Still plugging on.

Hey guys I know its been 2 weeks since my last post.  I want to let you all know I'm still keeping on.  I've gained tons of muscle this summer and lost so much body fat in the mid section.  I don't really like lifting at the gym so I'm lifting at home now using the dumb-bell set my dad gave me.  I have been watching this great new show Extreme makeover weight loss edition and its pretty inspirational.  I'm always looking for new sources of inspiration.  I can't wait until Sean Andersons book hits the shelves!  Keep it classy guys!

I don't know if my legs have ever been this sore!

So yesterday my legs were a little tight but I decided to walk around lake boomer with a friend.  It was pretty nice and my legs actually felt better after the walk.  I kept under my calories and kept on trucking on.  Well today I woke up and my legs were so tight I had to push myself just to stretch.  My lifting regimine was probably a little too intense for my body to start with but next time I will cope much better with it.  Today the plan is to walk boomer again and I bet it will work out quite a bit better, we shall see!  Overall I'm very happy because I can see changes in my body, my body fat is dissappearing which is great.  I truly believe that this next 50 lbs of weight loss will be the best for my image to others.  I have muscle under my flab and I want to let it out of its cage! 

-Michael

Another intense workout and I feel great!

So today I went to the gym with a new strategy in mind.  I want to incorporate more lifting into my workouts and thats what I did.  I began with two 35 minute elepticals then I did a lower body workout and I am wiped.  I feel such a sense of accomplisment from my workouts and the next day I can usually feel the progress because my muscles ache. 

Just this week I decided to research some supplements to help me support my body throughout these workouts and I found a couple that turned out to help me quite a bit.  The one I want to mention is "Muscle Milk" because its proved to be so helpful and good for me.  After I workout my body is worn down and Muscle Milk has lots of proteins and amino acids in it that help me recover faster.  Muscle Milk is also a meal replacement thats a shake, I got the vanilla and its pretty great.  If it use 2 cups of skim milk (90 calories) and 2 scoops of Muscle Milk (300) I have a good 480 calorie meal thats proved to be super satisfying.  It also has 32 grams of protein per 2 scoop serving and 30 is the most anyone can absorb in one meal so I'm not overdoing it on the protein.  I know it sounds like I'm raving (and I am) but I also wanted to mention that the stuff is packed with vitamins and they use whey protein so everything in it is actually good for me.  If there is one meal I don't have to think about each day it seems like its worth it so far. 

In other news I was in Ponca for a week and did quite a bit of physical stuff for my parents and maintained a 1,500 calorie diet on my non workout days.  Now I'm in Stillwater ready to do some rinse and repeats of today. 

-Michael

5-15-11 A rough day but I made it through.

I hit the gym today but it was very rough trying to manage with very little energy but alas.  My burn was 4,253 which was ok but not quite the deficit I want.  My day to heal should be this tuesday which I'm looking forward to.  I love to eat beans and rice!  Its so good for me but my body is for sure not used to eating brown rice and black beans in a low carb whole wheat tortilla.  I'm going to try to add some cilantro for spice and louisiana hot sauce.  This weekend has also been rough because I can't do my swimming which is sooo good for my burn.  Swimming is great because I can exercise very hard without fear of hurting a knee or ankle.  I'm going to be honest I don't think of myself as "heavy" until I start to exercise hard because my right knee hurts a bit.  I just stretched and it went away but still today I was really wanting that pool.  Well keep it classy guys!

Summer is just starting.

Today was fantastic.  I did well on my calories and I got in tons of great exercise.  My nutrition was subpar but I will do well tomorrow because I'm planning out how to fuel my body tomorrow.  I'm going to incorporate a couple meal supplements which consist of whey protein and amino acids to help me heal after my workouts.  I'm also going to incorporate veggies with every non protein meal tomorrow.
Today was beautiful and cool so I went biking around lake boomer a couple times then hit the gym for a couple hours.  Overall I'm satisfied with my effort and I hope to start p90x tomorrow and take some before pics before I do. 

Ok so my last post disappeared. All I can say is that is very strange. Oh well here is news!

Yesterday I basically proclaimed that I was ready for summer and I proved it.  I worked out 3 magnificent times and at really great food and stayed under my calories.  I ended up burning about 6,700 calories with my swimming and other exercise so I was pretty stoked.  I would like to get up to 10,000 calories on my active days (like the biggest loser) but it looks like that will take some time!  Here is what I did yesterday listed in order of food then exercise.

Food:

Breakfast: Skipped
Lunch: Black Beans and Brown Rice
2nd Lunch: Beef gordita from taco bell (300 calories!)
Supper: Black beans and Brown Rice with a slice of cheese.
1,540 calories. More veggies tomorrow!

Exercise:
Swam a mile.
2 elepticals
left for lunch
1 eleptical
did pulldown lift @20 reps and 2 sets with 120 lbs
left for supper
Did a 3 mile rucksack march with Dustin which includes walking with weight in the backpack, about 40 lbs for me. It was rough! 

Today I plan to do a lot more at night simply because of the lack of sleep I've had. 

5-12-11 Summer is here and I'm ready for it.

Hey guys I just want to let you know that I haven't gone off and ruined what I've accomplished.  Things became hectic near the end of the school year but now that its passed I am looking to this summer with optimism.  I will be taking a couple classes but other then that I plan to be either hitting the gym or studying.  I have a couple workout buddys lined up for the summer so thats going to be great for all of us.  I always workout the most when I have someone to hold me accountable.  I will be coasting back to the 1,500 calorie a day diet with 2 workouts a day planned.  My goal is to lose at least 40 lbs this summer and the more the merrier in that regard.  I do well when I go big because it makes me work that much harder.  I guess in this case I'm shooting for the moon and if I miss I will land among the stars at a lower weight. 

I just recently finished a stint in Ponca at my parents house helping them out.  I must say that some mowing and other odd jobs can really burn some calories!  I hope to get some more of that good work in over the summer because it helps me understand how much easier everything is under 300 lbs.  I am going to be hitting the gym hard tomorrow and hopefully tomorrow night too! 

