-Cat Stevens
Point of fact: Contrary to popular belief, Cat Stevens - yes, enemy-of-the-state Cat Stevens - wrote this song, not Sheryl Crow.
I haven't the foggiest idea what this means. Does it mean that once someone cuts you, then it's harder for them to cut you deeper 'cause you're looking all around and moving real fast? Or does it mean it's hard to cut through all that scab and puss that accumulated from your first cut?
Maybe it's a metaphor for how sore I am today. Like, you know, the "first cut" is the first big, huge, groundbreaking workout, and you won't ever again be as sore as you are after that.
Or maaaybe, it's the FIVE POUNDS you cut at your first weigh-in on your way to your goal of 30 pounds by the age of 30?!?
Five pounds? Completely not what I was expecting. I'm curbing my enthusiasm.
For one, I've had intense workouts the last couple of days and some of that has to be water weight. Admittedly, I haven't been focusing on or keeping track of water intake. Also, if you've watched "The Biggest Loser" for several seasons like I have, you know it's always lots of weight lost up front, followed by a gradual return to an equilibrium.
Another concern I have, looking at my diet logs for the past few days, is that I may not be getting enough calories. I was shooting for under 2,000/day, and I'm averaging somewhere around 1,500. Maybe I should be averaging 2,000/day instead. At least for the time being.
But still... five pounds. That's a far cry from, "if the next couple of days are as good as the last, I think I'll break even for the week."
Back when I started this, I promised some recipes. I forgot to do that. Well, I came up with a simple way to add some grilled chicken to my salad at lunch today...
Starting with some canned chicken - the larger can, 9.75 oz I think - drain and press as much liquid out of the can as possible. Brown chicken in a pan on medium high heat. Takes less than five minutes. Before it starts browning, I add a touch of olive oil (a teaspoon at most) and sprinkle with Liquid Smoke (no cupboard is complete without it). Makes four, 60 calorie servings, but this is meat we're talking about. Make it a double.
This tastes like grilled chicken, but saves time thawing out frozen chicken, prepping the grill, and dicing it after it's cooked. I always have some sort of canned meat in the cabinet, because you never know when you're gonna need some quick protein. Probably would work with canned tuna or salmon as well.
MONDAY 10/11/10 DIET LOG
9:00 a.m. homemade breakfast burrito, smaller than yesterday's... only 1/2 a tortilla and slightly less filling, 1 cu orange juice, 1/2 of a toasted hot dog bun (plain), estimated 500 cals
12:00 p.m. Large salad, same as yesterday's except added some chicken, 420 cals
8:45 p.m. a 6 oz slice of lasagna, plus one slice of garlic toast from the supermarket freezer section, estimated 500 cals
Total: 1420 calories
WORKOUT MONDAY 10/11/10
Equipment: Rowing machine, Life Fitness weight assisted dip/chin machine
Intensity (1 to 7): 5
Length: 37 mins total (32 mins cardio)
Calories burned (cardio): 325
Additional: 3 sets each of 10 assisted dips & 10 assisted chin-ups, alternating, no rest
This is interesting to read about, Kaleb. I recently dropped 50 pounds myself, so you have my support! It's tough and takes a lot of committment.
ReplyDeleteI dropped a lot of weight up front, too. I was eating between 1500-1700 calories a day when my body expected about 2600-2700. I was told this was fine as long as I was getting enough protein and vitamins (took natural supplements as well). On days I worked out I was probably only netting 1100 calories. I'm still alive, so I guess it's okay?
When I get on my occasional healthy eating kicks, I will take a salad with me for lunch, and buy the Tyson frozen grilled chicken strips. They are already "grilled" (they taste like they are grilled anyway), all you have to do is microwave them for a few minutes and throw them on the salad. Might cost a little more than canned chicken but it's easy.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Sheryl Crow.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the five pounds!
I can tell already I'm going to like reading your blog. To motivate YOU: I've lost 70 pounds this past year...so you can lose 30 pounds. And being a guy, huge advantage for you. Make the muscle do the work for you. I found that skipping workouts quickly brings progress to a halt. You can do it! One more thing: when you get a sweet tooth, have this: low carb tortilla, thinly spread peanut butter on it. Place a whole banana on there and roll 'er up. Yummmy and under 300 calories if you do it right. Marie
ReplyDelete