Week 6 - May 19, 2007

Dale's Results
Weight: 254 - 249 = 5lbs. (24 total to-date)
BMI: 39 - 35.8 = 3.2 to-date

Nate's Results
Weight: 277 - 274 = 3lb. (15 total to-date)
BMI: 36.1 - 34.3 = 1.8 to-date

Paw's Results
Weight: 305 - 300 = 1 lbs. (10 total to-date)
BMI: 43.2 - 42 = 1.2 to-date

Rough Week

Let's call it what it really was - a major flop of a week for the diet! I have to admit, it's not the diet's fault, but with this having been a special occasion weekend (Mother's Day) I went a little, OK, a lot overboard. Here's how it all happened. Beware, this is juicy stuff and may take you, the reader, beyond your caloric intake for the day just reading about it.

Friday
I woke this morning with some promising results on the scale. After a week of up a pound down a pound, I was down about 2 lbs. for the week at 253 I was elated.

Saturday
Elated again, I was down to 252, a 21 lb. total weight loss inside of 5 weeks.

Sunday
Back up to 253, but no worries...I thought.

I neglected to take into account that it being Mother's Day we were inevitably going to be eating out. I did get a little nervous when my dad announced we were meeting at Arby's. I managed to get one of their Martha's Vineyard Salads. This was a delicious salad and I would recommend it, but use the dressing sparingly. It has 13g of fat and didn't require the entire packet of dressing to flavor it up.

That was lunch, then for dinner, Shannon wanted something "nice" to eat in celebration of Mother's Day. So I suggested Bob Evans. This was a good choice but I wasn't real responsible in what I picked out, even though I could have done far worse. I ordered another salad with lo-cal, low fat ranch - didn't use it all. Then had a half of a pot roast sandwich. The bread was soaked with butter and toasted, it had melted cheese and Lord only knows how much fat was in the roast. I have to say however, that every bite was fantastic and flavorful. For some reason the server had brought us an extra baked potato. Not to see it go to waste, but rather to "waist" I downed it with nothing more than salt and pepper. Lots of starch but still lots of flavor.

Shannon decreed that after dinner we were going to the Dairy Queen to get a cone. I couldn't resist! I had a small cone, vanilla/chocolate twist and enjoyed every bite. I may have been fine if I stopped there.

At home, we watched a few programs on the telly and I found myself experiencing what my parents call, "MOUTH HUNGER." I fought it for what seemed like hours but was more than likely only 10 minutes and could fight it no more. I slipped off to the fridge and found 1 container of my Jello. I then moved on to an additional thing of ice-cream, the cream-sicle, I referred to in other postings. Then Shannon had brought back some caramel corn from New York that begged to be eaten. Shannon stopped me but only after I had consumed almost a quarter, maybe half, of the bag.

To my dismay, the scales did not lie this morning (Mon. 5/14). I had gained back what I lost all last week in one day of binging.

In hindsight, I should have gone with my new mantra, don't eat unless you are in fact experiencing hunger pangs. What I was experiencing was far from it. When I look at what I cheated with too; an ice cream bar and some caramel corn, what kind of choices were those? They were so random and unfulfilling that I was left holding the bag, quite literally, this morning as I stepped on the scale. The scale being like a lie detector test. Was I really that bad? No, Rodger, not at all. Surely the scales will be forgiving. As Pinocchio's nose grew longer as he lied, the scales rapidly calculated otherwise...254! 254 from 252 equates to 2 lbs. of lies. The biggest lie I told myself, "you aren't doing much harm at all, keep eating!" Hopefully, next week will go much better.

As an FYI. Rather than waiting to weigh in on Mondays, I am going to weigh in on Fridays or Saturdays. It's far too depressing to weigh yourself on a Monday. Weekends are too unpredictable and you can see what kind of damage I can do in a short time. Am I just trying to fool the scales or myself, probably, but this dieting thing is as much about the physical eating as it is about the mind!

Signing off,
RD 2.0

Week 5 - May 14, 2007

Dale's Results
Weight: 255 - 254 = 1lbs. (19 total to-date)
BMI: 39 - 36.6 = 2.4 to-date

Nate's Results
Weight: 278.5 - 277 = 1.5 lb. (12 total to-date)
BMI: 36.1 - 34.6 = 1.5 to-date

Paw's Results
Weight: 305 - 300 = 1 lbs. (10 total to-date)
BMI: 43.2 - 42 = 1.2 to-date

Comic Relief - May 11, 2007

Big Mac vs. Whopper

I can't escape my cravings. I'll admit, I am challenged on a regular basis by the intoxicating smells of the a fire grill from Burger King or the occasion waft of french fries from McDonalds. I had a writing assignment for a composition class I'm taking and here's what I came up with.

Big Mac vs. Whopper

They're a guilty pleasure filled with massive amounts of gratuitous calories and fat, but they've evolved into American icons. I'm talking about McDonald's Big Mac and Burger King's Whopper hamburgers. Both burgers provide a quick and convenient source of nourishment but in reality, how different are they? From the inside out, we'll highlight some of the nutritional, physical, and yes, even the emotional allure of both of these All-American favorites.

