I'm back home with my parents in Detroit. It's weird, but it's almost easier to keep on the program when I'm at my parent's than when I'm home in Lakewood. I've been cooking a lot for them, and they really enjoy the cuban sandwiches.
I have had some troubles with my moodiness again, which I think is related to my close call last weekend with the jerky carbs. I guess every time you go back into ketosis, you have to do the whole process again.
At least I'm still losing weight, down to under 350lbs for 80lbs lost so far!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Emotional Eating, continued
As mentioned in an earlier post, I've come to realize how much of my day to day stress, anxiety, and simple emotion I dealt with through eating (and to a much lesser extent, drinking). I think I've developed some much healthier approaches to my emotions and I'm working hard to avoid falling back into those habits once I leave the fast.
So far, that's all I've really dealt with: day to day trials and tribulations. While that's the real danger (as weight loss or gain is a long term process), today I've learned how strange it is to deal with more dramatic emotional events without food or alcohol. I've been working part time, and while I knew the job was temporary, I found out that I was most likely done with all actual work. Later, my girlfriend who had had emergency surgery a week ago informed me that she wanted to break up. Both events were foreseen, and neither is a really bad turn of events, but it still left me in an interesting emotional state.
Emotional eating is a problem, as is alcoholism, but nobody judges the person who got fired and dumped in the same day for pigging out on Chinese food and drinking a twelve pack. It's allowed, hell, it's encouraged in many circles. I found myself strongly drawn to binging, closer than I'd been on the diet. I talked some stuff through with family and friends, and did some thinking on my own about what really bothered me, and I'm fine now, but for a few hours this evening I felt truly upset that I was on my diet and couldn't deal with things the way I wanted to.
Finally, this was a cathartic day, but not a traumatic or a shocking one. I'm worried what would happen if the emotions were surprising or deeply upsetting. I can only hope I can deal with them, and not resort to food.
So far, that's all I've really dealt with: day to day trials and tribulations. While that's the real danger (as weight loss or gain is a long term process), today I've learned how strange it is to deal with more dramatic emotional events without food or alcohol. I've been working part time, and while I knew the job was temporary, I found out that I was most likely done with all actual work. Later, my girlfriend who had had emergency surgery a week ago informed me that she wanted to break up. Both events were foreseen, and neither is a really bad turn of events, but it still left me in an interesting emotional state.
Emotional eating is a problem, as is alcoholism, but nobody judges the person who got fired and dumped in the same day for pigging out on Chinese food and drinking a twelve pack. It's allowed, hell, it's encouraged in many circles. I found myself strongly drawn to binging, closer than I'd been on the diet. I talked some stuff through with family and friends, and did some thinking on my own about what really bothered me, and I'm fine now, but for a few hours this evening I felt truly upset that I was on my diet and couldn't deal with things the way I wanted to.
Finally, this was a cathartic day, but not a traumatic or a shocking one. I'm worried what would happen if the emotions were surprising or deeply upsetting. I can only hope I can deal with them, and not resort to food.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Day 84 - Progress and Perils
Last weekend my roommmate and I moved to a different unit in the building, and so we've had unreliable access to the internet in the last week or so. I'm now living the true hipster dream: updating my blog in a starbucks.
One of the truths of my diet is that the stricter you stay on the diet, the easier it is to stay. Conversely, the more loose I play with the restrictions, the harder it is to follow. The reason for that is the ketosis underlying my weight loss: as long as my body thinks it's fasting, I'm not hungry. If my body thinks making my hungry will result in more food, for example by getting more food one day, it will ramp up the hunger.
The disheartening part of this is that it doesn't take much. I bought a brand of jerky that only had 4grams of carbs per ounce, which is relatively low for jerky. As a one ounce treat now and then, it's not a problem. What is a problem is eating an entire pound bag over a three day period. 64 grams of extraneous carbs over three days, when normally I stay under 20 total per day knocked me almost completely out of ketosis. Because of that, I spent two days hungry, while I stayed rigorously on the plan. It's better now, but I spent two days hungry and watched my weight loss slow down dramatically.
