Weight Loss Update & What I Am Thankful For

A week since my last blog and first off I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who read my blog. It made me really happy that you guys shared it and posted on it as well. It makes writing the next one way easier. Over the weekend I went to the Badger/Gopher battle of the Axe. The result wasn't what I really wanted but it was still very fun to experience my first game at TCF. Great venue for a sporting event! I also went to Catching Fire and must say that I loved it. Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing actress and she might have a little piece of my heart. I am planning on reading the 3rd book over Christmas break. Overall I had a great weekend and can't wait for this long weekend of time with friends and family.

Last week was also my first post on my weight loss. Last week I was down 28.1 pounds in 42 days. Today is day 49 and I am happy to say that I am now down 32.5 Pounds! I tried really hard to eat really good this week because I know that I am going to cheat a little bit on Thanksgiving. 1 day out of 365 can't kill you....right? Speaking of Thanksgiving, Thursday is the big day and for me it is the best day out of the year. Better than my birthday, better than Christmas, better than anything. For me Thanksgiving involves going to my Grandparent's house with 100 family members and close family friends. Yes I said 100 and no I am not kidding. If you don't believe me, drive by my Grandparent's house on Thursday if you can make it down the street with all the cars lined up. It is a great day full of good food, family, football and cards. We have a card tournament with cash prizes and then the kids and adults who are able to go out and play football. It is such a fun game. The first thing I am thankful for is my huge family. They are my biggest support system and are always there for me. Some of them I only talk to once a year while others I see or talk to on a daily or weekly basis. All of them are important to me and I love them all. 

The next thing I am thankful for is my immediate family. Mom, Dad, Josh, Carter, and Cody are the 5 reasons why I am who I am today. Each of them have shaped by life in the most positive ways. My mom is my favorite person in the world. She always knows when something is wrong and she is my biggest support system. I couldn't live without her. My dad and I have had our moments but he is always there to tell me that he is proud of me. We are more alike than anyone realizes. Josh and I used to fight ALL the time but since we are both in college we talk almost daily. Usually about sports but some of our conversations I wouldn't trade for the world. The weekends that he is home from school are always my favorite. Carter is my little twin even though I am starting to realize that every day we are actually very different. Carter and his friends are always over after school playing NHL so Carter and I spend lots of time together competing. I love watching sports with him. Cody and I have a huge age difference so I feel more like a 2nd father than a brother to him in all honesty. We have very different interests but he says the funniest things at the best times and that is why I love him. 

My friends- College friends, high school friends, new friends, old friends, twitter friends, Facebook friends and anyone else who has called me a friend over the past 22 years, thank you. Thanks for all the memories and all the good times. The sporting events, the fights, the arguments, the late nights, the casino runs, the bar closings, the fantasy sport drafts and everything else we have done. You guys mean the world to me and I would never be able to thank all of you. Whether you say hi to me in the hall or have had a heart to heart with me, you are the people who keep me going in life. 

Alyssa Stringfellow- My best friend. I honestly don't know where I would be if I hadn't met Alyssa at Otsego Elementary in 5th grade. We have argued like brother and sister for years but she is always there to help me when I need her. She has found the perfect man for her and I couldn't be happier for her and Brandon. Thank you for always being honest with me, even when I wasn't always the happiest with what you had to say. 

Co-Workers- Brandy, Jeff, Autumn, Corrie, Melanie, Callie, Caroline, Kelsey, Jenna, Agu, and everyone else (too many to mention) Thank you for always providing me with some drama and some entertainment throughout the years. I haven't been able to watch Real World in a while but you guys are there to make sure I get enough drama in my life and always keep it interesting. 

CHEESY ALERT! THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IS ABOUT CASSIDY SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR ME BEING CHEESY STOP READING NOW :) 

The last person on my list is the most important person in my life. She is the reason I wake up with a smile in the morning and the reason that the smile is still there when I go to bed. For the past 3.5 years she has provided me with happiness that I didn't even know could exist. The love that I have for her is unlike any other that I have for any other person. I can't imagine my life without her. Anyone who talks to me or knows me at all knows that I have been planning on spending the rest of my life with her for sometime. We barely ever fight. We get in dumb arguments about who is smarter and little things like that but are laughing again two seconds later. Cassidy is an amazing, beautiful, intelligent woman and I can't believe I am so lucky. I thank God that someone like me was able to end up with someone like Cassidy. I pray to God every night that she never has to leave my side for as long we I live. Thank you for everything Cassidy. Nothing I could ever do or say could explain how thankful I am for you.

So there you have it, the list of the most important people in my life. As we celebrate Thanksgiving make sure that you reflect on what you are thankful for, no matter what it is. I hope all of you have an amazing Thanksgiving. 

Until next time,

-J- 

Update on Weight Loss/Back to Blogging

Hello Everyone!

It has been over a year since my last blog but I decided that since I was getting lots of support on my diet and lots of questions about my diet as well that I would start blogging to keep everyone up on my progress. Before I do that I would like to ask you to vote on the poll to the right so that I can see what everyone thinks about weight loss. You can select all that apply so don't be shy.

I am now a Senior at Saint John's University and time is flying by. I am finishing up my last semester of classes and then I will be student teaching in Monticello for the Spring semester. I will spend 8 weeks with the middle school students and then 8 weeks at the high school. I am looking forward to getting into the classroom! I am commuting from Rogers and so far it has been an adventure. Lots of miles on the road (Good thing those gas prices went down).

Cassidy and I have now been dating for over 3.5 years. Every day I find another reason why I want to spend the rest of my life with her and why she is an amazing person. She is a Sophomore down at the University of Minnesota. We will be attending the Gopher/Badger game this weekend and I couldn't be more excited! For all the sporting events I go to, this will be my first Gopher game at TCF Bank Stadium.

