Thurs 7/31

Wt: 213.4

Breakfast: Inst plain oatmeal, 1/2 c strawberries, 2 t honey, cinnamon, 2 omega 3 eggs, coffee with skim

Lunch: 2 slices ww bread, 3 oz roast beef, 1 sl jarlsberg lite, 1 T relish, 1 nectarine

XL coffee with milk

Dinner: 6 oz TJ’s prepared grilled teriyaki chicken, 1/2 pkg frozen broccoli, 1/2 cup dry shell ww pasta

Exercise (after breakfast): bike 5 mins, resistance: one set of 8-12 reps, leg press, seated leg curl, cable row, machine chest press, cable pulldown, machine seated overhead press, machine preacher curl, machine triceps pushdown, bike 20 mins at 70-85% max HR, crunch machine.  Stretching.  Nothing intense yet, just trying to reduce stress with a quick workout. Felt pretty good. Plan to bump to three times next week to meet minimal exercise requirements.

I do drink a lot of water every day, but I don’t count how much. I try to have almost clear urine, if that helps. I take a store brand multivitamin most days, not more than 100% RDA. No other supplementation, and I don’t take any medicine.  Despite the marketing, there really isn’t anything that “works” besides creatine, and that will work only for some people, and then only while they are taking it.  Maybe I’ll try it for a while when I reach my goal. What about whey? At this point, it would only add more calories. Not consistent with my goal right now.

Wed 7/30

Weight: 211.8

Breakfast: TJ’s blueberry instant oatmeal, 1 heaping T almond slivers, 2 omega 3 eggs, xl coffee with milk

Lunch: 2 slices WW bread, 3 oz roast beef, 1 sl Jarlseberg lite, 1 T relish, 1 nectarine

Dinner: TJ’s frozen chicken + roasted vegetable burrito

Green Tea (how do you manage to get the water the right temperature?)

Exercise: Rest

Tuesday 7/29

Weight: 212.4

Breakfast – usual TJ’s instant oatmeal, 1/2 c strawbs, 2 omega 3 eggs, coffee, skim milk (1/2 cup maybe)

Snack – Balance Bar 200 cals (trying this out for a reason, not that I usually snack)

Lunch – 2 slices ww bread, 6 oz albacore tuna, 2 T light mayo

Large coffee with skim milk

Dinner – went out, large pasta and chicken breast dish…  a lot of calories here!

Exercise: none

Dinner was with a friend, a big calorie bomb, not the worst ever, no bread, drinks, apps, etc.  Trying not to do much of this, will definately do it Monday after the big work event. I am sure my weight will be up in the AM on the back of this, temporarily.

Monday 7/28

Not a bad week, diet wise. Kept it clean. Haven’t really been counting calories but it fell into place. I am thinking that most days are 1500-1700.  No mess-ups this weekend. Nothing glamorous about this, it’s boring but it can be done. I’m overweight by BMI and I want to get to a normal weight as quickly as possible. I’m an intermittent exerciser, as I am an intermittent clean eater, but I am going to try to get workouts going this week as well. At least some resistance training to prevent loss of lean mass. A week from today I have a work event that is taking up most of my time in preparation. I haven’t taken “before” photos yet, but I plan to do that as well.  I’m 6’2″ and if I get to a weight around 195 lbs., that will put me into the normal range. I was in the 180’s in high school and college, and that is probably a good place for me, since it gives a little room for indulgences without knocking me into the overweight category. A six pack will be lower than that, if my genetics allow for it. I want to have it once in my life to see what it’s like, so why not try for it now!

Weight: 214.0 (about a 2 lbs loss this week- approx 10 lbs over two weeks but that probably represents fluid shifts. I think I am on target here.)

Breakfast: The usual, 2 omega3 eggs, 1 pkt TJ’s instant oatmeal, 1/2 cup strawberries, cinnamon, coffee, milk (1/2 cup or so)

Lunch: 2 slices whole wheat bread, 3 oz boiled ham, 1 slice Jarlsberg lite, mustard, 1 peach

Dinner: Trader Joe’s frozen entree Kung Pao chicken, oolong tea

Exercise: 5 min bike warm up, 1 set/8-12 reps of leg press, sitting leg curl, dumbell slight incline bench, cable pulldowns, dumbell sitting shoulder press, cable rows with close grip, machine preacher curl, cable triceps pushdowns, ab machine, bike @ 70-85% predicted max hr for 20 mins, stretching

Sunday 7/27

Weight 212.8

Breakfast:  4 TJ’s blueberry waffles, 4 T maple syrup, 2 lg n-3 eggs, 1/2 cup strawberries, coffee with skim milk (1/4 cup)

Lunch: 2 slices whole wheat bread, 3 oz boiled ham, 1 slice Jarlsberg lite, mustard, 1 peach

Oolong tea no milk

Dinner: 6 oz grilled chicken, 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup cooked spinach, 1 cup cherries, 1/2 cup edamame

7/26

Weight: 213.4 – oh the fluctuations!

