Weight Loss Weigh In Was I Naughty Over Christmas??

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year.  We had a beautiful day.  The weather was as near perfect as one can expect this time a year.  By that of coarse I mean there wasn't a foot of snow on the ground!  We had the traditional turkey dinner with sides of stuffing and mashed potatoes.  In diet speak I guess you could describe our dinner as "turkey and carbs".

After all of the festivities of the holiday seasons, I suppose there must come that day of reckoning.  Boy, I dreaded stepping on the scale.  This post is somewhat late not just because I was so busy for the holidays, but also because I dreaded stepping on that scale.  If you click the link, you will see a short video of whether I was going on the diet good or naughty list:

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

Weight Loss Update Good News and Bad News

Well winter is picking up steam here in Michigan.  The water on the lake is in a constant battle between freezing and thawing.  In my linked video you can see it.  Of coarse the ground alternates day to day from white to green, and Christmas lights twinkle through the neighborhood at night.

Today is my Week 13 weigh in.  I showed a loss of 2 pounds for the week for a current weight of 286.  In my video I confess to not eating the best this week, but how juicing may have covered up for my wrongs.  I plan to do a future post on my juicing adventures so far.

Hope you all are doing well and are having fun gearing up for the holidays.  Has the holiday cooking/baking bug hit you yet this season??

Juicing For Weight Loss

For an early Christmas present for ourselves, the wife and I bought a Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro juice extractor.  I ordered it online from Walmart for $50 which was $10 off the regular price.  For those that may not be familiar with them, it removes the pulp from the juice as opposed to a blender that leaves the pulp in the juice.   Well I have been using my juicer for about a week now and I thought I would share a few thoughts about it.  First, I can say that for $50, the machine can make a great tasting glass of juice.  We started things off by simply juicing some apples and oranges. Wow, it's hard to convey just how good the "home-made" flavor was.  However, we knew we could buy orange/apple juice in the store, so it was time to get serious.  I started adding celery and cucumber along with some carrots into the mix and-----I liked it---a lot.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.  I have even went as far as adding such healthy greens like kale, spinach, and broccoli into the mix along with fruits like grapefruit and mangoes.  To me the fun part is experimenting with different ingredients to see how each one can change the overall taste of the final product.

I have used the juice in two ways so far.  First, sometimes just as a drink that tastes good with or without a meal.  I figure at least I am getting a lot of nutrients that I would not have gotten before.  Here I must repeat because I am often asked this...yes the juice tastes good.  Many people (myself at first) cannot believe that fruit and vegetable juice mixed together tastes good.  It honestly does taste good.  Second, I use the juice as a replacement for a meal every so often.  A tall glass or two can easily take the place of a meal and not leave me feeling hungry, but rather feeling proud that I am doing something easy and enjoyable that is helping me lose weight.

Check out my videos and let me know what you think.  Is juicing for you?  Is it something you are thinking about trying?  I love your comments...

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

     Well it's that time of year.  The Christmas season is in full swing in our house.  Favorite Christmas tunes are loaded in the stereo.  Candles are filling the house with scents of the holiday.  We have decorated the tree (tiny as it is) and are starting to wrap gifts.  There are more days with snow on the ground than not.  I have even enjoyed a little eggnog.  These things are the same as in years past, however, there are some changes recently.  As the holiday baking bug has hit me, I have made an apple pie and several pumpkin pies.  What a difference, though, from last year.  In times past one of my pies would have been consumed before the day was over.  Now with everyone in the house trying (to various degrees) to lose weight, every pie has had pieces left over until tossed.  It is amazing how far a pie can go when just diet friendly (meaning real small) pieces are taken.  I have to say I am pretty proud of my self restraint because pumpkin pie is definitely a temptation for me!
     The wife and I just treated ourselves to an early Christmas present of a juicer machine.  In addition, we have also ordered a weight bench and weights.  As this year slowly comes to a close, I have high hopes for the new  year.  I think we have started to build some momentum on this weight loss journey.  Although we are often warned to never say never, I don't see myself wanting to go back to my old ways of eating. I really feel quite content eating more sensibly.  Everything I eat now is viewed in terms of whether it is good or bad for my weight loss journey.  In times past when I overate, I did so with a cocky attitude of indifference.  I just didn't care-isn't that sad??  I really made a mess of "me".  Now I am paying the price for those careless decisions.  Anyways, I think next year may be my year!   I want to get to my goal of being at least not so fat!!  Do you have any tips for some cool gifts this year?

