I decided to make an interesting choice when it comes to my calorie goals this time around:
Before I started this round of dieting I went to the calorie goal tab on Livestrong.com,
I entered in the age I'll be when I hope to hit my goal weight (31yrs, May 7th 2011)
I entered my goal weight (235 lbs)
I entered sedentary lifestyle (assuming absolute baseline, no workouts)
I set to maintain weight
My calorie goal was set at 2,883. (once again, I apologize to those 5'2" and such. I'm 6'6" and that skews my numbers)
I thought it would be a good idea to use that number as an absolute ceiling to my calorie intake for any given day from here on out. Whether I work out or not. This is my intake max, not a net max.
This will make maintaining once I am at that weight that much easier. This was very helpful in the beginning to lose a lot of weight fast because at my initial weight (345.6) I could have eaten some 3200 cals and lost 3 a week. By working out and setting a ceiling of LCGW (lowest calorie-goal weight) I lost a lot early. (10 1st week, 37 total over 8.5 weeks) Now, even though my calorie goal (2,666) is well below my LCGW, I use that number as a buffer to which I don't beat myself up over, because, hey at least I'm still under what I would be eating at my goal weight!
The trick is to use it for mental health, not as a cheat. In this manner I have been quite successful. I have only gone over my LCGW 5 times this diet (Jan 10th-present). It was twice early on (a couple of binges), two trips to St Louis, and one wedding reception.
Just another tool in my belt to help me stay sane throughout this process!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Dialectic Eclectic......Diabetic?
I went to the doctor in November and had pretty high blood pressure. 150/91.
Yowza.
My doc said she would give me two months to see what I could do with my bp before she put me on meds. I missed my first appointment with her, but started a really good diet/exercise plan over the past four weeks (really just watching my calories, hitting the treadmill, and Wii Biggest Loser).
Went to see her recently, and in the past four weeks, I have dropped my weight by 22 pounds, and my bp went down to a 134/79.
So, yay! right?
Yeah, some bad with the good. We had some blood work done and it turns out I am also diabetic. (fasting glucose = 171 avg, Hemoglobin A1c 7.6%)
Not bad, no insulin shots or anything. At this point my doc thinks it will be manageable with a simple med (metformin, 1000mg Xrelease, once a day) and losing a lot of weight. So I'm on target to have lost 45.6 pounds by my birthday, May 7Th, officially dropping me to 300lbs. Then I hope to hit 275 by August-ish, 250 by Thanksgiving, and with loads and loads of luck, my target weight of 235 by my 31st birthday. (I haven't weighed that since 2000 I think)
Summer 99 with Shannon, quite possibly my lowest weight as an adult.
235 might be unreasonable. For now I am aiming high. 260 is really the BIG BIG goal. That is the level where my BMI officially drops from Obese to Overweight. That would be exciting. Anything after that is cake. Well, not cake. Cake has a lot of sugar...I digress.
Keep in mind I am taking the BMI with a grain of salt. It says 214 is right on the precipice of going from healthy weight to overweight for my height. I find that absurd. My lowest as an adult (over 18) was 230 in sophomore year. 235 is the best I could find as a target ideal weight:
Take 106, add 6lbs for every inch over 5' you are. Then if you are of larger frame (compare wrist size to other men) then add 10%. That would put me at 214+21=235.
As of now I am only supposed to check my glucose once a day. Morning fasting for the first week, random times of the day the second and third week. Then I go visit her to see how I am doing and start going to classes with a dietitian after that (23rd or 25th). Earliest class I could get into unfortunately, so I'm kind of chomping at the bit.
I'm excited because now it isn't just about losing weight to feel better, it is about living long and well.
Dave
ps So, maybe I should change the name of the blog from:
Sarcastic Dialectician For Hire
to:
Sarcastic Dialectic Diabetic For Hire?
Yowza.
My doc said she would give me two months to see what I could do with my bp before she put me on meds. I missed my first appointment with her, but started a really good diet/exercise plan over the past four weeks (really just watching my calories, hitting the treadmill, and Wii Biggest Loser).
Went to see her recently, and in the past four weeks, I have dropped my weight by 22 pounds, and my bp went down to a 134/79.
So, yay! right?
