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We’re in the thick of it now. First full week of January and we’re off and rolling. I’ve been working on going to the gym in the mornings. Typically, I dont set an alarm in the morning because Im usually awake way before I need to be working. Since I committed to going to the gym in the morning and wanting to get that done before work starts, I set my alarm yesterday for 5:30A. Most of the time Im already awake, so its not a big deal. However, I started going to the gym in the morning after we started the year. I went Friday morning and Sunday morning – both days I was not working. I woke up at 5:28. Took a half hour to wake up, although I feel like I could have used more. The workout went as expected, for a leg day that I havent had in several months. Needless to say, Im sore today.

I dont know why I didnt do this sooner, but sheet pan meals are something to not be ignored. I had a vegetable mix I picked up at Costco – brussel sprouts, broccoli, sweet potato, onions, and some other things. I took that, and I mixed in some other mixed veggies I had on hand – corn, peas, green beans, carrots. I dumped that out on two sheet pans. then I took some garlic parmesan seasoning from the store and put that on a giant pack of chicken thighs. I split the chicken thighs amongst the two pans and cooked that in the oven for about an hour or so. Sweet christ, that is some good eating. I priced out individual packs of veggies to mix together and for less than $10 at Walmart you can get individual bags of frozen veggies, that you could then mix together, season and oil for roasting on a sheet pan in the oven. Along with some chicken thighs and some seasoning, you can easily get at least 5 meals or more from this for less than $30. If you want something lower in calories, you could use a leaner cut of meat, like chicken breasts or tenders, or even pork.

I was looking over some stuff from an old website yesterday and Im getting the itch to write up recipes again. I spent some time formalizing some of the things i make. I hate that recipe sites online spend 20 years telling a fucking story before you get to the recipe. Like here’s the history of cheese. No one cares. So when I did it, I put the recipe first. Then whatever I wanted to say about the story after. This was fun for me, and i might start doing that again.

I came across an article earlier about which methodology for exercise would help you lose weight better – lifting weights or walking 10k steps a day. Exercise is only part of the equation. You cant out train a bad diet. Building lean muscle does promote burning more calories, and walking is one of the most healthy things you can do. Being active is so important. I always feel like they discount how important the intake of food is. It really all starts with food and if you’re not watching your intake, no exercise is going to fix that. I think you have to do both and do them consistently over the long term.

Its so easy to overthink how to get to our goals, because there is so much information out there. I found myself slightly overwhelmed at the amount of good ideas for food to make the other day. Im already starting to think of what I want to make next week, and I have no idea what to choose. I feel like the article I read earlier about which exercise plan is best is the same type of thing. There’s so much information. I think keeping things simple is best. Choose whatever it is you know you can actually execute on. Whatever exercise you will actually do – and enjoy doing – is the one you should choose. Make food you will actually eat. There are so many good recipes and so many ways to accomplish making this food at home – even if you dont know how to cook. The sheet pan thing – not complicated at all. Buy frozen veggies, throw them in a bowl, mix them, throw salt and pepper on them, a little avocado oil, spread on a pan. Same with the chicken thighs. They make seasoning packets of all kinds. Put chicken thighs in a bag or a bowl. dump seasoning, mix together. Throw chicken on top of veggies. Throw pans in the oven for an hour or so. BAM, dinner. And then repeat those things every day, or most days. Be consistent.

We’ve got this!

Happy New Year. I hate the term ‘New Year, New Me’ because it somehow seems to denote that you have to wait to the beginning of the year to make changes. As mentioned previously, I quit logging food and slipped some on my diet as I got busier in the fall. The good thing is that I didnt slide too far off the rails. However, since we’re into a new year, we’re going to set the counter back to 1 and focus on this year’s goals and challenges.

Let’s recap 2025 real quick. This time last year, I was 325. As of this morning, I was 270. Down 55 lbs. At my lowest, I was 263 and on one scale in September, I was 259 (although I dont trust it).

In 2026, I want to accomplish a couple of things. I need to drop more of this weight and I really dont want to do it using the GLP-1’s. I dont have any issue with anyone who is using them and I think they have their place. But just like when I quit smoking, if I can do it without the assistance of drugs, Id rather do that. To be fair, I feel like losing the weight in this way is better longer term because it helps develop better habits. The number I have in mind is 40 lbs. The other goal I have this year is that I’d like to start focusing on training a bit more and get some of my strength back.

