So...back on Friday I weighed in at a flab-tastic 290.8 lbs. I decided that I was going to make a strong effort to reverse the trend and get back in the groove. As a side effort, with all the news lately about the negative effects of diet sodas and my sister's decision to stop drinking soda altogether, I decided to see if I could go the weekend without Diet Coke (aka: The Nectar of the Gods). So here's what happened.
First, the dieting. I really tried to stay on top of things, although you wouldn't think that by how the day started. I did manage to get a quickie mile run in, but I hadn't gotten anything from the store for breakfast. So I had a breakfast sandwich from Subway (510 calories), which turned out to be better from the caloric perspective than the usual 2 Cheesy Bacon Wrappers from BK (750 calories, or so). But from there, it was right on the diet plan. Wheat Thins for the a.m. snack, Lean Cuisine-type meal (490 calories) plus a thing of soup (180 cal). Couple of 100 cal granola bars in the afternoon, and then it's out with DAPGF. Because we were trying to get into an early movie, we needed someplace quick and close to the theatre: Daphne's Greek. A gyros combo plate runs around 600 calories. Total, a tick under 2000 calories. Saturday morning, hit the gym for weights, abs, and cardio. Home, shower, step on the scale, and we're down to 287.0 lbs! Can a brotha get a w0000t! Granted, my weekend weigh-in times are roughly 3 hours later than the weekday weigh-in times (which I've mentioned in several previous posts), but still! Now, the question is can I survive Saturday? We started off right, at this funky organic salad and such sort of place called Tender Greens. The food is awesome! We shared an order of seared ahi tuna with grilled veggies and a chicken breast cobb salad. Total, less than 500 calories. We decided to be a little naughty for dessert, and hit one of the latest trendy things, a gourmet cupcake shop on the edge of Point Loma and O.B. in San Diego, called Cupcakes Squared. I had a S'mores Cupcake, which consisted of a graham cracker cake with chocolate chips, chocolate frosting, marshmallows, and a dusting of crushed graham cracker. Estimated at 350 calories of damage, so for just over half the day, I've got less than half the calories I'm trying to stick to (or have stick to me?). Dinner consisted of tapas at our favorite happy hour joint, Mr. Tiki Lounge in the Gaslamp District. Generally healthy stuff, sushi, calamari, tempura shrimp, and a couple of drinks, I'll estimate it all at around 1000 calories, for a daily total of less than 2000! Yay me! Gym on Sunday morning and the weigh-in...285.4 lbs! But now it's Sunday. Sundays are typically bad days for me, and I'm not sure why. Part of it likely has to do with the weigh-in time jumping back to 7:30 or so, as opposed to the 10:30-ish weekend time slot, and part of it is probably because I don't get a full gym workout in the morning (I do get my run in, though) but beyond that, I'm not sure why things usually get worse for the Monday weigh-in. Granted, this past Sunday was a bad food day. Started off with a huge egg scramble, with bacon, ham, 3 cheeses, potatoes O'Brien, etc. I didn't finish it (it was freaking huge), but I was certainly full. We went for a walk along the boardwalk in Pacific Beach for about a half hour, and then ran some errands. Dinner was the bad thing. Red Robin for the Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Wrap. I just looked it up on Calorie King, and frankly, I may have had my last one. 1526 calories! WTF?!? Granted, that includes the fries (per the Red Robin site), but losing the fries only drops it down to 1136 calories. At least we went for a 45 minute walk around Mission Bay afterwards, but the damage was done. Monday's weigh-in: 288.4 lbs. Disappointing, yes, but given the no gym this morning and the much earlier weigh-in, I'm not surprised. The thing will be to see if I can get back on the losing momentum for the rest of the week. I'm off to a good start so far, with 500 calories for breakfast (Jimmy Dean breakfast omelet), and my Wheat Thins for a snack. If I stick to the plan today, I'll consume a total of right around 2000 calories. With that, I should be dropping.
