Mike' Make Over Madness!

[Mykelogan]

(Been trying to post this for a few hours... this attempt number 10 or so... the universe is against me! hehe)

Hi all!

I just wrote a huge introductory entry here for my brandspanking new journal and hit "submit post"... "error with messageboard!" It disappeared and was not posted. Was it a sign? Had I said too much??? I hope not! I will do my best to recreate the poignant and humorous introduction but I make no promises... :flower:

The main point of my posting this journal is to create some accountability for myself as I attempt to make better choices in my life. I know that the choices I have made before are what have made me end up weighing this much and feeling this way. How much do I weigh? Not quite ready to air that bit of dirty laundry here yet. How do I feel? well I am a relatively happy guy, who finds more and more that he cannot do the things he used to or the things most folks take for granted due to a variety of things, but mostly due to what I put in mouth and how little I move my body. I am sure I will share more of the instances that have brought me to where I am right now in this journal over the days to come but for now I want to focus on what my next steps are. Of course I make the decision to make changes right after doing my grocery shopping, not being able to afford tossing it all and starting over I am going to use this week as a transition in terms of my eating. One of the biggest changes I need to make is my soda consumption. I do feel that at times I single handedly keep the Coca-Cola corporation in business! hehe As far as following an eating plan, I am looking towards one that I have had great success with before, the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet. Focusing on controlled carb intake and more complex carbs always seems to work for my body. Though I have had success with WW too years ago, my body at times seems as good at losing as it obviously is at gaining! As far as movement goes, I am working on getting my summer membership to the rec center on campus, primarily for the pool. I love to swim and will begin doing so regularly. I should know wednesday if I can get a free membership, if not i will be paying. I will also be walking outside. I can't go far without a rest yet but I will be working on it! So with all of that said, my goals for this week are:

(1) Watch my portions as I go through this last few days before starting CAD in earnest.
(2) Use this week to ween myself off the Coke! Come Sunday it will be off limits! (Prepare yourselves for all the extra soda in the markets!)
(3) Get myself set up to swim at the rec center!
(4) Start walking. Shoot for a total of thirty minutes walking total, regardless of the breaks necessary!
(5) Start using this journal regularly!

That is all for now! Thanks to everyone who is posting their efforts already, you are inspiring!

Mike :Pinkbounc

[pearlieq]

Welcome to WISH!!! :wave: Glad you decided to join in on the fun!

Journaling is such a big help--it really helps you make better choices about what you eat.

Congrats to you for kicking the soda habit! I can now count on one hand the number of times I've had sugar soda in the 3 months and it makes a big difference! Water is best, of course, but if you need a change, Diet Sierra Mist is very good, as are the light/low carb juices they have now. If you're really in a bind, Diet Coke with Splenda tastes a lot like "real" coke and may get you through a craving!

You're doing a good thing for yourself here. One step at a time!!! You can do it! :cheer2:

[Lesli54]

Hi Mike! :wave:

Journaling is the first step in sticking to whatever lifestyle changes you want to make for yourself. This is a journey. There will be good days and some bad days (but the good always out weighs the bad), but just knowing that you have to journal what you are doing and be honest with yourself keeps you committed. At least it does me. ;)

Starting with portion control and kicking the soda habit is a great way to begin. You will be amazed at what that alone will do.

If you ever need to talk or need some inspiration, just come back, we have lots of motivation and support to give. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[Mykelogan]

Thank you so much perlieq & Lesli54! Your words of encouragement are very much appreciated! :flower:

Mike

[joelyfaithsmommy]

Hi Mike!!! WELCOME :flower:

WELCOME :cool1:

WELCOME!!!! :teeth:

I am dw to "4gator" aka "Jeff" aka "Gator Guy" LOL...my name is Jen--nice to meet you! :teeth:

We're all here to support and encourage each other, so jump right in, begin to post, and HANG ON FOR A GREAT WEIGHT LOSS RIDE!!!

hugs,
Jen :)

[Mykelogan]

Hi Jen!
Thanks so much for the welcome and congrats on your loss so far! :flower:
I am ready for this ride to begin!

Mike

[goldcupmom]

welcome, Mike!

It sounds like you are ready for a change, not a quick fix. You've certainly come to the right place. This is an incredibly supportive group and VERY inspirational!

Cutting back the sodas & the excess consumption will work wonders!

Lots of luck! I probably won't be back until after my trip, but I'll bet I'll see a BIG change in your journal!

[Mykelogan]

Thanks Julie!! Very nice of you to come by my journal with a trip so close! Hope that you have a blast at the World, tell Mickey I said hello! :goodvibes

Mike

[NYcpa]

Mike - Good luck on your journey to become healthier. you have come to the right place. Everyone is so supportive of your efforts. Take it one day at a time. One bad day does not spell failure, just start fresh the next day.

You may want to join some of the exercise challenges. They keep you motivated to keep moving and reach the goal you pick.

Continue journaling and you will succeed in your pursuits.

[Mykelogan]

Thank you NYcpa! I have just been getting to read the exercise challenge threads and they look very interesting. Once I get myself going I am sure I will jump right in! :goodvibes

Mike

[toystoryduo]

Hi Mike and Welcome to WISH Journaling! :wave2:

"WISH"ing you the very best on your new journey to a healthier you! ::yes:: Remember to take your journey one step at a time and you'll do great! :teeth: Go Mike! :cheer2: Go Mike! Go! Go! Go Mike Go! :cheer2:

Have a great Tuesday! :sunny:

[Mykelogan]

Thank you Tracy! What a nice way to start the day! :cool1:

Mike

[joelyfaithsmommy]

Mike, I dont' know if you read it in my journal, but thought I'd mention I was a coca cola addict!!! I drank wayyyy too much of it, and also coffee...on May 19th I quit COLD TURKEY...had a very bad headache started on day 3 and lasted til day 6...however since then I've been great...because I no longer drink those things it's easier to get my water in as well...so you can do it!!!! Give up the soft drinks and make your life easier and your body happier!!! :flower:

hugs,
Jen :)

[keenercam]

Hi, Mike! Welcome to WISH and the world of WISH journaling. I am sure you will find, like I have, that the support here is invaluable. :goodvibes Everyone is so great about providing support :grouphug: and celebrating accomplishments :banana: and helping to get each other moving when we might otherwise want to sit still. :cool1:

Looking forward to sharing your progress! Here's to a great, productive, LOSING summer! :teeth:

[Mykelogan]

Jen - I am dreading that headache's arrival but I know it will be a good thing! The last time I tried to stop the Cola, I got weak after I missed the caffeine/sugar rush, not gonna do that this time!!! :goodvibes

Cam - Thanks for the welcome and congrats on your great success so far!

Mike :flower:

[keenercam]

Thanks, Mike! Looking forward to sharing your progress and celebrating your successes! Hope you are looking at today as having been one to celebrate!

[goldcupmom]

Good Luck with the Coke battle, Mike! I gave up caffeine 9 years ago and really haven't missed it. You CAN do this!!! And your body will thank you!

Hang in there and have a great day!

[Mykelogan]

Thanks Julie! I think I can kick it this time, I have cut my consumption of Coke in half the past few days, and have set tomorrow as my last day! wish me luck! And of course, I hope that you and your DD have a blast in FL! :flower:

As for how my first few days have been besides the Coke...

I have been doing my best to watch my portions. Have not been the most successful but I am the type that needs structure to get my eating on track, so that will come in the next few days as I start my plan.

Today is the day I am supposed to hear about the Rec Center, so cross your fingers that I will get the free membership and save the $60! I walked last night for like 20min. I feel good about getting that started. This weekend I am "house sitting" for my family so I will definitely be swimming in their pool and walking some laps.

I have also started cleaning out my cupboards, getting the "junk" out. I donated a box of snacks to my office today. (Hey if they get bigger I seem smaller right? lol) I have also compiled a shopping list to get my kitchen in shape to get me in shape. I am weird, most people tend to want to reward themselves after they reach goals, whereas I like to get myself some "get started" incentives. So in that vein I have bought myself a George Foreman Grill to replace the one I broke last year, to grill up all the chicken I will be undoubtedly be eating hehe. And to help with my water intake I bought myself a Buffy The Vampre Slayer and an Angel the Series waterbottles. hehe

I am in the process of working on my Trip Report from my last trip to Disney, and as a part of that I am compiling a list of things I hope to be able to do on my next trip I could not do this time due to my size. I will post that list on here later! For now I better get back to work!!!

Thanks for reading!
Mike :flower:

[toystoryduo]

Work?!?!?!? Who needs work? :confused3 ;) I bet working on your trip report would be much more fun! :rolleyes1 :rotfl:

Mike, you are off to a great start! :bounce: I like how you have decided to gradually wean the pop out of your diet. I also like how you have given yourself some pre-weight loss incentives to get the ball rolling! That Foreman grill will be a big help! Great job Mike! :teeth:

Hope you get your free membership to the Rec Center! Saving money while working out is a good thing! ::yes::

Have a great day Mike! :cool1:

[keenercam]

Hey, Mike -- good luck on the rec center thing!

I think of those "incentives" (GF grill, favorite water bottles) actually as "tools" -- I heard a long time ago at a weight watchers meeting a very good analogy that I have expanded on in my head. If you were going to change a lightbulb, you wouldn't show up to do the job without the tools, right? You need to know what kind of lightbulb you need to put in, you need a ladder, and you will throw out the used bulb, right? So, you've bought the tools you need (a grill and water bottles), and you are planning what kinds of tools/foods to put in your cupboards and fridge, and you've removed and disposed of the bulb (those bad snacks). Okay, so it's not a perfect analogy, but you know what I mean -- you need knowledge, tools, a strategy, and discipline. Congratulations! It sounds like you have all that.

I hope you find the caffeine withdrawal painless. I had to give up caffeine, chocolate and alcohol ten years ago due to a serious heart condition. I missed the caffeine most of all, but after my surgery in January, when I could have it again, I made a decision not to get addicted to it again, because I know it can really stall weight loss. You should get some Crystal Light To-Go packets to take to work with you with your water bottles. The lemonade is wonderful.

Keep up the great work!

[DisDon]

Alright Mike, you are my new WISH buddy, whether you like it or not!! :earboy2: I'm going to start my journal, and keep reading yours! You've got a great plan, I need to get busy and formulate a better one for myself. This is gonna be cool! :jumping2:

[eeyore25]

Hi! I just got through reading your journal and I just wanted to wish you luck. You can do this....just keep telling yourself that! This has to be one of the toughest things that I have done-losing weight. I have started and stopped so many times, but I am sticking to it this time. I am not giving up.

I know about the caffeine....I quit drinking soda about 6 years ago and I am so much happier now. Every once in a while I get a craving for something sweet to drink, but I stick to my water. You can do it!

Good luck :teeth:

[Mykelogan]

Work?!?!?!? Who needs work? :confused3 ;) I bet working on your trip report would be much more fun! :rolleyes1 :rotfl:


Now if only I could convince my boss that my trip report should be my top priority! hehehe

Thanks for the nice note Tracy! :goodvibes Hope you had a great day yourself!

Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi all!

Cam - I really like your metaphor, thanks for helping me put it in that perspective. It sounds like you have gone through a lot yourself and beat the caffeine "bug" so I know I can it myself! :flower:

Don - WISH buddies sounds good! I think we can all use that extra help when especially when the shine "getting started" wears off and you wanna dive face first into the swimming pool of cheesecake!!! I'll definitely check out your journal and I know you will formulate a plan for yourself now that you are dedicated. We gotta get rid of these "extra guys" we're carrying around! hehe

Eeyore25 - Thanks so much for the wish of luck and your supportive note! I hope that your doing good as well! :goodvibes

Mike :flower:

[keenercam]

Hey, Mike! How was your day? Hopefully, you have found lots of reasons to pat yourself on the back.

Just wanted to pop in and say "hello" -- don't stay up too late and no late night snacking, mister!

[Mykelogan]

Hey, Mike! How was your day? Hopefully, you have found lots of reasons to pat yourself on the back.

Just wanted to pop in and say "hello" -- don't stay up too late and no late night snacking, mister!

Hey Cam!
Had a great day, still waiting on the rec center membership but that's okas I will have my parents pool to cool off in when I work up a sweat this weekend housesitting.

Do you have a camera in my apartment??? hehe You have me pegged when you made the comment about no late night snacking! My previous patterns have actually been to do most of my eating in the evening, even dinner! Something that really helped me the last time I tried to diet (and lost over 100lbs so I must have done somethings right, for a while at least!) was to end my "eating day" at 8pm, nothing but water after that.

Gonna head to bed early tonight so I can get in the office early-ish tomorrow to get my long delayed trip reporting done! :wizard:

Have a great one!
Mike

[Lesli54]

Looks like you are off to a good start so far on the caffine kick.

I don't know if Kennercam has a camera in your apartment, but I do know that the late night snacking has done alot of us in. Having a cut off time (mine is 7:30pm latest) is great and you will find that going to bed early (I know, it's late now :rolleyes1 ) will really help with the weight loss since you get the proper amount of sleep your body needs. It works for me anyway and now that my "travels" are over for a few weeks, I can get back to that.

Have a great day tomorrow. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[keenercam]

Good morning, Mike!
Sooooo, did you go to bed last night without any additional snacking? I hope so.
What is your food plan for today? Something good (and lo-cal low fat, I hope! :))

When do you head to your family's house to housesit? Or will you just visit there, and use the pool when you want? How many laps are you going to do? Come on, mister, make a plan so we can all help you stick to it -- whether you want us to or not! ;)

Aren't you sorry you gave us all this information to bother you about? :)

Anyway, have a great day, WISH bud. Oh, yeah, and be sure to go over and harass Don when you get a chance. He seems to have a great plan and a wonderful sense of humor. This bunch is more fun every day.

[toystoryduo]

Hi Mike! :wave2:

Is your trip report done yet? :rolleyes1 My trip to WDW isn't until December so I have to live vicariously through trip reports on the DIS. ;)

Hope you have a great day filled with healthy living! :flower:

[eeyore25]

Good Morning Mike!

So how did your day go yesterday? How is today going?

Someone else posted, I am sorry I can't remember who it was, about getting some Crystal Light. We were going to buy some and at least here in Denver it is really expensive. So we found an alternative. Walmart has their brand, Great Value, of Crystal Light. It is about half the price and it is not half bad. There is nothing in it as far as calories, fat, sugar that kind of stuff. I don't drink it much but I will have a glass every once in a while. Rare though. My DH loves it. This is just something else to think about as well.

How is the caffeine intake today?

Hope you have a great day!

[Mykelogan]

Looks like you are off to a good start so far on the caffine kick.

I don't know if Kennercam has a camera in your apartment, but I do know that the late night snacking has done alot of us in. Having a cut off time (mine is 7:30pm latest) is great and you will find that going to bed early (I know, it's late now :rolleyes1 ) will really help with the weight loss since you get the proper amount of sleep your body needs. It works for me anyway and now that my "travels" are over for a few weeks, I can get back to that.

Have a great day tomorrow. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

Well I have not had one drop of Coke today and I feel ok, but my energy level is definitely down! I definitely need to start getting to bed earlier so that acually sleep and rest can replace the "buzz" of the caffeine and sugar!

Hope you are having a great day!!
Mike :sunny:

[Mykelogan]

Hi Cam!

I did get to bed with no late night indulgence last night so that was good! Food plan for today focuses mostly on getting rid of the Coke. I would usually have had 3 or 4 by now, and have had nothing but water. I am psyched. :flower:


When do you head to your family's house to housesit? Or will you just visit there, and use the pool when you want? How many laps are you going to do? Come on, mister, make a plan so we can all help you stick to it -- whether you want us to or not! ;)

I leave tomorrow late morning to go to their house. It is only 30min away but i figured why not take half a day off so I can enjoy the sun? Ok, I will make a commitment for my swimming this weekend... they have an above ground circular pool, pretty big. I will committ to walk/swim 50 laps a day for the weekend. So 150 by the time I leave Sunday. How does that sound?

Aren't you sorry you gave us all this information to bother you about? :)
Anyway, have a great day, WISH bud. Oh, yeah, and be sure to go over and harass Don when you get a chance. He seems to have a great plan and a wonderful sense of humor. This bunch is more fun every day.

Not sorry at all, if anything I am amazed and honored by the support! :goodvibes I just dropped Don a note too, seems like he is on his way!

Mike pirate:

[joelyfaithsmommy]

sounds GREAT to me Mike...

remember :fish: JUST :fish: KEEP :fish: SWIMMING!!! :fish: ;)

[Mykelogan]

Hi Mike! :wave2:

Is your trip report done yet? :rolleyes1 My trip to WDW isn't until December so I have to live vicariously through trip reports on the DIS. ;)

Hope you have a great day filled with healthy living! :flower:

Hi Tracy!
Hope you are having a good day! I finished Day 1 of my trip report and have been trying to post it for an hour but the message board keeps having an error. I will be trying again after I post here on my journal. Watch for it, it is exciting! hahaha

Mike :flower:

Edited To Add: After trying all day I finally got part one of my trip report to post!! Part two is in the works, I tend to be wordy! If anyone wants to read it, click here! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8973528#post8973528)

[Mykelogan]

Good afternoon!! hehe

Yesterday was good, and today is better!
I have actually heard the Walmart variety is very good according to some of the women I work with. I think I will be sticking to water as I have an allergy to aspartame, and don't even want to try the new sweeteners. I will probably include the every so often regular lemonade/juice with my "Reward meal" in the language of the Carb Addicts Plan.
As far as caffeine goes, none so far today! Keep your toes crossed for me!

hehe!
Mike :flower:


Good Morning Mike!

So how did your day go yesterday? How is today going?

Someone else posted, I am sorry I can't remember who it was, about getting some Crystal Light. We were going to buy some and at least here in Denver it is really expensive. So we found an alternative. Walmart has their brand, Great Value, of Crystal Light. It is about half the price and it is not half bad. There is nothing in it as far as calories, fat, sugar that kind of stuff. I don't drink it much but I will have a glass every once in a while. Rare though. My DH loves it. This is just something else to think about as well.

How is the caffeine intake today?

Hope you have a great day!

[Mykelogan]

sounds GREAT to me Mike...

remember :fish: JUST :fish: KEEP :fish: SWIMMING!!! :fish: ;)

Thanks Dory... er, Jen!! Will do!!! :teeth:
Mike

[DisDon]

way to go on the coke today, you're doing better than me, but I AM cutting down :smooth: I need to swim, my kids always want me to take them. I have to make myself do laps tho, usually when i get in a pool (and the water leaves :earseek: ) I just want to relax and enjoy the weightlessnessessess... Hey, i didn't realize you were such a board vet, i'll have to go read some of your old posts, sounds like you're a real disney vet too. <jealous> I HAVE been to DL many times, living here in the west, so I shouldn't complain, but sometimes I still do, life's been good to me so far...

Oh, and i figured out when the banana gets tired, or at least gets paralyzed. Its when I'm using Firefox instead of IE. LOL
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Weird, the dancing dude below is immune to the firefox paralysis.

[Mykelogan]

way to go on the coke today, you're doing better than me, but I AM cutting down :smooth: I need to swim, my kids always want me to take them. I have to make myself do laps tho, usually when i get in a pool (and the water leaves :earseek: ) I just want to relax and enjoy the weightlessnessessess... Hey, i didn't realize you were such a board vet, i'll have to go read some of your old posts, sounds like you're a real disney vet too. <jealous> I HAVE been to DL many times, living here in the west, so I shouldn't complain, but sometimes I still do, life's been good to me so far...

Oh, and i figured out when the banana gets tired, or at least gets paralyzed. Its when I'm using Firefox instead of IE. LOL
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Don! You have discovered to key to stopping the onslaught of the marching bananas! If they ever decide to turn against us, we shall use this Firefox weapon to decimate their troops and claim victory!

The weightlessness is a pool is the best part, I agree. I usually dread getting out as gravity seems to return all at once! I go from being as light and large as a cloud to a round mound of heavy ground! The way I see it is, if I can do a little working out in the pool then I owe myself at least that same amount of time in the water drifting.

And hey, the love of the WDW is what brought us all here to the boards, whether we've been once, never, or 100 times. Once you touch the magic, as I am sure you have at DL, we're all pros! :cool1:

p.s. Complain away on here, that 's what we're here for, to listen!

have a great day!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

I want a Coke, a nice cold coke, over ice, in a glass that is sweating... ohhhh the amber sweetness, the bubbles rising to the top, the carbonation that pops on your tongue making you anxious for the caramel cool that is to follow... hmmm.....

BUT!!!

