Losing weight in Northern Minnesota

Snow-shoveling alone time

Ehren — Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:32:10 +0000

One thing I enjoy about living in the frozen tundra, and boy is it frozen this year, is having alone time for a big block of time while shoveling. Sometimes it seems pretty nuts that I shovel so much up here. We live in the land of snow-blowers and 4-wheelers with snow blades in front of them. But I enjoy it. I love the feeling of getting it done and saving money. I love the alone time and having a time where I need to move around. It’s a way of getting out of the house for some much needed fresh air. Last night was not about pushing snow though. I’ve got about 8 inches of snow pack on the driveway. I started working on getting the wife’s van out and cleared out the gravel driveway down to the gravel to help with traction. It worked! Then I kept going to the gravel road so no one will miss the drive way again…. for now.. Next week is supposed to be another week of very cold weather but I plan to get out there an hour or so for at least 2 of the nights to keep chipping away at the driveway.

Eating today:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with a handful of broccoli

Morning snack – a handful of sunflower seeds

Lunch – Kale salad dry, celery, two squares of Lindt’s 90% dark chocolate

Afternoon snack – apple, a handful of almonds

Dinner – broccoli, chicken

Exercise today: 3 hours in the warehouse (evening)

Weight: 247 – down .6lbs

Not much to say

Ehren — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 02:13:19 +0000

Very happy to see that much weight come off in one day and that the success continues. I got a chance to talk to somebody at work today about it and the thing that has hit me is how my addiction to bad food has subsided so much. I’ll have a taste here and there, like having a small slice of my wife’s homemade pizza. I got a taste of dark chocolate today, 50%. Tasted too sweet compared to my 90%. My tastes are changing. The scary part for me is how do I keep the taste change the same so I don’t go back into my old habits…

Two slice of pizza tonight? Only because I plan on shoveling snow for an hour (turned out to be 3 after being out there for over an hour and a half). Wife got stuck in the driveway so I need to clean some things up…

That’s enough of…

Eating today:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with a handful of broccoli

Morning snack – broccoli, a handful of sunflower seeds

Lunch – Kale salad dry, celery, chicken, one square of Lindt’s 90% dark chocolate

Afternoon snack – apple, a handful of almonds

Dinner – 3 slices of homemade pizza

Exercise today: 1.5 hour shoveling snow

Weight: 247.6 – down 2lbs

Back to it

Ehren — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 02:56:50 +0000

It felt good to see that number under 250 again. I may have had a slight taste of guilt in my mouth regarding last weekend but it’s all gone now. I’m back on track, back on course.

I’m still trying minimize stress levels but my car has other thoughts. While it seemed to have fixed itself last week, the belts in it now chirp every time I start it up. I’m paranoid about it because I replaced the belt in October and then again last month. Last month was due to a rock… We’ve also have a new air source heat pump going in today, Ester is getting ready for a missions trip to Liberia, and just a lot of work stuff. But I’m feeling confidence in being able to handle it, more than I have in a long time. Each day starts with a devotion time that calms my mind, first thing before I get out of bed. Food is now out of mind clearing up that space. And I think the minimal exercise I’ve been getting has been therapeutic as well. Just a little bit can go a long way.

Eating today:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with a handful of broccoli

Morning snack – a handful of sunflower seeds

Lunch – Kale salad dry, celery, one square of Lindt’s 90% dark chocolate

Afternoon snack – apple, a handful of almonds

Dinner – chicken, a couple of chips

Exercise today: 3 hours in the warehouse (evening)

Weight: 249.6 – down 1lb

I’m lazy

Ehren — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 03:21:19 +0000

I worked 12 hours yesterday but I didn’t shovel the 4 inches of snow in the driveway. That used to be my workout but I’m going to be stubborn about my recovery. The rest last night helped but I can still feel my legs are not as stable when walking which just drives me nuts. I’m thinking about going on my stationary bike tonight for a light ride, just to work the muscles lightly.

But in saying that, this time around with losing weight the exercise has taken a back seat to the whole journey. That’s what has drove me nuts before. It was so hard to balance diet and exercise. If I worked out hard, then I got hungry and it was hard to know the exact amount of food to eat or to just be able to subdue my hunger. This time around I just don’t worry about it. I can live by what I’m doing now and I’m not hungry. The problem is that I’m starting to see some loss of muscle mass. The next step is to incorporate a smaller round of strength/resistance that just take 5 minutes a day. I can’t forget that muscle helps burn fat/calories and necessary for the future months of this journey. I just don’t have to go crazy like I did before.

