Cut the Crap

The Debate...

2012-09-10T13:30:00.002-07:00

Last week I was seen by my new cardiac electrophysiology doctor. He was talking to me about my heart condition and my defibrillator. While we were talking the subject of being able to run and jog came up. I told him I wish I would be able to run, as a kid I really could not run because of my heart. Nor could I jog for that long either. I would quickly become winded and my heart would start to race. However, now that I have lost all this weight and am on medicine that eliminates the tachycardia heart beats (as long as I don't miss a dose) it crosses my mind often just how great it would be to be able to go for a run.

It's a long shot but I'd absolutely love to do a half marathon. I look back and wonder just how much of my issues I had as a kid was from asthma. I never did get checked for asthma, but my parents were both smokers and I would rate my chances pretty high.

The debate is do I chance having my defibrillator going off. I have a been shocked, I know that at least two of the times I was shocked I am pretty sure I was not taking my medicine regularly like I should have been. I know that as long as I am taking my medicine on a regular basis I should not have to deal with the tachycardia, that on top of as long as my heart rate does not go to 220 my defibrillator will not go off. I have a watch that comes with a chest strap that monitors my heart rate continually.

So this is where the debate comes in, do I want to just not even risk it because of my past experiences, or do I want to take the chance? My plan is to start walking, then speed walk, then speed walk/jog, jog, jog/run, and then run. I'm just not sure if I'd be able to let myself try. I will keep everyone updated on which way I end up going, if anyone has suggestions or knowledge of my situation and others who have done what I desire to do please share.

Adam

Feeling Better but new problem

2012-08-16T08:19:00.001-07:00

Since being diagnosed officially with depression I am starting to feel better and feel like I am able to do more. However, with my living situation and not being able to really establish any type of routine or exercise regimen. I know that I need to start exercising again and I hope to get there soon. It's just going to take time, dedication, and being able to create some sort of schedule.

However, now there is a new problem, for the first time in years I was able to get my blood drawn. I got the test results back yesterday and for the most part everything tested out just where it should. My cholesterol was good, my good cholesterol was good, but my bad cholesterol was too high, including for having heart disease.

So it looks like I have to start a new diet. Not only do I have to cut the carbs out of my diet, I'm going to need to cut down on one of my favorite foods... Cheese. Basically everything that has saturated fat in it, I'm going to need to cut down on. Red meat and cheese are the biggest influences in my diet. I don't mind cutting out the red meats, I've been doing that for a year now, eating more turkey meat than anything else. Cheese is going to be the hardest one.

I'll keep you all updated on how this goes, I need to lower that cholesterol, I don't need to have a heart attack anytime soon. It's bad enough to know that soon I need to have another surgery to replace my battery in my pace maker soon.

Facing Depression

2012-08-01T07:50:00.002-07:00

So yesterday I went to an actual family doctor for the first time in years. I went to talk about a rash I have had on my right arm for years and wanting to finally get it taken care of now that I finally have insurance. While there I also wanted to get a general health care check up as well, while looking at my new patient paper she noticed that I have been having trouble with grief as of late. After talking for a few minutes about my father she wanted to know if there has been anything else that has been going on. I explained to her about losing my best friend back in September to murder and my second mother at the same time. Then to top that off while all this recent stuff has been going on we are moving, buying a home, and just had our fourth child born. Needless to say the diagnosis wasn't too hard to figure out.

So now I am hoping that the meds I have been prescribed will help me control my aggravation. On top of that they should allow me to regain some of my energy and motivation that I have been lacking since the loss of my father.

This battle has been harder then the battle to lose the weight it seems. I'm now up two more pounds and really struggling to regain my motivation to start losing weight again. Well see if things change soon, I hope they do. I know what I have to do, but knowing and being able seem to still be far apart.

