Day 54 & Day 55

Im behind on my posting so this is for the whole weekend. We had a bunch of stuff going on and my eating was all over the place.

I was the same this week as last. This is the first time I haven't lost any weight, but I am pretty happy with the weight Im at so I havent been as diligent as I could be.

Day 53

On plan 100% today. I wanted to get a run in today, but practices got in the way again. Man I cant wait for practices and games to be over for the year. Having the kids done with school will help alot also. 3 kids, three sports = No time.

Breakfast: Cinimmon bun, greek yogurt, banana
Snack: HB Egg, Apple
Lunch: Sausage beans and rice, Salad, bread
Snack: BBQ Soy chips
Dinner: NS beef patty, bun, salad, broccoli
Snack: NS PB cookie

Day 52

The schedule I am keeping these days, with work and practices is killing my weight loss, good thing I have been running alot, so I am at least maintaing my weight. So far this week I a stayed stable on the weight which is good. Im planing a big weekend of running 8 on saturday and 5 on sunday. So maybe that will help. I cheated again today and will again tommorow night at the kids school fun fair.

Breakfast: Cinimon Roll, yogurt, banana
Snack: HB Egg, Apple
Lunch: Brocolli Soup, Salad, bread
Snack: NS Zesty Mix
Dinner: Schezuan chicken, Eggroll
Snack: None

Day 51

My car is in the shop, so I was working from home today. This is always a dangerious time for me because the food is always there calling me. I did good, and stayed away from the food and was able to get a 5 mile run in at lunch. To make sure I stay away from the nice weather and the food, I worked from a desk we have in the basement. I got whatever food I need and went back down. Its sad I still cant trust myself around all the food. I think thats why I do so well on the weekdays at work.

Breakfast: PB Granola, greek yogurt, banana
Snack: Cheese Stick, Apple
Lunch: Ham and Bean Soup, Salad, bread and Almond Butter
Snack: BBQ Soy chips, Bread and almond butter, Apple
I had another bread and almond butter and an apple because I was really hungry after the 5 mile run
Dinner: PotRoast, carrots, potato, salad
Snack: None

Day 50

Was on plan until dinner tonight. My son had baseball practice tonight and I barely had time to get home from work and get him to practice, so I didnt have time to eat. Practices have been running a couple of hours so were not usually back home til around 8pm. So I broke down and ran through mcDonalds and got a grill chicken sandwich meal. I tasted really good, I have to admit, not good. No more of those, or it could become a habit.

Breakfast: PB Ganola, greek yogurt, banana
Snack: HB Egg, Apple
Lunch: NS Fetticini, Salad, bread
Snack: Cheese puffs
Dinner: McDonalds (DOH!)
Snack: None

Day 49

Back on plan today, and giving the legs a day of rest from running. Drank all my water today and at all my food.

Over the last year or so my eyesight has become worse and I now require reading glasses and I also use them for computer work. I did a lot of reading yesterday, but forgot my glasses at home. I ended up with a headache that didnt go away all night. I manage to throw some pitches to my son, but decided that running was out.

I tried the NS hamburger, it was a little scary comming out of the box, but once it was reconstituted it was pretty good.

Breakfast: Cinimmon bun, greek yogurt, banana
Snack: HB Egg, Apple
Lunch: Sausage beans and rice, Salad, bread
Snack: BBQ Soy chips
Dinner: NS beef patty, bun, salad, asperigus
Snack: NS oatmeal cookie

Day 48

Weigh in Day

As of this morning I am 215.6lb

Which mean I have lost 30.8 lbs and have only 5.6 to go until I reach goal. If things keep going like they have that is at most 2 weeks.

Im planning on really increasing my running as I want to do a marathon in the fall.
This means Ill have to try to get my calories boosted, but not to the point where I gain too much weight.

I want to make sure the calories are comming from nice healthy foods, and not junk.

I bought myself some recovery drink for after my runs, its a mix of carbs and protiens in a 4:1 ratio. This ratio has been proven to be the best for muscle recovery. Im hoping it will help me recover faster so I can get more running days in each week.

Breakfast: PB granola bar, greek yogurt, banana
Snack: Cheese stick, Apple
Lunch: Almond butter half sandwich, cottage cheese, banana
Snack: Post workout recovery drink
Dinner: Tacos, salad, mixed veggies
Snack: PB cookie

Day 47

We had a bunch of soccer and baseball stuff going on today, and it was freezing out, not fun! I tried to eat correctly today, but we werent always at home. Thank god for stuff like cheese sticks. It was so cold twice today I ended up with a large coffee with cream from mcdonalds. Maybe all that caffiene will help me burn off a few calories :)

Good news and bad news. Good news is Ive lost a bunch of weight, bad news is that Im swiming in all my work clothes. I need to do some shopping.

Breakfast: NS Oatmeal, greek yogurt, banana
Snack: Cheese stick, Apple
Lunch: Almond butter half sandwich, cottage cheese, banana
Snack: Cheese stick
Dinner: Rueben sandwich and few fries
Snack: air popped popcorn

Day 46

This week has gone pretty well, and I expect that on sunday when I weigh in Ill be somewhere around 115-116lb range. About 5 pounds from goal. Im looking forward to cooking and eating on my own. I have alot of ideas for foods and recipies. I have been running quite a bit and trying to do as many pushups as I can, and I can really start to notice it in my upper body. I cheated at dinner, but made decent choices so it wasnt so bad.

Breakfast: PB Granola bar, greek yogurt, banana
Snack: Cottage Cheese, Apple
Lunch: Bean and Ham soup, Salad, Bread
Snack: Nacho Chips
Dinner: Subway Flatbread roasted chicken veggies and mustard
Snack: None

Day 45

I had a bad day food wise. I was on plan all day except lunch. There was a pizza party planned to celebrate a few peoples big promotions. I had planned on having a small amount and a salad and call it good. For some reason I was extra hungry in the morning, and when the pizza showed up a chowed down. The pizza was cut in squares, about 3 or 4 inches on each side, and I at 5 plus a salad. I fell full afterwards, but really angry that I couldnt control myself. It was also my day off of running so that made me feel worse about it.

Well only one thing to do, get back on plan. Which is what I am doing today, and I will run again for the next three days. I needed the day off, and probably the carbs in the pizza, so maybe it wasnt such a bad thing.


