TexasSwede

Four weeks ago I stopped drinking soda. It has been almost six years since I stopped drinking regular soda (mainly Coca-Cola) and switched to diet drinks, but about a month ago I decided I would try to cut them out altogether. I still needed my caffeine, so I started drinking more (hot) tea, as well as found some Crystal Light and similar powder with caffeine that I could put in my water bottles. 

I am in the process of trying to lose a few more lbs, and I recently (2 weeks ago) signed up at LA Fitness. My membership ($29.99/month) allows me to us any of their facilities in Texas. I work right next to one, and I live about 10 minutes from another one. There is even a third one located about half-way between my place and my ex-wife, so we can meet in the parking lot after I am done when it is my turn to have our son.

Whaen I started going to the gym, I was at 229-230 lbs, depedning on the scale I used. I try to do about 1 hour of cardio on the elliptical trainer, and I also trying to get some weights in. For the latter, I signed up with a personal trainer, and I am going to start that on a more serious level in two weeks.

At the same time, I am also trying to adjust what I am eating. I have been trying to eat somewhat helthy for a few years now, and I lost some weight doing that. The biggest chnage, however, was something I decided last week. I will stop drinking soda, or at least just have one on occasion. I switched from regular soda (mainly Coca-Cola) to diet drinks back in late 2002 or early 2003. That (combined with some marital problems at that time) caused me to lose about 40 lbs in a few months.

I have a slight problem when it comes to giving up sodas. I need the caffeine. What I did is to have hot tea in the morning, and I also purchased some Crystal Light mixes containing caffeine. I can recommend Wild Strawberry and Natural Citrus Splash. They are currently on sale at Kroger, two boxes of 10 packets for $5.00 with their card.

So today is my 7th day with no sodas of any kind. This morning I was also down to 220 lbs.

 Found a list on the Mens Health magazine over the 20 worst food items in different categories.

 

The "winner"? Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing with 2,900 calories, 182 g fat and 240 g carbs.

This weapon of mass construction is the caloric equivalent of eating 14 Krispy Kreme doughnuts, before your dinner arrives. Even if you split this "starter" with 3 friends, you'll have downed a meal's worth of calories.

You should also look at some other bad items. It is scary! For example, the number 2 on the list (worst starter), Chili's Awesome Blossom: 2,710 calories, 203 g fat, 194 g carbs, 6,360 mg sodium

It takes a special talent to turn a single oversized onion into the fat equivalent of 67 slices of bacon, but the line cooks at Chili's manage this horrific feat with the help of a thick batter, a calorie-loaded dipping sauce, and a vat of bubbling fat.

Good thing I never eat those anyway. However, as you seen in a previous posting, I recently realized how bad the burritos at Chipotle are.

The Chipotle Mexican Grilled Chicken Burrito makes the list, as "worst mexican entree" with 1,179 calories, 47 g fat, 125 g carbs and 2,656 mg sodium.