xc skiing and snowshoeing

I lost 6.4lbs over January.    Took a rest day yesterday (Friday) because it was super cold, but today, I plan on going skiing later after it warms up.    It's -2F/-19C right now.     It'll be 20F/-6.5C by noon.

Nothing exciting ski-wise.   Just a 2 mile flat section of rail trail that doesn't get much use by hikers or dog people.

I bought new backcountry skis (Madshus, 62 Panoramas, steel edged), and I enjoyed them for a quick outing Thursday.   They're 20mm wider than my old off track skis, but still fast enough for ungroomed classic cross country stride skiing, but the extra width helps with trails with fresh powder or other people have walked or snowshoed on.   Helps me slide over the dips and divots.

In the nearby Carlstrom Forest woods down the street from7ujm my house, I've been using my 37" long Crescent Denali aluminum frame snowshoes.    I can walk a 2 mile loop in the woods.   It's not scenic.   No views really, but good to be under the trees.    The one view you get is of a lot of dead fall in a swamp/marsh area.

https://crescentmoonsnowshoes.com/mens-powder-ski-snowshoes-denali-37-white/ 

 

First couple days I was noticing nothing other than the occasional rabbit/squirrel tracks crossing my trails.    Thursday I finally noticed some dog tracks in my snowshoe trails from nearby houses.    Good to see, and it felt nice to pack down some trail to make some puppers happy. 

 

Last Winter I also bought a smaller pair of their much smaller and lighter foam snowshoes.   Those are super fun and great for big guys walking on packed trails, either from other walkers or snowmobiles.      Half the price, more than half the weight, and they have little screw heads in the bottom so you don't slip on ice.   Super fun.   But again, they'd be useless in fresh snow IMHO.   I'm going to see if I can get Jacqui to go snowshoe with me after it warms up to 32F/0C.   I'll have her try the fun ones below

https://crescentmoonsnowshoes.com/eva-foam-snowshoes/ 

 

I did have an exciting weigh-in this morning 235.9!!!!, but I bet it'll be higher tomorrow morning.  I retain water after intense exercise, and again I'm going skiing later today.   I do my weekly weigh-ins on Sundays, my normal rest day.   Oh well.   At least I got to see 235 something.   And during my weigh-ins I'm wearing 0.8lbs of clothing too.      

I took my rest day yesterday because it was too cold for skiing/snowshoeing yesterday, only a high of 12F/-11C .      I've notice that the day after a rest day, i get my best weigh-ins.   I think it's because my body stops retaining water to help repair muscle.

In good news, I don't really feel like i'm dieting anymore.    I feel more like I've figured out a new way to eat healthy but enjoy it.    Eating a diet with more fiber and nutrients, I actually feel less hungry than when I was overeating.   It's frikkin weird!    Like a diet induced way of going on Ozempic/GLP1 shots.   The only caveat is dining out.   I don't crave it anymore.  There really aren't great healthy, dining out options, which is fine.   There's always salad I guess, and I can get lentil/bean dishes at Indian/Mexican restaurants. Dining out is too expensive now anyway.    

At BJ's, I even bought unsalted, roasted peanuts, still in their shells yesterday....AND I LIKED THEM!!!!    I used to hate the unsalted nuts.    Hate is too strong.   I just found them super bland.     Now,  they're not so bad.   Probably because I rarely eat chips anymore (crisps for your Brits).      

Per a recent Viva Longevity episode, I'm now working on upping my nut and seed oil intake.   I know peanuts aren't technically nuts, but they're very similar.    I also eat almonds, walnuts, pecans daily.   I should increase my healthy oil intake some probably.   

The guy that hosts the Viva Longevity channel was a tech guy.   Made his money and got out, but I don't think he's rich enough to be obnoxiously out of touch.   A kindred spirit.   He made enough money to retire early and spend more time doing the stuff he loves.    

 Anyhoo, he's older than me (70 something), a couple inches taller, and vegan.   But his blood work was still not good.   He's had bad numbers his whole life.   Like ridiculously high.    He recently re-tweaked his diet to eat more seed oils and nuts and BAM, amazing numbers!    The exact opposite of what the current health fad people are saying sadly.

