Getting Back On Track

So, the holidays are winding down, and in-spite of your best intentions, you over did it. It happened at my house, and chances are it happened at some of yours. No big deal. Really.

Plan A - Just get back into the swing of things and the weight and belly bulge will go down on its own. Go back to the Average Guys Diet and start from there. Keep doing what ever exercise you are/were doing. At least one hard weight work out and one hard interval session for cardio will do. This may take a couple of weeks or more, depending on out of control you got at the buffet table.

Plan B- Many of us, me included, like to get the holiday weight and bloat off as quickly as possible. For four to seven days, up-to about 10 max, depending on how over the top you went, Eat meat, beans, eggs, cheese, nuts, olive oil, non starchy vegetables, and fruits, and nothing else. Limit your fruits to 2 pieces a day or what ever is your minimum amount accord to the AGD . Every other day, do some type of full body workout. The "No excuses work out", Circuit training with weights, or even push ups and sit-ups combined with Interval training on a Bike. Mix and match as you wish. In one week, you should have dropped the holiday weight. Then its back to eating right, and exercising on a normal schedule. Like I said before, you got to keep doing it forever.

Still An Average Guy

Oh what a lazy shit I've been these several months. Thats true at least about writing. So far however I have been doing quite well keeping my food and exercise in line which is the important part. Diet wise I have been following my own advice. The Average Guys Diet, is working and I'm down to the lowest weight I've been in about 4 years, 195. My last body fat measurement was a healthy 18%, and I've dropped several inches, and now have a 36 inch waist. I would like to get back to a 34 and a body fat less than 15%, but I see no need to push it. Slow and steady has been winning the race, so it aint broke and don't need fixing. This doesn't mean I've been perfect. Just this past Sunday, we got together with Mrs D's siblings and all their youngin's for a family picture. Afterward we all went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner. I had the Smoke House Burger with Fries and a beer. It was wonderful, I enjoyed every bite. Didn't quite get my fruits or vege's for the day, but life goes on. Monday I was back on track.

On the exercise side, I have made a few changes. I'm back to once a week strength training plus once a week high intensity interval training. Some people do well on more frequent, less intense type workouts such as the one in my previous post, I'm just not one of them. I just feel better with more days recovery then working out. This is not to say I'm a couch potato on my off days, I'm not. I often go for a walk or bike ride after dinner, its just nothing structured or planned. The twice a week routine has also seemed to be what a couple of friends have gone back to as a default. One just hates cardio and does an A/B split strength training routine, while the others have adopted my strategy of one day a week of cardio plus one day of strength training. Not everybody loves HIIT the way I do, so they do what the prefer.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner along with all of the dietary pitfalls associated with this time of year. There will be no baking in the Dill house this year. Holiday feasts will be one day events. I'll be keeping to the twice a week exercise plan as well. Remember, being on track 80% of the time is good this time of year. Stay strong, and hopefully it won't take me 6 moths to have something to say.

Average Guys guide to a no excuses work out

You plus one pair of dumbbells plus 15 minutes equal fitness

I was recently contemplating one of the most common excuses I hear as to why people don't exercise. Of course that exercise is lack of time, followed closely by lack of equipment. So I wondered what would be the minimum investment one could make in time and equipment. Time wise, 60 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous exercise seems to be a general, but not unanimous consensus. For equipment of course, that would be zero dollars, using nothing but body weight. For some reason however, people just seem to regard calisthenics as not worthy, and feel the need to use some type of equipment to get the job done. The most basic piece of equipment is a single pair of dumbbells. Many guys already seem to have a pair or two stashed away in a closet or in the basement, unused. I see these at yard sales and flea markets all the time for about a buck. Many of them are of very light pink type, but I also see pairs of 10 - 15lbs as well. So with one set of 10 -15lbs dumbbells in mind, I tried to figure out how to use these in a way that would meet the criteria of a fitness based workout in 15 minutes or less. During my research I came across a site, Shovelglove, that certainly offers one possibility using a sledge hammer instead of dumbbells. Much of what follows is largely the result of my adapting his concept for a sledge hammer and putting it to use with body weight and dumbbells with the idea of achieving a minimum passing score on a physical fitness test. The site itself is worth a read, particularly the part about the trap of progress, and Urban Rangering. Oddly enough, or perhaps not so, he too is a software engineer.

Off the top of my head I came up with the following list of exercises. When I began thinking about this, I had in mind a "daily dozen" that would be done on most days of the week. I ended up going for ten. The first four exercises are kind of "required" to make this work, but the rest are substitutable with what ever you may wish to do. Do this four or five days a week and get on with the rest of your busy life.

