Weight Loss Journey - Week #1 (Jan. 25-31, 2015)

Well here is the end of week one and I must say that I have never been more surprised and shocked at what I've learned about my eating habits this week than I have been at any other time.

I decided on Sunday morning, when I started this that I wasn't going to change anything what I did day to day in order for me to fully get an idea of what I really did from day to day before I changed it. Needless to say that shock and surprise became common emotions for me during this week. Not once did I go out of my way to exercise, not once! I mean I thought I exercised a couple times of week but apparently I was only fooling myself.

As for my food journal, well I'm flat out embarrassed at what I've eaten during the week; well not really what I've eaten but the amount that I have eaten. And I have no one to blame but myself is the ugly truth. No one held a gun to my head and forced me to eat any of this; it was all my own doing.

I also noticed a sad fact that I don't drink that much water during the day; I would mainly average anywhere from 20 to 60 ounces of water daily and that would be it. But hopefully I have solved this problem as I was able to get an app for my phone that alerts me to when I need to drink water. I didn't know that one is suppose to drink half of their body weight in ounces of water daily. That came as a shock as I'm not anywhere near that level. But hopefully this app will help, for anyone interested the App is called Water Your Body and I downloaded it free from the Google Play store. Its a great little app from what I can tell so I do highly suggest that others try it. Another trick that I learned about increasing my water intake was to put some lemon juice in my water. I'm gonna try this trick starting tomorrow (beginning of Week #2).

Now before I post my meals for the week, I'm in need of advice. I find myself eating when I'm not hungry at all and/or late at night. Since I have insomnia, I stay awake well into the early morning and I find myself snacking all during the night. Does anyone have any suggestions to how I can kill that habit? Any help would be appreciated. And now for my meals for the week, please keep in mind that I am not proud of the amount that I ate during this week and I plan to rectify that in the coming weeks.

Sunday - January 25
Breakfast:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/out salt and pepper
- 2 pieces of honey wheat toast w/ apricot jelly
- 2 patty sausages

Lunch:
- 2 chicken patties (baked)
- 1 pack of Maruchan Ramen Noodles (beef)
- 1 Tsp of Kikkoman Soy Sauce
- 8 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea

Afternoon Snack:
- EAS Protein Shake (8 oz)
- 3 Corn bread muffins

Dinner:
- 3 chicken patties (baked)
- 1 pack of Maruchan Ramen Noodles (beef)
- 1 Tsp of Kikkoman Soy Sauce
- 8 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea
- 1 corn bread muffin

Late Night Snack:
- 1/2 bag of Act II popcorn

Monday - January 26
Breakfast:
-nothing

Lunch:
-1 chicken patty (baked)
-1 pack of Maruchan ramen noodles (beef)
-1 Tsp of Soy Sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 1/2 cup of Sprite

Afternoon Snack:
- Peanut Butter and Apricot jelly sandwich (1)
- 1 cup of 2% milk

Dinner: 
- 1 Cup of Cola
- 1 baked pork chop with a light coding of Shake N' Bake
- 2 scrambled eggs with ketchup

Late Night Snack:
- 1/4 cup of popcorn
- 1 hot dog w/ mustard and ketchup
- 2 pieces of toast w/ apricot jelly

After Midnight:
- 2 cheese sandwiches
- 1/2 pack of ritz crackers
- 2 cornbread muffins
- 1 cup of 2% milk

Tuesday - January 27
Breakfast:
- Nothing

Lunch:
- 2 slices of Red Baron Thin Crust Pizza (Sausage & Pepperoni)
- 20 oz of Vitamin Water XXX Flavor

Afternoon Snack: 
- Personal Bunny Tracks Ice Cream

Dinner:
- 1 pack of Maruchan Beef Ramen
- 12 pieces of popcorn chicken
- 16.9 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea

Late Night Snack:
- 2 1/2 tbsp of Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt
- 3 tsp of Special K Granola w/ a Touch of Honey
- 1 soft peppermint candy
- 1 Ham and Cheese Sandwich w/ mayo
- 1 slice of pound cake