 Again he was VEGAN, but his overall cholesterol was still 280 mg/dL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg_oDjern20 

 Look at his numbers now

His oldest Triglyceride numbers were when he was down to 185lbs and doing Ironman Triathlons.   He stopped racing due to AFIB risks.    As he started to put on weight, he tried low fat, high carb diet for awhile and the triglycerides and cholesterol spiked.

In his video above he really does a wonderful job explaining why there's so much misinformation.    A lot of it is the same old story the USA has been cursed with,  "Grifters grifting".    Glorified carpet baggers.        Sometimes it's a doctor meaning well but just not having the background in causal statistics to know better, but oftentimes, it's just a photogenic, extroverted doctor/health expert looking to make a buck.

 People get hurt and taken for a ride.     And then we all sit back and wonder why Trump supporters don't trust the experts.    THIS IS WHY!!!!

 Maybe as AI improves, we'll be able to use AI to filter through the mess.    But for now, AI doesn't really have true intelligence yet.    It's insanely good pattern recognition (better and far faster than human abilities), and it will regurgitate answers it finds most often.    

 So why would i put so much trust into a single youtube channel?    He doesn't make money on it.  He's not pushing books, he's not selling supplements or protein powder.   He does it because he nerds out on it.   He's retired, it's not even his job.    Any money made, goes back into the channel's production costs.    Also, if you open the description on his videos, it's all linked to the books and research he uses.

The problem is his channel isn't filled with attractive fit people and he's not paying for bots to push his content.    I fear it'll never break through, but I'm thankful to have found it.    Even if at times it feels like it's just me.

 

 

unsticking the weight loss

I'm getting better at tweaking things when my weight loss gets stuck.

I had 5 days in a row last week where my weight wasn't budging.   At first I was ecstatic at seeing a 230 something weight on the scale, but then the worry crept in.   I was plateauing again.    But after a few small changes, I just ended up with one of my best weeks in a while, ending at 237.8 lbs!

 

First of all....sometimes you're going to indulge in more pizza, bread, desserts, etc. than one should.  It happens, move on.   Maybe my relief at seeing a 230 something weight was triggering some snacking, idk.    I also think sometimes if you're lacking nutrients, it pushes your body to snack more.  

 I tried to get out of the rut by doing longer rides on my indoor weight trainer.   This was dumb...   I have to keep reminding myself that losing weight solely by trying to burn it off is NOT sustainable.  In fact, it usually just makes you binge on higher calorie stuff.     And I STILL need to find a comfier seat for the indoor bike, my poor butt.   

I realized I'd been cooking the same dishes for a month, so I think I just needed to change things up a little.  

Not having indian food in a while, I made a tikka masala, using a 1/2 cup of regular fat coconut milk instead of the recipe's heavy cream.   But here's the real kicker. no chicken/tofu.   I just used the instant pot to cook a cup of dried navy beans instead.     I thought the creaminess of navy beans might go better with the sauce than when I tried chickpeas.   Sure enough, tasty!     Maybe a future youtube video I'll make.

Upping my low calorie, high fiber intake helped me to stop overeating my 50% whole wheat sourdough, and BAM! weight loss back on track.     

I also made some home made (Greek) tzatziki sauce to replace the ranch dressing I used when snacking on raw broccoli or celery.    Actually, I started snacking mid afternoon more consistently and I found i was eating less at dinner.

I also have started having an apple or grapefruit at the end of each meal.

Less hunger, more weight loss.     It's frikkin weird!

And no Mom, I'm not overdoing it  (lol, jk).   I only lost 2.2 lbs this past week.   Which is still < 1% of my body weight.     I'm sure it'll slow down again, my goal is 1 pound per week until I get below 220.

In retrospect, what made me the most happy this past week is that I got the weight loss going again by actually upping the amount I was eating.   Just stuff like tofu, apples, grapefruit, raw celery/broccoli.   Cheap at our local BJ's warehouse.

Feels good. 

Currently ahead of my 1lb/week plan again, due to this past week's success.   Using a BMI for 6'2" I'll no longer be obese once I'm under 233.    BMI Healthy weight will likely never happen, < 192 lbs.   BMI is for average build, so I'll be happy with middle of the "overweight" range.      Ideally I want to hover around 215, with a new, permanent max weight of 220 (once I see 220, back on diet until 215).   I'll get there by June if I stick to losing 1lb/week

 

 

 

 

weighing 230 something!

