Saturday 10/03/09

Well almost another week on the diet has passed. Norm is feeling the urge to have a nice juicy cheeseburger! and fries! We are going out to eat with Greg and Trish on Tuesday and we won't officially be on the diet anymore, so he will get his burger soon! One more day of official dieting for this six weeks and then a couple weeks of modified dieting because of vacation. Then we both plan on being determined to do at least one more six week rotation and see where we stand at the end of that time - will be just around Thanksgiving . . .heading in to the holidays. I think we have both learned a lot so far and we are pretty sure that we will have the fortitude to limit ourselves on our vacation so our weight won't go up (much!). I think it will be easy to do the breakfast and lunches most of the time and continue with the water guzzling. And any days we don't go out to dinner we will try to limit our calories. All in all this has been a success. Tomorrow evening we will do our measurements and then Monday morning we will do our final weigh in - - I will post the results! I am hoping for 2 more pounds and Norm is hoping for a big loss too! See you then!

Weigh in #5

Lost another 3 pounds this week so total at 5 weeks is 18! I am pretty happy with that = of course I'd always like to have lost another one or two, but I can't complain. One more week and then we are going to eat right some days and others have some of what we really want. Then vacation etc. and then we will be back on beginning Oct. 26th. I will continue to blog through the next four weeks, and we will see how much we gain or lose during our time of not being too strict. Could be scary! But, that will have to wait. For now it is the last week of our 6 week program. I am looking forward to exercising tonight and I am trying to do better on my water intake. I did better this past weekend than the one before, but this week we are up to 6.5 bottles and that is a lot! But I am already halfway done with my second. Plan to have the third with lunch and the fourth with the afternoon snack. Then I will really push to get the fifth in before dinner and hopefully have the six with dinner - then it's only a nice big glass of water with my evening snack and I will be done. For some reason I can fit the water in a lot better on the days that I work - I haven't figured out why yet, but I am trying! Thats all for now!

Tomorrow - Weigh in #5

Well, tomorrow is weigh in day #5. We both expect that we will have lost some additional pounds, but we are of course not sure. We are wearing smaller sizes so that we don't feel too comfortable in our clothes and that makes it a little harder to tell if we have lost as the tighter clothes are keeping us on our toes! We have both been thinking about things we may enjoy during our little over two week break. We hope to eat sensibly most of the time, and watch our calories, but we will be on vacation the first part of the two weeks and Norm will be out of town the second week so it may be a test for us. We are planning on re-starting the six week program on the 26th of October, our first six weeks ending the morning of October 5th. That really looks like three weeks off doesn't it? From the 5th through the 8th we will continue to try to watch with one dinner out with Greg and Trish. But if this is supposed to be a new life style for us I know we need to think about what we are going to eat. I will write again tomorrow after weigh in!

Friday again! already!

Goodness this week went flying by! I can't believe that I haven't blogged since Monday! Oh well. Norm and I have both had a good week. Weekends are hard for me to get my water in, but I will try extra hard this weekend and hopefully the scale will reflect how good I have been. Norm says he doesn't feel like he lost much this week so far, but I don't think you can really tell by how you "feel" - maybe how you feel to others! Hahahaha! I think he is looking slim and you can really notice his weight loss - not so sure about mine! Steak, peas and beets (yuck) for dinner sounds delicious doesn't it - NOT - oh well - the steak will be yummy anyway. I am going to mash the beets and make them like a sauce and hopefully I will be able to eat them all tonight - I haven't made it through all the beets (only 1/2 cup!) since the second steak dinner! Oh well, I will keep trying! I feel good and thats what counts! Talk to you later!

Sally

15 Pounds and counting!

As of today I have lost 15 pounds! I am pretty happy but of course would have liked to see another one or two gone - but that will come in time. Norm lost more than me again this week, and he is doing well. I can't remember his total right now, but last week was 20 pounds for him and I know he lost maybe 4 more? So he is actually doing great! He even had breakfast out with some friends two times last week - of course he watched what he ate, but still! I guess that is all I will write today. I have to make cupcakes and am hoping I can resist the batter, frosting, and filling - shouldn't be too hard because they are all coffee flavored and I don't like coffee, but still . . . adios!

New Jeans!

