My Recovery from Obesity

Hey Don - your food is really super light! & the exercise is pretty good! I m lucky you are on my team :D
Well done!!
 
I agree with the two above! You are doing fantastic!! I really admire your willpower in sticking with the diet. And your methodology makes complete sense. I find it difficult because I have less time in the morning and thus decide to eat lighter due to the time constraint...whereas I have all of the time in the world to make dinner.

But thanks to you I may seriously consider at least experimenting by switching things around.

Also great job on the loss!!! Workout DVDs are just...so convenient! I actually have an app for my Roku player that I use and it is awesome! Now I just need to get your motivation and workout twice in a day ;)

~Camila~
 
Wow! You are a chef, Don. I would love to eat like that. And I love asparagus too.
 
Don, you're doing amazing! I'm glad you discovered DVD workouts. Some people don't like them, but they do work well for others. I hope you find them enjoyable and I hope they work well for you. Keep up the great work! :)

PS. You should totally come out with a cook book. ;)
 
Not far from the 380s now Don. Keep up the excellent work.

My culinary skills are not nearly as refined, but I put forth the effort anyway. Every now and then I surprise myself.
 
Thank you all for the kind comments! I'm doing my best.... most of the time. ;)

I have stayed with 2 workouts per day: Yesterday I did yoga and cardio bike again. The yoga came MUCH easier the second time, although I still can't easily do a few things, like transitioning from a downward dog, to a plank, to an upward dog, then into warrior 1&2 poses without shuffling my feet and looking like a big guy standing in fire. Interestingly, I am killing it on the cardio bike... my pedaling rate is higher and I'm covering more territory in my 30 minutes. Last night I was over 8 miles.... that's a continuous 16 mph on level 8 difficulty. That's good for me.

Thanks everyone for the cooking kudos. I am NO chef, but I discovered years ago that MOST dishes are easily done IF you learn a few techniques. Google Video and Youtube have been a tremendous help. However, if anyone ever wants a recipe or needs help cooking anything, buzz me. I can help you figure it out.

Yesterday's eating and water consumption was good. I was on the road at lunch but chose a chicken salad wrap (too much mayo, but breast meat and romaine in a whole wheat tortilla) and took a green salad instead of the salt-lick soup that normally came with it. Omelet for breakfast, fruit and raw veg for dinner.

Weighed 392.0 this morning. MrVee, you may be right.... I saw a few 380-somethings flash on the screen before my scale finally settled on 392. That's a loss of 1.6 pounds! The best I've had in a week and a half. Total loss is now 65 pounds. Even with two days of gaining this week, I still finished the 7-day period losing 2.8 pounds, or 0.71% of my starting weight. I'll take that.
 
Don - Great job on the overall loss for the week!!! And also on the continued success with your exercise! You are a very impressive individual, sir! I seriously may have to take you up on help with recipes...lol. I am hopeless when it comes to cooking, but improving.

Also - great willpower with choosing the better food when you're on the road. It can be so difficult sometimes.

Happy Thursday! Hope the rest of your day is fantastic!

~Camila~
 
Don, way to bounce back from your gain. I'm at a loss as I've been dropping wayyyyy to slow this week and I've been doing everything right, even got some exercise in.

Anyway....you are doing fab and 380s will come around soon!
 
Camila, anytime you want a recipe or help with cooking, let me know! Thanks so much for the kind comments; like you, I just do the best I can on each day. Some days I do well, some days not so much. :)

Cory, the feeling is mutual! You are clearly a smart and focused person, and you make a great teammate.

Mands, stay with it. One of the things I've learned so far is that there are a LOT of variables involved in achieving measurable weight loss. Eating right, exercising, and drinking water WILL make you healthier... but it may not show on the scale immediately. Maybe it'll appear at first as better conditioning, or a change in your shape, or simply building muscle... but it will make you healthier. In time, the weight will drop, though. Really watch the details in your diet... one or two unhealthy choices can stymie a day's worth of hard work to lose.

------


Weighed in down 0.8 pounds to 391.2. I was out at lunch (Chinese food, no less!) but managed to choose wisely. I ordered the Dry Sauteed String Beans and the Egg Drop Soup. The soup wasn't too salty (taste test) so I ate it, and the beans were good. I skipped any rice or fortune cookies. I had a fruit/spinach smoothy for breakfast (anticipated the lunch) and then had raw veg with about 4 oz of Brie for dinner. I was straying with the cheese, but managed to survive. Did a Cardio DVD for 30 mins and a walk last night. Drank water like a FISH to wash out the salt.