Weight Loss Update Sorry readers...

Sorry readers, but I must confess I have been withholding from you!   Have I been eating through my secret stash of Snickers bars?  Have I been bingeing on bread, potatoes, or peanut butter???  No, but I would like to.  ;-)  No, actually I have been withholding information.  Not on purpose mind you, but totally inadvertently and innocently.  You see, this is a weight loss blog, but I don't often talk about my weight.  Here.  All this information is posted on my Youtube channel and I talk about it ad nauseum on my videos.  I simply didn't want to be redundant here.   However, it has just started dawning on me that many of my readers here don't watch my videos, and many of my viewers on YT don't read me here.  So I need to make it a point to keep my weight loss blog updated about my weight!!!  And I intend to.  Maybe I will get around to getting one of those cute counters for the blog, but for now I will cut and paste a table from my YT channel.  As always I appreciate you spending a little of your time with me and I always enjoy your comments.
                               
Date        Weight     Weekly Gain/Loss            Total Gain/Loss
9/11/11      311            

9/18/11      307               -4                                       -4

9/25/11      305               -2                                       -6

10/2/11      300               -5                                       -11

10/9/11      297               -3                                       -14

10/16/11    295               -2                                       -16

10/23/11    294               -1                                       -17

10/30/11    294                0                                       -17

11/6/11      291               -3                                       -20  

11/13/11    291                0                                       -20

11/20/11    290               -1                                       -21

11/27/11    292               2                                        -19

12/4/11      288               -4                                       -23

Weight Loss - It Takes Guts

It does take guts.  I mean this whole internet weight loss thing.  If you are one of us that writes a blog or shoots videos for YouTube, you know what I'm talking about.  Yesterday, I was talking to a close friend that is starting along their weight loss journey.  They were ready to talk about everything diet related but absolutely didn't want to say where they were at weight wise- not even talk about a specific number for a goal.  At first, I thought they were joking, but they were not going to get into specifics.  Well that is fine and I wish them all the luck in the world, but without some form of accountability, I think your chances of sticking to this are pretty slim.  To me, being so secretive seems so strange when one is used to the stark sharing that is everywhere in our weight loss community.  In fact, they couldn't believe I make videos and talk about my weight and the struggles of losing it.  Well yeah, it does take guts, and at first it was very uncomfortable especially for me because I have always been so shy.  However, now, I wouldn't want to try to do this journey without the help and accountability I get from all of you.  So, if you are out there blogging day after day, or making videos week after week about your weight, chin up and hold your head high and be proud because it does take guts and I am rooting for you all the way!!!

BTW, anyone like Kielbasa and Sauerkraut??

Juicing - Jumping on the Bandwagon

I'm jumping on the bandwagon-sort of.  You see we bought a juicer yesterday.  There have been people in the YouTube weight loss community that have gotten huge weight losses by juicing.  There are guys that have lost over 100 pounds at a rate of one pound a day.  However, in order to post such huge losses, they have been on juice-only fasts.  Now, I really like the taste of the juice, but I can honestly say I do not have the willpower to go on a juice only fast for much more than a day LOL.  In addition, I don't think that would be a good plan for me long term either.  Even if I could stay on the fast (which there is no way I could) I am afraid once I quit the fast, the weight would creep back on.  I am much more comfortable and confident in the smaller portions and lifestyle change method that I have adopted.  The reality is though, I think juicing for a meal several times throughout the week, is something that will aide and not hinder me while on this journey.  In addition, I can see a lot of good in the fact of getting nutrients from the juice of fruits and vegetables I would never ordinarily be eating.  So far all I can say is that the machine is very easy to use and it does a good job.  I plan to use it for a few days and will let you know how it goes.  Anyways, have you ever tried a juicer?  I would love to hear of your experience with it.  Is juicing something you would consider?  Maybe you know of someone that has tried juicing.  Maybe you think it is plain stupid.  Whatever the case let me know what you think.  I really value your input!!!

