David Diet

David's Diet Blog
Years 2006-2007

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Weight: 137, Waist: 32.625 inches

Treadmill: 30 Minutes, Speed: 3.0 MPH, Distance: 1.50 Miles, Elevation: 7, Pulse: 125 BPM, Calories Burned: 158, Frequency: 6 days per week The Ground Hog was right and winter ended early, but I've been on the treadmill for several months to keep my promise to stay at 137 pounds. Thanks to the exercise and watching what I eat, I've been able to succeed. Last night, I loaded beef, potatoes, carrots and an onion along with some extra beef gravy into my personal-sized crock pot and will be enjoying three delicious low-cost meals without fear of losing control of my weight. This is not rocket science. It's a matter of discipline: avoiding binge eating by not keeping in the pantry items which will get you in "trouble" with yourself. There are no potato chips on the shelf, no ice cream in the fridge or pies in the oven. As you'll learn if you read the details of the David Diet, dark chocolate chips are "in" and chocolate chip cookies are "out." As swim suit season approaches, now is the time to act, so that when you do change for the beach or the deck, you will feel good about yourself!

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Weight: 137, Waist: 32.625 inches

Outdoor Exercise: 60 Minutes three times a week In case you've been wondering what I've been "up to" since my last entry on March 24th, it's been outdoor exercise involving practical projects. These have included digging out tree stumps, breaking rocks to remove boulders, planting grass, pulling up weeds, washing and waxing the car, raking leaves, clearing underbrush, planting tomato bushes and taking good old-fashioned walks around the neighborhood and up the local hills. I found this was the perfect solution to hold my weight steady at 137 pounds throughout most of the seven month period. During the colder months, I'll be doing more cool weather outdoor work and when the snow begins falling, I'll be keeping my driveway clear with a snow shovel and one of those newfangled snow scooper contraptions. No need for a snow thrower or a plow truck, because I'll be out there as required to keep up with any storms which come my way. The trick is not to let the white stuff pile up to the point where heavy lifting is required, as that can be hazardous to one's health. And I'll bet that in my next update after the first of the year, I'll still be 137 pounds, while continuing to enjoy the occasional steak and hamburger, along with the chicken, turkey and other white meats as well as plentiful helpings of vegetables. Fortunately, I've always been a fan of canned "no salt added" spinach, so during the recent scare, I didn't miss a beat. The canned product is reportedly pre-cooked by the packing plant, which is why it wasn't the subject of any recall. Popeye had it right all along! Here's to good health and happy holidays...

Friday, March 24, 2006

Weight: 132, Waist: 32 inches

Treadmill: 30 Minutes, Speed: 3.0 MPH, Distance: 1.50 Miles, Elevation: 8, Pulse: 135 BPM, Calories Burned: 158 An intriguing question occurred to me the other day while pondering the impending arrival of bird flu in the United States. There's been much talk about how eating chicken will be perfectly safe even if chickens are infected, because proper cooking kills the virus. But how do you cook a raw chicken while staying safe during the process? Do you have to wear latex gloves and an N95 filtration mask with safety goggles, while you prepare it for the oven or the frying pan? Do you have to sterilize any cooking implements you utilize to prepare the chicken? Since the answers to these questions have not been aggressively distributed, the chances are high that as has been the case in other countries around the globe, the arrival of an H5N1 infection here at home could cause a 70% drop in poultry sales. And since I'm a chicken lover because it is one of the best sources of low fat protein (with also potentially threatened turkey being at the top of the list of "good" meat), it will be kind of hard to maintain a low fat diet without those key elements.

So, I've decided to reduce my focus on weight for the time being. The other factor is obvious. If avian flu makes its debut in the USA this summer or autumn, it might not be a bad idea to have a bit of an "insurance policy" around the middle. In other words, one might not need a diet to lose weight, when the food choices become increasingly meager.

What many people don't seem to realize is that if H5N1 mutates into a human-to-human strain, society as we know it will end starting with the moment the lights go out. The absence of electricity will instantly take us back in time to the Civil War era, when being overweight was not a major issue for most Americans. In those days, living to Age 50 and having anything approaching a pot belly were seen as noble accomplishments.