Oh and I changed my avatar to better match my name.... but I really loved the one of Homer with a doughnut head. It was fitting for me.
 
Would you believe I never even connected your user name? Wow... I feel like a dope now! LOL

Sounds like you made some smart choices with food AND it's great to hear you're losing more and more weight! You're on a roll! I'm really glad you've discovered DVD workouts and that you enjoy it. A little more variety to help you on your way. :)
 
Haha Mandy...it took me a few days to connect Don's name. One day I just sounded it out and was like WOW haha!

Don - Great job planning ahead for your lunch! That's not always easy or practical to do so I really admire that! Yay for being down almost a whole pound!!! You are just rocking it lately! :) Veggies with brie sounds absolutely amazing! Yum! Hope you have a great weekend coming up!

~Camila~
 
I think there are a few others who didn't get my name at first... I think it was Steve that thought I was Korean or something like that. :)

Thanks, Mandy and Camila! I am trying hard to NOT make the single mistakes during a day that negates a whole day of effort to lose. I can eat right, drink right, exercise and say my prayers like a good kid, but if I make a bad choice in one meal or snack it can offset everything at weigh-in time the next morning. I understand that my weight will still probably trend downward over time anyway, but I am all about immediate gratification.... that's how I ended up obese. :)

Speaking of which, I just ate my dinner (at 5pm, which is early for me) because I made a pot of bean soup from Anasazi beans a friend brought me from Colorado.... YUM. I love these beans. :) Nothing but fruit for the rest of the night!
 
Who wouldn't get your name? :p Pretty sure it's what made me click on your thread in the first place.

Is there something special about Anasazi beans? I love beans. My brother and I make them frequently.
 
Hey Don - I love beans too! Care to share your recipe? Making it from scratch?

Good luck with the weigh in tomorrow!!
 
Anasazi beans are awesome to me because they require NO pre-soak and they cook in only 2-3 hours. Supposedly, they are either gas free or at least produce less gas -- I'm not sure of that, but that's what i was told. Additionally, I just like the taste better than pintos. Mine come from this place .... .

Justina, I do make them from scratch. Keep in mind, I make this for a family (so you may need to scale it) and I don't measure a lot, but here's my best guesstimate:

-1 gallon of water, 1 smoked ham hock or turkey leg, 1 onion chopped small, 2-3 carrots coarsely chopped, 2-3 stalks celery chopped small, 2-3 bay leaves, 2 Tbsn Szechuan Peppercorns, 1 Tbs Black Peppercorns, 2 tspn red chili flakes or a whole dried chili pepper of your preference, NO salt...yet.

- Simmer over medium until the meat is falling apart (1-2 hours).

- Save the stock, straining everything else into a colander. Add the carrots, celery and onions back into the stock and toss the peppercorns and chilies/flakes. Chop up the meat and reserve for later.

- Add the dry beans (or presoaked pintos) to the stock. I don't measure, I just have a feel for how much beans to add... Maybe start with 2/3 of the stock, saving the extra in case the beans are coming out too dry. I go by eye... I add the beans until they are 2-3 inches from the top of the stock.

-Simmer on low-medium until the beans are tender. Anasazis take only 1-1/2 to 2 hours, pintos (presoaked) maybe about the same. if the stock gets soaked up before the beans are cooked, just add some more or a little water. Keep testing them until they reach your preferred done-ness. I prefer the beans to still have a tiny bit of a "bite" ... al dente, I suppose. Some prefer the beans to cook way down. Add the chopped meat now.

When they're cooked, THEN I'll add salt to taste. Two reasons, I don't want to over salt, but also I believe beans toughen up a bit when cooked in salted stock. I also like to add hot sauce (like ) that often have added salt.

If I left anything out let me know... I'll reread it later and make sure it makes sense.
By the way, you can save some time by using healthy, low/no sodium store bought broth.

Here's a pic of the way I like them to look when done...
View attachment 20383
 
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Weighed in down 1.0 pound at 390.2.... (I can smell the 380s from here).

I've already taken a 1.5 mile walk and walked around an Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch... it may not sound like much to some of you, but being on my feet for 4+ hours is a workout for me. I've eaten well, but am light on water for now.

Picked up my 10 chicks today. 6 Rhode Island Reds and 4 Golden Sex Links. I'm so new to chicken raising that I thought that last one was a joke name that the feed store people tell to noobs to get them in trouble for doing a Google search for it. So far so good. they're a little noisy, though.
 
Took me a second, but skimming by I saw "picking up chicks" and "sex" in your post and thought "he's going to have quite a workout today." :D
 
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