The plan to get there is not all that dissimilar from what I did last year. I feel really good about the work I put in last year and so I want to continue that going forward. Here’s what the current plan looks like.

Caloric Deficit – calories burned greater than the calories taken in. This is being tracked by logging all food intake in Cronometer, in conjunction with the Whoop fitness band for calories burned. I dont really have a set number in mind. Cronometer is set to max out at 2200 calories, but I expect most days will be in the 1700-2000 calorie range. On more active days, that may increase slightly.

Diet – Lean meats, primarily focusing on chicken and pork (especially considering the price of beef right now), and copious amounts of lower carb veggies. One thing Im also noticing that Im trying to work on is that my blood sugar spikes in the evening and part of that is due to my dinner choices and being less active in the evenings. To that end, I’ll be limiting the amount of carbs eaten for dinner and in the evenings. My metabolism seems to support eating the most carbs somewhere between 10A and 4P. I learned this through a lot of food logging and blood sugar tracking (Im diabetic, for those who dont know, and wear a CGM).

Exercise – My blood sugar seems to respond really well to walking twice a day. Since the weather’s gotten colder, the treadmill’s about to get a lot more use. This is something I already started doing before the end of 2025. Additionally, starting tomorrow, Im going to get back to the gym three days a week and start working on consistency again. Im going to play with my gym schedule a bit to see what works best. I quit going in the mornings years ago because I just felt so lethargic in the mornings. With some adjustments to my sleep routine, I seem to be a little more energetic in the morning, so I may try to go in the mornings to see how that plays out. Either way, we’re getting it done.

Right now, the only focus is on routine. I did some food prep yesterday (and set off my smoke alarm in the process because I got distracted….be careful!) so I have some food on deck. I’ve really been digging these breakfast wraps Ive been making lately. They’re simple enough but low carb tortillas are really good for these. One tortilla, a couple of eggs, some egg whites, a slice of cheese and a slice of bacon with some chipotle mayo. Absolutely yum. I’ve also got some chicken drumsticks (drumsticks are insanely cheap. Get rid of the skin if you’re really concerned about the calories) that Im going to eat on for the next week or so. Additionally Ive also got some veggies on standby for a snack, and a plan for some sort of pizza-related dish for the weekend – either a chicken based crust or a quesadilla. I havent decided which. Either way, there’s a plan.

It doesnt have to be complicated to be effective and Im all for keeping things simple. Too many things going on to make it more complicated than it needs to be. That means simpler food, meal prepping so I dont have to think during the week, and then just executing. There is NO reason this cant get done if you execute on the plan. Right now, I have a plan for the week. This time next week, I’ll start working on the plan for the following week. I’ll come up with a meal plan, grocery shop and cook accordingly (by the way, if you make a meal plan, itll probably save you from buying a bunch of unnecessary crap at the grocery store – which will also save you some money!), then decide what im going to do at the gym. I may adjust the schedule for going to the gym based on what Ive got coming up. I use the longer term plan listed above to create simpler plans week to week that I know I can execute on. Just have to eat the elephant.

I may start posting recipes of some of the food Im finding or making, depending on what time allows. If you’re looking for input on that, the best advice I can give you is to go out right now and get an air fryer and an instant pot (or get the instant pot with the air fryer lid – best of both worlds). That will open up so many options for food prep.

Full disclosure – when I started writing this, I was hungry. Shortly before writing, I ate what looked like the wimpiest carrot in existence. Writing this distracted me enough to not worry about being hungry. If you find you’re legit hungry and need to eat, then eat something. Being mindful of why we’re eating is important and usually something i have to do when Im not as busy.

Its been an interesting 2025. Its also been a moment since Ive posted anything, so I wanted to kind of just update where things are.

Firstly, a little accountability. Things have completely stalled out. Ive been sitting somewhere between 265 and 275 for the last month or so. I’ve stopped food logging entirely. I got busy in early October working on a car project that monopolized most of my free time. The simple truth here is that I stopped making my health the top priority. I didnt go completely off the rails – I was still eating decently-ish and was still active. But I was eating a lot more calorie dense foods like cheese and a lot less veggies. Not accounting for my calorie intake made a huge difference because I wasnt as aware of it. For me, this is the one way for me to hold myself accountable for the deficit. The strictness of my routine is where I had the most success.

