Mark's Updates

[kramday]

place holder for overview type message of the current plan

[kramday]

Feb 9th Health Update

My weight this morning was 251, which is pretty much where it has been for the last few weeks. I have been working out more lately, but the eating has just been really bad. Way too much junk and fast food.

Workout goals for the week

02/09 — Elliptical Machine
02/10 — Elliptical Machine
02/11 — 10 Minute Trainer: Yoga Flex
02/12 — day off
02/13 — Elliptical Machine
02/14 — 10 Minute Trainer: Yoga Flex
02/15 — day off

Actual workouts from last week
02/02 — Elliptical Machine: 20 mins. Program 3. Felt really good. Ready to make the jump up to 30 min workouts.
02/03 — Elliptical Machine: 20 mins. Program 3. First back-to-back workouts since I started up again. Legs felt a little tired at first, but got going after a few minutes.
02/04 — Day off.
02/05 — Elliptical Machine: 30:00. Program 4. This was my first workout at 30 mins. Felt pretty good. The legs were a little heavy at certain points. Plus, I was trying to keep my feet flat on the pedal to help with the plantar fasciitis. The left leg didn’t like that though.
02/06 — 10 Minute Trainer: Yoga Flex: Did this about an hour before VB. Felt really good. Need to make a better effort to do this program on a regular basis.
02/06 — Volleyball: 1 hour. I played pretty well tonight. Plus my body didn’t feel that bad. That is a nice change. We’ll see how I feel in the morning though.
02/07 — Day off. Actually pretty sore from volleyball.
02/08 — Day off. Feeling better from basketball. First day of wearing the foot orthotics out and about. Some hip and knee pain on the left side, but I that had been there off and one for a while beforehand as well. So I’m not sure if it was related to the orthotics or not.

[kramday]

Well, nice follow through on my part.

Actually, I was pretty confident that there wouldn't be an update for the 16th, since I was out in Denver the whole week. My plane left Monday at 8:30 and I got in at midnight on Friday. Still, I had hoped to get an update in on the 23rd.

My weight has remained pretty steady around 251. The official weigh-in will be tomorrow (Monday) morning, so we'll see if that holds true.

I haven't done a lot in the last few weeks. I got on the elliptical machine a few times the week of the 9th, but that seemed to be bothering my left hip and lower back. I took the rest of the week off, to give my feet more time to adjust to the orthotics. I was feeling better by the time the trip to Denver came along, but I couldn't put them in my dress shoes. Still, I came back from Denver feeling much better than I expected. Not great mind you, but better than expected.

I went to the chiropractor on Monday and had my trainer stretch me out on Tuesday. The result of that was that I was feeling pretty good by the time volleyball came around on Friday night. I didn't do a ton of jumping (and no diving), but I did do some. This was the first game with the orthotics and they made a huge difference. Yesterday, I played around on the Wii Fit with the family, getting in about 35 mins total. That was a lot of fun. Even though I am feeling a little sore today, I expect to get on the elliptical machine tonight. Tomorrow will definitely be a day off though.

The goal going forward is to post something here every weekday. Not necessarily purely health related, but something either on that or progress towards the 101 goals. Or whatever else strikes my fancy. Feel free to call me out on that if it doesn't happen.

I'll be posting them here and on my "blog". The blog posts will automatically feed into Facebook, so if you are on there (and if not, why not?) then you might see these updates a couple of times.

[kramday]

I mentioned in my last post that I want to try and post something everyday. Here is my general plan, though I know I won’t stick to it 100%.

1. Monday — Health Updates. This will be a review of what I did last week and what I plan to do for this week.
2. Tuesday — Misc Updates. This could be whatever strikes my fancy. It might be a new book I am reading, my sleep pattern for the last week, or the crazy thing that the cats did.
3. Wednesday — 101 Goals Update. This will show my progress (or lack of) towards the 101 Goal list. Hopefully, it will be a place to plan out the remaining goals to get them off the list.
4. Thursday — Mid-Week Exercise Check-In. The plan is to review how the week is actually going.
5. Friday — Specific 101 Goal Update. I’ll take a particular item off the 101 list and review it. The baking bread post is probably the best example currently.

There you have the plan. Now lets see if it survives contact with the enemy.

[kramday]

My weight this morning was 251, again. I already addressed a lot of the issues in the post yesterday, so I won’t go over everything again.

