BeachGuy's 50 Days

[beachguy]

I've never kept a journal but I need to use every trick and tool there is to make goal. My original goal was to lose 100 pounds. I lost 50 and kept it off for 3 years. My resolution for this year was to lose the remaining 50 by July 1.

January and February were great - down 20 pounds and exercising according to plan. Looked like I would easily make goal!

Then along comes March - In like a Lion, Out like a Lion. I crashed big time - probably because of the intense workouts and low carbs. I tried going to 6 meals a day but that didn't work for me. I never seemed to feel satiated and kept wanting to eat more. After a few days went back to 3 meals a day but had a couple of extra pounds to get rid of. Then I tried upping my carbs around my workouts. Very bad reaction to whole wheat bread which led to binging on on-plan foods. Took a few days to get back on track and again, had a couple extra pounds to get rid of. Then I tried rolled oats. Same reaction as the whole wheat. Same drill - a couple of pounds to lose again. I also took glucosamine-condroitin to see if it would help alleviate knee pain I was having. Had a reaction to the shrimp shells that it is made from and, you guessed it, a few days to get back on track. So at the end of March I had only been able to maintain the 20 pounds I lost in January and February.

Now its April and so far, it has been a mixed month. Knee pain is gone, exercise is going great, energy is much better, but I am only down 3 pounds for a total of 23 since Jan 1. I can't seem to get the right mix of carbs - fat - protein to feel energized and still lose weight. On days I work out with weights, I have been having additional carbs at meal before and after workout. I think I can change this and have better results.

So for the rest of April I am going to try only low carb vegetables on week days and 1 or 2 servings of starchy carbs on Saturday and Sunday. So I will carb up a little on the weekend. If this works I will keep this plan into May.

Exercise Plan - I do upper body twice a week and lower body twice a week. I use the weight machines because they don't seem to stress my back as much as free weights. I do some cardio on weight days and full cardio twice a week and take 1 day off. Since the weather is finally getting nice, I plan on adding another 30 minutes of cardio every afternoon. Plus the bay will be warm enough for swimming in a few weeks.

I can't stand to get things done at the last minute so I want to be near goal by June 1, which will leave me all of June to lose the last few pounds if necessary to make goal.

That means I have 50 days until June 1. So I will count down from 50 to see how close I can get to goal by June 1.

[beachguy]

Day 1 of 50!

Food was on plan but I ate a little too much. Scale stayed the same.

I think I am going to cut back on exercise. For the past 3 months I have been averaging 2+ hours a day, 6 days a week. By Thursday each week, I am really dragging, so I either need to have 2 rest days or cut back on a daily basis. For now, I will try cutting back to 1 - 1 1/2 hours a day and see how I feel after a couple of weeks.

Maybe trying to lose 50 pounds in 6 months, build great muscle definition, and get in shape is pushing things a bit too far. Getting the weight off is priority 1, then I can focus on muscle and fitness.

[beachguy]

Day 2 of 50

Down a pound. I'll take it. One more to get back to where I was a week ago.

Really felt weak today and didn't feel like exercising. Went anyway. Starting out, I couldn't lift as much as last time (upper body). By the end of the workout I felt better, still not as strong as at the beginning of the week, but better. I think I will take Saturday and Sunday as rest days this week. Maybe do a little cardio but nothing too strenuous.

Easter is going to be a little bit of a challenge. Easter dinner and niece's birthday. Going to make a cheescake and some poppers to take with me and plan on eating a light lunch before I go. I'm getting too close to goal to have the scale going in the wrong direction again.

[beachguy]

Day 5 of 50.

Ate way too much cheescake and too much bread and had a small piece of chocolate cake. I guess I should have spelled it TOO instead of too! Weight up 8 pounds in 3 days. Probably half is water weight and will come off easily.

My brain and my body don't seem to want to cooperate right now. My exercise is good but I just can't seem to get my food right, where I feel good and have energy. Maybe I just need to try to stabilize my weight at 245-250 for now. I would rather stabilize here for a while rather than get too frustrated from having constant failures. At 250 or lower I also have a good possibility of getting my health insurance payments reduced. It is high because of weight and blood pressure but I think both are now low enough to qualify for a reduced rate.

So it seems I am changing my plan daily, but my body is just fighting me too much right now. As long as I stay low carb, low cal most days, I should be able to maintain for a while. Then maybe I'll get my mojo back and be able to push down another 25 pounds.

[beachguy]

At least I am doing good on exercise. Still tweaking how much and how often, but this morning was fantastic. Felt so good walking, I actually jogged a bit and didn't have a problem with shins like I used to get. I'm thinking I might reduce the amount of weight training I do by half and add in more aerobic exercise. Since I am still focusing on weight loss, maybe that will speed things up a little.

Food wise, I think I have finally recovered from Easter weekend. Bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning and that is always a good signal that I am back on plan. I'll just have to fight for every 1 pound loss I can get and see where it goes.

