BMI Milestone

I shared previously that I had one

more pound to go to get to a normal BMI. This morning I did it. Lost one more pound. Down to 169 which is 74 pounds of weight loss. And that brings my BMI to 25!

While I understand BMI is not the be all end all that some would claim it is it’s still a nice milestone. Others say normal BMI leaves you to skinny. But those same people can’t explain why I still have belly fat. So my goal is to loss the belly fat. I’m not sure how much weight that is!

Black bean quinoa and veggies lunch

A lot of times I’ll take leftovers for

lunch. But today there wasn’t any meals to take. I’ve eaten all the extras from the freezer. However in the fridge we had quinoa that had already been cooked and black bean mash (Engine 2 cookbook). I put those in one bento box. In a second box I put spinach and cut up veggies (zucchini, red pepper). You could use any combination of whatever veggies you have on hand and sounds good. At lunch time I microwaved the black beans and quinoa. Then put the veggies and spinich on top and topped it off with half an avacado.

My first Tofu Scramble

I made my first Tofu scramble for

breakfast today. I used this recipie and then added some left over potatoes and chili powder. I saved it over a bed of spinich. Probably made it a little spicy. But definitely good. I’d make it again!!

Weight loss milestone

I stepped on the scale this morning

and what did I see 170 pounds looking at me. Another milestone to hit 170. That’s 73 pounds of total weight loss from my Max of 243 pounds.

It’s fun to see what weight loss looks like. Like when I lost 58 pounds it was the rough equivalent of 7 gallons of water (A gallon of water it 8.34 pounds so 7 gallons is 58.38 pounds).

I found this website weight and things you can enter your weight and it shows you equivalent comparisons. Instead of my weight I entered 73 pounds into the search to compare my weight loss. It shows me how many sushi (1655) my weight loss is. Then you can click the next button and see other comparisons. Since I spend a lot of my exercise time playing basketball I found the comparison to 58 basketballs meaningful!

Putting my weight into BMI (Body Mass Index) I started out at 35.9 (obese).

And now at 170 pounds I am still listed as overwight with a BMI of 25.1.

I know you can’t necessarily put a lot of stock in BMI but it’s interesting to note that even now I’m still considered overweight by this standard.

So my next goal is to be normal. Lol. Normal BMI. That’s right losing just one more pound will put me within the normal range!

Ive shared before that I’m not actually just focused on BMI. In his book “How Not to Die” Dr Greger suggests a better measurement is a ratio of height to maximum body circumference to not exceed two to one. He describes this as the waist to heirghr ratio or WHR and you can learn the detailed explanation in his video. With that in mind my I’m 5’9″ which is 69 inches. So by Dr Greger’s standard my maximum circumf should be no more than 34.5 inches. However mine is 38 (down from 39 when I first bought a tape measure a few months ago). I don’t have a starting measurement. But I know it has to be much more than this since my starting waist size was more than 40 and my belly was larger than that. So while not completely focused on weight loss now I’m focused on losing abdominal fat because it can contribute to many health issues.

Waistline milestone

Mande bought me a new pair of

slacks and two new pair of jeans. While that shouldn’t seem like a news worthy announcement it is. Since being on this journey I’ve gotten an entirely new wardrobe – in smaller sizes You see these have a 32 inch waist! The previous pairs were 34 inch waist. But before this lifestyle change my slacks were 40 and 42 inch waist (with the elastic stretchy waistline)!

For more details of the benefit to a slimmer wait line see the posting that goes into details of the waist to height ratio.

Journey to 100

We created this blog to track our

journey to 100 pounds of combined weight loss (and beyond). As of today, July 30th we are pleased to announce that the journey to 100 is complete. That’s right as of today Mande and I have lost a combined 100 pounds. Notice that the name of the blog is “Journey to 100 and Beyond” because it’s not just about 100 pounds of weight loss combined but even more than that. Stay tuned as we continue to lose weight, get healthier and track our progress here.

Thanks for your support and encouragement. Now how can we support and encourage you? Comment with your goals for weight loss and better health. We are here to help you.

3 pounds to go

As of Monday, July 23rd we have lost a

combined 97 pounds. So that means just three more pounds and we will reach the “journey to 💯” milestone!

Smoothie time saver

Making smoothies for breakfast can take a little time to assemble all the ingredients. Recently I’ve found a time saver. I combine all the dry ingredients into small containers while making one smoothie and then put them in the refrigerator. Then the next smoothie day I just dump the dry ingredients into the blender.

Each container has the following ingredients:

  • Flax seed
  • Tumeric
  • Amla
  • Black pepper (to activate the tumeric)
  • Ginger
  • Chili powder
  • Walnuts
  • Sunflower seeds

You can add other spices or use different nuts and seeds to suit your taste.

I hope this helps make your smoothie faster!

Beat the heat will this frozen treat

These hot days in Texas with the temperatures over 100 degrees really zap you. So a nice cool treat really hits the spot. Tonight I made this yummy chocolate frozen treat.

Ingredients

  • frozen bananas
  • Strawberries
  • Frozen blueberries
  • Dates
  • Almond milk (or water and alonds that have soaked)
  • Cacoa powder

Blend until smooth

Exercise Regularly

Exercise is a key component to overlap good health. Dr Greger recommends 90 minutes per day. But that is not possible for everyone. Incorporating a couple one to two mile away alks into your daily routine can make a huge difference.

I go to the rec center twice a week. I shoot baskets for 30-45 minutes, lift weights and then get 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical.

The other days of the week I try to walk two or three times a day. My goal currently is 12,000 steps per day as tracked by my Fitbit which basically shows a general amount of movement.

Set some goals. Team up with someone. Post your daily activity on social media. You might encourage someone else. And others may encourage you to stick with it.