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February 28, 2006
Day 54
Journey sucks (the diet, not the band. They rock)
What I ate today
Breakfast (10 a.m.)
2 ½ cups of Special K cereal
2 cups of skim milk
Calories: 465
Fat: 0 grams
Lunch (1:30 p.m.)
1 healthy choice smoked sausage
2 slices of multi grain bread
Calories: 370
Fat: 9.75 grams
Snack (5 p.m.)
½ cup of brown rice
Calories: 320
Fat: 2 grams
Dinner (8 p.m.)
Salad
A few handfuls of lettuce, we’ll call it four servings
A few things of Broccoli
1 can of tuna
4 servings of Fat Free Italian Dressing
2 servings of Just 2 Good Bleu Cheese
Calories: 340
Fat: 5.5 grams
Snack (10 p.m.)
2 servings of baby carrots
Calories: 70
Fat: 0 grams
Total Calories: 1,565
Total fat: 17.25 grams
Exercise: 40 minutes on elliptical trainer. Upper body workout.
First some mail:
Dammit, I deleted the email. I suck. Anyway, a guy took issue with my comparing Flavor Flav to the guy that dances around for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The point of his issue was that the Bosstones guy was quite superior to Flav in every way. Let me tell you, I wasn’t really ready for that kind of email. I never thought anyone would come to the defense of the Bosstones dancer. (according to the email, the dancer guy, who apparently has a name which I forget at this moment, does very important Bosstones-related things behind the scenes. So I guess dancing is not his only job.) I expected someone to come to Flav’s defense, Public Enemy was a very big part of the popular culture in the late 80s and early 90s. No one did. Sorry Flav. Anyway, just to go on record, I enjoy the dancing guy’s body of work much more than I enjoy Flav’s.
Anyway, good day today. Too many carbs probably, and just out of the calorie range, but oh well. What are ya gonna do?
I was getting worried that since I added carbs to this diet (in the form of brown rice, oatmeal and, now, Special K) I was growing stagnant. A lot of thoughts raced through my head. First and foremost was whether I inadvertently mimicked Atkins a little too closely. No, there weren’t any bacon breakfasts or steaks fried in butter, but from my experiences with Atkins, it works very quickly (like my diet did) and you will start gaining weight if you eat carbs every day. Also, I knew that one of my basic rules for this diet was to beef up on protein and try to cut down on carbs.
But still, I was eating bread every day. That was what tipped me off to the fact that this wasn’t Atkins. But still, I was a little worried.
That all changed today with another mini breakthrough. Since I got to 330 a while ago, I started to feel heavier. Then I had the epic fight with the buffet table last week, and got back on the horse over the weekend. I weighed in today at 326.5 pounds, down 3.5 from last week. That was fantastic news. At this point I don’t care that much about how fast the weight comes off, as long as I know that I am doing things that will make it come off. Call it a phobia or a silly fear or whatever, but I really worry that no matter how I change my diet, even if I eat 2,500 less calories than I burn per day, that somehow I will be doing something wrong that will screw the whole thing up.
But now I can just be content with the fact that I am doing things right, and as a result, I am losing weight.
This is a really hard time in some ways. Yes, they say life is a journey, not a destination (at least Aerosmith did in “Amazing” Although I think, like Steven Tyler, I got the saying wrong. Though I’m not sure about that, so I’ll stick with it. Maybe “They” don’t say it at all. Maybe only Steve Tyler says it. Oh well.) and I guess that means that most things in life are made great because of what you go through to get there.
For this diet, I disagree. I’ve mentioned this to people and they always say “Hey, it will mean so much more to you because you had to work so hard.” Well fuck that.
I think being healthy and in shape would mean the same thing to me if I was that way naturally. And the fact that I’m not that way natural is a bit of an annoyance. Do you guys really think I wanted to get up to 370 just for the life lessons? Not likely. And it is difficult sometimes to be going through this conversion process. Yes, I have come very far. But still, I have so far to go. And it is still something of a mystery as to how successful I will be overall. Yes, I could quit right now and tell myself I lost a lot of weight, but if I do that, I will still weigh over 325 pounds. Will those 43.5 pounds really mean so much to me? Probably not. They will be a reminder of how I spent my mid 20s with cheese running through my blood. Do I really want to remember the three years I’ve spent without a serious relationship (probably, though, for more reasons than just my weight). Sure I can look at those things and see how far I’ve come, but in reality, I just want to have a moment to really enjoy. And I don’t think looking back on my old weight will help bring those moments to fruition.
Maybe it will, though. Who knows. But I do wish I could just snap my fingers and get down to 240 or wherever I ultimately want to be. It isn’t because I want to go back to eating shit. I guess it is more because I am so worried that my 20’s are slipping away and every attractive woman my age is probably getting married soon. I don’t want to be 30 and picking up chicks at high school graduation parties. So I want this to happen as fast as possible.
But they also say patience is a virtue. So I guess I am stuck with that saying. I am very virtuous.
Posted by Dan Nied at 01:49 AM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2006
Days 52 and 53
Enjoying a pretty solid weekend
What I ate today
Breakfast (10 a.m.)
2 cups of Special K cereal
1 cup of skim milk
Calories: 340
Fat: 0 grams
Lunch (1 p.m.)
1 healthy choice smoked sausage
2 slices of multi grain bread
1 serving of fat free mayo
Calories: 385
Fat: 9.75 grams
Snack (4 p.m.)
1 can of tuna
2 servings of fat free mayo
Calories: 180
Fat: 1.5 grams
Dinner (7 p.m.)
Salad
4 servings of iceberg lettuce
1 green pepper
several thingies of broccoli
1 can of tuna
3 servings of fat free Italian dressing
2 servings of Just 2 Good Bleu Cheese.
Calories: 325
Fat: 5.5
Snack (9 p.m.)
2 servings of baby carrots
Calories: 70
Fat: 0 grams
Total Calories: 1,295
Total fat: 16.75 grams
Exercise: It was nice out and I went for a walk for 40 minutes. It was relaxing. I’m not a pussy. Stop calling me a pussy. Saturday I went to the gym and did 33 minutes on elliptical on a higher setting than I used to do. Burned 700 calories. Also did weight training on upper body. So that is six out of the last seven days that I have exercised. I’m great. Just great. Freaking awesome. That’s what I am.
Some quick business first. I put three new old photos up on the site Saturday. I just found them in an old email over the weekend and I threw them up there. I don’t think there has been a good picture of me up yet. I thought these looked pretty good, even though they were taken two years ago. It’s hard to believe, but I had a weight problem way back then, too. Although, I think I look good here, so they are worth a look. Credit goes to photographer Kapil (Kapish) Kedia, a very nice man who I keep as my friend for other reasons besides his ability to fill out the diversity requirement.
I just caught the end of VH1’s seminal show The Flavor of Love. This girl who just got eliminated spit in the face of another girl because she was “disrespected.” Of course, the girl who got spit on was also “disrespected” in the process. That was pure comedic genius. I love the disrespect card, especially when played by bitchy women. That’s any crazy woman’s excuse to go off. But they never seem to stop and think about what they did to earn the respect that has been taken away from them. Seriously, was this girl really too good to get spit on? She is, after all, pining for the love of a guy whose fame peaked in 1989, because he was the sidekick for an, admittedly very cool, rap group. Now, Flav’s gotta be pushing 50 and can’t speak an intelligible word. Maybe I am the only one here, but I see Flav as about a half step above the guy in the Mighty Mighty Bosstones whose only job was to dance behind Dickey Barrett on stage. And I think that if you are willing to take yourself to that level just to get on television then, really, being spit on should be expected. Right?
But after Flav, came the season finale of Celebrity Fit Club. Every person looks exactly the same as they did when the show started. And, the winners get prizes. This is the first celebrity game show in history that doesn’t donate the prizes to charity. If you are a “celebrity”, I would think rock bottom would have to be when you are oohing and aahing at the Alaskan cruise you might win on a game show. And where does Gunnar Nelson get off coming back into my life without his brother? That is unforgivable.
Alright, sorry bout that. Sometimes I get a little sick of just writing about weight loss. I hope you understand. As for this weekend, I feel pretty good about it, though I physically feel a little heavier than I did last week. Oh well. I can’t control my feelings. 1,300 calories today was pretty good. I feel like I did exactly what I needed to do, right down to the impromptu walk.
Saturday was pretty cool, though I did have to give in to the buffet. I did it in a smart way. Since I hadn’t eaten in four hours, and was facing at least two more hours before I could eat again, I went to the buffet and got a very small amount of pulled pork, along with two old things of cauliflower. The pork was a bit greasier than I initially thought. But I stuck to it. I am pretty happy about that, even if it was a few extra calories. The buffet is done, at least until Thursday. I feel like I have conquered it.
I am attacking this week with newfound vigor. I know the 30 pounds won’t lose themselves in the next 50 days, so I am willing to do whatever it takes (within reason) to get them off. I guess I am striving for at least five more days of working out this week before I head to Wyoming on Sunday.
Posted by Dan Nied at 12:50 AM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2006
Jake
That's me and Jake at an OAR concert in 2004. It was a great night. You might know Jake as a regular poster on the blog. He loves protein powder and can be quite a jackass. However, he is one of my old roommates and an all around good guy. Though he did just have relations with an engaged woman. So he's really kind of a bastard.
Posted by west at 02:59 PM | Comments (0)
Me and Fred
So that's Fred. He's a friend who is a friend of a friend. He's a good guy, but kind of a dick. This was taken on a Kentucky Houseboating trip in 2004. I think I was about 320 there? I'm not sure. But I know I wanted to get down to 280 before the trip. When I didn't, the whole thing turned out to be a waste of money. So I'd like to avoid those situations again.
Posted by west at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)
I do not know these women
These are just two girls happy to take a picture with me. They paid me for it. I am in high demand. I believe this was the summer of 2004.
Posted by Dan Nied at 02:52 PM | Comments (0)
Day 51
Jerkying off
What I ate today
Breakfast (10 a.m.)
1 can of spinach
Calories: 90
Fat: 0 grams
Lunch (1 p.m.)
1 foot long Subway chicken breast sandwich
Calories: 640
Fat: 10 grams
Snack (6 p.m.)
1 stick of beef jerky
Calories: 150
Fat: 2 grams
Snack (9 p.m.)
1 stick of beef jerky
Calories: 150
Fat: 2 grams
Snack (12 a.m.)
1 stick of beef jerky
Calories: 150
Fat: 2 grams
Total calories: 1,180
Fat: 16 grams
Exercise: None. I am such a rat bastard. I talked and talked yesterday about getting in five good days of exercise, and then I didn’t do it today. Ha. The reason is pretty simple, I was unusually sore from Thursday’s workout. I decided to push Friday’s workout to Saturday. So I will still get in the five days.
