End of diet / exercise week one.

[dslartoo]

I posted this in the southbeachdiet community but it occurred that some people here might want to see my progress (or lack thereof) as well.

Yesterday marked the end of my first week on the South Beach diet. I have allowed myself no cheats whatsoever and have been exercising like a demon every day; in fact, I was so exhausted yesterday I forgot to do my weekly weighing after getting home from my afternoon run. So I checked the scale this morning.

Start weight: 201.5
Current weight: 194.2

Total lost first week: 7.3 pounds.

I was tired and beat yesterday after the run, I had a headache, and I absolutely craved a pizza and 2-liter of Coke. Instead I contented myself with a mix of lean ground beef, shredded lettuce, and some cheddar ("It's like a taco, without the taco!"), had a glass of skim milk, and did another thirty pushups and situps.

Willpower. It's a matter of willpower, and I WILL power through this.

So. On to week two now.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

-- END OF LINE --

Currently playing: Rob Halford -- Resurrection. I was delighted to hear the Halford scream on the opening track of this disc after he muted it so much for his stuff with Fight. Great album, this, and the title fits.

Comments

[scrapyard.livejournal.com]

My daddy always used to say the only way to actually lose weight was "Move more, eat less."

Congrats!

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

That's the way I have always seen it, too. I'm fully aware that the reason I've gotten to this point is that I don't exercise and I eat too much stuff that's bad for me. Since both of them are fixable, I'm fixing them.

Thanks for the kind words. :)

cheers,
Phil

[sarbah77.livejournal.com]

go Phil go!

congrats on your week 1 success!

My parents are on it, as well, at the advice of his physician. My father is probably into the obese side of things, with the usual heart/cholesterol problems.

I, on the other hand, am joining Weight Watchers on Saturday with a friend.

[vill.livejournal.com]

I know many many people who have had success losing and maintaining their loss with Weight Watchers.

Plus they like that they can go have a big ol' piece of pizza, just that means they have to have salad for the rest of the day because the pizza slice took up all their points.

[sarbah77.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've done WW before with success. However, my only problem is that i resent it. So, I am not as good as I ought to be... or I get lazy on the exercise bit.

But if I do follow the plan properly *and* exercise, then I do fine.

I keep thinking about the South Beach diet, but I'm not sure what my hang-up is. And good for Phil!

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

I am usually lazy on the exercise bit too. That's what got me to this point. Exercising regularly is going to be a large part of me losing the weight, not just the change in diet (although that will help too, of course).

Thanks for the good words. I don't recall you needing to lose any weight, though, 'less you've put on a LOT since I saw you in November.

cheers,
Phil

[sarbah77.livejournal.com]

no, i'm the same weight as you last saw me. however, i'm ... well, i'm short, not tiny. and weight charts don't look at that. weight charts list me as borderline obese. my doctor thinks losing 10pounds is good enough. and exercising regularly.

that's my *real* goal. regular exercise as a lifestyle. with it, i hope, falls the desire to eat better.

(i actually lost a lot of weight after ProgPower because i didn't eat for month - alluded to in one of my posts last night - but, alas, since i started eating again, the weight came back).

however, i have officially done Weight Watchers twice, so i know how much effort it takes to diet and to make the lifestyle change. i know how much work this is for you and i really do stand there with pom poms to cheer you on.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

The charts are pretty fucking stupid, then. You aren't anywhere near "borderline obese". "Borderline obese", in my mind, means you need to lose thirty or forty pounds. Ten means "I had too many chocolate bars last month".

I do think that pure charts aren't always accurate. There are plenty of people who "wear" their weight better than others (and I'd guess you may be one of those -- in any case you don't look even remotely overweight). You ask them how much they weigh and you don't believe the answer because they don't look that heavy. Or the other way around -- they look like a stick but they weigh a ton.

