Day 39 : Christmas Eve

12/24/2015

steps 6729

water 5

weight 197

Another Christmas party tonight !!

Lots of food and drink piled up on tables, with lots of bite-sized snacks.

Another day to crank up the willpower and reminders.

Another day to remember where you've been, and where you plan to go.

Another day to break more of the old “pig out” traditions and start new, more responsible ones.

The first thing of course, before you leave the house, get that 1 on your thumb. You might want to get in the holiday spirit and write it in red and green. Maybe at some glitter. I'm going to put a little red ribbon around my thumb to.

A nice conversation starter, and it will make it harder to snack if I'm chatting about my Diet 1 blog.

As soon as you get there, grab a glass of water, and put in a wine glass, if you want to blend in. If you are holding a drink while you wander around, it will be a lot harder to hold onto a plate of food and eat.

Next, if possible, stay out of the room or rooms with the food. Make an effort to chat with folks that are not “hovering” over the buffet.

Also plan to come late and leave early, hit the party at it's peak, when you have the most people and conversations to distract you from the food.

Try to enjoy yourself, and Merry Christmas to all and to all just 1 bite :o)

KRASH

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Day 38 : Small Changes

12/23/2015

steps 7133

water 5

weight 196

I still have need to have a lot more willpower, about but snacks, especially this time of year with trays of cookies and candy popping up everywhere.

Today I slipped at Flying J, when I stopped to get gas.

I usually pay at the pumps, but decided to walk in and back to get more exercise. It was a nice thought, but I wasn't ready for a checkout counter covered with hot food and an overly helpful lady suggesting what I should get.

I fell for the chicken wings, and just wanted a couple, but she mentioned 6 and I caved.

I did hold out as 2 separate people offered to add a slice of pizza for a penny.

In years past, I not only would've jumped at anything for a penny, I would've come in just for that, whether I needed gas are not.

A small improvement, but even small improvements add up over time.

Another nice small improvement was last night when I took Gina out for Mexican. For the first time in memory, as they brought out the main course, I mentally made the decision that half was going home in a doggy bag. I was not making the decision to take home leftovers after I had stuff myself, and there was still food on the plate. It was a decision I consciously made before I started.

That is a very good sign. Another sign that after only 38 days, things are changing, and as time goes by, those changes will add up, as the weight goes down....

KRASH

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Day 37 : Fighting Fat

12/22/2015

steps 7256

water 5

weight 196

Swimming upstream against a current of lard, that's what it's like as you gain weight.

With many things in life, it is a slow, almost unnoticed process, starting at a very young age and continuing until 1 day you look in the mirror and finally say “I'm fat”.

Of course you've been that way for years, ignoring 1 warning after another. Making excuses when cloths get to tight, or taking the least strenuous jobs at work.

But where do you draw the line? Is it when you give of bikinis, or when you stop going to the beach altogether?

When you notice that you are the only person sitting, or as you catch your breath halfway up the stairs you once took 2 at a time.

Maybe, like me, you are just tired of looking at the growing list of things in life you can no longer do, and you are terrified that your last years on this planet will be spent in the chair, watching everyone around you enjoy what you can't anymore.

Maybe you are already stuck in that chair, and maybe you believe it's just too late.

But is it?

What would happen if you put that forth down?

Where would you go if walking didn't hurt?

Would you run?

What would you do with your hands if they were not wasted on holding you up?

This is where you draw the line. When you can think of just 1 thing FAT is keeping you from doing.

One thing in your future, waiting for you to put down the fork....

KRASH

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Day 36 : Monday

12/21/2015

steps 6333

water 6

weight 195

Monday? Just a personal reminder. After a lifetime of making my own hours, days of the week hold little significance. Today is Monday for most people, but for me it's another day of making my own choices, a freedom most people give up that an early age.

But anyway, it's Monday, and I survived another Christmas party yesterday with only a mild sensation of dieters guilt. Fortunately there was a tray of melon pieces, cold but healthy, and as it started to run low, a tray of veggie slices came out. I managed to wipe out all the red and yellow peppers.

I did have a couple of pieces of wine cake? I've no idea what that is, but it was the best tasting thing on the table, and in my youth I would have polished it off.

Interestingly, I had no urge to drink at all,and made it through the evening without even a glass of water. Probably because of all the melon and veggies pieces.

