Day 9 -- Too much fat, too little protein...

As you can see from the fact that I'm posting what should be a TUESDAY blog at midnight on Thursday, about to flip over to Friday, I'm running way behind this week -- work, and writing at home, and working out is pushing me further and further behind, it seems.

I also haven't done the best job with my meal planning and eating, you'll see from the food I've eaten these next few days. My overall calorie intake has been okay, but the actual make-up of my calorie break-down has been pretty bad.

So, with that, let me jump right in.

Breakfast

Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites

Ham -- 1 ounce

Lean pork -- 5 ounces

Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup

Yogurt

Snack

Yogurt

First dinner

Chicken breast -- 6 ounces

Fire roasted tomatoes -- 1/4 cup

Sweet potato -- 5.5 ounces

Second dinner

Some sort of beef/veggie/noodle mixture my wife made -- 1 cup

Snack

Turkey patty (no bun, just the meat)

Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup

Total for the day

Calories 1,400

Fat -- 69 grams (told you it was high)

Protein -- 104 grams (and that was LOW)

Exercise for the day

Stationary bike

36 minutes

13 miles

565 calories burned

That's about it for a quick rundown of Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by!

Weigh-in Day...Uh Oh....

Well, Day 8 is the first weigh-in day,  my first full week at this.

Remember, I initially tried to start this on Thursday, March 30, when I weighed-in at a nice, rotund 288.6
pounds, but those first four days were a bit of a start-stop-kinda restart experience. So I restarted for good on Monday, April 3. Even with the up-and-down experience of those first four days, I still was down to 282.8 then, with a goal of dropping 11 pounds the first week.

So Monday morning I hopped out of bed, ran to the scales because I was sooooo excited to see the results. Okay, maybe not. Maybe I hit the snooze a couple of times, then gradually crawled from bed, went to the coffee maker and started my morning routine before remembering this was weigh-in day.

I kinda wish I had forgotten, because the results simply weren't what I was hoping for.

My one-week weigh-in? I tipped the scales at 277.6 pounds, far off of my 11-pound goal. I have to say, I was disappointed.

Not crushed, because that was a 5.2-pound loss. And I suppose I should feel pretty good, because if you go back to my original weight, I had dropped 11 pounds in 11 days, and no matter how you slice it, 11 pounds is a decent little start. Heck, the "official" first full week loss of 5.2 pounds is nothing to sneeze at. Still, I was hoping to be about 6 pounds lighter than that.

Boy, that idea of dropping 48 pounds in 60 days might not work out quite as well as I had hoped.

So this week is about analyzing what I did last week, where I may have made mistakes (eating popcorn at midnight two consecutive nights, even if it is "diet" popcorn is probably a good guess for one big mistake).

There's a program called Body For Life that is, in my opinion, one of the most sound, science-backed weight loss and fitness programs out there, developed by a guy named Bill Phillips. One of the things he says regarding weight loss efforts is this: It's about progress, not perfection.

That's what I have to keep in mind now. Last week was far from perfect, but it was progress.

This week? Well, it'll be better. Next week maybe I'll go for perfection!

Anyway, here's what I did on Monday in terms of eating and working out.

Breakfast
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Turkey bacon -- 2 slices
Coffee (with a little Splenda and 1/4 cup almond milk in it)

Lunch
Low fat taco meat -- 5 ounces
Kidney beans -- 1/2 cup
Salsa, lettuce/mixed greens -- 1 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/8 cup
Yogurt

Snack
Greek Yogurt

Dinner (just one today)
Chicken Parmesan, consisting of:
Chicken breast cooked in olive oil -- 6 ounces
Provolone cheese -- 1 slice, diet version
Spaghetti sauce -- 1/2 cup

Snack
Turkey patty
Slider bun
Tomato/ketchup/onion

Totals for the day
1,480 caloris
40 grams of fat
137 grams protein
36 ounces diet soda
80 ounces of water

Okay, the fat's a little high for that amount of calories, and the protein is low again. I guess I'm eating a few too many foods that are high in carbs and low in protein, such as regular yogurt and the bun with the turkey burger. Eliminating those things would definitely drop the carbs and a tiny bit of fat, but I'd need to replace them with something high in protein.I'll watch that in coming days.

