I have decided to share my thoughts on some of the foods I tend to eat and since I eat at my desk at work, to save time and save money, I tend to eat either leftovers or Weight Watchers Smart Ones meals. In doing so, I thought "What the heck, I'll let the whole world know what I think of them."

So for better or worse, here is my review of Weight Watchers Smart Ones Picante Chicken & Pasta.

After cooking and stirring, the first thing to notice is the smell. The smell is very nice with the various ingredients blending quite nicely. So nicely in fact that one of my co-workers wondered where I went for take out. He was impressed by the smell alone and has decided to try it this week.


Visually the meal is pleasing as far as a microwaved dinner can be. I was not that impressed visually.

However, after tasting it, I was hooked. Overall, the dinner was slightly spicy, yet not spicy enough to take away from the dish. The various ingredients blended well. The chicken was tender and not overcooked as I have had in the past with frozen dinners. The beans were done just right and the pasta was not mushy.

The meal is 5 points, with 260 calories and 4 grams of fat.

I give it 4.5 forks. I will definitely buy it again. I would suggest you try it as well and let me know what you think.


Here is the nutritional information:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size:255g
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 260 Calories from Fat 35

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 4g 6%
Saturated Fat 0.5g 3%
Monounsaturated Fat 1.5g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 25mg 9%
Sodium 480mg 20%
Potassium
Total Carbohydrate 32g 11%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Sugars <1g
Protein 23g
Vitamin A 6%
Vitamin C 15%
Calcium 6%
Iron 8%

* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Okay, being sick is the best way to lose weight.

Two and a half pounds in 24 hours. Now to just keep it off and keep going!

I had to weigh in this morning. Had to. I wasn't really surprised to find out I had lost some weight, though losing 2 pounds was a surprise. You see, I caught some stomach bug last night that other members of my family has had and I won't go into gory details, but let's just say that I had nothing left anywhere after my body was finished with the sickness.

Today's dinner was the first real meal I have had in almost 24 hours; that's how bad it was.

I did make it to work today, but that was not fun. I spent more time having bio breaks than it seems I did work, but I made it through the day. I still feel a little queasy, but I will make it.

Now, what's funny is that I went to work on the treadmill and bike yesterday at the gym. I did 1.80 miles on the treadmill, in 30 minutes, and an additional mile on the bike in 5 minutes. I was using the bike to cool off. I still plan on training for a sprint triathlon, and will make that, but it will take me a good while.

So anyway, that is how to lose 2 pounds in 18 hours. Get sick, lose everything you had during the day and then don't eat for 24 hours.

Hope your day was better than mine.

I hope that everyone who reads this had a very Merry Christmas!

I received what I asked for, specifically work out clothes and a new mp3 player. I really like my new 4 gig player, and have loaded it up with 6 playlists from Rhapsody. I suppose that one of the next posts I do will be a playlist special. I tend to listen to some interesting music when I work out, so just be prepared.

I start working out again tomorrow, simply because we have had some things happen in our life at the moment. We may be on the verge of losing one of our dogs, a female long haired dachshund named Annie. Annie has been in the family for 5 years now, and is just like one of my daughters. My wife is currently at the vet with her. My daughters and I are waiting on word back from the visit. I am hoping it will be a good call, but we are prepared for the worst.

I will post more a little later on. I just wanted to get back into the habit after taking a little time off for the holiday.

I will not be back to blogging until after Christmas, so I wanted to take this time to wish you and yours a very blessed and merry Christmas.

Take time out to say thank you for all the things that have blessed you this year, be it family and friends, or whatever.

See you after Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Eric

Last night was a fun evening. My wife turned on the back burner of our cooktop and left a full bag of sugar not right next to it, but close to it, then came to talk to me. Next thing you know, the smoke detector is going off, the kids are yelling "FIRE!" and I run in to see a four pound bag of sugar on fire, about 5 inches below our wood cabinets.

Needless to say, the bag went into the sink, sugar on the floor, the sugar that was not burning that is, and baking soda went onto the fire.

Now, my wife happened to have had a camera in her pocket and snapped this picture right after the bag had went into the sink, but before the fire went out.



So now we are out of sugar, and salt apparently because I was looking for that to put the fire out, but couldn't find any.

All in all, no real damage to anything, two very good girls who yelled what they were supposed to have yelled, and my wife will now make sure we have salt on hand.

My wife also blogged about this on her blog here.

I weighed in this morning and am at 349 now. Still need to lose another pound to get back to where I was before the holiday binge took place, but it'll happen.

Of course, now the real fun begins this week, with us hosting my wife's family's Christmas Eve party this year, and then Christmas happening. Lots of food, lots of beer and wine, and not a lot of exercise.

The good part is that at Christmas I will get my new mp3 player, my workout clothes and other stuff I have been wanting. Then it will be off to the gym.

So no, I am not really even pretending to be on my diet at the moment, but I am not attempting to gorge, or binge or overeat either. It is still hard, but I believe once the habit is formed, it will be much easier, even during a holiday seasson.

I have gained two pounds over the last couple of weeks. Looking at how far I have fallen off my diet, I am actually feeling pretty good. I am attempting to get back on track, but I am thinking that I need to make sure I keep track of my points, regardless of what is brought up to work, or whatever Christmas parties I go to.

I have one tomorrow night to go to, a Christmas party given by a club I belong to, and word has already been given that there are more goodies coming to us at work. I have to get this back under control, period. I have 44 points a day, plus the 35 additional points per week. I can do this. I know I can.

So I will be more diligent and make sure I count the points for all of the stuff offered.

I have been lazy, and I have eaten way too much of the wrong foods.

Cheesecake, Mozzarella Sticks, Homemade goodies from people here at work. Too much, too much, too much.

I have had people tell me that I need to wait until after the holidays to start this, to not worry about the calories, not worry about the weight. It will be easier once all the festivities are over with.

Christmas parties, dinner parties, family parties...When does it end?!

And I feel like I have the munchies. You know, that feeling you get when you just can't get enough to eat, or want to eat everything in site?

I want to hang my head in shame as I have fallen far off of my diet over the past week or so.

It really is hard this time of year.

Breakfast has been called the most important meal of the day and for good reason. I probably don't have to go into detail as to why, but perhaps in another post I will. Suffice to say that I enjoy breakfast and today's was a Weight Watcher's breakfast quesadilla.

Processed food? You bet. But when you are in a rush, it's a great on the go meal!

Point value: 4

So Breakfast today is 4 points.

Here is the rest of yesterday. I really do love my wife and her cooking. She made pumpkin scones for dessert, with homemade whipped cream. I still did not go over my points for the day.

Snack: 3:30 PM Apple 1 point

Dinner 6:00 PM Chili with cheese 17 points

Snack: 2 pumpkin scones with homemade whipped cream 10 points

total: 28

total for day: 42

I did go to the gym last night and hit the treadmill for quite a while. Towards the end of my workout, when I was slowing down for my cool down, I snapped a picture of what I had done. I am including it here:

Yes, that is over 2 miles done. I averaged 3.4 mph, and had a vertical distance of between 400 and 500 feet.

