Last week was a pretty good week. My older son and I attended 3 days of Cub Scout Day Camp, and I managed to keep the weight stable through that. I slid through a snack day at work without causing too much distress. (Up two tenths of a pound, the smallest increment my scale will measure)
Then, came Friday. We spent a weekend in Southern Illinois visiting family. We had long ago decided that we wouldn't burden others with our dietary choices, but would instead try to fit our diets into their food framework. Ha!
Friday night was McDonald's in the car. They have some healthy foods, but the only South Beach compliant items on their menu are salads, which you can't eat while driving.
Saturday morning was reasonably healthy, but Saturday Lunch was with my boys, my father-in-law and brother-in-law at Buffalo Wild Wings. Again, there ARE a few items on their menu that fit the lean meat, low carb lifestyle that I'm supposed to be following. And my entree was one such (a grilled chicken wrap). But adding the giant basket of fried stuff that our table shared probably ruined any hope I had of staying healthy.
Dinner Saturday night was the sort of meal that was "almost" compliant (my father-in-law grilled)
Late Saturday night a few of us went to a Mexican restaurant late and had appetizers and desserts. Ouch.
Sunday breakfast, by request, I was very, very bad. I made homemade biscuits and gravy for my in-laws, and it was so good that I had two servings. With real pork sausage and not the turkey stuff I use at home. With real butter in the gravy, not light oil of some kind. (At least I held myself to 2% milk instead of whole or cream).
We skipped lunch, but dinner was Fried Chicken and a slice of pie.
Not only am I up several pounds this morning, but I spent a big chunk of the night being sick to my stomach. :-(
Serves me right.
On to the new week!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
When all the numbers changed.
Back on January 21, I blogged about my bathroom scale. (See - http://atrickleofrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-many-angels-can-dance-on-head-of.html)
One of the things we'd noticed was that my weight always was either an even pound or a half pound. . . 225.0 or 225.5 - and my wife's weight was always an even tenth of a pound 162.2 162.4 162.6 etc.
I wondered where the point was where the scale switched from rounding to the half pound and started rounding to the 5th of a pound. Well now I know.
My weight Thursday morning was 220.5, and Friday was 220.0. This morning . . .219.6.
So, for any weight under 220, the scale rounds to the nearest even tenth of a pound. Pretty cool.
On a side note, this morning's weight for Karen was 164.4, which is her lowest weight since the birth of our children. (Although, she emphasized, she is NOT to her pre-pregnancy weight yet)
We're easing back into Phase 2 this morning, so wish us luck. On Phase one for the last week we've experienced about a half pound to a pound of weight loss per day. Once we slip to phase 2, we typically look for a pound a week.
One of the things we'd noticed was that my weight always was either an even pound or a half pound. . . 225.0 or 225.5 - and my wife's weight was always an even tenth of a pound 162.2 162.4 162.6 etc.
I wondered where the point was where the scale switched from rounding to the half pound and started rounding to the 5th of a pound. Well now I know.
My weight Thursday morning was 220.5, and Friday was 220.0. This morning . . .219.6.
So, for any weight under 220, the scale rounds to the nearest even tenth of a pound. Pretty cool.
On a side note, this morning's weight for Karen was 164.4, which is her lowest weight since the birth of our children. (Although, she emphasized, she is NOT to her pre-pregnancy weight yet)
We're easing back into Phase 2 this morning, so wish us luck. On Phase one for the last week we've experienced about a half pound to a pound of weight loss per day. Once we slip to phase 2, we typically look for a pound a week.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Continuing On . . .
I didn't expect to just STOP blogging when I reached the one year anniversary of my start on a healthier path. . . but my schedule got a little full and it just sort of happened.
Same way with the weight loss. On May 15, I weighed 221 pounds, a loss of 61 for the previous 12 months. So . . . with great fanfare I created a new spreadsheet with our weights, and put the starting weight at 221 instead of 282. Perhaps I jumped the gun a bit. In the last 31 days, we've travelled a little bit, we've been to a couple of parties, a church pot luck. We've adjusted to a summer schedule that sometimes means meals on the run . . .