Breakfast: NS PB granola bar, Strawberry greek yogurt, banana
Snack: HB Eggs, Apple
Lunch: Pizza, Salad
Snack: BBQ Soy Chips
Dinner: Chicken pattie with bun, Salad
Snack: PB Cookie

Day 44

I was on plan today, until dinner. On wednesdays we usually go over to the inlaws for dinner. My mother in law had made goulash, which is one of my favorites, so I had a couple of serving of that. I have been running alot and my legs feel a little tired, so I think I needed the carbs anyways.

This week I upped the running from 2 miles at a time to 3 miles at a time. I ran the last 4 days in a row, but I am going to take tommorow off to let my legs heal up.

I burn about 450 calories when I run the 3 miles, so I have been adding a protien shake the last few days after my run, to help make up some of those calories.

Breakfast: NS Oatmeal, Peach greek yogurt, banana
Snack: Cottage Cheese, Apple, Protien shake
Lunch: Split pea soup, Salad, Bread
Snack: Cheese Puffs, grapes
Dinner: Goulash, Salad, Mixed Fruit, Green beans
Snack: None

Day 43

Was on plan today except for water. I have done really poorly on the water for the last week, and my weight hasnt changed, Im sure that isnt a coincidence. Im back to work starting tommorrow so hopefully that will help me get back on track. Working at home I have been able to run for the last 4 days.

Breakfast: NS Flakes and berries, Strawberry greek yogurt, banana
Snack: Cottage Cheese, Apple
Lunch: bean and ham, Salad, Bread
Snack: Nacho Chips, grapes
Dinner: Meatloaf and mashes potatoes, Salad, bread and almond butter, apple
Snack: PB Cookie

Day 42

For the next couple of days I am working from home which is great, but I find it hard to be so close to the food all the time. Im really tempted to cheat throughout the day. Ive tried to stay away from the snacks, but since Im running almost every day now I allow myself a few grapes or some veggies every now and then.

Breakfast: NS Cereal, banana, greek yogurt
Snack: apple, cottage cheese
Lunch: NS Bean and rice, salad, bread, almond butter
Snack: Nacho Chips
Dinner: Pizza, Salad, Bread and butter, broccoli, apple sauce
Snack: Choc caramel nougat bar

Day 41

Im running a little behind on my posts, so I am going to try to catch back up today.

Today was weigh in day.

Total weight loss so far is 28.4. I am 118, so only 2 lbs this week, but I have been tinkering a little with how I will do maintainence, plus later in the week and this weekend my water intake was pretty low.

We had a soccer game today for my daughter and everyone was hungry afterward so we went off to applebees. I had another one of the under 550 calories meals, once again it was good. I used that as my dinner and then had a NS lunch at dinner.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Yogurt, Banana
Snack: Apple, Cottage Cheese
Lunch: Applebees
Snack: Nacho Chips.
Dinner: NS Tortalinni, Salad, bread.
Snack: Choc chip cookie

Day 40

I was off plan a bit today, we had a wedding to go to so my dinner was much larger than normal, and I had quite a few drinks, but we had fun and my weight still seem to be dropping, so so be it.


Breakfast: NS Pancakes, Strawberry greek yogurt, banana
Snack: Cottage Cheese, Apple
Lunch: pasta and beef, Salad, Bread
Snack: Buffalo pretzels
Dinner: Wedding food
Snack: None

Day 39

I was on plan 100% today. Weekdays are alot easier to follow the plan since most of the eating is done at work. The weather here has been really weird, 80 degrees on day then 2 days later 30's and snow flakes. It has made my lunchtime walks a little more spotty.

Breakfast: NS Flakes and berries, Strawberry greek yogurt, banana
Snack: Cottage Cheese, Apple
Lunch: Tuna salad, Salad, Bread
Snack: Nacho Chips
Dinner: Meatloaf and mashes potatoes, Salad, bread and almond butter, apple
Snack: PB Cookie

Day 38

I was on plan 100% today, but the kids sports practices are starting to make it really hard. My days go something like this.

6am Wake up, shower
6:25 get kids up make breakfast
6:50 make and pack lunch for the day
7-7:15 fight kids to finish getting ready
7:15 drive kids to school and me to work
8-5 Work Work Work
drive home
5:30 make my quick meal & something quick for kids,
6:00 off to practice or game
8:00 get home, shower for kids
9:00 bed time for kids, and either relax in front of the tv or run for me.

Its pretty much like this from now until shortly before school lets out.

My Dinner is lately just the NS Entree before practice and bread and a huge salad later on.

Breakfast: NS Flakes and berries, Vinilla greek yogurt, banana
Snack: Cottage Cheese, Apple
Lunch: Pasta and beef, Salad, Bread
Snack: NS Zesty Snack Mix
Dinner: spinach and cheese ravioli, Salad, bread and almond butter, apple
Snack: Choc chip cookie

Day 37

I was on plan today right up until dinner. I had to take my daughter to a soccer game, which got over fairly late, and I had to stop at the grocery store to get more supplies. This along with the fact the in-laws said they would take us out led me to eating at fazoli's. I ended up with the Chicken and brocoli penne. It was one of the healthier items on the menu, or so I thought. When I got home I check the stats on that and the half a breadstick I had. 1000 Calories and I wasnt really all that full, WOW!

I guess it was a good thing I ran last night and burned about 300 calories for my 2 miles. Im going to try to sneak in another run tonight.

Breakfast: Peanut butter granola bar, Yogurt, Banana
Snack: Apple, Cottage Cheese
Lunch: tuna salad, Salad, bread
Snack: BBQ Soy chips.
Dinner: Fazoli's
Snack: None

Day 36 - I just noticed this didnt post when I wrote it

I really like having a new shipment of food, it was getting hard to make my choices at lunches and dinner. The first month was hard, because you really dont know what you will like and not like. This month I changed my order so I only get what I liked, although when it came, there was still a few I didnt like, not sure if it was me or them that screwed up. I am now within less than 10 lbs of my goal, which I should hit in about 2.5 weeks if all goes like it has. Im not sure if Ill keep ordering the food, but just add things in or order one month and make it last for 3 by subbing a meal here and there, I guess Ill just decide that later.

I bought a bunch of new clothes around christmas time, to fit my expanding waistline. Im really regreting that now as Im swimming in most of them.

