Usagi's Diary

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Usagi1

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Having a record will help, I guess, so here we go.

1. Answer these questions before starting your diary.

-- How much weight do you want to lose?

Ultimately, I want to get back to 200 lbs from 255. So, 55 lbs.

-- What is the timeframe for reaching your target weight?

I'm giving myself a year. A lb a week isn't impossible, right?

-- How do you want to accomplish your goal (what methods do you want to use)?

Weight training at the local gym
Walking in the park with a camping rucksack.
Eventually swap the park walks or supplement them with hiking in Joshua Tree National Park while under camping weight.
Eventually add day camping excursions in my local area.

-- Who or what can support you in reaching your goal?

That's what I'm hoping to get with this journal.

-- How realistic is your goal?

I hope that 55 lbs in a year isn't impossible, I feel like it's fairly realistic.

-- When will you start?

Already started.


Other questions you might want to consider answering in your diary, to get you started, and avoid that white page writer's block are: (stolen shameless from Geam's diary)

  1. What is your current height and weight?
    1. 5'7" Tall
    2. 255 lbs
    3. bonus question; 35 years of age
  2. If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be?
    1. 200 lbs
  3. At what weight would you like to be at four months from now?
    1. 239 Lbs or so
  4. Why do you want to lose weight?
    1. I'm prediabetic, with a fairly high genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes. I would like to avoid this becoming any worse.
  5. Do you want to lose weight for a specific life event such as wedding or reunion? If so, when is that event?
    1. I would like to shed some pounds before I get married, though there's no set date.
  6. What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals?
    1. My job - 12 hr/shift, 5x shifts/wk in a cab sitting on my tuchus
    2. My sugar fiending
  7. Why do you think that you now have a weight problem?
    1. Because I rarely work out and eat delicious carb heavy food a lot.
  8. What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight?
    1. Improved diet, exercise.
  9. Have you lost weight in the past? If so, what has worked in the past to help you lose weight?
    1. I managed to lose 10 lbs in 12 weeks at a gym in the past.
  10. Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back?
    1. I stopped going.
  11. 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?
    1. Diet changes alone. I can't make enough of them to impact my weight without making myself miserable. I love good food.
  12. Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time?
    1. Sure, why not?
  13. Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook?
    1. Yes, and I cook lots of things. Pies, cakes, cupcakes, cornbread, curry, pasta, steak, chicken, oatmeal....seriously I'll be writing for hours if I list it all.
  14. How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go?
    1. Twice a week or so. Denny's, McDonald's, Jack in the Box.
  15. What are your three favorite foods?
    1. Lamb Rogan Josh curry, Steak with lemon pepper sauce, Banana Cream Pie
  16. What are your three favorite restaurants?
    1. Rib Co (BBQ place), Raciti's (Italian), Subway
  17. What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food?
    1. Doubling down on cutting out sugary sodas
    2. Eliminate more bread stuff
    3. Increase fiber and protein ratio
  18. If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different?
    1. Eliminate the beer gut
    2. stronger legs
    3. larger upper body muscles
  19. Do you eat when you are not hungry?
    1. Sometimes
  20. Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)?
    1. Rarely
  21. Do you hide your food or eat in secret?
    1. Not particularly
  22. Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed?
    1. Who told you? I want names!
  23. Do you eat as a reward?
    1. Not so much, no
  24. Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer?
    1. Yup.
  25. What do you normally eat for a meal?
    1. Depends on the time of day and circumstances. In a bad case, Spicy Jack chicken sandwich with fries and a soda while at work. In good cases, a cup of oatmeal, two eggs, and some spam for breakfast after a workout.
  26. What type of snacks do you eat?
    1. Varies between a slice of delicious pie or cheesecake to yogurt and wheat thins. I get different kind of cravings.
  27. In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing?
    1. one mile walk around the local park with a 25 lb camping backpack (takes about half an hour, gyaaaah), followed by some basic sets at the gym for muscle building. Every other day in frequency.
  28. Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home?
    1. Luckie Park, local gym
  29. What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise?
    1. Hiking
    2. Seated Rowing Machine
    3. Leg Press
  30. What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals?
    1. I don't understand the question. Help? Advice?
  31. Do you have rewards for certain goals?
    1. I hadn't thought that far ahead.
 
