FIRST MEAL 'ON THE ROAD'

Today, December 30th, I am away from home on a two day, one night trip.  My wife who has been incredibly supportive made an omelette before I headed out the door at 7:00AM.   For lunch, I ate the two navel oranges that I had cut up before I left.   (Refrigeration was not a problem, the temperature in Wisconsin was 15°F (-9.4°C).

My dinner was planned 24 hours in advance.   I selected the specific dinner that I wanted to order at an Applebee's Restaurant' near my hotel.   Once I got to the restaurant, I knew exactly what I wanted.   GRILLED CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD (NO DRESSING).   At my wife's suggestion I added two lemon wedges to give the salad some extra flavor.   It is amazing how a food that I had no interest in whatsoever a mere six days ago could taste so delicious.  Wait, I retract that statement.   What is amazing is the laziness and stupidity with regards to eating that I have maintained for many years.   I am re-learning all the things I learned 7 years ago when my weight fell from 300lbs to 220lbs.   Nothing I can do about the past.  According to the Applebee's nutritional information posted on their website, my dinner was a scant 370 calories.   (In fact, it was a bit less as I asked that the croutons NOT be included in my dinner.)   Eating well on the road, requires some thought and planning - it sure is worth it!    TOTAL CALORIC INTAKE TODAY=955.   In the 'old days' (you know, December 23, 2014) I could have easily knocked down 955 calories BEFORE lunch!   My first official home weigh-in will be January 1.   I am looking forward to announcing my initial results in two more days.  My belt has already told me that I am making progress.

APPLEBEE'S GRILLED CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD w/o DRESSING 370 CALORIES

THIS IS A SNACK?

As a man who spends approximately 10 nights per month on the road traveling from one account to another,  I was pretty guilty of 'snacking.'   I intend to spend my time on this blog looking to the future - but I must look backward this time to describe the type of purchases I might have made when stopping to fill up my tank with gas.   This trio of 'foods' often served as breakfast too.

                                                           TOTAL FAT    SATURATED FAT   CARBS    CALORIES

NABISCO OREO COOKIES (10-PACK)        23G                   7G                    79G                   530
HOSTESS HO HO'S (3 PACK)                      16G                 12G                    54G                   360
NESTLES 14OZ VANILLA MILK                      3G                   2G                    30G                   170

TOTAL SNACK/BREAKFAST                       42G                  21G                 163G                1060 

This is breakfast?
This is a snack?
For the past many years, the answer has been: yes
And one more thing, I could consume this 'meal' in ten minutes, maybe less....I never actually timed myself.   But one thing is for sure,  I never felt sated, or satisfied.   The one thing that prevented me from getting a fourth or fifth item was that I didn't want to overdo it.  Yes, I know - That's pretty funny.

This clears up the mystery of my elevated glucose levels and weight gain.

GLUCOSE 114 mg/dL

Five days after my blood tests were performed during my 'wellness' checkup, my blood work results arrived via email.    At the doctors office I was advised that my blood pressure was a bit elevated.  Today I have learned that my bloodwork results came back normal with the exception of my GLUCOSE levels.   The normal range for me should been between 70-99 for a fasting glucose reading.   My results were 114 mg/dL which is a bit high.   Continued high or worsening glucose levels can lead to diabetes.   So this is no joke.   The email from the doctor indicated that this is "commonly caused by being over weight and [having] a sedentary lifestyle."  The communication from the doctor indicated that I am "advised to improve TLC efforts. (Low saturated fat, low carbohydrate, well balanced diet; engage in aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes, 3 times per week; and achieve and maintain a normal weight."   The doctor suggests that the test is repeated in 3 months.    I already have a followup exam scheduled in two months, I will ask to be retested at that time.

It is going to take a little while to "achieve and maintain a normal weight."   I am glad that I have already started. I believe that I am already well on my way to eating a more sensible, well-balanced diet.   And I intend to follow the advice to engage in aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes, 3 times per week. I have great confidence that my test results will be much improved the next time.  I am always encouraging my own daughter to "keep her grades up" as each semester in 7th grade progresses.   It is time for me to heed my own advice.   I need to get my blood test scores up, well, in this case, get my glucose levels down.   There is no question in my mind that my next tested result will be radically different.

GLUCOSE molecular formula C6H12O6

885 CALORIES

It is hard to believe that the same guy who less than one week ago gave almost no thought to consuming a 2000 calorie meal has just completed another day of SATISFYING EATING that was actually under 900 calories for the day!  I promise you I found myself no hungrier today than on any other day of the previous many years.  Four days ago, during my 'wellness' checkup, my doctor said that we really don't have to eat so much at one sitting as the next meal is typically only 6 hours away.   We only need enough to survive until that next meal.   This is what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:   TWO (2) NAVEL ORANGES (85 calories each)         170 CALORIES
LUNCH:           3-EGG OMELETTE w/CHEESE                                    425 CALORIES
DINNER:           ONE (1) SMOKED POLISH SAUSAGE
                          w/TWO (2) CUPS OF BROCCOLI CUTS                   290 CALORIES

                                                          TOTAL             885 CALORIES

I did eat this same menu yesterday as well as I am a creature of habit.  Remember, I am the guy who previously divulged that I ate only about 8 different 'entrees' from only five different 'restaurants' over a period of multiple years.   THIS FOOD TASTES BETTER.   I FEEL BETTER.   I AM GETTING BETTER.    By the time I visit my doctor in eight weeks for the followup appointment from my 'wellness' exam - I expect to be a lot 'weller' than I was way, way back on December 24, 2014 when I woke up! (no typo there, that exam took place a scant four days ago!)