Workout goals for the week

03/02 — 10 Minute Trainer: Yoga Flex
03/03 — Elliptical Machine
03/04 — Elliptical Machine
03/05 — 10 Minute Trainer: Yoga Flex
03/06 — day off (no volleyball)
03/07 — Elliptical Machine
03/08 — 10 Minute Trainer: Yoga Flex

Actual workouts from last week

02/27 — Volleyball: 2 hours. The night kind of started slow. Was having trouble getting into the first set of games. But then I played again during the second how and that was a lot of fun. Of course, we were playing with the Trainer ball that hour. It is really, really soft and does some crazy things in flight. That might have helped. Regardless, my back didn’t feel too bad afterward. Not great, but after two weeks off it felt better than I thought it would.
02/28 — Wii Fit: 00:35:00. It was a lot of fun, but also showed how far I had let myself go. It said my Wii Fit age was 54. I knew my BMI would be high, and it came in at 35.3.
03/01 — Elliptical Machine: 00:30:00. Program 4. Felt good. Noticed my left hip and back a little bit, but nothing like before. Definitely need to do more stretching though.

[kramday]

I posted this on the blog, which means it will feed into Facebook. So some of you might see it a couple of times.

Recently the scale hit 266.5, which was pretty annoying. I can’t remember the last time I was this heavy, if ever. Thanks to the Kludys, I have been getting in some exercise over the last few weeks. But my eating habits have been horrible, with way too much fast food and sweets. I was talking to my mom and sister and they mentioned that they had picked up The Food Lovers Fat Loss System. They weren’t sure when they were going to start it though, so I borrowed and started it today.

While there is more to it than this, it basically comes to a couple of basic ideas. First, eat every two or three hours to ramp up your metabolism. Second, when you eat try to get one protein, one fast carb, and one slow carb. A fast carb is one that turns to sugar quickly and a slow carb typically has more fiber. I have heard the first idea, in a couple of different variations, for a while but have never tried it.

The main appeal to me is that there is a 21 Day quick start guide that gradually introduces the changes. While some days will incorporate more changes than others, I won’t be feeling that I am making drastic changes all at once.

For the first day, here are the goals.

1. Start eating every two or three hours.
2. Write down everything that you eat.
3. Listen to the Day 1 Audio Program.
4. Read about what he calls the Fat Loss Plate.

I think I got off to a decent start.

1. I already snack way to much, so this was a nice way of looking at the clock and saying yes or now. One thing that worked well for me back in 2007 was to eat a later lunch. This will be a nice way to get back into that habit.

2. See below.

3. The audio program was very much in the infomercial category. That isn’t too surprising since it is day one, but hopefully they will get better.

4. I had already read about the fat loss plate before today, but I am guessing that those pages will be something that I refer to frequently during the 21 days. And possibly beyond.

Food Log

Breakfast: 10:25am, 5 mins after waking up
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Croissant, 12 oz. Diet Citrus Drop

Lunch: 12:35pm, 2:10 after breakfast
Ham and Swiss sandwich, 12 oz. Diet Lemon Lime Pop

Snack: 2:30pm, 1:55 after lunch
half slice of lemon cake

Snack: 4:45pm, 2:45 after snack
half slice of lemon cake

Dinner: 7:45pm, 3:00 after snack
2 Wendy’s Double Stack, small fry, 12 oz. Diet Lemon Lime Pop, double-chocolate cookie

Snack: 10:30pm, 2:15 after dinner
Apple Fiber One bar

[BigDog]

You go, boy! Fight the good fight.

(Damn those double-stacks are evil...)

[kramday]

Thanks Big. The double-stacks are definitely evil.

The goal is to post about the program and progress for the next 21 days. So, if I don't post something feel free to call me out. Same goes if I post something and the food log is just crap.

[kramday]

Day two and no real snags. I did miss a snack at 5:30p, as I was wrapping thing up at work and was heading out to the Kludys to ride. I did 5 miles with Jen and then hit the bow flex with Chris. Both felt really good and I am feeling it as I am typing this up.

Here are the goals for the second day:

1. Learn to Make a Fat Loss Plate.
2. Choose 3 Fat Loss Plates You Love.
3. Upgrade Your Snacks.
4. Get Ready to make a Fast Loss Breakfast for Tomorrow.
5. Listen to the Day 1 Audio Program.

And here are the results:

1. I kind of, but not really, cheated here. Instead of preparing the meal myself, I looked in the Dining Out section and picked something I knew I liked and would be easy to get. The results was Wendy’s Mandarin Chicken Salad, which is quite tasty. I has the combination of chicken, mandarin oranges, and lettuce.

2. I actually need to spend some more time looking at this. But if I had to choose 3 right now it would be the salad already mentioned, grilled chicken w/broccoli and corn, and grilled salmon w/green beans and baked potato.

3. My go to snack will probably be Clif Bars, however I did pick up some Almond butter at the store the other night. I could see a slice of bread and almond butter being a regular thing as well.

