Small, Medium & Large

Did you celebrate your independence this weekend?  The diet and I needed some space, so I celebrated OUR independence... I missed her!!  Here's something I learned from my gluttony this weekend.  A plate of General Tso chicken can make you uncomfortable in your own skin.  Dr. Savic said that feeling like I wanted to explode is a sign that my stomach has shrunk and I won't be able to eat like that anymore.  Is that a breakthrough?  It sorta feels like one.  

Milk Duds On My Chest

Some other good news to report... I went to the pool twice this weekend and the 'milk duds' (my nipples) made an appearance.  For heavy guys who don't like the way their body looks, a shirt is ALWAYS required at the pool or beach.  As happy as my milk duds were to see the sights, I still want the platters flatter!!

Hey Willie & Kate... I Tea Now!

I just read in Men's Heath magazine about how good green-tea extract is for boosting weight loss (small but significant).  I asked Dr. Savic what was better; the extract or drinking green tea? She said it was better to drink the tea.  For every bit of my adult life I have been a coffee drinker and I'm very particular about what I drink.  It's french vanilla with creamer & Splenda and I bet I drink a pot everyday.  Until now I've only had 2 kinds of tea... Iced and Long Island (the later is probably most responsible for many enormous 'bar time' breakfasts).  I have always associated tea with the Brits and Knitters.  I don't knit so... "Willie & Kate, I'll bring my own.  See ya at the palace!  The tea I bought is FANTASTIC!!  Lipton's Green Tea with Purple Acai and Blueberry.

Anybody Need A Drink?

I like cocktails!  Here's one you should try:
Black Cherry Kool Aid (made with Splenda)
Vodka

Doc says vodka needs to be my drink, and I've been a Capt. Morgan drinker for years.  I don't have a lot a vodka cocktail making experience...do you have a recipe?  Please post in comments

Family Description

Just wanted to share something my 5yr. old daughter said the other day.  Someone asked her if she wanted a "small, medium or large", she turned to me and said; "that's me, mommy & you... small, medium and large."  Then she giggled, then I bought her the large.  That was a small price to pay for the sound of her laugh!


And lastly, a new regular blog feature.  Getting through cardio at the end of a good workout can be really tough, but a good song can really put wind at your back (or fire in your butt).  At the end of every post I will give you a song YOU MUST ADD to your iPod.  We'll call the feature:

Making Cardio Suck Less!

Saw Maroon 5 last Saturday at Summerfest... these guys can carve a groove in concrete!  
You will start whistling and you won't be able to stop.

10 Years = 102lbs Of Wedded Bliss!!!!

On June 23rd I celebrated my 10th Anniversary with most fabulous woman and 102 pounds lighter than my wedding day.  A 350lb. Type 2 diabetic... how the F#@! did I get that out of shape!!!???  8 years before our wedding (June 2001), I was living in Virginia Beach, had a 34" waist and I looked like these guys...




Ohhhh you doubter!  

Oooo, Oooo, Oooo!

I love you!!

THE FAT GUY ILLNESSES

From 1993 to 2001 I put on over 120lbs and then I got hit with the 'fat guy' illnesses...  sleep apnea & type 2 diabetes. And you know what I COULD blame... a great job, money, sundown-sun up partying and bar-time drive thru's.  They really did a number on me!  Up at 3:30, work til noon, go out to lunch (margaritas & mexican), go buy a new outfit, dinner out, home to shower, head to the Sportspage to DJ all night, hit Mickey D's or Uncle Nicks, eat the food on the couch watching tv and fall asleep on the couch!  I COULD blame all of that or the fact that I'm alone with nobody to share ANYTHING with.

EATING MEET LIKE A CAVEMAN

Meeting my wife in 1997 wasn't enough to pull me out of the rut either... unconditional love is a double-edged sword.  She didn't care that I was that big and she'd never seen me 'in shape' so I just let my lifestyle continue.  Five years after meeting Mary Beth, I got real jealous of how she could go anywhere to buy clothes and I had just Fat Ass Store #1 & Fat Ass Store #2.  And while we're on the subject of Big & Tall sections, what the hell is with their sizing?  It's like they think you're either Tall & thin OR Short & fat... the damn store is called big AND tall not big OR tall!!!  Anyway, I started going to the gym to try and lose some girth and the lady that owned the gym suggested I try the Atkins diet... so I did.  I lost about 30lbs and I was eating any piece of meat my 'caveman' ass could get.  THIS WAS AWESOME!!!!!  Then, as with any 'lifestyle' change, I hit a plateau.  I got a little discouraged and stopped going to the gym for quite a while.  I had read plenty of how transitioning off the Atkins diet, if not done right, could cause you to gain some of the weight back and now I had normal carbs back in my diet and I was starting to lose weight again (without exercise).  I also could never quench my thirst and I got up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom.  You might know what came next... doctor said; "you have type 2 diabetes!"

I took it serious... at least enough to stop drinking regular pepsi.  I was 35 and still had that stupid "Man-tality" that I'll just take some pills and shake it off!  I had good insurance so the pills didn't cost much and I was cutting extra sugar out of my consumption everywhere.  And guess what happened?  The friggin' weight came back and then some!!!!

CAN WE KEEP THE DOUBLE D'S

So after our wedding, I saw the pictures (oh, BTW I was wearing a white jacket) DO YOU KNOW HOW FAT A FAT GUY LOOKS IN WHITE?) and it was time to go back to the gym.  This time it was like I was possessed!  I became a sponge for every tip a trainer would give and I hit that Atkins diet again like it was my job.  In about a year I got down to 260 and then I stopped again.  Not sure why, I guess my car didn't like passing my house to go to the gym anymore.  Then for the next couple years until our daughter was born in 2005, I slowly put 30lbs back on... I'm the one who couldn't get rid of the baby weight.  My wife gained 52lbs during her pregnancy and lost it in just a couple months (she was hoping to keep the Double-D's nature gave her, but she lost that too).  For the next almost 6 years I just floated between 290-300 and sporadically hit the gym.

PRO-LEVEL SHOPPERS

Then THIS March, I booked an appointment with Dr. Lydia Savic, she helped me "get after" this weight & diabetes, and now I weigh 248 and am excited to say that my waist has gone down from 44" to 36".  I am OFFICIALLY a "Clothes Horse" again!!!  There are things that couples do SO WELL that they could go pro... for me & mb it's definitely shopping!  

Mary Beth showing off her new Anniversary Boots from Roxy Carmichael.

As a matter of fact Old Navy is having a "Buy 2 get 1 free" sale today so I'm shutting the Macbook down and hittin' the bricks!!  Have a great Fourth of July!!!  Have the burger & brat... hold the buns, and eat an apple EVERYDAY!