Got back to the gym for the first time in more than a week today. I kept it limited only doing a half hour on the treadmill instead of 45 minutes. I also stepped down the speed a bit. I am pretty confident though that the next trip I can step back up to my previous performance without having lost much.
Otherwise nothing particularly interesting happened today. Food in the morning was another egg and cheese sandwich (300 calories). Since I heard some confusion today as to what goes into the sandwich, it's generally an organic egg, and a slice of american cheese on a light english muffin, which I generally have with a glass of milk. Lunch was PB&J again (600 calories). There was some dangerous browsing on Christmas snacks at work today (200 calories). Dinner was a grilled chicken breast, noodles and green beans (900 calories). Exercise was a lunchtime walk and a half hour on the treadmill (425 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2000
Exercise: 425
Points Earned: 1425
Total Points Earned: 91731
Points to go: 108269
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Day 71
Erin sent me an interesting article from today's New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?_r=2). The core of the story is research into why long-term weight loss eludes people. The article points to a number of factors including genetics, and habits but also specifically focuses on the body's hormones and the nature of the body to fight "starvation" long after the actual diet ends. Reading the article reminded me a lot of the core arguments in favor of the Dark Side of Fat Loss diet plan.
One interesting aspect of the article was a discussion of the National Weight Control Registry (http://www.nwcr.ws/). This is a group which exists, in part, to prove that long-term weight loss is actually possible. According to their web site, membership is open to anyone who has maintained a weight loss of at least 30 pounds for 1 year or longer. Some time in the next few weeks I should cross that 30 pound threshold myself. I've done that before, as I mentioned at the start of the diet I used to be up around 300 pounds, but it might be a neat idea to shoot for at least maintaining my weight for the year even after the Challenge is completed and then compare my success to those in this group.
What was nice to see from a cursory glance at the site, and the article's own coverage of the group, is that they seem to have a wide range of successful strategies for their weight loss. It's also organized primarily as a research study rather than as some sort of social network. All in all I'd recommend checking out the article, and the site. Both seem to have some interesting ideas for weight loss.
Food today: not a great day generally but not too bad. Egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), PB&J (500 calories), some candy and a cookie (200 calories), and a steak and cheese sandwich with a few less chips this time (1200 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2200
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 800
Total Points Earned: 90306
Points to go: 109694
One interesting aspect of the article was a discussion of the National Weight Control Registry (http://www.nwcr.ws/). This is a group which exists, in part, to prove that long-term weight loss is actually possible. According to their web site, membership is open to anyone who has maintained a weight loss of at least 30 pounds for 1 year or longer. Some time in the next few weeks I should cross that 30 pound threshold myself. I've done that before, as I mentioned at the start of the diet I used to be up around 300 pounds, but it might be a neat idea to shoot for at least maintaining my weight for the year even after the Challenge is completed and then compare my success to those in this group.
What was nice to see from a cursory glance at the site, and the article's own coverage of the group, is that they seem to have a wide range of successful strategies for their weight loss. It's also organized primarily as a research study rather than as some sort of social network. All in all I'd recommend checking out the article, and the site. Both seem to have some interesting ideas for weight loss.
Food today: not a great day generally but not too bad. Egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), PB&J (500 calories), some candy and a cookie (200 calories), and a steak and cheese sandwich with a few less chips this time (1200 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2200
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 800
Total Points Earned: 90306
Points to go: 109694
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Day 70
Well as the day has worn on I'm feeling and sounding a lot better than I was yesterday. After a mediocre night last night I decided to actually use a sick day today. As such I got to sleep in, then read for a while and otherwise keep myself rested and hydrated for the day. I'm definitely feeling better, even if I didn't get to go to the gym quite yet.
Today was also a day where I was dealing with some temptations to stray off the diet. I only had an egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast (at about noon), so as the afternoon wore on I started getting hungry. The dangerous part was that I didn't notice it happening initially, I just knew that I wanted junk food to satisfy a craving. In the end I compromised with myself. I went to the supermarket and bought myself a bag of chips and the fixings for a steak and cheese sandwich. I did probably have a few too many chips for the evening, but the sandwich was really tasty. Since the alternative was a trip to get fast food, or possibly a worse offense, I'm reasonably satisfied.
I've done so well on this diet during the first two months that I think this past week has felt tougher than it needed to be. Erin pointed out as well that we both tend to be tougher on ourselves with these sorts of thing than we really need to be. I'm trying to take that advice to heart. One week with a lack of exercise and slightly increased calories isn't going to kill the diet, as long as I don't give up myself.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich (300 calories), steak and cheese sandwich with potato chips (1500 calories...I really did eat too many chips). No exercise on the day.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1800
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 1200
Total Points Earned: 89506
Points to go: 110494
Today was also a day where I was dealing with some temptations to stray off the diet. I only had an egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast (at about noon), so as the afternoon wore on I started getting hungry. The dangerous part was that I didn't notice it happening initially, I just knew that I wanted junk food to satisfy a craving. In the end I compromised with myself. I went to the supermarket and bought myself a bag of chips and the fixings for a steak and cheese sandwich. I did probably have a few too many chips for the evening, but the sandwich was really tasty. Since the alternative was a trip to get fast food, or possibly a worse offense, I'm reasonably satisfied.
I've done so well on this diet during the first two months that I think this past week has felt tougher than it needed to be. Erin pointed out as well that we both tend to be tougher on ourselves with these sorts of thing than we really need to be. I'm trying to take that advice to heart. One week with a lack of exercise and slightly increased calories isn't going to kill the diet, as long as I don't give up myself.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich (300 calories), steak and cheese sandwich with potato chips (1500 calories...I really did eat too many chips). No exercise on the day.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1800
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 1200
Total Points Earned: 89506
Points to go: 110494
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Day 69
This cold just won't die. I had to leave early from work today because of it. So the lack of exercise, plus eating a little more food than I should is making this past week extremely unproductive. I had hoped to reach 100K before the end of next week, but that's looking unlikely at the moment.
So now we get a chance to look at one of the big questions of any diet. How do you get back on track after something knocks you off. Had it just been Christmas it probably wouldn't have been a problem, I would have been at the gym or running outside and keeping the calories down a bit. The combination of both illness and Christmas has meant that I'm getting out of the habit of the diet, and that's what is the most dangerous. I'm feeling a bit better with the extra rest today, so tomorrow the plan is to hit the gym again. In addition I'll need to do a better job controlling the diet. If I can't get back on track in the next few days though, I'm running the risk of falling off altogether.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast (300 calories), PB&J for lunch (600 calories), penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories), and various snacks including some cookies and popcorn (200 calories). No exercise again.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2100
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 900
Total Points Earned: 88306
Points to go: 111694
So now we get a chance to look at one of the big questions of any diet. How do you get back on track after something knocks you off. Had it just been Christmas it probably wouldn't have been a problem, I would have been at the gym or running outside and keeping the calories down a bit. The combination of both illness and Christmas has meant that I'm getting out of the habit of the diet, and that's what is the most dangerous. I'm feeling a bit better with the extra rest today, so tomorrow the plan is to hit the gym again. In addition I'll need to do a better job controlling the diet. If I can't get back on track in the next few days though, I'm running the risk of falling off altogether.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast (300 calories), PB&J for lunch (600 calories), penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories), and various snacks including some cookies and popcorn (200 calories). No exercise again.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2100
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 900
Total Points Earned: 88306
Points to go: 111694
Day 68
Yesterday wasn't a good day for the diet, but it wasn't really a bad day either. In retrospect I could probably have eaten a little bit lighter on the day, particularly since I once again was unable to exercise. However, as it's obvious I'm way ahead of schedule on the diet I can afford a week of mediocre scoring thanks to the combination of Christmas and sickness.
Food yesterday was: two eggs and a piece of dry toast for breakfast (300 calories), a smaller portion of fish and chips while out at lunch with friends (1000 calories) and pasta, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). No exercise again, though luckily I was little more active.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2300
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 700
Total Points Earned: 87406
Points to go: 112594
Food yesterday was: two eggs and a piece of dry toast for breakfast (300 calories), a smaller portion of fish and chips while out at lunch with friends (1000 calories) and pasta, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). No exercise again, though luckily I was little more active.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2300
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 700
Total Points Earned: 87406
Points to go: 112594
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Day 67
So this cold is definitely making this diet plan more complicated. I had planned to exercise on Friday and Saturday at the very least, with a walk in the park today. This was because I expected to eat a little too much junk food between yesterday and today. Unfortunately, the cold kept me primarily inside and away from the gym.
I have a feeling that getting a cold during a more routine period of the calender wouldn't be so bad. I'd probably spend a lot of time in bed, and wouldn't get to the gym, but I also wouldn't eat a lot. Unfortunately that didn't work out for me this weekend for obvious reasons.
Today's food: breakfast was peanut butter and toast with milk (700 calories), there wasn't a lunch since dinner was expected to be early, dinner was pork with noodles, peas and bread (1000 calories). Unfortunately snacks included a couple handfuls of chips, as well as a piece of Boston creme pie with some ice cream (totalled to 700 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2400
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 600
Total Points Earned: 86706
Points to go: 113294
I have a feeling that getting a cold during a more routine period of the calender wouldn't be so bad. I'd probably spend a lot of time in bed, and wouldn't get to the gym, but I also wouldn't eat a lot. Unfortunately that didn't work out for me this weekend for obvious reasons.
Today's food: breakfast was peanut butter and toast with milk (700 calories), there wasn't a lunch since dinner was expected to be early, dinner was pork with noodles, peas and bread (1000 calories). Unfortunately snacks included a couple handfuls of chips, as well as a piece of Boston creme pie with some ice cream (totalled to 700 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2400
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 600
Total Points Earned: 86706
Points to go: 113294
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Day 66
Hey it's Christmas Eve! This was definitely on my calender as one of the days I was looking forward to for validation on my diet. For my family, this is a reasonably big function with 20 or so people all getting together. Also I haven't seen these folks in a month so they're getting the full month's worth of change. The best part of the night was getting multiple compliments from people, combined with the more generic, "wow, you're doing so well on the diet." The second best part of the night was the grilled swordfish.
