W3: D7 Last day of Week 3

Final day of week 3, last Sunday of 2012, splurged on some pasta and beers. I'll be drinking some beers on New Year's Eve, as well, just a heads up, hehe.

Calories
Budget: 1689
Food: 2779
Exercise: -424
Net: 2355
+ / - : +666

H2O: 30oz

Weight
Yesterday: 273.2
Today: 273.2
+ / - : 0

W3: D6 More Creeping

My wife says it takes a week or two for her food / exercise changes to impact her body weight. I'm not sure if I have the same lag, but I'm hoping so, because my weight is just hovering in this low 270s region, even though I've reduced my caloric intake by a drastic amount.

Yesterday we went to Macayo's for lunch with the kids. I ordered the Sonoran Enchilada Sampler, which is a cheese, a chicken with Baja sauce, and a shredded beef with green sauce, enchilada. It also comes with black or refried beans covered in melted cheese, and Mexican rice, and a tiny bit of lettuce and tomato. According to Livestrong.com this meal is 1,420 calories by itself, and 3,100 mg of sodium, plus a bunch of saturated fat. I didn't know this when I ordered it, but I suspected it was bad, so I picked all of the meat out, only ate a little bit of the cheese, a bite of rice and a bite of black beans, and maybe 1/3 of the dish, total. That felt good.

Then, late last night after the kids were in bed, my wife and I had a sort of date night on the couch. We ate chips and salsa, and drank - she had a margarita, I had a Stone Vertical Epic 12.12.12 - and we watched the Doctor Who Christmas special "The Snowmen" (which was excellent, mostly because I love the character of Oswin).

Calories
Budget: 1683
Food: 1584
Exercise: 0
Net: 1584
+/- : 99

H2O: 40oz

Steps: 3103

Weight
Yesterday: 272.2
Today: 273.2
+/- : +1

W3: D5 My Dear Daughter's First Birthday

It was my daughter's first birthday. I took her and her brother to the park for a couple of hours while my wife stayed home and decorated and prepared for the "party", which was just us, grandma, and great-grandma.

We had taco night; refried beans; home made taco meat; chips and salsa; and my wife and I had a small margarita each. Then the cake. My daughter got an entire 4" cake to smash all over herself, we all ate the other cake. Good times, even though it nearly became too tempting for me to over my calories.

Calories
Budget: 1683
Food: 1674
Exercise: 0
Net: 1674
Over/Under: -9

H2O: 40oz

Weight
Yesterday: 272.2
Today: 272.2
Difference: 0
to Goal: 92.2

W3: D4 Creeping Back Down

Getting portions and snacking on cookies back under control after the holidays has been a bit of a challenge. But, I'm committed to making this lifestyle change stick. Gotta be able to get into the pool without hating myself sometime this summer.

Calories
Budget: 1688
Food: 1555
Exercise: -76
Net: 1479
Over/Under: -209

H2O: 80oz

Weight
Yesterday: 273
Today: 272.2
Difference: -.8
to Goal: 92.2

W3: D3 Getting Back on Track

After the Christmas weight gain, I'm back on track again. The cookies aren't gone yet, so I'm still slightly over my calories, but only my revised budget, I'd be under if I were still using the calorie level that LoseIt says I should be using.

I didn't drink much water yesterday, though, and only 1 diet soda, so I'm feeling headachey and heavy today. What a difference water intake makes. It seems like the more I drink, the more my body wants it.

Calories
Budget: 1695
Food: 1776
Exercise: 0
Net: 1776
Over: 81

H2O: 24oz

Weight
Yesterday: 274
Today: 273
Difference: -1
to Goal: 93

W3: D2 Pounds for a Present Apparently

Two days of celebrating my family traditions has had an impact on my willpower and my calorie counts. I busted my budget two days in a row. Today, when I weighed in, I was at 274.0, up 4 pounds from my lowest weight last week of 270.

Time to get back on the stick and quit justifying cheating on myself.

Calories
Unfinished count

H2O: 40oz

Weight
Yesterday: Unweighed
Today: 274.0
Difference: N/A
Goal: 94

W3: D1 - Christmas!

My family does a big gathering on Christmas Eve. My mom makes all kinds of cheese-stuffed pastas and cookies. My diet doesn't stand a chance vs that onslaught. To make matters worse (better), one of my good friends was in town this week, so I got a chance to meet up with him and have a couple of beers.

You win today, food, but tomorrow, the battle begins again!

Calories
Budget: 1680
Food: 2166
Exercise: 2544 (not enough to overcome inactivity plus food)
Net: 2166
Over: 486

H2O: 36oz

W2: D7 - Week 2 is Done Already

I think I miscalculated calories yesterday. The way the Fitbit and LoseIt integrates is confusing, so I'm just going to stick with the nomenclature and numbers that LoseIt uses on their UI from this point forward.

