Day 4 Quitting Smoking

I hit my goal!

I smoked 11 times yesterday which has been my goal for this week! I started the day off pacing myself a lot more then usual and it ended up paying off. I thought I could end the day with only 9 but as the day got late the urge grew strong. I am still very satisfied with that number and will not go above it now that I have achieved it.

The water again as I have mentioned many times seems to be the best thing I have tried to this date for making me feel better and it actually helps curb the need to smoke in the morning which has really surprised me.

I started off today strong at this point I have only smoked twice today and it feels amazing to feel so much more control over this habit. I have a long way to go but I can feel my will power growing with it more and more and that is very exciting to me not only for quitting smoking but in life generally.

Until next time

Patrick
AKA Uncle Pat

Day 4 for Kyle

Thursday was a little bit different of a day. I felt good all day, but without my water bottle I know I didn't drink as much water as I should. I also felt tired for large portions of the day, I even fell asleep watching a BYU game in a fully upright position, so I was clearly tired. The strange part was that I felt like I ate fairly well but just was dragging quite a bit. In the morning, I had a smoothie with blueberries, almond milk, protein, and Adam's PB. I had a nature valley granola bar in mid morning as a snack. For lunch, I had some whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, a clementine, and greek yogurt. In the afternoon, I had a handful of mixed pistachios/cashews/almonds/peanuts. Then Kim's parents were super kind and made dinner for us because they know how crazy it is on days when Kim and I both work and getting the girls home from daycare is crazy. This is in large part due to the girls being wackos when we get home. So it was super nice to have dinner ready when we got home. They made a homemade sweet and sour sauce with ham, fingerling potatoes and carrots, and garlic bread. I certainly ate too much garlic bread.

I don't feel like my portion sizes have been out of control. I probably need to find a way to eat more vegetables. That is the nice thing about writing it all down and seeing the dearth of vegetables that get written down. I really like Lyndsay's suggestion about drinking a ton of water in the morning. This of course would cause me to have to leave the classroom a couple of times in the morning to empty the bladder, but I think yesterday is a good reminder that when I drink enough water I feel better.

We have an away game today, which is always tricky because we are just stuck at some other gym without transportation. This usually means we stop as a team and get dinner on the way back. I am not sure if that will happen tonight since we are only playing in Box Elder. But it does mean going from 2:30 ish to 9:30 ish while being someplace without much access to my food. We shall see how it goes.

Until next time.

Hi from Lyndsay!

Hello everyone! I'm sorry to be joining in on everything so late, but i'm super excited about this . It sounds as though you're both off to a great first week of this adventure.

Patrick, I love that you're doing the glass of water first thing when you wake up, and I hope it helps. This is actually a small habit that I am trying to incorporate into my everydsy routine, and something simple we all could benefit from. When we're sleeping, our bodies go through a natural cleansing regimen, it just makes sense to wake up and facilitate the process by drinking 2 glasses of water before you put anything else in your body. It could be an easy way to help shed some pounds, and increase your energy in the morning. People who are on more extreme regimens, and are specifically working to lose weight, drink 2 liters first thing in the morning, and have seen drastic results just from this. Its worth a shot! Let me know if anyone else tries this out.

The other thing I have been wanting to share with all of you is that Fat Sick and Nearly Dead 2 is now on Netflix. Has anyone watched this yet? Jonathan and I are watching it now,  and I would urge all of us to watch it. Not to try and convince anyone of plunging into a juicing cleanse, because I don't necessarily believe that's the answer. Merely because it really focuses on the different experiences and journeys of people that are just trying to make healthier changes in their everyday lives. Its kind of interesting to hear the different, very real struggles that people are facing, along with success stories. It seems very relatable, and really acknowledges the mental contribution to why we maintain some of the poor habits that we do. I think it would be an inspiring thing for all of us to watch, and perfectly in conjunction with this whole support group that we are building :) Let me know if any of you get the chance!

I believe!

Day 3 for Kyle

Wednesday was a pretty good day. It started off with a muscle milk and a clif builder bar, because I was running late and didn't have time to make breakfast, lots of protein for breakfast. I had a nature valley granola bar later in the morning as a snack. The same mushroom and whole wheat pasta dish from Tuesday night was leftover lunch with some more Greek yogurt. In the afternoon it was game time. My team played well and won by 15 (even though the other team had a sophomore who had a 2 handed 360 dunk going the wrong way in warm ups). After that Kim hooked me up with a 6-inch subway. Double turkey with pepper jack and lots of veggies. She also got me some apple slices, and that got me through the day.

