Welcome back everyone. It's time for the J-Doc Monoblogs to make it's triumphant return. It's been almost 3 years since we have been together and I have decided I need to try to hold myself more accountable since I have blown up like the Stay Puft Marshmallow man since we spoke last.
So here's the deal. As you get older, it becomes harder and harder to change. It also becomes harder and harder to lose weight. I've learned this the hard way. I used to pride myself on the speed with which I could lose the first 10 pounds, etc. I still maintain that if I actually start TRYING, I'll drop some serious poundage because I'm so off the wagon, it's not even funny. That being said, I am going to try to do this in stages. There is no rush this time.
STAGE 1:
- Food Plan: Retraining of the mind. My mind has developed the concept and habit of eating out all the time. I'll have perfectly good food that I can eat at home before work, but I'll still walk right by it and go to Dunkin. Perfectly good food to cook for dinner, yet I'll get in the car and go get some pizza. There are a number of issues with eating out that are negatively affecting me.
- When I pay for a meal out, I want it to really "enjoy" it. Therefore, I usually won't get something healthy.
- When I pay for a meal out, there is usually too much food and I don't leave food on my plate. There is absolutely no portion control on my end.
- When I pay for a meal out, I almost always drink soda
- When I eat out, it's MUCH more expensive.
- When I eat out, I usually get appetizers and desserts I don't need, just because it looks good.
Stage 1 of my food plan is simple. To retrain the brain to stop eating out! Even eating the same exact meal at home is healthier than eating it out. The other part is to portion my snacks at home and try to limit intake after 9pm.
Take a breakfast sandwich, for example. I eat Taylor Ham and Scrambled Eggs on a Toasted Bagel. Typically accompanied by a Red Bull or Gatorade. At the deli or diner, I'm assuming there is sometimes butter or something in the eggs (which I won't even count against them) and they use all whole eggs. Taylor Ham is Taylor Ham - at home or out. And then a whole big-ass bagel. At home, I'll use 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites - scrambled. I actually like the taste better this way. I'll use the same Taylor Ham, but I could change it to sausage links or no meat at all. . For bread, I'll use the bagel thins (about 1/3 of the size and calories) or 2 slices of whole wheat toast. Let's calculate:
- Breakfast Sandwich at Deli or Diner: 2 whole eggs (144 Calories) with taylor ham (260) and a big deli bagel (350) = over 750 calories.
- Breakfast Sandwich at home w/Taylor Ham: 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites (108), taylor ham (260) and bagel thin (110) = 478 calories
- At home w/2 Sausage LInks: eggs (108), Sausage (120), Bagel Thin (110) = 338 calories
- At home with no meat: eggs (108), Bagel Thin (110) = 218 calories
Additionally, for drinks - at home I'll drink either apple juice, orange juice (Trop 50), water or seltzer, which is MUCH better than a Red Bull.
So this sheds some light on the theory of eating home being better than eating out in terms of knowing what's going in my food and also naturally eating healthier options in the process. This is more of a time and effort commitment than anything else, but you can not discount the time and effort part of changing your food intake.
The other main cog of re-training to eat at home more often is limiting the portion control. This is all about will-power. I need to make sure that I'm eating normal portions, that a functional human would eat. That is on me! BUT if I'm cooking for myself, I'm much more likely to want to have the food for leftovers the next day for lunch. I also don't feel the insane internal "pressure" to clear my plate, because I didn't spend $16 on freaking chicken fingers and fries that I would never eat left over. I probably spent $8-$10 to make a meal for my Kristyn and me, which will also get us through tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch!
Lastly, I need to slow down on the snacking! I have a tendency to eat right out of the container. Ice Cream, Chips, Goldfish, Cookies - you name it. Who needs a plate! Well, we all know where that can bring us. I need to limit the snacking. 1 serving of goldfish is 55 pieces. I probably eat 150-200 goldfish in a sitting. There's no need! I blow through a 1/2 gallon of ice cream in 4-5 sittings. I can probably make it last 10-12 if I just scoop it out and limit to 2 scoops.
Oh - 1 more thing. WATER! LOTS OF WATER! That's self explanatory.
Oh - 1 more thing. WATER! LOTS OF WATER! That's self explanatory.
- Activity Plan: Light Exercise -
I have not been to the gym, running or done any athletic activity in quite awhile. I find myself so much more out of shape than I could have ever imagined I would be 5 years ago. It's a lack of effort that's holding me back. I can't jump right back in the tank full force, but I need to start slowly and build up. I'm not setting specific goals and deadlines. Rather, I want to start with some jogging for now. The main thing holding me back from exercise is that it's such a huge time commitment. Going to the gym means scheduling it, getting ready, driving to the gym, getting a locker . . . . . you get it. With jogging, there is no prep work, outside of some stretching. I don't have to drive somewhere in order to do it. I can go for my run right before I'm about the shower for the day. I think this is perfect for Stage 1 because it's a 20-25 minute commitment and it can be done at any time. After the run, I jump right in the shower, as I was going to anyway. Once I get in the habit of doing the work, I can spread it out to other activities and locations.
SOOOOO, to recap - Stage 1 of the eating plan is to try to eat at home and limit the portion size. Once I get that under control, I can work on adjusting the diet more. Stage 1 of the activity plan is to get some light jogging in to remind my body how to not be lazy. Stage 2 - - - - - - we'll talk about that once I feel good about Stage 1.
I'll keep you updated - hopefully daily - on my progress. I know this may not be the exact strategy you all would take and that there are/will be flaws in my approach. BUT I'm trying to be realistic. Not set myself up for some sort of quick fix weight drop that will end up all coming back due to an unrealistic plan/expectation. WISH ME LUCK!
JOEY V
btw - notice I'm not giving you my starting weight this time. It's too embarrassing. I'll let you know what the starting weight WAS, once I get about 20 pounds off.
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