Hmm. I know I did the Schwinn routine for the full time, but I didn't write down anything and now, two days later, I actually can't remember what else did or didn't happen. Say "La Vee."
Week 32: Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Schwinn 62 minutes, 1385 calories, 20.43 miles, 19.7 mph 65 rpm, and I did the 19, 39, 59 hard minutes. On one of them I hit 100 rpm for a second or two. Also did 15 push-ups, so back on that train. And also also, I've been reading about planks since pretty little Marnie in Rutland told me (with a vivid demonstration) that planks were a good alternative to sit-ups. I need to look at this some more, as I am very attached to the concept of sit-ups, but my preliminary research indicates that planks are actually more efficient at strengthening the stomach muscles than sit-ups. And a hell of a lot easier on the back. (My back gives me trouble ranging from mild to pretty fuckin' intense when I do sit-ups every day for more than a few days.)
And then I did my Every Other Day Weights (EODW), and then I did my Every Day Weights (EDW), and it actually went quite well. Which isn't too much of a surprise, since I did most of that shit in The Gymnasium in Rutland last week . . . though I have to admit that I missed quite a few sit-up days. But no problem. At least not yet. Sometimes it take a day for the I Fucked Up to show, y'know? And . . . voila!
Post exercise weight: 189.4 pounds. So a week off the wagon, even with eating in restaurants and bars several times, doesn't seem to have damaged my calm. Let's hope that my New York Thang goes equally well.
Week 32: Thursday, September 14, 2017
Wake-up Weight: 193 pounds. And I have to admit that I did get The Hunger last night and although I didn't track what I ate, I know I went over my "limit," and possibly way over. So it was nice to see that it was just 193 pounds this morning. But it also made me determined to buckle down on this shit. So I decided to make today a Super Low Calories intake day. Skipped breakfast--except for coffee, of course. And a second cup of coffee. Then before exercise I weighed myself again, and I was at 192 pounds. So let's see what this Schwinn Deal takes out of me. Ready? Here we go.
First the stretching and fifteen push-ups. After the last push-up, I tried out the Plank Position and held it for a 30 count. It wasn't what I'd call comfortable, and I could definitely feel it affecting my stomach muscles, but I find it very hard to believe that this could replace sit-ups. Further research needed here.
And then
Schwinn 62 minutes, 1356 calories, 20.27 miles, 19.5 mph 65 rpm. I took it just a little bit easier than usual today--still pushed myself at the 19, 39, 59 minute marks, but not as hard as I could have. I think the rpm stayed around 77 or so during the push. But when I compare my final figures with those I had yesterday, when I pushed pretty fuckin' hard, there's almost no difference at all. I burned 29 fewer calories, traveled .16 fewer miles, and averaged .2 mph slower. Same average rpms. So I'm thinking that maybe it was kind of stupid to push that hard--hitting over 100 rpms for a few seconds. I mean, what good did it do me? Maybe none. Maybe it's just one of those stupid I'm So Tough man things. I shall ponder this in my heart.
Broke my fast with a salad, followed by a couple of shots of whiskey in no calories coconut seltzer water. Which didn't taste all that great, so I followed that with a couple of shots of whiskey in Diet Snapple Peach Tea, and that was so good that I followed it with a couple of shots of whiskey in Diet Snapple Peach Tea. All of which made me not care about calories anymore (remember, kids, don't Drink and Diet!), so I had three pieces of pizza, which added up to a heinous 712.5 calories. But wait . . . since, other than my salad, I'd not eaten anything else all day, that was still cool. Oh, yeah. A diet in which I can get blasted on whiskey and eat my fill of pizza? That's the diet for me, babies. Foe show.
Week 32: Friday, September 15, 2017
Ex Post Drunko: I cannot tell a lie. After the dust settled, I'd gone way off the rez, once again proving that you just can't drink and diet. I was surprised to see that my wake-up weight was still at 193 pounds. I got a break on that once, foe show.
Did the full on Schwinn and both EDW and EODW . . . including those sit-ups. Still thinking on them, though.
Week 32: Saturday, September 16, 2017
Pre-exercise weight 193.6 pounds.
Schwinned, then did the EODW, which I am thinking about making my EDW so that I won't be hitting the sit-ups every day (assuming that I continue with the sit-ups).
Post-exercise weight 190.4 pounds. More like it.
Also cut Mary's grass . . . and got stung by six bees. One of them on my finger, which still hurts like hell. One of them was on my inner thigh, not far from The Business District. That shit has got to end like yesterday. How much bee venom can a guy take, for fuck's sake?
Week 32: Sunday, September 17, 2017
Schwinned, 62 minutes.
Week 32: Monday, September 18, 2017
Schwinned, 62 minutes. Also did the EDW.
Week 33: Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Well, like a young girl, I did get weary of keeping track of everydamnthing. So the past few days I've been stingy with the details. But Today is the dawning of the first day of Week 33, and ahmo try to get back up on the tall horse and ride it.
Starting with the ex-ter-eyes.
Pre-Exercise Weight: 191.6 pounds.
Stretching + 15 push-ups + 30 seconds of plank.
Schwinn 62 minutes, after which my shirt looked like this:
And then I did my EODW . . . though really it looks like both routines have become that, since doing sit-ups every day is not doing my spine any favors. Still looking into alternatives on that. Menshealth.co.uk offers up "5 Brilliant Abs Exercises You've Never Heard Of" (by Ben Camara), so I'll have a look at that and see what there is to see. I've also read some stuff on the possible harmful effects of sit-ups which was pretty much all I needed to convince myself that I don't want to continue to do them. So . . . more abs news as it happens.
Post Exercises Weight: 188.4 pounds. So that's how you lose 3.2 pounds in an hour and fifteen minutes or so.
As for these abs exercises . . . these so-called abs exercises . . . . The Menshealth page had spots for videos, but no videos that I could evoke, so I went Googling. Found a video for the 1st of the 5 exercises, "Superman With a Twist." It looks like a low stress exercise: you lay on your stomach with your hands behind your head (in the position they'd be in if you were doing a sit-up), then you lift your upper torso and legs, twist to the side, back to center, then down, then repeat on the other side. The suggestion was that you do five of these. The video I saw was hosted by deskfitness.com, and the gal who was doing the demonstration was superdedooper hot, so you might want to check it out even if you don't want to do the exercise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMijYl-3Ul0 should get you there. No, no, thank YOU. Oh . . . and I just discovered that DeskFitness also has a Facebook page with pictures of the same gal, and I can pretty much guarantee you that if you are a heterosexual male and have a look at that that exercise will not be the first thing that springs to your mind.
And for dinner tonight, the soup du jour is . . . Health Valley No Salt Added Organic Chicken Noodle Soup. How's that for a mouthful? This soup received an A- from Fooducate . . . and you no how those fuckers are, NObody gets higher than a 93% from them. And it's listed as a Top Product as well, natch. And my verdict? Nice on calories (160 for the whole damn can), nice on sugars (1 gram), meh on the fiber (only 1 gram) . . . and our survey says? It was okay. Kind of thin. Kind of tasteless, too. Actually, it was less than okay. It was on the sucks end of okay. I'm not eating that shit again.
