Day 22 - May 25, 2013

Weight:             244.2 lbs.
Body Fat %:     34%
Composition:    83 lbs fat  / 161.2 lbs. lean body mass
H20 %:            47.5%  (116 lbs )


The analysis had some good news and some bad new.   Weight was down in general, but up .2 lbs from yesterday.  Fat is up .5% from last week.  I somehow gained a pound of fat and lost 2.8 lbs of lean body mass, including an additional pound of water.  Seems strange, right.

Today I had this week's usual breakfast of sausage, eggs and oatmeal.  Now lunch! Oh lunch!  Lunch was the most calories I've eaten (in one meal) since I started.  There was probably more calories than some whole days.  It was planned to be this week's cheat meal.  I had the pastrami burger at Sammy's LA Pastrami.  I had no idea how big this "sandwich" would be. I also ordered the garlic fries.  My son fell asleep in the  car on the way there, so we ordered from the drive-thru and took it home.  I washed it down with a sugar free lemon lime soda.  I finished this 3/4 lb. behemoth of a sandwich and many of the fries.  Oddly enough, I think I could have continued and the old me would have kept eating, but I stopped.  Such a big meal put me out.  I think I slept for another 4 hours.  I knew I wasn't going to eat another real meal that day after that.

So for "dinner," I suggested ice cream.  My wife went along with it.  We went to Thrifty, which is a brand of ice cream shops (formerly based in the eponymous drug-store) that rarely exists anymore. My wife grew up with the brand, so she was easy to convince.  There "scoops" produce cylindrical ice cream scoops, which looks really funny on a cone.  I suggest ordering in a cup.

I figured I would get things back on track by finishing the day with a healthy snack of fruit and nuts, but I finished the whole day off with a beer, my first since I started.  The beer sucked, which made it less than worth it, but I couldn't stop myself from finishing it. You can't waste beer! Right?

We'll see how this all turned out tomorrow at the scale.


Breakfast:
2 Farmer John's pork breakfast sausages
1 scrabbled egg
1/2 serving of oatmeal with tsp honey and splash of almond milk

Lunch:
1 Pastrami Burger from Sammy's LA Pastrami: 1/4 lb cheese burger w/ Provolone cheese + 1/2 lbs of pastrami
1/2 medium order of garlic fries
Sugar-free lemon/lime soda

Dinner:
2 scoops ice cream from Thrifty: pecan praline and Amaretto cherry

Dessert:
1 banana
15 unsalted almonds

Night cap:
Blue Moon Blackberry Tart Ale

we'll see what the scale says tomorrow ...

Day 21 - May 24, 2013

Weight: 244.6 lbs

What the deuce?  That's a 2.4 lb swing since yesterday.  I am very surprised (positively).  When I began adding complex carbs in, my thought was that in case a certain percentage of weight loss was water, I wanted to get that gain out of the way (no tears later). I also wanted to max out the glucose in my muscles and liver, which comes with a certain degree of water. Turns out since I started adding in complex carbs I've lost weight, and today was a substantial loss.

Breakfast was familiar: oatmeal, sausage, egg and tomato juice. I had lunch with my wife at Buffalo Wild Wings.  The lunch special comes with 8 wings (I ate 4, based on my restaurant theory), and I upgraded the fries to a salad with blue cheese dressing.

It was back to the gym again today.  I did some sparring in boxing class today.  I did some face punching and some face punching avoidance for cardio.  By the time I got home, my wife was hungry and waiting.  So I didn't have time for my post workout meal: chocolate milk.  I downed a banana and the remnants of my son's peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat.  Dinner soon followed.  Sound familiar: brown rice and jambalaya.  Dessert was watermelon and almonds.  Hopefully, the scale continues to move in the right direction. 


Breakfast:
1/2 serving oatmeal with honey and almond milk
1 breakfast sausage
1 scrambled egg
8 oz V8 spicy tomato juice

Lunch:
4 Buffalo Wild Wings parmesan garlic wings
1 side salad

30 oz water


Post workout meal:
1 banana
part of a PB&J that my son didn't finish

Dinner:
1 scoop brown rice
2.5 scoops of jambalaya with chicken, shrimp and smoked sausage
16 oz water w/ lemon juice
16 oz water

Dessert:
2 big slices of water melon
15 almond
16 oz water

we'll see what the scale says tomorrow ...