Diet Coke. I made it the whole weekend without Diet Coke (the last one I had was Friday with dinner). Granted, I didn't make it a soda-free or caffeine-free weekend. Saturday lunch I had iced tea, and dinner included a couple of mai-tais. Sunday lunch was root beer, and dinner was lemonade. I even managed to not drink a Diet Coke with my Wheat Thins snack this morning. Maybe I'll see how long I can go without. Short your stock in Diet Coke, peeps!
So things seem to be on the right track. Wish me luck and good luck to all of you.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
What Happened to Me? WTF is Wrong With Me?
290.8 lbs. This is the heaviest I have ever knowingly been (there was a period where I didn't have a working scale), and I'm not happy about it. I can offer up excuse after excuse, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm shoving waaaay too much food down my throat.
Wednesday was the bad day this past week. I had actually been inching my way down, and was on track to lose at least 2 lbs this week, maybe more. Instead, on Tuesday I had to stop at the grocery store to get dinner (thus breaking my rule to not shop while hungry), and I picked up one of the deli's XL Turkey sandwiches (about 18 inches of torpedo roll piled high with turkey, cheese, lettuce, etc.), with the idea that I'd have one 6 inch section for dinner with the bagel bites I had already bought, and take the other two sections to lunch on Wednesday. Now, Tuesday I hit the gym after work, so it negated the sandwich and I stayed even on the weight. I had made the oversight of not picking up bagels or something for breakfast, so on Wednesday I started off with not just two bacon wraps from BK, but I got the whole damn value meal! Carbs are baaaaad, and they seem to be the biggest contributor to my weight (tortilla chips, rice, pasta, bread, and so on), and naturally I scarfed down the hashbrowns without a thought. Then came lunch. I ate the first part of the sandwich, and actually felt somewhat satisfied. But I had another really tasty sandwich waiting for me. So of course I ate it, telling myself that when I hit the gym on the way home, it would be fine. That and of course I wasn't going to have much for dinner. Granted, I only had one lean cuisine, but I supplemented it with Pringles of course, and some chocolate cake that DAPGF brought home! Oh, and the gym? Well, the weather has been good, and this is the most convenient 24 Hour Fitness with a pool, so I thought I'd swim laps. Everybody knows that swimming is kick ass exercise, and I figured that I can knock off 20-30 minutes on the elliptical without much of a problem, I should be able to get in 15-20 minutes of swimming without dying in the pool. So to minimize the amount of stuff and changing I would have to do, I decided to forgo the normal workout entirely (cardio, abs, weight) and just do the swimming. So I got to the pool at about 3:50 pm, and had to wait for a lane. For 20 minutes. 20 minutes I could've been doing any kind of physical activity if I'd been thinking about it. Finally a lane opens up. One full lap and I realize that it has been a good 7 months since I'd done any swimming, and jeez am I having a hard time of it. So I struggle through 10 minutes of it, but hell if I can even remember how many lengths I did (12? 16? 20?). So yes, it kicked my ass but unfortunately it wasn't nearly enough to undo the damage I did.
