This has been fun

So I have been considering, and came to the belief that this blog is not doing for me what was originally its intent. The conflict with Facebook over being able to post this blog freely has only solidified my desire to say good bye to this format. I will be posting my updates to my home page on Facebook, and this is going to fit my lifestyle at the moment  anyway. So to all that have supported me, Thank you, I love you, and I am not quitting my battle. I am continuing through Facebook and I hope you will continue to support me there.

1-19-11 Catching up...been busy

Wow, it has been a while since my last post. First let me tell you where I am, I did my weigh in on Saturday but I didn't have time to get on here, I have 2 and 1/2 weeks left of this class session  and everything has really loaded down as far as work due and due dates, so I have had no time at all.

After the big loss of my last post I was expecting another big week, but I didn't loose anything, but I didn't gain. I know why, I haven't stuck to my water intake, and I have been doing convenience eating. I have made decent decisions in the food choices but I was doing the grab and go items and not watching my salt intake. This is such a key element to weight loss that is over looked today, everyone is very focused on calories and fats and they miss that balancing factor of sodium. This element will define your metabolism because it is how the body uses your fluids. When you don't support the balance in your hydration and cleansing that sodium and water intake does, you can still go into a slow down phase in your weight loss. So for anyone not looking into sodium intake, please research it a little and add that into your "things to watch" column.

I am still doing the calorie counting through the weight watchers point program that I detailed a couple of posts ago, but I am finding this to be very permissive. Not a bad thing when it comes to cravings, but it has been bad when it comes to healthy eating right now. I have looked at some foods and immediately thought, "Hmm, I have enough points, so why not," instead of looking at the fuel aspect or benefits of the foods. This has made look into creating a chart for myself that is designed around my favorite foods. The chart I am thinking of will be color coded based on the benefits the food will provide for me. The color code of this will resemble our national security scale, with red being for things like high sodium, fats, and sugary items such as coke and double quarter pounders made like big mac's from Mickey D's. Yellow will be for things that are in the almost bad phase that are still on the higher end of the "bad" scale like, a sodium rich chicken sandwich from any fast food place. Green will be for...well all the good, clean, beneficial items like super foods and salads. 

I don't know how long it will take to actually make a chart but I would like to start posting pictures of my progress soon and I will post the chart after I get it done as well. Other than that I am caught up on my school work and trying to get a bit ahead now so I can start doing something else with myself. I have also finally been able to get a workout started again as of today because next week I want another big number!

So the Progress Report goes like this, still 491, but feeling great. Back on track in school and starting to workout again today. I have been on track with weight watchers and I am proactively avoiding cravings, but I need to get a little better with good food intake so I am designing a chart to help me in that. and Pictures will be coming soon. Other than that I love you all and thank you for the blessing you are in my life everyday. Thank you for reading and I will be back on here soon. James.

1-8-11 Re-First week results

I started my commitment to my health over exactly 1 week ago today. Today is the big day! I get to see if the adjustment to my plan and following the weight watchers points plan in addition to the vitamins I posted in the last post, as well as the high fiber, actually paid off.

This week I have had no cravings, that is the first challenge aversion I needed fulfilled with this transition. I also have been focusing and exuding energy, this is a nice change from the depression and drained stage of the pneumonia. So no matter what the scale shows I feel better and I will continue to be driven by that fact.

I will cut right to the chase here because I am very limited on time right now, this is why I need to apologize for not posting once again. My classes for IT have really ramped up the amount of work I need to do and I also had fallen behind from being sick. So this week has been all about catching that up and getting back ahead, so I can start balancing my schedule again. Then I might be able to finish my wed page and keep this blog up to date again. I thank you all for being patient with me right now.

So...Drum roll please.... Are you sitting, cause I WAS SOBBING FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES!!!

I lost 22 lbs this week!

I started back on my program at 512 lbs. After reaching a 30 lbs loss between 11-10-10 and 12-10-10, I was at 504 lbs, and then I spent the rest of last month sick and on drugs that caused weight gain and depression (Pharmaceuticals suck). I am now at 491! I broke 500 for the first time in over 2 years and I am only 7 lbs from my first 50 lbs goal. I am beyond excited. I am so happy! And at this rate I will be at my 300 lbs goal by the end of the year for sure. I love you all and I need to go for now, but I wanted to share this joy with all of you. Because of you being here I have been able to fight through some extremely difficult times and for that you may never know how grateful I am that you are here. You helped to save my life just by reading and supporting me. Thank you so much. James.

