Category Archives: Frater Sodalis

Day 656: [HEALTH UPDATE]

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[HEALTH UPDATE]

So I don’t have hip bursitis like I thought (don’t self diagnose folks) I actually have arthritis in my left hip and my left knee. Nothing life threatening and I can still run a half marathon but I need to alternate it with other stuff.

The first thing he asked was if I had had any significant weight loss not knowing that I was a weight loser. Come to find out the arthritis was from all of those years of being obese. I am so thankful that I started my weight loss journey when I did, because the prognosis could have been much worse.

 For all those years I thought I was relatively healthy. I still exercised pseudo-regularly and my cholesterol was actually pretty normal. I hid behind those two pointless factors even though I was rapidly eating myself to death. In hindsight, I wish I would have gotten a physical when I weighed 357 to find out what was all wrong with me. I know my blood pressure was terrible and odds are (between my weight and family history) I probably had some type of diabetes or was at least on the road to Diabetesville.

What I’m trying to say is if you are thinking about losing weight and have put you keep putting it off, start today. Eating brocolli instead of Whataburger is way less painful than hip arthritis. Trust me. Make a change people! Even if it’s just going for a walk or drinking water instead of Dr. Pepper, do something that your future self will thank you for later. Get to it. See ya tomorrow.

Day 655: Ouch Edition

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So as most of you know, I have been having issues with my hip when I run. While it has been pseudo bearable (even for a guy like who has a lackluster pain tolerance) it was painful to even run three miles last night. I stretched after I was done, which helped, but when I got home I noticed I had a super dark bruise around where the hip meets the femur. After much research (and pending a doctor’s review soon) it looks like I have bursitis of the hip. It hurts to sit in a chair and I have to gingerly walk up stairs. Needless to say, sitting for eight hours straight was not fun.

So what does this mean? It looks like I’m going to have to rest and hold off running for a while. It’s not ideal, but I can still swim and I’m planning on focusing on strengthening my core and arms. Trying to make the best of a bad situation. Good times.

Breakfast: Today I just had two pieces of toast with a little more than a tablespoon of peanut butter. Around 11 I realized that’s not enough breakfast. I was starving by then. All this week, I have been eating either oatmeal or a breakfast burrito. Both of those are full of protein and really sticks to your ribs. PB and toast isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Lunch: I had some whole grain spaghetti with spaghetti sauce (no meat.)

Dinner: As you can see, at this point I hadn’t had a lot of calories. I was tired, I was in pain and frankly, I was still really sad about the shooting Colorado. It was kind of a downer of a Friday. Now, I don’t usually eat my feelings (not like I used to anyways. I’ll write about about eating your feelings sometime.) but today, Megan (who was also feeling really wompy) and I both needed some comfort food. So, we went out for some therapeutic Pho. It hit the spot. The aromatics of the basil and sprouts, the heat from the siriacha and jalapenos and the succulent beef just made my evening. I felt better.

A Little Exercise: After we let our food settle, we decided to take a dip in the pool. I did some laps just using my arms. It was invigorating.

So that’s about it for the day. It’s been a good one. See ya tomorrow.

Day 650: Weigh In Day Yo!

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So yesterday was an epic turn in our weight loss. Megan and I have re-comitted ourselves to weight loss and the importance of heathy eating. No better way to start off this new chapter in my weight loss journey than with a loss! I lost 2 pounds this week! I am back in to the 230’s to stay. It was pretty cool because yesterday morning I was 242 so it feels like I had lost even more! I can’t wait to see what will happen at my next weigh in!

Breakfast: I switched up my breakfast routine with a breakfast burrito with two egg whites and one whole egg! We actually bought these La Tortillas that are 45 calories and 7 grams of fiber, making them 0 points! It was perfect with some of our homemade salsa. 4 points.

Lunch: After church, most of our young pro’s group went to Jason’s for some healthy deliciousness. Most of us are trying to lose weight so we talked about how we can hold each other accountable. Some of us are actually going to start training for some half marathons down the road. There is a Disney Half Marathon on the weekend of my birthday in January so I think I’m going to DESTROY IT!!!! Anyway, I made an epic 15 point salad with a 3 point ice cream dessert. Hooray for healthiness!

Snack: I had a glass of milk with coffee ice cubes. It was 2 points.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: I had a leftover burger and instead of a side like fries (which is what I wanted) I decided to heat up some brussels sprouts and ate them instead. It was awesome and so filling. 6 points

Run: Megan and I decided to go for a walk/run since our pool was brotastic and annoying. We ended up going for about four miles. There was a lot of sweat involved, but at least it is cooling off in the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: When I got done, I went to town on some watermelon while dicing up my finger in the process because I’m awesome like that.

So today I got to around 30 points and with the exercise I am in good shape. 