Week 33: Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Week One, Day One Project 180
Y'know . . . for the most part I'm pretty happy with where I am right now weight-wise. I'm down about 80 pounds from my heaviest, down 67 or so pounds since I started pushing on this thang, exercising 75 to 90 minutes every day, not taking many drugs anymore (a low dose aspirin--because there's no way to tell if I need to without stopping, and I don't want to risk another TIA since there doesn't seem to be any ill effects to the taking of the aspirin--and PRAVASTATIN SODIUM 20 MG--which was originally to lower my cholesterol, and my doctor told me that I could stop taking it, but that it also helped to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, and suggested that I continue to take it), and feeling pretty good. And I also have not been keeping track of my calories, which really got to be a fuckin' drag.
However . . .
I also seem to have settled into a weight somewhere between 188 and 193 pounds. Which is not bad. But it's not the plateau I was aiming for. And beyond the "idea in my head" thing, I can also see parts of my body that would look better if just a little bit more fat would go away.
I want to get to 180 pounds. That's not very far away. And I know how to get there. So . . . deep breath. Calculator time. And healthyweightforum.com tells me that I can lose 13 pounds in two months if I eat
1,945 calories the first week
1,931 calories the second week
1,916 calories the third week
1,902 calories the fourth week
1,887 calories the fifth week
1873 calories the sixth week
1,858 calories the seventh week
1,844 calories the eighth week
And after that, I get 2588 calories a day to maintain at 180 pounds.
That sounds pretty do-able. Especially given the fact that for six months or so I kept myself to 1,773 calories a day pretty successfully.
So let's go.
Breakfast:
coffee 10c, toast 120c, soft boiled eggs 140c, 16 oz water
= 270c, 16 oz water
Pre-Exercise Weight: 191.4 pounds
Stretches, including 15 sit-ups, 40 seconds of plank, and my first attempt to do Superman With a Twist, which (1) didn't go so well and (2) was really hard. Ahmo need to work on this shit, for sure.
Schwinn: 62 minutes, 1326 calories, 20.01 miles, 19.3 mph, 64 rpm
with the 19, 39, 59 one minute hard going segments.
After I finished biking, I barely took a pause before heading out to cut the grass. It was looking like it could rain, and given the fact that it had rained for the past several days and the grass was already longer than usual . . . and that with my reel mower that made for a tougher job with every passing hour . . . I thought I'd better hit it while I could. And it surely did kick my ass. When I got in and showered I weighed myself and
And it was actually 185.8, but on my way to pick up a camera I had a couple of gulps of water, which put me out of the 185 pound weight class. So you see, there's really nothing to losing weight. Just ride your Schwinn for an hour and cut your grass. Ta fucking da.
Lunch-ish: 16 oz water, granola bar 170 calories, sunflower butter 100c, 16 oz water, sunflower seeds 100c
= 370c, 32 oz water
640c, 48 oz water
banana 105c, 16 oz water, cookies 110c,
lettuce 14c, tomatoes 19c, dressing 23c, Health Valley Organic No Salt Added Lentil Soup * 280c, crackers 132c, 16 oz water
= 683c, 32oz water
1323c, 80 oz water
Trader Joe's blended whiskey 156c, apple juice 30c.
Which was so good that I had some merengue cookies (90c), then did it again: TJ whiskey 156c, apple juice 30c.
= 1,971 calories . . . which means I went a little (26 calories) over the limit for my first day of this thang, but hey . . . I got pretty fuckin' drunk, so that was worth doing.
* Yeah, I had another go at the old Health Valley No Salt Soup. I'd already bought it, so what the heck else was I going to do? And I can definitely tell you that their lentil soup . . . is every bit as lacking in flavor as their chicken noodle soup. Further, it is inferior to Trader Joe's Lentil Soup in every possible way:
More calories, less fiber, more fat, costs more, tastes worse . . . make mine Trader Joe's!
So (for me, anyway) here's the difference between writing calories down and posting them and just "going with the flow": even though I was pretty drunk last night and wanted more whiskey and a big bowl of nacho chips, I went to bed instead. Thus my 26 Calories Over My Goal Day did not become a 492 Calories Over My Goal Day. (And that could be low balling it.) Mmm-hmm.
This morning's wake up weight:
Close . . . er . . . .
Breakfast: coffee X 2 = 20c, TJ Raisin Bran 170c, 3 grams of coconut 20c 1, Almond Breeze Almond Cashew "Milk" 25c, 16 oz water
= 235c, 16 oz water
1 This was a vivid reminder of what is so easily forgotten when you're not weighing your food: how small a portion really is. In fact, I usually only use one half of a cup of "milk" at most, but my breakfast looked so minuscule that I went ahead for the whole cup (since this Almond Breeze stuff has so few calories; shit, if I'd used even skim milk instead it would have added another 65 calories. Such choices are the stuff that fat is made on).
Pre-exercise weight: 189.2 pounds (which just goes to show you how much breakfast can weigh--1 and a half pounds in this case).
Stretching: including 15 push-ups, 40 seconds's worth of planking, and a feeble attempt to do a few Superman With a Twist--which didn't go all that well, but I as yet have the towel in my possession), then
Schwinn: 62 minutes, 1,386 calories burned (According to Schwinn), 20.49 miles at 19.7 mph and 65 rpms.
then
EDW, which shall henceforth be referred to as HW (Heavy Weights) since I use the twenty pound dumbbells for these. And the other exercises shall henceforth be known as LW (you've got this, right?). I just don't know if it's wise for me to stick to the old every day / every other day plan, so until I figure it out I want the nomenclature to be less confusing for me. Also, I've changed the HW regimen a bit, so now it goes like this: with the 10 pound dumbbells I do 30 twists, 30 prone lateral raises, and 20 prone French curls. Then I do thirty leg lifts, then switch to the 20 pound dumbbells and do 30 bench presses, fifteen more leg lifts, another 25 bench presses, fifty s l o w sit-ups, 20 bench presses. Then from a standing position I do 20 curls, 20 rowing motion, 20 shoulder rolls, and 12 presses. I also threw in a couple of toe raises at the end just to see how that felt, and it was pretty okay, so I may expand on that.
It was a pretty intense workout. I thought that adding another set of leg lifts and dropping a set of sit-ups would be a good move. I also pushed my one set of sit-ups from 40 to 50, so I've only "lost" 15 sit-ups from my previous total. And I'm trying out doing them very slowly so as to minimize the impact on my spine. I don't know if it will work on not, but I'm going to see what my body tells me tomorrow.
I am still feeling very unsure of the efficacy of sit-ups, but (1) I want better ab muscle definition and (2) I have been doing sit-ups for close to fifty years, and it's very hard for me to dismiss them from my exercise routine. But my research proceeds apace.
Post-exercise (and shower) weight:
I like those apples.
And speaking of apples . . .
Lunch: I was thinking pretty hard about grabbing some sunflower seeds . . . maybe a granola bar . . . and then I stopped for a second and did the math. Not that there's anything wrong with sunflower seeds and granola bars . . . far from it. But two spoonfuls of sunflower seeds = 100 calories, and a granola bar = 170 calories. And after you eat that stuff, you're still hungry. So I made a ham sandwich instead. Ham 123c, bread 120c, lettuce 3c, mayonnaise 45c, 16 oz water. And I had some merengue cookies for desert 90c. For a grand total of 381c. Which is not a hell of a lot more than the sunflower seeds + granola bar combo . . . and when I was finished with the sandwich I actually felt like I'd had enough to eat. So there's that.
