From alpha testing to the QUERCUS 200

Good work on getting the bike working. Slow and steady is the way to go. Even if you can only manage 15 minutes for a few days, it's burning more calories than if you never tried at all. Just go at your pace and keep that in mind. :)

Sorry to hear about the pain pill issue. I hope that sorts itself out for you soon.
 
I wish my job was more active! I think I might start going for a walk in my lunch break - I can't do sitting down for 8 hrs!
 
I've managed 4 days in a row with exercise. I didn't do the bike last night because it was below freezing by the time I got home and I'd already done a tremendous amount of walking. The calories were good yesterday and I didn't drink for the last couple days.

I need to get my room in order to make a spot for the bike. I also need to clean up the bike to get it indoors. It's dark by the time I get home now, so the bike clean up will be this weekend. I will work on the room this evening. Moving that heavy recumbent stationary with no wheel won't be good for my back. I think I can get one end on a moving dolly from the porch and into the house.
 
Be careful moving the bike, Q.

Good job on the exercise and calories though. It's also great to see you persevering (a word I apparently don't know how to spell) despite some pretty significant health obstacles.
 
I missed day 5 of exercise because of chess night. I didn't drink anything but black coffee though and I stayed just over the 2,200 calorie goal. I was feeling better this morning and decided to weigh only to find that I am 333.2 still. That's the same as a week ago with 4 days of exercise and hitting my calories most days. I just have to keep at it and get my exercise up to a more intense level and it will happen.
 
I'm going to track my calories closely for a bit to make sure I'm not underestimating.

Breakfast
3 soy links 120 calories
3 eggs with spray olive oil 250 calories
2 dry multigrain waffles 180 calories
2 cups black coffee
1 glass water
1 diet ginger ale

Breakfast total: 550

That's one more sausage link than normal and I've been giving this 500 calories or 400 with 2 links and 3 or 2 eggs which is an overestimate and correct to the listed 480 and 403 respectively. Lunch will be tougher to quantify because I eat out at non-chain restaurants. What I do is estimate the quantity as best as I can. Find various sources of the dish and average the range of calories.

FYI the vegan tofu pho that I eat I estimate at 4 cups and 500 calories. That leaves me 1150 calories for dinner if that's what I have.

Had the pho so 500 calorie lunch. I've drank a lot of water and a lot of coffee today.

1,050 calories eaten and 1,150 left. That should be easy unless we hang out at my cousin's house which might involve beer.

okay so it involved wine, doritos, and crackers with hummus. I didn't quantify any of that and I had a field roast (vegetarian lunchmeat) sandwich for dinner before the wine and snacking. My best guess is 2,600-2,800 for the day.
 
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Well LWTG, I blew it last night. I did come in at 331.0 this morning which is for the good behavior earlier this week. That is down a couple pounds from last Saturday, but still up a few from a couple weeks ago. The past is the past and I forgive myslf. Today is a fresh start.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 dry waffles, 2 soy links 400 calories.
So far I've drank water and a diet ginger ale.
 
Your breakfast sounds lovely for only 400-500 calories. I need to not be afraid of cooked breakfasts--I'm sure it's healthier than lots of cereals, etc.
 
I did closer to okay with calories Saturday with 2,400, but I drank. Today I ate too many snacks, but I didn't drink and I exercised a bit. I managed to get the recumbent stationary bike, cleaned up, and moved into my room. My back didn't like it, but i was very careful and minimized the strain as much as possible. I rode for a bit afterwards. Nothing busted in the move it would seem.

Sunflower, I'd never havea cooked breakfast if it weren't for my wife. She has taken that upon herself for both of us.
 
After being a big pig yesterday I weighed in at 335.2. 1,800 calories until I'm below the 330s.

Breakfast: 400 calories 2 eggs, 2 toaster waffles, 2 soy links (eggs made with a small amount of spray olive oil)

Lunch: 300 calories 3 packets plain instant oatmeal (made with just hot water)

This wasn't tasty, but that was the point. Eat to live rather than for pleasure. That being said, I now have a lot of calories for dinner so I don't go to bed hungry. 1,100 calories left.
 
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Quercus said:
Well LWTG, I blew it last night. I did come in at 331.0 this morning which is for the good behavior earlier this week. That is down a couple pounds from last Saturday, but still up a few from a couple weeks ago. The past is the past and I forgive myslf. Today is a fresh start.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 dry waffles, 2 soy links 400 calories.
So far I've drank water and a diet ginger ale.
Click to expand...

Yes!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow has not missteps in it yet and is an opportunity.
 
Well said LWTG!

My first day at 1,800 calories was successful. The bloat is gone with a 331.6 pound weigh-in from yesterday's 335.2.

My back is hurting quite a bit. Moving the recumbent bike didn't help and then when I tried to use it last night it broke. I don't think it can be repaired as it used magnetic resistance and some of the magnets are shattered and the strap that holds them is broken. I spent a long while lying on the floor taking it apart which was not as unpleasant as trying to get back up afterwards. I did some light dumbbells and a brief walk so I still got the exercise done.