For my workout, I did weight lifting, back and biceps today,

Seated Row -- narrow grip
130 pounds -- 10 reps
180 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each
Wide grip
160 pounds -- 3 sets, 10 reps each

Lat pull down
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps

Curl bar curl
40 pounds -- 10 reps
70 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps, 1 set, 6 reps

That back machine
80 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine ab crunches
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps each.

Okay folks, that's all for weigh-in day. Thanks for stopping by!

Day 7 Blog -- Eek! Hamburgers are EVIL

It's sooooo innocent looking.

Sitting there, beckoning you. It's almost as if you can hear its sweet, sultry voice, calling your name.

Of course you say no, how could you? You've made a commitment, a promise to change your life, to be different.

Still, it calls.

You step over, examining it. Oh, look, you think, it's lower fat. Surely that's okay, right? And you can grill it, cook away a quarter, or more, of the fat that's there, right?

What his this siren of temptation?

The plain old, juicy American hamburger.

And it is evil, I tell you, evil. 

But first, let's take a look at my Day 7.

Sunday, of course was another weekend day, which meant the schedule of eating and working and all of that was off a bit. What that means is that earlier in the day, I was a little off in my eating, not taking in nearly enough, and I probably more than made up for it later in the day.

Today was also cardio day.

So, here was the line-up

Breakfast
Greek yogurt

Lunch
Last of the grilled chicken -- 4 ounces
Salad of mixed greens and lettuce
Edamame 1/2 cup

Latte (K-cup kind, not tooo many calories)

Hamburger (6 ounces, lower fat beef)
Bun
Cheese
Ketchup/onion/tomato
Mashed potatoes (instant, 3/4 cup)

Snack
Lean pork  -- 2.5 ounces
Mashed potatoes (instant, 1/2 cup

Totals for the day:
Calories: 1,430
Fat: 54 grams
Protein: 104 grams
Diet soda: 36 ounces
Water: 80 ounces

Wow, when totaling that up, I'm really surprise how low I was on protein. My goal is to be in the range of 160 to 200 grams each day. Part of what threw me off today was the weekend schedule thing and not eating every three or so hours.

The other thing was the aforementioned hamburger, that little grilled vixen. Even with low-fat beef, ground beef is a relative high-fat, moderate-protein meat. That hamburger, with the cheese (but it's LOW FAT cheese, so it's okay, right?) and bun, accounted for more than half the fat I had today.A whopping 29.5 grams of fat in one food -- 545 total calories, once  you count the ketchup, onion and tomato (heaven help us if I'd included mayonnaise. But I resisted, even turning away the low-fat mayo).

See, even one meal -- one part of a meal -- can wreak havoc on your weight loss if you're not careful. Of course, because I had been fairly strict all week, it's not like it destroyed my efforts, but it sure didn't help! Good thing I did a little longer cardio today...

For cardio, I did stationary bike.
48 minutes
16 miles
585 calories burned

Day 6 of 60 in 60

Today was Saturday, the first weekend day I've had since starting this little diet and exercise program, which means my whole eating schedule is off from what I'm used to. Still, wasn't a bad day, really.

We also did the weight workout that was scheduled for Friday.

Food
Breakfast
Eggs - 2 whole
Turkey bacon -- 2 slices

Lunch
Protein Drink (made from protein powder, skim milk and a banana)

First Dinner
Chicken breast -- 6 ounces
BBQ dry rub

Second Dinber
Chicken shish kabobs (chicken breast, peppers, squash, onions, marinated in Italian seasoning)
I had a lot of shish kabobs, but there was very, very little on each one. So, overall the breakdown comes out about like this
Chicken breast - 6 ounces
Veggies -- 1 cup
Corn on the cob -- 1 ear
Low-cal butter -- 1 tablespoon

Snack
Latte (one of those k-cup kinds, with no added sugar, cream, none of that stuff)

Snack again
Popcorn (that diet popcorn!) -- 2 bags

Total for the day
Calories: 1,655
Fat: 55 grams
Protein: 135 calories

Well, way too high on the fat, mostly because of the oil used to marinate the kaboobs. Next time, need to go with reduced fat.