I have managed to lose more weight, I'm now unofficially up to 80lbs lost at 353lbs. I'm fitting into cars better, I can buckle my seat belt with ease. I feel in many ways that I've lost enough weight to look appreciably thinner, and while still fat I'm getting close to socially acceptably morbid obesity. One of my current fun goals is to reach as close to 300lbs as possible by a friend's wedding July 31st. Realistically, 310 is the real goal, but getting to see a lot of friends and acquaintances down 100+ pounds is going to make me feel pretty good.
One of the truths of my diet is that the stricter you stay on the diet, the easier it is to stay. Conversely, the more loose I play with the restrictions, the harder it is to follow. The reason for that is the ketosis underlying my weight loss: as long as my body thinks it's fasting, I'm not hungry. If my body thinks making my hungry will result in more food, for example by getting more food one day, it will ramp up the hunger.
The disheartening part of this is that it doesn't take much. I bought a brand of jerky that only had 4grams of carbs per ounce, which is relatively low for jerky. As a one ounce treat now and then, it's not a problem. What is a problem is eating an entire pound bag over a three day period. 64 grams of extraneous carbs over three days, when normally I stay under 20 total per day knocked me almost completely out of ketosis. Because of that, I spent two days hungry, while I stayed rigorously on the plan. It's better now, but I spent two days hungry and watched my weight loss slow down dramatically.
I have managed to lose more weight, I'm now unofficially up to 80lbs lost at 353lbs. I'm fitting into cars better, I can buckle my seat belt with ease. I feel in many ways that I've lost enough weight to look appreciably thinner, and while still fat I'm getting close to socially acceptably morbid obesity. One of my current fun goals is to reach as close to 300lbs as possible by a friend's wedding July 31st. Realistically, 310 is the real goal, but getting to see a lot of friends and acquaintances down 100+ pounds is going to make me feel pretty good.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Day 77 - Finding new (old) clothes
My roommate and I are moving to a slightly larger apartment down the hall, so I've taken this opportunity to go through my clothes and find stuff that either is now too big, or I won't wear once I lose the weight. It's been fun, because while few things are so ludicrously large I can't wear it, I'm fitting comfortably into stuff I haven't worn in years. One of the hard parts was giving away old fraternity shirts, not because they're too small or big, but because t-shirts really aren't a cornerstone of my wardrobe anymore, and I'm going to keep the shirts that I either really like or can at least remember the event. My apologies to "Greek week 2004," but I don't remember a single thing about you.
It's probably not a total suprise that there is a correlation between the years in which I gained weight and those years I failed out of college. I've been trying to reconstruct the stages of my weight gain based on when I last wore certain clothes. With my pre-law school sport coat fitting very well now, It's clear I gained at least some serious weight in law school. Based on how well my Pooltown button down fits, and how poorly it fit when I was issued it in March of 2006, I'm guessing I'm now thinner now than then. My Lego Robot egghunt t-shirt was massive when I got it in December of 2001, but now is only slightly large at a 4x. I clearly crossed the xxl to triple x threshhold after 2001, as I remember buying shirts at malls and Kmarts as late as then, and they generally went only up to xxl then. The xxxl to 4x threshold was either my last year at case, or early in law school. Odds are, I crossed it late in college, but finally gave up trying to fit in many 3x shirts by law school.
I'm currently solidly back in the 3x territory, with 4xs still fitting comfortably, if a bit big. A 3x windbreaker that I barely could zip in college now fits comfortably, while even a few 2xl polos are wearable, if not comfy.