I did sample some of the more unhealthy items, but held it down to 1 or 2 bites. Not quite a true 1 bite success, but way better than previous years.

The scales this morning gave me the final thumbs-up, as the needle teetered a bit, but held 195.

Just 3 more holiday parties, plus New Year's, then it's an easy cruise through January to the 190 lb. mark.

Keep those 1 thumbs, up!

KRASH

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Day 35 : Another Test

12/20/2015

steps 6197

water 6

weight 195

Day 3 of the 1 coffee challenge and whether they are connected or not, I have noticed a drop in stiffness and joint pain. But we'll have to see how it goes in the long-term. 

 Anyone else out there notice any changes?

Next Test

Today's another test of Diet 1, yes, it's another Christmas party.

Oh yeah! Cookies, pastries, eggnog, wine and beer with a coffee chaser.

3 or 4 hours of almost nothing healthy to eat, and almost all of it bite-sized snacks.

Maybe I can bandage up both hands and make up good story about an accident.

Anyway, it's 1 on the thumb and as much self-control I can muster. Focusing on tomorrows blog post will help.

Tomorrow the scale will not be above 195lbs!

KRASH

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Day 34 : 1 Coffee, day 2

12/19/2015

steps 2835

water 6

weight 195

Had a bit of a headache on and off all day, and don't know if it's do to cutting back on coffee, but that has been the urban legend years.

I rarely get headaches, so that may be an indication.

Anyway, we have 6 inches of snow here in Northeast Ohio and it's day 2 of the 1 coffee challenge.

I slipped a bit and walking, spending most of the day just relaxing around the house, then I was off to Cleveland for the Marathon Movie get together at 6pm.

I didn't eat just 1 wing, but I did manage 1 small plate, no bread products, and overall I ate a lot less than normal.

Scale's been at 195 for the last 3 days and by the end of January it will stay below 190. 

This may not seem like much to hard-core dieters, but that is a permanent drop of 10 lbs.

As I keep repeating, we are changing habits, not “dieting”. It's the eating and exercise habits that are taking off the weight, and they will continue long after this diet blog has ended!

KRASH

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Day 33 : Sugar

12/18/2015

steps 2835

water 6

weight 195

How did everyone do on coffee yesterday? Anyone manage to to drink just 1 cup?

Hell, even if you cut your intake in half, it helps. Just keep plugging away.

Today I'm talking about sugar, probably the most prevalent flavor additive in the American diet. Many of us boomers were weaned on it, as it was the main ingredient in baby formula. Something they still do, although personally I would put it down as child abuse. 

By now it should be common knowledge that a lot of what we experience in our first few years of life becomes hardwired into our system, and that includes pumping babies full of sugar.

Needless to say, we've pretty much become a society addicted Sweet, and although it's difficult, if you want to enjoy or even survive the second half of your life, cutting way back on sugar is mandatory. So as always, we go back to 1, always 1.

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 sugar packet

1 piece of candy

1 can of soda.

Remember,

This is long-term. Every sugar soaked item you can cut back on or eliminate means pounds you will not gain now, and pounds you will lose over time.

1 bite, water, and work....

KRASH

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Day 32 : Coffee

12/17/2015

steps 8491

water 5

weight 195

Anyone out there NOT addicted to coffee?

I know only 1 person who has never had the stuff, and he will remain nameless for his own protection.

Most boys start to like coffee in puberty, although I may have started earlier, as I was hanging out in diners by 4th grade.

Fortunately how I drink my coffee has changed for the better over the years. As a teenager I added 5 teaspoons of sugar to each cup, and those were heaping teaspoon. I imagine it was more like shoveling the stuff way back then.

Yep, that's 5 teaspoons of sugar, over 10 of those little packets you get in restaurants.

By the mid-seventies, and my mid-twenties, I had gotten it down to 1 teaspoon. By the 80s I was down to no sugar in my coffee, but I've never been able to do without cream.

Now as the weather gets colder, like many folks, I'm drinking coffee most of the day, out of habit, and a need to feel cozy.

But like many folks, I'm also dealing with ongoing joint pain and excess weight.

Over the years I've heard that coffee is a contributing factor to joint pain, and you can research that if you want. I find it easier to just experiment.

I do know from experience that it contributes to my food intake, something you may also have noticed.

