Day 11³

So my weight went down again, a little surprisingly with all I ate yesterday:

I did fast again today, and tonight we had a pork roast:

It was good, but super salty.  That's probably not going to be good for tomorrow's weight.  I also ate more than what's on the plate, and I also had some walnuts and a couple other things afterwards.  Not as bad as yesterday, but I really need to get to where I'm just eating the one plate.  I don't want to drift into complacency again.

I'm starting to feel really good when fasting, and I'm over feeling hungry during the day.  Not it just seems like once I start eating, it's difficult to stop.  I need to get that last bit of control. I know I can do it.

I think tomorrow maybe I'll just have something quick & light for dinner to clean out and reset a little bit.

Day 10³

 Well my weight is still going down, so that's great!

It's going to be a challenge to get back under the line with the new scale, but I'm up for it!

I wasn't really hungry today, so that was good.  I went in to work instead of working from home, so that always makes it a little easier.  Then when I got home, I decided to eat an omlet with some left over refried beans and rice.  The omelet took longer too cook than I expected, and by the time the middle was cooked the outside was over cooked.  And I really don't like overcooked eggs, but I decided to eat it anyway:

The meal was good, but the eggs were not nearly as good as I had hoped when I started.  I had the thought as I was cooking it of starting over or having something else, but I decided not too.  Maybe I should have because after dinner I just was not satisfied and I ended up eating a lot of other things.  Kind of went crazy really.  I'll try to list everything I ate:  a snack pack pudding cup, a handful or two of walnuts, three pop tarts, a serving of cheese balls, a couple cookies...  that might be it, can't really remember.  I'm not making an excuse, just looking for the root cause of what happened.

The great thing about OMAD is that even when I do go crazy after dinner, the fasting all day really limits the amount of food I eat overall.  I know as I get smaller I will really have to reign this in especially, but I need to do it now.  Just one plate, I know I can do it.

One important thing for OMAD is to eat something for dinner that you will really enjoy.  Joe (omad.info) says to never eat leftovers, or to eat anything just because it is there, but to eat what you really want.  I think maybe if I had done that, if I would have re-made the eggs or had something else, I may have been satisfied and not felt the need to keep eating.

They say it's not a failure if you learned something, and I definitely learned something with this.

Never give up! keep moving forward!

Every day we choose one of two pains: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret; trouble is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons. - Jim Rohn

Day 9³

 So today's weight is a little complicated.  The new scale I ordered came yesterday, so I weighed myself on my old scale and on the new one.  The reason I got a new scale is that the old one tended to jump around a lot sometimes and was pretty sensitive to how it was placed on the floor and it would take a while to settle in.  Sometimes I'd have to stand on it 8 or 10 times to get the same number twice.  The new scale is much better, but it says I weight about 3 lbs more than the old one did:

So I had a couple of options.  I could go back and add 3 to all of my previous weights, but then I'd have to add 3 to all of my goals too.  I could leave my goals the same but push them out so I was still on track to meet them in the time remaining, basically go back in time three days or so.  Or I could just roll with it and try to lose the extra 3 pounds to get back below my goal.  That's what I decided to do.  So I'm going to start from here, and now instead of being just below my goal, I'm about 3 lbs over it.  I know I can do it.  

The main reason for the decision is that I really like my current goal targets of 285, 235, 195, and 180.  I don't want to add 3 to all of those or add time to my goal.  So here we are.  I don't think I'll have to do anything too drastic to get back down to the line, but if I need to fast completely for a few days then I can do that.

So tonight I had a big bowl of frosted mini wheat cereal, which I've been craving for a while:

I actually only ate half of the peach and one bite of that blueberry bread slice.  It wasn't that great and I was pretty full from the cereal.

So I'm feeling great tonight.  No hunger really after dinner.  Today was good, too, I didn't really get hungry, and I wasn't even overly hungry at dinner time, but I was ready to eat.

Day 8³

 Well, I thought I would be way up after all I ate yesterday, but I actually was down, so that's great:

It's really cool to not see that 3 at the beginning.  I know I'm making progress here just 8 days in.

I think fasting all day is such a big help.  Even when I eat too much at night, it's hard to get more calories than a full day of eating.  It helps that my BMR is around 3000 Calories.

Today I did fast all day once again, and we had some delicious homemade pizza for dinner.  I also had some salad and Doritos:

After dinner I had a couple of no-bake cookies that my daughter made.

I feel really good today.  I don't really have the indigestion I was having when I started fasting. 

Day 7³

 Well, 7 days in and my weight is still on its way down:

My scale was kind of all over the place this morning.  I put new batteries in it, but it still took it quite some time to settle down and start giving me a consistent number.  I ordered a new one.  If the new one is way off from the one I have, then I may have to make some adjustments, realizing that my previous weights were not accurate.  We'll see.

