Category: Regimen

It looks like the cheesecake that Kelly got for my birthday was “reduced carb” and not “low carb”. The only change I’ve made to my diet over the past week was adding a slice of leftover cheesecake each evening for dessert and my weight loss completely stalled. The trend line has caught up and, for the first time in months, my weight is above the trend line. Looks like it’s back into induction again…

One of my pet peeves is eating in the car. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with munching on a nutrition bar or drinking a soda in transit but there’s something seriously wrong with attempting to balance an entire meal on your knee while driving. Like mobile phones, not only is it a distraction to the driver but it also has the tendency to make quite a mess.
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It’s official…Andrew, my navigator, will be starting a mix of Atkins and The Hacker’s Diet to drop 30 or so pounds. We had quite a long discussion about it this evening and he’s quite psyched…especially after he stayed for dinner. Grilled steak, grilled chicken, mozzarella with spices in oil and cheese, spinach and artichoke dip as a side. 100% Atkins legal!

Mix up a quart or two of Crystal Light just to have on hand.

• 1 scoop chocolate Designer Whey Powder (2 carbs).
• 1 cup frozen raspberries (6 net carbs).
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries (3.2 net carbs).
• Raspberry Crystal Light to taste and desired consistency (0 carbs).

Add whey powder and frozen berries to blender. Add Crystal Light until berries are barely covered. Blend to desired consistency and add more Crystal Light to taste. Fills one 16 ounce party cup, about 11 net carbs. Add more whey powder or Crystal Light and reduce berries to reduce carbs.

Carla asks, has your weight or your health held you back from anything?

I, too, have been overweight for as long as I can remember. I broke my leg when I was six or seven and got chunky. I then crashed my mountain bike horribly when I was fifteen and got fat when I was laid up and depressed for a Summer. Since then, I’d basically stopped all outdoor activities. No more mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, etc. I used to mountain bike 350 miles per week and that basically stopped overnight after my crash.

That’s one of the reasons I decided to lose weight…I ran across RideMonkey and forgot how much I love mountain biking. Getting back on the saddle was one of the inspirations to lose weight and get back in shape. The main reason, however, is that Kelly wanted to lose weight and needed me to go on a diet as well as support for her. It worked out for quite a while, she lost some weight and I just kept losing (down almost seventy pounds in six months, thirty pounds to go).

For the first time in almost ten years I’m able to ride continuously for ten or twenty miles as well as actually jog. Plus, I’m getting into motorsports and losing weight has done amazing things for my stamina behind the wheel when running six or ten hour rallies.

I’m also much more active with friends…losing weight has boosted my self-esteem and I fit into the trendy garbage that’s been hanging in my closet for years that I hadn’t been able to fit into. And, the cool thing is, all those clothes are no longer current and they’re now retro. Heh.

So, my weight had definitely kept me back from a lot of activities that I used to do. Luckily, with my current rate of weight loss, I won’t have any excuses to procrastinate any longer…I’m almost to my goal weight and, even now, I feel invigorated and inspired enough to try anything!

Skinnykat linked to a New York Post story that claims fat and sugar soaked fast food bits are as addictive as cigarettes and hard drugs. Personally, I’d believe it…before I executed my lifestyle change and started Atkins I was heavily addicted to carbohydrates and didn’t even realize it.

With that said, I’d be inclined to believe that a combination of fat and carbohydrates is probably what’s addicting. Although I still have occasional cravings for nasty carb soaked snacks, they usually turn my stomach. Just the thought of a potato chip nauseates me. And I really couldn’t care less about fatty foods like burgers and cheeses. They’ve become a staple in my diet…but only because they’re quick, convenient and legal on the diet. I’d much prefer a nice cut of lean steak with a side salad.

All of my pants are completely falling off and I’ve punched an additional three holes in my belt over the past few months…it’s quite amusing. I made a conscious decision not to make any wardrobe purchases until I was sure that I was finished losing weight. I already have a whole new virtual wardrobe because, not only can I wear clothes that I haven’t fit into for years, but I also have dozens of tshirts and polos that I’ve received free at hacker and geek conventions that I can finally fit into!

The pants situation, however, is still rather grave, so I decided to pick up a few pairs of shorts last night just to get an idea about my size. Before I started losing weight I was what I like to call a fat man’s 46. Basically, my waist was 48 or 50 but my hips were 46…and I was one of those guys who would wear his pants on the hips below the paunch rather than go for the “old man” look and wear absolutely huge pants halfway up to the chest. Because of this, my pants were at least small enough to keep around for a long time during my weight loss.

The 46 pants slowly moved from the hips to the waist, then started to fall off. So I purchased some 44 pants and shorts. Those have worked fine for a few months but, last night, I decided to pick up some more cheap shorts to tide me over. I went with 42…and it was a mistake. Those are falling off as well! Looks like it’s time to return them for 40 and completely retire all the pairs of 46 that are now wasting space in my drawers!

I have no idea what size I’ll finally end up at…I’m just happy that, until then, I can suck it up and buy cheap WalMart clothes until I can redo my entire wardrobe with some of the trendy garbage that’s floating around at the mall. I mean, I do work for a company whose target demographic is teenieboppers!

I only did two miles on the elliptical this evening instead of the usual four or five. I stopped more out of boredom than anything else…I wasn’t even tired or worn out, I just needed to get back outside. Oh well…maybe tomorrow…