Sunday, February 14, 2010

Little Things

When you set out to lose 100 pounds, you make a lot of big changes to your lifestyle.  My biggest achievement thus far is my attendance at the gym.  I'm working on the 100 push ups challenge as well.  I'm also getting used to drinking tons of water.  Hopefully, that will help me flush out my system.

While the big things are important, I try to do as many little things as possible.  Hopefully, they will add up.  You can park your car at the farthest spot in the parking lot from the door.  You can take the stairs instead of the elevator.  You can eat spinach instead of iceberg lettuce.

Photo by Anitacanita.

The first little thing I did today was buy fat free, sugar free chocolate pudding mix.  I was expecting it to taste terrible, but it was remarkably good.  I ate 2 servings of it for a total of 160 calories today.  That's roughly the same as one of those hunks of cookie dough I was struggling with a few days ago.

The second thing I did was take most of the fat out of the gravy I was cooking for dinner.  I know what you're thinking.  "This guy weighs 274 pounds.  What's he doing with gravy?"  Guess what.  I like to eat gravy and I enjoy it in moderation.  For those of you who have never made gravy, let me explain what I did.  I put a beef roast in my crock pot this morning with a little water and some pepper.  I let it cook all day on low then poured all the water into a small pot.  I stuck the pot in the freezer and waited for all the fat to congeal (fat turns solid at a higher temperature than water).  Then I scooped the fat out with a spoon and ate it.

Just kidding.  I threw the fat in the trash.  Anyway, back to how I made my gravy.  I then boiled what was left and added a little flour and water slurry to the mix and ended up with a very delicious, low-fat gravy.  I estimate I threw away around 2-3 teaspoons of fat.  Not a lot, but I have less fat in my body right now as a direct result of that act.

The little things may not seem like that big of a deal, but they keep you focused on changing your lifestyle.  Then the big things seem a little more manageable.

What little things do you do to help you on your journey?

10 comments:

  1. Great ideas. Thanks for sharing that perspective on doing little things ... they have to add up.

    http://hungerstruggle.wordpress.com/

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  2. "and ate it."

    !!! Ha! You're funny Tralle. You already knew that. So did I. Ijust wanted you to know that you kinda made my jaw drop a bit. :)
    Awesome "little" changes! It's a lifestyle change. Keep it up! :)

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  3. I agree, it's a lot of little changes that add up to make a big change in your life. A few of the little things I've done: give up drinking soda, stop eating after 7pm, and no more added sugar in anything.

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  4. I read the "and ate it" and went wtf! Got me good. Small changes are the way to do it for sure.

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  5. ha! That was a good one -- my favorite line of any blog lately --- "I scooped out the fat with a spoon and ate it".

    One small thing that I do is ...prepare my meals before the day that I will eat them. It only takes a few minutes and I already know what I'll eat when the time comes.

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  6. Yeah, you totally got me with the "and ate it" part! Ha!

    The little things, I believe, are often THE key to our success.

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  7. On my Subway Sandwichs I use mustard and have no cheese. This saves a lot of calories. There are SO many hidden calories in those condiments!

    Wow simply amazing. The fact you have stuck to it for over two years. Congrats.

    Tom
    Come see my weigh-in today!
    www.ihategreenapples.com

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  8. Dude I totally do that. When I make brisket, I like to keep the drippings for the gravy, so I put it in the freezer and do the same thing. It tastes remarkable. Good luck on your journey. Ill be following you!

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  9. like you mentioned I try to drink lots of water and the rest is just making choices between the good or the evil :) if you know what I mean

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  10. That line of 'And then I ate it' made me pause and wonder if I'd read that right. ;) Nice to keep us on our toes!

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