My body has been driving me crazy lately. After spending a couple of weeks flopping around 182 lbs, I dropped to 181.4 last Sunday. Then Monday morning, I was up to 183.4 for absolutely no reason that I can see. I stayed there all week. The only thing that I could come up with was that my hayfever was really bad this week (weed pollen is really high) and maybe that caused the weight gain. Nothing in my diet changed and I ate the same thing I always do - cheeseburger bowls, ribeyes or beef ribs. Not even any pork or chicken.
There were some weird things going on, though. I was hungry much earlier than normal. I didn't eat any more than usual; I just had my first meal around 9 AM instead of noon. Normally I would be hungry again when I got home around 4 PM but I wasn't this week. In fact, I was barely hungry enough for dinner even with eating earlier. My energy levels were higher than normal this week too.
So I was stuck at 183.4 pounds all week. I get up this morning and I am at 180.8, which is a new low and makes it a total loss of 19 pounds in about 4.5 months. I did weigh a little later than normal but not late enough to make up almost three pounds. I can see why people say that scales drive them crazy.
I also had leg cramps for the first time in over a month and half, which lends some credence to the theory that the cramps herald some fat loss.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Day 130
I haven't updated in a while because there really hasn't been much change. My weight has been fluctuating around 182 pounds. This is disconcerting to me because that is where I stalled 11 years ago when I lost a lot of weight through Weigh Down. I was stuck there for almost five years until I started slowly regaining from too many carbs. I have been able to briefly drop to 182 a couple times since but regained each time. Hopefully this time will be different. I suppose I could live with it but I would really like to lose some more of the roll on my gut.
Other than that, there isn't much to report. Eating has been pretty much the same things - cheeseburger bowls for work lunches and ribs, steak and/or chicken thighs for other meals. I did have pork ribs the other day and didn't feel well afterward. I don't think pork sits well with me, which is weird because I used to eat it all of the time.
My energy levels have been up and down, as they have been since I started ZC. I haven't slept well the last few days which isn't helping. I do need to do something to get into better shape, though. I went trail riding the other day with the boys and I noticed I was really huffing and puffing after some pretty minor hills. I don't think I have completely keto-adapted yet, either as I run out of steam pretty easily. I seem to recover quickly but it would be nice to be able to do more before crashing.
Other than that, there isn't much to report. Eating has been pretty much the same things - cheeseburger bowls for work lunches and ribs, steak and/or chicken thighs for other meals. I did have pork ribs the other day and didn't feel well afterward. I don't think pork sits well with me, which is weird because I used to eat it all of the time.
My energy levels have been up and down, as they have been since I started ZC. I haven't slept well the last few days which isn't helping. I do need to do something to get into better shape, though. I went trail riding the other day with the boys and I noticed I was really huffing and puffing after some pretty minor hills. I don't think I have completely keto-adapted yet, either as I run out of steam pretty easily. I seem to recover quickly but it would be nice to be able to do more before crashing.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Day 118
Today was four weeks from my last update. I am down 3.6 pounds from that date. However, I had K do new measurements and there wasn't really much change. My stomach is down almost an inch but everything else is almost the same. In fact, the bodyfat percentage calculator gives me at a higher percentage than last time, despite being down 3.6 pounds. I think it's just a glitch because my clothes do feel looser. It is kind of a bummer to see a new low on the scale this morning (181.2 pounds) and then have the calculator say I'm actually fatter.
I was asked last week where I thought I might end up. Looking at myself critically, I think I could lose twenty pounds of fat without looking too skinny. I am currently looking forward to breaking the 180 pound barrier first and will post new pictures when I do.
I had a nice visit with my sister a couple of days ago. She was actually the first person to comment on my weight loss. She was fairly receptive to the idea of meat only and asked a lot of questions. However, there was still an air of disbelief ("you don't eat fruits or vegetables at all?"). I am going to recommend to her to just do low carb first and then keep dropping carbs if she stalls.
Meals the last few days have been fairly simple. K made pizza for everyone while my sister and her kids were here. I was going to make a pizza quiche but finally decided I didn't want that many carbs. I decided to try a meatza.