So the morning workout was great I managed to swim a mile and do a couple elepticals then headed home.  After all that I went home then started boiling up some beans that I had soaked the previous night and that has been a fiasco.  I have been reading up on beans and black beans are AMAZING for any kind of weight loss and for all sorts of other reasons.  But I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to cooking them but luckily my great friend came in to save the day. :D  Tonight I'm going to walk boomer with one friend then go on a rucksack march and call it a day.  I will go ahead and way in 6-1-11 to see where I'm at.  Hopefully under 280!

-Michael

Update.

Life has been full blown crazy recently but luckily the end is in sight!  Finals are this week and after that I will have tons of time to spend working out.  This summer will be amazing and life changing.  I'm taking a couple classes so balancing everything will be a bit of a hassle but aside from that things will be smooth.  I should be able to update daily again from here on out.  Keep it classy!

Day 59 Writing papers munching on pizza.

I basically did school work all day.  It was a very sedintary day and I ended up eating more then I should at CiCis.  I went in with very low calories to start but still overdid it. 

Days 55-58

Its been a great week/ weekend so far.  Keeping the calories in check is difficult but I have been managing well.  I've been thinking about what is happening in my life and I'm glad that I'm not stress eating like I used to.  School has been pretty difficult and is keeping me busy like no other but thats alright because my mind has been kept off the food!  I discovered that Kool Aid has no calories in it by itself so I add splenda and Voila!  I have delicious sugar free stuff to sip on all day which gives me some variety.  Everyday has had its struggles but now I can look at what I've done and be happy.  Life has so much more to offer when you can do everything a healthy person can.  I can't wait to go skydiving someday (dream of mine) and sit in an airplane seat without feeling self conscious.  Since I've been doing the swimming I've decided to up my calories to 2,000 for 2 weeks and see what that does for how I feel.  So far I've had much more energy because of the adjustment and hopefully I won't have any weird body stuff go on if I keep it up (like starvation mode).  I had some friend give me a really cool cookbook "100 calories or Less"  which has over 100 recipes of really great food for 100 calories or less per serving. 

Keep it healthy!

-Michael

Day 54! Weigh day!

I was very nervous about this weigh day because my body has been fluctuating like mad.  I started out this last two weeks at 308.2 well today I can proudly tell you that I now weigh 299.0 lbs (9.2 lbs gone)!  I havent been in the 200's for so long and I've got to be honest with you all, it feels amazing.  This weight loss journey has been so great to focus on because there is direction in it.  I can't control a lot of things in life but I can control my weight.  Losing this weight has made me feel empowered because I know I can do it by keeping things simple and trying hard.  This is an emotional time because I have hit a milestone and as my friend would say "You never have to weigh that again" and thats the truth.  I never want to be 300 lbs again, I have been there since I started college and I look forward to a life without all that extra weight hanging on me.  You guys are awesome and I hope you keep up with my blog!

-Michael

47-53 Apology

I want to apologize for not keeping up with the blog everyday.  Last week was hectic and there has been a lot going on.  I want to let you all know that I am sticking to my calories and did so at a buffet during my long hiatus.  This weekend I also went to the medievil fair in Norman,Ok with my friend Alan and it was a blast!!!  We walked for hours (which showed up on my nifty armband) and burned hundreds of calories.  I even saved up calories to eat a burger at Red Robin!!  That place has amazing hamburgers that nobody should eat more then once in a while.  I got the bleu cheese burger which had to be 800 calories but it was close to the end of the day so I decided to invest.  I want to say again that I'm sorry for not keeping up with the blog.  There are tons of things I learned.   For example: when I go to buffets I avoid things smothered in butter and try to eat as many lean meats as possible.  I then wait for quite a while after I have my first (normal sized) plate then go for a fruit plate for dessert.  After the whole thing I had ingested about 800 calories for a nice brunch at New China in Stillwater,OK. 

There is nothing better then running into a facebook friend who reads my blog.  It makes me feel that people know whats going on in my life and thats just amazing.  You readers are investing your time to look at whats happening with me and supporting me along the way and thats amazing. 

The swimming has been great,  I have realized that some days I do overdo it but thats rare.  Saturday I woke up being the most sore I have ever been.  Swimming makes my upper body sore and walking/elepticals/"Lower body class" take out my lower body.  This weekend has been great for healing up.  Today I am going to hit the gym extra hard because tomorrow is weigh day!!!  I want to make sure that I am below 300 which I havent been for almost 2 years.  299.9999999999999 would be great! :D 

-Michael

Day 46 Michael Phelps! I mean ummm Michael Ennis.

Swimming swimming swimming its absolutely amazing.  I mentioned earlier that it is the only thing that has made me hungry and I'm impressed by that.  My definition of hungry for when I've been swimming a while would actually be under the word famished and I'm happy with that.  When I feel hungry thats my body telling me that I should eat, I'm fine with that and most of the time I obey because I manage my calories well.  When I swim my body tells me "HEY YOU ARE STARVING!!!!" which is AWESOME!!!  I know that I'm doing something different and my body is all shaken up because of it.  I want to swim 1 mile in the pool 5 days a week and I hope that works out.  According to my friend and swimming guru I'm going to wear my body out.  I will test pilot this week to see if I can handle a mile a day then take the weekend to heal up.  If I need to swim less I will if not then YAY!  I fully expect to be under 300 by 4-4-11 which is what I call "twonder land" because onederland was made on the biggest loser and I feel that being under 300 lbs is worth celebration! I was pleateaued until around January because I didn't have clear eating goals I was just working out and hoping for the best with my food choices.  Since I read Sean Andersons blog (highly inspirational) my philosophy on food changed.  I don't have to change once I get to my goal weight because I'm eating like I should at that weight (I will have to add a few calories eventually) and training myself to eat like a skinny person should.