Well! Yesterday we were going to take a motorcycle ride after work, so when I got home, I changed into jeans and a t-shirt. My jeans felt sloppy (loose that is!) so I pulled an old pair out of my drawer - you know - the ones I kept hoping SOMEDAY to be thinner . . .well they are actually two sizes larger than I would REALLY like to wear, but they are one size smaller than 3 weeks ago . . .anyway, I put them on and they fit - I didn't even have to suck my fat gut in to button and zip them. Yes, they were snug, but no more snug than the ones that are now loose were three weeks ago! I am really thrilled and each day and change makes me even more committed to the diet and exercise plan. I actually am happy on the days I know it is exercise day and am looking forward to weigh ins on Mondays! I know that Carol is currently the only one reading this blog, but she just started the diet this past Monday and I know she will be happy with the results too! Go Carol - I'm rooting for you! So I guess that is all for now, just a quick note on the good news!! Oh, and two pair of pants that I had bought for work and have never worn because I didn't try them on at the store and they didn't fit! now fit - I just have to hem them!!! Yahoo!

Tuesday, 9/15

Okay, I see it has been several days since I posted and I didn't post yesterday, which was weigh in day. So far I am down at least 13 pounds - I say at least because I didn't officially weigh in the Monday we started but I know what I weighed about a week before that and since we had been eating everything in sight, I am sure I didn't weigh less! Norm is down an amazing 20 pounds! We are into the fourth week and are still motivated and actually enjoying our bowflex routine. The water is getting to be hard for Norm as he never really like water and now we are up to 5.5 32 oz. drinks of ice cold water - well they are supposed to be ice cold, but sometimes they are not so icy, but at least we are both drinking them - I have not had a problem drinking that much except for Mondays and Fridays - my days off from work - seems like I don't take the time to drink when I am home! But I am working on it and trying to get them all down by dinner time so I don't wake up all night to visit the bathroom! Norm has been thinking about burgers and fries, so hopefully we can make it through the next two and a half weeks! We will be going on vacation shortly after the 6 weeks is over, but I am hoping to start right back in after that (and hoping to watch what and how much of what I eat while on vacation so I don't gain back too much!) Well, guess that is it for now - hopefully I will write at least a few more times this week because I really think it helps keep me accountable! TTFN!

Saturday 9/12/09

So today I got together with my sisters because my youngest sister Penny was here from Nebraska for her 30th high school class reunion . . .hard to believe that my baby sis could be out of school for 30 years already!

We had a brunch and I made soup so that I knew I would be able to eat. I was pretty good. The only thing I ate that I shouldn't have was a slice of some kind of sweet bread. Other than that, I really feel like I did well. Norm had a golf tournament and had a couple of hotdogs for lunch and ate some dinner there. He has lost 14 pounds already though (in just two weeks!) so it was okay for him to cheat a bit today. I just hope he is down more on Monday or he will be pretty upset that he cheated today.

Guess thats all for now - just relaxing a bit before bed!

Friday 9/11

Well, first of all I want to say that I am remembering all the people who lost their lives during the attacks on our country and that I am ashamed that so many people want to forget and move on when the evil in this world continues on . . .

Yesterday was a great diet day. Drinking all the water has gone well though I am afraid to see my next water bill! Between drinking it all and flushing so many more times than usual I think it will be a big one!

We had our steak dinner but Norm has had a very stressful two weeks at work, and really wanted a drink to help him relax, so instead of his bread and butter he had a little something on the rocks. I say a little something because I can't remember what it was! Anyway, he enjoyed it and we didn't do much the rest of the evening, just cleaned up the dinner dishes, walked the dog and then relaxed in bed . . . . Norm watched some tv and I used the computer and then looked at a couple of magazines.

Oh, I forgot, we did do our bowflex routine too - I have found that I am looking forward to the exercises - that is strange for me because that is usually the part of getting in shape I like the least! Today we both had cereal for breakfast, I had a salad for lunch and Norm took a turkey sandwich to work. We are having a tv dinner for supper then heading in to Erie to look at televisions. I guess that is all for today. Hopefully I will blog over the weekend, but if not I will certainly write on Monday - weigh-in day! TTFN

9-9-09

I really don't think there is anything special about this date - other than the 9/9 part. Today was my friend Mary's birthday. She would have been 49 this year but cancer claimed her life a few years ago - I still think of her often, things we did as kids and things that happened in our lives as young adults and finally married with children. I loved Mary and though she is not here with us anymore I am confident that I will see her when I get to heaven.

