Day 30

It's been thirty days since I started my diet, and it's been a long road. Yet it seems like such a short time since I started by diet, and my weight is almost gone. Nothing's in my way to lose even more weight next month. I now have the strength to improvise, adapt, and overcome any obstacle in my path.

Day 29

I took Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz Real Age test:
Calendar Age: 23.7
Difference: 7.9
RealAge: 31.6
I have a lot more work to do.
http://www.realage.com

Day 28

I just got back from the doctor, and I have lost 22 pounds in 28 days!

Day 27

It's been almost a month on this diet and I feel a lot better. I look skinnier, I'm faster, and I'm happier. I'll have more photos soon.

Day 26

I had a Vienna beef hot dog on a poppy seed bun, topped with mustard, onion, Nuclear Relish, dill pickle spear, tomato wedges, sport peppers, and celery salt.

Day 25

This is yesterday’s journal; I didn’t blog it yesterday because I was too busy with life to log in. My exercises have become a part of my daily routine. I had a strawberry meal replacement shake for breakfast, visited my Grandmother, and then went for a walk. I had lunch with my dad at K&W where I had the shrimp with a side of mushrooms, and for dessert I had cottage cheese with a slice of peach. I then went for another walk before going out for some Indian food with friends. I had the Lamb Vindaloo with Goan sauce and Chilli Nan. It was the best day I’ve had in a while.

Day 24

Question: How healthy or unhealthy are the chips and salsa you get at restaurants to hold you over till your meal arrives?

And they always give me a bag to go with a container of the salsa. Should I eat it or throw it away?

Day 23

Another long day, but I think I look better.

Day 22 (Late)

I finally got a new laptop today, so this should be my last late post. I've been trying to walk more.

Day 21

The meal replacement shakes I take are customizable because different people have different needs. I've been experimenting with them.

Day 20 (Late)

I was not able to post yesterday because my hard drive failed. Another set back, but not as bad as Day 19.

Day 19

Day 19 came with an unspeakable set back. It was all because of somebody's "BAD FEELING". I don't feel like talking about it as much as I already have, but I did realize three things:
1. Trust no one.
2. Everyone wants your money.
3. If anything is not bad, it is too good to be true.

Day 18

My diet is starting to become second nature. I barely have to think about it now. It's has become much easier to make smart choices.

Day 17

It's been another long day, but I feel good. I went to a dinner tonight. Instead of eating the chilli chesse fries I ate a salad. It was hard because I love chilli chesse fries, but in all fairness it was a very nice salad with walnuts! I trimmed the fat off of my steak and I skipped the mash potatoes. I also skipped dessert and walked four miles. I took my time eating and cut my steak into small bites, I feel so full and relaxed.

Day 16

Once again, I updated my WordPress blog and forgot about my blogger. So this is what I posted last night:

I’ve doubled my walking by walking the same distance, but doing it twice a day. Here is what my schedule looks like from Monday to Friday now:

Monday morning I walk before my Statistics class, and then I’ll walk again that evening.

Tuesday, my Microbiology class lets out at 10:30 am, and I go for a walk when I get home. That afternoon I have a Microbiology lab, and then I walk again before my technical research English class.

Wednesday is the same as Mondays, so that morning I walk before my Statistics class, and then I’ll walk again that evening.

Thursday I have an early morning Welding class before Microbiology, and I have no English class. Other than that, it’s the same as Tuesday with me I go for a walk when I get home from my morning classes. I still walk again after my Microbiology lab, and even though I don’t have an evening class, I still try to walk at the same time to get in the habit of walking at that time. The most important thing is to not procrastinate, “I got plenty of time so I’ll do it latter” means “I’ll never get to it”, so just do it now.

Fridays are like Tuesday, but with no Microbiology, so I begin walking after my Welding class. I have Statistics again instead of English, and since it starts five hours before the English class, I have to walk later. Important note, so that I don’t procrastinate, I try to walk within thirty minutes of the class ending. The English class is 6PM to 8:30PM, but the Statistics class is 1:30PM to 3PM. It’s these days where you have extra free time that can become a sink hole to your diet and exercise plan.

