November 29, 2011: Post 323 (Day 332)

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Today's Weight:        204.2 lbs 
Yesterday's Weight:    204.6 lbs
Net Loss/Gain:        -  0.4 lbs

Daily weight from October 1, 2011. Note: November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Daily weight from January 1, 2011. Note: January 1-5 and November 4-13 weights are estimated.

I had one of my 'biggest' on-plan days in a couple of months yesterday. By 'biggest' I am referring to the amount of food that I ate. Still managed to work in a little weight loss from that. How cool is that? Still want to lose about 5 more pounds in the next 4 weeks or so.


I was exercising (doing the PT stuff, which isn't a lot, but it is more than I've been doing - but not today see the Daily Comment), and tomorrow is a fast day. Whatever works!


I intended to have a shake and two regular meals today, but due to a nap that went too long, ended up by having a shake as the protein source for dinner. We will see how that works out.

Daily Comment

My band, i am FOOL, has turned our December 17 gig into a benefit for the Food Bank of CNY - I am PROUD to be a FOOL. Rehearsal tonight. I am so looking forward to this.


Speaking of PT, my therapist put a big hurt on me yesterday (which, of course, I didn't feel until today) with some deep-tissue massage. That's the most pain I've had in a while. So much for exercising today.

Food Log

Breakfast

Sorry for the blur - it's steam! This is a spinach, onions, peppers, black beans and eggs scramble with bacon.

Lunch
Chocolate egg cream protein shake: Vanilla whey protein powder (w/36g of whey protein) plus cocoa, an egg, almond milk, an extra 5g of BCAAs, cinnamon and stevia-inulin blend.

Dinner

Chocolate protein shake: Vanilla whey protein powder (w/48g of whey protein) plus cocoa, almond milk and stevia-inulin blend. Salad with baby spinach, romaine lettuce, cole slaw blend (green and red cabbage and carrots) and balsamic vineigrette.

Liquid Intake

    Coffee:   36 oz,   Water: 102+ oz. 

November 28, 2011: Post 322 (Day 331)

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Today's Weight:        204.6 lbs 
Yesterday's Weight:    205.4 lbs
Net Loss/Gain:        -  0.8 lbs

Daily weight from October 1, 2011. Note: November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Daily weight from January 1, 2011.
Note: January 1-5 and November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Progress is progress. My weight loss may have slowed a bit due to this being the week I give up PAGG - which happens every 8 weeks.  I'm going to have 2 regular meals today, with beans, we'll see what that does!

Daily Comment

The exercises I'm doing now have helped (so has the ibuprofen). I got through all of yesterday without taking any ibuprofen. Then, just before going to bed, I had an ache that was in mostly the same places, but instead of sharp pain, it was dull, more like poorly-defined muscular pain. Back to ibuprofen. Then, another session at PT this evening.


And, I've ordered up some info on retiring to Ecuador. It is looking like the place for me.

Food Log

Breakfast
Chocolate egg cream protein shake: Vanilla whey protein powder (w/36g of whey protein) plus cocoa, an egg, almond milk, an extra 5g of BCAAs, cinnamon and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

Yellow-fin light tuna with baby spinach, romaine, pinto beans, cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage, red cabbage, carrots), and balsamic vinaigrette. 

Snack
Baby carrots with homemade mayonnaise.

Dinner

Chicken-feta cheese-spinach sausage with Dijon mustard and peas and pinto beans with a little Wegman's Grandma's Sauce spaghetti sauce.

Snack
Roast turkey with cole slaw.

Liquid Intake

    Coffee:  22 oz,   Water: 112+ oz. 

November 27, 2011: Post 321 (Day 330)

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Today's Weight:        205.4 lbs 
Yesterday's Weight:    207.2 lbs
Net Loss/Gain:        -  1.8 lbs

Daily weight from October 1, 2011. Note: November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Daily weight from January 1, 2011.
Note: January 1-5 and November 4-13 weights are estimated.

My Thanksgiving recovery is on track. I'm hoping tomorrow to be at or under 204 pounds.

Daily Comment

Today I'm thinking about what is going on in the US - how freedom and opportunity are being curtailed by the endless war and the 2-party system that has become so dysfunctional as both sides pander to the wealthy and powerful, at the expense of everyone else. I am trying to imagine the circumstances that would make retiring in the US desirable to me. The only one I can think of is to become wealthy and powerful myself, and since I am doing nothing to move in that direction, it is unlikely.


Then I think, what about spiritual/emotional/intellectual freedom, and I think, THAT is what I have to look forward to in retirement.

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
Chocolate egg cream protein shake: Vanilla whey protein powder (w/48g of whey protein) plus cocoa, an egg, almond milk, an extra 5g of BCAAs, cinnamon and stevia-inulin blend.

Dinner

Roast turkey with cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage, red cabbage, carrots), baby spinach and romaine and balsamic vinaigrette. 

Liquid Intake

    Coffee:  32 oz,   Water: 104+ oz. 