I’ve been working to tighten up some of the holes in my diet. I havent been accounting for my food, but I have been cooking better and eating more consistently with the way I had been. I also decided that junk that I was allowing in the house, even if sugar free, is probably not the best idea because I still get out of control with it from time to time.

My current plan for 2026 looks something like this.

• Food logging – This is making a return because it just works so well for me.
• Calorie deficit – Again, this is something I know works and keeping the calories out greater than the calories in means more weight loss.
• AM Gym Sessions – I want to attempt to get back to a more consistent gym schedule. By the end of the day these days I just feel so low energy and often times am involved in other things that require my time. Im already awake by 5AM most days, so I think I can make it into the gym. Im already on the treadmill most mornings. I want to start thinking about putting on a bit more muscle, although I dont know that I need to get back to lifting as heavy as I used to.
• 2x walking – In addition to the gym, I want to make sure Im walking at least twice daily. This seems to be really good for keeping my blood sugar in check without quite so much insulin. Less insulin also keeps the weight in check.
• Consistency! – This is everything and is the name of the game. I want to build routine that keeps all of the above as just part of my daily way of living. These are all lifestyle changes and consistency in either direction leads to consistent results – either direction.
• No evening carbs – Based on my blood sugar data, it seems like I would do better to not have anything overly carby – even if a lot of fiber – in the evenings. Im seeing blood sugar spikes after dinner (which is normal anyway)that carry through the nighttime hours and make my blood sugar higher in the AM. To that end, I think keeping the carbs to a minimum in the evenings is probably best. Im usually in bed by 9P most nights anyway, so this shouldnt be a huge ask. That may change once the spring weather breaks and we have more daylight. I tend to be more active in the evenings during the summer months. I’ll re-evaluate those needs accordingly. However, I think for now, carbs will probably happen earlier in the day. This wont be a huge shift. I’ll just eat leftover casserole stuff that I make for lunch instead of for dinner. Pretty easy change.
• Cheats – This is where i need to be super aware. For the foreseeable future, I think Im probably best with the approach i took earlier this year – keep the cheats somewhat controlled. If Im going to do a pizza, I need to make it at home and not go too crazy. Things were getting a touch out of control with the pizza. This same thing goes for the treats like the sugar free PB cups and whatnot. Its nice to have around for a blood sugar emergency, but I do tend to lean on those when Im stressed or am hungry in the middle of the day and sometimes my self control isnt the best. I do better when that stuff isnt around. I think a weekly allowance of one meal as a treat – like a homemade lower carb pizza is more than ok. This does seem to satisfy my pizza cravings and isnt the worst thing in the world.

None of these are overly difficult changes, as they are things Ive done before and am used to doing. Just have to jump back on the train. I didnt hit my goal of 250 this year, but priorities shifted in the fall and that happens at times. Im still down 50 lbs from the first of the year and Im proud of that. I know now that I have the ability to get it done and know what it takes to get there. I also know some of the triggers that affect my weight and where I tend to fall short. I’ll definitely be keeping those things in mind.

Im not sure how Im posting yet next year. I liked the idea of posting infrequently as an evaluation of how its going. I think there was a point this year where I got too focused on “here’s what Im doing – give it a try” kind of thing. I was excited because it was working out so well. Bear in mind these are the things that are working for me.

There are so many ways you can go to lose weight and improve your health. It really is about finding what works best for you. Dont be afraid to try things. Dont be afraid to fail. Thats how we learn what works and what doesnt. Dont be afraid to cook – thats how you control your food intake. Honestly just opting to cook your own food vs eating out will save you a ton because now you can control the ingredients.

We live in the greatest time right now because we have access to so much technology that can help us meet our goals, if we’re interested in executing. Get an instant pot, get an air fryer – you can get either for less than $100/each. The internet is full of recipes for both and most of the time, you can alter other recipes that fit your needs. If you’re just starting out, just focus on finding the recipes first. We can do this. And you dont have to wait until the next year to do it. Let’s get it. Here’s to 2026. Let’s get some!

Things have kind of stalled out since my last writing in mid August. The good news is that I havent gained anything. If this is what maintenance looks like, I can handle that pretty easily. Right away, I can identify easily why Ive stalled out. My eating has become a little more relaxed, but thats because Im not logging anything but my weight. I also havent been nearly as active this month. This same thing happened back in June, when I relaxed a bit from my plan and it shows.