1/4/11 Vitamins

I re-established my vitamin intake today. The difference in my attitude and energy is incredible. I have been suffering from a major lack of energy and motivation since before my pneumonia, and today the exact opposite occurred. I have been sleeping a lot due to being so tired and I had totally reversed my schedule to where I was literally going to sleep at around 7am and sleeping till about 2pm with at least 2 naps to follow. I was feeling like a vampire, and my kids, although they were fed and I was here, they were pretty much alone when Janell was at work. I would only get up to feed them and settle a dispute, otherwise, for the last month I have been out of it.  My attitude has stunk and my house and school work are a wreck.

As of this morning I got up at 8am, ate, and took all my vitamins. My vitamins are: firstly, "the berry vomit" or vitamin code supplement that I have told you about before; second, 1000 mg Vitamin C, 2 Green Tea extract capsules, 1000 mg Omega 3 fish oil, 300 mg St. Johns Wart, Vitamin B-100 complex cap which covers all 11 Vita B variations, and finally 60 mg of Ginkgo Biloba extract because I have felt a bit foggy as well. I took all of this with my breakfast and I have been bouncing off the walls, motivated, clear headed, and best of all happy. I have been doing my school work, cleaning the house, and playing with the kids all day. It is amazing to realize how much being sick takes out of you, I must have been very Vitamin deficient after all the meds and being sick. I am just sad that my kids were having to deal with me this way even after they had gotten better. My wife was a trooper and kept going into work, but she has taken a while to recover as well and now I am certain that she is also in need of some replenishment to help her over that last little hump.

I want to workout later but like I said, my house is beyond ridiculous right now. So depending on how much I get done today, I may finally be working out again tomorrow. I actually really miss the Yoga and the other videos I was doing. I am so happy to feel alive again, you have no idea. For now it is on to get my house back in order and start living again, instead of hiding out and sleeping my life away.

I also want you to know a little more about my plan, I will be updating my website with the full layout as well, but for now I am just going to put an overview here. I have a point allotment of 64 points through the Weight Watchers program. So that means I have up to that 64 points to use for all my meals for the day. I am keeping a food journal now and with that I can calculate the amount of points I have used against that allotted 64. OK, so I know a lot of you are going to want to know how the points are calculated, so I will attempt to explain here. But as always if you have any questions, let me know and I will answer or give a reference to something that will.

The original allotment that you are given is based on a few items. Age, set in a reverse order of 4,3,2,1,0; against the youngest to oldest age range 17-50+ in 10 year intervals, you choose your range and add those points to your list. For example, I am 33, so for this question I receive 3 points. Next sex, as a male I receive 8 points, female gets 2 points, with a nursing mother receiving 12 points. Question 3 is, how tall are you? Under 5 ft = 0 points, 5' - 5'10" = 1 pt, and over = 2 like me. Question  #4 is the weight question, so what you do is take the first 2 digits of your current weight and that gives you your points in this category. For example I was 512 on 1-1-11, so I get 51 points here. So then the last question is your regular daily activity level, it is set on a 4 way scale with 0,2,4,6 as the points you receive, I get zero here on purpose. So that adds up for me to 64.

The way used points are calculated in food consumed is hard to explain without the slider scale that I got as a member of weight watchers. but it averages out to about 45-50 calories per 1 point. The reason why it is difficult to calculate is due to dietary fiber and total fat in grams, being variables in the equation. The calories are the basis of the original scale, but the fiber and fat counter act each other, fiber is a positive for you and fat a negative. OK, so there is the basic idea of the points, seems complicated at first but it really isn't. I also have been through the program before and have books and previous lists of points for food so it is a but easier for me to start again. I do recommend writing calculated food points down the first time you eat something new, if you plan on doing this, then you will know your favorites by serving size and memory soon enough, then the program becomes a fun game. Now keep in mind that WW does offer counseling, group meetings, weekly weigh ins, and all kinds of tips to keep you successful, so I do recommend going through them if you never have. I am not at this time due to finances, but if and when that changes I too may return to the meetings.

So I am back with a vengeance, and excited to see how far I go now. Now that there is no stupid food soaked holidays, illnesses, or just plain old depression in my way. I will continue to get up and fight and I hope and pray that my struggles will be a light in your life and inspire the changes you want to make. I love you all. James.