November 26, 2011: Post 320 (Day 329) - Measurement Day

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Today's Weight:        207.2 lbs
Yesterday's Weight:    210.0 lbs
Net Loss/Gain:         - 2.8 lbs

Daily weight from October 1, 2011.Note: November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Daily weight from January 1, 2011.
Note: January 1-5 and November 4-13 weights are estimated.

                 Last week     This week     Gain/Loss

  Weight:     204.6  lbs    207.2  lbs    + 2.6  lbs
  Chest:       40.00 "       40.00 "      - 0.00 in
  Waist:       39.00 "       38.00 "      - 1.00 "
  Hips:        38.00 "       38.00 "      - 0.00 "
  Total in:   117.00 "      116.00 "      - 1.00 "
  % Body Fat:  18.5  %       16.9  %      + 2.6  %

This is a chart of my weekly weight since 10/1/2011.

This is a weekly chart of inches lost (sum of chest, waist, hips) since 10/1/2011. 

The day after my first official intermittent fast, and the first Saturday that isn't a cheat day in memory, and the results are... inconclusive. I certainly lost weight, but not as much as I expected, and that may be because once I started eating (a sort of breakfast-for dinner with a little bit of lunch thrown in), I ate a day's worth of food in 4 hours. 


But I had no hunger today, and ended up not eating anything until 8pm! After that meal, I had a snack of celery and homemade mayonnaise and a small bit of off-plan high-fiber/high-protein sprouted grain cereal. This time, I ate all my food between 8 and 10:15 pm. 


We'll see what the late eating (like last night's, but less) means to my continuing attempts.

Daily Commentary

I have little to say today, and I'm going to leave it at that.

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner

Rotisserie chicken salad (with celery, onion and homemade herbs d'Provence mayonnaise) with cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage, red cabbage, carrots), baby spinach and romaine. 

Snack
Ezekiel sprouted grain cereal with flax with stevia-inulin and almond milk. Celery and homemade mayonnaise.

Liquid Intake

    Coffee:  32 oz,   Water:  64+ oz. 

November 25, 2011: Post 319 (Day 328) - Intermittent Fasting today

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Today's Weight:        210.0 lbs 
Yesterday's Weight:    205.2 lbs
Net Loss/Gain:        +  4.8 lbs

Daily weight from October 1, 2011. Note: November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Daily weight from January 1, 2011.
Note: January 1-5 and November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Well, I really did pack it on(!) in what was an unusually short feeding window (11am-6pm), especially for a cheat day. Today is the first of what I am planning to make regular twice-weekly 24-hour fasts.  Intermittent fasts.

I read the e-book 'Eat Stop Eat' by Brad Pilon this past Wednesday night (there's a comment about intermittent fasts in my Daily Comment from that day, November 23rd). I was surprised to find out how much I did not know about fasting, and how much I did know that was actually wrong.


Anyway, it certainly looks like intermittent fasting is a positive, healthy thing to do, especially as I now understand that, done right, on a 24-hour fast, you don't actually go a "whole" day without eating. 24 hours is enough time to go from a fed to a fasted state, and optimal in that that the body does not go into starvation mode and start storing fat and/or cannibalizing muscle tissue.


Here's how my 24-hour fast works: I stop eating after dinner (my pre-fast meal). Then, next day, I eat nothing until dinner (which starts after the time I finished dinner the day before). Today, that means I ate dinner at 7pm. During the fast, I drink water and black coffee, and that and my twice-daily (multi-medicine/herbs/vitamins/supplements) pill-fests - there are some calories there, maybe 10 total - is all my dietary input until I have a regular dinner 24 hours later. Thus, I fast for 24 hours, and only 24 hours, and skip only two meals. If I went the whole day without eating, skipping 3 meals, the fast would last for about 38 hours. That is too long, and would have some negative consequences mitigating the good that a fast does.


Going forward, I am considering doing a 24-hour fast Sundays and Wednesdays, and I will start that schedule by fasting again next Wednesday.

Daily Comment

Today is Black Friday, and I do not have the day off, for the first time in memory. It makes my fasting easier, though. I am also on a 'spending fast' today, staying away from all brick-and-mortar and online stores. At a time when I am trying to reduce the number and volume of my possessions, this day is anathema to me.


I had my first Physical Therapy session tonight, (and I will have to spend a co-pay, otherwise I wouldn't be spending any money at all today), which was mostly evaluative, with a little exercise. I set up a schedule for three sessions a week for the next three weeks. I will probably go for more after that (the prescription is for 6 weeks, but there's Christmas and New Year's to work around...

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner

Spinach, dal fry (lentil curry) and scrambled eggs, with a salad of baby spinach, romaine lettuce, red cabbage and balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack
Smoked turkey, baby carrots and homemade herbs d'Provence mayonnaise.

Liquid Intake

    Coffee:  22 oz,   Water: 128+ oz. 

