Thanks for the well wishes!
Guess I should say that I've cut my cardio down from 2-3 hours/day, 5-6 days/week to around 1.5 hours 2-3 days/week. I've also incorporated lifting which I wasn't doing before, but the diet is what's shedding the weight. The reason I've cut my cardio is that I started my diet & the weight started dropping off several weeks prior to getting back on track with heavy cardio. I thought if the diet is doing the job, why kill myself with the cardio? Needless to say, I don't feel like I'm beating up my body as much as I did the last couple of years...
I'm probably doing what's considered a "Paleo" diet with Atkins influences, while tracking every calorie. Since I've been doing this since March, I probably don't need to actually track my calories...I just know what to eat now (I'm eating practically the same thing every day). I'm also never hungry, eating < half what I used to eat. That's crazy!
As for a typical Saturday in my diet, I usually have a handful of blueberries when I first get up. I'll hold off cooking breakfast until I start to feel hungry again (an hour or two later), then cook an egg-white omelet with a couple of jalapeños (fresh from my garden during the summer, switching over to sun dried tomatoes in the winter) and 5 strips of bacon (not much difference between pork & turkey bacon when it comes to calories, fat, etc.). That protein will hold me over well into the afternoon, and is probably key to curbing my appetite during the day. When I get hungry, I'll eat an apple, pear or a handful of almonds. I'll have a salad with (usually) Italian dressing, then wait until I get hungry again (in another hour or two) then grill a piece of chicken, pork or steak. I'll microwave a can of veggies (green beans, peas, corn, etc.), and eat half with the grilled piece of meat & refrigerate the other half for my next meal. I'll snack on peanuts in the evening. I've pretty much given up soda (diet and regular) & beer (hardest to go without...lol), and I'll drink black coffee in the morning, and water (with lemon) the rest of the day. On the days I do cardio, I'll add a small protein shake.
It sounds like a lot, but I guess I'm avoiding the hidden calories found in processed food. I eat when I'm hungry, so I never feel like I'm starving myself. Oh, seasoning is key! I like hot sauces, hot peppers, garlic and any other thing to really spice it up.
I track everything use a couple of excel spreadsheets. One to track my weight & cardio, and the other to track my daily caloric intake (as well as fat, carbs & protein). One thing I noticed is my fat to carb to protein ratio seems to be fairly even. I thought I would be heavy protein/low carb when I started, but I guess I'm getting enough "good carbs" to balance out my diet.
It's working for me, and I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. Probably the biggest key is to control your food intake, and the easiest way is to prepare as many meals at home as possible. Take your meals to work/school if possible. It's extremely difficult to stay "on program" when eating out a lot.
Hope this helps anyone wanting to start a similar program. I've tried multiple different ways to lose weight, and this is the first that's worked for me that I don't mind saying with the program for the long run. Guess it's a little bit of everything I've learned over the years, and the combination works for me. Hopefully I'll make it to 50 lbs. in 5-6 weeks, 60 in another, 70 in another...
Wish me luck!
