Week 16

Still moving forward -- 291.  Total of 75.

I did purchase a new watch with a heart rate monitor.  It keeps track of calories burned, fat percentage burned and fitness level.  You enter your stats (height, weight, age) and it calculates max HR for your age and helps you stay in fat burning or fitness levels during your workout.  It is also compatible with the equipment at the gym, giving me a constant HR reading on the display.  The watch is a Polar FT40.

Week 15 report

Scale read 294 this morning.  Not necessarily the weight I was looking for, but it'll work.  I do have some other reportable items to share:

Neck size:  March 21.5"     Today 17"
Waist size:  March 58"     Today 52"

I've added some additional measurements, too, so that I can track how my body is adjusting to a more intensive cardio regimen.  I'm sure I have lost some additional inches in my legs and arms over the past two weeks, but did not get it recorded.  It certainly feels that I have.

Delayed updates for Week 12 and 13

Good day!  I've been doing some traveling and am now back.  It was a rough week during Week 12 in Dallas. This time the guys wanted to go out every night.  I kinda needed to do it to build relationships with some folks in other offices, so it didn't sit well with my weight.  I weighed in at 302 at weeks end.

Week 13 was spent traveling as well, only this time I was able to get back and stay on track.  I had an opportunity to weigh myself this morning (part way into Week 14) and the scale read 296.  That brings total weight loss to 70 pounds!  Paleo loss is at 48.  I've started some elliptical training the past couple of days and I have to say I'm addicted already.  It feels great.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving with my family and friends.  And of course to the HUSKER v. IOWA game on Friday.  I hope it is a good game.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Report on zucchini goulash

This was really good.  Easy to make and makes a ton of leftovers.

Week 11 completed

The scale confirmed what I was thinking, that I had a really good week.  It read 300, for a loss of four pounds for the week.

I've made the switch to eating grass fed beef.  The price for ground beef is nearly the same as sugar feed beef.  The other cuts are more expensive, but I think they are better for you.  Certainly less fat and calories.  I shop at a store called Hy-Vee.  They are located in the midwest, based out of Iowa in West Des Moines, which is where the store I shop at is located.  It is the closest store to their headquarters, so I am sure it gets more attention than most.  The health food section is really good.  If you have never really looked at the products that they sell in those four or five aisles, I think you would be amazed.  I'm thankful to have such a store so close to home.

On the plan for meals today is zucchini ribbon goulash.  It looks good and I'll have a taste report for you next week.

Week 10

Good morning!  My week 10 results are in.  If you were looking for week 9 results last week, I apologize, but I was out of town.  It was a roller coaster of a week, due to being out of town.  I visited an old work colleague who knows how to cook and doesn't do so with regard to health, thus I indulged a tad.  My week 8 updat was at 309.  Last Monday (after the weekend) I weighed 314.  This morning I weigh 304.  I didn't do anything different, just got back on paleo and away the weight went.

I'm still doing cardio nearly every day.  About 30 - 50 minutes per.  This has mainly been in the form of walking.  Now that it is starting to cool down, that should force me back to the gym.  Weight training will then be added, not in the form of heavy lifting, but rather toning and strengthening joints.

Oh yeah, a report on chicken pancakes.  I've received probably 50 inquiries over the past weeks as to what they are like.  They are delicious.  I preferred them with BBQ sauce over wing sauce.  I'm betting they would taste good with natural maple syrup as well.  Very easy to make, too.

A big game for the Huskers today versus Michigan State.  It is a home game for the Huskers -- I hope that gives them the edge.

Another side note, I received my iPhone 4s yesterday.  It is nice; I like Siri.  The EVO screen was really big.  I had forgotten just how large it was until I returned to the relatively tiny iPhone screen.  Plus side -- it is easier to operate with one hand than the EVO.  Also switched over to a Mac at home for my main machine in my office.  I can't believe I didn't do this sooner.  I love this operating system.  That's quite a statement coming from someone who has made their career pimping Microsoft software.  Oh well.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

What a difference a day can make

Good morning!  Yes, it is a good morning.  My attack that I detailed yesterday has been dramatically reduced. If anything, this will serve as documentation for myself.

Yesterday's regimen included four ibuprofen, four dark cherry concentrate capsules, some dairy (in the form of a glass of milk and some cheese) and only bacon for breakfast from the meat category.  My toe is just about pain free this morning.  I'm going to take two more ibuprofen this morning and try not to take any the rest of the day.  This really, obviously, doesn't prove anything, but I just wanted to document this for my sake more than anything else.

