Morning Weigh-in: 146.6; no loss
Wow, that was a bit of a shock. After the 0.9 kg loss yesterday, plus the fact that I didn't exercise as much as I normally do, I thought it might be a less-than-average loss today. But no loss? I definitely didn't see that one coming.
Oh well, shit happens. With all this tracking, it's easy to get hung up on the numbers in general, and on the day-to-day minutiae, but there's really no point in getting too excited or too bummed out about any one particular number. The important thing is the trend. Sure, it would've been great to hit my -50 kg goal this week. It'll be great to hit it next week, too.
I can see already that unless I come up with some new ways of doing things, fitting everything in now that I'm back at work is going to be tough. I didn't get manage to get in all my exercise yesterday, and now today I'm already behind. Rolled out of bed at 6:30 this morning, then dealt with the grocery delivery, getting the kids off to school, etc., just finished breakfast (two fried eggs, 50g of bacon, beans & corn mix, 438 calories) at 9am, and I haven't done any exercise, and it's probably going to be at least another hour before I do.
For now, I'm off to the shops to pick up the things I either didn't order yesterday, or they didn't deliver because they were out of stock.
Update: Ok, I got back from that quick little mini-shop, gave Tom his morning snack (Karen baked cookies!), and then did an hour on the cross-trainer. Not at the new 20 km/hr pace I've been doing with the shorter sessions, but I did 18.5 km and burned 955 calories, and I'm pretty happy with that. I figured that if things get busy later in the day and I don't have time to get out there, then at least I've done that hour.
Then I've just finished another bowl of the soup I took to work last night (427 calories). For being nothing much more than ground meat, a can of beans, and some frozen veggies, it's actually pretty good.
Update: And now it's 10:42 and just about time for bed. With the general nuttiness involved in having 6 boys running around here today, I didn't manage to get any more exercise done. Dinner was some grilled chicken breast and some mixed veggies with a few beans thrown in (579 calories). My total for the day was 1535, minus the 955 for the hour-long workout, for a net of 580. I really would've liked to get in a little more exercise today, but it just didn't work out that way.
And I've got to admit, tonight was the first time I was really, really tempted to cheat. Even though tomorrow is my day to eat whatever the hell I want, tonight I wanted some of the freshly-baked cookies the boys were enjoying after school, and some of the pizza they were eating for dinner. I mean yeah, it was just Pizza Hut, but it was still pretty damned tempting. Then when they all started eating ice cream while we watched a movie, I nearly caved.
But I didn't. I can eat pizza and ice cream and cookies tomorrow. Today, I ate soup. And chicken. And veggies. And now I'm going to bed before I'm tempted to do something I shouldn't. I mean technically, my Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day starts in an hour and ten minutes, right?
Showing posts with label slow-carb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slow-carb. Show all posts
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 18: Back to Work
Morning weigh-in: 147.5 kg; -0.4 kg
Ok, there you go. Now, I'm excited. A 1.3 kg (2.8 lb) loss over two days is nothing to sneeze at. And that's a 1.2 kg loss since my official weigh-in on Saturday, so I've already lost as much by Wednesday as I lost all of last week. Unless something goes horribly wrong, I should end up with a 2+ kg loss this Saturday.
The morning went smoothly, with the usual breakfast (430 calories) followed by 15 minutes (5.2 km; -240 cals) on the cross-trainer. Then I helped the boys finish getting ready for school, kicked their asses out the door, and got back on the cross-trainer for another session (20 minutes; 6.9 km; -320 cals). I've also had another 15-minute session on the cross-trainer (4.8 km, -240 cals) and a handful of pecans (215 cals) as a mid-morning snack, so for now, my calorie numbers are 640 in, 795 burned, for a net of -155.
My plan was to get all of my cross-trainer sessions done before lunch. As it stands now, it's 11:46 and I've still got 25 more minutes of exercise to go. Either I'm not going to make it, or I'm going to have a very late lunch. Update: I had a late lunch around 2 o'clock, after I did a 25-minute session (830 km; -400 cals).
My legs are feeling pretty sore and tired, and in my last session, I didn't hit the 5k mark within 15 minutes. Sure, my legs are always hurting and shaking at the end of a session, but usually I start off okay. But today I can really feel it at soon as I start. I don't know if the faster pace is starting to catch up to me, or if it's because I had less rest time in between sessions today.
Update: Lunch was a hamburger steak and a mix of veggies and lentils (445 cals), and dinner was a stir fry done with more of the veggie-lentil mix and some chicken breast (405 cals). Add in another handful of pecans (snack for work, 215 cals) and a few coffees, and my daily total was 1780-1200 calories in, 1200 calories burned, for a net of 580 calories.
All-in-all, it was a pretty good day. My body was pretty tired by the time I went to work, but I'm feeling better now. I'm hoping tomorrow will go well, too. I'm a little worried that getting the exercise in early enough is going to be tough. I'm starting to think of ways to cut myself some slack, and let myself off easy. I'm such a fucking slacker. :)
Ok, there you go. Now, I'm excited. A 1.3 kg (2.8 lb) loss over two days is nothing to sneeze at. And that's a 1.2 kg loss since my official weigh-in on Saturday, so I've already lost as much by Wednesday as I lost all of last week. Unless something goes horribly wrong, I should end up with a 2+ kg loss this Saturday.
The morning went smoothly, with the usual breakfast (430 calories) followed by 15 minutes (5.2 km; -240 cals) on the cross-trainer. Then I helped the boys finish getting ready for school, kicked their asses out the door, and got back on the cross-trainer for another session (20 minutes; 6.9 km; -320 cals). I've also had another 15-minute session on the cross-trainer (4.8 km, -240 cals) and a handful of pecans (215 cals) as a mid-morning snack, so for now, my calorie numbers are 640 in, 795 burned, for a net of -155.
My plan was to get all of my cross-trainer sessions done before lunch. As it stands now, it's 11:46 and I've still got 25 more minutes of exercise to go. Either I'm not going to make it, or I'm going to have a very late lunch. Update: I had a late lunch around 2 o'clock, after I did a 25-minute session (830 km; -400 cals).
My legs are feeling pretty sore and tired, and in my last session, I didn't hit the 5k mark within 15 minutes. Sure, my legs are always hurting and shaking at the end of a session, but usually I start off okay. But today I can really feel it at soon as I start. I don't know if the faster pace is starting to catch up to me, or if it's because I had less rest time in between sessions today.
Update: Lunch was a hamburger steak and a mix of veggies and lentils (445 cals), and dinner was a stir fry done with more of the veggie-lentil mix and some chicken breast (405 cals). Add in another handful of pecans (snack for work, 215 cals) and a few coffees, and my daily total was 1780-1200 calories in, 1200 calories burned, for a net of 580 calories.
All-in-all, it was a pretty good day. My body was pretty tired by the time I went to work, but I'm feeling better now. I'm hoping tomorrow will go well, too. I'm a little worried that getting the exercise in early enough is going to be tough. I'm starting to think of ways to cut myself some slack, and let myself off easy. I'm such a fucking slacker. :)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 17: Getting the Worm
Morning Weigh-in: 147.9 kg; -0.9 kg
An excellent start to the day, but I'm not going to get too excited about it yet, because I've seen this happen before, with the next day being a less-than-average loss so that it ends up balancing out. I'll wait and see.
What I am excited about is that I got up at 6:15 this morning, had the usual breakfast (486 calories), and was on the cross-trainer less than an hour after I woke up. And that I did a total of four 15-minute sessions (5k, 5k, 5k 5.1k) before lunch. And then I did another 15-minute session around 5:30, so I got all my exercise out of the way before dinner.
Which was good, because I had to get to James' Parent Information Night and things got really busy for a couple hours there. I suppose I could do another session or two tonight, but I'd have to get changed again, and then have yet another shower, and then I wouldn't get to bed before midnight, so screw it, I'm going to type this up and call it a day. In bed by 10 o'clock. What a concept.
I had a handful of pecans (215 calories) for a mid-morning snack, then lunch was grilled chicken breast and stir fried veggies (490 calories). Dinner was a hamburger steak and more stir fried veggies (408 calories). With a couple of coffees, the total comes to 1640, minus 1195 burned, for net calories of 445 for the day.
All-in-all, it was a pretty damned good day. Summer vacation is over (back to the crushing effort that is working in a university library tomorrow), and life is getting busy again. The cool part is that I'm feeling pretty damned good (I don't know why I was feeling so bleh last week, but it's gone now), and all the shit that is needing to get done is getting done.
So, you know, I got that going for me.
Plus, on the first day of this month, 3 weeks ago, I weighed 155.5 kg. Now I weigh 147.9 kg. That's 7.6 kg (16.7 lbs) gone. That's a little more than the amount I lost this time last year (7.5 kg from 4 Feb - 27 Feb), and I'm pretty damned happy about it. If I can keep the exercise happening, and stay organized enough to have slow-carb meals for dinner at work, I should be able to keep it going and get below 136 kg (300 lbs) by the end of March. That would be awesome.
An excellent start to the day, but I'm not going to get too excited about it yet, because I've seen this happen before, with the next day being a less-than-average loss so that it ends up balancing out. I'll wait and see.
What I am excited about is that I got up at 6:15 this morning, had the usual breakfast (486 calories), and was on the cross-trainer less than an hour after I woke up. And that I did a total of four 15-minute sessions (5k, 5k, 5k 5.1k) before lunch. And then I did another 15-minute session around 5:30, so I got all my exercise out of the way before dinner.
Which was good, because I had to get to James' Parent Information Night and things got really busy for a couple hours there. I suppose I could do another session or two tonight, but I'd have to get changed again, and then have yet another shower, and then I wouldn't get to bed before midnight, so screw it, I'm going to type this up and call it a day. In bed by 10 o'clock. What a concept.
I had a handful of pecans (215 calories) for a mid-morning snack, then lunch was grilled chicken breast and stir fried veggies (490 calories). Dinner was a hamburger steak and more stir fried veggies (408 calories). With a couple of coffees, the total comes to 1640, minus 1195 burned, for net calories of 445 for the day.
All-in-all, it was a pretty damned good day. Summer vacation is over (back to the crushing effort that is working in a university library tomorrow), and life is getting busy again. The cool part is that I'm feeling pretty damned good (I don't know why I was feeling so bleh last week, but it's gone now), and all the shit that is needing to get done is getting done.
So, you know, I got that going for me.