Realization

2012-07-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

*First off as a personal note, not once when I started writing this did I ever think I'd have over 4,000 views. I'd like to say thank you to everyone and if I have just helped motivate one person that is such a blessing. Secondly I'd like to say thank you to Karen O'Dell, she has helped me look back at my past blogging and realize just how important my weight and health are to my family. I'd also like to say thank you to my wife, my life would never have had changed so dramatically if not for her.*

With everything that has been going on it got me thinking about a week ago. I reflected back on just when was it my dad's health took a turn for the worse and how was I going to make sure that it does not happen to me?

My dad at the age of 37 had his first heart attack. When I actually think about that it's crazy to realize that I am 29, only 8 years from when my dad had his first heart attack. My father passed away at the age of 54, my Grandfather at the age of 46, my Uncle David passed when he was 54, lastly my Uncle Larry passed away when he was 57. Each one of them having a different heart complication that helped end their lives prematurely.

Now I don't want you to think that each one of them where unhealthy due to their own decisions, none of us are perfect but many people live way beyond what they had the opportunity to. There are many people out there who are way unhealthier but are blessed with stronger hearts.

What I have to take out of this however is the fact that heart troubles run rampant in my family. With that knowledge and the knowledge that I already have congenital heart disease, I have to watch out for myself for my families sake. First step I need to take is to get pass the depression, turn what happened to my father into a strength and allow myself to use what has happened as a learning tool. I also know that I need to keep making my father proud. Being told by him that he was proud of me was like a life's achievement. Now I need to make sure I keep it that way.

So, today I weighed in at 195, I want to get down to 170 if not a little lower, get rid of the pouch on my front and finish what I started. Wish me luck. I will keep you all updated.

Trying to get there

2012-07-12T07:24:00.002-07:00

The past two mornings I have been up since 6 am. One reason is to take Danny and allow Kate to sleep a little bit longer, until I go to work. However, the second reason has been to go for a daily walk while pushing Danny in the stroller. The second part has not been working out too well. Here I am dressed, but with no motivation to put on my jacket, let alone walk out that door.

I don't know if it has to do with the fact that Danny is sleeping and I don't want to disturb him, or if it is the fact that I just don't have the motivation period. I'm trying to find my desires again to work out, but I think I do understand where the lack of desire is coming from. However, knowing where the problem stems from, and being able to overcome that problem are two different things.

The fact of the matter is, and honestly I'm not sure if this is truly the real reason, but it is the main thing I can think of. The fact is I was working out when I got the call, the call I never wanted to hear. While working out on weights is when my Mom called me, telling me that the CT scan of my dads brain was not good at all and that they don't expect him to live much longer. I quickly dropped the weights, turned off the tv and ran upstairs to get Kate. I then ran back downstairs and called the doctor myself to see if maybe my Mom was wrong. Sadly, she was not wrong, the doctor informed me of what had happened and told me to come quick to say my goodbyes.

I know in the end that this may well be just an excuse, but it is very difficult to overcome that thought. I pray soon that I'm able to overcome the road block. Very soon, so this does not get out of hand.

Loss of motivation

2012-07-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

First off I want to apologize for not my previous segment. These past two months have been very hard on me. My diet has taken a hit, although not as bad as it could be. However, it seems like I have lost all motivation to my diet and workout routines. No longer am I really watching what I'm eating, in fact a few days back I ate something that I previously would have passed up on. I can't seem to control myself right now when eating foods I should avoid like pizza. Sure that shouldn't be too bad once in a while, however I'm again in the funk of not knowing when to stop and eating past being full.

Losing my father May 21st has been devastating. I'm extremely happy to have the gospel in my life and have religion so strongly in my life. Honestly, if it was not for having those in my life I don't know how I would of handled losing two of the closest people in my life in just an 8 month span. I have a feeling it would have involved drinking, sleeping, and just not doing much.

I'm hoping to come out of this funk soon, I keep trying to motivate myself to get back to working out and eating right. I'm only at 192 so I have not taken too big of a hit. I have to make sure however that this does not get out of control. It is hard, it is real hard. I'm thankful for my wife and kids who keep me active, but it has to turn around and I need to start eating for health again. Easier said then done, we'll see what happens...

