Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow...

When I was a kid I loved snow. When it was on the ground I wanted to be out in it every waking moment. I looked forward to those January and February storms that piled up the snow. I remember listening to the radio with bated breath waiting to hear if my school was closed. As a 49 year old I still have a bit of that in me but for the most part snow is a pain in the ass. However, it is a good opportunity for exercise! I spent about 45 minutes snow blowing this morning and burned about 800 calories according to MyNetDiary. I still have some work to do outside so this will be a great activity day for me. I've done a good job this week staying under 1800 calories each day and I'm looking forward to a good weigh in on Saturday.

ETL

Post Game Report From Super Bowl Party

I went to Super Bowl party with family and friends. Great game and great to see the Saints win it. I tried to control the appetizer consumption but there were a few things there that I did taste. I had 3 hot dogs in a blanket, a soft pretzel and a few tablespoons of Mexican dip with a couple of crackers. I tried to stay neat the veggie platter.

Dinner was baked ziti, with sausage and meatballs. I had a moderate portion with some salad and a roll.

For dessert my wife brought a nice fruit salad which of course was my choice. I did have two cookies but avoid a German Black Forrest cake and a chocolate chip cookie cake.

All in all I ate a bit more than normal but I did not over do it. I did have two lite beers but hey man... it's the Super Bowl.

I'll make it up this week by staying on track and exercise. It's suppose to snow Weds so that will be a good calorie burn!

ETL

Snow Blowing And Super Bowl Planning

Tonight I'll be attending a Super Bowl party so my plan is to have a 450 calories breakfast, have about 300 for lunch and leave the rest (1100) for tonight. I'll be sure to keep my pre-dinner grazing controlled and keep a mental note of calories consumed. Hopefully they'll have a nice veggie platter which I can use as home base. I've been through 3 other parties in the past 4 weeks, I can get through this once as well.

Yesterday I spent close to 2 hours outside doing snow cleanup. I used the snow blower on 2 driveways working at it for about 90 minutes total. MyNetDairy says that I burned 1300 calories. I found another website that said it was about 900. Either way it was a good calorie burn. I can tell because I'm sore as hell this morning. I felt very hungry around 4pm after finishing these activities so I worked a 300 calorie snack into my intake. Didn't feel guilty because I had burnt off so many calories earlier in the day. It was a nice feeling to eat something only because my body needed it.

ETL

February 6, 2010 Weigh In: 417 lbs, Lost 2 lbs

The snow is falling and so is my body mass. This week I was able to shed 2 pounds. Today marks the 30th day of my weight loss journey and I'm pleased to report I've lost 15 pounds so far. 15 just seems like a nice round number, a good first step if you will. 20 will be the next number I'll be seeking.

As I blogged yesterday I will be stepping up the exercise this coming week. I'll start today by shoveling a bit of snow... my two boys will do most of it. At least I'll be out there burning some calories and using some muscles.

Super Bowl party on the calendar for tomorrow and I'll have to work out a plan for that.

Thanks again for all of your supportive comments.

ETL

A Good Week, A Bad Week

This week I stuck to plan. I had plenty of opportunities to mess up to. Driving around the state to multiple business meetings I passed many fast food havens. I have to be honest, the thought occurred to me on several occasions to stop in for just a taste but then I thought about all the calories I would be ingesting and it turned me off. I was able to control strong urges that a few weeks ago I would have given into. This is all good.

The bad side of the week is my exercise commitment. I have not lived up to this and I'm really pissed at myself. I've been busy as hell with work but that is no excuse. I have to get active in order to keep the solid losses going each week. I can put aside 15 minutes a day to move my ass. I have to figure out a way to get this into my daily routine.

Here's what I'm going to do. Tomorrow morning after I weigh in I'm going to spend 15 mins with EA Active before I do anything else. Each day I'm going to work these 15 mins in as the first thing I do each day. I see this as the only way to make this a habit. I'm going to put a recurring event in my Blackberry as a reminder. If I let it go until the afternoon or evening I never get to it. Hopefully, this will work.

Weigh In tomorrow... looking forward to that post!

ETL

On The Road Short Post

I've been on the road for work these past two days and haven't had time to post. Just a quick update to say I'm still on track and have dodged a number of food mines these past few days. Looking forward to a good weigh in on Saturday.

ETL

I Can't Stop Eating (fill in the blank). Why?

I have accepted that I'm a recovering over eater and I've made a change in my life to become healthy. Nearly a month has gone by and I'm on track and doing great. But sometimes I still feel like I have this ability to eat foods without stopping. I know I can consume an entire box of Wheat Thins or Oreos because I've done it on several occasions. A few months ago I could eat 1/2 of a pizza without a problem. My stomach has probably shrunk but somehow I think I would be able to squeeze at least 3 slices in. OK you get the picture.

There are some foods I just can't stop eating. Take swiss cheese for example. I could eat swiss cheese from sun up to sundown. Same thing with pizza, cookies, Capt N' Crunch cereal, pistachios, raisins, hot dogs.. OK most foods.

I know your asking what I'm getting at. Well, I'm trying to get to the bottom of why my brain works this way. Why do certain foods flip a switch in my head that says "eat it all"?

I know there is something in my mental make up that can trigger this behavior. I'm learning how to control it and the urges are happening less often but I know it's still there. I just want to know why. Why did I have this "eat it all" relationship with food?

Maybe it's just an unexplainable addiction that is better left unknown? Could be! But I'm a curious guy.. I like to know these things. Maybe in another month when I've release more fat I won't care why and just be content with the result. However, I feel in order to not repeat the same mistake it may be helpful to know why I behaved this way. I will be searching for the answer the next few weeks and will let you know what I come up with.

To Be Continued...

ETL

Twitter: http://twitter.com/EatToLive2010

Another Party Success

I attended a birthday party Sunday that featured a number of "food mines" that I could have easily stepped on. I proud that I managed to go with good choices and stayed away from dessert all together.

The appetizers were pepperoni, cheeses, olives, chips, carrots, hummus and a few other things. I stayed mainly with the veggies, had some mozzarella cheese, avoided the chips, had a few pepperoni slices and enjoyed the hummus. I made sure not to over graze on appetizers. Normally I would have eaten enough for a meal at this point and then have a large dinner.

The dinner was an assortment of cold cuts and rolls with an open invitation to build your own monster sandwich. Normally I would have constructed one or two densely packed creations with all the trimmings. This time I stayed away from the rolls and had a few slices of turkey, ham and provolone cheese with some black olives, carrot sticks and artichoke hearts. I did have a small helping of home made mac & cheese, about half a cup.

I have to admit it wasn't easy avoiding the birthday cake. It was one of those commercially made ice cream cakes with those chocolate crunchy things in the middle... very tempting. Nonetheless while others enjoyed large slices I abstained... and felt good about it.

This is the forth party/event I've gone to since starting my new life and all four times I stayed within my plan. This Sunday I have a Super Bowl party to attend and will be developing a plan for that as well.

ETL

Twitter: http://twitter.com/EatToLive2010