My, how time flies and old habits return!

It has been a little under seven years since my last official post in Ideal Protein Wannabe.  I wish that I could say that I stayed true to the weight loss journey I started.  Sadly, the work took a nose dive and I fell into old eating habits, stress management techniques, and in the past seven years have put on all of the weight I lost and added thirty pounds.  Today, I tipped the scales at 247, a 80 pound increase from my lowest weight doing Ideal Protein and the IP Wannabe methods I shared in previous posts.  Here I am today.

How did this happen?  When I look at this picture I don't recognize the person that I've become, again.  For those that have been heavy their entire lives, like me, I know that I try to avoid mirrors.  I avoid looking at myself and hide behind big dumpy sweatshirts, solid-colored sweaters and the like.  In looking at this picture, I see a much older me.  One that has to acknowledge that I'll be struggling with my weight and size for the rest of my life.

How I got here?  Here's a list of the stressful events that I used to eat my way into 247 pounds:

• Changed jobs four times (1st to avoid layoffs, 2nd company went bankrupt, 3rd corruption and scandal within leadership team, and 4th where I am today)
• Started a consulting business for part-time gigs
• Started and finished my Masters Degree (MEd)
• Got remarried to another former "fat kid"
• I stopped exercising and dropped playing soccer
• Took in my sister during her terrible separation and divorce
• The death of my father-in-law
• Kidney transplant for my sister-in-law
• My father stopped talking to me and my children (due to a petty disagreement with his wife)
• Health problems and surgeries with my mom
• Started my second Masters Degree  (MBA)
• Bought a home with my mother-in-law to care for her
• My daughter's senior year, graduation, and college selection

I'm pretty sure that any one of these things could have pushed me into old habits--sneaking snacks, overeating, and avoiding exercise.  The weight crept up on me, ten pounds per year until today.  I bought one fat clothes wardrobe, and then another, and then another.  As I contemplated buying the next size up, I had to size myself up by actually looking in the mirror I was avoiding and ask why.

So, I've started again.  I'm beginning the IP Wannabe journey again to reclaim the me that posted last in 2011.  The one that was active, healthy, and taking charge of his destiny.  Today, I'm happy to report that after my first ten days, I've lost seven pounds by rereading my methods, learning more about Keto Diets, and putting the principles to action.

BFL Day 11

The time is slipping by, day eleven of my 84 day transformation and I've survived a great weekend of crappy eating. Returning from the Fourth of July weekend, I've had to recommit to the plan and buckle down on managing the cheats day to day. My kids love ice cream, I love ice cream. If I buy them ice cream, I want to eat ice cream with them. They're kids, they are supposed to eat ice cream during the summer. As the dad, I am not. Instead, I've found a simple, delicious replacement. If I take 2 scoops of chocolate whey protein powder, 1 cup of water, 3 cubes of ice, and 1 cup of mixed frozen (unsweetened) berries and blend until smooth, I get something that satisfies my desire for ice cream with 40 grams of protein (and under 300 calories).

The exercise part of the plan is going well. I've been able to keep up with the upper and lower body workouts alternating with the cardio portion. I'm noticing a difference in the size of my biceps/triceps, I think I even see a little bit of definition in my triceps (which I've never seen). Unfortunately, my chest just isn't showing much progress. I'm hoping its just a matter of time before I start seeing my flabs turn into abs.

My Weekly Meal Planner

For the past three days I've been working on a weekly menu that I can realistically follow while I'm entering the next stage of my "body is a temple" home improvement project. After about 12 hours of research, calorie counting, etc. I think I've done it!  I've uploaded it via GoogleDocs, take a look.

The diet includes six, 300 +/- calorie meals per day, 46% protein, 39% carbs, and 17% fat.  It represents getting at least my body weight in grams of protein every day, but is a bit closer to the recommendations I found using Bodybuilder.com's Protein Calculator.  If the article at the site is accurate and I follow Bill Phillip's suggestions about making sure every workout has a high-point moment, I'm hoping to have a much leaner, stronger, and sexier physique (just in time for my 39th birthday).

I've also been working on planning out the 84 days on a GoogleCalendar I'm sharing.  Anyone want to do this thing with me?  I'd be more than happy to have a few friends to track progress with.

Planning for the Next Challenge

I've decided to walk away from Ideal Protein for a while to focus on another goal I have in transforming the way I look and how I eat. Years ago I read Body for Life by Bill Phillips and attempted the challenge he describes. It was a failure.

