Cruise Tips- Enjoy the cruise and not gain weight

I wrote down some things I did during my cruise that may help you not gain the lbs while you are cruising away. My wife and I did this on a 7 day cruise and we did not gain weight.

• I exercised every morning for at least 25 minutes. If you don't want to go to the gym, walk the track outside and enjoy the weather.
• Use the stairs! We gave ourselves the ability to use the elevator once a day.
• Eat your fruits and veggies. There is fruit always available.
• I know the booze flows on vacation. Make sure to get your water in.
• Its alright to splurge- you are on vacation. Just control portion size or you could share it with someone so you are not eating all of it.

Good luck and hope this helps you. I you have any additional ideas please post them in the comment section.

When does the Big Guy inside leave ?

When is it that your mind switches and the Big Guy inside of you is gone?

I have been eating well for the past 6 months, but I still have to consciously make the right decision. I drop my guard and I am eating a Guiness Burger at Bennigans.

Skinny people who have lost the weight or are Lifetime members, still have that Big Guy inside of them I was talking to Fatty McButterpants about this and he saw it as an illness like diabetes. You will always have it and you have to deal with it forever.

I am always going to have to make conscious decisions and though I will occasionally eat the ice cream or maybe a piece of someones birthday cake. I have to think every time I put something to eat in my mouth.

That is why people do the roller coaster and lose and gain weight. You drop your guard and you just gained it all back again.

That is how it feels after being on vacation and indulging on some not on The Plan meals. So I am back to journaling and trying to get in the right mindset.

Amazing what a few months does....

So with college football around the corner. I was looking at some pictures of me and came across pictures of me doing something I do a lot during the football season- Grilling!

Here is me on September 1st 2006:



Here is me on May 13th 2007:



Still some lbs to lose. But it is great to see the difference. Promise to have a pic of me grilling this football season to see where I am!

My tribute to Chris Farley

I took this picture a few years ago. I find it funny and at the same time very sad. I plan to find that jacket and see if look any better then I do here:

Here is to you Mr. Farley... Fat guy in a little coat!

The Mistake

As you have noticed I have been eating a little bit of everything. I am venturing away from Plan friendly foods and as I posted earlier I went and had pizza. Since I was good and did so well with the pizza. I decided to make a big dessert tonight. What a Mistake!

My wife had made me some Diet Coke cupcakes (recipe coming soon) and we freeze them. So when I want one I can just grab it and microwave it and I can enjoy a warm chocolate cupcake (2 pts). I decided this time to mix it up with a 1/2 a cup of Breyers no sugar added Double Churned Extra Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream (1pt for 1/2 a cup) and I drizzled some chocolate syrup and caramel syrup along with a crunched up Skinny Cow Vanilla with Caramel Ice Cream cone (2pts). So I had a warm cupcake, the crunch of the cone, with the flavors of caramel, chocolate and vanilla ice cream. I figured I had the points and this was a 7 pt dessert, why not eat it. WRONG!!!

I ate it and it was like bomb exploded inside of me and brought me back to reality. Just because I had the extra points and I had just "cheated" with the tasty pizza could I pig out on a super point ice cream mixture ala Cold Stone. My body is not use to it anymore and cannot handle it.

I shocked my body and what did I get- quality bathroom time and a horrible pain in my stomach. The pain felt like an alien was coming out of me. This is the 1st time I have gotten this way since being on The Plan. Odd part is I was like this all the time. I blogged about it before (click here to read about it) After ever meal it would hit me like a ton of bricks and I would feel sick. Not healthy and not a good feeling to have.

Moments like this, show me I still have a lot to learn and improve on my day to day living and eating. It also shows me that when you eat right and proportioned - this does not happen. I also learned just because I have the points- I shouldn't I eat them unless I am hungry. I got cocky and I paid the price- in the toilet (many times)! Good Night

The Plan works

I have been on many diets and the one thing about all of them is that once I reached my goal I slowly go back to my old ways and I started to add carbs or began to eat all the things I missed out on. Of course there are diets where they supply you with the food and once you stop eating their food- then what? You gain it right back- thats what!

