Josh's Journey: To my surprise...

To start my journey towards healthier living I was given a task. Not a big big task, but one that would open my eyes.  I was told to track how much I eat throughout the day and put it into a food journal.   WOW, what an eye-opening experience.  I never would have guessed how much food I was really eating.  And because I am always road, I never look at what I ate or drank throughout the day.

 

My breakfast would consist of a cup of coffee or a latte and an apple or toast, not that bad.  But then I'd walk in to one of my accounts and get something out of the deli or bakery.  My lunches would consist of celery, peanut butter, raisins, grapes and beef jerky, again, not that bad.  However, I'd get another latte before I got home.  Then, when I got home, I would snack on M&M's or some other kind of sweets while me or Kari made dinner.

  

What really got me were my dinners. I never thought my dinners were that out of control until I really looked how much I ate. For one meal I had corn on the cob, a Caesar salad and a steak.  A great balanced meal.  Except my portions were were out of whack.  2.5 servings of salad, corn on the cob covered with butter and Johnny 's seasoning and a 16 ounces of steak. Not a 4-ounce, or an 8-ounce steak, but a 16 OUNCE STEAK. That's 1 pound of meat! It blew my mind. That's when I realize just how much I really eat.

I know that I won't be able just to flip a switch and start eating less, but at least now I can make a conscience effort to watch how much I am really eating.

The Family That Loses Together....

If you are a regular reader, you know I have been on this Weight Loss Journey for 18 months.  I have lost 110 lbs as of this morning's weigh in.  My family and friends have been incredibly supportive and motivating, especially my sister, Kari, and her husband, Josh.  Josh called me last weekend and had a great idea for us all to do this together.  By all, I mean him, my sister, my husband Roger and I.  Saturday we met at their house, I shared my knowledge, took measurements and got them all started on My Fitness Pal to begin tracking their calories.

I will let them introduce themselves:

My name is Joshua Bryant. I am 33 years old with three very active boys all under the age of 5. With a very busy and hectic lifestyle I've never put a big emphasis on my own health. I've always tried to put the health of my kids and my wife before me. As I now look at myself, I am starting to realize that I can't keep up with my children, I am always tired, and my body feels like it is falling part.  I decided to start this journey down the path of a healthier lifestyle.  Not to deprive myself of food, but to be more conscious of the food that I put in my body.  My goal for this journey is to lose about 50 pound. To get down to a healthy weight of 150.  I want to be able to run with out being out of breath within 2 minutes. To be able to enjoy my children as they grow up and to enjoy my grandchildren as they come along and to overall become a healthy and vibrant person once again.

Hello!  I am Kari (Josh's wife and Kristy's sister).  I stay at home with our 3 crazy young boys.  I also have a craft business I run from our home...oh and an accounting job I do one day a week.  To say my days are busy and hectic is a complete understatement!  Out of the four of us, I am probably the most apprehensive about this journey.  I understand the importance to get and stay healthy but struggle with finding the time and energy to make it a success.  This is why doing this as a family is so important. My goal is to be comfortable in my body, whatever weight that may be.

Hi.  My name is Roger.  Kristy and I have been married just over 11 years.  I've always been a big guy but fairly active.  My wife is a great cook and after we married, we just stopped paying attention to how much we were eating.  I have a physically demanding job, keeping me on my feet for 8 to 10 hours a day.  My goal is to be able to do my job the best I can, curb my sugar addiction and catch up with my wife.

Weight Loss Journey: Not Giving Up

I am very frustrated and depressed.  This thyroid issue is pissing me off.  I started medication the first of April.  Almost 8 weeks later and I am still in the low 390s.  The first 5 weeks, I was very diligent in staying under 2000 calories and working out 4 or 5 times a week.  I did drop from 399 to 395 but the last 3 weeks I have been pretty lax and not working out very much.  My low weigh in was 390.4 and my highest was 396.2.  I know weight can fluctuate but it is getting frustrated.

