September 7, 2002 (along with wife, (me), z edge, HeartlandGirl):
Today:
Back during the holidays and into January, my 5 foot, 7 inch frame was up around 180 pounds. Today I weigh 140 pounds.
I started with the Subway diet around February 2. I pretty much followed Jarod's menu of a 6 inch turkey for lunch and a footlong veggie delight for dinner. I always got it on wheat bread with no mayo or cheese; this was easier than I thought it would be. I also had Baked Lays or WOW! potato chips with each meal and a diet soft drink with each meal. I did allow myself a regular institutional dinner at church on Wednesday nights and dinner at a Mexicna restaurant with our neighbors once night a week, plus the occasional appetizers at parties. Prior to this time, I was eating REAL fast food (the bad kind) at least once a day and having at least 2-3 real Cokes per day.
When Ash Wednesday rolled around about a month and a half later, I was planning to give up beef and pork. I was travelling the Gulf Coast on business that day and had chicken for both lunch and dinner. I decided simply giving up beef & pork was of little challenge, so I decided that as of the next day, I would give up ALL meat, which I did. I began eating for lunch the "good homecooked vegetables" that my Mom never could get me to eat as a kid. I also discovered that Morningstar Farms makes the best fake meat products, including hamburger patties and breakfast sausages. I still eat these today.
Sometime in late January, I took up running again, then added a little bit of working out in February. With Lent, I started running every day and increasing my run by 10% each week, maxing out at 30 minutes per day the week of Easter, which is just under 4 miles for me. I also worked out most every day of Lent. Last week I ran my first-ever 5K race; I came in 28th out of 117 runners, with a time of 23:11.
I also started drinking a lot of water during this campaign.
My method was basically old fashioned: exercise more, eat less, and eat healthier. Burn more calories than you take in daily. Drink water.
I have much more energy these days. I have 2 lean slices of bacon with my breakfast each morning, and then maybe one other serving of meat during the day. Everything else is vegetable/fruit/bread/grains etc. I do treat myself ot desserts on occasion. I have NOT cut back on bread/potatoes/rice, etc., as Tommy Thompson and the late Dr. Atkins would tell us is the only way to lose weight and keep it off. My brother is a doctor and disagrees with them; he says I have done it right. They say that I will put my weight back on; I haven't. If I wanted to, I could lose 2-3 more pounds easily this week. But I am currently at or slightly below the "ideal" weight for my height.
I am now back to being the skinny little kid that I was in high school and college.
~U2Alabama