It’s pretty easy to tell when I have no food in the house and I am too lazy to go shopping. I eat spinach for breakfast and three sticks of beef jerky in a six-hour span.
Just to go on record here: I’m not even close to including jerky into the regular makeup of this diet, but I will say that it is the perfect thing in a pinch.
I devised the three-jerky plan this afternoon while I was dreading heading back to the basketball tournament and the motherfucking buffet that has tripped me up so much lately. I decided that I needed some sort of substitute for the fried chicken that would be romantically calling my name from under its sinister lid. I didn’t think baby carrots would really hit the spot. So I decided that I would go with the jerky because A) it is salty and delicious B) at only 150 calories and 2 grams of fat per, uh, stick, it has some value to this diet and c) the three sticks would put me right within my calorie range for the day.
So those are the plusses of beef jerky. There are, however, some minuses. First and foremost is the sodium. There’s a lot of it and it makes me nervous. I am pretty sure those three servings of beef jerky (yes, one serving per package) gave me at least 200 percent of my recommended daily allowance of sodium. However, my basic rule of choosing foods goes like this: You can eat it if the calorie and fat values work. I am willing to sacrifice sodium for solid calorie and fat values. That’s how I roll, yo.
The other minus, at least in my mind, is that this stuff has to be really processed. I think it would have to take some sort of scientific engineering to get meat into that kind of shape and texture. Also, I would surmise that as the reason for the high sodium content. But you know what? It’s better than fried chicken (and homemade soup. That was on the buffet tonight, too. Also, cookies and chips.)
So I actually went into the buffet room twice tonight. Yeah, I flirted with disaster. The reason I went up there was to get bottles of water, so I had good intentions. On the way to the buffet room each time I just repeated to myself: “Only water, only water, only water, no chicken, only water.” It worked. The first time I went in, I grabbed my water, walked to the doorway, turned around and flipped the bird to the bird. That’s right fried chicken. Fuck you! You won’t get the best of me again.
And it didn’t. So I feel pretty good about that.
Now, since it is 1:22 a.m. on a Friday night, and I am officially “blogging” I think I have painted myself as quite a loser in life. So to avoid any further embarrassments, I will just call it quits for now.
Posted by Dan Nied at 03:25 AM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2006
Day 50
Taking the thoughtful approach
Again, no food journal today. If you want to know, I got mildly tripped up by the buffet again. But nothing too serious. I also worked out, doing 30 minutes on the elliptical and the exercises Shep showed me. Not a horrible day. But certainly not a great day, at least as far as eating goes.
But this was a fantastic day as far as my mindset. We’ll get to that in a second.
First, the news you were all waiting for: Did I eat the burgers last night?
Do I even have to answer that? Of course I did.
Were they good? Eh, not that good. Did I learn a lesson from eating them? Definitely. I almost wound up in the emergency room.
It wasn’t anything serious, but I wasn’t sure what was going on this morning when I woke up at 7:30 with a softball-sized knot of pain in my upper right abdomen. I got up and tried to walk it off. I lay back down and cursed at the ceiling. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t lay on my stomach. After a half hour of this, I seriously contemplated going to the hospital. Seriously, I did. I kind of knew what had to happen to make the pain go away, but that thing wasn’t happening. Also, I had never felt pain like this in my stomach before and I got thoughts that maybe it wasn’t all because of what I ate the night before. Maybe it was an appendix or something more severe. Eventually, though, I made it go away naturally.
I took the whole experience as a good sign. I was almost proud that I had gotten to the point that greasy foods don’t agree with me. In the long term, I hope to cut that kind of thing out altogether.
Needless to say, I didn’t make it into work this morning. And before I went to go work out, I took a few moments to think about this entire process, and where I am at right now. I came up with a few conclusions about this recent string of shit eating:
1)After losing 40 pounds in 50 days, I felt I deserved a large reward for my success. That feeling came despite the fact that the goal was to lose 100 pounds, not 40. I lost track of the bigger picture and that was something I couldn’t afford to do.
2)I think, in a lot of ways, I put too much pressure on myself. Part of the recent self-destruction came from the fact that the 100 pound goal was always at the forefront of my thinking. Every single vision I had was of me at 270. Every thought came with the preface of: When I hit 270…
And in turn, it got to be somewhat unbearable when I would plateau. So even though I wanted to reward myself for losing the 40 pounds, I also had a misguided feeling that this diet wasn’t working. That was despite regular losses of two to three pounds per week. But even with those results, I was disappointed that it wasn’t 7-10 pounds per week. That was just too much to ask and I can’t believe I let myself think like that.
3)I’m not too worried about the recent fuck ups because every single one happened in the same exact scenario. Go back to the gravy incident at the beginning. That was the same thing, too. Every fuck up began with delicious food being offered to me for free at a sporting event. I am not in that situation very often. (Although, next week I will be going to a major junior college basketball tournament in Wyoming, where there will almost certainly be a top-of-the-line media buffet set up for three straight days.) However, I realize that I rationalized the gravy situation as one in which I had no choice. I can easily do the same for this week’s screw ups.
I have to be more responsible for situations like this. It wasn’t one of my goals to become more responsible around food, but now I see that it has to be if I want to keep the weight off. I must use this as a learning process, because the knowledge I gain in doing this experiment will apply to my entire life.
4)My friend Guy asked me if he thought there was any significance to screwing up so close to a milestone date (50 days). I don’t think so. However, I think that may have been just long enough to grow discouraged with the fact that I am depriving myself of even moderately unhealthy food that would quench some of the urges. I am human. That is the best excuse I can come up with. And if I can make it through this rough time with my sensibilities intact, then I will be very happy. I guess we will see if this mini-bender can help me in some way (i.e., learning the evils of fast food hamburgers after nearly two months of eating white meat and vegetables.)
Now, to address these conclusions, I have come up with a few new goals:
1)100 pounds in 100 days? I answered my theory. It can’t be done, at least not by me. But that doesn’t make this a failing quest nor does it make me want to quit at all. Actually there is a new theory, and this one can definitely be called a goal (unlike the 100 pounds in 100 days, which was only a theory.) Now, the goal is 30 pounds in 50 days. I know it can be reached because I just did it. But if I lose 30 pounds in the next 50 days, I will be down to 300, which I have always declared my normal weight (I’ve been hovering around that mark since my sophomore year in high school). Once I get there, I can relax a bit, increase the daily caloric intake to 2,000-2,500, keep working out and slowly drop the rest of the weight. And at the same time, 70 pounds in 100 days would probably be the most impressive thing I’ve ever done. So from here on out, I am looking at 330 as a starting weight.
2)There is one thing I have done a great job of this week. Through Thursday, I have exercised four times. Though I only got 20 minutes in on the elliptical machine Tuesday, I still made the effort to exercise. I am extremely happy about that. I actually look forward to going to the gym now, where I wouldn’t even set foot in the weight room only two months ago. My plan is to work out Friday. The goal is to continue on a five-day (at least) per week schedule, using Monday, Wednesday and Friday for full body workouts and doing Shep’s exercises Tuesdays and Thursdays. The elliptical trainer will be used each day for at least one 20 minute workout (But, more likely 40 minutes). If I can stick to that schedule, 30 pounds in 50 days may be shattered.
3)The only short term goal I came up with was to stay the hell out of the buffet room Friday and Saturday night. Also, I want to come back from Wyoming having eaten nothing that would be considered cheating. If I have to find the area Subway and go three times a day, then I’m gonna do it. I am planning on bringing a cooler full of healthy things that will hopefully enable me to stay out of the grease.
After thinking about this for awhile, I feel like these mistakes are all behind me. I can’t guarantee they won’t happen again, I guess, but I can confidently say that my mind, right now, is where it needs to be. And that, as I’ve learned, is the most important part.
Posted by Dan Nied at 02:01 AM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2006
Day 50
Another screw up
No food diary today, because I couldn't begin to keep track of what I ate.
But I did have another screw up, this time to the dreaded high school basketball tournament buffet. There was fried chicken and sandwiches and cookies and I enjoyed them all. I made the decision to head up to the hospitality room during one of the games. While I made the walk, I felt like a 60-year old man walking alone into a strip club on a Wednesday afternoon.
It just wasn't right, but I couldn't wait to get there.
So I screwed up and then I thought: Hey, why spoil a good thing here? Go all out.
So I sit here now, with a Wendy's bag within reach. Inside are two burgers, one a classic triple with cheese, the other a junior bacon cheeseburger. I am still debating on whether to eat them. At this point, they are my hostages and I am trying to figure out my demands. I don't know what I want in return for their lives. However, we could start with the ability to snap my fingers and be 270 pounds in an instant. That might spare these burgers.
So here I am, smack dab in the middle of this diet, trying to figure out what to do next. I have fucked up twice in the last four days. I will not be fucking up Thursday, though. That I can promise.
But what is obvious to me is that I no longer have that iron grip on my wills that I did for the first 40 days of this diet. It is slowly slipping away, as I convince myself that every bite of fat is reward for losing 40 pounds (Officially down to 329 1/2 today).
I don't think this quest is in serious trouble. However, I do know that continuous fuck ups are not part of the plan, at least not right now. I also know that I have a new love for exercising, something I did for two hours today and am whole heartedly looking forward to tomorrow.
I also know that if I eat these burgers, it won't change the progress I have made over the last 50 days. But still I know that, while these burgers won't change anything, the next ones might, and the ones after that even more.
So I sit and ponder what I want to do right now and I think that I am pretty sure I don't really know.
I won't go any further with this post. I will just say that I am going to think about this entire situation on Thursday and figure out my next move.
So look forward to that.
Posted by Dan Nied at 01:55 AM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2006
Day 49
Just checking in
It is midnight and I am tired as fuck. If you ever get the chance to go to three straight girls high school basketball games, do yourself a favor and dunk your head in a pot of boiling water. It is sort of charming for the first game or so. But after thatit gets to be pure torture, especially when you have to pay attention because it is your job.
So I am just going to give you this small entry tonight, but I will do my best to get in a longer entry sometime Wednesday afternoon.
I ate ok today, but I did have a handful of Checks Mix at the game. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer (There were several logistics and scheduling problems stopping me from doing 40) So all in all I am happy with the day., I'll estimate about 1,400 calories today.
Here is a quick ovservation, maybe you have heard this before. There is ANOTHER new girl at Subway. Seriously, i can't imagine how they are always hiring new people there. There aren't that many opportunities to move up from Subway in this town. If you work at Subway, there is no reason to leave, because you probably won't be able to, you know, work your way up anywhere else.
So this new girl is either deaf or retarded. And I'm not yet ruling out both. But I had to tell her my vegetable order, i swear, four different times before I finally gave up and got spinach on my sandwich.
