Weight Loss Journey - Week #5 (Feb. 22 - 28, 2015)

Hi!
So yeah last week was a very dark post and I apologize for that but I felt that it was something that I really need to hear. Sadly this week has proved to be no better, especially since I have been feeling sick nearly all week.
I don't know what's causing it at all. I can only think that it is the weather, which has been pretty crappy where I live this past week. I mean rain and cold nearly everyday. The days it didn't rain it was so cold and damp outside that no one could stand it. I really hope that our weather gets better and soon.
Sadly with the way I've been feeling and with the weather being like it was, I couldn't get out and walk like I really wanted to but I did change something of my everyday activities.
Since I stay at home all day, I'm pretty much on my computer for over 8 hours a day. Just sitting and doing nothing but surfing the web, watching YouTube and playing games. But this week I made it a point to take an hour or two to do something else and surprisingly it works. I started out reading a book for an hour one day and when I got tired of that I found a new hobby that I never thought I would enjoy again. Coloring. Yes you have read right, coloring has become my new favorite hobby to do. It keeps me busy, thus taking my mind off of food which is awesome.
Sadly however, my water intake for this week has been reduced to 20 oz a day which is not good at all. But with tomorrow starts a new day and I know that this next week I will get better at this.
I have also come to a decision that I will indeed be posting a before picture tomorrow (Sunday, March 1) in order to really encourage me to work out. Now I will go ahead and say that while comments are welcomed I will not tolerate name-calling on this blog. I get enough of that from my father but that is another topic for another day perhaps.
And now for this week's food diary, I only forgot to write one meal down and by the time I saw that I didn't write it down.

Sunday - Feb. 22
Breakfast:
- 2 Scrambled Eggs w/ Ketchup
- 2 Sausage Patties
- 1 Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1 Everything Bagel w/ Apricot Jelly

Snack:
- Chewy Dipp Peanut Butter Quaker Bar

Lunch:
- 2 BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (Patties)
- Chewy Dipp Peanut Butter Quaker Bar

Dinner:
- 2 Hamburgers w/ BBQ Sauce
- 16.9 oz of Lipton Green Tea (Citrus)

Snack:
- 1 Cup of Popcorn

Midnight Snack:
- 1 Bowl of Cornflakes
- 2 PB&J Sandwiches

Monday - Feb. 23
Breakfast:
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 2 Sausage Patties
- 1 Everything Bagel w/ Apricot Jelly
- 1 Pack of Instant Cheese Grits (Quakers)

Lunch:
- 1 Pack of Beef Ramen Noodles
- 1 Dozen (12) Popcorn Chicken w/ BBQ Sauce
- 1 Small Strawberry Yogurt (non-fat)

Dinner:
- 1 Bowl of Cornflakes
- 1 1/2 PB&J Sandwiches

Snack:
- 1/2 Cup of Vanilla Yogurt
- 1/4 Cup of Mandarin Oranges

Tuesday - Feb. 24
Breakfast:
- None

Lunch:
- 1 Hamburger w/ Mayo, Bacon and Cheese
- 1 Medium Cheese Fries w/ Bacon Bits
- 32 oz of Sweet Tea

Dinner:
- 2 Cups of Lo Mein
- 2 Cups of Sweet and Sour Chicken
- 16.9 oz of Lipton Green Tea (Citrus)

Snack:
- 1 Small Pack of Buncha Crunch Candy

Wednesday - Feb. 25
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Cheese Grits
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 2 Sausage Patties

Lunch:
- 1 Dozen (12) Popcorn Chicken w/ BBQ Sauce
- 1 Pack of Beef Ramen Noodles

Dinner:
- 1 Mini Pizza
- 2 Spicy Chicken Pattie Sandwiches
- 1 Medium French Fry

Snack:
- 1 Small Pack of Buncha Crunch Candy

Thursday - Feb. 26
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1 Piece of Honey Wheat Toast w/ Apricot Jelly
- 1 Special K Cereal Bar

Lunch:
- 1 Mini Pizza
- Chicken Pattie Sandwich

Dinner:
- Don't remember at all

Friday - Feb. 27
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack Instant Cheese Grits
- 2 Scrambled Eggs