It's a pretty dramatic development, as I've been eagerly awaiting the time when I can shop at mainstream stores for my clothes. I'm trying to avoid buying any cloths now, as they'll be too big in six months, but some things are unavoidable: my suit is laughably big, and I have exactly one white dress shirt that comes close to fitting. Somethings are supposed to fit well. I'll be seeing a tailor to get some stuff let in soon. Of the problems to have, this is a pretty good one!
It's probably not a total suprise that there is a correlation between the years in which I gained weight and those years I failed out of college. I've been trying to reconstruct the stages of my weight gain based on when I last wore certain clothes. With my pre-law school sport coat fitting very well now, It's clear I gained at least some serious weight in law school. Based on how well my Pooltown button down fits, and how poorly it fit when I was issued it in March of 2006, I'm guessing I'm now thinner now than then. My Lego Robot egghunt t-shirt was massive when I got it in December of 2001, but now is only slightly large at a 4x. I clearly crossed the xxl to triple x threshhold after 2001, as I remember buying shirts at malls and Kmarts as late as then, and they generally went only up to xxl then. The xxxl to 4x threshold was either my last year at case, or early in law school. Odds are, I crossed it late in college, but finally gave up trying to fit in many 3x shirts by law school.
I'm currently solidly back in the 3x territory, with 4xs still fitting comfortably, if a bit big. A 3x windbreaker that I barely could zip in college now fits comfortably, while even a few 2xl polos are wearable, if not comfy.
It's a pretty dramatic development, as I've been eagerly awaiting the time when I can shop at mainstream stores for my clothes. I'm trying to avoid buying any cloths now, as they'll be too big in six months, but some things are unavoidable: my suit is laughably big, and I have exactly one white dress shirt that comes close to fitting. Somethings are supposed to fit well. I'll be seeing a tailor to get some stuff let in soon. Of the problems to have, this is a pretty good one!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Day 75 - Stress Eating and Me
The exact mechanics of how a person becomes overweight and obese vary from person to person due to metabolism, activity levels, psychology, etc, but in the end gaining weight is about eating more food than your body needs. For myself, like most obese people, I knew intellectually that one reason I was eating so much was because I was using food as a form of self medication to deal with stress or emotions in my life. I knew that, but I I knew that I also really enjoyed eating, and that I was a pretty controlled guy, and that I had some bad habits, making stress eating a smaller part of the overall reason.
Going without the ability to respond to emotions and stresses with food for two months now, I realize that I dramatically underestimated the role emotional eating played in my lifestyle. Nearly everything, good or bad, resulted in some form of food. Boredom was cured by eating. No matter how bad I felt, I could eat something fried and feel at least a little better. In the first few weeks of the diet, I found myself often short tempered if i didn't eat often enough. I had chalked it up to low blood sugar, but part of me wonders if I was simply having trouble dealing with my emotions without eating.
Nobody at the Clinic has suggested I take part in any sort of counseling or group sessions or anything, and I haven't volunteered because I feel that I'm handling things pretty well. The net emotional balance is overwhelmingly positive from this diet, and I've found other outlets for my feelings in working out or enjoying a nice cigar. I still feel slightly amazed at how prevalent my emotional eating was. When something good or bad happens, even now, my first thought is how to respond with food. At the most extreme end, I'm almost dreading going to a bachelor party this summer because I won't be able to eat and drink with the guys. This is going to be a really fun day with some close friends, and I almost don't want to go simply because I won't be able to celebrate the way I want to. Of course, part of that is because I can't drink, which is a different issue, but even if I could go, not drink, but eat all the junk I wanted I wouldn't feel nearly as reticent.
It's tough to realize that you had less control over your actions than you thought, and it's tough to to realize that you have a problem that not only has affect you your whole life, but will most likely never fully diminish. I guess being aware of the problem is a great first step.
Going without the ability to respond to emotions and stresses with food for two months now, I realize that I dramatically underestimated the role emotional eating played in my lifestyle. Nearly everything, good or bad, resulted in some form of food. Boredom was cured by eating. No matter how bad I felt, I could eat something fried and feel at least a little better. In the first few weeks of the diet, I found myself often short tempered if i didn't eat often enough. I had chalked it up to low blood sugar, but part of me wonders if I was simply having trouble dealing with my emotions without eating.
