Eric's Diary

I really think the largest part of my weight game came when I was working in a small business. Owning your own business creates some real food challenges. I disagree that you have to cut fast food out of your life, but it is definitely a good idea to cut it down. Too many empty calories will make it very hard to change your shape the way you want to.
 
Well it seems I've stimulated some interesting discussions!

I like the suggestion about the protein shakes - that might be a good way to mix up the mornings a bit.

As for the fast food, I've actually been pretty good. That burger I had on Saturday was only the second I've had in the past three weeks, which is a huge reduction. I have looked at the salads at McDonald's and other places, and I would caution people against looking at them too eagerly - many are full of almost as many calories as the burgers and fries, and, invariably, they are more expensive. Holding less of the addictive ingredients than a fast food chain's other products, they aren't as intested in selling them.

I do agree that I need to add a bit more variety to the diet. At this point that's very difficult for me. I'm on a small, irregular budget (one of the many joys of self-employment), so I shop for groceries when I have the money, and since when I don't know when I'll have the money again I tend to try and buy foods that won't go bad over time. Over the last few months I've been in an extended cash crunch, and I find that works better than anything else to keep me from eating out, though I really, really want to make sure I never quit eating out completely - some days that's my only interaction with other people. So since right now I'm between periods of spare cash it won't be that I'm not taking everyone's advice to heart, it's just that I'm going to be eating what I have in the cupboard.

On that note, here's what I had yesterday.

Lunch was a few slices of bacon and some lettuce (again, getting the perishables used up before the go too bad). Supper was the last of the lettuce and some pasta.

I think people are starting to notice my improved weight situation a little. Here's hoping.
 
u dont need variety.. u need an actual structured diet.

thats just eating any ol thing

plan your meals and do work

eat healthy and cut this BS junk food out
 
Checking in again...

Yesterday was interesting, to say the least....

Lunch was a bit of bacon, and a bowl of wanton soup.

Supper, ham on a bun, followed by a couple of slices of bread and two tea biscuits later on. And a beer, if you're counting those (and I do, they are full of calories).

Structure is tough, especially in my life. I know that it is important for maintaining healthy eating habits, but I don't know that I'll ever be able to get to that level of routine, so I think I need to find ways to keep the weight down without the regularity. More work, of course, but no one ever said this was going to be easy.
 
Ah, quite the contrary, Jeremy - it is happening.

I had another bit of good fortune this morning - the belt now fits easily into the new position, and it looks like the next hole in is going to be attainable sooner rather than later! I'm also noticing that I have a bit more energy now - it's a bit less difficult getting up in the morning, and while I was still very winded on Saturday (doing some very strenuous physical activity), I wasn't in total pain by Sunday morning - I was even able to go for an hour-long walk!

I know I still have a ways to go, I'm not kidding myself, but there has definitely been a change in the past few months since I started this. I'm coming up on the longest stretch of "weight loss" (I hate to say dieting, because that's not at all what it is) that I've ever been on, and while the body shape isn't changing as much or as fast as I'd like things are happening. I think that I'm learning to say "enough" when it comes to eating, and starting to limit my portions a little bit better. I still have too much of a "feast and famine" mentality though, and working on saying no when there's way too much good food to eat is still very difficult. I would like to have a better handle on when and where I eat out, and try and limit myself to the better fast food alternatives, such as they are, and try and keep the frequency down to about once a week.

If you recall my first posting, you'll know that I set a goal of October 25th or thereabouts for acheiving a healthy bodyweight. I still have that goal in mind, and I still think that I will meet it (if it were tommorrow I would still be happy with all I have accomplished, but I know that I can do a lot more in the time that remians). I also think, though, that I will continue on with this diary for a time after that, perhaps up until Christmas, perhaps even longer, so that I can really, really make healthy eating a habit that sticks. Even if I'm at a healthy weight, I think this forum may help me maintain it, as it gives me a badly needed outlet to discuss how I'm doing.

So, on that note, here's what I've been eating since Friday.

Friday: The last of the bacon for lunch, then some pasta for supper.
Saturday: A healthy burger for lunch and a Pepsi, then pasta for dinner (with some popcorn - without butter - later on at the movies).
Sunday: A can of tuna for lunch, then Thanksgiving supper of Ham, Scalloped potatoes, steamed vegetables, and apple pie for dessert.
 
Back from Thanksgiving, and busy at work, so this will have to be a quick one...

Lunch yesterday was leftovers (obviously) - ham and scalloped potatoes, with some peas. Apple pie for dessert. Supper was pasta. Going to be saying "pasta" a lot for the next little while - it's about all that's left in the cupboard.