So what do I do now? I've spewed lots of words in this here corner of the interwebs, and some of them I've managed to follow through on, at least for a time, but I need more than words. I need to find the follow-through to make it work. So that's what I'm going to do. No more buying snacks in the middle of the afternoon (like I did on Thursday...don't know how I managed to not gain more than .2 lbs). No more monster meals like that damn sandwich, and no more doubling up my meals (2 lean cuisines instead of 1, etc.). Portion control...that was a key component in my father's recent weight loss, although his current significant other feeds him more that she should, and he's gaining weight again. He would sit down in a restaurant and either move half of the meal off to the side, or have the server box up half of it from the get go. That isn't really an easy option for me, because when I am out to eat, DAPGF and I are (with lunch) usually running errands of some sort or (with dinner) going to see a movie. Either way, food would have to be unrefrigerated and stinking up the car for 1 to 3 hours before I could get it home. And I really can't wrap my head around the idea of just eating half of it and letting the server take away half of a meal that I paid for. I try to be frugal (hell, cheap), and the idea of paying $10 for a BBQ chicken salad or $13 for blackened Tilapia Fish Tacos and throwing half of it away just kills me. So I eat what I order. But the horrible thing, and here DAPGF is truly my enabler, is the bread or tortilla chips that are provided prior to the meal. We tend to go to nicer restaurants, and they all tend to provide some sort of carboriffic experience while we wait for the meal. How can I not partake of freshly baked sourdough bread or tortilla chips with awesome salsa? All I can do is try to slow down and simply not eat as much of it. As to the rest of the meal...I will be even more diligent in what I order, and I will minimize the amount of food that DAPGF will shove off on me (she eats much less than I do). And when I'm not out with DAPGF, I'll stick to my single Lean Cuisine-type meal and try to do nothing else. For the most part, I'm pretty solid in my workout routine, and when I stick to the meal plan that I laid out here, I tend to experience the success that I want (I really do want to succeed and lose weight!). Now, there are two events on the horizon that lead up to the summer beach season. The first is my birthday in early April (go Aries!). DAPGF doesn't really like steak that much, so when I have an opportunity to nom on some dead cow, I take advantage of it. The second is in late April, when some of my cohorts and I will be participating in the Beer Belly Olympics. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Game of bowling, round of golf, darts, billiards, horseshoes, washers, poker, etc., and lots of drinking. I've got to make the losses happen, so that those two events don't do a lot of damage. And to top it off, in honor of my little sister, I'm going to try to go without Diet Coke (or any soda) this weekend. This will not be easy, but I'm going to try. Wish me luck, peeps.
Wednesday was the bad day this past week. I had actually been inching my way down, and was on track to lose at least 2 lbs this week, maybe more. Instead, on Tuesday I had to stop at the grocery store to get dinner (thus breaking my rule to not shop while hungry), and I picked up one of the deli's XL Turkey sandwiches (about 18 inches of torpedo roll piled high with turkey, cheese, lettuce, etc.), with the idea that I'd have one 6 inch section for dinner with the bagel bites I had already bought, and take the other two sections to lunch on Wednesday. Now, Tuesday I hit the gym after work, so it negated the sandwich and I stayed even on the weight. I had made the oversight of not picking up bagels or something for breakfast, so on Wednesday I started off with not just two bacon wraps from BK, but I got the whole damn value meal! Carbs are baaaaad, and they seem to be the biggest contributor to my weight (tortilla chips, rice, pasta, bread, and so on), and naturally I scarfed down the hashbrowns without a thought. Then came lunch. I ate the first part of the sandwich, and actually felt somewhat satisfied. But I had another really tasty sandwich waiting for me. So of course I ate it, telling myself that when I hit the gym on the way home, it would be fine. That and of course I wasn't going to have much for dinner. Granted, I only had one lean cuisine, but I supplemented it with Pringles of course, and some chocolate cake that DAPGF brought home! Oh, and the gym? Well, the weather has been good, and this is the most convenient 24 Hour Fitness with a pool, so I thought I'd swim laps. Everybody knows that swimming is kick ass exercise, and I figured that I can knock off 20-30 minutes on the elliptical without much of a problem, I should be able to get in 15-20 minutes of swimming without dying in the pool. So to minimize the amount of stuff and changing I would have to do, I decided to forgo the normal workout entirely (cardio, abs, weight) and just do the swimming. So I got to the pool at about 3:50 pm, and had to wait for a lane. For 20 minutes. 20 minutes I could've been doing any kind of physical activity if I'd been thinking about it. Finally a lane opens up. One full lap and I realize that it has been a good 7 months since I'd done any swimming, and jeez am I having a hard time of it. So I struggle through 10 minutes of it, but hell if I can even remember how many lengths I did (12? 16? 20?). So yes, it kicked my ass but unfortunately it wasn't nearly enough to undo the damage I did.
