****Posted by Nicole
Okay, so it’s the end of the month and I am busy at work. I’ve worked late the past two nights this week and we had community group on Tuesday night that lasted until late. I am tired and I have to do laundry, clean the kitchen, straighten the house, and pms like a mad woman. (sorry guys to have to mention it, but it’s the truth) I only got to workout one night this week, I’m bloated, my face is breaking out like a teenager, and I’m irritated.
I will go workout tonight after work, or, if I have to work late yet again, probably late after dinner, and the next two days. I can’t help it that I can’t make it every day, or sometimes even every other day. I am trying, but life happens and I am working from 7 to 5, which doesn't get me home until around 6, eat dinner, (which my sweet husband made) clean kitchen, sit for a second, and then try to go to bed at a decent hour so I can get up at 5 the next morning. Just as long as I get back on track when things are calmer at work, and with my body, I think it will be fine. I ate a couple of wheat bagels in the morning this week because I was either running late, or we didn’t have milk for a protein shake.
Grrr
Friday, January 29, 2010
Oprah, where are you?
***Posted by Kyle
I have said a couple of times that I wish Oprah would find out about Ninja Fingers, and sponsor us. This morning, I thought to myself, "Self, if you want her to give you a bunch of money because she knows what you're going through, you need to tell her about the project." So I did. I emailed her. Actually, I sent an email to the feedback section of her website.
Does anyone out ther know her, or know her actual email?
...off to drink a protein shake I go.
I have said a couple of times that I wish Oprah would find out about Ninja Fingers, and sponsor us. This morning, I thought to myself, "Self, if you want her to give you a bunch of money because she knows what you're going through, you need to tell her about the project." So I did. I emailed her. Actually, I sent an email to the feedback section of her website.
Does anyone out ther know her, or know her actual email?
...off to drink a protein shake I go.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Not much to say...
***Posted by Kyle
This is one of those mornings where I really don't have much to update. I actually liked the soup that I made last night (butternut squash, chicken, and quinoa) although I splashed some sriracha in it.
My knee really hurts today. I tried to get on the exercise bike this morning, not wearing a brace, and it hurt so badly I had to stop after only 4 miutes. I'll take some advil, and try to work out again this evening.
It's going to be a great day- the sun is out, and I'm going to try my darndest not to focus on the things I can't do (eat bad stuff, drink lots of wine, sit around watching sports center), but rather focus on the things I can do that get me excited.
Have a great day, make a healthy decision!
PS- thank you continually for the notes, emails, texts, and comments of encouragement that you have been giving us- you have no idea how much they help us!
This is one of those mornings where I really don't have much to update. I actually liked the soup that I made last night (butternut squash, chicken, and quinoa) although I splashed some sriracha in it.
My knee really hurts today. I tried to get on the exercise bike this morning, not wearing a brace, and it hurt so badly I had to stop after only 4 miutes. I'll take some advil, and try to work out again this evening.
It's going to be a great day- the sun is out, and I'm going to try my darndest not to focus on the things I can't do (eat bad stuff, drink lots of wine, sit around watching sports center), but rather focus on the things I can do that get me excited.
Have a great day, make a healthy decision!
PS- thank you continually for the notes, emails, texts, and comments of encouragement that you have been giving us- you have no idea how much they help us!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
On the prowl
Tonight is one of those nights that can be dangerous. I had a very filling dinner of soup and salad and then afterwards a friend of ours was doing a poetry reading at one of our favorite places, Atomic Cowboy, so we headed that direction. Now, I have a hard time with poetry. This irritates me to no end because I love books, words, art, and music. I just don’t get poetry. I don’t understand what they are trying to tell me. I do appreciate it because I think it takes guts to stand up on stage and tell people your most intimate thoughts. I compare it to me getting behind a mic and just reading stuff from my journal. Uh, no thanks. I don’t even want to re-read some of that stuff let alone read it to people. At least I had Kyle there to translate for me so I wasn’t at a complete loss. Anyway, Atomic Cowboy is one of our favorite places because we love the owners and, of course, the food is so good. We were good though and just had a couple of cocktails to blend in with the crowd.
So we get home and I’m on the prowl.
I want cheese... no pickles... no chocolate...oh I wish we had chips.
Okay, so I don’t know what I want, but I know it’s something to eat.
Maybe if I open the refrigerator one more time something will appear that I didn’t see before.
Nope, same stuff.
Two oranges and plenty of nuts.
But, I’m tired of those and miss the days that I could have nachos on a whim.
Then, I remind myself that our once a month weigh in is coming up and I don’t want to blow it the week before. Sigh... Okay, I won’t eat anything, well maybe some cashews and four little chocolate chips, but that’s it. My only defense is to brush my teeth. So that’s what I’ll do, and then go to bed.
I say this with a frown and dripping with sarcasm, yay me.
So we get home and I’m on the prowl.
I want cheese... no pickles... no chocolate...oh I wish we had chips.
Okay, so I don’t know what I want, but I know it’s something to eat.
Maybe if I open the refrigerator one more time something will appear that I didn’t see before.
Nope, same stuff.
Two oranges and plenty of nuts.
But, I’m tired of those and miss the days that I could have nachos on a whim.
Then, I remind myself that our once a month weigh in is coming up and I don’t want to blow it the week before. Sigh... Okay, I won’t eat anything, well maybe some cashews and four little chocolate chips, but that’s it. My only defense is to brush my teeth. So that’s what I’ll do, and then go to bed.
I say this with a frown and dripping with sarcasm, yay me.
Small frustration
***Posted by Kyle
Maybe I shouldn't have gone to Pappy's. A trainer that Nicole and I used to work with told us that people should only weigh themselves once a week. Even coming into this project, I told myself that I wouldn't focus on weight- Hell, I hadn't even weighed myself for almost 2 years before last week. I followed the trainer's advice, and weighed myself last Wednesday morning. I then weighed myself this morning, and I weigh exactly the same. "No loss, no gain, what in the world?" I thought to myself, and then got angry. I thought I was supposed to be losing between 2-3 lbs per week!
I'm trying not to freak out, because it's only one week out of 52. The true test will be next week, when we do our measurements.
I'm just frustrated this morning.
Maybe I shouldn't have gone to Pappy's. A trainer that Nicole and I used to work with told us that people should only weigh themselves once a week. Even coming into this project, I told myself that I wouldn't focus on weight- Hell, I hadn't even weighed myself for almost 2 years before last week. I followed the trainer's advice, and weighed myself last Wednesday morning. I then weighed myself this morning, and I weigh exactly the same. "No loss, no gain, what in the world?" I thought to myself, and then got angry. I thought I was supposed to be losing between 2-3 lbs per week!
I'm trying not to freak out, because it's only one week out of 52. The true test will be next week, when we do our measurements.
I'm just frustrated this morning.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Slap yo' Pappy
***Posted by Kyle
And the hits just keep on coming. Sunday we were enticed with a football meal created by an amazing chef that included Lobster Corndogs and Fried Mac-n-Cheese. We declined the opportunity. Yesterday, we gave up our reservations for the "Dorm Room Dinner" at 33 wine bar, even though I heard it was fantastic. We didn't give in (although I'm sure the Veal Brains they served at the meal would have done nothing to help Nicole's migraine). Today, the temptation was too much to bear, but I think I did okay.
I love Barbeque. I cook barbeque during the summer. I love eating anything that comes from a pig. I pretty much love anything covered in barbeque sauce. Today, I was working with a supplier that was from out of town, and the subject of Pappy's Barbeque came up. Pappy's, in my honest opinion, is hands-down the best barbeque joint in town. I have never had a single bite of food from there that I didn't love! The supplier demanded that we go there for lunch, and he was paying.
Oh Crap, what do I do?
Pappy's is not the ninja way.
Pappy's will suck me in like a vortex, and make me eat fatty, delicious pulled pork, ribs, fried corn on the cob, baked beans, beer, coke, sausage links, brisket, and peach cobbler.
Seriously, what do I do?
Panicking. Can't act weird in front of the supplier.
We walk in the door, and I had an Epiphany.....Chicken! I can eat Chicken! It's smoked, local, organic, and delicious.
That's exactly what I did. Instead of throwing down a pound and a half of pork product, I ordered the pulled chicken and the vinegar slaw (plus three bites of baked beans). To drink, I filled up on unsweetened iced tea. Yeah, I ate one rib off of my companion's plate- that was just to prevent myself from being jealous and leaving him there.
All things considered, I was pretty dang proud of my self-control. Again, this is about making the small changes that will lead us to a healthier existance.
Have a good night.
Tomorrow, either make a healthy choice, or go to Pappy's.
And the hits just keep on coming. Sunday we were enticed with a football meal created by an amazing chef that included Lobster Corndogs and Fried Mac-n-Cheese. We declined the opportunity. Yesterday, we gave up our reservations for the "Dorm Room Dinner" at 33 wine bar, even though I heard it was fantastic. We didn't give in (although I'm sure the Veal Brains they served at the meal would have done nothing to help Nicole's migraine). Today, the temptation was too much to bear, but I think I did okay.
I love Barbeque. I cook barbeque during the summer. I love eating anything that comes from a pig. I pretty much love anything covered in barbeque sauce. Today, I was working with a supplier that was from out of town, and the subject of Pappy's Barbeque came up. Pappy's, in my honest opinion, is hands-down the best barbeque joint in town. I have never had a single bite of food from there that I didn't love! The supplier demanded that we go there for lunch, and he was paying.
Oh Crap, what do I do?
Pappy's is not the ninja way.
Pappy's will suck me in like a vortex, and make me eat fatty, delicious pulled pork, ribs, fried corn on the cob, baked beans, beer, coke, sausage links, brisket, and peach cobbler.
Seriously, what do I do?
Panicking. Can't act weird in front of the supplier.
We walk in the door, and I had an Epiphany.....Chicken! I can eat Chicken! It's smoked, local, organic, and delicious.
That's exactly what I did. Instead of throwing down a pound and a half of pork product, I ordered the pulled chicken and the vinegar slaw (plus three bites of baked beans). To drink, I filled up on unsweetened iced tea. Yeah, I ate one rib off of my companion's plate- that was just to prevent myself from being jealous and leaving him there.
All things considered, I was pretty dang proud of my self-control. Again, this is about making the small changes that will lead us to a healthier existance.
Have a good night.
Tomorrow, either make a healthy choice, or go to Pappy's.
Out of commission
****Posted by Nicole
Unlike Kyle, I had a pretty decent morning yesterday. I had forgotten to make a protein shake, and didn’t realize it until I was half way to work so I had to go get a whole wheat bagel from Einstein’s. It wasn’t as good as a plain white bagel with cream cheese, but it did the trick and I didn’t have to eat a snack to hold me over till lunch. However, my day went south right after Pilates. I had a great workout and then got in the car and immediately wanted to ralph. I didn’t think that I had over exerted myself so I just took deep breaths and made it home with out having to stop and “make a scene”.
Once I got home I spent about 20 min on the bathroom floor wondering “Did I eat enough today?” or “Did I drink enough water?” and then it hit me, it’s a migraine. I had a headache on and off all day, but it wasn't so bad that I thought it would turn into a migraine and usually the pain gets worse before the nausea hits. I picked myself up off the floor, asked Kyle tuck me in bed (yes, I’m a big baby) and took two Tylenol pm... Harsha out!
So I did not eat dinner last night. We had planned to have garlic shrimp, but seeing how the thought of eating a noodle almost got me selling some Buuuuuuicks, I declined the opportunity to participate.
This morning I woke up in bliss. Nausea was gone and head was clear. For those of you who don’t know what a migraine feels like, imagine your brain swelling twice its size, and then the pain is so bad that it tries to squeeze through your eye socket to escape.
So this morning instead of a protein shake, I ate one egg, 3 pieces of turkey bacon and a piece of toast to get something in my stomach. I really look forward to our garlic shrimp tonight before bible study and I have a feeling this is going to be a much better night!
Unlike Kyle, I had a pretty decent morning yesterday. I had forgotten to make a protein shake, and didn’t realize it until I was half way to work so I had to go get a whole wheat bagel from Einstein’s. It wasn’t as good as a plain white bagel with cream cheese, but it did the trick and I didn’t have to eat a snack to hold me over till lunch. However, my day went south right after Pilates. I had a great workout and then got in the car and immediately wanted to ralph. I didn’t think that I had over exerted myself so I just took deep breaths and made it home with out having to stop and “make a scene”.
