My New Diary

caddius

caddius

New member
I could tab onto my original diary from 2005-06 but a lot has changed since then. I am glad to know that I am currently weighing less than I did at the end of that diary but not by much. So here is my story.

I move to the Kansas City area In October. I haven't serious dieted in years and I let all the weight come back and then some. I was eating out a lot, essentially as we were testing out the local eateries. My highest weight, (that I am aware of) is 326. My normal weight should be less than 180.

So January comes and I start having some weird things happening. Drinking uncontrollably, and my vision seems to be getting considerably worse. I had not idea these were signs of Diabetes. A co-worker over heard me talking about it and suggested I may have Diabetes and need to see a doctor. Sure enough, I was at 301 Blood sugar and 10.1 AC1. And that was after 5 days of cutting virtually all sugar from my diet. My constant thirst and needing to use the bathroom ended when I stopped the sugar intake and the vision quickly came back after about a week on the medication the doctor prescribed. He also set me on a 1800 a day calorie diet and said to keep my percentage of carbohydrate intake between 40-50% a day.

I set myself up on Fit-Day and started keeping track. Also, I joined a Biggest Loser competition at work. It just happened to start that same week. Over the course of the next 4 months I dropped to 273 as I weigh today. I didn't win the Biggest Loser, but I did come in third and only about 1.5% under the winner. It was a fairly tight race. I had twice the weight to lose than most of the other top competitors, though.

After the competition I found I was not keeping up with my Fit-Day anymore and I wasn't loosing anymore weight. I didn't gain any, but I wasn't loosing either.

So today I restated my tracking and my goal sheet. I but my weight at the top and setup my first day. I also decided to look into a larger support group as we have here. I had totally forgotten about this site. It's been 8 years.

Here is a list of all the things I have been doing!

No soda. Soda is out. There is no turning back. (sticking to it this time, diabetes and all.)
1800 Calories a day
Walking 6000 steps a day (raising as I get better and find time to do it)
Track my Food and weight with Fit-Day.com
Monitor my calorie burn and work out goals and heart rate stats with a Basis watch
Keep carbs under 50% of my calorie intake

So far it has been working for me! BTW not a bit of issues with diabetes since the week after seeing the doctor the first time and my blood pressure is back to normal. I also watched my Resting Heart Rate go from about 90 to about 65 during this time.

Highest Weight: 326
Current Weight: 273
Goal Weight: 176
 
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Hey Caddius, Sounds like you got a good plan going. Keep it up. Congrats on losing that 53 lbs. Very impressive. All I can say is stay motivated and push your self. Ever since I started my weight loss and fitness I created a motto for myself that I have lived by since day one

"FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION"

Good luck bro. I'll be checking in and watch your progress.
 
Thanks Grey! I really appreciate the comments! Failure is not an option is very true, as now I know I am diabetic. I really don't have a choice anymore.

I thought as I write in here I would add in something I do as part of my weight loss plan. I covered the more basic things in the first post, but thought I would add in the other little things here and there.

Today I am going to talk about my breakfast. Every morning, at least on week days, my gracious, supportive and wonderful wife creates a vegetable and fruit juice I take every morning. Juicing started we we watched "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" on Netflix. It motivated us to get a juicer and we tried it out for a short while. I recommend the movie, but not necessarily the plans they say to do. I do, however, totally see the benefit of juicing.

So we decided to replace a single meal a day with a juice. Now I have the added issues of being Diabetic. Juicing is all sugar and no fiber, so this isn't the best things for me to be doing. In order to counter this I am doing to things. One, I choose a juice that is beneficial to Diabetics. It includes Carrots, Spinach, Celery and a Green Apple. Second, I add Psyllium Husk to each one for fiber.

I still have a couple pieces of toast each morning with the juice as it is just not a lot of calories to start my morning.

Here are my stats for today:
5/5
Calories Burned: 2654
Calories Ate: 1833
5/6
Weight: 273.5 (-.2)
Ran for 8 minutes twice with a 5 minute walk before, in between and after.
I felt better during that run than the 5K on Saturday.

Tomorrow is a walk day as I will train every other day to let my body rest and heal.
 
