Progress Report #4 - Week 3

Started doing elliptical 3 times a week for 30 minutes each.  So far I'm enjoying it a lot.

Tried Ideal Shape shake this weekend, expect a review this week.

Weight: 274.8 lbs  (down 1.4 lbs from last week)
Waist:  49.5 inches  (down .5 inches from last week) 

26 days soda free.
21 days drinking 8+ glasses of water/day.

Total weight loss:  6.2 lbs.
Ave. weight loss per week.  ~2.07 lbs.

Oh my aching knees!

It seems that my knees do not enjoy having to exercise more than they use to.   I've been walking between a mile and two miles each day.  Which isn't much but I wanted to ease into exercising. 

Once I get walking my knees are fine, but after sitting for a few minutes they are stiff and sore and that's before even walking. 

I've started taking Glucosamine Sulfate twice a day and for the next day or two Motrin.  The Glucosamine Sulfate is for joint health and the Motrin reduced inflammation.  After taking the Motrin before bed last night my knees were too bad this morning. 

UPDATE:  After 2 days of Motrin and Glucosamine Sulfate my knees are doing much better.  Still a little stiff and sore but much better.

Progress Report #3 - Week 2

This week was a little tougher to stay on track.  Friday's doughnut day at work was tough, but I resisted.   Energy levels are staying fairly high.  I need to come up with a few more tasty recipes.

Weekends are still tough.  

Weight: 276.2 lbs  (down 2.2 lbs from last week)
Waist:  50 inches  (up .5 inches from last week)  Not sure I'm measuring the same way each time.

19 days soda free.
14 days drinking 8+ glasses of water/day.

Total weight loss:  4.8 lbs.

Calorie Differential Over Time 8/6 - 8/16

Nice report from sparkpeople.com that tracks calories eaten versus calories burned on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. 



Today I ordered a 30 serving supply of chocolate flavored Ideal Shape meal replacement shake.  The cost per serving is at least half that of the Pro\Grade: Lean, more nutrients and half the calories.   I still have 9 servings of the Pro\Grade: Lean left, so the review for the Ideal Shape shake will be sometime after I run out of that. 

Food and Nutrition Report #1

Breakfast

I'm sure that you have heard the saying that "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." and it's true in many ways.  This Food and Nutrition Report centers on the importance of breakfast and what I'm currently eating for the most important meal of the day.

Why is it so important?

Over night you have essentially fasted as you probably haven't eaten in many hours.  Eating a healthy breakfast will kick-start your metabolism for the day and boost your energy levels.  Eating slow burning foods, like whole grains and fruits, will also help control your appetite till lunchtime.  

Never skip breakfast, studies have shown that people are more than likely to make up for the lost calories by overeating later in the day. Also, some studies suggest that eating breakfast can also improve cognitive abilities, especially in younger people.  

My Breakfast

My breakfast consists of the following foods.

• Bowl of Oatmeal
• 1/2 cup Quaker 1-minute Oats
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 scoop of EAS:  100% Whey Protein powder (chocolate flavored)
• Coffee
• 3 shots of esspresso
• 1 cup 2% milk

The Whey Protein powder was added to provide more protein for the meal and allow me to avoid adding any additional sugar/honey to sweeten the oatmeal.  At 65 calories the protein powder is well worth it.  Feel free to substitute it however you like.

Tip #1:  Mixing dried berries to oatmeal will help avoid burning out on oatmeal, blueberries are my favorite.  Sure it's added calories and sugars, but it makes eating this everyday not so painful.

Tip #2:  Also, if you are finding you need to reduce the calories even more, try substituting fat free milk instead of 2%. 

The above breakfast has 459 Calories, 14g Fat, 51g Carbohydrates and 33g Protein.  Not a bad start to the day.

Progress Report #2 - Week 1

Week 1 was a fantastic week.  Energy levels were through the roof and my spirits were high.  Talking with a co-worker about my week inspired them to start drinking more water and watching what they eat.

There are two key things from this week that I would like to highlight.

1. Water is key.  At least 8 - 8oz. glasses per day.  My energy levels rose one day after drinking 8 glasses.  
2. Track your food input.  It's really surprising how tracking the foods you eat can help keep you on your goal of losing weight.   You can see where you are eating lots of calories and adjust your diet.

Now for the numbers.

Weight: 278.4 lbs  (down 2.6 lbs from last week)
Waist:  49.5 inches  (down 1.5 inches from last week)

12 days soda free.
7 days drinking 8+ glasses of water/day.

