Tag: healthy foods

34 Pounds

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My last report was on August 1. It is now August 17. I have lost another 4 pounds. I’m still doing intermittent fasting, and it is still fairly easy to do. I am feeling better all the time. I have had no drops in energy. And the weight keeps coming off, and I suspect and hope that everything else about my health is improving as well.

I have adjusted my fast from 20 hours to only 18 hours, leaving myself a six-hour window for consuming nutrition. This seems to work better for me. I have fewer issues with hunger.

I am starting to notice that my face looks a bit slimmer. My legs are becoming pretty skinny. I think my waistline has decreased, but since it was so large in the first place, I can’t really tell. I can tell you that all of my clothes are fitting me much more loosely. Makes me wish that I had not gotten rid of my smaller clothes a few months ago.

I do still struggling to eat the right stuff. Every now and then I screw up and carb-load like a marathon runner. Or my sweet tooth overcomes me and I become a dessert monster. Other than that I am mostly in control. Perhaps one day I will learn to eat right all the time.

Oh, why no pictures? Because I don’t want to. Maybe when I reach my goal weight. But for now…

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I’m Tired

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Well, WordPress notifications tell me that I haven’t posted in the last 22 days. So here is an update. I have continued to eat whatever I want whenever I want and I am paying the price. I have gained about 8 pounds I think. And I can feel the affects of it. My back and knees hurt. Of course, the thing with the knees could be because of the bus driving.

I really do need to try to get back on track. I have let my schedule at work dictate how I eat. My excuse is that I don’t have the energy to prepare my meals, or plan my meals as I should. Enough with the excuses though. I need to get my crap together. I don’t even want to know what this is doing to my inner workings.

My battle feels like an uphill endeavor. My energy is sapped by my physical pain, which is increased the more I eat the wrong things. Inflammation, low energy, and just not feeling quite right is the worst.

In the beginning, the busy work schedule seemed to be helping me. But then I let my sweet tooth take over. A little ice cream here and there became ice cream for lunch. The more sweets I ate the more fried foods I wanted, and the more fried food I had.

So now, I am at that place where I have to fight to get started again. I have to fight to make myself eat the right stuff and get rid of things I don’t need. I am truly living yo-yo diet life style. I like how eating the right stuff makes me feel, but I also love the immediate feeling the wrong foods give me.

I will keep updating and reporting the good and the bad. I really wish my first eating habit had been a better one. Maybe all of this would be easier.

What can I do about it? The best I can. That’s all I know to do. I’m tired.

All-Star @ Waffle House

Tony T1 Comment

Yea, still not worried about any diet. I’m at Waffle House having breakfast. Waffle House is one of my favorite places to eat. I can see them prepare my meal, which makes me more willing to eat the food.

At this point, I have mostly given up on the diet thing, but still watching out for my health. I know I can’t eat like this every day. And for the most part, I eat at home and things are pretty plain jane.

The All-American is a big breakfast. It comes with your choice of bacon, sausage, or ham, eggs to order, grits or hash browns, toast and a big ole waffle!

The coffee is always good, and the price is right. I’m only here because I missed breakfast this morning. I could have gone home but I didn’t want to. I’m enjoying myself.😊

Finance & Eating Right

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I have to confess that I made a financial miscalculation in 2014 when I chose to buy a new car. Truthfully, I don’t know what I was thinking, except, that I needed a car. Well, it has my finances stretched pretty thin. It has been pretty difficult to pay all of my monthly bills and eat and do other things I need to get done.

If you don’t know, being able to afford the kinds of foods you need to eat right is a big deal. Some would argue that it cost less to eat right that it does to eat fast foods or junk food. Personally, I disagree. There are a lot of “convenient” “quick foods” you can buy in the grocery store that can be stretched a long way. You know the foods. They come in containers and boxes, and the ingredients lists are filled with things you can’t even pronounce. Pop them in the microwave or add hot water and you’re good to go. These foods are found in the inner aisles of the grocery store.

Being able to shop the outer aisles in the grocery store is a big deal. As you know the outer aisles usually are filled with the whole foods which are better for your health. They are the produce and meat and dairy sections. In other words fresh or fresh-ish food sections. These foods have not been processed or have ingredients you can’t pronounce added to them. Of course, there may be some poisons depending on whether or not we’re talking about non-organic or organically grown.

I figured out years ago that simply staying out of the inner aisles and away from “instant” or “processed” foods is enough to improve your health to some degree, even if you’re not shopping organic foods. Unfortunately, the inner aisles cost a lot less, not to mention quicker at home when it comes to preparing meals for your family. So to eat healthier cost just a little more.

Of course, you should, as much as you can, shop those outer aisles. Because I bought a new car in 2014 it has been increasingly difficult to shop those outer aisles. I purchased the car while I was in school as a retired veteran so I had a little extra income. So when I stopped going that income also stopped. I don’t need that much to ease things a little, but I do need something.

