Entry #4, November 29, 2007

STARTING WHERE WE LEFT OFF

YESTERDAY

My significant other is a workaholic attorney and usually comes home between 7:30 and 9:00 P. M. So while I'm waiting for her instead of having one or two cocktails, I usually have three or four, sometimes five. While this does not render me "knee walking" drunk, it is probably a couple more than I should have. I also prepare a large semi-gourmet evening meal which we consume between 9:30 and 10:00.

My first resolutions concerning my quest to become healthier is to eat something for breakfast, to have a healthy but small mid-morning snack, a fairly Spartan lunch, a mid afternoon snack, and a light dinner after no more than one or two cocktails. I also plan to explore an excercise program (more on this later). It will be interesting to see how my ideas change through the program.

My breakfast plans are rather simple as I don't want alot of hassle before I leave for work. I may add an option later, but for now I plan for weekday breakfasts to consist of either a bowl of whole grain cereal with a banana and low fat milk or a dietary supplement product. I know everyone be they layman or nutritionist has their own ideas about supplements. I simply found this particular one interesting and decided to try it. It is advertised to contain the vitamins and nutrients in four servings of fruit and vegetables. Directions offer the option of mixing with either water or juice. I tried it first simply with water. It was all I could do to gag it down, and the goat puke green color didn't help. Next time I used orange juice as a mixer, added a banana and blended. Pretty good, despite the color.

At the time of this writing I am on day three of my program. Day one I had Greens for breakfast, forgot my mid day snack, ate a small piece of fried chicken breast left over from Sunday brunch for lunch (my bad), an energy bar left over from my Medi-Fast diet (almost two years old) and two boiled chicken wings and a liver for dinner from a helf chicken I boiled; and yes, I had two Manhattans before dinner and a glass of wine with the chicken.

Boiled chicken is very versatile. You can do so many things with it. Personally I like to just eat it. You can also shred or chop it and add to soup or make chicken salad. Of course it can also be an ingredient in many non-diet dishes such as dumplings and casseroles. I also have a chicken bias. I know "experts" tell us to skin the chicken and discard the skin because that is where the fat is. That is also where most of the flavor is. I have never tasted a boneless skinless chicken breast that was fit to eat, regardless of how creative the chef may be. If it takes me a couple extra weeks to reach my goal because I eat a little bit of chicken skin then so be it.

There is a school of thought that says you should not weigh every day while on a diet. No matter how "good" you are being, the human body likes to play games with your weight. Sometimes your body retains water and you fail to lose, or even gain no matter how little you ate. Sometimes there is a freak metabolic reaction I don't think even doctors can explain, and sometimes we just cheat and often don't even admit it to ourselves. I normally do weigh every morning after I have performed all my morning ablutions and while wearing only only a T-shirt (more information than you wanted to know I'm sure). First day I lost 1&1/2 pounds.

Just one more thought on supplements before I move on; on the days when I don't have greens, I take a supplement containing omega 3. I also take a vitamin almost every day. I do not lay any claim on being a vitamin and supplement expert and don't want to get into arguments with anyone. There are literally thousands available so use whatever you, your doctor, your best friend, or your bookie recommends or you are comfortable with. I doubt that any will help you lose weight better than another. The only thing I want to caution is that you take a quality vitamin as you will more than likely have some deficiencies unless a totally qualified nutritionist designs your diet. If so, that will totally defeat the premise of my theory. If what you are doing does not fit you, it probably won't work.

Signing off for today, join you again later.

Entry #3, November 28,2007

Its good to be back on. Sorry its so late in the week. When I took Thanksgiving off, I meant to be back on Monday, but this is a new blog, and I'm somewhat technologically challenged and tech problems cost me a couple days.

I had a comment or two already, and am happy to say they were positive. One of them had a question. I will try to answer any questions you send in the comments option and will also consider any suggestions you have.

The question was, " Are you going to tell how to use this diet?" The answer is yes. Everyday I post will give you a little more information that will hopefully be of help to you.

So we are now ready to start

THE JOURNEY

There really is no secret about losing weight. It is very simple. Unless someone has a metabolic problem all you have to do is burn more calories over the long run than you consume. The way to do this is with a combination of diet and exercise. While the theory is simple enough, the problem is human nature. Such things as will power and cravings come into play along with discouragment when we hit "plateaus" and the best laid plans go awry.

I am really sticking my neck out by revealing my plans before I fully test them. I know I will probably have to alter some of my intentions, and I also know my will power will probably not always be up to the challenge.

I am not an MD or a nutritionist, but neither am I totally ignorant of nutrition and health principles. I entered college many years ago in a pre-med curriculum and while I later changed my major I did take courses in nutrition, chemistry and biology. Over the years I have also read many articles and books by MD's, nutritionists, and other "experts" on health and weight loss. It is amazing how widely their ideas differ and how contradictory one program can be from another.

