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
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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
Thursday, February 12, 2009
6 Weeks down.....
Weighed in on Wednesday morning again. I moved to Thursdays for a bit to help with the poor weekends I had twice in a row. But now, I'm back where I belong!
And with a weigh in of 327.5,
I am 0.5 lbs ahead of my goal for the first 6 weeks!
I wasn't sure I could do an average of three pounds a week for that long, but I am super proud and am very excited to shoot for only two pounds a week now. I am actually counting calories to aim for losing 2.5 lbs because I think I can do that, and to create some possible wiggle room for a slight indulgence around St. Patty's. We will see...
Things I found out through these six weeks.
- I can do it!
- This past Tuesday I seriously thought of eating some stuff I shouldn't, but somehow my desire to hop on the treadmill was stronger than the desire for food. Scary huh?
- They say it takes 21 days to make a habit of something. I have tracked food for a solid 30 days, and feel weird to not track the food. Habit achieved! I hope Livestrong.com doesn't quit offering these tools for free!
Added goals for the next six weeks.
- I don't have a whole lot of goals to add because I accomplished so many through the first six weeks. I dropped soda, pretty much completely. I'm sure once the summer comes along I may indulge on my cheat days every now and again, but I have had a Pepsi and a Cranberry Splash Sierra Mist in the fridge for 2 weeks and not been even slightly enticed, even on cheat day. I have cut carbs & cholesterol to 100% of the R.D.A. for a 2000 calorie diet, and have averaged 291% R.D.A protein, 134% fiber, and my balance of protein to sugar is at about 1.5g protein for every 1g sugar
(I hear diabetics and those prone to diabetes should make sure they 'balance' their sugars and proteins. Is this supposed to be a straight one to one balance? So am I doing ok? Anyone?)
- Add some variety into my exercise. So far just been treadmill and outdoor walks. I hope to add some barbell, situps, pushups, as well as borrowing a Wii Fit from a friend who hasn't used it since the first two weeks after he bought it. Thanks Andy! Hoping to get a six week borrowing period out of him...
- Eat more veggies. Every other night I have been having salad & a hot green veggie. These tend to fill me up pretty good, but so that I don't crash, every other night I have been having a side of pasta or rice. I hope to cut that down to less than every other night. I especially need to be eating more during the day. Carrots, celery, etc.
- Still not ready to really tackle the salt issue. I need to eventually see a doctor and determine how out of control my salt really is. It might not be that bad...At this point I still need to keep an eye on the calories.
- Get all of this down to running like a machine. I will be needing to focus on a lot of other things over the next few weeks, so I can't spend all of my time doing this!
'Downwards' and Onwards into the Second 6 Weeks!
And with a weigh in of 327.5,
I am 0.5 lbs ahead of my goal for the first 6 weeks!
I wasn't sure I could do an average of three pounds a week for that long, but I am super proud and am very excited to shoot for only two pounds a week now. I am actually counting calories to aim for losing 2.5 lbs because I think I can do that, and to create some possible wiggle room for a slight indulgence around St. Patty's. We will see...
Things I found out through these six weeks.
- I can do it!
- This past Tuesday I seriously thought of eating some stuff I shouldn't, but somehow my desire to hop on the treadmill was stronger than the desire for food. Scary huh?
- They say it takes 21 days to make a habit of something. I have tracked food for a solid 30 days, and feel weird to not track the food. Habit achieved! I hope Livestrong.com doesn't quit offering these tools for free!
Added goals for the next six weeks.
- I don't have a whole lot of goals to add because I accomplished so many through the first six weeks. I dropped soda, pretty much completely. I'm sure once the summer comes along I may indulge on my cheat days every now and again, but I have had a Pepsi and a Cranberry Splash Sierra Mist in the fridge for 2 weeks and not been even slightly enticed, even on cheat day. I have cut carbs & cholesterol to 100% of the R.D.A. for a 2000 calorie diet, and have averaged 291% R.D.A protein, 134% fiber, and my balance of protein to sugar is at about 1.5g protein for every 1g sugar
(I hear diabetics and those prone to diabetes should make sure they 'balance' their sugars and proteins. Is this supposed to be a straight one to one balance? So am I doing ok? Anyone?)