Calories
Budget: 1680
Food: 1408
Exercise: -198
Net: 1210
Under (budget): 470

H2O: 45 oz

Weight
Yesterday: 271.4
Today: 271.8
Difference: +.6
to Goal: 91.8

I did 40 minutes of Wii Just Dance 3 as my main exercise. I've set a goal of 5,000 steps and 3,500 calories per day. Today being Christmas Eve might make it a bit difficult to hit those goals, but I'll try anyways.

I didn't actually lose 2 pounds this week the way LoseIt predicted I should at this calorie deficit. So, either I'm doing something wrong logging, or I'm even more sedentary than the app predicts. At least I stuck at the initial loss instead of regaining again.

W2: D6 First Fitbit Results

I'm not sure how accurate this Fitbit is, but if it's right, I more than zeroed out my calories yesterday with chasing the kids around the house, plus some Wii Just Dance 3, plus a walk around the Santa's Village farm faire thingie.

Having the Fitbit seems to motivate me to get up and do things, so I guess, working as intended.

Calories
Budget: 1670
Food: 1922
Exercise: 2592
Net: -670

H2O: 44oz

I'm going to start putting my morning weigh-in after the previous day's budget, so the fluctuations of that days' activity can show in the fluctuations in the next weigh-in morning's numbers.

Weight:
Yesterday: 270.2
Today: 271.4
Change: + 1.2
to Goal: 91.4

W2: D5 - Fitbit'd

My wife bought me an early xmas present: a Fitbit Zip. Lose It syncs with it after you upgrade to a premium account, otherwise you have to manually input the information. I'm quite excited to have this new motivation tool! If you're a Fitbit'r, add me: sdiphoto at gmail dot com.

Calories
Budget: 1683
Food: 1590
Exercise: -423
Net: -516

H2O: 36oz

W2: D4 a Revision

I decided that the 2000 calories that my LoseIt app are giving me seems too high. When I tried MyFitnessPal, it only gave me 1700 calories. So, in the LoseIt app, it allows you to adjust the calorie budget up or down as you see fit. I adjusted it down by 400 calories.

I also got the Accupedo app to start tracking how many steps I take around the house chasing the toddlers, so I get to actually add in exercise calories burned.

Calories
Budget: 1681
Food: 1646
Exercise: -130
Net: -165

Week 2: Splurge-day (day 3)

Yesterday I was ticking right along, as usual for this new thing, when something unusual happened. My wife and I got a chance to go out and spend some time together using some xmas gift money from my step-dad.

So, we decided damn the diets, and hit Macayo's (a Mexican chain restaurant) for margaritas, chips, and salsa. I had 2 Cuervo margaritas, rocks, with salt, and we went through 2 bowls of chips between us. It was a really good time, and I'm not harboring any guilt over doing it. After all, the experts say your diet needs to be a change of life, not a strict regime, and in life, sometimes I go out for drinks with my wife.

I didn't record them in LoseIt, and don't plan to, but, in the interest of full disclosure, which is the goal for writing this blog, I thought I should mention it.

Also, I'm way out of drinking shape...two drinks shouldn't give me this bad of a headache the next day, especially since I had water and ibuprofen before I went to sleep.

W2 D2

Calories
Budget: 2079
Food: 1924
Net: -155

H2O: 36oz

Week 2: Day 1 - Here we go again some more

My weight is creeping up between 271 and 272, but it's only going by .2 lbs per day, so I'm assuming hydration and sodium content are more to blame, and am trying to only look long term. I should stop weighing daily, but the scale is right next to my desk...

Calories
Budget: 2076
Food: 2018
Net: -58

H2O 32oz

On the Seventh Day

One week down. Looks like about 6 pounds down, and I'm getting used to the reduced portions. Starting to make some grocery store changes, too.

Calories
Budget: 2075
Food: 2008
Exercise: 0
Net: -67

H2O: 48oz

Sixth Day Done

Calories
Budget: 2101
Food: 1828
Exercise: 0
Net: -273

H2O: 12oz

This morning's weight was 271 lbs, down 7 pounds from starting weight.

I actually find myself foraging for calories as the day ends because I don't want the deficit to be too great and enter "starvation mode". I also notice that the Lose It app has raised my calorie budget slightly. I wonder if that's to compensate for my constantly being under budget...not sure what algorithm it uses.

Overall trend seems to be downwards in weight with no prolonged periods of cravings or hunger so far. I think it might be working, but it's early days.

Day the fifth

Calories
Budget: 2101
Food: 1747
Exercise: 0
Net: -354

H2O: 20oz

Day 4: Eating like a human instead of an American.

