Happy St. Patrick's Day Eve

So let's take a look at the last few months. I am a bad blogger. I left you waiting almost 2 months. I bet you thought I failed... Didn't ya. Well the results are pretty astonishing. As of 2/25 I weighed in at 221.4. This is a total loss of 99 pounds in 5 years and since the first January 4, 2013 it is a loss of about 30 pounds. I seem to fluxuate between 221 and 224 most days. I have not been able to lose any more weight and Have simply decided to focus on maintaining my weight loss until March 18th. On the 18th I will return to a zone of weight loss. I have decided I want to weigh 199. So I plan to lose another 22 pounds by May 1. So I plan to lose 21 pounds in about 40 days. I can do it. Have a Great Saint Patricks day. I will post some new picts in a few weeks.

Very Happy with the results so far

This morning (wednesday) hopped on the scale and to my pleasure I weighed in at 237.8. Understand that this is not an official weigh in date but in the last 12 days I have lost 13.2 pounds. I am using the Optifast meals with success but I have started transitioning with the help of two great things. First is Miracle Noodles and the Second is my Nutribullet Blender. More to come in a few days.

And the results are in...Week One Weigh In

Last week I started this plan and I was apprehensive. I've done a liquid diet before and it was very successful. 62 pounds in 14 weeks and I have been able to keep most of that off for 5 years. Gaining back 22 pounds and most of that was in the last 18 months.

In 2007 when I did the program before I lost 11 pounds the first week. And I did not expect to lose that much weight this week. I expected to lose about 7 pounds.

Today's weight 242.2

This week I lost 8.8 pounds. I could not be happier. The results are very promising. My plan is to Lose 40 pounds in 7 weeks which is 5.7 pounds a week. That is about three times the amount the "health" community says is doable. Without the Optifast system or Medifast I do not see how you could do it.

Admissions and some adjustments- (the good and the bad)

This go around Optifast offers a meal bar. First- they are great. Second- they solve the problem of "chewing". In an all liquid diet there is no chewing. This is actually something that drove me crazy before. The only problem I have is... I only bought one box of the meal bars. And I ran out by Wednesday.

I've ordered more and I pray they arrive today. Or I will have to go three days without chewing.

A new trick- I make every shake into a frosty. Take the magic bullet and use the larger cup... Fill it with ice and poor the shake over it. Put he blender top on and put the entire thing into the freezer for 10 minutes. Pull it out and the. Blend. This doubles the volume of the shake. And it has the consistency of a slightly melted Wendy's frosty. You can eat it with a spoon. This morning I am adding a little rum and coconut extract to the shake... Piña Colada anyone?

It is winter in Atlanta... It's not that cold but I would kill for a warm meal.

My goal is 209 by February 28. Actually the end of the 7 week plan is the 22nd but I added a week in case I needed to extend any phase a week. I have 42 days (49) to lose 33 pounds. Less than a pound a day.

Reset Day 2

It's 4 am on day three. I fell asleep early last night... mostly because I was exhausted from the lack of calories and I generally just overdid my activity yesterday. My friend Newt and I walked for 7.5 miles which is not uncommon for me on a Saturday or Sunday. I walk 3.7 miles everyday and one weekend day a week I will walk 7+ miles with a group of three of my friends. It is essentially "Walk Therapy" a good time to talk shit and catch up... generally we end this trek with a nice Lunch/Brunch and a significant amount of Alcohol. Two years ago we had a 19 mile walk... that was a bit much. Yesterday was different, usually Greg and I are consistent walkers and Newt walks about 40% of the time. Greg couldn't make it due to some home repairs he was making. And instead of eating a big assed carb filled meal I had unsweet tea and one of my Optifast shakes mixed with some coffee. The diet plan is can be challenging when you are being social but it is doable. Overdoing it. During the walk I burned about 700 calories. I only consume 800 a day. That is overdoing it. I am paying for that mistake right now. I have incorporated the Optifast Meal Bars (they did not exist in 07 when I did this the first time). Honestly the Berry and Yogurt Bar is VERY good. I like the mix of chewing and drinking. I have also started freezing my shakes for about 30 minutes before I drink (eat) them and I use my Magic Bullet Blender to mix them. The texture is close to a Wendy's Frosty. Overall it's going well. 19 more days of Optifast Only meals. I am looking forward to Phase 2... who wouldn't? I actually get to eat again. Today while walking, Newt and I discussed our recent trip to Europe. Four of us went to Amsterdam, Paris, Antwerp and Brugge for 8 days. The trip was great, the food was incredible (especially in Belgium) and the people were trim and most looked young. Both of us noticed the differences in eating and activity between the average European and the Average American. I am sure we looked like 4 beached whales compared to the locals. I have a trip planned to go to Dallas Texas for 4 days in February. This will be during phase 3. I am concerned that this will cause some issues with the plan so I am already working out a "trip plan". How do I feel? At the moment Tired but mentally very clear. I have a small headache- I need some salt. There is no sodium in the Optifast food so you actually have to find a way to get it into your diet. Here is a tip and my only food exception. Dill pickles (Hamburger Dills)- No calories- You get to chew and you will get your sodium.

