Wednesday’s Word of the Day – Change
Believe it or not, this is a new WWotD video! Don’t expect a typical SBS video though, this one is different. More subdued, more introspective, more erratic than normal, yet the message is important.
Log My Loss
This isn't a diet, it is your life!
First Day of Phase Two
Good morning! Today is the first day of phase two. I also got up this morning and walked four miles; it was tough today! Before all of that though, I weighed and measured. Here are the figures:
- Weight – 245 pounds, this means I lost 14 pounds the first two weeks!
- Body Fat – 30.8%
- BMI – 35.1%
- Waist – 43.5″, down 1.2″
- Chest – 51, up 1.5″?? Something doesn’t add up here.
- Stomach – 49.5″, down from 51.5″
I am pretty pleased with this. Now on to phase two.
Day Fourteen – Phase I Ends Tonight!
Well, today is my last day of phase one. I cannot wait to get up tomorrow weigh in, check mymeasurements, and move forward with phase two. One thing I am thinking about doing soon is trying to start running. I ran across a website, CoolRunning.com, which gives a detailed program to go from no runing to 5k in three months. I don’t think I am ready for this yet since I am still pretty heavy, but I may try to start this later this year. Speaking of exercising, my wife and I both swam for about an hour and then went walking for an hour and fifteen minutes. We were both pretty stupid. It was 90+ degrees and we didn’t take any water. I don’t think we will make that mistake again. I am still happy we walked though. I am going to try to walk again in the morning if I can make myself get up that early. One thing is for sure, I am a whole lot more sore than yesterday! Later this evening, my wife and I drove the route we walked and measured the distance (darn GPS kept losing its signal). We found it to be just over 4 miles.
My food journal for the day is as follows:
- Breakfast – Four eggs with two slices of 2% American Cheese and a small tomato with basil (very tasty!)
- Mid-morning snack – Two low fat cheese sticks, one cheddar and one mozzarella, and a few cucumber slices
- Lunch – Two Pork Tenderloin Chops, a couple of slices of tomatoes, a few slices of green peppers, a small helping of white beans, and a large helping of green beans.
- Mid-afternoon snack – Several cucumber slices and a celery stick with peanut butter
- Supper – Two Pork Tenderloin chops and a very large helping of green beans (at least two cups).
Day Thirteen
One of the principles of the South Beach Diet is to avoid Trans Fats. Of course, many foods are made with these man made fats. Well, that may soon change. Yesterday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger outlawed Trans Fat in California.
Now, if you know me at all, you know that I don’t promote government getting involved in our lives, but at least something good may come out of this. My wife and I brought home a significant amoutn of fresh veggies today from her grandmother’s garden: red bell peppers, green bell peppers, a purple bell pepper, lots of tomatoes, several jalapenos, severl banana peppers, several cayennes, a head of cabbage, and lots of cherry tomatoes. We may go back this evening to get some cucumbers. This should help on the diet – I love fresh garden food.
We also ran by the grocery today. I was hoping to find some yogurt to eat daily as I am supposed to be eating some milk products every day, but I am so confused on what I can have and what I can’t, so I didn’t get yogurt at all. I did get a few other things though, including some low fat American Cheese (2%), and ingredients for an almost legal dessert for my birthday. The bad ingredient is heavy cream, but I think I can make the sacrafice for one night. My birthday is next Wednesday and I am trying hard to prepare so I don’t cheat. I guess my biggest challenge will be a meal we will be eating at a local restaurant which is very good, Patti’s. I think I can make the main course work, but their desserts are really good. I will just have to make sure I am strong before going.
My meal journal for the day is as follows:
- Breakfast – Four eggs, four pieces of turkey sausage, half a green pepper, a few slices of onions, and 5-6 Cherry Tomatoes sliced up and all made into an omelet of sorts. It was really tasty.
- Mid-morning snack – nothing
- Lunch – A small serving of Pinto Beans, half a sliced green pepper, several celery sticks (one with all natural peanut butter), and one red jalapeno pepper.