Jumping Jacks
Push -Ups
Sit Ups
Deep Knee Bends/Hindu Squats - with or with out weight
Upright rows
Over head press
lunges - with or with out weight
Curls
French Press
toe touches/Stiff leg dead lift

In starting this workout do each exercise for 10 reps, or as many as you can, which ever is less. Do each rep of each exercise at a brisk but deliberate pace, the idea is not to rush, but to keep moving. After completing an exercise, take a couple of deep breaths and move immediately to the next exercise. Once you are able to confidently do 10 reps of each exercise and move to the next after a breath or two, add 2 reps to each exercise. The last rep should be a challenge but not so hard that you might not get it. Don't add reps every work out, and don't add reps on any exercise until you can add them to all exercises. This way you only have to remember one number. Keep doing this till you are able to do each exercise for a full 50 reps. If 50 sounds like too many, start with a more modest goal, like 20 or 25. After you get there decide if thats good enough, or to go further. If when starting out you struggle to get ten or fewer push-ups, getting to 20 or 25 and hanging out there for a while is not a bad idea. For guys over 40, 30 good "Army" push ups would be sufficient to pass the push up test. A good way to get an idea of where you stand is adultfitnesstest.org. If you pass, go back and re-evalutate once a year. The key is, once you are fit, there is not a lot of benefit to pushing much further. You may just want to ride the plateau and enjoy the view.

Note - Why 50? Generally speaking, 50 is the minimum macho number for doing push ups.

Average Guys Diet Revisited

Its been about a year since I last blogged for Average Guys and I think I'm over due. A lot has happened in the past year, and I am still dealing with some of the fallout of these changes. Along the way I kind of lost sight of what I was trying to convey. Recently however one of my office colleagues had a health issue. He's an Average Guy, and its guys like him who need this advice more than most.

Way back here I laid out the template for the Average Guys diet. Today when I look at it again, I think it stands up pretty well. That's not to say that its perfect, it isn't. Or that in light of today's economy that some changes and variations couldn't work just as well. Now, having read over it again I will say this.... If you can still afford to eat according to the original plan with out limiting your selections to hamburger and hot dogs, by all means feel free, and use these updates as needed or desired.

Generally speaking, the most expensive part of any higher protein, lower starch type diet is meat. My original recommendation was to divide your body weight by 10 to get the amount of meat/eggs/cheese your are supposed to eat everyday. In our cheap eating model you are going to divide your weight by 13 and round down any remainder. So in this case our 210lb guy would be eating 16oz of meat/eggs/cheese a day instead of 21. Since we are taking away 5oz of meat we need to add something back. That my something my friends is beans. Navy black, kidney, garbanzoand lentils, etc... Yes, the musical fruit. I can hear the paleo purists howl already, too bad. Beans have gotten humans thru some pretty tough times in history, and likely they will do it again. Both canned and dried bean will work, with dried being the most economical, but most time consuming. Four our example guy, since he is reducing his meat by 5 ounces, he is going to add 1 1/4 cup of beans , (.25 Cup per ounce of meat), to his daily plan. So chili con carne, sausage and bean casserole, even baked beans are back on the menu.

In doing this you no longer get to count beans as a vegetable however. So in dividing your weight by 30 to get veggie servings, our average guy would be eating 7 servings of mostly non-starchy vegetables.

Fruit servings are still weight divided by 70.

Still eat an ounce of nuts, nut butters or seeds everyday.

Add at least two tablespoons of fat from olive oil or real butter to you plan. This is important when eating the beans and vegetables to aid in digestion.

As before, the above are minimums that are too be eaten every day. If eating all of this you still want a biscuit or something, go for it, just don't stuff yourself to do it, and don't do it everyday. A serving or two of dairy is good if you digest milk. Plain whole yogurt or kefir is always a good choice, especially mixed with fruit. The plan isn't perfect and you shouldn't worry about perfection. The idea is to be on track most of the time, with allowances for special occasions and real life situations.