Plus, on the first day of this month, 3 weeks ago, I weighed 155.5 kg. Now I weigh 147.9 kg. That's 7.6 kg (16.7 lbs) gone. That's a little more than the amount I lost this time last year (7.5 kg from 4 Feb - 27 Feb), and I'm pretty damned happy about it. If I can keep the exercise happening, and stay organized enough to have slow-carb meals for dinner at work, I should be able to keep it going and get below 136 kg (300 lbs) by the end of March. That would be awesome.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 16: Better Late Than Never
Daily weigh-in: 148.8 kg, -0.5 kg
It was good to see a loss on a Monday morning. Hopefully that will continue tomorrow, and for the rest of the week.
Breakfast was the usual, but with two eggs instead of three, and a smaller serving of the bean & corn mix (485 cals). I finished breakfast shortly after 7 am, and headed straight for the cross-trainer afterwards. I put in a fifteen-minute, 5.3 km session (-239 cals) to get the morning started. Then I put in another 15 minutes (5.2 km; 239 cals) later in the morning, and then that was it until after dinner.
Lunch was three more eggs, another smaller serving of the bean & corn mix, plus a couple of slices of bacon (730 cals). I'd planned to get in another 15-minute workout (or two) between lunch and dinner, but didn't quite managed it in between calling Mom, taking Tom to the park, etc.
Dinner was fish, chips and salad for the kids, and chicken breast, salad, and stir fry veggies (yellow beans, carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas, red bell pepper with minced garlic, ginger, and red chili peppers) (339 cals). A couple of coffees and a handful of beer nuts for a mid-afternoon snack gave me a total of 1833 calories for the day.
After dinner, a little TV, and getting the kids to bed, I went back to the garage with a plan. 15 minutes on, then a 10-minute rest, then another 15 on, then my blog post, a shower, and bed. Instead, I ended up doing one 30-minute session (10.2 km! -478 cals), then blogging, then realizing that I wasn't going to hit my 500-800 net calorie window. So I've just come back in from another 15-minute session (5.3 km; -239 cals), giving me a total of 1195 calories burned, and net calories of 640.
I'm going to have to start working harder at getting my hour of exercise finished earlier in the day. Summer vacation is over, and I'm back at work on Wednesday. A 4:00 start means I'm not going to get to exercise after about 2 o'clock, unless I do it after I get home at 11:30, and I really don't see that happening.
It was good to see a loss on a Monday morning. Hopefully that will continue tomorrow, and for the rest of the week.
Breakfast was the usual, but with two eggs instead of three, and a smaller serving of the bean & corn mix (485 cals). I finished breakfast shortly after 7 am, and headed straight for the cross-trainer afterwards. I put in a fifteen-minute, 5.3 km session (-239 cals) to get the morning started. Then I put in another 15 minutes (5.2 km; 239 cals) later in the morning, and then that was it until after dinner.
Lunch was three more eggs, another smaller serving of the bean & corn mix, plus a couple of slices of bacon (730 cals). I'd planned to get in another 15-minute workout (or two) between lunch and dinner, but didn't quite managed it in between calling Mom, taking Tom to the park, etc.
Dinner was fish, chips and salad for the kids, and chicken breast, salad, and stir fry veggies (yellow beans, carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas, red bell pepper with minced garlic, ginger, and red chili peppers) (339 cals). A couple of coffees and a handful of beer nuts for a mid-afternoon snack gave me a total of 1833 calories for the day.
After dinner, a little TV, and getting the kids to bed, I went back to the garage with a plan. 15 minutes on, then a 10-minute rest, then another 15 on, then my blog post, a shower, and bed. Instead, I ended up doing one 30-minute session (10.2 km! -478 cals), then blogging, then realizing that I wasn't going to hit my 500-800 net calorie window. So I've just come back in from another 15-minute session (5.3 km; -239 cals), giving me a total of 1195 calories burned, and net calories of 640.
I'm going to have to start working harder at getting my hour of exercise finished earlier in the day. Summer vacation is over, and I'm back at work on Wednesday. A 4:00 start means I'm not going to get to exercise after about 2 o'clock, unless I do it after I get home at 11:30, and I really don't see that happening.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 15: Fuck the Bleh
As expected, my weight is up today. 149.3 kg (329.1 lbs), for a gain of 0.6 kg (1.3 lbs). The thing that makes me happy is that even with the gain, I still weigh less than I did back in November. I didn't undo a week's worth of effort in a day. Well, at least not yet. I may get another gain tomorrow.
But if I do, it's not for lack of trying today. I started off with a reasonably light breakfast -- 2 fried eggs and a mix of kidney beans, mixed vegetables, sliced jalapenos, a little bit of bacon, and some salsa. That and a cup of coffee came to 300 calories.
Lunch was more of the bean & veggie mix, plus two scrambled eggs, and a few pieces of grilled chicken breast. All up, 490 calories. That's a total of 790 calories so far for today.
Exercise so far today has been three 15-minute sessions on the cross-trainer. Three hard sessions. First, I upped my pace a little and at the end of the first session, I'd done 5k. I checked back through my RunKeeper data, and that's the first time I've ever done that. Lots of 4.8s, one 4.9, but this morning was the first time I've done 5k in 15 minutes.
Then for my second session, I figured I'd do it again, and push to try to get 5.1k. I ended up with 5.5k! Once I realized that I wasn't going to die afterwards, I was pretty freaking happy with that!
Then for my third session, I decided to just take it easy, not worry about breaking any records, and just do a good, solid session while keeping my pace quick enough that I at least went 4.5k. A couple of minutes into it, I decided to up the resistance, so I took it to level 8 and then to level 9. Level 9 feels like running through water or deep sand. I could definitely feel it, but even with the extra resistance, I finished the 15 minutes with a distance of 5.1k. I'm not sure yet, but I think 5k may be my new baseline. Shit, how'd that happen?
So anyway, all up that 790 calories consumed, and 715 burned, for a net of 70. And I'm not feeling bleh any more. I think that taking a few days off from the exercise, and having a good time with the family yesterday, really helped me feel renewed, and ready to put in a solid effort this week.
My goal this week is to keep my net calories down between 500 and 800 a day. I think that if I can do that, I ought to lose at least 2 kg this week.
Update: Dinner (meatballs, a mix of borlotti (pinto) beans and veggies, plus mashed potatoes for the boys) is over, and the day is nearly done. Dinner plus an after-dinner coffee, and then an after-after-dinner coffee brought my total to 1685 calories. And a ten-minute after-after-dinner-coffee run on the cross-trainer brought my exercise total up to 1115 calories. putting my net calories for the day at 570. That's very nicely within my goal range, so I'm happy to call it quits for the day.
I'd planned to go for another 15 minutes in that last cross-trainer session, but after some sharp pains on the right side of my abdomen, I decided to quit a little after 10 minutes. I'd been going pretty hard, hitting 3k in 8:08, which at the time I thought was a new personal best, but after checking, I see that it isn't. Still, it's a pretty damned good time, and I'm pretty sure the resistance was higher this time.
In any case, that's 70 minutes that I spent on that damned cross-trainer today. And for almost every one of those minutes, I was going at it hard. Every single time I got on the thing, I was huffing and puffing within a minute or two. By the five-minute mark, my legs and lungs were burning, and by the ten-minute mark I was starting to think that maybe being fat isn't all that bad and that I should just fuck off all this diet and exercise bullshit and go get a cheeseburger! And after about 13 or 14 minutes, I was just hoping that I made it to the end without collapsing and falling off the damned thing onto the concrete floor.
So all of the calorie counters calculate a certain number of calories burned based on how many minutes I'm on the thing, but don't take into account the intensity of effort for each of those minutes. Today, I seriously worked that shit!
But if I do, it's not for lack of trying today. I started off with a reasonably light breakfast -- 2 fried eggs and a mix of kidney beans, mixed vegetables, sliced jalapenos, a little bit of bacon, and some salsa. That and a cup of coffee came to 300 calories. Lunch was more of the bean & veggie mix, plus two scrambled eggs, and a few pieces of grilled chicken breast. All up, 490 calories. That's a total of 790 calories so far for today.
Exercise so far today has been three 15-minute sessions on the cross-trainer. Three hard sessions. First, I upped my pace a little and at the end of the first session, I'd done 5k. I checked back through my RunKeeper data, and that's the first time I've ever done that. Lots of 4.8s, one 4.9, but this morning was the first time I've done 5k in 15 minutes.
Then for my second session, I figured I'd do it again, and push to try to get 5.1k. I ended up with 5.5k! Once I realized that I wasn't going to die afterwards, I was pretty freaking happy with that!
Then for my third session, I decided to just take it easy, not worry about breaking any records, and just do a good, solid session while keeping my pace quick enough that I at least went 4.5k. A couple of minutes into it, I decided to up the resistance, so I took it to level 8 and then to level 9. Level 9 feels like running through water or deep sand. I could definitely feel it, but even with the extra resistance, I finished the 15 minutes with a distance of 5.1k. I'm not sure yet, but I think 5k may be my new baseline. Shit, how'd that happen?
So anyway, all up that 790 calories consumed, and 715 burned, for a net of 70. And I'm not feeling bleh any more. I think that taking a few days off from the exercise, and having a good time with the family yesterday, really helped me feel renewed, and ready to put in a solid effort this week.
My goal this week is to keep my net calories down between 500 and 800 a day. I think that if I can do that, I ought to lose at least 2 kg this week.
Update: Dinner (meatballs, a mix of borlotti (pinto) beans and veggies, plus mashed potatoes for the boys) is over, and the day is nearly done. Dinner plus an after-dinner coffee, and then an after-after-dinner coffee brought my total to 1685 calories. And a ten-minute after-after-dinner-coffee run on the cross-trainer brought my exercise total up to 1115 calories. putting my net calories for the day at 570. That's very nicely within my goal range, so I'm happy to call it quits for the day.
I'd planned to go for another 15 minutes in that last cross-trainer session, but after some sharp pains on the right side of my abdomen, I decided to quit a little after 10 minutes. I'd been going pretty hard, hitting 3k in 8:08, which at the time I thought was a new personal best, but after checking, I see that it isn't. Still, it's a pretty damned good time, and I'm pretty sure the resistance was higher this time.
In any case, that's 70 minutes that I spent on that damned cross-trainer today. And for almost every one of those minutes, I was going at it hard. Every single time I got on the thing, I was huffing and puffing within a minute or two. By the five-minute mark, my legs and lungs were burning, and by the ten-minute mark I was starting to think that maybe being fat isn't all that bad and that I should just fuck off all this diet and exercise bullshit and go get a cheeseburger! And after about 13 or 14 minutes, I was just hoping that I made it to the end without collapsing and falling off the damned thing onto the concrete floor.
So all of the calorie counters calculate a certain number of calories burned based on how many minutes I'm on the thing, but don't take into account the intensity of effort for each of those minutes. Today, I seriously worked that shit!
