82 pounds down...do I have a secret?....not really

So it has been a while since my last post. I currently weight 333 pounds and have a total weight loss of 82 pounds. I have been

getting asked almost everyday to post more often. I cannot guarantee that, but I'll try. So apparently Dale wants to know what "my secret" is to weight loss, if you can even call it that.

To be totally honest, I have completely changed my entire way of thinking about food and what I put in my body in general. I am

amazed when I look back at past years and realize what I used to eat and the quantity of it. I know people probably hear this a lot, but I'm not on a diet. I've changed my life, or like to think so at least.

So here is a basic day of the type of things I eat:

Breakfast - Oatmeal/Cereal (healthy types like Kashi and Special K/Fiber or Granola bar(Like Kellogg’s Fiber Plus or Kashi Cereal Bars.

Lunch - Usually consists of some type of lean cuisine meal (which tastes really good helps greatly with portion control, Also

almost everything is less than 300 calories). I usually accompany that with some type of fruit like an apple or banana.

Dinner - Well, this varies. When I am at home, we usually cook in and have things like grilled or baked fish and chicken.

Usually side dishes include steamed or grilled mixed veggies. We change it up and look for new recipes or seasonings so it’s not like the same thing every night. When I'm in Chicago, I have to eat out, but I'm extremely mindful of what I eat. But you also have to think like this: Breakfast and Lunch consist of no more that 600 calories. So if you are on a 2000 calorie plan (which I am currently on), technically I have about 1400 calories to make up. Now I don't necessarily strive to reach 2000 calories a day and very rarely go over. But I don't stress out about it too much. For the most part I eat what I want, just in moderation.

Now...Here is the main reason I think I have lost the weight like I have. All I drink is water. I will maybe drink some type of juice every now and then, but I have not any type of soda since March. I usually drink between 3 and 4 liters of water per day, sometimes more. Here is another trick I have learned. I usually down a bottle of water before I eat. This makes me fuller fast and stops me from overeating. If I get to a point to where I need something to eat in-between meals, it is something healthy and filling like an apple or fiber bar or something like that.

Another key is measuring my food. I can't really do that when I travel, but we try to do it all the time at home. For example when I eat cereal, if the serving size is 1 cup, then I measure out that much and put it in the bowl. I usually only put 1/2 a cup of milk, since I don't really need a full cup cause it is just wasteful, plus you don't have the temptation to drink all the milk. BTW, its skim milk which taste just fine to me and is only 40 for a 1/2 cup. We usually do the same with other foods.

We have a food scale that we weight our different meats with also. You don't realize how much 6 ounces of chicken or a cup of cereal is until you start measuring it all out.

A lot of people recommend starting a food journal, but I have not found the need for that. I keep a running toll in my head throughout the day of how many calories I have had. For the most part breakfast and lunch are usually the same types of foods everyday, so I know exactly how many calories I have consumed by dinner time. Therefore, I know exactly what I'm allotted for dinner. For now, that is what works for me.

Now for my workouts. I workout a lot and I push myself really hard. I usually burn about 900-1000 calories during my 1 hour cardio workout everyday, then whatever calories I burn lifting weights. I would say on an average day, my workout is at least 2 hours. This is what works for me but might not for someone else. I usually do an hour of cardio in the mornings, then another 1 - 1.5 hours of weight workout after work.

Timeline:

Here is a normal day's timeline:

5:00am - Wake up

5:30am - 6:00am - Get to gym and start cardio

6:30-7:00am - Get home and ready for work

8:00am - Get to work and eat breakfast.

11:00am - 12:00pm - Lunch

4:00pm - Snack (sometimes)

6:00pm - Leave work, go straight to gym

8:00 - 8:30pm - Get home, eat dinner

10:00pm - 12:00am - Go to bed and start it over.