Sunday, January 10, 2010

Day 482 Seriously Imperfect Improvements and A Pleasure Instead of A Chore

Day 482

Seriously Imperfect Improvements and A Pleasure Instead of A Chore

Mom and I need to do this more often! We're having fun and enjoying our time together. Every now and then I'll start breaking out the weight loss philosophy with her and we'll discuss all of the angles. My dear sweet mother has been brainwashed by a lifetime of weight loss magazine articles and books promoting every diet known to humankind. Trying to simplify this process, completely un-complicating and untangling years worth of weight loss misconceptions and contradictions, can be a real challenge. But we're winning! And she's losing. It's critical for mom at this point. At 64, the possible consequence of her good choices are extra years added to her life. And of course this life extending choice is true for all of us regardless of age. She's choosing to extend her life. How powerful is that? Seriously so.

I do understand the concern some of my friends have when I talk about fast food choices. I've written many times about my philosophy concerning these choices. I have a lifetime of fast food history, it's one of the reasons I packed on the fat, weighing over 500 pounds for nearly two decades. My choices yesterday compared to my choices back then are night and day different. Yesterday mornings breakfast of scrambled eggs and a fruit and yogurt cup without granola totaled 300 calories and contained 230 mg of sodium, or 10% of what's considered normal for a day. In comparison to a typical pre-journey McDonald's breakfast for me, well---it's a drastic improvement. What kind of breakfast would I order before? A Deluxe Big Breakfast contains 1,090 calories and 2150 mg of sodium—90% of the recommended daily value of sodium. And that calorie total is without syrup or margarine for the hotcakes! And if it came with a buttermilk biscuit, then you can bet I was ordering a side of gravy to pour over. I was a mess. The choices we made yesterday were drastic improvements.

I can't say I'll never eat fast food again, but you can bet I'll be armed with information that helps me make the best possible choice at the moment of ordering. I'll never abuse myself with fast food again, I do know that! I just have a hard time believing that it's all bad. 95% bad? Yes...it's 95% garbage, I think we can all agree, but the remaining 5% offers some wonderful choices in a very convenient way.

My weight loss philosophy weighs heavy on the psychological elements that make this hard or make this as easy as it can be. We tend to naturally complicate things by setting up rules going into our weight loss plan. Often times these rules are so far from our normal way of life, it makes it almost impossible to remain “on plan.” And when we deviate from our plan, we feel like we've failed. Really strong willed people can do it with a long list of rules from day 1, but I've always felt weak and nearly hopeless for change in the weight loss department. My simplistic approach has worked for me—a raging food addict who feared he could never play by the rules that I thought were needed for weight loss. I've failed at losing weight so many times---and I remember each attempt. I've picked them apart and thrown them all away, except for the most simple elements---and the solutions I've found have worked wonderfully. It's not perfect. How many times have I said that? And it doesn't need to be perfect. But it has been a pleasure instead of a chore. And that's one of the most refreshing and important things about this transformation experience. It must be a pleasure instead of a chore.

I sincerely appreciate concern that people express for me, I do. It's your amazing support that has taken this entire experience over the top. And I'm learning as I go and I continue to learn. I'm seriously open to learning new things about nutrition and fitness. I've learned several valuable points from readers all over the world and friends here at home like Dr. Amy and Melissa Walden. I'll continue to learn as I go and my ultimate fitness goals and dreams will be realized. That's exciting!

I prepared that wonderful dinner last night and tonight I did it again! This time I prepared a chicken spaghetti dish with mushrooms, onions, grilled chicken, and marinara. Oh wow...it was good! The calories were calculated at 400 per serving---not bad for a complete meal. See the pictures below.

The workout I've been doing every night is something I can do right here in the apartment or downstairs in the fitness room. I do need to buy some dumbbells. Most of these movements rely on my body weight for resistance. The best kind if you ask me! I know the soreness will improve and I certainly don't mean to sound like a little baby, but wow---I'm seriously sore! I hope to connect with Melissa sometime tomorrow to get that new body fat analysis. I'm excited about that!