381c, 16 oz water
616c, 32 oz water
And then . . . I went off the rez, man. Jacqueline had a volunteer appreciation dinner, and Jo Ann and I both went with her. I'd had a salad at home and was thinking about skipping dinner, and Jo Ann asked me if I was on the emaciation diet. She didn't mean it as an insult, I know, but emaciation . . . that's a strong fuckin' word, man. I mean, shit, do a Google Image Search on that one. But Jo Ann sometimes uses words without a clear understanding of what they mean, and I'm guessing that what she was attempting to say was, "You've lost a lot of weight. You can stop now, you look good." Anyway, she repeated the word a few minutes later, and I think I just kind of gave myself permission to go ahead and eat that shitty food at that point. Not that it was that shitty: some fried vegetables, potatoes, and a hamburger. I doubt that it was all that calories rich, and I probably would have made it under my self-imposed limit. Except that when I got home I had a ham sandwich and some chips and cookies. And a fat free fudge bar. And some sunflower seeds. No way to know how many calories were in the appreciation dinner dinner--the vagaries of eating out--but the when I got home portion there equals 150 + 120 + 140 + 110 + 80 + 100 = 700, but I'm sure it was more than the 629 that I had to spare for the day. Probably not a whole hell of a lot over, but still. Two days into my Project 180 and I haven't met my goal yet. So guess what ahmo do tomorrow?
Wake-up Weight: 188.8 pounds. Not too shabby given my comments from yesterday. So let's go.
Breakfast: 2 coffee 20c, polanka 90c, fried egg 90c, 16 oz water
= 200c, 16oz water
Lunch: ham 123c, bread 120c, mayo 45c, almond breeze milk 37c, merengue cookies 90c, pea pod thingies 120c, banana 100c
= 635c
835c, 16oz water
Exercise:
4 mile walk in the park with Pat.
Stretching (up to 50 seconds of plank now) + Schwinn (62, 1348c, 20.16m, 19.5mph, 65rpm)
Post exercise weight: 186.2 . . . which, of course, is not as good as yesterday's low water mark, but after the biking I had to drink some water, and after the LW I just toweled off quickly and took the weight. No time to finesse this shit today . . . I'm too thirsty.
Dinner:
16 oz water, lentil soup 200c, chicken 1 240c, tomatoes 15c, 8 oz water, cauliflower 29c, 2 whiskeys 156c, 12 oz water, ham 123c chips 140c
= 903c, 36 oz water
1738c, 52 oz water 207c and 12 oz water to go
fffudge bar 80c, 12 oz water, cookies 110c
1928 calories, 64 oz water Hells Yeah! My first actual √ Day
1 As for this chicken . . . this so-called chicken . . . . I tried out
and it was really good. Really, really good. And I thought it looked pretty okay health-wise, too. 160 calories per serving, and the serving size was 3 ounces, which is pretty okay. And the rest of the stats looked okay to me as well. But Fooducate only gave it a C+. But you know, I'm only seeing two other chicken strips that they give a higher grade . . . and only a little bit higher at that (B) . . . and both of them have more calories. So fuck that shit, man. I'm going to buy me some mo uh these.
Really really really early wake up . . . 2:00 a.m. On purpose, even. Wanted to make sure I was going to be able to do this for the big New York City Trip, which is upcoming. It's 3:30 now, so looks like that's a yes. It means that I'm on my second cup of coffee and that I had some sunflower seeds, though. And even though it no doubt sounds ludicrous, I already know that this could make meeting my daily calorie limit challenge difficult to achieve. So ahmo have to watch it. Or take a nap later.
First Breakfast: coffee 20c, sunflower seeds 100c
So . . . Breaking News. It's 6:30 a.m. and I am tired as FUCK, but I started vacuuming my living room rug. What else are you going to do in the wee hours of morning when you're trying to stay awake? And I was just thinking about how I really need to start doing this on a regular basis, and then I started thinking about how much shit I have everywhere . . . especially book and paper shit . . . and I started feeling really overwhelmed and hopeless. I mean, how on earth could I ever get this place anywhere close to clean? And that made me think about how it got this way. It wasn't like this when my second wife left me. She was really good at keeping the clutter at bay. And she left in September 2009. So it only took 8 years for me to fill this place up with all kinds of shit. At first that made me fill up with despair . . . even to the point of feeling like my whole life was just stupid and pointless. And then I made the connection: a year ago I was obese. A year ago I was diabetic. A year ago my Health Age was 68 years old. And I didn't lose 90 pounds by feeling shitty about myself. I lost it by hitting my best lick every day for nine months. And I'm not finished, but I sure as hell am in a much better spot than I was. So I am going to take a lesson from My Fat Struggle and apply it to My Fat Head Struggle. Instead of my fitful (and brief) bouts of cleaning frenzy, I'm going to start doing something every day. With exercise, one of the keys to success was not diving into the deep water at the start. In fact, looking back at the early records of this account make me laugh at myself. I mean, did I really think that "stretching" counted for a day's worth of exercise? Or a 20 minute bike ride? But that's not the point. The point is that I do about 90 minutes of exercise every day now because I allowed myself to do what I could then. So I'm going to start with a modest goal of 15 minutes devoted to cleaning every day. And see if I can make this house a little more livable.
So it shall be done.
Breakfast:
soft boiled eggs 136c, crackers 96c, 16 oz water
352c, 16 oz water
16 oz water
And much to my amazement, at 1:18 pm I am not only still awake, but I have gone out and done some grocery shopping and just now finished part of my exercise regimen for the day, to wit
stretching + 15 push-ups + 1 minute Plank
62 Schwinn minutes with 19 / 39 / 59 hard minutes and with an added 3 minutes of "cool down" added. Just thought I'd capitalize on those heavy heartbeats from the 59 - 60 mark burst. I meant to write down the "calories burned" to see what kind of difference those three ( s l o w ) minutes made, but I got distracted and by the time I went back for a look the numbers were gone. But here's what it looked like on me:
Not so pretty. And it felt even worse . . . very cold and clammy. I would guess that there's at least three pounds of my sweat in that shirt right now. Yuck. But as me Dear Sainted Papa youst tuh see, "Mo rrrrum oot thon eeen."
And then I thought about doing the HW. Even though I haven't even had lunch yet. I think I'll go have a weigh in before I do anything, though.
Weigh In Weight: 186.8 pounds
After the HW and a shower down to 186 pounds, so there's that, anyway.
Lunch-ish: 16 oz. water, 200c crisps, 105c banana, pretzels 165c.
470c, 16 oz water
822c, 48 oz water
Salad 15+18+30+30+20= 113c, lasagna 300c, 16 oz water
1235c, 64 oz water 710 calories to go, good on water
Pea pods 120c, tuna 290c, crackers 120c, 16 oz water
1765c, 80 oz water 180 c to go
Pretzels 100c, fffudge 80c
Made it on both calories and water . . . though by a nose on the calories. Of course, that's because I checked before I ate anything in the waning hours of the day. Which is the benefit of keeping count. It's like looking in your side and reverse mirrors when you drive: you know where you are and you know what's coming at you.
Wake Up Weight: 188.4 pounds.