I'll be honest with you all.  Maybe I wasn't working as hard as I should have been.  In my mind I was telling myself I was working as hard as I could and eating as healthy as possible.  But honestly, I wasn't.  I was being lazy in the gym and letting my mind tell me I was tired or wore out when I actually wasn't.  And while I was staying in my caloric goals according to my tracking, I was eating things and not tracking them.  That number on the scale was really getting under my skin.

I decided to start looking at old photos for some inspiration, to show myself how far I have come.  Apparently I didn't really let anyone take full body shots of me.  I did find a photo from March 2016 in the same dress that I wore to a friends wedding on May 21st.  Like I said, my weight hasn't dropped but maybe 5 lbs in this time period but I can tell there is a body difference.  My hips, belly and midsection look slimmer.

I don't have much else to talk about at the moment but I wanted to show that even I get bogged down.  And even though that damn scale isn't showing any changes, there are great changes going on in my body.  My sister, Mom and nephews came down the other day to have lunch with me.  We went to a local park and played on the toys.  I would have never been able to climb up the ladders or slide down the slides a year ago.  I even ran with the 2 year old and I wasn't dead tired afterward.  This is the reason I started.  I wanted to be able to play with my nephews and maybe, some day, a child of my own.  Only time will tell but I am not giving up.

Weight Loss Journey: What I Eat In A Day

After my last few blogs were pretty negative in tone, I thought I would brighten things up.  I started on a low dose thyroid medication on Saturday April 2nd.  That next week I dropped 5 lbs and then I put the scale away.  I didn't want to be checking it every single day.  I won't weigh in again until May 1st.  I am doing really well at keeping under 2,000 calories so I thought I would share with you all what I eat in a day.

BREAKFAST 8:00 am
Breakfast is the same every work day.  I make an egg scramble.  I meal prep the meat on Sunday and portion it out into 4 ozs or whatever the serving is.  I weigh everything out in order to track things accurately.  This keeps me full until around noon.  I also have a 24 oz coffee with almond milk (32 cals) and about 40 ozs of water.

142 grams Isernio's Chicken Breakfast Sausage (160 cals)

7 ozs sliced Zucchini (34 cals)

5 ozs sliced Button Mushrooms (30 cals)

8 ozs Liquid Eggs (123 cals)

Total:  347 Cals, 15 carbs, 6 fat and 37 protein

PRE-WORKOUT 12:00 pm
I try to keep pre-workout light but with some protein and carbs.  I have been really liking cottage cheese and berries.

8 oz Cottage Cheese (180 Cals)

3 ozs Black Berries (32 cals)

3 ozs Raspberries (17 cals)

Total:  229 Cals, 28 carbs, 6 fat and 25 protein

POST WORKOUT 2:45 pm
I use my lunch break to go to the gym.  I either do Cardio or weight lifting for 35 minutes, then come back to work and eat.  Post Workout is always a salad.

4 cups Spring Salad Mix (40 cals)
4 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (166 cals)
2 tbsp Litehouse Opa Greek Yogurt Feta Dill Dressing (50 cals)
Total:  256 cals, 10 carbs, 15 fat and 23 protein

DINNER 6:00ish pm
Dinner can vary but we stick to about 10 or 15 dishes pretty consistently.   Here are a few.

6 oz Beef Chuck Steak (240 cals)

150 grams Yukon Gold Potato (120 cals)

2 cups Spring Salad Mix (20 cals)

2 tbsp Litehouse Opa Greek Yogurt Feta Dill Dressing (50 cals)

Totals:  430 cals, 32 carbs, 14 fat and 41 protein

Enchilada Filling:  20 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, 1 can of Low Sodium Black Beans, 1 large can of La Victoria Mild Red Enchilada Sauce.  Makes 10 Servings, 168 calories each.