As always, you are welcome to visit the main section of my website to find out how the David Diet got me to a sustainable 132 pounds. I think I've made my point over the course of the past 18 months via this blog, all of whose entries are also available for your edification. Thanks for having stopped in from time to time to follow my progress. Now, I'm going to turn my attention to how people coped with everyday living, before inventors Michael Faraday and Thomas Edison came along. At least, I may catch up on my reading!

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Weight: 131, Waist: 31.875 inches

Treadmill: 30 Minutes, Speed: 3.0 MPH, Distance: 1.50 Miles, Elevation: 8, Pulse: 135 BPM, Calories Burned: 158 It's "pants falling down time" and specifically those sweat pants with the draw string which you tie in a knot and then forget about it. The problem comes when they start sliding down and you have to untie the impossibly tight knot to cinch it up. It's not a two minute task. But from the positive side, it means one is making enough progress to have to go to the trouble. As swim suit season approaches, I'm definitely "in the zone" but certainly not for one of those awful baggy swim suits. They would just look silly. Something a bit tighter ought to fit the bill. Unfortunately, swim season in New England doesn't start until July 4th! In the meantime, I'll just keep plugging away to see if I can get back down to 128lb and then plot my diet for the weight maintenance phase. As you know, most people have a more difficult time holding the weight steady, than losing it in the first place.

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Weight: 132, Waist: 32 inches

Treadmill: 30 Minutes, Speed: 3.0 MPH, Distance: 1.50 Miles, Elevation: 8, Pulse: 135 BPM, Calories Burned: 158 I have now officially arrived at the top end of my target range of 128-132 pounds and it was not easy. I resorted to checking my weight daily to make sure I was either making progress or at least avoiding moving in the wrong direction. The sequence was 133, 134, 134, 134, 135, 133, 134, 132. As predicted below and as seen in the past, the weight can drop more than a pound in one day and that's what happened this time. I use a digital scale to avoid "subjective" evaulations and weigh myself twice for confirmation of the results. I have noticed a tendency in recent days toward being more sensitive to cool temperatures in the house, which I keep at 55 degrees except in the room I'm occupying which is in the 60s, in order to hold down the energy bill. I've had to add an additional layer of clothing (another sweater) more frequently and occasionally don a knit hat and a pair of stretch gloves which still allow me to type. My thought is that with the loss of additional body fat, my "insulation" is being trimmed, but with Spring around the corner, that should not be a problem for long.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Weight: 134, Waist: 32.250 inches

Treadmill: 30 Minutes, Speed: 3.0 MPH, Distance: 1.50 Miles, Elevation: 8, Pulse: 135 BPM, Calories Burned: 158 I inched up a pound as part of normal fluctuation and am continuing to walk the treadmill on a daily basis, with one day off a week. Based upon my past history, the next step down in weight often occurs suddenly (as in the 136lb to 133lb experience detailed immediately below) rather than a pound at a time. This is the period when patience and persistence are required.

Saturday, February 10, 2006

Weight: 133, Waist: 32.125 inches

Treadmill: 30 Minutes, Speed: 3.0 MPH, Distance: 1.50 Miles, Elevation: 8, Pulse: 135 BPM, Calories Burned: 158 My three pound decline in weight is no accident. I've been on the treadmill six days a week and very carefully watching the calories, making sure the amount of olive oil salad dressing is kept to a minimum and reducing the amount of butter in my rice for my Sunday night fish dinner and on my toast for my Wednesday/Saturday egg breakfast. I also added Kellogg's Raisin Bran to the mix twice a week (in place of oatmeal) which is giving me additional roughage to keep me trim. And with the blizzard arriving tomorrow, I shall be burning lots of calories clearing the expected foot of snow.