Thus I formed my own theory about weight loss. There are many paths to the truth. There may be some that are so far out as to be considered "wrong." There are some so common sense and practical that most people consider them "right." The bottom line probably is there so many, maybe even hundreds or thousands out there that will work; the secret is to adjust your attitude (will power) to make them work for you. This is much easier if you chose a program you don't think will deprive you to the point of being miserable. Also, unless you are by personality a very rigid person, chose a program you can alter yourself to increase your chances of success. This is exactly the kind of program I'm attempting to design.

To a large extent, I plan to sort of make it up as I go, although I do have pre-conceived ideas; and I will share my failures and successes with my readers as I go and you can decide for yourselves which of my ideas you want to try, which to alter, and which to totally discard. I will also provide you with recipes you may or may not find tempting.

Even though legitimate nutritionists tell us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I have not eaten breakfast on a regular basis in many years except for weekends when I'm not working as an auctioneer and we enjoy a few Bloody Marys before partaking of a large brunch. I am a believer in the theory that in order to successfully lose weight, it is most effective to eat four or five times a day, having snacks or small meals rather than the two or three meals most of us have. Traditional wisdom also holds it is best not to eat your major meal of the day late in the evening. This is a habit of which I am guilty; however, I recently read a statement from a well respected nutritionist that a calorie is a calorie whether consumed at 7:00 AM or 10:00 PM.

I hope to be able to continue tomorrow. See you then.

The Happy Hour Diet

Introduction
I have had a weight problem since I was about eight years old. At that age I went from a skinny kid to a chubby kid, primarily we surmised, as a result of having my tonsils removed. It may have been coincidental, but soon after the operation, my general health improved and I began gaining weight. Being a "fat kid" can be a real downer. You get teased a lot. I remember as a teenager there was a group of wits that whenever I appeared would chant, "A Neff, enough, too much", and laugh gleefully. That hurt!

By the time I was a High School Junior, I had started taking off weight, seemingly naturally. When I was fifteen I weighed 215 pounds ( but I was almost 5’11") Again it may have been coincidence, or it may have been age and hormones, but between my sophomore and junior year I went on a three day fast, ingesting only water and chewing gum during this period. Immediately afterward I started to melt away pounds without changing anything about my lifestyle.

By the time I was a senior I was very fit. After graduation I entered the Army for a six month active duty stint. I came home in great physical shape weighing about 160 pounds and actually looking a little on
the thin side for my 5’11" big boned frame.

I maintained my weight pretty well throughout college, perhaps gaining 10-15 pounds which I could stand to put on. Then, when I got out in the real world, living the good life with expense accounts and cocktails I began my gradual ascent toward obesity. Oh, when I hit certain milestones, like 215, 225, 230, and 250 I would start an effort to lose weight. Yes, it would usually be successful but inevitably I would regain the weight with interest. If you are reading this you have experienced the same phenomenon.

Within the past 3-4 years I have had two success stories, but in each case I regained my hard earned losses with a vengeance. The first success was the Atkins diet. I lost twenty something pounds in a reasonable period of time, then off the wagon. The second was a program called Medi-Fast whereby you purchase certain food items from them and eat one "lean and green" meal per day on your own. At first, I had no problem with either one, but strayed from the flock in both cases for two reasons. One, I got tired of the rigidity of the programs; and when I rebelled, I couldn’t go back. Two both programs required an initial alcohol-free period (or perhaps a total ban on alcohol, I forget right now). I felt the need for a flexible program I could design myself and change as I wanted.

I don’t consider myself an alcoholic, or even a problem drinker; but I enjoy Happy Hour. There may be physiological reasons why alcohol consumption slows weight loss. If so, I will be content to lose a little more slowly and have a better chance of ultimate success.

When I made the decision to go on Medi-fast, I weighed 272 pounds. I lost down to 242 before I went to Spain and off the wagon. For the reasons before mentioned, I have not been able to get back on it. I gained back up to 268 before taking a cruise to Alaska this summer. The motivating factor behind my decision at this time is that a couple of years ago I was diagnosed as diabetic. Until now I have been able to control it with pills. Just before I left for my Alaska adventure, my Doctor told me to enjoy the trip because when I got back I would have to make a decision to either try to control my condition with diet and exercise or go on insulin. So I am calling on my will power to avoid insulin.

One of the ironic things concerning this is that I just knew I would come back from Alaska several pounds heavier than I started since I would be eating three meals a day complete with dessert which I hardly ever do at home. I left home weighing 268. When I got home I was 264 and after 24 hours on my program, I’m 262.5. The only thing I can figure is I was active enough in Alaska to burn off a few pounds despite the fact I was eating more.

So now its time to embark on my journey toward better health. I wish me luck. I plan to take Thanksgiving weekend off. See you next week.

November 20,2007

Entry #1 November 20, 2007
Welcome to my blog. The primary purpose of this blog is to help people who want to lose weight to do so without feeling deprived and as if they have given up their life. I have titled it The Happy Hour Diet because I have proven myself that one can lose weight and still enjoy cocktail hour in moderation.
Even if you never take a drink however, you can still benefit from the information I will be publishing as I will be including diet and exercise tips; information on healthy foods, and recipes (some more "diet" than others).
In addition I plan to vary the content with entertaining information, and occasionally business tips from my vastly varied career experience. Stay tuned for continuing information and entertainment.