Weight Loss Update - Ups and Downs

I'm starting to realize there will indeed be ups and down along this weight loss journey.  Sometimes seemingly without rhyme or reason.  My Sunday weight in after Thanksgiving showed a gain of two pounds for the week.  I thought this seemed high as I had really tried to watch portions on Thanksgiving and didn't think I had went crazy.  Hey, this was the first year I didn't make stuffing!! (As an aside, the no stuffing was per a request from my wife who is trying to lose also.  For the record, I love stuffing and think I could have ate some and been alright.  I honored her request but really missed having stuffing.  I think she needs to work on her willpower and let those of us who have some willpower enjoy our stuffing on Thanksgiving.  She doesn't read this blog so I can say that LOL!!)  So back to the story at hand, they say you can't argue with the scale and it is what it is.  A two pound gain when I had tried to hard didn't seem quite right, but I decided to keep on forging ahead regardless. (You can see it here I'm not happy about the gain.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhKaZeV7rtI     Well by mid-week I got on the scale to see I had reversed the two pounds and also lost two additional pounds. (YAY!!!)   While   we all love happy endings to our stories, I wanted to wait until my next weight in to be sure before I declared it for a fact.  So, I am thrilled to report that for whatever reason I have in fact lost the two I gained and an additional two which brings me to my lowest since starting my journey.  For anyone who is curious I started 9/11/11 at 311 and 12 weeks later I am 288 so a loss of 23 pounds.  Compared to those that are dieting hard like juice fasting etc. this is a tiny loss.  However, for me who is simply eating the same as always minus bread and less pasta, and just eating smaller portions, this is a big victory in my book.  I am happy with the results and plan to keep on going!!!  Here is my happier mid week video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi0KomAFrxE   I suppose the only way I can reconcile this is that it was water weight due to eating salty foods over Thanksgiving.  I hope you all are doing well!!  I hope to make it around to read all of your blogs soon.

Shopping on Black Friday

For those that don't live here in the States, there is a huge and seemingly growing tradition of going shopping basically starting at midnight on Thanksgiving Day.  This is commonly called Black Friday.  It is the official start of the Christmas buying season, so for retailers it is very important.  They try to lure shoppers in with their best discounts.  In years past, shoppers would gather outside the doors waiting for them to be opened so they can sprint in to get the limited supply of great deals.  Incredibly in the past this has actually resulted in injuries and even fatalities from being trampled!
Last year I ventured out to show my kids just the extent of this spectacle.  Every spot in the mall parking lot was filled.  Inside the store every isle was open, but the lines were enormous.  I scored a good deal on a blu-ray player and some other stuff.  I love a good deal as much as the next guy, but this year I decided to stay in.  I guess you have to be in the right frame of mind in order to enjoy Black Friday.  I have already heard news reports of someone pepper spraying twenty others-to improve her chances of getting a discounted Xbox!!  If you had enough courage to brave the crowds, I would like to hear about it.  What did you get?  Was it worth the lines, or is that just part of the fun.  Were the people nuts?  If you didn't go, why not??  For those that live outside the States, do they have a version of Black Friday there???

Weight Loss Update Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Friends!!!