So what do I do now? I've spewed lots of words in this here corner of the interwebs, and some of them I've managed to follow through on, at least for a time, but I need more than words. I need to find the follow-through to make it work. So that's what I'm going to do. No more buying snacks in the middle of the afternoon (like I did on Thursday...don't know how I managed to not gain more than .2 lbs). No more monster meals like that damn sandwich, and no more doubling up my meals (2 lean cuisines instead of 1, etc.). Portion control...that was a key component in my father's recent weight loss, although his current significant other feeds him more that she should, and he's gaining weight again. He would sit down in a restaurant and either move half of the meal off to the side, or have the server box up half of it from the get go. That isn't really an easy option for me, because when I am out to eat, DAPGF and I are (with lunch) usually running errands of some sort or (with dinner) going to see a movie. Either way, food would have to be unrefrigerated and stinking up the car for 1 to 3 hours before I could get it home. And I really can't wrap my head around the idea of just eating half of it and letting the server take away half of a meal that I paid for. I try to be frugal (hell, cheap), and the idea of paying $10 for a BBQ chicken salad or $13 for blackened Tilapia Fish Tacos and throwing half of it away just kills me. So I eat what I order. But the horrible thing, and here DAPGF is truly my enabler, is the bread or tortilla chips that are provided prior to the meal. We tend to go to nicer restaurants, and they all tend to provide some sort of carboriffic experience while we wait for the meal. How can I not partake of freshly baked sourdough bread or tortilla chips with awesome salsa? All I can do is try to slow down and simply not eat as much of it. As to the rest of the meal...I will be even more diligent in what I order, and I will minimize the amount of food that DAPGF will shove off on me (she eats much less than I do). And when I'm not out with DAPGF, I'll stick to my single Lean Cuisine-type meal and try to do nothing else. For the most part, I'm pretty solid in my workout routine, and when I stick to the meal plan that I laid out here, I tend to experience the success that I want (I really do want to succeed and lose weight!). Now, there are two events on the horizon that lead up to the summer beach season. The first is my birthday in early April (go Aries!). DAPGF doesn't really like steak that much, so when I have an opportunity to nom on some dead cow, I take advantage of it. The second is in late April, when some of my cohorts and I will be participating in the Beer Belly Olympics. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Game of bowling, round of golf, darts, billiards, horseshoes, washers, poker, etc., and lots of drinking. I've got to make the losses happen, so that those two events don't do a lot of damage. And to top it off, in honor of my little sister, I'm going to try to go without Diet Coke (or any soda) this weekend. This will not be easy, but I'm going to try. Wish me luck, peeps.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Motivation, let's see, I know I had some around here...
Yeah, I've been a bad boy. Valentine's Day had the unfortunate (for my weight) luck to coincide with my getting my appetite back after my wicked illness. That reacquisition of the appetite has led to my rediscovering snacking at work. And when shopping at lunch for groceries, getting extra stuff besides the Lean Cuisine-type meal I already brought. Not good, Hoff. I went a week without running in the morning (bad, naughty Hoff!), and I know that is going to be a difficult proposition with the Daylight Savings Time change. Still, the weight has been going in the wrong direction (Loozin wate, I'm dooin' it rong), and that's gotta change. So here I am rededicating myself to this weight loss effort. You know, it seems I need to do this almost once a month. This idea is actually somewhat consistent with something I observed a couple of years ago. Focusing on a long-term goal is fine, but it is so easy to discount minor setbacks (ooh, I gained a pound this week, but I'll make up for it in no time), because they are relatively small in comparison to the big goal. Lately, I've let that slip and have been focusing on the larger goal. Time to get back to the basics. Weekly goals. I know that I said that to hit my big goal, I've got to lose 3-ish pounds per week. That is not going to be easy, but I'm going to make every effort. No more Pickup Stix. No more Cheesy Bacon Wraps from Burger King. No more extra snacking at work. Fixed calorie count, every day. What I bring to work is all I'm going to eat (plus dinner, duh). Now that DAPGF has started teaching a new quarter, I've lost one of my gym nights. To make up for that, in addition to the running in the morning (going to be difficult for the next week or so), I'm going to try and hit the driving range once or twice a week, depending on what my work schedule will allow. Non-golfers may not believe it, but a golf club weighs a couple of pounds, and swinging that in a full rotation 90 to 100 times in an hour will burn 500-ish calories in an hour and allow you to break a slight sweat. Wish me luck, peeps!
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