19 February, 2011: Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day #3
After weigh-in, it was time to get down to the weekly carb-fest. I started out easy, with a couple of fried eggs, some bacon, and my oh-so-decadent treat of buttered toast! And coffee with actual sugar! Let's call it 700 calories.
The we loaded the kids into the car and headed into the city for a family shopping expedition. I needed new clothes for work, so our first stop was Kingsize Big and Tall. That's right, no Target or Lowes for me. I'm all about the downtown boutique shopping. The good news was that it all took less than 15 minutes, including the ever-popular trips to the changing rooms. The even gooder news was that I dropped two sizes in pants, and one size in shirts. It feels a helluva lot better to walk out of there with smaller clothes than the ones you've got on, instead of the other way around.
Then we went to Target so Karen could buy some towels or something or another, then we'd decided to have lunch out at Zambrero. It was a bit early for lunch, so we just enjoyed walking around the city, doing a bit of window shopping, checking out some of the public art, and I particularly got a kick out of watching Karen and the boys reacting to some of the more, um, colorful and unique (and in several cases completely hammered at 11 in the morning) inhabitants of the inner city.
Anyway, when we got to Zambrero, it was closed, even though the sign said it was supposed to have opened a half an hour earlier. And it didn't look like it was going to be open any time soon. That's one thing that pisses me off about Civic. So many of the restaurants and cafes are only open Monday through Friday. On the weekends, some parts of it are like a freaking ghost town. But not to be daunted, we headed back to the car, drove home to Gungahlin, and went to the brand spanking new Zambrero right here in our own little surburban dream.
Jack and I both got burritos, and the two younger boys got corn chips with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. It turns out that the burritos weren't vegan, so Karen didn't get anything. Bummer for her. My burrito had rice, refried beans, beef, lettuce, tomato salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, jalapenos, and their Smoky Tamarindo sauce. According to their website, that came in at around 750. With a Coke and the chips and salsa that Tom so kindly "shared" with me, I figure the whole meal was probably around 1100 calories. And it was thoroughly enjoyable, and definitely something I'll have again.
Throughout the course of the day, I also ate more beer nuts (call it 600 calories worth), an entire litre of coffee-flavored ice cream (2750 calories), more Coke (say 500 calories worth), and we ended up ordering Pizza Hut for dinner. Based on the info on their website, I'm guessing that was around 1200 calories for the pizza, plus another 500 for the chicken wings we got with our side order. Plus another 200 calories for the Coke.
It's hard to say because I really didn't keep track of exactly what I was shoving into my face throughout the day, but I think it's safe to say that it was an 8000+ calorie pig-out day. Remember a few days ago when I said "Surely I can enjoy eating some of the things I'm missing out on during the week, without going completely bat-shit crazy and scarfing down five or six thousand calories"? Well, apparently not.
Oh yeah, and just to make sure I got the full effect of the Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day, I once again did absolutely no exercise at any point during the day. Unless, you know, you count walking around town for an hour or so. Not to mention walking around Target while pushing a shopping cart filled with pillows or towels or whatever the hell was in there, plus a three-year-old. No? Doesn't count? Fine. Whatever.
In any case, it was a pretty damned awesome day. My new weigh-in number is the lowest I've had since joining Weight Watchers. I had fun hanging out with my family, first in the city and then at home, eating our "special treat" meals, plus we hung out watching some movies together. First Toy Story 3 for Tom, although I think he lost interest about half-way through. I say I think because the truth is that I fell asleep, and so did Karen. Then after dinner we watched Iron Man 2 with Jack and James, then Karen went to bed and we stayed up to watch X-Men 2 to finish up our Super Hero Double Feature. But it turns out the copy I downloaded has no audio after the first half hour, so we gave up and went to bed.
So I ate a lot of junk food, had a great day, and tomorrow I'll get back to slow-carbing it, and after a few days without exercise, I think I'm ready to get back to it.
The we loaded the kids into the car and headed into the city for a family shopping expedition. I needed new clothes for work, so our first stop was Kingsize Big and Tall. That's right, no Target or Lowes for me. I'm all about the downtown boutique shopping. The good news was that it all took less than 15 minutes, including the ever-popular trips to the changing rooms. The even gooder news was that I dropped two sizes in pants, and one size in shirts. It feels a helluva lot better to walk out of there with smaller clothes than the ones you've got on, instead of the other way around.
Then we went to Target so Karen could buy some towels or something or another, then we'd decided to have lunch out at Zambrero. It was a bit early for lunch, so we just enjoyed walking around the city, doing a bit of window shopping, checking out some of the public art, and I particularly got a kick out of watching Karen and the boys reacting to some of the more, um, colorful and unique (and in several cases completely hammered at 11 in the morning) inhabitants of the inner city.
Anyway, when we got to Zambrero, it was closed, even though the sign said it was supposed to have opened a half an hour earlier. And it didn't look like it was going to be open any time soon. That's one thing that pisses me off about Civic. So many of the restaurants and cafes are only open Monday through Friday. On the weekends, some parts of it are like a freaking ghost town. But not to be daunted, we headed back to the car, drove home to Gungahlin, and went to the brand spanking new Zambrero right here in our own little surburban dream.
Jack and I both got burritos, and the two younger boys got corn chips with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. It turns out that the burritos weren't vegan, so Karen didn't get anything. Bummer for her. My burrito had rice, refried beans, beef, lettuce, tomato salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, jalapenos, and their Smoky Tamarindo sauce. According to their website, that came in at around 750. With a Coke and the chips and salsa that Tom so kindly "shared" with me, I figure the whole meal was probably around 1100 calories. And it was thoroughly enjoyable, and definitely something I'll have again.
Throughout the course of the day, I also ate more beer nuts (call it 600 calories worth), an entire litre of coffee-flavored ice cream (2750 calories), more Coke (say 500 calories worth), and we ended up ordering Pizza Hut for dinner. Based on the info on their website, I'm guessing that was around 1200 calories for the pizza, plus another 500 for the chicken wings we got with our side order. Plus another 200 calories for the Coke.
It's hard to say because I really didn't keep track of exactly what I was shoving into my face throughout the day, but I think it's safe to say that it was an 8000+ calorie pig-out day. Remember a few days ago when I said "Surely I can enjoy eating some of the things I'm missing out on during the week, without going completely bat-shit crazy and scarfing down five or six thousand calories"? Well, apparently not.
Oh yeah, and just to make sure I got the full effect of the Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day, I once again did absolutely no exercise at any point during the day. Unless, you know, you count walking around town for an hour or so. Not to mention walking around Target while pushing a shopping cart filled with pillows or towels or whatever the hell was in there, plus a three-year-old. No? Doesn't count? Fine. Whatever.
In any case, it was a pretty damned awesome day. My new weigh-in number is the lowest I've had since joining Weight Watchers. I had fun hanging out with my family, first in the city and then at home, eating our "special treat" meals, plus we hung out watching some movies together. First Toy Story 3 for Tom, although I think he lost interest about half-way through. I say I think because the truth is that I fell asleep, and so did Karen. Then after dinner we watched Iron Man 2 with Jack and James, then Karen went to bed and we stayed up to watch X-Men 2 to finish up our Super Hero Double Feature. But it turns out the copy I downloaded has no audio after the first half hour, so we gave up and went to bed.
So I ate a lot of junk food, had a great day, and tomorrow I'll get back to slow-carbing it, and after a few days without exercise, I think I'm ready to get back to it.
Weigh-in: 19 February, 2011
Today's Weight: 148.7 kg (327.8 lbs)
Change: -1.2 kg (2.6 lbs)
Total Loss: 46.8 kg (103.2 lbs)
Last week, I was a bit disappointed at losing "only" 2.5 kg. This week, I was pretty okay with losing 1.2 kg. The difference? Well, for one thing I know that I didn't work as hard this week. Checking out this little spreadsheet I've started (Slow-carb Daily Calorie Log), it's clear that even though the number of calories consumed has dropped a little, the number of calories burned through exercise has halved, so the net cals have doubled.
So there you go. Exercise halved. Weight-loss halved. Seems pretty damned logical to me. If I want to lose the weight faster, I need to exercise more.
But apart from all that, I felt pretty good when I got my number at meeting this week. That's two meetings in a row, and a total of 3.7 kg lost. And yeah, I'm feeling a bit bleh at the moment, but I'm sure it won't last long.
Change: -1.2 kg (2.6 lbs)
Total Loss: 46.8 kg (103.2 lbs)
Last week, I was a bit disappointed at losing "only" 2.5 kg. This week, I was pretty okay with losing 1.2 kg. The difference? Well, for one thing I know that I didn't work as hard this week. Checking out this little spreadsheet I've started (Slow-carb Daily Calorie Log), it's clear that even though the number of calories consumed has dropped a little, the number of calories burned through exercise has halved, so the net cals have doubled.
So there you go. Exercise halved. Weight-loss halved. Seems pretty damned logical to me. If I want to lose the weight faster, I need to exercise more.
But apart from all that, I felt pretty good when I got my number at meeting this week. That's two meetings in a row, and a total of 3.7 kg lost. And yeah, I'm feeling a bit bleh at the moment, but I'm sure it won't last long.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 13: The Bleh Continues
The morning weigh-in number was 149.0, a loss of 0.3 kg. Perfectly respectable, and more than I thought I might get, given the limited amount of exercise.
Breakfast was the usual (579 calories), and lunch was a couple of eggs and some chicken breast (426 calories). I was thinking that I might end up well under 1800 calories for the day, and then I got stuck into the beer nuts. A LOT of beer nuts. Like, 579 calories worth of beer nuts. Yeah, my little "snack" ended up having as many calories as my breakfast, which was my highest-calorie meal of the day. Dinner was a hamburger steak and some mixed veggies (515 calories), so I finished the day having consumed 2100 calories.
And after subtracting the calories burned through exercise, I finished the day with net calories of 2100. Uh huh. No exercise at all today. Zilch. Zero. None. The closest I got to exercising today was walking from the computer to the fridge. Pitiful, I know. According to Ferriss, the lack of fast-burning carbs means exercise isn't necessary, but I think that's more likely when calories consumed are closer to 1200-1300 than to 2000-2200.
I'm not sure why I'm suddenly not feeling particularly motivated, but maybe I just need a bit of rest.
Breakfast was the usual (579 calories), and lunch was a couple of eggs and some chicken breast (426 calories). I was thinking that I might end up well under 1800 calories for the day, and then I got stuck into the beer nuts. A LOT of beer nuts. Like, 579 calories worth of beer nuts. Yeah, my little "snack" ended up having as many calories as my breakfast, which was my highest-calorie meal of the day. Dinner was a hamburger steak and some mixed veggies (515 calories), so I finished the day having consumed 2100 calories.