Nobody at the Clinic has suggested I take part in any sort of counseling or group sessions or anything, and I haven't volunteered because I feel that I'm handling things pretty well. The net emotional balance is overwhelmingly positive from this diet, and I've found other outlets for my feelings in working out or enjoying a nice cigar. I still feel slightly amazed at how prevalent my emotional eating was. When something good or bad happens, even now, my first thought is how to respond with food. At the most extreme end, I'm almost dreading going to a bachelor party this summer because I won't be able to eat and drink with the guys. This is going to be a really fun day with some close friends, and I almost don't want to go simply because I won't be able to celebrate the way I want to. Of course, part of that is because I can't drink, which is a different issue, but even if I could go, not drink, but eat all the junk I wanted I wouldn't feel nearly as reticent.
It's tough to realize that you had less control over your actions than you thought, and it's tough to to realize that you have a problem that not only has affect you your whole life, but will most likely never fully diminish. I guess being aware of the problem is a great first step.
Day 74 - The problem with cough drops
As the giant nerd that I am, I read my PSMF pamphlet cover to cover, and one factoid that stuck in my head was that sugar free cough drops often still contain carbs. That remained, deep in my mind, unused until this week, when two events occurred. First I developed a harsh, dry, hacking cough that I treated very effectively with sugar free menthol drops. Second, my ketosis plummeted from medium/large to small/medium.
After some research on the back of the back and online, I discovered that so called "sugar free" cough drops really just don't have basic sugars, but instead have sugar alcohols. These are the same things they put in sugar free gum and what not. While very low calorie, they do still make each cough drop 6 calories, all from carbs.
Faced with the alternative of coughing myself nearly out of breath, I've decided to keep using the drops, perhaps more carefully, while I scrupulously watch the rest of my diet. I'm not sure how low my ketosis can go before I officially leave it, but my appetite was in control yesterday and I felt fine with my normal breakfast of 2oz of chicken this morning.
If there is a moral to take away from this, it's that even after ten weeks on the program I can get nearly derailed by something as simple as cough drops coupled with a single poor meal choice. Eternal vigilance is a pain.
After some research on the back of the back and online, I discovered that so called "sugar free" cough drops really just don't have basic sugars, but instead have sugar alcohols. These are the same things they put in sugar free gum and what not. While very low calorie, they do still make each cough drop 6 calories, all from carbs.
Faced with the alternative of coughing myself nearly out of breath, I've decided to keep using the drops, perhaps more carefully, while I scrupulously watch the rest of my diet. I'm not sure how low my ketosis can go before I officially leave it, but my appetite was in control yesterday and I felt fine with my normal breakfast of 2oz of chicken this morning.
If there is a moral to take away from this, it's that even after ten weeks on the program I can get nearly derailed by something as simple as cough drops coupled with a single poor meal choice. Eternal vigilance is a pain.
Day 69 - A visit to the Nutritionist
I saw the nutritionist on Monday, who said that I'm doing fine. My official weigh in that day was 365lbs, for a loss of 68lbs. that's a rate of a pound per day for over two months, which is frankly pretty fast. The nutritionist on both follow ups, and the doctor the one time both appeared very surprised at my progress. I thought it was weird when I enjoyed the results they predicted, but as many people have pointed out, they weren't surprised at the results. They were surprised that I actually stuck to the plan.
One thing I wonder about is how much of my success on this diet is due to internal factor such as drive, discipline, or self control; and how much is simply due to the PSMF being an ideal diet for me. With the appetite suppressant aspect, the ability to eat tons of grilled meat, and an almost spartan simplicity, the PSMF is a very easy diet to follow. Obviously, I'm committed to the process and I'm exerting some self control, but I really am getting a huge boost from the program. As I've said before, the "cold turkey" aspect also helps a great deal. I don't have to worry about how many slices of pizza I can eat, I simply can't eat pizza.
