Pizza is my friend. How to get your pizza in.

Ok, you want to lose weight but you want your dang pizza too.   Can you have your pizza or not?  Yes you can! I thought that I might have to give up pizza forever when I started on my weight loss journey in Dec. 2006, but I was dead wrong thank God.  I have eaten pizza at least monthly since I started.  Sometimes more.  I could eat it weekly if I wanted to if I just planned for it with my points budget.

There are many ways to fake pizza at home.  Many of these ways are great substitutes but they are just not real enough for me to “feel” like I have eaten pizza.  They may be good alternatives but they are not the same.  Here are a couple of them.

• English muffin pizzas with low cal ingredients
• Flatout bread pizzas with veggies and cheese
• Home made pizzas with whatever ingredients you want that fit your program
• Lavash bread pizza supreme

Now these are all good options for MOST people.  Not good options for me.  If the pizza comes from stuff that is not normal in a pizza I don’t feel right.  Here is what I do for my pizza fix and it works like a charm every single time.

A fast food secret was added to the run4change secret page today

We all get down in the dumps.  We who love our food tend to go to it for comfort.  I know I have a millions time over and I know many of you have to.  The secret page was updated today with a confession of using food for comfort, for medication of negative thoughts and feelings.  Come on in and be encouraged to know that you are not the only one.

And don’t forget to share your own weight loss journey secret confession too.  Go HERE to read the updated Secret Confessions Page

Make sure you don’t miss out on any new confessions that come in by subscribing HERE

Goal modification: Weight loss and Exercise

Graffiti art by Bansky

Sometimes in mid stride I have to modify and adjust my goals.  I had a wee bit of a tuff time recently because Saturday Feb. 7th was race day for the 100 miler that I was training for.  I did not make it to the race.  It was not that I couldn’t have made it, but I chose to modify my goals mid stride to make my life healthier.  Coming up with my goals, and then modifying them or my game plan to achieve them is a constant and living process.  I am always making new goals.  As I set out to attain them I hit different obstacles or road blocks that bring about a necessity to make changes.  Here are a couple of examples

I can see it in your eyes-do you see it in mine

I thought of this post while I was doing my long run a couple of weeks ago.  I think this every time I go running to my favorite park.  There are always a lot of people exercising on this park’s trail.  A lot of people who are just starting their journey go here to get their activity in because it is so beautiful. This is a very different post than normal but it is still on topic.  It is the conversation I have in my mind with the over weight person who I pass as we cross each others path and make eye contact.  So here it goes.

Hey, isn’t it great that us fat people are out here getting it done (I am looking jolly at this moment)Why won’t you look at me?  We are out here doing the same thing for the same reason.  We are both overweight and think we a fat.  Oh yeah, I am not fat anymore.  Maybe that’s why you don’t really want to make eye contact with me.  You try, but you turn away so fast.  I feel bad because you look embarrassed when you don’t need to.  I know how you feel though.  It is funny since you have no idea that I have lost 130 lbs and used to be even bigger than you are.  I wish I could make you understand.  I wish I could stop you and tell you not to be shy and ashamed, but to be proud.  I am proud of you.  You are out here.  I know it is hard and it might even be hurting right now, but you are moving.  Great job.   Soon, you will be like me.  You will be the one that people think have always been thin and for that reason they think that you think they are fat and gross.  But you won’t think like that right?  You will remember what I see in your eyes right at this very moment where we glimpse at each other.  I hope you can remember and have compassion when you reach your goal.  Right now, you have sadness in your eyes.  That heaviness that is present when you look at the vast amount of weight you are trying to lose.  I see that you are afraid of what I think and afraid that you are not doing enough.  I think you are doing fine.  Please don’t look at me with that look of, “Don’t look at me buddy.  You have never been fat.  You don’t understand.”  I do understand, can’t you see it in my eyes.

This is how it is so many times when I run by face to face with people on that trail.  I know the look in their eye because I had that look in my eye before too.  I only hope that they can see the compassion and understanding in mine.

I can see it in your eyes, but can you see it in mine?

For more posts like this one and other great weight loss journey info., subscribe to my blog HERE.

Perseverance: Key in losing weight, attaining goals, and living life!

Chinese symbol for perseverance

Hi there.  My name is Jason.  I have basically been fat all my life.  Even in times were I was actually not fat, I still felt or thought I was fat.  I am sure that many of you can relate to that.  Between Dec. 13th 2006 and Dec 13th 2007, I lost about 130 lbs.  Not only did I lose the weight then, but have kept it off since and have also been blessed enough to finish 7 marathons and 4 ultra-marathons.  I tell ya, it has been a tremendous journey to get here today.  The journey wasn’t always fun though, it had many ups and downs, it came with joy, it came with discouragement.  Although I am still on the journey, I think things worked out pretty well.  I want to share  with you a little of the journey because I want you to know that a normal, regular, obese or over weight person can accomplish amazing things.  If I could do it, I know you CAN do it.  A key ingredient to weight loss, fitness, health, and life in general is perseverance.

Perseverance: To keep at something in spite of difficulties, opposition, or discouragement (Websters). 