2013 RESET

In less than 12 months I will hit the big 40. I look at my birthday, for the most part, as just another day. I remember turning 30 and that was a huge difference for some reason. Overnight I felt like I was old... The last 10 years have seen huge Financial success followed by huge financial loss. The last decade has also seen a fairly healthy man become overly obese and then 5 years ago I took control (or I thought I did) At the beginning of 2011 I weighed in somewhere near 230-234... not bad for someone who weighed 320. I looked good...a little more than I wanted but 230 is not bad for a guy that is 6' and muscular. The last two years I have focused on business. I have been very happy with my business results... I have ways to go but I am building my business the way I want. If you review the very beginning of this blog you know that I went thru a weight loss journey with Emory Hospital. My success is weight loss was awesome. But my weight is creeping up. This morning I weighed in at 251... I am not impressed. Actually I am depressed about it. A few weeks back I decided I had to get "it" under control. I am a goal oriented person and I have no issue with doing what it takes to get where I want to be.However I like all of us can get off track... The initial Optifast Plan is a 3 part program, 14 weeks of an all liquid diet followed but 7 weeks of transitioning to solid food and then ongoing maintenance . I lost about 80 pounds in the program. And I have used what I learned in the program to keep my diet under control for 5 years. But I am having some problems with this with a normal (read: I love food and eat out all the time). I developed a 7 week Mini Plan. It is designed to help me lose 40 pounds. Here is the program. Phase 1 is 3 weeks of Optifast "food" Liquids and the Meal Replacement Bars (new since I was in the plan). As a reminder this is 5 "meals" a day of either a chocolate vanilla, or strawberry shake,or a soup (tastes like hell) or the meal replacement bar. Each of these meals is 160 calories...do the math and you realize that I will live off of 800 Calories a day. And at 11:58 I have completed the first day. Only 20 more to go. This is essentially the same program as Optifast, but shortened... It is my goal to lose 20 pounds in this phase. Phase 2 is an adaptation of my own 1000 Calories a day for 2 weeks. 4 Optifast Meals and one Meal of 360 Calories per pay. My meal will be either a salad with chicken or chicken with vegetables... or a new discovery. Miracle Noodles are "pasta" with no calories. Very filling and I could make a HUGE meal with very few calories using those. I do get one Cheat day in Phase 2... after 7 days. My goal is to lose 10 additional pounds. If I do not meet a goal of 30 pounds lost by week 5... then Phase 2 is continued (without a cheat day)for an additional week... and then Phase 3 is 1250 Calories daily for 2 weeks. 3 Optifast Meals and two food meals. Phase 3 allows for a cheat day every 7 days... Alcohol is allowed on cheat days. By February 28th the phases should be completed and my weight will be between 205-215. My goal is 209. If I have not reached 209 by Feb 28th then I will return to phase 2 until I reach that goal. Ongoing... I do better with structure... I am designing my ongoing eating plan as we speak. I'll update the blog every few days.

OctoberFast 2012

Cleansing Program (AKA OctoberFast 2012) Instructions This is a 30 day diet plan designed to help you adjust your weight in a short time. This is not a long term diet plan. Your goal is 1500 Calories per day. You have a 10 percent variance in either direction before you should be concerned. MAX 1650 and min 1350. Do not push 1600 everyday. Do not try to cut down to 1400 everyday either. You are aiming for 1500 calories. Requirements No Bread/ Tortillas No White potatoes No fried foods No candy, sweets, cookies No ground beef No full fat cheese No Sugar What you can eat! Veggies (Carrots, Broccoli, Green Beans, Squash, Tomatoes, Onions, whatever you like) Lean meat (bison, pork, chicken, beef tenderloin, venison, turkey) Fruits (the more fiber the better) Sweet Potatoes Grits (Polenta for you fancy folks) Oatmeal Skim Milk Eggs (Limited) Egg Beaters Lettuce, Cabbage Salsa Guacamole Butter Spray Low Fat Yogurt Meal Replacement Shakes (Optifast, Slimfast etc) Sample Daily Menu Breakfast (240 Calories) Breakfast Bowl (170 Calories) Instant Grits (One Packet prepared and flavored with Butter Spray) 100 Calories Chopped Bell pepper (1/8 cup ) 10 Calories 4 oz Egg substitute (equivalent 2 eggs) 60 Calories Prepared grits then add pepper and eggs, microwave for 2 minutes, mix together. Or a Meal Replacement Shake ½ Cup Activia Yogurt Light (70 calories) Very filling Lunch (495 Calories) 7 oz Grilled Chicken Breast 280 calories 1 oz BBQ sauce 40 calories 1 oz Guacamoles 25 Calories ½ Cup Carrots Cooked 40 Calories ½ Cup Green Beans 40 Calories Three Slices Tomatoes with ¼ cup fat free cottage cheese 65 Calories Dinner (715 Calories) 8 oz Beef Tenderloin (500 calories) 1 medium to large baked sweet potato (170 Calories) use butter spray and cinnamon and splenda ½ cup Broccoli cooked tender add Butter Spray (45 Calories) Total calories 1450 The most important thing to keep in mind is to find some low calorie but filling foods to eat with every meal. Sweet Potatoes are very filling and have about 170 calories. If you have trouble eating breakfast Use Slim Fast TYPE Ready to Drink Shakes. Wal- Mart, Target and Kroger have their own versions. I actually prefer the store brands. You should try to have two or three types of veggies with a small amount of protein in each meal. A chicken breast with Broccoli, green beans and cooked carrots. Very filling. Look for more sample menus to come in the near future. How can you tell how much calories are in specific items? NutritionData.com is a great website.afatboynomore.com