Lunch:
- 3 1/2 Pieces of Pizza
- 1 Cinnamon Roll
- 3 Cheesy Bread Sticks
- 12 oz of Sweet Tea

Snack:
- Nachos and Cheese

Dinner:
- Lo Mein (2 Cups)
- Sweet and Sour Chicken (1 1/2 Cups)
- Sobe Green Tea (16 oz)

Snack:
- 1 Pack of Buncha Crunch

Saturday - Feb. 28
Breakfast:
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 1 Pack of Instant Cheese Grits

Lunch:
- 1 PB&J Sandwich
- 1/2 Cup of Milk
- 1 Mini Pizza (Did not settle well and I got sick from it)
- 1 Small Spicy Fry (Did not settle well and I got sick from it)

Dinner:
- A Dozen (12) Popcorn Chicken

Snack:
- 1 Personal Ice Cream (Bunny Tracks)




Even though this week was still bad, it was still better than the week I had last week. I really don't understand what happened last week but I am glad that I posted what I did. I think I needed to hear it and get it out of my system more than anyone else.
I do hope that this upcoming week is better in not only exercise and water intake but in all moods and feelings. This week I've felt so emotionally heavy that it seemed to just weigh heavily on me, emotionally and stress so to speak.

Until Next Week!

Weight Loss Journey - Week #4 (Feb. 15 - 21, 2015)

This week, there is no word for what this week has been. My emotions have been all over the place and for once I don't know what is to blame. I haven't been sick nor has it been anything that can be blamed on being a female (if you catch my meaning). I honestly don't know why but this week I have never felt crappier or more depressed in years. And of course with my luck it affected my eating habits, which have also gone to crap.

Sadly this week is gonna be a bit different as I didn't write down what I ate for about 4 days and I don't want to lie about what I ate because that is hurting myself and I really don't want to lie to my readers either. So in this post, I'm not going to include my food diary for this week because there is simply none. I do admit however that I went overboard with eating sweets and that just makes me feel even more depressed with myself.

For instance, last night was the worst night ever. I sat here in front of my laptop and I ate a whole box of Girl Scout cookies at one time! That's about 20 cookies! That is just too much and I was so disappointed in myself that I just sat here and stuffed my face with those cookies. Now I bought the cookies in order to support one of my friend's little girl and I didn't mind doing that and helping her out at all. I ordered them because I thought I was strong enough to resist temptation an only eat the serving size once a day; but apparently I was wrong.

I didn't really eat anything different from my previous weeks and pretty much stuck to the same thing. What really depressed me was the fact that I snacked all during the night and for the life of me I don't know why. I wasn't hungry at all but the food was there and I wanted it.

Sadly, I didn't exercise any either and this just made me want to cry in frustration that I still don't have the get-up and go that I need to have. I don't know why it is so hard for me to actually get outside and walk around for 20 or 30 minutes everyday. I mean my street that I live on is fairly quiet and I know that I can walk safely on it without having to worry about getting hit or anything. And it hasn't been the weather, cause while it has been cold here it hasn't been nearly as bad as it has been in other parts of the US. I mean it was in the 70s today and we had a nice breeze! But did I get outside and walk around? Nope! I just sat cooped up in my house all day.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll exercise. My mother brought me over a couple of Tae-Bo DVDs that I plan to make use of tomorrow since we're suppose to get rain nearly all day. My plan is to do a DVD in the morning and then go out walking close to the evening or visa-verse.

I have also come up with a sort of reward or incentive if you will that will hopefully make me want to work even harder at getting my goal. I'm not gonna say what the reward/incentive is but if it works this week, I'll be sure to let you guys know in next week's post. :-)

I thank you for reading this blog and apologize for a different style of posting this week but I will be back to posting as I have done in Weeks #1-3 next week. I also maybe doing other posts between this one and next weeks. Let me know what you guys think about that in the comments or you can even tweet me! I'll include my Twitter at the bottom of this post.

Oh also, I'm thinking about posting a before pic on this blog in the next week's post and I'm a bit nervous about doing it because I don't like the way I look at all. Which is mainly why I don't like to post my picture up for anyone to see because I dislike what I see so much but maybe putting my picture up is just what I need to happen and for reality to really smack me full in the face. Again let me know what you guys think and thank you again for reading this blog!

