If Only I Hadn't Worn Those Jeans!

This was a big week for me. For the first time in about seven years, the prospect of weighing less than 200 pounds was just outside my reach. Boy, there is nothing like having a major milestone within view to really kick a gal into gear! Consequently, I was very focused this week. Besides the apple turnover at the orchard last Saturday (which was TOTALLY worth it), I really kept a tight rein on my eating.

An even bigger accomplishment for me (one that I am extremely proud of) was my increased level of exercise. Exercise has always been the biggest roadblock on my weight loss journey, but I really challenged myself to simply “move more” this week. Since Sunday, I have succeeded in completing two 2-mile walks, about an hour of strength training exercises, and a one-hour hip-hip dance workout that I TiVo’d from FitTV. For some of you that may not seem like much, but for me, it was a major achievement.

As an aside, the hip-hop dance workout gave me one of my biggest laughs of the week. I have 10 years of training in tap, ballet, and jazz, and have been a musical theater choreographer for over 15 years.

Here's the deal: I could not keep up with these people…I couldn’t learn the moves!

As I was attempting to follow the dancers in this video with their gyrations, shimmying, and booty shaking, I realized I was doing all this (attempted) dancing right next to the large windows at the front of our house. When I imagined what kind of idiot I must have looked like to anyone passing by on the street, I started to laugh. When I looked out the window, I half expected to see someone looking back at me, shocked and horrified by the sight of my not-so-sweet dance moves. With the amount of time I spent laughing, I’m sure I got a good ab workout. I’m hoping the hip-hop will go a little better the next time around.

So, back to the point of the post. At this morning’s weigh-in, I missed the big milestone by an excruciatingly small two-tenths of a pound. An amount so small that if I had chosen to wear a skirt instead of jeans I would have hit it. (arrgh!)

On a positive note, I dropped a BMI point this week! In addition, I now have two milestones within reach. The journey continues…

Have a good weekend!
Laura

Weekly update:
09/21/2007: 202.0 pounds
09/28/2007: 200.2 pounds (a loss of 1.8 this week)
Total loss: 28.2 pounds
Mini-goal #1: 199.9 by 10/15/2007; 0.3 pounds to go
Mini-goal #2: 30 pounds lost; 1.8 pounds to go
(again, wouldn’t it be sweet to do it in one week?)

Weigh-In Week 16

231.4! That's what the scale said this morning. A loss of 2.8 pounds.

And yes that is a dirty diaper in the background. We were in a hurry this morning...what are you going to do.

Back on track!!! I just realized week 16 means this is the end of the 4th month. Wow! Time really flies when your shrinking out of control.

Which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

"Time Flies like an arrow. Fruit Flies like a banana" - Groucho Marx

Not a lot of time to prattle on. I'm really excited to be back on track. That's about it!

Our big winner this week is my Aunt Sue with a guess of 2.6 lbs. For her ability to almost Guess My Weight in a single bound I'll be returning her recipe magazine that I have had for 2 months and sweetening the pot with another healthy recipe magazine. Congratulations Sue!

That's all for now. Stay tuned for some hopefully wonderful news from my lovely wife.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Tony
9/28: 231.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
11.4 lbs. to go

Guess How Much I Weigh Conest - Week 16

Sorry I'm late!

I stayed home with the girls this morning and instead of posting during their nap time I choose to get my strength workout in. I think I made the responsible choice.

I also had an audition today! Out of the blue, my on-camera agent called me yesterday for the first time in two years. That's not true, I have talked to my agent since the girls were born, but I have not been on an on camera commercial audition for at least two years, probably more like three.


I hate to admit it but I was nervous to go back. This casting director is someone I used to audition for a lot when I first started out (she once auditioned me to replace Barney the big purple dinosaur) but it has been a long time since I've seen her. Honestly I figured after a few years out of the game that no one would remember me. Even in my heyday, I never made much of a splash.

Turns out my fears were all for not. Not only did the casting director remember me, she seemed genuinely happy to see me. And I knew the actress I was auditioning with and a few of the other actors hanging around the lobby. Best of all I was more comfortable in front of a camera then I have ever been. The combination of losing all the weight and not having much at stake gave me a confidence I never had before.

I pretty sure I won't get the role. They were looking for someone in his early 40's. I can't really play much older than 35. All in all, it was still a fun afternoon. The picture is one of my 10 year old Headshots.


Step right up, step right up.
Guess how much I weigh and win a fabulous prize.

To Recap:
Every Thursday I give you my stats for the week and you guess what you think the scale will say on Friday morning. The winner is the first person who guesses my weight / weight loss for the week without going over or the person who is closest without going over. Go ahead and click on comments at the bottom of this post and leave your guess.

I will post the winner when I post my weight on Fri. morning. If we get ten or more guesses I will have a prize for the winner.

