Day 45 - Half way there, right on track!

Well, my weight was right back down to my goal today:

That is really nice to see!  It makes the last three days of fasting totally worth it.  Today was a pretty tough day fasting, being home with the family and all.  When I'm at work I can usually at least keep myself busy and stick to myself at my desk, but at home I usually help get lunch and dinner for the kids.

One of my kids had to make cookies last night to bring to church today, so I helped her make those, and then of course there thy were today and everybody was eating them.  Lunch and dinner looked really good, too, but I kept to my commitment and I didn't eat anything!

So I'm right on track today, with one more day of fasting to do.  I'll eat dinner tomorrow night to break my fast.  I'll probably have some kefir or yogurt with or right before dinner to get things going in my gut again.  I did a ten day fast some time ago, and found that at the end I was really just craving something like kefir, and I just drank that for a few days to get back used to having food/drink.  I don't feel that as much now with the shorter fast, but it does sound quite good and wholesome.

So I'm really excited to be right on track again!  I did do progress pictures and measured my waist for the midpoint, and I am happy with how much better I look, and my waist is down to 52 inches from 55.5 inches at the start.  Pretty remarkable really.

This morning I had a cool non-scale victory when I didn't have any of my size 2X shirts clean that I normally wear.  I really had no choice but to try on one of the XL shirts in my closet, and when I did, it fit!  It was a little snug, but I was able to wear it and it didn't look bad at all!  It looked about the same as my 2X did when I started this process.  I had been afraid to try them on, not wanting to get discouraged I guess if they didn't fit.  I was about 262 pounds when most of my clothes fit, so I was going to wait until then to start trying them on, and probably will wait a bit to really dig in as long as my bigger shirts are available.

So I am so excited to be half way to my goal!  I know I can achieve my goal, I'm half way there and I feel better than ever!

Day 44 - Long day fasting.

Well, fasting works.  My weight was finally back down today, after fasting yesterday:

I'm still just a tad over my goal, but hopefully I'll be back there tomorrow since I'm fasting again today.  It's amazing how quickly  once can loose weight in just one day of fasting.  I know a bunch of it is the water weight I put on from eating all of that salty food, but still good to see the change and get back on track.

Today was pretty tough, being home with the family and not eating at all.  Everything looked really good, and it was definitely tough to not eat, but I know I am exercising my willpower muscles when I keep to my plan and fast.  Tomorrow will be tough as well, but I know I can do it!  That dinner Monday night is going to be so good!

My back is super sore today from playing soccer yesterday.  So I am in better cardiovascular shape for sure, but I have a ways to go to strengthen my body so I can do things like that and not regret it afterwards.

Day 43 - Weight up a bit, first day fasting.

Well, my weight is up another pound from yesterday from all of the snaaaacks:

Today was the first day fasting, and I feel pretty good so far.  I am really tired this evening, but I think that is more due to a really long day and an even longer week.  I'm ready for some rest and the weekend.

I did a little more than two mile walk over lunch, and after work I got a bit more exercise playing a bit of soccer in the gym with some kids.  I was surprised that I was not more out of breath than I was, and it was easier to move around than before for sure.  It's nice to know I'm getting in a bit better shape.

Day 42 - Six weeks in, not a great week. Fasting to get back on track.

Well, my weight today was exactly the same as yesterday, still up over my goal by quite a bit, only about a half pound lost since last week:

I guess a half pound is better than none, but I know I can do better, and reach my goal.

This week has been a tough one, with two work lunches and family in town, eating out and having food everywhere.  Today was another work lunch, this time at Chipotle.  I did pretty good there, just had a bowl with rice, beans, and steak.  Just under my calories, but then when I got home there was a pork shoulder we had smoked for dinner.  Well, I did eat again, and I had some snacks too, so not a great day overall.  Here's the dinner:

I did do my weekly progress photos and measured my waist.  My waist was another quarter of an inch smaller, down to 52 1/4 inches, so that's a win for sure.

