TexasSwede

I just read Devin's posting about his scare last Thursday.

I also have a history of heart issues in my family, both my parents died from it, even if I suspect my mom got a blood clot after she had leg surgery... But the official papers say heart attack.

I was always a big guy, and about 8-10 years ago it was pretty bad. I never checked my weight back then, except for at some rare visit at the doctor. I remember once the scale ringing up at 275 lbs and 6'0". I had just moved to the US at that time, and still had some problems grasping lbs vs kg. So I guess it did not really register with me how big I actually was.

In late 2002, around Christmas, I stopped drinking regular sodas and switched to diet sodas. Some time in February or March I had dropped to 260 lbs, and over the next few months I lost another 15-20 lbs. All without much exercise, just some small changes in my eating habits. Well, in addition I also was going through some marital problems and in the summer of the same year a divorce. Broken heart can be a good (if not fun!) way to lose weight...

I been steadily working on small changes in my life. Adding more exercise, tweaking what I eat, finding good but healthy as well as filling food both at the grocery store and fast food places and restaurants.
I am right now at 215 lbs, for the last 8-9 months I been up and down between 212 and 225, but mostly in the lower range of that. I am not going to stress about it, the weight took years to pack on, and it will take a while to get off.

I just turned 40 in March, and I am right now at the same weight as when I left the Swedish Air Force at age 22. I am actually probably in slightly better shape now than back then (I was mainly driving trucks and heavy equipment in the Air Force). My goal is to get below 200 lbs, which is about what I was when I graduated High School. My dream is to hit 190, though.

It is hard to stay in shape when you have a job sitting on front of a computer all day, and sometimes night. On top of that, I am lazy.
I now try to go to the gym several times each week, and working out with a trainer at least once a week.

But the biggest effect om my weight is how and what I eat. I foound so many good to eat that I can't really come up with any excuses not to eat healthy most of the time. I am not a picky eater, so that makes things easier, of course. The other day I had a sliced avocado, a can of drained tuna in water and two hard-boiled eggs for lunch. Excellent, very tasty. Sdding some black pepper on the tuna and avocado, and a dash of salt on the eggs made it even better. I boil half a dozen eggs every few days and put them in the fridge. A sliced egg or two on a piece of bread (especially Wasa crispbread) with some caviar on top) is a great and filling breakfast. Works for lunch too.

What I am trying to say is to make small changes you can live with. One step at a time.

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.