checking in: Week 6

week: -3
total: -10

• exercised: three times


• kept track of portion sizes: daily


• took vitamin: daily


• water: 3L and 12 glasses

Milestone week. Nice. Around June 9, I got two packages in the mail from Amazon. One was a stick blender that had been heavily discounted. The other was a little pocket-sized handbook called The Abs Diet Eat Right Every Time Guide by David Zinczenko. I had added the book for two reasons: a, to get me up to free shipping; and b, because I had read favorable things about the method in various places.

It's called a diet, but it's really a food plan, with lots of emphasis on good unprocessed natural ingredients. Nothing is absolutely forbidden, and that's the kind of plan that I need, as long as you get lots of your daily foods from the core list (the ABS DIET POWER 12). Turns out that on this food plan, smoothie snacks are highly encouraged, so the purchase of the stick blender was fortuitous -- I find the stick part a lot easier to clean up than the blender pitcher.

I'll admit, I felt a little overwhelmed my first time in the fancy organic food store, trying to find flaxseed powder and extra-protein powder (the only supplement that the plan supports). I'll also admit, I have to learn a new style of shopping entirely, to keep my fresh foods from going bad before I get around to eating them.

I'm sure I have some new good habits. Must stay vigilant and not get lazy.

week 5

week: -2
total: -7

According to my Goals Log at Joe's Goals, my stats this week:

• exercised: 3 times


• kept track of food diary: 7 times


• took vitamin: 7 times


• drank water: 7 litres and 12 glasses

It was like the perfect week. It may be all in my head, but I feel like I have more energy. My knees are definitely not a creaky as they once were. There is confirmed muscle development in my arms and legs. Now to unearth all these new muscles from beneath the flab.

WEEK 4 WEIGH-IN

weekly change: -1
overall change: -5

In the last seven days, I:
kept track of food (portion size, calories): 7 days
exercised: twice
took a vitamin: 6 times (a new personal record)
drank water: 7 glasses and 5.5L (glasses are really plastic Mardi Gras cups usually, which I use when taking my vitamin or an ibuprofin)

The Good

I'm drinking plenty of water. Don't berate me about the water. 8 8-oz glasses is an excessive requirement, and the researchers who made that cryptic statement also said (and it gets lost in our sound-bite era) that a lot of this water is delivered to us in our food. So I think my daily intake is fine. At least it's not sugary soda (an old addiction of mine which I must constantly struggle against).

I'm almost taking my vitamin every day. It helps that I threw out the generic horse-chokers that my doctor originally recommended and went with the name brand, which is a slightly smaller pill.

The Okay

I only reached the gym twice. But still, I went twice and did good work, so that counts for something.

Where can I improve?

I'm trying to buy less pre-packaged food and make more use of fresh ingredients. It's hard for me though, because I'm no fan of vegetables mostly (dislike the textures, raw and cooked). Also, I'm not a wizard in the kitchen, but I'm determined to change that.