And The Results

Wt 216 - down 7.5 lbs total
Waist 41.25 - 2 inches lost

Thoughts on the process.
If I were to get a "do over", I would not cut my carbs as low or as fast. Coming off a carb laden holiday season my metabolism was probably similar to what many modern folks' metabolism is like all the time. Rather I would record what I ate for 3 or 4 days prior to starting and then cut my carb intake by half, eliminating junk food and adding a little good fat for two weeks. If, for instance, I was eating 300g carbs on average, I would cut to 150g for two weeks. Then I would cut to 80g for two weeks. If at 80 for two weeks I was able to lose weight and felt better, I wouldn't necessarily go any lower. If however I wanted a little faster weight loss, or wasn't seeing results yet, I would then cut to 60g carbs. Prior to the recent popularity of Low Carb diets, few people ever found it necessary to eat fewer than 60g carbs to obtain satisfactory results. Now days however, there seems to be a contest to see who can eat the fewest carbs. I'm not sure that eating fewer than 60g carbs is required, at least for physiological reasons, unless you have uncontrolled diabetes or epilepsy. In my opinion, it may also contribute to the drop out rate associated with low carb diets.

In the area of training.
Once a week slowburn training does indeed produce results, however, I remain unconvinced that once a week is better than twice a week. In fact I would say that twice a week is the better option, unless you only have one day a week to train. As to the slowburn method itself, I found it an interesting challenge. After four weeks its difficult for me to say if it produces better results than a more traditional rep cadence or not. All I can say with certainty is that I was lifting more weight after four weeks of using it then when I started.

Moving on from here ...... At this point Mrs D and I are planning on continuing with Low Carb. She is having success at keeping her carb level about 40g and I am going to stay at 60g. We both feel well, and are seeing steady reductions in our weights, and measurements. She is planning on continuing with the routines from the TNT Diet plan, and I am going to do something else, though I haven't quite decided what. I will no longer be posting daily, but I plan to post at least twice a month with updates and food porn. Happy Low Carbing!!

Day 30 of 30

So here it is the end of my 30 day self challenge. I was actually compliant for all 30 days, no cheese steak binges or sneaking of to Jake's burgers for a milk shake. I learned a couple of important things during this experience. Eating on a schedule can keep you on track. Their were times I didn't keep to my schedule and let my self get hungry, these were dangerous times, and threatened my compliance. Rather I ate on schedule, hungry or not, and never had an issue with being tempted by the random goodies that float about in real life in an office. Second, get enough fat. If you cut your carbs below 50g, you will need to make a conscious effort to add fat to your diet, at least in the beginning. A plain boneless skinless chicken breast with steamed vegetables will starve you. I mean this in both the figurative and literal sense. Avocados, sour cream, butter, coconut oil and olive oil are your friends. Don't be afraid to liberally apply them to any and all foods you eat.

eggs with cheese
sausage
berries with cream
coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbs udo's oil
multi-vtamin
200 mg magnesium
99mg potassium

home made vegetable soup
chicken breast
apple sauce
sour cream

mixed nuts

wine
cheese
Taco Salad
200mg magnesium
99mg potasium

Milk

Day 29 0f 30

Today has been a much better day. I actually got a full nights sleep. I upped my carbs from 40 to 60, and the difference was rather remarkable. It took me by a bit of a surprise how much of an impact 20 carbs could make. Apparently it broke the "deep" ketosis into a lighter version, and my mental status is much improved. Aside from being sick for a couple of days with a virus, my physical energy has held well, but my mental energy has been lacking. I have attributed this to lack of sleep, but now, I think that 40 is just too low for me personally. One more day to go for this challenge. With out knowing the final stats yet, I'd have to say, its been a positive experience.

Scrambled eggs with cream cheese
bacon
berries with cream
coffee with cream and splenda
multivitamin
2000mg vitamin d
1 tbs udo's oil
99mg potassium

steak with butter
mixed vegetable with olive oil
unsweetened applesauce

mixed nuts

Grilled Chicken Breast with Avocado
tossed salad with blue cheese and bacon
iced green tea
200 mg magnesium
99mg potassium
probiotic

milk
peanut butter on LC toast

Day 28 of 30

After the past few days I feel much better today. I still feel like my head is going to explode every time I sneeze or cough, but that is an improvement.

eggs and sausage
berries and cream
coffee and cream
multivitamin
1 tbs udo's oil
2000mg vitamin D
99mg potassium

pork chops
home made vegetable soup
sugar free jello

peaches
mixed nuts

saute cod with bacon, butter, lime and green onions
broccoli and cheese
seafood chowder
200mg magnesium
99mg potassium

milk

Days 26 & 27

OUT SICK normal activity should resume tomorrow.

Day 25 of 30

Weight today 216.5, no loss this week. I am somewhat miffed that this week, with the extra activity, my weight didn't budge. So I am back to being a slug this week and see what happens.
I didn't get my workout in yesterday so I did it today. I hit all my target reps and will increase my weight next time. I slept somewhat better last night, but I also woke up hungry in the wee hours and once again got a small glass of milk. All in all I feel ok, and my energy levels are holding.