Today was a strange day. I was very hungry around 10 but ignored it and finally ate my lunch around noon. Then, I wasn't hungry again till dinner - so I didn't even have my 100 calorie snack - I am pretty amazed - I am sure I'll have hungry days and days when I want more than I can have, but today has gone well. I just finished dinner and will have my night snack early - I need to finish it before 6 as I am having some bloodwork done in the morning and want to fast at least 12 hours.

Water drinking went well today also - I have one more bottle to drink tonight but that should help curb any hungries I get before bed!

Thats it for now, but we are doing well and are happy with the way the diet is going.

Tuesday! We are on the second day of the lower calorie diet this week. We are down to 1100 for me and 1400 for Norm. We are both still hanging in there. We have been to the fair twice and I will let you know the sights and smells were almost too much to resist, but resist we did and we are happy that we made it. We are home now eating our snack of popcorn and drinking the last of our water for the day. The bowflex routine is coming along and I am finding that I actually look forward to it - how weird is that! I guess that is all for today, it is 9:30 and quickly approaching bedtime! Till next time . . .resist!

Monday

Well, it is weigh in day, after not being strict on Friday and the picnic yesterday I was not sure I even wanted to weight in! But I am down and additonal 2 1/2 pounds and Norm is down another 5 so we are still doing well. I had hoped to be down more, but I did have a brownie or two yesterday and we had the best burgers at the picnic, so I am glad to be down any! We are beginning week three, increasing our water to 5 32oz bottles a day and this week we decrease our calories by 100 each. So heres to another week of really doing our best! We also add two exercises to the bowflex routine - which by the way has been going well.

I guess that is really all I have to say for today . . .will hopefully keep up on the blog and be down another 4 or 5 pounds by next Monday . . . we'll see!

Catch-up Friday

Well, I missed blogging on Wednesday and Thursday so today will play catch-up! We are still going strong as far as the diet and excercise program goes. We have been out shopping and looking at other foods that we can combine for the ratio of carbs/proteins/fats that are suggested by the diet. We will stick to the plan for the rest of the six weeks but after that if we are still going strong, after our little vacation that is, we will try some other foods and meals that fit within the guidelines but aren't specifically listed in the book. We rode the motorcycle to work Wednesday and after work took the long way home - about an hour and a half ride - and then ate dinner when we got home. We also took the dog for a walk and did our exercises on the bowflex. Last night we also walked the dog, but since it wasn't an exercise night, we did some cleaning around the house and made some plans for our mini-vacation (mini in time, not $$). So I guess you haven't really missed much in the diet. We just keep drinking a lot of water and eating what is on the plan for the day. This weekend may be a bit harder as it is a holiday weekend and we are celebrating Carols birthday with a picnic lunch on Sunday - that will probably be the hardest day. And of course, the Waterford fair starts Monday and fair food is always a strong draw for our calories! But we will be strong as long as we stick together and help the other through the cravings! Maybe is we stay in the stinky cow and pig barns long enough it will ruin our appetite! Thats all for now! Hope to continue to post regularly - though the weekend may be busy but will surely check in on Monday - the next weigh in day!

Week Two - Tuesday

Okay, so today for breakfast we had honey nut cheerios. Let me say two things - one, it seemed like a lot bigger serving than the cracklin oat bran, but two, I was hungry this morning by around 9:30. It is really the first time that I have really been hungry. Must be a difference in fiber content - I will have to check it out and see if that is what made the difference. Norm had his first "big" challenge today - at work they were having pizza for someone who was leaving. But he was determined to eat his turkey sandwich and enjoy his snacks of yogurt and an apple. He is not home from work yet, so I don't know for sure if he stayed on the diet, but I think he probably did. He was happy with his weight loss the first week and neither of us has been too hungry - not that we haven't had cravings of course! Oh well, that is part of life and once we are down to the weight we would like we can give in to cravings once in awhile and then just watch the calories the other days! So long for now!

Weigh Day!

