Monthly Update: December

Things that went well

Overall, this month went really well, given that it was December with all the landmines that come with it. I lost almost 7 lbs, and I managed to not hurt myself lifting weights, which led to some good strength gains.

Things to improve

Still not doing great on the veggies, but I bought a new steamer and I'm in the process of getting more veggies in my diet. Also, the holidays threw a grenade into the routine, so I need to make sure that I re-establish the routine on January 2, not February 2.

OVERALL PROGRESS

Weight as of 12/31: 181.96

Total Weight Lost: 24.84 lbs (7 this month)

Total reduction in measurements as of 12/31

Neck: 1.375 inches
Chest: 3.750inches
Bicep: 2.375 inches
Gut: 6.625 inches
Waist: 4.5 inches
Thigh: .875 inch

Pant Size: 33

Monday morning update

Good news, bad news. I GAINED .44 lbs this week, but my measurements are good. So I'm not too freaked out. I did have some weak moments, but overall, I ate better this xmas than I ever have. One more party (tonight), then it's back to the all important routine.

The lifting has gone reallly well over the last few weeks, so I think I have gained some muscle, which is a good thing.

Weight Average: 181.96- gain of 0.44 pounds this week (24.84 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.625- No Change
Chest 38.750- Loss of 3/8"
R. Bicep 13.125- Loss of 1/4"
Gut 34.625 - Loss of 1/8"
Waist 35.500 - Loss of 1/4"
Thigh 23.125 - Gain of 1/8"

Happy New Year!

The Godfather

You may all think that Billy is the pioneer of our family's fitness, but in fact, he is not. Our older half-brother, Tom, has been fit for decades (he's now in his 50's). Both he and his wife have been (and still are) into exercise, doing triatholons, lifting weights, eating healthy, the whole deal. If you saw them, you would think they are in their late 30's, early 40's. In fact, when I was pushing maximum density, people would see the two of us and ask who the older brother was (he's 17 years older than me, yikes). Not a fun time for yours truly.


Why do I mention all of this? Because I used to look at Tom and his wife and think to myself "Wow, I could never do what they are doing." And I just realized how defeatest and ridiculous that thought was. Both Tom and his wife work, they have two children, they are living a normal life, yet they managed to make health and fitness a priority. Why can't I do the same, and do it for DECADES (not just this year, or for a "while")? They are truly an inspiration and an example of what can happen when you take care of yourself for a long time. What happens:


1. You tend to look much younger than you are.

1a. You tend to feel much younger than you are.

2. You can enjoy the time you have when your kids are grown, because you have the energy to do lots of the things you didn't do when you had kids (travel, play sports, etc)

3. You don't have as many health problems as people who treat themselves like shit.

4. People ask you if you are younger than your much younger brother/sister.


Something to think about...

Post Xmas

First, thanks to my brother for posting that picture of us after xmas dinner, I look like I ate the table. Not sure why I look so bad in that pic, oh well.

Ugly day on the scale, weighed in at 183.8, after being 180.6 last week. My average has gone up 2 pounds, and besides the carnage that was yesterday, I think I've done really well. I can see how people that go nuts for a week or two can easily gain 5-10 pounds.

I expect that there will be a quick rebound. Going back to the gym today.

I got a bunch of gift cards for Banana Republic for xmas. We just got back from the mall, I tried on some size 33 pants and they fit! I'm going back and buying the same style pants, only in a size 31 (which do NOT fit :)). Nice to have something to look forward to.

Harry and David Royal Riviera Pears. Best fruit on earth. You won't believe that you are eating something that is good for you, but it is. 120 calories, 5g of fiber. Trust me, go out and buy a box or do it online. They are expensive ($30 for 8 pears), but less expensive then buying 8 lattes at Starbucks. Trust me.

Monday morning update

I lost 1.68 pounds this week. Not too bad. My only gripe is that I've seemed to gain weight by osmosis the last few days. I was cruising towards an over 2 lb loss until a few days ago. Here are this weeks weigh ins:

182
181.2
180.4
180.6
181.8
182.8
182

Nothing like ending up where you were! I can only explain it by saying that I lifted well this week, so my muscles may be taking up some water or something. But I've been really good about the eating, even though we had a bunch of events this week. Oh well.