And after subtracting the calories burned through exercise, I finished the day with net calories of 2100. Uh huh. No exercise at all today. Zilch. Zero. None. The closest I got to exercising today was walking from the computer to the fridge. Pitiful, I know. According to Ferriss, the lack of fast-burning carbs means exercise isn't necessary, but I think that's more likely when calories consumed are closer to 1200-1300 than to 2000-2200.
I'm not sure why I'm suddenly not feeling particularly motivated, but maybe I just need a bit of rest.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 12: A Day of Bleh
After that big 1.2 kg loss yesterday, I was of two minds about what might happen today. I figured that either I was onto something (but with no idea about what, if anything, I had actually done to make it happen), or that it would all balance out over the next few days. It turned out to be the second one. Today's weight was 149.3, a 0.1 kg loss in 24 hours. Still, between the two days that averages out at 0.65 kg (1.43 lbs) per day, which is nothing to sneeze at.
But in any case, that small loss didn't do much to pick me up from generally feeling a bit bleh about it all that I've been in since yesterday afternoon. I don't know what it is, but I'm just not feeling motivated at all right now. I'm getting a bit tired of the food (but not enough to bother changing it up), and I haven't felt like exercising (and I haven't).
Well, actually that's not totally true. I haven't felt like working out on that infernal cross-trainer. On the other hand, I'd happily go for a nice long walk. But it's been raining again for the last couple of days, so that hasn't really been an option.
So here it is 9:30 pm, and I've only put in 15 minutes on the cross-trainer. But maybe this is another good reason for maintaining this blog, because now that I've typed that, and looked at my numbers for the day, I've decided to hustle my fat arse out to the garage and do a bit.
I'll be back shortly.
Okay, so there's another 4.7 km in 15 minutes. Not great, but better.
The usual breakfast (with the exciting switch to scrambled instead of fried eggs!) was 580 calories. Lunch was just three fried eggs and a few pieces of bacon, then another couple of scrambled eggs. No, I don't know what's going on with the scrambled eggs, but they really hit the spot. That was another 460 calories. Then dinner was a big pile of mixed veggies, some spinach, a little bit of bacon, some kidney beans, and the last of the store-bought salsa. And a hamburger steak. 720 calories all up, for a daily total of around 1825. Subtract 485 for the time on the cross-trainer, and that's a net of around 1340.
Looking back at my net calories each day, this week has gone like this: 450, 750, 775, 1300, 1380. I think I see a trend. The week before that (not counting the EWIW Saturday pig-outs), they went 165, 385, 800, 815, 932, and then a drop back to 322.
Yeah. I get it. I'll be back shortly.
6.2 km in 20 minutes, bringing my total number of calories burned up to 805, for a net of 1020. The trend has been broken. :)
But in any case, that small loss didn't do much to pick me up from generally feeling a bit bleh about it all that I've been in since yesterday afternoon. I don't know what it is, but I'm just not feeling motivated at all right now. I'm getting a bit tired of the food (but not enough to bother changing it up), and I haven't felt like exercising (and I haven't).
Well, actually that's not totally true. I haven't felt like working out on that infernal cross-trainer. On the other hand, I'd happily go for a nice long walk. But it's been raining again for the last couple of days, so that hasn't really been an option.
So here it is 9:30 pm, and I've only put in 15 minutes on the cross-trainer. But maybe this is another good reason for maintaining this blog, because now that I've typed that, and looked at my numbers for the day, I've decided to hustle my fat arse out to the garage and do a bit.
I'll be back shortly.
Okay, so there's another 4.7 km in 15 minutes. Not great, but better.
The usual breakfast (with the exciting switch to scrambled instead of fried eggs!) was 580 calories. Lunch was just three fried eggs and a few pieces of bacon, then another couple of scrambled eggs. No, I don't know what's going on with the scrambled eggs, but they really hit the spot. That was another 460 calories. Then dinner was a big pile of mixed veggies, some spinach, a little bit of bacon, some kidney beans, and the last of the store-bought salsa. And a hamburger steak. 720 calories all up, for a daily total of around 1825. Subtract 485 for the time on the cross-trainer, and that's a net of around 1340.
Looking back at my net calories each day, this week has gone like this: 450, 750, 775, 1300, 1380. I think I see a trend. The week before that (not counting the EWIW Saturday pig-outs), they went 165, 385, 800, 815, 932, and then a drop back to 322.
Yeah. I get it. I'll be back shortly.
6.2 km in 20 minutes, bringing my total number of calories burned up to 805, for a net of 1020. The trend has been broken. :)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 11: A Big Surprise
My weight this morning was 149.4, a loss of 1.2 kg since yesterday. Yeah, I was pretty surprised, too. The only thing I don't like about it is that I don't really see any reason why. I didn't do anything different, and I felt like I had a better grasp of what might be going on with my body when the weight-loss was fairly steady. But hey, I ain't complaining. I'll take it, and maybe as I keep going, I'll be able to see some patterns and make more sense of it all.
After that, I had my usual breakfast (600 cals), then steak and vegetables for lunch (515 cals) and again for dinner, with the addition of a couple of scrambled eggs (655 cals). My total calories for the day was around 1800, minus 490 burned in three 10-minute sessions on the cross-trainer, for a net of about 1300.
That's not a lot of exercise, and the small amount I actually manage to get done all happened before the kids got home from school at 3. Each session was short, but I upped the resistance to the point that my legs were trembling and burning by the time I finished each session. But for whatever reason, as the day went on I just felt less and less motivated to get on the damned thing and do any more. I'd say that maybe all the extra activity is really starting to wear me out, but then I stayed up watching movies until nearly 2 am, so I'm not convinced that's what's going on.
Still, I'm not going to beat myself up over it too much. I mean hey, 1.2 kg down, right?
After that, I had my usual breakfast (600 cals), then steak and vegetables for lunch (515 cals) and again for dinner, with the addition of a couple of scrambled eggs (655 cals). My total calories for the day was around 1800, minus 490 burned in three 10-minute sessions on the cross-trainer, for a net of about 1300.
That's not a lot of exercise, and the small amount I actually manage to get done all happened before the kids got home from school at 3. Each session was short, but I upped the resistance to the point that my legs were trembling and burning by the time I finished each session. But for whatever reason, as the day went on I just felt less and less motivated to get on the damned thing and do any more. I'd say that maybe all the extra activity is really starting to wear me out, but then I stayed up watching movies until nearly 2 am, so I'm not convinced that's what's going on.
Still, I'm not going to beat myself up over it too much. I mean hey, 1.2 kg down, right?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 10: Settling In
My morning weigh-in was 150.7, down 0.5 kg since yesterday but still above my Saturday weekly weigh-in of 149.9. If I'm spending half the week gaining and then re-losing weight after my EWIW Day, that seems counterproductive. So why is this part of the 4-Hour Body Slow Carb Diet? According to Ferriss, "dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat-loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function and conversion of T4 to T3, etc.) doesn't downshift from extended caloric restriction." Honestly, I'm not sure my caloric intake is restricted enough nor prolonged enough to worry about reductions in thyroid hormones, but I'm going to look into it.
Breakfast this morning was the usual eggs and beans (602 calories), and lunch was a grilled chicken breast, with a mix of lentils (1/4 can) and veggies (350 calories), and dinner was the same, with the addition of a few scrambled eggs (525 calories). I also had a few cups of coffee, a couple of cups of tea, and a handful of cashews, for a daily total of 1915 calories.
Exercise today included four 15-minute sessions, plus one 10-minute session on the cross-trainer, for a total of 1140 calories burned. My net calories for today was 775.
Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good, although I'm a little concerned about the fact that today is Tuesday and I weight more than I did on Saturday, three days ago. I'm still confident that by Saturday, I'll be at my lowest weight since starting Weight Watchers, but at this rate, I'll be lucky if I get below 148.7, a 1.2 kg loss for the week. Sure, it's still over a kilo, and nothing to sneeze at, but I've done that before without eating such a restricted diet, and without exercising an hour or more every day.
At this point, I'm thinking that I might try to exercise some semblance of self-control this Saturday. Surely I can enjoy eating some of the things I'm missing out on during the week, without going completely bat-shit crazy and scarfing down five or six thousand calories. It really shouldn't be that hard. But then again, that's what I thought last week, too.
Breakfast this morning was the usual eggs and beans (602 calories), and lunch was a grilled chicken breast, with a mix of lentils (1/4 can) and veggies (350 calories), and dinner was the same, with the addition of a few scrambled eggs (525 calories). I also had a few cups of coffee, a couple of cups of tea, and a handful of cashews, for a daily total of 1915 calories.
Exercise today included four 15-minute sessions, plus one 10-minute session on the cross-trainer, for a total of 1140 calories burned. My net calories for today was 775.
Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good, although I'm a little concerned about the fact that today is Tuesday and I weight more than I did on Saturday, three days ago. I'm still confident that by Saturday, I'll be at my lowest weight since starting Weight Watchers, but at this rate, I'll be lucky if I get below 148.7, a 1.2 kg loss for the week. Sure, it's still over a kilo, and nothing to sneeze at, but I've done that before without eating such a restricted diet, and without exercising an hour or more every day.
At this point, I'm thinking that I might try to exercise some semblance of self-control this Saturday. Surely I can enjoy eating some of the things I'm missing out on during the week, without going completely bat-shit crazy and scarfing down five or six thousand calories. It really shouldn't be that hard. But then again, that's what I thought last week, too.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 9: We Can Rebuild Him
The morning weigh-in didn't give me the news I was waiting for. At 151.2 kg, I'm not losing again yet. I mean, fair enough, given the amount of fat and carbs I consumed on Saturday (about 5 times my recommended daily allowance), but I was hoping.
I had the usual breakfast, but again I didn't manage to have it within an hour (or even better, a half an hour) after waking. I barely squeaked in under the two hour mark. I think the only chance I've got of making that happen on anything like a regular basis is to get up at 6:00. I'm slowly working my way towards it (got up at 6:20 today), but have I mentioned that I'm really not a morning person?
Anyway, I cut the size of the serving of beans and veggies, so breakfast was 496 cals. Due to forgetting to defrost my chicken breasts overnight, I ended up having a second breakfast for lunch, although with a regular-sized portion of beans (580 cals). Then dinner was chicken breast (marinated in olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic, steak seasoning, lemon pepper, and Italian herbs) , green beans (with onion ,bacon, and a little beef stock), more beans and veggies for me, and macaroni and cheese (James made sure everybody was aware that "It's out of a packet! It's not real, it's out of a packet!") for the kids (710 cals). All that plus a few coffees throughout the day put me at 1830 calories in, minus 1080 calories burned, gave me a net of 750 calories.
