Week 2

Ok. So, no updates in a week. What’s up? I needed to move to weekly updates. The daily logs are hard to maintain and do the 30-60-90 diet at the same time. And, yes, there was some falling off of the proverbial wagon.

My weight? A week after I started the diet, I weighed in at +1 pounds. Huh? I couldn’t believe it! I just knew that maybe 3 or 4 lbs had simply slid right off. Baffling! I mean, I really felt GREAT! Well, I think that this was a little more discouraging than I expected. I know you want ALL the juicy details about just how I fell of the wagon, how hard I hit the ground and how long I stayed down there. Let’s just say that the whole 3-day episode included a grilled cheese, some of those yummy cookies my grandmother made—remember? I was avoiding them in the car—and much more than my 6 oz daily ration of meat. Ok, that’s it for the catching up for now. Back to the 30-60-90 diet. This week I’ve been making more of an effort to hit the stairs at work every day, figuring that I need much more exercise to hit my goal. I’m also planning to visit the gym a few times a week—I’ll be sure to update you on the success of that one! So now, having to lose 61 pounds, today is officially, “Weigh Day #2”. Stay tuned for my results tonight!

Day 5

First day back at work after the long weekend, and guess what? I’m fasting. Why am I fasting you ask? No, it’s not related to the 30-60-90 diet or any weight loss aspirations at all. I fast religiously (Christianity, that is) for spiritual reasons during this time of year. Our church has established a seven-month consecration period and the 30-60-90 diet happened to fall right in the middle. We fast certain hours, several days per month. I only mention this because I want to explain that this impacts my food choices and quantities on fasting days. I do not believe that this will produce results with the 30-60-90 diet that others cannot replicate (end of disclaimer). Sooo, for breakfast, I had two slices of wheat toast with jelly—no butter or spread—and coffee. Now, I’m sure that I also did not mention that I am a coffee drinker. Regardless of the effects, good or bad, I chose NOT to give up coffee for the 30-60-90 diet. I thought that would just be too much! I tried a few months back to start self-weaning off of coffee with disastrous results. I was down to half of my usual amount and very tense. So, for the time being, I’m enjoying my café and, hopefully, losing weight at the same time. I had dinner pretty late, but I was careful to start with plenty (about 36 oz.) of water. I had good portions of yesterday’s leftovers and some raisins for dessert. I was zapped (tired), so I turned in early. No recurrences of low-blood sugar today. Woo hoo!

Day 4

Whew! Today was an interesting one (the word interesting here actually means scary). The day began pretty normal. I took the day off from work after the long weekend away, so I figured I had time to really hone in on the food plan. I started the day off pretty light--and I think this was my first mistake. Having only 2 egg whites, less than 2 oz of ham, and a small roll for breakfast was not enough. Late in the morning, after some vigorous devotional time, I noticed that I felt shaky, almost faint. I realized that I had eaten almost no carbs and that my blood sugar was probably very low. I rushed upstairs to the kitchen and devoured two oranges. Still feeling shaky, I went for the cold cereal and 1% milk--two medium bowls (see how I snuck the 'medium' in there?). Sugar? Yes. Fat? No. These were still within the guidelines of the 30-60-90 plan: max out foods with less than 10% fat, eat mainly foods with less than 20% fat and nothing over 30%. Still, in a bit of uncertainty, I put down a few planks of graham crackers for good measure. Stabilization complete. For lunch, I had a medium (real medium) portion of spaghetti noodles with meat (barely) sauce. It was good. Stabilization maintained. I think the pasta really helped. I was proud that I drank plenty of water today. Dinner was dirty rice, green beans, and cornbread, compliments of my wife and all without unnecessary added fats. I almost made the 20 minute mark with that one. This was a good learning day. I realized that I don't have a lot of wiggle room for error since I'm not eating nearly as much. The name of the game today? Balance!

Day 3

My morning on Day 3 was less anxious, since I was able to stock up on the good stuff the day before. After some yogurt, fruit, and a pair of lean ham & egg white breakfast sliders, I prepared for the long drive back to Wisconsin. I found that I had quite a bit of energy on the third day. On the road, I did break the "no eating in the car" rule, but what are you going to do on a 7-hour road trip? I made good choices, though: a delightful, fully loaded veggie sandwich on wheat; no cheese and just a little olive oil. Nice! While the kids enjoyed my grandmother's chocolate chip cookies, I focused on the road and my flavored sugar-free gum. A grilled chicken salad for dinner capped my daily ration of meat and veggies. I still had a bundle of energy even after the ride home. As I tried to drift off, TV commercials were driving me crazy with all of the WRONG food choices. Maybe just keep the tube turned off for a while. So far so good!

Day 2

Surprisingly, I woke up this morning feeling anxious. Could I keep this up? Would I give in and have a hunk of cake for breakfast? Am I getting enough protein? The start of this dietary program was happening outside of my food comfort zone. I was out of town visiting my family. I think this short-lived anxiety was derived from the realization that I had not adequately succeeded to plan each meal, especially breakfast on day two. So, as soon as I could have my wife look after this kids (hey, this doesn't happen in a bubble--you're going to have to plan for the foreseeable and unforeseeable challenges), I stole away to the store for some more supplies. Parking far away, almost at the end of the lot, proved to be a particular challenge in the 8 degree Michigan winter weather. I selected some lean, shaved ham, eggs for the whites, cottage cheese, raisins, and a new chip-like pretzel product for snacking. I actually had some of the black-eyed pea stew for breakfast and lunch, with some cottage cheese and raisins for balance, snacking on fresh fruit and pretzels for filler. If you're one of those that doesn't like to mix flavors, textures, and layers of the food pyramid, you're in for an additional challenge. Thankfully, I don't have that problem. Dinner allowed me to, again, max out on the green beans and get my limit of meat via some tasty baked chicken wings made by my talented cousin. One area of improvement that I already notice: making the time to spend 20 minutes eating each meal. I'll keep working on that one!

Day 1

First Day. Happy New Year! But like I said, this is NOT about resolutions. OK. Here's what we know: I weighed in on December 31, 2009 at 278 lbs., using my father's bathroom scale--I was out of town visiting. I anticipated a challenge since we were planning a big family dinner, scheduled for 3:00pm. I had already planned to get in my 5 daily fruits and 4 daily veggies by going to the store the day before. I picked fruit that I liked (and could eat lots of) for breakfast and got creative with the veggies by selecting some soup for lunch. In addition to the soup, I had a couple of small, lean turkey sliders (no cheese) with mustard. Filling! By the time the big dinner started (more like 4:00pm), I was feeling good and ready to eat. My wonderful sister made two huge pots of black-eyed peas with greens: no meat, but loads of protein. Outstanding! I had a bowl of this with a healthy portion of fresh green beans, very tiny portions of dressing, sweet potatoes, and just enough baked chicken to complete my 6 0z meat limit for the day. Thankfully, I avoided the outstanding Red Velvet Cake, made by my wonderful wife, and the cookies, and apple pie. But I didn't have to do without sweets! My father made a low-fat rice pudding that provided the perfect food counterbalance for the meal. Feeling good!

The Strategy

So what, you may say, are these 30 tips? These are recommendations, suggestions, rules of thumb, and dietary advice that I have gleaned over the past three decades. Broadly, they all fit somewhat neatly into one of three categories: behavior modification, food selection, or increased activity and exercise. As I journey, I intend to revealing the individual elements of this 30-piece puzzle and demonstrating their benefits, at least, weekly. Call it a "Minimize Me" experiment. 30 tips, 60 pounds--can I get there in 90 days?