Weight Average: 181.52- loss of 1.68 pounds this week (25.28 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.625- Loss of 1/8"
Chest 39.125 - Gain of 1/4"
R. Bicep 13.375- No Change
Gut 34.750 - Loss of 1/4"
Waist 35.750 - Loss of 1/8"
Thigh 23 - Loss of 1/4"

One more week to go before eating season is over! Hope everyone has a good holiday, but stay away from the feedbags....

Monday morning update: Day 100

Day 100 today. I lost 2.28 pounds this week. Also started lifting again, so this is a good result. I'm almost to the halfway point (around 182)! I'm happy with the measurements as well.

Weight Average: 183.20- loss of 2.28 pounds this week (23.60 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.75- No Change
Chest 38.875 - Loss of 3/8"
R. Bicep 13.375- No Change
Gut 35 - Loss of 5/8"
Waist 35.875 - Loss of 1/4"
Thigh 23.250 - Gain of 1/8"

The weights went well this week, I changed up the workout to emphasize exercises that would be kinder to my joints (knees, elbows, shoulders), and I'm feeling less pain and I'm still getting a good workout.

Historically, I've only been able to stay on diets for about 2-3 months, then I'd go veering off dramatically. I feel like this time is different because I'm not really on a "diet", I'm changing my eating habits for life, and right now I"m just in a cutting phase (albeit a LONG one). Still, I need to be aware of this timeline (I'm at the 3 month point) and make sure that I don't veer off course.

Xmas comparison

OK, here are a couple of comparison pictures I found. Like I said, there aren't that many fat pictures of me because I wouldn't let people take very many pictures of me. But I found one. The first pic is a family pic from Xmas 2006, where I was probably around 205. The second is a pic taken on 12/3/07, where I'm around 185...

Confusion: Monday morning update

I lost 3.2 pounds this week. Great, right? But I'm confused because my body fat % didn't go down much at all, and neither did my measurements. Based on my computations, my BF% indicates that 2 of the pounds that I lost this week were lean mass! Very confusing.

Weight Average: 185.48 - loss of 3.2 pounds this week (21.32 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.75- Gain of 1/4"
Chest 39.25 - No Change
R. Bicep 13.375- Loss of 1/4"
Gut 35.625 - Loss of 1/4"
Waist 36.125- Loss of 3/4"
Thigh 23.125 - Gain of 1/8"

Back to the gym today, I took the week off at the gym (I just walked on the treadmill), because I'm doing something wrong when I lift. I get sore in my knees, neck and lower back. It is probably bad form. So I'm going to stick to the machines for a few weeks and try to ease my body back into lifting. Also, based on the bad BF %, I'm going to go back up to 2000 calories.

A message to Santa

I have some thoughts around what Billy calls "eating season". If you are in any way offended by obscene language or hostility towards Santa, please stop reading NOW.

Fuck you Santa, you fat bastard. I'm trying to lose some goddamn weight over here. And what do you bring for me in December? A children's holiday party? Yeah, I'm sure there will be a lot of healthy options there. A "make your own gingerbread man" party and buffet? Great, thanks. A fucking cookie exchange? Are you kidding me? My wife is going to come home with a giant goddamn platter of cookies? Big help there, fatso. Oh, and then, of course, we need to have a neighborhood holiday party, where I have to pretend to like my drunk neighbors as the stuff their faces full of shit.

And we haven't even gotten to the big day! First, we have Xmas eve dinner! Bet there won't be any salmon there! Then, of course, Xmas day! My brother can tell you all about the carnage involved there after he kicks your ass. Yeah, he's the buff one in the corner there, he's been bulking up just for this moment.

But guess what? I'm not doing it. I'm going to lose 8 pounds this month, not gain 8 pounds. Just give my kids some presents and beat it. And it wouldn't hurt for you to try a salad once in a while.

20

20 pounds total off the average today! I'm sure Billy can provide information as to what that equates to. A large cat? A small dog? I think my youngest daughter is 25 pounds, so I can't post a picture of her yet.