I worked in 4 session on the cross-trainer today, starting with a fairly slow 10 minutes (3.2 km), followed by a quick 10 minutes with a new personal best 3k in 8:10, shaving off 18 seconds and finishing at 3.6 km. Then after dinner I did 8.5 km in 30 minutes, took a little break, then went back to finish the day with another 10, and did 3k in 7:54! Less than two weeks ago, I managed to do 3k in under 9 minutes for the first time. Today, I did it in under 8. Sweet!
I also took Tom out for a walk and a play at the park, which added in a few more calories burned, plus it was a gorgeous day outside (too bad the flies thought so, too), and he had a great time.
I had the usual breakfast, but again I didn't manage to have it within an hour (or even better, a half an hour) after waking. I barely squeaked in under the two hour mark. I think the only chance I've got of making that happen on anything like a regular basis is to get up at 6:00. I'm slowly working my way towards it (got up at 6:20 today), but have I mentioned that I'm really not a morning person?
Anyway, I cut the size of the serving of beans and veggies, so breakfast was 496 cals. Due to forgetting to defrost my chicken breasts overnight, I ended up having a second breakfast for lunch, although with a regular-sized portion of beans (580 cals). Then dinner was chicken breast (marinated in olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic, steak seasoning, lemon pepper, and Italian herbs) , green beans (with onion ,bacon, and a little beef stock), more beans and veggies for me, and macaroni and cheese (James made sure everybody was aware that "It's out of a packet! It's not real, it's out of a packet!") for the kids (710 cals). All that plus a few coffees throughout the day put me at 1830 calories in, minus 1080 calories burned, gave me a net of 750 calories.
I worked in 4 session on the cross-trainer today, starting with a fairly slow 10 minutes (3.2 km), followed by a quick 10 minutes with a new personal best 3k in 8:10, shaving off 18 seconds and finishing at 3.6 km. Then after dinner I did 8.5 km in 30 minutes, took a little break, then went back to finish the day with another 10, and did 3k in 7:54! Less than two weeks ago, I managed to do 3k in under 9 minutes for the first time. Today, I did it in under 8. Sweet!
I also took Tom out for a walk and a play at the park, which added in a few more calories burned, plus it was a gorgeous day outside (too bad the flies thought so, too), and he had a great time.
Slow-carb Diet Day 8: Recovery
After the big pig-out yesterday, I took it pretty easy today. Bacon and a couple of eggs for breakfast (220 calories), without the beans and corn and what-not, and then a Big Ass Salad and a hamburger steak (455 calories)for lunch. Dinner was meat loaf and veggies for me (540 calories), plus some damned fine mashed potatoes for the kids. Then some time around 11, I got hungry again and had a repeat of that breakfast (220 cals). That was 1435 calories all up, minus 975 for an hour on the cross-trainer (all in one session!), for a net of 450 calories.
My morning weigh-in put me at 151.1 kg, over a kilo heavier after my carb-heavy binge. That's nearly half the weight I took off over the course of the week. This really feels like two steps forward, one step back, but I'll stick with it for another couple of weeks to see how it goes. As long as I continue losing weight, getting stronger, and feeling better, I guess I shouldn't knock it.
My morning weigh-in put me at 151.1 kg, over a kilo heavier after my carb-heavy binge. That's nearly half the weight I took off over the course of the week. This really feels like two steps forward, one step back, but I'll stick with it for another couple of weeks to see how it goes. As long as I continue losing weight, getting stronger, and feeling better, I guess I shouldn't knock it.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Weigh-in: 12 February, 2011
Today's Weight: 149.9 kg (330.5 lbs)
Change: -2.5 kg (5.5 lbs)
Total Loss: 45.6 kg (100.5 lbs)
To be totally honest, I was hoping for a bit more. A 2.5 kilo loss is great, but looking back through my weigh-in records, I can see that I've lost more weight (3.6 kg in late Feb, 2.9 kg in early March) with considerably less effort (or at least a hell of a lot less sweating). I'm going to keep going with the slow-carb thing, but I can't help but think that I could've lost just as much weight by just sticking to the Weight Watchers plan and spending an hour or so out on the cross-trainer every day.
I took measurements again, and it looks like I'm not only losing weight, but my body shape is changing as well. This week's numbers are:
Upper arm: 41 cm (-2 cm)
Chest: 130 cm (-1 cm)
Hips: 123 cm (+2 cm)
Thigh: 68 cm (-3 cm)
Calf: 51 cm (no change)
I'm guessing that the increased hip measurement has more to do with my lack of skill in taking measurements than in any actual increase.
But the main thing is that I'm losing weight, and even though I'm exercising a lot more than I was before, I feel like I have more, not less, energy.
Change: -2.5 kg (5.5 lbs)
Total Loss: 45.6 kg (100.5 lbs)
To be totally honest, I was hoping for a bit more. A 2.5 kilo loss is great, but looking back through my weigh-in records, I can see that I've lost more weight (3.6 kg in late Feb, 2.9 kg in early March) with considerably less effort (or at least a hell of a lot less sweating). I'm going to keep going with the slow-carb thing, but I can't help but think that I could've lost just as much weight by just sticking to the Weight Watchers plan and spending an hour or so out on the cross-trainer every day.
I took measurements again, and it looks like I'm not only losing weight, but my body shape is changing as well. This week's numbers are:
Upper arm: 41 cm (-2 cm)
Chest: 130 cm (-1 cm)
Hips: 123 cm (+2 cm)
Thigh: 68 cm (-3 cm)
Calf: 51 cm (no change)
I'm guessing that the increased hip measurement has more to do with my lack of skill in taking measurements than in any actual increase.
But the main thing is that I'm losing weight, and even though I'm exercising a lot more than I was before, I feel like I have more, not less, energy.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
12 February, 2011: Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day #2
I didn't take pictures this time, but now I wish I had. I really need to find my little camera, because using the big one (especially when out in public) is a bit of a drag and a hassle.
After weigh-in, I came home and cooked breakfast. The usual eggs, bacon, beans, salsa, etc. and in the end the only thing I changed was the real, actual white cane sugar in my coffee. I'd planned to have buttered toast, but in the end, I didn't feel like it would really add that much to the meal, so I skipped it.
For lunch, I once again wanted a cheeseburger. But rather than hitting Mickey D's, I went looking for a good cheeseburger from one of the many local eating establishments here in Gungahlin. I knew that most of them don't serve cheeseburgers, but thought surely there would be a few places offering what I was looking for. Turns out, not so much. The Central Cafe has a cheeseburger on the menu, but at 3:00 pm, they had the chairs up on most of the tables and looked like they were getting ready to close.
The Connect Cafe also had a cheeseburger, but it was an "Italian-inspired" sort of thing with bocconcini cheese and basil, on turkish bread, etc. Which may well be quite nice, but I wanted a regular, old-fashioned cheeseburger. "I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french-fried potatoes!" You know what I'm saying? A few of the other cafes had grilled chicken burgers, fish burgers, veggie burgers, etc. but in the end, I wound up at Hungry Jacks (Burger King), with a Double Whopper with Cheese, a regular fries and a regular Coke. Not bad, but the ambiance leaves a lot to be desired. Our local Hungry Jacks is connected to a petrol (gas) station. So I'm eating my burger, reading a book, and when I look up and out through the glass wall, I'm staring at people putting petrol in their car, checking their tires, etc. But hey, the burger was good (better than many I've had at Hungry Jacks), the place was clean, and the staff were nice. So far, so good.
Oh, and I discovered that we've now got a Zambrero here in Gungahlin. Apparently they're officially opening later this week, but they were selling food yesterday and I was very tempted to abandon my cheeseburger hunt and just have a burrito instead. But in the end, I chose to stay on course, continue the mission, and wait until next week to try the burrito.
Then between lunch and dinner, I chilled out on the couch, reading a book and eating some chocolate (Green & Black's organic milk chocolate with roasted almonds -- yum!). A very enjoyable way to spend a few hours of an afternoon, and one I hadn't done in a long time.
Then we had chili dogs for dinner, and at the last minute I decided I'd grill them on the BBQ. Then I discovered that I had very little charcoal, but I gave it a shot anyway. Didn't happen. I ended up getting them about half-cooked on the grill, then finishing them off inside in the oven. They still tasted good, though.
Now let me add that at this point, I really wasn't doing too badly calorie-wise. About 4500 calories in, and in between breakfast and lunch, I'd done 3 sessions on the cross-trainer (15 minutes, 20 minutes, and a big 40-minute session) for about 1200 calories burned. So at some point after dinner, I was thinking that another couple of sessions on the cross-trainer and I could possibly end up with net calories of around 2500, just a little over my recommended daily allowance.
And then the after-dinner pig-out commenced. It started with dessert -- the coffee-flavored ice cream I had left over from last week. None left over this time, because I ate the whole thing! Then later, when everybody else was asleep and I was catching up on news and email and what-not at the computer, I ended up eating the rest of the BBQ chips from dinner and the rest of the Coke, too. Then still later (around midnight, I think) I went digging through the pantry, and ended up eating a bowl of Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes (wtf?), and two little bite-sized chocolate bars that may or may not have been left over from Halloween. And to finish it all off, some time around 1 am I started digging out the shaved ham and the salami and whatnot and built myself a bit of a Dagwood sandwich (basically, the same stuff I put on my sub sandwich last week, but in between 2 regular slices of bread). Leave off the bread and the cheese and it's practically slow-carb health food, but as the coup de grace of a 7000+ calorie day, it probably wasn't the best choice. Sure tasted good, though!
So while I started my EWIW Day off going pretty easy on it, I ended up making up for lost time by the end of it. I'm glad I got in some exercise earlier in the day, because I sure as hell didn't do any after lunch. The only time I went anywhere near that cross-trainer was to evacuate various frozen delights from the freezer out there in the garage.
After weigh-in, I came home and cooked breakfast. The usual eggs, bacon, beans, salsa, etc. and in the end the only thing I changed was the real, actual white cane sugar in my coffee. I'd planned to have buttered toast, but in the end, I didn't feel like it would really add that much to the meal, so I skipped it.
For lunch, I once again wanted a cheeseburger. But rather than hitting Mickey D's, I went looking for a good cheeseburger from one of the many local eating establishments here in Gungahlin. I knew that most of them don't serve cheeseburgers, but thought surely there would be a few places offering what I was looking for. Turns out, not so much. The Central Cafe has a cheeseburger on the menu, but at 3:00 pm, they had the chairs up on most of the tables and looked like they were getting ready to close.
