Tag: ihop

My 50lb Weight Loss – Before and After Pictures

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Health, Noom, Pictures, WeightLeave a comment

weight loss before and after 50lbs

So yesterday was what I consider to be a milestone.  I weighed in at 212.6lbs which brings my weight loss total down to 50.4lbs lost since January 5th 2013.  So yeah, I feel like bragging lol.

Last night we went to a local event where a woman named Erin Davies is driving cross-country to show her documentary called FagBug and talk about her experiences with vandalism and homophobia and to raise awareness on the subject with her car called the “fagbug.”  When I heard she was coming, I knew I had to go because I wanted to see the car and have my picture taken with it.  And since it would be the first picture of me with 50lbs weight loss, I thought it would work as a great sort of after picture, even though I’m not finished with my journey.

Anyway, so let me give you a rundown of the images you see above.  Top left was from Christmas 2004.  I am actually not positive what my weight was back then, but I’m pretty sure it was 230 give or take.

The second picture on the top is a picture that was taken at Hearst Castle in Colorado in 2005.  It is also the picture that I used as my author picture since it was the best picture I have ever taken.  I hate taking my picture as a fat guy, but love pictures when I’m skinny so perhaps I will be taking a lot more photos when I am finally down in weight.

The bottom left picture was taken last year in May at a PFLAG meeting with Robin Tyler.  I had no idea until after the picture was taken that my stomach was actually that big.  I was beyond mortified, but kept it because I didn’t want to delete the only picture of me with Robin Tyler.  I mean, she’s Robin Tyler!

The bottom right picture is my before picture.  That is the one I took at the IHOP that we went to on New Years Day just before I made the decision to go on this weight loss journey.

Finally, the picture on the right is how I look today.  You can certainly see the difference in my neck and my face.  You probably can’t tell with the black shirt, but believe me, it’s thinner than all those before pictures.  My stomach (waist) was 50” and now it is down to 43”.  So yeah, it’s thinner.  Also my thighs are really skinny now too.  I didn’t think to measure my thighs at the beginning or every week because the Noom app didn’t ask me to, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have still kept a record.  It doesn’t matter because they are thinner now.  Oh and thank you photographer (my partner) for taking the picture with me talking instead of smiling lol.  That was sarcasm of course.

My total weight loss since January 5th is 50.4lbs.  My goal is to lose 63lbs, so I only have 12.6lbs to go.  Although, once I meet my goal I will adjust the Noom app so that I will go down to 170 because 63lbs was just a small goal to get me started, my true goal is much higher than a measly 63lbs.  I was afraid that if I set too high of a goal, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.  I think that I have proven to myself that not only can I meet this goal, but I can keep going until all the fat is gone.

Look out world, here I come!  My next picture will be when I have lost 63lbs when I weigh 200lbs or less (if it’s like 199.8 or something).  See you then…

Noom Weight Loss Coach

On By Michel McDonaldIn Android, Diet, Health, Weight1 Comment

Noom Logo

Okay so you might say that I am a bit excited about weight loss all of a sudden.  On New Years Eve/Day, I decided that I wasn’t going to make a New Years resolution.  I changed my mind when I had my picture taken at IHOP.  I decided that I would make one, but it isn’t to lose weight, but more to change my eating habits to live a healthier lifestyle which will help me lose weight in the long run.  I don’t want to look at it as a diet, but more of a lifestyle change.

I started looking on the Google Play App Store for weight loss apps and found a few that looked good, but they didn’t really do it for me.  I went to the App store and found Noom on the front page.  Since it was recommended, I figured what the heck, let’s give it a go and see how it works.

It’s a free app, but it has limitations because they want you to pay for the service of using the app.  It’s normally $10 a month to go pro, but they have a holiday special right now for only $2.99 a month, $15 a year or $30 forever.  I was going to do the $2.99 a month, but you know how that works, you pay $2.99 and the next month it goes back to it’s regular price of $10 a month.  I figured I’d probably only do this for 1 year, but you never know.  I just want the full version forever without having to worry about paying a monthly or yearly fee.  I figured the $30 price will go up if I don’t do it now, so I paid for it and I love it.

They don’t pressure you to do things you don’t want to do.  They don’t tell you that you can’t have certain foods because telling you what to eat makes people rebel and eat what they want to out of spite.  That’s just what I think, the app didn’t tell me that.  They do give you some good articles to read with very helpful hints and tips and you get points for everything you do.  I am level 4 now.

Here are a few of the features that I love about it.  When you enter your meals, you have the option of scanning the bar code on the box.  That way you don’t have to type it in.  You might think that is lazy, but not really because sometimes it can take a few minutes for the scanner to read the bar code, so I’m sitting there like a dufus holding the phone up against a bar code and it keeps trying to focus, but doesn’t do anything.  If I place the box on something and steady the phone on a flat surface so I’m not shaking it then it might work better.  But I digress.  You can also type in a word like Banana and it asks you if you are eating the size of a golf ball, a tennis ball, a baseball or a fist.  They don’t ask you how much it weighs, just how much food it is.