Woke up and took a 2 mile walk with my daughter this morning. It's a rest day from running. My schedule is to run three times a week, Tue, Thurs, Sat, and just walk on the days in between. I am working up to a 5k were I can run the entire thing, not take 2-3 minutes breaks every so often. Last Saturday was the first 5K I attempted to run in about 20 years. It was really tough after the first mile. My training I am doing now is meant to help get off the couch and running a 5k in about 9 weeks. However I was a little further along than it was given so I started about about week 6 which is running 8 minutes, 5 minute walk and then another 8 minutes. I have no problem with that. I do that run this week and then next week I switch to 10 minutes runs, 3 minute break. The challenge will be the following week where I just run a straight 25 minutes.

My next 5k I already signed up for is May 31st.

I dropped 1.7 lbs over the day. This usually happens the first few days I get back on a diet. I call it a false loss. Usually It will come back and then slowly drop to this weight again. But, we will see, sometimes it is legit.

5/6
Cal Burned: 3024
Cal Ate: 1999
5/7
Weight: 271.8 (-1.7)
Walked for 2 miles
 
its always good to go for walks with the family. I do it all the time.
Off the couch and running a 5k in 9 weeks sounds like your doing the C25K program. I did the same thing. Its a really good program.
 
Today was a run day and my daughter says her legs are hurting and doesn't want to run, but the whole family went so my son ran with me and didn't even break a sweat. He is eight, very thin and has all the energy in the world. I think when It comes 5K time it will be him running it with me.

Ran another 5/8/5/8/5 Felt a little more worn on this one. I suspect part of it is that fact that I am on Metformin. This is the Diabetic drug that specifically stops your liver from giving out energy when you body is crazing it. It is a way for the blood sugar count to get reduced to a normal level, however, after 4 months of this, and dieting, I suspect my levels are much closer to normal and when I am running, it is dropping. The other part, however, is it forces the fat stores to be depleted in order to get that energy, which is good, and I am seeing the weight drop like crazy. I dropped almost 2 whole pounds since yesterday. I still think it is a false drop but we will see in the coming days. Looking at my calories burned/ate I should have only lost about 1 pound over 3 days but I have lost nearly 4.

Today I did hit two milestones that I track. I haven't talked about this so it's a good place to bring it up. I keep a spreadsheet with a list of small goals all the way down to my long term goal. I track every ten pounds I loose all the way down to 160. I also have goals for BMI, Body fat, and Waist size. Usually about 2 ticks each milestone until we get down to the nitty gritty and then it's just one tick for each goal. Today I weighed less than 270, at 269.9 and my body fat was exactly 36%. I use an Iron Man scale that tracks like 9 different measurements. I pay the most attention to weight, body fat, and the visceral fat level, it was at 22 when I got the scales, and it is down to 18/19 now. A normal level would be below 13.

I also track certain weights where I remembered weighing that much during a specific time. For instance, I remember that I weighed 255 when I was married in 2001. This is an upcoming weight I am looking forward too, only 15 pounds to go!

I like the milestones cause I can focus on it and not worry about the big goal. It gives me a little celebration time to be proud of where I have got to and look back at what I came from.

5/7
Cals Burn: 2960
Cals Ate: 2034
Steps: 10800
5/8
Weight: 269.9 (-1.9)
Walked/Ran 5/8/5/8/5 minutes
 