The Connect Cafe also had a cheeseburger, but it was an "Italian-inspired" sort of thing with bocconcini cheese and basil, on turkish bread, etc. Which may well be quite nice, but I wanted a regular, old-fashioned cheeseburger. "I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french-fried potatoes!" You know what I'm saying? A few of the other cafes had grilled chicken burgers, fish burgers, veggie burgers, etc. but in the end, I wound up at Hungry Jacks (Burger King), with a Double Whopper with Cheese, a regular fries and a regular Coke. Not bad, but the ambiance leaves a lot to be desired. Our local Hungry Jacks is connected to a petrol (gas) station. So I'm eating my burger, reading a book, and when I look up and out through the glass wall, I'm staring at people putting petrol in their car, checking their tires, etc. But hey, the burger was good (better than many I've had at Hungry Jacks), the place was clean, and the staff were nice. So far, so good.
Oh, and I discovered that we've now got a Zambrero here in Gungahlin. Apparently they're officially opening later this week, but they were selling food yesterday and I was very tempted to abandon my cheeseburger hunt and just have a burrito instead. But in the end, I chose to stay on course, continue the mission, and wait until next week to try the burrito.
Then between lunch and dinner, I chilled out on the couch, reading a book and eating some chocolate (Green & Black's organic milk chocolate with roasted almonds -- yum!). A very enjoyable way to spend a few hours of an afternoon, and one I hadn't done in a long time.
Then we had chili dogs for dinner, and at the last minute I decided I'd grill them on the BBQ. Then I discovered that I had very little charcoal, but I gave it a shot anyway. Didn't happen. I ended up getting them about half-cooked on the grill, then finishing them off inside in the oven. They still tasted good, though.
Now let me add that at this point, I really wasn't doing too badly calorie-wise. About 4500 calories in, and in between breakfast and lunch, I'd done 3 sessions on the cross-trainer (15 minutes, 20 minutes, and a big 40-minute session) for about 1200 calories burned. So at some point after dinner, I was thinking that another couple of sessions on the cross-trainer and I could possibly end up with net calories of around 2500, just a little over my recommended daily allowance.
And then the after-dinner pig-out commenced. It started with dessert -- the coffee-flavored ice cream I had left over from last week. None left over this time, because I ate the whole thing! Then later, when everybody else was asleep and I was catching up on news and email and what-not at the computer, I ended up eating the rest of the BBQ chips from dinner and the rest of the Coke, too. Then still later (around midnight, I think) I went digging through the pantry, and ended up eating a bowl of Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes (wtf?), and two little bite-sized chocolate bars that may or may not have been left over from Halloween. And to finish it all off, some time around 1 am I started digging out the shaved ham and the salami and whatnot and built myself a bit of a Dagwood sandwich (basically, the same stuff I put on my sub sandwich last week, but in between 2 regular slices of bread). Leave off the bread and the cheese and it's practically slow-carb health food, but as the coup de grace of a 7000+ calorie day, it probably wasn't the best choice. Sure tasted good, though!
So while I started my EWIW Day off going pretty easy on it, I ended up making up for lost time by the end of it. I'm glad I got in some exercise earlier in the day, because I sure as hell didn't do any after lunch. The only time I went anywhere near that cross-trainer was to evacuate various frozen delights from the freezer out there in the garage.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 5: Settling In, Looking Forward to Saturday
Today was another good day, with everything pretty much going as planned. The usual breakfast (579 cals), then lunch was a repeat of last night's dinner, minus the lentils (576 cals). Maybe I should've added them again, because I got a bit hungry around 4, so I had a leftover hotdog frank and some of the chilli (269 cals). Then dinner was baked porn chops (very nice loin chops from Jordo's, with tamarind, lime and chilli glaze), rice & gravy (for the boys), and mixed veggies (610 cals).
All that plus a couple of cups of coffee came to 2013 calories, and I did six 15-minute sessions on the cross-trainer -244 cals each, 4.5-4.8 km) left me with 547 net calories for the day.
According to CalorieKing, my average food calories for the past week (including my Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day) has been 2,471. And I've averaged 94 minutes of exercise, burning 1,539 calories, for an average 932 net calories.
It also says that my calorie breakdown averages out to 35.6% fat, 34% protein, and 30.4% carbohydrate. Is that good? I'm not sure. I hope so.
My morning weigh-in number was 150.5 kg (331.8 lbs), so that's a 0.7 kg (1.54 lb) loss for today. I'm not sure exactly when, but at some point today I realized that the title of yesterday's blog entry, a small loss, was kinda stupid. I'm still thinking about the numbers in terms of weekly weigh-ins. Over a half a kilo in a week would be a small loss. In a day, it's pretty fucking excellent.
I've lost 5 kg (11 lbs) in a week. I haven't gone hungry, and even though I'm tired at bed-time, I don't feel lethargic or dopey during the day. In fact, I feel pretty good. I've got more energy, I'm generally in a better mood, and I'm feeling good about my progress.
All that plus a couple of cups of coffee came to 2013 calories, and I did six 15-minute sessions on the cross-trainer -244 cals each, 4.5-4.8 km) left me with 547 net calories for the day.
According to CalorieKing, my average food calories for the past week (including my Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day) has been 2,471. And I've averaged 94 minutes of exercise, burning 1,539 calories, for an average 932 net calories.
It also says that my calorie breakdown averages out to 35.6% fat, 34% protein, and 30.4% carbohydrate. Is that good? I'm not sure. I hope so.
My morning weigh-in number was 150.5 kg (331.8 lbs), so that's a 0.7 kg (1.54 lb) loss for today. I'm not sure exactly when, but at some point today I realized that the title of yesterday's blog entry, a small loss, was kinda stupid. I'm still thinking about the numbers in terms of weekly weigh-ins. Over a half a kilo in a week would be a small loss. In a day, it's pretty fucking excellent.
I've lost 5 kg (11 lbs) in a week. I haven't gone hungry, and even though I'm tired at bed-time, I don't feel lethargic or dopey during the day. In fact, I feel pretty good. I've got more energy, I'm generally in a better mood, and I'm feeling good about my progress.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Slow-carb Diet Day 4: A Small Loss
First thing this morning was my daily weigh-in, and the scales said that I'm now 151.2 kg (333.3 lbs), a 0.6 kg (1.3 lb) loss since yesterday, and a 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) loss since my last official weigh-in. It appears that progress is in fact being made. Sweet!
Breakfast was the usual, but only two eggs. Lunch was the standard lentil and veggie mix, and a chicken breast that I'd marinated in Madras curry paste. Very nice. Then around 5:00 I had a handful of cashew nuts as a snack, then worked up an impromtu dinner consisting of more of the lentil & veggie mix, plus some of the mince (ground beef) and pasta sauce I'd made for the boys' spaghetti. That wasn't the plan at all (I was supposed to have more of the chicken breast), but when I made the plan, I hadn't really thought about the fact that I'd need to cook two different dinners simultaneously, while also doing all the other stuff that always seems to come up while I'm cooking dinner. It was easier to combine the two meals a bit more, and the end result was filling and tasty.
The weather wasn't particularly inviting for a walk (although in the end, it didn't ever actually rain), so I stuck with the cross-trainer. Taking it easy today meant doing four 15-minute sessions, with distances ranging from 4.5 km to 4.9 km. Enough to work up a good sweat, but not so much that I was still shaking and feeling like I might throw up 15 minutes later.
The meals were 1790 calories, the workouts burned 975, giving me a net of 815. Or in Weight Watchers terms, 44 ProPoints used and 23 Activity Points earned.
After a week of doing this slow-carb thing, I have to say that it hasn't been as hard to stick to it as I thought it might. The main foods I'm missing out on are bread, potato and pasta. Of the three, I guess potato is the hardest, even though I really wasn't eating that much of it before. The only other thing is the sugar substitute. None of them beat real sugar. When I was at the grocery store tonight, I thought about buying some diet soda just to have something other than water. But in the end, I couldn't be bothered buying any of it. But in a few days, I'll have some of the things I miss, and that once-a-week exception to the rule makes it ok.
Breakfast was the usual, but only two eggs. Lunch was the standard lentil and veggie mix, and a chicken breast that I'd marinated in Madras curry paste. Very nice. Then around 5:00 I had a handful of cashew nuts as a snack, then worked up an impromtu dinner consisting of more of the lentil & veggie mix, plus some of the mince (ground beef) and pasta sauce I'd made for the boys' spaghetti. That wasn't the plan at all (I was supposed to have more of the chicken breast), but when I made the plan, I hadn't really thought about the fact that I'd need to cook two different dinners simultaneously, while also doing all the other stuff that always seems to come up while I'm cooking dinner. It was easier to combine the two meals a bit more, and the end result was filling and tasty.
The weather wasn't particularly inviting for a walk (although in the end, it didn't ever actually rain), so I stuck with the cross-trainer. Taking it easy today meant doing four 15-minute sessions, with distances ranging from 4.5 km to 4.9 km. Enough to work up a good sweat, but not so much that I was still shaking and feeling like I might throw up 15 minutes later.
The meals were 1790 calories, the workouts burned 975, giving me a net of 815. Or in Weight Watchers terms, 44 ProPoints used and 23 Activity Points earned.
After a week of doing this slow-carb thing, I have to say that it hasn't been as hard to stick to it as I thought it might. The main foods I'm missing out on are bread, potato and pasta. Of the three, I guess potato is the hardest, even though I really wasn't eating that much of it before. The only other thing is the sugar substitute. None of them beat real sugar. When I was at the grocery store tonight, I thought about buying some diet soda just to have something other than water. But in the end, I couldn't be bothered buying any of it. But in a few days, I'll have some of the things I miss, and that once-a-week exception to the rule makes it ok.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Low-carb Diet Day 2: So Far, So Good
It looks like my cautious reaction to yesterday's weigh-in numbers was justified. Today's number indicated no change. Still 151.6 kg. I can hardly wait to see what happens tomorrow morning.
I'm not going to keep posting pics of the same meals over and over again, but I'll add more when something new makes it to the menu, or I want to share a recipe or something.
Breakfast was the usual eggs, beans, and salsa. And I decided to add a cup of coffee. Great decision! After that I went out for my morning workout, and did my first 10k. Not quickly, mind you. But I did the 10k and then kept going to finish the program section, for 10.2 km in 36 minutes. Then Later I did another 15-minute (4.3 km) session, which means that so far I've burned around 830 cals. I haven't entered everything to find out the calories in yet, so I'll post now and update later.
Update: Jebus, that was a damned good lunch! Even though it was more chicken, it was different enough that it didn't feel like it was getting old. I ended up having a not-grilled chicken salad (with baby spinach, red capsicum (bell pepper), onion, grated carrot, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, picked jalapeños, and some smoked ham and Spanish salami). It was hella good, and I figure if it wasn't filling enough to satisfy my appetite until dinner time, I can always make a little snack with the bean mix and some salsa, or something like that.
