Wk 2, Day 3: Hectic!

The quick version of Franken-Diet progress:

I've been mostly staying within my WW Pts, but I have not succeeded in staying within my carb count the last couple of days, probably due to the "good" food associated with good company. But Susan's mom is a great cook, and sent some of this good food. She also brought her Grandma's cookies. It's hard to resist Grandma cookies!

The quick version of Stats:

I have not written down my stats for the last couple days either, and backtracking won't do much good at this point. If there was damage done, I only have to get back on track (a term which I have overused of late) immediately on the morrow and begin again. But even in the crazies of bad eating, there was diet progress, as I'm down to 280.9 pounds today. Just think of how well I would do if I didn't mess up!

The quick, quick version of Goals:

1. Stay under 20g Carbs and 35 WW Pts for the rest of 30 day period.

Wk 2, Day 1: WEIGH IN!

My current weight is 282, down from 290. Eight pounds is probably all water weight right now, but at this early stage, weight loss is weight loss, right? I guess the Franken-diet's working for now. I'm going to continue with 20 Carbs allowed each day, but at 282, I lose a WW point.
TIME ELAPSED: 1 Week

PROGRESS: 8 lb. lost, 1 WW Point lost.

STATS: 282 lb, 20 g/Carbs per Day, 35 WW Points/day

GOALS: Finish remaining 3 Weeks in Month 1!

Wk 1, Day 6: Weight Watchers Points Plus

I can't wait until weigh-in day! I feel pretty good with this round of dieting. I've agreed to go to a first-session Weight Watchers Points Plus program with a friend tomorrow night. Perhaps it'll be a good thing, since I'm operating on the old points system. I may learn a bit. I doubt I'll stick around for the $40 per month "Attaboy" fee. I'm not in good enough financial shape right now to splurge on it.

Plus, that "keep a little booklet and let us stamp it when you do well" reminds me all too much of a past job I had with similar patronizing tendencies. I'm sure the system works for many people who value the process and the opinions of strangers, but I'll be surprised if I'm a changed woman after session 1. I'll continue with the points process and food journal, which seem to be working well.

ADVICE: Watch "Super Size Me." That documentary will shine new light on the fast food addiction. And maybe make you sick enough to skip a few McD's meals.

FOOD JOURNAL:

Omelet with bacon
Cheddar Cheese
Chicken
Salsa
2 Corn Tortillas
Jell-O
Peanut Butter
Sprite Zero
STATS: 31/20 Carbs, 25/36 Points

CONCLUSIONS:
I made the mistake of eating corn tortillas today, hence the day's carb overage. Too many carbs, not enough Points. I don't think I can manage enough points to bring it up to 36 without eating more carbs. But ugh! I'm not hungry anymore. That means I don't eat, right? :)

I've noticed that, usually, if my carbs are too high, my points are too low. The reverse is true as well. Except for the calorie bombs I drop on myself occasionally. But the points and carb counts seem to be working as a good checks/balances system.

And I think the new WW Points Plus system takes into account the glycemic index and the effect of a high-protein diet. I may already be doing something similar with the Franken-Diet. We'll see after tomorrow!

Wk 1, Day 5: A Stupid Thing To Forget

So... I only ate twice today. I'm rummaging for one more thing or two to eat to finish up my points for the day. I was busy cleaning (Hey, wait! That's EXERCISE!) for a big chunk of the afternoon, so I forgot. And now it's hopelessly late. But here I am, too tired to be truly creative and too awake to jump in bed. And only now feeling the "Stupid Didn't Eat" pangs.

FOOD JOURNAL:

1/2 cup Tuna Salad
Cheese Cubes
Sprite Zero
Baked Chicken on Lettuce, with Bacon and Cheese
Small Cookie

TOTALS: 15/20 Carbs, 30/36 WW Pts.

EXERCISE: House Cleaning 1 Hour, Dog Walking 45 minutes

PROGRESS: Numbers are in range. Late eating is not good. No word on Weight Lost or Ketosis until Wednesday!

Wk 1, Day 4: Yamato's, My Only Weakness!

