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 15 - May 18, 2013

Weight:            246 lbs.
Body Fat %:     33.5%
Composition:    82 lbs fat  / 164 lbs. lean body mass
H20 %:            47.5%  (117 lbs )


The scale was good to daddy today. The comprehensive weigh-in looked good. My son was even a good boy at the restaurant this morning.  What a good start to the day. 

So as planned, I went to Timbers this morning for breakfast/brunch.  First, I went to the gym and did an interval cardio workout (for the first time since I started).  I did a 25 minutes pyramid with 3 min warm up and cool down. After getting home, showering and gathering up the family, I headed out for brunchfast.  I upgraded from the Baby Bear (2 eggs, 2 sausages or bacon, hash brown and 2 pancakes) to the Big Bear (3 eggs, 2 bacon, 1 sausage, hash browns and 2 pancakes.)  I made the change for the additional protein.  The plan was to fill up on the proteins and if their was any room left, to have some of the pancakes and potatoes.  Well, I ate all the protein and still had room left for the hash browns and 1.5 pancakes (w/butter and syrup).  I also had 2 glasses of water.  It was a lot food, I chewed slowly, but there was still plenty of room.

I took my son to a toddler birthday party today.  Would  I eat the cake or a veggie option?  Well, there was a veggie (fruit) option, but I was distracted and just threw a cupcake down my throat before I realized what I had done.  We stopped at Fat Burger on the way home (what was I thinking, right?).  I'd been dying for a burger all day.  I left out the fries and figured I would eat my burger with some veggies at home. 

I ordered a large just out of habit.  I'm starting to think more about portion control.  Once I took it out of the bag, I knew I probably would have been content with a small or a medium burger.  I didn't need the 1/2 lb burger, even though there was plenty of protein (and fat and processed carbs). Yes, I ate the bun.  I'm learning! I'm learning.  Trying to change my ways.  I washed it down with my half multivitamin, Omega-3 capsule, and a Coke Zero.  That was my first sweet bubbly brown water drink (cola) since I started.  I was done after a few sips, but finished drinking it anyway (hard to explain why - guess I didn't want to waste it?)  Back to usual tomorrow.  I don't miss my old habits much.



Pre-Workout Meal:
12 oz chocolate milk



Post-Workout Brunch:
Big Bear Breakfast - 2 fluffy pancakes, 3 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of thick applewood smoked bacon, 1 breakfast sausage, hash browns and a thin orange slice (might be garnish, but still tasty.)
24 oz water


Party food:
1 cupcake


Dinner:
Large Fat Burger w/ cheese, no pickles
Handful of baby carrots
20 oz. Coke Zero

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

Day 14 - May 17, 2013

Weight: 246.2 lbs.

Still nice to see the scale is working again.  Breakfast was a tasty omelet with chorizo, spinach and onion.  I had lunch with my wife (and son).  We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and had the lunch special (upgraded the fries to a salad).  I'm guessing they don't serve many salads there.  My salad came with the butt of the head of lettuce (which should have been thrown out, not into my salad).  I also had 8 garlic Parmesan wings.  I could have been content after 4, but I finished the other 4 anyway.  I figured a light dinner would offset the extra wings.  I had a salad for dinner.  The romaine lettuce in the fridge had turned on me, so I made the salad with Spring Mix. Dessert was a little fruit.  I think it was a good day.

So five days in a row at the gym, still inspired mostly by having an afternoon indoor activity for my son during the hot Vegas Spring (it's not even summer yet).  I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill, then did about 30 minutes on the bike.  I took a peek at the Friday afternoon boxing class.  I would have jumped in had I been wearing a shirt without sleeves.  So next week

I decided a few days ago that tomorrow's breakfast is gonna be a cheat meal.  I'm going to have pancakes.  I'm not sure how many pancakes.  I'll finish the sausage and bacon and eggs first.  I'm also going to do a cardio or weights workout before hand to prime the carb burning pump. We'll see how it goes.



Breakfast:
Chorizo and spinach omelet (2 eggs)
16 oz water w/ lemon juice
16 oz water



Lunch:
Side salad w/ blue cheese dressing
8 Parmesan Garlic wings

24 oz water


Dinner:
Salad w/ blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, croutons, pecans, apples and shredded  chicken
16 oz water


Dessert:
1 banana
1 pear
16 oz water

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

Day 12 - May 15, 2003

Weight: 248 lbs.

Looking down at the scale this morning was very frustrating.  The scale was still moving in the wrong direction.  It's more infuriating that  I have also worked out both of the last two days (which means I burned more calories than any of the days that the scale moved in the correct direction. These are the type of things that usually drive me to give up and console myself with a pizza (or at least half of one.) 

Breakfast was leftover dinner bits from the other night, plus 2 eggs (for even more protein).  Lunch was also mostly leftover from the fridge.  I'm experimenting with shakes/smoothies.  Getting the proportions and taste right are the tough parts.  For dinner I grilled a package of chicken thighs, so there's chicken for dishes for the rest of the week.  Shredded chicken can be added to salads or just about any dish.  The thighs can also be eaten as they are.

So today is the third day at the gym.  It's very hot outside and only going to get hotter.  It was 102 yesterday.  So, I need somewhere to take my son in the afternoon, but its too hot out to go to the park.  So I take him to the gym (free childcare included).  While I'm there, I figure I might as well get a workout in (otherwise people look at you funny).  My gym has a cardio theatre where you can watch movies while doing your cardio.  So the last two days I watched the last hour of Forrest Gump and Big while walking and bicycling.

I wonder if it's possible that I'm not getting enough calories, so my body is holding tight to what it has.  I'm thinking of adding a few smoothies  to my daily menu.   I noticed in previous diets that when I've fallen off the wagon, I lose weight and look leaner for the next few days, perhaps my body responding to an end of scarcity. Still trying to figure it all out.


Breakfast:
Leftover bits of steak and shrimp from a couple days ago
2 eggs.
16 oz water


Lunch:
Leftover Tuscan white bean soup
smoothie - plain yogurt, honey, 1/3 banana, 3 strawberries, tbsp of crunchy peanut butter


Dinner:
chicken thigh
ear of corn
16 oz water w/ lemon juice
16 oz water


Dessert:
1 mango

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