Not surprisingly, step one of my 2014 "get back in better health" project involves eating better. To that end I've adopted the one diet that I know generally works pretty well for me: cutting out just about everything with added sugar. That sounds harder than it is, as long as you're willing to cook for yourself and to read ingredient lists. One thing I always find interesting about this process is that once I cut off the sugar, almost all of the desire for sugar goes away, too.
To that bit of dietetic discipline I've added a pretty significant cutback in my "pure carbohydrate" foods: bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice. I'm letting in a bit of wheat bread and brown rice for now, but in much smaller quantities than my usual heaping portions. The idea here is to force my body to start burning down a bit of the massive storehouse of fat that it's built up over the years.
The final bit: cutting way back on the beer. Sigh. I'm not even going to pretend that I'll cut it out altogether, but it's under huge cutdown until further notice. Sigh.
In general, so far, so good. This is a long-term project. I will, however, say that these diet decisions may have gotten the best of me Monday night, when I opted for this for dinner:
Chili-Dog "Salad"
-- 2 large bratwursts
-- 2 cups of seasoned chili/taco meat
-- Shredded cheddar cheese. (How much? I dunno ... a lot. Yum!)
-- Too much guacamole
-- A few scattered black beans
-- A wisp of lettuce and a scattering of diced onion, neither of which ever really stood a chance against the rest of it
-- One diced tomato, to beef up the fraudulent "this is good for me" theory
-- Homemade salsa (Yum! And this part really was healthy)
I'm afraid that I must now report to you all that -- much to my surprise -- this concoction was neither dietetic nor was it good for me. (I know. You're surprised, too, right?!)
In point of fact, it caused me to lay semi-comatose on the couch for the rest of the night with a belly full of meat and cheese while watching old "Doctor Who" episodes with Tom Baker. This entertainment selection may have been provoked by a subconscious to hijack the Tardis, go back in time a couple of hours, and tell myself, "Hey, self! More Lettuce, less bratwurst and chili meat!! Sheesh!!! There's no added sugar in there, but what are you freaking thinking?!"
Other than that incident ... so far, so good. Down four pounds from my shameful Jan. 2 high mark.
Phase Two of the 2014 "get back in better health" project involves dragging my butt back into the gym on a semi-regular basis. The progress to date ... well, um ... I bought a new combination lock for my locker at the "Y" and a pair of gym shorts.
Still some work to do, I reckon.
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Congrats on the loss of four pounds, John! Look at it this way, had you already reached your goal for weight loss, what would there be to look forward to for the rest of the year. Now you are still eagerly motivated... Doesn't that feel good?
ReplyDeleteI just re-read this post, and I'm not sure that the real tip I was trying to impart is clear. It's this: "Eating a pound and a half of bratwurst and chili meat under the guise of 'hot dog salad' will not cause you to lose weight or be healthier. It will, however, cause you to lay semi-comatose on the couch for the rest of the night with a belly full of meat and cheese while watching old 'Doctor Who' episodes with Tom Baker."
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