Week 18 Update

My weight seems to be holding steady at the moment.  The scale said 415 again yesterday.  That motivated me to get my butt out of bed this morning and go for a ride.  It wasn't very far or very long at just 3.5 miles in just under 18 minutes, but it was a ride and got me moving more than I have been. I felt pretty good out there.

As for my eating, it hasn't been horrible, I've been staying away from the sugars and the grains and flour, etc. but I have been over my target number of daily calories.  I am going to be much more vigilant this week and that combined with riding every day should reap some results and get my weight once again moving in the right direction. I need to get serious if I'm going to hitmy goal of 378 in a mere 8 weeks from now.

Week 7 Progress

OK, I know I missed last week but that was because I was away at a conference for work.  I left on Sunday and returned on Wednesday evening.  The good news is that I wasn't totally derailed by the conference.  At times it was a challenge to find decent foods to eat following the Paleo diet, but I made it and didn't resort to awful food choices.  I weighed in this morning and the scale showed 431 lbs. That is a loss so far of 27 lbs. since starting this personal challenge 7 weeks ago.  I'm still on track to hit my goal as long as I maintain my progress.

My 2 toughest days during this time were heading to and from the conference as I spent about 6 hours int eh car each way.  I was so tempted to just grab fast food or other snacks to help occupy me while I was driving, but I didn't give into the temptation and made it through.  One highlight of the conference was a special event where we had dinner on the USS Midway which is set up as a living history museum.  While the food choices were scarce, seeing and touching the history was awesome.  I also got in my most steps for the week traipsing around the decks and it didn't feel like exercise at all.  Here is a peek at the flight deck:

With that over, it is now time to buckle down ans really make some progress.  A plus is that within our family we have also started our own competition wherein we are each putting up cash for the next 6 months and the person who loses the highest percentage of weight gets to take home the Prize.  Because of the format of weekly weigh-ins and exemptions for the weekly percentage winners, the purse will be a nice $390.  I'm planning on walking away with it.

Progress

It's been eight days since I restarted my weight loss journey and I'm happy to see my dedication paying off on the scale. Eight days ago my weight was 458 lbs. This morning the scale read 450 lbs. That is a loss of 8 lbs. in 8 days. It shows that my clean eating, following the Paleo diet and resisting all of the temptations of the weekend is worth it.

I'm sure that actual exercise, like getting back on my bike for a couple of short rides, hasn't hurt either. Sure, I've been tracking my steps and getting in a low number but its been usually many short little trips and no longer walks. Usually I would walk maybe 100-200 steps at a time and no more.  Sure I would do this many times a day, but I don't think it is as effective as a longer walk to get the same number of steps.

As a means of testing my theory, I set out to walk about 2,000 steps in one, single go.  Now, I wasn't going to leave the house to accomplish this.  You see, if I walk from the sliding door to the front door and back it is about 50 steps.  OK, depending on my stride and which foot I pivot on it is between 47 and 50.  Anyway, I determined to walk this 40 times in a row. Now that may not sound like much to a lot of people, but remember, The longest I have been walking is from my car to my desk at work, maybe 750 steps.

I do have to say that there is a difference.  I could definitely feel it in my legs and my back as I got past 20 trips.  I persevered and made it to 40, though.  When I looked at my FitBit once i was done, I saw that I had actually logged 1946 steps during the 15 minutes or so it took me to complete this.  I certainly felt it.  I was breathing harder than normal and there was a bit of burn in my legs.  Now, in the past if I had accomplished the same roughly 2000 steps, it would have been in at least 10 separate little walks and I would not have felt it like I did, so obviously intensity and duration are key.

OK, I know there are some people who are like 'DUH!', but this is something I had to once again experience for my self to get it more than intellectually.  Truthfully I knew this, but had forgotten it.  The interesting thing is that since I never left the house yesterday, I didn't hit my step target but I feel I got better exercise than if I had with all of the short trips.

So, it's a new week, or at least a new work week, and I am happy with my progress so far.

Paleo Diet Food List

I was doing some research online about what I can and cannot eat as I am trying to follow a Paleo diet. I came across this list as part of a post over on PaleoDietPlusPlus.com.

