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