Changing the recipe to make it as low carb as possible and still stay pretty much zero carb was pretty easy. We mixed together one pound of italian sausage and one pound of hamburger along with some italian seasoning. The sausage and seasonings was just spices and herb with no fillers. We spread this out into a 9" x 13" baking pan and baked it for 20 minutes at 350°.
After the 20 minutes, we took it out, drained the grease and let it cool. When it came time to top it, I spread about three teaspoons of homemade pizza sauce over the whole thing and then topped it with a cheddar and mozzarella cheese mixture. The sauce has a only one carb in the three teaspoons but I am not sure it was necessary. I'll leave it off next time.
The meatza was very good and I ate about half of it that night. I ate the rest of it yesterday. I found it was amazing cold. It stays solid and has good flavor. It will make an excellent travel food where we have a cooler but no way to heat up meat.
The rest of the meals have been cheeseburger bowls.
I was asked last week where I thought I might end up. Looking at myself critically, I think I could lose twenty pounds of fat without looking too skinny. I am currently looking forward to breaking the 180 pound barrier first and will post new pictures when I do.
I had a nice visit with my sister a couple of days ago. She was actually the first person to comment on my weight loss. She was fairly receptive to the idea of meat only and asked a lot of questions. However, there was still an air of disbelief ("you don't eat fruits or vegetables at all?"). I am going to recommend to her to just do low carb first and then keep dropping carbs if she stalls.
Meals the last few days have been fairly simple. K made pizza for everyone while my sister and her kids were here. I was going to make a pizza quiche but finally decided I didn't want that many carbs. I decided to try a meatza.
Changing the recipe to make it as low carb as possible and still stay pretty much zero carb was pretty easy. We mixed together one pound of italian sausage and one pound of hamburger along with some italian seasoning. The sausage and seasonings was just spices and herb with no fillers. We spread this out into a 9" x 13" baking pan and baked it for 20 minutes at 350°.
After the 20 minutes, we took it out, drained the grease and let it cool. When it came time to top it, I spread about three teaspoons of homemade pizza sauce over the whole thing and then topped it with a cheddar and mozzarella cheese mixture. The sauce has a only one carb in the three teaspoons but I am not sure it was necessary. I'll leave it off next time.
The meatza was very good and I ate about half of it that night. I ate the rest of it yesterday. I found it was amazing cold. It stays solid and has good flavor. It will make an excellent travel food where we have a cooler but no way to heat up meat.
The rest of the meals have been cheeseburger bowls.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Day 114
I had some leftover short ribs yesterday when I was first hungry at about 11 AM. The ribs tasted okay but were getting a bit elderly. I wanted to finish them off because they needed to be used up and ate a bit more than usual. However, either because I overate or because they were getting old, I didn't feel real well the rest of the day. My stomach was upset and I felt hot.
By dinner at 6:30, I was getting hungry again, even though my stomach was still a bit upset. K made swiss steak (steak cooked in a sauce made from onion, tomato and celery) and I ate several smaller chunks of meat, though I didn't eat any of the veggies. I finished that off with a slice of cheddar.
Interestingly, even though I didn't eat any of sauce, I smelled like onion this morning when I took my shower. I didn't get any carbs from the sauce but must have picked up something from it. It didn't affect me in any other way, though. My stomach feels okay this morning and my weight was down another .8 pounds, to 181.8 lbs.
By dinner at 6:30, I was getting hungry again, even though my stomach was still a bit upset. K made swiss steak (steak cooked in a sauce made from onion, tomato and celery) and I ate several smaller chunks of meat, though I didn't eat any of the veggies. I finished that off with a slice of cheddar.
Interestingly, even though I didn't eat any of sauce, I smelled like onion this morning when I took my shower. I didn't get any carbs from the sauce but must have picked up something from it. It didn't affect me in any other way, though. My stomach feels okay this morning and my weight was down another .8 pounds, to 181.8 lbs.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Day 113
I have finally shaken the bloating from my exposure to gluten two weeks ago, so I have decided to get back to recording my zero carb journey. My last exposure to carbs was two weeks ago. I have been eating primarily beef and some hard cheese (cheddar mostly) along with some cream in my tea in the mornings that I work. This seems to work for my body and I have lost the carb and gluten bloat and hit a new low weight this morning - 182.6 pounds. That gives me a total loss of 17 pounds since I started.