First time I've weighed 230 something since 2000!      What's the big deal?   I just posted about losing 50lbs a week ago.   I guess I just like to celebrate/mark the milestones.    Keeping myself motivated.    Side note, I also wear at least 0.8 lbs of clothing when I weigh in, so I'm actually well below 240.    I keep my scale in the kitchen so I can't avoid it;  and I don't want to flash the neighborhood during weigh-ins.

Also, I waited until I weighed < 240 for at least 3 days straight before posting this.   My lowest weight was 239.4 (or 238.6 el bucko after subtracting the 0.8lbs).   I'm going to keep pushing until I get under 220, so I'm no longer medically "obese"     I find it funny that I feel driven to only being "overweight" medically speaking, but it's a goal.   I'll take it!   LOL  

 

Last time I remember seeing a 230 something weight was way, way back in 2000.  (in the year 2000,  in the year 2000!!!!  Conan O'Brien reference)  I was visiting Jacqui down at Chapel Hill, UNC when she was getting her PhD.   At the time, I remember stepping on the scale in her bathroom and being bummed at seeing 234 something.   Not upset enough to actually change anything, just remember the feeling of being disappointed I'd let myself gain the weight back after all the work I did the last couple years of college.   Back in Mass, I hadn't even bought a scale for my house yet.    

 

During my solo years in Mass was when I really went off the rails, weight-wise.  It's all on me.    To be honest, I think the same thing would've happened if Jacqui went to school in Mass.    I had a job where I could go out to eat during lunch 2-3 times a week, and I piled on the weight at the Chinese/Indian all you can eat buffets, and nearby Italian place (Ziti's).    I was just enjoying food way too much.     It was my reward/stress relief of choice, and I spent the last couple decades drifting between 250-275lbs most of the time because I kept indulging that vice.

 

I think part of my new found motivation is that I'm jut too old to eat poorly (and too much) and still feel ok.   It finally started making me feel unhealthy, and occasionally flirting with going over 300lbs was going to shave years if not decades off my life. 

 

I recorded some specific weights in my spreadsheet where I could remember specific milestone weights.   Double click on the screenshot below to make the photo bigger.   The couple of decades, I'd gain at least 20lbs over Winter and lose most of it over the Summer.    As I've gotten older, I slowly stopped losing as much as I'd put on.  The only exception was 2018.   That was the year I was finally org'd out of AZ, so I wanted to look better for interviews while I still had a job; plus I needed to get my blood pressure down to get the good pain meds for a dental implant.  Lidocaine raises BP.   During the first extraction, I only got the less effective stuff.     All I'll say is Ouch, and that I definitely had extra motivation to drop weight that year.   But the motivation was fleeting.

  

 

 

I've blogged about it before, the HUGE difference this time around is that I've finally improved what I eat.   I'm now following the Mediterranean diet, like the following food pyramid.    It doesn't literally mean eating Greek/Italian regional dishes.   To me it means eat fruit, low starch veggies, and beans/lentil based dishes most of the time.    I'm not losing weight by fasting until Lunch like I did back in 2018 to lose weight over Winter.

 

 6 months on the new diet I feel great, and with my new stable of healthy dishes, it feels far easier to maintain and keep going.   I now have a quiver full of high fiber meals that are filling.   for recipes click here     I will say the only downside is when I travel.   I haven't figured out fast food options that fit well with my new diet, but if I have my truck it's easy to cook/bring stuff along.

 

I'll also say if I was working full time still, it would have taken me way longer to figure this stuff out.   It takes time to learn how to cook this stuff and to find recipes you like.   And it's kind of antithetical to how most Americans eat.    You'll feel like you're on your own, most likely

 

 

 

 

Finally, I've cropped the photo below a bit, I had major bed head.   The joys of balding.  the wispy hair I have left now likes to stand straight up after I roll out of bed.   Sorry the photo is a little blurred too, not important.   This red jacket was super tight last Winter.     I could barely zip it up.   I looked like a stuffed sausage.    The poor zipper has hanging on for dear life.    Now, the jacket is nice and loose.    I've lost 6 inches off my waist per my belt.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

50 pounds lost in 2025!

 Officially hit my main weight goal for this year!    Hit it yesterday and again today,  241.4 and 241.2 respectively (just shy of 110kg)

I needed to get under 241.6 to have officially lost 50 lbs since June (291.6 lbs).    Yay me!   LOL 

This also means, if I can get to 239lbs before my Jan 7 physical, I will officially just be "overweight" per the BMI chart instead of obese (height of 6'3").   I haven't seen 230 something since 1999/2000.

