I’m sorry I lied to you.

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February 19, 2012

Well, hey. Yesterday I said I was doing no-weigh February. Turns out I couldn’t keep off the scale. I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing, considering what I saw when I got on.

270 -10 Pounds!

It was totally worth it. Ten pounds gone, off of my body, OUT OF HERE. Gone. Separated. Good riddance. After 49 days, that’s nearly a fifth of a pound per day. This low carb diet is working. I feel lighter. I feel stronger. And I feel encouraged. These ten felt like I gained an extra hour of sunshine each day and the next ten will hopefully feel just as good. All I have to do is keep on eating healthy and exercising 6 days a week. I’d really like to thank everyone who’s encouraged me to keep this going. It really does mean the world to me. Knowing someone out there is rooting for you is a blessing, and it’s made each day a little easier. Sincerely, thank you.

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Oh, hey. It’s been a while.

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February 17, 2012

Sorry about that. My time management leaves a lot to be desired.  I’ll make an effort to get more content out there more quickly.
    I’ve been down in the dumps, lately: missing carbs, and I’ve already given in to having a desert most nights for the past week.  I feel like I’ve lost the path a little bit, but I’m certainly not giving up. I’ve just got to get this outta my system. Next week, it’s back to salads with a side of lettuce.
Side note : Don’t expect any weight ins this month. It’s no-weigh February, and I’m participating. Exciting to see the progress ill make by the end of the month.

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Weigh In: 273.2

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January 27, 2012
273 -2.8 Pounds

I’m back in the game! After beefing up my exercise regimen to 40 minutes a day, almost three more pounds have fallen off. I feel happier, and lighter. My buddy Justin (who write another great blog, by the by) complimented me yesterday, which really lifted my spirits. I’ve stopped using LoseIt, which is a standby for most in the weight loss community. Dining halls aren’t known for their varied selection, so most of the time I end up eating the same thing everyday – Chef’s salad, stir fry, or – my breakfast standby - omelets. I’ll still use it to graph my weight, but that’s only because it’s more convenient than trying to graph it myself.

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Infographic : Fats don’t make us fat – Carbs do.

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January 27, 2012

I’m no scientist, so I can’t vouch for this infographic’s reliability. I found this on /r/keto today, and figured it would be worth sharing. Make your own decisions of what it claims.

 

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Weigh In: 276lb

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January 20, 2012
276 +2 Pounds

Well, there’s the first hurdle. I’ve gained two pounds, but I can only think of one reason. This week has had a lot of snacking. Mostly on the veggie straws. Damn you, veggie straws. I mean, they’re well within my Carb limit, but my intuition tells me that the sodium content is killing me. I’ll have to watch that now, too. If anyone with more health-sense than myself ends up reading this (which could be nearly anyone), please let me know if you’ve got any different ideas.

Other than that, the exercise regimen is going well. 30 minutes everyday. Mainly Racquetball. Or, just chasing the ball around the room. I’m planning on stepping it up soon.

One side note, I’m planning on moving this blog schedule to weekly updates, instead of daily. With school starting back up, there’s much less time to write than before. School comes first, health second, blogging third. Hopefully, that won’t be a reflection in quality, only quantity. In the meantime, I’m sure I’ll be tweeting up a storm through the tweetbox.

Damn you, Veggie Straws. You are the devil's work.

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Nutrition Fictions

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January 18, 2012

Houston, we have a problem. Nutrition Facts – the lifeblood of any solid diet – are unreliable here at the dorms. Maybe that’s a harsh word. But they aren’t exactly up to my expectations. You see, above each buffet item at Cobeen (one of the most popular dining halls on campus) is a little nutrition facts label. The main issue I’ve found – and the most pertinent to my diet style – is that the Carb information is nearly always cut off. If it isn’t cut off entirely, the first digit is. Since Carbohydrate is such a long word, the number is pushed down to the next line, into Sodium’s real estate. I know this is a little tough to visualize without a picture, and I’m kicking myself for not getting one while I was in line, but bear with me.

The problem is that some dishes – potentially healthy dishes - have missing data. Now, this isn’t a big deal for some dishes. A hamburger is roughly the same carbs, no matter how you grill it. But more complex dishes, like soups, or stir fry, or anything like it, can vary wildly, depending on how they’re prepared. I think I’ve got two options.

One: Only eat foods that have a clear Carb label. 

Two: Ask the kitchen staff to replace the labels.

Now, Two is definitely the most effective option here. But that’s not what I’m going to do. Nutrition facts aren’t available on every campus. In fact, as far as I know, most campuses don’t give nutrition facts. So - merely as an experiment – I’ll see what it’s like to live without labels for a while. I’ll avoid looking at nutrition facts, and I’ll make decisions purely from the gut. Or, the brain. Putting the gut up to this test would probably be a terrible idea. Here’s to science!

