Paleo work in progress, weight loss journal page

[Millersoontobelite]

I would like to start by saying that I love the ecclectic mix of this community and it is why I decided to post here.
From overweight people trying to lose it all to standard size trying to get into shape, everyone is represented.

I am a member of that fat category and I could easily write pages dedicated to how I got to where I was at 335 pounds, and discuss my dozens of successes and failures to lose weight in the past ( i have lost 70 pounds a couple times just to gain it back) but I would rather spend time talking about where I currently am and where I hope to be.

the first part of this i wrote a week ago for my own personal self-etification but I decided it was a good place to start my post.
Paleo start date was 10/30/12

In mid july 2012 I returned from new York around 335 pounds again, and feeling pretty awful. I went on a CW diet for a bit, although with my own flair. I like to find things that I like that are easily prepared and cheap. I was eating a lot of prepared meals, but not weight watchers or smart ones. I would buy banquet chicken pot pies which are 400 calories and have that an a yogurt for lunch, a granola bar for breakfast/snacks and dinners varied greatly, sometimes a ham sandwich with a few low fat Pringles sometimes something better like some chicken breasts and broccoli.
As to be expected this diet of 1500 calories or so was moderately effective initially. I lost around 20 pounds quickly, and by mid October I was pretty stagnant. I would get to 308, have a bad day and go to 312, get to 308, stay there for two weeks, eat something bad, then get back to 308. You know the drill.

A friend of mine who is a fitness nut (crossfit mostly) linked me to nerdfitness. After a few days reading stuff here and there, I decided I was going to give it the old college try, paleo dieting that is. The natrual progression once I found nerdfitness was to wind up over here on at mda. I did an atkins diet in college and lost about 50 pounds in three months but returned to college the next fall and gained most of it back pretty quickly. In general, the diets are similar so I was familiar with the general guidelines and what was and was not low carb, while paleo is obviously different, this made the transition a bit easier for me.

At any rate, I decieded to give it two weeks and see how it works. Hurricane sandy came through the last weekend of October and I coupled that occurance with going out for Halloween and in general sort of did an irish wake to my eating for a bit. I had pizza, beer and chips for the last time for a while, and on October 30 I was 313. Now a few pounds of that was likely just excess crud in my body from eating badly that I would have lost within a couple days again, so lets say my paleo diet started me at 310. By the time the first two weeks were over I had hit 301 pounds. I was pleased with 4.5 pounds a week and although I had increased my walking by playing a lot of disc golf and hiking, I otherwise had done very ltitle extra exercise wise.
Today is basically one month since I began, November 29. I was 296 this morning. I was on 300 for about a week, finally got under on thanksgiving morning I was 297.6 but obviously that day wasn’t great for me. Other than a sliver of cake and couple crackers occasionally when I was feeling a bit off, thanksgiving is the only day I ate anything bad. A month with a single day of cheating is pretty good and I have lost 14 pounds in that month. I feel like I would be down another pound or two if it weren’t for thanksgiving, so I am overall pretty pleased.
I have varied a lot what I eat, the week that I was struggling a bit to lose weight my main trend was something small for breakfast like some pistachios, leftover chili for lunch and 3 eggs, 3 strips of bacon, some sausage and some ketchup for dinner. Since that week I have not done the eggs meal for dinner and the weight seems to be coming off easier. I did use low sugar ketchup to offset some of the non paleo aspect of the meal but I am unsure if this was my issue, but at this point I am going to avoid that meal, at least at night, for a while.
I have struggled with vegetables. I eat a lot more onions, carrots, tomatos and peppers than I used to, but I really struggle with things like broccoli and beans. I, quite simply, hate them
My water intake was really good the first couple weeks and has fallen off a bit. I really limited my sodas initially but I have been having 2-3 again, which is down from 4-5 so a small improvement.
People have asked me a lot about what I am doing as I have mentioned it here and there and to be honest I don’t really know what to say. I did this both as a weight loss method but moreimportantly I was looking to get something to make me feel better.
I do have more energy, and I have definitely slept pretty well. that being said, I also feel like I have been more irritable, snarky even than I used to be. I am unsure if there is a correlation with my diet, but it is smoethign I have taken notice of.
Goals, I am pretty up in the air. I am commited to doing this up until at least Christmas. I hope to break under 290 by then, which is only 7 pounds in four weeks. Ideally, 285 would be nice. I am concerned about the Christmas holiday. Food in my family, like many, is at the forefront of our celebration and it is one week other than summer that I am home, so I know I will indulge. This far out it is easy for me to say that I am going to try to temper my habits, enjoy xmas eve and xmas day, but eat healthy otherwise. In reality, I am not confident this will occur.


Update: Today is december 6, one week since I wrote the previous paragraphs. I was 293 this morning, which is actaully a bit discouraging because that is what I was on december 2nd morning. The net loss for the week since that post was three pounds which I am happy with but i wish it came off more gradually and made me feel like more consistant progress was made. Obviously if i am 290 one week from today I feel like I will be pleased, so I guess i just need to take it where i get it.

also i just realized the title is Paleo not Primal, i realize the words are often interchanged but the primal word is used here and if a mod wants to change it that would be welcomed

[Millersoontobelite]

Looking back through this I realize how long winded I am, no wonder my high school students fall asleep. . .
FYI I am 5'10, former football player, broad shoulders, carry all my weight in my upper body. at this point I am starting to wear my size 40 pants again and most of my 2xl shirts fit comfortably. this is a change and a welcome one. I am 31 years old

[Annieh]

Welcome and good luck with your weight loss and health gains. i am sure you will learn as you go how to make this work for you.

