Greg's Weight Loss Blog

I almost didn’t make the photos for today. Even though today was a day off from work, I was just too busy. But I managed to snap the shots just before bedtime and I put them together the next morning, so here they are for 11/27/2009. The difference is not too much from the picture I took 4 days ago but it’s huge when compared to day one. I’m working on putting an animated video together, it’s a work in progress. It seems like the weight is coming of my thighs lately which is certainly a good thing, they’re mighty fat.

11/27/2009 Transformation Picture

I had skipped cardio yesterday, I just didn’t have time for it and I thought I was going to make up for it today. Well that didn’t happen. I was just glad to put in my hour for today. Granted I did some pretty good walking yesterday and today but I don’t quite count the 5,000 steps I walked daily as exercise.

Elliptical

• 60 minutes
• 135 avg heart rate
• 620 calories

Another day at home, another decent food day, all things considering. I have started out the morning well, skipped the mid-morning snack and ate the leftover stuff I made yesterday for today’s lunch. Then I gulped down my 50g of protein in the afternoon. Dinner was rough again, I was supposed to eat some lean turkey with brown rice and veggies, instead we ended up going to the light parade and Christmas tree light event downtown with some friends which ended in a restaurant dinner at Chili’s. Now Chili’s is apparently one of the worst restaurants there is when it comes to healthy food.

Luckily it seems like they are reworking their menu, not that I go to Chili’s more often than twice a year, and they had a new menu that was super secret or something along the lines of “only three restaurants have this menu rolled out yet and we can’t even talk about it” secret. When I asked for the nutrition guide they were less than helpful. They said they can look it up for me and tell me in person but they cannot give out the nutritional guide to their patrons. It’s kind of funny as they have their nutritional guide on their website so it’s not like it’s super secret. I did not quite understand the whole corporate policy but the manager was sticking to it and did not bring out the nutritional guide when I requested it. The waitress did come back and listed all the macro nutrients and total calorie content for the item I inquired about. It clocked in at 630 calories with 47g of protein, 50g of carbs and 29g of fat (7 of which was saturated).

The new menu has little Chili’s logo next to their healthier options, the grilled salmon with rice and steamed vegetables, broccoli with carrot pieces, fell into this category. It seems like grilled salmon is probably one of the safest, if not the cheapest, bets at any restaurant when it comes to healthier food. I had great luck with it at On The Border as well, they are ran by the same company. It was pretty decent dinner overall and I managed to stay away from the chips and salsa and the dessert.

Today was turkey day. And you would think that it is a recipe for disaster for someone who’s trying to cut back on the calories. Today actually turned out excellent. Since I slept in I skipped my morning snack, just not enough time between breakfast and lunch to fit it in. Instead I had a pretty hearty lunch, something I have made myself from scratch (more on this when I get a chance to write about it). My wife really liked it too, the kids not so much. I still think I’ll make it again, heck maybe I’ll turn it into a Thanksgiving tradition.

We had dinner with some friends at their place. I passed up dessert, drank water instead of wine and still enjoyed a good 5 oz of dark meat with a small dollop of mashed potatoes and a cup of broccoli. They also make this fantastic salad that I think I will start to incorporate into my diet as well. It’s spinach, mandarin, walnuts and a raspberry walnut dressing that is pretty light. Very yummy.

So my total for the day still came in under 1800 calories while my macros took a beating due to not drinking my protein shake and eating stuff that was high in saturated fat, starting with the ounce of double smoked bacon that I have started my morning with. It’s still pretty amazing that you can have stuff like that and still squeeze it into 1800 calories. Everything in moderation, that seems to be the key.

Ab Crunch

• 3×15 @ 40lbs

Twisting Oblique

• 3×20 @ 30lbs

Leg Press

• 3×15 @ 195lbs

Leg Extensions

• 3×15 @ 40lbs

Today I was too lazy to make lunch or dinner. Because of this I ended up at Taco Bell/KFC for lunch and ate a sushi roll for dinner. Last time I ate at Taco Bell I was already trying to be health conscious and ate a Chicken Soft Taco (it’s a ridiculously cheap 79 cent item) and a Tostada. These are actually recommended fast food choices in the P90X nutrition guide if you have to have fast food. The Tostada is pretty big and heavy for the calories it contains. Unfortunately the Tostada also contains 0.5g of trans fats which I haven’t had since the last time I had that Tostada from Taco Bell. So today I went with two Chicken Soft Tacos and a side salad. The side salad for $1.49 is a ripoff and big disappointment. It’s basically shredded lettuce and diced tomato, the exact same stuff they put into the tacos. I didn’t eat any of the dressing, which would have been another 160 calories with who knows what amounts of fat. Next time I succumb to Taco Bell I’ll just get the two soft tacos for $1.58 and steam some veggies at work from the freezer.

I have been trying to prepare for tomorrow’s cooking so I went to Central Market to get some ingredients, While there I decided to get some Sushi from their sushi bar. They don’t list the nutritional information on the packaging but they do have it available upon request. My choice is usually the Philly Roll with salmon. The whole box, 12 pieces, contain 442 calories. Just to think that I used to eat that plate before dinner is crazy. Today I had it for dinner. And to fill me up a bit I made 1.5 cups of steamed green beans which practically had no calories but are quite filling.

Unfortunately this binge of eating out made my fats, saturated fats and sodium pretty high for the day. I had more fat than I would have liked and less protein than I would prefer, but I don’t do it every day so I think I’ll be OK in the long run. I was going to eat some shrimp tomorrow or Friday but I left the shrimp at the checkout at Central Market so I’ll have to get some Friday. I’m not looking forward leaving the house for shopping on Friday…

Another good back day. I managed to hang with 80lbs for 3 of the 4 exercises and I have pushed the last chest supported row from 50lbs to 60lbs. I think this set will work for me for a while.

Lat Pull

• 3×15 @ 80 lbs

Seated Low Row

• 3×15 @ 80 lbs

Chest Supported Row – Inner Grips

• 3×15 @ 80 lbs

Chest Supported Row – Outer Grips

• 3×15 @ 60 lbs

Elliptical

• 30 minutes
• 134 avg heart rate
• 313 calories

Elliptical

• 60 minutes
• 125 avg heart rate
• 550 calories

Today I overate at lunch a bit with the paprika sauce and pork chops but I still managed to stay around 1900 calories not to mention that I did great in terms of fat and protein. Tomorrow should be an easy day again but Thursday will probably be pretty brutal with Thanksgiving and all. Although we’re not really going anywhere or entertaining anyone so it might be OK.