Well, today was weigh in day. I was asleep when Norm told me how he did, but I think he lost 7 pounds! I weighed in a bit later and have lost 6! So we are both feeling pretty good about the diet! I think that is pretty good success, especially since on Friday we did vary a little. We are encouraged by the loss and feel stong about staying on the diet again this week. At this rate, which I am sure won't keep up, Norm would be where he wants to be at the end of the six weeks - I would still want to drop around 25 to 30 more pounds, but I would be amazed to be that close after just six weeks. But I am going to hope that the diet continues to work and that my resolve stays strong. I had a very delicious banana/vanilla shake for breakfast and finally used my immersion blender that Norm and the kids got me for my birthday in March! I really wanted one, but I guess I could survive without it! That's it for today. Have to increase my water drinking today so need to fill my bottle and get to it! Thanks for checking in!

Sunday - weigh in tomorrow!

Well, it was quite the rainy day today and we didn't feel like sitting at home. Lets begin at the beginning. Again today I slept till 8:45 - what is with that? Anyway it was too late for church, so we had breakfast of a bagel with cream cheese and a little bit of orange juice then walked the dog. When we got home we decided to go for a ride to a winery so we had to be creative with our diet. We each took a big bottle of water and we decided to take our afternoon snack with us and eat that when we got hungry and then have a mix of our lunch and dinner when we got home. We each took a yogurt, Norm took some melon and I took some raisins. We had to stop at a Wal-mart and use the bathroom because we are drinking so much water we can't wait to get to our destination. Anyway it was a good way to explore the town of Warren PA, which we have driven around many times but never ventured in to. We arrived at Flickerwood Winery and Norm had just a few tastes and then made our purchases. We then ate our snack in the parking lot before heading to a second winery - hey I forgot the name of it! Oh well, Norm had a few tastes here too and bought a couple of bottles and then we headed home. We arrived home around 4:15 and I combined the lunch and dinner options for today - so we had steak salad - basically just lettuce, cheese and steak (3 oz.) - Norms had tomatoes because he likes them - I do not! We could have a tablespoon of no-fat italian dressing - it wasn't too bad - guess we were hungry. Norm also had some peas and two slices of whole wheat bread and we both had a half cup of milk. Then we took the dog for a walk, but didn't get far as we saw our neighbors and ended up just standing around talking with them! Tonight for a snack I will have 3/4 of a cup of lowfat ice cream and Norm is having popcorn - but tomorrow is the big day - our first weigh in - we are both hoping to see a difference in the scale!! If we don't I am afraid that Norm might not stay on but you really aren't supposed to weigh till the second week so I am hoping that I can encourage him if the weigh in doesn't go well, but I think it will be okay! I guess that is all for now - see you tomorrow!

Saturday

And so, another day begins. I slept till 8:45 - can hardly believe that, but we were at the neighbors till 11 last night so I guess I needed my beauty sleep! Neither Norm nor I did too bad last night - I had about 600 calories to work with and had one lite beer, a couple small pieces of a baguette (is that even spelled right) with some light cream cheese and a few crackers with cheese. I don't know the calories for all that and I am not even going to guess. I think I did okay and am not going to worry about it because today is going to be a good one. I walked the dog and had my breakfast and am now doing a little computer time. I realized that since I have forgotten my password to the first blog (what a dummy!) that there is really no good explanation of how this diet works. So, here goes for what I remember from the other blog - Norm and I are both overweight and according to the body fat calculations we did, we are in the obese catagory! Yikes that hurts!! Anyway, we have decided that once and for all it is time to get serious about losing weight and trying to get healthier. We set up our gym equipment, nordic trac, treadmill, bowflex and some free weights, in the basement and were in the process of setting up a work out routine. I was reading through the bowflex power pro owners manual and came across an addition in the back of the manual entitled "Dr. Ellington Darden's 6 Week Fast Fat Loss - Body Leanness Program" . It sounded a lot like the rotation diet - if anyone remembers that one - with the additon of a somewhat light work out on the bowflex and a lot of water. The section begins with instructions about measuring body parts, taking your weight and figuring out your body fat percent (great way to start - gets you motivated when you see it all down on paper!). The next section talks about the bowflex exercises. The third part talkes about "eating guidelines". It begins with instructions about drinking ice cold water - the first week you need to drink 4 32 oz bottles, the second 4.5 32 oz bottles, the third 5 32 oz bottles etc, increasing each week until during week six you are drinking 6.5 32 oz bottles of water a day - that is a lot of water! I like to drink water and have not found it hard during this first week to drink it all. Norm does not like drinking water so much and has had difficulty with this part, but he is doing well. I bought some reusable water bottles at Walmart for $1 each - three for Norm because he says the water where he works tastes aweful (he works for the government so that figures) and two for me. We always have one in the refrigerator cold so that we can guzzle it when we need to! Then comes the part about the food. For weeks 1 and 2, men eat 1500 calories per day and women get 1200. Weeks 3 and 4 men get 1400 and women 1100 and for the last two weeks, men are down to 1300 and women 1000. The food choices are all right there in the book so there is no calculating necessary. It gives you three types of breakfasts - bagels with cream cheese, 4 choices of cereal, or two choices for a breakfast shake. You also are alloted some milk and orange juice depending on which breakfast you choose. For lunch you can have either a turkey sandwich - everything that goes on it is spelled out in the book, a can of soup (two choices here) with a slice of bread, or a Chefs Salad - again, ingredients and portions of each are spelled out. For dinner there are also several choices with each part spelled out - if you can read you can follow this diet! You also get an afternoon and late evening snack and that is where they cut the calories. Anyway that is the plan and I will keep blogging for the six weeks with progress reports!