Pro\Grade: Lean - Initial Review

Today (8/9/2012), I started using Pro\Grade: Lean (chocolate flavored) as a replacement meal instead of my normal lunch.  This is my initial review and thoughts.  I mixed two scoops with 15 oz. of water and used a Blender Bottle to mix it.  I was starting to feel hungry right before lunch, so this should be a good test.

Taste

9/10:  When mixed with water, milk would increase the taste some.  The taste reminded me somewhat of Nesquik.  I easily finished it in 15-20 minutes, while talking to a co-worker, and never got the feeling that I had to force it down.  I believe I'll be able to continue mixing it with water, thus avoiding the added calories from milk.

Consistency

10/10:  It mixed really well with refrigerated water, there were no lumps and no gritty feeling you might get with other mixes.

Fullness

8/10:  This product is packed with 11g of fiber which helps make you feel full.  It was odd not having to chew my meal and I suspect it will take a bit for my body to get use to a liquid only meal.  After 2 hours I started to feel a slight need to eat a snack. I am not sure if this was because of the meal being less solid feeling in my stomach or some other reason.  I would recommend that dinner not be a meal that is replaced, mainly because you have all night before your next meal.  At the 3 hour mark I was definitely feeling hungry.

Nutrition

9/10:  The product contains an excellent mixture of vitamins and minerals.   It gets a ding because of the 15g of sugar, though without it the taste would have been a lot less.

Value

8/10:  When deciding the value, I take in consideration if the product does what it suppose to.  There are many lower priced meal replacement products on the market.  Some do not fill the role very well.

Summary

8.8/10:  Starting at $4/meal it is one of the more expensive meal replacement options.  Where Pro\Grade: Lean really shines is in the quality of the product.  My initial opinion is that the product does an excellent job replacing a meal.

Tip:  If you really like Pro\Grade: Lean, there are deals on their website where when you buy 2 or more you save money.  For 2, your price per meal goes down to $3.33.

Update:  I have tried mixing with the minimum about of liquid (12oz.) and it is thicker and there was a small amount of residue that didn't mix completely.   I recommend using the full 15oz of liquid to mix this.

Low Energy Levels

If you feel like you have no energy here are a few things that I have found affect my energy levels greatly.

Water

Dehydration saps energy.  Water is a primary force in energy production inside your cells.  For every 1% drop in water cuts energy production by up to 10%.    Drink at least 8 - 8oz. glasses of water every day.  Some studies suggest 11-12 glasses for men and 9 glasses for women.  Drink more if you are exerting yourself or in hotter climates.

Avoid caffeinated drinks as they have a diuretic effect and cause you to urinate more after drinking them.

Tip:  Finish drinking your water and other liquids at least 2 hours before you go to bed, this will reduce the chance you will have to hit the bathroom at night.

Magnesium

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and is required for proper functioning of the heart, muscles and kidneys.   Approximately half of the magnesium in the body is found in bone. It plays a role in 100's of biochemical reaction in the body, including breaking down glucose into energy. 

The recommended daily allowance of Magnesium is 350 mg, doses larger than 400 mg may cause stomach problems and diarrhea which will also dehydrate you. 

Day 2 Observations - 08/07/2012

1. 10 glasses of water was easy today, not sure what the difference was from yesterday.
2. Loads of energy today.  I'm suspecting it's from no longer being mildly dehydrated all the time.
3. Longhorn Steakhouse doesn't list all nutrients for their foods on the nutrition table.  They don't list protein, which is one of the nutrients I track.
4. Need to skip the bread when going out to the steakhouse.  And I'll substitute the salad for some broccoli. 
5. After dinner, I noticed is I didn't feel the need to snack.  Didn't seem that hungry the next morning either.
6. I've found it easy to blow out my numbers when eating out.  Dinner consisted of 1084 calories and a lot of cholesterol and sodium.  

Picked up a 28oz. Blender Bottle for my meal replacement shake today.   I'll be also using this for my water as it holds twice the amount that my old glass would.

Tomorrow I'll give an initial review/comments on the Pro\Grade: Lean.

Note:  From here on out my "Observations" are merging with the weekly "Progress Report".  This will make the blog a little less cluttered.   

Day 1 Observations - 08/06/2012

1. Eight glasses of water doesn't sound like much but I don't think I've ever drank that much in a day prior to yesterday.   Going to pick up a nice large container to drink out of as my glass at work is only 12oz. 
2. I ingested a lot of sodium.  Around 3004mg yesterday.  Almost half of that was from the Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwich and almost a third was from the Hamburger Helper I ate for dinner.
3. It was shocking to see that the Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwich was 25% of my caloric intake.  
4. Sparkpeople.com is a really useful site for tracking your food intake.  I highly recommend it.

Wednesday the Pro\Grade: Lean should be delivered.  Thursday I'll try it as a replacement for my lunch.