Well, I guess I said all of that to get to this point. Today, I begin training to drive a school bus for Berkeley County school district. Commercial driving is another skill I picked up when I got out of the Navy. Actually, I learned to drive large vehicles while in the Navy. I didn’t get a commercial license until I got out.

I have had driving jobs before. I like driving. I have had a spotless driving record since 2001. I am pretty good at it. Driving the school bus will give me enough extra income to get by with more ease and I will be able to continue to shop those outer aisles in the grocery store.

I have been doing the best that I can to eat right this year and it has been difficult. And sometimes I have had to eat those “convenient” foods. It will be much easier to support my chosen eating habit with a job.

So, wish me luck. I will keep you informed.

 

A Right Frame of Mind

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x240-9Zx10 pounds in a week? Yea, that’s a  bunch of bull!

I think to get your health back you have to be in the right frame of mind. I know a lot about nutrition, and I have for many years, but that means nothing if your head is not right.

The Navy was really good about training it’s people in every aspect of our responsibility. In other words, if they expected us to stay in shape, they provided proper taining in that area. They didn’t always get it right, but they made a really good effort.

When it came to nutritional health and exercise they had a decent handle on things. However, as we got older getting  in  shape got harder. In youth, getting in shape was really easy for me and many others in the Navy. Just change a few things that you were eating  and add some exercise and you were good to go.

Because of how easy it was my head wasn’t necessarily in the right place when it came to getting in shape. Now it is not so easy to get in shape. In  fact, it’s not easy at all.

I’ve tried all kinds of diets and programs that promissed results for just a little bit of effort. The reason plans like this attract so many of us is because they appeal to our laziness. We naturally want things to be easy. Or we want to continue our old eating  habits and sedentary life styles and expect to achieve results that make us look like super models.

Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. We have to reset our minds. We need to become willing to change. We need to accept the idea that we may have some food addictions; like sugar, carbs, processed food, and general over eating. This is what I mean when I say we have to get in the right frame of mind to succeed in changing our health.

I have come to grips with the fact that I have food addictions. I also eat when I get discouraged or depressed. Early on I learned to love beer, wine, and many other alcoholic beverages. I’m addicted to simple carbohydrates, and sugars. The sad thing is that they are cheap and sometimes the only thing that poor people (like me) can afford.

Now my head is in the game! I know what to eat. I know what not to eat. I don’t always get it right, but I KNOW. I am more determined than ever to put the right things into my body for its best health. I am willing to put in some work exercising in order to strengthen my body.

Sometimes people ask me what I’m doing when they notice the changes in my  appearance. When I tell them I’ve given up bread, rice, and other grains, and alcohol, they usually respond with, “oh, I can’t do that. I love bread.” Well, I love bread too. But I’ve changed my mind about these foods. I’ve come to the conclusion that these foods are no good for me.

I believe I will be able to succeed by these simple changes in my mind. I am in a frame of mind to succeed and get what I want, which is my health. You can do it to if you willing to change your mind and get your head right when it comes to food.

Weekend Struggles

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I find it hardest to stay on track during the weekends. I don’t know what happens. I become restless and agitated and want to eat all the wrong stuff. The wrong stuff is not in the house so, I have to make a special trip to go get it.

It usually involves sugar or a high amount of carbohydrates and over eating. I don’t know why it is only on weekends. I guess there is a certain amount of boredom even though I usually have plenty to do.

Also being out of the house and away from my own kitchen can be a problem. I don’t always choose the right things when I have to eat out. I’m not sure what to try to do about it. Sometimes I have to be out. When my daughter’s softball schedule heats up we are on the road a lot on weekends.

Some people incorporate cheat days I to their diets. I don’t like to. I think for me cheat day holds up progress. For instance, I have not lost anymore weight for nearly 3 weeks. I am managing not to gain any more than 3-4 pounds (fluctuating back and forth), but I have a goal of 80+ pounds to lose. It will take forever at this rate. I think it is a result of my accidental “cheat days.”

Too bad it’s not as easy to lose weight as it is to gain. Of course I’m not ready to give up. Weight loss is not my only goal. It is overall health. And this diet seems to be helping with that.

In general I am feeling better. But I’m realizing as I get farther into this how much my life is apparently centered around food. So, I have to figure out how to get it right on a more frequent basis. One day at a time I guess.

Progress and Dieting in my Life

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10 Weeks

I am coming upon the end of week 10 of, “The End of My Big Fat Life.” I have lost a total of 23.5 pounds. As of this morning I weigh 243.5. This is just below what I weighed in 2010, the year I had my back surgery. That year I thought I would be able to lose weight since the surgery was supposed to eliminate the pain that stopped my exercise progress in the first place.

I wasn’t always fat. I was in the Navy for 20 years. I got out in 2007. Soon after though, my back just got worse and worse. Turns out I had two herniated disc. My only recourse was a lower lumbar fusion. The doctor that did the surgery was sure that this would eliminate my pain. It did in a way, but, after the surgery I had a different kind of pain that has been with me since the operation. Now I’m faced with the same type of surgery again, only in my neck. Going to talk to the doctor about it next Wednesday. Hopefully it won’t be as bad as the surgery on my  back.