We have both really changed our eating habits.  We started buying Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen dinners at Food Maxx for only $1.88 each.  That is a big help because they are nearly twice that at Albertson’s.  We also started buying more fruits and veggies.  I have actually been more motivated to eat fruits and vegetables from Noom.  I took this picture today.

fruit bowl

My problem is that I have a sweet tooth.  I will literally go out and buy candy because I want something sweet all the time.  These don’t compare to candy, but they are sweet and they really help and they are green foods in the Noom app, so they are better.

One of the features of Noom that I really love is the Pedometer.  If I keep my phone on me at all times, either in my hand or my pocket, it counts my steps whether I’m in the app or not.  My phone can be on standby in my pocket and it still counts my steps.  And it has an awesome mapping feature for when I exercise outdoors.  If I go for a walk or a bike ride, it uses the GPS to show me where I am going and it even marks my trail on a map so I know where I went.  That’s really cool.  And it tells me how fast I’m walking or cycling, how many miles and miles per hour and how many calories I’ve burned.  My bicycle computer does that, but what it doesn’t do is show me on the map.  I think when I start cycling again, I’m only going to bring my phone and not the bicycle computer.

Here are some screenshots so you can see what I’m talking about.  If you are looking to lose weight, I strongly recommend Noom.  It’s only available for the Android, sorry iPhone users.

coach logbook history yesterdays meals weight graph  map

Noom is not paying me to write this, I am just very excited about finally having a tool to help me lose weight that actually works without me having to go out of my way to use it.  You don’t have to pay for it, you can still use it for free, but you won’t get all the articles.  It’s a great app, you should try it.

Clay’s Restaurant

On By Michel McDonaldIn RestaurantLeave a comment

California Avenue IHOP becomes independent eatery

November 28th 2008, IHOP in Bakersfield became Clay’s Restaurant.  We’ve been going to that IHOP since 2000 but we don’t always have the money to be regulars.  We only go once in awhile.  But we actually haven’t been there at all since they changed their name to Clay’s.

Well this morning Darrin wanted to go out for breakfast and the place that he chose was closed for some strange reason.  So he said well let’s go to Denny’s.  I said that’s too far.  He said where do you want to go and I said “well we haven’t been to Clay’s yet” so that’s where we went.

We get there and are seated right away.  There was a person we knew who was leaving so Darrin wanted to talk to him before we sat down.  Our host had our menu’s sitting open on the table waiting for us which I thought was very nice.

So we order and our food comes, I ordered the #6 2 eggs, 3 bacon, 3 sausage, hash browns and pancakes.  Darrin ordered chicken fried steak with gravy, eggs, hash browns and toast.

I can’t speak for him but he didn’t complain about his food.  My food was pretty good.  The sausage was different though, it wasn’t over cooked and wrinkly, it was a nice light shade of brown and it was smooth.  The bacon was also very flat and smooth and it tasted good.  The pancakes were smaller but I guess they can’t sell pancakes that look exactly like IHOP’s so they just made them smaller.  The hash browns weren’t crispy which is IHOP’s signature hash browns but that was fine.  It was still good.  Normally scrambled eggs are 1 solid color but mine weren’t mixed completely so you could see the yellow and white.  That’s not a bad thing, the eggs were good but it was just different.

Our waitress was Donna and she was a very nice woman.  We asked her if the business has suffered since they changed their name to Clay’s and she said that there aren’t as many customers as when they were IHOP but the customers are coming back.  I can say that I would definitely come back because the food was very good.

Clay’s Restaurant is located at 1530 California Ave. in Bakersfield, CA.  There are also other Clay’s, I just know about this one and the one over by Valley Plaza on Ming.  I would recommend Clay’s and I give them 5 stars.

Goodbye IHOP, Hello Big Boy

On By Michel McDonaldIn FoodLeave a comment

A few months ago I noticed that 2 of Bakersfield’s IHOP’s have turned from a blue color to a red color and renamed “Clay’s”.  I can’t go to Clay’s because it makes me think of Clay Aiken and then I just imagine all the waitresses and waiters have Clay Aiken hair and they are singing to their customers trying to get their order.  It sends shivers down my spine.  Hehe just kidding.

But on a positive note, the Bakers Square on Ming Ave. closed down (well, that’s not the positive part) and a Bob’s Big Boy is moving in its place.  I’ve loved that place since I was a kid.  My parent’s always bought me the Big Boy comic books and I had some Big Boy toys.  The burgers were very similar to Big Macs but they didn’t have the same sauce, the Big Boy burger had a better sauce.

The one thing I remember about Bob’s Big Boy was the hairdo’s of all the waitresses.  They were always high up like they had bee hives but with curls all over them.  That is definitely what makes Bob’s Big Boy to me.  The comic books, burgers and hairdo’s.