Once I got home I spent about 20 min on the bathroom floor wondering “Did I eat enough today?” or “Did I drink enough water?” and then it hit me, it’s a migraine. I had a headache on and off all day, but it wasn't so bad that I thought it would turn into a migraine and usually the pain gets worse before the nausea hits. I picked myself up off the floor, asked Kyle tuck me in bed (yes, I’m a big baby) and took two Tylenol pm... Harsha out! So I did not eat dinner last night. We had planned to have garlic shrimp, but seeing how the thought of eating a noodle almost got me selling some Buuuuuuicks, I declined the opportunity to participate.
This morning I woke up in bliss. Nausea was gone and head was clear. For those of you who don’t know what a migraine feels like, imagine your brain swelling twice its size, and then the pain is so bad that it tries to squeeze through your eye socket to escape.
So this morning instead of a protein shake, I ate one egg, 3 pieces of turkey bacon and a piece of toast to get something in my stomach. I really look forward to our garlic shrimp tonight before bible study and I have a feeling this is going to be a much better night!
Monday, January 25, 2010
It's been a pretty good day
**Posted by Kyle
The way this day started, I thought it was going to be rough. I didn't sleep well last night, and I stayed in bed 30 minutes longer than I wanted to this morning. That meant that I got up already in a hurry, and a bit grumpy. After that, I dropped my banana on the floor (which resulted in a hair-covered banana)...one quick note: washing off a banana after you have peeled it makes it slimy and nasty. Just throw it away. A couple of other things irritated me, none of which should have. At any rate, I thought I would leave my house around 9, go into the office for 30 minutes, and be at my first account by 10. At 8:41, I was in the shower, mid-hair-wash, when DAMN IT- I remembered that I had a 9:00 meeting. I set a world record in getting ready (didn't shave, that helped), and getting over to it. On the way, I got behind every old person in Saint Louis County that decided to drive 28 in a 40 mph zone. Luckily, I was only 5 minutes late, and the person meeting me only beat me there by about a minute. Not looking good, right? Well, my day turned around after that. Despite the wind, snow, and gray skies, everything else pretty much went as planned.
I did have to eat at Whole Foods for lunch, but their pre-packaged sushi seemed like it was decently healthy. I had a great workout this afternoon, and even got ahead on a couple of projects I'm working on.
The moral of this story: None, really. I'm just happy that I generally feel better throughout the day, my pants are starting to fit better, and that I can make myself work out when I would rather sit in a chair and eat cheeto's. I'm also disappointed that we had to turn down reservations for what was probably going to be an amazing meal tonight. Baby steps, you know.
Off to try a new recipe tonight. Weigh ins are at the end of next week- I'm a bit nervous that all of the "progress" that I feel is simply in my head. I guess the measuring tape and the camera don't lie.
Peace.
The way this day started, I thought it was going to be rough. I didn't sleep well last night, and I stayed in bed 30 minutes longer than I wanted to this morning. That meant that I got up already in a hurry, and a bit grumpy. After that, I dropped my banana on the floor (which resulted in a hair-covered banana)...one quick note: washing off a banana after you have peeled it makes it slimy and nasty. Just throw it away. A couple of other things irritated me, none of which should have. At any rate, I thought I would leave my house around 9, go into the office for 30 minutes, and be at my first account by 10. At 8:41, I was in the shower, mid-hair-wash, when DAMN IT- I remembered that I had a 9:00 meeting. I set a world record in getting ready (didn't shave, that helped), and getting over to it. On the way, I got behind every old person in Saint Louis County that decided to drive 28 in a 40 mph zone. Luckily, I was only 5 minutes late, and the person meeting me only beat me there by about a minute. Not looking good, right? Well, my day turned around after that. Despite the wind, snow, and gray skies, everything else pretty much went as planned.
I did have to eat at Whole Foods for lunch, but their pre-packaged sushi seemed like it was decently healthy. I had a great workout this afternoon, and even got ahead on a couple of projects I'm working on.
The moral of this story: None, really. I'm just happy that I generally feel better throughout the day, my pants are starting to fit better, and that I can make myself work out when I would rather sit in a chair and eat cheeto's. I'm also disappointed that we had to turn down reservations for what was probably going to be an amazing meal tonight. Baby steps, you know.
Off to try a new recipe tonight. Weigh ins are at the end of next week- I'm a bit nervous that all of the "progress" that I feel is simply in my head. I guess the measuring tape and the camera don't lie.
Peace.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Waistlines
***Posted by Kyle
Anyone that has known me for more than a few days knows that there are a few things that I am passionate about- God, my wife, wine, good music, and football among them. I have come to realize that the last one in the list has led me to some unhealthy habits that I have had to correct in order to change my lifestyle. You know those commercials that show people fumbling through their morning without their cigarettes? That's kind of the way that I feel watching football now. Thank God there's only one more game in the season!
I mean this from the perspective that, in the past, I had my "system" to an enjoyable football watching experience. It usually involved an afternoon with a beer in hand, and lots of chips and dips on hand. Also, orders of hot wings usually made an appearance. Then it went into the evening, with more wine in hand, and eating something unhealthy while watching the later game. I usually justified this by thinking "It's Sunday, it's the Sabbath, I'm supposed to be relaxing. Plus, it's light beer, and wings have lots of protein."
Umm, Fail.
Today, the NFC and AFC Championship games were on. I found myself in a house with no chips, no pizza, no wings, no dip, and a blog that I have to be honest on. Instead of beer, I drank iced tea. Instead of chips, I ate one bowl (100 calories) of microwave popcorn- sans butter. For dinner, my beautiful wife made the best batch of chicken spaghetti she has ever come up with, and we each had one glass of white wine. We also decided to turn down the invitation to a party where there was going to be amazing food, so that we wouldn't be tempted to blow it this early in the week. Later, once we learn to control other eating during the week, we will be able to indulge- we just thought it would be wise not to go to a place that was serving Lobster Corndogs, and Fried Mac-n-Cheese- Sorry John!.
It's crazy to think that, because of our new, healthier, habits I literally saved myself over 1000 calories in eating today. It will also be much easier to get up for that 6:30 am workout tomorrow.
Goodnight, America- make one healthy decision every day this week!
PS- Well played games by the Colts and the Saints. My predicion: Saints win the Superbowl 35-28.
Anyone that has known me for more than a few days knows that there are a few things that I am passionate about- God, my wife, wine, good music, and football among them. I have come to realize that the last one in the list has led me to some unhealthy habits that I have had to correct in order to change my lifestyle. You know those commercials that show people fumbling through their morning without their cigarettes? That's kind of the way that I feel watching football now. Thank God there's only one more game in the season!
I mean this from the perspective that, in the past, I had my "system" to an enjoyable football watching experience. It usually involved an afternoon with a beer in hand, and lots of chips and dips on hand. Also, orders of hot wings usually made an appearance. Then it went into the evening, with more wine in hand, and eating something unhealthy while watching the later game. I usually justified this by thinking "It's Sunday, it's the Sabbath, I'm supposed to be relaxing. Plus, it's light beer, and wings have lots of protein."
Umm, Fail.
Today, the NFC and AFC Championship games were on. I found myself in a house with no chips, no pizza, no wings, no dip, and a blog that I have to be honest on. Instead of beer, I drank iced tea. Instead of chips, I ate one bowl (100 calories) of microwave popcorn- sans butter. For dinner, my beautiful wife made the best batch of chicken spaghetti she has ever come up with, and we each had one glass of white wine. We also decided to turn down the invitation to a party where there was going to be amazing food, so that we wouldn't be tempted to blow it this early in the week. Later, once we learn to control other eating during the week, we will be able to indulge- we just thought it would be wise not to go to a place that was serving Lobster Corndogs, and Fried Mac-n-Cheese- Sorry John!.
It's crazy to think that, because of our new, healthier, habits I literally saved myself over 1000 calories in eating today. It will also be much easier to get up for that 6:30 am workout tomorrow.
Goodnight, America- make one healthy decision every day this week!
PS- Well played games by the Colts and the Saints. My predicion: Saints win the Superbowl 35-28.
Chicken Spaghetti… More like, Awesome Spaghetti!
****Posted by Nicole
Before Kyle and I got married my mom and I joined Weight Watchers and Jazzercise to shed some unwanted pounds. Even though I felt like an old lady doing Jazzercise, I ended up losing 20 pounds over the course of a few months. Weight Watchers was great in that they taught us portion control and gave us some kick ass recipes. This is where the Chicken Spaghetti comes in. Even when Kyle and I weren’t trying to lose weight we looked forward to Chicken Spaghetti night. It’s one of those meals that tastes good the first night, but is even better the second! The problem before Ninja Fingers is that we would eat almost the entire pan the first night, and then race to see who got the few leftovers the next day. So tonight was Awesome Spaghetti night and we ate the correct portions that we should have been eating all along. Over the years we added a couple of things to the recipe, but the base is still the same.
So this is the Harsha version of Awesome Spaghetti!
½ of a large onion - chopped
1 bell pepper- chopped
3 cloves garlic- chopped
2 heads of broccoli
½ a package of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
1 packet of Ranch dressing seasoning
1 can of Rotel
2 cups cooked wheat spaghetti (the whiter the bread the quicker you’re dead, or in this case spaghetti!)
8 ounces cooked chopped chicken
6 ounces Velveeta light
Sauté onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms until onions are translucent. I throw in the garlic when I feel like the onions are almost done. In a stockpot to the side, boil broccoli heads for four minutes or until tender. Take out heads and put to the side to cool and cut. Throw spaghetti in the boiling broccoli water, and when done, drain and set to the side. Once onions are translucent, add Rotel, 1 cup of boiling water, Ranch dressing packet, and the Velveeta light to the sauté pan. Heat through until cheese is melted. Mix spaghetti, cooked chicken, cut broccoli, and sauté pan goodness all together in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. (tonight the chicken was from one of the whole chickens we roasted earlier this week so I just chopped it and added to the 9x 13.) Pop in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees and you’ve got yourself some Awesome Harsha Chicken Spaghetti! This is four servings and four points for each serving. (the points are for all my Weight Watchers peeps out there) Hope you enjoy!
Before Kyle and I got married my mom and I joined Weight Watchers and Jazzercise to shed some unwanted pounds. Even though I felt like an old lady doing Jazzercise, I ended up losing 20 pounds over the course of a few months. Weight Watchers was great in that they taught us portion control and gave us some kick ass recipes. This is where the Chicken Spaghetti comes in. Even when Kyle and I weren’t trying to lose weight we looked forward to Chicken Spaghetti night. It’s one of those meals that tastes good the first night, but is even better the second! The problem before Ninja Fingers is that we would eat almost the entire pan the first night, and then race to see who got the few leftovers the next day. So tonight was Awesome Spaghetti night and we ate the correct portions that we should have been eating all along. Over the years we added a couple of things to the recipe, but the base is still the same.
So this is the Harsha version of Awesome Spaghetti!
½ of a large onion - chopped
1 bell pepper- chopped
3 cloves garlic- chopped
2 heads of broccoli
½ a package of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
1 packet of Ranch dressing seasoning
1 can of Rotel
2 cups cooked wheat spaghetti (the whiter the bread the quicker you’re dead, or in this case spaghetti!)
8 ounces cooked chopped chicken
6 ounces Velveeta light
Sauté onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms until onions are translucent. I throw in the garlic when I feel like the onions are almost done. In a stockpot to the side, boil broccoli heads for four minutes or until tender. Take out heads and put to the side to cool and cut. Throw spaghetti in the boiling broccoli water, and when done, drain and set to the side. Once onions are translucent, add Rotel, 1 cup of boiling water, Ranch dressing packet, and the Velveeta light to the sauté pan. Heat through until cheese is melted. Mix spaghetti, cooked chicken, cut broccoli, and sauté pan goodness all together in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. (tonight the chicken was from one of the whole chickens we roasted earlier this week so I just chopped it and added to the 9x 13.) Pop in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees and you’ve got yourself some Awesome Harsha Chicken Spaghetti! This is four servings and four points for each serving. (the points are for all my Weight Watchers peeps out there) Hope you enjoy!
Friday, January 22, 2010
The Break Room Strikes Again!
****Posted by Nicole
If you couldn’t tell from my earlier post, I’m having a little bit of a tough day. During these days any kind of food that is put in front of me that has been fried or is pizza gets eaten.
With that said, I innocently walked into the break room just now to get a plate for my healthy afternoon snack (a lovely little kiwi) and I noticed someone put a white box on the table with a sign that said help yourself. Curious, I opened it.