Productive day, but not so much in the diet category. I screwed up thanks to my own sentimentality! "Oh! Dinner with my Brandon on his day off??? Of course!" I live, I never learn. But hindsight being what it is, I'll try to take longer to forget in anticipation of next time.
ADVICE: Plan to hole up in your house for the first couple weeks of Atkins Induction-style eating! Your self-esteem and willpower will thank you!

FOOD JOURNAL:

2 sushi rolls (salmon & eel and avocado)
Avocado salad
Food with 0 carbs and almost 0 points for the rest of the day! Jell-O supply, here I come!
(UPDATE: Some more uncalculated bad foods happened, but I'm suffering for it!)

NUMBERS: 30/20 Carbs, est. 27.5/36 WW Pts.

EXERCISE: Manual Labor: Plumbing!

PROGRESS: Disheartening, but not overly so! It's ON again tomorrow!

GOALS: 1. Stay away from restaurants, even when I'm not payin'!

Wk 1, Day 3: Eggs, Eggs, Everywhere!

The so-called ideal Atkins breakfast food invaded my fridge after grocery shopping last night. So there will be eggs today! Mostly, there will be omelets and scrambled eggs. A really good omelet when I was starving cost me 15 points yesterday and practically 0 carbs, but it had cheddar cheese and bacon, and 4 eggs. Yes, I know. "Moo!" I say. I also say, "Yum!" This points/carbs thing isn't as hard to do as I thought it would be. Math aside, it's good food.

Based on my first month of only 20 grams of Carbs per day, which I may stick with indefinitely, I probably won't get much wheat pasta or oatmeal after all. I won't deviate much from 20 daily carbs, but that's what works for me! And I may go ahead and start exercising in Week 1, based on how I'm feeling right now, which is pretty good.

ADVICE: Save most of your carbs for dinner. You'll be less likely to have overages and, since carbs take up a lot of WW points in general, you'll have more Points to spend on dinner!

FOOD JOURNAL:

Tuna Salad with Olives and Real Mayo
Sprite Zero
Cheddar Cheese snack
Chicken Broth
Baked Chicken
Big Iceberg Salad with Bacon and Shredded and Parmesan Cheese, no dressing. Lightly salted.
Sugar-free Jell-O
NUMBERS: 30.5/36 WW Pts, 4/20 Carbs
EXERCISE: Dogwalking only, 1/2 hour.

PROGRESS: I still need to use 5.5 WW Pts. before the night is out. I'm not as concerned with using up the carbs. I don't crave them all that much after a couple weeks, but I just have to exercise willpower until then. I feel good right now.
GOALS:

1. Meal Timing. Almost midnight before I ate dinner.
2. Avoid the scale until next week.
3. Start taking vitamins. Blah!
4. *hack!* Less Parmesan in tomorrow's salad...

Wk 1, Day 2: Hssss... Math and Aspartame!

I'm glad that the Franken-Diet doesn't involve complex algebraic equations for success. If it did those things, I wouldn't have been the one who devised it. But, like any eating system, there is the daily basic math with which to contend. And, as I figure out the numbers for foods I commonly eat, it'll get even easier!
FOOD JOURNAL:
Leftover chicken
Sprite Zero (wheeze, wheeze-- Aspartame!)
SugarFree Jell-O (gasp, wheeze, Aspartame again!)
Super Massive Omelet with bacon and cheese (and chili powder! Yum!)
Burger King side salad with Ranch Dressing and grilled chicken
Diet Dr. Pepper (gurgle... Aspartame.)

NUMBERS: 15/20 Carbs, 36/36 WW Pts.

PROGRESS: I stayed within my limits on Day 2! Yay! This will get harder with fewer points...

GOALS: I know I have a slight Aspartame/Phenylalanine allergy. (Closing of throat and a bit o' anxiety attack. Yeah, I know! Weird.) Yet I avoid the stuff long enough to forget that it's worse than I realize, and hence long enough to buy lots of Sprite Zero.

1. Remember that I want to simplify my diet to REAL FOODS and cut addictions to fake foods.
2. Drag out the consumption of Sprite Zero as long as I can to avoid symptoms and then DON'T BUY MORE!

Wk 1, Day 1: Franken-Diet Begins!

