Day 23: Monday Stuff

Posted on May 26, 2014 by theffkid

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!

It felt awesome to actually count my points today. Was it easy? Not always. Was it a pain? Kind of. Will it be worth it in the long run? Yes, because I actually knew what I was putting into my body. When I don’t keep track, things can go south…like last night when I ate 500 calories worth of Corn Nuts because they were there. I didn’t record them so they didn’t count, right? WRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGG SON! Like my blogging buddy Dani posted this morning with Weight Watchers, or any plan, we are responsible for it all! It might sound crazy, but that kind of crazy helped me lose over 100 pounds once upon a time!

So today, I got serious with it all. Thanks to the awesome WW app, I could check most of the food easily with the barcode scanner feature! I’ve never really talked about how much I love the app, BUT I’M A HUUUUUGE FAN! But I digress…let’s talk food!

Breakfast: I’ve always been a proponent of breakfast. Frankly, bacon is 90% of the reason why I wake up every morning (the other 10% is combination of my love for coffee and Megan). Anyway, this morning I made a delicious breakfast sandwich with three perfectly cooked slices of bacon (if I do say so myself. BTW, the key to cooking perfect bacon, in the words of Michael Bolton, is time, love and tenderness. Seriously, cook your bacon low and slow and then pat it down with a paper towel. You won’t regret it!) and two over easy eggs. Gotta love some yokey goodness! 10 points
Activity: So since we had the day off, we decided to head out to FSU’s awesome outdoor facility called the Rez (yes, short for the Reservation) for some paddleboarding and kayaking, or that’s what we had planned for at least…So since I’m a staff member, it’s $10/hour to rent a paddleboard, which is super reasonable and I was willing to pay it.
Well, for some stupid reason, they only took cash. They use a computer system to check in and out equipment, but they don’t have the power to take debit. I wouldn’t have been so disappointed about it, but they didn’t mention that on their website. So since we had already paid to get in, we decided to play a round of frisbee golf out there which was actually a lot of fun! It was a relatively easy little 9 hole course through the woods. It ended up being a pretty awesome trip! I’ll just bring cash next time…;)

Lunch: For lunch, we just made some simple sandwiches and just relaxed around the house. 13 points

Snack: While we were watching Goldeneye (aka the inspiration for the best video game ever (yes, ever) created) I had some light brie from Trader Joe’s and some water crackers. It’s easily my favorite afternoon snack! Oh yeah, and I even weighed my brie to get an accurate amount. That’s a non-scale victory…kind of…I guess that uses a scale so I’m not sure if that counts….5 points

Dinner: So last week, Megan and I had some pretty big ideas about what we were going to cook today. We were thinking about smoking ribs, maybe grilling steaks, or something delicious and monstrous like that. No matter what we were going to make, it was going to be unhealthy and plentiful. Now, it’s no secret that we love cooking. It’s something that we love to do as a couple, but in this case, it was going to be a meal that was going to take up most of our day. When we were buying food for dinner tonight, I told Megan “I don’t want the rest of our day just to be about food.” That was a really big deal for me! I knew that eating healthy needed to be a priority for me today so I made it one! It felt good to put my health ahead of my tastebuds. Win one for the FFK!
Anyway, we had some Johnsonville brats with potatoes and sour cream. It was a delicious 21 points!

Today, I got to about 49 points out of my 48. Win!
So this week, I’m starting my Start to Fitness workout class again! I’m so flippin stoked. Between that and my new swimming regimen thrown in there, (oh yeah, when we were at the beach yesterday, I did some laps in the open gulf. That was awesome!) I can tell good things are on the horizon :). See ya tomorrow.

Day 22: Weigh In Day!

Posted on May 25, 2014 by theffkid

Hello kids!
I’m still reeling from a long day at the beach and an epic season finale (except back in my day, 7 episodes did not a season make…) so I’ll keep this brief!
This week, I started swimming and was overall pretty active. However, my eating wasn’t always the best. I started strong, but I let life get in the way and used it as an excuse to eat bad food. What I’m slowly learning is that you really can’t out-exercise bad eating. I’ve heard that for a long time, but I never really took it to heart. Now, I’m a firm believer and I’ve learned my lesson. With that being said, I lost 1.6 pounds this week! I’m still in the 250’s, which I am not thrilled about at all, but I’m slooooowly getting there! That’s the only way I can look at it to keep it going. Slow and steady right?

