MARCH GOES IN LIKE A LION AND OUT LIKE A LAMB

March,
In like a lion, out like a lamb?
I don't know if I am the lion.
And I am sure I won't be a cuddly little lamb in 31 days....
Nevertheless....

MARCH 1st greeted me with a weight of 265.5 lbs
Now, for most people this is not good news.
but for THIS PERSON who weighed 297 lbs on JANUARY 1, it is great news.
I wonder what I will weigh on APRIL 1st?
I will find out in one month.

UPTOWN GRILL LASALLE, ILLINOIS

On Friday I was with a particularly good customer from 10AM until 9PM.
Afterwards we had a dinner at Uptown Grill in LaSalle, Illinois.
I am so used to eating virtually every meal at Red Lobster, Applebee's, Panera and Starbucks.
Now that I have trained myself to make (relatively) healthy choices - I selected menu items which although were not listed with calories - I was confident that I was making somewhat smart (and tasty) choices.


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273.2 POUNDS

Watching one's weight on a scaled from day-to-day is maddening... I had thought that I had dipped below 270 - apparently I have not... Weighed myself on Wednesday morning... and I am 273.2... Since I was 297 on January 1st - I better revel in the accomplishment and not get caught up being disappointed that I am not in the '260's' just yet...

Too many calories - I let my appetite take over yesterday...

I was not quite this glutinous, but I did eat too much yesterday

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MONDAY JANUARY 27

SUNDAY JANUARY 26 (POSTED ONE DAY LATE)

Goodbye Columbia 50, Welcome Ralph Lauren 46

Back in October as my weight was increasing and increasing, I was running out of options for pants. I needed to go home to visit my Mom for a family function.  I literally had nothing remotely appropriate to wear.  I purchased a pair of Columbia pants, 50W.  They were ridiculously loose when I got them... but as 2019 drew to a close they started to fit much better - which is quite sad as I was 'growing' into them.

This week I was able to 'revive' a pair of Ralph Lauren pants size 46. They ain't loose. But they fit.  Before too long, I hope to make these too big, so that I can hunt in my closet for the some 44's.
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I am a ridiculous person.  I am good at gaining weight and losing weight.  I really stink at maintaining weight. Well at 280+ that will not be something I need to worry about for quite awhile!  There is nothing about my current weight that I wish to maintain!

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Day 6

This blog has proved time and again that it is necessary for me to keep to log my food diary.
Still I have managed to be unsuccessful with it after a period of time.
But I have never even started without it.
Long live the Blog.

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ELLIPTICAL

Yesterday morning, after my 5AM weigh-in I hopped on the treadmill and spent one hour 'walking' at 4 mph for 60 minutes. I decided then that it was time to try something new.  I decided to start using the elliptical machine as much as possible.   Before lunch, I returned to the fitness room and set the elliptical machine to a 'calorie burn' program for 60 minutes.   I didn't have 60 minutes in me.   After 30 minutes I felt that I had had enough.   I have the rest of my life to improve my endurance - so there is no reason to try to do more than I am capable of doing.   After thirty minutes, the machine reported that I had 'burned' 322 calories.   I have a baseline from which I can improve.  I will continue to use the treadmill if the elliptical is not available during my workout times.

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

The chart below only shows the last 30 days.  From January 1 (297 lbs) to January 31 (272.2) progress has been very steady.  If I keep doing what I have been doing - I should find myself in the 260's next week.   From the 'starting gate' of December 24, I have lost 36.3 lbs (11.7% of my body weight)

I have been giving more thought to my moderate weight loss this past week.   Although I was disappointed, I really had no reason to be.   When I analyze the graph produced by MyFitnessPal, I see that my weight has been dropping very regularly in practically a straight line for the past 30 days.   I have re-assessed and I realize that everything is going according to schedule.  I do think that the human body is programmed to try (try hard) to hold onto its warehouse of energy (energy stored in fat cells) as long as possible in the event of real famine.   I have learned that I should not try to predict weight loss in a specific week. Nevertheless, I am very hopeful that next Saturday I will break the '270' barrier and get into the '260's'    My overall weight loss from the 309 lb  'starting gate' is 36.3 lbs.