I think what I need to do is fast for a few days to reset and get myself back on track, and get my perspective back.  I'm in a rut of eating whatever, and I can't see clearly what's ahead because of the state I'm in.  I know in my mind that I'd feel better if I stuck to my one meal a day and didn't splurge for the snacks and treats that are everywhere, but I'm just not feeling it right now.  It's not making it from my head to my heart I guess is one way to put it.  So I know a good long fast will help remind me what real hunger feels like, and how good it feels to be in control.

So tomorrow is Friday, and I'll plan to fast through the weekend until Monday dinner, so that will be a good 96 hour fast, and that should not only help me feel better and get back in a good state, but it should be enough to get me back down to my goal.

I also want and need to exercise more.  I said a few days ago that I got my bike ready to ride, and just the day before yesterday I got some SPD pedals so I can wear my cycling shoes with the "new" bike, so maybe this Saturday I'll go on a nice ride.  I love the way it feels to ride a bike.

So I am not giving up, I'll keep moving forward.  I will not be deterred like I might have been in the past.  I know I can do this!

Day 41 - Working lunch, did much better today.

Well, my weight is still over my goal, but trending down from yesterday:



I think I still have water weight on from all of the salt, so hopefully it will drop back down when I get back to my regular OMAD diet.

Today I had a working lunch, so we went out to a bbq restaurant, and I ate a simple bbq sandwich and broccoli instead of fries.  I didn't get a picture since I didn't have my cell phone.  It was a really good lunch, but I had a hard time in the evening since I am used to eating then.  But I did stick to it, and I did not eat anything in the evening.

I did have visitors in at work, so I was in meetings all day with them, including the working lunch.  Since I was busy all day, I didn't get my walk in unfortunately.

We still have family in town, and they have been buying a lot of snacks (chips, ice cream, peanut butter cups, etc.), so it is pretty tough, but I am glad I was able to abstain.

I did drink a few glasses of Crio Bru this evening, and that helped a lot to distract me and give me something pretty tasty to drink.

I'm worried my weight will still be up tomorrow, since my lunch was still pretty salty since it was from a restaurant.  We hardly eat out, but since we've had family in town and I had this work lunch it's been a lot the last few days.

Day 40

Well, not much change in my weight from yesterday.  It's still above the line, so I need to get it back down:

Today I went on a couple walks for a total of about four miles.  I did my usual 2 mile walk and then we did a two mile walk on a pretty hilly trail with the family.  It was fun and felt good to get some exercise.

For dinner we had bbq again, and I had another sandwich and fries:

I did better than the last couple of days on my eating.  Hopefully it shows on the scale tomorrow.

Day 39 - Discipline, even when out of the routine.

Well, my weight did fluctuate up today, as I expected after yesterday:



I wish I could say I did a ton better today.  I did do better, but not a huge amount.  We still have family in town, and I had a chicken salad sandwich and potato chips for dinner:


(Sorry for the blurry photo!)

Unfortunately, I did not stop eating at dinner, I did eat a few more chips and an ice cream cone later, and that's not all.  But as I said before, I'll never give up, I'll just keep moving forward.  I'll try again tomorrow.  I know we are going out for bbq again tomorrow, so I'm going to do my best to get some exercise and not eat anything else but dinner.

We will have family in town all week, and I know I can't afford to lose focus the whole time they are here.  I need to learn to have discipline even when I'm not in my "usual" routine.  Because life never stays in the same routine forever, eventually we will get out of what we are comfortable with, and we need to be able to keep focus on our goals, even when other things are changing.

Day 38 - Family in town, went overboard again, but not discouraged

Well, my weight held steady, so still below my goal!



Today was not a super great day for my eating.  We made some cookies, and I unfortunately had too many of those, I think I ate six, but I didn't really keep track.  I was feeling pretty wonky after that, so we went on a two-mile walk, and that made me feel much better.  Then my wife's family came in town, so we had a nice pork chop dinner:



It was really good, and I ate too much of it, too.  I ate that plate and and another smaller pork chop and a little more potatoes.  So we'll see, I'll probably be up again tomorrow from all of the salt and sugar, but if there's one think I've learned in this whole thing, it's not to be discouraged by one bad day, to not give up, keep moving forward!  I know I'll make my goal!

I know today that the way I feel after eating too much is not nearly as good as how I felt the days when I did really good.  I know that in the end, I feel so much better on the days that I do good.  My confidence is better, I am more optimistic, and I am just happier overall.