Throughout my journey, I have learned that this simple little trait can bring a person further than ever imaginable.  This word is in every aspect of what we are trying to achieve in our bodies, minds, and emotions.  It may take time to loss the weight and get healthy, but if you can just hold and persevere YOU WILL MAKE IT!

Here are some examples of cross-roads that I reached (we all reach)during my own journey when perseverance took me through.

Helpful quote for us and those around us :)

Here is a great quote that is very relevant to how I felt yesterday regarding some “meanines” out there.  Check it out at this wonderful bloggers site.  It is about being positive and how it affects those around us.

Such a hard time tonight

I am not sure why exactly, but I am having a terrible time tonight.  I just want to get it all out there.  Here is what I want to do.  I want to go to the store and buy a smaller sized bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos and three sticks of pepperoni.  Then I want to just sit in my car and take one bite of pepperoni and eat some chips.  One bite and some chips, one bit and some chips, etc.  I just want to go off big time right now.  I already ate some of my wife’s healthy nuts and I don’t know how many dang points I ate.  I had a 1 point hot dog already too.  What I really want is to forget about eating right and have some pizza and doughnuts too.  That sounds really freaking good right now.  Do you guys ever have those times where you just are like, “I want what I want dang it.  And I want junk until I am FULL.”  Not a bite or taste, but like I used to do back in the day before WW where I got totally full.  I saw my dad eating doughnuts today, maybe that is what set it off. 

Oh yeah, I never went into what I don’t want to do.  I don’t want to run.  I should go out for an hour according to my plans, but I am singing “Tomorrow, Tomorrow!”  Then I say no, I will run but only for thirty minutes.  Well, I went outside and it was freaking cold so I came right back in.  I ran for a total of 24 seconds.  How many points do I get for that.  Oh well, just letting out the pity party.  I don’t even want to put a pic in this darn post and that is just not like me.  I call it a funk.  I am in a funk.  Maybe my wife will kick me in the butt and get me out running.  See you later guys, I guess I am going to go running 🙂

STOP.  THERE IS AN UPDATE TO THIS POST.  PLEASE DO NOT STOP.  MOVE ON AND READ BELOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warning: Shocking Results From The Scale

It is no wonder that today is a great day, I survived this last week’s journey and come out with a tale from the scale.  What a fantastic meeting.  I ended up losing 1.5 pounds.  This puts me at about 7-8 pounds away from my goal weight for my 40 miler.  I was very happy with the results and I could not have done it without your help.  I appreciate all the support, fun, encouragement, and help that you guys give out.  Thanks.  Other than the weigh-in, I did good on my points last night.  No exercise yesterday.  I also ate pretty healthy.  Jiffy Pop Butter 94% fat free big bags of popcorn are only 2.5 points and I think it’s a great snack.  Anyways, I survived another week on the scale and will continue on with my friends in the this weight loss journey.  Bye Bye Now.

Funny habit: I’m still adjusting my shirt after losing the big belly:)

I realized the other day that I carried with me a funny habit through the weight loss process into the present maintenance stage.  It is a familiar habit.  So familiar that I didn’t even realize that I still did it.  This habit is one that I think just about every over-weight or self-conscious person does.  What is it you ask?

THE SHIRT ADJUSTMENT!

The shirt adjustment is performed when you sit down, position yourself comfortably, and pull your shirt away from your stomach as to minimize the appearance of its size.  You know what I mean.  Men and women both do it.  It is what we do to feel better about our stomachs.

I still find myself performing this most important task.  Even after going from a jean size of 44 to a size 32, I still do it.  When I sit down, I pull my shirt away from my stomach so that it looks more loose.  I didn’t realize how ingrained my old habits were.  Just a silly post about something funny a discovered myself doing.

My life changing realization

Graffiti art by Bansky

In 1997  I took this class in college.  This class was simply called “Life Learning Skills” and it was created by a man named Willard Tate.  The class basically taught us college students about life and love.  It was a tremendous class.  I was having trouble during this time of my life.  I learned one of the greatest truths that I learned in life.  Here it is:

CHANGE  IS  UNCOMFORTALBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the time I was trying to get involved with school and church and what not, but I was so nervous about meeting new people.  Understanding that change would be uncomfortable and that there was no way that I could change without being uncomfortable transformed my outlook on life.  I learned that if I embraced some degree of uncomfortableness, I could break through and change into what I desired to be.

And so as I have lived and moved on from those days, I have not let go of that simple truth.  Though I may dread the scale, or starting a new exercise routine, or going to my wife’s office christmas party, I now understand that being uncomfortable will bring about positive changes.  It is uncomfortable, it is growing pains, it is stretching, and molding.

Let’s get real here.  It is not comfortable for us to look in the mirror, and see what we see sometimes, and listen to the thoughts we’re thinking; but if we can face that to see it for what it is and then decided to move forward oh what miracles we can see in our lives.  It may be weird to change how we think when we look in the mirror.  We can do it though, and when we do, we move forward towards health and joy.

Embrace the uncomfortableness.

run4change