Monday, July 18, 2011

Week 2, Day 1

Officially through the first week!

Current stats - 5.6 lbs lost, so over the weekend when I was allowed to eat slightly more than I had been (a few carbs, a few glasses of wine), I managed to stay exactly where I was Saturday morning. I feel like that's a victory.

Today we're back on the horse. Egg whites, pork chop, no veggies, no starches, nothing tasty at all. If week 1 hadn't gone so well it would be a lot easier just to bag the whole thing, but I suppose its worth a few more days to see if this is sustainable at all.

In other news, I've noticed myself remembering my dreams a lot more than I ever do the past few days. And to be honest, my dreams have been pretty bizarre. Last night involved me being chased through a tropical beach setting by an alligator with only 2 legs. No idea what that's about. But is the remembering part related to diet? Hard to believe there's a correlation.

Hurt my knee at soccer yesterday, so we'll see if I can handle the circuit training tomorrow on it. If not, maybe I'll just do some treadmill and upper body weight stuff. Feeling cautiously optimistic...

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Day 6 - Good News, Bad News

So I'll start with the bad news first. Thursday night, as previously mentioned, I had pre-existing reservations at the new restaurant downtown, Graffiato by Top Chef's Mike Isabella. If it was a traditional Italian restaurant, I could have found Veal Marsala or something similar, eaten my way through some protein and been fine. But since this is "small plate" Italian, it was pretty hard to get more than one or two plates that were pasta/risotto free. Oh well, for the record, the risotto is excellent, and the pepperoni sauce is worth the hype.

It was only a small fall off the wagon though, so I wasn't too disappointed in myself. And it was tempered even further by the fact that in my Thursday morning workout, I was able to jog a mile for the first time in probably 10 years. Total surprise to me, but I just kept going on the treadmill.

Since then, I've been able to get back fully on the program. Even if the food isn't the tastiest ever (I miss salt!), I've stuck to my egg whites, chicken caesar salads, and ground beef with portobello mushroom meals. And I drink enough water to keep a shark alive.

So the best news of the week. Today I gave in and did my first weigh-in. On morning 6 of the program, I'm down 5.6 pounds! To be fair I know its a lot of water weight probably, but still, it did feel good to see a significantly lower number on that scale. Maybe I will just stick with this for a little while and see if I can't make some real headway.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Day 3

Apparently I don't plan ahead very well...

This process would have been a lot easier, if I had looked at a calendar, found a week or two that were relatively quiet, and started then. Nope, not me. Night 2 - Happy Hour.

So after getting up far too early yesterday to begin circuit training (P90X style but not quite the same workout), and a full day of work, I joined my friends for a night at Front Page where they put away 4 hours of Yuenglings and Orange Crushes, and I put away 5 cups of water. This does explain why I have the bladder of a 94-year-old though, since I'm drinking 2 gallons per day.

But the good news is I made it through the event last night. Even ordered a bun-less burger with a fruit cup side instead of french fries. Cheers to willpower!

Today hasn't been too bad, except for the strained hamstrings I feel every time I walk around the office. But tomorrow looms large. Another expert piece of planning...

Reservations at Graffiato, to try one of the newest restaurants in DC. And Italian at that... oy vey.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Day 1

Motivation is hard.

I freely admit, I registered this blog address nearly 8 months ago, intending to do all the New Year's Resolution things and get into shape and be that guy.

But no... eight months later, and I rarely manage to make myself work out more than once a week, I'm still hovering right on the edge of a very round number on the scale. But there is a wedding coming up about 8 weeks from now (not my own), and I'd rather not look quite so plump around the waist.

So today, I launch upon a 12-week (or more if I can handle it), low-carb diet and circuit training plan, that I'm told has helped people lose 20+ pounds in just a few months. This will be a challenge, because:

A: I LOVE carbs.
B: I had no idea how many things you can't eat on a low-carb diet. Seriously, I thought I was a success last year when I cut soda out of my diet and switched to all-natural fruit juices. But now, no juice (too much sugar), very few regular fruits (I'll miss my morning banana - and get your minds out of the gutter), and no rice (I sometimes think I was born half-chinese since I crave dim sum so often).

So far today I had some scrambled egg whites and canadian bacon, and I'm about to polish off my first string cheese of the day as a snack. Obviously, the hard part hasn't kicked in yet, but all my friends swear Day 4 will have me feeling like crap.

Circuit training starts tomorrow morning... updates to follow.