I am still drinking Diet Pepsi. I had thought it was triggering cravings but that doesn't seem to be the case now. I think the cravings were coming from bits of carbs here and there - a few mushrooms with a steak, onions mixed into a sauce, etc. I do need to give the pop up, though, as I will get a little dizzy if I drink it on an empty stomach. This means I am releasing a little insulin from the sweet taste, which drops my blood sugar a bit at the time.
Meals yesterday were a cheeseburger bowl at 1 PM and a small bowl of taco meat, cheese and a little sour cream for dinner.
I am still drinking Diet Pepsi. I had thought it was triggering cravings but that doesn't seem to be the case now. I think the cravings were coming from bits of carbs here and there - a few mushrooms with a steak, onions mixed into a sauce, etc. I do need to give the pop up, though, as I will get a little dizzy if I drink it on an empty stomach. This means I am releasing a little insulin from the sweet taste, which drops my blood sugar a bit at the time.
Meals yesterday were a cheeseburger bowl at 1 PM and a small bowl of taco meat, cheese and a little sour cream for dinner.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Catching up
I have been neglecting my blog as I have been trying to get my head on straight and to back on track. I am going to be lazy and post a series of posts that I wrote in my journal on ZIOH instead of writing a bunch of new stuff.
7/22
I haven't been posting lately because I have been struggling a bit and I figured no one wanted to read about that. However, Suzanne wrote this earlier in Kristina's journal:
It made me think that I might do better if I posted more often. I guess if someone doesn't want to read it, they don't have to click on my journal.
Since my 90 day update, I had been doing really well, food-wise, while trying to cut out the diet soda. Last Sunday, K and the boys left to go to K's folks for a couple of days and I ended up with a carb day that day. I'm over that and using K's absence to try to do mainly beef. I grilled up a bunch of beef short ribs for dinners and fixed a bunch of ground beef for my lunches. I also have ribeyes in the freezer if need be. The food's going well, but now the soda's back. I'm working on it.
Somewhere along the way, I was exposed to barley. I get an autoimmune response in some glands, usually my throat, when I get barley (wheat is a different response). The glands below the ear, under the jawline, swell and get painful to the touch. I have that going on now, in both glands, which is unusual. It made it very difficult to sleep last night as I couldn't find a position for my head that didn't put pressure on my neck.
It sucks but I have to just ride it out. Ibuprofen isn't even touching it at the moment. The weird thing is I am feeling pretty good except for that. My energy level wants me to bounce around but then my neck starts saying "Ow!!!!".
I am not tracking my weight right now as I am up a bit from the carbs last Sunday and even more from the glutening. That showed even before the throat started hurting.
7/22
I hope so, but I thought that last week, too. I went all week ZC eating and no AS at all. Then I get on the scale Sunday morning and see my weight is UP! The little voices in my head said "F*** it. If that's the way it's going to be, I might as well eat what I want".
I now think I was glutened on Saturday (by some hot dogs that we grilled up while K's dad was here), which explained the weight gain.
Another problem is this idea of restarting. Another part of Sunday's carbfest was the idea that I had just restarted the weekend before, so it wouldn't be losing much time if I had carbs and then "restarted" again.
I'm not counting days anymore. I am just going to try to go day to day now and do the best I can. My biggest hurdle now is that I am not 100% convinced that I need to be ZC. I am not trying to fix any health problems and I am not horribly overweight. My head reads the info on ZC and thinks that it would be the best way to prevent problems in the future now that I am middle-aged. My heart, however, isn't completely convinced I need to do it now. I am going to give it a good try, though. I am fearful that anything else will spiral me out into carb land.
7/23
Yesterday went well. I was hungry early and had two short ribs. Surprisingly, I didn't get hungry again until late. I actually wasn't very hungry when I decided to grill up the flanken-style ribs that I had in the fridge. I basically just needed to get them cooked as they had been thawed several days. After I grilled them up, I decided to eat a couple of them so that I wouldn't get hungry during the night again. However, they were so good, I ended up eating about six of them. Maybe the glutening short circuited my hunger signals for now? These are definitely my favorite type of ribs, though the short ribs were good this time, too.