Here is a link to Seans blog he has over 2 years worth of blogs, this really changed the way I think about food and how I treat it.  Sean Anderson's blog. Start at day 1!!!!

Days 44-45 A weekend of Stuyding and little sleep.

Its been a rough weekend because I have two tests at the beginning of the week to worry about.  I've been cramming my head full of french phrases for questions and trying to balance that with stuyding for my management test tuesday.  I didn't get an oppurtunity to workout which is actually fine because this pool work has been making me a new man...well a smaller one at the very least.  I took the advice of my friend and its paying in spades.  Well the fourth is getting closer and its a blast to think about it.  The inspiration keeps on! 

Day 41-43

Well its three days after weigh in and I can honestly tell you, I am motivated!!!  Everything has been a blur the rest of this week but I can tell you that I'm very happy with my workouts these last few days.  I started swimming before I went to exercise and I can tell you its one of the best choices that I have ever made.  I like swimming because I can push as hard as I want and I don't have to worry about injuring my knee.  I was walking lake Boomer just strolling along when I bent my knee funny then shooting pains insued for a couple days.  Everything is fine now but I've been babying the heck out of my right knee!  As for nutrition I looked at what I was doing and decided to change things up a bit.  I purchased soy milk for the first time and let me tell you I think its one of the best things I've ever tried/switched to.  Soy milk is only 60 calories for 1 cup which is an amazing trade for all the taste it has.  Soy milk is sweeter then normal milk and I like that with my cereal and smoothies for sure.  Back to the adjustments, I'm trying to incorporate more chicken and veggies and fruit into my diet and I can tell you I feel it working.  Also swimming a mile a day has taken me to a state that I'm rarely at, I'm hungry for the first time in weeks because of it.  I have also started taking a multi vitamin more frequently along with a calcium supplement.  My decisions for food are evolving along with my decisions for a healthy lifestyle I want to maintain the rest of my life. 

When I started at 1,500 calories a day it was difficult for about the first week or so but after that I adjusted.  The biggest benefit of being used to 1,500 calories is that when I goof its difficult to goof too much.  I just want to tell you guys this next weigh in will be the best I've ever had on this blog because I am more on track then I have ever been.  I'm so glad you guys read this blog because it helps so much to have people to keep me in check throughout this journey. 

-Michael

Day 40 Weigh day #3

I weighed in today at 308.2 which surprised me to no end.  I don't know how I could have gained that weight other than cheating myself in calories.  I thought I could eat at buffets and count the calories well.  I was wrong, I'm going to the old playbook that works and is delicious.  I love chicken with veggies, fruit and whole grain cereal.  This weight gain hurts because I am o so fearful of gaining it all back.  On the other hand I am invigorated, I was lazy and it showed.  I didn't count well enough on my calories and it showed.  I need to stay commited throughout and when I have blips like this I can be even happier when I succeed. 


-Michael

Day 37-39 Spring break onto school. Saturday,Sunday,Monday

I kept the calories in check everyday but I did litte for workouts.  I went for a walk saturday then on monday I went to lake boomer to take a walk.  About 1/3 of the way around it I managed to twist my knee funny so I had to turn back.  Weigh day is tomorrow.  I don't feel good about it because all I did was veg out and I wasnt OCD about entering my food like I usually am. 

Day 36 Springbreak continues.

Well today went pretty well.  I had lots of chicken and veggies and at one point steak and veggies.  Veggies are running out of my ears!!!  I finished with a supper of brats and veggies and it was so great! With half a cup of vanilla yogurt for dessert!  After that I hung out with Matt and Jon.  Overall a great springbreak day. 

Day 35 Ponca City Grill!

I came home to the familys house for break and when I walked into the door I could smell the delicious aroma of steak and chicken!  I had eaten my calories for the day for the most part so I hated telling them I was just going to have a salad with 1 tablespoon of dressing.  My mother got a tupperware container for me and I loaded up the grilled squash,onions,red peppers and top sirloin for tommorow (something to look forward to!) which made the ordeal easy to deal with!  Later that night I went to perkins with my brother and nephew and got an iced tea (sweetened with splenda) and a slice of french silk pie!  I thought the pie was 400 calories at most which would put it to an equivalent of pecan pie.  I just looked it up and flipped my lid.  Its 760 calories for a slice of french silk pie!!!!  I am never getting that again!  I might take a bite of someone elses but man never again.  I was ready to type that I went 400 calories over but it looks like I went over by 760.  I went walking afterwards for about 2 miles with my friend Matt and that helped me feel better about the pie.  Pie is my weakness, I should have just said no to my brother who offered me free pie. My mother said I was giving into peer pressure and I agree.  Its very difficult to say no to pie especially when I want it.  

I played monopoly last night with my nephew and my friend Matt until late into the night.  Before I went to bed I evaluated myself and how much I've been trying to lose this weight.  I believe that I can do more in terms of workouts and nutrition.  I feel better when I eat better its just that simple.  I want to increase my vegtable intake and snack more with fruits.  I'll let you guys know how that goes. 

-Michael





French Silk Pie Nutrition Facts. Be Afraid!!!

Day 34

I had Devin over for another day and it was pretty fun.  We basically played tons of video games and ended up walking to somewhere to eat.  We went to mazzios and they had a buffet lol.  I decided I would be up for it and I was impressed.  I love their salad bar because there are tons of healthy choices.  They had packets of french dressing that had all of the nutrition facts so thats what I used.  My salad had no chesse or croutons.  I put some "bacon" on my salad and onions and a few green olives.  The calories were kept right where I wanted them and I even had a slice of oreo pizza to finish it off! 

Day 33 Monday

I had a friend come over from Tulsa and we basically nerded out and played video games.  I knew he was coming so I only ate a few calories until he actually arrived.  We had some delicious quik trip hotdogs (560 for two) and then we went to ihop later.  The first thing the woman at the counter said was "baby cakes tonight?" which is a kids meal for just 210 calories!!! :D  There were some drunk people behind us and that made the situation a little bad but other then that it was fine.  Another good day!  Kept the calories where I wanted them!