3 La Tortilla Factory Low Carb Tortillas (80 cals each)

1.5 oz Mexican Cheese Blend

Totals:  745 cals, 87 carbs, 26 fat and 78 protein

7 ozs Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh (245 cals)

8 ozs Yukon Gold Potato (138 cals)

6 ozs Birdseye Steamfresh Broccoli (60 cals)

Totals:  443 cals, 38 carbs, 11 fat and 46 protein

Beef Enchilada Bake

16 oz Grassfed Extra Lean Ground Beef

2 cups Instant White Rice

1 can Sweet Corn

1 can Low Sodium Black Beans

1 large can Enchilada Sauce

8 ozs Mexican Cheese Blend

Makes 4 large servings.  Can serve on a tortilla or eat in a bowl.

662 cals, 74 carbs, 18 fat and 51 protein

We also go out to eat maybe once or twice a month.  The above meal is from Ichi Teriyaki here in Longview.  I get no sauce on my chicken to keep the calories in check.  I look at MyFitnessPal for close matches when I eat out.  This meal came out to be 603 calories, 38 carbs, 16 fat and 68 protein.

In the evening I can have anywhere from 100 to 500 calories left.  I like to indulge in ice cream, popcorn or other simple snacks.  I found a really good diet ice cream called Halo Top.  It is hard to find and a bit expensive but well worth the effort.  The pint below is only 280 calories for the entire thing.  There is 60 carbs, 8 fat and 24 protein.  Compare that to regular ice cream and you will be blown away!

Weight Loss Journey: The Test Results Are In

I saw the Nutritionist last week and I did not get the results I had hoped for.  She said my logs looked good, I was doing everything right, and I just needed to work harder.  Lower my calories and burn more at the gym.  Let me tell you, I was really mad when I left.  I was depressed and pissed off.  I went to Taco Bell to drown my sorrows in Cheesy Frito Burritos.  After talking to my Mom and my husband, I calmed a bit but decided to make that day a cheat day and had pizza (Chicken and Spinach) for dinner.

I spent Friday thinking about what I needed to do.  I got a call from my doctor and she wanted me to come in to have some blood work done to check my vitamin levels.  I decided I was going to follow the nutritionist's advice for 4 weeks.  I would cut my calories to 2000 a day and change up my work outs to see what the results would be.  This requires planning and strategy.  I spent Friday evening writing up options for meals and making a shopping list.

Since Easter was Sunday, we did our weekly shopping on Saturday morning.  Do you have Cash & Carry where you are?  If so, check them out.  I find their produce selection to be top notch.  I can get my salad mix for $6 and it will last 2 weeks.  I also get mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, broccoli slaw, grape tomatoes, potatoes, diced ham and feta cheese.  It saves me money and helps with meal prep.  I spent a few hours Sunday night cutting veggies and weighing everything out.

Planning gives me the chance to try out a few new recipes too.  This week I made Zoodles with Shrimp and One Pot Chili Pasta (see recipes below).  I have to thank my husband for being so patient and open minded on weeks like this.  Let's just say I have been a little crazy about this and analyzing things even more than usual.  He was not a huge fan of the Pasta Chili.  He hates tomatoes, but he ate it anyway.  He did like the Zoodles and Shrimp.  I was surprised how much like pasta it actually felt.

I try to eat 4 times a day.  Breakfast, Pre-Workout Snack, Lunch Post-Workout and Dinner.  This week I have added in a few more supplements.  A ProBiotic, a calcium chew, a milder iron supplement, a chewy daily vitamin and a pre-workout energy mix.  This is in addition to my B12, D3 and Alpha Lipoic Acid.  They are working because some of my blood work has come back and my Vitamin D Levels went from 15 to 38 (normal is 20-80) and my B12 levels went from 230 to 588 (normal 200-914).  My Ferritin levels, which measure your bodies ability to hold onto iron, have went from 22 to 32 in a year.  Normal range for that is 11-307.  