Monthly Update: November

Things that went well

So this month went pretty well, I lost 7.5 pounds. My measurements went down as well, and I'm starting to look and feel better. We went and had some family pictures taken this past weekend, and I'm really happy with how they came out. For a long time I avoided the camera at all costs, so it's nice to have a picture with me included in it!

Things to improve

I started to drift away from the veggies. I'm eating a lot of fruit, but no more salads, and not much other veggies either. I'm going to try to get back on the veggie train. Also, my knees are aching a little bit, I've got to keep an eye on that.

OVERALL PROGRESS

Weight as of 12/3: 188.68
Total Weight Lost: 18.12 lbs (7.5 this month)

Total reduction in measurements as of 12/3
Neck: 1.5 inches
Chest: 3.25 inches
Bicep: 1.875 inches
Gut: 5.375 inches
Waist: 3.125 inches
Thigh: 1 inch

Monday morning update

So some good news, but I expected some good news after last weeek: I lost 2.24 pounds this week. Even after a mini-disaster trip to Atlantic City, where I ate cheese fries, good lord. But my average is now under 190!

The measurments reflect the lack of weight loss:

Weight Average: 188.68 - loss of 2.24 pounds this week (18.12 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.5- Loss of 1/4"
Chest 39.25 - Loss of 1/2"
R. Bicep 13.625 - Loss of 1/8"
Gut 35.875 - Loss of 5/8"
Waist 36.875- Loss of 1/8"
Thigh 23 - Loss of 1/4

I'm going off the creatine, it makes me retain too much water. I know that Billy won't approve, but psychologically, I can't deal with the fluctuations that it seems to cause.

I'm also going to continue eating 1700-1850 calories a day for the next week to see what happens.

189.72

Last three weigh ins:

189.4
187.6
188.8

These weigh ins brought my average to 189.72! Under 190! I'm happy to see the break through after last week's frustration. Thanks for all your encouragment!

Monday morning update

Told you it was going to be bad news: I lost 0.1 pounds this week. Ug. The only saving grace was that this morning I weighted 189.6, my first weigh-in under 190. So that saved me from reporting a gain this week. Whew. I'm chalking this week up to three things: 1. Starting creatine again. 2. Thanksgiving day (about 5000 calories) 3. Being sick (I have a cold).

The measurments reflect the lack of weight loss:

Weight Average: 190.92 - loss of 0.1 pounds this week (15.88 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.75- No Change
Chest 39.75 - Loss of 3/8"
R. Bicep 13.75 - Gain of 1/8"
Gut 36.50 - No Change
Waist 37.00- Loss of 1/4"
Thigh 23.25 - No Change

Looking forward to getting the average under 190 before 12/3, the goal date...

Bad news coming

So things did not improve after Thanksgiving. My last two weigh ins were 191.2 and 191.6, despite lifting the first day and interval training the next, while eating only 1700 calories. This convinces me that I'm retaining water from taking the creatine.

I won't lose any weight this week, unless I miraculously end up under 190 tomorrow morning. I'm hoping the measurements are good, at least.

This is head down, keep pushing mode...

Goddamn Thanskgiving

Last five weigh ins:

190.8
190.6
190.2
190.2
192.2

So it's not enough that I treaded water all week, but I weigh in 2 pounds heavier today after I thought I did OK at Thanksgiving. I know, I know, I didn't REALLY gain two pounds. Whatever. I'll be lucky to lose a pound this week. I'm going to go punch a wall.

Monday morning update

So I lost 1.5 lb loss this week. But not great from any aspect. The measurements below suck, and my BF% didn't go down a lot either. This week was not a disaster, but this is one of the days that you have to put your head down and keep going.

Weight Average: 190.96 - loss of 1.5 pounds this week (15.84 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.75- Loss of 1/8"
Chest 40- Gain of 1/8"
R. Bicep 13.625 - Loss of 1/4"
Gut 36.50 - Loss of 3/8"
Waist 37.25 - Loss of 1/4"
Thigh 23.25 - Loss of 1/8"

I've been reading the Lose Fat Not Faith book by Jeremy Likness (linked on Billy's blog). Really good for motivation, goal setting, attitude, etc.