Day 32 Sundays Post

I went to Sirloin stockade twice because I had a friend who missed the first round.  They have some pretty good spinach salads and healthy options if you actually want them lol.  Overall it was a great day!

Day 31 Mcdonalds killed the radio star.

So today was Star Wars marathon day with my friends at Alan's place and everything was great.  I really enjoyed watching the movies and such and it was fantastic.  Before I went to alans I had a ham and cheese sandwich then at at New China, yes I said it buffet!!!  I can't eat hardly anything at once anymore because I'm not used to stuffing my face anymore.  I chose lean chicken and some lo mein noodles with some banana cream pudding for dessert!  All in all I ate about 1,000 calories at new china which was a big investment.  It may have been less but I always try to overestimate when I can't see the nutritional information.  I was satisfied for the day and went on to hang out with Alan and proceed to watch a couple movies.  I went to another friends house after that and we decided we wanted something sweet.  I had eaten 1,270 calories at this point so eating at McDonalds didn't seem like a bad idea because I could fit in an o so delicious 150 calorie cone.  When I walked in I could smell that greasy aroma and I had ice cream on my mind!  In retrospect I should have ran because I was about to ruin a whole day of progress on an impulse.  The server asked me what I wanted and I paused and then it happened.  I ordered a double quarter pounder with cheese and a large fry with a large drink.  As I write this I feel shameful.  A double quarter pounder with cheese has 700 calories in it and a large fry has 500.  I was given the monstrous fry and burger and walked back to my table and proceeded to get a diet coke (funny right? considering what I was planning to eat!).  I felt guilty before I ever touched the food so I just gave away about 4/5ths of my fries to my two friends who were with me.  I also gave them some portions of my burger each.  Well regardless I compared the size of the fries I had left to the $1 version and figured I had just consumed 800 calories with a burger and some fries.  The math didn't add up and I knew it wouldnt.  So my total for the day is around 2,070 calories which is above what I wanted to eat.  I tried to rationalize it with my friends for a second then stopped myself.  I don't care if a "normal" person is supposed to eat what I just ate.  I'm not "normal" because if I let myself up my calories up to 2,000 right now I know I will just keep letting them go up.  The saying "give myself enough rope to hang myself" fits here I would say.  1,500 is satisfying and when I get down to my goal weight I want to have to make very minimal changes.  I made a bad decision and I'm glad to admit it because I will remember this the next time I'm tempted.  I'm glad you guys read this because I know that when I goof you know and that helps me so much on this journey.  Its easy to gorge when nobody knows (for me) and to rationalize.  When I see my mistake in bold print I can analyze why I did what I did.  I acted on impulse and that was my downfall today. 

-Michael

Day 30 Results of the blood test and things are getting better.

I went to the doctors office right after my french class (which was super small due to all the people who already left for spring break!) and got to see the results.   My glucose levels were 86 which falls between the healthy range of 75-110 (excellent!!!) and my kidney funttion was amazing also.  Everything was optimal in that department but my triglycerides (basically fat levels in my blood) were just a tad high 154 which is just above the healthy range of <150.  Since I'm quitting on those banquet meals I'm sure that will go down.  My ldl cholesterol was the bad part though it was at 126 which is 26 higher then healthy range.  Also my hdl (good cholesterol) was a bit low.  The doctor said more exercise will get everything on track.  All in all I'm not even close to being a diabetic!  :D :D :D I kept the calories under because I budgeted really hard to be able to go out with my friends to ihop and get the kids meal called baby cakes which is 210 calories and comes with 5 silver dollar pancakes that I eat with sugar free syrup, YUM!  Kept the calories where I needed them and it was so satisfying!

-Michael

Day 29 Taking it easy and getting better.

I ended up giving blood in the morning to the nurses and they told me to come back friday afternoon for the results.  I was getting my blood tested for a glucose test, cholesterol and kidney function.  I'm hoping my much healthier eating habits (aside from banquet meals) were/are helping me on the road not to be a diabetic.  I didn't workout today because honestly I do not feel up to it.  I hate skipping workouts because I know that affects me at weigh ins and um yeah I LOVE WORKING OUT!!!  There is nothing better then chatting with my buddy while burning the calories off.  I kept under on the calories very well and its exciting to see. 

-Michael

Day 28 Viruses and Headaches.

Well today was pretty horrible in terms of feeling well.  I woke up nauseous for the second day in a row with a killer migraine and decided to call it quits on waiting the whole thing out.  I went to the OSU doctors office and got everything checked out.  It turns out there is some virus that is getting tons of kids on campus sick and it causes all sorts of annoying symptoms namely headaches,nausea, and muscle aches.  While I was there I decided to go ahead and get a physical to make sure everything was alright.  The doctor told me that the first thing he wants to do is to check my blood work (which my nutritionist who I visited twice last summer told me to do) to make sure that I was healthy.  So tomorrow morning the plan is to go in at 8 a.m and give a little bit of blood for the tests.  As for nutrition today I did great and kept everything where it should be.  Oh I forgot to mention that I LOVE house of greek gyros!  They have some really low cal stuff to choose from if you are making good choices!  From what I've read their gyros only check in at 300 calories and they are SO delicious with cucumber sauce on them! 

I'm planning out my next week (spring break) and its so exciting to think about it!!!  I'm planning to hit the gyms as much as possible and cook some really great stuff with my extra time.  Cooking is so satisfying because I know exactly how many calories I'm taking in and its so much easier to make good choices.  It surprises me sometimes to see how bad some foods are (zebra cakes) and how I don't want them anymore.  Honestly Zebra cakes do taste delicious but when Carly tells me I look "little" thats so much more satisfying.  For all of you new followers all I have to say is AWESOME!!! 


-Michael

Day 27 Weigh day!

