fitness update

Well, it's been a while since I have updated you all on how I've been doing on my weight loss/health regiment. Obviously it has been going well or I would not be updating it. Haha. At the beginning of the year I weighed 211 lbs. As of this morning I am down to 196 lbs. This marks 15 lbs. worth of weight loss (for those that can't handle the math). I have dipped from obese to overweight on the bmi scale also...haha. Also, it's worth noting that I've lost 1 3/4 inches on my waist. I'm feeling great and on my way toward my goal of 165. Here's the inspiration I've hung in my food cabinet:

you're eating what?

As many of you know, I'm a little overweight and have been losing weight lately. For any who care, it's been going well. One of the things I've been better at is paying attention to what I eat. In the past, I would go to a restaurant and eat whatever looked good on the menu, knowing nothing about the nutritional value. Now, thanks to the internet, I go online and research all the food at a particular restaurant before I eat there. It has helped me tremendously. I actually couldn't believe how unhealthy you can eat when eating out. It's scary to think that I used to do that. I thought it would be fun to go through some common restaurnats and pick out a tasty looking meal and then show the nutritional values that go with them. Hopefully someone reading this will be encouraged to look up the nutrition before they go out to eat next time. Chili's Appetizer Texas Cheese Fries: Homestyle fries topped with melted cheese, jalapenos, applewood smoked bacon & jalapeno-ranch dressing. Entree Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken Crispers: Extra crispy, tossed with our spicy and smoky honey-chipotle sauce. Served with ranch dressing. Dessert Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie: Warm, chewy bar layered with chocolate chips, walnuts, and coconut. Topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with hot fudge and caramel. Beverage 20 oz. Coke Uno Chicago Grill Appetizer Onion Strings: A heaping portion of crispy fried onion strings served with jalapeno horseradish dipping sauce. Entree Individual Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza: A favorite since 1943. Crumbled ausage, chunky tomato sauce, mozzarella and grated Romano. Dessert Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup: A huge peanut butter cup warmed and topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate and peanut butter sauces. Beverage 20 oz. Pepsi I tried to look up T.G.I. Friday's and Applebee's also, but their nutrional information was not readily available. Boo them. When looking at the nutritional facts, keep in mind that the average person's caloric needs are 2000-2500 daily. That may vary based on weight, age, sex, activity level, etc. but that's a pretty standard average. A person on a 2000 calorie diet should eat about 250 grams of carbs per day. According to Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005, we should be eating less than 2300mg of sodium per day. Those are the three things that I think are most worth nothing in the figures below. Of gram the fat content for most of these meals are way too high also, but these three numbers should give us a great idea of how unhealthy the above meals are. Keep in mind that the figures I have given within this paragraph are daily values, and these figures below represent only 1 meal out of the day. This is not factoring in breakfast, lunch, and daily snacking. It's sickening. Chili's Appetizer 1930 calories, 148g fat, 64g sat. fat, 67g carbs, 84g protein, 7g fiber, 3660mg sodium Entree 1990 calories, 110g fat, 17g sat. fat, 190g carbs, 61g protein, 8g fiber, 4790mg sodium Dessert 1590 calories, 76g fat, 37g sat. fat, 220g carbs, 19g protein, 5g fiber, 910mg sodium Beverage 240 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat. fat, 65g carbs, 0g protein, 0g fiber, 75mg sodium Total 5750 calories, 334g fat, 118g sat. fat, 542g carbs, 164g protein, 20g fiber, 9435mg sodium Uno Chicago Grill Appetizer 1800 calories, 126g fat, 21g sat. fat, 150g carbs, 18g protein, 15g fiber, 1890mg sodium Entree 2310 calories, 165g fat, 54g sat. fat, 120g carbs, 99g protein, 6g fiber, 4920mg sodium Dessert 1600 calories, 104g fat, 42g sat. fat, 142g carbs, 26g protein, 12g fiber, 840mg sodium Beverage 250 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat. fat, 70g carbs, 0g protein, 0g fiber, 50mg sodium Total 5960 calories, 395g fat, 117g sat. fat, 482g carbs, 143g protein, 33g fiber, 7700mg sodium See how these nutritional facts compare with a couple of the popular fast food joints. Burger King's nutritional guide and Taco Bell's nutritional guide was not working when I tried it. McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese 740 calories, 42g fat, 19g sat. fat, 40g carbs, 48g protein, 3g fiber, 1380mg sodium Large Fries 500 calories, 25g fat, 3.5g sat. fat, 63g carbs, 6g protein, 6g fiber, 350mg sodium McFlurry with M&M's 620 calories, 20g fat, 12g sat. fat, 96g carbs, 14g protein, 1g fiber, 190mg sodium Large 32 oz. Coke 310 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat. fat, 86g carbs, 0g protein, 0g fiber, 20mg sodium Total 2170 calories, 87g fat, 34.5g sat. fat, 285g carbs, 55g protein, 10g fiber, 1940mg sodium Wendy's Triple w/Everything and Cheese 960 calories, 60g fat, 27g sat. fat, 39g carbs, 69g protein, 2g fiber, 2010mg sodium Large French Fries 550 calories, 26g fat, 4g sat. fat, 72g carbs, 7g protein, 7g fiber, 480mg sodium Chocolate Fudge Frosty Shake, Large 540 calories, 13g fat, 8g sat. fat, 95g carbs, 12g protein, 0g fiber, 370mg sodium Total 2050 calories, 99g fat, 39g sat. fat, 206g carbs, 88g protein, 9g fiber, 2860mg sodium Below are links to each restaurant's nutrional guide: Chili's (Click link on this page to download nutritional info) Uno Chicago Grill McDonald's Wendy's