Breakfast: coffee 20c, TJ Raisin Bran 170c, coconut 20c, Almond Breeze Milk 13c, 16 oz water
= 223c, 16 oz water
Pre Exercise Weight: 189.4 pounds. And 16 ounces of water weighs just a tad bit over a pound, so there you have it, I suppose. Speaking of water, I still haven't found a good way to keep all of the sweat from pouring into my face, but this Cooling Cap + Bandana Headband is pretty close. I still have to keep a towel handy, though, because even when my face stays relatively dry, the sweat drips down my arms and onto my hands, which makes it a little difficult to hold on to the handlebars.
Stretching + 15 push-ups + 60 seconds Plank
Schwinn 62 + 3 slow-mo (and once again I forgot to look at the Sports Science Details . . . maybe mañana)
Forgot to get an immediate post exercise weight, too, but after exercise, one half-pound of cauliflower, and some water I weighed 186 pounds, so I'm thinking that it would have been pooty good. Next time.
Lunch:
16 oz water, 203 grams cauliflower 51c, granola bar 170c, 117g polenta 84, pea pods 120c
= 425c, 16 oz water
648c, 32 oz water
Dinner:
salad:lettuce15+raddishes15+tomatoes16+croutons30+ baconbits30+dressing20= 126c, salmon 231c, vegetable mix 54c, meringue cookies 90c, 16 oz water
Which would have been fine, but then this happened: candy bar 270c, sunflower seed butter sandwich 220c
which = a "dinner" total of 991 calories. Which . . . oh. I thought I was sunk there. It totals up to 1639 calories (and 48 ounces of water), though. Which means I still have 306 to go. Woo hoo. Ahmo eat me something! I am HUNGry!!
pretzels 110c, cauliflower 51c, fffudge bar 80c, 16 oz water
1880c, 44 oz water
Another day of Victory at C!
Week 33: Monday, September 25, 2017
Wake Up Weight: 188 pounds.
Breakfast:
coffee 20c, sunflower seeds 100c, polenta 249c (I ate a lot of it; totally worth it, by the way, it was really good. I think I shall have to make this a regular feature of my diet), egg 90c, 16 oz water
= 459c, 16 oz water
crisps 110c
Pre-Exercise Weight: 188.8 pounds
62 + 3, 1387c, 20.96m, 19.3mph, 64rpm--compared to
62 + 0, 1348c, 20.16m, 19.5mph, 65rpm--last time I recorded full
data. So it looks like those 3 slow cool down minutes only burned
39 calories, took me less than .9 miles farther, lowered my average speed by .2 mph and rpms by 1rpm.
That would be scanned. It's also possible that my overall speed was lower, I suppose, which would mean that I can't attribute any of those things to the 3 minute cool down session. Which means that I'll need to check the reading at 62 minutes, then again at 65 to see what is going on there. Sigh. Sports science, like math, is hard.
I was sweating like a beast on today's session. I mean, it was just pouring out of me. So I was expecting a startling number when I stepped onto the scale. And?
Post Schwinn Weight: 184.8 pounds. That is pretty close to the lowest weight I've yet recorded (I think)--184.6. And you know how I am about challenges. So instead of stopping to guzzle some water, I'm going to go do my HW exercises and then take a shower, and I'm betting that I can squeeze another .4 or .5 pounds out of this flesh.
So let's go.
Did the HW, which was a little rough, but I think the 30/15 leg lifts and the 50 slow sit-ups might actually work out. I've also just read another online article that said that planks are the best exercise for your abdominal muscles, so I think I will try to push on that a bit more. Maybe add another "set" to the one I've been doing every day. And as for the post exercise post shower weigh in?
A little drum roll . . .
Now THAT's what I'm talking about. I was really hoping to push just another ounce or two out to make it into the 183s, but that was not happening. Still, I think this is probably the least I have weighed since 1990 or so. Seriously. Not bad for an old man.
And speaking of weight . . . one of those "Then" pictures just popped up in my Facebook feed with the caption "4 Years Ago Today":
And I remembered that picture, even remembered liking it quite a bit because I thought it made me look kind of badass and, since it was just a head and upper chest shot, you couldn't see how fat I was. But when I looked at it a minute ago I thought, "That just looks WRONG." So I pulled up the camera and tried to mimic the pose and came up with this:
And sheesh, that's pretty dramatic, ennit? I mean, in the upper picture it looks like I've been overinflated or something. Here's another way of looking at it:
I've matched up the Shara Wooden / Nova tattoo on my forearm, and you can see that my body actually is much more compact . . . or less inflated . . . now. Jesesh, look at the difference in the arms. I've got to say, seeing the stark results of this comparison actually gives me a little more determination to push on for my goal of 180 pounds . . . and to push hard to stay there once I arrive. Thank you, Facebook.
Lunch:
16 oz water, banana 92c, pretzels 110c, sunflower seed butter sandwich 220c, granola bar 170c, merangue cookies 113c
= 705c, 16 oz water
Dinner:
16 oz water, chicken 376c, fries 165c, ketchup 23c, chocolate milk 100c, sunflower seeds 100c, crisp 110c, grapes 210c
= 1084c, 16 oz water
16 oz water, artichoke hearts 20c, fffudge bar 80c
2458c, 62 oz water
Oh. How did THAT happen. Well . . . for one thing, I had fixed the chicken and fries for Joe, and he didn't want them--preferring the higher quality version available at Kingpin Lanes. So I ate a lot more of that than I normally would have. For another thing, I have to admit that I had no idea there were so many calories in grapes. For fuck's sake. But in addition to those factors, I have to admit that I was just really, really hungry today. So that happened.
e, Day S eve n Proj ect 180 [1945c] And THAT's when I realized. . . I'm going to New York City very soon with Jacqueline and Joe for six days. There is no worse time to try to do a strict eating / weight loss regimen. I'll have a shot at it when I get back.
Meanwhile . . .
Schwinn 62 +3, LW. Did I mention that I'm up to 1 minute of Planking now? It's not as easy as you'd think, actually.
Week 34: Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Schwinn 62 +3, HW
Week 34: Thursday, September 28, 2017
Got up at 2 a.m. and drove to Indianapolis, airplane to New York City. Did quite a bit pf walking (see pedometer calendar below), but didn't hit the hotel gym today.
Week 34: Friday, September 29, 2017
New York Marriott Marquis Fitness Center Visit (NYMMFCV)1
60 minutes on the exercise bike, which tells that I burned 735 calories and "travelled" 15.51 miles. Also did the LW routine.
Week 34: Saturday, September 30, 2017
NYMMFCV 2: 60 minutes, 700 calories, 14.32 distance and HW.
Week 34: Sunday, October 1, 2017
NYMMFCV 3: 60m, 733c, 15.04 m + LW.
Week 34: Monday, October 2, 2017
NYMMFCV 4: 60m, 760c, 15.8m + HW.
Week 35: Tuesday, October 3, 2017
NYMMFCV 5: 60m, 675c, 14.82m + LW.
Week 35: Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Back home!Stretching + 15 push-ups + 60 second Plank + 60 minute Schwinn
Week 35: Thursday, October 5, 2017
Walked 4 miles with Pat, Schwinn 60 minutes.