LCCF Crepes and Cottage cheese filling
coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbs Udo's oil
multivitamin
2000mg vitamin D
99mg potassium

Turkey Chops in a dijon cream sauce
green beans with blue cheese and bacon

piece of mozzeraala and salami
scoop of protein powder in water post work out

Hamburger with onions and mushroom
tossed salad with vinegar and olive oil

Day 24 of 30

Another night not sleeping well. I ended up getting up in the middle of the night and having a glass of milk, and was finally able to sleep soundly. No work out or tread mill toady.

LCCF Pancakes
bacon and egg
coffee with cream and splenda
mutlivitamin
2000mg vitamin D

Onion soup
turkey and provolone roll ups
avocado

atkins bar
coffee

Tilapia and crab cake
broccoli
mashed cauliflower

Day 23 of 30

Did not hit the treadmill today. I have been feeling kind of drug out, and under fed all day. Work was a real challenge. I didn't sleep well last night, and am looking forward to the weekend and sleeping in, hopefully.

Eggs with cheese and salsa
almond milk with protein powder
berries and cream
1 tbs Udo's oil
multivitamin
99 mg potassium
2000mg Vitamin d

Roast beef and cheese roll ups
home made vegetable soup

mixed nuts
cheese
wine

shrimp scallop and broccoli stir fry
Iced Green TEa
99 mg potassium
200 mg magnesium

Day 22 of 30

Steps today 6877. I got in 30 mins on the treadmill at work. It was Lions Club meeting night.

Almond Milk
Protein Powder
Egg and Sausage
1 tbs Udo's Oil
Multi-vitamin
99mg vitamin
2000mg Vitamin D

Baked Chicken Breast
Zucchinin Caserole

mixed nuts

Scallops wrped in bacon with a cream sauce
2 glasses wine
cheese

Day 21 of 30

I put in 15 minutes on the tread mill walking at 3mph. After I got home from work. So far my step count for the day is 5851, so I'm still over my goal. I am going to take a pair of sneakers to work so I can use the tread mill as trying to get some treadmill time after work makes dinner and my whole evening very rushed.

Scrambled eggs with Canadian bacon and cream cheese
Almond milk
Protein powder
berries and cream
1 tbs Udo's Oil
coffee with cream and splenda
99 mg potassium
multi-vitamin
2000mg Vitamin D

Home made vegetable soup
deli and cheese roll ups
Iced Green Tea

mixed nuts

Grilled ground beef
zucchini casserole
Red Wine
200 mg magnesium
99 mg potassium

pepperoni chips and laughing cow cheese

Day 20 of 30

Steps so far today 5212. Dinner tonight wasn't the most satisfying. So we had a handful of Mac nuts afterward to add a little fat. That helped, and given that we were having a custard, we only had to make it a couple of hours. Tomorrow marks he completion of 3 weeks of LC WOE. So far so good. My energy is high. My biggest complaint is the lack of sleep. I am getting only about 5 hours a night. I would like to get about 7. After the 30 days we are probably going to raise our carbs to somewhere between 60 and 80, this should help with the sleep issues. Our plan at that point will be a combination of "Protein Power" and "Life Without Bread".

Bacon
Eggs with Salsa
1 tbs Udo's Oil
coffee with cream and splenda
99 mg potassium
multi-vitamin
2000mg Vitamin D

Taco Salad made with ground beef and black soy beans,
avocado, cheese, salsa and sour cream
Iced Green Tea

Chocolate Atkins Shake

Grilled Chicken Breast
Green beans with mushrooms and Olive oil
Iced Green Tea
200 mg magnesium
99 mg potassium
Small Handful macadamia nuts

LC Custard with Berries and Whipped cream

Day 19 of 30

I put in 30 minutes on the tread mill walking at 3mph again today. With that and a quick trip to the super market I have accumulated 6400 steps, woot woot. Given my goal is 5000 I am quiet impressed. Little things that give feed back can be a big motivator.

LC Pancakes
breakfast sausage
1 tbs Udo's Oil
coffee with cream and splenda
99 mg potassium
multi-vitamin
2000mg Vitamin D

Taco Salad made with ground beef and black soy beans,
avocado, cheese, salsa and sour cream
Iced Green Tea


Homemade vegetable soup
Macadamia Coconut Salmon
Green beans
Iced Green Tea
200 mg magnesium
99 mg potassium


LC Custard with Berries and Whipped cream

Day 18 of 30

I put in 30 minutes on the tread mill walking at 3mph. My goal going foward is to accumulate 30 minutes of walking. Other thn that, Ive been watching football. go Ravens!.

