The 400-Pound Goal

[Spark]

Avast. So it's come to my attention that sticking with something works better when you have some sort of accountability. Well, the deal is that I have a weight-loss goal. My birthday is in late October; in 2014 I weighed 459 pounds (208.5 kg). My current goal is to try to get to 400 pounds by the time my birthday rolls around again in 2015. I hit a bit of a stall over the holidays, got a little boost from the first NF challenge cycle of 2015, and have decided to get super srs during the second challenge cycle (Feb 23rd). I'm going to start by doing the Whole30 diet (plus dairy) for the six-week challenge cycle. Get mah eating under control, you know?

 

I'm aided in this by a few factors. First, during the first challenge cycle I drank nothing but water. I ate normally (ish) but there were no liquids but straight agua going in. Since then, I've tried a diet Pepsi or two...and found them too sweet for me. I know that I could fall back into that habit if I allowed myself to do so, but why bother? Also, my girlfriend is determined to get into better shape for medical reasons. This encourages me to add walking to my workout, among other cardio.

 

So here I am! Time to start a new battle log. The goal here is to do a daily review of my diet and working out. It'll be interesting, if nothing else. I look forward to kicking some butt.

 

There will be more concrete, number-based information tomorrow. Cheers!

[our.lady.of.ashes]

Go Spark!

[Spark]

Thanks, lady-of! =D

 

Did my weigh-in and measurements today, as promised woo.

 

Weight: 454 lbs. Down...one pound since December.

Neck: 56 cm (previously 57)

Chest: 142 cm (143)

Belly: 165 (166)

Waist: 133 (134)

Bicep: 46 (47.5)

Forearm: 37 (38)

Calf: 51 (50)

 

So...honestly, not enough change since December to even really make a difference; a one-centimeter difference over that time could just as easily be from the tape being warmer or colder! Still, I take heart in knowing that I haven't changed that much, which means that I have a good platform on which to being re-building some fitness.

 

Breakfast: Pork and squash soup, bunch of grapes. Apple. Three strips of bacon.

Lunch: Baby spinach salad with the remains of some beef stir-fry dumped on it.

Dinner: Fried chicken, carrots, unsweet tea, and some potato chips.

 

BLEEEH I suck. I can see why writing down what I eat is going to make a difference.

[Spark]

Breakfast: Butternut soup, bacon (4 slices), grape juice.

Lunch: 2 carrots, 1 broccoli stalk (all raw), 3 HB eggs.

Snack: A serving of potato chips, homemade. Naturally this removes all the calories.

Dinner: Salad w/avocado and tomato, spaghetti squash with homemade meat sauce. OMGnom.

 

Walked a half mile with my lady!

[jdkc4d]

 

I'm aided in this by a few factors. First, during the first challenge cycle I drank nothing but water. I ate normally (ish) but there were no liquids but straight agua going in. Since then, I've tried a diet Pepsi or two...and found them too sweet for me. I know that I could fall back into that habit if I allowed myself to do so, but why bother? Also, my girlfriend is determined to get into better shape for medical reasons. This encourages me to add walking to my workout, among other cardio.

 

I ended up having to give up soda circa 2009 due to stomach issues.  I got to the point where any soda made me feel like I was drinking straight acid. It was not fun. I gave it up cold turkey.  Not having your stomach feel the way it did is a great motivator.  Back in my soda days, I was totally a coke or mt dew person.  About a year after I stopped drinking soda, I some of those little 8 ounce cans of mt dew, and thought, well as a treat.  I took one sip and spit it out.  It tasted like the nastiest cough syrup I have ever had. It's weird how that happens. 

 

I will occasionally drink a ginger ale, but it has to be heavy on the ginger and low on sugar, and generally only if my stomach is goofy.

[Spark]

It's getting to where even grape juice is A Bit Much. I am okay with this. I'm kinda kicking around joining ShadowLion's no-soda PVP, in fact. I'm currently quite happy with my tea and water and juice.

 

Breakfast! Scrambled eggs with kale, asparagus, and mushrooms. Half an orange. Turkey bacon. I don't think I'll be investing in the turkey bacon again; we mostly got it to see if it had the smoky flavor that we like, but it doesn't. It also has quite a bit of artificial everything. =( The search continues.

Lunch! Finished off the rest of the butternut soup. Apple.