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Two months in

The scale read 309 this morning, for a loss of three on the week, 35 in two months of Paleo and a total of 57 since March.  I have a nice gout attack going on right now in my right big toe.  It is really painful and flared up on Tuesday, overnight.  Given that, I'm more or less forced to make some dietary changes.  These changes may be long term or short term -- I'll have to see how it goes.  For the immediate future, no meat and I'm adding dairy.  Also supplementing with black cherry concentrate.  I realize that takes me off paleo, but it has to be done.

The last flare up occurred after I ate some craw fish down in Dallas.  This flare up -- I can only attribute it to tomatoes, eating a lot of meat or the beer from last weekend.  Probably a combination of the latter two.  That means beer is out for a while now, too.  In the six months that I didn't have any beer, I never had a single attack.  Since I've added it back, I have had two in a month's time.  So, in talking it out here on my blog, it might just be the beer, which I can handle more than not eating meat.

My dog is really upset with me right now, as we had been on a two week streak of going for a nightly walk.  Hopefully this ends soon and we will both again be happy.

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Week 7 results

Weigh in this morning at 312, a loss of two.  Moving in the right direction.  Had a pretty good week.  I tried my hand at making soup (paleo chicken and carrot curry), didn't turn out too bad.  Was able to put some leftovers in the freezer, too.

Have a good week!

Week 6 is over

Here's what happened.  Last Saturday, I decided to go off diet.  What I ate really doesn't matter, it is the result that matters -- a two pounds weight gain.  I think it proved a point to me; that it did absolutely nothing for me.  That situation won't happen again.  As a result, it took me two days to get back to where I was on last Saturday morning.  I then kicked it into high gear with additional cardio, but fell short of my goal again this week.  My goal was four pounds and instead I only lost three, down to 314.  If it wasn't for that day, I would have been down five for the week.  This is hard work and maybe I'm being too hard on myself.

Week 5 results

Good morning.  Week five is in the books and my current weight is 317, which makes this a three pound week.    A solid week, but I was really wanting four pounds this week.  That would have brought me to a total loss of 50.  So I'm kind of disappointed with myself.  I did start cardio this week and I'm sure as I increase the number of workout days, it will only help my weight loss continue.

Tried a couple of new things this week.  I'm not much of a vegetable eater, so I tried some green juice (Simply Green Juice on this blog).  If you don't like these things raw, chances are you won't like them as a juice.  I'll try a couple of the other ones in the near future.  Also made some of this BBQ sauce that I used to eat some left over pork I had in the freezer.  It is pretty good.

Not much on tap for the weekend.  Will probably watch some football today and mow the lawn.  I'm sure my loyal hound will want to go out for a tour later today, too.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Week 4 update

I am a couple of days late in posting, as I was traveling all week.  The week was spent in Dallas, where I attended a Microsoft Lync class.  It was a good glass and I learned a lot about a product that I've been selling and talking about all year.

And now for the real update.  I weighed in on Saturday morning and the scale read 320.  I owe a big thanks to our scheduler in our Dallas office who arranged special meals for me, as they catered in lunch each day.  I did try a gluten free pizza, without cheese, which turned out to be pretty good.  It was topped with beef, jalapenos and onions.  My plan for starting cardio last week was thwarted by a gout flare up in my right big toe.  Hopefully this week I can get going on that front.

Also, to update the doctor's visit on the 9th -- he took me off fenofibrate!  Obviously this is awesome news.  I even had a beer on Saturday to celebrate.  He is impressed with my results thus far and if I continue, the trips to the doctor should get fewer and fewer.  My next goal is to get off one of the hypertension meds on the next visit.  Exercise will help that effort tremendously.

Week 3 results

324.  This brings Paleo weight loss to 20 and overall weight loss since March to 42 pounds.  I recently looked back at my stats from March, and things have improved.

• Blood pressure then 152/89; now 120/75
• Fasting blood sugar then 135; now 85

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning.  It will be interesting to see my blood work results.  I'm curious to know how my triglycerides are doing given my new diet.  My hope is that he takes me off the meds for that, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high.  Another significant change comes in my lower legs.  Three weeks ago, I had circulation issues.  Swelling around the ankels; pressing in my skin with my fingers on the lower parts of my calves would result in the indentation staying there for several seconds after removing my hands.  This is all gone.

On the down side, it was tremendously difficult to watch football Saturday.  I can't tell you the last Saturday during football season that I didn't have at least one beer.  On the upside, I wasn't in bed by 9 that day either, as has been the case in the past, so it was certainly more productive.