Why are packaged/frozen dinners so bad? (Part I)

2012-05-16T08:38:00.002-07:00

As discussed yesterday I have come to the conclusion that one of the reasons I was overweight as a kid had to do with the packaged/frozen dinners that were staples in my family. Sure these dinners were convenient, fast, and cheap, but at what cost? Next we will look at the most harmful ingredients that come in these meals. Just as a side note, I know that we need a few of these ingredients in our daily lives, but the amount that are added to these foods are way more than needed.

Salt
As many of you who know me know, I hate salt. I do not put much of it on my food, if any. I also try my hardest to avoid high amounts in any food. To put how much salt is in these dinners let's think first of the fact that we are only suppose to have 2300 mg of sodium a day according to the FDA. Although doctors and other researchers say you don't need more than 1500mg a day. Now lets look at how much one serving of good ole Hamburger Helper has.

For just one serving (which there are four in the box) the amount of sodium is 913 mg, and to be honest who is going to be full on just one serving? That is over 60 percent of what you need daily in just one serving of food! Did you know that most of us eat between 4 and 6 grams of sodium in a day?!?

So why is too much salt bad? First thing too much salt will do is allow your body to retain more water than what is needed, which adds weight to your body which in turn makes your heart work that much harder. High salt has also been linked to higher blood pressure in patients.

Tune in tomorrow for ingredient number 2!

A look into why I was so overweight as a kid

2012-05-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

Looking back at my childhood I realize that I was already at a disadvantage. I was born with congenital heart disease and was not able to do much in the way of cardio work. With that exercising was something I did not partake in any where near as much as I should have. I can't blame all of that on my heart disease, for some of it was my own fault and not knowing any better. My life contained computer, video games, and television. On top of all of this? My diet and the diet of my family was horrible.

Boxed dinners were the staple in my diet as a kid. We would have mac and cheese, some sort of meat with canned veggies and boxed pasta or rice, or we would have the good ole hamburger helper. These would almost be our dinners nightly. The fruit we ate would too come from a can. I don't remember too often having fresh vegetables or fruit.

Boxed dinners are simply unhealthy. They are highly processed, highly loaded with tons of sodium, and have ingredients in them that I couldn't pronounce on my best day. In my next blog I'm going to go deeper into the evils of boxed dinners, but for now I can only look back and see just why I was so overweight. Hopefully this gives you a chance to think twice before buying that easy box dinner, if not just wait until my next blog. For now, have a great day!

I use to eat that... #3 Meatlovers

2012-05-08T08:09:00.001-07:00

I remember one of my favorite meals for a long time was eating a yummy medium pizza. It wasn't just a few slices of the medium pizza but it was the whole pizza. Now I look back and it makes me sick to think I at one time was able to do this and did it quite frequently. I can understand how I never lost weight now.

Medium Pizza Hut Meatlover (nutrition facts provided by pizzahut.com)

Calories...........................................2640
Fat..................................................144
Saturated Fat..................................56
Cholesterol.....................................320
Sodium...........................................6640

It is amazing that I didn't double over from this. Coming soon, I'm going to start taking your favorite meals and making a new healthier recipes on a Cut the Crap cooking show to be shown on Youtube! It's still in the works but coming soon! If you have an idea you can either comment here or email me at adamhalverson@gmail.com!

The biggest surprise

2012-05-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

When I started this journey I figured it was going to be just for myself. I knew I needed to get healthy and finally become real with myself. Not once did I think anything else would come of it. In fact for a while I was not sure if I would even lose weight and become healthy like I have. However, the more I have stuck to the path of healthiness, the more people that have joined me.

The biggest and best surprises I have received are my kids wanting to not just to eat healthier, but having my kids want to exercise with me. In fact my oldest wants to get healthier so bad she asked me to wake her up a half an hour earlier so that we can work out together in the morning. My other daughter is constantly wanting to exercise with me and go for walks as well.