I am not going to have one! The glass if ice water infront of me is cooler than any Coke could ever be, looking like a crystal ball instead of the muddied cola, in it I can see a better future, a clearer future where I feel better in my own skin and I drink because I thirst, not because I am tired, or hungry, or trying to get that buzz back... I feel better when the ice cool water passes my lips, it refreshes and I can almost feel my cells saying "That's what we're talking about!"

Mike :cool1:

[Lesli54]

I love the ice cold glass of water being a crystal ball into the future. That is great!

You can get past the cola. Just remember that it never really quenches the thirst, it just drags you back. Also, it's a vicious cycle of: tired? so drink the cola, now I have the buzz, but the sugar is making me tired, so drink the cola. Who really wins that match? Not the one you want.

Here is an added incentive. Trying putting the money that you would normally spend on the carbonated beverages in a jar for a couple of months or until you reach your goal. That savings will add up and you will be able to have some extra added fun in WDW (or somewhere else).

Have a great evening. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[Mykelogan]

Hi Lesli54!

Thanks for your note! You were reading my mind with this...

Here is an added incentive. Trying putting the money that you would normally spend on the carbonated beverages in a jar for a couple of months or until you reach your goal. That savings will add up and you will be able to have some extra added fun in WDW (or somewhere else).


I was trying to figure out this afternoon how much I spend on the junk! When I do it will be going into the new savings account I am starting for my next WDW adventure.

Hope you have a great night!
Mike :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

[toystoryduo]

Hi Mike!!

Great start to your trip report! :goodvibes Looking forward to the rest... ::yes::

I love your Coke/ ice water analogy! Hang in there, Mike! Before you know it, you'll be saying, "Coke....Who needs Coke?" ::yes::

Have a great day! :sunny:

[eeyore25]

Hi Mike!

Just wanted to stop in and say hello,

How was your day yesterday?

[goldcupmom]

So, Mike, how go the Cola Wars???? Sounds like you're winning!

You might try a carbonated water (perrier, seltzer, etc) with a touch of RealLemon juice or RealLime juice. Flavor, bubbles, but not the sugar, caffeine, or fake sweeteners.

Have you heard about the rec center yet?? Maybe I missed it!

Have a great 2 weeks while I'm gone. I'd imagine there will be less of you by the time I get back.

Hang in there! I'll catch ya later!

[Mykelogan]

Hi Mike!!

Great start to your trip report! :goodvibes Looking forward to the rest... ::yes::

I love your Coke/ ice water analogy! Hang in there, Mike! Before you know it, you'll be saying, "Coke....Who needs Coke?" ::yes::

Have a great day! :sunny:

Thanks Tracy! I am working on Day 2 aka Tornado Warnings as we speak! ;)

Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi Mike!

Just wanted to stop in and say hello,

How was your day yesterday?

Hi Jamie!

Had a good one, went a whole day without a coca-cola!
Which is shocking to me but felt good! I even turned down one that was bought for me by one of my student workers if you can believe that!

Mike :cool1:

[joelyfaithsmommy]

GOOOOOOD MORNING MIKE!!! happy weight loss day to you! :D :cool1:

i'm up :cool1:

i'm ready :Pinkbounc

and I'm roaring!! pirate:

READY TO LOSE MYSELF TODAY!! ;) hehe...well PART of me anyhow :)

just popping in to wish you a GREAT DAY and give you some encouragment on the soda or lack there of...YOU CAN DO IT....I've been soda free for more than 5 wks now....

JUST KEEP SWIMMING :fish: ;)

hugs,
Jen :)

[Mykelogan]

So, Mike, how go the Cola Wars???? Sounds like you're winning!

You might try a carbonated water (perrier, seltzer, etc) with a touch of RealLemon juice or RealLime juice. Flavor, bubbles, but not the sugar, caffeine, or fake sweeteners.

Have you heard about the rec center yet?? Maybe I missed it!

Have a great 2 weeks while I'm gone. I'd imagine there will be less of you by the time I get back.

Hang in there! I'll catch ya later!

A quick report for ya before you choo-choo off to FL Julie!

* Cola Wars day two is going well... I was definitely dragging this morning and can feel the beginnings of a nice caffeine headache, but I am surviving!

* Thanks for the carbonated water suggestion, I have tried this also in the past. Maybe I will again. Something about it creeps me out though! hehe I think the ice coldness is one of the biggest things I crave, so water helps in that fashion when I load the glass with ice.

* No news on the Rec Center, I am hoping to hear by Monday or I am going to just buy the membership!

* Here's hoping there's less of me! I like that thought! hehehe :3dglasses

Have a blast, think fondly of us, and know we're all jealous!
Mike :flower:

[Mykelogan]

Report from the trenches of the Cola Wars:
"It has been 38.5hrs since we have had a cola-incident... all is quiet... a few moments ago there was a red and white can shaped object on the radar screen but it has since disappeared. The troops are reporting lower energy levels this morning and a few seem to be getting a little headache, I will keep home base appraised of their condition. Tonight we make camp at Ice Water Base Alpha, where the mess hall fridge has a built in water filter and ice maker, we are sure that this will come in handy as we attempt this weekend's exercise manuvers. We hope that everyone out there in their own trenches receives this message well and is preparing for a weekend of losing... weight that is! Over & out, this has been Mike reporting from the Coke Free Zone!"

:cool1:

[joelyfaithsmommy]

Hey Mike.....


Hey....


Over here.....


(NO NOT THERE!)........................................... .......................HERE!!!!

:teeth:


I'm in the Coke free zone too....glad SOMEBODY FINALLY came to join me, it was getting boring balancing lemons on my nose and waiting for someone to share a pina-ca-water with me :)

so, what do ya say? Coca-Water?

Big Water?

Mt. Water?

Dr. Water?

WHAT'S YOUR POISON??? :rotfl2:

[keenercam]

Hey, Mike! Congratulations on going cold turkey and making it through the first 38.5 hours of the coke wars! I am so proud of you, and I don't even know you. I am going to tell everyone I know about how my WISH buddy is in his second and already very successful day of no coke. Good for you!


So, you are leaving work soon and heading to the "house with a pool", right? Got your bathing suit? Got a towel? Got some clothes for when you don't want to be baking in the sun? And speaking of which, got some sunscreen? I think our buddy Jen's "keep on swimming" mantra is especially appropriate for you today and through the weekend. Remember the plan and challenge you have established for yourself. You are going to be so proud to come back and tell us all how well you stuck to it. Isnt' that great?

Accountability is a great motivator, isn't it?

Will you be able to post this weekend? If so, keep us "posted" ;) on how it is going.

Oh, yeah, don't forget to take your water bottles, fill them up with ice and water, and keep one with you outside on the edge of the pool, and the other in the shade. (and be sure to dry your feet when you go in the house for potty breaks. :) )

Have a great weekend, Mike!

[Mykelogan]

Hi Jen!

Or should I say General Jen? If I am a new instated Private in the Cola War, at 5 weeks in you must be a General! hehe

WHAT'S YOUR POISON??? :rotfl2:

I will have a large Vanilla Ice-Ice-Baby Water! :rotfl: Though the Pina-Ca-Watah sounds interesting. :)

Onwards and upwards! (Or should it be onwards and downwards -- with the numbers on the scale? heheh)

Bye for now!
Mike :flower:

[Mykelogan]

Hiya Cam!

I am so proud of you, and I don't even know you. I am going to tell everyone I know about how my WISH buddy is in his second and already very successful day of no coke.

Awww, that is very sweet! Thank you! Could you also tell them I have invented a machine that turns lead into gold, and I will give them the idea if they send me $100? I will split the cash 50-50 with ya! ;)


So, you are leaving work soon and heading to the "house with a pool", right? Got your bathing suit? Got a towel? Got some clothes for when you don't want to be baking in the sun?

I leave in 90min! Towel, swimsuit and laundry to be done for free at their house instead of in our coin-op machines are packed! I also have my sunscreen, I burn like nothing!


I think our buddy Jen's "keep on swimming" mantra is especially appropriate for you today and through the weekend. Remember the plan and challenge you have established for yourself. You are going to be so proud to come back and tell us all how well you stuck to it. Isnt' that great?

150 laps by Monday! I can do it! And of course... no coke! hehe

Will you be able to post this weekend? If so, keep us "posted" ;) on how it is going.

I am hoping that my step-mom will be leaving their laptop so I can post. If not I will do a full report on Monday, once I wade through the 1,000,000 emails I have telling me to check the DIS boards! hehe

Have a great weekend, Mike!

You too!!! :flower: Thanks for the support, I greatly appreciate it!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi all!

Just a quick note that I am off to my folks house til Monday!
I will post from there if I can, if not wish me luck with my exercise and my Coke-free-zone! and I of course wish the same success for all of you! :goodvibes

Mike

[DisDon]

Hi all!

Just a quick note that I am off to my folks house til Monday!
I will post from there if I can, if not wish me luck with my exercise and my Coke-free-zone! and I of course wish the same success for all of you! :goodvibes

Mike
Carry on, soldier!! Enjoy the pool. Catch ya on Monday if you can't check-in in the meantime.

[eeyore25]

Report from the trenches of the Cola Wars:
"It has been 38.5hrs since we have had a cola-incident... all is quiet... a few moments ago there was a red and white can shaped object on the radar screen but it has since disappeared. The troops are reporting lower energy levels this morning and a few seem to be getting a little headache, I will keep home base appraised of their condition. Tonight we make camp at Ice Water Base Alpha, where the mess hall fridge has a built in water filter and ice maker, we are sure that this will come in handy as we attempt this weekend's exercise manuvers. We hope that everyone out there in their own trenches receives this message well and is preparing for a weekend of losing... weight that is! Over & out, this has been Mike reporting from the Coke Free Zone!"

:cool1:

Contragulations on the coke zone Mike!!!! :teeth: You are doing great. Soon the coke will just be a memory. I know the headaches can realy be a pain but once your body gets used to it you are home free!!!

Hope you have a wonderful time at your parents'. Get in lots of exercise!!!! Have a great weekend!

[Mykelogan]

Hi all!

I am back from house/zoo keeping at my parent's house for the weekend. It was definitely more than I bargained for work wise as it turned out that due to my sister's work schedule, not just the dogs needed tending but so did the Horses, the ducks, and my brother's dog at his house two miles down the main road! LOL Oy! How not a really relaxing weekend as something seemed to need to be done every 2 hours. So there was no flow. I also got a nice big scrape down my right leg Friday night so that was fun, I do not deal well with blood! hehe And to top it off, I caught a cold from my sister! Anyway, there were some positives to the weekend too, I don't mean to sound just like a grumpy gus! hehe Here is my report on my goals for the weekend...

1) My exercise:
I did swim on Friday and Sunday. I was a bit ambitious in my goal when I set it, seeing as I have not really intentionally exercised in a loooong time. So after 25 laps on Friday, in the heat, I was ready to do some casual swimming and floating. I did actually swim for a while after that so I think i did good. Saturday it was 95 degrees and high humidity, after doing all the animal work I was already exhuasted and feeling it in my lungs, I guess the weathermen were not kidding when they said avoid outside exertion if you can! But I did go in the pool, after 5 min I realized I was not going to be able to really try and work out as it was too hot and I was definitely feeling it, even in the pool. Of course the pool is in direct sunlight all day so that could have been involved too. So I went inside and later that afternoon I put on the MTV Hits channel on digital cable and did some arm lifts and leg lifts to the music for 15-20min, so I could feel i accomplished something! Sunday afternoon it was a bit cooler after some very intense rain so I hit the pool after tying out the dogs and feeding the horses. I do have to be honest, just walking their yard to take care of the animals was more than I have been used to, so did I sweat? heck yes! Also showed me in what bad shape I am in! Ug! That was frustrating but I also realized that I am making positive changes and should be proud of that! I did another 25 laps in the pool Sunday. So I did not meet my goal but i do feel that I did a lot of physical activity this weekend, and I can definitely feel it all over today! I think me setting that goal without having attempted to lap the pool first was silly, as I had no idea what it would be like. But now I have experience and context to use and learn from! :)

2) My food...
Ok now interestingly, usually when I stay at their house they leave us no food at all for the weekend and expect we will order pizza, go out, or shop ourselves I guess. That's just the way my stepmom is, she hates cooking so she assumes everyone else does too. hehe. This time the fridge was stocked lots of chicken, beef, salad veggies, cheese, etc. So I was able to actually use this weekend to begin the transistion to the food plan I will be following, the Carb addicts plan. (If you don't know it, you focus two meals a day and snacks on protein and what they call "craving reducing veggies", aka complex carb vegs that are mostly green, using fat where needed. You also plan one meal where you will be able to have the higher carb foods you like, in balance and eaten in order, ie. You have salad, then a meal that is 1/3 protein, 1/3 craving reducing veg, and 1/3 of any carbs you want. You eat the salad first and eat the whole meal within an hour. Not endorsing it for anyone else of course as I am not a doctor, just wanted to give the gist of it for my loyal readers! LOL) I was able to do well following the suggestions in the book the docs who wrote Carb Addicts Plan wrote to help anyone transition from uncontrolled to more controlled carb eating. This is definitely a plan that works for me in that it does control my hunger and urges to binge, etc. Of course now I am home with bare cupboards and need to get groceries! hehe

and now, maybe most importantly...
3) The Coke Battle...
Well I am sad to report that I indulged in Coke this weekend... NOT! hehehe
I am 112 hours coke/soda free and feel great. I definitely felt the headache this weekend but I think it just ganged up on me with the cold I picked up. I can take and don't really feel it today! I drank nice ice cold water all day, each day this weekend. Not sure if I am up to where I should be water wise yet but I am getting there! The only non water bev I have had is a small glass of pink lemonade with dinner Saturday night. I feel great about this change, I definitely feel better giving my body the water it needs instead of all the junk that comes in the cola! :flower:

So that was my weekend...For having a miserable time I feel pretty good about how I treated myself all weekend. I made good choices I think! One question though... do you realize what today is??? It has been ONE WEEK since I made the committment to make myself feel better and started this journal. Reflecting on the week I feel good. It has been a time of transition food wise, did not always make the best choices but did pay attention! For example, on Friday as I was running late to my dad's and assumed there would be no food I hot McDonalds on the way. Now sit down as I share my usual McDs order, you may faint. Normally I would get a Big mac meal with fries and a coke, plus two more cheeseburgers, and a shake. Not a bad order, for a family of four!!! But friday I decided to get a grilled chicken salad and a cheeseburger, oh and a water of course. So anyway, I got up this morning and thought, "It has been a week, should I weigh in? I have not been completely dieting or anything really, but I have had a week of conscious choices to control my portions, and then half a week of beating that Coke demon. What could it hurt to look?" So I stepped on my scale...

.
.
.
.
10lbs gone! what? wow!!! I know it is probably mostly water seeing as controlling my food and soda intake also probably dropped my sodium intake, etc. but still, it is 10lbs not on me any more! I do feel a bit looser, if that makes sense. To put this in context though, I have much farther to go then your average dieter, as I have said before I could lose a fat man and still be a very fat man to the average person's perspective. So 10 off of me is not like 10lbs off of the 250lbs guy, etc. I would have been happy with staying the same, or even just losing 1lb, so this is motivating! Let's see if I can continue the downward progress and heck, even keep this 10lbs off would be nice. :sunny:

Ok, enough about me! I hope that everyone else out there had a great weekend!!! I am going to get caught up on your journals' now, then maybe do some work here (hehe!) and then get back to my trip reporting!

After this week I see that when you W.I.S.H. upon a star, your dreams really can start to come true! :cheer2:

Mike

[keenercam]

Oh, Gosh, Mike! I got all teary eyed reading about how GREAT you did this weekend. Man, oh man, you MUST be so proud of yourself!

I was going to say that I can't believe you stayed away from coke, but you know what? I actually can believe it! You are such a strong person (and getting stronger from those laps and arm and leg lifts-- you GO, WISH buddy!). You are well on your way! Think of it like this -- if you wanted to lose 100 pounds, you are already 10% of the way there! If you are hoping to lose 200 pounds, you are 5% of the way there -- and in ONLY ONE WEEK!!! Imagine how well this is going to go as you start feeling stronger and add more physical activity in.

How FUN that you got to be a zookeeper this weekend! LOL! Some of my happier moments in any given day are the moments I spend with my dog, when she is so grateful for everything and anything I do for her and she looks at me with big adoring eyes or greets me at the door. Animals are so energizing. So, I know you worked your butt off, but, HEY, you "WANT" to work your butt off, right?

BTW, I hope you cleaned that scrape really well.

Have a great day, and keep up the great work!

[MayButterfly]

I just wanted to pop in and say hi!... way to go w/ the cokes!! I have just one diet coke/ day usually at work and I know I need to cut that out! so you inspire me!!! Since I've had my coke today starting tomorrow I'm cutting them out!!! Good job on your weight loss and all your hard work this weekend..

[TigerCheer2009]

Hi! I'm a little late for the party, but welcome to the WISH boards. I want you to succeed so much! You're doing soo awesome. Please-keep up the good work!

Congrats on your awesome weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!!

Should I do a cheer in his journal? Myke-do you want a cheer in your journal?

Bye and good luck!

[toystoryduo]

Way to go Mike!!!! :cool1:

You did a great job this weekend! Like Cam said, you should be very proud of yourself! ::yes::

The Carb Addicts Plan sounds interesting. I have stalled in my weight loss big time and could use a new plan to follow. Is there a book or website that accompanies this plan?

By the way, I love your trip reports so far! :teeth: Your second day sounded like a good one! :goodvibes Despite a little bit of rain. ;) :umbrella:

Congrats Mike on a great weekend! Congrats also on your 10 pound loss! :cheer2: Did you add the clippie to your signtaure yet?

Have a great Monday! :cool1:

[pearlieq]

Wow! I've never seen a journal take off quite like yours!

Congrats on making it through the weekend Coke free and a BIG BIG congrats on those 10 pounds gone!!! :cool1:

You're doing great things for yourself. Keep up the good work!!! You can do it!!! :cheer2:

[Mykelogan]

Oh, Gosh, Mike! I got all teary eyed reading about how GREAT you did this weekend. Man, oh man, you MUST be so proud of yourself!

Thank you so much Cam! It means a lot to know someone has faith in me! :goodvibes

You are well on your way! Think of it like this -- if you wanted to lose 100 pounds, you are already 10% of the way there! If you are hoping to lose 200 pounds, you are 5% of the way there -- and in ONLY ONE WEEK!!! Imagine how well this is going to go as you start feeling stronger and add more physical activity in.

You are definitely right, that is a good way to look at things!

How FUN that you got to be a zookeeper this weekend! LOL! Some of my happier moments in any given day are the moments I spend with my dog, when she is so grateful for everything and anything I do for her and she looks at me with big adoring eyes or greets me at the door. Animals are so energizing. So, I know you worked your butt off, but, HEY, you "WANT" to work your butt off, right?

You are correct, I do want to work this butt off! I have a cat who spends 90%of his time beside me, curious about what I am doing, falling asleep in my arms while I am typing (literally!) So I love animals, but I guess in small doses! hehe I will say that the funniest moments of the weekend were when the ducks, who waddle the yard all day quacking away at the horses, would try to scare the basset hound. At first the dog would get scared and then realize he could scare them and lunge at them, the ducks would turn around and waddle away as fast as they could quacking their heads off. LOL

BTW, I hope you cleaned that scrape really well.

Believe me I did! hehe! Alcohol, peroxide, wound spray, bandages, I go all out so I am sure not to see the blood again! hehe :flower:

Thanks again for your support and I hope your day is going along well!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

I just wanted to pop in and say hi!... way to go w/ the cokes!! I have just one diet coke/ day usually at work and I know I need to cut that out! so you inspire me!!! Since I've had my coke today starting tomorrow I'm cutting them out!!! Good job on your weight loss and all your hard work this weekend..

Hi maybutterfly!

Thanks for stopping by and your supportive message! I hope that cutting out the diet Coke works and helps your progress out! I know I am very wary of artificial sweeteners, especially the ones that give me headaches like aspartame.

Hope that you have a great day!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi! I'm a little late for the party, but welcome to the WISH boards. I want you to succeed so much! You're doing soo awesome. Please-keep up the good work!

Congrats on your awesome weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!!

Should I do a cheer in his journal? Myke-do you want a cheer in your journal?

Bye and good luck!

Hi Jen!

Thanks for stopping by! Congrats on your loss too, I am gonna get fully caught up on your journal to get inspired! Hope that you are having fun with those kids, they can be a joy and a terror, hope that stay on the joy side for you! :flower:

As for would I like a cheer??? Did I mention "bring it on" is one of my fave movies??? Cheer away, I will make sure the spirit stick stays safe! :goodvibes

Mike

[eeyore25]

WOW!!! WAY to go Mike. Sounds like you did an awesome job this weekend!!!! Congratulations on being coke freee....isn't it great. Any also on the weight loss. You are doing great!!! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Keep it up and in no time, you will have the achieved your goals!