Late last month I had a tooth pulled (take care of your teeth). That procedure forced a slight change in my plan because I couldnt eat solid food for a couple of weeks. By the time my gums healed, I didnt really go directly back to my planned routine. Another issue that is common is that after awhile, food gets repetitive. I felt like I needed a slight change. The issue is that I didnt really go into it as strictly as I should have, and decided to relax a little bit.

Having said all of that, I have read before that bodybuilders, when cutting weight, will go into maintenance mode for a couple of weeks whenever they hit a stall in their weight loss. This allows the body to relax and heal a bit. After that, they go back to cutting and start to lose again. I didnt relax things intentionally. The tooth pulling kind of facilitated that for me. I just dialed things back in.

As I mentioned, I havent gained anything really. Weight fluctuates 5 lbs or so, so Ive been hovering in the 260s for the last six weeks or so. Mentally, its been kind of nice not having to be a slave to the log. But, its a damn good routine to be in and its one we’re going back to starting today.

I’ve been getting the itch to make more comfort related food lately. Last night I made a batch of chili, which clocked in at around 600 cal for a 600g serving – which is a lot of food. If you’re one that adds shit like cheese and sour cream, just be careful to use lighter calorie stuff. Ive also got the goods to smoke some meatloaf. Once I add that to Cronometer, I’ll have a better idea of how to divvy it out. But Ill prob slice it up and eat it along side some chicken brats I picked up at Costco.

The takeaway here is that a break can be a good thing, as long as you’re mindful about what you’re doing. However, if you havent gotten to your goal yet, then you have to dial it back in and refocus on whats working. For me, being mindful is #1. #2 is getting back to a regular routine of maintaining a caloric deficit, which happens best when I plan ahead, prep my meals, and log my food intake honestly. Additionally, getting back to a regular exercise routine is also important to boost that metabolism and burn those calories.

I was thinking earlier this year about how I wanted to get back to lifting heavy once the weather cooled off. Im now back and forth about that. I think the driving force there is that I know my shoulder is still not 100%. I really need to stop being a chump about it and start regularly exercising my shoulder. That’s coming.

I feel like Im also starting to think more about where my weight loss goals are going. I’ve always said that Id start to consider more once I hit 250 what I would do next or where my ultimate goal would be. I think thats going to depend on how I decide to train through the winter months. If I decide to lift more, I may stay around the 250 mark and not focus so much on calorie deficit. I do feel like my strength has taken a hit since losing all of this weight. So Id like to get some of that back. At the same time, getting a little further down, sitting around 230 or so, wouldnt be all bad.

Immediate focus for today – get back on track with the diet. Smokin’ a meatloaf. Taking a fuckin’ walk. More later. Stay consistent.

Today, Im down 60 lbs from when I started this year out at 325. This morning, I got on the scale and was 265. Its interesting how the scale moves and when weight just decides to fall off. Although I have a feeling I coaxed the hell out of it when I had a tooth pulled on Tuesday. I only took in about 1000 calories that day, due to stress and then not being able to eat solid food after. Since then Ive gotten a little creative about how I eat. Lots of eggs and lower carb soups (look up Proper Good – some of their stuff is tasty and relatively low in carbs).

Had a discussion with a diabetic friend who wasnt taking care of themselves and ended up basically back on the higher end of that deal. Its a hard thing to change your way of thinking because you know you have to. I can say with confidence that its taken all of these years (Ive been diabetic for 20 years) to be as confident as I am about my diet. I still dont know everything there is to know and Im always open to learn more. However, I keep an eye on my blood sugar numbers, I log my food, I make sure Im a caloric deficit more often than not and I try to make sure Im sticking to the plan. I prep all of my food and rarely eat out anymore. I usually have a splurge meal or two a week, where I dont have to think as much about the goal – just to give myself a little bit of a mental break. But I go right back to it once Im done.

When I was still a type 2 diabetic, one lesson I learned is to eat to the meter. I checked my blood sugar before every meal. If I wanted ot know how food was going to affect me, then I would check an hour after and then two hours after. My understanding is that after 2 hours, you should be back to a relatively normal blood sugar. It’s a lot of finger sticks. The finger sticks are not fun. Testing that much is not fun. If you take it seriously, then you can learn from it and understand what food does and doesnt do. However, you have to be kind of scientific about it. You basically cut the carbs. The cleaner the diet the better. If you’re following a dietary plan, keto is probably the best place to start. Low carb is a more general way of looking at it. Whole30 is great, although they allow potatoes in the plan now. Potatoes are probably a no go. Thats not to say that you cant have these things. The idea is to reset yourself, develop some good habits, and get the blood sugars down. You can play around a little if you eat to the meter, where you make decisions based on blood sugar readings. But in order to play that game, you need to know how food affects you. Its a lot of trial and error, since we’re all different, we respond differently to things – within some reason.