First you start with a cup of coffee, then it seems to upset your stomach, so you eat something to compensate. After you eat, you have the urge for another cup of coffee. Add to that the urge to drink something hot, in cold weather, and social drinking, like at the local coffee shop, and you have weight gain and joint pain.

So today I'm going to try for 1 cup a day.

Oh Yah, I'm going to see if I can get used to just 1 cup of coffee in the morning and warm water or broth after that during the day.

Don't substitute sugar bombs like hot chocolate either, and keep an eye on the salt intake with broth. Here's a place I found on the net for low salt stuff.
http://healthyheartmarket.com/

As for tea, well, as long as it works. I've never liked it myself and the one time I did drink a lot of it, I got a kidney stone.

So here we go.

1 cup of coffee today, and don't supersize it.

KRASH

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Day 31 : Focus

12/16/2015

steps 8433

water 5

weight 196

As a “creator,” I've found over the years that I tend to focus on something for a very short period of time, sometimes days, but often only minutes.

When my brain is focused, or in the mood for something, the energy flows and whatever it is, becomes a pleasure to do. As I did today, building a couple drawers for the kitchen, and tearing down another old wall.

So focused in fact it. I didn't get around to this blog, and I'm writing it a day late. I barely remembered the Diet 1.

That is why what we're trying to do with Diet 1 is to force our focus. Most people can't afford to drop everything and focus on a new diet long enough for it to become habit.

There are just too many other things to do in life, like work, kids, school and fun.

So what we are doing is putting up road signs remind us of where we are going. The 1 on her thumb, that line of juice glasses on the counter or maybe bottled water scattered around the house or work. Even that trusty pedometer counting our steps and the bathroom scale.

Yes, even this blog is a way to force our focus back to the Diet 1 until bit by bit, it all becomes habit, like taking same route to work every day.

By November 17, 2016 we will no longer be dieting, and we won't need to write that 1 on our thumb anymore. All these eating and exercise habits of will be just that, automatic habits. No matter what our focus, we will still set the fork down, eat smaller, drink water and exercise.

It will be just something we naturally do during our day.

And won't that be nice....

KRASH

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Day 30 : A Sign?

12/15/2015

steps

water

weight 200

Well, maybe. As you age, you just slowly get used to aches and pains. For some it's OK, for others it's hell.

A few years back I was chatting with a 20-year-old on the job and he was complaining about sore muscles. After I finished laughing, I asked him to stick out his finger and I gave one knuckle a squeeze until he winced.

Then I explained what he just felt was me, 24/7, and usually 20 to 50 percent of my body.

He didn't mention sore muscles again.

So when is a pain more than usual? When is it a sign that you need to dial 911.

Hell if I know.

If you listened to the germaphobes and fear mongers, ( Fox News), you'd be dialing 911 every day until the paramedics smashed your phone, or they canceled your insurance.

For example, last night while watching the Blandings, a fun British sitcom, I noticed my left arm was aching a bit. I've heard it's a possible sign that a heart attack might be in the offing, and it was still there when I went to bed.

I even mentioned to Gina that “just in case anyone asks,” my left arm has been acting up.

Just a precaution in case she woke up next to a dead guy in the morning.

That's as far as it went. I'm still here writing notes in this blog, while someone, somewhere else is fretting about everything little thing in life.

It always comes down to who you are.

Some people zip through life without a care in the world, while others drag boxcars full of fear until the stress becomes a tombstone they can no longer carry.

Now that was a good line!

My point is that you can learn the warning signs of what could go wrong and spend your life in a minute by minute coin toss on whether to make that call, or you can enjoy life with a new toss of the dice every day. Most of us will meander somewhere in between, but if you're still smiling when the sun comes up, you got it right.

KRASH

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Day 29 : Cookies

12/14/2015

steps 11599

water 4

weight 200

Cookies, there's a challenge for any dieter and I suspect, a leading cause of many diets in the first place.

Years ago we used to joke about picking up calories, just from walking through the cookie aisle at the local grocery. Those same aisles got decimated back in our “Hippie” days as we went through with the “munchies”.

So why would anyone on a serious diet even consider cookies?

The Challenge

Well, that's what I did recently as Gina and I join several good friends on the 2015 Christmas Cookie Tour in Holmes County, Ohio.