One a plus side, I get my road bike down from the hanger in the garage, aired up the tires, and got it all ready to ride.  I definitely want to start riding again, so that is a good first step.  Walking is good and all, but I think something that burns a little more calories and is a little more enjoyable, to add a little variety, will be a good thing.

Day 37 - More moving, dinner date

Well, my weight was way down again today, so that's awesome!!  Nice to be solidly below the red line again!



I helped another family move today for about an hour and a half, so that was a bunch of calories burned.  I have mixed feelings about how I feel with exercise on my new, restricted calorie plan.  My weight loss and exercise have definitely helped me have more energy, but the low calorie diet also makes my muscles weaker, I believe.  So I think the best way to put it would be that I have much better cardio endurance, but my muscles maybe don't last as long as they would if I got more calories.  But overall, I am definitely more effective at loading boxes and furniture than I was before.  I did get a very minor cramp or two, and I could feel my muscles starting to give out carrying the really heavy stuff.  I believe I need to start taking a multivitamin since I don't eat a lot, that may get me minerals to help the cramping, and I think doing more exercise than just walking will help my muscles.

As for eating, I had a daddy-daughter date with one of my daughters, and she chose Panda Express, so that's where we went for dinner.  I noticed there is a huge difference in calories between the "healthier" and "unhealthier" options.  Most of the fried and sauced options (orange chicken, etc.) are around 500 Calories, the beef & broccolli is like 180 Calories, and the Kung Pow Chicken is 290 Calories.  I had a bunch of calories, so I chose one high calorie and one moderate calorie one with Beijing Beef (my favorite) and Kung Pow Chicken.  This was my first time having the Kung Pow (I usually get sweet fire chicken), and I really liked it.  It was quite spicy, and it had lots of veggies and even peanuts in it.  Really nice.  I went for the steamed white rice to save about 200 Calories over the fried rice.  Here it is:



So other than that, I had some chocolate w/ peanut butter later in the day and a protein shake.  I was really feeling my muscles after moving people two days in a row, so I felt like I needed to feed my body so it can recover.  And even though I'm a bit over today, I was way under yesterday so I feel like it averages out.

I also want to say that I still feel so good.  Every day I feel even better, it is almost unbelievable.  I can only imagine how I'll feel when I've finished this challenge and I'm down to 250lbs.  I don't plan to stop there either, by any means!  I can't decide if I want to do another 50lbs/90day challenge to get down to 200 or if I should slow down a bit.  We'll see how I feel then and just how little I'd have to eat in order to keep losing at this rate when I am that much smaller.

On another note, it might be said by many that eating only 595 Calories a day is way too few.  I'd say they are probably right, but keep in mind I almost never eat that few calories.  Every day I strive to burn at least around 300 extra Calories, most days much more, so I end up eating at least around 900 Calories or more each day.  That's about what you'd get from Medifast/Optavia, and I feel good about where I am.  Again, most days it's even more.  For instance, today I ate 1995 Calories because I burned 1333 Calories with the move I helped with.

I do want to be able to track my calories more closely.  I don't really like just picking an activity on MFP and trusting the calories it tells me.  So I might invest in a heart rate monitor watch, one that will accurately track my calorie expenditure based on my heart rate.  I believe that is about the most accurate way apart from being hooked up to a VO2 sensor or something.

Day 36 - Big dinner and lots of exercise.

Here's my weight for the day, not much different than yesterday, just a little fluctuation up, probably because I drank a bunch of diet soda last night while I was editing my YouTube video:

Today I had a nice date with my wife.  We went to our favorite barbeque place and got their most famous sandwich and some fries, and I got some coleslaw because I like to put some on my sandwich, called the Z-Man:

After that I went to help some people move out of their house, so that was an hour of pretty intense exercise carrying heavy boxes and furniture down stairs and to the truck.  After that I was already sweaty and the wife and kids were off doing something, so I went ahead and mowed the lawn.  I had already done a two mile walk during the day, so it worked out to a bunch of exercise.

