Updated: January 25, 2008 Total Lost:
8 Lbs. 		Remaining:
14.6 Lbs. 		35% There in 6 Days

Joe Says 2008 is the Year to Get Slimmed Up

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I'm fat. OK. I'm not 'fat'. But I DO have that typically American extra goo hanging around--specifically OVER my belt and under my chin. I estimate around 20 lbs. Revelation #1, after stepping on the scale on Day One, it's actually 22 lbs. My Diet Eve food orgy caught up with me.

I'm going to lose it. I want you to be my accountability partner. I want you to get motivated to set and reach a goal of your own alongside me. Day One for me was January 19, 2008. Your Day One can be today. Below are my thoughts and revelations during the journey. The newest entry is on top so start at the bottom and scroll up to get the full story.

Good luck on your goal. The journey to my goal is detailed in excrutiating detail starting now:

Joe's Fat Journal
DAY SEVEN - JANUARY 25, 2008 Total Lost:
8 Lbs. 		Remaining:
14.6 Lbs.
Workout?
Y/N?

100 oz.?
Y/N?

Food Journal Day Seven
Breakfast:
cup of Chocolate Soy Milk; Cup of V8 Low Sodium

Snack 1:

Lunch:

Snack 2:

Dinner:
DAY SIX - JANUARY 24, 2008 Total Lost:
6.9 Lbs. 		Remaining:
15.7 Lbs.
Another great weight loss day. They're about to end. My first plateau will be after I lose the first 8 lbs and these lose a lb. a day days.

Someone emailed asking about how I get the daily weights. Weight, of course, fluctuates throughout the day so here's what I do to weigh. I wake up, strip, pee, weigh, shower. So the weight I use is at the exact same time every day, nekkid.

Why so much Subway? Because I have to eat on the run and it's the healthiest thing out there I know of. After a while I'll get sick of it, but with this work week it's been Subway or nothing. No more McDonalds, Whataburger, etc. It's horrible for you and a huge factor in how I got fat.

It turns out that this was the worst week to do a food journal. I had no intention of eating like this this week, but a very unique work situation had me at the office all week until 10PM three days this week. So I was eating at my desk while making sure I didn't cheat on the diet so it was all 'legal' snacks I could grab at the convenience store: nuts. I'm dropping weight and I'm not hungry so I'm not going to complain, but I hate that this week's food journal is so crazy. Being at the desk also had me NOT drinking all of my water today so when I got home I started slamming water, but didn't reach the 100 oz goal.

Workout?
N

100 oz.?
N

Food Journal Day Six
Breakfast:
cup of Chocolate Soy Milk; Cup of V8 Low Sodium

Snack 1:
Skipped

Lunch:
Same Subway wrap as before with Baked Lays BBQ

Snack 2:
SKipped (I'm so busy at work this week)

Dinner:
Peanuts

DAY FIVE - JANUARY 23, 2008 Total Lost:
5.8 Lbs. 		Remaining:
16.8 Lbs.
That's more like it. There will come a day (very soon) where I'm not losing over a lb. a day, but yesterday wasn't it. I chalk it up to me eating dinner at 10PM the night before--too late. I simply didn't want to skip a meal after my first cardio. You'll also notice that I didn't do cardio last night. Got home too late. There's something I haven't discussed: fiting workouts into a 'real' day. They say you make time for what's important--that there's always time to do what's most important to you. You just may have to cut out something not so important--TV (which isn't a bad idea) or the gaming system, etc. Regardless last night my intentions were to get home at 6 and go running. I got home at 8 so that didn't happen.

Today, then, I HAVE to exercise. That means if I have to go for a run at 10PM, so be it. My goal is to exercise every other day without fail. Since I missed yesterday, today's it.

This week has been so crazy at work. Tonight, it turns out I worked until 10PM which means I ended up NOT working out when I got home after all. You'll also see that I skipped lunch again which I never do, but that's two days in a row. It has nothing to do with the fitness program. Honestly I wasn't even hungry so that was a boom.

Workout?
N

100 oz.?
Y

Food Journal Day Five
Breakfast:
Bowl Raisin Bran w/ whole milk; cup of Chocolate Soy Milk; Cup of V8 Low Sodium

Snack 1:
Peanuts again
<--Why?