Week 35: Friday, October 6, 2017
Walked 4 miles with Pat, but the day turned shitty after that--autistic kids stuff . . . and I was SO tired . . . and I did have one or two or three . . . okay, four whiskeys just to take the edges off . . . so that was it for the day. But speaking of walking, here's my New York Miles:
But here's the thing. I did my regular exercises every day I was in New York save for one. And I walked a lot every day. But I didn't eat well. I ate fast food. I didn't eat enough fruits and vegetables. I ate high calories foods (like that Rueben sandwich . . . which wasn't even very good, for fuck's sake). And? I put on a few pounds. Nothing too drastic, but still . . . it just goes to show what I've already learned: you can exercise your ass off, but if you don't control what and how much you eat, you will gain weight. And with that it mind . . . it's time for
Week One, Day One Project 180 [1945c]
Wake Up Weight: 193.6 lbs. My best of show w-u-w was 187.8 . . . which is a pretty huge difference @ 5.8 pounds. So although it might not be entirely accurate (since there are various factors which affect weight), I'm going to hold myself to the crime of gaining six pounds in my week in New York City, and work at it from there. So let's go.
Breakfast: coffee 20c, banana 105c, 16 oz water
125c, 16 oz water
Exercise: Schwinn 61 minutes--no fast breaks, but still 1302c, 19.73m, 19.3mph, and 64rpms-- + LW.
Post Exercise Weight: 190.4 lbs. So there's 3.2 of those pesky pounds gone. Until I drink some water and have some lunch, anyway.
Lunch: bread 120c, ham 123c, 16 oz water, 241 grams cauliflower 60c, pretzels 110c, coffee 10c, cookies 34c
457c, 16 oz water
Dinner: salad 95c, vegetable mix 56c, spaghetti 800c *, sauce 45c, chicken 180c, 16 oz water
1176c, 16 oz water
1758c, 48 oz water
pretzels 110c for a grand total of 1868 calories. Made it!
* And this wasn't even a humongous portion. I would have cut it down if I'd figured the calories beforehand, though . . . but fortunately it was such a low calories day before this that I still have a good shot at hitting my Calorie Target on this first day of 1 of Project 180.
Week 35: Sunday, October 8, 2017
Week One, Day Two Project 180 [1945c]
Wake Up Weight: 191.6 lbs. Well, that's a good start, isn't it? 2 pounds less than yesterday's wake up weight. Let's see where it goes from here.
Breakfast: coffee 20c, banana 105c, bread 120c, ham 91c, egg 90c, 16 oz water
426c, 16 oz water
Lunch: sunflower seeds 100c, 16 oz water, coffee 10c, ham 123c, bread 120c, pretzels 140c, granola bar 170c
663c, 16 oz water
1089c, 32 oz water 856 to go today
Pre-Exercise Weight: 190.6 lbs. Which was kind of a surprise.
Exercise: Schwinn 61:54 1304 19.85 19.2 64rpm (187.6 lbs post-Schwinn weight) + HW routine. Was I doing 30/20 leg lifts before? Can't remember, but that's what I did today and it was okay.
Post shower weight: 186.8 pounds. Almost 5 pounds down from the wake up weight. And then I took a drink of water.
Dinner: vegetable mix 100c, cauliflower 47c, dressing 10c, fish 315c, almond milk 100c, 18 oz water
572c, 18 oz water
1661c, 50 oz water
284c to go today
pretzels 140c, cookies 110c, 14 oz water, crackers 24c
= 1935 calories, 64 oz water So that's another win for Project 180, Woot Woot!
Week 35: Monday, October 9, 2017
Week One, Day Three Project 180 [1945c]
Wake Up Weight: 187.8 lbs. Well, I'm impressed. That's almost 4 pounds less than yesterday's wake up weight. WTF is up with that? I don't know. But I do know that (1) I like it, (2) I feel like I'm almost back into the regular groove after the disruption of The New York Week and (3) I once again feel that 180 pounds is possible. Matter of fact, yesterday I stopped at Goodwill and tried on a pair of jeans with a 32 inch waist. They looked mighty tiny on the hanger, and I almost put them back without checking them. But I went into the dressing room and . . . they fit. And they weren't even tight. I was going to buy them, but they were a little ratty looking and kind of not good material, so I put them back, but I am thinking that I might stop somewhere today and buy me a pair of THIRTY-TWO INCH WAIST pants. As in not the FORTY-TWO INCH WAIST pants I was wearing last year. Bazinga.
Breakfast: two pieces of toast 120c, egg 90c, coffee 20c, 16 oz water
= 230c, 16 oz water
Lunch: coffee 10c, 340g broccoli slaw 100c, 16 oz water
340c, 32 oz water
Exercise: 4 1/2 mile walk with Pat.
Schwinn 62:04, 1344c, 20:15m, 19.5mph, 65rpm + LW (which didn't feel so light today).
Post Exercise Weight: 184.4 pounds. Which is pretty damned close to the lightest weight I've seen since I was a kid. Gonna fly now, gonna fly now, fly . . . fly . . . fly . . . fly . . . do do DOOT!
Dinner: 118g strawberries 39c, crab cakes 380c, bread 120c, 16 oz water, pretzels 187c
726c, 16 oz water
1066c, 48 oz water
yogurt 70c, cookies 110c, fffudge bar 70c, pretzels 140c, 16 oz water
390c, 16 oz water
1456 calories, 64 oz water So pretty much a red letter day there. 3 for 3 on the 180 Project so far.
Week 36: Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Week One, Day Four Project 180 [1945c]
Wake-Up Weight: 186.6 pounds. Which I think goes to show this: even after a week of over-indulgences, it hasn't been that hard to get back to where I was. The bad message there is that it's okay to go off script and eat Hungarian pastries and fast food and allathat. But that's not what I'm seeing. I'm seeing that you don't have to be a complete pain in the ass in order to do this thing. You just have to think about what you're doing. Now onward to 180!
Breakfast: sunflower seeds 100c, coffee 20c, biscuits 340c, egg 90c, 16 oz water
550c, 16 oz water
Pre-Exercise Weight: 186.8 lbs.
Exercise: Scwhinn 62 minutes, 1375c, 20.37m, 19.6mph 65rpm--a tad bit faster than yesterday, and it felt like it, too. Also sweated like it. Then did the HW, and sweated more. Felt pretty weak at the end of it all, but the pay off:
Post-Shower Weight: 182.8 lbs. Yep. Cracked 183 and recorded my lowest weight to date. And there was much rejoicing.
Lunch: 16 oz water, 43g ham 62c, pretzels 140c, banana 105c
307c, 16 oz water
Dinner: sushi 280c, tuna 225c, crackers 96c, 2 wine cooler 300c and 2 whiskey 156c, 32g pretzels 126c, 210g strawberries 69c, 60c cool whip
1312c
2169c, 32 oz water So of course I celebrate my great weigh in victory by going over on the calorie count for the day . . . by 224 calories. But y'know, sometimes you just hafta have a drink or two. Or three or four, as the case may be.
ADDENDUM: But then . . . well, I thought JUST ONE MORE of those 2 whiskey + wine cooler, which led to another serving of pretzels, so I added another 338 calories, so 562 calories over for the day. Oh, shit . . . and that pack of crackers, so another 200 there. Sigh. But it show did feel good to be drunk, I've got to say. I woke up at 2 in the morning and didn't know how drunk I was until I got up to go to the bathroom. Laid back down, but only kind of dozed until 4, then got up for some coffee and mostly stayed awake after that.
Week 36: Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Week One, Day Five Project 180 [1945c]
Wake-Up Weight: 186 lbs. Hmmph. Surprised. Happy, but surprised.