After dinner I had a bit more candy that I still have from Fathers' Day since I had plenty of calories.  It really didn't do that much for me, though.  KitKats have always been my favorite candy, and I had a couple sticks of those and a Reese's cup.  I mean, it was OK, but it really wasn't as good as say a cup of Crio Bru or a good bowl of tomato soup.  It's nice to not have that craving, or dependency.  I still love the chocolate truffles, though, and ice cream is still great when I get it.

I talked on my last YouTube video about exercise, and how it doesn't have to be just going to the gym and sweating on the treadmill or elliptical for an hour.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it is nice to do something that is fun or doesn't feel as much like exercise.  When I was moving or mowing the lawn, it doesn't feel as much like exercise, but I am still burning a bunch of calories.

So now we are starting another weekend.  The last couple times I had a weight spike it was because of the weekends, and eating too much food.  So I'm determined to stick to my guns this weekend.  I know I can do it, and I know if I don't have to make up for a spike after the weekend then I'll be that much better off.

Day 35 - 20 pounds lost in 5 weeks!!

Well, I couldn't be happier with my weight today, I'm back under the line, and I've lost exactly 20 pounds in 5 weeks!

Today I was feeling particularly hungry, but I had a really busy day too so I was able to manage by keeping busy.  I was really hungry at dinner, and we had pizza, so I got a big salad and a couple of slices:

Well, by the time I had eaten my salad and one slice, I was quite full so I didn't eat the other slice, so I guess this is more like it:

I'm not sure what else to say today.  I did finally get a good night's rest last night.  After dinner I had a couple more truffles from Fathers' day and a cup of Crio Bru:

(Sorry for the shadows)

It's really a nice combination.  The Crio Bru adds a really nice flavor with almost no calories.

Day 34 - Camping

I went on a camp out last night and today to help out one of my kids.  It was fun, but I unfortunately did not get to weigh myself this morning.  I stuck to my guns, though, and didn't eat any extra.  I ate dinner before going last night, and today I did not partake of the breakfast or lunch they had in camp, and went ahead and ate the "waking tacos" for dinner:



One of the things I love about one meal a day is that you can eat whatever is being served.  There is no "off limit" foods, you just eat your one meal, and it's OK if you have a little treat.  After dinner they had ice cream at camp.  I decided I'd forgo that and I ate a couple Russell Stover's truffles that I still have from Fathers' Day.  They were delicious, and they fit right within my calories, so I didn't have to feel guilty.  They go great with the Crio Bru as well, delicious!

We pretty much just sat around camp all day, since we were just there to supervise.  I have come to really crave the exercise I get with my walks every day, so I went for a one mile walk in the morning.  It's not much, but it really helped me feel better.

Now that I'm getting a little smaller, I feel more like exercising, and I want to add more than just walking.  I used to do a lot of cycling, so I'd like to do more of that.  It's hard to find the time, I can just walk in the middle of the day at work, but going to the gym or riding a bicycle takes a little more preparation and time.  So I am thinking about how I can make that work.

Day 33 - Goin' down again! (Finally!)

Well, the patience paid off, and my weight in headed in the right direction again:



Once again I feel really good today.  I did not end up being able to go to bed earlier last night.  I finally got my four week youtube video up, and it took me until 3am, so I only got a few hours of sleep.  But despite that, I feel pretty good today, and I had a nice 2 mile walk and a delicious whole wheat tortilla burrito for dinner:



I also had a protein shake to round out my calories and get in 30g of protein to help me feel fuller longer.

Tonight and tomorrow I have a camp out, so I won't be able to weight myself most likely in the morning.  I've already eaten dinner, so no need to eat any s'mores or anything tonight.

So things are looking up, I'm feeling good, and I'm on track. 

Day 32 - Still "up", long day, Crio Bru...

Well, my weight is still up, not all that surprising since I didn't exercise and ate too much yesterday.



I think another major contributor is that I haven't had much sleep the last couple nights.  I've been trying to get some things done, so I've been staying up way too late working, and still having to get up early.  I think when I don't get enough sleep my body tends to hang on to the weight, and then it usually corrects when I do get enough sleep.  I'm not sure if it's water or something else, but something is definitely going on, and sleep helps with weight loss.

