Rob's Diary

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:) I do struggle with what to eat. It's hard to find easily prepared foods that are healthy and high in protein. I thought I was doing pretty well but I'd like to eat a wider variety. I've experimented but I usually end up back with what I know.

5-8-19 snacks:
- 1 serving pistachios
- 1 banana

5-8-19 dinner:
- mediterranean salad trio bowl with chicken (Zoe's kitchen; pesto farro, quinoa, cauliflower rice,Greek tzatziki, Italian salsa verde, feta, cucumbers, dill)
- side power grains (Zoe's kitchen; rice, lentils, farro, quinoa)
- side quinoa (Zoe's kitchen; quinoa, carrots, cabbage, green onion, red peppers, tomatoes, celery, feta, lemon vinaigrette)
Total calories: 1186

Total calories consumed for 5-8-19: 1,983

5-8-19 exercise:
- 5 mile run on treadmill (treadmill says 1521 calories burned)
- 2 miles incline walking
- 3 sets chest press
- 3 sets bicep curls
Total steps: 21,767

5-7-19 Fitbit total calories burned: 4425
5-7-19 MFP calories burned: 3666

I didn't have any lunch today because I had a late breakfast and wasn't hungry and was tied up on the phone. My run felt good. The whole day felt ok. Have some mild mood issues. Still struggling with sleep which is frustrating. I've been using the myNoise app and it helps. Running continues to be a great joy and my body seems to be responding well. My resting heart rate is down to 52. I moved out of the "fair to poor" range for my Fitbit cardio fitness score and into the "fair to average" range. Not sure it has any reliable meaning.
 
I´m guessing there´s some kind of basis to it which they then turned into simple categories to appeal to their audience. Whatever it is: you´re making progress.
 
5-8-19 sleep: 4hr 46min

5-9-19 weight: 246.2 pounds

5-9-19 breakfast:
- 2 eggs
- 4 oz blackberries
- 0.9 cup blueberries
- 0.5 cup yogurt
- multivitamin and fiber supplement
- 2 clementines
Total calories: 400
 
5-9-19 lunch:
- salmon burger on sprouted bread with mustard and Swiss cheese
- grilled chicken salad with spring mix, baby kale, radishes, red onion, roasted red pepper dressing
Total calories: 768

5-9-19 snacks:
- chocolate chip protein bar (RxBar)
Total calories: 220

5-9-19 dinner:
- California bowl (Coolgreens; red quinoa, brown rice, roasted seasoned chicken, red peppers, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, spiced pecans, lime wedges)
- 1/2 cup yogurt with pistachios
Total calories: 691

Total calories consumed for 5-9-19: 2,083

5-9-19 exercise:
- 3 mile run on treadmill (treadmill says 1521 calories burned)
- 3 miles incline walking
- 3 sets shoulder press
- 3 sets pull downs
Total steps: 19,568

5-9-19 Fitbit total calories burned: 4557
5-9-19 MFP calories burned: 4053
 
5-9-19 sleep: 6hr 18min

5-10-19 weight: 246.2 pounds

5-10-19 breakfast:
- 2 eggs
- 6 oz blackberries
- 6 oz raspberries
- 0.5 cup yogurt
- 1 cup strawberries
- multivitamin
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 slice sprouted bread
Total calories: 582

I took some melatonin to try to help with sleep. I think it helped a little but not enough. Felt a little groggy this morning. Will keep trying. Yesterday was fine. I don't feel starved but I feel emotionless or a little listless with this diet and exercise.
 
Your food sounds delicious.
bensanon said:
I feel emotionless or a little listless with this diet and exercise.
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Why do you think that is? Might you need a higher-calorie day to feel like spoiling yourself is still allowed? Do you miss something specific you've been denying yourself? Or is the food you're eating simply getting repetitive?
 
LaMaria said:
Your food sounds delicious.

Why do you think that is? Might you need a higher-calorie day to feel like spoiling yourself is still allowed? Do you miss something specific you've been denying yourself? Or is the food you're eating simply getting repetitive?
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It's because I haven't binged. I don't get the same satisfaction from eating smaller, healthier portions. I don't mind the variety or lack thereof yet. I could eat more chicken and should increase my protein actually. I think my calorie counts are too high but I'm worried about running out of energy. Wish I had more accuracy with calories burned from the exercise. Seems like I do a lot of it but weight is not going down anymore. I've been at the same weight the last 5 days.
 
5-9-19 lunch:
- bison burger on sprouted bread with mustard and Swiss cheese
- grilled chicken salad with spring mix, shredded cabbage, red onion, roasted red pepper dressing
Total calories: 880
 
2000 kcal/day should let a healthy young man drop a pound a week even without much exercise. I say give it a bit of time - it's quite normal for weightloss to be non-linear and restricting your intake further while exercising so much won't do you any good in the long run.
 
