50th Birthday in Disneyland

I couldn't have asked for a better time on my 50th birthday.   I had planned this trip months after starting my weight loss program.  I figured it would be nice reward to myself for losing all the weight and a great way to celebrate my 50th birthday making myself feel young.   

We arrived Sunday evening and checked into the Disneyland Hotel around 7pm.  We got dressed up and headed to Disneyland for Dapper Day.   We rode the Monorail into Disneyland and met up with some friends and then grabbed a bite to eat.  Then we took off and road the Carousel with the other peopled dressed up.  Then off to the submarine ride I hadn't seen since it was updated.  Then we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion a few times.  We caught a glimpse or two of the Fantasmia show on the water.  We headed to Trader Sam's after the park closed at 11pm and had drinks at the after party for Dapper Day with friends.

We spent all Day Monday at California Adventure.  We got in the park 1hr early because we were staying at the Resort hotels.  We walked through the Grand Hotel into the park and got in line for Radiator Springs Racers Fast Pass so we could ride them right away.  We spent the day getting fast passes for the popular rides and riding others that were not busy.  It was a great day.

Tuesday was my birthday so we spent the day at Disneyland getting there 1hr early.  I went to City Hall and got my Birthday Pin.  I wasn't sure what to expect but people told me I had to get it.  Turns out it was a LOT of fun.  Everyone saying Happy Birthday to me all day!  We had breakfast at the Carnation Cafe and I got a free ice cream with a candle!  Had a great day ending having dinner at Blue Bayou restaurant at the Pirates ride.  

Wednesday we went back to California Adventure and rode the rides we missed and had dinner at the Napa Rose at the Resort Hotel.  We sat at the Chef's table and had a custom vegetarian meal with red wine flights.  We had such a good time we made reservations for dinner the next night.  

Thursday we met our friend Cliff at the park (he works at Disney) and spent the day with him doing things we didn't get to on Tuesday.  By the end of the day I had almost everything checked off my list.  We had lunch at Carthay Restaurant at California Adventure and road Tower of Terror with our friend Cliff (he works the ride).  We spent the end of the day at Disneyland and then had dinner at Napa Rose which was fantastic.  

Friday we checked out of the Hotel and met our friend Cliff's wife Jen at the park (she works there too) and she spent the morning with us shopping at the park and hanging out.  Then we finished the list of things we wanted to do and left the park at 4pm to head to the airport.  Before leaving we got to see a show at the Horseshoe Review and the Voices of Liberty at Mr Lincoln.  

We ate pretty healthy most of the time with some indulgences along the way when we wanted to.  We did a LOT of walking all day and had a GREAT time.  Best 50th birthday I could ever asked for.

Officially in weight maintenance mode

I am now officially in maintenance mode with my weight.   As expected I gained a few pounds returning to eating normally again.   I weighed in last week at 251 (up 6lbs from my low 245 last day of fasting).  I have been walking 3-4 times a day for 3-4 miles each time.  My walking routes have become longer now that I have built up my endurance.  Walking for 40-50min in each direction is easy for me and exposes a lot more destinations.  There are several great places to walk to from my house now that I can easily go shopping or grab lunch or dinner in all directions.

I am learning a whole new way to eat.  I am paying attention to my hunger and eating much less at a time but more often.  I am also choosing to eat more fruits and vegetables as part of my main diet.  Having been a vegetarian for 27 years (you'd never know it by my health)  I am embracing the lifestyle and choosing to eat healthier than I ever did before.   My mantra is that I'm changing everything about how I eat and exercise so that I'll never go back to where I was again.

I turn 50 next week and will be spending it at Disneyland as a treat to myself for both loosing all the weight and being half a century old.

 My long term goal is to eventually get down to 225lbs over the next few years.   I don't know if or when I'll get there but for 2013 I plan to continue to walk and eat healthy and loose weight over time.

Latest Weight Loss update

This week I officially started my 4 week transition back to eating food.   It is one week of continuing to drink the 5 shakes a day (I do one of them as soup and the other as as a pudding at night so really only drink 3 a day) and 1 serving (1 cup) of vegetables.   The 2nd week I continue with the shakes and add another serving of vegetables the first part of the week and a fruit serving (1 cup or piece) the latter part of the week.  The 3rd week reduce my shakes to 4 a day and I add an entree each day and mid week I add another vegetable serving and a fruit serving for a total of 3 vegetable and 2 fruit servings a day.   On the 4th week I reduce to 2   shakes a day and add a 2nd entree a day.   By the 5th week I discontinue the shakes and am officially on maintenance.

I weighed in at 246 this week (6lbs from my goal).  I will continue to loose weight during these 4 weeks and should be under 246 by next month.

Now the real challenge starts.   I want to keep up my walking 4-5 times a day.  Change my eating habits to continue with the 3 vegetable and 2 fruit servings a day and keep my total calorie intake down to a maintainable level.

