Monthly Archives: February 2011

No Count Day

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Most of the diet gurus I read from Tyler Weeks of 344 Pounds to John Rowley of Peak Performance Lifestyle advocate one day a week where you just don’t worry about what you eat.

I guess that’s not totally accurate.  The message is to allow yourself some fun and stay grounded in the real world.  Yes, stay mindful of what you put in your mouth but don’t sweat it if you decide to have a nice dinner out with friends.

That’s what happened with me yesterday.  For the first time since I started counting calories and logging them into my online calorie/exercise log, I went nuts.  Part of the reason was a power outage due to high winds.  No electricity, no heat.  It was cold and I couldn’t even warm up water for tea. My wife suggested we get dressed and go out for breakfast and then take care of some errands, maybe do a little shopping at a local Borders that is closing it’s store.  Hopefully, the thinking went, by the time we get back, power will be restored and we’ll be able to take a nice hot shower and take a nap.

Breakfast

We went to breakfast, alright.  One of my favorite breakfast places – the Tastee Diner in Laurel, MD .  It’s an old fashioned diner with old fashioned diner type food. Waitresses that call you “hun” and keep filling your coffee cup until you cry “Uncle”. I personally like the eggs and corned beef hash with toast. The only problem is that they really give you a lot of corned beef hash and that stuff is high in calories. God, it does taste good, though.

Lunch

Lunch wasn’t too bad. We got home about noon and the power was back on and the house was heating back up. I had a couple of clementines and some grahams and that was about it.  Not really too bad.

Dinner

By dinner I was pretty hungry and my wife had this idea earlier in the day to go out to dinner with some friends to a Mexican place called Sierra’s Grill and Taqueria in beautiful Beltsville, MD.  It turns out she had a $50 gift certificate and a hankerin’ for a Martguerita.

Well, I was game for that.  We made the call.  Our friends were game, too.  So we all got together for some good food and some sopapillas with ice cream.  Calories? I didn’t even want to guess.

The point, I guess, is that in order to avoid that deprived feeling a lot of dieters get when they don’t eat the foods they like or feel like they’re sacrificing socializing with friends, it’s good to get out and just stop the counting for a day.

That’s what I did.

Yes.  When I weighed myself this morning I was up a little.  Not a ton but some.  Now it’s time to get back on the program and count what I  eat and make sure I don’t go overboard.  It’s OK to say “To hell with it” one day.  It’s not OK to do it everyday.  Been there, done that, doesn’t work.

Girl Scout Cookies

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No. I’m not selling the over the Internet.

This is the season, though. All your friends’ Moms are calling or, if you  run into them, they’ll hit you up on the spot.

“Hey, can you buy some cookies for little Jessica.  It’d really be a big help.”

Sure. Why not? The box is getting smaller and smaller and the price is rising faster than gasoline at the pump. But, it’s for a good cause.  Right?

Yeah. They’re for a good cause even though the actual troop sees very little of the money. No matter.  It’s a rite of passage.

Here’s the real downside: they have tons of calories and they have this addictive quality about them.  I ordered a box of Thin Mints and a box of Samoas.  I haven’t broken into the Thin Mints yet but I did break into the box of Samoas and that was a big mistake.  Luckily, for me, I didn’t scarf down the whole box.  It would have been easy.  But what I did scarf down was the equivalent of 420 calories.  It took about 6 minutes and I wanted more.

I didn’t eat more but when I totaled up my calories at the end of the day, I had gone over my allotment by 565 calories.  Subtract out the Samoas and that would have been only 145 calories. Eliminating the pudding cup I ate (130 calories) or the grahams (140 calories) would have bought me down to even steven.  Sure.  I could have had the Samoas and forgone the pudding cup or grahams.  That’s one way of looking at it.  Or I could have just passed on the Samoas.

The result is that I gained back a little of the weight I was able to reduce.  Not a huge amount but enough to make me remember why Girl Scout cookies are dangerous to have around the house.

Damn.

Weekly Weigh-In … Week 11

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It’s been 16 day since my knee surgery and, thankfully, every day gets a little bit better.  I am not as diligent as doing my knee exercises as I need to be but I’m starting to get around a little more easily.

