Late Night Meal Packed On The Weight

Hello weight losing fans...

I brought my Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale with me and stepped up onto it weighing in at 185.2-pounds. I knew that was coming. I had a big meal last night.

Bye for now...

That's the way it is...I'm David Dane

My Weight's Dropping Some

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto that Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 183.6-pounds.

Greetings from Peoria, Illinois. I am here to see the Festival Of Lights.
Good Grief it's cold out here.

I packed my Magical-Scale with me. We'll see what I come in at tomorrow morning.

As you can see my weights dropped a bit there. I am still no where I want to be. But hey, this is a marathon.

I have to get going here. I will see if I can't leave some thoughts later.

Part Two
Before I go to bed I have some final thoughts.

Tonight I was sitting next to a very pretty woman at dinner. I was talking to her. She wanted to know what I did to lose so much weight. I told her.

It didn't take too long for the objections to what I was telling her to appear. She was telling me how inconvenient is would be to write down the food she eats. She was telling me that she couldn't weight herself everyday. On, and on went her excuses that will keep her from trying to lose weight and keep it off.

All I did was tell her my story. She just interjected, because she was feeling guilty.

She was telling the people sitting across from her how her cholesteral is up, and her blood pressure is high. She probably has other problems too, or will soon. Here is why, she is too preponderant. She should lose weight.

It's ashame people have to get sick before they decide to do something that will be good for themselves.

Tomorrow I'll be up again above this mornings weight. It's because I had a large hamburger, and French Fries tonight. So, I expect to see that on the scale in the morning. Watch....

She's no different.

Bye for now...

And the way it is...I'm David Dane

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful, And This Food Is So Delightful. I'll Go Ahead And Eat. Let Me Grow, Let Me Grow, Let Me Grow

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 184.6-pounds.

I was working on my commentary for yesterday's blog posting. I couldn't finish if up so I snipped some of it away and stuck it in for today.

Unfortunately again, I am short on time. So here is part of yesterday's post here today. Enjoy my dribble....

It's Time To Put Up The Christmas Decorations, and to make those Christmas Cookies.
It's the Holiday Season, and the tables are going to be set with wonderfully delightful assortments of food.

At work the friends are bringing in the homemade cookies. They are all so yummy looking.

Suddenly in the mail there came this big box of fruitcake from a long lost relative.

The invitations have gone out, and you've been invited to another Christmas Party.

Let's not forget the Christmas Festivities at the church on Sunday.

Oh, Aunt Beth has sent over her Annual Rum Cake. You know, the kind you ate last year all by yourself and then got the drunk driving citation for.

Oh of course, let's not forget to go to that Christmas Party at the office. You know, the party where that guy gets drunk every year and shoots his mouth off. But, because he's one of the owners relatives, he never got fired.

Ding Dong: Hi, I was making Christmas cookies and I brought some over. Tell me what you think.

Oh, I won, I won, the office raffle. Here you are dear. Here's your bottle of Rum. It goes great with Coca-Cola.

Yep, the Holiday Season is upon us. The cookies and the candy are out there for the taking. The food with all it's sumptuous flavors is there, along with the soda's and the fruit punch, and the booze.

For many of us we will be invited to a few parties along the way. And of course, if I'm not working, I am not turning anyone down.

Along with the Holiday Festivities, comes the mental anguish for we the preponderant ones.

Free Food Is My Motto... Hypocrite!

Oh, where is Denise Austin when I need her?

Oh, help me, where is Richard Simmons? Why isn't he here to beg with me, and to plead with me not to eat that extra piece of Rum Cake?

Where is my Buns Of Steel Tape?

Where is my Abs Of Steel Tape?

Oprah Winfrey please pray for me.

Looks like I have one more New Years Resolution Coming. Yeah, to lose twenty pounds. I can do it. (FAT CHANCE OF THAT.)

Oh, how many fat grams are in this ginger bread man cookie? He's so cute; Chomp, Gulp...

I promise, I promise, in January I will join Weight Watchers.

Maybe I should have that stomach surgery after all.

Yes, Christmas is coming and the opportunity to forget the cares of the year, and all that struggle we put in to lose 10 or 15 pounds.

After all I can't deny myself. That wouldn't be psychologically healthy for me...

Bye for now...

And that's the way it is... I'm David Dane

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 187.6-pounds.
That's not a typographical error.

I will give my commentary when I finish it up. I have part of it in the draft folder. I have to get under way here. So, Ooops on that weight there.