New things tried this week:  crock pot chicken, apple glazed pork loin, stuffed green peppers (minus the usual cheese and rice) and turkey on the grill.  Everything was very good.  I didn't get to the chicken pancakes -- stay tuned on that front.

Assuming that I receive the blood work results before the weekend, I'll probably make another entry letting you know the updated stats.

Week 2 results

The results are in...and they would of course be hard to beat the first week.  When I stepped on the scale this morning, I weighed in at 328.  That meant a loss of three pounds during week 2.  Not bad; still in the right direction.  Here's what I've learned (or learned again):

1. Losing weight is simple math.  Calories in < calories out.  Period.
2. I know what my number is in order to lose weight with little or no exercise.
3. Track everything, it will help you figure out why things didn't go the way you had planned.
4. Try new things.  You may be surprised.
5. It is no fun to go to The Palms and not be able to "enjoy" myself as I have in years past.
6. I make a really good, hot and spicy burger.

This next week I plan to increase my activity level by going to the gym at least three times.  I'm also going to try chicken pancakes this weekend.  New things tried this past week:  homemade fajitas (needs some work), paleo chocolate cake (wow, really good), red curry chicken (not bad, needs improvement), yellow peppers on the grill (delicious).  I'm going to make crock pot chicken tomorrow, finally, assuming my bird is thawed.  Being that I'm cooking more, my dishwasher is certainly getting more work.  The old thing works like a champ -- the best one I've ever owned.

Side notes:  I took back my glasses.  They have rubber socks at the ear.  On the outside of the sock are raised circles that hurt my ear after I wore them a couple of days.  Oakely is shipping some new socks, but they weren't made for these glasses.  I'm having them ship a different frame, too.  My trusty old glasses appear to be better than the pair I spent all sorts of money on.  Figures.

GO BIG RED!

One week in the books

The first week went better than I expected.  Total lost for the week was 13 pounds; I weigh 331.  My expectation was around nine.  I'm feeling great and am excited to have found something that works for me and is relatively easy for me to follow.

Of the things that I said I would try, I've only made one of them so far and that was garlic chicken.  It was something I just put together and it turned out to be pretty good.  The leftovers were good as well.  It was chicken, garlic (freshly minced), green pepper, red pepper and onion cooked up in some butter.  Next time I'll try to find a recipe, as it didn't have much garlic flavor.  The crock pot chicken will probably be made on Monday and left to cook while I'm at work.

I have decided to make a slight modification to the diet to cut back on the fat a little bit to see how that works.  For the past, oh, I don't know how many years, I've made peanut butter toast for breakfast.  It was quick, easy and tasted good.  Being on this diet has kind of forced me to put on my cooking hat, but I don't like to put it on in the morning.  What this means is that I'm getting tired of eating scrambled eggs for breakfast.  I'll throw in a protein shake once in a while made with a whey isolate.  It came highly recommended from a friend of mine who has also been doing a lot of research on diets.  That and some frozen berries should be delicious way to start the day.  JUGGERNAUT!

I'm getting fairly pumped up for the football season to begin.  It is the HUSKERS first year in the Big 10 and expectations are high.  The start of the NFL season is also upon us.  Our fantasy league's draft is this weekend back in the town where I started my first college experience -- Maryville, MO.  We are having our draft at the sweet Palms.

Another side note, I got some new glasses today.  I've been battling eye infections over the past couple of years, so I dumped the contact lenses and decided to see if that has been the cause.  So far, so good.  I like my new specs.  They definitely give me a new look.  I'll see if I can get an updated picture on my blog before the weekend is out.

Speaking of the weekend, have a great one!

Grocery shopping day

Monday I usually buy my groceries for the week and today was no different.  I had several new things on the list, including some things I had never before purchased nor did I think I would.  This included carrots and celery.  Also on the list was coconut oil, almond flour and almond butter.  The latter proved to be a very exciting purchase for me, as it is a very good substitute for peanut butter, which is something that I've had for breakfast since I was little.

On the docket to make and/or try this week:  apple chips, fruit crumble, nut flour muffins, chicken in the crock pot, garlic chicken and then making chicken stock from the chicken bones.  Stay tuned to see how these turn out.

This weekend will present a challenge for me, as I will be out of town overnight on Saturday.  It is football season and our draft is Saturday.  There will be lots of temptations, but I'm going strong and really no need to deviate.

New Things I've Tried

Being on this diet requires a little more cooking than I typically do or like, but I'm determined.  Here are a couple of things that I've tried so far from the Live Primal Fuel and Recipe Book.

