January Nike+ Fuel Points: 87% Goal Hit Rate

Although my throat is a bit scratchy, I did stay up tonight to walk around to meet my Nike+ Fuel point total for the day. It's kind of amazing when you look at the total numbers. In the past month, I walked from Dayton and back (in miles) and burned 40,709 calories. :)

Next month, I'm going to shoot for 100%! 

(My outliers for the month where January 12 when I went went crazy moving stuff around my storage area and January 25 when we had really bad weather and I felt really bad.)

Typical Lunch at Work

This is an example of a typical lunch at work. Homemade split pea and vegetable soup with hummus and carrots. 3 hours later, I had a blood orange and low fat Greek yogurt. I was not at all hungry that afternoon. It was a bit lighter as I was anticipating having a bigger dinner.

Three Happy Thoughts

Inspiration today:

1. I'm down one belt buckle size on my belt
2. I was told that I look skinnier in the face
3. One of my normal sweaters is kind of hanging on me. Looks big. I feel fat and bloated, but clothes are beginning to fit looser

Week 3 Weigh-In: Down 1.2 lbs

I'm down another 1.2 lbs this week on The Plan. For a total of 5.2 lbs since 1/7/2013 when I officially started. I should feel good about that. What I like about The Plan is that it is something I can live with for the next 2-3 months; it is sustainable.

What went well

- I stayed on the plan
- I felt good, was rarely hungry. My portions were in control

- My alcohol consumption is very low. Sensible snacks, not so many carbs

- I muddled through 3 weight lifting workouts
- I was better about getting enough sleep

What needs improvement

- Stay at 32 pts. Don't overeat!

- Get a full 8 hours of sleep each night
- Meet the 3,000 Nike+ Fuel point goal every day

Recipe: Split Pea and Vegetable Soup

Bean soups are great in the winter and they are well suited for dieting. I made this soup tonight. Yes, cooking for the 3rd night this week and it's only Thursday. :)

It's a pretty inexpensive soup. I figure about $4 including the mushrooms which add a little extra flavor and interest. I separated the soup into 5 containers which I will heat up in the container and consume.

Ingredients
1 bag Goya green split peas (16 oz package)
1 potato shredded
2-3 cloves garlic
6-8 cups vegetable stock

1-2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 finely chopped jalapeños
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped carrot
2/3 cup copped zucchini
8-10 corsely chopped mushrooms
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

Directions
1. Sort and rinse peas and soak overnight or at least 8 hours.
2. In a 6 to 8 quart pot combine the split peas, potato, garlic and vegetable stock
3. In a frying pan, sprinke extra virgin olive oil and sauté the jalapeño, celery, onion, carrot, zucchini and mushrooms for 4-5 minutes until slightly tender.
4. Add sautéed mixture to beans and cook until the peas are soft

Garnish ideas
- croutons
- dab of sour cream
- parmesan cheese
- sliced hard boiled egg

Self visualization

So, I walked by the pool this afternoon on a puppy walk (in 11 degree weather.) I had a warm feeling, thinking about the pool being crowded with attractive, mostly 30 something residents of the complex.

I thought of myself with them, with a flat stomach. I could actually see myself skinny. I'm going to make this happen!

Tuesday Night Cooking

I did manage to cook rice and a nice soup on Sunday. Still, I had some cabbage in my fridge and saw some nice organic cauliflower and North Market.

So, I decided to make two things: German red cabbage with apples (Rotkohl) and spicy-Indian inspired cauliflower.

Both turned out well and are relatively guilt free eating!

Week 2 Weigh-In: Down 1.2 lbs

The scale says I'm down 1.2 lbs for my second week on The Plan. I was expecting a bit more and my goal is 1.5 lbs per week on average. But 4 out of 7 days I was in the "B" range... I'm now down 4 lbs total.

What went well

- I stayed on the plan

- I got my 3 workouts in and they were good ones!

- My alcohol consumption is very low

- I had a setback and a stressful situation, yet I stayed on plan (and not resort to fattening comfort food or lots of drink!)

What needs improvement

- Reduce carbs by 10%-ish. Focus on more fruits and veggies and less on carbs

- Watch my portion size for nuts & dried fruit (I think I went overboard a bit one or two days)

- Get a full 8 hours of sleep each night

Red Kidney Bean, Spinach and Brown Rice Soup

I love trying new recipes! This is a light, vegetarian soup with kidney beans and fresh spinach. Some veggie soups seem like they are missing an ingredient. This one is filling and great for winter. 