Both of them love to know when they are eating healthy as well. The eat veggies and fruit like crazy and get excited about eating these and other healthy foods.

This has been the biggest surprise I think I have gotten from my change in diet and daily life. It has truly been a blessing to not just me, but my entire family and that has made all this even more worth it.

Lack of sleep can hurt exercise routine

2012-05-04T09:18:00.001-07:00

While I was trying to exercise this morning I just could not get my body going. I did not sleep well last night and I am trying to get use to have our new baby Daniel sleeping in our room. I love being a father to my children and love taking on the responsibility of being a dad, don't get me wrong. It was just a rough night. So come this morning after I was able to get my warm ups in, that was too much and drained me of the energy I had.

Overcoming obstacles are always part of losing weight and keeping your body healthy, but I'm just glad that I was able to at least get my warm ups out of the way. On top of that I have worked out pretty hard these past few days so I think my body can use a good rest.

The new workout that I have been doing in the morning is 100 crunches, a set of planks, pushups till I fatigue out and then hit the weights. I'm hoping to add some cardio in the upcoming days as well.

It is difficult for me because I need a lot of sleep. I wish I could be one of those who can run an entire day on just four hours of rest, but with my heart medication that I take, it's just not plausible. I just hope to be able to get some sleep soon. Then hopefully my exercise routine will be able to take off again.

New Baby

2012-05-02T11:47:00.001-07:00

Over this past week we have been very blessed with a new addition to our family! Daniel was born last Thursday and is doing well! He should be home tomorrow as long as he gains some weight. There were a few complications at first with his lungs, but all has been healed. So far this has not caused too much of a weight gain. I'm only up 3 pounds in the past week. Hopefully everything will be able to calm down and I will be able to go back to my pre baby weight haha.

The Challenge

2012-03-12T10:34:00.001-07:00

I have now lost over 11 pounds since I started my diet. I am now looking for people who want to take just a two week challenge. I want to see if this will work for others out there. I'm looking for someone who is able to be dedicated and track with me what they are eating. Let's see if the Net 100 diet is able to help more than just myself. All you need is to email me at Adamhalverson@gmail.com, set up a myfitnesspal.com account, and start to lose some weight! So who is up for the challenge? What do you have to lose but weight?

What has eliminating sugar done for me?

2012-03-09T08:03:00.001-08:00

When I decided to go off of sugar I thought it was only going to help the rash that I have had on my arm since getting it about 5 years ago. The good news is that it is helping that. However, what I did not expect is the fact that not only do I feel better but something else amazing has been happening.

I do not know yet for sure if it is the way the sugar is processed or the chemicals that are used in the sugar, but I'm going to put most of my money on both. I still do have things that have raw organic sugar in it (although very little), and it has not hampered my diet or this new finding. My best friend has become Truvia and Xylotal recently, which works well for me. Including since Xylotal also helps with your teeth.

The biggest thing that I have noticed since cutting sugar out of my diet? My palpitations are all gone. I have not had a single one that I can recall of since removing sugar from my diet. Before it was normal for me to have quite a few during the day. It was something I could feel, that flutter in your chest that would remind me where it is that I have come from. However, since eliminating sugar I can not think of a single time that I have felt one.

If this is how it is going to be and just eliminating sugar can make that much of a huge impact on my heart, this might have to become a permanent thing. Sure I'm going to miss out on some good stuff like Krispy Kream, but it is nothing that I can't do with out. Not to mention I could always make my own and use Xylotal instead. If eliminating the processed sugar out of my diet can eliminate heart issues, just think of what it must be doing to our bodies.

Net 100 diet update!

