Alligatorob's Diary

overlandflyer said:
would it be too much trouble to add the times you have B-L-D? i find the times people eat more significant than what they eat.
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I'll try that, I usually eat breakfast about 8 am, lunch about noon, and dinner about 6 pm. I don't really plan the snacks, I just eat them when I feel particularly hungry. Are some times better than others?

overlandflyer said:
for your own records, you should consider splitting calories into the three sources... carbohydrate, protein and fat. you might have an easier time finding a balance that works best for you.
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I'll also give that a try, I know I eat a lot of carbs, my usual breakfast and lunch of oatmeal and grit are the quick variety with easy to define portions and calories, but maybe not the most nutritious.

Thanks for your advice, you are a man who has done well, one worth listening to.
 
It was a good day, Saturdays are my work in the yard or around the house days, I got a lot done. And I stayed on track with my 14 day plan. I really wanted a whiskey last night, it was Saturday night, but I resisted. I do plan to start including some alcohol into my diet after this first 14 days, but decided to stick with the plan for now.

Day 10
Breakfast - 8 am
Grapenuts 200
milk 25

Lunch - noon
Turkey sandwich, no cheese, no mayo, not much turkey 300

Snack
Crackers 120

Dinner - Taco Salad at 7 pm
lettuce 10
beef 301
cheese 113
guacamole 50
salsa 30

Total 1,149 Calories
 
Yesterday was a good day, still on track. I counted my fat, carbs, and protein and found that 41% of my calories were from fat, 59% from carbs, and 18% from protein. From what I see based on my online research that is probably too much fat and maybe too little protein. I will try to watch that today.

Thanks to LaMa, Cate and TM for the support, it helps to know that people are watching.

I am pretty happy with my current diet. Only the low calorie thing can be hard, I get hungry more than I'd like. I am thinking that after the 2 weeks I should just stay on it but increase the calorie intake. I will try tracking fat, carbs, and protein with minor adjustments. The only think I may add that I have not been consuming is some alcohol, I've missed it. I will however keep track of it and record the calories. My thinking is the next step should be to something in the 1,600 to 1,800 calorie range. I am open to suggestions.

Day 12

Breakfast - 9 am
dry toast 220
scrambled eggs 182

Snack 11:30 am
small orange 30

Lunch - 2 pm
small orange 30
apple 95
banana 105

Snack 4 pm
corn chips 40
guacamole 50

Dinner - Taco Salad at 6:30 pm
lettuce 15
beef 200
guacamole 75
salsa 36

Snack at 9 pm
crackers 200

Total 1,278
 
Hey @alligatorob , nice work so far! I think 1600 to 1800 calories is a much better target than 1200. You should find that you are less hungry and hopefully less prone to "falling off the wagon" when you are giving yourself adequate fuel. It may have already been mentioned, but keep in mind that when having alcohol, poor dietary decisions may follow! Try to have a bit of a plan in place like having healthy-ish snacks nearby, or knowing what portion of a snack will give you X amount of calories.
 
alligatorob said:
I'll try that, I usually eat breakfast about 8 am, lunch about noon, and dinner about 6 pm. I don't really plan the snacks, I just eat them when I feel particularly hungry. Are some times better than others?


I'll also give that a try, I know I eat a lot of carbs, my usual breakfast and lunch of oatmeal and grit are the quick variety with easy to define portions and calories, but maybe not the most nutritious.

Thanks for your advice, you are a man who has done well, one worth listening to.
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i was thinking about the feeling of hunger just this morning. i'm rarely hungry in the morning, but i was this morning. at times like this i often muse about the so-called Paleo diet... you know, the one that purports you only eat stuff that was around 100,000 years ago. the problem i have with that is 1) food today does not look the same as it did even a few hundred years ago and 2) food that was available then wasn't at the local deli or in the fridge... you had to find or catch it and even stuff that was around a month ago wasn't necessarily around today. funny part about this... by the time i got done thinking about how odd it is to feel hungry in the morning.... i stopped feeling hungry.

the next time you feel the need to eat something... snack... change your thoughts to how you might get food if it wasn't so handy. it takes some time, but you actually can get used to the fact that every time you feel hunger, your body is signalling you to start finding food, not the immediate gratification of grabbing an almost always too handy snack. i sometimes have a drink (iced tea, black coffee and water are my three fasting beverages) and sometimes it just seems to go away. when i first started the intermittent fasting, i would make sure there was no really handy snack food around, but today i have relaxed that policy because i am ok with it being handy... i just ignore it now.

i do like to think i offer useful suggestions, but i also usually add the caveat that "this is what works for me".
 
My main problem with alcohol is that it gives you quite a few calories but not an iota of nutrition. Which is fine if you have plenty of calories to work with but usually feels like a waste to me. That's for you to decide though; it all depends on how important it is to you. 1800 kcal/day still isn't a large amount but if it lets you lose a pound or so a week it's probably ok. Much faster than that and you're likely to have trouble in the long run. In general eating as much (mostly healthy food) as you can while still losing weight seems a good strategy.
 