Food today: I'm still sick, so I slept in again. Lunch ended up being a couple pieces of toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk (700 calories). Dinner ended up pretty much just being several pieces of swordfish, with an IBC root beer (combined total was about 800 calories). Dessert was 4 Christmas cookies (400 calories). Probably should have been less cookies, but they were very good. No exercise again today due to the cold.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 1100
Total Points Earned: 86106
Points to go: 113894
Food today: I'm still sick, so I slept in again. Lunch ended up being a couple pieces of toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk (700 calories). Dinner ended up pretty much just being several pieces of swordfish, with an IBC root beer (combined total was about 800 calories). Dessert was 4 Christmas cookies (400 calories). Probably should have been less cookies, but they were very good. No exercise again today due to the cold.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 1100
Total Points Earned: 86106
Points to go: 113894
Day 65
So I'm not sure if hitting a lower calorie total for a day really counts if I spent the entire day sick in bed. Never the less, I did at least keep the total calories for the day under 2000 despite having a birthday dinner involving steak, fries, and extremely buttery bread. Unfortunately the cold is keeping me from exercising for at least two or three days.
Food today (really yesterday): a slice of toast with some peanut butter and a glass of milk (300 calories), and dinner at Texas Roadhouse, where at the very least I ate too much bread, (1600 calories). No exercise, and no snacks for the day.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 1100
Total Points Earned: 85006
Points to go: 114994
Food today (really yesterday): a slice of toast with some peanut butter and a glass of milk (300 calories), and dinner at Texas Roadhouse, where at the very least I ate too much bread, (1600 calories). No exercise, and no snacks for the day.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 1100
Total Points Earned: 85006
Points to go: 114994
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Day 64
Another long day today between work and hanging out with friends. Not that I'm complaining about it, but I'm definitely tired. I also think I may be coming down with a cold. Not that I'm trying to make excuses or anything, but I did end up eating three cookies as a snack at work (curse you Sarah!!! <grin>). That's instead of the relatively healthy granola bar snack I brought instead. Dinner was also a little less healthy, being pizza with friends.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich (300 calories), lunch was PB&J again (600 calories), snack was 3 cookies (200 calories), dinner was 4 slices of pizza (1000 calories). Exercise was a lunchtime walk (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2100
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1000
Total Points Earned: 83906
Points to go: 116094
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich (300 calories), lunch was PB&J again (600 calories), snack was 3 cookies (200 calories), dinner was 4 slices of pizza (1000 calories). Exercise was a lunchtime walk (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2100
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1000
Total Points Earned: 83906
Points to go: 116094
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Day 63
I don't know if it was a result of the diet, or just a nice sweater but I got a surprising number of compliments today. One of the great parts of getting to this point in the diet is that the changes are actually quite noticeable now. My normal clothing is a lot looser, my gut seems to be shrinking slowly but surely, and generally people seem to be mentioning the changes more.
Early on in the diet I think the people who didn't know I was actually trying to lose weight were hesitant to mention anything. It's understandable since the corollary to "You look like you've lost weight," is "You think I'm fat?" Now personally, I'd like to think that even if I weren't dieting I'd still say thank you if someone told me that, particularly since I am fat. There's no guarantee of that though, and I can certainly understand holding off saying something unless I'm certain of the facts (it's the same reason I don't ask someone if they're pregnant until I'm absolutely certain).
Why does this matter? It ties into a point I've mentioned many times before. A sense of accomplishment is really important to staying on a diet, and after that first big burst of weight loss (the water weight as people usually call it) it can feel like you're plateauing very quickly. Early on, of course, your friends and family are hopefully supportive and complimentary. In some ways though, their compliments and observations mean less than those of strangers.
If my sister or cube-mate at work tell me they think I'm losing weight, well I've told them I'm dieting, and they're nice people so of course they're going to say something nice. When the person in the elevator who I see for 60 seconds a day tells me that I'm losing weight, well they barely know me from Adam. If they think I'm losing weight then it must be true. Yet at the point that we need that kind of encouragement most, those strangers aren't very likely to mention it at all.
Personally, as much as I look forward to my weigh-ins, I can't imagine someone getting a real sense of accomplishment from a scale alone. It's those compliments that provide the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. So to everyone who complimented my sweater today (and to the one gay friend who complimented my butt), thanks!
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk again (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), granola bar and a couple tootsie rolls as snacks (150 calories), penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise was a walk at lunch and a trip to the gym after work (100 and 661 calories respectively).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 761
Points Earned: 1711
Total Points Earned: 82906
Points to go: 117094
Early on in the diet I think the people who didn't know I was actually trying to lose weight were hesitant to mention anything. It's understandable since the corollary to "You look like you've lost weight," is "You think I'm fat?" Now personally, I'd like to think that even if I weren't dieting I'd still say thank you if someone told me that, particularly since I am fat. There's no guarantee of that though, and I can certainly understand holding off saying something unless I'm certain of the facts (it's the same reason I don't ask someone if they're pregnant until I'm absolutely certain).
Why does this matter? It ties into a point I've mentioned many times before. A sense of accomplishment is really important to staying on a diet, and after that first big burst of weight loss (the water weight as people usually call it) it can feel like you're plateauing very quickly. Early on, of course, your friends and family are hopefully supportive and complimentary. In some ways though, their compliments and observations mean less than those of strangers.
If my sister or cube-mate at work tell me they think I'm losing weight, well I've told them I'm dieting, and they're nice people so of course they're going to say something nice. When the person in the elevator who I see for 60 seconds a day tells me that I'm losing weight, well they barely know me from Adam. If they think I'm losing weight then it must be true. Yet at the point that we need that kind of encouragement most, those strangers aren't very likely to mention it at all.
Personally, as much as I look forward to my weigh-ins, I can't imagine someone getting a real sense of accomplishment from a scale alone. It's those compliments that provide the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. So to everyone who complimented my sweater today (and to the one gay friend who complimented my butt), thanks!
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk again (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), granola bar and a couple tootsie rolls as snacks (150 calories), penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise was a walk at lunch and a trip to the gym after work (100 and 661 calories respectively).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 761
Points Earned: 1711
Total Points Earned: 82906
Points to go: 117094
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Day 62
60K to 80K took about 15 days, but that included one horrendously awful scoring day featuring a pair of holiday events. None the less I seem to mostly be maintaining the average.
Weigh-in result: 236.4 lbs.
Over the last 20,000 points I've really started to feel like I'm accomplishing something. 4 years ago or so I was at 299 pounds and lost a lot of weight. The lowest I ever got after starting that process was down to about 239. So I have now crossed an important threshold in my head. Even more importantly some of the crazier weight loss goals I've had seem doable. However, we're not even close to done yet. 120,000 calories still to go.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), PB&J sandwich (500 calories), granola bar as a snack (80 calories), and dinner was grilled chicken, noodles and green beans (900 calories). I am cheating a bit tonight by having a piece of leftover birthday cake (500 calories is probably high, but we're going to call it that anyway). Exercise was a walk at lunch (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2280
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 820
Total Points Earned: 81195
Points to go: 118805
Weigh-in result: 236.4 lbs.
Over the last 20,000 points I've really started to feel like I'm accomplishing something. 4 years ago or so I was at 299 pounds and lost a lot of weight. The lowest I ever got after starting that process was down to about 239. So I have now crossed an important threshold in my head. Even more importantly some of the crazier weight loss goals I've had seem doable. However, we're not even close to done yet. 120,000 calories still to go.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), PB&J sandwich (500 calories), granola bar as a snack (80 calories), and dinner was grilled chicken, noodles and green beans (900 calories). I am cheating a bit tonight by having a piece of leftover birthday cake (500 calories is probably high, but we're going to call it that anyway). Exercise was a walk at lunch (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2280
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 820
Total Points Earned: 81195
Points to go: 118805
Monday, December 19, 2011
Day 61
So my sister pointed out that I tend to point out the people in my life who serve as an obstacle to my diet, but don't recognize people (often the same people) who also serve as facilitators. Partly that's due to the fact that individual people are often involved in whatever challenging event comes up for a day, but the support that gets me through the challenge is often more generalized. None the less, it's wrong not to acknowledge all the support I get. So here's a quick list of some of the people I have to thank for all the help:
Erin - my sister's been mentioned a lot as a challenge (and she is, in more ways than one), but she's been one of the strongest supporters of this plan since day 1. She's been there with encouragement, menu ideas, and a variety of other contributions. Plus for Christmas she and her husband got me new fancy running gear.
My parents - my Mom can seem a little nit-picky at times, but she's been through a number of unsuccessful diet plans in the past and offers advice based on her experience. My Dad's just been supportive across the board, and is always ready to listen to me rant on about the process, while making some clever suggestions of his own.
My roommates - First Mike, then Kevin, have both been polite enough to listen to me talk on and on about the diet. Plus Kevin in particular hasn't gone crazy and started to order junk food just to mess with me, and that takes more self-control than I'd have in the same situation.
My co-workers - particularly Anthony, Peter, Vilay, Alison and Beth. Anthony and Peter stepped in front of me and took the doughnut bullet for me a few days ago. Everybody got together and gave me one of my favorite awards I've gotten at work (the Resisting Temptation award). Beth's just been stuck listening to me talk about how much I miss junk food. Sarah and Carlye both get honorable mentions for listening, but slide down the list because they keep bringing in home-made cookies.
My friends - another group of people who've listened to me go on about the junk food I miss, and have been surprisingly supportive despite our usual habits of mercilessly mocking each other.
