Day 47 Random Thoughts

At the beach today I met a girl from California visiting her brother who is stationed here. She was pretty cool. I suspect her and her brother don't see eye to eye on everything. To say she was critical of American Foreign Policy in Iraq would be simply polite. She really went on a rant about Weapons of Mass Destruction, the hundreds of thousands of dead civilians and the hundred of thousands of displaced.

I came home cooked dinner for my family, cleaned up, bathed our son and was thinking how lucky we are. I turned on the computer and started to read some of the other diet blogs while updating my own.

It hit me. In the big picture, the Diet Blog Sphere is surreal in light of what is happening in the rest of the world. The expensive gym memberships and personal trainers. People whining about how hard it is to put down that pop tart. Screams of fat discrimination. We should all be fat positive! Of course the government should do more to fight obesity. It must be the government's fault. No, we read, it is the evil corporations that trick us.

Obesity. Gluttony. Over Consumption. Excuses. It is Madness.

Day 47 Review

It was a nice day. We took our son to the beach. He is slowly getting accustomed to the sea. Again, it is just like my diet. Just try, a bit at a time and what seems difficult becomes so easy.
I probably should not have included Batto Jitsu as exercise, as it was a Tameshigiri practice. During the hour I made about 50 cuts. Lots of concentration but I suspect only a few calories burned.
I am doing well at keeping hydrated. I had 1 litre of Sanpin Tea, 1 litre of Goya Tea, 2 litres of water and half a litre of soup. An older Gentleman at the Dojo recommended adding Apple Vinager to one cup of water a day. I'll give it a try.

Day 47 Excercise

45 minutes swim
1 hour Batto Jitsu
30 minutes In-line skating

Total 2 hours 15 minutes

Day 47 Calories

Half an Apple, Yogurt & Cheese 210
Almonds 180
Mixed Salad, Sardines & Tofu 350
Soy Bar 120
Pork Stir Fry & Miso Soup 700

Total 1560

Day 47 Weight 105kg (231lbs)


Day 46 Review

It was a good day. Time wise I am officially at the half way point in my 3 month diet. In order to accomplish my weight goal I need to lose another 20kg (44lbs) in the next 46 days. I received negative comments about my goal and only one supportive. I turned the comments off. I don't want to waste energy and time defending myself.

I wrote this before. My goal may be aggressive. But I won't let it scare me. No matter what weight I end up at - all is good, as long as I tried my hardest both mentally and physically everyday of my diet. I am not unique. Many people have accomplished similar weight loss over 3 months. Check out the The Anti Jared Blog here. Or maybe read an article about 64 year old Jerry Hayes here.

After my three months is over I plan to do one of two things right away. Start another diet or start a weight management program. I hold, these two things, to be different.

Day 46 Excercise

30 minutes In-line skating
1 hour 15 minutes Elliptical Trainer
30 minutes Weight Training (Arms & Chest)

Total 2 hours 15 minutes.

Day 46 Calories

Banana, Yogurt, & HB Egg 250
Almonds 120
Half an Apple, Salad & Cheese 250
Tuna Fish Salad & Firm Tofu 400
Miso Soup & Steamed Chicken 500

Total 1520

Day 46 Weight 105kg (231lbs)


Day 45 Review

It was a good day. I got to the gym 1 hour before closing time. I skipped weight training and did 1 hour on the Elliptical. In retrospect I should have done 30 minutes of each. . I keep reading about successful dieters and almost all say you have to do weight training to accomplish the big loss numbers. I understand it but don't take it serious enough. I am still stuck in the cardio cardio cardio school.

Day 45 Excercise

1 hour swim (slow)
1 hour elliptical trainer

Total 2 hours

Day 45 Calories

Half an Apple, Soy Milk & Cereal 260
Box of Raisins 90
Baked Beans, Tofu & Sardines 450
Box of Raisins 90
Miso Soup & Hamburger Patti 500
Chocolate Bar 160

Total 1550

Day 45 Weight 105kg (231lbs)


Day 44 Review

It was a good day and I took it easy.

Day 44 Excercise

1.5 hours Batto Jitsu practice

Total 1.5 hours.

Day 44 Calories

Yogurt, half an Apple & Cheese 200 (7:00am)
Box of Raisins 90 (9:00)
Soy Bar 120 (11:00)
Tuna Fish Salad, HB Egg & Celery 400 (Noon)
Box of Raisins 90 (2:00)
Soy Bar 120 (4:00)
Baked Beans & Chicken Soup 600

Total 1620

Day 44 Weight 106kg (233lbs)


Day 43 Review

All round it was a good day. Rainy season has started but I don't expect the inconvenience to be too great. The important thing is the Reservoirs are filling up and the Farmers are happy. On the advice of Turkish friend I used Cumin as a soup base. It was really good.

