devbanana's Journal

I went shopping for clothes today. When I started dieting a few months ago, I was a 42 in most things, and in some a 44. Today, I got 38's!

I am so happy, and it makes me feel really good. I can't wait to see what size I am when I get to my goal.

4 Comments | Add Comment

I just started logging my food again on December 20, but I thought I'd look over the time I did log my food in December and set some goals for January. Given that the average nutrition grade was around a B+, I guess it's not too bad, but there's definite room for improvement.

Nutritional analysis and goals:

Fat - 29.2% (806 grams)
Protein - 18.0% (1,120 grams)
Carbohydrates - 52.8% (3,279 grams)
Alcohol - 0.0%
Other - 0.0%

Daily Calorie Intake - 1,900 cals
Daily Sodium Intake - 2,693 mg
Daily Cholesterol Intake - 169 mg
Daily Fiber Intake - 18 grams
Nutrition Grade


Date       Calories  Grams Fat Carbs Protein Grade
2007-12-20 1,755    792    64  222   62    ;   C-
2007-12-21 1,730    1,282 49&n bsp; 257   75    &nb sp; B+
2007-12-22 1,664    1,760 45&n bsp; 224   91    &nb sp; B+
2007-12-23 2,041    1,669 70&n bsp;  272  99    &nb sp; B+
2007-12-24 2,006    1,059 68&n bsp;  300  76    &nb sp; B+
2007-12-25 1,885    1,367 55&n bsp;  270  101    &n bsp;A-
2007-12-26 2,015    717    87   224  80    ;   B-
2007-12-27 2,015    1,063 88&n bsp;  253  64    &nb sp; A-
2007-12-28 1,911    1,091 75&n bsp;  241  80    &nb sp; B
2007-12-29 1,844    813    45   203  90    ;   B+
2007-12-30 1,892    1,558 52&n bsp;  275  82    &nb sp; A-
2007-12-31 1,967    1,215 56&n bsp;  245  126    &n bsp;B+
2008-01-01 1,974    1,463 53&n bsp;  295  92      A-

Things to work on in January:

• Lower fat percentage to no more than 25%, preferably around 20%.
• Increase protein to no less than 25%.
• Decrease calories to around 1,500-1,550.
• Decrease sodium to no more than 2,200 MG.
• Increase fiber to at least 20 grams, preferably around 25.
• Try to get more A's for my nutritional grade.
• Over-all, try to eat healthier!

Weight analysis and goals:

• Starting weight (October 21, 2007): 253.2 LB
• Weight on December 1: 232.6 LB
• Weight on January 1: 226.4 LB
• Weight lost in December: 6.2 LB
• Weight lost in total: 26.8 LB
• Weight lost per week: 2.57 LB
• Goal for February 1: 218 LB

2 Comments | Add Comment

Today, my friends, is a good day!

The scale finally had pity on me. I’ve been trying to get less than 225 pounds for a while now, and pray that I have finally done it. Last Saturday, I also thought I had, with a weight of 223.6. I probably should’ve expected it to go back up, since it had plummeted from 226.4, and in the previous days had been hanging around 226-227. But, did I expect it to go up to 227 the next day? No! And, worse, 231.2 the day thereafter? Definitely not!

However, yesterday it began to rebound with a weigh-in of 226.4 again. And today, a glorious 223.4. Now let’s hope this one sticks.

I’m still indecisive about whether to weigh myself daily or weekly, or twice per week. Both seem to have advantages and disadvantages. If I weigh myself daily, I can see how it affects the trend line, and try (usually unsuccessfully) to pay attention to that instead of the actual weight line. However, if I weigh myself weekly or semiweekly, then, hopefully, there are bigger and more consistent losses. But if there isn’t, then I fear going back to daily until I see it resolved. I really don’t know yet.

Oh, also, my new scale is coming today. I ordered a talking scale that can also determine body fat percentage. I’m curious, and a little frightened, to see what it determines mine is, but then I want to try to change that in addition to losing weight.

4 Comments | Add Comment

I'm great with calories. I have a little too much fat sometimes but I'm working on it. But, I just can't get away from sodium! It's everywhere, in everything I eat, and constantly, without fail, piles up to over 2,500 MG. This is horribly annoying. I drink plenty of water so it doesn't affect me too much, but I'm sure so much of it has other negative effects.

Add Comment

I just tried walking on the treadmill at 3 mph for an entire 10 minutes--an eternity for one who never exercises. I'm sweating, after only 10 minutes! This is pathetic. I'll have to try again tomorrow, and hopefully eventually increase the time.

I don't want to be at my goal and still be out of shape, so this is going to have to change.

Oh well; at least I'm trying.

3 Comments | Add Comment

I've actually been taking a certain diet supplement since last Thursday, and have lost about 5-6 pounds. I'm amazed. I don't think it was just water-weight, as most would say, as I've already been dieting for about a month.