Day 20 - May 23, 2013

Weight: 247 lbs.

 
Today was a challenge.  A challenge that I had hoped to avoid.  During my last pizza binge, I asked my wife to only bring the leftover pizza home if she was going to eat it for breakfast. I didn't want the temptation sitting in the fridge every time I open the door.  Oh course she said, "sure, honey!"

Breakfast was simple, just like yesterday with some oatmeal, sausage and tomato juice, then came lunch.  I had another round of indecision paralysis.  What was I going to have for lunch and where was I gonna get it?  I almost broke down and ate the pizza that was still sitting in the fridge. I figured that if I chucked the crust, the pizza was mostly tomato sauce, cheese and meat.  Then I looked at the white bread that was the foundation of the pizza and I had to say no. I had a shake from the Abs Diet book instead.

I went to the gym again today to give the little guy something to do in the afternoon.  In the cardio theatre at my Gold's, I watched most of Adam Sandler's Wedding Singer while walking and biking.  Dinner was brown rice and jambalaya again and probably will be for a while (keeping it simple).


Breakfast:
2 Farmer John's pork breakfast sausages
1/2 serving of Old Fashion Quaker Oats
8 oz VB Spicy Tomato Juice
16 oz water

Mid-morning Snack:
1/2 serving salted peanuts

Lunch:
Chocolate Factory Smoothie: chocolate milk, yogurt, peanut butter, whey and flaxseed.
    
Dinner:
1 scoop brown rice
2.5 scoops jambalaya w/ shrimp, chicken and smoke sausage


Dessert:
Several slices of watermelon
15 (unsalted) almonds

we'll see what the scale says tomorrow ...

Day 19 - May 22, 2013

Weight: 247.4 lbs

Got the train back on the rail today.  I'm experimenting with adding in complex carbs (oatmeal, brown rice, etc.)  I wanted to have some oatmeal with breakfast.  But 1) the normal portion size fills me up - no room for other food 2) I don't want to add to many additional carbs.  So I made a half serving of oatmeal and ate it with a scrambled egg, a breakfast sausage and some spicy tomato juice. I missed my mid-morning snack, too busy running around at another kiddie birthday party.  I was able to avoid the pizza and cupcakes this time.  Lunch was a half salad that I bought for lunch yesterday at Wendy's.

I went to an afternoon boxing class.  Class ended early, so I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Dinner included more complex carbs.  I had some brown rice with the jambalaya I made tonight.  Dessert was simply a banana and a handful of almonds.


Breakfast:
1 egg scrambled
1 Farmer John's pork breakfast sausage
1/2 serving of oatmeal (non quick oats)
8 oz V8 Spicy Tomato Juice
16 oz of water

Lunch:
Half Salad from Wendy's - Apple Pecan Chicken Salad
16 oz water

Post Workout:
12 oz chocolate milk

Dinner:
1 ladle brown rice
2.5 ladles jambalaya w/ shrimp, chicken and sausage (recipe from FoodNetowrk.com)
16 oz water w/ lemon juice
16 oz water

Dessert:
1 banana
1 handful of almonds
16 oz water

we'll see what the scale says tomorrow ...

Day 18 - May 21, 2013 - a Bad Day

Weight: 247.2 lbs

Today was a real off day.  Things never seemed to click at any point.  I mentally could not get things on track. Looking at the scale tick up another .2 lbs in the wrong direction was a frustrating way to start the day.

Breakfast was ho-hum.  I started thinking about pizza by 9 am and feeling bad about it.  I called my wife around lunch time and explained how my day was going.  She, oddly enough, was feeling the same way.  So, up went the white flag. Dinner would be pizza at Brewer's Cafe (Barley's Casino and Brew Co.) tonight. We also had a Groupon that was expiring soon.  I skipped lunch, partly due to food indecision paralysis (where to eat, what to eat, when to eat, etc.) and partly to save the calories for dinner.  Tonight was my first binge.  It's the worst day on the diet since I started, and I felt bad about it from the start.  I knew I had to get back on the rails the next day and not let this thing spiral.