Until Next Time!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeekyWriter26

Weight Loss Journey - Week #3 (Feb. 7 - 14)

Okay so here we are at the end of week three and not much has changed. There are some bad days with my eating and some days are pretty good.

My water intake is about the same per day, ranging from about 20 oz to 80 oz daily. I know that I still need to work on my water intake and get it up to half of my body weight in oz but that is more difficult than I originally thought it would be. I mean yeah I can see how most people would have no problem with that but half of my body weight is 200 oz of water! I mean wow that's a lot of water! But putting a little more than 1/4 of a teaspoon in every 20 oz of water works when I'm at home and when I go out I usually get a big bottle of Smart Water, which is by far my favorite water ever! It just tastes so crisp and clean that I've become slightly addicted to getting a few bottles every time I go out so that I can drink it when I get home.

I have still cut out most of carbonated drinks, which is just awesome cause like I said in last week's post I could drink a big glass a day which was not good for me at all. So I'm happy and over the moon that I was able to kick that little habit. Not to say that I have totally cut them out completely cause I do still have them every so often but not nearly as much, usually 1/2 a cup.

One thing that I discovered this week was that I love bagels! I have never tried bagels before but my friend recommended them to me and I gave them a try. I really do love them now and have to have one with my breakfast or as a snack some days.

One thing that needs to change desperately now is my lack of exercise. And its not even about me not having time to do any kind of exercise, cause I do have time; its that fact that I haven't seem to have made it a priority and it makes me mad that I'm still putting it off like that. This week I am buckling down and exercising at least once a day. I am sick of putting off something that I know I need to do and the only person I'm hurting by not doing it is myself. So hold me to my word folks and I will make this happen. I have so many plans for this year that I refuse to let not exercising be my downfall!

Oh, this has nothing to do with weight loss or anything but I'm so proud of this that I have to share it in this post. My grandfather, who has chewed tobacco for the better part of 20 years or so quit at the beginning of this year and hasn't picked it up since! I am so proud of him and him being able to put down his addiction has only encouraged me more to get mine under better control. I mean if an 80 year old can beat addiction why can't a 27 year old right? So even without meaning to, he has once again encouraged me.

And now for this week's food diary. Now some days are better and some days are a bit worse, though I must admit that seem to have been more good days than bad days; which encourages me. Also I have still noticed that most of my snacking or cravings as it were comes during the night. I need something that curves my appetite during the evening and throughout the night, so if anyone has any suggestions then please feel free to leave a comment. And now onto this week's food diary!

Sun. - Feb. 8
Breakfast:
- 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 Whole Wheat Toast w/ Grape Jelly
- 3 Sausage Patties

Lunch:
- 1 Hot Dog w/ Mayo
- 1 Medium Fry w/ BBQ Sauce for dipping
- 1 Cup of Milk (2%)
- 3 Ritz Crackers

Dinner:
- 1 Cup of Steamed Rice (White)
- 1/2 Tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 1/2 Tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk
- 2 Boneless Porkchops (Cooked in oven w/ a light coating of Bake N Shake)
- BBQ Tangy & Sweet Sauce for dipping

Snack: 
- 1 Cup of Popcorn

Water Intake: 40 oz
Exercise: None

Mon. - Feb. 9
Breakfast: 
- Ramen Noodles (Beef)
- 1 Cheese Sandwich

Lunch: 
- 2 PB&J Sandwiches

Dinner: 
- 8 Steak Fingers w/ Sweet & Tangy BBQ Sauce for dipping
- 1/2 Cup of Mashed Potatoes
- 5 Small Garlic Breads on Whole Wheat Bread

Snack:
- 1 Pack of Pocky (Japanese Chocolate Snack)
- 1 Personal Ice Cream Cup (Bunny Tracks)

Water Intake: 20 oz
Exercise: None

Tues. - Feb. 10
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 2 Pieces of Whole Wheat Honey Toast w/ Grape Jelly
- 2 Sausage Patties

Lunch: 
- 3 Slices of Red Baron Pizza w/ Ranch Dressing as a dip

 Dinner: 
- 1 Cup of Mashed Potatoes w/ Cheese
- 2 Chicken Patties (Breaded and Oven-Cooked)

