LONG Walk!!!!

Lori and I went on a long walk today....well, actually it was 2 long walks. Both were in Ft. Snelling State Park. The first we walked around Picnic Island where we met up with a few of the locals.







Then we got back into the car and decided to check out the walking trail on Pike Island. It was a gorgeous trail. The only issue we ran into was that it seemed to go on forever after having already walked around Picnic Island. Fortunately the trail was groomed and in much better shape than the trail on Picnic. I kept waiting and waiting for the trail to to turn and begin sending us back in the direction of home but it just kept sending us further and further away. Finally the trail turned the corner to send us back and we kept pressing on.....like there was another alternative, right? There were no taxis in the area so pressing on was the only option. At one point. Lori (under her breath) said, "This is a really long walk." I laughed so loud. What a gift she has for the obvious. haha It still ended up being a really great walk!!!! 11,678 Steps

Slowing Down

Almost to the end of the 6th week and the weight loss has slowed down. I'm not complaining. I'm ahead of schedule for week 6 and even though it has slowed down, it's still headed in the right direction. I have a hard time complaining about losing 17.8 lbs in 6 weeks. Besides the reality I'm now losing pretty much exactly what my little arm bands says I should be losing based on my daily calorie deficit.

After 2 weekends in a row that included a couple less than perfect restaurant meals it feels great to have been able to get back on track so easily and still without cravings. :-)

I'm still walking on all my breaks to get my steps in and I'm amazed at how much difference just walking can make. So off to the park I go. I think we may explore a new park today. Might head down to Ft. Snelling park and walk around one of the islands on one of their groomed walking trails. I'll let you know how it goes.

Now I just have to wait until tomorrow for my official Week 6 weigh-in.

Oh and it buttons!!!!

Yes, I know that for most people making that statement would refer to something they purchased long ago when they were a smaller size. In my case, however, it refers to my brand new winter coat!!!

You see, I live in Minnesota and I went all of last year with nothing more than a jean jacket because I just couldn't bring myself to go shopping for a winter coat. But this year, I know more about living in Minnesota and I realized how I was tempting fate to be out on the road with nothing more than a jean jacket. So I gave in and went coat shopping. At this size, shopping for anything is less than fun but a winter coat? Michelin Man here I come....but I digress.

Surprisingly I found a coat I actually liked and there was only one problem.....it was about 3 inches short of buttoning. That would normally stop me in my tracks but in this instance, I really liked the coat. Plus, the fact that it is double-breasted meant that I could fold the fabric over itself and protect myself from the weather....it just wouldn't button and the next size up just didn't work. So I bought it!!!!

I can honestly say this is the only time in my life that I purchased something that was too small or right on the edge of too small where I actually grew into it. I actually grew smaller and IT BUTTONS!!!! Woohoo!!!!

Week 5

A very weird week! I generally don’t weigh in during the middle of the week but for some reason I did this week. I’m actually really glad I did!!!

Having gotten a bit tired of the same old three lunches, Lori and I decided to try and find a few different lunch choices. (In case you don’t know, Lori is my roommate and we are on this journey toward health together) In her search of the myriad of Zone websites she uses, she found that Lean Cuisine has quite a number of frozen dinners that meet the Zone 40-30-30 mark (or pretty darn close) and the packaging loudly proclaimed “No Preservatives” so we made our selections. I must admit, I really enjoyed the different flavors and was surprised by how much I liked them. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not a restaurant meal but they were pretty satisfying.

Unfortunately, every day I got on the scale my weight went up a little bit more and by Thursday I was irritated to say the least. So I started looking more critically at the ingredients and realized that although there were no preservatives, there was WAY MORE sodium in those lunches than I have been having. It’s not exactly a scientific study but Thursday and Friday I went back to my regular lunches and by Saturday & Sunday the scale was headed back down. Yep, I don’t plan on making Lean Cuisine a regular staple!!! I still wouldn’t be against having one occasionally but we are on the hunt for more choices we can make and freeze ourselves.