Tomorrow I start my new job! So stoked for all of the awesomeness that will ensue. See ya tomorrow

Day 649: The Time I Met a Biggest Loser Edition

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There were about twelve different ways that I wanted to start this post. Some were funny, some were emotional and some were like the opening of the first episode of “The Newsroom.” Sometimes when you write, you wish you could just visually reenact a moment rather than having to describe it in words. Today was just one of those days.

It feels like I am about to start my weight loss journey all over again which is an excerifying (exciting and terrifying combined) feeling. Today, I got to meet one of my favorite reality show contestants of all time (except for Colby Donaldson in Survivor Season 2. He was the Chuck Norris of reality show contestants.) The 11th season of The Biggest Loser had one of the most diverse casts that a weight loss show could ask for: an olympic gold athlete, a 5’5″ 500-pound stud, a Biggest Loser Fangirl from the Midwest and a pair of sisters who no one betted on from the start.  Little did anyone know at the start that Hannah Curlee and Olivia Ward would wind up in the No. 1 and 2 spots in the finale that year. Since Megan and I love a good underdog story, we rooted for Hannah and Olivia almost from the get go. So when we heard that Hannah was going to be speaking at a women’s wellness event in Tallahassee a few weeks ago, we started to flip!
Hannah’s story is a lot like most of ours: she had done Weight Watchers off and on for years and every time she would lose on weigh in day she would go celebrate with more eating (which I am super guilty of,) she also chased every fad diet and would buy every As Seen On TV weight loss miracle available. Between a severe back injury and surgery, Hannah started to rapidly gain weight until she couldn’t fit in to booths and the other awkwardnesses that go along with been extremely obese. Then she started in on the many adventures of The Biggest Loser. How Jillian is insane but awesome, how much of a dump the Biggest Loser Ranch was (the exercise room didn’t have running water nor did it have real walls) and how she awesome it is to have that fraternity of Biggest Loser contestants. It is always interesting to hear about the reality of reality shows. The funniest thing she said about the Biggest Loser was that everything was either mic’d or had a camera hidden in it from the grass to the bathroom. It made me glad that I never ended up trying out for the show (but I thought about it a couple of times. In fact, Megan and I almost drove to a casting call in Dallas for the couples edition in 2010. Safe to say it all worked out regardless.)

So after Hannah spoke, she opened it up for questions. A lot of questions about calorie intake, how many times to weigh a week and a whole bunch of other good questions to ask a weight loss guru like her. Now as most of you know, I have been in a slump this past year. I lost 100 pounds in under a year and have been struggling ever since because I have been just running out of steam or if I take a few steps forward, I take more back. I wanted to know how to get passed this halfway block that I have created for myself. I started out with “hi! I am halfway through my weight loss journey and…” then she stopped me and asked me how much I have lost. I told her 117 pounds and then she said “that’s awesome! Let’s give him a hand!” Then she came over and shook my hand. Now, I get star struck when celebrities even just Tweet me. I was dumbfounded at this point. Anyway, I continued with my question “I know the points and the calories of stuff, I get the formula, but I need that push to get out from being stuck. What should I do?” The first thing she told me was that I wasn’t stuck and that being able to maintain that weight loss was a big deal (which I haven’t really thought about it in that context until then) and then she gave me three awesome tips that are absolutely applicable to anyone who is looking or is trying to lose weight.

Change Your Food. I have been eating the same breakfast and have been eating the same lunch almost all summer (pb and toast for breakfast and a Smart One of lunch) so this was good to hear. The only change I have been doing is going from making healthy choices to eating a lot of bad things and then immediately regretting them. After the event, Megan and I went on a crazy healthy shopping spree at Publix and bought some delicious stuff that you will see next week!

The next thing was to Mix Up Your Workout Routine. Since I haven’t really had access to a gym this summer, I have done a lot of running and swimming which has been about it. Luckily, since I’m about to start a new job at FSU, I’ll have access to Leach again and all of its awesome classes. She said to find out what workouts your friends are doing and ask to join. If you are doing some awesome workout, sport or any type of exercise, let me know and I’ll be happy to join you! 

Finally, Hannah said to Tell Your Story. Yeah, I have this blog and yeah, most people who know me know my story, but I could still be more of a weight loss evangelist than I am right now. This might even just mean being a better example to those around me. It’s just hard because you don’t want to be that “oh hey! I have a blog! Have you read my blog? I was just talking last night on my blog that…” guy. With that being said, I want to help people and reach out to those who I know who are struggling so telling my story through my actions is going to be my goal from now on.