Just to repeat my earlier blogs, my new diet feels very sustainable and satisfying.   I love it.   I don't crave the chips, donuts, greasy pizza, burgers, etc like before.  I truly LIKE what I'm eating now.    Learning to make 50% whole wheat sourdough bread probably helped a lot too.      The main downside of how I eat now is I can't find fast food variations of healthy bean/lentil dishes when traveling.   But I have my fridge and microwave in the truck, and there are always Indian and Mexican restaurants.    

The Viva Longevity youtube channel just posted a very applicable video to what I've discovered this past year.    My appetite is no longer overwhelming.  Eating high fiber, mostly plant based helps me feel full during the day.     The following video also explains why my blood test results back in November were so good while still technically "obese".     Only my LDL was outside the healthy range (108 instead of <100).     I expect everything to be in range after another year, and after getting under 220lbs/100kg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks0hHmkXXuo  

 

From the Viva Longevity youtube link above, Miguel has a google drive link to his food pyramid.   I've attached it here too.  You can double click on the photo to make it bigger.

It's what I was saying in my earlier blogs.   I still eat meat, but just a few times a month.   I still probably have more dairy than I technically should.   Lately I've been making my own cheese crisps, and I still have 2% Fage Greek Yogurt almost daily, but I did recently switch to Silk Soy milk.     China's not going to buy our soybeans anymore, so I think Americans should step up.   Planting Soybeans replenishes the soil.   Soy milk needs less water too 

 

Soymilk alone tastes more bean/nutty than milk, but I drink it with my protein powders, so it's not noticeable.    The "soy boy" insults are nonsense.     Soy's phytoestrogens don't raise estrogen levels in men.    https://sniglobal.org/origins-of-the-soy-feminization-myth/

 

My last health topic on this blog, when I had my colonoscopy, the doctor told me I have early Diverticulosis too.    So if you watch that video above, Diverticulosis eventually becomes the much worse Diverticulitis, which ended Miguel's father's life far too soon.   If you're like me, don't ignore it.

Diverticulosis is another motivation for me to follow the diet plan above.   The Keto/Paleo diet would be extremely uncomfortable for my gut now. 

 

B

 

Before I do longer bike touring, I need to figure out how to cook bean/lentil dishes on the road.   

 

I may get one of these, and learn how to use it.   A lightweight pressure cooker.    

 

https://www.keith-ti.com/products/keith-titanium-ti6302high-altitude-mountainpressure-cooker

 It only gets up to half the pressure of my Instant Pot, but it's lightweight, 520g or a tick over 1 pound.   That's a manageable weight to haul bike touring/back packing.   The size is relatively ok too; I could probably store my primus stove in it.    Then I could bring dried beans/lentils on the road, a few spices, a small oil jar and maybe some dehydrated coconut powder, so I can more easily follow my high fiber diet while bike touring.    With some experimenting, I can learn to pre-soak the dried beans/lentils to shorten the cooking time too.    When I did the Erie Canal too, it was fun to revert to junk food from Stewart's gas station for a few days, but my gut didn't feel as good and I felt bloated in general.    

 

 

I have the Keith multicooker already, so this Winter I'm going to experiment with soaking beans/lentils first and see if that works with the multicooker.   Probably won't work.   It's smaller, but not pressurized.  It's more like a lightweight, double cooker, steamer.   Works great for making rice and not burning it to the bottom of the pot, but plain white rice takes 10 minutes.   Brown rice takes 20minutes.      I'd rather have a bigger pressure pot and only need 5-10 minutes.   More on that later.

 

https://www.keith-ti.com/products/keith-titanium-ti6300-plastic-free-multifunctional-cooker 

 

 

Finally, I think my next steps will be to make some short Youtube videos for my Dad, or maybe guys/gals that don't cook much.   The videos will require an Instant Pot.   I want to make wuick videos that are "good enough" to help people try making these dishes.   When they master my level, they can watch the better youtube videos on those dishes. 

Weight loss, the short short version

 

Currently down to 247lbs from 293 back in May,  hoping to hit 243 before end of year to make it officially 50lbs lost in 2025.    Want to get under 220 eventually.