I'm at the point that walking is pretty exhausting again. The good news is that I have all next week off from work. The bad news is that we've had to cancel our travel plans. Between my back and my wife's health issues a road trip is out. I think we will take a day trip or single night to Dallas which beats nothing (not by much). Dallas is much larger than Seattle, but it doesn't have a hundreth of the stuff that makes Seattle and many other cities appealing.

Anyway I'm making the weight loss happen and I think I will keep up the 1,800 calories past the 330 mark as that may happen tomorrow.

Breakfast: 400 calories

Lunch: 300 calories day 2 of plain goatmeal (plain instant oats and water). I don't mind it and it is warm and filling.
 
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I've gotten behind on your diary, but want to say thanks for this:
Quercus said:
I found a very inspiriting write-up yesterday that I thought I would share.



It's Ryans01's wall o'text, but worth the time to read IMO.
Click to expand...

I haven't read much of it, but so far it's really good advice! I have been trying to not get upset about the failures, and have been trying to be happy for the little good things I have done, but I think this post is getting bookmarked and I will be trying to do more.

Sorry to hear about your back and having to cancel travel plans. Hope you and your wife are both feeling better soon and manage to get a day trip or two in.
 
Sorry to hear about your back acting up and your wife having health issues too. Really must be disappointing that you have to cancel your trip, BUT you'll have plenty of time to make these trips. Just take care of yourselves first. You're right that a one day road trip beats nothing so just make the best of it and have fun. Travel safe! :)
 
Thanks Icychic and Mandy! I'm pretty excited to be off for the week regardless of what happens.

I weighed in at 330.6 this morning. So that's a pound down from yesterday. I walked for my exercise yesterday and came in right at 1,800 calories as best as I could estimate. Part of my evenings food was a large salad which was difficult to estimate. No chesse, meat, dressing, or croutons means it was low calorie. I don't normally like salads especially without any dressing, but we have a very nice salad bar in town with tons of variety and it is very fresh. What I've figured out is that I am too lazy to make a salad I like. I'm not prepping the variety of veggies that I get to eat there. I'm not a fan of lettuce either, but there I can have mixed greens and spinach as my base. About half of the salad bar is off limits because they try to make it appealing to a wide group. Things like pasta, pudding, breads, ham, bacon, and other things that aren't what I need share the space with all the fresh veggies.

I'm not sure that I've mentioned this, but in addition to limiting my meat consumption I've also stopped eating dairy. It's been less than a week so far and I REALLY miss cheese, but I was noticing feeling poorly after eating a lot of dairy. I also tend to eat way more cheese when I stop eating meat. I'm much more consistent and normal in my bodily functions since knocking off the cheese too. I realize that it is my reduction of calories that is making me lose weight, but when you cut out meat and dairy it's way easier to hit your calorie goals.

My back hurts again today and the tremors were back yesterday and slightly so far today. I have to believe that reducing my weight is key in getting my back healthy. It may hurt in my back and leg, but it's the pain of fat that I'm feeling.

Breakfast: 400 calories

Lunch: 300 calories
 
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Walked for a half hour at lunch today so exercise is covered. It's not much, but my back and hip are hurting pretty bad so it was enough. Maybe I'll do some dumbbell stuff this PM.
 
Oh Q, I hope your back pain eases as you lose more. Back pain is impossible to ignore. It sucks that you & your wife are having health problems. I hope things get better for you soon, xo Cate
 
Hey Q. Cutting down on meat and dairy - way to go. I guess you just have to find the best proportion for your body. I think it's different for everyone. If you feel better continue doing so. I do the same. I don't really miss meat - but I could never be a vegetarian. I have to have my weekly meat! :) & dairy - I just try to avoid it when possible: use almond milk in cake instead of real milk, or coconut oil instead of butter (in a cake again) but I need to have my latte with milk!! No compromise. Cheese is also a hard I love cheese! but it's full of calories!
You are doing good! x
 
Thanks Cate, we are trying our best to get better.

Justina: I love cheese. I have the materials to make a ton of it at the house. When I binge that's what I eat. I can sit with a block of cheese and a box of crackers and do some serious damage. Honestly my wife was feeling poorly after eating dairy and I knew two things. 1. She would have a hard time not eating it if I kept it around. 2. It was a big problem area in my diet. When I cut down the meat I upped my cheese consumption too.

I miss cheese and I will have it again as a treat sometime, but I'm perfectly happy without it so far which surprises me greatly.

327.6 this morning. I was 335.2 Monday morning. -7.6 pounds in 3 days makes me very happy. I realize that a bunch of that is water weight and possible digestive issues from all the cheese, but that's nearly 8 pounds that aren't weighing on my back and that I won't have again. My back still hurts and I am still having mild tremors, but it certainly helps to be making progress again.

No pain. No gain. This has taken on a different meaning for me. I've let my pain be an excuse to gain and it's a compounding problem. However my back is going to feel it is the laws of physics that dictate that the less I weigh, the less pressure there will be on my spine.
 
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