Workout
Weights

Bench press
135 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
185 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps
225 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
205 pounds -- 1 set, 20 reps

Incline bench press
115 pounds -- 1 set, 12 reps
115 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Machine, seated chest flyes
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 12 reps each

Shoulders
Seated barbell press
65 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
95 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Front dumbbell raise
30/25 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps, split 5 and 5 with the weights
25 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Standing dumbbell side raises
15 pounds -- 1 set, 15 reps (I have to use light weights here because of my forearm/grip. that's why I often do these with the machine, so my grip doesn't come into play)

Shoulder shrugs
90 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Triceps
Seated overhead dumbbell extension
60 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps

Seated triceps machine pressdown
245 pounds -- 2 sets, 115 reps each

Abs
Machine crunch
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps each

Day 5 of 60 in 60: Coordinating workouts

I've been doing my weight workouts with my sons, which has taken some coordination since my oldest works nights and goes to school, while my youngest is working mornings. I, of course, work all the time.

Because my oldest son, who shall be known in this blog as Son No. 1, had to work on Friday night, I was under the impression from Son No. 1 that he and Son No. 2 would head to the gym early Friday and work out on their own, and I'd go down by myself when I got off work. I was under that impression because Son No. 1 told me that's what they'd do.

I ended up working late, but still would have time to get to the gym and do a quick workout with the weight machines, only to learn the boys hadn't gone to the gym, either. And given that my legs were pretty dead from the previous night's stationary bike ride, I figured there was no way I was going to do cardio tonight.

So, Friday ended up being an off day regarding workouts.

But not for the food!

So, here's my diet for the day.

Breakfast
Skipped it -- got up late

Lunch
Some of that taco meat mixture from last night:
5 ounces meat
1/2 cup kidney beans
Salsa and the greens/lettuce salad
Mozzarella cheese (1/4 cup)

Snack
Yogurt (regular, light, fat free)

First dinner
Chicken breast -- 6 ounces
Fire roasted tomatoes -- 1/2 cup

Second dinner
Taco meat (low-fat ground beef) -- 4 ounces
Salsa and lettuce/greens
Mozzarella -- 1/8 cup

Third dinner
Taco meat -- 3.5 ounces
Mozzarella -- 1/4 cup
Salsa -- 2 tablespoons

Snack (okay, I stayed up really late and got hungry)
Popcorn (that diet popcorn, that's only 110 calories per bag) -- 2 bags

Totals for day
Calories: 1,270
Fat: 37 grams
Protein: 139 grams
Diet soda -- 48 ounces
Water - 60 ounces

A little low on protein, but as you can see the whole day was off eating-wise. Woke up late, missed breakfast, didn't have time to properly pack food...

Day 4 of 60 in 60: Still at it, even if my blogging is waaaay behind...

Yep, I'm still hard at it, trying to drop that fat weight, I'm just running waaaaaay short on blogging time. So, here's the scoop, I'm going to post three quickie blogs, not making any comments or sharing any of my witty jokes or life observations (well, maybe a few), just to catch you up to what's been going on.

So, without further adieu, here's Day 4, Thursday, April 6.

Today was cardio day. So here's my food, followed by my exercise.

