Time flies when you're having fun...

Progress report: This morning my weight was just under 118. It fluctuates a bit some days but this is the lowest mark since I began my journey. That brings my total so far at around 16 pounds in less than 2 months.

I definitely need to get my pants taken in on the waist (Lucky for me my mother-in-law is a tailor!) and get a new belt or two as I'm using the last hole on my belts now.

My belly hasn't gone down as much as I would have liked but I haven't been exercising either. I do notice my neck slimming down. I'm almost back to a single chin ;)

As most people who lose weight will say, I have had more energy lately and I've been contemplating exercise as a recreational activity after work. Now with daylight savings time giving me more daylight, I might actually start.

Still going...

I'm at about 12 pounds lost. The doctor says my blood pressure and cholesterol are all within normal values. She was pleasantly surprised since I was at 238 lbs. (fully clothed) the previous visit and was 11 lbs. lighter on my last visit.

I hesitate to call this a "diet" because it absolutely doesn't feel like a diet as much as an improvement in my eating habits.

Probably one of the most interesting side effects thus far is the fact I feel full with smaller portions and not eating after 8PM is rather easy today. The body is amazing well at adapting as long as you give it a consistent routine.

I've started measuring my portions to the recommended serving size. For example, if the label says 1/2 cup per serving, I serve myself 1/2 cup. It makes real easy to keep track of how many calories or other food related values I am taking in. A typical dinner might be:

4 oz of meat, 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup beans and a cup of soy milk.

A benefit to this is that I prepare and measure my next days lunch. So my dinner and next day lunch are identical.

There are a few things I've realized about food choices that didn't click with me before.

1) Choices is a powerful thing. It's a level of control that I - as a fat man - didn't feel like I had before. Oh I'm still fat right now, but I feel like I have more willpower because I know it's MY choice to skip that cake or not.

2) Some choices are way better than the previous ones. What I mean by this is that I have stopped drinking milk in favor of flavored (vanilla or chocolate) soy milk. And it's way better tasting!

3) Choices are not as hard to make and stick with. I've switch to black beans instead of pinto beans. No big deal but way better for me. I've bought sugar free jelly (10 cals/serving) instead of regular jelly (50 cals/serving) with hardly a noticeable difference.

Finally because I feel like I'm having some success at this, I'm feeling the urge to exercise. I don't know when I'll start doing it on a regular basis, but part of me is curious what kind of impact an easy 30 minute treadmill session might have on my weight loss.

Progress Report

After 10 days I have lost a few pounds. My weight as of this morning was 227.2.

Not bad considering I'm still not excercising, but I don't really feel any difference yet.

I thought I'd take the time to tell you (if anyone is out there) what I've done differently these past 10 days.

First I bought a fancy digital scale so I can get precise readings. I also bought a food scale, measuring cups and a pedometer just to get an idea of my activity level throughout the day.

Second, I have pretty much kept with my plan of eating healthier foods and in somewhat smaller portions.

Last night for example I decided to actually measure the amount of pasta I was having for dinner. I made it one even cup of pasta and compared to what I would have served myself before, it was about half. This is significant because I didn't feel hungry after dinner.

Heres a comparison of an typical old meal versus a new meal:

Old meal: 2 cups pasta + 3 scoops meat sauce + 3 small meatballs + 2 small pieces of garlic bread

New meal: 1 cup pasta + 2 scoops of meat sauce + 1 meatball +half a flat bread (made into garlic, parmesan style)

I drank a diet iced green tea with dinner.

As I think about it now, I believe that eating smaller portions helps you feel full over the long term. Maybe my stomach is tightening up a bit.

I also am eating a snack between meals when I feel hungry. I try to keep the snacks healthy (fruit, yogurt, wasa crackers) and under the old "100 calories" rule. If I'm close to a regular meal when I get hungry I'll just wait or eat my regular meal earlier.

I've discovered I actually like soy milk and the light or nonfat version has about half the calories as milk so I haven't had milk in 10 days.

I'm also taking a multi-vitamin and some other supplements (fish-oil Omega-3, glucosamine for my joints)

Finally I've been weighing myself every morning before my shower and logging it along with which meals/snacks I have that day (in Google Spreadsheet BTW). I don't log the actual food I eat, just whether I had the meal or snack. See a sample of my weight tracking spreadsheet online.

Tracking my progress serves as a great motivator.

Thats all for this update. Until next time, this is the Lazy Loser signing out.

Better late than never

I originally planned to launch this site at the beginning of the new year but due to extreme laziness I didn't.

This blog is a place for me to journal my success and failures at trying to lose weight without trying so hard. Hopefully I won't be too lazy to post here on a regular basis.

Here's the deal. I am overweight (duh) but I don't gain weight. What I mean is, I can eat without regard for dieting, snack late at night, fast food, etc. and still not gain weight. I have been at my current weight for about 10 years now.

So my idea is that if I can modify my behavior in small ways, I can probably lose weight without a lot of trouble. Because I am lazy.

I tried a modified Atkins program several years ago and lost about 35 pounds but it came back quickly Thanksgiving/Christmas time. This taught me two important things:

1. I can lose weight based on diet alone.
2. I need to have a diet plan that I can keep with my lifestyle.

Atkins is pretty hardcore as far as always trying to get that no-carb goodness. I ate enough cardboard-flavored food alternatives to crap out a years supply of shipping boxes for Fed Ex.

My current plan is to do the following

1. Limit my food portions - This one is a no brainer, but I have to be careful not to get too hungry between meals that I feel the need to gorge on the next meal. Hence #2...
   
2. Allow snacks between meals - Healthy ones of course. But this will get me from my 6:30am breakfast to my 1PM lunch to my 7PM dinner.
   
3. Eat healthier foods - There are healthy restaurants I can go to for a meal compared to McDonalds, so why not use them. The food tastes better too. My favorites are Daphne's Greek Cafe and Sansai Japanese Grill.
   
4. Do not eat after 8PM - This one will be hard to do. But I think a nice hot green tea instead might be better.
5. Drink more water - My goal is to drink 1.5 liters minimum.
6. Exercise - Well... 5 out of 6 aint bad.

I know this is all common sense but it's amazing how many of us fail to do these things.

In thinking about my game plan I came to realize that really only #6 is very difficult for me and # 4 while difficult is really a matter of allowing my body to adjust to the routine.

So... here's where I'm at in a nutshell.

Starting weight: 234 lbs
Short Term Goal: 225 lbs
Long Term Goal: 185 lbs

If by some fate you stumble in here please enjoy your stay and hopefully these pages will be filled with useful tips for your own journey.