The great thing about The Plan is that even if you were to stop doing it and you came away with the basic ideas of:

• Portion Control- Think before you eat
• Veggie/Fruit intake
• Be active- Exercise (even its 15 mins a day)
• H2O consumption

Sounds easy- Eat less, exercise more and eat fruits and veggies. Those are all things I never did. I am no expert and I still have a long way to my goal and most of all maintain the weight loss. However I have learned more in the 1st 112 days on The Plan- then with any other "diet". Thanks Weight Watchers for changing my lifestyle and life! Life does not end when you decide to live and eat better.

There is nothing like real pizza!

Flat Out pizza is great with Turkey Pepperoni, a sprinkle of cheese and some sauce, but there is nothing like a slice of real Italian pizza. Tonight my wife and I decided to treat ourselves and go out for some pizza. We have not had pizza in over 100 days. If you want pizza, you can have it and not deprive yourself of the tasty goodness. Just practice moderation and portion control. I ordered the 10 inch personal cheese pizza, a to go box, a side salad and a diet coke. Once I got the pizza I put half of it (my pizza had 4 slices) in a box and ate my 2 slices.

Could I have eaten the whole mini pie? Yes, but after the salad and the 2 slices I was fine and since the pizza was not in front of me, I did not polish it off. I now also get to enjoy it again.

So if you want to eat something. Go for it. Just plan ahead and remember to get a box.

I get it or have I just gotten lazy?

I have been doing The Plan for over 100 days.

Here is what I have learned so far: The Honeymoon is over on The Plan. I have established a healthy living foundation. I am eating healthier then I have in the past 7 years; I am eating 5 serving of fruits and veggies daily; I have learned what portion control is; I drink at least 8 cups of H2O a day; I am taking the stairs (down) everyday; I now make better decisions with food choice.

Now those things are awesome and I am very excited and proud of what I have accomplished for far. But I feel lately I am slacking off and have gotten cocky since I am still losing weight yet I have not exercised in over 2 weeks and no longer journal my meals.

There are two ways of thinking of what is going on with me right now. I have learned what to eat and am living and eating wisely or sooner or later it will get back to me.

I do not want to lose what I have learned in the past 100+ days. I still have a long way to go on this journey and I don't want to come up short now. The Journey continues and I am about 7 lbs from reaching my 2nd goal: under 300!

Getting Lazy

The past few weeks I have been putting in too many long hours at work. I noticed that I have stopped counting and journaling my meals. I haven't worked out in long time. I can't get myself motivated. I have been so stressed and overworked- I am just spent. Of course I keep on losing weight, which is not helping me get motivated again.

I have been doing this for 96 days and I have learned portion control and am eating more fruits ands vegetables. I can tell you that my weigh in will not be a good one this week.

I need to get a jolt to get me back on track. Well time to enjoy The Office!

Beer

Since I have been on The Plan. I have not really been doing that much drinking and when I do drink I usually enjoy a Miller Lite. I know some people hate the taste of Lite beer so I found a site that has a large list of Domestic and Imported beers and their caloric intake.

For Domestic click here

For Imports click here

"Fill it up again! Fill it up again! Once it hits your lips, it's so good!"

If you want to know how many points is in that beer you are drinking just look up your beer and its calories and for the Fat and Fiber, I figure beer has 0 fat and 0 fiber. So that should help you with figuring out how many points you are sucking down. Enjoy!

Being a Restaurant Junkie, Part I

I've gotten used to eating out for most of my meals. It's not that we can't cook, or not even that we don't like to cook. It's more of a time/convenience issue. After getting up for work at 6:30a.m. (or earlier) and not getting home until close to 6p.m., I often don't feel like getting something ready, cooking it, and (here comes the really hard part) cleaning up.

We'll start with some good intentions and cook a meal or two, but then the kitchen gets messy and we run out of some key ingredient and then it's like, "Let's go out to eat."

