hercules411

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This is the best I have felt in decades.  My knees and heels feel better. I have lots of energy. But one of the best things that has happened is the discovery of all the information on this web site and the supportive people here.  I am so eager to undergo surgery.

The following is typical of what I eat during a day. The list is in no particular order. I plan what I will eat before breakfast. I aim for a food plan that gives me 20 percent calories from fat, 40 percent from carbs, and 40 percent from protien. I try to eat high fiber foods, and since I have hypertension, I don't add salt, and try to eat foods that are low in sodium. (they are difficult to find)

If this food plan seems extreme to you, I think weighing more than 500 pounds is even more extreme. But I get to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season. I am trying to eat food more as a fuel, and not as the biggest reward in my life.

Here is today's menu.    

Multi vitamin, 1 Tablet
Vitamin B12 2500mg sublingual
Vitamin C,100 mg
Vitamin D3, 2,000 IU, cholecalciferol
Calcium Citrate w/vitamin D3 2 Tablets
At least 2 liters of water
All Whites, 56g liquid egg whites (microwaved with Mrs. Dash seasoning & 1 tsp olive oil)
Blackberries, raw 50 grams
Broccoli, flower clusters, raw 100 grams
Carrots, raw 50 grams
Milk, fat free, skim, 4 oz
Crystal Light, 1 packet for .5 l water
Muscle Milk Light, 8.25 oz
Nutella, 1 TB, 18 g (mmm good! Like chocolate peanut butter)
Pluot 1 medium fruit
Salmon, cooked on  a Forman grille, 6 oz after cooking
Shredded Wheat n' Bran, 29 g
Shrimp, cooked 100 grams
Whole wheat bread, 100% Nature's Pride, 1 slice
Yogurt, Light, Fat free, 170g, Bryers
Broccoli cuts, 170 g steamfresh

Total
1,200 Calories
24.8 g fat
123.1 g carbs
117.1  g protien
    
And even with 1,200 calories in me, I will still have an active day. I will cut the lawn, go shopping, see a movie, and maybe take a walk.

Yay! Cleveland Clinic called.  My insurance has approved surgery.  I have a date set for October 19th.  I could have scheduled it a month earlier, but by late October, there will be less yard work to do like raking leaves and cutting grass. In addition, my wife is off work that week.  The planets have aligned

New clothes arrived today. Waist 54 (compared to 72 a few months ago). Shirt 3x (compared to 9x a few months ago).  It's hard to beleive that in a few months I may be able to buy clothes in a regular store.  We didn't take a walk tonight because it's stormy outside.

The loss of weight has left me with loose skin, especially around my breasts, stomach and groin. During the summer heat, I developed irritation and redness under the lose skin. The area actually became raw and I had difficulty getting it to heal. Here is what I did to get my skin healthy again.
I bought an over the counter topical antiseptic called Castellani Paint Modified. I paid 23 dollars at Walgreens for a 1 oz bottle. You can find it on the internet too. I applied it with a swab on the affected areas. Warning... the liquid used is a red color and will stain clothing. But there is also a colorless version. Also, it can sting raw skin. It acts like a drying agent.
When I began to heal, I used less of the paint. After my shower I would use a baby wipe on affected areas to make sure it was clean and that there was no residue from soap.  I would then use a new paper towel to make sure the areas are dry. I understand you can also use a hair dryer.

Keeping the area clean and dry is the most important factor.

I also use only one brand of baby powder...
Johnson and Johnson MEDICATED with aloe and vitamin E.  Make sure the label says MEDICATED. Other types (even other Johnson and Johnson powders) don't seem to help.

Also make sure you use a clean towel and wash cloth when you shower. You don't need any fungi hanging around to infect your skin.

After I reach my goal weight, maybe I can have plastic surgery to get rid of some of this extra skin.

My wife and I got our walk in tonight. I walked the entire route without stopping to rest for the first time. My right arthritic knee got a tiny bit of an ache near the end.. but my left arthritic knee was fine. In spite of a rather unfulfilling day at work, I stayed with my eating plan. I didn't eat to make myself feet better. Actually, the walk was the high point of the day.

Lost six pounds last week!  Today's weight 345.5.. but I round up so i list my weight as 346 lbs.  When I went walking with my wife tonight, I only stopped for rest once.  It used to be a shorter distance and three rest stops.

I was reading an article today about making healthier choices at chain restaurants when eating out. Just in case I end up eating at one of those restaurants some day, I transfered the nutritional info... (especially fat and sodium since I have hypertension).. into my food log, which I keep online through fitday.com. ( I have not yet tried the food log on this site.)
I get worried when I start thinking about going to restaurants because of the large portions, high sodium and fat content. I'm afraid I'll give in to temptation and once again start down that road to uncontrolled binging. (Is that redundant?). 

I do allow myslf "special occasion" eating.  But even then, I try to limit my intake of foods outside my normal eating plan which consists of lower fat, low sodium high fiber, high protein foods.  But how may "special occasion" days should I allow myself?  Let's just arbitrarily say i'll allow special occasions 12 times a year, including holidays and birthdays. This doesn't mean a binge fest.  I do my best to honestly list the foods I eat in my daily food log.  It is difficult to weigh foods in a restaurant or at a party, so I have to trust restaurant's online nutrition information.

Also, on days when I know I will be dining out, or eating a holiday dinner, I try to eat less  food for the rest of my meals. And those meals are high protein with virtually no sodium and fat. (i.e. dry cottage cheese and microwaved egg whites seasoned with Mrs. Dash) In that way, I can partially compensate for the high sodium, higher fat foods I may eat later in the day. 

  I make this work by being scrupulous about measuring  food and making healthier choices.  For instance, on those "summer picnic" holidays.. I'll have a turkey burger on a whole grain sandwich thin, instead of a beef hamburger on a white bread bun.  I'll have corn on the cob without salt or butter.  I even ate some dessert.. but a small measured amount.

This is not something I do every day, but just on the 12 days a year I allow myself to go outside my regular food plan.

So now the tough question: Which 12 days do I allow myself to go outside my food plan?

Let's look at holidays and special occaisons.
New Year's Day
Wedding Anniversary
Son's Birthday
Mother's Day
Father's Day
Daughter's Birthday
Easter
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Wife's Birthday
My Birthday
Thanksgiving
Other son's birthday
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day

Oops! That's 16 days, not just 12.  And the list doesn't include dining out if I went on vacation.

Narrowing down the days which you can have "celebration meals" may seem extreme. But I also beleive that weighing more than 500 pounds (which I did at one time) is even more extreme, and requires extreme measures.. such as weight loss surgery.

I'm not suggesting this list for anyone else,  But is shows you how difficult it is to be honest with myself about your eating.

P.S. Just to be clear... I am losing this weight to improve the chances of a safer outcome when I have roux en Y surgery. NO GOING BACK!

Uploaded three pics today. One from October 2009 from my driver's license when I weighed more than 500 lbs. I wouldn't allow my picture taken any other way because I was too ashamed of my weight. The other photos were taken at a party on June 21st, 2009... I was about 130 pounds lighter.