SATURDAY MENU

BREAKFAST   three poached eggs, 2 strips turkey 'bacon'                                           280 CALORIES

LUNCH             Panera Soba Noodle Bowl with Chicken (new menu item)                   390 CALORIES
DINNER           Salmon Burger, Creamy Corn Pepper Soup, Spinach w/Vinaigrette      257 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIC CONSUMPTION         927 CALORIES

CALORIES BURNED

5AM  TREADMILL: 60 minutes @ 4 mph (4 miles) 600 CALORIES
11AM ELLIPTICAL MACHINE 30 minutes              322 CALORIES
7PM   ELLIPTICAL MACHINE  30 minutes              330 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIES BURNED                                    1252  CALORIES

NET CALORIC DEFICIT      325 CALORIES

PANERA BREAD SOBA NOODLE WITH CHICKEN: Chicken raised without antibiotics, soba buckwheat noodles, fresh spinach, napa cabbage blend, roasted mushroom and onion blend, sesame seeds and cilantro in an umami soy-miso broth.  390 CALORIES

INTERIM GOALS & LONG TERM GOALS

The long term goal is simple.  Look healthy and be healthy.   My goal is to lose a lot of weight that I don't need to be carting around.   So far, I have 'only' lost 15 lbs.  My father had an excellent way of explaining just how much that really is.  He suggested going to the grocery store and picking up a piece of meat that weighed 15 lbs.   Carry that around all day, or all week - and then you can answer the question whether 15 lbs is a big deal or not.  I am convinced that my initial success has been dramatic and meaningful.   I think my knee does not hurt any more when I wake up in the morning - Is that real? Is it my imagination?  My goal is to lose something in the neighborhood of 100 lbs from my position at the starting line on December 24, 2014.  In order to lose 100 lbs, I will have to lose one pound at a time.  One interim goal would be the ability to shop at COSTCO.   This store, and most retail stores don't stock trousers or blue jeans for those with a 50 inch waist.   Costco 'only' caters to those 'svelte' individuals with a 44" waistline.  Even that goal might be nearly forty pounds away.   I will have to get to 44" before I get to 40" or 38."  I recently stumbled upon a decade old article on WebMD that explored the seemingly preposterous idea that health secrets could be divined from the members of the Rolling Stones. This article claimed that Mick Jagger has a 28" waist.   That is not my goal.

Another good day on the road: BREAKFAST 200 CALORIES, LUNCH (I had no time between appointments so I only ate the two apples I brought with me) 160 CALORIES, DINNER Turkey Chili at Panera Bread 280 CALORIES.   TOTAL CALORIC INTAKE 640 CALORIES.   I am looking forward to stepping onto my scale on Saturday morning.

I have a long way to go before I can blue jeans at Costco

THIS SURPRISED ME

Everything was going smoothly today in Day 10 of my new lifestyle.   Breakfast started with three poached eggs flavored with one tablespoon of bacon bits (245 calories).   Lunch took me back to Panera Bread for the turkey chili (280 calories).   Before dinner my family went shopping at Costco with my new menu requirements in mind.    We purchased big packages of Vegetables, Broccoli, and a box of 'salmon burgers.'   Each salmon burger is only 110 calories!   As my wife, Jennifer, cooked dinner, the aroma from the heated salmon burgers was amazing.    They looked tasty too!   I had asked for 1 cup of vegetables, 1 cup of broccoli and 2 salmon burgers.   This should have been a whopping 400 calorie meal.   It seemed odd to me that this looked like a lot of food.  As I started my meal, something happened that I cannot remember ever happening before in the past many years.... I chose not to have both salmon burgers.   I was completely satisfied with just one.   My delicious dinner became a 290 calorie meal.  My total intake today was only 816 calories.   I think the reason that I wasn't hungry enough to eat my complete dinner was that I am eating actual real food now.  The engine that is my body is getting high performance, high-octane fuel.  In the past, I was perpetually hungry.   I am trying to train myself to be hungry when it is a true physiological feeling.   In the past, I think I confused hunger with sugar craving.   They are not the same.  Something in me is really changing.

This would've been 400 calories if I had eaten it all

CHILLY OUTSIDE - CHILI INSIDE

After finishing up with my customer around 1:30PM today I got into my car and used my GARMIN GPS to locate the nearest Panera Bread restaurant.  Last evening, while checking nutritional information posted by virtually every chain restaurant - I 'discovered' a 'Natural Turkey Chili with Beans' that looked tasty.   The caloric content really grabbed my attention.   Honestly, I couldn't believe that a bowl 1.5 Cups (402g) was only 280 Calories.   In the past I would have left my appointment and scooted over to Burger King or McDonalds (it is hard to drive more than 1/2 mile in parts of America and not find one of those restaurants)   Today, I navigated to the Panera Bread restaurant and enjoyed what seemed like the most delicious meal I can ever remember.  It is helpful to be truly hungry before sitting down to a meal.   I feel like I just landed on an exotic planet and I am discovering all its strange and new delicacies.    Sure, I know that this all sounds somewhat ridiculous - for the past many years I have been a victim of my laziness and stupidity.   I am experiencing my own personal Exodus out of a self-imposed slavery.  I am free.   Tomorrow I will weigh myself with my clothes on - as I was weighed in the doctors office.  I am curious to learn how much weight I have lost in this first week.   Happy New Year!

PANERA BREAD TURKEY CHILI WITH BEANS 280 CALORIES