It was a fun tour of upscale travel accommodations from a small 1840's stone house, to a mansion on a hill that rents out as one unit and sleeps 20. If you can afford this place, you can pay people to watch your diet.

At each stop, we managed 10 all told, there were free snacks, drinks and music. Also, most had local crafts for sale, and yes, you got a calorie laden souvenir cookie at each stop.

These were made especially for each establishment and my favorite was the Ohio cookie. I would have framed it, but both ours got broke on the way home.

Okay, I know what you are all thinking, and the answer is NO. I made it home without eating 1 single cookie, although I did munch a lot of veggies and other snacks.

Making something you shouldn't be eating the focus of a challenge for a day is a good way to walk past it, because you're saying “I Dare You” to your ego, and that puts it on the spot.

Just telling yourself that you shouldn't eat this or that is 1 thing, but putting it right out front is another.

I once put a doughnut in my kitchen and said, “this is my last 1”. It was until several years later when a friend tossed it out out, because it was waaayyy past stale.

You can't fill your house with stale food, but you can challenge yourself now and then to make the point.

KRASH

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Day 28 : Complacency

12/13/2015

steps 5321

water 5

weight 197

Well it's day 28. 1 month down on our year-long trip to a new future, and where are we?

Complacent and not much backbone in the face of friends, family and holiday traditions. At least that's where I am today. I hope you are doing much better...

Even after yesterday's fiasco at the Mexican restaurant, I walked out the door today without a 1 on my thumb.

REMEMBER

That 1 on your thumb is not just a reminder to look at as you reach for food you should not be eating, it's a personal statement that says “yes, I am committed to this.”

It' a visible sign to everyone you meet that you are doing something you believe, something you care about. Just the act of writing it on your thumbnail is a daily decision, and if you blow off that one simple habit in the morning, how committed are you ?

Are you really committed to finally changing habits that have left you overweight, lethargic, maybe unable to walk, or even diabetic ?

If you really enjoyed being like that, would you be reading this blog?

Like me the answer is NO!

So let's get off our butts and show ourselves and the folks around us that there is a real person hiding inside that couch potato.

KRASH

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Day 27 : DAMMIT !

12/12/2015

steps 5321

water 5

weight 197

I blew it all last night. Mostly!

I did manage almost 12,000 steps yesterday, and pulled off an okay breakfast. A burrito from McDonald's. No sauce.

I even picked up a veggie platter on the way to my annual writers group Christmas party, but I started to slip by grabbing a box of chocolate covered pretzels to check out.

REMEMBER:

If you don't buy it, you can't eat it.

I did manage to eat some of the veggies at the party, but also about half the box of pretzels.

Later, Gina and I met friends for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and I lost it completely, starting with the chips and salsa.

At that point the old food addiction took over. It was one chip after another, like I hadn't eaten in days.

I vaguely remember thinking that I should slow down, but the next chip would erase it. By the time I emptied the bowl of chips, the main course showed up. Each plate having enough food for at least 2 meals.

We all commented about taking home leftovers, and everyone did, except me.

I stuff myself. No 1 bite, No setting down the fort, just shoveling food in until the plate was empty.

That big black 1 on my thumbnail might have helped, but it wasn't there. I thought I wouldn't need, but I really should have had a 3 inch 1 on the back of each hand !

So today, we start again, 1 bite, water and walking. And a big black 1 on the thumb.

KRASH

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Day 26 : What do you like to Eat

12/11/2015

steps 11748

water 5

weight 197

Think about it, not just what you like to eat, but why.

What is it about that food that makes you want to eat it?

Is it the taste, temperature, texture?

Does it crunch? Is it soft, hard, etc?

Although taste and smell are the dominating motivators, people like or don't like food for many reasons.

I've never cared for fresh fruits and vegetables because they always seem cold to me and except for summer and ice cream, I've never had a fondness for cold food.

I drink hot liquids like coffee, lukewarm, and I like water, soda, and the like at room temperature.

I like crunchy things like chips and pretzels, but only bite-size. I like to just pop them in my mouth. While driving long distances I often munch on pretzel nubs, as it gives my brain unconscious work to do and keeps me awake.

I don't like a lot of the spices like mustard, curry or ginger. I like jalapenos, not for their temperature, but for a subtle sweetness they have.