So I'm back on the weights, I skipped Friday's lift ( I ran instead) because I was so sore from Monday and Wednesday. If all goes well, I have a big milestone (under 190) approaching, just have to avoid a Thanksgiving disaster...

Monday morning update

OK, the good news is a 2.2 lb loss this week. The bad news is that it could have been 3 lb, but my behavior was not good this weekend. Lots of sweets, some pizza, some bad decisions. So over the last two weeks, I've had points where I've gotten off track. As you all know, the key is to get back on the good track quickly, and not let this turn into a complete derailment. As many of you have told me, the measurements can be deceiving, and you'll notice that there was not much loss in the measurements as you'd expect with a 2.2 lb loss.

Weight Average: 192.48 - loss of 2.2 pounds this week (14.32 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.875- No Change
Chest 40- No Change
R. Bicep 13.875 - Loss of 1/4"
Gut 36.875 - Loss of 3/8"
Waist 37.50 - Loss of 1/8"
Thigh 23.375 - Loss of 1/8"

Back to the weights today, and back to the creatine. So I have to anticipate a water weight gain with the creatine. Also have to get back to the healthy eating, no snacking, no sweets.

October: Monthly Progress Report

OK, I figured at the beginning of each month, I'll do a status report on how the month went and how things are going overall. This post is for September (1/2) and October.

September

Not that great, I didn't lose much weight. I was eating too many calories on Bernardi's Meta Advantage program. Foodwise, I was trying a bunch of new things, eating way more veggies and fruits. Exercisewise, I got back into a weightlifting program and it felt great.

October

Did WAY better losing weight, lost about 10 lbs. The key was starting to track calories using NutritionData. Exercisewise, I pulled my head/neck muscle so I had to start doing endurance training (40-50 min on treadmill, brisk walk and jogging).

So coming up in November, I'm shooting to be below 190 by 12/3, which I think I'm on a good track for. I think the weight loss will slow a bit once I start lifting and taking creatine again, but I understand that it will be water weight and muscle weight.

OVERALL PROGRESS

Weight as of 11/5: 194.68

Total Weight Lost: 12.12 lbs

Total reduction in measurements as of 11/5

Neck: 1.125 inches
Chest: 2.5 inches
Bicep: 1.375 inches
Gut: 4 inches
Waist: 2.375 inches
Thigh: 0.5 inches

Monday morning update

"Only" lost 1.4 pounds this week. I had a few rough patches, some halloween candy, a late night poker game, spending the day in the city with the wife, etc. So overall I'm OK with the results this week, but I'll be tightening things up this week, more veggies...

Weight Average: 194.68 - loss of 1.4 pounds this week (12.12 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)
Neck 14.875- Loss of 1/8"
Chest 40- Loss of 5/8"
R. Bicep 14.125 - Loss of 1/8"
Gut 37.25 - Loss of 3/4" (YEAH BABY)
Waist 37.625 - Loss of 3/8"
Thigh 23.50 - Loss of 3/8"

So I tried to play Racquetball on Friday, and my elbow has been telling me that wasn't a good idea since then. I'm probably going to need a cortisone shot and some physical therapy to get it to 100%. I'm going to start weightlifting later this week, I think my head muscle is ready.

Tough day

So I've been doing really well over the past 3 weeks at clean eating, only eating high quality, nutritious foods. Today was tough, however. I found myself craving carbs late this afternoon, and I did down some goldfish crackers and some cheese crackers as well, not the best choice. Also had to really fight the urge to eat some of the Halloween candy! I've been cruising for so long that I kind of forgot what a life long committment eating well takes.

I was listening to Howard Stern this morning. For those of you who don't know, Howard eats very well and is very consious of his health, and has been that way for 20 years. They were talking about the fact that someone had brought in cupcakes, and Howard was talking to a less healthy guy on the show. The less healthy guy made an assumption that it was "easy" for Howard to not eat the cupcakes, since he's been healthy for so long. Howard disagreed and said that it's always a struggle, and that cupcakes taste great, but he has made the decision that he's not going to eat "that shit". This made me realize that no matter how long you are healthy, you still need to have the discipline to stay the course.

Another 2 lb loss, but I've been in a holding pattern around 196 for the last 5 days, so let's hope things start going downward again.