- Add some variety into my exercise. So far just been treadmill and outdoor walks. I hope to add some barbell, situps, pushups, as well as borrowing a Wii Fit from a friend who hasn't used it since the first two weeks after he bought it. Thanks Andy! Hoping to get a six week borrowing period out of him...
- Eat more veggies. Every other night I have been having salad & a hot green veggie. These tend to fill me up pretty good, but so that I don't crash, every other night I have been having a side of pasta or rice. I hope to cut that down to less than every other night. I especially need to be eating more during the day. Carrots, celery, etc.
- Still not ready to really tackle the salt issue. I need to eventually see a doctor and determine how out of control my salt really is. It might not be that bad...At this point I still need to keep an eye on the calories.
- Get all of this down to running like a machine. I will be needing to focus on a lot of other things over the next few weeks, so I can't spend all of my time doing this!
'Downwards' and Onwards into the Second 6 Weeks!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
329.5!
Whew! I was a little worried there...
I weighed in on my usual Wednesday and it showed 334! Unhappy! So I looked back at my week, and knew I was in a little bit of trouble for the following reasons:
- I overdid Cheat Day a lot.
- I overdid Swing Day a bit. (SuperBowl Sunday, can you blame me?)
- I overdid Monday a lot a lot.
I had a good reason...(or so I tell myself)
I missed JoVanna!
JoVanna had to go to Sikeston to help people who were in a shelter down there due to the ice storms. All of the power was knocked out, so they had between 100-250 people there at the high school. Anyhow, with her gone I was lonely, and I had no one for myself to answer to. I think this is a very strong point in my success at losing weight this time around.
I have always (to my knowledge) been more likely to do things so as not to disappoint other people in my mind.
Let me clarify.
Say something is good for me to do. A.k.a. lose weight.
I don't seem to have some of that evolutionary necessary survival instinct/ego. I've never been very good at doing something for me. So, in my mind, losing weight for my health in a selfish manner, doesn't motivate me. Therefore, I need people that I FEEL will be disappointed in me if I fail, and subsequently proud of me if I succeed. THAT will motivate me. I've never felt like anyone would be disappointed in me for failing at something I tried my best at. Not JoVanna, my parents, siblings, family, or friends. So I have to externally place that feeling in them for me to succeed. That is why I tend/have/just do put myself out there and tell a lot of people about it. I feel sometimes people think I am bragging, but it's really this, I need to feel like I am disappointing A LOT of people if I do poorly.
That's my number one motivation. Don't disappoint.
That make sense?
Certainly I have other forms of motivation.
-I do feel better. My knees feel better. I would love to just feel better all the time. So my health is a motivating factor.
-I'd like to be around for a long time. For JoVanna, future kids, etc.
-I haven't felt a sense of accomplishment in a long time. This sense of accomplishment will help motivate me to get moving on getting into teaching, too.
But, the disappoint motivator is the one I can point to when the cravings hit. I need something that strong to use to combat those strong cravings.
Anyhow, long story short, I reweighed myself Thursday morning after being good Tues. & Wed. and found I was down to 329.5! I consumed a lot of sodium Sat-Mon, and I think that really messed me up. Working out Monday and Wednesday helped me sweat a lot of that out. That and some time helped drop me back down.
Goals Reached!
-Still On Track
-Belt Notch Down (2 so far!)
-Under 330
-Loss Noticed In Face By Customer Who Doesn't Know I'm Dieting (Yay!)
-Thanks to Tracy & Mike, I found I like Cherry Coke Zero, (although it is still too sweet to me right now!)
I weighed in on my usual Wednesday and it showed 334! Unhappy! So I looked back at my week, and knew I was in a little bit of trouble for the following reasons:
- I overdid Cheat Day a lot.