[Lesli54]

Great job over the weekend and on the lost lbs. Now, say good-bye to them forever and make your solemn vow to never weigh what you started at again. :angel:

You might want to check out the websites of the fast food chains and take a look at their nutrition charts. It really is an eye opener and helps you keep in mind exactly what you should be ordering when you find yourself at one of these places. I am finding that the more I know about food ahead of time, the easier it is to make good choices later.

Keep up the AWESOME job. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[Mykelogan]

Hi Tracy!

Thanks for your support! I think I had a pretty good weekend, now if I can just keep it up!

The Carb Addicts Plan sounds interesting. I have stalled in my weight loss big time and could use a new plan to follow. Is there a book or website that accompanies this plan?

I am so sorry to hear that you are stalled. I just saw that on your journal too. I think you are on the right track looking at Sunny's advice, retracing your steps and looking at your food log. Also you said you didn't eat a lot last week, maybe your body went into that nasty starvation mode where it gets worried and holds onto our fat for dear life? If you are interested in the CAP, you can check out their not frequently updated, as in years, but helpful and good overview website here (http://www.carbohydrateaddicts.com) . There are books also, specifically the Carbohydrate Addict's Lifespan Plan is a good start. (A tip if you want to buy it, on Amazon.com you can get it used, and most of the Hellers other books too, for like a penny. I am not kidding! lol There is shipping too, so it ends like $3. Not too bad, and of course as a disclaimer I am not affiliated with the Hellers or amazon, hehe!) For me the Plan makes a lot of sense from the patterns in my eating and weight gain. What I like also that there are no real "evil" foods, just you look at when you eat them and with what aka I can have my cake and eat it too. hehe! Corny, I know! If you have any specific questions about my experiences with the plan I will of course be glad to answer them! :flower:

By the way, I love your trip reports so far! :teeth: Your second day sounded like a good one! :goodvibes Despite a little bit of rain. ;) :umbrella:

Thanks! I hope to get the whole trip report finished soon, and don't worry, there is more rain to come and we haven't even gotten to me meeting Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi, The Leprechan, and Willow) in Epcot! hehe

Congrats Mike on a great weekend! Congrats also on your 10 pound loss! :cheer2: Did you add the clippie to your signtaure yet?
Have a great Monday! :cool1:

Thanks again Tracy, I look forward to seeing your future success! And I did add my clippie, I am so proud! hehe

Bye for now,
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Wow! I've never seen a journal take off quite like yours!

Congrats on making it through the weekend Coke free and a BIG BIG congrats on those 10 pounds gone!!! :cool1:

You're doing great things for yourself. Keep up the good work!!! You can do it!!! :cheer2:

Thanks pearlieq, I am sure with all the great WISH support out there, like yours!, I will be able to do it!

Mike

[Mykelogan]

WOW!!! WAY to go Mike. Sounds like you did an awesome job this weekend!!!! Congratulations on being coke freee....isn't it great. Any also on the weight loss. You are doing great!!! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Keep it up and in no time, you will have the achieved your goals!

Thanks Jamie!! It is great to be coke free, especially since if I was still drinking it I would have probably spent close to $10 on it this weekend. That's ten dollars I have now to save towards my next Disney trip! hehe

Bye for now,
Mike

[DisDon]

I am back from house/zoo keeping at my parent's house for the weekend.
Calling Dr. Dolittle, Dr. Mike Dolittle!! ROFL

I do have to be honest, just walking their yard to take care of the animals was more than I have been used to, so did I sweat? heck yes! Also showed me in what bad shape I am in! Ug!
That sounds like how I felt on saturday, didn't do any formal exercise, just spent several hours cleaning out the shed. I may have gained a couple pounds from inhaling dust, and all the dust that stuck to my sweat! I can't wait until I can work outside in the summer and not drown in it.
3) The Coke Battle...
Well I am sad to report that I indulged in Coke this weekend... NOT! hehehe
I am 112 hours coke/soda free and feel great. I definitely felt the headache this weekend but I think it just ganged up on me with the cold I picked up. I can take and don't really feel it today! I drank nice ice cold water all day, each day this weekend. Not sure if I am up to where I should be water wise yet but I am getting there! The only non water bev I have had is a small glass of pink lemonade with dinner Saturday night. I feel great about this change, I definitely feel better giving my body the water it needs instead of all the junk that comes in the cola! :flower:
Dude you had me going there for a half second. Excellent!! Man, if this sticks, and it IS sticking, this will be a major accomplishment for both of us. Just thinking about having to report any Dr. P violations here has been enough to keep me from bailing out. Today I got a powerade from the fountain in a Dr. Pepper cup :rotfl2:
For example, on Friday as I was running late to my dad's and assumed there would be no food I hot McDonalds on the way. Now sit down as I share my usual McDs order, you may faint. Normally I would get a Big mac meal with fries and a coke, plus two more cheeseburgers, and a shake. Not a bad order, for a family of four!!!
I tend to supplement my normal lunch sometimes with the $1 McD DblCheeseburgers, hockeypucks. I should actually eat the hockeypuck, probably more nutritious.
10lbs gone! what? wow!!! I know it is probably mostly water seeing as controlling my food and soda intake also probably dropped my sodium intake, etc. but still, it is 10lbs not on me any more! I do feel a bit looser, if that makes sense. To put this in context though, I have much farther to go then your average dieter, as I have said before I could lose a fat man and still be a very fat man to the average person's perspective. So 10 off of me is not like 10lbs off of the 250lbs guy, etc. I would have been happy with staying the same, or even just losing 1lb, so this is motivating! Let's see if I can continue the downward progress and heck, even keep this 10lbs off would be nice. :sunny:
Outstanding!!! in the field, farmer Mike! Here we go for week 2!
Carry on.

[Mykelogan]

Hi Lesli54!

Great job over the weekend and on the lost lbs. Now, say good-bye to them forever and make your solemn vow to never weigh what you started at again. :angel:

Sounds like a plan to me! Adios you dastardly pounds! :wave:


You might want to check out the websites of the fast food chains and take a look at their nutrition charts. It really is an eye opener and helps you keep in mind exactly what you should be ordering when you find yourself at one of these places. I am finding that the more I know about food ahead of time, the easier it is to make good choices later.

You are definitely right on track here! I am going to do my best to avoid most restaurants, especially fast food, for a few weeks as I get acclimated to my new lifestyle. I need to know what I am putting in my body if I am gonna be in charge. The junk at the fast food places is gone from my menu!

Thanks for the support and great ideas!
Mike :flower:

[Mykelogan]

Hey Don!

Thanks for the supportive words dude! This summer humidity needs to go away I think. Now who do I call about that???

Today I got a powerade from the fountain in a Dr. Pepper cup :rotfl2:

Not a bad idea! Track yourself down a Dr. Pepper sports bottle or big fountain cup, use it for your water and other bev. So you'll still see the name, but get the benefits of the new contents. Might be too big a trigger to stare at the name Dr. Pepper all day, but you never know! hehe

Be well man, on to second week indeed!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi All!

Just reporting in as I am not having the best night!
It is almost 9pm and I am just about to make dinner, so that is later than I like. I will probably make it small so I am not having too much too late but this is my first food since lunch so I am a bit hungry. I wanted to eat earlier but that did not happen due to several things. I know, no excuses but it happened so that brings us to now... I do have some good food for dinner, I am going to saute a chicken breast seasoned with chili powder and garlic, then saute some peppers and a bit of onion, smother the chicken in the peppers top with a little cheddar and melt. Have no salad sadly but I will be getting groceries soon (that's another story!). I have a potato so I will bake that up to go with. And of course my handy dandy water! hehe That is one thing I did well today, got in at least 64oz.

As for my groceries, the only time I really have to get them is as I type this! Tomorrow I will be gone all day with my grandparents, we are going to CT to visit my mom who normally is on the West coast but is out here for a short period. We will probably not get back til quite late. Wednesday I work til 4pm and then my dad & I have planned a "Guy's Night" for my 11yo nephew, we are taking him to see Batman Begins and to his fave restaurant for dinner. Hopefully I will be done with them in time to at least make a quick grocery run. I am worried about food for tomorrow, I know I might not be able to follow my plan to the T, but I will at least focus on portions again, and will be bringing my water bottle with me in the AM so I will be able to drink it on the way there and fill er up on the way back.

Ok, enough whining! I mean geez, I had a great week last week and was not 100% on track yet, if I can be 90% on track this week I should be happy! I think I am also cranky because I pulled a muscle in my back earlier moving some furniture and it aches. Wow, whine some more why don't I??? LOL

I hope that everyone out there in WISH-topia is having a great evening! I will not be online tomorrow at all, so I will catch everyone on Wednesday.

Happy & healthy days for all!
Mike :flower:

[toystoryduo]

Hi Mike!

Thanks for the info. on the carb addicts plan. I'm going to look into it and that great deal on Amazon! :goodvibes

I know you ate dinner a little later than you wanted to last night, but you ate a healthy dinner and that is wonderful! I know that when my day doesn't go exactly as planned how easy it is to just run out and get fast food or to make other unhealthy food choices. However, you chose a healthy meal last night and I say that is a VICTORY! :cheer2:

It sounds like the next couple of days will be busy for you. ::yes:: Have a great time and remember your WISH friends are cheering you on!!! :cheer2: Go Mike!!!! :cheer2:

[DisDon]

Ok, enough whining! Wow, whine some more why don't I???
Would you like some cheese with that?!?! :rotfl: :teeth:
See ya on Wednesday.
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :3dglasses

[Mykelogan]

Hi all!

After all my whining I actually had a pretty good day food wise yesterday. I got in all of my water too. For lunch my grandparents brought chicken salad finger sandwiches, potato chips and donuts, a carbohydrate bonanza of course!!! I had two of the chicken sandwiches, which was probably the equivalent of a hamburger sized sandwich, and my ice water. I resisted chips and donuts! hehe So while it was not an on-plan meal, it was portion controlled. I definitely was craving those donuts later on though hehe, but I did not indulge. We went out to dinner and there I was able to stay on plan much better. I had a mixed greens salad with a sugar free vinagarette that had gorgonzola cheese in it, my fave! Then a huge grilled tortilla stuffed with steak, extra green peppers, onions, and mozz cheese, saved half for tonight's dinner it was soo big & filling. They had no veggie side dishes so I asked for the extra peppers in the sandwich. I of course had some more water! And when dessert time came, luckily everyone was stuffed so we didn't even look at the menu, no temptation! no desire for it!

It was great to see my mom and enjoy an afternoon with her too. Today it is back to the grind at work. I overslept, which is allowed but i didn't want to, so I got in late. I had a grilled chicken salad for lunch that was very yummy. Tonight I will get my groceries and get my kitchen organized!

For now I am late for a meeting, I will be back later!
Mike :flower:

[DisDon]

Way to be strong, brotha! Donuts? We don't need no stinking donuts!! :upsidedow :eek: :crazy2: :tongue: :jester:

[TigerCheer2009]

Hi Jen!

Thanks for stopping by! Congrats on your loss too, I am gonna get fully caught up on your journal to get inspired! Hope that you are having fun with those kids, they can be a joy and a terror, hope that stay on the joy side for you! :flower:

As for would I like a cheer??? Did I mention "bring it on" is one of my fave movies??? Cheer away, I will make sure the spirit stick stays safe! :goodvibes

Mike

Hi Mike! Thank you. Good luck reading all of it. Grab a water (with lots of Ice, maybe a Vanilla-Ice-Ice-Baby Water or a Dr-Water for Don), sit down and read through it. The kids are fun, but I run out of there screaming as soon as I can. You better make sure that spirit stick is safe...if you drop it, I will have to super-nuclear poke you (it's a fingernail pinch and a poke at the same time...hurts like the Devil!).

And your cheer:

Yes!
No Coke!
For longer than before
Mike's awesome health
Will dominate the boards
So c'mon crowd get with us
Get up on your feet
Yes Y-E-S
Swimming is neat!

Go Mike! Have an awesome Coke-free day because you deserve it!

ETA: Awesome job resisting. You have such willpower, man! You're doing really great!

[eeyore25]

Way to go Mike!!! That is awesome that you resisted the doughnuts. Sounds like you had a great day yesterday and are on your way to a great day today.

Keep it up. You truly are doing a great job!

[keenercam]

Hi, Mike! Thanks for stopping by my journal -- I needed another cheerful voice today!

Great job on controlling the portions yesterday and getting in your water. It sounds like you made all absolutely wonderful choices! I am so impressed that you didn't cave to the donut craving and that you made a great choice for dinner. Not eating the entire thing and saving it for dinner tonight is a HUGE SUCCESS and a really powerful strategy for all of us on this journey.

Keep up the great work, kiddo! I bet you are looking forward to dinner :)

[Mykelogan]

Way to be strong, brotha! Donuts? We don't need no stinking donuts!! :upsidedow :eek: :crazy2: :tongue: :jester:

Oh but we want them sometimes! hehe! I just had to remember that "donuts make ya go nuts!" and I was ok... Of course right now I would eat just about anything you put in front of me! hehe I am back from grocery shopping, and it took an hour to get everything put away! LOL I have just individually wraooed more chicken breasts than they have at the local KFC! hehehe! It was on sale!

Thanks for the message Don! Hope that you had a great day and are loving life Pepper free! pirate:

Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi Jen!

Don't worry, the Spirit Stick is safe! I would not want to fall victim to the super nuclear poke! :sunny: And thank you very much for the cheer, it made my day! Hope that you are having a most excellent day!

Mike :flower:

Hi Mike! Thank you. Good luck reading all of it. Grab a water (with lots of Ice, maybe a Vanilla-Ice-Ice-Baby Water or a Dr-Water for Don), sit down and read through it. The kids are fun, but I run out of there screaming as soon as I can. You better make sure that spirit stick is safe...if you drop it, I will have to super-nuclear poke you (it's a fingernail pinch and a poke at the same time...hurts like the Devil!).

And your cheer:

Yes!
No Coke!
For longer than before
Mike's awesome health
Will dominate the boards
So c'mon crowd get with us
Get up on your feet
Yes Y-E-S
Swimming is neat!

Go Mike! Have an awesome Coke-free day because you deserve it!

ETA: Awesome job resisting. You have such willpower, man! You're doing really great!

[Mykelogan]

Way to go Mike!!! That is awesome that you resisted the doughnuts. Sounds like you had a great day yesterday and are on your way to a great day today.

Keep it up. You truly are doing a great job!

Thanks Jamie!!! Hope the rest of your day was terrific! :goodvibes

Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi, Mike! Thanks for stopping by my journal -- I needed another cheerful voice today!

Great job on controlling the portions yesterday and getting in your water. It sounds like you made all absolutely wonderful choices! I am so impressed that you didn't cave to the donut craving and that you made a great choice for dinner. Not eating the entire thing and saving it for dinner tonight is a HUGE SUCCESS and a really powerful strategy for all of us on this journey.

Keep up the great work, kiddo! I bet you are looking forward to dinner :)

Hi Cam!
Glad to stop by journal, you are very welcome! Thanks for keeping track of mine too. :goodvibes
I am definitely looking forward to dinner! I am tossing up a salad, reheating my half sandwich, and I think I am going to roast some Baby Bella mushrooms to go with. The piece de resistance will be half a Klondike Crunch Ice Cream Bar! Yummy, well thought out food that is all OP. What more can I ask for?!

To segue a bit, I have noticed that I get hungry in the afternoon a bit so I am going to incorporate a low carb snack. I think it is because I have been having an early lunch lately as opposed to breakfast than lunch later. I do not want to fall into that trap of eating too little for my body but I think I am doing well. I am happy to be giving energy to focusing on eating when I am hungry and not just eating for the sake of eating. The "old" me would have finished off a good 3 or 4 donuts before we got to dinner yesterday, and that would be me not eating all I "wanted" because I was around others. Heck, put me in a room alone with a dozen fresh Krispy Kremes and I would soon show you an empty box! And of course you need the coke to wash it down... but not anymore! :goodvibes

Have a good night Cam!
Mike :flower:

[toystoryduo]

Hi Mike!

Stopping by to WISH you a healthy and happy day today! :goodvibes Any updates on the trip report? :teeth:

Take care! :cool1:

[Mykelogan]

Hi Mike!

Stopping by to WISH you a healthy and happy day today! :goodvibes Any updates on the trip report? :teeth:

Take care! :cool1:

Hey Tracy! Thanks for popping in!

The trip reports are underway, this has just been a mad crazy week at work so I have not had a lot of free time, and my nights have been a bit wild too but fear not! They are coming! I really love writing them as it lets me relive the magic. :wizard:

Hope that you are having WISH-derful day!
Mike :flower:

[eeyore25]

Hi Mike,


Just wanted to pop in and WISH you a great day. You are doing great. Keep up the good the work.

[DisDon]

Hey, man, I think we're gonna put Coke and Dr. P out of business, did you sell your stock already? :rotfl: I crack myself up!
Good plan on the afternoon snack. I've read before that eating more, smaller meals instead of 2 or 3 big ones each day will speed up metabolism. I've got to work on smaller, earlier dinners, and get to bed earlier.
We should plan a WDW trip together if we both hit our goals. You sound like just the expert guide that I need. And we can skip Ice Station Cool together, hehe.

[lajones81]

Mike,
I see you are making some awesome progress! I know you will achieve your WISH soon! Keep working hard! :)

Lisa

[Mykelogan]

Thanks Jamie, Don, and Lisa for your messages! I was not having the best day yesterday so the support and smiles were greatly appreciated.

Don, all I can say is thank goodness it seems they are closing that evil Ice Station Cool!!! hehe I think they should revamp it and get someone like Poland Springs to sponsor it and actually serve ice water for free, that would be awesome! :cool1:

Not sure why yesterday was a tough one. I think it was stress at work that brought it all on. I had a day of "missing" my old "friends" ie. the sodas, the pizzas, all the foods that taste good but don't nourish you! It was not physical cravings but more a mental thing. I think it relates to my having been a comfort eater and several meetings yesterday at work left me looking for comfort! I was actually invited to go out to dinner with some friends and I knew the way I was feeling that there was no way I would be able to restrain myself if I did. I will be honest, for a few minutes I was contemplating just saying "Forget this! I want to go eat!" but i didn't. I'm not 100% sure how I did it, but I know a big part of it was thinking about everyone on here and how I would feel about myself. Luckily the invite was left on my voicemail and not an in person call, so I just called them back later and said "Oh sorry, I didn't get the message!"

The rest of my night was pretty good though, I spent a lot of time reading my food plan book and looking at healthy recipes only. I figured if I was going to feel focused on food, it should be focused on healthy food! I got so focused I forget to eat dinner until later on! hehe

Things I know I need to work on:
(1) Exercise! Had a few setbacks this week (pulled muscles, etc.) so I need to get focused! The pool is closed for cleaning this week and next, so I need to find a big puddle!
(2) Eating dinner earlier and getting to bed before 1am.

Ok, I am off to go visit everyone's journals! I hope that everyone has a great Fourth of July weekend. Resist the urge to splurge at those BBQs! :goodvibes

Mike

[toystoryduo]

Hey Mike!

Congratulations! You just cleared a big hurdle!!! You wanted to give up and eat whatever you wanted to, but you didn't. That is awesome, Mike! You should be very proud of yourself!!! ::yes::

Just a thought about exercise... How about walking? You can buy a pedometer and measure how many steps you take in a day. I think if you walk 10,000 steps per day, that's equal to 4 or 5 miles. (Maybe someone else can tell us for sure.) Or how about weightlifting? I think a pound of muscle has to burn 35 calories a day to survive and a pound of fat burns something like 2 calories a day to survive. :banana: Swimming is good too! :fish:

I hope you have a great day and a safe, relaxing, healthy and wonderful 4th of July weekend! Take care Mike and keep up the good work! :cheer2:

[Mykelogan]

Hi Tracy!

Thanks for your message, I definitely appreciate the congratulations. :flower: It was a rough day but I made it through.

About exercise, I am doing some walking as exercise and working towards building it up. At my size, and physical condition, the pool helps the most because of the support it offers (as suggested by my doc, who also suggested I do not overdo any of it, but focus on increasing what i can do now in healthy increments), but I am making strides in other areas. I do want to start some weightlifting/toning when I feel like it is an option I can physically include. Very good ideas you have! :sunny:

I hope that you too have a healthy, happy weekend too! I think we all have a lot to celebrate for being so good to our bodies! :banana: :banana:

Mike :cool1:

Hey Mike!

