Just when you think you're on a roll...

When I decided to take up “blogging”, I figured it would be an easy thing to do, since all you really need is a little time and an opinion…   I didn’t realize that life’s little distractions, like planning my high school reunion and running to the liquor store because my in-laws are coming in town tomorrow and other errands would get in the way.

Needless to say, I have valid excuses for having not “blogged” in two weeks.  However, for those of you keeping up, the diet is going pretty good.  I’m still averaging about 3 lbs. a week. 

Having lost almost 15 lbs. since February 1^st, I decided to reward myself with a couple of chili cheese burritos from Taco Bell on Saturday, and although I was good and ate fish & broccoli for dinner, the burritos turned out to be a big mistake.  This morning, I was back up 1 lb. from Saturday morning… 

One of the many great things about our Heavenly Father, is that, every now and then, he does subtle little things to get our attention (just to let us know he’s watching), in my case, it was a chili cheese burrito “bitch slap” that put a whole pound of hard earned weight loss, back on my fat butt.  Fortunately, I am more motivated than discouraged…

So…  This morning, I was back on my 60 calories of Egg Beaters (with a couple of teaspoons of picante sauce mixed in), a cup of coffee with artificial sweetener and a handful of vitamins and other meds (that my doctor decided I needed, upon reaching middle age).  Lunch was about 250 calories of tuna fish salad, and for dinner, grilled skinless, boneless chicken breast covered in Louisiana Hot Sauce with some veggies and my usual ration of cocktails…

I’m not absolutely confident, but I’m pretty sure that TV sucks tonight, so it could be early to bed, a good night’s sleep and hopefully, the bathroom scales will be nicer to me in the morning…

It's all down hill from here

Today marks the end of my second week of the 172 day journey of weight loss and my 35 year High School Reunion. That leaves 158 days and if my calculations are right, I should lose about 50 to 75 lbs. by the time the reunion rolls around.  That is, if I can hurdle the stumbling blocks along the way (and with the pounds I need to lose, the word “hurdle” is not in the vocabulary).

Let’s recap…  Halloween, Thanksgiving, 30 days of Christmas Goodies then Christmas, New Year’s College Bowl Games, NFL Play-Offs and the Super Bowl.  No doubt, the past two weeks have been a struggle and I have about 8 hours to go.

One minor detail that I left out of my original equation was my birthday and Valentine’s Day, which falls the week after the Super Bowl. Yep, today is Valentine’s Day and yesterday was my 53^rd birthday (which doesn’t really reflect my philosophical age because my precious daughter says I have the maturity of a 13 to 15 year old boy).

So, toward the end of last week, the doorbell rings and it’s a frozen cheese cake from my very dear friends who live in Billings, Montana.  Then there’s all the chocolate that’s going to be lingering around our house for the next day or two. 

Fortunately for me, sweets aren’t my “Kryptonite”.  That would be chips and salsa, pizza or a double meat double cheese burger with everything on it.…   Even old friends who have known me for 35 years know that.  And just to make that point, I had a double meat double cheese burger for my birthday yesterday.  But that was my only real vice yesterday and tonight is a nice valentine dinner with friends at a fancy Mediterranean Restaurant.  

I’m not sure how I’ll side step the temptations of this evening because, even if I order something healthy, like fish, it’ll be covered in about 10,000 calories of some awesomely creamy sauce. I’ll figure something out.

Tomorrow, however, is a new day (and the beginning of week 3), and hopefully 158 days of limited temptation. Hopefully, it'll be all down hill.

Bathroom Scales vs Coffee

I think that most everyone can agree that one of the most frustrating things about dieting under a Doctor's care is the inconsistency of Bathroom Scales and Doctor's Scales.  Know what I mean?

I weighed myself at home the morning before I first went to the weight loss clinic and then was weighed again upon arrival there.  Both displays read within about a pound of each other.  This was a good thing because it means that I can have a real sense of confidence on my “weigh days” at the clinic.

Today’s “weigh day” was not to be a confident  day. 

The news was still good, but not as good as it was as I stood naked (which is never a good thing) looking down at my bathroom scales about 20 minutes after I woke up.  According to my bathroom scales, I’ve lost 9 Lbs in the past 10 days…  I was ecstatic…   That is, until I got on the clinic scales a couple of hours later and they only had me at a 2 ½ lb loss…. 