What is your current height and weight?
5'10.5" 269.9#
If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be?
<176#
At what weight would you like to be at four months from now?
<234#
Why do you want to lose weight?
A lot of reasons, but mainly to feel better and be able to do more than just sit around. The main motivator this time was that I was diagnosed with Diabetes.
Do you want to lose weight for a specific life event such as wedding or reunion? If so, when is that event?
No, I just want to lose the weight and get healthier.
What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals?
Not keeping track of my food intake is the biggest hurdle, it's a daily feat I must take on.
Why do you think that you now have a weight problem?
Sugar, Soda and a sit down job.
What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight?
Taking 10,000 steps a day, running, Cutting sugar, especially soda, keeping track of what I eat.
Have you lost weight in the past? If so, what has worked in the past to help you lose weight?
Yes, All the above. When I stop doing that, I gain the weight.
Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back?
I stop paying attention to what I am eating, and just stuffed my face. I have found out that sugar is working against you as it makes you think you are hungrier than you really are.
What, if anything, has not worked for you in the past in helping you to lose weight? Why do you think it did not work?
I can't say anything doesn't work, but I know things I don't like, such as fad diets, like Adkins. I tried that and felt like I was starving. I didn't like it.
Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time?
I will and I do! I use Fit-Day.com to keep track of my foods.
Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook?
My wife cooks for us about 5 times a week.
How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go?
Probably 3-4 times a week counting lunch and dinner. Where we go various, Yesterday we went to Panara Bread, sometime Texas Road House, or we order Pizza.
What are your three favorite foods?
Chocolate, French Fries, Hamburgers.
What are your three favorite restaurants?
Texas Road House, Lambert's Cafe, Jack Stack Barbeque.
What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food?
Cutting out soda, which I have done, Track foods I am eating, which I do, and cut Carbs down to below 50% of my Caloric intake, which I am doing!
If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different?
I'd have a smaller stomach! HA! I would be able to run faster, wear smaller clothes and fell awesome!
Do you eat when you are not hungry?
Sometimes, but only when I am not tracking my food.
Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)?
I use to, but not anymore. I have taught myself to eat and try it all, but I don't have to finish it.
Do you hide your food or eat in secret?
Not anymore, but I use to hit up fast food restaurants after work, or grabs soda and snacks I didn't tell my wife about. Now I know I have to track everything and I don't want to calories!
Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed?
Again, I use to, cause it was a comfort to do so. Now I find I am less sad, nervous or depressed.
Do you eat as a reward?
Yes, I don't see this changing, I do eat less though!
Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer?
Not anymore, We sit down to dinner as a family and when I am playing video games, my hands are busy, I don't think about food!
What do you normally eat for a meal?
What my wife makes me. She love organic foods and does her best to get us the best foods she can. If we are going out, Hamburger and Fries are my staples, but I try to limit to 2-3 times a week at most.
What type of snacks do you eat?
Now I usually have a 1/2 cup of Mixed Nuts and a Fiber One bar.
In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing?
Working on running though a whole 5k, not run/walk like I did the last one. Taking 10,000 steps a day, running 3 times a week.
Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home?
We have a 1/2 mile walking path near our home we use.
What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise?
I like walking, running and lifting.
What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals?
Daily: 10,000 steps, Weekly: Lose 2 pounds, Monthly: Lose 10 Pounds, Yearly: None hear, but I want to run a Half marathon in about a year.
Do you have rewards for certain goals?
My reward is reaching the goals! I have a New Large Sized T Shirt I bought with the intention of being able to fit in it and wear it one day!
 
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Went to Buffalo Wild Wings with a friend last night to watch the NFL draft. I "limited" myself to just 10 wings, cause I totally could have eaten like 10 more. Then we decided to hit up an Ice Cream place there. So I went over a lot on my calories however, I still burned almost 1000 more than I ate.

This morning the whole family got up and went for a walk but it was cold and started raining so we only walked about 1/2 a mile. Looking for some better weather tomorrow morning for my run.

So today I thought I would talk about my Basis watch. This has been an awesome motivator cause at a flick of the wrist I can see how long I have walked, how many steps, how many calories I have burned, how long I have ran, and biked, as well as my heart rate. It also keeps track of you sleep if you wear it at night and lets you know how well you are sleeping. You sync it with you PC or iPhone and the data is available online. You can setup habits and it will let you know how well you are doing on them. It's a pretty slick device and I found it well worth the price. It felt a little steep at first, but I am totally getting my money's worth. If interested, take a look at mybasis.com

5/8
Cal Burn: 3375
Cal Ate: 2376
Steps: 10200
5/9
Weight: 271.1 (+1.2)
Walked only 1/2 a mile this morning.
 
Nothing like some BWW wings. As for the amount you ate it all depends on which wings you got. They do have the grilled chicken that you can sauce up too. That way you could of ate a few more of what you wanted.

I love the fact that you and your family spend quality time together going for walks. We do the same on occasion but not as much because most of the time somebody is working.

I'm going to have to look into that watch of yours sounds like a pretty cool little device. Where would this world be without technology..lol
 
Allergies are hit me this weekend, but I still managed to find a window I could run in. I didn't think it was going to happen because I was coughing so bad. At least it is not as bad as it was a weeks back. I barley slept more than a few hours at a time and then I would be up coughing again.