Dinner! Vegetable beef soup this time. If you sense a trend here, don't freak; we were just in a mood for soup this week. Also had some cheese and some milk.

Plenty of tea was had today, both with splenda-syrup and without. I make no apologies.

[Keejos]

Hi Spark! First of all, good luck on your endeavor! I'm currently trying to lose weight as well so wondering how you're doing

Switched to mostly Paleo myself and I'm wondering how much calories you take in on a daily base.

 

Also, are you doing some exercising next to your diet?

 

Hope to hear from you!

[Spark]

Oh yeah, I concentrate on lifting free weights and then doing strange, outdoorsy things like working with my slosh pipe and doing kettlebell work. Sadly, I haven't been able to do much of anything exercisey in the last week thanks to the frikkin' weather. >.<

[turboseize]

Come on! As long as you don't drop them it's perfectly fine to do kettlebell work indoors. 

[Spark]

True! I'll have to go chip the ice off the bell, but I can do that!

 

/gets hammer

 

*edit* Upon further reflection, also the kettlebell warmer. o.o

 

Stupid cast iron...

[our.lady.of.ashes]

Progress is being made!

 

Are you sure you don't need something a little more enthusiastic to chip ice like a chainsaw? Chainsaws get through ice pretty quick.

[Spark]

Nah, crowbar's fine. There's a certain level of enthusiasm in using a crowbar to break ice!

 

Today:

3 sets of 20-second KB swings, 55-lb bell.

3 sets of 10 squats. That was...rougher than I expected it to be.

I'm gonna add in some planks and work with my new ab roller.

 

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with asparagus, tomato, and red peppers. Bacon. Real bacon. Mmmm, bacon. Orange juice.

Lunch: Vegetable beef soup. It was every kind of awesome.

Dinner: Sliced roast beef and steamed asparagus.

 

After dinner: Baked acorn-squash fries.

 

Here's how that works! Take an acorn squash (about the size of a softball) and boil that sucker for ten minutes. Put it in the water whole, turn on high heat, and wait ten minutes.

Take the squash out of the water and set the squash off to the side to cool. Pour out the water.

Let the squash cool for a couple of hours. The squash is now soft, and the hard rind has been rendered soft and easily-removed.

Now take your squash and cut it in half, through the center rather than from top to bottom.

Slice the squash into rounds about an inch thick.

Now cut the rind off each round, and remove the seeds and pulp.

Slice the rounds into strips, nice and narrow. Use your judgement; the great thing here is that the squash is already pretty much cooked. Slice the squash however you like!

Oil a cookie sheet and put your squash fries on it, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Put it under a broiler for about five minutes on high.

Remove from broiler and move them around the pan, then replace under the broiler. You're trying to get the squash exposed to the heat on all sides here.

Broil until the squash starts to turn golden brown.

Nom like a mad person.

Oh, uh, let them cool a bit first. Broiler.

 

The acorn squash is also called the pepper squash, because it has a peppery kick when cooked. It's mild, but it's there.

Your whole squash has about 100 calories, and it's a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Cheers!

[ShadowLion]

It's getting to where even grape juice is A Bit Much. I am okay with this. I'm kinda kicking around joining ShadowLion's no-soda PVP, in fact. I'm currently quite happy with my tea and water and juice.

 

Breakfast! Scrambled eggs with kale, asparagus, and mushrooms. Half an orange. Turkey bacon. I don't think I'll be investing in the turkey bacon again; we mostly got it to see if it had the smoky flavor that we like, but it doesn't. It also has quite a bit of artificial everything. =( The search continues.

Lunch! Finished off the rest of the butternut soup. Apple.

Dinner! Vegetable beef soup this time. If you sense a trend here, don't freak; we were just in a mood for soup this week. Also had some cheese and some milk.

Plenty of tea was had today, both with splenda-syrup and without. I make no apologies.

 

Dooo eeet! It feels so good to be free of the cravings and the compulsion to quaff that crap! It does such bad things to our innards... Even the diet stuff may have an effect on blood sugar, since supposedly our bodies intrepret the sweet taste as being an occasion to release insulin.

[Spark]

When it comes to the artificial sweeteners, my biggest concern is that I'm conditioning myself to want sweets. Or rather, carrying that conditioning on. 'Cause I spent 30-some years doing that already. >.<

[Spark]

Hi!