Breakfast
Eggs -- 2 whole ones
Lean ham -- 1.5 ounces

Lunch
Some of that taco-style mix my wife made last night, which consists of:
Lean ground beef - 5 ounces
Kidney beans -- 1/2 cup
Salsa, salad (mixed greens and lettuce)
Mozzarella cheese - 1/8 cup

Snack
Low fat cottage cheese -- 2/3 cup
Pineapple -- 2/3 cup

First dinner/Lean pork -- 7.5 ounces
Carrots -- raw baby carrots

Second dinner
Grilled chicken
Salad (mixed greens, lettuce, tomato)
Black beans -- 1/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/8 cup

Snack
Baked baby red potatoes cooked in olive oil

Totals for the day
1,535 calories
48 grams of fat
163 grams protein

Diet soda -- 48 ounces
Water -- 70 ounces

Workout -- Cardio
Stationary bike
38 minutes
12.5 miles
460 calories

Day 3 of 60 in 60...or something like that

Wow, I keep getting later and later with my posts. Today is actually day 4, and we're more than halfway through the day and I'm just now getting around to posting Day 3 results.

Maybe...just maybe I'll get this all caught up this weekend. For now, though....

Today would have been the end of week 1, had I remained with our original plan of starting March 30. Of course, those of you who are regular readers will recall beginning Friday night, the weekend wasn't the best of times -- at least when it comes to healthy eating and trying to lose weight.

I weighed in at 288.6 pounds that day, with a goal of dropping 11 pounds within the first week. Truth be told, even with the bad Saturday and Sunday (and Friday night), I may have come close to this anyway of we were counting this as the first full week.

But, we're not. I started over on Monday of this week -- three days ago -- at 283.8 pounds, but my goals remain the same: 11 pounds the first week, 27 pounds the first month. So, I'm looking to be at 272.8 by this coming Monday.

Toward that end, I'm still staying strict on the healthy eating and exercising. Here's how yesterday, Wednesday, Day 3, went, for both my eating and my exercise.

Breakfast
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 2 ounces

Lunch
Lean center pork -- 5 ounces
Baked sweet potato -- 6 ounces

Snack
Greek Yogurt (fat free, sugar free)
Banana

First dinner
Grilled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Black beans -- 1/8 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/8 cup
All mixed up with a bowl full of mixed lettuces and greens

Second dinner (plus late snack. I just ate the same stuff, spread out over a few hours, so it's all totaled as one meal)
Lean ground beef -- 8 ounces
Kidney beans -- 1/3 cup
Salsa -- 1/3 cup
Lettuce/greens -- 1 cup
Soft tortilla taco boats (that's what they're called on the box) -- 4 of them

My totals for the day:
1,530 calories
36 grams of fat
141 grams of protein
Water = 80 ounces
Diet soda = 48 ounces

Again, high on the diet soda, but getting better on the water intake. Protein was a little light. The fat grams aren't bad, especially when you consider 5 grams was olive oil, a healthy fat your body actually needs.

Now, for the workout. Wednesday was back and biceps days.

Back
Seated row (narrow grip)
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
180 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each
(wide grip)
160 pounds -- 2 sets, 10  reps each

Lat pulldown
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Screwy little back machine (I have no idea what it's really called -- you slide in it, seated, but you really have to scrunch in and your stomach is nearly on your thighs, then you push back all the way back until you're almost in a prone, lying position. Works the lower back, thus from henceforth in this blog it shall be known as the lower back machine).
65 pounds, 2 sets of 10

Biceps (I'm limited here because of some forearm pain I've hard periodically since doing something to it a few years ago)
Dumbbell curls
25 pounds
2 sets, 10 reps each

Preacher curls
40 pounds
2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine ab crunch
100 pounds
1 set, 15 reps
1 set, 12 reps

Well, that was about all for yesterday folks. If you have any questions, comments, or better yet the key to dropping 60 pounds really, really fast, drop me a line down in the comment section!

Day 2 of 60 in 60

Okay, the not-quite-as-late Day 2 blog is here!

As you know, if you've read any of my other blogs, I have a history of being able to lose weight relatively easily, once I get started on a healthy eating and exercising plan. The main problem, of course, has always been I never finish the program out to my goal, and then I gain so much back.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me, however, is how fast eating clean can make a difference in how I feel. Counting last week's false start, I've had two pretty clean days (Thursday and Friday), followed by two regular days (Saturday and Sunday) followed by two more clean days (yesterday and today).

