Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

Amy Pond: [To her younger self] Ok kid this is where it gets complicated.

Doctor Who The Big Bang 2010

Well nationally there’s trouble in Minnesota and locally we’re just an hour away from what appears to be the biggest snow storm to hit the area since the blizzard of 1978 but in DaTechguy’s house the big story this morning was that when I weighed myself I came out at 259.8 which means I’m down 43.5 pounds and also means that with under ten pounds left to lose (9.8 pounds to be exact) we now enter phrase three of DaTechGuy’s Diet Plan which has the potential to be the hardest part to pull off.

For those who missed my first two posts on the subject here is the base diet I started with when I began five months, two weeks and three days ago:

• No fast food: McDonalds, Wendy’s Burger king OUT
• No bread (I get two slices when I go out for breakfast that’s it) no Subs
• No sausage
• No chocolate bars
• No candy, cake etc basically no deserts
• No Ice Cream
• No potatoes
• Salads with a meal whenever possible simple oil/vinegar dressings only
• Soups when possible
• Soda only if a restaurant has iffy water
• Lots of peppers, onions & garlic
• No Pasta
• No snacks
• NO SECOND HELPINGS NO EXCEPTIONS!

Let me note that the rules of this diet did NOT apply on the following days:

• Birthdays
• Anniversaries
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• Any General Family Celebration

This keeps one from becoming a killjoy on key days while eliminating the concept of “cheat days” which I think sabotages diets.

Using this diet I dropped 33.3 pounds in 3 months 2 weeks and one day which got me to under 270, 20 pounds to my final goal.

Once I cracked 270 Phase Two of the diet began. This loosed some of these rules allowing me to enjoy things I had withheld from myself while still limiting them. Those updated rules were:

• No fast food: McDonalds, Wendy’s Burger king OUT
• No Subs
• No snacks
• Salads with a meal whenever possible simple oil/vinegar dressings only
• Soups when possible
• Soda only if a restaurant has iffy water (always diet)
• Lots of peppers, onions & garlic
• No Pasta (UPDATE forgot to include this in the list)
• No snacks
• NO SECOND HELPINGS NO EXCEPTIONS!
• An occasional Market Basket Donut (FAR superior to Dunkin’s) perhaps bi-weekly. (had maybe 3 during this time)
• No bread at home, if I’m out and it comes with a meal one slice Toast if I go out for breakfast (had maybe four pieces)
• Breakfast sausage once a week max if I cook at home or once a week out) Only twice at home but regularly if I had breakfast out
• One candy bar a week if I want it think a Cadbury bar eaten over 3 days (had about four)
• Ice cream if I go to Friendly’s (the mini cone trio) a taste of what’s at home a week if wanted (ran out of home ice cream never bought one)
• If at Friendly’s or anywhere & get a burger & fries no BBQ sauce or bacon eat about 1/2 of the fries (I don’t finish the fires and had bacon three times on a burger

This phase lasted two months and two days to lose ten pounds. While this is a considerably slower rate of loss per pound as the numbers show:

• 62 days to lose 10 pounds (one pound every 6.2 days) vs
• 105 days to lose 33.3 pounds (one pound every 3.15 days)

…the end result was to allow me to reintroduce foods I enjoyed without binging. There was some surprises in that when I had ribs for the first time in months I found that I didn’t really enjoy them so just dropped them. But this slower rates paid off in habits that have now been established.

But now that I’m below 260 and have less than ten pounds to go that REALLY tough part comes. The phase three diet eliminates almost all of the restrictions above. Here is what remains:

• No fast food: McDonalds, Wendy’s Burger king OUT
• Salads with a meal whenever possible simple oil/vinegar dressings only
• Soups when possible
• Diet Soda only
• Lots of peppers, onions & garlic
• NO THIRD HELPINGS NO EXCEPTIONS!

Here is what is now allowed or loosened:

• One Sub a week max (Small or Medium only)
• Snacks (chips etc) Only during playoff games & major sports events
• Pasta once a week MAX
• Second Helpings only to avoid leftovers and no seconds on a desert.
• English Muffin White Bread & Bagels allowed at home for occasional sandwich (weekly) or as an occasional Breakfast item
• An occasional Market Basket Donut
• Three candy bars max over any two week period
• Ice cream at home once a week max
• No items ordered out if the calorie listing is over 1200.
• Not allowed to finish any order of fries or onion rings unless they are being shared.

The idea here is the same as phase two. Allowing me to introduce items back to my regular dietary rotation in a way that doesn’t cause me to binge. There is nothing wrong with having some chips, there is a lot wrong with finishing a bag in one sitting. Bagels & bread are fine, but not overdoing carbs that become fat. Pasta is a wonderful thing but feasting on it daily is bad news.

Now I want to point out that these are things are CAN do. This doesn’t mean I’m going to be having all of this stuff even as much as it’s allowed. Basically I’m giving myself more options and it’s my job to not abuse any of them. The three and a half months at the start of the diet built up the discipline to do without, the two months that followed built up the discipline to enjoy things in moderation. Now this home stretch is going to be all about allowing most of the things that I haven’t had. Given that it took me 2 months to lose those 10 pounds I’d not be surprised if it took till April to finish the job although the snowfall and the shoveling involved will likely help a bit as will the coming of spring and the ability to walk again outside as exercise at public tracks and parks.

But the reality is all of this is a means to an end. My last set of blood tests were a huge improvement on the results that prompted this diet. This is all about getting those numbers where they need to be. I’m scheduled for tests in two weeks. That is where the rubber meets the road.

Wish me luck.

Postscript: So what is the plan once I get to below 250 and have lost the full 53.3 pounds that I set out to do?

Well all the restrictions will be gone. The diet will be ended and I’ll count on the good habits I’ve developed to be maintained. Since weight fluctuate a few pounds in either direction what I’ll do is I’ll weigh myself once a week. If I stay in the 245-255 range I’ll leave things as they are. If I get above 255 the phase three restrictions will again apply till I get back to 250. If I really backslide and hit 260 again then the phase two restrictions will return.

But I’m ten pounds away from worrying about any of that.

Postscript two: Some might wonder why I didn’t go on any of the weight loss drugs out there. My answer is the same as last time. The whole point of this exercise was to not have to take pills and shots for the rest of my life. It was not to take a different set of pills and shots for the rest of my life.