Well I weighed in this morning and I got a number that disappointed me.  I now weight 306.2 lbs which means I lost 1.6 lbs in a 2 week period.  Well yesterday I had one of my colvin teachers tell me that "high sodium" bloats the body and can even contribute to weight gain.  I now believe she was correct because I made a few mistakes along the way but I kept up the workouts and the eating most of the time.  All I can do at this point is try harder and cut out as much sodium as I can.  I had been purchasing banquet meals because they were easy and require little prep time but I'm going to have to cut them out of my diet.  Each tiny meal gives 27%+ sodium that you need in a day.  As I write this I feel bloated and I know why.  All that I can do now is look at the 24th knowing that I will be in the 200's no matter what! 


-Michael

Day 26 Monday (Pre Weigh Day!)

Well at about 3 in the morning I was having a bout of insomnia and watching house and there was a slew of sad episodes right at the end of season 4 and I made a dire mistake... I ate all of my calories within a 2 hour period.  I was on a comfort food binge, also I was studying french so I was stressing out.  It really was horrible going throughout the rest of the day without eating a single morsel but I deserved it.  I gave myself 1,500 calories and I used them wayyy too early and I was miserable for it. My friend Carly told me I should post that last little bit especially because she was affected by it.  I can't eat with my friends when I make such blunders and that makes my day less special.  I love to cook for my friends because they seem to enjoy the food. 
I'm really afraid for this weigh day coming up because I just found out today how much salt affects weight loss via bloating.  I've been eating tons of banquet meals that have like 27% of the salt a person needs in a single meal!!!!  So yeah if my weight isn't where I want it to be I will have a good idea why. 

Day 25 Sunday

I went home from the rents and kept the calories under control.  I came back and studied on an eleptical and studied french for about 2 hours then went home and studied more French.  Getting ready for the test has been a bit more trouble then I thought it would be but I pulled through without goofing. 

Day 24 Montana Mikes showdown.

I learned last night that we will be heading to Montana Mikes for Supper tomorrow and I'm glad to hear it.  I guess we will be heading to Winfield, Kansas to eat there.  My dad told me to "save your calories" and thats exactly what I'm doing.  I had a banana for breakfast and I may have another little snack before we go there.  Its turning out to be difficult to find stuff I can eat there.  I will update you guys later as to how it goes.  On my journey I have discovered that researching restaurants you have never eaten at has always been worth it.  I may go with a sirloin and some other sides. 

-Michael

Day 23 Friday

For breakfast I had my delicious scooter skim milk cereal and it was amazing!  Before I left I went to the evil Sirloin stockade and I can proudly say it went pretty well.  After that I went to Ponca then hung with the fam before I went out with a couple friends to perkins.  I had splenda sweetened ice tea and a chicken crisp sandwich to finish off the day (it was amazing!) but for a side I chose rice instead of greasy potatoe fries that arent satisfying.  All in all a great day! 

Day 22 Thursday

Today was absolutely amazing.  I stayed under with my calories because I paced myself throughout the day.  I tried a vegetarian sampler at house of greek which was mostly gross but low cal.  I only want to eat things I like and that is not it.  Also I switched from 2% to skim milk which means I will be eating a serving of 2 cups of scooters and 1 cup of milk for just 300 calories.  Without those delicious scooters I feel deprived which translates into unnecessary eating.  Booty blast was a killer tonight and near the end I felt like I had run out of gas.  I'm trying to listen to my body and not just push through the pain because when I do that I end up becoming very sore and potentially unable to workout.  If you guys have any tips or suggestions leave them as comments! 





-Michael

Day 21 Wednesday

Overall I did well today and I learned a little more about myself.  I've decided that I'm going to start taking an additional exercise class next wednesday because it will get me to where I want to be that much faster.

Day 20 Tuesday

Well I did really well right up until I hit the buffet at Mazzios.  I keep learning where I am still weak when I experience these things.  I overdid it by around 1,000 calories today, which means I had about 2,500.  Its another day to look at myself and realize I'm still going to have these struggles even when I'm mr thin.  I can't even eat nearly as much as I used to and I'm not even close to as hungry but I still manage to break my calorie limit.  Well I have a new resolve and I know that as I'm sitting here in my size 40 pants that are loose on me that its worth it.  I can now wear my dads "Geek" shirt which used  to come to my belly button!  So yeah March 8th is the day.  I want to be under 300 or bust! :D  I may go to Ponca this weekend and use more of my eleptical time in the morning to study French and Management!  Writing about failures is so hard somtimes!  I have been dreading doing this but as I write I feel as if I am freeing myself from guilt.  You guys know I messed up and I feel that when I mess up its not a secret and that really helps. 

-Michael

Day 19 Monday

I did well on my calories and hit up Zumba!  Its amazing!!!  I have no rhythm but I have a blast doing it!  I love my friends who are willing to keep going to the gym, it really helps so much to have a support system.


-Michael

Days 17-18

The weekend with Devin was lots of fun and I went over both days.  The first day I ate 2,500 calories and the second I had 2,700.  There were lots of temptations and I caved at the end of the day both times.  I started out strong then failed.  I know I lost weight because I burned more but I still went over my 1,500 calorie requirement.  If I can't control myself better in these situations I won't succeed.  As I write this I know today is a new day and I just need to move on and keep trying.  I just need to keep in mind that I'm not perfect and I can't expect perfection and if I do I will fail entirely.

-Michael

Day 16 Logans steakhouse=YUM!!!

Well today I went to Tulsa to see my friend Devin.  We ended up going to Logans steakhouse and I got the "Santa Fe" tilapia.  I must say it was so amazing,  I have never had grilled fish with such a great texture. They had skewers off veggies as a side, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions.  I also had a fairly small rice pilaf and I mixed it with some sliced mushrooms.  Overall I had about 1,550 calories and it was so nice to finish the day off with a few almonds and pecans.  As for exercise most of what I got was walking from my apartment to the bus terminal which is about 1.2-1.5 miles.  The funny part is that I was carrying about the equivalent weight of what I had lost.  It was difficult!!!  But I burned about 300-400 calories doing it! :D

Day 15 Weigh day!

