Week 5, 15lbs down!

Just an update of my progress so far. Down 15 pounds, and it shows that small changes made a big impact on my weight loss! Similar small changes can help you too! 

Big Guy Tips

Big Eats: Build a better breakfast for under 550 calories!

Who doesn't love breakfast? I know I do. They say its the most important meal of the day, that doesn't mean its got to taste like cardboard and leave you unsatisfied. Here is a quick, simple combination that will satisfy your taste buds and your conscious.

Heat up a pan and throw in some non-stick cooking spray of your liking, I like my meat so I use pork roll to satisfy that craving. One serving size is 170 calories usually. Fry it up the way you like it, I like mine a little burnt to add a crisp to it, however you like it is fine. You can even sub it for bacon if you like, Just make sure your mind full of the serving size.

While the pork roll is cooking, I crack about 5 egg whites in a bowl, start beating, and throw in a pinch of steak seasoning. Don't forget to take out a couple pieces of cheese. I love love me some Velveeta american cheese slices, and If you could find the 35 calorie version of it, your diet will love it too. Two slices of cheese is a bit excessive, but I like my flavors big, so give me a pass on that one.
After the pork roll is done and the pan is freed up, I throw my egg whites right in and take out two frozen waffles. Blueberry frozen waffles have become a real treat to me, so 2 will satisfy my carb cravings. I hate pouring on the calories so Sugar free syrup is the way to go for me. It doesn't taste as good as regular syrup, but certain sacrifices have to made for a diet. I talked about in an earlier blog that people can pour on up to 400 calories of syrup on there plate, so your waistline will thank me when I say go for the sugar free.

Throw it all on a plate and enjoy a hearty, satisfying breakfast, that will leave your tummy full and your guilt free for another day. It may not be the best in terms of protein, and carbs, but boy at under 550 calories, you can't go wrong. Happy eating ladies and gentleman.

This meal is built to satisfy.

Overview:

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15- 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Pork roll
5 egg whites
Pinch of steak seasoning
2 Velveeta cheese slices
Frozen Blueberry waffles
Non-Stick cooking spray

Macros:

Cals: 535
Total Fat: 24g
Carbs: 57g
Protein: 36g

BIG GUY TIPS

My life at 440 pounds, and what motivated me to change.

Anyone who checked out my blog would know that i'm a bigger guy, I figured for accountability purposes I'd put an actual number on my progress. It took me a long time to take changing my life seriously. It took countless hospital visits, scares, and rather recently, looking at death right in the face quite literally. This is a precautionary tale ladies and gentleman. Its never too late to make a change.

Lets go back 5 years ago, I was in a very different place mentally. I seen my waist line grow but I kept telling myself "its not that bad, I will start going to the gym again soon". Because like many people, I had a gym membership, I just didn't use it. I would go for 2 months, not see results, get discouraged and stop for 6 months. All the while falling into an endless loop of guilt, emotional eating, then more guilt, and more emotional eating.
It took me going to the doctors and getting weighed, and seeing the scale, a whopping 440 pounds, until I knew something had to give. Not only that, my blood pressure was dangerously high. It was a battle between my life, and my addiction to food. Lets get this strait: food is a drug. Like any drug, eventually it gets to a point where you cant control it. That conversation is in another post.

My battle with food saw some victories and failures. After a few years, I managed to finally get under the 400 pound mark, but just barely. It stayed on that number until recently, after my last major health scare, one that almost killed me.

After my aortic dissection, heart surgery.

Back in May, I went to the hospital for "heart burn", or so I thought. What actually happened was my aorta was on the verge of rupturing. The doctors caught it just in time. Flew me to the nearest hospital with a heart specialist, and saved my life. Just take a second to Google "Aortic Dissection" and you will see how lucky I am, it comes on suddenly, and has an extremely high fatality rate.

Now 4 months later, and semi-healed, I have to do something drastic to preserve my life and hopefully inspire others along the way.

I may not be an expert, or guru, or anything like that. Regardless, I want to start a weight loss journey with the world. So many people die of complications that can be avoided. I was a lucky one, a day or so later, and I wouldn't have been. I think If I can blog about my success, hopefully someone will take notice of there own life, and want to change it.

(above) Me at 410 pounds, and a much more recent one

At over 60 pounds down so far, and a lot more to go. My journey is nowhere near over. I hope you guys will want to join me. Because our lives depend on it.

Big Guy Tips.

Midnight snacking and how to stop it!

