2/28/2007.......297.....n/a.......57......n/a
1.......3/07/2007.......289......8.........56........1
2.......3/14/2007.......280.....17........55.5.....1.5
3.......3/21/2007.......275.....22........55........2
4.......3/28/2007.......274.....23........53........4
5.......4/04/2007.......271.....26........52........5
6.......4/11/2007.......267.....30........52........5
7.......4/18/2007.......265.....32........51........6
8.......4/25/2007.......262.....35........50........7
9.......5/02/2007.......259.....38........48........8
10.....5/09/2007.......254.....43........47........9

Weekly Update

I'm finally all caught up. It's been a hectic last couple of weeks. I had a family emergency and went out of town (to New Olreans). Everyone is fine now. (Thank God). But before you read my weekly numbers, remember, it WAS New Orleans. New Orleans has some of the best food in the world. I tried my best to eat healthy, but it WAS New Orleans. What's a trip to New Orleans without some fried shrimp (I had 5) and authentic southern pecan pie (I had a very small piece). Besides those couple of exceptions of decadence, I was really good. I got my daily walking in. Actually I did more walking than normal, I most ate broiled, baked or blackened seafood always with healthy steamed veggies. I stuck with my Cheerios every morning. I'm actually very proud of myself for turning down all the 'goodies' that mom tried to force feed me. After several days of trying, she gave up trying! Then I went online http://www.realage.com/doctorcenter/Board.aspx and downloaded my You: On a Diet recipes and made them for my family. They LOVED them. Mom wanted to keep the recipes to include them in her repertoire of menus. Since coming home, she's called me and mentioned that she has already made several of the healthy meals that I've introduced her too!! Just another example of how You: On a Diet isn't your typical yucky, starvation diet. It's good food, healthy food, delicious food that can and will change your life.



I've rambled long enough, without further ado, here's my results... Since I missed weighing in last Wednesday, I put in 1/2 the difference from 2 weeks ago and today. I did the same with the waist....





Week.....Date.......Weight.....Lost.....Waist....Lost
Start.2/28/2007.......297.....n/a.......57......n/a
1.......3/07/2007.......289......8.........56........1
2.......3/14/2007.......280.....17........55.5.....1.5
3.......3/21/2007.......275.....22........55........2
4.......3/28/2007.......274.....23........53........4
5.......4/04/2007.......271.....26........52........5
6.......4/11/2007.......267.....30........52........5
7.......4/18/2007.......265.....32........51........6
8.......4/25/2007.......262.....35........50........7
9.......5/02/2007.......259.....38........48........8





I'm amazed and delighted with these results.. Truly amazed. I am now wearing a 40w Levis Pants. When I started I was wearing a very tight 46w Levis. Anybody need any slightly used, slightly stretched large sized Levis?



Take Care, Eat Well,



Rich

n2styx@comcast.net