8/31/11 - The Last Day of Freedom!!!!!

Last lunch 8/31/11

Its hard to believe that today is my last day of eating junk food. I went out in style today, by having 90% of my meals today from my works vending machine. I am going to miss having the convenience being able to go get food when my stomach starts to growl. But I don't think I will miss it much, as I am really looking forward to starting this journey again, and get my life back on track.

 Small Goals = Large Rewards
I set myself a goal, to lose 40 pounds by Christmas so I can buy myself my RC car or REI tent that I have been wanting. Second Goal is to lose a total of 60 pounds by April fools day, so I can go and purchase my Kayak I have been wanting. Third Goal and its happening no matter what, if I lose the weight or not, but still it will be a reward in itself if I lose my goal of losing 80 pounds by June 1st. DDay 2012!!!!

Lots of Prep Work

Chicken cooking on the grill

I have been doing lots and lots of prep work for this new journey, its one thing I have learned since starting this the first time around, is I hate cooking every night, and buying in bulk saves $$$. So I have been cooking up all the meat in my freezer from this past year and prepping them into smaller 2-4 meal servings and then freezing them for the coming months. I have also been raiding the farmers markets and buying in bulk from them is saving me a ton of money this winter. It does take time to clean and blanch them for freezing, but I am already seeing the cost savings. I have already been able to cut my food budget in half (~$200 bucks) just by doing this prep work. I almost have a stocked freezer for the winter months, its looking like the only veggies I will be buying will be my salads (x2-3 a week)

The score - (5) bags stuffed full of veggies for only $25 bucks!!!

My sister had a huge score for me. I asked her to stop by the local Sunday market, since I already had plans that day. She walked away with 5 bags stuffed with veggies all for $25 bucks, it would have been well over double that at Costco alone. I still am going thru and blanching the veggies for freezing. 2 out of 5 bags are done.

Only 2 out of 3 bags blanched and frozen

Looking forward
Its hard to believe that I am looking forward to starting this journey again. I was ready last week to start it, but I gave myself time to have a few more days of junk food before giving it all up. I had to get in some last minute subway stops, and have my last cream cheese cookie from there, which I have, it will for sure be missed.  But I am hoping that in the future I won't miss them, or crave them. I have already given up a lot and I really don't miss them as much as I thought I would. Tomorrow will be 2 years since giving up pop/soda, pretty much anything with caffeine (only slip up was at dday 2011 with Gatorade) and it has been over 5 months since the last time I had any McDonald/burger king/jack in the box. And I don't miss those cravings anymore.

The only thing I will be missing is Divine.

"If you want a different result than the norm, you will have to do things differently than everyone else!" - unknown

9/1/11 - The Journey will begin again.

July 2011

So I am back on an eating plan that works, after starting quite a few new eating plans over the past few months, and still failing, Its time for me to go back to something I know works and I have seen a lot of success on. As much as I hate this eating plan the first time, I am now ready to try it again. and I really think that this time around I can stay on it for more then just 5 months. I am shooting for a goal of 1 year to stay true to the list as possible. I realize that I can not control everything, but I can and will try my best to control the choices I make.

Starting Sept 1st, 2011 (2 years to the day of trying this plan last time). I am going back to the cave man diet. I am going to try and blog more too of this journey the second time around. I am hoping with my much more knowledgeable self about food in general, I should be able to stay on track better. Make wiser choices and make more of my meals with different kinds of food, instead of the same choices every day, it got boring quickly.

May 2011

My goals for the month of September are to make 60 meals (30 Lunch / 30 Dinner) All will be pre-packaged before the Month or as close to the beginning of the month as possible. I am trying/borrowing out a food saver to help me prepackage all my meals. I am going to make sure I label and date everything. and I am also going to pre-package 30 breakfast choices as well. As much as I hate cooking, I think this will be the easiest way for my to succeed. Plus I will/should have a smaller Food bill as I will be able to purchase all my food in bulk and from the local farmers markets at a cheaper/fresher cost. I am going to attempt 10 different meal recipe is with making at least a qty of 6 servings per recipes. I will be individually freezing these meals, so they will be available for a quick pull out and reheat options. This should help save me valuable time cooking my meals daily and allow me to spend time work out in the gym, something I have been lacking as my time after my day of work is very limited, before I have to retire for bed.