Weight Average: 196.08 - loss of 2.12 pounds this week (10.7 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)
Neck 15- Loss of 1/8"
Chest 40.625- Gain if 1/8"
R. Bicep 14.25 - Loss of 1/4"
Gut 38 - Loss of 5/8"
Waist 38 - Loss of 1/2"
Thigh 23.875 - Loss of 1/8"

Sorry I haven't posted last week, I've been busy at work. But I'm still chugging away. I'm trying to decide whether or not to start lifting again this week or to keep letting my muscle pull heal...

Monday morning update

One goal down, seven to go!

I lost 3 pounds this week, which is great. But the measurements weren't any better than last week, when I lost 1.5 lbs. I might have lost some water from my muscles as they got used to not working out...

Weight Average: 198.2 - loss of 3.08 pounds this week (8.6 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 15.125- Gain of 1/8"
Chest 40.5- Loss of 1/2"
R. Bicep 14.5 - Loss of 1/8"
Gut 38.625 - Loss of 3/8"
Waist 38.5 - Loss of 1/4"
Thigh 24 - Gain of 3/8"

I probably won't lift any weights this week, my neck/head still feels tender. So I'll keep with the endurance training...

Cookie Cake, are you kidding?

Look people, there is food in life that tastes good, there is food in life that tastes great, and then there is cookie cake (Mom's chicken divan is a step above, but that's it.) .

So it was my beautiful daughter's 2nd birthday party today (she actually turns 2 on Oct 26). We had a bunch of kids over to the house and my wife got a cookie cake, which is Lily's favorite. Luckily, I only had a few bites. Lily had more than a few bites, as the photographic evidence shows.

I've really started losing weight since I stopped lifting weights and concentrated on endurance training. I've cut back to 1900 calories/day instead of 2100 to compensate for not lifting.

Weighed in at 197.2 this morning, big weigh in/measure tomorrow. If I get 197.4, that would be 3 pounds this week...

Good Morning!

Weigh in today: 198.6

5 day average: 199.92

Looks like the head muscle injury has caused some weight loss! :)

Head update

My doctor emailed me back and says it sounds like I pulled a muscle in my head. The trap muscles in your neck are connected to muscles in your head. He told me to take it easy on the weights (don't strain), and put heat on it twice a day.

200.0 again today...

Ouch! (**$*)(#*#@(*&

So I'm at the gym Monday, pounding out the weights. I am on my last exercise, leg presses. I'm pushing up my last rep and POW! I get this sharp pain in my head, above and behind my left ear. It hurt like a sumbitch. But I was at the end of my workout, so no biggie. So today (Wed), I go to do my first exercise, pull-ups. I get to the 5th rep, and POW, there it is again. I have a good pain threshold, but I could NOT have this pain happen every set! So I went to the elliptical machine and did 40 low impact minutes. It seems that this pain recurs when I'm doing something high intensity.

I've emailed my doctor to ask him what the hell is going on, but it looks like I should spend at least the next week doing low impact stuff (walking, elliptical, etc).

I won't let this stop me...

Yesterday I was 200, today I was 200.2. Isn't it cruel?

Monday morning update

Boy, even though I weigh myself every day, I still look at Mondays as the milepost days, I guess b/c I measure on Mondays (No, I will NOT measure every day )

Weight Average: 201.28 - loss of 1.5 pounds this week (4.5 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 15- Loss of 1/8"
Chest 41- Loss of 5/8"
R. Bicep 14.625 - Loss of 3/8"
Gut 39 - Loss of 5/8"
Waist 38.750 - Loss of 3/8"
Thigh 23.625 - No Change

I'm feeling that I'm getting into the groove, let's hope it continues.

Brittle

Today's Weight: 201.4 (new low)
Average Weight: 202.2
Weight Lost so far: 3.6 pounds

So one of the many reasons I'm doing this is that over the last few years, I feel like my body has become brittle. I've developed tendonitis in both shoulders (left from golf, right from racquetball), and this past January I developed a bad case of tennis elbow (again, tendonitis) from r'ball. Over the months, I got a cortizone shot in it, did physical therapy, rested, iced, and still it did not go away.