I did manage to fast the full day until dinner, so that's a big win once again.  Tonight I had a big salad and some chicken and refried beans for dinner:

I wasn't able to finish that while I was sitting for dinner, I got too full.  So I guess that's a good thing.  I did, however, go a little crazy in the evening, eating a bunch of unhealthy foods.  Shortly after dinner I had some Doritos, then a snack pack pudding, then a couple pop tarts (they are my true weakness) and I think a granola bar or two then a bowl of cereal.  I know, it was hard to list all of that, quite embarrasing.  But I want to be totally honest here in my blog.  

I'm not sure what drove me to eat so much, despite being full.  I guess I just fell into old habits and didn't stop myself.  I was just going to have a big bowl of cereal for dinner, since I've been craving it for a while, but I changed my mind at the last second when others were getting the chicken.  That was probably the first mistake.  I should have just eaten the cereal that I really wanted and been done with it.  I noticed as I listed that above, that after I ate the cereal I finally stopped, so maybe it was just me really wanting that cereal.  Here's to doing better tomorrow.

Day 6³

 My weight was back down to my goal line today, so that's great!

For dinner we had a rotiserrie chicken w/ mashed potatoes and green beans.  I also grabbed some Doritos to add to my plate:

 

It was really good, but I think I ate too much, probably will be up tomorrow.  I was really hungry today, but I made it until dinner, so I'm really happy about that.  After dinner I ate a yogurt cup and snack pack pudding and a few more chips.  I kind of lost it I guess, not sure why I was so hungry today.  I still feel really good that I fasted until dinner, and I didn't eat a whole lot after even.

Day 5³

So today was the first "up" fluctuation with my weight:

 

I also woke up with a headache, which usually means that I'm dehydrated, usually from not drinking enough water.  I did drink a good amount of water yesterday, so I think the dinner was just extra salty, which would explain the fluctuation up.  My wife felt the same way this morning, so I think the fajitas and beans were "well seasoned".

I know a risk of weighing every day is the potential to get discouraged when weight fluctuates, as it will, so I am keeping a positive attitude and not letting it get me down.  I have a long way to go and many many more weight-ins between now and my goal.  Totes NBD.

So tonight we had chicken salad sandwiches for dinner.  I decided to have a big chicken salad salad instead:

I also had another chocolate truffle from my wife and four chocolate covered almonds.

I actually wasn't hungry really at all today, despite us not eating until almost 7pm.  I had a pretty big meeting today at work that I was in charge of, so that kept my mind off of food I'm sure, then afterwards I was so relieved I was just feeling really good.  After dinner I was pretty hungry and wanted more, but I did not cave in. 

Day 4³

So I felt a lot better today than yesterday.  I think the big meal last night did me good, and I didn't feel hungry or light headed like I did yesterday.  I did have a little bit of indgestion, but not as much as yesterday, and not really until about 4 or 5pm.  My weight is still going down, staying under my goal:

Tonight I had fajitas for dinner:

I also had a bite of the left over cake and two chocolate truffles from the box of chocolates I got my wife for our anniversary.  In all it was a little under 1200 Calories total.  See myfitnesspal for the total breakdown.

So not much else, feeling really good today.  This evening I feel really nice and full, not hungry at all.  I was definitely tempted to eat more cake right after dinner, but now a few hours later I don't feel it anymore.  I do have a lot more energy already, just not being bogged down with excess food all of the time. 

Day 3³

Well it's day 3, and I feel pretty good tonight.  Today I got a little light headed with a slight headache, but not overly bad.  I know days 3-4 are the hardest for OMAD, so I'm not really surprised.

My weight this morning was really good, seeing a really good loss for Day 3, right on target:

I had a big dinner tonight, as it's my wedding anniversary.  We got Chinese chicken & rice and my kids made us a cake & ice cream.  Even so, I ate it all in one sitting and I was done:

 

Now I feel really good.  My lightheadedness and headache went away a little while after I ate, and I feel satisfied and quite comfortable.  One thing I love about OMAD is that I can eat any kind of food I want, and I don't feel deprived.  Even if I splurge for my meal, it's still quite a bit less than I would have eaten if I ate all day.

So that's about it, feeling really good.  I am always surprised how quickly I start to feel really good once I start doing OMAD again.  I was feeling really crummy just a few days ago, and I already feel so much better.

I think one of the barriers to weight loss, or any change really, is when we know how "easy" it is, or at least we know what we need to do.  We get in the mentality of "I can lose weight, I know exactly what to do, and I know how to do it.  I could start any time." so we don't.  It's similar with anything that we are putting off, because it will be "easy" when we decide to do it.  Like the addict that says they can quit any time, until they try to do it.  Starting is hard, at times continuing is hard, but much of the time the great feeling makes it worth it.

Day 2³

So today has been pretty good.  I did not get a good weigh-in because I got busy with things as soon as I got out of bed, so I didn't get a weigh in until mid-day and I had already drank a bunch of water.  But here it is:

So still a little down, not bad, but I expect I'll do better as I get into it and weight at the proper time.  Daily fluctuations are to be expected after all.