LC Crepes with cottage cheese filling
1 tbs Udo's Oil
coffee with cream and splenda
99 mg potassium
multi-vitamin
2000mg Vitamin D

Portabello mushroom stuffed with ground trurkey and feta cheese
mixed vegetables
Iced Green Tea

Cabernet Franc
Misc cheeses

Homemade vegetable soup
deli meat and cheese lettuce wraps
Iced Green Tea
200 mg magnesium
99 mg potassium

Day 17 of 30

Weight today 216.5. Down 7 so far. 3630 Steps. 10,000 seems a long way off. Lifted weights today. Added weight to all my exercises but didn't hit my targets so weight will stay the same for next week.

1/2 serving LC Pancakes from the Low Carb Comfort Food Cook Book
bacon
1 egg
coffee with cream and splenda
berries with cream
2000 mg Vitamin D
1 tbs Udo's oil
multivitamin
99 mg potassium

Schwans steak burger
squash fries
tomato slice
grilled mushrooms with baby bell cheese

2 Scoops Bomber Blend in 4 oz Unsweetened Almond Milk plus water

Cabernet Franc
Dubliner Cheese

Crab legs with butter
tossed salad with blue cheese
Iced Green Tea

Day 16 of 30

So, today was y first day with the pedometer. I made no special effort to walk around or do anything different. I covered .98 miles and burned 75 calories according to the device. This is why you need to get up off you ass and move. Those people who say we get enough activity and only need to strength train once a week to be healthy need to get a grip. I don't think they know how sedentary people are who have desk jobs. Even so, I am committed to my original plan to strength train once a week for the month of January. I will however be trying to up my walking around.

1 egg and 3 pc bacon
Almond milk with protein powder
berries and cream
coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbs Udo's oil
2000 mg vitamin d
multivitamin
99 mg potassium

baked chicken breast
mixed vegtables with olive oil

almonds and macadamia nuts

left over beef and turnips
tossed salad
vinegar and olive oil
iced green tea

Day 15 of 30

Just another day at the office. Nothing remarkable good, bad, or otherwise to report. I did get a pedometer today. mostly out of curiosity just to see how many steps I take and how far I travel on any given day when I do and do not make it a point to walk.

3 eggs
2 oz Canadian Bacon
Smoked gruyere
Salsa
Berries and Cream
1 tbs Udo's Oil
coffee with cream and splenda
99 mg potassium
multi-vitamin
2000mg Vitamin D

Tossed Salad
Chicken and avocado
vinegar and olive oil
diet snapple

Hot peppers stuffed with ham and cheese

Poached Cod in a butter and caper sauce
Double Mushroom Soup
Mixed Vegetables
Iced Green Tea
200 mg magnesium
99 mg potassium

pepperoni chips and laughing cow cheese

Day 14 of 30

Slept somewhat better last night. But still woke up a couple of times. A bigger dinner seems to help. May be I need to skew my food intake a bit or have an evening snack to help foster a good night sleep. But, as is becoming the case, my energy levels are holding, and my hunger is managed well. There have been a couple of times here recently when I had to remind myself it was time to eat.


3 eggs scrambled
2 oz Canadian Bacon
tbs shredded cheese
salsa
berry blend and cream
coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbs Udo's oil
multivitamin
99mg potassium

left over Beef and Turnips

mixed almonds and macadamia nuts

chicken parmagianna
spaghetti squash with marinara sauce
tossed salad
vinegar and olive oil
chianti
200 mg magnesium
99 mg potassium

Day 13 of 30

Another night of interrupted sleep. Even so with breakfast and coffee my energy levels were pretty good. My walks have helped my mood and this may be because of the activity or just the fact that I am getting out of my cubicle into the sun and fresh air. I am still easily distracted but I can focus when i need to. This is an improvement of a couple of days ago. My belly bloat is going down noticeably, even Mrs D has noticed. So far so good.

1 boiled egg and 3 slices bacon
6oz Almond Milk and 1 scoop whey
coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbs Udo's Oil
99 mg potassium
multivitamin

Pork Chop
mixed vegetables
olive oil
baby bell lite cheese

mixed nuts

Pot Roast with Turnips and mushrooms
Tossed salad
blue cheese dressing
bacon bits
1 glass Chianti

Day 12 of 30

I was draggin' butt this morning. I find it very difficult to get a
good nights sleep on Sundays, and this one was no exception. Still
after two cups of coffee and a large glass of water I was able to get
through my morning and make it to lunch time. Shortly after lunch I
decided to take a short walk around the parking lot. After a minute or
two, even in the January cold, I felt like walking a bit further and
ended up walking for about 20 minutes. So even with less then optimal
sleep my energy is holding up.


