Seriously. I’m not a parrot.
I make a vow, here, publicly, on the interweb: I will eat no more crackers.
When I break this vow, I will return here and self-flagellate or something.
No more crackers
donuts are not a food group
A farewell to donuts, now in haiku form
A haiku for my weight loss goal for 2018 which is coincidentally the same as the goal for 2017 and currently tracking about as successfully.
Donuts are yummy
But too much of a fat thing
Makes the waistline boom
I have actually remained donut-free for the first 25 days of the year. Only 340 days to go! (I have been less successful in remaining snack-free.)
November 2017 weight loss report: Up 3.5 pounds
The good news is I’m still down overall for the year.
That concludes the good news.
The not-so-good-news is I did not reverse October’s trend of gaining rather than shedding weight. Instead my went went up again, a hefty 3.5 pounds. Yikes.
This was due to two things:
- an increase in snacking
- a decrease in exercise (specifically running but also walks)
The increase in snacking was bad. It’s obvious I can only manage it when I exercise enough to make up for it, so when I don’t the weight gain is immediate and significant. This depresses me a little. I must again resist snacks. December is probably the worst month of the year to give up snacking but I’m going to give it a try before ending in an orgy of short bread and Ferraro Rocher.
The decrease in exercise was not due to a sudden transformation into a lazy, sloth-like thing, but rather because of the change of season. I don’t mind running in the rain and the cold (though I can honestly say I would never miss running in the rain), but I haven’t really done it in the last few years and want to get better gear for it. To a certain extent this is just an excuse but I’ve made some movement here.
There are a few issues right now when it comes to exercise.
For lunch walks, it’s pretty difficult to do when it rains. Yes, I have a Goretex jacket, but my jeans will still get soaked. I could bring a second pair of jeans to work for these walks, but it’s a bit of a pain to shuttle pants back and forth between work and school. Still, it’s a possibility.
For running, it’s now dark right after work, so I can only run at lunch. If it’s raining lightly and not close to freezing, I’m good with the gear I have now, though I want a second pair of running shoes so I can just leave one pair at work. The problem starts when it gets colder–I need better running pants than what I have now, plus a better jacket, one that can better resist precipitation (my current running jacket is more of a windbreaker). One final issue is when it rains hard, the trail around the gold course turns into a lake/river combo that is supremely unpleasant for running. It’s also a bit dangerous because when most of the run is done in giant puddles of water, you can never really be sure what you’re stepping into.
I plan on addressing the gear situation soon and the no-snacking begins tomorrow.
My plan for December is modest–to get below 160 pounds again and stay there. If I can do more, that would be spiffy, but my goal right now is to just reverse the weight gain and get back on the no-donut track.
And now, the grim tidings regarding my waistline through the month of November.
Stats:
November 1: 157.6 pounds
November 30: 161.1 pounds
Year to date: From 165.9 to 161.1 pounds (down 4.8 pounds. In October I was down 7.9 pounds and in September I was down 11.4 pounds)
And the body fat:
January 1: 19.1% (31.7 pounds of fat)
November 30: 17.3% (27.9 pounds of fat)
Bad design: This donut
It is a well-established fact that I love donuts. I love all kinds of donuts, too–glazed, cake, jelly, pretty much any donut is good (except maple donuts. Maple and donuts just don’t work together for me. It’s like combining peanut butter and chocolate, but instead of peanut butter you use plaster and instead of chocolate you use motor oil).
However, this donut is wrong.
No, not the decadent but possibly decent Chocolate Cheesecake Donut on the left. I’m talking about the one on the right.
The Angel Cream Donut.
Tip: If your product is using the words “angel cream” you are very likely doing it wrong. The only thing that visually distinguishes this donut from a Boston Cream (mmm, Boston Cream…) is the white icing drizzled across the top. You know, the angel cream. Or maybe the angel cream is inside the donut and it is meant to simulate a pureed form of angel, whipped and blended into a horrifying but richly smooth cream-like substance.
I don’t know. I don’t want to know. The fact that the sign is handwritten suggests this could be a rogue donut named by capricious staff. More likely the official Angel Cream Donut signs haven’t arrived at the store yet because the person who is printing them keeps looking at the sample and going, “Ew!” and never prints anything.
Food(ish) things I strangely crave
Lately I’ve been getting cravings for food (I almost wrote “things” which may be more accurate) I haven’t had for a long time. Here’s the list so far:
- Eggo waffles (I swear it has nothing to do with Stranger Things)
- Sausage and egg McMuffin (I’ve indulged this one a few times already)
- Oat fudge bar (from Starbucks–like the above, I’ve gotten a few of these recently)
- Apple pie
- Stuffed olives
- Breakfast cereal that is really just candy. You’re not fooling anyone, Reese Puffs (which I bought on sale this week)
- Goldfish crackers (judging from previous purchases I’d probably take these intravenously if possible)
- chocolate of almost any kind
None of this is good for my weight loss goal. In fact I was just slightly over 160 pounds yesterday morning, a depressing setback considering I was down as low as 153 pounds just a month or so ago. It’s enough to make me want to eat four of the eight items listed above in a self-defeating attempt to console myself.
On the plus side, the time it took to write this blog entry was time not spent eating any of the listed items.
On the less-plus side, I had a bowl of Reese Puffs earlier this evening.
Unrelated but still food: Tim Hortons is selling a “snowflake” donut. I don’t like the implication there. We don’t need snowflake donuts. How about a nice sun donut to celebrate global warming instead?