All in all I felt really great!

I have been a little busy lately at work and such that I have not been able to post my meals as I need to. So to catch myself, and anyone else that is interested up, here is yesterday's and what I have for today:



Yesterday, December 10, 2008:


Breakfast 5:45 AM -- 1 cup Kashi GoLean 2 points
1 cup milk 2% 2 points

total: 4


Snack 9 AM Apple 1 point


1:00 PM -- Progresso Barley Vegatable Soup 0 points
Salad (1/2 boiled egg, lettuce, carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers, celery) with dressing 3 points
WW Dessert 1 points


total: 9


Mid Day Total 9



Snack: 3:00 PM Snickers Bar 5 points


Dinner 6:00 PM Chili with cheese 12 points
WW dessert cake 1 point

Snack: none


total: 27


Today, December 11, 2008 so far:

Breakfast 5:45 AM -- 1 cup Kashi GoLean 2 points
1 cup milk 2% 2 points

total: 4


Snack 9 AM Apple 1 point


11:00 PM -- WW Meal 4 points
Salad (spinach, tomatoes, broccoli) with Vinaigrette Dressing 0 points
Banana 1 points

Total so far today 14 points.


Now I know, a SNICKER'S BAR? But I totaled up the points at 5 (almond snicker's) and had plenty points to spare. I know the adage of if you deny yourself you will regret it, so I had one.

Have to keep this one short as I have lots of work to do.

Breakfast 5:45 AM -- 1 cup Kashi GoLean 2 points
1 cup milk 2% 2 points

total: 4


Snack 9 AM Apple 1 point


11:45 AM -- Progresso Barley Vegatable Soup 0 points
Salad (1/2 boiled egg, lettuce, carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers, celery) with dressing 3 points
WW Dessert 1 points


total: 9

Here is the final count for the day for my meals:

Snack: 3:45 PM Apple 1 point

Dinner 6:30 PM Homemade pizza 15 points (approximately)
15 chocolate covered pomegrannate seeds 2 points

Snack: Microwave Popcorn 1 Point


total: 36

As I said in the last post, I am back in the saddle again on this, so here are the meals and points so far:

Breakfast 5:45 AM -- 1 cup Kashi GoLean 2 points
1 cup milk 2% 2 points

total: 4


Snack 9 AM Apple 1 point


1:00 PM -- WW Roasted Chicken 4 points
spinach Salad with dressing 3 points
Yogurt 3 points
Cheese Stick 2 points


total: 12


Mid Day Total 17

The last few days have been rough.

I have been off my diet, and have gained 2 pounds back. I am not sure why, but I have just been on a "Munchy" attack lately, where I have been not wanting to stop. But, I still have the loving support of my wife, who is pushing some tough love my way...like informing me she will be a guest blogger if I don't get back on my diet, and things like that, but I am telling everyone out there about it and climbing back into the saddle (again) of diet and exercise.

As I have read, if you fall off, don't quit. Get back up and keep going.

And that is what I am doing.

Breakfast 5:45 AM -- 1 cup 2% Milk 2 points
Oatmeal with PB 6 points

total: 8

1 bag cheetos 3 points

11:00 AM -- WW Chicken Fettucini 7 points
spinach Salad with dressing 3 points
jell-o pudding 1 point


total: 22

Yes, an individual bag of Cheetos. I gave into a craving I have had now for a few days. I'm not craving them any more.

Today is one of those 'oh crap' days here at work. So much so that the company ordered pizza for everyone today. Yeah, pizza.

The fortunate thing is I have only had, up to that point, 4 points for the entire day, as breakfast was a WW Quesadilla.

So without further ado, my points for the day so far:

Breakfast: 4 points
Lunch: 30 points

Total for day: 34

Total remaining: 10

I had to leave work early today, after being informed that my wife was sick at home. Now please know that my wife is the kind of person that has to be dying before she will let me know she wants me to come home because of her being sick.

Now, before I go on to why the title says what it says, let me finish out the days' point totals:

Snack: Yogurt 3 points

Dinner: Omelette (3 eggs, olive oil, spinach, onion, bell pepper, ham) 10 points
WW ice cream bar 1 point

total: 11

Total for Day: 25

So, what made me title the post what I did? Going after ice cream for my kids, and a fudge brownie sunday for my wife from Braum's.

Now, it wasn't the ice cream that I was craving, it was the french fries that I wanted. Braum's has really good homestyle fries, but McDonald's was right across the street! And I LOVE the fries from McDonald's.
But I was a good boy and ordered a Diet Coke instead.

I love my wife but going after the ice cream for her and the kids was torture!

Breakfast 5:45 AM -- 1 cup 2% Milk 2 points
1 WW Quesadilla Breakfast 4 points

total: 6


11:00 AM -- Pot Roast Soup 2 points
Medium Apple 2 points
jell-o pudding 1 point
WW dessert 1 point

total: 6


Yes I am trying to cut the points down. They are down from this time yesterday.

In the hobby that I participate in, I am the club president. Tonight was our business meeting which is held at a Chinese buffet, and a place I definitely did not want to eat at. So what I did was go to Wendy's and have a baked potato and chili, with a frosty. Total points: 21.5

The problem with that is that I had that meal at 4:45. Way too early for me to eat dinner. So when I came home from the meeting, I was famished and I ate a little more at home. Left over spaghetti. My point value total for the entire day is 43.

I need to portion my meals and space them better.

It has been one of those days. I didn't want to get up this morning and go to work. Anyone really want to after a 4 1/2 day layoff from work? So thank God for my wife and her love for me.

She went shopping this weekend and bought lots of WW products for me. Breakfasts, lunches, snacks, the whole nine yards. So breakfast was a WW breakfast muffin at 4 points, and lunch was the WW Orange Sesame Chicken at 7 points.

Now, for lunch I did have a couple of other items, like a salad with lite ranch dressing, and a jell-o pudding, but overall, the points are 11 total.

So for the day so far, points are 15 total.

Ah Thanksgiving. How I love that day, unless I am on a diet!
I hope that your Thanksgiving was a better day than mine was. I did well all the way up to our Thanksgiving dinner, where, according to my wife, I piled too much food on the plate. I have to admit that I did sample almost everything offered, and I did go back for seconds on some of the items.

Did I overeat? Yes I did. Am I proud of it? No.

Our dinner had the following:

Turkey
Dressing
Giblet Gravy
Two Sweet Potato Casseroles
Mashed Potatoes
Faux Potatoes (Cauliflower made into the texture of mashed potatoes. Very healthy.)
Green Bean Casserole
Bread
And so on and so on....

So I overate, and then had dessert later on in the evening. I haven't weighed in yet, but I will need too tomorrow.

