Another day, another loss.

That feels good to be able to say. In the month since I've started this dietbet, I've gone from over 297 (Probably about 300 to 301) to 282.2. Certainly over 15 pounds, probably closer to 16 or 17. That's exactly what I was shooting for. My official dietbet weigh-in is tomorrow. Now in general, I weigh before getting dressed, so the weight may be slightly higher tomorrow, but I don't mind that. So I'll post a picture of my OFFICIAL weigh-in in the morning.

I found last night that one scoop of chocolate protein powder, 1 cup of skim milk, and about a cup or so of frozen strawberries hit with a stick blender is actually pretty darned good. That one's a keeper.

I've been thinking recently about exercise. Probably because I haven't been doing any. I'm going to start getting back on that particular wagon this week. Starting today at lunch. I have decided to raise my calorie intake, just a little, on the days where I actually get to the gym. I'm going to start with a bit of cardio for the next few weeks to make sure to get back into it slowly - walking, with running interspersed. After another few pounds down (10-15 or so, basically until October), I'm going to start adding circuit training again.

I have some goals coming up. And at least one trip planned. Over Halloween my family and I will be heading out to a city about 4 hours south of here for a band competition for my oldest daughter. Halloween is about 9 kinds of triggers all in itself, and with a 72 hour trip thrown in? It has all of the earmarks of personal backsliding and disaster.

And so it will be, if I do nothing between now and the end of October to get ready and make some plans. But I don't intend to allow this to kill the goodness that I'm doing. To be honest, the dietbet is going to go a long way in making sure that I'll keep on track. There's something about the accountability that I just love.

But that won't be enough. So - in the interim, I have to make sure that I've stuck with my eating and exercise, that I've created even more good habits, and that I've made an actual PLAN about how to deal with the weekend.

That is on its way. Before I leave, I will have my written plan for how to not just survive the weekend, but to lose more weight while I'm gone.

I do know that the one uncomditional MUST be - I won't eat any candy of any sort. I may have a treat of some kind that day, but it won't be sugar.

Time to get to work - but I will try to post later about my workout.

Fallout from yesterday

Well, I didn't eat much yesterday other than lunch. I had a yogurt smoothie in the evening, but that was it.

This morning I weighed again. I was down .4. I'm quite happy with that.

I can do this. I can go out - EVERY SO OFTEN - without any ill effects. But - and here's what I think is the key - it has to be the rare exception, and not the rule. And when I go, I have to keep within the realm of what a normal human being should eat.

Here is part of my problem: I think that the little sensor in my stomach - whatever it is that tells the brain that you're full - is broken. I left lunch yesterday, after eating too much food, and I still felt hungry. In the past, I'd stop when I was feeling uncomfortable - I could feel the physical fullness to where it hurt - and I would still feel hungry.

So I need to pay meticulous attention to what I eat. If I pay attention, don't go too nuts, and only do this occasionally, then everything is going to be all right.

That's the theory. We'll see how practice goes.

Cravings. What?

Yeah, so cravings hit yesterday a bit harder than I had expected. For the first time in a few weeks there was some serious temptation. Didn't give in, that's what's most important, but man, this stuff is hard.

Oddly enough it was the day before I went out to lunch with work. We hit a milestone, and my boss took us all to a local Brazilian grill. Quite happy with how it went - Ate a huge salad, kept myself to WAY less meat than I wanted. Still, it was way more calories than I usually eat.

I had thought that we might do something like that today, so I didn't eat breakfast. I'm pretty sure that dinner will be just a protein shake, so I should be good for the day.

The good news is that it was fairly easy to stick to no refined carbs. Two very small pieces of bread - about the size of a silver dollar. That was it. But man, the meat...LOTS of yummy skewered meat. Too good.

I did also stick to the diet soda. Even though their bottomless flavored Brazilian lemonades are incredible. No point in drinking an extra thousand calories.

I know that in my life things like this are going to happen. There is no way that for the rest of my life I won't go out to eat. It's a part of the culture that I live in. So I'm going to see how this goes today. And then tomorrow. And then the weekend. If I'm still good on Monday, I'll be good.

Speaking of the weekend - I'm going to be adding back in just a few types of carbs starting Saturday. One slice of wheat bread, maybe a tortilla, things like that. I don't want to go back to eating peanut butter sandwiches all day long, but I need some more carbs.

Still - I want to keep off of what my trainer calls "Crack carbs." Those things that you eat a little and crave them. No sugar. No sugar drinks. Keep off of the cookies/cake. At the very least until I get much closer to weight.

I'm conflicted about what to do about desserts and the like for the rest of my life. On one hand, I'd like to be able to have a treat here and there. On the other hand, I know what they do to me.

For now, though, I'm keeping those things out of either hand.

Moving forward...

Another day, another loss.

Mind you, it's only down .2. But that is 700 calories that I will never have to lose again. Or at least, that's the idea.

I'm going to try out posting some similar topics every day to see if it can keep me thinking about the things that I need to think about.

Where's my head:

Cravings are at a bit of a minimum so far today. I haven't actually eaten anything yet, and it's 10:30 - yes, that's a bad thing, but since I got to work I've been BUSY.