- I overdid Swing Day a bit. (SuperBowl Sunday, can you blame me?)
- I overdid Monday a lot a lot.
I had a good reason...(or so I tell myself)
I missed JoVanna!
JoVanna had to go to Sikeston to help people who were in a shelter down there due to the ice storms. All of the power was knocked out, so they had between 100-250 people there at the high school. Anyhow, with her gone I was lonely, and I had no one for myself to answer to. I think this is a very strong point in my success at losing weight this time around.
I have always (to my knowledge) been more likely to do things so as not to disappoint other people in my mind.
Let me clarify.
Say something is good for me to do. A.k.a. lose weight.
I don't seem to have some of that evolutionary necessary survival instinct/ego. I've never been very good at doing something for me. So, in my mind, losing weight for my health in a selfish manner, doesn't motivate me. Therefore, I need people that I FEEL will be disappointed in me if I fail, and subsequently proud of me if I succeed. THAT will motivate me. I've never felt like anyone would be disappointed in me for failing at something I tried my best at. Not JoVanna, my parents, siblings, family, or friends. So I have to externally place that feeling in them for me to succeed. That is why I tend/have/just do put myself out there and tell a lot of people about it. I feel sometimes people think I am bragging, but it's really this, I need to feel like I am disappointing A LOT of people if I do poorly.
That's my number one motivation. Don't disappoint.
That make sense?
Certainly I have other forms of motivation.
-I do feel better. My knees feel better. I would love to just feel better all the time. So my health is a motivating factor.
-I'd like to be around for a long time. For JoVanna, future kids, etc.
-I haven't felt a sense of accomplishment in a long time. This sense of accomplishment will help motivate me to get moving on getting into teaching, too.
But, the disappoint motivator is the one I can point to when the cravings hit. I need something that strong to use to combat those strong cravings.
Anyhow, long story short, I reweighed myself Thursday morning after being good Tues. & Wed. and found I was down to 329.5! I consumed a lot of sodium Sat-Mon, and I think that really messed me up. Working out Monday and Wednesday helped me sweat a lot of that out. That and some time helped drop me back down.
Goals Reached!
-Still On Track
-Belt Notch Down (2 so far!)
-Under 330
-Loss Noticed In Face By Customer Who Doesn't Know I'm Dieting (Yay!)
-Thanks to Tracy & Mike, I found I like Cherry Coke Zero, (although it is still too sweet to me right now!)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Great Diet Experiment of 2009
So, Mom asked to be thoroughly informed about what I am doing for my diet, so she could be jealous and therefore 'properly' motivated. Whoa boy, should she have watched what she asked for...wait, you did say thoroughly, right Mom?...
The rest of you didn't ask for it, but I felt like sharing anyway!
(I will explain the subject line number at the bottom, beware, this is a fairly long email...)
JoVanna and I have been talking about getting back into watching what we eat now that Wedding/Honeymoon/Holidays are over and we have more time to devote to it, so on New Year's Eve I weighed myself at Mike & Tracy's (our scale doesn't go over 330!) and found my weight to be 346 lbs. Eek.
So I decided that I was going to just kind of watch myself over the first couple of weeks, just minding what I ate. No counting calories, no psycho diet or anything. Just prepping myself for the inevitable major dieting. Drank less soda, got it out of the house. Ate less random things at work, started trying to get used to bringing my lunch. Basically prepping and hyping myself. I planned on starting after just one week of the prep, but the stomach flu will make you second guess the limiting of calories once you start feeling better.
So I set about some goals,
MAIN GOAL - Get healthy!
SECONDARY GOAL - Get to 250lbs
So here's my plan!
Count calories vigorously!
Using www.livestrong.com and their helpful program called The Daily Plate, I track every calorie I take in. I'm talking even the gum I chew! This may seem difficult or time-consuming. (it is a bit time consuming..) but we all know I am a bit of a geek and all the percentages, numbers, and averaging makes me happy. Plus the time I spend at the computer means I'm not spending that time eating!
