Observations After Losing 2.6 Pounds in Week One

I stuck to my guns this week and came through at 194.8 pounds this morning, down 2.6 pounds from a week ago.  Say what you want about losing water weight or about men losing weight faster than women.  I’ll take the loss.

I definitely viewed this week as a ramp up to future weeks.  As I got going on a diet that could last five months, I was reminded of a few things.

Logging what you eat does make a difference. I logged my food in Lose It only four days, choosing to skip the weekend and a vacation day.  I need to improve that.  I need to make the effort. When I did log, I was able to add a snack or two at the end of the day, knowing I had calories to spare.  Remember, Lose It calculates how much you need to lose based on your weight and weight loss goals.  In general, I leave about 50% of my calories for the evening.  Nutritionists will likely have a problem with that, but it works for me.

Repetition is important. Variety isn’t important to me.  Calories are.  As a result, I tend to eat the same things repeatedly from breakfast through lunch and an afternoon snack.  I’ve already calculated the calories in Lose It, which makes tracking easier.  I also really don’t mind eating the same thing, when I know calories are under control.

Taking exercise slow helps to create the habit. In my past, I have run four marathons, and a bunch of 1/2 marathons, 10K’s and 5K’s.  I know how to run.  As I start the diet, however, I want to make the exercise enjoyable.  Therefore, I’ve taken a step back, decreased speeds on the treadmill, and created a plan to increase speed over the course of the diet.  This has worked for me in the past.  This week, I exercised five of seven days, which isn’t terrible.  I want to get on a roll, where it’s seven of seven.  To do that, I’ll need to focus a bit more on Saturday and Sunday.  In reality, I’m more likely to get to six out of seven, giving myself one day off as a reward.

Losing one pound week is the only way to go. I generally made good decisions this week, but not always.  I have the luxury, if you will, of planning to lose only one pound a week.  That’s not that much, and it provides and opportunity for what some might call cheating.  Despite my knowledge of its unhealthy make-up, I ate popcorn at the movies.  I also had some Chinese food right after the popcorn.  The net for the week was good, but it could have been better.  I’m just not into so much self-denial.  One pound a week is plenty.

My theory of the diet hinging on a few decisions a day is correct. On a few occasions I made good choices that filled me up.  Today, in particular, I avoided the Caesar salad at lunch for a more healthy salad with oil & vinegar.  For dinner, despite being very hungry post-workout, I stuck to a six-inch sub at Subway, although I did treat myself to cheese with my turkey. Last night, I was able not to grab some Cool Ranch Doritos that were sitting on our kitchen counter, and I headed up to bed.  However, when Mrs. Spidey called me back to tell me something, I couldn’t resist.  Shame on me.

Your Choice: Eat This or Eat 11 Slices of Bacon - Same Fat Content.

One other thing I’ll mention.  On Saturday, I purchased one of those “Eat This, Not That” books.  I bought the Supermarket Survival Guide.  If you know how to read nutritional labels, you probably aren’t making some of the mistakes that the authors of the book point out.  The comparisons they make, however, show that many times there are better options.  In addition, when the compare foods that seem healthy to foods that you know aren’t, they really drive the point home.

I have eaten cereal 9 out of every 10 mornings since I was about 4.  Fortunately, I found that my cereal eating is generally good.  Honey Nut Cheerios is on the “Eat This” side.  On the “Not This” list are Life and Raisin Bran and, somewhat surprisingly, Multi-Bran Chex, which has as much sugar as a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  For that matter, a serving of Quaker Low Fat Granola with Raisins has more sugar than a pack of peanut M&M’s.  If you need sugar, eat Froot Loops or Apple Jacks before Cap’n Crunch or Lucky Charms.

I was also disappointed to learn that staples in our house like Reduced Fat Wheat Thins, Grey Poupon, David’s Sunflower Seeds, and Special K bars on the “Not This” side in their few groups.

I’ll leave you this week with some quick highlight comparisons from the book that will make you think twice:

• 1 package of Twix has as much saturated fat as 11 strips of bacon!
• 1/2 cups of Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice cream has as much fat as a McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger!
• 1 cup of Quaker Natural Granola, Oats, Honey & Raisins has the calorie equivalent of 8 chicken wings!