So today I went on a 2 mile walk and ate a really small dinner of chicken, noodles, and peas, which kept me well under my calories for the day:



I'm also going to try to get a bit more sleep tonight, although I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to.  I'm still trying to make my youtube video for week 4, and it's just one thing after another.  Last night I finally got everything situated and then after several attempts at about 2am I was just about done with a pretty good take when my phone was out of memory.  The video that was recording when the memory ran out didn't work, I guess because it couldn't complete the file's metadata.  So today I bought a big memory card so I won't have that problem again, and I'm going to try to do the video again tonight.

If I am still substantially up tomorrow, then I'll probably do another full day fast to reset my body and break the cycle.

One thing I got that has been a big help is called Crio Bru.  I don't drink coffee, but Crio Bru is like coffee, but it's roasted cocao beans instead of coffee beans.  It tastes like very dark chocolate, and only has 10 calories per cup.  I don't drink it during the day so I don't break my fast, but I do drink it after dinner if I get hungry or crave something before bedtime and it really hits the spot.  Here's the stuff I get:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017975OKM/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Day 31 - Weight up, but not discouraged.

Well, my weight is up, as I would have expected after how much I ate yesterday:



It's at this point that I might often get discouraged and quit my dieting. But this time, I will not be discouraged. I will keep moving forward. It is a minor setback, and I will recover and overcome. I also need to realize that most of the "weight gain" is water, and will come off quickly once I get my eating back in check from the last couple of days.

Today I wasn't really hungry most of the day. I was feeling pretty crappy, a bit of a headache and overall pretty tired, but not too bad. The kids got me some of my favorite chocolates for Father's day.  I was only a bit tempted, since I have a strong sense of determintation.  I'm not sure when I'll eat them, for now I just put them in my drawer out of sight.  Maybe I'll just eat a bit here and there with my meals once I get back under my goal.

For dinner I just had some tomato and pepper soup again, to give my tooth a little break and have something light for my weight to recover. The tooth is still bothering me a bit; I'm hoping it gets better on its own so I don't have to go back to the dentist.



We'll see how my weight is next week. I may have a day or two of complete fasting, or just soup like I did today. We'll see how it goes. I know I can achieve my goal, and I will do what it takes.

Day 30 - Air show, pizza, and need to step it up!

Weight fluctuated up a bit today, probably due to the larger amount of eating yesterday after dinner:

Today we went to an airshow.  That was fun, and we were out in the sun walking most of the day.  That made me pretty tired, but it was a good day overall.  We did go out for pizza on the way home from the airshow, and I had more than I should have.  I felt really good after two slices, but I went in for a third and that last one didn't taste as good as the others, and I didn't feel as good afterward.

Also, after the pizza when I got home I kept eating here and there, which I tend to do in the evening if I don't keep my whits about me.  Something about being tired tends to lower willpower, and it is important to be cognizant of that.  I personally know I need to step up my game and stick to the one meal a day and be done, no more grazing in the evening, even when I am tired, have had a bad day, or whatever other excuse I feel like I might have.

I think when we overeat, food doesn't taste as good and is not as fulfilling as it could be.  When we get to the point that we are just eating to be eating, or eating because the food is there, then we open ourselves up to problems.  Even if the food tastes good in the moment, the guilt we feel afterward when we overeat is just not worth it.  Conversely, when we keep to our plan and eat a reasonable amount, it is quite empowering and we feel really good and uplifted, as we should.

Day 29 - Temptation at work!

Well, my weight fluctuated back down again today, so that's great!



Today at work there were lots of left over chips from the bbq last night.  Chips are one of my real weaknesses, so it was tough to go all day and not have any.  But alas, I did endure, and I did not give in.  So tonight for dinner we had pork sandwiches with the left over meat, and some chips.



I feel really good today, it's nice to continue to see progress on the scale and with how I feel. 

Day 28 - Four weeks in, right on track!

Well, my weight wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, considering I ate so much yesterday:



So I'm right on track for 50lbs in 90 days!

Today was pretty good.  There were all kinds of treats at work, rice krispy treats, donuts, bagels, and fruit that different people had brought in.  I stayed strong!  We had a work bbq tonight so I had some good bbq then, and it was totally worth it to not have eaten all day:



I also got my two mile walk in, that always feels so good.