Breakfast: 16 oz water, banana 105c, coffee 20c, cereal 170c, milk 34c, 159 grams strawberries 52c
381c, 16 oz water
Lunch: bread 120c, ham 123c, 16 oz water
243c, 16 oz water
Exercise: Walked 5 miles in the park with Pat.
And then I bought some new pants. Well, old new pants from Goodwill, to be accurate. But here's the exciting part. These pants
are for a 32 inch waist. And they even have a little room in them--not at all tight, no effort to fit into them. The pants I was wearing this time last year were 42 inch. I mos def still have some flesh to spare, and ahmo get to work on that in a few minutes, but I find that it really helps me to remind myself that I've come a long way. Pat is really good in that respect--gives me a lot of praise and affirmation reference how much weight I've lost.
Exercise: Schwinn 62 minutes, 1405c, 20.59m, 19.9mph, 66rpm + LW. Interesting. I didn't feel great today, and I had to pause for a minute at the 45 minute mark to grab a towel, yet I burned a few (30) more calories, went a little farther (.22m) at a slightly faster (.6mph) speed, and I think this was the first time I ever averaged more than 65rpms (only 66rpms, but still). I guess I pushed a little harder? I did notice that my numbers tended to be in the high 60s on rpms when I looked down and that was on the display. But you'd think my muscles would have been a little tired since I just walked 5 miles a few hours ago. And I'm pretty sure that getting drunk isn't conducive to a good workout.
16 oz water, popcorn chips 165c, sunflower seeds 100c, merengue cookies 90c, 16 oz water
355c, 32 oz water
979c, 64 oz water 966 calories left for today
Dinner: vegetable mix 100c, crab cakes 380c, sweet potato 135c, 16 oz water
615c, 16 oz water
1594 total
cereal and almond milk 130c, fffudge bar 70c, pretzels 110c
1904c = A good day to diet!
Week 36: Thursday, October 12, 2017
Week One, Day Six Project 180 [1945c]
Wake-Up Weight: 185.6 lbs.
Breakfast: coffee 20c, banana 115c, cereal 183c, Almond Milk 24c, 16 oz water
342c, 16 oz water
Pre-Exercise weight: 187.4 lbs
Exercise: I added a second Plank rep today--a modest 30 seconds. I think it's way past time to start adding to my one minute per day. It might even be a good idea to do a few at other times of the day--it's not like it's an aerobic thing or requires warming up or that. Then 62 Schwinn minutes, this time without the 19/39/59 speed-up minutes, and the results were 1356c, 20.25m, 19.6mph, and 65rpms. So if you look at it that way, it doesn't seem that I really gain one hell of a lot by doing those speed up minutes. So I'll have to decide if they're useful or not. There's something to be said for breaking up the monotony, for sure, but doing those minutes also forces me to pay more attention to the passing time. And when you're exercising, the last thing you want to pay attention to is the time. Freed of that constraint, I watched an hour of the movie Blow-Up (1966)--which kind of sucked, but this is not the place for movie reviews, is it? ANYway, I did enjoy the less time thinking about Schwinning aspect of today's session.
Post Schwinn weight: 184.6 lbs.
Lunch: bread 120c, ham 123c, mayonnaise 23c, pretzels 110c, granola 170c, 16 oz water, merengue cookies 90c
= 636c, 16 oz water
978c, 32 oz water
Dinner: salad 115c, pizza 900c *, 16 oz water
=1015c, 16oz water
1993c, 48 oz water
And you know how it is . . . once you've blown it, it's a lot easier to blow it some more. So I also had cauliflower 32c, strawberries 70c, apple 95c, fat free fudge bar 70c, and 16 oz water. None of which is bad, but it did add another 267c, to put the day's total at
2260 calories . . . 325 over the goal.
* Yeah. I could have just eaten two slices and been good (at a "day's end" of 1793, so room for a little snack and still golden), but I was just hungry, and that pizza looked good. Of course ex post fatso I'm thinking that I could have done without it, but hindsight is 20/20, right?
4 and 2 on the calorie goal for week one.
Week 36: Friday, October 13, 2017
Week One, Day Seven Project 180 [1945c]
Breakfast: coffee 20c, 2 soft boiled eggs 136c, bread 120c, 16 oz water
276c, 16 oz water
This was one of those mornings where I woke up ungodly early (4 am), had coffee until 6:30 breakfast, and I just wanted to keep on eating. The big hunger. But I did my 276 calorie breakfast and drank some water and held the line . . . at least for the nonce. But
you know, it really doesn't get easier. It's like being an alcoholic. You're just one milkshake away that addiction.
Week 36: Monday, October 16, 2017
Well, you know how it goes, right? Sometimes the world just kind of blows up in your face. Things were actually going pretty well on Friday October 13th. I dropped Joe off at work and went for a 5 mile walk in the park with Pat, then picked Joe up and we went to the comic book store and back home. Jacqueline got home shortly thereafter and then we were off to see their psychiatrist downtown. And that's when the first bomb went off for me.
Their psychiatrist is a good guy. We've known him forever . . . like at least fifteen years. And he's about my age, so I don't mean to imply anything by saying this, but he sometimes does reruns on things. Last time I'd seen him--a couple of months before--he'd commented on the fact that I'd lost a lot of weight and then given me a concerned look and asked if I was okay making him the 4th person to think I was was dying of cancer. (For fuck's sake, does THIS look like a cancer arm
??? I'm not just losing weight here. I'd like just a little credit for the hundreds of hours I've spent pumping pedals and lifting dumbbells.)
And he did it again. And I know that I could and should take this as a compliment, in that it indicates that he / they think that I've lost an extraordinary amount of weight, but it's not a compliment, is it? It's like my X1 asking me if I was on the Emaciation Diet. I'm obviously not emaciated, obviously, but why use a negative / insulting word if you mean to pay a compliment? Fuuuuck. ANYway, that night I took Jacqueline and Joe to the Shine Dance, and I hadn't had any dinner, so I went into the hospitality room looking for a cup of coffee. And there wasn't any, but I did find some very lovely looking cookies. And I ate two of them. And I don't think it was any big deal, but for some reason that on top of the psychiatrist's query just blew up my brain, and I just said fuck it to this whole diet thing.
And I ate whatever the fuck I wanted to eat when I got home Friday. And then again on Saturday. And then again on Sunday. Today I came back to earth and started watching out again. Didn't write it all down, but kept track and kept it modest. But after I did my Schwinn and LWs today (and I did continue to exercise every day except for Saturday, and I only skipped that because I had to cut both my and my sister's lawns that day, which seems like plenty of exercise to me) when I did my post-exercise weigh in, the scale said
189.2 pounds
Which is not all that great. I mean, my last recorded post exercise weight was 184.6 lbs . . . 4 1/2 pounds less. And although you can't rely on weights completely due to various factors, I think you can compare two post-exercise weights and say that just three days of not giving a shit and eating whatever I wanted to eat put five pounds onto my body. And I've worked hard to take those pounds off of me.
So there it is. I am going to re-boot my Project 180 tomorrow. But I'm not going to pay any attention to that chart that I posted earlier. I'm going to go for a straight limit of 1800 calories per day. A little more than the goal I set to get me to my current weight, but not much. And a nice even number. Plus 1800 and 180, you know. And we'll see how that goes.