Now, I did go and work out today. Did 32 minutes on the treadmill, with 1.75 miles, averaging 3.8 mph, 3.8 incline and I felt good. Not at all like this past Monday. I will work on the weight routine tonight.

As for the rest of the day, I plan on working on the outside Christmas Decorations.

I just wanted to tell everyone Happy Thanksgiving today! I will be spending most of my time with my family this day and being thankful to God for them.

Spend time today with your friends and family and if you do read this, let me know what you are thankful for.

And if you happen to overeat this day, don't fret and worry; just don't give up and get back on the diet train.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving!

For those who have read this blog, you may have noticed that I have taken the Buff Dads plan off of what I am following. The reason for this is that I do believe it is a good plan that will work, but I do not believe it is a plan for those like me who are morbidly obese.

I do believe it is more for those who have 40 to maybe 50 pounds to lose. I am not giving up completely on this plan, but I am planning on modifying the exercise portion somewhat. I will not be using my full bodyweight when exercising during my weight training days, but instead will use the machines. I still think the supersets are the best way to go, but I need to slow them down to a four count rep with each rep. I also need to make sure I use a weight that will challenge me, but not kill me.

So that's it. I am going to change up the workout routine and go from there. I will be posting it later on this week. For now I will be working on the treadmill, walking for now. I would have gone tonight, but I am very sore.

Here are my meals for the day. I have switched over from calories to points.

Breakfast 5:45AM -- Quaker Oldfashioned Oatmeal 4
1/2 serving Syrup 3
1 serving PB 2
1 cup 2% milk 2
total: 11


11:00 AM -- Baked Chicken 1 1/2 serving 4 points
Steamed Vegetable Medley (Brussel Sprouts, Mushrooms, 1/2 Gold Bell Pepper) 0 points
Spinach Salad (Baby Spinach, Mushrooms, 1 serving low fat ranch dressing) 3 points

total: 7



3:30 PM -- Rest of spinach salad and tuna (starkist foil pack, 1 serving) 4

Total: 4

Dinner: 5:30PM -- Serving Spaghetti with sauce and cheese 7
1 chicken sausage Link 3
Yogurt with Granola 8

Total: 18

8:00 PM -- Popcorn 1



Total for Day: 41 points

Okay, advertising is not what I would normally post about, but for this I will. I know that my wife and I will be hitting stores, but Amazon.com is doing this as well. Here is your chance to shop from home and not stand in line for bargains.

I learned a valuable lesson tonight.

I started my workouts tonight, following the plan outlined in a previous post. Now, granted, I am morbidly obese, and haven't worked out in a while, but I have been able to push myself in the past, to see how far I could go in a first workout. However, I went too far this time.

I finished what I could of the workout and started to get light headed, so I went out to the car to leave and felt like I was going to pass out. Light headed, dizzy, nauseous, and feeling very tired. I had never experienced this before after a workout. I was to the point that I called my wife to tell her and told her that I would drive home, that she didn't have to come get me. It took me about 30 minutes to finally be at a point where I felt I could drive and I drove home.

Apparently I didn't look that well for the look on my wife's face and I think she's right, in that I should have let her pick me up. I could have picked the car up later. I had no color whatsoever in my face. I was a very white pale color and I was feeling really badly. So I sat down and had a Gatorade and waited. Eventually I laid down.

To make this story short, I am feeling much better, after eating some. I am not sure if what happened is related to what I ate today, or the fact that I went to work out on an empty stomach, or the fact that I am getting older and I am not a 20 or 30 year old anymore. I do know that I will need to rethink my workout and figure out a better approach to this.

My workout summary is as follows:

• First Set
  
  
  
  • Dumbbell Squats ------ 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Stiff-Leg Dead Lifts - 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Lunges --------------- 5 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Push ups ------------- 12 Reps
  
  
  • Bent Over Rows ------- 15 Reps at 12 lbs
  
  
  • Shoulder Press On Ball 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Bicep Curl on Ball --- 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Dips ----------------- Not Done
  
  
  • Ab Crunches on Ball -- 20 Reps
  
  
  
  
• Second Set
  
  
  
  • Dumbbell Squats ------ 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Stiff-Leg Dead Lifts - 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Lunges --------------- Not Done
  
  
  • Push ups ------------- 10 Reps
  
  
  • Incline Press on Ball 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Bent Over Rows ------- 12 Reps at 20 lbs
  
  
  • Side Lateral Raises -- 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Triceps Extension ---- 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Bicep Curl on Ball --- 15 Reps at 20 lbs
  
  
  • Dips ----------------- Not Done
  
  
  • Ab Crunches on Ball -- 20 Reps
  
  

This may not seem like much, but it did a number on me.

My meals for the day are as follows:

Breakfast at 5:15AM: Oatmeal with one tbls of PB, with one mashed banana.
Snack at 8:30AM: Yogurt
Lunch at 12:40: Plain Baked Potato with Baked Chicken Tenders and apple.
Snack at 3:15: Popcorn
Dinner at 7:00: Whole Wheat Pasta in Sauce, Garlic Toast and Steamed Broccoli.
Snack at 9:00: Yogurt and Granola.

And yes, I know that the last snack was way too late, but tonight was a little different for me because of the workout.

There are times when a husband need's to acknowledge that his wife is wise and caring, and thank God for her. This is one of those times for me.

For those who are following my journey, you might remember reading that I was following the Buff Dads plan, as outlined in the book by the same name. I am still following part of that plan, the physical fitness portion, but I have dropped the meal plan portion after discussing it with my wife last night.

Her argument was that the book offered a 4 week plan, and nothing for maintenance. She pointed out that with the amount of weight I have to lose, it will take me way more than a single month to do this, and she is right about this. Also, she pointed out the limitations on meal and product selection. Weight Watchers wins on that argument. One of her leading arguments is the fact that our kids like to bake with my wife. Under the Plan, there really is no room for an impromptu item like that. Weight Watchers does allow for it.

So after thinking about it, for all of I believe 5 minutes, I told my wife, that I would follow the Weight Watchers Flex Plan, which is the points plan. I have figured up my daily points for my weight and all that (44 points) and to me that seems like a lot, so I will be trying to keep it at around 38 or so for now and see how that goes.

I am not planning on going to meetings, but I may do the online thing with all the tools and gimmicks they offer. If you have been on this plan before, I would really like to hear from you as to what you think, and what your experiences have been.

For now, that's it. Just another major change for my weight loss journey.

This has been one of those days in which we were on the run most of the day. We started off the day by going to my youngest daughter's indoor soccer game, in which she had two shots on goal and an assist. Her team won 5 to 4.

Then we went to the Turkey Shoot.

This was an event designed to have fun with your daughter. Well, I had fun watching her shoot the hell out of the "Turkey".


She hit the turkey right between the eyes, then she hit him 7 more times on the body.

After that we came home.

So that leads me to the meals for the day.

Breakfast: Milk 120
Cereal 240
total: 360

Lunch: Salad with chicken
550

snack: Carrots with PB
220

Dinner: Homemade pizza
771

Total for the day: 1901

I weighed in this morning, before everything was to happen today.