FOOD JOURNAL:

Water
1 Sprite Zero

Brunch-
1 Ranch Dressing
1 Side Salad
3 Chicken Breast Pieces

Dinner-
Sonny's BBQ Chicken
Green Beans
Broccoli
Sweet and Mild Sauce

TOTAL CONSUMED: 30/36 WW Pts, 38/20 Carbs.

PROGRESS: A good first day! Things like sauce and hidden sugar hurt me today, but I did eat in moderation. I woulda been fine if the broccoli and green beans hadn't been so deceptively dosed with the bad stuff! A good reminder! I used all internet-posted point values and nutrition facts to calculate my totals. Better choices tomorrow, and with the exception of some leftovers, no more restaurant food for a while. The evil Sonny's BBQ sweet cornbread eyed me scornfully as I refused its alluring advances. Mell would call this sacrilege. I merely call it a bit o' self control.

GOALS:
1. Lower Carb Intake to stay within goal.
2. Exercise off 18 Carb Overage before tomorrow afternoon. Looks like walking or jogging in place with a movie on! (Overages, blah!) I have decided to exercise at least 3 minutes per 1 carb over. (If I go over on WW Points, I'll use the WW Activity Points calculator for my "punishment.")

Day 50: Franken-Diet, All Ahead Full!

After careful consideration of the pitfalls of dieting, and listening to the Fat-Devil's advocates named Chocolate, Breakfast Burrito, and Spaghetti, I have exhausted my subconscious resolve to sabotage my diet. For the past 7 days, I logged my food journal with notes like "Big Mac Meal-- BUST!" and "Eating With Ryan--DOUBLE BUST!" WW Points notwithstanding, I was just choosing junk.

Fifty-one days into my Health Overhaul blog, I'm starting the Franken-Diet with the partial advice of my physician. (He likes WW, doesn't like Atkins.) Insert DISCLAIMER here for anyone who wants to try it with me! :) (But if you do want to try it with me, let me know! The Franken-Diet is listed in my previous post!) I'll be restarting my day to day numbering system since I'm back to square one.

I'm not discouraged, really. I'm excited to try something both familiar and new. I have a clean bill of health, "except for your weight problem." That's a BIG except, doncha think? What I heard: "EXCEPT you're likely to develop diabetes, heart disease and tons of other things if you don't get off your can and DO SOMETHING about it!" With the live-or-die spiel, I like a hard sell from my health care provider. Or from my internal medical-jargon interpreter!

SCARY STATS:
Current Weight: 290 lb.
Height: 6'
Age: 29
Build: Large Frame, Builds Muscle Easily
Weight Accumulation: All Over and Localized (abdomen, thighs, upper arms, probably choking out my heart and lungs...)

WEIGHT LOSS GOAL 1: 275 lb by 2/28/11 (15 lb lost due to ketosis; mostly water weight)

 

WW POINTS AS OF TODAY: 36

Day 48: FRANKEN-DIET!

I don't like the snowball effect. I like the ripple effect much more! The ripple effect doesn't involve careening downhill while packing inches onto my girth. The ripple effect is about tranquility and a non-weight-related expansion... So here I go, condensing my priorities while expanding my scope! The truth of weight loss is that sacrifice is not only necessary, but inevitable. I'm overweight for a reason and I'm not going to blame it all on genetics! So I will use the bad word "Forbidden" to describe some foods that are not acceptable to me.

FRANKEN-DIET has been moved up in priority. (Right under Write Novel and Make Comic.) So here's what I have so far:

FRANKEN-DIET:

Will combine elements of Japanese cuisine with concepts from Weight Watchers and the Atkins diet.

PROCESS:
1. Calculate your Weight Watchers Points.

2. Eat only Permitted Foods for 30 days with the following restrictions.

3. You must eat within your daily points allowance AND stay under 20 grams of Carbs per day. This is where your FOOD JOURNAL comes into play!

4. Splurge Points (35 per week on WW) are only allowed for Eggs, Fish and Lean Meat and ONLY for the FIRST TWO WEEKS of the diet. When in ketosis, you won't be hungry for much after that.

5. CHEAT DAY: On Day 30, you may choose up to 3 Restricted Foods. Record the Points Value in your Journal. Calculate Activity Points and exercise accordingly to negate the effects of the restricted food! Continue Franken-Diet on Day 31. Avoid the Cheat Day if you're feeling great and if you don't have cravings!