More advetures to follow tommorrow.
 
Another short one today, as I'm down to just pasta left, and a can of peas. Had pasta for lunch and dinner yesterday, hoping to go for groceries sometime before the week-end to liven things back up.
 
Well today was going to be the "the-cupboard-is-bare, I'm-bumming-from-friends" posting, but fortunately I got some money in today, so I can go grocery shopping. Yesterday I finished off my can of peas (split over lunch and supper) and my pasta (again split over lunch and supper).

I'm looking forward to seeing if I can find some new and different foods and yes Jeremy, I may see about some chicken. I'm always a little leary of anything that will go bad quickly, as things can happen and I may not have a chance for a sit-down meal for several days at a time, but I think I can risk it this once.

More to follow.

Tried the next hole in on the belt this morning, but not ready for that just yet.
 
Well my grocery run yesterday was pretty good. Not much money to spend ($20 doesn't go very far anymore, does it?), but I was able to pick-up some vegetables, a couple of packages of soup, bread, yogurt, soda crackers, cold cuts for sandwiches and, just to be different, some fish. Tilapia fillets. I have a recipe, so I will be trying that out this weekend.

Yesterday was leftovers at my parent's place for lunch - some hamburger and macaroni a piece of ham and some bread with a lettuce salad and chocolate cake for dessert. Supper was a pair of grilled cheese sandwiches, and bit of yogurt for dessert, with a few crackers snacked upon, but, fortunately, not the whole tube like I used to, this time maybe about a fifth of it.
 
Weekend update:

Friday - can't remember what I had for lunch, but I had some pan-fried tilapia (fish) for supper, with a salad.
Saturday - bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, Subway for lunch, and the rest of the fish for supper, with a few crackers thrown in for snacking, and of course, yogurt for dessert.
Sunday - no breakfast, but soup and crackers and yogurt for lunch and, ugh, McDonalds for supper, with a package of beef jerky thrown in for good measure, and a couple of cereal bars to snack on.

As you can see, the weekends are still a problem...
On the bright side, the belt doesn't seem to be feeling any adverse effects of the binge, so that's something.
It has become clearer than ever that my waistline and how I'm feeling about the world are directly related, and I'd better improve the latter before the former will be able to sustain the progress that's been made.
 
Day one back on the wagon:

-cereal bar for breakfast
-two chicken loaf sandwiches for lunch
-scalloped potatoes, ham steak, peas, cauliflower tea biscuits for supper, with apple pie for dessert

Clearly, I need to not go home for supper quite as often. I was okay on the portions, but I'm not a working all day on the farm anymore.
 
Okay, a double-post today, since I missed yesterday.

Tuesday was a slice of pizza and a gingerale for lunch, then soup and the last tube of crackers for supper.

Wednesday I had Subway for lunch, then got some more groceries in the afternoon, so I had a can of spagetti-o's for supper.

Briefly flirted with the belt going in one more hole this morning, but it's not quite ready for that just yet.

Here's hoping.
 
Okay, things are going to get crazy for the next seven days, so postings may be a little erratic during this period, but we'll try and keep things as regular as we can.

So busy yesterday I had to settle for drive-thru McDonald's, but I did the "Junior Value Meal" thingy, so at least it wasn't as large a portions. Then I had a cup of soup later on.

That's all for now. I'll let you know how the weekend goes when I can.
 
Grinder,

Wanted to post a couple of notes from a guy with a similar profile to you.

1. I've got to agree with the other posters in that the biggest problem that I see with your diet is your food choices. I realized sometime last year that there is a big difference in just hitting a calorie mark (which is a great start!) and hitting it the right way. It I hit my calories (typically between 1500-2000) and am eating lots of protien, with reasonable fat and carbs I find I have tons more energy, it is easier to work out, and just makes me feel so much better about the overall thing.

2. You are lucky that your job allows you to expend energy sometimes. My job I literally spend most of the day on my couch with my laptop in my lap:) I would caution you against thinking that gradual lifting and similar work during the day is all the exercise you need. I have found that I really need to get my heart rate up to a high level for 30-60 minutes several times a week to lose weight. On the plus side maybe your work activity can substitute for some weights which I have to do also at the gym.

3. Fast food - man that's a struggle for me too. Last night I raided Taco Bueno after a long day on the road becuase no "healthy" fast food sounded good. Obv Subway can (but be careful) be good. I disagree with you on McDonalds salads. If you go with the grilled chicken and pick a good dressing (many times I substitute my own store bought dressing) it is a really great choice.

