August 11, 2010
Weight - 233.7
After two days of just eating better, with only 2 miles walked in those two days, I am down 2.9 pounds already. The secret is chugging a ton of water. I drink liters of water every day. The more you drink, the less you'll hold inside of you, as your body always knows there is more water coming. I'm off all regular sodas. I'm having a coke zero here and there, but I will be cutting that out in the next week or so as well. Chicken and Shrimp have both been a part of my diet, but I also made pork loin sirloin chops with rice. A truly delicious combination. If you're looking for spices, make sure to check out Mrs. Dash spices. They always have 0 calories and a ton of taste. You'd be surprised how quickly calories can add up from regular spices.
Overall, I feel no different so far. I know this is the water weight, but it is the beginning of the process. Today, I'm doing a six mile hike at the lake. Tomorrow, I go back to circuit training at the gym.
I'll keep you informed of my progress. Until then...................
Posted by James Sabata
August 11, 2010
Weight- 236.6
I was in Arizona all weekend on vacation, eating like shit and having a good time, so I decided to hold off until today to start.
The overall goal is 185.0, but who knows when that will happen. The goal for this particular drop is 224.9. Let's see if I can handle it.
Starting today, I'm back to 2000 calories or less a day. My calculator tells me that at my weight, I would need 3,220 calories a day to maintain my weight. Obviously cutting a straight 1200 off the top is great and any additional exercise I do is even better.
I'm going to be weighing in every two days. Most people will tell you to do once a week, and that's really good for them, but it doesn't work for me. For me, once a week allows for too many days of "Oh, I'll eat like shit today and make it up later." I have found if I weigh every two days, I'm much more likely to stay with it. The morning I weigh, I feel great and I don't want to blow it by eating badly the rest of the day. The days I don't weigh, I keep thinking, "Oh, but i have a weigh-in tomorrow... so I better not..." It's worked wonders for me.
I already don't eat things like mayo, mustard, or salad dressing, so the usual calorie cuts are not in effect for me. Most people think this would make it really hard to eat well, but it doesn't at all. It actually makes it easier for me. I'm already so used to eating the same basic stuff every few days that I don't mind the "monotony" of eating right. I eat a lot of chicken (boneless and skinless), a lot of shrimp (only 77 calories for 4 oz... can't beat that and feel full) and a lot of vegetable and fruits. I feel LESS hungry when I'm eating like this, because I literally eat all day long and still lose weight. If you're into shrimp, you can get a one pound bag, and snack on it. Calorie count for the whole bag? Just over 300 calories. A snickers has 280. It's not that you can't eat on a diet. It's just about being smarter with your calorie cost. Why spend them on something that is gone instantly? And yes, the first bite of a snickers is amazing, but the rest are just mindless bites.
I'll be back in two days with weigh-in. Until then.............
Posted by James Sabata
August 2, 2010
Seeing as how I'm off work for the next thirty-five days or so, I thought now was an excellent time to get back into the groove of working out and seeing what it will do for me. For those of you who don't know, I've attempted a weight loss blog a few other times and usually delete it after a few weeks, when I give up on my weight loss.
Here's the thing. On January 1, 2010, I weighed 255.5. Today, I weigh in at 236.6. While that is/isn't dramatic, depending on who you talk to, the important thing in my own life is that even when I stop working at the weight as hard, it hasn't come pouring back on. When I stopped working out this last time, I weighed 233.0, so I'm only slightly heavier than I was when I stopped back in June. This has not been a yo-yo diet thing with me. It has been a few weeks of hardcore workouts followed by a month and a half of rest each time. Each time, I've dropped 6 - 10 pounds, and more importantly, each time, I've kept the majority of it off.
A diet does you no good if you're putting it all back on each time. I maintain that (for myself at the very least) this method of weight loss has been much more effective than the ones I see my friends on, where they starve themselves for a while and then gain it all right back.
My workout theory is very loose. I'm a person who changes my mind on things almost daily and who always seems to have something come up and interfere with my plans. As such, my routine is less than routine. Here's the basic breakdown, however:
Calorie Intake - the single easiest way to lose weight is to pay attention to what you're eating. It's amazing how quickly I am willing to give up certain items when I realize what's actually in them compared to other items I already completely love. Mountain Dew tastes better than Diet Dew, but not for 330 calories per bottle. ;) If you cut 3,500 calories from your diet a week, you drop a pound. It really is as simple as that. The people who claim it's not ARE NOT counting calories. It's simple science. It works EVERY SINGLE TIME. I use TheDailyPlate.Com, because it is the best that's out there, and it's free.
The second part of my diet is realistic goals. My overall goal weight is 180 pounds. I could have tried to kill myself to get there like they do on certain reality shows, but I would hate my life as I'm getting there. I want my goal to be something I enjoy. I want to arrive at it one day and go, "holy shit! Look at me!" As such, my goal per week is 1 pound. It's easy (for me). It allows days where I don't do so well, without ruining my life over it. Most people want to see BIG results instantly. One - That's not healthy. Two - It's just setting yourself up for failure. One pound a week may take a while, but here's the thing. I'm currently 52 pounds from my goal weight (which hadn't occurred to me until I started writing this). That means that at one pound a week, I would hit my goal one year from today. ONE YEAR??? you say... Well, guess what. I've been overweight since I was 8. That's 24 years ago. I've spent 20 years trying to do it the fast way. If I would have ever slowed down and done it this way, I'd be healthy now.
The final part, the workout, is actually the least important, in my eyes. It's good. It's necessary. However, it is a distant third place behind calorie intake/output and the mental aspects. Working out is definitely important. My workouts are much less stressful than most people's. Mine involves two to three days of circuit training with aerobics at Planet Fitness and walking each and every day. A simple thirty minute walk can burn a good chuck of calories. I shoot for 2-6 miles a day, but that's just me.
Overall, my diet and exercise plan is certainly not for everyone. For most, my weight loss will go too slowly (although those people will still weigh what they do when I'm reaching my goal weight). For others, my workouts will not be intense enough. But that's the beauty of it all. My weight loss is for me. It is tailored to what I want and what I need. There are certain aspects that absolutely work for everyone (calorie counting, etc) but the rest has to be things that you personally enjoy and like doing. If you LIKE what you're doing when you're working out, it becomes more like hanging out.
Posted by James Sabata
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