November 24, 2011: Post 318 (Day 327) Thanksgiving Day Cheat!

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Today's Weight:        205.2 lbs 
Yesterday's Weight:    207.2 lbs
Net Loss/Gain:        -  2.0 lbs

Daily weight from October 1, 2011. Note: November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Daily weight from January 1, 2011.
Note: January 1-5 and November 4-13 weights are estimated.

What I lost Tuesday, I got back Wednesday. Today, I've moved cheat day to Thursday, as this is Thanksgiving, and I ate a silly amount of food from morning to around 6pm. My next meal will be dinner tomorrow, so that will be a 24-hour fast. This is my first intermittent fast.

Daily Comment

Today being Thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to express my gratitude for the love and warmth of my family and friends, and for the opportunity to play music and for those times when I am given the blessing of being able to help others.

Food Log

No pictures today, in fact, because eating was continuous, I'm just going to list all the stuff I had, by macronutrient:

Protein
Turkey, ham, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs.

Fat
Whipped cream. Other than that, only what was used in the preparation of the food, which was probably quite a bit - but no other added fat (no butter or salad dressing).

Carbohydrates
Biscuits, sweet potatoes, spinach casserole, corn pudding, cheesecake, pumpkin pie, blueberry pie, pumpkin bread.

Liquid Intake

    Coffee:  Lots and lots,   Water: some, not a lot. 

November 23, 2011: Post 317 (Day 326)

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Today's Weight:        207.2 lbs 
Yesterday's Weight:    205.2 lbs
Net Loss/Gain:        +  2.0 lbs

Daily weight from October 1, 2011. Note: November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Daily weight from January 1, 2011.
Note: January 1-5 and November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Ugh. This is a setback. I ate too much, too late yesterday. My last feed was VERY high in calories, and even though they came from on-plan sources, the excessive calories combined with right-before-bed ingestion had this result. Gotta go with some extra will-power and awareness, especially since I am probably going to pack it on on tomorrow's out-of-sequence cheat day.

Daily Comment

Something I am beginning to explore is the idea of intermittent fasting for weight loss and maintenance. It seems this is a current craze, but even a little preliminary research shows me that the idea and concept is very, very old. I keep on remembering the great duelling scene near the end of "Adventures of Robin Hood" when Basil Rathbone's bad guy says to Errol Flynn's Robin Hood that 2 days of starvation have left him weak, and Errol replies that those two days left him lean and quick, while the Sheriff's feasting had made him slow. 

We all know how that worked out.


One of those things that makes you go, "Hmmmm."

Food Log

Breakfast
Chocolate egg cream protein shake: Vanilla whey protein powder (w/36g of whey protein) plus cocoa, an egg, almond milk, an extra 5g of BCAAs, cinnamon and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch
Chocolate egg cream protein shake: Vanilla whey protein powder (w/36g of whey protein) plus cocoa, an egg, almond milk, an extra 5g of BCAAs, cinnamon and stevia-inulin blend.

Snack
Home-made pretzel brought in by a co-worker.


Dinner

Half a rotisserie chicken and a salad of baby spinach, romaine, red cabbage and balsamic vinaigrette.  Not shown, but eaten: mashed cauliflower (faux mashed potatoes).

Snack
Smoked turkey and guacamole.

Liquid Intake

    Coffee:  22 oz,   Water: 88+ oz. 

November 22, 2011: Post 316 (Day 325)

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Today's Weight:        205.2 lbs 
Yesterday's Weight:    206.0 lbs
Net Loss/Gain:        -  0.8 lbs

Daily weight from October 1, 2011. Note: November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Daily weight from January 1, 2011.
Note: January 1-5 and November 4-13 weights are estimated.

Even though I ate a lot yesterday - really, I'm certain my calorie count was very high, thanks to the quantity of calorie-dense guacamole and mayonnaise I ate - I still managed to drop almost a pound. What you eat is more important than how much, sometimes. Satisfying.

Daily Comment

I didn't expect to get much out of the doctor's visit I had today (to check out my leg pain). It is just a first step to diagnosing the problem. But I have to figure out what's going on, and what needs to be done to fix this. The diagnosis of a 'nerve' problem came with a prescription for 3 times per week physical therapy for 6 weeks, and to take 3 ibuprofen 3 times a day.


Wow! I don't like that solution one little bit. 

Food Log

Breakfast
Chocolate egg cream protein shake: Vanilla whey protein powder (w/36g of whey protein) plus cocoa, an egg, almond milk, an extra 5g of BCAAs, cinnamon and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch
Vanilla whey protein powder (w/36g of whey protein) plus an egg, almond milk, an extra 5g of BCAAs and stevia-inulin blend.

Snack
Celery and homemade mayonnaise.


Dinner

Grass-fed beef burger with whole seed and ground Dijon mustard, and a salad of baby spinach, romaine, red cabbage and balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack
Smoked turkey and guacamole.

Liquid Intake

    Coffee:  12 oz,   Water: 82+ oz.