I'm just trying to stick to my plan, day by day. I have written before that I feel cranky by the end of the day. I thought about it more and a better adjective might be - irritable. Yes, I feel irritable at the end of the day. Still, my wife claims not to notice.

Day 43 Excercise

1 hour 15 minutes Elliptical Trainer
30 minutes Weight Training (Arms & Chest)

Total 1 hour 45 minutes.

Day 43 Calories

Banana, Soy Milk & Cheese 400
Box of Raisins 90
Pork Vegetable Soup 400
Pork Stir Fry 600

Total 1490

Day 43 Weight 106kg (233lbs)


6 Week Review

I just finished my 6th week. I have 51 days or about 7 weeks left to reach my goal of losing 42kg (92lbs) in three months. To date, I've lost 21kg (46lbs). Week by week I've lost: 5kg, 2kg, 4kg, 4kg, 2kg, and 4kg.

I have no complaints on my progress so far. I believe I am a bit cranky at times. My wife does not think so. She feels I procrastinate less about other things not related to dieting.

I started with 8 goals to help me facilitate my weight loss plan. The first three goals I made after reading about other people who were successful in dieting. The last 5 goals were made on the advice of an old Holistic practitioner.

Goal 1 - Weight myself everyday. I have done this without fail. I can't imagine being on a diet and not checking everyday. One should get in sync with the rhythm of their body and diet. If I have time I am going to plot my daily weight against my calorie consumption and exercises time. I would love to see the moving averages.

Goal 2 -Consume 1600 calories a day. I am averaging about 1550 calories a day.

Goal 3 - Exercise 1.5 hours a day. I am averaging 2 hours a day. 1.75 hours a day for the first 3 weeks and 2.25 hours a day for the last 3 weeks. This is about the maximum time I can budget. I am going to have to work on increasing intensity. My bad knee really limits me here. I can't afford to be cocky.

Goal 4 - Drink 12 cups of Sanpin Tea everyday. I average about 1 litre a day.

Goal 5 - Eat 1.5 cups of Konnyaku a day. I average about 1 cup a day. I am falling in love with the stuff.

Goal 6 - Eat half a Goya a day. I really am failing here. I eat 1 Goya a week. However, I drink at least 1 litre of Goya tea everyday.

Goal 7 - Eat 10 cm of Gobo a day. I have exceeded this goal by a huge margin. It is an "earthy" vegetable and I really like it. I put in my soup, salads and eat it, just plain boiled.

Goal 8 -Eat Konbu three times a week. I have exceeded this goal.

Day 42 Review

It was a good day. I had a nice swim early this morning. I'm glad I did as it rained the rest of the day. Food wise I did well. I really need to add more fruit though. Except for Bananas, most of the fruit is a bit expensive. The apple I ate today was about 4 US dollars. We should start going to the Farmer's market and buy the fruit that is in season.

Day 42 Excercise

1 hour swim
1 hour Batto Jitsu Training

Total 2 hours

Day 42 Calories

Half an Apple, Soy Milk, Cereal, H.B. Egg 400
Half an Apple, Mixed Salad, Tuna, H.B. Egg, 500
Vegetable Soup and a Hamburger Patti 500

Total 1400

Day 42 Weight 106kg (233lbs)


Day 41 Review

It was a good day. We took our Son to the the beach again. He is 8 months old and a bit nervous about the water. Weather permitting I'm going to take him to the beach every Sat & Sunday for an hour for the rest of the summer. I plan to slowly familiarize him with the Sea. I guess it is kind of like exercising or training. If you try a little, regularly - what seems difficult becomes easy.

I have been at 107kg for four days now. It feels like another mini plateau. I love checking my weight everyday. It helps me get accustomed to the natural rhythms of my diet and body.

Also, on the good side, we finally finished the can of Spam I opened last Monday. I bought the big can pre-diet. I ate a little everyday. Counting calories daily is a real eye opener.

I did a super 2.5 hour non stop walk today. My fitness is really improving. I walked the entire distance of the mono-rail and then returned by train. I was amazed I could do it. I was trying to shock my body into shedding 1kg to bust my mini plateau.

Day 41 Exercise

2.5 hour walk

Total 2.5 hours

Day 41 Calories

Half a Banana, Soy Milk & Cheese 250
Half an Apple, Spam & Cucumber 190
Steamed Salmon & Mixed Salad 500
Half an Apple, Vegetable Soup & Spam 500

Total 1440

Day 41 Weight 107kg (136lbs)