Caveat comedenti
The following comments and tedious details are meant to serve as a Bullshit Detector for me. If anyone Out There derives inspiration (etc.) from My Fat Struggle, cool, but I don't have any expectation that anyone other than myself will be interested in this. Just sayin', sir.
continued from https://songsofinnocenceampexperience.blogspot.com/2017/07/whos-fat.html
On the one hand . . . I look in the mirror, and I see fat on my stomach. Fat next to my chest muscles. Fat that doesn't look like it is going to go anywhere anytime soon.
On the other hand . . . I haven't counted calories in two and a half weeks now, and while I haven't been dropping a LOT of weight in that time, I have still continued to lose weight. And I feel like I have a pretty good idea of how much I'm eating just because I weighed every fucking thing I ate for six months.
I'm still wanting to push it hard and lose another 17 pounds, which would put me at 180. But I really don't want to go back to weighing my food.
So here's how it is. If I don't hit 190 by my birthday, I'm back on the Weigh Every Fucking Thing You Eat wagon.
There. I said it. I wrote it down. You saw it. Now I have to live up to it.
Sigh.
Week 26: Tuesday, 8/1/2017
Exercise: All of it. Not just some of it, all of it.
Week 26: Wednesday, 8/2/2017
Exercise: Walked 5 miles . . . could have been 6, not sure, but definitely at least 5 . . . with Pat, then came home and cut most of my grass (rain), and that was it. Man, I am REALLY worn out. The walk in the park was about 10,000 steps, and my grass was another 8,000. Big day for the old pedometer, anyway.
Week 26: Thursday, 8/3/2017
Got up this morning and stepped on the scale and it said 206 pounds. And I said No, No, No.
(1) Commence with the Weighing the Food and the Counting of the Calories.
(2) As in RIGHT NOW.
(3) Ixnay on the rinkingday.
(4) Push just a little harder on the calorie burning for the next little while.
And we're off.
Breakfast: boiled egg 80c crackers 72c 2 coffee 24c 16 oz water
176c / 16 oz water
Lunch: 90g banana 80c
Exercise: 65 minutes on stationary bike, 22 of them elliptical (last round 4 1/2 minutes straight without problem). At the end of that my pedometer told me that I had burned 732 calories for the so-far-day.
Getting known.
Then did Light and Heavy weight sets, had a shower, and weighed in again: 201.8 pounds. So on my way. Now to supplement that banana I had for lunch with
ham sandwich 220 + 123 = 343c and 16 oz water
for a running total of 599c / 32 oz water.
So at this point I've actually burned more calories than I've taken in. That's the tune I'd like to hear for a week or two . . . but I don't know if it works that way. Lets see.
BTW . . . two things.
Thing One: I picked up a new, tasty looking "healthy" bread at Kroger today and didn't realize how many calories were in it. 110 calories per slice! Holy shit! That's double what I'm used to. It was pretty tasty, but henceforth I think it's a one slice sandwich . . . and back to Trader Joe's Sprouted Grain bread next week, for sure.
Thing Two: I watched an episode and a half of Monarch of the Glen (2000), a series I just stumbled upon which I like quite a bit, whilst doing the bike portion of my exercise today. And it struck me again how much it helps me to keep with the exercising if I watch something good or listen to a book on tape alongside of it. In fact, there are some things which I only allow myself to watch / hear while exercising, which means that at least a part of me actually looks forward to exercising because I want a dose of that sweet stuff. I think the key to keeping that kind of shit going is to outsmart yourself . . . or at least it is if you're a kind of lazy and essentially not strongly motivated person like me.
Dinner: lettuce 18c, radishes 11c, tomatoes 16c, artichoke heart 8c, dressing 20c, vegetable mix 72c, chicken 202c, 16 oz water = 347c
cauliflower 30c, pretzels 110c, 16 oz water, fffudge bar 80c, bread and butter 130c, strawberries 49c
1345c / 64 oz water
End of day weight: 204.4 pounds.
Hmpf.
Week 26: Friday, 8/4/2017
This morning's wake-up weight: 202 pounds. So that's how you lose 4 pounds in a day. Ha ha. No, I know better than to trust that shit. I'll be weighing my food until I see 190 pounds on that scale, thank you.