- Mid-afternoon snack – nothing
- Supper – Five grilled Crappie with Blackened seasoning, a very large helping of slaw (cabbage, thinly sliced green peppers, onions, about three tablespoons of mayonnaise, a large squirt of mustard, and a splash of vinegar), two tomato slices, and white beans. I really overate; I have got to watch that. It was so good though.
- Mid-evening snack – a smoked pork chop (probably to high in fat), a spoon of peanut butter, and few bites of white beans.
I walked again today, this time somewhere between 3.5-4 miles. My GPS lost signal somewhere in the walk and caused the distance to be off. The walk took about one hour and ten minutes. I was really exhausted when I got home. Now, I just need to do that every day. If I could make myself get up an hour earlier every day I could get a walk like this in daily. My problem is that I sweat freely and get very hot when exercising, even when it is cool. It takes my body about an hour to cool down after walking like this, even after a cold shower. I am concerned that this will cause me to get my work clothes sweaty once I change. I will probably try it Monday and see what happens.
Speaking of clothes – I can tell I am getting smaller. I have just tightened my belt another notch today. I really don’t have the money to spend on a new wardrobe, but I have to look good for my job. I suspect my waist will decrease by 8 sizes in the next 9 months. That means I will probably have to buy new clothes at least two times, maybe three. At least I shouldn’t have to replace my dress shirts, although they are certainly going to fit differently. I dread replacing my suits. I have several right now – finally an amount I am comfortable with, and now I am going to have to replace them. Ughh, the problems with losing weight and getting healthy! I just have to keep my eyes on the important things.
One last thing – Tomorrow is my last day on Phase One! Wahoo!
Day Twelve
Well, I got weak this morning and stepped on the scale. I am really trying to not do that. I weighed in at 246 lbs. I am hoping to at least be 245 lbs. by Monday, which will mean I lost an average of a pound a day during phase one. We’ll see. Even though I was weak and weighed, I also walked this morning for about 20 minutes (not sure how far) and did ten push-ups. I know that isn’t many push-ups by some standards, but it is a start. I am going to try to do that for about a week before doing more. My wife and I also walked again tonight – a little over 1.5 miles. So, I am happy about the exercise for the day. Hopefully we will be able to keep it up all weekend and going forward from there.
One of the frustrations on the diet is that my wife cannot do this with me. Of course, she is far more worried about her size than I am, but for her sake, I wish she could do the diet. She is far too picky of an eater. She has tried starting on phase two, but there are just too many things she doesn’t like and her menu gets really limited when she tries to eat on this diet.
I am going to try to start journaling my menu for the day a little different. I think this new format will be easier for me to go back and reference later.
- Breakfast – Four eggs, four small pieces of turkey sausage, and a green pepper.
- Mid-morning snack – two boiled eggs
- Lunch – About four cups of salad with my homemade oil and vinegar dressing
- Mid-afternoon snack – Two cheese sticks
- Supper – A large ground-chuck pattie, a chicken breast, half a tomato, and a sliced red bell pepper
- Evening snack – a piece of low-fat cheddar cheese
Tonight my wife went grocery shopping. I had her pick up a few Braeburn Apples for next week after I start phase two. I am planning on slicing them in half and eating just half an apple a day, but I sure would like to eat a whole one a day. I may ask around and see if a whole one would be acceptable. I really love Braeburn Apples, they are so crispy, sweet, yet tart. Mmmmm!
A Side Benefit of the SBD
One thing Dr. Agatston recommends while on the South Beach Diet is good fats, one of which is Omega-3. As you can see from my daily logs, I am eating a lot of tuna, primarily for that reason. I am also taking an Omega-3 supplement. I bring this up because tonight I read an interesting article about Omega-3 and Alzheimers/Dementia. According to a study published in late 2007 Omega-3 can lower the risk of Alzheimers/Dememtia by 35-40%. In addition, eating fruits and vegetables daily can lower the risk by 30%. This is a disease that has affected my grandmother, so it is ultimately a long-term concern of mine. This is just another good side benefit of this way of eating.
Advertisers
The following advertisers help support logmyloss.com. Their advertisements do not indicate my support of their product. As always, buyer beware.