It's the complete abstinence from certain foods that also helps me in some ways. When I'm at an event or party with pizza or other taboo foods, I don't try to explain to people that I'm on a diet and shouldn't eat it, I simply say "I can't eat pizza." If they want to know why, I explain. I'm a big believer in the idea that if you say something enough times, it starts to become try, particularly something you say about yourself. When I say "I can't eat pizza," I become more and more committed to the idea that I really can't, in fact, eat pizza. The worry about what would happen to me if I were to go off the wagon and actually eat pizza is a different, but related aspect to my ability to abstain.
I had some minor questions for the nutritionist, whose overwhelming response was "whatever you are doing is working!" I'm sure the screws will tighten as I get closer to my goal weight, but for now I'm going to stay the course.
The idea of a goal weight is very common among the professionals I spoke to, and frankly I found it interesting that they solely want to know what I want to weight instead of telling me what I should try to reach. So, it's good that they're focusing on my goals and where I'd like to see myself. On the other hand, it's hard for me to simply pick a number and run with it as a goal. I had a lot of goals at the beginning: lose the magical 10% to help my cholesterol and blood pressure, get under 400lbs, be able to shop for clothes at a mainstream store, and reach roughly 250lbs. At one point, I jokingly said that my goal was to go from "morbidly obese to just regular obese," which shakes out to about 285lbs.
At the beginning of the diet, 250lbs meant a loss of 180lbs, which meant months of dieting and seems nearly impossible. Now, after 10 weeks of the program and nearly 70lbs lost, 250lbs is only another 110lbs and probably 5 1/2 months. That's still a lot of weight and a long time, but that's only 1.5 times the weight I've already lost, and just over twice the time I've already spent on the diet. In other words, I'm already a third of the way there!
The plan for the year has developed to the point where I feel pretty comfortable, after briefing the nutritionist, to plan on cycling off the PSMF at the beginning of November. At my current rate of roughly 5lbs a week, that should result in roughly 110lbs lost by then, getting me pretty close to my goal weight. It will take a month or two to cycle off, and I'm not exactly going to go back to 4000 calories a day when I stop the diet. I'm not going to throw away momentum when I'm doing great, but it would be nice to enjoy the holidays with all the food. In some ways, that's an additional motivating factor to stay on the diet and exercise more: if I can show that I have great work out habits by then, and I've lost enough weight, I can go off the diet and be able to eat a cookie or slice of pie!
All in all, the meeting was short, positive, and mostly affirmed that I was doing everything correctly. While I felt that it was a bit of a waste of time and money, it was pointed out to me that any meeting with a health professional that says "all clear" is never a bad thing.
One thing I wonder about is how much of my success on this diet is due to internal factor such as drive, discipline, or self control; and how much is simply due to the PSMF being an ideal diet for me. With the appetite suppressant aspect, the ability to eat tons of grilled meat, and an almost spartan simplicity, the PSMF is a very easy diet to follow. Obviously, I'm committed to the process and I'm exerting some self control, but I really am getting a huge boost from the program. As I've said before, the "cold turkey" aspect also helps a great deal. I don't have to worry about how many slices of pizza I can eat, I simply can't eat pizza.
It's the complete abstinence from certain foods that also helps me in some ways. When I'm at an event or party with pizza or other taboo foods, I don't try to explain to people that I'm on a diet and shouldn't eat it, I simply say "I can't eat pizza." If they want to know why, I explain. I'm a big believer in the idea that if you say something enough times, it starts to become try, particularly something you say about yourself. When I say "I can't eat pizza," I become more and more committed to the idea that I really can't, in fact, eat pizza. The worry about what would happen to me if I were to go off the wagon and actually eat pizza is a different, but related aspect to my ability to abstain.
