The Reflection Diet (40 Days of Diet)

[Dante]

Ok, so, I really need to go on a diet, Grad School has taken it's toll on me and by now I weigh in at 282 pnds <_<. I started off school two years ago at a happy, healthy 212 pnds (I'd put my ideal weight at about 180 pnds, I'm a big guy, but not that big). Unfortunately, standard efforts have not been helping me and I get the feeling that my psychological state may have something to do with it (Psychologically my life feels like heck around now - this can effect weight and I'm suspicious this is so).

So in order to induce weight loss, I am going to combine social pressure with a less then genius strategy to shave off some weight over the next 40 days, or until May 25th, I plan on following this regime, my new absolutely lazy diet that seems to work in my mind (AKA in theory alone so far). I call it... THE REFLECTION DIET.

Here's how it works, when I walk into a restaurant, I look at what the first skinny person I see is eating and drinking and in what portions and that will be my meal. The only time I skip said person is if what they're eating looks blatantly unhealthy, in which case they were blessed (from my point of view) with a hyper-metabolism, they are a robot or there exists a black hole in their stomach.

Exercise *should* be a non-issue. My mother nearly had to go to the hospital from back pains from walking what I normally do in a day to get to any location (I lack a car, everything is by bike or by foot - I can walk 4-7 miles a day). But I will take more bike rides.

Outside of eating out, I'll do my best to subsist off more vegetables and water. Lots of water from a new water bottle I purchased for this event. Then to induce psychological pressure to lose weight, I will record my weight here every day (why day instead of week? simply to remind myself). If it works, we will have a brand new fad that puts all the pressure of figuring out a diet on the random people who have good eating habits already! Keep up those good habits... WE'RE watching YOU!

If anyone else wants to jump on, write a message on here too. Maybe we can keep daily records of our weight and then use that info to determine how well this works and even compare how our bodies metabolisms work! Better yet, if it does work, after 40 days we'll have started a habit (actually I think it hits habit after roughly 20 days but meh), so if it works, we'll likely keep it unless something stops us in the future!

To a healthier life! @_@
-Pascal

Current weight 282 pnds Day 1 of my reflection diet

[ShiroiHikari]

Good luck to you dude. Don't forget to get enough sleep as well.

[Rusty Claymore]

To see if fluid retention may be a portion of your weight, try to cut out wheat for the first five days. I know that helped my Mum, so it may help you! Also, there are a LOT of really gourmet quality diet food reciepies (though they sound odd, alot of them are really good!) that you can find from plans such as "The flat belly diet" and "Ultra-metabolism Diet(? not sure if 'diet' is part of title or not...) Oh, and of course, shop at costco. >.<
Good Luck!

And let us know if you find anything tasty!

[Warrior4Christ]

Good luck to you dude. Don't forget to get enough sleep as well.

Yeah, this. Sleep is surprisingly important in controlling your weight.
Drink lots of water too (already said you are).
I'm not convinced the reflection diet would work... I mean, I'm half your weight, and I eat a fair bit and don't really exercise that much. So basically what would be appropriate for one person to eat may not be appropriate for someone else due to metabolism differences. Good luck though!

[Jingo Jaden]

I am fairly thin, About 150-160 pounds while being 6,2. It pretty much is the ideal BMI on my part. I eat fairly unhealthily, but limit the collateral with lots of fluid and a some healthy food. I tend to jog a bit every now and then and I stay in fine physical shape, nothing too exceptional. Some training every day. My eating routine is varied, I can forget to eat for over 12 hours in some cases. My sleep routine is equally random.

I think general happiness and confidence might be a booster. As well as pushing oneself enough and making sure there is a steady progression. I've done some adjustments to keep my weight from increasing and I think it has been a fair investment.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Chow down on lots of salad and chicken. Fiber helps to. Go for it

[Hohenheim]

I hope it works Pascal. Listen, don't try it unless its a last resort, but Atkins is always an option. It did wonders for my little brother.

[Ingemar]

I went pseudo-vegan (abstained from all animal products except invertebrates) for a period as long as your diet plan and it seems to have helped me lose some weight. You may want to consider that.

EDIT: Combined with a regular gym schedule it did wonders for me.

[Dante]

Ok, day 2, >_> morning wasn't half bad, but tonight was a bit rougher. The first person I saw had nothing but a plate of veggies - I'm starting to understand how this is done . So, a plate of veggies and water was my dinner. I was still hungry so I admit I had to grab a banana to at least stave myself off (if I go into famine mode my metabolism is going to crash).

Current Weight 280 pnds (Yeah, I know how that can vary, but I figure if I keep staring at the scale hard enough with the right intent, it might just give in ^_^).

[Jingo Jaden]

Try combining it with some exercise, it does not have to be something that lasts long, but eating oneself thin is not a healthy course of action on it's own. Half an hour a day can do wonders both short and long term.

