The Right Way

Short and sweet today.

At 304.6, this is the lowest weight I've been without the aid of a fad diet. This is just eating better, getting even slightly more active, and not stressing or obsessing.

We're going to try to go camping this weekend, and my goal is to eat well (Zone bars, grilled chicken, nuts, wheat bread, etc) all weekend, then hike, toss a ball or frisbee - just generally be active.

Who knows? Maybe I'll come back at 299 Tuesday morning.

Yup. No Magic Pill.

Well, I decided to stop my "fad" carnivore diet. Why? Well, I ate a normal meal a couple of days ago - with a normal amount of carbs - and you'll never guess what happened.

Oh. You CAN guess what happened? Almost six pounds came storming back? Yeah?

Yeah.

One meal, 5.4 pounds back on. That took me from 302.2 to 307.6 overnight. Since then, I've gone back to the basics - smaller amounts of better foods, including complex carbs. I'm hovering back at 306, which I'm not thrilled with, but it's better than seeing a 314+ like I saw two weeks ago.

So, here's the general idea of what I'm planning to eat:

Lean meats.
Whole grains.
Fruits.
Veggies.
Low-fat cheeses.
Almonds, and healthy nuts.
Beans.
Low-fat milk.
Eggs.

I got the list straight from the Men's Health Abs Diet plan. I followed it near-perfectly when I dropped 96, so I'm going to go back to it, now. Go with what you know works, right?

On the activity front, I still haven't done a thing. I've been fighting off a cough for almost two weeks, and it's been kicking my butt. Still, I'm hoping to spend a lot of time this weekend getting outside and moving. Hikes, frisbee, tossing a football...I'll take any of it at this point.

Later, all...

Coming Out of Retirement

Yeah...again.

So, a very brief update. I was recently as high as 316 pounds. Seeing that number was a slap of reality across my face. Even so, it took some time to get moving. Last week, I started a modified caveman diet - eating only what I could kill or grow - including potatoes and rice - and allowing myself to have salad dressing, ketchup, etc.

I quickly went from 314.4 to 302.2, and I was ecstatic. But then I added some more carbs to my diet for a day, and - POOF - I'm back up 3 pounds.

As I vented about it on Facebook, it was the comment of an MMA fighter whom I've never met, but had watched fight for years, that sunk in.

"Don't diet. Eat and live healthy."

Is it that easy? Really? It can't be. There has to be a catch, or a fad, or a miracle. Right?

And then I started thinking about the CRAZY diet I was on four years ago when I dropped 96 pounds:

I went from simple carbs to complex, whole grain carbs. I cut back on the sugary crap food. I still had cheat meals. I got more active.

No pills. No trainers. No fads.

I was just eating and living healthy.

And that's why I came back to this blog. This is where it all happened. It wasn't always easy, by any stretch of the imagination. But reading over these posts makes me realize that it's still possible to get where I need to go.

This morning I am a 6' 8", 305.4-pound guy who wants more form his life. And being healthy and fit is going to be step one in getting it.