Challenges of the upcoming week

This coming week (Tuesday-Friday), I will be working 7:00am-9:00pm daily, and needless to say this will present some challenges. I won't be able to work out as I regularly do, and my days will revolve fully around work. I'm not going to give up for a week, but at the same time I won't have time to prepare the same kinds of things I normally would. It will be a big challenge. For this week, I'm hoping to stay at or around 2,000 calories/day. This should lead to minimal weight loss, and certainly no weight gain. I will also be active on my breaks at work, and I trust that an active weekend will follow the workweek.

Fortunately, I just came back from Ohio, where I had a good weekend with family. I was very active, playing soccer twice, taking walks, and playing basketball and ping-pong.

Daily comments of calorie totals will be added to this post daily throughout the course of this week.

-0

I just had my first weigh-in for A Technical Approach, Week 1. The result? -0.

I am incredulous. It has now been 7 weeks since I had a negative number.

This is a blog, so I think I'm allowed to say what I'm thinking at any given time. At this time, I am pissed off. Not discouraged, pissed off. I'm going to stick to my calorie allowance today, just as I did every other day last week. But I'm resentful.

Last week, I ate according to the guidelines in A Technical Approach, and I definitely worked out in excess of the guidelines.

Just like I have a really hard time dealing with unreliable people, I have a tough time dealing with unreliable calculators.

According to this calculator, I should have lost 1.5 pounds this week.

According to this calculator, I should have lost 2 pounds this week.

According to this calculator, I should have lost 3 pounds this week.

According to this calculator, I should have lost 2 pounds this week.

According to this formula, I should have lost 2 pounds this week.

So the saga of trying to figure out what actually causes weight loss continues.

There will be no weigh-in next Monday. I will be in Ohio. The next weigh-in will occur on Monday, June  4.

A Technical Approach to Weight Loss

EDIT: I will be posting daily calorie totals from livestrong.com in the comments of each weekly weigh-in post, starting with this week on this post. There will be no totals on Sundays.

A Technical Approach to Weight Loss

Basic principle: Eat regular, small meals –– Maintain an active lifestyle –– Work out 3x/week

Technical Approach start date: Monday, May 14

Weight loss to date: 10 lbs.

Current weight: 222

Goal weight: 165-175

I’m bringing out the big guns.

This is a journey. On a journey there are twists and turns, ups and downs, and changes in terrain. Sometimes, you overcome a challenge and find yourself in the clear. Other times, you have to push. You have to push hard. You have to analyze your motivations, refine your technique, and, sometimes, make a decision to jump in with both feet and go rogue, competing at an unprecedented level of 100% focus and 100% effort.

Until the journey is over, it is all that matters. You’ll do anything to achieve your goal.

So today I am turning the page. Today, the rules change.

What is a Technical Approach to weight loss? It’s one where you know the science, you know the math, and you formulate your lifestyle around it. You monitor everything closely and report it accurately, knowing that you should see the results you want as long as you do your part.

Read on to find my workout schedule, highlights of my eating plan, goals, and psychological Joebabble. Also, from this point forward, I will be completing a daily eating journal on livestrong.com. This eating log will be educational for me as I look back on my successes and (hopefully not) failures. I would like to link to it so you could follow along, but in exploring the site I wasn't able to find such a functionality.

From this point forward, I will also be posting weekly weigh-ins. The reason for this is because I feel ready for a more high-pressure experience, and weekly weigh-ins leave me virtually no margin for error.

Working out:

At the gym (Tuesdays and Thursdays): burn at least 500 calories using bike, treadmill, elliptical, and strength training machines.

At home (Saturdays): rotate between Robert Ferguson’s 24-minute Burn & Tone DVD and 36-minute Fight the Fat Kickboxing DVD. Because these workouts incorporate strength training, the body will continue to burn post-workout, and we can assume that, on average, at least 500 calories are being expended, if not more.

Active lifestyle: Weather permitting, at least two hour-long walks around town and/or on local trails throughout the week.

Calories burned through weekly exercise: 2,000

In pounds per month: 2.5

Eating plan:

After consulting numerous resources and online calculators, I have determined that in order to reach my goal weight, I need to consume about 1,700 calories per day. Physical activity is factored into the equation that resulted in the 1,700 number, so I don’t get to eat more than 1,700 on days I work out. It is a strict number. Also factored into the equation is the fact that caloric needs change as weight is lost. This is a general overall target number that should lead to steady results. For those wondering, 1,700 is about 500 calories below the caloric intake that my body would need to maintain weight as-is if significant exercise were not taking place. Therefore, I conclude that to consume 1,700 calories in a day is to reduce my overall caloric intake by at least 500 calories per day.

A day on this plan consists of:

Small, 300-600 calorie meals

2-3 100-300 calorie snacks

Each meal consists of protein and carbs (usually a combination of slow carbs and fast carbs). Fast carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes, sugars, etc.) should be limited, while protein should be the primary component of any meal. “Proteins” are meat, fish, dairy products, nuts, etc.