Now that I've completed 50+ days on IP, I feel I have a better handle on how to eat and how to be healthy. My next goal is to lose an additional 10 pounds of flab and gain back 15 pounds of muscle. Ideally, I'd like to be 175 pounds lean and strong. Instead of flabs of steel, I'd like to look in the mirror and be able to see some muscle definition. To that end, I've decided to try the Body for Life challenge. It'll be 84 days beginning June 27 and ending September 17. If I can lose 25 pounds in 53 days, gaining 15 in 84 days has got to be a cinch!

In getting ready for the challenge, I'm planning my meals and workout routines. A good part of my day (after coming home from the beach and viewing a little inspiration) was dedicated to planning a 1700 calorie/day diet that is healthy fat, low carb, and high protein. It still has some tweaking, I'll work on that more tomorrow. I'm excited that I'll have six meals a day, most under 300 calories. I'll get to reintroduce fruit, whole grains, and yams. I'll also have a once per week splurge day to eat whatever it is I care to, pizza, nachos, fries...you name it! If I want a bag of Oreos and a gallon of milk for dinner, so be it.

Once I'm finished creating my meal and workout plans, I'll share the links like I have the IP items. I'm excited to begin this new part of the journey, I'm excited to begin back at the gym to work off some of the daily frustrations and stresses.

A big shift...

Six weeks on IP, I've lost 25 pounds and look great (when all my trouble spots are hidden by clothing). When the clothes come off, my stomach looks just like a deflated latex balloon. Its flabby, wrinkly, and jiggles. My upper body has little muscle definition and my arms are toothpicks. I like the weight-loss, I do NOT like the way my body looks after the rapid deflation.

Its time for me to start the next stage in my journey, I'm leaving the IP protocol on Sunday and am beginning the Body For Life challenge. Its a 12 week program with many of the same components of IP, really its just Phase 3 of IP adding aerobic exercise and weight lifting. I first read the book when I was at BYU in '99 when my friend Krista and I found ourselves looking and feeling flabby. We agreed to enter the challenge and somewhere along the way got sidetracked. I never completed the challenge, instead I proceeded to gain another 40 pounds to get to my highest weight ever (260 pounds).

With six weeks of IP eating under my belt, I think I have the discipline to follow the eating guidelines set forth. Before IP, I was working out 3-4x week. If I can couple the two, eat enough lean calories, increase the intensity of my workouts, and track my progress I believe I'll hit my goal right before my 39th birthday and the trip to Mexico I'm rewarding myself with.

Supplements

The kids are still sleeping, I have a few minutes to talk about supplements. Yes, you should be taking supplements while doing any kind of ketogenic diet. During phase one of the plan you are seriously restricting your calorie intake as well as cutting out most of the B vitamins you'd have absorbed from eating grains.

On Ideal Protein (IP) the supplements are expensive, $24 per bottle and there are three bottles you purchase on a monthly basis. Add that to the food costs and you've got yourself a break the bank diet. Again, I've had to do some comparison shopping to keep the costs down. The Trader Joe's Pantheon Pack wins for the $10.99 monthly cost. The supplementation is roughly similar. To view my side-by-sides, view the IP Comparison Spreadsheet I've created, click the Supplements tab at the bottom.

On the IP side, most of the minerals are citrates verses carbonates. I'm going to have to do my research to find out which of the two are better choices in terms of absorption. I'm guessing the citrates will win due to IP choosing them over the carbonates. The one thing about IP is its attention to quality time and again, it costs more because its better stuff.

The one thing you'll need to add to the Pantheon Pack is potassium. I had a hard time finding any multi-vitamin regimen that included the correct amount of potassium and I found it to be key in staving off the calf muscle cramps I sometimes get in the middle of the night. Currently, I'm finishing out my bottle of IP Potassium/Calcium supplements. When it runs dry, I'll head over to the Super Supplements store nearby to see what they offer.

Phasing Out

The kids arrived a couple of weeks ago and since its been a tough battle trying to prepare two sets of meals breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I need to take a break from protocol eating and return to real-life. In phase two of IP, instead of consuming their packets three times per day, you reduce to two and prepare two dinner-like meals. In phase three, only one IP packet (for snacktime) and the reintroduction of carbs to the diet for breakfast. Its frustrating in many respects that I'm working on week six of the plan and I have probably another four weeks of phasing out.

I just don't know if I want to keep this up. Perhaps today is a low moment, perhaps its been a few weeks of low moments. I need to be able to go back to the gym, to play soccer with some stamina, and not feel like I'm constantly on restriction. I want to eat like a real person again, to enjoy a glass of wine or eat a chocolate chip cookie without guilt. Four more weeks of lean protein and no carbs is beginning to feel like a punishment.