The mental aspect of it is usually the worst to deal with, because you have to change your way of thinking and make the change the priority. Whatever your change is, in order to be successful, it has to be the priority, I believe. Its hard at first. It can be a pain in the ass sometimes. But the results speak for themselves. This isnt something you just do for awhile then go back to the way it was, especially if you have a disease that necessitates change, like diabetes. Diet and exercise really are paramount.

Are the changes you need to make important? Important enough that you’re willing to do put forth the effort necessary to make it happen? Willing to learn and be open to new ideas? Willing to plan and then execute the plan as written? Willing to be honest and accountable when you fall off plan? Willing to get right back on following the plan when you do fall off plan (because it does and likely will happen – no one is perfect. And NO ONE IS DEMANDING YOU BE PERFECT).

Being honest and accountable is so hard. It means you have to admit you made a mistake. Own the mistake. and then figure out what to do about it. You can feel bad about it if you want to, or worry about whether someone’s going to judge you for said mistake. Anyone really supporting you on the journey wont judge you or make you feel bad. We’re all human. We make mistakes all the time. Its easier to just own that you ate a pizza when you werent supposed to because you’ve been eating broccoli and boiled chicken for 39278689372648976 days and needed a minute. Ok, fine. You ate the pizza. You cant uneat the pizza. That ship has sailed. But its time to get back on the horse. Do you need to make an adjustment to the plan that maybe allows for an occasional cheat? Maybe a half cheat, where you eat something you wouldnt normally eat – like cheese. What about a dish that is pizza like? Something where you’re getting the flavor youre craving, without all the guilt? Make the necessary adjustments, if needed and get right back to it. Its harder than it sounds, because there’s a whole lot of holding yourself accountable. You can even have someone you trust do this with/for you. But know its going to create tension from time to time, so be prepared to deal with that issue as well. These types of journeys are always for the long haul.

Im not an expert. Ive failed a bunch of times. Ive lost weight, gained it back and then some, a couple of times. Ive done Whole 30’s, keto, paleo, low carb of various varieties. Ive done low calorie and caloric deficits. Been on insulin, pills, done the finger pricks, have the sensors. There are things I dont know and things i learn every day. I know Im not the same as I was even last week. Things change over time. We can use the information we have, and try to make the best decisions we can. Along the way, if we make a mistake, be honest and accountable, own it, and make the necessary adjustments so it doesnt happen again. if you need help, ask for it. But always be willing to do the work.

That said, sleep is important for the body to heal, and so Im off to do just that.

The mental part of this ‘journey’ is a real thing and probably one of the more important aspects of the success. When I started this back in January, I wasnt in the best place mentally. I had just come off of what I would consider were not the best couple of years for me. I was leaning pretty hard into trying not to feel any of that and trying to find that numbness in the bottom of a liquor bottle. The solutions are never there (queue up the jokes about alcohol indeed being a solution – because science).

In so many cases, and we can see this when we turn the TV on to see these incredibly obese people make changes in their lives or attempt to make changes and get stuck in their way because they are addicted to food or they use food as a coping mechanism for handling the stress in their lives. Im guilty of that. I admittedly love food. I love how food brings people together, even when the relationship they share is complete shit. I love that food can bring comfort when you’re having a shit day.

The problem is that too many of those events strung together generally leads us to a bad place and starts to develop bad habits and routines that lead us into places we dont want or need to be. We gain weight. We start to feel shitty. We start to feel more stressed. Our sleep gets worse. What we’re using to cope isnt necessary helping us at that point.

Change is hard and many of us dont like it because it requires a lot of effort to get to where we need to be. Its worthwhile effort when we know the destination is going to be infinitely better than where we are now. Mistakes are going to happen. Its unrealistic to think that the process is linear. Its not. That line is squiggly as fuck and it overlaps like crazy. Its like a telephone cable (for those of you who still remember when the receiver was connected to a giant cord) that gets all wound up in a tangled mess. Corded earbuds do the same thing. Just a giant tangled mess. Sometimes this can go that way too.