Here’s an example. On Tuesdays I only have between 1:30PM and 5PM to fit walking into my daily routine, so I know if I’m going to do it, I have to do it then. But on Fridays I have free time from 3PM till however late I want to stay up. So instead of having to make sure I get my walking in before 5PM, I’m tempted to sit back and watch a movie on TV. You’re going to want something to munch on while you’re watching the movie, so pop some popcorn and pour yourself some soda, which won’t last long, especially if the movie has a sequel, and TV stations will often run a movie series one after another, and after you watch the 1st movie, it’s harder to not watch the second because you have already gotten into the story. The story gets even harder to break away from after part 2, and even harder after part 3, and so on. Even if it’s not a movie, but a TV series, stations will show back to back episodes turning the shows into “TV Movies” or marathons. They also group alike themed shows together to keep viewers glued to their screens, it is there job to get you to watch as long as possible. No matter which of these causes, or any of the infinite causes I didn’t mention, the effect is the same. You need more snacks. The popcorn and soda where salty, so now you are craving something sweet like cookies and milk. If you have ever read “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”, and chances are you have, so you know where this is going. Before you know it; it’s Midnight, you’ve consumed hundreds if not thousands of more calories than you planed, and besides it being too late, you’re also too sleepy to walk. Your diet and exercise plan is killed by free time.

Link to original: http://startinganewday.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/day-16/

Day 15

It's been a long day, just now getting home. Even though I skipped the sauce, I am worried that I ate too many Chicken Tenders yesterday. Still I could not resist stopping by Taco Bell on my way home for a Volcano Taco. It had been almost 6 hours since supper.

Yesterday, Day 14

I was able to post on my Blogger yesterday, so I'm going to repost here what I posted on my Wordpress blog. Still not sure which is better.

Heading off to a party tonight. I’m worried about staying on my diet. I know there will be pizza and chicken tenders. If I stick to the chicken I should be fine. http://startinganewday.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/day-14/

Day 13

I tried a new yogurt today, Yoplait Yoplus. It's not the best tasting yogurt, but if it's health claims are true, then it is worth it. I'm going to use the coupon on the Yoplus site to try the Blueberry Acai flavor.

Day 12

I tried Lowfat Kefir Milk today, it was thick like a yogurt smoothie. It didn't taste as good as regular milk, but to be fair, I tried another Lowfat Kefir Milk that was Stawberries and Cream flavored. It tasted better, but I feel it could have been much better. Does anyone have any comments about Kefir?

Please post any personal experiences.

Day 11

I tried Fage's Low fat Greek yogurt today, it's their 2% Total, not their original Total. According to their website, it also comes in 5% and 0%, but I saw neither in store. The Low fat (2%) Greek Strained yogurt was a little bitter, but after dipping my spoon in the honey that comes with it, the next bite was surprisingly fulfilling. I'm going to have to try their other flavors before deciding if it's going to make a good snack for my diet.

Day Ten

I am not walking as much as I hope to. It's hard to find a place to walk around here that feels safe. And Gym memberships are too expensive.

Day Nine (9/9/9)

I have lost over 9 pounds in 9 days.

 

This photo was taken while I was heading to a welding class. 

September 9th 2009

Day Eight

I got the typed dictation of last Monday's Doctor's visit, it pretty much says it all:

"MORBID OBESITY"

I will also be posting at: http://startinganewday.wordpress.com

Day Seven

I'm questioning wether I should have ate that fried fish sandwich today. Especially sence it was on a large bun. I love fish so much, I know I ate it too fast.

I still can't decide if I should keep blogging here, or at: http://startinganewday.wordpress.com/

Day Six

My room mate got very sick today, and I had to rush home, so I haven't gotten much done today. I had apple juice, a slice of quiche, and a slice of pumpkin bread for breakfast today. It was so delicious, and I was surprised how little it took to feel me up. Pumpkin makes great comfort foods. I think that the meal replacement shakes have really helped to shrink my stomach. Also when I do eat meals, eating slower really helps to eat less and not feel like I miss anything. The key is to take smaller bites and chew the food better, using a smaller plate and a smaller spoon really go a long way to help reinforce this critical bone in my diet. The next time I get paid, I plan to buy some spoons smaller than a teaspoon, but I don't know what they are called. If anyone knows about different spoons, please leave me a comment.



(As said before, I am posting on Blogger and WordPress because I can't decide between the two, so I'm using both till I figure out which is better. This post can be found on my WordPress blog at: http://startinganewday.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/day-six/ )

Day Five

Why I am doing this. (Also posted on my WordPress at: http://startinganewday.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/day-five/ till I decide which blogging service I like better.)

I use to see so much potential in myself. Now every morning I get up and pray that I live longer than the people who knew me when I was younger so that they won’t notice what I’ve wasted.