Snacks can be entirely protein, fast carb, or slow carb. If you are having a fast carb snack, however, it is best to combine this with a protein to ensure that blood sugar levels don’t spike.

Breakfast suggestions: 2 eggs, 4 strips turkey bacon, and 1 slice 2% cheese scrambled together (delicious and under 300 calories); whole grain toast with natural peanut butter and skim milk; oatmeal with turkey bacon; cereal with skim milk; whole grain pancakes with sugar free syrup; egg sandwich with honey mustard, turkey bacon, and 2% cheese on whole grain bread; your ideas?

Lunch suggestions: Loaded salad; McDonald’s Southwest Salad; can of tuna with whole grain crackers; avocado with tuna inside; chicken salad; Healthy Choice steaming entrées; turkey, hummus, and pepper jack sandwich on whole grain bread; roast beef, tomato, and horseradish sandwich on whole grain bread; Subway; soup; your ideas?

Snack suggestions: Pistachios; almonds; cottage cheese; carrots with fat-free ranch; yogurt (not Yoplait); Kellogg’s FiberPlus bar; Clif Mojo bar; cheese stick; hard-boiled egg; beef jerky; whole grain crackers with hummus; fruit cup; Sun Chips; homemade cookie with skim milk; whole grain tortilla chips with salsa; pretzels with honey mustard; popcorn (no butter); your ideas?

Dietary subsitutions (these are not all hard and fast; they are general guidelines):

Soda: Diet soda Diet soda: Seltzer water

2% milk: Skim milk

Added sugar: Splenda

Bacon: Turkey bacon

Butter: Smart Balance

Cheese: 2% cheese (this is extremely difficult for me!)

Cream cheese: Neufchâtel cheese

Creamy peanut butter: Natural peanut butter

Ground beef: Ground turkey

Jam: Sugar-free jam

Mayo: Honey mustard

Orange juice: Tropicana 50/50

Pepperoni: Turkey pepperoni

Refined grains: Whole grains (bread, pasta, tortillas, breakfast foods, you name it)

Salad dressing: Fat free salad dressing

Sausage: Turkey or chicken sausage

Syrup: Sugar-free syrup

What am I missing?

I have also developed a rather extensive list of good choices at many local eateries. For space’s sake (although that might already be shot), I am excluding that here.

Calories burned through weekly eating: 3,500

In pounds per week: 1

Results when combined with calories burned through exercise:

2.5 x 12 + 1 x 52 / 12 = 6.8 (7)

Using this Technical Approach to weight loss, I will lose an average of seven pounds per month and, by the end of the year, I will be between 165-175 pounds.

I will stick to the guidelines above. If they don’t work, I will have disproved the scientific fact that weight loss is about calorie intake vs. calorie expenditure and that one pound = 3,500 calories. If I truly am a man of integrity and stay true to my word, I cannot fail.

I have no interest in dabbling in this in 2013.

Psychological Joebabble:

·         Food isn’t the only thing to look forward to in life. See below:

• Time spent with my wife going out, hiking, playing games, watching movies, and talking about the future.
• To reiterate: The future.
• Church, and spending time with family and friends.
• Entertaining people at our house.
• New music.
• The NFL and other sports.
• Travel.
• Improved finances.

·         When I reach my goal weight, I will:

• Have cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar numbers in the “healthy” range (I trust).
• Look better.
• Feel better.
• Have more self-confidence, enabling me to grow in my personal life and career.
• Live longer.
• Be able to do things I’ve only ever dreamed of doing.

·         I have all these people I don’t want to let down, and I want to prove myself.

• What will my wife, family, friends, and colleagues think if I fail?

I’ve put all of this in front of me for all to see now. I have to succeed. My options are 1) succeed, or 2) disappear from this blog without explanation and hope that everyone forgets – which is something typical of weak people with a losing mentality and a total lack of willpower.

I will not be that kind of person.

Hey!

Lifestyle

I feel as though the concept of "lifestyle change" rather than weight loss has been beaten to death, but it really is something that I believe in and am currently experiencing.

I'm living the way I see myself living my life long-term. I'm not on a weight loss binge. My journey has led me to a lifestyle I love and will always crave... the kind of lifestyle that has me not wanting curly fries and mozzarella sticks when I have an occasion to go to Arby's with a group from church, but has me more than satisfied by a single plain roast beef sandwich and calorie-free drink. If I feel satiated, unbloated, and not full of grease, I feel great, and I want to keep feeling that way. I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

Work out hard three times a week, maintain an active lifestyle otherwise, eat small meals, and don't deny yourself special things when they are presented before you, but don't seek them out yourself. It really is that easy to lose weight, feel good, and never want to go back.

