Here we go again

I'm dieting ... again.

I know, I've done it before. I've done it several times. I'm been very serious at some of my attempts. I've been very lax on some other attempts.

Four years ago, I went from 475 to 425 in a very short amount of time on the Adkins diet. I have not had that kind of success since. Since that time, I ballooned back up and added more. My highest recorded weight was 517 pounds. I have also added a host of health issues. I'm pre-diabetic, I've got high blood pressure, I have had heart palpitations that required emergency room visits and electric shocks. I'm currently on several meds for these conditions and I require a CPAP to sleep.

ENOUGH!

To quote a one time dieting guru, it's time to "Stop the Insanity!"

I'm going to lose the weight. I plan to use every trick in the book to do so. One of those tricks is keeping a "Diet Log". Supposedly, keeping a food log aids in weight loss. We'll see.

So, this log might get a bit boring as I list daily what I have eaten and what exercise I have done.

I also plan to use this log as a way to display my successes. The ticker at the top will show my weight loss progress. My hope is that seeing that bar move to the right will encourage me to keep going.

My plan was to start my diet and exercise program on the first, but I've already implemented a few things, had a few surprises and a few scares.

To start, I got on the scale on Monday, expecting to weigh 520 or more, but I only weighed 490. I don't know how or why, but I've already started down my path.

However, when I checked my blood sugar, which I haven't done much to regulate, it was 490. Normal blood sugar is around 100. That was Tuesday. Today it was 385. Better, but still scary. Soooooo ... I've jumped into my low carb diet a little early.

The diabetes is the reason for me to go low carb. I just don't need the extra sugar in my diet.

I'm not following any particular brand name of diet. I have worked out a diet that, if I stick to it, will work. I try to keep it simple. I don't count points or carbs. I figured out calories once and I go from there. Lots of veggies, some lean meat, some low carb protein bars, lots of water & green tea sweetened with Splenda. Simple stuff, the less processed the better. I need to watch my portions, but other than that, it's just simple.

I also try not to worry or think about it too much. If I'm eating a set number and type of things, I don't have to think about it. Previously, I was doing two or three Slim Fast shakes (190 cals each), two bars (210 cals each), some celery or broccoli or cauliflower (Calories? I think not!), two ounces of cheese (100 cals an ounce) - that was my food during the day.

This left me 800 - 1000 calories for dinner. Steak averages about 100 cals an ounce, so an 8 oz. steak, some steamed veggies with a pat of butter and/or a salad with Ranch gets me to around 2k calories for a day. That's way less than I normally eat, and it's all healthy instead of being donuts, candy and chips. I've lost a good deal of weight (then gained it back) doing this diet.

However, I've shown some lactose intolerance recently. So, the milk based shakes and cheese are getting replaced with Soy protein shakes and soymilk. I also want to start adding some fish (Omega 3!) into my diet and eliminating some of the meat protein, replacing it with soy (tofu). Tofu has no Omega 6 (meat fat), some Omega 3, which is anti-inflammatory and should help with my joint health as I exercise more. There is also no mercury and it's cheap!

Ah, yes, I mentioned the evil word: exercise. Exercise is both the key and the problem with my previous diets. When I did Adkins four years ago, I didn't do a bit of exercise. But, I really need to do it now and I need to change my attitude about exercise.

My motto for this diet is "Eat Right. Move more."

So, in line with the diet, I want to do some type of continuous movement, every day, for 30 minutes. I haven't done it yet, but that's my goal. I'll probably start on the treadmill, but I want to find other ways to be up and active as well.

So, there we are. Wish me luck.