Switched to eating way more beans and lentils 

eating mostly beans seems to have made my appetite manageable.   I still eat dairy and eggs often, also eat meat on cheat meal days, once or twice a month. 

Highly recommend the following recipes from https://www.rainbowplantlife.com   

• hummus (skip the drizzle part)
• shepherd's pie (brown lentils)
• red lentil curry (mix with roasted vegetables)
• butternut squash lentil curry (I roast the butternut squash, onion and garlic )
• sweet potato lentil curry  (I bake the sweet potato separately too)
• lentil bolognese  italian
• fried tofu 
• tastes good with this Chili Sesame Peanut Sauce  (add at the last 30 seconds so it doesn't burn) 

this black bean patty recipe 

Baked beans for dessert, Recipe here 

Healthy, Filling Peanut flavored Ice Cream recipe using a Ninja Creami machine, click here 

Also make home made 50% whole wheat sourdough bread weekly.   Rounds out any amino acid deficits from the bean/lentils. 

 

Exercise 

Zone 2 workouts in the morning  (easy biking, brisk walking)  for 1 hour while fasted or before eating carbs/fat.   (protein ok).       Zone 2 means you can still talk, but don't want to talk for long or you'll get out of breath.

I did way more biking this year,  but tweak your bike setup to handle your weight, read more here

Find an indoor exercise option for bad weather days (no excuses when it's too hot, too cold, too wet, too sunny, too windy, etc)    

Do the zone 2 workouts 6 days per week, 1 rest day.  

 

Check your weight and BP daily

My weight loss plan was to lose 2lbs/week.     Mostly worked, got stuck around 258 from end of September to early November.    Made some diet tweaks to get things going again.

The tracking is keeping me motivated.

 Google Spreadsheet 

Side Note:   Tracking weight helped me to eventually figure out that after super long, hard rides (>3 hours),  I'd retain 2lbs of water for a couple days.   My body was retaining water to help with muscle recovery.     It had nothing to do with diet/salt.    Read more here     after opening,  scroll down below the map.

 

That's it for the short version.   you can keep reading here if you want more info  weight loss strategies    

   

Weight Loss Strategies

Lost 45 lbs, < 30 to go 

Before I begin, weight can be a sensitive subject, and I know I'm very lucky I could retire earlier than normal.    If any of this blog is salt in the wound, sincerely sorry.   Wasn't my intent. 

Mostly, I just want to figure out my weight loss success this year, and to think out loud a little about what made it possible.

Here we go...

One of the main reasons I decided to retire a few years ago was to have the time to work on getting down to a healthy weight and get rid of the stress, but I got distracted with the freedom the first couple of years, focusing more on the truck camper and cross country road trips at first.    Solved the stress half at least.   

Got a new Primary Doctor 

Surprising myself a little, I signed up with a new primary doctor after going without one for 15 years.    What's that corny pun/saying?  Living in Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.     My previous doctor retired over a decade ago, and I just let things slide.  I think not getting a new doctor was just me avoiding my weight issues.

During the initial wellness visit back in early June, after giving my family's and personal health history, I explained I wanted to lose weight and get healthier, and I gave a rough outline of my diet and exercise plan.   My new doctor gave the go ahead.   I think that's an important first step.    I'm now down to 252.8 lbs as of Nov 23rd, starting from 293 back in June.   Officially 40lbs lighter!   My recent blood work (Nov 18th) was good too.   Only the LDL and MPV values were just barely above the good range, but my doctor pinged via the mychart app saying not to worry.   Those values will come down into the healthy range as I lose more weight, and everything else was in the healthy range.   I even got my first colonoscopy done in September, no major issues found.  Yay adulting!

Mostly Bean and Lentils Diet 

My new diet plan was eating mostly bean and lentil based dishes with roasted, low-starch veggies.    Yeah, you may toot more at first, but the toots don't smell (once you're eating mostly plant based).  Long term, your digestion will improve dramatically.  It's worth it, beans have so many benefits, read this  https://health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-beans

Assuming you read the link above, I want to stress that bit about how beans (and lentils) support the good bacteria in your gut and why it matters so much.   From online...