I've lost 1.7 pounds.

I realize that every pound lost is a win, but I am disappointed to say the least. I was hoping for more of a loss, say in the 5 to 10 pound range, but, I also have not started the physical workout portion. I do that Monday. Let's give it a week or two and see what happens then.

It's still a win. I'll take it.

Well, here it is, the final calorie count of the day. I actually did not do too badly.

8:30 AM -- Grapes (30)
1 String Cheese, Kraft (90)
120 total

12:00 PM -- Lunch at Japanese Sushi Resturant
This is my free meal for the week.
Total Calories 1100

Total for day so far: 1612


3:30 -- small apple
Calories: 55

Dinner:
Baked chicken: 142
Steamed Vegetables: 90
Granola: 140

Total for the day: 2039

Oh boy. I posted that today was my free meal at a Japanese Sushi Restaurant my co-workers and I like to go to, and I was going mostly because two of my coworkers, who are also my friends, are leaving the company today.

I actually did not have that much to eat, and loving sushi as I do, I have cleaned up 4 to 5 plates of sushi. I had two plates, and not piled high either. Of course the vegetable hibachi or the very small piece of vanilla flan did not help either.

But I have not fallen off the wagon, nor am I defeated. I do however, really need to get my butt into workout mode quickly. Especially with the holidays coming up.

I will post the calorie totals a little later on today.

Good Morning! It's FRIDAY!

As I sit here listening to my current playlist on Rhapsody, I am looking forward to starting the workout portion of this plan. I noticed yesterday as I was leaving, that I seem to have more energy than I did a few weeks ago. It was a startling revelation to me and a pleasant one as well. I do feel better, even if it only a little over a week since I started the real diet portion of this plan.

Anyway, here is breakfast for today:

Breakfast 5:30 AM
Oatmeal (150 calories)
Banana (72)
Syrup(50)
Milk (120)

Total: 392

Have a great day and thanks for reading.

I love my wife and my daughters with my whole heart. So when my wife asked me to take the girls to dinner because she needed some time to do some things around the house, I of course said yes.

So we went to Chedder's.

Now I really like Chedder's. It has some of the best hamburgers I have tasted. Unfortunately, it really stinks when you are on a diet. Normally I would have used my free meal for this one, but, we are having lunch tomorrow to say good bye to two coworkers who are leaving the company I work for. Sushi, sushi, sushi. One of my favorite foods. I will have to plan tomorrow very carefully.

So on to dinner tonight.

1/4 of the Queso appetizer -- Calories: 300
Grilled Salmon 1/2 of entree -- Calories: 250
Broccoli -- Calories: 100
1/4 Cup Vanilla Ice Cream -- Calories:72.5
Total Calories: 722.5

Total for the day: 2197.5

I have been slammed here at work today. I was able to maintain my food log so I am posting it here before I leave for the day. This will include Breakfast from this morning.

Breakfast 5:30 AM
Oatmeal (150 calories)
Peanut Butter (85)
Syrup(50)
Milk (180)

Total: 465

9:20 AM -- Quaker Oats Kettle Corn Quakes (Rice Cakes) (60 Calories)
PB(190)
250 total

11:30AM -- Baked Chicken 1/2 from last night (300)
Brussel Sprouts from last night (50)
Carrots (10)
Total: 360 Total So Far: 1008

2:30PM -- 1/2 baked chicken from last night (300)
Salad (lettuce and Gold Bell Pepper strips) (100)
Total (400)


Total so Far: 1475

I use About.com's Calorie Count website ALL the time. So when I found their new toolbar for Firefox, I had to download and install it. Take a look at this:




I would highly recommend that you download this and use it if you are serious about losing weight. Knowing the calorie counts of foods has been very helpful for me so far.

For those of you who prefer Internet Explorer from Microsoft, there is a version for you as well. You can download that version here.

My wife made a very delicious dinner tonight.

Stuffed Parmesan Baked Chicken Breast (Calorie Count: 595)
Brussel Sprouts (Calorie Count: 81)
Mashed Potatoes (Calorie Count: 82)
French Bread (Calorie Count: 81)

Total: 840

Total So Far: 1908

The Chicken breast was very delicious, and the brussel sprouts cooked to perfection.
I am blessed to have a wife who supports me and can cook like a professional chef!

I have the first day on paper now, as far as the weight training will go. I suppose that I should first break down the schedule as to what I will be doing on what day.

• Monday -- Weight Training
  
• Tuesday -- Cardio
• Wednesday -- Weight Training
• Thursday -- Cardio
• Friday -- Weight Training
• Saturday -- Cardio
• Sunday -- Rest

This is how I have the first two days broken down:

Monday

• First Set
  
  
  
  • Dumbbell Squats ------ 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Stiff-Leg Dead Lifts - 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Lunges --------------- 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Push ups ------------- 15 Reps
  
  
  • Bent Over Rows ------- 15 Reps at 12 lbs
  
  
  • Shoulder Press On Ball 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Bicep Curl on Ball --- 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Dips ----------------- 15 Reps
  
  
  • Ab Crunches on Ball -- 20 Reps
  
  
  
  
• Second Set
  
  
  
  • Dumbbell Squats ------ 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Stiff-Leg Dead Lifts - 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Lunges --------------- 12 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Push ups ------------- 12 Reps
  
  
  • Incline Press on Ball 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Bent Over Rows ------- 12 Reps at 20 lbs
  
  
  • Side Lateral Raises -- 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Triceps Extension ---- 12 Reps at 15 lbs
  
  
  • Bicep Curl on Ball --- 15 Reps at 20 lbs
  
  
  • Dips ----------------- 15 Reps
  
  
  • Ab Crunches on Ball -- 20 Reps
  
  


• Third Set
  
  
  
  • Dumbbell Squats ------ 10 Reps at 20 lbs
  
  
  • Stiff-Leg Dead Lifts - 15 Reps at 20 lbs
  
  
  • Lunges --------------- 15 Reps at 20 lbs
  
  
  • Push ups ------------- 15 Reps
  
  
  • Bent Over Rows ------- 12 Reps at 20 lbs
  
  
  • Side Lateral Raises -- 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Tricep Extensions ---- 15 Reps at 10 lbs
  
  
  • Dips ----------------- 15 Reps
  
  
  • Ab Crunches on Ball -- 10 Reps
  
  
  
  

For Tuesday I will be doing 30 minutes of Cardio, more than likely on the elliptical machine. I tend to push myself harder on this than on the bike or treadmill.

Well, here it is. The total of meals at work.


9:20 AM -- Carrot sticks with peanut butter
Calories(10 for carrots, 190 for PB, 200 total)

11:30AM -- Quinoa (1/2 serving)
Calories(313)

Grapes (1 serving)
Calories(30)

Edamame(1 Serving)
Calories(120)

Total: 463 Total So Far: 1008

2:30 PM -- Popcorn
Calories (60)

Total So Far: 1068

I am going to start this differently today, as I explained yesterday. Instead of posting every single meal and snack, I am going to do Breakfast, Meals at work, and Evening Meals at home. Make it easier all the way around.

