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 Weight today: 185.0

Well, not too catastrophic after the “Free Day” yesterday. Of course I am right where I started 15 days ago so we will see what happens in the next couple of weeks. One thing the “Free Day” has taught me on this diet is that like a recovering alcoholic, or addict of any sort, all of the issues that made me obese in the first place are still there. When I fall down on this diet, I fall down HARD. Binge eating is not fun and it is hard to communicate to someone who has never struggled with obesity how uncontrollable it can be. Still, having a strict program to follow, as well as having this forum for “confession” helps me a great deal. It is still a struggle though and that is both disappointing and motivating at the same time. It is disappointing that it looks like this will be something I have to struggle with for a long time to come. It is motivating though in the same way that having another runner breathing down your neck during a race is motivating. Gotta keep moving and doing the right things or the “bad guy” will pounce. Sometimes we need to know the bad guy is right there behind us to help push us further than we thought we could go.

Oh…today’s food:

• OAtmeal (breakfast)
• Whey Protein shake (snack)

I will figure out lunch in a bit. I was up and out of the house early this a.m. for an 8 miler. That is my new distance personal record and I am really proud of it. I didn’t think I would ever see those distances again. I am now lookng forward to my 10-mile race at the end of September because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I CAN run that distance (or at least I will be able to by the time the race rolls around) and that is VERY exciting.

Mid day update:

• Had a turkey sandwich for lunch
• Myoplex bar (snack)

Not sure what dinner will be, but I am short on veggies today so I need to put some veggies with it. Other than that I am doing allright today. One plus to the “Free Day” I had yesterday is it does put you back on the straight and narrow. The temptation to cheat is killed for awhile.

Dinner was Oatmeal again and my snack was also oatmeal. Why all the oatmeal in one day? A) I was lazy and B) I was not feeling so great so the bland food tasted pretty good.

 Woo hoo! Titans win!!!

So, today is another Free Day as programmed into the Body For Life program. Man, I am pigging out too. I know I shouldn’t, but something about this diet just makes it feel so necessary. Maybe all the working out.

Anyway, today I have scarfed down oatmeal, some cookies, a hamburger (yum), a couple of beers and some pizza, a milkshake and some twizzlers. I will probably have some cereal too so don’t let it be said that I can’t pig out every once in awhile. Doesn’t feel all that healthy, but it does feel cathartic.
I couldn’t run this morning because of an early morning appointment, but I will run tomorrow (8 miles! Yikes!). And then jump right back on track. I don’t know what my net weight loss will be at the end of this month. Right now I am almost right where I started, but I know one thing…I will remember the “Free Days” fondly.

 Weight today: 181.2

Well, continue going down today. I am pleased with that. Of course the big news today is Star Wars: Clone Wars. I will be going to that around noon today and I am quite excited about it!

Food today should go like this:

• Oatmeal with protein powder (breakfast)
• Myoplex snack bar (snack)
• grilled chicken sandwich (lunch)

I’ll figure out the rest of the day later. I made it up early for my legs and abs workout this morning so that is out of the way. Tonight, along with Clone Wars the TN Titans play the Oakland Raiders. I know it’s only preseason, but what the heck…Go Titans!!!

My snack was 2 granola bars and some licorice at The Clone Wars. Not exactly an “authorized” snack on my diet, but I tried to get the right calories. Dinner was oatmeal again with protein powder. Now I have one snack left today. I will figure that one out in a bit. Last night was Vanilla Ricotta Creme. I might go that route again. Today, for some reason, I am STARVING. Hopefully the diet survives today so I can have my “free day” tomorrow. I am scheduled to go to a rocket launch with the cub scouts tomorrow and there will, no doubt, be burgers on the grill and I would really lke to partake. I am liking the free day concept, but I am hoping it doesn’t under the whole last week of dieting.

 Weight today: 181.8

Well went down a bit from the last few days. Maybe I should be taking less Myoplex. I was up early this morning for my weight training and then here was my food selection:

• Oatmeal with whey protein powder (breakfast)
• whey protein shake (snack)
• small greek salad, flatbread and hummus (lunch)
• myoplex bar (snack)

I don’t know what dinner or my last snack will be yet. I’ll figure it out this evening. Feeling pretty good. Not halfway through the month yet and I am starting to get the weight to go down a little. I would love to end the month under 180. We’ll see if it is feasible.

 Late night update:

Dinner turned out to be vegetable beef soup and my snack was vanilla ricotta creme, which is basically ricotta cheese with some vanilla and artificial sweetener in it. Tastes like vanilla ice cream, but few calories, few carbs and good protein. I feel pretty good about the day. Tomorrow morning I will run at 5:30 am (5 miles). It’s not easy, but I have managed to stick with for 12 days into the diet. I am as shocked as anyone!

 Weight today: 184.0

Made it up at 5:30 this morning again for the 5-mile run. I am still amazed every time I drag myself out of bed and get through the exercise. So far, I am loving it though. 

Well, I have lost half of a pound in almost 2 weeks on Body For Life. I’ll be honest though, I think I have shed some fat and added some muscle, but I haven’t been diligent about body fat% measurements so I can’t be certain. Even still, I am modifying my approach to Body For Life slightly.

I am going to move away from 3 “Myoplex” snacks daily. I am going to drop to one ((maybe 2 for convenience) and I may drop them altogether. I will see if the diet, without Myoplex, is more effective for straight weight loss.