So that's 565 calories for breakfast and 360 for lunch, (Update: plus 310 for the chicken and avocado mid-morning snack and the after-lunch coffee) for a total so far of 925 1235. 830 burned means 95 405 net cals so far today.
One thing I've noticed on the cross-trainer is that I'm starting to have some pain in my right elbow. Didn't really see that one coming. When it hurts, I've been switching to legs-only, because while I can handle it if my muscles are sore, painful, inflamed joints are much more likely to put me out of commission, and for longer.
It's funny that my ankles and knees, which are all sorts of messed up, seem to be holding up alright (the cross-trainer, while heartless and cruel, is relatively low-impact), but the repetitive arm movements is apparently aggravating an old trombone-related injury (now there's a term you don't come across every day).
Another update: After lunch, I did another 10k (10.3 km in 36 minutes) on the cross-trainer (-586 cals), and after dinner I did another 8.7 km in 30 minutes (-489 calories). One new thing I tried out on both those sessions was that instead of listening to music, I watched TV. I mean, I've been putting the TV on without sound, then listening to music and watching whatever's on the screen at the same time (today that helped me get my exercise and watch the Super Bowl at the same time, but more often than not I watch foreign news).
This afternoon I watched Star Wars. I've got an old VCR hooked up to the TV in the garage because it gets better reception that way, and I've got the original Star Wars Special Edition Trilogy Boxed Set on VHS. Yeah, now I can be that guy. That guy who sits out in his garage trying to keep his old VCR and CRT TV working (while also adding another terabyte of storage to his home media server to hold more downloaded movies and TV shows because he's too cheap to pay $80 a month for satellite TV.)
Anyway, yeah, I think it kinda sucks for keeping up a good pace, but it's pretty cool for longer sessions. So it's good to have another thing to keep me going while the Cross-trainer from Hell punishes me mercilessly.
I got really hungry around 5:00, so I had a handful of nuts (almonds and cashews, 300 cals), and got busy making dinner. The boys had fried rice, and I had a big stir fry with chicken, ham, onion, garlic, red capsicum (bell pepper), carrots, green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, minced red chili peppers, and soy sauce.
That was 655 calories, and two after-dinner coffees (I know, at this rate I'll be drinking 9 coffees a day by the end of the week. Oh well, if that's the itch I scratch, I figure what the hell, right?) So all up I ate 2290 calories, burned 1905, and ended up with a net of 385 calories. And watched Green Bay beat Pittsburgh (suck it, Steelers!), hung out with my kids on the last day before they've got to go back to school, and had flashbacks to the first time I saw Star Wars, at the Almeda Mall in Houston with my cousin Marie and her husband Tom. Good times, good times. And now I think it's time to get my ass in bed, because no doubt the morning is going to be a little nutty. First day of school. Glad it's them, and not me. :)
Oops, one more update: The Weight Watchers numbers--breakfast was 12 ProPoints, lunch was 7, dinner was 12, the chicken and avocado was 6, the nuts were 8, and the coffees were 3, for a total of 46 ProPoints (out of a daily allowance of 66). The exercise gave me 45 Activity ProPoints. Okay, now I'm really going to bed. I mean it.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I'm not going to keep posting pics of the same meals over and over again, but I'll add more when something new makes it to the menu, or I want to share a recipe or something.
Breakfast was the usual eggs, beans, and salsa. And I decided to add a cup of coffee. Great decision! After that I went out for my morning workout, and did my first 10k. Not quickly, mind you. But I did the 10k and then kept going to finish the program section, for 10.2 km in 36 minutes. Then Later I did another 15-minute (4.3 km) session, which means that so far I've burned around 830 cals. I haven't entered everything to find out the calories in yet, so I'll post now and update later.
Update: Jebus, that was a damned good lunch! Even though it was more chicken, it was different enough that it didn't feel like it was getting old. I ended up having a not-grilled chicken salad (with baby spinach, red capsicum (bell pepper), onion, grated carrot, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, picked jalapeños, and some smoked ham and Spanish salami). It was hella good, and I figure if it wasn't filling enough to satisfy my appetite until dinner time, I can always make a little snack with the bean mix and some salsa, or something like that.
So that's 565 calories for breakfast and 360 for lunch, (Update: plus 310 for the chicken and avocado mid-morning snack and the after-lunch coffee) for a total so far of One thing I've noticed on the cross-trainer is that I'm starting to have some pain in my right elbow. Didn't really see that one coming. When it hurts, I've been switching to legs-only, because while I can handle it if my muscles are sore, painful, inflamed joints are much more likely to put me out of commission, and for longer.
It's funny that my ankles and knees, which are all sorts of messed up, seem to be holding up alright (the cross-trainer, while heartless and cruel, is relatively low-impact), but the repetitive arm movements is apparently aggravating an old trombone-related injury (now there's a term you don't come across every day).
Another update: After lunch, I did another 10k (10.3 km in 36 minutes) on the cross-trainer (-586 cals), and after dinner I did another 8.7 km in 30 minutes (-489 calories). One new thing I tried out on both those sessions was that instead of listening to music, I watched TV. I mean, I've been putting the TV on without sound, then listening to music and watching whatever's on the screen at the same time (today that helped me get my exercise and watch the Super Bowl at the same time, but more often than not I watch foreign news).
This afternoon I watched Star Wars. I've got an old VCR hooked up to the TV in the garage because it gets better reception that way, and I've got the original Star Wars Special Edition Trilogy Boxed Set on VHS. Yeah, now I can be that guy. That guy who sits out in his garage trying to keep his old VCR and CRT TV working (while also adding another terabyte of storage to his home media server to hold more downloaded movies and TV shows because he's too cheap to pay $80 a month for satellite TV.)
Anyway, yeah, I think it kinda sucks for keeping up a good pace, but it's pretty cool for longer sessions. So it's good to have another thing to keep me going while the Cross-trainer from Hell punishes me mercilessly.
I got really hungry around 5:00, so I had a handful of nuts (almonds and cashews, 300 cals), and got busy making dinner. The boys had fried rice, and I had a big stir fry with chicken, ham, onion, garlic, red capsicum (bell pepper), carrots, green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, minced red chili peppers, and soy sauce.
That was 655 calories, and two after-dinner coffees (I know, at this rate I'll be drinking 9 coffees a day by the end of the week. Oh well, if that's the itch I scratch, I figure what the hell, right?) So all up I ate 2290 calories, burned 1905, and ended up with a net of 385 calories. And watched Green Bay beat Pittsburgh (suck it, Steelers!), hung out with my kids on the last day before they've got to go back to school, and had flashbacks to the first time I saw Star Wars, at the Almeda Mall in Houston with my cousin Marie and her husband Tom. Good times, good times. And now I think it's time to get my ass in bed, because no doubt the morning is going to be a little nutty. First day of school. Glad it's them, and not me. :)
Oops, one more update: The Weight Watchers numbers--breakfast was 12 ProPoints, lunch was 7, dinner was 12, the chicken and avocado was 6, the nuts were 8, and the coffees were 3, for a total of 46 ProPoints (out of a daily allowance of 66). The exercise gave me 45 Activity ProPoints. Okay, now I'm really going to bed. I mean it.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Let the Slow-Carb Diet Commence! Day 1
I had a nice, proper little Sunday morning sleep-in, and woke up around quarter to eight. I was sore, but not crippled, so I took that as a good sign. I got up, took care of the usual morning business, then got on the scales to get a preliminary damage report. I weighed myself undressed and then dressed (essentially the same clothes I wear to every meeting), and my numbers were 148.5 kg (327.4 lbs) undressed and 151.6 kg (334.2 lbs) dressed. If those numbers are right, then I lost 0.8 kg (1 ¾ lbs) since weigh-in yesterday. If that's true, then that's totally freaking awesome! But I'm not getting too excited until I've done a few more measurements over the next couple of days.
After that, I got started on my first full official day of slow-carb eating. Breakfast was fried eggs, and the bacon, bean, and corn and spinach mix. Damn, that's a good breakfast!
Then I headed out to the garage, to spend some time suffering on the Cross-trainer of Doom. I varied the resistance, sticking with the normal level 6 for the first 12 minutes, then upping it to level 7 (or whatever the hell 4 bars is) for 3 minutes, then level 9 (5 bars) for 3 minutes, then back down to level 6 for a final 3 minutes. 21 minutes total, with the first 3k in 11:10, and burning 340 cals. Later I got back on to do a 10 minute session, but had some weird abdominal pains and stopped after 5 minutes. Five minutes is better than nothing, right? And it burned another 80 calories.
Lunch was chicken breast (marinated in tamarind, Blue Kitchen Hot Chilli Sauce, and lime juice) and a lentil and veggies (carrots, peas, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach) and some salsa.
I'd hate a late breakfast (around 9) and I didn't eat until around 1:30 because I really wasn't hungry. And I only cooked 3 out of the 5 pieces of chicken I had marinating. After the way I stuffed myself yesterday, I didn't want to eat too much today, even if it's all slow-carb stuff.
Since lunch I've put in two 10-minute sessions on the bastard of a cross-trainer. The first time I did 3k in 9:40, and the second time I did it in 9:15 (on level 4). So according to CalorieKing, I've eaten 1130 cals, burned 750 cals, for a net of 380 calories so far today. Weight Watchers says I've used 21 ProPoints and earned 18 Activity Points.
A good start so far for Day 1.
Update to include dinner, etc.
Dinner was, BIG SURPRISE, some meat and some mixed veggies!
Ok, maybe not a surprise, but the steak was delicious, the veggies were okay, and it got the job done. At some point today I'd started thinking that I might give the veggies a miss and go with a salad and a half an avocado instead. But for whatever reasons, it didn't end up happening. The boys had the same (the three of them split the other steak), with the bonus of mashed potatoes and gravy. I was a little bit envious, but not much.
Dinner was 578 calories, coffee afterwards was another 23, so I finished the day with 1725 calories consumed.
I did another 10-minute workout around 5:00, then another one after dinner. And to end the day, I just finished a 30-minute session, and now I am one tired ass. That's a total of 1560 calories burned, for a net of 165. If I'd done one more 10-minute session at some point today, I would've had net calories of 0. Unless I used a different program to count everything, and then I'd end up with a different number. So what the hell, the numbers are really only good as ball-park figures, right?
Alright, that's it. What a helluva weekend. It's time for bed.