My neck is still bothering me, though I slept better last night, so I think it's on the mend. My weight is still way up so I still have some inflammation going on. I have had it take a week to clear up so hopefully by next week it will be gone. K e-mailed me that the hot dogs bothered her, too. She isn't Celiac but eats gluten free as we have to keep the household GF because of me and the boys. She can tell when she has gluten now. I don't think that stuff is good for anyone.
7/23
While eating dinner last night, I watched the first half of the Mystery Diagnosis that I had on the TiVo from Monday. That segment was about a little girl that had trouble swallowing, couldn't move very well and was frequently sick with respiratory problems. It turned out she had something called Pompe Disease which is a genetic disorder where you can't utilize the glycogen in the muscles so it builds up and causes an autoimmune reaction in the muscles.
When she was first diagnosed, there was no treatment and she was expected to die before she reached her 20's (she was 11 at the time of her diagnosis). Her family got involved with the experts and got them together and there is now some gene therapy that can slow the progression of the disease. The girl is now in her early 20's but is confined to a wheelchair.
I was curious if there was any kind of dietary treatment. It seemed that if the body couldn't deal with glycogen very well, you would want to get as little as possible in there. I did find that there has been an attempt to treat them with a "high protein, low carbohydrate" diet but only about 25% of the people responded to it.
I know I am just a layman and just thinking "out loud" here, but it seems like a "high fat, adequate protein, zero carb" diet would work better. From what I could find, it is just completely unfathomable to researchers that people could actually not eat any carbs at all. From the description of the treatment diet, it sounds like it is also unfathomable that "high fat" would work.
As the segment on the girl ended, it showed her and her family sitting at the table, eating pizza.
7/24
Another good food day yesterday though I still haven't been very hungry. I had a cheeseburger bowl at work at about 11 am. In the evening, I wasn't very hungry but ate a short rib and a half and a little cheddar, mostly so I could take a handful of ibuprofen without upsetting my stomach.
I thought my throat/neck was getting better but it isn't. It was kicking my butt yesterday (and so far today). It has moved to it's typical spot on the left side and intensified. If I hold my head in one position for very long (like when working on the computer), it will clamp down hard when I next move my head.
This is getting irritating but I can't do anything about it but pop ibuprofen and wait it out (and eat right). Oh, and I can whine about it here. LOL
Some people on another forum that I'm on were posting pictures of themselves from their childhood up through current pictures. It was fun looking through them and I went through my pictures last night so that I could post too. I was struck by the fact that I was actually fairly thin up 'til a year after I got married and then God flipped the fat switch (actually - I blame my wife LOL). I never saw myself that way (thin) at all, which meant that I never got to enjoy the feeling, either, if that makes sense.
7/24
About 3 1/2 years ago, I had been studying gluten intolerance in an attempt to get to the root cause of a lifetime of stomach problems and some bad headaches. I didn't know for sure that I was intolerant, but I was willing to give it a try to see how I felt. I didn't have any trouble at all being extremely strict and sticking with it because I felt great right away. After accidentally eating something with gluten and getting sick about three months in, there was no question I needed to eat that way the rest of my life and I have never been tempted to stray. There are times it sucks being different and having to be a pain when eating at other people's houses but it really hasn't been that difficult and except for a surprise brief period of mourning, I haven't really missed anything.
I would like to get into the same mindframe with ZC but it hasn't been very easy so far. For one thing, I didn't get the immediate feedback of feeling good like I did dumping gluten. It makes it harder to stick with when you feel run down, have leg cramps and "bathroom issues", especially when the scale slows down.
That said, I have been feeling motivated lately by looking at my old pictures. I don't want to go into my later years carrying a belly and feeling tired all of the time. Heart disease and diabetes runs in my family. I actually have had a bunch of issues clear up, as listed in the Benefits of ZC thread. I want to give it a fair shot and I am feeling pretty good about it right now.
Must be all of the beef I'm eating while the family is gone.
7/26
Everything is still going well, except for the neck thing. I'll think it's finally getting better and then it flares up again. Oh well, it's my own damn fault.
I was worried about this weekend since I'm home by myself. However, I haven't been tempted at all to eat stuff I shouldn't. In fact, I haven't been very hungry. I didn't eat yesterday until after 1 PM (hamburger) and just had one and half short ribs and a slice of cheddar at about 9 PM.