Today is the big day, the day to see how well my habits are working out for me.  Well here is the verdict.  14 days ago I weighed in at 315.2 and today I weigh 307.8 which comes to a weight loss of 7.4 lbs!  I'm going to be honest with you guys, I weighed in and I had a number in my head I wanted to weigh, 305 lbs.  I looked at the weight this morning with a twinge of disappointment but then I remembered what my friend said at the Colvin "you will never have to tell people you weigh that much again" I smiled and stepped off the scale.  He is right, I weigh 307 and 315 is just a thing of the past and good riddens too.  My total weight loss to date is 42.2 lbs.  My next weigh day will be the 8th of March, My goal is to be anywhere under 300 so 299.999999 would be just fine with me!  :D

Day 14 The day before the weigh in!

Well today my strategy is simple, I want to eat most of my food before 5 so that I can have an accurate amount of weight for the weigh in and hopefully to cut down on inconsistent weight.  I ate 1,550 calories today and I'm happy with that.  I really need to try harder to get my calories below 1,500 without fail.  I didn't get to workout today because I still feel sore from monday!  I burned 3,648 calories today just doing my day to day stuff.  I am walking to class now everyday instead of riding my bike because it burns more calories.  I do love riding my bike though but I'm sure I can get in quite a bit of riding at lake boomer soon (one of my favorite things to do is bike around the lake).

Tonight I was talking to a friend about my food consumption and why I think my plan is optimal.  When I get to my goal weight (currently 180 lbs) I don't plan to change anything.  I plan to eat what I'm eating now, somewhere around 1,500 calories a day to maintain weight with exercise.  From what I understand about genetics when you grow obese you gain fat cells, when you lose weight those fat cells never go away, they just shrink.  If you have lots of fat cells you can gain weight very quickly.  When I lost weight for the first time I lost 62 lbs.  I was down to 288 lbs and feeling great!  Well I took an 18 hour semester and was obsessed about getting a 4.0.  I spent countless hours in the library studying and stopped working out completely.  After 3 months or so I had gained it all back.  I didn't feel that I was eating crazy amounts of food either,  I was just sitting there and eating.  The first time I lost weight was dependent on my exercise and never my food.  I hadn't learned any good portion control I was just burning everything extra off at the gym. 

I want to live a lifestyle now that I will be living when I get to 180 lbs.  There won't be any adjusting just feeling better and living large but for once not literally just figuratively.

-Michael

Day 13 Another successful day

I have eaten 1,555 calories today and I am so satisfied.  Today was a day that is dangerous because I had a test but I pulled through without overeating.  I polished the rest of my calories off with 2 turkey guacamole sandwiches which totaled 405 calories.  I think I should look up the benefits of guacomole to see how great it is for me!  I didn't workout today because of the test but I'm looking at a 3,700 calorie burn today which is great for a non workout day.  The 24th is getting soooo close! :D 

Keep it healthy,

Michael

Day 12 Elepticals and Studying =Awesome

I did great on calories today and it was so satisfying.  I ended up eating 1,510 calories and it was so satisfying, I had a delicious salisbury steak meal with macoroni and cheese (Lean Cuisine) for just 260 calories to top off the day.  This weigh in coming up (2-24-11) is something I am looking forward to so much.  I know that I have been doing well in regards to eating an exercise.  I broke a record today for calories burned, 5,773 calories in just one day.  I fully expect to weigh in and to have lost 6 lbs in two weeks.  I just want to tell you guys that this whole blogging thing is working!  Everytime I want to go over I think...I'm going to have to squeal on myself!  Honestly though since I've been restricting my calories 1,500 seems like more than enough.   I'm actually having to plan to eat even when I'm not hungry just to fulfill the 1,500 for the day!  Something new I've been trying recently is to drink something when I eat,  what I drink doesn't really matter for the most part.  I drink lots of sugar free tea at my place and lots of water and afterwards I'm stuffed with a 250-300 calorie meal!  Eating healthy can be so satisfying because so many healthy foods are so low low in a calorie/mass ratio. 

I've been watching a new show on A & E called "Heavy" and its just so inspirational to see those people work so hard. 

My workout included some walking and running with my friend then I got on an eleptical for about 1.5 hours then walked a bit.  When I was on the eleptical I studied so much!  I want to keep combining my stuyding and working out because when I'm on an eleptical I can do something useful with that time. 

I know I'm writing my blog the day after and thats because I've been busy studying for a test! 

I also want to encourage you guys to possibly start blogs of your own if you are trying to lose weight!  If you already have a blog hit me up and I will totally follow you!  :D 

Day 11 Sundays post

I spent some time with devin in the morning and burnt some major calories playing kinect.  I was burning around 20 calories a minute!  I headed to my brothers house and ate a banana for breakfast and avoided all the delicious looking cake!  At the end of the day I ended up eating 1,754 calories which put me over a bit because I wasn't writing stuff down throughout.  I need to really work on writing everything down immediately or I will run into this again.  Yesterday I burned almost 4,200 calories with just a little kinect and some laundry done!  I'm so excited to weigh in this week! :D

Day 10 Saturdays post

I ate quite a variety of food today.  I went bowling with my nephew and brother then after that we ate at panera.  I had a delicious bread bowl (780 calories) with broccoli and cheddar soup in it.  After that I had 2 hotdogs with cheese for supper (560).  Overall I have eaten 1,610 calories today and I'm very satisfied :D  I'm in Tulsa with the fam and right now I'm at Devin's house hanging with him and his family.


Toodles.

Day 9 Ferrigio Friday.