What is amazing to me is that I have been able to continue to reduce my weight.  Maybe it’s because I’m watching my calories and I’m probably not replacing the lost fat with muscle mass due to the lack of exercise. Maybe it’s the water.  Who knows?

In any case, today’s weigh-in was at 285.4 lbs. That’s down 17 lbs from when I started tracking on My Fitness Pal at the beginning of the year. It comes to about one and a half pounds a week. Not dramatic but slow and steady wins the race.

Hey, I’ll take it.  Every pound toward my goal of 180 lbs is good for me.  Obviously, I’d like it sooner rather than later. I guess when I’m able to hit the gym, again, in 6 weeks or so I’ll need to be really dedicated about it.

I’m going to ask the Missus to take some photos tomorrow morning to see if there is any appreciable change between when I began and now.  Stay tuned.

Sugar Jones

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Sweetness is one of my addictions. Yeah. I’m sweet.  But what I’m really talking about is my addictions to all things sweet.  Candy, cookies, cake. candy bars (why do these all start with C?).

I’ve been trying to get my sweetness from fruit – clementines and bananas, mostly – and, of course, there is all the sugar in everyday food. Bread has sugar, salad dressing has sugar, diet soda has a sugar clone, breakfast cereal (another C word) has sugar.  It’s a freakin’ conspiracy. However, I really have been trying to be a good boy.

I feed my sugar jones with chocolate grahams (the word cracker is no longer on the label since this cookie-that-looks-like-a-cracker is really not a cracker). Two full sheets (8 small quarters) is a little over 100 calories.  Not too bad. I stay away from ice cream and the rest of it…as best I can.  I’m told the longer you stay away from it the less you want it.  I’m told that after awhile, sugary sweet things taste too sweet.

I’m not so sure.

I went to my Rotary club meeting this morning and they has these really nice (and big) chocolate chip cookies that were left over from the previous night’s Board meeting. I mean, these cookies were deluxe. And big.  Not huge.  Maybe about 4″ in diameter.  There was a cookie pusher.  “C’mon. These things were expensive and we don’t want them to go to waster!  Take one. Free.”

I took two.  I figured I would munch very slowly on one and keep another one for later.  Lunch or something.  I took a bite.  Oh…My…God.  It tasted so good.  Before I knew it I was done with Cookie #1 and Cookie #2 which was in the passenger seat of my car was not going to last for the drive home. If I had taken 3 or 4 cookies they would have been gone, too.  Luckily, my one attempt at self control – only taking two cookies – saved the day.

As soon as I got home, I swilled down some water and managed to get myself under control.  It was a little lesson for me.  I can’t have just one.  At least, not yet. The stuff tastes so good that I just want to have more and more and more. I gotta remember, “Just Say No”.

Damn.

Does Water Really Help?

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I had this weird experience between yesterday and today.

For some reason, I felt thirsty yesterday.  Maybe it’s that I’m finally recovering from surgery and feeling a little better.  Maybe it was that I was doing a lot of domestic chores yesterday and really working up a sweat. Maybe it was….I have no clue.  But, I drank a lot of water and I visited the bathroom until I lost count.  It seemed than no sooner had I swilled some of the clear stuff down that I was hobbling down the hall.

Well, it turns out that almost a pound dropped off even though I went over my calorie level. I realize that day-to-day weight fluctuates more than the stock market. Still, I was kinda surprised because I really loaded it on for breakfast. Ham and cheese omelette , toast, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, preserves, cereal and milk (1%).  I added it all up and breakfast was over 1000 calories. Yes, I had lunch and dinner, too.

Did the water wash it out of me?  Who knows?  Maybe I just got lucky today and it was a combination of the activity, limited as it was, combined with the barometric pressure or something.  I often hear that drinking lots of water really helps with dropping the poundage.  8 glasses a day and all that.  However, I have my doubts and I know I’m not alone.  My colleague down in Atlanta, Rob McCance, doesn’t buy into it that much either.

In any case, I guess it doesn’t hurt to stay hydrated even if it means making that trip down the hallway every 20 minutes.

Writing It Down

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One of the bad habits I have found myself slipping back into is “forgetting” to log in my calories.   I have “forgetting” in quotes because, truth be told, I don’t really forget.  I just get too lazy to go to the computer and log the stuff in.