Here is my order, verbatim, every fucking time I go in there: Everything but Jalepenos and spinach. Extra pickles and olives. Normally, I am more than happy to clarify once they get to the pickles and olives section. But this woman reached for the mayo instead of the mustard, then went for the spinach twice before I, in front of a very long line, had to make a scene.
It wasn't much, I just rolled my eyes and turned to away quickly and sighed loud enough for everyone to hear. But I don't think its too much to ask to get the vegetable order right after I tell you twice.
Anyway, I'm going to bed. Be back in the afternoon.
Posted by Dan Nied at 01:57 AM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2006
Day 48
Local newscasts make me angry
What I ate today
Breakfast (9:45 a.m.)
2 slices of multi grain bread
1 can of tuna
2 servings of fat free mayo
Calories: 270
Fat: 2.5 grams
Snack (10:30 a.m.)
2 servings of baby carrots
Calories: 70
Fat: 0 grams
Lunch (12:30 p.m.)
1 foot long Subway Club
Calories: 640
Fat: 12 grams
Dinner (7:45 p.m.)
2 slices of multi grain bread
1 can of tuna
2 servings of fat free mayo
Calories: 270
Fat: 2.5 grams
Snack (11 p.m.)
2 ounces of turkey
Calories: 50
Fat: 1 gram
Total Calories: 1,300
Total fat: 18 grams
Exercise: Good workout, 40 minutes on the elliptical machine, full body workout after.
You can file this under the “What the fuck did you think would happen?” file. But, it hit me today that I had very little trouble doing 40 straight minutes on the elliptical machine. I remembered back at my last semi serious attempt to lose weight, last summer. (I dropped 10 pounds, then put on 20 or 30 more in the coming months.) That was my first experience with the elliptical trainer. Back then, I struggled mightily to get in 10 minutes. I had to rest for at least five minutes afterwards and I absolutely hated that thing. I guess you get better at it the more you do it. I guess that is common sense. But still, I am happy that 40 minutes (and 740 calories) isn’t too hard right now.
I still wanted to quit today, but the thought was much less intrusive in my mind than it was yesterday. I think I am through that phase, at least for now. However Shep did give me some sage advice on the subject. He said “fight through it and stop being such a puss.” Good point.
This will be an interesting week to test my will. For the rest of the week, I will be covering three or four basketball games per day. It is the Colorado district tournament. That’s right, it is playoff basketball time in Colorado! Finally the waiting is over. YES!
What that means is that from about 5 to 10 p.m. each night I will be away from home with easy access to a very delicious and very free buffet set up for media types like myself. So what do I do? I guess I stay out of the buffet room. Honestly, I am much more worried about my eating frequency during this week. Just covering two games today (with a break to come home and watch 24) I went over seven hours between meals. That’s not good, but I won’t let it ruin a healthy day overall. I think I will be able to get through the buffets and long times. Maybe I will head to Subway between games or just bring my own stuff.
I just saw something on the local news (Local newscasts, by the way, are total jokes. I have never seen anything on the local news that provided any valuable information. Well, outside of murders and stuff like that. And it drives me nuts how the anchors have to be balanced by gender and race. If your skin is too dark or too light, you can’t report the news. No, that might be subtly offensive to the viewers. If you are a light skinned black woman, you’re hired. The key to getting a desk spot on the local news seems only to have to do with your percentage of racial ambiguity, and each anchor is neutered of his or her culture as soon as they sit down. That is bland and formulaic. It just bothers me.)
Anyway, I was watching the local news and someone said something to the effect that “Doctors say that if you cut out just 100 calories per day, you can lose 10 pounds in a year!” I rolled my eyes. What happens if you cut 2,000 calories out of your diet per day? I guess I am finding that out right now.
On the same local news story, they listed the five habits of naturally healthy people. I didn’t catch them all, sorry. But what I did catch was 1) They walk. 2) They don’t eat that much cheese 3) they drink a lot of water.
Did I need a two-minute piece to tell me that walking, not eating cheese and drinking a lot of water would be beneficial to my health? Really? If I don’t eat cheese I will be able to cut down on calories? Why didn’t anyone tell me that cheese was bad for me? Wait, people have told me that since I was 10 years old. Does news even exist anymore?
Of course, maybe that piece just seemed soft because the next story was so hard-hitting: the 200 pound cat.
America, gotta love it.
Posted by Dan Nied at 02:01 AM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2006
Days 45, 46 and 47
Today I got as close as I possibly could to quitting
What I ate today
Breakfast (12 p.m.)
1 grapefruit
Calories: 100
Fat: 0 grams
Lunch (2 p.m.)
1 can of tuna
½ cup of brown rice
Calories: 470
Fat: 3.5 grams
Dinner (6:30 p.m.)
Salad
3 pieces of chicken
3 servings of lettuce
½ green pepper
1 serving of mushrooms
4 servings of fat free Italian dressing
2 servings of Just 2 Good Bleu Cheese dressing
Calories: 315
Fat: 4.5 grams
Snack (9 p.m.)
2 ounces of turkey
Calories: 50
Fat: 2 grams
Snack (12 a.m.)
2 bites of a roast beef sandwich, with cheese, I believe (I didn’t make it. I’m not sure)
Calories: 100?
Fat: ???
Total Calories: 1,035
Total Fat: 10 grams
Exercise: I didn’t even leave the apartment today. Do you really think I exercised? If so, you are dumb.
Two weird things happened today, food wise. First, I found a nearly untouched pound of turkey in the fridge. I have no idea how that got there since I have been living for the past five days with the belief that all of my turkey was gone. The package said “Sell by Feb. 11”, so I was a little skeptical. But since it was there and I didn’t feel like eating more brown rice, I decided to dive in. I’ll let you know if I get food poisoning. It didn’t taste fresh, but it didn’t taste bad. So I think I will give it another chance.
Second, at midnight I opened my bag to find an untouched sack lunch. I had forgotten that I grabbed it from the basketball game I covered last night. Short story: While I was waiting around to interview the coach, an assistant came in with a box of lunches he had forgotten to pass out after the game. Since there were only a few players mulling around the locker room at that point, and there were at least 12 lunches in the box, I took one for later. At midnight tonight, I found it and had two bites of the roast beef sandwich inside. It wasn’t that good.
So that was my Sunday. Pretty exciting. But there is actually something to report. Something fairly big, and not so good.
Saturday I had my first calculated fuck up. This was a case of blowing the whole fucking thing up. And, unlike the gravy incident, I fell victim to nothing but myself.
It began at the basketball game. There was a buffet set up, easily accessible to me, for alumni of the school. I have gotten past these sorts of things before, with relative ease. But I managed to convince myself that it would be alright to just look at what they had. After that, I convinced myself it would be fine if I took the night off from the diet. I wasn’t shocked at the minimal amount of work I had to do to convince myself of that.
So I indulged in the buffet, all the while planning a Wendy’s stop after the game. Well, after the game, I was invited to go out drinking. So I did. Remember the drinking rules? Beer only. So I had five before heading home with a decent buzz.
Directly across the street from the bar was Wendy’s. Next door to Wendy’s was Taco Bell. I was half drunk. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that I picked Taco Bell. I got five things, though I don’t remember them now. I enjoyed those five things very much as I sat on my ass in my living room, clad in boxer briefs and a five-year old T shirt, flipping back and forth between Scream, Saw and the Olympics.
I awoke today and things were fine. I hadn’t gained back the weight I had lost (not all of it at least) and, intestinally, I paid for the Taco Bell only minimally.
But there was a nagging tone inside my head, throughout the day. It was something I had to know was coming eventually. Even though things are great right now - with people noticing the weight loss, formerly tight clothes beginning to fit again and the overall sense that I finally have things straight in my life – there was a very large part of me that wanted to end this whole thing. Today I got as close as I possibly could to quitting. I actually decided, for a second, to take a few days off and see how I feel on Wednesday. At that point, I would decide whether to quit or keep going. If it hadn’t been midnight on a Sunday, I would have probably ordered a pizza at that moment. Instead, I found the bag lunch and took two bites of a sandwich.
Right before I sat down to write this, I looked at myself in the mirror for 10 minutes. I talked to myself, out loud, and tried to figure out what to do. Here is what I can remember about my conversation with me:
“So what do you want to do? What is important now? Do you want to eat like crap? Do you want short term gratification? Or do you want to be able to live out the rest of your youth as a healthy, attractive man? You have to decide that because, if all you care about are hamburgers and melted cheese, then go get some. But you’ve been doing that for years and look where it’s gotten you. We already know that doesn’t bring happiness. But we also know that you are great at being lazy. It’s been so easy for you to do nothing. You knew this point would come. You had to know. And you have to ask yourself if you are willing to give up these last 50 days of motivation just because you are hungry. Look, it’s hard. You knew it would be hard. But what about the rewards? What about going home this summer and having that girl like you or having your family fawn over how good you look? What about when you move away from this town and set up a new life somewhere else? Don’t you think constantly about making that good first impression? What do you want? Figure it out?”
Myself is very smart, and very good at asking rhetorical questions. Hopefully, one day, I can be as smart as myself.
From what I can tell, this current urge to quit came from two sources. First, it became obvious to me this week that 100 pounds in 100 days isn’t going to happen. The next best I can hope for is 100 pounds by June, when I go home. So with that I kind of alleviated some of the pressure on myself.
But the main reason for the urge, I believe, was a slight frustration with the possibility that I have been gaining weight over the last few days. The only reasons I think that is A) I got on the scale again Friday, after breakfast and drinking water, and it read 334, up two pounds from the last weigh in. Although, I don’t put too much stock in that. B) I found that my belt was tighter Saturday than it had been the week before. Again, not a big deal, but enough to put doubt into my head.
So, I am hungry and I still want to take a break. But I decided that I have come much too far to give up now. One of my favorite lyrics is from a Counting Crows song called St. Robinson and his Cadillac Dream and it goes like this:
“I keep thinking tomorrow is coming today, so I am endlessly waiting.”
I always applied that to my weight problem because, as I was in the drive through of another fast food restaurant, I would tell myself that tomorrow I would start my diet. Of course, I always failed the next day. But, no matter what, there was always tomorrow. Tomorrow offers so much hope. Anything can happen tomorrow, all you have to do is wait for it to come. And in my life, the existence of tomorrow just made it ok for me to keep eating today.
And yes, Annie does say that tomorrow is only a day away, but sometimes tomorrow is light years away. Sometimes waiting isn’t enough. Sometimes you have to make tomorrow come. You have to suffer through today and get to that tomorrow you’ve been dreaming about. If you don’t, then you are endlessly waiting.
And you know what? My tomorrow is here, and I got really sick of waiting.