Yeah, some bad with the good. We had some blood work done and it turns out I am also diabetic. (fasting glucose = 171 avg, Hemoglobin A1c 7.6%)
Not bad, no insulin shots or anything. At this point my doc thinks it will be manageable with a simple med (metformin, 1000mg Xrelease, once a day) and losing a lot of weight. So I'm on target to have lost 45.6 pounds by my birthday, May 7Th, officially dropping me to 300lbs. Then I hope to hit 275 by August-ish, 250 by Thanksgiving, and with loads and loads of luck, my target weight of 235 by my 31st birthday. (I haven't weighed that since 2000 I think)
Summer 99 with Shannon, quite possibly my lowest weight as an adult.
235 might be unreasonable. For now I am aiming high. 260 is really the BIG BIG goal. That is the level where my BMI officially drops from Obese to Overweight. That would be exciting. Anything after that is cake. Well, not cake. Cake has a lot of sugar...I digress.
Keep in mind I am taking the BMI with a grain of salt. It says 214 is right on the precipice of going from healthy weight to overweight for my height. I find that absurd. My lowest as an adult (over 18) was 230 in sophomore year. 235 is the best I could find as a target ideal weight:
Take 106, add 6lbs for every inch over 5' you are. Then if you are of larger frame (compare wrist size to other men) then add 10%. That would put me at 214+21=235.
As of now I am only supposed to check my glucose once a day. Morning fasting for the first week, random times of the day the second and third week. Then I go visit her to see how I am doing and start going to classes with a dietitian after that (23rd or 25th). Earliest class I could get into unfortunately, so I'm kind of chomping at the bit.
I'm excited because now it isn't just about losing weight to feel better, it is about living long and well.
Dave
ps So, maybe I should change the name of the blog from:
Sarcastic Dialectician For Hire
to:
Sarcastic Dialectic Diabetic For Hire?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Three-ee-eigh-eight-tee-EEN, three-ee-eigh-eigh-TEE-een!
So I skipped a week on the update front because I just had too much going on. But I am off today, and have a little extra time, so....
Three-ee-eigh-eight-tee-EEN, three-ee-eigh-eigh-TEE-een!
(imagine the rhythm of a conga line bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-BUM, bum-bum-bum-bum-BUM-bum)
I've had that in my head all day because I am very excited by this number! It is what I weighed this morning! Last week I had to wait until Thursday to weigh in at 321 (2 pounds down) and this week I tried to workout a little harder and watch the calories a little better to get to 319 in a six day period. But, this morning I weighed in at 318 instead! At 28 pounds down, that puts me at 40% of the way to my original end of the year goal and 8.09% total weight loss.
I've been trying to think of things that weigh 28 pounds...
Two of my usual size bowling balls,
Two of my dog Curly,
open to other things that weigh that much, just can't think of them...
Changed factors in my diet:
I no longer take a second partial cheat day on Sunday. I eat about 2500 calories Sunday-Friday, then on Saturday I let myself have a little bit more than that. This past Saturday I went a little bit overboard, so I am SHOCKED that I lost three this week. The numbers say it should have only been about 2.25 pounds, but I guess I worked out harder than I thought.
Sometimes I switch in a low carb protein shake and banana in for breakfast instead of the usual eggs, bacon, and toast. Give me a chance to have breakfast food for lunch and a little more room for small snacks during the day.
I've started adding cinnamon to a lot of things. Besides it being really good for the processing of sugars, it adds a lot of taste to toast, pudding, and yogurt! Yum!
We are eating so many fruits, veggies, and eggs now means our trash gets a little stinky. So JoVanna and I are going to go to a composting class that the City of Columbia offers. They offer a drastically reduced price wooden composting box for attending, plus we can learn a lot. It would be nice to start that outside, especially if we want to have a garden sometime!
On a side note, I am still studying to get my teaching certificate and luckily ran into a math teacher friend of mine who is going to be needing a sub for a good period of time in the very near future. (about 60 subbing hours are required for me to get my teaching certificate here in Missouri) So yay! Now I must go finish my Substitute Teaching Application.
Onward and Downward,
Dave
Three-ee-eigh-eight-tee-EEN, three-ee-eigh-eigh-TEE-een!
(imagine the rhythm of a conga line bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-BUM, bum-bum-bum-bum-BUM-bum)
I've had that in my head all day because I am very excited by this number! It is what I weighed this morning! Last week I had to wait until Thursday to weigh in at 321 (2 pounds down) and this week I tried to workout a little harder and watch the calories a little better to get to 319 in a six day period. But, this morning I weighed in at 318 instead! At 28 pounds down, that puts me at 40% of the way to my original end of the year goal and 8.09% total weight loss.
I've been trying to think of things that weigh 28 pounds...
Two of my usual size bowling balls,
Two of my dog Curly,
open to other things that weigh that much, just can't think of them...