5/9
Cals Burn: 2801
Cals Ate: 2449
Steps: 5524
5/10
Cals Burn: 2973
Cals Ate: 2449
Steps: 8268
Weight: 271.1
5/11
Cals Burn: 3640
Cals Ate: 2537
Steps: 15500
Weight: 269.5
Walked/Ran: 5/8/5/8/5
5/12
Weight: 269.6
 
It got cold here but I ran this morning anyways. Today I stepped it up on my track to 5K. I walked 5 minutes and Ran 10, walked 3 and ran 10 more. I felt really good at the end of it and could have easily ran another 5 minutes. I can tell my body is getting use to it. It is only my mind that wants to stop. I did gain about 3/4 of a pound from yesterday but that is normal for me to flex like that. I also didn't walk a lot because of the rain.

Also thought I would talk a little bit about fiber. I like to eat, God knows, but sugar is certainly a weakness for me. Since the discovery of my Diabetes, I have cut sugar considerably, and have also started to up my fiber intake. Fiber is important as it is what helps the sugar get through the body without becoming fat. Essentially it is the antidote to the poison that is sugar. I always take dose of Psyllium husk in the morning and also a Fiber One bar usually about noon. If I remember, I will also have a dose of Psyllium Husk at dinner, but I generally forget this one.

5/12
Cals Burn: 2713
Cals Ate: 2343
Steps: 4875
5/13
Weight: 270.3 (+0.7)
Walked/Ran: 5/10/3/10/5
 
Hit a new low in weight today. That always makes me happy! Reminds me it is all working. I have been diving into a lot of videos about the effects of sugar on your body lately. It seems much of what we have been told about obesity and weight gain has been a big bold faced lie. I can attest to this fact myself. I remember the first time I watched the video on You Tube called, "Sugar: The Bitter Truth." I immediately stopped drinking soda. I pretty much kept doing everything else but in a month, I lost 20 lbs. I started replacing it though and over the course of a year I slowly gained all the weight I had lost back. About a year and a half later I was back to drinking soda. I so wish I hadn't. Now, soda is no more. Whether High Fructose Corn Syrup or Sugar, they both are detrimental to the body. They have two choices, Get used as energy or get stored as fat. On top of that, the sugar kills your lepin from working, which makes you eat more. Boy does it ever. I find that I don't eat near as much as I used to in order to feel full. I have also noticed significant drops in weight even though I have loaded up on meat and fatty items but not so much on carbs. It's the carbs that kill you.

5/14
Cals Burn: 2899
Cals Ate: 1798
Steps: 10100
5/15
Weight: 268.8 (-1.6)
Walked/Ran 5/10/3/10/5
 
I received about the best news I could get today! I say about, because I think the best news when it comes to my health would be, "You really don't have Diabetes, we were wrong." But I doubt that is going to ever happen, but I did go to the doctor today for my second blood test and my results were excellent! ALL of my numbers are normal! There was a concern about my Liver before, that is gone, they thought my Calcium was too high before, that is fine now, My cholesterol was all normal, the first time I have ever seen numbers comeback normal, my blood glucose was 99, well within normal and the big one, my A1c, which was 10.6 in Jan, is now 5.2! He thinks that might be too low! (I don't think so, but he is the doctor.)

The bummer is, I can't be pulled off my medication immediately. He is going to reduce some and see what my A1c is in 3 months. But just to know that I my numbers are all normal is amazing and awesome! It took me 4 months to do this, and I am sure the medication helped too. I really thought it would be tougher than it was, but I think getting rid of the sugar addiction is the key. Once that was gone, it seemed easy to lose weight and eat less.

Well, I didn't log in all weekend, so I need to get caught up:

5/15
Cals Burn: 2996
Cals Ate: 2279
Steps: 10300
Weight: 268.8
Walked/Ran 5/10/3/10/5
Walked 25 Mins
5/16
Cals Burn: 2798
Cals Ate: 1886
Steps: 6542
Weight: 269.4
Walked 20 Mins
5/17
Cals Burn: 3238
Cals Ate: 2128
Steps: 13400
Weight: 269.2
Walked/Ran 5/10/3/10/5
Walked 20 Mins
5/18
Cals Burn: 2942
Cals Ate: 1891
Steps: 9283
Weight: 266.2 (New Low!)
Walked 1 hour
5/19
Weight: 267.1
Walked 36 Mins
 
Running is tough but I love it. Not usually while I am running, but I love the feel of the burn afterward. It use to kill me, but as I have lost weight and been training to build up my ability to run, it has been feeling a lot better. I think I am ready for the 5K, in that I can run the whole thing. I ran a solid 25 minutes today and felt I could run more. I am getting beyond the tired barrier and once I do that I know I can run forever.