Weight Loss milestone

I weighed in the other day at 256lbs.  I officially lost over 150lbs and got another ribbon.  I am 16lbs away from goal of 240lbs.  I started this process on June 11th 2012.

I am only a few weeks away from starting to introduce food back into my diet.  The transition phase takes 4 weeks.  Then I will be eating a balanced low calorie diet the rest of my life.  Reducing the amount I eat by consuming less and choosing foods that are healthier and lower in calories.

I'll continue to loose weight during the transition and plan to stick to a lower calorie diet throughout the year to maintain the weight loss.  I have a couple of areas I want to focus on as part of my life long goal of keeping the weight off.

1.  Eat less.  No matter what the food (no such thing as bad or taboo food).  The less healthy the food the less I should eat of it.   Don't eat more calories a day that I need to maintain.

2.  Change the proportions of what I eat.  Mostly vegetables and fruits with protein based foods and very little carbs or sugars.  I've been a vegetarian for over 26 years its about time I eat like one.

3.   Stay active.  Walk mostly at least 4 to 5 times a week.  Do things that get me moving.

Another Weight Loss update and thoughts.

I weighed in the other day at my weekly doctor checkup.  It has officially been 6 months since I started.   I began this adventure at 408lbs and just weighed in at 263lbs.   I set my goal at 240lbs so I only have 23lbs more to loose.  Another 5lbs and I will have lost 150lbs.  But more exiting is that my body fat percentage was 38% and now it is 21% (normal range is 22-11%).   My hydration level was 46% and is now 57% (desirable value is anything above 60%).   I'm really pleased with my progress so far.  I'm a little behind where I thought I'd be right now but the body does what it wants and all you can do is deal with it.    I have a self imposed deadline to be eating normally by the 3rd week in February so when I take my Disneyland trip I  a can just eat what I want during the trip and not have to pack shakes or have special food choices (I do enough of that being vegetarian).  I'll probably be fasting for another 4-6 weeks.  Then I transition to eating food during the next 4 weeks and then maintain a daily calorie level and exercise  program that I can maintain the rest of my life.  In fact my goal for 2013 is to loose more weight so I am down to 225lbs by 2014 and then keep to that weight the rest of my life.

As I look back on this adventure I put myself on over the 6 months I think about how long it took me to get to 410lbs and how quickly and easily it was to loose it all.  I am also amazed each day of this process how much I have missed the qualities of life that being a normal healthy weight brings you and how you forget them and don't value them enough when you are heavy.   Things like...

Being able to tie your shoes easily.
Bending over with ease.
Walking up stairs or carrying something without being out of breath.
Sleeping soundly without snoring and waking up throughout the night.
Having more energy than you know what to do with.
Fitting into clothes that you just buy at any store.
Being able to sit in booths at restaurants.
Being able to fit comfortably in an airplane seat without asking for a seat belt extension.
Theater seats that feel comfortable and chairs with arms that don't cut into my legs.
Having plenty of room in the car to put the armrest down.
Realizing that 2-3 miles of a walk is no trouble at all.
Wanting to walk to the store to buy one item instead of driving less than a mile.
Walking the neighborhood and exploring where I live.

If anyone out there wants to add this list to the things they want out of life I am living proof that it can happen.  I'm not a health nut and can't stand going to the gym or lifting weights.  I don't eat well (although I did made a choice a LONG time ago to be vegetarian).   This process isn't complicated and it works.   If you need to loose a lot of weight and want to change your life and you can spend 4-7 months not eating and doing little travel it is worth the results.
  

Latest weight loss news

It has been 21 weeks.  I am down to 280lbs and counting.  I have lost over 128lbs so far.  I recently got my 125lb pound ribbon which is my 5th 25lb ribbon in total so far.  I have 40lbs more to go to my goal which will include another 150lb ribbon and a final goal reaching ribbon.  Then it is on to maintenance and a life of keeping it off.

I can't tell you how different I feel.   It is almost like living in someone else's body.   None of my old clothes fit and each day I am discovering new things I can fit into.  I notice little things about myself now that I never noticed before.  I was sitting on the couch and looked down to see a "real" lap.  One that the cats can sleep on and a sloping L shape from my thighs to my chest that I hardly recognize.  Don't even get me started on my energy levels and my sleep and rest.   I feel I could take on any challenge that comes my way after this achievement.

The next 8 to 10 weeks are going to be the toughest as I start to loose my resolve for this fasting routine but I am determined to make my goal weight and even more determined to spend the rest of my life keeping it off.

Weight Loss milestone

Last week I got my 100lb ribbon.  I weighed in at 303lbs after 16 weeks.  I get one of these after every 25lbs lost.   Looking forward to my 125lb and 150lb ribbon in the months to come.

Going to have a little celebration next week when I should officially weigh less than 300lbs.   My goal fo 240lbs is getting closer and closer.