Breakfast: Peanut butter granola bar, Yogurt, Banana
Snack: Apple, Cottage Cheese
Lunch: tuna salad, Salad, bread
Snack: BBQ Soy chips.
Dinner: Fazoli's
Snack: None

Day 35

I was on plan 100% today and got more water than I needed.

I got my second run in, and it felt really good. I ran on friday for the first time, and my legs were really sore for a few days, so I waited until they were feeling a little better to run again. Im starting with 2 miles each time, and will slowly start raising that amount, as I feel it is needed. Im looking to run a marathon or half marathon in the fall and then again in the spring of 2011. I dont know if I mention it before, but I have a run a couple of marathons before, so this isnt just crazy talk, and I do know what training is involved to get ready for something like this. It all depends on how injury free I can stay.

My new shipment of food came today, it was nice to go through the food and know that I liked everything in the box. I did add a few new things, but not many. I did pretty well not having any NS food for the last week. I still managed to lose a little weight.

Breakfast: Kashi Cereal, banana, greek yogurt
Snack: apple, cottage cheese
Lunch: NS Fettecini, salad, bread, almond butter
Snack: hard boiled egg
Dinner: Chicken Breast, salad, green beans, 1 red potato
Snack: Choc chip cookie

Day 34

Weigh in day!

Weight loss so far 26.4lbs

I am at 220 on the nose. My goal was 210, so 10 lbs to go. When I reach goal my eating will remain health, but probably change somewhat. I plan on trying to add some muscle, so I will proabably up the protien level and maybe add a protien shake somewhere in there. I also started running again this week so Ill need a little more calories as I up my miles.

I checked on my next food order and it should be here today, which is good. Im looking forward to having all foods I know that I will like.

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean, yogurt, banana
Snack: Cottage cheese
Lunch: Tuna sandwich, salad
Snack: yogurt
Dinner: NS Chicken Sandwich, roasted Asperigus, Salad, Strawberries
Snack: NS Poundcake and strawberries.

Day 33

Food didnt go great today, which isnt surprising, the weekends never go well, since there is too much going on. I had to help do cleanup at my sons baseball field. I was there over three hours doing some pretty tough labor, they had hotdogs and chips for us, which I ate. I had worked pretty hard so I dont feel too bad.

Breakfast: Kashi go lean almondflax crunch, banana, yogurt
Snack: None
Lunch: 2 hot dogs, chips
Snack: None
Dinner: Trout, broccoli
Snack: chocolate caramel bar

Day 32

I was 100% on food today, but only got about half my water, I need to pick up some more crystal light this weekend it really helps on days when the water isnt going down very easy.

Breakfast: Kashi go lean almondflax crunch, banana, yogurt
Snack: Cheese Stick, Apple
Lunch: Tuna sandwich, salad
Snack: SF Jello, 10 almonds
Dinner: Chicken Alfredo, Salad, roasted brocolli, unsweetened applesauce
Snack: White chocolate cookie

Day 31

Well today was my first day back on the program after vacation. I thought I would be really hungry today, because I ate alot more while on vacation, but surprisingly I wasnt that hungry. I had delayed my next shipment while we were on vacation so that it would get here about the time we were getting home. I check on it last night and it wont be here until the 13th, so im going to have to wing it for a few days. I do have a few dinner left over, but they are one I dont care for, but for lunch Im on my own. I think I have learned enough that I can make some good choices.
I still think I am holding some water weight from vacation, but a few more days of pounding down the water should help with that. Ill weight myself again on sunday like I was before. Im hoping just to be where I was at before the vacation.

In other news Im going to start running again this weekend, Im really looking forward to it, since I really havent done much running since I hurt my ankle last june.

Breakfast: Kashi go lean almondflax crunch, banana, yogurt
Snack: Cheese Stick, Apple
Lunch: NS Chicken noodles and vegetables, Salad with fixins, bread
Snack: Chocolate Nougat and carmel bar
Dinner: Chicken Alfredo, Salad, roasted asperigus, unsweetened applesauce,Bread and spread
Snack: Carrot cake

Back from Vacation

Well Im back from my vacation to disney world. The weather was beautiful, 80's and sunny every day, and not a drop of rain. I ate too much and drank too much, and got a wee bit sunburned. I did try and make good food choices when I could, and disney has really upped their healty food choices, so it was pretty easy. In the end I only ended up gaining a pound as of this morning. I didnt drink much water, so it may be even less than the pound once I drink all my water today. I usually update these the day after so Ill be back tommorow to update what I did today.

Getting close to goal weight....

Im about 2/3 of the way to my goal weight, another 10-15 lbs to go.

But then what?

Am I ready to cook and eat on my own. I have learned alot over the last month, but will it be enough? Its a pretty scary prospect, the not having to worry about portion sizes or calorie has made this weight loss pretty easy.

To complicate things I plan on starting running again when I hit goal weight, so Ill need some extra calories for that, a lot of factors to consider.

I think I have a pretty good handle on breakfast and lunch meals and the morning snack wont change alot, but keeping dinner at the correct portion sizes and not over eating might be hard. And what to do about the protien and fiber heavy snack before and after dinner. I guess I need to spend some time on the nutrisystem boards in the mantaining threads.

I guess if I really cant figure it out, NutriSystem will be there for me.

Why NutriSystem Works

If your like me and have had some success on NutriSystem and are asked why it works, here is a cheat sheet of reasons you can use.

1. Weight loss is "calories in" vs "calories out" simple as that. NutriSystem makes sure that the calories in is lower, you will lose weight. Now everyone is has a different metabolism, so some will lose more than others, but if you stick to it you will lose.

2. Its simple. No calorie, fat, carb counting. Have your NS entree and a few add ins and your good to go, no real cooking required.

3. No hunger. The way the NutriSystem is designed, you are eating every couple of hours, you dont have time to get hungry.

4. The food is really good, so you will eat it. Sure there are a few lunch or dinners you wont like, everybodys taste is different There is such a selection to choose from, its really easy to find something you will like.

5. Cost. Its not cheap, but if you really calculate out what you were spending on eating out a groceries, you might see that you will come out ahead. And the initiall money you spend will keep you motivated to stick out at least the first month until the food is gone. The weight you lost in that first month will bring you back.