I've dropped more than five pounds of bloat this week. I am still a pound above my lowest weight but hopefully that will be gone soon as I continue to eat right and as the inflammation dies down.
When I got up yesterday, the weather was much cooler than expected so I went out to do some much needed yardwork. It was mostly pulling weeds with a little mowing thrown in. I worked most of the morning and got a bunch done. However, I kept having a problem of getting really dizzy when I would stand up to move to a different spot. One time, I seriously thought I was going to black out. It felt exactly like my blood pressure was dropping too fast. It could be because I hadn't eaten yet but I don't think so. It's just something I will have to watch (and get up a little slower).
7/22
I haven't been posting lately because I have been struggling a bit and I figured no one wanted to read about that. However, Suzanne wrote this earlier in Kristina's journal:
Suzanne Wrote: New and old people need to understand that zc is NOT easy. If we only write about the good times, the new people will think they are the only ones who struggle. They need to read about our struggles, so they know it is all normal.
It made me think that I might do better if I posted more often. I guess if someone doesn't want to read it, they don't have to click on my journal.
Since my 90 day update, I had been doing really well, food-wise, while trying to cut out the diet soda. Last Sunday, K and the boys left to go to K's folks for a couple of days and I ended up with a carb day that day. I'm over that and using K's absence to try to do mainly beef. I grilled up a bunch of beef short ribs for dinners and fixed a bunch of ground beef for my lunches. I also have ribeyes in the freezer if need be. The food's going well, but now the soda's back. I'm working on it.
Somewhere along the way, I was exposed to barley. I get an autoimmune response in some glands, usually my throat, when I get barley (wheat is a different response). The glands below the ear, under the jawline, swell and get painful to the touch. I have that going on now, in both glands, which is unusual. It made it very difficult to sleep last night as I couldn't find a position for my head that didn't put pressure on my neck.
It sucks but I have to just ride it out. Ibuprofen isn't even touching it at the moment. The weird thing is I am feeling pretty good except for that. My energy level wants me to bounce around but then my neck starts saying "Ow!!!!".
I am not tracking my weight right now as I am up a bit from the carbs last Sunday and even more from the glutening. That showed even before the throat started hurting.
7/22
KathyAnne Wrote: Also, sounds like you are right back on track!!
I hope so, but I thought that last week, too. I went all week ZC eating and no AS at all. Then I get on the scale Sunday morning and see my weight is UP! The little voices in my head said "F*** it. If that's the way it's going to be, I might as well eat what I want".
I now think I was glutened on Saturday (by some hot dogs that we grilled up while K's dad was here), which explained the weight gain.
Another problem is this idea of restarting. Another part of Sunday's carbfest was the idea that I had just restarted the weekend before, so it wouldn't be losing much time if I had carbs and then "restarted" again.
I'm not counting days anymore. I am just going to try to go day to day now and do the best I can. My biggest hurdle now is that I am not 100% convinced that I need to be ZC. I am not trying to fix any health problems and I am not horribly overweight. My head reads the info on ZC and thinks that it would be the best way to prevent problems in the future now that I am middle-aged. My heart, however, isn't completely convinced I need to do it now. I am going to give it a good try, though. I am fearful that anything else will spiral me out into carb land.
7/23
Yesterday went well. I was hungry early and had two short ribs. Surprisingly, I didn't get hungry again until late. I actually wasn't very hungry when I decided to grill up the flanken-style ribs that I had in the fridge. I basically just needed to get them cooked as they had been thawed several days. After I grilled them up, I decided to eat a couple of them so that I wouldn't get hungry during the night again. However, they were so good, I ended up eating about six of them. Maybe the glutening short circuited my hunger signals for now? These are definitely my favorite type of ribs, though the short ribs were good this time, too.
My neck is still bothering me, though I slept better last night, so I think it's on the mend. My weight is still way up so I still have some inflammation going on. I have had it take a week to clear up so hopefully by next week it will be gone. K e-mailed me that the hot dogs bothered her, too. She isn't Celiac but eats gluten free as we have to keep the household GF because of me and the boys. She can tell when she has gluten now. I don't think that stuff is good for anyone.
