I had a little set back yesterday. When I stepped on the scales I had actually gained a little weight. Well this morning that little bit was gone and then some.
The official weigh in results are: 334.2 lbs. That's 1.8lbs in one day, 2.8 lbs for the month, and 15.8 lbs for the year. I am almost back on track for the year. I need to be at 326 by the end of March. That's less than 3 pounds per week for the remaining 3 weeks. I think that's doable!
So despite my falling off the wagon in February, I have rallied back and am on track again for the year. My daughters birthday cake and my Mother sent us a huge box with about 4 dozen cookies in it for Valentines day. I am talking about sugar cookies with icing. Like you make at Christmas but cut into hearts. I can keep from buying things like that but when they are in front of my I have a very hard time exercising self control.
Yesterday I had a bowl of Special K with 2% milk and a peice of toast with margerine and honey. I did my 100 crunches, made my blog post and off to work. I drank my meal supplement for lunch and as always had two snacks during the day. The mid morning snack was an apple and the midafternoon snack was a pack of peanut butter crackers. I also drank 3 liters of water. I recommend getting a bottle of some sorts like an old gatorade bottle and keep it full of water during the day. I can't keep stressing the importance of drinking a gallon of water everyday enough.
For dinner I had two bratwurst on hotdog buns and a fruit smoothie. We buy these big bags of pre-cut, mixed frozen fruit at Sam's. I take the frozen fruit with little water and 2 teaspoons of Splenda and make a smoothie in the blender. It's awesome! After dinner I did 2 miles on the bicycle and another 100 crunches while watching TV. We also had some popcorn.
Filed under General, How To Lose Weight, Supplements, Weight Loss by 
I started out yesterday in what has become normal fashion for a week day. Get up, do my business and brush my teeth, then step on the scales. I need to correct something that I noticed. The weights I have been posting are the weights taken the day of writing, not yesterday's weight. I do this so you can see the results of the previous days actions. So this morning when I stepped on the scale…drum roll please:
Todays weight: 335.4 lbs That's 1.6 lbs this month, 14.6 lbs this year. 
I got up at 5:30, ate a bowl of Cheerios with 2% milk. My wife made me a cup of coffee(no cream or sugar) while I worked on this blog. I have several blogs that I post to on a regular basis. I normally do my posting early in the morning because I don't have any distractions and if I wait until later, I find that I run out of time and it doesn't get done.
After breakfast and my daily blog posting, I hit the floor to knock out 100 crunches on the Ab Roller while watching Cada Dia (my wife's from Venezuela and that's her favorite morning program). After the crunches I go back to the computer and work on my internet marketing business until I have to leave for work at 7:30. I have a couple more cups of coffee at work and a banana for a mid morning snack.
I have just started using a meal supplement for lunch. I am not going to reveal the brand because I don't want to promote something that I am not sure of. If I am happy with the results in a few months, I will reveal the brand name. Let's just say it is a type of protein powder that you mix with water and only has 95 calories. It is vanillia flavored and is supposed to replace a meal. Yesterday was the first day I used it so the jury is still out. The powder is part of a weight loss package that I purchased which includes daily vitamins, a metabolic accelerater, and an immune system booster.
I have been taking the immune system booster for over 2 years and have not had so much as a cold during that time. I decided to try out the companies wieght loss program. If it works out for me, I will recommend it to you. I have always been leary of supplements but I do believe that taking vitamins is important, especially when you are trying to lose weight and might not consume the vitamins that you need naturally. Let's wait and see what happens before I make a recommendation. I am also experimenting with something I will call my secret weapon. I have been using this for a week and am pleased so far. All will be revealed at a later date.
Back to the journal. I ate an apple for a mid afternoon snack and then went home after work. The wife and kids talked me into going to what has become our favorite restaurant, Sweet Tomatoe, for dinner. This is an all you can eat salad bar and I made a pig of myself. You see, I wholeheartedly believe that you can still eat well when you are trying to lose weight. You just need to make sure you eat healthy. If you are smart about what you do, you will be successfull. I did do a litlle extra work to try and offset the pigfest.