This is why I try to keep things simple. Plan ahead, but not too far ahead. Have a process in place that is simple to follow. Make food ahead and commit to eating said foods. Write down everything you’re ingesting and be honest about it. Every drop of sugar, and every bite of food. You dont really know if you’re not putting pen to paper (so to speak).

Motivation is what gets us started, but discipline is what keeps us going. This shit is hard. So keeping things as simple as possible helps to develop good discipline. Planning helps. Not every plan works. But thats why you write stuff down, so you can see the execution of the plan. This is why I weigh myself every day. Between food logging and the scale, I get to see whats working and what doesnt. I have the advantage of having a constant glucose monitor, which helps in the control of my blood sugar. For my own journey, thats incredibly helpful to me as tool for evaluation.

It dawned on me while I was typing this that “fitness” might have been the wrong word for what Im calling this. Probably more of a weight loss journey than anything. At the same time, dropping the weight is definitely part of becoming more fit. Semantics, I guess. Welcome to my brain!

So yesterday was a milestone. I clocked in at 275 lbs yesterday morning, which officially puts me 50 lbs down since the beginning of the year. Progress.

Last month, there was hardly any movement. Two things I attributed that to were not being as active and primarily the amount of sausage that I was eating. It wasnt an astronomical amount, but sausage is pretty high in calories because of the fat that is in it. Per link, brats clock in around 200-300 calories. Most hot dogs are the same way. They make a white meat turkey hot dog (Ball Park) that is 45 calories per link, but its 5g of carbs due to the fillers.

I was going through some videos last night from My 600 lb Life that randomly showed up in my feed (cause they’re listening) and Dr. Now says pretty consistently that you have to limit what you eat, limiting the calories. Lately Ive been thinking about how complicated things tend to sound based on all the noise in our lives and realistically, to do the things we need to do – they’re not that complicated. They’re made to sound that way so that putting in real effort to change is avoided. Its hard to change your thinking and be accountable for your own shit. But its also very freeing and gets easier the more you do it. It reminds me of the saying “Whether you think you can or you cant, you’re right.” When you’re ready to change your thinking and your lifestyle, thats when real change happens. 90% mental. Same thing when I quit smoking. When I was mentally ready – gone.

One thing they dont mention or encourage much of is food logging and I CANNOT stress enough how useful of a tool this is. You have to be honest about it and accountable. Its software, its not going to judge you (if you set it to alert you when you go over calories then it might feel that way – turn that shit off or adjust it so it doesnt alert you, if that’s a problem for you). Being able to see what you’re actually doing is huge. It took me a long time not to get in my head about the analysis of data and just collect it. I’ll admit that food logging is a giant pain in the ass, especially if you eat out. Most food apps (including Cronometer) have photo based logging now thats relatively accurate. It will at least get you started in the right direction. Most others have barcode scanning tools so you can scan the ingredients and create recipes and such so you can get accurate data.

I dont know why I find myself veering toward this need to communicate what it is Im doing. Every time I start to write it down somewhere, I go off on these tangents. There’s a whole lot of – well what about this and what about that and what did I did when I drove off a cliff without a parachute and didnt have Louise in the passenger seat (I’m Thelma in this particular exaggeration – and also showing my age). I think Im just going to document it this way, in the simplest way possible.

• Determine that a change in lifestyle has to occur and that Im mentally ready to do the work – including understanding what that work means.
• Eat at a Caloric Deficit (Eating Less Calories than the Body Burns)
• Wear Fitness Strap that includes burned calories.
  • I wear a Whoop strap, which is expensive but the output on sleep, steps, the new BP insights, and burned calories is useful to me. Burned Calories doesnt have to be accurate to the calorie. The point is to know that you’re burning more than you’re eating. This is feedback so you can tell if you’re staying on plan or not.
• Eat lean meats and a lot of veggies.
  • You can add a lot of volume in veggies to get FULL.
  • Spices are your friend. Bland food is gross.
• Log food and beverage intake honestly to determine calories eaten.
  • Food apps like Cronometer are incredibly helpful. The internet is your friend. If you can find the nutrition information, most apps should allow you to create custom foods.
  • Weighing your food helps.
• Regular exercise of some kind for at least 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week.
• Staying consistent in the above habits at least 90% of the time
• Giving myself at least one meal every week or two that is a “cheat”.
  • I still compromise on ingredients like switching regular pepperoni for turkey pepperoni and whatnot, but eating out and having a few extra calories once in awhile isnt goign to rock the boat. Keeping it controlled to that ONE meal is important. Enjoy it, savor it, then get right back on the horse.
• Weighing In Daily (optional)
  • This is more for data collection and trends. The goal here isnt to get in my head about the number. However, I do look at these numbers over a couple of week timeframe to make sure Im not gaining or stalled out in loving anything (especially during the course of a month). If I stall out, that usually means that I need to make a dietary adjustment (see above about eating too much sausage).
  • If the scale is a mental issue, stay off of it daily. Weigh in weekly or monthly. Dont avoid it entirely, because its feedback.
• Make adjustments along the way.
  • Some things work, some dont. Maybe the choice of meat we chose was too fatty or was prepared in a way that wasnt conducive to our goal. Be willing to make an adjustment and try some different options to see what works.
• Be in it for long haul.
  • This didnt happen overnight and its not going to change overnight. Strap in!
  • Reflect along the way. Be proud of positive changes, but also use them as motivation to keep going. Celebrating those wins is great (see above about cheats).