Snack: 
- 1 Cup of Popcorn

Water Intake: 80 oz
Exercise: None

Wed. - Feb. 11
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 Pieces of Whole Wheat Honey Toast w/ Grape Jelly
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 2 Sausage Patties

Lunch: 
- 3 Chicken Patties (Oven-cooked and breaded) w/ Ketchup for dipping
- 1 Cup of Mashed Potatoes

Dinner:
- 1 Pack of Ramen (Beef)
- 1 Porkchop (Oven-cooked and lightly coated w/ Shake N' Bake)

Snack:
- 1 Yogurt (Strawberry and Non-Fat)
- 4 Ritz Crackers
- 4 Cheese Crackers

Water Intake: 60 oz
Exercise: None

Thurs. - Feb. 12
Breakfast:
- 2 Pancakes w/ Butter & Maple Syrup
- 4 oz of Sweet Tea
- 1 Cup of Cheese Grits
- 3 Slices of Bacon

Lunch:
- 1 Cup of Grilled Chicken
- 1 Cup of Grilled Steak
- 2 Cups of Fried Rice
- 1/2 Cup of Japanese Sauce (I'm not sure what it is called officially but at the Japanese Restaurant I go to its called Yummy Sauce)

Snack: 
- 1 Small Pack of Gummy Candy

Dinner: 
- 1 Pack of Udon (Oriental Flavor) (Udon is Japanese Rice Noodles)
- 1 Biscuit with Brown Gravy
- 1/2 Cup of Skim Milk

Snack:
- 2 Small Packs of Gummy Candy

Water Intake: 60 oz
Exercise: None

Fri. - Feb. 13
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1 Bagel (Everything Bagel) w/ Grape Jelly
- 1/2 Cup of Skim Milk

Lunch: 
- 1 Cup of Steamed Rice (White)
- 1/2 Tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 1 Tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 2 Chicken Patties (Breaded and Oven-cooked)

Dinner: 
- 2 Small Hamburger Patties
- 1 Medium Fry w/ Ketchup for dipping
- 1/2 Cup of 2% Milk
- 2 Small Pieces of Pound Cake

Water Intake: 20 oz
Exercise: None

Sat. - Feb. 14
Breakfast: 
- 2 Scrambled Eggs w/ Ketchup
- 2 Sausage Patties
- 1 Pack of Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1 Bagel (Everything Bagel) w/ Grape Jelly

Lunch:
- 1 Pack of Ramen (Beef)
- 2 Chicken Patties (Breaded and Oven-cooked)
- 1/2 Cup of 2% Milk

Dinner: 
- 1 Cup of Hamburger Helper (Salsbury)
- 4 Corn Muffins

Snacks: 
- 1 Bagel (Everything Bagel) w/ Jelly

Water Intake: 20 oz
Exercise: None

Now as I stated in my first post, I am a creature of habit and that does include my eating habits. I do rarely stray from what I eat and perhaps that is my problem. But another problem that I have is that I hate vegetables and I mean I really hate them. The only vegetable I will eat willingly is corn and that is once in a while. I know that I have to change this so I am hoping that along with exercising this week that I need to work on eating at least one serving of vegetables with at least one meal a day.

So things that I'm going to work on this coming week is exercising, drinking more water and eating more vegetables. Let's see how well I can do!

Until next week! 

Weight Loss Journey - Week #2 (Feb. 1-7)

Well here it is at the end of week two and while there have been some improvement there are still improvements that need to made. I am so sorry for not having this up last night but since I had to go to my brother's birthday party I was dead tired when I got back home and was out by 10:00!

One improvement has been my water intake. Since downloading the app 'Water Your Body', I have noticed that my water intake has increased. Since the app alerts me every 2 hours that I need to drink a certain amount of water, it is a daily reminder. Also discovering that I need to drink at least half of my body-weight in ounces of water; now I am far from reaching this goal but within a couple of weeks or so I hope to achieve it. Another trick I now use is that I drink all of my water out of a Powerade sports bottle; the bottle itself holds 20 ounces of water and since I don't have to worry about it spilling, I can keep it by my laptop where I am found most of the day without worry. Keeping this bottle in sight also keeps me from reaching for something else to drink, even though my body has started rejecting drinks like that but I'll go more into that in a minute. A third and final trick I've started to use this week is that for every 20 ounces of water I drink, I mix in 1/2 tsp of lemon juice. I found out about this trick online and as I got tired of just drinking water all the time and felt like I was basically forcing myself to drink it; this trick has helped me out a whole bunch this week.