So, elephant in the ~~room~~ blog, I haven’t been posting my food like I said I would for a while. Well, that’s about to change…starting tomorrow! I am sick of being at this weight and I’M READY TO HIT MY FREAKIN’ GOAL!!!! Like I’ve said recently, I am the most active I’ve ever been and my eating is close to being on track. It’s time to get it all going and to treat my body the way it deserves to be treated. Get stoked for awesomeness. See ya tomorrow.

P.S. This is a cute kitten.

Day 19: Thursday Stuff!

Posted on May 22, 2014 by theffkid

Why Hello!
For all of those who are new to my blog, welcome to the craziness! Sometimes I blog, sometimes I rant, sometimes I just post pictures of random things. You’ve been warned.

Here’s just a recap of what I’ve been up to!

So this week has involved a lot of exercising. Specifically: swimming. It’s been something that I’ve wanted to start for a while, but I just haven’t even though my gym has a huge pool! Last week, I did some research on drills to do and things like that and just went for it. I know most of the strokes, so I channeled my inner-Mark Sptiz (sans the awesome stache. That will be here in Movember) and swam for the first time on Tuesday. The first day was a little rough, but I just gutted it out to get through. My moves felt a little rusty, but it eventually came naturally to me. By today, my mechanics felt a lot more natural and I was moving through the water like a dolphin on crack…or something like that. My gym (the lovely Leach) also had some swimming ~~toys~~ equipment like kickboards, water weights and pull buoys that you put between your legs so you’re forced to more through the water with only your arms. After four years of the same ol’ exercise regimen of running, weights, and racquetball, it was awesome to explore new fitness territory!
Since my group fitness class is starting up again next week on Mondays and Wednesdays, I’m planning on going to swim on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Between all of that, plus the continuous fight towards healthy eating and the occasional runs, I think I’m on the road towards awesome weight loss! Get stoked!

Speaking of stoked…
Today, I registered and planned my trip to Fitbloggin!!!!!!! In a little more than a month, I will be in Savannah, Georgia and meeting all of my favorite blogging buddies while learning how to be a not-so-terrible blogger! I can’t flippin’ wait! More on that soon, but for now it’s time for some much needed beauty sleep. (Seriously, look at that face. I look like Edna Boil from Tex & Edna Boil’s Organ Emporium.)
Anyway, see ya tomorrow!

Day 9: Monday Time

Posted on May 12, 2014 by theffkid

I’m going keep this brief because I’m wiped from my run this evening. (Humidity does not a happy FFK make.) I guess I need to start writing earlier…
If you are mad, please accept this cute photo of an owl as an apology.

Detective Owl is on the case…

So today wasn’t too bad with food thanks to some smart snacking like a banana around 3 pm when I need a little pick-me up. Those little decisions really do help me avoid disaster in my eating. Almost like a guardrail that saves me from driving off a cliff (or something like that…)

Breakfast
Granola with milk. I’m not gonna lie, there’s not much left. GOOD THING I JUST BOUGHT SOME MORE GRANOLA INGREDIENTS YO!!!! Anyway, it was about 6 points.

Lunch
Megan surprised me at lunch with made from scratch tomato soup.
(Yeah…she’s pretty awesome.)
It paired really well with a turkey sandwich with a little spicy artichoke spread. I also half an ounce of brie and some crackers. It was all about 20 points.

Run
After work, I decided to go on a run. It’s been a while since I’ve ran so it was nice to get out there. I decided to go trail running, which was exhaustingly hot, but a lot of fun! Nowhere close to a record time, or even a normal pace, but it was fun! (Jumping in to the pool immediately after was a nice reward!)

Dinner
Tonight, we made some delicious vegetable curry with a raita sauce. It was monstrously filling and full of amazingness. Check out the recipe here! With rice, it was about 20 points. I was exact with my counting on this, but I know that is really close.

So today, I got to 46 points. I do impulsively eat a few things here and there and then not count them, so I’m going to be more strict about that in order to optimize my weight loss.