Week 37: Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Week One, Day OneProject 180 [1800c]
Breakfast: coffee 20c, sunflower seeds 100c, biscuits 340c, margarine 35c, 16 oz water
= 495c *, 16 oz water
* Which is, by the way, an absurd number of calories for breakfast. Especially for such a meager breakfast. Not to mention that it was a breakfast which offered virtually nothing in the way of nutritional value. It would have been much better to have an egg and some toast: one third of the calories, more filling, and some protein to go with those carbohydrates. NOTE TO SELF: Biscuits for breakfast is no longer an option.
Exercise: 5 1/2 mile walk with Pat.
Lunch: bread 120c, ham 123c, mayonnaise 45c, coffee 10c, cauliflower 50c, 16 oz water
= 348c, 16 oz water
Exercise: 62 Schwinn minutes, HW
Post Exercise Weight 189.2 lbs.
banana 105c, granola bar 170c, pretzels 130c, coffee 20c
soup 200c, crackers 120c, pretzels 130c, 150g apple 78c
= 953c, 16 oz water
= 1796c, 48 oz water
And as for those 1,796 calories . . . I went to my Crazy Women meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 last night, I when I got home I was hungry. I was going to grab some pretzels etc., but picked up an apple instead and decided to add up my calories for the day to see how many I had left of my self-allotted 1800. You can see the results. Well, I thought pretty hard about the situation. I really was hungry, and I really wanted some pretzels etc. And then I started thinking, "You know, originally the plan was to do 1,945 calories for the first week, so if I go back to that, I can go ahead and have some pretzels." And that sounded reasonable. But I shut it down and went to bed to read instead.
That's one, one small victory. Ah ah ah.
Week 37: Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Week One, Day Two Project 180 [1800c]
Wake-Up Weight: 189.6 lbs.
Breakfast: coffee 20c, sunflower seeds 100c, cereal 160c, Almond Milk 20c, 211 grams apple 110c
= 410c
sausage and bread 130c, coffee 10c, ham 123c, pretzels 260c, yogurt 70c
= 593c, 16 oz water
1003c, 16 oz water
Exercise: Schein 62 minutes, 1352c, 20.22m, 19.5mph, 65rpms--with the 19 / 39 / 59 fast minutes. Also, did I mention that after my 15 push-ups I'm now doing two one minute planks? And I'll probably be adding a third one soon. Then the LWs.
Post-Exercise Weight: 185.6 lbs. Going strong, going to get right back to where I started from. Mmm -hmm. Only 2.8 lbs higher than my lowest ever recorded weight today, which is sa-weeeet!
Dinner: salad 70c, toast 180c, eggs 180c, fake sausage 210c, 16 oz water, pretzels 130c
= 770c, 16 oz water
1773c, 32 oz water
Well fuuuuuck. Looks like I'm right back to where I was last night, wherein I only have a few calories left if I'm to meet my 1800 per day goal, but I can hear the Hunger Train sounding louder. We'll see how it goes.
Jello 15c , 16 oz water
1788 calories, 48 oz water So another close call . . . but I made it. 2 for 2 now.
Week 37: Thursday, October 19, 2017
Week One, Day Three Project 180 [1800c]
Wake-Up Weight: 186.8 lbs.
Breakfast: egg 90c, crackers 24c, fake sausage * 140c, coffee 20c
= 274c, 16 oz water
* This is the first time I've had the fake sausage stuff (Morning Star Farms Breakfast Original Sausage Veggie Patties) in quite awhile, and this shit is actually quite good. It has a bit of the taste and texture of real sausage, but without the disgusting contents and bad karma. And the Low Down on this is pretty good, too:1 patty (38g) = 70 Calories and provides you with 1 gram of dietary fiber, 0 grams of sugars, and 9 grams of protein. That's some big bang for your caloric buck, I'd say. (Although those fuckers over at Fooducate only give it a C. But you know how they are.
Exercise: 4 mile walk with Pat.
Lunch: 16 oz water, sunflower seeds 200c, coffee 10c, 217g of apple 116c, pretzels 117c
= 443c, 16 oz water
Exercise: 62 Schwinn minutes
Post-Exercise Weight: 183.4 lbs Wow . . . I was only 0.6 lbs away from my lowest recorded weight. And if I'd done my HWs I might have (probably would have) made it. But I just really needed to eat something after that light lunch, so that's what I did.
Dinner: vegetable mix 90c, salad 115c, soup 320c, crackers 144c, 16 oz water, pretzels 110c, artichoke hearts 70c
= 849c, 16 oz water
1566c, 48 oz water
yogurt 70c, fffudge bar 70c, pretzels 92c, 16 oz water1798c, 64 oz water 3 for 3!!!
Week 37: Friday, October 20, 2017
Week One, Day Four Project 180 [1800c]
Wake-Up Weight: 184.8 lbs. Ummm . . . how did I lose two pounds since yesterday morning? Dunno, but that seems to be what has happened. If I keep things under control today, I should be able to hit a new low on To Date Lowest Recorded Weight. Very exciting!
Breakfast: eggs 180c, crackers 72c, coffee 20c, 16 oz water
= 272c, 16 oz water
Exercise: 4 1/2 mile walk.
Lunch: 16 oz water, pretzels 110c, coffee 20c, sunflower seeds 139c, granola bar 170c
= 439c, 16 oz water
711c, 32 oz water
Exercise: 62 Schwinn minutes. Which was a real push. I did modify the routine a bit: four one minute pushes--at 14, 29, 44, and 59 minutes, but I don't think that's what did it. I think I just hadn't taken in enough calories to compensate for all the burning I'd done today--between the walk and the bike. So I ended up not doing weights or even push ups. Just didn't have it in me. On the other hand, when I did my post-Schwinn weigh-in, I hit 182 lbs. A new low. And part of me really wanted to go ahead and do some of the HW exercises, because that always squeezes another half pound or even more out of me, but I let my sensible side take over. I really didn't have it in me. And it's not like I won't be back at this same spot . . . possibly as early as tomorrow. So I celebrated the moment, then went and ate some fuckin' lasagna, man. And it was really, really good.
Dinner: salad 115c, lasagna 483c, 16 oz water
= 598c, 16 oz water
1309c, 48 oz water . . . 491 to go
pretzels 110c, vegetable mix 60c, apple 116c, 16 oz water
1595c, 64 oz water
fffudge bar 70c, pretzels 110c
1775c, 64 oz water And a big 4 for 4 here--plus a full complement of water for the second day running. I have to keep in mind how important that part of the whole "diet" is--both in terms of bodily requirements and in terms of filling that fucking belly UP.
Week 37: Saturday, October 21, 2017
Week One, Day Five Project 180 [1800c]
Wake-Up Weight: 183.6 lbs. Hmpf. 1.2 lbs less than YESterday's wake up weight. I don't know what's going on here, but I have to say that I like it. If this trajectory continues, I'm going to hit my 180 lbs goal pretty damned soon. In fact, it's even possible that I'll hit it for a moment toDAY in a post-exercise weigh-in. We'll see. But mos def a good sign.
I think.
Yesterday whilst walking with Pat . . . who has been, by far, my greatest booster during this weight loss thing . . . made several direct references to the "fact" that I should stop losing weight now. And I told her that (1) I could easily tell by looking at my body that there was still some fat to be lost and that (2) according to every Ideal Weight formula, 180 lbs--which I haven't even reached yet--is still at the upper range of "acceptable" weight for my height. (In fact, the WHO's recommendation re: BMI for my height is 132.6 lbs - 179.2 lbs. Now, 132.6 lbs is just fuckin' ridiculous, of course. I mean, that's the size of Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, and Beyonce. Literally. (Literally literally.) So with my frame I'm thinking 180 lbs is good, but it's not like it's extreme, y'know?
