Month 1 Check In

Well... I starting this Diet Blog on December 27, 2007 and today it is January 27, 2008. One month into the diet-exercise-life plan. Time to check up on my progress.

Food:

My cunning plan is turning out to be much more difficult than I had made it out to be. I am averaging one home cooked meal a week totaling on average 6 servings. I am supplementing the dearth of home cooked meals with packaged stuff of dubious nutritional value and by eating out far more than is recommended when you are supposed to be on a diet. In my defense I will say that I have been watching my serving sizes in general and feel that I am overall eating less than I was a month ago. I couldn't hazard a guess as to how many calories I was taking in in a given day but i'm still fairly sure it is in excess of what i ought to be taking in.

Exercise:

I'm not getting in every day. I am failing to go nearly every Sunday and Tuesday. But that still leaves the other 5 days of the week which I regularly manage to get to the gym on. So I would say I go 5 days a week and sometimes 6. I've been lengthening the time I work out until just yesterday I was on the elliptical trainer for a solid hour! I've been doing mostly aerobics on the elliptical trainer but I have started branching out into the weight machines for a little variety and because gaining muscle is a way to encourage weight loss. I now consistently get 2 miles or more in the first 30 minutes I'm on the machine. I do ache for spring and summer when I hope to do some exercising outside.

Self-Denial:

I have not had a drop of alcohol since New Year's Eve. I did have that one Ramen I noted on January 15 but I've not bought any more and I've not found anymore lurking in dark corners of my cupboards (other than that crab flavor one I bought in Aruba but that is more like a souvenir than food...I have no intention of learning what crab flavor ramen tastes like.).

Weigh In:

Scales are funny things. Since I've started this diet I have has the opportunity of weighing myself on 4 different scales. I have even had the chance to weigh myself on 3 in one day. They never agree on my weight. For this reason I have to say that my starting weight and my current weight have to be taken with a large grain of salt. I have no actual idea what I weigh except for alot. But according to the scale in the ladies changing room at Supreme Health and Fitness my "Starting" weight was 207. (I lied on my original journal entry but I've since edited it to reflect a more likely starting value) According to the same scale I weighed in at 198 on Thursday.

Verdict...I've lost 9lbs.

Reflection:

Obviously something is working. I've lost more than 2 pounds a week. I don't think I look any better. I might look a little different but not thinner per se . My clothes don't fit any different. I don't have any more energy.

Plan:

I want to keep at it. Something is working and I don't appear to be having any adverse reactions to anything (last year I tried a radical low calorie diet and began to get sores on my arms and legs - vitamin B deficiency). I'm going to endeavor to cook more and eat out less. I am going to keep going to the gym 5 to 7 days a week. I am still going to lay off the booze until I lose the first 20 pounds (I'm nearly half way there).

Point of Note:

I am no Saint. I did spend 2 days sitting on Eric's couch eating dough nuts and watching tv. I was PMSing and needed to be bad for a couple of days. I'm not proud of it but I'm also not going to beat myself up over it. I get PMS. When I do I need to comfort myself. If that means white cream filled bismarks and Rough Science for a couple of days I'm going to do what I need to in order to get better and on an even keel. The same should be said of yourselves. Everyone cheats eventually...some more than others, but everyone cheats. The important thing to remember is that one or two days is not the end of everything.


Today's food log:

Brunch: Parmesan chicken and risotto (no spinach as I used the rest of the leftovers in lasagna)
Dinner: Onion Rings and a chicken sandwich at BW3's
Snack: 1/2 a Clementine (shared with Eric)

No gym today