I used to be one of those who wears it well, but evidently there's a limit to how much can be "worn well". Hence the desire to get rid of it. :)

cheers,
Phil

[sarbah77.livejournal.com]

well, if you stood me up next to... hmm... someone like ytsemaddy you'll see a difference in structure when we're both the same height. i think the charts are geared to someone like her - which, like you said, is why pure charts aren't accurate. 115 is not an acceptable weight for me. i hit it when i was 17 and i was skin and bones (plus, even playing soccer for two hours a day after school wasn't enough exercise to keep it off).

so, yeah, charts are dum but they just make me worry enough about my long-term health. as my doc pointed out, a 10 pound weight loss makes me that much healthier. any exercise makes me that much healthier, which, as far as i can tell, was a perfectly sane assessment of the situation.

i do wear it well - but with my dad's health problems and that i do take after him in stature, i really want to have a firm grip on my eating and exercise habits before my health is severly affected by it all.

[ytsemaddy.livejournal.com]

You're only 5' tall? Why did I think you were like 5'4"??

[sarbah77.livejournal.com]

har. no. i'm about 5ft 2- on a good day, standing tall.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

That is an impressive achievement. Congratulations!

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Thanks! With perseverance and a little luck, future weeks will also be good ones.

cheers,
Phil

[kevinjdog.livejournal.com]

Congratulations. You've inspired me to try something similar.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks, man. Never thought of myself as an inspiration before. I kinda like it.

Best of luck with your own! God knows anybody who does a daily webcomic for that long definitely has the stick-to-it-iveness needed. :)

cheers,
Phil

[spiritchaser1.livejournal.com]

wow, great work! Good luck to you on sticking with it and finding a balance that you can be happy AND healthy with! :)

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Thanks! So far I'm not very happy, but I will be once the weight is lost. Appreciate the encouragement.

cheers,
Phil

[ytsemaddy.livejournal.com]

My in-laws were on South Beach. They called it "Sudden Bitch Diet", I think. I know the "bitch" part was right. They say towards the end of your strict-diet weeks, you become evil. :)

I don't think I could lose more than 10 lbs without going into fainting spells, but I definitely need to exercise and get in shape. If I could lose 10 lbs of fat but gain 8 lbs of muscle, I think I'd be pretty damn happy with my shape.

However, it's difficult to build muscle when your weight bench is in pieces in your garage. And it's hard to do cardio work when your treadmill is covered in CD cases. ;)

(Not only am I a champion procrastinator, I excel at excuses too!)

[ytsemaddy.livejournal.com]

Oh, forgot to say that I'm proud of you, and just imagine that I'm sitting here with my hair in pigtails, waving pom-pons around. ;)

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

What an....interesting image. :) Thanks for the support, though.

I don't know about "becoming" evil...I had temper issues even before going on the diet/exercise thing, so most people would probably tell you I'm already evil. :)

cheers,
Phil

[jamietw.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the loss. I know you have worked your ass off. I have to say it is so unfair how much faster guys loose weight. Be thankful you are not a girl or it would only be 2 lbs. Keep up the good work.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the encouragement. We'll see how well I'm doing in a couple weeks.

cheers,
Phil

[mrdisco99.livejournal.com]

Good for you.

By the way, I love that icon.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Doesn't that just rock utterly? Concept and execution by the talented kevinpease, full post here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/kevinpease/46807.html).

cheers,
Phil

[seismic.livejournal.com]

w00t!

Keep up the good work!

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Thanks! One hopes I will still be doing this well next week.

cheers,
Phil

[birdofparadox.livejournal.com]

Kick ass!

Right now, my total loss is hovering between 20-25 lbs. It's crazy what that kind of weight can do.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Crazy how? Crazy how good it makes you feel when you lose it? I'm confused.

Thanks for the encouragement, though. :)

cheers,
Phil

[birdofparadox.livejournal.com]

it's weird, how my feet hurt less, but my lower back hurts more now (because some things I wish would shrink won't, while everything else is... I think Badger paid someone off.)

so crazy in a weird but cool way.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Heh. I probably shouldn't mention that I contributed to the same fund. :)

Are you still dieting? I skim Livejournal so much these days that I missed any mention of your even being on a diet, I believe.

cheers,
Phil

[birdofparadox.livejournal.com]

Right now, I'm trying to eat reasonably well, but we're so busy I'm not exactly sticking to South Beach because frankly, I'll eat crap rather than not eat at all!