LaMaria said:
2000 kcal/day should let a healthy young man drop a pound a week even without much exercise. I say give it a bit of time - it's quite normal for weightloss to be non-linear and restricting your intake further while exercising so much won't do you any good in the long run.
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Not sure about that. My BMR is 2100 with moderate activity. I looked at my calories in MFP when I was losing weight in January and February earlier this year and there are deficits of 2k-3k per day after taking into account walking calories (estimated from MapMyWalk). I was eating only about 1350 per day. I lost about 15 pounds in 20 days (not a healthy way to go!). My deficits now are about half that but my weight so far is not dropping this second week. Yeah, I think I need more time and data but I think I can also cut a little more. I want to lose at least 2 pounds per week if I can. With the initial "dip", I've lost almost 7 pounds in 10 days.
 
5-10-19 snacks:
- 1/2 chocolate sea salt protein bar (RxBar)
Total calories: 105

5-10-19 dinner:
- chicken kabobs (Zoe's kitchen; grilled chicken, peppers, onion, tomatoes)
- quinoa side (Zoe's kitchen; quinoa, carrots, cabbage, green onion, red peppers, tomatoes, celery, feta)
- marinate slaw side (Zoe's kitchen; cabbage, feta, green onions)
Total calories: 630

Total calories consumed for 5-10-19: 2,197

5-10-19 exercise:
- 7 miles incline walking (treadmill says 1530 calories burned)
Total steps: 19,128

5-10-19 Fitbit total calories burned: 4221
5-10-19 MFP calories burned: 3570
5-10-19 MFP calorie deficit: 1373
 
7 pounds in 10 days is a LOT. As in: hard to maintain long-term a lot. General advice tends to be one to two pounds a week, which would require 500-1000 kcal of deficit a day. 2000-3000 kcal of deficit a day for more than a day or two WILL make your body want to preserve as much energy as it can.
 
Couple things going on. That 7 pounds includes the water weight when I started this plan. I had binged two days before starting and my weight at that point could swing as much as 7 pounds in a day. Needs to be a washout period. So far, my second week, I haven’t lost any pounds. The deficits are what the apps say but are in fact not accurate. Exercise is a wildcard and the apps’ calculations are overestimates of the calories I burn during exercise. I’m trying to find out what my exercise burn rate/the app exercise error rate is.
 
5-10-19 sleep: 7hr 15min (melatonin is helping I think)

5-11-19 weight: 245.4 pounds

5-11-19 breakfast:
- 2 eggs
- multivitamin and fiber supplement
- muesli and kefir
Total calories: 456

The melatonin is helping me fall asleep a little faster and sleep a little longer I think but I'm concerned about any potential side effects. I hope to use it to get to a better sleep schedule hopefully within a few weeks and then I'll discontinue. My weight ticked down a tad so I'm happy about that and I'll keep on this plan. With more time and data, I hope to get a better feel for how much exercise influences this process. I'm not running very fast but I go longer distances. I'd like to work out a little more about my HR and exercise efforts in future posts.
 
5-11-19 lunch:
- 1/2 avocado on slice sprouted bread
- 0.6 cup yogurt with 1 cup strawberries and 2 teaspoons chia seeds
- 2 grilled chicken breasts
Total kilocalories: 644

5-11-19 snacks:
- 1 clementine
- 1/2 chocolate sea salt protein bar (Rx Bar)
Total kilocalories: 145

5-11-19 dinner:
- mediterranean salad trio bowl with chicken (Zoe's kitchen; pesto farro, quinoa, cauliflower rice,Greek tzatziki, Italian salsa verde, feta, cucumbers, dill)
Total kilocalories: 690

Total kilocalories consumed for 5-11-19: 1,935

5-11-19 exercise:
- 7 mile run (treadmill says 1765 kilocalories burned)
- 2 miles incline walking
Total steps: 22,451

5-11-19 Fitbit total calories burned: 4638
5-11-19 MFP calories burned: 3838
5-11-19 MFP calorie deficit: 1903
 
5-11-19 sleep: 7hr 41min (melatonin is helping)

5-12-19 weight: 244.6 pounds

5-12-19 breakfast:
- 2 eggs
- multivitamin
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1/2 cup blackberries
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- decaf coffee
Total kilocalories: 391

I feel great right now. Slightly groggy from the melatonin or just increased sleep. Resting this morning.
 
Sleep can have SUCH an inpact on so many aspects of health and happiness. Glad you've found something that works for you.
 
Just read through your diary. Looks like you're making good progress! I also have some issues with anxiety and eating when I'm anxious. It's really hard to find a good way to manage it.
 
LaMaria said:
Sleep can have SUCH an inpact on so many aspects of health and happiness. Glad you've found something that works for you.
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Thank you! I hope it lasts.

-Cory- said:
Just read through your diary. Looks like you're making good progress! I also have some issues with anxiety and eating when I'm anxious. It's really hard to find a good way to manage it.
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Hi Cory, Thanks for stopping by! Yes, that's it for me - stress and anxiety are killer on my diet. The exercise is helping the most so far. Talking to people and supporting others who are struggling with this too is also helpful. I was fighting alone and that was just making it worse.
 
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