Welcome to the forum usagi. Most of the above made me smile :)
Journalling can really help with weight-loss as it helps you see what needs to be done. Because of your job, I would think that changing your diet will make a huge difference. You might have to get creative with making healthy snacks. Cut down that sugar drastically. It does so much damage. Bananas are a great filling snack & would be handy while you're driving.
Usagi said:
What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals?
I don't understand the question. Help? Advice?
Click to expand...
Me either. Just wanting to be fit & healthy is motivation in itself. Go you!
 
2/4/2019

255 lbs
Prediabetic (Standing Health Condition)
No cigarettes, plenty of vaping

Woke up at 1100 hrs (I work nights, this is normal)

No breakfast (wasn't feeling it)

Blood Sugar on Waking 105

Went down to Luckie Park for my hiking loop. Today's workout:
Backpack weight 25 lbs.
Distance 1 mile
Time 28 minutes
Steps 2833 (approx, phone is not an accurate measure)
Condition: Legs began feeling it after first lap. Legs actively burning by 1/4 of second lap. One minute break during second lap to stop pain, then resumed. Five 10 second stops for water at fountains and breather.

Transferred over to local gym. Did 3 sets each for deltoids, biceps, triceps, incline 311 chest press. Forgot to record weights. Took about half an hour.
Condition: Arms shaking during drive home.

Overall condition: bit of dizziness, blood sugar had dropped to 80 after workouts.

It's now 1520 hrs and i still haven't eaten. Starting to feel hungry, think I'll do:
2 eggs with cheese
1/2 cup oatmeal
Milk

Thought for the day:

“Moderate strength is shown in violence, supreme strength is shown in levity.” The Man Who Was Thursday, GK Chesterton
 
cate said:
Welcome to the forum usagi. Most of the above made me smile :)
Journalling can really help with weight-loss as it helps you see what needs to be done. Because of your job, I would think that changing your diet will make a huge difference. You might have to get creative with making healthy snacks. Cut down that sugar drastically. It does so much damage. Bananas are a great filling snack & would be handy while you're driving.

Me either. Just wanting to be fit & healthy is motivation in itself. Go you!
Click to expand...

Thank you, Cate, the kind words are lovely. Always a pleasure to make someone smile.
 
Hey Usagi and welcome!
I rarely have weekly goals (unless I´m not doing well and I´m aiming to not eat icecream for one week to get back on track or something like that) but I do sometimes make medium-duration goals like fitting into a specific item of clothing for a specific event. In which case reaching the goal and feeling good about myself is its own reward.
I think your goal is realistic, especially for a man, as long as the changes you make are ones you can keep up in the long run. Small changes to your diet may not help you lose weight quickly but they can help keep the weight off once you reach goal. And, who knows, maybe after getting used to those small changes you can make some more without feeling deprived.
 
So yesterday was a bust for good habits because of issues with taking cat to the vet and buying supplies for the house.

Still, a summary of yesterday that is good is that I didn't smoke. Up to 5 days sans cigarettes.

As for today:

4/4/2019

255 lbs
Prediabetic
Blood sugar at waking 115
Slept 4.5 hours.

Workout:

1 Mile around Luckie Park, completed in 27 minutes. Pack Weight 25 lbs
Legs were sore halfway through first lap.
Legs actively hurt 3/4 way through 1st lap. 2 minute sitting break to recover them.
Completed the rest of the mile with only water breaks (5 seconds at the fountain to gulp some fluid).

Shed the pack, swapped into my gym clothes, and hit the gym.
Roughly half an hour to 45 minutes of exercise
Lateral pulldown
Crunch machine
Back press machine
Incline bench press
Seated row

3 sets of 12 reps apiece
Status after workout: body really sore, sweaty, tired, cranky.

