Weight Update!!!!!!!!!

Day 184

The past week has been a great one for milestones here on the Meatless Year Blog.


- 100th Meatless Year Blog Tweet!

- A half-year of being meatless!

- 4000 visits!


And now as of yesterday morning…

I HAVE LOST 50 LBS SINCE NOVEMBER 2^ND!!!!!!!

I went from 212 lbs to 162 lbs over a period of six months and one day!

I still need to get down to about 147 - 149 lbs and tone up some more but having lost 50 lbs in a relatively short time span is exhilarating!

I seem to be saying this a lot lately but I will say it once again:

Thank you all for your support!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted.

What is your BMI?

Days 172 & 173

No, the item in the above picture is not a new video game controller. It is, in fact, a Fat Loss Monitor. When used properly it helps estimate the percentage of body fat one has, their Body Mass Index (BMI) and what body fat range one falls in; low (underfat), normal (healthy), high (overfat) or very high (obese).

I have asked the nice people at my local Y now to measure my body fat and BMI numbers with their fat loss monitor a few times in the past few months. Finally, I figured if I was getting it checked this often anyways why not just buy a monitor of my own? So a few weeks ago I broke down and bought one and when it arrived on 4/12 I went about using it for the first time.

After programming the fat loss monitor with my sex, age, height, current weight and another factor or two that I can’t remember right now, I was ready to find out my body fat percentage and BMI. After pressing the start button I gripped the handles of the monitor and squeezed as the monitor manual instructed.

My numbers were:

22.2 FAT
24.6 BMI

When I used it again this Monday (4/19) my numbers were:

20.0 FAT
24.6 BMI

According to this chart:


I am borderline healthy/overfat for my age group, 20 – 39. It also looks like my fat went down a little while my BMI stayed the same. I didn’t know that was possible.

147 - 162 lbs is the ideal range of weight I should be according to reverse BMI calculating. This calculator here is just one of the ones I used to find that range.

At the presentation I did on going meatless at the AAPC meeting two days ago (more on how that went in a future entry), a member pointed out that muscle gain may skewer the BMI number in the future when entering weight into the fat loss monitor. This is a good question to ask the people at my local Y. Sure, I have a neat new weight loss toy but will it be useless if I obtain more and more muscle?

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
Meatless Man Channel on YouTube
All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted.

Pump it Up!

Days 107 & 108

Day 108 and I still feel great. Lots of energy and the weight is coming off at a healthy rate.

So now it’s time to add some muscle.

At the Y a few days ago I got to talking to one of their trainers, Steve. We talked about how building up muscle helps burn fat calories faster and that eventually one hour on the elliptical everyday was eventually going to have less of an effect on my system. With all that in mind I set a training appointment with him for 10 am on Friday. I will let you know how that goes.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
Meatless Man Channel on YouTube
All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted.

"Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot"

Days 59 & 60

In less than twelve hours it will be 2010. The first decade of the 21st century will be just memories. I did a lot in the last ten years including my share of diets and exercise programs.

I tried Atkins once or twice but always gained the weight back, I worked out at two different YMCAs and Bally’s, took long walks along Lake Michigan in Chicago and up Clark Street (which I think has got to be the most interesting street in Chicago besides Michigan Avenue) but was still not eating the best I could.

Well, 2010 is a new beginning that in some ways began two months earlier on November 2nd, when I first went meatless. Now I’m exercising too and the weight is staying off for the most part.

Speaking of my weight, 2010 will be the year I finally get down to my ideal range of 149 – 162 lbs (according to the Body Mass Index I did at the Y a week ago). Hopefully others will learn from my mistakes and successes that I make along the way. I am aiming to get to my target weight by June 2010. Can I do it? Let’s see. If not, that’s okay; I will still have until November 2nd 2010 to accomplish that goal.

Also, I have some new things coming up in the blog, such as:

Recipes – I will present in the blog meatless recipes from vegetarian cookbooks I have recently acquired and also from the people I know. Who knows? Maybe I will even make videos of me making those recipes and post them here in the blog!

What exactly am I eating? Many people have asked this and I have been putting it off so there will be entries coming up soon showing you some of the foods that I have been consuming ever since I started this meatless experiment.

Besides meat, what other unhealthy eating habits am I trying to get away from? I will show you just what else I am avoiding in the land of terrible meal choices.

Here is to a great 2010 and have a Happy New Year!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page

Three Weeks of Meatlessness!

Days 22 and 23

I have made it past the three week mark for going meatless. In that time I have consumed no beef, pork, poultry, fish, seafood or eggs (not counting eggs baked into things and such).

212 lbs was my weight starting out the month and now I am down to 206 lbs! That’s six pounds lost in three weeks!

My energy levels seem to be good as well. I never seem to have too much or too little energy.

Digestion is good too. :)

By the way, the site counter for this blog passed the 500 mark today for site visits. Not bad I guess for a blog that's only been up a little over three weeks.

Talk to you soon.

I Dream of Meat

Day 14

For me, there are a few signs that a new diet is working.

Weight loss – I was 212 lbs. when I started going meatless on November 2nd.

Now I am down to 207 lbs.

Another sign is that I have a steadier stream of energy. I continue to feel great with the exceptions of a few blips on the radar here and there. Otherwise, I feel much better than when I was eating meat.

Better digestion. That one speaks for itself.

The last sign of a new diet working may only apply to me. It’s a strange one:

I dream of the foods I’m avoiding.

You heard that right. Meats are invading my dreams! They have been kicked off of my meal plate so they are trying to sneak into my psyche!

Last night I dreamt I had to eat at McDonald's so I ordered a salad. On top of the salad greens were strips of bacon! Under the salad was a fine layer of chilled, pre-cooked ground beef. It was firmly coating the bottom of my wooden salad bowl (since when does McDonald’s have true dinnerware?!) and was an unavoidable presence.

Waking before I could put any beef or pork in my mouth, I was relieved that it was only a nightmare.

The same thing happened to me when I first did the Atkins Diet years ago. Around that time I dreamt I robbed a donut stand at an airport! Yeah, I know, weird and random.

And yes, I have done the Atkins Diet in the past. It does take off pounds quickly but they come right back if you go off of the diet plan. Not worth it for that and a few other reasons.

Talk to you soon.