Changes

Happy Mothers day to all mothers, but very special thanks to my amazing mother Connie McCarthy! She has always been there through the good and the bad and has never given up on me no matter the circumstance. There are no words for me to express my gratitude for all you have done! Chickie

With today being Mothers Day it really got me thinking about how our lifestyle changes have affected our children. I can remember hearing people I know and respect say “be careful where you place your feet, your children will follow”.  I never really bought into this old saying… until now.

History

Let me give you a little background on why I never bought into this saying. My parents split before I was even born they were young, and in retrospect probably did what was best for everyone at the time. When I was around 8 my mom married a guy that was an alcoholic, he did quit drinking after they were married for several years and those were good years. He decided that he could start drinking recreationally again as we all know this is never a good idea with a recovering addict of any kind.

The drinking started off slow and progressively got worse to where he was drunk every night in my adolescent years. During this time he was extremely verbally and emotionally abusive. He would get drunk and whisper in my ear trying to start fights with me. He would blame things he had done on me. All while hiding it from my mom. I didn’t tell her because I didn’t want to stress her anymore than she already was because he was just as verbally abusive with her.

I knew growing up I didn’t want to be like him. I knew that this wasn’t right nor was it normal for a father/father figure to act like this. Since I did not grow up to be like that I always thought you created your own path that you didn’t have to step where your parents did. Little did I know I was following my mom’s footsteps.

Now that we have started this lifestyle change I started paying attention to the choices my kids were making, and was I ever shocked and saddened at what I had taught my children.

I noticed my kids eating habits, their activity level and technology use and they were the same as Tiffani and I’s.  They ate junk, they got very little physical activity and watched way too much TV and played way to many video games!

We knew we couldn’t force them to change overnight like we did, so we started slowly taking away the bad options and replacing them with better choices. I was amazed with how quickly this changed them along with them seeing our changes.  It started with replacing snacks with fruit, and then on to replacing their milk with almond milk and now we are up to limiting TV and video games in 2 short months.

The Kids

Brayden is my 4 year old son; he is very picky and very stubborn. Before this change all the kid would eat was cereal, hot dogs, scrambled eggs and McDonalds. Now he is a fruit eating machine! One day this week for breakfast he had a banana, lunch was a banana and an apple, dinner was scrambled eggs and toast. Now I know these are not the healthiest meals in the world but they are a step in the right direction, and the best part is he asked for these foods they were not forced on him nor were they offered in a choice. He also asks everyday if we can go on a walk or if we can go workout. These things made me extremely happy but, still wasn’t enough to convince me.

Kilynn is my 8 year old daughter, she is also very picky and very stubborn (I think they get it from their mom) She has also been really good about making better choices, and very inquisitive about why me are making the choices we are and what is healthy (since most of what we learn is healthy in school is not exactly true!!!). She is also the one to teach me that our kids will follow our footsteps.

5K and Mini Marathon Influence

I have been talking about wanting to run in the Indianapolis mini marathon next year, and how I need to run some 5K’s this year to get ready. Tiffani and I decided we would sign up to run in a 5K together on July 4^th and little to our knowledge Kilynn had been soaking all of this 5K/mini marathon talk in. So yesterday at lunch much to our shock she asks if she can run in the mini with me. My first response was no, but I stopped myself before it came out and I said maybe you should try to run a 5K first. So we told her that if she wanted to she could go on Tiffani’s couch to 5K day 2 run with her and if she wanted to continue with it after that, we would run a 5K with her when she could run 3 miles. Knowing Kilynn I decide to take Brayden and Walk their running path thinking she wouldn’t make it 10 min. into the 3o min. workout, WOW! was I ever wrong. She made it well over half way and is excited to try the day 3 run tomorrow!

This small moment in my life showed me that what I am doing is not only good for my life, but it is also good for my kids and their kids and so on. I have never been more motivated to continue with these changes than I am when I see my kids making healthier choices.

I leave you with this what path are you leading your children down? What legacy will you leave?

Healthy Recipes

Recipes

Since I have changed my lifestyle and eating habits everyone asks so what can you eat? Everyone thinks just because I am eating healthy that there is very little I can have, and that it is all bland. Well I am here to tell you there are tons of things I can have, and they taste amazing!

So I am going to use this blog to not only share my weight loss story, but to also share some of my favorite recipes. Some I have made up myself, some I have found and modified and some will just be amazing recipes I have found and want to share.

Breakfast

My Pico Omelet

Makes: 1 omelet

Prep Time: 10 min.

Cook Time: 10-15 min.