Luckily most of what a person eats is already in their database. There are a few things that aren't, of course. For example, I've noticed whenever I change the recipe on a pasta box to include less or no butter, the 'calories as packaged' numbers usually aren't available online. But, they make it pretty easy to input the data yourself. Once you've done it once, it stays in your regularly eaten foods list. You can also make a meal! So instead of entering bologna, bread, & lite mayo every time, I made a Bologna Sandwich meal and can just add that. They even have quite a bit of restaurant menu choices available on The Daily Plate as well. This program keeps track of fat, calories, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, sugar, fiber, and protein also!
The Details
I am employing bits and pieces of various diets to help me in my cause and have created the following weekly plan.
Workout at least 3 times a week. Luckily there has been quite a bit of shoveling/sweeping snow and mopping at the store to help the number reach more like 5 times a week.
Cheat Day Revised I have found I need to incorporate a day in which to eat some things I crave for during the week. Without this I would definitely not succeed. But it isn't an everything goes cheat day, I still keep track of the calories I eat, and the total I allow is dependent on how well I do the 5 days prior.
example - To lose 3 lbs a week, I have to cut the calorie intake I need to maintain my weight by 1500 calories a day. If, Monday thru Friday I cut 2000 calories a day, I then have 2500 (5x500) calories I can add to the weekends. That would allow me to cheat a lot on Saturday, and a little on Sunday, to get myself back in the groove. (Believe me, it is easier to blow those extra calories on a day than one would think!)
Weigh In only Once a week I have read that a big subversive move people pull on themselves is multiple weigh ins. I figure I will keep mine to a sensible once a week, every Wednesday since that is the day I started. Plus it isn't distorting the data too much by placing it right before or right after my big cheat day.
Of course, not everything is going to be roses....
Expected/Previously Encountered Problems - Falling off the wagon. Unrealistic goals. Losing track of calories eaten. The inevitable? slowing down of weight loss.
Ways to beat the problems -
Falling off the wagon - The more and more I read about dieting, the more I see the main problem most people face is quitting. This is why I have used all the knowledge I have gained from previous diets, other people's diets, and literature on the subject to help me create something I believe I can stick to.
Unrealistic Goals - I am setting myself up to lose a big chunk of my weight. I realize that even within this diet, I am not eating as healthy as I can. Especially noticing how much salt I take in over the course of the week. First things first. Get to a more manageable weight, then build on that success to eat even healthier. I am at least adding these goals to the diet:
Cut carbs to at least 100% of the daily recommended allowance of a 2,000 calorie diet. (for me this is a huge deletion!)
- 300g recommended, averaging 375, but getting better. Cheat days hurt this average.
Up protein to at least 200% of the daily recommended allowance of a 2,000 calorie diet.
- 50g 'recommended', shooting for 100 every day, averaging 120.67 since I started on the 12th of January
Once I feel I have these two goals under wraps and happening frequently, I am going to try and tackle the salt issue...that's going to be a tough one.
Losing track of calories eaten - Have paper, have pen? Write what you eat down, portion size, and fill it in later in the week when you get a chance. Item not in the list of foods? Approximate. I have had to do that a few times now. I feel like I got as close as I could to the real numbers all while remaining honest with myself.
The inevitable? slowing down of weight loss - This I factored into my goals. So here then are my individual short term goals to reach my long term goals:
Since I lost almost six pounds in the first two weeks from just watching what I ate and the stomach flu, I figured to plan on losing 3 lbs for the first 6 weeks. Then 2 pounds for the second six weeks, then a pound a week after that. If I get ahead of that goal, great! If I fall behind I adjust as needed. Whether that means upping to a 2 lb week every now and again during the 1lb period or what I do not know yet. I found out this isn't such an arbitrary idea. They say a good goal for weight loss when looking to lose 50 or more pounds is 10% of your body weight over the first four months (roughly 35lbs, goal at the end of April, 311!) and 20% of your body weight over the first year (roughly 70lbs, my exact goal of 276!)