After reading Dr. Weill's book, I have to think that the crap I was eating was harmful to my body's healing process. Since I've started eating healthier, the elbow has started feeling better, even though I'm using it to help lift some heavy weights when I work out (it's really the tight grasp on the weights that isn't good for the elbow). I've got to think that I'm giving my body the ability to heal faster by eating good, clean food. I'm still nervous about getting back on the court at this point, but I'm hoping that in a month I can make a return. R'ball is great exercise and I truly enjoy it.

At 36, I shouldn't be this prone to injury, and I think that making this lifestyle change, I'll be able to avoid some problems in the future.

Some good news

Well, it's been a week since I adjusted my strategy, let's take a look at the results for the week:

Weight Average: 202.84 - loss of 2 pounds this week

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 15.125 - Loss of 1/4"
Chest 41.625 - Loss of 3/8"
R. Bicep 15 - Gain of 1/2"
Gut 39.625 - Loss of 7/8"
Waist 39.125 - Loss of .5"
Thigh 23.625 - Loss of 1/8"

Feels good to finally be headed in the right direction!

Tightening up

Well, things are going better now that I'm tracking the calories with NutritionData and trying to keep to 2000/day. Last 5 days:

205
204
202.8
202.8
203.4

Off to work...

New Screen name and Goals

To make it easier on the "other" Jay and myself, my new screen name is BrotherJay. Glad I could help.

Nothing much new to report, I'm tracking calories with NutritionData and trying to keep to 2000/day. 204 this morning, not bad.

Here are my long awaited goals:

Long Term:

· Be healthy enough to enjoy my early retirement (another goal) and be able to engage in activities (golf, racquetball, etc) that I enjoy for many years.
· Be a healthy role model for my children and wife · Be happy with my body image for the first time ever.

1 Year
· 12% body fat
· Good bloodwork.

Short Term Goals

· October 22 : Under 200
· December 17: 190 lbs,
· March 3: 174 lbs, 18% body fat
· June 1 : 160 lbs, 12% body fat

I don't know about the body fat %'s yet, I may change them once I get a good idea where I am.

Now I need to figure out how to put the ST goals in a fancy pane in my blog like the rest of you!

Progress Report

OK, it has been three weeks since I started this journey, let's look at how things are going:

Weight:

Well, here are each Monday's weights: 205.8, 205.6, 205.8, 205. Yay, 1 pound! Pain in the ass.

Body Measurements

24-Sep 1-Oct
Neck 16.00 15.40
Chest 42.50 42.00
R Bicep 15.50 14.50
Gut 41.25 40.50
Waist 40.00 39.57
Thigh 24.00 23.75

So this is keeping me off the ledge, a pretty consistent loss of between .25" (Thigh) and 1" (Bicep, gee thanks!). Most important to me was the .75 loss on the Gut and the .4 loss on the waist.

I have to deduce that I'm losing fat and building muscle, but I know that I can do better. In each week, there has been at least one event where I strayed big time (dinner with friends, golf outing, birthday party). In the past, I've been able to do that and still lose weight.

For any of you that measure this way, have you seen times where your weight stays the same but your measurements go down?

So here is what I'm going to do:

1. Eat more carbs! Gasp! Shock! Everyone relax. I think I'm eating too much protein. It results in me not feeling energetic. So I'm going to add the Optimum Power Cereal to my routine for breakfast, and I'm not going to be so freaked out by adding good carbs to my diet through the day. I think my body will respond well to this, but if not, I'll scale back.

2. Tighten up the diet. Let's try a few weeks where I don't stray from my program at ALL and see how that goes.

3. Incorporate fat burning workouts. All of Berardi's workouts are weight lifting and cardio. I'm going to incorporate fat burning workouts in addition. In the past, this is how I've lost fat. Playing racquetball, jogging, walking. I can't play R'ball yet (elbow), but let's try to get a 30 minute walk in there at least 3 times a week.

I hate my scale

Before I started on this journey, I bought a digital scale to replace my old scale, which was reliable but hard to read. So this morning I step on it and it tells me 204.6. Then I move it a little, step back on and I'm 202.8. Then I move it again, I'm 204.4. I then step on the manual scale, which is pretty consistantly 2 pounds lighter than the digital, and it says 201, which should translate to 203 on the digital.