2012-03-03T10:52:00.001-08:00

Today I stepped onto the scale and was very happy to see the results. I am now down to 186.6, which means since starting my diet I have dropped 10 pounds. Not too bad for just 2 1/2 weeks worth of dieting. So here is a little example of a day for me while eating. Now mind you, I don't add fruits and veggies that I eat to the list because I feel their health is immeasurable. The good they do for you I won't let count against me. As long as you don't go overboard on those fruits that is...

Breakfast	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Fiber	Chol
Isolate Advantage - Whey Protein Isolate - Rich Chocolate, 1 Scoop (30g)	110	6	1	20	1	10
Fred meyer - Lactose free 2% milk, 1 cup	130	12	5	8	0	15
Fred Meyer - Grade Aa Eggs Large (18 Eggs), 3 egg (50g)	210	3	14	18	0	645
Add Food Quick Tools	450	21	20	46	1	670
Lunch
Generic - Sirloin Steak 170 g (6 oz), 56.1 g	66	0	4	8	0	25
Dreamfields - Penne Rigate Pasta - Cooked, 1 cup (2 oz. dried)	190	41	1	7	5	0
Add Food Quick Tools	256	41	5	15	5	25
Dinner
Lean Cuisine - Asian-Style Pot Stickers, 0.15 Package (9 ounces)	39	7	1	1	0	2
Generic - Pork Chop Bone-In 3 oz., 3 oz.	197	0	9	27	0	65
Add Food Quick Tools	236	7	10	28	0	67
Snacks
Kroger Cow Pals - Light Mozzarella String Cheese, 1 piece	60	0	3	8	0	10
Add Food Quick Tools	60	0	3	8	0	10

Totals	1,002	69	38	97	6	772

So not a bad day at all, only 63 net carbs and I didn't feel a difference at all in my energy level. Plus I had a pear, a few clementines, and a lot of veggies.

The big 100 pound mark!

2012-03-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

At my heaviest that I have recorded at least I was 287 pounds. Looking back at that I never realized just how big of a boy I was. However now I look at pictures and I am almost sick to my stomach that I got that out of shape and unhealthy. When I was that heavy I did not care how much it effected my heart, I didn't care the effect it could have on my kids and my wife, all I wanted was to eat what I wanted.

Each time I would try to lose weight, I would get down 30 to 40 pounds and each time I would seem to hit a brick wall, or should I say a brick wall would hit me. These brick walls would come in many different forms. Back in 2003, I was down to 230 pounds, looking good and feeling even better. However a very minor car accident set me back. I twisted my back and was out of work for a few months. I sat around eating cheap high fat food because it was all I could afford being out of work.

2005 is when I lost total control. I was diagnosed to have ventricular tachycardia and it was determined I was going to have a pacemaker put into my chest. I was depressed and controlling my weight was the last thing on my mind was controlling my weight. I ballooned up and this is the point in my life when I truly have no idea just how heavy I really was. I didn't even attempt to stand on a scale so I can only imagine.

In 2008 I tried again to get healthy. My wife and I started to go to the gym every other day, we got a Wii fit to work out while at home and started to lose weight. Between working at my job, working out in the gym, and and working out at home I started to lose weight again. I was down to 243 pounds and starting to feel good again. Again something happened, this time it was a major car accident. I was hit on my driver side door and ended up with a torn ACL and 3 compression fractures in my back. Again my weight came back up, to the heaviest that was ever recorded. Pictures I took while in Hawaii in 2009 proved it. I was a big boy.

I have to point to the fact that in the beginning of 2010 my family joined the LDS church. Through teachings of the importance of family, the importance of being the leader of the family, and the importance of treating your body like a temple, it finally clicked in my mind that it was time to change. I started to again put in the effort. Sure each time I tried to lose weight something bad would seem to happen, but if I didn't try I wouldn't know.