 

Breakfast: Apple, 2 eggs (boiled), and a fried sausage. Orange Juice.

Lunch: Rotisserie chicken, carrot.

Dinner: Roast beef, broccoli, boiled carrots. Sugar-free jello, in spite of everything that I said in the last post. =P

Snack: 2 cheese slices, grape juice.

 

Exercise: Once more into the pellets! I moved a full-on ton of wood pellets today for our pellet stove, and I called it good. And hey, warmth! =D

[jdkc4d]

There's always room for Jello.

[Spark]

So it turns out, when you're lugging around a ton's worth of 40-pound bags, you gotta use your brain.

 

My left arm was nearly immobile thanks to shoulder muscle strain today. It's not immobile, but it was hard to move in certain positions. Everything's fine, and it's loosened up a bit, but it turned my plans to hit the gym into a huge "HELL NO."

 

Breakfast: 3 eggs, half a chicken breast, orange juice.

Lunch: An almond/coconut mix, chicken nuggets, and some french fries. Yeah, I know.

Dinner: Shrimp fried with bacon and garlic over rice, with green beans. I just left the rice and ate the rest, and then had a couple apples.

 

Cheers!

[Spark]

Avast!

 

Breakfast: Vegetable beef soup, made entirely of awesome. Tea.

Lunch: Fried chicken, sans skin, some green beans, and some peaches. Water.

Dinner: Pizza with a crust made of cauliflower. MAN that stuff is tasty. Two apples. Tea.

 

Walked a mile. My shoulder is feeling a LOT better today.

[Spark]

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with the last of the turkey bacon, some grape juice, an apple.

Lunch: Eggplant lasagne, with water. OMG this is why I can't give up cheese.

Dinner: Taco-seasoned meat and bean sprouts, with cheese, over spaghetti squash. Also a nice side salad.

 

No working out today. Weather and life conspired. I am REALLY looking forward to getting back to the gym tomorrow.

[our.lady.of.ashes]

It feels kinda nice to want a workout, doesn't it?

[Spark]

Hells yeah it does.

 

Breakfast! Leftover eggplant lasagne. You know how leftover pasta is better the second day? Same thing here. Grape juice.

Lunch! Italian sausages, 2 apples, tea.

Dinner! Went ahead and finished off the lasagne. Also a salad, and water to drink.

 

Workout!

Took out my barbell and new weights and did some deadlifts outside!

 

Deadlifts: 10@125: 2 sets.

6@135: 2 sets.

Swearing: constant.

 

Kettlebell: 4 sets of swings, 55 lbs, 30 seconds each.

 

Slosh Pipe (which was sloshing right along, thanks!): 2 times around the 50-yard course.

[The Most Loathed]

great workout. I'm glad you got to enjoy the great outdoors.

[Spark]

Breakfast: 2 eggs, strawberries, bacon. OJ.

Lunch: Chicken breast. Seriously, just forgot to have lunch, made up for it with a rotisserie chicken breast.

Dinner: Seafood platter with fries. The breading was bad for me, but the rest was marginally within the Whole30 plan. I just ate too much of it. >.<

 

Workout: One mile walked with my lady! Sore from the deadlifts yesterday, but not, you know, dangerously sore. Just enough to know that I did something. That's what I want out of all this.

[Spark]

Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, strawberries. Are you sensing a theme? There's a theme in my life.

Lunch: Chicken and dumplings, as found here. Coconut-flour dumplings? Why yes, thank you.

Dinner: Chicken leg, broccoli soup, salad.

Snack: Cashews and 2 boiled eggs.

 

I'll have the recipe for the C&D and the soup stock that I used up on my blog sometime tomorrow. Watch this space!

 

*update* Here's the blog entry about that recipe, including the notes that I made about upgrading it to Whole30 compliance. Cheers!

[Spark]

Breakfast: Chicken breast and orange juice.

Lunch: Finished off the chicken and dumplings. They remained awesome.

Dinner: Steak, potato, green beans, water.

Snack: 2 apples, slice of cheese, grape juice. Sorta edged over into "whole meal" territory there.

 

Workout:

Seated Leg Curl: 3x10@170

Seated Calf: 3x10@270

Calf: 3x10@300