Now when I said that my body is starting to reject other drinks let me explain. For some reason, and I think its a good reason and can only be good for me, my body has started to reject nearly all forms of carbonated drinks. Perhaps reject isn't really a word that should be used, I guess its more like has stopped craving would be a better term. Either way my body has been changing this past week and I feel that it is for the better. Now usually I can drink a few glasses of Coca-Cola or other carbonated drinks daily but for some reason this week my body just was not having it at all. For example, I got a glass of Barq's Root Beer Monday so that I could eat it with my lunch; I literally took maybe two to three sips of it before I started to feel nauseous and had to put the drink down. After I set it down and let my stomach settle for a bit I tried to drink it again with the same results. Now it did take me a few days to realize this and then realize what this meant. As of right now, I can only drink Sprite and Vanilla Coke but I'm not complaining at all. This is because I never realized just how much carbonated drinks I drunk during a day. And even with the Sprite I can only drink it in small quantities and only for a short period of time. This has also made me turn to water as my primary drinking source and sometimes Milk. Again I don't look at this as bad thing but rather as a blessing in disguise.

Another improvement that I noticed was that I'm not craving really greasy foods. Such as fried foods for instance. I have also started to cook more in the oven, thus eliminating the need for cooking with grease on the stove top. Not only do I feel that this is a better, healthy option for me but for also my grandfather and uncle whom I live with and cook for.

Oh! Another odd improvement that I've noticed is that I'm going to bed early and getting up earlier now, which is great! Though this doesn't happen every night but rather a few nights out of the week but still this is a vast improvement as I am not sleeping the day away due to me being up all night the previous night! So yay for that!

Now even though there have been improvements, there are still many more that need to come about.

For instance, this week I still didn't exercise at all and for that I don't have an excuse and I'm not going to give an excuse. I simply just kept putting it off and putting it off. My thoughts ranged from, "Oh I'll do it tomorrow" and "I don't want the people of the neighborhood to see me." It took me a few days, not gonna lie, to realize that what did I care what other people thought? That I needed to get out and do this for myself and not for them. I have nothing that I need to prove to them and why should I be bothered by what their opinion is of me. Now with that being said, I am hoping that Week #3 is going to be filled with daily walks, whether they are for five minutes or for 30 minutes. But no more excuses and no more putting it off.

Another improvement that needs to occur is my late night cravings. I suffer from Insomnia from time to time and the times that I suffer from it, I find myself almost constantly eating and eating for no good reason. I'm not hungry at all but I still can't understand why I keep on eating at night, especially here late at night. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can keep these cravings at bay then please send me a comment, I would really love to hear any suggestions.

And now with all that out of the way, let's get on with food journal. Now please keep in mind that when I don't list anything to drink during a meal, its because I was drinking water instead of something else. Also the amount of water that I drunk daily will be listed under the days as well. Also whenever I eat scrambled eggs, I do not add any salt or pepper to it, so I don't add any extra seasoning to them; though sometimes I add a splash of milk in order to make them fluffier but that's it.

 
Sunday - Feb. 1
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple and Brown Sugar)
- 2 Pieces of Toast (white bread) with Apricot Jelly
- 1 Apple (red) w/ 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter to dip it in.

Lunch:
- 1 pack of beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1 sausage dog with slight mayo

Snack:
- 1 apple (red)
- 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter for dipping

Dinner: 
- 1 Hamburger w/ cheese & mayo
- 1 cup of steamed rice (white)
- 1/2 tsp of soy sauce (Kikoman)
- 1 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)

Snack: 
- 1 oatmeal cookie
- 2 pieces of to toast (white) with apricot jelly
- cheese sandwich with 2 slices of cheese
- 1 cup of sprite

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 80 ounces!