After the Q&A, Hannah had a meet and greet so we stopped by and said hi. She remembered that I had Tweeted her earlier this week which was really cool. We talked about the importance of a support system like the one Megan and I have and how important it is to have everyone in the family on board which is so true. We left the event feeling rejuvenated and even convicted about our weight loss. It truly was what I needed. Tomorrow, I might not lose any weight. In fact I’m pretty sure I have gained this week. But I feel like I’m back at that first step all over again where I got on our scale and realized that I didn’t want to be 357 pounds any more; that this wasn’t the life I was suppose to have. It’s time to get over this halfway point and finally reach the top of Mt. Fitintoskinnyjeans. See ya tomorrow.

Day 647: Thursday Run and Stuff

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Today was a day of getting stuff done.

You know the kind I’m talking about. When you go all Tasmanian Devil on your house and donate the majority of your old fat clothes to Goodwill and run six miles? Yeah, it was one of those days.

Run and Stuff: So this morning I just had a two pieces of toast with peanut butter, a cup of coffee and a glass of water. I would go on to greatly regret that I did not eat more around mile 3 of my run when it felt like I was literally running on empty.
For those of you who are new to the blog (if so, welcome!) I live in Florida, where the humidity is above 100% more than 90% of the year (why yes, that is a made statistic I just made up.) I decided to go on a run since I had taken a gander at the weather and it was suppose to be in the 90’s the majority of the day. So, I suited up… in to my workout clothes… and took it to the streets! (Michael McDonald style!) My first two miles were both under 10 minutes and then the someone turned up the heat in Tallahassee [insert global warming joke here] and it got brutal. I pushed myself like crazy and it paid off. Lately I have been battling with the mental aspect of the weight loss game. When you’ve been “dieting” this long, you begin to rest on your laurels and think of it all in some formulaic way that takes the passion out of it. Today, I put my heart back in to it and it started with conquering this run. So, my time wasn’t too bad considering the heat and the hills. I obviously want to get better, but that will just come with time. I also burned a crapton of calories which was awesome as well.
One thing that did suck was that my hip/left leg started to give me trouble again. It was fine during the run, but later in the day it would hurt to walk. It felt like it was seizing up or something. Whatever it was, I wasn’t a fan of it and I need to go get it checked out soon. Either way, I got my SAWS in today which is what matters!

Post Run Re-Fueling: When I got home, I immediately drank a ginormous glass of water followed by a glass of chocolate almond milk. I have always heard that drinking chocolate milk after a run was good for you, I just figured that almond milk would do the trick too. Anyway, I also made salad with peppered turkey deli meat, a cap full of olive oil, a pinch of parmasean and some balsamic vinegar. Needless to say, it was delicious.

Lunch: Megan, being the awesome wife that she is, made some French onion soup with low fat swiss. It was epic and really hard to describe. You’ll just have to come over sometime and try it yourself!

 

 

 

 

 

Smoothie Time: Megan is the Smoothie King Queen of the household and since it’s summer, she whipped up some of her classic super berry smoothies! It was actually more a delicious sorbet so I ate it with a spoon. All she did was put a banana, frozen mixed berries and a little orange juice in our Ninja and whipped it up! Awesomeness!

Dinner: For dinner tonight, I whipped up some quarter-pound burgers and cooked them on my grill pan. I also ran over to Wing Stop and ordered one basket of fries and had them as a side which is only 5 points for half a basket which is a normal point amount for a side. The burgers turned out amazing. Not to mention we just used low-cal bread instead of a bun. Pretty awesome “cheat” day!

So overall, today was pretty good! I’m going to try to swim or some sort of exercise for the rest of this week to drop some pounds! See ya tomorrow.

Day 644: Monday Time People

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Why hello!

So today was a little different than planned with the food, but that’s how that goes sometimes right?

I don’t think it was necessarily horrible, but I realized that all you can eat places are not good for me. More on that in a bit.

Breakfast: I woke up this morning to the beautiful aroma of pancakes wafting through the house. Yes, my wife is awesome. I had five silver dollar pancakes with a little maple syrup. It was a nice surprise at 6:30 in the morning. Awesomeness.
Surprise!: During the weekly Monday morning meeting, Jill the Boss brought some mini cupcakes to celebrate my departure. (Does that mean they were celebrating me leaving?) Anyway, they were intensely sugary but awesome.
Lunch at The Suwannee Room: My friend Juan wanted to go to lunch to celebrate my leaving. (Seriously, are people just happy for me to leave?)