Some of the goals I am going to try and do daily, is have at least 150 grams of protein, and limit myself to 40-60 carbs a day. In the past I have seen the most results with this setup.

When I first started this journey 2 years ago. I never thought I would have gained a lot of the weight back, that I was losing. But a lot has happened since then. I did do a lot of growing up since then, and I have surprisingly been able to stay off my soda / caffeine, I was really good up until June this year (2011) as I attended dday (big paintball game, down in hot/humid Oklahoma) I had Gatorade, for the first time since I first started my journey. I have since learned of a better alternative and I am now better equipped for the return in 2012.

So on to the Goals:
Stay on track for 1 year. (I am hoping that after a year I will not want to go back)
Lose 100 #
Play with the Canscots (CEF division for dday 2012)
Continue with Project Change.
1 day a week with trainer.

Simple goals, but oh so going to be challenging.

_____________________________
DO EAT:

Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish are all acceptable in all their forms.
Eggs, cream, butter, lard, olive oil (unheated, like in salad dressing), and coconut oil are all great.
Vegetables in almost all forms are great. Starchier veggies, like yams, sweet potatoes, and squash should be avoided if your goal is weight loss, but this is the only exception.
Fruits are good in moderation for most people, but avoidingthem entirely can certainly speed weight loss.
Nuts and seeds are also okay in moderation. If you have been given a protein requirement, nuts and seeds cannot be counted as protein. Nuts and seeds might be the cause of sticking points for some people, but don’t worry too much about them in the beginning.
Dairy, in its whole fat forms, is OK for most people at most stages of their diets. Low fat, reduced fat, fat free, or any other fat altered form of dairy is NOT acceptable since fat is the reason for sonsuming dairy in the first place. Like nuts and seeds, dairy is a food category that may need to be removed for some people to make decent gains. Drinking milk is about the worst way to consume dairy and should be avoided.


DO NOT EAT:

Any grains. This includes breads, pastas, rice, corn, cereals, chips, crackers, etc. This is difficult but extremely important!
Vegetable oils. Especially corn oil and soy bean oil. If an oil is not listed as a “DO EAT” food, it is not acceptable. This means margarine is out!
Sugar
High Fructose Corn Syrup. You will need to check labels on any processed food. This stuff is in everything.
All things soy. You will have to check labels for this one. Like high fructose corn syrup, soy derivitives are in everything.
Legumes. The lectins in legumes cause problems just like the lectins in grains.
White potatoes. Too starchy.


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Project Change Update

 I can not believe its been over 8 months since I last blogged, time has for sure flown bye, faster then I can think. A lot has happened since my last post, some I will share and some not yet.

The only big thing that has happened since the last update is my gallbladder has been removed (April 2011). I have since been able to go back on Dairy again, but in moderation.

So on to the update. 

Project Change Goals:
Eat more natural, organic or near organic foods as possible. Yup still going strong on this one, I even started my own garden this year, and I already have plans for next years garden.
Protein; chicken, pork, and red meat in moderation been eating lots of chicken, just recently added pork and haven't added red meat till this current month (august)
Eat lots of veggies but also keep them in moderation. Yup love my veggies
Limit my fruit per day, as it is high in natural sugars. FAILED this one, but trying to limit this
Eat at least 1 whole onion a week. FAILED
Eat at least a few whole large sized tomato's a week. (I think a good salsa for salad would work, homemade of course) FAILED
Get in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, more would be better. FAILED
Figure out a schedule where I can make it into the gym in the mornings before work. FAILED
Bedtime during the work week is no later than 9:30pm (so far so good). Been okay so far, very few days with staying up late.
Video games or movies/tv shows are off at least 10 minutes before bedtime (its working so far, this allows me time to finish packing for the next day, and allows for my brain to unwind.) Haven't played video games in over 2 months, still working on the tv/movies before bedtime.
Read at least 1 book a month that has to do with in some way project change. FAILED, but i have been listening to JM.com podcasts weekly
Food Journal - Keep a daily food list. FAILED
More to come.....

Project Change

So I was going to wait before putting this post up, but I know even if I wait and post it up when I officially start it I will still get slack for it. So I am posting it up now.