At some point, adjustments are going to need to be made to maintain body weight. Ive been thinking about it as the whole “its easy to get an A, but much harder to keep it” concept that we had in school. the way Im thinking of it is that I’ll be able to ease up a little bit, but not stop. This is a lifestyle now. These are positive habits that Im developing. Awareness is everything.

It’s been a minute. The routine changed some with the weather getting a little warmer. As the weather gets warmer, I tend to want to use my smoker more. After the disaster of replacing my smoker,my diet changed slightly to include more fattier cuts of meat (more sausage, burgers and chicken thighs). Consistency hasnt really been where Ive wanted it. And as such, Ive kind of stalled in the low 280’s for the last little bit. Im not really heartbroken by this, because the food is amazing. however, I am trying to watch things closer, still watching my calories and making sure Im active every day. I have a lot of thoughts about some things I want to do with my diet – such as eliminating the red meat entirely for a couple of weeks or reintroducing the food bowls I used to make with ground beef and ground turkey. Simple food thats easy to grab. However, with the weather being so nice, having access to grilled food has been amazing. Im also trying to eat from my freezer a bit, which is where all the burgers and sausages have come from. I have a deep freezer full of ground beef and sausage – most of which I accumulated over time. So Ive been trying to eat that down. I did find a couple of things at Costco that I enjoy – primarily their large packs of chicken thighs. These are pretty tasty and the calorie counts arent huge. Right now, Im focusing on trying to get plenty of veggies in, and plenty of hydration. Prioritizing diet.

I had every intention of posting something at day 90 and to be fair, I just got so wrapped up in life and the execution of the plan that I forgot that I was even doing this.

Now that Ive been doing “this” for a bit, it feels like I have a better understanding of “the plan”. Stay in a calorie deficit (calories burned greater than calories eaten) and log everything I eat/drink. Use a fitness tracker that counts calories to keep track of the calories and be honest about the food logging. After a couple of weeks, I pretty much had an idea of how many calories I was burning per day, so I knew where to set my intake goals. These days, I rarely hit the top end of the calories i have set for the day.

With Spring finally “springing”, my desire for being outside has increased, which means activity is increasing. As such, ive been walking a lot less consistently and i havent been to the gym as consistently. I am making it a point to be active every day, usually by handling some sort of outdoor or car project, now that its warm enough to be outside to so such things.

As of this morning, I was 287, down 38 lbs from early January when I started. I do weigh myself every day. But I dont get in my head about it. The number is what it is. What’s more important are the decisions I make through the day to keep myself on plan. If I maintain the caloric deficit, the weight seems to come down. I recently looked at the numbers from the beginning of each month from January to now to see what the progress looked like.

• Jan 7 – 325
• Feb 1 – 315
• Mar 1 – 305
• April 1 – 298
• May 1 – 288

I havent been focusing on building muscle or any sort of conscious macro breakdown. Right now I just need to drop weight. Once I get down around 250 or so, then I’ll start thinking about focusing on macros. I will say that while Im not paying close attention to them, I do try to keep up on protein intake. Carbs I have to watch anyway because of ye ol’ Diabeetus. The only way Im watching fats is in that Im trying to keep the calories down. So in a way, Im watching them only in relation to calories.