(Click image to enlarge)

Instead of chicken broth, I used veggie broth. Also, I added celery, doubled the garlic and added red pepper flakes. Next time, I might even try shitake mushrooms! Oh, after cooking the base soup, I did not add the spinach at the end. Instead, I added it the next day, right as I put the soup in the microwave.

Update: Talking with coworkers about this soup recipe, I've decided that I'm going to make more soups like this. From begging to end, the preparation took 1 hour (with 5 minutes of chopping.) It tasted better, cost less and had a hell of a lot less sodium than canned soup. Plus, if I make it, I don't have to worry about hidden bacon (which happened to me last weekend!)

Post Work-Out Dinner

Still going strong on my plan! After a tough workout (30 min cardio, 20 min upper body weights,) I was starving and my body was starving for protein!

Brown rice, Adzuki beans, green beans and a Trader Joe's organic veggie burger. Hit the spot!

The organic Adzuki beans were grown right here in Ohio by Shagbark Seed & Mill. Preparing them was easy! Per the directions on the back of the bag, I soaked the entire bad of smallish red beans overnight. Then I cooked in water for about 2 hours until they were somewhat soft (then gave time to continue cooking while cooling.) I added salt at the very end.

Reheating the beans, I add Sriracha hot chili sauce and salt and pepper. Really yummy and healthy!

Full Day of Moving / Grove City Witch Project / 7,000+ Fuel Points

So, as mentioned today I shopped then built an extensive set of IKEA shelves-by hand with a screwdriver and ratchet! It was unseasonably warm and I was motivated! After lunch, I manually moved the entire contents of my storage area from one unit to another about 200 feet away with a dolly.

Although tired, (after moving 13+ hours!) I was surprised when I got home how many Nike Fuel Points I had earned. My daily goal is 3,000. And it said I burned 2,630 calories! Yeah, my target food consumption is 1,600 per day.

I'm happy that I got off my ass and did this manual work which I've been putting off for some time. In general, in 2013, I'm getting my shit in gear and it feels great!

Hearty Breakfast

I'm going to be doing a fair amount of manual labor today putting up shelving, so I needed a hearty breakfast: homemade black beans, microwaved carrots and eggs (1 full egg, 2 egg whites.) 8 pts.

10 Day Streak

I got this Nike+ Fuel band right before the new year. New Year's Day was pretty rough and I didn't make my 3,000 fuel point goal. I'm excited that I have made the goal every day since then. For 10 consecutive days.  I was rewarded with a video celebrating my 10 day streak:

Resistance.

So a woman in the area is moving on to a new assignment. To celebrate, the department got gourmet cupcakes. This was what was being offered to me:

This is what I actually ate:

I was proud of myself for resisting.

Week 1: 2.8 lb Loss

I just jumped on the scale and I'm down 2.8 lbs for the first week! Per my 14 week contract, I am posting my eating/exercise journal for the week (or 4 days in this case) as well as my scale reading:

Next week will be a full week (from Friday to Friday.) 1 week down, 13 to go! 

Late Night Puppy Walk: Making my 3,000 Fuel Point Goal

You may ask, "How can a $150 white band of plastic with pretty lights possibly help you lose weight?"

Tonight is a good example. I have a Nike+ Fuel Band which is kind of like a glorified pedometer. It has an accelerometer which registers movements and can tell hand gestures from distance (which makes it better than pedometers, in my opinion.) The band has a display which lets you know if you have made your goal for the day.

Anyway, at 9:00 pm tonight, I only had 2,300 fuel points. I needed 700 more to meet my 3,000 daily goal, so I started up my new audiobook on my iPod, put on puppy's prissy pink jacket and took her for a 2 mile walk up and down the Short North.

The air was fresh. Bars were brimming with people.

I made my 3,000 point goal for the 9th day in a row! (According to the band, I burned 1,200 calories while wearing it today.)

Stomach Poem I

Oh gut, you stick out so
On my diet I must not falter
I hate you, ball of dough
You are like my body's Ann Coulter

Seven reasons to go to the gym

So, my company has a decent corporate wellness center. I have a hard time getting motivated to go though. Here are some recent motivational factors I've thought of.

