The Final Fifteen Pounds

  Can a lazy bit of writing help you lose weight? Here's what the research says...

Peanuts The smallest thing can bounce me off my trajectory. And I don't think it's the thing itself, it's evidence that my mental game needs work. So last week my wife got a good deal on peanuts. We have five boys still in the house; she's always looking for a great deal on food that can fill them up. The lovely Ginger came home with a huge box filled with roasted peanuts. The ones in the shell.  That's good. But I need to monitor everything that goes past my gums. And I think I'm battling that notion right now. The everything part. I want my fat burning factory of a body to swiftly and capably handle every little extra nuisance of fact attraction. Uhh.... It doesn't work quite that efficiently.  So my revised plan to tune-up my mental play is this:  Eat peanuts within the context of a meal.  Eat a measured amount so I know what I'm consuming. Keep a food log until I start losing again Keep walking Never miss a Mond...

When you have a goal. It's important to get going on even the smallest step. Create the habit that leads to the goal. I like this approach.  I enjoyed listening to this podcast on the topic of habits. Start Walking So yeah, I'm driving home after writing the post on walking and I'm thinking to myself, "I told everyone I was going to start walking again."  I went home. Found some kids. Three of my boys went on the walk with me. And we walked for a short half hour. We had a great time. My 17 year old and I discussed his SAT which he was taking the NEXT DAY.  In other words, it was a very good time, a time with family.  When we can take something like exercise and make it a family time, that's a win.  I absolutely love that. How I Change Things for The Better make a decision to do something - in this case walk five times a week start doing it - ease into it write about the experience  share the time with someone else if possible if ...

Sometimes it feels like there's no rhyme or reason to the crazy baloney I do. Do you feel like that? So last night, I go home and eat a regular, modest dinner. And then.... on comes the t.v. and out come the peanuts. The salty ones in the shell.  And I eat.  I pay no attention to how many. And here's the deal: I'm not hungry. I think I've been doing a lot of this. And it's not about check this food on and check this food off.   It's about feeling anxious, or conflicted.  I'm going to say it again just so I can hear myself say it. I want to be 173.  That's the goal. Today 191.  I am struggling getting down to my comfortable 188. Here's what I'm going to do about it. Sit down with a sheet of paper and write stuff out. That was a list of one on purpose. That's the one thing I'm going to do.  I'll get back to you with what comes from it.

When something isn't working, it doesn't always mean trash it. So after battling hunger last week, and that setting me up for eating the wrong things at the wrong time, and after listening to guys like the Fat Burning Man, I decided to up the fat and protein content of my smoothie.  This morning I began drinking a smoothie with coconut oil and raw farm fresh free range chicken eggs added. It definitely kept me satiated until lunch time! Yes! I would still like to drink more water during the day. But there's a big but. It can be hard for me to get to the restroom between 11:30 and 3:00.  So I'm thinking through that.  I believe more water will help. So yes, I do feel better. In a week or so, I'll know if the tweaks are impacting my weight loss. How to tweak it?  Remember that the diet is an experiment. It's okay to try different things to get it to work. Not everything works the same way for everyone else, but there are basics that probably ...

When you write about something, you learn.  I have formed a habit, which is pretty much out in the open for you to read. It's where I ask two questions: "What did I do that worked? And, What could I have done better?" I'm beginning to think that I need to be more critical, in a good way, of myself. I don't mean calling myself names.  I mean, dig into every area where I can improve. I don't necessarily think I need to share ALL of that with you. You get the lion's share anyway. But I do need to cut deeper. Today, I drank half a soda. That's after a week of no soda. It's a Saturday soda. Why? Because my lunch wasn't well planned and I ended up eating food that makes me tired. What I did well was ate a good breakfast. Green smoothie.  Gonna work on making more hefty though. Needs more oomph.  I'll get back to you on that as I experiment with it all. My plan is to write every day about it. To narrow my focus until I find the...

You ever stayed away from the fattening food for days and then had that quick WANT, that - "Oooo gotta have it NOW!" I had that today. I wanted a Coke. It came at me quickly. Like a stab in the heart out of nowhere.  I didn't give in, and it went away. The feeling really didn't last long. Somehow I was able to get my wits about me and remember that a soda bottle was the last thing I needed in my hand. I wanted it, but I steered away.  That makes four days. Eventually I'll stop counting.  Had enough of that Coke-lust eating my lunch. It's hard to think back and figure out how you get to the place where things go bad. But it is important. And it's crucial that you remember how bad you feel when you actually drink the sugar water (or whatever).  Okay, of course I don't feel bad right when I drink it; I feel bad later. That sick feeling from too much sugar and salt and caffeine all at once like a bomb in the belly. Also the mental pa...