Diet Plan - The Turkey Day Gameplan

Well for my readers not in the States, this Thursday is Thanksgiving.  In a nutshell, it is a day set aside for family, food, and giving thanks for all we have.  It stems from our history, of the colonist coming here and not being able to grow much in the way of food.  The colonist were starving and dying until the native American Indians taught the colonist the techniques of successful agriculture that led to a bountiful harvest and much to be thankful for.  So from the start the holiday seemed to have the sharing of abundant food as a cornerstone.  Of coarse this has evolved into having a reason for a feast that usually centers around a main coarse of turkey with stuffing and gravy.  Many families often add ham or roast beef along with any other delectable dish you can imagine.  In short Thanksgiving has become a great reason to splurge.

Many in the weight loss community have been formulating their strategy to get through the holiday without packing on many extra pounds.  I think it is wise to have a plan and I have given some thought to my plan as well.  First, I know what I don't want to do.  Since Thanksgiving is a social gathering, I do not want to play the martyr.  You know what I mean.  The one person with only one raw carrot and one stalk of celery on their plate.  The dieting martyr loves to have everyone take notice of how hard they must sacrifice.  If this is you, that's cool--it's just not me.  I plan to embrace moderation as my coarse of action.  I plan to have a LITTLE of everything.  Just one plate is my general rule.  I will keep my eye on my portions.  In other words, I am on my diet to live, but I do not live for my diet.  As always I would love your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree.  If you are outside the States, I would like to know if you have anything like our Thanksgiving (without the pilgrims and Indians of coarse).

A Few Links

I know some of my readers have never checked out my weight loss videos on YouTube.  Maybe some of you didn't even know I do a weight loss vlog.  So, I thought I would put together a list of links to some of them.  Hope you like them!!

My latest weigh in

I re-chipped a tooth the other day, and my son thought it was pretty funny.  We called it Weight Loss or Tooth Loss.  This is on his channel:

My poking fun at portions sizes put on containers here in the States

My five things I'm looking forward to when I'm thin-er

The Award Goes to...

The award goes to...me!!!  YAY!!  LOL!!  At the risk of sounding like I'm giving my acceptance speech at the Emmys, I really do want to thank Bluezy at Beyond My Looking Glass and Taryn at Fat Girl in A skinny World for bestowing the Versatile Blogger Award on me.  The Rules are to thank the blog that nominated you, reveal 7 thing about yourself and to pass it on to 15 bloggers.  So here goes:

1.  I like to play fiddle and guitar, but never have time to play anymore.  It has been years since I played much.  I never was very good, but I always enjoyed it.

2.  In twelfth grade, I used  to be thin.

3.  For twelve years, I was a stockbroker.

4.  Even though I know it is bad for me, I love to eat late at night right before going to bed.  I have done this forever and can't/don't want to stop.

5. I home school my two kids.

6. I had a teacher in second grade that would draw a big rat in red marker on your desk if it was messy.  I got the rat more than once.  The reciever of the rat had to scrub it off their desk with soap and paper towels.

7. I can't spell to save my life.  I still don't think it is hugely important.  I would rather put time and effort  into improving my math and science skills.


So I have no idea who to tag.  I am such a lazy and bad blog follower(for which I am sorry), I wouldn't even know who has participated yet and who hasn't.  I think I will just pick one because I looked at many of the blogs I follow and they have already received it.  Please don't get mad at me!!  If you are not interested or have already done this or if you are too busy or just don't want to participate, just disregard.     I guess I will pick:



Maren at From cow to wow http://flabmountain.blogspot.com/  because she is such a loyal follower and blogger.



If you decide to play along, I look forward to your answers.

Is It That Time of Year?

 It was a week before Halloween and I was driving home from the store with my daughter.  We were taking turns switching through the radio channels and bam! Christmas music.  Really?!?  A week before Halloween?  One station had already gone full time Christmas music.  Now don't get me wrong, I love Christmas music-absolutely love it.  The words, the feelings conveyed, the whole nostalgia of days gone by- I just love it.  But before Halloween just seemed a wee bit early to me.  I just couldn't get into it. Yet.  But, by time Thanksgiving is over, I will be ready to hear all the holiday favorites.  So I ask, do you like Christmas music?  When do you think the stations should start playing it.  Finally, what is your favorite tune?  I love seeing what you all think!!!

