Fortune Cookie Love

I found a Chinese restaurant here in Salem that will cook your food to order. Oh happy day! Now I an order a Chinese meal without breading, frying and all that other evil stuff that adds up to a weight problem. I wonder how many other Chinese restaurants would be willing to do cook our food that way, but we've never thought to ask?

Food, food and more food

Okay...it's Saturday evening and it's time to review the day in regards to eating. My wife and I got up and had breakfast out, lunch out and dinner out. We haven't been to the grocery store in eons and so we're forced into eating out.

Breakfast was at a place called Elmer's. Crummy name for a place but they serve a great breakfast. So we split the "ranch breakfast" which consists of 2 eggs [we ordered a side order of 2 more eggs] hash browns, 4 sausage links and a blueberry muffin. The hash browns took up half the plate themselves. I took a portion that was about a third of what they provided.
Calories for breakfast= 700 (yikes!)

Lunch was at Los Dos Amigos down the street from our house. We split the fajita lunch. I had two fajitas (meat, onions and bell peppers) skipped the rice and beans and had about 7 corn chips with salsa. Yum!
Calories for lunch=I don't want to know

Dinner was our first time to try out a Chinese restaurant down the street from where we live. Again we split dinner. Egg drop soup, pulled pork and cabbage, pork fried rice, General Tso's Chicken and a crab cake appetizer. Great food!
Calories for dinner=I really don't want to know

It's not that we ate large portions - we did split each meal - but the items themselves are high in calories. We also don't eat like this during the week, but the calories do add up.

Maybe that's why I'm not losing weight as fast as I want, huh? Time to tighten it up!

I'm losing steam...

Losing weight is a war and I'm getting tired of fighting. My weight hasn't budged in months. Sometime I wonder if I'll ever be able to lose the weight I want to lose so badly. Apparently I don't want to lose it bad enough. If I did, I would be working out more, being more careful with my food choices, etc.

I refuse to gain the weight back. I weigh every day because I want to be hyper-aware of where I'm at with my weight.

I don't really have any cravings for anything. I'm tempted to look into the stomach operation thingy. I have a friend that did it and lost 90 pounds in only a few months. It's taken me two years to lose 40 pounds.

Then I think, nah. I'll keep trying to lose weight the hard way. Exercise and right eating.

It's just that I'm not really excited about that right now.

Chondroitin and Glucosamine seems to help

I had an MRI done on my knee a week or so ago. Showed I had a torn meniscus, the start of arthritis and some fluid on my knee. In other words, messed up. I’ve been taking some chondroitin and glucosamine which seems to really be helping with the pain. I can continue to play drums, but no more elliptical machine at the gym. He said to try the stationary bike, which I did this afternoon. It wasn’t half bad. I was able to read a book while I was exercising which was a big plus.

I’m at 297 lbs. today. I have cut down some more of my calorie intake, so between that and the exercise, I hope I can start losing again.

Too much to lose to start gaining

Weighed in at 299.4 this morning. Way too close to 300lbs! I'm sure some of it is water weight, but good grief, this is frustrating! I'm back to excercising on a daily basis. It should help. I think my body wants to stay fat for some reason.

You can't have your cake and lose weight too

I just got back from a week's vacation in Northern California with the missus. We stayed at a fantastic B&B. For the most part, I ate true to my new lifestyle. I did have dessert almost every night though...oh yeah, and some lovely bread rolls.

So, I'm back to reality and it looks like I gained about 3 pounds. Well let me tell you something...this fat boy has worked too hard to gain back weight, so I am turning up the heat. I have to get the eating under control and resume excercising daily.

I thought briefly about joining L.A. Weightloss (my bro-in-law lost a ton of weight on it) but I'm thinking...maybe not. I'm just going to cut back on the calories and turn up the excercise heat and hope for the best.

Time is on my side

The anniversay of my effort to lose 100 pounds in one year has come and gone. I didn't lose 100 pounds - I lost 40. I'm not discouraged though. I will keep on with the excercise and proper eating habits and try to continue to lose weight at what has become a very slow pace. At least I don't feel like I'm on a diet though. Choosing the right foods and right portion sizes has become second nature by now. Being consistent with excercise has been harder.

I now consistently weigh in between 293 and 294 lbs. I really could lose 100 more pounds and be near my right weight. It will be a challenge to figure out how to do it, but I'm up for the challenge.

I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.