Nancy and Carolann - two Team Challenge teammates who are out there on Sundays with me running in sometimes very cold weather.
Facebook friends and family - everybody online, who all are incredibly supportive and seem to think it's awesome that I'm doing this. Plus the bonus with all of them is that they all see me rarely (if at all), so when they do see me the first word's out of everyone's mouths are, "oh my god you look great!"
So that's a selection of people that I'd like to thank for all the support you've given. I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of now, but for the moment I'd like to say that I wouldn't have been able to finish two weeks of this diet, let alone two months, without all of you.
Today I passed 80,000 points so tomorrow's the new weigh-in. Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), a granola bar and half a x-mas cookie (150 calories), penne, sauce and garlic toast (1000 calories). Exercise was a lunch-time walk (100 calories) and 45 minutes at the gym (669 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950
Exercise: 769
Points Earned: 1819
Total Points Earned: 80375
Points to go: 119625
Erin - my sister's been mentioned a lot as a challenge (and she is, in more ways than one), but she's been one of the strongest supporters of this plan since day 1. She's been there with encouragement, menu ideas, and a variety of other contributions. Plus for Christmas she and her husband got me new fancy running gear.
My parents - my Mom can seem a little nit-picky at times, but she's been through a number of unsuccessful diet plans in the past and offers advice based on her experience. My Dad's just been supportive across the board, and is always ready to listen to me rant on about the process, while making some clever suggestions of his own.
My roommates - First Mike, then Kevin, have both been polite enough to listen to me talk on and on about the diet. Plus Kevin in particular hasn't gone crazy and started to order junk food just to mess with me, and that takes more self-control than I'd have in the same situation.
My co-workers - particularly Anthony, Peter, Vilay, Alison and Beth. Anthony and Peter stepped in front of me and took the doughnut bullet for me a few days ago. Everybody got together and gave me one of my favorite awards I've gotten at work (the Resisting Temptation award). Beth's just been stuck listening to me talk about how much I miss junk food. Sarah and Carlye both get honorable mentions for listening, but slide down the list because they keep bringing in home-made cookies.
My friends - another group of people who've listened to me go on about the junk food I miss, and have been surprisingly supportive despite our usual habits of mercilessly mocking each other.
Nancy and Carolann - two Team Challenge teammates who are out there on Sundays with me running in sometimes very cold weather.
Facebook friends and family - everybody online, who all are incredibly supportive and seem to think it's awesome that I'm doing this. Plus the bonus with all of them is that they all see me rarely (if at all), so when they do see me the first word's out of everyone's mouths are, "oh my god you look great!"
So that's a selection of people that I'd like to thank for all the support you've given. I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of now, but for the moment I'd like to say that I wouldn't have been able to finish two weeks of this diet, let alone two months, without all of you.
Today I passed 80,000 points so tomorrow's the new weigh-in. Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), a granola bar and half a x-mas cookie (150 calories), penne, sauce and garlic toast (1000 calories). Exercise was a lunch-time walk (100 calories) and 45 minutes at the gym (669 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950
Exercise: 769
Points Earned: 1819
Total Points Earned: 80375
Points to go: 119625
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Day 60
It's a big problem when two separate Christmas traditions involving massive amounts of food happen to fall on the same day. For years family friends have had a Christmas brunch one or two weeks before Christmas. It's a great day to see people who I usually only see once or twice a year (this year I was looking forward to it even more because I've lost a lot of weight since they saw me). But it means multiple plate-loads of french toast, eggs, sausage and home-fries. I limited myself a bit, cutting back on the volume of food a bit, cutting down the syrup and spacing out my servings. Even so, I had two and a half plate-loads of food.
By itself that would have been bad, but if I had a small dinner it wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately my family had a family Christmas dinner today, as my sister and brother-in-law won't be in town for a holiday. That meant some prime rib, mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner. Then a little cake and ice cream for dessert. I did get some exercise today, but this amount of food is pretty much the exact definition of what I need to avoid for the diet to work.
On the plus side I'm actually a little bit too full. I think that's a sign that maybe my body is getting used to the reduced volume of food. If that actually keeps up, I might have the ability to maintain a lower calorie intake, even after the diet officially ends.
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk before going running (needed the protein, 300 calories), the brunch described above (I'm calling it 1200 calories). Christmas dinner (1000 calories), with cake and ice cream (500 calories). Exercise was 2.5 miles of outdoor walking and running, plus taking my sister's dog for a walk after the brunch (total of 350 calories of exercise).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 3000
Exercise: 350
Points Earned: 350
Total Points Earned: 78556
Points to go: 121444
By itself that would have been bad, but if I had a small dinner it wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately my family had a family Christmas dinner today, as my sister and brother-in-law won't be in town for a holiday. That meant some prime rib, mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner. Then a little cake and ice cream for dessert. I did get some exercise today, but this amount of food is pretty much the exact definition of what I need to avoid for the diet to work.
On the plus side I'm actually a little bit too full. I think that's a sign that maybe my body is getting used to the reduced volume of food. If that actually keeps up, I might have the ability to maintain a lower calorie intake, even after the diet officially ends.
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk before going running (needed the protein, 300 calories), the brunch described above (I'm calling it 1200 calories). Christmas dinner (1000 calories), with cake and ice cream (500 calories). Exercise was 2.5 miles of outdoor walking and running, plus taking my sister's dog for a walk after the brunch (total of 350 calories of exercise).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 3000
Exercise: 350
Points Earned: 350
Total Points Earned: 78556
Points to go: 121444
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Day 59
The first day of X-mas parties. So this weekend, I had one X-mas party tonight (technically two but could only go to one), and two X-mas events tomorrow (a brunch and dinner). I was pretty much expecting to overeat on junk food and have done so, so far. Tomorrow though is going to be the worst. A great brunch (sausage, eggs, french toast, home fries etc) in the morning, and a Christmas dinner. Because of that, exercise wasn't optional today or tomorrow.
Today though ended up being lighter on food than I otherwise expected. I had my usual breakfast before going to the gym, but had it late enough in the day that I wasn't expecting to need a lunch. Then I went to the movies in the afternoon but didn't get a snack there. Then had the party tonight, but primarily grazed on some junk food (cookies and chips). In the end however I never actually made a lunch or a dinner. I'm pretty sure it was a mistake to do this, and it's one I'm not going to even have the luxury to do tomorrow, but for one day it shouldn't make a difference.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk and an extra slice of cheese (350 calories), no lunch or dinner, and then snacks including some cookies, chips, peanuts and cheese (1200 calories). Exercise was 45 minutes of running on the treadmill (659 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1550
Exercise: 659
Points Earned: 2109
Total Points Earned: 78206
Points to go: 121794
Today though ended up being lighter on food than I otherwise expected. I had my usual breakfast before going to the gym, but had it late enough in the day that I wasn't expecting to need a lunch. Then I went to the movies in the afternoon but didn't get a snack there. Then had the party tonight, but primarily grazed on some junk food (cookies and chips). In the end however I never actually made a lunch or a dinner. I'm pretty sure it was a mistake to do this, and it's one I'm not going to even have the luxury to do tomorrow, but for one day it shouldn't make a difference.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk and an extra slice of cheese (350 calories), no lunch or dinner, and then snacks including some cookies, chips, peanuts and cheese (1200 calories). Exercise was 45 minutes of running on the treadmill (659 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1550
Exercise: 659
Points Earned: 2109
Total Points Earned: 78206
Points to go: 121794
Day 58
So I read somewhere that of the major diet plans (Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc) Weight Watchers has the highest success rate. However the success rate quoted was only 3%. So of all the people who start Weight Watchers, only three percent hit their target weights and then keep the weight off. For the other programs the success rate is even worse.
What I wonder about with this is actually the question of what constitutes a success. If success is hitting a target weight and then maintaining it indefinitely it seems like most people would be doomed to failure since simple changes in eating habits could mess up the weight target, particularly for people only looking to lose a little weight. As I've proven, it can take much less than you might think to gain or lose 10 pounds.
So if we don't measure success by weight, what else do we measure it by? For my Challenge here, it's been calories saved, but that could be reasonably meaningless, and wouldn't work for anyone. Is success a lower cholesterol or blood pressure? Could it be having the ability to consistently run for an hour on the treadmill?
I'm not really sure, particularly in relation to the success rates mentioned above. That failure rate isn't just people who never reach their target weight. It's also people who hit it and then go back up. So what constitutes long-term success. My challenge is specifically targeted at a 9 month or less interval. After those 9 months are up, what do I do then? I hope to be healthier of course, but I could easily see myself falling back into old habits. If I do though, am I a failure, or something else?
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), peanuts and a Christmas cookie (250 calories), and four slices of cheese pizza for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise was the walk around downtown (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 76097
Points to go: 123903
What I wonder about with this is actually the question of what constitutes a success. If success is hitting a target weight and then maintaining it indefinitely it seems like most people would be doomed to failure since simple changes in eating habits could mess up the weight target, particularly for people only looking to lose a little weight. As I've proven, it can take much less than you might think to gain or lose 10 pounds.
So if we don't measure success by weight, what else do we measure it by? For my Challenge here, it's been calories saved, but that could be reasonably meaningless, and wouldn't work for anyone. Is success a lower cholesterol or blood pressure? Could it be having the ability to consistently run for an hour on the treadmill?
I'm not really sure, particularly in relation to the success rates mentioned above. That failure rate isn't just people who never reach their target weight. It's also people who hit it and then go back up. So what constitutes long-term success. My challenge is specifically targeted at a 9 month or less interval. After those 9 months are up, what do I do then? I hope to be healthier of course, but I could easily see myself falling back into old habits. If I do though, am I a failure, or something else?