Changed factors in my diet:
I no longer take a second partial cheat day on Sunday. I eat about 2500 calories Sunday-Friday, then on Saturday I let myself have a little bit more than that. This past Saturday I went a little bit overboard, so I am SHOCKED that I lost three this week. The numbers say it should have only been about 2.25 pounds, but I guess I worked out harder than I thought.
Sometimes I switch in a low carb protein shake and banana in for breakfast instead of the usual eggs, bacon, and toast. Give me a chance to have breakfast food for lunch and a little more room for small snacks during the day.
I've started adding cinnamon to a lot of things. Besides it being really good for the processing of sugars, it adds a lot of taste to toast, pudding, and yogurt! Yum!
We are eating so many fruits, veggies, and eggs now means our trash gets a little stinky. So JoVanna and I are going to go to a composting class that the City of Columbia offers. They offer a drastically reduced price wooden composting box for attending, plus we can learn a lot. It would be nice to start that outside, especially if we want to have a garden sometime!
On a side note, I am still studying to get my teaching certificate and luckily ran into a math teacher friend of mine who is going to be needing a sub for a good period of time in the very near future. (about 60 subbing hours are required for me to get my teaching certificate here in Missouri) So yay! Now I must go finish my Substitute Teaching Application.
Onward and Downward,
Dave
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Lapsed Catholic Guilt Engenders New Goal Schedule
Weighed in on Ash Wednesday, a six day weigh in period, and really REALLY wanted to be at 323 pounds. I did the calorie math and that is what my math said I should be at.
Lo and behold,
323 pounds, 1 pound ahead of schedule!
For my number dork-dom that is a big number again. 23 pounds lost, 23 pounds until 300!
So, for the beginning of Lent, as a lapsed Catholic, I still fell like I should take part in the sacrificial act of giving something up. My reasons for not wanting to give something up are many:
1) I've already given up a lot.
2) I still want to succeed on this diet, and doing this and dropping say, chocolate, could very well be my undoing.
3) As my mother instilled in us at a young age, maybe it isn't always about giving something up, but possibly taking something up. Taking on a good habit. She used to say that I shouldn't give anything up because instead of eating 6 things I would only eat 5 things. (That I would eat six things at a young age may even be a bit of a stretch...) So in that vein,
I will be moving up my 10% weight loss goal to Holy Thursday(Passover) instead of the end of April! (a loss of time of three weeks)
That will mean losing two pounds a week for the entire period of lent, so that on April 8th/9th I will be at 311 pounds. I again figure this is a doable goal. I moved my three pounds a week goal period of time up 50% (4weeks --> 6weeks), so this means I will be upping my two pounds a week goal period of time by only 33% (6weeks --> 8weeks) for this new goal. Not so bad when I look at the numbers like that!
Onward and Downward,
Dave
Lo and behold,
323 pounds, 1 pound ahead of schedule!
For my number dork-dom that is a big number again. 23 pounds lost, 23 pounds until 300!
So, for the beginning of Lent, as a lapsed Catholic, I still fell like I should take part in the sacrificial act of giving something up. My reasons for not wanting to give something up are many:
1) I've already given up a lot.
2) I still want to succeed on this diet, and doing this and dropping say, chocolate, could very well be my undoing.
3) As my mother instilled in us at a young age, maybe it isn't always about giving something up, but possibly taking something up. Taking on a good habit. She used to say that I shouldn't give anything up because instead of eating 6 things I would only eat 5 things. (That I would eat six things at a young age may even be a bit of a stretch...) So in that vein,
I will be moving up my 10% weight loss goal to Holy Thursday(Passover) instead of the end of April! (a loss of time of three weeks)
That will mean losing two pounds a week for the entire period of lent, so that on April 8th/9th I will be at 311 pounds. I again figure this is a doable goal. I moved my three pounds a week goal period of time up 50% (4weeks --> 6weeks), so this means I will be upping my two pounds a week goal period of time by only 33% (6weeks --> 8weeks) for this new goal. Not so bad when I look at the numbers like that!
Onward and Downward,
Dave
Friday, February 20, 2009
Still On Pace, shockingly...
Weighed in on Thursday morning, guess why?
Aye, not a great weekend. But I expected that! I knew reaching my goal this week would be tough, so I spent some extra energy the three days prior and two days after to resist eating a full calorie load to make up for it. JoVanna and I went to visit her parents in Parsons, KS. There were two places I needed to eat at while there. The Sirloin Stockade for their yeast rolls. (a m a z i n g l y y u m m m m m m y), and at Ernesto's for some tacos and queso dip. Alas, no Ernesto's on Sunday. Will definitely be taking a trip to Tequila/Agave here in Columbia to get theirs some coming Saturday to make up for it. Anyhow,
with a weigh in of 325.5,
I have reached 20 lbs!! Yahoo!