GASP!
An egg roll AND fried wontons.
I want them!
No! Damn it!
Go away!
Beat the egg roll!
No, Throw the kiwi at the egg roll!
No wait!
Eat the kiwi
Yes, It has a pretty green color and I like the texture.
Yes, God made the kiwi, and it’s fresh and pretty.
Phew!
Unlike fried cheese, a fried egg roll doesn’t quite have the same power over me. I was able to refuse my little Asian friend, but still it calls to me from the kitchen. It whimpers, “I’m going to waste! I’m just sitting in the open air, all cold and lonely.” Okay, maybe it’s not lonely. It does have some wonton companions. Alas, I will not eat my friends for they are not good for me. I’m just going to sit with my back to the break room and enjoy my lovely kiwi. Ha! Take that break room!
If you couldn’t tell from my earlier post, I’m having a little bit of a tough day. During these days any kind of food that is put in front of me that has been fried or is pizza gets eaten.
With that said, I innocently walked into the break room just now to get a plate for my healthy afternoon snack (a lovely little kiwi) and I noticed someone put a white box on the table with a sign that said help yourself. Curious, I opened it.
GASP!
An egg roll AND fried wontons.
I want them!
No! Damn it!
Go away!
Beat the egg roll!
No, Throw the kiwi at the egg roll!
No wait!
Eat the kiwi
Yes, It has a pretty green color and I like the texture.
Yes, God made the kiwi, and it’s fresh and pretty.
Phew!
Unlike fried cheese, a fried egg roll doesn’t quite have the same power over me. I was able to refuse my little Asian friend, but still it calls to me from the kitchen. It whimpers, “I’m going to waste! I’m just sitting in the open air, all cold and lonely.” Okay, maybe it’s not lonely. It does have some wonton companions. Alas, I will not eat my friends for they are not good for me. I’m just going to sit with my back to the break room and enjoy my lovely kiwi. Ha! Take that break room!
Sleepy.....
***Posted by Kyle
Today I'm sleepy. Today it's going to be hard to work out. Today, I want to go home, order a pizza, drink some beer, watch Public Enemies, and fall asleep on my couch. I'm fairly certain that's not part of a healthy regimen, though.
In the last 6 days, I have had two friends come to me for marital advice. I think it's weird that these guys come to me. Don't get me wrong, I think my marriage is fantastic, I just never considered myself to be the type of person that dudes came to for wisdom. Last night, it was a knock on the door at 2:30 am. We talked until almost 4:00, and he went home. That, my friends, is why I'm sleepy.
By the way, are those store-bought generic vitamins (One-a-Day, Centrum, etc) okay, or am I going to wreck my kidneys or something?
Today I'm sleepy. Today it's going to be hard to work out. Today, I want to go home, order a pizza, drink some beer, watch Public Enemies, and fall asleep on my couch. I'm fairly certain that's not part of a healthy regimen, though.
In the last 6 days, I have had two friends come to me for marital advice. I think it's weird that these guys come to me. Don't get me wrong, I think my marriage is fantastic, I just never considered myself to be the type of person that dudes came to for wisdom. Last night, it was a knock on the door at 2:30 am. We talked until almost 4:00, and he went home. That, my friends, is why I'm sleepy.
By the way, are those store-bought generic vitamins (One-a-Day, Centrum, etc) okay, or am I going to wreck my kidneys or something?
I'm tired today....
****Posted by Nicole
I am tired today. I had a really good workout last night that consisted of run/walking for 15 min, then a class called muscle works for an hour. I got home and Kyle had a great dinner all set to eat. Roasted cauliflower and a mixture of brown rice, shrimp, onions, green peppers, black beans, garlic, and a spicy seasoning called “slap yo mamma”. I cleaned the kitchen, (because Kyle cooked) mopped the floors, did some laundry, read the bible, and hit the pillow by 9:45. (Yeah I know, I’m an old lady) So with all that activity you would think that I would be comatose and not wake up until the alarm went off. Not so much. I woke up at 2:30am from a knock at our front door and our dogs announcing the visitor. One our friends needed some consoling so my sweet husband stayed up and listened to him vent. I didn’t fall back asleep until 4:00, or something, and then got up at 5:30 to get ready for work.
We both really love that friends feel comfortable enough with us to get help in the middle of the night. I'm not upset at all that he came when he did, I am just tired. Note to all of our friends, if you need us even in the middle of the night, our door is open!
When I get this sleepy I want two things; a bagel from Dunkin Donuts (plain, toasted, with cream cheese) and a tall caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Oh yes, Calories galore and the ultimate breakfast comfort food for me. I think I love it so much because it reminds me of when we lived in Boston. Kyle would have to go into his restaurant on Sundays to answer the phones and I would tag along to keep him company. When we would get to the city I would walk to Dunkin Donuts and get us both a bagel, then cross the street for Starbucks. The city would still be asleep and so quiet. I could see the sun trying to peek through the buildings and a crisp cool breeze would blow lightly through the streets keeping things from warming up to fast. Even though I knew it wasn’t going to be for long, I felt so blessed to live in such a great city. That’s what I’m looking for in food. It reminds me of certain moments that I felt God’s presence and I was at peace with life. Everything as it should be. I think if I concentrate on the memory and not the food I’ll be alright as far as the craving. This is when it gets hard not to eat.
I am tired today. I had a really good workout last night that consisted of run/walking for 15 min, then a class called muscle works for an hour. I got home and Kyle had a great dinner all set to eat. Roasted cauliflower and a mixture of brown rice, shrimp, onions, green peppers, black beans, garlic, and a spicy seasoning called “slap yo mamma”. I cleaned the kitchen, (because Kyle cooked) mopped the floors, did some laundry, read the bible, and hit the pillow by 9:45. (Yeah I know, I’m an old lady) So with all that activity you would think that I would be comatose and not wake up until the alarm went off. Not so much. I woke up at 2:30am from a knock at our front door and our dogs announcing the visitor. One our friends needed some consoling so my sweet husband stayed up and listened to him vent. I didn’t fall back asleep until 4:00, or something, and then got up at 5:30 to get ready for work.
We both really love that friends feel comfortable enough with us to get help in the middle of the night. I'm not upset at all that he came when he did, I am just tired. Note to all of our friends, if you need us even in the middle of the night, our door is open!
When I get this sleepy I want two things; a bagel from Dunkin Donuts (plain, toasted, with cream cheese) and a tall caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Oh yes, Calories galore and the ultimate breakfast comfort food for me. I think I love it so much because it reminds me of when we lived in Boston. Kyle would have to go into his restaurant on Sundays to answer the phones and I would tag along to keep him company. When we would get to the city I would walk to Dunkin Donuts and get us both a bagel, then cross the street for Starbucks. The city would still be asleep and so quiet. I could see the sun trying to peek through the buildings and a crisp cool breeze would blow lightly through the streets keeping things from warming up to fast. Even though I knew it wasn’t going to be for long, I felt so blessed to live in such a great city. That’s what I’m looking for in food. It reminds me of certain moments that I felt God’s presence and I was at peace with life. Everything as it should be. I think if I concentrate on the memory and not the food I’ll be alright as far as the craving. This is when it gets hard not to eat.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
I ain't sore at ya...
****Posted by Kyle
....But I definitely am sore. Yesterday, I started the interval exercise bike, and the weights program that my buddy wrote up for me. Holy crap. My arms were shaking a good portion of the day yesterday. The last time I felt like this was after the first couple of wrestling practices in high school. Awesome. Today, I think it's just a really long bike ride, which will be interesting in it's own right.
In other news, Nicole and I figured out that we can go to an Italian restaurant, and escape relatively unscathed. We were completely out of food last night (except for those really bad frozen turkey meatballs), as we didn't go grocery shopping on Sunday with me being out of town. We headed over to this little Italian restaurant that is right around the corner from us called Trattoria Toscana. It's not the best food in the world, and it's not the worst- it's the comfortable type of place that is full of old people trying to figure out why "vino bianco" means "white wine", and the owner remembers my first name, even though I haven't seen him in probably 18 months. There was a really bad Sinatra-cover singing lounge act that we were tempted just to hang at the bar, and listen to, martini-in-hand. Speaking of temptation, the first thing they do hear is bring you a loaf of white bread, with a nice little bowl of olive oil, crushed garlic, and pepper. Since our trainer told us "the whiter the bread, the quicker you're dead", we decided we could each have one small slice, and that was it.
In the past, the meal would have looked like this between us:
probably two baskets of bread
Appetizer (let's say crab cakes or antipasto)
Salads
Entree- with each of us finishing everything on the plate
a bottle of wine
split a dessert
Here's what we ate:
one piece of bread each
Salads- dressing on side
entrees- I had the seafood linguini with a light tomato broth, Nicole had chicken breasts with mushrooms and a white wine sauce. We each ate half of our entree, and asked for a box for the rest.
I had one cocktail (vodka on the rocks), nicole had water
NO Dessert
And that was it! I'd say we saved ourselves at least $75 over what we normally would have done, and also probably saved 700 calories each.
Success? Not a major, earth shattering victory in the grand scheme of things, but I'll take it for a Wednesday night!
Email us- Join the revolution!
Have a great day, make a healthy decision!
....But I definitely am sore. Yesterday, I started the interval exercise bike, and the weights program that my buddy wrote up for me. Holy crap. My arms were shaking a good portion of the day yesterday. The last time I felt like this was after the first couple of wrestling practices in high school. Awesome. Today, I think it's just a really long bike ride, which will be interesting in it's own right.
In other news, Nicole and I figured out that we can go to an Italian restaurant, and escape relatively unscathed. We were completely out of food last night (except for those really bad frozen turkey meatballs), as we didn't go grocery shopping on Sunday with me being out of town. We headed over to this little Italian restaurant that is right around the corner from us called Trattoria Toscana. It's not the best food in the world, and it's not the worst- it's the comfortable type of place that is full of old people trying to figure out why "vino bianco" means "white wine", and the owner remembers my first name, even though I haven't seen him in probably 18 months. There was a really bad Sinatra-cover singing lounge act that we were tempted just to hang at the bar, and listen to, martini-in-hand. Speaking of temptation, the first thing they do hear is bring you a loaf of white bread, with a nice little bowl of olive oil, crushed garlic, and pepper. Since our trainer told us "the whiter the bread, the quicker you're dead", we decided we could each have one small slice, and that was it.
In the past, the meal would have looked like this between us:
probably two baskets of bread
Appetizer (let's say crab cakes or antipasto)
Salads
Entree- with each of us finishing everything on the plate
a bottle of wine
split a dessert
Here's what we ate:
one piece of bread each
Salads- dressing on side
entrees- I had the seafood linguini with a light tomato broth, Nicole had chicken breasts with mushrooms and a white wine sauce. We each ate half of our entree, and asked for a box for the rest.
I had one cocktail (vodka on the rocks), nicole had water
NO Dessert
And that was it! I'd say we saved ourselves at least $75 over what we normally would have done, and also probably saved 700 calories each.
Success? Not a major, earth shattering victory in the grand scheme of things, but I'll take it for a Wednesday night!
Email us- Join the revolution!
Have a great day, make a healthy decision!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
One Muffin Top Please
****Posted by Nicole
It’s a well known fact that I don't have a butt. This is something I have known many years thanks to the fact that the beloved nick name needle-butt was given to me at the age of 8 by a certain family member. Not naming any names, but you know who you are!
Because of this affliction, I have learned to look for certain types of pants that will create the illusion of a butt. Low rise, boot cut or wide leg seem to be my favorite. If the waist comes up to high you will see the flatness of the buttocks. Also, shirts must come down to the hip bone and no tucking in, I don’t like it and it’s uncomfortable. (I haven’t tucked in a shirt since the 7th grade.) This specific style translates to countless frustrating shopping hours of not finding pants that fit correctly.
When I started gaining weight it mostly went to my belly which created my dilemma of only having one pair of work pants and one pair of jeans that would semi fit my new found curves.
If I get pants that fit my butt, hips, and thighs correctly the waist would be too tight creating the dreaded muffin top. If I got pants that fit my waist they would be too baggy in the thighs, hips, and butt creating what I like to refer to as "soggy bottom boys". This was a problem.
A few months ago I found a pair of khaki pants that fit snug in the waist, but looked decent for the other parts. I thought, “Oh I’ll just lose some weight and the waist will be fine”. Yeah right. I love how I buy clothes for a body I don’t have. I haven’t worn them in three months because I had to start unbuttoning them at my desk during work. Not good. So I gave them up knowing that my lower intestines would thank me.