Another good day. I feel good, but I lost my water bottle somewhere in the course of all my games yesterday, so I may have to get another one.

Until tomorrow.

Day 3 Quitting Smoking

Good Morning!

Yesterday I smoked 12 again same as day 2 so 1 more then the goal but 4 less then my average.

As you all know from my post yesterday it was a rough day but I held off pretty well and it started to get easier as the day went on. Thank you again for the ones the did comment with some words of advice for me I really appreciate it.

Today I feel great I went to the gym earlier this morning then I have been going so I could run a couple of miles. I am surprised in how much that has suppressed my urges this morning to smoke and I am thinking I am implement this in my program a little more often. But I still hate running and it will not become a habit ha!

Very optimistic today feel like I can accomplish anything I want to and shooting for a great day I have only smoked 1 so far this morning so I am off to a way better start then previously. I also woke up and drank to large glasses of water (Jonathan has suggested this to me) and I am shocked with how much energy I feel like I have just from water.

Yesterday is over whether it was good or bad its now the past and does not affect what you can do today.

Thank You Everyone
Love
Patrick
AKA Uncle Pat

Day 2 for Kyle

Day 2 went fairly well. Kim got up early and made me an egg sandwich on wheat sandwich thins, I had a nature valley granola bar for a snack. For lunch I had 2 slices of leftover spicy fennel sausage gourmet delite (thin crust) pizza from Papa Murphy's (210 calories a slice), an apple with pb, and a greek yogurt. For dinner I had a mushroom pasta with whole wheat spiral pasta and a homemade sauce, and I snuck in a brownie that happened to be around. Overall, I felt like it was a decent day, still avoided the Pepsi and haven't had any headaches or anything which I was slightly worried about after 4 days with no caffeine. But it is going well in that regard.

Today is a big day with a big game against Sky View (our rival and one of the leaders in our region along with us)! Their sophomore team has lost 2 times I think in the past 2 years, and my team has won 7 in a row so should be a great clash. Gamedays like this one make it a little easier because my mind is on that. But, because of that game we had a pep assembly today where they wanted faculty to play against some of the boys from the team. So I played and went at about 10% speed (trying not to sweat too much). That little bit of exercise felt invigorating in a way (mostly because I managed not to sprain an ankle or through out my back)!

Until tomorrow!

Day 2 Quitting Smoking

Good Morning Everyone

Yesterday I smoked 12 cigarettes which is 1 more then the goal and 4 less then the average. I took your advice and drank more water and around 2 PM the headaches started to fade away, so thank you for that advice and I will start making this a habit.

Things I struggled with yesterday were the same as far as smoking as I drive. If I can figure out a habit to quit this it would cut my cigarettes per day in half. I just find myself getting so bored driving and so easy to just grab one and smoke it over thinking about it. When I am working it seems like such a hassle in my mind that I have time to talk myself out of it most of the time. Same with when I am at home I start thinking about smoking and just pick up a book and start reading it and it defers me most of the time. All an all yesterday was the easiest day so far.

I am realizing the more occupied my mind is the easier it is to avoid the urges and push them aside. When I get bored or don't have much to do it seems to be the first thing on my mind and it is so much easier just to give in to the urges.

Honestly today has been way harder then first couple of days, for some reason after I smoke once it doesn't seem to satisfy me at all and I want to smoke more then one in a row to achieve the satisfaction. I can tell right now that my body is fighting me every second, it wants the endorphin release it has grown so custom to. My mind is fading more and more to think about smoking I start making excuses as to why it would be okay to smoke for example: "I am working I am not concentrating on my work and if I go smoke now for work it would be acceptable".  I have started to question all my reason in my head, not that I don't know the reasons why its bad or I want to quit, but is it worth it or can I really accomplish this goal.  The idea of quitting smoking (which I have tried multiple times) is starting to seem impossible. I have been going through figures in my head such as what is the real % of me doing anything or making any difference in my life or if I quit now will I really quit or is this just temporary.

Like I said yesterday today is a new day and just writing this to you all is making me feel a little more optimistic. I will fight every urge today not for myself (because I want to give in honestly) but I will fight today for Kyle. I know you are feeling your own pains and struggles and I know what I feel like right now and it kills me knowing you might be feeling the same way. I truly believe in you Kyle if anyone can do anything in this world it is you and if anyone can keep me on the path it is.

Good Luck Today Kyle!

Patrick
AKA Uncle Pat

Challenge!

Hey
Now that we are off and going with the blog and Kyle and I have informed you all of our goals. I am now challenging all of you by no later then the end of Sunday to post a goal of yours on the blog. No matter how big or small anything you are working on we would love to hear about and who knows there will probably be some great feed back.