As I move forward I am hoping to try to write a couple days a week, but once a week for sure. The blog will be full of updates on my weight loss, random tidbits from me, and hopefully some information that you find useful enough to read. If you want more (many more) tidbits from me than follow me on Twitter @Jared_Hines27. I have become obsessed with Twitter and use it to express myself dozens of times a day. Also (if you haven't already) add me on Facebook and if you are really missing me I am on Google + too, even though I barely ever use it. If you never read my blog the first time you can go to the archive and read past posts. I was going to delete this blog and start over but I decided I like my old posts and the layout that this blog offers. I might change the name but we will see what happens.

Finally, I plan to blog again before next Thursday but the best holiday of the year is nearby. Thanksgiving for my family includes 100 of our family and friends enjoying food, friends, football and some family time together. We reflect on the people who can no longer be there with us and celebrate all day long. You think I am kidding when I say 100 but if you ask anyone on my Dad's side there is literally 100 people there. 102 last year if we are getting technical. But oh yeah I said I was going to talk about weight loss so I will do that now.

Today officially marks the 6th week of my Medifast diet. I will not tell you what my heaviest weight was right now but if you continue to read over the months you will eventually know. A couple friends know but they won't ruin the surprise for you :) The real important thing is that I got to a point where I was so disgusted with myself and how I looked that I decided I needed to change it. I called my Mom and said I needed the accountability that a program like Medifast provides me. Both my mom and dad have been very supportive financially as well as emotionally supporting and motivating me as well. Many of you have favorited tweets, liked Facebook statuses and texted or called me to tell me they were proud of me. I couldn't believe the amount of support I was receiving. Even if you don't think a Facebook like on my status is a big deal I want you to know that I am grateful for it and to have all of you in my life. So far here has been my progress:

Week 1-Down 6.9 pounds
Week 2-Down 7 pounds
1 Month-Down 8.2 pounds
Week 5-Down 2.9 pounds
Week 6-Down 3.1 pounds for a total of 28.1 Pounds in 42 days! The weight fluctuates throughout the day and the week as I have seen myself down to about the 30 pound mark. I am excited about my progress and strive to keep working towards that!

Along with the amazing support you have given me, a lot of you have asked how I have dropped the weight so fast.

1) Medifast has been extremely helpful and their meals that they provide are packed with protein and low carbs and a little fat as well.

2) For my own meals that I provide for myself I try to always get a good amount of protein. 90% of the time it is chicken and then I put the grilled chicken in a salad, wrap, or eat it plain. I also am addicted to buffalo sauce and use that to my advantage since it isn't THAT bad for you.

3) I don't drink soda since I started my diet

4) I don't drink very often but I pretty much cut it out of my life for right now. An occasional beer/cocktail isn't going to kill but it isn't going to help.

5) I do jumping jacks/walk on the treadmill while I watch TV. Nothing extreme right now but I will continue to increase the workload as I continue.

6) Find veggies that you like. For me it is banana peppers, jalapeños, and celery. I eat celery more than anyone I know but it is good for me and better than cookies and chocolate.

7) Have someone to motivate you. I told the Medifast people to yell at me if I gain weight (so far so good) but my friends don't allow me to slip up and I love them for it. Have a friend text you or call you and have them ask what you ate. Make it someone you trust so you don't lie. Little things like this helps a ton!

8) There are going to be sometimes where you can't eat as healthy as you want to. Go to Chipotle if you have to but be conscious about it. When I went I had a bowl with brown rice, chicken, hot sauce, lettuce, and corn. Not the best for me but it isn't going to kill me. Better than McDonalds and as bad as I wanted Sour Cream and a tortilla I knew that I would hate myself for eating that after. It is all about being conscious about what you are intaking in your body.

9) Eat every 2.5-3 hours so that you are never STARVING and need a burger and fries. This used to be my downfall. I would wake up skip breakfast and eat a ton at lunch. Then I wouldn't eat until after my shift at Broadway Pizza and eat enough for two people. Eat every couple hours with little healthy snacks so at the actual meals you are not looking to eat everything in sight.

10)  I saved the best for last......Drink lots of water. So many people say this but it is actually so true. You can't drink enough. It makes you feel cleansed and is obviously 0 calories. Low carbs, high protein.

So there we have it. The first blog in 14 months. That wasn't so bad. Just a reminder to take the poll because I am curious what others thing about the toughness of weight loss. If anyone has any questions about the Medifast program, eating healthy, or anything else let me know. We are in this together. Remember when you eat better you feel better. In the past 6 weeks I have more energy and I sleep better. I look in the mirror and remember what I looked like 42 days ago. I still have a ways to go but I am off to a good start.

Finally, I want to advocate for "fat" people for a second.

You aren't fat you are beautiful, BUT you might be kinda unhealthy because of poor choices. Don't call yourself fat and don't let other people call you fat either. That used to be the worst. If you are around someone who is bigger and you are making fun of fat people just know that the "bigger" person is hurting inside. People used to point and say, "Look at that guy, he is HUGE" to someone other than me and then I would look down and realize that I was WAY bigger than that guy. Finally I got sick of it and started sticking up for those people. Some people are bigger and can't do anything about it. Some people make bad choices and eat unhealthy like I do. It doesn't make me worse than you. Making fun of fat people is a terrible thing to do and if you have a bigger friend, watch what you say about them. Even if you aren't making fun of them, you might be making them feel bad by making fun of someone else.

Until next week, we should remember to always treat people how we want to be treated. My mom used to say this to me and I got sick of hating it but it is so true. Hold a door open for someone this week. Even if they don't say thanks you know you did the right thing and can feel good about it.

Thanks for reading,

-J-