Breakfast: coffee 24c, fried egg 90c, toast 110c, 16 oz water, strawberries 45c
269c / 16 oz water
Lunch: banana 89c, ham sandwich 82c + 110c +2c spinach = 194c, coffee 12c
295c
Dinner: lettuce 12c, radishes 6c, artichoke heart 10c, tomatoes 18c, dressing 20c, vegetable mix 54c, steak 434c, 16 oz water
554c / 16 oz water
1118c / 32 oz water
cauliflower 45c, dressing 10c, 16 oz water, pretzels 110c, granola 170c, bread 130c, fffudge bar 80c, cookies 110c
1773c / 48 oz water
Exercise: 63 minutes on stationary bike, 22 of them elliptical (last round 4 1/2 minutes straight without problem).
Also walked 1 mile in the park before fraternal duty called.
Saturday, 8/5/2017
Wake-up weight: 199 pounds. THAT's more like it.
Breakfast: coffee 24c, fried egg and toast 200c, 16 oz water
224c
grapes 26c, bread 220c, tuna 80c, granola bar 170c, strawberries 56c, cauliflower 35c, coffee 0c, 16 oz water
587c / 16 oz water
811c / 32 oz water
Exercise: 65 minutes on the bike, 23 of them elliptical (last round 5 1/2 minutes straight, still no problem . . . even though I did not feel all that strong today)
Also, I weighed myself after the biking, and I was at 197.4 pounds. Going to go do the full weights and shower and weigh again. I'm hoping to crack into the 196 zone. Even if it's only for a minute or two. And our survey says . . . 196.4 pounds. Woo hoo. I'm pretty sure that that's the lowest number I've seen in a very long time. Possibly the lowest number I've seen since the 1990s, although no way to tell for sure about that. Seems to me that shortly after Jimmy came along I started fatting up, though. I've got some pictures that seem to indicate that that's the case.
lettuce 25c, tomatos 17c, radishes 9c, dressing 20c, artichoke 10c, 16 oz water, soup 320c, tuna 128c, veg mix 60c
589c / 16 oz
1400c / 48 oz water
pretzels 110c, 90c pudding, 16 oz water, ffudge 80c
1680c / 64 oz water
Week 26: Sunday, 8/6/2017
Wake-up weight: 198.6 pounds. So woo-hoo there.
Breakfast: I've been trying to focus more on protein, so I went back to a fried egg for breakfast. And even though it has an outrageous calorie count, I had one slice of that seed-y bread I picked up at Kroger. Brownberry/Arnold/Oroweat 17 Grains & Seeds Bread. 110 calories a slice. She-it! ANYway.
Two x coffee 24c, fried egg and toast 200c, 16 oz water
224c
Lunch: ham sandwich 120 + 123 = 243c, pretzels 110c, granola bar 170c
747
Exercise: 63 minute bike, 2 mile walk. After I did my bike ride I wanted to get right into the weights for the day, but I started feeling really bad . . . weak. Thought it might be dehydration or not enough calories, so I decided to eat first. Began to realize that it is one of three things: (1) I got something from the guy sneezing behind me in church this morning, (2) a night of bad sleep really caught up to me, or (3) my body is struggling a bit with the decreased calories since I started counting again. Felt a little better after I ate dinner:
Artichoke hearts 30c, sweet potato 112c, fake meat 140c, cheese sauce 60c, 16 oz water, chips 140c, 8 oz water , veg mix 100c, 16 oz water, 90c pudding, 16 oz water, toast and butter 130c = 802
1549c / 56 oz water
. . . but not good enough to hit the weights. Maybe mañana.cookies 110c
1659 114 to go fffudge 80c
Week 26: Monday, 8/7/2017
Wake-up weight: 198.4. Less than a week ago . . . four DAYS ago . . . my wake-up weight was 7 1/2 pounds more. That's pretty amazing. Not that I think for even a half a minute that I've lost 7 1/2 pounds in four days, because that's not what happened. But I can feel the difference. And part of it is obviously the whole back to weighing, counting, limiting thing. But part of it is also obviously the Not Drinking thing. Once I get to a better weight spot I will no doubt indulge a bit here and there, because I really like the feeling of being drunk . . . but for now, it's not a good choice for me. So that last Not Your Mom's Apple Pie Ale is going to have to sit on the shelf for a week or two.