3 eggs
3 breakfast sausage links
coffee with cream and splenda
Berry Blend with Cream
1 tbs Udo's Oil
Multi-vitamin
99mg potassium

Baked Chicken Breast
Home made vegetable soup
olive oil
Diet Snapple

Mixed almonds and Macadamia Nuts

Jim Beam on the rocks - more variety :-)
Pork chop
broccoli with cheese
Double mushroom soup

Day 11 of 30

We have been trying incorporate variety into our menu's particularly on weekends. It is way to easy to get caught in a rut of eating eggs for breakfast , then plain meat vegetables or a salad for lunch and dinner. So today we broke out a couple of new recipes. The crepes and filling were from the Eades' Low Carb Comfort Food Cookbook. The Double mushroom soup from a recipe on kalyns kitchen. We used the low carb tortillas recommended on PPLP for the quesadillas. I made a fresh sauce from canned crushed tomatoes, olive oil, onions, garlic and basil. I was actually so full part the way through my dinner that I didn't finish my salad or squash.

I have also started to include some walking into my day. I am going to try to get at least 20 minutes of walking on most non-lifting days. I have found over time that the combination of brief high intensity strength training plus moderate walking works well.

Low Carb Crepes With Cottage Cheese Filling
1 tbs Udo's Oil
coffee with cream and splenda
99 mg potassium
multi-vitamin

Double Mushroom Soup
Chicken Quesadillas
salsa and avocado

1 glass Beaujolais
cheese

Shrimp Parmigiana
Spaghetti squash with marinara
mixed greens
olive oil and vinegar
1 Glass Beaujolais
99 mg potassium
200 mg magnesium

Day 10 of 30

Weigh In 218.5 Total lost 4.5 lbs

I was little disappointed in in my weight loss this week. I was hoping for about 2 or 3 more pounds. But If I keep going down 2 pounds a week for the next three weeks that'll give me 10.5 pounds in 30 days, which isn't bad. I got a work out in today. I went up in weight or reps in all exercises, so that was a plus. My sleep last night wasn't the best. My energy today has been OK.

3 eggs
1/2 cup egg substitute
3 slices bacon
2 tbs Salsa
1 tbs shred cheese
coffee with cream and splenda
99 mg potassium
multi-vitamin

Salmon cakes
Tossed Salad
a table spoon each blue cheese crumbles and bacon bits
Olive oil and vinegar

1 scoop Designer Whey
4 0z Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/3 Lb Hamburger
Baked Squash "Fries"
Cheese
1.5 Glass Beaujolais

Day 9 of 30

TGIF, Friday at the office. Not my most productive day. I had to teach a couple of users how to use an application, which is not one of my favorite activities. My patience was above average however, which is remarkable given that I'm trying to lose weight. Other than that The day was mostly uneventful. My energy and alertness are still slightly below average, but OK. My hunger is managed but at one point today after lunch I did feel tad hungry, but nothing unlivable. I drank some water and that seemed to ease it a bit.

1 egg
3 Breakfast sausage links
coffee with cream and splenda
1 scoop designer whey in 6 oz almond milk
1 tbsp Udo's oil
99mg potassium
multi-vitamin

5 oz top round
2 cups Schwans Mediterranean vegetable blend
2 tsp olive oil

mixed macadamia and almond

4 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Salsa
Cheese
Avocado
Mixed greens with mac nut oil and vinegar
2 glasses Pinot Nior
Magnesium with B complex
99 mg potassium

pepperoni chips

1 wedge laughing cow cheese

Day 8 of 30

Tonite is my Lions Club meeting. Usually we have a limited menu to choose from. This helps making a decision ahead of time on what I should choose. There is a Blackened Ribeye on the menu that usually comes with garlic mashed potatoes. I'll ask to have the potatoes left off the plate and just eat my steak and salad.