6. It re-trains your brain. Americans views on what a correct portion of food is has gotten totally out of whack over the years. Nutrisystems meals are perfectly portioned, so by eating and seeing these portion for a month you really start to learn how much food you should be eating.

Suppliments

If you are doing the NutriSystem program correctly then you are probably eating pretty healthy, so some people might wonder if suppliment pill are really needed.

My thought on this is that they cant really hurt, at least the suppliment I am talking about below.

What I take:

Daily Multi-Vitamin - Yeah, your getting a lot of vitamins from the fruits and veggies your eating, but are you getting the full spectrum. Unless your sure, then taking a multi vitamin is a good idea, they are not that expensive and better safe than sorry.

FlaxSeed Oil - The nutriSystem diet isnt very high is heart health omega-3, usually found in fish and nuts, so I take a few of these each day. I chose the flaxseed over the fish oil caps, for one simple reason, no nasty fish burps, simple as that.

Niacin- I have low cholesterol, which is a good thing, but I also have low levels of good cholesterol, which is not good. Taking the flaxseed oil, niacin and excersize has been shown to raise the good cholesterol levels.

Stuff you shouldnt take (and I dont):

Stimulants - These come in many forms including energy drinks, pills, etc. These are dangerous to take as they make your heart work harder even at rest.

Fat Blockers - To me these just seem wrong, I dont know the science behind them, and if the are dangerous, but the list of side affects should be enough to scare people off.

Stuff I may add:

Protien Powders - Once I reach my weight goal and start cooking my own foods again I might mix some of these in for clean calories as I up my fitness.


Before adding anything or starting any exersize program consulting your doctor is a good idea.

Day 30

Im quite tired this morning, between work and getting ready for vacation there hasnt been a moment of rest. Vacation cant come soon enough. We leave tommorow bright and early. We were worried about leaving on vacation, because our usual dog sitter couldnt watch our dog this time and we were going to have to board her for the week. But this week we found one of my wifes co-workers kid who is off of college for the week who is going to stay at our house and watch the house and the dog. It a win-win for everyone. He gets to get out of his parents house and enjoy a nice house all to himself, and make a little money, the dog gets to stay where she is comfortable, and we dont have any worries.

It felt good to get back on track today, after the weekends festivities. It didnt affect my weight loss at all, after a day back on track Im lower than the end of last week.

Breakfast: Kashi Cereal, yogurt, apple
Snack: Apple, HB Egg

Lunch: Bean, sausage, rice, salad
Snack: Chocolate caramel nougat bar

Dinner: Spinach and cheese ravioli, salad, grilled zuchinni
Snack: Carrot cake

Day 29

Weigh in day.

4 Weeks down and it went quick.

Total weight loss so far 23.6 lbs.

I never thought a month ago I would have lost so much. What better way to celebrate than cheat, cheat, cheat. I was my wifes birthday, so we went out to eat and then to Baskin-Robbins.

I am now out of NS food, and wont have any before we get back from vacation. I do have some food, from the meals where we ate out.

Breakfast: Kashi Almond flax cereal, banana, yogurt.
I realy like this cereal, it will be a big part of my maintainance plan.

Snack: Cheesestick, Apple

Lunch: ham and bean soup, bread, salad

Snack: None:

Dinner: Chicken with mushrooms and artichokes, salad, broccoli

Snack: Fat free Ice cream from baskin-robbins.

Day 28

It had been a long week so we slept in and boy did I need it. I made coffee and proceeded to drink about 3-4 cups, I never drink that much at home, but I was tasting really good. Didnt eat breakfast until almost 10am, so I didnt have a morning snack. We had a lot to do so I fit food in where I could. Our fist month of food is running out and the next order wont be here for a couple of days so I cooked a real dinner.


Breakfast: Banana, NS Oatmeal, yogurt

Snack: None

Lunch: Fish taco, bean burrito

Snack: SF Jello
Dinner: Lean Hamburger, 8 Grain bun, Salad, Mushrooms, Asperigus
Snack:None

Day 27

Did great on my food and water until dinner. It has been a pretty stressful week at work and really busy at home getting ready for vacation. So needless to say on friday night I didnt feel like cooking. We headed over the a local mexican restuarant. I had a seafood dish and a lot of lettuce and tomatoes. I went really easy on the chips and salsa, so I think I did all right. Its all about learning to make better choices.

Breakfast: Cinnimon Roll, Banana, yogurt
Snack: Hard boiled eggs, cheese stick
Lunch: Pasta and beef, Salad, , bread
Snack: Buffalo Chicken pretzels
Dinner: Dinner out. Seafood enchiladas

Snack: None.

Day 26

The end of the first month is comming soon and Im getting down to my last few meal before my next food delivery, and guess what, they are the one I dont like very much. The good news is that after our vacation a new shipment arrives with stuff I know I like, so Im looking forward to that. Its looking like my weight loss for this week is going to be about like last, around 4 lbs, which I happy about. I figure at the end of the next month of food I should be down from my start of 246.4 to my goal of 210. Then on to figure out how to maintain.

Breakfast: Banana, PB granola bar, yougurt
Snack: Cottage Cheese, Apple
Lunch: Fetticini, bread, salad, brocolli
Snack: Carrot cake
Dinner: Chicken Fetticinni, salad, roasted asperigus, strawberries
Snack: Oatmeal cookie

Day 25

Did a little sprucing up to the blog today. I think it looks alot better. Its amazing to me how quick this first month is going. If you told me when I started this that I would be down nearly 25lb in the first month, I would have beleieved it. It was alot harder in the first week or so, not remembering what I had to eat when, and getting my food together was a chore. I can get my food bag ready in 5 minutes now, and dont need to look at the meal planner. This has to be one of the easiest diets that I have ever been on.

Plus I was 100% today :)

Breakfast: Banana Nut Muffin. Yummy. Yogurt, nectarine.
Snack: Apple, Cottage Cheese
Lunch: Cheese tortalini, bread, loaded salad
Snack: NS Pretzels, SF Jello
Dinner: Mushroom Rissoto, Broccoli, Cabbage, Salad, bread.
I like the taste of the mushroom rissoto, but I have to eat it without looking at it to much, it looks disgusting.
Snack: PB cookie

Day 24

I was on plan 100% yesterday, even though I almost slipped up. I had a bunch of running around to do with the kids after work, one of those things was stopping for salad fixing, and one was to drive through and get them something to eat. I was so tempted to just get myself some fast food, It took all my might to not do it. In the end I was happy I didnt, but I was less than happy last night with the dinner I picked out, BBQ Beef,Beans and rice. Yuck! Bad thing is I think I have 2 more of them.