So to start this off, here is breakfast:

Breakfast was a bowl of quaker oatmeal squares with milk

calories: 225
milk: 120

Total: 345

I will be starting my weight training next week. I am really looking forward to doing this and I am hoping that this will really start the weight peeling off.

The Buff Dads program features 30 minutes of weight training with dumb bells and/or bodyweight using supersets. Each set of exercises are done without any rest, until you finish the set, then you rest for a minute. You then move on to the next exercise set, then rest, then finish the last set. I will be doing this on Monday's, Wednesday's and Fridays.

Cardio does play a role with this plan and it allots 30 minutes segments on Tuesday's, Thursday's and Saturday's.

Sunday is the rest day.

I will be posting the full workouts routines here over the next few days.

Okay, the last meal of the day, and I met my family and our friends at Luby's.

Yes, we ate out. I did very well though. Steamed Broccoli, Green Beans and Baked White Fish. No Dessert, and Iced Tea, non sweetened.

Calorie Count: 679

Total for the day: 2405

I suppose it could have been worse. Now that I know the calorie count of Quinoa, I will stay at a normal count. Since I have not gone over 2000 the last couple of days, I guess it will average out.

Now that said, I am very proud of what I ordered at Luby's. Normally I would have gotten the fattest, gravy laden chicken fried steak they have, plus fried okra and mashed potatoes with a big slice of some pie. I went healthy and I didn't think twice about it.

I am happy about that.

Just a very simple meal...

My wife's Cowboy Noodle Bake
Calories:350

Total so far: 1726

I have to admit, that blogging about my daily meals/snacks is boring, so I know that reading about them has got to be even more so.

I am thinking of maybe doing a post for Breakfast, one for just before going home for the day and then one before bed, to cut down at least 2 to 3 posts of sheer boredom.

I hope you will appreciate it as you follow along on this journey.

But for today, here is number 4.

Salad (Lettuce, Spinach, Gold Bell Pepper, Cucumber and fat free Honey Dijon.
Calories: 60

Cheese Stick.
Calories: 80

Total: 140

1 Twix Mini (I promised my wife I would not lie if I had something off the diet.)
Calories: 43

Total so far: 1376

Mid Morning Snack...Small red apple: Calories (55)

Lunch...1/2 of Last Nights Zucchini/Sausage dish: Calories(300)
........Yogurt: Calories(90)

Total: 445

Total so far: 1193

It is called the Inca's Gold. Quinoa is an extreamly small seed that packs a big punch nutritionally.



Now the unfortunate part for me is that I did not realize just how many calories this little grain packed and had a full cup serving for breakfast, along with an egg.

Unfortunately I believe that I will probably be over on my calories today, even if I was under yesterday. I am trying to find a happy medium, so that I can maintain that 2000 calorie mark. I will make that mark. It just might take some time.

So anyway, Breakfast for today:

1 cup Quinoa, and 1 egg/ 1 egg white...Calories:748

Ouch!

Tonight was light beef sausage and zucchini, with garlic and onions.

Calorie count: 300 calories

count so far: 1690

One more to go...

Updated to include the last one which was popcorn at 60 calories...

Total for day is 1750.

Had the 4th of the day at 2:30

Tuna: 240 Calories
Yogurt: 90 Calories

Total Calories: 330

Total so far today: 1390

Lunch was a salad from downstairs....

Normal greens, 2 tomato wedges, 1oz turkey, 1 oz ham, and fat free honey mustard. (240)
Cottage Cheese (90)
Grapes (30)

Total: 360 calories

Total so far: 1060

Second one of the day...

Carrots and PB... 100 Calories

Breakfast:
Oatmeal (150 calories)
Peanut Butter (190)
Syrup(50)
Banana(90)
cup milk(120)

600 total

I have spent this day cleaning my garage, going after food for my family, food I can't have and did not cheat by buying something and scarfing it down on the way home, like I have done in the past, and doing some other things.

Here is the rest of my meals and calories from today:

Meals for the day...

Carrots and Peanut Butter (11:45 AM) 220 calories

Roast Sandwich and Cheese stick (3:15) 399 calories

Large Pear (5:00) 121 Calories

Sauteed Veggies with Roast (6:45) 390 Calories

Microwave Popcorn (8:45) 50 calories

Total: 1180

Grand Total Including Breakfast: 1638

I was a little shocked to see that I am over 300 calories short of my 2000 calories a day.

Oh well.

I need to plan my meals out for the week, but I will more than likely do that tomorrow.

It's Sunday and things are quiet this morning. As I sit here blogging, my Oldest is watching Haunted History on the History Channel, my wife and youngest are sleeping and the dogs are outside doing what dogs do.

My oldest wanted McDonald's this morning, so I went and bought her the hotcakes and sausage she wanted, and I got my coffee, sweetened with splenda. But I was a good boy and did not even think about getting anything else from there.

What did I have for breakfast? I had a three egg, veggie omelette. The veggies included Asparagus, Bell Pepper, Mushrooms and Garlic. Total calories: 458.

Time of breakfast was 8:30AM.

To continue the meals today I had the next one at 3:15 and was a roast sandwich.

Roast: 179 Calories
Bread: 140 Calories
Total: 319 Calories

After that it was supper with the family at 6:30
Caesar salad, 1 serving: 150 calories
My wife's cowboy noodle bake, 1/2 serving: 175 calories
Sauteed vegatables (Gold bell pepper, Asparagus, Mushrooms and Garlic, sauteed with one tablespoon smart balance): 112 calories

Total:437 calories

Dessert -- 2 home baked snickerdoodle cookies: 220 calories

Total for the day: 2179 calories

I originally was going to have one cookie...I can eat a hell of a lot more; just ask my wife about the 20 I ate in one day after baking two dozen while my wife and kids were gone one weekend. (before I started the diet) But I had two. I don't feel too guilty about it, because I have really followed the book since I finished the food section in it.

Of course this is the first weekend I have had on this program, so we will see how it goes tomorrow.

(On a side note, I really do not want to call this a diet. To me that is a very negative word and using program is a psychological ploy for me.

Had the second meal at 12:15, with, surprise! Leftover Turkey Barley Chili. But we are now officially out of the chili. My wife has promised to make more soon.

1 1/2 cups Chili: 325 calories
1/2 large cucumber: 22calories

Total 347 calories

Total so far: 784

I love weekends. I actually get to sleep in sometimes, especially if my wife is nice and lets me. (Thank you Dear!) So my breakfast was at 9:15 today instead of the usual 5ish on the weekdays.

That said, my wife made breakfast this morning and cooked mine different from the others, to show her support for me on this diet.

This is breakfast:

I decided to weigh in on a whim this morning. I've lost 10 pounds since starting this on the 5th. Or I should say restarting this.