After that, I got started on my first full official day of slow-carb eating. Breakfast was fried eggs, and the bacon, bean, and corn and spinach mix. Damn, that's a good breakfast!Then I headed out to the garage, to spend some time suffering on the Cross-trainer of Doom. I varied the resistance, sticking with the normal level 6 for the first 12 minutes, then upping it to level 7 (or whatever the hell 4 bars is) for 3 minutes, then level 9 (5 bars) for 3 minutes, then back down to level 6 for a final 3 minutes. 21 minutes total, with the first 3k in 11:10, and burning 340 cals. Later I got back on to do a 10 minute session, but had some weird abdominal pains and stopped after 5 minutes. Five minutes is better than nothing, right? And it burned another 80 calories.
Lunch was chicken breast (marinated in tamarind, Blue Kitchen Hot Chilli Sauce, and lime juice) and a lentil and veggies (carrots, peas, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach) and some salsa.I'd hate a late breakfast (around 9) and I didn't eat until around 1:30 because I really wasn't hungry. And I only cooked 3 out of the 5 pieces of chicken I had marinating. After the way I stuffed myself yesterday, I didn't want to eat too much today, even if it's all slow-carb stuff.
Since lunch I've put in two 10-minute sessions on the bastard of a cross-trainer. The first time I did 3k in 9:40, and the second time I did it in 9:15 (on level 4). So according to CalorieKing, I've eaten 1130 cals, burned 750 cals, for a net of 380 calories so far today. Weight Watchers says I've used 21 ProPoints and earned 18 Activity Points.
A good start so far for Day 1.
Update to include dinner, etc.
Dinner was, BIG SURPRISE, some meat and some mixed veggies!
Ok, maybe not a surprise, but the steak was delicious, the veggies were okay, and it got the job done. At some point today I'd started thinking that I might give the veggies a miss and go with a salad and a half an avocado instead. But for whatever reasons, it didn't end up happening. The boys had the same (the three of them split the other steak), with the bonus of mashed potatoes and gravy. I was a little bit envious, but not much. Dinner was 578 calories, coffee afterwards was another 23, so I finished the day with 1725 calories consumed.
I did another 10-minute workout around 5:00, then another one after dinner. And to end the day, I just finished a 30-minute session, and now I am one tired ass. That's a total of 1560 calories burned, for a net of 165. If I'd done one more 10-minute session at some point today, I would've had net calories of 0. Unless I used a different program to count everything, and then I'd end up with a different number. So what the hell, the numbers are really only good as ball-park figures, right?
Alright, that's it. What a helluva weekend. It's time for bed.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day # 1 Continues
Holy hell, my inner masochist must be on the loose today. I did another half-hour on the cross-trainer before dinner. And I learned (apparently I'm the only one who didn't know) that you can adjust the resistance as you go along. So I did Program 1 for 6 minutes at the usual level 6 (3 bars), then upped it to 4 bars for three minutes, then 5, then 6, then 7, then 8 (level 16, the max), then back down to 5, and finished the last 6 minutes on 3. I kept forgetting to keep an eye on my times and distances, but I know that I finished the first 3k just before 11:00, and I did 8km in the 30 minutes.
According to CalorieKing, my total cals burned so far today is 1660 (Weight Watchers says 40 ProPoints). The thing is, that doesn't help my net calories all that much, on account of the fact that I've shoved in a total of just over 5000 calories (148 ProPoints). So far. Keep in mind, my normal daily allowances are 2000 cals, or 66 ProPoints. I'm eating, like, three fucking days worth of calories here.
That's kinda insane.
I think that on my next Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day, I might take it a little easier.
I'll update this post later with some pics, and maybe some final numbers. At this point, I'm not entirely sure I'm done eating. Or exercising.
Update: No, I wasn't done eating. Or exercising.
After the whiskey, I had a nice little buzz going on, and I grabbed my afternoon snack. A bag of chips.
Yum! I hung out and talked to Karen while she cooked up a bunch of something or another (she's all clever and organised and cooks up things like spaghetti sauce and soups and stuff on the weekends, then freezes it down to eat later in the week), then headed for the garage. I did 8k in 30 minutes, then started making dinner. Nothing to it, because we were just having submarine sandwiches, potato chips and Coke, and Karen had already cut up all the salad for us. Sweet!
Mine had mustard, mayonnaise, turkey, smoked ham, hot salami, cheddar cheese, baby spinach, tomatoes, red onion, grated carrot, cucumber, red capsicum (bell pepper), sun-dried tomato, olives, and jalapenos. And it was delicious. Some BBQ potato chips and a Coke rounded out the meal.
So the bag of chips 900 calories, and dinner was a huge 1400 cals. That's more than the freaking Quarter Pounder! But it was a damned good sandwich. Add another 61 calories for my after-dinner coffee, and the total for the day was up to 5188.
Then after dinner and what-not, I went back to the cross-trainer, and did another 15 minutes. I did it all on Program 1, Level 4, and managed to keep a reasonable pace with the lower resistance. 3k in 9:25, and 4.5k in 14:16. Finished up with 4.7 km. Then I watched another episode of Eureka with James, sent him to bed, and sat down to start putting in all my numbers, and realized that I was three minutes away from doing a total of two hours on the cross-trainer today. So I jumped on and did 33 minutes, for a total of 2 1/2 hours on the cross-trainer today and a total burn of 2443 calories (or 58 Weight Watchers Activity Points). Then I had a bowl of ice cream to finish out the day.
Coffee flavored, with bits of chocolate. Not bad, but I had the same sort of thing, but a different brand, a few weeks ago that was better. Still, this was nice. And it was 336 calories, bringing my total for today to a staggering 5525 calories. For one fucking day. The crazy thing is I'm guessing that's probably not any kind of personal record before. It's just that I've never actually recorded it when I've eaten more. But even so, I can't think of another day when I've eaten this much junk food.
So my final numbers for the day are 5525 calories in, 2445 burned, for a net of 3080. That's over 1000 calories over my net daily budget of 2000, but without all the exercise, it would've been a lot worse. It'll be interesting to see how I pay for it over the next week. In terms of Weight Watchers ProPoints, I ended up on 148. That used up all my 66 daily allowance, my extra 49 weekly bonus ProPoints, but because I earned 58 Activity Points, it's telling me that I've still got 25 Activity Points remaining. That's enough left over to eat the Snickers bars I've got in the fridge, and still have a few Points left over. But I'm not going to do that. I'm done.
CalorieKing says that I got 35% of my calories from fat, 45% from carbs, and only 11% from protein. It also says that I ate more than 3 times my daily allowance for fat (209/61g), 4 times my daily allowance for carbs (597.8/130g), and went a little over on the protein as well (149.8/128g). The only thing I didn't go over on was my fiber (21.2/38g). Should've eaten more lentils. :)
And I drank about 7 liters (1.85 gallons) of water today.
What an absolutely insane kind of day. I think I'll be very happy to just have a nice, easy, slow-carb day tomorrow. And next Saturday I might keep in mind that Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day doesn't have to be an Eat-Everything-I-Want Day.
According to CalorieKing, my total cals burned so far today is 1660 (Weight Watchers says 40 ProPoints). The thing is, that doesn't help my net calories all that much, on account of the fact that I've shoved in a total of just over 5000 calories (148 ProPoints). So far. Keep in mind, my normal daily allowances are 2000 cals, or 66 ProPoints. I'm eating, like, three fucking days worth of calories here.
That's kinda insane.
I think that on my next Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day, I might take it a little easier.
I'll update this post later with some pics, and maybe some final numbers. At this point, I'm not entirely sure I'm done eating. Or exercising.
Update: No, I wasn't done eating. Or exercising.
After the whiskey, I had a nice little buzz going on, and I grabbed my afternoon snack. A bag of chips.
Yum! I hung out and talked to Karen while she cooked up a bunch of something or another (she's all clever and organised and cooks up things like spaghetti sauce and soups and stuff on the weekends, then freezes it down to eat later in the week), then headed for the garage. I did 8k in 30 minutes, then started making dinner. Nothing to it, because we were just having submarine sandwiches, potato chips and Coke, and Karen had already cut up all the salad for us. Sweet!Mine had mustard, mayonnaise, turkey, smoked ham, hot salami, cheddar cheese, baby spinach, tomatoes, red onion, grated carrot, cucumber, red capsicum (bell pepper), sun-dried tomato, olives, and jalapenos. And it was delicious. Some BBQ potato chips and a Coke rounded out the meal. So the bag of chips 900 calories, and dinner was a huge 1400 cals. That's more than the freaking Quarter Pounder! But it was a damned good sandwich. Add another 61 calories for my after-dinner coffee, and the total for the day was up to 5188.
Then after dinner and what-not, I went back to the cross-trainer, and did another 15 minutes. I did it all on Program 1, Level 4, and managed to keep a reasonable pace with the lower resistance. 3k in 9:25, and 4.5k in 14:16. Finished up with 4.7 km. Then I watched another episode of Eureka with James, sent him to bed, and sat down to start putting in all my numbers, and realized that I was three minutes away from doing a total of two hours on the cross-trainer today. So I jumped on and did 33 minutes, for a total of 2 1/2 hours on the cross-trainer today and a total burn of 2443 calories (or 58 Weight Watchers Activity Points). Then I had a bowl of ice cream to finish out the day.
Coffee flavored, with bits of chocolate. Not bad, but I had the same sort of thing, but a different brand, a few weeks ago that was better. Still, this was nice. And it was 336 calories, bringing my total for today to a staggering 5525 calories. For one fucking day. The crazy thing is I'm guessing that's probably not any kind of personal record before. It's just that I've never actually recorded it when I've eaten more. But even so, I can't think of another day when I've eaten this much junk food.So my final numbers for the day are 5525 calories in, 2445 burned, for a net of 3080. That's over 1000 calories over my net daily budget of 2000, but without all the exercise, it would've been a lot worse. It'll be interesting to see how I pay for it over the next week. In terms of Weight Watchers ProPoints, I ended up on 148. That used up all my 66 daily allowance, my extra 49 weekly bonus ProPoints, but because I earned 58 Activity Points, it's telling me that I've still got 25 Activity Points remaining. That's enough left over to eat the Snickers bars I've got in the fridge, and still have a few Points left over. But I'm not going to do that. I'm done.
CalorieKing says that I got 35% of my calories from fat, 45% from carbs, and only 11% from protein. It also says that I ate more than 3 times my daily allowance for fat (209/61g), 4 times my daily allowance for carbs (597.8/130g), and went a little over on the protein as well (149.8/128g). The only thing I didn't go over on was my fiber (21.2/38g). Should've eaten more lentils. :)
And I drank about 7 liters (1.85 gallons) of water today.
What an absolutely insane kind of day. I think I'll be very happy to just have a nice, easy, slow-carb day tomorrow. And next Saturday I might keep in mind that Eat-Whatever-I-Want Day doesn't have to be an Eat-Everything-I-Want Day.
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