Yesterday I had to leave stillwater early so that I could get to Ponca in time to leave so that I could ride with my parents to Tulsa.  On the way there we went to that evil restraunt that flaunts their convienience such... McDonalds!  It strikes fear in my heart to return to that place where I used to get 6 double cheeseburgers 2 apple pies and an Ice cream cone for dessert.  I had eaten about 485 calories so I decided to get a regular cone (150 calories) and it was delicious and so worth the calories.  We went to a play called "The taming of a Shrew" my brother was Father Baptista Minola in the play.  He did a great job and we all had a great time.  I felt a little cultured after I saw the two hour performance.  Well after the show we were all starving so we headed over to Applebees and I had a delcious 7oz sirloin topped with garlic shrimp,steamed broccoli, potatoes and splenda sweetened tea.  My only complaint was I found a fly in the second cup of tea!  The whole meal was 650 calories and so worth it.  I consumed a total of 1513 calories for the day.  My calorie burn was 3,838 (I think my basal metabolic rate is higher from the workouts) and I was very happy with that. 

-Michael

Day 8 Thursdays post

Today I walked with a friend then had an awesome chat at the Colvin.  The walking was great for us but the thing that was the best was the chat we had after.  I was talking to my friend about my relationship with food and how important that is to me maintaining my weight loss.  I then told my friend that I was afraid I would just fail at this weight loss.  He then told me something that I needed to hear.  He told me "You need to get excited about losing weight, if you lose two pounds next week you will never weigh that again." He really is a great workout partner, its nice having someone to workout with that understands what I'm going through. 

The burn today will be about 4,900 and I consumed about 1,498 calories! :D  Another day of success!

Also I have been making these Guacamole/Turkey sandwiches that are so amazing!  2 tablespoons of Guacamole and about 6 thin slices of turkey(oscar meyer oven roasted turkey breast) between two warm sandwich rounds.  Its an amazing 205 calorie snack that is so healthy and delicious!

Day 7 Will travel Wednesday.

So yesterday I didn't workout because its one of my busier days.  I had a french test that I took in the middle of the day that I was stressing over.  I'm happy to say that recently when I get super stressed I stop looking to food.  I just studied more lol...maybe a little more than most and that relieved my stress very well. But yeah I had some delicious food yesterday!  I a "pizza" that was so huge and satisfying that was only 380 calories a person. It had 2/3 cups skim mozzeralla(160), 1/2 cup ragu garlic and italien spice chunky sauce(80), 2 oz of boneless skinless chicken breast(50), 1/8th cup onion, some basil leaves and oregano all under a flatbread that was only 90 calories "flatout flatbread" and oh I forgot!!! Mushrooms! After that and my other meals I had about 1,080 calories consumed at 4 o'clock.  There was a French cultural dinner on campus and it was pretty great.  There was a salad with rasberry dressing (didn't get much), a piece of pork (110 cals at most), a piece of chicken (this one was covered in a mystery sauce, I should have just eaten a bit of it) and peas with onions(40 at most) but what killed my calories was this lemon tart stuff they had for dessert.  I should have just eaten a bite of it and been satisfied.  I let myself open up on a train of thought like this "this only happens once a year man!  eat some more lemon tart stuff!) and so I did.  I had 2 slices of it.  I would say yesterday I consumed about 2,000 calories.  I'm embarrased to say that but its true.  I failed on another day.  Its very difficult to write this to you guys because admitting my failures has never been my strong point.  Overall though its best I write about how I fail because I'm typing this on tuesday and I am sure motivated to keep it to 1,500 today! 

-Michael

Day 6 Thunder Tuesday

Well it looks like I get to go to a Thunder game for FREE today!  My friend Alan recieved four free tickets from his valentine so he gets to take 3 friends.  Well I have had to be strategic with my eating today to be able to eat with my friends tonight wherever we go.  I've eaten just over 500 calories so far today and I'm planning on using the remaining 1,000 or so tonight at some restaurant (hopefully Cracker Barrel!).  I don't really have any time to workout today so keeping my calories down will be especially important.  I'll update you guys later about how my food intake went. 

Au revoir!

Update:

I ended up eating a delicious burger which was topped with an o so generous portion of Guacamole!!!  I had a salad before the burger (house) and very little low cal rasberry vinagerette dressing.  Right before we went to Bricktown Brewery we saw a redbull car and they hopped out and gave us free energy drinks!  I opted for the sugar free version :D (good choice eh?!).  After purchasing and devouring that delicious burger I promised myself I would buy some Guacamole which has about the same calories as low fat cheese and substitute it for cheese on sandwiches for example.  All in all it was a 1,535 calorie day :D 

Day 5 Monday fun-day.

Today was an amazing day on the whole in terms of exercise.  I kept my calories down to 750 until after I went to the Colvin.  I got to the Colvin around 6 o'clock then ran about 9 laps on the third floor (they are about 1/11th of a mile each).  I was running one lap then powerwalking 2 laps, running kills my ankles and knees so I'm trying to hold off from doing too much of that until I'm at a lower weight.  After that my friend and I jumped into a cycling class that was about 20 minutes in (out of 45 minutes) and that was a workout! After running my legs were already beaten up but overall it was a great experience.  When that whole deal was over we headed to Zumba.  Zumba is one of the best classes for me because I'm constantly moving and I can burn 600-900 calories in about 50 minutes.  I finished off my calories for the day at subway with a footlong turkey sub with tomatoes,lettuce,pickles,onions and about a tablespoon of mayonaise.  The whole sub was about 700 calories and I am satisfied.  I have about 60 calories left but I don't need to eat anymore today :D  

There is nothing like blogging after a great day of work!  my calorie burn will break 5,000 today because of the awesome workouts.  I know that the first thing that I need to conquer is my addiction to food and that will determine if I can keep a healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life.

I'm always looking for others blogs to read!  Encouragement is a great tool for anyone!