This morning I was tired of hoping the guys I work with wouldn’t notice that I wear the same pants all the time so I tried the khakis on again and presto! They actually fit! Woohoo! And no muffin top! I was so excited that I ran downstairs and woke Kyle up at 6:30am and made him celebrate with me. So now I’m making you celebrate with me! Yay for old pants fitting and yay for ninja fingers!
It’s a well known fact that I don't have a butt. This is something I have known many years thanks to the fact that the beloved nick name needle-butt was given to me at the age of 8 by a certain family member. Not naming any names, but you know who you are!
Because of this affliction, I have learned to look for certain types of pants that will create the illusion of a butt. Low rise, boot cut or wide leg seem to be my favorite. If the waist comes up to high you will see the flatness of the buttocks. Also, shirts must come down to the hip bone and no tucking in, I don’t like it and it’s uncomfortable. (I haven’t tucked in a shirt since the 7th grade.) This specific style translates to countless frustrating shopping hours of not finding pants that fit correctly.
When I started gaining weight it mostly went to my belly which created my dilemma of only having one pair of work pants and one pair of jeans that would semi fit my new found curves.
If I get pants that fit my butt, hips, and thighs correctly the waist would be too tight creating the dreaded muffin top. If I got pants that fit my waist they would be too baggy in the thighs, hips, and butt creating what I like to refer to as "soggy bottom boys". This was a problem.
A few months ago I found a pair of khaki pants that fit snug in the waist, but looked decent for the other parts. I thought, “Oh I’ll just lose some weight and the waist will be fine”. Yeah right. I love how I buy clothes for a body I don’t have. I haven’t worn them in three months because I had to start unbuttoning them at my desk during work. Not good. So I gave them up knowing that my lower intestines would thank me.
This morning I was tired of hoping the guys I work with wouldn’t notice that I wear the same pants all the time so I tried the khakis on again and presto! They actually fit! Woohoo! And no muffin top! I was so excited that I ran downstairs and woke Kyle up at 6:30am and made him celebrate with me. So now I’m making you celebrate with me! Yay for old pants fitting and yay for ninja fingers!
This thing just might be working
***Posted by Kyle
This morning, I saw something that I haven't seen for a long time- my wife was smiling, no...make that beaming at the success that she has had so far in the Ninja Fingers program. I don't want to steal her thunder by saying what this success was, so I will let her tell everyone. However, it is so great to see my happy bride excited about how her self-image is changing.
As for myself, I feel like "slow and steady wins the race." I have dropped a few pounds since last week, and will post my weigh-ins once a month. I still can't get the ring off, but that's okay. One of my post-college friends John was just telling me this last weekend that he dropped 35 lbs last year, and had to have his ring resized, as it kept falling off. Maybe someday I'll get to that point, just not yet.
The boxing workout (which I made it almost- call it 95% of the way through) kicked my butt yesterday, and I'm having a hard time getting motivated to go lift today. However, I'm just going to do it.
Have a great day, make a healthy decision!
This morning, I saw something that I haven't seen for a long time- my wife was smiling, no...make that beaming at the success that she has had so far in the Ninja Fingers program. I don't want to steal her thunder by saying what this success was, so I will let her tell everyone. However, it is so great to see my happy bride excited about how her self-image is changing.
As for myself, I feel like "slow and steady wins the race." I have dropped a few pounds since last week, and will post my weigh-ins once a month. I still can't get the ring off, but that's okay. One of my post-college friends John was just telling me this last weekend that he dropped 35 lbs last year, and had to have his ring resized, as it kept falling off. Maybe someday I'll get to that point, just not yet.
The boxing workout (which I made it almost- call it 95% of the way through) kicked my butt yesterday, and I'm having a hard time getting motivated to go lift today. However, I'm just going to do it.
Have a great day, make a healthy decision!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Back to the grind
**Posted by Kyle
This last weekend, I flew down to Dallas to see my long-time friend Justin get married. It was an amazing, God-centered wedding, and a great time. Truth be told, I was a bit worried about staying on track eating-wise while down there. I may have drank a pint or two of beer that I didn't need, but for the rest of the trip, I feel like my eating choices were fairly good. I have a friend named Kyle (we'll call him KJ to stop any confusion) that is a personal trainer, that I was staying with while down there. We talked several times about the fact that, sometimes, you just aren't in a situation where the optimal dining choice is available. Our goal is to choose the best possible foods out of the choices available. For example, on Saturday there was a buffet lunch at a Tex-Mex restaurant. This is bad for me, because I will put a hurtin' on a buffet, and on some Tex-Mex food. However, I chose to roll with one tortilla, some fajita chicken covered with salsa, some black beans, and mainly the rest was salad. I only had a spoonfull of sweet corn salad, and 1/4 of a cheese enchilada (that the lady put on my plate- I didn't ask for it.) By staying away from the bowls full of oily rice, cheese, and sour cream, I was able to divert from serious caloric disaster.
At another point in the weekend, my college buddies were eating cheese fries, rueben sandwiches, and guinness floats. I rolled with a grilled chicken salad and iced tea. See, it can be done!!!!
KJ wrote me up a detailed workout plan, and I really look forward to putting it into action. The first couple months will focus on the big muscle groups- doing dead lifts, squats, lunges, cleans, etc. I have always been the type of guy that likes being in a gym, throwing weight around, and grunting, so I'm excited about rotating between boxing workouts, and lifting workouts.
On a final note, do you want to join in our quest? If so, just sent us an email with your name (we'll just use your first name, no worries), a picture taken TODAY of yourself, your waist measurements, and your weight (again, no cheating- we had to do it honestly, so do you). We will post them on here, and allow our followers to see updates on your success once a month. Join the Ninjas- it's, like, healthy and stuff!
kyle's email- kyleharsha@yahoo.com
Nicoles email- colieharsha@yahoo.com
That's it. Have a great day, make a healthy choice!
This last weekend, I flew down to Dallas to see my long-time friend Justin get married. It was an amazing, God-centered wedding, and a great time. Truth be told, I was a bit worried about staying on track eating-wise while down there. I may have drank a pint or two of beer that I didn't need, but for the rest of the trip, I feel like my eating choices were fairly good. I have a friend named Kyle (we'll call him KJ to stop any confusion) that is a personal trainer, that I was staying with while down there. We talked several times about the fact that, sometimes, you just aren't in a situation where the optimal dining choice is available. Our goal is to choose the best possible foods out of the choices available. For example, on Saturday there was a buffet lunch at a Tex-Mex restaurant. This is bad for me, because I will put a hurtin' on a buffet, and on some Tex-Mex food. However, I chose to roll with one tortilla, some fajita chicken covered with salsa, some black beans, and mainly the rest was salad. I only had a spoonfull of sweet corn salad, and 1/4 of a cheese enchilada (that the lady put on my plate- I didn't ask for it.) By staying away from the bowls full of oily rice, cheese, and sour cream, I was able to divert from serious caloric disaster.
At another point in the weekend, my college buddies were eating cheese fries, rueben sandwiches, and guinness floats. I rolled with a grilled chicken salad and iced tea. See, it can be done!!!!
KJ wrote me up a detailed workout plan, and I really look forward to putting it into action. The first couple months will focus on the big muscle groups- doing dead lifts, squats, lunges, cleans, etc. I have always been the type of guy that likes being in a gym, throwing weight around, and grunting, so I'm excited about rotating between boxing workouts, and lifting workouts.
On a final note, do you want to join in our quest? If so, just sent us an email with your name (we'll just use your first name, no worries), a picture taken TODAY of yourself, your waist measurements, and your weight (again, no cheating- we had to do it honestly, so do you). We will post them on here, and allow our followers to see updates on your success once a month. Join the Ninjas- it's, like, healthy and stuff!
kyle's email- kyleharsha@yahoo.com
Nicoles email- colieharsha@yahoo.com
That's it. Have a great day, make a healthy choice!
Monday, January 18, 2010
The Incredible (Slowly) Shrinking Woman!
****Posted by Nicole
This morning I stepped on the scale and I had lost 3 more pounds! My weight is now 206. I was a little worried because I didn’t workout as much last week. It's kind of cool to see the difference between working out and watching what I eat, opposed to just watching what I eat.
I traveled to my sister’s in Kansas this weekend and found myself wanting to stop at every fast food place that passed by. It’s also a tradition for Kyle and me to stop at Chick-Fil-A every time we make the trip to see family and I just kept on driving. It was a Saturday and I could have bent the rules a little, but I didn’t want to destroy them by getting a combo meal from Taco Bell. Plus I knew that I was going to have sushi that night for my brother in-law’s birthday dinner. I’m finding that fast food doesn’t have the same power over me as it once did. If I eat something bad it messes my stomach up and I pay for it for about two hours. I don’t think it’s worth it anymore. So by the time I got to my sisters I was starving and was pleasantly surprised with healthy food! She had stocked up on wheat bread, eggs (which she doesn’t eat), pickles (which are my fav and she also doesn’t eat), turkey bacon, and low fat chips. All together now, Awwwwe, thanks sister! We had a really fun time moving furniture, hanging pictures, and catching up so I did get a little exercise in!
One thing that I didn’t do when I got home was stock up on food for this week. I was just to tired. I’ll have to do it tonight after I pick Kyle up from the airport. I think I’ll get some new running shoes tonight too. Thank you for all of the suggestions for shoes, and I’ll let you know which ones I get. Hope y’all have a good week!
This morning I stepped on the scale and I had lost 3 more pounds! My weight is now 206. I was a little worried because I didn’t workout as much last week. It's kind of cool to see the difference between working out and watching what I eat, opposed to just watching what I eat.
I traveled to my sister’s in Kansas this weekend and found myself wanting to stop at every fast food place that passed by. It’s also a tradition for Kyle and me to stop at Chick-Fil-A every time we make the trip to see family and I just kept on driving. It was a Saturday and I could have bent the rules a little, but I didn’t want to destroy them by getting a combo meal from Taco Bell. Plus I knew that I was going to have sushi that night for my brother in-law’s birthday dinner. I’m finding that fast food doesn’t have the same power over me as it once did. If I eat something bad it messes my stomach up and I pay for it for about two hours. I don’t think it’s worth it anymore. So by the time I got to my sisters I was starving and was pleasantly surprised with healthy food! She had stocked up on wheat bread, eggs (which she doesn’t eat), pickles (which are my fav and she also doesn’t eat), turkey bacon, and low fat chips. All together now, Awwwwe, thanks sister! We had a really fun time moving furniture, hanging pictures, and catching up so I did get a little exercise in!
One thing that I didn’t do when I got home was stock up on food for this week. I was just to tired. I’ll have to do it tonight after I pick Kyle up from the airport. I think I’ll get some new running shoes tonight too. Thank you for all of the suggestions for shoes, and I’ll let you know which ones I get. Hope y’all have a good week!
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Foodies Delight
****Posted by Nicole
In response to my husband’s blog below, I think as long as we don’t eat like that every night or every week, and exercise it off the next day, we will be fine. We can’t completely take away all of our pleasures in food. It would lead to a crash and burn. We’re foodies, we like to eat really good food, with really good friends. As long as we don’t overindulge and keep exercising we will still reach our goals in losing our weight.
P.S.
I also only ate half of the lamb, half of the bacon, and half of the dessert. We laughed with our friends, drank about a glass of wine, and ate some damn good food! I had a great time. Thanks for a fun night Love!
In response to my husband’s blog below, I think as long as we don’t eat like that every night or every week, and exercise it off the next day, we will be fine. We can’t completely take away all of our pleasures in food. It would lead to a crash and burn. We’re foodies, we like to eat really good food, with really good friends. As long as we don’t overindulge and keep exercising we will still reach our goals in losing our weight.
P.S.
I also only ate half of the lamb, half of the bacon, and half of the dessert. We laughed with our friends, drank about a glass of wine, and ate some damn good food! I had a great time. Thanks for a fun night Love!
We may have lost the battle, but we'll win the war
***Posted by Kyle
Last night, one of the hardest things that my job will put in front of us stared us in the face, then slapped us around a bit. As most of you know, I own a small wine consulting company. Part of my job is to do wine dinners- essentially a chef prepares several courses, then I pair wines to match each course. People pay to come into the restaurant, eat the courses, drink the wines, and listen to be blab on about how they match, where the wines are from, etc. Last night, Nicole joined me, as some of our friends were attending the dinner to be supportive of my teachings. The problem is that the restaurant normally feeds me the meal that they are feeding everyone else- last night, that was a five course meal where the courses were things like scallops over risotto, lamb shanks, and one course was a huge slab of bacon. Needless to say, Nicole and I ate, as the chef wanted to know our opinions. In a small moment of victory, we were each able to eat only half of our lamb course, and I only ate a couple bites of dessert.