Posted by Dan Nied at 04:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 17, 2006
Day 44
New photos are here
What I ate today
Breakfast (9:45 a.m.)
½ cup of steel cut oats
Calories: 340
Fat: 6 grams
Lunch (1:30 p.m.)
1 foot long Subway Club
Calories: 640
Fat: 12 grams
Dinner (5:20 p.m.)
1 can of tuna
4 slices of multi grain bread
2 servings of fat free mayo
1 can of Campbell’s vegetable beef soup
Calories: 420
Fat: 4.5 grams
Snack (9:30 p.m.)
1 stick of beef jerkey
Calories: 150
Fat: 2 grams
Total Calories: 1,550
Total Fat: 24.5 grams
Exercise: One of the best workouts of my life. I did the elliptical for 40 minutes, but with a quick water break at the 20-minute mark, then I did a full body workout and pushed myself as hard as I could. Afterwards, I felt incredible, with just the right amount of soreness and a full dose of self confidence. I am awesome!
There are now new pictures on the site. I took them yesterday at work with the help of coworker Jenn, who took the photos. She really brought out my good side. So if you are on Blog Critics and you want to see them, click on my byline at the top of this post and that will take you to the main 210west.com page. There is a link to the actual blog down the left hand column. It is easy to find.
If you are reading this on the site, well then stop being a retard and scroll down a bit.
Anyway, since I am a vain guy, I want to hear some comments on these. Do I look like I am losing weight? (feel free to compare them to the original photos on the page) Would you date me right now? (girl’s only) Am I a monster who should be locked in a basement like that guy from Goonies?(What the fuck was his name? Damn! I forget. "Chunk love...??" Fuck. I can never come through in the clutch.)
Anyway, I was talking with my equally chubby friend Renaud today, and he said something that, I think, rings true for every overweight person.
“The big thing for me right now,” he said, “is just losing any weight at all.”
Now, my all time favorite band is Blues Traveler. And I remember formerly morbidly obese frontman John Popper, after his stomach stapling, saying that he was always just trying to lose any weight at all, just to get started.
When I was going through my “Tomorrow” phase (i.e. I am going to start being healthy tomorrow), I always was cursed with the notion that if I just lost any weight at all, I would be well on my way to a healthy lifestyle.
Hearing Renaud say that, after I had thought it and Popper, one of the greatest musicians of my lifetime (in my opinion), had said it, made me wonder why people don’t just start dieting.
Then I remembered: this shit is hard.
I don’t mean dieting is hard. I mean that any life changing commitment is incredibly difficult to begin. You really have to have your mind functioning at the right level in order to be successful. And, I’m afraid, that means it will take up at least 80 percent of your thoughts. It seems like such and easy thing now to decide to eat well. But I forget that before I made this decision, there were at least 100 other times that I failed.
I still think everything like this is just a matter of effort, but it is a total mystery to me about where that effort ultimately comes from, and for what reasons.
Really, I have nothing else to talk about today. But I am going to ponder this question for awhile.
Posted by west at 02:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Good Lord, I can't possibly look like that!
This is a ghastly image. That is why I made it smaller than the rest. See that fat under my chin? That's gotta go. Hopefully it will. Also, my hair is a little funky in all of these photos, I will have to cut it for futire photo sessions.
Posted by west at 02:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
My mother thinks I'm handsome
I wouldn't say svelt or studly quite yet. Remember, I may have lost 40 pounds but I still weigh 330.
Posted by west at 01:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Dan on Feb. 16
That's not a tracheotomy scar on my neck. It is a dead spot in the lens. We can't all have shiny new equipment to work with.
Posted by west at 01:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 16, 2006
Day 43
Answering your questions and comments
What I ate today
Breakfast (9 a.m.)
½ cup of steel cut oats
Calories: 320
Fat: 6 grams
Lunch (1 p.m.)
1 foot long chicken breast sub from Subway
Calories: 640
Fat: 10 grams
Snack (5 p.m.)
1 can of Campbell’s vegetable beef soup
Calories: 60
Fat: 1 gram
Dinner (6:30 p.m.)
1 Healthy Choice smoked sausage
2 slices of multi grain bread
½ cup of brown rice
Calories: 690
Fat: 11.75 grams
Snack (9:45 p.m.)
Assorted amounts of Broccoli and Cauliflower
Calories: 100?
Fat: 0 grams
Total Calories: 1,810
Total fat: 28.75 grams
Exercise: none
One thought on the above totals. That’s not a bad day overall. Although, I am not sure what kind of fat intake I should have. 65 grams is recommended for a 2,000 calorie diet. So, I am less than half of that today. But how much is too much? How much is too little? Dan does not know these things. Can anyone offer any answers.
Now, on to the point of today’s post. Since I haven’t done it in awhile, I will answer some comments and questions from the last week or so.
From: Karen
RE: You are the greatest person on the face of the earth right now … no, ever!
So cool! I like what you have written and you do seem quite brilliant. You have set some goals for yourself, quite large ones actually. I have found that when I set many goals for myself to accomplish, sometimes I don’t finish anything! You want to lose weight, you want self control, and you want to excel in your career. Well I would say, pick one and do it. Like the weight loss. Once you lose weight, you will have learned how to have self control to a major extent. Once you learn self control, maybe you will be able to give your career the right kind of focus? At any rate, good luck to you!
See that? Karen thinks I’m brilliant. I can’t really argue with her, because, like Zack Morris, I got a 1502 on my SATs. Actually, I didn’t even take the SAT. I took the ACT and got a pedestrian 22. Still, she sees the brilliance. Anyway, Karen nailed the whole reason I am doing this. On some levels it is about just fixing what is wrong with my life. When I hit 270, my life won’t be perfect, but I will have gotten one major thing out of the way. And hopefully, by starting with the physical, I can then move on to the not so obvious: The job problem, the deep down fears of never being able to get close to a woman, the disconnect I have with my father (bastard!) and everything else that is wrong. That is why, when I am through with this, my next blog project will be entitiled “Dan Nied fixes his credit in 100 days”. I think anything can be done in 100 days.
From: Zingzing
Re: God?
Good job Mr. Nied. 34 lbs in less than 6 weeks is great. As you get more stamina and can exercise more (you'll need to, or else you will continue to plateau.), you should lose more weight, I guess. Don't quote or believe me. Well, don't trust my word as gospel. Are you a religious man? Gospel (other than the music) sucks. Anyway, keep up the good work. Remember to put a little money aside for new clothes, unless you've been wearing tight fitting clothes for the last couple of years. Of course, the ladies do like tight fitting clothes.
Alright, he asks about God, even though it was in a bit of a subtle way. I can tell that the Zinger wanted to know my religious beliefs. I do believe in God. I am not a zealot, nor a church-goer, nor a thumper of bibles, nor a Jesus freak. Basically I am a Catholic-school kid who believes that God A) is all-knowing and ubiquitous. b) is willing to forgive all sins based upon true sorrow of the sinner. and C) gives us all the right to make out own choices. Based on C, It is my opinion that God has no part in this weight loss plan. I’m sure he is helping me somehow, but I think this is all on me. But then, what do I know? Maybe it was my time to try this. Maybe God put me on earth to help combat obesity in this country. Who knows?
As for the clothes, I have no money, but will hopefully be buying off the rack soon enough. And I have many tight fitting clothes in my closet. They have been out of rotation for a long while. I am excited to actually be able to fit into some of them again. My wardrobe has been very limited for the last five years. It has been a combination of having no money and not being able to buy things off the rack.
From Matt Sussman
RE: Baby Carrots
If you're looking for extra money, perhaps when this is over you can moonlight as the Jared-like spokesperson for the International Association of Baby Carrots.
Suss, that is an option, I hope. Although I eat Subway much more often than baby carrots. I love both. However, I think that Subway was the greatest thing that ever happened to chubbies. If you are trying to lose weight right now, and aren’t enjoying Subway at least once a week, then I can’t believe your quest will ever succeed.
Here is a message for the people at Subway: I love your restaurants. I am smart, articulate and soon to be very handsome. I need money and I am willing to eat nothing but Subway Clubs to earn it. I am the pulse of America, young and happy with a full set of teeth. And, while it seems that your weight-loss add campaign has tapered off recently, should you ever choose to rehash it and are looking for a new spokesman, just know that I am here and there is no way I would have come even this far without your sandwiches.
Was that whorey enough?
From: Scott
RE: How tall are you Dan?
How tall are you Dan?
Scott asked on Blog Critics and I have already answered him. So I just copied down my response. If you have seen this already, feel free to move on: I stand at a formidable 6-3 with a very large bone structure. I was sort of built like an offensive lineman. So if I get down to 270, I will look pretty good, at least I used to at that weight. But that is the reason I don't want to get down to 190 or anywhere below 230.
From: Jake
RE: Protein Powder is good for you
Plain oatmeal is good for you, but pretty damn nasty. I would recommend buying some flavored protein powder. Avoid the stuff that is high in cholesterol, but if you add a scoop to the oatmeal it makes it taste a lot better plus you get the benefits of around 20 extra grams of protein. Just a suggestion.
From: Brendan
RE: Yeah man, protein powder is awesome
Yea duder get on the protein powder. I mix it with milk and five grams of l-glutamine (check that out too) every morning for breakfast and after I work out and the stuff works wonders.
From: Cameron
RE: Protein powder
Protein powder is good and all, boys, but if you aren't working out well while taking it; it can work as a weight gainer.
From: Guy
RE: Protein powder sucks
Am I the only person who thinks protein powder is for gays? I mean power bars, GNC in general, Men's Health magazine … I don't get it.
From: Jake
RE: I take offense to Guy’s comment about protein powder
In response to Guy's post. General health and nutrition is not for gays. It is for people who try to live a better, healthier lifestyle so they don't die of a heart attack at 35. That is what this whole 100 days is about and most posts should be health related. So Guy, suck my balls.
Those above comments are from my friends, who are all a little bit retarded. I actually tried a small packet of protein powder the other day. It didn’t do anything (although, I don’t know what I thought it would do. I mean, one packet in a bowl of oatmeal isn’t going to make me explode.) I don’t have any problem with protein powder or any supplements. But right now I don’t think they are for me. So I am going to stay away for the time being.
From: Chantal
RE: I’m fat, no I’m not.
I'm 33 yrs old, 3 kids, 5'5 and I weigh about 175. I wear about a size 14. In short, I'm your average American woman. My age bothers me. I HATE being "mid 30's". Although I really think, and am often told, that I look a lot younger. But you know that woman who's about 45 and looks 30, then she loses 50 lbs and her shape looks great, but the fat that was filling in the wrinkles is gone so now she looks 55? I am scared to death of being that woman. I like looking younger. And I really don’t think I'm all that fat. I'm well proportioned - hour glass figure. Well maybe hour-and-a-half glass figure. And to make it worse (or better) I work with a bunch of college age people who tell me all the time how young and hot I look. I've become the resident MILF. Maybe I need to remind myself that most of them are gay, and would say I look fabulous no matter what.
