I’ve been awfully quiet about the diet, and that’s because I fell off the wagon. I was nearing 300 pounds again, and had basically been eating everything in sight.
My wife and I have had many discussions about weight over the years we’ve been together (we just celebrated 5 years since we’ve been engaged). One of my strong beliefs–when I’m “on the wagon”–is that I have an addition to food. Eating makes me psychologically happy. I like to be full, and I love to eat sugary foods.
Just like an alcoholic cannot return to drinking, I need to not return to eating “regularly” (which is actually “abnormally”) again.
About three weeks ago, following our Spring Break (March 20th), I decided that I needed to go “Back in the Saddle Again.”
Things are going well…The first week I lost six pounds, the second week I lost two more pounds, and this week I lost five pounds. That means I’m down thirteen pounds to 283, the same “low” I had before falling off the wagon the last time.
A typical day of eating for me looks like this:
Breakfast: a good helping of steel cut oats, prepared in a crockpot (or microwaved from a previous day’s crockpot) with honey, raisins, and cinnamon. I also have a large glass of Orange Juice mixed with cherry juice concentrate.
Lunch: A turkey and provolone sandwich on whole wheat bread and a banana.
Snack #1: A few handfuls of raw almonds on the way home.
Dinner: Whatever Liz makes. We go out for Tacos at a local taco place on Tuesdays. They have a “healthy” chicken taco which we love.
Snack #2: A bowlful of Snyder’s pretzels and raisins.
Additionally: a few cans of Coke Zero every day, and coffee if I make it at school. I also usually have a Flintstones vitamin every morning.
That’s pretty much the meal plan. I haven’t counted calories, and I’m not going to. it would be great to have a mid-morning snack, but my teaching schedule doesn’t allow for it. I know the Coke Zero isn’t great for me, and the aspartame may actually block weight loss. Even so, it’s my “sweet” fix that allows me to keep going. I have switched from bottles (24oz six packs) to cans, which ultimately lessens my intake of pop, and also is less expensive overall (the cans last longer, meaning the dollar stretches further). Eventually, I’ll start weaning off the Coke Zero, but for now, I’m holding on as I continue to adapt to eating right.
I’ve also gone to the club and worked out nearly daily, missing two days over the past three weeks. I rotate what I do. Every third day, I hit an elliptical hard for 30 minutes. The other days I either ride a bike for 30 minutes, or walk on a treadmill. The treadmill is actually the hardest, because it is the most boring. I haven’t begun working on muscle-toning at this point. I will start that as my weigh approaches 260 or so. For now, it’s just getting back into moving again. In fact, as soon as this blog post is finished, I’m going to the club (It’s one of those small 24-hour club chains).
My wife has done a fantastic job of cooking healthy meals for dinner. She’s been following a dinner plan called e-mealz, which both gives you healthy dinners and bases those dinners off of what is on sale at your local grocer of choice (we shop at a Wal-Mart Supercenter in a local town). We’ve both eaten more different meals–including fish–than we’ve eaten our entire lives. My stepson doesn’t approve of the healthy choices–but Liz is holding true to her goal of cooking and providing in that fashion for our family. I’m very appreciative of that, and I’m lucky to be married to a woman who (most of the time) enjoys planning meals and preparing them for our family, particularly as I come home tired and hungry, which translates to being cranky.
So–back in the saddle again. Or as YOAD would say it, “Making a “U-Turn.”