8.4 pounds to go. I'd like to be there in 12 days, but I don't suppose that can happen. I'm still going to have a go at it, though. What are goals for if not to set foolhardy and impossible targets? Isn't that what got us out of the caves and into our cars?
Breakfast: fried egg and a piece of that most excellent high calorie seed-y bread and two cups of coffee 224c, 16 oz water
Exercise: 65 minutes on the elliptical, 20 upright. The machine kind of started to collapse on me, and I stopped to try to fix it thinking that it was a lose bolt or two, but no, this machine is fucked. Again. Contacting the warranty people right now. Y'know, this is the first time in my life that it's actually paid off to have bought an extended warranty--which is something I almost never do. Thank you, God.
Lunch-ish: crackers 200c, 16 oz water, bread 110c banana 100c =
410c / 16 oz water
634c / 32 oz water
Sooooo. I did an online chat with the warranty people and they gave me a big rigamarole to go through, OR they said I could return the thing to the store. I was incredulous, queried for verification, got it, printed it out, then spent thirty minutes taking the machine apart and took it down to Walmart. And was told that it was too late, over thirty days, etc. I reported the contents of the chat and showed my print out and ¡viola! magical keystrokes followed and I left without an elliptical but with my full purchase price refunded. Still have to call to get a refund on my warranty, but I have to say that I was impressed. Impressed enough that I thought about buying another one and just shifting the warranty over instead of canceling. I went back and had a look. And you know what? I decided that enough was enough. That fucking machine did do me a lot of good, but it was trouble from day fucking one, and the reason it twisted this morning is because it is a cheap machine. And I was initially worried about my ability to stick to it, but after 3 months and a week and a day with that thing I have exercised on it every day except when it was broken, and on every one of those days I either went to a gym or did another type of cardio-leggio-exercise-io. So I think my commitment has been proved. Now ahmo step up. I'm either going to get a gym membership at Planet Fitness or buy a nicer machine.
Here I go a-shopping.
Oh, more exercise: heavy and light weights. Also 15 push-ups. Going to add some triceps curls--just been doing a few now and then up till now, but I think it would be a good addition and that now is getting to be a good time to add.
Meanwhile . . .
Pretty happy about that, for sure. For a moment today I was only 5.2 miles from my next weight goal.
Then I ate dinner.
Dinner: lettuce 9c, cauliflower 28c, radishes 13c, tomatoes 16c, cucumbers 15c, dressing 20c, fake meat 105c, spaghetti squash 93c, cheese sauce 70c, bread and margarine 135c, 16 oz water
504c, 16 oz water
1138c / 48 oz water
And another 16 oz of water, pretzels 220c, lemon pudding 180c, vegetable mix 100c, bread and butter 130c, fffudge bar 80c
= 1848c / 64 oz water so I went over my calorie goal by 75 calories today.
Sorry about that, chief.
Week 27: Tuesday, 8/8/2017
Wake-up weight: 197.4. Now wait a minute.
That's pretty fuckin' dramatic, isn't it? I think the message we can draw here (and don't stop be if this sounds familiar) is Don't Drink and Diet. And another message: count the fuckin' calories, man. And another message: I don't think I can hit 190 pounds by my birthday. But ahmo still keep my eye on the prize and hit it with my best shot.
Breakfast: coffee 12c, fried egg 90c, toast 65c, 16 oz water
167c, 16 oz water
Exercise: 3 /4ths mile walk, then a little mall walk shopping. Up to almost 11,000 steps, which is a little over six miles.
