Monday, October 12, 2009

I Have A Test Before Me

Well I sit here typing this and watching the Turkey Bowl. Having a life style change and approaching the holidays is going to be true test. Thanksgiving in my old world was just a warm up for the Christmas season. Well I am hoping that is not the case this year. I have not been perfect to say the least, but I have been better then in previous years. Some thing that my wife and I did is change the size of our dinner plates. When I was away at my training session we learned back in the day. I know this makes me sound really old. Back in the 70's the dinner plates were being made 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Now in the super size craze the plates have grown 10 to 12 inches. So when we were loading up before you can appreciate how much more we were getting with that extra 2 inches. Also if you went back for seconds well that much more again. So now that we turned to the about 8 inch plate it is less that you are ingesting even if you did go back for seconds.

Have freezer will benefit! This is day number two it is time to bless the freezer with a donation. I marvel at this idea as our freezer never was blessed with such a deposit in the past. We ate like kings, and never left to many morsels for the fridge monster either.

A friend of mine sent me this the other day. Reading stories like this gives me strength to know that I am not the only one have to fight this battle, and know it can be done as long as I am consistent. I have one up on this gentleman I have not had the heart attack....yet anyway.

Name: Keith Ahrens

Age: 47

Height: 5 feet 10 inches

Before weight: 414

How I gained it: I ha d followed a no-exercise, sedentary lifestyle for many years. I was troubled with weight as an adolescent but became more fit in my college years. After graduating college, I began to put on the pounds. I ate whatever I wanted, in whatever quantities I wanted. Most of the time, the food choices were high in fat, sugar and carbs. The food choices I made were of little regard or complete disregard to their nutritional content. I had dieted on and off for 23 years, only to relapse and put on more weight each time.

Breaking point: At the age of 45, I weighed more than 414 pounds and suffered a remote silent heart attack that resulted in open-heart coronary artery bypass surgery. After surviving this critical surgery, I invested all of my efforts into getting healthy and losing weight without surgery. It took a life-or-death crisis for me to realize how important it is to make healthy choices.

How I lost it: I had to admit to myself that I had a problem with food and was a compulsive overeater. I had to rid myself of the old emotions that caused me to overeat. Stress and anxiety were the typical triggers.

Losing weight for me has been a by-product of a healthy eating lifestyle combined with a good and active physical fitness program. Remember, there are 1,440 minutes in each day, and that would ultimately mean I work on a healthy lifestyle for 1,440 minutes each day.

I started to lose weight by making several immediate changes. First, I stopped drinking sodas, and I started drinking water, which, in my opinion, assists tremendously in losing weight. Second, I cut out fast food. I have not been to a drive-through in 2 and a half years. I have had people tell me it is extreme for them to give up their fried chicken, cheeseburgers, French fries and other fast foods that are high in fat, calories and sodium. I tell them that extreme to me is the 10-inch scar on my chest from my heart surgery, and each person somehow finds a way to relate to that.

I mostly eat lean meats (primarily chicken) and foods that have a good nutritional content. Most, if not all, of my entire sugar intake is from fresh fruit, and I am a big vegetable eater -- I love vegetables, especially grilled or baked veggies lightly seasoned with olive oil and kosher salt and pepper. I also try to stay away from bad carbohydrates and focus on high-fiber food products. For me, they just taste better.

I believe balance is the key. I used to eat 95 percent garbage and 5 percent good-for-you food. Now, I eat 95 percent good and 5 percent savory foods that I love. I find myself eating so much better, and when I do eat something in that 5 percent category, I enjoy it so much more. I can finally taste the foods now instead of the constant binge.

Physical fitness and activity is a very important aspect of any weight-loss program. I have become a certified fitness trainer, and I have studied the effects of exercise on the body. It is critical that the body assume some sort of activity to promote weight loss. It is just healthy to exercise routinely.

I do both cardio and weight resistance training. I normally work my cardio on a treadmill and bicycle. During the summer, I would tread water for an hour and play basketball, and I have just started to walk and jog slowly, keeping my knees in mind. The point is that I try to mix up my exercise program as not to get bored. But exercise has been critical to my success.

When I speak to companies or groups, I tell them to set small goals because if they fall off track for some reason, which happens to all of us, they can get back on track and still be close to the original goal. Keep moving the bar. Make small changes. Small changes practiced routinely in your lifestyle add up to huge successes over time.

Stay focused. It's worth it. It is amazing what we can accomplish as individuals. We must believe in ourselves. We must also realize that no one can do it for us. I tell people that the spirit of my message is: "No matter how bad things seem to be, there is always hope and anything is possible."

After weight: 214

I guess this gentleman has wrote a book. Out Running My Shadow and the author is himself Keith Ahrens.

If you have read the book drop me a line in my comments section as to what you thought of it.

Well I think I am going to wander back to the turkey bowl and be a typical guy and watch some football...So as my weigh in comes up this Friday 4 days away please say a silent little prayer wishing me the strength to get though this battle with the turkey. Grin...

Until next time remember the road to success is always under construction.

Cheers
From The Big Ape

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Success Continues

Well I would like to say I was honestly missed. I received a message the other day asking how my qwest was going. Yes it has been a bit since I last posted. I am just caught up in this whole new world of food. Now instead of making my life about eating all the time. I am now taking my time and exploring how food can work for me. Exploring new receipts, finding new food combinations. Based on my formula it creates new opporitunities. I was just thinking I keep talking about this formula like everyone knows it. Actually chances are you have probably seen it, and just never paid it any mind as it is just the Canada Food Guide Serving suggestions.
Here is my new found wisdom:

Breakfast
2 fruits and or vegtables 1 serving equals one piece of fruit or 1/2 cup frozen
2 grains that could equal 3/4 cup of hot or cold cereal and a piece of toast or two pieces of toast
1 8oz glass of milk perferably 1% or 1.5oz of cheese or a yogurt cup
1 meat or alternative This could be two eggs, 2 tblsp of peanut butter or 2.5oz of meat

AM Snack
1 fruit or vegtable or 8oz glass of v-8 or tomato juice
1 grain product

Lunch
2 fruits and or vegtables
2 grain products
1 milk or alternative
1 meat or alternative equaling as close to 2.5 oz then you can get

PM Snack
1 fruit or vegtable
1 grain product

Dinner
2 Fruits and or vegtables
2 grain products
1 milk or alternative
2.5 oz of meat or appropriate alternative

Bed time snack
1 friut or vegtable

Things that you might not know. Consider potatos as vetables.
Weigh and measure to get portions.

I think the biggest thing that I had a huge learning curve on was weighing the food. I had what they call porportion distortion. Refer to the Canada food guide if you have any questions. Also it would not be a bad idea to get involved with your local dietian at your health center. Generally their services are free. You may need a doctor referal. If you are finding you don't want the snacks between meals then it is a no brainer don't eat them. As I found I actually was eating more food through out the day. It was different or better food, of course you cut out the sweets and the biggest thing for me as I mentioned before is the portion size. Alot of times I can say I was eating portion sizes of a small family.

Well I am proud to announce that this does work as I have lost 5lbs in two weeks. Now you might say that is not very much weight. Remember this, slow and steady will keep it off. You should not be losing much more then 2LBS a week. Now the first week or so you might lose a bit more because of water weight. So after a month I am down 9LBS. I have got a long walk in this journey, but I have to remember, It took me 42 years to put it on, it is going to take me more then a few weeks to take it off.

Until next time remember,in the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird, and people take Prozac to make it normal.

Cheers from the Big Ape....