EXERCISE: Avoid exercise during Week One. Pick one Activity/Day, starting with low intensity and short times. Give yourself a break one day a week. Add Weights 3X per week. Work up to an hour a day of some type of activity, six times per week.

RECORD-KEEPING:
1. Daily Food and Exercise Journal: Points Values, Overages, Time Spent Exercising, How You Feel
2. Take Initial Weight and Waist/Hips Measurments, then Measure/Weigh-In Once Per Week. Journal!
3. Recalculate WW Points each Month.

PERMITTED FOODS:
Broths
Miso Soup/ Seaweed
Eggs (any preparation)
Fish (Any type except breaded)
Lean Meat (Chicken, Pork, Occasional Beef)
Vegetables & Pickled Veggies (Incl. Avocado! None that are starchy)
Occasional Fruits
Salsa
Cheese (Small Portions)
Pure Fats (Mayo, Oil, Butter, Sour Cream, NOT Margarine)
Soy Products (Mainly sauces. Some tofu)
Wheat Pasta
Brown Rice
Tomato Products (spaghetti sauce, canned and fresh)
Carb and Calorie Free Jell-O
Tea (green, herbal, black, skim milk creamer, no real sugar!)
Occasional Sprite Zero
Spices that are not sugary

RESTRICTED FOODS ("Cheat" Once Monthly, up to 3 in one day, after 1st Month):
Ice Cream
Chocolate
Sushi Containing Rice
White Rice
Wheat Garlic Bread
Anything Ryan Makes
Cornbread
Fast Foods

FORBIDDEN FOODS:

Non-Diet Caffeinated Soda
High-fat Proteins
Processed Sugar/ Fillers (Cornstarch, Corn Syrup)
Any Food that Contains Processed Sugar or Fillers
Breaded Meats
Breads
Non-Wheat Pasta
Cream Soups
Any Carbohydrates Not Found Naturally in Permitted Foods

SHORT LIST:

I Can Eat: Lean Proteins, Clear Soup, Non-Starchy Vegetables, Pure Fats, Wheat Pasta/Brown Rice, and Tomatoes.

I Cannot Eat: Processed Carbohydrates, Breads, Cream Soups,or Caffeine (except that found in Tea).

Day 45: BATTLE!

Weight Watchers works, but not as well for me, I've decided.

First, there's the internal battle with Weight Watchers. Too many processed foods are low in WW points, and they're cheap. Then there's the financial battle to buy a lot of variety in foods. There's not much money floating around here right now, so it's a hard-fought battle.

Then there's the space vs. convenience concern. With my tiny fridge, I can't get a lot of unfrozen veggies and other good-for-me things. There just isn't enough room. So I get things that go into the chest freezer: vegetables, meat, and everything else. Except people bodies. That's just not my style! So many foods are filling and cheap and don't require fridge space!

Then there are the ineffective accountability procedures in place: 1. The now-evil splurge points that I constantly mess up, 2. Everything can have a point value, 3. "If you bite it, write it!" Ugh. That just hurts me on a literary level, too.

Writing everything down does make me aware that I have too many points and not enough restriction on what I can and do eat. I'm also more aware of when I mess up. And apparently I'm choosing the wrong foods. I need to get back to basics and cut out processed sugar and starches. But I find myself eating 3-6 points worth of frosted mini wheat knockoffs. That's up to 3 packs worth of oatmeal at one sitting!

My experiment with just WW and not a WW/Atkins hybrid, so far, isn't working for me. Having splurge points and a no-food-is-restricted process just gives me the wrong mentality: "I can eat this _______, calculate it later, and let my splurge points soak up the overage." And as soon as I do this, I'm outta splurge points, my body is accustomed to junk, and the minute weight loss I'm experiencing grinds to a halt. Again. :)

There just aren't enough repercussions for the simple, partially sustainable WW diet, for me. When in full ketosis on Atkins, I am more discouraged not to cheat. For one, the Atkins diet kills the sugar and caffeine addictions that allow us to consume the stuff without any mental checks. I just don't crave it as much. I have a second reason that cheating is less likely on the Atkins diet: eating processed carbs has a horrible effect on the GI tract. Don't wanna have an emergency in public with no bathroom in sight? Then you're not going to want to eat that burrito, are you? The third reason is appetite suppression. Until Maintenance, there is no hunger.