Lunch: bread and margarine 130c, granola bar 170c, pretzels 110c, 16 oz water
410c / 16 oz water
pretzels 92c, tuna 80c, bread 65, coffee 10c, cookies 115c, 16 oz water
362c / 16 oz water
Dinner: lettuce 9c, tomatoes 15c, cauliflower 28c, radishes 13c, cucumbers 15c, dressing 20c, tuna 184c, spaghetti squash 54c, fettuccini 300c,16 oz water
638c, 16 oz water
1577c / 64 oz water
banana 105c, chips 140c, cauliflower 46c, dressing 20c, 16 oz water
1888c / 80 oz water over by 115c
Exercise: Cut Mary's grass/ Post cut weight: 195.8 pounds. Also did the "light" weights. Can't do my bike, aww. But I will walk some more tonight, I think. Did a little window shopping at Dick's and Sear's--Sear's had one I liked but kinda pricey. Might go for it, tomorrow, though. Another little bit of shopping first.
Week 27: Wednesday, 8/9/2017
Wake-up weight: 197 pounds.
Breakfast: coffee 20c, cereal 133c, bread and margarine 135c, 16 oz water
288c, 16 oz water
Exercise: 1 hour real bike ride . . . plus a bit more. Lost track because I got a phone call from #1son 3/4ths of the way through and shook it and then I did walk it for a bit, then rode a bit more. Steps: 5492 (end) - 1303 (start) = 4189 . . . which I'm pretty sure is not an accurate count. I guess your foot just doesn't move far enough for every step to register. (I put my pedometer in a little cloth bag and tie it to my shoe, figuring that will get a better register than in my pocket. But maybe I should just stick to the pocket.)
Lunch-ish: cauliflower 52c, dressing 20c, granola bar 170c, 16 oz water, tomato 15c
257c / 16 oz water
545c / 32 oz water
Went exercise equipment shopping at Play It Again Sports and tried out an elliptical machine and three different Schwinn Airdyne bikes. I put in a good six minutes or so all told, so I probably ought to get some exercise credit for that. I was pretty impressed with the Schwinn bike, actually, and the owner / salesman told me that he thought it gave a better workout than any other equipment . . . and said that he had one and that ten minutes on it pretty much wore him out . . . and he looked like he was built, too. (I don't mean that in a gay way, by the way. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just sayin', sir.)
Did the full set of weights. It was the full set day, wasn't it? Oh . . . except for the push-ups. Just couldn't face them, man.
Sorry.
16 oz water, bread 130c, hand 123c, cookies 110c
And then I cut my grass. It wasn't much fun.
Dinner: cucumber 18c, lettuce 12c, radishes 7c, cauliflower 27c, green beans and almonds 120c, tomato 15c, bread 110c, crab cakes 300c, 16 oz water, 2 whiskey 1 beer 253
Yep, I couldn't resist the siren song of that last beer (actually a Coney Island Hard Orange Cream Ale) any longer. And it soaked up those two Lexington Bourbons quite nicely, thank you.
Sigh. Now I have to tally up the calories and see if penance is due.
1225 calories for that post-lunch run. Added to the earlier 545 calories we have . . . drum roll drum roll drum roll . . . 1770 calories! Holy shit, I still made it?
Sure could use a little snack to go with this ale and whiskey, though.
We'll see how that goes.
Oh, and I did make it to 64 ounces of water for the day, too. Usually not hard to hit that mark on grass cutting day.
And I went online and found the nice Schwinn bike I was eyeing at Play It Again Sports . . . but it was $80 cheaper . . . and I could buy a protection plan that was for 4 years rather than the 1 year plan that the store had on the same bike. So I ordered it. It's due to arrive Saturday. I'm kind of excited. It was a big step up for me--$317.46 for the bike (with the tax) and $53 for the extended warranty--but I really liked that bike. And I think I've proven my ability to stick-to-it on the exercise routine.
Crossing my fingers now.
Week 27: Thursday, 8/10/2017
Wake-up weight: 196.8 pounds. Or it might have actually been 195.8 pounds, but I got up god awfully early (shortly after 3 a.m.) and didn't write it down right away, then got a little lost along the way. So I'm going to lowball it. Or highball it, actually. I'd rather err on that side of the equation--if err it is.