I had my yearly physical today. First off, I got kudos from the staff for the weight loss so far. That was some nice encouragement. Doc said my heart sounded great. Blood pressure: 128 over 80. Not to shabby, eh? The good doctor scheduled me for some xrays and such for my knee and thumbs. Hopefully I'm not getting arthritis. I've got a lot of drumming and drawing to do yet.

What can you do about getting older, except fight the aging thing as hard as you can through excercise and eating right - and having as much fun as possible!

I started a self defense class two weeks ago. It's quite a workout. This is the last thing I ever thought I would try to attempt, but look at me go! Ha! Also doing a lot of gardening - mainly consisting of digging holes and pulling weeds - which is also another great way to work out. In fact, after working in the yard for a few hours, you discover muscles that you had no idea existed.

So, I'm still plugging away, eating normal portions and trying to get as physically active as I possibly can. I've got a long way to go, but I've come a long way.

I will fear no man!

I get coffee most every day at a little place not too far from where I work called "The Beanery." Over the course of the last two years that I've been having coffee there almost every day, I've noticed a martial arts studio a few doors down.

I don't remember exactly how the idea got stuck in my head, but one day I thought, "that would be great exercise and a lot of fun." I actually walked up to the door of the studio once or twice to talk about signing up, but chickened out. Well, I finally did it. I've signed up for 5 weeks of training. I will fear no man! Ha! I just hope to get some good exercise out of it and learn a thing or two. Generally, I'm just trying to get more active.

I'm down to 291 now. A far cry from where I wanted to be when I started this thing last year, but, I at least I've dropped almost 35 pounds and kept it off. By my 1 year anniversary in July, I hope to at least lost 40 to 45 pounds total. I know...it's not 100 pounds, but they will come off. It's just gonna take a little longer than I originally thought. And I'm a far cry from the almost 346 pounds I was 4 years ago.

Daddy needs a new stereo

Well, I’m feeling pretty durn good today. Got up early this morning and weighed and I’m now at 295.2 pounds. Yeah! I think the plateau I’ve been on for the last two months might be breaking.

At work someone started a “Biggest Loser” competition. It was $25 to get in on it and the winner gets the money pot. C’mon baby! Daddy needs a new stereo! On my first weigh in since the initial one two weeks ago, I’ve lost 6 pounds according to the company scale (which weighs heavy by the way…see my earlier blogs about that).

I’ve been consistently exercising now for over 3 weeks. I can’t tell you how much better I feel – and how much stronger. I’m weight lifting 3 times a week and using the elliptical 2 times a week for 20 minutes. I hope to build up to 30 minutes and beyond soon.

I’ve also been trying to cut calories a little more. I was staying at 2,500 calories a day, but over the last couple of days, I’ve cut down to 2,000 and under a little.

This lifestyle is getting easier and easier to live with.

Slow as molasses

I’ve got to get back into the habit of blogging again.

I’m a little frustrated right now. My weight has stayed the same for almost two months now. I fluctuate between 296 and 300lbs. I don’t know what’s up.

I am exercising daily (well, consistently for the last 2 weeks anyway). Three mornings a week I lift weights and 2 mornings a week I work out on the elliptical machine. I am still keeping my calories at around 2,500 a day which should be enough to lose at least a pound a week. I’ve got to be slipping up somewhere. Maybe I need to lower calories even more? Egads!

I did find this website http://www.wwfamilyforum.com/ which is pretty encouraging. It’s a Weight Watcher’s site.

I do feel stronger than I have in a while though. There is just no way though that I will reach my 100 pound goal this summer. That is disappointing but at least I’m trying.

So, I am super frustrated right now, but hoping I'll be able to break the pound barrier again soon. Here's to trying.

Hole number 4

My son gave me a belt last year that I couldn't even put on when I first tried to wear it. This morning I made it to hole number 4 without turning blue in the face. Yeah!

I'm still losing about a pound a week, but the inches are starting to disappear. My best guess is that it's due to the weight lifting I've been doing.

Is there a plastic surgeon in the house?

Well, the old mug is getting a little thinner. Now I'm getting that wonderful (note sarcasm in my voice) floppy neck skin hanging down. Geez I hope it snaps back into place soon! If not, I'm heading for the plastic surgeon.

XXX

Wore my first 2x shirt yesterday! Unbelievable! I am now wearing clothes that have been hanging in my close unworn for years. I can’t tell you how good that feels.

Last night me and the missus went out to celebrate Valentine’s Day at a restaurant here in Salem called the Eola Inn. It was recommended by a coworker.