Friday!

So, today is day five. For breakfast I had a shake - ingrediants, one banana, 1/2 c. each of orange juice and skim milk, two tablespoons of wheat germ, one teaspoon safflower oil and one packet of carnation instant breakfast (along with a few ice cubes) - into the food processor, out comes a shake - wish I could say it was delicious but . . .it wasn't too bad and it was filling! For lunch I had a can of chicken/rice soup and a slice of whole wheat bread. I have downed 64 ounces of water to this point of the day and am currently sipping on a diet rootbeer. This evening will be our first real challenge (of many I am sure). We are invited to the neighbors for drinks around 6. I am sure they will have some nice snacks, so we are going to forego our snacks for the day and not eat our dinner. That will give me 600 calories and Norm will have about 700 because I know he is eating his afternoon snack! We will have a drink or two and stay light on the snacks . . .and we can drink an extra water before we go to help us feel full. I am looking forward to our bowflex workout after Norm gets home. I have enjoyed the last two and am not sore as Norm decreased the weight for one of my exercises after he realized that he did not lower it after his - I could do it, but it was tough and of were my muscles sore!! But no more and our first weigh in will be Monday so I am sure we will both try to be on our best behaviour the rest of the weekend. I guess that is all for now . . .till next time - think before you eat!

So, day four - we are almost through it. And honestly, I can say it hasn't been bad - but knowing I can survive on 1200 calories makes me realize just how much I have been OVER eating all this time. I will admit - I am a little hungry off and on, but I can have as many zero calorie drinks that I want and I am drinking so much water, that I can overcome the hunger by drinking. Today I had a bagel and a half with lowfat cream cheese for breakfast. It was really good and satisfying. For lunch I had a can of chicken and rice soup and a piece of toast. I had a yogurt for afternoon break and a banana on the way home from work. For dinner I had a turkey with stuffing low-fat tv dinner - it had spicy apples with it for dessert - yummy! I really think that we are both motivated this time and if we get encouraging results Monday morning on the scale I think we will be able to stick to it for the full six weeks. That would feel really good! The only other diet plan we have been able to stay on with much success is Weight Watchers and we plan to fall back on that once we reach our targeted weight. Guess thats it for now!

Re-start!

Some how I lost my password for the other blog so I will have to begin over - how dumb of me! Oh well, day three is almost complete. Norm and I are both a bit hungry, but are feeling like we can make it! Only 39 days left!! We are not supposed to weigh ourselves until week two, but I am sure we will both weigh in on Monday - we are hoping to have lost several pounds each. We won't take measurements till the six weeks are over though, so we will have to wait and find out how that part is going. I will try to write more info tomorrow - for now I have to go clean up the kitchen - I had some tomatoes that needed to be canned, so they are now done but the clean-up remains!