Paleo Diet Food List

• Protein

  • Red Meat and Pork: Beef, veal, lamb, bison, ostrich, sheep, caribou, goat, venison (deer), pork. Try to get grass-fed and organic if possible.
  • Cage-free Poultry: Chicken, duck, quail, goose, pheasant, pigeon, eggs from any of the birds just mentioned.
  • Wild Fish and Seafood: Salmon, tuna, tilapia, anchovy, herring, yellowtail, mahi-mahi (dorado), trout, bass, halibut, sole, haddock, turbot, walleye, cod, flatfish, grouper, mackerel, white fish, shrimp, oysters, clams, mussels, sea urchin, lobster, scallops, crab.
  • Nuts: Cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (Pepita), pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts, cashews, almonds, coconuts. Note: Peanut is not a nut, it’s a legume, thus it isn’t allowed on the Paleo diet.

• Fat

  • Cooking Oil
    • Extra-virgin coconut oil: You never want to burn your oil when you cook and since coconut oil has a high heat index (making it harder to burn), it is the oil I recommend for cooking for most meals.
    • Bacon Fat (lard): Bacon fat can be used as a cooking oil. It’s delicious (who doesn’t bacon?) and can be easily harvested from the grease of rendered bacon fat.
    • Beef Tallow: Tallow, much like bacon fat, is a rendered form of beef fat. I usually get my beef tallow from the fat that floats on top of my beef bone broth which I make once a week.
  • Salad Oil
    • Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO): This is my oil of choice for most of my salads. EVOO is high in polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) so it’s very unstable under high heat and sun light, so I don’t recommend cooking with it and don’t leave it in direct sun light or storing it in a clear bottle. Keep it in a dark place and use a bottle that is tinted (similar to red wine bottles).
    • Sesame seed oil: Adds a great Asian flavor to any salad, I recommend only a teaspoon per salad.
  • Food with Good Fat: Avocados, butter (if you can eat diary), ghee (clarified butter), pork, beef, duck, veal, lamb, cold water fishes (sardines, mackerel, salmon, anchovies), walnuts, pistachios, pecans, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (Pepita), pecans, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts, chia seeds, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, coconuts.

• Carbohydrates

  • Starchy Roots: Sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, potatoes, purple yams, sweet yams.
  • Nuts: Cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (Pepita), pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts, cashews, almonds, coconuts. Note: Peanut is not a nut, it’s a legume, thus it isn’t allowed on the Paleo diet.

• Sugars

  • Raw honey, maple syrup, palm sugar

• Alcohols

  • None

• Vegetables

  • Lettuce, butter lettuce, carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, radish, artichokes, arugula, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, watercrest, onions, shallots, button mushroom, portabello, oyster mushroom, shiitake. Pretty much any green leafy vegetable. I also included mushrooms under vegetables even though it’s classified as a fungus, but most people usually cook mushrooms as if they were vegetables.

• Spices and Herbs

  • Onions, garlic, parsley, cilantro (coriander), thyme, lavender, mint, basil, rosemary, chives, tarragon, oregano, sage, dill, bay leaves, curry powder, all spice, five spice, paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon, vanilla extract (make sure it’s 100% pure), cloves, nutmeg, star anise, mustard seeds, cumin.

• Fruit

  • Apples, grapefruit, pomelos, oranges, pear, acorn squash, buttercup squash, butternut squash, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, yellow summer squash, zucchini,bananas, strawberries, raspberries, goji, cocoa, lemon, lime, tangerines, lychee, rumbatan, mangoes, grapes, papaya, plums, peaches, nectarines, blackberries, pineapples, pomegranates, cantaloupes, cherries, apricots, watermelon, honeydew.

Part of the list that felt even more important than what I can't eat, is what I can't eat.  It is a much shorter list and easier to remember, I think:

---

Food NOT allowed on the Paleo Diet

• Refined carbohydrates: White bread, white flour
• Grains: Wheat, oat, rye
• Refined sugars: White table sugar, candy of all types,
• Legumes: Soybean, pinto beans, peas, fava beans, black eyed peas, lima beans, peanuts.
• Dairy: This is a point of controversy, as some people will say dairy is OK on the Paleo diet, while Paleo diet purist will argue otherwise. I say if you’re not lactose intolerant then eat dairy. But if you’re strict Paleo then stay away from the stuff! Dairy products: Cheese, milk, yogurt, butter, milk chocolate. Note: Ghee, clarified butter does not contain lactose nor casein, the proteins in dairy that causes harm to people who are intolerant to dairy. So enjoy ghee if you can afford it.
• Processed food: Anything that is in a can or bag and doesn’t spoil for months or years. You can bet it contains preservatives.
• All junk food: Chips, sweets, candy
• Hydrogenated Oils and Trans Fat: Vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, hydrogenated soybean oil, hydrogenated corn oil, margarine, shortening.
• Excitotoxins: Mono sodium-glutemate

To Paleo or not to Paleo....

