Skorpius' diet progress

[Skorpius]

I wanted to post how I am eating and losing the weight that I have. Been lurking too long so I figured I'd contribute something of value to the forum. It may help out a few people in the process.

Here are my stats as of March 2009:
Age: 32
Height: 5'10''
Starting Weight: 365 lbs
Ethnicity: Mexican-American
Body Fat: +40%
A1C: 12.5

I began my diet in early March 2009. Here's what I had my first few days and my workouts:

Wednesday (3/4)
Breakfast 7am - 3 hard boiled eggs, Honey bunches of oats w/whole milk, cup of coffee-lots of sugar

Snack #1 10am - banana

Lunch 12:30pm - 2 Tuna sandwiches on white bread, steamfresh corn, crystal light pack in water, 1 cupcake

Snack #2 4pm - yoplait yogurt

Dinnner 6pm - Refried beans w/graded cheese, Chicken w/red & green peppars, 6 corn torillas, water

Exercise
Legs - Toe raises (4sets, 10-15reps) , Hack squat machine (4sets, 10reps), Seated leg curls (4sets, 10-15reps)
Cardio - Treadmill 23min

Thursday (3/5)
Breakfast 7am - 3 hard boiled eggs, Honey bunches of oats w/whole milk, cup of coffee-lots of sugar

Snack #1 10am - banana

Lunch 12:30pm - Turkey sandwich on whole wheat, 2 hot pockets, kettle popped chips, crystal light

Snack #2 4pm - yoplait yogurt

Dinnner 6pm - Chicken w/red & green peppars, 4 corn torillas, water

Snack #3 10:30pm - protein bar, glass of milk

Exercise
Free - Abs (machine)(4sets, 25reps), Bench Press (4sets,6-15reps), Rear Delts (cables)(4sets, 7-12reps), Standing Rear raise (4sets,17-18reps)
Cardio - Treadmill 23min

Friday (3/6)
Breakfast 7am - 3 hard boiled eggs, Honey bunches of oats w/whole milk, cup of coffee-lots of sugar

Snack #1 10am - yoplait yogurt

Lunch 12:30pm - Chinese take out - Four seasons lunch special (beef, chicken, shrimp, scallops, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, water chestnuts, baby corn dripping in sauce served with white rice) and crystal light

Snack #2 4pm - steamed corn

Dinnner 6pm - 2 pcs of salmon, 2 sandwiches (turkey, bologna, american cheese, sandwich spread on whole wheat) and crystal light

Exercise
Off

Saturday (3/7)
Breakfast 9am - 4 eggs scambled, 4 whole wheat tortillas, cup of coffee-lots of sugar

Snack #1 1pm - banana, yogurt

Lunch - skipped

Snack #2 4pm - protein bar

Dinnner 9pm - Local sports bar - Cheesburger with everything, fries, 1x Smirnoff Ice, 1x coke

Exercise
Off

At the time, I was just starting to change what I ate. I was going from eating 3 huge meals a day to 6 meals a day. It took some time for me to adjust to the new eating habits. Also, I had not known at the time that I had diabetes type 2. So I was still eating foods with loads of sugar. With my dietician, she was not straight up telling me to eat this now and stop eating that. She substituted foods as we progressed thru my diet so as to not cause a relapse if you will.
Also with my workouts, I was only doing 4 days a week and very little cardio. I hated cardio. It was the one exercise I dreaded doing. Even 23 minutes was too much for me. I would be huffing and puffing just by doing 3 minutes with no incline and a speed of 1.

I don't plan on posting everything I have eaten up until now. I will post my diet and workouts from a couple of months apart.

[Skorpius]

Early April 2009

Here are my stats as of April 2009:
Starting Weight: 344 lbs
Body Fat: don't know

Monday (4/6)
Breakfast 10:30am - 4 hard boiled egg whites, 1 whole wheat torilla, bowl of kashi cereal w/1/2 banana and skim milk

Snack #1 - skipped

Lunch 1pm - 1 tuna s/w on whole wheat, steamed veggies, orange

Snack #2 3:30pm - yogurt, 2 kashi waffles w/jelly

Dinnner 7pm - Carne seca in stew (w/potatoes, jalepeno pepper, onions), steamed cauliflower, 1 w/w tortilla

Snack #3 12am - protein shake w/skim milk

Exercise
Abs (4sets,10-25reps), Rear Delts (4sets, 4-5reps), Tricep rope pushdown (4sets, 10-14reps), Lateral Pulldown (4sets,7-10reps), Standing Shrug machine (4 sets, 10-25reps), Bent over rear raises (4sets, 10-20reps), Core training (4sets, 15-30reps)
Cardio - Treadmill 60min

Tuesday (4/7)
Breakfast 7:30am - 3 hard boiled egg whites, bowl of kashi cereal w/1/2 banana & skim

Snack #1 11am - 2 kashi waffles w/peanut butter & jelly

Lunch 12:30pm - Lean Cuisine - Roasted chicken (w/potato, broccoli, gravy), steamed veggies

Snack #2 3:40pm - yogurt, plum, cheese stick

Dinnner 6:45pm - 1pc of steak (baked) w/peppers, peapods, 2 w/w toast with Smart balance butter