The end result, of course, is that weight loss stopped also. In fact, weight gain commenced. Most of the last four weeks we've been on our various plateaus with me up about 2 pounds and my wife up about a pound. The peak came 10 days ago, when we returned from a weekend professional development course my wife took. . .7 weekend meals all out and about (2 of them were picnics with healthy food, but the others -- the worst kind of restaurant meals). I peaked at 226 pounds, up 5 from my "beginning" weight.
Since then, we've gotten strict again. Correct portion sizes, no junk food. We rediscovered fresh seafood. And for the last 5 days, we've been back on Phase 1 -- no carbs.
So, at 31 days in to year two, I'm back to 220.0 pounds -- exactly one pound less than a month ago.
My wife, providing a great example for me, is down almost two pounds from a month ago. (And her peak weight was only about 2 pounds up from her May 15 start)
Wish us luck, as we continue on!
Same way with the weight loss. On May 15, I weighed 221 pounds, a loss of 61 for the previous 12 months. So . . . with great fanfare I created a new spreadsheet with our weights, and put the starting weight at 221 instead of 282. Perhaps I jumped the gun a bit. In the last 31 days, we've travelled a little bit, we've been to a couple of parties, a church pot luck. We've adjusted to a summer schedule that sometimes means meals on the run . . .
The end result, of course, is that weight loss stopped also. In fact, weight gain commenced. Most of the last four weeks we've been on our various plateaus with me up about 2 pounds and my wife up about a pound. The peak came 10 days ago, when we returned from a weekend professional development course my wife took. . .7 weekend meals all out and about (2 of them were picnics with healthy food, but the others -- the worst kind of restaurant meals). I peaked at 226 pounds, up 5 from my "beginning" weight.
Since then, we've gotten strict again. Correct portion sizes, no junk food. We rediscovered fresh seafood. And for the last 5 days, we've been back on Phase 1 -- no carbs.
So, at 31 days in to year two, I'm back to 220.0 pounds -- exactly one pound less than a month ago.
My wife, providing a great example for me, is down almost two pounds from a month ago. (And her peak weight was only about 2 pounds up from her May 15 start)
Wish us luck, as we continue on!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
One year and counting
Today I had my annual physical with my doctor. We're not going to dwell on blood chemistry, other than to say my LDL "Bad" Cholesterol is the lowest level it's been since I started seeing this doctor 6 years ago. And to say that my HDL "Good" Cholesterol is better than it was at the start of the process, but not as good as six months ago.
The big news, of course, is that on April 29, 2011 I weighed 282.5 on my doctor's scale and today I weighed 221.0 on my doctor's scale. 61 and a half pounds in 12 months. I have another 21 pounds to go to hit my final goal weight.
That's the good news. The bad news is that my weight has hit somewhat of a plateau. On March 23, I was 222.0 on my scale. The lowest I've had since then was last Sunday, May 13, when I was 220.0. The doctor and I discussed my diet, and potentially tweaking it a little . . . but he says I've reached the point of diminishing returns on my diet. So now it's time to exercise more . . . I was afraid he'd say that.
I'm already walking three miles a day, most days. On those occasions when I've tried to run, I've deeply regretted it the next day. However, I'm assured that with ice, Tylenol and icy-hot, I should be able to lumber my way through a mile run a few times a week. We'll see.
I'd much rather reflect on what I've learned on 366 days (Leap year!) on the diet. . . which is not what Dr. Agaston wanted me to learn. The ACTUAL South Beach Diet focuses on lots of vegetables and on "good carbohydrates" and lean meat. What I REALLY discovered was that even the bad foods are OK if you deal with proper portion sizes.
Tonight's dinner, for an example. I had 4 oz of lean beef, a half cup of steamed broccoli and 2.5 oz of New Potatoes (boiled, not fried). The potatoes are a "V" in the South Beach book, meaning "Very Rarely." 367 days ago, I would have had twice as much meat, and either twice as many potatoes, or maybe some pasta. And definitely some bread. And dessert.
The other fun thing is that the diet has forced me to change the way I cook. Yes, we occasionally fail just a little bit, and give the boys something less healthy and more kid-friendly. But if you'd told me at the beginning of April last year that the end of this week I'll be enjoying roasted fish and vegetables for dinner. I would have laughed at you. I ALSO wouldn't have believed you if you had told me that every so often we're vegetarians for a day, or that we'd have a garden to grow our own fruit and vegetables. (It's true! Planted last Saturday, with Tomatoes, Eggplant, Squash, Zucchini, Peas, Pumpkin, Cucumbers and Watermelon)
Tomorrow morning, I'll get up, weigh myself -- and hope it's less than the 220 that my scale reported this morning. And then I'll make the first entry into a new spreadsheet. . . and instead of telling me that I've lost 57 pounds (MY official first day weight on my home scale was 277) . . .it's going to say weight lost = 0.