But she insisted that I'd gone far enough and that it was time to put the brakes on. And while it most certainly is nice to have someone worried about you . . . especially on this subject, when just 8 months ago I was in the OBESE category . . . it's discouraging, too. Like my little anecdote from last week about the kids's psychiatrist. So listen up, folks: If you have a friend who is struggling with weight and having some success, keep it positive. If you truly think that they have tipped over the edge into some kind of obsessive compulsive anorexia syndrome, then at least take the time to look into the facts instead of just shooting your mouth off. Because, as I've noted previously, this FAT thing is like being an alcoholic. It would be so fucking easy for me to gain ten pounds. And then ten more. And I am absolutely sure that if I just stopped giving a damn that I could be back up to 276 pounds a lot faster than I came down to 185. I don't need anybody telling me that I am on the "emaciation diet" or that my face is getting gaunt. (Which Pat actually did say. And which is kind of funny, really. I mean, I'm 60 years old. Of course my face is getting gaunt. That's what faces do on old people.)
ANYway . . . .
Unfortunately, I woke up at around 2 a.m. this morning and just didn't have it in me to get back to sleep. So I got up and made some coffee and did some reading. It's now 4:30, and I still don't feel sleepy, so I guess that's about it for the nonce. And that always makes it difficult with respect to calorie intact. When you're awake in the middle of the night, it's very easy to convince yourself that you "need" a few extra calories . . . because, you know, you're burning more calories. Or something. So I'm trying to keep it real. Thus far I've Pre-Breakfasted with a mere
20 calories of coffee and 24 calories of crackers
(44c)
Let the day begin.
Breakfast (6am): soft-boiled eggs 140c, crackers 96c, 16 oz water, coffee 10c
= 246c, 16 oz water
290c, 16 oz water
Lunch: pretzels 110c, lasagna 416c, merengue cookies 45c, chocolate 73c, 16 oz water
= 644c, 16 oz water
= 934c, 32 oz water
BREAKING PLANK NEWS:
Just read a little article about planking which said, ". . . three sets of planks for up to 60 seconds each is ideal, according to Doug Sklar, a certified personal trainer and founder of PhilanthroFIT in New York City." (Brooke Nelson @ msn.com) So I guess I'll be adding that third set today, mmm-hmmm.
Exercise: Warm-ups--now with 3 one minute plank sets!--and HW. And I was worried that I would have trouble with the HW since I've had a couple of days off, but it actually didn't hurt a bit. In fact, I actually felt stronger. We'll see what tomorrow feels like, of course,
as with exercise it's the day after that does the telling, but I think it's going to be okay.
Schwinn: 60 + 2 minutes with the 14, 29. 44, 59 minute hard minutes.
Post exercise weight: 182 lbs. I mean,
Hells yeah.
Dinner: pretzels 110c, whiskey x three 234c, apple juice 110x, 45c merengue cookies, three more whiskeys 234c, cookies 140c, crackers 140c, 355g sweet potatoes 305c, fish 250c
1568c
2502c, 32 oz water So that didn't work out, did it? She-it . . . that's 702 calories over the goal, and all of it was whiskey. WHISKEY!!!
But then again . . . you've got to have SOME fun, else what's a heaven for, right?
Week 37: Sunday, October 22, 2017
Week One, Day Six Project 180 [1800c]
Wake-Up Weight: 185.8 lbs. Well . . . went way off of the reservation last night. After recording the six shots of whiskey I had two more, and then I ate a lot of stuff. Nacho chips. Cookies. Maybe some other stuff as well . . . it's a bit blurry. So I guess I'll have to pay for that. But you know . . . I really needed to get a bit drunk. I don't know why. And it felt pretty great.
Now back to work.
Breakfast: coffee 20c, 16 oz water, banana 105c, bran flakes 100c, almond milk 20c, toast and butter 145c, 16 oz water
= 390c, 32 oz water
Lunch: granolas bar 170c, coffee 10c, merengue cookies 90c, 16 oz water
= 270c, 16 oz water
660c, 32 oz water
Pre-Exercise Weight: 186.8 lbs.
Exercise: Schein 62: 1402c, 20.57m, 19.8mph, 66rpm. Which is interesting, since you'd think that after a night of (for me) hard drinking that the payback would be a motherfucker, but in actuality I felt great and performed significantly better than I did yesterday. So the moral of the story is: if you want to be healthy for the rest of your life, be sure to engage in sporadic binge drinking. Wish I'd known that a few years ago. Oh, and my post exercise weight? 183 lbs, thanks for asking. Not a new record, but still . . . I'm happy with it. And tomorrow is a new day, after all.
And hey . . . I got your "emaciated" right here:
Dinner: salad 15+15+15+30+20= 95c, pretzles 130c, 16 oz water, soup 230c, brussels sprouts 150c, bread 120c, banana 105c, 16 oz water
= 830c, 32 oz water
--1490c, 64 oz water--
cookies 110c, yogurt 70c, fffudge 70c, pretzels 54c
1794c, 64 oz water So back in black with 5 out of 6! And needless to say that slide in there was not happenstance: I calculated every bite and cut the pretzel ration down so as to make it under the wire. It's a bit of a pain in the ass, of course, but you can't just leave that shit to chance if you want to stick to the goal. Eyeballing food just doesn't do the trick. (Especially not if your eyeballs have been stewing in the sauce.)
Week 37: Monday, October 23, 2017
Week One, Day Seven Project 180 [1800c]
Wake-Up Weight: 185.8 lbs.
Breakfast: coffee 20c, 8 oz water, ham 48c, bread 60c, egg 90c
= 218c, 8 oz water
Exercise: It was raining, so Pat and I walked in the mall. I think it was still about five miles's worth, though.
Lunch: ham 123c, bread 120c, mayonnaise 23c, 16 oz water, pretzels 130c, merengue cookies 90c, banana 105c
= 591c, 16 oz water
909c, 32 oz water
merangue cookies 45c, pretzels 130c, 16 oz water
= 1084c, 48 oz water
Dinner: 201g cauliflower 50c, dressing 15c, 75g tomatoes 14c, lettuce 15c, dressing 20c = 114c
= 1198c, 48 oz water
crab 150c, bread 60c, soup 220c, crackers 60c, fffudge bar 70c, jello 10c, 16 oz water
= 1769c, 64 oz water Which endeth Week One of my Project 180 with a 6 out of 7 tally. I am particularly happy with how today turned out for several reasons. For one, I was so tired after my walk with Pat that not only did I not do any more exercising, but I had to fight falling asleep twice (once in the afternoon, once after reading to Joe and trying to watch Supergirl with him), and that Fighting Sleep thing often leads me to eat "extra" stuff. For another thing, it was a Special Olympics bowling night, so I had to split my dinner into two parts, and that can easily lead to excess consumption. And three and most importantly, I kept a running tally of my calories as I went through the last three hours of the day, because I was feeling really hungry and I knew that it would be super easy to go over the line I'd drawn. And past experience shows that once I cross the line, I usually just say the hell with it and start eating even more. And I didn't want to go there. And I didn't go there. So I'm happy about that.
Onward to Week 38 / Week Two!
To Date Lowest Recorded Weight:
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