Breakfast: PB Granola bar, banana, yogurt
Snack: Cottage Cheese, Apple
Lunch: Veggie beef soup, salad, bread
Snack: Chocolate carmel bar
Dinner: BBQ Beef,Beans and rice, Salad, Bread, Strawberries
Snack: PB Cookie

Day 23

Im having a little trouble understanding how my body works, I eat the same things almost every day, but some days I wont lose any weight, sometimes .5 pound, and then out of nowhere yesterday 2.2 lbs.

Everyday is I see my self getting closer to being able to eat like this long term. During the first three week the times I have gone off plan were the times I didnt plan correctly.

The reason I got fat in the first place was poor planning, ie. not packing lunch the night before, and then not having time in the morning. That lead to drivethrus and alot of pop.

Breakfast: Cinnimon Roll, Banana, yogurt
Snack: Hard boiled eggs, cheese stick
Lunch: Fetticinni, Salad, asperigus, bread
Snack: Buffalo Chicken pretzels
Dinner: Cajun sausage and rice, Salad, Awesome stuffed mushrooms I came up with, bread, Strawberries
Snack: Oatmeal cookie.

Day 22

Weigh in today.....

Three week total is ...

18.4 lbs.

I am pretty happy about that, if I can keep the 4 lbs a week up I should be at my goal wait in plenty of time for summer.

Now onto today, where I cheated. Doh!

We were up for the early church service and had to work coffee hour, and the kids wanted to go out so we did. Ive decided I cant look at these meals out as failures, but more like a learning experience, or a test on making good choices.
I love huge breakfast, love them. Usually I would get the Super Lumberjack special or whatever was similar to that. A whole ham, a couple dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, a bushell of potatoes. Well maybe not that much but you get the idea. Instead I got the spinach and turkey omlete, with a small side of potatoes and a slice of bread.

Breakfast: Ate out mid morning so no snack or lunch.

Snack: Nectarine

Dinner: Beef and mash potatoes, Salad, Asperagus, Bread.

Snack: PB cookie while watching "Up in the Air"

Day 21

Weigh in is tommorow, and Im expecting good things.

I was on 100% today, which is amazing since the weekends dont always go that well. We went to the movies today, which has been hard for me, since I always use to get a large Dew and a large popcorn. Instead I took a NS "Snickers" with me, and that ended up being just enough for me.

Breakfast: apple, pancakes, yogurt

I took a vinilla yogurt and layered that between the pancakes, and had lite syrup on that, it was really good.
Snack: cheese stick, apple
Lunch: Pasta and meat, salad, bread
Snack: Chocolate nougat candy bar
Dinner: Beef Teryaki and noodles, bread, salad, peapod
Snack: Oatmeal cookie.

Day 20

Had a pretty stressfull day at work today, and got home late. So we went out to dinner and I ate really bad stuff, it tasted awesome, but I felt guilty afterwards, and because I ate so much I felt physically not great either. That wont be happening again any time soon.

Breakfast: apple, banana nut muffin, yogurt
Snack: cheese stick, apple
Lunch: NS Brocolii alfredo, salad, bread
Snack: nacho chips
Dinner: Ate out lots of bad stuff.
Snack:

Day 19

I find myself being less and less hungry every day. In the begining I couldnt wait for my next meal or snack. Now I occasionally get to work and find it to be almost 9am and I still havent had breakfast. Even writing this at 4 pm I just realized I didnt have my carb at lunch. I think when I real my goal weight I think food wont have such a hold on my life, which is a good thing. I feel so much better all the time, not just for the 20 minutes I did after stuffing myself before.

Breakfast: Apple, Yogurt, choc chip bar
The Chocolate chip bar was pretty good, but I like the peanutbutter one a lot better.

Snack: Apple, Cheese stick

Lunch: Fetticini, Salad, Asperigus

Snack: Chocolate carmel bar
Yuck! I hate these.

Dinner: Buffalo Chicken wrap, zuchinni, salad, bread

Snack:Strawberry shortcake
NS pound cake with strawberries dumped over it. This was really good.

Day 18

I was on plan for water and exercise today. But we went out for dinner for my wifes birthday with her parents. We decided to hit applebees again for their under 550 calorie meals. This time I had the Shimp diavolo, which is shrimp with some sort of spicy sauce, and whole wheat pasta. I was surprised at how much food there was. The sauce was spicy but not super hot. It was really good.

Breakfast: Apple, Cinnamin Roll, yogurt
Snack: Apple, Cheese Sticks
Lunch: Chicken with noodles and veggies, asperigus, Salad, bread
Snack: Buffalo wing pretzels
Dinner: Applebees
Snack: None

Im sure the Applebees was full of salt so Ill hit the water pretty hard the next couple of days.

Day 17

Once again I was on plan today, in both food and water, and I got some exercise in. My ankle that was hurt is healing well and so I may start running again. Im finding myself less hungry all the time. I think my body is starting to get re-programmed.

Breakfast: PB Granola bar, HB eggs, banana.
I really like the PB granola bar. Have I said that before?
Snack: Yougurt, Apple

Lunch: Brocoli cheese soup, salad and fixins, bread from breakfast

Snack: NS Chex Mix

Dinner: Meatloaf and mash potatoes, Salad, Asperigus, strawberries.

Dessert: PB Cookie

Day 16

After a weekend of cheating it was good to get back on schedule. I didnt gain any weight over the weekend, but didnt really lose any either. Just goes to show you that an occasional splurg isnt going to kill things, if your good the rest of the time. Yesterday I was 100% on both food and water. I found adding some crystal light to the water helps me get it all in durring the day, but its too strong for my tastes so I mix it 50% strength.

Breakfast: NS Flakes with berries, Apple, Yogurt
Ive been just dumping the cereal into the yogurt and eating it that way, there is so little cereal its not worth adding milk to.

Snack: HB eggs, Apple

Lunch: Bean and ham soup, Salad, green beans, bread
Bean soups = Extra toot fuel. Like I really need that.

Snack: NS Cheese Puffs
This is the first time I tried these, not really impressed.