So, today’s food looks like this:

• Oatmeal with Whey powder protein (breakfast)
• Whey Powder shake with Skim Milk (snack)
• Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread (lunch)
• Carrots (lunch)
• Myoplex Bar (Snack)
• Grilled porkchops, corn, peas (dinner)
• Snack (I don’t know what this snack will be yet. I will figure it out tonight based on hunger)

I am keeping the calories about the same as the Myoplex snacks so I can evaluate the affect (if any).

Oh, I think next month is going to be Atkins. I have been planning on trying it all year, especially with the new revision “Atkins Advantage”. That’s the current plan.

Later

 Weight today: ???

I didn’t weigh myself today after yesterday’s free day. I am a little ashamed of myself for not weighing in this morning. I should at least face “the pain” that comes with the pleasure of a “free day”. I will weigh tomorrow. Beyond that, it would be nice to know what effect the free day has on the weight loss and where I stand. Sorry about that. I guess I stuck my head in the sand on the weigh-in this morning.

I did make it out of bed at 5:30 for my legs and abs workout. I am really happy with myself for keeping this morning workout routine. I still wait an hour after working out before I eat as suggested by the Body For Life Plan, but I will be honest, I am not sold on the efficacy of that approach. I know Men’s Health constantly sings the praises of some protein of some sort right after a workout. Still, I am giving this a try and we’ll see what happens.

Today’s food goes like this:

• Oatmeal with Whey Powder protein (breakfast)
• Myoplex bar (snack)
• Turkey on Wheat (lunch)
• carrots (lunch)
• Myoplex Bar (snack)
• Grilled chicken (dinner)
• I will need to add some veggies and a carb for dinner. Don’t know what that will be yet. Maybe corn and peas. UPDATE - Actually I went with Oatmeal for dinner
• Myoplex shake (snack)

Tonight is the Monday Night Football debut. Of course all weekend I watched Olympics and got inspired for my own fitness goals. Monday night is all about the NFL though. Tonight, the Packers play and Aaron Rodgers begins his quest to fill a big set of shoes there in Green Bay.

 Free day on Body For Life. Weight today 182.6 (same as yesterday - a little frustrating).

Anyway, I am supposed to take a free day every 7 days on this diet. I was extremely reluctant to do that since I have only lost a couple of pounds and I figure a free day will put it right back on. I finally elected to do it though and I’ll tell you why.

1) I want to evaluate the diet “as designed” and it is designed with the free day

2) Maybe the free day gives a metabolic boost. Men’s Health Magazine says that your calorie expenditure goes up when you eat double your normal calories on an INFREQUENT basis

3) I have found that  free day does help re-motivate you for the dieting process

4) I have had some food I have ben craving

5) I have long said that an occasional cheat is necesary

So, today I ate:

• cereal for breakfast
• Pizza for lunch
• a couple of cookies and some “no sugar added” ice cream for a snack

I don’t know what else I will eat today. I am trying to keep it from being an excuse to gorge myself. One of the reasons a cheat day is okay is because over time your “cheats” become less binge-like than they used to be. Both because you don’t want to ruin all the hard work you have done everyday, but also because eating too much makes you feel bloated and yucky. So, we’ll see how it goes and hopefully I don’t feel too yucky and even if I am right back where I started tomorrow, then I will ust kick off like it day 1 again and we’ll see what effect the “free day” has on the next week of Body For Life.

 Weight today: 182.6

Whew. Dropped a little bit for a change. I have been plateaud pretty good here for a couple of days. We’ll see how the next few days go.

I rolled out of bed early this morning and ran 7.2 miles. My distance PR! I am trying to get trained up for a 10-miler in September.

Today I ate:

• scrambled egg and oatmeal (breakfast)
• Myoplex Bar (snack)
• turkey and ham sandwich on wheat bread
• Myoplex shake (snack)
• grilled chicken, broccoli, green beans and sushi (dinner)
• Myolex shake (snack)

Good “Body For Life” day. Hopefully I will drop a little weight by tomorrow morning.

 Weight Today: 183.2

Up a pound today. A few months ago that would have sent me into a panic, but I am not all that worried still. There are a number of potential factors. First, it could be additional muscle. The Body For Life workout is more intense from a weight-training perspective than anything I have done thus far. In addition to that, it has a leg workout that is really intense for me. My legs are very, very sore, which tells me they are getting a good workout. So, it could be muscle. In addition, last night at dinner, I tried to keep it within limits. I went to Second Empire (a fancy schmany place in Raleigh, NC where I live). I had a small piece of cornbread, some quail, some fresh grouper and a Second Empire coffee, which had Kahlua, Bailey’s and some whiskey. I figure I went over on calories and got out of the Body For Life ratios a little. Plus, it seems alcohol always makes me retain some water. So, with all those factors, I am not too worried about a pound. I will even accept one more pound, should it occur, but if I get back to the 185-186 range, then I may have to consider abandoning Body For Life. I will pay attention to my calories, but I think they are in a pretty good range from a daily and weekly basis.

I did get up and run 5 miles this morning. My legs were so sore I didn’t even know if I would be able to run at all, but I forced myself through. I know it may affect my run on Saturday, but I was already up and out this morning and I guess I had something to prove to myself. So, I went the distance. Of course now my legs are really, really sore, but I think I guess I can live it. Hopefully, it won’t affect my Saturday run, which is supposed to be 7 miles.

Today’s food looks like this:

• Oatmeal and Protein Water (from Special K) for breakfast
• Myoplex Bar (snack)
• Turkey and Ham sandwhich and carrots (lunch)
• Myoplex Bar (snack)
• I don’t know about dinner yet.
• Myoplex Shake (snack)

That will be the day. I’ll try and keep you posted for dinner.