Anyway, when I try to go on a diet, after about day two I start thinking "I don’t need a f-ing diet, I look great and my legion of college-aged fans think so too". Then after a huge lunch and an even bigger dessert, I might wander into my closet and see all the great clothes that I LOVE but can no longer fit in. Maybe I need to pull out my "skinny" jeans as a constant reminder. Because, honestly, sometimes I just FORGET that I'm trying to lose weight, and go ahead and get that Big Mac.
Chantal goes on to describe her plan for losing weight. Someone on Blog Critics mentioned this and I have to agree: The picture of Chantal in my mind is one of a very hot woman. I think it might be the name. Chantal is a good name. Sshe has been one of the more regular posters on BC, I hope she doesn’t mind me using a very personal comment. I use it because I have found that these kinds of decisions are all about how much you want it. Obviously Chantal isn’t morbidly obese. And, from her description, she isn’t even that noticeably big. Plus, she is married (boooo!). But she still wants to lose weight. My motivation came from A) worrying about my future health. B) Not having had a girlfriend in the last three years. C) Not having had sex in the past year. D) Having been overweight for most of my life and wondering what it would be like to be a normal person.
I don’t think Chantal would share any of those motivations. And I know that I probably can’t share any of hers. But it doesn’t matter where the motivation comes from, it just has to be strong enough to sustain you throughout a long, sometimes torturous process. If you want it bad enough, you will make it happen. But you have to figure out why you want it so bad. And if you are worried about physical deformities as a result of weight loss, then I think you are trying too hard to talk yourself out of it.
When she talks about the college aged-guys who think she is hot, I can relate to that. Most gay college guys think I am sexy as fuck. That’s not true (well, maybe it is, I don’t know). But affirmations can sometimes be a smoke screen. Most people think that it helps to tell someone they are attractive or that they notice they are losing weight. Those things feel good, but can sometimes hinder the progress. For me, any sort of breakthrough will likely be met by a few days of “celebration”. I am going through that now after getting down to 331. The thinking is that, because I am doing so well, I can afford to stretch the diet a few days. I’ve earned it. But, I haven’t. I have to realize that, while I have lost close to 40 pounds, I am still not where I want to be. I can afford to relax once I hit 270. I think it is key to figure out where you want to be and to not accept anything short of that.
From: RJ
RE: Motivate me
Dan, I really think you are motivating people here! Just yesterday, I went to the hated Wal-Mart, and instead of buying frozen pizzas, corn chips, popcorn, pretzels, and all the rest, I bought the following: (goes on to list nothing but health food.)
RJ, that is great. I never really thought about the possibility of motivating people when I started this. I just wanted there to be people who would be disappointed in me if I failed. But, you know, I am a very normal guy who has self control problems that everyone can relate to. So I can see the motivation aspect because I don’t even own fucking gym membership let alone have access to trainers, chefs or the Biggest Loser Ranch. So I guess it is great that I am proving that anyone can lose weight.
From: Diana
RE: Choices
You've realized some important things at the ripe old age of 26 (I'm 43, many are young'uns to me) so it's a good bet that you'll get to skip a few steps when others are having a mid-life crisis. A lot of people don't realize their choices (or that they even have them) until much later.
This was a response to the post about choices from last week. I guess that I learned a valuable lesson through all this. And apparently I am a very smart man. But really, as far as the choices went, I think it is all common knowledge. We all are responsible for our situations. Maybe it takes something drastic to bring on that realization, though. I have definitely learned a few things from this entire process, and I am thankful for that. Hopefully, as I sweat off the next 60 pounds, I will learn a few more things along the way.
Posted by Dan Nied at 02:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 15, 2006
Day 42
All in a day's work
What I ate today
Breakfast (9:30 a.m.)
½ cup of steel cut oats
Calories: 320
Fat: 6 grams
Lunch (1:30 p.m.)
1 foot long chicken breast sub from Subway
Calories: 640
Fat: 10 grams
Dinner (5 p.m.)
1 Healthy Choice smoked sausage
1 cup of low fat cottage cheese
Calories: 440
Fat: 11.75 grams
Snack (9:30 p.m.)
1 stick of beef jerky
Calories: 150
Fat: 2 grams
Total Calories: 1,550
Total Fat: 29.75
Exercise: Worked mainly alone today doing the exercises Shep put me through last week. Also, I did 25 minutes on elliptical machine: 10 warm up, 15 warm down.
I woke up today and I just felt lighter. After complaining yesterday about the plateau that was frustrating me, it was kind of crazy how I could just feel the weight loss today. So when I went in to work out, I decided to weigh myself again. I am not usually too keen on weighing in two days in a row because it can fluctuate so much. But when I got to the gym today, I had followed almost the exact same routine I had yesterday. I had the same breakfast, the same amount of fluids in my system and it was almost the exact same time. So I decided to go for it.
What did I find? Well, after being 336 yesterday, I was down to 331 today.
How amazing is that? I know there are theories about this kind of stuff. You know, water weight and all. But here is my theory: During plateaus you keep weight on for whatever reason. And it isn’t that you aren’t losing weight, it’s just that that weight hasn’t come off yet. So once that weight decides to come off, it will do so all at once. If I stayed the same from one week to the next, but followed the diet and exercised four times, like I did last week, then it isn’t too much to believe that five pounds would be gone over the course of a day. At least that is what I think.
Around 9 p.m. I found myself in the vicinity of a digital scale that looked pretty high tech. So I got on, wearing shoes, two shirts and long khaki pants, and after a day of taking in nearly 30 fat grams. I feared that the locker room scale would be low. But I weighed in at 332.9 pounds. So yeah, I feel pretty good about that.
And, wouldn’t you know it, just when I was about to give up on the theory that I could lose 100 pounds in 100 days, I now find myself very close to the pace. I am at 39 pounds in 41 days. Who knows what the next 60 days will bring, but I am thinking I just might be able to do this.
I am tired today, and quickly approaching my 3,000th word written for the night. So I am going to hang this one up early. But just remember, I am the healthiest man in the world. Or, at least I will be.
Posted by Dan Nied at 02:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 14, 2006
Day 41
Baseball season is here, and I am enjoying it in a slimmed down way
What I ate today
Breakfast (9:45 a.m.)
2 servings of steel cut oats
Calories: 320
Fat: 6 grams
Lunch (1 p.m.)
1 stick of beef jerkey
Calories: 150
Fat: 2 grams
Dinner (4:30 p.m.)
1 Subway foot long chicken breast sandwich
Calories: 640
Fat: 10 grams
Snack (7:30 p.m.)
Two servings of baby carrots
Calories: 70
Fat: 0 grams
Total calories: 1,180
Total fat: 18 grams
Exercise: full body workout with 25 (straight) minutes on elliptical machine
Exercise is a more powerful drug than caffeine or any other stimulant sold over the counter. I woke up an hour late today and had one of those mornings where I felt like I hadn’t slept at all. Certainly I didn’t want to work out today. I wanted to go home and take a nap. But, I told myself, I have to work out because I will feel much better after.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, I did. I am telling you, exercise is the new naps. After I got done with my workout and 25 minutes on the elliptical machine, I felt great. I mean, I was tired, but not sleepy. Working out gives you that proud tired feeling, where you carry your heavy arms and slightly sore legs around all day like a trophy. “Hey man, check out my guns, yeah, I worked ‘em a bit today. Nothing too heavy, just some curls, a little bench. Oh, yeah, I did the elliptical for 25 minutes too. My legs are dead.” It’s that kind of feeling, and yes, I know that I might be gay.
So I got through the rest of the day just fine. It was weird, but this was one of those days that had promise in the background. You know how normal days kind of trudge along and you just wait for the time when you are done with whatever you are doing? Well, today was sunny and warm here in Colorado and I spent the afternoon watching two junior college baseball games (yeah, the season has begun) and just bullshitting with people in the press box. I didn’t really want it to end.
I got a chance to hang out and crack jokes with one of the pitchers who will almost certainly be a high-round pick in the Major League Draft in June, and another pitcher who will play at a Division I next year. Later on another pitcher who graduated last year and signed with the New York Mets hung out up there. He is working out with the team until he reports to spring training. And then there was my only real friend in this town, who does radio broadcasts for the junior college. He was up there too and we all just kind of sat back and talked about nothing while watching baseball. And I got paid for it. Sometimes the day-to-day frustrations of this job are almost too much to handle. But then sometimes you find yourself in a perfect setting with people you enjoy and it hits you that this is part of your job. And you know what? All of a sudden the $10 an hour pay and the 20 articles per week all fade to the background and you realize why you got into the business of sports journalism.
At least I do.
I weighed in today to mixed results. The scale officially tipped at 336 pounds. Now, that is two less pounds than I weighed last Thursday, but only three less than I weighted over a week ago. I was kind of frustrated at first, because I expected to be around 334, but then I had to step back and tell myself that I had lost three pounds over the last week. That is pretty good.
Officially, after 40 days I have lost 34 pounds. Yes, I am behind the 100 pounds in 100 days pace. No, I am not going to go off this diet even if my theory is proven incorrect less than halfway through. By the way, I don’t know if you people noticed, but there is no day 12 in the blog. The reason? I don’t believe in the number 12. That, or I numbered the days wrong. I just realized that a few days ago and I don’t know if I will do anything to fix it. At this point, I would have to correct the headings on a lot of entries. And, even with my newfound energy, I am still too lazy to do that. So live with it.
Posted by Dan Nied at 01:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 13, 2006
Days 39 and 40
People are noticing.
What I ate today
Breakfast (11a.m.)
1 cup of low fat cottage cheese
2 ounces of roast beef
Calories: 226
Fat: 5 grams
Lunch (1 p.m.)
1 ½ servings of steel cut oats
Calories: 240
Fat: 4.5 grams
Snack (3 p.m.)
1 orange
Calories: 100?
Fat: 0 grams
Snack (5 p.m.)
1 ounce of roast beef
3 servings (approx) of raw green beans
Calories: 75
Fat: 1 grams
Dinner (6:30 p.m.)
Salad
3 chicken filets
4 servings of iceberg lettuce
5 cherry tomatoes
½ of a green pepper
1 serving of raw green beans
3 servings of fat free Italian dressing
1 serving of Just 2 Good bleu cheese dressing
Calories: 295
Fat: 2.5 grams
Total Calories: 969 (approximately)
Total fat: 13 grams
Exercise: None.