When we got home I got on the bicycle, went 2 miles at a good clip and worked up a good sweat. (and worked off some of that huge meal I just ate) Then I settled in to watch a little TV with the family and knocked out 125 more crunches during commercial breaks. I do this in sets of 25 or 50. You don't have to do them all at once. Even if you can only do 5 at a time. Do 5 every commercial break. You have nothing to lose but your gut. I finshed off the evening with a 10 minute stretching session and off to bed about 10:00.
Filed under How To Lose Weight, Supplements, Weight Loss by
Yesterday was Saturday, but I still got up at 6:30 in the morning. I still have a job working on automated welding equipment but I don't travel any more. I work at the companies headquarters and get to do a lot of research and development projects. I actually enjoy my job now. I don't have to be at work until 8:00 but I have always had to get up at 5:00 in the morning for the better part of my life and it is hard wired into my psyche. I haven't needed an alarm clock for years. The first think I do in the morning is take care of natures business, brush my teeth, and step on the scales.
Today's weight: 336.8 lbs
The only other person in the household that likes to get up that early is my 3 year old daughter Mary. So, I did 100 crunches on the Ab Roller while we watched the Wiggles on TV. We both had a bowl of Captain Crunch (we were out of Cheerios), a glass of orange juice, and I had 2 cups of coffee. Coffee is the one vice I have allowed myself to keep for now. I have cut down on the amount I drink. I used to drink almost an entire pot before I went to work.
I also took my vitamins. I mention this because it is an important part of your weight loss. You need to take a good multi-vitamin supplement everyday. I am not going to tell you what I take at this time because I don't want to sound like I am pimping pills and potions. Just make sure it is a reputable brand name and has a good smattering of all the B's and some of the good stuff like bee pollen, and ginseng, which will help boost your metabolism. When your body is functioning at optimum, it is burning calories even when you are at rest. Kind of like a big diesel engine when it idles. By taking vitamins everyday, you make sure your "engine" is well oiled and has the proper fuel it needs.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I didn't do anymore exercise. I pretty much sat on my butt and watched TV, played with the kids, spent 4 or 5 hours working on my Internet marketing business (including getting this blog online), and started reading the latest book in the Stars Wars series that just came out last week. I have been a fanatic Star Wars fan since the first movie and have read almost every book written, which there are about 100 to date. Does that make me a nerd?
Back to business. Once everyone got up, we watched TV and my wife cooked eggs and pancakes at about 11:00. I had one pancake and a couple of eggs, chased down with a huge glass of water. Keep in mind, I drink water like it is going out of style. It helps to keep your stomach full. Whenever you fell really hungry, chug a big glass of water. It helps resist the urge to go eat something.
Later in the day, about 4:00, I had a small bowl of leftover chili. We ate dinner late in the evening around 8:00. I had one helping of lasagna and a big glass of water. Notice that I ate some pretty fattening things throughout the day. There is no reason you have to give up all of the foods you like in order to lose weight. You do need to give up things like candy bars and ice cream for the most part, at least until you reach your goal. You also need to keep your portions small. Stop eating until you your gut feels stuffed. Forget about the all you can eat buffets, unless you can restrain yourself and only hit the salad bar.
That was it except for the before bed routine that I would like to recommend to you now. Stress is one of your greatest enemies when you are trying to lose weight. I always take 15 or 20 minutes before I go to bed and unwind. I took karate when I was a teenager and learned to meditate. I also go through a stretching routine that I used to do after track practice. Stretching can be very relaxing but a little difficult when you have a huge gut. Just make sure you take it easy and never bounce when you stretch. Make a slow, easy, pull and never over do it. You will become more flexible with time.
If you want to try your hand at meditation, here is an exercise to kind of break you in. This works best if you can do it in absolute quiet. I know that this can almost be impossible unless you live in the middle of the wilderness, but that's OK. Sit in your favorite chair or on the floor, what ever is comfortable. Clear your mind of all thoughts. Let me say it again. Clear your mind of ALL thoughts. You will find that this is easier said then done because if you are thinking about clearing your mind, you have not cleared your mind. Some people like to concentrate on their breathing. Start practicing this every night for about 5 or 10 minutes. I think you will find it surprising effective.
See you tomorrow.
Filed under How To Lose Weight, Stress Relief, Supplements, Weight Loss by