I got down to 250 by the end of 2010 and looked at where I was. I knew that most of my weight loss was at the beginning of the year so I decided to really hit it hard. Come up with a plan and a new way to diet. I started what would become my net 100 diet. All I can say it works, it really works. Over this past year I went down to the 190s. Now today I have lost 100 pounds from my previous weights. I am at 187 pounds. It is such a great feeling, I don't even know how to describe it. I did it. I'm not done yet, I know will set new goals and keep getting lower in weight. My next goal is going to be 175. For now I'm going to fall to my knees, thank Heavenly Father for the strength and courage I have been given, and get started reaching for that next goal!

No sugar, no problem

2012-02-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

These past few days I, along with my wife who helped me test to know it would help me, decided I needed to go off of sugar. To most this would seem like a huge letdown and be overcome with the thought of "I will never taste good food again." However, in all honesty, so far I do not miss sugar and I am discovering that there is indeed life after sugar.

I will admit there is still one thing that I eat that has sugar, that is Greek yogurt, Fred Meyer brand. It is only because the benefits are too great to pass up on. With that said, it is funny just how much healthier you can be when eliminating sugar. Also just how many less carbs you are going to consume.

The first thing that is important to note I do not recommend and will not myself use any of the Aspartame to sweeten any of my food. You might as well dump in a cup of sugar into everything you eat, it would be healthier. Instead of using crap like that, that has been found to cause cancer among other things, I prefer to use stevia and xylotal.

Both of these are natural products, not chemically altered, and have been found to have not side effects (unless you are a dog). Back to the point, cutting sugar has really helped me have an easier time to cut the carbs in my diet. It has also made me feel better and I have noticed that a rash on my arm that I have had for years is slowly starting to fade away farther than ever before.

In the next few days I will post some great recipes that you will sit there going, wait, I can have that even without sugar?

For now however it is important to know just how bad sugar is for you. Alright, let me back up just a little bit, it is not bad for you in moderation, however with the amount that is put into our foods today and the amount of sugar that is being consumed on a daily basis, sugar is extremely dangerous. Did you know that most people eat up to 500 calories a day in just pure sugar? Think about that coke or even worse mountain due you had for lunch. Did you bother to see the amount of sugar in just one 20 ounce bottle? Think of this, in most 20 ounce soda drinks there are about 16 teaspoons of sugar in them, yummy.

Not only do we have to worry about the calories it adds to our diets, but it is important to also think about the fact that sugar is addictive. Tell me you can't just eat one just one whopper? Nope, it starts with one followed by two, three, the box, then a ride to the store to buy a few more.

So sugar is addictive, and can be a huge calorie increase, it can also be very dangerous for your blood including in kids. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. It digests quickly and goes straight to the blood stream, rising your glucose levels and causing your pancreas to work overtime to get the sugar out of your blood and into energy. On top of all of that it has been linked to one of the big reasons our kids are having such an obesity problem. I know sugar was a huge problem for me.

Do yourself a favor, try to really cut the amount of sugar in your life, it'll help you lose weight, cut calories, keep your blood sugars down, cut those crappy carbs out of your diet, and make you feel so much better!

A week in

2012-02-22T10:14:00.002-08:00

Ah, I bet my silence has made you think maybe I already fell off the wagon huh? Fear not for that is not the case, although it was difficult with a birthday and everything I made it! My net 100 diet is working better than I had anticipated! You don't believe me? Well than let us go to the numbers.

I started this diet a week ago and I weighed in at 196.6.

Yesterday (one week from the start) I weighed in at... wait for it... wait for it...

191.8

So for one weeks work I would say that 4.8 pounds is pretty good. I can say too that this week is starting off pretty well too! So we will see what I'm able to do this next week.

Net 100 diet Day 1: Maybe a Valentines day start was a bad idea

2012-02-15T09:21:00.000-08:00

Alright, so note to self, Valentines day is probably not the best day to start a diet. I was good all day however until I got home from work and the wife surprised me with an awesome dinner that had chicken, rice, and sauteed veggies. That doesn't sound too bad, including since I was good the entire day. However we did have dessert as well, chocolate dipped strawberries. Below I'm going to list what I ate (not including my meal with Kate haha). The good news however? I still lost weight and I'm down to 195.4 this morning. It looks like my morning exercise routine kicked into gear yesterday.