4. Breakfast - I never ever have been able to eat breakfast, but it's such an important part of weight loss, really gets your body going in the morning. While not perfect, the only thing I can successfully do is cans of slimfast (I only like chocolate and coffee). I just drink a can in the morning and it works for me. I don't think I'll ever be one of those people that can "make" breakfast and that's just who I am.

Good Luck
 
I'm back!

Well, here I am again, after an absence of a couple of weeks. I've just finished up a major project that completely dominated my life and left me with no time for anything else, so the postings (and the dieting!) took a bit of a breather. But here I am, back, and ready to resume things.

When I started out my original goal was to end the diet on October 25th, but as any good dieter knows, it's not a matter of simply reaching a goal, but maintaining it, and watching what you eat after you've lost the weight is just as important as watching it while you're losing. So here I am, proud to say that the weight that I lost (as proven by the new notch for the belt buckle) has stayed off, even through two weeks of high stress, erratic meals and junk food. I haven't recieved a lot of comments on my new look, but some people have noticed, and that has been nice. More important than that, though, has been that I have been feeling better, about myself and in regards to my physical health. My knees still kill me when I walk up a flight of stairs, and I can still barely function before noon, but I am sleeping a bit better, and I have more energy. I'm trying to do some physical activity every day, even if it's just walking a little more rather than driving (you live in a small town, you could drive everywhere inside of five minutes).

My goal when I started out was to get myself away from obesity, which, the last time I calculated my BMI, I was in danger of hitting. I am still well in the "overweight" category, but I have definitely made some improvements.

Now that I am back to making postings, I would like to set a new goal for myself. Since I don't have regular access to scales I like to use my belt buckle as the yardstick of my success. I was able to bring it in one notch and almost two by the end of October. I have another major event coming up in December - I'm going to be singing in a musical for Christmas. By that time I would like to have brought the belt in two more notches. If I were able to do that, comfortably, I would have a very small paunch, possibly none, and my figure would be much improved (perfect for playing a homeless person -that's the character I will be doing). I believe this will also improve my breathing, again very important for singing, but I don't know the science on that, so I'm not sure if it makes a difference in that way.

In any case, it's good to be back.

Grinder
 
Yesterday was a high carbs day, I think.

Breakfast was a cereal bar (my last for a little while), and then a bowl of Wanton soup with dry noodles for lunch. I highly reccommend the soup - it's got both noodles and chunks of beef, as well as onions and other vegetables. Three food groups in one bowl, and the perfect way to warm up as the snow was flying outside. Supper was pork and beans on toast. Had an extra piece of toast with supper, then two more slices later in the evening, hence the heavy carbs today. I find it hardest to limit the grains in my diet, because they form the basis of so many meals. I have a lot of pasta at home that I'll be eating over the next little while, so I'll have to spread it around as best I can to avoid the almost exclusive pasta diet I was on the last time my fridge emptied out.

More to follow tomorrow.
 
I couldn't get onto the site yesterday for some reason, so I'm going to try and see if I can remember two days worth of stuff here...

Wednesday I know I didn't have any breakfast, but lunch was a small salad and a grilled cheese sandwich. Supper was out, a ham omlette with some home fries (I felt like breakfast) and a couple of pieces of toast. Later on we had some sort of fruit smoothie that didn't really agree with me, but it was healthy enough - no cream or anything in it.

As for Thursday, that was a bowl of vegetable soup (with some crouton), perfect for warming up on a freezing cold day. I got a little creative for supper and had some pasta, stir-fried some vegetables, and had a sliced tomatoe.

I wanted to have toast later on, but I was able to resist. I have to ease up on the carbs, especially because I don't buy the "good" bread, I buy the cheap white stuff that's very, very bad for me, but I'm not ready to climb that mountain just yet. And besides, toast for breakfast would be a very good idea to get started on.
 
Weekend report:

Friday I had no breakfast, but since I slept in it wasn't too big of a deal. Had Subway for lunch, then wound up at my friend's place for dinner, where she fed me scrambled eggs and beans, so I guess that was okay.

Saturday I had a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, then broke down and had a burger and fries for lunch, though they were from the healthier place in town, not McDonalds. Supper was a chicken caesar wrap with a side of home fries.

I tried the belt another notch in on Saturday morning, but it just wasn't quite ready to go comfortably yet. I think that this week a lot of things in my life will start to calm down a bit, and maybe I'll be able to do a little less worry about my weight and a little more actual living, as that seems to be the best weight loss formula of all.

Here's hoping...
 
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