Monday - Feb. 2
Breakfast:
- 1 pack of instant oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 pieces of toast (white) w/ Apricot jelly
- 2 scrambled eggs w/ slight amount of ketchup
- 1/2 cup of sprite

Lunch: 
- 1 pack of beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1 sausage dog w/ mayo only
- 1/2 cup of sprite
- 1 Oreo Cookie

Snack:
- 1 apple (red)
- 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter for dipping

Dinner: 
- 2 scrambled eggs
- 4 slices of thinly sliced beef steak
- 1 pack of beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1/2 cup of Sprite
- 1 Oreo Cookie

Late Snack: 
- 1 Peanut butter & jelly sandwich

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 60 ounces!

Tuesday - Feb. 3
Breakfast:
- 1 Peanut butter sandwich
- 1/2 cup of Sprite

Lunch:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/ slight ketchup
- 2 Sausage Links
- 1 Hamburger w/ mayo
- 1/2 cup of root beer (which I regretted as soon as I drunk it...blah)

Snack: 
- Personal size of Double Strawberry Ice Cream

Dinner:
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 10 pieces of Popcorn Chicken (Cooked in Oven so no grease)
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Snack:
- 4 Oreo Cookies
- 1/2 cup of 2% Milk

Exercise: None
Water Intake: Only 20 ounces (insert frown face)

Wednesday - Feb. 4
Breakfast: 
Nothing

Lunch: 
- 12 pieces of Popcorn Chicken (Cooked in oven so no grease)
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1 cup of Sprite

Dinner:
- 1 chicken patty sandwich w/ mayo (Chicken Patty was cooked in oven so again no grease)
- 2 Slices of Red Baron Pizza (Pepperoni & Sausage)
- 1 Muffin (Whole Wheat Banana)
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Snack: 
- 1/2 cup of Sliced Peaches
- 1 Oreo Cookie

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 58 Ounces!

Thursday - Feb. 5 (I think this is my best day thus far)
Breakfast:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/ slight ketchup
- 2 Sausage Patties
- 8 Mini Eggo Waffles
- 1 cup of 2% Milk

Lunch: 
- 1 Mini Sonic Fry
- 2 Small Sonic Cheeseburgers
- 1 pack of Fruit Gummies

Dinner: 
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 2 pieces of Sliced Ham (Lunch Meat) Slightly Seared in a frying pan
- 1 cup of 2% Milk
- 1 Hamburger w/ mayo only

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 60 Ounces!

Friday - Feb. 6
Breakfast: 
- 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 Pieces of Toast (Whole Wheat) w/ Grape Jelly
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Lunch: 
- 1 Cup of Steamed Rice (White)
- 1/2 Tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1 Tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 1 Cup of Sprite
- 1 Sausage Dog w/ Mayo
- 1 Whole Wheat Banana Muffin

Snack: 
- 2 Small Cornbread Muffins
- 1/2 Cup of 2% Milk

Dinner: 
- 1 Pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 2 Pieces of Sliced Ham (Lunch Meat); Lightly Seared
- 1/4 Cup of Sprite
- 2 Cornbread Muffins
-  1 Cup of 2% Milk

Snack:
- 6 Oreo Cookies
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 20 Ounces (insert frown face)

Saturday - Feb. 7
Breakfast: 
- 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1/2 Cup of Tangerines
- 2 Pieces of Toast (Whole Wheat) w/ Grape Jelly

Lunch: 
- 1 Sausage Dog w/ Mayo
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan) & 1 tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 2 scrambled eggs
- 1 Slice of Pound Cake
- 1/2 cup of 2% Milk

Late Lunch/Early Dinner:
- 1 Grilled Chicken Leg w/ Hot Sauce on it
- 1/2 cup of BBQ Baked Beans
- 1 tbsp of Potato Salad (Homemade) (A FIRST FOR ME!!!)
- 2 tbsp of Butterfinger Cake (Not sure what else I can call this)

Dinner:
- 2 Hamburgers w/ Mayo, Ketchup & Mustard

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 76 Ounces!

Well there is it, a week of recorded eating, water intake and exercise (well the lack there-of). While I do see improvements in my water intake and in some days of my eating, there is still much improvement that needs to be made. Hopefully Week #3 will be even better than this week and loads better than Week #1.

As always, thank you for reading this blog and if you have any tips/tricks that you would like to share then please feel free to leave a comment.

Until Next Week!

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