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), peanuts and a Christmas cookie (250 calories), and four slices of cheese pizza for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise was the walk around downtown (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 76097
Points to go: 123903
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Day 57
Another fairly standard day. One nice thing I noticed today was that I'm actually able to run up a couple flights of stairs without getting winded. A few months ago, just walking from the 2nd floor to the 4th floor at work would leave me breathing heavily. Now I'm able to jog up them with only minimal exertion. It's a nice feeling.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), PB&J sandwich (600 calories), peanuts as a snack (150 calories), and steak, noodles and green beans (1000 calories). Exercise was the usual lunchtime walk (100 calories)
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 75047
Points to go: 124953
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), PB&J sandwich (600 calories), peanuts as a snack (150 calories), and steak, noodles and green beans (1000 calories). Exercise was the usual lunchtime walk (100 calories)
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 75047
Points to go: 124953
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Day 56
So as the game plays out I keep setting myself some non-calorie/non-weight related mid and long range goals for this diet. I've thought of a few, but I'd love to hear any other suggestions people might have. Here's a couple I've thought of:
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast (300 calories), turkey sandwich for lunch (500 calories), snack was a cup of diced pears and a few peanuts here and there (100 calories), dinner was grilled sockeye salmon with whole wheat noodles and green beans (1000 calories).
Exercise was the traditional walk at lunch, and 45 minutes on the treadmill (100 and 656 calories respectively).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900
Exercise: 756
Points Earned: 1856
Total Points Earned: 73997
Points to go: 126003
- When my half-marathon training begins again in February I'd like to be able to keep up with the runners, for at least the first couple training sessions.
- When I walk into a gathering with people who haven't seen me since before the diet started (at least 3 different X-mas events as an example), I want them to say "oh my god Seth, you've lost so much weight!"
- I'd like to fit into a couple different shirts I have that became too tight after washing.
- When I go to the doctor for a physical in the next couple months, I want him to actually be impressed that I finally listened to him.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast (300 calories), turkey sandwich for lunch (500 calories), snack was a cup of diced pears and a few peanuts here and there (100 calories), dinner was grilled sockeye salmon with whole wheat noodles and green beans (1000 calories).
Exercise was the traditional walk at lunch, and 45 minutes on the treadmill (100 and 656 calories respectively).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900
Exercise: 756
Points Earned: 1856
Total Points Earned: 73997
Points to go: 126003
Day 55
So I won an award from my co-workers on resisting temptation today. Someone came in with donuts and was walking around offering them to everyone. Needless to say having donuts right under my nose was not something that makes sticking to a diet easy. Luckily my friends jokingly stepped between me and those delicious high calorie bullets.
Otherwise it was a pretty routine day. Food today: egg and cheese sandwich (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), two small Christmas cookies (100 calories), and lasagna with garlic toast (1000 calories). Exercise was the usual walk around downtown (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1200
Total Points Earned: 72141
Points to go: 127859
Otherwise it was a pretty routine day. Food today: egg and cheese sandwich (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), two small Christmas cookies (100 calories), and lasagna with garlic toast (1000 calories). Exercise was the usual walk around downtown (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1200
Total Points Earned: 72141
Points to go: 127859
Monday, December 12, 2011
Day 54
Today was the first of what I assume are going to be many horrifically tempting days. First were the repeated Facebook posts from my sister's weekend of Christmas cookie baking attempts (including pictures of course). Then people brought some Christmas cookies into work. Others have been talking about bringing in other stuff as well. So of course, I had to have a couple cookies. I could justify it by arguing that I was going to the gym later, but it still ended up being unnecessary calories.
I'm not sure I really see a solution either. Some of the other challenges tend to be either easily avoidable (not ordering pizza or going to 5 guys), others are difficult to avoid but rare (going out to dinner with family or friends). Something like this is a lot harder both because it's right there in front of me, and because I can talk my way into "just cheating a bit." If I don't keep some measure of control though, a bit can easily become a lot. I think I'm going to have to play it by ear. Once the holidays are done, things should get a bit easier. Then we'll see where I am.
Food: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), snacks were several cookies and some peanuts (250 calories) and dinner was grilled pork loin with noodles and baked beans (1100 calories). Exercise was a walk at lunch (100 calories) and 35 minutes at the gym (ending up twisting my ankle a bit so I cut it short, 511 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2150
Exercise: 611
Points Earned: 1461
Total Points Earned: 70941
Points to go: 129059
I'm not sure I really see a solution either. Some of the other challenges tend to be either easily avoidable (not ordering pizza or going to 5 guys), others are difficult to avoid but rare (going out to dinner with family or friends). Something like this is a lot harder both because it's right there in front of me, and because I can talk my way into "just cheating a bit." If I don't keep some measure of control though, a bit can easily become a lot. I think I'm going to have to play it by ear. Once the holidays are done, things should get a bit easier. Then we'll see where I am.
Food: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), snacks were several cookies and some peanuts (250 calories) and dinner was grilled pork loin with noodles and baked beans (1100 calories). Exercise was a walk at lunch (100 calories) and 35 minutes at the gym (ending up twisting my ankle a bit so I cut it short, 511 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2150
Exercise: 611
Points Earned: 1461
Total Points Earned: 70941
Points to go: 129059
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Day 53
So far, this winter has been kind of warm. As a result it has been a lot easier to get exercise, since I don't have the cold chasing me inside. Unfortunately that may not stick for long. I went running this morning, and it was cold enough that I had to seriously consider additional layers. Running (or any other exercise of course) tends to warm you up a bit, so in the end I was reasonably comfortable today. The next time, who knows. I'm going to have to avoid letting the weather prevent me from exercising (it's too cold, I don't want to go to the gym, let's just head home).
Kept on target for another day. Food was a breakfast sandwich with an extra piece of cheese (350 calories), a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch (600 calories) and lasagna and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Snack for the day was just a few peanuts (50 calories). Exercise was 3 miles or so of running outdoors (I'm calling it 400 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2000
Exercise: 400
Points Earned: 1400
Total Points Earned: 69480
Points to go: 130520
Kept on target for another day. Food was a breakfast sandwich with an extra piece of cheese (350 calories), a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch (600 calories) and lasagna and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Snack for the day was just a few peanuts (50 calories). Exercise was 3 miles or so of running outdoors (I'm calling it 400 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2000
Exercise: 400
Points Earned: 1400
Total Points Earned: 69480
Points to go: 130520
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Day 52
Relatively uneventful day. Hung out with friends, but no one had really brought any snacks so there was no challenge there. Went to work in the morning but got done early enough that I wasn't tempted to cheat on the diet, nor did I feel a need to look around for snacks. If everyday could be like today this process would be a lot easier.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich and milk (300 calories), peanut butter sandwich with milk for lunch (600 calories total), snacks were occasional peanuts during the day (50 calories) and dinner was lasagna and garlic toast again (1000 calories). No actual recordable exercise today.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 68080
Points to go: 131920
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich and milk (300 calories), peanut butter sandwich with milk for lunch (600 calories total), snacks were occasional peanuts during the day (50 calories) and dinner was lasagna and garlic toast again (1000 calories). No actual recordable exercise today.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 68080
Points to go: 131920
Friday, December 9, 2011
Day 51
I powered down my computer, and went to bed a bit early, as I have to work in the morning. Then it hit me...crap I haven't made my post for the day. Not that it would really matter that much. I could probably have just posted in the morning (I think I did that once or twice already), but the daily post is becoming a ritual.
If I've learned anything from this process it's that rituals are a big help when it comes to the diet (just like they're a big danger when the diet starts). Having a diet ritual, whether it's the food you eat, the record you keep of it, or the exercise you do with it, helps keep you focused on the diet. It also helps you to keep thinking about the diet without obsessing over it. It's too easy to obsess over every tiny detail (did the mini-gingerbread cookie today add to many calories? oh god). Like with my weigh-in philosophy I'm trying to focus on the bigger picture, the general patterns of how I eat and how I exercise. This blog really helps me to track that.
Does that mean I don't obsess over the foods I eat, or wonder if I've lost weight in the last two days? Of course not, I'm only human and obsessing over that sort of stuff is natural. But posting here helps keep it focused on the long-term goal rather than the daily minutiae. Weird that a daily blog keeps me focused on the long-term, but it works for me, so who am I to question it.
Food today: breakfast sandwich with a little extra cheese (350 calories), turkey sandwich at lunch (500 calories), some min-gingerbread cookies and a fiber bar for snack (200 calories) and lasagna and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise was a walk around downtown again (100 calories)
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 67030
Points to go: 132970
If I've learned anything from this process it's that rituals are a big help when it comes to the diet (just like they're a big danger when the diet starts). Having a diet ritual, whether it's the food you eat, the record you keep of it, or the exercise you do with it, helps keep you focused on the diet. It also helps you to keep thinking about the diet without obsessing over it. It's too easy to obsess over every tiny detail (did the mini-gingerbread cookie today add to many calories? oh god). Like with my weigh-in philosophy I'm trying to focus on the bigger picture, the general patterns of how I eat and how I exercise. This blog really helps me to track that.
Does that mean I don't obsess over the foods I eat, or wonder if I've lost weight in the last two days? Of course not, I'm only human and obsessing over that sort of stuff is natural. But posting here helps keep it focused on the long-term goal rather than the daily minutiae. Weird that a daily blog keeps me focused on the long-term, but it works for me, so who am I to question it.
Food today: breakfast sandwich with a little extra cheese (350 calories), turkey sandwich at lunch (500 calories), some min-gingerbread cookies and a fiber bar for snack (200 calories) and lasagna and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise was a walk around downtown again (100 calories)
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 67030
Points to go: 132970
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Day 50
It's hard to believe that I'm 50 days into the diet. Every time I hit one of the round numbers, whether days or points accrued, it surprises me how successful I've been. It also hits me how much farther I have to go. Honestly if you'd told me I'd have 65,000 points accrued by this point in the diet I would have scoffed. As crazy as it seemed 50 days ago, I think there's a real chance I'm going to actually get to 200K.