[beachguy]

Well day 16 is already here and things were looking pretty bad. Ate off plan and reduced exercise for about 10 days. But things may be getting better. Starting taking some amino acid supplements and my brain fog is lifting, I feel like exercising again, and I am back down to 250 while eating a lot of food including 2 or 3 pieces of fruit a day.

I'm working on a theory that I need more fat in my diet and that I need the amino acid supplements to keep my energy up and lose weight. This is just starting my 3rd day of supplements but I feel so much better than I did a week ago. If this lasts for a week I will know it is really working.

For now I am taking an extra fish oil capsule in the afternoon (way to get additional fat with low calories), 5-HTP for mood and sleep, and L-glutamine for cravings. I also restarted taking CLA/GLA yesterday.

I probably won't make goal by July 1, but I think I can get pretty close. Finding the right plan for me is more important than making goal by a certain date.

I am taking the GRE exam next Tuesday am. This means I need to study at least 10 hours a day for the next 3 days. This is going to be a great test to see if the supplements are working. If I have the energy and positive attitude to study and learn without resorting to high carb foods, this will be a major breakthrough. Better learning through chemistry!

[Charles1964]

Exercising 2 hours a day, 6 days a week? No wonder you feel worn down by thursday. That's classic overtraining and would kill me. I'm in and out of the gym in 45 minutes 3 days a week and my body tells me thats about right and I'm seeing good results.

I've been in your shoes before and know how important it is to have faith in the plan you're on. It sounds like you're struggling in that department. I've been doing the Anabolic Diet by Mauro DiPasquale and just love it. It's basically a low carb, high fat ketogenic diet designed for bodybuilders/powerlifters that includes a weekly carb up. It keeps my energy levels high and I keep making gains in the gym. Maybe you should check it out.

No matter what you decide to do. I wish you luck.

Charles

[beachguy]

Like most people, not posting in my journal indicates I was not sticking to plan. Ice cream and potato chips are my downfall. Then I had company visit, and since I live at the beach, decided to have tequila sours (not the lowcarb kind). Along with this was chips and salsa, then bread, keylime pie (not lowcarb), and fried oysters. The result - about 2 weeks of bad eating and gained back 15 pounds.

Still got in most of my exercise. Now I am back on plan - both food and exercise.

Today was the most strenuous workout I have had yet. When I finished, I felt like a gang of old ladies had beaten me with their pocketbooks. I hurt from head to toe. It was time to really push on the weight lifting and build some bigger muscles.

I still think that amino acids may be the critical key for me. One thing that seems to help is taking a fish oil capsule when I feel hungry midafternoon. Plus the other suplements I am taking seem to be helping with cognitive ability and mood. Still haven't found anything that helps me sleep. I have been trying 5-htp, but all I usually get from this is a headache.

Well, I won't make goal by July 1, but that is no excuse for not getting as close to goal as possible. I would be real happy if I can lose 15 pounds by then and get to 240.

[beachguy]

Well, June 1 came and went, and I was suffering through failure after failure in the weight loss fight. I did complete the President's Challenge - a physical fitness challenge - and earn the Gold Award for 80,000 points. It took me about 5 1/2 months to complete and I am very happy with the progress I am making in building muscle.

But the weight loss continues to be a battle. For the last 2 weeks I have been losing again, and finally got back under 250. What is working for me is to keep calories under 1500 and allow myself 1 starchy carb a day. So far I have had brown rice, white potatoe, and whole wheat bread with no problems. In the past, eating bread would lead to a craving for more and more bread until the cravings reappeared. This time, I am limiting myself to 2 slices a day and so far, so good.

My 4 year anniversary is July 4. I don't know the actual date I started, but I know it was in early July 2002, so I decided July 4 is easy to remember and it is Independence Day. For me that is Independent of Being FAT!

So I am down a total of 70 pounds since I started. On the negative side, some people lose 70 pounds in 4 or 5 months. But on the plus side I have either lost or stayed the same every year since I started. So my long term trend is down compared to the trend over the last 30 years which was up - up - up - down - up - up - up - down - and finally up - up- up - up.

[beachguy]

This last week has been great.

Got in 5 solid days of exercise. Increased my cardio a little and think I found the right amount of weights to do. In the past I was doing 10 weight machines per workout and it was too much. Tired all the time. Then I went to 5 machines per workout. This didn't burn enough calories. Now I do 7-8 machines and it seems to be just right.

And keeping calories to about 1500/day seems to be the right amount for weight loss. I lost 4 pounds last week which is the most I have lost (except during induction when there is a lot of water loss). If I can stay at this level, I should be back to my all time low ( which I was at in May) by the end of the week.

Mental attitude is good, mental fatigue is gone, and energy level is good. Best I have felt in months. Now I just need to figure out all the components that result in feeling good, so I can write it down in case I get off track again.