Sunday, March 3, 2013

Day One of Thirty-One

Day One of Thirty-One



"I hear and I forget.  I see and I reminder.  I do and I understand."  Attributed to Confucius, a Chinese Philosopher


Saturday, March 2, 2013
Weight: 187.0 lbs. BMI=29.73
Weight in ounces: 2992

Is it day one or day two?  If I started my March goal yesterday then it's really day two but it doesn't matter much, as long as I keep my goal in mind and stay on track with both my diet and my exercise program.  I learned a lot from Gary Taubes's book "Good Calories, Bad Calories".  Of course, my first exposure to the idea of restricting carbohydrates came from a program by the Doctors Eades called "Protein Power."  I still have the book from that and I read it periodically, but the bulk of knowledge is contained in "Good Calories, Bad Calories."  

Food is nutrition and nutrition is what we take in to fuel our bodies. Nutrition comes in the forms of fat, protein and carbohydrates.  Carbohydrates are organic compounds formed from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which tells us chemically what they are but does not tell us much.  Our best examples of carbohydrates are sugars, table sugar, and other products that we don't think of as sugars because  they do not appear as sugar.  Carbohydrates appear in the forms of rice, breads, pastas, potatoes, in fact, carbohydrates are ubiquitous and for many of us, can be addictive.  They can become addictive because a lot of the flavor of foods we like is generated by some form of carbohydrate. Candy bars, soft drinks, rich fruit drinks, all have many grams of carbohydrates present.  Loseit.com reports that a 12-oz. Cocoa-Cola contains 27 grams of sugar (carbohydrates), and it's easy to consume three cans on a hot day, for 81 grams of sugar.  I try to keep my carbohydrate intake less than 20 grams per day for a variety of reasons.

Through experiences, I have learned that carbohydrates cause me to gain weight.  Worse than that, once I begin to gain weight from them, I also have other things begin to happen with my chemical changes and the worst one is that I begin to get depressed, and it gets complicated.

I may be on one of my plateaus.  This is Sunday now, March 3, 2013 and my morning weight was 187.0 lbs.  I ran three miles yesterday and I just finished my run today.  The weather was beautiful, sunny and 61 F degrees.  I ran three miles today, over three, actually, and I burned about 323 calories.  I also took a nose dive as I stubbed a toe, went airborne and was unable to catch myself.  I fell on my knees and skidded, got my knees skinned well and a part of my palms (I was wearing gloves) and put a bump on my left forehead about the eye; but, it was a great run apart from that.

I look forward to tomorrow to see if my plateau stays or if I move on down.

Stephen J. "Red Boots" Payne
Body by Payne
"

Friday, March 1, 2013

The Goal for March 2013




The Goal for March 2012

"I won't say I'm no better than anybody else, but I'll be danged if I ain't just as good."  Aunt Eller (played by Charlotte Greenwood) "Okahoma!"

Friday, March 1, 2013
Weight 188.2 lbs. BMI=29.92
Weight in ounces = 3011.2

I am on track even though my weight loss has slowed suddenly at the end of February, 2013.  I set this goal for March: To lose 6 lbs. between March 1 and April 1, 2013.  Six lbs. is equal to 96 ounces so my goal is to lose 96 ounces in 31 days, an average weight loss of only 3.1 ounces per day, a reasonable goal that I believe I can reach and continue to be healthy.

A second and subsidiary goal is to run three miles each day of that period for a total of 93 miles, possibly more.

I grade my progress each day.  If I eat meals according to my plan and do not have a snack, that gives me a B grade.  If I exercise for one mile, it increases to an A-, two miles is an A, and three or more is an A+.  I have been successful with the B grade on a daily basis since I began but I'm getting an A+ only two out of three days.  But, there has  been a lot happening, much of it to do with weather.

The goal of a 96 ounce weight reduction calculates to 2884 ounces or or to reach 182.0 lbs.  The 3.1 oz. daily reduction also results in a 21.7 oz. weekly loss which is 1.36 lbs. per week, so I have the numbers worked out and a very specific goal set.  A specific goal with a way to measure results is easy to track and see if I am on, ahead of, or behind the progress metrics.  And, when I reach that goal weight, I can see to set the next goal which means being below 180 lbs. sometime in April.

I ran and walked for 51 minutes, 3.19 miles today, in the daylight for a change.  I burned 322 calories.  I ran for 1.72 miles and was forced to walk then with my left hip hurting but after a bit I had walked it out and ran the last half mile.  It was a pretty good day overall and I hope to weigh 187.0 lbs. tomorrow morning.

Stephen J. "Red Boots" Payne
Body by Payne