I don’t really want another surgery, but, there is some weakness in my left arm and hand because of a nerve being pinched.

In my 20’s and 30’s and part of my 40’s, weight loss was just a matter of getting out of the house and doing some exercise. Back pain slowed me down though. I had never had to get on any particular diet.Maybe I could have avoided gaining so much weight if I had done so.

Losing weight gets harder the more you gain, and as you get older. I would hate for my life to be defined by constantly trying to lose weight, but, that’s what it has been for the past 9 to 12 years.

I am trying to make a life-style change, but it can be difficult. Each time I go into the grocery store there is all that junk food they have at the checkout counter to tempt you. And then there is driving around town and seeing all the fast food restaurants that I used to frequent. I’m not usually hungry when I’m out, but the temptation to eat foods that aren’t good for me persist. They only thing that saves me is that I am usually broke.

I am still pleased with what I am doing. I feel good. In fact, I feel better everyday. Sometimes when I eat a meal on the keto-diet I feel a little guilty; not like I’m on a diet. I am expecting good things from this change. So far, it had been really easy (as long as I am alway prepared food wise).

Exercise Today

Elliptical
40:00 Minutes
Active Calories: 543
AVG HR : 174

Strength Training
Dumbbell bench press, 4 sets of 12 (30 pounds)
Dumbbell flies, 4 sets of 15 (20 pounds)
Machine chest press, 2 sets of 12 (85 pounds)

 

Getting Back on Track

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As I stated in my last post, I got off track celebrating my daughter’s softball team’s victory. I continue to be derailed through the weekend, but was back on track Monday. It cost me 5 pounds gained, as of Sunday.

This morning my weight was also back on schedule. I’ve lost the 5 five pounds I gained last week. I guess it helped that I did not stop exercising last week. I guess that’s why diet AND exercise is better than just one or the other. Two summers ago I was exercising without the proper diet. I tried this based on my ability to simply exercise to maintain a healthy weight while in my 20’s and early 30’s.

It didn’t work out as I’d hoped. I now believe that what you put into your body has a great deal to do with how well your body will function during workouts. Since beginning this diet, as I have mentioned before, I have noticed a difference in the I feel during exercise; plenty of energy, endurance, and better cardio health (at least thats the way if feels). My heart rate during exercise continues to improve.

I haven’t noticed any visible changes, so I have not taken anymore pictures. I seem to have reached a plateau at 21 pounds. I hope to break through soon. I don’t foresee any problems getting through this current barrier.

Exercise today

Outdoor Walk
45:00 minutes
189 CAL burned
2.18 miles
Avg Pace 20’48” MI
Avg Heart Rate 111 BPM

Choosing Healthy Options is not as Easy as it Sounds

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I don’t mean to sound like a conspiracy nut, but, I think the system is rigged against poor people. I was in Whole foods yesterday, and the prices were unbelievable. No poor person (me) can afford to buy what’s good for them there. I think everyone should have access to healthy organic foods. But at the current cost that is not going to happen.

I saw free range organic chickens for like $12 – $14. I saw one ham hock for nearly $10. And whole food is always in an affluent area because the people who live in affluent areas are the only ones who could possibly afford to shop there. The rest of us are stuck with Wal-mart.

Now I realize that there are options other than Whole Foods but, being fresh out of a sociology class this semester, I’m a little more sensitive to the injustices of social stratifications base on race and class. Actually, I’m a little pissed off about it. I had not realized that it is as bad as it is.

I will be in search of those other options such as the farmers markets and other sources to get what I need. And even in Wal-mart there are a few healthier options to be had.

Don’t get me wrong. Whole Foods is  a great store, which is why I go there on occasion. They have products that stores in my area simply don’t have. However, I could never shop there on a regular basis unless I was rich, which I am not.

I said all of that to say that if we want to be healthy we need to put healthier foods into our bodies. And the the economic system we have in place simply does not make that possibility for everyone. Everyone should have access and the ability to buy healthy foods. Its like there is a conspiracy against the poor.

Anyway, I am done ranting. I need to figure out a way to better my own financial situation.

6 Weeks – 21 Pounds and Counting

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6 Weeks in 21 pounds lost from Tony Tate on Vimeo.

Well here we are. This just a short visual. Can’t see much. The weight loss isn’t significant enough to see the difference. It has been 6 weeks since I began my diet. So far I have lost 21 pounds. I have averaged a 3.5 pound loss per week.

So I guess I am leaning more toward a ketogenic diet. It is a little tricky though to consume the amount of fat required without consuming too much protein. But it works. When I consume the right amounts of fat the weight really starts coming off.

I’m gonna start in the gym next week – maybe this weekend. I’ll be taking it easy though. I saw the orthopedic surgeon yesterday to go over the results of my MRI. Apparently I have a ruptured or herniated disc in my neck. I will be avoiding surgery as long as I can. But I don’t know how long I can endure this pain.

Anyway, thats my 6 week update.