Winter returns...

Snow this weekend, but that's no reason not to stay on target. This weekend was  a 'blue dot' weekend as we managed to keep the family meal activities on the healthy side for a change. So that's good! Friday evening saw a great workout at the gym. A good solid hour of exercise on the elliptical, rowing and cycling machines. Burning those calories is as important to the effort as no eating them in the first place!

There have been challenges this weekend. Mostly it falls under STRESS!  It's the usual friction of life - the work load is tough right now. On top of that the furnace is failing and needs to be replaced - that's going to be stress on the budget. Friday night I find that the tires on one of the cars are bad - bad as in the tread is separating from the tire! Off to the tire store to spend money on a set of tires!
Then there's been family health issues that required some attention and caused some stress.

So....STRESS!

The old me would have reacted to all this stress with a good dose of the one-two punch of alcohol and carbs (Mmmm....carbs!). But the current me won't do that. So I'm trying to keep busy. Fortunately, there is a laundry list of things that need done. So make that list and start tackling it! Before I knew it, it was Sunday night!

Food tip. Jen does this really tasty dish with 'spaghetti zucchini'. It's zucchini that's cut into noodle strips and used in place of pasta. With a little Parmesan cheese and some garlic, it goes great with chicken or shrimp. It makes a low point cost dinner that tastes great and fills me up.

Work out tip: Got five or ten minutes - start walking. Or going up and down the stairs. It's not a lot at once, but over time it can really add up!

Surprise - it's not as bad as you think...

...no, really - it's not.

I had a bad day on Monday. Lot's of stress from lots of sources. I managed to eat well during the day. I went to the gym to work out. The crush of resolution warriors is starting to thin out already. (When do diets die - the third week of January...so say the salad bar sales).

So I worked out. But I just wasn't feeling it. My legs weren't feeling it either. After 30 minutes I just said "enough!"

That's when it fell apart. Stopped at the store, Oh, Veggie Chips are on sale - I like those! Pizza sounds good too - let's get the California Pizza that's on sale. And chocolate chip cookies - those sound REALLY good.

Went home and ate chips, pizza and cookies. In short order, I'd eaten 50 points for the day.

D'oh.

I went to my weekly meeting Wednesday expecting the worst. But the worst was " up 0.2 pounds".

Well that's no so bad.

The relief I felt was physical. I hadn't blow the whole week, it was a small set back.

So now I'm attacking the new week. The goal this week is to have 7 'blue dot days' of healthy eating. I've go the treadmill set up in the basement and was able to get in some steps throughout the day. Working in the basement I managed to knock out  14 flights of stairs over the day.

So far, on track for a much better week.  And I really have come a long way. Here's a picture from not quite a year ago...

Me around 245 pounds. 18 1/2 neck and 40" waist, though that stomach was more like 44-46".

27 pounds from goal...

Life: The enemy of my diet.

Well hello life...we meet again.

I was out of town for the weekend and ran head first into the largest challenge my diet faces - being away from home. 

I'm finding that when I'm 'out of my comfort zone' my diet suffers horribly. I'm constrained by group decisions on where and when to eat and the choices of what to eat are often a challenge. 

Now I can whine about it, or I can grab it and acknowledge that it will be tough, So yeah, I knew it would be tough. I managed breakfast pretty well with banana, coffee and Quest bars, but lunch and dinner were 'diet busters'. 

Goodbye daily points! Goodbye weekly points! Hello tasty food. 

The worst part - being awake half the night feeling like I was going to be sick. 

This is a case where my body has adapted to the new diet, but clearly my brain is lagging behind. 

You always hear that "it's not a diet, it's a life style change." Well, it's true! You have to change the way you eat to say no to foods you used to eat. Or to be sure to keep you activity levels high to burn off the excess calories you consumed. 

Sadly, I failed at both this weekend.

But that was then, this is now. (Nice S.E. Hinton, reference, eh?) I'm not going to beat myself up over that. Sure, I went 'off mission' with the diet. But I had good meals with good friends and that's not a bad thing. Now it's back on the diet, back on the treadmill and attack the excess weight. And remember how I felt in the middle of the night on Saturday when I couldn't remember if I wanted to throw up or not...

What does that title mean...? Why am I here?

Good day and welcome to my blog on diet, fitness and living a healthier lifestyle!

In June of 2016 my weight had peaked at 245 pounds. I knew I had a 'weight problem', but I didn't think of it as a 'problem'. The wake up call was when I received a birthday present of a membership with Weight Watchers!  Nothing says Happy Birthday like the gift that says "you are a fat sack of lard - do something about it!"

(BTW - Thanks Mom!)

So I've been attending weight watchers for the past 7 months now. To my surprise, I've actually lost over fifty pounds at this point. I'm amazed. (Mom's amazed too!). When I started the program I made the statement "If I can lose twenty pounds, I'll count it as a win". Well - Mission Accomplished! 

So clearly, the plan does work. But it's not 'only' about diet. While that is an important component, the program advocates exercise as almost as important a pillar of the program. You can limit your intake, but you need to work the other side of the equation and burn more calories to get rid of the 'excess reserve' that I had been saving within my body.

Me in June of 2015. My weight then was approximately 235 pounds.

What does that title mean...?

We all know that diets are hard. In one of our recent meetings, we were discussing how long people that start diets as part of New Years resolutions stick to them. The answer was...the third week of January as that's when the grocery store saw salad bar sales plummet.  Or as one person succinctly put it "Because kale tastes like wet sadness".  And with that, a title was born!

Why am I here...?

Dieting or really changing your lifestyle is HARD. I mean, let's face it - if it was easier we'd all be skinny! With this blog I want to share what's worked for me, when I've succeeded and when I've struggled and sometimes...when I've failed (though failed is such a harsh word). Along the way, I'm hoping to have funny stories, useful stories and just maybe an inspirational story to let you know you too are not alone on this journey to a healthier lifestyle.