4. Now that I am out of the Breakfast Croissants, I think I am going to take up eating cereal in the morning for the rest of the week. I’m nothing if not lazy.

5. Today’s program was better. I have been listening at night and should probably try to listen to them during the day. Try to keep up the motivation.

Food Log

Breakfast: 9:35am, 10 minutes after waking up
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Croissant, 12 oz. Diet Citrus Drop

Snack: 12:30pm, 1:55 after breakfast
Apple Fiber One bar

Lunch: 2:50pm, 2:20 after snack
2 Morning Star Farms Grillers Original on buns, 12 oz. Diet Lemon Lime

Dinner: 10:45pm, 7:55 after lunch
Wendy’s Mandarin Chicken Salad (with Almonds, no dressing or crispy noddles), 12 oz. Diet Lemon Lime

Exercise Log

Walk: 2:15pm
one mile around the neighborhood

Bike: 7pm
Time: 26 Mins 42 Secs, Distance: 5.12 Miles, Avg Speed: 11.4 MPH, Max Speed: 21.5 MPH, the last leg of the loop was pretty slow and dropped the average speed down from almost 12 MPH.

Bowflex: 8:40pm
We did bench press, rows, military press, lat pull down, biceps, triceps, abs, and obliques. I skipped the legs after the bike ride.

[kramday]

Pretty decent day today. Got off to a slight snag this morning, when I found out the milk in my fridge was bad. There went the idea of having cereal. Also, old habits die hard as my intention for lunch was to have 1 chik pattie and broccoli, instead of my normal 2 chik patties. But when it came time for lunch, I didn’t even think about it and two patties went into the microwave. Still, I don’t think either was a huge deal.

Here are the goals for the third day:

1. Eat a Fat Loss Breakfast as Soon as You Get Up.
2. Plan Tomorrow’s Eating Schedule.
3. Get Ready for Tomorrow.
4. Listen to the Day 3 Audio Program.
5. Make either Lunch or Dinner a Fat Loss Plate.

And here are the results:

1. Whoops. As I mentioned above, the plan to get the protein from the milk went down the drain this morning. Since my sister gave me some homemade waffles last weekend, I decided to go with those instead. Pretty tasty.

2. This is what I am currently thinking for tomorrow:
Breakfast: 10am, waffles w/syrup and glass of milk (probably have the pop as well for the caffeine)
Snack: 12:30pm, Clif Bar
Lunch: 3pm, grilled chicken and broccoli with cheese sauce (leftovers)
Dinner: 6-7pm, I’ll probably end up looking through his dining out options
Snack: 10-11pm, Apple Fiber One Bar

3. I have everything listed above already, so I’m good to go there.

4. I had a doctor’s appointment today, so I listened to the program on the way there. He has definitely moved into “program” mode from “infomercial” mode. The programs are fairly short, which helps.

5. I went with dinner as the Fat Loss plate tonight. The chicken breast that I pulled out of the freezer was pretty large, so there are leftovers for tomorrow.

Food Log

Breakfast: 10:05am, 5 minutes after waking up
2 waffles w/syrup, 12 oz. Diet Citrus Drop

Lunch: 12:30pm, 2:25 after breakfast
2 Morningstar Farms Chik patties, 12 oz. Diet Lemon Lime

Snack: 4:30pm, 4:00 after lunch
Chocolate Chip Clif Bar

Dinner: 7:30pm, 3:00 after snack
grilled chicken, broccoli w/cheese sauce, and corn,12 oz. Diet Lemon Lime

Snack: 10:55pm, 3:25 after dinner
Apple Fiber One bar

Snack: 1:10am, 2:15 after snack
3 baby carrots and 1 grape tomato

Exercise Log

Elliptical Machine: 11:45pm
20 minutes with fairly low resistance, but worked up a good sweat

[BigDog]

I'll be interested in seeing how much of a habit you get into on some of this stuff at the 15, 20, 30 day mark

[kramday]

I'll be interested in seeing how much of a habit you get into on some of this stuff at the 15, 20, 30 day mark

I'll be interested as well. I do think that the most important currently is that it has me realizing what I am eating and writing it down. I was at a birthday party last night and even when I had the extra cake, I thought about it first (not enough to stop evidently) and knew I would have to post it for people to see. I think that was a big part of my success a couple of years ago.

I do like the simple plate idea though. It isn't really anything I haven't heard before, but it is presented in a way that makes sense to my brain.

[kramday]

I guess I never posted the results of the 4th, so here they are.

This is why the milk in my fridge went bad. Even though I told myself a couple of times that I should drink it today, it just never happened. Otherwise I felt like it was a pretty good day. The cream sauce in the penne pasta, might not have been a great choice. But there was also chicken and some veggies there. And there wasn’t a ruben with fries in front of me.