Congratulations! You just cleared a big hurdle!!! You wanted to give up and eat whatever you wanted to, but you didn't. That is awesome, Mike! You should be very proud of yourself!!! ::yes::

Just a thought about exercise... How about walking? You can buy a pedometer and measure how many steps you take in a day. I think if you walk 10,000 steps per day, that's equal to 4 or 5 miles. (Maybe someone else can tell us for sure.) Or how about weightlifting? I think a pound of muscle has to burn 35 calories a day to survive and a pound of fat burns something like 2 calories a day to survive. :banana: Swimming is good too! :fish:

I hope you have a great day and a safe, relaxing, healthy and wonderful 4th of July weekend! Take care Mike and keep up the good work! :cheer2:

[DisDon]

Poland Springs to sponsor it and actually serve ice water for free, that would be awesome! :cool1:
Poland Springs, hmm, Polish water? sounds a little scary... :teeth:
The pool is closed for cleaning this week and next, so I need to find a big puddle!
Rhode Island, hmm, I seem to recall a big puddle just off the coast there! :earboy2:
Congrats on skipping the dinner out, save if for a day you're feeling stronger!
Happy 4th!!

[Mykelogan]

Poland Springs, hmm, Polish water? sounds a little scary... :teeth:

Hahah! Poland Springs is from Maine. And it's caffeine free! LOL :rotfl:

Rhode Island, hmm, I seem to recall a big puddle just off the coast there! :earboy2:
Congrats on skipping the dinner out, save if for a day you're feeling stronger!
Happy 4th!!

yes the ocean is there...BUT I am not a fan of salt water (gag!) and what about the SHARKS!!!??!! When I was a kid and they showed Jaws on CBS my parents told us we could not watch it, so my sister and I snuck our tiny B&W TV under my bed and covered it with pillows like a fort. We watched it... I was traumatized for life! And if you watch the news you can see that the sharks are organizing and soon will try to reclaim this world!!!! Ahhh... sorry, I get a little excited when I discuss them!! hahaha :crazy:

p.s. Where had today gone???!!! I blinked it was outta here! I need more time to get things done before the long weekend!

Mike :goodvibes

[keenercam]

Hi, Mike! I am glad that you can look back on yesterday with pride. Good job on avoiding a situation where the temptations might have been too great to resist when you were feeling a little weak. :cheer2: Be proud of having made such a great decision! How awesome that you spent time focusing on healthy food. What a great idea! Did you find any awesome recipes you want to share?

So, what is the plan this weekend? I hope you are doing something fun. I have decided to bring some hand weights up from our basement and put them next to the couch, so that whenever I am sitting still I can do some toning on my arms.

Have a great weekend, buddy!

[Mykelogan]

Hi Cam, no great recipes to share yet but I will keep looking. I am currently on a mushroom kick and think they are delicious roasted.

As for this weekend, I am planning to get a heck of a lot of laundry done tonight to start. Tomorrow I have plans to go to the movies during the day. And I am excited for my wallet because I will not be spending a ridiculous amount of money on snacks there! I think I will bring some green pepper strips and cheese cubes, and by a water and ask for a large cup of ice. Saturday night and sunday are my unplanned days right now, then monday I am going to a family BBQ. I plan to bring a tossed salad and some veggies to roast, and share with everyone. So I know I will be covered veggie wise and the protein will definitely be there. I will definitely be having some of my grandmother's baked beans and potato salad at my balanced 'reward meal' (CAD language hehe) and staying on plan of course. I actually have Tuesday off of work too and I will be going to see my mother again like we did last week. That's my plan!

I like your hand weights idea! I think I need to get some myself as I have doing some exercises without them inside every so often just to get the blood flowing!

<see the cloud of smoke as he heads to investigate!>

Bye for now!
Mike :wizard:

[eeyore25]

Right on Mike!!! :cheer2:

I am so proud of you for resisting the temptation of eating out. And giving up. Sounds like after you made that choice your day got better. You really are doing a fantasic job!!!

Hope today is going better for you and you have a great 4th of July weekend. Stay on track this weekend...you can do it!!!

Again great job....let's dance with the banana's!!! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Mykelogan]

Right on Mike!!! :cheer2:

I am so proud of you for resisting the temptation of eating out. And giving up. Sounds like after you made that choice your day got better. You really are doing a fantasic job!!!

Hope today is going better for you and you have a great 4th of July weekend. Stay on track this weekend...you can do it!!!

Again great job....let's dance with the banana's!!! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Thanks Jamie!
Today is going much better! I hope that you are having a good day too!

Mike :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Mykelogan]

So Cam's post about handweights sent me scurrying over to amazon.com to see what I could find and low & behold, they have handweights in all sizes on sale. I ordered a nice set. And as I browsed and thought about exercise I remembered that one of my former co-workers had a walking DVD she liked to do every morning. That then spurred me on to look into different types and one of the purchaser's reviews mentioned how it had been a challenge for them to sustain a regular walking workout outside but that the DVD workout allowed them to be more paced and rest when needed, etc. So what did I do? I once again put some money in George Foreman's pocket and bought his Walking With George DVDs. hehe! I could not pass up the opportunity to get a good workout and the chance that these could be quite funny to watch.

I should get them after the weekend so I can start next week! After a pretty low energy end to the week my spirits are brought up by all the great messages I have received from my WISH buddies and my new opportunities to get healthier!

Bye for now all!
Mike

[keenercam]

Hey, Mike! Great idea to go shopping when you need a pick-me-up! I think new "tools" are the best for refreshing your motivation. Can you imagine working on your arms (and just burning calories) whenever you are sitting in front of the television? How awesome!

Have a great weekend. You'll have something to look forward to in the mail next week,right?

[Mykelogan]

Hey, Mike! Great idea to go shopping when you need a pick-me-up! I think new "tools" are the best for refreshing your motivation. Can you imagine working on your arms (and just burning calories) whenever you are sitting in front of the television? How awesome!

Have a great weekend. You'll have something to look forward to in the mail next week,right?

Hi Cam!
Working out while watching TV sounds great! Now if I shopped every time I felt like a pick-me-up I think I would be in trouble! hehe (I do know what you mean thought, it can be a great help! :) )

Hope that you are having a happy healthy Saturday!!!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi All!

Hope that everyone is having a great Saturday. I having a pretty good weekend so far. My movie plans for today got postponed because I decided I wanted some extra sleep and to get some errands done. I will be doing a double feature matinee tomorrow though.

Been getting all my water in. I can really not believe that the last Coke I had was the evening of two wednesdays ago! WOW! Since then all I have been drinking is ice water with the exception of one pink lemonade. And I feel great about it!

I discovered a way to get the texture and feel of "homefries" with my eggs last night. I sauteed with a little olive oil some celery, mushrooms, and green onions. Soo yummy! On my plan, and a great accent to the egg. I was hardly missing my potatoes and toast! Today's discovery was how good having a "sandwich" with lettuce as the "bread" can be. I made a nice tuna with lots of celery then put in boston lettuce leaves as wraps with a tiny bit of tomato. Soooo yummy and crunchy, and just good! hehe Add a side of cucumber slices with a dollop of fresh ranch dressing and a satisfying meal was had!

Ok back to watching Linkin Park and Jay Z perform on Live 8!
Have a great one all!

Mike :goodvibes

[TigerCheer2009]

Hey Mike!!! Thanks for posting in my journal. But that's not why I'm here.

You're doing awesome on the No-Coke front, General! I applaud your efforts, sir YES sir! Ice water has been a very good offensive and defensive, wouldn't you say?

Also, I do exercises during the TV commercials. Pushups, jump rope, stretches, situps/crunches, dancing to commercial jingles...every little bit helps! It's fun. And also, your going on to amazon.com made ME go to amazon.com and fantasize about all of the workout DVD's I want, plus accessories, plus free weights PLUS a new scale. Thanks for getting my imagination going. Now if only I had the money for it... :cloud9: !

Keep on making new food discoveries, avoid the Croak-a-cola (as my dad says), watch Live 8, and make good choices!

[Mykelogan]

Hi Jen!

Thanks for the message of support! "Croak-a-cola"! I love that and will borrow it from time to time I am sure, with the appropriate credit given of course. hehe :goodvibes

Sorry if I got your Amazon.com imagination going too much but I know what you mean! hehe I actually joined the new Amazon Prime program to get the "free" two day shipping, as I am an Amazon addict already, LOL!

Have a happy, healthy Sunday!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi All!

So both my favorites lost in the finals at Wimbledon this weekend, but luckily I am faring better than they are! hehe

My movie trip got postponed once again due to Tennis, but I will be going later today or tomorrow after the BBQ. I am determined to see these movies before even more are released. I am definitely a movie buff and the summer is the best time for them!

So I tried to make spinach palatable last night at dinner, tried to enjoy it... but that didn't happen! hehe It's still... spinach! hehe I may try to dress up the leftovers with some mushrooms in an omelette. We'll see!! I did eat it so I got my veggies in and the chicken I made to go with it was delicious. I used a spice blend called "Barbecue of the America's" from Penzey Spices, so yummy and tangy, with a hint of cinnamon, and NO sugar or MSG or chemicals. I even had a Reese's peanut butter cup, which is my favorite! In the past I would have eaten the family sized bag with a two liter of coke. Last night I had the single serving pack I bought specifically for this meal with a second glass of ice water (served in my WDW pint glass of course!). It tasted AMAZING but I tell you what, i was satisfied with the taste and didn't need to eat two dozen of them! hehe.

Ok, better get myself together and have lunch now. Hope that everyone is having a great day!

Mike pirate:

[TigerCheer2009]

Doing great Mike!!! Keep up the awesome work! Glad you curbed the urge w/ one Reesie cup instead of 24. Keep up the water intake!

Just :fish: Keep :fish: Swimming :fish:! You can do this...what an inspiration you are. No soda, one Reesie cup... :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Doing great Mike!!! Keep up the awesome work! Glad you curbed the urge w/ one Reesie cup instead of 24. Keep up the water intake!

Thanks Jen! I was amazed at myself hehe! And I think the water helps a lot too. I do think a lot in the past I would eat when I was probably thirsty, and if I drank, I drank Coke which does wonders for thirst with all that caffeine.

Mike

[Mykelogan]

Relaxing now before bed. Tomorrow I am stopping by a BBQ and then going to the movies so I need my sleep! hehe

Dinner was good tonight. I 'rescued' the creamed spinach from last night by mixing it with some mushrooms and a little onion, then I made it a sauce with a bit of cream and finely shredded swiss, a TBSP or two of each plus a little water. I then served this over a baked chicken breast seasoned with my previously mentioned spice. Wow! It was delicious and all on plan. Had half a five grain bagel with it, and then for a treat half of a Klondike bag in a dish with 3 sliced medium strawberries. The coating of the Klondike bar and the berries was like having an ultra rich chocolate dipped strawberry! Soo yummy!! And of course my ice water, which must be ice cold!!!!

Ok, time for some Family Guy and then bed!
Bye!

[toystoryduo]

Hi Mike!

Your meal ideas sound so yummy! My DH is allergic to chicken and turkey so I don't even have chicken in my house. :( And your Klondike dessert.... :cloud9:

What movie are you going to see today? :3dglasses

Have a happy, safe, healthy, Coke-free ;) 4th of July!!! :cool1:

[rcyannacci]

Hi Mike! I've just been catching up on your journal, and it looks like you've made fantastic progress in a short span of time. Your modifications on meals and such seem to be making a big difference, and you've found a way to substitute without feeling deprived. That will go far in keeping you on track. The creamed spinach sounds great! I've got some fresh mushrooms in the fridge right now...I might have to try this for dinner today.

Have a great 4th, and enjoy your movie.

[Mykelogan]

Tracy -- Life without chicken and turkey? Wow!! That is hard to imagine, though even harder for him to live with I am sure. (I know it is probably not that bad but I just think about how chicken dominates our culture.) The Klondike dessert was yummy, don't want to do it all the time so I don't get tempted, but it will be good now & then. As for my movie, I saw War of the Worlds. It was very good, very high tension and great effects, disturbing almost. Definitely an interesting film to see on the 4th of July! Hope that you had a great healthy day! :goodvibes

rcyannacci -- Thanks for coming by my journal! Mmmm fresh mushrooms! Mushrooms are versatile saving grace so far. They have such good mouthfeel cooked and there are endless varieties. I definitely think my spinach benefited from sitting overnight too for the garlic and nutmeg to permeate the recipe. Thank you for your support and have a happy healthy 4th of July! :flower:

As I mentioned above I went to movie this afternoon. It turned out to be a great idea actually. I went to a family BBQ first, saw some people i hadn't in a while and had a nice brunch of grilled chicken and tossed salad. By the time my family started their usual ritual of gorging and gabbing I was able to excuse myself and avoid the temptation of the potato salad, and well the potato salad! hehe (The array of desserts too!) I could have made lunch my reward meal today but I had already planned to make steak fajitas for dinner and I wanted the tortillas more than the random junk at the BBQ. Last years BBQ I think I had 3 hot dogs, 3 cheeseburgers, and more sides than you can fit in a pool! And of course when that food coma lifted the desserts were brought out... oy! Knowing I wanted to see the movie this weekend saved me from having to sit around the food for hours. Sure it was not easy to go without snacks at the movie but I got myself a bottled water and a large soda cup filled with ice and that suited me just fine!

I had some trouble on the way home with my car as I got close to my campus, sounded like there was something really major wrong and I was happy at the moment just to get home. Upon inspection I noticed the plastic piece that just edges the wheel well on my left from side came lose and at different points when driving it would hit the wheel like a playing card in a bicycle spoke. Not that hard to fix, thank goodness!!! :goodvibes

Oh my! Before I forget, it has now been two weeks since I embarked on this new path. So it is time to weigh in again and I did so this morning... -13lbs!! That brings me down a total of 23lbs in two weeks!! I am astounded by myself, and I don't say that in any way bragging, I mean really astounded! I know it is relative to my starting weight so if we scaled it down to the average fat guy dieting it would not be that much, but I am still proud. Guess I need to re-think my Summer Challenge goal and I have met it already! I am going to update my clippie too! :wizard:

OK, time to check in on journals and then do some laundry! Hope that everyon is having a happy, healthy, safe 4th of July!

Mike :flower:

[toystoryduo]

Congratulations Mike! :jumping1:

Before you know it, you will be adding that 25 pound clippie to your signature! :cool1:

You did a great job at the BBQ and at the movies yesterday! More victories for you! :cheer2: Yeah Mike! :cheer2:

Have a great Tuesday! :cool1:

[TigerCheer2009]

You did GREAT at the cookout Mike! I'm proud of you! And awesome losses! Great job! Movies are a great motivator aren't they?

Make this an awesome day!

[keenercam]

Mike -- What an awesome weekend you had (even if your two favorite tennis players didn't do as well as you hoped). Congrats on really working on a strategy for the cookout. Great going! You must be so incredibly proud of yourself. You definitely need to make a mental note of how you handled the situation and how victorious you felt, so that you will remember at the next challenge just how incredibly well you did.

Howard and I saw WOTW Friday night and I think I gouged his hand -- I was terrified. I am NOT into sci-fi or horror and definitely went to this movie because he wanted to see it. I remember seeing the previews and saying "Nuh uh, not me, ain't goin' and you can't make me." And then, what do I do? Have an opportunity for a date with my sweet hubby and fell right into it! UGH! I kept saying, "I am going to have nightmares." Fortunately, I didn't. Glad you enjoyed it.

Have you seen anything else good lately? We see a LOT of movies -- I buy discount tickets on line and we get to go for 4.50 instead of 9.75 unless it is opening weekend, in which case we can upgrade to to 6.00 and still save 3.75/person. "Cinderella Man" is probably my favorite movie so far this year.

Well, off to accomplish a lot before heading to NY this afternoon. Will provide a full report when we get back! Have a great day!

Oh, geez, almost forgot! AWESOME job on the scale, buddy! Congratulations! I am SOOOO HAPPY for you!

[eeyore25]

Hi Mike,

Just got caught up on your journal. You did great this weekend. Congratulations on the weight loss......You will be at your goal weight in no time!!!!!!

Way to go on resisiting the food at the BBQ. Those are always tough. And if you have a family like mine, they just tell you, "oh a little bit of this or that isn't going to kill you." I get that all the time...Good for you though!

Keep up the good work and have a great day!

[kardiebelle]

Hi Mike I am a new poster for you. My name is kardiebelle and I am from Wisconsin. You caught my eye in the summer challenge board. I am getting caught up on your board and you are doing great. You are a inspiration to everyone. With the way you can resist food and try new things are a inspiration to me. You are changing your life one pound at a time. :flower: Great work. kardiebelle

[joelyfaithsmommy]

WOW MIKE, i'm so impressed with your loss!!! that's just GREAT!!! :) keep up the good work and :fish: KEEP ON SWIMMING! :fish: you're going to be down another 20# in no time at all!!!

hugs,
Jen :)

[DisDon]

Oh my! Before I forget, it has now been two weeks since I embarked on this new path. So it is time to weigh in again and I did so this morning... -13lbs!! That brings me down a total of 23lbs in two weeks!! I am astounded by myself, and I don't say that in any way bragging, I mean really astounded! I know it is relative to my starting weight so if we scaled it down to the average fat guy dieting it would not be that much, but I am still proud. Guess I need to re-think my Summer Challenge goal and I have met it already! I am going to update my clippie too! :wizard
Dude, that is OUTSTANDING!! You are on your way to a whole new life, its gonna be great! Keep on truckin'!!
:moped: :moped: :moped: :earboy2: pirate: :banana: :banana:

[pearlieq]

Oh my goodness! That's quite a loss!!! You should be really proud of yourself!!!

Sorry I've been MIA, but I just wanted to say you're doing a great job! Movies were a big hurdle for me too--I'm just so conditioned to eat there. But you handled it, and the BBQ, great!

Keep up the awesome work!!! :cool1:

[Mykelogan]

Congratulations Mike! :jumping1:

Before you know it, you will be adding that 25 pound clippie to your signature! :cool1:

You did a great job at the BBQ and at the movies yesterday! More victories for you! :cheer2: Yeah Mike! :cheer2:

Have a great Tuesday! :cool1:

Thanks Tracy!! I had a long day and it is nice to finally log on and get good vibes! That clippie will be mine in no time! :goodvibes

Hope that you're having a great night!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

You did GREAT at the cookout Mike! I'm proud of you! And awesome losses! Great job! Movies are a great motivator aren't they?

Make this an awesome day!

Hi Jen!

Thanks! I love going to the movies, and I think I even fit in the seat a bit better this time! hehe!

Hope you had a great one!
Mike :flower:

[Mykelogan]

Howard and I saw WOTW Friday night and I think I gouged his hand -- I was terrified. I am NOT into sci-fi or horror and definitely went to this movie because he wanted to see it. I remember seeing the previews and saying "Nuh uh, not me, ain't goin' and you can't make me." And then, what do I do? Have an opportunity for a date with my sweet hubby and fell right into it! UGH! I kept saying, "I am going to have nightmares." Fortunately, I didn't. Glad you enjoyed it.

I know you're in NY seeing Wicked as I write this Cam but I will respond through my jealous fog anyway! hehehehe! I definitely am with you about the nightmares part of WOTW, and I was totally teary at the end. I love a movie that provokes feeling, whatever the feeling is. I have not seen anything else great lately, but I have good hopes for the rest of the summer's films!

Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Hi Mike,

Just got caught up on your journal. You did great this weekend. Congratulations on the weight loss......You will be at your goal weight in no time!!!!!!

Way to go on resisiting the food at the BBQ. Those are always tough. And if you have a family like mine, they just tell you, "oh a little bit of this or that isn't going to kill you." I get that all the time...Good for you though!

Keep up the good work and have a great day!

Even at this rate it would take me some time to get to my goal but I do appreciate the sentiment and know what you mean! :goodvibes
I think we do have the same family. The relatives who will scoop on the food to my plate and then while eating complain about my weight! They need help I think! LOL :wizard:

Hope you are having a great night!
Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Hi Mike I am a new poster for you. My name is kardiebelle and I am from Wisconsin. You caught my eye in the summer challenge board. I am getting caught up on your board and you are doing great. You are a inspiration to everyone. With the way you can resist food and try new things are a inspiration to me. You are changing your life one pound at a time. :flower: Great work. kardiebelle

Hi kardibelle,

Welcome aboard! hehe! :flower: Glad to see you posting here and i appreciate it so much! Don't worry, I may do good at resisting but believe me I have my weak moments, but I try to drown them in good old ice water! hehe

Hope that you have a happy & healthy evening!! :teeth:
Mike

[Mykelogan]

WOW MIKE, i'm so impressed with your loss!!! that's just GREAT!!! :) keep up the good work and :fish: KEEP ON SWIMMING! :fish: you're going to be down another 20# in no time at all!!!

hugs,
Jen :)

Hey Jen!!
Thanks so much for stopping by!! I know things are hectic for you so I definitely appreciate it! Another 20 sounds great, lets all do it! :flower:
Glad to see you are still swimming too! hehe

Have a great one!
Mike :Pinkbounc

[Mykelogan]

Dude, that is OUTSTANDING!! You are on your way to a whole new life, its gonna be great! Keep on truckin'!!
:moped: :moped: :moped: :earboy2: pirate: :banana: :banana:

Thanks dude!
Hope that you are keeping things going yourself. Did I just see on CNN that the Coca-Cola Bottling Company (they make Dr. P too right??) is filing for bankruptcy?? jk lol hehehehe! :rotfl2:

Have a good one Don!
Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Oh my goodness! That's quite a loss!!! You should be really proud of yourself!!!