I think this just shows that we really want to make these commitments to a lifestyle change that will still allow us to enjoy an evening like we did. I'm sure we ate too many calories, but we didn't leave feeling like we gorged ourselves. Today, we will both just work out a bit extra, and move on.
Am I wrong in thinking this? I don't want to rationalize every time we make a slip up, but I also don't want to get into a mode where I beat myself up if I have a work event where it would have been rude not to eat.
Comments are welcome.
Last night, one of the hardest things that my job will put in front of us stared us in the face, then slapped us around a bit. As most of you know, I own a small wine consulting company. Part of my job is to do wine dinners- essentially a chef prepares several courses, then I pair wines to match each course. People pay to come into the restaurant, eat the courses, drink the wines, and listen to be blab on about how they match, where the wines are from, etc. Last night, Nicole joined me, as some of our friends were attending the dinner to be supportive of my teachings. The problem is that the restaurant normally feeds me the meal that they are feeding everyone else- last night, that was a five course meal where the courses were things like scallops over risotto, lamb shanks, and one course was a huge slab of bacon. Needless to say, Nicole and I ate, as the chef wanted to know our opinions. In a small moment of victory, we were each able to eat only half of our lamb course, and I only ate a couple bites of dessert.
I think this just shows that we really want to make these commitments to a lifestyle change that will still allow us to enjoy an evening like we did. I'm sure we ate too many calories, but we didn't leave feeling like we gorged ourselves. Today, we will both just work out a bit extra, and move on.
Am I wrong in thinking this? I don't want to rationalize every time we make a slip up, but I also don't want to get into a mode where I beat myself up if I have a work event where it would have been rude not to eat.
Comments are welcome.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Confessions of a Guilty Mind
****Posted by Nicole
One of my rules for Ninja Fingers has been to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Every morning for the past two weeks I’ve had a battle in my head whether or not I have the energy. I pull in the parking lot and think “should I?” Well for the last two days the battle was lost. I feel really guilty about it too. Yesterday I just had too much in my hands; purse, lunch, workout bag, coat, keys, and our team plant, Peter Petrelli. So I shamefully blame Peter for yesterday morning. This morning I was just lazy. Sorry guys. I’ll get back in the habit again.
Also, does anyone know where I can get some really good running shoes? My calf and shin muscles are starting to cramp and my ring toes and middle toes fall asleep after about 10 minutes of jogging. I’ll take any suggestions!
This is Peter. The one that MADE me take the elevator. My team mate John is in the back ground. He was the one that named him Peter Petrelli.
One of my rules for Ninja Fingers has been to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Every morning for the past two weeks I’ve had a battle in my head whether or not I have the energy. I pull in the parking lot and think “should I?” Well for the last two days the battle was lost. I feel really guilty about it too. Yesterday I just had too much in my hands; purse, lunch, workout bag, coat, keys, and our team plant, Peter Petrelli. So I shamefully blame Peter for yesterday morning. This morning I was just lazy. Sorry guys. I’ll get back in the habit again.
Also, does anyone know where I can get some really good running shoes? My calf and shin muscles are starting to cramp and my ring toes and middle toes fall asleep after about 10 minutes of jogging. I’ll take any suggestions!
This is Peter. The one that MADE me take the elevator. My team mate John is in the back ground. He was the one that named him Peter Petrelli.
It's gonna be a good day, tater
***Posted by Kyle
Even though I'm a little freaked out by the three little numbers I saw on the scale last night, I'm determined not to do anything rash. Just like most people would, I'm mentally jumping between just eating celery and water for the rest of my life, and just saying "screw it" and heading to Five Guys for lunch. I won't choose either option. A good friend of mine said that he will text me "OWT" anytime I freak out, standing for "One Week at a Time".
I had trouble sleeping again last night, as well as pain in my shoulder and knee. This resulted in taking a Tylenol PM around midnight, and therefore a very groggy Kyle today. If I call, text, facebook message, tweet, or email you anything weird today, I'm blaming it all on that.
For breakfast, we were out of milk, so I couldn't do my shake. I settled for a couple of delicious Prarie Grass Farms free range chicken eggs, some turkey bacon, and a whole wheat tortilla.
Like I said, it's gonna be a good day!
Even though I'm a little freaked out by the three little numbers I saw on the scale last night, I'm determined not to do anything rash. Just like most people would, I'm mentally jumping between just eating celery and water for the rest of my life, and just saying "screw it" and heading to Five Guys for lunch. I won't choose either option. A good friend of mine said that he will text me "OWT" anytime I freak out, standing for "One Week at a Time".
I had trouble sleeping again last night, as well as pain in my shoulder and knee. This resulted in taking a Tylenol PM around midnight, and therefore a very groggy Kyle today. If I call, text, facebook message, tweet, or email you anything weird today, I'm blaming it all on that.
For breakfast, we were out of milk, so I couldn't do my shake. I settled for a couple of delicious Prarie Grass Farms free range chicken eggs, some turkey bacon, and a whole wheat tortilla.
Like I said, it's gonna be a good day!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Faith restored, Man am I out of shape!
**Posted by Kyle
My parents always told me that, the older you get, the harder it is to get into shape and lose weight. I didn't believe them. I was wrong. Man, am I out of shape! Today, I got on the exercise bike for a 10 minute warm up, no problem. Then I decided to do a bunch of sets of push-ups and sit-ups. Yeah, by "several sets" I mean that I couldn't get to 25 straight of either one without stopping to catch my breath. Dang, when I was a young wrestler, or a mountain guide, I could rattle those things off no problem. I even got my Presidential Physical Fitness Award, dammit! Doesn't that get grandfathered in or something? Oh well, I guess I'll just keep plugging along, grunting and wheezing along the way!
As for the eating, we have been doing pretty darn well. I roasted a chicken last night for the first time- I think Nicole will post about that, along with pics. I have also gotten a bit of faith restored in these protein shakes.
Today, I did a scoop of vanilla, a scoop of chocolate, and added a dab of organic peanut butter. It really wasn't all that bad. I'm not concerned about the calories added by the 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter, as the shakes are only 60 calories per scoop anyways.
That's it, have a great day- make a healthy decision!
My parents always told me that, the older you get, the harder it is to get into shape and lose weight. I didn't believe them. I was wrong. Man, am I out of shape! Today, I got on the exercise bike for a 10 minute warm up, no problem. Then I decided to do a bunch of sets of push-ups and sit-ups. Yeah, by "several sets" I mean that I couldn't get to 25 straight of either one without stopping to catch my breath. Dang, when I was a young wrestler, or a mountain guide, I could rattle those things off no problem. I even got my Presidential Physical Fitness Award, dammit! Doesn't that get grandfathered in or something? Oh well, I guess I'll just keep plugging along, grunting and wheezing along the way!
As for the eating, we have been doing pretty darn well. I roasted a chicken last night for the first time- I think Nicole will post about that, along with pics. I have also gotten a bit of faith restored in these protein shakes.
Today, I did a scoop of vanilla, a scoop of chocolate, and added a dab of organic peanut butter. It really wasn't all that bad. I'm not concerned about the calories added by the 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter, as the shakes are only 60 calories per scoop anyways.
That's it, have a great day- make a healthy decision!
That's some good Betty
****Posted by Nicole
Not gonna lie, yesterday was hard, but it did get much better. I got home late from work and my sweet husband had a great dinner coming out of the oven. He had roasted one of our chickens! We named her Betty and she was oh so good. Since neither of us any experience with cooking an entire chicken, we did a little research on the web and found an awesome Anne Burrell recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/herb-roasted-chicken-recipe/index.html
Usually something like this would totally intimidate me and I would be scared to cook it. But for all of those timid cooks out there, it's honestly very very easy. Just a side note, if you don't know how to truss a chicken, like we didn't, look it up online. Easy peasy! So here are some picks of our very good and very moist chicken.
Under my skin! The recipe calls for you to rub the herbs between the breast and the skin. It tore a tiny bit, but no worries, still tasted fine in the end.
On the left if you look close you can see that Betty has string wrapped around her. This is called trussing the chicken. I think all it does is keep the chicken from losing it's shape. It's important when you are putting it in a rotissere because it will keep the legs and wings from floping around. And to the right Betty is all dressed up and ready to go in the oven!
And here is our awesome finished product! The thing I liked most about this recipe is that it didn’t require any butter and it was still good. Our friend Bill told us we should eat the legs and wings first. Dark meat has a tendency to dry out faster than white meat. The end result was a great dinner of one leg and wing for each of us, boiled red potatoes, and fresh green beans with almond slices and onions. Good dinner honey!
Not gonna lie, yesterday was hard, but it did get much better. I got home late from work and my sweet husband had a great dinner coming out of the oven. He had roasted one of our chickens! We named her Betty and she was oh so good. Since neither of us any experience with cooking an entire chicken, we did a little research on the web and found an awesome Anne Burrell recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/herb-roasted-chicken-recipe/index.html
Usually something like this would totally intimidate me and I would be scared to cook it. But for all of those timid cooks out there, it's honestly very very easy. Just a side note, if you don't know how to truss a chicken, like we didn't, look it up online. Easy peasy! So here are some picks of our very good and very moist chicken.
Under my skin! The recipe calls for you to rub the herbs between the breast and the skin. It tore a tiny bit, but no worries, still tasted fine in the end.
On the left if you look close you can see that Betty has string wrapped around her. This is called trussing the chicken. I think all it does is keep the chicken from losing it's shape. It's important when you are putting it in a rotissere because it will keep the legs and wings from floping around. And to the right Betty is all dressed up and ready to go in the oven!
And here is our awesome finished product! The thing I liked most about this recipe is that it didn’t require any butter and it was still good. Our friend Bill told us we should eat the legs and wings first. Dark meat has a tendency to dry out faster than white meat. The end result was a great dinner of one leg and wing for each of us, boiled red potatoes, and fresh green beans with almond slices and onions. Good dinner honey!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I just want to eat what I want
****Posted by Nicole
Today is one of those days that I just want to eat. I want a coke, Doritos, bread sticks, and something with melty cheese. Crap, that’s what I’m craving, just plain crap. I assure you that I am eating enough to fill me up. Every meal I eat I’m full. I’m just in the mood for something that is greasy and.... I don’t know, gross. Nachos, pizza, big ol burrito, any of it! I know, I know, I’ll feel better and be proud of myself when I don’t give in, but right now, Lord give me strength!
Today is one of those days that I just want to eat. I want a coke, Doritos, bread sticks, and something with melty cheese. Crap, that’s what I’m craving, just plain crap. I assure you that I am eating enough to fill me up. Every meal I eat I’m full. I’m just in the mood for something that is greasy and.... I don’t know, gross. Nachos, pizza, big ol burrito, any of it! I know, I know, I’ll feel better and be proud of myself when I don’t give in, but right now, Lord give me strength!
Mmmmm...Chalky.
This is one of those mornings where I'm tempted to write a sour, grumpy post. I have started realizing that one effect of eating healthier and having more energy is that I can't sleep very well at night. Last night, I went to bed at about 11:00. I woke up for about 30 minutes around 12:20, then woke up at 3:30. I have been awake since then. This means that I'm feeling a bit sour and grumpy myself. The reasons that I couldn't sleep are a couple-fold. First of all, I have a few things going on at work that are stressful. Secondly, I did a great workout yesterday, punching a heavy boxing bag. The workout lead to my shoulders being sore, and I couldn't get comfortable. Enough about that.
It has been really cool to see how helpful people are with suggestions on how to go about this challenge. We have had people that have told us that we have inspired them to make changes in their attitudes and body images as well. That's fantastic! One way (as Nicole mentioned) is that people give us all kinds of advice about what to eat, what not to eat, how much to eat, etc. Filtering through all of this (sometimes contradictory) information will be a chore, but worth it in the end. For example, my parents are distributors for a company called GNLD- I think it means Global Neo-Life Diamite (huh?). This company sells supplements, vitamins, etc. They also sell meal replacement protein shakes. I tried one yesterday, and it was terrible. I got a hold of my brother, who has eaten lots of these things, and he suggested how to improve it. I took his suggestions to heart, and made another one this morning. It's not fantastic, but it's much better than the mouth full of frozen chalk I had yesterday. I have to admit, a breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, and hashbrowns sounds much better than a vanilla chocolate swirl GR2 shake. But, that's not the ninja way.
