Day 28 - May 31, 2013

Weight:            243 lbs.
Body Fat %:     33%
Composition:    80 lbs fat  / 163 lbs. lean body mass
H20 %:            48% (116.5 lbs)

Fridays always start out as a rush.  I take my son to an relatively early class, that doesn't leave me time for dallying.  I started the day off with a quick smoothie from the Abs Diet book.  It was very tasty, now that I've started using vanilla yogurt instead of plain.

After class and playing at the park, we met my wife for lunch at Chili's.  I went with one of their lunch specials.  I got the California Turkey Club Sandwich.  I came with soup or salad, so I had the Chicken Enchilada Soup.  The soup was good.  The sandwich is actually a half-sandwich, but more than enough. There's avocado (healthy fat), bacon, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and onions on wheat Texas toast. The sandwich was accompanied by french fries, which I tossed.  I'm sure they were good, but I didn't need the extra calories.  I washed it all down with some H2O.

I had a mid-afternoon snack, then headed out for more toddler activities.  Afterwards my wife and I went for dinner at what I was told was a Lebanese restaurant recommended by a friend.  I had the beef kabob. It came with a small side salad and Mediterranean rice.  My son barely ate his quesadilla, so I grab a piece and put some guacamole on top.

I had to go to the gym late tonight.  Normally I go in the afternoon, but my schedule said otherwise today. Afterwards I finished the day with the worst smoothie so far.  It was made with bran cereal and tasted like it.


Breakfast:
1 serving PB&J Smoothie: yogurt, milk, peanut butter, banana, strawberries and whey
16 oz water

Lunch:
Cup of Chicken Enchilada Soup
1/2 sandwich - California Turkey Club Toasted Sandwich
20 oz water

Mid-afternoon Snack:
1 serving PB&J Smoothie

Dinner:
Beef kabob
side salad
1/2 serving of Mediterranean rice
1 bite of chicken quesadilla with a dollop of guacamole

Post-workout meal:
1 serving cereal killer: bran cereal, milk, mixed berries, ice, and whey

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

Day 24 - May 27, 2013

Weight:             244.2 lbs.
Body Fat %:     33.5%
Composition:    82 lbs fat  / 162 lbs. lean body mass
H20 %:            47.5%  (116 lbs )


So apparent the burger and fries (and ice cream) diet doesn't work.  It must have been just a stupid anomaly of the scale yesterday.  Today is a federal holiday (Memorial Day), so I might as well finish the experiment today and get back on the grind tomorrow.

The pastrami burgers provided lots of protein, as well as fat and carbs.  One big meal instead of several smaller ones throughout the day probably slowed down my metabolism.   Not getting any real exercise, besides chasing my son around, couldn't have helped either.

Breakfast was another smoothie recipe that I got from the book Abs Diet.  The smoothies seem to make breakfast simpler and faster in the morning.  Lunch was back to Sammy's.  It was delicious, but I won't be back anytime soon, for my sake.  Skipped the ice cream and beer tonight, just fruit, nuts and clear sugar free black cherry soda.

What's the scale gonna say tomorrow?


Breakfast:
2 servings Chocolate Factory Smoothie: chocolate milk, yogurt, peanut butter, whey and flaxseed

Lunch:
1 Sammy's LA Pastrami - Pastrami Burger: 1/2 lb pastrami + 1/4 cheeseburger
1/2 small bag of garlic fries
20 oz. clear sugar-free black cherry soda

Dessert:
2 big slices of watermelon
15 almonds
 20 oz. clear sugar-free black cherry soda

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

The Starting Line

I'm fat.  I have been for quite some time.  I arrived at college (Claremont McKenna College) at a slim 185.  Instead of the Freshman 15, the all-you-can-eat style dining halls lead to a freshman 30 and sophomore 20. Graduate school, a failed restaurant, and a new baby later, I weigh 255 lbs (36% fat). 

My mom recently came to visit me and left behind a couple of old photo albums.  I looked at all the pictures from my youth.  I used to be in such great athletic shape before college.

I've been eating like crap on and off for years. I mean, a large pizza from Little Caesar's is only $5.  Why cook in the sizzling Vegas heat.  I weigh the most I ever have in my life: 255 lbs.  That's 5 lbs more than I ever thought I would let myself weigh in my wildest or fattest dreams.  My XL clothes are more than a little snug, and I refuse to buy anything XXL. No way!


With all the talk of cleansing diets and fasts, I decided to fast for a day.  The idea was to give my digestive system a day off, something that's never happened in my life. The next day I ate only fruits and vegetables.  On the third day I crashed and burned. I binged and went back to eating fast food and processed crap.  The main reason I binged was because I just couldn't figure out what to eat, what to buy, what to cook, or even what restaurant to eat. I was in decision paralysis and I was lost. I realized I needed to find a way to make it simple for myself.

----------

In the past I have had the most success losing weight and eating healthy on low carb diets (usually South Beach, but also Atkins.)  I can't stomach the idea of going through  stage one or stages in general again.  I do  remembered that when I was doing stage one (South Beach) and Atkins it was the healthiest I've ever eaten.  It's not just low carb, it's lean meats and a lots of healthy vegetables.  I decided to alter the the ideas from South Beach, Abs Diet, Body Life and all the other weight loss systems I had tried with some success.  I was going to distill the best ideas from all of them.  I knew I wanted my approach to be low carb, but allow healthy items like fruit. It's fruit, how can it be bad for you? I want to eat at home more and eat real food.

I also need back up. Previously, the #1 reason I had resorted back to eating crap, when I was formerly eating health, was that I didn't have the time or opportunity to get to a healthy meal (e.g., working late, no time to shop, etc.) It would all head down hill from there.  So this time there's back ups in the system.  If all else fails I can always grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or grilled chicken from El Pollo Loco (EPL), then grab a bag of microwavable frozen veggies for dinner.  For lunch, there are a plethora of places that sell a fairly healthy salad (Wendy's and EPL come to mind.)  It should be pretty easy to stick to the new plan, and to eliminate the  processed foods that are probably killing me.

The change isn't so much to lose weight, but to live better through eating better.  Sounds kind of cliche, I know.  There is no specific finish line (not a month, or year, or 5 or 10).  I'm hoping its a lifetime of change.  I don't plan on turning back.  So they'll be One Less Fat Man in the world.


Statistics    April 29, 2013  8:26 am
Weight:   255 lbs
Body Fat %:   34%
Fat Weight:   87 lbs
Lean Body Mass:  168.8 lbs
H20%:   47.5% (121.5 lbs)

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