Like I said yesterday, this has been a crazy week. A busy weekend with the girls and a long day on Monday put me way behind on tracking calories. So, I decided to go without this week. No calorie counting for a whole seven days. I'll start back counting calories tomorrow.

I have been pretty good this week. Chocolate cake on Friday and pizza on Monday were the only two major change ups from my normal dietary intake...oh and I had a caramel apple at the Apple Orchard on Saturday.

I've gotten in at least 2.5 miles everyday except Saturday and I have managed to get in 3 strength workouts this week.

That's all the info I've got for ya. Let the guessing begin.

Good Luck!


Tony
9/27: 234.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
14.2 lbs. to go

p.s. Don't forget you can subscribe to the e-mail edition of Guess How Much I Weigh . Simply enter your e-mail address in the space to the right.

Recipe Wednesday - Apple Crisp with Macadamia Nuts

This week has gotten away from me. We had a busy weekend at home with the girls, a first in a long time. Then, I worked a 13 hour day on Monday. In all the craziness I have neglected to keep track of my calories. So I have decide to take a chance and go free. No calorie tracking for a whole 7 days. We'll see what happens.

So far, I have been pretty good. I had a piece of chocolate cake on Friday for a co-workers birthday and a little too much pizza on Monday night courtesy of the boss trying to make up for the late night. Other than that, I think I have been on track. My workouts are staying steady, so it should be a normal week. Hopefully there will be a loss on Friday.

As part of our busy weekend, we took the girls to the Apple Orchard on Saturday. They loved playing in the hay, petting the goats and picking apples right off the tree. They have been telling anyone who will listen all about it for the last 4 days.

Since our Apple Orchard adventure, my lovely wife has been jonesing for some hot and gooey apple crisp. That is the inspiration for this weeks recipe.

Apple Crisp with Macadamia Nuts

Ingredients
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped macadamia nuts
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tablespoons chilled stick margarine, cut into small pieces
5 cups thinly sliced peeled Rome apple
Vegetable cooking spray
2 tablespoons apricot preserves

Preparation
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir well. Cut in margarine with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal; set aside.

2. Place apple slices in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray; drop apricot preserves by teaspoonfuls onto apple slices, and sprinkle evenly with the flour mixture. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 216(30% from fat); FAT 7.3g (sat 1.3g,mono 3.8g,poly 1.6g); PROTEIN 0.9g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 17mg; SODIUM 62mg; FIBER 2.7g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 39.2g

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine.

Tony
9/26: 234.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
14.2 lbs. to go

Fat Guy Recomendations

Technically this should be called "Recommendations from an Almost Formerly Fat Guy".

I have two recommendations from this weekend.

Recomendation #1:
See the movie I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With


It's written by, directed by and starring Jeff Garlin who is probably most famous for his role on Curb Your Enthusiasm or his co-starring role in Daddy Daycare for those of you without HBO.

It is very rare to see a love story with an overweight guy as the lead love interest. It's even rarer for that overweight guys struggle with weight to be a central part of the story. Most rare of all is this movie which handles it all with great care and affection.

Instead of turning the movie into a bunch of fat guy jokes and put down humor, Jeff Garlin shows us a real guy, having a real struggle with where his life is headed... and being overweight is a part of that struggle.

You can tell that Jeff Garlin has been there. In the opening scene we see him sitting on the hood of his car in the parking lot of a convenience store eating Ding Dongs and chocolate pudding. He's eating in the parking lot to hide his eating from his mom. It's a moment that was very poignant to me. It's a moment I have lived hundreds of times.

The movie is well written. It's endearing, it's funny, it's a real joy and it is full of actors you know you know even if you can't remember their names. Sadly these are the actors who should be household names.

I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With, is in limited release in art house theaters, but it is also available on demand from Comcast and some other cable providers. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Recommendation #2:
Steve and Barry's.
Steve and Barry's is best described as Old Navy meets Wal-Mart, but with a lot more style .

One of the great things about our weight loss journey is going through the closet and getting rid of all those "fat clothes". Unfortunately it starts adding up when you have to replace all those "fat clothes". It adds up even more when you have to do it again 5 months later because the new clothes you bought have become "fat clothes" as well.

After my closet purge last month I was left with 1 pair of jeans. I hit the local outlet mall two weekends ago and spent nearly a hundred bucks on three pair of jeans that hopefully will not fit me come Christmas time. A lot of money for some pants that may only last 4 months.

Then, I rediscovered Steve and Barry's. They have some great, stylish clothes for dirt cheap prices. Jeans were on sale for $7.99!!!!

The clothes might not be the best quality, but for those of us who are truly dedicated to shedding the pounds, they only need to last a few months. So wait until you meet your final goal weight to hit the expensive department stores and head over to Steve and Barry's for some closet restocking.

Tony
9/25: 234.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
14.2 lbs. to go