That Four Letter Word

I hate that four letter word!  I hate seeing it!  I hate hearing it!  And I really, really hate saying it.  It seemed like yesterday, everywhere I went I keep hearing it or seeing it and couldn't get away from it.  Even from my own kids!!!  What's the world coming to??  And to top it off, here I am writing about it.  Well right now in these parts, the world seems to be coming to winter and fast.  We had our first SNOW of the season.  If yesterday is an indication of what is in store, we may be in for a doosey of a winter.   It was coming down hard and fast.  The flakes were huge like goose feathers.  At one point it was coming down so hard that I couldn't see the shore across the lake.  Usually the first snow of the season will simply be a few flurries.  Let's hope this is a fluke and not a warning.  Snow, do you love it or hate it?

Fat Head

Well it's a beautiful sunny fall day here in Michigan.  After last weeks goose egg for weight loss, I am feeling pretty good about this weeks weight report.  I still have several days to go until weigh in, but I'm already down a pound.  I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for more.
While I was exercising on the elliptical last night, I watched an interesting documentary about dieting that was called Fat Head.  If you have never seen it, you can watch it for free on Hulu at http://www.hulu.com/watch/196879/fat-head
If you get a chance to watch it, I would sure like to hear your thoughts on it.

Weight Loss Nuggets From the Newbie

Well it's true I'm a dieting newbie.  Just seven weeks in and still wet behind the ears as they say.  That being said, if you are an experienced dieter, you may want to tune out as I am sure you know all this stuff already.  This is just a post of a few simple truths I want to record.

• There are different types of eating.  There is emotional eating.  For example, sometimes I eat if I am frustrated.  Sometimes I eat if I am bored.  Being frustrated or bored is not a good reason to eat.  Try not to do it.  Remember how much work on the elliptical it will take to burn off that frustration snack!!!  Sometimes I eat for a social gathering like going to a restaurant with the family.  This to me is a gray area and a little tricky.  I think as long as I do good  the majority of my dieting time, I think this social aspect is OK.  The jury is still out on this for me.
• Do not be a diet snob.  Find a diet that is right for you and that you like so you will stick with it.  However understand that what is right for you may not be right for someone else.  If someone else's diet is to only eat pineapples while standing on their heads-that's OK.  (Actually that is the way some of these new diets sound to me).  Wish them success and mean it.  There is no need to try to convert people to your diet.
• Do not take yourself too seriously.  Even if you lose all the weight you want, hit and stay at your goal weight, we are all going to die.  Even skinny people.  A snack once in a while (maybe as a reward for doing well on your diet) is not going to kill you.  Maybe it will help you stay on your diet long term instead of being too strict and falling off the diet wagon for good.  
• Have fun.  Life is just too short not to enjoy it even if on a diet.  If you are not having fun; stop, re-evaluate, and make changes until it is fun again.  

Have you found any nuggets you would like to share????

Weight Loss Update Goose Egg

Yep, goose egg.  Nada, zero, ziltch whatever you want to call it, that is what I lost this week. NOTHING!!!!  Am I happy?   Well, I am happy that it wasn't a gain.  I definitely know that I have to make some corrections.   At least I can say I didn't go crazy pigging out.  I  do need to get back to more salads.  I also need to be stricter on my portions.  On the exercise side of the equation, I know I must spend a little more time either walking or on the elliptical.  Although I realize I wasted a week, I am not going to whine about.  (Maybe I am whining a little by writing this lol)   I like to think of this as simple math.  I burned all the calories I took in.   I know what I need to do to fix the problem.  I just need to do it.  This isn't rocket science, but it is mental.  And difficult.  I did learn one thing though.  When I do reach my goal of being not fat, the journey doesn't simply end as I guess I might of thought when I had first started.  Now I see that just maintaining is going to be in itself a journey.  A life long journey at that.