Before starting the plan, we went out enough that it was starting to get a little tiresome. Not so much for a lack of restaurants, but actually in the Orlando area, EVERYONE likes to go out to eat. So most restaurants have waits each day, and on the weekend those wait times get into the hour-plus leagues. Having a small child, waiting for an hour whilst entertaining a toddler isn't really my idea of fun. So we've had to go places that not only were tasty, but not so popular that we could just walk in on a Thursday or (really hard) Friday.

Well, now the plan has tipped that paradigm on its side. Now the prime concern is finding a restaurant that I can figure out the points values for the stupid food. I don't yet feel comfortable going into any restaurant and finding a healthy food and eating half of it. I still need the safety net of a general points value and knowing I can finish my meal. I'm not a pro just yet.

I think our choices have been cut by nearly two-thirds. It's UNBELIEVABLE to realize how many restaurants don't publish their nutritional information. Why is that so hard? I'm not looking for food options so much as I just want to know what's what so I can make the choices myself. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Chili's for the fifth time this week! ;-)

What to give a Big Guy?

I have been busting my a$$ lately at work and my boss decided to give me a gift for all the work I have been doing. What do you give a guy who is puting in 50 hours a week and doing the work of 2 people? A spot bonus maybe or what about a gift certificate?

Or how about a gift certificate to Chipotle for $25.00. It was a nice gesture by him and it probably came out of his pocket cause even though I work for a large Billion dollar corporation- they are cheap!

I just find it funny that the "Big Guy" at work got the food certificate. Come to think of it the last gift certificate I got was to Publix (a supermarket).

I guess beggars can't be choosers. Time to eat a burrito bowl!

Girl Or Food?!

So I came across this and I thought to myself: What would I do? To me the answer would be a "no brainer". What would you pick?

Getting dressed up

I hate getting dressed up. The obvious reason is I'm fat and I don't like how the clothes fit on me. I always wear untucked baggy shirts unless I have to get dressed up or for work. I feel uncomfortable getting dressed up because I get discouraged when I find something in my closet and my belly looks like it is going explode the buttons off the shirt. The worst is when you look at something in your closet and say to yourself that shirt is big- it has to fit me and it then it doesn't.

Also when I do tuck in my shirt, My belly button sucks up my shirt and my fat life preserver shows even more. The belly button suck is when you belly button sucks in your shirt and it forms an indentation. It also will absorb sweat.

It is not that I don't want to look good and I enjoy dressing sloppy (sometimes it is more comfortable). I look forward to being able to wear a shirt, polo, t-shirt tucked in one day with out feeling self conscious. When that day comes you will get to see it.

Not only are the Rich getting Richer, the FAT are getting FATTER!

We read this story today and it really sparked some discussion between BS and myself. (Click pic for full article.)

Here's the brief synopsis:

"People who are 100 pounds (45 kg) or more overweight are the fastest-growing group of overweight people in the United States, researchers reported on Monday.

They found the proportion of the severely obese was 50 percent higher in 2005 than it had been in 2000 -- a startling rate of growth."

What the hell is going on here? It seems like we (as in 'we the people') are spiralling down toward a sad end at the bottom of a huge barrel of cheezy french fries. The human body wasn't designed to eat this much food and look like this. The article goes on to talk about how that even though bariatric surgeries have increased more than 15 times in the past 8 years, we are still getting fatter.

And it's not even just that the skinny folks are getting fat. That's still happening, as more than 30% of Americans are "overweight." The "killer" here is that the most fat of us are getting even more fat. That even as we realize the normal BIG & TALL stores are running out of sizes for us to try, we continue our quest toward world-record fattitude.

Look, I'm not here to say that eating healthy and being thin are easy... I've been "overweight" since I was 10 years old, in varying degrees. But in the past 5 years, weight loss programs such as WW have taken off, and the internet is certainly helping to assist even the homebound or shy who don't want to hit the meetings.

What I am saying is that with all the media attention and dire health warnings out there, why are the ranks of the superfat are dramatically increasing?