Already I feel the difference. I don't mean I'm ready to go out and run a marathon, but just the simple act of eating clean makes such a difference in how your body works, which in turns controls how you feel.

How in the world do I ever let myself get into those little streaks of eating bad, overeating? And how did I let that go on for so many years? Of course, next month when two of my kids have birthdays, I may be looking at that cake and ice cream and say "heck with how I feel, I WANT SOME."

We'll see.

For now, things are going well. Today was one of my busier days at work -- Tuesday always is. We have a weekly then two sections for the daily stacked on top of each other during the day, so it's truly run as hard as you can go from the moment I arrive until I leave. Actually, more than that -- I usually log on early early morning and get a few things done from the house before heading in.

But, I did manage to stay on the eating plan and get 32 minutes of cardio tonight. Here's the breakdown of what I've had today:

Breakfast
Eggs -- two whole
Lean ham -- 1-1/2 ounce

Lunch
Grilled chicken breast (olive oil marinade) -- 6 ounces
Black beans (1/8 cup)
Mozzarella cheese (1/4 cup)
1-1/2 cup of mixed lettuce and greens

Fat free Greek Yogurt

Snack
1/2 stuff zuchinni from last night's dinner
Banana

First Dinner
Lean roast pork -- 5 ounces
Baked sweet potato -- 5 ounces

Second dinner
Chicken breast with BBQ rub -- 6 ounces
Regular baked potato-- 6 ounces
that lower-calorie so called diet butter -- 1-1/2 tablespoon

Snack
Chicken breast with BBQ -- 3 ounces
Instant mashed potatoes (1/2 cup)


Totals for the day
1,820 calories
48 grams fat
187 grams protein
Water -- 75 ounces
Diet soda -- 60 ounces (yeah, that's bad)

Okay, I was a little high on the fat today, primarily because of the lower-calorie "diet" butter. That alone was 8 grams of fat and 72 total calories. I probably should have skipped the mashed potatoes as a snack, too, which was a whopping 120 calories. I could have traded the potatoes for another 3 ounces of the chicken, gotten better nutrition and saved 30 calories. That and the butter-thing are two small poor choices that really add up!

Exercise:
Cardio, stationary bike.
32 minutes, levels 3-4 at various times, 11 miles covered, 385 calories burned.

Well, thanks for stopping by. Come on back for my next blog, I'll tell you how much I weighed on Wednesday morning, after two days (I know, you're not supposed to weigh-in like that, but I did!)..

Day 1A -- 60 in 60

That's right, since I had a bit of a false start with the original Day 1, this will be day 1A.

Of course, even this is late. I usually try to do my blog at the end of the day, late at night, but was simply too tired last night. So, you get the LATE Day 1A blog. Since it's late, I'll be quick and to the point.

Monday I did weight training for the workout, and did okay on the eating. Perhaps even came in too low there. And remember, many days I'm going to spell out exactly what I do, exercise wise, as well as what I eat. I figure if anyone wants to give this a try, this can be a bit of a model to follow (though if you're not used to working out, you might want to go easier on the weights at first).

Also, I'll share some good, tasty, healthy recipes along the way!

Here's my workout for the day (Monday)

Weights (Chest, shoulders, triceps)

Bench Press
135 pounds -- 10 reps
165 ponds -- 8 reps
195 pounds -- 8 reps
225 pounds -- 6 reps
195 -- 8 reps

Incline Bench
115 pounds -- 15 reps
100 pounds -- 12 reps

Seated flyes (machine)
95 pounds -- 2 sets, 12 reps each

Shoulders
Seated rear shoulder flyes (machine)
120 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps each

Seated side raises (machine)
85 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each.

Triceps
Cable press-down
130 pounds -- 15 reps
130 pounds -- 12 reps
130 pounds -- 10 reps

Weighted, seated crunch (machine)
95 pounds -- 15 reps
95 pounds -- 12 reps

That's it for the first day. You'll notice I do some work with machines. I prefer free weights, but the machines sometimes offer two advantages. First, I've got a bit of a forearm issue from an injury a couple of years ago, and if I put too much stress on it (such as doing standing flyes with dumbbells), I can find myself out of workouts for a week or two.