Good bacteria (probiotics) in your gut help weight loss by influencing calorie absorption, boosting metabolism, regulating appetite hormones (like GLP-1, PYY), reducing inflammation, and even affecting fat storage, primarily by breaking down fiber into beneficial short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, making you feel fuller and less prone to gaining weight, though effectiveness depends heavily on specific strains and individual gut makeup 

I've also been cooking everything for myself, even bread.   I can even make a decent 50% whole wheat sourdough bread now, using my own sourdough starter, also helping gut health (good bacteria).   I still use eggs and dairy in recipes, so I haven't gone full vegan.   I still eat meat occasionally too.    

Here are my other blogs about diet/food related stuff

Finding Sustainable Diet Changes, recipe list   

How to cook beans and lentils in your Instant Pot

How to roast veggies in the air fryer, more pots to clean but foolproof 

Unexpected Home Cooking Backfire 

Learned the hard way that cooking at home does not automatically mean losing weight.  

Jacqui and I have been dining out much less since Covid, from 2-3 times a week to 1-2 times a month.  We also stopped picking up subs and getting takeout, which we did all the time before Covid.    When we were both working, food high in fat, sugar, and salt was our stress relief of choice.    We often turned the leftovers into meals at home by adding some rice and veggies.

During Covid, I improved my cooking skills a lot.   I can now make really tasty stuff at home, even sushi.   Thanks Youtube!  (it's way better when you pay for no ads)  At first, I made dishes we'd get when eating out, and I ate way too much of what I was making, and the unforeseen consequence was ballooning up to 317lbs by Spring 2021.   Oops....I know.  bad.   I made the mistake of assuming home cooking automatically meant fewer calories, and I spent most of Covid wearing stretchy sweatpants.   Lesson learned.    Now I check every morning before breakfast, and record my daily weigh-ins and blood pressure on a Google Spreadsheet and it's shared with my doctor's office to stay accountable.     I'll never go months/years at a time without stepping on a scale again, and (note to self) put on some non-stretch, big boy pants occasionally!   (trousers to you Brits)

Biking and Exercise 

But back to this year,  I'm biking a lot again.    I even have a computer-controlled bike trainer up in the attic (Rouvy.com), so I can ride during the Winter or when the weather isn't good outside.    Our attic is well insulated and temp controlled, like the rest of the house.   Combining my outdoor and indoor bike rides, I've biked 2,300 miles so far this year and will definitetly hit 2500 before year's end.    Technically half what I could do in my early 20's, but I'm very thankful my joints still feel ok 30+ years later.   Super Thankful

Here's a blog with more detail about my biking and exercise in general, 

How and maybe When to Exercise when you're heavy and trying to lose weight 

Viva Longevity Youtube channel 

I've learned a lot about what's actually "healthy" by watching this guy's youtube channel  Viva Longevity    He loves reading all the latest books and papers about clinical and epidemiological diet/exercise research, and he's great at summarizing things in easy to understand ways.    The videos focus on aging well and living a long active healthy life; it can be nerdy though, consider yourself warned, like medical doctor level nerdy.       It's not the gym bro/fitness fad content that pollutes so much of Youtube.

Weight Goal

My goal is to get under 220lbs/100kg, which at almost 6'3" is still "overweight" per the BMI chart, but I'm a big guy.   Yeah, yeah...sounds like the excuse "I'm not fat! I'm big boned!"  (South Park).    Maybe I'll keep going later, but I want a weight I can actually get to, maintain and not be miserable.    I think as you get older carrying an extra 10-20 pounds is probably a good thing.    A little belly fat helps you survive the health hiccups that come later in life.    I have zero interest in competing in races or getting 6pack abs (sorry Jacqui)

Weight Loss Conclusion(s) 

I finally learned losing weight is a lot easier when you combine exercise with eating tasty, healthy, filling, and lower calorie food.     Much easier than fasting, skipping breakfast, and/or relying on Will Power to eat smaller portions of high calorie, highly processed food.

• Find your motivation
• For me, I love biking, kayaking, and hiking more than junk food, and carrying so much extra weight was making those things less fun.
• I retired early so I'd have the time to lose the weight and get healthy; I consider it my job now.  A heart attack or stroke gets really expensive, really fast.     Do Your Job!
• Exercise is a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for "eating too much" 
• Find tasty, healthy, lower calorie foods that trigger a "feel good" response.    
• Of course pizza/hamburgers/fries taste better than a healthy lentil curry (to most people), but I feel better after eating the lentil curry.  No food coma or bloating.  "Feeling good" is addictive, and it's changed what I crave over time.  
• when weight loss stalls, you've probably lost enough weight to lower your daily calorie needs, (known as your BMR basal metabolic rate).  well done!   Time to tweak your diet again
• when changing diet/exercise, always focus on what you enjoy and can do for the long term
• Celebrate the little wins along the way, break down the big goal into smaller achievements
• probably my next milestones will be hitting 243 (50lbs!) and then 239 (officially "overweight" at 239, but no longer "obese" per BMI) 

Anyway, hopefully I've shared something useful above.    