FRIENDS

This post is not strictly diet related but was on my mind so I decided to share.
Although I have friends in real life, I never was one to have many friends at once.  I always tended to have several close friends at any given time.  The reason why  I tell this is because while talking with the wife I mentioned something that was said online by a "friend".  She made the comment along the lines that "those people are not your friends".  She said this in not a mean way but simply as an observation.  As I thought about this later I believe she may be right in some technical definition sence, but I think she was wrong at the heart of the matter.  I believe this whole new social media realm is truly blurring the lines of friendship in real life versus friendship online.  While my wife is one to avidly spend time online, she is simply surfing the web but not interacting in any social way.  She doesn't enjoy Facebook, blogs, or Youtube much.  In fact she mainly loves to shop online (this is fodder for another post someday LOL).  So the idea of developing "friendships" online is truly foreign to her.  And that is OK.  In fact I can see myself making the same statement several months ago.  However since starting on my weight loss journey and meeting so many nice people in the weight loss community, I can see that is a very narrow view.  Although we may never meet each other for dinner as one might with a real life friend.  That is if the real life friends and my schedules ever work out between work, kids and everyday life responsibilities.   But we can certainly describe our dinners on our blogs and comment back and forth etc.  If you are reading this you probably understand what I mean.  It's not the same and that is OK, in fact in some ways even better.  For example, when I ramble on and on, you can simply move on to the next  blog (hopefully not just yet!).  Of coarse in real life sitting at dinner this is not so simply done.  If you are on Facebook, please check out this bunch of wonderful people in the weight loss community at http://www.facebook.com/youtubeweightloss
I have never seen a more supportive and motivating bunch of people.  And if blog reading and Youtube watching aren't enough, they have people doing the video chat thing.  I haven't tried this yet because I don't have a webcam, but I will try it soon.  The neat thing is there are people in different time zones across the world so whenever the mood strikes you to talk, there is a good chance someone will be able to talk with you.  Now if that is not blurring the lines of friendship between real life and online, I don't know what is.  What do you think?   What do you call your online "acquaintances"?

Autumn

Fall is in the air proper here in our neck of the woods.  The days are getting shorter and the shadows are getting longer-early signs that winter won't be far away.  The cool nights are just right for sleeping under layers of snugly blankets.  The cool days are perfect for insect free walks in the woods.  It is time for burning candles scented with cinnamon and spice.  The cool house is just waiting for the oven to be fired up and the baking to start.  I do love this time of year.   Now is the time for cooking foods like beef stew and  home made bread. Nothing is better than a house filled with the smells of  pumpkin or apple pies baking in the oven.  I freely admit that I love food and also love to cook and bake.  Now I must learn to do so without overeating the finished product!  I think between now and Christmas is going to be a very challenging time of year to diet through.  Are we sure that humans are not supposed to hibernate?  It seems like Fall is the time to overeat comfort foods and stay in a nice warm bed.  What is Autumn to you?  Do you have any strategies to get through the holidays without packing on the pounds?

My Struggle Right Now

Right now, I don't have a nagging sweet tooth.  I don't have the desire to binge eat a raft of food.  I am quite content with my smaller portions diet.  But, I am dealing with a certain dieting demon.  IMPATIENCE!!!  There, I said it.  I want this blog to be a totally accurate and honest account of my feelings and experiences through this weight loss journey.  So, in all honesty, I am struggling with severe impatience.  Impatience over the speed ( or more accurately the lack of speed) of weight loss.  Basically the thought pattern goes something like this: I have been dieting for over a month...I have been making do with smaller portions and exercising...so I expect something in return...I want to SEE some progress.  I want to FEEL some progress.  I want to HEAR from people, "wow you have really been losing some weight!"  I have lost 16 pounds, but I haven't had any of that.  I know I have not felt or seen anything!!  How depressing.  How utterly boring.  I feel like Linus who is waiting and waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive.  It never comes.  My tummy is still there.  Just as big as ever.   I went hiking today.  I didn't glide along the paths-it was the usual struggle.
So I think writing it down will help.  I believe that recognizing this potential pitfall and addressing it is the first step in fixing it.  I know that I must keep telling myself that the weight wasn't put on in a day so it won't come off in a day, or week, or month.  I certainly do believe that losing it slowly will enable me to keep the weight off long term.  I know it was important for me to address this because, I don't want to just let the dieting demon win by talking me into a mental tailspin.  To me this journey is every bit as much of a mental battle as it is a physical struggle.  I have worked too hard to just quit because the progress is excruciatingly slow!