Overall, I didn't get too far out of line (who am I kidding?).  I skipped lunch, not a good thing for metabolism, but I saved calories there.  I only ate two slices of pizza (far less than I used to eat on a regular basis.)  I didn't want to order the onion rings, but my wife wanted to order them ("for our son" ).  So I wound up eating half of those.  I only drank water, but finished the meal with bread puddling and a scoop of ice cream on top. I really fell off the wagon.  I felt out of control.


Breakfast:
 2 egg omelet with chorizo, spinach and onion
 16 oz water

Lunch:
No lunch

Dinner:
1/2 an order of onion rings
2 slices of meat lover's thin crust pizza
32 oz water
2 oz sample of blue berry hefeweizen

Dessert:
Slice of bread pudding with vanilla sauce and a scoop of ice cream

we'll see what the scale says tomorrow ...

Day 17 - May 20, 2013

Weight: 247.4 lbs/247 lbs


WTF? I stepped on the scale and almost 1.5 lbs had appeared since yesterday (a non gym day).  It took a while to feed my son this morning.  He must have been hungry.  Nature called right after that.  I then decided to try the scale again, why not?  Apparently, I must have pooed about half a pound (.4 pounds to be exact), because the scale was reading that much lighter.  Are you kidding me.  Oh well, another day.

So on Mondays I have boxing class first thing in the morning.  So my intention was to have a pre-workout meal (chocolate milk), but in all the rush of getting my son ready, I forgot.  So I worked out on an empty stomach.  My chocolate milk turned into a post workout meal.  After a cardio or resistence training workout, there is some leeway for carbs two hours afterwards (How to Get Thinner by the Minute - John Berardi, Ph.D.)  I figured I'd be fine with a chicken burrito from El Pollo Loco, so that's where I went for lunch with the wife.

I honestly, don't remember the rest of the day.  I don't think any bad food decisions were made, I just didn't mark anything down to remind my self.  As I write this several days later, I just don't have any recollection of what happened the rest of the day.


Post workout meal:
12 oz. chocolate milk

Lunch:
EPL avocado and chicken burrito
24 oz water

Dinner:
?????

Dessert:
?????

we'll see what the scale says tomorrow ...

Day 16 - May 19, 2013

Weight: 246 lbs


After yesterday's diversions, there was not much damage at the scale. Since I started a lifestyle change, I haven't had cravings for sweets.  I've always had craving for sweets, as long as I can remember.  Now when I get a craving, it's for bread really (pizza, pancakes, hamburger bun with a hamburger in it).  Come to think of it, I've always loved white bread, since I was kid.  My aunts told me that my father used to love white bread too.  Perhaps, it's a genetic hand me down.  Anyway, I did some internet reading on artificial sweeteners (just simple Google).  There is anecdotal evidence that suggests that artificial sweetener may cause an increased desire for sweet food items.   I have passed on the artificially sweetened drinks (water, please!)  I haven't craved sweet desserts at all.

For breakfast I made everyone a chorizo and spinach omelet.  For lunch I got lazy, and decided to eat out instead of prepare a meal.  I though falafel sounded good, it's just chick peas.  So, I went to a nearby Mediterranean restaurant I had never tried (Parsley).  They didn't seem to have falafel by itself, so I order the falafel bowl, which include 6 falafels, a layer of Mediterranean rice and a layer of salad.  I wasn't too sure about the rice.  I asked the woman behind the counter about the rice, but she wasn't too knowledgeable about what type of rice it was.  It was yellow and she just described it as Mediterranean rice.  I think she squirted some tzatziki on everything at the end.

My theory is that you can get away with eating half of any meal that's served to you in a restaurant and still be full.  So I ate half the falafel, but finished off the rice and salad because they wouldn't age well in the fridge.  For dinner I ate my leftover falafel and remaining chicken thigh (leftover from earlier in the week) with half a bag of microwaveable mixed veggies. Dessert was the remaining strawberries that my son didn't eat that day, plus a few baby carrots.    Not a bad day.

No gym today.



Breakfast:
Chorizo, spinach and onion omelet
16 oz water

Lunch:
Falafel Bowl: 4 falafel on top of "Mediterranean rice" and Mediterranean salad
16 oz water

Dinner:
Leftover falafels (2)
Leftover chicken thigh
1/2 bag of microwaved frozen green beans
16 oz of water

Dessert:
 4 unripe strawberries
2 handfuls of baby carrots
16 oz of water

we'll see what the scale says tomorrow ...