Exercise: none, planned rest day

Water: 20 cups

Food: 2048 calories (28% fat, 39% carbs, 29% protein)

Protein: 152g (aiming for 150+)

Breakfast: 12-grain bread, peanut butter, 3 clementines (289)

AM Snack: almonds (164)

Lunch: mixed bean soup with parmesan, smoked turkey, apple, fruit salad (550)

PM Snack: protein shake, soy nuts (224)

Dinner: sirloin steak, corn, snow peas, butter, salad w/dressing (529)

Late Snack: protein shake, apple, fruit salad, chocolate/nut protein bar (292)

So today was the first day I was aiming for the slightly different diet. I managed to make my goal of 150g of protein, so that’s good. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been talking about protein so much, but my mother has decided she wants to take more. I don’t think she’s desperate enough to try the shakes, but I made a chocolate/nut protein bar tonight for her. The recipe called for some splenda, but marked it optional, so I didn’t use anything. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not. We’re going to try it shortly (before I post this) so I’ll come back and add the ‘review’. I suspect next time I’ll be adding splenda, and maybe some spices would help. It’s really just a combination of ground nuts (used almond and hazlenuts), pecan pieces, whey powder (I used chocolate), and eggs/egg whites. Well, they just don’t taste of much. If/when I make it again I’ll likely add some spices (perhaps cinnamon) and if that doesn’t help then perhaps a little cocoa powder.

Tomorrow is a busy day, up early (for me at least). I’ll try and get a trip to the drugstore and Canadian Tire before doing my treadmill work. Although it could be that lugging in the weights might be the extent of my exercise in the morning. We’ll see how that goes.

So, it’s technically not Monday, but it’s weigh-in day. The usual routine is that I get up, eat or drink nothing until I weigh-in. This is usually about an hour after I’m up. I decided this is probably best done on a Sunday, when I’m not in a rush to do anything. I’m really going to try to get my cardio in early with this new routine, so I thought Sundays were best. Also, I’m changing my eating plan today (higher protein), so it seemed like a good idea as well.

The morning’s weight was 325.4 - which is what I weighed on Thursday. It’s a 2.0 pound loss from last Monday. I think sometimes that the daily weigh-in isn’t such a good thing. I mean, I know I didn’t lose 1.2 pounds between Monday and Tuesday, yet I still think there’s a little disappointment when you go down a little, then back up. I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m into another mini plateau just because I can see how the curve is going, but we’ll see. It’s almost like every 10 pounds down my body holds for a little while before dropping more. I’m going to keep weighing daily for a little while longer (I think I originally thought 6 months), but trying hard not to let the daily changes affect me. I’ll remind myself that I’m down 32.8 pounds overall, which is 2.47 pounds a week. This is more than I expected, so why worry about it. I think it’s the constant media attention to weight loss. I mean a plan isn’t good unless you can lose 9 pounds in 11 days, or some such nonsense. Shows like the Biggest Loser tell us that a one or two pound loss isn’t good enough. It’s kind of sad really, because I wonder in the end if it makes expectations so high that more people are doomed to fail.

This morning for some reason, I’m hungry. I’ve had my breakfast and I hate to admit it, I’ve already dug into my AM snack. It’s just noon, but usually lunch isn’t until almost 2pm. I don’t battle hunger pains that often really, but some days are just worse than others. I should keep track of it, maybe it’s Sundays. Usually at this time of the day I’m on the treadmill, doing my morning exercises. It keeps my mind off food. Perhaps my rest day is making me worse. Nah, take the rest day. I’ll likely have to shovel my way to the barbecue to cook tonight’s meal, so it won’t be a complete rest day.

On the exercise front, I’ve got my log all ready and I’ve even found an inexpensive weight set at Canadian Tire (I know, it’s not where you would think of buying one). However, it’s a brand I’ve heard of (York), although I think it’s a very intro set. I see two reviews that call it a ‘good starter set’ and ‘good for beginners/intermediate’. Perhaps the guys would call it a sissy set. However, the barbell with all of the weights will top out at 78 pounds, which I think will probably be enough for me for a while. For fun I’ll probably post what I’m doing with each workout here on the blog. If nothing else, it will keep me accountable. I’ll have to dig into my (mainly) buried knowledge of html code and see if I can reproduce some kind of table.

Well, I’m still slightly hungry, but I think I’ll live until 2pm. The problem with eating earlier is that I’ll just end up hungry in the afternoon. Perhaps I should go and clear some snow instead….