Weight Loss Wednesday: Bad Habits, Good Habits

Hey everyone! Welcome out to this week's Weight Loss Wednesday post! As normal I will start by sharing some progress that I have made. I have to keep up that accountability after all!


As of this morning I am at 337.8 lbs, down roughly .8 lb for the week and 51 from my heaviest point. 

 

Created by MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

As usual, here is my Youtube video if you would prefer to listen to or watch what I have to say this week rather than reading.

The topic of the day is habits. We all have habits. Habits are what drive us through the day. The trick is learning to replace bad habits with good ones. I was once told that it takes approximately 21 days to form or break habits. I have no idea if that is true or not, but it is an assumption that I have worked with for as long as I can remember. In today's blog, I want to lay out my habits from 21+ days ago vs. my habits today. (I apologize for the strange formatting later in the post. I'll get around to fixing it sooner or later.)

Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/ 

The chart below is a typical day full of my old bad habits and what they did to my body nutritionally. Please keep in mind that this is a pile of bad habits all lumped into one theoretical day. I am an overweight man, but I never let my diet become quite this poor on a daily basis. I am exaggerating to emphasize the point of this post. Hyperbole is my favorite literary device after all!

Breakfast	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
Sausage egg and cheese muffin	370	29	22	14
Glazed Donut	217	22	13	3
Mountain Dew - Throwback	220	58	0	0
	807	109	35	17
Lunch
Popeye's Wicked Chicken Meal	830	72	44	35
Mountain Dew	280	73	0	0
	1,110	145	44	35
Dinner
Southwestern Eggrolls W/ Avocado Ranch	640	48	42	36
Boneless Buffalo Wings W/ Bleu Cheese	810	26	60	24
Fried Cheese W/ Marinara Sauce	390	33	21	19
Mountain Dew - Fountain 355ml (12 oz), 1065 ml	495	138	0	0
	2,335	245	123	79
Snacks
Mountain Dew	170	46	0	0
Butterfinger	460	76	18	6
Peanut Butter Cups Blizzard	1,040	141	44	26
	1,670	263	62	32
Totals	5,922	762	264	163
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein

As you can see, this adds up to a ridiculous six thousand calories. No wonder I developed a weight problem! Even half of these calories is about one thousand more than is recommended for active people! The real kicker to habits is that the mind can be aware of just how poor the habits are, but that does not mean that it has the power to change those habits.

While your mind may not have the ability to passively correct bad habits, we do have the power to actively change our habits. I will end this article the same way that I started it.  We all have habits. Habits are what drive us through the day. The trick is learning to replace bad habits with good ones. What bad habit will you replace this week?

Now let's look at a typical day with my new habits.

Breakfast	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
Milk - Reduced fat, 2%	61	6	2	4
Honey	64	17	0	0
Strawberries	49	12	0	1
	174	35	2	5
Lunch
Lettuce - Iceberg	38	8	0	2
Pork Sausage (Ground)	190	0	13	12
Sharp Finely Shredded Cheddar Cheese	83	1	7	5
Chipotle - Tomato Salsa, 0.5 cup	20	4	0	1
Celery - Raw, 1 stalk	6	1	0	0
	337	14	20	20
Dinner
Whole Wheat Rotini	105	21	1	4
Beef Stroganoff	470	34	11	30
Peas & Carrots	50	9	0	2
	625	64	12	36
Snacks
Smokehouse Almonds	340	10	32	12
	340	10	32	12
Totals	1,476	123	66	73
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein

Less than fifteen hundred calories! I was not hungry at any point today. Not only that, but I did not even load this up into the calorie counter to check it until I got home from work tonight. Eating healthy has become my new habit. I did not even think about the changes that have come to me.

I want to hear about your new weight-loss, health-friendly and fitness habits! Take a minute to comment, email or add me as a friend on myfitnesspal.com!