It's been four weeks, so I checked my waist diameter.  I've lost 2.5 inches!  Down to 53 inches.  Awesome!  My clothes are fitting better for sure.



I finally made a chart to keep track of how my weight is tracking to my goal.  As you can see, while I have fluctuated up and down at times, I have overall kept right on track with my goal.  I will continue to strive to meet my goal, adjusting as necessary.  This chart will certainly help.

Day 27 - Eating again

Here's my weight today:



My mouth was finally feeling better today, so I was able to eat some.  We also had a work lunch as a farewell to a long time employee, so I ate lunch there.  It was two small pieces of pizza, much less than I would normally have eaten, so that felt really good.

It was also my daughter's birthday, so we went out for pizza again, because that's what she wanted.  I had one slice then, too, and ate some birthday cake and a few other things later.  I don't really like the term "cheat day", because I don't like to think of myself as cheating, but having an occasional day where you eat more than usual can be helpful to prevent your body from getting into a rut, and it can boost your mood a bit.  I didn't go crazy, and I feel really good tonight.

Day 26 - Still losing, and a couple NSV's!

Well, another good day from the scale, here's my weight this morning:

My teeth are still sore, so I wasn't up for solid food yet.  So I had some more soup.  The grocery store didn't have roasted red pepper soup, so I got some tomato soup and added some chipotle sauce and some other hot sauce.  It ended up really spicy, but also delicious.  I had that with another protein shake and some plain Greek yogurt:

I had a couple non-scale victories (NSV's) today as well.  Out of depiration due to the few clothes that fit be being dirty from my trip, I wore a shirt from the "too small" side of my closet, and it fit just fine.  There is a wide range of shirts over there, so I believe this is one of the bigger ones that just barely didn't fit, but still a victory!

Also, at the store today we passed the blood pressure machine, and I decided to give it a go.  My blood pressure has been really high the last few times I've been to either the doctor, dentist, or eye doctor.  I usually just tell them I'm a little nervous, and the last time I had a physical at my work the nurse took it three times to try to get a better reading.  I used to have really low blood pressure when I was riding my bicycle to work most days.  Well, when I checked it today it was much lower than it has been.  Today it was 133/90, which isn't great, but just on/below the "high blood pressure" line.  I can't remember for sure, but I believe it was up around 160/110 before.

Day 25 - Back to work!

Another solid weight loss day, probably due to the fact that I wasn't able to eat much yesterday:



So today I went back to work after the week of travel.  It was pretty nice to get back into the routine, though I did have a pile of email to get through.  My tooth is still hurting bad, so I made a little mouth guard to keep my back teeth apart yesterday, and today I went to the dentist.  He adjusted my bite, so hopefully things will settle down.  I was still in a lot of pain so I just had soup and a shake for my dinner:



I did also eat a Chobani yogurt right after dinner to try to get a few more calories.  As always, you can see exactly what and how much I ate by going to the myfitnesspal link at the top.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be feeling better and able to eat solid food again.  The family had chicken stir fry with rice and broccolli, so that looks really good.  We'll see how long it takes to heal now that my bite is better.

Other than that, I feel awesome!  My clothes are fitting so much better, and I am able to get around and move a lot easier.  I did my two mile walk today and that felt really good.  So I'm still wearing the same four shirts, and they are getting a bit looser, my buttons don't bulge anymore.  I don't think I'm ready to try on any of my older/smaller clothes yet.  I think I need to get down at least into the 70's before those will fit, and I don't want to discourage myself by trying to early.  I am making steady, awesome progress, and that is awesome!!

Day 24 - Can't eat

Had another loss on the scale today, so that's great!  Here it is:



My teeth are still hurting really bad, so I really didn't feel like eating anything.  The pain is just not worth it, and I am to the point now with fasting that I don't get super hungry, even if I don't eat anything.  So I had a couple of my wife's Atkins shakes for dinner, and that's it:



Hopefully I can get to the dentist tomorrow and get my tooth fixed.  I think it is a problem with my bite.  I have a small spot on one of my back molars that hits before the rest, and it's just shooting pain each time my mouth comes together.  I think that might have been the problem all along, and I just noticed it as general pain and didn't notice the exact problem until I really paid attention.  I made a little mouth guard to go on my front teeth to keep my back teeth apart, and that is helping with the pain as long as I keep it in.