This means to me that I need to have more low-calorie snacks on hand. A few almonds and an apple would have been very welcome.

There is a better than even chance that my boss will take us out for lunch tomorrow. Happy day, we've released some new features, and they have been a hit - the whole process has gone off without a hitch. A celebration, apparently, is in order.

I'll have to see what I can do to steer the lunch in a direction where I can get something that aligns with my goals.

It's interesting. When I started the weight-loss competition, I let everyone know. It was "official." But this time, I'm trying to go about it more quietly. I want to just make changes, not make some temporary "official" changes.

It's a minor difference in my head. I don't know if it's important. But I'm fairly sure that it doesn't matter, either.

Anyway, so far so good. I'll be getting lunch in about an hour. Not sure yet what I'm going to eat, but I'll keep it good. Maybe they've got some fruit downstairs right now...

What - I'm supposed to write EVERY DAY?

Maybe that's why my posts are becoming shorter - I think I need to do some sort of check-in when I post. That might give me something to talk about. :)

I can feel things working. That is awesome. But I can also remember what it was like to be a lot more fit - it was just over a year ago. So I'm impatient. I want to be there NOW!

But totally neglecting myself for over a year is not something that can be undone quickly. I know this - I understand this - I get this. And yet, it can be hard and frustrating sometimes.

I think I'll just focus on how my clothes aren't as tight. And how my belt doesn't hurt. And how I've actually been able to be happy with food choices recently.

That'll do. For now.

It works. Every single time.

Nothing earth shattering - if I eat good food - correct portions - and don't eat crap food - I will lose weight. It happens.

I do have to ask the question of myself - why is it that I don't do this all the time? I'm needing to try to find whatever balance it is that I'm going to end up having for the rest of my life.

I've cut out all refined carbs - no bread, no pasta, no rice (quinoa is OK), and ABSOLUTELY no sugar. But this is not something that I feel that I can do forever. There has to be some sort of balance.

So starting Saturday I'm going to start SLOWLY reintroducing just a few carbs - still no sugar, but I will have a piece of bread every so often.

Of course, I haven't been perfect on the carb ban - I went camping on Friday night. I had two light bratwurst sausage links for dinner and some Plumcots. It was pretty good. But in the morning, I helped the scouts cook breakfast burritos, and without thinking I ate one. It was a flour tortilla.

And you know what? I don't even feel bad. I needed the energy, and frankly, the bigger ban on carbs is the sugar. And my cravings have gone way down. Not to zero - I don't think they will ever go away - but they have lessened to about 15-20% of what they used to be.

I need to do an official weigh-in - that is with a pic and everything, but my weight is now 284.6. The official start of the dietbet is 297, and I'm nearly 100% sure that in the week after it started that i went up between 2 and 4 pounds before heading back down.

So like I said, this is working. I'm pretty stoked about it. I've got some goals that I've set for myself, and I'm hitting all of them.

And I am FINALLY starting to feel some differences in how my clothes are fitting.

This is hard stuff. I have to continually watch what it is that I'm eating and fighting against what it is that I really want to do.

But it is working. And so far, that is enough to keep it going.

Finally starting to notice the changes.

There usually comes a point when I'm doing well where I can start to feel changes. Today I have reached that point. I love when this happens. It helps to create the positive feedback loop - I do well, so I feel better and notice changes, which makes it easier to do well, which brings more positive changes...

I've been here before. I keep pondering on how to try to keep this going long term. I'm fairly sure that I've got to pretty much keep all of the crap carbs out of my life. I know I won't be this low carb my whole life. But there are certain habits that I can't go back to.

I've got some thinking to do. And some planning.

Wow - missed a day.

Sometimes days go by so fast. Yesterday was one of them.

I'm kind of glad. Yesterday morning I weighed myself, and I had gone up two pounds from last Saturday. NOT the kind of thing you like to see.

Still, I know that weight fluctuates, and this is normal. So this morning's weight was 4.2 pounds down from yesterday.

I'm a happy camper.

It's times like these that make saying "no" to all of the foods that I turn down worth it.

I am worth it.

Speaking of that...time for lunch. ;)

Another Monday morning

So I "ran" a 10K on Saturday. I put the "ran" in quotes, not because I was slow, but because I did not run all 6.1 miles. I think I would have been able to do much better, but I have to say that cutting out most carbohydrates the week before a race is NOT the best way to get a good time.

Not that I care, mind you. I was just happy to go all the way to the end. The only real issue is that without any carbs, I had ZERO energy after about mile 3.

I did decide to eat a piece of bread with peanut butter on the morning of the race. It was probably the right thing to do.

But I went straight back to no more refined carbs again.

Still feeling strong. Right where I want to be.

***Edit***

Forgot to add...

Due to some mixup in ordering, instead of a small trinket that finishers were supposed to be given on finishing, everyone got the large medal that was supposed to be given to the winners. :) Kinda fun.

Easing up a bit?

Maybe it's just early on in the day. Maybe it's the fact that it's DAY 7...but so far the cravings have been significantly less.