- See a limited selection of truly attractive people
- Feel young and attractive (there is a healthy population of white haired, mouth panting seniors)
- Meet new people
- Experience awesome shower head pressure in the locker room
- Clear your head, have more energy
- Sleep better that night
- Not pay penalty money

New Recipe: Grilled Zucchini and Yellow Squash

I tried a new recipe tonight and tried out my new George Foreman grill!

Steps:
1. Cut zucchini and yellow squash into 1/4" slices while waiting for the grill to heat up.
2. When heated up, drizzle with olive oil onto the veggies. Grind salt and pepper on top. Turn and do the same on the flip side.
3. Cook 7 min then flip.
4. Cook 4 additional minutes, then eat!

(It's amazing how less nasty the grill is if you don't cook meat on it!)

Two typical meals

Here are two example meals that I eat on my eating plan.

Subway salad (9 points) for lunch

Healthy dinner (12 points) plus a light beer
(Eggs and succotash, quinoa , Indian style cauliflower and homemade black beans, with fresh avocado)

Day 1 of the 14 week plan

I hated my first weigh in. It was about 3 lbs higher than I would have expected. 209.6 lbs! I looked down at my big gut. Yuck. I feel so bloated. I am resolved to lose it!!

At work, it was a bit tiring making the mental effort to think about what I was to eat. I didn't feel hungry through the day really, thanks to snacks. Still, my energy was a bit low and my blood sugar felt odd. In the past, when I have started eating plans, I've had mood swings and other abnormal behaviors until my body adjusts.

I left work 1.5 hours later than normal and was so thankful for healthy leftovers to heat up: Dinner consisted black beans, quinoa, roasted succotash, and roasted cauliflower with curry. I had one Yuengling 100 calorie beer for dinner. It served the sensation of drinking a beer, but had very little flavor. I was completely full after the meal.

At 9pm, I didn't have enough fuel points from my Nike+ Fuel band, so I took the dog for a 1 mile walk before bed, which she was happy with. Even so, I didn't sleep that well, had problems falling asleep.

Overall, I gave myself an "A" for the day!

The 14 Week Contract

So here it is! This is my 14 week contract for my eating and exercise plan:

General Rules
 
- The week begins with a weigh in each Friday morning.
- The plan begins Monday, January 7 and will end on April 12, right before tax day. (I wanted to stretch a bit beyond 3 months.) On April 4/12/13, I will review where I'm at and plan the next steps

Eating Rules

- No meat or meat products. Barf.
- The plan will be loosely based on the "old" Weight Watchers points system to ensure proper mix of food and correct portioning. (I'll bucket breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner points to equal approximately 32.)
- The plan encourages fresh, healthy foods over fatty foods and carbs. Very little alcohol. (This is built into the "points" system.)
- One "cheat day" will be permitted per week, for mental health, for a maximum of 4 cheat days per month.
- Each Sunday, I will prepare several meals for the week (minimum one main dish or soup, and one side dish) to facilitate healthy eating.

Exercise Rules

- a Nike+ Fuel Band will be used to track general activity; the goal is 3,000 fuel points per day.
- Separate to the Fuel Band, I will workout a minimum of 3 times per week (minimum of 30 minute cardio activity or 20 min cardio/20 min weight training.)

Tracking

- An journal will be used to track eating and exercise
- This blog will be updated regularly. Minimally, each Friday, this blog will contain: screenshot of scale, screenshot of diary for the week.

Motivational Tools and Penalties

Typical motivation for weigh loss includes incentives and I have tried those in the past. This time, I am building in an interesting features, including public humiliation (if I have bad days or weeks they will show online) and also penalty charges, as follows:

1. $200 penalty for quitting the program (i.e. not providing weight and journal entries on the blog for two weeks in a row.)
2. $50 penalty for not working out minimum of 3 times per week.  (enforced after 1/11/2013)
3. $50 penalty for more than 4 cheat days in a month.
4. $20 penalty for not weighing in in a week.
5. $20 penalty per Sunday for not cooking two items.
6. $5 penalty per day for not meeting the 3,000 fuel point goal.


All penalties will be paid to the penalty person within 7 days of the infraction. There will be no penalties for not losing weight in a week as it is very possible I may be gaining muscle or on my period.

Exceptions

Exceptions will include sickness for more than 2 days. All exceptions will be judged by Tawana or Takiia Anderson. They has the sole right to reject any exceptions to enforce penalties.

Welcome!

This is the first first post using this new blog. More to come soon!