Mike' Make Over Madness!

[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

 

[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... !

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

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

 

[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 Keep Swimming ! You can do this...what an inspiration you are. No soda, one Reesie cup...

 

[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....

What movie are you going to see today?

Have a happy, safe, healthy, Coke-free 4th of July!!!

 

[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!

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!

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!!!

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!

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

 

[toystoryduo]

Congratulations Mike!

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

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

Have a great Tuesday!

 

[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. Great work. kardiebelle

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

WOW MIKE, i'm so impressed with your loss!!! that's just GREAT!!! keep up the good work and KEEP ON SWIMMING! 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'!!

 

[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!!!