Ok. Nothing fantastic. I know. I haven’t lost the last few pounds to make my 100 lb. weight loss goal just yet. Nothing spectacular has happened in my diet. I haven’t made any breakthroughs because I just haven’t been focusing on it right now¹. I’ve been focusing on my students who I will no longer be teaching next week, and that saddens me².

But I have kept the weight off. Considering it’s been over a year since this diet started, I think it’s actually a great thing that I’ve lost 90 pounds and kept it off. It’s gone. It’s not coming back. And I’m not going to let it.

So, no. I haven’t lost any more weight. But I’ve done something that is just as tough. I’ve kept it off. I’ve kept 90 pounds of weight away from me. And I’m quite proud of that.

1. Although I have found a few casserole recipes I like. [«]
2. Seriously. It does. I’m only substituting for them right now because their teacher had a baby, but she will be back next week. I’m going to miss my kids. I’ve had them for over 2 months, so yes, I claim them as mine right now. [«]

Posted by Saphrym

Last time I told you guys about my diet, I told you I was 266 pounds. Well, I still am. However, I’ve lost an inch in my waist¹. I’ve been doing a LOT of walking recently and I think I’m gaining even more leg muscles². I’m happy I’m not gaining. Maybe I need to do another splurge to shock my system into losing weight again. Seems to work every time I try. I’ll have a new chart for you guys in a week. I think I can drop at least 3 to 5 pounds by next Saturday. We shall see.

1. still without using weight loss pills [«]
2. although I didn’t think that was possible after walking around at 355 pounds for so long [«]

Posted by Saphrym

Another update. The diet is still working. I’m now down 89 pounds to date¹. Getting much closer to that 100 than I ever imagined. I have found that not eating after 6pm is really helping my body metabolize the food. So I’ve quit the late night snacking. It must be working. As I keep trying different things, I keep finding stuff that works really well. That’s one of them.

It also helps that I’m doing a lot of walking at school right now. I’ve got an extended substitute position, meaning I’m substituting for the same teacher for the first 9 weeks of school this year. I’m loving it but it has added tons to my workload. Between that, 2 three week compressed college courses, spending time with my family, and keeping this blog up to date, I haven’t found much time for myself recently. I’m taking care of that as of Sunday though. Spore comes outs.²

One of these days I’ll write an entire book on everything I’ve tried and what has worked in losing my weight. Would you guys be interested in reading it?

1. At least I no longer have to wear car covers instead of normal clothing. Ok, so that’s an exaggeration, but still. [«]
2. Muhahahahaha! [«]

Posted by Saphrym

Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about on my belt. I put it on this morning, pulled tight like normal, and had about two inches between the buckle and the last hole. So now I either need a new belt or I need to put another hole in this belt.

Guess the diet is still working.

Now if only I could become as much of an expert on exercise as I seem to be on dieting. Time to do more research. Any ideas of a great place to go on the web for good exercise resources? Like where to find my best heart rate¹, or what exercises increase strength the best in the upper body², or even if there are actual decent exercise machines that are very affordable and easy to use³.

1. Measured by one of those neat pulse oximeter thingies. Bought mine wholesale. [«]
2. As my lower body is quite strong from carrying around 355 pounds for a few years. [«]
3. Tested and tried of course. I don’t want stuff that you’ve “heard” is good. I want good stuff. [«]

Posted by Saphrym

Well, it’s back to being slow, but I’m getting there. I hit another plateau. But I decided to try something.¹ I splurged over the weekend. I ate like double the calories I was supposed to eat. It worked. I went right back on the Diet Power diet and although I gained 2 pounds during the splurge, I lost another 5 pounds after it. So I’m down to 270. Only 15 pounds left until I’ve lost a total of 100 pounds.²

1. No, not diet pills. I never use those. [«]
2. Yay! [«]

Posted by Saphrym

Yep. Still no supplements¹ for me, other than Slim-Fast. I’m still dropping. And I’m still happy that I’m still dropping.² I’ll include another neat chart for you in just a minute. Ok, actually in just a few seconds of time according to you because you’ll be reading this quicker than I can type it and put up the image. But you get the point. Without further ado, here’s the latest weight chart:

1. Like diet pills, calorie burners, etc. [«]
2. All you Entrecard people don’t get excited about the “dropping” thing, ok? I mean weight. Sheesh. [«]

Posted by Saphrym

That’s my weight today. 15.8 pounds lighter than a little over 2 weeks ago¹. Guess I’m really over the plateau. Here’s the current graph of my progress:

The projected line is still higher than my goal, but I’m quite happy with my progress so far. But notice I also have calories in the bank which means I haven’t been eating the full calories allotted to me for every day. I’ve also been loving my shakes. Low in calories and filling. With all the “bad” stuff going on in my life right now, it’s nice to know that something good is happening.

1. Guess it’ll be even longer before my wife has to claim my term insurance [«]

Posted by Saphrym

This is in response to a question posted in my forums by GaryRHess:

Also, how about more recipes? I can’t get enough of those.

I’ll answer his other question later. But I felt I just had to pass on this information:

“I love extracts.”

I never understood the simplicity. I’ve known they exist. I truly have. However, extracts are kind of like my own version of modern furniture. Let me explain: Modern styles, such as furniture, emulate older styles. Retro is considered new. Well, extracts, which have been around forever, are new to me and they are also my new “fad” food.

Why?