So how much do I weigh? Given my struggles, this is the last thing I need.

I'm strongly considering replacing this digital scale, does anyone have any recommendations?

I told you!

Oh, and sorry about not posting in a while, but I did warn you not to expect the same volume and quality as my brother...

In response to Billy's question, it's hard to tell if I feel much better, because I have vertigo (long story) and I'm lightheaded a lot of the time. I do feel stronger when I go to the gym, and my tennis elbow feels better (fish oil?). I'm taking steps to figure out how to get rid of the vertigo...

Keeping Track

Weight is going back down, was 204 this morning, which is great considering there was a fairly major eating binge on Monday.

So I used www.nutritiondata.com to track my calories yesterday and it came out that I ate 2100 calories. This is interesting on several points:

1. I really didn't eat that much yesterday compared to other days on this program. so I bet during the first couple of weeks, when I was eating more, I was probably up around 2500/3000 calories, no wonder I wasn't losing weight!
2. Nutritiondata does not agree with the calorie counts that the Meta Advantage book has. Nutritiondata thinks the recipes I have entered have more calories than the book says. hmmmmm.....

On another note, I've started eating the Optimum Power cereal that you can get at TJ's. I like how it tastes, but I also like that after I'm done eating it, I can yell "OPTIMUM POWER" as loud as I want. Try it, it's fun.

&^%&^%*&^!!!!

So after getting back on the downward track, now, all of a sudden and for no reason that I can figure, I went right back up in weight. Culminating in today's weight of 205.4, exactly the weight I started at 2 weeks ago. I'm beyond frustrated at this point, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Other than that, I am just speechless.

Here are my most recent weights. Mind you, I've done very well nutritionally, except for the one day mentioned in a previous post:

205.6
204.8
204.2
203
205.4
205
205.4

I just don't know what is going on...

Danger

So my life is not very predictable. I work for a consulting company, and right now I am not at a regular client, so my days are completely different. One day, I may have nothing I need to do, another day I may be busy from home, other days I may be at sales calls on site with clients. So I have to plan each day carefully. Today was the first day the plan didn't work, and we had a bit of a problem. I had a sales call scheduled from 10:30 - noon. So I eat breakfast, then I take a protein shake with me in the car. The plan is to drink the shake on the way home, then eat lunch after I get home (around 1:15).

So we get into the conference room and there is a dish of goddamn chocolate on the conference room table. Homemade chocolate from the factory next door. Are you kidding me? So the meeting starts.
Then it's Noon.
Now it's 12:30. I'm weak with hunger, but I can't go out to my car and get the shake because then I can't get back in the GD building!
Now it's 1:00 and I'm getting dizzy from hunger. I eat one piece of chocolate. Oh my god it's good. So I eat many more. Now it's 1:30 and I have to step out of the room to take a call. Now I have to find somewhere private so I'm not bothering anyone. So I find an empty room. Ooops, it's the snack room. Giant container of assorted trash (chips, pretzels, cheez doodles, etc). So I start pounding that while I'm on the phone. We didn't get done the sales call until 2 freaking 30.

Not a good outcome, I need to think about how to better deal with these situations.

Metbolic Drive = Angry

203 today, a loss of 1.2 lbs. Nice.

So John Bernardi is full of good info, but he also likes to sell the products he had a hand in developing, one of which is a protein shake mix called Metabolic Drive. Before I ordered it, I had been using Designer Whey to make my protein shakes, with some success. So last week, I made a shake with the MD, and I noticed that after I drank it, I was in a very bad mood. This was evening, so I chalked it up to being tired. But today I had an MD shake around 2 and by 3:30 I was pretty fired up, in a very angry mood. It has to be something with the MD, it is a STRONG feeling.

Has anyone had this experience? Does anyone use this stuff? I think I'm going to have to throw it out, I can't use it.

Banging out the weights

Have you ever seen the movie Casual Sex? It's an 80's movie that is otherwise forgettable, except for the fact that Andrew "Dice" Clay has a role as a slimy single guy. The best scene in the movie is set in the gym, and Dice is trying to impress the ladies. So he picks up some dumbbells and starts doing curls and yelling "Duuusssshhhh, Duuussshhhh". I know, it's not funny in print, but it is hilarious in the movie. If it's ever on late nite cable, check it out.