Snack #3 12:15am - protein shake w/skim

Exercise
Shoulder Press (4sets, 6-14reps), Bench Press (4sets, 2-4reps), Incline Bench (4sets, 3-8reps), Flys (cable machine, 4sets, 14reps), Dumbell Curls (4sets, 18reps)
Cardio - Treadmill 60min

Wednesday (4/8) - Blood Sugar = 92
Breakfast 7:30am - 3 hard boiled egg whites, bowl of kashi cereal w/1/2 banana & skim

Snack #1 11am - 2 kashi waffles w/peanut butter & jelly

Lunch 12:40pm - 1pc of steak (baked) w/peppers, peapods, steamed veggies, crystal light

Snack #2 4pm - yogurt, plum, kashi bar

Dinnner 7pm - 1pc of salmon w/peppers and 2 w/w toast with smart balance butter

Snack #3 12:45am - protein shake w/skim

Exercise
Toe Raises (4sets, 14-18reps), Hack squat machine (4sets, 6-8reps), Seated leg curl (4sets, 5-8reps), Leg Extension (4sets, 15reps), Rear bar squat (4sets, 5-10reps), Glutes (machine, 3sets, 10-15reps)
Cardio - Elyptical 60min

By this time, I had seen my doctor and I had gotten my blood sugar meter. I was to start testing my blood daily so I can track my blod sugar levels. I was taking Metformin twice a day and Lisiniprol once a day for my diabetes.
I was beginning to get accustomed to the diet and I had switched from my normal white flour foods to whole wheat. The taste was hard to get used to but it was what I had to do. I was also starting to drink 2 liters of water per day. My dietician wanted 3 liters to help flush out my kidneys but I was only able to do 2 liters.
My cardio had vastly improved, sorta. I was doing the full hour but nowhere near a running pace. I was basically walking all thru the treadmill and I hated doing the elyptical because it killed my knees. I only felt that aching when I would got whacked on my knees. I felt it right above the kneecap. Plus I was always stopping and taking breaks when I was on the elyptical. I couldn't go completely for the full hour.
Skipping meals was not something my dietician wanted to hear. That was a big no-no for her. I had told her that sometimes I couldn't control where I was or what I was doing that prevented me from not eating.

[Insex]

Be consistent with your regimen. Continue to do your cardio and weight resistance workouts. Follow what your dietitian and doctor instruct you to do. So far your on the right track, but the journey will be long and difficult. Keep at it.

[SAINT_X]

I concur with Insex...keep at it!

[varbo]

I'm quite interested to hear about where you are now. You really cleaned up your diet which I think is the hardest thing to do. good on ya.

[Skorpius]

So far I'm doing excellent, that's pretty much what all my friends tell me. I weighed in at 269lbs last Friday. My body fat % is around 29% (used to be above 40%) and my blood sugar levels are between 70 to 100 during the day. My A1C is at 5.8.
My diet hasn't changed that much from what I posted earlier. I have been eating 6 meals per day during the work week (Mon-Fri) and only about 3-4 meals during the weekend. I still have experimented with trying different lunches and dinners, from choosing different TV dinners (Lean Cuisine and Kashi) and eating more fresh cuts of meats like fish, beef and chicken rather than frozen foods. I also have been eating more vegetables with my lunches and dinners and less carbs.
As far as my workouts, I still am doing about 1 to 1.5 hours of weight training per day and along with my 1hr cardio. I still go 5 days a week. But as of last week, I bumped my cardio to 5hrs a week. Reason being I have noticed that I am losing weight at a much slower pace. I averaged about 20lbs a month for the 1st 4 months and the last 2 months I have only lost 10lbs a month. I am probably gonna have to take my RMR test again to change my diet. But my dietician wants to wait until I stop losing weight completely for about a couple of weeks before we run the RMR test again.
When I saw the doc about 2 months ago, he was amazed at how much weight I lost and looking at the blood results, how much I have decreased my blood sugar levels. I am now off the metformin but the doc still wants to keep me on the lisinopril.
I'll keep updating this thread from time to time and let you guys know my progress.

[pliny_2001]

Congrats on doing the work -- this thread should be required reading for people looking to lose significant weight. Great job! I'm impressed, and happy for you.

[Skorpius]

Update time
Back in May 2009, I had my initial RMR (resting metobolic rate) test done and I was burning around 2900 calories a day. My dietician created a 2500 calorie meal plan to help me lose weight. It worked,.....for awhile.
For the past 3-4 weeks, I have fluctuated between 264lbs and 267lbs. I stopped losing weight and I noticed that my shoulders were always sore, even on the days when I wasn't working out that muscle group. So I re-did my RMR test again and now I am burning 3900 calories a day. So I met with my dietician this past weekend and she created a 3000 calorie meal plan. And it is alot to take in. I thought I was eating just enough but now I need to eat alot more just so I can keep losing weight.
Yesterday morning I felt full after breakfast alone. Now I have to adjust to consuming more food than I used to than the past 5 months. And my dietician is always letting me know that it will work for awhile again but that we will always need to check if and when I stop losing weight. So now it feels like I have to restart my diet. But I guess its good that I keep having to change my diet because if it eat the same things over and over, than I'll never lose the weight and I want to keep myself motivated.