Bye for now....

And this is the way it is.... I'm David Dane

Enjoying Some Of That Holiday Food? Oh, Yeah....

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 184.6-pounds.
Whoops...

It's the Holiday Season for sure. Guess who's falling victim to it? Yours Truly, that's who. Oh the Shame...

Yesterday I went to a Combination Christmas Party / Thanksgiving Celebration / Open House. There was food galore there as is usual for such an event.
And I brought with me my appetite. To be honest I had no intention of eating so much food.
When I was given the left over fruit salad bowl, I chowed that down.

There was the chocolate cake down stairs on the table. Some woman had made it and put this hard semi-sweet-dark-chocolate on the top. Oh, it was so good. I ate three of those pieces. I can't even guess how many calories was there. OK I will guess about 250 calories a piece.

And probably the very worst offense that I committed was going back to the punch bowl, and then back, and back, and back, and back.... Well, drinking that tasty fruity liquid racked up about 1,500 calories all by itself.

Of course I couldn't resist the Cheetos, "The Cheese That Goes Puff" around the middle of the stomach and your buttocks. Did you know that just thirteen of those little Cheetos is 160 calories? They don't fill me either.

So at the end of the day, after having walked in the door with a firm resolve that quickly gave way to my hunger, and the compulsion to eat tasty food, I added to my total weight about five pounds.

When I awoke this morning I stepped onto the scale to see the new weight that I am. Ummm... 184.6-pounds.

Of course, as I attended this event, some people who had not seen me in about a year where surprised to see how much weight I did lose.

Before I went home someone told me that I look good where I am, and that I really shouldn't lose any more weight. I was told that I would look like a skinny old man. OH GEE THANKS....

If I can get through the holiday season here without packing on any more pounds, I think that I will be lucky. Whew, it's hard to say NO....

How many more days of this will I have to battle through?

The Extra Fat Has To Go
Yesterday I was laying in the bathtub taking a leasurely bath and I was looking at the flab around my middle. Yes, there is flab there. It's not stretched skin. It's about 20-pounds more fat that eventually has to go.

And, ya know, it's tempting to listen to people who think it ought to be some other way. But, they aren't me. And they can't see under the shirt like I can.

I have had people say, "Well, firm it up." No, you can't firm up fat. It has to be burned off. Fat is Fat, and it has to go back to glucose before it becomes useful for metabolism.

I wish people would get an issue of Muscle Magazine, or read up on some biology. They don't have a clue about the dynamics of the human body. Yet these are the ones who offer all the suggestions.

I didn't ask them.

Well, you make up your own mind how you will get off the weight, and how much you will lose. You are the one who has to live with who you are. Not me....

Bye for now...

And that's the was it is... I'm David Dane

I'm Still Seeing Thanksgiving On Me.....

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Scale weighing in at 182.8-pounds.

Bye for now....

And that's the way it was...I'm David Dane

One Year Ago I Decided To Give Losing Weight One More Try: I Lost 60 Pounds

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 183-pounds.
So, maybe I put on about a pound of fat after eating so well on Thanksgiving Day. Maybe...

It Was One Year Ago I Decided To Attempt To Lose Weight Again. Throughout my time as an adult I had lost weight, and then regained that weight.

I got my time lines messed up here and wrote that I did the Doctor Atkins's Diet four years ago. NO, I started doing the Doctor Atkins's Diet back in 2002.

With that diet I managed to lose 60-pounds. I got down from 260-pounds to 200-pounds. I then regained 40-pounds.

That brought me to the dilemma I found myself in on Thanksgiving Day 2006.

I woke up at 2:00 in the morning so I could be at work by 4:00 AM.
I was getting dressed and found that I could not button my uniform pants. The collar on my shirt was so tight, that I had to leave it unbuttoned under the tie. I was emotionally distressed.

That day I was deeply depressed at the thought I was so PREPONDERANT (FAT).
When I went to go to a family members house to eat, I ate reluctantly.
I wasn't enjoying the feast.

When everyone left to go home, I remember sitting slumped on the chair sideways staring at the TV. Then I saw the Jenny Craig Commercial. I had an, "AH HA" moment.
I thought, "Can it be that easy?"

All this time I was trying to redo the Doctor Atkins's Diet. I was trying to do the low carbohydrate thing. Nothing worked. My body was piling on the fat. I was gaining and gaining. Everything I did before was failing. It was depressing.