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

Weight: 136, Waist: 32.500 inches

Treadmill: 30 Minutes, Speed: 3.0 MPH, Distance: 1.50 Miles, Elevation: 8, Pulse: 135 BPM, Calories Burned: 158 Whoops! Shame on me. I gained two pounds over the past ten days, so it appears the alternating snow shoveling and treadmill excercise was not doing the trick. Therefore, I am going to begin walking half an hour on the treadmill six days a week to see if that doesn't help me get back down to the 134lb of January 23rd so I can continue working my way back toward a range between 128lb and 132lb, which is where I belong.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Weight: 134, Waist: 32.250 inches

Treadmill: 30 Minutes, Speed: 3.0 MPH, Distance: 1.50 Miles, Elevation: 8, Pulse: 135 BPM, Calories Burned: 158 I lost the pound from the previous week and continued doing the treadmill exercise every other day. Since a foot of snow will fall by the end of today, I will experience plenty of exercise when I clear it this evening in lieu of the half hour walk. Because I've begun a new Blog file for 2006 (you can still see the earlier ones from last year and 2004 by clicking on the home page links in the table of contents), I've listed my current David Diet calorie count below. This is the "base" 1800 calorie David Diet, which also includes a Wednesday and Saturday egg breakfast and a Sunday pancake breakfast with Sunday fish dinner for additional protein intake as well as variety. I also eat Post Raisin Bran or Nabisco Cream of Wheat (2.5 minute cooking time version) instead of oatmeal depending upon my mood. My between meal snack is Hershey Cool Mint Ice Breakers sugar-free gum available at most grocers and pharmacies with the lowest price located at Wal-Mart. See the main David Diet pages for full details.

Late Breakfast: 625 Calories

1 Cup Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal with 2 cups water, slow cooked for 5-10 minutes (2 Servings Size) (300 calories)
1 half cup of half percent milk (50 calories)
One Cup Prune Juice (170 Calories)
One Half Cup Grapefruit Juice--when not taking medication (50 Calories)
One Half Cup Orange Juice (55 Calories)

Dinner: 1175 Calories

3.1 ounces (10 slices) Buddig Deli Cut Oven Roasted Shaved Turkey Breast or Honey Baked Ham (360 calories)
Half head (3 cups) of iceberg lettuce (20 calories)
13.5oz can of no-salt spinach (120 calories) or fresh broccoli or fresh zucchini squash or fresh spinach
7 Large Olives (45 calories)
1 plum (Roma/Italian) tomato (25 calories)
2.5 Ounces Salad Dressing (3 Tablespoons Olive Oil with red vinegar and powdered seasoning) (365 calories)
16oz Glass Homemade Tea (6 bags with 2 of Lipton, 2 of Twinings Early Grey, 2 of Salada Green, no sugar)
6oz Red Table Wine (Legal Drinking Age Only) (100 Calories-Estimate)
1.12oz Ghirardelli Bittersweet (60% cocoa) chocolate chips (32 Chips is 30 Grams) (140 Calories)

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Weight: 135, Waist: 32.375 inches

Treadmill: 30 Minutes, Speed: 3.0 MPH, Distance: 1.50 Miles, Elevation: 8, Pulse: 135 BPM, Calories Burned: 158 I slowly returned to exercising on the treadmill this week because we experienced a major January thaw up here in northern New England which meant I wasn't doing as much snow shoveling. And with temperatures in the forties instead of the teens or twenties, the "shiver factor" wasn't as prevalent, so I knew I had to burn more calories by increasing physical activity. Nevertheless, I gained a pound, which was purely a function of at what moment in the digestive cycle I stood on my digital scale. We'll see if the return to excercise on an every-other-day basis combined with the return to colder weather makes a difference by the end of the upcoming week.

Friday, January 6, 2006

Weight: 134, Waist: 32.250 inches

I stayed true to my David Diet this week, but perhaps the biggest factor in losing two pounds in the wake of the holiday period was the snow shoveling from several bouts of the white stuff. In some ways it's easier than getting on the treadmill, because the snow clearing has tangible results. If you've benefited from the David Diet in recent months, now's the time to pass the word along, so others can follow through on their New Year's resolution to lead a trimmer life!

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David's Diet Blog Years 2006-2007