I have become withdrawn from people I use to feel attached to. Without any other limiting conditions, people judge me unfit because of my weight. This has caused me to lose all hope and confidence in myself. Even after high school, there are people who think it's OK to make me be afraid of them just because they're in better shape than I am. They make me feel unable to perform everyday functions normally, giving me feelings of inadequacy. These feelings of inadequacy, sadness, shame, embarrassment, depression, and guilt for imagined offenses that are imposed on me by society and modern culture are ridiculous. I should not have to regret and feel guilty of personal past actions and behaviors due to complete strangers that have weight related discrimination issues. So why do they have to do and say inhuman things like comparing me to a farm animal (or worse things that I will not mention on a blog that could be viewed my minors) to make me wish I had done something different in a past situation that only effects me? Basically, why is it they think they can make a judgement on what I have done to my own body? What gives a complete stranger the authority to be the prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner of a sentence of isolating me because they're skinnier? There are a lot of natural things like bone size and natural body chemistry that they do not care about, but they do care what pants size I wear. What business is that of theirs, it's not like they buy my clothes. So they decide I'm not worthy of visiting and devoid me of the warmth, comfort, and hope of human companionship; leaving me with a feeling of living in a bleak barren wasteland of lonely desolation. And this is just because they fail to understand that not everyone is the same. How boring would it be if we were? So instead of trying to understand, they mock and scorn me to show their contempt by insulting my actions and words and making me the subject of their laughter and bitter ridicule to rob me of my self confidence. They are not satisfied till I have no satisfaction left and that void that is left is full of painful emotions of guilt, humiliation, and the imperfection of lacking something that is required to be human by subjecting me to deep and personal humiliation.

That is why I fear dying before I can make a change, and people realize I wasted the potential they had seen in me.

Day Four

Here is a meal comparison, it’s a look into what I was eating, and what I am now eating. If you have any questions, please leave a comment.

	Before	Now
Breakfast	2 boiled eggs with Atomic Sauce, handful saltine crackers, Ginger Ale.	Meal Replacement shake
Lunch	Foot Long Big Kahuna Cheese Steak Sub with Chipotle mayo and a soda.	Meal Replacement shake
Dinnner	Sweet and Sour chicken, fried rice, eggroll, fortune cookie, and sweet tea.	Veggie Delight, steamed rice, and water or unsweet tea.
Midnight Snack	Jalapeno poppers, doughnut, or a honey bun and more soda.	Diet Sparkling Green Tea

Reposted from: http://startinganewday.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/day-four/

Day Three

I do miss some of the foods I use to eat. This is a photo I took last Monday, August the 31st 2009. I took it after the Doctor's appointment I mentioned earlier, but it was still the night before I started my diet.

It's Taco Bell's Volcano Menu. I ordered a Volcano Box, which comes with a Volcano Burrito, a Volcano Taco, a regular taco, and Cinnamon sticks. For an extra 60 cents I was able to upgrade the regular taco to a Volcano Taco. I also ordered the Volcano Nachos and a cup of Baha Blast. It was $10.44 after tax, but I heard that taxes are being raised a penny on the dollar. I've had this before, and it's not hot for me, so I have to add at least 10 packs of "Fire" sauce.

The jalapenos are not hot, just mildly spicy. If I have jalapeno poppers for supper, I'll eat the rest of them for breakfast the next day. I wanted to "Feel the Burn" as Taco Bell puts it, so I also added my own Hot Sauces. I have a nice collection of them.

That is one of my favorite mixers. I poured some over my food to give it a kick. I have other Hot Sauces for other uses. For example, I enjoy something warm for breakfast, and Quaker Steak and Lube makes a good Hot Sauce they call "Atomic", it's perfect for the morning eggs.

Reposted from: http://startinganewday.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/day-three/

Blogger or WordPress

Yesterday morning, I started this blog. Then yesterday afternoon in my Technical Writing class someone mentioned WorldPress. So I made one here: http://www.startinganewday.wordpress.com/



I'm going to post at both paces till I decide which I like better.

Day Two

Here are some pictures of me I took yesterday before I started my diet. I wear XXL shirts, and size 44 jeans. My jeans are 44 X 32, so I believe that means they are a foot wider than tall.

Day One

I went to see the Doctor yesterday. Apparently "obesity" is a diagnosis now, so I am starting a diet today. Actually with a height of 5 foot 10'', blood pressure of 132/80, and a weight of 296.8 pounds, I have a Body Mass Index of 45 and according to the Doctor, that makes me "Very obese.". So I am starting a new this day.