About that weight thing
I never followed up on my post at 201lb, but I'm really happy that I did make it across the 200 line ( a while back.) I've been weighing in at 193-194 for the last several days. I have two more big goals coming up: 191 will be the 25 pound mark, and 185 means I'm no longer considered obese for my height. After that I probably should focus just on maintaining and not on losing any more.
I'm still eating about 2000 calories a day and I'm still not considering any food properties except the total number of calories. It's true that I actually prefer more filling foods (like Trader Joe's, Chipotle Grill, and Subway) which may help a bit, but I think that I might be able to do it on Twinkies if I tried (though I do hate Twinkies so it wouldn't be pleasant.) Lately, the muscle maker grill has been my favorite. It helps a lot that my wife cooks really healthy food, though there are plenty of eat-out options for me as well. (Thus in an alternate reality bachelor Dave is also enjoying this diet... while he fights robot zombies? It _is_ an alternate reality.) Most days I have room in my calorie schedule for cookies and milk before bed, which is my favorite comfort food.
With exercise, I'm up to 800 calories a day. Of course that isn't exact, since my exercise bike can't tell how muscular my legs have gotten so it really doesn't know the real amount of effort I'm putting in. It takes 40-50 minutes depending on the day. I never would have made it to this point without concentrating on gradually working up. My instinct is always to try for perfection on the first attempt, but I fought that and worked my way up to where I am now without hurting my knees once. Playing Playstation 2 while riding has helped, though I've noticed that I get through my calories faster if I'm losing in game (by pedaling angry, no doubt.) If anything, it keeps my mind off the first half of the routine, which is when I'd be most likely to get discouraged about how much I have to go. It also makes me look forward to exercise time and turns a weakness of mine into a strength. I've been slowly working my way through GTA San Andreas during these sessions.
It does take a certain amount of energy and concentration to lose weight. I always know the number of calories I've consumed in a day, and I've had to memorize caloric data on a lot of foods. I still can't eat at a lot of places since they don't have calorie information available (for example diners.) I can't carelessly munch on food that is lying around at some work meetings and most parties. Yet, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
I'm still eating about 2000 calories a day and I'm still not considering any food properties except the total number of calories. It's true that I actually prefer more filling foods (like Trader Joe's, Chipotle Grill, and Subway) which may help a bit, but I think that I might be able to do it on Twinkies if I tried (though I do hate Twinkies so it wouldn't be pleasant.) Lately, the muscle maker grill has been my favorite. It helps a lot that my wife cooks really healthy food, though there are plenty of eat-out options for me as well. (Thus in an alternate reality bachelor Dave is also enjoying this diet... while he fights robot zombies? It _is_ an alternate reality.) Most days I have room in my calorie schedule for cookies and milk before bed, which is my favorite comfort food.
With exercise, I'm up to 800 calories a day. Of course that isn't exact, since my exercise bike can't tell how muscular my legs have gotten so it really doesn't know the real amount of effort I'm putting in. It takes 40-50 minutes depending on the day. I never would have made it to this point without concentrating on gradually working up. My instinct is always to try for perfection on the first attempt, but I fought that and worked my way up to where I am now without hurting my knees once. Playing Playstation 2 while riding has helped, though I've noticed that I get through my calories faster if I'm losing in game (by pedaling angry, no doubt.) If anything, it keeps my mind off the first half of the routine, which is when I'd be most likely to get discouraged about how much I have to go. It also makes me look forward to exercise time and turns a weakness of mine into a strength. I've been slowly working my way through GTA San Andreas during these sessions.
It does take a certain amount of energy and concentration to lose weight. I always know the number of calories I've consumed in a day, and I've had to memorize caloric data on a lot of foods. I still can't eat at a lot of places since they don't have calorie information available (for example diners.) I can't carelessly munch on food that is lying around at some work meetings and most parties. Yet, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.