It has been really cool to see how helpful people are with suggestions on how to go about this challenge. We have had people that have told us that we have inspired them to make changes in their attitudes and body images as well. That's fantastic! One way (as Nicole mentioned) is that people give us all kinds of advice about what to eat, what not to eat, how much to eat, etc. Filtering through all of this (sometimes contradictory) information will be a chore, but worth it in the end. For example, my parents are distributors for a company called GNLD- I think it means Global Neo-Life Diamite (huh?). This company sells supplements, vitamins, etc. They also sell meal replacement protein shakes. I tried one yesterday, and it was terrible. I got a hold of my brother, who has eaten lots of these things, and he suggested how to improve it. I took his suggestions to heart, and made another one this morning. It's not fantastic, but it's much better than the mouth full of frozen chalk I had yesterday. I have to admit, a breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, and hashbrowns sounds much better than a vanilla chocolate swirl GR2 shake. But, that's not the ninja way.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Revolution Continues!
****Posted by Nicole
After my "Nice Breasts" post last week, we got a flood of e-mails and comments on how to get a hold of more afordable free range chicken. I am happy to say that Kyle and I decided to contact Greenwood Farms and buy two whole chickens for $3.50 a pound. (we spent about $28) Seeing how five breasts cost us almost $20 from Trader Joes, I think this was a much better deal. So the revolution continues! Viva la Free Range Chicken and yay local farms!!! Thank you to everyone that helped guide us in supporting chicken rights and our quest to eat healthier.
I have to say that planning our menu on Sunday really helps us stay on track. It leaves less wiggle room to slip up. It's also kind of fun. To get the chickens you have to pre order online (www.greenwoodfarms.com) and then pick them up in a parking lot near tower grove. You give the nice lady money, she gives you a bird, or milk, or eggs. It sounds a little sketchy, but it's all very legit.
The truck with the goods
Chicken Lady
Kyle was also tipped off by another foodie friend that there was a farmers market
going on at St. John's Episcopal Church. (3664 Arsenal) It was small, but had just what we wanted. Fresh eggs that have a born on date of 01.08.10, home baked 9 grain bread, and cheese made by the Amish. You can't get any better than that!
The Amish Cheese Lady is below on the right, notice that it almost looks like she has a halo. It's cheese made by the Amish, sold in a church. Um, one for me please! If it doesn't taste good, it has to at least make me holy.
No worries, we didn't eat it all ourselves. Yes I had a few bites of the magical garlic and chive goat cheese, but we served it as part of an appetizer for some neighbors so it's all gone.
I love that Kyle and I are still finding ways to enjoy food. Yes we have cut back, and yes we are watching what we put in our bodies, but no we have not sacrified taste. I am also happy to announce that what we are doing is working. As of this morning I have lost a total of 3 pounds! Slow and steady; a marathon, not a sprint.
After my "Nice Breasts" post last week, we got a flood of e-mails and comments on how to get a hold of more afordable free range chicken. I am happy to say that Kyle and I decided to contact Greenwood Farms and buy two whole chickens for $3.50 a pound. (we spent about $28) Seeing how five breasts cost us almost $20 from Trader Joes, I think this was a much better deal. So the revolution continues! Viva la Free Range Chicken and yay local farms!!! Thank you to everyone that helped guide us in supporting chicken rights and our quest to eat healthier.
I have to say that planning our menu on Sunday really helps us stay on track. It leaves less wiggle room to slip up. It's also kind of fun. To get the chickens you have to pre order online (www.greenwoodfarms.com) and then pick them up in a parking lot near tower grove. You give the nice lady money, she gives you a bird, or milk, or eggs. It sounds a little sketchy, but it's all very legit.
The truck with the goods
Chicken Lady
Kyle was also tipped off by another foodie friend that there was a farmers market
going on at St. John's Episcopal Church. (3664 Arsenal) It was small, but had just what we wanted. Fresh eggs that have a born on date of 01.08.10, home baked 9 grain bread, and cheese made by the Amish. You can't get any better than that!
The Amish Cheese Lady is below on the right, notice that it almost looks like she has a halo. It's cheese made by the Amish, sold in a church. Um, one for me please! If it doesn't taste good, it has to at least make me holy.
No worries, we didn't eat it all ourselves. Yes I had a few bites of the magical garlic and chive goat cheese, but we served it as part of an appetizer for some neighbors so it's all gone.
I love that Kyle and I are still finding ways to enjoy food. Yes we have cut back, and yes we are watching what we put in our bodies, but no we have not sacrified taste. I am also happy to announce that what we are doing is working. As of this morning I have lost a total of 3 pounds! Slow and steady; a marathon, not a sprint.
Weekends are tough, but do-able
***Posted by Kyle
This last weekend, Nicole and I both ran into temptations that we consider our "Kryptonite". Nicole's is cheese, mine is any combination of really good food, and great wine. On Friday night, I was teaching a private in-home class about wine to a couple that had hired me. At the end of the class, the host came out with what I can only describe as beauty on a plate- a huge chunk of rich, dark chocolate cake with a port sauce and raspberries on it. Now, despite the fact that we are doing this challenge, I also know how rude it is to decline something that is offered like that. I took a couple of bites, said "thank you" and pushed it to the side. I considered this a small victory that I didn't pick it up with my bare hands, and smear it all over my face while trying to jam it into my mouth as quickly as possible.
We said in the "rules" that Saturdays are the day we can relax a bit on what we eat. This resulted in healthy breakfast, questionable lunch, and me taking the rules at dinner, throwing them onto the ground, jumping up and down on them, and lauging hysterically, cream sauce in one hand and red wine in the other. Oh well, next week I won't "relax" as much.
Sunday was fine, we ate healthily. I have learned that, when you are tempted to eat nachos while watching football, it really helps when you simply don't have the required ingredients in your home. Nachos? Nope. Ham on a whole wheat tortilla? Sure, sounds good.
Finally, this morning I was doing my reading, and a verse from Matthew really hit me:
"...Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
When you run in the circles that I do, you really see that some people almost deify a great meal. That's what my "foodie" friends talk about- what they ate, what they are going to eat, how great it was, how the new restaurant is, was it sourced locally, was it organic, and on and on. Heck, just look at Facebook or Twitter- a huge number of people's posts talk about what they just ate, or are eating. That's going to be a tough thing for me, seeing food less as something to idolize, and more as fuel for the body.
That's enough for now. Today, we try a "meal replacement" shake from GNLD. This boy is not excited.
Have a great day! Make a healthy choice today.
This last weekend, Nicole and I both ran into temptations that we consider our "Kryptonite". Nicole's is cheese, mine is any combination of really good food, and great wine. On Friday night, I was teaching a private in-home class about wine to a couple that had hired me. At the end of the class, the host came out with what I can only describe as beauty on a plate- a huge chunk of rich, dark chocolate cake with a port sauce and raspberries on it. Now, despite the fact that we are doing this challenge, I also know how rude it is to decline something that is offered like that. I took a couple of bites, said "thank you" and pushed it to the side. I considered this a small victory that I didn't pick it up with my bare hands, and smear it all over my face while trying to jam it into my mouth as quickly as possible.
We said in the "rules" that Saturdays are the day we can relax a bit on what we eat. This resulted in healthy breakfast, questionable lunch, and me taking the rules at dinner, throwing them onto the ground, jumping up and down on them, and lauging hysterically, cream sauce in one hand and red wine in the other. Oh well, next week I won't "relax" as much.
Sunday was fine, we ate healthily. I have learned that, when you are tempted to eat nachos while watching football, it really helps when you simply don't have the required ingredients in your home. Nachos? Nope. Ham on a whole wheat tortilla? Sure, sounds good.
Finally, this morning I was doing my reading, and a verse from Matthew really hit me:
"...Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
When you run in the circles that I do, you really see that some people almost deify a great meal. That's what my "foodie" friends talk about- what they ate, what they are going to eat, how great it was, how the new restaurant is, was it sourced locally, was it organic, and on and on. Heck, just look at Facebook or Twitter- a huge number of people's posts talk about what they just ate, or are eating. That's going to be a tough thing for me, seeing food less as something to idolize, and more as fuel for the body.
That's enough for now. Today, we try a "meal replacement" shake from GNLD. This boy is not excited.
Have a great day! Make a healthy choice today.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Kryptonite
****Posted by Nicole
So we all have something that tempts us and makes us get week in the knees. For some it’s women, gambling, or drinking. For others it’s shoes, clothes, or men. Me...Its cheese. Fried, melted, solid, or soft; it’s all good. We literally cannot have too much cheese in our house because I will eat it all within a matter of days. This of course never ends well, but come on, it’s cheese!
Last night I had a jewelry party to go to so I brought hummus and whole wheat pita chips. Once I got there I noticed that my good friends had all brought something healthy! On purpose or not, I was oh so grateful. I hadn’t eaten dinner so I loaded up my plate with our goodies and decided this wasn’t going to be as hard as I thought. Then I hear the door open and our last girlfriend comes in a little late. She puts a white take out box on the kitchen counter and settles in with the rest of us. Towards the end of the presentation it was time for me to quench my thirst and I quietly snuck into the kitchen for a glass of water. I noticed the white box and thought I would take a peek at what our late friend brought.
Gasp!
No!
Fried mozzarella sticks
Oh no, I’m in the kitchen by myself and nobody is watching me.
Help!
Getting weaker,
Step back, don’t look at them.
One will be okay.
Oh, it’s soooo good!
Two won’t be so bad.
The grease is soaking through the paper in the box.
Okay, okay, that’s enough. Drop the third, and step away from the box! Pay no attention to the girl behind the counter; she is not eating anymore cheese!
Yes I had a weak moment. I had two gross fried mozzarella sticks. The next decision I made was to tell my friend Donna to tell me not to eat anymore. I fought with myself for about five minutes before I asked her, but I was full and didn’t need the calories. In all seriousness I could have eaten the entire of box melty fried goodness. My sweet girly friends gave me the extra push I needed to get back on track and I am so blessed to have them on my side. Thanks ladies!
So we all have something that tempts us and makes us get week in the knees. For some it’s women, gambling, or drinking. For others it’s shoes, clothes, or men. Me...Its cheese. Fried, melted, solid, or soft; it’s all good. We literally cannot have too much cheese in our house because I will eat it all within a matter of days. This of course never ends well, but come on, it’s cheese!
Last night I had a jewelry party to go to so I brought hummus and whole wheat pita chips. Once I got there I noticed that my good friends had all brought something healthy! On purpose or not, I was oh so grateful. I hadn’t eaten dinner so I loaded up my plate with our goodies and decided this wasn’t going to be as hard as I thought. Then I hear the door open and our last girlfriend comes in a little late. She puts a white take out box on the kitchen counter and settles in with the rest of us. Towards the end of the presentation it was time for me to quench my thirst and I quietly snuck into the kitchen for a glass of water. I noticed the white box and thought I would take a peek at what our late friend brought.
Gasp!
No!
Fried mozzarella sticks
Oh no, I’m in the kitchen by myself and nobody is watching me.
Help!
Getting weaker,
Step back, don’t look at them.
One will be okay.
Oh, it’s soooo good!
Two won’t be so bad.
The grease is soaking through the paper in the box.
Okay, okay, that’s enough. Drop the third, and step away from the box! Pay no attention to the girl behind the counter; she is not eating anymore cheese!
Yes I had a weak moment. I had two gross fried mozzarella sticks. The next decision I made was to tell my friend Donna to tell me not to eat anymore. I fought with myself for about five minutes before I asked her, but I was full and didn’t need the calories. In all seriousness I could have eaten the entire of box melty fried goodness. My sweet girly friends gave me the extra push I needed to get back on track and I am so blessed to have them on my side. Thanks ladies!
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Donut Monster
****Posted by Nicole
My team at work has a lovely habit of bringing donuts to the office on Fridays. This particular Friday they were brought from Heavenly Scent Bakery. These donuts are so amazing that I want to stick my face in the box and lick each one so that nobody else can eat them. So as I obsess about the beautiful box of lovelies sitting behind me, I keep glancing at the text from my supportive husband that says “Beat the donut monster!!” I do have to say that it helps me tremendously that Kyle is going through some of the same challenges that I am with food. Nights I think are the hardest on us. We used to get a second wave of hunger after dinner and being a little bored we would fill our time with food. I am proud to say that this entire week we didn’t graze once after dinner. However, there is one confession to make. I didn’t workout last night or on Tuesday night. Seeing how we agreed to workout five days a week I will try to go into the gym the rest of this week, meaning Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Oh yeah, and I also forgot my lunch today, so I will have to buy something. I am thinking maybe Subway, a turkey on wheat, no cheese, lots of pickles and lettuce and a donut. Wait…. Hugh? No! Back donut monster, yahh, back!