Ingredients

1 tsp virgin coconut oil

2 free range grain feed eggs

1 medium red tomato diced

3 tbsp yellow onion diced

1/3 cup green pepper diced

1 tbsp cilantro chopped (4-6 sprigs)

½ jalapeno seeded and diced

1 tbsp ground flax seed

½ avocado smashed

1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Pinch of pink salt

Heat oil in a small pan on medium heat; while oil is heating crack the eggs and beat them like they owe you money. Pour eggs in the pan; add ground flax seed, diced tomato, diced onion, diced green pepper, chopped cilantro, diced jalapeno, pink salt and pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes and then fold in half and cook on each side for 2-3 min. Remove from pan and place on a plate. Now spread the smashed avocado on the top of your omelet. I usually enjoy mine with a piece of Ezekiel’s 7 sprouted grain bread toast dry and 8oz of chocolate almond milk.

BBQ Sauce Recipe

Blueberry Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

Modified eatingwell.com recipe

Makes: 2 cups

Active Time: 20 min.

Total Time: 40 min.

Ingredients

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil*

1 small red onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1-2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

½ cup bourbon

2 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries

½ cup reduced sugar ketchup*

1/3 cup cider vinegar

2 tbsp coconut sugar*

1 tbsp local honey*

1/8 tsp ground allspice

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and just starting to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add bourbon, increase heat to high and bring to a boil; cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in blueberries, ketchup, vinegar, coconut sugar, honey and allspice; return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Goes well on chicken, beef and pork!

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think or if you made any tasty modifications!

You can find the original recipe for the BBQ sauce here: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/blueberry_bourbon_barbecue_sauce.html

Nutrition

Per tablespoon: 28 calories; 0 g fat ( 0 g sat , 0 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrates; 0 g protein;0 g fiber; 42 mg sodium; 38 mg potassium.

* = Modification from the original recipe

My AdvoCare Weight Loss Journey

After much prodding from my fiancé I decided to share my journey with the world not just my Facebook friends. I finally decided to share so I can hopefully inspire others who have struggled with their weight or unhealthy lifestyles, and show them that they’re others out there that share their struggles and that those chains can be broken.

That being said this is my first attempt at this so if you are reading this please bare with me.

My Weight Loss Story Begins

A little over 50 days ago I stepped on a scale and decided my life had to change or I wouldn't have it much longer. Before we get into all of that I guess I should give a little back story. I was born, raised and have always lived in small Midwestern towns in Indiana. I currently live in a very small Indiana town with my fiancé and my 2 children.

I have been a stay at home dad and full time student since late 2009. I have always been a "big guy" and assumed I would always be a big guy being the spawn of 2 people that are above average in size. When I graduated high school in 2002 I was 6'4" 250 pounds, and pretty active playing 3 sports; football, wrestling and baseball.

So fast forward 11 years, I was weighing in some of my elementary school wrestlers, and I decide to step on the scale expecting to see 350.

What I saw scared me to death and almost brought me to tears.

Staring back at me was 429 POUNDS!!!

Now as we all know this is extremely unhealthy for anyone, but it really scared me because diabetes and heart disease run in my family. When I say runs in my family I mean sets on the couch and gets worse. It is not uncommon for a male in my family to die in their 50's from a heart attack.

Not only was I 429 pounds I was depressed, had no energy, and would get short of breath just playing with my kids when I had the energy to play with them.

I Needed To Lose Weight Safely

After the scale incident, I knew I didn't want to feel that way anymore!

So I had a conversation with an old friend that has been posting results from people using this AdvoCare System. I had no idea what it was or where it came from, all I knew was that people I know were getting some amazing results from it, and I wanted it!

AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge

So we talked and I did a little research, and decided to go with what they called a 24 day challenge. It was a two phase system that consisted of a 10 day cleanse phase and a 14 day burn phase.

It came with a meal plan and grocery list (which excited me because I do better with structure). I half expected to do this 24 day challenge diet and when it was over, slowly slip back into my old lifestyle.

What I got was a complete lifestyle change!

AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge Phase 1

Not only would I be taking the AdvoCare vitamins, but we would start eating clean. We cut out table salt, sugar, and processed foods. Instead of hamburger helper for dinner it was 4oz. of chicken and fresh veggies lightly steamed or raw.

Then the AdvoCare vitamins started giving me more energy, so I added some cardio to my day and then I started to feel more like myself. I started feeling driven and motivated again.

The depression was parting and I could see clearly again. I felt better than I had ever felt in my adult life.

Then I stepped on the scale on day 10 and was amazed to see a double digit weight loss.

AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge Phase 2

Other than my kids nothing has motivated me more than my results. So I was stoked after just going through the cleanse phase I had lost over 10 pounds. So I hit the "burn" phase hard and weighed myself on day 24 of the challenge and I was almost brought to tears!

In 24 days I had lost 32 pounds, and the best part I didn't have a big ugly 4 in the first position staring back at me!

Now as I write this I am entering day 51 of my lifestyle change, and on day 50 I had lost 46 pounds!!! (I only weigh once a week on Wednesdays) I was so energized when I stepped on the scale and saw 383.

I know I have a long way to go but for me right now, it isn’t about the finish line it is about the small victories along the way.