LC Power Shake
1 egg over easy
3 breakfast sausage links
1/2 cup triple berry blend w/ 1 tbs cream
coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbs Udo's Oil
99mg Potassium
2000mg Vit D
Centrum Multivitamin

5 oz Smoked Turkey
1.5 C Home made vegetable soup
2 tsp olive oil
Diet Snapple

2 Prosciutto and Mozzarella Roll-ups

Blackened Rib eye Steak
Tossed salad with Vinaigrette
200mg Magnesium
99mg Potassium

Day 7 of 30

I actually got a really good night sleep last night. For me on a LC diet this is unusual. One of the side effects I usually get from cutting my carbs this low is a lack of sleep. The last time I tried this I pretty much stopped sleeping after about three days. I credit the structure of Protein Power and the focus on adequate nutrition vs the "eat when hungry" concept of my previous efforts. In retrospect I was probably starving myself of needed nutrients, and sufficient protein. Physically at this point I'm ok. I feel neither lethargic nor energetic. My mental clarity is up, yet their is still some fuzz around the edges. I don't think I'm completely adapted to the lower carbs yet. My ADD tendencies are diminishing, but I'm still easily distracted. Could just be my nature.

2 eggs over easy
3 ounces ham
1/2 cup triple berry blend w/ 1 tbs cream
coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbs Udo's Oil
99mg Potassium
2000mg Vit D
Centrum Multivitamin

1 Bone in Chicken breast with Skin
2 cups Schwans Mediterranean Veg Blend
2 tsp olive oil
Diet Snapple

small handful mixed almonds and macadamia nuts

6 oz Catfish
1/4 Avocado
Broccoli
99mg Potassium

Most of an Atkins Shake

Day 6 of 30

3 eggs over easy

3 ounces ham

1/2 cup triple berry blend w/ 1 tbs cream

coffee with cream and splenda

1 tbs Udo's Oil

99mg Potassium

2000mg Vit D

Centrum Multivitamin

1.5 C home made veg soup

5oz smoked turkey

2 tsp olive oil

Diet Snapple

1 prosciutto and Mozzarella roll-ups

5 oz Sirloin Steak

3 baby bella mushrooms topped with baby bell cheese

tossed salad

blue cheese dressing

bacon bits

1 glass plus a little fauna pinot noir

Unsweetened Iced Tea

99mg Potassium

small handful almonds

Just another day in the office. The weather outside is turning kind of crappy. We got some rain snow sleet mixture thing going on and everybody driving has lost their minds. I'm not sure which is worse, the folks going 5mph of the folks with the big 4x4's who drive extra fast. I went to Best Buy to get one of those foreman grille thingy's. As much As I like grilling outside, sometimes its just to nasty this time of year. Just for grins and giggles I totaled my day using Calorie King and these are my totals;

Calories: 1805

Protein: 153

Fat: 112

Carbs: 45

Fiber 16

Which gives me an ECC for the day of 29. Not too shabby.

Day 5 of 30

LC Power Shake w/o berries
1 hard boiled egg
3 links breakfast sausage
3/4 cup triple berry blend w/ 1 tbs cream
coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbs Udo's Oil
2000mg Vit D
Centrum Multivitamin

1.5 C home made veg soup
5oz smoked turkey
Polly-O String Cheese
2 tsp olive oil
Diet Ginger Ale

2 prosciutto and Mozzarella roll ups

1 glass Chardonnay
Chicken Broccoli and Mushroom Stir fry

First day back at the office after the holidays. Now the true test of resolve begins - Avoiding all the sugary crap that people like to bring and leave in the break room; No more stress Snickers Bars. Getting up this morning was not fun, and if not for a good cup of coffee, I probably would still be in a daze. I did however make it thru the day. I almost forgot to eat my snack. The appetite suppression of LC is starting to kick in. This is a good thing.

Day 4 of 30

2 eggs + 2 Egg whites
3 Breakfast Sausage Links
About 1 table spoon each chopped onion, peppers and crumbled feta cheese
3/4 cup Mixed strawberries, blackberries and blue berries with 1 tbs. cream
Crystal Light
Coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbsp Udo's Oil
Centrum Multi-vitamin
2000mg Vit D

1.5 cup Home made vegetable soup
6 ounces - precooked - hamburger
2 tsp Olive oil
99mg Potassium
200mg Magnesium


Macadamia Coconut Salmon - from "The Hamptons Diet Cook Book"
String Beans with blue cheese and Walnuts
Mixed Greens
1 tbsp mac nut oil
balsamic vinegar
1 glass Mallee Point Chardonay
99mg Potassium
200mg Magnesium

Small handful almonds

A pretty lazy day all in all. Didn't do much more than cook and watch football. Go Ravens!