Breakfast:

	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Fiber	Chol
Isolate Advantage - Whey Protein Isolate - Rich Chocolate, 1 Scoop (30g)	110	6	1	20	1	10
Franz - 50 Calories Per Slice Bread 100% Whole Wheat, 1 slices	50	10	1	3	2	0
Adams - 100% Natural Peanut Butter Creamy Unsalted, 1 tbs	105	3	8	4	1	0
Blue Diamond Almonds Breeze - Almond Coconut Blend, 2 cup	120	14	0	2	2	0
Whole Foods 365 Organic - Wildflower Raw Honey, 1 Tbsp (21g)	60	17	0	0	0	0
Add Food Quick Tools	445	50	10	29	6	10

Lunch:

Homemade - Turkey Chili , 1 Cup	196	20	1	24	6	42
Sargento - Pepper Jack Shredded Cheese, 1/4 cup	100	2	7	6	0	25
Add Food Quick Tools	296	22	8	30	6	67
Dinner
Fresh Express - Heart of Romaine Lettuce, 2 cups	9	1	0	1	1	0
Kraft - Light Raspberry Vinaigrette Reduced Fat Dressing, 2 Tbsp	50	5	4	0	0	0
Victory Garden - Sweet Grape Tomatoe, 15 tomatoes	15	5	0	1	2	0
Chicken of the Sea - Pink Salmon Skinless & Boneless (6 oz/170g Pouch), 2 oz (56g)	70	0	2	13	0	20
Generic - Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas), Raw, Organic, 0.1 ounce (28g)	15	1	1	1	0	0
Add Food Quick Tools	159	12	7	16	3	20
Snacks
Archer Farms - Raw Almonds, 1 oz. - 10 almonds	106	4	9	6	2	0
David - Pumpkin Seeds 2.25oz Bag, 2.25 oz / 64g Bag	280	6	22	15	2	0
Add Food Quick Tools	386	10	31	21	4	0

Totals	1,286	94	56	96	19	97
Your Daily Goal	1,790	246	60	67	21	300
Remaining	504	152	4	-29	2	203
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Fiber	Chol

This again does not include my meal with Kate. So if we look at this we can see that I had 94 carbs, but 19 fiber. So in total I had 25 net carbs still to work with. Something tells me since I had brown rice and melted down chocolate chips I didn't get too far over that 100 mark and it has showed this morning.

Workout:

For my morning workout yesterday I did the following:
40 side crunches
20 bicycle
20 reverse crunches
40 regular crunches
2 reps of 16 shoulder press at 60 and 80 pounds
2 sets of bicep curls using a tension band
and playing around with an 8 pound medicine ball.

Net 100 Diet

2012-02-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

For the next month I am going to be doing my new diet that I have created called the Net 100 diet. Over the past year I have really studied dieting and nutrition and I feel that this is the best way to really lose weight. You still get your fiber, your fats that your body needs, and enough energy to perform. So over the next month I'm going to be showing a day by day comparison on what I eat, how much I weigh and how much energy I have in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I hope as you follow along we are able to see progress. If you decide you want to try this diet I will help you and would love if we kept track of your progress as well.

Net carbs are the carbs that are left behind after you take out fiber and alcohol sugar. However to be honest I personally stay away from alcohol sugars. These are your names that end normally with a -tol like maltitol. If you want something that's a good substitute for sugar I recommend Stevia or Truvia.

So as of today I started at 196.6, tomorrow I will post what I ate, amount of carbs/calories/fats and we'll see where I stand in a month!