Hmmmm…   Something seems amiss!

I’ll have to admit that the scales that the nurse at the clinic weighed me on were different than the scales that they were weighed me on day one…   Still, that’s a 6 lb difference and I know my clothes don’t weigh 6 lbs.

Six pounds is 96 oz and that’s a little less than the amount of water they have me drinking each day.  I think I’d notice if my clothes weighed that much.  Maybe I drank that much coffee, but I doubt it. You would think I’d be bouncing off the ceiling if I had drank 96 oz of coffee in one morning.  Even by the standards of my big coffee mug, that’s one entire 12 cup pot of coffee… 

Ok, maybe I did drink about 6 cups (more like 12 oz to 14 oz mugs) which would have been around 70 or 80 oz of coffee and that’s 5 lbs.

Now that I think of it…   Never mind…

Week Two - I think I’m beginning to get the hang of this…

Week One and Super Bowl Weekend out of the way and I’m down 2 Lbs.  There’s a shocker.  I think I’m beginning to get the hang of this…

I will admit that, in order to survive the weekend, I stretched the 3 days of meat and eggs only to 5 days. 

Now, I’m on my 2^nd day of Week Two, the week that I actually have to develop some healthy eating habits.  I think that as long as I measure out my Chicken & Tuna Salads for each day and limit my calories to about 200 to 250 calories, then I’m off to the races.

So, here’s the easy part so far. For Breakfast, ½ cup of Egg Beaters (60 calories) with a tsp of Pica de Gallo or Pace’s Picante Sauce scrambled in and microwaved with no butter or margarine.  Then for Lunch I have either Chicken or Tuna Salad.

With Coffee and Creamer I’m easily under 300 calories, and a couple of rolled up slices of Turkey for a midafternoon snack brings me up to around 300 to 350 calories heading into dinnertime. 

Now, keep in mind that I'm supposed to stick to about 500 calories a day.

That leaves about 150 calories for dinner.  As much as I’d like to think I could survive on 150 calories for dinner, I have to admit “That dog won’t hunt!”.

I do think that I can still stick to a mostly protein (grilled meat) dinner and stay on track.  I’m thinking, 800 calories (not including the cocktails required to supervise the grilling of “said meat”.  I think I can still manage the whole day on less than 1500 calories. 

That’s not too bad, is it?

Last night was a couple of Grilled Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (glazed with a mixture of Olive Oil and Louisiana Hot Sauce) and a handful of Asparagus.  Tonight is probably a grilled tri-tip roast with some green beans. 

Surviving Super Bowl Weekend!

Well, I got through the three days of "Meat & Eggs Only" part of the diet, and although I stayed with meat and eggs only (not including evening cocktails) I think I kind of shattered the “500 calories of protein” limit.  That’s Okay as long as my body is now a “fat burning furnace” like it's supposed to be. Or something like that...

The big problem for me is that, this is Super Bowl Weekend!  How the hell does anyone avoid carbs during Super Bowl Weekend?  Super Sunday is the “Christmas Day” of the “Over Eating Season”!   

Let me explain.

The "Official Over-Eating Season" all starts a few days before Halloween with all that candy.  I don’t have a serious sweet-tooth, but I’ll admit that, once the candy is in the bowl and in the Foyer, I’ve been known to sneak a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or ten, before the kids start showing up. Then there’s Thanksgiving with Turkey and all the trimmings, which leads right into December and 5 weeks of Christmas Cookies and Sweets. You would think that Christmas would be the end of the over-eating season, but no, there’s all the College Bowl games, then the NFL Playoffs and finally, the Super Bowl!

The Super Bowl is similar to Christmas, in that, when you include the NFL Playoffs, leading up to the Super Bowl, there’s a month of eating.  The only big difference is that Christmas is mostly Sweet Snacks and Football Food is Salty, Cheesy, Fatty “Grazing” food. 

Grazing Food is wonderful, because it doesn’t really require a plate. You just walk around, picking up food and moving on.  This is mostly stuff like, Chicken Wings, Shrimp, Chips & Salsa, Chips & Guacamole, Cocktail Wieners, Shrimp and the Queen Mother of all Football Food, Chili Con Queso with Ground Sausage mixed into the Cheese.  

For those who may be unfamiliar with the name of the dish, you’ll recognize what it is: 2 lbs of melted Velveeta Cheese, two cans of Rotel, and a pound of Ground Sausage (or in some cases, hamburger meat). 