I had some minor questions for the nutritionist, whose overwhelming response was "whatever you are doing is working!" I'm sure the screws will tighten as I get closer to my goal weight, but for now I'm going to stay the course.
The idea of a goal weight is very common among the professionals I spoke to, and frankly I found it interesting that they solely want to know what I want to weight instead of telling me what I should try to reach. So, it's good that they're focusing on my goals and where I'd like to see myself. On the other hand, it's hard for me to simply pick a number and run with it as a goal. I had a lot of goals at the beginning: lose the magical 10% to help my cholesterol and blood pressure, get under 400lbs, be able to shop for clothes at a mainstream store, and reach roughly 250lbs. At one point, I jokingly said that my goal was to go from "morbidly obese to just regular obese," which shakes out to about 285lbs.
At the beginning of the diet, 250lbs meant a loss of 180lbs, which meant months of dieting and seems nearly impossible. Now, after 10 weeks of the program and nearly 70lbs lost, 250lbs is only another 110lbs and probably 5 1/2 months. That's still a lot of weight and a long time, but that's only 1.5 times the weight I've already lost, and just over twice the time I've already spent on the diet. In other words, I'm already a third of the way there!
The plan for the year has developed to the point where I feel pretty comfortable, after briefing the nutritionist, to plan on cycling off the PSMF at the beginning of November. At my current rate of roughly 5lbs a week, that should result in roughly 110lbs lost by then, getting me pretty close to my goal weight. It will take a month or two to cycle off, and I'm not exactly going to go back to 4000 calories a day when I stop the diet. I'm not going to throw away momentum when I'm doing great, but it would be nice to enjoy the holidays with all the food. In some ways, that's an additional motivating factor to stay on the diet and exercise more: if I can show that I have great work out habits by then, and I've lost enough weight, I can go off the diet and be able to eat a cookie or slice of pie!
All in all, the meeting was short, positive, and mostly affirmed that I was doing everything correctly. While I felt that it was a bit of a waste of time and money, it was pointed out to me that any meeting with a health professional that says "all clear" is never a bad thing.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Day 66 - continued progress
Wednesday I went to the local Clinic office to have blood drawn for some tests, and I used their scale to weight myself. I clocked in at 370lbs, and given that the scale there tended high (I was 10lbs higher there than at the bariatric center two weeks later), I'm pretty happy. The panels all came back normal, except for uric acid, which was high because of my diet.
I occasionally try on clothes from my closet, as another way to gauge my progress, and I'm pretty officially down to a size 56 from a size 60. Pants sizes are harder to gain lose the more you weigh, due to the nature of a three dimensional solid, so shedding those sizes was a good thing for me.
One interesting development of the last week or so is that I haven't had any food cravings for anything I'm not allowed. I think about steak, or pork, but I no longer have the intense cravings for pizza or ice cream I once had. Part of me thinks it's just cyclical, but part of me wonders if it's been so long that I'm genuinely losing my taste for those things.
Finally, I've had great success experimenting with my cuban meat pile. I've taken to shredding the cheese, adding a small amount of hot sauce to the chicken while I heat it up, and using more pickles. Here's a picture of a later attempt:
I occasionally try on clothes from my closet, as another way to gauge my progress, and I'm pretty officially down to a size 56 from a size 60. Pants sizes are harder to gain lose the more you weigh, due to the nature of a three dimensional solid, so shedding those sizes was a good thing for me.
One interesting development of the last week or so is that I haven't had any food cravings for anything I'm not allowed. I think about steak, or pork, but I no longer have the intense cravings for pizza or ice cream I once had. Part of me thinks it's just cyclical, but part of me wonders if it's been so long that I'm genuinely losing my taste for those things.