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That’s the plan, Stan.

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January 16, 2012

Planning is important in any diet. Planning before you go out is the best way to shave calories off what could be a catastrophic night. And planning for any major changes is a must. As many of us transition back into school life, keep a few things in mind.

1. Know your Gym.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a campus without a recreation center. If you don’t know where it is, research. You’ve got Google Maps. Damn. And even if you find that your gym is on the other side of campus, don’t let that stop you. You’re aiming to exercise, after all – make the walk part of your workout.

2. Get your schedule down.

I’m no scientist, but I’ve heard that exercising at the same time everyday is the best way to plan for. If you can, I’d shoot for that. Sadly, most class schedules don’t work that way. Just be sure to know what time is best to exercise everyday. That way you can know whether or not you’ll have any ‘trouble days’.  And it’s alright if just can’t get any exercise in some days – remember, this is about a lifestyle change, not punishing yourself. What you can’t do, you can’t do. Just feel really, really guilty about it.

3. Pack snacks.

Good luck finding any healthy options when you’re walking around campus. Best you’re going to find is those little Humus snack packs. I don’t think those are even on most campuses. You’ve got to bring your own. Because you will have to run to class without lunch one day, and you will be dreaming of hamburgers if you don’t have your damn snack.

4. Know the dorm food.

Hamburgers are tasty, but they can kill you. There’s probably a healthy dining hall – if you have separate dining halls – you just need to find it. For me, that’s Straz. The dining hall I should avoid? Schroeder  - it’s all bread and pasta. Those Italians really know how to kill people.

Planning is important. And I’m not usually a planning guy. Hell, you can plan all day, but it doesn’t matter a bit until you’re out there living it. But even if it doesn’t work, you know what went wrong. If you can adapt, you can make it. That’s all it takes.

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I love LoseIt (and not the one you’re thinking of.)

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January 15, 2012

Hey, guess what! I’m a college kid. Being a college kid, I spend all my time on Reddit. Every waking moment is Reddit. I’m certainly more of a lurker than an active participant, but I have a few subreddits that I live by.

First: /r/moderatepolitics: best place I’ve found to read reasonable people talk politics.

Second: /r/askreddit: It’s utter, utter trash. And I love it.

Third, and most relevant to this post: /r/loseit.

Real people, with real results. Dialog. An active community. It’s the perfect place for anyone looking to lose, or people who are just looking for shocking before/afters (of which there are dozens). The community has never been anything but helpful, and It’s quickly becoming my go-to tip site for weight loss. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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Don’t let anyone tell you skiing is fun.

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January 14, 2012

Does this man look happy? BECAUSE HE ISN'T.

Skiing is the worst parts of walking combined with all the parts of slipping. When you go out to ski, you expect that you’ll be gliding around and swooping down hills. Wrong.  Your ankles do this thing where they tilt outwards every few steps or so, and you’re constantly about to fall. Most of the energy used in skiing is just trying to keep your legs straight. Oh, and it’s cold. You can’t even do it when it’s nice outside. It requires you  to be miserable.

It’s 100% pain. Pain on ice. Ice-pain. I moved an average of  1.0 mph.  Babies crawl faster than that. But that’s what skiing is like. Never go skiing. Ever. If your friends pay you to go skiing – don’t go. They are terrible friends. And your glasses get fogged up – ugh. It’s the worst.

 

On the bright side, I burned 677 calories. NOT EVEN WORTH IT.  (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

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Back off doughnuts. I’m biking.

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January 12, 2012

Nothing that shiny should be put in your mouth.

Today, I sat next to a pile of doughnuts. 4 hours next to my nemesis. And I didn’t eat a single one. I was weak for a few minutes  - I googled the nutrition facts to see if I could fit it into my carb budget. For the record, I don’t believe a doughnut is only 18g. Nothing with that much sugar could be that reasonable. But I realized something before temptation got to me – that’s not food. It would’ve felt like a defeat. So, I didn’t eat it. I felt like a king, and I hadn’t even eaten anything yet.

Then, when I got back home, I exercised. And I took it up a notch by pedaling the hell out of the last five minutes of the cycle. It was a very healthy day, and I can feel every once of it. I’ve heard that exercise is about long-term gratification. I don’t think that’s entirely true. Exercise hurts like hell. On the whole, I don’t like it. It’s literally a pain in the ass. But the after-effects are worth it. You sleep deeper. You feel happier. And that happens right after you’ve finished. It’s enough to keep me motivated into the next session. Let’s hope it lasts.

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