Lunch:
skipped

Snack 2:
peanuts

Dinner:
Same Subway wrap as before with Baked Lays BBQ

DAY FOUR - JANUARY 22, 2008 Total Lost:
4.6 Lbs. 		Remaining:
17.4 Lbs.
It's only four days in, but I was expecting another 2ish lbs. lost today. Not to say I'm dissapointed--that this is some kind of setback or anything--but having done this so many times I was a little surprised that I only saw .6 lb off overnight. I think it was because I ate dinner very late (10pm). I wasn't even that hungry, but after my first cardio yesterday I didn't want to skip a meal. Oh well. Today will be heavier water consumption and a cardio workout.

Speaking of water, I have a little theory about myself. If I'm peeing clear, I'm losing weight. This is obviously not scientific by any stretch, but I lose weight when I'm drinking tons of water.

So now that my workout schedule has been defined and I already know the diet principles I need, it's all up to me. My plan is to do 45 minutes of cardio every other day. I'm adding two things to each journal entry: Did I workout that day? Did I drink at least 100 oz. of water?

Workout?
N

100 oz.?
Y

Food Journal Day Four
Breakfast:
One slice of bacon; cup of Chocolate Soy Milk; Cup of V8 Low Sodium

Snack 1:
peanuts

Lunch:
I basically skipped lunch--not intentionally; that's just my day--so I continued eating my bag o' peanuts

Snack 2:
More peanuts

Dinner:
Leftover Chicken Breast and Steak (I'm not measuring or weighing my food), Steamed brocolli, green beans and snow peas, sugar free fudgesicle

DAY THREE - JANUARY 21, 2008 Total Lost:
4 Lbs. 		Remaining:
18 Lbs.
PRE-LISA MEETING:
Two more pounds. After last night's vegetable feast I would think so. I meet with Lisa later today. I'll catch hell for this one, but I slipped into Academy today and bought some new workout clothes. Call me a vain primo donn-o, but it's been so long since I bought some new stuff, and, frankly, people are gonna see me on those machines at Gold's Gym as a sweaty, jiggly mess. Some new gear may preserve some of my cool. Probably not.

POST-LISA MEETING:
I am officially overweight.
I am officially, insanely out of shape.

If you're seeking motivation, get your Gold's Gym membership today. With your membership, you get a fitness assessment. So everything I'm about to explain you get when you start your membership. Then every 30 days they re-assess to see how you're doing. One of the Gold's Gym trainers meets with you, weights you, does your body fat percentages, your body measurements, and crucial fitness ratios.

My biggest motivation so far is this assessment. My body fat percentage is actually in the 'overweight' category. Not 'Above Average.' Not 'Borderline.' I'm 'Overweight.' On top of that, my waist-to-hip ratio (which I didn't realize ever meant anything)puts me in the 'risk for elevated heart disease' category. WHAT? You hear that and, after the initial reaction of wanting to weep, you say 'No more! Let's get moving,' because 100% of it is changeable. Have I fallen this far?

My plan is 40-45 minutes of cardio with my heart rate going into a specific range (more on that below) every other day. Any cardio I want, anywhere I want (walking/running/biking around your neighborhood is just fine). In addition, I'm going to Gold's Gym to do resistance training. One day will be arms (biceps/triceps); one day will be legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves); one day will be shoulders/back. In addition to that Lisa gave me some 'Core' (lower back and abs) and 'Full Body' exercises that I can do any day. Now...as I started doing these things...five minutes later my legs were sore. Man, am I out of shape. But, again, not for long.

Here's where people may get discouraged. You may read all that and say, "No way. I don't have time....that sounds like too much work." First of all, keep it here to see how my plans work into my 'real life.' Second, this is what I'M willing to do...this is not your plan necessarily. If you've got 100+ lbs. to lose, don't worry about the weights. Just get outside and go for a walk.

I'm motivated. I hope you are too. See a doctor before you do something new.