I was at Target purchasing Christmas Lights. I passed by the frozen food case and saw the Lean Cuisines on sale for half price. I purchased a freezer full. I packed my freezer with Lean Cuisines. (I kid you not.)

Morning, noon, and night I ate nothing but Lean Cuisines. I wasn't weighing myself everyday yet. To be honest; I didn't think this would work. (So much for that BS about having a positive attitude.) My attitude had nothing to do with this.

It was pure physics and science that went to work on my behalf. With Less Food, and Less Calories, the body has no choice but to go after the fat reserves.

When I was done with those Lean Cuisines I very sceptically stepped up onto the scale. I was ecstatic. I had lost weight.

There was one problem. Those Lean Cuisines were just way too few calories for me. So, I went and purchased a bunch of Healthy Choice that were on sale. I filled my freezer again. This time I ate about 100 calories more per meal.

Again I lost more weight. I started looking carefully at the side panel. I thought just how many calories am I eating here?

I calculated that with the Lean Cuisines I was eating around 250-300 calories per meal. This came out to be about 1000 calories intake per day. No wonder I lost weight. Whew...
I was starving to death.

With the Healthy choice I was eating 300-400 calories a meal. This gave me around 1,200 calories a day. No wonder I still kept losing weight.
I was still miserably hungry.

This time I shifted to eating regular TV dinners. This put me at around 1,500-1,600 calories a day.

With that change; the rest is history. I decided to start counting calories, and writing down everything that I ate. I started my food log on some plain paper. I started weighing myself everyday.

I didn't set some of those REALISTIC WEIGHT GOALS... I still say that's BS. And the crap about the Positive Attitude that goes with it. CRAP is what I say to that.

I didn't have a positive, "I'll go get them attitude." I was actually very sceptical. I was in the mind set of, "Let's see if this will work."
When I made up my mind, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was depressed and struggling.

NO ONE, NO ONE came to my aid. NO ONE in my family or around me was giving me an example of how to lose the weight, and keep it off. NO ONE...

When I decided to lose weight I struck out on my own. And with that, and a prayer for wisdom, I hit the answer.

Am I anyone special for this? NO!
Did I hit upon something that's new and revolutionary? NO!
Am I a genius? NO!

Since that time of one year ago I have actually been an inspiration to people in my family, and to people at work. Some incredibly fat people saw what I was doing and decided they could lose weight too.

I Still Get Heckled
I was at the table eating Thanksgiving dinner, and I had my food journal with me. Someone at the table told me to put that thing away. I didn't listen and continued keeping a written record of everything that I piled up on my plate.

Here is why I was being heckled; I was pricking some consciences. People don't want to see the truth being played out. And, to be honest I don't care if Ann Landers herself rose up and told me my actions were tasteless. I give a darn what anyone thinks.

I have written before that there will be those people who are for you losing weight, and you are going to find plenty of people who will be against you. Sometimes those people are right there in the same family, as is in my case.

I don't care what anyone says about having a Positive, Optimistic Attitude when tackling this weight loss program. It's not easy to consistently lose weight. It's not easy to finally get the weight off and then keep it off.

Losing weight is a LIFE LONG PROGRAM. It's like finally figuring out and admitting to being an alcoholic. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. For any person addicted to alcohol, the alcohol is his/her weakness.

For WE THE PREPONDERANT ONES, our addiction is food. Unfortunately, by the looks of things, food is an addiction for most everyone here in America.

WE eat too much food. WE eat more than we need to survive; and we are suffering for it.

I Am Not A Carbohydrate Counter, Or A Fat Grams Counter; I'm A Calorie Counter
When I was sitting at the table someone told me that he's counting his carbs. Great, another stupid complicated way to attempt to lose weight. It doesn't work.

I saw this same person in the kitchen with two pieces of pie on a plate, and a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. So much for counting those carbs.

Most people have never studied the concept of reduced carbohydrates. I did. I read carefully three books that were written by the Late Doctor Atkins.

There has to be a time in the beginning of doing a low carbohydrate diet called induction. This is when someone restricts the total grams of carbohydrates to 20 grams a day.
Then there must absolutely be, a very careful adding in of those extra carbohydrates.
If not, then the body takes everything and turns it all against you.
I know, I did it. It's not an easy life style to live by for years at a time.

It's not easy to count the fat grams either. Have someone at the buffet tell you how many fat grams are in the food you are about to eat. No one can tell you.
Counting fat grams is crazy too. The body has to have fat for the brain and for the organs, and to aid in lubricating the digestive tract.