Dinner: Cheese ravioli with meat sauce, salad, brocolli, bread and spread.

This is one of my favorite NS meals.

Snack: Oatmeal cookie with coffee.

Day 15

Weigh in day for week 2.

This weeks total.

4 lbs

Not as impressive as last weeks, but still another 4 lbs or 15.4 total. Im happy.

Well with the late night party and the time change, and the slight hangover, I didnt eat breakfast or the morning snack, but with everything I ate the previous night, I wont miss those calories, trust me.

I got up slightly under the weather. I rarely drink, so the beer and the 3 7&7's got the better of me. So I hit the water early and hard, and it paid off, I was feeling better soon afterwards. I think drinking all that water, helped release the water my body was holding, I dont think I have ever made that many bathroom trips in one day.

Breakfast: Sleep

Snack: Sleep

Lunch: Pasta and beef, Salad

Snack: Buffalo prezels

Dinner: Chicken parmesean and noodles, Huge salad, bread and spread
The chicken parmesean was really good, Im adding a bunch of these for next time.

Snack:Nouget chocolate peanut bar, coffee.
Had my "Snickers" bar with coffee while watching 2012 in the basement "theater".

Day 14

Well we had a St patricks day party tonight, and I was on plan up until that point. I ate a bunch of bad stuff and had alot to drink. Im thinking with these two nights in a row that sundays weigh in is not going to be good. Im sure Ill be retaining some water. Weekend are always going to be harder for me, since there is less structure. I have no plans for any cheat meals this week , so it should be a good week loss wise.

Breakfast: pancakes, Sf Syrup, Apple

Snack: Yogurt, Apple

Lunch: Vegitable and noodle nutrisystem thing, Salad

Snack: None

Dinner: A whole mess of bad stuff

Snack: lots of whiskey, but I did have it with diet 7-up. Ha Ha

Day 13

I was on plan today until dinner time. We had tickets to the Pistons game, and decided we would eat on the way down to the game. I hade a rueben sandwich and an iced tea. Nothing terrible. We got to the game and I broke down and had a beer, it was well worth the calories. If I cant do this every once in while I wont be able to keep this up. About 3/4ths of the way throught the game the kids were getting hungry again, and it was $1 hotdog night, and I had 2 of those plain. I wasnt a great night food wise, but we had fun as a family.

Breakfast: Cerial and yougurt, banana

Snack: HB eggs, apple

Lunch: Beans sausage and rice, green beans, salad, bread

Snack: Buffalo wing pretzels.

Dinner: Bad stuff, see above.

Snack: None.

I have another cheat tommorow, a St. patricks day party, but Ill discuss that tommorow.

Day 12

I was on plan 100% today and did my walking. My Dinner did get kind of split in two, because I got stuck at work for an extra 30 minutes had about 10 minutes at home then had to leave for a commitee meeting at church. Thank god for pre-packaged dinners. I was able to nuke one of my NS meal and eat in those 10 minutes, then off to my meeting. After the meeting I was able to eat my fruit, veggies and a carb. I think if I had to wait til after the meeting I might not have done so well, and drove through somewhere. Even when I do reach my target weight, I have some reprogramming in my brain that needs to happen, or Ill be right back where I started.

Breakfast:Multigrain flakes and berries, yougurt, apple.
Instead of putting milk in the cereal I added it to vinilla yogurt. Yummy.

Snack: Cottage cheese, apple.

Lunch: Mexican tortilla soup, Salad and fixins, broccoli,bread from breakfast.

I really like this soup, which probably means they will discontinue it soon, my luck is usually like that.

Snack: BBQ Soy Chips.
Love the taste and portion size on these.

Dinner: Mushroom rissoto, Salad and fixins, bread and spread,

The mushroom stuff tasted really good, but looked gross, I think next time I would dump it over some cooked peppers or stuff some peppers with this.

Snack: Strawberries (fruit from dinner), Nutrisystem cookie.
Out grocery store has been having some awesome strawberrys lately, which is unusual for this time of year.

Day 11

I had a planned meal off the program today. We had a lenten dinner before church service tonight. I had to work it so since we had to be there anyways I figured we should eat there. The menu was Ham, cheezy potatoes, corn, salad. I went light on everything, and heavy on the salad. I dont think I ended up to bad off.

Breakfast: Cinimmon roll, Yougurt, apple
Why are the Cinimmon rolls so damn hard?

Snack: Cottage Cheeze and a banana

Lunch: Tuna Salad, Brocolli, Salad
I love the tuna salad, it has water chesnuts in it i think. You get a roll with it, plus I didnt eat my carb this morning, so I had an ACTUALL SANDWICH for lunch,

Snack: Buffalo Chicken Pretzels, SF Jello

Dinner: Cheat dinner Ham, potatoes, huge salad
I tried to be good, there was also a ton of desserts, which I didnt eat.

Snack: None

Day 10

Stayed on target today, no slip ups and did a ton of walking. It was beautiful out at lunch today, so I quickly ate my lunch and headed of to the walking trails at work. I did 2.6 miles at a pretty brisk pace. Later in the night I did another 1.25 miles while walking the dog. I have another meal planed off the program for tommorow. We have a lenten dinner at church we are going to go to. I feel more confident now in being able to make the right choices.

Breakfast: PB Granola bar, Yougurt,Apple
Snack: Banana, Cottage Cheese
I forgot how much I love cottage cheese, I will be eating this more often.

Lunch: Beef and pasta, Salad and lot of fixens, bread from breakfast
Beef and Pasta was pretty good. I think I like it better than the cheese tortalini.

Snack: BBQ Soy Crisps
I love the portion size on these.

Dinner:Snack: Italian Herb Pizza, Salad, zuchinni, applesause
We made the kids pizza, and I had the NS pizza, besides the size of it, it was really good. I added mushrooms and a few green olives, I can see myself stacking this one up higher in the future.

Snack:Carrot cake.
Good, but only after 10 seconds in the microvawe.

Day 9

I was completely on plan today and drank more than the 64 ounces of water. Im starting to think the food you eat on nutrisystem make no difference in the weight loss, but that the true weightloss comes from the 300 trips to the bathroom each day.

I think the crazy rate weight loss I experienced the first week is slowing down. The last two days Ive lost .4 each day. The first 7 days was like 1.5 pounds a day.
As long as it keeps on the downward trend ill be happy.