Breakfast: 8 oz water, banana 65c, coffee 20c, two soft boiled eggs 156c, crackers 108c
349c / 8 oz water
Exercise: 3 1/2 mile walk with Pat
Lunch: cauliflower 21c, bread 130c, ham 189c, 16 oz water, apple 103c
443c / 16 oz water
792c / 24 oz water
Exercise: stretching + 15 push-ups + one hour bike ride 5818 steps, 344 calories . . . which both seem low. I tried to check my pedometer against a physical count, though, and it seemed like it was about right. Dunno . . . but I only have 14,110 miles so far today, and I've already done a pretty long walk and a pretty long bike ride, so it seems off to me.
16 oz water, pretzels 110c, chocolate 150c, 16 oz water
tomatoes 19c, radishes 6c, artichoke heart 10c, broccoli 18c, dressing 20c, steak 270c, sweet potato 331c, vegetable mix 54c, 16 oz water
988c, 32 oz water
1780c, 56 oz water
Week 27: Friday, 8/11/2017
Wake-up weight: 197.8 pounds. Hmm. Up a pound from yesterday's. Which, of course, doesn't REALly mean anything per se, but it's still a bit of a burr under my saddle and I'd be lying if I said it didn't concern me. Especially so because (1) I went off the rez last night after the final calories tally. Just got really tired (only four hours of sleep) and really hungry, and I ate some of the Cheetos thingies I bought for Joe. And then a fat free fudge bar. And then some pretzels. And then a bowl of cereal. That's 500 extra calories, which is a lot. (2) I have been exercising every day, both walking and riding my real bike, but it's not the same as hitting that stationary bike, is it? So I'm wondering if that "extra" pound here is reflective of my dietary lapse and / or my interruption in the regular exercise routine. I down lack it.
Breakfast: coffee 10c, 8 oz water, egg 90c, bread 65c, 16 oz water
Lunch: crackers 200c, ham 123c, pretzels 110c, coffee 10c, 16 oz water, chips 140c, granola 170c
Dinner: lentil soup 320c, broccoli 52c, dressing 14c, 16 oz water,
sun chips 140c
1444 c, 56 oz water
artichokes 20c, fffudge bar 80c, pretzels 110c, cookies 100c
1754 calories, 56 oz water
Exercise: one hour bike ride, push-ups, heavy and light weights
Also . . . my new Schwinn stationary bike arrived. Ahmo put it together and give it a little test drive.
UPDATE: Did a five minute run on the Schwinn and . . . yowza. What an ass-kicker this machine is. I am really not sure if I can do a full hour on this thing. I thought the salesman at Play It Again Sports was shitting me when he said he only did about ten minutes on it, but . . . my heart rate is up and I broke a sweat, and I wasn't even pushing it much. I didn't even put shoes on, for the love of Mike. So ahmo leave it tonight and store up some energy and see what I can do with it tomorrow. Kind of looking forward to the challenge.
Week 27: Saturday, 8/12/2017
Wake-up weight: 198.2 pounds. Well, fuck. Yesterday I had an under my calorie limit, full exercise day, but my morning weigh-in is still up a pound and a half from my low--which was yesterday. I know it could be a lot of things, but I still don't like it at all. And only a week until my birthday, when I REALLY wanted to hit 190 pounds.
Breakfast: 2 coffee 20c, 16 oz water, soft-boiled eggs 156c, crackers 72c
248c, 16 oz water
Exercise: Did stretching and 15 push-ups . . . except I decided to push it and did 17 push-ups, woo hoo.
Also, first time out on the Schwinn AD2 Airdyne Bike, and it was quite a workout, let me tell you. So much so that I wasn't at all sure I was going to be able to push it for the full one hour. On the one hand, I had the sense that I wasn't pedaling as much as I had been on the old Weslo machine, but it seemed harder. Plus the constant arm action. ANYway, according to the machine, I went
60:15, mostly at a speed of 19.4 mph, for a distance of 19.49 miles and a total calorie burn of 1294. Say what? I am pretty sure that that's not possible, but . . . my pedometer is showing less than half that many calories burned, but it's never been very reliable in terms of cycling-related data, so I dunno. I plugged the pertinent data in to a calculator on Bicycling.com and it gave me this:
And after I had a shower I did a Naked Weight and came up with 195.2 pounds. I'll just have to keep an eye on things as I proceed, I suppose, but if nothing else this certainly does look promising.