So I think I will celebrate this by digging into the Cookies and Cream and finishing it off.....

Just Kidding.

But hey, it's 10 pounds.

and it's a start.

Okay, Buff Dads allows for one free meal a week. It turns out that I had to use mine tonight. My Father in Law's birthday is tomorrow and since my in-laws are going out, the family celebrated his birthday tonight at El Fenix, a very good local Mexican Restaurant.

Now normally , I would go through one or two baskets of chips plus salsa, and the largest plate of food they would offer. Tonight I did have some chips, but not an entire basket. I had I believe 9 or 10 chips with salsa. The meal I had was as healthy as I could get it. I had 2 spinach enchiladas with tomatilla sauce, rice and refried beans.

I am not sure how many calories the meal was, but I am guessing at least 1000 calories, so I am over for the day, but I proud of myself for not gorging, and for not getting the largest meal they sell.

For today, I am thinking that my calorie count is approximately 2400.

YES!!!
It's Friday and I am almost ready to go home for the weekend.

Had my last meal here for the day.

Pasta (yes, leftovers again)--300 Calories...
and a slice of roast from last night--179 calories

total so far for the day: 1447

I have to say that blogging about this is getting easier. So it must be becoming a habit, and one I am glad to have.

I had one "Meal" at 9:30 AM and that was Carrots and Peanut Butter, so almost the same calorie count as yesterday. I'll have to go about 120 on this one.

I just finished my midday meal. (11:45 AM)
Turkey Barley Chili (yes, I know, but it's good and my wife made a lotof it. Believe me I am not complaining.
Calories: 250 (only one serving)

Salad, including one half of a hard boiled egg. With dressing.
Calories: 122 (dressing was fat free, salad was about 1 and 1/2 cups)
Cottage Cheese: 90

Total for meal: 462

Total for day so far: 927

Breakfast was a bowl of quaker oatmeal squares, which was good...4g of fiber, so it will be part of the plan as well as 8g of protein.

calories: 225
milk: 120

Total: 345

---Edited to include time eaten: 5:45 AM

So I left work to get home on time to be able to go to my oldest daughter's school recital for Veteran's Day, and my wife calls me to tell me my youngest daughter has suddenly become sick. Now, my youngest daughter, has childhood asthma, and tends to get pneumonia at least 2 times a year. She is still fighting this bout unfortunately and was not able to get her flu shot because of it.

So guess what the doctor thinks she has? Yep. Not only does my youngest STILL have pneumonia, she now has the flu. It is going to be a long few days for my wife and to a lesser extent, me. You see, when the kids are sick it's mommy to the rescue and when it is her, it is me helping her out.

My wife took our youngest to the doctor and then the children's hospital, and I went with my in-laws and my wife's grandfather, (seen in the veteran's day post) to go see my oldest daughter's recital. It was a good one and I will have to post some videos of it on here sometime. I am very proud of her.

So yes, this sort of affected me with my last meals. My wife made this really great pot roast, so I had a normal portion, no fat for the last two meals. Total calories: 358

My total calories for the day is: 1998.

I'll keep the blog updated on my daughter's condition.

ok...Three meals here at work now.

Here is the latest:

Serving of Pasta with sauce, no cheese.
Calories: approximately 300

Protein was cottage cheese
Calories: 90

Total:
390

total for meals so far....
Calories: 1640

Well, so far I am not hungry. I had breakfast around 5:40 or so, my second "meal" at 9:00 and the next one after that at 12:00.

The 9AM meal was carrots with peanut butter. Yes, I know what you are thinking, but the plan says to try and have all three groupings at one meal. I had the Carrots for veggies and the PB for protein. I did not have a lot, but mearly dipped the carrots into the peanut butter. It was actually not bad at all.
I am guessing at the calorie count, but the carrots were maybe 30 and I had no more than a 1/2 tablespoon of PB at most. so call it 85.

So 115 at most.

The last one at 12:00 was more turkey barley chili and a yogurt. I brought the wrong yogurt as the author says to avoid any yogurts that are over 100 calories, but this one was 170.

So 500 calories for the chili, 170 for the yogurt.

670 for that one.

Total so far...
1250 or so.

Keeping this one short this morning.

A 2 egg, 1 egg white omlette with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
2 cups milk
Egg Calories 125
Cheese Calories 80
milk 240

Total 445

My wife made her homemade whole wheat pizza tonight. I asked her to post her recipe to her cooking blog so I could share it.

So for all of you out there who are game at making your own pizza from scratch, here it is.

The plan I am following is called Buff Dads. I finally got the book last week and have finished reading the food and diet sections. I am looking forward to this plan, as I don't have to starve myself, and can still eat the foods I normally eat.

I just need to eat normal portions.

You see, this is my number one problem. Portion control. I have portion distortion which means that I will have portions that are way too big for a normal meal. The normal portion size, according to the book, would be the size of your fist and the palm of your hand. There are other ways to tell the correct portion and when I do the maintenance phase, I will use them.

So I will be eating 6 small meals a day, starting around 5AM and eating one every 3 hours after that. The meals would are going to consist of 1/3 protein, 1/3 carbohydrates and 1/3 veggies. Of course there is a list of good and appropriate foods, but when you have foods on there that I really like, well, it's a good thing.

Let me give you an example:

• Lean Beef
• Beans of any kind
• Poultry
• Eggs/egg whites
• Cottage Cheese
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Oysters

Even pasta is allowed. The only caveat is that I have to have protein with it.

It is a very common sense oriented plan. For example take some of the top 10 best tips on losing weight with this plan:

• Drink water or protein smoothies
• No Alcoholic beverages
• No eating 2 hours before bed
• Eat 2/3 of your daily food intake early
• Eat breakfast -- Don't skip it
• Make a shopping list
• Drink 10 or more glasses of water a day
  

So that is the basis of the eating portion. I will continue reading and post about the workout later on this week.

You know, sometimes it sucks being alone in the house.

This past weekend, my wife and our girls went to Oklahoma with her Mother and I had the house to myself. So I told you in this blog, in this post, how I blew my diet this past Saturday. Yeah, I blew it that Saturday night and Sunday too.

I had to go to Walmart for something, and walked by the frozen foods section, and yes, I bought ice cream. Dryers Cookies and Cream. And over a day I ate probably two thirds of it.

And no, I didn't blog about it until now. Because my wife, who is pissed off at me right now, called me on it. So here is my confession, and since then, I have stayed on what I am doing right now. You fall, and then get back up again and keep going forward.

And that is what I am doing. Moving on past this past weekend and moving forward.

I blew it. But that does NOT mean I have failed the entire diet.

It really is a great day today isn't it? The clouds are parting, the sun is shining and for some reason, the HEAT is on in the building. So I have my own personal sauna today. Yea!

Lunch was a bowl of my wife's delicious Turkey Barley Chili (Thank you dear!)
500 Calories

Apple, large
127 Calories

Yogurt, light
90

total: 717

Now, I plan on having a snack around 2:30 so I will go ahead and put that here...