So today I made a lasagna. The most dangerous part of any meal like this one, which involves multiple stages and components is the risk of eating some of those components in the process. My calorie estimates for the several meals I'm making out of this lasagna come from the total calories of the components as a whole, divided by the percentage of the lasagna I eat. So even though today I ate some of the ground beef and cheese separately, the calories ended up included in the total count for the lasagna as a whole. I've divided it into 8 pieces, and the whole lasagna has approximately 5600 calories.
Breakfast was an egg and cheese sandwich (300 calories). Lunch was PB&J (600 calories). Dinner was lasagna with garlic toast (I'm rounding up to 1000 calories total). Snacks were just a few random peanuts (50 calories). Exercise today was 45 minutes on the treadmill again (651 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950
Exercise: 651
Points Earned: 1701
Total Points Earned: 65980
Points to go: 134020
So today I made a lasagna. The most dangerous part of any meal like this one, which involves multiple stages and components is the risk of eating some of those components in the process. My calorie estimates for the several meals I'm making out of this lasagna come from the total calories of the components as a whole, divided by the percentage of the lasagna I eat. So even though today I ate some of the ground beef and cheese separately, the calories ended up included in the total count for the lasagna as a whole. I've divided it into 8 pieces, and the whole lasagna has approximately 5600 calories.
Breakfast was an egg and cheese sandwich (300 calories). Lunch was PB&J (600 calories). Dinner was lasagna with garlic toast (I'm rounding up to 1000 calories total). Snacks were just a few random peanuts (50 calories). Exercise today was 45 minutes on the treadmill again (651 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950
Exercise: 651
Points Earned: 1701
Total Points Earned: 65980
Points to go: 134020
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Day 49
One thing I have noticed since the diet began is that I tend to eat when I'm bored. Even more I get hungry when I'm bored. If I've got an interesting case at work, or a fun game to play at home, or even just a good book to read, I can go hours without noticing that I'm hungry. In some instances I've gone a whole Saturday without thinking about food.
However, give me a boring case, or a repetitive task and then all bets are off. Yesterday I got hungry by 9:30, then ate my lunch by 10:30. Today, I was actually surprised when lunch actually rolled around. I hadn't even thought about food until then. There was no real difference between my two breakfasts, but just by having something else to turn my attention to, I didn't get hungry. It may not help me control my diet, after all I can't force myself to have fun, but it does point to a challenge I have to remember in the future.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), pasta, sauce and garlic toast (900 calories). Snack was a fiber bar and some peanuts (150 calories). Yes this is a boring diet, and yeah there are a thousand great recipes out there to try, but I like it and it's easy so I'm sticking by it. Exercise was a lunch time walk (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1850
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1250
Total Points Earned: 64279
Points to go: 135721
However, give me a boring case, or a repetitive task and then all bets are off. Yesterday I got hungry by 9:30, then ate my lunch by 10:30. Today, I was actually surprised when lunch actually rolled around. I hadn't even thought about food until then. There was no real difference between my two breakfasts, but just by having something else to turn my attention to, I didn't get hungry. It may not help me control my diet, after all I can't force myself to have fun, but it does point to a challenge I have to remember in the future.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), pasta, sauce and garlic toast (900 calories). Snack was a fiber bar and some peanuts (150 calories). Yes this is a boring diet, and yeah there are a thousand great recipes out there to try, but I like it and it's easy so I'm sticking by it. Exercise was a lunch time walk (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1850
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1250
Total Points Earned: 64279
Points to go: 135721
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Day 48
Just a fairly standard day today. No major challenges, no major cravings and most of the day went by without me getting too hungry. All in all, if every day was like today this challenge wouldn't really be that hard.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with lemonade (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), fiber bar with some peanuts (150 calories), steak, noodles and green beans for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise today was a lunchtime walk (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 63029
Points to go: 136971
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with lemonade (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), fiber bar with some peanuts (150 calories), steak, noodles and green beans for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise today was a lunchtime walk (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1050
Total Points Earned: 63029
Points to go: 136971
Monday, December 5, 2011
Day 47
Well it took about 14 days to get from 40K to 60K, which is a really nice average. If I keep this up through the whole diet I'm going to be done a lot faster than I thought.
Weigh-in result: 242.0 lbs.
The third 20,000 points saw a weight loss of 5 lbs even. One thing that is interesting about that is the general sense I had that my weight loss was slowing down. However, when it came time to measure the actual weight I still seem to have averaged one pound per 4000 points. Not sure what that means exactly, but it's kind of interesting.
Today was fairly routine except for one minor incident. My gym has a pizza party of sorts on the first Monday of every month. Nothing makes it harder to stick to a diet than getting off the treadmill and seeing pizza just sitting there, begging to be eaten. Probably wouldn't have been a big deal, both because I had just done 45 minutes of running, plus hadn't eaten dinner yet, but I'm saving up a night of junk food for a couple more weeks if I can.
Food today: usual breakfast and lunch, egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories). Snack today was a fiber bar and a few peanuts (150 calories). Dinner ended up being pasta, sauce and garlic toast again (1000 calories). I forgot to defrost anything else, and that was both the simplest meal, and the hardest to screw up, from what I had remaining.
Exercise was a lunch-time walk (100 calories), and 45 minutes on the treadmill for 3.5 miles (679 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950
Exercise: 779
Points Earned: 1829
Total Points Earned: 61979
Points to go: 138021
Weigh-in result: 242.0 lbs.
The third 20,000 points saw a weight loss of 5 lbs even. One thing that is interesting about that is the general sense I had that my weight loss was slowing down. However, when it came time to measure the actual weight I still seem to have averaged one pound per 4000 points. Not sure what that means exactly, but it's kind of interesting.
Today was fairly routine except for one minor incident. My gym has a pizza party of sorts on the first Monday of every month. Nothing makes it harder to stick to a diet than getting off the treadmill and seeing pizza just sitting there, begging to be eaten. Probably wouldn't have been a big deal, both because I had just done 45 minutes of running, plus hadn't eaten dinner yet, but I'm saving up a night of junk food for a couple more weeks if I can.
Food today: usual breakfast and lunch, egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories). Snack today was a fiber bar and a few peanuts (150 calories). Dinner ended up being pasta, sauce and garlic toast again (1000 calories). I forgot to defrost anything else, and that was both the simplest meal, and the hardest to screw up, from what I had remaining.
Exercise was a lunch-time walk (100 calories), and 45 minutes on the treadmill for 3.5 miles (679 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950
Exercise: 779
Points Earned: 1829
Total Points Earned: 61979
Points to go: 138021
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Day 46
We're 46 days in and I just crossed the 60K mark today. When I first came up for the rules I picked a 9 month time frame because I assumed it would take at least that long to complete the challenge. I knew I could get a decent number of points/day, but I assumed there would be more days where I'd cheat, or not exercise as much, etc. Now if I keep up this pace I could be finished in as few as five months. Just seems crazy.
Today wasn't a cheat-day, but in the end it turned into a rest-day at least. I was supposed to go running in the morning, but the people I was going with turned out to be busy so instead I decided to take it easy. Realistically I should have gone out for a walk at least, just to give myself a little exercise, but everyone needs to take a break occasionally.
Since tomorrow morning's going to be a weigh-in I kept my food feeling light. It doesn't work that way of course, but in my head it makes sense. Breakfast was the usual egg and cheese sandwich with a glass of lemonade (300 calories), lunch was a peanut butter sandwich and milk (600 calories), dinner was pasta, sauce and garlic toast (1000 calories). Snacks were just random peanuts grabbed at various points of the day (150 calories). No exercise.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 950
Total Points Earned: 60150
Points to go: 139850
Today wasn't a cheat-day, but in the end it turned into a rest-day at least. I was supposed to go running in the morning, but the people I was going with turned out to be busy so instead I decided to take it easy. Realistically I should have gone out for a walk at least, just to give myself a little exercise, but everyone needs to take a break occasionally.
Since tomorrow morning's going to be a weigh-in I kept my food feeling light. It doesn't work that way of course, but in my head it makes sense. Breakfast was the usual egg and cheese sandwich with a glass of lemonade (300 calories), lunch was a peanut butter sandwich and milk (600 calories), dinner was pasta, sauce and garlic toast (1000 calories). Snacks were just random peanuts grabbed at various points of the day (150 calories). No exercise.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 950
Total Points Earned: 60150
Points to go: 139850
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Day 45
I think what I miss most on this diet is the red meat. I've had a bit here and there (including a steak I made tonight), but before the diet started I probably ate red meat every two to three days. Now that average is more like every two weeks. Hamburgers, meat sauce, meat balls, lasagna, steak, steak and cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, beef topping on pizzas, and probably other meals I'm not remembering were a significant part of my food intake. Of course, I made it worse by eating too much of all of those things and combining a lot of them with large quantities of potatoes (particularly fried potatoes). Nevertheless I miss it.
Mostly I noticed it because I've had a couple pounds of frozen ground beef in my freezer I haven't touched in a month and a half. Something tells me that when I finally pull it out of there I may not want to eat it at all. It's also seems kind of crazy to go to the supermarket and not need to buy a pound or two of beef. I'm sure it's healthier, but it still seems crazy.
Food today: egg and cheese with milk for breakfast (300 calories), a grilled cheese for lunch (600 calories), half of a brownie at work, as well as some peanuts, as snacks (200 calories total), and a steak, with noodles and green beans for dinner (1000 calories)
Exercise was 45 minutes on the treadmill (657 calories), and taking my sister's dog for a walk after dinner (100 calories). So unless I really screw up tomorrow, I should be looking at crossing the 60K mark tomorrow.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2100 calories
Exercise: 757
Points Earned: 1657
Total Points Earned: 59200
Points to go: 140800
Mostly I noticed it because I've had a couple pounds of frozen ground beef in my freezer I haven't touched in a month and a half. Something tells me that when I finally pull it out of there I may not want to eat it at all. It's also seems kind of crazy to go to the supermarket and not need to buy a pound or two of beef. I'm sure it's healthier, but it still seems crazy.
