There are ramifications.

I say, ramifications to modifying your diet.

Ramification #1 - drinking a lot of water can cause unintended consequences.
Ramification #2 - eating a lot of fiber can cause unintended consequences.

Those were numbered that way on purpose.



Good day!

-Silas

Back again for more.

Breakfast this morning - a bowl full of fresh fruit (FREE!!!) and some light cheese.

Had an early morning snack of wheat toast with peanut butter (1 tablespoon) and a cup of skim milk.

Time to go get some lunch. Hopefully some lean meat and steamed or roasted veggies - the cafeteria here at work has been pretty darned good about that kind of thing ever since the new year.

Before going home I'll have an apple and probably a bit more cheese.

This is my menu while at work. Yes, I'll mix it up sometimes with some oatmeal/yogurt/fruit concoctions, but in general this is what I eat now.

I am hoping that once we get into a groove at home I'll have more and more healthy leftovers to bring from home, but still, if I don't, I will have cheap, healthy food here at work.

Yes, I'm passing on the burgers. And yes, I'm passing on the cookies. And I'm even passing on the free frozen yogurt.

And while I am not allowed to step on the scale as per my trainer's orders...

I feel it working.

-Silas

Body fat? What body fat?

OK, there is a significant amount of it.

However, it turns out that that there isn't as much as I thought.

I have a handheld body fat percentage calculator. It was telling me recently that I was up in the 35% range. That's kind of high, but really (with my weight and how I feel) it was quite believable.

Well, this weight loss competition that I've joined uses rather precision equipment. I stand on the scale (a heavy-duty looking thing) and it weighs me. Then they put a couple of sensors on my right hand, and a couple on my right foot.

Turns out that my body fat percentage was 23.

Slightly lower than 35, I know.

After discussing this with our trainer, I've decided to take my wife's advice (that she seconded...) - I'm taking this lower percentage as a good thing. Really, this means that I'm not as unhealthy as I probably SHOULD be based on not really trying for a long time.

I'm taking quite a few positives from this...

1. I am healthier than I thought I was.
2. I probably have a pretty good metabolism.
3. I have a lot of bone/muscle mass. See #2. 
4. If I really try, and keep it up, I will lose the weight I need to lose.
5. When I get to goal, I should be able to keep the weight off.

I've lost the weight before. And then let my addiction to food ("I can't go a day without it!") creep right back in. Old habits, etc, are able to just pack the weight on. Probably because I love food. I love BBQ. I love cooking in my dutch ovens. (I am a Scoutmaster...)

So it's time to start finding a balance. I really don't think that giving all of this up forever is realistic. But neither is eating anything and everything I want and expecting to be healthy. My brother has recently lost 50 pounds, and he's feeling great. He is STILL posting all the time about the wonderful food that he is eating. I guess what he is NOT posting is all of the healthy food he is eating between those posts, and the exercise that he is doing.

I know there's a way. And you know what?

For the first time in a while, I have the will.

-Silas

I hate to say it again, but Bill Phillips was right.

I don't necessarily like everything that he said in the Body-FOR-Life program, but maybe I should. I think that I don't want to become a body builder, which is where he and I part ways just a little. But frankly, if had been running with his program for the last 10 years, I would certainly like my body more than I actually do.

There is a lot to like. The diet/nutrition plan that he advocates is a lot like what my personal trainer is advocating right now - eat a lot of small meals often, mostly containing lean protein and complex carbohydrates. I do know that this is good for you.

The workout schedule differs, at least so far. I do know that my trainer is going to be adding is a significant amount of resistance training, at least in comparison to what I have been doing.

But the thing that I am specifically referring to is not pertaining to the nutrition. Or even the workouts.

What I love is what he refers to as "The Power of Positive Pressure." The idea that when you tell your family and friends (and in my case co-workers) about the changes that you are making, you put some pressure on yourself to stick with the changes.

Case in point...

I am a Scoutmaster. Last night we had a Court of Honor. It was a great one - a few advancements, talking with the scouts about why they should be scouts, and discussing the next year with the scouts and parents.

At the end, as usual, there were treats for the boys. (Hey, it's how you get 11-13 year olds to show up.) I ate exactly zero treats. Instead, I came home and had some pineapple for dessert.

It's not that I couldn't have fit a cookie in. In fact, in the future, I think that a healthy balance includes a cookie (ONE COOKIE, SILAS) at a Court of Honor.

But I know myself. And for me, right at this moment, I need to detoxify. That is, I need to really eat well for a while so that my body will decrease the cravings on the crap food. These never go away, but from my past experience, I do know that the cravings will decrease.

Anyway, I told an Assistant Scoutmaster of my joining the competition that I have joined. So it was going to be a lot harder for me to grab that cookie...even the white chocolate macadamia cookie...and put it into my mouth. I know that he would be watching.

What about the law of unintended consequences, then?

This same Assistant Scoutmaster told me that he had been inspired by me telling him of my competition that he joined one at his work. It was starting this morning, so he was having his final cookie that night, but really, it's a great thing. We'll see how much we can lose together.

-Silas

*tap tap tap* Is this thing on?

All the time I find myself needing to reboot. How many times (just in the life of this blog, let alone my life) have I had to start over, to "recommit," to become disgusted with how I am living and feeling and have decided to begin anew?

Well...let's count:

Including this time...

This blog: 5.
My lifetime: 500.

I might be exaggerating that last one.

Regardless of how many times it takes, I know that I have to just keep trying. Over and over again. So here we go again...

What is different this time? Well, I'm a new me.

Also, I have joined a weight-loss competition! It is at a recreation center near my house. It lasts for 6 months, and the winner gets a pretty good prize...

Other incentives?

I paid for it. It actually cost a fair bit of cash. If I slack, that cash is wasted. I won't waste it.

But the big one?

I am going to have before/after photos posted publicly in the gym where I work out. If that isn't incentive, I don't know what is!

So right now I'm starting over. I've been working hard this week getting back into a good groove. It's good...and it's working.

We'll see what happens over the next 6 months...

Stay tuned!