Anyway, I bring this up because I felt like Dice on Monday and today at the gym. I think I did indeed gain some muscle last week, as I've been able to move up significant amounts of weight in almost every exercise, which feels good. Nice to see some progress.

Goals to come, I swear...

Back in the right direction

OK, so over the last few days, the new approach of eating less than the Meta book says has worked much better, my weight has gone from 205.6 to 204.8 to 204.2 over the last few days, so I feel better that things are going the right way. I've discovered that I REALLY like hummus, probably too much. However, dipping celery or carrots in it is not very appetizing, so I've dipped some pretzels in it as my last meal of the day. Probably too much carbs right before bed, so I'm trying to figure out what else I can dip in the hummus...

One week down...

OK, the first week has passed.

What went well:
1. I learned that I can actually eat foods that I didn't think I could eat. Spinach, tomatoes, Peppers, Avacado, Asparagus...
2. I learned that I LIKED some foods that I didn't think I liked: Salmon, Hummus...
3. I pushed myself at the gym harder than I have in 10 years. I realized how complacent I've been even during previous semi-successful diet/exercise attempts.

What went poorly
1. I didn't lose any weight. I'm chalking this up to eating too much of the Meta advantage menu. I'm going to listen to my body more than the book to dictate how much I'm eating. Also, I know my muscles have grown, since I've been sore all week! But it's tough to work so hard and not see results on the scale. I'm also going to start taking pictures of myself like Billy has, and measuring myself, so I have other ways to track progress besides the scale.
2. I've never cooked so much in my life! Now, I'm pretty good in the kitchen, but this was ridiculous. So I'm going to start making some common sense decisions that shouldn't affect my results. For example, this week the book wants me to eat hummus, and wants me to make it. Screw that, I bought some hummus at Trader Joe's.
3. I know that I need to post goals as well, and I've sucked at keeping this blog updated, so improvement is needed there.

It's Go Time

OK, let's get this over with. Yes, I am related to the man, the myth, the legend Billy. He is my baby brother. We've both struggled with our weight all our lives, and he has inspired me live a healthier life. My brother and I are very different people, he is single, artistic, lives in the city, drinks Jack Daniels, and has never liked sweets. I am married with 2 kids, unartistic, live in the burbs, rarely drink, and I could eat sweets until I pass out from a sugar high.


I am so proud of what Billy has done, he has truly transformed himself into the fit stud of the family. Now I'd like to follow his footsteps. I'm 35, I weight 205 pounds, and I'm 5'8". Even though I've always been overweight, I've been active, my issue is food. I've never eaten vegetables, and I've done all the diets. So I read the Metabolism Advantage and I'm going to do the 8 week program. Here are a few of my reasons:

1. It exposes me to foods that I've never eaten. I figure I'll come out of the 8 weeks with some healthy foods that I like.
2. It seems sustainable for life, as opposed to crash diets like Atkins.
3. I've seen Billy and a close friend follow many of the concepts (healthy eating, supplements, many small meals, lifting weights to change body composition) successfully.

I started on Monday, and I'm following the 8 week plan that is in the book pretty closely. For the next 8 weeks, I'm not allow to say "I'm not eating that, I don't like it". I'll try it and if after the 8 weeks, it makes me gag violently (like the "Spinach Saute", Spinach, onions, tomato and garlic cooked together), then it's out. But this is the only way I can discover healthy foods I like (Salmon, for instance, which I had last night and really liked).

I'll post my progress and random thoughts, please don't expect the same brilliance and motivation that you get from my brother, he's on a different intellectual plane than I am. I think I used to be smart, before children's TV and music slowly began to rot my brain...

I know I'm supposed to set some detailed goals, but I suck at that, so I'm still working on it. When I come up with them, I'll post them. Right now I think a good goal would be 160ish with 12% body fat, but I have to figure out what a healthy body fat % is, and it's going to depend on muscle. When I was 19 and in college, I lifted weights and dieted and got down to 150, but that was a LONG time ago :).