If someone cuts too far back on the fat, they in essence are starving the body of a vital nutrient.
It's too complicated. It's even harder to explain the dynamics.

The easiest thing to do is just count those calories. Everything else seems to take care of itself from that point on. With a calorie restricted diet, (normal food consumption.) someones not restricted to one category of foods, not proteins, sugars, or fats.
With a low calorie diet, you can eat anything you want. You can change up your food from day to day. I do. It's sure beats eating just meat.

I live and die by this saying, "EAT LESS FOOD."

This is the best way to finally get those unwanted pounds off. I have been successful with this, and I will continue to be successful. Well, as long as I keep my wits about me, and follow this line of thinking.

Bye for now...

And that's the way it is...I'm David Dane

Assessing The Holiday Damage

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 185.8-pounds.

That's up over my record loss by 6.4-pounds.

Now, yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. I made no attempt to restrict my calorie intake yesterday. I did reach a point where I could not eat anymore.

I was at a relatives home having the Thanksgiving Feast. When I got back to my home I decided to see how much I added to my total weight with fluids, and solid foods. When I stepped up onto the scale I weighed in at 188.8-pounds. I actually added 7.2-pounds in fluids and solid foods to my morning weight of 181.6-pounds.

This just goes to show just how elastic the human stomach actually is. And to think, there are doctors who are naive enough to think someone can put a band around a portion of the stomach to help someone lose weight.

I want to add more commentary, however, I must go to work now. Maybe I can add more later.

Part Two: How Much Damage Did I Do By Eating So Much?
Today I was listening to the radio and someone mentioned that between now and January 1, 2008 he will probably gain 10-15 pounds. He said that it's starts at Thanksgiving Feasting and throughout the Christmas season he said he gains 10 or so pounds.

As I was listening, I was thinking to myself, "Oh boy, how many people are like this man; they overeat for a month and gain about 2-pounds a week, then spend the rest of the year trying to work of the weight?" How many of us are like this? I imagine probably half of the adults in this country are like that.

I was thinking will I be like this? Now it's the Christmas Season, will I find an excuse to over eat?

I could imagine what would happen if I continued to eat like I did yesterday. I would be adding at least a pound of fat each day. Because I probably ate two days of food yesterday.

I calculated that the sandwich I had for breakfast was around 800 calories. By 1:30 PM I had already eaten around 1,700 calories of food. This didn't include what I ate for the Feast afterwards.

I am not writing that I did something wrong having feasted so much. I think that we should celebrate and enjoy some food.

The problem with most people, who end up like I was, is they don't have a stopping point. They continue to eat, and eat, day in and day out. They fail to consider the consequences of their overindulging.

In my case in one day of eating I squeezed into my already shrunken stomach an extra 7-pounds of food. That's amazing.

Now, I have to see if the extra calories have added anything to my total weight. I will know in a few days.

It's safe to say, I am not going to be eating like that any time soon.

Bye for now...

And that's the way it was...I'm David Dane

Happy Thanksgiving: All Diets Are Off Today, Well Mine Is

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto that Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 181.6-pounds.

I went for four days without having a way to weigh myself. I think I did pretty good for having been without my scale.

I kept myself as close as I could to the 1,500 calories I allot myself. I did go past it though because I was having a couple beers at night before bed, or a wine cooler.

I have written before that alcohol inhibits the bodies ability to lose fat. It isn't a complete obstacle, but it does slow things down. And, certainly it seems to add empty calories to the mix of other calories.

I was hoping that I would have weighed this morning in under 180-pounds. I have certainly been careful what I have been eating. Alas, I didn't come in under 180.

I am 2.2-pounds over my record for this weight loss season. That's not bad.

I Have Hit A Real Tough Spot Here With My Weight
It seems to me I am at a real hard set point here for my weight. I have been hovering at 180 for a while. I thought sure I would have dropped to 175-pounds by now.

Well, it hasn't happened. I have been reading about this matter, and I may have to engage in some hard excercise; and I don't feel like it. I just don't.

My bones creek, and my joints crunch. It's hard to get an older machine to work, that's me.

I turned 49 years old yesterday. Arg... I put my new license up for you to see. Someone spotted that the license still has 250 pounds written on it. It's only because I forgot to tell the DMV my new weight. I was in a hurry trying to get that thing renewed.