Lunch: 16 oz water, banana 71c, ham 123c and crackers 200c, granola bar 170c, pretzels 110c
674c, 16 oz water
Dinner: salad lettuce 25c, tomatoes 17c, cucumbers 15c, dressing 20c, pizza 900c, 16 oz water
977c, 16 oz water
1899c, 48 oz water
Oh, and then there was a fffudge bar 80c. And some pretzels. 110c. And a few Cheetohs 100c. I was just so fuckin' hONgry.
But I DID burn 1,000 calories on the bike, right? I will try harder tomorrow.
Week 27: Sunday, 8/13/2017
Wake-up weight: 197.8 pounds. Still a pound up from my lowest to date, but at least I seem to be heading in the right direction again.
Exercise: one hour on the Schwinn, which went better than yesterday's day one but was still quite difficult, and full set of weights. My post exercise weight was a whopping 194.8 pounds, though . . . which is the first time I remember cracking 195 in the past couple of decades or so.
On the eating side . . . breakfast and lunch were fine and I had everything written out, but then took Joe to Ft. Knox for a golf thing and I made the bad decision to eat the provided meal. It wasn't AWFUL awful, but a hamburger and a bag of chips was not really the ticket for me. And I could have approximated the calories, of course, but I just didn't feel like it, so there was no sense even recording the other stuff.
But the bad part is that that kind of encouraged me to go ahead and eat a few extra things when we got home . . . because I was tired and really hungry and hey, I'm not writing this shit down, right That's the thing, though. Got to right that shit down.
Week 27: Monday, 8/14/2017
Wake-up weight: 199.6. Well motherfucker. Is this the fulfillment of the Off The Rez Promise from yesterday? Probably not, but it shoe do feel that way. It is very discouraging to see this slippage after what looked like steady progress for six months. We'll see what happens as the day goes on with The Output. I'm hoping that this is just a "It's 5 a.m. and you have a big shit coming" weight. I know that that actually can make a difference . . . but how much is the question.
Sigh.
Breakfast: 2 coffee 20c, soft boiled eggs 156c, crackers 72c, 16 oz water
248c, 16 oz water
Exercise: 61 minutes on The Schwinn--I decided I needed a 1 minute cool down at the end. I actually needed more, but I was too fucking tired to keep going. This Schwinn, like Math, is hard.) The bike "computer" is telling me that I traveled 19.66 miles at an average speed of 19.3 mph and burned 1,299 calories. Which would certainly explain the whole I Am One Tired-Ass Motherfucker Thing. But I'm still wondering if that is accurate. I found a website that specifically calculates for the Schwinn Airdyne, and according to it hard effort only burns 801 calories in an hour, and that's at Very Hard Effort . . . which is a bit too nebulous for me. I mean, for me it was Very Hard Effort, but I'm a 60 year old overweight guy, so . . . . On the other hand, I found a video of a guy on an Airdyne and it showed him riding the shit out of that machine, and it said that he had burned 87 calories in one minute. I counted how many "steps" he took, and it was impressive, but a little less than twice my number. So if it works that way . . . and I don't know if it does or not . . . then maybe I was burning about 40 calories per minute? And if so, then 40 X 60 does = 2,400, which would be considerably less than what the bike computer told me. So maybe. My pain in the ass pedometer tells me that I only burned 276 calories, traveled 1.32 miles, and took 4,663 steps. Which is obviously bullshit, but what are you going to do, get a FitBit? I don't think so.
Did the light weights. Oh, and the 15 push-ups, mmm-hmm.
Post Exercise Weight: 196.2 pounds. So there's that.
Lunch: ham 135c, crackers 200c, pretzels 110c, coffee 10c. granola 170c
625 calories
crisp 110c, 8 oz water
983c, 24 oz water
Dinner: lettuce 15c, tomatoes 18c, croutons 30c, dressing 20c, 16 oz water, pizza 600c, pretzels 110c, one french fry 20c, apple juice 30c, whiskey 100c
943c, 16 oz water
1926c, 40 oz water 153 calories over
Not exactly a glorious end to my 27th week. But the sun will come up tomorrow.
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