For the OTHER big number -- my BMI at the start of this process was 39.74, which is defined as the medical community as "Severely Obese." (40.0 is "Morbidly Obese) Today it's 31.56, which is listed as Moderately Obese. My next serious goal is 209 -- which will bring my BMI to 29.9, which is the highest BMI to be listed as "Overweight."
My lovely wife, in sticking with MY diet, has also lost 30 pounds, and she wants to lose another 30 -- which would get her to her pre-kids weight.
So, on to year two!
The big news, of course, is that on April 29, 2011 I weighed 282.5 on my doctor's scale and today I weighed 221.0 on my doctor's scale. 61 and a half pounds in 12 months. I have another 21 pounds to go to hit my final goal weight.
That's the good news. The bad news is that my weight has hit somewhat of a plateau. On March 23, I was 222.0 on my scale. The lowest I've had since then was last Sunday, May 13, when I was 220.0. The doctor and I discussed my diet, and potentially tweaking it a little . . . but he says I've reached the point of diminishing returns on my diet. So now it's time to exercise more . . . I was afraid he'd say that.
I'm already walking three miles a day, most days. On those occasions when I've tried to run, I've deeply regretted it the next day. However, I'm assured that with ice, Tylenol and icy-hot, I should be able to lumber my way through a mile run a few times a week. We'll see.
I'd much rather reflect on what I've learned on 366 days (Leap year!) on the diet. . . which is not what Dr. Agaston wanted me to learn. The ACTUAL South Beach Diet focuses on lots of vegetables and on "good carbohydrates" and lean meat. What I REALLY discovered was that even the bad foods are OK if you deal with proper portion sizes.
Tonight's dinner, for an example. I had 4 oz of lean beef, a half cup of steamed broccoli and 2.5 oz of New Potatoes (boiled, not fried). The potatoes are a "V" in the South Beach book, meaning "Very Rarely." 367 days ago, I would have had twice as much meat, and either twice as many potatoes, or maybe some pasta. And definitely some bread. And dessert.
The other fun thing is that the diet has forced me to change the way I cook. Yes, we occasionally fail just a little bit, and give the boys something less healthy and more kid-friendly. But if you'd told me at the beginning of April last year that the end of this week I'll be enjoying roasted fish and vegetables for dinner. I would have laughed at you. I ALSO wouldn't have believed you if you had told me that every so often we're vegetarians for a day, or that we'd have a garden to grow our own fruit and vegetables. (It's true! Planted last Saturday, with Tomatoes, Eggplant, Squash, Zucchini, Peas, Pumpkin, Cucumbers and Watermelon)
Tomorrow morning, I'll get up, weigh myself -- and hope it's less than the 220 that my scale reported this morning. And then I'll make the first entry into a new spreadsheet. . . and instead of telling me that I've lost 57 pounds (MY official first day weight on my home scale was 277) . . .it's going to say weight lost = 0.
For the OTHER big number -- my BMI at the start of this process was 39.74, which is defined as the medical community as "Severely Obese." (40.0 is "Morbidly Obese) Today it's 31.56, which is listed as Moderately Obese. My next serious goal is 209 -- which will bring my BMI to 29.9, which is the highest BMI to be listed as "Overweight."
My lovely wife, in sticking with MY diet, has also lost 30 pounds, and she wants to lose another 30 -- which would get her to her pre-kids weight.
So, on to year two!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Just In Time
I've had a pretty good week on South Beach "Phase 1" -- it's in quotes because carbs sort of crept back into my diet in both weeks we were supposed to be avoiding them (Including lunch in a few minutes and dinner tonight).