That 25o-pounds is what I weighed this time four years ago. I was actually 260-pounds before that, but I had started the Doctor Atkins Diet. I managed to shave off 10 pounds before I had my license renewed.

Anyway, I hope that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.

Since it is Thanksgiving Day, I am not even going to try to restrict my food consumption. I will write everything that I eat down. But, I am not going to stop eating at 1,500 calories.

Today is a day with the remaining family that I have. So, I will make some attempt to enjoy the day.

Bye for now...

That's the way it is... I'm David Dane

Today Is My Birthday....

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at ????

Yep, no scale, and no weight.

Today is my Birthday. Today I am 49 years old. Man the time flies by so fast.

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.

Check out my new drivers license.
That's me now at 180-pounds.

Bye for now....

And that's the way it is: I'm David Dane

Early This Morning The Hunger Monster Struck

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at ??????????
This Is The Third Day Without My Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale.
I didn't get another scale yet.

This Morning I Suffered With Terrible Hunger
Yesterday I ate some dinner at a friends home. She served me some left over noodle casserole with chicken pieces in it. I am guessing that was about 300 calories.

After the meal she served me a small slice of apple pie. I estimate that was 250 calories.

I went home and before I went to bed I consumed a can of light beer (110 calories), and a wine cooler (130 calories).

This topped me up and over the 1,500 calories for the day.

After I went to sleep I awoke at 12:30 AM because someone outside pulled up and started making noise with a loud conversation.

After they left I attempted to go back to sleep. I couldn't sleep. The Hunger Monster struck with a vengeance. My stomach was sore. It was growling and burbling because of the hunger.

I laid there for over an hour trying to fall back to sleep. I didn't attempt to stave off the hunger with anything. Finally I did fall back to sleep. Then around 4:00 AM I woke up again. This time the hunger was worse. It hurt.

I fell back to sleep and dreamed that I was chained in a dark dungeon and begging for food, and water. I woke up at around 7:15 AM made coffee, and ate something. I couldn't take it anymore. It was just to pain full waiting to eat.

Now, I would wish that I had the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale with me to see what I weighed after a night like that.

I quess I could have gotten up and drank some tea with honey, and chowed down a couple table spoons of peanut butter. This is my usual remedy. However, I am going after that next 10-pound target.

I won't get there if I keep serving up food for every craving that hits.

I have had people tell me that I am good here at 180-pounds. It's just they can't see this belly. I have a large chest cavity, and a lot of muscle around it. This is only because I used to do a whole bunch of push ups, pull ups, and dips while serving in the military for 16 years.
My tummy tucks under that line.

The problem is my waist is around 39-40 inches still. I want it to be a size 36 inch waist or smaller.
I still can't put on the pants that I was wearing back in 1994 when I was 180-pounds then.

Something has shifted and I think that shift is sitting right around my middle. I have a belly that protrudes when I sit. I can still keep it sucked in when I stand.

Here is my point. I have to go lower with my weight. That is in spite of the commentary that I keep getting from the onlookers.

I would dearly love to kick up my total calorie count for the day to around 2,000 calories.
I can't, and then still expect to lose more weight.

And mind you, I am not being neurotic about this. I eat food just like anyone else eats food. I just eat less food than I did before.

Bye for now...

And that's the way it is... I'm David Dane

Hello weight losing fans...

I don't have a Magical-Digital-Scale right now. So, I have not weighed myself today.

Yesterday I kept my calorie count to just under 1,700 calories. I had a wine cooler before going to bed and that put me up and over the 1,500 calories.

No commentary for today.

And that's just the way it is... David Dane

Bye for now...

There's No Way To Weigh Myself Today

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing ????????

Yep, I don't have a clue what I weighed today because I don't have my Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale. I am not going to try to retrieve it, it can stay where it is. I'm not going after it.

So, it looks like tomorrow I have to purchase another one.

Yesterday I thought that I was really going to eat a lot more food than I did. Someone in my family made some incredibly delicious egg rolls. But I was caught up short with the meal and had to leave.

Each roll only turned out to be around 150-170 calories. I ate six.

For breakfast I had a cherry turnover (220 calories), and three 2-inch slices of coffee cake. (I am guessing that was about 500-600 calories), Chocolate Carmel Turtle (110 calories).

That was it. I was going to eat more egg rolls, but didn't get the chance.

And that's the way it was, I'm David Dane

Bye for now...

Losing Weight On 2,600 Calories A Day?

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 183-pounds.
That's up over three pounds.