Food today: egg and cheese with milk for breakfast (300 calories), a grilled cheese for lunch (600 calories), half of a brownie at work, as well as some peanuts, as snacks (200 calories total), and a steak, with noodles and green beans for dinner (1000 calories)
Exercise was 45 minutes on the treadmill (657 calories), and taking my sister's dog for a walk after dinner (100 calories). So unless I really screw up tomorrow, I should be looking at crossing the 60K mark tomorrow.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2100 calories
Exercise: 757
Points Earned: 1657
Total Points Earned: 59200
Points to go: 140800
Friday, December 2, 2011
Day 44
Just another routine day. The only real update to my usual plan was that I tried some peanuts as a snack today. I had a little over half a cup of peanuts still in the shell (about 150 calories worth). I'm not completely convinced that they're as effective as some of the other snacks I've had but they seemed to work well enough for the day. The combination of lunch and snacks kept me from getting hungry until after 6 pm.
Peanuts were recommended in a few places as a diet snack, as they have protein and also since when they're still in the shell they require a little more effort to eat. About the only real weakness I see is that there's a surprisingly high amount of calories in a relatively small amount of peanuts. Had I not been thinking about the diet I could easily have doubled, or tripled the volume of peanuts I ate today.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), peanuts (150 calories) and pork loin with noodles and green beans (900 calories). Exercise was the walk around downtown (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1850 calories
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1250
Total Points Earned: 57543
Points to go: 142457
Peanuts were recommended in a few places as a diet snack, as they have protein and also since when they're still in the shell they require a little more effort to eat. About the only real weakness I see is that there's a surprisingly high amount of calories in a relatively small amount of peanuts. Had I not been thinking about the diet I could easily have doubled, or tripled the volume of peanuts I ate today.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), peanuts (150 calories) and pork loin with noodles and green beans (900 calories). Exercise was the walk around downtown (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1850 calories
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1250
Total Points Earned: 57543
Points to go: 142457
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Day 43
Following up a low point day with a high point day always makes the goal seem a little more achievable. One consequence of eating extra food yesterday was that I simply didn't get as hungry as the day wore on today. That's not in any way a recipe for long term success, but I'm hoping that it is a sign that my general appetite might be decreasing. I did end up having a cookie today from a bake sale at work, but that had more to do with a sugar craving than hunger.
I've started doing a bit of strength training, using some free weights my old roommate left here as well as some other exercises recommended by an exercise book. I don't have any real way to estimate the calories, and for the moment it's still limited training so I'm not factoring it into my daily points. What I did notice that is promising for it as exercise, is that I find myself breathing heavier and having a faster heart rate after doing the training. Hopefully that means it's also burning some calories.
Food today was pretty standard: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), a Christmas sugar cookie for a snack (150 calories) and penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (900 calories). Exercise was 45 minutes on the treadmill for 3.5 miles (633 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1850 calories
Exercise: 633
Points Earned: 1783
Total Points Earned: 56293
Points to go: 143707
I've started doing a bit of strength training, using some free weights my old roommate left here as well as some other exercises recommended by an exercise book. I don't have any real way to estimate the calories, and for the moment it's still limited training so I'm not factoring it into my daily points. What I did notice that is promising for it as exercise, is that I find myself breathing heavier and having a faster heart rate after doing the training. Hopefully that means it's also burning some calories.
Food today was pretty standard: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), a Christmas sugar cookie for a snack (150 calories) and penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (900 calories). Exercise was 45 minutes on the treadmill for 3.5 miles (633 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1850 calories
Exercise: 633
Points Earned: 1783
Total Points Earned: 56293
Points to go: 143707
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Day 42
Another fairly straightforward day. I don't miss working at UPS for most things, but I do find myself missing the freedom that all that physical labor gave me for what I ate. Had I been smart at the time, I would have started dieting back then. Instead I ate like a pig, but mostly didn't have to worry about getting too much more than chubby.
My last job literally leashed me to a desk (to answer customer service and sales calls). My current job involves sitting and reading reports all day. Neither of them was conducive to avoiding putting on pounds, and now I'm paying the price for my previous inattention. It can be difficult on some days not run down to the cafeteria for chips, or candy, but that's the path to putting the pounds back on. I've made that comment before, and you'll probably hear it many more times before I reach my goal, no one has a magical "fat-proof" metabolism, but sometimes I wish mine burned a little bit hotter.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories) and an apple (100 calories). Dinner was out with my sister at a seafood place. Beer battered fish and chips which I'm guessing totaled around 1400 calories. It might be less than that (particularly since my sister took some of the food herself), but it doesn't hurt to guess high in this case.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2300 calories
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 800
Total Points Earned: 54510
Points to go: 145490
My last job literally leashed me to a desk (to answer customer service and sales calls). My current job involves sitting and reading reports all day. Neither of them was conducive to avoiding putting on pounds, and now I'm paying the price for my previous inattention. It can be difficult on some days not run down to the cafeteria for chips, or candy, but that's the path to putting the pounds back on. I've made that comment before, and you'll probably hear it many more times before I reach my goal, no one has a magical "fat-proof" metabolism, but sometimes I wish mine burned a little bit hotter.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories) and an apple (100 calories). Dinner was out with my sister at a seafood place. Beer battered fish and chips which I'm guessing totaled around 1400 calories. It might be less than that (particularly since my sister took some of the food herself), but it doesn't hurt to guess high in this case.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2300 calories
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 800
Total Points Earned: 54510
Points to go: 145490
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Day 41
No major challenges today, and nothing really interesting as far as these things go. I've definitely started noticing some cravings for a few of the foods I've largely cut out. The biggest of these are hamburgers (or ground beef in general) and french fries. I'm not going to break down and go to 5 Guys yet, or even make a meat sauce. I might consider making a lasagna though, and break it out into enough pieces to sort of be healthy while addressing some of the craving.
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), snacks were an apple and some chocolate (150 calories), and dinner was grilled chicken with rice and green beans (900 calories). Exercise was the usual walk around downtown Providence (100 calories spent).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1850 calories
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1250
Total Points Earned: 53710
Points to go: 146290
Food today: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), snacks were an apple and some chocolate (150 calories), and dinner was grilled chicken with rice and green beans (900 calories). Exercise was the usual walk around downtown Providence (100 calories spent).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1850 calories
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1250
Total Points Earned: 53710
Points to go: 146290
Monday, November 28, 2011
Day 40
For exercise I've been primarily doing either runs on the treadmill, running out in the real world or walks. I work in a little bit of weights and biking on occasion, but my primary exercise has been running. Someone today recommended yoga which I'll admit sounded a little weird. Other folks have mentioned snow-shoeing, significant weight training, as well as some of the concentrated exercise plans.
On the plus side I've definitely noticed my endurance with running going up. Both my length of time running, and the speed at which I can run has gone up (at least on the treadmill). However I have found myself wondering if I should try something different. Anyone know what kind of exercise might be interesting to give a shot at?
Today's food: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), an apple as snack (100 calories), and pasta, sauce and garlic toast (1000 calories). Exercise today was the treadmill for 45 minutes (635 calories burned).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2000 calories
Exercise: 635
Points Earned: 1635
Total Points Earned: 52460
Points to go: 147540
On the plus side I've definitely noticed my endurance with running going up. Both my length of time running, and the speed at which I can run has gone up (at least on the treadmill). However I have found myself wondering if I should try something different. Anyone know what kind of exercise might be interesting to give a shot at?
Today's food: egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), an apple as snack (100 calories), and pasta, sauce and garlic toast (1000 calories). Exercise today was the treadmill for 45 minutes (635 calories burned).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2000 calories
Exercise: 635
Points Earned: 1635
Total Points Earned: 52460
Points to go: 147540
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Day 39
I'm 39 days into the challenge, and so far I haven't broken the diet yet. I normally fall off the diet within two weeks, maybe a month if I'm really committed to the process. So far I've also only had two days that I'd actually classify as "bad" days and that was the two Thanksgivings. Primarily I credit the blog, the need to post something every day just serves as a reminder. So I want to thank everyone who's read this. I literally would not have been able to do this without out all of you (of course without you I'd be back to eating 5 guys every few days...boy I miss that).
Since I was trying to get back on track, and cross the 50K threshold I kept things reasonably sensible today. Egg and cheese sandwich at breakfast (300 calories), I was planning an early dinner so lunch became some odds and ends (a slice of turkey, a slice of cheese, some peanut butter) rather than an actual meal (250 calories). Dinner was salmon, noodles and green beans (900 calories). Then in the evening I had an english muffin with some butter as a snack (100 calories).
In the morning I ran 3.25 miles in 45 minutes (calling it 400 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1550 calories
Exercise: 400
Points Earned: 1850
Total Points Earned: 50825
Points to go: 149175
Since I was trying to get back on track, and cross the 50K threshold I kept things reasonably sensible today. Egg and cheese sandwich at breakfast (300 calories), I was planning an early dinner so lunch became some odds and ends (a slice of turkey, a slice of cheese, some peanut butter) rather than an actual meal (250 calories). Dinner was salmon, noodles and green beans (900 calories). Then in the evening I had an english muffin with some butter as a snack (100 calories).