Sorry I've been MIA, but I just wanted to say you're doing a great job! Movies were a big hurdle for me too--I'm just so conditioned to eat there. But you handled it, and the BBQ, great!

Keep up the awesome work!!! :cool1:

Hi Pearlieq! Thanks for your continued support! No worries about being "MIA", as long as you are doing well we all get too busy for this electric world every so often. (Yes, it is true! hehe)

Hope that you are having a happy & healthy eve!
Mike :goodvibes

[toystoryduo]

Hey Mike!

How did yesterday go for you? I hope it was a healthy and happy day! :goodvibes

By the way... did you know that Coke has an online contest where you can win a trip to WDW or Disneyland? I know that you're not drinking Coke anymore, but wouldn't it be cool to win a free vacation from them? :bounce:

[Mykelogan]

Hi Tracy!

Ooooh! Winning that contest could be sweet revenge! hehe I will have to check it out ASAP! pirate:

Yesterday was stressful work wise, too many meetings and not enough time. My eating was not the hottest yesterday either as first my lunch was messed up because I made curry chicken salad and put too much curry powder, it was overpowering. I bought some good spices recently and this powder was like dynamite compared to my usual curry powder. So I had to adapt something quick! hehe. I decided to take a nap in the afternoon because my sinuses were acting up and when I woke up i was starving. So I think I overdid it a bit at dinner carb wise and portionwise. Gotta get back on track today!

Of course today I am having dinner out at a restaurant with my family, a seafood restaurant known for its deep frying. Which is the only way I like fish 99% of the time! So I made need to get adventurous. I am figuring that they will at least have to have some kind of grilled chicken or even steak. I think as long as I avoid the crispy crunchy yummy deep fried batters and french fries I will be ok! I am hoping they have some good salads or veggies as my veg intake has slaked too much the past two or so days, need to get my salads back up in size. I will also need to avoid the dessert menu when that puppy flies by as this restaurant has amazing pie...mmm pie! hehe! Be strong, drink my water, smile and enjoy the family visit and not the food! Ok, I think I will be ok. I have to go get somethings done here in the office now as I am leaving early today.

Have a happy and healthy day all!
:cheer2: :banana: :Pinkbounc :banana: :cheer2:
Mike

[MayButterfly]

how cool would that be..to win something from coke!!!
I know how you feel about the fried crispys... those are the best.. nothing like fried batter!! I know you'll make a good decision on what you order..
I'm sure the curry powder was a little overwhelming! I could only imagine.. it sounds like you are the spice king... any recipes you'd like to share? I could eat chicken everyday but I guess I dont have the imagination to spice it up with stuff other than the normal...

have a nice dinner and enjoy your company! tath's what it is all about.. feed your heart and head.. not your tummy... or something like that :)

[DisDon]

I will also need to avoid the dessert menu when that puppy flies by as this restaurant has amazing pie...mmm pie! hehe!
Yes, must watch out for flying dessert menus!! The PIE, oh man, watch out for that too.
<Zazu, Lion King>(hands on your shoulders) Mikey, (sigh), good luck...
ARRR! pirate:

[TigerCheer2009]

Is it only the dessert menus that fly or is it the pie too? :rotfl2: I find that funny in an odd way.

Good luck! Drink your water and enjoy the company!

[Mykelogan]

Hi maybutterfly!-- Thanks for stopping by my journal! I could give you some chicken ideas I use if you like, I am just not sure if they fit in with whatever plan of eating you follow. The plan I use is controlled carb and allows some higher fat food in moderation, so some of my chicken is lower fat (like mustard baked chicken) and some is not (like bacon wrapped chicken breast, sooo yummy hehe). Let me know & I will share what I got! :flower:

Before I forget, thanks for the flying menu warnings Jen & Don! hehe

So everyone knows I survived the meal in tact! hehe I avoided the appetizers they loaded the table with and got a grilled chicken cesar salad (no sugar added dressing, yay!), and with the salad I had one clam cake (meatball sized batter balls with a bit of clam in them deep fried). So I had my crispy fix and stayed well within my plan! I didn't even eat the whole clam cake, as it started to get cool and I was like "WHy eat it if it doesn't taste good anymore??" Of course I got a lot of comments from family at dinner like "Why are you just drinking water? Is that all you are gonna have? Order something else?" Sheesh! I was like, "This is what I want and I am happy with it." I don't talk to them about losing weight, etc. because I have worked for years to get them to not fixate on me and my weight, and I feel like if I said "I'm dieting and have lost 23lbs" I would get back "About time! What diet? Why that diet? How much will you lose? Should you be eating that?" blah blah blah! I'd just rather not deal with the headaches. But anyway, it was great to see my mom before she heads back to Oregon and see some of my family (others I could do without, but who doesn't have family issues! LOL)

Anywho, I am gonna check in on some journals, then watch some TV while reading some of my new comic books (One of my few childhood vices I have held onto! hehe). Have a happy & healthy night all!!

Mike :goodvibes

[eeyore25]

Congratulations on making it through dinner. I am totally with you on the family bugging you about what you are drinking/eating. My in laws are the same way. My parents would actually accuse me of being pregnant. So I am with you on not saying much!

I hope you don't mind me asking, but would you mind sharing some of your chicken receipes with me? That is really the only meat that I eat, well that and turkey and I don't really know what to do with the stuff. I just started making chicken at home....there for a while I was afraid of it! I don't know why but I was!!!! But if you would not mind sharing I would really like that. Thanks!


By the looks of it you are really doing well Mike. Good for you. I am very proud of you for sticking with it. I am also very proud of the no coke.....that is totally awesome!!!! Keep it up.

Well I am off to some others.....hope you had a wonderful and healthy evening.

Good Night!

[Mykelogan]

Hi Jamie!

Glad to hear someone gets me about the family issue! The thing that gets me is that if I had ordered a big meal I would have gotten the opposite comments. They finally got the point a few years ago that I would not sit and listen to them talking to me about my weight when I had told them I would leave a family function if they kept it up and finally one easter my grandmother and aunt started in on me, so I said "It was great to see you but I am leaving, have a happy easter!" and they we're like "We're sorry, stay," etc. and I left. I felt like I had to let them know in a more forceful way that I appreciated their concerns but once a person says they do not want to talk about something you have to respect it. That was fun!

I hope that you are doing well and having a good day! :flower:
Mike

[TigerCheer2009]

I'm thinking of doing a low-carb plan. I'd LOVE some chicken ideas please and thank-you. Good job at the restaurant. You got your crispy fix and stayed on plan? Wowie kaboodles! Nice job. I know how you feel. Keep up the :sunny: stellar :sunny: work!

Hi maybutterfly!-- Thanks for stopping by my journal! I could give you some chicken ideas I use if you like, I am just not sure if they fit in with whatever plan of eating you follow. The plan I use is controlled carb and allows some higher fat food in moderation, so some of my chicken is lower fat (like mustard baked chicken) and some is not (like bacon wrapped chicken breast, sooo yummy hehe). Let me know & I will share what I got!

Before I forget, thanks for the flying menu warnings Jen & Don! hehe

So everyone knows I survived the meal in tact! hehe I avoided the appetizers they loaded the table with and got a grilled chicken cesar salad (no sugar added dressing, yay!), and with the salad I had one clam cake (meatball sized batter balls with a bit of clam in them deep fried). So I had my crispy fix and stayed well within my plan! I didn't even eat the whole clam cake, as it started to get cool and I was like "WHy eat it if it doesn't taste good anymore??" Of course I got a lot of comments from family at dinner like "Why are you just drinking water? Is that all you are gonna have? Order something else?" Sheesh! I was like, "This is what I want and I am happy with it." I don't talk to them about losing weight, etc. because I have worked for years to get them to not fixate on me and my weight, and I feel like if I said "I'm dieting and have lost 23lbs" I would get back "About time! What diet? Why that diet? How much will you lose? Should you be eating that?" blah blah blah! I'd just rather not deal with the headaches. But anyway, it was great to see my mom before she heads back to Oregon and see some of my family (others I could do without, but who doesn't have family issues! LOL)

Anywho, I am gonna check in on some journals, then watch some TV while reading some of my new comic books (One of my few childhood vices I have held onto! hehe). Have a happy & healthy night all!!

Mike

[DisDon]

I felt like I had to let them know in a more forceful way that I appreciated their concerns but once a person says they do not want to talk about something you have to respect it
I find a fist slammed onto the table usually shuts 'em up. ARRRR! pirate:
Yo Ho, have a great day!
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :3dglasses

[Mykelogan]

Don -- I like the sound of that! That is the tactic one of my uncles who is also very heavy takes, and it works for him. hehe! :)

Jen -- I will definitely throw together a few good chicken ideas soon for you! :flower:

I need all the WISHers to keep your fingers crossed for me, due to another unexpected staffing change in our department (we had a big one months ago too!) I may be able to continue receiving the "bonus pay" I have been receiving for a while now for extra work I am doing. Just needs the nod of one more person and I will get another semester of basically an extra paycheck a month. My joy at this is because I am planning on leaving next year most likely and this will help me have a bit of a savings cushion for that, and also... and most excitedly... get me most of the way to saving for my next Disney trip!!! hehe If I have not mentioned in here, one of my goals once I make a healthier me, is to treat myself to a stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge!! :goodvibes I fell in love with the AKL during my last trip when I went for dinner at Boma and toured the resort first. Before I was shooting for a 2008 trip, if my extra pay gets approved, maybe 2007 or Christmas 2006!! hehe

I know it may seem like I am planning for something far away but (1) I will need the time to save for a trip that involves a stay at a Deluxe resort, and (2) if I do job search in the Spring as planned I will need to wait until I have built up some vacation time at my new job in order to take the trip. I would also really like to only need one plane seat next time!!! I am also thinking about giving the money to my parents or grandparents once a month to hold for me so I am not tempted to spend it! hehe
So cross your fingers, and say it with me, "Disney here I come! Disney here I come!" hehe

Have a great night all!
Mike

[keenercam]

Good morning, Mike! How are you, kiddo? I hope everything works out with the paycheck issue. What a cool idea to treat that as "found money", dump it into a separate account somewhere, and not touch it. We did that last year when I got an unexpected bonus. I opened an ING account on line and transferred the money out of my checking account immediately. I also set it up to do an automatic transfer of a very small amount every Friday so that it helped build up that account without us missing it too much.

So, what's on the agenda for today? I have a couple of deadlines and then hope to get out of here early by about 5:30 to go home and finish packing. Do you have anything good planned for the weekend? Have you seen Batman Returns yet? I don't remember. It is absolutely awesome. So, if you can, you should see it.

Take care of yourself and have a wonderful weekend. "Talk" to you next week!

[MayButterfly]

hey.. i'm just trying to eat healthier..not on true plan yet.. i am watching the carb intake a bit... so any ideas would be great! Thanks!!!

[toystoryduo]

Hi Mike,

I hope everything works out so that you can keep receiving your bonus pay and take a wonderful Disney vacation in Christmas 2006. :teeth: (Maybe Coke will buy your trip for you.;) Did you sign-up to win?)

Have a great weekend! :sunny:

[eeyore25]

Hi Mike,

I too hope that everything works out with the paycheck. It is always nice to have that extra cash!

How are things going today?

Have a wonderful weekend!

[Mykelogan]

Good morning, Mike! How are you, kiddo? I hope everything works out with the paycheck issue. What a cool idea to treat that as "found money", dump it into a separate account somewhere, and not touch it. We did that last year when I got an unexpected bonus. I opened an ING account on line and transferred the money out of my checking account immediately. I also set it up to do an automatic transfer of a very small amount every Friday so that it helped build up that account without us missing it too much.

So, what's on the agenda for today? I have a couple of deadlines and then hope to get out of here early by about 5:30 to go home and finish packing. Do you have anything good planned for the weekend? Have you seen Batman Returns yet? I don't remember. It is absolutely awesome. So, if you can, you should see it.

Take care of yourself and have a wonderful weekend. "Talk" to you next week!

Hi Cam!

Hope that you have a good weekend away!!! My agenda today obviously involved not getting to check in here until after work! hehe! Had to get so much done today, and most days for the next few weeks. This is truly going to be a wild summer workwise til we get to September.

I have some fun planned this weekend. I would like to go to a new farmer's market sunday. Saturday I will be going for a guy's night with my dad, brother, and 11 yo nephew to see Fantasic Four and then to dinner. I would much rather not eat out as I feel like I have done that enough this week but we have planned for a while and my nephew would be upset if we didn't go to his fave place as planned after, aka Applebee's. My plan is to check out the menu before I go so I can know what I will be getting and therefore no need to "browse" the menu for temptation. The main temptation being my old favorite dessert on the planet, the Apple Chimi-cheesecake, who doesn't love deep fried cheesecake! Oy!!! :3dglasses It will be fun though.

Gonna actually grab a nap after catching up on my journal and then catch up on everyone else tonight, my cat is calling for a nap and he will be mad if we don't hehe! Oh, I got my walking DVDs in the mail today, so I can get that started this weekend. I have been doing some arm exercises with the weights I got two days ago. :flower: Not nearly enough exercise so far this week so I need to buckle down!

Have a happy & healthy one!
Mike

[DisDon]

Hey Mike, good luck this weekend, that Farmer's Market sounds good, I could use some fresh stuff. Applebee's sounds good too, the Santa Fe Chicken Salad is my favorite salad anywhere. Don't get it too often, not in my normal budget. Enjoy your nap!
:banana:

[toystoryduo]

Hey Mike!

Have a great time this weekend! :cool1: I think checking out Applebee's menu before you go is a great idea! Enjoy the movie!! :3dglasses

[Mykelogan]

hey.. i'm just trying to eat healthier..not on true plan yet.. i am watching the carb intake a bit... so any ideas would be great! Thanks!!!

Sounds good Maybutterfly! I have been scanning my recipe files to pull some together and will post them this weekend here. :flower:

Hope you are having a good weekend!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hey Mike!

Have a great time this weekend! :cool1: I think checking out Applebee's menu before you go is a great idea! Enjoy the movie!! :3dglasses

Hi Tracy!
I am glad I checked out the Applebee's menu. I am thinking I will order the grilled chicken and veggies platter they have which is like a riceless version of their fajitas with nicer veggies & whole wheat tortillas. Of course with my luck we will go somewhere else but hey at least I have some ideas of what I might get and I can't go wrong at most places with a chicken caesar salad or something similar. I know I will survive! :goodvibes

I went to the Coke website to look for the Disney Trip contest and can't find it! Anyone know where it is specifically?? I need my revenge! hehe pirate: Even if I don't win, my next trip will kind of be paid for by Coke anyway as I don't sink any money into their products anymore! I keep thinking more and more it could be fun to journal when I would have spent cash on coke and then every time I get paid take that money and put it with my trip money.

I hope that you are having a happy & healthy weekend Tracy!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hi Mike,

I too hope that everything works out with the paycheck. It is always nice to have that extra cash!

How are things going today?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for the support Jamie!!! I am doing pretty good. Yesterday was a weird food day in that work was so wild that I did not get a lunch break (my choice, I was in a zone on several projects! I did drink 64oz of water though hehe!) so I made lunch when I got home around five. Which meant that I wasn't hungry again really til after 11pm, and I refuse to eat that late now, so I had no dinner, but I was not starving & I figure I have more than enough "extra fuel" on my body to make it through the night once! hehe

How are you this fine day? Great I hope!!!
Bye for now!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hey Mike, good luck this weekend, that Farmer's Market sounds good, I could use some fresh stuff. Applebee's sounds good too, the Santa Fe Chicken Salad is my favorite salad anywhere. Don't get it too often, not in my normal budget. Enjoy your nap!
:banana:

Hey Don!
I love a good Farmer's market, I hope this one is good! I just need to stay in the veggie section and not head near the baked goods, jams, pies, etc! hehe
I ended up wrapped up in a movie and skipped the nap, lol.
Hope you are doing well man and staying strong!

Later,
Mike :wizard:

[TigerCheer2009]

Hello Mike! Just popping in to say I moved my Disney trip up to December 05...so if you don't find the Coke contest by then, then I will ask about it.
:cheer2: GO MIKE! Good luck on your journey today!

[Mykelogan]

Hello Mike! Just popping in to say I moved my Disney trip up to December 05...so if you don't find the Coke contest by then, then I will ask about it.
:cheer2: GO MIKE! Good luck on your journey today!

Hey Jen!
I think we just crossed each other in cyberspace! I read about you moving your trip in your journal and was posting and then I see you mention it here. hehehe! :goodvibes

As I said already, I hope you enjoy the POP, have you stayed there before? I love it, the theming is tooo cute and I think it is a fun place.

I want to crack this Coke riddle asap! I need to be their winner so I can say, "Thanks for the trip, I never touch your soda anymore!" hehehe! pirate:

Bye for now!
Mike

[TigerCheer2009]

Great minds think alike! It's our first trip EVER to Disney! Crack that riddle, okay? I'd love to see the Coke CEO's shaking their heads in amazement and dropping on the floor to think that someone can live without soda!

Have a super-duper Saturday, Mike!

[Lesli54]

Hey, Mike! Finally, I have been able to catch up with you.

Thanks for visiting my journal and please no horror stories of college, I think I can imagine enough of them. ;)

Sounds like you have been doing great on your plan. Congrats on the lost lbs. :banana: Now make that solemn vow that you will never weigh more than "X" again! I do understand the family comments with weight and losing it. So far, my gran hasn't noticed the loss and if I were to tell her she would say that I am a nice size and don't need to loss much. But then she has her own weight issues and I guess it makes her feel better to think that she isn't the only heavy one in the family. I just pretty much keep it to myself and my household, but I love it when people notice. Yesterday at camp a lady had heard that I lost weight (because someone else noticed) and asked what are you doing to lose so much? I said mainly portion control for starters. That ended the conversation quickly as she was not about to give up eating. :confused3

Soon you will have to ditch the "too big" clothes. I have definitely made it a point to get rid of those right away this time around so that I don't start feeling "comfortable" again and realize that I am going the wrong way. So far so good. As far as exercise, increasing a little at a time is the best way to go. But I have also found that taking more breaks from the computer or during commercials of a fav show, to walk around the house really helps alot. Anything to keep that metabolism going.

Well, have a great weekend and keep up the AWESOME job. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[Mykelogan]

Quick note before bed... (Hi Jen & Tracy, I will respond tomorrow! hehe) ... so we did not go to Applebees!!!! But first I did good at the movies again, I had a nice bottled water even though my dad offered and was paying for whatever we want. He and my nephew split a huge popcorn and some candy. I said NO! to both! hehe! So fastforward to dinner, we go back to the house to get my stepmom and instead of Applebees she suggests a local italian place (which I know i could do good at food wise, ie. salad first then small portion entree!) or a new-ish Chinese place they are friends with the owners of... guess where we went! The Chinese place! No salads! No grilled food! Rice and noodles everywhere!!! Probably MSG up the wazzooo!!! Oy! SO I ordered stir fried chicken and chinese eggplant in garlic sauce. The sauce was definitely not the best, but the bigger issue was no salad or pre-main course veggies like normal. I did only eat about half of the entree which was huge, avoided the white ball of rice, and had a good serving of green beans from my stepmom's chicken & green beans.My entree besides eggplant had red peppers and water chestnuts in it, both yummy veggies. When it was time to wrap the leftovers I remembered that my youngest sister loves eggplant so I instead of me taking the leftovers I brought them back to their house for her. So they were not around to tempt me and she was psyched because we brought her the rice too! lol So overall probably not the worst night but definitely not strictly OP. I will definitely need to see how I feel tomorrow if the potential msg or sweetened sauces trigger any cravings, I am just glad I will be conscious of them and get right back on track. Not expecting a huge scale move this week after all of this action in restaurants, so we'll see! ;)

Nighty night!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Great minds think alike! It's our first trip EVER to Disney! Crack that riddle, okay? I'd love to see the Coke CEO's shaking their heads in amazement and dropping on the floor to think that someone can live without soda!