I knew that was coming because I ate a small steak last night.

It's OK, I ain't gonna kill myself here trying to lose weight.

Today I have a relative over and she's making Chinese food. That means trouble for me.
We are having family over and it's going to be pig out time.

The Fat Man Says He's Losing Weight With 2,600 calories.
Yesterday I was talking with a man where I work who currently weighs 350-pounds. He claims that he was more than that. Yes, he literally looked like a round beach ball.

He has been attempting to lose weight. And by the looks of it he's been somewhat successful. I can tell he's lost some weight. He was actually up around 410-pounds before.
This was on a man who only stands 5 food 8 inches tall.

As I was talking with this man, he was telling me that he is counting calories. Hmm? He was telling me that he is consuming 2,600 calories a day. That's more than I can even begin to wish to consume.

I am truly dumbfounded with the idea that this little fat man can lose weight consuming 2,600 calories per day.

I asked him what he used to eat to gain all of the weight. He said that he consumed 5,000 calories per day before.

It's a wonder he's still alive. He says that he's now losing weight and that his goal it to be 230 pounds. OK, that's great. However he's a short man and he should be at 150 or less pounds. He has a heavy frame, but still 230-pounds is too much for him.

I walked away from that conversation baffled and wondering if he isn't lieing to me, and for that matter himself.

We do that to ourselves. We lie and think that there are no consequenses. Well, I can't figure out his situation. I can't figure out how anyone could lose weight eating 2,600 calories a day.

If this was me, then I would be a balloon.

Bye for now....

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 182-pounds.

I expect tomorrow morning I will be about the same or a little bit more considering I just ate a 3 ounce steak, corn, and mashed potatoes.

Bye for now...

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 183.0-pounds.
Yep, that's up from the record by a little over three pounds.

Now, I think that this is because last night I ate real late. It was almost 7:00 PM when I had dinner at an Irish pub.

I ate a big salad, a thin slice of prime beef, corn beef and cabbage, large pile of green beans, and three of those little bite sized pastry cookies.

I don't have much to say write now. I am heading home.
Bye for now....

Never Going Back To Where I Was

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto my Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 182.0-pounds.
Hmm? That's up a little over two pounds over my record.

Well, I am not out that 180-pounds range. I keep pushing back up over it. And it's only because I have been eating well. I am not writing that I am pigging out. It's just I have been up over 1,500 calories a couple times this week.

My Custard Ice Cream in the waffle cone pushed me over the limit two days ago. Yesterday I broke even after consuming two cans of light beer at 110 calories a can of beer.

And I am not sweating here because there are many people who seem to believe I look fine where I am now. That said, I have been looking at the BFI charts. Based on my frame, which is light, I should go down another 10-pounds, or so. This is attainable, but there just isn't any rush to get there right now.

I am going to have to figure out at what calorie count I should be at just to maintain my weight without gaining or losing anything. That is going to be tricky.

I am used to limiting my calorie intake. I have learned to take the hunger in stride as part of the weight losing process.

Mentally Preparing To Live "The Life Long Battle Of The Bulge"
One of the hard things for me to accept when I embarked on this weight loss adventure was that I have to continuously stay at this "weight loss thing" for the rest of my life. That is as long as I still have my wits about me.

I put that in quotes because many people who don't have to try and lose weight haven't got a clue what I was doing. I have heard people ask me, "Are you still doing that weight loss thing?"

Well, yeah I am still doing that weight loss thing. And, for all the rest of my days I will have to be doing that "Weight Loss Thing."

My problem before was I didn't realize I had to be at the "Weight Loss Thing" for all the rest of my life.

I can't ever let my guard down. I can no longer go back to eating those over sized McDonald's Meals day in and day out. I can't go back to eating a large candy bar without a care in the world about where it will end up on me. I can't go back to those large bowls of Ice Cream at night before I go to bed.

Never again will I be able to stop keeping records about what it is that I am consuming. Never again will I be able to go months without stepping up onto my scale.

Never again will I be able to go to the buffet and eat three or four plates of food day in and day out. Never again will I be able to eat until, "I feel full."
Never again.

Those days are over. I have to live with that.