I just realized I've been doing this for more than half a week. Over the hump, as it were. So far, time is flying with it and I don't feel like I'm suffering the way you usually do with a diet, since I'm only limiting portions of what I normally eat right now. Eventually I plan to exchange my normal foods for healthier alternatives, but for now the smaller portions are what I'm concentrating on. Eating like a human instead of an American.

Calories
Budget: 2088
Food: 1994
Exercise: 0
Net: -94

H2O: 16oz

I need to do better at increasing my water intake. I came very close to passing my calorie limit, and that was mainly because I was eating fatty foods like sour cream and cheeses. I felt the need to "make up" a little bit for when I was sick, though. I was down 5 pounds yesterday from when I started, and that's too much to be sustainable. Only down 3 pounds as of this morning's weigh in, so regained 2 pounds overnight.

Day 3

I spent the morning with gastroenteritis, and spent most of the day laying either in bed or on the couch fighting it off. I still tried to get in some calories, though, so that I don't send my body into starvation mode.

Calories
Budget: 2093
Food: 1654
Exercise: 0
Net: -439

Water 12oz

Day 4 morning weigh in: 273.0 lbs. That's 5 pounds from what I weighed the night I got the scale and started this journey. Hopefully the downward trend continues.

Depression, pain, and weight gain

In 2006, I ruptured a disk in my upper spine, C6-C7, which caused me an enormous amount of pain. On the last day of my insurance coverage, Halloween Eve 2007, I got surgery to fuse that section (it was great, I was Frankenstein's Monster for Halloween without even wearing a costume, complete with 4 bolts in my neck). They catheterized me during the surgery, and having that out was about the worst sensation I've had in a long time. I vowed not to let my weight keep creeping up so that I wouldn't have any more back injuries.

In recovery for that surgery, I lost 20-30 lbs, down to 225. I felt good about myself, but old habits came back and bit me in the ass. I struggled to get my photo business going, and fell into a depression that's lasted me about 2 years now, feeling like a business failure. I fell back on food, for comfort.

I'm now 100 lbs over what I consider my ideal weight of 180 (the military and BMI says I should actually weight 160 lbs, but that just feels too skinny). I've been lying to myself, even as all my "fat" pants stopped fitting, saying I'm just around 250-260, but then I bought a scale and saw the truth in front of me. 278 lbs worth of denial, depression, and bad food.

I want to be around for my kids graduations, marriages, grandkids, etc, so I decided to start this calorie counting - something I never thought I'd have to do when I was 30 years old and wearing size 32 waist pants - to make sure that it happens.

I'm still in a depression, but I'm no longer turning to food for comfort, just pushing through and getting my health in order. I'm tired, tired of the constant pain, tired of hating my reflection, tired of feeling like everybody is judging me for my weight.

Once I get accustomed to the lower caloric intake, I'm going to add in calisthenics like the ones I did in basic training, and then, who knows, maybe try some of those 5k walks that are so popular. We'll see, one day at a time.

Day 2 down in the books

The whole family is still suffering from this gastroenteritis outbreak. I'm no exception (though I'm the only one not losing it from both ends) so my appetite is down. I went under budget again on calories because nothing sounded good to eat and everything makes me have to sit in the bathroom for a while...TMI, I know.

Calories
Budget: 2118
Food: 1606
Exercise: 0
Net: -512

24oz of water

Day 1: Results

I'm not sure if I'm going to post daily, a few times a week, or weekly. Haven't decided yet...but here's yesterday's calorie counting results, which I'm pretty happy with.

Calories
Budget: 2112
Food: 1983
Exercise: 0
Net: -129

36oz of water

The only thing I didn't eat that I wanted to was some potato chips with ranch dip (Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix plus a pint of sour cream).

The idea that I'd have to log it and see how bad it was for my goals made me stay away from it...so, working as intended, I guess. Surprised I wasn't hungrier for more of the day than I was. I think consuming water to take up empty stomach space is the reason for that.

Today, everybody in my household is sick with gastroenteritis (2.5yo son, 11mo daughter, wife, myself), so my eating is off. Only at 1143 calories so far, gotta get some healthy snacks in there before I go to bed.

Accountability Starts Now

Today I start my journey, and my accountability.

I'm 278.0 pounds today. I'm 39 years old. I'm 5' 8.5" tall. My inseam is 27", but my waist is 46". I have a hard time chasing my toddler around. I can't sleep on my stomach and breath at the same time.

I have the Lose It! app on my phone, and have started logging my meals. My goal is to get to 180 pounds in a year or less. If I lose 2 pounds per week, this app says I can do it by November 2013.

12/10/12 | 278.0 lbs