Lose Weight with Changes

As you may or may not know I'm a virgin.  Yep, a dieting virgin that is still wet behind the ears.  I just had my  one month anniversary.  So what do I know?  Not much!!!  I freely admit it.  But, recently I am noticing some changes.  For example, when I first started eating smaller portions, it was commented on by my whole family.  Not in a mean way mind you , but it was something out of the ordinary so it was a topic of conversation.  Now, not so much.  And, as for me, I am becoming accustomed to the changes in my eating habit.  So much so, that this new smaller portion habit is starting to feel more like "me" than pigging out.  To me this is a very exciting change!!!  I don't feel hungry, I just feel "normal".  Now I know that I could fall off the wagon at any time.  I definitely do not want to tempt fate.   And yes,  I am well aware that pride cometh before a fall and a million other little warning phrases.   But, right now it doesnt feel like I am doing anything but being me.  I think this is mainly due to the fact that I am eating what I want to eat.  Basically, I am eating the same foods and dishes that I ate before starting this weight loss journey.  You name it, Chinese, spaghetti, cereal,  I'm eating them.  I am just eating way less of them. One bowl period.  Plus a lot of fruit.  Simple?  Yes, but it is working (albeit slowly) so far.  I like these changes.  They feel like lifestyle changes.  And, they feel good...

Weight Loss Lessons Learned Along the Way

Well, I have been on this weight loss journey almost  a month now and I have learned a few things I thought I  would share with you:

* You will encounter doubters and /or negative people.  They may come at you with big smiles. They may seem to be well-intentioned.  It is possible that they may not realize what they doing.   But be careful, because their negativity will be like throwing water on your fire of enthusiasm.    Try to avoid mean or negative people like the plague.  Seriously life is just too short!!

*The less I eat, the less I need to eat to feel full.  For those of you who have been on the journey longer, these tips are probably basic knowledge.  But for someone like me, this is all new.  It seems as though my stomach (organ, not tummy so much) has shrunk.  In other words, I don't really have the capacity to eat the volume of food like I used to do.  I suppose this is similar to the effect achieved from the lapband surgery.  Whatever it is, I'm loving it!

*Do a diet that you enjoy?!?!  Sounds silly right, but I mean it.  If I don't like it, I wont do it.  It's that simple: I know myself.  I know I have about zero willpower.  I have all the respect in the world for those that do the various fasts and really strict diets.  I wouldn't last a day!!  I knew I had to keep my diet simple, because I am lazy!!  So I eat the same foods as before, just less...simple.

*Exercising is about 20 percent--Dieting is about 80 percent.  Of coarse this is just my opinion, and just based on my personal experience so take it with a grain of salt.  In the past I have tried to eat the same portions, and just burn it off with exercise.  It didn't work.  Unless you are doing something extremely physicial like mountain climbing all day, there is just too much energy (calories) in food to simply burn off with normal exercise.  I have come to think of my weight loss plan as simple math:  bring in less calories + burn more calories = a lighter me!!

*Make a Lifestyle Change!  This goes back to the idea of sustainability.  I don't want to lose a bunch of weight on a overly strict program so that when I eventually quit that program,  I gain all the weight back.  I have personally seen this happen and it is so sad.

* Substituting soup broth for a meal late at night is helping.  Yep, it is hot, filling, almost no calories, and tastes good.  I did a video on it here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H49XUXff91I
Be sure to watch the blooper at the end.

Have you learned any lessons along the way?  I would love it if you would share them with us in the comments.