For many, it was indeed love at first bite. From the moment you peeled back the wrapper of your first McDonald's Big Mac, the smell drew you in closer. The steam rolling from beneath the alternate layers of beef and bun brings your salivary glands to a frenzied froth. Greeting you next were sesame seeds. They were like little granules of gold. Slowly and methodically, your teeth sink lower into the cavernous confection of, "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions." But like most mechanics like to do, let's see what's under the hood of our first burger contender, McDonald's Big Mac, and see what this "baby's" made of. An astounding 540 calories, 30 grams of fat, 80 mg of cholesterol and 47 grams of carbohydrates, this former McDonald Land character, Chief of Police, should be locked up and the key thrown away. What would "Big Mac" be guilty of? Tasting just too darn good to resist. He's guilty as charged! It would take an average sized man running 5 mph for 45 minutes to burn all the calories "locked up" in this sandwich. Is it worth it? Millions of people everyday would sing in mighty McChorus the praises of this legendary burger as McDonald's is number 108 in the list of Fortune 500 companies.

Now before you jump to conclusions about who packs the greatest punch in the "burger-hood" you might want to step into the kingdom of Burger King's Whopper. His majesty's sandwich is far from dainty and at first glance appears colossal in size when compared to the Chief of Police in McDonald Land! Dimensionally speaking, the exterior of the Whopper is wider and so too are the subsequent ingredients between His Majesty's buns, metaphorically speaking of course. Not to be out done, the Whopper greets its guest with a similar array of sesame seeds but as the diner's teeth sink into the toasted bun the similarities cease to exist. Fire grilled, not fried, mayo, not a "special sauce," coupled with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup, and a slice of onion, all coagulate in your taste buds to supply you with a unique culinary experience. A peak under the king's hood, again metaphorically, will reveal a considerable difference in nutritional values that may come as a surprise to even His Majesty's most loyal subjects. With a "whopping" 670 calories, 39 grams of fat, 51 mg of cholesterol, and 51 grams of carbohydrates, it may just be time to declare anarchy in the land of big beef. Physically superior in weight, the Whopper is 10 oz. vs. McDonald's 7.8 oz. Where does Burger King compare to McDonald's number 108 on the list of Fortune 500 Companies? Burger King's crown tips much lower on the list at number 842.

All similarities and differences aside, what this comparison really boils down to is personal preference and taste. Both burgers provide for a nostalgic visit to our past. A visit to either restaurant brings with it a flood of childhood memories of simpler days when calorie and fat content didn't matter. You just ate what tasted good. Unfortunately, that legacy has caught up to us and we owe it to ourselves to not forget the Big Mac and Whopper completely, but rather, on occasion "relish" in the flavor of either. Whether you pay homage to the Burger King or get your buns locked up by Chief of Police, Big Mac, no one can fault you for a visit down memory lane. I will say I think the King decreed it best, "Have it your way!"

Week 4 Results - May 7, 2007

Dale's Results
Weight: 258 - 255 = 3 lbs. (18 total to-date)
BMI: 39 - 36.6 = 2.4 to-date

Nate's Results
Weight: 278.5 - 277 = 1.5 lb. (12 total to-date)
BMI: 36.1 - 34.6 = 1.5 to-date

Paw's Results
Weight: 305 - 300 = 1 lbs. (10 total to-date)
BMI: 43.2 - 42 = 1.2 to-date

To Weigh or Not to Weigh - Have it Your Weigh!

Should you weigh yourself everyday? That seems to be a question that is on most dieter's minds. I've heard arguments for and against. One weight-loss program encourages you to weigh yourself every day and another strongly recommends you don't. One of the areas that is a personal weakness of mine is feeling like I must weigh myself every day. I feel this is a way of gaging my performance from the previous day. Not that I plan on eating more calories if I feel I've done well enough. I like to know what's working and what's not. Weighing myself daily, keeps me in check. If I have gained a pound or 2 that may have been the result of me "cheating" on my diet or be an indicator that a weight loss is coming up (See "A Pattern?" blog entry). Either way, gain, loss or static, I want to know what's going on. It motivates me to stay on track as I watch each pound disappear.

I would say, do what you feel comfortable with. Some people don't like the play-by-play action, they would just prefer the overall score of the game. To me, just knowing that they won isn't enough, I want to know HOW they won...or in the case of weight-loss, how they lost.

A Pattern?

In recent weeks, weighing myself everyday, I've stumbled on a pattern of sorts with the way my weight flucuates. I've noticed that after I lose a pound or 2, a day or so will go by and I'll weigh the same. Then after that I gain 1 1/2 pounds. The next day after the scales say I've gained a 1 1/2 pounds I drop 2 full pounds which essentially equates to a 1/2 pound loss.

Breakdown of my average weekly weight-loss:

Day 1 - Lost 1 pound
Day 2 - Lost nothing but stayed the same
Day 3 - Gained 1.5 pounds
Day 4 - Lost nothing but stayed the same
Day 5 - Lost 2 pounds
Day 6 - Lost nothing but stayed the same
Day 7 - Lost 1 pound

Looking at this, it appears to me that before I lose any weight my body stores a pound or 2 before letting any more go. Maybe just to make sure that enough calories are coming to sustain itself before it lets any more weight go. This of course is just a theory. Next week this may change. I will say this however, that this pattern has been going on for almost the entire time I've been on this diet.

The whole reason I'm even documenting this is because I want to remind myself that during a plateau or even a slight weight gain, if I stay committed to this diet I will more than likely lose whatever small amount of weight I gain and then some and not to be discouraged.

RD 2.0