Do you see the little white box? It's taunting me with its smells and goodness. That's my boss in the background. He's the culprit that brought them in.
My team at work has a lovely habit of bringing donuts to the office on Fridays. This particular Friday they were brought from Heavenly Scent Bakery. These donuts are so amazing that I want to stick my face in the box and lick each one so that nobody else can eat them. So as I obsess about the beautiful box of lovelies sitting behind me, I keep glancing at the text from my supportive husband that says “Beat the donut monster!!” I do have to say that it helps me tremendously that Kyle is going through some of the same challenges that I am with food. Nights I think are the hardest on us. We used to get a second wave of hunger after dinner and being a little bored we would fill our time with food. I am proud to say that this entire week we didn’t graze once after dinner. However, there is one confession to make. I didn’t workout last night or on Tuesday night. Seeing how we agreed to workout five days a week I will try to go into the gym the rest of this week, meaning Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Oh yeah, and I also forgot my lunch today, so I will have to buy something. I am thinking maybe Subway, a turkey on wheat, no cheese, lots of pickles and lettuce and a donut. Wait…. Hugh? No! Back donut monster, yahh, back!
Do you see the little white box? It's taunting me with its smells and goodness. That's my boss in the background. He's the culprit that brought them in.
A small hiccup
**Posted by Kyle
So yesterday I hit my first bump in the road to fitness. I won't go into details, but I got some disappointing news. After that, I had some "unauthorized" beverages while watching the National Championship game. I still ate well, but I did consume probably an extra 500-600 calories that I didn't need. I'm not going to beat myself up over this, because I knew it would happen eventually. The method behind all of this madness is to realize that this is a marathon, and not a sprint. I have to find the right side of the fine line between discipline and obsession. Today I spent a few extra minutes on the exercise bike, and I will eat a tad less for lunch. Then we move on!
Have a great day- make a healthy choice!
So yesterday I hit my first bump in the road to fitness. I won't go into details, but I got some disappointing news. After that, I had some "unauthorized" beverages while watching the National Championship game. I still ate well, but I did consume probably an extra 500-600 calories that I didn't need. I'm not going to beat myself up over this, because I knew it would happen eventually. The method behind all of this madness is to realize that this is a marathon, and not a sprint. I have to find the right side of the fine line between discipline and obsession. Today I spent a few extra minutes on the exercise bike, and I will eat a tad less for lunch. Then we move on!
Have a great day- make a healthy choice!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Snow day
**Posted by Kyle
So, I am already starting to feel my body going through the changes of this healthier lifestyle. The first benefit that I have seen is that I am already more flexible. This is coming from the fact that I am doing something aerobic everyday, and stretching. The first negative thing is that I wake up every day with a pounding headache. I have greatly increased my water intake, but I guess I need to drink even more of the stuff. Ugh.
Today will present a particularly interesting challenge. Unless you are living under a rock without tv service, you know that the Midwest got pounded by snow. It wasn't too bad here in St. Louis, as we only got about 5 inches or so. The roads are pretty bad right now, so if I work today, I won't be leaving until this afternoon. The same goes for Nicole. This means snow day! This also means that Nicole and I have to face one of our greater challenges. We both tend to "graze" when we are just sitting around the house. When we put in the Rules that we need to be smart about snacking, this is exactly what we are addressing. It seems like once every hour or so, we get up, wander into the kitchen, grab three bites of something (or make either a sandwich or nachos) and go back to the TV. Not today, my friends. Today we fight the urge, and win!
I just got done eating two eggs, some turkey bacon (not great- it's kind of like cooking up a piece of lunch meat), and a piece of whole wheat toast, washed down with two cups of coffee. I should be fine for a while, but I'm already looking forward to lunch. At least my workout is taken care of- I need to go shovel!
Have a great day, Make a healthy decision today!
So, I am already starting to feel my body going through the changes of this healthier lifestyle. The first benefit that I have seen is that I am already more flexible. This is coming from the fact that I am doing something aerobic everyday, and stretching. The first negative thing is that I wake up every day with a pounding headache. I have greatly increased my water intake, but I guess I need to drink even more of the stuff. Ugh.
Today will present a particularly interesting challenge. Unless you are living under a rock without tv service, you know that the Midwest got pounded by snow. It wasn't too bad here in St. Louis, as we only got about 5 inches or so. The roads are pretty bad right now, so if I work today, I won't be leaving until this afternoon. The same goes for Nicole. This means snow day! This also means that Nicole and I have to face one of our greater challenges. We both tend to "graze" when we are just sitting around the house. When we put in the Rules that we need to be smart about snacking, this is exactly what we are addressing. It seems like once every hour or so, we get up, wander into the kitchen, grab three bites of something (or make either a sandwich or nachos) and go back to the TV. Not today, my friends. Today we fight the urge, and win!
I just got done eating two eggs, some turkey bacon (not great- it's kind of like cooking up a piece of lunch meat), and a piece of whole wheat toast, washed down with two cups of coffee. I should be fine for a while, but I'm already looking forward to lunch. At least my workout is taken care of- I need to go shovel!
Have a great day, Make a healthy decision today!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Cowboy Up
***Posted by Nicole
My first reaction last night, after we bared it all, was to go to the kitchen and just say screw it. I wanted to shovel food in and then deal with it this morning. We’ve only been on our diet for two days, what’s a little pity eating going to hurt? Amazing how quickly I want to give up and let those thoughts rule my actions. But, that’s the kind of thinking that got me this body in the first place. The fact that we don’t have anything unhealthy to eat in our house anyway also helped me. So I’m going to take my father’s advice and “Cowboy up”. Thank you for all of your supportive comments and e-mails, they really do help us carry on. There is one scripture that comes back to me that always lifts my spirits, Psalm 138: 14-16.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
So no more pity parties and as our hero Yoda would say “Rally the Harsha’s will!”
My first reaction last night, after we bared it all, was to go to the kitchen and just say screw it. I wanted to shovel food in and then deal with it this morning. We’ve only been on our diet for two days, what’s a little pity eating going to hurt? Amazing how quickly I want to give up and let those thoughts rule my actions. But, that’s the kind of thinking that got me this body in the first place. The fact that we don’t have anything unhealthy to eat in our house anyway also helped me. So I’m going to take my father’s advice and “Cowboy up”. Thank you for all of your supportive comments and e-mails, they really do help us carry on. There is one scripture that comes back to me that always lifts my spirits, Psalm 138: 14-16.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
So no more pity parties and as our hero Yoda would say “Rally the Harsha’s will!”
The start of a new day...
***Posted by Kyle
My last two posts have been fairly negative. Those of you that know me know that I'm generally a fairly positive person, and these posts aren't my style. Yeah, I was embarassed and mad. However, today I am so encouraged by the comments, emails, and texts that I have gotten from our family and friends. It is so cool to see that people support us on a matter that could literally (eventually) mean life or death for us. The hardest part is over. From here, it's just sticking to the plan, being more active, enjoying the new foods that we will discover, and smiling about it. Will we mess up? Probably. Will we have success? We already have. Heck, Nicole already lost 2 pounds, which is awesome!
Moving forward, I hope people understand when I turn them down for the opportunity to eat pizza with them at lunch, or to have a pint of Guinness at the end of the day. I want to, I just really need to try to knock the little things out that have fettered my success in the past.
That being said, I really want to stick to one of the earliest Bible verses I learned: Phillippians 4:13- I can do all things through Him who strenghens me.
Have a great day folks- make a good, healthy decision today!
My last two posts have been fairly negative. Those of you that know me know that I'm generally a fairly positive person, and these posts aren't my style. Yeah, I was embarassed and mad. However, today I am so encouraged by the comments, emails, and texts that I have gotten from our family and friends. It is so cool to see that people support us on a matter that could literally (eventually) mean life or death for us. The hardest part is over. From here, it's just sticking to the plan, being more active, enjoying the new foods that we will discover, and smiling about it. Will we mess up? Probably. Will we have success? We already have. Heck, Nicole already lost 2 pounds, which is awesome!
Moving forward, I hope people understand when I turn them down for the opportunity to eat pizza with them at lunch, or to have a pint of Guinness at the end of the day. I want to, I just really need to try to knock the little things out that have fettered my success in the past.
That being said, I really want to stick to one of the earliest Bible verses I learned: Phillippians 4:13- I can do all things through Him who strenghens me.
Have a great day folks- make a good, healthy decision today!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Humiliation- measurements #1
***Posted by Kyle
I have to admit, when we first decided to start this thing, I knew it would be embarassing and tough. I never expected to feel the way I do right now. This is easily the most humiliating thing I have ever written. But, this is what is necessary to get us to our goals. Nicole and I were talking today about how we have both always been considered "big" amongst our groups of friends. Big is okay. Obese is not. I'm fine with being a big guy, the way God made me. However, I'm sick of all the other bullshit that comes with being obese. I'm sick of not wanting to sit at booths in restaurants because they are so uncomfortable. I'm sick of sucking it in on an airplane, so I don't have to go through the embarassment of asking the stewardess for a seatbelt extension. I'm sick of only being able to shop at Casual Male XL for clothing. I only have myself to blame, as I was the one that shoveled food and drink into myself, and didn't get out and exercise. Right now I am embarassed, humiliated, about to cry, and pissed off. I want to change. Therefore, I humbly submit the following measurements and picture of myself, as I am today for everyone to see.
Measurements:
Weight- Couldn't obtain, as I maxed out two different digital home scales, and the Wii fit pad. Estimate around 335.
Height- 6'1"
Chest- 57"
Waist (at the biggest point)- 62"
Right Thigh- 28"
Right arm- 16.25"
BMI- not yet determined, need weight measurement first.
So, there you have it. I only hope that this is the "before" picture of a wonderfully healthy and inspiring "Before and After" photo juxtaposition a year from now.
And, I hand the mic off to my beautiful bride...
Just as Kyle mentioned, I have always been considered a heavier and bigger girl. Even when I was in tip top shape in high school I weighed more (140 lbs) and wore a bigger size (size 8) than all of my good girl friends. I simply have a lot of muscle. My measurements and my weight didn't shock me as much as my sweet husband's shocked him. I was fully aware that I weighed as much as I do. In fact, if we had done this yesterday I would have been two pounds heavier. What I am embarrassed about is my picture. I'm a visual person and until I saw what my weight actually looked like on me it didn't register how much I have to lose. Yes I look in the mirror everyday, but I don't see what I saw in this picture. I know that it sounds weird, but I think I know how to position myself in the mirror to "play tricks" on myself as to what I look like. Tilt the head back and lean towards the mirror so that the double chin goes away. Don't have a full length mirror so that the belly goes away. Don't get in pictures so that you don't see what you look like. These are all very effective and very blinding methods of convincing myself that it’s not as bad as it seems. So with tears streaming down my face I post my measurements and my embarrassing picture.
Weight - 212.6
Height - 5'7"
Shoulders - 47
Chest - 47.5
Waist - 39.5
Abs - 44.75
Hips - 44.75
Right Thigh - 26.75
Calf - 16.75
Right Arm - 12.50
Frame - Medium
BMI - 33.29
And here are the very fingers that started it all!
I have to admit, when we first decided to start this thing, I knew it would be embarassing and tough. I never expected to feel the way I do right now. This is easily the most humiliating thing I have ever written. But, this is what is necessary to get us to our goals. Nicole and I were talking today about how we have both always been considered "big" amongst our groups of friends. Big is okay. Obese is not. I'm fine with being a big guy, the way God made me. However, I'm sick of all the other bullshit that comes with being obese. I'm sick of not wanting to sit at booths in restaurants because they are so uncomfortable. I'm sick of sucking it in on an airplane, so I don't have to go through the embarassment of asking the stewardess for a seatbelt extension. I'm sick of only being able to shop at Casual Male XL for clothing. I only have myself to blame, as I was the one that shoveled food and drink into myself, and didn't get out and exercise. Right now I am embarassed, humiliated, about to cry, and pissed off. I want to change. Therefore, I humbly submit the following measurements and picture of myself, as I am today for everyone to see.
