2017 Goals Update
Given the nature of my goals, this will be a lot of dietary info.
1. Get Smaller
On January 3, I weighed myself in my stocking feet while wearing jeans, a t-shirt and my hooded sweatshirt. I came in at 232 and change. Yesterday, I weighed myself on the same scale in my stocking feet while wearing shorts & a t-shirt. I came in at 217.8. Allowing for the difference in clothing, that's somewhere between 13 and 15 pounds of weight loss in less than 12 weeks. Since the addition of twelve extra yoga workouts to date doesn't account for that much difference, it's worth diving into the changes I made.
First off, I have not eaten anything at work this year that I didn't bring with me. No bagels, no slices of pizza, no M&Ms, nothing. That's a good start, but in 2016 I made it all the way to May before things fell apart in this regard, so it's too early to celebrate.
Second, and probably more importantly, I have cut way back on the amount of food I eat for my main meals. This is most glaring in lunch. Here is I brought to work for lunch most days in 2016:
- salad
- container of leftovers
- three pieces of fruit (spread out over the whole day)
- yogurt (largely to counteract the desire for M&Ms)
And here's what I've been bringing to work in 2017:
- salad
- container of leftovers
- one piece of fruit
Cutting my food intake at work left me unpleasantly hungry for the first few weeks and then became the new normal once my body adjusted. You wouldn't think that two pieces of fruit and a cup of yogurt would make that much difference, but as with anything else small numbers of calories (even healthy calories) add up quickly; over the course of the week that's somewhere north of 1500 calories depending on the exact brand of yogurt and the size/type of the piece of fruit. Since all of those items have sugar in them, hopefully this also attacks the blood sugar problem from another angle.
At home, I have significantly cut down on my (already low) carb intake. My morning bagel became a morning bowl of cottage cheese. I can count on both hands the number of times I have made rice or pasta for dinner. In fact, my major carb intake has probably been homemade bread (see goal #2). I compensated with a combination of more vegetables and fewer servings. I have also been making a concerted effort to have seafood at least once a week. I'm also trying to keep restaurant visits to once a week with reasonable success. I'm definitely spending less money on food; ten pieces of fruit alone would make a difference in the grocery budget.
Physically, the impact is mostly psychological. I'm not sure I look much thinner. Some of the people at my gym have noticed, but they see me in workout clothes all the time. Most of the weight came off my hips rather than my belly (which is normal for me, alas) so my pants are looser. Given my prior workout schedule I don't think I'm getting that much denser.
Late in the 2013 bike season I was between 210 and 215 pounds. If I lose my target of 20, I will be right back at that. Based on prior experience I assume that somewhere between 205 and 210 my body will reach an equilibrium and the weight loss will level off. That would be fine by me. The biggest wild card is how my body will react once bike season starts. Will I burn enough calories to accelerate weight loss? Or will I be so much hungrier that sticking to the diet will become harder? I'll find out soon.
2. Bake More Bread
So far, this is a stunning success. I have baked bread seven times; see photos here. I actually made the soda bread recipe twice, so it's really eight times.
I explicitly said that I wasn't going to "only eat bread I baked" but I've actually come pretty close to that.
1. Get Smaller
On January 3, I weighed myself in my stocking feet while wearing jeans, a t-shirt and my hooded sweatshirt. I came in at 232 and change. Yesterday, I weighed myself on the same scale in my stocking feet while wearing shorts & a t-shirt. I came in at 217.8. Allowing for the difference in clothing, that's somewhere between 13 and 15 pounds of weight loss in less than 12 weeks. Since the addition of twelve extra yoga workouts to date doesn't account for that much difference, it's worth diving into the changes I made.
First off, I have not eaten anything at work this year that I didn't bring with me. No bagels, no slices of pizza, no M&Ms, nothing. That's a good start, but in 2016 I made it all the way to May before things fell apart in this regard, so it's too early to celebrate.
Second, and probably more importantly, I have cut way back on the amount of food I eat for my main meals. This is most glaring in lunch. Here is I brought to work for lunch most days in 2016:
- salad
- container of leftovers
- three pieces of fruit (spread out over the whole day)
- yogurt (largely to counteract the desire for M&Ms)
And here's what I've been bringing to work in 2017:
- salad
- container of leftovers
- one piece of fruit
Cutting my food intake at work left me unpleasantly hungry for the first few weeks and then became the new normal once my body adjusted. You wouldn't think that two pieces of fruit and a cup of yogurt would make that much difference, but as with anything else small numbers of calories (even healthy calories) add up quickly; over the course of the week that's somewhere north of 1500 calories depending on the exact brand of yogurt and the size/type of the piece of fruit. Since all of those items have sugar in them, hopefully this also attacks the blood sugar problem from another angle.
At home, I have significantly cut down on my (already low) carb intake. My morning bagel became a morning bowl of cottage cheese. I can count on both hands the number of times I have made rice or pasta for dinner. In fact, my major carb intake has probably been homemade bread (see goal #2). I compensated with a combination of more vegetables and fewer servings. I have also been making a concerted effort to have seafood at least once a week. I'm also trying to keep restaurant visits to once a week with reasonable success. I'm definitely spending less money on food; ten pieces of fruit alone would make a difference in the grocery budget.
Physically, the impact is mostly psychological. I'm not sure I look much thinner. Some of the people at my gym have noticed, but they see me in workout clothes all the time. Most of the weight came off my hips rather than my belly (which is normal for me, alas) so my pants are looser. Given my prior workout schedule I don't think I'm getting that much denser.
Late in the 2013 bike season I was between 210 and 215 pounds. If I lose my target of 20, I will be right back at that. Based on prior experience I assume that somewhere between 205 and 210 my body will reach an equilibrium and the weight loss will level off. That would be fine by me. The biggest wild card is how my body will react once bike season starts. Will I burn enough calories to accelerate weight loss? Or will I be so much hungrier that sticking to the diet will become harder? I'll find out soon.
2. Bake More Bread
So far, this is a stunning success. I have baked bread seven times; see photos here. I actually made the soda bread recipe twice, so it's really eight times.
I explicitly said that I wasn't going to "only eat bread I baked" but I've actually come pretty close to that.