I do know that I should probably tweak my intake a bit. I need more carbohydrates. I have been feeling slightly strange, in that I can feel that I do not have enough energy. So I am going to add even more fruit and veggies. Especially fruit, which is a happy thought.

I am feeling good about things today, though. I'm somewhere around 8 pounds down in the last week alone. Water weight some of it, but all of it happy.

I'm going to go get something to drink and eat an apple and some carrots. I'll be back later.

Um...WOW.

I've been trying to find something that is a bit of a treat. I actually think I found it yesterday...

1 C skim milk
1 scoop Chocolate protein powder
1 small handful ice
1 tsp creamy peanut butter

Blend.

I had a TON of calories left over yesterday, so I made a double batch. It was INCREDIBLE.

I'll be looking for more recipes in the coming days. Anyone have any good ones?

There is always a choice.

I have a party for work tonight. Dinner was a barbecue. I was rather worried about finding something I can eat. Next month I'd eat the burger. But today, so soon after restricting? Not yet. 

So here is what I found:

That works for me. 

Struggling. But not how you'd think.

OK - full disclosure - I am struggling not to eat any carbs. But I'm winning that struggle. That one I can live with.

The struggle that is causing problems right now is internal.

I've lost a lot of weight, and been down to goal. Twice now.

There was a day, after losing all of the weight the first time, that a friend came up to me and asked how I did it. (He's a Physical Therapist, and very much into health). When I told him it was a combination of eating less and moving more, he told me that he wished everyone would do that, instead of <insert anything here>. Then he told me about his wife's comment - that she had noticed how much weight I had lost. It made me feel good.

During the second weight loss, after about 40 pounds, another friend came up to me and asked if I had lost weight. It was rather gratifying. I told him that yes, and that I had joined a weight loss competition. It was another good moment, made me realized that I was getting results.

It's remembering times like those that make me not want to be around those people anymore. Whether or not it's true, I feel as if they are judging me. They noticed the weight loss, what makes me think that they won't notice the weight gain? It's not like it was a subtle gain.

I have to keep reminding myself that I am where I am - and I can do absolutely nothing more than to make today a good day. All I can do is right now. I can choose what I eat. I can choose to move. I can make the correct choices. Eventually all of the other stuff (the actual numbers) will sort itself out.

Still...there's always the voice in the back of my mind...

Shut up voice. I'm busy living right now.

Slogging through the first week.

Good news is that I new it would be hard. More good news is that I've done it before, I'll do it again.

Bad news is that anyone reading this gets to hear me whining...this is still hard stuff.

But so far so good. Nothing passing my lips that shouldn't.

MyFitnessPal is telling me good news - if I stuck with this, in 5 weeks I'd be down about 11-12 pounds. To be honest, I hope to lose more than that. But I'd take it for sure.

Be back later today...

Getting rid of addiction SUCKS.

Yesterday I had headaches and dizziness. Refined carb detox really does suck. But it is really making me realize how severely I have become dependent on sugar (and everything that instantly metabolizes to sugar).

I have also been chuckling at how many crap carbs come up all the time. From the first day...

Day 1 - Cake
Day 3 - Cake
Day 4 - Bagels

I've passed on all of it. I'm taking this detox seriously.

And the results are already on their way. Since Saturday I'm down about 6 pounds. Of course, a lot of that is certainly going to be water weight, but I know that some of it isn't.

The hardest thing is, really, finding stuff to eat. So much of what most people consume has bread in it. Or rice. Or potatoes.

Lean protein and fruits and vegetables. That's my mantra for the next while.

Time to get back to work...

Slow start, but WORKING.

My last post was about joining a 6-month DietBet. The first 5 days were trying one thing after another to get food under control. It didn't work too well.

It took until day 6 - FINALLY. I have decided to go drastic for the next month or so. I have cut out ALL refined carbohydrates. Bread, rice, sugar, flour, all of it gone for the next while. So far, it has been great.

I'm on day 3 of this. I did it in the past - back when I joined the weight-loss competition, this is something that my trainer had me do for a month. It is hard. I know for a fact that I have addiction issues with food, specifically sugar. Well, the withdrawals have kicked in - I have had some serious headaches since Saturday.

But I have so far been able to stick with it. If I am not eating too many simple carbs, I'm not craving as much.

AS MUCH, that is. I'm still hungry. But it is easier.

Once the next few weeks pass, it is going to get significantly easier. At least, that is what happened last time.

So things are good. I went the wrong way for the first 5 days, and I'm going the right way now.

Day 3 is fine. It's going to take 6 months to see how it truly works.

DietBet anyone?

It's funny - I know what to do, I know how to do it, but without correct motivation, I don't. I have to find a way to be motivated for the long term. But at the moment, I need a kick in the rear. 

So I've joined a DietBet. I've done some in the past, and it has worked. I've done the 4 week ones where you have to lose 4%. But this time I joined the one that lasts 6 months. I have to lose a total of 10% over 5 months and then maintain for the 6th. 

The deal is that as little me as I follow my other plan, this is guaranteed to work. 

Weigh-in was this morning. I was distressed. But I am moving forward. 

More to come...