Here are the goals for the fourth day:

1. Eat More Healthy Breads and Sweets
2. Make All 3 Meals Fat Loss Plates
3. Upgrade your pantry.
4. Listen to the Day 4 Audio Program.

And here are the results:

1. The Clif Bars and Fiber One bars are doing a decent job with the sweets. The next time I go to the grocery store, I need to find a decent brand of bread to buy. I normally buy Country Pride (or whatever it is called), but I’m going to look for a good Whole Grain bread.

2. I think I did pretty good with this. I stuck to the schedule I laid out yesterday fairly closely, only changing it around a bit when it turned out we were actually playing volleyball.

3. Given that I haven’t been cooking very much lately, I didn’t really have a ton of crap in the pantry. The main upgrade was making sure I had the Clif Bars.

4. I listened to the program really late tonight, well after volleyball. It was a good summary of the info in the book, which was nice since I was too tired to read.

Food Log

Breakfast: 10:15am, 10 minutes after waking up
2 waffles w/syrup, 12 oz. Diet Citrus Drop

Snack: 12:35pm, 2:25 after breakfast
Chocolate Chip Clif Bar

Lunch: 3:10pm, 2:35 after snack
grilled chicken, broccoli w/cheese sauce, and corn, 12 oz. Diet Lemon Lime (leftovers)

Snack: 5:05pm, 1:55 after lunch
Chocolate Chip Clif Bar

Dinner: 8:30pm, 3:25 after snack
Rusty Bucket Chicken Penne Pasta, water

Snack: 11:30pm, 3:00 after dinner
Apple Fiber One Bar

Exercise Log

Sand Volleyball: 7pm
about an hour and a half, with decent movement and a couple of dives

[kramday]

And here is the post for the 5th.

Woke up today with a seriously stiff neck after volleyball last night. I think tweaked it on the last dive last night. It is a good thing I was already planning on taking today off from exercise. On the eating front, I was a little nervous about today. I was watching the OSU game with Jeffrey and then heading to a birthday party at the Kludys. The football game meant wings, and the birthday party meant cake and possibly other sweets. Other than the cake at the end of night, I didn’t think I did too bad. Not great by any stretch, but it could have been worse I think. I mainly tried to snack on fruit and veggies. But did succumb to an extra slice of cake (or two) at the end of night. Also, I should have eaten a larger snack at 5pm, because when I got to the Kludys I was really hungry.

Here are the goals for the fifth day:

1. Drink More Water.
2. Begin Journaling Your Water Consumption.
3. For the Next 16 Days, Avoid Alcohol.
4. Keep Away from the Scale for the rest of the 21 Days.
5. Listen to the Day 5 Audio Program.
6. Choose only Healthy Breads and Sweets.

And here are the results:

1. I definitely could/should have drank more water yesterday, though I did get to 64 oz.

2. I had two 16 oz. bottles at Jeff’s, a large glass at the Kludys, and a 16 oz. bottle when I got home. I should have had a second glass at the Kludys at a minimum.

3. What?!?! Just kidding. I’m actually on a new medication that says no alcohol anyway, so this isn’t a big deal.

4. I’ll have to give some serious thought to this. Back in 2007 when I was doing well with my weight loss, regular visits to the scale were a BIG motivating factor for me. Also, when I don’t get on the scale regularly, the weight just creeps on.

5. I had planned on listening to the program on the drive out to the party. But since I stayed later at Jeff’s, I didn’t have it with me. I’ll listen to Days 5 and 6 today.

6. I’m totally sure that cake was fat free, with 100% whole wheat flour and soy milk and margarine. Or not. I knew it was going to be a tricky day before it started.

Food Log

Breakfast: 11:15am, 5 minutes after waking up
Chocolate Chip Clif Bar

Lunch: 2pm, 2:45 after breakfast
5 hot wings, 5 bite size pizza bagels, 3 pieces of cantaloupe, 2 slices of watermelon

Snack: 5pm, 3:00 after lunch
2 pieces of cantaloupe

Dinner: 8:45pm, 3:45 after snack
hamburger and bun, hot dog and bun, cheesy potatoes, handful baby carrots, 2 pickles, 1 slice of chocolate cake

Snack: 9:30pm, 0:45 after dinner
1 slice of white cake, 2 pickles

Snack: rest of the night
1 slice of chocolate cake, pickles, grape tomatoes, baby carrots

Exercise Log

Walk: 4pm
walked Jeff’s dog at a leisurely pace

[BigDog]

Yea, the writing things down to increase your awareness of what you're actually eating is a essential part of most effective approaches, I think. Too easy to have food choice decisions in a wishy-washy, half-remembered, mental process.