7/23
While eating dinner last night, I watched the first half of the Mystery Diagnosis that I had on the TiVo from Monday. That segment was about a little girl that had trouble swallowing, couldn't move very well and was frequently sick with respiratory problems. It turned out she had something called Pompe Disease which is a genetic disorder where you can't utilize the glycogen in the muscles so it builds up and causes an autoimmune reaction in the muscles.
When she was first diagnosed, there was no treatment and she was expected to die before she reached her 20's (she was 11 at the time of her diagnosis). Her family got involved with the experts and got them together and there is now some gene therapy that can slow the progression of the disease. The girl is now in her early 20's but is confined to a wheelchair.
I was curious if there was any kind of dietary treatment. It seemed that if the body couldn't deal with glycogen very well, you would want to get as little as possible in there. I did find that there has been an attempt to treat them with a "high protein, low carbohydrate" diet but only about 25% of the people responded to it.
I know I am just a layman and just thinking "out loud" here, but it seems like a "high fat, adequate protein, zero carb" diet would work better. From what I could find, it is just completely unfathomable to researchers that people could actually not eat any carbs at all. From the description of the treatment diet, it sounds like it is also unfathomable that "high fat" would work.
As the segment on the girl ended, it showed her and her family sitting at the table, eating pizza.
7/24
Another good food day yesterday though I still haven't been very hungry. I had a cheeseburger bowl at work at about 11 am. In the evening, I wasn't very hungry but ate a short rib and a half and a little cheddar, mostly so I could take a handful of ibuprofen without upsetting my stomach.
I thought my throat/neck was getting better but it isn't. It was kicking my butt yesterday (and so far today). It has moved to it's typical spot on the left side and intensified. If I hold my head in one position for very long (like when working on the computer), it will clamp down hard when I next move my head.
This is getting irritating but I can't do anything about it but pop ibuprofen and wait it out (and eat right). Oh, and I can whine about it here. LOL
Some people on another forum that I'm on were posting pictures of themselves from their childhood up through current pictures. It was fun looking through them and I went through my pictures last night so that I could post too. I was struck by the fact that I was actually fairly thin up 'til a year after I got married and then God flipped the fat switch (actually - I blame my wife LOL). I never saw myself that way (thin) at all, which meant that I never got to enjoy the feeling, either, if that makes sense.
7/24
About 3 1/2 years ago, I had been studying gluten intolerance in an attempt to get to the root cause of a lifetime of stomach problems and some bad headaches. I didn't know for sure that I was intolerant, but I was willing to give it a try to see how I felt. I didn't have any trouble at all being extremely strict and sticking with it because I felt great right away. After accidentally eating something with gluten and getting sick about three months in, there was no question I needed to eat that way the rest of my life and I have never been tempted to stray. There are times it sucks being different and having to be a pain when eating at other people's houses but it really hasn't been that difficult and except for a surprise brief period of mourning, I haven't really missed anything.
I would like to get into the same mindframe with ZC but it hasn't been very easy so far. For one thing, I didn't get the immediate feedback of feeling good like I did dumping gluten. It makes it harder to stick with when you feel run down, have leg cramps and "bathroom issues", especially when the scale slows down.
That said, I have been feeling motivated lately by looking at my old pictures. I don't want to go into my later years carrying a belly and feeling tired all of the time. Heart disease and diabetes runs in my family. I actually have had a bunch of issues clear up, as listed in the Benefits of ZC thread. I want to give it a fair shot and I am feeling pretty good about it right now.
Must be all of the beef I'm eating while the family is gone.
7/26
Everything is still going well, except for the neck thing. I'll think it's finally getting better and then it flares up again. Oh well, it's my own damn fault.
I was worried about this weekend since I'm home by myself. However, I haven't been tempted at all to eat stuff I shouldn't. In fact, I haven't been very hungry. I didn't eat yesterday until after 1 PM (hamburger) and just had one and half short ribs and a slice of cheddar at about 9 PM.
I've dropped more than five pounds of bloat this week. I am still a pound above my lowest weight but hopefully that will be gone soon as I continue to eat right and as the inflammation dies down.
When I got up yesterday, the weather was much cooler than expected so I went out to do some much needed yardwork. It was mostly pulling weeds with a little mowing thrown in. I worked most of the morning and got a bunch done. However, I kept having a problem of getting really dizzy when I would stand up to move to a different spot. One time, I seriously thought I was going to black out. It felt exactly like my blood pressure was dropping too fast. It could be because I hadn't eaten yet but I don't think so. It's just something I will have to watch (and get up a little slower).