People are starting to notice. It has happened more and more in the last week. The first was a coach of one of the teams I cover, and lately, people are saying it all over the place. “Hey, Dan, are you losing weight?” (By the way, that reminds me. My goal this week is to put some current pictures up on the site. Hopefully that will happen by Wednesday.)
It’s nice, it really is. Although I don’t see too much of a change in how I look and I am mildly frustrated by the recent plateau I seem to have hit (one pound last week, but I understand how this works, plateaus will happen). But it is still a good boost for other people to see that this is working. In turn, I have had to give up my desire to lose weight as stealthily as possible. I still don’t tell many people around here about the blog because I don’t really want word getting out locally, but everyone knows I am losing weight. That is something I can’t hide. It’s not like I thought I would just show up in 100 days and all of a sudden look 100 pounds lighter, accept congratulations from everyone within an earshot and then go on my merry way. That would be cool, but probably not possible. But I was always curious how long it would take people to start to notice. And I always figured I would have to lose about 50 pounds. I always say, there isn’t all that much difference between 330 and 370. I mean, yeah, you might be slightly smaller, but you are still fat. Yes, I am still fat. So I need to keep reminding myself that every time the bad thought crosses my mind.
That thought? It goes like this: “Dan, you’ve lost over 30 pounds, man. You’ve earned the right to buy a pizza from Wal-Mart, get extra pepperoni and a full pound of cheese and make a Super Pizza.” I do love my old recipe for a “Nied Pizza”, as I like to call it, but I know I haven’t earned that right yet. But there are times I want to reward myself. Well, maybe not reward myself, but at least take a break from the way I have been eating.
Take Saturday. I didn’t really want to stay on the diet. I realized that I ate way too much oatmeal for breakfast and probably had the whole day shot anyway. Now, you’ll remember earlier I talked about the difference between cheating and blowing the whole fucking thing up. Well, I wanted to blow the whole fucking thing up. I knew, though, that I could only cheat.
Quick side note: Short track speed skating relays might be the most confusing sport in the world, even more confusing than cricket. It’s on right now and I just see about 20 different people skating in two different circles. I don’t know what’s happening. Oh well.
Anyway, I knew I was going to cheat. But I wanted to do it in moderation. So I went to evil Wal-Mart and searched for a semi-low calorie, but large and tasty, meal to gorge on. I didn’t find much, So what did I do? I got a half pound of roast beef, a quarter pound of turkey pastrami, a surprisingly low calorie and low fat can of clam chowder soup and a can of turkey chili with no beans.
In retrospect, that might have been too much to have in one sitting. But that is what I had. My lunch Saturday consisted of the soup, the chili, a turkey pastrami sandwich and roast beef sandwich. I felt like shit as soon as I was done. I didn’t feel guilty, mind you, I just felt like shit. That stuff sat in my stomach like a sunken pirate ship.
About three or four hours later I made a grave mistake. I went to Subway and got a 12 inch club. It was awesomely good, but it felt like there was a Boy Scout knot tying convention in my stomach for the rest of the night. I think the combination of the two meals was deadly. I was assigned to the couch by the food gods and was instructed to stay there until I had learned my lesson. That came at 4 a.m., when I finally went to bed 70 percent sure I wasn’t going to puke.
There is a silver lining here. See, when I ate those things in the past, I called it a healthy day. Add it up and it comes to about 2,500 calories. Not so bad. Also, I would have put that shit down and moved on like a (sluggish) champ. But after 38 days or so, I was nearly crippled by the experience. That’s progress, isn’t it?
My lesson? I like to think it was learned.
And you know, I don’t feel guilty about cheating. It might slow things down a little bit, but overall, I can’t really expect myself to eat 1,200 calories every day. Yeah, that was the goal, but things change. I don’t feel guilty because I know that I have overhauled my entire lifestyle into that of a healthy person’s. And I understand that there will be some days where I eat less than I should and some days where I eat more. But I am at peace with one day of cheating, because I know that it won’t lead to a month-long bender anymore. It’s is just a case of your mind being in the right place.
Right now, mine is.
Posted by Dan Nied at 01:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 11, 2006
Day 38
Calorie consciousness
What I ate today
Breakfast (9:15 a.m.)
1 grapefruit
Calories: 100?
Fat: 0 grams
Snack (10:30 a.m.)
1 can of Campbell’s beef vegetable soup
Calories: 60
Fat: 1 gram
Lunch (12:30 p.m.)
12 inches of pure Subway chicken breast goodness
Calories: 640
Fat: 10 grams
Snack (3 p.m.)
¼ cup of steel cut oats
Calories: 160
Fat: 3 grams
Dinner (5:30 p.m.)
4 chicken filets
Calories: 100 Quote from the back of the bag: “Serving Size: 4 pieces” “Calories per serving: 100” I swear)
Fat: .5 grams
Snack (8 p.m.)
1 stick of beef jerky (convenience store emergency)
Calories: 150
Fat 1 gram
Snack (11 p.m.)
2 servings of baby carrots
Calories: 70
Fat: 0 grams
Total Calories: 1,280
Total fat: 15.5 grams
Exercise: none
Count ‘em up, kids. I ate seven times today. That’s right, seven. And not only that, I went to the health food store today and stocked up on some brown rice and steel cut oats. My boss recommended them, and I had to make the buy because of the name: Steel Cut Oats. That sounds like a man’s oats.
I couldn’t wait to try the steel cut oats when I got home. They were bland, but in a good way. I think they would be fantastic with some brown sugar. However, I will hold off on that for now.
I got an interesting comment today that I am sure many readers will agree with. It gives me a chance to clear something up.
From: Jeri
Re: You can’t count
I hate to mention it, since you're working so hard, but I think you may be underestimating calorie counts. If you ate a whole can of Campbell's condensed soup, that's 2.5 servings, not one. Unless you're eating really small "lite" multigrain bread, most of those are 100+ calories a slice. Turkey may be 45 calories an ounce. My numbers add up to closer to 400 for your breakfast today. Make sure you aren't fooled by nutritional labels on products that are OBVIOUSLY meant to be single servings which have nutritional information figuring 2 or more servings. Good luck!
Alright, I can definitely see where she is coming from and I understand the perception of misrepresentation of calories. However, I can read and I am smart enough to look at serving size when I buy stuff. I think sometimes, though, I don’t fully explain exactly what I am eating. Most condensed soup is much more than 60 calories. However, what I have had the last two days is “Campbell’s Soup At Hand Vegetable Beef”. It is the kind that you microwave as a whole and it comes with a convenient drinking lid so you don’t burn yourself. It is a genius idea from the people at Campbell’s. I have the label right in front of me now: “Serving Size: 1 container”, “Calories: 60”, “Fat: 1 gram”.
As for the bread, what I am eating is “Sara Lee Delightful 100% Multi-Grain”. Right next to Sarah Lee’s name it says “Only 45 calories”. Remember, I started off with “Sara Lee Country Potato Bread”, but gave it up because it was over 100 calories per slice. As for the turkey, I will admit to constantly forgetting whether a two-ounce serving has 50 or 100 calories (I think it is 50, but I may be wrong). But It is definitely one of those two. I’ve checked it three times at the counter. The Roast Beef has 100 calories and three grams of fat for a three-ounce serving. As for the chicken I am eating, it is incredibly lean, but I am skeptical of the “100 calories per four pieces” nutritional information. But it does say that calories will vary depending on the size of the pieces. So actually I would guess that today, since I had four of the larger pieces in the bag, I took in more than 100 calories at dinner.
The irony in all this is that, if I have been underestimating calories, that would be a good thing. In the past two weeks I have struggled to keep calories over 1,200. So hopefully Jeri is right. However, while I will admit that my calorie count is often approximated, I think I am pretty close to being right most of the time. And even if I’m not, I am burning 4,000 calories per day by being alive. So if I get up to 2,000 or whatever, then I will still lose weight.
Alright, that was fun. Here is the short version of the rest of the day: I was sore from working out, I played some video games, I covered two basketball games, I have Olympic Fever, I am happy with what I ate today (even the jerky) and I want to get a new job soon.
That’s about it.
Posted by west at 01:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 10, 2006
Day 37
Shep makes me hurt
What I ate today
Breakfast (10 a.m.)
1 can of Campbell’s vegetable beef soup.
1 slice of multi-grain bread
2 ounces of turkey
Calories: 155
Fat: 2.5 grams
Lunch (1:30 p.m.)
1 Healthy Choice smoked sausage
1 slice of multi grain bread
Calories: 325
Fat: 9.25 grams
Snack (4 p.m.)
2 servings of low fat cottage cheese
Calories: 160
Fat: 3 grams
Dinner (6 p.m.)
3 servings of iceberg lettuce
10 cherry tomatoes
¾ of a green pepper
4 small chicken filets
3 servings of fat free Italian dressing
1 serving Just 2 Good bleu cheese dressing
Calories: 275
Fat: 2.5 grams
Snack (8 p.m.)
1 large dill pickle
Calories: 0
Fat: 0 grams
Snack (10 p.m.)
2 ounces of turkey
Calories: 50
Fat: 1 gram
Total calories: 920
Total fat: 18.25
Exercise: Worked out with Shep. Details below.
Alright, I am officially getting sick of coming up short in calories. At first I had it perfect, nailing between 1,200 and 1,500 each day. But then I had to cut down on bread. That has killed me. Tomorrow, circumstances permitting, I am going to the evil Wal-Mart and getting some fucking oatmeal and a bag of goddamn brown rice. I have realized that I am not on Atkins, and that I need to fucking eat. For fuck’s sake, this really pisses me off. (Probably because I think I might be leveling off on the weight loss.) Oh, I just found out there is a health food store in this town. I’m heading down there tomorrow after work. I wanna check this place out. I’m guessing there will be a shelf of vitamins, a few vegan products and a creepy sales guy with no teeth and a pony tail. I’ll let you know what I find.
It’s just frustrating to think that I have been going to all this trouble trying to cut back calories and I have actually it done too much. It is equally frustrating to think that I have deprived myself of food that I used to love, yet I might still be eating the wrong things. Certainly, I refuse to believe that I won’t lose weight if I continue with my current eating habits, but still, I want to do this right, and I want to do it now. I’m really not in this for a year-long fast.
With that, my goals in this have become a little clearer to me. I am not as sold as I used to be on the 100 pounds in 100 days theory. Although I still think it could happen. Right now I am at about 32 pounds in 37 days, so I am really not that far off. But it has occurred to me that I will naturally be burning fewer calories as my weight decreases, even if my activity is up. So therefore, burning the 3,500 calories it takes to lose one pound will become harder. Yes, this is common sense. Yes I had thought of it even before I started. But you know, I didn’t really care. I still don’t. I am going to do this until the 100 day mark of April 14. If I’m happy with my weight at that point (Probably 285 or under would satisfy me), then I will up the calories and keep working out in an effort to lose more weight gradually and make normal, healthy eating part of my lifestyle. If I am still over 300 or so, I will probably continue this diet until I get down to a desirable weight.