I also get to live with the benefits:

• I have more energy
• I run up the stairs without holding the hand rail and then chugging slowly up the stairs
• My blood pressure dropped into the basement back to where it was years ago
• My heart rate has dropped 40 points at rest
• My blood sugar is down
• My cholesterol is down 45 points
• I sleep better and fuller at night
• I wake up easier
• I don't feel like I am dragging my fanny around all the time
• I jump up and down without wincing in pain
• I have an over all better feeling about life. It still sucks, but it's improving
• Yeah, I have to eat less, but somehow I feel better for it

Yes, I had to deny myself. Yes, I still deny myself.
I have to keep my guard up all the time, 24/7, and 365 days a year.

It's worth it. I tell you it's way worth it. I forgot how good I felt being a light weight. I forgot how I used to run like a bunny around the blocks. I forgot how good feeling thin was.

I don't know why I forgot. I won't forget any time soon how awful it felt getting old and fat. It stinks.

Being preponderant was it's own disease. Being preponderant effected the way people looked at me. It effected the way people treated me. It effected my outlook on life.

It's hard to get those pounds off. I kid you not it is. It's not going to be easy to keep them off. Oh, I am sure I will eventually figure out those habits to keep the pounds off. But, I can't ever forget those habits, and I can't ever stop practicing those habits.

EAT LESS FOOD is my motto. This is the only sure way to get those pounds off, and then keep those pounds off.

How much is right for you? I don't know the answer. You'll have to figure that out.
But, it's a sure bet that if you are even just ten pounds over what you should actually weigh, you are eating too much food.

EAT LESS FOOD. Lose the weight. It's for you. It's not for your wife, your kids, your neighbors, or you boss. It's losing weight for you.

You are the one that will be living with you, one day from now, one week from now, one year from now, and ten years from now. It's for you and no one else.

Bye for now....

I Ate Custard Ice Cream In A Waffle Cone

Hello weight losing fans...

This morning I still don't have my Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale. I don't know what is is that I weigh today.

I don't have commentary for now; maybe later if I can get to a computer.

I am going to get my weight when I return home. It won't be official, but I will get an idea if I have started heading up the wrong way here.

I have eaten real well the last two days. I even had a big waffle cone filled with custard ice cream yesterday. The flavor was Apple Crumb Pie. That was empty calories, but that cone was oh so, so delicious. Yummy....

I am not into to depriving oneself of the goodies in life. I am into resisting the urge to consume every goody we can get our sticky little fingers on and putting them into our mouths like mindless children.

I Am At The Library, So It's Part Two
I was visiting a family member for the last two days. I didn't have my weight scale with me. I didn't have any way to weigh myself. Oh she has a scale, however it's one of those scales with the needle, and I don't trust it. Before I could even step on it, the needle was at five pounds.
That's hardly a scale that I think I can believe or ascertain if it will be near correct.
I have no way to calibrate it with weights so I avoided the thing.

When I returned home I did weigh myself. I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 184.6-pounds. This was the middle of the day after having eaten breakfast, lunch and drinking fluids.

When I was visiting I was working on my blog yesterday. I was posting a long commentary when suddenly for no reason the desktop switched to a page I had reduced. When I clicked back to the page I wanted, everything I wrote was gone.

I didn't feel like writing everything all over again. So I finished up my post and went else where on the Internet.

I tried to recreate my commentary below.

Be Careful What You Drink
This topic may be elementary to anyone who has a brain in their heads. Then again it may not be elementary. It has to do with those calories in the things we drink like juice, soda pop, coffee lattes, chocolate shakes, some of those vitamin waters, and especially those energy drinks.

Last week I was getting breakfast from one of those self serve breakfast bars in the lobby of a inexpensive hotel that I was at. (That is if you can call $90.00 a night inexpensive.)

Anyway, I was next to some guy who had a Styrofoam cup in his hand and was dispensing orange juice into it. He filled the cup to the brim and immediately swigged it down while standing there at the machine. He put the cup under the dispenser again, filled the cup with orange juice, then swigged that cup down. The third time he filled the cup to it's brim, and walked off with the cup squeezed in one hand, and a plate of food balancing in the other. (I was thinking that's rude.)

I was also thinking about how many calories he just consumed just standing there at the orange juice dispenser. Each Styrofoam cup was about eight ounces. Eight ounces of orange juice is at least 130 calories. And this is totally dependent on the kind of sweeteners that may or may not be added to the juice. If it was natural orange juice, then he drank 130 calories with every eight ounces. If he was drinking orange juice that was sweetened with corn syrup, then he may have been consuming as much as 180 calories per cup. Ouch!

Let's just say he drank three cups of natural orange juice, then he consumed 390 calories of orange juice.

