What a beautiful day it was today. I woke up and had my eggs, then a strawberry shake for mid morning snack, then a nice salad with veggies for lunch, a peanut bar for afternoon snack and a salad with mustard glazed chicken on the grill for dinner. I’m over my daily allotment for water and I still have my evening snack before bed. I think I am going with a brownie.
Yesterday I talked with my coach and I was feeling really fuzzy and rundown. I told her the medication that I was on for Type2 and she was shocked… I guess I neglected to inform her that I was on metformin. Oops… So, after taking my blood sugar levels… I was like, Dang, no wonder why I am feeling this way! My blood sugar was low. After drinking a little OJ, I was myself again. I have a call into my doctor regarding my medicine. My coach said that many people with Type2 often do not need their medicine when they are on the diet because it has the proper sugars within the diet.
So, on my way to my gig last night I received a message on my cell from my coach. She said, “Please add some more protean to your meal tonight if you are working hard” So, I had my salad as well as some trout and shrimp from the all you can eat sea food bar at the lodge on Wednesdays (That was an advertisement) I had a great night playing and had just enough energy to make it through. We stopped at Rosaurs foods on the way home and I got a 100cal snack to make sure I was staying on the timeline.
A benefit of being 18lb lighter… My feet feel much better. So I’m really happy about that.
8:04pm
Ok, so I took a day off from blogging. I had to finish reading the Tehran Initiative by Joel Rosenberg. Seriously… if you have not read the series starting with “The Twelfth Imam”, what are you thinking? Shut down this blog right now and order it on Amazon or go to your local bookstore right now! It really puts the times we are living in, in perspective and has a positive outcome… What is that you say? Something positive? Yup!
So… your probably wondering how I am doing on my “food lifestyle makeover”? Well, I’d say pretty good for a 6’6” Viking like myself! I’m not going to say it’s easy, by any means. In fact, it is the single hardest thing I have ever done and I am not even sure if I am going to make it (if I am being honest), but the truth is the truth. I am giving it my full attention and I see myself winning this fight.
Tonight (Halloween) I took my kids out trick-or-treating. I live in a small town of 2600 people. We have one main street that looks like a town ripped from the pages of a Louis Lamoure novel. You can still ride your horse up to the saloon and hitch it to the hitchin’ post and there are sleigh rides all winter long through the town for anyone who wants a ride. Halloween is one of the times of the year that the town comes together and all of the businesses on Main Street have candy for the kids. People bring their kids from miles around to participate.
Like anything in my town, it takes a little longer to do just about anything because you know everyone. You can’t just walk down the street and expect to not talk to anyone, no… you engage in many conversations. One constant theme of conversation was how good I was looking. Apparently the entire community knows that I am on a diet and they are expecting good things. It is always nice to have someone complement you though. So… if you decide to choose the Simple to lose plan, move to a small town… it’s good for your ego. Ha ha
3:19pm
I woke up really late this Saturday… Had breakfast at noon and now I am making my first Simple to Lose brownie. It’s in the oven baking at 350 for 19 min. I will let you know how it turns out.
For some reason my body is aching on this diet and I’m not able to sleep like normal. I’m sure this will change as I get used to the diet plan and daily grind. I was up until 4:30am. I should have been making better use of my time though… I could have brushed up on my scrabble words or played countless rounds of Othello on my iPod.
3:42pm
Oh My… That is a very scrumptious brownie.
6:22pm
I am reading “The Tehran Initiative” by Joel Rosenberg and I cant blog for a while… because I am going to have to read this all the way through.
10:04am
I have made it 58 hours now on my Simple 2 lose diet. So far… not simple, but I’m hoping for brighter days. The part that is a little confusing is getting comfortable with the things you can and cannot make in your Lean and Green meal. Other than that… everything else is simple because you just open up a freeze dried packet, add water and… presto, instant “food”. This morning I had my instant egg packet. It’s definitely better to cook it in the microwave.
1:00pm
I received a nice tip from my coach today. She had a blog that has great recipes and ideas for how to make the food taste better. I used one of the ideas for lunch. I took the wild rice soup in the water and let it sit for 15 min before cooking it. It made a world of difference. My only problem now is that the soup boils over within the first min of cooking. It is “simple to lose” most of my meal because it spills out inside the microwave… I have now learned that lesson and it will not happen again… Trust Me!
8:26pm
A much better day all around. I took the strawberry shake packet and blended it in a blender with crushed ice… Oh… Ya!!! Very nummy. That made a great 3:00pm meal. Then at 6 I had a small lean steak (6oz cooked) and a very nice salad. I could not finish it, because I was full… so I’m now patting myself on the back because I think that is the first time in ages that I have not finished a meal.
Also, today was great because a friend of ours in the community reached out to my wife and I. She was struggling as a single mom, trying to make ends meet and even make her rent & heat payment. She was going to be kicked out of her house on the 5th, but I brought it up to my facebook friends and within 17 min, her rent was paid and she had 100 gallons of propane donated to heat her house. By the end of the day, our little community even donated wood and funds to make up for her back rent. I love how community can meet the needs of those within it. We don’t need government to tell us when to be charitable, or even rely on government to take care of us… we rise above on our own and act… like human beings were created to act. Thank you community of Bigfork Montana, for caring for one of your own!
10:26am
Yuck… is not the only word that describes how awful the “Oatmeal” food packet tasted this morning, but it is the nicest thing I can say about it. Unfortunately I cannot get that taste out of my mouth. I think I need better microwave cooking containers or I did not make that correctly. How can this be allowed to be eaten? I felt like Neo in the movie “The Matrix” after he takes the blue pill and enters reality. He is stuck in the ship and they have to eat some slop that pours out of a tube into a bowl and everyone eats it because it has all of the nutrients that they need but tastes like cr@p. I… will NOT be having the oatmeal food replacement meal ever again TUVM (thank you very much).
2:43pm
I have to tell you… I’m not in good shape today… Very week, to the point that I am too dizzy to work. I’m not sure if I am sick or if this is normal. I can’t really write any more.
4:48pm
I just read a happy email from my health coach… She said “Just read your blog post and burned calories laughing! You have a way with words! If you need to, have an extra meal. You could even cut a bar in half and eat as needed. A cup if chicken broth will help with energy also. Just make sure it is low sodium. I promise, it does get easier!” So… now I’m running to my kitchen to grab something. (OK… I’m not actually running, but you get the picture)
5:49pm
I just ate my lean and green meal. I had a salad and a wonderful salmon steak cooked to perfection. I actually have energy and feel much better, so that means that I’m not sick, just hungry. Hunger is a serious issue… We have it so good in America. God bless those who are going to sleep hungry tonight… may God give them excess tomorrow and meat their needs. I’m going to work now… Goodnight!