Our attempt this week was to modify one of my favorite soups into a Zone-friendly recipe and it appears to have worked. I did the taste test before it was divided up and it was really good! Tasted pretty much just like the non-Zone-friendly recipe.

Considering all the hiccups, the final result for the week was ok. Nothing to jump up and down about but I’m satisfied.

I lost 0.8 lbs which is a whole lot better than the + 3 lbs I was looking at on Thursday!

Still trying to figure out how to get more workouts in but with the current work schedule I just don’t think it’s very realistic.

Week 4

I'm very excited to have survived my first dinner out without any damage. Had a great time going out to dinner with Sam, Sue, Brian (friend from out of town) and Lori. Went to Granite City Grill and managed to avoid eating any of the pre-dinner bread. I ordered the BBQ Chicken Pizza because the crust is really, really thin and it's a pretty reasonable portion. I still only ate about 3/4 of it and walked away satisfied and full but not stuffed. Aaaahhhh! Success! This morning the scale even agreed.

This week has been a great success! I lost 4.4 lbs and am securely into the 250s.

Whew, 240s here I come!!!

Couldn't begin to describe how beautiful our Saturday morning walk was this morning so, as they say..... A picture is worth a thousand words!

Simply SPECTACTULAR!!!!!!

Whew!

Thankfully my hope for a great week after last week has come true. This morning the scale annouces I have lost 4.4 lbs so far this week! That puts be at a total of 14.4 lbs so far. Woohoo!!!! My official weigh-in for the week, however, is not until tomorrow morning. The funny thing about that is.....tonight I am going out to dinner for my first not "perfectly zone" meal in 4 weeks. The reason I think that's so funny is that since I started this adventure at 273 lbs (my absolutely highest lifetime weight - UGH~!) I have been excited and focused on getting back into the 250s. That is the neighborhood of where my weight was when I started the second job 6 months ago. So the first order of business has been to lose the 20 lbs I packed on during that first 5 months.

Now that it's close to happening, I am extremely motived to eat a very clean and zone-like restaurant meal to ensure not losing any momentum. Funny! In the past I may have wanted to use this dinner out as an excuse to eat "whatever I want" but today I really don't have any hankering for anything in particular.

Yesterday I even walked into the 2nd job with my desk piled high with chocolate, candy and valentines but I didn't eat a single piece and really didn't even crave it. That's progress!!!!

Well, it's time to get breakfast going so Lori & I can head out into a winter wonderland to get in our 10,000 steps for the day.

Hope everyone has an outstanding day!!!!!!

Toughest day so far

So today has been the toughest day so far in this little adventure. I have felt famished all day! The only thing that kept me from heading straight to the cafeteria for something to eat is the fact that I have committed to not spend ANY money in that place between now and May 3rd (at least). By the time lunchtime rolled around I felt like I could hardly stay vertical. I just wanted to lay down and curl up in a little ball sssssoooooooo bad!!!!! Once I got some food in me, I definitely felt better within 10-15 minutes but I was still hungry the rest of the day. Thankfully Lori cooked dinner and it was just coming out of the oven when I walked in the door. Aaaahhhh! I feel so much better......really, really tired, but so much better.

By the way, I did check my weight this morning and the scale says I've lost 2.6 lbs since Monday so I'm totally committed to keeping my diet clean. I'd be really bummed to lose this momentum. The big challenge will come Saturday because I have plans to go out to dinner with Lori, Sam, Sue & Brian (a friend in town over the weekend). Gonna need to do some planning ahead so I don't walk into the restaurant unprepared.

Well, I'm off to bed....finally! And tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!

Week 3

Today is the official end of Week 3 and I'm feeling really good about my progress so far. That may seem a bit incongruent when I report that the scale says I lost 0.2 lbs this week but I stand by my previous statement. I'm excited to have lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks and beyond that I really feel great! My skin is even more clear and just feels better. It's still pretty dry at times but I believe that's simply a product of living in Minnesota and constantly being buffetted by the wind and the extreme cold.