Losing Weight For Health

I have started a new habit. Yep, and I am happy about it.  See we often think of habits as bad because they often are.  But with a little determination, it is possible to start a good habit.  From looking at several articles, there doesn't seem to be a concrete amount of time needed to form a new habit.  However, it seems that consistency and repetition are key.

Well my new habit is actually working out on the elliptical.  Its easy.  Well, not the workout, but getting in the habit of working out.  My plan was simple-make it fun so I will want to do it.  Let's face it, working out isn't always enjoyable. And if I don't enjoy something, I can find about a million good reasons why I don't need to do that something. So, I placed my elliptical machine right in the room with the TV.  Yep, I am serious about this weight loss now.  Guess what?  It really works.  So now when I come in to watch TV instead of plopping down in the chair, I get on the machine.  If it's an interesting show, I get so engrossed in it that I hardly notice I'm exercising.

This is one weight loss tip I wanted to pass along.  It is working for me, and just maybe something like it can work for you too.  I do know dieting and exercising are hard. So if there is anything that will make them more palatable then that's got to be a good thing.  Maybe, you need to buy an Ipod to take with you so you will keep doing your workout?  I don't know, but I think we should do whatever it takes to help us not to quit. Let's face it, we are dealing with our lives here, and we are worth it!!!  Have you found any tips that are helping you in your journey.  I sure would like to hear them in the comments.

Losing Weight with Pizza

So yeah, for lunch...pizza.  You might say, "No wonder you are the Fat Man, Paul.  You didn't even make it a day since your big introduction and you are already falling off the wagon!".  Well just hold on and let me do some explaining...

Normally, I bake a frozen pizza--and eat it---ALL.  Yep, all.  Not good, yes?  But today, I cut the frozen pizza into eight teeny, tiny, little pieces and ate---ONE...Yes, just one and put the rest away.  And by the way, I have learned to put it away and fast!  If it's sitting on the counter top, I'm going to eat it plain and simple.  I can't have that temptation so I stick it in the frig fast.  For me, out of sight, out of mind

So with some simple Fat Man math, I ate one eighth of what I usually eat.  Throw in a salad and a bunch of water and I was good.  No hunger.  Since two weeks of smaller portions, my stomach (the organ not my belly yet) seems to have shrunk to the point where it no longer needs a raft of food to feel full.

For dinner I may have a bowl of cereal or chili.  A bowl as in one not the usual three or four!!!  Mix in me eating some fruit here and there, going some on the elliptical, and that's me fed and happy and losing weight today.

Well that's my plan.  I'm sure it's not perfect, but I guess I have to start somewhere...What's your plan? I would really like to hear it!!!

Weight Loss Journey An INTRODUCTION

The Intro: 

Hello and welcome to Fat Man Writing!!!!  Since this is my first post, I think a little introduction is in order. From what I have seen in the movies, I should start by looking around the room and saying, "Hello, I'm Paul and I have an eating problem..."   So basically, I'm 45 years old and you guessed it: another Fat Man with too much free time and a laptop!!!  Yes, I like to eat.  No, scratch that, in all honesty actually I LOVE to eat!!!!  However- here, together, we are going to work on the eating problem--or really, the over eating problem. I just started my weight loss journey two weeks ago with the start of my channel on Youtube.  http://www.youtube.com/user/VirtualPaul123 


The Numbers:
So I am about 6 feet tall.  I weight 305lbs.  I started vlogging at 311 lbs.  My highest weight was 335 lbs.  Ya, so I have a long way to go!!!



The Plan:
So, I love to eat...  I'm not going to quit that so I have come up with a totally new and never thought of before idea:  I'm going to continue to eat what I want--but, but, here is the new part (at least for me): I"m going to eat LESS of what I love to eat.  Now, if you take this totally new idea and write a book and make a million dollars on it, remember to throw a few buck to the Fat Man.  Ok, so that's the plan for me.  Let"s see how the story goes together, and maybe have a few chuckles along the way.