Snack

Cottage Cheese
90 Calories

Apple
127 Calories

Total for Snack
217

I am waiting on my wife to post her chili recipe on her blog so I can link it to this one. It is definitely worth the wait!

You know, it is better to eat at home than it is at work.

1 serving of Oatmeal(150)
1 tablespoon of honey (64)
1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter(190)
1 Cup Milk (120)

Total(524)

I am keeping it short today for this one.

Have a great day!

Here is the recipe my wife used for the chili. I hope you will find it as good and delicious as I do.

From my wife's cooking blog, here it is.

Dinner tonight was a delicious Turkey Barley Chili. Very low in fat and very healthy.
I will be including the recipe in the next post. We also had cornbread. Water was the drink of choice.

Calorie count:
45 calories for the heart spread
500 for the chili (2 one cup servings)
170 calories for the cornbread

Total calorie count is 715.

Total count for the day: 1579

According to Buff Dad, I am about 500 less than I should be at right now. I'll have to make it up with a healthy snack.

Today was soup and salad day.

Leftover salad from last night.
(100 calories from dressing)

Progresso Soup
(160 calories)

Yogurt
(100 calories)

Total 360 Calories.

I will normally not cross post to all of my blogs, but for this day I will...This was originally posted to my Random Thoughts Blog.

Today is Veteran's Day here in the United States. Elsewhere in the world it is known as Armistice Day, the day WWI ended. I have strong emotions about this day, and I wish that Americans would act as if every day were Veteran's Day. You see, one of the main reasons I can write this blog, and speak my mind, and NOT be afraid of "thought police" is because of the blood, sweat and tears that those men and women shed fighting for freedom around the world. It is the reason why we have elections and can elect a man of mixed race for President of the United States. It is one of the reasons why the world has the nation of Isreal reborn where it belongs.

So don't just thank a Vet today. Thank a Vet EVERY day for the life you lead.

Now that said, I want to personally say thank you to the Veteran who is in our lives and we love very much.



Kenneth Provine is my wife's grandfather. He is a Veteran of WWII, the Pacific Theater. He fought at Guadalcanal, Tarawa and other in other battles in the Pacific. He rose to the rank of Master Sergeant first in the Marine Corps and then after reinlisting in the Army, again rose to the same rank of Master Sergeant.
He is an honorable man, who does not dwell on the battles he has fought in and faced but the good times he had traveling the world, recounting stories of the people he met during that time, and the places he visited.
He is one of the reasons why we are free to do as we do this day. I am proud for him, and proud of him. He is our own personal American Hero.

I was actually able to eat breakfast at home this morning. A very nice change of pace. I am going to keep this one short, but:

1 serving of Oatmeal(150)
1 tablespoon of honey (64)
1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter(190)
1 Cup Vanilla Soy Milk (100)

Total(504)

I will have to do the calorie count a little later. The only one I remember is the milk.

Stay Dry!

***Updated to show calorie count*****

Ahh, back to work.

Monday morning and I am at work, after driving her in the rain. That is always a fun time here in the Dallas area. But luckily, there were only a few wrecks and I made it here in one piece.

Breakfast was a breakfast hotpocket (290 calories)
Orange Juice (140 calories)
Coffee (75 calories)

505 calories.

Normally I would not have the OJ, but I felt like I needed the extra Vitamin C.

Lunch today will be an asian salad in the bag, and cottage cheese.

Have a great day!

I wanted to share this particular site with everyone. I was doing some surfing while waiting on the dishwasher to finish and came across this site: National Guard Fitness Page.

What is interesting is the videos they have available that show the various exercises the guard utilize.

I highly recommend taking a look at this site and using it if necessary.

Have fun and stay healthy!

For those of you who don't know, I am a member of the SCA. I have been for 20+ years now and I am the Seneschal of the Barony of the Steppes, which translates to a modern president of a local club. So yesterday, we held our kingdom's Coronation, which I was at all day.

So what did that mean to my diet? Well, it wasn't good. For breakfast, I had McDonald's...And I just calculated the nutritional information...

Ouch.

1060 calories for breakfast.

My wife is going to kill me.

So for lunch I went to Taco Bueno and had the wholattaplatta...

Ouch again.
They don't even have the nutritional info for that thing, but I am guessing it is probably more than I am supposed to have the entire day.

Then there was the feast, which was actually healthier than anything I had that day, because the portions were actually of a normal size...

Here is the menu from last night.

First Remove:

Roast Chicken with lemon and rosemary
Pumpernickel bread & butters
Mushroom & onion Tart (I did not have this)
Sautee’d Green Beans


Second Remove:

Roast Pork with apples & onions
Macrows
Spinach Salad with a light dressing
German milk bread and butter


Last remove: Desserts
(I had only 2 small pieces)
Gingerbread
Shortbread
Fresh whipped cream
Liadon’s warm Carmel sauce


So, today is a new day. and I have a lot of work to do around the house. Hopefully a lot of yesterday's calories will be burned off.

You might notice a newer look to my blog. That is because even though I am a software engineer, I am not that creative when it comes to graphical items. My wife though is a genius when it comes to this. So I asked her to create the header for this blog, and for my other blog.

Isn't it a really GOOD header? I really think so.

So then, here is a shameless plug for my wife's work. If you would like something fantastic on your blog, go to My Wife's Blog and contact her.

Once again, thank you Love!

Lunch...that wonderful time of the day! LOL

Remainder of the soup from yesterday (Thank you Connie!)
(Calorie count is approximate at 550)
Tuna packet
(80 calories)
Diet Coke
(0 calories)

I have to say that the candy bowl up front calls my name, but I am going on two days now of no candy at work.

For my snack today I am having low fat yogurt.

This morning was rushed, and I had breakfast late. So today it was:

Oatmeal (230 calories)
coffee (75 calories for the creamer...splenda used)
Water (1 16oz bottle)

overall my mood is good. Looking forward to this weekend.

I absolutely love my Mother in Law!

I had for lunch, two cups of her home made chicken tortilla soup, with the abalone tuna steak.

Now the bad thing is I dumped two individual packages of fritos in the soup.

Soup Calories, not sure.
Tuna Calories 160
Fritos Calories 320 (160 x 2)
Diet Dr. Pepper Calories 0

I would love something sweet at the moment, but I don't want the way too many calories of the candy they have up front...(think the bite sized Reeses, Butterfinger, Snickers) so I am having a cup of coffee. No sugar, but using splenda and the creamer is 90 calories.

Total Calories: 570

I was asked by my wife last night, why am I posting every meal on here right after I have it. Why not wait until the end of the day? Well, a couple of other people have now asked that question and I wanted to answer it.

If I post it right after I eat it, or shortly there after, then I don't forget. I have the calorie count right then and not have to rely on memory. I know I could write it down on paper and then on here, but why do double work?