By the way, I love my almonds! What I do is buy them raw, heat our oven to 425, and put them in there for 12 minutes. The reason why I do my own roasting is to avoid the typical oils that purchased roasted almonds typically come with, those oils are not exactly healthy and are really not necessary. I really prefer the taste of how we do it. The only thing I would like to perfect is to somehow get them a little saltier.

Eating:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with a handful of broccoli

Morning snack – a handful of almonds

Lunch – Kale salad dry, cucumber, two squares of Lindt’s 90% dark chocolate

Afternoon snack – apple and handful of sunflower seeds

Dinner – broccoli, chicken, one small homemade slice of pizza

Evening snack – celery with peanut butter

Exercise: 2 hours in the warehouse (evening), 1 hour of casual biking

Weight: 250.6 – down 1.8lbs

Ouch

Ehren — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 01:49:06 +0000

It’s so strange how the best of intentions can backfire on you. After Friday’s treat night, I did a workout with a great vengeance that is now killing me. I did these leg presses with a barbell on my back to the point where I was screaming out in determination to finish the 3rd set. I did too much. It hurts to sit down/get up from a chair. It hurts to go down stairs. I even feel unstable walking because my thigh muscles are so sore. I rested a lot yesterday which hurt my weight for today. Couldn’t even go for a walk. I’ll heal but this is going to be a week for recovery.

Weekends, I hate weekends. Sounds crazy but when it comes to food, it’s so much easier to do at work. At work, I have the food that’s in my lunchbox and despite the access to vending machines and plenty of food services, I’m pretty good to sticking to what I have in my lunchbox. When I’m home, I have access to everything and it’s harder for me to regulate. Not that I went overboard, or should I say not way overboard, but weekends are just hard for me. I think I’ll try just setting up my daily meals up in a lunchbox and regulate myself that way. This weekend will be an interesting test as my wife will be gone on a retreat and I will be responsible for providing meals for the kids.

Eating today:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with a handful of broccoli

Morning snack – apple and handful of sunflower seeds, mushroom/avacodo mix

Lunch – Kale salad dry, carrots

Afternoon snack – cucumber and a handful of almonds

Dinner – broccoli, chicken

Exercise today: 4 hours in the warehouse (morning/evening)

Weight: 252.4 – up 3.6lbs

Bam

Ehren — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 03:05:00 +0000

I couldn’t believe the scale again when I saw the readout this morning. I was thinking that it would just be my luck that I would gain before my goal day but then the joy to see how I smashed that goal, it feels really good. I’m really going to enjoy the reward tonight at the restaurant but not planning on going crazy. Just going to slowly enjoy good food. So now the question is: what’s the next goal and reward?

So now I’m wondering what’s so great about broccoli? Here’s what I’ve found.

Broccoli can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in broccoli do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they’ve been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it’s easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw broccoli still has cholesterol-lowering ability—just not as much.

Broccoli has a strong, positive impact on our body’s detoxification system, and researchers have recently identified one of the key reasons for this detox benefit. Glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiian, and glucobrassicin are 3 glucosinolate phytonutrients found in a special combination in broccoli. This dynamic trio is able to support all steps in body’s detox process, including activation, neutralization, and elimination of unwanted contaminants. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are the detox-regulating molecules made from broccoli’s glucosinolates, and they help control the detox process at a genetic level.

Broccoli may help us solve our vitamin D deficiency epidemic. When large supplemental doses of vitamin D are needed to offset deficiency, ample supplies of vitamin K and vitamin A help keep our vitamin D metabolism in balance. Broccoli has an unusually strong combination of both vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) and vitamin K. For people faced with the need to rebuild vitamin D stores through vitamin D supplements, broccoli may be an ideal food to include in the diet.

Broccoli is a particularly rich source of a flavonoid called kaempferol. Recent research has shown the ability of kaempferol to lessen the impact of allergy-related substances on our body. This kaempferol connection helps to explain the unique anti-inflammatory benefits of broccoli, and it should also open the door to future research on the benefits of broccoli for a hypoallergenic diet.