Midnight snacking? Here's a little tip to avoid it

Going off my previous post I wanted to give a quick tip on how to avoid the issue that kills many a diet programs, midnight snaking. Those cravings are a fact of life and this is a simple trick to avoid it. Please subscribe, like, share, and most of all, comment. If you have any advice for the big guy its always welcome!

Big Guy Tips

How fast do your calories actually add up?

Well the answer to that question is fairly simple: Very quickly. A eating plan can be sabotaged easily through what foods you choose to put into your body. Here is a simple list of the foods that sneak in tons extra calories, and still leave you feeling hungry and unsatisfied. Here are the calorie culprits, and tips on how to avoid it, or at the vary least limit it.


Sweet Tooth
I am no stranger to the urges of my chatter box wanting some simple sugars. We all get those cravings, its natural. The simple rule I use is, NEVER BUY A BOX OF ANYTHING SWEET.
Lets look at it this way, 3 Oreo cookies are 160 calories, and 24 grams of carbs. Realistically, how many people do you think eat just 1 serving in a package of Oreo cookies? So the simple solution I propose is: if you must eat something sweet, buy an individual size. A single bar of chocolate tells you what your getting yourself into. Plus, when your done, you wont have that grey area in your mind asking you if just 1 more would really hurt?

Breakfast, The most important meal of the day

I'm sure we all heard this at one point or another. For me, I take it a little further. Breakfast is the 1st thing you eat, If you eat too many calories in your breakfast hour, by the time you get to dinner, you could already be way over calorie and not even know it. For example, lets look at the standard all american breakfast, Bacon, eggs, pancakes with syrup. How much do you think that adds up too? It could be upwards to 900 to 1300 calories depending on how you eat! Whats the worst offender on the plate, the syrup. On average, i'd say people use 2 to 3 servings of syrup, that can be close to 400 calories all on its own!

 Simple solution: Substitute a few things and cut up to 600 calories! I know it doesn't taste as good, but honestly, sugar free syrup will save your entire day! substituting 1 or 2 whole eggs, with just the whites can save 60 to 130 calories also. try it out.

These are a few simple tips to help you with your dieting goals. There are a ton more. If you have any yourself, please feel free to comment, I'd love to hear from you guys.

Big Guy Tips

Starting Points: The 30 day challenge!!!

Starting Points: The 30 Day Challenge

Well its the 1st of a new month, and I think we should kick it off with a bang. A little 30 day challenge never hurt anyone!
Wanting to start working out and have no idea where to start? This is a perfect jumping off point. I have been going to the gym for quite some time and even I am going to try it! Who is gonna try the challenge with me? Lets do this one together people.

Big Guy Tips

Welcome to Big Guy Tips! The Vlog!

Welcome to Big Guy Tips! The Vlog.

Just a quick introduction to the world of the Big Guy himself. A chance to interact with people give my advice, and grow along the way. Its still very early in its inception, so bare with me. It will improve over time. If you enjoy it and want to follow me on this journey, please subscribe, like the video, even shoot me an email! I'm prone to taking advice from you guys too! Thanks everyone and once again. Welcome to Big Guy Tips: The Vlog.

How to survive a late night FOOD-RECTION

"The time, 3:45am. and I cant shut my eyes. The sandman must be sleeping with the fishes, because he hasn't paid me a visit in days. Tossing and turning in bed like a like an addict who needs his fix, my mind in going in circles. My drug I so desperately need? Sleep. I hear a rumble down below. Shes calling me again. That wench named hunger, and she brought her friends boredom with her. The dynamic duo they are, who can wreak havoc on a diet faster then termites at grammies house. I feel a burning in my loins. My pacing has took me right to the fridge on the dark cold corner of Cravings ave. I think about opening it, the recently stocked vessel has everything a growing boy wants. My palms are sweaty, my mind racing. I take a step back and breathe. Daring not to risk all the hard work I put in. As I walk back to my warm bed, a smile creeps across my face. Hunger.... boredom... you almost got me."

Thank you, thank you. My Noir Crime/ self-help mash up will be out by next year. As dramatic as it all sounds, I think we all faced this at many points in our personal health life. I know I've lost that battle many times and my life. Insomnia is a very real thing, it prevents muscle growth, limits energy throughout the day, and worst of all, makes you prone to eating super late, and ruining your progress. So here's what I learned from my mistakes and hopefully these nuggets of advice will help you if you are plagued with a late night Food-rection.

