I added some new photos to the Nicholas 2.0 album.  They also upgraded the site so you can click the photo album and there's a button on the bottom left of that page that lets you view the photos in full-screen mode.

I put the latest photos of Nicholas in a new album, "Nicholas 2.0". All the previously posted photos are still available by clicking on the "Nicholas!" album.

There's also a video that will show up below the photos, but unfortunately you can only see it if you're using Internet Explorer.  Click the play button to start the video.

Nicholas Robert Vandezande
Born June 3, 2007 7:28 PM Pacific Time at St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Siena Campus - Henderson, NV
6 pounds 12.5 ounces
19 inches long

This is it, we're parents!  Nicholas was born this past Sunday.  We originally went in for an induction, but after 10 hours of labor and very little progress the doctor called for a C-section.  After about 10 minutes in the operating room Nicholas made his appearance - already crying with just his head sticking out of Mommy's belly!  Speaking of his head, it was the talk of the maternity wing.  He had a full head of hair - so much so the nurses nicknamed him Oscar the Grouch. 

Mommy and Nicholas are doing just fine - he took to nursing within five minutes of meeting her and he's always hungry.  We brought him home last night after just 48 hours in the hospital.  Apparently it's a growing trend to let mothers recuperate at home.

Check out pictures of Nicholas and his visitors in the gallery.

Lauren, Nicholas and I want to thank everyone, especially the proud grandparents, for all the love, support and advice we received over the last nine months.

Current weight: 188 [-23 lbs.]

Still going...  Like the book said, I'm losing weight slower now that I'm getting closer to my goal.  But it is still coming off, and I feel great.  I've been a little more liberal with what I eat, having a cheeseburger or a nice dessert once in a while as a treat.  Pretty soon I'll get my bloodwork done again, and we'll see what my new cholesterol and triglyceride numbers are.

South Beach Diet: Week 11

Current weight: 190.5 [-20.5 lbs.]

Progress was a little slow this week - Lauren's birthday and a couple happy hours and parties had me cheating a bit.  But, I've been extra good the last few days, so I'm back to my all-time low today.

Testing e-mail publishing

If you can read this, it works!

For anyone who doesn't know yet, we're having a baby boy, due June 2.  His name will be Nicholas Robert, the middle name is my father's name.  We're registered at Babies R Us and Target (wink wink).

Current weight: 193 [-18 lbs]

Still chuggin' along...  I still haven't had any white potatoes or hardly anything fried (I'll snag a french fry from Lauren or share some buffalo chicken strips once in a blue moon...) and I'm still going strong.  18 pounds baby!  I can really see the difference myself now, so I know I'm doing well. 

Current weight: 200 [-11 lbs.]

Well, I'm 4 weeks in, and I couldn't be happer.  The pounds keep coming off and I feel great.  Here are some of the meals I've been eating:

Breakfasts:

• Cheese EggBeater omelette
• EggBeater omelette with bell peppers
• Regular eggs over easy with canadian bacon
• Instant oatmeal (Not ideal according to the book, but I only have it once in a while to break up the monotony of all the eggs.)
• Coffee and/or V8

Lunches:

• Quizno's honey mustard chicken salad
• Chipotle burrito bol
• Tropical Smoothie - Strawberry-kiwi-low-fat-yogurt smoothie and buffalo chicken wrap
• Panera bread - turkey w/ mozzarella and pesto on whole grain bread, apple
• South Beach Diet box lunches (like Lunchables for adults - these are actually really tasty and come with Jello for dessert.  I've had the caesar chicken wraps and the southwest chicken wraps.)

Dinners:

• McDonalds - Club chicken sandwich (toss the bread), side salad w/ vinaigrette dressing
• Seasoned pork chops with mixed veggies, 9-grain bread with spread
• Baked salmon with lemon juice and parmesan cheese, veggies
• Cajun-seasoned catfish with veggies
• Any sit-down restaurant: I usually order some kind of roasted or grilled chicken or maybe a lean steak like sirloin and have them substitute extra veggies for the potato.

Desserts/snacks:

• Sugar-free Jello
• Low-fat string cheese
• Fat-free vanilla yogurt
• Cashews/peanuts
• South Beach Diet snack bars (I've only tried the chocolate/peanut butter ones and they're really good.)

So as you can see I'm not exactly starving.  Here's to 4 more weeks of success!