Lately, I’ve been thinking to myself, “Hey, I had a ham sandwich with mustard for lunch. Glass of apple cider. Pudding cup.”  I can remember all that.  Right?  I’ll just add it in a little later when I get in front of my computer.

The problem is that I actually forget what I ate.  Was that a ham sandwich or peanut butter and jelly?  Did I eat a banana or was that at breakfast? What did I drink?  There’s an old saying I learned years ago from a boss I despised – “The strongest memory is weaker than the palest ink.”  He used to drum that into our heads that writing things down and documenting things was critical.  No matter how good you thought your memory was it was no match for something you had written down.

Nowadays, of course, everything is electronic but the metaphor holds true – “The strongest memory is weaker than the palest ink.”

So, I need to strengthen my resolve to keep logging in the calories. Everything that goes into my mouth.  It’s the only way I know when I’m going over my limit. It’s what I need to do to stay on track.

Weekly Weigh-In … Week 10 (9 days since surgery)

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Even though today is the official weigh-in day, I took a sneek peek at the scale yesterday. It was amazingly encouraging.  In fact, I thought something was wrong. So when I got on the scale, again, today for the official weigh-in, I was delighted that it was only two-tenths different from yesterday.

Today’s number – 288.2 pounds!  Yowsa.

I haven’t been under 290 in a long time.  It’s really a bit of a milestone for me.

The only thing I can think of to explain the weight swing from about 291 lbs to 299 lbs to 288 lbs is that there may have been some excess fluid in my body from the arthroscopic surgery (they pump fluid into the knee area so they can get their instruments around) plus I had the bandaging and some clothes on. I’m also thinking that my body is probably burning some calories just trying to heal itself. Hell, I don’t know and I don’t care.

I did the scale thing two days in a row so as far as I’m concerned it’s pretty real.

So, I’m going with the 14 lbs weight reduction to date per the online calorie diary.  My Excel spreadsheet shows 15 lbs but I started that at my all time high of 303 lbs.

I’m also back to logging things into My Fitness Pal and I readjusted my calorie intake based on my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which can be found online, as well. It seems the more you reduce the less calories you can consume in order to keep reducing.  I’m at 2170 calories a day just to maintain.  If I eat less than that or exercise to burn the calories, I reduce.

Eat Less, Exercise More.  The magic formula.

Of course, my exercise is pretty restricted for the time being. So, it’s all the more important to make sure I don’t put too much in my mouth.

Mikey Likes It!

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Back in the day, there was a Life® cereal commercial that shows a couple of cute kids discussing the cereal.  Finally, they say,” Give it to Mikey. He hates everything.”

But Mikey eats it.

Sometimes I feel like Mikey.  The guy people give stuff to when they want to to get rid of the food they’re not sure they want or that they “don’t want to go to waste.”  Of course, it’s really my responsibility to say, “No, thanks.”  The reall challenge is that more times than not, I don’t turn it away. This is particularly true at home.

Sometimes I feel like my wife inherited the Depression era mindset that her mother and father had.  You know, never get rid of anything because it might come in useful at some point in the distant future.  And, God forbid, you throw any food down the garbage disposal.  Or leave it at the restaurant.  Better for it to turn into a science experiment in the refrigerator.

Or go into my stomach.

It’s tough to say “no” to someone you’re close to because it’ll either hurt their feelings or it’ll start a fight. That’s part of the cost of this whole weight reduction thing.  There are people who have a vested interest in me staying my same jolly ol’ fat self.  It either reflects badly on them because they aren’t in great shape or there is the fear that if I change too much and start looking really good with the extra confidence that comes with it, that I may start to look for new people to hang out with.  That would be bad news if one of those people was the person I was married to.

So, on the one hand, I kind of understand the background of “Hey, just have a little more.  Don’t let it go to waste.” and on the other hand I know I have to stay strong against this kind of good hearted, well intentioned feeding.

I’m kind of rambling here.  I don’t want to be mean or nasty and, truth be told, my knee hurts and the pain meds might be affecting my judgement but I can’t help but notice that there things other than my own, natural desire to eat when I’m bored, angry, frustrated, etc. Things that have nothing to do with me directly. Things I still need to be on the look out for.

The Knee Heals Slowly

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Here we are. Saturday. After the Tuesday of the knee surgery.