Have a super-duper Saturday, Mike!

Heck, I never thought I'd be living without soda, so I can only imagine the CEO's response! hehehe! :flower:

Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hey, Mike! Finally, I have been able to catch up with you.

Thanks for visiting my journal and please no horror stories of college, I think I can imagine enough of them. ;)

Sounds like you have been doing great on your plan. Congrats on the lost lbs. :banana: Now make that solemn vow that you will never weigh more than "X" again! I do understand the family comments with weight and losing it. So far, my gran hasn't noticed the loss and if I were to tell her she would say that I am a nice size and don't need to loss much. But then she has her own weight issues and I guess it makes her feel better to think that she isn't the only heavy one in the family. I just pretty much keep it to myself and my household, but I love it when people notice. Yesterday at camp a lady had heard that I lost weight (because someone else noticed) and asked what are you doing to lose so much? I said mainly portion control for starters. That ended the conversation quickly as she was not about to give up eating. :confused3

Soon you will have to ditch the "too big" clothes. I have definitely made it a point to get rid of those right away this time around so that I don't start feeling "comfortable" again and realize that I am going the wrong way. So far so good. As far as exercise, increasing a little at a time is the best way to go. But I have also found that taking more breaks from the computer or during commercials of a fav show, to walk around the house really helps alot. Anything to keep that metabolism going.

Well, have a great weekend and keep up the AWESOME job. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

Hi Lesli!

Thanks for your support! I am feeling great about my progress and healthy choices! I will definitely keep the college stories to myself but do know if there is anything I can help answer for you just ask. (I have been living and working on campus at several colleges for the past 10 years.)

When I get to the point that I can give away my bigger clothes I will have to see if a local boy scout troup is in need of any spare tents! hehehe! :goodvibes Thanks for the tips on exercise too, that makes a lot of good sense!

Hope that you are having a great weekend!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Oh! Almost forgot to post the dream I had last night...

I was at work and it was a busy day so when everyone is leaving I planned on staying late. I got up to go to the kitchenette in our office to find a box full of cheese and fruit danish, the kind that are half fruit and half cheese, in apple, bluberry and lemon flavor. As I poured my water I took a little nibble and soon I was eating the danish as fast as I could, one after the other. I could taste them in my dream! LOL I woke up just as I was finishing the last one!

So what do you think? Any dream interpreters out there? Should I mad for dreaming all that and then waking up before I finished??? hehehe! :teeth:

Have a great night!
Mike

[DisDon]

Weird, I had a dream like that once, I dreamed I ate a giant marshmellow, and when I woke up my pillow was gone!! Hmm, any missing socks?
:teeth: :rotfl: :rotfl2: I crack myself up!

[eeyore25]

Quick note before bed... (Hi Jen & Tracy, I will respond tomorrow! hehe) ... so we did not go to Applebees!!!! But first I did good at the movies again, I had a nice bottled water even though my dad offered and was paying for whatever we want. He and my nephew split a huge popcorn and some candy. I said NO! to both! hehe! So fastforward to dinner, we go back to the house to get my stepmom and instead of Applebees she suggests a local italian place (which I know i could do good at food wise, ie. salad first then small portion entree!) or a new-ish Chinese place they are friends with the owners of... guess where we went! The Chinese place! No salads! No grilled food! Rice and noodles everywhere!!! Probably MSG up the wazzooo!!! Oy! SO I ordered stir fried chicken and chinese eggplant in garlic sauce. The sauce was definitely not the best, but the bigger issue was no salad or pre-main course veggies like normal. I did only eat about half of the entree which was huge, avoided the white ball of rice, and had a good serving of green beans from my stepmom's chicken & green beans.My entree besides eggplant had red peppers and water chestnuts in it, both yummy veggies. When it was time to wrap the leftovers I remembered that my youngest sister loves eggplant so I instead of me taking the leftovers I brought them back to their house for her. So they were not around to tempt me and she was psyched because we brought her the rice too! lol So overall probably not the worst night but definitely not strictly OP. I will definitely need to see how I feel tomorrow if the potential msg or sweetened sauces trigger any cravings, I am just glad I will be conscious of them and get right back on track. Not expecting a huge scale move this week after all of this action in restaurants, so we'll see! ;)

Nighty night!
Mike

Hi Mike,
I am just getting caught up on your journal, I was so busy this weekend that I didn't have a chance to log on.
Awesome job on the choices that you made at the movies. No candy or popcorn even when you aren't buying. That is great!
Good job on the food choices at dinner Mike!!!! You made the best that you could at that restaurant. How have you been so far today....any cravings?


Hope you have a great day...will check in later!

[keenercam]

Mike -- I am just trying to get caught up after a weekend away. Before I even get to my journal, I wanted to check in with you. :)

I am so impressed with how you did at the movies and at the restaurant. Sticking with a bottle of water and no candy or popcorn is such a HUGE victory! I am soooo weak when it comes to movie popcorn. I just can't help myself. I am going to try to think of you next time and let you inspire me!

As for the chinese restaurant, it sounds like you made a great choice in a very limiting situation! Good for you! That had to have felt great. And giving all your rice and 1/2 your entree to your little sister was not only completely selfless and generous, but strategically, it was absolutely brilliant! :banana: Good for you!

Here's hoping you are off to another fabulous week!

BTW -- how was fab 4? DSabreathawayfrom12 may want to see it for his birthday tomorrow.

[Mykelogan]

Hi all!!! Happy Monday!!!

Don -- All socks accounted for luckily! heheheheh! :rotfl2: :rotfl2: And hey, if you gotta crack someone up, might as well be yourself! :cool1:

Jamie -- No cravings yesterday aside from that dream! hehe! And I think I squashed the pastry craving by having some PB on a piece of low carb bread and some bing cherries with dinner. Just caught up on your journal too, I hope I can catch the exercise addiction like you. Good luck on the eliptical and the bowflex! Hope you are having a great day!

Cam! -- I am amazed I survived the movies again myself. I think that temptation combined with my sweet dinner Saturday night led to my pastry dreams! hehe. You will be strong next time you hit the movies, I know it! You can always sneak a healthy snack in with you too, like some frozen grapes. (A fave of mine!) I loved the Fantastic Four but then I am a huge comic book fan. My dad and nephew had fun too. I think it was a nice summer movie, lots of fun and great special effects. Hope you have a great week!

Ok, so it is Monday and that means weigh in day! <Insert thunderclap & lightning!> I was a bit nervous this morning knowing the way the past week went. Did I mention they brought us homemade ginger ice cream after dinner at the Chinese restaurant because my dad is friend's with the owner? Only about a half cup max, and sooo delicious, so I do not regret having it really but I knew the scale might regret it. Anyway, I bit the bullet after getting showered today (you wash off any potential dead skin, it has weight right??? hehehe!) and stepped up on to the scale... 4 more pounds gone forever!!! I am so happy with that. If I kept losing the way I did the first two weeks I would be worried that I had a tape worm!! 4lbs is excellent to me. And it actually moved me into a new "10lb increment" on the scale! yay! I know I have not shared my actual weight before, mostly because I did not want the children and faint of heart to pass out, but i feel like I want to now. My highest weight ever was this past February, post Disney of course!, and that was 510lbs. Spring time brought a thaw of sorts and me avoiding the scale. The day I decided to make some changes and be healthier I was 496lbs. So since then I have lost as you know, 27lbs. I am 469! Weird to be excited about it but I have not been this low in years and it makes it feel real. There, I said it and a house did not fall on me! :goodvibes

Time to go update the July & summer challenges, and then I have to get ready for hosting a job candidate for an open position in our office. I will get to catch up on everyone's journals this afternoon!!!

Hope that everyone is having a happy & healthy start to their weeks!
Bye for now!
Mike

[keenercam]

YIPPEE!!! Mike! That is so AWESOME!!!! Just think, now every time you step on that scale, you are going to be able to say "this is the least I have weighed in YEARS!!!" How awesome that will feel! (hey, you thought you were the only one addicted to exclamation points, but you have me so happy for you, that the exclamation points just keep appearing!!!!)
Keep up all your efforts, buddy! You are doing so great and every day of your life is going to be better from now on because of your efforts. I am so happy for you.

[DisDon]

Hey man, better change that clippie!! That's awesome. Hey, starting where you did is gonna make yours one of the great success stories. At the rate you're coming down, you're gonna catch me if I don't get with it. Excellent work! Are you ready for the way your life is gonna change? Its gonna be great!!
You rock!! :rockband: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[DisDon]

Hey, get over and post your total for the 5 for July challenge, we're gonna blow them away!

OH DUH, I just saw that you already did. Should aim before i fire.
:teeth: :rotfl2: :rotfl:

[eeyore25]

YEAH for you Mike :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

That is great news Mike. Must go and change the clippied! You are doing a great job Mike and I am very proud of you. Keep up the good work and you really will be a success story.

[toystoryduo]

Way to go Mike!!! :thewave: :jumping1:

Congratulations on your new clippie!!! You are doing such a wonderful job, Mike! Keep up the good work! :cheer2: Your WISH friends are very proud of you! ::yes::

[Mykelogan]

YIPPEE!!! Mike! That is so AWESOME!!!! Just think, now every time you step on that scale, you are going to be able to say "this is the least I have weighed in YEARS!!!" How awesome that will feel! (hey, you thought you were the only one addicted to exclamation points, but you have me so happy for you, that the exclamation points just keep appearing!!!!)
Keep up all your efforts, buddy! You are doing so great and every day of your life is going to be better from now on because of your efforts. I am so happy for you.

Thanks Cam!!!
Use all the exclamation points you want! We're all doing so well we keep making more! Thank you so much for your support, it makes me feel like I can make these changes! :teeth:

Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hey man, better change that clippie!! That's awesome. Hey, starting where you did is gonna make yours one of the great success stories. At the rate you're coming down, you're gonna catch me if I don't get with it. Excellent work! Are you ready for the way your life is gonna change? Its gonna be great!!
You rock!! :rockband: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Thanks Don! That means a lot!
I think we are all writing a great book of success stories here. I, for one, know I have never felt so supported when making life changes like this and that is awesome!

Here's to what the future holds for us all!
Mike :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

[Mykelogan]

YEAH for you Mike :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

That is great news Mike. Must go and change the clippied! You are doing a great job Mike and I am very proud of you. Keep up the good work and you really will be a success story.

Thank you Jamie! I greatly appreciate your support!! I hope that one day we can all look back at ourselves now and say, "Wow, was it really as hard as it seemed to get here because now it feels easy!" :goodvibes

Mike

[Mykelogan]

Way to go Mike!!! :thewave: :jumping1:

Congratulations on your new clippie!!! You are doing such a wonderful job, Mike! Keep up the good work! :cheer2: Your WISH friends are very proud of you! ::yes::

Thanks Tracy!
I cannot wait to get the 30lb clippie! I love the way it looks! haha
Mike :goodvibes

[keenercam]

Hey, Mike! How is today going for you? Still on track toward that bright new clippie? Come on, you know you want it! ;) Just keep up the great work and it will be yours in no time.

Hey, Mike, I am going to take a lesson from your chinese restaurant experience and bring home 1/2 my dinner tonight and leave it for DH to have for lunch tomorrow. What a great idea, having the satisfaction of that meal, but not the temptation of leftovers! You are so clever! :flower:

So, hopefully, you will take this as a compliment and not an insult. Ready? I saw a special report on the Today show this morning about a guy who is walking across the country in an effort to lose weight. He has been walking since April and has lost about 40 pounds. Impressive, right? Actually, he has a great sense of humor and calls himself "Fat Man Walking". I think he started out around 400 pounds. I was thinking how you have been working hard in the context of "real life" and have made a lifestyle change and have accomplished more than 1/2 of what he has, in a shorter tme. I know how proud he seemed, and I thought you, in comparison, should be doing :cheer2: and :banana: and :cool1: .

Keep it up, WISH buddy!

[joelyfaithsmommy]

I'm so jealous Mike, you've passed me up...on to that 30# clippie hey??? YOU GO MAN!! ;) I'm working on the 25# myself....getting there, slowly but surely...i can't wait to see a new clippie on my posts as well!!

just popping in to wish you well, give you a hard time :confused3 and talk alittle SMACK with ya! ;)

so how it goes today??? walk any? :teeth: oh yes, and btw, i walked my 1.5 again today in 26 minutes..i'm a regular marathon runner ...........NOT.........lol

hang in there mike..you ROCK! :)

jen :fish:

[Mykelogan]

Hey, Mike! How is today going for you? Still on track toward that bright new clippie? Come on, you know you want it! ;) Just keep up the great work and it will be yours in no time.

Hey, Mike, I am going to take a lesson from your chinese restaurant experience and bring home 1/2 my dinner tonight and leave it for DH to have for lunch tomorrow. What a great idea, having the satisfaction of that meal, but not the temptation of leftovers! You are so clever! :flower:

So, hopefully, you will take this as a compliment and not an insult. Ready? I saw a special report on the Today show this morning about a guy who is walking across the country in an effort to lose weight. He has been walking since April and has lost about 40 pounds. Impressive, right? Actually, he has a great sense of humor and calls himself "Fat Man Walking". I think he started out around 400 pounds. I was thinking how you have been working hard in the context of "real life" and have made a lifestyle change and have accomplished more than 1/2 of what he has, in a shorter tme. I know how proud he seemed, and I thought you, in comparison, should be doing :cheer2: and :banana: and :cool1: .

Keep it up, WISH buddy!

Hi Cam!

I definitely take it as a compliment! I am sorry I missed that segment on the Today show. I am a huge Katie, Matt, Al & Anne fan! Though the idea of walking across country is tiring just to imagine. hehehe! :goodvibes Maybe we can get the WISH-ers on the ABC morning show... I say ABC because it is Owned by Disney and then they can "surprise" at the end of the segment with free Disney trips!! Picture the segment... "Losing It With The Mouse!" :3dglasses I better find some email addresses at the network to write to! hehe

I do want that new clippie, I think the next level clip art is the coolest in the designs! hehe There you have it people, I am losing weight to get better clip art, the dirty truth revealed! hehe pirate:

Sounds like a good plan at your dinner tonight. Restaurant portions are out of control anyway, so it is not like a 1/2 portion is not satisfying. I am sure you will have a great meal and then feel good fiscally about stretching that dinner out into another meal! :goodvibes

I hope that you are having a good day, I am again swamped with meetings!
Mike :flower:

[Mykelogan]

I'm so jealous Mike, you've passed me up...on to that 30# clippie hey??? YOU GO MAN!! ;) I'm working on the 25# myself....getting there, slowly but surely...i can't wait to see a new clippie on my posts as well!!

just popping in to wish you well, give you a hard time :confused3 and talk alittle SMACK with ya! ;)

so how it goes today??? walk any? :teeth: oh yes, and btw, i walked my 1.5 again today in 26 minutes..i'm a regular marathon runner ...........NOT.........lol

hang in there mike..you ROCK! :)

jen :fish:

Hi Jen!
You will have that 25# clippie in no time, of course by then I will be getting my 50# clippie! LOL NOT! haha! Now I am going to have jinxed myself!! :earboy2: But seriously, you are doing awesome yourself and the way you stick to your exercise inspires me! It would take me two days to walk 1.5miles!!! LOL

And fyi, if we are gonna talk smack girlfriend you better bring it!! oh, oh, it's already be brought-ened!! hehehehehehe! jk lol :cheer2:

Hope that the waters are not too rough today as you keep that swimming going!
Mike :goodvibes

[pearlieq]

I do want that new clippie, I think the next level clip art is the coolest in the designs! hehe There you have it people, I am losing weight to get better clip art, the dirty truth revealed! hehe pirate:


ITA! I swear half of my motivation to get from 25 to 30 was for the better clippie!!

I really applaud you for revealing your weight! I know how hard it is to talk about, but the sooner we can accept it as part of ourselves the sooner we can move on, right? Still, the only way my DH would know how much I weighed would be to read my journal (and then I'd be in trouble because he'd know what I thought of his singing :teeth: ).

You're doing an awesome job! Keep up the great work!!!

[goldcupmom]

Wow! I've just spent almost an hour reading of your FANTASTIC progress(and sorting out junk mail from bills in the process).

I am simply STUNNED!!!

You are quickly approaching having lost 10% of your body weight and that is the point where most say that you incur incredible health benefits.

As for your starting weight....OH WELL!!! You have come to grips with where you WERE and you know where you are going. DD picked up a pair of 75 waist shorts at a thrift store a few weeks ago that were clearly barely worn. Instead of what you would expect a teen to come up with for a comment, she said "Wow! That guy must really feel good at getting into a smaller size" Gradually she is learning that size does not make the person, but does generally impact the quality and quantity of life.

Your journal is inspiring reading and growing rapidly!

You are making very good food choices. Exercise will increase in proportion to your losses, I'm sure.

I'm very glad you are winning the Cola Wars. The caffeine is hard to break from, but just the carbonated sweetness is, too.

Keep on doing what you are doing. It is definitely working!!

Has there been any news on the rec center? Maybe I missed it.

Will catch up more later.

[Mykelogan]

Hi Pearlieq!

Thanks for coming by!

ITA! I swear half of my motivation to get from 25 to 30 was for the better clippie!!

Glad to hear that I am not weird or alone on this! hehehe! :goodvibes

I really applaud you for revealing your weight! I know how hard it is to talk about, but the sooner we can accept it as part of ourselves the sooner we can move on, right? Still, the only way my DH would know how much I weighed would be to read my journal (and then I'd be in trouble because he'd know what I thought of his singing :teeth: ).

You're doing an awesome job! Keep up the great work!!!

Thank you again! It was not easy posting it, as it was not easy admitting it and posting it definitelu makes it real. But you are right, those numbers will be gone soon enough and I will wave bye-bye to them! :wave2:

I appreciate your support and hope that you have a happy & healthy night!
Mike :flower:

[Mykelogan]

Hi Julie!!

Wow! I've just spent almost an hour reading of your FANTASTIC progress(and sorting out junk mail from bills in the process).

I am honored you took up some of your time getting caught up on me! Hope it was not a waste of time! hehe


You are quickly approaching having lost 10% of your body weight and that is the point where most say that you incur incredible health benefits.

I have read that also! It is a great thing to think about, thank you so much for reminding me about that! :flower:

As for your starting weight....OH WELL!!! You have come to grips with where you WERE and you know where you are going. DD picked up a pair of 75 waist shorts at a thrift store a few weeks ago that were clearly barely worn. Instead of what you would expect a teen to come up with for a comment, she said "Wow! That guy must really feel good at getting into a smaller size" Gradually she is learning that size does not make the person, but does generally impact the quality and quantity of life.

That is a great story about your daughter. It is definitely a testament to your parenting skills too! Go you!! :cheer2: :cheer2:


I'm very glad you are winning the Cola Wars. The caffeine is hard to break from, but just the carbonated sweetness is, too.

That has been my big challenge and one of the victories I am most proud of. This afternoon I was putting a few things away under the sink and what did I find?? Two 2L of soda, one Coke & one Dr. Pepper (Is that one yours Don???), I must've put there when the other cupboards were full and forgotten about them! I am going to bring them to my office tomorrow and see if anyone wants them because I certainly do not! :wizard:

Has there been any news on the rec center? Maybe I missed it.

Sadly no! But I have found a few other ways to get my exercise going for now. I have been told that it is still happening, so we will see!!!

Glad that you enjoyed catching up on my journal! I appreciate all of your feedback and support! :sunny:

I have greatly enjoyed reading your trip report in your journal too! Thank you for sharing that with us all!

Have a great night!
Mike

[Lesli54]

Well, I must say that you are inspiring. Thanks for the encouragement today in my journal.

Congrats on the lost lbs and the new clippie!! :cool1: Personally, I love clippies so any time I get a chance to up grade, it's a good feeling. :goodvibes

Isn't it strange how we hide the numbers of our weight, thinking that if we don't reveal them then no one will know we are overweight? I know I did that. The day I decided to take the WISH challenge was the day that I revealed my weight and I was amazed that the floor didn't swallow me up. Then I let my DH and kids know. Now that was amazing. After admitting it, I found that it was just a number (of course, one we use to measure by) and it was easier to accept that I had finally gotten real about where I was.

Lucky for you, the weight will come off a little faster in the beginning, so you should be in smaller clothing real soon. That should be motivating. :banana:

If you ever get through to the Today show, count me in. I have always wanted to meet Matt. :teeth: But don't just stop there. We shoud do the Dr. Phil show on how group support is a powerful thing, and the Oprah show on how people can actually make a difference in the lives of others. Of course, the free Disney trips would be great too! :banana:

Have a good evening. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[goldcupmom]

I think Oprah would be our best bet for free Disney Trips. Besides, I'd love to spend some more time in Chicago. Hey, Pearlie, got any connections???

