So I use to subscribe to all these weight loss sites and they would email me every so often of updates or article. I've been deleting them, of course. But today I decided to actually start reading them....I decided to share some of the things I read...here's one i got this week:

4 months ago I decided I was tired of being the "big guy". 4 months ago I hated going to the beach. I hated the pool. Hated summer all together because it was hot and I hated to sweat. My kids were lazy, my wife was lazy, and I was an absolute sloth.

Fast forward to yesterday. The family got up at 8:00. We made an awesome breakfast of hard boiled eggs, turkey bacon, chopped up fruit and a tomato-n-celery juice. We then swam for three hours at the pool. I played tug a war with 15 kids (I won.) Then me and the boys went for a 10 mile bike ride. We walked to the grocery store for some small items (about a mile away). I ended my Sunday with a 40 minute jog.

If you asked me 4 months ago what I would be doing on 8/23/2009, I would have said I would be watching ESPN, playing video games and resting up for my work week. In 4 months my life has changed, my family's life has changed. We are eating healthier, we are living our lives!!!

i really want a bike!

To add onto this post, I wanted to talk about what really motivated me to start this blog, and what motivated me to start to lose weight.

Clothes.

Once my clothes started improperly fitting, I knew something had to be done. I couldnt find shirts that I could wear anymore without some sort of muffin top showing. i noticed i would always gravitate towards the flowy shirts, or hoodies. The tissue paper thin tshirts I used to be able to wear were quickly collecting dust on my hanger. There was no way i could wear any of that stuff anymore.

I found myself doing the "keep fixing your shirt so no bulges are showing" thing every time i sat down somewhere in public. It was annoying and made me self conscious. why oh why did i think i was fat all those years when i really wasnt. I look back on photos and see a perfectly normal sized person. But today is the real reality. I can't say im obese, but im definetely over weight and since hitting 30, my body has most definetely changed. Weight has shifted and I can't lose poundage like i used to (which used to be fairly quickly). Bad food tastes so good. There are more things to stress about, like a mortgage, family, jobs.... and i am a stress eater. Back in the days, I didnt have worry or stress. I was active, had money to go do things, and didnt have to think about buying or cooking food. Its a different time and all of it has affected my weight to some degree.

So, what is the solution here? I have to take back control. Control of my own mind, and my own body. I do want to be healthy but I need to find the motivation to get there. I have to make sacrifices....sacrifice energy to cook at home, rather than order in, because I'm too tired after work. sacrifice money and buy the good options at the market, even if that means I need to cut back somewhere else. sacrifice time to be more active, even if im not fully working out. sacrifice walking past a fast food joint during lunch and going to healthier options.

its all about control and that starts in the mind.

onto the food:
yesterday i had my usual breakfast
for lunch, the company paid for lunch. we ordered from a pizza joint. all they had were calzones, pizza and heroes. so i ordered a grilled chicken salad. i really wanted a chicken parm hero =(
as a snack, i chose to eat some poppa dums. (.5 serving with laughing cow)and a fiber one bar 140 cals.
dinner: made shrimp etoufee and roasted zucchini with lemon.

Shrimp etoufee - very easy! and delicious


3 tbsp butter - 305 cals (im sure you could cut this down...or use olive oil instead).
1/4 cup flour - 114 cals
2 teasp cajun seasonsing - 0 cals
celery, onion, green peppers
2 bottles clam juice - 0 cals!
2 teaspons worschtestire sauce - 5 cals
1/4 tomato
12 oz shrimp - 360 cals
rice (i had 3/4 cups) - 181 cals

just cook the veggies, then put aside. throw in the butter and flour and mix around for a few minutes. add clam juice and cajun seasoning and let it cook down. add tomatoes, worschestire sauce. and let cook for about 5 minutes until it gets thick. add back the veggies and add shrimp. very simple and easy. i did this in half hour or less. i had some hot rice leftover from the night before from the tofu curry soup below.


simmering down


over rice


Total calories: 794 total. It made 2 heaping bowlfuls, so 392 calories for me. plus the rice = 573 total cals.

zucchini, just broiled and added scallion, salt and lemon


1 zucchini - 29 cals
1 lemon - 0
chopped scallions - 0
salt

just broil on high about 20 mins, flipping once halfway. add salt, squeze lemon and add scallions and toss.