[Dante]

Day 3 Ok, next time remind me to eat earlier on Saturday nights. Saturdays are always difficult because they always serve breakfast at the cafeteria. So I end up going out for a salad, but the salad is only a half-way thing because the place I go for salads gives huge salads . Well I forgot to eat until late tonight so I ended up going to subway and no one was eating there. In any case, sandwhich and water. But, I felt a ton of energy today, so maybe my inner hidden hypermetabolism that I didn't know I had came back on - for the first time. (couldn't concentrate because I was bouncing around the room, I felt like I wanted to go do Parkour or something, which I'm thinking would be a bad idea at my weight <_<.

Todays Ending Weight 278 pnds... how I'm not sure... But I'll take it ^_^

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I don't know much about dieting, but good work, and I hope it goes well!

[Dante]

Alrighty day 4, the weekend and all the difficulties it entails are over. In any case, while I had a happy morning, my afternoon gave me the opportunity to observe how a dark mood effects my diet. I noticed something else interesting too today. Today was the second time where a restaurant has snubbed me for ordering healthy. The first time was when I ordered a salad only (I did get a soda back then) and was first insinuated to by said waitress that she didn't want me ordering only a salad and then told directly when I outright asked what she meant by making faces at me for ordering a salad.

The second time was when I ordered a sandwich at a certain sandwich shop and only ordered the foot-long with water instead of making it a combo (chips and soda are bad) and the cashier gave me a dirty look when I said I only wanted a water cup. She tried to get me to order a water bottle instead, which- given that we live next to a mountain and the water is bottled in Phoenix (horrible tasting water) I opted for the water cup. I don't want to pay extra for water anyways.

But apparently the new gig is if you don't order enough food, restaurants feel fine giving you dirty looks and outright declaring you shouldn't order the food. Well, at least this is my second experience with it. I suppose they really must have been driven nuts when I brought the second half of the sandwich home (a foot long I realize is too big for one meal). But... anyone else get weird experiences like this for ordering water? And why do regular employees paid minimum wage even care WHAT you order if it's not adding to their check?

280, yep up again (it was all over the place during the day when I felt bad). But I know that day to day variation don't matter. Try more tomorrow.

[Warrior4Christ]

That's ridiculous... how immature of them to judge (for lack of a better word) your food ordering. You're the customer - you order what you want, right? They're supposed to provide what you want. I've never had that (that I remember).

[Doubleshadow]

It's probably your weight driving their reactions. I have the opposite problem. I'm 5'5 and spent most of the winter 88 lbs (I'm up to 93 lbs now! It took quintupling my food budget but I did it). If I order healthy no one bats an eye, if I ordered something heavy they look surprised.
If you can, cut out soda and sugary drinks. Sugary and salty are built in cravings for humans, so you'll need to learn to balance intake and not just cut them out. Fat is an acquired taste, you can train yourself out of that. Take vitamin pills. Until you adjust your diet you may find yourself craving non-diet foods to get at their nutrients, say craving a steak because you're low on iron.

[Dante]

Hmm... maybe, Day 5. Well I know to expect this, but it's still frusterating.

281 pnds. But sticking to water, wheat bagel for breakfast, had a sandwich and a salad for lunch, and just half a sandwich for dinner. Snacking may have been a problem because I'm trying to kick on the higher metabolism I had a few days ago with about an extra wheat begal when I got hungry mid-day and a banana. Work requires me to sit around and do nothing though and so I don't get the exercise on Mondays that I need.

T_T Oh well, I won't give up! I don't care if I have to live on fruit, this body is GOING to lose weight. The good news is that it is that it will be much easier once I pass week one. I might even be able to amp it up a bit.

[SailorDove]

Sounds like you're doing well sticking to your plan! Don't give up! You're doing a good job.

When my Dad when on his diet years ago, he got teased by friends and looks by waiters too. (He did low carb, high protein / veggies diet before it became the fad.) And it worked. But he still had to endure the treatment & stay on his program.

So don't get discouraged. We're rootin' for you!

[Atria35]

You've been doing great so far! I'll totally admit to needing to lose a few pounds, but... I don't own a scale, so I couldn't keep track of my progress

You're doing great! Go Pascal! SailorDove is right, we're rooting for you!

[Dante]

Ok. Day 6. Air pressure went from normal to low pressure, weight went from 281 yesterday to 275 today. It makes no sense I absolutely agree XD.

But yet another day. I might note, water isn't nearly as bad as it felt when I first started. I've also noticed that I'm getting up earlier and getting tired earlier... Currently 10:30 (now) seems absolutely exhausting. But I won't be able to sleep as soon as I get hit by the light of morning. No caffeine does WEIRD things to you.

PS, thank you everyone for the support!

[MBlight]

Well done for keeping up the good work!

just a side note, bananas tend to make you heavier. I don't know why, but it does. Maybe try apples or other fruits to snack on. Although the bananas make you heavier, they don't necessarily make you bigger...