Chili Con Queso is one of those foods that can be eaten without a plate, nor with a place to sit.  As long as there are Chips to dip, you’re at the Altar of Football Food Heaven!  Due to popular belief, there are just as many calories if you eat while standing without a plate as there are while sitting with a plate.

That being said, it’s going to be a tough couple of days, getting through this weekend.  Today is supposed to be the first day of the post “Meat & Eggs Only” part of the diet and we have a huge Super Bowl Pre-Party in Dallas tonight, celebrities and all…   Not sure how that’s going to pan out.

Maybe I can stretch the “Meat & Eggs Only” part of the diet until Monday Morning.  There’s an idea that’ll work… 

By the way, I would be remiss if I didn't throw a nod to Tyler's Favorite Son, Back-Up Quarterback for Greenbay, Matt Flynn...   Go Packers!

I'll have a Beef Patty with an Egg Over Easy on top!

The one good thing about starting a diet, is that the first few days of "said diet", you have to consume mostly protien, and that the body turns into a "fat burning machine" so they let you eat a lot of meat and eggs. 

My cholesterol has never really been a problem, but, just to play it safe, my Doctor and I decided that it would be a good idea to take Statin Medication, for Cholesterol Maintenance.  

Only problem is that it becomes a license to eat.  I discovered that the hard way.

On the other hand, while dieting and under a Doctor’s care, the infusion of fatty, meaty foods is ok.  Right?...   Right!

So, when I started this endeavor a few days ago, and when my weight counselor told me meat and eggs only,  I thought this would be easy.   Not really.


Meat or eggs, as a side order to meat, just seems wrong...   Tasty, but wrong...

I had lunch with my daughter today and ordered a beef patty.  The waitress asked what I’d like for a side dish.  Well, I’m not supposed to have veggies yet, and I knew French fries are not on the plan, so I asked if I could have an egg, over easy on top? 

She asked if that was on my diet.  I told her that it is for the next two days.  She told me that they didn’t keep eggs at this particular establishment. So I had opted for a dry hamburger patty.  I did add a little mustard.

Next time, I’m going for the 12 oz. Sirloin.

Clinical Weight Loss - Day One

Well, actually Day One is tomorrow, but since I went to the weight loss clinic today, we'll call today Day One.

This is the same Doctor that I went to when I was 27 years old, and I lost 50 lbs, but this time it’s different.  This time, I need to lose a little more than 50 Lbs. and I’m also 26 years older, so the metabolism is significantly slower. 

I arrived at the clinic in amidst light snow flurries.  The perfect beginning to a memorable day, filled out all the paperwork, along with the list of current medications and vitamin supplements that I now take.  On the medications line, I wrote “See Attachment”. It took up a whole page.

They were very nice and friendly. They weighed me and I’m happy to say that no one screamed when I removed my shirt for the EKG, which, quite frankly, was a surprise to me. My blood pressure was normal. And we were ready for the consultation.  They explained the cost of the program and the different foods I could and couldn’t eat.   

Then came time for the Vitamin B shot.

I’m not afraid of shots and I’m not afraid of having my blood drawn, as long as I don’t look at the needle as it’s being stuck into my awaiting flesh, but I don’t really care for shots in the butt.  For some reason, they always drive the needle all the way down to the pelvic bone, which drives me to my knees.  On the other hand, the needle, being no longer than it was, and my butt being what it is, we safely avoided my pelvic bone (I’m sure, by a considerable distance) and I am happy to say that it wasn’t a really bad experience.

Then they gave me some Fat Blocker Pills and some Fat Burner Pills and an Appetite Suppressant and the bill for the initial visit and consultation, which was the least plesant  part of the day.

My favorite part of it all was when they told me that today is a free day, so I can go eat whatever I want.  

Hmmm…   That could possibly mean 3 Chili Cheese Dogs from Weinerland, or a Double Meat Double Cheese Burger from Whataburger.  And then, there’s the third alternative (as suggested by my brother), a Double Meat Double Cheese Whataburger Jr and 2 Chili Cheese Dogs for desert. 

What can I say, it’s a free day and I won’t even be able to get close enough to either of these fine establishments to even smell them for ne next 40 or 50 lbs.  Let’s just say, I’m pleading the 5^th.

 I’m eager to see how this works.  Keep you posted…

Adios...