I use to eat that #2

2012-02-13T12:41:00.001-08:00

Its still crazy to really look at the things I use to eat compared to how I eat now a days. I'm going to visit one of my favorite meals that I was able to eat all in one setting. My favorite restaurant called Old Number 3 up in Ronald, Washington. On the menu was a meal that was great tasting and came with a lot of food called "The Motherload." This was one huge burger (2 patties) that came with 2 pounds of french fries and onion rings. So let's break this old fav of mine down. I know this isn't going to be 100% accurate because I can't find a menu online, however it is going to be pretty close.

Calories..........................2361
Carbs.............................271
Fat.................................110
Cholesterol.....................170

And that was just one meal for the day, oh man.

2 years ago

2012-02-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

Two years ago on my birthday I was weighing in at 260 pounds. This morning I was at 191. That is a difference of 69 pounds in just two years, most of it come from last year. It can show you that anything is possible. On top of that I fit into size 32 pants today, two years ago I was in 42's. I can only imagine what this has done for my heart, my health, and my life. Great things are yet to come as well!

I used to eat that?

2011-12-06T08:19:00.001-08:00

I decided it would be fun and interesting to reflect in different blogs things I used to eat at one sitting. It is no wonder I use to be a big boy. I thought not only would this be an interesting look back at the way I was, but also a good way for people to see just exactly what they may be putting into their body. So for starters, a few nights ago I decided to have a little bit of mac and cheese with a turkey dog. It brought back memories of what I used to eat.

1 box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. 2 Bar S Hot Dogs..

Total Calories 1290
Total Fat 38g
Saturated Fat 13g
Cholesterol 175mg
Sodium 4150mg
Carbs 184g

That is one scary meal, including looking at the sodium. Makes me very happy that I changed my ways.

Dedication

2011-11-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

I decided I was going to create my own diet. Using what I know works, and what I have researched I combined it all to have created a pretty successful plan so far. I was sitting at 202 not just a few days ago, now I am already down to 194. I am beginning to remember however one of the biggest factors to being able to lose weight. You have to be dedicated. Dedication is the key to anything you want to do in your life.

Dedication has gotten me to where I am today. For 28 years almost, I could not dedicate myself to losing weight. I would stop, look in the mirror, and say "I need to lose weight." I would hate what I saw in the mirror to the point of where I'd almost want to just shatter the image that stood before me. Why is it that we are able to dedicate ourselves to so much in the world but we struggle the most trying to dedicate to our health?

I was a dedicated husband, a dedicated father, and a dedicated worker but I left myself out to hang. Last night I looked in the mirror and thought back to what I use to see when I would look at myself. Why did it take so long for me to change how I use to look to what I am now? I love working out and it can show, I love eating healthy, I love the fact that I can do more now and no longer do I really suffer from the heart troubles that once plagued me.

It's all about dedication. If you want to diet, you need to become dedicated, end of story. Once you are dedicated you can make the weight shed off.

Which way to attack the last 30 pounds...

2011-10-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Last night I weighed in at 202 pounds, and that was a killer to see. For so long I have hovered between 194 and 197. Sure, I have had a few huge changes in my life, but is that really an excuse for me to be putting weight back on? Or is it just more crap that I have to cut and realize that the best way to move on is to get back on track? I will be picking the latter. However I have come to a cross roads in how to tackle these next 30 pounds to get myself down to the 170 mark.

The diet that really started things off on the right path was doing a very low carb diet. It allowed me to change my eating habits, and lose a good amount of weight. This is also how I suggest people to start when dieting when asked what they should do.

On the other hand I can also just start tracking what I'm going to eat using Sparkpeople.com and see what happens using that program again. It worked out very well for me after the initial weight loss from the low carb diet.

Either way I am going to need to add back in walking to my daily routine and working out with my weights. It just becomes the question of which diet I use first to get me going once again. However at this moment I am leaning towards the low carb alternative where I make sure everything I am eating 100 net carbs or less per day. I am going to do this for 2 weeks and hope that it can kick start my weight loss once again. I will keep you posted in how well this goes and what the results end up being, for now I have to cut the crap back out of my life and stop eating that darn candy! Stupid Halloween!!!!! haha.