And before you chastise me, I know Hamburger Helper is not the most healthy thing to eat.  :)

Weekday Breakfast

I followed the advice Janet gave to me in a comment and checked out http://caloriecount.about.com. Some surprising results occurred when I entered what I ate for breakfast.

Calories: 617
Carbohydrates:  96g
Protein:  33g
Fats:  12.6g
Saturated Fat:  6.7g
Cholesterol:  69mg
Sodium:  1420mg
Fiber:  8.6g
Vitamin A:  4458IU
Vitamin C:  133mg
Calcium:  734mg
Iron:  21mg
Potassium:  1857mg

I was surprised at the amount of calories 2% milk has as it took up 226 of the 617 calories.  Of the listed amounts all were listed as too low except Saturated Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, Vitamin C and Iron which were listed as good.  Calories was not listed in the too low/good list so it is an exception also.

I need to reduce the salt I put in my Oatmeal as it is almost what they recommend for the entire day.

Here is the list of what I ate today for breakfast.

• 1/2 cup - Oats
• 1 tbsp. - Pure Clover Honey (in oatmeal)
• 1/2 tsp. - Salt, Table (in oatmeal) - need to measure this I estimated.
• 1/2 serving - 100% Whey Protein Powder - Fundation Fuels (in oatmeal)
• 8 oz. - Espresso Coffee
• 16 oz. - Milk 2% Milkfat (in oatmeal and coffee)
• 1 - Banana
• 1 tablet - Centrum Specialist Energy - Multivitamin 
• 1/8 cup - Sunsweet Berry Blend (in oatmeal) - Not added to above numbers

I've place an order for Pro/Grade: Lean.  I hope to get it sometime this week and will be replacing my lunchtime meal with it.  

Progress Report #1 - Initial weigh in

Starting numbers for week starting 8/5/2012.

Weight: 281 pounds.  <eek>
Waist: 51 inches.

Day 5 without soda.

Discovered the weekend is going to be difficult snack wise.  Will have to come up with a healthier alternative.

The Long Road

Today I start a long journey, one I believe will leave me healthier and happier.  As with any new undertaking it requires a bit of background explaining where we have been and how we arrived where this new journey must start.

The Past

As a child I consider myself to have been rather average fitness wise, I was neither scrawny or chubby.  I wasn't overly athletic in the sense of sports.  My brothers and I spent most of our days running around the neighborhood and less time inside doing less active activities.

As I entered high school and early adulthood, my activity levels were decrease and I started spending more time with friends in activities that involved sitting around.  During these times my diet took a rather poor turn as massive amounts of sugar was ingested during our marathon late night sessions. 

Shortly after high school, I met and married my loving wife.  Being newlyweds and having a increased income this led us to eating out many nights a week.  This certainly played a part in my slow down slide with my weight.  The decrease activity and increase going out to eat continued for many years.  The births of my three children only reinforced the bad habits I had learned of the past 5-10 years.

The Present

Currently my lifestyle is a big part of my current issues with weight and in part my general health level.  At work I sit 8+ hours a day at a computer screen for work.  I get little to no exercise each day, with the only real exercise being taking the dog for a short walk.  The remainder of my day is either spent sitting on the couch watching TV or in front of a computer.

My daily meals consists of pastries and coffee for breakfast, fast food for lunch (including regular soda) and a half way healthy meal for dinner, which sometimes turns into fast food if my wife and me are too tired to cook.  In between meals I'd snack on candy bars or chips with another soda throw in.  By late evening I always found myself hungry and would snack on something as late as 10:30 at night.

I am tired of being tired.

The Future

Only God above knows what the future holds for me.  I can only do my best to plan and move forward with that plan.  Below are my beginning plans, these are very basic and lacking details as I am unsure exactly what I'm going to do.  Over the weeks and months I will be dedicating posts to each category.

• Exercise 
• I'm currently leaning toward doing more low impact aerobic exercises.  I loved working out on an elyptical machine a couple years back.   This will be one of my primary form of exercise starting.  
• Later I will probably add some very light weight work. 
• As energy returns I look to bike and hike more.

• Diet   
• Breakfast will consist mainly of Oatmeal with fruit along with something that add protein.    
• Lunch will consist of a meal replacement.  Currently I am researching the various products.  ProGrade: Lean looks interesting and I'll probably give that a try first.
• Dinner will consist of more vegetables and fruits with a lean meat.  
• No more soda, lots more water.
• Healthy snacks, such as fruit and vegetables, ones specifically picked to stave off hunger and further snacking.

I will be posting a weekly update with my progress and posting the details on just what seems to be working and what doesn't.