1-3-11 Full circle

After much review of past programs, I have come to the conclusion that I already had one that fits all of what I want in a plan and the need to customize one is not as needed as I had originally thought. I have been reminded as to how great a program Weight Watchers is and will be basically following that now. I will however still focus my intake around high fiber so as to get the best results.

For those who are not familiar with WW, you are basically calculating caloric intake of everything that you put in your mouth and placing a point value on it. You are given a daily point allotment for you to budget your intake with. So then you have total control of what you eat, as long as you only use your allotted points for the day. The points used are less with the healthier the choices made, so if you want to eat more food and still fit with in your allotment, you need to eat healthier. And with my focus on fiber, (you get points back from high fiber), I can actually gain quantity by sticking to a high fiber diet. You also gain points back from exercise, so again I can gain food intake quantity by working out, or just save those extra points up. The main idea is to learn what is healthy and what is not, along with portion size, through a point budget.  This point budget allows for any food to be included in your diet, (ANY food), this is great for cravings and addictions because all you need to do is deduct the points from your budget. As you lose more weight the allotted points decrease as well so you eventually are weened off the bad stuff as well, but it is in a more natural reduction than what I was attempting.

I believe that this will be a great way to stay on track and still integrate the Dr. Gerson healing super-foods that I have been studying. I believe in WW from past successes I have had, but I had to stop using this plan before due to a combination of finances (expensive required weekly payments to be a member) and my wife having to follow a special diet for her pregnancies (also costly). I had actually forgotten how great this plan was. Fortunately, I have been working on a website that would make it easier to follow my story and part of that was researching the past plans I have used. I am happy to find that the Flex Plan from WW will fit my needs well, but I will use this blog as my weigh-in and accountability, instead of going in and paying to do the same thing.

As for my website, I am still designing it and I will keep you posted as to when, or even if at this point, it will be out. I say 'if' because I was designing it in order to describe a plan that I was attempting to design and now that I will be following this, I no longer see a need for that part of it. However, the organization I have on that page through a Bio and other pages would allow for people to jump right in to my blog, without having to go back and re-read all my previous posts. So I ask you...should I continue with creating my own site, or do you think this blog will be enough? Please let me know, as always your feedback is incredibly important to me and is highly valued. Thank you, love you all. James.

1-1-11 New Year's Resolution

I have had a rough few weeks. I lost the will to continue in the plan while I was sick with pneumonia. I was on steroids and ended up gaining 8 lbs. I found myself using the possible weight gain from the medication as my excuse to abandon all restraint. I fell off the wagon so to speak, but instead of just falling, I dove in head first clinging onto my new shiny excuse like it was a back stage pass to my favorite band.

I have been depressed due to my actions and I was avoiding this blog because I knew what posting on here would mean. I would find myself facing the truth about the decisions I was making. I was most frustrated with the fact that I knew I should have been eating even healthier, but I reached for chocolate instead. I indulged in all of the Christmas treats and did not hold back at all.  

So as in keeping with tradition I issued myself a challenge for my New Year's resolution. I am expanding my page from just a blog to a website that will make it a lot easier for people to follow my story. I am adding a links page for the study information that I use. I will be organizing the page for people to either follow daily or on a once in a while basis. The challenge I have issued to myself consists of combining all the knowledge I have and rediscovered since the inception of this blog into a concerted effort that will result in 300 lbs lost in 365 days. I may stumble along the way, but I know the efforts I make this year will be beneficial either way.

So there it is, I am refocusing all of my efforts now that I have recovered from being sick, I am no longer on the drugs that were causing me to gain weight. I don't have any more excuses and have felt the defeat of the last 3 weeks already catching up with me with my breathing and back issues. My resolve is stronger than it has been and I am looking at the whole New Year's resolution as my time to reinvent. All the same requested input will apply to my new site as well, and I have a page dedicated to the best advice I am given. I will still continue to attempt to reach as many people with this as possible because I am hoping others will be helped with my journey and especially the help from all of you.

1-1-11 Progress Report. Broken and frustrated but never giving up. I am now back at 512 lbs and more than deservedly so. I have been reinvigorated by my failures the last few weeks. I am now focusing all the knowledge I have, to design a complete plan that is easier and more fitting to me and my addiction to food. I was really frustrated with the severity of cravings I had before because of the dietary changes I had made. So the new changes to my plan that I am making will no longer not allow me to deal with the cravings. So until the site is up and functional, I am here learning my weaknesses, dealing with my addictions, striving to survive. I love you all and thank you for your patience with me and prayers. Happy New Year and 2011 is going to be a great year. James.