The reality of this is that eating cleaner and activity has to become the norm. As I start to get closer to target weights, I’ll probably have to change up the amount of food I eat to maintain body weight. This will end up being more of changing the foods I eat in a way to hit a different caloric target. The way I stay below now is by eating lower fat cheeses and meats, both of which tend to be higher in calories. So in essence, upping the fat intake by a small amount. Im not sure exactly how thats looking yet, since Im not ready to think in those terms. Still have about 35ish pounds to go before that happens.

One thing I noticed in the last few weeks is that Im not as hungry in the mornings as I used to be. I had stopped eating until around noon. But by then I was super hungry. To try to mitigate some of that I started adding a smoothie to my morning routine. Another reason I chose to do this was that I had started drinking a greens powder awhile ago and its just not very palatable by itself. Doable, yes, but it tastes disgusting. The smoothie is literally just unsweetened almond milk, some lower carb fruits (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and such….in small amounts….frozen), some low carb protein, and the greens powder – blended. Its pretty tasty. Comes out around 500 cal right now, but Im also trying to burn through some protein I have here. I was eating that amount for breakfast anyway, so its ended up being a meal replacement and a crapload of nutrients, which was the point.

When your mental game is on point, stuff like this is a lot easier. I had to make some changes in that area too. Needed to find more positive outlets for my stress, actually deal with my stress, and find ways to support the changes I was making. I’ve been focusing on the execution, not the results. I think you have to evaluate where you’re at from time to time. Make changes based on that evaluation and then get right back to executing them. If you fall off, get back on the horse and keep on going. One area Ive been trying to work on some is figuring out how I can have pizza from time to time. Those would be considered cheat meals. What Ive tried to do is knowing that my routine is relatively solid, give myself one meal where Im not logging. Thats my cheat meal and its usually on a Saturday evening. For me, this is usually when Im most active with projects and at the end, its a reward for a job well done. Might allow myself some alcohol and some food that I wouldnt normally eat. I will try to compromise if I think Im going to have something I shouldnt. So with the pizza, Ive been making it at home with flatbreads. Ive been experimenting with various cheeses. The flatbread keeps the carbs down. Turkey pepperoni keeps the calories down. Last weekend I used sliced mozzarella and that was a win flavor wise. I could have went all out and just ordered pizza. But I am trying to make smarter decisions as I go along. Sometimes I may do that. But this was a more managable decision, while allowing myself a little flexibility. And I nailed the flavor, which is what i was after. Now that Ive had that, back to executing the plan.

Flavor is everything for me. If the food tastes good, then Im more likely to want to eat it. having said that, if you’re in this situation, sauces and spices are your friend. Recently I took a cue from bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman and started using nacho cheese popcorn seasoning (which is really just cheese dust) on some of my food. Its a lot less calories and gives a cheese flavor without the hit. Same way with other spices and sauces. We live in a time when you can get reduced sugar or low/no sugar options of just about every sauce. Look at G Hughes, Walden Farms, or even Rays (same company that makes Sweet Baby Rays – but without all the sugar). I dont go crazy with the sauces and douce my food in them. But I do use them pretty regularly to add flavor to my food so the food isnt bland.

Maybe one of these days Ill write about the specifics of everything Im doing, post some logs of my food, things like that. Now isnt the time for that, because I feel like it would detract from my execution and thats where the focus has to be. Im so happy to be under 300 lbs again and even under 290, where I was a few years ago when I decided “You know, its probably time I go back to the gym because this weight gain is out of control”. Next goal is 275, then 260. Then 250 after that.

Id noticed over the last few weeks as my routine started to change that I was getting more relaxed about my food logging as well as my walking. With the weather changing, its nice to be able to walk outside. Additionally my sleep schedule changed some, so Im not up as early as I used to be. In a way, I dont hate this, but now I dont have the time first thing in the morning to walk. My goal for that is to walk at lunchtime. There’s a grocery store not far from here that I can walk to in order to get items for lunch. I just need to hold myself to that routine and on days where Im not, then Im walking on the treadmill. on the food logging front, I made some minor changes to remind myself – by leaving notes in strategic places in my house to remind me to log my food. I also put the website as part of my homepage setup, so now when I log into my computer in the morning, its right there, ready to go. Evaluate, find a weakness, make a plan to fix said weakness, then execute.

Back to it….

These things have been a staple for me this year. I came across them at Costco during a trip where I went up and down every aisle. Right now, I probably eat these at least once a day. They’re low calorie, low carb, already cooked, and super convenient. You can microwave or air fry these. Ive eaten them either as is or cut them up to put them with other food.