For most average Americans nowadays, taste comes in 2 main groups, salt and sugar.

If you walk through the supermarket, you'll find there are not too many processed foods that don't rely on one or both of these flavors.

But If you pay attention you may notice some more subtle attractions.

For example, several years ago I developed a mild craving for green peppers, eating them like you might eat an Apple. Now and then a food you normally don't care for, for some odd reason, tastes good. I believe it's simply that your system is looking for a specific chemical that happens to be in that food.

Beyond cravings, addictions and the a simple need to sustain your body, you also have to deal with habits plus social and emotional reasons for eating. All of these often involve specific foods.

You wouldn't spaghetti at a barbecue and Thanksgiving is the biggest time of year for Turkey.

People every day get together for coffee, breakfast, lunch or dinner at restaurants, diners and coffeehouses as a social thing.

Even getting together with the guys at the local pub after work, though social, also includes the intake of many unneeded calories, usually in a form of beer and pretzels.

They all entail taking in specific foods, many of which are not on a healthy diet checklist.

Beer n pretzels, coffee n doughnuts, lox and bagels.

What are lox anyway?

When you think about it, diet wise, they make green eggs and ham looked pretty good.

Point is that if you plan on cutting foods out of your diet, you will need to look at ALL the reasons why they are there!

We'll be coming back to this one a lot in the coming months.

KRASH

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Day 25 : The Donut Battle

12/10/2015

steps 4491

water 6

weight 196

I remembered the scale today, did you?

Well, last night was the big doughnut challenge, my weekly meeting of the Area 1 Pennwriters group.

Nearly 4 hours in a coffee shop next to this.

With a couple of dozen doughnut holes as reinforcements on the next table.

Finally, backed up by Kathy's muffin, quietly sitting there in a bag. No one touches that!

 Not even if Kathy doesn't show up!

4 hours in a room filled with the smells of coffee, sugar, and fresh doughnuts. You probably take in extra calories just from breathing.

But I did it. 

1 cup of coffee, lots of good conversation, and not 1 doughnut. Not even a bite sized doughnut hole. I even held out as a couple of folks in the group, probably coming straight from work, ordered real food.

Knowing that I had my Diet 1 blog readers, looking over my shoulder is what did it. Even as I started fiddling with my empty coffee cup halfway through the evening, that 1 would pop into my thoughts any time I glanced over at that box of sugar.

I didn't even think of excuses. You know, the dieters backdoor devil, that little guy in your head saying stuff like," 1 doughnut isn't that bad” or “they'll go to waste if nobody eats them."

Amazingly, that night, the voice was silent. Not of peep!

Until the little bastard popped up when I got home, and I had some chips as Gina and I watched a documentary before bed.

BUT NO DONUTS !

KRASH

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Day 24 : Habits

12/09/2015

steps 6909

water 5

weight 197

A funny thing happened this morning as I stepped out the door to warm the car up for a quick trip to McDonalds for coffee. I suddenly turned around, grabbed my coat, and phone, then headed out the door and walked there.

That new habit of counting my daily steps was beginning to take hold, over riding a habit I've had for decades, of driving to the local diner for coffee.

Of course I would much prefer a nice quiet diner in a small college town, but this is Conneaut, Ohio, and I'm stuck with Mickey D's.

Now I'm choosing to walk instead of drive. Just what my Diet 1 is designed to do.

We're not “dieting", as in following meal plans, eating special foods or forced anything.

What we are after here is Habits.

We are overweight and sedentary because of habits that we've had, often since childhood.

Starving yourself for a few weeks doesn't work because first of all, your system will fight it. Second, because from the start, you are planning time to be done with the diet, unconsciously you are just planning to go back to “business as usual,” sometime in the near future.

Even “Good Diets” fail because the overwhelm you with responsibility.

Eat this, don't eat that, count calories, heart rate, time, steps, exercise, etc. memorize charts, lists and recommendations, and always making you feel guilty if you don't.

In the long run most diet good plans are trying to change your lifestyle and habits, but they force it, trying to dump too much on you too soon. Remember were on a 1 year plan, slow and steady.

This is not a two-week fast, or a 6 week "Get ready for summer" quickie. This is 1 habit at a time. Over the months a leisurely stroll through the world of dieting, slowing down on food intake while increasing the energy we expend.