Current weight: 203.5 [-7.5 lbs.]
Meals today:

• 2 eggs over easy with 2 slices canadian bacon, V8, coffee

Well, I gained back about 1.5 pounds, but I'm not worried - I've seen this before.  It usually happens before another big decline in weight, so it's all good...

Current weight: 204 [-7 lbs]
Meals today:

• 2 eggs over easy, V8, coffee
• Chipotle burrito bol - chicken, pinto beans, tomato salsa, sour cream, lettuce
• Handful of peanuts
• Low-fat string cheese
  
• Sliced chicken breast with veggies and tomato sauce (Lauren had this over pasta) (yum)
• Non-fat vanilla yogurt
  

Current weight: 202.5 [-8.5 lbs.]
Meals today:

• Cheese EggBeaters omelette with salsa, V8, coffee
• Strawberry/kiwi smoothie, 1/2 chef salad with thai peanut dressing
• Claim Jumper: 8oz. sirloin steak with grilled veggies, seared ahi tuna appetizer

Current weight: 203 [-8 lbs.]
Meals today:

• 2 eggs over easy, 2 slices canadian bacon, V8, coffee
• Quizno's Honey Mustard Chicken Salad
• Baked salmon w/ lemon juice, herbs and parmesan cheese (yum)
• Sugar-free creamsicle
  

Meals today:

• Some sort of eggs (can't remember), V8, coffee
• Tuna w/ mayo
• Grilled boneless pork chops w/ lemon juice and herbs
• Fat-free vanilla yogurt
  

Meals today:

• Salsa EggBeaters omelette, V8, coffee
• Quizno's Honey Mustard Chicken Salad (yum)
• Panera Bread steak and bleu cheese salad, vegetarian black bean soup
  

Well, that's the end of the first week of Phase 1. I'm 6 pounds lighter so I'm right on track with the book's estimate of 8-13 lbs. by the end of the second week. So far it's been real easy to stay on the diet - I can still go to the restaurants and fast food places I like, I just order different stuff, and it's good stuff. I really don't miss the bread and potatoes and pasta - there's plenty of other food to choose from. I can't wait for Phase 2 so I can start having some fruit. I never thought I would be so grateful to have fruit!

Current weight: 205 [-6 lbs.]
Meals today:

• EggBeaters salsa omelette, V8
• Roasted chicken, green beans, and a little clam chowder
• Chicken caesar salad
  

Current weight: 207 [-4 lbs]
Meals today:

• 2 eggs over easy, cooked with Pam, 2 slices canadian bacon, V8, coffee
• Baked salmon, vegetables, broccoli cheese soup
• Chipotle Mexican Grill - Chicken Burrito Bol w/ lettuce, sour cream, cheese, tomato salsa, black beans
• Sugar-free Jello
  

Current Weight: 207.5 [3.5 lbs. lost]
Meals today:

• EggBeaters mushroom omelette cooked w/ Pam, V8, coffee
• Chef salad (lettuce, ham, turkey, cheese, tomato) w/ balsamic vinaigrette, diet Coke
• Turkey Sausage with mixed veggies, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray
• Sugar-free Jell-o snack cup
  

Current Weight: 207 [4 lbs. lost]
Meals today:

• 2 (real) eggs over easy cooked with Pam, 2 slices canadian bacon, coffee, V8 juice
• Steak pho (sliced lean steak, broth, some veggies, hot sauce), diet coke
• Vegetable soup, cauliflower, small (~2oz) piece of steak, chicken and green beans South Beach meal
• Low fat string cheese
• Cashews

Current weight: 208.5 [2.5 lbs lost]
Meals today:

• EggBeaters (2 egg equivalent) with salsa and mushrooms, V8 juice
• Low fat string cheese
• Rib roast, shrimp, cauliflower, vegetable soup
• Cashews

Meals yesterday:

• Salsa omelette (EggBeaters), V8 juice
• Low-fat string cheese
• 1 can tuna with 2 tbsp. mayo
• Handful of cashews
• Tropical Smoothie Cafe: Sesame chicken salad, fruit smoothie (didn't realize I was cheating - this is fruit - till I had finished half of it.)
• 3 Fig Newtons (I know, cheating again, but it was a matter of survival - we were down at the Strip on New Year's Eve, I was starving, and that was the only food around.)