BRIENMALONE's CalorieKing blog
Monday, Mar 24 2008 - Crap! I'm A Statistic!
View BRIENMALONE's food & exercise for this day
Otter posted this great article in her blog about the day when most new year's resolution diets fail. For some reason, people who start a new routine on January 1 seem to stop on or around March 18. There is something about the 78th day of a diet that causes people to give up.
I didn't start my 'diet' on new year's as part of any resolution... I started December 9, 2007. Want to hear something funny? Looking back over my charts, my resolve and focus died abruptly starting 2/26/08.
Feb 26 was day 79.
Crap. I'm a statistic.
Where I differ from the "norm" is that I haven't gone -completely- back to my old habits. It is worth examining what stuck and why.
What Stuck
1) I still blog - though not as frequently.
2) I still record my foods (though - again - not as frequently)
3) During the week, I still eat 4 really good meals: Flax PBJ, fruit + cottage cheese, "Brien's Soup", and fruit + cottage cheese again.
4) I'm not drinking sodas or juices (caffeine, liquid sugar calories and artificial sweeteners are "out" )
5) I'm not eating any chocolate (caffeine & sugar)
6) I don't add fatty condiments to foods (mayo, creamy dressing, butter, cream cheese, regular cheese)
7) I'm not eating fast food (one exception - I had some taco bell gorditas fresco style - but that is relatively healthy)
What Didn't Stick
1) Regular, scheduled workouts are gone - cardio/weight training
2) I'm not staying on any sort of reduced calorie target - I'm eating at maintenance levels
3) I'm not listening to my health/fitness audio books anymore. Even when I plug them in, my mind wanders elsewhere.
What Slipped?
Whole food ratios are a bit off. At one point I was eating Flax PB + fruit on protein bread for my morning meal. When I needed carbs, I ate raw, cooked oatmeal. Now I'm eating Flax PB + preserves again AND I'm adding one serving of processed junk - like crackers, pretzels or animal cookies.
What Old Habits are Back?
1) Sugar - I have been eating cake, frozen yogurt, jelly beans, and cookies... I wasn't doing badly here until my birthday and easter hit.
2) Sleeping in
3) Waking up in the middle of the night and "doing things" that make it impossible for me to get up in the morning to work out.
4) Working through meals without eating (this has only happened once or twice recently, and I'm attacking this slip successfully!)
So... Maybe It's Not So Bad After All?
I'm really happy to see that the list of what stuck is longer than any of the bad lists. The fact that I'm still eating 3 of 5 meals completely on track is great, all things considered. I just need to drop the junk out of my morning meal and that's 4. Drop the junk out after dinner, and that's 5.
Dinner is usually something healthy, but afterward, I chow down on things like cookies and frosting. I need to stay away from junk long enough for it to 'lose its taste' like it did back in January. After 2 or 3 weeks of avoiding junk food, it stops being a temptation. In Jan/Feb when I would look in the cupboard, I would see things like cookies and processed junk and it would simply register as a "non-option".
Strategy to Beat the 78th Day Drop-off
Okay - those of you who have read my blogs know that I'm a planner. This list is going to be short because I want the goals to be tangible. They are in order of difficulty (for me).
Substitution to Beat Junk Food Cravings
Protein powders are very sweet and taste a bit like chocolate milk. This is a great go-to food when sweet cravings hit and a piece of fruit just won't do.
Record ALL Foods Eaten for 2 weeks
Until I have a full day's meal planned out and can stick to it, I have to write everything down. Lately I've let my evening meals fall off the map because I'll forget to enter them in. When I was tracking them before, I would enter them in right after eating.
Start Doing Cardio Regularly
Get up early. Go to the gym. Why is that so hard?
Use Cardio to Hit Calorie Targets for 2 weeks
Self Explanatory.
Motivation
I've actually got some additional motivation to get lean... in 4 weeks I'm going to meet my wife's family in AZ for pictures. I haven't weighed myself in a week or two, but I'd guess I'm 233 right now. I'd like to be 220 when I get to AZ.
I didn't start my 'diet' on new year's as part of any resolution... I started December 9, 2007. Want to hear something funny? Looking back over my charts, my resolve and focus died abruptly starting 2/26/08.
Feb 26 was day 79.
Crap. I'm a statistic.
Where I differ from the "norm" is that I haven't gone -completely- back to my old habits. It is worth examining what stuck and why.
What Stuck
1) I still blog - though not as frequently.