So how much weight will I have lost come next Monday? I really have no idea. But I'm feeling better about myself than I ever have. I was at the gym from 7:00-8:30 tonight, and I could've kept going. I've just come to love it, and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else when I'm there. Because of this, I feel that I have truly accomplished something unprecedented in my life, even though I certainly haven't reached my goal weight (and, honestly, I look the same).

And, The Avengers is an awesome movie. I haven't enjoyed a movie as much as I enjoyed it for quite some time. It's quite a spectacle to take in. I would definitely recommend, however, that you see Captain America beforehand. He's my favorite character, and you lose a lot when watching The Avengers if you aren't already familiar with him.

What are your passions in life?

Sometimes it is necessary to "sit back" and think about the things that make you feel alive. What excites you at the core and makes you feel that life is worthwhile? For me, it's the things I'll talk about here. It's so interesting to consider how I ended up being stirred by these things. Was I born this way, or was it all learned?

Before I begin, I would first like to say that my wife, Amy, would be No. 1 on this list if it were people-centric. She has helped to shape many of these passions, and all of my dreams have her at the center. So, before you go thinking that I don't love my wife, I thought I should clarify. Now, on to my passions:

1. Health promotion and well-prepared food.

How fitting that my #1 passion is also my undoing. No one really takes the fat guy's health tips seriously, and I understand that. It's frustrating, but it gives me motivation to get in shape so I will finally have some credibility. I just love talking about diet, exercise, and lifestyle, and my interest keeps ballooning with no end in sight. Is this going to be my life? Also, I love to prepare food.

2. Financial literacy/planning.

This and No. 1 are the two things that I could speak about at length with people I've never conversed with before, and if a discussion about finance is going on, my ears perk up and I'm sure to become a big contributor to it. My area of interest is more in helping people learn basic financial principles; it's not so much an interest in talking about investment strategy, although I also enjoy that.

Interjection: So, now you understand why I talk about the things I do. Especially with No. 1, it's hard to control the bubbling passion. Sorry!

3. Recorded music.

It is important to make a distinction here. I have a passion for the art form that is recorded music, with all of its gimmicks and artificiality. I have come to realize that I do not appreciate live music in the same way, which means that my passion is for records themselves. The way I see it, you can do much more for people on a record than you can in a live venue. My view is an outlandish one that many would disagree with, and that's fine, but this is what makes my love of music unusual. I love pop/rock perfection, radio, marketing, and mixing. To some extent, this passion also applies to movies, but I would call it more of an interest than a passion.

4. Theatre participation.

In general, I don't enjoy going to the theatre. I find it quite miserable. However, there is simply no feeling like being on stage in front of people. I have never experienced anything that would rival it. It's months of epic, hard work culminating in a grand performance that's going to convict you, make you laugh and cry, or stir you to action in some way. It's powerful. It's amazing. And the cast and crew camaraderie? One of the best things in life.

5. Travel.

Experiencing new places and escaping from the life we know is a passion many of us share, I think. I particularly enjoy long drives, hotels and, for goodness' sake, food. I dream of taking 2 years off and traveling across the country.

5. Sports and games.

Whether it's a United States World Cup victory, a Buffalo Bills win, or a game of Scrabble, my competitive juices flow, and it makes me feel alive. I also love to play sports, but physical limitations from the knees down hamper my ability to do so.

6. Reliable people.

People who do what they say they'll do and can be counted on are few and far between in the world. In the rare case that I find someone like this, I try to tell them what a difference they make. I will always try to be one of these people. I fail miserably at times, but I try.

7. Jesus.

The filter for all of my passions and the perspective through which I try to view my marriage, my work, and my leisure time; the one who, if absent, leaves a void in my chest that none of my passions can fill; the one I want to be like and make a difference for; the one I come to know more through the outdoors, music, people, and reflection; the one for whom I will give up any or all of my passions at beck or call – because when I am part of an Easter play and I hear the pastor say, "Twelve people were saved last night", I am overcome, and nothing else matters.

The name of this game

Race to the finish Perseverance.

It's a new May

After a wonderful loaded salad dinner and a long walk to Dollar General and back, I am sitting at home watching The Biggest Loser finale. This is a big deal, because The Biggest Loser has been a huge encouragement to me, and it's so great to see how some of these people have succeeded. It's truly inspiring; I find myself thinking, "If only I could own this and go back and watch it every month or so." I'm going to have to keep this very close to heart, as I won't have the weekly refresher from this point forward.

But that's OK. I have to be honest, it took me about a week to get over last week's setback. It hurt me a great deal, and I was in "hang on for dear life" mode all week long. Your support – especially a text message from Juice – and a charged discussion with my wife kept me going. Not necessarily going strong, but still going – and I think that's important. The immediate response to disappointment is so key. It can make or break you.

So here we are, May 1, 2012. I'm alive and kicking, and I'm coming off one of my best days so far on this journey. The energy to work out is there. The willpower to eat right is there. The ideas for blog posts are there. It's a new day.

Let's go.