Lifestyle. That is the operative word there. I’ve heard stories about people losing tons of weight, only to put it back on a short time later. I think I could be in danger of that if I let my inner-fatty get the best of me. So when I level off on the eating, I am going to have to make sure I have enough control to not go on a taco bender in the middle of the night. And, in my mind 38 days ago, only a Jedi master would have that kind of control. See that’s the difference. We all know that eventually I will eat pizza again or go get fast food. But where I was praying a chili cheese burrito would fall out of the sky and land in my mouth only a month ago, I now am sort of put off by the idea of grease and cheese and such. I mean, I still want it, but now I am thinking more about the consequences.
But, to tie this whole rant together, it would really suck ass if it turned out my new eating regimen, for all its calorielessness and low-fatish qualities, wasn’t doing the job I want it to do. But that’s why I never signed a contract with the Healthy Choice people to eat their smoked sausage. I can adjust. I am not tied down to anything. Maybe I should buy a wok and do stir fry every night. That would be good.
So today I worked out with Shep for the first time. This is the last reminder you will get about Shep: He is a physical education teacher and baseball coach at the junior college in this town. He is a smart man about these things. He is willing to help me, so I am willing to let him help me.
Anyway, Shep put me through a short, but vigorous workout today. It turns out, though, I didn’t need him around to do any of it. However, his presence was (and will be) very much appreciated on two counts:
1)It’s always better to work with someone you don’t want to let down. If I had given up at all today, I would have felt like I was wasting his time. If I had given up while I was alone, I would have felt like I was just taking a day for Dan.
2)Working out is only useful when proper technique is used. Me, I don’t give a shit about technique when I work out. (Not true, but we’ll say it is for this point). Shep watched me the whole way and made sure I did everything right. He made sure I did the best I could today. And I am sure that when we meet up again Tuesday, he will do the exact same thing.
One quick note here on my personal feelings. Shep is a guy that has a whirlwind of shit to deal with right now. He’s got 30 baseball players who he has to play dad too. He has classes to teach and paperwork to do. But he is taking time out of his day to help me in this quest. He is showing me exercises that I never even thought of and he is not getting paid at all. And you know, I really appreciate that. He doesn’t have to do that and there aren’t many people who would. But he is just one person who is. The regular commenters on this site or at blog critics always take time out of their day to suggest changes or offer their knowledge as to what I am doing right or wrong. I get agitated at that sometimes because, obviously, I don’t want to be corrected in my quest. But I always end up realizing that every suggestion is valuable and helps me out in some way. So yeah, thanks everyone.
Alright, I am done being a woman. Shep put me through four exercises today. First we took the medicine ball and did lunges. That hurt. Then he made me get into a squat position, hold eight pound weights and punch his hand for three-one minute sets. That hurt, but not as much. Then I took one of those big balls that people do crunches on, I put it up against the wall, leaned on it in a standing position and lowered myself until my thighs were parallel to the ground. The goal was to hold the position for a minute. I would have to get up every once in awhile, though. That one sent pain shooting throughout my entire body. It was a good one. The last thing we did was take the medicine ball and do rotations against the wall. That was easy, but still hurt. Then I did a 12-minute cool down on the elliptical machine (He told me to do 15, I cheated. Sorry)
I felt pretty damn good afterwards. In fact, other than a little achiness in my back from sitting in this goddamn chair for the last three hours, I feel pretty damn good right now.
Posted by west at 01:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 09, 2006
Day 36
Taking quick break
No, not taking a break from the diet. It's been a long night and it is 1 a.m. and I want to get some sleep. Here is a basic rundown of today:
Ate pretty well, though only four times. I am thinking about adding oatmeal and brown rice to the diet (yes, Cameron, I am heeding your advice, go gloat about it). I got a great workout in at the gym. Although my knee started to hurt a little bit throughout. I got through it like a trooper.
So yeah, that's about it. I might post something this afternoon to make up for this abbreviated version. So check back before you go home from work, or whatever it is you do during the day. (You might be one of those guys who just sits in his car at the park watching chubby kids jiggle down the slide. If that's the case, well that is kind of sick.)
Oh, one big note from today. I went to Subway and the women directly in front of me ordered FIVE subs. All toasted, all with every vegetable. It added at least 15 minutes to my already long wait. It is times like that I wish I carried a shiv in my pocket. Seriously, is anyone else with me on this two sandwich limit? I might have to take this to the legislature. If her lazy ass coworkers can't come to Subway, then they need to start brown bagging it.
Posted by Dan Nied at 02:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 08, 2006
Day 35
Its all about taking control
What I ate today
Breakfast (10 a.m.)
1 grapefruit
2 servings of lowfat cottage cheese
Calories: 260
Fat: 3 grams
Lunch (12:30 p.m.)
1 Healthy Choice smoked sausage
Calories: 280
Fat: 8.75 grams
Snack (3 p.m.)
3 ounces of roast beef
Calories: 100
Fat: 3 grams
Dinner (6 p.m.)
1 slice of multi grain bread
2 ounces of turkey
2 servings of fat free mayonnaise
2 cups of Campbell’s Chunky grilled chicken and sausage gumbo
Calories: 365
Fat: 7 grams
Snack (9 p.m.)
2 servings of baby carrots
Calories: 70
Fat: 0 grams
Total Calories: 1,075
Total fat: 21.75 grams
Exercise: None. Shep had to cancel today. We will try again Thursday. Meanwhile, regular workout coming tomorrow.
I was talking to a friend today, and we were doing the usual sob stories about how some famous writer is only 30 years old. This makes both of us depressed. See, we want to be writers – real writers, not just local sports writers – and we feel that at 26 years old, we should at least be on the path to brilliance. It seems, though, that we aren’t really on that path. In fact, outside of my 20 high school sports stories per week, neither of us have taken the necessary steps to even have a chance at brilliance. We talk about it a lot, like kids dream of becoming baseball players. But we never really act. And the few times we have, frustration comes long before the greatest story ever told.
So that got me thinking.
Our lives are made up of one very simple concept. Every single thing around me right now, the studio apartment with the 27-inch television and the messy bed and the clothes laying in a pile at its foot. The refrigerator filled with vegetables and the weird stain forming around my bathroom sink. That’s all because of the choices I’ve made.
My existence in this town? I chose it. At least I made the choices that led to me being here. My weight? I chose to eat things that would consequently make me fat. I chose to accept those long term consequences for short term gratification. I chose to do this blog and make myself available to anyone who wanted to know about my life. And in the process, I am choosing to offer myself up as an example and, maybe, as a source of inspiration.
But I made my situation, and I can’t really defend that. Perhaps it takes awhile for a person to figure out that he is a result of his own wants, needs and emotions. Maybe it takes until 18, or 20, or 25. I can’t say for sure when it hit me. Hell, it might have been this morning for all I know. But the simple fact is, none of this was done to me. It was all done by me. The things I value in life, those are my choices too. So are the things I hate.
If I want to stay up on the internet and talk dirty to Vietnamese teens until the sun comes up, well I have that choice. But, you see, I don’t have the urge to do that, so that choice is easy. I won’t.
But some choices are harder than others. Some choices are the result of impulses. Some are a result of situations where we believe we are too weak to make the right choice, so we give it no thought. Isn’t that sort of the reason this country is filled with overweight people? Believing we do not have a choice, that is what leads to chaos. But we all have something like that, we all believe that we are defined by certain things which actually have no real importance in our lives. My love for pizza, for example, defined me. It was a given for me that I would order a pizza each weekend. It was what I did. I was a guy who like pizza more than any other food. So why would I torture myself by NOT ordering a pizza? It would be like Batman without his utility belt or Roy Rogers without Trigger.
And why was it always so hard for me to figure that out? Actually, it wasn’t. I just conveniently ignored the fact that there was any choice at all. And here I am, trying to reverse it.
If my quest inspires people, that’s great. If not, well hopefully in the end it will all work out for me. But if it does, I hope it inspires people with all kinds of problems. Because if you clear away the weight loss vehicle of all this, in the end it just comes down to realizing that choices never go away. On the surface, this is about me wanting to lose weight. But deep down, this is about me taking control of my life, myself and my choices.
Posted by Dan Nied at 01:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 07, 2006
Day 34
The peanut and jerky diet
What I ate today
Breakfast (10 a.m.)
½ bag of peanuts (bad idea, I explain below)
Calories: 130
Fat: 13 grams
Lunch (1 p.m.)
1 Healthy Choice smoked sausage
2 ounces of roast beef
Calories: 346
Fat: 10.75 grams
Snack (4 p.m.)
2 ounces of turkey
Calories: 50
Fat: 1 gram
Snack (6 p.m.)
1 small stick of beef jerky
Calories: 80
Fat: 1 gram
Dinner (7 p.m.)
2 slices of multi grain bread
2 ounces of turkey
3 ounces of roast beef
2 servings of fat free mayonnaise
Calories: 270
Fat: 5 grams
Snack (9 p.m.)
1 small package of beef jerkey
Calories: 140
Fat: 1 gram
Total calories: 1,016
Total fat: 31.75 grams (ewww)
Exercise: 40 minutes on elliptical, somewhat abbreviated upper body workout with sets of 20.
I am tired as all hell today. So I am going to keep this short. I hope you appreciate this, people, I really do. It’s 12:30 a.m. and I have written at least 4,000 words tonight. I was very close to not giving you an entry for today, but then I thought about all the people (5) who come to work each morning and look to me for inspiration to get them through the day. I did it for you.
Anyway, this was a weird eating day all around. I woke up late as hell for work so I had to scramble without preparing a proper breakfast. In turn, I had to resort to the vending machines at work. I was determined to find something of value amongst the chocolate donuts and Snickers and Twixes. I was close to getting lowfat sun chips until I remembered that peanuts were a good source of protein. So I went for the nuts and then read the back label. I forgot that peanuts are also a good source of fat. There were 26 grams for the very small package. I was pissed. The Sun Chips would have been more satisfying. Actually, if I had gone shopping over the weekend like I planned, I wouldn’t have found myself in that situation, and that would have been more satisfying.
So I sucked it up and ate half the peanuts, finished work and then headed to evil Wal-Mart around noon thirty. I planned on spending about $30. I ended up spending more than $50. (I think I am officially broke right now. I’ll have to check the balance in the morning.). I bought all the usual stuff. Of course, there were a few wild cards thrown in. Three cans of soup, two cartons of cottage cheese, and beef jerky that I only bought because it was cheaper than most beef jerky.