I recently read a book called "The Flat Belly Diet". It's the product of some seemingly detailed research done by the editor of Prevention Magazine and a hired expert. One of the more interesting things discussed was the roll soda pop plays in stomach bloating and digestion. I found it very interesting because as anyone who knows me will tell you.......I have been known to have a can of pop...or 8 on any given day. Anyway, their research determined that if you wanted to reduce the protrusion of your belly for an upcoming party, one of the steps you should undertake it to remove all carbonated beverages from your diet for several days to a week prior to the party. The reason being that as the air bubbles of carbonated beverages make their way through your digestive system they actually create pockets of air that get blocked between the stool making it's way through your system which in turn creates extra bloating of the belly area. They went on to describe some other more detailed digestive results I won't go into here. I found the idea very fascinating and decided I would remove soda pop from my diet.....which lasted I think for about a half a day. Can you say addiction? Yep, I just couldn't take it. It wasn't a caffeine headache that made me give in, it was the thought of the taste and the feel of those tiny, cold bubbles as they slid down my throat, it was....well, actually it was a lot of things. Bottom line, I began to believe I was simply addicted to pop. I must say, I didn't like that thought at all. The idea of being controlled by an outside substance, even soda pop was unsettling.

So as I embarked on this new approach to fueling my body, I did not commit to abstaining from soda pop. I just couldn't bring myself to make that leap. Lori even asked me while walking through Sam's Club what I had decided on drinking or not drinking pop. I stood there completely conflicted, struggling to decide if I could do it and I just couldn't commit to not having it. I was afraid that commiting to that as well would have simply been too much! I decided I would just try to cut back to one or maybe two cans a day. I mean if I'm going to have to eat all these vegetables and NOT EAT all my favorite deep fried and bbq sauce covered foods (dipped in blue cheese dressing I might add), then I at least should be able to sit down and enjoy the taste and sensation of those tiny little bubbles sliding down my throat. Wouldn't you agree?!

Now here I sit on a Sunday morning three weeks into my new, healthy eating lifestyle and the majority of the case of pop purchased from that trip to Sam's Club is still sitting on the shelf. I think I've had two cans in the last week. Huh, what happened? It just doesn't taste the same. I mostly crave water instead. I know, it's weird!!!! I've truly never experienced this before. And I believe I've proven (at least for my body) that all the research from that book is true. My digestive system really does respond just the way they described. So I no longer feel addicted to pop. I will still have it occassionally if it sounds good. I'm sure I would still have one with a burger or something like that but I'm glad to not be constantly craving those tiny little bubbles anyway.

Hopefully next week the scale will provide a little more concrete evidence that I'm on the right path but for today......I'm Content!!!!!

Week 4 here I come.....

Great day!

Wow, it's been a great day! Got the weekly shopping done, went for a long walk on a snow covered path in a local park (4 mile +/-), shoveled the driveway and around the pool (for the dog) and still managed to get a batch of all three lunch items made and in the freezer. We made a full batch of vegetable soup, turkey chilli plus a full pan of pizza bake....all my lunch favorites! Yes, for those who know me well that sounds like a very weird statement but the longer I eat such a clean diet, the less my old favorites even sound edible. In the interest of full disclosure I must admit that Lori actually got all the food in the freezer because I seriously hit the wall. I don't know if it was the tryptophan in my turkey sandwich or if, all of a sudden, I was really just that tired but whatever the cause I felt so tired I felt ill. I'm feeling a bit better now that I'm laying in my bed ready to call it a night.

This morning the scale announced my weight as exactly the same as last Sunday morning so we'll see what my "last chance workout" did for me today. Whatever it says, I know I am making progress and the scale with just have to catch up....at least that's how I feel today. :-)

Well, I really am beat so I'm giving in to sleep and we'll just have to see what the 'ole scale has to say when I wake up.