January 2017 weight loss report: Down 1.7 pounds
This year I set a weight goal of 145 pounds. On January 1st I weighed 165.9 pounds, meaning I have nearly 21 pounds to lose. Yikes. Here’s where I’m at after the first month:
January 1: 165.9 pounds
January 31: 164.2 pounds
Weight loss: -1.7 pounds
Not bad but I’d technically miss my goal–at this pace, I’d be 145.5 pounds by December. Clearly, I need to step up the exercise, cut down the snacking or ideally both. I am making progress, though not being able to jog outside yet is cramping my exercise style. I only had two donuts the entire month, though! My goal for February is to go donut-free. And lose more than two pounds.
Another triumph over donuts
In the third week of January, a lot of people will have left their resolutions for the new year in tatters or more specifically, in the crumpled wrapper of a bacon cheeseburger. It is because of this that I want to celebrate another achievement as I work toward my goal of hitting 145 pounds this year: I have again dodged copious numbers of donuts.
Yesterday boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts were left in the kitchen area at work. I already had a small advantage in that I don’t like Krispy Kreme donuts–they are light but also almost sickly sweet with a heavy and kind of gross glaze. Still, in times past I would have gobbled up one or two without any thought. Coworkers were chowing down up to three (or more) each.
But I had none.
I was later informed that there were also boxes of the fancy ones, filled with jelly and such and probably 500 calories each. Those would have been more tempting but I’m pretty sure I would have resisted.
Next week I’m going to cut out all gratuitous snacking. Almost all snacking is gratuitous. I’ve done this before and I think this, with regular exercise, is essential to the weight loss.
I’ll probably be on the treadmill again this weekend but there is perhaps a slim hope that the last of the snow will be gone from the trails around Burnaby Lake. But I doubt it.
My weight on January 1 was 165.9 pounds. Today it’s 164.2 pounds. Losing 1.7 pounds in 24 days isn’t exactly wasting away, but it’s a start. I will continue to dodge donuts.
A triumph over donuts
Two days I vowed to pass on the donuts that would be served at the weekly staff meeting. My immediate supervisor, who runs the meetings, opined that he might accommodate me in some way.
Today at the meeting the usual box of donuts was presented. And my supervisor brought along a banana for me. He quickly added that it was okay for me to have a donut, too. A donana, if you will. One of my co-workers said today is the official day people give up on their New Year resolutions. I guess people break before three weeks have passed or something like that.
But I held firm. I ate the banana and declined those freshly-baked yummy, mouth-watering donuts. And I assured myself they did not taunt me.
I am at 164.2 pounds. My weight is starting to trend downward again. I am exercising regularly. My body fat percentage has dropped 0.4%. These are all good things and I will not let them be derailed by a wickedly enticing Boston Cream.
Not this week, anyway.
And today would have been a good day to have a donut, too.
Long lines and the price of McFreedom
The other morning I was in the food court near where I work and, as is usually the case at this time of day, there weren’t many people milling about. Then I espied a line-up that was not merely long, but downright lengthy in extreme.
It turned out it was for McDonald’s, as they had just introduced new buttermilk biscuits as part of their breakfast menu and for two days they were offering them for free.
Free, as it turns out, is a popular price.
Here’s some of what these people got for free by opting for the Sausage ‘n Egg Biscuit Sandwich:
48% of your daily sodium (1140 mg)
57% of your daily fat (37 g)
590 calories
240 mg cholesterol
19 grams protein
30% of your daily iron
So you’ll simultaneously get fat, clog your arteries, increase your blood pressure but also gain a tiny bit of muscle (under the fat). Seems like a good deal. It’s hard to figure out why so many people are obese. Really!
(Disclaimer: Occasional fast food is a welcome indulgence for those who like it. I am eating whole grain tortilla chips and fresh salsa as I type this.)
Fat World
CBC has a news story today about how Canadians’ Fitness Levels Plummet. Some findings:
- the percentage classified as overweight or obese [since 1981] rose from 14 per cent to 31 per cent among boys, and from 14 per cent to 25 per cent among girls aged 15 to 19
- based on BMI, 19 per cent of males and 21 per cent of females aged 20 to 39 years were classified as obese. By age 60 to 69 years, the percentage was about one-third.
A BusinessWeek story painted a similar picture for the U.S. with the “good news” being “obesity in the United States may finally be stabilizing instead of increasing”. One of the findings from the studies south of the border:
- the adult study found the prevalence of overall obesity was 33.8 percent — 32.2 percent in men and 35.5 percent in women
I have written about weight loss and exercise before and I am utterly dismayed at these figures, especially after I found out something myself: unless you have some kind of medical condition that prevents or complicates it, achieving a healthy weight is simple. Here is all that’s required:
- Don’t eat junk food.
- Don’t eat fast food.
- Eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and lean meat.
- Avoid processed food that is loaded with sugar and/or fat.
That’s it. Eat properly and your body will maintain its own natural weight. You may still be a bit thin or thick depending on your actual body type, but you’ll be the right weight for that body type.
Add in a modest exercise routine three times a week for 20-30 minutes to help out. More if you’re into it.
In June 2008 I weighed 187.5 pounds and was probably on my way to 200. I am a thin person so a lot of this weight was packed around my middle. I changed my diet to something sensible. This morning I stood on the scale and came in at 144 pounds. No magic pills, no special powders or drinks needed. Just a bit of willpower and the desire to stop feeling uncomfortable about my own body.
I wish more people would have the same sort of epiphany I did a year and a half ago (okay, so a doctor also told me I was pre-diabetic. That was the “epiphany-assist”).
And what’s the deal with McDonald’s being an Olympic Sponsor, anyway? Somehow I don’t see the medal winners chowing down on Big Macs and fries before they go for the gold. Or maybe they do and their freakishly perfected bodies somehow transform that junk into something with real nutritional value. Or they’re all fembots. Well, except the guys. They’d be malebots.