One thing I realize, as I try to lose this final fifteen pounds, is that I can get way too focused on the small stuff. It really is about progress, not perfection.  Yesterday I had a plan to go home from work and go on a bike ride with my 7 year old. And guess what, that's what we did.  We had a great time just cruising along for about 45 minutes. We pedaled and poked along. We got some exercise with the wind in our faces. Lots of wins there: fun, exercise, and time with my son. Gotta love it. Dinnertime and beyond: Do you have issues with dinner? I can be great all day long then, poof, all of my resolve blows away like so much mist. And it wasn't a big deal, I ate an extra 200 calories that I didn't need. But still, I would like to figure out how to get past it.  Here's my ideas to get past those mental cravings... Get busy with something.  Get a drink of water. Make a list of good things to do.  Play a game or have a conversation with someone. Ca...

I saw a quote on Twitter a couple of weeks ago. It went something like this: Start the change today that you would like to see 12 weeks from now. After a good start on the weight loss which I have been telling on this blog, I have had some difficult days. Spring break was hard. Easter weekend too.  I am nailed down at 188 right now. If I overindulge on a weekend say, I drift up. But I come right back down in a few days. That's what happened this weekend. But it happens the other way too. If I lose a few, get down to 185, 184, if I don't hold my mouth just right. The weight comes back to 188.  My goal is for 173 to be that number. I might drift up or down from 173, but unless I make a new goal, 173.  But today, my body is very comfortable at 188.  Maybe I'm having difficulty convincing myself that 173 is where I need to be.  It's all so mental.  And blogging about it everyday really feels embarrassing sometimes.  How to get focused o...

When we keep at it, the healthy habits return. Yesterday, I wrote.  And I anguished over my bad habits returning like so many pulled weeds: double dinner, Coke, burgers, junk. And yesterday I ate well, meaning green, healthy.  I went home and exercised. Third day in a row. I went to bed at a respectable time. I prevailed (Rocky theme plays in the background)! Why?  Here's how to get your mojo back. Be honest about how you veered from the path. Hey, write about it, maybe even publicly (okay maybe that part is stupid). But write.  Tell yourself what you did well (started writing, got honest about what I was doing, reestablished that I want to weigh 173 relatively soon) Admit what needs to get better   (I have a huge bag a peanuts in my desk--need to pay attention to how many of them I actually eat). Exercise, even if it's only a little bit (10 minutes turns to 30 before you know it). Start off right. You can get back ...

It is amazing how fast our habits can change.  So I went on a road trip. Did about 2500 miles in five days. Of course my diet changed. I ate fast food. I ate trail mix (the kind with M and Ms). I even ate a little ice cream to help me stay awake. I didn't get much sleep. I anticipated all of this.  What I didn't forecast was how hard it was going to be to go back to my healthy ways of eating. It has felt like it was dang near impossible.  I know better. It's not impossible.  And I knew it was going to be sorta hard. But man.  In those five days, I got so used to sugars and fats: my body and mind didn't want to go back to greens and fruits. For the last week, I've been drinking soda almost every day. Around 1 or 2 o'clock PM, I get this giant urge to fill my belly with Coca Cola.  Getting my mojo back is way hard. But I will. I haven't given up. Just knocked down.  One of the things I note above is sleep. Getting back to getting 7 or ...

I don't know where I first heard this: Write down everything you eat for at least five days in a row.  I'm on day five. And boy is it helpful. I use my fitness pal to log it all. It really helps.  It actually keeps me from pounding some things down, just so I don't have to write it down! I got clarity on three things: 1) I was drinking too much coffee, and it was making me hungry; 2) I was double dipping at dinner most of the time (more on that). 3) I wasn't drinking water when I felt hungry. Here's where I stand with that. I reduced my coffee intake. And I immediately enjoyed less hunger for mid morning food.  I'm a dinner double dipper. I eat two servings. It's hard to change that habit. In my mind, I'm willing to change this. I know that in a moment, I can add 600 or 1000 calories to my day. And not even realize I did it. That's why we write everything down. That way those extra servings here and there get accounted for. ...