Time certainly flies when one is busy with work and home life.  I can't believe I haven't posted in almost a month.  Time to address that.

I have been doing a good deal of reading and research on a new, old way of eating frequently referred to as the Paleo Diet.  The basic premise of this way of eating is that as homo sapiens, we evolved to process certain foods based upon what we were eating.  For thousands of years, what we had available for foods were lean proteins, fruits and nuts, and vegetables.  that's it.  There wasn't anything refined or ground or made into something else.

If you think about it, this means that to survive and thrive, our bodies adapted to these available foods and utilized them to the fullest.  Our complex system of energy production evolved to prefer these types of foods.  Obesity and type 2 diabetes were rare.  Of course the fact that there wasn't a lot of sitting around back then due to the needs of being hunter gatherers didn't hurt, either.

We even did fairly well with some refined foods for the last few thousand years because life still required a fair amount of physical labor.  then came the industrial and technological revolutions and suddenly we have people (like me) spending countless hours a day, basically immobile, doing very little physical movement.  Add to the refined foods and sugars in abundance and its no wonder we have an obesity epidemic in this country.

The anecdotal proof is hard to deny.  As the physical demands of life have decreased and the abundance of processed, sugary foods has increased, the obesity rate has gone through the roof. Not only in this country but other developed nations as well. To see this shift to not physical work and its effect on health, just look at China.  As their economy and lifestyles evolve to match those of the west, the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes is skyrocketing.  Several articles have indicated that the rate of those with the disease has almost doubled in the last 10 years.

With all of this in mind, I am going to start following a Paleo approach to my eating.  I will focus on vegetables and fruits, eat lean protein, limit my dairy and cheese and virtually eliminate refined foods from my diet.  No more breads and pasta.  Much less regular potatoes.  No refined sugars.  I am also planning on moving more, getting up and walking at least once per hour.  I feel this will have a very positive impact on my health and my weight.

To monitor all of this I am making an appointment to see my doctor in a couple of weeks, during which I am sure he will be ordering blood work.  this will be a starting point for me and I hope that in 6 months, when he repeats the same blood work, it will show some significant improvements.

As of today, my current weight is 456 lbs.  That is up from this same time last year, but its not my highest weight.  that was about 2 years ago when I hit 480.  I don't plan on getting there, ever again. I don't have specific weight loss targets.  I am simply going to monitor my weight as an indicator as to how well my body is responding to the new eating and movement plan.

Along the way I am planning on getting back on my bike to add in more movement and exercise.  Its about time since its been several months since I last rode.

Get on your bike and ride!

Little Decisions are the key

It's been a couple of months since I've posted anything and I apologize for that.  Seems like there hasn't been much to write about.  Hopefully today marks a change in that I am, once again, getting serious about getting healthy.  Seems like its time for a new beginning as we are moving in the next couple of days.  I see this as an opportunity for  new focus and a new beginning.

I find that I'm great at making big decisions.  I take my time, weigh out the pros and cons and eventually come up with what is usually the right decision.  Little decisions are my Achilles's heel. It seems the smaller the decision, the less likely I am to make a good one and this eventually affects everything else.

I can make a big decision to 'get healthier and lose weight.'  Simple, I know what I should do and can map out a plan for getting where I need to be. Then there comes the day to day, minute to minute execution of that plan. In general I am usually pretty good following a plan. OK, mostly. I tend to make a great start but my follow through suffers over time.  That's where those little decisions come in. Little decisions like, "should I eat one or two of these?" or "one more piece of ________ can't hurt, can it?"

Yes, it can hurt.  See once I give in to a temptation or mae the wrong decision, it just seems to snowball and spiral out of control.  Since I did X then Y won't matter. and the justifications begin and the plan is off the rails and out of control.

For me, I need to stay vigilant and on a strict regimen in order to stay on track. I am too easily side tracked when I allow myself too much choice - too much leeway.  Most books and articles I read say that in order to make lasting changes they should be done gradually and not be too drastic at any given pint, but that doesn't work for me.  It seems that if I make those small changes I lose focus and get off track.

So, starting today I'm getting my focus back and eating how I know I should - following what is essentially the Paleo Diet.  Ok, I hate the word diet but it allows me to stay focused and make better little choices in order to support the big changes I need to make in order to get healthy.

Part of my choice for the paleo diet is from a resource I found called Nerd Fitness. (http://www.nerdfitness.com)