As I try more of the foods, I keep updating my list for the next auto delivery.

Breakfast: PB Granola bar, HB eggs, banana.
I really like the PB granola bar, I upped this one for my next order.

Snack: Yougurt, Apple

Lunch: Brocoli cheese soup, salad and fixins, bread from breakfast
I added more water to the soup this time, but I think I liked it better a little thicker.

Snack: NS Chex Mix

Dinner: Meatloaf and mash potatoes, Salad, Peapods and mushrooms, strawberries.

The meatloaf was good, It looked a little gross at first. Some of the sauce was kind of dry on the top of the meat loaf, and watery below, but once I mixed it, it was good.
Dessert:

Day 8

First week Total is:

11.4 lbs

I was amazed everyday when I stood on the scale that I was loosing over a pound a day, and I wasnt hungry. Im sure it will slow down, but wow.

So I celebrated by achievement by cheating. One of our friend had invited us to a benefit breakfast for their school, so we went after church and considered that our lunch. We did eat breakfast, but skipped the morning snack.

Breakfast: Oatmeal again. Apple, hard boiled eggs.

Had the oatmeal again. Since you need milk to make it, its more of a weekend thing.

Snack: None.

Lunch: two pancakes, 1 sausage and scoop of scrambled eggs, applesauce.

I could have eaten a ton more, but in the end it was just enough, and something I need to learn to do more. Stop after one plate.

Snack: NS Zesty chex mix stuff.
It was really good.

Dinner: NS cajun chicken and rice, white asperigus, Huge salad and fixens, strawbeeries and bread.

First time having white asperigus, it look a little to freaky for me, Ill stick with green.

Snack: PB cookie with coffee.

Day 7

Well today is the last day before weigh in for the week. Things started off a little shakey, but by the end of the week I was into the swing of things. It wasnt a perfect week, there were a few slips. I decided when I started this that I would try to stick to this fairly closely, but that if I became a prisioner to this diet that I would never stick to it in the long run. I have been really happy so far with my weight loss.

Breakfast: NS Oatmeal, grapes, Egg beater omlete with mushrooms.

The oatmeal was really good, I was worried about how it was going to taste after some reviews of it on the NS boards. It tasted more like real oatmeal than the instant stuff. The egg beater omlete was really good too, I might make a couple and see how they freeze.

Snack: Yougurt, string cheese.

Lunch: Bread from breakfast, Brocolli cheese soup, salad and fixins, Celery.

Soup was good, but a little thick, Im not sure if I added enough water. I dumped it on the bread and ate it like that.

Snack: Pretzels

Dinner: Chicken breast on whole wheat bun, lettuce and tommato, salad, asperigus, bread and spread, applesauce.

TOMMORROW is Weigh in!!

Day 6

I had to go off plan slightly today at dinner. Something came up at work and by time we got home at about 6:30 everyone was hungry and didnt feel like waiting another hour to cook, so for dinner I went to applebees and decided to try their new under 550 calorie meals.

It was really good, and a example of what portion sizes should be.

Breakfast: Peanut butter granola, apple, HB eggs.

Snack: Grapes, Yougurt.
Lunch: NS Chicken and vegitables with noodles, peapods, salad, bread.

Snack: BBQ Soy Chips

Dinner: Applebees Asiago steak, mixed veggies, red potatos.

Snack: None

Day 5

Well thinks seem to be getting easier, and I think my body is starting to adjust to the change in the types of food as well as the amounts Im eating. Not sure if I mentioned it before, but I have been walking about 1 and 1/4 miles each day at lunch. Where I work they have pre-measures walking path that are color coded, there are color arrow on the sidewalk telling you where to go, its kind of nice to have different options, and actually know how you are going.

Today a was a day that went a little off plan, but not because I wanted it to. See lunch disaster below.

Breakfast:NS Banana Nut muffin, Banana, Yougurt

I had the Muffin before and it was good, this one seem softer than the last, I didnt have to nuke this one.

Snack: Hard boiled egg, Apple

I love hard boiled eggs, I could eat them every day. I dont know why, but eating the apple after the egg makes it taste extra sweet.

Lunch: (Attempted)Black bean tortilla soup, zuchinni, salad and fixens, (ate) Bumblebee tuna and wheat crackers, Bread from breakfast.

Lunch was a disaster. I nuked my soup, when I went to get it out it had exploded all over the microwave, ruined. Since I didnt have any extra food with me I hit up the K-mart near my work. They have a small food section, but I figued that at least I could find a soup or something that wasnt bad. I ended up with this box of tuna a wheat crackers, I added up the stats and it match the stats for the soup pretty closely. I learned on the nutrisystem boards that soup and mac and cheese blowing up is common. Suggestions included removing it from the container it comes in a covering it to boiling the water first and just skipping the microwave.

Snack: BBQ Soy chips.
Tasty as a lot of them. My kind of snack.

Dinner: NS Sweet and sour chicken, peapods and muchrooms, Salad, fresh strawberries, bread and spread.

The sweet and sour chicken was ok, I might add one to the next order, but it wasnt great. Im not sure why everyhing has to be a mush. It was a red mush sauce and a few chuncks mixed with noodles. Strawberries were really good, cant wait until we can start getting fresh ones this summer.

Snack: Coffee and FF Creamer, Oatmeal rasison cookie.

Had this while watching Public enemies, a good flick and a good cookie.

Day 4

Day 4 was another day that I stayed on program, it wasnt easy though. My mother in law watches the kids after school on wednesday, and then we have dinner over there. She dinner know we had started nutrisystem and had made BBQ Ribs. I love ribs, but I was good and ate my NS Dinner.

Since I felt weak on day three, I decided to add a protien to my afternoon snack, and that seemed to help, I still lost yesterday, so I dont think its going to affect my weight loss, and might occasionally add it if Im feeling weak.

Breakfast: NS Cereal with berries (cant remember the exact name), Apple, Hard boiled egg.

The cereal was really good, but really really small. I put it in a small styrofoam cup and it only went half way up. Our grocery carries precooked and peeled hard boiled eggs, which is really nice. I have been trying different apple and I think I like the Gala type best.

Snack: Light String Cheese, grapes.

Lunch: Bean and ham soup, Salad with fixins, Pepper and onion leftovers, rye bread.