I measured my waist today, it's at 55.5 inches.

I made an appointment with the doctor today.  I haven't been to the doctor in quite a while, at least in part because I'm afraid I'll receive bad news about diabetes or something.  I know it's best to know my situation, and it will be nice to have blood work before and after my transformation.

A week or so ago I bought a blood glucose meter.  I've been taking readings, and it seems like I'm not diabetic, at least according to what I've read, but I may very well be pre-diabetic.  It seems like after I eat my blood sugar gets up near 200, but comes back down to 120 or so a couple hours after eating.  In the morning it's like 65, then an hour or so after waking up it's like 110, even when I haven't eaten.  So I think those are high.  I'm hoping to get my A1C from my doctor to see a better picture.

Today the kids had friends over, so we had pizza for dinner.  That's one thing I love about OMAD, I can eat whatever I want and am not restricted to certain foods.  So I had a couple of pieces, and I also had a big salad and of course some apple cider vinegar:

That's it for today.  I felt pretty satisfied.  Right after dinner I still felt a bit hungry, kind of wanted another piece of pizza or a sweet snack, but it passed in an hour or so.

Third time's a charm - Day 1³

OK I'm finally back.  It's been a rough few months as far as my weight is concerned.  My weight was slowly creeping up after I got sick there, then with the quarantine and everything, I have just been gaining super fast the last month or two.  One day I'll post my full weight chart to document it.  I have been weighing pretty much every day.

So today I begin again.  It has been quite a journey, and I firmly believe that you can only fail if you quit trying, so here's to trying again.  :)  Then again, as Yoda said, "Do or do not, there is no try." So here's to my doing it!

So I've not only gained my weight back, I've gotten just a tiny bit heavier then when I started the first time.  I'm sitting at 305 today, almost unbelievable to me that I've broken 300 again.  I thought I'd never be back here, but no sense dwelling on that.  I'm sure I'll tell more of that story as we go along.



My goal is more long term this time.  I was successful in the 50lbs 90days challenge, and I think I didn't have a clear enough path beyond that.  Like I said multiple times, my "why's" started to go away as the pounds came off, and I sort of lost my motivation and got comfortable.

So I have new, sustaining why's, along with all the ones I had before that have come back.  So most of my clothes do not fit again.  I've been working from home for a few months, so that has not been a strong motivator, but now I need to go back to the office, and I only have like 2 or 3 shirts that fit, and one or two pairs of pants.  Not good.  Also, my back is hurting more all the time and I get winded just going up the stairs in my house.  So those are the main reasons I started to lose weight in the first place, along with the fear of diabetes that I mentioned early on.

I have been thinking about some longer-term "why's", and the biggest one for me is living long enough to see my kids grow up and have grandkids.  I know my life will be shortened if I do not take control soon.  There are also a few things that I want to do that I can't do at this weight, life-long dreams and goals that I've barely been willing to admit because I know I can't do them if I don't lose weight, and I'm not getting any younger.  Probably the biggest one is that I want to get a pilot's license and be able to fly around the country.  Right now there is no way I'd pass a pilot physical.

So with some longer term why's, I've developed a longer term strategy that will see me all the way to my goal weight of 180lbs.  That is still overweight for my height, but I really have no way of knowing how I'll feel at that weight until I get there.  Once I'm there I may have a desire to get down to 160, which would be normal, or I may be comfortable with 180.  I do want to lift pretty heavy when I get down there, so that may mean I can be a little heavier and still be lean.

So here's the goal, basically broken down into five steps over the next year:

1. Lose 20 pounds in the first 30 days -> 285 *** I'll get back a good amount of self esteem here
2. Lost 50 pounds in the next 90 days -> 235 *** I know I'll be feeling great at this weight
3. Lose 40 pounds in the next 90 days -> 195 *** YAY WONDERLAND!
4. Lose 15 pounds in the next 90 days -> 180 *** GOOOOOOALLLLLLL
5. Maintain 180 for at least three months  ***  This is how long it takes for the body to adjust its set point



So there you have it.  I am excited to start this journey.  I know I can do it!!  My strategy will again be primarily intermittent fasting.  I may have to do some longer-ish fasts to make my first goal especially.  Last time I did a 7-day fast to make my first goal, and I know I can do that if needed.

I am going to be logging what I eat every day here, and also on Myfitnesspal most likely.  Today I had some chili and rice, corn bread, and a couple of Snickerdoodle cookies that my daughter made.  And of course apple cider vinegar for digestion.

You can see complete meal on MFP, but it was about 700 Calories.  I at right about 5pm, and I just had the one meal, so eating before or afterwards.  As Joe (omad.info) would say "Eat and be done with it!"  Here is the meal:

 

I feel really great tonight.  It always amazes me when I do fast how good I feel, even the first day.  I know days 3-4 are the hardest, so here's to breaking through the barrier!