So hopefully tomorrow I can get things fixed and have a nice dinner.  I am really feeling good with my diet, and I am noticing the changes in my body.  My clothes continue to fit better, and I am able to do things without getting as winded.  I couldn't be happier with how I feel, besides this darn tooth!!

Day 23 - More progress

This is the first full day home from my business trip, so I was able to weight myself once again on my own scale.  So here it is:



It is great to see that I actually did make progress while I was gone, and that the hotel scale wasn't just different/off from mine!  So that is a great confidence booster.

For my one meal today I went on a little date with my wife, and we decided to go to Jersey Mike's Subs.  It was good, but once again the calories were crazy.  For a regular size Philly sub, it was over 700 Calories, so again what would seem to be "healthier" food has more calories than a big mac.  My wife got a chocolate chunk cookie, and it was something like 570 Calories, for one cookie!  I did have one bite of the cookie, and it was good, but not worth 500+ calories imho.  Unfortunately I once again forgot to take a picture of my meal, but I do plan to start doing that again.

Other than that I spent the day with the family.  Didn't get much exercise other than the usual running around with the wife and kids.  I do need to get in a better routine of exercise on the weekends.  More to come on that hopefully.

Day 22 - "Healhy" food

So it was my last day on travel, which is why I'm writing this the next morning.  I had a red-eye flight home.  It's really nice to be home!

I wasn't able to weigh in again, but I'm home now so I should be back to daily weigh-ins starting tomorrow.

On our last day we went on an all day tour, and lunch was provided.  That makes three days in a row that my one meal was lunch, and you know it's not too bad.  I think I've gotten used to it.

So once again I had this meal that I ate, and I didn't have any way to look at the calories until later in the evening.  (We were not allowed to have our phones on the tour.)  I was pretty shocked when I looked up the calories!

It was a Panera chicken salad sandwich, kettle chips, and an oatmeal cookie.  This would be billed as a typical "healthy" meal for someone who wanted to make a better choice than fast food.  I was pretty shocked when I looked up the calories for the meal.  The chips actually ended up being the lowest calorie item by far, at 150 Calories.  The cookie was a whopping 390 calories, for one cookie!  The sandwich really takes the cake, though.  It was a Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich, and it was 620 calories.  To put that in perspective, a Big Mac, arguably the poster child for the unhealthy fast-food movement, is 563 Calories.  That's about 1,200 Calories for a single "healthy" meal!  That's more than half of the daily calories for an average adult, in one meal.  And we're told we should eat three such meals a day.  No wonder there is an obesity epidemic!

So my takeaway from today is, if you get a sandwich from a place like Panera, consider just eating half of it, and skip the cookie!! (Unless you really want it, then be prepared to spend an hour in the gym working it off!)

Day 21 - Progress feels so good!

Well, here we are at the end of week 3.  I did go to the gym this morning, and I found a scale there!  So here's the weigh in:

So that's awesome!  It feels so good to see more progress!  I am really happy to know I'm on track, and that the hard work has payed off.  Seeing the progress made everything worth it.  I was especially glad for my decision not to eat again last night after having lunch with my colleague.

So when you feel hungry, and it's not time to eat, just think: HUNGER = PROGRESS

So today I had lunch with my colleague again at a fast food restaurant.  I had a burger, fries, and a milkshake.  Once again, I did not finish my lunch.  I have to be honest, yesterday and today are probably the first two times I have left a restaurant without finishing everything I bought.  It feels strange to me.  In a way, it feels really good to have the self control to leave the food and not be controlled by it.  In another way, it is such ingrained in me not to waste food, especially food that I just paid for, that is delicious.  But, it is better for it to go in the trash than to make me unhealthy by going overboard. 

Also, once again I did not have dinner since I ate lunch, so I'm keeping to OMAD, and it feels great!

Day 20 - Things work out, hunger is OK, and the abundance mentality.