Primal Mayonnaise -- This is ok, but what good is it if you can't eat any bread.

Ranch Dressing -- No good.  Just my opinion, of course.  Coconut tasting "ranch" dressing doesn't cut it.

Turkey Chili -- Had this tonight.  Not bad.  Needs to be spiced up a little more next time.  Curious to try the leftovers tomorrow to see if it tastes better then, as some do.  I'll let you know.

Played poker, cash, at Prairie Meadows today.  AA < KK all in pre.  That pretty much sums up the session.

Three days in, on the fourth

Feeling really good.  I've been weighing myself every morning so far.

Saturday -- 339
Sunday -- 336

Doing the math, that's 8 pounds in 3 days.

I had one chicken breast for a late lunch yesterday and didn't feel hungry the rest of the day, so I skipped supper.  Burnt some asparagus on the grill, too.  If you do that, don't eat them, they really don't taste good.

Made a trip to Trader Joe's yesterday.  First time I had been to their store.  I had heard a lot of good things about it.  It seems like they have a better selection of fruits and vegetables than Hy-Vee.  Certainly more organic.  I bought some eggs from cage free chickens, a tomato, squash, some avacados and ground turkey.

This morning I'm sipping on a smoothie that I made with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, a little coconut milk and some water.  The coconut milk is pretty powerful stuff.

At about 6:30pm last night I had a pretty good burst of energy.  I had been putting off updating my EVO phone to the latest Android software, so I got it reset and put on a new ROM running with the Gingerbread code.  It does seem faster.  Anyway, thought I would throw in something not related to the diet.

Have a good Sunday!

Day 1 results

I'm now into day 2, but had some good results in just one day.

I weighed myself yesterday morning to make sure I had an accurate record.  It was at 344, so I had gained a couple of pounds since last Friday, which figures as I indulged a bit before starting this diet.  My weight this morning was 340.  In just my first day I lost 4 pounds!  According to MyNetDiary, I consumed 2154 calories.  I don't expect to lose 4 pounds every day.  Perhaps it is my body adjusting.  I also am not going to weigh myself every day.  Each Saturday morning I plan on stepping on the scale.

I've felt just fine.  I haven't yet tested my blood sugar -- so I'm going to do that right now.  It is at 85mg/dL.  Glad I don't have to do that every day.  Just had a snack of almonds about an hour and a half ago.

My energy level has been good.  Haven't really been hungry or craving anything, but it is only the second day.  My friend reminded me that I am a JUGGERNAUT -- an unstoppable force -- and that's what I'm going to use as my motto.

I can do this.  No one can stop me.

The diet and starting statistics

As you may have noticed on the "About Me" part of the blog (see the right side of this page), I'm going to follow the Paleolithic diet.  There are a couple of reasons that I've selected this particular way to eat.  First, it is low carb.

I'm diabetic.

That was difficult to type.  I wanted to do everything that I could not to get to this point.  This changes now.  Fortunately for me I'm not on any medication for that issue.  My goal is to remain that way.

Second, and lastly, it just makes sense -- eating only those foods that are created by the earth.  It is good for you and if there is ever a situation where something happens to our economy or society, I'm a little bit ahead of the game with respect to diet.

Statistics -- as of August 12

• Weight -- 344 pounds (actual starting weight as of 08.18 7:30am)
• Blood sugar -- 107
• Blood pressure -- 120/80
• Triglycerides -- 106
• Cholesterol -- 156
• LDL -- 97.8 (03.22)
• HDL -- 24 (03.22)
• HA1C -- 5.5
• Medications -- Fenofibrate, Lisinopril, Amlodipine, Metoprolol

All cupboards have been cleared out and refrigerator is stocked with only what you can find on earth or make with those things found.

I'm not a green tea drinker, but that will also change tomorrow.  No more diet Coke for me in the mornings.

And away I go.

A New Journey Begins

Here it goes...

This is my first blog, my first entry, about a new journey I'm beginning in my life.  It is something I've wanted to do for a long time and something that I need to do -- extend the mileage that I have left in my body.  In other words, lose weight.  Specifically, a lot of weight.  My journey will be easier than others and more difficult than others.  I'm here to share these experiences in hopes of helping me more than anything else and to keep myself accountable.  I've tried this before and failed.  Failure is no longer an option; success is required.  Maybe, just maybe, if I can help someone else or provide motivation for one other person, it will keep me going, too.

Sometimes posts will be organized.  Other times they will be random.  You'll just have to check back often to see how it is going.

I welcome comments, suggestions, constructive criticism and thoughts.

Next up...the plan and beginning statistics.