I haven’t weighed myself since last Thursday when the number was so disappointing that it might have put me off weighing myself for the foreseeable future.  Although it won’t.  I’ll get back on next Thursday.  If anything this knee thing may break me of the habit of looking at the scale every day.

On the other hand, it’s also gotten my away from my online calorie counter.

I’ve been trying to watch what I eat.  Trying to stick close to fruit throughout the day and a bowl of cereal and coffee in the morning.  But, true to my wife’s generous nature, the “goodies” sneak in.  In fact, I needed a ride to my office to hand in some paperwork and she wanted to stop for breakfast.  I didn’t know any place but as we were headed back home she thought of a Bob Evans.  OMG.  Talk about your calories!

Luckily, I wasn’t feeling that great or that hungry so so I didn’t chow down on the entire plate of stuff the waitress plopped in front of me.  Still, I’m guessing I put down over 500 calories or more. I’m not really certain.

The Knee Progress

All in all, though, I’m starting to  become a little more mobile.  My leg stiffens up quite a bit after I sit for too long plus my back starts to hurt.  Once I get started I can usually go with the momentum.  It’ll be good when the pain is completely gone and I get all my flexibility back but I’m guessing that’s a way down the road.

Friends

It’s also nice to hear from friends who are willing to help out.  One gave me a ride and carried my stuff to a real estate settlement last Thursday (I’m a real estate guy in real life).  A settlement that had been delayed almost 3 months.  All the legal issues around the title to the property had been cleared up and everyone was anxious to get things done. Waiting for me to get better wasn’t an option.

Other friends have extended the offer to help.  My Facebook friends have been sending their good wishes.  It’s really quite touching.  I even got flowers from my local professional association.  I’m the Treasurer of the Association so people know me but it was still a very nice gesture.

So, I sit around and read and listen to the news about Egypt and sleep.  Next Thursday, I get the stitches out. I hope I can actually walk unaided by that time.

Weekly Weigh-In … Week 9 (Post Operative Edition)

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OK.  This is Thursday.  The day I normally weigh-in and report.  This past Tuesday, I was in the hospital for a little arthroscopic knee surgery to take care of a torn meniscus.  I checked in at 5:30 in the morning and checked out at 3:00 in the afternoon.  While I was there, it was a good ol’ time.  Answer the same questions 10 times to 5 different people, get wheeled around and then the anesthesia and operation. A little time in recovery and a lot of time in post-surgical because of my sleep apnea.

The day of the surgery everything went fine.  I didn’t really talk to the surgeon afterward but my wife says he gave the thumbs up but mentioned he found some bone tissue or something that needed some work so that was done, too.  I guess I’ll find out next week when I go into his office to have the stitches removed.

In the meantime, I’m supposed to be lying around with my leg elevated above my heart to prevent swelling and clotting.  I’m here to tell you that lying around on your back most of the day isn’t as much fun as it sounds.  My leg has an Ace Bandage wrapped from my ankle to my groin and I can’t take it off for three days.  I wash up using baby wipes and a wash cloth since I can’t get it wet.

I’ll be glad to get back to normal.

The Weight Situation

As I mentioned in a previous post, I kinda went off the wagon the day before my surgery.  A steak and cheese sub and some birthday cake.  Well, the hospital actually fed me a decent meal that was both high in nutritional value and low in portion size.  Yesterday (my first full day home), I tried to stay to the fruits and water but, of course, a good friend came over with a sub and conversation.  Plus, my wife made her favorite high calorie pasta and ground turkey casserole.  I’ve also munched on some chocolate graham crackers.

So, I decided to weigh myself this morning anyway.  I usually do it buck naked but today I have on a few ounces of sweat pants and sweat shirt and the bandages. 299.4 lbs.  Which means I almost completely erased all the work I’ve done so far.

Now, I’m going to start to make excuses.

First, I’m a little, er, stopped up from the pain meds. One of the side effects is that is tends to, er, stop you up.  So there is probably a little bit of poundage in the solid waste hanging around my intestines.

Second, the clothes, the bandages and, yes, some extra food with zero exercise.

Bottom line:  Stop eating the crap and take a crap.

I’m hoping that Week 10 will show much better results even without the ability to exercise.  I will persevere and I will get to my goal weight.