Finally, I've had great success experimenting with my cuban meat pile. I've taken to shredding the cheese, adding a small amount of hot sauce to the chicken while I heat it up, and using more pickles. Here's a picture of a later attempt:
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Day 61 - Cuban Meat Pile
Today, I took my first swing at a cuban style sandwich. I bought a rotisserie chicken at Giant Eagle, and pulled some of the white meat, and heated it in a pan with lemon juice and chili spices. Once heated up, I threw a slice of ham on the pan and piled the chicken on top, and sliced a little cheese on the very top. Once the cheese melted, I served in on a plate with spicy brown mustard and some pickle slices.
It was a tasty treat, and I'll have fun tweaking the recipe. It's definitely missing the salami, which is really hard to fit into my diet, but it was still great.
It was a tasty treat, and I'll have fun tweaking the recipe. It's definitely missing the salami, which is really hard to fit into my diet, but it was still great.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Day 60 - Appetite has disappeared again
Over the past two weeks, I've been very concerned about my appetite. I'd noticed that I was hungry more often, that I had more frequent food cravings, and that in general I craved and actually ate more food. Most notably, one night a few days ago I ate 12oz of steak instead of the 6oz I had allotted to my dinner, making it one of the few days I'd gone far over my limit.
In the past two days, that's completely reversed. I find myself getting full at meals, not being hungry between meals, and in general having less interest in food. I'm very glad, as I was fearing that perhaps my body had acclimated to the PSMF, and was no longer riding the "fasting high."
According to my home scale, I weigh in, fully dressed without shoes, at 371, which puts me at roughly 373, which means I've lost a full 60lbs so far on this diet. That sort of thing is even to keep me on the diet for a few more weeks. There is something about hitting 60lbs that seems more real than 50lbs did. I think it might be because it happened so fast after i reached 43 (which was 10% of my initial weight), but I really feel like I've lost a lot of weight. People are starting to really comment that I look thinner, and my mood and attitude is vastly improved over two months ago.
I'm at the point where I can barely wear a few pairs of my jeans. I look like a guy in a weight loss ad, holding out my pants far enough to drop a small fruit into. It's a great place to be.
Finally, I went to the Winking Lizard with my girlfriend yesterday, and I ordered my favorite seasonal entree: the Cuban sandwich. Of course, I had them leave the bread off, but for simply being spiced roast chicken, a few slices each of ham and salami, and some melted Swiss on top, it was very good. It's served with a few pickle slices and some great brown mustard. I think I'm going to hit a good market to find some mustard and some lunch meat to make my own in the future. The only thing that I'm really not allowed is the salami, so I might use more ham. Any advice on making Cuban sandwiches would be appreciated!
In the past two days, that's completely reversed. I find myself getting full at meals, not being hungry between meals, and in general having less interest in food. I'm very glad, as I was fearing that perhaps my body had acclimated to the PSMF, and was no longer riding the "fasting high."
According to my home scale, I weigh in, fully dressed without shoes, at 371, which puts me at roughly 373, which means I've lost a full 60lbs so far on this diet. That sort of thing is even to keep me on the diet for a few more weeks. There is something about hitting 60lbs that seems more real than 50lbs did. I think it might be because it happened so fast after i reached 43 (which was 10% of my initial weight), but I really feel like I've lost a lot of weight. People are starting to really comment that I look thinner, and my mood and attitude is vastly improved over two months ago.
I'm at the point where I can barely wear a few pairs of my jeans. I look like a guy in a weight loss ad, holding out my pants far enough to drop a small fruit into. It's a great place to be.
Finally, I went to the Winking Lizard with my girlfriend yesterday, and I ordered my favorite seasonal entree: the Cuban sandwich. Of course, I had them leave the bread off, but for simply being spiced roast chicken, a few slices each of ham and salami, and some melted Swiss on top, it was very good. It's served with a few pickle slices and some great brown mustard. I think I'm going to hit a good market to find some mustard and some lunch meat to make my own in the future. The only thing that I'm really not allowed is the salami, so I might use more ham. Any advice on making Cuban sandwiches would be appreciated!
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