Breakfast: TJ’s instant oatmeal blueberry, 1 cup strawberries, 2 n-3 eggs, coffee with skim milk (1/2 cup)

Lunch: 2 slices ww bread, 1 can tuna, 2 T lite mayo, 1/2 c baby carrots

Lg coffee with skim

Dinner: 1 TJ frozen entree Massaman curry chicken, 1 cup cherries, 1 cup edamame

Exercise: None – need to get this started though

7/25

Weight: 215.8 – I suppose the water weight is gone and it’s slow and steady from here in.  Measured my waist above the iliac crest at 36.

Breakfast: TJ’s Blueberry Inst. Oatmeal pkt, 1 cup strawbs, 2 omega 3 eggs, coffee with maybe 1/2 c skim milk

Lunch: 2 slices WW bread, 3 oz smoked turkey, 1 sl Jarlsberg lite, mustard, 1 nectarine

Large coffee with skim milk

Dinner: 1/2 cup brown rice, TJ’s prepared teriyaki chicken breast, green beans, 1 cup

Exercise: Not yet

Methodology: Thoughts on low carb

So, why am I not doing low carb?  I think that LC works in a few ways. For some people, myself included, it makes them less hungry.  There has been no study showing a metabolic advantage, and none of the reasonable LC gurus think this.  By metabolic advantage, it is meant that one can loose weight at a higher calorie intake compared to someone who has a different diet composition. TANSTAAFL.  If LC makes you eat less calories, you win.  By getting rid of carbs, you take in a higher amount of protein and also fat.  More on that in another post.  You also avoid many calorie bombs.  If you LC, you can’t have soda, chips, crackers, candy, cake, pie, ice cream, bagels, big bowls of pasta.  Sure you can overeat chicken, steak, fish, nuts, oils, fruit, cheese, vegetables.  Many LC followers rely on high calorie and convenience foods.  It all comes down to modulating calorie intake versus energy expenditure.

Problems with LC: you end up with less variety.  Commonly, some sort of omelet or egg dish for breakfast.  Salad with meat for lunch, and meat and vegetables for dinner.  Nuts for a snack. Some might include cheese and fruit.  It gets to be the same every day, and when you go out or have a meal with family or friends, you choose between being a freak and blowing your diet.  LC followers get into the whole intermittent fasting thing, I think, because of how monotonous their diets get.  If I’m bored of eggs, I can have something else (a couple of waffles), they get bored and they just skip it. Not to mention that taking in come calories as grain starches is generally cheaper than taking the same amount in as meat.

I think the approach if done right is sound. It may be how we evolved to eat. But the foods we grew up on, evolutionarily speaking, no longer exist. I mean that the meats we have now are not free range. Despite what you might think by reading on the Internet, it isn’t easy to get grass fed meat for the average person.  Monotony is fine too, but I choose to live in society even if it’s not perfect.  If my approach is 80% healthy, I am satisfied, and I know I am doing more than most people.  By avoiding over nutrition (calorie poisoning), and making efforts not to eat high-carbohydrate junk food, I think I can have some of the benefits of LC without many of the limitations.

More of effects of macronutrient composition on body composition in a later post. The bodybuilder diet will have to be addressed too, along with meal frequency and protein intake.

7/24

Weight: 212.8

Assuming still water weight coming off…

Breakfast: TJ’s Blueberry Ht Health Instant Oatmeal pkt, 2 omega3 large eggs, a cup of sliced strawberries, coffee with milk (1/4 cup skim)

Lunch: 2 slices WW bread, 4 oz smoked turkey, 1 sl jarlsberg lite, mustard, one nectarine

Large coffee with skim milk

Dinner: 4oz “soba” noodles (actually the fake ones that are mostly wheat), 6 oz TJ’s prepared grilled chicken

Exercise: Nothing today

7/23

Weight: 214.8

Looks like some water weight is coming off. I have been really overeating for a while, and I think there will be a fast drop for a little bit. I was 225 a week ago or so, when I decided things were getting out of hand again. Not the first time. So I stopped with the beer and the sweets.  No more take out.  I’m not bothering to count calories yet (est. 1500-1700 now), I will look at that when I need to.  Right now I am reasonable satisfied in terms of hunger, and I hope over a few weeks I will adjust more. The mid-afternoon is the worst, not sure if I will add a snack. A cup of tea seems to hit the spot and give some energy.

Breakfast: TJ’s instant blueberry heart healthy oatmeal packet, 1 cup strawberries, 2 omega3 eggs, coffee with 1/2 cup approx skim milk

Lunch: 2 slices WW bread, smoked turkey 3 or 4 oz, a slice of Jarlsberg lite, some mustard, one nectarine

Large coffee with skim milk

Dinner: 6oz precooked TJ’s chicken breast, 1/2 c. dry orzo, 1/2 c. tomato sauce

Exercise – need to start again at some point