What's the big deal? Isn't orange juice loaded with vitamin C, and isn't it healthy for us? Well, yes if that's his only source of vitamin C, I guess it's OK. However, he would have gotten all the Vitamin C he needed in one cup.

How many times do we drink juice, milk, alcohol, coffee lattes, and other sweetened drinks without ever stopping to think about how many calories may be in that liquid?

If someone eats all the right things all day long but then insists on drinking liquids that are loaded with sweeteners like sugar, corn syrup, and other sugars like fructose, he/she is defeating the purpose of a careful diet.

I know for myself I lost five pounds in six months just by giving up regular Coca-Cola. That was years ago. However, my point is this; when we do our food journals, are we writing down the liquids we are drinking? Or, are we taking for granted that just because it's a liquid it can't have that many calories?

It may seem elementary, however, I am beginning to see more people who don't seem to think twice about ordering a huge Coca-Cola at lunch or dinner. I see people order huge glasses of orange juice for breakfast. And I wonder do people even think about how many calories they are drinking down?

I was at a gas station and saw some young man buy one of those large cans of energy drink. It was a 24-ounce can. It was loaded with all kinds of things like caffeine, herbs, and corn sweetener. I went to the refrigerator and looked at the same product. The can was supposed to be two 12-ounce servings. Each serving was 225 calories. This means that can had 450 calories in it. I couldn't believe it.

I thought whoa, what an energy drink. I can guarantee that man drank that whole can in one sitting. Here is the weird thing about it, a 12- ounce can of Coca-Cola is only 150 calories. This energy drink had 75 calories more per twelve ounces than a twelve ounce can of Coke. Go figure...

Now, no one is going to put that company out of business for selling a can of sugar water. I don't think anyone should. However, I can't help but think this will add to the future epidemic of Obesity that is rearing it's ugly head in this country, and around the world.

I am not hoping that our wonderful government officials will save us from ourselves by banning companies that make colored sugar water. I am hoping that people will get sick and tired of being fat like I did, and then do something about it.

I am hoping that parents will wake up and realize they must teach children what they should and shouldn't eat to stay reasonably healthy.

It's easy enough to figure out, but hard to implement. Here is why, no one wants to give up the sweets, and their precious food. It's hard to stop eating when the Hunger Monster, the Compulsion Monster, and the Neurotic Monster make their appearance.

Right now, I am posting and I am hungry. I am trying to think while my stomach is hurting.

It's not easy to deal with the hunger. I can go home and eat because I have calories left to spare.
But, many times this isn't the case. Will we ever develop the will to say, "No, I don't need more food?"

I can't answer that. Only you can.

Bye for now...

What Kind Of Diet Was I On Anyway?

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I don't know what I weigh. Yep, I forgot to put my scale into the car and take it with me. Shucks...

Surrealistic Feelings...
This morning I was making a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. As I was putting on the peanut butter a thought came to me, "I can't believe I am anywhere near where I need to be with my weight."
I kept thinking, "I never thought that I could come this far again losing weight."

I have lost 60-pounds in a little less than one year. Now, people who knew me before are complimenting me. Some women are saying I shouldn't lose more. (So far no one has offered to date me, Shucks...)

My family is saying don't lose more weight.

And still that feeling keeps coming back, "I can't believe that I got this far."

It's a weird feeling to say the least. I have shed 1/4 of my total body weight since last year; which is 60-pounds.

I told a man at church this yesterday and his mouth seemed to drop open. He wanted to know how I did it. I told him to eat smaller food portions. Here is the translation, "EAT LESS FOOD."

I don't tell people what to eat. I do offer some suggestions, however the choice is yours.

If I had been on the Doctor Atkins's diet again, I would not have been able to consume what I consumed this morning for breakfast. I ate a small banana, and a peanut butter sandwich.

My point is this, I am not on a diet as would be described in many books. Maybe I could call it a restricted calorie diet. Maybe...

Bye for now...

Should I Lose Anymore Weight?

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 180.8-pounds. That's up from my record of 179.4-pounds.

Well, the weight will go up and down.

Some People Think That I Have Lost Enough Weight
Today a friend saw me at church and commented that I shouldn't lose anymore weight. I was told if I lost another 10-pounds I would look gaunt.

I told her that I still have a gut. Well, she seems to believe that my face would look drawn and that I would look anorexic.

I am not sure if this is true. I used to be 160-pounds. I can certainly be OK at 170-pounds.
I am not sure what I should do anymore.

Bye for now...