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Happy to be a part of your support team, Rob :)
Adding protein to your diet will satisfy your hunger better. Protein is so much more filling than carbs & more sustaining. Have some Greek yoghurt with your fruit & a small handful of raw almonds or a hard-boiled egg as a snack.
 
Thanks, all for your support and comments, all are helpful.

Today was a good day, my eating schedule got off a bit, but it didn't keep me from eating well. I did not do any better on the fat/carb/protein split, I may try the Greek yogurt as Cate suggests. I have eaten it off and on and like it, just not since I started this diet.

LaMa, I think I will be happy with a pound a week, long term, I know the rapid weight loss I have just experienced is not sustainable.

PLB, I appreciate the warning about alcohol leading to a weakening of resolve and eating. Its happened to me before, I will follow your suggestion. Over 30 years ago I lost more than 100 lbs in about 6 months, eating just a few hundred calories a day and exercising a lot. I also drank no alcohol. Then when I went off the diet I started drinking and eating too much and of course gained it all back, I am sure the alcohol consumption was a major factor in my turn around for the worst.

Flyer, your suggestions are very useful, I know that all of them won't work for me, but I appreciate them all and follow some. One question a few days ago you advised me to keep track of the times I was eating, what is that about? What times are best?

Day 13

Breakfast - 9 am
dry toast 220
cream cheese 97

Lunch - 4 pm, out running around, did not get to eat until late
small orange 30
apple 95
banana 105
hard boiled egg 78

Dinner - 6:30 pm
Salmon 305
tartar 32
veggie stir fry with rice 251

Total 1,213 calories

39% fat
46% carbs
15% protein
 
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Weighed in this morning at 305 lbs, down 4 lbs from last week and a total of 15 lbs since I started.

I know a lot of this is just water and clearing out my digestive system, but I am happy to see it gone. Starting tomorrow I will be raising my calorie goal to something between 1,600 and 1,800 a day and I know that will slow the weight loss. Having been up and down so many times I appreciate the need to make my weight loss sustainable is more important than how fast I lose the weight. I appreciate the support and ideas folks here have given, it has been helpful.

I am weighing in a day earlier than planned, I am going on a business trip today and won't have access to a scale tomorrow. Traveling will make both eating right and logging in a bit harder, but I will be back Thursday and will do my best.
 
Do the best you can & get right back on track as soon as you are back home. We all have to find a balance & I'm sure you can :)
 
Rob,

By all means heed the warning about alcohol leading to bad decisions BUT I am a HUGE believer in everything in moderation. We all have our vices. Mine is a little dark chocolate or cheese (probably more than a little bit of cheese). If yours is a beer or two or whisky or two that’s totally fine. Without little pleasures it’s much harder to stay on track.

You’re doing really well now; starting to make some great habits!
 
Best of luck staying on track while away: you've worked too hard these two weeks to let it slip away now.
 
alligatorob said:
...
Flyer, your suggestions are very useful, I know that all of them won't work for me, but I appreciate them all and follow some. One question a few days ago you advised me to keep track of the times I was eating, what is that about? What times are best?

...
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the key to my diet is fasting for a certain number of hours each day. 12 hours is a bare minimum for me. i do have days that i might start eating at 9-10 am and quit around 9-10 pm. those days do not happen often, though. typically i go 14 - 16 hours now that i am on a maintenance diet. frankly i actually have been noticing a slight drop, but it is very slow now. last month i dropped into the 160's once or twice. now i see 168 or 169 most mornings and expect i might see a 166 or 167 sometime soon. when i was really dropping weight at the beginning of my quest, i often had 18-20 hour fasting days and was losing 2 - 2.5 lbs/ week for nearly 4 months.

if you learn about how insulin effects your nutrition, you realize just how/ why intermittent fasting works.

not being a big morning eater, my biggest challenge was stopping the nighttime snacking. all it takes is a little over 50 calories and that one snack can completely cancel the beneficial effect of the fasting time.
 
On the road, last night I did ok, but not as well as I would have done at home. Calories are just a guess, but I did not binge or anything like that. All my meals today will be with business colleagues in restaurants, I will do my best.

Day 14 Breakfast - 7:30 am
2 boiled eggs 156
banana 105

Snack 11 am
Grits 200

Lunch - 1:30 pm
apple 95
hard boiled egg 78

Dinner - 7:30 pm - all calories a guess, I may well have eaten more, but not a whole lot more.
cheese 300
meat 300
honey 100
bread 100

Total 1,434 calories
 
Just got home, today turned out better than I expected. The breakfast and lunch places had calories listed on the menus and so I just ordered the lowest cal thing they had. Meetings broke up early and so I got an earlier flight home, but missed dinner. Result is my calories ended up lower than I had anticipated, but I feel fine and am not hungry. Tomorrow will be my first official post kickoff day, I will try to stay in that 1,600 to 1,800 calorie range.

Day 15
Breakfast - 7:30 am
Oatmeal 340

Lunch - 1:30 pm
Turkey Sandwich 370

Snack 10 pm
banana 105

Snack 10 pm
apple 95

Total 910 calories
 
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