Wednesday - Jan. 28
Breakfast:
- 1 cup of Frosted Flakes w/ 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 cup of Barq's Root Beer
- 2 pieces of Honey Wheat Toast w/ Apricot Jelly

Lunch:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/out salt and pepper
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 1/2 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 8 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea
- 1 patty sausage

Afternoon Snack:
- 1 Ritz cracker

Dinner:
- 8 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt
- 1/2 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 12 pieces of popcorn chicken
- 2 cornbread muffins

Dinner Snack:
- 3 cornbread muffins w/ 1/2 cup of 2% milk

Last Night Snack:
- 1 Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- 1 piece of pound cake
- 1 cup of milk

Thursday - January. 29
Breakfast:
- Nothing

Lunch:
- Stir Fry (1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt, 2 scrambled eggs, 1 tbsp soy sauce)
- 1/2 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1 patty sausage
- 1 cup of milk

Afternoon Snack: 
- 1 hot dog w/ ketchup and mustard

Dinner: 
- 1 pack of Maruchan Ramen Noodles (Beef)
- 1 scrambled egg
- 8 pieces of popcorn chicken
- 16.9 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme)

Night Snack: 
- 1 cup of Act II popcorn
- 1/2 Peanut butter sandwich

Friday -  January 30
Breakfast: 
- 2 scrambled eggs w/out salt and pepper; w/ a small amount of ketchup
- 2 pieces of Honey Wheat toast w/ a slight amount of raw honey
- 1 pack of Instant Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal
- 2 patty sausages
- 1 glass of water

Lunch:
- 2 McDoubles from McDonalds. (NEVER AGAIN)
- 1 small water

Dinner:
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt and pepper
- 10 pieces of popcorn chicken
- 1 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1/2 tbsp of Soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme)

Late Night Snack: 
- 1 hamburger

Saturday - January 31
Breakfast:
- 1 pack of Instant Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal
- 2 pieces of honey wheat toast (plain)
- 1 cup of milk

Lunch:
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt
- 1 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 2 slices of lunch meat ham, lightly seared in a non-greased pan that was sprayed with PAM

Afternoon Snack:
- Personal size of Bunny Tracks Ice Cream

Late Afternoon:
- 1 Ham sandwich on white bread w/ mayo
- 1 Oatmeal Cookie

Dinner:
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt
- 1 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 2 slices of lunch meat ham, lightly seared in a non-greased pan that was sprayed with PAM
- 1/2 cup of Sprite

Snack:
- 2 cups of Act II popcorn

Late Night Snack:
- 1 cheese sandwich w/ two pieces of cheese and mayo
- 2 oatmeal cookies
- 1 cup of milk

As you can see I am not happy with my eating habits this week, in fact it would be safe to assume that I am down-right disappointed in myself. I mean do I really not eat any vegetables? Granted the only vegetable that I really will eat is corn but I mean still. Something has got to give and its got to give soon. I'm not living like this anymore. I am so over this poor diet that I have and while I want to change, there is an obstacle in my way.
Since I don't live on my own and I basically take care of my grandfather and uncle, who has down-syndrome, I'm pretty much stuck at home all day. And well when I'm home, I get bored and when I get bored I eat. So I have to get it into my head that food is not to be used to cure boredom or anything else that I want food to help with.
There is also yet another obstacle in my way is that my grandfather and uncle are pretty much set in their eating habits. I mean really set in their ways. It took me almost 4 years to get my grandfather to start eating fruit instead of Little Debbie cakes. I'm just glad now that I'm not having to buy them every week and only once every few months if that.
Now keep in mind that I said these were obstacles but the majority of the blame about my eating and exercise habits rest solely on my shoulders. No one should have to look over me and force me to stop eating, especially when I'm not even hungry. I mean seriously, enough is enough of this.
As with the exercise, I always seem to be putting it off until the next day. I use excuses like, well its too cold to walk, or I need music to listen to so I don't get bored with walking. Since I don't live close to any gym and sometimes my means of transportation are not the best and most reliable, walking is my go-to exercise. But I'm always finding excuses for why I didn't walk that day and I'm sick of it. I'm done with making excuses for myself when the only one its hurting is...well me.