I took mom to a little karaoke place tonight. OK---It was a bar. I'm not sure I've ever been inside a bar with my mom. We were there for the karaoke, that's it! We sipped water and at one point shared a Diet Coke. I performed one song (Rose Colored Glasses), we finished our “drinks,” and decided it was time to leave before the place got rowdy! It was fun and mom could certainly see how losing this weight has given me an amazing amount of confidence. I would have never done this at over 500 pounds, I mean never. I was always too self-conscious, always. It's funny---at over 500 pounds I could easily get on stage and speak---but singing or acting? Forget it. I guess I convinced myself that 500 pound people didn't do those things. Hmmm, interesting what we tell ourselves.

Thank you for reading. Your support is invaluable to me! I hope the rest of your weekend is grand. Goodnight and...

Good Choices,
Sean

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Friday night's dinner

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Saturday night's dinner

15 comments:

  1. So glad you're enjoying the time with your mom! The food pics look good, too. :)

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  2. I am 100% with you Sean. In the past I have made this weight loss thing way too complicated. Really all you need to do is take in less calories than you burn. The form those calories take is actually irrelevant for weight loss. Of course making healthy food choices benefits your body in other ways, but that is another matter!

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  3. I so lucky that I hate fast food since my surgery. I do love goals tho. Plus, the calories alone would be for what I need for the entire day. And futhermore home made meals is far better.

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  4. Great to hear your having a good timw with you mom, she must be so proud of you.

    Food pic's look good.

    So good to have you around Sean.

    Hugs

    Sheilagh

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  5. Glad that you had fun with your mom! The food looks good and maybe I shouldn't be staring at it at midnight. I will bypass the kitchen on the way to bed! Keep it up!

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  6. It's great that this journey is bringing you closer to your mom.

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  7. Hey, I'm sore too--isn't it great?!!!

    Glad you are doing so great and leading your mom to a better, longer life.

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  8. So... any pictures of you up on stage singing? :)

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  9. You and I may have the same mother...long lost brothers perhaps. My mother, bless her heart, managed to sabotage most of my dieting youth by allowing "cheats" to an even earlier version of the Atkins Diet. Her dieting life looks more like a faith healing experiment mostly relying on dieting theories from Woman's Day magazine (no offense to those who enjoy that periodical).

    Most recently, her carb counting, allowed her (in her mind) to successfully eat a cheeseburger and fries at Outback steakhouse. I don't get it and despite all my successes, she sticks to the melange of theories that allow for the most flexible plan for her.

    Oh well...we can only do so much for the ones we love.

    Kyle
    Getting Better and Better

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  10. Thanks for sticking to your guns on the whole "nothing off limits" message. I agree that this is what made your journey a success, and in the future, will be what brings others to you for motivation! It just works. And along the way, I believe we all do make "healthier" choices naturally. --Sara

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  11. I am on a similar journey to yours and agree wholeheartedly that it is a lifestyle and the only rule is making as many healthy choices as you can without denying yourself your favs 100% of the time.

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  12. Dude, this is exactly what I have done.
    Trying to be too 'perfect' or being too rule oriented has torpedoed every effort Ihave ever undertaken.
    I do something very similar to what you do. The main difference is that I have cut out a ton of white flour and processed foods, even potatoes.
    They trigger binging urges.
    sO, I stay away from them.
    I buy whole grain bread....I buy low fat, not no fat. I will eat two higher calorie days a month so that I enjoy the occasional potato chip, or piece of pizza..or a trip to a mexican restaurant.
    If you are too strict with yourself, you wind up thinking that it's too hard and that you can't do it for the.rest.of.your.life.
    When in reality...you don't have to.
    You are doing great bud. Do it your way.

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  13. I think it's good and helpful to know that there are reasonable food choices that can be made at fast food places. Sure, the salt content is high, but as an occasional meal, I don't think it will do any harm. I personally love the chili and Wendy's. It's 190 calories, and it completely fills me up every time. Occasionally when I wind up there with friends or something, I just get this spicy, filling, 99 cent cup of chili and let them eat all the burgers and fries they want. I think it's good to have options wherever you go.

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  14. You are absolutely right about being able to fit your food around your lifestyle I still have a bit of a problem with sugar but I recognise it I have some every now and again and it fits into my life. I still can't have a Tub of icecream in the freezer or a block of chocolate in the fridge and I don't eat it every day but I still have it. Starting at the gym tomorrow wish me luck.

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