Week 7 (John)

This week we have lost a combined total of 4 lbs. Well, I have lost the 4 lbs. this week and the tables have turned on Amy. She sits with a zero.

Technically she is not sitting, she has begun a walking routine that she hopes will promote her weightloss. I think I will try to keep up with her but not too sure about the power-walking, side-steping, hand-clapping, toe-touching routines that she manages.

I did however reach another goal this past week that I had set when beginning to lose weight. 50 push-ups! I know this may not seem like a lot to some people but at 310 lbs and out of shape I could barely crank out 10. Thus I employed my son to assist me in increasing my output. I would do 10 for 1 week and then I would let him sit on my back or shoulders really and add a little weight for a few days. When I would do them after that it seemed easy to increase my reps so I added 5 more each time we did that. Really I am shocked that after about 6 weeks I went from 10 to 50. I actually did 4 sets of 25 the other night. I am not desiring to increase beyond that point but rather maintain that ability. My next goal is pullups/chinups - I hope to knock out 10 of each, which is astronomical when I cant even do 1 at this point.

Week 6 (John)

Back again and no, there will be no more poetry today... It was interesting though to see those who are reading this here blog and keeping up with our success(especially those complimenting our poetry, no its not original). This last week was far from our best week on the weightloss side.

Amy, however did manage to one up me this week. She had a weightloss of around 1.5 lbs... The scale was half way in between and leaning heavy towards the other side. I losing "O" cant let her have the whole 2 lbs since technically it wasnt all the way over to the line.

This does not really surprise me though as we were invited over to a friends house to eat and upon their request we provided a cheesecake for desert. We indulged on homemade salsa and chips, tacos, tostados, & burritos. I guess you could say our diet was on somewhat of a siesta. That was followed by a runaway trip to grandmas house who insisted that we have spaghetti and meatballs before leaving. Which was followed by a very big Sunday dinner at church.

Just goes to show you can do good all week and then fall short on the weekend binge. I would say that this will probably not be the norm of our dieting and we will have to certainly learn to say NO to some of those offers for those delightful foods that we once entertained or devoured. (We learned the hardway after the mexican delights - If you know what I mean!)

We look forward to next weeks numbers, hopefully a little larger spread from the ZERO.

Don’t Quit

When you eat too much and you don’t write it down
And you feel like the biggest failure in town
When you want to give up just because you gave in
And forget all about being healthy and thin
So what? You went over your points a bit
It’s your next move that counts, so don’t quit
It’s a moment of truth, it’s an attitude change
It’s learning the skills to get back in your range
It’s telling yourself, you’ve done great up till now
You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow
To stumble and fall is not a disgrace
If you summon the will to get back in the race
But often the strugglers when losing their grip
Just throw in the towel and continue to slip
And learn too late when the damage is done
That the race wasn’t over they still could have won
Making these changes can be awkward and slow
But facing each challenge will help you to grow
When you’re pushed to the brink just refuse to submit
If you bite it, you write it, but don’t you ever quit!

Week 5 (Amy)

I can think of a few things that get me REALLY excited! Going shopping (rare), going home to Alabama (about once every 2 months), going on vacation (drawing a blank), or losing weight. And this week, I am VERY excited because I. Lost. FOUR. lbs!! With a total weight loss of 15 lbs! Yeah!! Go me!
My clothes are getting a little looser, but I am ready for them to be TOO big. It's not happening YET...maybe after 15 more lbs? Here is my week 5 photo, taken Sunday morning:

So here's me, 15 lbs lighter than on Jan 1, and John Michael, 30 lbs lighter than on Jan 1. We've still got a ways to go, but we're gonna make it, gonna make it, gonna make it........

30 lbs.!!!! (Week 5)

WOW! I have hit my 30 lb. goal today. I would have never thought it would come so fast. My thoughts were originally for the end of March. I am not complaining though. I am glad that it is gone.

Amy has lost 15 lbs. so far which is great! We are proud of our accomplishments and can’t wait to see how much further our efforts will be rewarded.

We are working off the Weightwatcher's plan which has proven to be beneficial to us in the past.
We are, however, trying to modify our long term eating habits. With Weightwatchers you can really still eat the same old foods you just have to moderate the amounts. This is ok if you are looking for some short term results but if you never really change your way of thinking when it comes to eating you will probably find yourself back in the same boat again (or perhaps sinking the boat).

Anyway, we are moving to a more vegetable intense diet with less sugar, salts, and other processed particles. Once you get a lot of that stuff out of your body and move to a smaller amount of food than what you are accustomed too I think you will find that your body will make better use of the veggies. You might even find that you will start liking the things that are good for you, like all those greens! I can already hear Aunt Patsy and all that she has to say...

Losing weight for us is about change, haven't we heard a lot about that here lately with the elections. Our goals are not just about losing a few pounds to get into an outfit or just to look better. Our goals for weight loss involve healthy living for the sake of ourselves, our family and even our church. We want to be around long enough (Lord willing) to see the little ones grow up and to see how the Hand of God works in the building of our new church. We anticipate great things to come both spiritually and physically...

Stick around and keep up with the progress!

Low Cal. Ice cream sandwiches

I am always looking for a sweet snack. This is one that comes in handy and is very easy to make.

2 Graham crackers full
4 Tbs Fat free cool whip

1. Break the graham crackers in half
2. Smooth 2 Tbs cool whip on cracker
3. Combine other cracker to make sandwich
4. Place in freezer for 30 min-1Hr to harden

5. Enjoy!

This great snack is only 4 pts. and definitely has a way of curbing the sweet tooth.

Graham Crackers(2 full crackers): 130 Cal. , 1 G Fiber, 3G Fat
Fatfree Cool Whip(2Tbs): 20 Cal. , 0G Fiber, 0G Fat

Week (4)

Once again, John has had a very successful week of weight loss. He lost another 5 lbs this week, for a total of 25 lbs. It is with little joy that I report my 1 lbs of weight loss for the week. I started walking with Leslie Sansone this week, and I am thinking that was the reason for the 1 lb, since exercise usually causes a big of weight gain initially, because of increase in muscle mass. Hopefully, next week will bring better results. I leave you with another delicious, low-point recipe, although it's probably very high in sodium, being it is totally compiled of canned food. But it is very filling and doesn't take but about a cup to do you.

Dump 'n' Stir Chili
2 cans turkey chili, no beans
2 cans pinto beans, undrained
2 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 tbs chili powder
2 tsp minced onion


* I added a lot more seasoning--some garlic powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes and cooked it in the crockpot for a few hours. It's pretty good.