See ya tomorrow.

Day 8: Weigh In Day!

Posted on May 11, 2014 by theffkid

I don’t even know how to start explaining why my Mom is the best in the world.
Where do I begin?
Do I start with how my earliest memory of my mom is her holding me when I was crying and asking me “what’s the matter?”Or should I start with the times she would humor my homesick phone calls from summer camp?
How about the time she encouraged me to ask that cute Megan girl out on another date?
My Mom and I have always been close. I am incredibly blessed to have a Mom who cares, challenges and encourages me.
Thanks for being awesome, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day.

Alright, enough mushy stuff…

WEIGH IN TIME!
So like I said last night, I wasn’t sure how today’s weigh in was going to turn out. I knew that I had put in the work, but I was going to be okay with the number no matter what because this week was a step in the right direction. Well, I had a nice surprise this week: I lost 2 pounds! Huzzah! I’m still in the 250’s, but I’m getting there! I’ve already noticed that my binging habits have eased off and I’m actually full thanks to eating real food! So who knows what next week will bring, but I’m pretty stoked to see what happens next! Week 2, here we go!

Breakfast
I had some delicious granola just dry. 8 points

Lunch and snack
For lunch, I just had some delicious leftover chili (because leftover chili is the answer of all of life’s problems) and then I had an ounce Trader Joe’s AWESOME light brie with some water crackers. It’s only 2 points an ounce! SCORE! Then I had some TJ’s chocolate crisps. So all that was 12 points.

Out and about
A few years ago, Megan and I had a little herb garden in our backyard. Then one day, I watched a stray cat walk over our rosemary bush, gross stray cat belly and all. Then I almost threw up. The cat’s name was Jeffery. He was a sickly critter. Anyway, since then, we have avoided planting anything else. Today, we decided to make an elevated herb garden. We found this rust-proof shower rack (perfect for Florida humidity) and put it up with a few planters. We planted regular basil, purple basil, oregano and cilantro. We also planted some jalapenos and hot red peppers. We’re pretty stoked to see how they all turn out. I had some granola with milk for 6 points. (Does this make us Granola People now?)

Dinner
Megan made this killer chicken and rice casserole that was about 12 points and then 4 points of ice cream. YERM!

So I got to about 42 points today which is pretty awesome. I might have forgot a thing or two (which happens) but I’m pretty happy it! Here’s to an awesome week. See ya tomorrow.

Day 7: All the Deliciousness

Posted on May 10, 2014 by theffkid

Sup kids!

Let’s get this bliggity blog going!

This morning started with bacon, eggs and coffee (6 points). How much better can it get? Oh yeah…BY GOING TO THE FARMERS MARKET!!! We went to the ever-awesome Market Square farmers market, followed by a trip to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. It’s the triad of fantasticness!

Lunch: The other day, we grilled two chili and mustard spice rubbed pork loins so today we made something delicious with the leftovers. I made a modified version of this BBQ sauce on my hero Aaron Franklin’s YouTube series and then chopped up the remaining pork. I was shooting for a chopped BBQ sandwich, but it ended up being the best Sloppy Joe sandwich of all time! 10 points

Activity: The Tallahassee Museum (which isn’t really a museum…more of a zoo mixed with a plantation mixed with zip lining) had an open house today so Megan and I did some serious exploring and trail walking. They had everything from swimming bears, beautiful scenery and pleasant company :).

Snack: When we are not shopping for food and eating food, we watching plenty of shows about food. Our absolute favorite cooking shows are not on Food Network, but on the PBS station Create! The two best shows are “America’s Test Kitchen” and “Cook’s Country.” Chris Kimball and his gang of foodie misfits do their best to create the perfect recipe. They are the ones who wrote the Cook’s Illustrated cook book I bought Megan. Anyway, this morning they talked about how easy it is to make your own granola. IT WAS PAINFULLY EASY AND CHEAP! It’s always funny how we spend money on certain things that are ridiculously easy to make ourselves! So I made the recipe (read and watch it here!) and I filled up a gallon bag or so full of the best granola I have ever eaten. You should definitely check it out!