For example Jordan I know you have been reading more, so maybe daily or weekly tell us a little bit about what you read in your book. What your likes and dislikes were or anything about it.
Also Dani I know you have talked about a healthy pregnancy so inform us a little bit about it what you want to see etc.

Really anything these are just some ideas I know Kyle and I have more of an extreme path we are on but anything that you guys want to do or that will help you guys out at all I would love to know and help with it.

At the least tell us something you have been doing you really like and how it may have helped you out in life at some point. Because the chances are someone else for one might not of know that about you and two you will probably encourage someone else to pick up a book, go to bed earlier, try a juice, really anything productive and great for you.

Thanks I hope you all do this!
Patrick
AKA Uncle Pat

Green Smoothie!

I'm doing this from my phone so I apologize in advance if this post isn't very flattering or well composed.

I wanted to share the recipe that we've been using for smoothies in the mornings and afternoons.

I prep and juice all the produce a few times a week and keep it in tightly sealed mason jars. I try to only make enough juice for the current and following days, but sometimes it ends up being a little more.

Green Juice:
• 2.5 lbs carrots - We buy 5lb bags and I eyeball half.
• 3 apples
• 2 cucumbers
• 2-3 bunches kale
• 1 lime
• 1-2" chunk of ginger

Juice all of it!


Chia Gel:
• 2 C. Water
• 1/3 C. Chia seeds

Combine seeds and water. Stir. Wait a couple minutes until it starts to set. Stir again and refrigerate.


Smoothie:
• 2 C. Green Juice (I use pint mason jars)
• 1 banana
• 1/2 C. frozen blueberries
• 1/2 C. nonfat plain yogurt
• 1/2 C. Chia gel
• 1/2 avocado
• I'll add fiber powder if we have it around.

I start with all the ingredients but half the juice and blend it until smooth. Then I add the remainder of the juice and finish blending it, but I have to do this because our blender sucks :(


It's really hard to determine the nutritional information in the juice blend, but the other smoothie components combine for 400 calories, 11.5 grams of protein, and 14.5 grams of fat—most of which is derived from the avocado and chia. Aside from a small amount of saturated fat in the avocado, the rest are essential fatty acids and all those good things you already know about.

Obviously this recipe yields a pretty large smoothie. I usually drink half for breakfast and save the other half for lunch. It's super filling and we've seemed to notice extra energy during the day when we make it. The avocado and yogurt give it a super creamy, almost whipped kind of texture to it. I really like it, although it can be a little much for Lyndsay.

Hope you guys can give this a try and let me know what you think!

52 Healthy Meals in 12 minutes or Less!?

http://greatist.com/health/52-healthy-meals-12-minutes-or-less

All

A huge challenge I have and I know a lot of us have is the time preparing healthy food. I found this link last night and there are some really delicious quick ideas in this article plus they are pretty healthy. I know I am going to try some of these out and see how it goes I recommend for you time crunched people as well that you do too. 

P.S. I am posting this on my lunch now and it is making my lunch very disappointing to me ha ha.

Day 1 for Kyle

So day 1 started out a little differently for me. I hadn't weighed in since last summer when we finished the 6 week challenge as a family. The challenge was good, but since then there have been lots of excuses why eating super healthy has been hard: moving, new job, basketball season, starting my masters, children that don't sleep when they should, etc. I have lots of long super tiring days which usually end up meaning Pepsi, not everyday but when I do have some it is in no small amount. But mostly, I just like food. I like to eat food that tastes good, and not "wow these fake meat patties don't taste like cardboard" kind of good, or "you know when you eat this vegan dish it really isn't as bad as you might think." Being able to eat good food is part of life that I enjoy, especially when on vacation or at holidays. Many of you have heard my stories about trips Kim and I have been on, or have been around for Christmas or Thanksgiving. Food is part of the celebration. I know that not everyone agrees with that, or needs to, but that is a part of my life that I am not interested in changing.

There are some things that I am interested in changing. I realize that although Pepsi is the elixir of the gods, it is probably something I need to do without, since I am no god. And I realize, that especially during busy times I tend to eat worse, I look for food that is fast or convenient and not so much for the balanced meal. I also recognize that there have been lots of days that I don't even eat breakfast or sometimes a proper dinner. So those things need to change. The challenge has always been that I try to do things that are extreme. Super restrictive diets, or crazy regimented supplement plans combined with over the top diet restrictions. These sort of things don't work for me. In reality, I am not sure that extremes work for anyone. So I am interested in changes that I know can be sustainable, if the change is not one that I can make for life, I am not interested. Ultimately, that leads us to me eating balanced healthy meals on a regular basis while still allowing for the celebration aspect of food when the time is appropriate.