Call the Atkins diet restrictive, if you will. For my case, I think that's why it works. I'm going to give WW another couple weeks, until I run low on food I can't Atkins-ize. I'm determined to have at least 7 consecutive days of WW without screwing it up! :-D I want to give it a full month, and today is Day 16. So that'll place me around February 25 at a full month. That's not so bad!

PROGRESS: Abysmal, with high notes of exercise!
GOAL 1: REGULAR WW UNTIL FEBRUARY 25
GOAL 2: DESIGN FRANKEN-DIET of WW and Atkins STARTING Feb. 26!!!

Day 42: Daylight!

After a long weekend of messing up a diet to the point of not counting points, I have woken up early with the steadfast intent to do better starting this week. No more crutch points unless I show progress by the end of the week! The reason the diet hasn't worked-- by Day 13!--  is that I've not been as dedicated to the system as a whole as I should be. Counting points doesn't mean anything if I don't stay within my established limits. I had mentioned before that less variety means a more successful diet for me because I won't get carried away with my options. Here I am, letting the food get away from me.

So this is Weight Watchers, Round 2. I won't post my weight because I haven't made an earnest attempt since late last week. I'll just try again and let you know if I succeed!

Now, it's early in the year so far. I'm not worried that I'll fail in my goals yet. However, Goal One's deadline is March 17th. Once I find the process that works best for me and stick to it, I know I'll do just fine. The initial 10% weight loss should be the easiest, but I'm complicating it!

PROGRESS: Kicked in the pants!

GOAL: 261 lb by March 17

Day 40: Bounce-back VS. Backdraft

This week, I had some really good WW days and a really, really bad WW day. Like a Krispy-Kreme fundraiser order arrived kind of day. I'm hoping I have the ability to bounce back tomorrow and dive onto the WW wagon again. I'm not all that upset with myself now, but I will be if I don't do the diet correctly starting tomorrow.

In doing all the employment things, I also neglected exercise. Another chance tomorrow!

All this, and it's still too early to say whether the Weight Watchers diet is more effective than Atkins. I'm sure that this simplified calorie diet works for many people. I want to give it a solid month before I give in. And I gotta stop wasting my splurge points at the beginning of the week! It turns into a crutch instead of a cushion. I'm worried that so much diet flexibility will chip away at my willpower. But I have faith and patience. I'll make it soon enough!

PROGRESS: Negligible since last post.

Day 37: Let's Get (A) Physical! Physical!

TB skin test, check! Blood pressure, 111/85, decent! Pulse rate, 79, not too shabby! Weight, negotiable! Hey, ya can't get nekkid in front of the whole Dr.'s office! Clompy shoes, breakfast and winter clothes plus me equals 284.6. Hope I'm not delusional about the real 281 lb current weight!

Well, tests concluded that I am, in fact, alive. Doctor, I don't have anything that hurts when you jab your fingers into my belly, and I don't rattle when I breathe. I'm only doing this on the off chance that I'll get a teaching, or at least substitute teaching, job. But I got some Health Overhaul data, too! Yay!

I think I've stayed within my points range today. I need to calculate to be sure. As for exercise, I didn't intend this afternoon's activities to be exercise-y... I drew and worked on painting a mural for my future nephew who shall depart the womb in April. Nursery mural in Winnie the Pooh motif, check! (Almost finished, and part of my Artist's heart died a little...)

PROGRESS: BP 111/85, Pulse 79, Points, aight! Exercise: 3 hours light (grumble, grumble, gripe).

It's early, so I may do some legit exercises before bedtime. Then off for another couple appointments tomorrow!

Day 36: Enjoying Eating

I enjoyed eating today. I had lean teriyaki chicken, broccoli, and rice, plus a few extras. I've still got some points to blow, so I'll have to find something to eat. There's definitely much to be said about staying home and cooking! I haven't exercised today after all, but I've gotta get to an appointment early in the morning. No time left tonight!