My Road Back

Don't do anything drastic. It's a good idea to tackle one thing at a time. Maybe just start reducing your portions a little bit at a time. Do you have smaller plates that you can eat off at home? It's funny, but it really does make a difference :)
 
Cate said:
Don't do anything drastic. It's a good idea to tackle one thing at a time. Maybe just start reducing your portions a little bit at a time. Do you have smaller plates that you can eat off at home? It's funny, but it really does make a difference :)
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Honestly, it’ll take a bad weigh in (slight daily gain) to kick me out of my current habits lol. As long as I'm still trending downward, I see no great urgency in ditching the dinners lol... That day will come, hopefully I'll be ready!

Day 3
1/4/2021
140.6kgs (310lbs)

Got off to work on time today (which is essential to my goals), and picked up four maki rolls for breakfast again, and again, a big Ceasar salad for lunch... On the way home this time I stopped off at my local carvery and grabbed 300g of roast beef with gravy, and some Greek salad. BUT, I grabbed way too many other things that were sitting there under the glass as well... more chicken wings, more souvlaki, and some battered chicken nuggets... a moderate effort... I wouldn't call it an improvement on day 2, but a solid day nonetheless.

Day 4
2/4/2021
139.9kgs (308.4lbs)

Well, I must admit I'm surprised by that! My job is quite physical, and I'm pretty out of shape, so I guess my body is keen to burn the excess blubber (although a good bit of it was goop and fluid)... but still, GOODBYE 140's!

I had a pork banh mi for breakfast today, then didn't get a chance to have lunch until nearly the end of my shift, whereupon I ate a smaller-than-usual portion of sushi, before leaving to go home... It's Good Friday here so my usual spots for dinner aren't open, so I decided to explore a bit, and before long I realised I'd walked about half an hour from work... and so decided to walk all the way home, keeping to the bus route (10km/6.2 miles) in case I gassed out.

I didn't! Picked up another 300g of roast beef with a small Caesar salad on the way home, and also had some brie cheese with chorizo.

I consider this to be an excellent day altogether! Can't wait for the scales to tell me otherwise, lol!
 
Guy_Dudeson said:
On the way home this time I stopped off at my local carvery and grabbed 300g of roast beef with gravy, and some Greek salad. BUT, I grabbed way too many other things that were sitting there under the glass as well... more chicken wings, more souvlaki, and some battered chicken nuggets... a moderate effort...
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:D I will admit: I first assumed that'd be your meat shop for the week :leaving: Looks like you're doing something right though; congrats on leaving the 140s!
 
Day 5
3/4/2021
139.6kgs (307.8lbs)

Banh Mi for breakfast again, then at work had a chicken shawarma plate, containing tabouli, pickles, tomato and shredded lettuce. Abstained from alcohol successfully, which was an achievement given that Saturdays have always been the day I enjoy drinking the most...

I did, however, have two alcohol-free beers. It was a win in that it helped me stay sober, but they had 15g of carbs each.

Walked home again, the same 10kms... But this time stopped somewhere different for dinner and had a pretty epic slip up. Picked up a big old container of beef and carrot stew, and a container of sticky chicken wings... I unpacked it all at home and... it was junk food. Redeemed in the most miniscule way by the fact I was carb-dodging. I knew this as I put it all away, but it didn't stop me.

And truth be told, the reason I've missed adding to this diary at night a couple of times because I've eaten myself to sleep! Hence the next-day entries! Truth be told, it's been a week of big dinners. It's the number one thing slowing me down at this point, and I guess the first week is the best time to learn these lessons. Coming into the colder months, it won't be easy to turn down food at night time, but I've got to learn eventually! Night gym sessions used to be my saviour in that respect! Some good lessons to build on for week two, if nothing else.

Day 6
4/4/2021
140.4kgs (309.5lbs)

Well, I deserved that.
Banh mi for breakfast, then off to work for a half day. Had some takoyaki, chicken kara'age (about six pieces) and one chicken yakitori on the way home, and another banh mi...

Had the rest of the day off and went out to the same local take away as last night (as most other places were shut for Easter Sudnay). and this time, made some much smarter decisions. This time I chose a quarter chicken with which you can choose two sides... most go for fries and something else (they had all sorts... baked potatoes, pasta bake...), I chose braised mushrooms (I bloody love mushrooms with anything) and carrots!

Quite happy with my choices, I was ready to give myself a pat on the back... before the lady taking my order gave me a free half chicken on top (pretty common in this place, they make tonnes of money and are known to give free stuff towards the end of the day)... I went to the local supermarket for a bottle of sugarless soft drink, and before I knew it I'd bought sandwich pickles, low carb bread (5g per two slices) and three tubs of yoghurt....

Long story short, I had a MASSIVE dinner, albeit low carb, and committed the same bloody mistake all over again. :doh:

Overall, the first week has been a success, but this particular bad habit is not sustainable at all. I'll approach week two with a particular focus on eliminating this bad habit!
 