Well, it’s simple. They are calorie free. That’s right. No calories whatsoever. A few posts back I told you about the Magic Bullet that I purchased. It’s basically a little blender that makes blending extremely easy. Well, using that little blender, I have managed to make some really tasty treats with some extracts. I’m going to give you my “basic” recipe and then explain how to get some cool flavors out of it:

Ingredients:

• 1 serving Slim-Fast powder¹
• 1/3 cup powdered milk
• Artificial Sweetener
• Water
• Ice

Directions:

1. Take a 2 cup glass and fill it about 1/5th with water.
2. Add all ingredients except the ice.
3. Add ice to top.
4. Add water to top.²
5. Blend ingredients.³

Simple, right? I’ve been using that recipe for snack time for a while now. But then I found extracts and cocoa powder⁴. So here are a few alterations for you:

Mounds – The Candy Bar

Use chocolate flavored Slim-Fast. Add half a cap⁵ of coconut extract and a tablespoon of cocoa powder.

Piña Colada

Use vanilla flavored Slim-Fast. Add half a cap of coconut extract. Add a few drops of pineapple extract.

Chocolate Mint

Use chocolate flavored Slim-Fast. Add a few drops of mint extract and a tablespoon of cocoa powder.

Chocolate Raspberry

Use chocolate flavored Slim-Fast. Add a few drops of raspberry extract and a tablespoon of cocoa powder.. Tastes just like those “gourmet” chocolates.

Cherry Cordial

Use chocolate flavored Slim-Fast. Add half a cap of cherry extract and a tablespoon of cocoa powder. Not as sweet as a Cherry Cordial but that’s what makes it better in my opinion.

Those are just a few ideas. Try any kind of extract you want. You’d be amazed how many different flavors you can create. And the beauty of these shakes? They are only 190 calories, or 210 when you add the cocoa. The calories can be lowered if you need to by leaving out the powdered milk. They just won’t be as smooth and creamy.

Enjoy and feel free to share any flavors you might find while experimenting with extracts. And if you have a Magic Bullet, feel free to share your recipes in the forum.

1. Comes in chocolate and vanilla. Use whichever makes sense to use in the alterations below. [«]
2. It flows around the ice. [«]
3. This is where the Magic Bullet comes in handy. You mix in the mug and blend in the mug. [«]
4. 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder is only 20 calories. [«]
5. The cap on top of the bottle of extract. [«]

Posted by Saphrym

I’ve got to share. I told you guys I started a new diet. Well, check out this graph:

Click on it for a full sized version.

I love not having to use supplements like hoodia or akavar. Truly I do. Some people need to. And I was worried I might need to after my months long plateau. But no more. I’ve lost about 11 pounds in just the last few weeks. And it’s starting to come off faster.

I’ll let you know even more of my secrets next time I write about my diet.

Posted by Saphrym

Yep. Going to talk about dieting again. I was recently tagged for a meme by John, but you guys know I never follow the rules of memes. I will go ahead and tell you my fitness vice though: lack of exercise. I can blame it on lack of time, but that’s just an excuse. Until I decide to do it, I guess it won’t happen. But I did manage to have some breakthroughs in my dieting. And I’m going to tell you about them because I think they’re much cooler than surfing those top rated diet pills sites. Of course, fi diet pills are your thing, feel free if it works for you. It doesn’t work for me.

I told you guys about Diet Power recently. It’s a program that monitors my caloric intake and weight loss and tells me how many calories I can have per day to get one day closer to my goal. Well, check out this graph from the program:

Notice the line is going down. That jump at the beginning was when I started the new calorie based diet¹. But after that, I’ve managed to make the line go slowly down. Now, the straight line at the top is my current progress. It follows the red line. The straight line below that one heads to my goal of 200 pounds by April of 2009. They don’t match, but I’m working on that. I’ve tended to eat a few more calories than the program allows per day because I’ve been trying to find foods that “trick” me into being full. So the fact the weight line is going down is one breakthrough. As for the “tricky” foods. Well…

I bought a Magic Bullet a couple of days ago. That’s not an affiliate link. It’s to the best source of information on the machine. But for purchasing it, I recommend looking one up on eBay. I got it for much lower than the price on that site. But basically, it’s an awesome blender. I’ve been using it to mix my Slim-Fast shakes and I recently added smoothies to my diet because frozen strawberries, bananas, water, and Splenda make a 150 calorie 16 ounce smoothie. Gotta love it!

Also, it’s great for just about any chopping and food processing. It really DOES clean up as quick as they say on the infomercial. It really is as easy to use. I love it. And here’s a neat trick if you’re dieting and feel hungry. It’s also good for adding water to your diet². Fill the mug up with ice, add an extract of your choice³, add a little Splenda to it⁴, blend, and you’ve got flavored ice with no calories whatsoever that you can eat with a spoon. It makes you feel like you’re eating even though you’re only drinking flavored water with no calories.

So there’s my tips for doing some dieting. I’m hoping that my smaller meals that I’ve started eating⁵ will lower my weight even more. We shall see. Between those two products, I hope to see some great results soon. I’ll scream it right here if I do.

Feel free to share your own Magic Bullet recipes in our forum: Magic Bullet Recipes

1. as I’m no longer diabetic so the low carb diet was actually hurting me in other ways such as cholesterol [«]
2. Diet Power tells you how much water you need in your diet too [«]
3. I like raspberry, vanilla, or cherry [«]
4. Or some other no calorie artificial sweetener, but I prefer the taste of Splenda [«]
5. To stay in line with what Diet Power allows me [«]

Posted by Saphrym