In the morning I ran 3.25 miles in 45 minutes (calling it 400 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1550 calories
Exercise: 400
Points Earned: 1850
Total Points Earned: 50825
Points to go: 149175
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Day 38, or 2nd Thanksgiving
I knew Thanksgiving was going to be dangerous, and in part it's because in my family you don't just have one Thanksgiving, you have two. First Thanksgiving is on the day itself. It's a huge family function at my aunt and uncle's with anywhere from 30 to 50 people showing up. But my mother also likes to cook a turkey at this time of year, and thus was born Second Thanksgiving. All the same foods, and desserts, either the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving, though with only a small group. I was able to draw the line again, though I suspect I did a little worse in some areas, and a little better in others.
Both breakfast and lunch were egg and cheese sandwiches (total of 600 calories), as I had to work today in the morning. Dinner was turkey, mashed potatoes and rolls (1100 calories). Dessert was another piece of chocolate cream pie (500 calories). I also had a few other bits and pieces of snacks (total of about 50 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2250 calories
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 750
Total Points Earned: 48975
Points to go: 151025
Both breakfast and lunch were egg and cheese sandwiches (total of 600 calories), as I had to work today in the morning. Dinner was turkey, mashed potatoes and rolls (1100 calories). Dessert was another piece of chocolate cream pie (500 calories). I also had a few other bits and pieces of snacks (total of about 50 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2250 calories
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 750
Total Points Earned: 48975
Points to go: 151025
Friday, November 25, 2011
Day 37
So the last two days have given me some of the clearest evidence that this diet is working. It isn't time to weigh myself yet, but that's less of a concern anyway. Yesterday I pulled out a dress shirt that I hadn't worn in a while. Even when I bought it, it was a little tight, but before the diet I didn't even bother trying. Yesterday I tried it on (more because I hadn't done some laundry and needed something nicer for Thanksgiving) and not only did it fit, but it was actually a little loose. Today I threw on a t-shirt I was given after last year's half-marathon which had been tight then. Now, it's not fitting great yet, but it's wearable.
One of the toughest parts of the diet is noticing the changes as they happen. Friends and family who don't see me on a regular basis will generally notice the change, but for myself I'm just not seeing it. If my gut gets a little smaller, how would I even tell. If my face is less round then it was before the diet then I just continue to see my face. Since the changes are small from one day to the next, it sometimes feels like nothing's happening.
Of course that works in the opposite direction as well. I've had a gut ever since high school. Through college and then while working at UPS, I was always able to keep active enough to keep it from exploding. Then I left UPS and started working office and sales jobs, but my eating habits didn't change. I was getting bigger, but not noticing simply because the change didn't happen overnight. I had a gut, of course I did, it's always been like this.
As painful as it can be sometimes, it's those changing sizes on clothing that can be a real help in seeing some progress on the diet, as well as to give you a warning when you might be gaining a bit too much weight. I went from XL to XXL, and told myself it was nothing. Just wanted looser clothing, it was more comfortable. When I went from XXL to XXXL, then I finally started realizing I had a problem. Now with any luck I'll be going in the opposite direction. It's going to suck to have to pay for a new wardrobe, but it's going to be awesome to need to.
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), fiber bar and a Reese's cup for snacks (200 calories), and penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise was a walk at lunch (100 calories) and 45 minutes and 3.25 miles on the treadmill (557 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2100 calories
Exercise: 657
Points Earned: 1557
Total Points Earned: 48225
Points to go: 151775
One of the toughest parts of the diet is noticing the changes as they happen. Friends and family who don't see me on a regular basis will generally notice the change, but for myself I'm just not seeing it. If my gut gets a little smaller, how would I even tell. If my face is less round then it was before the diet then I just continue to see my face. Since the changes are small from one day to the next, it sometimes feels like nothing's happening.
Of course that works in the opposite direction as well. I've had a gut ever since high school. Through college and then while working at UPS, I was always able to keep active enough to keep it from exploding. Then I left UPS and started working office and sales jobs, but my eating habits didn't change. I was getting bigger, but not noticing simply because the change didn't happen overnight. I had a gut, of course I did, it's always been like this.
As painful as it can be sometimes, it's those changing sizes on clothing that can be a real help in seeing some progress on the diet, as well as to give you a warning when you might be gaining a bit too much weight. I went from XL to XXL, and told myself it was nothing. Just wanted looser clothing, it was more comfortable. When I went from XXL to XXXL, then I finally started realizing I had a problem. Now with any luck I'll be going in the opposite direction. It's going to suck to have to pay for a new wardrobe, but it's going to be awesome to need to.
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), fiber bar and a Reese's cup for snacks (200 calories), and penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Exercise was a walk at lunch (100 calories) and 45 minutes and 3.25 miles on the treadmill (557 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2100 calories
Exercise: 657
Points Earned: 1557
Total Points Earned: 48225
Points to go: 151775
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Day 36, or Surviving Thanksgiving
Today was Thanksgiving, a day of giving thanks, being with family, and eating until you collapse. Needless to say it could have been a bad day for me. However, much to my surprise I seem to have passed the challenge without too much trouble. Admittedly one of the big helps in terms of total food intake was simply the fact that I slept late. Holding off breakfast until 10:30 meant I wasn't grabbing another meal before the afternoon dinner. Then I had a couple servings at dinner, but avoided the worst offenders in terms of calories. My worst "cheat" of the day was having a couple small pieces of pie, but since combined those only equaled one piece of pie on a "normal" day I think I did pretty well.
Breakfast was another egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories). No lunch, but I had some crackers and cheese as snacks before dinner (call it 200 calories worth). For dinner I focused on turkey, with some mashed potatoes and a couple rolls. I did get seconds on turkey, but not on the potatoes or bread. Hard to judge the total calories but none of those items were particularly calorie intensive in the quantities eaten. I'm going to say 1000 calories for the lot, but that may actually be a bit high. Dessert was intensive though and I'm guessing about 550 calories for the pie.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050 calories
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 950
Total Points Earned: 46668
Points to go: 153332
Breakfast was another egg and cheese sandwich with milk (300 calories). No lunch, but I had some crackers and cheese as snacks before dinner (call it 200 calories worth). For dinner I focused on turkey, with some mashed potatoes and a couple rolls. I did get seconds on turkey, but not on the potatoes or bread. Hard to judge the total calories but none of those items were particularly calorie intensive in the quantities eaten. I'm going to say 1000 calories for the lot, but that may actually be a bit high. Dessert was intensive though and I'm guessing about 550 calories for the pie.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050 calories
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 950
Total Points Earned: 46668
Points to go: 153332
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Day 35
The day before Thanksgiving. I think it's obvious that tomorrow will be a bit of a challenge. Normally I don't stuff myself at dinner, but I do usually have several desserts. Not sure how tomorrow's going to go, but since I'm way ahead of my projection I can probably afford to have a bad day tomorrow. Nothing particularly interesting with the diet today. Pretty much routine.
Food today: breakfast sandwich (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), steak, noodles and green beans (1000 calories) and for snacks I had a small apple and a piece of cheese (150 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050 calories
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 950
Total Points Earned: 45718
Points to go: 154282
Food today: breakfast sandwich (300 calories), PB&J (600 calories), steak, noodles and green beans (1000 calories) and for snacks I had a small apple and a piece of cheese (150 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050 calories
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 950
Total Points Earned: 45718
Points to go: 154282
Day 34
Just a quick check in post tonight. Was hanging out with friends and let things run kind of late. Tomorrow morning's going to be painful (caffeinated soda with breakfast is a very big possibility). My only weak spot on the day was when someone brought in some sugar candies called "Fruit slices," they're objectively terrible yet for some reason I love them. The box says they're gluten free though. That means they're healthy right?
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), candy (150) and a granola bar (100) for a total of 250 calories as snacks. Penne, sauce and garlic toast for the 2nd night in a row (forgot to defrost anything; 1000 calories). Exercise was a half hour on the treadmill for 395 calories.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050 calories
Exercise: 395
Points Earned: 1345
Total Points Earned: 44768
Points to go: 155232
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), candy (150) and a granola bar (100) for a total of 250 calories as snacks. Penne, sauce and garlic toast for the 2nd night in a row (forgot to defrost anything; 1000 calories). Exercise was a half hour on the treadmill for 395 calories.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2050 calories
Exercise: 395
Points Earned: 1345
Total Points Earned: 44768
Points to go: 155232
Monday, November 21, 2011
Day 33
Over-exercising came up a couple times today. I've had a few different conversations with people about their own plans lately, and after listening to someone explain how they were cutting out a whole category of food, and exercising heavily every day I recommended against going too hardcore. That's when I realized I've been running or walking a ton 4 out of the last 6 days.
I decided to make today a rest day. My diet doesn't depend on getting exercise but those extra few hundred points help in the long term. However, I'm a little worried that if I get in the habit of working out too often I might end up getting injured. Last winter, just as I started prepping for my half-marathon, I twisted my knee. It made training much more difficult, and I'd like to avoid that if possible. Other than taking rest-days, I'm not too sure how to go about avoiding injury. Something I'll have to look into a bit more.
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk (350 calories today as I had a little extra cheese), turkey sandwich for lunch (500 calories), penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Snacks were an apple and a piece of cheese (150 calories combined). I went for my usual lunch time walk, but avoided the gym today (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2000 calories
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1100
Total Points Earned: 43423
Points to go: 156577
I decided to make today a rest day. My diet doesn't depend on getting exercise but those extra few hundred points help in the long term. However, I'm a little worried that if I get in the habit of working out too often I might end up getting injured. Last winter, just as I started prepping for my half-marathon, I twisted my knee. It made training much more difficult, and I'd like to avoid that if possible. Other than taking rest-days, I'm not too sure how to go about avoiding injury. Something I'll have to look into a bit more.
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk (350 calories today as I had a little extra cheese), turkey sandwich for lunch (500 calories), penne, sauce and garlic toast for dinner (1000 calories). Snacks were an apple and a piece of cheese (150 calories combined). I went for my usual lunch time walk, but avoided the gym today (100 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2000 calories
Exercise: 100
Points Earned: 1100
Total Points Earned: 43423
Points to go: 156577
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Day 32
A new month, and the 40K weigh in. It's been a crazy first month but so far the diet seems to be working. So onto the weigh-in first.