So the numbers: (with roughly every 5 week goals)
12/31 --- 1/7 = 343
1/7 --- 1/14 = 340
1/14 --- 1/21 = 337
1/21 --- 1/28 = 334
1/28 --- 2/4 = 331
2/4 --- 2/11 = 328
2/11 --- 2/18 = 326 20lb!
2/18 --- 2/25 = 324
2/25 --- 3/4 = 322
3/4 --- 3/11 = 320
3/11 --- 3/18 = 318
3/18 --- 3/25 = 316 30lb!
3/25 --- 4/1 = 315
4/1 --- 4/8 = 314
4/8 --- 4/15 = 313
4/15 --- 4/22 = 312
4/22 --- 4/29 = 311
10%!
4/29 --- 5/6 = 310
5/6 --- 5/13 = 309
5/13 --- 5/20 = 308
5/20 --- 5/27 = 307
5/27 --- 6/3 = 306 40lb!
6/3 --- 6/10 = 305
6/10 --- 6/17 = 304
6/17 --- 6/24 = 303
6/24 --- 7/1 = 302
7/1 --- 7/8 = 301 45lb!
7/8 --- 7/15 = 300
7/15 --- 7/22 = 299
7/22 --- 7/29 = 298
7/29 --- 8/5 = 297
8/5 --- 8/12 = 296 50lb!
8/12 --- 8/19 = 295
8/19 --- 8/26 = 294
8/26 --- 9/2 = 293
9/2 --- 9/9 = 292
9/9 --- 9/16 = 291 55lb!
9/16 --- 9/23 = 290
9/23 --- 9/30 = 289
9/30 --- 10/7 = 288
10/7 --- 10/14 = 287
10/14 --- 10/21 = 286 60lb!
10/21 --- 10/28 = 285
10/28 --- 11/4 = 284
11/4 --- 11/11 = 283
11/11 --- 11/18 = 282
11/18 --- 11/25 = 281 65lb!
11/25 --- 12/2 = 280
12/2 --- 12/9 = 279
12/9 --- 12/16 = 278
12/16 --- 12/23 = 277
12/23 --- 12/30 = 276 20%!
So with luck, here's what will happen by New Year's 2010
- I will be down to 276 pounds.
- I will have a healthier diet of all types of foods. Including many veggies and fruits.
- I will hopefully find a drink alternative that I like such as diet soda or tea.
- I will have better joints, including my knees!
- I will be set up to lose the last 26lbs by New Year's Eve 2011.
- I will sleep better and snore less!
UPDATE
I've almost completely lost my taste for soda. At least the really sweet fruit flavored ones. I had a Sunkist on the first cheat day, and had to throw it away after drinking 8 ounces. I had a Dr Pepper on my last cheat day, and even it didn't taste too great. Maybe time to give a Zero or One soda product a chance...
As of 1.28.09 I am at 332 lbs. A loss of 14lbs at 4.05% weight lost! One month and trucking along.
Also, I couldn't possibly do this without the help, love, and understanding of my beautiful wife, JoVanna. Thanks for putting up with all of my insane fixation and understanding it works for me!
Thanks for reading! If you got this far...
The rest of you didn't ask for it, but I felt like sharing anyway!
(I will explain the subject line number at the bottom, beware, this is a fairly long email...)
JoVanna and I have been talking about getting back into watching what we eat now that Wedding/Honeymoon/Holidays are over and we have more time to devote to it, so on New Year's Eve I weighed myself at Mike & Tracy's (our scale doesn't go over 330!) and found my weight to be 346 lbs. Eek.