Our first sign that we should have turned around and gone to another restaurant was the front door. It was a solid door, like a bar. We went in anyway and it didn’t seem too bad at first. The owner sat us at a table in the middle of the room and we placed our order. I noticed that the waitresses all looked pretty rough around the edges (to be nice). The décor, upon closer inspection, was a cross between a double wide and a diner. We ordered some seafood. The waitress came back with our sald after what seemed like hours. They were horrible looking. At first I thought it was the lighting, but sure enough it was brown with withered tomatoes and a small plastic cup of runny blue cheese dressing. Ick! After shoving that aside, we waited a full 50 minutes for the main entrée to come out before giving up and walking out.

By that time it was almost 9:00 so we decided to give up and stopped in at a Safeway grocery store on the way home, picked up a bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers and went home and watched TV.

Happy Valentines’ Day!

I broke the pound barrier

Sweet Saturday morning...I weighed this morning and I was at 299.8 pounds. Hallelujah! I broke the 300 pound barrier! Drop the confetti! Bring on the marching bands! Cue the orchestra!

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I just want to say how pleased I am to have reached this tiny goal. If my calculations are correct, I'm losing less than a pound a week. What's with that? On the one hand, I'm losing verrrrryyyyy slowly, which is the way "they" say is the best way to lose weight. On the other hand, this is excruciatingly slow.

So with that said...only 74* more pounds to go until July 9th. Do you think I'll make it?


*I originally weighed in at 319 lbs at the start of this whole blog back in July of last year. I later found out I was actually at 325lbs, give or take a pound due to a faulty scale. A doctor visit confirmed it. The highest weight I was at was 345lbs three years ago.

Magic pills and lube jobs

In the news today is the news of the approval of the new “fat” pill. The FDA's joint Nonprescription Drugs and Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 11 to 3 to recommend that the regulatory body OK Orlistat 60 mg capsules for over-the-counter use in the U.S. Too bad some of the side effects include oily stools (yuch!) and other unpleasantries. Apparently as soon as you stop taking the pill, the weight loss stops.

I remember taking Fen-fen for awhile back in the 90s until researchers found out it had some nasty side effects. I wonder what we’ll hear about this one down the road?

I think I’ll just stick to the old tried and true method of cutting calories, keeping a food diary and exercise. With that said, my weight loss is going just wack. I weigh every day, because it keeps me motivated, but man, it’s amazing how much it fluctuates. It is taking me forever to lose it seems, but I think that’s because I’m losing on average a pound of week. On Friday I was down to 301. Yesterday it was 307 and this morning it was 306.

So, here’s to sticking to my food plan and hoping that the plateaus will start fading a little faster. I think I’ll just pass on the lube job.

Cat boxes and high fives

I just got back from a men's retreat that I went to with my friend, Von. Nothing there really on the low fat or low calorie side of things, still I did well with my food choices and portions. Way to go Randy [cue slow motion camera as I high five myself]!

It's funny where inspiration can hit you. One of my least favorite jobs in the world has to be cleaning out cat's boxes. I cleaned the boxes (yes, boxes...we have 4 cats) the other day, and as I picked up a 20 pound jug of cat sand I thought to myself, "you know, over the last 3 years, I have lost the equivalent weight of two of these cat sand containers. And they were heavy! I can't imagine carrying around that kind of weight...but I did.

As of Friday, I was 1 and a half pounds away from being under 300 pounds (again). It will be good to get back to weight lifting and being able to have control over the food I eat again after this last retreat. I look at recent photos of myself, but I don't seem to have changed much at all, but I know I'm losing the pounds somewhere.

Tighten Up (the old seatbelt, baby!)

Went down to Texas for the Christmas holidays to visit the kids. Oh boy. Airplane time. Seat belt extension time? Imagine my relief when I got the seat belt on without any problems. Even had a half inch or so to go!

Weight has been coming off unbelievably slow. I'm lifting weights 3 days a week, but no cardio for now. Wife wants to walk after work. It's kind of hard with all the danged old Oregon rain and cold, but I guess I'll give it a whirl.

Christmas goodies were kept at bay. For some reason I retained a lot of water while I was in the Lone Star State. I weighed when I got home and I was back up to 312. Gadzooks! Apparently it's water weight, as it has been dropping every day back to my pre-Christmas level. I did give in to some County Line ribs while I was there. These are the best ribs in the world and the BBQ sauce is out of this world!

I'm eating "Healthy Choice" meals for lunch now. Predictable calories and not bad taste and not bad on the wallet.

Onward through the fog.