The highpoint of my day was the five (5) mile walk I took with my daughter.   The first 2.5 miles was a true cardio experience as we were racing to the brand-new Maggie Daley Park in Chicago before darkness set in.    I don't know what precise speed we were walking, but we were walking fast and stopping only to cross busy downtown streets.    On the way back, we took our time and there was no cardio component to the return trip.   Nevertheless, I am going to assume that it was far better than hopping onto a bus.   

CONFESSIONS

It is said that confession is good for the soul.  I will use this post to confess the sins of eating like a moron.   On the road, my lunches and dinners were really not too varied.  Favorite spots were McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Panda Express or White Castle.   The purpose of this blog is ultimately to share secrets of successful weight loss.   But before I get to that subject I am going to share the 'secrets' of successful weight gain.   Here were some of my favorite meals with the calories as provided on various websites that I checked today.

Panda Express Two-Entree Dinner HONEY WALNUT SHRIMP, ORANGE CHICKEN, CHOW MEIN and an EGG ROLL   1480 calories

Subway Footlong Sweet Onion Teriyaki and Harvest Sun Chips 950 calories
              or
              Footlong Seafood Sensation and Harvest Sun Chips 1050 calories
              or
              Footlong Meatball Marinara and Harvest Sun Chips 1170 calories
             (Jared famously lost weight at Subway, surely he made better choices!)

McDonalds Four (4) Hamburgers (almost never ordered fries) 960 Calories
                     or
                    Three (3) McChicken Sandwiches 1110 Calories
                    (I had thought that chicken was a somewhat 'healthy choice'  WRONG!)

Burger King Four (4) Hamburgers (almost never ordered fries) 960 Calories

White Castle Ten (10) Hamburgers (140 calories per burger)    1400 Calories

Ok, that's it... I have officially bared my 'diet' of the past many years.   In between these breakfasts, lunches and dinners would be an array of chocolate cakes, candy bars and ice-cream.   Now that I have finished divulging my secrets of weight gain, the secrets of my upcoming weight loss are fairly obvious.   STOP EATING THIS CRAP!   My brother, has asked me many times if I enjoyed eating at these places.   My answer was always the same: Yes.   It is time for me to find some new alternatives.

In order to end this post on an upbeat note:  I made friends with a nearby treadmill and walked 1.9 miles in 30 minutes.   The machine indicates that I burned approximately 190 calories.   That is not the amount of calories in one chocolate bar!   It will serve to make me think long and hard before I stick another chocolate bar in my mouth.

               

MyFitnessPal

Yesterday I downloaded an app from iTunes: MyFitnessPal.   Among the things that it does is allows you to enter all the food you eat in a day.   Psychologically this is a very good idea.   Fat people like me don't like to eat in front of friends and family.  It has always been more enjoyable to stuff my face in privacy.  This cuts down on the shame and guilt - sadly it does not cut down on the waistline.  This app destroys the privacy factor - now as long as I use this app - privacy is gone.   Today, Saturday, I woke up late and by 10AM - The App alerted me to the fact that I hadn't entered my breakfast yet and asked if I wanted to do so.   It appears forgetting to think about this app is also out of the question.   There is a 'game' component to this which may be enjoyable.   It will be a challenge to see how little I can eat without being hungry.   Hunger is an interesting thing.   The 'secret' to ballooning to 315lbs is to always be hungry.   Always be eating. Non-stop eating never cured my false feeling of hunger - I might as well be a little be hungry and be losing weight instead of being constantly hungry and piling on the pounds.   Truth is, I don't think I was any hungrier yesterday than I  have been on any typical day - in fact, I might have been less hungrier during most of the day.  At the conclusion of the day, the app indicated that I consumed less than 900 calories.   It is not my goal to go through life on only 900 calories per day - it is completely unrealistic - but I see no harm in going a bit overboard in the very beginning of this new lifestyle.   Part of the new lifestyle is to think about everything that I stuff in my mouth.   I certainly was not giving that much thought prior to three days ago.
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I am a salesman who spends an average of 10 nights per month on the road in hotel rooms. This is a good place to commit to admitting what a pretty typical breakfast has been for me 'on the road'.    Two (2) Bacon, Egg, Cheese Bagels from McDonalds (620 Calories EACH) followed by a package of Three (3) Hostess Ho Ho's (120 calories EACH) all enjoyed with a DIET COKE! Total Calories for an extremely common breakfast that I had been eating recently 1600 CALORIES. I knew I was eating poorly, but as God is my witness, I never did the math until this very moment.
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I will reserve a future post to reveal my typical lunch and dinner.    It won't be anything to brag about.

BEFORE/(no after) PICTURES

Do you share this concern? Every time you see a before and after set of photos from someone who has lost weight - the before photos are always fuzzy and your are never really sure if the photos in the  after are even the same person? I don't have have the after photos yet. My weight loss journey only started 48 hours ago, right around the time I visited my doctor for a 'Wellness" visit and discovered that I weighed nearly 315 lbs. When I returned home to measure my waist and neck - I was more dismayed to discover that the measurements were 52" waist and 18.5" neck. I didn't need to visit the doctor to discover that I was overweight - mirrors that I passed as well as my belt were extremely effective in transmitting this data to my mind. I always figured that I could start a new diet (lifestyle change) 'tomorrow.'  Tomorrow was yesterday. It should be obvious that I only have the before photos. I am aware that this journal could become a bit more interesting with some comparative after photos.  That is the plan.  Marc