I love bean soup and the NS soup was really good. The time it says to nuke it was way off, it took like twice as long, I saved my bread from breakfast, so I could dip it in the soup. It was a good lunch, but the beans didnt help the nutritoots ive been having.

Snack: Nacho Chips, (added) Yougurt

The nacho chips where good. They are a wierd texture, kind of a mix of a pork rind and a funion. They were really crispy, and there were a lot of them. I had felt weak on day 3, so I added a light yougurt to todays snack, It really helped.

Dinner: Cheese Ravioli, Salad, carrot and celery, roll and spread, cantaloupe.

The ravioli was awesome and the sauce was really good. I would order these at a restuarant if they had them. I will get a lot of these next time. Did I mention they were good.

Snack: Coffee with FF Half&Half, and Carrot cake.

Carrot cake was awesome, nuked it for 10 seconds. Why is the packaging for these cakes like three times as big as the cake?

Day 3

Well I stuck to the program completely today, but had some issues with being a little weak late in the afternoon. Once I ate dinner I was fine again. Im questioning if 1500 calories is enough for a male that is 245 lbs. I plan on asking the dietician if these feeling continue. I have been walking at lunch each day, a litle over a mile each time, so I might have to add a protien or something with my afternoon snack.

I have been weighing myself each morning and have been losing, but I only plan on updating my weight on here once a week.

Breakfast: Cinnimon roll, Apple, egg.
Cinnimon Roll was really hard, but once it was nuked it was good, I will order it again. I saved my bread to each with my lunch.

Snack: Grapes and string cheese

Lunch: Cheese Tortalini,Salad,Sliced Cucumbers, and my bread from breakfast
The sauce on the tortalini was really sweet, almost a little too sweet, and a little gritty. It was still pretty good, allthough I was pretty hungry, so that might have influence my decision. I will probably order this again.

Snack:Caramel Chocolate bar
I had this yesterday also, they are pretty bad, weird taste and aftertaste, I have a lot of these, so I suffered through it. I dont want to have a bunch of these left at the end.

Dinner: Buffalo chicken wrap, Mushroom and peapods cooked in a little low sodium chicken broth, Peppers and onion stir fry, Salad, Rye bread and spread.

After nuking the Buffalo chicken, I was a little worried. It was a bright orange paste substance, then I noticed some chicken chunks. I added my peppers and onions to the wrap, and it was awesome. I will definatly be ordering a bunch of these ones. The peapods and muchrooms in the broth were really good. The chicken broth added a good flavor to the mix.

Snack: Peanut butter cookie with some coffee and FF half&half.
Cookie was pretty thick and really soft. Will get more of these.

Day 2

Well day one went pretty well, I did have some hunger issue, but nothing to bad. Im sure it will take a little time to ajust to the different amounts of food. When I ate before I expected to feel "Full" after every meal.

For day 2 I didnt stick to the plan. I knew when I start this on sunday that monday my dinner was going to be off plan. Through facebook I ran into an old roomate from college I hadn't seen in about 15 year, and he only live about 30 minutes away, so we met for dinner.

I tried to be good and eat something healthy. Im sure it was over the calorie limit for dinner, so I skipped the night time snack. I dont plan on being crazy strict about this. If something like this comes up, then so be it. Otherwise, Im going to stick to it.

Breakfast: Peanut butter granola bar, apple, bread, hard boiled egg.
The peanut butter granola was ok, not great, but not ineddible. Probably would order it again.

Snack: Cheese stick and an apple.

Lunch: Beans, rice, and sausage meal, Salad and fat free dressing, cucumber.
The beans rice and sausage was really good, a definate on the order list, although it was a small portion.

Snack: Chocolate carmel bar.
This was terrible. It had a really weird taste and a strong after taste, and it was pretty dry. I wont be ordering this again. Bad news is that I thought I would like them, so I oedered a lot of them.

Dinner: Ice Tea, Grouper, Steamed Broccoli, Salad

Dessert: None, since I ate dinner out

Day 1

I am going to blog about each day, the day after it happens. I as I write this im actually on Day 2, but the following information is from day 1.

Inital Weight: 246.4

Breakfast: Black Coffee, NS banana nut muffin, Apple, Glass of milk, 1 Slice of Whole wheat toast.

I was pretty happy with breakfast, a good amount of food. I love a big breakfast, although this wasnt huge, it was good. The muffin was good, I little hard, but I nuked it for 10 seconds, then it was really good.

Morning Snack: Lowfat yogurt, apple

Breakfast was good, but didnt stick with me for long. I was really ready for this snack.

Lunch: NS Totilla soup, Salad with fat free dressing, cut up cucumber

The soup was really tasty, but not really super filling but I had a decent size salad and some sliced up cucumber. I was full, but not stuffed. I knew I had snack comming in a few hours, so I was good.

Snack: BBQ Soy Chips

These were really good, Kind of like a rice cake texture, but thinner. I like chrunchy snacks more than the bars, Ill add more of these next time.

Dinner: Teriaki beef and noodles, cantaloupe, asperigus, salad, Rye bread.

The beef and noodles was pretty tasty, the portion is pretty small, but with all the fruits and veggies I was happy. The bread really hit the spot and gave me something to dip into the teriaki sauce.

Snack: Nougat carmel and peanut chocolate bar

Had this and a ice tea while watching a movie, It taste just like a candy bar. In the old days this would have been a big box of movie candy and a huge pop, a good 600-700 calories worth.


By bed time I was a little hungry, but fell asleep quickly.

Intro

This blog will document the highs and lows of attempt to lose weight using the NutriSystem Diet.

Some Background.

I am a 6'3" male that lives in Michigan. I was always skinny, in fact too skinny. I graduated high school at 6'3" and weight 158lbs. I ran alot back then and had to eat enornous amounts of food just to keep my weight.

College came along, the running stopped, beer and pizza started. Long story short. I graduted college at 225lb.

Sometime around my 35th birthday, I started running again, completed 3 marathons over the next 5 years, was able to eat pretty much as much of whatever I wanted, because I was running so much.

June of last year, I hurt my achilles tendon, and havent really been able to run, but that didnt affect my eating at all.

So as of now, I am 247 pounds. I would like to get down to about 210. A strong muscular 210.

Our food arrives and we have been to the store to get all the extras. So away we go...