Know your goal and shut your mouth!
As simple as it is, reminding yourself of what your working towards goes a long way in keeping your eating habits in check, especially during late night crave sessions. Your mind is the absolute best weapon against poor decisions, unfortunately we tend to lose it quite a bit in the wee hours of the morning. Don't let that Food-rection win! So say it out loud, create a mantra, look a picture of the 'old you' that you want to surpass, anything. You will eventually sleep, you may wake up tired, but not guilty.

keep yourself busy
If you absolutely can't sleep at night, under any circumstance, at least do something that will make you not think of eating. Food-rections come and go, so when you feel one coming, its time to find something to do till it passes.
A perfect example I could give you is what i'm doing for myself right now. I created this blog, not just to help inspire myself, and others. I do it to fill in gaps until I do get sleepy. The more occupied you are, the least time you have to get bored, then hungry... then guilty.
YouTube, Netflix, or even your favorite news source, all great ways to blow through time if you CAN'T sleep.

If you don't use it you lose it
I think the thing that helped me more then anything when dealing with insomnia and Food-rections. The second you start feeling tired, jump in bed! Well, don't jump, but you know what I mean. What use to happen to me often is I would get tired, wait too long to go in bed, and by the time I finished reading my article, or watching my show, I wouldn't be sleepy by the time I was good and ready when the show was over.

Seriously, Insomnia is terrible for any diet plan your on. Remember what were working towards, and you can fight the urge any Food-rection could throw at you. Lets work every day to get where are trying to go.

Big Guy Tips

The Low fat, Low* carb, 100+ Grams of protein 30 minute make shift meal!

So your busy chugging along your day, and forget to prepare a meal (or two), and you want to eat properly, keep your macros in check, and continue to build muscle, but have little time to work with. Its a common thing for everyone in a semi active lifestyle. So I figured to help you with my ace in the hole, I'll share one of my quickest protein packed meals that is both filling, satisfying, albeit different. Just bare with me when you hear the ingredients. Scroll right to the bottom and check out those macros if you don't believe me!

Are we back? Good, now that I got your attention.
I start by getting a nice pot of water and set it on the stove, preparing to boil. While that's working I get a baking sheet, hit it with some non stick cooking spray, and throw 3 pieces of pre-packaged tilapia on it (about 4 oz each), season it with a pinch of steak seasoning, garlic and onion powder, and drizzle it with honey mustard, top em off with a pinch of bread crumbs and your set. Pop it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes, and your good to go.

Remember that pot of water, that should be boiling? Yea, that's where it may get weird. because one of my favorite sides has quickly become Egg Salad. Its full of flavor, packed with protein, and depending on how you make it, low on everything else. I use Miracle whip light to add taste to my egg salad, but light mayo works too. I only use 1 whole egg (for texture), the rest I only use the whites of the boiled egg.

Serve it up with some 40 calorie per slice bread, toasted, and you are now ready to eat one of the fastest 100+ grams of protein on your life. Enjoy.

Overview:

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes total (15 for the Tilapia)

Ingredients:
Tilapia fillets (3)
Steak seasoning
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Honey Mustard
Italian bread crumbs
Miracle Whip light
5 eggs (1 whole egg, 4 egg whites)
40 calorie per slice bread

Macros:

Cals: 810
Total Fat: 19g
Carbs: 45g
Protein: 113g

Big Eats: Just in time for labor day, This Protein packed meal is big on flavor and under 600 calories!

One certain in life persist for me, I love big flavor. I cant think of a better excuse to get big flavor then during the holidays. You have an excuse to fire up the grill, flip your brain switch to "cave man", and gorge in public without getting too much attention. I didn't have my grill handy, but this meal just screamed summer and I had to share. A Big Guy Tip strait from my kitchen, to your stomach.

I have two rules i generally follow (most of the time): Eat clean and eat simple. This one falls closer to the simple decree. It doesn't get much easier then meat and bread. I started out with a package of Gianelli Sweet Italian sausage on a non stick pan fired up and lightly coated with some Non-stick cooking spray, you can substitute it with a different sausage if you like. Just make sure its not too many calories if you want the full effect. Slice a a whole onion in the pan to let the flavors soak in for onion goodness.
the secret to the calorie restriction is the bun. I choose Sara Lee 80 calorie Delightful hot dog buns which i find the most not cardboard tasting and quite good compared to other low calorie buns.

Once fully cooked and slapped on bun, 2 of these bad boys are about 580 calories. With just under 50 grams of protein in the meal, its sure to fill you up and keep those gains filled.

Overview

Prep time: 3 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes (or however you like your meat)

Ingredients: Gianelli Sweet Italian Sausage, Sara lee 80 calorie Delightful hot dog buns, Non stick cooking spray, Chopped onions, Condiments of choice.

Macros:

(2 links)
Cals: 576
Total fat: 25g
Carbs: 48g
Protein: 49g