Thank You's

A huge Thank You!  to Jacqui for supporting me during all the lifestyle changes this year.  She never complained when I went out on a ride for a few hours; actually, she usually seemed happy about it (should I be worried? jk).   She's been great about eating the bean and lentil stuff without complaint, and discreetly taking care of her own cravings when needed.   She'd just occasionally get her own lunch when out running errands or meeting up with friends.   As Jacqui told me once,  "I managed to get a PhD, I think I can feed myself! "    Topped off with a well-delivered, sarcastic, "Thank you very much..."  zinger.     But seriously, Jacqui's independence made this all so much easier for me.

Also, a big Thanks to Jeff and my parents.   I'm sure some of my texts about my weight loss project were boring and/or annoying at times this past year.  Thanks for celebrating my little milestones along the way.   The encouragement was appreciated! 

And that about wraps things up for now.    I'll blog with some updates soon.

Wishing you all Happiness, Good Health, and Success following your own path.

 

 

 

Sustainable Diet Changes and recipes

 

Diet Changes for the long run

I now eat a lot of plant-based, bean/lentil dishes with low starch roasted veggies.    

I still have a cheat meal occasionally, and I haven't banned any foods (except Doritos...they're my heroin/crack).   But in general,  if something is not good for me, like ice cream, non Dorito chips, processed cookies/candy bars, etc. I just think of them as decadent "tasting foods".    I take 1-2 bites, really enjoy the flavor and texture, stop, and then go fill up on healthy stuff.     I often just share those kinds of snacks with Jacqui.  Win Win.

It's ok to order pizza or a burger occasionally, live your life.     But over time, I've found those cravings lessen, give yourself time.    If you fall off the wagon, forgive yourself, reassess, tweak your strategy and move on.    Probably one of the main things causing cravings when you switch to a healthier diet is not getting enough protein and healthy fat.   

Stop drinking your calories.

I weaned myself off soda including diet.   Too many studies are starting to show that diet soda messes with your gut bacteria.    It helps the "bad" bacteria grow, which affects food cravings and appetite.   

I only drink beer when I'm camping. and even then just one potent Greater Good IPA type beer.  I'm active enough to burn it off, and camp fires and beer sort of go together.    Hits the spot after a day of biking, hiking and/or kayaking.

I still make a whiskey sour mix, but not to make cocktails anymore.  I add an ounce of the sour mix to 1 liter of seltzer water made via our SodaStream.    It's just enough flavor to kill my soda cravings  

Whiskey Sour Mix recipe:   using a 4 cup pyrex measuring pitcher,  stir 1/2 cup of sugar into 1 cup boiling water until dissolved, then add 1 cup of lime juice and 1 cup of lemon juice.  Mix, store in fridge.   Usually lasts me a week.   I usually just buy the big bottles of Real Lemon and Real Lime from BJ's.

One ounce of sour mix per liter is only 5 grams of sugar (20 calories).     I often drink 3-4 liters of the seltzer/sour mix per day, so it's at most half the calories of one 12 ounce can of coke which has 39 grams of sugar.   

 

bean/lentil based meals to fill up on fiber 

Highly recommend the following recipes from https://www.rainbowplantlife.com   

• hummus (skip the drizzle part)
• shepherd's pie (brown lentils)
• red lentil curry (mix with roasted vegetables)
• butternut squash lentil curry (I roast the butternut squash, onion and garlic )
• sweet potato lentil curry  (I bake the sweet potato separately too)
• lentil bolognese  italian
• fried tofu 
• great protein source, and tastes good with this Chili Sesame Peanut Sauce  (add at the last 30 seconds so it doesn't burn) 

I usually blend the lentil curries after they finish in the Instant Pot.   Before blending, I'll use a slotted spoon to save a few scoops to keep a little texture before blending the rest smooth.   Blending brings out the flavors more, and it gets rid of that gritty, gravel texture lentil soups can have sometimes.