Eating today:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with a handful of broccoli

Morning snack – cucumbers and handful of sunflower seeds

Lunch – Kale salad dry, celery, one Lindt’s dark chocolate square

Afternoon snack – apple and a handful of almonds

Dinner – Mushroom and Swiss burger, fries, DQ sundae

Exercise today: 2 hours in the warehouse (morning)

Weight: 248.8 – down 1.4lbs

Almost

Ehren — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 02:50:46 +0000

One more day to where my goal was to be under 250 and I’m so close. I think I measured myself 3 times this morning but kept coming up with the same number. So we’ll see what tomorrow brings. My first reaction is – what is helping this out the most? The switch back to broccoli or is it the good sleep I’ve been getting? Is it both? Is it neither? When do I stop obsessing about this?

No but I’m really happy. It could be a bit of stress relief as well. I was expecting to drop nearly $400 into my car yesterday and God seemed to heal it on the way to the mechanic. I’ll be looking to see if the problem comes back within the week but hopefully all is well.

Last night was a good 2nd test of my sleeping pattern. I worked until 9, did my unwind with wine for 20 minutes, and then went to sleep within 20 minutes of going to bed which is very good for me. I woke up feeling very rested and sharp while at work. It’s a big day today as well with family pictures tonight. At least I won’t look like a zombie….hopefully… 2 hours of OT tonight and then a free night to go out for Valentine’s Day. A good end to the week.

Eating today:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with a handful of broccoli

Morning snack – clementine and handful of sunflower seeds

Lunch – Kale salad dry, carrots, one Lindt’s dark chocolate square

Afternoon snack – apple and a handful of almonds

Dinner – 4 meatballs, more broccoli

Exercise today: 2 hours in the warehouse

Weight : 250.2 – down 1lb

Sleep

Ehren — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 03:54:12 +0000

I finally got a good sleep last night. I took caffeine totally out of my system yesterday which meant for me no tea. I wasn’t groggy yesterday and felt strong while working last night. I got that relaxed feeling on the way home as I usually do but instead of trying to go right to bed, I sat on the couch to relax with a half of glass of red wine and took 15 minutes to drink that. When we went to bed last night my wife said that I had fallen asleep before she did which never happens. And then this morning I woke up at 5:30 without an alarm and felt really good. So we’ll try it again tonight with me working until 9 and see if that changes anything.

I’m really getting into the whole foods train. I’m feeling like I’m getting close to hippy living but I WON’T buy clothes made out of hemp! I’ll leave that to the wife…

Eating today:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with a handful of brocolli

Morning snack – clementine and handful of sunflower seeds

Lunch – Kale salad dry, carrots, one Lindt’s dark chocolate square

Afternoon snack – apple and a handful of almonds

Dinner – 4 meatballs, green beans

Exercise today: 4 hours in the warehouse

Weight : 251.2 – down .2lbs

Patience

Ehren — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 02:42:24 +0000

A third day of gain and it’s hard not to brush this off. But in context I’ve been losing so much that I can’t be too frustrated. I just need to focus on what I do today and prepare for tomorrow. I’m done with turkey sausage for a while, going back to broccoli tomorrow.

I’m still so much healthier than I was a month ago. Even if I’m stuck at this place in 6 months, I can still put my thoughts towards that. I just might not be blogging as much…

Eating today:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with turkey breakfast sausage (1/2 lbs)

Morning snack – clementine and handful of sunflower seeds

Lunch – Kale salad dry, carrots, one Lindt’s dark chocolate square

Afternoon snack – apple and a handful of almonds

Dinner – 1.5 chicken breasts, green beans

Exercise today:

3 hours in the warehouse

Weight : 251.4 – up .4lbs

Still in the blahs

Ehren — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 00:32:20 +0000

There are times when I don’t feel like writing and now is one of those times. Maybe I’m more reflective. I want to listen more than talk. It could be part frustration too. Frustration with lack of weight loss progress, frustration with car bills, frustration with this cold, long winter, frustration with being at the beginning of several journeys than at the end. That’s a big one. So the next question I have to ask is how is my faith walk? Maybe not so good. I need to be making better decisions with God in mind and allow Him to be able to take care of my needs.

Eating today:

Breakfast – 3 eggs with turkey breakfast sausage (1/2 lbs)

Morning snack – clementine and handful of sunflower seeds

Lunch – Kale salad dry, 1.5 chicken breasts, one Lindt’s dark chocolate square

Afternoon snack – apple and a handful of almonds

Dinner – soup

Exercise today: day off

Weight :

251 – up .4lbs