To answer that question we look toward those responsible. Certainly each of us maintains culpability. But we need to look toward our food sources and our infrastructure. More of us work in little containers in big office buildings, never getting off our fat asses except to go to lunch. And when we go to lunch we are bombarded with amazing foods rich with bacon and cheese and sauce and bread.

I think we'll need a true culture shift, much like when a company needs to change the attitudes of their workforce. That culture shift toward healthy eating and healthy living is the only thing that will stop the insanity and lead us to thinsanity.

Eating Out

So everyone loves to eat out- a lot of times food taste better when you are not cooking it. Well ever since I have been on The Plan (71 days or so) when we go to eat out I have to go online and look at what I can eat. The WW Eating Out companion is good and so is Dottie's Weight Loss Zone site. Both will give you an idea of the point values of food. If not most sites have nutritional values and with the e-tools you can figure it out.

You cannot just walk in somewhere and just order like before being on WW. What you order has repercussions and all your points are valuable, they are precious to everyone.

So now you have to plan and coordinate so you know your food options and make the right choices in food. Also make sure to read carefully cause sometimes it can be a 1/2 portion and the meal is really 20 something points - but the site said 10 points. Yeah for 1/2 the meal! Now you just blew 10 of your points!

My Beloved ice cream bar!!!

Click on thc pic to watch Ren talk about his beloved ice cream bar.

So today 40 days have passed and I get to enjoy eating ice cream again. I also get to eat pasta (my wife and I gave up pasta and ice cream for Lent). I cannot tell you how excited I am to eat a 2 pt. ice cream again. It will be either the WW Ice cream bars or a Skinny Cow or maybe even both.

It is good to be disciplined and not do something for 40 days. After 40 days you are past making it a habit. However ice cream and pasta are AWESOME! So I plan to eat both today (in proper moderation).

Weight Watcher Meetings

So as you know my wife and I are both on The Plan. Last week I blogged about her not losing as much and having issues with it.

Well this week was the toughest. Our group at the meeting lost 93lbs- of those 93lbs my wife lost zero- She didn't gain; she didn't lose either.

That makes it tough. It also makes it tough to want to sit through a meeting, especially during "celebration" time. It is great when you are losing, but sucks when you gained or went 0-fer the week.

I can see why some people stress when the weigh in comes. Some don't go to the meetings, others will do anything to weigh less (even just wear a nightgown during weigh in). If you lost, you want to stay and if you gained- you will weigh in and want to leave. Everyone wants to be part of the popular club- the group that lost weight.

For a moment yesterday I was concerned for my wife and I felt I was on "Gorge watch" with her. You know when you get so upset and say "F' It" and start eating everything in sight. But she didn't. Which is great cause she has lost a great amount of weight and one week of plateau is no reason to gorge yourself and destroy what you have accomplished.

I know this is about a guys journey to losing weight. Just wanted to share the added stresses to losing weight with a spouse or loved one. Honey if you are reading this- I love you and you are doing a great job! Keep it up!

Got Poop?

I noticed that since being on The Plan, my body is not rejecting food as often so I am no running 20 mins after eating to drop somethings off. It is amazing the crap we eat and how it runs through you. I like knowing I am eating better and that this is no longer an issue. Before I was more then regular and now I am A.O.K!

Update

I am happy to say that I have not had any of the donuts or Easter cookies or candy in my office. It helps that I have a little Cantina of fruits and 100 cal packs in my desk to fight the urges of Evil.

I am still going strong with the 15 mins for 20 days campaign. We shall see if it pays dividends when I weigh in this week since this is the Weigh In that decides who wins The Big Fat Off!

This week has been a rough one. I am working over 10 hour days and I am just exhausted. It has been really tough to want to exercise, but I am forcing myself. Of course that gives me some extra energy and with my nights flying by. I end up staying up later- Hence the vicious cycle of being overworked. Wake up early- Stay late at work- Stay up late- Repeat!

I also noticed that when you stay up late it also causes you to start eating stuff out of boredom. So watch out!