However, we've been pretty well behaved, and I've hit the excercise hard (including as soon as I finish this post, and before lunch -- the boys are pretty excited about getting to help walk the dog)
The good news is . . . next weekend is the Boy Scouts "Lincoln Pilgrimage." Every year since 1946, the Scouts have assembled in Springfield. For the first several years they gathered at the State Capitol Building and paraded to Lincoln's Tomb. Then for many years it was reversed. Nowadays we walk from Lincoln's Tomb to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Next Sunday will be my 21st Lincoln Pilgrimage (I was a participant for 20 consecutive years, 1981 to 2001, and haven't been back since). . . and to celebrate, I've managed to reduce to the point where I can wear yet more old clothes.
My dark green uniform trousers now fit, and I'll be wearing them for Sunday's parade. My long sleeved uniform shirt is a size L, and it's slightly tighter than I wish it was. But if the weather is cool enough for long sleeves. . . the shirt fits, and I'm going to wear it.
Alas, my beloved 24-year-old "Red Jac-shirt" is still awfully tight. It is possible to wear it, but it looks awfully tight.
I tried it on this morning and the boys each reacted strongly. John said "Wow, look at all the patches! What do they mean, Dad?" and Joshua said "Dad! That's too small!"
So progress remains to be made.
However, we've been pretty well behaved, and I've hit the excercise hard (including as soon as I finish this post, and before lunch -- the boys are pretty excited about getting to help walk the dog)
The good news is . . . next weekend is the Boy Scouts "Lincoln Pilgrimage." Every year since 1946, the Scouts have assembled in Springfield. For the first several years they gathered at the State Capitol Building and paraded to Lincoln's Tomb. Then for many years it was reversed. Nowadays we walk from Lincoln's Tomb to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Next Sunday will be my 21st Lincoln Pilgrimage (I was a participant for 20 consecutive years, 1981 to 2001, and haven't been back since). . . and to celebrate, I've managed to reduce to the point where I can wear yet more old clothes.
My dark green uniform trousers now fit, and I'll be wearing them for Sunday's parade. My long sleeved uniform shirt is a size L, and it's slightly tighter than I wish it was. But if the weather is cool enough for long sleeves. . . the shirt fits, and I'm going to wear it.
Alas, my beloved 24-year-old "Red Jac-shirt" is still awfully tight. It is possible to wear it, but it looks awfully tight.
I tried it on this morning and the boys each reacted strongly. John said "Wow, look at all the patches! What do they mean, Dad?" and Joshua said "Dad! That's too small!"
So progress remains to be made.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Doughnut Disaster
Ugh. I've spent the last two weeks proving that stress + opportunity = overeating.
Since Easter, I've theoretically been on "phase 1" the most restrictive part of the South Beach Diet. In practice, not so much. We abandoned Phase 1 entirely over the weekend (pancakes Saturday morning and Pizza for dinner tonight), and that was the BEST part of the week.
We had a couple of minor problems at the office this week, both of which were coincidentally on the days when someone brought goodies. So in a work week when I was supposed to be avoiding carbohydrates completely, I managed to eat four doughnuts and a slice of cake.
And the scale shows it. . . on March 23, I hit 222 pounds. The next day, 221. By the Monday after Easter I was back to 224. Phase 1 was good to me the first half of the week, bringing me back down to 222 by Wednesday . . . but then the doughnut disaster happened, and by Friday I was back to 225. Other than pizza crust and pancakes, I've behaved over the weekend, and Friday was pretty good.
And, most importantly, I exercised hard over the weekend.
And so I was back down to 223 this morning. Hoping next week is better than last.
Since Easter, I've theoretically been on "phase 1" the most restrictive part of the South Beach Diet. In practice, not so much. We abandoned Phase 1 entirely over the weekend (pancakes Saturday morning and Pizza for dinner tonight), and that was the BEST part of the week.
We had a couple of minor problems at the office this week, both of which were coincidentally on the days when someone brought goodies. So in a work week when I was supposed to be avoiding carbohydrates completely, I managed to eat four doughnuts and a slice of cake.
And the scale shows it. . . on March 23, I hit 222 pounds. The next day, 221. By the Monday after Easter I was back to 224. Phase 1 was good to me the first half of the week, bringing me back down to 222 by Wednesday . . . but then the doughnut disaster happened, and by Friday I was back to 225. Other than pizza crust and pancakes, I've behaved over the weekend, and Friday was pretty good.
And, most importantly, I exercised hard over the weekend.
And so I was back down to 223 this morning. Hoping next week is better than last.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Visible Progress
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