Weigh-in result: 247.0 lbs.
The second 20,000 points saw a weight loss of 5.2 lbs. Not as impressive as the 12.8 lbs lost in the first 20K, but we all understood that those were the easy weight that comes off at the start of a new diet. The important thing is that I'm still on track.
The only major event for today was a morning run in Brockton. I was supposed to have some running buddies, but they had to bail out. What I was proud of, was that even running by myself I was able to push and avoid turning it into just a longer walk. I ended up covering 3.5 miles in about 45 minutes (I'm calling it about 400 calories of exercise).
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk (300 calories), peanut butter sandwich and milk for lunch (700 calories), salmon, noodles and green beans for dinner (900 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900 calories
Exercise: 400
Points Earned: 1500
Total Points Earned: 42323
Points to go: 157677
Weigh-in result: 247.0 lbs.
The second 20,000 points saw a weight loss of 5.2 lbs. Not as impressive as the 12.8 lbs lost in the first 20K, but we all understood that those were the easy weight that comes off at the start of a new diet. The important thing is that I'm still on track.
The only major event for today was a morning run in Brockton. I was supposed to have some running buddies, but they had to bail out. What I was proud of, was that even running by myself I was able to push and avoid turning it into just a longer walk. I ended up covering 3.5 miles in about 45 minutes (I'm calling it about 400 calories of exercise).
Food today: breakfast sandwich and milk (300 calories), peanut butter sandwich and milk for lunch (700 calories), salmon, noodles and green beans for dinner (900 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1900 calories
Exercise: 400
Points Earned: 1500
Total Points Earned: 42323
Points to go: 157677
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Day 31
So one month is now in the books. I crossed the 40K mark today so tomorrow will be the next formal weigh in and we can see where I stand. I'll probably weigh myself both tomorrow and on Monday to see what the day-to-day shift looks like. As scary as it seems, I'm already one fifth of the way to my goal. At this rate I would complete the challenge in 5 months rather than 9.
That's probably not going to happen though. I've been good all month and haven't cheated as yet. In addition we've got Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and my birthday coming up. I'm sure on at least one of those days I'll probably go overboard, and might even get some negative points. I'm not worried about that though. This project has already started to change my behavior in some ways. With any luck those changes will stick. I'm not trying to be thin, that will probably never happen, but it would be nice not to feel "fat."
For today I was pretty light on food until the end of the day. I had a breakfast sandwich in the morning (300 calories). I was getting coffee with someone in the afternoon, so initially didn't get lunch, then didn't get any food at coffee. Instead my afternoon "meal" became snacks, with half a snickers bar (150 calories), and some whole wheat chips (150 calories). We made homemade pizza for dinner (600 calories), and while waiting for the train I cheated a little bit and got a large fry from McDonald's (500 calories).
For exercise I walked for about an hour in downtown Boston (I'm going to be stingy and call that 200 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1700 calories
Exercise: 200
Points Earned: 1500
Total Points Earned: 40823
Points to go: 159177
That's probably not going to happen though. I've been good all month and haven't cheated as yet. In addition we've got Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and my birthday coming up. I'm sure on at least one of those days I'll probably go overboard, and might even get some negative points. I'm not worried about that though. This project has already started to change my behavior in some ways. With any luck those changes will stick. I'm not trying to be thin, that will probably never happen, but it would be nice not to feel "fat."
For today I was pretty light on food until the end of the day. I had a breakfast sandwich in the morning (300 calories). I was getting coffee with someone in the afternoon, so initially didn't get lunch, then didn't get any food at coffee. Instead my afternoon "meal" became snacks, with half a snickers bar (150 calories), and some whole wheat chips (150 calories). We made homemade pizza for dinner (600 calories), and while waiting for the train I cheated a little bit and got a large fry from McDonald's (500 calories).
For exercise I walked for about an hour in downtown Boston (I'm going to be stingy and call that 200 calories).
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1700 calories
Exercise: 200
Points Earned: 1500
Total Points Earned: 40823
Points to go: 159177
Friday, November 18, 2011
Day 30
Wow, 30 days into the diet and I haven't actually cheated yet. The combination of the long term goal, prize at the end, and needing to post to the blog here about what I'm doing has kept me surprisingly on track. On most diets by this point I would have already broken down and gone to pig out somewhere.
That's not to say I haven't thought about what I'm going to do when the time comes to cheat. A Five Guy's trip, or a Pizza Hut lunch buffet trip are old standby's for going a little nuts. Thanksgiving's coming up, so maybe I'll go a little nuts on desserts. Maybe a brunch or something like that (family friends have a big one around Christmas).
What's been weird, is that despite all of these plans I haven't wanted to go out. Even last night with my mother I really hesitated to agree that going out would be something I wanted to do. While I still get cravings, I haven't responded to them. Even more, before the diet if I got hungry towards the end of the work day I'd fixate on going out to dinner. Now I might skip the gym, but I'm going home to make a reasonable meal. It's not as much fun sometimes, but if this becomes a habit I might come out of this diet with a generally healthier lifestyle. And who wants that?
Food today: breakfast sandwich again (I really like them, now that I've figured out I have time to cook in the morning) for 300 calories. Lunch was a turkey sandwich for 500 calories. For snacks I had a cup of diced pears and two tiny Toblerone bars for a total of 150 calories. Dinner was penne with sauce and garlic toast (mostly accidental as I started boiling the wrong type of pasta, and made too much for a side because of it) at 1000 calories. I went 3 miles on the treadmill for 503 calories, and a walk at lunch for 100 calories.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950 calories
Exercise: 603
Points Earned: 1653
Total Points Earned: 39323
Points to go: 160677
That's not to say I haven't thought about what I'm going to do when the time comes to cheat. A Five Guy's trip, or a Pizza Hut lunch buffet trip are old standby's for going a little nuts. Thanksgiving's coming up, so maybe I'll go a little nuts on desserts. Maybe a brunch or something like that (family friends have a big one around Christmas).
What's been weird, is that despite all of these plans I haven't wanted to go out. Even last night with my mother I really hesitated to agree that going out would be something I wanted to do. While I still get cravings, I haven't responded to them. Even more, before the diet if I got hungry towards the end of the work day I'd fixate on going out to dinner. Now I might skip the gym, but I'm going home to make a reasonable meal. It's not as much fun sometimes, but if this becomes a habit I might come out of this diet with a generally healthier lifestyle. And who wants that?
Food today: breakfast sandwich again (I really like them, now that I've figured out I have time to cook in the morning) for 300 calories. Lunch was a turkey sandwich for 500 calories. For snacks I had a cup of diced pears and two tiny Toblerone bars for a total of 150 calories. Dinner was penne with sauce and garlic toast (mostly accidental as I started boiling the wrong type of pasta, and made too much for a side because of it) at 1000 calories. I went 3 miles on the treadmill for 503 calories, and a walk at lunch for 100 calories.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 1950 calories
Exercise: 603
Points Earned: 1653
Total Points Earned: 39323
Points to go: 160677
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Day 29
Talking about the folks who can mess up a diet. I got a call from my mother this afternoon asking me if I wanted to go out to dinner. We went out to Angelo's, an Italian restaurant I've been going to since I was a little kid. I have one meal I get there most trips, and it can be calorie intensive. I got smaller portions than I might have before the diet started but it still turned into a lot of calories. On the other hand, it was nice to get out of the house and to spend some time with family. If I scored a few less points today than others, I mostly don't mind.
Food today: breakfast sandwich (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), snacks were a package of diced pears, a little bit of peanut butter, and some milk at various points of the day (150 calories). Dinner was spaghetti with meatballs and french fries (it's a weird combo, but for some reason at Angelo's it works). As it was a restaurant it's hard to judge the calories specifically, but I'm guessing the total was around 1300 calories.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2250 calories
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 750
Total Points Earned: 37670
Points to go: 162330
Food today: breakfast sandwich (300 calories), turkey sandwich (500 calories), snacks were a package of diced pears, a little bit of peanut butter, and some milk at various points of the day (150 calories). Dinner was spaghetti with meatballs and french fries (it's a weird combo, but for some reason at Angelo's it works). As it was a restaurant it's hard to judge the calories specifically, but I'm guessing the total was around 1300 calories.
Today's Results:
Daily Food Total: 2250 calories
Exercise: 0
Points Earned: 750
Total Points Earned: 37670
Points to go: 162330
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The Prize
So a successful Challenge will mean collecting 200,000 points. What am I rewarding myself with if I do that?
It's called the Emissary and it's made by Geek Chic (http://geekchichq.com/). It's a hand-crafted dining room table that also happens to be a gaming table. It has a whole series of different options, but at it's core it transforms between a very attractive table, and a place to play boardgames, role-playing games or anything else that you might want to set up on a table.
Am I a geek? Indeed I am, but it combines all the elements of a really good prize. Something I've been eying for a long time, that has been too expensive to justify getting. If I complete the challenge though the money spent will be worth it, since I'll be getting something nice in addition to dramatically improved health.
The site's fun to check out. I recommend it.
It's called the Emissary and it's made by Geek Chic (http://geekchichq.com/). It's a hand-crafted dining room table that also happens to be a gaming table. It has a whole series of different options, but at it's core it transforms between a very attractive table, and a place to play boardgames, role-playing games or anything else that you might want to set up on a table.
Am I a geek? Indeed I am, but it combines all the elements of a really good prize. Something I've been eying for a long time, that has been too expensive to justify getting. If I complete the challenge though the money spent will be worth it, since I'll be getting something nice in addition to dramatically improved health.
The site's fun to check out. I recommend it.
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