So I decided that I was going to just kind of watch myself over the first couple of weeks, just minding what I ate. No counting calories, no psycho diet or anything. Just prepping myself for the inevitable major dieting. Drank less soda, got it out of the house. Ate less random things at work, started trying to get used to bringing my lunch. Basically prepping and hyping myself. I planned on starting after just one week of the prep, but the stomach flu will make you second guess the limiting of calories once you start feeling better.
So I set about some goals,
MAIN GOAL - Get healthy!
SECONDARY GOAL - Get to 250lbs
So here's my plan!
Count calories vigorously!
Using www.livestrong.com and their helpful program called The Daily Plate, I track every calorie I take in. I'm talking even the gum I chew! This may seem difficult or time-consuming. (it is a bit time consuming..) but we all know I am a bit of a geek and all the percentages, numbers, and averaging makes me happy. Plus the time I spend at the computer means I'm not spending that time eating!
Luckily most of what a person eats is already in their database. There are a few things that aren't, of course. For example, I've noticed whenever I change the recipe on a pasta box to include less or no butter, the 'calories as packaged' numbers usually aren't available online. But, they make it pretty easy to input the data yourself. Once you've done it once, it stays in your regularly eaten foods list. You can also make a meal! So instead of entering bologna, bread, & lite mayo every time, I made a Bologna Sandwich meal and can just add that. They even have quite a bit of restaurant menu choices available on The Daily Plate as well. This program keeps track of fat, calories, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, sugar, fiber, and protein also!
The Details
I am employing bits and pieces of various diets to help me in my cause and have created the following weekly plan.
Workout at least 3 times a week. Luckily there has been quite a bit of shoveling/sweeping snow and mopping at the store to help the number reach more like 5 times a week.
Cheat Day Revised I have found I need to incorporate a day in which to eat some things I crave for during the week. Without this I would definitely not succeed. But it isn't an everything goes cheat day, I still keep track of the calories I eat, and the total I allow is dependent on how well I do the 5 days prior.
example - To lose 3 lbs a week, I have to cut the calorie intake I need to maintain my weight by 1500 calories a day. If, Monday thru Friday I cut 2000 calories a day, I then have 2500 (5x500) calories I can add to the weekends. That would allow me to cheat a lot on Saturday, and a little on Sunday, to get myself back in the groove. (Believe me, it is easier to blow those extra calories on a day than one would think!)
Weigh In only Once a week I have read that a big subversive move people pull on themselves is multiple weigh ins. I figure I will keep mine to a sensible once a week, every Wednesday since that is the day I started. Plus it isn't distorting the data too much by placing it right before or right after my big cheat day.
Of course, not everything is going to be roses....
Expected/Previously Encountered Problems - Falling off the wagon. Unrealistic goals. Losing track of calories eaten. The inevitable? slowing down of weight loss.
Ways to beat the problems -
Falling off the wagon - The more and more I read about dieting, the more I see the main problem most people face is quitting. This is why I have used all the knowledge I have gained from previous diets, other people's diets, and literature on the subject to help me create something I believe I can stick to.
Unrealistic Goals - I am setting myself up to lose a big chunk of my weight. I realize that even within this diet, I am not eating as healthy as I can. Especially noticing how much salt I take in over the course of the week. First things first. Get to a more manageable weight, then build on that success to eat even healthier. I am at least adding these goals to the diet:
Cut carbs to at least 100% of the daily recommended allowance of a 2,000 calorie diet. (for me this is a huge deletion!)
- 300g recommended, averaging 375, but getting better. Cheat days hurt this average.
Up protein to at least 200% of the daily recommended allowance of a 2,000 calorie diet.
- 50g 'recommended', shooting for 100 every day, averaging 120.67 since I started on the 12th of January
Once I feel I have these two goals under wraps and happening frequently, I am going to try and tackle the salt issue...that's going to be a tough one.
Losing track of calories eaten - Have paper, have pen? Write what you eat down, portion size, and fill it in later in the week when you get a chance. Item not in the list of foods? Approximate. I have had to do that a few times now. I feel like I got as close as I could to the real numbers all while remaining honest with myself.