Re the snarky mood, it could be just stress of the season or it could possibly be related to eating very low amounts of carbohydrate. I have had that happen in the past, it was great for not feeling hungry and for losing weight but did make for a kind of grumpy feeling. It was worth it though

Again well done on the weight loss and improved sleep, so far. Here's to even more benefits to come.

[Millersoontobelite]

thanks. I struggle a bit because i quite truly hate vegetables and it is such a big part of not only this diet/lifestyle but most. I try to make myself stomach some broccoli and other green veggies in my stir fry etc. it's the hardest part for me.

daily intake: breakfast - i make a breakfast item some of you are familiar with - single slice of bacon, small piece of sausage and scrambled egg in muffin tin. I make these once a week and eat them for breakfast m-t usually. one per day
lunch - usually a leftover of what the previous nights dinner was. often times i make a paleo chili, slow cooker pot roast with onions, garlic and carrots, or a salad. today was leftover pot roast
dinner - i occassionally make something that is a tiny bit of a cheat but something i love. i stuff two burgers with two slices of lightly cooked backon and a small amount of cheese and sometimes a little ham if i have it. grill it up and cover in leftover paleo chili i keep for that purpose. yummy. i call it a carnivore burger

[Millersoontobelite]

I decided to try my hand at meatza last night. I used a little over a pound of beef, one egg, a little parmasean chease and italian seasoning for the meat crust, coooked it then covered in organic tomato sauce i had, a little motzerella cheese, diced tomatoes, a little chopped up ham, bacon and sausage, and peppers. it was tasty although a little off the plan for my weight loss with the cheese and lack of veggies but whatever.

i was 291 this morning. 19 pounds eating primal in about 37 days. lost 23 in the previous 90 days before is tarted paleo/primal. 42 total

[Annieh]

You are still coming down, great work.

Two burgers sounds like more than a tiny bit of a cheat. That wheat is addictive and bad for you, better to stay off it completely. Cheat with a baked potato or something instead.

The meatza sounds great. I have done similar one but I used precooked chicken breast for the crust, it was almost like real pizza.

There are many ways to make veges taste good. Bacon. Butter. Broth.

[Millersoontobelite]

You are still coming down, great work.

Two burgers sounds like more than a tiny bit of a cheat. That wheat is addictive and bad for you, better to stay off it completely. Cheat with a baked potato or something instead.

lol there was no bread in my burgers. just two patties, ham, cheese, sometimes bacon, and paleo chili. it is basically paleo save for a little cheese it is just rather glutonous and lacks veggies and healthier stuff like that, thats all. its a fork and knife burger, no bunsssssssss.

[Millersoontobelite]

Despite the fact that my other meal mentioned above was not a horrible cheat, i did fall off the wagon this weekend. After about 40 days i had two pieces of pizza, two beers and a cookie. . . I suppose if you compare this to what i would have liked to eat it wasnt so bad, but I am disappointed with myself. if i wasnt trying to lose weight i wouldnt mind having a bad day here and there, 80/20, 90/10 but i need to focus on like 97/3 at this point, and with christmas being a beacon of doubt in the future I really should have stuck it out. i suppose most people who have ever been obese and tried to "diet" know i how i feel, but i am really trying to just make my lifestyle built around eating primal/paleo and am unhappy the smell of delicious NY style pizza allowed me to cave. More importantly, i know ill be fighting the scale all week just to get back to where i was yesteday morning. I didnt weigh myself today (i am trying really hard to stay away in general, but it is hard for me) but i am sure i will by the end of the week and was hoping to be in the mid 280's and that is unlikely now.

the good thing here is that i felt AWFUL afterwards and this morning. Stomach in knots, indigestion, lathargic, poor nights sleep etc. The reinforcement this gives me that my body was liking what i was doing and not appreciating the poison i put it in is appreciated.

I am going to fast today until dinner, and dinner will be light, salad with some almonds and thats about it. i am also playing racquetball to make me feel better about myself.

Anyway, I took a new picture this weekend at 290, 43 pounds down am likely to post soon.

a

[Millersoontobelite]

i fasted for breakfast and lunch tomorrow. for dinner i made a small omelet after racquetball. i also thawed out some frozen meatza for lunch today and tomorrow. i had some dried cranberries and almonds for a breakfast snack this morning, will eat the leftover meatza for lunch and dinner is up in the air. Probably something sausage based as i have some from a local farmers market.
I didnt weigh myself this morning, probably will tomorrow. Sure i will be up a couple pounds after my bad day on sunday. We shall see.

[Annieh]

sorry for misunderstanding about your burgers, they were barely a cheat at all.

Even though you did cheat with the pizza, it sounds like you have learnt your lesson. I won't succumb to fish and chips in a hurry after the bad reaction it gave me last time

All the best for your weigh in.