Week 2 End

bad mirror selfie 1/16/2016
Down about 15 lbs.

It has been a good 2 weeks. I am down roughly 15 lbs (unofficial check of the scale this morning), but will officially weigh in this evening. I have declared this a cheat day and will (within reason) treat myself to whatever I want.

I saw an inspiring video online yesterday. It was of a 22 year old man who lost 160 lbs over two years. He, like me, just decided to take his life back. (https://youtu.be/ydIdmOWHc2I) He did it the right way and now is prepared to live his new life. Had I not already decided to do this, I think it might have inspired me to take the step. His overweight life did leave him with the consequence of much too much leftover skin in the end, but he is ok with that too and is happily living the life that he reclaimed.

You might look at the incredible amount I've lost over 2 weeks and say, hey you should lose your 100 lbs in 5 or 6 months instead of a year! Well, I have no illusions that this quick and easy loss will continue much longer. Experience tells me that it will slow in the next few weeks and I will have to be very committed to make that 100 in 1 year. But, I can't lie. I do like the fact that it's been relatively easy so far. Many look at fat people and want to give us advice. The truth is, many, if not most of us, know more about dieting and nutrition than you fit people. We've studied and battled it for years, but for varying reasons have lost the battle. I have lost and won many battles where my weight is concerned. This time, I intend to win not only the battle, but bring the war to an end as well.


While I've lost nearly 15 lbs, in my case, it doesn't even show yet. I like to say "it's like taking a bucket of sand off the beach. Nobody notices until you dig a big hole.". I have not taken this blog public yet (haven't promoted it) because I'm waiting for someone at work to notice that I've lost weight. Once people can see the change in me and know that I am serious, I won't be afraid to let them follow my journey. What I don't need right now, especially in the beginning, is naysayers bringing me down (and there are plenty around me). I realize that's an insecurity on my part, but I just feel I need to be sure before I let others in on my quest. I have told some trusted friends of my plan to lose 100 lbs this year. The response has been "that's good", but I can tell, most don't believe it yet. It will be sweet when it really starts to show and people take my resolve more seriously.

Update:

1/16/2016  down 13.8 lbs

I did indulge in an excess of my daily allotted calories today, but did not go overboard. I exceeded the recommended calories by 664. With the many underages this week, (2754 total) I'm not overly concerned. I also missed the 15 lb mark by 1.2 lbs on my weigh-in, but again, I'm not overly concerned as my weight loss has be much higher than planned or worked for.

What did I do on my "cheat" day? (I think I am going to change it to "treat" day. It's more positive) I went out shopping with the wife and we stopped at a restaurant called Primanti Brothers. They are a famous bar and grill in Pittsburgh who has now franchised and has a place locally.

awesome sandwich for "treat day"

I decided I would order exactly what I wanted and not sweat the calories. I did however log them to continue to be accountable. I had a Capicola and Cheese Sandwich, which included the traditional fries, coleslaw and tomatoes on it. Total calories 775. We also split an appetizer of fried batter dipped pickles with my share of the calories coming to 696. I drank a diet coke (0 calories). Total calories from lunch, 1471. That's more than I usually eat in 2 meals, but it was great and I am glad I allowed myself that indulgence.

When I say that's more than I usually eat in two meals I do not want to leave the impression I starve myself. That is not a healthy way to lose weight. I do snack and do fill in a reasonable amount of calories for a grown man. The app I'm using calculates a 2 lb/week loss for me at 2280 calories/day. As my weight goes down, it will recalculate and eventually lower my calories in order to maintain the weight loss goal.

For breakfast today I splurged and ate a full bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios (about 3 cups) with Almond Breeze Almond milk (vanilla/unsweetened). The almond milk is so much lower in calorie than even 1% milk (30/cup) and has a good taste. Total breakfast calories were 250. When I say that I splurged, I mean that I usually eat about 1 cup of some plain unsweetened cereal.

Finally for dinner, I ate spaghetti w/meatballs. I had about 4 cups of spaghetti with about 1/2 cup of Prego Heart Smart Traditional sauce and 4 Armour bite sized meatballs. Total calories 1136.

I also ate a snack of about 30 g of cheez-it crackers in the late afternoon. Total calories there 225.

I'm not putting all these stats in to bore you. I am more concerned that those who are reading this and trying to lose weight themselves, understand the importance of a food log of some sort. Is it a pain? Absolutely! But, if not accounting for what they eat, most people eat way more than they think they do. I started out with a notebook and pen along with a calorie counting book to look up foods many years ago. It worked, but was difficult. Remember, this isn't my first foray into weight loss. That's why I'm a big proponent of the MyFitnessPal app. It allows me to log my food on the go and has great resources for looking up nutritional content of most anything. The scan tool is amazing and makes adding ingredients to a recipe a snap. At some point I may add a little video showing just how easy it is. I highly recommend this app if you are serious about losing some weight. And no I don't have any vested interest in it beyond using it, and am not being compensated in any way.

This is about taking charge of your life and holding yourself accountable for it. I have a very long way to go, but I'm in it for the long haul. 

I also booked our family beach vacation today for the end of this summer. I am looking forward to being 60-70 lbs lighter and able to be more active than that same time last year. One day, one week, one month at a time. I didn't gain this weight in a few months and it won't go away in that period either.

Here's some additional "before" pics from today.

January 16 2016 (361.6 lbs)