Measurements:
Weight- Couldn't obtain, as I maxed out two different digital home scales, and the Wii fit pad. Estimate around 335.
Height- 6'1"
Chest- 57"
Waist (at the biggest point)- 62"
Right Thigh- 28"
Right arm- 16.25"
BMI- not yet determined, need weight measurement first.
So, there you have it. I only hope that this is the "before" picture of a wonderfully healthy and inspiring "Before and After" photo juxtaposition a year from now.
And, I hand the mic off to my beautiful bride...
Just as Kyle mentioned, I have always been considered a heavier and bigger girl. Even when I was in tip top shape in high school I weighed more (140 lbs) and wore a bigger size (size 8) than all of my good girl friends. I simply have a lot of muscle. My measurements and my weight didn't shock me as much as my sweet husband's shocked him. I was fully aware that I weighed as much as I do. In fact, if we had done this yesterday I would have been two pounds heavier. What I am embarrassed about is my picture. I'm a visual person and until I saw what my weight actually looked like on me it didn't register how much I have to lose. Yes I look in the mirror everyday, but I don't see what I saw in this picture. I know that it sounds weird, but I think I know how to position myself in the mirror to "play tricks" on myself as to what I look like. Tilt the head back and lean towards the mirror so that the double chin goes away. Don't have a full length mirror so that the belly goes away. Don't get in pictures so that you don't see what you look like. These are all very effective and very blinding methods of convincing myself that it’s not as bad as it seems. So with tears streaming down my face I post my measurements and my embarrassing picture.
Weight - 212.6
Height - 5'7"
Shoulders - 47
Chest - 47.5
Waist - 39.5
Abs - 44.75
Hips - 44.75
Right Thigh - 26.75
Calf - 16.75
Right Arm - 12.50
Frame - Medium
BMI - 33.29
And here are the very fingers that started it all!
Nice Breasts
Posted by Nicole
A few weeks ago I came home and Kyle was watching Food Inc. It’s a documentary that shows where our meat comes from and how it makes it to our grocery stores and restaurants. I saw maybe two minutes of it before I left the room and decided that I could never buy mass produced chicken again. The Revolution began, Viva la free range chicken!!!
Knowing what we now know, and trying to treat our bodies with more respect, we started the quest of only buying organic, treated well, chicken. The few places that we know of to find this kind of chicken is the farmer’s market, Whole Foods, or Trader Joes. We picked Trader Joes because the farmer’s market wasn’t open last night and it was close to Kyle’s office. Fifteen dollars and eighty eight cents later we had five small, clean chicken breasts. With taxes it came to over $17. Now we are all for chicken's rights, but almost $20 is a little steep for a few breasts. I was curious as to how our humane food would taste so we fired them up. We both agreed that it was way more flavorful and far from your average chewy bird. However, I think this weekend we will try the farmer’s market for a little price comparison!
Here are some pics of our healthy, expensive, chicken dinner. I chopped the onions, garlic, chicken, and green peppers. Kyle seasoned and sautéed it all to tasty perfection. A side of brown rice (that takes 30 min. to cook) and presto, a healthy dinner! What a team we make!
The before
The tasty after!
A few weeks ago I came home and Kyle was watching Food Inc. It’s a documentary that shows where our meat comes from and how it makes it to our grocery stores and restaurants. I saw maybe two minutes of it before I left the room and decided that I could never buy mass produced chicken again. The Revolution began, Viva la free range chicken!!!
Knowing what we now know, and trying to treat our bodies with more respect, we started the quest of only buying organic, treated well, chicken. The few places that we know of to find this kind of chicken is the farmer’s market, Whole Foods, or Trader Joes. We picked Trader Joes because the farmer’s market wasn’t open last night and it was close to Kyle’s office. Fifteen dollars and eighty eight cents later we had five small, clean chicken breasts. With taxes it came to over $17. Now we are all for chicken's rights, but almost $20 is a little steep for a few breasts. I was curious as to how our humane food would taste so we fired them up. We both agreed that it was way more flavorful and far from your average chewy bird. However, I think this weekend we will try the farmer’s market for a little price comparison!
Here are some pics of our healthy, expensive, chicken dinner. I chopped the onions, garlic, chicken, and green peppers. Kyle seasoned and sautéed it all to tasty perfection. A side of brown rice (that takes 30 min. to cook) and presto, a healthy dinner! What a team we make!
The before
The tasty after!
Day Two...the struggles already begin
***Posted by Kyle
I know it has to get hard before it gets easier. Today, I woke up feeling like I have a hangover (I literally had less than one glass of wine to drink yesterday). I am tired, irritable, sluggish, and have a headache and cotton-mouth. I can only assume that this is my body detoxing from all of the crap that I ate over the holidays, and getting used to the lower fat, sugar, and calorie foods that I am now consuming. Nicole and I both stuck to our eating plan yesterday, despite her open access to donuts and me being invited to eat pizza for lunch. I will let her address the "organic chicken" thing from last night (read as "scam"). The funny thing is, we didn't die! I anxiously await the day when I can post on here that I have lost four inches, I feel great, and my energy is boundless. Today ain't that day. Instead, I'm going to finish my coffee, go work out, and eat some turkey bacon, eggs, and toast before heading into the frozen wasteland that encompasses our fair city.
I want to say thank you to those that have already started following us on here, and that have sent us emails and texts for encouragement. We know that the first month will be the hardest. We so much look forward to sharing our successes with you!
As a side note, our measurements had to be postponed until tonight (not our fault, I promise). When we get them, we will post them.
Until then, have a fantastic day!
I know it has to get hard before it gets easier. Today, I woke up feeling like I have a hangover (I literally had less than one glass of wine to drink yesterday). I am tired, irritable, sluggish, and have a headache and cotton-mouth. I can only assume that this is my body detoxing from all of the crap that I ate over the holidays, and getting used to the lower fat, sugar, and calorie foods that I am now consuming. Nicole and I both stuck to our eating plan yesterday, despite her open access to donuts and me being invited to eat pizza for lunch. I will let her address the "organic chicken" thing from last night (read as "scam"). The funny thing is, we didn't die! I anxiously await the day when I can post on here that I have lost four inches, I feel great, and my energy is boundless. Today ain't that day. Instead, I'm going to finish my coffee, go work out, and eat some turkey bacon, eggs, and toast before heading into the frozen wasteland that encompasses our fair city.
I want to say thank you to those that have already started following us on here, and that have sent us emails and texts for encouragement. We know that the first month will be the hardest. We so much look forward to sharing our successes with you!
As a side note, our measurements had to be postponed until tonight (not our fault, I promise). When we get them, we will post them.
Until then, have a fantastic day!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Stairs suck
So last week I thought it would be a good idea to tell as many people about our blog as possible. Keep us accountable, right? Hmmm...I told my team at work and my boss suggested that I could start taking the stairs instead of the elevator. He then tells me this magical, inspirational story about one of the guys in our company that did this and lost 10 lbs. Well that's for me!
First of all, our office is on the sixth floor. Sixth floor people! Second of all I have about 15 pounds of exercise crap and purse crap that I have to lug up with me. And Third of all, it's a frozen tundra out there and I have on two layers of clothes plus a wool jacket and scarf. I got to the top of the stairs not only huffing and puffing, but also sweaty and dizzy. Stairs suck..... and break rooms suck too.
Oh,ours was full of lovely surprises today. As I was walking through to get to my desk, there is a huge box of donuts on the table, that I can't eat, and a note saying that the bathrooms on the sixth and fifth floors are going to be out of service for the next couple of days. Really? Might I remind yall that I am not taking the elevator? So this means that every time I have to pee I have to trek up and down two flights of stairs.
Okay, so let’s look on the bright side. I refused to eat the donuts, yay me, I ate very healthy this morning with a bowl of multi grain cheerios, and a boiled egg for protein. I didn't get hungry for a mid morning snack until about 10:30, I enjoyed my orange, and I'm looking forward to eating my sandwich that I made with 45 calorie a slice bread. Oh, and I have a granola bar for my other snack. Love those! It’s not so bad, but I still hate the stairs!
Posted by Nicole
First of all, our office is on the sixth floor. Sixth floor people! Second of all I have about 15 pounds of exercise crap and purse crap that I have to lug up with me. And Third of all, it's a frozen tundra out there and I have on two layers of clothes plus a wool jacket and scarf. I got to the top of the stairs not only huffing and puffing, but also sweaty and dizzy. Stairs suck..... and break rooms suck too.
Oh,ours was full of lovely surprises today. As I was walking through to get to my desk, there is a huge box of donuts on the table, that I can't eat, and a note saying that the bathrooms on the sixth and fifth floors are going to be out of service for the next couple of days. Really? Might I remind yall that I am not taking the elevator? So this means that every time I have to pee I have to trek up and down two flights of stairs.
Okay, so let’s look on the bright side. I refused to eat the donuts, yay me, I ate very healthy this morning with a bowl of multi grain cheerios, and a boiled egg for protein. I didn't get hungry for a mid morning snack until about 10:30, I enjoyed my orange, and I'm looking forward to eating my sandwich that I made with 45 calorie a slice bread. Oh, and I have a granola bar for my other snack. Love those! It’s not so bad, but I still hate the stairs!
Posted by Nicole
Day One
**Posted by Kyle
This massive thing starts today. Yesterday, Nicole and I sat down and planned out our meals for the week, then went grocery shopping for all the healthy stuff. That was followed by a purging of all the leftover Chinese, Chili, and Cheesy Potato Casserole that was in our fridge to make room for apples, lettuce, and turkey bacon. I hardly slept last night, as the result of me being a mixture of excited about getting healthier, and nervous about putting honest things about my weight, BMI, and measurements online for all the world to see. I will get on the exercise bike for a little while this morning, and do some push-ups and sit-ups. This evening, we will meet with Donna, a wonderful lady that is a personal trainer (and a friend of ours) to get our measurements. After that, I plan on posting them on here once a month, along with pictures. I'm a bit worried that a previous knee injury will hinder my exercise from the beginning, but I'm convinced that weight loss will help both that and my frequent back injuries. Have a great day!
This massive thing starts today. Yesterday, Nicole and I sat down and planned out our meals for the week, then went grocery shopping for all the healthy stuff. That was followed by a purging of all the leftover Chinese, Chili, and Cheesy Potato Casserole that was in our fridge to make room for apples, lettuce, and turkey bacon. I hardly slept last night, as the result of me being a mixture of excited about getting healthier, and nervous about putting honest things about my weight, BMI, and measurements online for all the world to see. I will get on the exercise bike for a little while this morning, and do some push-ups and sit-ups. This evening, we will meet with Donna, a wonderful lady that is a personal trainer (and a friend of ours) to get our measurements. After that, I plan on posting them on here once a month, along with pictures. I'm a bit worried that a previous knee injury will hinder my exercise from the beginning, but I'm convinced that weight loss will help both that and my frequent back injuries. Have a great day!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
So it begins....
Welcome to our blog. My name is Kyle, and my wife's name is Nicole. This is a project that we felt led to do, covering the year 2010. Quite simply, we want to be healthier, more fit people. We figured that the best method to accomplishing this goal is to put it out there, in public, for all of our family and friends to see. This is not a crash diet, a "biggest loser" type contest, or a "look at how cool we are" type thing. We have both tried different methods (including those listed) in the past to no avail. This is a way for all of our contacts to see what we are doing, keep us accountable, and hopefully be encouraged by our success.
We will sometimes post individually (if we do this, we will put "Posted by Kyle", or "Posted by Nicole"), and sometimes as a couple. We will be very honest about what we are going through- how great it feels, how much it sucks at times, how we want to go on forever, and how we want to quit. We will probably whine, cuss, spit, and moan. We will also post regular pictures and measurements to update everyone on our progress (Nicole just went "Ewww" as I read that to her!)
The name "Ninja-Fingers" came from the fact that, since we got married nearly 7 years ago, we have both gained weight. As a result, Kyle cannot take his wedding ring off, and Nicole has difficulty getting hers on. Our first goal is to eliminate this problem by working out to the point where we have skinnier fingers. "Ninja" just comes because ninjas are cool, and have great discipline.
Before we even start, we want to acknowledge that we cannot do this alone. We will need help from God, and prayer and encouragement from all of you. We encourage you to sign up as "followers" on here, and post comments regularly. Remember, this is a very difficult task, and one of the most humbling things either of us have done. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you with skinnier fingers!
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