Four Days In

I am happy to report that I've lost a grand total of...a pound.  Yep, stepped up on ye olde scale (what is the record for words that end in an "E"?) This is not any kind of cause for celebration.  I've managed to lose a pound before.  In fact, losing a pound in four days is not too bad.  But if I am not concerned about the weight number now, I am concerned with how I feel.  And to be honest, I feel pretty good.  I've been pretty rigorous about sticking to my food prescriptions (avoiding the word 'diet' at all costs), which have been the following:

Breakfast:
6 mini quiches.  In a food processor, pulse three eggs, 3-4 slices of deli turkey, 1-2 slices of green or red pepper, some chives, and a clove of garlic until well combined.  Bake in a muffin tin greased with cooking spray for 12-15 minutes at 325°.   Experiment with things like spinach or onion if you don't like peppers.

Big Smoothie:  In a blender, chop up frozen strawberries and blueberries until liquid.  Add fresh spinach and kale and repeat.  I usually have to use the liquefy option for the kale - it's pretty bulky.  Finally, add one scoop of protein powder and one banana, and pulse again.  It doesn't taste like heaven, but I promise you can't taste the veggies, and it's PACKED with nutrients.

Morning snack:
Chocolate dipped coconut Luna Bar.  I don't care if these are supposed to be for women.  They taste better than Clif Bars, and the nutrition still counts for men.

Lunch:
Chicken salad.  Chop up both half a head of romaine lettuce, and half a breast of chicken.  Top with fat free vinaigrette - I've been using 365 Fat Free Balsamic, from Whole Foods.

Afternoon snack:
One container of Greek yogurt (vanilla), mixed with half a cup of granola.  I've been using Trader Joe's "Granola and the three berries" recently.  Love the taste of this.

Dinner:  Some kind of chicken or fish.  Have had barbecue chicken with veggies this week, as well as curried chicken tenders.  The best thing about chicken is that it's so simple to cook differently, all the time.

Dessert:  Here's where I "cheat".  This summer has been uproariously hot - so I've been eating freeze pops!  I love freeze pops.  I get a couple packages for a dollar (!) at Target, and the next morning I have frozen, candy flavored goodness.


And then there is exercise.  Which I hate.  With.  Every. Fiber.  But I do it.  Monday and Tuesday of this week, I merely walked for 30 minutes.  But Wednesday, I really branched out - I walked for 20, and ran for 10.  Am going to try this again today.  I've also been doing pushups.  The 100 pushups in six weeks is going to take longer than that for me, as I've done the first day twice now.  It's a total of 25 pushups 6-6-4-4-5, with 60 seconds between each set.  What I have found is that I am so weak, I can't keep good form, so to help with this, I've added a plank to my rotation.  Two sets of 15 seconds, and it seems to be helping strength my abdomen.  I wonder if there is something more specific I can to do for my lower abs.  That's where I am weakest (more fat).


But I'm getting there.  And writing this blog helps.  I am going to be adding photos of my food (I know, no one does that!), and my weight, and hopefully some before and after pics.  I am limiting official weigh-ins to once a month.  

Apparently, I started this blog on November 9, 2011.  I had no idea.  Or rather, no recollection.  But calling it Thinning Out is fairly apropos to why I want to start this.  There are several reasons, actually.  High up on the list is that in exactly a year, I'm getting married, and I don't want to look like a pudgeball during the event, or have photos that make me look fat (if that camera adds 10 pounds, I am in trouble).  But I also want a couple of other things.  I want to make this a routine.  Too often I work out for 2-3 weeks, then stop for the same amount of time, or longer.  I want to learn how to set goals.  I do a lot of things - because I have to.  I do very little that I don't want to do, which leads to a pretty sedentary lifestyle.  I also am at a desk 6-8 hours per day, sometimes more, and above all, I hate exercise.  Even after doing it semi-regularly, I despise it.  I get very little intrinsic pleasure out of it, even knowing that I am keeping my self healthy.

I am not quite a nihilist - I do not believe that life has no purpose.  But I do have trouble keeping goals, especially long term ones, at the forefront of my head.  My would be wife and I recently attended a session on home buying.  I am all for it.  But if I never owned a home, and rented (read: single) for the rest of my life, I would be no worse for wear.   Such is my attitude towards exercise - I I know it must be done, and it is probably better for me short term and long term if I did it, but as I sit here typing this, I am no more cheered by the possibility of it.

Let's also be clear about a couple of things:  I am by no means obese.  I am 6'3", and about 220 pounds.  I have been under 200 once that I can remember past the age of 15.  Living the life of a starving graduate student got me there.  But returning to the working world has pushed me past the point where I'd like to be.  And with a couple life changing events coming up (marriage, children, etc), I am slowly running out of time to get this done.  This is a completely do-able goal - if I cannot get to 185-190 in a year, I either lack complete motivation (possible),

So - to the particulars.  I will be using a couple of pieces of technology to help me.  The Gympact app is terrific.  You agree to work out for a certain number of days per week.  If you do not, you agree to allow your credit card to be charged an amount (minimum of $5) per missed workout.  If you successfully complete your "pact", you receive a share of the monies that those who have missed a workout have "donated".  I also will be using the livestrong calorie tracker.  It has thousands of store products, with complete nutrition information, and you can also create custom recipes, to allow cooked meals to be shared as well.  Finally, I will use the 100 pushups app.  It purports to allow you to start from nothing and be able to do 100 pushups in 6 weeks.

So the goal is to firm up, slim down, count calories, and look and feel better.  Help.