Along with those good results have come some questionable ones.  My TSH or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone came back at 3.24 which is right in the middle of the 0.34 to 5.60 range.  However, my T3 which is part of the thyroid system came back at 82 which is lower than the 87-178 range.  Also my urine test showed more protein that normal.  My number was 147 and the range should be less than 29.  This is the test that worries me.  It shows kidney damage and possible kidney disease.

As of right now, I feel like I am fighting with my body.  According to the doctors and all my research, I am doing everything right.  I am eating very healthy, keeping active, keeping low carb, getting plenty of water and taking all my vitamins.  This week I have been keeping under 2000 calories a day and working out.  On Monday morning I was 397.6 but Friday morning I was 399.6.  Can you see why I am super frustrated?  I have been working hard, cutting and I gained weight.  Needless to say, I am waiting to hear from my doctor to see what to do.  I was in tears all Friday morning.  My Mom finally calmed me down and told me I should stop dieting for a week because me being so stressed and upset just isn't worth it.  I am so happy with my progress and how I feel but I am also so depressed.  

If you have made it this far down the blog, THANK YOU!  I sometimes just need to get this shit written out so I can process it.  I will keep you all updated on my progress and what is in store for my health.

Weight Loss Journey: Food Addiction and Obsession

addiction - noun
the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.
"he committed the theft to finance his drug addiction"
synonyms: dependency, dependence, habit, problem

This was a facebook thing but I thought it was so fitting.

I think I have always been a food addict.  Always thinking about what I could be eating.  Thinking about Lunch as I am finishing Breakfast.  Hiding snacks in my bedroom.  Hiding the evidence of what I had eaten.  It's a shameful thing.  I did my best to hide it in my teens and 20s but it was obvious I was gaining weight.

"A food addiction or eating addiction is a behavioral addiction that is characterized by the compulsive consumption of palatable (i.e., high fat and high sugar) foods – the types of food which markedly activate the reward system in humans and other animals – despite adverse consequences."

The thing about food addiction is that you can't live without it.  You can't just stay away from food.  It is essential to your survival.  Alcoholics can avoid alcohol, and situations involving it.  Food addicts can avoid restaurants but you have to eat.  And in my family, food seems to always be the way we get together.  Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, it doesn't matter, we are having a meal.  My first question is always, what are we having and what can I bring.

Have you ever sat down to watch a movie or tv with a bag of chips or cookies and suddenly realized that you have eaten the entire bag?  That was me all the time.  And in College, I had an hour break between work and class.  I would always spend that hour eating a bag of fast food while studying or finishing homework,.  I was spending $10 to $20 a day on fast food.  That habit continued into adulthood.

When I had Gastric Bypass in 2003, I thought I had broken that cycle.  I was determined that this physical change I had made in my body would cure my mental illness.  But, it was only a matter of time before my addiction took over again.  18 months ago, I was back in the cycle pretty hard.  Buying breakfast and lunch everyday.  Spending every extra cent on snacks and junk food.  I was drinking liters of Diet Coke daily.  I thought everything was great, but don't all addicts?

When I finally decided I had to change my life, it was my head that changed.  I had been to therapy, read every bit of research I could, tried every diet, and every pill.  Nothing worked until my brain changed.  I've dropped 105 lbs in the last 15 months.  But now my addiction has switched to a Diet Obsession.

obsession - noun
1. the state of being obsessed with someone or something.
"she cared for him with a devotion bordering on obsession"
2. an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.
plural noun: obsessions
"he was in the grip of an obsession he was powerless to resist"
synonyms: fixation, passion, mania, compulsion, preoccupation

I count every calorie of everything that goes into my mouth.  I log it on MyFitnessPal and use my FitBit to keep track of my calories burned vs my calories ingested.  I watch YouTube videos on diets, weight lifting and calorie counting.  I plan my meals out a week in advance and eat the same exact thing for Breakfast, Lunch and Post-Workout, every day of the work week.  It's a numbers game and it's driving me insane.

Typical Dinner in my house includes a baked potato with a little cheese, chicken breast and green beans, along with a glass of V8 juice.