Dinner: Another recipe out of the Cook’s Illustrated book (I’m pretty sure we’re going to cook through that whole book by December…) was beer can chicken, a classic seemingly redneck recipe where you cook a butt-chugging chicken. The beer is supposed to moisten the chicken while cooking and it totally delivered! You are supposed to use a “cheap beer” so we bought the Simpler Times Pilsner from Trader Joe’s (think a cheaper version of Miller Light) and used that. We rubbed down the chicken with spices, gave the chicken a canoloscopy (see what I did there?) and then put it on the grill for about an hour and a half. It was incredibly moist and flavorful and matched really well with some roasted potatoes. Definitely a dinner win.

So today I think I go to about 50 points but I need to do a little more research on everything. As far as this week, I am overall pretty happy with how I’ve down. I did slack a little at the end of the week, but that just happens sometimes. I’ll be honest, I’m a little pessimistic about tomorrow’s weigh in. It might not be a massive number and I’m cool with that. At this point, this is more about sustainable change rather than Biggest Loser-style weight loss. For a while, I was going through spurts where I would lose 7 pounds and then gain 8 and then lose 6 and then gain 5. No more of that silliness. I guess we’ll see how it all turns out. See ya tomorrow.

Day 4: A Worded Wednesday

Posted on May 7, 2014 by theffkid

So I know Wednesday’s post are usually wordless, but today was a little boring. Next week, I’ll make sure my Wednesday post is completely wordless! :).

Breakfast: I stayed home from work today after a night of feeling sick and not being able to sleep (which is why I started yesterday’s post at 5:30 this morning…). I’m feeling better today, but I’m still not feeling 100%. Either way, I’m going to go in tomorrow after I take my car to the shop. Joy. Anyway, I made this super delicious PB&J Smoothie that I made up this morning. Sounds delicious right? Good thing I’m posting the recipe soon! 8 points.

Lunch: Leftover spaghetti. Noms. 13 points including a little chocolate for dessert.

Afternoon snack: I had a Morning Star quinoa burger and a little watermelon. It was swell. 9 points

Dinner: Megan made these killer chicken cutlets with sherry garlic red pepper sauce and some garlic parmesan red potatoes. It was 21 points of pure deliciousness!

So today, I got to 52 points out of 48 which is better! I also drank a lot more water today compared to the rest of the week. That’s a win of its own. See ya tomorrow.

Day 3 (A Little Late to the Game)

Posted on May 7, 2014 by theffkid

What do you do when you’re sick at 5:30 in the morning? You post your points!

Shout out to all of my friends and readers who are cheering me on. You all rock!

So Tuesday was kind of a weird/awesome day. My eating though? Merh. (Hey, at least I didn’t eat pizza at the gym amirite?)

My Trip to PCB: Since I have the coolest job ever, I got to go to Panama City Beach yesterday! My office is putting on an all-week leadership camp for college students called LeaderShape and yesterday they needed help shuttling students to service projects. So at 6:30 am, I made the trip to PCB, shuttled students to Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida where we sorted donated items in their food bank, took the students back to the camp, ate lunch, and drove back to Tallahassee. It was a whirlwind of a day, but it was a blast! So here are some photos of the day…

So I had two breakfasts yesterday. When I was leaving town, I had a 12 point breakfast from McDonald’s (honestly though, I went there for the coffee. The McMuffin and hash brown were just collateral damage.)
When I got to the camp, I actually was pretty hungry again. I had the breakfast items in the photo above which was about 8 points.
For lunch, they were serving chicken sandwiches with salad. Instead of eating the bread, I cut up the chicken and made it in to a killer salad! I also had a delicious cookie. It was camp food. Pretty hard to beat! 12 points.
When I drove back, I stopped for a soda and found this little pecan turtle beauty. 5 points.

Dinner Last night, we celebrated the birth of Brian Wilcoxon because he’s awesome. We went to Midtown Pies for dinner and it was pretty delicious! I had a calzone which probably wasn’t the best decision since I’m pretty sure cheese is messing up my stomach. 30 points
(To quote Uncle Buck “Do you have a plunger?…I’ve been eating a lot of cheese lately.”)
So on Tuesday, I got to 67 points which is a ton! It was a weird day, but I counted. I’m anticipating the rest of week is going to be a little better. Either way, I’m tracking and I’m being transparent for the first time in a looooong time on this blog. Thanks for being awesome and supportive. See ya…later today!