Food Journal Day Three
Breakfast:
Raisin Bran with Milk; cup of Chocolate Soy Milk; Cup of V8 Low Sodium

Snack 1:
8 oz Low Sodium V8

Lunch:
Subway Turkey Wrap, no cheese, lettuce, onion, pickle, black olive, spicy mustard, jalepeno, oil/vinegar

Snack 2:
Quick food grab at home: Hummus with 1/2 a pita (whole wheat of course), handful of cashews and a string cheese

Dinner:
Steak, edemame salad, hummus, pita, water

DAY TWO - JANUARY 20, 2008 Total Lost:
2 Lbs. 		Remaining:
20 Lbs.
Lisa and I have firmed up Monday as our first appointment where I assume she'll caliper my gut and get me depressed....I mean motivated. Since I want to be fresh for that meeting I won't exercise until then. Stepping on the scale this morning I expected, and was glad to see, about 2 lbs. gone. This is what happens every time I 'get fit.' I lose 8-9 lbs of water goo really quickly. The first place I see progress is under the chin--that's where people notice it on me first.

Today I went to the store. I've done South Beach with great success a few times. This is a no/low carbs thing that stresses 'Good' Carbs. Good carbs are whole grains. The simple rule for South Beach (boiling it way down) is ZERO sugar and enriched flour. This means you can't eat anything. Kidding. It means no white bread; instead, eat whole wheat bread. No white bread/enriched flour means you can't eat cookies, hamburger buns, Subway bread. The tenet of the South Beach book is that it is enriched flour and sugar--the heavily refined food--that's making America so fat. So all of that is OUT.

I'm not going fully into South Beach here. Buy the book. Here's an online guide, but the book is obviously more thorough. See a doctor before you do something new.

Food Journal Day Two
Breakfast:
Raisin Bran with Milk

Lunch:
Club sandwich (turkey, ham and bacon lettuce on 'bad' bread; side ceasar (low fat); homemade pico de gallo (tomatos, onion, cilantro, jalepeno, lemon juice, garlic salt) and A FEW Tostitos with that.

Dinner:
Snacking dinner post grocery store: Hummus and with whole wheat pita bread and carrots, edemame salad (from the South Beach Book; edamame, rice vinegar, cilantro, radishes, oil); sugar free Creamsicle

DAY ONE - JANUARY 19, 2008
SHOW DAY 		Total Lost:
0 Lbs. 		Remaining:
22 Lbs.
Well we're off. I'm journaling this for a few reasons. One, I know that if I journal I'll be more apt to NOT cheat. Two, If I succeed perhaps this will be a motivation for others. Success in this is threefold. One, I get thin. Two, it's compelling radio. Three, maybe some of you will take the same opportunity to get healthy. We had 3 calls today where people pledged to lose weight alongside me and I know that hundreds more did the same thing with out calling in--it's tough calling in to say to the entire city, "I don't like something about myself."

Well, I don't like this about myself. I've had this extra weight, off and on, for years. Two years ago I did this on air and lost 15 lbs. Then I quit (and obviously stopped talking about it). My challenge isn't losing the weight. I know how to do that. Don't think this journal isn't going to be a modification of the ONLY way to lose weight: Eat Correctly and Exercise. The challenge for me is the long term lifestyle change needed to keep it off. Perhaps Lisa (Cisneros, The Gold's Gym Trainer who's guiding us through this) can teach me how to better do that.

Lisa said there are steps anyone can take to get this done:

Step #1) Decide you're going to do it.
Step #2) Set a goal (mine: lose 22 lbs.).

We got derailed at that point so I'll meet with Lisa and finish this list soon. One thing she suggested everyone do is keep a food journal for one week to document what you eat. You'll see mine on the right. Of course, this isn't accurate as to the foods that got me fat since I'm starting the journal after my Day One. See a doctor before you do something new.

Food Journal Day One
Breakfast:
You heard what I had for breakfast: A steamy delicious Whataburger Breakfast on a Bun. I ate it slowly--basically, I made sweet, gentle love to it. I knew it was my last for a very, very long time. I licked my fingers and even did some breathing into the bag--bliss.

Lunch:
Spaghetti (whole wheat noodles); Jar sauce with ground beef; Romaine Lettuce with Ken's Steak House Lite Ceasar dressing.

Dinner:
Hu Dat B3 Bun Combo - rice noodles, shrimp, beef, lettuce, cucumbers, chopped nuts and carrots. Yum. I did eat the 2 fried egg rolls even as I was thinking, I shouldn't do this.