I was on the run for most of the nighttime hours of my day. I had to do the radio show at 6 p.m., directly after I worked out, so I stopped at the gas station for a liter of water, and ended up buying another stick of jerky to pass the time until dinner. Hey, I love beef jerky. Late in 2005 it was the main staple of my ill-fated all-jerky diet. And really, if you check it out, it isn’t too bad for you: Low calories and fat, minimal carbs, high protein. But the sodium, that will get you. This stuff retains water like a dam.
But really, I think I can only concentrate on minimizing two things on nutrition label, and I have chosen calories and fat. So a little sodium won’t hurt me too much. Hopefully.
After that jerky, I had the taste for it. At 9 p.m. I ended up diving into the small bag I bought at Wal-Mart. It was delicious, even if my jaw is bruised from the chewing. Still, I think I will save the jerky for those convenience store emergencies.
As you might be able to tell from yesterday’s post, I had myself all talked out of working out today. I thought I had too much work to do, so I decided yesterday that I was going to take today off. But, as it turns out, I had plenty of time to work out today. I just didn’t want to. I played video games until 4 p.m. When I finally lost to Chris DiMarco on match play in Tiger Woods ’06, I was kind of disgusted at myself – not for the loss, but for the sedentary day I was suffering through. So I got off my ass and went to work out. I burned about 600 calories on the elliptical and I felt much better about myself afterwards. But now I feel a bit groggy. I have been tired all day and I don’t really know why. Hopefully I will spring back tomorrow.
Posted by Dan Nied at 02:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 06, 2006
Days 32 and 33
Super Bowl Subway
What I ate today
Breakfast (10:30 a.m.)
2 slices of multi grain bread
1 Tilapia Filet (grilled)
2 servings of fat free mayo
Calories: 220
Fat: 3.5 grams
Lunch (4:20 p.m., kickoff!)
1 footlong Subway club, double meat, no cheese
Calories: 900
Fat: 19 grams
Dinner (6:20, second-half kickoff!)
1 footlong Subway roast beef sub, single meat, with cheese
Calories: 780
Fat: 17 grams
Snack
2 dill pickles 11 p.m.
Calories: 0
Fat: 0 grams
Total Calories: 1900
Total fat: 39.5 grams
Exercise: none
Whoah, hold on a second. Did you people know that Subway’s yellow mustard has 10 calories per two teaspoons? Well, actually, it might be 10, it might be five. The information on the drink cup says 10. On Subway’s website it says five. But I’ve never heard of yellow mustard having calories. The stuff I have in my apartment has no calories at all. Of course, I have noticed that Subway’s mustard is definitely better than the stuff I buy.
But that just seems tricky to me. Why would a place that bases its entire marketing campaign on health feature a product which has worse nutritional value than the on-the-shelf product? I feel kind of cheated here, especially since I’ve been getting extra mustard lately. Well, that’s going to stop.
By the way, notice that a Subway roast beef sandwich with cheese is almost as bad as a double meat club without cheese. That is information you can use.
So anyway, today was the Super Bowl and I relaxed the rules a bit.
Sidenote: Did you know there are normal people in this country who do not watch the Super Bowl? I think I am the only one on my paper’s editorial staff that watched the game. I am amazed. Isn’t that the biggest single cultural event in America? There is nothing bigger that the Super Bowl in this country, and yet two-thirds of the nation were doing something else. Even if you don’t like football, How do you not watch the Super Bowl. The commercials are enough reason. The halftime show is enough reason. What did those people do on Sunday? I just can’t get my head around this one. Are there people who don’t celebrate Thanksgiving?
So yeah, I solved the Super Bowl Sandwich problem by 1) not going to any parties. 2) going to Subway and getting one sub for each half.
I did ok on the calories, but took in nearly 40 grams of fat today. Wow. I also didn’t exercise. I probably should have. I think walking is going to be put on hold until further notice. Winter seems to have hit us here in Colorado. But don’t fear, the Tuesday/Thursday workouts with Shep will begin this week, so that will more than replace the walking. For those who don’t remember, Shep is a physical education teacher at the Junior College I cover. He offered to put me through a workout twice a week and swears he will tone me up very quickly.
Still, I haven’t had a good workout since Wednesday. I blew off Thursday and Friday and was working all weekend on a work-related project. There is a very good chance that I will miss working out Monday, too. I have to finish this project by Monday night. I am not even sure I can do that if I work 12 hours. Stupid deadlines.
So there is a chance that I will go five full days without working out. But I do think this will be the toughest week so far. I am sticking to my regular elliptical/weight training workout Wednesday and Friday (and Monday if I can find the time). And Tuesday and Thursday I will work with Shep. Shep won’t tell me what we will be doing Tuesday, but I am ready for just about anything.
That’s about all for today. I will try to get a little more in depth tomorrow.
Posted by Dan Nied at 12:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 04, 2006
Day 31
I need solutions
What I ate today:
Breakfast (9 a.m.)
1 slice of whole grain bread
2 ounces of turkey
1 serving of fat free mayo
Calories: 220
Fat: 2 grams
Lunch (1 p.m.)
1 footlong Subway club with, well you know by now.
Calories: 640
Fat: 12 grams
Snack (4 p.m.)
2 servings of baby carrots
Calories: 70
Fat: 0 grams
Dinner (6 p.m.)
3 chicken filets
1 grapefruit
Calories: 170
Fat: 1 gram
Snack (11:45)
1 grapefruit
Calories 100?
Fat: 0 grams
Total Calories: 1,200
Total fat: 15 grams
Exercise: Went to the gym and shot around a basketball for a little bit. Then did some half-assed lifting and went home.
We have several problems presenting themselves right now.
1)There is nothing in the fridge right now except for grapefruits. Therefore, it is midnight on the dot and I am currently finishing one off. No I didn’t go shopping today. Oh well.
2) Trying to eat five times on Fridays is killing me. I need to start bringing something along to games. I go at least six hours between dinner and a snack. This is how you end up eating a grapefruit at midnight.
3)The Super Bowl is Sunday. I have a tradition that is in direct conflict with this diet. I bet you could guess that the tradition involved sandwiches. Every Super Bowl I make a sandwich that costs at least 30 dollars. It has several pounds of meat, and at least a pound of cheese. I like this tradition. I like it a lot. And because I like it a lot, I don’t particularly like to break it.
So what do I do here? Well, I could just take Sunday off and go make an Italian sub (what I usually make), with every kind of salami I can find. Or, I can just sit this one out and attack the sandwich with renewed tradition next year when my Lions are in the Super Bowl (wait, the Lions’ Super Bowl is draft day. Disregard that). But I don’t really want to do that either.
Or I can find a happy medium. Perhaps I could relax the rules Sunday and go for a super duper turkey or roast beef sandwich. However, as I was writing that sentence, I think I figured out the solution. Get the double meat club from Subway. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I am comfortable with that plan. Sorry I wasted your time on that one.
By the way, an unofficial weight in today ( the official weight ins come on Monday.) But unofficially, I tipped the scales at a shade under 339. I was very pleased with that outcome. I will explain later, though, how I have a hard time handling any real success in this. But still, 339 is great. So way to go, Dan.
I’m out. It’s 12:15 a.m. and I have a big night of playing video games ahead of me. Yeah there is nothing like being a single 26-year old male in a small town. There is just so much to do on weekends.
Posted by Dan Nied at 02:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 03, 2006
Day 30
I love Weezer, I may have a new trainer (sort of) and Subway has another new disaster.
What I ate today
Breakfast (9 a.m.)
1 slice of multi-grain bread
2 ounces of turkey
Mustard
Calories: 190
Fat: 2 grams
Lunch (1 p.m.)
12 Subway foot-long Chicken Breast with everything I usually get
Calories: 660
Fat: 10 grams
Snack (5 p.m.)
2 servings of baby carrots (I know, not much of a snack)
Calories: 70
Fat: 0 grams
Dinner (7:30 p.m.)
1 Grapefruit (mmm, grapefruit for dinner)
4 ounces of turkey breast
4 grilled chicken filets
Calories: 250
Fat: 1 gram
Total Calories: 1,270
Total fat: 2 grams
Exercise: None. Ugh.
You know, sometimes I just stop what I am doing, think for a second and marvel at what a schmuck I really am. That just happened to me not 30 seconds ago when I realized I forgot to have a snack after dinner. So I just shoved a few baby carrots down my gullet and called that a snack. I guess we can add that up to the big board total for today, bringing me to about 1,305 calories. Well, that’s within the range I guess.
I need to go shopping very badly. Food is rapidly disappearing from the fridge. That means I am eating more and keeping the calories up as much as I can. Of course, that also means this is getting expensive. Us “journalists” are pretty much paid the same introductory hourly Nike give 13-year old Indonesians. But I’ll head to evil Wal-Mart tomorrow to grab some food. I’m not sure what I will grab, but mark my words, the suspense is killing me.
Do they make fat free pizza yet? Someone should get on that.
So there might be a big factor working for me in the coming weeks. Today I sat down and talked this thing out with someone who actually knows something about something (unlike me, who knows shit about shit). We’ll call him Shep from here on out. Well, Shep offered to work with me in the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays to do various ass-kicking exercises under his tutelage. He brought up squats and lunges and running on treadmills and I was hesitant because I know he is kind of a prick. But I am done saying no to these things. If someone is willing to help me in any way, I have to be ready to accept. So I was.
Shep is the same nutrition teacher (I think he teaches, anyway) I talked about yesterday. He is also the baseball coach at the junior college I cover and he had some interesting things to say about this diet. He confirmed a lot of things I have already been doing and gave me a few tips. We agreed it was best for me to cut down, not necessarily out, the bread. I will still be searching for alternatives, though.
Interruption: I am still on a Weezer kick and the song “the good life” just came on. The chorus contains the line “…It’s time I got back to the good life/It’s time I got back, time I got back/and I don’t even know how I got off the track…” I think that is kind of appropriate for this project. Kind of weird how that works, eh? I wasn’t planning that, it just happened. Of course, the song on now is “Tired of Sex”. So I guess I shouldn’t read too much into these Weezer prophecies.
Shep also said that I should start taking a multi-vitamin every day, because I prefer iceberg lettuce over spinach or romaine. I have been wondering if I should start with that. And, you know what? I think I will. And he said that I shouldn’t worry about fruit too much. Everything else he said was basically par for the course: eat at least five times per day, stay away from red meat, make sure you get a in a full-body workout. He also didn’t laugh at me when I said I wanted to lose 100 pounds in 100 days. All in all, I think that was a very productive meeting. I hope he kicks my ass all the way back to 270.
So I was in Subway today and it was like a goddamn obstacle course. That’s what I get for going during the prime lunch rus