The inevitable? slowing down of weight loss - This I factored into my goals. So here then are my individual short term goals to reach my long term goals:
Since I lost almost six pounds in the first two weeks from just watching what I ate and the stomach flu, I figured to plan on losing 3 lbs for the first 6 weeks. Then 2 pounds for the second six weeks, then a pound a week after that. If I get ahead of that goal, great! If I fall behind I adjust as needed. Whether that means upping to a 2 lb week every now and again during the 1lb period or what I do not know yet. I found out this isn't such an arbitrary idea. They say a good goal for weight loss when looking to lose 50 or more pounds is 10% of your body weight over the first four months (roughly 35lbs, goal at the end of April, 311!) and 20% of your body weight over the first year (roughly 70lbs, my exact goal of 276!)
So the numbers: (with roughly every 5 week goals)
12/31 --- 1/7 = 343
1/7 --- 1/14 = 340
1/14 --- 1/21 = 337
1/21 --- 1/28 = 334
1/28 --- 2/4 = 331
2/4 --- 2/11 = 328
2/11 --- 2/18 = 326 20lb!
2/18 --- 2/25 = 324
2/25 --- 3/4 = 322
3/4 --- 3/11 = 320
3/11 --- 3/18 = 318
3/18 --- 3/25 = 316 30lb!
3/25 --- 4/1 = 315
4/1 --- 4/8 = 314
4/8 --- 4/15 = 313
4/15 --- 4/22 = 312
4/22 --- 4/29 = 311
10%!
4/29 --- 5/6 = 310
5/6 --- 5/13 = 309
5/13 --- 5/20 = 308
5/20 --- 5/27 = 307
5/27 --- 6/3 = 306 40lb!
6/3 --- 6/10 = 305
6/10 --- 6/17 = 304
6/17 --- 6/24 = 303
6/24 --- 7/1 = 302
7/1 --- 7/8 = 301 45lb!
7/8 --- 7/15 = 300
7/15 --- 7/22 = 299
7/22 --- 7/29 = 298
7/29 --- 8/5 = 297
8/5 --- 8/12 = 296 50lb!
8/12 --- 8/19 = 295
8/19 --- 8/26 = 294
8/26 --- 9/2 = 293
9/2 --- 9/9 = 292
9/9 --- 9/16 = 291 55lb!
9/16 --- 9/23 = 290
9/23 --- 9/30 = 289
9/30 --- 10/7 = 288
10/7 --- 10/14 = 287
10/14 --- 10/21 = 286 60lb!
10/21 --- 10/28 = 285
10/28 --- 11/4 = 284
11/4 --- 11/11 = 283
11/11 --- 11/18 = 282
11/18 --- 11/25 = 281 65lb!
11/25 --- 12/2 = 280
12/2 --- 12/9 = 279
12/9 --- 12/16 = 278
12/16 --- 12/23 = 277
12/23 --- 12/30 = 276 20%!
So with luck, here's what will happen by New Year's 2010
- I will be down to 276 pounds.
- I will have a healthier diet of all types of foods. Including many veggies and fruits.
- I will hopefully find a drink alternative that I like such as diet soda or tea.
- I will have better joints, including my knees!
- I will be set up to lose the last 26lbs by New Year's Eve 2011.
- I will sleep better and snore less!
UPDATE
I've almost completely lost my taste for soda. At least the really sweet fruit flavored ones. I had a Sunkist on the first cheat day, and had to throw it away after drinking 8 ounces. I had a Dr Pepper on my last cheat day, and even it didn't taste too great. Maybe time to give a Zero or One soda product a chance...
As of 1.28.09 I am at 332 lbs. A loss of 14lbs at 4.05% weight lost! One month and trucking along.
Also, I couldn't possibly do this without the help, love, and understanding of my beautiful wife, JoVanna. Thanks for putting up with all of my insane fixation and understanding it works for me!
Thanks for reading! If you got this far...
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