Grim News

Week 7 of my little journey into getting back in shape, and it has become something between a grind and a routine.  As always, if you want the gory details, read after the cut.

I won’t pretend I stayed strictly on plan this week.  On Saturday night, I went out with some friends and had a few beers.  Weighing in the next day was quite enough to convince me to get back on track.  I remained focused the rest of the week, and still managed to drop some weight.  Not as much as I would have if I had behaved myself over the weekend, but little harm done.  The good news is, I can tell when I’m straying a little too far off track because I feel like crap when I do.  That is a rather powerful motivator, and tells me that my body likes the plan I’m on.

The diet itself isn’t too strict.  You just have to be careful not to overdo it.  I’ve eaten calzones (half, then save the other half for a later meal), pizza (couple of slices), baked potatoes, hamburgers, buffalo wings, chicken fingers, and even french fries this week (avoid “Super Sizing”) .  The key is moderation.  Load up on salads and healthy foods, and a chicken finger or two isn’t the end of the world.  With exercise, it’s even easier.  Think of it like this… “BIG steak, tiny baked potato, good sized salad, drink water and maybe one piece of bread”  Before, it was “Big Steak, Big Potato, lots of bread, sweet tea to drink, and a small salad sometimes.”  Staying between 40 and 60 carbs for a meal isn’t too difficult unless you go to the “All you can eat House of Starch and Pasta”.  Don’t forget your snacks!  They keep you from getting too hungry and being tempted to stray.  Fruit, Veggies, even peanut butter crackers do the job nicely in between meals.

My knee is almost ready to start working out again.  Hopefully by next week, I can start lifting again.