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Day 90 Wrap-up
Yesterday wrapped up the original 90 "challenge" period for my new way of eating. While it was 90 days since I started, unfortunately, I can't say I was zero carb for 90 days. Over the last four - five weeks, I have several times where I have fallen off the wagon with different degrees of severity. Also, over the same time period, I added Diet Pepsi back in because it helped clear my throat when I was having problems with my allergies.
Coincidence that the time I struggled was also the the time I added soda back in? - I think not.
I originally added it back in with the idea that it would just be until the pollen died back down and I didn't need it. I happened to drop to my lowest weight about a week after I started drinking it again and I figured the pop must not bother me or affect my weight loss. However, it was not long after that low point that the cravings hit hard and I started struggling and falling off the wagon here and there.
I also started getting the light-headed feeling in the afternoon again. As far as I can tell, it must be a low blood sugar reaction from the sweet taste. After this experience, I can truly say that diet soda won't help me be healthy and lose weight. It has to truly go this time.
I never got measurements during my lowest weight times, so my spreadsheet doesn't look very impressive. It shouldn't though, because I haven't been at that point in two weeks. I basically have made no progress since the end of May.
I've kept track of my average weight over the 90 days. It is a moving average of seven days. The averaging takes out the bounces and gives a truer picture of what is going on. As you can see, it dropped quickly and then just honed in to the 185 range over the last five weeks or so.
Here are my before and after pictures. There is no denying that I have dropped fat. It is just that I could be further along now.
The "after" pictures are going to become the starting pictures for the next 90 days. I am going to do zero carb the way it is supposed to be done - no artificial sweeteners, no snitching a few macadamia nuts after dinner here and there, no falling of the wagon just because I am eating at someone else's place, etc. Just water, meat and high fat dairy. I will also drink unsweetened tea to help get through the soda withdrawals but will have to evaluate it as I go along.
I have to do this to evaluate if zero carb will be something that will work for me for the rest of my life. If all goes well, the cravings should go away, the weight should drop off and it should become easy enough to stay with for the rest of my life. Two things that have to happen, though, is my energy level has to come up and the leg cramps have to stop. If those don't happen by the end of 90 days, I may have to look for something else. I don't foresee that happening, though.
Coincidence that the time I struggled was also the the time I added soda back in? - I think not.
I originally added it back in with the idea that it would just be until the pollen died back down and I didn't need it. I happened to drop to my lowest weight about a week after I started drinking it again and I figured the pop must not bother me or affect my weight loss. However, it was not long after that low point that the cravings hit hard and I started struggling and falling off the wagon here and there.
I also started getting the light-headed feeling in the afternoon again. As far as I can tell, it must be a low blood sugar reaction from the sweet taste. After this experience, I can truly say that diet soda won't help me be healthy and lose weight. It has to truly go this time.
I never got measurements during my lowest weight times, so my spreadsheet doesn't look very impressive. It shouldn't though, because I haven't been at that point in two weeks. I basically have made no progress since the end of May.
I've kept track of my average weight over the 90 days. It is a moving average of seven days. The averaging takes out the bounces and gives a truer picture of what is going on. As you can see, it dropped quickly and then just honed in to the 185 range over the last five weeks or so.
Here are my before and after pictures. There is no denying that I have dropped fat. It is just that I could be further along now.
The "after" pictures are going to become the starting pictures for the next 90 days. I am going to do zero carb the way it is supposed to be done - no artificial sweeteners, no snitching a few macadamia nuts after dinner here and there, no falling of the wagon just because I am eating at someone else's place, etc. Just water, meat and high fat dairy. I will also drink unsweetened tea to help get through the soda withdrawals but will have to evaluate it as I go along.
I have to do this to evaluate if zero carb will be something that will work for me for the rest of my life. If all goes well, the cravings should go away, the weight should drop off and it should become easy enough to stay with for the rest of my life. Two things that have to happen, though, is my energy level has to come up and the leg cramps have to stop. If those don't happen by the end of 90 days, I may have to look for something else. I don't foresee that happening, though.
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