Since October 1st, nearly 6 months, I have only dropped 10 lbs.  I've been on this giant plateau where I have tried so many changes.  I've dropped my calories, upped my workouts, used some supplements and now I have added in a protein shake.  I am burning 3500 calories and ingesting about 2000.  This leaves me a 1500 calorie deficit and over a week, that equals a 10500 calorie deficit.  A pound is equal to 3500 calories, therefore, I should be losing around 3 lbs a week.  So what the heck is the problem here?

Two typical days for me.  Around 5000 steps, 4000 calories burned and a work out tracked.

I go to a nutritionist on Thursday this week but in the mean time, I am completely freaking out over this stuff.  Constantly talking about it with my husband and trying to do research on what I am doing wrong.  Is it a thyroid issue?  Have I done metabolic damage to myself?  Am I destined to be this weight?  Am I gaining muscle instead?  It is on my mind at all times and has seriously become an obsession/addiction.  Maybe I will never recover from this.

Weight Loss Journey: How My Gym Make Me Feel...

I hear a lot of flack about Planet Fitness not being a "real" gym.  I call bullshit.  Planet Fitness has everything a regular gym has, plus more.  I don't share a lot about my gym experience.  It's not overly exciting.  I go 3-5 days a week.  If you follow me on Instagram, you see photos from most of my workouts.  There are even days where I go twice.  I mostly keep to myself, wearing ear buds and doing my own thing.  Occasionally I have someone talk to me.  I wave to the familiar people.  In fact, I have met some really great people.

I have had only two bad experiences.  The first, a younger woman asked me not to breath so hard on the elliptical.  I apologized and said I thought that was the point of working out but maybe I had it wrong.  Then, a few days ago, an older woman came up to me and told me if I worked a bit harder, the weight would just fall off.  After I informed her I had already lost 100 lbs in 14 months, she said it again and followed it up with, "Just a friendly tip".  I just walked away from her.  I mentioned this experience when talking to a fellow gym member and he was astounded.  He noted that I work really hard and my paces and RPMs are even higher than his own.

But, for those two bad experiences, I have had at least 20 great ones.  I could start with the employees.  Misty at the front counter greets me with a smile EVERY DAY.  She knows my name, says hello and offers me tips and advice, even sometimes in a British accent.  Aspen, the trainer, is also really nice.  Even though I have never taken any of his classes, he goes out of his way to say hello and answer any questions I have.  Andrew, another employee has seen me come in twice a day at times and is always there with a hello and a goodbye.

Out on the floor, I see some of the same people, day in and day out.  There is Chad who started a conversation with me about an invention and now comes by if I am on a machine just to say hello.  We had a conversation a few days ago about this very blog.  Then there is Jake who never misses a chance to smile and give me a fist bump of encouragement.  And Bob, an older man, who approached me because he wanted to know how I got started and how he could help his daughter who is overweight and has diabetes.  Another person I see nearly daily, I don't know her name, but I call her Walker Lady.  We have talked a few times.  She waits for the bus and wishes me a good day as I leave.  She trucks on her walker through the gym, using the treadmill, stationary bike and weight machines.  She's amazing.

My most interesting conversations happen in the locker room.  There are a few women who I see as I am coming in and a few I see as I am heading out.  There is Rosie who has been coming to the gym longer than I have.  Her husband has diabetes and she comes to the gym to get away.  Another woman who's doctor warned her that her cholesterol was high and she needed to start working out.  She is thin and has always been active.  She didn't understand.  I was late back to work one day because we had such a long conversation.

I write this blog because I want you, reading this, to know that the gym isn't as scary as it seems.  It's become my home away from work, my break in my day and my sanctuary.  If you have a Planet Fitness near you, check them out.  Also, don't stick to one part of the gym.  Do more than what you know or may be easy.  At Planet Fitness, all the machines have pictures and instructions on how to use them.  Give them a shot.  If you already go to a gym, how does your gym make you feel?