Day 4 Sunday's Post

I didn't work out because I'm still on the whole healing phase thing until Monday.  I found a couple friends who will hopefully come to my Thursday class to get a good workout!  My calories were great going into supper but I miscalculated on the fried rice.  I was part of the way through eating it when my friend asked me how many more calories were in fried rice.  I was assuming about 20% more.  WRONG!  Steamed rice is about 200 calories a cup and fried is about 331 calories a cup!  My friend offered to eat mine.  Luckily she likes fried rice.  I ended up consuming about 750 calories for supper (the average of fried and steamed rice with chicken) which put me over.  My grand total for the day was 1,700 which is ok.  I'm not perfect but I can keep on trying!  The calorie burn for the day was 3,600 so I'm alright!

Day 3 Studying some fish and fun!

Last night I decided that I will not workout today (saturday) because I'm overdoing it and getting a little sluggish because of it.  Last week I took 3 one hour classes and I worked out about 10 hours outside of that, couple with 1,500 calories a day that can wear a man down.  Also I'm planning to post my new weight every two weeks so in 11 more days I will update you guys!  I used to weigh in everyday but at this point that is just not a great idea because if I don't lose what my expectations dictate I get frustrated. 

Today I had a friend call me and she told me that she was going to make a meal and told me all of the calories for the meal!  418 calories for 2 fish fillets(baked) and 3 perogies(baked)! I came right over and had a very flavorful satisfying meal and I still have 1,012 calories for the rest of the day!  Tomorrow I'm mostly likely going to a fitness class called Zumba to dance away some weight!  Zumba is a Latin American form of dance that basically keeps you moving and doing crazy fun stuff for about 50 minutes.  I usually burn 880 calories in just one class!

Today is going to be a bit trying because I'm planning to study most of it away at the library and when I get bored I usually like to snack.  I might bring a couple apples(70 calories) or cheese sticks(50 calories) to munch on.

The study session went alright and I got some things done.  After that I watched "When Harry met Sally"  It was not my kind of movie...  But yeah then I went to Panera with a couple of friends and I made a good choice.  I purchased a bread bowl and I got a to go box because I only had about 300 calories left for the day. They have some pretty delicious side baguettes. I dipped it into a little bit of the soup and voila!

Day 2

Well yesterday everything was great for the most part!  I was at the gym for over four hours and I went to a Colvin class!  At the end of the class I had about a 4,300 calorie burn for the day and I was ravenous so I went home and had a fish dinner from lean cuisine which put my calories at 1,400.  I was doing great then a friend called and we went to the Stonewall Tavern which is about 100 feet from my apartment.  I had a couple drinks which put me at about 2,200 then I had the bright idea to go to Ihop.  I must say that place is my weakness.  I ended up consuming around 1,600 calories in one sitting.  I am telling you this with shame because even though I still lost weight yesterday because I burned 4,454 calories yesterday and I consumed around 3,800.  I know that my addiction to food is still a problem in my life.  Drinking and binge eating will stop me from ever maintaining a healthy weight for the rest of my life.  The next time I go to Ihop diet coke or a salad will be on the menu.  As for the wall...I may just do something my friend Matt does and get a water or diet coke.  Drinking isn't worth the calories for me.  I have fun with or without the drinks so its no big sacrafice. 

Today I'm planning to study after my class for about four hours with Carly then head to the gym to burn off those excess calories I had yesterday!  Oh and today I want to eat 1,500 or bust!  I'll let you know how many I have!

Well I had a bowl of Honey Nut Spooners that consisted of 2 cups of Spooners and one cup of 2% milk.  It was 350 calories total with the milk making up a whopping 130 calories of the whole thing.  I purchased the 2% on accident my intention was to buy skim.  1 cup of milk is too much for 2 cups of ceral too.  I can easily cut it down to 3/4 a cup of milk or even half.  My friend Jeremey eats his with just 2oz per cup of cereal! I'm making some food for my friend Carly before our study session at the library.  Here it is!

Chicken with Red onions in chive and butter sauce:

8oz chicken breast (skinless boneless) 220 Calories
1 package of Birds eye steamfresh Roasted Red Potatoes with Chive Butter Sauce. 280 Calories

I used a frozen chicken breast to make this meal so I popped it in the microwave for 5 minutes to defrost it then threw it on my nonstick pan.  After browning the chicken breast I opened the steamfresh package and cooked the potatoes and in with the chicken.  The result will be pictured shortly.

The whole meal is just 500 calories and so satisfying!

Well today I worked out and some stuff caused that to be interrupted, I had a friend in need so I had to leave early.  I have a calorie burn of 4574 as of right now and I've consumed 1408 calories today.  I think I'll leave the rest out though.

Day 1 The first day of written progress.

My name is Michael Ennis, and today is the first day that I am planning to keep a blog to keep myself accountable.  I have been attempting to lose weight since the 8th grade of my middle school year. The tools that I will be using to lose weight and keep a healthy lifestyle are portion control, exercise and daily meal logging.  I have been using a BodyMedia armband to determine how many calories that I burn a day and I have been using the online food journal that they provide. 

My starting weight was 350 lbs as of July 2010.  I am now down to 315.2 lbs as of today. My goal is to keep this blog updated on a daily basis to discuss things happening in my life and to discuss my weight loss and exercise. 

I started reading Sean Andersons weight loss blog in December and my weight loss really took after that.  Sean doesn't even know me, I found out about his lifestyle change via the Ponca City newspaper and have been trying to follow the same life choices he made ever since. 

The most difficult part of losing weight for me is the fact that I am addicted to food and I have been limiting myself to 1,500 calories a day.  I have always failed at weight loss because I went on strict diets that cut out foods that I loved. I would stick to the diets and miss the foods I loved then fail because I would end up cracking then binge on the food I loved.  I eat what I want up until I reach the 1,500 calorie mark and I'm usually satisfied because I've learned to eat foods that arent extremely dense in calories. 

I hope that you readers can go on this journey with me!  I will try to post a healthy recipe once in a while if I can!

One of my favorites: 4oz Boneless skinless chicken breast and 3 cups of mixed stir fry veggies(Sold at walk mart with sauce inside) with 1 tablespoon of olive oil used to cook the chicken and veggies.  The whole meal is 350 calories and delicious!