Cate said:
Woo hoo on leaving the 140’s!!
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Well it didn't last long lol, although
I weighed in at 139.8 this morning... I'm glad I took those two long walks to round out the week... good things are happening, just not all at once!
 
alligatorob said:
Hey Guy you might try doing some calorie counting and logging. I found that really helps, and it helps to better understand what your portion sizes mean. A kg of broccoli has about 350 calories, but a kg of chocolate about 5,500 calories. Most foods are in-between. I use a lot of measuring and weighing (or when eating a whole package just look at the label) and track calories on the myfitnesspal.com app, not hard once you get used to it.

I missed alcohol at first, but now don't. In fact even when offered and can fit within my calorie budget I rarely take any. You will probably get there, but it will take a bit of time. Wish I could say the same about food, I still want too much...

You are off to a great start, keep it up!
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Hmmm, good shout! I'll look into the app!

I accept that I'll always have that desire to pack in too much eating... I find food way harder to resist than alcohol (of two hard-to-resist things)...

Small steps towards a bog goal though!
 
This may be a stupid question but do you always eat all the food you buy? Like: when the lady gave you an extra half-chicken could you not put it in the fridge to have with a salad the next day? Also: I'm no expert and I don't know your specific definition of low-carb but sticky wings sound pretty sugary to me. Glad to hear you're learning and making changes as you go though; we're all works in progress.
 
LaMaria said:
This may be a stupid question but do you always eat all the food you buy? Like: when the lady gave you an extra half-chicken could you not put it in the fridge to have with a salad the next day? Also: I'm no expert and I don't know your specific definition of low-carb but sticky wings sound pretty sugary to me. Glad to hear you're learning and making changes as you go though; we're all works in progress.
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Yep, I have very poor self control lol.... I actually planned to put the half bird in the fridge for today, but once that ball is rolling... :rolleyes:

As for the sticky wings, that was a little name I made up for them, they just had a box of them for $10, I think they just called them "bbq wings and drumettes"... Upon opening them, boy howdy they were sticky and sugary!

In all honesty, though, if they were called sticky wings I'd still have bought them.

Indeed we are, things are coming together, but they're not clicking all at once yet. I actually considered omitting a few grisly details of my weekend transgression, but then what's the use?

I like the idea of this diary to confront myself as well as admit to some others who understand the process! And I must say it has helped! :)
 
Cate said:
I’m really glad that you are using your diary as a means of being honest with yourself via us. It’s a process & an important one.
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Yep, gotta face the music! It's made me a little more aware of the silly mistakes I'm making!
 
Trusylver said:
It takes time to build new habits and fit it all together, even those people who seem to have it all together have it all fall apart sometimes.
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Yeah, it's a total lifestyle change, and it won't happen overnight! Today would have been the perfect day to start my workout regime (empty gym on Easter Monday), but I flaked.

But I'd be silly to focus on the negative after such a productive week!
 
LaMaria said:
Also: I'm no expert and I don't know your specific definition of low-carb but sticky wings sound pretty sugary to me.
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Oh, and to specifically address this, my carb-dodge is usually just trying to aggressively cut down on the five big meanies: bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and refined sugars in their most pure forms... so that'd cover sugary soft drinks, sweets, and other things of that ilk... perhaps further down the line I'll focus more on secondary ingredients like sauces... teriyaki chicken is one of my favourites, but apparently the sauce is packed with sugar! :(
 
Guy_Dudeson said:
Oh, and to specifically address this, my carb-dodge is usually just trying to aggressively cut down on the five big meanies: bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and refined sugars in their most pure forms... so that'd cover sugary soft drinks, sweets, and other things of that ilk... perhaps further down the line I'll focus more on secondary ingredients like sauces... teriyaki chicken is one of my favourites, but apparently the sauce is packed with sugar! :(
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As long as you know what you´re trying to do and why it´s fine to not conform to any official definition. Sadly many sauces are indeed packed with sugar (as well as salt and fat) but if some sauce helps you eat healthier stuff and you know how much you´re adding: there are worse things.
 
Day 7
5/4/2021
139.8kgs (308.2lbs)

Well, back under 140 for now, I predict I'll flounder for the next few days as I had a family birthday to attend tonight...

Had a nice sleep in for my day off and had some chicken kara'age for lunch.

Spent most of the day doing some household chores before attending the family birthday dinner... We went for Thai, and all things considered, I didn't do too badly! I mostly filled up on lean chicken, and some chicken satay skewers... Sitting at the table looking at all the stuff sitting there, I eventually did cave and have some rice and Panang chicken curry. I did mark this as a "cheat" day, but almost got away with a big win. Ah well. I expect to be a good mark over 140 tomorrow, but it's a temporary setback, somewhat planned and it was worth it!
 
LaMaria said:
If you ate less than you normally would have at a birthday party that´s a win in my book.
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Yep, definitely displayed some self-control! Although my weigh in was over 142kgs lol... the food was high in oil and salt, so obviously there's some goop in my system, but still...

Ah well! Only one way to follow up a cheat day!
 
Sounds like a win to me too. Just thinking about what you're eating & not eating mindlessly is a good thing. A couple of really good days should get rid of that excess.
 
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