So back to the first day, I weighed in when I woke up at 336.2 lbs. Not quite the heaviest I have ever been but close. I began the day with a smoothie (blueberries, almond milk, Adam's pb, and protein), had a potato and bacon fritata with hot sauce at lunch (no cheese, and not nearly as much bacon or potato as you might think) with a banana and greek yogurt, had some mixed almonds/cashews/pistachios for a snack. The day was going pretty well, until parent teacher conference. PTC lasts from 4-9 with a break from 6-7 for dinner which is provided by the school. As a math teacher, and one that takes time to communicate with the parents that come, my line is typically the longest and I didn't get to my break until 6:30. So by the time I got to the room where dinner was, all that was left was pizza (they had run out of salad and cookies). I proceeded to eat 4 slices of pizza due to my starving state and desire to make it to the end of the night without flipping out on any parents. On a good note, no Pepsi (last one I had was Friday night).

So there it is. I am happy to have a place like this to write and the support from family that Patrick and I both have. I welcome any ideas or thoughts.

Day 1 Quitting Smoking

A little update.

As you may have seen my goal is to smoke 11 a day this week which my average was 16, (I know I said 4 less a day when actually its 5 ha ha). Anyway Yesterday I smoked 13, 2 above my goal but on the positive side 3 below my average.

For me yesterday was rough I got home from work and someone had broken into my house so I was really stressed and going back and forth talking with the cops to try and figure out everything that was missing. What I need to remember is someone can take materialistic things from us but they have no control over our personal goals or attitude. I let them beat me by letting their actions play a part in my goals and mindset.

I also had trouble with an on going headache yesterday. To provide a background for you all I smoke probably around 60% of my cigarettes with in the first 4 hours of the day. Yesterday morning I only smoked 4 cigarettes in that time period and my head started pounding, so I took some Excedrin Extra Strength and felt a little bit better but it never fully went away.

This morning I have smoked 4 cigarettes again and again this headache is coming on strong. I would love some feedback on any ideas to counter these headaches besides Excedrin or maybe if any of you come across an article of some sort please share.

I am very optimistic today for Kyle and I both! Today is a new day and the struggle in both of our journeys is about to get very real. But if we do not take the steps and progress we need to today then when will we? There is no perfect time so then there is no better time then now, today, and this moment.  

Kyle I would love to hear how it is going on your end when you get a chance I know you are really busy so whenever would be awesome man.

Patrick
AKA Uncle Pat

The Brotherly Path

To kick us off!

Kyle and I have been talking and we are ready for some changes! 

Kyle's goal is to create healthier eating habits and mine is to quit smoking. 

How: 

Since we are making these changes for life and not a temporary period we are going to build in to these goals. 

Kyle:

Week 1 goals: 

Eating a healthy lunch everyday Monday-Friday. 

Drinking more water.

Daily when available I recommended posting what he ate daily. 

Weekly at the end of every week Kyle will give us a debriefing on:

How he ate

What he ate 

What worked/didn't 

Issues he may have ran into

Patrick:

Week 1 goal:

Smoke 4 less cigarettes a day then average (average: 16 goal: 11)

Daily I will try to post the amount I smoked.

Weekly post about issues I am having with quitting. Things I have noticed in why I smoke and at what times I smoke the most. 

Awards:

Kyle: 

For every two weeks Kyle sticks to what we agree on I will pay for him and I to golf 9 holes this summer. 

Patrick:

Still trying to figure that out! :/

Thanks! 

Let us know what you guys think or any ideas you have or come across for either one of us! 

Patrick

Aka uncle pat

Behind The Blog

Family 

I want to start by saying thank you to everyone for wanting to be apart of this family blog! It means a lot that you care enough about us to support us and/or care enough about your health to pursue this. The purpose of this blog is to create and motivate healthy habits in our life's not only for ourselves but for our loved ones as well. We all have things we can always work on or change no one is perfect but by putting our ideas and minds together we can help each other. This is a safe positive blog for our family's use so we can motivate, share, and encourage each other to create the healthy lifestyle we all strive for. Whether your goal may be to lose weight, quit tobacco, drink less, ideas for great tasting healthy meals, gain weight, be more positive, or workout more what ever the goal we will be here to support and encourage you. I have learned the hard way success in anything is never achieved solo, I need all your support to be successful and I will give you all of my support. 

Good luck on your journey to a healthy lifestyle. I look forward to watching us all grow!

With love,

Patrick 

Aka uncle pat