Lose 20 by 40

I stepped on the scale yesterday morning and to my dismay, it read 199 lbs. Geeze, even for someone 6′ 2" that’s a little more tubby than I would like. So this morning I stepped onto our new nifty Gazelle Edge that I bought my wife for Christmas (for a cool $20 from Goodwill). My 40th birthday is coming this September and I aspire to be in better shape at 40 than I was at 35. So, I’m launching my second experiment.

 

For regular readers of thoughtsparks.net you’ll remember The 35 Day No Caffeine Experiment. On August 27th of this past year I stopped drinking caffeine for 35 days. The lasting effect has been that I permanently have stopped drinking coffee and my overall consumption of caffeine has dropped considerably.

 

So here goes experiment number 2. By lifting this to a totally public platform it keeps me accountable to my goal. The two objectives to reach this goal are: 1. exercise everyday, and 2. reduce my overall caloric intake. Both of these are real challenges for me. Exercise seems to be one of the easiest to measure. I’m still working on my plan to reduce calories. Any input on that would be appreciated. I figure increased exercise will take off the first five or so but dropping below that is going to take some real self-control on my part. Ah, such is life.

9 Responses to “Lose 20 by 40”

1. Mike Scott on February 27th, 2008 9:50 am

   Good luck Phil!

   I find that with my body, if I start eating several smaller meals, and focus on eating good food, then I lose weight.

   I’m on a similar path, but not with any particular weight in mind. Although I was surprised to see the dial at 222 a couple of weeks ago.

2. Phil on February 27th, 2008 10:07 am

   Those are some good thoughts on in the food area. Quality over quantity. These are not the days of youth with fast metabolisms are they Mike?

3. Mike Scott on February 27th, 2008 10:20 am

   It sure isn’t. I have a double whammy in that I was used to eating huge amounts of food because I was extremely active, as well as younger. So it’s been a big adjustment for me.

   With the smaller meals, I try to incorporate a bunch of good fats and proteins, like those from nuts and beans. That sure helps, since our bodies are designed to crave fat and protein.

4. Phil on February 27th, 2008 10:29 am

   I’m sure when you were in the service it was much easier to stay fit. Living in the burbs outside of Austin there is just not the great restaurants and grocery stores that are down in town. Need to work on that area.

5. Mike Scott on February 27th, 2008 10:44 am

   Yup, it sure was.

   I would have to say that we have way too many restaurants here. Even the healthy ones aren’t really that healthy.

6. kellypea on March 5th, 2008 1:12 am

   Good luck, Phil. I was public, too, and felt like I worked my butt off for two months and then some. Even the exercise was a “habit.” So know I’ll be rooting for you!

7. Phil on March 5th, 2008 7:01 am

   Kelly,

   I really appreciate it. I’ve dropped five pounds in the last week but I knew the first few pounds would be the easiest. I suspect I can get down to 190 with like disciplined diet and exercise. The tough part will be the next 10 and then of course there’s the keeping it off. I’ve got a trip to New York in two weeks which I know will be a killer.

8. Lord Matt on March 21st, 2008 1:37 am

   One of the most impressive results I have yet to have came from a total redefining of my entire lifestyle. First of all looked at my entire kitchen habits and identified the “low hanging fruit”. That turned out to be cutting down or out of things like butter and marg and reducing things like peanut butter , jam (jelly to you) and full fat mayo. I also told the wife I was going to switch to brown bread. Once spoken I was stuck with it as she does the shopping while I am working.

   Most of my sandwiches contain salad or cheese so I replaced the butter/marg with low fat mayo in self controlled amounts.

   I also investigated things like cottage cheese and spreads sold only by the nearby herbal apothecary (basically heath food shop stuff).

   I also started girth watch (as you might know) and started running with a friend who rarely takes no for an answer and comes to bang on my door every evening to drag me out running.

   Like you I cut out caffeine (you were partly to blame for that) although I now have a single regular English Breakfast Tea in the mornings to help stimulate my appetite for breakfast (something I rarely eat).

   The only other thing that has been significant is that at the point of highest loss I allowed myself to eat as much as I wanted at breakfast only. I made sure I had lots of serial and other healthy (ish) things.

   I’m lighter by 10 kilos according to my doctor on the last time I was on his scales so it’s working! I’m still far too fat and no mistake but at least I’m not still inflating like a balloon.

9. Phil on March 21st, 2008 6:34 am

   Matt, sounds like you are making great progress. How excellent I’m “to blame” for helping you cut-down on caffeine. I do still drink a little tea in the morning, some of which has caffeine. All total though, I’ve distanced myself considerably from it.

   On the weight-loss front to-date I’m not making any real progress. I have increased my exercise a bit but I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m going to have to do some major behavior modification to get anywhere near my goal. (And I thought the coffee thing was hard!). Of course staying in New York City for the last week has been no help in this area. I was at a conference in a Hilton in Midtown Manhattan and there were just too many temptations. So today I fly home and hope to resume my more moderate lifestyle and hopefully see some progress.

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