[Dante]

Day 7, 276 pounds, even still I'm not sure I trust it and honestly feel the air-pressure is playing tricks on me. But one day more of this blissful number isn't bad, I'll take what I can get.

Also I'll remember to watch out for the bananas! Thanks for the advice!

[Warrior4Christ]

Day 7, 176 pounds, even still I'm not sure I trust it and honestly feel the air-pressure is playing tricks on me. But one day more of this blissful number isn't bad, I'll take what I can get.

Also I'll remember to watch out for the bananas! Thanks for the advice!

Holey moley! Losing 99 lbs in one day! I'll ring Guinness World Records for you.

[Jingo Jaden]

Wow, 99 pounds in one day? And here I thought salads alone would only have a fairly limited effect.

[knightlee]

Wow, sounds like you're doing great! I'm trying (slowly but steadily) to work off around 18 pounds by the end of July. Right now the best thing that I've been doing is logging in what I eat each day, and making sure that most of my calories come from proteins, not from carbs and fats (though both carbohydrates and fats are good for you in moderation). One thing that you might need to watch out for is that your weight loss will begin at a very fast pace, then it will slow down almost to a stop, unless you make sure you are doing cardio and strength exercises. You don't have to join a gym, or anything, just make sure that you run/bike every other day (for starters) and lift what weights you can (incidentally, the best weight to use at first is your own body weight).

Someone else mentioned drinking as much water as possible, and getting enough sleep. For me, getting enough sleep is HUGE. I'm a night owl, but I know that if I go to bed later than 10pm, I'll be suffering for it in the morning.

If you'd like to know anything else, sparkpeople.com is an absolutely fantastic place to start. I don't use it currently, but I started out there and it gave me so much information (it's also freeeee!) It does have a large, very supportive community, so that is also a plus. The best part, for me that is, is that they give you some very important basic info that will help keep the weight off, as well as loose it.

[Dante]

Yep, accidentaly collided half my body with a chunk of anti-matter, always does the trick! O_O my mistake. There was a long time in life I could say 100 and something and the one hundred became habit LOL. Edited ^_^.

[Dante]

Ok, so day 9. A bit rougher lately, don't know why, but I'm still holding steady at 276 though I worry about the effects of air-pressure (blistery cold out lately, otherwise I would walk more). In any case, yet another weekend begins, but this time I think I have a plan. Now that I have some data from the healthier people, I'll just apply it from memory even though the cafeteria offers mostly unhealthy food. Tomorrows lunch will hence consist of a sandwich and fruit. Which has been a common meal that I've seen in the past. With that, maybe I can actually make the weekends a healthier time instead of an unhealthy time.

[Hakaii]

I proud of ya bro! You're doing great! Come to think of it, I need to take better care of this organic vessel I call a body. hmmm... being a Naruto fan, I have an idea. Maybe what you need (and myself as well) is someone to compete in this endeavor with you. I'll start posting my own diet wins/epic fails right along side you. Lets face it, I could use a psychological checks and balances when trying to wean myself off of soda. Today (as usual) I plowed through a blue Mtn Dew. At this point, 3 days of sodalessness and I am a caffeine/sugar zombie. I will be slowly getting off of soda. I'll post how much I drink/not drink.

Honestly, I am amazed that you can get by on just water and not gallons of soda. Props for kicking it as well has you have so far. Hopefully, I'll be following right behind ya.

at the risk of being TOO much of a Naruto fan...

You're going to lose that weight man... Believe It!!

...

Yep, that was as corny as I thought it would be.


EDIT: oops, by "plow through a blue Mtn Dew" I meant a 2-Litter

[Dante]

It said 176 this morning but last night (day 10) it said 171... I knew I didn't believe it, but... given that Hakaii has said to! Then I may as well BELIEVE IT 171!

Come on Hakaii, I know you can do it! One possible suggestion, start off with flavored water, it has few calories (maybe around 36) but ultimately will ween you off the high sugar and most of all the caffeine addiction... and it is an addiction, I know... I VERY well know. Plus you need a step down system with Phoenix water - I live next a mountain, (feels lucky about the happy mountain). Although, on the bad side, getting it home can be a pain in the neck, so a cheaper and better route is to try the flavor packets that Walgreen sells. Sometimes go for those if you need sweet and if otherwise try to pull over to regular water!

[Atria35]

WhenI was quitting pop, I just gradually downsized what I was drinking from the large bottles (I never drank a liter in a day, it was just too sweet for me ><") to the smaller ones, drinking a little less each time. I think after about a month I just stopped having pop in the house. It also helped that I also went from the caffinated to uncaffinated sodas (not diet, because I know what those artificial sweeteners do to your taste buds/body- and yes, I do know what I'm talking about, I'm majoring in biology and minoring in chem!).
Good luck to both of you- you're doing great!

[Dante]

not diet, because I know what those artificial sweeteners do to your taste buds/body- and yes, I do know what I'm talking about, I'm majoring in biology and minoring in chem!

WHAT DID THEY DO TO MY TASTE BUDS! O_O