 

Anyway, I'm getting tired of worrying about how much to eat. I don't mean about eating too much, because I rarely do that now, but about eating too little. I refuse to attempt to eat more, when I'm not even hungry. I've decided I'm just going to eat, well, when I'm hungry, and stop when I'm not. Interestingly, since I started taking this supplement, I've not been able to eat as much, either. Usually I'm starving by lunch time, or dinner time, but now I just have a mild feeling of hunger, which can be satisfied rather easily and quickly. I don't even get hungry enough to have any snacks during the day or at night.

2 Comments | Add Comment

Week #3 of the diet is completed, and I am down to 243.8 pounds.

Unfortunately, it wasn't such a successful week, in the beginning. Last Sunday, I was 244.2 pounds. In the following days, it crept upward. On Monday it was 244.6, Tuesday it was 244.8, Wednesday 246.2, and Thursday it stayed at 246.2. I was dumbfounded. I was eating and exercising just like I had been, although I attempted raising calories just a little bit so that I had a healthy calorie deficit of no more than 1,000 calories. However, I never went over 1,800 calories, which should be plenty of a deficit for me. Further, I hadn't the slightest clue how it could go up 2 pounds in only 4 days.

Finally, it began to go back down. On Friday, I was 245.8; on Saturday, 244.8; and today, 243.8.

What turned it around? Well, I'll be honest; I started taking a certain diet supplement that I had heard a lot of good things about. I wasn't worried about it since the ingredients were natural, so figured there could be no harm. At worst, it would do absolutely nothing. It's only been 3 days, and I've lost 2.4 pounds, and nudged the scale downward instead of its previous relentless upward trend.

I'm not going to reveal the name yet, though. It's too soon yet to tell if it's that pill, or just something else, so I'm going to see how it does in the following several days to a week. I wasn't even going to mention it yet, but that's to what I attribute my renewed downward trend.

I'm still exercising, too. It's only about 15 minutes per day, but it's a lot more than I used to do. It doesn't burn many calories, but it should raise the metabolism in the longrun, and hopefully should make me look better once I do lose the weight.

• Starting weight: 253.2 pounds
• Starting weight this week: 244.2 pounds
• Ending weight this week: 243.8 pounds
• Weight lost this week: 0.4 pounds
• Total weight lost: 9.4 pounds

Add Comment

Week #2 of the diet is completed, and I am, again, still on it! I even resisted the many temptations associated with going home for the weekend. The last time, I was on for three months, so hopefully I beat that this time.

I am now down to 244.2 pounds! :D Last week, I was 247.6 pounds, so I've lost 3.4 pounds this week, which surpasses my expectations of 1.5 pounds per week.

I actually hovered around 247-248 for the longest time, which was quite frustrating. The scale teased me by dropping down to 245, just to bounce back up to 247, but then it yielded and came down below 245 for the last several days.

I am so proud of myself. I even tried on some old pants that were tight on me in August, before I came to college, and they fit perfectly now! I even tried a pair of my 40x32 pants, and, though they are a little tight, they at least buttoned, and I think in a few weeks, they will also fit.

This weekend, I got some good snacks, to try to serve as breakfast and night-time snacks. It's hard, in college, and once cutting out pepsi and French fries, to hit my low mark of 1,800 calories, so I wanted some various snacks to help me do that. I even got some slim fast, which really doesn't taste all too bad, though I'm not sure how often I can drink that without getting tired of it.

I'm also now on the third rung in the exercise program set out by The Hacker's Diet, under "What, Me Exercise?". I find it works as good as any. That's the book that introduced me to calorie counting in the first place.

I think I'm going to post updates at least every week or so, just to track my progress. I also post it on my blog; if you notice, the above is basically a copy of that post. I can't slack off as easily if people are reading about my progress! :)

Add Comment

So, I'm home for the weekend, and my mother is doing my laundry. She found some old jeans that were too tight before I went to college, that she wanted me to try. To my great surprise and pleasure, they now fit beautifully!

 

Also, I tried a pair of 40x32's, which before would be way too tight to even button, but they actually buttoned now. They are a little snug, but I think a few more weeks to a month and they'll be just right.

 

I'm so excited! This is some concrete proof of my progress.

Add Comment

So frustrating. Since october 27, the scale's been stuck around 247-248. On the 30th, it dropped down to 245 just to tease me, but promptly went back up to 247 the next day.

 

Yesterday it teased me again by going down to 242, only today to decide it liked 244 a little better.

 

I guess I'm seeing the trend going down, which is cool, but it's such a slooowwww process. That scale has it in for me, I swear!

 

I like the trend number they have in the weight log here though, but I do wonder how they calculate that. I had read something called The Hacker's Diet, which also advocates calculating some sort of weighted average/trend to extract one's real progress out of the daily variations in the scale, but that trend is a lot more conservative than the one calculated here, in that it takes a lot longer to come down lower. Just as an example, today that trend is at 248.3, while the one on CC is at 246.49.

 

I guess no matter how you put it, I'm still a bit less in weight than I was when I started, which is truly an accomplishment for me. I've always had trouble losing weight.

2 Comments | Add Comment