Gym guy tried to hit me with some spiel about how I should only be drinking tea and water when I asked for advice on my workout. Kept emphasizing diet and massive changes, criticised my choice of powerade zero as a rehydration drink. I get that diet is important, but hitting a new guy to the gym with "here's this massive list of changes you need to do" rather than helping with gradual lifestyle adjustment and encouragement is frustrating. I think I'll keep to myself and just do my workouts instead of asking for help again.

Mental state is as important, after all.

Got myself a fitbit. It seems to track time in the car as "steps" which is throwing my totals. Not sure how to account for that, since I drive a cab. I'll figure something out I guess. Still, nice way to track an actual workout like my hike (357 calories burned on the hike, it said, which seems low for how much pain I was in but I guess that's the breaks).

First meal of the day was post workouts:
A wrap with turkey (bland as hell, ugh), a low-carb chipotle sauce, and a fistful of spring greens and spinach. This whole thing was really bland, but I was able to choke it down.

Planned meals for 12 hour cab shift tonight:

8 wheat thins
10 pretzel sticks
3 dried apricots
3 dried plums
1/4 cup peanuts
8 banana chips
(that's my snack list. graze lightly to just quiet the stomach now and then)

Chicken wrap with chipotle sauce, salsa (again, low carb, low cal), fistful of spring greens with spinach.


I lack a food scale yet, so macro counts are gonna have to wait.

Beverages will remain powerade zero.
 
well done going without the cigarettes :)

Don't be afraid to ask your gym questions here, gradual changes are the best way to go. Depending on the type of gym, many trainer are required to sell on the gym floor with income based on commission.
 
This wasn't a sales pitch, it was purely responses to my questions. It's like he saw my gut and decided my diet is the only thing worth talking about, irrespective of whether i had questions about training or not as well. Very off putting and arrogant.
 
Definitely not helpful or motivating, I agree. Stupid question perhaps, but why does walking hurt so much? Is it the backpack?
 
Might it be helpful to walk with a lighter pack until it doesn´t hurt as much? Building things up a little more slowly tends to make it easier to stick with it - and easier for your body to adjust to.
 
I can tolerate it. It's comparable to doing weights til you can't lift at the end of a set. But if I'm still hurting at the end of this 3 day cycle I'll scale back
 
By contrast, the backpackers i asked were really supportive about a hundred different things and didn't even make fun of my backpacking setup.
 
Sounds like better company to keep. I only really enjoy going to the gym early mornings because you get the people who are there to get things done. Not to take selfies and talk about other people's faults.
 
5/4/19

Day 6 without cigarettes.
Gained 1 lb, bringing me to 256.
Prediabetic
Blood sugar on waking 103
No breakfast
Slept 3.5 hrs before work related calls woke me.
Hiked 1 mile circuit of luckie park under 25lb pack load.
Did 15 minutes of leg exercises for leg day at gym.
Ignored dudebro when he tried to talk to me.

Mood is grumpy but ok
 
6/4/19

Weight 255
Prediabetic
Today will be day 7 without cigarettes

Skipped weight training today. Arms were feeling very sore after hike.

Got my hiking time down to 27 minutes for the same distance (apparently the luckie park circuit is 1.3mi, not 1 mi, so that's interesting).
Saw gymbro mcjackass in the park today while I was hiking. Blew past him to the tune of Primo Victoria in my headphones.

Fitbit says I burned about 375 calories on that hike. No idea how accurate it is, but I have no other measure to replace it with, so I guess it'll do.

I think it's overestimating the calories I burn when not working out, though.

Anyway.

Still kind of grumpy, had to replace the coil and tank on my vape and it's not nearly as satisfying. This model is crap.

Tried supplementing vape with nicotine patch to ease cravings. Allergic reaction, arm got real red and itchy.

I don't want it to be easy. Just easier.
 
Well done on day 7 without cigs. :)
 
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