Anyway, I haven’t been to a college cafeteria since the good ol’ days in The World Famous Bean. (Yes, that was the name of our old food trough at Abilene Christian.) I have only been to one other All-You-Can-Eat joint since my weight loss journey began and that was for a birthday party. I didn’t anticipating it being a challenge, but it was. Growing up, eating at an AUCE was a place to get your moneys worth. I didn’t get that mentality from anything that a parent had said, it is just the inherent nature of the buffet, plus I wanted to try out what they had. I ended up eating a burger, a slice of pepperoni pizza, two chicken kabobs, two small glasses of skim milk, three slices of watermelon and two chocolate chip cookies. Yeah, that’s quite a bit of food. The scary thing is is that I wasn’t super full after. It all goes back to eating what is in front of you. I would have been fine with the Chicken Suaza I had in the fridge at work, but I was also fine with all of that food. Now don’t get me wrong, the food was really good and the Suwannee Room kind of looks like Hogwarts, but I’m just not that disciplined. Which sucks, because it’s only $7.99! If I could hold myself to a burger, a salad and some watermelon, it wouldn’t be that bad. At this point though, I still have some things to work out until then.

Dinner With The Wolf: (Any time I write The Wolf, I imagine Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction. Sorry Andrea, but you are no Harvey K.) So for dinner, Megan made some awesome split pea soup. It was awesome and super filling! Then, Megan also made this faux cookie dough dip with chickpeas. I know it might sound weird, but us three all loved it! (Unless Andrea was just being polite…)

So like I said, today was a little weird with food. My bruise is finally healing up so I’m going to at least go for a wog tomorrow morning. Either way it’s going to be 800,000 degrees outside so sweat will be abound. See ya tomorrow.

Day 643: Weigh In Day

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So this week was kind of crazy. It’s hard when you have a holiday in the middle of the week and a lot of celebrating America’s awesomeness in there.

It was a tough week with food and I ended up gaining 2.4 pounds. Am I mad? Yes. But with that has created a fire under my feet to really get at it. My last weigh in was so inspiring. I see this week as a hiccup and a time to move on. As you’ll see, today has been awesome food wise. Get stoked… for my food pictures.

Breakfast: I just had the good ol’ 4.5 points of peanut butter and toast. Yumtastic.

Lunch: After church, some of the Young Pros went to Pho7 for some Vietnamese deliciousness. Megan and I split an order of egg rolls and then I had the beef pho. You would think that I wouldn’t make it so spicy with siriacha and jalapenos after how many times I have eaten it, but you’d be wrong. Nothing like a good sweat while you eat. 15 points 


Snack: Later in the afternoon, I was getting kind of hungry, but I wanted to avoid a carb/fattening snack. So, I had a banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter. It was the perfect afternoon snack! 2.5 points

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: We hadn’t gone grocery shopping yet so we decided to hit up Bandido’s for dollar tacos. I had the chicken with hot sauce. 6 points. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Movie Snack: We decided to watch the original TRON and we were both looking for a snack. I decided to broil two FlatOut flatbreads in the oven and then broke them up. It was almost like eating chips! It would have been perfect if I had some sort of dip, but it totally worked. And since two flatbreads was only 2 points it was totally worth it.

So today I got to 30 points which isn’t bad at all! I can’t wait for this week and all of the awesomeness that will ensue.

NSV: I am going to post my awesome non-scale victory on The Fotographing Fat Kid Facebook Page at midnight tonight! (Eastern) Head over there, Like the page and enjoy! See ya tomorrow. 

Day 640: Thursday Trials and Stuff

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Jeff Daniels is my hero. Just throwing that out there.

So far, this week has felt like a disaster in regards to weight loss. Last week, I was able to drop 5 pounds while this week it feels like I have been swimming in sodium, fat and calories.

Yesterday, Megan and I went to Chili’s for dinner since we were in between 4th of July activities. I figured only eating half of a burger and fries (I literally counted out the fries) would be okay. Little did I know I was eating something that was 19 points for only half. That is just plain ridiculous.

To make things more complicated, last week I was playing basketball and my knee collided with another knee which created a ginormous bruise. It still hurts to walk a little and my nurse/mom said it might not be the best for it which has made running out of the question for now. Needless to say this sucks. It feels like a mulligan week, a week to reset and pick up where I left off next Sunday. Weight loss life is like this sometimes. Either way, I have had some awesome times with awesome friends this week which counts for a lot. I guess we’ll see how this all goes.

Moving on to today…

Breakfast: I started out the day with peanut butter and toast. A MacDonald staple.

Lunch: I was in a rush this morning so I threw together a wrap with deli meat and this artichoke spread. Between that and some almonds held me over surprisingly well.

Snack: I met up with Megan and our friend Catherine (aka the Youtube sensation The Maddest Cat) at Starbucks. I had the classic Dirty Coffee (iced coffee with non fat milk and a pump of mocha) which hit the spot.

Dinner: For dinner, Megan made the best batch of mac n’ cheese ever. No words can describe it’s awesomeness other than the word “yum.”

Snack: Megan and I went to cheap theater in Tallahassee (which is surprisingly nice!) and saw the animated Pirates movie so we split a small bag of popcorn.

So that’s all there is to the week. It has been fun (really fun) but it’s just one of those weeks.

See ya tomorrow.