[toystoryduo]

Hi Mike! :wave2:


You know... you might just be on to something with the Oprah show.... Maybe you should e-mail her and tell her about WISH. Her show is on ABC and ABC is owned by Disney. Hmmm.... :scratchin We could WISH for a Disney trip! :teeth: (pun intended;) )

How did yesterday go for you? I hope you had a good day and that today is an even better day! :cool1:


Stay healthy! :cheer2:

[Mykelogan]

Well, I must say that you are inspiring. Thanks for the encouragement today in my journal.

Congrats on the lost lbs and the new clippie!! :cool1: Personally, I love clippies so any time I get a chance to up grade, it's a good feeling. :goodvibes

Isn't it strange how we hide the numbers of our weight, thinking that if we don't reveal them then no one will know we are overweight? I know I did that. The day I decided to take the WISH challenge was the day that I revealed my weight and I was amazed that the floor didn't swallow me up. Then I let my DH and kids know. Now that was amazing. After admitting it, I found that it was just a number (of course, one we use to measure by) and it was easier to accept that I had finally gotten real about where I was.

Lucky for you, the weight will come off a little faster in the beginning, so you should be in smaller clothing real soon. That should be motivating. :banana:

If you ever get through to the Today show, count me in. I have always wanted to meet Matt. :teeth: But don't just stop there. We shoud do the Dr. Phil show on how group support is a powerful thing, and the Oprah show on how people can actually make a difference in the lives of others. Of course, the free Disney trips would be great too! :banana:

Have a good evening. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

Hi Lesli!
I was glad to provide the support, that's what we're all here for! And I do definitely think that when we all get closer to our goals a letter to Oprah is a definite! hehe

I know I can trace my hesistance with sharing my weight number back to my childhood when I was in 6th grade and my aunt, aka the Queen of WW (She has been more times than any other human I think but always regains!), convinced me to go on WW with her and she wanted me to weigh in for her. I told her I didn't want to and finally she promised that she would not tell anyone, it would be between us. So I got on the scale and it read 200lbs, she literally ran out of the bathroom into the house full of people yelling, "Oh my god he weighs two hundred pounds, that's more than me! Oh my god!" To be honest, since then I have never trusted nor really liked her! hehe (Don't worry she has done many other things to warrant a "strained" relationship since then too.) It was traumatic to say the least.

And you are right, I do know I will lose faster at first having a higher starting point and being a man. (I think my first two weeks showed that! hehe) I can remember one time I did WW and I got my 10lb sticker the first week, I never saw a room of women look at me with such scorn before! hehe The leader even made a joke about getting me a security guard for my weigh in the next week. It was all in good fun though! hehe :flower:

I hope that you are having a good day so far!
Mike :sunny:

[Mykelogan]

Julie & Tracy! Oprah here we come! Now who is going to design our lime green WISH shirts for the show??? :goodvibes

I can see her topics now...
"WISH comes true weight loss dreams!"

"When you WISH upon a makeover and free trip!"

hehe!

Hope you guys are having a good day so far!
Mike

[pearlieq]

Hey, Pearlie, got any connections???

The company I work for is actually right down the street from Harpo studios--some of our departments would take group outings to her show. Very, very cool!

Maybe I can find a guy who knows a guy... :teeth:

I think we're on to something here.

Have a great day, Mike!!!

BTW I totally hear you about needing a security guard at WW--since I was always starting at 300+ pounds, I'd always drop 10-15 pounds right away. You're right--you do get some dirty looks! :rotfl2:

[joelyfaithsmommy]

oh oh I am SOO IN for the disney trip and the trip to see oprah!!! :)

how's today going for you Mike??? JUST KEEP....well you know ;)

hehe

talk soon!
Jen :fish:

[Lesli54]

Ok, then it is settled. We will go a little longer and then the letter to Oprah is in the mail and email. Now you know to make this work, we will all have to write a letter so that she is bombarded with the same thing. Hey, let's tell her that it is our Wildest Dream to go to Disney as a smaller person. She has that Wildest Dream segments going as well. Pearlieq, get on the phone and get those contacts going!

It is unfortunate that you had to go through that torture at such a young age with your aunt. But, you know the best revenge and the sweetest, is to get to a weight where you are most comfortable and tell her that you did it all without WW! :teeth: BTW, my gran says she is going back to WW, maybe she has met your aunt there. :rotfl2: I can't count the number of times she has gone back and unfortunately for her, she has never learned what keeps making all the weight go back on.

Oh, and you don't need a security guard here, just a few of these :cheer2: :banana: :cool1: .

Have a great day! ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[Mykelogan]

The company I work for is actually right down the street from Harpo studios--some of our departments would take group outings to her show. Very, very cool!

Maybe I can find a guy who knows a guy... :teeth:

I think we're on to something here.

Have a great day, Mike!!!

BTW I totally hear you about needing a security guard at WW--since I was always starting at 300+ pounds, I'd always drop 10-15 pounds right away. You're right--you do get some dirty looks! :rotfl2:

Hi Pearlieq!
When you find the guy who knows the guy, you give that guy my number! hehe!
The other funny thing that happened that time at WW was it was right as the "points" system began and the WW leader had set me up to eat more points than the max range in the book because at the time the highest weight it listed for men in determining points was like 300 and I was more like 400. But I was really not sure how much more I was eating than others until I was chatting with two women after meeting one week and I made reference to having to work to get in the points I was eating (something like 35 or 40, don't really remember!!) and they both again looked like I should be skinned alive! hehe But they both also were making amazing progress so it was all good!

Mike

[Mykelogan]

oh oh I am SOO IN for the disney trip and the trip to see oprah!!! :)

how's today going for you Mike??? JUST KEEP....well you know ;)

hehe

talk soon!
Jen :fish:

Hey Jen! Hope you are having a good one!

Can you imagine going to Disney with Oprah! even better! hehe!

hey now, keep up that swimming!
Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Ok, then it is settled. We will go a little longer and then the letter to Oprah is in the mail and email. Now you know to make this work, we will all have to write a letter so that she is bombarded with the same thing. Hey, let's tell her that it is our Wildest Dream to go to Disney as a smaller person. She has that Wildest Dream segments going as well. Pearlieq, get on the phone and get those contacts going!

It is unfortunate that you had to go through that torture at such a young age with your aunt. But, you know the best revenge and the sweetest, is to get to a weight where you are most comfortable and tell her that you did it all without WW! :teeth: BTW, my gran says she is going back to WW, maybe she has met your aunt there. :rotfl2: I can't count the number of times she has gone back and unfortunately for her, she has never learned what keeps making all the weight go back on.

Oh, and you don't need a security guard here, just a few of these :cheer2: :banana: :cool1: .

Have a great day! ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

Hi Lesli!
I just had a thought, if Oprah passes on our story we could always find out when Regis & Kelly will be going back to Disney! They go at least once or twice a year. :cool1:

As for my aunt, she just makes me sad. Recently she bought a vacation home in Florida and is telling everyone she bought it so her parents would have a nice place to stay for the winter in Florida and not have to rent a condo. Now of course what she is leaving out of her story is that she is not only planning to charge my grandparents rent but more than they had to pay at the place that was nicer than this new house! But of course my grandparents want to keep peace so they agree to it finally and the day after, she calls them to say "Find another place to stay I found someone willing to pay more to rent it." Literally. She is unbelievable... anyway, I digress... lol! Can you tell she boils my blood?? hehe!

I also hope that no one gets the impression I am bashing WW with any of these stories. I think it is a great plan that helps many people. It just wasn't for me. I think that we are all unique people and each person finds what works for them. As for my aunt and WW, she just is still of the mindset that once she hits goal she can eat/drink whatever she wants. After she had a heartache a few years back her doctor went as far to tell her that he felt she should either commit to a maintenance plan if she dieted again or just don't do it because he attributed her heart problems directly to her years and years of yo-yo dieting. She was so mad that he suggested that instead of focusing on her weight she focus on healthy eating and exercise, and that her weight would react in kind. She definitely is a piece of work.

Now what was I talking about... lol!
Mike

[keenercam]

Hi,Mike! Thanks for visiting my journal. How is your day going so far? I loved the sound of the "hash" you made last night. Can you put the recipe here? Oh, you'll have to tell me what chorizo is.

You know, Mike, I give you a lot of credit for the candor you express here. It must be so empowering to be so confident of your commitment. I admire that a lot. You are doing this so "RIGHT". Your approach is one that will work in the long run, because you enjoy the process as much as the prospect of ultimate success. I am sure many moments or meals or even days are a struggle, but you have developed so many strategies that are really working for you. And you have given all of us so many ideas of how we can similarly work towards success.

Keep up the great work, WISH buddy!

Oh, and BTW, that comment in my journal about how you get a huge smile on your face when you think of Disney? I can SOOOOOO relate!

Are you smiling?

[DisDon]

Alright, I'm in for Oprah, do I get to jump on the couch? :Pinkbounc :bounce: :jumping1: :jumping3: :jumping2:
Part of what would be so cool would be how we're so diverse here (mostly women tho) with different weight loss and health needs, and yet so supportive.

Man, what is it with the psycho relatives? I've got some SIL's that are pretty freaky. :crazy: :rolleyes1 :rotfl2:

[Mykelogan]

Hi Cam!

Hi,Mike! Thanks for visiting my journal. How is your day going so far? I loved the sound of the "hash" you made last night. Can you put the recipe here? Oh, you'll have to tell me what chorizo is.

Having a pretty good day here so far! Another new electric toy is on its way to me in the mail! My handy dandy Braun Hand Blender broke this week after having it for 11 years! I use it constantly so I ordered the new model and can't wait to get it. It is much updated obviously with new attachments, etc. such a great tool for making soups, purees, small food processing jobs. And Amazon will be giving me a $20 gift certificate for buying it! yay!

The hash was very simple and did not suffer for lack of potatoes! hehe Start with about 2 Tbsp of chopped onion and sautee them in a tsp of olive oil. when translucent add about two cups quartered radishes. Now the key to the next step is to toss the radishes once, season with S&P then let them sit for 7-8 min over med/med high heat. They will brown like hasbrowns if you let they sit without stirring. I then stirred the pan and added a chopped green bell pepper. When the peppers started to brown a bit with teh radishes I added about 4oz of chopped chorizo. Chorizo is a portuguese sausage available in this area. It is spicy and yummy! You could substitue a smoke sausage or kielbasa, even a low fat variety would work I am sure. I then cooked it until the sausage browned and tossed in 3 chopped green onions for freshness. The hash is great as is then but I also added a Tbsp of mustard (Grey Poupon or a nice stone ground, not bright yello!) diluted with a Tbsp of water to bind it in a mustardy sauce.

The result of my experiment was delicious! If you are not watching carbs as closely as I am, you could add potato and any other veggies you like. Just add the harder ones like potato with the radish, others can go in with the peppers. I was not sure how the radishes would taste like this and it was great, they were meaty & juicy, a nice almost sub for the potatos.


You know, Mike, I give you a lot of credit for the candor you express here. It must be so empowering to be so confident of your commitment. I admire that a lot. You are doing this so "RIGHT". Your approach is one that will work in the long run, because you enjoy the process as much as the prospect of ultimate success. I am sure many moments or meals or even days are a struggle, but you have developed so many strategies that are really working for you. And you have given all of us so many ideas of how we can similarly work towards success.

Thank you so much Cam! I am of course getting misty eyed here at work reading that! :goodvibes I greatly appreciate your support and kind words!


Oh, and BTW, that comment in my journal about how you get a huge smile on your face when you think of Disney? I can SOOOOOO relate!
Are you smiling?

Constantly! hehehe! :flower:

Hope you are having a good afternoon Cam!
Mike

[goldcupmom]

Hey, Mike! How goes? Sounds like it is going well today.

Chorizo.....YUM!!!! Living in NM it is everywhere as are green chiles. Takes some getting used to.

If I didn't know better, I'd say your aunt was either my mom or my dad (but both are deceased). I remember at 16 buying my first car (wish I still had it 67 malibu) and getting a job as no job = no car = no transportation. Then at 18 we traded my car (pd by me) in on a new sunbird. Cosigned by dad, but paid 100% by me. About 8 mo into the loan dad went on total SS disability (diabetes, undulent fever from the WWII years, etc) and with the ins. on the loan the car was paid off. However, they made me continue making the monthly payment to them. Then when we got married when I was 21, they made us pay $2k (+ of course state sales tax) for the car in order to get the title changed over to our names. We MUST be related!!! The weight innuendos NEVER stopped my entire life, along with other lovely sentiments expressed.

Anyway.....

I do WW and agree with your assessment. I do it because I have absolutely NO support here at home and simply for the accountability. I have an old college friend who did WW and has kept off a huge chunk and my DNiece who just got married has. It is now more just a sensible way of portion control which anyone can do on their own if they have the motivation and support. I am SO lacking in willpower sometimes due to life, I just can't do it.

Hope you're havin a good day. I'll catch you more later!

[TigerCheer2009]

Hi Mike/WISHbro! Recipe sounds good, "dude man!" You are doing this so right...

Have a great day!

[eeyore25]

HI Mike,

Things here are pretty busy, but I wanted to make time for WISH!

I hope you are having a great, healthy day!

[Mykelogan]

Hi Julie!

Hey, Mike! How goes? Sounds like it is going well today.
Chorizo.....YUM!!!! Living in NM it is everywhere as are green chiles. Takes some getting used to.

Cool! I think portuguese chorizo is slightly different from mexican chorizo, but it is very close as I have enjoyed both, yum! Ohh I bet you get all the best spicy foods, I feel lucky to find jalapenos most times. I know they're not that hot but I love poblanos and can only seem to find them once in a blue moon here. hehe! So, mark me down as jealous! And again, it becomes about food with me, oy! LOL


If I didn't know better, I'd say your aunt was either my mom or my dad (but both are deceased). I remember at 16 buying my first car (wish I still had it 67 malibu) and getting a job as no job = no car = no transportation. Then at 18 we traded my car (pd by me) in on a new sunbird. Cosigned by dad, but paid 100% by me. About 8 mo into the loan dad went on total SS disability (diabetes, undulent fever from the WWII years, etc) and with the ins. on the loan the car was paid off. However, they made me continue making the monthly payment to them. Then when we got married when I was 21, they made us pay $2k (+ of course state sales tax) for the car in order to get the title changed over to our names. We MUST be related!!! The weight innuendos NEVER stopped my entire life, along with other lovely sentiments expressed.

Oh my, aren't families fabulous??!! What do enjoy as an adult is that you learn that you can be in control of how you let people treat you. That was a huge lesson I eventually learned. :goodvibes


I do WW and agree with your assessment. I do it because I have absolutely NO support here at home and simply for the accountability. I have an old college friend who did WW and has kept off a huge chunk and my DNiece who just got married has. It is now more just a sensible way of portion control which anyone can do on their own if they have the motivation and support. I am SO lacking in willpower sometimes due to life, I just can't do it.

I think the support and accountability are the spot on keys to WW success. I definitely missed that component the last time I tried to lose weight as I was doing my Carb Addicts program alone. Right the support & accountability I feel from my WISHers like you and everyone else are the current keys to my success! :flower:

I hope that you are having a great night!!!
Mike :wizard:

[Mykelogan]

Hi Mike/WISHbro! Recipe sounds good, "dude man!" You are doing this so right...

Have a great day!

Thanks Jen!
I know the radishes probably sound weird to some folks but they turned out very tasty! hehe

Hope you are having a swell night!
Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

HI Mike,

Things here are pretty busy, but I wanted to make time for WISH!

I hope you are having a great, healthy day!

I definitely have a great day when great people like you take time out of their busy days to say hi! Thank you so much! :flower:

Mike :goodvibes

[toystoryduo]

Hi Mike!

Stopping by to say hello and to see how you are doing this fine Thursday. :wave2: Did you ever get a chance to finish your trip report? I haven't been over to the trip reports board in a couple of days.

Have a healthy and happy day, Mike! :sunny: Keep up the good work! :cheer2:

[Mykelogan]

Morning Tracy!

Very busy day here so this will probably be my only Dis visit until 4pm! We have another candidate coming in to our office for our open Residence Hall Director job today. He will be here in 30min! yikes! hehe!
I have not finished my trip report yet sadly! I hope to get some time this weekend! Hold me to it, yell at me if I don't! :goodvibes

I hope that you have a very happy & healthy day!!
Mike :flower:

[joelyfaithsmommy]

Hey Mike, aren't families amazing sometimes...I have an Aunt who though she doesn't do that sort of thing, is a piece of work all on her own...but I'll leave that alone... I like to focus on the GOOD, and not the EVIL of the world!!! LMBO! :) :rotfl2:

so how's today coming for you? i'm doing fine and dandy, just swimming here in the ocean, and thought I saw you when I made a left turn this morning, was that you? :rotfl:

hehe, just a little humor to start my day...well I need to head out and do something...have a SUPER day, and I'll catch ya on the flip side!

hugs,
Jen :fish:

[eeyore25]

HI Mike,

How are you doing today?

Hope you are having a great and healthy Thursday! Keep up the good work!

[Mykelogan]

Hey Mike, aren't families amazing sometimes...I have an Aunt who though she doesn't do that sort of thing, is a piece of work all on her own...but I'll leave that alone... I like to focus on the GOOD, and not the EVIL of the world!!! LMBO! :) :rotfl2:

so how's today coming for you? i'm doing fine and dandy, just swimming here in the ocean, and thought I saw you when I made a left turn this morning, was that you? :rotfl:

hehe, just a little humor to start my day...well I need to head out and do something...have a SUPER day, and I'll catch ya on the flip side!

hugs,
Jen :fish:

hey Jen!!
Thanks for the morning giggle, I appreciated it when I opened my mailbox this am! That may have indeed been me swimming past you! hehe! :flower:
Today has been long but good! I finally got myself together earlier enough in the AM to pack a lunch for today so I did not have to wait until after work for lunch, as I have the past two days or so! I made a yummy salad with lettuce, cukes, some tomato, cheddar, pepperoni, and some leftover bbq-spiced grilled chicken from dinner last night. That's right! I did not eat the entire monster chicken breast I grilled. I realized it was too much and cut off a chunk for today's lunch. Tonight I am making a yummy spicy steak with mushrooms for dinner with a cheese quesadilla on low carb tortillas with fresh salsa. Should be delish!

Hope that you had a great day!
Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

HI Mike,

How are you doing today?

Hope you are having a great and healthy Thursday! Keep up the good work!

Hey Jamie!

Thanks for coming by!!! I hope that you had a happy & healthy day too!!
:banana: :banana: :banana:

Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Ok, random rant...

I am an Oreo Lover!!!
And yes, if I wanted to I could have two or three with my RewardMeal.

But have you seen the new Oreos???
THE DOUBLE STUFFED PEANUT BUTTER OREOS!!!

I could sooo not buy a bag and portion them out, then keep em here. I would down them the first night. Two of my fave things, peanut butter and DOuble Stuffed Oreos mixed in one! Swoon!

Luckily I will not buy them and will have no real temptation as I usually get my groceries delivered (yay for peapod.com!) and therefore I menu plan all my food buying, and no impulse buying as I have to review my order several times before submitting it.

Ohh... time for dinner I think!!
Ohhh Oreos, I knew you well!!

Mike pirate:

[Lesli54]

Oh, the OREOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :sad2:

I LOVE double stuff oreos. They are probably my favorite cookie. I don't think I could get into the PB ones, but it has been months since I have had any. When I was pregnant w/ DD7, I ate them like crazy. When I was pregnant with DS, I had to limit it to 2 cookies during one snack since I was borderline for gestational diabetes. It got to where, I just didn't have them much because of the torture waiting to happen when I opened the cupboards. :sad2:

I am with, you. It is just to hard to buy a bag and "be good" about eating them, so I abstain. Life can be maddening when you are trying to get healthier. :rotfl:

Have a good evening and the oreo crisis will pass. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[Mykelogan]

You're right Lesli, it passed! hehe
I ended up skipping the quesadilla with my dinner and in its place, instead of just cherries and yogurt, I added banana and made a parfait! It was so yummy. The juicy cherries flavor the yogurt and the banana slices were a nice contrast to the tart cherry yogurt. :goodvibes

Who needs Oreos??!!?? :flower:

[goldcupmom]

Oreos w/ peanut butter....YUM!!!!

As kids we'd take oreos or any sandwich cookie and top with a layer of peanut butter, then dunk in cold milk or coffee. YUM YUM YUM!!! And consume MOST of the pack at a sitting.