Well, one again I do not have a weight for today since I am traveling.  I may try to find a scale tomorrow morning since it will be my three week mark. I did try to go to the gym tonight, but it is only open from 6a-7p, so they were already closed when I went there at 10pm.  Maybe I can get up and go before I have to start things tomorrow.

So I am still on travel for work, and I went to lunch with my colleague once again.  This time we went and got some Salvadoran food, which was actually really good, first time I'd tried it.  I got carne asada, which is basically a steak with rice and beans with vegetables, etc.  It was a lot like most Mexican restaurants, in that they served chips and salsa on the table and the food was similar.  I actually did really good, I didn't eat nearly all of the food and only had three chips.  Maybe 3/4 of the steak and about 1/3 cup rice and 1/4 cup beans, and about half of a pupusa with cabbage.  So I felt really good and not overly full, but was certainly enough food for my one meal, despite the fact that on travel we usually go to social dinner as well.  I apologize I did not get a picture of the plate.

But today it worked out that my colleague has an aunt that lives in the town we are traveling to, and wanted to go to dinner with her.  I told him no problem at all, and so I am not obliged to eat dinner, and it feels pretty good.  I'll admit that I am a bit hungry, since I am used to eating in the evening and not for lunch, but not so much that it's a problem.

One thing I've learned is that if you want to lose weight, you are going to be hungry sometimes.  That's all there is to it.  Some diets claim that you'll never be hungry, but sooner or later, if you are living on a calorie deficit, you will get hungry.  Your body very much wants to maintain its current weight, and it will send hunger signals when you eat less that maintenance.  But that's OK, once you realize that it's not the end of the world, it's OK to be hungry, it's not a crisis, then you can get through it.

There are several restaurants in my hotel, including a McDonald's and a Panda Express, which is one of my favorites, but I know I don't have to give in.  I can have that stuff any day I want, for my one meal, but that's not today, because I already had my one meal.  I don't need to have the scarcity mentality of "I can never have that", much better to have an abundance mentality of "I can have that any time, I'm just choosing not to have it right now."

Day 19 - Social Eating

Well, I'm still on business travel.  Unfortunately, my hotel room doesn't have a scale, so I wasn't able to weigh myself this morning.

I did eat lunch with some of my business associates.  It was a dim sum place, so the portions were small and I only had three items, so I'd say I did good considering the circumstances.

There was also a social dinner for the conference, here it is:

So more calories than I'd like to have in a day overall, but not crazy.  As I said before, I think it is important that food not completely control my life.  That includes taking me away from important social situations like today's working lunch and dinner, where I built important relationships.

I'm feeling really good still, and I feel like I have more control over my eating.  I certainly had the opportunity to eat a lot more, as there was constantly free food everywhere at the conference from brownies to pastries, etc.  I feel motivated to do good so I can continue to feel better about myself and loose weight toward my goal of 50 pounds in 90 days!

Day 18 - Traveling

Well, the fasting yesterday paid off.  Here's today's weight:

Today I flew to a conference in another city.  I had a really hard time on the first leg, I had a bad headache and a middle seat, which isn't the best when you're big like me.  But I survived and the second leg was much better.

I decided to walk from the airport to my hotel room to burn a few extra calories, about 4.5 miles.  That wouldn't be a bad walk, but it was really hot and I was carrying my duffel bag luggage (note to self: invest in a roller bag maybe?)  Anyway, I made it, and have a couple blisters to show for it.

As for dinner, I just ate at the conference reception, so not really much, just a few hors d'oeuvres.  I also ate some pretzels and a protein bar on the plane when I was feeling really lousy, hoping that would help, I think it did a bit.  Maybe I was just a little too far in with the fasting and lack of sleep with my tooth, etc.

Anyway, with the extra walking and the miniscule dinner, I'm well within my calories today.  That's a good thing since I'm at this conference.  I'm going to do my best to make wise choices each day, and I'm going to try really hard to get some exercise in each day.  One thing I know, is that you can't excersise your way to weight loss.  There is no way to burn enough calories to be able to eat whatever you want.  The diet is the most critical factor.  It takes over an hour to burn 500 calories walking, but you can eat that much in 10 minutes without even realizing it.