Second, they can offer a little bit of a cardio effect. Last night I was working out with my youngest son (usually both of my sons work out with me, but the older one was working). So during the shoulder portion of the workout, we each took a machine, did a set, then switched and did a set of the next exercise, then the next, then the next, with no rest breaks in between. Same with the triceps and ab work. That's hard to do with free weights because you have to change weights on the bar, which gives you a bit of a rest time. With machines, you just pull a pin out and slip it back it on the weight pack and you keep on moving.

We also probably went a little light on the shoulders. I wanted to do some overhead presses, but some older guy was more or less camping on the over head press machine (By that, I mean he would do a set, then just sit there for four or five minutes, like it was his living room sofa, before doing another set, then just sitting there. Man, do the work and move on!) We could have done presses with the barbell, but we were running a bit behind, so we just skipped it.

As for the eating? Here's how the day played out.

Breakfast
2 whole eggs
2 ounces lean ham

Lunch
Check breast, grilled, with some spicy coating -- 6 ounces
Black beans -- 1/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/8 cup
Mixed lettuce/greens salad

Snack
Greek Yogurt (light, fat free)

First dinner
Lean Pork (grilled, light olive oil-based marinade) -- 5 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 1-1/2 cup

Second dinner
Stuffed zucchini (recipe below)

Snack
Baked tilapia -- 5.5 ounces

Totals
1,240 calories
38 grams fat
163 grams protein
Water -- 60 ounces
Diet soda -- 48 ounces

Well, clearly I need to up the water and cut back on the diet soda. Otherwise, I was a little low on total calories and protein for the day. I had intended to also have oatmeal at breakfast but ran out of time, a banana with my yogurt for the afternoon snack but wasn't that hungry, and I had intended to eat the fish, along with a sweet potato, for dinner. Unfortunately, I was running late from work when I got home and we went to the gym, so when I returned home I was too hungry to wait for it to cook, so I just had the stuffed zucchini for dinner, the fish for snack, and no sweet potato.

Oh, well, the diet's a work in progress.

Here's the recipe for stuff zucchini:

A zucchini cut in half length-wise, hollowed out, then stuffed with a mixture of 1-1/4 ounce lean ground beef, tablespoon of tomato sauce, tablespoon of spaghetti , a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese, all baked in the oven).

Well, I'm off, flying into Day 2A. Thanks for stopping by, come on back tonight to see how the day goes.

60 in 60 April Fool's!

Those of you reading this blog may remember last week, I think it was Thursday, I started a little program called 60 in 60, which was really about dropping 48 pounds in 60 days.

Well, APRIL FOOL's -- I really wasn't starting Thursday. I'm starting today.

Okay, that's not entirely accurate. I did start Thursday, just as I outlined in that day's blog. And Friday was going along just fine and dandy, I had eaten healthy all day and arrived home Friday evening ready to head to the gym and that's when I saw our driveway was full of cars.

Seems we had a visitor. A young man who's a close friend with most of my kids, who's in the Army, was home for a short leave. My sons wanted to put off our workout until Saturday, so they could hang around with him, and by the time all was said and done we took the crew out for a late Mexican dinner.

So much for the diet or the workout, right?

Then Saturday morning I realized we were really, really low on groceries. Never start a new eating plan the day before grocery day.

So, I just scrapped the whole thing and decided to OFFICIALLY start the 60 in 60 today, Monday, April 3 (although we did get a good weight workout on Saturday anyway).

Now, I realize, especially given my track record of, shall we say, less than stellar success at this weight loss and fitness thing, this is not an auspices start to my 60-in-60 program.

But, today I'm back on the eating plan, with a date at the gym tonight. And, I did lose a few pounds over the past four days anyway, though we're not going to count those. We'll start today, with a new weight in of 282.8.

So, my first goal here is to come in at 271.8 a week from now, and overall to come in at 234.8 within 60 days.

Starting TODAY (really, truly, the real deal this time, I mean it...)