So this year has been a learning year for me, about what I eat, about me, and just life in general. One thing that has come out of this learning year is what I put into my body, and how some foods my body can't handle it (Dairy=Gallstones), and that if I eat foods in a more healthier fuller form, I can loose weight or maintain it for long periods of time. I have more energy, I feel better, I am not as sick during the year. Because of all this new found learning I have also done a lot of studying, and research and finding what foods do what to your body. This is the first year in a lot of years where I have actually opened up a real book and have actually read it.

With all this new found information and mixed in from what I have learned over this year, I am planning on making 2011 a new level of me. I actually want to get healthy, and go to the gym now, and I want to continue with this into the new year and beyond. So this is my "new" project, some parts are from this past year (2010), some of it is new stuff for me to learn. But I am excited for what the future holds.

So a little on this "new project" still working on a title for this project but for now I will call it Project Change. I have been reading a lot about the foods I eat, how it effects my hormones and that infects my eating. I already have a good base on the foods I eat, but I have found lately that I still love my grains and carbs, so I am going to try to incorporate them into my eating plan.

Project Change Goals:
Eat more natural, organic or near organic foods as possible.
Protein; chicken, pork, and red meat in moderation
Eat lots of veggies but also keep them in moderation.
Limit my fruit per day, as it is high in natural sugars.
Eat at least 1 whole onion a week.
Eat at least a few whole large sized tomato's a week. (I think a good salsa for salad would work, homemade of course)
Get in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, more would be better.
Figure out a schedule where I can make it into the gym in the mornings before work.
Bedtime during the work week is no later than 9:30pm (so far so good).
Video games or movies/tv shows are off at least 10 minutes before bedtime (its working so far, this allows me time to finish packing for the next day, and allows for my brain to unwind.)
Read at least 1 book a month that has to do with in some way project change.
Food Journal - Keep a daily food list.
More to come.....

6 months 60 pounds

I have till June 2nd before I leave for my WEEK LONG d-day adventure. The goal is to lose 10 pounds a month before I leave. I am hoping that its a goal I can meet.

120lbs of chicken never again.

So its been a while since Ive updated this blog, life had gotten rather busy, and I kept on forgetting to do it. So lets do a recap of my crazy life.

Sept 1st 2009 - I start my weight loss journey. Everything has been going great. I was eating excellent. I was losing weight.

Dec 3rd 2009 - I am still going strong, I was able to get back to my old job before being unemployed for over a year. Only working part time, but that was better then not working at all. I had lost a bit of weight.

Jan 11, 2010 - My birthday, 27 years young, best birthday present to myself I was back to full time work. I was still doing excellent and eating 100% correctly, and seeing amazing results.


Feb 25th 2010 - Life changes forever. Emergency Open Heart Surgery. http://stitch26.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html I was still able to be on plan. And i did lose weight while I was healing.

June 2010 - I am back to full time work again. By now I had cheated with my eating, and from here on out I have struggled with eating 100% healthy.

August 2010 - 6 months since having my chest cracked open and I went on a 3day backpacking trip, even carried my own pack. It was hard hiking in, but hiking out was much easier.

Sept 1st 2010 - 1 year since I started my weight loss journey, I was down over 75 pounds and have for the most part been able to keep it off. Eating has been about about a 80% on track.

November 8th 2010 - I am back on track about 95%-100% again. I have a goal of going skiing in less then 2 months, it will be 10 months since surgery and I have found my fire again, it seamed to die when I went in for surgery I had lost all hope in my dreams.

Now with what this has to do with the title, my sister and I bulk ordered fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts and we have just cleaned, and cooked some and froze the rest for individual meals, I am so done with chicken. Over 120 pounds of chicken is ready to be served.

Brownies Recipie

Servings: 18 2x3 inch brownies

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup walnut meal (purchased or ground in a food processor)
3/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1 cup coconut milk (room temperature)
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil (gently melted)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts for topping (optional)
butter for greasing pan

Instructions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 350deg F. Butter a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

In medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients until well blended. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk eggs for one minute, then add coconut milk, honey or maple srup and whisk again. Add melted coconut oil and whisk until wet ingredients are completely blended.

Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and whisk well; be sure to scrape sides and bowl bottom so no pockets of dry ingredient remain. Batter will be thinner consistency than conventional brownies. Pour batter into prepared pans.

If desired, sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of batter. Bake 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting.