Rob's Diary

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Running is a bit of a meditative state for me. I find my thoughts drift off when I settle in during the run and I work on bringing them back to how my body feels and my breathing. I listen to a running app coach that does interviews with a meditation expert that gives tips. I like it a lot. I stay focused on the idea of improving myself mentally as well. My mind stays engaged.

I meditate when I feel a need to, not consistently yet. I think the fact that I can even recognize a need is really good right now and the act of meditating leads to a calmer sense of myself. I think it has the potential to help in all areas of my day to day life.
 
Never meditated, don't really know how. Maybe its kind of like the way I feel when I am fishing on a warm summer day and the fish aren't biting, but I don't care. That can feel pretty good.
 
6-14-19 sleep: 6hr 32min

6-15-19 weight: 227.6 pounds

6-15-19 breakfast:
- eggs
- yogurt with strawberries and raspberries
- decaf coffee
- multivitamin
Total kcal: 387

6-15-19 lunch:
- grapes
- grilled chicken
- grilled salmon on sprouted bread with Swiss, red onion, and mustard
Total kcal: 848

6-15-19 snacks:
- orange
- dates
Total kcal: 190

6-15-19 dinner:
- southwest spicy salad with chicken (Coolgreens)
Total kcal: 650

6-15-19 total kcal consumed: 2,075

6-15-19 exercise:
- none

6-15-19 total steps: 3,499

6-15-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 2,393

Rested today. Things don't go well when I do. Had trouble taking a nap - jerks and nightmares. Really impatient and angry this evening. There's no balance with exercise days. I feel tired of all of this and have the urge to overeat or eat junk. I know I need the rest but it doesn't feel good when I try to rest. I keep thinking this will pass and I believe it will but I'm so ready for it to pass. Maybe I'm overdoing it trying to attend to all areas of my health. Maybe my idea of what balance should be for me is way off. It's not clear to me what I'm doing wrong if anything so I can't change it.
 
I hope if you stick with it and take a good look at those feelings whenever they occur you'll end up finding patterns you can change or work with. Maybe to appease your brain during rest days you could add in some kind of food treat (making it a maintenance day weight-wise), a sauna visit (for physical relaxation that doesn't cost energy), phone calls with people you like but don't see often enough... or whatever might build you up when you're struggling.
 
6-15-19 sleep: 4hr 47min

6-16-19 weight: 226.2 pounds

6-16-19 breakfast:
- eggs
- flax raisin bran with kefir
- decaf coffee
- multivitamin
Total kcal: 510

6-16-19 lunch:
- roasted vegetables, chicken kabobs, quinoa side (Zoe's Kitchen)
Total kcal: 756

6-16-19 snacks:
- carrots
Total kcal: 35

6-16-19 dinner:
- kale, arugula, spring mix, and spinach salad with veges, southwest spicy dressing and chicken (Coolgreens)
Total kcal: 680

6-16-19 total kcal consumed: 1,982

6-16-19 exercise:
- 7 mile run (5.35 mph speed)
- 2 miles incline walking (3.6 mph, 290 feet climbed)

6-16-19 total steps: 24,150

6-16-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 4,308

Felt a lot better today.
 
Good to hear you´re feeling better! About the carrots: it´s always helpful to have some fat with them for the fat-soluble vitamins. Maybe some peanut butter to dip them in? You have the calories for it.
 
Forgot to log weights again!

Additional exercise 6-16-19:
Chest press 50lb, 12, 12, 8
Bicep curl 20lb, 12, 12, 11

Thanks for the tip LaMaria!
 
I'm glad that you're feeling better, Rob. I have been feeling out of sorts too, but feel a little better today. I love raw carrots & celery with a little low-fat hummus.
 
6-16-19 sleep: 4hr 17min

6-17-19 weight: 225.2 pounds

6-17-19 breakfast:
- eggs
- yogurt with strawberries and raspberries
- decaf coffee
- multivitamin
Total kcal: 393

6-17-19 lunch:
- bison burger on sprouted bread with mustard, Swiss cheese, and red onion
- grilled chicken breasts
- cucumber
Total kcal: 768

6-17-19 snacks:
- flax raisin bran with kefir
- tomatoes
Total kcal: 252

6-17-19 dinner:
- southwest spicy salad with chicken
Total kcal: 670

6-17-19 total kcal consumed: 2,083

6-17-19 exercise:
- 5 mile run (5.54 mph speed)
- 2 miles incline walking (3.4 mph, 265 feet climbed)

6-17-19 total steps: 21,776

6-17-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 4,229

Had an ultrasound today to try to figure out what this groin/abdomen pain is. It's not been consistent in the past few days so I'm wondering what they'll find if anything. I'm glad I will know though because I have felt like it could be a hernia for awhile and if it is, I can take care of it.

I'm starting to get a little worried about the rate I'm going. I've lost 27.8 pounds in the 48 days since I started this plan. That's more than 1/2 pound per day. That combined with the ease of doing this now, the little sleep I get and the high exercise/lower calorie diet could mean disaster for my mental health. I think I could crash or something or get anxiously depressed. I'm not so much worried about gaining it back later because I will have the tools in place but it's the mental I'm worried about. There could be some muscle loss in my core or back perhaps too. Those are engaged when I'm running though I think. Not sure but I need to be careful. I've just been super focused on this so much that I've succeeded at it but I change very little and the calories this week are a little lower while exercise is up. I've gotten really good at it but I wonder if there's a cost that will catch up with me.
 
bensanon said:
I'm starting to get a little worried about the rate I'm going. I've lost 27.8 pounds in the 48 days since I started this plan. That's more than 1/2 pound per day.
Click to expand...

How old are you Rob? I think that makes a difference. When I was in my 30s I once lost over 100 lbs at a similar rate. I don't think there was anything unhealthy about it, except that I regained it all. What I failed at doing was finding a diet I could live with. Now that I am in my 60s it would be a lot harder and harder on me to lose weight that fast, where do you fit in the spectrum.

Just a caveat, I am not a doctor and my medical advice is worth little more than I am paid for it. If you are concerned you should be talking with your doctor, or someone more competent than I, which includes a lot of other people here.
 
bensanon said:
There could be some muscle loss in my core or back perhaps too. Those are engaged when I'm running though I think. Not sure but I need to be careful.
Click to expand...
If you´re losing muscle mass your body will try and protect the muscles you use regularly. But it will also try and "optimize" your movements for the situation - meaning it´ll try and use as little muscle activity as possibly to perform an activity. And that may mean no longer engaging your upper body muscles while running. The underweight runners I´ve worked with have mostly tended to have trouble with their necks, shoulders, or lower backs and I´m going to guess that the same ares would be at risk when losing weight quickly even if you´re not underweight.
 
6-17-19 sleep: 6hr 39min

6-18-19 weight: 224.2 pounds

6-18-19 breakfast:
- eggs
- yogurt with strawberries
- avocado on sprouted bread
- decaf coffee
- multivitamin
Total kcal: 489

Sleep returned today! :D No word so far on ultrasound. They said I may hear something as soon as yesterday.

Thanks Rob and LaMaria. I just turned 40 so not feeling as young as just a few years ago. The sleep is the big issue with my mental health. I start to decline a little without it. I feel better after last night's rest though. The exercise and diet contribute I'm sure. I vacillate about whether I'm losing weight too quickly. I dropped another pound today so that's about 30 pounds in 7 weeks. I wish I knew more about the consequences if any. This was planned over a long period of time. I was already at work losing weight before this latest plan and when I recommitted May 1, I picked up steam. I'm so happy with my progress but I want to think long-term. I think I'll be OK and I don't have any other symptoms or signs except the groin pain and sleep issues. I'm eating a lot of protein and weight training every 2-3 days.

Thanks LaMaria. My back and posture can wear out pretty quickly sitting on hard surfaces and my neck does get tired when I'm focusing listening.

The other day I measured my body fat percentage with an EID. There's a lot of fat around my gut and I see it in my back too. I think it's well know that it's the last to go but it looks odd and it's stubborn. It's easier to gauge muscle size without the fat obviously. That EID measurement of 27.7% might not be too far off even though I only have 35 more pounds to go.
 
Yay for more sleep! I pretty much go into zombie mode after two nights of lees than 7 hours of sleep so I'm impressed you've been keeping it together so well.
 
I envy you LaMaria. I wish my sleep was that good. Above 7 every night would be great. I used to get about 9 hours per night. I haven't ever had this little in my life. It's the medication I was on. It's weird. I decline a little every now and then but I'm still functioning pretty well day to day and still doing well on this plan. Weird...

6-18-19 lunch:
- grilled salmon on sprouted bread with mustard, Swiss cheese, and red onion
- grilled chicken breasts
Total kcal: 758

6-18-19 snacks:
- grapes
Total kcal: 90

6-18-19 dinner:
- chicken kabobs with roasted vegetables and marinated slaw (Zoe's Kitchen)
Total kcal: 680

6-18-19 total kcal consumed: 2,020

6-18-19 exercise:
- 6 mile run (5.5 mph speed)
- 3 miles incline walking (3.6 mph, 644 feet climbed)

6-18-19 total steps: 30,627

6-18-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 5,162

Did a lot of housework today and was loose for my run in the afternoon. Felt good. Kind of feel like meditation would be good.
 
I think it may be because you are eating so healthily that you are coping so well on little sleep. I get about 8 hours sleep most nights & am not good on less.
 
Forgot to log weights yet again!

Additional exercise 6-18-19:
Shoulder press 55lb 12, 10, 8
Pulldown 65lb 12, 12, 10
_______________________________________________

6-18-19 sleep: 6hr 8min (Two nights in a row over 6 hours! Hallelujah!)

6-19-19 weight: 224.6 pounds

6-19-19 breakfast:
- eggs
- yogurt with blueberries
- avocado on sprouted bread
- decaf coffee
- multivitamin
Total kcal: 469

Jeez, if it helps this much with daily functioning, I should have been on this diet all along! Regret it took me so long to learn that and implement it.
 
6-19-19 lunch:
- bison burger on sprouted bread with mustard, Swiss cheese, and red onion
- grilled salmon
- tomatoes
Total kcal: 692

6-19-19 dinner:
- southwest spicy salad with chicken (Coolgreens)
- grilled chicken breasts
Total kcal: 950

6-19-19 total kcal consumed: 2,112

6-19-19 exercise:
- 6 mile walk (MapMyWalk says 16:05 min/mile pace)

6-19-19 total steps: 13,639

6-19-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 2,957

Felt groggy this afternoon and evening. Heard back about the ultrasound results. I have a hydrocele. Next step is to meet with urologist. May have to have it removed.
 
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