2) I still record my foods (though - again - not as frequently)
3) During the week, I still eat 4 really good meals: Flax PBJ, fruit + cottage cheese, "Brien's Soup", and fruit + cottage cheese again.
4) I'm not drinking sodas or juices (caffeine, liquid sugar calories and artificial sweeteners are "out" )
5) I'm not eating any chocolate (caffeine & sugar)
6) I don't add fatty condiments to foods (mayo, creamy dressing, butter, cream cheese, regular cheese)
7) I'm not eating fast food (one exception - I had some taco bell gorditas fresco style - but that is relatively healthy)
What Didn't Stick
1) Regular, scheduled workouts are gone - cardio/weight training
2) I'm not staying on any sort of reduced calorie target - I'm eating at maintenance levels
3) I'm not listening to my health/fitness audio books anymore. Even when I plug them in, my mind wanders elsewhere.
What Slipped?
Whole food ratios are a bit off. At one point I was eating Flax PB + fruit on protein bread for my morning meal. When I needed carbs, I ate raw, cooked oatmeal. Now I'm eating Flax PB + preserves again AND I'm adding one serving of processed junk - like crackers, pretzels or animal cookies.
What Old Habits are Back?
1) Sugar - I have been eating cake, frozen yogurt, jelly beans, and cookies... I wasn't doing badly here until my birthday and easter hit.
2) Sleeping in
3) Waking up in the middle of the night and "doing things" that make it impossible for me to get up in the morning to work out.
4) Working through meals without eating (this has only happened once or twice recently, and I'm attacking this slip successfully!)
So... Maybe It's Not So Bad After All?
I'm really happy to see that the list of what stuck is longer than any of the bad lists. The fact that I'm still eating 3 of 5 meals completely on track is great, all things considered. I just need to drop the junk out of my morning meal and that's 4. Drop the junk out after dinner, and that's 5.
Dinner is usually something healthy, but afterward, I chow down on things like cookies and frosting. I need to stay away from junk long enough for it to 'lose its taste' like it did back in January. After 2 or 3 weeks of avoiding junk food, it stops being a temptation. In Jan/Feb when I would look in the cupboard, I would see things like cookies and processed junk and it would simply register as a "non-option".
Strategy to Beat the 78th Day Drop-off
Okay - those of you who have read my blogs know that I'm a planner. This list is going to be short because I want the goals to be tangible. They are in order of difficulty (for me).
Substitution to Beat Junk Food Cravings
Protein powders are very sweet and taste a bit like chocolate milk. This is a great go-to food when sweet cravings hit and a piece of fruit just won't do.
Record ALL Foods Eaten for 2 weeks
Until I have a full day's meal planned out and can stick to it, I have to write everything down. Lately I've let my evening meals fall off the map because I'll forget to enter them in. When I was tracking them before, I would enter them in right after eating.
Start Doing Cardio Regularly
Get up early. Go to the gym. Why is that so hard?
Use Cardio to Hit Calorie Targets for 2 weeks
Self Explanatory.
Motivation
I've actually got some additional motivation to get lean... in 4 weeks I'm going to meet my wife's family in AZ for pictures. I haven't weighed myself in a week or two, but I'd guess I'm 233 right now. I'd like to be 220 when I get to AZ.
4 comments so far.
4.
a decade ago
Brein,you are doing great and are a great example for many of us. Thank you for writing what you call slips(I call being human),so the rest of us can relate and not feel so alone because we are having the same issues.I hqave become a statistic and I will work on changing that.
by JENNCST
3.
a decade ago
You can do it!!!!
:) Eliza
And thanks for the email about the soup!
Hope you are having a great week!.
by ELIZA
2.
a decade ago
Yes, it is hard to get up in the morning! It can be done! But I am still at day 54!! YIKES! I am gonna keep an eye on the next 24 days. I've been a statistic too long- time to change that!
You can do it Brien!!
by JANEQE
1.
a decade ago
Remember what Mark Twain (or maybe Benjamin Disraeli) said: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Unfortunately, there can be a grain (or boulder) of truth in even the most aggravating statistic! Good to see you getting back your focus. Keep trying. Pics in AZ are a good inspiration. *** As for stone soup (aka Brien's soup), one of my recent dinner parties was a stone soup party. I provided the broth and fresh-baked bread, and invited each person to bring their favorite soup ingredient. It was a most unusually tasty soup, and a fabulous evening of story-telling.
by OTTER