Day 3 of 30

LC Power Shake
Boiled Egg
3 Slices Bacon
Crystal Light
Coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbsp Udo's Oil
Centrum Multi-vitamin
2000mg Vit D

1 scoop designer whey
8 oz Unsweetened almond milk

1 cup Home made vegetable soup
5 ounces smoked turkey
1 tsp Olive oil
99mg Potassium
200mg Magnesium

Dozen Clams in garlic butter and wine with one crouton
Blackened tuna on a bed of greens
Vinegar and oil
Jack Daniels and Soda water
99mg Potassium
200mg Magnesium

Small Handful Almonds


LC Power Shake Recipe
2 oz Coconut Milk
4 oz Unsweetened Almond Milk
1 scoop designer whey
½ cup strawberries
1 tbsp davinci sugar free strawberry syrup

Weigh-In 220.5 down 2.5 lbs.

Today was a workout day. I am using a routine recommended to me a while back by a guy named Dick Conner. Dick has been the owner and manager of a gym in Indiana called “The Pit” since about 1960. The routine looks like this;
Squats
Over head press
Lat Pull downs
Push Ups
Curls
Stiff Leg Dead lifts.

Each exercise is done for a single set of 3-5 reps until momentary failure. Each rep is done for about a 10 sec positive and negative stroke. In other words each rep should take about 20 seconds. For the duration of this 30 day challenge, I'll be using the SlowBurn Method of preforming my reps, which is very similar to the original recomendation. The routine is to be preformed once every 5 -7 days. Correctly done it’s a beast.

Day 2 of 30

2 eggs + 2 egg whites

3 Sausage Links

2 la tortilla low carb tortillas

Table spoon salsa

Coffee with cream and splenda

1 tbsp Udo's Oil

Centrum Multi-vitamin

2000mg Vit D

1.5 cup Home made vegetable soup

4 ounces smoked turkey

Hard boiled egg

Polly-0 string cheese

1.5 tsp Olive oil

99mg Potassium

400mg Magnesium

Raw Peppers and Cauliflower

2 tbsp tzatziki

1 oz Cheese

6oz Cumin Crusted Tilapia with avocado

mixed raw greens

green beans with blue cheese and walnuts

1 tbsp mac nut oil

Red Wine vinegar

1 glass Dr L's Riesling

99mg Potassium

400mg Magnesium

½ Cup Fage Total Greek yogurt

½ Cup Mixed Strawberries, Blueberries and Blackberries

I had a bit of a headache early in the day, and was some what mentally fuzzy in the morning. Prior to lunch Mrs. D wanted to take down the Christmas tree and put away the decorations. So I got to go up and down the hill taking stuff to the shed and I felt better after moving about and several glasses of water. By dinner time I was feeling ok, and smoked up the place cooking the tilapia. For about an hour in the evening we played wii Mario bros Olympics. I hate Mario.

Menu for Jan 1

3 eggs + 2 egg whites
3 Slices bacon
1 cup mixed Blueberries and Strawberries
Squirt Real Whipped Cream
Coffee with cream and splenda
1 tbsp Udo's Oil
Centrum Multi-vitamin
2000mg Vit D

1 cup Home made vegetable soup
4 oz canned Tuna
1 prosciutto and Mozzarella Roll up
1.5 tsp Olive oil
99mg Potassium
400mg Magnesium

12 oz crab legs
tossed salad
2 tbsp Marie's blue cheese dressing
2 tbsp butter
1 glass Dr L's Riesling
99mg Potassium
400mg Magnesium

Handful Mixed nuts
Jack Daniels on the rocks

Damn I'm fat. Lets go to Dairy Queen.

There we were, downloading the Christmas pictures off of the digital camera. There were the usual pics of relatives and friends , the tree and presents. Nestled in the mix of photos was the pics that made me and Mrs D squirm. The face pics always look a little full, but there is always the excuse of camera angles. The full body profile with the gut busting out all over however is not just about camera angles. Apparently somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas all common sense regarding dietary restraint went straight out the window. After viewing the photos, we did indeed go to Dairy Queen where we enjoyed a burger, fries and a waffle bowl sundae.

It might seem a it cliche, but we started back on a low carb plan today, Jan 1. After looking at TNT by Adam Campbell and South Beach, we instead went with Protein Power. So as part of the process we cleaned house of all the junk that had accumulated in our cupboards, and went grocery shopping. Our Initial goal is to stay on plan for the entire month of January. Just getting thru the first few days and kicking the carb habbit is often the hardest part. So we are trying to make the first few days as easy and enjoyable as possible. Good cheese, good wine, crab legs, fresh berries and smoking a turkey are on the agenda. Here are the years opening stats.

Weight - 223 lbs
Waist - 43.5