BONUS READ!
My blogging buddy Brooke Birmingham is a stud.
A few weeks ago, Shape Magazine asked for a before and after photo so they could highlight her AMAZING weight loss journey where she has lost 170 pounds. When she sent them this photo, they responded with a request for a photo of her fully clothed. As you can imagine, this did not go over well. After a few more email exchanges, Brooke decided not to do the interview. Her post about the experience went gangbusters on social media. So far, she has been featured on Buzzfeed, Yahoo! Shine, and multiple new sources. I’m so proud to call her my friend.

Day 2 Kind Of

Posted on May 5, 2014 by theffkid

Why hello!

I’m not feeling 100% and I have kind of a crazy day tomorrow. Regardless, I’m still posting.

Here we go!

Breakfast: Chorizo burrito. Yum.

Lunch: Leftover spaghetti. Yum again.

Dinner: TACOS with delicious dips from my buddy Christi’s awesome blog Food&Fam (check it out now!!!!)

So today I got had about 60 points which is high, but tacos are delicious. Done and done.

Seacrest. Out.
See ya tomorrow.

May the Fourth Be With You…And My Weigh In

Posted on May 4, 2014 by theffkid

A long time ago in an FFK blog far, far away…

I used to write Sunday weigh-in posts.

They were a place for me to report my successes some weeks and to discuss my shortcomings other weeks. It is something that I have really missed. Even if I didn’t post at all that week, I still made the effort to touch base with my awesome readers (yes, you are said awesome readers).

I haven’t posted in a while for a couple of personal reasons, but the biggest reason is from just being stressed and exhausted. I’ve been coping with that stress by eating all the things. I felt like I was losing control of my life, the way I used to feel back when I was 357 pounds.

(I was in a bad way, folks.)

So today, Megan and I got our lives back on track. We mapped out a few guidelines in our lives to create better and healthier habits! When we both get stressed, we lose that much-needed structure that you need to be healthy. We finally have that back in place and we are ready to ROCK!

So here’s the weigh in for this week!
This week, I actually lost .8 pounds which is good, but it does offset my 7 pound gain from last week’s weigh in.
So right now, I weigh 253.8 pounds.
Yes, that is a high number. I’ll make no bones about that. But I can’t keep sulking about where I am. I’ve been doing that for the past month and it’s gotten me nowhere.
So this week, my goal is to count every day and to make small changes that will eventually add up to a great success! My large-scale goal is to string together a few weeks of counting and (hopefully) loses. Prior to this journey, I had never gotten through six weeks of a diet. I would always crash and burn before then. So I knew that if I could get passed that point, it was going to stick. Now, I’m putting myself back at Day 1. I’m finally ready to do the work to get to my goal weight.

So here was Day 1…
Breakfast: This morning, I made a breakfast burrito with chicken chorizo sausage from Earth Fare, two eggs and a little cheese wrapped in a high-fiber tortilla. It was fantastic and definitely worth the 11 points! It was an awesome alternative to your standard restaurant-style breakfast burrito.
Lunch: Megan made this delicious curried chicken salad made with canned chicken, greek yogurt, curry powder and golden raisins inside half of an avocado. We had it with a side salad with balsamic vinegar. 11 points.

For dessert, I had a few marshmallows and then later I had a piece of sourdough toast with this yummy maple butter we got a while back. 5 points of snacking!

#StarbucksSelfie
Afternoon Noms: Since frappucinos were BOGO this afternoon, we went over to Starbucks for a little coffee date. I had a java chip frap with no whip. It was 7 points but next time, I make sure it’s nonfat to shave off even more points. Also, it was beautiful outside today. If it’s still snowing in your neck of the woods, I’m sorry.
Dinner: I made some spaghetti with meat sauce and green beans. A simple 22 point meal that was super filling.

So it came out to a 56 point day out of a 48 point allowance which isn’t bad because I actually tracked on a Sunday! That’s a really big deal for me!
Small steps. That’s what’s going to make this Fat Kid a Fit Kid! See ya tomorrow.