By the way, who remembered to weigh themselves this morning.

Not me, but it's only the second day.

Always remember, new habits take about 90 days to sink in.

KRASH

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Day 23 : What Do You Weigh ?

12/08/2015

Steps 4702

Water 5

Weight 195

100

200

300?

Weight is an instant and direct measure of why we are on the Diet 1.

You may be a bit out of breath on the stairs or can't run anymore. Maybe you are not as flexible as you once were, or like me, the bones below the waist are getting tired of the strain.

There's dozens of signs that you need to do something, but they are all for the most part arbitrary, and can't be nailed down without a visit to a specialist, and some pricey tests.

But sitting right there in a corner of your bathroom, usually with other stuff piled on top, is an instant and reasonably precise way to gauge your health and diet.

That trusty, unloved bathroom scale. Anytime, day or night, it will tell you in big, clear numbers that, yes, you really have had too much to eat. If you can believe the numbers, you've had too much to eat for a really long time.

We've been on the Diet 1 for three weeks now and it's time for another step. A once a day step on the scales.

I've held off on the scales while we got more important habits going, because weight is just a measure, not a diet process like eating less or exercising more. I don't want folks fretting if their weight hasn't gone down in the last three weeks. Remember, this is a one year project, to change Habits for the rest of your life. 

 You more accurately could call it, Behavioral Modification, but Diet 1 sounds better.

Weight

Back to the point of this post. Starting today, we are going to weigh ourselves once a day every day and mark it down.

I suggest first thing in the morning, before you pile on a lot of clothing and life gets too distracting. Always do it at the same time every day.

That number on the scale is going to go down really slow, and will even pop up now and then. Don't sweat it.

Remember

The scale is meant to be just another daily reminder of your Diet 1. Just like the 1 on your thumbnail, and that pedometer on your belt.

A reminder to take 1 bite, drink Water instead of soda, and keep Walking.

Every day we are making new habits that over time will make our future better, and maybe even give us a few more years on this planet.

Think about it.

KRASH

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Day 22 : Barefootin

12/07/2015

Steps 8408

Water 5

Au Naturale.

As a teenager in suburban 60's America, I was an oddball, and going barefoot wherever possible

just added to an unconventional reputation I've enjoyed through the decades.

Except for black suede “Beatle Boots” in the late sixties, I've never been very fond of footwear.

In the late 70's, I even entered races barefoot, usually just to watch jaws drop. But it did give me my first 15 minutes of fame, and I never failed to mention Abebe Bikila, who was the first person in history to win 2 consecutive Olympic marathons, running barefoot.

That's your's truly Sep. 1979. Notice the difference in how the front landing feet are positioned. 

Why Barefoot

This may stem, at least in part, from an attempt by my parents to correct my “pigeon toed” stance as a child, with very expensive, restrictive shoes and inserts. It failed miserably, giving me the appearance of your typical dork in school. But being Pigeon Toed, enhanced an already superb sense of balance that would allow me to work easily at heights that most people feared to climb. Even with shoes, I could run along walls and beams like a squirrel.

I was also born with exceptional blood flow in my feet. This gave me the ability to go barefoot in snow, walk on fire, and glaciers, and other attention getting stunts. But wearing shoes and socks was like tossing a blanket over and electric heater. Even now I seldom wear socks and wear cheap canvas dock shoes even in winter.

Going barefoot also enhanced my sensory input, which allowed me to enjoy a world, most people never felt. Like watching the sunrise, as everyone else slept.

And after going barefoot for any length of time, any shoes feel like lead weights.

Social Turn Around

As a teenager I was often laughed at, except the time I won a 100 yard dash against a car!

As an adult, I often had to deal with health and safety inspectors, anti barefoot laws and a general fear of nature that continues to grow exponentially as each generation builds on the fears of its parents. ( But that's another post.)

But with many things in my life, it has been another “I told you so” moment in recent years, as one study after another points out that shoes really are not that great for your feet.

www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu

www.sportsci.org

And after nearly 40 years of being ahead of the pack, trends are changing and people are now starting to take their shoes off to walk, run and exercise. 

There are even products like Xero Shoes that give people the foot protection they want while still allowing them to go, for the most part, barefoot.

So it's not too late folks, the grass is out there.

Like to sign says

No shirt, No shoes, Enter

KRASH

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