So I am still shooting for losing three pounds a week as a secondary Mega-Goal, but my heart is still set on sticking with the current plan. I have encountered some people on LiveStrong.com that are losing at a faster pace, so I kind of feel like I could do better. I keep telling myself though, this is a lifestyle change, and I need to do it in steps to keep it up. Kind of a detoxing situation if you will. No cold turkey here. Mmmmm, cold turkey....
Detox Items
Soda/Caffeine - Done.
Chips - Oof, that could take a while. I am interspersing carrot sticks for chips one lunch a week. Need to find some lower sodium items to take the place of chips with my daily sandwich. I need the crunch.
Hot Chocolate - The toughest thing I have had to do without since I started this diet. I am trying to not drink any empty calorie beverages during this diet. Really hating that I gave it up now that it is colder again. I have noticed there is a 'recipe' for a hot chocolate made with the powdered SlimFast mix. I need to see if I can adjust it to work for the LowCarbDiet Liquid Slim Fast that I drink once a day. Any good, actually free of sugar, 'sugar free' hot cocoas out there?
Bad Meats - Let's face it, I love Bologna and Hot Dogs. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely eating a lot of chicken and lean beef on this diet, but it is really hard for me to give up these items. I am going to start trying to sub other lunch meats or even tuna for my daily sandwiches. Really no low-salt varieties of bologna or hot dogs. Boo. ( I notice a lot of salt coming from these and the turkey bacon. I may start subbing an egg white in for a piece of bacon to eat less of that.)
Ice Cream - I'll never quit, never!!! I am my mother's child after all. I do love Breyer's Carb Smart Chocolate Ice Cream. I am very thankful JoVanna let me try hers! Yum! Now I need to make sure I don't eat all of it. That would be cruel...
Keeping up the good fight,
Dave
Aye, not a great weekend. But I expected that! I knew reaching my goal this week would be tough, so I spent some extra energy the three days prior and two days after to resist eating a full calorie load to make up for it. JoVanna and I went to visit her parents in Parsons, KS. There were two places I needed to eat at while there. The Sirloin Stockade for their yeast rolls. (a m a z i n g l y y u m m m m m m y), and at Ernesto's for some tacos and queso dip. Alas, no Ernesto's on Sunday. Will definitely be taking a trip to Tequila/Agave here in Columbia to get theirs some coming Saturday to make up for it. Anyhow,
with a weigh in of 325.5,
I have reached 20 lbs!! Yahoo!
So I am still shooting for losing three pounds a week as a secondary Mega-Goal, but my heart is still set on sticking with the current plan. I have encountered some people on LiveStrong.com that are losing at a faster pace, so I kind of feel like I could do better. I keep telling myself though, this is a lifestyle change, and I need to do it in steps to keep it up. Kind of a detoxing situation if you will. No cold turkey here. Mmmmm, cold turkey....
Detox Items
Soda/Caffeine - Done.
Chips - Oof, that could take a while. I am interspersing carrot sticks for chips one lunch a week. Need to find some lower sodium items to take the place of chips with my daily sandwich. I need the crunch.
Hot Chocolate - The toughest thing I have had to do without since I started this diet. I am trying to not drink any empty calorie beverages during this diet. Really hating that I gave it up now that it is colder again. I have noticed there is a 'recipe' for a hot chocolate made with the powdered SlimFast mix. I need to see if I can adjust it to work for the LowCarbDiet Liquid Slim Fast that I drink once a day. Any good, actually free of sugar, 'sugar free' hot cocoas out there?
Bad Meats - Let's face it, I love Bologna and Hot Dogs. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely eating a lot of chicken and lean beef on this diet, but it is really hard for me to give up these items. I am going to start trying to sub other lunch meats or even tuna for my daily sandwiches. Really no low-salt varieties of bologna or hot dogs. Boo. ( I notice a lot of salt coming from these and the turkey bacon. I may start subbing an egg white in for a piece of bacon to eat less of that.)
Ice Cream - I'll never quit, never!!! I am my mother's child after all. I do love Breyer's Carb Smart Chocolate Ice Cream. I am very thankful JoVanna let me try hers! Yum! Now I need to make sure I don't eat all of it. That would be cruel...
Keeping up the good fight,
Dave
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