So this way I am being honest with myself and the world as to how I am doing. And being honest is tough, but I have to do it to lose this weight.

Thanks for reading.

Breakfasts comes awful early for me. Usually between 4:30 and 5:00 AM. So yes, by 11 AM I am just a little hungry. So without further ado...

1 bowl of fruit loops (one and one half servings)
1 cup 1% milk
1 20 0z coffee with 10 packets of sugar and 4 creamers. (really need to relearn to drink it black)

Also, I am about to start off with my daily intake of water, starting with a 16oz bottle of water.

Now, for lunch, I have homemade chicken tortilla soup, and a small tuna steak. And I thought I would play it a little smart and pack a snack. A tuna kit to have about 3 or so.

Have a good day.

Coming home is the hardest part of the day for me.
Why you may ask? Well, Lunch is done with by 11:30 AM, and I usually have not have a snack between then and when normally get home between 4:45 and 5:00. So I am really hungry when I get home.

So what calls my name? Just about every thing in the kitchen. So I will try to get something as a snack to tide me over. Today it was a teaspoon of Peanut butter and 6 pretzel braids.

Supper was a three bacon wrapped jumbo shrimp, a normal serving size of refried beans and rice, and sauteed vegetables.
Drink was water.

Well, I said it's time in the previous post, so it seems that it will be easier to just blog my meals. Here is lunch for today.

Salad, consisting of the usual greens, tomatoes, a scoop of tuna salad, scoop of crab salad, 1 boiled egg, 1 celery stick, and ranch dressing. (approximately 2 and 1/2 tablespoons)

1 med green apple

1 Diet Dr. Pepper

1 16 oz bottle water.

And that's it. The salad and apple filled me up and the liquids did the rest.

After that it was a 15 minute walk around the building and along the canal.

The book I have been waiting on has finally shipped and should be here any day...It's called Buff Dad and it's one that from what I read and saw, looks like it was written for those of us in the real world. So to celebrate, and to show my loving wife I really do wish to lose weight, here is breakfast for this morning.

Quaker Instant Oatmeal
Coffee with 3 creams and 5 sugars
8oz bottle of grape juice
16oz bottle of water

I plan on having a salad for lunch from the deli downstairs and then walking along the canal behind our building afterwords.

No matter what you are doing today, whether trying to lose weight, or working, playing with the kids or just relaxing...go vote.

Republican, Democrat, Independent, whatever....go vote. Make your voice count.

Me personally, I am going after work and I am voting republican.

But no matter how you vote, just vote, because.....

IF YOU DON'T VOTE, DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT IT TOMORROW!

Today I am 40 years old.

I have to stop and actually contemplate that. Forty years have gone by since I was introduced into this world and what a ride so far.

I have to say that out of all the years I have been here, the best have been the last eight, which happens to be the number of years I have known my wife, Angela. Without her I would not be where I am today, nor would I be blessed with two beautiful girls. Thank you babe. Without you I would not be who I am today.

So we went to Texas Roadhouse last night to celebrate my birthday early. And I did not scarf down the biggest steak there, nor did I eat the entire loaded baked potato, nor did I eat the fat off of the 12 oz prime rib I had. Those are actually good things. Now as for me sitting on a saddle waving a napkin going "Yee haw!" as the wait staff sang happy birthday, that was another thing altogether, but the look of horror and embarrassment on my oldest daughter's face....now that was priceless!

But today, as things are beginning to slow down at work, and I can actually work a day of normal hours, I am back to eating salad and soup today for lunch, and a sensible dinner. Breakfast was not a normal thing, but I figure for my birthday, I can have a quad shot venti upside down skinny Caramel Macchiato with an apple bran muffin. So I did try to stay somewhat healthy.

Anyway, back to work and I'll update later.

This past weekend I was blessed to be able to spend the weekend with my youngest daughter at the YMCA Princess Fall Campout at Camp Grady Spruce, located on the shores of Possum Kingdom lake. We had a blast together.

Now, why would this be a real test of how out of shape I am? Well, I had NO idea of what was going to happen at this camp. I knew that we would ride horses, or at least my daughter would. But we also hiked! Oh man did we hike.

If you look at the picture below, you will see a tiny rock outcropping at the top of the hill. That little outcropping was 1,300 plus feet high.


Ok, so that didn't look too high. But this was not a paved walking track. Not at all. This was a very rocky, dirt path that wound upwards. There were places where I had to literally crawl up and climb rocks to make it.





But made it we did, my youngest daughter and me. As all the girls in my daughter's tribe said, we made it to "The Top of the World!"


I am very proud of my daughter, for making it up this hill and for all that she did this weekend. We had a lot of fun and had a lot of quality time together.

Now I need to find a camping place for me and my older daughter to go to.

I have been somewhat negligent in working out and posting, so I am going to play catch up for the moment.

I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago, and one of the reasons was to check my health before entering this phase of my life. All of the tests came back fine, and I will be going in for a consultation later this week. But I am still very healthy, just very, very fat and needing to lose weight.

So now what I need to do is get off my fat butt and do this.

Here is what I am planning on doing over the next few weeks.

1. Find a good time to work out. The way things are going right now, this just is not happening. I am thinking either very early in the morning or in the evening before bedtime. I am not usually a morning person, but I think I may have to be.
2. Get measured for the bike I want. I will need to go to the local bike shop and get fitted for a bike. That may sound weird, like being fitted for a pair of pants, but it is true. You need a bike that will fit your height and other personal variables.
3. Start my food diary today. This I have done.


So here we go.

There are times when you look at life and decide "enough's enough!". This is one of those times. Since I last posted to this blog, I have stopped working out, eaten more, and lived a mostly unhealthy life.

As a Software Engineer, I lead a mostly sedentary lifestyle. I have gained quite a bit of weight and I so feel it. So I am making a decision to live a different lifestyle. Not only because I want to make sure my girls have a daddy to walk them down the aisle, but because as the words under the title say "Because my life is not my own", it is the fact that my body does not belong to me, it belongs to God. As the Word says (paraphrasing here) "Present your body a living sacrifice to God", it is a duty to do just that. So this begins.

I started off by weighing myself yesterday, as I updated my stats to the right. I am at my heaviest weight in many many years and I so feel it. I have thought about what I want to do to lose weight and though I still want to train for a Triathlon, I need to do it slower. Much slower. So I am going to start by working on biking. I am planning on having a bike in the next 2 months. Actually my wife has promised one for a combined Anniversary/Birthday present. It will be a Specialized Hardrock Sport. And I simply can not wait.

I made it to LA Fitness yesterday and did 31 minutes on the stationary bike for a total of 11.5 miles, and then went downstairs and did a 2000 meter race on the rowing machine and finished in under 10 minutes. That last bit tired me out more than the bike did. I will go tomorrow at lunch and workout as well. I am very blessed to have an LA Fitness a 1/2 mile from where I work.

So that's it for now. I am starting over and it begins now. Time to lose a person and become a normal sized person.