Starting tomorrow no more excuses and no more putting things off. I'm going to start losing weight before this weight literally kills me. I also suggest that if you are trying to lose weight that you start keeping a food journal, you might be surprised with how much you eat daily.  It was surprisingly easy to do and keep up with. I kept my food journal well within reach and made sure to write down what I was going to eat, when I was eating it and how much I was eating it either before I ate it, while it was cooking or when I finished eating it.

Well that completes Week #1, I know that Week #2 will be better!
Until Next Week!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog!

This blog is going to be dedicated to my weight loss journey for at the very least this year. I've been wrestling with this idea for pretty much the whole month of January and I've finally gotten up the courage to do it.

I have struggled with weight all of my life and I know that I will continue to struggle through it for the rest of it. But right now I am not happy with my weight at all and I've finally made up my mind to do something about it.

I use to be on a weight-loss program back in high school when I lived with my dad, mom and younger siblings. This was the first time that I have lived with them much less being told what I could and could not eat. Since I was raised by my grandmother until she passed away, I was spoiled. When I was younger I would deny that until I was blue in the face but now that I am older I have fully accepted that I was spoiled. Now don't get me wrong, I loved my grandmother and I know that she loved me but at the same time she wasn't a parent to me. A parent would have been strict, especially when it came to dieting. I mean I didn't even have a bedtime until I was 15 years old, so one can tell that I was fully spoiled. Not that she didn't love me cause I know she did but she loved me like a grandmother loves and not how a mother loves. So needless to say when I moved in with my dad, mom and younger siblings it was a bit of a shock.

Suddenly I was in a place where I had a bedtime and someone who watched what I ate and was willing to do anything to get me healthier. My mother, well stepmother but she is more of a mother to me than anyone else, took me to a nutritionist the start of that summer and I was given information on everything that it would take for me to lose weight.

To make a long story short I ended up losing a good deal of weight in the two years that I lived with them. I was able to do laps around our yard for 30 minutes, one lap would be running and one would be walking. I ended up not snacking nearly at all and always stuck to portion sizes in everything. I started to eat vegetables and drinking more water than ever before. I was finally starting to feel happy about my weight but then I made a mistake.

I moved out and back into the house where my grandmother raised me. Now it wasn't a mistake to move back in because my grandfather needed me to move back in and the environment at my parents' house had become somewhat stressful and unwelcoming due to certain events. So when I moved back in, I immediately fell back into my old ways and in a matter of months I had lost all the progress that I had made.

I hated it but I never fully committed myself to losing weight again since I was starting college and whatnot. I didn't give it a second thought but now as I sit here at 27 years old and the biggest I have ever been in my life I have come to a decision that I don't want to live this way any longer. Its time for me to take my weight back into my control and not let it continue to hold me back.

So I decided to create this blog for mostly myself and this is why. I feel that if I post weekly what I have eaten, what exercises that I have done and other motivational things that I can be held accountable for it. Knowing that I am going to be posting weekly blog posts that others could read and comment on will make me feel even more accountable for it and motivate me further.

This blog will be updated weekly, every Saturday night in fact. Everything about that week will be recorded. Every morsel of food that I eat, every drink that I take a sip of, every step of exercise I do will be posted for all to see. I'm not going to be counting calories but rather portion sizes of the foods that I consume. I will warn anyone know that I don't stray far from certain foods that I eat regularly. For example, I love having a couple of scrambled eggs with some steamed white rice every morning for breakfast, so you might be seeing a lot of that meal.

Also I wanted to say that if you have any tips on how to eat vegetables or just healthier to please leave a comment. I want to try making green smoothies with my magic bullet but I am unsure as to what vegetables and/or fruits would go well with each other.

Oh also, I am unsure if I will be posting pictures of my progress throughout the year or do a final post of my progress showing the before and after on the last blog post of this year. Any advice would be welcoming.

Thank you for joining me on my weight loss journey and perhaps we all can help be each others motivation!

Summary
Age: 27 years old
Height: 5'10"
Current Weight: 425 pounds; Goal Weight: 180