5/19
Cals Burn: 3052
Cals Ate: 1898
Steps: 10600
5/20
Weight: 266.5
Ran 25 Minutes (2 Miles)
 
Gained a couple pounds overnight which worries me a little. I have been cutting the carbs down butt still burning quite a few more calories than I am eating. I flux like that a lot but jumping two pound overnight is a lot especially the day after running. The nice thing I still see is the low Visceral fat. I can measure this with my Iron Man Scales. I started in January with 22, down to 17 now. Below 13 is considered healthy.

5/20
Cals Burn: 3260
Cals Ate: 1980
Steps: 11300
5/21
Weight: 268.8 lbs (+2.2 lbs)
Walked 38 mins (1.68 Miles)
 
Boom! Another great day! I re-hit my lowest weight today, but the big news is the body fat percentage! I am lower than 34% now. I was taking a look at my readings over the past few weeks and was surprised to see how quickly it has been lowering. on 5 May it was 37.5% and has just been dropping ever since. Today it was 33.4% So I hit a new goal!

I did some more reading on visceral fat, and below 13 is just considered not alarming! Really healthy is below 8 and excellent would be below 5. So still some work there to do, which doesn't surprise me but I am heading in the right direction.

Today I am cutting ALL processed Sugars! This will be a challenge because it is EVERYWHERE! I will have to order my burger and eat it will a fork, throwing that bun away! That mean no ketchup, no mayo, no salad dressing, no fiber one bars, NO CHOCOLATE, and I am also cutting my Carbs down as much as possible. Keeping away from potatoes, corn, rice and pastas. My wife is definitely questioning it, but she is totally backing me. That is nice! I am planning to give this a go for a month and see how my weight, body fat, visceral fat, and waist line go.

On the up side, I am raising the amount of meat I am eating! I don't mind that one bit!

5/21
Cals Burn: 3206
Cals Ate: 1557
Steps: 13800
5/22
Weight: 266.2 lbs (Matched Lowest)
Ran 25 mins (2 Miles)
 
I've cut out most processed foods all together so I can tell you from experience two things about cutting out all processed sugars:

1. It won't be easy.

2. It can be done.

Do it!

As far as your weight jump you likely retained water because of the run. When I first started running I had a jump up in weight that wasn't connected to how much I ate. I'm happy it went right back down for you. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a jump after the hilly run too. Just know not to sweat those jumps and the effect will lessen quickly. I don't experience any weight jumps with runs these days even if they are significantly harder.
 
I did cut a LOT of sugar in January, but it wasn't completely eliminated. I did some more study and I think I am being TOO strict. I need to cut fructose. Starches don't have fructose, only glucose. Fruit does have fructose but also the fiber with it. So fruit and starches are okay, but bread is out and grapes have too much sugar and not enough fiber so they are out. processed food are out even with fiber cause I just don't know what is in them even looking at the package.

5/22
Cals Burn: 3325
Cals Ate: 1979
Steps: 12300
5/23
Weight: 267 lbs (+.8)
Walked 30 mins

Weight went up again today, but not as much. Getting ready to go away for the weekend, so we will see how well I do with that. I am diving in the book "FAT Chance" by Robert H. Lustig, M.D. If you haven't read it or heard of him then I suggest watching the video "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" ON You Tube. It's worth the 90 minutes.

I almost forgot another awesome moment today. I have been wearing XXXL Shirts for a few years now. I purposely bought a Large T-Shirt to work down to and be able to wear. This was only 2 or three months ago. I also, in April, found a t-shirt I wanted, but it was only in XL, so I grabbed it then too. Well, today I decided to see if I could fit into the XL t-shirt, and I did, and it looked fine on me. This was a Big accomplishment! I plan to wear the T-Shirt this weekend now!
 
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