I often cook 2 cups of Mexican black/pinto beans per the instant pot instructions.  I use them throughout the week to make lunch with Mission low carb wheat wraps, sliced red onions, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheddar and hot sauce.    Weaned me off deli meat for lunch.   I put the beans and cheese on the wrap first, zap it for 30 seconds, then add the raw veggies.

When I'm feeling fancy, I'll cook 1+ 1/3 cup of dried black beans to 4 cups water per my instant pot page,  and then I use the drained, cooked black beans for this black bean patty recipe      Satisfies my hamburger cravings.  

You'll find GOYA canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the Mexican/Ethnic aisle of your grocery store.   One can is enough for the bean patty recipe 3 times over.      Or you can use what's leftover to make this Southwest sauce 

Baked beans for dessert?

I know it's a bit weird, but lately I love making baked beans for dessert.    Satisfies the sweet craving without the blood sugar crash.

No Large Pot/Dutch Oven needed!  Recipe here 

healthier rolled oat cookies and 50% whole wheat bread

To get myself off store bought cookies, I started making my own.   Google healthy tahini rolled oat chocolate chip cookies.   you'll find a recipe you have the ingredients for (assuming you make the hummus recipe above).   Example here   My trick is that I add a shot of amber/dark rum to the cookie batter.   The alcohol burns off and it adds amazing flavor.    On the other hand, when my weight loss started to stall out in October, I stopped making cookies every week and starting eating apples and other fresh fruit.    Should have done that from the beginning, but baby steps.   But the cookies are great energy bars for my longer 2-4 hour bike rides.   Cut yourself some slack as you practice new healthier habits.   Tweak when the weight loss stalls.

I also learned how to make sourdough bread.  Bread fills in the missing amino acids while eating mostly lentils and beans.    I make a 50% wheat, 50% bread flour once a week now.  makes two loaves.   Similar 50:50 recipe for home made pizza dough.    Jacqui's a happy girl; she loves her carbs.  Lots of great videos on how to make sourdough on youtube.   Go find what works for your.   The sourdough subreddit has good info too.   I condensed my favorites to a spreadsheet (of course),  sourdough spreadsheet link

To make sourdough, you'll have to buy a weighing scale that does grams, and I'd recommend a collapsible sourdough proofing box to control the dough rise temperature.      I made my own starter from scratch, takes ~2 weeks.    Finding a >70F/21.5C spot in the house is key to developing your starter.    I put mine behind the dorm fridge we use for our SodaStream bottles.   The mini-fridge compressor throws off just the right amount of heat to make the starter happy.

We also switched to natural peanut butter (BJ's brand) for our toast.  It's a lot healthier than Jif or Skippy.   It's just peanuts, peanut oil, and salt.

Yogurt bowls or Protein Shakes, not ice cream

To cut back on ice cream (it's a tasting food now), I switched to 2% FAGE yogurt.   I usually add 1-2 teaspoons of maple syrup, chopped walnuts and blueberries to a heaping half cup of yogurt to satisfy the ice cream itch.    Chobani is close, but FAGE is much better imho.    Plain, not vanilla.   Then you can use it in recipes too.    Like tzatziki for home made, air fryer falafel.     Yogurt is often a thickener in curries too.

At first, I ate healthy egg omelettes for breakfast, but lately, I've switched to a smoothie for breakfast.    One scoop of Orgain Chocolate Fudge protein powder (the scoop comes in the container), and one scoop of PBFit Peanut Butter powder with 16oz 1% milk.   Blend at low speed.     Sweetened Oatmilk has a lot of carbs, so maybe just mix 8oz oatmilk to 8oz water.    Per my exercise page I keep carbs minimal at breakfast, so I can quickly get into fat burning mode during my morning zone 2 exercise session.

A lot of people love home made ice cream with their Ninja Creami kitchen gadget (~$200)   There are a lot of healthy protein powder based Creami ice cream recipes.   Adding a pinch of xanthum gum powder per pint adds creaminess if the texture doesn't seem quite right.    But I tend to only indulge after exceptionally long bike rides.    Normally it's not worth the thaw and mix time the Ninja Creami machine requires each time. 

Peanut Flavored Ice cream made with navy beans