But then, my Brother & I learned early to eat ice cream fast. When we would go out for a cone, which wasn't frequent, in my family the first one done got to choose anyone elses to eat also. How unfair was that????!!!!! To this day I don't know how to eat a cone like a normal person, I inhale.

Congrats on the GREAT menus!

[Storygirl]

Oreos are willpower's worst enemy. DS loves them and insists on having "3 1/2 because I'm 3 1/2"...I have to stay far away, because I always end up eating more than 3 1/2, that's for sure!!!

Thank you for visiting me, Mike! I am inspired by your courage and your honesty and I love the outpouring of support you give and receive. I was talking about these boards to a friend of mine today who is a member of WW since the 80's and she was so impressed and supportive...said this sounded like a wonderful place for support. And you are such a big part of that!

I applaud you being able to publish your weight!!! That is fantastic and brave! I hear you!

Have a magnificent day tomorrow and I'd like to add to the clamor for your trip report - you left us hanging!! Get writing, Mister!

Jenn.

[lajones81]

Mike that's for the dancing wishes! Woo hoo! ONEderland is here! Yes! :)

[Mykelogan]

Oreos w/ peanut butter....YUM!!!!

As kids we'd take oreos or any sandwich cookie and top with a layer of peanut butter, then dunk in cold milk or coffee. YUM YUM YUM!!! And consume MOST of the pack at a sitting.

But then, my Brother & I learned early to eat ice cream fast. When we would go out for a cone, which wasn't frequent, in my family the first one done got to choose anyone elses to eat also. How unfair was that????!!!!! To this day I don't know how to eat a cone like a normal person, I inhale.

Congrats on the GREAT menus!

That definitely sounds unfair!! hehe! :flower:
Mmm oreos and milk... what a great combo. The way the cookie melts...mmm.... YIKES! Is it lunch time! I need something healthy and wholesome to banish the cookie demons!!!

Hope you are having a good one!
Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Oreos are willpower's worst enemy. DS loves them and insists on having "3 1/2 because I'm 3 1/2"...I have to stay far away, because I always end up eating more than 3 1/2, that's for sure!!!

Thank you for visiting me, Mike! I am inspired by your courage and your honesty and I love the outpouring of support you give and receive. I was talking about these boards to a friend of mine today who is a member of WW since the 80's and she was so impressed and supportive...said this sounded like a wonderful place for support. And you are such a big part of that!

I applaud you being able to publish your weight!!! That is fantastic and brave! I hear you!

Have a magnificent day tomorrow and I'd like to add to the clamor for your trip report - you left us hanging!! Get writing, Mister!

Jenn.

Hi Jenn!
Thank you so much for visiting my little corner of the WISH! It was definitely not easy to publish my weight but it was a good thing in the long run I think! Thank you so much for your support!!!

Trip report is coming this weekend... I also have to get my scrapbook started!!! :goodvibes

Have a great day!
Mike

[Mykelogan]

Mike that's for the dancing wishes! Woo hoo! ONEderland is here! Yes! :)

Hi Lisa!
Thanks for coming by!! Hope that you are having a happy & healthy day in Wonderful Onederland!!!

Mike :cool1:

[eeyore25]

Ok, random rant...

I am an Oreo Lover!!!
And yes, if I wanted to I could have two or three with my RewardMeal.

But have you seen the new Oreos???
THE DOUBLE STUFFED PEANUT BUTTER OREOS!!!

I could sooo not buy a bag and portion them out, then keep em here. I would down them the first night. Two of my fave things, peanut butter and DOuble Stuffed Oreos mixed in one! Swoon!

Luckily I will not buy them and will have no real temptation as I usually get my groceries delivered (yay for peapod.com!) and therefore I menu plan all my food buying, and no impulse buying as I have to review my order several times before submitting it.

Ohh... time for dinner I think!!
Ohhh Oreos, I knew you well!!

Mike pirate:


OH Oero's...those are so a party in my mouth! :rotfl:
And the Peanut Butter ones are even better. Not trying to tempt you but YUM! I bought some when they first came out and oh my they were sooooooo good. I had to bring them to work so that I didn't sit and eat the whole bag.

Anyways, I just wanted to stop in and say HI :wave2:

I hope you are having a great day!

[DisDon]

My problem is that Oreo's are bite size for me, so 3 or 4 bites later is 3 or 4 Oreo's. Same with Chips Ahoy, my other favorite store-bought cookie. I love the base Chips Ahoy, don't like the attempts to jazz them up, make them softer, etc. OK, no more cookie talk!!

[Mykelogan]

Hey Jamie & Don!
Sounds like Oreos are a "kryptonite" for all of us WISH Super Heroes!!
Best to keep em behind the lead shielding!!!
:cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

Have a great night!
Mike :goodvibes

[toystoryduo]

Hey Mike!

Thanks for stopping by my journal with some much needed encouragement! It always brightens my day when WISH friends stop by and say hi! :goodvibes Thanks Mike!

So, how are you doing? How did your day go? Mine went well except for my food choices. :( The scale just starts cooperating with me and I blow it by eating too much food. :sad2: Oh well... tomorrow is another day!

Hope you have a great weekend! Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report... (hint, hint ;) ) :teeth:

[kardiebelle]

Hey mike I think that we all are looking forward to the next part of the trip. We are all getting excited. :rotfl2: Have a great weight loss day tomarrow. Exercise the day away . SMILES kardiebelle

I Believe COLD PIZZA is better then OREO'S (I don't like chocolate) I have to print that very small because I don't want no one to get me. :goodvibes

[Cinerama]

Hi Mike,
Just did a search to see if I missed the rest of your trip report and I discovered your journal (AND discovered that you haven't finished the report, come on now, anxious readers await!). I read a bit of your journal and just wanted to say that I'm SO impressed with what you are doing...and how well you are doing it! Good luck...I'll be thinking about you!

[Mykelogan]

Ok! I am caught up on journals I think and I am going to make lunch and then afterwards I will get back to my trip reporting!!!
(I do greatly appreciate knowing you guys are enjoying it Tracy, Kardibelle, and Michelle!!! :goodvibes )

Bye all!
Mike

[Storygirl]

Hello Mike! I just finished a lovely low carb lunch and wanted to pop in to say hello to another lcer...although I must admit...those reward meals sound so appealing on weekends when I have more time. I've read the Carb Addicts book - do you like this way of eating??

I will leave you to your trip report - I am really looking forward to it!

Have a great Saturday!

Jenn.

[Mykelogan]

Hey Jenn!

I just finished part 3 of my trip report, you can see it here. (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=9227513#post9227513)

I definitely enjoy the CALP (Carb Addicts Lifespan Plan). If you have read the first book aka CAD and not CALP I would suggest it. In CALP they further developed the plan and added more balance. The RM in CAD is not really balanced but in CALP you start with salad (or extra cooked veggies) and then have a meal balanced in thirds between protein, craving reducing veggies, and your carbs. If you want more of anything you must have more of each third. What I truly enjoy is that I know I can have anything I want to in the proper portions every day at my RM. So no foods become forbidden. Instead of being "naughty" and gorging on a pint of Ben 'n Jerrys ice cream, I know that I can have a serving of it with a nice dinner. Last night my RM was a salad, two grilled portabella mushrooms I had marinated and after grilling I topped them with mozz cheese and pepperoni like mini pizzas. For my carbs and dessert, I spread a thin layer of peanut butter on two small pieces of low carb multi grain bread and topped each with slices of banana. Such a feast and all on plan! I find that my real physical cravings (not my head cravings when I see Oreos hehe) and hunger are pretty much gone. If anything I need to eat more during the day. :goodvibes I think that is the big difference to me. I could probably lose weight eating low cal on a low fat/high carb diet as many people do, but I would be ravenous all the time. I don't feel deprived and that is important to me. I don't want to sound like an infomercial so I will stop there! hehe If you have any specific questions just let me know! :goodvibes

Have a good one!
Mike :wizard:

[Mykelogan]

Feeling a bit better than I was earlier. (I'm fighting off a summer cold and it was winning today!) Gotta love getting sick on a day off!! NOT! hehe :sunny:

Now it is time to watch Big Brother and make dinner. BB is one of my summer traditions, anyone else? I love it! Dinner tonight will be a boston lettuce salad, and then I think I will make tostadas with two low carb tortillas, spicy grilled chicken, cheddar, lettuce, green pepper, onion, and a yummy dressing (aka sour cream and salsa mixed). I have a yummy nectarine too and half a banana from yesterday.

DOing good today water wise, have drank 64oz already. Have not drank as much as I like usually so I gotta focus more on that.

Anywho time to watch the houseguests and make food, then I think I am watching the movie The Jacket. I got it in from Blockbuster online rentals yesterday.

Have a happy & healthy one all!
Mike :goodvibes

p.s. More trip report tomorrow, my notes are in the office so I need to go get them! DOn't want to forget anything! :3dglasses

[goldcupmom]

Your trip sounds like it was AWESOME!! It makes me want to go. BOO HOO!!!!

Sorry to hear about your cold. It is SO not fun!

Your mushrooms sound very yummy - wish I could readily find them here. Back in Iowa we used to go mushroom hunting and find TONS. One year my MIL even shipped us a box overnight. It was too funny when I told the FedEX guy what was in the box.

Hope you are feeling better. Have a great night and I'll catch ya in the morning.

[pearlieq]

Hi!

Just stopping by to wish you a great day!!!!

Keep up the great work! You can do it!!! :cheer2:

[Lesli54]

Just stopping by to see how things are going. You look like you are doing great! Your infectious spirit will really take you far, as well as helping us along. ;)

So what do you do at the college, if you don't mind my asking? I found it very interesting to hear someone who works with a college, actually say that the costs of attending are getting out of control. It's just nice to know that it isn't a thought found only on the parent end. :goodvibes

Keep up the great work. Hope you enjoyed BB last night. I watched the first season and never could really get into the second one. We are Survivor and Amazing Race fans. Hey maybe we could get them to do a WISH Amazing Race?

Have a great day! ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[Mykelogan]

Your trip sounds like it was AWESOME!! It makes me want to go. BOO HOO!!!!

Sorry to hear about your cold. It is SO not fun!

Your mushrooms sound very yummy - wish I could readily find them here. Back in Iowa we used to go mushroom hunting and find TONS. One year my MIL even shipped us a box overnight. It was too funny when I told the FedEX guy what was in the box.

Hope you are feeling better. Have a great night and I'll catch ya in the morning.

Hi Julie!
Thanks for stopping by! I am feeling better today, which is good as I have wayyy too much to get done now. hehe!
Ooh fresh mushrooms! You were lucky. I love all kinds of mushrooms, prepared most kinds of ways!
Sorry to make you long for WDW with my report, hehe! Reading trip reports does the same to me.

Hope that you had a peaceful night after all you had to deal with yesterday!
Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Hi!

Just stopping by to wish you a great day!!!!

Keep up the great work! You can do it!!! :cheer2:

Thanks pearlieq! I appreciate your support! :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Hi Lesli!

Just stopping by to see how things are going. You look like you are doing great! Your infectious spirit will really take you far, as well as helping us along. ;)

I hope so!! Though I am not sure my spirit will be helping me a lot at the scale this week, not enough exercise + being sick = ???
So we will see!!!


So what do you do at the college, if you don't mind my asking? I found it very interesting to hear someone who works with a college, actually say that the costs of attending are getting out of control. It's just nice to know that it isn't a thought found only on the parent end. :goodvibes

I think most college admin at my level across the country at least would agree costs are high. The VPs and Pres getting the big salaries I am sure would make some empathetic statements that would sound pleasant but not definitely agree. hehe! I work in the Office of Residential Life and Housing. I am a Residence Hall Director and Operations Assistant. So I supervise my residence hall of about 250 freshmen meaning I oversee the physical, personal, emotional needs of the community, including discipline, social programming, educational programming, hall government, facilities concerns, etc. I have a staff of student Resident Assistants that work for me. In our main office I am currently in charge of our training/development program, staff selection, dept. publications, dept. newsletter, among other things. My "bonus work" as an Operations Assistant includes student housing placement, room changes/withdrawals, special housing requests and intersession housing. Sounds like fun, no? hehe! So now you know everything you wanted to know about my job and more! :flower:


Keep up the great work. Hope you enjoyed BB last night. I watched the first season and never could really get into the second one. We are Survivor and Amazing Race fans. Hey maybe we could get them to do a WISH Amazing Race?

BB was great last night! I am a big Survivor and AR fan too. In fact this coming August, our Resident Assistant training theme is "The Amazing RAs (aka The Amazing Race!)" I am in the middle of planning fun activities during training that they will do in their peer support pairs like the teams on AR. :teeth: A WISH pair on AR would rock!!

I hope that you have a good day too! I am going to make a salad with some left over chicken from last night and then head to my office (down the hall) to write some more of my trip report

Mike :3dglasses

[kardiebelle]

Hey cold pizza I come to visit and see how you are doing. But you have been sick and not enough exercise. My dear Mike how could you! You got sick and no exercise what are we going to do with you. :rotfl2: I guess you can have the couple days off. NOT! :rotfl: I was thinking of a thing the RA's should do for the Amazine Race theme. Dress up in Banana outfits and run around the block that would be funny :banana: :banana: :banana:

Just disregard everything I said up there. Have a great week the freshmen are coming back soon. Lose the weight. SMILES

[toystoryduo]

Hey Mike!

How are you feeling this Monday morning? Summer colds can be a lot of fun!;) Just kidding! For me, summer colds are harder to get rid of than winter colds. I hope you are feeling much better today! :goodvibes

Your trip report is awesome, Mike! It sounds like you had such a blast in the world! :bounce: Can't wait for the next installments....... :Pinkbounc

Have a wonderful Monday!!! :sunny:

[Mykelogan]

Hey cold pizza I come to visit and see how you are doing. But you have been sick and not enough exercise. My dear Mike how could you! You got sick and no exercise what are we going to do with you. :rotfl2: I guess you can have the couple days off. NOT! :rotfl: I was thinking of a thing the RA's should do for the Amazine Race theme. Dress up in Banana outfits and run around the block that would be funny :banana: :banana: :banana:

Just disregard everything I said up there. Have a great week the freshmen are coming back soon. Lose the weight. SMILES

Hahahahahaha!
Thanks Kardibelle!
Have a great day!
Mike :sunny:

[Mykelogan]

Hey Mike!

How are you feeling this Monday morning? Summer colds can be a lot of fun!;) Just kidding! For me, summer colds are harder to get rid of than winter colds. I hope you are feeling much better today! :goodvibes

Your trip report is awesome, Mike! It sounds like you had such a blast in the world! :bounce: Can't wait for the next installments....... :Pinkbounc

Have a wonderful Monday!!! :sunny:

Hey Tracy!
Glad you liked the next installment of my report!
I am feeling much better today thankfully!
Have a good day!
Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Ok, I weighed in this morning and was disappointed at first and then was reading journals, and I definitely got my head put on straight when I read Jen's (Joelyfaithsmommy) entry.

I lost a pound this week!! That is one more gone, and one more I need not worry about anymore. That makes me happy!!

I have a very busy work day ahead so I have to get going. Have a happy & healthy one all!! :flower:

Mike :goodvibes

[toystoryduo]

Hey Mike!

You lost a pound!!! :cool1: That is great! You keep up the good work and the scale will keep going down for you!!! :cheer2:

Have a great Monday! :sunny:

[Tasha+Scott]

Hi, Mike! I know I am late in welcoming you to WISH but an infant will do that to you! :crazy: I love your upbeat attitude and your sense of humor! Oh, and I also LOVE mushrooms. Dh thinks I am nuts since he can't stand them. I agree that losing a pound is a good thing even if it seems like a pound isn't much sometimes. After all add all of the "one pound lost here, one pound lost there" together and it adds up! You are doing great! :)

[DisDon]

<homer>mmmmm....mushrooms....

Good job on the lost pound, sound like a lot of us have moved over to the slow lane, but we're still movin'!
Have fun with the freshmen, let me know if you need me to come and thump on any of 'em.
pirate:

[keenercam]

Hey, Mike! I know I haven't been here in a while, but I wanted you to know I have been thinking about you (and all your fabulous recipes! :))

Congratulations on losing another pound! :banana: :cool1: I am so jealous that you are getting so close to that really cool clippie! That is soooo awesome! Do NOT be disappointed if it is a bit less than you were looking for this week -- it is still progress in the right direction! This week you'll add more exercise, drink more water, and look forward to the next time you step on the scale.

Keep up the great work, Bud!

:grouphug:

[lillygator]

Hi Mike!!
Congrats on the pound loss - that is 4 sticks of butter you know!!

Great job - !!

[Cruise04]

Way to go on the pound lost!!!! I hate being sick and trying to stay on task with losing weight too - my motivation just drops to the floor. Keep it up!!!!

Keep on :banana: :banana:
Chris

[Lesli54]

Great job on another lb. kicked to the curb. :cool1: Anything is better than gaining. It is so hard to lose when you are sick and if you lose alot when you are sick then you better go see the dr.

One of the games that can be played during the move in days weekend where DD18 is going to college is the Amazing Race. I think she will have tons of fun with that.

I saw you started up a new thread on the board and I think that is AWESOME. If you don't mind, I might check in every once in awhile to see how some of my favorite WISHER's are coming along. Everyone needs support in all the phases of their weight loss journey.

Have a great day and keep up the great work. ::MickeyMo ::MickeyMo

[joelyfaithsmommy]

Hey Mike...so glad I could be encouragement to you this morning!! :)

well my weight loss has been slow going these past two weeks, so I've come to LOVE that 1 lb loss I have been getting! :)


just keep up the good work, that weight will fall off :)

:fish: swim :fish swim :fish: swim! :)

hUgs,
Jen

[Mykelogan]

Hey Mike!

You lost a pound!!! :cool1: That is great! You keep up the good work and the scale will keep going down for you!!! :cheer2:

Have a great Monday! :sunny:

Hi Tracy!

Thanks for your support! I appreciate it!

Hope you have a great Monday too!
Mike :goodvibes

[pearlieq]

Hi!

I hope you're feeling better and are having a great day!!!

:flower:

[eeyore25]

Just got caught up on your journal from the weekend. Hope you are feeling better today.

I, too am a huge BB fan. We have watched all season, all episodes except a few. We always go on vacation (DL) at the end of August first of September and we always seem to miss a few days. I just can't seem to give up my time in the park to go watch BB!! LOL! Saturdays show was pretty good. I was surprised that Eric nominated whow he did..

Way to go on the pound loss. I know what you mean about being disappointed, but glad that you got over that!!!! It is a pound gone, none the less!!!!!

Well I hope you are having a great, healthy day.

Keep up the good work!

[Mykelogan]

Hi, Mike! I know I am late in welcoming you to WISH but an infant will do that to you! :crazy: I love your upbeat attitude and your sense of humor! Oh, and I also LOVE mushrooms. Dh thinks I am nuts since he can't stand them. I agree that losing a pound is a good thing even if it seems like a pound isn't much sometimes. After all add all of the "one pound lost here, one pound lost there" together and it adds up! You are doing great! :)

Hi Tasha,

I am sure that having infant has definitely had a big impact on your life and not just on your message board activity! :flower: Congratulations!! Glad you did stop by though, always nice to have another mushroom lover in the midst!
and you are right, those "only one pounds" add up to be many pounds! :sunny:
Thank you for your kind words and support!
I hope you are having a happy & healthy monday!
Mike :cool1:

[Mykelogan]

<homer>mmmmm....mushrooms....

Good job on the lost pound, sound like a lot of us have moved over to the slow lane, but we're still movin'!
Have fun with the freshmen, let me know if you need me to come and thump on any of 'em.
pirate:

hahaha! Thanks Don. I will let you know when they need the thumpin'!
:flower:

Mike

[Mykelogan]

Hey, Mike! I know I haven't been here in a while, but I wanted you to know I have been thinking about you (and all your fabulous recipes! :))

Congratulations on losing another pound! :banana: :cool1: I am so jealous that you are getting so close to that really cool clippie! That is soooo awesome! Do NOT be disappointed if it is a bit less than you were looking for this week -- it is still progress in the right direction! This week you'll add more exercise, drink more water, and look forward to the next time you step on the scale.

Keep up the great work, Bud!

:grouphug:

Hi Cam!

Missed you too!! Glad to see you in here again. :flower:
I am so close to that clippie I can smell it!!! (or is that my deodorant wearing off??) hehehe!
Hope that you are doing well yourself!!!

Mike :goodvibes

[Mykelogan]

Hi Mike!!
Congrats on the pound loss - that is 4 sticks of butter you know!!

Great job - !!

Oohhh! Hadn't thought of that! Thanks for that great metaphor lillygator!!
:goodvibes

Mike