Day 309 Courtney-Getting Out Young and Shopping For Cheesecake

Day 309

Courtney-Getting Out Young and Shopping For Cheesecake

Our youngest is now officially 16 years old. I'm so proud of the changes that she's made. It gives me the greatest happiness to watch both of our girls so wonderfully follow our lead out of the bindings of obesity. Courtney is a very social young lady. She loves spending time with friends, but even when she's away with friends, she logs on with her phone and reads this blog every day. After losing over 70 pounds, Courtney is feeling more confident than ever—and what a wonderful time for a young lady to feel great about herself—sweet sixteen is really sweet for Courtney. I'm confident that her adult life will never have the effects of morbid obesity. She's getting out young—and that's such a blessing.

Tonight I made the trip to Wal-Mart for Cheesecake. Felt kind of strange. I just knew that I would run into all kinds of people in the cheesecake section of the store. I didn't. It would have been fun to explain. “Uh—this isn't for me, I uh—my daughter made me do it---Um---Ok--I may have a small piece, but...you know me---Mr. Nothing is off limits—right?” Courtney loves cheesecake, I mentioned this last night, so instead of a birthday cake—it's cheesecake around here! I didn't buy the Cheesecake Factory cheesecake---for all of us to have some—would have been too expensive. And to Courtney, there's no such thing as bad cheesecake, she's not picky at all. I studied the nutrition labels on several different options—I had no idea that there would be such a big difference in calories---based on brands and size. I found one that was almost 500 calories for one slice. Then I discovered the Sara Lee original cheesecake. It was small, the perfect size really—and for ¼ of the entire cheesecake it registered at only 330 calories! So what did we do? Instead of cutting it into four 330 calorie pieces, we made it eight 165 calorie pieces. It was so good! And none of us had to kill our calorie budget to enjoy. We could just buy one of these everyday and call this “The Amazing Cheesecake Diet.” Because I guarantee we'll have another positive weigh-in on Wednesday. Sometimes it might sound crazy and hard to believe---Chinese buffets and cheesecake—and we're still losing weight. We're proving what so many are discovering and proving to themselves these days. You can still enjoy the foods you love and lose weight consistently. You really can.

About the buffet and my food selection. “Piling” is acceptable depending on what you're piling. I could've mentioned this last night, just forgot. If you're piling fresh veggies and things you know are really low in calorie, that's one thing. But you could clearly see the kind of stuff I go for. It wasn't really Chinese food at all...but it's what I like. And what I like cannot be piled and still be within a calorie budget. I know this about me. I'm not a veggie kind of guy if you haven't noticed.

We've had my mom with us since last night. I didn't think we would have room for her in the vehicle last night, we were in Irene's car, but we all squeezed in. This would have been impossible over 400 pounds ago. We've freed up a lot of room!

I took my mom to the foot clinic today. Her increased activity---she's up to a mile when she walks---is sometimes painful because of common foot problems that can be easily corrected. She was so nervous going in to the doctor today. I reassured her that it was going to be OK...and then the situation suddenly took me back to my childhood when I was the scared little boy and she would reassure me that everything was going to be alright. And it always was. And it was today too. Now she'll be getting a pair of specially fit orthopedic shoes that will make her walking so much easier. She'll be doing a 5K someday, you just watch! And what a wonderful progression she's made. From barely being able to walk across the street, to walking a mile straight. And her weight loss has become so consistent too! It's really a pleasure to witness. She's finally understanding what I've been talking about for so long. She's been on information overload about so called weight loss right and wrongs---that she didn't know what way to turn. Now she's on the road to a new Beverly—my mom. I always knew she could do it! Now she believes it too!

Thank you for reading. I'm dropping in a little earlier than last night. Many things to do tomorrow! I must rest now. Goodnight and

Good Choices,
Sean